Chapter 479 - 479: Spiral

[Hey, little shit! We're running out of time, so you better get this over with already!]The voice, captured by Stribog-01 auditory sensors, streamed directly into Finn's mind. He glanced at its owner through the screens projected inside the cockpit, and seeing the annoyed look on his face, Finn knew that he didn't have much say in the matter.

He shifted his gaze back to his enemy. Ever since Genomes entered the scene, weapons manufacturers had been frantically looking for ways to counter them. Creating supernatural phenomena was beyond their means, so their only choice was to create stronger and more durable machines.

With that being the case, Finn wasn't too surprised to see the dark machine stand after taking his last attack. The energy field surrounding it must have negated most of the damage, leaving the alloy to absorb the rest.

[Fucking… bastard…] A growl came in through the comms. [Always… always causing me trouble…]

Finn ignored the harp words and fiddled with the commands of his mech, switching the modes on his right arm's cannon. Locking in on his target, he pulled the virtual trigger, launching a rain of energy bullets.

Back on its feet, the dark machine ignited the boosters on its back and shot to the side before blasting forward. A bluish energy shield manifested at its front, blocking the bullets it failed to dodge.

[Just like that bitch-] As the distance between them vanished, its arms morphed, bringing out a new weapon. [All you do is betray me!]

A white beam shot out, but it didn't go far, as if solidifying into a long, pointy cone. The dark mech thrust it forward, increasing the output of its boosters. Finn didn't bother blocking and launched himself in the air, continuing to rain missile-sized bullets at his opponent. Each one was followed by a loud explosion, the sound of which was filtered out, leaving only vibrations that coursed through the boy's body.

The Stribog-01 was a war machine—a weapon created for soldiers to use. Even if he was able to command it due to his MLP and exceptional, Finn was barely fifteen, and still mostly flesh and bone. He was limited in the range he could move and the speed he could reach. His enemy didn't have such a problem, however.

The Dark machine moved with much more fluidity, making sharp turns and sudden accelerations. Though it should have been the first time both of them were fighting in the giant machines, Metal Face seemed to have already mastered his, showing impressive piloting skills the boy couldn't hope to match.

Just as it looked like the dark machine was about to lunge at him with its energy lance, a thin red line reached one of the optical sensors on its head. The energy field surrounding it lost its invisibility as it blocked the laser, and though it hadn't stopped entirely, it slowed down enough for Finn to switch the firing mode on his right cannon once more, launching a beam instead of mere bullets.

[Finn! Look out!]

As if his attack had been predicted, the dark machine moved out of the way an instant before the beam struck, then shot up, thrusting its lance up. Thanks to Jake's warning and the laser he shot into the enemy's optical sensors, an opening showed itself, allowing Finn to evade. He blasted another beam, but the bastard swung his weapon and sliced through it, splitting it in half.

The shattered and melted, the beams drawing red lines through it as the boy let his machine land a short distance away, continuing to retreat as the pressure of the movements continued to shake his organs.

[HEY METAL FACE! WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE MY BOY ALONE AND GO DIE IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE!!?]

The dark machine seemed about to follow after him, but then stopped. Remaining still for a second, it turned in the opposite direction, its optical sensors glowing ominously as they locked onto the yellow capsule.

[I knew I recognized that voice…]

The anger seemed to vanish from the bastard's face, but somehow, it felt all the more chilling. The dark machine turned its head in Finn's direction, and after a moment of silence, a gritty, ringing laugh came through the comms, sending a chill down Finn's spine.

[Man, oh man! I can't believe this! No way you did it on purpose, right? No way you gave it his voice!]

The laughter continued, pouring enough fuel into Finn's anger that it swallowed the pain tormenting him. Without giving it a second thought, the boy ignited the thrusters of his machine and blasted forward. Both of its arms morphed, creating spirals around the fists as bright energy shimmered around them.

His right came down at the dark machine, but it only struck the ground. The first impact was barely noticeable, but an instant later, the half-destroyed road warped, light spreading through it like the waves of a gigantic whirlpool. That light burst out soon after, eating at everything it touched. The road and buildings crumbled as flames consumed them, quickly melting all that could be melted.

[JAGUAR!!!]

Roaring, Finn blasted after the dark machine, ignoring the G force threatening to crush his body. Even as his vision darkened, he kept his target within sight and prepared his weapons a second time.

Inside the dark machine, though his metallic mouth remained unmoving, Jaguar seemed to be grinning as he looked down at the white machine chasing him. His gaze turned back to the yellow tin can, and an idea formed in his mind. Right after, the dark machine seemed to ignore its opponent and blasted off toward the yellow bot.

[You should have just listened!] The bastard shouted. [I gave you a life. I made you who you are. But you're still bitching about a dead man!] The distance seemed to disappear as he put everything into accelerating, his energy lance pulled back as he prepared to thrust. [I told you already! I'm your father!]

[JAKE!!!]

[Just cut it out already.]

A calm, slightly annoyed voice cut through the tension. As the dark machine thrust its lance, its point aimed at the yellow bot, a black dot manifested in its way, then exploded into a massive dark spot. Failing to react, the dark machine plunged into the spilled ink—and straight out of a different one, crashing into the road dozens of meters away.

[Don't stop!]

The voice shouted into Finn's ears just as he was about to decelerate, and though he hesitated for an instant, he kept going full throttle, plunging into the dark spot as well. The world seemed to flip all of a sudden, and he found himself looking at a large crater, the dark machine at its center.

Though what happened still confused him, the chance caught his attention, and he didn't hesitate to grasp it. With one more spiral attack still charged, Finn dove straight toward the ground, the air around him twisting as he thrust his fist forward.

As if sensing his incoming attack, the machine tried to fly away.

"You aren't getting away!"

Finn wasn't just diving with his white machine. Knowing he couldn't keep wasting his chances, he willed his consciousness into the digital world, plunging into the data stream and diving into his opponent's machine.

When active, the Black Shield power suits deployed more formidable AIs to protect its operating systems, making it so disable them through a Dive was nearly impossible. But that didn't stop him. Finn dove at a speed unlike anything he had attempted before, piercing the dark mech's data ocean and weaving between dozens of unsightly monsters rushing to bar his path.

In his aquatic form, he slipped through gaps no matter how small, not slowing down. Soon enough, he invaded the gates of the cubic castle, reaching a depth where his voice could reach the main processor. While opening its gates the other day, Finn didn't just replace the key that identifies the mech's pilot. He also left something in the operating system just in case he needed something like this.

The code couldn't be something elaborate to prevent Jaguar's Divers from noticing it while sweeping the mech for traps. All it did was alter the behavior of all AIs in the dark machine for a moment, but the chaos it created was more than enough.

"You little shit!!!"

A shadow fell on Finn's avatar, and he looked up to find a giant mechanical shark about to snap its jaws around him. Horror seemed to consume him for an instant, but a grin spread over his face in the next.

"I win."

In the real world, the thrusters on the dark machine's back went off for just an instant, and the whole thing twitched to a halt. The white mech, on the other hand, dove down like a meteor. Its fist pierced the target, and the spiraling energy was unleashed, turning into a storm that warped the world around it.

The crater spread out, and light exploded from it, swallowing everything in its surroundings.