The mechs of Squad X and Squad Z fought in near-perfect sync, their combined efforts the only thing keeping the relentless tide of mutated Rhupenshrons at bay. Every blow landed against their machines reverberated inside the cockpits, stabbing at their nerves with phantom agony. Each second dragged out, raw and grueling, testing the limits of willpower.

  “You’re not getting away!” Nia’s voice tore from her throat like a growl. Zayllen’s thrusters flared, launching the mech forward in a burst of furious light. Her hands moved faster than the systems could register, slamming buttons, yanking levers, forcing the machine to obey as she hurled it toward a mutant.

  Wayne struggled to keep up, his grip slipping on the controls. “Nia, listen to me! We need a plan!”

  But she was gone, lost to her fury.

  Zayllen slammed into a Rhupenshron with a thunderous impact, metal grinding against monstrous flesh. Nia’s eyes burned, wide with bloodlust and despair. Zayllen’s right arm swung down in a crushing punch, again and again, until the beast staggered back, screeching.

  “This is insane!” Mark’s voice was sharp with panic, sweat dripping down his brow. “How are we supposed to keep this up? They just keep coming!”

  “We don’t have a choice!” Jessica snapped, Xarica weaving through flailing limbs, dodging a blow that would have shattered them. “We hit their weak points like we planned! Xalirey, get in position!”

  “We’re taking too much damage!” Yasmeen’s growl was more frustration than fear. “If we don’t land something solid, this whole thing falls apart!”

  “Focus!” Kichirou barked. “Hit the armor joints. Zuka’s weapons are our best chance, but we need to make every shot count!”

  Zuka’s cannons fired, thunder splitting the air. The rounds tore through the chest of one mutant, but its armored hide absorbed most of the impact. It staggered but did not fall.

  “I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up,” Yasmeen whispered, desperation leaking through.

  “Just a little more!” Marcus gritted out. Xofarma crouched low, artillery booming point-blank into the chest of another mutant. The beast roared, its screech shaking the ruined city. A second round ripped through its hide, tearing another hole, but it refused to fall.

  “It’s not enough!” Sofia’s voice cracked with frustration, her eyes burning as tears threatened.

  “Come on, come on!” Chester snarled, forcing Zetcha forward, its cannons blazing. Explosions ripped against one mutant, finally cracking its hide.

  “That’s it! The weak spot!” Lucas shouted, his voice breaking with triumph. “Chika, now!”

  “On it!” Chika’s fingers blurred over the controls. Xukita’s weapons lit up the battlefield, pounding the crack with relentless fire.

  For a heartbeat nothing happened. Then came the scream.

  The Rhupenshron shrieked as midnight-blue blood sprayed across the battlefield, splattering everything in reach. The gash across its chest was deep, wide, and bleeding freely.

  “Did you see that?!” Raze’s voice cracked with excitement over the broadcast. “It bled! The first one to actually give way!”

  “It’s not over yet,” Talon replied flatly. “One wounded doesn’t win the fight.”

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  “The fact they exploited that weak point at all is a testament to their skill,” Ryn Sada observed calmly, though there was admiration in her tone. “But we can’t underestimate the mutated Rhupenshrons. They’ll push back harder.”

  Solene’s voice was thoughtful. “The battle has shifted. But how much longer can they endure?”

  “That thing’s furious!” Yasmeen shouted as the wounded mutant lunged. Zuka’s cannons fired in desperation, but the beast swerved mid-air and slammed into them, its tentacles wrapping around the mech.

  “Get ready!” Kichirou barked, but his voice was swallowed by the crack of bending metal. Zuka groaned under the crushing weight.

  “No!” Yasmeen screamed, her chest burning with panic. “We’re losing control!”

  The tentacle’s squeeze made the cockpit shudder, every pulse of pressure translating into blinding pain for Yasmeen. She gasped, struggling to breathe.

  “We can’t just sit here!” Kichirou’s voice was frantic. “Yasmeen, think!”

  But the pain drowned her mind in white heat.

