The Daggers pushed their mechs to the limit as they raced up the main road towards the Red team's base. Damian and Trapper made a mad dash after them but were left in the dust when a pair of boosters appeared behind the shadow mechs. There was a sonic boom, and the Daggers were gone.

The cadets in the watchtower were going crazy at the sudden reversal of the Red team's fortunes. Will had his eyes glued to the window. The boosters behind the Daggers sputtered to a stop, and the duo started pinging like crazy. Concentric circles of force bloomed from the two mechs as they searched for the beacon.

"They still don't have an exact location yet," yelled Remy over the din of cheering cadets. "only a general direction from where Lawson fired on them."

Will nodded. "It's only a matter of time. The base would naturally be the one that Lawson is standing on. The moment they spot her... Look, Lawson has hidden herself."

"No, wait!" Becca exclaimed. "She is doing something."

Lawson was bent low behind the parapet, and the snow around her churned as she flexed her field. It built in a steady beat until a pulse exploded from her. An invisible wave slammed into the Daggers, sending them reeling. Their mechs went haywire, and they struggled to maintain their balance.

A shot rang out, and a fist-sized hole was blasted into the side plating of Cutter's chest piece, sending the Dagger spinning. Lawson didn’t miss a beat, picking the exact moment the Daggers were disoriented to place her attack. Sparks arched from the scorched and dented chest piece as Cutter desperately tried to seize control of his mech.

"Incredible! Would you believe it, another stellar move by Lawson, cutting the Blue team down to size. She just bought the crucial few seconds Team Red needed. And here's Gecko and Trapper back in play!"

Damian slammed into Carver in a white blur, and Trapper went after the still laboring Cutter. The Daggers struggled against both opponents and were on the back foot from the start.

Damian was a blur of motion, and Carver could barely keep up with his blades. After a futile effort of defense, the Dagger backed off to the mouth of a small side alley, forcing Damian to take him head-on. The enclosed space slowed him down enough for Carver to hold him off.

On the other side of the main road, Trapper had Cutter pinned with a constant barrage of bullets from his rifle. Cutter’s flickering field was on the verge of collapse. Lawson had done a number on him, and the damage affected some of the critical components of the mech. The machine was on its last legs.

There was a crack of thunder as another crater was blasted next to Cutter.

"Relentless! Lawson is putting the beat down on Cutter. The Law is finally on the move. Leaving the home base behind, she is moving in for the kill."

"Wait!" Becca exclaimed. "Has she stopped covering the base, or is her field so large that she can mask the beacon a building away?"

"No," said Victor. "She is not masking anymore; she is blocking. There is a wall of her field that is blocking the Daggers' ping. It is a lot riskier since it doesn't provide all-around coverage."

"So, get past the wall and the beacon is defenseless?" asked Becca.

"Essentially, yes," said Victor.

"But, it makes the position of the home base a lot less obvious," finished Will. "It is the right choice."

"It seems that way, for now," said Victor.

The fight was getting more brutal by the second. Damian and Carver were in a stalemate, but Cutter was on his last legs. He retreated down the main road as Trapper kept up the pressure.

"This could be the end for Cutter. Cline has him by the ropes and is preparing the noose to hang the Dagger with."

Cutter backed away with haphazard, jerky movements, using the buildings as cover, as Lawson pursued him from above. The killing blow could arrive any second, and at this point, he was just buying time.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Trapper charged forward and stepped past a patch of snow that Cutter had stepped on earlier. A faint pulse came from below him, and Trapper stiffened. His head snapped to the patch of snow below his feet, and an explosion rocked the main road.

The blast threw him off his feet, and there was a dark blue blur as Cutter appeared in front of him. There was a heavy screeching sound. Cutter sank his blade deep into Trapper and severed his spine. The smaller mech jerked to a stop and fell dead on the snow-covered road.

The cadets in the watchtower gasped as Trapper lay twitching on the floor.

"Trapper is down! Unbelievable! What a turn of events! Cutter brings down Trapper with cunning and guile, and that too with precise timing. Lawson was out of place to cover her squadmate, and Cutter takes full advantage of that. He is still dodging The Law's line of sight, heading to support his counterpart. Look out now! The Gecko is in for a serious fight."

