Chapter 54: Confrontation at the Crater

As soon as they reached the cockpit, Clyde, carrying Celes, leaped inside, followed by Craig, Casca, and Corie. Clyde placed Celes on the central circle, then involuntarily took his stand on the circle directly behind her. He noticed Craig standing on the frontmost circle, Casca on the circle to Celes’s right, and Corie on the circle to her left, flanking Celes in the middle. A bright glow radiated from the circles on the floor, and the flesh-like surface inside each circle rose to encase their feet. Flesh-like hoses descended from the ceiling, and they all raised their hands in unison.

The hoses enclosed both of their hands, and they pulled them downward. Bwooong. A deep hum echoed inside the cockpit as the lights flickered to life. The cockpit door sealed shut, plunging the room into darkness, before a monitor flared open in front of them, displaying the view through the giant robot’s eyes. By then, their bodies had shifted, skin turned grey with red veins pulsing like a zombie’s, complemented by their respective cryptid features. A quiet calm settled over the room.

"Wait a second... how do we know how to control this robot automatically?" Craig asked, turning to speak to the others from his position up front.

"Yeah... why do I just understand it... and know exactly what to do?" Casca said.

"Same here... this is... strange," Corie added.

"It’s not strange... the newly installed Protocol 6-C restored all your memories. By now, you must remember our life together right up until we were separated, don’t you?" Celes asked.

Clyde, Corie, Casca, and Craig fell silent. It was true, they remembered their past clearly: the sheer agony of undergoing their respective experiments, followed by having those memories wiped, and worst of all, what happened after they escaped and were torn apart. Craig had been captured by soldiers, but en route, the company evacuating him was ambushed by nephilim, who then dragged him to a farm.

The same had happened to Clyde, Casca, and Corie; while flying, they were brought down by the resonance of a melody and captured by soldiers, only for the company carrying them to be obliterated by nephilim as well, as if the nephilim had coordinated an assault specifically to ambush the military and abduct them. Afterwards, they were taken to separate farms, remaining there until they finally woke up.

Clyde, Corie, Casca, and Craig stood frozen in silence as everything came rushing back, tears streaming down their faces. Seeing this, Celes smiled, tears welling in her own eyes as well. But suddenly, a large holographic screen popped open in front of them, showing GDAB soldiers beginning to breach the building.

"We can reminisce later. Right now, we need to leave," Celes said with a solemn face, even as her eyes glistened with tears.

"All systems ready. We’re clear for departure, Sister," Casca added.

"Yeah... the transport motor in the hangar is powered up, all green," Corie added.

"Alright... Craig, take us out of here," Clyde replied.

"Got it... Chimaera Z-X, launch!" Craig commanded.

Craig raised both hands into the air. Outside, clang... clang... clang, the cables tethering Chimaera Z-X snapped away. White steam hissed from the base of Chimaera Z-X’s feet and joints. The robot’s expansive wings folded tight around its frame, and its arms crossed over its chest, prepared for launch. The platform beneath the colossal robot began to rise, rapidly accelerating upward toward the surface.

***

Meanwhile, the soldiers above stood positioned before the building right at the crater’s edge alongside several jeeps, while two helicopters circled overhead. Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the earth beneath them like a massive earthquake. An officer previously atop a jeep leaped down, gripping the vehicle for balance, as a soldier looking like a researcher rushed up to him holding a tablet,

"Commander Bradley, there’s underground movement!" the soldier reported, holding out the tablet.

Bradley snatched the tablet, his eyes narrowing as he watched a red dot rising from beneath the earth toward the surface at breakneck speed, triggering the seismic disturbance. He turned his head to look at the GEAR standing in the middle of the crater amid the trees, then sprinted toward the crater’s edge through the shaking ground,

"Hey... get out of there... airborne, now!" Bradley shouted, gesturing wildly for the GEAR to pull back.

The pilot inside the GEAR didn’t hear him; the massive mech remained standing, scanning its surroundings with its weapon raised. Seeing the GEAR freeze, Bradley grabbed the radio attached to his shoulder and barked into it,

"Hey... that’s an order! Vacate the perimeter immediately, move!" Bradley yelled.

The GEAR’s head turned as aircraft wings deployed from its back. Bwooosh! Rockets flared from its legs and wings as the GEAR began ascending into the air. But before it could reach high altitude, the crater floor caved in and burst open. The colossal form of Chimaera Z-X, shrouded in massive moth wings, emerged atop its platform. The upward force nudged the nearby GEAR, sending it tumbling backward until boom! it crashed right behind Chimaera Z-X.

Bradley’s face went deathly pale, as did those of the soldiers looking up at Chimaera Z-X. The seventy-meter titan stood erect before them, its frame enveloped by two moth wings that gave it an intimidating, dark, and otherworldly appearance. Boom... boom. The GEAR that had fallen behind Chimaera Z-X scrambled slowly to its feet and raised its weapon. But suddenly, schunk! the GEAR looked down to find Chimaera Z-X’s sharp, spiked tail impaling its midsection, carving a hole that crackled with internal electrical sparks.

Scrape.

Chimaera Z-X retracted its tail, generating a screeching, metallic grinding sound. Then—blam!—sparks and electrical discharges within the cavity reached the GEAR’s core, causing it to detonate instantly behind Chimaera Z-X as the tail pulled free. Watching their sole GEAR explode into a fireball, the soldiers and Bradley turned paler still, reflexively training their weapons on the giant robot standing in the crater amidst the trees. Suddenly,

Whoosh!

One of the attack helicopters fired a missile preceded by a glowing magic circle straight toward Chimaera Z-X. Watching this, Bradley’s face turned even whiter as he frantically slammed his finger onto his radio,

"Hey... who authorized that fire?! Lower your weapons... lower your weapons!" Bradley screamed.

Blam!

Too late. The missile struck Chimaera Z-X, triggering a massive explosion. A giant fireball detonated with a deafening roar, sending a wave of scorching wind sweeping through everything in the vicinity. Bradley, clad in protective gear that automatically deployed a barrier, raised his arm to shield his face. But behind his eyes, sheer terror took hold as he stared at Chimaera Z-X engulfed in flames ahead.

As the smoke cleared and the flames subsided, the form of Chimaera Z-X reemerged, completely unscathed behind a protective barrier. Then thud! Chimaera Z-X turned to face the soldiers and the helicopters. Snap! It unfurled its massive wings behind its back, dropped both hands into clenched fists at its sides, and tilted its head up to fix its gaze on the helicopter hovering above the building, whose pilot was in a blind panic.

Its posture was overwhelmingly imposing, primed to obliterate the threat before it. Seeing Chimaera Z-X assume a battle stance, Bradley’s face grew entirely drained of color,

"This is bad... this is extremely bad," he thought, cold sweat drenching his forehead.

Bradley reached for his radio once more with a trembling hand, bringing it back to his mouth,

"Lower your weapons... lower your weapons! Nobody shoot, stay calm! Wave anything white in front of them, hurry!" Bradley shouted frantically.

Griek.

Bradley gasped. Chimaera Z-X’s head had turned directly toward him as he stood at the crater’s edge, its two red eyes, a purple third eye, and three eyes embedded on each of its wings all staring straight at him.