Magic vs Science

Annie

I passed over the first rise, just making it past the battle site, when I went down.

I landed with a heavy thud, groaning from my injuries. Was I crazy? I had just escaped death more than three times in one battle, and I was asking for another one?

I flinched when I caught the scent of a man nearby, heard his footsteps.

I raised my head to stare into the forest. Who's there? I called to him with my mind.

"Hold a moment, Renegade," Axel said. "Are you planning to battle the dragon?"

The look in his eyes told Axel that he was.

"Your mech repairs are unlikely to finish in time." He paused. "We've just finished upgrading the new mech standard. There's a brand new machine waiting back at HQ; it's already been tested, and it's the first of its kind. I want you to pilot it. Use it to kill the dragon. Once you return to HQ, run it through the basic tests. Make sure you have a good feel for it. Then take it into battle."

Axel turned away. He began to issue orders into the mic; a dozen mechs from Group T would occupy the village itself, while the rest would return to HQ. Axel would stay as well, for the time being. He needed to plan. What action would he take next?

The words probed his mind from an outside source. who's there?

Coden reacted calmly, knowing that no matter how far technology had went it still could not penetrate the mind. Still, the source was unknown to him, and he was forced to look in circles, giving him a rather drunken appearance. The maroon wings just barely peeked out of the bushes, retracting then pushing back out.

He silently walked towards the dragonic figure. "I am not your enemy, rather your friend."

The dragon looked skeptical as the human came into view. She snorted out a thick puff of curling smoke, digging her claws into the ground. Her performance to portray viciousness ended with a small growl of pain as the blood began to pour from various wounds.

Coden didn't hesitate. He walked coolly over to the dragon, and let a small flame seal the wounds. "This will help a little bit."

The dragon screeched, and threw Coden aside. idiot! I can heal myself, and you have surely impeded the process with your little antics!

(Um...okay, but I wouldn't have said that! Oh well...)

Annie

I looked him over for a minute, then heaved a sigh. His magic had helped even a little.

Forgive me...I lost my temper for no reason.

He brushed dust from his clothes, watching me. "It's fine. You don't know me."

It was still...innexcusable. I did not mean to hurt you...if I did. I looked at him, shifting so that my paws were beneath me. I am Anneliese, but you can call me Annie.

*Eh, sorry about that. I will try better next time*

Coden returned the greeting with a nod. "No injuries here. I am Coden Desaret. I had just taking out one of the rogue mechs when you happen to land down here. Might I ask where the wounds came from?"

Annie shifted uneasily as she remembered that her challenge was still to be completed. In her condition, she knew that the battle will be complicated. She relayed the story of her battle to the human warrior, sparing no words to explain her predicament. As the name Axel was mentioned, Coden's fist clenched.

"Axel..." He spat the word out. "He still lives..."

The dragon could sense the extreme discomfort within Coden's voice, besides the fact that it was slightly obvious. Do you know that man?

Coden gritted his teeth. "That poor excuse for a man destroyed my life. He is a dishonorable scoundrel. You should expect him to have tricks. I will assist you in this battle."

Annie shook her large neck, showing her disapproval. No. He is honorable enough not to do such things, so your help will not be necessary.

"That man is not honorable, nor does he deserve the right to live. I will assist you whether you will it or not."

The dragon snorted out a puff of smoke. be careful then.

The first thing Renegade did when he returned to HQ was go to the mech garage to see the new machine he would be piloting. It was built much the same way as his other mech, HK-47. A human shaped machine with radar wings and boosters on its leg and back. Its paint was several shades of cobalt blue. It had long metal blades for hands and a gun built into either of its wrists. The gun on the right wrist was a machine gun, the one on the left was a miniature missile launcher. There was an energy cannon built into its chest that apparently had enough power to punch a hole into the side of a mountain. He would believe it when he saw it.

The machine's code name was 35-Blue Storm. Renegade tested it until he was confident in the machine's abilities. Once he checked in with the docking crew he left to find the dragon that challenged him.

*Hey, I won't be posting much this week, I've got my NaNo to finish up! So on Saturday if i put a post saying "please explain whats going on" please explain it XD*

Annie

I shifted, rising to my "feet". Standing my full height, I was truly a monster compared to this human. His shoulder reached my hock.

