Chapter Fourteen:  Dawning of a new era

           
“Why are we still here Jessica? Why must I put up with these hopeless fools?” The cold monotone voice of Appolus disrupted the serenity of the crimson sunset.
Jessica’s hair flapped through the wind, her light blonde hair sparkling from the closing rays of the sun in the distance. She had grown accustomed to her partner’s lackluster comments and one sided attitude. There was always parts of her that believed that Appolus was once different, once a more enjoyable person to be around before she found him in Berlin a year ago. Even though her father had told her to leave the MF be, something drew her to the strange machine and ultimately to him.
“Because they fully repaired Stricken and refueled our ship. The least we could do is be somewhat grateful to them.”
“*hmpf* Whatever.” Appolus replied, his arms folded rapidly across his chest just as he turned his cheek.
“You’re always so simple minded aren’t you? You just want to get….come to think of it, I’m not even sure if I know what it is that you want. Do you even know what it is you’re chasing after?”
“It doesn’t concern you.” A few pebbles slid off the boulder on which Appolus sat tumbling to the fertile sand beneath his feet. Jessica glanced over watching as Appolus began to walk away.
“*sigh*, when will you let me in?”

Michael, for the first time in the week that he had been with Red Fury was able to spend some time with his girls. It was hard for him to continue living with a complacent expression, especially when he knew his wife was alive, and being held in an EAP station. Not many people hold the ability to suppress their anxiety but Michael had been mature in many different aspects for nearly his entire life. Seeing the angelic faces of his daughters running around, playing in the crimson sand that was Mars alongside other children from Red Fury parents could only be an aiding factor in his current psychological struggle. In the presence of Jenny and Cathy Michael was able to smile with little effort on his part, in his daughters lived apart of his wife, they were like a symbol representing the bond between him and Gina and how no matter how far apart they would always be close.
A slight tapping at his quarters’ door awoke him from his daze into solitude.
“Huh? You may enter.”
The fiery red head known as Cassandra casually walked through his door instantly sparking a fire in Michael’s daughters. Before Cassandra could even whisper a “hello” she was tackled by the two energetic eight year olds. Oddly enough she managed to keep her footing and not collapse to the ground. Michael began to chuckle slightly, it was weird for him, that no matter how tense the situation when he was surrounded by family, blood or not he was able to laugh.
“Hey girls, why don’t you go to your rooms so I can have a chat with your Aunt Cassandra ok?”
“Ok daddy.” With a final hug the two wingless angels ran towards their room. Cassandra smiled briefly, once the two girls disappeared from sight her expression shifted.
“What’s wrong?”
“That object that Red Fury has detected, well they were able to get a visual.”
“Oh, well that’s good news isn’t it? I mean at least we’ll know what we’re up against.”
“If only it were that simple.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Here, take a look for yourself.” Cassandra said as she handed Michael a manila folder.
Michael glanced oddly at Cassandra, his eyes trying to pierce deep within her subconscious as to find any hints onto what was really going on. With no conclusions to be drawn he began to flip through the photographs inside the folder. With each turn of a page his eyes grew wider in size, until finally they began to         quiver like a tremor, his hands grew numb causing the dozens of photos to gracefully fall to the carpet.
“What is this? How many objects are in the space region just orbiting Mars?”
“Just one Michael.”
“One? But why do I see two different machines, a space cruiser which resembles that of the Iron Fist?”
“Well for one, those two machines are one in the same.”       
“What? You don’t mean…”
“We believe it’s a transformable MF. A prototype. That girl, Freya she is from the EAP. She mentioned that she heard rumors a long time ago before she left about a machine that would have the uncanny ability to change shapes. Therefore making it nearly impossible to track, we think this might be the MF that was rumored.”    
“Ok, so let’s say that it is an EAP prototype. That still doesn’t explain why it’s nearing Mar’s orbit, and why the Iron Fist is chasing it.”
“I don’t know Michael. But from the top of my head, I’d have to say that this prototype engaged with the TA and Vice Admiral Schuler sent out his lapdogs to get it.” Cassandra replied.
“Marcus Falden…” Michael muttered.

I don’t see why they ever made a piece of ***** soldier like you a colonel. Come on, tell me how you did it. Did you get so many of your men killed they had to move you up to a position where you couldn’t do as much damage? Speak up you bastard, share the knowledge. How many of your men got killed? A dozen? Two? More? Come on, how many people died so you could get a nice cushy desk job with a nice piece of ***** to watch your kids for you?” Marcus’ smirk grew malicious, “Or is the ***** even more than that? I want details man!”

