Lin was reclined on a couch using Fuse's jacket as a pillow while she skimmed one of the books Clint had suggested. While it served as decent reference material for context, the story seemed absurd and the main characters, who died at the end, were obviously mentally unwell. But she had a better general understanding of what romance was, even if it was to an absurd extreme.
She smiled at Fuse, who dropped down at her feet with a sigh. "I finished it."
"Yeah?"
"It was horrible."
He snorted in amusement. "Yeah."
"Are they still fighting?"
"What gave it away?"
She gave him a pointed look and gestured to how quiet the office was despite every desk having an agent or two at it. He smirked and shook his head as the door to Veronica's office swung open and Clint walked out, his face red. "He's the only real soldier we've got!"
Lin felt her chest tighten and looked at Fuse, who just watched tiredly as the scene continued.
"After everything he went through to get here, I'll throw every person in this building off the roof before I put him back out there!" Veronica snapped, storming out after him and grabbing his jacket. "And don't you think for a second that I won't do just that, Roberts!"
"If I had an armor, it wouldn't be the worst idea." Lin heard Fuse mutter half under his breath.
She tucked her legs under her and leaned closer. "Like what those other people were wearing?"
He nodded. "You saw what I could do with just the sword, right?"
Her nose wrinkled and she hunched her shoulders. "Not really?"
He blinked at her. "Seriously?"
"You kind of... ran off or hid me pretty much every time."
"Good for me." He said.
She glared at him. "You got hurt every time."
He didn't say anything, but she saw the tips of his ears turn red and grinned. "So, if I can make you an armor, you could win and not almost die?"
"It's a trillion dollar piece of equipment that took nearly five years to be useful in the field. Even if you had the schematics..." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not doubting you, Lin. I'm just saying-"
"Answer my question." She said, leaning closer.
He stammered then sighed. "Yeah, probably."
"Good." She said, turning the tablet around. "Because I found schematics on Echelon's database."
~
The assistant, Jared, felt his body tense when Fuse threw a punch so close to Lin's head that it moved her hair slightly. She nodded and held up a finger, requesting one more and he repeated the move. The amount of trust she had in him not to touch her was borderline insanity. "I heard it."
She had him remove the pauldron and set it on the worktable while she plugged her tablet into the undersuit and tapped rapidly. He stared at his own console and frowned at the readout. "His output's too high for the undersuit to process. It's trying to hold him back."
Lin nodded, the knots of hair on her head bobbing like floppy mouse ears and she gave Fuse a reproachful look. "I'm sorry."
"I'll make it work." He replied dully, flexing gauntleted fingers.
She shook her head and grabbed his hand. "I don't want you to make it work! I promised I could make something better!"
"I might have an idea." Jared offered. "We need the superconductive gel to have full feedback, right? Well, the amniolyphic fluid from the recovery pods is pretty close to that in composition. It'd form a more coherent bond with his body allowing for better communication with the armor as well as healing any minor contusions, so long as the undersuit's structure was undamaged."
"I thought you were the biggest brain." Fuse muttered, earning him a dark look.
When Lin was done glaring at Fuse, she turned her attention to Jared. "How soon can you create a mockup?"
"I already have one. Played around with it a little last night when you took a nap. Shouldn't take more than a few hours to make a new undersuit, I just need you to double-check my numbers and adjust for Fuse's personal data since you know it better than I do." He said.
She rushed over to his terminal and began typing rapidly. "I could improve the performance tenfold with this." She murmured. "We could also improve the durability of the armor pieces themselves."
"No, keep them how they are." Fuse said, walking over leaning on her shoulder. "Reinforce the joints to give me better mobility without straining my muscles."
"But with more armor-"
"I'll be slower. That was always a problem I had with my old armor, it slowed me down too much. The parts you designed are perfect as is." He said calmly, looking over at Jared. "Good idea."
"Thank you, sir." He said, not sure if he should salute or not.
A few hours later, Fuse was moving more fluidly across the test course while Lin tweaked calibrations until both teens were happy with the performance. Pulling off the helmet, he took the bottle from her and dropped to the ground. She knelt down beside him and reached into the undersuit to pull off the leads monitoring his vitals.
"Get a room, you two!" Clint called, walking into the area with Rebecca just behind him.
