Chapter 4

Elisabetta, noticing that the mecha wanted to fight her alone, prepared for offense. Both mechas charged toward each other, their swords clashing in a dangerous encounter. Elisabetta shot with ZA-7's left hand, yet the adversary mecha dodged them all with eloquence. 

Only at that moment did she realize that she was fighting with NSM-1, one of the strongest mechas created by Nugany. Just after realizing, a punch hit ZA-7's head, pushing it against the ground.

NSM-1 was known to be first in striking capacities among all mechas. Its punches were oblivious and not even Elisabetta could resist them efficiently.

When ZA-7 hit the ground, many Nugan mechas came after it, rushing in order for them to take the honor of destroying it. However, before they could do any harm, they were smashed one by one.

The defender was not Mark nor Elisabetta herself. Turwan had come in the fight and protected ZA-7 at all costs. Turwan's mecha, which was named Golden Gem, rapidly took ZA-7's hand to make it stand up again.

While this was happening, NSM-1's pilot had used her momentum to attack many weak mechas of the Rostrovian army. Turwan assaulted her from behind, yet NSM-1 was defended diligently.

Turwan used his sword and slashed. NSM-1 was pushed backwards.

Turwan slashed again. NSM-1 was being moved further and further away, as now Elisabetta could focus on the weaker mechas.

"NSM-1 is mine!" Turwan screamed through his microphone, as if he was playing a FPS game.

He launched his sword against NSM-1's face, but the pilot dodged it. Turwan tried to move again, but he was blocked. NSM-1 had blocked its movements with its left arm. NSM-1 then grabbed Golden Gem's right arm too and smashed it against the ground, slashing it away from all the other mechas by some hundreds of meters.

Turwan got his mecha up again, damaged but he didn't give up. He shot multiple times at the opposing mecha. It took some hits but they weren't enough for it to be estroyed.

Turwan had acted against NSM-1 alone in order for him to take the majority of the price of victory. He didn't want to give even a single Rostrovian dollar to Elisabetta. And yet, this selfish attitude backfired.

At that point, NSM-1 used all its striking strength against Turwan.

...

Elisabetta was fighting against tens of mechas. She was being helped but the mechas of her own army were weak and poorly numerous compared to enemies.

Small mechas, created for sneak attacks, were crawling onto the legs of ZA-7, which had made it difficult to withstand the constant damage. She persevered strongly, holding onto her own forces.

SWING

Many mini mechas were disabilitate in half a second, making it possible for her to escape. Sbe then flew into the air, to shoot some mechas coning at her. Still, dozens of enemy mechas struck ZA-7 from behind, forcing it to the ground.

She then looked up, noticing the area she was fighting into. There was a large and high mountain. After getting up once again, she moved ZA-7 in order for it to run onto the peak of the mountain.

Many mechas followed it like dogs going a prey. Shots from behind came against her again, but she continued on her path.

BOOM

The left arm of ZA-7 was destroyed. At least she had her sword left.

BOOM 

The right arm was destroyed too, leaving the sword behind.

And yet, she did not care. Mark looked fearful at the scene. It looked desperate, but once again, Elisabetta seemed to have a plan in her mind.

After reaching the top, she turned against the view. It was fabolous, and they were also able to see what was happening to Turwan. However, this sight did not last long, Elisabetta layed ZA-7 to the ground and made gravity do its job.

ZA-7 spun down the surface of the mountain, as it crushed all mechas that had been manipulated into following her and climbing the mountain.

This was her victory. She didn't need arms, nor a sword. She only needed what God had left her. As she was spinning, the same mecha's legs who had made it able to walk on the mount were now being destroyed one after another.

Mechas tried to escape, but ZA-7's immense mass made its force even stronger, devastating enemies and leading to success. 

As ZA-7 had reached the foot of the mountain, Elisabetta did not even care about the path of defeat she had left behind, as both her and Mark looked at the disaster that had happened to Turwan. His mecha was cut in half, from head to feet, and a spectacle of enlightened fire was left surrounding the defeated warrior.

Watching this, Elisabetta and Mark quickly prepared a plan.

The weaker mechas of both armies had been destroyed, Only ZA-7 and NMS-1 were left to fight. The main difference between them was their condition: ZA-7 did not have arms!

Recognizing her advantage, the NMS-1 pilot launched towards the opposing mecha. ZA-7 used its strong legs to kick the weak defeated mecha's bodies against the arriving one.

These precise shots made the arrival of NMS-1 slower and slower, ultimately stopping it. Perhaps NMS-1 was forced to walk with caution against its enemy.

Once NMS-1 had finally reached the purple mecha it started striking punches over and over. However, due to ZA-7's loss of arms it had become easier to dodge every fist.

The pilot of NMS-1, watching the scene, became more frustrated than how she already was, and started launching the entire structure of NMS-1 against the purplish mecha.

At this opportunity, ZA-7 escaped further at every attempt made by its enemy. ZA-7 ran around the mountain, standing in front of a mass of different rocks put together. NMS-1 stood in front of ZA-7, leaving it no chance of escaping. 

