The panels of the coliseum shorted out, going dark as rubble and dust came crashing down from one side of the arena. Once it had settled somewhat and visibility was better, Vale took a look to see just what the hell had happened.
She almost couldn't believe it; standing inside the newly created exit was Buck, holding a smoking Archer and waving them forward.
"COME ON!" he yelled, "GRAB A WEAPON, AND MOVE!"
Jolted into action by his command, all of the Pilots began to pick their munitions back up and sprint towards the hole. With a dazed smile creeping onto her face, she ran to an ordnance pod and grabbed a Spitfire.
"You heard him, let's get the hell out of here!" called Rose, urging everyone onward.
She wasted no time in scrambling up the wreckage along with everyone else, only stopping when she made it to Buck's side as he ushered people out of the hole and onto the adjacent platform outside. He noticed, and reacted accordingly.
"Vale!" he exclaimed, "You made it! Thank God, I thought I might've been too late-"
She cut him off by moving forward and throwing her arms around his metallic form. He froze for only a moment before reciprocating the action, each of them enjoying the tender moment before pulling away.
She gestured at the hole with quite a few questions lined up in her head. "How … ?"
He hefted the archer and patted his belt. "Set some satchels against the side of this thing, and used a rocket to trigger them. I figured that the wall had to give way after some amount of damage, so why hold back?"
"How'd you even get that stuff?" she asked in awe.
"I stole a bit from a weapon's cache on the way here," he explained with a chuckle. "And I couldn't have done it without- well, I guess you'll see in a few moments."
Rose, Gray, and Fallon stopped as well, greeting their friend again. "I knew you were softer than you looked," Rose laughed while patting Buck on the shoulder. "Thought we told you to get out of here?"
He shrugged. "I told you, we're a team. And I'm not leaving my team behind." Waving for them to follow, he hopped down onto the platform where the other thirty or so Pilots were waiting for what came next.
"Alright," he called, "we don't have long before they start reacting. If we don't move fast, then-"
An alarm began to ring at that moment, echoing throughout the facility and alerting any forces that there was a breach.
"Well, that will happen," he said abruptly. "Doesn't change the plan; today, we're in this together rather than against each other. A lot of this place is like a production warehouse or something; they've got assembly lines all over the place."
He pointed along a massive wall, one such line visible in the distance. "Keep following that one, and we'll be able to rendezvous with our Titans. We're gonna meet some heavy resistance, but if all goes well then we'll find ourselves a nice cargo route that we can use as an exit. Everyone ready?"
Cheers were received all around, everyone itching for a fight with those that placed them here now that they had a real chance.
"Then let's move!" Buck ordered, and they began their exodus.
…
This certainly hadn't been part of the day's itinerary at all. While she definitely loathed the Pilot now leading the others to freedom, she was never one to deny someone respect where it was due, and he had certainly shown resolve and resourcefulness that she wouldn't have thought possible in his situation.
"Ma'am," one of her subordinates called, "the Pilots are moving as a unity along an assembly line."
"Which one?" she asked quietly.
He checked the monitor. "Twelve, ma'am."
She pulled up a mental map of the facility, and tried to think of where they'd possibly be heading. If their goal was escape, then they didn't have many other options other than-
"The main loading deck," she muttered aloud, "it has a road for transporting cargo in and out of the base, correct?"
He checked the schematics of the facility, not gifted with artificial memory banks like she was. "Yes."
She thought about that. Considering that their operation here was under the guise of a simple production facility, they didn't have much in the way of defenses or methods of keeping them trapped here. They'd simply have to be killed before escaping, otherwise they'd likely call for evacuation and the site's cover would be blown.
"Place enforcement teams in the cargo-deck," she ordered, "I don't want any of them leaving with the knowledge they possess. If they do, that responsibility falls on Vinson Dynamics, and in turn … you."
The subtle threat was clear, and the officer nodded. "Understood ma'am."
"Good."
She turned back towards the security monitors. In truth, she had little faith that these men would stop the Pilots altogether; some of them, maybe even many of them perhaps; but not all. If she truly wanted them dead, she'd embark her own Titan and be down there with them. For once, her goals aligned with theirs.
Although ... that wasn't to say that she couldn't take a little revenge on the one who'd done her wrong.
If he'd given her all this trouble, then she was going to make him pay for it.
…
Sliding under a large arm as it moved to grab a metal wall from the assembly line, Buck grabbed a frag from his belt and tossed it over at a few grunts who had moved to intercept the congregation of Pilots. The threat was eliminated with a resounding boom not a second later, and he leapt back up into a sprint with the others.
"It's not far! Just a bit-"
Hearing the sound of gunfire, he looked below them and to the right and saw what he was looking for; a massive platform built into the rock of the cave, where all of their Titans were now residing. As he watched, some of them took out a few pesky groups of grunts who had attempted to challenge them with no luck. The rest of them sat idly by, waiting for them.
