FINAL FANTASY

Spirit Union

A Drakoneasho Studios Production

Written by Gune

Chapter One

CONFLICT

Planet – Earth.

Year – 3912 A.D.

Country – Vandaria.

Government – Democracy.

Power – Fourth ranked in the world.

Status – Currently under attack by the Kazunian Empire over a severe international incident.

Earth, once green with lush forests, now a blue and silver mesh of light and technology. The once stone and grass covered land now shined bright with titanium roads. Huge skyscrapers with round corners pulsed around and throughout the technological masterpiece known as Volara City. Several vehicles, some multicolored others pure black or silver sped through the streets and skies as their passengers relaxed and enjoyed the ride letting the navigational CPU's direct the cars. A few trees still grew in front of some homes although the plants were no longer needed for the oxygen they generated. An occasional large shadow hovered over the citizens walking to and from what they had to do that night. The shadows took the form of commercial transport ships with battle cruiser escort. Among the civilians, soldiers marched along the streets with their M-240Z (Maco-240th Series Zeta) beam riffles and leather utility belts at the ready. The orange V stitched into the front of the black leather bodysuits the soldiers wore glowed with the millions of lights around the city. Black helmets covered their heads and only their eyes could be seen through the visors in the center of the headgear.

It was obvious the city was under martial law. This was the only way the government could keep the civil unrest that comes with war, under control. The city was safe. Adamantium born walls standing almost as high as the skyscrapers they protected with antiaircraft beam turrets, SAM missile launchers, and ground scraping beam turrets saw to that. Unfortunately for Vandaria, Volara wasn't the target of the Kazunian forces silently sailing undetected over the technology filled waters of earth.

Tanka Outpost

Several Vandarian soldiers marched silently around a small shoreline outpost. Two long metal piers connected by several small bridges stretched out extending half a mile over the ocean. At the base of the piers a marine biology lab doubling as a shock troop base camp pulsed with activity. Inside the laboratories, scientists were conducting studies on several of the new life forms man's technological invasion of the sea had created. One creature in particular had caught some of the soldiers' attention. Four VTroopers stood starring at a large tank labeled Sahagin with their beam rifles hanging loosely on black straps around their shoulders. The reptilian creature stood on two webbed feet attached to two stubby legs. Its torso was round with rings wrapping around it and two arms with large fins and three fingers stretching out on either side. A hideous face with dilated eyes and razor sharp teeth took shape on the front of the sahagin's head.

"That is one…ugly mutha fucka." One trooper said, his voice muffled by his helmet.

Another trooper laughed at the comment. "That's what radiation, fused with Materia will do to you man."

"I wonder how ugly it was before it mutated?" The third trooper wondered.

"Why don't you take your helmet off so we can all find out?" The last trooper by the tank suggested.

The eyes in the head of the third trooper sharpened revealing his frown through his helmet visor. "Hey, fuck you man."

The fourth trooper turned her head facing the third. "Hell no. Do you think I want my kids looking like that thing? Or even worse, looking like you?"

Unable to think up a clever come back, the third soldier folded his arms still frowning while the other troopers laughed at him. The sahagin responded to the noise like any other hostile monster trapped behind a tank would. The troopers all jumped back readying their rifles aiming them at the tank as the creature pointlessly punched the reinforced glass. One of the scientists glanced up at the startled soldiers who were about to unleash a flurry of plasma bolts into the monster in front of them. "I wouldn't do that if I were any of you." The woman warned. The soldiers slowly lowered their weapons as the sahagin lost interest in them then turned to the scientist.

"What the hell is that thing anyway?" The first trooper asked.

"A byproduct of the radiation generated from the marine labs on the ocean floor." The scientist explained.

"Like I said, the machines they use pollute the water with radiation. Once they drill out the Materia in the underwater sea caves the radiation fuses with the ore in its raw form and anything that happens to be exposed to it ends up like our fat little friend in the tank." The second trooper added while pointing at the sahagin with his thumb.

"A few mutants shouldn't stand in the way of the advancement of Elemtech." The scientist said conversationally. The woman obviously had no respect for any species besides her own.

"I don't know, doc. I've seen some seriously huge freak shows out on the sea. Plus not all of Vandaria is covered with technology, who the hell knows what's out there on dry land outside the cities."