At that point, the ZA-7's pilot thought of God. The creator must have left something to survive. And that's what the pilot remembered: the mecha still had legs!

NMS-1 launched a last punch against the agile enemy. However, just in time, ZA-7 knelt on the ground rapidly, making NMS-1 hit the rock formation.

Rock started falling onto the two mechas. 

NMS-1's pilot felt great shock, looking at the mass that was falling on her. This immobilized her, resulting in her taking the hits one by one, destroying her robot's torso.

On the other hand, Mark, who had been piloting ZA-7 all along, had planned that to happen all along and wasn't even a little shocked, making him able to escape the flow of rocks mindlessly.

...

It was hot like hell. Flames were as high as the clouds, almost as if they were walls encircling the defeated.

Inside the circle of fire there was Turwan. Loneliness surrounded him and the taste of death became more bitter over time. His body did not work. He could not move anywhere. The only thing that was still working was his mind and mouth.

"So this is what it feels to die?" He murmured to himself quietly.

In this moment of solitude, his only companion was his destroyed mecha, whose cut head was holding Turwan's back.

Most humans wished not to die alone. To have someone by their side in the moment of death. But how many, among them, died alongside someone else? Even the husbands that had numerous wives died in moments of loneliness, with no one to watch them over. Was ever love about not dying alone? Or was it about living together?

Thinking about this, his wife came to his mind. He had seen her die in the battlefields. Even though she was not alone, there was no one that comforted her during those moments. 

But that did not matter. What did matter was that the memories that passed one by one in the dying's mind were happy ones. However, Turwan did not get to experience any of that. He and his wife had been to war since the moment they had engaged, there was no joy in any of that.

What was one thing he could feel proud of? Even if he looked at his success as a soldier, there was nothing more than his greed for merits, and it was the one thing which had led him to such a situation.

Was there a way not to feel the loneliness that was overwhelming him during these last moments? He asked himself that question over and over.

And yet did not find an answer.

He started searching in his memories.

Infancy. Toddler stage. Childhood.

He kept looking around.

Primary school. Middle school. High school.

Where was it?

Graduation. University. Youth.

Was it even existent?

Adulthood. Marriage. Loneliness.

The answer was most probably no. It either didn't exist or wasn't good enough for him to remember. In any case he did not give up. He closed his eyes and started imagining.

"Amanda, it's so nice to have you right beside me even in such a moment." He said.

"I will be with you for centuries, no matter what happens." His own mind responded

"Thank you, Amanda. Could you take my hand now? So that I know you are here with me."

He tried to move his arm but he wasn't able to. At that moment, his hand got touched just as requested.

It didn't feel imaginary.

it felt real.

another hand gripped Turwan's one, and then lifted it.

Turwan, noticing the unreality of the moment, opened his eyes, his vision blurry. A yellow dress, a pair of purple eyes, brown curly hair.

"You are not alone Mr. Turwan, let me hold you. You'll be safe."

"Elisabetta, why...?"

Why have you come to save me?

"Because people can always change." She responded.

She then put him on her shoulder and started walking out of the fire, while, instead, Mark was piloting ZA-777 as near as possibke to them.

Suddenly, Elisabetta's shoulders became wet. Turwan had started crying.

ZA-7 arrived when Elisabetta finally reached it, she used the elevator to go to the core room with Turwan.

When they finally got inside it. Mark saw Turwan. He was the same man who had made fun of him the day before. However, looking at that figure, Mark didn't feel any pride, only compassion.

Elisabetta laid Turwan on her bed and then took control of the mecha and started moving it to the nearest hospital. Turwan fell asleep, thus neither Mark nor Elisabetta did start any conversation, only looking at each other from time to time.

The hospital took Turwan. Elisabetta started piloting the mecha to the military mechanics.

"Mark, you really do have skills, don't you?"

"Uh it was most probably pure luck. I didn't do anything overwhelming, did I?" Mark defended himself.

"Come on, don't always act so humile. Be proud of yourself a bit!"

"You did so much better than me anyway! I would have never had such courage to enter the flames to save someone. You really are the best!" Mark exclaimed.

"Oh." She blushed, "Thanks." It was a lot of time since someone had made her feel so accepted and proud of herself. She recognized that what Mark had said was true, but yet found it sad that Mark didn't feel the same about himself.

"Anyhow, have you thought about what to do with the cut arms of ZA-7? We would build some innovative cannons." Mark said.

"Explain yourself."

"Well, some days ago in the military barracks I saw this." Mark took a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Elisabetta.

Looking at it, she felt shocked. "What is this?!" She promptly asked.

"As you can see, there is this new technology of electricity cannons! If the mecha is able to absorb enough electricity from the space and mechas around it, then it can direct it wherever the pilot wants, possibly causing tremendous damage."

Elisabetta stopped piloting ZA-7 and took the piece of paper in her hands.

"This looks interesting, uh..." Elisabetta murmured. "Do you have any idea of how much it will cost us?"

"Not at all, I guess we might just have to go to the mechanic and find out for ourselves."

"You're right." Elisabetta took control of ZA-7 and started moving towards her destination.