"That's our stop, people!" he yelled.
Heeding his words, all of them made their way to the right and leapt down to the platform waiting below. He followed suit, allowing his jump-kit to absorb the impact, and watched as all the other Pilots eagerly made their way to their own Titans. Hearty reunions were shared all around, and if he could have, he would have smiled; he knew that the bond between a Pilot and Titan was like no other, and it meant a lot to everyone to see their other half again.
A few yards away, he saw Vale run towards a black Ronin with gold accents. It knelt down to meet her enthusiastically, allowing her to press herself against it in an attempt at a hug. "Oh man, I missed you big guy."
"Likewise, Pilot."
"It's a common feeling amongst everyone today," came a familiar voice, and he looked up to see EV walking towards him. He detected warmth in her voice as well as his chest at his excitement to work with her again.
"What's the plan here?" asked Gray, coming up behind him with Fallon at her side. Her question grabbed the attention of everyone else as well, and they waited to hear what the one who'd got them this far had in the way of ideas.
"First off," he said loudly so that all could hear, "You won't be able to Pilot your Titans; they've got chips in all of you that are suppressing your link with them."
"How are we supposed to fight our way out then?" called a Pilot in IMC gear.
"For a good chunk of you, the safest option for escape is going to be riding in your Titan's hull; you won't be able to do anything, but it's better than the other job." He waved at all of them generally. "I'll need a good lot of you to be fighting alongside your Titan on foot; we can't rely on just the Titans to push through whatever forces we're gonna face."
Quite a few hands raised to volunteer for the task, including all of his own original team. He surmised that they were more than willing to get some payback for what had happened to them here in the facility. Nodding his head, he pointed forward. "Alright then, those of you that volunteered; ride atop your Titan so that you're ready to go to ground when we get there. The rest of you, hop inside your Titan's hull and hope that it's a good fighter. We move out on my command."
They moved into action, shuffling around and going about whichever job they were fulfilling. Vale however, walked towards him. "What about your chip?"
He shrugged. "I removed it while I was hiding out in the cave, used my phasing ability to do so. I think that our captor is beginning to realize how bad of an idea it was to bring a Simulacrum here."
She looked up at her Titan, and then back at him. "Can you remove mine?"
He jerked back. "No. Your flesh and organic nerves are a lot more complex than my wiring. I could kill you by removing it for all we know-"
"We are about to march straight into the most important battle for our lives so far," she argued, "and I am not about to sit by in my Titan when I could be helping."
He fell silent, thinking about it. He didn't want to risk it, but it would be nice to have another Pilot-controlled Titan backing him up …
"Besides," she pleaded, "If I die, I want to link with Skids one last time. I'd rather go down fighting with him together than apart."
He knew the feeling all too well; hell, he wouldn't want any other death than going down with EV by his side. He gave a synthetic sigh, and relented. "Fine, but … just be aware of how dangerous this is."
She scoffed, removing her helmet and pulling her hair up to give him as best a view as possible. "As if anything we've done already was safe."
"This may hurt a bit." Giving one last second for her to back out, he phased and analyzed the back of her head.
He was right, they had been surgically implanted. He could see it now, small and stuck to the base of her skull. Gently easing his hand into her neck, he wiggled his fingers forward as she tensed up and shook in discomfort; he didn't expect that this was a welcome feeling.
As quickly as he could, he gripped the edges of it, and began to take it back with him into the phase reality. Hurriedly, he pulled his hand out and popped back into reality.
Vale immediately clutched the back of her head with her hands, grimacing. "Damn, that … that did not feel right."
"I told you," he scolded, then held up the chip. "Nonetheless, the job is done."
Inside, he was relieved that it had gone so well. He didn't dare try it on anyone else with as little time as they had, as well as the risky nature of it; but he was glad that she was free. He held it out to her, and she took it cautiously. It was wet, a thin membrane of blood and a few bits of flesh stuck to its surface.
Throwing it on the ground, she crushed it beneath her heel and reeled back in shock. He knew what she was feeling; the rush of her neural link manifesting itself once again. "I can … it worked!"
Nearby, her Titan- Skids she'd called it- tilted his chassis as he experienced the same sensation. "The link is intact, and fully functional again. It's good to have you back, Amelia."
"Likewise," she laughed, and hurriedly climbed into his waiting cockpit. The Ronin's hatch closed, and its eye looked down at him a moment later. This time, it was Vale's voice that came out of the voice-modulator. "I've got your back, Buck."
He nodded gratefully, and turned around to embark his own Titan. Leaning down, EV opened her hull and allowed him entry. Pulling himself inside, he sat down as she stood back up and closed it before displaying her optical display in front of him. All the other Titans and Pilots stood at the ready, awaiting his next command.
He pointed EV's arm towards the platform's base, where it transitioned into a paved road that was obviously meant for ground vehicles. "That's the way to the loading deck, and our ticket out of here. Let's move!"
They were gonna rip their captors a new one.