Out of nowhere a Humvee crashed through the building wall. It ran over the entities in front of him. He avoided getting run over himself, barely being out of the way. Having lost control, the Humvee crashed into the other side. The boy looked at the Humvee, "Now that's not cool." He coughed from the dust that fell, "They could have killed me!" Artemis beeped, "Notice. Incorrect. Sufficient clearance was available." "Aren't you a smart-ass." "Notice. Incomprehensible sentence." "It was a joke." he sighed, walking to investigate the Humvee, " You know. I really think we should adjust your logic-board."
The right rear door was suddenly slammed open. "What are you waiting for!" a man shouted, "Get in!" The boy ran towards the Humvee, getting in the back seat. The man shifted the gear, backing up. After nimbly moving from the alley on the main road. He turned around, driving forward. "That was some fine marksmanship back there." The man said to him, "The name's Lt. Winters. What's yours?" The boy hesitated, not wanting to answer. His drone beeped, "Answer. Benimaru Hansen." "A.R.T.E.M.I.S!" The lieutenant laughed, "A.Is man. They're always so honest." "Hate to break the mood boys." the woman finally spoke up, "But we still have entities chasing us." Winters chuckled, "That's commander Hazel. She's, my boss."
She had many scars on her skin. Her left eye was covered by an eyepatch. And her right arm was in a cast. But her beaty was undeniably mesmerizing. She turned her eye towards me, "Benimaru Hansen huh. We still have to thank you for saving us earlier. But please wait until we get out of the city." "Beni is fine." He mumbled, "What are you guys doing all the way out here?" "We can ask you the same thing." Hazel stared through the rear view mirror at Beni, "How did a kid like you survive all alone out here?" Beni clicked his tongue, "I have my reasons." The girl that sat next to him woke up. She gasped, "They're here!" "Punch it, Winters!" Hazel ordered. "Wilco mam!" he shifted the gear, putting the petal to the metal.
Artemis beeped, "Notice. Signal interference analyzed. Able to perform scan. E.T.A… 10 seconds." "Wait really?" Beni asked, "Where was it coming from." "Notice. Anomaly .5 meters south, south west." Beni looked to his left, "It's a mistake, right?" Artemis beeped, "Negative." The one who kept interfering with Artemis's scans, was the girl that sat next to him. She wore a blue hoodie, that matched her sapphire blue eyes. She noticed Beni sitting next to her. "Are you the one?" she asked, getting closer and closer to him. "Uhm… what?" Beni stuttered. Artemis beeped, "Notice. Invasion of personal space in progress." "Sapphire." Hazel grunted, "Let the boy rest." She sat back down, "Commander, how much longer until we reach the safe-zone?" "We'll regroup with Satori's team outside the city. It won't be long."
A giant entity roared, crashing through the buildings. "Holy crap that's a big one!" Winters shouted. The entity was bigger than an elephant. But faster than a cheetah. It not only kept up with the speed of the Humvee. But was slowly picking up speed. "Why the hell is it so fast for christ sake!" Beni noticed flying entities in front of them. He also noticed a weapon at the back at the Humvee. He opened to the top hatch, climbing up with the weapon, "I'm borrowing this." "Hey kid! It's dangerous out there!" Winters warned. "Wait." Hazel stopped him, "System override. Identification code 06171-LH. Release I.D lock. Prepare for integration of new A.I." The gun beeped, displaying a green interface. Beni nodded, climbing on the roof of the Humvee.
Beni secured himself to the roof with a wire connected to his harness. He took a knee, connecting the rifle to his H.I.D.M, "A.R.T.E.M.I.S!" "Affirmative. Beginning integration… Integration complete. Subsystems at 100%. Ammunition at 100%. All safeties disabled." The interface on the gun now showed blue. Artemis displayed the information of the weapon before him. It was called a storm-tech Longsword. A versatile assault rifle. Suited for all types of combat. It had an under-barrel grenade launcher. Along with a configurable sight. Beni knew from which company this gun came from, being surprised that it still actually stood. A high-tech private military company. From a name he hasn't heard in six years. He took aim, shooting at the flying entities. Their corpses dropped just before they came in contact with the Humvee. Hazel smirked, "Not bad kid."
