There's nothing like desperation to sharpen your sense of focus.

  --Thomas Newman

  I slowly get up out of bed, trying my best to untangle myself without waking up the beautiful woman sleeping in bed with me. She looks so peaceful like this, it's almost ironic. Once I get fully out of bed, I put my clothes on quickly. Then I grab the little yellow device. I'm about to head out, but pause briefly, turning back to give her a kiss on the forehead.

  “Please forgive me.” I whisper before I head out.

  As I head out, I quickly start making my way to the hangar. If our estimations are correct, I am going to need my mech for what comes next. Luckily, I have managed to get a decent amount of upgrades for the thing over the st week.

  While activating the arm, notifying everyone that they should seek shelter in one of our newly constructed bunkers, I examine the little piece of technology. It is quite convenient, and I am lucky to have overheard talk of its existence. Sorry, Melody, but expecting a bunch of kids to stay quiet isn't all that smart.

  “Freayer? Are you sure that tranquiliser is truly strong enough to keep her down even through all this noise?”

  I am mostly certain. Vanguard Maniac’s preference for using combat drugs makes me suspect that she has not invested in any countermeasures against any drugs, since it would also be a detriment to her strength.

  I nod “That's good. I don’t want to think about the kind of nightmare this would be with her chasing us around.”

  Freayer stays quiet for a while before he answers.

  Are you still sure about this? Your retionship might become irreparably damaged because of this.

  I try my best to ignore the deep pit in my stomach as I answer. “Yeah, I'm sure. As you said, the longer we stay here, the more we're at risk. Letting Melody run out there is putting everyone in danger, including herself, so yes, I'm sure.”

  I see, then I suggest flowers and chocote when you try to ask for forgiveness.

  I stumble a bit at that. “Why would I try to seek forgiveness?”

  The way your heart beats, every time you think about Vanguard Maniac, suggests that you are not really willing to let it all end here.

  I try my best not to think about that. Melody will definitely be pissed, but let's hope, not so pissed that she won’t forgive me eventually. I shake my head, trying to push the unhelpful thoughts out. I decided a while ago that I would do this; there is no point in dwelling on st-minute regrets.

  I make it to the hangar and quickly get into my mech, unching the start-up sequence as I make a conference call to all my generals. Slowly, they all join the call.

  “So it'is happening, then?” Brit asks as soon as she joins the call.

  “Yeah, just a few more hours and we'll all be on the surface.”

  There are cheers all around at that. Once everything quiets down, I speak again. “The walls clear?”

  “Clear enough, once we get the second signal, we will retreat into the bunkers, and we can blow this thing.” Thomas says, still sounding excited.

  “I see. Well, most of the people have been accounted for, and it will only be a few more minutes before you guys can seek shelter.”

  Thomas nods at me. “Yes, ma’am, we're awaiting your signal.”

  Say what you will about the average foot soldier here, at least the people at the top are competent and know how to listen to orders.

  “Okay, everyone dismissed. Call me if things change.”

  Everyone leaves the call except for Brit, who speaks up when the rest of the people leave. “Are you sure about this? The nerdy little girl seemed adamant that waiting was the right call.”

  “Let me worry about her, okay?” I say, with a bit of a strained smile.

  “If you're sure. I just don’t want to be on the business end of her spear, that's all.”

  “It’s a halberd,” I correct her.

  Brit just gives me a weird look. “Right, anyway, that thing looks sharp and scary, and I'd rather not have it shoved up my ass.”

  I chuckle, “Don’t worry, you should be fine. She doesn't seem like a violent person. And I knocked her out, she will not be waking up anytime soon.”

  Brit just sighs, “Okay, well, good luck on your end then.” she says, before she leaves the conference call as well.

  I take a few more seconds to center myself. Yes, this is the right decision, I need to do this. I slowly get my mech in position making sure it is ready to engage anything that would block our way to the surface. When I arrive, I hear the second signal go off, meaning that there are only a few minutes left before we are free.

  I put the mech into a defensive position and take my hands off the controls. I slowly take out the yellow device and clutch it in my hand. I close my eyes, trying to stave off my nerves with thoughts of the outdoors. The sky and the sun are things that I have not seen in years. No more of this oppressive darkness. I smile to myself at the thought that now that I am a Samurai. I have power, I can get whatever I want. I could buy a nice house or apartment. I can have sex with the people I want, not with the people I am forced to sleep with.

