The Hands of Science (Lukas)

[GEAR]

Ashley's full-powered Proton Sword strike slashed down through the air with a hiss of burning ozone, connecting dead on with its target - one of the DAMON, which only had time to glance up as she swung down. It brought its horns up, attempting to parry the blow, focusing its dimensional field at the point where the two would meet - but it was to no avail. The Riot had been designed specifically to combat their kind, and Ashley's blow scythed cleanly through the monster, barrier and all, making its evolution short lived as it vanished with a scream of frustration.

Out of the dust however, a familiar shape emerged - scything towards her in the gloom. A spray of oil-like blood in its wake, and she would know - the tail of the third beast, gluttonous fangs bursting from its bulbous face, hurtled towards her on a collision course as she landed, a symbiotic suicide bomber.

Sure enough, the MARV's charge was met head on by one of the remaining DAMON. True to its namesake, it ran directly at the behemoth, building up speed as it did, smashing apart the ground underneath as it increased to a frenzied pace, missiles and Vulcan fire plinking harmlessly off its kaleidoscopic barrier as it did. It seemed to have a deathwish…

Or... a plan.

 

[Lukas]

Twodown-MARVblastedonetoo.Twoleftletroverhandleone...whyisitchargingabull?MoveinprepforassiTAIL! Ashley's train of thought (if it could be called that) was rudely interrupted by the flying parasite, and she forced the riot to fly straight up in an attempt to dodge.

The MARV kept on accelerating, refusing to let whatever 'plan' a DAMON could come up with stop it. Both vulcans changed targets, firing either side of the DAMON now to chart a course for the coming collision.

"Bizarre... they're not in any way intelligent, but DAMONs have shown signs of intelligence." Dylan had momentarily stopped taking notes as he watched the batlle outside unfold.

"Your point, Dr.Couch? These haven't put up much of a fight."

"My point is that they're behaving oddly. Not even a normal damon would throw itself under a vehicle bigger than itself - we've tried, it was messy - and this one seems to be doing exactly that." Dylan rolled his eyes, watching another set of missiles bounce off the charging beast.

"Then get the D-Cannon ready. If it dodges, that'll handle it."

 

[GEAR]

Ashley's Riot rocketed into the air, and the thrown living bomb hurtled underneath, harmlessly. Yet, were she to crane her gaze upward, she would have realized that she was far from out of danger as the Riot's proximity alarm blared. Charging right at her from her right, the previously obscured DAMON burst from the smoke, twin horns crackling as it whipped both its tendrils downward, attempting to catch Ashley in mid leap, and drag her down to the earth.

The MARV and the remaining Bull DAMON continued in their game of chicken. The creature showed no signs of slowing down, accelerating as it charged the tank. There was a collosal BANG! as the MARV impacted the creature... But then nothing. The tank's treads spun, but it remained still. The DAMON's head peered over the lip of the MARV's front... and the shimmering, almost opaque D-Fault barrier, imposed between the two of them. The creature had managed to stop the tank's advance cold - a feat previously unheard of - by focusing the barrier in front of it. Perhaps it was the locale, or a result of its newfound transformation - but their previous data on the Bull Type would require some... Revision.

Its two electrified "horns" jutted out - and stabbed violently into the underside of the tank, the creature's 'plan' now clear as it sent jolts of Dimensional Energy into the MARV's frame, attempting to short-circuit its systems by attacking its vulnerable underbelly...

 

[Lukas]

"Apparently it can't 'handle it'. There's no firing angle. I knew we should have fitted a grinder on the front..." Dylan shakes his head, typing out a couple of commands as the lights flickered inside the rover. "I'm activating the Cornices. They're nothing compared to my creations, but they should at least serve as a distraction." The back of the MARV opened once more, a pair of mechanical birds activating and launching in short order. They both went straight up at first, automated routines shutting down once they were clear and letting Dylan take over. The MARV's vulcans and missiles fell silent for now, but it kept on trying to accelerate and crush the Damon under its treads.

MarvindangerAttackdodged.CornixesLaunching...Proximity alarm? Breachbreachbreachunabletoddoge-counterattack. Ashley twisted the Riot in midair, too slow to dodge but still trying to turn the strike to her advantage. She let the tendrils slam into one arm of the riot, letting loose with the chest vulcans and igniting the other blade to be rammed at its chest.