Beni looked at company, admiring how powerful it was. Artemis beeped, "Warning. Incoming projectile." "Projectile?" he looked behind him. He saw an oil-truck flying their way. He leaned over, knocking on the windscreen, "Turn left now!" "Heh?" Winters looked at the side mirror, "Oh shi-" He took a hard left, barely evading the oil-truck. Beni was knocked away from the explosion. He hanged from the side, seeing panther like entities approaching them. He aimed, firing and kicking every one that came close. Flying entities landed on the Humvee. Beni tried getting them off. But one bit the cable, forcing him to hang on with his hand. The entities pecked him with their beaks. Beni couldn't aim and hold on any longer like this.
"Sever." he heard a voice say. All the entities on the Humvee were cut cleanly in half. Sapphire reached out her hand to him. "Grab on!" she shouted. Beni grabbed her hand, pulling himself up. As she pulled him up, her hood fell back. Her black hair flowed with the wind. And her eyes shimmered with the sapphire blue pendant on her forehead. She fell on the roof, trying to catch her breath. "Get back in the car." Beni told her, while reloading the rifle, "It isn't safe out here." Sapphire shook her head, "I can help you." Beni looked at her, not knowing what to do. Artemis beeped, "Projectiles incoming." Rocks were being thrown at them now. Sapphire stood up, raising her arms. The rocks suddenly crumbled. It was as if they hit an invisible wall. Sapphire fell on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.
Artemis beeped, "Notice. Hostiles approaching." The giant entity roared, as it slowly caught up with them. Beni came up with an idea, firing the grenade at a half broken building. The building collapsed, burying the entities with rubble. "Hell yeah!" Winters cheered, "Great thinking kid!" Beni sighed, placing his hand on Sapphire's shoulder, "You should get back in." The moment he touched Sapphire. He saw strange visions. A man in a grey suit. Two dead bodies. A battlefield with broken swords. And a black haired boy, impaled by a dozen spears. He breathed heavily, trying to regain his thoughts. At that moment, he caught a glimpse of a muzzle flash. Before he knew it. The An explosion caused the Humvee to flip over. He instinctively grabbed Sapphire, holding her in his arms. He braced her neck with his hand, and jumped away from the Humvee.
He rolled on the asphalt, with the Humvee tumbling beside him. "Hey Sapphire!" he asked, "You alright!" Sapphire opened her eyes, struggling to nod. They ran to the upside-down Humvee, seeing if the others were alright. "Lieutenant! Commander!" Beni pried the door open, "You guys still alive." "We're not dead yet." Hazel grunted. Winters chuckled, "Yet." His seatbelt snapped, causing him to hit his head on the roof, "Ouch." Beni pulled Winters out, leaning him against the Humvee. He then ran to the other side, to get Hazel out. Using his bayonet, he was able to cut her free. He then placed her arm over his shoulder, carrying her to the other side.
Artemis beeped, "Notice. Hostile approaching." The giant entity roared in the distance. It was still alive. Sapphire treated the wounds of Hazel and Winters. Hazel looked at Beni, "Benimaru Hansen. I have a request for you." "Safe your strength. We need to get moving as soon as possible." "Take Sapphire, and head east. You'll meet our allies if you keep heading in that direction." Sapphire shook her head, "I'm not leaving you." "Sorry little lady." Winters got up, cocking his sidearm, "We'll only slow you down." He then looked at Beni, "You'll be in good hands. I know it. Good luck kid." Beni didn't want to leave them as well. He couldn't think of a way for all of them to make it out. Artemis beeped, "Notice. Aerial vehicle detected." Beni quickly grabbed a flare-gun from the Humvee, firing it into the sky. "Uhm kid?" Winters asked, "There's no one here for miles." "Trust me."
The giant entity found them. It snarled, slowly approaching them. Beni counted down, "5, 4, 3, 2…1." A swarm of missiles hit the entity. The twin engines of a VTOL roared above them, as it flew at high speed. The entity roared in anger. The VTOL turned around, strafing the entity with its onboard cannons. The entity fell on the ground, riddled with bullets. The VTOL turned back around, hovering above the ground. The bay door opened. A girl walked on the platform. "Get in!" she shouted. "Miss Satori!" Sapphire's eyes lit up. Beni and Winters lifted Hazel up, carrying her towards the VTOL. As he boarded the VTOL. Beni determined that the Humvee, was hit by an antitank cannon from a long range. The gaping hole in the engine block was evidence enough. The bay door closed, as the entity roared louder. The VTOL took off, blazing through the air.
