Godzilla E-war: The Return

[C S]

Jackson's view flashed red at the dual threat, and his mind, boosted by the surge of adrenaline that coursed through his veins and strangely, the unit itself, moved in to counter almost immediately. The blasters on one hand retracted as that very same hand reached around for the incoming blade, grabbing onto its handle and then moving it to intercept the one bearing down on his shoulder, the blades colliding with a brilliant radiance. The Enterprise deflected the knife and slashed its chord thereafter in one fluid motion..

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

Shortly after the cable was cut, the remaining blade was retracted with incredible force. Still in the Enterprise's grasp, the resulting jolt pulled the unit over. The Concord was already enroute at this point and the two actions combined closed the distance between the two units with increasing haste. To add insult to injury, Talon sent a surge of electricity through the cord of the remaining blade, channeling the energy directly into the Enterprise.

[C S]

Jackson bared his teeth, his body paralyzed by the current. "Let go, damn it!" he screamed mentally but to no avail. It was only after the surge had passed through the unit did he regain his synchronization with the Enterprise and by then, the Concord was practically on top of him.

"I sure hope this works!" he yelled out as he relinquished the blade and slammed his palm against the ground, MT field materializing violently.

The asphalt cracked and spread out to the sidewalk and surrounding buildings, windows smashing in a chorus of destruction as the Enterprise used it energy barrier to push itself off the ground while bending its legs and swinging its lower body around, preparing for a sweeping kick...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

The Concord's legs slammed against the asphalt a few moments before impact, creating twin paths of destruction until it left the ground completely. While airborne, the unit simultaneously pulled the discarded blade back into its grip and unloaded a flurry of maser fire from its wrists onto its enemy below, the Concord's head pointed downward in an insanely acrobatic flip.

[C S]

"Sick moves!" Jackson thought, already adapting to the change in combat dynamic. He slammed the Enterprise's heel into the torn road as he bent himself backwards, anchoring the unit's hands into the ground. The result was the Enterprise doing an impromptu handstand at high speed, the unit swinging its legs out to catch the Concord with a vicious inverted kick to the face!

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

A split second before the limb impacted with the Concord's head, the unit seized its enemy's foot in its free hand and lashed out with its remaining blade, cutting into the Enterprise's ankle with a brilliant clash of metal.

"Don't make me take that foot, Jackson!"

[C S]

Jackson yelped in pain. "For ****'s sake, that smarts!"

He resisted the urge to reach for his own ankle, reminding himself it was just the synch that made him feel the pain, that he wasn't actually impaled by a blade. But he'd be damned if it didn't feel like it! With a bit of spiteful malice, he growled, "Don't make me take that arm, Talon!"

Disregarding the danger, he raised a hand up so that the Enterprise was balancing on the one that was firmly on the ground, the road breaking apart even further underneath as the pressure increased many times fold. Without even knowing it would work, he started to materialize a special MT field; one that did not deflect damage or knocked things away, but instead sliced into a target...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"I won't go easy on you, brother," Talon declared, his voice coming not from the display screen, but from the unit itself on the simulated battlefield. "I can't. If we have any chance of saving this world, I can't!"

With an inhuman growl, the Concord shuddered, sending a torrent of electricity down the length of its body and into the blade. In the moment that followed, the Enterprise was stricken with the paralytic grip of the energy, which made no sign of stopping anytime soon.

[C S]

Interspersed with his cries of agony, Jackson snarled "When... the hell did... I ask you to!?" The glowing points on his body started to shine more intensely as he felt the electricity running through the Enterprise, the anguish of it all not dampened in the least. At this rate, both units would be toppling over in just a few moments.

"C'mon, live up to your name Enterprise!" he implored. His arm was in position, all it took was just a few more fractions of a second...-!

A sound vaguely similar to metal screeching against metal became audible, an ear-rending noise that came about with a flash of light. An MT plane of cyan had extended through the Concord's arm; rather than looking like a hexagon, it looked more like a geometric, double edged sword, with defined edges and angles at regular intervals, prismatic energy running across it. On either side of the incision, the red mech's armor glowed bright...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

As the translucent weapon cut through the Concord's limb, Talon issued one final command to it: fire the blade. Moments before the arm could no longer receive orders from its host, it launched the blade with an explosive discharge of air. The force of the release pushed the blade through what remained of the Enterprise's foot, severing it at the ankle.

In one fell swoop, the two units had maimed each other. And it was a feeling Talon could scarcely describe.

Unable to convince himself that it was not his limb, the man cried out in horror and grabbed at his forearm with his remaining hand. Despite the completely intact arm before his eyes, and despite his prior knowledge to such a reaction, the pain was excruciating. The Concord, mirroring its pilot's actions, hit the ground in a crouch, stumbling backward while grasping at what remained of its forearm. Bright red blood had sprayed out violently from the wound, and continued to drip down to the ruined asphalt beneath the unit's feet.

