["I found my place, things were going well…Then the day came, the day of my first mission."]
In the back of a heavily-armored truck, he sat alongside his comrades. He fiddled with the straps on his sleek, black armor, squeezing his fist to feel the added strength it provided his body.
"Nerves getting to you?" Shin asked, seated directly across.
"No, I'm fine," he answered.
"Good," Shin said, checking the plentiful knives kept strapped to his armor.
A seat over was a humanoid robot dressed in the same armor as the rest of them, engaging in maintenance on its own body.
"To reiterate, our mission objective is reclaiming the lost nuclear facility in Sector Seventeen," the silver-skinned robot said, typing away at its own arm.
["That's Haoyu. He's not present on this mission, at least not physically—he uses "drones" he's made for that. Still haven't met him in person."]
Alexander pumped his fist against the palm of his hand, seeming hardly able to sit still as the large man smiled, "Ready, Seven? It's your first mission—we're going to bring mankind one step closer to blasting those bastards away."
"Yeah, I think I'm ready," he said.
Beside him on his left, May was checking the pistol on her lap, completely dissecting and analyzing the weapon to check for any faults.
She went through all the weapons, inspecting each with a meticulous gaze before approving each.
"…All good," May let out a sigh once confirming, setting the weapons back in place.
As the armored truck rolled through the abandoned territory, the pink-haired girl hummed, not seeming cursed with anxiety in the slightest.
Haoyu addressed the group, "We're closing in on our drop-off location. There have been Regenerators and Bujos sighted nearby, but as long as you all follow the path I've set, we'll avoid them."
"That's no fun. Here I was looking to kill my first Regenerator," Shin playfully said.
The humanoid drone beside him immediately reprimanded that comment, "There's no room for that. We have a mission."
"Just joking around, Haoyu. As smart as you are, you sure never learn to take a joke," Shin sighed.
"I can take a joke. However, there is a time and place for that," the drone responded before turning his artificial eyes to the newcomer. "Seven, in regards to your abilities, you will be leading the unit alongside Alexander. It goes without saying that in combat, you will be our vanguard."
"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Seven accepted.
The ride came to a stop as the back opened, letting in the harsh sunlight that came blindingly after time spent in the dark, cramped vehicle. He followed behind his comrades, jumping out of the back as his boots landed on the shattered asphalt.
To his surprise, it wasn't a cityscape he found, but sprawling, green hills neighboring the single road. Far ahead, the nuclear facility laid on the coast, accompanying the unresting Pacific that cast unruly waves at all times.
"Sector Seventeen, also once known as Diablo Canyon," Haoyu announced.
Alexander stretched before taking in a long inhale, slowly breathing out, "Now that's fresh air! There's nothing like being on the coast."
"We're not quite there yet," Shin corrected, scraping his boot against the dry asphalt.
"Don't be such a downer! Breathe in that coastal air!" Alexander said, slapping the dreary, black-haired student on the back.
While those two bickered, Seven looked around at the unique environment; it was a combination of dry, rocky canyons along with grassy hills that became more abundant the closer to the coast.
"Ready for this?" The question came from the brunette girl, who stared up at him, holding a black-steel pistol that she tucked into the appropriate holster.
He nodded, looking down at the sleek uniform that clung to his body, feeling the material hum as he clenched his fist, "About this armor…How do I use it?"
"Yours is a bit different from ours…I'm not sure, exactly–I know Haoyu worked on upgrading the original Avalon suit that Dr. Goldstein sent in for you," May answered, tapping her chin.
"Oh, him–"
"Yeah, don't be intimidated by his demeanor. Haoyu, well, he is a bit of a jerk, but he's just trying his best to keep the group organized," May assured him.
"Right."
Moving along, he led the way alongside Alexander, who carried a Mjolnir shotgun on his back, though the large weapon looked almost small on his giant back. Right behind the two, Haoyu followed, staring past as if surveying the entire surrounding area.
