The next two weeks quickly went by. Terra finished repairing the wall with large amounts of earth. The city looked like it had a new mountain on its west side due to the earth she piled up.
Ed was sitting alone in his office. On his desk was a small jar filled with his father's ashes. He stared at them silently while tapping his finger on the desk. 'The shock from killing my father was so great it caused my 2nd awakening. Yet, I haven't even cried once since then. When I stare at these ashes all I feel is emptiness. No sorrow, depression, or longing. Just a feeling as if something is missing. I wasn't this cold-hearted before becoming an esper… does awakening have psychological effects as well?'
A knocking sound rang from the door. "Come in." He yelled. He grabbed the jar of ashes and put it in one of his desk drawers.
"Hey!" Captain Fang walked in while smiling. "The mech has finished being built. It took a while since the parts were divided into so many different crates. Follow me."
The duo headed downstairs and left the base. They went to a nearby warehouse that the HQ had taken over as a temporary workshop. They entered the building and saw the giant mech towering above them.
"Pretty impressive, right?!" Fang questioned.
"Mm." He nodded in agreement. 'Looks to be about 20 meters tall. So just a bit bigger than the one I saw at the academy. No holes or exhaust pipes. Is it not steam powered?'
"Let me introduce you. We call this model the Standard Flutter V3."
"Eh? It's just a standard model? How many people use it?" Ed questioned.
"Mm. It is an ordinary model and we have a lot of people using it. But most of them are using the old V2 or V1 models. Don't underestimate it though. This thing is extremely deadly." He tossed an object towards Ed. "Here's the instruction manual. Have fun."
He began to read the manual. The Flutter is a specialized combat mech. It's constructed from a special steel alloy that can withstand strong vibration forces. A gel compound underneath the armor further reduces the vibrations and reduces any physical damage the mech takes. Its primary weapon is a vibro-blade. A long 10-meter blade covered in corrosive dark aura that vibrates frequently to cut through objects.
Ed finished skimming the manual and frowned. 'Doesn't tell me the technical details. Let's just take a look myself. He looked at the giant mech. It was painted completely black with some red tiger stripes on the back. A red fist emblem was on the chest. The towering humanoid mech was a bit plain looking overall, but still intimidating due to the size and colors.
He walked towards the mech. A large platform with a ladder allowed him to climb to the top and enter a hatch within the head. There was no seat in this mech like the previous ones he had seen. Instead it was a mostly empty hatch with two pedals beneath his feet and a handle on the left and right side. A large window made from reinforced glass went 360 degrees around the head, allowing him to see outside.
'Let's see…' He been reading the book again. 'So that's how it works. Far more advanced than Dr. Ardy's work. I bet he'd kill to get his hands on one of these.' He slipped a foot into each of the pedals. Then he grabbed both handles with his hands. He lifted his left foot up and the mech followed suit. He moved his foot forward and stepped down. The mech did the exact same thing.
'I see. So, a 360-degree treadmill keeps me centered after each step or movement. Are the cables attached to the pedals and handles using hydraulics to control the movement?' He moved his right hand holding the handle and the mech copied his actions exactly once again. "Amazing!!" He couldn't help but to yell aloud. "I'll have to pull this apart and figure out how it works once Fang leaves. The EU has left us far behind in this field."
'Next, I'll try the blade.' He moved his right hand back behind him. A large sheath was attached to the back of the mech. He pulled a long black blade from it. 'Looks just like that knife the captain used, but bigger.' He pressed a switch and it began to vibrate while releasing a black corrosive aura. 'Hmm. The black aura is obviously from black mana-powder. The vibration forces… is it a new technology? Or perhaps it makes use of earth or wind mana-powder somehow? As for power… There's no steam. Could it be the lightning mana-powder? I have a hard time believing they managed to find a way to tame it, but anything is possible.'
'Let's see. Other features… It's got the standard wheels all mechs have. Eh? It doesn't have grappling cables. That's surprising. The only other feature is full vibration mode. The whole mech vibrates. It's good for defending against attacks or taking out entire buildings? I'll have to try it somewhere else soon.'
"Figure it out yet?" A voice rang from a mana-radio embedded in the mech's head.
"Eh? Captain Fang? Yes. I've got it all figured out."
"Good. Get ready then. We're going on a mutant cleanup. We've already cleared the safer part of the city. Now we're heading for the ruins in the west. We'll need the extra support."
"Understood." He controlled the mech to leave the warehouse, but he ran into a problem. "Uhm, Fang… How do we get it out of the warehouse?"
"Huh? It doesn't have a garage to get out?" Fang questioned.
"It does… but it's too small." He replied.
"Understood. Just destroy the warehouse. It's not important anyways."
"Alright." Ed controlled the mech to lift the vibro-blade high in the air. He gripped the handle tightly as he swung down. The warehouse wall didn't provide any resistance. A thick cut was left in the wall. He swung a few more times and a large hole appeared. He easily climbed out of the warehouse.
"Wow!" He yelled in surprise. He slowly turned the mech as he looked in all directions. He towered over the small 1 or 2 story buildings. He was still small compared to the skyscrapers, but he felt like a giant among men.
'Let's see. To activate the wheels, I just need to slam the heels of the feet on the ground?' He lifted his left leg up and slammed down on his heel. Some wheels popped out from the foot. He repeated the step for his right leg. Then he began to run inside the mech. The treadmill kept him in place, and the mech rapidly moved forward as if it was using roller blades.
"Heh, this is pretty easy. OH, SHIT!!!" He tripped over a large piece of debris in the road and the mech came crashing down. He held up his right arm to stop the fall, but it ended up crushing straight through the wall of a nearby abandoned building. The mech slowly slid down the wall of the building while widening the hole.
