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Chapter Twenty-Five: Wheel of Destiny
Hades soared to the right in order to dodge a volley of chrome rockets. The heavily damaging rockets blazed passed the orange MF just as its arms lifted upwards in a dodging maneuver. “Damn just missed him. You are a quick one aren’t you?” Chris screamed out as the FCS in Tempest continually tried to lock onto Hades. Zach smiled as he turned Hades around with the dual plasma rifle quivering to get a lock onto Tempest as well. The entire match had been highly entertaining, captivating all audiences around the world. Both Chris and Zach appeared to be evenly matched, avoiding each others’ attacks nimbly and without much effort. It seemed that Zach had managed to over come his own nerves, throughout the match he had yet to find himself stuck in a corner struggling to find a way out. Suddenly Zach jerked his throttles to the side as Tempest zoomed by, as the silver MF flew along the side of Hades its left arm began to tilt upwards as an orange shell began to gather velocity for its attack. Zach’s eyes widened at the short barrel that gazed at his MF. “Shit…” Zach mumbled just as the grenade round fired. The massive shell exploded into pieces once it collided with Hade’s core. The eruption of flames and debris caused Hades to lag losing its momentum. Chris created his own opportunity for victory, the green flames that continued to pulse out from the chrome boosters while they turned to a 45 degree angle causing Tempest to circle around heading back towards Hades. His brown eyes quivered in unison with the lock on box that was slowly locking onto Hades’ signal. The chiming sound that began to emanate from the FCS inside Tempest created a smile on Chris’ sweat ridden face. His right thumb quickly pressed on the crimson button located on the top of the throttle. In doing so caused the orbital launcher to abruptly shoot open and unleash 4 orbital spheres. “What the hell are those?!” Zach screamed as he watched the chrome circular pods began to fly circle around Hades. The pods remained quiet, not yet unleashing the fury of their attacks. At the moment they were only a distraction. “Well whatever the hell they are they’re getting in my way!” His voice ruptured through the communications array causing Chris to arch his eyebrows in amusement. The fury of Hades was then unleashed in its entirety, the energy scythe flared on as a searing beam of crimson energy flowed out from the top of the scythe. The boosters ignited furiously and within seconds Hades began to slash away at the spheres. It was like trying to hit a fly with one’s hand, the spheres were too agile and with every swing of the mighty weapon they just swayed to the right or to the left. “Calm down, he’s a smart one; he’ll figure it out….eventually.” Mario replied. “Are you sure?” “Just be patient and watch.” “Adam! Where are you going?” A feminine voice blurted out as Adam and Sharon began to descend the concrete stairs in the dome. Adam sighed hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand. For about 2 days he had been dealing with the possible clone of Amy Caecus. He had his own assumptions and theory onto the purpose of her existence if she was in fact a clone but none of them were fully completed, just a bundle of fragments thrown together. Sharon chuckled catching her breath as she glanced at Adam’s appalled face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” “It’s just funny that’s all. I mean this person has been attached to you for the past 2 days and you are constantly trying to just avoid her. Why is that? I thought she was your friend?” “Ugh…it’s complicated. I don’t know what she is to be honest. There is no way that Amy could have survived that explosion....” “I see….but she looks exactly like she does in the pictures you have of her at your apartment.” “Yeah…exactly like that. And that’s a problem too, she still looks like she’s stuck at 16, there hasn’t been one sign of aging. I firmly do believe that she’s a clone.” Adam replied. In the background of their conversation the battle for Group ‘A’ champion was still raging on with no sign of a conclusion soon. “If she’s a clone….actually, does it matter what she is? I mean she’s still a representation of Amy….of a person you lost. I was honestly expecting you to be all over her not letting her out of your sight.” “Thanks, I guess it’s good to know there’s some form of trust in our relationship.” Adam replied mockingly. “No…I didn’t mean it like that. I mean after all that you’ve been through, I just figured that you would have wanted to spend time with her…that’s all.” “Yeah….to be honest there have been some instances when I’ve felt that way. But the fact is that she isn’t human. She is no more than an artificial creation lacking a soul built in with chemical responses that act like memories and emotions. And….and she’s a representation of my failures…my sins. People don’t want to be constantly reminded of their own sins.” Adam replied. “You ok? Did I scare you?” Chris replied sarcastically. “Shut up!” Zach yelled back as the energy scythe swung at Tempest but narrowly missed when Tempest boosted backwards. While the silver MF moved away Chris began to fire both of his armed weapons. 