Gray and Fantasma were both filled with despair and horror as they gazed up at the silhouette of a giant Mech floating in the sky. Their happiness turned into despair as they lay on the ground from the explosion's shock.

The silhouette of the Mech hovered in the air, one couldn't try and make out its appearance. The sun shone on it in a certain way that masked its appearance, the air around it was being visibly distorted by its thrusters. It looked like a mirage just floating in the sky, it then started to make its descent.

A sickening buzzing sound came from its thrusters as they forcefully pushed the air out of their way. This had added to the despair Gray and Fantasma had felt, what hope did they have?

The debris fell from the roof of the store, now where a giant hole in the ceiling lay. The explosion had kicked up a whole lot of dust that now floated calmly in the air, and dazzling sparks rained down from the ceiling. It did not take long before the rain of sparks ignite into flames, this scene all played out in front of Gray's eyes.

His whole body was struck with fear and shock from the things he had just seen. ‘Is this it? Is this how I die? Has my time come?’ All these negative thoughts flooded into his head as they added to his depression and fear.

The sound of the Mech’s thrusters started to fade away, as Gray's despair had grown louder than it. Negative thoughts kept eating at his mind as they feasted on him, leading him to fall into greater despair. ‘This is it; they have found me…’ he could not help but think in despair.

Thoughts kept coming and going like they never existed. ‘I knew this life wouldn’t last long; it was only a matter of time before I was found. Is this the end… is this how I die?’

Memories of Gray's life had started to flash before his eyes, he remembered how life was when he was small. The memories of how his mother had suffered trying to support the both of them. He remembered how his mother would cry herself to sleep night after night, ever since Gray was small, he always tried to cheer up his mother.

He would always act like nothing was wrong with him and help his mother get out of trouble, that’s where he learned how to cook and do house chores. His goals were quite simple, he gave his all to everything. So, he could help his mother live without worrying about him, and let her live a good life.

He remembered how hard he had worked when he was still in high school. He had lived so long without showing any of his burdens and fears to anyone, for so long that it had become a weak link that would now snap in this situation that Gray was in.

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It was only at the end of high school that their financial situation stabilized, his mother had stopped working as a mechanic, and she had raised enough money to open up a machine shop. This sparked Gray's obsession with machines and influenced him to come to university to get an engineering degree.

He loved how machines worked and how they were made. He was fascinated with how fast technology was advancing, new inventions were popping up all over the world. Gray even had hopes to leave his mark in the engineering industry. Everything was going well for him, but alas it was all ruined by the Larcripters that had invaded the earth.

They ruined his life by killing his mother and taking away his bright future. Not only him but his friends too, he didn’t even know if they were still alive. His home planet was being harvested and fought over by aliens that had endless greed.

As Gray lost hope he remembered Fantasma and looked to the side, what he saw had shocked him out of his depression. He saw that her face had the same hopeless look that his mother would make when she was down and out. This made Gray realize that not only was his life in danger, but also Fantasmas.

Gray turned his gaze away from his companion and looked at the ground, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.

He then shouted at the top of his lungs. “Focus!”

This action had brought Fantasma who was now in despair when thinking how impossible it would be for them to run from a Mech. That’s right she was not even thinking of fighting back.

Fantasma's thoughts had also gone into despair as she tried to think and calculate ways for them to escape. She thought to herself. ‘How can we escape such a terrible situation as this? Is death the only thing that awaits us? I’ve just felt what it is to be alive, am I going to die after living such a short life?’

These negative thoughts were flooding through her head, it was only when she heard Gray shout that she had snapped out of her trance and turned to look at him.

Gray began to speak as he lifted his body off the ground. “Fantasma, I want to ask you. Are you able to disable the Mech’s thrusters and its communication device?”

With all the knowledge Gray had, he knew it was impossible to disable major systems in a Mech, such as its movement abilities, most of the major systems would be directly controlled by the pilot’s mind, thus stopping most hack attacks. Gray knew he and Fantasma would not survive as long as it could fly, but flight was also a major system.

Fantasma heard Gray's question and started to think, she was clearly giving it her all as one could see just from the face she was making.

The distant look on her face faded as she replied to Gray's question with a serious look on her face. “It’s possible, I can disable its coms but I would only be able to stop it from flying for a short period of time. You also need to maintain a constant distance with the Mech to allow me to interfere with its flight systems.”

After saying this she looked at Gray to see what type of plan he had cooked up. Gray looked up with a determined look on his face and spoke. “Good, I want you to disable its coms first. I don’t want it calling for backup, then you must bring that thing down, it’s our only chance.”

Fantasma nodded her head in understanding, but she soon spoke up to ask him. “Gray, how are you planning on escaping? The way I see it that’s not enough for us to escape.”

Looking at the confused look on Fantasmas face, Gray smirked a little and replied to her question. “We can’t run away from a Mech; it would eventually draw too much attention to us, it’s also practically impossible for us to run away from such a machine. There is only one way out and that is to fight or die trying!”

The hopeful look on her face had disappeared and was replaced with a stern look, she then replied to him. “Yes, it would be impossible for us to run and death would follow us if we tried. If we fight, we could have a slim chance of defeating it, though a very small chance.”

Gray shook his head in agreement and spoke. “I’m not hoping to defeat it but I am hoping for us to back it into a corner and force it to retreat, with its coms not working we would have enough time to escape and leave this area.”

After hearing what Gray had to say she began to understand that as long as they could push the enemy back enough, they would be able to escape and survive from their current situation.

Gray then continued to speak. “I want you to go out there and bring that thing down, all I need is enough time to make a weapon for me to be able to fight back.”

Fantasma nodded and replied. “Okay!”

After that, she flew up in the direction of the Mech. Looking at Fantasmas silhouette flying towards the Mech, Gray quickly looked around and spoke. “Now what to make?”