Multiple fronts

The battle between Pulse and James was an uneven one. Pulse moved with speed and agility, her baton a blur as she struck from multiple angle. James, already exhausted, barely kept up, blocking what he could and dodging when possible. But the hits were landing. He was running out of options.

Pulse tilted her head as she stopped moving. “Already done, are you?”

James, panting, forced a smirk. “No, please, don’t slow down on my account.”

Pulse chuckled beneath her mask. “Well, who am I to decline a request?”

She lunged forward—only for james to jump to the side reveling Coco behind him holding something resembling a makeshift firearm, it fired but it barely scratched her mechanical legs. “that was your plan?” Pulse smirked as she took a step forward only for her legs to freeze as they hit the ground.

Her legs wouldn’t move.

Pulse’s eyes flicked downward, spotting something embedded into her right leg. A tiny receiver. She looked up—across the room, Coco sat at a laptop, a matching sender device linked to it.

Pulse exhaled sharply. “A receiver and a sender. Clever.”

James grinned weakly. “All done, Coco?”

Coco gave a simple nod.

“Good.” James let out a relieved sigh, his knees finally buckling as he collapsed onto the floor, rolling onto his back.

“You’re one strong guy.” Claus smirked inside his Exo-suit, his fingers hovering over the controls as he prepared to activate his back thrusters. But he never got the chance.

A loud metallic clang echoed through the battlefield—Havoc, still lying on the ground, swung a brutal fist into Claus’s Exo-suit leg. The impact buckled the metal, causing Claus to lurch off balance.

Sear seized the moment.

With a sharp exhale, he pressed forward, shoving against Claus’s mechanical arms. It wasn’t a massive force, but just enough to send the Exo-suit stumbling backward.

Before he could follow up—his leg was yanked out from under him.

Cara, still grounded in her damaged Exo-suit, had grabbed hold of his ankle. Sear gritted his teeth, ready to shake her off, but Havoc reacted first—his fist slammed down on Cara’s suit, crushing the arm.

Before she could recover, Alis arrived, grabbing hold of Cara’s damaged Exo-suit and dragging her away.

Havoc’s second punch hit the ground where she had been just moments ago, missing her by mere inches.

With Alis’s help, Cara staggered back to her feet, while Sear stood firm, still locked in a face-off with Claus.

Across the battlefield, half of the remaining rebels had regrouped around Marco. He was leading them in a strategic retreat, backing up toward their truck, where their supplies were hastily being loaded.

Meanwhile, Fallow and Slick held the line, exchanging relentless gunfire with Ral and Marco.

Then, two figures flanked Sear.

Flame and Clue.

“Don’t worry, sir! We’ve got your back!” Clue called out, raising his rifle.

They opened fire, bullets slamming into Claus’s Exo-suit, forcing him to raise his arms in defense.

Sear’s fists clenched. His breath slowed.

Then, in a whisper—“DoN’t gEt iN OuR wAy.”

Clue barely caught it. “What was that, sir?” Flame hesitated, lowering her rifle slightly.

“I SAID—DON’T GET IN MY WAY!”

Sear’s voice erupted with fury as he suddenly reached out his hands, grabbing the barrels of their rifles.

Before they could react, he shoved them back—hard.

The stocks of their guns slammed into their shoulders, sending both Flame and Clue crashing to the ground.

“What the hell, Sear?!” Clue shouted, staring up in shock.

Sear didn’t respond.

He simply emptied the rest of their magazines into Claus’s Exo-suit, unloading every bullet in a relentless barrage. Then, without hesitation, he tossed the rifles aside.

And ran.

Straight at Claus.

Unarmed. Unwavering.

And with a wild grin on his face.

“So, Coco, are you done analyzing yet?” James asked, shifting restlessly on the floor.

Coco didn’t answer right away, still absorbed in her work.

James sighed. “So, what happens to me once you’re done, by the way?”

Pulse, still standing in place from when her legs had been disabled earlier, didn’t look amused as she waited for an answer.

James hesitated. “Uh… well, we’ll figure that out later, I guess.” He didn’t sound confident.

Sear’s boots pounded against the cracked earth, each step propelling him forward like a bullet. His breath came ragged, his focus locked onto Claus, whose towering Exo-suit loomed ahead like an iron giant.

Claus barely flinched. He raised one arm, metal plating shifting as his servos whirred to life, preparing to strike. His other arm pulled back, a fist tightening, charged with enough power to shatter bone.

The instant Sear came within range, Claus threw his punch. The blow connected—an earth-shaking impact that sent a shock wave through Sear’s ribs.

Most would’ve been thrown back, but Sear didn’t let go. His fingers, calloused and bloodied, latched onto the Exo-suit’s thick armor, his grip like iron claws. He gritted his teeth. Not letting go. Not this time.

A short distance away, Flame stared in disbelief. How is he still moving after taking that hit?

“Hey, Flame! Come help me!” Clue’s voice snapped her out of it. He struggled under Havoc’s weight, his legs nearly buckling as he tried to drag the injured fighter toward cover.

“Oh, right!” Flame shook off her shock and rushed to Clue’s side, grabbing one of Havoc’s arms and throwing it over her shoulder. Moments later, Fallow joined them, scanning his injuries.

“Havoc, how bad is it?” she asked, her voice steady but urgent.

Havoc grunted, his face twisted in pain. “I don’t know… one of my legs is definitely broken. And my back…” He winced. “Feels like someone dropped a truck on me.”

Fallow gave him a quick nod. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here.”

Meanwhile, Slick kept firing, covering them—but then: click.

Empty.

Across from him, Marco lowered his own weapon. His magazine was spent too. The battlefield grew eerily quiet.

Slick cursed under his breath and tossed his rifle aside, sprinting toward the others.

“Slick, hurry up!” Clue called, his grip on Havoc slipping.

Slick reached them just in time, grabbing under Havoc’s left shoulder while Wo came in and took Clue’s place. Their combined strength kept him on his feet as they moved toward the extraction point.

Fallow dropped to one knee, reloading in case of last-minute stragglers. But as she ducked down, something caught her eye—a glint of silver, half-buried in the dirt.

A dagger.

Sear’s dagger.

And then she saw him—Sear, still clinging to Claus’s Exo-suit.

Her grip tightened around the weapon.

“Sear!” she called out, getting ready to throwing the dagger to him.

No reaction.

Sear was close enough to hear her, but his focus was elsewhere, locked in a battle of brute force against metal.

Fallow clenched her jaw. “Oh, for god’s sake—” She took a deep breath. “SF, CATCH!”

Sear’s head snapped toward her. His eyes burned with fury, his lips curled in frustration.

But he saw the dagger.

In an instant, his hand shot out, snatching the blade from the air.

He wasted no time. With a guttural roar, he plunged the weapon straight toward the cockpit of Claus’s suit.

Crack!

The blade shattered.

Sear froze, disbelief flashing across his face. No… No, that’s not—

A fatal moment of hesitation.

Claus didn’t waste it.

A massive hand grabbed Sear by the collar, wrenched him free, and hurled him to the ground. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, his back slamming against the dirt with bone-rattling force.