"I don't get it." Lin muttered.
"He's making a joke about you doing something sexual to me." Fuse replied under his breath.
Her cheeks burned and the lead slipped from her hand further down into the suit. She gave him a desperate look and he grinned, tapping the gauntlet to disengage the chest plate and reached in himself to fetch it, handing it to her as Clint and Rebecca sat down on a bench.
"How's the testing going?" Rebecca asked.
"Good." Lin replied meekly, hiding behind her tablet.
Rebecca gave Clint an annoyed look that he ignored. "I was hoping for more than good because it's nearly time for this thing to hit the field." He said.
"GA transports have been arriving in the city since last night." Rebecca added. "And we've seen an uptick in Vanguard activity."
"How long do you think we have?" Fuse asked.
Clint shrugged. "Minutes, hours maybe. I'd bank on the former more than the latter."
"I haven't had a chance to make him a sword yet." Lin said, her voice cracking.
"It's fine. With the GA, there won't be a shortage of weapons." Fuse said, attaching the chest plate and activating the unit, which cinched down on him with a hiss. "Best to get it over with before they're ready."
He got to his feet and pulled the helmet over his head, watching the HUD engage. It was more sparse than he was used to, serving more as protection than an information system. "I'm heading out."
"Wait!" Lin shouted, catching his arm. He looked down at her as she glared up at him. "Promise me you'll come back."
"You know I can't do that."
"Than I won't let go." She said firmly, dropping the tablet and grabbing on with both hands.
He looked at the two agents, who shrugged and offered no assistance, then back to Lin. "Lin, it's never a guarant-"
"I don't care if you lie to me. Just promise me you'll come back or I'm coming with you."
"I can't... What do-" He sighed and pulled the helmet off. "Why is this so important to you?"
"Because you're important to me." She snapped.
"Better tell her something, kid." Clint said, tapping the comm on his ear. "Vanguard at the door. C'mon, Bex."
The two jogged away leaving them alone where Lin continued to glare at him. "Fuse, please." When he didn't respond, she let his arm go and stepped back, wiping her face. "Just go."
"Lin-"
"GO!" She screamed, her voice breaking. "You want to die so badly that you won't even lie to me about coming back, so just go!"
He took a step toward her and lifted his hand, but she flinched away, shaking her head and glaring at him. "Just go, Fuse."
He pulled on the helmet and started walking away, hearing her whimpers through the comms. He made it to the door before stopping. He didn't know what, but something didn't feel right. It hadn't felt right since she demanded he promise to make it back. He looked back at her as she sank to the floor and wrapped her arms around herself.
He turned from the door and walked back over to her, pulling the helmet off and kneeling in front of her. She looked up at him, a bottomless chasm of loneliness already in her expression. He set the helmet down and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to him, then wrapped his arms around her.
"We've put too much work into surviving this long for me to abandon you." He said, paraphrasing his words to her from before. "I'll always come back to you, okay?"
Her whimpered "Okay." cemented his resolve as he helped her to her feet and grabbed his helmet.
"Let's get you somewhere safe. Then I'll go finish this." He said, taking her hand and pulling her toward the door. "Maybe when this is over, I'll take you out for dinner without the escort."
They found the agents preparing barricades and readying their weapons. Rebecca and Clint gave the pair a look before returning to checking their weapons. Veronica appeared and nodded at him. "Kick their asses." She said. "Consider that your first order as an employee of Echelon."
"That's the plan." He said, lifting the helmet, but Lin caught his arm again and tugged him down, pressing her lips to his cheek before running into Veronica's office.
He stared after her, then laughed and pulled his helmet on.
~
The sidearm clicked empty and Fuse threw it, hitting the soldier he'd been shooting at, knocking him out. He let out a heavy breath when his HUD alerted him to an enemy behind him.
"Guess they weren't exaggerating when they said there was an animal attacking them."
Fuse sighed. "Hello, Eve."
"Good to see you vertical again, Wolf." The armored woman said, holding her sword casually by her side. "Interesting armor. Looks a bit underpowered, though."
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
"I doubt it." She said. "Not much surprises me anymore."
Fuse smirked. "What if I told you I might be developing feelings for the C-Corp girl?"
