by Shouji Gatou
In terms of damage to the machine, the Arbalest was worse off. But...
I’ve won, Sousuke thought. His weapon still worked, and he was too close to miss. He fired his shotcannon at Gauron’s machine, which was still reeling from the blow. The eight-fragment DPICM launched from his gun barrel right at the enemy AS, and then—
Something unbelievable happened. The shot that should have hit its upper torso seemed instead to collide with an invisible wall, blowing it into sparking pieces in midair.
Sousuke didn’t even have time to cry out before a powerful shockwave hit the Arbalest. He felt jerked forward at great speed, then whipped back. His machine arced through the air, then spun into the mountainside. Gauron’s laughter echoed through the valley.
“Damn, that’s it!” Kurz growled.
What had happened? It was impossible to comprehend, even from this distance. It wasn’t a Claymore mine, or reactive armor. It was an invisible wall. Some kind of shockwave... that was the only way to express it.
The white AS didn’t move. It was hard to see from their current position, but it was probably trashed. If a hit from that had scrapped a sturdy M9, there was no way some dicey prototype machine would survive it.
Kaname just stood there, perfectly still. In a lifeless tone, she breathed, “What in the world...”
Silently, Sousuke sat up and shook his head. The world around him looked crimson; the gravitational acceleration from the fall had caused a redout. Numbness spread from his head to his toes. It took all he had just to move his fingers. His side felt wet and sticky; the wound he’d patched had torn back open, and the dizzying pain had returned.
He remembered Kurz’s words: Like an invisible hammer. That’s what this was.
He had also said it had torn his machine apart, and Sousuke’s had likely suffered the same fate. There was no way it could survive an impact like that. Now, without his AS, Gauron would kill him, and—
Over at last, eh? he thought. Then his red-tinted vision returned to normal, and his eyes regained their focus on the screen display. Blue letters? But that meant—
[Damage Minor: No reduction of battle capacity]
This time, it was Gauron who couldn’t believe his eyes. The white AS was slowly rising to its feet. Its head was half gone, but the rest appeared nearly pristine. He’d blasted that last Mithril AS to pieces, so...
“Hmm, why didn’t it work?” Gauron shook off his adrenaline high and checked his engine output. This time, he had a little extra latitude with the lambda driver—he’d charged the dedicated capacitor—so he didn’t lack for fuel supply. “A misfire?” he mused. “Most likely...” The device was still in the testing stages, after all; malfunctions were to be expected.
Gauron had the machine switch to one of the new, dedicated disposable capacitors mounted in its back. The cylinder rotated, like the barrel of a revolver, bringing a fresh capacitor into contact. “All right...” he chuckled. He’d use the lambda driver’s repulsor field once more time. This time, it would finish the job.
“What in the world...” Sousuke whispered, staring at the damage report. Other than the head injury from earlier, his machine was practically unscathed. What was going on here?
He heard the sound of a mechanical process taking place in the Arbalest’s back—the rotation of a cylinder?—followed by a sharp snap of contact being made. “What did you do?” he asked the AI. “What just activated?”
Rather than answering his question, the AI merely said: 《Lambda driver initialization complete.》
“What? What are you talking about?”
《Unable to respond. Please resume battle.》
“Answer me, Al.”
《Unable to respond.》
Though his screen, Sousuke saw Gauron’s AS unsheathe its knife-like monomolecular cutter.
Kurz was stunned. “He’s alive. How in the world...”
Was Sousuke safe? How could this be, when his own machine had been torn to pieces?
“I see...” Kaname whispered sluggishly, right hand pressed to her temple. “I... I think I... understand.”
“Kaname?” Kurz asked. “Hey, you okay?”
She slumped against a tree trunk and coughed, then spoke again, gaze fixed on the distant AS. “Feel sick. TAROS... He... He doesn’t know how to use it. P-P-Powerful defensive i-instinct, enough to of-off-offse... offset? The opponent’s...” Kaname’s shoulders heaved; her voice died to a mumble. It looked similar to her symptoms from earlier. Her eyes had lost the glint of sanity.