He pulled the arm out and managed to stand back up. He spoke over the radio, "Hey don't you think this thing should have safety straps or something? That could have killed me!"
"Eh?" Captain Fang's voice rang back. "It should have safety straps. Hold on, let me ask the engineering team." A minute went by before his voice rang again. "Haha! We forgot to bring the straps with us from Europe. Woops! Well, you can just make some leather ones yourself later, right?"
"Right…" Ed replied. 'How did such an irresponsible organization reach such heights in power and technology in the east?!'
Ed moved through the streets. The captain and his men followed behind in their exo suits. They had no problems keeping up with the mech that was being piloted by a newbie. Soon, they reached the west part of the city.
The buildings here were almost all completely collapsed. Rubble blocked the entire road, making it impossible to use the wheels of the mech and exo suits. Rats could be seen as they scurried through the debris in search of food. A large amount of dust hovered in the air, making it difficult to breath.
"Ed. My men will take care of the ordinary mutants. I have a special mission for you. There's a strong mutant in the area that my men found during reconnaissance. It's approximately 5 kilometers to your northwest. You go handle that while we clean up the ordinary ones." Fang commanded.
"Sure." He replied. He began to move his mech northwest. The mech easily climbed over the rubble as he operated the pedals and handles. When he got close he climbed atop a large mountain of rubble and saw a huge crater full of dirt.
'I don't see anything?' He thought. Suddenly, the ground started shaking heavily. It felt like a small earthquake had occurred. The dirt in the crater began to move as a giant worm popped out. "Holy shit! That thing has to be at least 10 stories tall!" He screamed in shock. The worm towered over his mech. Its body was completely white and covered in some type of slime.
'Hmm? Is it blind? It doesn't seem to see me. Now's a good chance to try the full vibration mode.' He flipped a switch on the handle he was holding. The entire mech started to hum as it vibrated. He could feel some of the vibrations in the cockpit. He reached down towards the floor beneath him. The mech followed suit and placed its fist on the pile of rubble beneath it.
The pile began to shake heavily. Little pebbles and rocks began to slide down the pit. The worm looked at the mech and roared in fury. Saliva dripped from its mouth as it began to head for the mech. Then, the pile of rubble fell all at once. It was like a mudslide as large chunks of concrete, steel, and wood slammed into the worm, completely burying it.
'Did it die?'
The ground began to shake heavily once more. The worm popped out from the ground, completely unharmed. "Are you kidding me?! Is it made of metal?!" He yelled in displeasure. 'Screw it. Close combat it is.' He pulled out the vibro-blade and ran forward. He slashed horizontally across the giant worm. It directly sliced the worm in two!
'Hmm? That was too easy. Is it weak to slash attacks?'
The two halves of the worm laid on the ground completely unmoving. However, no blood poured out. Each half suddenly began to move. Teeth appeared on each half as they roared and headed towards the mech.
"What the fuck?! Is Dupe messing with me or something?! This worm must be blood-related to him!" He swung the sword wildly, dicing the worm into many pieces. Each cut piece became an independent worm that grew its own teeth. Their furious roars created an orchestra of horror as they burrowed underground to head for the mech.
'Damn, damn, damn! If I could use my fire outside the mech then this would be easy! But the captain might catch me if I do. No other choice. Ugh, how humiliating.' He turned on the mana-radio. "Captain Fang. I need backup. A lot of backup."
"What?" A voice from the radio questioned. "It's just a single worm. Surely you can handle it?"
"It was a single worm. I think I'm up to about a hundred or so now…"
"What?!" Fang yelled in shock.
"Also, they were originally small, but they're quickly growing bigger…" He sighed.
"Bury them with the full vibration mode!" The captain ordered.
"No can do. Already tried it. Didn't work." He replied.
"Damn! We'll be right there!" Fang began to assemble his men to head over and provide aid.
Ed continued to fend off the worms. He no longer cut them, which made defense all the more difficult. Occasionally they managed to land a hit. Fortunately, the mech's vibration mode fended off any damage.
"We'll be there in just a few more minutes. Just hang on." The captain reassured him.
"Sure. I don't think that will be a prob" Suddenly, the mana-radio cutout. The mech stopped moving and stood completely still. "Fuck?!" Ed yelled in frustration. "Am I out of power already?! Fang hasn't even told me what the fuel source is yet! Shit!" The mech shook as the worms climbed atop it. They began to chew through the steel like it was ordinary flesh. Black gel poured down the body of the mech as the worms enjoyed their meal. They were quickly getting closer to the mech's head.
Ed knew the worms would break through in less than a minute. He opened the hatch and climbed atop the head. His eyes widened as he saw the rest of the mech being torn apart. The worms spotted him and headed straight for him. He looked over the horizon, but the captain and his men were nowhere in sight.
He closed his eyes in frustration and sighed. "God damnit. I've got no choice." He lifted his arms and aimed towards the worms. A whistling sound rang out as the fire and wind batteries in his arms started up. Large, compact streams of fire shot down towards the worms. Wherever he aimed, the worms were burnt to a crisp. Only ashes remained behind. He carefully shot the worms that got the closest before moving to the ones farther away. Soon, they were all completely dead.
Ed stood atop the mech. Flames were still lightly burning in his hands. Some wind blew past and lifted his curly hair in the air, revealing his burn scar on the left side of his face. He turned and saw Captain Fang staring at him off in the distance. They locked eyes and stared at each other in silence. The captain's face distorted in a mix of anger and sadness. He lifted his arm in the air to signal the men behind him. Then he threw it down, signaling for his men to press the attack.