Michael cringed at the thought of running into Marcus Falden again. It wasn’t due to fear unlike most soldiers on the other end of Falden’s sword. He truly felt pity for Marcus and the events that he had suffered through. But Marcus was an adult; the captain of the 181st ISF, Gina was his main concern.

            “Yes, that man is already in pursuit of the machine. We now think that it won’t end up on Mars. Mainly because we think the 181st will catch up with it before it enters the atmosphere.”
“So what does Carlos intend to do then?”
“He still intends on going. Every MF has been equipped with an atmospheric flight booster pack allowing them to reach space with in approximately 10 minutes.”
“Are you serious? He’s going to go out of his way to fight when there’s a possibility this thing might not even make it to Martian surface?”
“He said that he wishes to protect Mars from threats, and this battle will most likely occur over Mars. Carlos is an idealist; he wants to protect everything no matter how difficult the task may sound. So what about you? Are you going to head back into space as well? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t; I mean we just got out of a rough time ourselves.”
“I…” Sighing Michael turned away from Cassandra, his eyes squinting tightly in order to prevent his emotions from exploding in one virtuous moment of regret and sorrow.
“Michael…” His name rolled off her tongue ever so slightly. He flinched as her cold palms flatted onto his shoulders as she embraced him. It was an embrace shared by close friends, and more importantly family.
“I’m going back out there Cassandra. I don’t think I could ever face Gina again if I stayed here and didn’t help the people who took us in.”

*****

            “Let’s get one thing straight right now Novus. You have no authority when it comes to the Iron Fist or the 181st. You’re here as back up, I’m taking lead in this battle.” Marcus firmly announced pounding his fist onto the glazed oak conference table. Stephen sighed under his breath with an expressionless face just glaring back at Marcus Falden.
“You’re right Commander Falden, I am only here as back up.”
“Good, then its settled. You’ll follow my command.”
“I’m sorry Commander, but you know I do not fall under your command. I believe the Vice Admiral had already cleared this matter up with you prior to my arrival on the Iron Fist.” Stephen replied, his back leaning into the cushions of his leather chair. The joints squeaked a bit as they move accordingly to Stephen’s movements. “By the way, you might want to oil your chairs.”
“*hmpf*, Fine but I do have the authority to command your team.”
“Well technically the soldiers I’m currently with are not my team. I was sent by the council of Military officials to audit the soldiers onboard the Unlimited. Specifically two Ensign Pilots by the name of Deacon Perez and Amanda Grey. Also I needed to go to Mars, and by accepting the mission to audit them I obtained a free ride.” Stephen replied as he took a sip of his steaming coffee.
“I see, are they traitors to the Alliance?”
Placing his silver mug on a coaster Stephen simply shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure; the council didn’t give me any information aside from their names. Deacon seems to be extremely hot-tempered and ill-mannered while Amanda appears to be calm and respectful of her superiors.”
“I see. So why the need to go to Mars anyway? You trying to deal with those Red Fury bastards?”
“No….there’s someone I need to find.”
“An informant? A spy?”
“…, don’t worry about it Marcus. It doesn’t matter right now. What about this new EAP model you encountered? Did you fill out a report on it?”
“Here, but don’t get too comfortable with it, I’m going to be the one to take that bastard down.”
Stephen grabbed onto the report which was digitally written on a flat clipboard like computer. Stephen’s eyes constantly scrolled the text and still images of the MF labeled as Diabolos.
“Diabolos?”
“Yeah, that’s what the pilot called it.”
“I see, it says here that it’s transformable?”
“Yeah, it can transform into a fighter like machine at will. Once it does it becomes extremely agile and incredibly difficult to lock on to.”
“It also says here that you were able to damage it. How much damage did you inflict? Was it serious?”
“I don’t know, I just fucking hit the damn thing. Why are we still sitting here anyway? That damn machine is still out there and getting closer to Mars!”
“Well, isn’t there still another hour before we reach launching range? Still, we should probably end the pleasantries for now. I have to work on my OS anyway. I will be commanding the crew of the Unlimited from my MF; of course you’ll get the honors of launching first.”
“Damn straight I will. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure OZ is ready for this fight. I promise that it won’t go the same way as it did last time.