Both Cornices flew above the MARV, getting a read on the situation before moving in. The first Cornix charged down at the Bulldamon harassing the MARV with its claws extended, moving in a suicidal fashion to either break the damon's concentration or otherwise knock it somewhere it could be shot properly. The second moved to above the center of the crater as it attempted to get a clean firing angle on Ashley's target.

 

[GEAR]

Ashley's counterattack found an unlikely mark as the DAMON savaged her arm. The creature's head snapped forward ravenously, snapping mere inches from her face as the two slammed into the ground - but the force of the impact drove the heavy DAMON down onto her blade, impaling it completely. It screamed in pain and disbelief, thrashing about on the weapon momentarily before vanishing across the event horizon like those before it - leaving Ashley alone in a crater.

The last Bull DAMON continued tearing viciously at the undercarriage of the MARV, its tendrils discharging electric shocks into the tank's systems. The Cornix that darted in close, however, severed one of its tendrils, and - critically - broke the beast's concentration, causing it to glance up... And the full weight of the tank, which came crashing down on it. It screamed a reverberating roar before vanishing under the treads in a spray of mechanical blood and chunks of metallic, DEC-riddled flesh, before crumpling in on itself like a wet piece of origami.

The battle, for the moment, had been won thanks to the creative thinking of the MARV Team. The "core" awaited, pulsating gently in its cradle... Nothing further emerged to menace them despite the incredible din raised by their actions. The forest... Lay still.

 

[Lukas]

"All units destroyed!" Katri let out a cheer as the DAMON was crushed underneath the MARV, which halted once it was clear of the corpse. The turret was moved to aim directly at the core just in case as well. The first Cornix perched on top of the turret, while the second landed next to the Riot to check how well it was functioning.

The answer was... not particularly well. While Ashley had been able to mostly save one of the arms, the other was effectively useless. And her drugs were wearing off. She forced the riot onto its feet once more, charging up the blade and getting close to the core.

"This is Ashley... Still alive, no thanks to the birds. You still want me to grab this core, or are we cutting and running?" She practically spat into the microphone, igniting the one remaining blade as she stalked towards the core.

"Of course we want the core, Anna. Just help pick it up and bring it back. We're still trying to figure out what exactly was damaged in the engine, so this'll be the last sample for this trip." Dylan was his usual cheerful self, and sounded like he was drooling at the possibility of retriving the core for himself. The nearby cornix took flight once more, going around the other side to start nudging it out of its cradle.

"Katri, could you smack Dylan's head in for me? I'm a bit far away to do it myself, and if he keeps getting my name wrong I'm going to do far worse." Ashley rolled her eyes and placed the Riot's arm around the core, giving it an experimental tug.

"No. You're going to regret saying that after they wear off, Ashley. Just file a complaint afterwards and then talk to him somewhere that's off the record."

 

[GEAR]

As Ashley placed the Riot's hands on the "core", it thrummed with a menacing pulse of emerald energy, and the ground began to shake. Suddenly, it pulled away, as if yanked aside by a great string. The "core" hovered into the air in a cloud of dimensional energy, tearing with it the "roots" that had served as its connector to the forest. These same roots began to twist and warp around it, forming a lattice that knotted itself outward - a shell of sorts, like an armored tank, crumpled into a crude oval of interlocked stems.

The energy began to rapidly expand outward, condensing as it extended newly fashioned limbs, fashioned from nothing but raw dimensional energy, glowing an unhealthy plutonium green, If anything, it was the single most spectacular demonstration of dimensional energy any of them had ever seen, save for the catastrophe that had occurred only hours earlier, as the "core" vomited forth seemingly endless amounts of power, with no end in sight.

Its six insectoid limbs curled up out of the crater it occupied as it now towered over the Riot, a cluster of red, crystalline orbs that seemed to serve as "eyes" fixating on Ashley below. Two more clouds of energy flowed out from its "shell" forming into a pair of lengthy, menacing claws, which slammed into the ground beside her with earth-shaking might.

This close... She could feel its presence. She could sense the sheer malevolence that seeped out of it, that this entire place had been steeped in ever since they had entered, ripped from its realm beyond the borders of reality, where it had been rightly banished... A kind of absolute, unfettered-

HATRED!

 

[Lukas]

"Interesting." Dylan scowled, but seemed intrigued regardless. "It must be the source of the pressure I've been feeling. While it's certainly seething with resentment, perhaps we cou-" Ashley forcefully cuts him off before he can finish his sentence.