The scientist shrugged nonchalantly. "Go ask someone unable to afford a car. Ground zone travelers usually see some of what's left of the wildlife outside the cities when they travel through the ground tubes to other cities."

The female V Trooper slung her plasma rifle over her shoulder and kept her hand on the handle. "No need for that. I heard that the Kazunians are using some of their own country's mutant freaks in the war effort."

"And what dumbass did you hear that lie from?" The second trooper asked.

"From me." A battle hardened female voice echoed into the second trooper's ear.

The four soldiers turned facing the source of the voice. A gorgeous woman with light purple eyes silently strode into the conversation. Her long sky-blue hair hung untied down to the small of her back. She wore a black skintight bodysuit that left nothing to the three male troopers' imaginations. A silver colored metal utility belt with a curved bladed dagger attached to each side hung at a slant around her waist. Finger sized holes were fashioned into the bottom of the hilts while marble sized slots were grafted into the remainder of the handles. An orange V shrouded in a black circle decorated the center of the belt buckle.

The four troopers stood at attention giving the woman a military salute.

"At ease soldiers." The woman's voice lost some of its firmness.

"Ah, Lieutenant Sena." The female scientist said, acknowledging the fifth soldier to enter the laboratory.

The female V Trooper walked over to the Lieutenant and stopped two feet away from her then playfully punched her shoulder. "Tell these three about those loons at the biotech labs in Kazun."

"I don't know, I mean they were only rumors. No one has actually seen anything like that," she pointed at the sahagin "in combat."

"What? Oh come on, Sena are you telling me you lied about the bioweapons?" The female soldier asked.

Lieutenant Sena shrugged as a smile crept onto her face. "Not necessarily. Just tellin' you what, Colonel Deroga, told me."

One of the male troopers finally spoke up. "Well if we can't trust the word of a Lancer Pilot slash Techmage then we can surely trust the word of a Colonel."

Sena nodded to the trooper then took a quick glance around the lab. Several hundred tanks filled with thousands of different underwater creatures lined the back wall of the facility. One tank constructed into the wall with another resting above it also constructed into the wall. The floor of the building boasted over forty research stations each harboring its own set of cylinder salt water filled tanks. High-tech equipment used to study the creatures floating in the giant test tubes was connected to the tanks through cables and wires.

Sena's stare returned to her friend dressed in the shock trooper uniform. "So, Claire how's the life of a grunt treaten ya?"

A muffled giggle flowed out of the female trooper's helmet. "Get all of the teasing in while you can cause soon I'll be able to get rid of this sweaty uniform and wear my own clothes."

The Lancer Pilot's smile shrunk to a smirk as she tapped the mythril plating cleverly woven underneath the black leather of Claire's uniform protecting the trooper and at the same time allowing her full use of her reflexes. "Maybe, but you'll only be a low level Techmage so technically I could still make fun of you."

Claire's bright green eyes widened with surprise. "But wouldn't it be more fun to have someone help you make fun of shock troopers or pilots?"

Sena laughed softly. "I suppose but once you rise in rank you'll begin to understand why I have so much fun making fun of you. Then maybe you won't mind so much."

Before Claire could protest to her friend's plan an ear piercing alarm shrieked out of the speakers spread out along the roof of the lab. The lights attached to the speakers flashed on painting the inside of the building red. The soldiers dropped their rifles letting them hang by their straps and put their hands on their helmets where their ears would be if they weren't wearing helmets. Sena, seeming to be the only person in the facility not effected by the sirens turned towards the large double door entrance to the lab. A sizable square ringed pool able to fit three battle ships lay in front of the entrance. Usually used to house research submarines and boats back from mutant hunting or Materia scavenging, the silent waters in the pool began to bubble as the entire facility started shaking.

"What the fuck!" One of the troopers shouted.

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Another trooper added.

The scientists of the facility scurried around the floor like lab rats pointlessly trying to salvage their experiments. Before any of the soldiers could react the rumbling intensified as a large spherical dent began to form in the center of the bay doors. A few moments later the sphere exploded and a large bullet shaped car sized cannon shell with a huge fireball engulfing it shot through the smoke surrounding the doors. As the cannon shell zoomed towards the soldiers, Sena's eyes widened as her body began sinking to the floor. "DOWN!" The shell smacked into the back wall and the following explosion incinerated several of the mutated creatures.