*****

            The bright luminescent lights blossoming throughout the medical bay on Prometheus blinded Nathan’s eyes forcing him to move his right forearm over his head. For a moment he forgot why he was still in the medical bay, it had been a week since the Diabolos MK. 1 had made its daring escape from Prometheus. Maybe he continued to believe that he was injured just so he wouldn’t be forced to deal with the consequences of failing to prevent the theft, or maybe it was because his old scars reopened in his head causing some traumatic psychological damage and thus meaning that every event that took place in the past week was nothing more than a hallucination derived from his own insanity.
“Hey, you’re still in here huh? Milking this as much as you can I guess.” Hayate’s voice was soft and low key but still managed to travel quite far.
“Yeah…I’m not sure why though.” Nathan hastily replied.
“Might have something to do with the Diabolos being stolen and you being left unconscious on the cold metal floor. But then again, what would I know; I’m a soldier, not a doctor.” Hayate’s sarcasm would normally not be welcomed, but this time Nathan didn’t seem to mind. As a matter of fact he had come to miss the antics of his friend ever since he was conned to move his life to the secret EAP facility.
“Maybe, so tell me. Any word on the Diabolos yet?”
“*Sigh*, there’s word. None of which are good I’m afraid.”
“Are we going after it?”
“Oddly enough no, we’re not. An official statement was released the other day from the council, they said that it is already far too late for the recovery of the Diabolos Mk.1 and that the mechanics team on Prometheus should move onto the Mk. II.”
“What?! But that’s….that’s just ridiculous. What if….”
“What if the TA or even Red Fury finds it? Well…it’s a bit late for that. You see the Diabolos managed to run straight into the TA on its way to Mars.”
“You’ve got to be kidding….please tell me that you’re kidding.” Nathan replied. His weak body struggled as his arms tried to hold his weight on the crunchy mattress.
“Nathan will you just relax for once? I haven’t even got to the worst part yet.”
“Oh God, there’s more?”
“It seems that the Diabolos came into contact with the 181st division of the TA…Vice Admiral Von Schuler’s personal group.”
“You’re right….this is much worse. Did they destroy the unit and recover its intel?”
“No, the Diabolos managed to make it past the division and is currently still heading towards Mars.”
“I see, so it’s still salvageable then!”
“No, the TA is already onto us. They have been for months, but with the Diabolos running amuck they’ll begin to start putting their noses where they don’t belong. For now it’s best to forget about the MK. 1 and solely concentrate on the MK. II.”
“…”
“Huh? What’s wrong? You need me to grab a nurse or something?”
“No…it’s just that….I’m not sure if I can keep doing this. The Diabolos is powerful enough as is, but once you add a pilot from the Crimson Dawn I don’t want to even think about the power that is produced. I’m not sure if I want to be apart of something that will once bring more death and destruction.”
“You need to stop this Nathan. This is the fate that was chosen for you. It would be best if you’d just accept it!”
Suddenly the door to Nathan’s room slammed open just as an officer, noted to be an Ensign, determined from the lack of stars on his uniform, stumbled over his own feet. Both Nathan and Hayate shut their mouths as they were unaware of how much information the soldier had access too. Quickly gathering his composure the soldier snapped to attention, staring at Hayate in a pose of admiration.
“General Ritsuzen!” The younger soldier blurted.
“Yes? What is it? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”
“I know sir, I apologize for the intrusion. But word has just come in, the Diabolos has engaged in combat just outside of Mars’ space region.”
“WHAT?!” Both Hayate and Nathan screamed. Even though they were well aware that this event was unavoidable, it had just seemed that I was too soon.
“Who is the unit engaging with?!” Nathan screamed.
“Umm….sir….according to the reported heat signatures, the Diabolos is engaging with the 181st Independent Special Forces of the Trinity Alliance.”
“Thank you, dismissed!” Hayate barked coldly. His attitude and overall demeanor changing with the crescendo in his voice.
“So it’s engaging with the 181st again eh?” Nathan muttered.
“*Sigh*, it would seem like that’s the case. I’m sorry Nathan, I’d love to stay and chat with you but I have to monitor this. Just stay here and work on the MK. II, for me…”
“Fine…I’ll stay….”

