Tomi blinked through the pain, his vision blurry as he focused on Layla, her face streaked with blood. His heart clenched, panic and anger surging through him.
As he twisted slightly, he realized he was being held, cradled like a doll in someone's grasp. His eyes darted around the battlefield—Zane and Blaze lay motionless on the ground, and Ace hung limp in the arms of another man.
The realization crashed over him like a tidal wave. The blast that had taken them all down—Ace, Zane, Blaze—was the work of these three figures standing around him.
Rage bubbled up inside him, hot and unrelenting. The realization hit with a sickening thud: these were Eclipse members, dangerous and ruthless.
"Let go of me right now!" Tomi snarled, his voice shaking with fury as he struggled in the stranger's grip, the edges of his vision flickering with red.
"Huh?" Dusk drawled lazily, casting a half-interested glance at Tomi as Nightfall held him with ease, her grip unyielding as she prepared to vanish into a swirling blue portal of energy.
"You're awake already?" Nightfall's voice cut through the noise, cold and indifferent, her demeanor as detached as ever.
She glanced down at Tomi with mild curiosity, as if his rage was nothing more than an amusing inconvenience.
"Less chitchat," Cassius calm and cold address, his voice sharp as he stepped toward the blue portal.
"We have what we came for, so time to head out!" he added, hoisting the unconscious Ace into his arms and preparing to disappear through the energy rift.
Just as they were about to vanish, a blinding flash split the air. A sword, gleaming with lethal precision, slashed through the blue portal, ripping it apart with such force that the energy shattered like fireworks, spraying fragments of glowing light across the sky.
The shockwave sent a ripple through the battlefield, the air crackling with energy.
Meanwhile Far off, at the high tower balcony overlooking the outskirts, Malik observed the spectacle, his eyes narrowing as he watched the explosion of blue light.
"So she's arrived..." he muttered to himself, his voice as cold as the expression on his face.
The sight seemed to amuse him, though he turned away with a dismissive shrug. "I suppose there's no point in me heading out there now," he thought, his face void of emotion.
Back on the battlefield, Tomi's head whipped toward the source of the interruption. A figure stood there, a grin plastered across her face, eyes gleaming with a manic intensity.
Dusk took a step back, momentarily caught off guard by the display of power, while Nightfall remained unfazed, her cold demeanor unbroken, watching everything with an eerie calm.
Cassius staggered backward as the blue portal shattered, the crackling energy splitting in half like glass.
"Who is she?!" Tomi thought, his heart racing as he spotted the young girl, her advanced suit armor gleaming under the darkened sky.
Her eyes—golden pupils burning with menace—locked onto the Eclipse members. She moved with impossible speed, weaving through the air like a predator circling its prey.
"How dare you touch my beautiful Ace!" she shouted, her voice echoing with fury as she twirled her sword before morphing it into a sleek, long rifle.
Her lips curled into a manic grin as she aimed directly at Cassius, who was still holding Ace.
Without hesitation, she opened fire, energy bullets whizzing through the air with deadly precision, her high-pitched giggles chilling the air.
Cassius dodged effortlessly, the bullets slamming into the ground behind him, sending bursts of blue energy erupting in fiery explosions.
His movements were calculated, and swift, but the relentless barrage forced him to stay on the defensive.
As one bullet hurtled toward Nightfall, still holding the dazed Tomi, she barely glanced at it. With a flick of her wrist, she swatted the energy bolt aside like an annoying fly, the resulting explosion lighting up the air in a brilliant flash of blue.
Nightfall's cold eyes never left the scene, her face an expressionless mask as the energy combusted around her.
"Enough of this child's play, Cassius," Nightfall's voice was calm, yet icy, cutting through the chaos as she watched Cassius deftly dodge the remaining shots.
The battlefield was lit by the constant barrage of energy, the air thick with the smell of scorched earth and burning debris. The girl's laughter rang out above the explosions, a twisted melody of amusement as she danced through the chaos, her eyes locked on Cassius like a hunter stalking its prey.
Cassius, unbothered by the near misses and the explosions bursting behind him, gave a lazy smirk.
"She's annoyingly persistent," he muttered, eyes flicking toward Nightfall.
"But don't worry. She's an easy disposal thing?"
Meanwhile, Tomi's breath hitched as he felt a sudden surge of strength, his fingers tightening around Nightfall's arm.
His pulse raced in his ears, the intensity of the moment almost too much to process. He glanced up and locked eyes with Nightfall, her expression as cold and unfeeling as the void.
"Let go of me," Tomi gritted, struggling to break free as heat began to radiate from his pilot suit.
He could feel the energy building inside him, his suit responding to the urgency of the situation.