Damian leapt away from the side alley, recognizing the danger. He retreated to the main road where he was freer to move.

The Daggers didn't waste any time as they closed in for the kill. There was a whirlwind of blades, and Damian danced between the two mechs, parrying and dodging every thrust.

Bullets rained down on the Daggers as Lawson took potshots at the two of them. She had switched out her heavy ordnance for smaller caliber ones. The three combatants were bunched up so close that the risk of collateral damage was too high.

"Go Red, let's go!" yelled Remy at the top of his lungs. Will clutched his fist as he watched his cousin face off against two mechs. Despite his bet, he didn't want to see him lose.

Blades flashed inches away from Damian but never managed to touch him. The Gecko was as slippery as his namesake, and Damian moved with such speed that even the two mechs were having trouble pinning him down. A blue blur was left in the air, and in the next second, a small section of Cutter's helmet was sliced off.

"What an incredible display of skill! Damian 'Gecko,' proving why he is a force to be reckoned with. Taking on two mechs and still coming out on top! The advantage is slowly but surely shifting onto team Red. It won't be long now before one side breaks, and from the looks of it, the Daggers are in some serious trouble."

The realization must have struck the Daggers too. Cutter had been slowing down with his damaged mech, and his reaction time was abysmal. It was now or never. They had to turn the tide of the battle before the situation became untenable.

Both shadow mechs retreated in unison. Cutter's wrist flicked, and his short sword went flying out of his hand. The blade flashed forward toward Lawson, who was in the middle of changing her magazine. Stunned by the sudden attack, she flared her field and blocked the blade. The deflected blade scratched the side of her armor, and her field faltered. Before she could react, a second blade came at her, this time from Carver. The dagger sunk deep into her mech's right arm, and her field flared violently. The snow around her was blasted aside as an invisible wall came crumbling down.

"Oh! Lawson is hit! Her field is down, and the beacon is wide open!"

The Daggers triggered their pulse, and their heads snapped in unison to team Red's home base. The beacon's location was out.

"Holy shit!" Remy yelled. The cadets were cheering louder than ever.

"Can you believe it, folks? A desperate gambit and a sudden reversal."

Damian flashed forward in a white blur. Both Daggers were short a blade. They might have discovered the base's location, but they had thrown aside their only means of defense against Damian. Now both short of a blade, they could barely handle the onslaught brought forth by Damian. Metal parts came flying out of the mechs as he sliced the protective plating clean off.

Cutter went down with a shower of sparks, but he triggered a flare before hitting the ground. The signal rocket flew from his mech, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. It burst apart high in the sky, and a red flare bloomed above the Red team's home base.

Damian's attacks grew even more violent, and Carver didn’t last long. He too managed to trigger his flare before going down. Two angry red stars hung in the air as the last Dagger fell, and no one was left moving in the field.

Silence fell on the arena.

"Is it over?" asked Becca.

"Both Daggers are down after a spectacular fight! Blue team has only one man standing. Kade, whom we haven’t seen hide nor hair of all match. Where is Kade?"

Will glanced at the live feed of the Blue team's beacon and found no one there. Kade was not at home base. It was after a few seconds of searching that he found a lone figure walking down the main highway. A window popped up, and Will spotted the signature blue CAD suit of Kade. His helmet was raised to the sky, and the red flare was reflected on his visor.

Arman "The Wall" Kade spread his arms wide and took in a deep breath. The air shimmered around him, and Arman seemed to grow bigger. Not physically, but his presence seemed to fill the arena. Will felt his hair stand on end.

Muscles rippled underneath his CAD; the ground caved in as he pushed off the road. Kade disappeared, and the road under his feet cratered. A dark blue blur shot off from one end of the arena to the other in a straight line.

Eyes wide, the cadets watched as Kade thundered past the booby-trapped area, leaving a trail of exploding bombs as he passed by.

He was like a freight train with no brakes. His blurred figure arrived at Red's home base, and Damian just had enough time to raise his swords in defense as Arman's massive fist descended on him.

There was a deafening crack as Damian's field crumpled, and he was sent flying into a building. Smoke, dust, and swirling snow filled the air, and cracks raced up the building. Damian was buried under rubble.

The Wall has entered the game!