  “Jessica! We can’t sit back!” Mark shouted as Xarica dodged another strike, every jolt sending shockwaves through his nerves.

  Jessica gasped for breath. “It’s too fast, Mark!”

  “I know!” Mark slammed the controls. “We hold it off a little longer—keep moving!”

  “Move, damn it!” Nia’s rage rang out as Zayllen hurtled forward. But the mutant met them head-on, battering the mech like a ragdoll. Nia tasted copper in her mouth as every strike reverberated through her body.

  Wayne’s voice cracked. “We can’t take much more of this! Nia, we need another plan!”

  “I don’t care about a plan!” she screamed. “We kill it!”

  The battlefield shuddered under every blow.

  “Brace!” Marcus cried as Xofarma was battered again. Sofia’s breath came ragged. “I can feel it,” she gasped. “Every hit.”

  “We need to move!” Marcus snapped, fighting to steady her.

  But in Zabryla, Abram’s trembling hands found no answer. Lyla was silent, broken beyond saving.

  “Lyla?” His voice cracked. “Lyla, please…”

  Only silence answered, until a scream ripped across the channel—Nia’s sob when she reached their wreckage later.

  Now or never.

  “Now!” Mark roared. Xarica surged forward, spear leveled. Tentacles whipped against them, slamming with brutal force, but they didn’t stop. Jessica clenched her teeth, holding steady as Mark drove the spear deep into the mutant’s chest.

  The beast screeched as blood poured out in torrents, its thrashing weakening.

  “And there it is!” Talon’s voice rang sharp. “Xarica’s spear straight through the heart!”

  “Yes!” Raze shouted. “They’ve got it! A mutant down, but four more to go!”

  The creature finally collapsed, twitching as life fled its twisted form.

  “One down,” Mark panted. “Four to go.”

  Zuka charged next, its cannon ripping a mutant open, its spear finishing the job.

  “Yes! That’s how it’s done!” Raze exulted.

  Xukita struck next, Lucas and Chika driving their spear into another exposed chest, toppling the beast.

  Zasan followed, cannon blazing, spear thrusting, another mutant falling.

  The last was Xalirey’s. Alex and Riley leapt forward together, their strike fast and decisive, the spear plunging home. The final screech rang across the ruined city before silence fell.

  The Rhupenshrons lay dead.

  But the victory was ash. Zabryla was gone. Abram gone. Lyla broken beyond recognition.

  Nia fell to her knees in the rubble, screaming “No!” until her voice cracked.

  Wayne stood over her, his jaw set. “We finish this. For them.”

  Her fists clenched. She whispered a goodbye to Lyla, then rose again.

  The casters’ voices filled the silence.

  “What a fight!” Raze said loudly, though his energy was muted.

  “The cost was too high,” Talon said dryly.

  Solene spoke softly. “Our hearts go out to their families. This loss will not be forgotten.”

  And Ryn Sada’s voice broke. “We offer our condolences to Squad Z for the loss of Wayne Adam and Nia Allen.”

  The scoreboard appeared:

  Total Rhupenshron kills: Squad X – 145 | Squad Z – 160

  Mutant kills: Squad X – 5 | Squad Z – 4

  Points gained: Squad X – 645 | Squad Z – 560

  Jessica Inbolkis appeared as MVP, her face pale and exhausted. She whispered, “I didn’t want it.”

  Back in the Iron Fortress, Marcus muttered, “That wasn’t our win. It was Z’s.”

  Lucas stared at his boots. “They deserved MVP, not us. Not like this.”

  Jessica said it again, quieter. “I didn’t want it.”

  The holo-screen flickered, showing another ongoing battle. Raze’s voice cut through. “And I can’t believe this, folks, but another mutated Rhupenshron just dropped into the kill zone! That’s four in the last ten minutes!”

  Solene’s calm voice carried a warning. “They’re appearing too fast. Twice the frequency we saw before.”

  Onscreen, Sacramento burned.

  And another mutant landed.