3 hardened rockets along with 2 grenade rounds sped towards Hades. Zach cringed and moved Hades to the right avoiding the barrage of rockets but was clipped by one of the grenade rounds. The collision threw Hades off course and into a cross hair of energy beams created by the orbital spheres. Hades’ armor began to burn up intensely due to the constant hitting beams. Zach remained calm; the massive rail cannon resting on Hades back had been collecting dust from its inactivity until now. The elongated obsidian cannon extended outwards facing the swarm of orbital spheres. “Heh, if I can’t hit one of you….then I’ll just engulf you with a single blast!” Zach screamed firing the cannon. Instantly a think smooth beam of energy burst out from the cannon, the recoil alone sent Hades spiraling into a free fall. The velocity of the beam was too high for the spheres to handle and within seconds the chrome orbs burst into flames becoming nothing more than singed pieces of debris floating lifelessly in space. “That was impressive. Well then, shall we finish this?” Chris asked rhetorically as Tempest headed for Hades once again. As Chris approached Zach his eyes widened, Hades during its flipping motions through the energy scythe into space. Due to the momentum gained through the free fall the scythe was incredibly fast and in the blink of an eye pierced through the left leg of Tempest at an angle and protruded out of the right side of the torso just under the arm joint. Chris then cut off the energy to the boosters and flipped up the keyboard for the control panel. He sighed as his eyes stared at the LCD screen listing the damage that had been done. “Great….generator capacity is now down to 10% , the radiator has been completely severed from the rest of the internal part systems…at this rate I wont be able to do much of anything…lucky kid.’ Chris mumbled. Zach once regaining the stability in Hades ferociously roared towards Tempest firing the dual plasma rifle. 2 thick rounds of energy burst onto Tempest’s core knocking the silver MF backwards. Chris just remained in his cockpit holding onto the throttles counting down until his MF’s shut down. He knew it was going to happen, the previous two blasts caused Tempest to over heat and with no radiator it would just drain the remaining energy in the reserves to keep the MF moving. “Damn…8%, 6%....4%....2%....and we’re off…” Chris mumbled reluctantly as the glowing light on the head unit faded into darkness. The gears around the joints slowly began to stop turning and then there was nothing. By the time Hades arrived at Tempest’s location his opponent was out of the fight. “What? What just happened?” Zach questioned confused. “You got lucky that’s what happened. Your weapon managed to pierce through my internal power sources. I’m in a dead boat now….you won.” Chris mentioned while biting his own tongue. “I won….I won?...” Zach couldn’t believe it. This victory declared him the Group ‘A’ champion and he would go on to face the Group ‘B’ champion in the quarter finals. “YES!” Reine blurted out as he jumped up from his seat. Mario just smiled while Michelle’s head tilted onto his shoulder. “Told you….heh (looks like I’m going to have to face that runt in the quarter finals…that is if I advance…ha, who am I kidding. Of course I’ll advance.)” Mario’s thought processes were hindered because his match was next. The match to determine the Group ‘B’ champion and the opponent that would face Zach. The tournament was indeed drawing to its end, 128 pilots dwindled down to less than 16. “You know anything about your next opponent?” Reine questioned as he looked back towards Mario who was simply grinning. “Yeah, his name is Nex. I heard he was an up and coming pilot in the Trinity Alliance. Don’t know much else about him though.” “Huh? You haven’t been paying attention to his matches?” “Nope, didn’t find a need to.” Mario replied after he flung his arm around Michelle’s shoulder. “And you’re not the least bit concerned?” “Nope, you’re still young Reine. You have a lot to learn.” Mario smirked. Michelle’s silky right hand began to rub up and down his shoulder blade as the couple quietly left the dome leaving Reine confused staring at the now blank LCD