"Can you not feel how much this thing hates my guts? I'm not the fucking psychodriver here." The riot activates its one remaining blade,

"Ashley, get back! I've got a clear solution on the Dimensional wave cannon if you back up." It jumps back almost immediately, allowing the MARV to unleash another storm of dimensional energy directly at the forming scorpion.

The riot took to the air again as Ashley popped a second pill, forming a triangle of sorts around the target with the Cornices as they waited for the smoke to clear. Dylan attempts to open a radio line with it, against everyone’s better judgement.

“Attention, unidentified alien object. Welcome to Earth! We’re willing to stop attacking if you’d rather just have a chat, but considering what just happened you’ll have to excuse us for opening fire.”

 

[GEAR]

The Dimensional Energy Cannon's blast slammed into the shell of the Scorpion, impacting its shell. Multicolored crystallized particulate shattered in every direction, shredding chunks of the forest around them into dust. The behemoth, however, seemed undeterred - it shook violently, sending the accumulated crystals cascading off what appeared to be a D-Fault barrier, clattering to the ground about it.

Undeterred, it began to lurch out of the crater, its legs carrying it, at first, slowly - but then building up speed like a locomotive, its semi-ethereal claws held threateningly ahead as it advanced on the MARV, focusing its hatred on the metal box before it. If it understood Dylan's rambling, it showed no indication of slowing its hostilities, regardless... Or, just wasn't in the talking mood.

As Ashley hopped into the air, the creature's back rippled with a wave of energy - and suddenly, a new appendage, formed completely of the same nuclear green energy, burst into appearance, lashing up with a bladed tip towards the Riot B, looking to smack it viciously out of the air.

 

[Lukas]

"No response... oh well, violence it is!" Dylan shrugs, closing the line for now. He started ordering the Cornices once more, setting one to harass the scorpion with beam attacks from behind while the other escorted the Riot. "We'll need to distract him again to work around the barrier." Katri gave him a silent nod, forcing the MARV into acceleration once more as the damaged engine roared into life.

It charged forward into the crater, raining down missiles and bullets from each hardpoint as it prepared to ram the monster that had presented itself.


The second Cornix threw itself in front of Ashley's riot when the tail manifested, trying to take the hit and distract it from the actually important machine. She took the presumed opening with gusto and a warcry, swinging the proton blade down the middle of the stinger as if trying to bisect it.

 

[GEAR]

This time, the Cornix's beams hit home, punching small holes in the creature's "shell"... But just as quickly, the wounds began to heal, Dimensional Force crackling with power as it wound back whatever damage had been inflicted. The thing seemed to be drawing on a nigh limitless reserve of strength, and it would take more than ordinary arms to slow its progress.

All the while, the Scorpion trundled forward to meet the MARV's charge head on. As the tank closed in, it stabbed its legs into the ground - the sound of the impact, of metal colliding with the thing's barrier, crumpling it slightly - filled the air, sending a shockwave that sent cracks all through the crystal forest. The Scorpion reached out with its claws, seizing the side of the tank, its crystalline eyes staring at the crew within as it began to - with terrifying strength, crush the external armor plates, clearly seeking to prevent it from escaping... ever again.

The stinger dug deep into the Cornix, gutting the poor avian machine in a wild explosion- but the sacrifice allowed Ashley an opening, and her Proton blade cut swiftly through at the base of the "stinger". Almost instantly, the severed section disappeared, cut off from the energy that was brute-forcing it into existence. The stem flailed briefly for the time being - but there was no telling for how long before it regenerated, like the shell below.

 

[Lukas]

"Dylan, can we fire the D-cannon?" Katri jolted when the MARV was grabbed, staring down the beast as she aimed the turret directly at it's face.

"You'll have to overload all the safeties, buuuut who cared about those anyway. I've always wondered what this'd do when it overheated - and if Ava keeps hitting it from behind, it might not even be able to manifest the barrier. Firing!" Dylan started laughing as he pushed the button, the Dimensional wave cannon glowing white-hot as it disgorged another beam of energy directly at the Ares's face.

The sole remaining cornix kept on fruitlessly firing, offering cover for the Riot as Ashley charged at Scorpion's back. She started cutting away, slicing wildly at its back and trying to reveal the core it was based around. If she could just find that and tear it out, that might prove to be the key to stopping it before it destroyed the MARV.