“Cut it out, Kaname,” Kurz begged her. “Come back to reality.”
“I... can’t. I want... to give... a hint...”
“A hint? What are you—”
“You’re always... saving me. This time... a hint...”
At last, Kurz understood: Kaname knew something, some valuable information that would help Sousuke win. Was she fighting some kind of internal battle, to wrench it out from the back of her mind?
“A-Artif-ficial n-no... s-s-s... interfere-rence w-w... TAR... ROS... No... N-No... Can’t...” She breathed out the words, mixed with sobs and moans. There was something almost carnal about it, as she arched her back and clutched her disheveled hair.
The mad display sent a chill up Kurz’s spine. “Hey!!”
Kaname spoke again, but not to him. “You won’t... beat me!!” she cried, then rushed for a tree and hit her head hard against the trunk. The recoil sent her pitching back; she did an end-over-end tumble. Curled into fetal position, she continued her ranting, incomprehensible, her voice breaking with tears.
“K-Kaname!” Kurz was starting to feel crazy, too. What am I doing here? he wondered. I’m a soldier, not a mental health worker! What am I supposed to do about this?!
“Ahh... ahh... mm... nngh?” While Kurz lay there at wits’ end, Kaname sat up again. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her tongue was too heavy to move. With a bloodcurdling look in her eyes, she took in a deep breath, and said, “Kur... Kurz-kun. Give... me... the transmitter!” Her manner had done a 180, and now her tone was urgent.
“Okay, but what—”
“I need to tell him!”
“Tell him what?!”
“Just do it!”
Sousuke kept asking, but the Arbalest’s AI wouldn’t answer. He didn’t have time to press the issue further; the enemy was coming. Having dropped his shotcannon in the earlier shockwave, Sousuke drew his monomolecular cutter from the machine’s underarm holster. But if he hits me with that thing again... The machine might be fine, but he wouldn’t. The mere thought of it put him in a full-body sweat.
Just then, a new voice intervened over a short-range communicator. “Sagara-kun, can you hear me?!”
“Chidori?” he asked, bewildered.
“Listen to me! Your opponent’s machine has a special device in it! It converts the pilot’s offensive instincts into physical force! And this i... is the important par... part...”
She seemed to be fighting for every word. Was she hurt? Was she all right? “Chido—” he began.
“L... Listen to... me!” she demanded. “N... Now... I don’t know why, but your AS also has one... a lambda driver! That’s why you’re okay!”
He had the same device? In the Arbalest?
Gauron’s AS had closed to a few dozen meters away.
“You were thinking about protecting yourself earlier, right? It reacted to that,” Kaname said quickly. “Whatever you imagine, it puts into practice!”
“Whatever I imagine?” Sousuke argued. “There’s no weapon that can—”
Gauron’s AS was in front of the Arbalest now, its red monoeye staring into his soul. With no prior warning, the air around them warped. A powerful wind kicked up, sending trees, grass, mud, and rocks flying. It was that shockwave from before—Sousuke was helpless. In the blink of an eye, the Arbalest was at its mercy.
“Whoa!” Sousuke cried out. The machine pitched back. But this time, he was prepared. The Arbalest merely stepped
back a few paces and righted itself immediately. “Was that...?!” he called in shock.
“Yes,” Kaname confirmed. “He tried to tear you to pieces just now, but he couldn’t. You can fight back, too! Wish hard!”
“Wish?” Sousuke asked. “For what?”
“To beat your opponent! Focus all your spirit in an instant! Pretend it’s a kamehameha!”
“A kamehawhat?”
《Proximity alert!》
The silver AS bridged the gap between them, thrusting with its knife. The Arbalest just barely managed to dodge. Laughter poured from Gauron’s machine. “I see! That explains it!” he cackled as he sliced, launching into a dizzying display of melee proficiency. “Of course you’d have one! You’ve been harboring a Whispered! Right?!”
“What are you—” Sousuke started to ask.