*******

            The Diabolos continued to prove its superiority in the field of speed. The jet form sped through the space region with a crimson sphere as a serene backdrop to the battle. Trails thick cerulean energy remained, slowly fading into the pitch black canvas. As Mars continued to rotate the battle raged forward. Dozens of Shades crowded the region with each pilot struggling with their throttles while trying to get a steady lock onto the graceful target.
“Damn this thing is fast.” Stephen muttered to himself. Alpha floated on the side of OZ as orange conflagrant spheres of fire lit up in the distant. With each fiery explosion the trails of energy followed behind the Diabolos.
“So that’s it huh?” Stephen mumbled.
Marcus barely gave his display screen a glance. “No shit. I’ll handle this.” Marcus replied; his adrenaline had taken a hold of him by this point; his responses were short and to the point and soaked with bitter sarcasm. Stephen cringed as Marcus’ image faded off his display screen, in the corner of his eye he watched as OZ’s boosters brightly ignited with a red glow. In an instant OZ flew off heading towards the commotion that was Diabolos. Stephen sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the wonderful sight that was the red planet. From such a distance it looked peaceful despite all the chaos that was over taking it with the random battles between the TA, the EAP and Red Fury.
<Major Novus, the target is a lot stronger than we had originally anticipated!> A commander stationed on the Unlimited screamed. Stephen turned his attention to his display screen once again, a female commander’s face lit up the screen which was distorted with all sorts of static.
“I know, you have my permission to launch all Shades. Just don’t get in the 181st’s way. They seem to believe that they can get this sortie over with by means of their own power. I feel that if any one got in their way it would only lead to more chaos.”
<Understood, launching all Shades as we speak sir. Be careful.>
“I will, you too.” Stephen mumbled as he turned off the communication link.

            “This is Deacon Perez, Shade launching!”
“Amanda Grey, here I go!”
The two Shades shot out like fireworks from the         Unlimited, their boosters flickering as they headed towards the high maneuvering Diabolos not too far from their position.