Sena, Claire, and the other three V Troopers slowly turned facing the tanks as they stood. Thousands of tiny cracks began sprouting out in all directions along the glass structures. Claire was the first to start backing away, her fellow troopers eventually doing the same. The same sahagin the troopers were taunting only a few minutes earlier stared silently at the cracks spreading across its tank. With one swift punch from its razor sharp fins the glass shattered releasing over forty gallons of water onto the floor of the facility. The tremors from the attack outside and from the shattering glass of the sahagin's former prison caused a chain reaction. All of the glass tanks stacked along the back wall of the lab exploded in a sparkling display of glass and water. The V Troopers were fortunate enough to have put enough distance between themselves and the tanks before the explosion. The scientists however, too concerned with their experiments were caught in the tidal wave of water, glass, and monsters.

The troopers looked on in horror as the unfortunate researchers were smacked with a wave of glass that shredded and decapitated them. Some were lucky enough to survive the onslaught of death shards but they still had to deal with the monsters that quickly began dealing with them. The sahagins glided across the slick floor with more grace than any ice skater could hope to have then leapt onto the faces of terrified scientists putting their fangs to murderously good use. One of the stubby legged creatures tore a hole through the scientist that Claire had spoken to earlier. The poor woman let out a gurgled shriek then hit the floor with a moist thud. The next death dealer to emerge from the wave of destruction was a slimy twelve-foot tall mutant squid. It kept its oval shaped body but its mouth was just above its twenty tentacles that squirmed out in all directions. This creature would not have appeared too out of the ordinary had it not been for the two curved legs sticking out of the left and right sides of its head. These legs were tentacles in their own right and the feet attached to them were eight smaller tentacles.

"Oh my god…the Squiyan are loose!" A panicked man yelled.

He tried to run from the beast but his shoes slid on the slippery floor reducing his dash to a wobbling fall. The petrified scientist turned while on the ground and stared up at the beast as its shadow loomed over his trembling body. A loud shriek was the last thing the man heard before the squiyan raised its right leg revealing a small circular hole with a ring of teeth around it. The mini mouth was shoved into the man's face and the tentacles around it made all of his attempts to remove the sharp teeth useless. Over the next five seconds the loud squishy sounds of flesh being ripped and eaten from a human head echoed over the screams of the dying researchers.

Sena turned her stare from the carnage as Claire did the same. The three male troopers, having seen enough of their fellow Vandarians being mutilated by the savage beasts raised their standard military issue M-240Z automatic beam riffles and let loose on the deadly amphibians. Three streams of laser beam fire shot out of the troopers' rifles ripping only a few of the unarmored predators to shreds. Sena's mind finally snapped into attention at the current situation and her military training took over her actions.

"Hold your fire! Don't waste your ammo on these fish! The real enemy is outside!" Sena commanded.

Two of the troopers stopped firing but one was intent on destroying the squiyan that was quickly advancing towards the group of soldiers. He laughed insanely as blood splattered from laser burned holes on the creature's body. "You want some!" He aimed the barrel of his rifle to the creature's left eye. "Here's some!" The bolts of plasma smacked into the squiyan popping the eye out of its socket. "Here's some of this!" The V Trooper yelled while firing and walking towards the monster.

The squiyan's pain filled shriek echoed throughout the laboratory as it raised its tentacles slamming them back to the floor, the tremor knocking a few researchers off their feet. This didn't stop the trooper's advance however, his bravery being a large part of his demise. The squiyan leaned back then shot its body forward releasing a thick black gunk substance from its main fang filled mouth. The trooper's laser shots were absorbed by the black mass first and then the death gunk splashed into the unfortunate soldier himself. The three surviving V Troopers and the Lancer Pilot beside them could barely make out their fallen comrade's gurgled screams over the sizzling of his burning skin. His flesh grew large red bumps that eventually exploded, blood gushing out and blending with the tar like substance covering him. His knees buckled as the weight of the gunk overpowered his deteriorating muscles and he melted away leaving only a black puddle of goo with reddish liquid pulsing through it.

