NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Pursuit
A/N: So, I did take an in media res approach to this chapter. Please let me know if you find it too disjointed and/or jarring.
March 1st update: Due to feedback from Royal Road readers, I've changed this from chapter 23 to 24, and retroactively inserted a chapter I'd originally scrapped.
Some time later...
"AAAHHHHHH!"
I screamed out of instinct as I barreled down the winding highway, the wind whipping through my 'helmet' as the engine roar rang in my ears. My target, a convoy of four hi-tech military-grade transport trucks, loomed ahead of me, and I knew I had to catch up to it no matter what.
I felt adrenaline surge through me as I leaned into a sharp turn, my ride hugging the road with ease. The truck at the rear swerved, its tail lights flashing, and I pushed the throttle to the limit, determined to catch it.
I could barely feel the wind rushing past me or the engine's vibration beneath me. I could barely feel the ground as I leaned into drifting turns. But somehow, the rush of the chase was still there, coursing through my fake veins and driving me forward.
The trucks maneuvered around tight curves and over bumpy, mountainous roads. They were blasting forward at full speed yet retained complete control over their vehicles in this insane terrain. Whatever tech was in those things had to be cutting-edge.
But I was right on their tail, pushing harder and faster than they could go and slowly closing the distance. My 'bike' swerved with perfect precision as I followed the line of trucks around each turn without fail.
I pushed the vehicle harder, tapping a button on the handlebar panel. I felt a surge of power beneath me as I gained on the trucks.
"Switching engine drive," a robotic voice intoned in a Japanese accent, "Multi-axis utility module enabled."
The sound of their engines was muffled over the roar of my own. I could hear the road beneath my wheels and the growl of the gravity accelerator as I pushed it to the limit, my heart pounding in pure anxiety.
"WOOOOO!" the girl riding on the pillion behind me shouted, her voice full of bliss and excitement.
I ignored her and pushed harder and faster, closing in on the convoy.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered. "Fuck fuck fuck..."
"Tracking lock set. Synchronization at ninety-three percent. Prediction module stable."
On my HUD, a red line appeared on the road. Project Raiju had predicted the trucks' probable route.
"Transmit to Administrator," I ordered. "Full speed ahead, ma'am."
"Acknowledged."
We had to catch them before they got too far ahead...
"Transferring to momentum negation module. Executing transit in one... two... three! Surge forth!"
Project Raiju Mk. III let off a whistle as if laughing at the trucks ahead.
The bike suddenly shot forward, and I felt it tear up and out of the road. The hover drive lifted me off the ground, and I flew faster than the trucks. I raced ahead toward them, steering around obstacles and tight turns with impossible ease.
The terrain was getting more difficult as we drove deeper into uncharted territory. But somehow, I managed to remain on the convoy's tail.
As my grip tightened on the handlebars, my heart raced with anticipation as I followed in pursuit of the convoy. The challenge felt like a thrilling game of cat and mouse, between my speed, agility, and quick thinking - all powered by Project Raiju's shiny new chaos core. It was becoming a test of wits for me and the mystery paramilitary's freakishly advanced trucks up ahead.
My bike shuddered and groaned beneath me as we continued our chase. Dust flew, and pebbles bounced off the handlebars as I maneuvered through treacherous roads and gained on the truck in the back. We came off a winding mountain road back into the forested lanes of Terra's Appalachians.
Then suddenly, the truck in the back veered to the side. As we zoomed past it, I saw its side hatch open to reveal a group of three fifteen-foot-tall, black chrome mechas with back thrusters on roller skates.
Yeah. You read that right.
These convoy drivers were not fucking around.
"Trouble!" I shouted, "five o'clock!"
"I SEE 'EM, I SEE 'EM!! HOLY CRAP!" my pillion rider cried.
"Module seven engaged. Taking evasive action."
I immediately jerked the handlebars, and my bike shot forward. I swerved around, drifting in a figure-eight pattern, and the mechs fired a salvo of missiles at me. The explosions weren't small by any stretch of the imagination.
They were massive, fiery blasts that sent smoke and shrapnel flying everywhere. Luckily, I was able to dodge all the attacks, but I knew I couldn't keep it up for long. The mechs behind us rocketed forth, taking flight as they moved to enclose and flank us.
