TBVF: Chapter 13: This is where the end starts

Title: The Blue Vast Future
Author: Ariel Chew
Genre: Sci-Fi, Humor, Friendship, Family
Summary: A SB#187 team aged-up to be in a Kaiju battle. Ariel’s merely a 21-year-old supervisor of Gamma Rapper, but with all the training of the Academy she has, will it prepare her for the biggest turns of events of the century?
~*~

It works at first, their attacks manage to push the monster back a few feet from where it stood. Of course, their ongoing barrage of punches can’t last forever, meaning that they would need to step away and quickly-

Pain suddenly shoot through them like wild fire, a cry of pain escaping Aaron before Eric could identify the source.

Could it be…?!

Their core had been slashed by Sharkodile, the same time just as their punches stop. Eric hiss at the pain, feeling as though his heart had been slashed open. This is bad; If this keeps up, the monster is going to dismantle them even before they could call for help.

“LOCCENT! We have a feeling that Sharkodile might have intel on our moves!”

“What do you mean by that?! This is the first time you’ve battled Sharkodile!” Asyikin presses, clearly alarmed by the turn of events. Eric merely groans from the pain while Aaron adds in.

“Don’t send in Beta either! This Kaiju might have his data as well! That’s why it could stop us just as our attack ended!”

“But if we don’t send in Beta…!” Ariel pleads, now intervening to speak some sense into her Rangers.

“Just leave it to us! We’ll handle this!” Eric stresses, a hand reaching out and turns off the intercom altogether.

“Isn’t that a bad idea? To turn off the intercom.” Aaron jokes, though the pain still heavy in his usual airy tone. Eric shakes his head.

“They can still hear us, but not the other way around.” Eric explains, feeling an almost déjà vu of-

“Hey. Don’t throw us out of alignment now.” Aaron warns, knowing where the older’s thoughts were heading to. Eric laughs.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just give me a minute and let me think of a way to beat this monster before it beat us.” Eric requests, but they both get into a ready stance just in case.

There’s an idea – A thought that is probably the toughest decision that Eric could make.

Aaron, hear me out.

Aaron hums back an agreement through their headspace. Go on.

I have an idea on taking this guy down, but if we’re going to use my idea… We might not make it out of this alive.

A bark of laughter resonates across their shared bond.

Well, as long as you don’t abandon me to some solo heroic act, I’m down with whatever. Eric can feel Aaron grin even with their eyes trained on the Kaiju in front of them. I’d rather go down dying to save the world with you than living on with you dead.

Eric huffs aloud at the gung-ho attitude Aaron is sporting, who is apparently treating the whole fight like a walk in the park after an almost physical heart burn. Alright. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

The transmission of the plan of attack was simple and brief, and soon the Pilots geared themselves for attack.

“LOCCENT, we’re going to bag this Kaiju as our fifth kill.” Aaron announces, the determination of the two of them to see this through. Then they are silent, their attention solely on Sharkodile, likewise the Kaiju eyes them with wary, like they have something up their sleeves.

Well, it isn’t exactly wrong.

Gamma jerks to lunge at the Sharkodile, visibly lacking their earlier speed, with the plasma cannon firing up on their left hand. Sharkodile roars, flashing vicious teeth as it dodges to the side, retaliating with a whiplash of its tail. Gamma obviously anticipates this, which is why they draw out their seldom used battle weapon – A chain sword that materializes from its right hand to block the tail.

Sharkodile growls again, displeased from having humans interfering with its attack, draws back slightly. This time being the one to charge towards Gamma Rapper, who responds with a repositioning of the chain sword and thrusts the sword home until the hilt is the only thing protruding from the monster’s chest.

LOCCENT watches in horror as the live camera captures Sharkodile clamping down all three rows of sharp teeth into Gamma Rapper’s right arm.

“ERIC!!” Aaron screams, and so does Eric, though the latter more out of pain rather than the sight of him almost being crushed inside the Conn-Pod. Eric grinds down his pain that electrocutes down his spine and lifts the free left arm, the duo firing the plasma cannon at the Kaiju again and again until all that’s left of the fight is a headless Kaiju sinking into the bright blue Kaiju blood that splattered the ocean.

Eric sort of tune out after that, something about Aaron screeching for medic while clambering out of the suit and reaching towards him –Eric, Eric, Please no don’t– before he hears nothing at all.

>-<

“Aaron! Eric!” Ariel stumbles into a run towards them, words choking to their death as medics swarm around the two injured pilots as Dr. Shah wrestles an unconscious Eric from a shock-paralyzed Aaron who was clutching onto his co-pilot before being force separation, the doctor whisking away the more severely injured pilot towards the emergency ward. Dila stands next to Aaron, asking and prodding at Aaron with questions and commands while Ariel helps stripping Aaron from his circulatory suit.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, really-“

“Aaron, don’t be ridiculous and just cooperate with me for God’s sake-“

Dila growls, cuts herself off in mid-sentence and ushers both Aaron and Ariel to another ward while Ariel feels her tears welling up when the suit comes off and all she sees is raw skin from circulatory burns when the Kaiju gnawed Gamma’s right arm and swollen patches of skin on Aaron’s chest-

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!” Aaron shouts, pulling away from Dila and Ariel as he continues on his hysteric fit. “ERIC NEEDS ME! I NEED TO GO BE WITH HIM-“

“AARON!” Ariel chokes on her next breath, her palm stinging after slapping Aaron hard on his cheek in an effort to calm him down, to calm both him and herself down. “Get yourself together! You’re hurt, and so is Eric, but you’re no help to him if you refuse to get treated!”

Harsh silence rolls over them like thick fog, Ariel repeatedly blinking away her tears as she takes in shudder breaths to keep herself in check, Aaron snapping his jaw shut while Dila gives both of them an impatient stare down. Finally, Aaron nods.

“Good. Follow me.” Dila prompts, this time her tone has a softer edge to them. This time he follows, albeit mechanically like he’s on auto-pilot mode. Ariel stays behind, a beat or two, before her feet moves and she lets herself be guided after them.

She compares the feeling like watching a movie with the sound off, images flashing past before your eyes but soundless. Mouths open to speak but no words can be heard – That sort of thing. Ariel makes herself look as Dila patches Aaron up, bandages upon bandages, white upon tattered red skin. She walks in silence beside him to the outside of the emergency room, waiting hours after hours before Dr. Shah comes out, with gloves dipped red, to talk with the Marshall in private before nodding at the two members of Gamma Rapper.

She lets Aaron sit on the chair closest to Eric, watching him reaching out with his left hand to hold onto Eric’s left hand, the only side of them that is okay while she pulls up another free chair and sits next to him. Eric’s alive, beneath the oxygen mask and breathing tubes from collapsed lungs and internal bleeding that he somehow survives, and for now all Ariel wants to do is cry her eyes for the grief of her two pilots. Her boys.

She doesn’t.

(But she weeps on the inside, and pretends not to see Aaron sobbing into Eric’s good arm)

~*~

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