One of the male troopers nearly lost his lunch at the sight of his fallen comrade but forced the food back down not wanting to vomit while wearing a clipped and sealed helmet. Sena turned to Claire then pointed towards the human sized door next to the destroyed bay doors. "Go meet the enemy outside!" She faced the approaching sea monsters. "I'll handle this."

Claire hesitated for a moment then nodded turning to the two male shock troopers. "You heard the lieutenant, let's move out!"

As the shock troopers ran for the exit to the laboratory, Lieutenant Rillian Sena wrapped her right hand covered in a fingerless glove around the dagger attached to the left side of her utility belt. Her left hand quickly enclosed around one of the small metal boxes that made the utility belt a utility belt. Her thumb pressed down on the button on the front of the box and a small green orb about twice the size of her thumbnail fell into her palm. Sena grabbed another small box and tapped the button releasing a small blue orb into her hand. She snapped the orbs into two small slots on the hilt of her dagger and as they settled into the slots a metal sheet slid over them preventing them from falling out due to any sudden impacts. Several of the sea mutants gathered in front of the Lancer Pilot all of them considering her a potential meal. Sena's lips formed a confident smirk as she drew her other dagger. The Lancer Pilot's arms stretched out in front of her holding the daggers together by their hilts. Blue marble sized balls of light began rising around the Techmage as an unseen force lifted her hair causing it to lash out in three different directions. Sena's lips formed a maniacal grin as she glared at the mutants. The Techmage's body slowly rose two feet into the air and with a swift motion Sena slid her index fingers into the holes on the bottom of the daggers and spun them with blinding speed as she stretched her arms out to the left and right. "Tech'Bolt!" Her voice echoed through the facility for a few moments as the blue orbs of light flattened then vanished. Lightning exploded from Sena's hands into the twirling daggers at her sides. She pulled her arms forward combining the electrical energy and three seconds later released the massive lightning bolts scoring a direct hit on the group of monsters. Loud shrieks of pain echoed from the mutant group as electrical currants swirled around their bodies. The lightning traveled through the wet floors electrocuting nearly all of the monsters in the lab. Sena dropped lightly to the floor then brushed a few strands of her hair away from her eyes letting out a sigh of relief. All of the surviving scientists had climbed onto the dry tables and research equipment. Sena turned towards the exit as Claire and the other V Troopers left the building. "Time to go take care of business." She let her words hang in the air for a moment then silently dashed for the exit.

Outside

Claire dove behind a cargo crate as soon as she exited the lab. A yellow laser bolt singed off a piece of her uniform that covered her arm exposing the thin but fortunately effective mythril plating. She immediately turned to warn her comrades but was too late as a barrage of plasma fire cut the second V Trooper leaving the laboratory to shreds. "Gavin stay inside!" She yelled to the trooper standing in the laboratory doorway. Claire stood crouched down behind the crate pulling a shrapnel grenade from her belt. She pulled the pin with her teeth then tossed it over the crate in the direction of the Kazunian soldiers advancing from one of the attacking battleships. As battered bodies hit the ground around the crate, Claire glanced up at Gavin who was crouched down by the lab door. "Let's go!" With a quick nod the troopers stood and charged the enemy joining several other V Troopers.

Over sixty Kazunian shock troopers advanced on the Vandarian outpost in organized groups of five. Their dark red leather uniforms laced with mythril didn't hug the soldiers' bodies as tightly as an enemy Vandarian uniform would. A thick red plastic helmet also laced with mythril covered their heads. The helmets had minor facial characteristics with two glass plates that served as eyes. Black boots and silver shoulder plates were the only other colors decorating the outfits. With the newly modified M-245Z beam assault rifles trained on the advancing V Troopers the Kazunian soldiers didn't bother to take cover as they mowed down their enemy with superior firepower.

Claire took cover behind an exceptionally large cargo crate with a few other soldiers. Gavin, three short steps away from the crate was struck down as a yellow laser bolt punched through his visor and out the back of his helmet. Small glass shards and large droplets of blood sprinkled to the ground as Gavin hit the floor. Claire closed her eyes silently cursing to herself then regained her resolve preparing to charge the enemy again. She and the five other V Troopers with her rounded the crate raising their rifles then stopped, some of them almost stumbling over as twelve Kazunian imperials stared them down. It wasn't so much the imperials that shocked the six V Troopers as much as it was the large mechanized vehicle landing behind the Kazunians.