"Liyah, activate Wind Flare!" he barked, desperation in his voice.
"Roger that!" Liyah's high-pitched voice chirped in his ear, her tone ever calm despite the chaos.
With a sudden roar, a gust of wind exploded from Tomi's suit, the air swirling violently around him. The force was enough to break Nightfall's grip, and Tomi found himself free, his body propelled downward.
He focused, using the Wind Flare to cushion his descent, his boots hitting the ground in a rush of wind.
"I did it…" he thought, adrenaline still surging as he caught his breath. But his moment of triumph was cut short.
"Damn right, I did!"
His eyes fell on Layla beside him, bloodied and struggling to speak.
She pointed weakly toward the girl battling the Eclipse members—Dusk, Nightfall, and Cassius—her mouth moving but no words escaping.
Tomi turned to look in the direction Layla indicated, but before he could fully process the scene, a chilling presence loomed over him. Nightfall was already there, standing before them with her cold, calculating eyes fixed on him.
"Is your pathetic show, over?!" Nightfall's voice was a knife, sharp and cutting through the air as she reached for him, her fingers outstretched like claws. "If so, then You're coming with me."
Tomi's heart pounded as her hand neared him, panic flooding his veins. But something inside him snapped.
"In your damn dreams!" he roared, sending a signal through his neurolink.
In an instant, his mecha responded, charging forward with a deafening thud as it rushed Nightfall.
The ground quaked beneath its heavy steps, and Tomi felt a surge of hope as his machine's massive fist barreled toward her.
But Nightfall didn't flinch. She spread her arms out, bracing herself. The mecha's punch collided with her hand, but instead of crumpling under the force, she stopped it cold, her fingers gripping the metal with eerie ease.
The wind from the impact gusted around them like a tidal wave, whipping Tomi's hair into his face.
Tomi's eyes widened in disbelief. Nightfall stood unmoved, her icy gaze locked on him, her grip unyielding. She had stopped his mecha—his full-force attack—with a single hand.
"If it wasn't for the fact that he needs you alive..." Nightfall's voice was low, each word carrying a cruel edge.
She snapped her fingers, and Tomi's mecha groaned as it crumbled, piece by piece, from its hand down to the legs, collapsing like a weakened skeleton.
"I would have brought your corpse to him." Her words cut through the chaos around them, the sounds of battle between Cassius, Dusk, and the mysterious new girl fading into a distant hum in Tomi's ears.
Suddenly, a flash of red streaked toward Nightfall. A voice, fierce and commanding, rang out. "Hands off the boy!"
Tomi blinked, his eyes tracking the blue bullet hurling through the air, aimed straight at Nightfall.
Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, the girl swooped in, yanking him from the ground with startling force, pulling him away from Nightfall's grip.
"Guess you're the one they're after, huh?" she said, her tone light despite the intense battle raging around them.
She flew effortlessly in her advanced AI suit, her movements precise and controlled.
"Anyway, I'm Tinia," she continued, a grin spreading across her face. "But you can call me Tin."
Tomi stared at her in disbelief, still struggling to wrap his mind around how she could introduce herself so casually in the middle of a fight.
"Is she serious?"He thought, feeling both enraged and confused.
But there was no time to dwell on it. The air around Tinia shimmered as a surge of energy radiated from her suit.
Red light began to materialize, swirling with power. In one swift motion, she tossed Tomi toward a glowing hole in the air.
His heart dropped into his stomach as the world spun around him.
"What is this?" he thought, panic setting in as he tumbled into the red energy vortex. His suit strained under the crushing force, the metal groaning as if it would tear apart at any second.
"One gone, one left," Tinia's voice echoed from above. She spun mid-air, her rifle clashing against Dusk's sword, blocking his strike with ease, her grin never faltering.
A grin curled across Tinia's lips, her excitement barely contained as the battle escalated. She flew backward, her sleek AI suit glinting under the dim light, and unleashed a rapid barrage of energy bullets.
Each shot hissed through the air, aimed at Dusk first, then Nightfall, and finally Cassius, carefully avoiding Ace, who hung unconscious in Cassius' grip.
"Now, Hand my man over!" Tinia demanded, her voice sharp and unyielding as her eyes locked onto Ace in Cassius' arms.
Cassius didn't flinch, but before she could continue her assault, Nightfall's calm, cold voice interrupted. "Alright, enough."
Tinia's eyes widened as, in the blink of an eye, Nightfall, Dusk, and Cassius appeared directly in front of her, floating midair, their combined presence casting a dark shadow over her. For a brief moment, her breath caught—but then she smirked.
"You're right!" she shot back, her gaze flicking to the ground below where three GF2 captains stood, watching the confrontation unfold.