Roger and Big O were standing on the large testing field that was a few miles inland from the SCA HQ. At the opposite end of the field, stood Michael and Big Duo. Dorothy came across the comm.
"This is JUST a test battle. The purpose of this fight is gathering data on pilot synchronization with Big Duo. Do NOT get carried away, Unit Omega. Unit Omega and Pilot Griffon, systems are online and ready to go. Do you copy?"
"Yes, dear," said Roger, with a smirking smile.
"You're such a louse."
Sheila was standing next to Dorothy, looking over Big Duo's systems.
"Michael, systems are online and ready to go. Do you copy?"
"Loud and clear. Come on, Big Duo. Let's show that old man and his megadeus what we're made of."
"Old man," Roger shook his head, "I hope you can back those words, Michael!"
Angel and Beck were standing by a console, watching the giant screens above Dorothy and Sheila.
"You think this is wise, having you here and not out there?" Angel asked Beck.
"Crow Boy said he could handle it, Ms. President. I have faith in him. I told him what to do… hey kiddo, what do you think you're doing? I thought you were supposed to stay close to your ma."
Tim had wandered over to where Beck and Angel were, looking over the console.
"Ma said to come over here and keep an eye on… linement levels…"
"Linement levels?"
"Linement levels, Uncle Beck!"
Beck scratched his head for a moment, then realized what he was trying to say.
"Oh, you mean a-lignment levels."
"Yeah, linement levels."
Beck shook his head as the doors opened and Dastun walked in. Beck looked at him curiously.
"Pops! I thought you weren't gonna be here today."
"And miss my best friend and my best pilot's test? I don't think so. Michaelson said he could take over the mecha tests and write a report for me to review. Did I miss anything?"
"No, they're about ready to start, dear," said Angel, giving him a kiss as a little girl with long brown hair ran past Angel and hopped into Dastun's arms.
"Daddy!" and she hugged him.
"Lizzy! I see you're here and Tim's here too?" Dastun raised an eyebrow.
Tim turned red and Beck noticed, smirking.
"I got him, Pops. Just be cool, Tim. Focus on the task at hand. Do you know how to monitor changes? Let's look at your dad's first, since it's his alignment level we're going to use for comparison."
Tim shook his head and Beck sat down, picking Tim up and showing him the screen.
"See, this means they are normal. Red is bad, means the pilot and the megadeus are out of sync. The highest is indigo, or a dark blue. Do you got that?"
"Got it, Uncle Beck!" Tim smiled at Beck and Beck shook his head, his face now growing serious.
"Status of the pilots and units!" Beck yelled out.
"Omega and Griffon are ready to go!" Dorothy called out.
"Duo and test pilot #24 are ready to go!" Sheila called out.
"Then let's get this show on the road. Crow Boy, newbie! ACTION!"
A loud bell rang, signaling that Big O and Big Duo could commence the test.
***
"Big O, ACTION!"
Big O assumed his fighting stance with Roger at the helm. Michael looked confused, but copied what Roger said.
"Uhh, okay, BIG DUO! ACTION!"
Big Duo's eyes flashed and began to slowly take off into the sky, but Roger pressed a command control his right side and a hip anchor from Big O fired out, catching Big Duo around his feet. Roger struggled to hold on.
"Big O! Let's keep this fight on the ground! BRING HIM DOWN!"
Roger maneuvered Big O, Big O grabbing the chain and turning, and Big Duo went spinning around into the cliff side with Michael grimacing.
"That's pretty dirty, Pilot Griffon," said Michael, trying to unstick Big Duo from the mountain side.
"Lesson Number One: The real-world fights dirty. Learn its tricks or get killed in action, your choice. Show me you want this, Michael! Fight to win! I won't be going easy on you!"
Meanwhile, Sheila and Dorothy were monitoring the console and watching the video screens. Sheila looked at Dorothy.
"Does Pilot Griffon…"
"Sheila, I know how you feel, but Big Duo has rejected every pilot we have tried so far. If we don't push them to the breaking point, how can we know that you and Michael are the team Big Duo needs to bring out his full potential? How can we know he won't go berserk on you two? Have faith in Michael and have faith in Team Omega. They'll be alright. And I told Roger to not get too carried away…"
Sheila nodded at Dorothy as Dorothy turned around to look at Beck.