After entering the VTOL. They all took a sigh of relief. "We're saved." Winters sat Hazel on one of the seats. "I'm gonna need some help piloting this bird Winters." Satori stated, walking back into the cockpit, "We're about to enter a dead-zone. "But the commander?" "Go." Hazel coughed, "I'll be fine." Winters looked at her concerned. "Coming." He exclaimed, walking to the cockpit. Beni saw that her blood was dripping. Hazel was bleeding. But he didn't know from where. He reached into his bag, grabbing his first aid kit, "A.R.T.E.M.I.S., perform a scan on commander Hazel." "Affirmative." Artemis beeped, scanning Hazel. "Notice. Anomaly found." It displayed an image of Hazel's anatomy, showing where the bleeding was, and what had caused it. Beni turned Hazel onto her side, "I don't have much anesthetic left." "So you're a doctor now." she chuckled, "Don't worry. I can take it."
Beni cut open her pants with a pair of scissors. The bleeding was a lot worse than he thought. He disinfected a scalpel, cutting into the side of her leg. Sapphire closed her eyes, unable to watch as more blood came out. After making a deep enough cut. Beni pulled out a metal fragment with his tweezers. "Woah." He was surprised at how such a large chunk ended up in her thigh. He then used a thin medical thread to quickly seal the wound. After carefully bandaging the wound, he took off his gloves, "That should stop the bleeding. Be careful not to move too much." "Thanks kid." Hazel groaned, "Looks like I owe you another one." She then looked at Sapphire, padding her on the head, "Sorry boss. Looks like I need to take nap." Sapphire held her hand, nodding, "Rest well."
As Beni was packing his tools, he heard the cocking of a gun. Satori held a handgun to his head, "Who are you?" "Nobody." He aimed his own handgun at her. He held it low so that she didn't notice. Satori smirked, "It's completely empty." "Your safety is on." "He saved us." Sapphire tried stopping them. But both of them stood silent. Staring down one another. "Fine you win." Satori sighed, lowering her gun, "You have some keen eyes to have noticed that." She reached out her hand, shaking his hand, "The name is Satori." As soon as Beni shook her hand, her tone suddenly changed, "Don't get comfortable with the others just because they owe you. We're dropping you off at the next safe-zone we see." Beni stared back at her, "Good with me."
Sapphire looked back and forth between them. She wanted Beni to stay with them, but didn't know how to say it. "Uhm…" The fuselage suddenly shook. They all lost their balance. Beni rolled over the Sapphire, keeping her from hitting her head on the walls. "What's going on lieutenant?!" Satori asked. "Praetor. Flying above us!" Winters flipped many switches, trying to stabilize their flight. Sapphire held her head. She screamed in pain. "What's wrong?" Beni asked, not knowing what was going on. "It hurts." Sapphire grunted. He heard the loud of bellow of a creature. "Shit." Satori took the co-pilot seat, "Activate the mirage system." Lightning struck the VTOL, shorting out the systems. "Not good!" Winters shouted, "Systems not responding!" "Damn it! full powers to the main engines. We have to try and outrun it!"
"That's not, going to work." Sapphire muttered. She struggled to catch her breath, "It's, a lot faster, than us." Beni strapped her into one of the seats. He ran over to a control panel, plugging in his H.I.D.M., "A.R.T.E.M.I.S., reboot the systems." "Affirmative. Rebooting systems, E.T.A… 30 seconds." The VTOL of powered down, falling into a free fall. "What are you doing?!" Satori shouted, "You trying to get us killed?" "Give me 25 seconds." Beni flicked through codes of software, "Get ready to punch it!" The praetor flew directly above them. "Beni?!" Satori asked. "15 seconds!" Beni swiped on the display, rerouting the systems. The praetor moved closer, opening its beak. "Beni!!" Satori screamed. Artemis beeped, "Notice. Reboot complete." Beni pressed the touchpad, having completed rerouting the systems. "Punch it!" he shouted.