A massive technological fortress of armor with a red camouflage paint scheme slowly hovered down from the night sky then landed with a loud clank behind the Kazunian imperials. Inside the cockpit a Kazunian pilot stood connected to the battle chamber. A black wheel was constructed into both ankles and both shoulders of the armor. The Imperial pilot moved his arms and the armor's arms mimicked the pilot grabbing the two A-51 blasters attached to each side of the armor's waist. Some of the imperials in front of the armor chuckled as others slung their rifles over their shoulders. Claire's eyes widened as she and the other troopers began backing away then stopped as one of the Imperials ordered them to remain still. We are so dead. Claire silently thought.

Above The Battle

Sena stared down at the doomed V Troopers from the air. Shit they brought Lancer's too? What the hell do they want with this place anyway? A large black jet with orange stripes shot towards the group of V Troopers. The fighter had a three dimensional triangular body and two thick metal wings. Three mini plasma cannons rested under each wing and two larger plasma cannons were constructed into the left and right sides of the body. A pitch-black visor covered the cockpit hiding Sena from the rest of the world. She glanced at several display screens checking the status of her vehicle then stared into the heads up display screen centering her desired target into the targeting reticule. She held on to the jet's control stick tightly then pressed a green button on the side of it with her thumb. Three seconds later two rectangular hatches, one on each wing, snapped open with a gaseous hiss. Three small missile silos attached to each hatch rose into the night air. Sena held her thumb over a small red button on the top of the control stick as a loud lock confirming tone rang in her ears. "Let's bring on the noise."

Back On The Ground

Claire slowly opened her eyes wondering why the Imperials hadn't killed her. A feint whistling sound answered her question. She turned around as the whistling brought several of her comrades' hands to their ears and spotted six missiles rocketing towards her. Wait…they weren't aimed at us…they were aimed at… The missiles shot in between the V Troopers and Kazunian Imperials past the Terrain Class Lancer then smacked into the ground instantly vaporizing a small group of imperials. The V Troopers used the distraction to take cover back behind the cargo crate. Claire tossed another grenade around the corner of the crate. The small explosive rolled to a stop in front of the pursuing Imperials.

Sena slammed her palm onto a bright orange button on the right side of the cockpit. The Lancer pilot's jet began transforming. Its wings rotated as two colossal legs extended from the bottom of the cockpit. The wings retracted and were replaced with two arms. Sena let go of the control stick as the cockpit rose and the pilot's seat retracted back into the newly formed head of the vehicle. Sena stood to her feet allowing the cybernetic connection gear to latch onto her arms and legs. As the jet completed its transformation into a Lancer it landed on two legs in front of Claire's grenade explosion. The Air Class Lancer took a fighting stance as raging flames, bodies, blood, and organs flung out in all directions behind it. As the flames died down a small hatch opened above the propulsion engine on the back of Sena's Lancer and a silver 42ft long rod with the letters 'llo' etched into it shot out of a cylinder shaped hole. Sena caught the rod in her right mechanized hand and held it out in front of her. Her left hand rose as the rod extended into a lance with a curved blade on each end. As the lance extended, the name etched into the weapon, Swallow was revealed. She held the bladed staff down by her side and signaled to the T-Lancer for an attack with a 'bring it on' gesture.

The T-Lancer returned its blasters to the holsters constructed into its waist and caught its own lance as the weapon shot from its back. The two mech warriors stood silently as the battle around them raged on. An explosion erupted on the far right of the Lancers as they charged each other. Sena spun her Swallow while raising it high into the air then slashed down towards the T-Lancer's cockpit. Sparks flew into the air from the impact of mythril on adamantium and a loud clang echoed throughout the area. Hundreds of sparks rained down on the battlefield as the Lancers squared off trying to draw out an advantage over one another.

"Shouldn't we help her or something?" One of the V Troopers asked.

"How the fuck do you suggest we do that?" Another trooper answered.

"Just shut up and wait for Sena to clear a path." Claire ordered.

"Uh huh, and what if she looses?"

"Looses?" Claire laughed at the question. "Just watch her work."

