X46: First of Many Shadows

Energy deficit critical. Kazuki crumpled up, holding onto his final gamble. Steam exploded outwards from his back. He became crooked in his posture. Svenn looked at him. But Kazuki tapped his railgun as Svenn drew a backup pistol from a hidden holster. And with a hundred kilograms of added steel, he drew. And he fired. And he skimmed Svenn's helm-mask - sending it charring off.

"DAMMIT!" shouted Svenn.

Knocked backwards, Svenn had crashed into the railing, nearly falling over as his exospine steeled through, steadying himself. The kinetic energy sent into him dissipated across the air/

Kazuki had given all he could. And it wasn't enough. Energy deficit at maximum capacity. He collapsed.

He couldn't move… His aug-glasses showed him every failing component of his body. He looked towards the pillar. The timer was ticking down, two minutes. Svenn won. But he must keep trying…

Kazuki tried to move his limbs, but he couldn't. Even with cybernetics: he was too weak. Only his fingers flickered with movement. Svenn staggered upwards, injured, slowly approaching.

"Kazu…" Svenn trailed off, maniacally. "It's time…" Shit… where did Svenn get that exospine? Such exertions match or exceed even his own…

Kazuki forced all his might into his hands as he started to move them, crawling towards Svenn's hand cannon across the platform. It was a losing race.

"Come on… let's not make this too dirty, boy."

Kazuki said nothing. Halfway there. Keep trying. Keep trying. These words pushed him forward. Blood fell onto his right eye. He must keep trying. He must.

Svenn slowly neared him. Mocking him as he went, "Fourth of the seven and you put up this fight… Freyja should've killed you."

He ignored him, the third was far too much for him or Svenn. Kazuki kept pushing himself forward.

He extended out his hand.

His fingers stretched out to the tip of the hand cannon.

Svenn grabbed onto his leg, pulling him back.

He took out a knife as he held it above Kazuki.

He let himself be consumed by emotions. He didn't know what concoction he felt. Despite his efforts, he couldn't push on. His golden eyes glistened at Svenn's deathly shaking eyes.

Svenn raised his knife to stab Kazuki, his hand shook - and his body tensed up… What? Kazuki tried to scramble away but failed. Redoubling his efforts, Svenn placed both hands on the knife, pressing down… Just then he felt a violent crash come through the membrane shield below. Roaring upwards, ten drones shot into view as a burst of gunfire sent Svenn backwards.

Svenn spun around, activating his shield. Bullets bounced off - explosions rocked him. The drones hovered around in the air, blasting bullets down. Kazuki had one final attempt.

He demanded more from his body, pushing his hands and limbs harder. Even as blood and energy vomited out from his exospine, he kept moving.

But instead of throwing his hands towards the gun, he threw his right hand to his spine.

There was a price for victory. A price he understood. Raising his finger, he flicked his overclock to half-on. It was rudimentary, nothing like the true power of his full-overclock BERSERK. But it gave him what was necessary to win, energy.

Emergency overclock drugs dug into his bloodstream. It stabbed at his mechanical heart. He felt his lungs move. Pain faded. His soul drained of emotions once more, he threw his back into action. And he had energy. His golden eyes burnt with a blue hue as he grabbed the hand cannon.

Kazuki rolled over to face Svenn, who was deflecting bolts from the drones and rockets. And as Kazuki aimed, Svenn glanced at him. A moment passed. He pressed down on the trigger.

Acid sprayed and slammed directly into Svenn. His heavy plates melted away. Kazuki could see the areas that he had taken out with his railgun before, crispy with burns.

Immediately, Kazuki's half-overclock ran out. He dropped the hand cannon onto the floor, collapsing. Pain stuck in. No adrenaline came to save him as the drones descended on him. They beeped and blooped as they injected needles into Kazuki, giving him the necessary stimulants to hold onto life.

Gunfire had stopped. He heard nothing but the solar winds and galactic waves outside the station. He felt a strange measure of peace.

But the grumbles of Svenn woke his mind up as he scrambled upwards. Looking down at Svenn, all he saw was a broken man. He was on his knees, clutching at his chest. Kazuki grabbed the hand cannon. He was at death's doorstep far too many times. He had to get better.

"Svenn. You talk too much."

The drones pointed guns at Svenn as some broke off to defuse the bomb. Its activation fuse went offline with a click. Kazuki was supported by one of the drones as they clipped a new uplink onto the back of his remaining ear.

It was a basic civilian model. Unlike his Contractor Model, it was a small, cyan earpiece, something he'd expect a salesman to have.

The injection point connected to his nerves, prodding from both inside and outside his earlobe. '—Kazuki!' Eliza shouted, her voice quivering.

'I'm… alive.' Kazuki said, 'All stations, bomb neutralised.'

'Good fucking job,' said Sato.

'Alright… drinks are on me,' grumbled Lilly, ignoring Eliza's misuse of codenames. She earned one name, 'Fine… and food as well.'

'No. Bill will be on me this time.' Kazuki staggered up against the pillar. Everyone started to chatter, knowing full well that Kazuki would splash out on the venue and food. He has the same loyalty to his men that his father had, after all.

Archius sighed in relief before he gave a new report to him. His voice was calm, but filled with an anchor of seriousness, 'Arbiter, we need you at the main commercial hangar bay…'

'Buy me time.'

Eliza started, 'Ka—Arbiter, are you alright? You look like you took a beating.'

'I'll live.'

Svenn looked up at Kazuki. Just then, something jumped off his exospine. It was a spider-like device, steel in nature. Kazuki shot it. It burnt away to a crisp. He slowly looked at Svenn.

Svenn's eyes were the clear blue colour that Kazuki always knew. Kazuki raised the blaster at Svenn. Through the pain of molten acid, Svenn laid eyes on Kazuki with clear vision.

He gasped for air as he looked at Kazuki. He held onto the acid-sprayed wound with one hand. Kazuki knew what this meant. Mind-snares… Someone mind-snared Svenn… Kazuki realised: Someone set up the Loyalists and Svenn. And his only lead is dying.

"Kazu… My… you've… grown so much." Svenn gargled.

"Svenn. Who did this?"

"I…" Svenn trailed off as Kazuki saw the acid burns etch up his body, damaging his vocal cords.

'Eliza… do you have anything for Svenn?' asked Kazuki, looking towards one of the drones as it spun its sensor eye to Kazuki.

'Sorry… but… no. I injected everything into you.' said Eliza, 'Wait… might I ask why we're saving Svenn?'

'Yeah!' shouted Lilly, 'That fucker killed Gambit… I say we dump him into the trash compactor.'

'Hey, hey,' Sato calmed her peer down as she grumbled at her lack of open mindedness, 'Having a prisoner would be a good bargaining chip.'

'Only if I can torture the fucker.' snapped Lilly.

'Arbiter… What do you see?' asked Archius through the chaos.

'Mind-Snares.' stated Kazuki. He leant down, picking up the fragments of the mind-snare. A purple shard was embedded inside it, the steel body dropping away. He felt sparks of energy run through his fingers, electricity. 'And contact EZRA. There's a Hazard Shard.'

"P…l…e—" Svenn gargled out half a word. But it was enough. The pain in Svenn's real eyes was visible.

Kazuki pressed down on the trigger. The acid spray finished Svenn off. His body fell onto the floor. Silence filled the reactor chamber. Someone was controlling him… The Loyalists would never have followed Svenn if they knew, but rarely anyone knew the man personally. Someone else is behind all this…