A/N: DON'T START MUSIC UNTIL SIGNAL, IT ADDS TO CINEMATIC EFFECT
The war is nearly over. And somehow, with the little power that was left in our own military combined with mine and Orion's, we're proving to be the dominant force. None of us wanted to, but we had to kill to reach where we are now. Enemies...who were once our brothers. This day marks the final strike against the man that started it all, Zeke. He will fall one way or another on this very day. All armaments were ready to fire at any second. I had to stand my ground. I had to commence the attack...I had to find Zeke. Here, the army stands, ready to charge on my signal. Orion awaiting the order. I knew what doing this would mean, I knew what I would have to do and I full well knew the consequences. With a deep breath and a heavy heart, I did a swift hand motion, signaling our attack had started. The war cries and shockwaves created by Orion made me a bit disoriented. Eventually, I ran into battle as well, wearing my Praetor Armor. Using the weaponry at hand, I, along with an army at my side, sliced through the first wave of enemy charges. The air around me seemed to be thickening with smoke and fear. Friendly artillery strikes rain down on enemy turret nests and squadrons, giving us even more of an edge in this fight. Finally after fighting through waves of men I did not want to kill, we saw the central command of Zeke's army, The Unforgiven.
-"Captain Logan, all incendiary shells are ready to go, we'll set the place ablaze once you disable the flak defenses." The sergeant of the gunner squadron said to me over radio.
-"Got it sergeant. Hey...any word on IF and Compa?" I asked.
-"Nothing yet sir. I'll let you know if anything comes up."
This was too dangerous for them, I knew that a direct attack on the enemy would lead to catastrophic losses on both sides. I made them stay behind, knowing full well that they hated the idea of me going alone. They say I could get injured. Heh, isn't that what war's all about?
-"Thanks...let me know right away, got it?"
-"Of course, by the way, remember to haul ass and get out of there before the shells hit, as soon as the flak goes down, you got 60 seconds to get out of there."
-"Right...right."
Just then, one of the men from my squad approached.
-"Well, you ready sir?" he asked.
-"Of course, now, let's end this." I said as my wings materialized.
Orion behind me, soldiers to my sides and sword in hand, we infiltrated the base through a more discreet entrance, the service tunnels. Orion obviously couldn't fit so I sent him to help the others. We crawled and sneaked our way through the shadows of the facility. From the grates of the tunnels, I could see that this place was armed to the teeth. They were ready for this. Eventually another alarm sounded once we reached the defense control room. Hostiles would arrive any second now.
-"Get to work, and fast!" I ordered.
After holding off the relentless hordes of enemy soldiers, our operators yelled in frustration.
-"Dammit! Sir, they put the system on lockdown, the only way we're shutting this down is by destroying the controls." he said.
-"Well there goes my plan to actually use the flak. Alright, plant charges, this room won't exist in a few minutes." I said.
The charges were eventually set up and we detonated them once outside the room.
-"Sergeant, the flak is offline, burn it!" I said into my radio.
-"Sir, we're reading unusual power fluctuations inside the reactor core, something's happening!" the sergeant yelled in warning.
Right as he finished that transmission, the ground started shaking, sending a few to the floor.
-"Brace!" I yelled hanging onto a nearby pole.
Once the rumbling stopped, the men and I called for an evac ship. We still didn't know what was going on but we just needed to get out of here. We made our way for the closest escape hatch and stepped outside. I immediately felt a strong wind blowing against my face. We were in the sky, this was a warship...smart, Zeke. Very smart.
It doesn't matter, the shells would burn this place down anyway. We went over to an edge which dropped off to a lower deck. Luckily the transport was here. With the defenses offline, the ship had an easy time getting close enough for us to board. The hatch opened and I made the squad get on first.
-"Sergeant, fire at will, burn it down!" I said into my radio.