“More? They’re like flies flocking to food…oh well; I have yet to test the full potential of my machine! I’ll take you all on!” The pilot of the Diabolos screamed. He immediately turned his head at the sound of his radar rattling. The pilot never seemed to be any happier; an image of the OZ appeared on his side screen. “You again? Good, I was wondering when I’d get the chance to kill you!”
The elongated thrusters on the fighter form began to turn inwards, the gears seared as they rotated. Every Shade pilot in a 50 meter radius paused from their actions as they watched with astonishment, the Diabolos began its quick transformation that took less than 30 seconds to complete. Now looming over the Shade battalions was the fully armored MF form of the Diabolos. The pilot grinned devilishly, his eyes focusing on every Shade in the area. Docking his energy rifle the silver fingers of the Diabolos slowly clutched around the brim of his Excalibur sword. In movements that seemed inhuman the silver MF tore through a cluster of 10 Shades. The sharp blade outline with a focused beam of energy burned through the metallic armor of every Shade. As Diabolos trailed through fiery explosions followed in its wake. Pilots screamed in a brief moments of pain, their bodies mutilated from the intense heat emanating from the Excalibur.
The Diabolos stopped just as it came near the OZ unit, blood floating through the space region even staining the edge of its sword.
“You won’t get that far with me!” Marcus screamed.
‘We’ll see, you can’t possibly compare to me!” The two cannon like thrusters pivoted over the shoulders of Diabolos firing with little warning. OZ’s boosters responded by moving at an angle and high velocity allowing for Marcus to avoid the attack. Just as OZ dodged two crimson weapons flung through space slashing across the core of the Diabolos adding even more damage to the original wound that Marcus inflicted on it earlier. The Diabolos was knocked off balance as the two boomerang like weapons continued to move in a circular path now heading away from it.
Marcus cringed at the unwanted assistance and kept the momentum going. OZ fired its machine gun, each shell brightly ripping away from the barrel only to ricochet off the shield that Diabolos raised at the last second. The pilot began to smile, his teeth shaking from the abrupt laughter that filled his cockpit and the radio transmissions.
“What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!” Marcus screamed.
A crimson blur shot passed OZ heading straight towards the now motionless Diabolos.  Marcus pounded his fist onto the control panel in frustration. “DAMNIT NOVUS! I SAID I HAD THIS!” Marcus continued to scream.
Stephen shrugged his shoulders as he engaged the Diabolos. Diabolos swung the Excalibur sword upwards only missing Alpha due to quick maneuvers on Stephen’s part. As Stephen dodged the attack Alpha forced both of its energy sabers together forming a dual saber. The dual saber now firmly held in Alpha’s right hand ignited on both ends with a crimson spectacle.
“We’re here to help you Major!” Amanda’s voice shouted from the distance.
“What?! Wait!” Stephen yelled, but it was too late.
The gears on the Diabolos turned as it transformed back into its fighter mode. The massive boosters fired onto Alpha causing the crimson MF to spin backwards from the power of the thrust.
Amanda pulled her red hair from her eyes struggling to keep her anxiety from getting the best of her. On her screen the image of the Diabolos in jet form continued to grow in size, her attention solely focusing on the image before her that she failed to hear her radar howling.
“Amanda! Get out of the way!” Deacon screamed. Deacon’s Shade began to opening fire, launching a barrage of energy rounds into the region. Dozens of beams fluttered the area but did nothing, the Diabolos performed barrel turns and other aerial maneuvers to easily avoid every round of energy that was thrown in his way.
“That’s….that’s impossible!” Deacon shouted.
The Diabolos suddenly appeared only a few meters away from Amanda’s Shade, the two offensive cannons brimming with positron energy. The young pilot remained paralyzed in fear as she believed she was staring death in its surrealistic face.
“You’re dealing with me you asshole!” Marcus screamed as OZ sped by with a continuously stream of golden shells firing through space. The shells ripped through the right wing of the Diabolos.
“*erg*…..” The pilot grumbled in complete discontent for the situation. This was the second time that Marcus was able to damage his machine along with his pride. The Diabolos launched upwards heading away from Amanda as it transformed back into its MF form.
“I won’t let you finish!” Marcus screamed. OZ followed docking the machine gun and grabbing onto its own Excalibur sword. Marcus screamed loudly as OZ’s arm arched backwards preparing for what he hoped would be a finishing strike. As the blunt of the blade swung the Diabolos finished its transformation and fired both charged cannons. Marcus had forgotten that it was already in the process of gathering energy for a shot. OZ was already on a direct collision course with the Diabolos so there was no room for dodging.
“You’ve got to be shitting me….” Marcus mumbled.
Just as the beams of energy approached two more energy beams shot horizontally passed OZ and running into the beams launched by the Diabolos nullifying the attack. The fuchsia explosion rumbled Marcus’ cockpit as OZ tumbled through space.
Once again Stephen appeared on Marcus display screen.
“You can’t always rush into the situation. That’s how you get killed. I won’t always be there to save you.” Stephen yelled. Alpha zoomed past the tumbling OZ with its dual energy saber in hand.
“Shut the fuck up Novus! What the fuck would you know?! Just stay the hell out of my way!” Marcus yelled back as he regained stability in his cockpit. OZ’s thrusters slowly ignited forcing the MF to become stable in its movement.

*******

            “We now have a visual of the battle.” Freya said as she continued to clutch tightly onto her arm rests.
Her MF was shaking tremendously from the atmospheric flight and entry into space from Mars. The added boosters to each MF created a severe amount of thrust causing what one could call “an uncomfortable ride.”
“Yeah, I can see it….damn look at all those debris. You don’t think that…” Before Michael could finish his sentence Freya interrupted.
“They’re the remains of the Shades that engaged the EAP prototype.”
“Just what the hell is that thing capable of? Michael muttered.
“I’m not sure….but here, I have a clear visual of the unknown unit along with a few other MFs already engaging in battle.” Freya mentioned. Her voice became cracked and dull, something had clear robbed her of her breath.
“What? What is it? Freya, are you ok?” Michael questioned.
“That thing….it’s fighting with the staple unit of the 181ST ISP….and”
“Marcus Falden…damn. I was hoping to stall another encounter with him..”
“That’s not all, there’s also another unit there….it appears to be….it is him!” Freya announced.
“Huh?” Michael glanced over towards Freya’s MF as they had finally cleared the Mars orbital space.
“*sigh* (I can’t believe I agreed to go through with this…)” Appolus thought to himself as he stared straight ahead. His eyes ignoring all other units in the region, only to focus on the red MF that he had encountered a few weeks ago. “Well then, maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.” He mumbled to himself.
“It’s the Crimson Knight! He’s here! We have to help him!” Freya yelled.
“The Crimson Knight? You mean Major Stephen Novus?” Michael questioned.
“Yeah.” Freya replied with a simple gesture.
“Wait a minute. How the hell do you know him? You were stationed in the EAP right?”
“I was….I was apart of an elite MF squadron known as the Omega a few years ago. I was there, the day that the Chimera was defeated.” Freya mumbled.
“I see…well then, I guess we can’t let them have all the fun.” Michael replied.
“No we can’t….wait a minute. I’m picking up another heat signature from a few hundred meters to the right of us. It seems like we’re not the only ones who came out from Mars.” Freya replied.
“Is it Carlos?”
“No, his Viper wouldn’t perform well in space and he said he’d never pilot an MF ever again…..wait, it disappeared. It’s best that we forget about it.” Freya replied.
“I agree. Hey! Where the hell is he going!?” Michael screamed.
Stricken boosted away from both Michael and Freya, its frail angular wings flickering with energy as it sped towards the battle in the distance.