screen. His dark blue hair slowly moving across his face distorting his visions ever few seconds. “Huh? What is it?” Adam then turned around and at that moment Amy’s arms flung themselves around his shoulders firmly wrapping around his neck. Her thighs tightly wrapped around his torso as she was lifted off the ground leaving Adam to carry her weight. Adam’s wide eyes looked over towards Sharon who nearly fell to the ground in laughter. “A…Amy….” Adam mumbled. “Why have you been avoiding me? I thought you would have been happy to see me….” Amy became quiet; she had just taken notice of Sharon to her side. “Is it because of her?” “It’s….I mean….you’re not…” “You still don’t believe that I’m the real one?” Her voice became somber, her feelings were hurt and she made sure that everyone was aware of it. Her feet unwrapped from Adam’s back and touched the hard tiled floor. As the weight lifted off his shoulders he just stared into her eyes. He sighed having to look away, unable to look at her for very long without the memories of his past rushing through his mind. The pain was severe; he hated thinking about when he let her down, he forced the tears from pouring out of his eyes however Amy couldn’t. Her mahogany hair violently flapped around grazing across the side of his left cheek as she abruptly ran towards the exit. Another sigh left from his mouth, he turned looking back at Sharon, his eyes watery and his lips slightly angled downward. Sharon smiled grabbing onto his right arm and rested her head onto his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I don’t know what to do…” Adam mumbled as they took a few steps towards the door while the rest of the spectators remained seated for the upcoming match. “I wish I could give you a simple answer, one that would solve all your problems but I can’t…All I can do is be here for you and support your decision, whatever that may be.” “Thanks Sharon…” Mario smiled as Michelle kissed him on the cheek just before he locked his helmet into place. “Good luck…” It was cliché to say but he didn’t mind. Michelle cared about him and that fact alone gave her permission to say whatever her heart desired. As he body floated eloquently away from Anima’s ivory cockpit Mario’s fingers pulled the visor down as he flipped on the ignition for his MF. His computer screen displayed a read out of statistical analysis for his opponent Nex, and his MF Nova. It was a light weight bipedal machine that was equipped with an assault rifle and an energy shield that hid an elongated metallic dagger just under the energy generator. In between a multiple missile launcher and a thin light weight laser cannon was a weapon that Nex became infatuated with, a metallic sword with a thin beam of energy that surrounded the edge of the blade. Mario shut off the display screen, he brushed off the analytical data, he knew as well as anyone that numbers are merely numbers and do not take into count the variables of battle. “This should make for an interesting match.” Mario mumbled under his breath. His eyes lit up once he was clear for launch. The sensation that fueled his adrenaline before battle was irreplaceable. His hands clutched around the throttle while his feet gently applied pressured to the accelerators causing the boosters to slowly ignite with a rage of blaring golden energy. Anima roared out of the hanger soaring into the crisp serene environment of the abyss. Nex had already launched and was currently floating just outside the hanger anxiously waiting for his opponent. “Mario Liberalis it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this moment!” Nex shouted. “Heh, so you’ve heard of me. Then you know that you have no chance of advancing any farther in this tournament.” Mario replied. “I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve been studying your matches, and it’s sad to say but you’re predictable.” Nex replied smirking. “I’m predictable huh? Hehe, we’ll see once the match is underway.” Mario replied. “Indeed we will….” Nex’s green eyes faltered, he glanced to the side of his cockpit staring at the digital clock. It would soon be time to start the match and he was already uneasy. His confidence was a façade; in truth he was terrified of facing off against Mario. In the past Nex found boasting confidence to be soothing to his already heightened nerves. Ready? GO! Now was the time where he knew he had to overcome his own fears. Although he wasn’t completely sure how he was going to do this but he knew he had little time. Nova rocked in space as both of its metallic arms were clutched. Both of Anima’s whips tightly wrapped around the armor platting on Nova’s right and left arm. “Too slow kid.” Mario mumbled while he forced Anima to speed towards Nova’s