I was about to board myself until I felt something ramming against my side, sending me over the edge. The men called out my name as I fell through the sky. Someone really wanted me to themselves. I would've obliged if they had just asked for a duel. We crashed down on a lower deck over the dropship bay, meaning that below us was miles of empty sky. My suit saved me from being crushed and my assailant went a few feet away from me. We both stood up slowly and looked at each other.
A/N: Start now
I saw this person also wearing a suit with what seemed like similar purpose to mine. We both knew that whoever it was could not stand a chance against my Praetor Armor. After a while of a tense atmosphere growing, I recognized who this was and was about to speak until he did first.
-"I gotta try." I heard him say in a voice I recognized instantly.
There was a brief pause before I spoke as well.
-"...I know you do."
The air seemed to grow stale as our movements were limited to our eyes. Until finally, he lashed out. I quickly raised my sword to block the attack and counter with a few small consecutive slashes. He also managed to get some hits in as well, hits that wouldn't simply buff out. More and more clashes filled the air with sounds of scraping. I wound up for a heavy attack and him likewise. Our swords clashed with a fury of sparks and flashes. Our swords pressed against each other. But something happened that made me genuinely concerned. He was winning this hold. Eventually, my hold failed and he forced my sword down and kicked it out of my hands forcefully. He then tackled me to the ground and started punching me in the face over and over, denting the faceplate of the Praetor Armor.
-"HA! You're as soft as those two girls you fight for!" He said.
They are far from weak. I was enraged. I eventually knocked his hand aside, grabbed his chest plate and forced my head into his helmet, sending him off of me and tearing off his chest armor.
-"On the contrary, those two are the source of my strength!" I yelled.
We both stood up only to be knocked down again by several explosions going off. It was the artillery shells! They were tearing this thing open. Good, if taking down Zeke's army means giving my own life, I'll distract Zeke as long as I can! Once we both regained our balance and weapons, we started the clashing once more. Multiple chances for a kill on both sides, blood not yet shed for either party and the ship rapidly deteriorating. Time was running out for us.
-"Not bad for an old pilot, perhaps you should've spent more time in the arena!"
-"And perhaps you should've spent more time in a cockpit!"
After many uses of certain special abilities associated with our swords, they seemed to have no effect on either of us. Once again, another stalemate occurred. Not intentional this time however. It seems as though he used all of his strength in his last attempt for I was winning this push. I finally managed to push his sword to the side and follow up with a strong punch. I swung my sword around rapidly with my other hand but he still managed to deflect it despite being stunned. He grabbed the hilt of my sword and rolled around my back, disarming me again. I turned back to him to be met with my own sword embedding itself into my abdomen. He stood triumphantly, still holding the handle of my sword. NO! I refuse to die yet! I quickly grabbed his shoulders and thrusted him into my rising knee several times before punching him so hard he flew a few meters across the platform. I was gonna regret this. I grabbed the sword embedded in me and pulled with all my strength. Everything in my body was screaming at me to stop. Once it was fully removed I was left with a sword in my hand, a hole in my torso...and a still standing Zeke. I had to keep fighting.
-"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" he yelled.
-"It'll take much more than you've got Zeke!" I said, readying for another round.
The pain within me was making me weaker. Just as we both regained our footing, the platform shook again, sending both of us to the ground. The fire was causing several systems to explode, this was perfect!
-"You call yourself a hero! You were an amateur when I found you! You will be DUST when I'm through with you!!" Zeke yelled.
-"You gonna talk-or fight, Zeke!" I said.
He seemed to get furious with that question. I was ready to finish this. His chest was still exposed, I tried to target that the best I could. But with my strength fading and my grip on my sword loosening, it made it all the more difficult. The ships systems sent out an emergency alert.
-"WARNING ENGINE INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. ABANDON SHIP" The ship said.
-"I won't die before you! If this ship is to go down, I'll bring you to the grave with me! And we'll continue this eternal battle in hell!" Zeke yelled.