“Oh, and did you know what my specialty happens to be? That’s right, it’s knives!” Gauron stabbed, swept, sliced, and thrust. He baited Sousuke for strikes and then dodged them. Each time the monomolecular cutter grazed his armor, it let out a peal of white light. “Well, what’s the matter? No time for delay!”
Gauron’s skills were incredible. A typical AS operator wouldn’t last three seconds against an assault like this, and with half of his main sensors destroyed, Sousuke was gradually getting overwhelmed.
“Do you remember, Kashim? I diced up everyone in the village, too! Just like this!” Gauron’s knife sliced through the Arbalest’s chest armor.
“What are you doing? Channel your spirit!” Kaname screamed over the radio.
“I’m trying!” Sousuke yelled back. “The force field won’t activate!”
“Here’s how you use it!” Gauron screamed, and hit Sousuke with another shockwave.
The Arbalest tumbled back over the ground. Sousuke’s vision went dark; he saw stars in his mind. But he got up immediately, readying himself for the continuing assault.
More sadistic laughter rang out. Sousuke’s enemy seemed to enjoy his struggle. “Isn’t this a stupid fight?” he cackled. “Two grown men trying to kill each other in toys they barely know how to use! Right?!”
Sousuke saw the shotcannon he’d dropped before lying on the ground about three meters away. He ran his machine low to the ground and scooped it up.
“Oh? And what will you do with that?” Gauron taunted. “Shoot me?”
“Ngh...”
“You realize it’s futile, don’t you? And you barely know how to use that device...”
He was right. Even if Sousuke fired the shotcannon, the enemy would use its force fields to deflect the shells. Gauron seemed to know a little how the system worked, and he had some practice with using it. But Sousuke... Even if he managed to avoid his enemies’ attacks, he had no way to fight back.
The silver AS gave its knife a skillful twirl as it strode slowly toward the Arbalest. Gauron wouldn’t pull his punch this time; he’d stab right into the cockpit and kill him.
“Listen, Sagara-kun. It’s all about a moment’s focus!” Kaname shouted desperately. “Breathe in slowly, then let it out all at once. In that moment, imagine pouring your will into the shot!”
“But...” He couldn’t do it. He just didn’t understand what she was saying.
“Okay, let’s try this,” she said. “You lose: I’m captured, stripped naked, poked and prodded, then killed. Imagine that sight!”
“What?”
“Just imagine it!”
Sousuke went silent. He didn’t have to try for long for the horrific image to come to him.
“You don’t like that, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It makes you mad?”
“It does...”
“That’s what he’s trying to make happen, okay? So, are you going to let him do it?!”
A simmering anger began to displace the desperation that had been fueling him moments ago. “I’m not.”
“Of course not! Now, point your gun at him!”
Sousuke aimed the shotcannon at his enemy. He stopped telling himself it was futile. He stopped caring about where this was leading, or about how she knew what she knew. She trusted me. This time, I’ll trust her.
“A last-ditch effort? How disappointing... Ah, well. Time to die.” Gauron swung back his knife and charged straight for the Arbalest. It seemed he was ready to finish things at last.
“Don’t worry. Close your eyes,” Kaname said, her voice perfectly calm. “Imagine punching him with your bare fist.”
To close one’s eyes before the enemy was the height of recklessness, yet Sousuke did as she said. His machine’s AI continued to blare proximity alerts, but he blocked them out. He was visualizing himself punching that AS.
“Now, open your eyes...”
He saw the image on the screen. The raging enemy machine entering close range; his shotcannon pointed at it.
“Die!” Gauron screamed ferociously.
Meanwhile, Kaname spoke quietly, “Breathe in...”
Sousuke took a deep breath.
“Imagine it...”
He imagined his will filling the shell.
“Now!!”
“Hgn!” The shot fired off at close range. Gauron’s machine launched its shockwave to block it, but at the same time, the Arbalest’s mysterious device activated, giving form to Sousuke’s own image.
What happened next, Sousuke wasn’t exactly sure. Two somethings collided, warped the air around them, twisted, and shrieked. Gravity seemed to lose all meaning as he felt himself pulled one way and then the other. And then, at last, the shotcannon’s blast collided with the silver AS.
