Chapter 21 - A Beautiful Horizon

As Eric and the Yatogami gripped the bomb, a blue mist surrounded the claws and swirled into the body of the missile. The hull of the mech audibly hummed as more and more of the mystical mist swarmed into the weapon.

“What do you mean the thrusters are gone?! And what the hell is that interference coming over your mic?!” Iris was the first to respond.

“Eric, are you alright? What’s going on?” Alice yelled out.

“I can fix the missile, but it will take some time.” Laura said before pausing, doing mental calculations. “It will take... several days.”

Eric struggled inside the cockpit as the Yatogami shook violently as more and more of the mist swirled into the bomb in his grip. After several long moments, the mist stopped and the shacking and humming finally stopped. He then finally responded to the onslaught of questions from the three girls.

“I’m fine. Trinity was priming the bomb. Laura, that’s too long. Not an option.” Eric replied, his voiced stern and cold. “The Yatogami told me we can take it. We can finish the mission now.”

“The.. Yatogami told you?” Iris asked, trying to ignore his implications from the rest of the statement.

“What do you mean, you can take it?!” Alice shouted out, defeating the purpose of Iris's ignorance.

“Eric, please don’t tell me you intend-” Laura was cut off before she could finish.

“I was hearing a voice for the last little while. I thought it was Trinity, or that I was finally losing my mind, but I understand it now. The Yatogami is alive, not just through Trinity. And it wants us to finish this mission, at any cost.” Eric explained. “And I agree.”

“No. No, no, no. Not happening, Eric! Absolutely not happening!” Iris shouted, her voice cracking as she yelled.

“I agree with Iris. This seems reckless and we can have a fix in a matter of days.” Laura joined in, her monotone voice trembling as her eyes started to fill with tears.

“What did you expect us to say, hm?! That we’d just be okay with it? ‘Oh, yea Eric, go ahead, listen to the damn robot and take the bomb on a suicide mission!’ Is that what you expected?! Like hell!” Iris continued, her voice cracking and squeaking.

“Agreed. This is idiotic. And we were just talking about you needing to be smarter.” Laura said, her monotone voice fading completely and it quivering with the obvious sound of crying.

“No. There’s no other option. We can’t wait and this can be done now.” Eric refused to relent his position.

He gripped the bomb that now irradiated a shallow blue hue. His hand trembled and quivered, waiting for the last person to say their piece before going. But only Laura and Iris shouted at him over comms. Alice stayed silent. That alone was worse than any kind of berating or insults that he expected. His heart throbbed hard, echoing in his head and drowning out Iris and Laura’s voices.

“Eric... will you come back?”

Alice finally spoke, silencing the beating in his ears. For everything that he expected to hear, that question was not one he was prepared for. The Yatogami already told Eric that they would not survive, but he struggled to tell her the truth.

“The... the Yatogami said it’s possible. That we can make it back.” Eric lied.

We will not sustain. Mission will be completed.

“You always were a terrible liar.” Alice said. “But thanks for trying.”

Eric’s heart collapsed. Even in the direst of times, he couldn’t get a lie past Alice. He chuckled before walking out into the field with the bomb in his claw.

“You’re right, I am terrible at lying. Sorry for trying.”

“If only you did inherit Whitlock’s intelligence. Then maybe you’d be better at it.” Alice said through tears.

“No, even then I don’t think I’d be able to lie to you.”

Timing critical. We must go.

“Soldiers on radar, reinforcements are coming!” Laura shouted.

“I have to go. There’s no time and this is the only option.”

“I will never forgive you. I hate this. I hate this! I...” Iris shouted, her voice turning into cries.

Eric leapt into the air with the bomb and started to fly upward, outputting as much thrust as he could while one leg was still disabled.

“I’m sorry, Iris... I really am the worst. I broke my promise.” Eric said, his eyes starting to water.

“Iris, I need you to hold off that entrance. Take the smoke bombs to distract them.” Laura ordered out. “Alice, can you take that launcher and try to destroy that wall? It’ll close off another entrance. I’ve already disabled all platforms in the area.”

“Even in a time like this, you’re still incredible, Laura.” Eric complimented.

“Please, don’t. I’m already crying enough. I need to be able to see my tablet.” Laura replied tearfully.