            “Marcus pull back!” Stephen screamed as Alpha flew towards the Diabolos. OZ continued to swing violently through the empty void, with each thrust the Diabolos gracefully dodged.
“Shut the fuck up Novus! I said I could handle this!” Marcus continued to ignore Stephen’s advice; Stephen could only cringe since he had no authority over any of Marcus’ actions.
“What the hell? Marcus I’ve got 3 more units heading this way! Heat signatures confirmed, one Shade, an unknown and….the MF that destroyed the Adamant. I think it’s safe to say that they might be Red Fury. None of these units could ever be considered as EAP soldiers.”
“Fucking Red Fury! What the hell do they want?” Marcus screamed back as he and the Diabolos continued to exchange blows.
The Diabolos’ Excalibur struck the middle of the Excalibur that was being held by the OZ unit. Sparks of electricity burst outwards as the two continued to cause friction between one another, Marcus continued to scream at the top of his longs, his adrenaline in full kick now but even with all his might he was unable to force the Diabolos’ arms to bend.
“Is this all you got? Hehehahahahahaha, STOP WASTING MY TIME!” The pilot screamed.
“What?! Wasting your time?! You asshole!” Suddenly Marcus let go of the Excalibur, the abrupt loss of a pushing weight caused the Diabolos to thrust forward as Marcus grinned widely. The positron cannon that hung from the back of the unit dropped, falling into OZ’s hands. A green locking box solidified around the torso of the Diabolos as Marcus gazed through a scope that descended from the ceiling of his cockpit.
“You die asshole.” Marcus mumbled.
Just as he pulled the trigger a massive beam of electrified energy shot out, just before the beam could collide with its target the Diabolos rapidly transformed and exploded from its position. The massive beam shot passed tearing through a nearby asteroid causing it to explode into thousands of singed pieces of rock.
“Damnit!” Marcus screamed.
The Diabolos sped in a curve now heading back towards the OZ unit. Just as it approached dozens of chrome warheads burst in the space separating OZ and the Diabolos. The explosions forced the Diabolos to change its path, as it dashed to the right a few solid shells exploded on the wing. The Diabolos once again transformed back into its MF form, Stephen glanced behind him to recognize the pink and gold MF known as Far Reacher holding out a sniper rifle with budding smoke emanating from the barrel.
“Heh, looks like Red Fury is here to provide back-up.” Stephen mumbled.
Diabolos turned its head only to be struck by OZ, the right arm of Diabolos fizzled with sparks just before it exploded off its silver joint.
“Tagged you that time you bastard!” Marcus screamed.
Just as OZ passed by Diabolos the silver MF swung its Excalibur. The sword slashed through the back boosters.
“Damn!” Marcus yelled, he quickly jettisoned the back boosters to prevent any further damage to his machine. Suddenly a Shade appeared speeding past the descending OZ unit.
“Having problems Marcus?” Michael’s voice surprised Marcus; this was the last place he had expected to run back into him.
The sheer sound of Michael’s voice triggered an unrelenting anger to stir about in the pit of Marcus’ stomach. 
“I don’t need any of you’re fucking help! You worthless traitor!”
“I’m sorry Marcus; I don’t have time to deal with you just now.” Michael replied. The energy saber ignited and the Shade moved in towards the Diabolos swinging. With each wasted sluggish movement of the Shade Diabolos continued to dodge with its speed.
“Damn, it appears I can’t do much in this Shade.” Michael muttered.
Once again Marcus shot towards the Diabolos this time firing his positron cannon every time energy was available. As the energy beams showered the Diabolos Michael began to fire the Shade’s energy rifle. The right arm jerked back from the recoil which gave it a slow firing rate.
Stricken took the opening to speed behind the agile Diabolos and quickly swung its right handed gauntlet. The pilot shocked at the fact that someone managed to get behind him as quickly and undetected as Appolus did strafed to the right avoiding the attack from Stricken’s God’s Hand.
“Damn, you’re a fast thing aren’t you?” Appolus mumbled.
Both the Shade and OZ zoomed towards the Diabolos, Marcus ignored the Shade as much as he could. A part of him wanted to kill Michael Lyhte right then and there, but Marcus was a soldier first, above all of his personal feelings. And as a soldier he had a mission to accomplish first. He had to take down the Diabolos and restore the pride in the 181st ISF, a pride that was hurt ever since the Diabolos escaped his grasp the first time.

