It was a beautiful church. A soaring steeple, polished oak doors, and well groomed flower beds. The overall appearance was of quiet beauty. Inside, the effect was one of awe and grace. Every aspect seemed to draw the eyes to the pulpit, and the amazing stained glass window behind. The colors sparked in a vast array of tones, depicting many scenes of life, death, love, loss, and growth. The artist who formed it had a true gift, and must have been quite proud of the masterpiece he had formed.
Which is why it was only all the more tragic when a pair of grappling metal behemoths smashed straight through it.
They rolled through the pews, splintering the polished wood into matchsticks, each trying to gain purchase on the other's modular armor. Kicks, punches, and occasional curses were exchanged as they continued on their rolling swath of destruction, only halting when they fetched up against the back wall. The one trapped on the bottom swung its legs up and smashed its opponents back, gaining just enough time to force its arms against the others chest and shove. The opponent was thrown across the aisle way, carving another path of destruction through the few previously unharmed pews. Both rolled to their feet, and took several moments to size each other up.
The one that had been tossed was black in color, with several gold lines running along its arms, legs, and backplates, all converging and running over the helmet, ending in a spear tip just above the eye-glass.
The other was dark blue, with a line of faded white five-point stars running along the spine and each shoulder, going up the neck. The helmet was painted with a white roaring panther face, the top teeth just over the eye-glass, the fangs running from temple to cheekbone, and the bottom teeth running along the jawline.
The black one called over to the blue.
"Had enough yet, Blue?
Blue flexed his shoulders.
"Well Black, as I believe the quote goes: 'I have not yet begun to fight!' "
With that, Blue launched himself at Black. Several strikes were exchanged, and the fight seemed to have stalemated. Although Blue was broader, with incredible strength behind his strikes, the thinner Black was faster and more experienced. It seemed that the exchange could have lasted indefinitely, until Black dodged under Blue's strike, grabbed a 10 foot section of pew backboard, and smashed it into Blue's side. This sent Blue reeling, leaving him unprepared for Black's kick, which sent him smashing directly through the polished oak doors. After countering his momentum buy spreading his limbs out, he rolled into a kneel just in time to see Black charging through the now gaping doorway. Unfortunately for Black, Blues kneeling position gave him easy access to the bricks of the front walkway, several of which he ripped up in a clump, and hurled directly into Blacks chest. The impact knocked back Black long enough for Blue to rise into a ready position, negating any advantage that Blacks blitz attack would have yielded.
"Like I said, I hadn't even started fighting. NOW, it's a fight!"
Black charged the now ready Blue, directing a flurry of blows at his head. Blue weathered the onslaught like a champion boxer, and had the presence of mind to expect an underhanded attack. Sure enough, Black suddenly drove a knee upward, and was surprised to find Blues leg already in the strike path. Caught off guard, Black didn't react quickly enough to the leg to avoid the kick that immediately followed.
Blue watched Black stumble upright again. With a cocky lilt in his voice, he shouted, "Had enough yet?"
Black seemed to contemplate this, then said, "I'll admit it. Kid, you've got some moves. Still, a couple good moves won't save you in the long run."
At that, Black ran. Not at Blue, but at the construction project across the road from the once beautiful church. After a moment of confusion, Blue gave chase. He lost visual on Black for a couple seconds, but followed immediately behind the wake of moving tarps and disturbed dust. The chase led him into a central area, but apparently no Black. He only had a moment to ponder the dilemma before a black metal boot slammed into his faceplate, seemingly from nowhere. In Blues haste to catch Black, he had neglected to check upward, into the steel girders where Black had perched, waiting for the moment to strike.
Back flat on the concrete, Blue realized that his helmet had been knocked off, leaving him with no HUD or protection of his scull. He tried to get up, but Black beat him to it, dropping onto his chest, trapping him.
"Now what did I just say?" Black taunted Blue. "A few tricks can't win out over presence of mind. And you apparently had your mind elsewhere. A fatal mistake." At this, Black reached out and broke off a length of rebar. "Still, you're not completely idiotic. I may have a place for you on my squad."
Blue looked up in confusion, but before he could say anything, Black cut him off. "Now don't worry, I've already gotten any relevant info I'd need from your suits linkup. I'll let you know my decision soon." With a free hand, Black removed her helmet, and glossy dark hair fell out over the suits battered shoulders. "See you sometime next week," she said sweetly, right before driving the rebar through Blues forehead.
Blue snapped his eyes open, the fading 'Game Over' sign still pulsing in his retinas. He shakily got out of the Sim-chair, and removed the Relay Band from his head.
"Well," he said, winding up the Bands connector cable. "THAT was unexpected..."