[C S]

The Enterprise fell flat on its front, the side of its head resting on the ground. Likewise, blood spurted out of the severed joint, running along the cracks and breaks the two mechs created over the span of the battle like canals of red. Jackson groaned, feeling the effects of shock while being perfectly aware that he was, in fact, quite lucid. It was a jarring effect of the synchronization. So precise was the connection that he didn't feel one of his feet, despite knowing it was right there. If he were to look down, he would see it on himself.

"That was a bad idea."

He looked up, seeing where the unit's foot had landed and winced. The knife had cut it clean off, but it was still a grisly sight to behold. With the capability of the mechs, it was very easy to forget they were cybernetic in nature. Injuries like these were harsh reminders. Severed tendons, bone and blood vessels were in full few.

"Terrible idea."

Jackson reached out with a hand that trembled slightly. He was picking up the dismembered foot of the god damned Enterprise! His fingers wrapped around it gingerly and he rolled onto his back, tucking in the injured leg into his chest and holding the foot at the joint. Meanwhile, he dug into the nearby buildings with his free hand, dredging out support beams and other metallic fragments to feed the repair process. Many of them fell as a result...

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

Twin bolts of plasma sailed into the debris the Enterprise was holding, reducing it to slag, while also narrowly missing the unit's body itself.

"Ah...ah...aaahh..."

The Concord was at full height again, its remaining arm outstretched with the wrist mount primed and ready to fire. Blood continued to seep out of the cyborg's arm, but it seemed to ignore it at this point.

"I think this means I win," Talon stated with a weak laugh. "Concord can operate at 75% efficiency after the loss of one of its arms...and you can't even stand."

[C S]

"Funny thing, that," Jackson replied, chuckling weakly afterwards. He raised his arms in surrender then put them behind his head. He cautiously lowered his crippled leg, the foot hanging on by a figurative thread to the ankle joint. "Credit where credit is due, Talon. That was some serious ****."

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"Yeah, it was one hell of a ride," Talon replied with a cough, the Concord lowering its weapon shortly after. "This synchronization **** is intense. It felt like my arm really did come off," he explained, flexing the limb tentatively. Although it moved, it still felt as though everything from his forearm down was completely gone.

Talon paused.

"Maybe I should..." he trailed off, thinking. After a moment, he shook his head. "Nevermind."

[C S]

"Pick up your arm?" Jackson sat up and leaned forward, grasping at the dismembered limb sprawled out across the street, partially embedded in the dilapidated wall of a building. After a few attempts, the Concord's arm was firmly in one of the Enterprise's hands. After waving it around for a short moment to lighten the mood, he went on to say: "But in all seriousness, do what? Try to disable the synch business?"

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"No no, that's all well and easy," Talon replied, examining his destroyed limb with some distaste. "Remember, we might not get chopped up like the units will, but you know how potent this **** is. If you literally lose your head while highly synced to this thing, you will literally die. Your body can't handle that level of shock."

The Concord walked over and snatched the its dismembered limb from the Enterprise with its remaining hand.

"So if you think you're at risk of losing your head in a battle, turn that **** way down so you don't keel over," he explained, pointing the severed limb dramatically at the Enterprise. While lowering the sync ratio lessened the effects of damage on the pilot, it also meant that the unit itself would respond sluggishly. If the sync ratio fell too far, the unit might not respond at all.

He paused again.

"What I was talking about was something I pieced together while looking for documentation on these things. It doesn't make any sense give their design, and I would know, since I read their damn blueprints..."

[C S]

"A lot of things about these units don't make any sense. Not to us, at least. They were meant to battle monsters, so the lab guys build cyborgs out of those very same monsters? Then have humans link up with them as pilots?" Jackson replied. "And that's not even getting to the whole business with the Mana Threshold..."

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"Yeah, they're a mystery bunch. Intuitive Generations has been gone for how long now, and I still can't find everything I need to know about these things," Talon replied with a shake of his head. "Keeping secrets from beyond the grave. What a joke," he continued with noticeable venom in his tone. "But I'm not talking about where they came from, or whatever the blue hell the S2 engines are, I'm talking about fundamental, structural and energy-based specifics. How they tick, son. That's my specialty, and this **** I found doesn't make any sense."

[C S]

"How so?" Jackson asked, sitting with his arms resting on his knees inside the cockpit. Needless to say, having a giant humanoid machine sitting in the same position with differing proportions to deal with was a strange sight indeed. Stranger still, considering the swath of destruction surrounding the Enterprise, clouds of dust and smoke still rising high into the simulated sky.

[Turbo Tyrannophonic]

"It's not important," Talon replied simply, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything. "Even if it did work, its some gnarly ****. I'm not sure the Concord would be able to function in its current state."