©Rosayln Cross / MMOGurl 2020-2022. All Rights Reserved. Do not replicate this intellectual property without obtaining my permission.

"Are we set to take off?" Akihiro asked with nervous tension boiling over as he watched the Kuroma racing down the runway. They were both armed and waiting beside the Peregrine's back entrance in case more Iron Badgers decided to come out and play.

"Well, I can't turn the jets on or else we'll get fried, but the engine's primed and ready to go," Bernard replied looking anxious himself as he scoured the edge of the lot for more attackers.

"Good. Let's just hope they used up all they had on the first assault," Aki said trying to sound as hopeful as he could within reason. He peeked inside the Peregrine's storage bay checking to make sure that the Serval was locked in securely. The fingers of a huge metal hand were seated into the back of the mecha and connected to the wall by a mechanical arm capable of sliding horizontally along the wall.

There will be room for the Kuroma in here too. He considered the possibility that they might actually escape with two fully in tact mecha and how beneficial that could be for them in many ways. If they got stuck with the Legion again, then they would likely get promoted for managing to survive and take away two practically new mecha for the stores. Aki couldn't help but consider the possibility of getting away from the Legion though. Given the circumstances, maybe he could convince Bernard to let them go.

He sighed realizing that even if they escaped Midori no Mori, that it still wasn't over. One step at a time he reminded himself and looked back to Misaki's Kuroma stomping ever closer towards them. Let's just just get her safe and figure the rest out later.

"You look more worried than you did a minute ago," Bernard asked as if reading his mind. "What's up?"

"We'll worry about it later, Bernard," Aki said as the quakes from the massive Kuroma's footfalls drew close enough to cause difficulty in standing. "It looks clear. Go take your place and let's get the fuck out of here."

Bernard nodded before turning to enter the dropship. Aki watched as he stumbled against the shaking earth with his shotgun still slung over his shoulder and then disappeared beyond the door.

The Kuroma slowed as it approached within thirty feet. While holding onto a bar that lined the side of the Peregrine, Aki waved her into the backside of the dropship. The entire moment was almost surreal as his view of orange tinted Kuroma crawled to a stop in slow motion. The sun was nestled on the horizon covering the landscape with a fiery lens. Each step threw him ever so slightly up into the air as the mecha rounded the backside of the Peregrine.

Somewhere deep inside Akihiro realized that he never thought this escape should have been possible. He always played it optimistic, but the reality was that life never let you off the hook without one heck of a fight. And even if you won the battle, sometimes fate's lousy hand still wouldn't let loose its tight grip. Yet here was Misaki returning to him and about to enter the dropship they'd stolen back. The very vessel they'd use to escape after successfully beating the odds against them.

In a flash, it was almost as if he could see Misaki through the armored plating of the giant mecha she inhabited. Then she stepped inside the ship's bay and just like that the moment was over. He shook his head for clarity and rushed inside.

In the mecha bay, Aki waved the Kuroma backwards to the wall so he could dock it to another giant arm. The robotic limbs were controlled by a remote that reminded him of an ancient video game console system. It seemed the design really worked on a universal level for this sort of thing and so eventually, everything used the same joypads for moving objects in three dimensions.

As soon as the Kuroma was close enough, Aki maneuvered the hand to open up it's clutched fist, exposing a center filled with metal pins that inserted into a lock on the mecha's backside. Once the fasteners engaged, the fingers flattened outwards like a flower and the herculean appendage pulled the Kuroma into place against the wall.

"Bernard! She's in! Close the door and take off!" Aki shouted as loudly as he could towards the front cabin of the Peregrine.

"ROGER!" Bernard called back and immediately the gargantuan door began to shut closed.

Akihiro waited, ignoring the deafening sounds of the Peregrine coming to life as the engines fired up. He was still holding his rifle from the previous altercation and wondered how he would even react when he actually saw her as he placed it against a nearby crate. There was a charred black metal spot from where the Kuroma had taken damage during its battle. He felt worried and guilty all at the same time; worried for her condition and guilty for having made her do it in the first place. If we had met under normal circumstances, I would have never asked the woman I loved to do something so dangerous.

His throat felt dry and he tried to wet his mouth with saliva and swallow, but there just wasn't enough moisture. Wait a second. Did I just say loved?

There was a loud hissing sound as the hydraulic door depressurized and the Kuroma's hatch opened. Misaki looked down with an expression he couldn't place and jumped onto the ladder to begin the descent down to ground level.