Sena rolled to the side coming to a stop on one knee and blocked a downward slash from her opponent. She struggled from the wait of the mech but managed to push him back. Capitalizing on the opening she leapt into the air spinning twice before landing with a ground-denting thud. The A-Lancer's arms were stretched out and up, the Swallow still firmly gripped in its right hand. The T-Lancer staggered back with a large gash in its face and chest revealing a decapitated pilot. Blood and electrical currents sparked out of the T-Lancer's chest as it stumbled to the ground creating a small crater in the metal floor.

Claire ran up to the A-Lancer with a group of V Troopers. She stopped beside the mech as four red objects shot into the sky from the attacking black battleships. She glanced up at the cockpit of the A-Lancer unable to see her friend through the mech's eyes, which were two darkened visors. The visors slowly opened with a silent hiss revealing the pilot of the A-Lancer.

"What now, Sena?" Claire asked making no attempt to hide her fear.

She's asking me? How the hell should I know? Sena swallowed hard gazing up at the approaching enemy A and T-Lancers. "My squad got held up securing another outpost closer to Volara. They should be here any minute now though."

"We don't have a minute, we're already getting pushed back by their shock troops already. We're outnumbered here no one thought this place would be this important to the imperials." A V Trooper pointed out.

"Don't you think I know that! Just shut up!" She stared down at Claire. "Radio the other troops, tell them to fall back and protect the evacuation A.T.R.'s (All Terrain Rollers)!"

Claire nodded to the lieutenant then raised her right hand to the bottom of her helmet holding down a small black button. "This is, Private First Class, Claire Reynolds." She held her rifle at the ready in her left hand and the comlink switch of her helmet with her right hand while walking back towards the laboratory with the other V Troopers beside her. "All units have been ordered to pull back and protect the evacuation A.T.R.'s. I repeat, all units have been ordered to protect the evacuation A.T.R.'s."

Sena launched her Lancer into the air reforming it into a jet after an enemy Lancer landed on the ground in front of her. This advanced design took the form of a car that rolled low to the ground on all terrain wheels. A clear cockpit visor revealed the pilot of the mech lying forward, his arms and legs stretched into four different compartments of the vehicle. The enemy Lancer spun around as four SAM (Surface to Air Missile) launchers snapped open around the cockpit. The Kazunian Lancer Pilot stared into his HUD waiting for the lock confirming tone. The imperial smiled as his mech's crosshairs centered on the back of Sena's Lancer.

Claire's eyes widened as the heat seeking missiles launched from the enemy Lancer towards her friend. She dropped her rifle and quickly pulled down the top half of her bodysuit uniform. Unable to find any suitable cover from her fellow officers she only sighed as she felt the many male and perhaps a few female eyes staring up and down the gorgeous nearly naked top half of her body. She reached down and pulled out a small pouch strapped to her panties while silently thanking Sena for persuading her to wear a bra. Just a few more weeks and I won't have to hide these anymore. She pulled her suit back on, picked up her rifle, then ran towards a parked cargo truck. The top of the vehicle gave her a better view of the carnage her fellow V Troopers were going through as they were slowly being overtaken by the attacking imperials. A small bracelet with one Materia slot fashioned into it was hidden in the pouch along with two Materia orbs, one green and one yellow. After fastening the bracelet to her wrist, Claire snapped the green Materia into the slot and a metal sheet slid over it. As Sena's A-Lancer shot past Claire the V Trooper unfastened her helmet then tossed it to the side. She shook her head letting her long brown hair fall onto her shoulders and just above the small of her back. Her hand opened, slowly rising into the air. "Ok…take a deep breath…let the element's power flow through you…" She thought back to what Sena had taught her about casting spells. "Don't exhale until the spell is finished…and your body will suffer a lot less fatigue…" Here we go. Small red orbs of light began to rise around Claire from the roof of the truck as her hair lashed out in different directions. She aimed her palm in the flight path of the SAM missiles. "Tech'Fire!" Claire's hand trembled as orange flames sprouted around it. Two seconds later a ball of fire roughly the size of a basketball formed in front of the V Trooper's hand then shot towards the missiles. The flame attack smacked into the lead missile and the resulting explosion lit up the night sky for over three minutes.