"Buddy, we'd better hurry up and figure something out," the girl behind me muttered.
"I'm thinking!" I shouted as I dodged another explosion.
"Think less! Drift faster!"
I shook my head, trying to process this madness. The three mechs were behind us in pursuit, firing off massive bursts of energy as they chased after us.
"You know what? Decelerate just a bit. I'll catch up!" my pillion rider shouted as she glowed with a violet-blue aura, jumping off high into the air.
I surged forth as I heard the sound of chains grinding against metal behind me, and I swerved to the side, barely avoiding another massive blast.
"Just get a move on, Sparky!" her voice cried out, getting ever distant.
I did so, weaving down the descending slope and barely dodging the massive blasts from behind me with the help of Project Raiju. I hesitated momentarily, driving sideways to watch Violet Tempest engage the mechs in battle.
I glanced at the truck in the back of the formation — it was picking up speed and rapidly approaching me from behind. It swerved, and suddenly, its side door burst open, and out came a massive, purple-black energy cannon as it maintained speed with me.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I muttered as my eyes widened.
The vehicle opened fire, and I veered to the side, narrowly escaping the massive blasts. I jerked my handlebars and directed my bike to drive off the highway and into the forest.
"Evaluating enemy structure... Vehicle is a combat-use armored personnel carrier powered by a chaos-transducer flux furnace. Onboard weapon system is a forty-millimeter heavy plasma cannon turret. One enemy combatant in the driver's seat. Non-lethal neutralization probable."
...Oh, fuck.
"Sparky, I'm re-routing you more of Project Raiju's sat-link bandwidth," Spencer crackled over the radio. "Deploy the drones!"
"Gotcha," I replied. I clicked a button as I veered off the road and into the forest.
I gritted my teeth and glanced toward the truck as it drove alongside the highway, firing at me with reckless abandon. I swerved and weaved left and right through impossible angles in the forest, barely avoiding their attacks. I struggled to control my bike even with the enhancements my magitech sat link provided. I turned my HUD toward the vehicle and saw numbers flashing through my view as the percentage bar rapidly ticked up.
I could hear the drones buzzing behind me, and I felt my bike slow down. I dodged into dense foliage right as it locked to 100%.
"Hostile vehicle armed and mobile. Performing combat analysis... Operator's vehicle has been slowed to a maximum of two hundred kilometers per hour."
"Yeah, I noticed," I shouted back in response. "We good to go?"
"Assault drones synchronized. Target locked!" Project Raiju screeched. "Requesting operator approval! Fire!"
"Fire!!" I shouted through the comm link.
Four sleek, compact drones that resembled remote-controlled airplanes zoomed out at a blinding speed. Their thrusters roared past me, and the drones dove behind the big mecha truck. The drones soared toward the back of the vehicle and began to charge an orb of blue energy like a ray gun matching pace with the truck.
Moments later, there was a massive 'CRACK!' as the energy from the drone collided with the truck's back in a sizeable explosion. The truck's speed immediately dropped, and it ground to a halt. The truck's propulsion systems faltered, and the cannons began to fire off blasts in seemingly random directions.
I zoomed off back into the road ahead, leaving its range.
"Well, you certainly know how to put on a show, Raiju," I muttered as my heart slowed.
"This unit appreciates the compliment, Operator. Target neutralized!" Project Raiju communicated over the radio.
Wait, did this thing just accept a compliment?
I looked up through the trees and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the three other trucks still ahead in the distance.
"Nice shot, Sparky,"
I heard Spencer's voice crackle over the radio."Yeah, thanks," I replied.
"We'll be right there in a second," I heard a woman's voice speak over the radio. "Just go get them."
I looked up into the sky, and all that was visible was the blue of Terra's atmosphere and the wispy clouds floating about.
I sighed and let my mind wander for a second as I continued to speed up ahead.
I felt a sudden weight land on the pillion seat behind me, and my bike shuddered as I heard my pillion rider jumping back on my bike in motion.
I glanced back and saw the girl with her purple-blue cloak that shimmered like the rippling waves of a forest stream. A frilly dark purple dress that shimmered like water in the night, and the scythe and chain in her hand glinted like a tidal wave in the sun. A pale-skinned, doll-like face with long, purple-blue hair tied up in twin braids greeted me with a warm grin. Her lovely eyes were the color of dusk, twisted up in a mirthful smile.