"I'd say that I don't care." She said, raising the sword. "Then I'd ask if you think that cobbled together junk can really compete with the real deal without your sword."
"Only one way to find out."
The two of them stared at one another for a few more seconds before charging at one another. Eve swung her sword with frightening speed, but Fuse almost casually slipped past it and slammed his elbow into her temple with enough force to crumple the helmet, dropping her instantly.
He picked up the sword and placed it on his back where the magnets held it in place. Then he sat Eve against a planter and pulled the helmet off. Her eyes were glazed over, but she was still conscious. He straightened up, but her hand caught his wrist.
"Why-why'd you spare me on the train?" She slurred
He grabbed onto her wrist and wrenched his hand free, then leapt away. She held her hand out to him briefly before letting out a breath and going limp. His HUD told him she was still alive, but unconscious and he sighed as he scanned the surrounding area for targets.
His hand shook slightly, so he clenched his fist and slammed it into his other hand. Which stopped the tremor and widened the scan. His HUD picked up a transport coming into the city from the south. It drew closer and landed less than a kilometer from the Echelon building. Weighing his options, he started jogging toward it.
~
"No, it doesn't count." Rebecca said, reloading her weapon as Clint fired his. "She kissed him, he didn't kiss her back."
"So it counts as her first kiss, then. Not their first kiss." Clint grunted, dropping back behind cover as the soldiers returned fire.
"Can't believe I'm going to say this, but I feel a little competitive about that." She said, blind firing her gun three times. "He's never had a relationship before and already has a date. We still haven't officially had one yet. Let alone kissed."
"Oh, is this not a date?" Clint smirked, popping up and firing twice. "Clear."
"Har har." She said sarcastically, peeking before rising. "Clear."
Shots rang out behind them and they spun, raising their weapons. Clint took point and advanced, peeking around the corner. "Fuck!" He shouted, sprinting ahead. "Boss! Lin!"
Rebecca darted around him and slid into the doorway of her mother's office, raising her weapon. "Mom!"
"Clear!" She called back. "They took Lin! South window, go!"
Clint was already rocketing that direction as Rebecca stared at Veronica. The woman scowled at her.
"I'm fine. Go. I don't want to explain to Kurokawa that we let them take his girlfriend."
Rebecca nodded and sprinted after her partner, who was holstering his weapon in front of a destroyed section of the wall. "They weren't military." He said. "We were too slow."
"Don't tell him yet. We need him focused." She muttered, backing away, then running back to the office. "Mom!"
The older woman had made it back into her chair, but was staring blankly ahead. Rebecca felt her stomach clench and her chest tighten. "NO! MOM!" She screamed and tried to run into the office, but Clint's massive arms closed around her and pulled her away. "Let me go!"
"We've got to evacuate. There's no time." He said, dragging her toward the stairwell and shoving her through the door. "It takes three minutes to run down these stairs. Detonation of the building is on a five minute timer. Run."
Rebecca shook her head, but Clint slapped her. "RUN!"
She turned and began leaping down the stairs as Clint followed after her. "Why's the building going to blow up?"
"To keep Echelon files from falling into enemy hands in the event that... what happened happens."
They cleared the final flight and burst through the door into the lobby. Rebecca slowed but Clint shoved her. "Don't stop until I do!"
The automatic doors slid open and they leapt over the corpses. Rebecca saw a crumpled Vanguard helmet, but a rumble from the top of the building spurred her forward. Clint finally slowed, then stopped several blocks away, dropping to his knees and vomiting as Rebecca collapsed panting heavily on her back.
They stared as the building slowly erupted and collapsed in on itself before disappearing behind the buildings that blocked their view. Clint lay back on the sidewalk and coughed. "That's it, then."
Rebecca pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over to a cafe table and dropped into one of the chairs and rested her head on the table. After taking a shuddering breath, she screamed, then sighed and closed her eyes. "He should've stayed with us."
"Maybe." Clint said, dropping into the chair across from her. "Might've been worse if he had, though. We'll never know now."
She raised her head. "What did they look like? The men that took Lin?"
"Like soldiers, but they had civilian weapons. They had some tall guy with red hair standing in the door of the carrier." Clint said. "He didn't look like a soldier, though. I think I remember his face from somewhere, but I can't place it."
