The Champion swings before I am even on my feet.Metal screams past my face. I drop, roll, and come up swinging. My fist connects with its jaw, bone and steel and something in-between, and the thing actually laughs.
"Cadence," I growl.
"Ah, consciousness. I was starting to enjoy the silence."
"Status."
"Terminal. Probably yours, but I am open to surprises."
The next hit sends me skidding across the floor, my back slamming into a fallen beam. My vision fractures. The HUD sputters.
Battery: 15 %. Damage: Critical.
"Feels worse," I mutter.
"Good. That means you are still alive."
The Champion charges again, every step shaking the floor. Its blades drag sparks, slicing trenches through metal. I duck left, pivot hard, and drive a knee into its side. The impact rattles my frame but pushes it off course.
"Power output spiking," Cadence warns.
"Yeah, I am having a moment."
It swings again. I grab the blade arm, twist, lock my elbow over its joint, and wrench until something pops. The thing howls, half mechanical, half human. I shove it back, catch my breath, then lunge. My hand digs into the open wound in its chest. Cables. Wires. Heat.
"Cadence, what am I pulling?"
"Hopefully the right one."
I rip. Sparks flood the air. The Champion staggers, grabs me, throws me like I weigh nothing. I crash into a console that dies on impact.
"Structural damage increasing," Cadence says.
"Great. I was starting to look too symmetrical anyway."
It comes again, slower, heavier, bleeding light now instead of blood. The edges of its armor glow red-hot. I reach for the rebar beside me, swing low, and take out its knee. It drops to one side, still swinging, wild and erratic.
"Rhea," I bark into the comm.
Static. "Iris! The signal's fluctuating! You have to finish it!"
"Helpful as ever!"
"Try harder!"
"That's my whole strategy!"
I plant both feet, launch myself forward, and drive my shoulder into its chest. The sound is thunder. The world tilts. The Champion crashes back through the wall, out into the open yard.
Sand. Sunlight. Smoke.The rest of the scavengers are already faltering, watching their champion fall.
Mara's voice hits the comm. "Iris, status?"
"Busy," I grunt, climbing to my feet.
"Stay alive. We are holding the line."
"Can't promises." I exclaim.
The Champion rises again. Its left arm hangs limp, but its right still burns bright. It charges. I meet it halfway. Our collision sends a shockwave through the sand. Everything rattles.
"Battery 10 %," Cadence says.
"Guess I will need to make it count."
It slams me against the wall. Stars burst behind my eyes. Its hand locks around my throat, metal crushing metal.
"Cadence, options."
"One involves screaming. The other's shorter."
"I'll take option 3."
I grab its wrist, dig my heels into the sand, and push. The servos in my legs scream. So do I. The grip loosens for half a second, enough. I twist out, grab its arm, and drive a punch into the exposed joint.
It cracks, then breaks.The blade hits the sand beside us.
The Champion lunges again, headfirst, like a battering ram. I step aside, grab its head mid-charge, and slam it into the ground. It thrashes, claws, snarls, then rolls, pinning me under one massive arm.
"Cadence," I choke.
"Listening."
"Please tell me you have a plan."
"I have data. It's all terrible."
I grab a shard of its own armour, jam it into its throat, and shove until sparks and black fluid spill out. It spasms, throws me off. I land hard, my shoulder screaming.
"Battery 8 %."
"Stop with the death countdown."
It rises again, head jerking, light flickering inside its eyes.
The Champion lunges. I catch its blade stump with both hands, twist my entire body weight, and use its own momentum to spin it sideways. The creature stumbles. I follow through, slamming my knee into its chest.
The armour caves. The light inside flares white.
Cadence screams in my head. "Heat spike, move!"
Too late. The explosion sends us both tumbling through the air.
Sand fills my mouth. The world spins. I hit the ground and slide, motionless for too long.
"Get up," Cadence hisses. "Now!"
"I was evaluating."
"Evaluate faster."
I force myself up. The Champion is still alive, crawling now, one hand dragging it forward. Its face is gone, a mass of molten metal and bone.
"Battery 5%," Cadence warns.
"Wow, luxury mode."
"Enjoy it while it lasts."
I limp toward it. Every step burns. Every breath feels mechanical. I raise what is left of the rebar, grip shaking.
"Any advice."
"Kill it."
I swing. The rebar connects. Once. Twice. A third time, I don't stop till the rebar changes shape.
The Champion collapses in a cloud of smoke and sand. The light in its chest flickers, fades, dies.
For a long moment, nothing moves. The air hums with the leftover static of violence.
Then the scavengers break. Engines roar to life. Sand sprays into the sky as they flee into the horizon.
"Retreat confirmed," Cadence says softly.
"Good. I was running out of patience ... and battery."
I sink to my knees. Everything shakes, me, the ground, maybe the world.
Mara's voice cuts in, hoarse but steady. "Scavengers retreating. Relay still holding.
"Rhea."
"Alive," she answers. "Signal stable."
"Iris."
"Still functioning. Technically."
Silence settles, heavy and full.
I walk through the yard, counting bodies. Soldiers. Scavengers. Machines. The dust hides most of the details. Rhea meets me halfway, face streaked with blood and oil. Mara follows, rifle lowered, eyes scanning the ruin.
"How bad," I ask.
Rhea swallows. "We lost a lot and we're missing two."
"Names."
She looks down. "Varrin and Hesk."
Cadence breaks the silence. "Victory achieved. Partial."
"Feels empty."
"Because it is."
I look toward the dunes where the scavengers vanished.
"Then we go get them back."
Cadence hums. "New directive accepted."
Mara nods. "We plan at dawn."
I stare out across the sand, the place where the Champion fell, where it burned. The smell of ozone and metal still clings to the air.
"Battery 2 %" Cadence says.
"Guess I earned dinner."