The echoes of the gunshot reverberated in the air as the beacon exploded into pieces. Will watched in stunned silence before angrily swinging his rifle around to face Valerie, only to be greeted by a cloud of smoke.

The fog engulfed him. Will wildly swung his rifle around as the white smoke dissipated around him, but he found the rooftop empty. Valerie was nowhere to be found.

Will clicked his tongue, intent on giving chase, but was interrupted as his comm node lit up.

"Will," Remy spoke over the radio, "Beacon... fried... intact."

"Remy? Your signal is not clear," Will yelled into the comms. The transmission was still patchy as their connection was rerouted to the second beacon.

"The... is still... chance of—"

Will listened closely without interrupting, finally catching on to what Remy was saying.

"The device is still intact... We can still do this."

Will's heart skipped a beat. The bullet had missed the device, and they still had a second beacon in Victor's base. There was still a chance.

"Remy," Will said urgently, "Go to the next base and set up over there."

"On it!" said Remy, and signed off.

His comms buzzed again, and he heard the panicked shouts from Becca on the other end.

"Will, the comms went down for a minute! What happened? Is the beacon..."

"Yes, it is down," said Will. "Remy is headed towards the second base. The plan is still in play. I repeat, the plan is still in play."

Becca fell silent as she caught on to the hidden message.

Victor joined in the call. "Will, the other base will be under attack soon. Kade informed me that they have their whole team scanning their area. They intend to end us in one fell swoop."

"And they reckon that they can finish us off before we can find their beacons," finished Will.

"Yes," confirmed Victor, "and they are probably right."

"Let's move to defend," said Will. "Fighting on home ground could be our only shot. Let's go."

Together, they rushed to the last base. Will leapt from building to building while Victor and Becca raced down the side streets. Will watched the duo speed past him as he leapt through the air. It was considerably slower traveling from above, and Becca wanted to wait for him in the streets, but Will insisted that they make haste. Becca reluctantly agreed, and they soon pulled ahead, leaving him behind.

Will called Remy again, and this time the signal was a lot clearer.

"I'm at the base," said Remy, "but things are bad here. It won't be long before we are overrun."

"The device?" asked Will.

"Functional. Working on it," replied Remy.

"Good," Will breathed in relief.

"Will, we are going to have to take the fight inside the building itself," said Remy. "The Shield Horns won't go down easy. It's easier to bunker down than fight them out in the open."

Will nodded. "We are headed your way, Remy. I'll buy you enough time."

There was a pause on the other end, and Will heard the sound of gunfire coming from Remy's location.

"Gotta go," said Remy. "Get here soon, Will. Over and out."

Will looked into the distance and heard a deafening explosion coming from ahead, followed by a piercing whistle as a flare raced upwards. An angry red star bloomed above their last base.

Will gritted his teeth and rushed forward. Buildings went by in a blur as he leapt across rooftops. More explosions followed the first one, and he heard the sound of gunfire.

Will landed lightly onto a building next to the final base and found Kade, Victor, and Becca performing a firing retreat into the building. Valerie led the charge against the base. She and three other mechs slowly made their way forward, darting from cover to cover as they closed in.

Will itched to join in, but he held back. Instead, he looked around for their missing member. There had only been four mechs attacking the base when there should be five still in the game. Did they leave the last one at their base, or was he hanging back just like he was?

Will scanned the area, and he spotted a flash of something glinting in the sun. He turned toward the base and spotted a mech landing on the roof of the building. The mech quickly passed through the roof access and made its way downstairs.

"Shit!"

The ground attack was a distraction for the mech coming in from the top. Will cursed again and judged the distance between the two buildings. Gritting his teeth, he backed away from the edge to get a running start. Muscles tense, he was ready to burst forward. Right before he did, he accessed the shard one more time.

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His reserves drained rapidly as he connected the power with his eyes. The psions burned as they passed through his channel, but he did not abate. He had to make this count since it would be his last prediction of the day. He didn't have the reserves to use the shard again.

The world vibrated and time stopped. Will found himself hurtling forward, taking a giant leap off the building. He flew across the gap towards the base.

The image split into three— in one, his feet broke into the window but banged his head against the lintel; in another, he smashed through the glass only to be tackled by the enemy mech descending down the stairs, and in the next, he—

The vision broke away as his energy drained. Time resumed, and Will snapped back into reality. His taut muscles longed to burst forward, but he held himself back for a brief instant before charging forward.

His movements flowed like water as his instinct took over. Will flew across the gap and hurtled towards the window like a missile. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces, and the enemy mech was stunned by his sudden appearance. Will bowled the mech over, and they smashed into each other with a loud bang.

Will recovered quickly and wrestled the mech to the ground. He straddled the mech and smashed his armored fist into its head.

A deep clang echoed through the floor as his fist connected. Will continued to rain blows down on the prone mech. It was when the enemy mech's helmet started to bend that it finally responded. Will felt his arm being wrenched to the side, and he lost his footing. The mech performed a quick roll, trapping Will's arm underneath it.

Will let out a muffled grunt as he felt his arm twist in a way it was not supposed to. Deciding to change tactics, Will brought out his blade, and the mech released him almost immediately.

Will scrambled to his feet and watched his opponent warily. A name popped up on his HUD - Ethan Wright.