I tossed my head, snarling briefly. Climb on, then. I held my left leg out at an angle so that Coden could climb onto me and settle just in front of my shoulders.

I'm sorry if I'm new to this; I've never had a rider before. I explained as I awkwardly took off. The added weight - even though it was not too much - would slow me down and make me try much harder to fly at my preferred altitude and speed.

So, Coden. While we are flying, would you care to explain what exactly Axel has done to you? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Coden went silent at first, picking his choice of words. Finally, he drew in a deep breath, and began his serenade. "A few years ago, I used to be one of the greatest warriors of the magi armies. An inspiration to the young soldiers, and a mentor to the veterans. Every battle I was in was a victory. I daresay it was me, but most insist it was. Still, one day, A met with this man Axel in battle. His army was fierce, but mine was stronger still. Our victory was imminent."

He sighed, stressing his voice. "But then, that man, that man, did the most dishonorable thing for a soldier to do. He called me over, to show me my wife, three months from birthing, with one of their foul weapons to her head. He forced me to surrender, and still took her away."

Coden's face hardened, and his hand gripped tightly on his blade. "I asked for assistance from anyone to assault their base to get Karen back. I begged, pleaded, but no one would help. So now, I am a rogue, killing those that have caused me this sorrow, and constantly on search of a way to get Karen, and possibly our child, back from their clutches."

He shook his head. "But we must concentrate on what is at hand. I am sorry to bore you with such irrelevant facts."

I'm so sorry for your loss, Annie said. I'm sure you'll find her if you keep looking.

A large red and blue beam of light and energy came screeching by Annie's body, missing her by only inches. The heat from the beam seared the skin on her neck. She let out a painful yelp.

"What was that!?" Coden yelled.

Annie quickly scanned the trees below to find a blue mech. A light the same colour as the beam before began growing from its chest.

Hold on! Annie yelled. Coden barely had enough time to brace himself when the dragon tucked her wings and initiated a barrel roll. Another beam of energy came from the machine and barely missed the dragon. The beam continued on its path, striking the side of a nearby mountain and blowing a large chunk of rock out of the spot it hit. The attack left a large crater in the side of the mountain big enough to hold five mechs.

"What is that machine doing so far from the rest of its army?" Coden asked.

I challenged one of the soldiers from the army of science to a fight, Annie explained. From what I heard his name is Unit HK-47.

Coden gasped. "HK-47 is the machine piloted by a man named Renegade. He's the fiercest soldier I had ever faced on the battlefield. We must flee at once!"

Annie dodged another beam of energy. This time the beam hit the top of the mountain, taking it clean off with a big explosion of blue and red.

I can't fight with you on my back, Annie said. I'll have to find a place to set you down. As she quickly looked for a place to put her passenger she noticed the blue mech had disappeared.

Annie heard the soft blare of booster engines as she turned to see the machine flying at her from behind. One of its bladed arms lit to life with blue electricity. The dragon backed away fast enough to avoid being cut by the shocking blade. The mech lifted its other arm to rest on the first one, aiming the tube like object on its wrist at Annie. A missile came out of the machine's wrist and hit the dragon in the chest.

Annie roared as her scales were seared from thick flames and shrapnel. Coden flew up in the air from the sheer force of the missile, with shrapnel slashing his arms as he protected his face. He began his free fall, twisted and flailing as he tried to gain control. Quickly drawing his sword, he pierced the end of the mech just as it passed his sight. His fall quickly stopped, and the wind was knocked out of him.

He spat out blood, and climbed onto the foot of the mech, yanking his sword out with him. He instantly gripped the edge as HK-47 began to spin around as Annie lunged at it. Coden's insides flipped and turned, and he fought to keep himself together. The speed and pressure was dizzying his body.

He slowly began to climb up the leg. Hand over hand, he pulled himself up towards the hinges that connected the limb to the rest of the body. He was thrown around again and again, and more than once he heard a rib crack. Yet he continued up, with Renegade unaware of the figure about to cause more problems than he thought.