Satori pushed forward the speed control, maxing out the thrust. The praetor closed its beak. But with nothing in it. They leaned back from the sudden change of speed. Beni pressed his touchpad again, causing the VTOL to become invisible to the naked eye. They all took a sigh of relief. They saw the praetor slicing through the clouds, going the other direction. After disconnecting Artemis from the control panel. Beni walked to Sapphire, giving her a canister of water, "You alright? What happened back there." "I'm alright." she groaned, "My head just hurts." "Well, well, well." Satori walked towards them, "I see why the commander and lieutenant trust you now. You've got skills." "So you're nice all of a sudden now?" Beni asked. Satori laughed, "Don't get your hopes up. I still don't trust you." She walked back to the cockpit, standing behind Winters, "You take over from here. I'm taking a nap." "Wait what. Nearest base is 8 hours from here." "I've been awake for 22 hours straight. Do you wanna crash?" "Fine." He groaned.
Several hours later. It was now quiet in the VTOL. Satori, Hazel and Sapphire were asleep. With only Beni and Winters left awake. Winters observed the radar, while Beni was busy repairing his drone. He tried calibrating the stabilizing fins. But one of them, snapped. He grumbled, "Out of all the things that could break." Artemis beeped, "Notice. Flight stabilizer damaged." "I can see that." "Notice. Repairs are advised." "I know that." Beni went on, trying to reach the main servos. But he accidently punched a hole in the motherboard with his screwdriver. "….Shit." Artemis beeped, "Notice. Long range camera…" Beni sighed, "Not helping." "Affirmative." Hearing the gentle snoring of Sapphire, he looked to his left. He could tell that she was exhausted.
Artemis beeped, "Notice. Requested footage recovered." "Show me." Artemis replayed the footage of when the Humvee tumbled. Though it was only 2 frames. He still saw the same muzzle flash in the distance. He played it over and over again. Trying to figure out who or what shot at them. "Pause. Enhance footage." The footage froze, zooming in on one of the distant buildings. It zoomed closer and closer. Till a dark silhouette was visible. From what he could tell. It was mechanical suit, that wielded a cannon. "A.R.T.E.M.I.S., run a scan and identify it. I want to know what the hell that thing is." "Affirmative… scanning… Scan complete. Designation…HW004- cobra." "Run it through every database possible." "Affirmative... cross-referencing with all data… Error… information classified." "Classified by who?" Artemis beeped, showing him a company name. Beni clicked his tongue, furious seeing the name. "I should've killed the bastard when I had the chance." He muttered.
"Hey Beni." Winters asked, "Can you give me a hand here?" "Sure." He got up, "Conceal all recent data." Artemis beeped, "Affirmative." Beni walked over to the cockpit, "What's up?" "Can you give me a hand? This bird isn't exactly designed for one pilot. Take over for a sec. I need to check the radar. Using any electronic equipment around Sapphire is a bit problematic." Beni took the co-pilot seat, "Never thought I would be sitting in a Raven. Let alone be piloting one." "Is that so?" Winters chuckled, "This is just a normal Tuesday for me." "Lieutenant Winters?" Beni asked, "For what military do you work for?"
"Oof that's a hard question." Winters scratched his head, thinking, "I used to be part of the C.A.F. And the commander used to be of R.A.F. But that was all before the impact. Now we're just freelancing for a scientist in japan. I don't exactly like those type of people. But that guy. He has a plan that might actually save the world." "Is that so…" "What about you? Beni. Anything special about you?" "Nothing special. Just your ordinary kid who grew up in the suburbs. Who lived a pretty uneventful life." "Your right. That is pretty boring." Winters chuckled, "Hate to break it to you kid. But I need to catch some z's. Just head to these coordinates. Oh uh. And don't try to crash. Missy's gonna get mad at me." "Roger that."
After Winters fell into a deep enough sleep. Beni continued his investigation. "A.R.T.E.M.I.S. run the footage again." "Affirmative." He found it strange that the attack wasn't targeted at him. No matter how many times he looked at it, he couldn't figure out why they targeted Winters and the others. Beni remembered something strange as well. Sapphire was able to tell when entities were approaching. He looked at her, "Even A.R.T.E.M.I.S.'s scans were getting interference from her. Just who is she?" Beni looked at the odd yet interesting interference pattern. The wavelength was something he had never seen before. He sighed, "A.R.T.E.M.I.S. time for a subsystems overhaul. Prepare for integration of software that can withstand these interference." "Notice. No such software to withstand such interference exists." "That's right. We're gonna make one." "Affirmative."