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You Reap What You Sow

  Kobe destroyed the final defensive gun along the Wall of Darkhan, then swiftly shifted his focus to the incoming Imperial gunships. The Republic Air Force had suffered many losses during the war, and the Teal laser kept what forces they had left in the rear. Kobe unleashed a barrage from his chaingun, tearing through the gunships, which erupted in the sky like blazing fireworks.

  Bella popped up on Kobe’s screen. “Kobe, I lost contact with Andres. I have a bad feeling about it. Let the ground forces continue the fight. Go find him, hurry!”

  “I’m on it!” Kobe pinpointed the entrance Andres and Marcus had taken and rushed inside..

  ***

  High in the cloudy gray sky, Mai fought fiercely against Gaius, twisting mid-air just in time to evade his strike. “Rachel! What’s wrong?”

  Rachel sobbed. “I-I can’t… I couldn’t help last time…”

  Mai continued to block and move. “Rachel, he targeted you first because you’re the most dangerous to him! Your bullets move faster than he can react! Now, please, Rachel, I need you!”

  Those words, I need you, stirred a cherished memory within Rachel. She recalled the day Akari had first asked her to join the MAV Program. Rachel had refused, convinced she would be of no use, that she wasn’t needed. But Akari met her gaze with unwavering certainty and said, “I need you.” The warmth of Akari’s smile lingered in Rachel’s mind, a reminder of what she had once had and what she missed so dearly.

  Rachel wiped away her tears and raised her rifle. “I-I’ll do my best! Akari…” Rachel pulled the trigger and sent a bullet flying across the sky from The Achilles all the way to The Yamato.

  Gaius brought his right-hand sword down in a powerful arc, aiming for a vulnerable Mai. A shot rang out—Rachel’s bullet struck the blade, deflecting the attack just in time. Mai seized the opportunity, tightening her grip on her scythe as she steadied herself. “Don’t let up!” she called to Rachel, determination burning in her voice.

  Mai surged forward, accelerating with her boosters as she spun into an assault. With Rachel’s bullets forcing Gaius to stay on the defensive, he struggled to counter both attacks at once. Seizing the advantage, Mai pressed harder, her scythe cutting through the air with deadly precision. Gaius launched himself in the air, attempting to fly across and attack Rachel, but Mai grabbed his leg, giving Rachel enough time to send a bullet through his main thruster.

  Gaius swiftly shifted his stance, launching an aerial assault on Mai with both blades flashing downward. She countered, raising her scythe horizontally to meet his strike, locking them in a stalemate. Amid the clash, Gaius, his expression unyielding, said, “This isn’t personal, you know.”

  “It is to me! Rachel, let’s finish this just like we practiced!”

  Rachel reloaded. “I’ll cover you.”

  She timed her shot perfectly to hit Gaius’ right sword as he swung at Mai. The force threw his arm wide, overextending beyond his intent. Before Gaius could regain his balance, Mai seized the moment, sweeping her scythe upward in a brutal uppercut that cleaved through his right arm, sending it spinning away.

  Gaius attacked with everything he had. Parrying Mai’s slashes and Rachel’s bullets with his remaining sword. “What fuels your fury, little one?”

  “You killed my sister!” Mai shouted as Rachel’s bullet severed the hand of Gaius’ Centurion.

  “Ah, I have no doubt you would have chased me to the ends of the earth to kill me.”

  “You’re damn right I would have! You reap what you sow!” Mai’s Knight was already in the air. With a ferocious downward slash, Mai sundered Gaius’ Centurion in two, the scythe’s blade biting so deeply into the Ember’s hull that it lodged there. Gritting her teeth, she wrenched it free with a savage yank. Consumed by blind fury, she hacked at the shattered remains of Gaius’ Centurion, her strikes wild and unyielding.

  Mai stood over the little pieces she left behind, panting, still hot and angry. She clenched her fists, not knowing what to do. Rachel covered her mouth and sobbed, trying to hold back tears. “You did great, girls, take a breather for now,” Bella reached out to them on the Comm Channel.

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  ***

  Marcus darted through the room, weaving between attacks while straining to pinpoint his unseen foe. With calculated steps, he maneuvered until his back pressed against one of the glass tubes, its glowing teal liquid casting faint light across the shadows.

  “I can’t wait to bring the princess your head!” Emir taunted as he attacked from behind.

  Marcus quickly boosted backwards and rammed his Knight into Emir’s Centurion. Emir’s daggers crashed into the glass tube, and liquid Teal splashed on both of them. His Centurion was now visible.

  Emir hurled his daggers at Marcus, desperate to escape. Before he could activate his evasive gadgets, Marcus snapped his rifle up and fired, blasting the devices from Emir’s grasp. Emir faltered, stunned just long enough for Marcus to unsheathe his lance. With the momentum of a jouster, Marcus charged, driving the lance through Emir’s Centurion and pinning it to the wall in a single, decisive thrust.

  Marcus thrust his lance through the Centurion’s shoulder and used his Knight’s hand to open Emir’s cockpit. Marcus leaped from his Knight and swiftly boarded Emir’s Centurion.“Princess Massena returns your greeting from the forest.”