Finally, he came upon the thick cords that held the leg together. Coden was almost unconscious now, and his vision was fading quickly. More missiles and beams cut across the sky towards Annie, and she nimbly dodged them, but still had her share of hits and scrapes. Coden took one more look at the dragon, then grinned.

"Eat This!" he screamed, and pressed his hands to the metallic cords. His hands glowed crimson, and caused a fiery blast that disintegrated the fusing cords into molten metal, and the leg of the mech fell away, as well as Coden, enveloped in darkness.

Annie

Coden!

I saw him fall, saw him collapse...could I reach him in time?

I dove, narrowly missing another blast from the mech's cannon, and tore through the skies after Coden. I rolled to the side, but continued my descent, as several missles flew past me, one grazing my wing. I snarled at my opponent as I caught Coden in my claws.

Coden, hold on! Stay with me!

No response. He was out cold!

I landed just long enough to conceal him first in a depression then behind one of my stronger barriers. It would protect him until I fell or killed Duran. Hopefully it would come to neither conclusions.

I roared, rocketing for Duran, fangs and claws bared as I flew for him at an amazing speed.

(Axel is Phindin's character. Mine is Duran. Everybody calls him Renegade.)

"Not bad for a savage beast," Renegade said as he adjusted his mech's propulsion system to accommodate for its lost leg. "And I didn't even notice that guy on my leg. He's either very brave or very stupid. Either way, my skills are slipping."

Renegade used Blue Storm's radars to scan the area. The dragon was charging him from the west. Renegade smiled, this dragon just might give him the challenge he's been wanting for years.

He turned off the mech's weapon systems and rerouted all the power into the booster engines. He lunged at his opponent with rocket-like speed, his mech's blades poised to strike.

At the last second, before the two collided, Renegade spun his mech to the left and brought one of the blade arms up against the side of the dragon's body. In the same instant the dragon rolled and slashed Renegade's machine in the chest with its hind claws.

When they stopped to face each other again, Renegade could see the damage he had done. A long, thin red line ran up the side of the dragon's body from its back leg to its front just under the wing. One of the computer screens in the cockpit was beeping and flashing red. The dragon had slashed his mech's energy cannon clean off, leaving a large claw scratch across the front of the machine.

Renegade's smiled widened even more. He couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun.

(Whoops...okay, I'm battling Duran! Let me edit that real quick...)

Annie

I snarled, ignoring the pain that swept through me. This guy was certainly a challenge, but I was enjoying myself. I could release whatever anger I had held within me, hurting only one person...the person I'd come to fight.

I changed directions, diving down as Duran came at me again, passing under him completely, with my tail held tense and ready to swing. A single swipe of my blade would cleave the machine in two.

I roared, ramming my broad tail against the underside of the mech as I rose up again, rolling away again as I swung back, tail blade ready...

"Ahh..." As the air pulled into his lungs, his body screamed out in pain. Coden, barely pulling into consciousness, let the pain linger until he could take it no longer. He cut the air off, pulling in only short, wispy gasps. He refused to move his body for fear of more searing pain.

Finally, mind prevailed over body, and he forced himself to slowly sit up. His rib reacted with another sharp stab of pain. He flinched, but still continued to comply with his mind.

His body was in better shape than he expected, his arms and legs were cut up and covered with dried blood, but bone and muscle was clearly intact. He wasn't expecting to survive that fall, let alone with so few injuries. His legs weren't as well however. He left leg bulged with a kneecap twisted to the side, jutting out like an unwanted wart.

Breathing deeply, He placed his hand over the throbbing cap. He hesitated at first, then grabbed nearby stick and placed in his jaws. Then he immediately shifted the bone back to its place. The stick snapped between his teeth, and immediately cut through the flesh in his lip. Still, a little more pain and blood loss was meaning little to him.

He finally unsteadily got on his shaken legs. Finally the questions began to roll through his mind.

How did I survive? Where is Annie...?

He question was answered with repeated explosion all around him. It shook him so hard that he had to fight to keep his unstable body balanced. He looked up, and saw the mech still in heavy battle with Annie. The realization struck him almost immediately.

Annie saved me...