Chapter 58 Crushing the Alpha

The Tier 6 mutant turned its gaze toward Jacob and Sierra’s mech, its feral roar shaking loose stones from the cavern ceiling. It charged, its massive frame barreling toward them like a freight train. Jacob and Sierra, still struggling to recover from the earlier shockwave, were helpless to react. Their mech servos stuttered, trying to reboot, but it was clear they wouldn’t recover in time.

“No, no, no!” Aria shouted.

The mutant’s enormous fist arced downward, a crushing blow aimed directly at the vulnerable mech. Time seemed to slow as Aria made her decision.

“Bastion! Override the safeties and overcharge the core! Maximum output!”

 “Warning: Overcharging will exceed safe operational thresholds. Risk of catastrophic—”

“DO IT!” 

 The Combelt IV shuddered violently as its systems surged with power far beyond design specifications. Sparks erupted from the joints, but the mech’s movements became impossibly fast, the enhanced servos straining against their limits.

 The Tier 6’s fist was mere meters from crushing them when Aria interposed herself. Her mech’s arm cocked back, and with every ounce of energy it could muster, it delivered a full-force punch aimed directly at the mutant’s incoming fist.

 The cavern lit up with the clash of sheer force against overcharged metal. The mutant’s fist dwarfed the Combelt IV’s as her mech’s arm was ripped away, torn clean off from the shoulder joint. The Combelt IV staggered, alarms blaring as red warnings flooded her HUD. But she wasn’t trying to overpower the beast, she deflected the hit and positioned herself exactly where she needed to be.

“Gotcha, you big ugly!” 

The Tier 6’s massive chest was directly above her. With her mech’s railguns already primed to overcharge, she ignored Bastion’s warnings and pulled the triggers.

 Twin beams of pure energy erupted, striking the mutant’s chest with explosive force. The cavern shook violently as Tier 6 let out a deafening howl. Its chest burst open in a grotesque explosion of black blood and torn flesh, chunks of its monstrous body splattering against the cavern walls.

The force of the blast pushed the Tier 6 backward, its colossal frame slamming into the ground. The injury was devastating, far beyond what it could recover from.

Aria's mech groaned as its systems failed one by one, the overcharged core finally succumbing to the immense strain. Displayed on her HUD was a sea of flashing red.

“Core temperature critical. System shutdown imminent!” 

“Not… yet…” Aria whispered. 

The Combelt IV slumped forward, its smoking frame kneeling in the ruined cavern. Her cockpit was dark save for a faint emergency light.

“Liana! Liana, respond!” Jacob’s voice crackled through the comms. Their mech finally regained power and the systems rebooted.

“She’s down!” Sierra shouted.

The Tier 6 mutant’s hulking body slowly got back up on his feet, but it was hurt. It took a single, unsteady step toward the disabled Combelt IV.

“Jacob! Sierra!” Aria’s voice crackled over the comms, “Finish it! Don’t let it—”

Before she could finish, a sharp, sickening sound echoed through the cavern. A jagged bony spike pierced Tier 6’s back, shooting clean through its chest and ripping out its grotesque, oversized heart.

The monster let out a choked, guttural gasp, and its massive body shuddered.

From behind it, stepped out Raptor 01.

The cunning predator had played dead, lurking in wait for the opportune moment. Now, with cold blood, it had struck the final blow. With a brutal jerk, Raptor 01 ripped its tail free, black blood spraying across the cavern. The Tier 6 collapsed forward in a thunderous crash, shaking the ground with its fall.

Raptor 01 let out a victorious roar, the sound reverberating off the cavern walls. It was a declaration: the alpha mutant had fallen, and Raptor 01 had reclaimed its throne as the leader of the nest.

For a moment, the battlefield fell eerily silent, save for the echo of the roar.

Then, the quiet was shattered by a barrage of explosions.

A volley of missiles rained down on Raptor 01, engulfing it in a firestorm. Chunks of stone and debris scattered as the cavern shook anew.

“Commander Hale! Payload armed! We’re joining the fight—hold on!” a voice called over the comms.

 It was the bomb squad, piloting their Combelt IIIs, rushing into the fray.

“No! Negative!” Aria shouted.

 “You’ll be slaughtered down here! Get everyone out of the cavern! Evacuate the downed pilots and retreat! Go! That is an order!”

“Understood! Proceeding with rescue! Good luck, Commander!” the bomb squad leader replied reluctantly. Their mechs pivoted, quickly moving to extract the incapacitated Combelt IVs pilots.

Raptor 01 emerged from the flames, its body was hammered by Tier 6 but still terrifying. Deep scorch marks marred its armor-like scales, and one of its arms hung limp, but he was far from down.

Jacob and Sierra stood in its path now, their Combelt IVs operational. The creature let out a growl, lowering its body in preparation for a charge.

“Jacob! Sierra! Get out of there!” Aria’s voice cut through the comms. 

“Our mission is done! The bombs are armed, and the nest will be destroyed. Do not engage—retreat immediately!”

“But Liana—” 

“No buts!” 

“This isn’t a fight we can win! Every second we waste puts the team on the surface at greater risk! Get Sierra out of here, now!”

“I can hold him,” Jacob protested.

“No, you can’t! And if you die here, it’s all for nothing. I’ll cover you! I just need a little more time to bring my mech back online. Go!”

As Aria barked orders at Jacob and Sierra, Raptor 01 didn’t wait. The cunning mutant lunged forward with terrifying speed, its elongated tail whipping through the air like a razor-sharp spear.

“Jacob, move!” Aria shouted.

Jacob barely managed to pull his mech aside, the tail's bony tip scraping against side armor, leaving a deep gouge that sparked and hissed.

“Damn it, that was too close!” Jacob growled, trying to regain control.

“Focus, Jacob!” Sierra called, “It's coming again!”

Meanwhile, back at the HQ, Dyar’s eyes locked on his wrist display as the red blinking indicator suddenly turned green, accompanied by the message: Payload Armed. 

Before he could process the moment, the control room’s intercom crackled to life. Major Stark’s sharp voice rang through.

“Dyar! What the hell is going on in there? Why is the door locked? Open it immediately, or we’ll be forced to breach it!”

Dyar ignored the intercom.

“Dyar! Let’s talk about this! There’s no need for drastic actions! Don’t do anything stupid!”

With a sudden burst of anger, Dyar slammed his fist into the intercom panel, shattering it and cutting Stark off mid-sentence.

In the hallway, Major Stark exchanged a grim look with his officers and gestured with a sharp nod toward the door. Without hesitation, his men set to work, wielding cutting torches to slice through the reinforced steel.

“All personnel, stay at your stations,” Dyar ordered, “We have a job to finish. Focus on your tasks! No distractions!”

“This is Dyar to all surface units,” he called over the comms.

 “Hold your positions and maintain fire support. I need status reports on any mutants breaking through to the surface. Do not let them reach the perimeter! We are almost done here!”

“Yes, Commander!” came the chorus of replies.

Dyar’s gaze flicked back to the tunnel readout, where Aria’s squad indicators flashed erratically. He gritted his teeth. The feeds were patchy, and comms from the underground team were still dead. He knew they were running out of time.

“Come on, Aria,” he whispered, “Hurry. Just get back to the surface. I’ll keep them off your back.”

Behind him, the sparks from the cutting torch grew more intense, the edges of the control room door glowing red-hot as the team outside worked to breach it.