Claire let out the deep breath she was holding as an energy draining fatigue from the spell pushed her back onto her butt. The V Trooper breathed heavily with sweat glistening on her face. "You better not pick up any more missiles Sena cause I know I won't be doing that again for a while." Claire grabbed her helmet then slowly stood to her feet. She started towards the edge of the truck then fell face first onto the metal roof as the enemy T-Lancer that fired on Sena rammed into the cargo crate hauling vehicle. "God damnit go pick on someone else I'm too tired to cause you guys anymore trouble!" The T-Lancer transformed into its humanoid form and drew its blasters. Claire turned her head at the sound of the noise and saw the mech aiming its guns at the truck. Fear painted itself onto the V Trooper's face as she quickly rose to her feet. "Holy…Sh…" Realizing it would be wiser to use her remaining energy for running instead of talking, Claire dashed for the end of the truck as two huge red laser bolts smacked into the vehicle. Claire's helmet was engulfed in red and orange flames after she dropped it and the frantic trooper almost dropped her now seemingly two-ton beam rifle to gain more speed but she was already in the air before she could act on the decision.

As Claire dropped from the air, Sena's A-Lancer shot into the flames of the exploding truck. Sena's mech emerged from the flames in humanoid form, and with a silent swipe, landed behind the red T-Lancer on one knee, Swallow clenched tightly in its right hand. The top half of the T-Lancer slowly slid off its bottom half then hit the pier with a ground-shaking thud. With the Materia fusion engine of the T-Lancer exposed to the raging flames from the truck, Sena's A-Lancer slowly stood to its feet as another explosion erupted behind it. Electrical currents zapped out in all directions from the blood red flames. Sena gazed up at the three enemy A-Lancers rocketing towards her and let out a small sigh.

"Guess we all gotta go someday…" Sena said, as an air ripping sound besides the one generated by the enemy Lancers caught her attention.

"Yeah, but today's not the day for you doll face." A confident male voice filled Sena's cockpit.

Sena's lips formed a slight smirk as she turned her Lancer allowing her a view of the skies in front of her and the skies behind her. "It's about time you guys showed up."

Three Vandarian A-Lancers shot through the air towards the three remaining Kazunian A-Lancers. All three were painted black. One had a purple spike design lighting up its black paint. Another was covered in hundreds of small red spots. The third boasted a silver tiger stripe display. Sena lifted her Lancer into the air with a short rocket boost and transformed it back into its jet form joining her squadron.

"Alright, now that we got these fuckers on the frying pan," she reloaded her craft's missiles, "let's fry em'."

"Should we break off now or do you wanna give em' a good kick in the nuts first?" One of Sena's wingmen asked.

"Hey you know the old Mad Cats motto Terri, any squadron stupid enough to fly against us deserves a good kick in the nuts!" Sena replied. "Standard diamond formation, lock and load those missiles ladies and gentlemen," Sena's missile silos raised from her wings, "it's time to break some jewels."

The four Lancers maneuvered into a diamond formation as their missile silos snapped into position. Two seconds later, the three imperial Lancers were hit with a barrage of twenty-four missiles. Two of the Imperials broke off from their formation only suffering minor damage from the explosions. The lead enemy pilot hesitated for only a split second and his slow reflexes cost him dearly. One of the Vandarian missiles smashed through his cockpit pinning him to his seat. The following explosion imploded his Lancer from the inside out leaving nothing except a few pieces of scrap metal.

"Score!" One of the Mad Cats yelled.

"What the hell do you mean score? That was my kill!" Terri corrected.

"What? Are you blind? That missile clearly belonged to me!"

"Screw you Max, my CPU is already logging in the kill!"

"Will you two shut up, there are still more imps out there!" Sena ordered.

"Yeah shut up and pay attention. Besides…My CPU is logging in the kill." The fourth pilot in the formation said confidently.

"SHUT UP DENNY!" Terri and Max shouted.

Sena shook her head as she smiled. "Why don't all three of you shut up, it was my kill and that's the end of it. Say anything else and I'll have all of you cleaning the bird shit off my Lancer for the next month." She centered her targeting reticule on one of the battle ships. "Now, break off. Max and Denny, you two take those Lancers. Terri, you and I will go for the battleships. We gotta give the A.T.R.'s a good head start so let's stop those ships from releasing anymore shock troops." The three members of the Mad Cats gave their wing commander a firm, "yes ma'am" and the four Lancers broke formation engaging their assigned targets.