-"The day that happens is the day I let you choose my future!" I said, knowing that I would never let that occur.
We kept going at it, nothing would hold us down now! I took the opportunity to take a quick glance below us, we were still in the air, just kinda...falling as all. I suddenly heard the voice that was an instant breath of fresh air.
-"V.I.P. IN JEOPARDY, ENGAGING TACTICAL ASSIST." Orion's voice rumbled through the floor.
-"What?!" Zeke yelled as Orion flew into view behind me and grabbed onto the underside of the ship, making it fall slightly faster.
Orion's side turrets deployed and started firing at Zeke. He was pretty good at dodging however and took cover behind a nearby piece of debris. I got closer to Orion and his medical drones started healing my open wound along with the suit. Once they were finished, I turned back to Zeke and saw him pointing a laser at Orion. He was targeting him!
-"Orion! Move!" I yelled.
But it was too late, missile strikes from passing jets hit him dead on, sending him out into the open air off the side of the already falling ship.
-"I will destroy everything you care about Logan! Just as you did at the Polar base all those years ago!" Zeke said in rage.
-"What are you talking about?!" I yelled.
-"At the base all that time ago-You destroyed it Logan! You were powerful from the start! Freezing you only caused that power to erupt from your body and completely obliterate both the base and the incoming Leanbox warships! Everything was caused by you Logan! Everything I ever cared about was gone in an instant, all thanks to the mistake of a single man, you.
I refused to accept it. I refused to accept that the sole reason for my trauma and my visions and hallucinations were caused by my own hand. It was a fate I never imagined living, even in my darkest dreams.
-"Don't you understand Logan?! You are the cause, I am the solution! I will end this once and for all so that no other living being has to suffer the way I did on that very day!" he said, slowly walking towards me.
I didn't have the energy to move until I saw his arms raise out of the corner of my eye.
-"Goodbye. Reaper." he said, swinging down swiftly.
There was a fast movement, then a scraping sound, then silence. I looked back up and met Zeke's eyes with my own, filled with steely determination. His own were suddenly filled with fear, fear I had never before seen in him. For the first time ever, he was fearful for his life.
-"I did nothing wrong. I was put within the tube against my own will. I was moved without any desire to be saved in the first place. Ever since the day I made the decision to check out the lone ship with my new squadron, I had learned lessons. I still do to this day. Without mistakes, there can be no progress. Without strength, there can be no evolution. And above all, without friends, there can be no support, not even from those that you create yourself." I said with a stone cold tone.
The alert said that we were 250 meters from crashing into the ground. The final expression I got out of Zeke before the impact...was fear.
Compa P.O.V.
Iffy had to hurry! She was the one driving the motorcycle! I looked up and saw the absolutely enormous ship falling fast. IF came to a sudden stop at the edge of the cliff side. I got off and ran closer to the edge.
-"Wait, Compa!" Iffy called.
I stopped at the drop off, Iffy ran up next to me to watch the scene in front of us. The crash was followed by a very large explosion which sent out a powerful shockwave which knocked Iffy and I off balance and to the ground. After the shockwave wore off, the dust continued to fall and we both regained our footing. I heard a very sharp call that I had come to think was cute. Scratch! I turned and saw Scratch fly overhead and stop to face us. It stared at us while flying in place for a while. I knew what he was trying to tell us.
-"Iffy, follow him! Follow him!" I said, hopping on the back seat of the bike.
Iffy responded with a nod, she knew also. We went down around the cliff side and followed Scratch who was flying not too high overhead, leading us closer towards the ship.
Logan P.O.V.
I couldn't feel anything. I don't know how long I was out but the Praetor Armor woke me with its dozens of mini alarms. My vision was very blurry, but I managed to make out Zeke's body...impaled with my own sword in his head. I'm sorry buddy. I only had the remaining energy to raise my weak head up to light seeping through a big hole in the top of the destroyed hull. I saw a very recognizable shadow fly through along with a truly distinct call.