Deacon and Amanda just watched the fight continue, their Shades were in no condition to fight. Up until now they had done all they could, their singed machines would only get in the way if they tried to lend a hand.

Appolus like Marcus had his attention elsewhere. The red MF that he encountered earlier, the only MF to actually damage Stricken was only a mere few meters away. But he couldn’t just stop fighting the Diabolos now, he had already introduced himself through the format of battle. And the Diabolos took notice.
“Hahahahahaha, this is a lot more fun that I had originally thought it would be!”
“…” Appolus remained silent as grabbed onto the Diabolos’ left wrist in the middle of a swing.
“You leave yourself open, you make too many wasted movements.” Appolus muttered.
“Heh….hahahaha!” The pilot continued to laugh, not even recognizing that Appolus was speaking. As Stricken’s right hand prepared to crush the remaining hand of Diabolos the two massive cannons fired at close range.
Just as the beams collided onto Stricken Appolus managed to activate the Phaze Shift preventing any serious damage. But the beam did its job; it continued to push Stricken farther away from the Diabolos. As Stricken reluctantly flew backwards Alpha sped by heading towards Diabolos while Freya continued to fire her sniper rifle.

OZ suddenly appeared before Diabolos swinging its Excalibur sword. Diabolos once again avoided the attack but failed to realize that Michael’s Shade was approaching fast.         The Shade lunged forward thrusting the beam of its energy saber into the thigh of the right leg of Diabolos. Michael smirked just as he pushed up the brim of his glasses.
“This ends here.” Michael muttered.
“Hahaahaha..”
“What the?!”
The Diabolos jerked around causing the back thrusters to collide with OZ, the right leg swung upwards kicking the Shade away. As the Shade tumbled upside down Diabolos fired its energy rifle. Each beam of energy tore through the joints of the Shade causing them to explode nearly instantly. The Shade floated lifelessly as smoke smoldered away from each joint.
“Damn it….I failed you Gina…” Michael mumbled.
Just as Alpha began to close in on Diabolos the radar began to alarm loudly.
“What the hell? 8 objects?! Now what?!” Stephen yelled. Just as he turned his head he watched as 8 angular weapons shot through the sky. Right then and there Stephen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Freya too gawked as the eight azure objects flew right to the Diabolos and began to open fire. Marcus’ eyebrows twitched at the sudden appearance of the objects but as a soldier he never failed to recognize an opportunity to strike. The Diabolos tried to transform back into its fighter mode but the weapons never let up, each beam shot violently hitting random areas on the silver machine interrupting the transforming process.
“What the hell are these damn things?!” The pilot screamed. Suddenly the alarm inside the Diabolos erupted. The pilot slowly turned to his side. The OZ sped downwards with its Excalibur clutched in both hands preparing to strike. “Oh NO!!!!” The pilot yelled. He began to move the throttles in hopes of escaping. But at every turn the weapons would appear firing even more energy beams. The Diabolos couldn’t escape what was coming.
Everyone became silent as the sharpest edge of the Excalibur pierced through the Diabolos’ cockpit. The pilot’s body was disintegrated in an instant, his blood sizzling for a few seconds before evaporating. OZ quickly withdrew the blade and sped away as the titanic beast began to erupt with flames until it completely exploded sending out thousands of miniscule singed debris into the region.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Marcus screamed as he glanced back towards Alpha.
Stephen ignored the celebration as the 8 objects sped away into the distance heading back towards Mars. And for an instant he saw it, he saw the cerulean energy trail flicker in the distance until it dispersed entirely. He knew then, that the person he was looking for was indeed on Mars.