  Emir gawked at him for a moment. Pistol already drawn, Marcus sent a shot through Emir’s leg, and he howled in pain. “Before I end your life for your crimes, you’re going to tell me what your master’s plan is.”

  “I’ll tell you anything you want, just let me go!” Emir begged as Marcus shot him in the other leg.

  “Princess Massena and I will unify this continent. And that simply can’t happen if you’re alive and scheming.” Emir’s anguished screams echoed through his laboratory as Marcus started the interrogation, but in the desolate lower levels of Darkhan, no one was there to intervene.

  ***

  Emperor Tiberius, flanked by his unmanned Centurions, advanced on Andres. Suddenly, Kobe stormed into the room, his chain gun roaring to life as it unleashed a hail of bullets.“Get away from my brother!” Kobe tackled Tiberius.

  Andres still couldn’t get his Knight to move. “Kobe!”

  “Brother!? You mongrels look nothing alike!” Tiberius mocked as he smashed Kobe’s chain gun with his hammer.

  “Being brothers and family is more than just flesh and blood!” Kobe shouted.

  He had Tiberius lined up for a point-blank shot from his shoulder cannon. “We’re going to stop you!” Kobe fired his cannon, the blast enveloped the room in a thick shroud of smoke.

  At the last possible moment, an unmanned Centurion lunged forward, absorbing the cannon shot meant for the Emperor. As the smoke cleared, Tiberius charged through, slamming Kobe against the wall. “Blood matters more than anything! That’s what separates royalty from mongrels!”

  Kobe knew he couldn’t reload his cannon in time. “Andres, my brother. I hope you will have that conversation with God soon.”

  “What nonsense!” Tiberius swung his hammer and crushed the head and upper chest of Kobe’s Knight.

  “NO!” Andres let out a growl, the strange sensation of Teal coursing through him—cool at first, then igniting into a searing heat in his veins. Harnessing the Teal Waves, he channeled their energy into his Knight. Steam trailed from his ragged breaths as the toll of piloting pressed heavily on his body.

  “Angry?” Tiberius smirked.

  Andres glared at the Emperor. In a flash, Andres conjured dozens of Phalanx spears, shimmering into existence above his head, and launched himself straight at Tiberius.

  “Bring it!” Tiberius smashed Andres’ rifle away.

  Andres drew his sword, and the two became entrenched in an intense melee. Hammer clashing with sword and shield. As Andres and the Emperor struck at each other, dodged, and maneuvered, Phalanx spears danced around the room in a dazzling display.

  The spears blocked incoming bullets and skewered the enemy Centurions. Andres clashed with Tiberius, wielding his sword and shield while deftly commanding the Phalanx to dismantle the Emperor’s unmanned minions.

  Sensing that Andres was struggling to keep pace, Tiberius lured him into an attack, only to put everything he had into a blow that broke Andres’ shield.

  Andres gripped his sword with both hands and continued to fight. But Tiberius broke it with another heavy swing.

  Andres crossed his arms, steeling himself for the blow. Tiberius swung his hammer upward, delivering a crushing uppercut that sent Andres crashing into another pillar with bone-rattling force.

  “You really are nothing without her, huh? Oh well, all the same. You were born nothing, and you’ll die nothing.” Tiberius raised his hammer in victory.

  “You don’t know anything about her, or me!” Andres thought of his father’s sacrifice, his mom’s wishes, the friends he lost, and his time with Kara. His blood burned even hotter than before. He stood his Knight up to face Tiberius. A small green flame sparked from the side of Andres’ mouth as he breathed out.

  “I know now! What my purpose is!”

  With a single volley of Phalanx spears, he destroyed the remaining unmanned Centurions. Andres took a fighting stance, facing Tiberius, his fists ablaze in green fire. “To stop people like you!”

  “There’s no way a mongrel can wield The Flames of Teal!” Tiberius swung his hammer sideways to hit Andres on the side. With the back of his Knight’s fist, Andres struck the incoming hammer and shattered it. Tiberius staggered back, shifting to hand-to-hand combat, but he yielded ground, acutely aware that the encroaching flames threatened to consume his Centurion.“How?! The Elerian bloodline was foretold to be the wielders and masters of Teal!”

  Andres unleashed a barrage of fiery punches. Tiberius raised his arms to shield his cockpit, but Andres’ onslaught shattered through them.“I don’t know where these flames came from, but I’ll use them! So you won’t take anyone else from me!”

  Andres delivered one final, blazing punch straight through Tiberius’ cockpit, the impact sending a shockwave of heat and energy rippling through the air. As the Flames of Teal flickered and faded from his fists, he let Tiberius’ Centurion collapse, its massive frame crashing lifelessly to the ground.

  Andres made his way to the back of the room. He reached out and retrieved the Teal crystal from the generator, and as he did, the Teal laser powered down with a fading hum. Holding the crystal in his Knight’s hand, he stared at it blankly before shifting his gaze toward Kobe’s Knight.

  “What does winning matter if we don’t all make it home…” Andres struggled to catch his breath as the color faded from his vision.

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