Violet Tempest more or less looked like she could be her own civilian form's fraternal twin. I was no Magical Girl expert, but that probably said something about her psyche.
"Miss me, Sparky?" she teased, sticking her tongue at me as she settled in.
"No," I replied flatly.
"Liar," she laughed. "So! What's the plan?"
"Well, I was thinking we could charge them head on and shoot at them with our laser drones while Admin's team cuts them off and pulls them over," I said casually. "What do you think?"
"Oh man!" she replied, with a tinge of shock in her voice. "You're such a dork sometimes, you know that?"
"I try," I responded flippantly.
Just then, we heard a loud rumble from up ahead and saw another motorcycle cutting through the trees to pull up to the side of one of the trucks. Like me, the driver used a remote-controlled robot with all the magitech enhancements he could ask for. He had a blonde Magical Girl riding pillion.
The Magical Girl on the bike then raised her scepter and yelled a magical incantation. The tires of the truck ahead exploded as if they had been struck by a powerful spell, causing it to skid to a stop and crash onto its side.
The two other trucks screeched to a halt in surprise, and their drivers braked and drifted in confusion.
The girl grinned at me and pointed toward the chaos ahead. "Let's go make sure no one gets away," she shouted before rocketing out of the driver's seat in a burst of wind.
With a blue flicker, she leaped from my bike and began to run down the highway.
"No fair!" I shouted after her before leaning back in my driver's seat to a more balanced posture. Yeah, sure, she had to expend energy to do that. But still, magical girls were a little absurd.
"Deploy weapon systems," I spoke into my headset. "Aim to disable."
"Acknowledged," Project Raiju answered. "Charging....1, 2, 3. Fire at will."
"FIRE!" I yelled as I flicked the switch, and two massive energy blasts ripped off from my drones and crashed into the tires. Within seconds, both remaining trucks had been disabled, skidding to a stop all over the roads.
We slowly approached the trucks, and the doors on one of the trucks opened, and I could see over a dozen men scrambling out. I had to give them credit for what they did next.
They saw the two magical girls with us and immediately dropped their weapons down to the ground. The men raised their hands and began to shout out while kneeling down. Violet Tempest and Spencer's drone avatar immediately moved in to restrain the surrendering men.
Hana of the Dawn was silent as she watched the scene begin to play out. She stood there, gripping her scepter with an inscrutable expression. I motioned for her to follow, and she hesitated before we approached the truck in the lead together with caution.
"Hello?" I called out through my proxy's speaker systems. "Is anyone in there?"
There was a muffled voice on the other side saying something inaudible. It was definitely a woman's voice. I turned to Hana, who was glaring down at the truck's closed hatch with fierce intensity.
"It sounded like she said 'I surrender'," Hana replied, turning to me. "Should we open the door?"
"What do you want to do?" I asked, turning to her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, turning back to me, her eyes filled with confusion.
"You've been acting weird about this whole job. Like, it seemed like you knew who these men were from brief glimpses on the TV but you still wanted to go after them. Now we're here and you've been silent. I'm guessing you want to talk with them?"
"No," she replied. "This one does not wish to talk to them."
"Then let's open up the truck," I said, gesturing to the hatch. "We don't want to just leave the hostages in there with them."
Hana hesitated, looking at the truck pulled over on the road. Just then, the hatch at the back opened up. A beautiful, pale-skinned Asian woman with silvery-black hair and glasses tumbled from the truck with her arms raised in surrender. She wore a bomber jacket, a white blouse, and a leather skirt.
I looked behind the woman, only to feel my stomach lurch as I saw what was behind her in the truck.
Girls.
I couldn't see much, but the bound and gagged forms of young girls peered out at me from behind the woman. Their eyes widened as they saw me, and I could hear them crying out through the cloth in their mouths as they struggled against their bindings, crying for help.
Hana gasped as she saw the woman, and I turned my head to her in confusion. The golden magical girl had gone completely pale and was shaking slightly.
The woman stopped and looked at the magical girl beside me sorrowfully.
"Hello, Dior... my dearest child," the woman said quietly.