Eric could hear gun fire and explosions over the comms mic. The higher he got, Eric knew he’d soon be out of range for communications to work. He wanted to say bye to everyone, but also wanted to keep from distracting everyone.

“All entrances cut off, only- left. -is- keep sights on-”

Laura could be heard giving out some orders, but it started to cut in and out as Eric’s altitude increased. Eric closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, before finally opening his mouth.

“Iris! I’m sorry for leaving you like this, for breaking our promise. You’ve been a crimson fire in my life, brightening up every day with your smile. Laura, when we first met, I thought you would have been an annoying lab type, but you’ve been a one girl army since day one, doing anything and everything I needed you to without so much as a complaint. You’re truly incredible. Alice, I’ve known you since we were five and I can’t imagine a life without you. My only true friend for so long and my shoulder to lean on. I’m sorry, everyone. I’m not great and I’ve been such an idiot. Thanks for putting up with me.” Eric said quickly, almost shouting as he expressed his feelings to his dearest friends. “Alice, I l-”

The comms cut off as Eric left the range for communications as he neared the Elysium barrier. The three girls, having secured the area they were in and running to a safe location, looked up at the sky and watched as the Yatogami flew up and punched a hole through the azure sky, a loud thud echoing even from such a distance. Several parts of the machine fell from the sky as they broke off upon hitting the barrier. The disabled leg and arm fell off, as well as large chunks of the main body and back. The parts rained down from the sky as the girls stared and watched them fall. The three held each other in their arms, waiting for the explosion, their tears drenching their faces.

***

Eric and the Yatogami hovered above the Azure sky. The sun shined brightly and blinded Eric as he struggled to raise an arm to cover his eyes. Eric was breathing heavily and fighting to stay conscious. Breaking through the Elysium barrier took a greater toll on his body than he anticipated. Much of his body was bruised and he believed many of his bones were broken. Passing through the barrier felt like he was being crushed by several tons of hot metal. The only reason he survived was because the Yatogami shielded him from most of the impact and heat. Eric gazed up and saw the clouds moving around and he caught the slightest glimpse of a star, forcing its light through the morning sky.

“It’s beautiful. We’ve been robbed of this view every day for the last couple centuries.”

Certainly. Magnificent.

“Yeah... Hey, Yatogami, how come you only started talking now?”

I was always talking. You never heard.

“Ah... fair enough.”

I am glad you hear me now.

“Yeah. Me too. Honestly, I’m surprised I survived going through that barrier. Trinity and you must have really protected me.”

As best I could.

Eric stared at the sky and hissed from the pain wracking his body. He felt a liquid on his face and assumed it was just more tears. He reached up to wipe it away, but noticed his hand was covered in blood. His head was bleeding profusely and he started to cough up blood.

Not much time left. We must detonate.

“Guess so. Just wish I could have looked at this view for a little longer.”

Eric moved the missile so that the warhead was in the palm of the Yatogami’s hand, ready to explode once he crushed it.

“Hey, Yatogami...”

Yes?

“Thanks for joining me. I think I’d be sad if I was doing this alone.”

Me too. Thank you, Eric.

“Laura, Iris... Alice... Live good lives.”

Eric crushed the bomb with the Yatogami. A blinding white light enveloped Eric and the Yatogami, disintegrating them instantly in the explosion.

***

From below, the three girls watched as they saw a specific part of the Elysian sky glow brightly from behind it, as if a massive flashlight was being pressed against it. A few moments later, a hole emerged from where the light was. Slowly, the hole grew larger as the Elysium barrier started to disappear across the sky. The hole grew faster and increased in speed and soon enough, the entire sky above them was no longer a burning blue flame. All three girls held their arms up to cover their eyes from the blazing sun shining down on the earth. Clouds were slowly moving through the bright blue sky as the sun peered down: a picturesque view.

“Wow...” Laura said, awe struck.

“It’s incredible.” Iris gaped.

The three stared at the sky in awe and basked in the never before felt sunrays. Alice looked up to where Eric had first punched through. The clouds in that section were blown away and looked like torn cotton candy. Alice wiped away her tears and looked back at the beautiful sky.

“I hope it’s worth the life we lost.”

“Goodbye, Eric.” The three said before embracing each other.

The lights on both Iris' and Alice's power suits dimmed and vanished.