Dominic stood in the cockpit of his newly repaired mech, The Golden Titan, watching the final preparations for the UOP's upcoming offensive unfold before him. The cockpit was quiet, save for the soft hum of the mech's systems coming online, the neural implant in his head syncing with the powerful AI that would guide his every move. He wasn't supposed to be here, not after what had happened with Zara, not after all the chaos that had consumed him.
But here he was, once again, ready for battle.
As the orders came through to mobilize, Dominic's hand hovered over the controls, his thoughts still clouded by the images of Zara's final moments. Her face, pale and stricken with pain, flashed before his eyes, and he quickly shoved it aside. There was no time to grieve. Not yet.
"Dominic, are you ready?" came the voice of Commander Lox, his commanding officer.
He didn't respond immediately, instead focusing on the mech's sensors, ensuring everything was in working order. His mind, however, was elsewhere. Even now, he could feel the strange, unnerving hum in the back of his skull—the same feeling he had when the core from the wrecked mech he scavenged had first started affecting his neural implant. The disruptions were more frequent now, more pronounced, like whispers of something trying to take hold of his mind.
"Dominic," Lox's voice broke through his trance again, sharper this time.
"I'm good to go," Dominic replied flatly, voice void of emotion.
A small pause on the other end. "Make sure you stay sharp out there. We're not just fighting the CMC. We're facing an entire fleet of juggernaut-class mechs and specialized forces. I don't need to remind you what happened last time."
Dominic let out a breath through his teeth, his jaw tightening. The last battle had nearly broken him. His mech had been damaged beyond repair, and the loss of Zara still gnawed at him. But he wasn't the same man anymore. He couldn't afford to be.
"I won't fail you," Dominic finally said, his voice colder than before. "Let's go."
The battle began as soon as they hit the outer perimeter of the enemy's territory. Dominic's mech was one of many, part of a convoy of UOP forces preparing to hit the CMC's strongholds hard. His hands tightened around the controls, his fingers moving without conscious thought, as the mech's systems synced with his neural implant. It was as if he and the machine were one.
Dominic was no longer the scavenger, no longer the solitary mechanic. He was a soldier now, a warrior forged in the fires of a war that never seemed to end.
"Engage," came the command, and the world exploded in a flash of laser fire and the roar of enemy mechs charging at them.
The battlefield was a chaos of clashing metal, the sky darkened by the sheer number of mechs engaged in battle. Dominic's mech surged forward, its massive fists slamming into a nearby enemy mech with terrifying precision, the force sending the smaller machine spiraling into the ground in a cloud of sparks.
"Target acquired," the AI in his head reported coldly.
Dominic didn't hesitate. He shifted his weight, and the Golden Titan pivoted on its massive legs, launching a devastating shoulder-mounted missile that tore into the enemy lines. A juggernaut-class CMC mech staggered, its armor splitting under the impact as the missile tore through it.
The battlefield was a sea of flashing lights, explosions, and the constant, unrelenting clash of mechs. But amidst the fury, Dominic's mind was once again drawn to the strange hum within his skull. The core, the source of the disruptions, had somehow become more... invasive. More insistent.
He gritted his teeth as his mech's systems began to flicker for a brief moment. "Not now," Dominic muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, a loud screech echoed through his cockpit. The Golden Titan's targeting system was malfunctioning, locking onto the wrong enemy mech, a smaller scout unit. Dominic slammed his fist against the console, forcing the AI to recalibrate, but it was like fighting an invisible force inside his head, trying to take control. The neural implant was pushing him to attack the wrong targets, clouding his judgment.
"Dominic, get your head in the game!" Lox's voice crackled through the comms.
Dominic snapped back to reality, shaking off the creeping sensation of being overridden by something. He refocused, shutting out the noise, and found his next target—a juggernaut-class CMC mech bearing down on the UOP forces.
He tightened his grip on the controls.
"Locked on," the AI announced, and Dominic fired.
The blast was devastating, tearing through the juggernaut's defenses. The enemy mech reeled, sparks and debris flying as it crumpled under the assault. A perfect shot. But as Dominic watched the wreckage burn, something felt off. A sickening wave of unease rippled through his mind. The implant, the AI—it wasn't acting like it used to. He couldn't tell if it was the core's influence or if it was just the weight of the battle getting to him, but the line between himself and the machine was beginning to blur.
"Dominic!" Lox's voice crackled again. "Get your head in the game, or we'll lose this!"
Dominic's jaw clenched. The fight wasn't over. He would finish it, just like he had always done. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something darker was stirring inside him. Something that wasn't him.
As the Golden Titan tore through another wave of enemies, Dominic's mind was consumed by the same thought that had haunted him for weeks now:
Was he really in control? Or was something else guiding his every move?