  Then I suddenly hear the third signal that tells me that everyone is safely inside. I open my eyes, shifting the little device and breaking it open in the middle, revealing the button hidden inside. I take a big breath out and press the button. Nothing really happens, and I am unsure if anything has happened ,until Freayer speaks up.

  Shield down. Connection is returned to the surface.

  I break out in maniacal ughter at those words. We did it, and there is no mention of the damage that Melody was so worried about, either. Just when I am about to call the rest of the team, telling them to get ready to head to the surface, a loud, earsplitting boom can be heard, followed by a violent rumbling. I pause, check all the systems and the surveilnce systems to see what just happened.

  I stay quiet for a while, frantically looking until I see it, a giant dust cloud is flying in. I make sure to brace myself as the dark cloud hits. The force hits me, and even though it does not do much against my mech, the same can’t be said for the rest of the undercity. Everything that is not bolted down is sent flying, so in short, about half of the undercity is no longer there once the dust has settled.

  “Freayer, could you do me a favor and raise the arm?”

  Sure thing

  incursion detected

  I quickly survey the damage done so far, but all the bunkers and towers are still in one piece. Even though one of the front towers has been bent out of shape, it still looks solid enough to support at least part of the weight. As I see no more damage or any more clouds coming in, I give the signal to disembark and make it up the tower.

  As the swarm of people rush out, I quickly uncoil my mech and started snaking it across the outside of the middle tower. I revel once again at the genius of the mech, not only is it big and sturdy, but because it was designed to be as flexible as a snake, it could crawl in and through holes normally too small for it.

  As I reach the bottom of the city pte, I bring out a new addition to my arsenal, a super-heated sword that Melody has given to me. I quickly get to the task of cutting out a hole big enough for me to get through as fast as possible. I have no idea what the situation on the other side will look like, and I need to be ready to defend the people coming up.

  “Do I even want to know what you were thinking?” A somewhat tired voice suddenly speaks out from beside me.

  I instantly snap my head around, but seeing that no one is there, I keep looking around, trying to figure out the source.

  I hear a loud yawn. “I am still in your bedroom.” I hear her dry heave. “Why does my breath taste like pineapple? The fuck did you give me?”

  “I don’t know, uhm…”

  “Evelin,” the voice helpfully supplies.

  “Right, Evelin, how did you get in my mech?” I ask a bit, concerned.

  “We supplied some of the components for it, so I just connected to those and made my way inside. Honestly, that should probably be something to look at ter; it's kind of a big vulnerability.” she says in a matter-of-fact tone.

  That's rather concerning and something that needs to be fixed when this is all over.

  “So you don’t want to stop me?” I ask, hoping I don’t have to deal with the sword-wielding maniac.

  “Stop you? What's left to stop? You already did it, so no way to put that Magenta back in the closet! No, the only thing I want, is to find my fucking shirt.” The heat coming from her voice makes me shrink back in my seat a bit.

  “It's behind the counter in the kitchen.” I squeak out.

  The line goes quiet for a while, then a string of curses is released. “Honestly, can’t the two of you have sex the normal way?”

  “Uhm, I don’t know, maybe.” I uneloquently reply. “But you’re not mad at me?”

  “Oh, I am fucking livid! Shouting at you isn't going to do anything useful, so I'll leave that for ter.” She paused for a bit. “I hope you at least have a pn that does not end at blowing up the shield.”

  “I do have somewhat of a pn, yes. I need to get to the surface first, to create a safe zone, then the people will come out with the military as the rear guard. We will evacuate everyone to the outskirts of the city, then coordinate with the people in the city to take out any remaining antithesis.”

  “Good. Well, ensure you keep the people from the orphanage safe. I'm going to do some scouting.” With that, she leaves, at least that's what I think. I didn't see her join, so there is no way to tell if she actually left.

  I take a bit of time to refocus myself on my more immediate goal of keeping everyone safe, rather than whatever Melody or Evelin is going to do once everything calms down.

  With renewed determination, I push myself further until I break through, the bright light of the sun shining through the hole as I make my way outside. Before I burst out into happiness, I noticed that the upper city did not walk away unscathed either. Some of the buildings colpsed, and loud arms are going off.