Will cursed. Ethan was one of the Shield Horn favorites who specialized in grappling, and he had foolishly tried to wrestle him. Hand-to-hand combat would end up with him eating dirt.

Will put his blade out in front of him. Ethan reached for his waist, but his hands came up empty. His blade had gone flying to the corner in their recent clash. Both boys glanced at the blade in silence.

The pause lasted for a second before Will burst forth, slashing.

Ethan dodged out of the way but wasn't fast enough. Will left a long slash across his arm. Sparks flashed as his blade met the mech's outer shell.

Ethan attempted to reach for his rifle, but Will was faster. They were less than four feet from each other. He could never draw the gun faster than Will's blade. More sparks came from the mech as Will cut into its protective plating. Ethan fended off all the attacks with relatively less damage to his core components. His long arms darted forward to grab Will but only met empty air.

Will panted as the fight continued. He had drained a large portion of his reserves. A prolonged battle wasn't in his favor. He had to figure out how to end the battle quickly.

An explosion shook the building, and both mechs were nearly thrown off their feet. Sounds of battle came from the floor below. The opposition had fought their way upstairs and were nearly at the beacon floor.

A message scrolled across his HUD.

'Patricia Wagner eliminated.'

"Shit!" Will cursed as he lunged at Ethan. "Remy, Becca, what is going on?"

He called into the comms, but no one answered.

Will brought his blade down on Ethan, who reached for his rifle one more time. This time, he didn't bother aiming; he just used the weapon as a shield. Will watched in astonishment as the boy sacrificed his rifle to get a shot at him. His blade sunk deep into the weapon, rendering it useless. Will pulled, but it was stuck fast.

Ethan's arm darted forward to grab Will, and he quickly backed off, leaving his blade behind. There was a pause in the battle as Will watched the cadet rip the rifle in half as he wrench the blade out of it.

Ethan pointed the blade at Will. Sweat trickled down Will's back. The advantage had completely flipped.

"Remy?" Will called out once again, but there was no response. Instead, it was Becca who answered. "Will, he is working. Can't talk right now."

Becca let out a gasp of pain, and Will heard the sound of gunfire and clashing steel. "This is bad, Will. I don't think we can hold on much longer."

"How many are left?" asked Will. He dodged a probing thrust from Ethan and scrambled backward. He tried to position himself towards the blade lying in the corner of the room, but Ethan blocked his path.

"There are two of them left, but Valerie is still here. We need you here pronto."

Will's mind raced with scenarios. He had to get Ethan off his back, but that wasn't going to be easy. "Give me a live update on everyone's location."

There was a pause as Becca set the connection up. Few seconds later Will received a ping. In the corner of his HUD, a window popped up showing a wireframe diagram displaying the location of every combatant on the floor below him. He was one floor above the beacon, and he spotted Remy crouched beside the machine. Kade, Victor, and Becca were in the corridor, blocking entry into the floor. However, they were steadily being pushed back.

Oscar, another one of the Shield Horn's favorites, was steadily making his way up. He had a... shield? in front of him, which he used to block the majority of the fire. Valerie, on the other hand, had crouched behind him, darting back and forth, chipping away at Kade and Victor when she got the chance.

Will frowned. Where had Oscar gotten the shield from? In the wireframe view, he couldn't see exactly what it was. His eyes darted around the room, and he spotted a metal door lying on the floor.

His distraction cost him. Ethan swung his blade, and it dug deep into Will's arm. A loud screech came as the protective plating on his arm got sheared off.

Will panted heavily. Sparks raced out of his arm as he glanced at the metal door, an idea slowly forming in his mind.

Will feinted a dart towards the blade lying on the floor. Ethan swiftly moved to intercept but found himself duped. Will backed away swiftly and grabbed the metal door off the floor, placing it in front of him.

Ethan paused. He watched warily before speaking through his mech's external speakers. "That shield isn't going to do you much good, Dunn. It will only slow you down."

Will grunted and replied, "Then come here and try me."

Ethan let out a snort and obliged. He darted in, trying to get in close. Will blocked him with the heavy door, but Ethan cleverly slashed at his fingers. Will jerked his hand away, and the blade struck the door with a loud clang.

"Too slow!" said Ethan and stomped on the door, sending Will stumbling backward. Will gritted his teeth and glanced at the live feed coming from below.

'Victor Maxwell eliminated.'

Becca and Kade were retreating into the beacon room.

"Becca!" Will called out.

"What?" she grunted as a few stray bullets struck her.

"Lure them to this spot," Will marked the live feed with a few eye commands.

A red X appeared on the map, and Becca fell silent for a bit.

"Okay," she said finally and began backing further into the room.

"Eyes on me, Dunn!" Ethan yelled as he came slashing again. Will backed away as the strikes came in, slowly moving towards the marked spot.

Hidden behind the metal door, Will began pulling all his remaining explosives and dropped them on the floor. Ethan kicked the door once more, and Will held fast, bracing for impact. He watched Valerie and Oscar move forward towards the mark.

"Now!" said Becca, and Will backed away from the fallen grenades. Ethan confidently stepped forward, only to encounter the cluster of bombs at his feet.

"You!"

Will sent a pulse to the bombs, and an explosion tore through the room. The entire floor caved in, and Will fell through the floor.

Will, Ethan, and a hundred pounds of brick and concrete rained down on the Shield Horns below.