"What are numbers, Beck?"
Beck looked at Tim.
"Let's look at your Dad's. What numbers do you see?"
"I see… 100, I don't know what that sign is…"
"Good job on the numbers. It's called a percent sign. So, let's look at Big Duo's numbers…"
Beck and Tim looked at the screen, and Beck raised an eyebrow.
"Uncle Beck?"
"Yeah, Tim?"
"Big Brother Michael… this is his first-time piloting Big Duo, right?"
"Yeah, it is."
"So… is he a good pilot? Why would his number be the same as Dad's if this is his first time?"
Beck shook his head. Beck thought he had been seeing things, but Tim was right. Dastun heard these words and moved over to look with Angel following him and Elizabeth. Dorothy blew air upward, fanning her bangs.
"I'm waiting!"
"Hold on, Crow Bird. Your son just pointed out something."
"Like what?"
"Duo and Seebach have synchronization of 100% from the get-go, no glitches, no sign of dropping or wavering."
Sheila looked at Dorothy.
"Has that ever happened before?"
Dorothy turned to look back at Sheila briefly, before looking at the screens.
"No, it hasn't. Talk to Big Duo. Explain to him you want Michael and him to bond, so you're going to sit the fight out. I'm going to do the same with my husband."
"How do I do that?"
"There's a button here that just responds to the megadeus' system. Tell him though, you would like to get to know him at some point, but you don't want to interfere with him bonding with him."
Sheila raised an eyebrow, looking confused at Dorothy.
"Alright, I'll do my best."
"Beck! Keep an eye on the numbers! We're sending messages to the Duo and Omega units only, no pilots!"
"What? Oh, fine!"
Sheila pressed the button.
"Big Duo, hi. This is Sheila. I'm a machinist, well, studying to be one. And, I work with Michael. I just want you to know… thank you for keeping him safe and for working well with him."
She looked at Dorothy and Dorothy nodded her head, encouraging her to go on.
"I want you to know, that you and Michael are bonding really well, and I know you two are giving it your all. And because of that, I don't want to interfere, but… at some point, if you would allow me, I would like to get to know you as well. So please… please protect Michael and come home safe."
Dorothy nodded at Sheila and turned around to look at her console, pressing a similar button.
"Big O! You know this is a test, but I know you're going to give it your all, with Roger. I'm going to sit this one out because we need to know if Michael's Big Duo's pilot. Please be careful. Please be safe. Come home. Bring Roger home safe. I have faith in you."
"WHAT THE HELL, CROWBIRD! THE NUMBERS ON THE OMEGA AND DUO UNITS ARE SKYROCKETING! WE'RE HAVING A BLUE/INDIGO ALIGNMENT STATUS ON BOTH UNITS! WHAT DID YOU SAY THEM?!"
Dorothy giggled as Sheila joined her.
"We told them to have fun."
"WHAT?!"
Dorothy chuckled, but then turned serious.
"All the same, we haven't had alignment levels like this before…"
"Ma! They keep going up, like really fast! I don't think that's a good thing."
"It's okay, Tim. Sometimes they do that. It happened with your father and Uncle Beck fighting one time. But keep an eye on it. Beck, if it's all the same to you, I know what Roger told you, but…"
"You're thinking what I'm thinking. Alright. READY THE FAUST UNIT! HAVE IT ON STANDBY!"
One of the controllers at their station nodded.
"YES SIR!"
****
Big Duo unstuck himself from the mountain side.
"Let's not lose to this old geezer. Whaddayah say, Big Duo? LET'S SHOW HIM WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER!"
"Old geezer?" Roger came across the mike. Big O's eyes flashed, and Roger smiled.
"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" bellowed Roger and maneuvered Big O into a fighting stance, "BIG O! SHOW HIM WHAT TEAM OMEGA CAN DO!"
Big Duo charged at Big O, running across the field. Roger fired another hip anchor, but Big Duo and Michael were ready this time. Big Duo propeller began to spin at top speed. He dodged the hip anchor and cut the chain with the propeller. Roger moved the joy cons and brought Big O's arms up into a defensive position, his guard fully up. Big Duo slammed his arms into Big O, punching him hard. Roger braced himself.
"Keep your guard up, Big O. We got this!"
"You think so, old man? Big Duo, help me out! Let's break his guard!"