"How did these assholes get through our defensive line anyway?" Terri asked.

"Hell if I know. I never did much like the navy. The lazy bastards were probably off fishing somewhere instead of paying attention to their radar scanners." Sena replied.

Another wave of missiles from the two pilots crashed into one of the black imperial battleships scattering and vaporizing many of the Kazunians onboard. Sena, capitalizing on the weakened state of the vessel pulled her craft up higher into the air then let her Lancer free fall transforming it into its humanoid form. As she caught her Swallow the lance spun with blinding speed in her hand then sliced through the center of the ship. Sena's Lancer vanished under the ocean waves as loud metal grinding noises echoed from the wounded battleship. Seconds later the ship snapped in half and both ends slowly sank beneath the black waves. Sena's Lancer exploded from the ocean in a sparking display then sheathed the Swallow and reformed into a jet.

"Nice one commander." Terri applauded.

She flew past another battleship and pulled up behind it transforming her Lancer into its humanoid form. Terri pulled a large cannon sheathed on the back of her Lancer to the front of the mech aiming the barrel at the deck of the battleship. She hoisted the cannon onto her shoulder and squeezed the trigger launching a large silver ball that peeked out from underneath black armored plating onto the deck of the imperial ship. The crew of the Kazunian battleship stared at the device for a moment then pure terror spread across their faces as the ball began rumbling and a bright silver light shined through the openings in its armor. Hundreds of terrified Kazunians ran towards the rails of the ship and as the armored device exploded only a few of them managed to make it off the ship. Green flames spread throughout the ship causing several more explosions sinking the vessel.

Terri giggled while watching the ship sink. "That was nicer."

Sena giggled a bit herself as she scanned the battlefield for the other two members of her squadron. "We'll let the other squads decide when we get home."

One of the two remaining Imperial Lancers barrel rolled towards the ocean trying to dodge the constant plasma beam fire from Denny's Lancer. The craft leveled off a second before it crashed into the ocean and two lines of laser fire splashed the seawater into the air around the mech. As the red A-Lancer pulled up into the air three missiles launched from Max's A-Lancer smacked into its nose and left wing. The craft broke apart as orange flames melted the weak sheet metal underneath its armored adamantium plating then smashed into the ocean. The pilot of the craft screamed in agony as she sunk beneath the ocean while the flames inside her cockpit cooked her alive.

"Damnit Max, that one was mine!" Denny shouted.

Max chuckled a bit while he answered. "You snooze you loose buddy."

Max laughed loudly and almost didn't notice the six missiles firing past his Lancer. He checked his rear view camera display and watched as the final imperial Lancer exploded in a large ball of flames. Denny cleared his throat loud enough for Max to hear over his comlink.

"Who's snoozing now, mutha fucka?"

Max sighed in relief as his lips formed a smile. "Alright, alright, you the man you the man."

"Damn straight." Denny said triumphantly.

"If you boys are done with your little 'cockfight' we have some A.T.R. units to escort." Sena ordered.

"Hey what do you mean little?" Both men asked.

Sena and Terri answered the question with loud laughter as the four Lancers shot across the ending battle towards the evacuation A.T.R.s. The A.T.R. units were of simple design: a large armored truck with a rectangular body that lowered into a slant at the back. The wheels underneath the heavy vehicles were capable of traversing any terrain on land from the few remaining forests outside the cities to the rocky plains near yet to be mined mountain ranges. If need be the wheels could spike into the mountains themselves and scale the steep slopes at a speed of over 100mph. The slanted back of the final unloaded A.T.R. snapped open with a low hiss and the few remaining researchers and construction workers of the lost outpost crowded into the vehicle. As the A.T.R. sped away twenty newly loaded A and T-Lancers shot from the remaining ten imperial battleships.

"It's a good thing they obviously weren't expecting any Lancers to be here or they would have had more prepared." Max said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah…" Sena replied uneasily. I don't know, even if they didn't think we'd be here it's unlike the imperials to launch so few units when they have that many.

She brought up her rear view camera display on her HUD monitor and zoomed in on the lost laboratory. A concerned frown crept onto her face as she saw several of the surviving mutants being netted and hauled off towards the battleships.