Gaston adjusted the exoskeleton he wore with a press on his bracer. Next to him was a ten-foot tall Lancer unit equipped with all sorts of protection. In the heart of the Lancer unit was Constable Yu’s head poking out.

Light rain pouring down. A thin layer of light surrounded Gaston, repelling the water from the skies. Gaston finished the checks on his exoskeleton before turning his head to the Sea of Japan. The Tottori Desert of Japan had transformed into such a strange form after the appearance of the ichorium. Some even say that after years the desert will expand to the Korean Peninsula. With the land being raised west of the Coastal City of Nagato.

“I never thought that we’d be here to camp it out. If we were on sand we’d be buried now.”

“That’s exaggerating,” Gaston said. “The best thing we can do right now is keep ourselves from being discovered by the Cult. Well, and that we ain’t ready to tell them that you are alive.”

“I get the picture,” Yu said. “Still, why am I inside a Lancer unit again?”

“Cause’ it makes you protected. I’ve done the best I could to make the armor isolated from all networks. It’s running purely on its own processor and operating systems so you don’t have to worry about sabotage and the likes.”

Worry never left his face.

“Being in this thing scares me.”

“You’ve got to be braver. Hell, why are you saying this? Left your balls in the city?”

“Just tired,” Yu said. “I was a popsicle a few hours ago. Now I’m in a tin can. Not that I’m complaining about how well-protected I am. Still, I didn’t expect that we’d actually travel here instead of staying in the city.”

“Perhaps we should have. Then again I’m not taking chances on whatever may happen. You are a target. Or you are not. But if you are then I’d rather have you away from civilians than keeping you somewhere. If they come to this place then we’d have less worry about how things are. Besides, I didn’t arm you into the Full Metal Lancer Unit just so you can whine about it.”

Constable Yu changed somehow. He was more lax and there was clear worry in his tone of voice that Gaston could not ignore. Constable Yu looked away. His eyes were on the sea for a moment.

“Sorry, it isn’t professional of me to act like this. Perhaps I have become lenient because of the drug that you made me take.”

Gaston had him drugged with concoctions that affected his mentality. A shot to energize him and give him some proper wariness. His senses are dulled because of being frozen and the only way to simulate that is to inject him with a certain drug. He isn’t in the condition to fight without a defensive unit.

“It’s alright.”

“Is it? You could have worn this.”

“I’m fine. It’s you who needs to be on defense. Not me.”

He observed Gaston. Eyes drilling on him.

“You are confident, Mr. Hardy. I envy you in some way.”

“Don’t be. Nothing to be envious about. If anything I’m only here because of my debt to the Babaika Lions.”

“I get the feeling.”

Yu was not a fool. He knew that Gaston’s interest in keeping him alive was so that the Babaika Lions and the consortium could find where the BEHEMOTH was taken. Finding the BEHEMOTH itself was no longer an issue that could be solved. If anything, finding it as their enemies proceed to plan was the best thing they could do.

Why was he here? Because he needs Yu alive to report and tell what he had been doing. Truthfully, to Gaston, Yu’s survival wasn’t that necessary now. Nonetheless, if he could be kept alive. Gaston was willing to go such lengths to keep him alive.

Not to mention that with everyone so eager to find anything about the cult. He was suspecting that others who are after the bounty would come after Constable Yu to squeeze whatever information that he had. Call it paranoid but folks would have Constable Yu speak any words and call it as important information that they could sell.

Gaston wasn’t fond of allowing that to happen. Not to mention that hiding in the desert was the least of his concern. He wasn’t expecting that he’d find anything so easily. There was a reason that they grasped straws and took in a blogger.

The Cult is infamous for not being so easily found. Not to mention that they are very good at covering their trail. Of course, that is assuming that they would even leave a trail in the first place. The Cult’s smart enough to play with everyone. Why they were able to survive was a testament to their ability to cover their trail and stay hidden in the shadows where they couldn’t be seen.

If they were so easy to deal with. Gaston wouldn’t have bothered following anything. He knew he couldn’t be everywhere. It was impossible for him to stop them without anything solid. If he could pull something out of his ass and somehow miraculously find them. He would have done so.

That’s why he’s in the desert hiding from the enemies. If the enemy follows them then they’d be up for a fight. Nonetheless, Gaston wasn’t taking it easy.

All of this was nothing more than a road he must follow because from the start it was not about saving a nation or keeping a man alive. It was because it would benefit him and the prestige he’d get would pay his debts. He felt nasty thinking like this, but nonetheless it was what he was after. It felt horrible as a person, but what can he do other than get on with it? He came here to act as an Adjutant and now he was in the middle of a desert, escorting someone who wasn’t even affiliated to the Consortium and the Babaika Lions.

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After a while they moved next to the shoreline. Underneath this rock formation the two of them were shielded from the light rain and anyone who might be looking for them. Gaston kept his face mask and his exoskeleton shielded while Constable Yu was carrying a massive rifle meant for his Lancer Unit.