"I'm keeping an eye out for hostels. The connection here is a bit hazy, so I can only manage about a two hundred meter radius around us," Haoyu informed the others while walking, tapping at the screen embedded on the drone's arm.
Following the quiet road, he decided to speak up, targeting his own curiosity, "So, what's the importance of this place anyway? The UNED isn't exactly lacking in nuclear energy, right?"
"The Diablo Canyon Power Plant shut down years ago, that is, in the use of what it was originally built for," Haoyu answered from behind.
"It was originally shut down, wasn't it? I think it started back up a few years ago–" May recalled.
"When the Fulminare attacked," Shin added, staying towards the back as he kept an eye out for the hills.
Haoyu confirmed, "That's correct. It's not some kind of coincidence; Diablo Canyon was started back up, though not as a means of energy production. What the facility was secretly turned into was a developmental site for a new weapon."
"A weapon? Oh, what kind?" Lily excitedly asked, walking practically arm-in-arm with the drone.
"That is information we do not have access to," Haoyu answered. "The team set in Diablo Canyon worked without any communication to the outside world. It's a remote area, so I'm willing to bet they expected it would be the last place the Fulminare Invasion would reach."
"Not how it worked out though, did it?" Alexander questioned.
"Not at all," Haoyu agreed. "Or else we wouldn't be here."
A downhill path along the winding road led through a passage of decrepit buildings and abandoned vehicles, left of the plant's security outposts. The parking lot of the nearby outpost was left mostly intact, along with the beige building left standing without any noticeable wear.
The group came to a stop as the piloted robot surveyed the area, using a pale-blue light from his palm to scan the entire lot.
"What's he doing?" Seven asked, watching the drone as the light moved over a burgundy truck.
"Checking for tracks of extraterrestrial lifeforms," Haoyu answered from a handful of meters away, seeming capable of picking up distant words. "There are often tells that are invisible to our senses, but will be visible under the right light."
In the midst of their short stop, Shin was busy popping open the locked door of an abandoned car, scoping out the interior.
Seven walked over curiously, watching as the scruffy-chinned man rummaged through the glovebox.
"…What're you checking for?" Seven asked, leaning his hand on the top.
Shin huffed, flicking the glovebox shut as he slid out of the car, "Was looking for some smokes. No luck."
"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Seven asked.
"Helps with the nerves. Maybe you should try sometime, yeah?" Shin offered, walking past him.
"I'll have to decline," Seven quietly said.
The robotic figure shined the discerning light into the outpost interior, scanning through every nook and cranny.
"Getting anything?" Alexander asked, cupping his hand around his mouth.
Haoyu withdrew the scanning light, turning back to the others, "There are faint traces. The residuals of a Regenerator. I can't determine if these are old or new—"
Amidst the drone's words, a peculiar sensation flared in Seven's body like an alarm, turning his attention towards the road leading to the power plant.
The tall, humanoid presence was leaping right towards the pink-haired girl who was busy blowing bubblegum in the parking lot.
"Ah?—" Lily let out.
Needing to cross several meters in less than a second, the muscles in his legs expanded. He moved off of pure reflex, intercepting the figure as he slammed his knuckles against its cobalt chest.
Blowing it back, the entity slammed into the concrete walls of the lot, splattering into a blue paste. In the very next moment, it rebuilt itself anew, peeling its body from the cracked barrier.
May shouted first, "Enemy attack!"
[Lifeform registered.] ["Immortan"]
[Classification: Medium Superhuman, Stage Two | Threat Level: Disaster Magnitude 3.0]
"A Regenerator!" Alexander shouted, readying the weapon on his back.
That moment had arrived; the dance of life-and-death, face-to-face with an extraterrestrial horror that had no qualms in killing any of them. Seven stared at the faceless entity as it stood with its human-mimicking form, readying himself with quick, yet calm breaths.
'I'm ready for this. Everybody is relying on me–this is the time to show them their hopes aren't misplaced,' he resolved.