"What do we do?" She asked. "We can't trace that carrier and they obviously used the military as a diversion to get to Lin."
"C-Corp. They said they didn't want her anymore, but that's the first place to start. They don't have military personnel, but I bet they have the means to fake it."
"We need Kurokawa if we plan on going to C-Corp." She said, resting her head back on the table.
"Agreed. Let's go back him up." He said, getting up from the table and checking his weapon.
Rebecca pushed herself up from the table and pulled her weapon, but couldn't pull the slide back from how badly her hands were shaking. Clint took it from her, checked it, then handed it back to her. She shook her head, looking up at him. "I can't."
"But you will anyway." He said, squeezing her arm reassuringly. "It's what I love most about you. Now let's-"
She pulled his face down and crushed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. He awkwardly held her at first, then relaxed into the kiss. A few seconds passed and Rebecca stepped back, sighing. "I feel better about getting the first real kiss."
"I know he was only with you for a little over a year, but are you sure you're not actually siblings?" He asked.
"Close enough to it, I guess. Let's move." She said, holstering her weapon and walking down the street.
"Yes, ma'am." He said, saluting and jogging to catch up to her.
~
Fuse tossed the broken sword aside and kicked the handle of Donovan's, sending it into his hand. Alex gave him an impressed slow clap. "Neat trick."
"Thanks."
"That new armor's really something, isn't it? She make it for you?"
Fuse lowered himself into a combat stance, but an explosion drew his attention behind him. "Lin!"
He started to run toward the building, but Alex caught him and slammed him into the ground, cracking the pavement. He just managed to move his head as her fist crashed down where it had been. He rolled back slightly and kicked her with both feet before flipping to his feet.
His HUD picked up heat signatures moving away from the building, but a wave of dust blinded the sensors and he redirected his attention to where Alex was, resolving to finish this fight quickly when something collided with his armor with enough force that the wind was knocked from his lungs. He swung the sword wide and forced an inhale.
"Nice try!" Alex's voice shouted. "You look so stupid standing there. It's almost too easy."
"Oh yeah." He croaked. "You've got better scanning tech than the other armors. I nearly forgot."
"Pity yours just seems to have upgraded the basics. You should've had that girl give you some new toys."
Fuse sighed. "We had a few setbacks in the development. Would you settle for an old trick?"
"What?" She could only watch as her scanner went dark and she could no longer make out the blue eyes from his helmet. "Again!?"
She turned the sensitivity up its max setting, but couldn't pinpoint his location in the dust cloud and carefully backed against a wall to wait for the dust to begin settling. As it did, she realized that he was no longer on the street.
"FUSE!" She screamed, then roared in rage, ripping her helmet off and hurling to the ground.
~
Before either of them could react, Fuse ripped his helmet off and slammed Clint into a wall. "Where is she!?"
"Kurokawa, stop!" Rebecca shouted.
Fuse growled, but let Clint go and rounded on the smaller woman. "Where?"
"She was taken. Mercenaries." Clint coughed. "They killed Veronica and took her."
"What?" He snarled.
"They were fast, Kurokawa. In and out in less than twenty seconds. There was nothing we could do." Rebecca pleaded. "But we're heading to C-Corp. Clint thinks that's a good starting place to try and find her."
"We'll take Alex's transport." He snapped, thrusting the helmet into Clint's stomach. "Hold that."
"Yeah, sure man." He wheezed, struggling to hold the twenty kilo weight as Fuse wheeled around and began marching back down the alley. Rebecca gave him a worried look before hurrying after him.
"FUSE!" A woman screamed as they turned onto the main street.
Fuse reached over his sword, pulling the large bastard sword free and didn't adjust his gait as he walked toward her. She lunged at him, but he caught her prosthetic hand mid-punch like it had no more force than a small child's blow. Without hesitation, the sword swung upward, cutting through it and sending the shocked woman back as he continued his relentless march.
Only when she grabbed his leg did he stop and look down at her. Rebecca and Clint held their weapons ready, but Fuse slammed the sword through her left arm and into the concrete, rendering her armless. Alex screamed in pain and horror.