defenseless position. Nex’s pupils thinned as he watched Anima continue to approach at sound piercing speeds. They weren’t any more than a minute into the match and his face was already soaked with perspiration. His head began to look around frantically trying to come up with a quick solution to prevent from being knocked out of the tournament early. As Mario continued his ascent Anime began to fire it laser rifle. The crimson beams pounded onto Nova’s torso causing the green and turquoise MF to dance violently still bound in position by the whips. Without thinking Nex engaged the energy shield, sparks of electricity began to pounce around the whip. A booming crackling sound began to echo forth as the light green energy shield abruptly ignited tearing through the coils wrapped around the left arm. Suddenly Nova was able to move more freely than before, the left hand reached towards the back of the torso grabbing onto the elongated weapon known as Excalibur. The Excalibur sword swung down towards the right arm slicing through the remaining whip. Once Nova was completely free Nex pressed down hard onto the accelerator and began to joust towards Anime. “That was pretty good kid….but still not enough.” Mario replied. Anima jerked to the left allowing Nova to speed by completely missing its opportunity to strike. Mario wasted little time to turn his MF around. Nex did the same and both combatants collided with their weapons. The Excalibur blade sliced through the energy saber causing it to explode into pieces. The force of the explosion knocked both Anime and Nova in opposite directions. “Heh….is that it? I won’t be beaten so easily!” Nex managed to screamed. Mario sighed and reclined back into his chair. Just as Nova began to sprint forward each limb abruptly spurted outwards; leaving Nova with only a functional core. “Well looks like Mario advanced as well.” Stephen mumbled. “Looks like….” Ashley replied, her voice fading while she stirred her spaghetti constantly. Stephen glanced towards Ashley finally looking away from the television screen, looking down at his plate which was filled with chicken parmesan and spaghetti. When it first arrived it was steaming with mist like lines floating off the top, but now it was merely left at room temperature. Stephen sighed while Ashley began to laugh. “What’s so funny?” She glanced back at him, her eyebrows arched while she gave an overall sinister expression. “Nothing….just that you had been glued to the television screen since Zach’s match and didn’t even realize that your food had arrived, I just find that amusing.” “Ugh….oh well.” Ashley took a small bite out of her Italian cuisine; she then looked back towards Stephen who was staring at his food with a brooding expression. “What’s the matter?” “Huh?...oh its nothing.” Stephen replied. “Please I’m not as ignorant as Adam. Seriously what’s going on?” “…it’s this whole tournament. Genesis is doing something, they’re always doing something that the world isn’t aware of and now that Revelations, mainly Vincent Avidus has taken control of the TA I’m even more concerned about the war….” “I see, you just want to leave Prosperity and go back to the war. You believe that something terrible is going to happen huh?” “Yeah….something like that. Vincent Avidus is a greed-ridden self-absorbed person who will stop at nothing in order to gain what he aspires for. I honestly believe that with him at the head that the TA will do something unforgivable…” “Unforgivable? Like what?” “Like launch a nuclear attack….”Stephen mumbled. Thinking the though of a nuclear strike was gut wrenching but to say it was something terrible of its own. “A nuclear strike….do you honestly believe that he’ll go that far?” “I do…and that’s not all….this Rebel…” “Ugh not you too. Adam’s already obsessing over this guy.” “I know, but I believe there’s good reason to. He’s too good to not have any MF piloting background. I think Genesis is hiding something about this guy.” “Like what Stephen?” “I’m not sure yet….but if that wasn’t enough there’s also this Amy…” “Amy Caecus? Yeah I was going to ask, I thought she died 2 years ago.” “She did…” “Then how is it possible that she’s here? On Prosperity?” “Genesis has been creating artificial humans; we believe she is one of them. But why would Genesis clone her is beyond me.” “Ok, let me get this straight. You think this Amy is a clone…and that Genesis is really an evil that this world is unaware of.” “Heh, yeah, that’s basically it.” “Oh well if that’s it then I feel much better. For a second I thought you were going to say that Genesis was going to bring about the end of the world.” “They very well might Ashley….they just might do that.”
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