Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 144 - Mercurial Sea

Chapter 144 - Mercurial Sea

The LOLICON spaceship surged forward at a fraction of lightspeed, plunging into the shimmering portal birthed by Agent Feena's Rift Generator. For the briefest instant, we were swallowed by the swirling throat of a wormhole, where reality bent and folded in dizzying patterns, as though we were riding on the pulse of the cosmos itself.

When we burst from the other side, a sprawling gray mountain range loomed ahead, jagged peaks stabbing upward into the void. The sight would have been awe-inspiring if not for the fact that we were hurtling toward it at a blistering velocity, the spaceship's nose angled steeply toward the ground.

"Oh shit! Brace yourseeeelves!" our pilot roared, his voice cracking with panic.

"Uwaaaah!" Most of the WAIFUs shrieked in unison.

"Fuuuuck!" I yelled, though the howl of the burning wind outside, the guttural roar of the jet engines, and the chaotic cries of the crew smothered my voice entirely.

"Crap!" Agent Feena barked as her Frame Unit's right arm snapped outward, the Rift Generator's barrel locking toward the oncoming earth. Her finger squeezed the trigger, and a fresh portal yawned open in the void ahead.

Once again, we were consumed by a wormhole, our bodies pressed against the seats by the crushing acceleration. Moments later, we emerged above an alien expanse of mercury-like sea. The waters shimmered in shades of gray and black, thick and metallic, as our ship slammed into the surface and began skipping violently across it like a stone cast across glassy water, still hurtling forward with merciless speed.

"Waaah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" The chorus of WAIFU cries rattled the cabin, each jolt of the ship tossing them about. I hate to admit it, but the collective squeals carried a strangely suggestive edge, though the relentless pounding of the ride was doing my spine no favors.

"Brace for impact!" Pilot Steve's voice cut through the chaos as his eyes locked on the jagged shoreline rushing up to meet us.

"Oh hell nooooooOoooOOoo!" one WAIFU wailed in an exaggerated falsetto, as if she were auditioning for an opera at the world's worst moment.

In that heartbeat, Agent Feena's Frame Unit hurtled forward, her mechanical limbs clanging against the deck. She slammed into the ship's bow, planting her armored palms against it in a desperate bid to soften the crash. But the LOLICON was a hulking beast, four times larger than her frame, and the force of its momentum pushed her back like a boulder rolling against a single human.

"Raaaaaah!" Agent Feena roared, servos whining under the strain. Inch by inch, the ship began to lose speed. Her metallic feet scraped deep grooves into the gray shoreline, each step spitting sparks as friction finally bit into the earth.

The grinding of metal on stone shrieked through the cabin, a sound that made my teeth ache. Then, with a final jarring thud, the LOLICON lurched to a halt. The sudden stop pitched our heads forward before the seat belts yanked us back, preventing what could have been a full-blown concussion.

"A-are we still alive?" Fei's voice wavered as she turned to me. "Myrrh, pinch me to see if I'm still alive!"

"You don't need someone to pinch your cheeks just to confirm you're alive," Myrrh replied flatly, though the faint twitch at the corner of her mouth suggested she was resisting a smirk.

"Oh, right. Haha." Fei scratched the back of her head, still looking a little dazed from the landing.

"You guys okay?" Agent Feena's voice crackled in from outside the ship, her synthetic tone carrying a faint echo through the metal hull. "I'm sorry about that portal earlier. It was Zaft's fault!"