"Next time, I'll kill you." Fuse said while she flailed around on the ground helplessly, screaming that she'd kill him. But he wasn't listening.
The other two looked at each other again, then ran after the enraged teen as he boarded the transport. Clint dropped the helmet in a seat and slid into the pilot's position. "I'll have us in the air in just a few seconds."
"Sit up there with him." Fuse said coldly, dropping into another seat. "It's dangerous to be around me right now."
Rebecca shook her head. "I dont care. I'm not leaving you alone. Not now."
He glared at her. "Suit yourself." He grumbled, picking up the helmet to put it on.
Rebecca leaned forward and caught his arm. "Don't."
He growled at her, but she narrowed her eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, Kurokawa."
"You should be." He said, his arms raising the helmet slowly, but Rebecca grabbed it and yanked it out of his hands, throwing it away from them.
He slammed a fist into the bulkhead behind him, leaving a dent, but lowered his head into his hands. "I failed her. I didn't keep her safe."
Rebecca moved to sit beside him and put her arms around his shoulders. "You didn't fail anyone. We'll find Lin and you'll get her back, okay?"
The engine of the transport roared to life and Fuse leaned into Rebecca, putting his arms around her. She could just barely make out his apology to her, but she shook her head and squeezed him tightly as the vehicle sped away.
~
"Apologies for the crude manner of your abduction, Miss Lin." The tall man said, pressing his hand to his chest and bowing low. "My name is Armand Phoenicks. I wonder if you recognize me."
"You stuck things in my head." She said angrily. "They hurt."
"Oh, you've learned to speak. Wonderful, this'll make things much smoother." He circled around the table she'd been strapped to. "You do seem in much better health than the last time I saw you."
"Why did you take me away from my friends? And why did you shoot Veronica?"
"To answer your second question first, I didn't shoot Veronica. That would've been Commander Blitz. So you'll have to ask him. Now the first question second; I need your help with something. You see, I noticed something interesting when I had those 'things in your head' as you so eloquently put it. And I need to find out what."
"Why?"
He looked shocked at her question. "Not 'what'? You're not curious about what I found?"
"No. You're going to hurt me again." She spat. "I want to know why. I didn't do anything to you."
"Yes, but you exist, you see. I need to understand how. Because what I found doesn't make any sense. It shouldn't exist, and yet it does. And it's in your head." He paused. "Maybe that's the why of it."
"I don't understand."
He shrugged and giggled slightly. "I don't either. Isn't that exciting?"
~
"I think this one's alive. But, uh... yikes."
"That's the Captain, Porter. Guess she found Fuse."
Alex's eyes opened and she looked up at the two faces looking down at her. "Help... me..."
The male laughed, but covered his mouth quickly while the female shook her head and rolled her eyes. They backed away and another face appeared in her vision. "There's nothing we can do for you, Captain."
She moaned. "No! Fuse! I have to-"
"Get ready to move out." He said, stepping over her.
"We just gonna leave her here, boss?" Porter asked.
The third soldier continued walking, but made a gesture with his hand that made the other two sigh.
"Thought HQ was done clearing the map." Porter muttered. "Avery?"
"Lulu's got the boom." She replied. "And don't let Caspar hear you whining."
Porter's expression darkened. "I wasn't whining. Just... making an observation."
~
Alex was too weak to move, but the stims her armor pumped into her kept her awake as she stared at the sky. As it turned white, a memory flashed through her mind. She'd seen those faces before.
"Keystone." She muttered as her body was consumed in light.
~
Caspar stared at the crater, arms folded across his chest. His second in command stopped beside him and sighed. "Echelon's done. HQ'll be glad."
"Echelon's not gone. Just their building." He said flatly. "Got word when we touched down that a pod was seen heading to orbit seconds before the building fell."
"So, what's next? We pursuing?"
Caspar shook his head. "Kings without a throne are just peasants who think they have power."
"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" She sighed.
He shrugged. "Just thought it sounded good. Orders are to return to HQ."
"That's it? Raze Coast City, return to base, and standby?"
His dull eyes focused on her. "Is that a problem, soldier?"
"Just annoying, Commander." She grumbled.
"Noted." He clapped her on the shoulder and began walking toward the transport. "But I do wonder if maybe the Captain was onto something. Food for thought."