“What...”
The eight-splinter HESH blasted Gauron’s AS back, tearing off its arms. It exploded before it could even hit the ground.
The force of the blast sent the Arbalest tumbling head-over-heels before stopping on its back. Sousuke heard metal shards clink against his armor; he held silent, for a few moments, then sat his machine up amidst the rain and fire and wind.
Gauron’s AS was in ruins. Its arms and head were gone, and most of the chest was blown off. What had moments before been a giant roaring with savage life was now a twisted heap of scrap. Gauron must have died instantly.
“Sagara-kun,” Kaname cried out. “Are you all right?!”
“Affirmative,” he managed after a moment. Sousuke turned his back on the wreckage and ran back to where the others were waiting. “I’m on my way. We’re getting out of here.”
They’d have to hurry. He’d lost close to five minutes on that battle.
Sousuke returned to where Kaname and Kurz were and knelt his machine down. “Are you feeling all right, Chidori?”
“Yeah... better than before. I forgot... almost everything I said, though...”
She must have pushed herself so hard to give him that advice. If not for her strength, what would have become of him? He could hear rotors pounding from the eastern sky: helicopters, to reinforce the pursuer squad.
“Let’s go,” he said shortly. “We don’t have time.” He snapped the shotcannon to the Arbalest’s back, freeing up its hands, then picked up Kurz and Kaname and started running. 20 kilometers in ten minutes—With a machine like this, he could make it in time. The Arbalest crossed the slope in an instant, one person in each hand. Kicking up gravel, smashing through low trees, it burst out onto the open farmland.
“Ngh...” A groan leaked from Kurz’s throat. The pain must have been agonizing.
Sousuke tried to be gentle, keeping his speed at just about 120 kilometers per hour. But there was no way to make them completely comfortable—an AS was more or less the world’s worst vehicle for transporting the injured.
Crushing fertile rice paddies beneath its feet, the Arbalest continued west. Sousuke ran into armored cars here and there, but he ignored them all; even if they fired, he could just outrun them.
But as they got within a few kilometers of the shore... 《Enemy helicopter approaching. Relative bearing: 7 o’clock. Distance: Eight,》 th
e AI warned. His rear alarm sensors displayed a heat source: an attack helicopter was after him. “Here we go!” he yelled.
《Rocket warning! Two, one...》
Emergency maneuvers. Sousuke swung his machine hard to the right, dodging the air-to-surface rocket launched at him. Kurz let out a scream, but it was swallowed by the explosion.
《Enemy helicopter approaching at matching speed: 130. Necessity of counterattack: High.》
“I know, but... dammit...”
The helicopter launched another rocket at him. He managed to dodge this one, barely, but avoidance would become impossible if it came any closer.
What now? he wondered. With his machine moving at a mere 120 kilometers per hour, the helicopter would catch up shortly. He couldn’t use his shotcannon; his machine’s hands were full. In his right hand was Kaname, in his left hand, Kurz. He didn’t have time to set them down, and the helicopter was right on his tail. What now?!
“Kaname!” he said urgently.
“Wh-What?”
“Sorry!”
The Arbalest tossed Kaname into the air, mid-run. Kaname’s mouth opened wordlessly.
Now Sousuke’s right hand was free. He drew his gun, whipped around, and fired two shots. Then he cast the gun aside, turned forward again, and charged with all his might.
Kaname’s silence broke into a prolonged scream as she hit the peak of her arc and began to plummet. Pitching his machine forward, Sousuke managed to catch her. He nearly toppled completely, but he strained and managed to maintain control. At almost the same instant, the now-trashed attack helicopter plunged into the field and exploded.
Sousuke, meanwhile, just kept running. “Kaname?!” he called. There was no response.
“Mm...” She seemed to have lost consciousness, but at least she was breathing. He’d offer treatment and apologies later; for now, he just had to move. They had only one minute left.
At last, the shore came into sight. “There it is!” he breathed. The sea beneath the ink-black sky was darker than the night itself. To their right was a beach. To their left, a cape. Sousuke steered his machine toward the latter.
