Layla, her expression a mix of anger and determination, surveyed the scene. Her eyes locked onto Tomi, whose fear was palpable.
"I don't care who the hell that was, but We need to move, now, and report to Tijona," she ordered, her voice cutting through the tense silence. "We can't let them get any closer."
Meanwhile, everyone looked shocked at what just happened as this was the first encounter with a cheetah used to communicate with them, Arande, her mech's damaged wing twitching slightly, released her hold on Tomi's lancer.
"Handing in there?" she asked, her voice softer, despite the turmoil around them.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what was that?" Tomi says coldly.
"That was a message," Arande replied grimly. "They're not just targeting us—they're after you specifically. We need to stay on guard."
"Yeah I know that.. but it's bizarre to use dark mecha to send messages across"
Tomi says from the session getting to her by Gina.
Blaze, still catching his breath from the earlier battle, added, "Yeah we know. that's why we need to regroup with Tijona and the others. They're clearing out the remaining mecha."
Zane, ever observant, pointed to the remaining dark mecha scattered around the battlefield. "Let's finish up here and catch up with the rest. The sooner we get out, the better."
The team quickly fell into formation, their lancers moving with practiced efficiency.
Layla and Arande led the way, their mecha's wings slicing through the air as they cleared the remaining dark mecha. Blaze and Zane provided cover, their attacks precise and devastating.
As they advanced, Tomi struggled to keep up, his thoughts racing.
The encounter had left him internally shaken, and the notion that he was the focal point of a larger, more sinister plan weighed heavily on him.
The ground beneath their mechas vibrated with the echo of distant blasts as Ace's team regrouped, the towering machines standing tall against the twilight sky.
The dark, sleek forms of Ace's light lancer and the others exuded power and dominance, their armor barely scratched from the previous battle.
"We're all accounted for," Ace's voice came through their comms, steady as ever.
His light lancer, towering and angular, reflected the last light of the fading sun. "Let's move before reinforcements arrive."
Before anyone could respond, Tijona's voice cut through the air like ice.
"Ace, I suggest you keep that attitude in check. Last I checked, I lead this team."
Her words were calm, but the edge in her tone betrayed her irritation, barely veiled beneath her commanding demeanor.
Layla had just briefed her on the strange transmission through the dark mecha—the unsettling message about Tomi.
Tomi's fingers clenched on his controls, the weight of everything that had happened sinking in.
His mind replayed the image of the shattered cheetah, the cold voice that had spoken through it. Fear lingered, but something else burned brighter now—resolve.
"I don't know why they want me back… but I'll make them pay." His voice, though small in the echo of battle, held steel.
A mocking chuckle came from Ace's side of the comms.
"Make them pay?"
Ace repeated, the smirk almost audible in his voice. His light lancer shifted slightly, its massive limbs creaking as he turned toward Tomi.
"Yeah, right. In the state you're in, you'll probably be dead before that happens." The words were cold, biting, as Ace's mecha started moving forward.
Tomi's temper flared, heat rushing to his cheeks as he opened his mouth to retort, "Why you—"
Suddenly, every alarm in their systems blared in unison. A flash of pink and white streaked past, moving with unnatural speed.
Ace's light lancer came to an abrupt halt, its massive frame stiff as warnings flooded his cockpit.
[Incoming threat detected]
[New mecha signature: UNKNOWN] [Threat level: High]
Tomi's heart dropped as his screen filled with a scan of the new arrival.
A towering, 50-foot-tall humanoid mecha stood before Ace, its sleek, slim form painted in shades of pink with sharp white stripes cutting through its armor-like blades. It was eerily human-shaped—slim, feminine, and poised with an unsettling grace that belied its size.
The air seemed to hum around it as if the very atmosphere recoiled from its presence.
Ace's light lancer froze in shock as the unknown mecha's glowing, piercing eyes locked onto him, its thin, clawed hands flexing as though it was preparing for something far worse than a fight.
The stillness in the air felt like the calm before a devastating storm.
For a moment, no one spoke. The battlefield, once filled with the sounds of explosions and energy beams, now seemed suffocated by the presence of this towering figure.
"What the hell is that?" Tomi whispered, his voice trembling with disbelief as the giant pink and white mecha took a single step forward, the ground trembling beneath its weight.
Ace's voice, uncharacteristically shaken, came through the comms.
"Stay back," he ordered the cold confidence from before replaced with something Tomi hadn't heard from Ace before: uncertainty.
The battlefield crackled with tension, dust swirling in the wind as Nia's voice broke through the static, melodic yet dripping with mockery.
"That's rude..." she began, her tone laced with sarcasm.
"Not able to detect the name of my baby? Talk about wrecked systems for the best military organization in the world."
Her voice was husky, the kind of voice that made every word feel deliberate, like a razor slicing through the air.
The hum of her mecha, Rita, was low and menacing as it loomed over Ace's light lancer. "Then again, it's just a self-proclaimed title, isn't it?"
Everyone stood frozen, their mechas eerily still, processing the scene before them.
The massive pink and white humanoid mecha was unlike anything they'd ever encountered—its sleek, human-like design was uncanny, unsettling even.
Ace's light lancer, usually the second most formidable of the group, seemed dwarfed by the sheer presence of Nia's Rita, its glowing eyes mere inches from Ace's cockpit, too close for comfort.
Tomi's heart raced, his eyes widening as the design of Nia's mecha stirred something deep within him—a strange familiarity.
The human shape reminded him too much of Tristan's mecha from his dream, the one that haunted his sleep.
He shuddered, unable to shake the unsettling connection.
Zane and Blaze, normally composed, stood in their mechas, wide-eyed in disbelief.
Layla and Arande hovered above the scene in their winged mechas, scanning the threat from above, while Griggs and Jean remained grounded.
Jean's expression was cold as usual, though, for a split second, his composure slipped—his surprise barely concealed. Griggs, on the other hand, was unfazed, observing with his usual stoicism.
Tijona's voice broke through the tension, commanding, "Ace, move this in—"
But before the command could finish, a devastating blow landed on Ace's light lancer.
The impact was immediate and brutal. Rita's fist collided with the light lancer's chest with a deafening crack, sending a shockwave rippling through the battlefield.
Ace's mecha was flung back with terrifying force, tumbling through the air like a ragdoll, crashing into the ground far behind his team.
"Sending your crew to their deaths was indeed the right choice!" Nia's voice purred, savoring the destruction she had just unleashed.
The wind from the punch howled through the battlefield, a vicious gust that rocked every mecha still standing. Dust and debris whipped across the air as Tomi, Zane, Blaze, Jean, and Griggs struggled to keep their mechas upright.
Their machines groaned against the force, pushed back by the sheer power of the blast.
Above, Layla and Arande clung desperately to the air, their winged mechas fighting against the storm.
Tijona's mecha was the only one standing firm amidst the chaos, resolute, and unmoving, while the rest of the team fought to hold their ground.