 

[GEAR]

The D-Cannon fired - almost point blank - directly into the Scorpion's face. There was a blinding light, as it discharged, sending cracks of green energy rippling across the scorpion's shell-

...Yet, the creature still remained, as the smoke cleared. Its face was somewhat deformed now, as a consequence - but even as they watched, it began to mend itself, like an aluminum can being crumpled in slow-motion reverse. It almost seemed to grin, as if it were enjoying their struggling - toying with its prey, like a bored predator. Ashley and the Cornix met with similarly little luck - though they tore into the creature's backside, progress was slow - and vines curled in anew to further inhibit their progress. Her efforts to save the two in the tank... Would be in vain.

Below its eyes, an opening formed - like a great mouth - within the glow of Dimensional Energy clear. It was preparing to wipe them out, to eradicate them much in the same way they had tried only moments before-

But today, fate had something else in store for the MARV Team.

Suddenly...

There was a tremendous roar and shattering of glass, as to their immediate left, something truly gargantuan came rocketing out of the crystal forest. Its form was angular and certainly worse for wear, its sides blackened and pockmarked with bulletholes, covered with Dimensional Energy Crystal growths that made it look like a new-age religion trinket shop on treads... But most importantly was what was in front of it: A blade, one that could only belong to one possible vessel: A Rhinoceros class. A familiar voice bellowed over the ship's garbled loudspeaker as it hurtled toward them:

"TRIPOLI! CHAAAAAAARGE!"

The Scorpio swung its body, bringing its "cannon" to bear as it relinquished the MARV - but it was too little, too late. The massive ship blade slammed home into the creature's mouth, punching all the way through, leaving it writhing on its hilt as it rocketed forward, finally coming to a sizzling halt at the outskirts of the forest. Moments later, the hangar door located on the ship's flank fell away, and a familiar tan-and-white machine stepped out, head snapping around in a frenzy as it waved at something behind it.

"Prisca! Ana! LET'S GO!" Yelled Eliza Kruger as her temporarily-acquired Mass Produced Huckebein Mk-II leapt from the ship's stomache, brandishing its plasma rifle as it did in a frenzy, pointing it in every direction she could muster.

Reinforcements had arrived.

 

[Tarsier]

Staggering from the collision, Prisca chambered the first round of a borrowed shotgun and checked the newly mounted G Impact Cannon's charge, initializing the Huckebein's jets once she confirmed its condition. Lowering its posture as the hatch opened, she reported, "Charname, launching. Kruger, keep to the rear for now." With the order given, she leapt from the Tripoli, starting to glide towards whatever the carrier had rammed as soon as she landed.

The creature that the Tripoli was embedded into was far larger than expected, large enough that the shotgun would no doubt be unable to penetrate its hide. Firing a round towards its knee and ejecting the empty shell, Prisca pulled back to a safer distance. With the better angle giving a clear view of the regenerating head, she stowed the clearly ineffective weapon on the rear skirt. Instead landing and kneeling to ready the G Impact Cannon, she contacted her squad mates.

"Enemy can regenerate, low calibre weapons won't be effective." While she shared the information, she locked on to the knee that she had targeted before; a fairly safe target, with Ana would no doubt planning to directly attack the head, and most likely effective, as the still unidentified hostile would likely attempt to use it to extract the Tripoli's blade. Warning the friendly units in the area, Prisca declared, "Stay clear, firing G Impact Cannon," sharing the weapon's targeting information as it finished charging. Taking her first opportunity for a clear shot, Prisca pressed down on the trigger, launching the beam towards the vulnerable joint.

 

[XekuZwei]

"Prisca! Ana! LET'S GO!"

"Way ahead of you, boss!" Anastasiya couldn't prevent the grin that flashed across her features as the Gespenst burst forth from the Tripoli''s innards - no matter how dire their situation, that first deployment gave her an undeniable rush. And frankly, after the ship's captain had pulled off that entrance her blood was even hotter than usual.

The minute machine seemed to sparkle as it jetted past the leg of Eliza's Huckebein, tiny dimensional energy crystals seeming to scatter from the unit as it went. In truth, the air was so saturated with particulate that the excess of dimensional energy that bled off from System XN was enough to cause it to 'condense', coalescing into almost snowflake-like crystals that fell in her wake. A phenomenon both beautiful and deadly. Ana had turned off the audible notifications from the battlesuit's systems - it had gone, understandably, absolutely nutters with the amount of DE floating around - but she was aware of it blinking madly away just inside her peripheral. The big woman had to be mindful of how close she got to those monumental crystals; there was a real and present danger of overloading System XN if she came into contact with a concentrated DE source. And how that would end was anyone's guess, but it probably wouldn't be pretty.