As they rest under the rock formation. Gaston kept his guard up while keeping watch. Hours soon passed without nothing happening. When night fell, the two ate the supplies they brought and remained.

Without any visible light they were in the shadows. Yu’s Lancer Unit has night vision so he didn’t have to worry. Gaston could see clearly despite the dark. The scholar of his eyes glowing against the dark — like a puma whose eyes would shine once it receives light.

Time passed once more and morning arrived. Gaston received multiple signals from PMC’s and Breaker Companies asking for help. Entering a wide channel belonging to the Breaker Companies. He received reports and requests of reinforcements. Most of them were pointing to the Kanto plain. Gaston brought his AR-module and contacted Ayumi.

“This is Adjutant Gaston Hardy. Do you copy?”

“Copy.”

Gaston heard Ayumi’s voice. After sending his identification code the tone of voice behind the call changed.

“Gaston-san?”

“Ayumi, is there something happening in the Kanto Plains?”

“There is. A massive spike of ichorium is rising on the center of it. We have no classifications on what it is… but you can guess what this is after the data you’ve sent us.”

“Is everyone going after this?”

“They are. The district isn’t the only place being attacked. We are experiencing multiple TYPE signals from all over the nation. Not to mention…”

“The Kaiju?”

“The Kaiju.”

When Gaston came to this city he carried information that said that there were threats in the eastern side of Japan. And from the looks of it, it was happening as everything turned into hell.

“Your signal is in the desert?”

“I’m with Constable Yu at the moment. We’ll be moving out of this area sooner or later and reconnect with the Babaika Lions. If possible I would like to receive a full scan of the area we are standing on and the areas covered in this spike.”

“Roger that,” she went on. “Sending aerial vehicles to your location. Expect enemies, Gaston-san. They probably heard us.”

“I know.”

Gaston switched the communication off and sent a pick-up request to the Babaika Lion’s flying fortress.

“Receiving. Extraction will arrive in ten minutes”

Constable Yu, who heard the conversation, took a step forward. His mechanized unit’s arm cocking the rifle it was holding.

“Guess you’re right on the money.”

“For once I’m glad that I am.”

“They are fast at finding us.”

“They probably have suspicions. Before I cut off everything in that unit there was a moment where they probably had sniffed us out.”

Multiple tunnels resembling a split-realm tunneling sequence started to tear through the space around them. There was another thing that Gaston wanted to confirm when he came here.

He wanted to know if they could come to them quickly. And from the looks of it, they could.

Gaston Hardy didn’t have the luxury to think of anything else. He raised his hands and rushed in like a bolt of lightning.

***

Constable Yu had suspicions no matter what.

He couldn't trust anything or anyone so easily after his affairs with the Cult.

But looking at the man who he was with right now? He felt that although he speaks and acts as if he didn’t care about him. Constable Yu felt better, knowing that Gaston Hardy was fighting near him.

“Keep up the covering fire,” Gaston appeared, leaving this trail of dark red electricity on his path. “I’ll hold them off. From the looks of it, they are using strange methods to control their attacks like spells.”

The way the cultists attack made it feel like they wielded supernatural powers – like they were magic. It was the same method that those who have the ability to recover and regenerate uses. But their method was far more practiced and precise.

Gaston Hardy avoided most of the attacks. His electrified fist shattered the defensive clothing that the cultists were wearing. Seeing that he was the weakest link. The cultist tries to rush at Yu only to find their backs shattered as Gaston kicks them to the ground.

A missile launcher was fired. As they tried to use the guns, there were many enemies who came rushing towards Gaston. Nonetheless, Gaston and his bio-shield remained rippled as he knocked them out or pummeled them to the ground without mercy.

Using his speed and the rock formations. Running around like a madman on the walls and easily blocking their coordinated attacks. Constable Yu tried hard to cover him and if it wasn’t for the defensive capabilities that his Lancer Unit have. He would have been shot down.

Gaston Hardy fought without a stir of emotion. Constable Yu could tell that the enemy. that was after them were ruthless and precise. If it wasn’t for the shield generator, he wasn’t sure how he’d survive. Nonetheless, the enemy could barely react as Gaston Hardy assaults them. Using his exoskeleton clad fist enchanted with his bioelectricity to punch them down.

By the time that they were down on the ground. The only thing bothering Gaston Hardy was the thought of more cultists appearing. His MF-weapon remained holstered.

One of the cultists survived. The man tried to run when Gaston made sure that the man wouldn’t be using his limbs. When the extraction team reached them it was an awful sight.

“Boris,” Gaston Hardy said to the person that came out of the VTOL.

“Seems like we missed the party. Looks like they really can appear out of nowhere.”

“They can. We’ve confirmed it,” Gaston went on. “Right now we need to retrieve some of them. For the rest, they can be dragged to the VTOL’s cargo bay and brought in for questioning.”

“Nice work, Adjutant,” Boris said as he ordered his squad to gather the fallen combatants. When another VTOL appeared Constable Yu looked at Gaston Hardy before entering the VTOL without him.