The earth beneath the Iron Coliseum did not rumble; it screamed.
Deep in the subterranean bedrock, three hundred meters below the arena sand, a machine from a forgotten age was chewing through the stone. It was a massive, cylindrical boring drill, its diamond-tipped teeth spinning at four thousand RPM. Behind it, pushed by a modified metro engine, was the Iron Legion.
Varian stood in the lead carriage of the drill-train. The air inside was hot, smelling of hydraulic fluid and nervous sweat.
"Depth check!" Varian shouted over the deafening roar of the grinder.
"Fifty meters to surface!" Scrap-Jack yelled from the pilot's seat. He was wrestling with the controls of the drill, his hydraulic suit straining. "We're vibrating the whole stadium! They have to know we're coming!"
"Let them know," Varian said, tightening the straps on his Sun-Piercer. "Fear slows reaction time."
Behind him, the carriage was packed with the Vanguard. Gorgon stood at the front, his massive tower shield locked in place. He wasn't wearing the gray disguise paint anymore. He was polished granite, terrifying and solid.
"Remember the plan!" Varian addressed his soldiers. "The Dregs stay in the train and provide suppressing fire. The Vanguard pushes out to secure the perimeter. Lady Venom's team hits the stands. Rix's squad hits the generators."
"And us?" Gorgon grinned, tapping his hammer.
"We kill the big one."
Varian looked at the ceiling of the carriage. He could feel the vibration of the drill changing pitch. The rock was getting softer. Concrete. Then sand.
"Brace for impact!" Varian roared. "Ten seconds to breach!"
The Arena Surface
Above ground, the Grand Tournament was reaching its fever pitch.
Fifty thousand spectators—Cog-Lords, Union officers, and wealthy tourists—roared in the stands. Floodlights bathed the sand in blinding white light.
In the center of the arena, Dr. Valerius stood on a raised dais. Behind him, suspended in a magnetic containment field, floated the Crimson Paladin.
It was a nightmare of engineering and biology. Unlike the sleek, shadowy Abyssal Knight, this armor was bulky, jagged, and colored the deep, violent red of arterial blood. It pulsed with a heartbeat so loud it thumped in the chests of the front row audience.
"Tonight!" Valerius shouted into his microphone. "We witness the apex of evolution! The Union brings you power untamed!"
Beside the armor stood the Bio-Titan—the massive, skinless flesh-golem Varian had fought in the penthouse. It stood motionless, awaiting its new skin.
"Initiate bonding!" Valerius commanded.
The magnetic field dropped. The Crimson Armor fell to the sand with a heavy thud.
The Bio-Titan stepped forward.
RUMBLE.
The ground shook. Dust fell from the stadium lights.
"Is that part of the show?" a Cog-Lord in the VIP box asked, spilling his wine.
Valerius frowned. He looked at his seismic monitor.
"What is—"
CRASH!
The center of the arena exploded.
A geyser of sand and concrete erupted fifty feet into the air. Through the dust, a massive, spinning drill head burst forth like a subterranean leviathan.
It didn't stop. The drill smashed through the dais, sending Valerius scrambling backward. The train carriage behind it launched out of the hole, derailing and sliding across the sand in a shower of sparks and screeching metal.
The train slammed into the arena wall, carving a trench through the VIP seating area.
Silence fell over the stadium.
Then, the doors of the train kicked open.
"FOR THE LEGION!"
Hundreds of Dregs poured out. They weren't holding rusted pipes. They were holding M-55 Assault Rifles.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT.
A wall of lead hammered the Union security droids stationed around the perimeter.
"Ambush!" Valerius screamed, diving behind the Bio-Titan. "Security! Neutralize them!"
From the smoke of the wrecked train, a figure emerged.
Varian walked onto the sand. He wore the black, shifting armor of Onyx on his left side. In his right hand, the Sun-Piercer blazed with a white-hot light.
He pointed the spear at Valerius.
"I told you I was coming back," Varian's amplified voice cut through the chaos.
Valerius's eyes widened. "Subject 744..."
"Kill him!" Valerius shrieked at the Bio-Titan. "Wear the armor! Kill him now!"
The Bio-Titan obeyed. It grabbed the Crimson Paladin armor.
The armor reacted instantly. It didn't need to be put on. It opened. The chest plate split like a ribcage, revealing a maw of red energy.
It lunged at the Titan.
SNAP.
The armor clamped onto the flesh-golem. Spikes from the inner lining drove into the Titan's nervous system.
[Enemy Transformation.][Subject: The Crimson Paladin (Host: Bio-Titan).][Status: Berserk.][Energy Signature: Catastrophic.]