"Roger that, big guns only." Ana radioed back in response to Prisca's observation. The beast seemed stilled for yet a moment longer as it squirmed and attempted to free itself from the Rhinoceros-class' massive blade, affording them the a juicy first strike. And all the better for it, because yet again Ana had effectively but a single shot with the temperamental Mega Buster Cannon she wielded. Beyond that, her neutron beam and split missiles seemed like they would be quite useless against the scorpion.

Prisca, to her credit, was right on the money. The Gespenst's pilot leveled her long-barreled cannon at the creature's writhing...well, it was the thing that resembled a head the most, at least. A brilliant glow emanated from the weapon's bore as it drew energy from her suit's generators, culminating in a potent, blinding beam that lanced down toward the scorpion.

 

[Lukas]

"Took you lo-" Ashley starts to reply but is swiftly and rather forcefully muted, and Katri takes over before the inevitable argument starts. The Riot just stood there dumbly for a second once its target vanished from reach, following behind the other units and letting them cut loose with their big guns first. No reason to risk friendly fire until they see if it lived.

"Thank you for your assistance - I doubt we'd have survived much longer without your intervention. I'll be pulling the MARV back, but the Riot and Cornix are at your disposal. Our weapons aren't exactly proving too useful anyway." She kept her tone diplomatic, but her relief was clearly audible. The MARV pulled into a slow reverse, with what appeared to be smoke emanating from the engine.

"It turns out shooting a monster made out of dimensional energy with dimensional energy doesn't exactly work out too well. Oh well, fighting fire with fire can't always work. Amari's proton sabers have been doing well, so if you can get the core out - without damaging it too much - that should destroy the monster. Well, hopefully. Just do that and I'll see what happens." Dylan took over once Katri was done, having taken the near-death experience in stride without so much as a whimper. "Oh, and don't worry about her being a bit aggravated right now - that's just the drugs. Supposedly she's nicer after they wear off, not that I'd know." The last part elicits a sigh from Katri.

The remaining Cornix goes high in the air above the various mobile units, raining down more laser beams to keep it busy and try to divert some of its attention.

 

[GEAR]

"Shut the Hell up, Couch!" Eliza snapped at the MARV.

Dylan Couch. Everyone at DEI knew that name - the one man among their number who seemed almost above reproach. His brilliance had won DEI much in the ways of fiscal success, and his studies were known worldwide - but his presence had also caused many to leave their numbers in disgust, as the Institute's original leanings had taken... A darker tone. Wherever there was trouble, you could always be certain that Dylan Couch wasn't far away, chattering amicably away impersonally, like nothing had happened. Even if the other two had perished, so long as he lived, he wouldn't have felt a shred of guilt.

Not today

The man could keep his prattle to himself for the time being, she thought - right now, the problem needed solving. Her mind raced - Yet, few were better equipped to deal with a beast like this than Eliza Kruger. Her whole life had been spent studying dimensional entities, and she'd acquired more knowledge in the past few days of study than she otherwise would have in years - it was time to put them into practice! Her eyes turned up at the Riot - So it was Ashley who had been selected as it's pilot after all, she thought. Her imagination traveled back to the experiment from years ago... But she forced it away. Now was not the time to focus on the past, as the groaning of metal indicated that the battle was about to resume.

The Scorpion wrenched itself free of the blade at last - by taking a tremendous portion of the weapon with it as it did, giving it a curious horned appearance as it sunk back to the Earth. As it prepared to resume its rampage however, Prisca's gravity blast caught it square in the knees - and the dimensional force, already at odds with the natural way of things, quickly crumpled, sending the beast tumbling to an awkward slide, as half its method of locomotion suddenly winked out of existence, compacted into nothingness.

As it did, Ana's buster cannon blast connected - part of it peeled away as a consequence of the D-Fault barrier, but the MARV's earlier attack seemed to have damaged the creature's ability to keep it sustained, and as a consequence, some of it punched through, shattering two of the creature's blood-red, glassy 'eyes'. So too did the Cornix's beams tear holes in the creature's makeshift carapace above, the D-fault struggling to materialize as its power source began to lose steam. In a blind fury, it lashed out with one of its claws in Prisca's direction. Sloppy though it was, the distinctive hiss of tearing reality where it struck should have served as more than enough of a warning for the Directory super soldier to get clear.

