A Dreamer's Knight

Chapter 38 - Decisive Battle

A beam of light shot from the joined Headache units the moment the words left One's mouth, piercing through the thick clouds overhead. The Final Fantasy erupted from the clouds like a dragoon knight moments later, the moons' light shining off the smooth metal plating.

Mouths fell agape as the the Final Fantasy landed a few dozen feet in front of One with a thud that shook the floor of the forest. Soldiers scattered as the massive mech knight knelt facing One, a hand extended in front of the cockpit. Wasting no time, One leapt onto the Final Fantasy's outstretched hand. The Final Fantasy lifted him to its chest, armor plating separating to reveal the cockpit. One clambered inside and strapped himself in as the plating closed in over him, sealing him inside.

Once strapped in, One glanced at one of the numerous camera screens to see Teria and Tirinia slipping into the cavern, Mikaen in tow. Teria glanced back at the Final Fantasy and gave a thumbs up before disappearing inside.

One nodded with satisfaction and turned his attention to the Breath of Fire just in time to see the dragon mech take flight. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Let's see if all those modifications I made were worth the effort. Activate Impulse Mode!"

Wires shot from each console, each connecting to part of One's gear: interface cables slid into the appropriate ports in both units of Headache, his tek-boots, and his Impulse harness. With a toss of his head, One's ponytail swung away from the final connection point: the shiny datajack just behind his right ear. A cord shot from the main control console and slid into the port to interface with his brain. One winced; the sensation of the long metal rod sliding into his neck wasn't exactly painful, but it was far from pleasant.

The view of the cockpit faded and was replaced instantly by a magnificent panorama of the forest. He could even see the distant city of Muonsol, the city lights glimmering in the night sky. Looking down, he saw the metal hands of the Final Fantasy as his own. He could feel the breeze of the coming storm as though it blew against his own skin and not sheets upon sheets of metal plating and protective fiber.

He looked up to see the Breath of Fire staring back at him. The sudden appearance of another dreadnaught had taken it by surprise, even though the Breath of Fire was nearly twice the size of the Final Fantasy.

Under One's control, the Final Fantasy leapt above the advancing Breath of Fire and landed on the dragon's back with enough force to knock the beast flat against the forest floor. Seizing one of the Breath of Fire's wings in each massive metal hand, the Final Fantasy pressed its feet against the small of the dragon's back and pulled.

The dragon screeched and fought to throw off the smaller dreadnaught, twisting, turning, and knocking down massive trees as it tried to loosen the Final Fantasy's grip.

The base of the wings slowly tore away from the Breath of Fire, sparks flying in every direction. With a final wrench, the Final Fantasy ripped the wings from the Breath of Fire's body.

With a roar, the dragon reared up on its hind legs. Having nothing to hold onto save the now disconnected wings, the Final Fantasy fell back and landed with an earth-shaking thud.

Staggering to its feet, the Final Fantasy raised its head in time to see the Breath of Fire rushing at it on all four legs. The Final Fantasy rolled aside moments before the Breath of Fire crashed on by, the combined movements of the dreadnaughts reducing a dozen trees to kindling.

The Breath of Fire wasn't a combat model for nothing, however; the dragon-mech rose on four legs and rushed at One with far more speed that he'd anticipated. The claws flashed in the light of the moons, each tearing a gash into the chest armor of the Final Fantasy as the dragon bore down on the knight mech.