Before he could even think twice, Aki found himself dashing to the base of her mecha to meet her. The excitement he felt at actually seeing her in person again finally overwhelmed his morbid dread. Looking up he could see Misaki stepping down swiftly, but she still had so far to go before reaching him. Just as he thought he couldn't wait any longer, she dug both feet into the side of the ladder and slid the rest of the way down.

Like lightning she cracked down the ladder and bounded off the ground with a spin to face him. Misaki crashed into his arms with tears in her eyes.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" she cried emotionally as her fingers gripped around his back almost painfully.

Aki held her close against him, feeling the warmth of her body as wet tears pressed against his shoulder. "Shhh," he consoled her feeling much of the same sentiment running wild through his own head. He patted his palm over the top of her hair and kissed her on the forehead.

No, that's not enough.He pulled back slightly, grasped her jaw in his hands and drew Misaki's lips into his in a passionate kiss, letting his body speak everything he'd been unable to say. Akihiro wanted to bare everything to her right then and there, but knew they weren't in the clear yet. He wrapped his arms around her again, locking her in place securely. "It is so good just to feel that you're real and actually here," he said with painful honesty.

"I know," she agreed with a content sigh. "Can you believe we actually did that!?" Misaki exclaimed as she withdrew to make eye contact. "You should have heard that guy going off when he realized I wasn't his buddy, Corin. It was just BITCH this and WHORE that!" She laughed lightheartedly as she slapped her hand against her thigh.

Aki couldn't recall ever seeing her act quite like this. Perhaps all of this had been worth it if Misaki was finally able to make peace with her demons. He smiled stupidly as he watched the free and easy way she went on about her fight with the Sycader.

"There was nothing quite so exciting on my end, Misaki," he mused as he remembered his confrontation with the gunmen. "I got shot though. That has to count for something." He found himself laughing more sarcastically than he probably should have as he pat his wounded leg.

Misaki looked down and saw the torn jumpsuit and quickly spun up bandage wrapped around his calve. "Oh my God!" she cried with concern as she dropped down to look closer. "Doesn't it hurt? How are you standing?"

"Bernard had a first aid kit. Used QuikClot and shot me up with some localized anesthetic. I can't feel anything," he explained with a grin.

"Well that's good at least. We should probably get that bullet out though," Misaki considered thoughtfully.

"No need. It went right through thankfully and didn't even hit the bone," Aki said with relief. It really had been a fortunate shot given how painful a fractured shin bone would have been.

"OK LOVEBIRDS! YOU MIGHT WANT TO STRAP IN BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO CLIMB!" Bernard called loudly from the front.

"Oh shit!" Aki said, disappointed that he had completely lost track of the plan. He grabbed Misaki's hand and led her up to the pilot's cabin running. He hadn't even noticed that the Peregrine had taken off until he saw the clouds through the windshield with no ground below them. Akihiro sat Misaki down in the co-pilots chair and fastened her into the harness taking care to make sure that every strap was secured.

Aki took a seat at the navigator's console and hurried for dear life to get himself buckled in as well. "All clear!" he yelled out over the booming sound of the wind crashing against the shuttle.

He braced himself, holding tightly to the harness over his chest as the Peregrine fought the friction of the upper atmosphere and began it's ascent into space.

"HERE WE GO, BABY!" Bernard screamed out excitedly as though the act never lost its magic no matter how many times he had done it.

The pressure of the gravity was so intense that Akihiro couldn't even lift his eyelids to look out the windshield and see how close they were to being in the clear. The entire dropship rumbled and he could feel his legs starting to go numb from the force of his body against the chair. He had dealt with countless drops and pickups, but never after such an exhausting series of days.

And just as he though he couldn't take the pressure anymore, it stopped and the Peregrine sailed into the vastness of space like a warm knife through butter.

"WOO!" Bernard cried out happily! "We fucking did it!"

"Good. Now get us as far away from that fucking planet as possible!" Aki said before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. They had actually done it. They'd all made it out in one piece. Now what? The question echoed in his head gravely demanding a response that he couldn't give.

As if reading his mind, Misaki looked at him from across the cabin and asked, "What do we do now?"

"Let's just make some distance first and we'll try to figure that out on the way," he answered feeling tired.

"Well we only have so much fuel...," Bernard started in. It was at that moment that Akihiro realized that the thought of sleeping was quickly becoming an unavoidable reality. Without any warning or ability to control it, he passed out into blackness.