The Titan screamed—a sound of pure agony. Red light exploded from the helmet's visor. A massive greatsword, materialized from crimson energy, formed in its hand.
It swung.
A wave of red force slashed across the arena.
"Gorgon! Shield!" Varian yelled.
Gorgon stepped in front of the Legion troops. He planted his massive tower shield.
BOOM.
The red wave hit the shield. Gorgon slid back ten meters, his boots digging trenches in the sand. The shield glowed red hot, but it held.
"It's strong!" Gorgon grunted. "Stronger than the Knight!"
"It's unstable!" Varian countered. "Look at the joints! It's burning the host!"
Steam was rising from the Bio-Titan's flesh where the armor touched it. The Crimson Paladin wasn't symbiotic; it was parasitic in the most violent sense. It was cooking the Titan alive to fuel its rage.
"Onyx. Speed Form."
Varian's armor shifted, streamlining his silhouette.
"Gorgon, keep the droids off me! I'm taking the Paladin!"
Varian launched himself forward.
The Clash of Colors
The duel was a blur of gold and red.
The Crimson Paladin swung its energy greatsword. It was slow, but the reach was massive.
Varian slid under the blade. He thrust the Sun-Piercer.
[Catalyst: Frost-Core.]
The golden blade turned icy blue.
CLINK.
Varian struck the Paladin's knee joint. The extreme cold flashed against the superheated red armor.
CRACK.
Thermal shock. The metal at the knee fractured.
The Paladin roared. It didn't slow down. It backhanded Varian with a fist wreathed in red flame.
Varian raised his left arm. Onyx Shield.
BAM.
Varian was launched across the arena. He hit a pile of rubble, the impact knocking the wind out of him.
[Armor Integrity: 85%.][Caloric Debt: Rising.]
"It hits like a freight train," Varian wheezed, standing up.
The Paladin charged. It raised the greatsword for an execution strike.
"Now!" Varian shouted.
From the shadows of the stadium lights above, a black shape dropped.
Rix.
The Rat-Captain was holding a bandolier of Plasma Grenades. He landed on the Paladin's helmet.
"Eat this, Angry Can!" Rix squeaked.
He pulled the pins on three grenades, jammed them into the gap between the helmet and the pauldron, and Phase-Shifted away into the Void.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
The explosions rocked the Paladin. The helmet was blasted crooked. The Bio-Titan inside roared in confusion, flailing blindly.
Varian seized the opening.
[Catalyst: Magma-Core.]
The spear turned white-hot, dripping lava.
Varian sprinted. He jumped off Gorgon's back, launching himself into the air.
"Sun-Piercer Strike!"
He drove the spear downward, aiming for the exposed flesh at the neck where the grenades had blown the armor away.
SHH-LICK.
The spear pierced the Bio-Titan's neck.
But the Crimson Armor didn't let its host die.
Red tendrils shot out from the breastplate, wrapping around the spear, holding it in place. The armor pulsed.
A shockwave of red energy traveled up the spear shaft.
"ARGH!" Varian screamed as the rage-energy hit him. It felt like liquid hate pouring into his mind.
[Warning: Psychic Contamination.][The Crimson Paladin is trying to hijack the Host!]
Varian was thrown backward, ripping the spear free. He landed hard in the sand.
The Crimson Paladin stood there. The Bio-Titan inside was dead—its neck severed. But the armor... the armor was still moving.
It was puppeteering the corpse.
"It doesn't need a living host," The Architect's voice crackled over the comms. "It just needs a skeleton to hang on! Varian! Destroy the frame!"
"I'm trying!" Varian yelled.
The Paladin turned. Its red visor scanned the arena.
It ignored Varian.
It looked at Gorgon.
Gorgon was busy smashing Union droids with his hammer. He felt the gaze. He stopped.
"Uh... Boss?" Gorgon said nervously. "Why is it looking at me?"
The Crimson Armor dropped the Bio-Titan's corpse. The red plates disconnected, falling to the sand.
Then, they hovered.
[Genetic Archivist Alert!][Subject: The Crimson Paladin.][Status: Host Rejected.][New Target Acquired: High-Density Biological Match.]
The armor sensed the Titan Blood in Gorgon's veins. It sensed the density of his stone skin. It sensed a body that wouldn't burn up in five minutes.
"It wants you!" Varian realized with horror. "Gorgon! Run!"
It was too late.
The red armor pieces flew through the air like missiles.
They slammed onto Gorgon.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG.
The greaves locked onto his legs. The breastplate clamped onto his chest. The helmet snapped over his head.
"NO!" Gorgon roared, trying to rip the metal off. "Get it off! It burns!"