Big Duo's center console showed the command for his Arc Line attack. Michael nodded.
"Let's do it! FIRE!"
Michael flipped the switch on the joy con and pressed the button. Big Duo fired an Arc Line attack at close range, pushing Big O back. Roger desperately tried to maintain Big O's balance as he stepped back, but Big Duo closed the gap, swinging with his left arm, stunning Roger and Big O, and then coming down with his right arm, the propeller spinning quickly cutting across Big O's chest area. Big O fell to the ground, the center console beeping loudly. Level 2 damage has been sustained to Big O's chest.
"BIG DUO! LET'S GO! GET AIRBORNE BEFORE HE HAS A CHANCE TO RECOVER!"
Big Duo began its slow ascent into the sky, then increasing in speed. He took off, finally gaining the momentum he needed. Roger got up Big O from the ground.
I feel like I'm fighting Schwarzwald again, but it's like, he's gotten stronger or better at this…
"It's alright, Big O. We knew eventually that would happen. Let's keep focused. We can put these two in their place. We've done it before, and we'll do it again! SHOWTIME!"
Big O's eyes flashed once more, and he assumed his fighting stance as Big Duo circled around in the air, now coming in for a volley run with his machine guns out, ready to fire.
"Atta boy, Big Duo! Give him a run for his money! Fire everything you got!"
Big Duo began firing machine gun fire onto Big O, Roger maneuvering Big O's arms and guarding from the attack as Big Duo passed by them. Big O turned around.
"Heh, that all you got? MISSILE PARTY, GO!"
And Roger slammed the control lid opened and smacked all the buttons. Big O's center opened up and a volley of missiles and machine gun locked on to Big Duo, weaving their way in the air, trying to find their target.
"OH SHIT!"
Michael was now on the defensive with Big Duo. He managed to dodge the machine gun fire, but now he had the missiles to worry about. He maneuvered the foot pedals down and Big Duo after burner punched out more energy, going faster. He made a hard left turn, still climbing in altitude, the missiles still following. Big Duo circled around until Michael saw the mountain cliff below him.
"Big Duo, head for the cliff. If you got any flares, release those, but make a beeline for that cliff. Trust me, please!"
Big Duo's eyes flashed, and he altered his flight path, making a beeline for the cliffside, while releasing flares. Many of the missiles sought out the flares, exploding when they came into contact with them. However, a few missiles ignored the flares, still locked onto Big Duo. Big Duo was heading for the cliff and fast.
"Michael, pull up!" Sheila's voice came across the comm.
"Have faith in us, Sheila! Listen up, Big Duo, I know you're a big guy, but I need you to pull up at the last second. However, I can't do this alone. I need your help. Help me guide you upward and to victory!"
Big Duo's eyes flashed, closing in the cliff. Roger saw what was going to happen.
"What the… MICHAEL, PULL UP DAMNNIT!"
"Quiet old man! Let's show them… HOW IT'S DONE! HRRUAH!"
Michael and Big Duo pulled up at the last second, Big Duo's body mere feet away from the cliff side as the missiles slammed into the rock, exploding and creating cloud of smoke. Big Duo emerged from the smoke, turning around and coming down toward Roger. Roger grinned sheepishly.
"I'm impressed, but I think we're in trouble. Big O, get ready!"
Big O and Big Duo fired an Arc Line at each other simultaneously, the beams meeting in the air, growing into a large sphere, then exploding, causing everyone watching to be blinded momentarily. Dorothy looked away, shielding her eyes.
"Roger…" she whispered, with a note of worry.
Sheila turned to her.
"Should we stop? The numbers… that should be more than enough."
"I know my husband and I practically raised you and Michael at the clinic. They won't be satisfied, and neither will you. Have faith, Sheila. They'll be alright…"
"CROW BIRD! This battle is getting too hot! I'm going…"
"Beck, standby…"
"BUT…"
"BECK, STANDBY!"
Tim looked at his mom then back to his Uncle Beck. Beck was frustrated with Dorothy's request, Tim could tell, but as Roger and Big O were fighting on the test field, this was her operation to command, and the SCA council had voted on that. Tim then looked at the dashboard. Both Big O and Big Duo's alignment levels were now showing errors in the numbers as the system couldn't process the connection and the status was flashing "INDIGO."
"Dad…" whispered Tim, "Big Brother Michael…"