"Prisca! You've got it!" She yelled, bringing the Huckebein's Rectangle Launcher to bear; "Shoot it! SHOOT THE LEGS!"

As the massive bazooka-like weapon roared, sending a pair of large-scale slugs hurtling towards the semi-inert Scorpion, Eliza continued barking orders - uncharacteristically confident for a woman who had spent large chunks of the last battle cowering behind her Special's armored hands.

"Ana! Ashley! Get the core! Find an opening, make one - anything! Just GO!"

 

[Tarsier]

Although the hostile's wild flailing was well outside of the G Impact Cannon's minimum safe range, it was still enough to convince Prisca to reposition. As the Huckebein glided behind the insectoid, the gravity weapon returned to its resting position, heated up enough that a second shot would force a shut down; with other munitions available to remove the legs as Eliza instructed and the situation under control for now, it would be best to keep it readied.

With her new location behind the writhing creature, Prisca turned her Personal Trooper to face it. Unfolding a beam shield into its katar configuration, she reported, "Entering melee range. I need cover." With that, she leapt forward to punch a hole into her target: the thinner carapace of the joints, between the body and rearmost leg.

 

[Lukas]

"So aggressive... did I strike a nerve, Esther? For the record, my remark about aggression wasn't aimed at you." Dylan responded, actually sounding a little annoyed beneath his usual carefree cheerfulness. The MARV went back to raining fire on the Scorpio, emptying its missile batteries at the creature's front. The Cornix opened fire on the claw used to strike at Prisca, aiming for the joint connecting it to the main body.

SmashTheCoreMoveTheCore-Openingneededtinymechbackup-needtogetupfast.Springboard?Cornixtoohighusehuckynotlikeitsmuchuseanyway. needtoexplainSlowdownslowdown slow down..."Moving in! I'll rip it a proper asshole so we can get the core out!" Ashley had been unmuted at some point, and started to detail a rough plan as she charged the monster. The riot leapt over - and off Prisca's Hucky, pushing it down for a boost as the remaining proton sword was slammed into the monster as deep as it could go, followed by a series of thrusts around the original spot to try and form some sort of opening facing the core.

"That good for you, tiny? Hit it as hard as you can! Reckon if we knock it hard enough it'll either smash or pop out the other side. No holding back now, busting it's a win even if Dylan gets pissy for a bit." Ashley was almost talking too fast to be understood, and seemed to be having trouble pausing long enough to make things understandable.

 

[XekuZwei]

...this is so stupid.

Anastasiya grimaced at the plan that was rapidly forming in her mind as the Gespenst hovered above the combat, having discarded the overheated mega buster cannon a moment before. If it worked, it should work brilliantly; if it didn't...well, better just to concentrate on making sure she pulled it off. The battlesuit dropped like a stone, diving into the thick of the fighting. It blasted forward, weaving through the otherworldly creature's flailing limbs and skidding to a halt beneath and to the rear of it.

Sometimes, she reflected, it was nice to be so small. "You, with the swords! Get ready!" There was no time to learn names; the Riot's pilot would know she was responding to the high-speed dialogue that had been spat her way a moment before. "I'm gonna open up a path!" Well, try. Honestly, this was madness, but it seemed like the best course of action she had, and it was something not even Ashley's specialized machine could do. Even through the dense clouds of dimensional force, her targeting systems could pick out the greatest concentration: the core.

"Alright..." She exhaled the word, steeling her will for this plunge into the unknown. The Gespenst's arms extended, held low and to either side, hands open and palms forward. Dimension energy seemed to erupt from the unit as the overloaded System XN struggled to maintain control, brilliant blue-black flames that wreathed Anastasiya and scorched the already-devastated ground around her even further. The inferno seemed to shrink in around the machine as it concentrated power, drawing in the aura.

"URAAAAAAAGH!" The woman brought her hands crashing together in front of the suit with a wordless bellow, fingers meshing together to form a hammerfist. System XN kicked into gear as it had done against the Valkyria, but the Gespenst remained in its home dimension; the tunnel of force which normally protected the machine while it was between dimensions projected forward, parting the sea of neon energy and boring a hole deep into the gut of the scorpion. It would remain for only a moment, but while it did the core floated free, suspended in space as the body was forcefully peeled away.

The Gespenst rocketed forward at maximum thrust, rising into the hole on a pillar of fire. Anastasiya drove her doublefisted hammerblow directly into the brilliant sphere, intending to carry it free of the beast's carapace where it could be dealt with once and for all by the combined force.