Red energy exploded from the seams. Gorgon's stone skin turned magma-orange as the armor forced a bond.
Dr. Valerius, watching from the ruins of the dais, began to laugh hysterically.
"Yes! Perfect!" Valerius screamed. "The Titan was too weak! But a Rock-Mutant? That is a vessel fit for a King!"
Gorgon fell to his knees. He clutched his head.
"Varian..." Gorgon's voice was distorted, layered with a demonic growl. "Run..."
Then, Gorgon stood up.
The red light in the visor stabilized. The erratic pulsing stopped.
The Crimson Paladin raised Gorgon's massive stone hammer. Red energy flowed into the weapon, turning it into a burning meteor.
Gorgon—the Shield of the Legion—turned to face Varian.
[Enemy Update.][Subject: The Crimson Titan.][Rank: Emperor (Bonded).][Status: Mind-Controlled.]
Varian gripped his spear, his heart sinking.
"Gorgon," Varian whispered.
The Crimson Titan roared and charged.
The Skybox Assault
While the titans clashed in the sand, the war in the stands was brutal.
Lady Venom led a squad of Dregs through the VIP boxes. They weren't there to kill; they were there to loot and sow chaos.
"Take everything that shines!" Venom ordered, spraying a cloud of paralytic gas into a room full of Cog-Lords.
She reached the main control booth. The technicians were cowering under their desks.
Venom smashed the glass with her tail. She slithered to the PA system console.
"This is boring," she whispered, grabbing the microphone.
"Citizens of the Rust-Jungle!" Her voice boomed over the stadium speakers. "The Union promised you a show. We promise you freedom!"
She pressed the button marked [Perimeter Locks: Release].
All around the stadium, the gates unlocked.
Not just the exits for the people. The pens for the beasts.
Thousands of captive monsters—Rust-Hounds, Tunnel-Spiders, Chem-Dogs—flooded into the stands.
Panic ensued. The crowd stampeded. The Cog-Lords' private security was overwhelmed.
Venom watched the chaos with a cold smile.
"Burn it all down," she whispered.
The Clash of Friends
Varian blocked a hammer strike that would have leveled a building.
BOOM.
He slid backward, his boots carving deep furrows in the sand. His arms shook.
"Gorgon! Snap out of it!" Varian shouted.
The Crimson Titan didn't answer. It swung again.
Varian dodged. He couldn't kill him. He couldn't use the Sun-Piercer's full power without risking killing Gorgon inside the armor.
"I need to break the helmet!" Varian realized. "If I break the neural link, the armor goes dormant."
But Gorgon was fast. The armor had removed his natural slowness. He was a flying boulder.
"Onyx. We need mass."
The Symbiote shifted. It moved from Varian's chest to his right arm, wrapping around the Sun-Piercer.
[Combo Move: The Gravity Lance.]
Varian channeled the Void energy he had stolen from the Abyssal Knight weeks ago.
The spear became heavy. Infinite mass concentrated in a single point.
Varian waited for Gorgon to swing.
He stepped inside the guard.
He didn't stab. He swung the spear shaft like a baseball bat, aiming for the side of the Crimson Helmet.
CRACK.
The impact created a shockwave that blew the sand away for fifty meters.
The Crimson Helmet fractured.
Gorgon stumbled. The red light flickered.
"B... Boss?" Gorgon's voice came through, weak and confused.
"Fight it, Gorgon!" Varian yelled. "Don't let it drive! You are the rock! Be stubborn!"
Gorgon dropped to one knee. He punched himself in the face.
BAM.
"Get... out... of... my... HEAD!" Gorgon roared.
The armor screeched—a sound of twisting metal. It tried to tighten its grip, but Gorgon's muscles expanded. His stone skin grew spikes, pushing the armor plates apart.
"He's rejecting it through sheer force of will," The Architect marveled over the comms. "Fascinating. His biological density is higher than the armor's compression rating."
Gorgon ripped the helmet off and threw it across the arena.
He stood there, panting, the rest of the red armor still attached to his body but glowing dimly, subdued.
He looked at Varian. His eyes were his own.
"It's loud in there, Boss," Gorgon wheezed. "It wants to kill everything."
"Can you control it?"
Gorgon looked at his red-gauntleted hands. He clenched his fist. The red energy flared, but it obeyed him.
"I think... I can make it heel."
Varian turned to the dais.
Dr. Valerius was gone. He had fled during the chaos.
But the Union forces were regrouping. Dropships were appearing in the sky.
"We have the prize," Varian said. "Gorgon has the Armor. We have the weapons. Time to go."
He raised his spear.
"Legion! Retreat to the train! We're leaving!"