The air shimmered with the tang of energy weapons discharging in the distance, mixing with the sweet yet almost surreal aroma of swirling pink petals blanketing the ground. Alya crouched low behind a massive, collapsed mech, her blue and black bodysuit slick with perspiration from the oppressive heat. The tight fabric moved like a second skin as she adjusted her position, the faint pink accents on the suit catching stray beams of sunlight filtering through the raging chaos above. Her white thigh-high stockings were streaked with grime and torn in places, but she didn’t care; survival was the only thing on her mind. On her head, cat-ear headphones blinked with faint neon, signaling they were still synced to her comlink. A soft ping echoed in her ears.
“Alya, where are you?” a voice crackled unevenly through the comlink. It was Fynn, her squadmate—his normally calm demeanor strained with desperation. “We’re pinned down near the Cherry Barricade. Fallen operatives everywhere. We need you, now!”
She bit her lip, her gaze flickering towards the backdrop. The operatic carnage of the battlefield clashed cruelly with the ethereal beauty of the pink flower fields spanning miles, petals dancing in wild spirals as energy explosions sent shockwaves across the terrain. Once, this had been a “sanctuary planet,” known for its serene beauty and ancient living cathedrals crafted from flowering trees. Now, it was an arena of destruction. Broken white mechs littered the field, looking like fallen statues at odds with the delicate aesthetic of falling blossoms. Alya finally responded, locking the white emblem on her chest into place as she holstered her plasma pistol.
“I’ll make it to you,” she replied fiercely, voice firm even as her heart thundered in her ears. “You hold tight, understand? Don’t do anything stupid!”
Without waiting for a response, she darted out from behind cover. Her bodysuit’s nanofibers minimized resistance as she sprinted, the tightness helping absorb impacts from minor blasts radiating nearby. She was small—lean with defined muscle curves that reflected years of training—but the way she moved, her agility and precision, made her seem weightless in the chaos. The years of running simulator missions in her mech had prepared her for moments like this. Only now, she didn’t have the comforting cockpit enclosing her. She only had herself.
An ear-splitting whine of engines tore through the heavens above as a massive mech descended from the clouds—its hulking frame as tall as a tower and jet black with glowing violet accents. Alya froze for a fraction of a second, her breath catching in her throat. She knew that silhouette. It was Argus VIII, the war machine piloted by Commander Sesh, the renegade leader who had turned the sanctuary into a battleground for his rebellion. Their paths had crossed before, and the scars on her psyche bore witness to her hatred of him.
Alya ducked into a low dive mere moments before the mech’s plasma cannon fired, obliterating the column she had been running beside and sending pink petals scattering into the air in fiery waves. She rolled instinctively and pulled herself back to her feet, her cat-ear headphones transmitting a faint warning alarm into her ears. As she ran, flashbacks surged through her—her past missions, her victories, and that one crushing failure when she lost her original mech, her Selene. The memory of watching it explode in front of her, along with three squadmates, haunted her. Sesh had piloted the mech that executed the final blow.
Now, it wasn’t just survival; it was personal.
She spotted her destination—what Fynn had called the Cherry Barricade—a makeshift wall made from uprooted flowering trees and salvaged mech parts welded together into a bristling defense. Scattered among the pink blossoms and scorched metal were soldiers—most in uniforms tattered and streaked with dirt and blood. She saw one familiar figure: Fynn, his green bodysuit a battered complement to her own, holding an energy blade in one hand and a decimator rifle in the other. Relief washed over her. He was alive.
“You took your time!” Fynn yelled as Alya skid to a stop beside him, her plasma pistol aimed at the descending Argus VIII.
“Company overhead,” she replied grimly, tilting her head toward the mech. “We need to draw its fire away from the squad. Bring it to the inner perimeter grid. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Are you serious? You’re going to face him again?” Fynn’s voice cracked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Her lips curled into a defiant smirk. “I wasn’t piloting the last time.”
Before he could argue, Alya strode forward, loose strands of her dark hair escaping her braided ponytail as she climbed swiftly atop the barricade. The cat-ear headphones on her head twitched faintly, signaling the charging of her suit’s thrusters. The technology was experimental, but it had just enough charge left for what she needed—a single powered leap.
The violet-lit mech loomed closer, its weapons powering up with menacing intent. Alya leapt into the air, activating her thrusters at the apex of her jump. As she sailed toward the mech, plasma fire crackling all around her, she activated an override switch embedded in her glove. The small device opened a retaliatory EMP pulse embedded in her suit’s core, designed to disrupt mechs like Argus VIII.
With a cry, Alya hurled the device in an arc and tucked into a roll just before landing on a nearby rampart. The pulse hit the mech full force, sending surges of violet sparks into the air as its systems momentarily faltered. She held her breath, waiting to see if the gamble worked.
Argus VIII stumbled, its giant frame crashing into the flower-drenched earth with a thunderous boom that shook the entire battlefield. Suddenly, the area went eerily quiet. Alya rose to her feet slowly, every muscle in her body taut with anticipation.
From the fallen mech’s cockpit, a hatch hissed open, and Commander Sesh emerged, his black and violet suit almost as ominous as the stare he fixed on her. The fight wasn’t over yet, and they both knew it.
Genre: Sci-Fi Action/Thriller
The Source…check out the article that inspired this amazing short story: D.Va Cosplay Inspiration: Bold & Futuristic Blue Bodysuit Elegance
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