Vale was burning.
Columns of black smoke rose into the sky from shattered storefronts, overturned transports and apartment buildings that had caught fire during the chaos of the initial Grimm incursion. The crimson glow of the broken moon above mixed with the orange flicker of flames until the entire city seemed trapped beneath a canopy of blood and embers.
Shore leaned lower over the handlebars as his motorcycle tore through an intersection at dangerous speeds, weaving around abandoned vehicles and chunks of collapsed concrete while Raye followed close behind on her own bike.
Their original plan had been simple.
Reach Beacon Academy and access the LUCID facilities beneath it while getting the answers that they needed.
The problem was that the city itself seemed intent on disagreeing with that plan.
Twice they were forced to abandon roads entirely after discovering them blocked by military engagements involving large Grimm. Once they had to cut through a shopping district after finding an entire boulevard occupied by armored personnel carriers exchanging fire with a creature Shore could only describe as an oversized centipede made of bone knives and bad intentions.
Another time they found themselves rerouting around a collapsing office tower after a Nevermore had apparently decided structural engineering represented a personal insult.
The city map in Shore's head rapidly became less useful by the minute. Then, things somehow became worse.
A military convoy had been moving through one of the central roads toward what appeared to be an evacuation point when a giant shape smashed down directly into the middle of it.
An Ursa.
The Rank Zero Grimm was quite large even by Ursa standards, standing nearly as tall as the transport truck it had just overturned onto its side. Soldiers had already dismounted and were attempting to establish firing positions around the disabled vehicle but the creature was simply too close.
Its claws tore through armor plating as though peeling open a tin can and people were trapped inside.
Shore barely had time to process the scene before Raye accelerated.
"Raye!"
She ignored him.
Her motorcycle screamed forward across the street and before Shore could even begin yelling at her for being suicidal she lowered herself against the bike and aimed directly for the creature.
The Ursa turned hearing the noise, but it was too late.
The motorcycle crashed into the Grimm with enough force to stagger the massive beast sideways while Raye launched herself free of the vehicle moments before impact.
She hit the pavement rolling and the bike exploded into the Ursa's legs.
The Grimm roared but Raye was already moving.
Her katana flashed as she climbed onto the overturned military vehicle and began helping the trapped soldiers escape through the damaged rear compartment while the stunned Ursa attempted to regain its bearings.
Shore joined her moments later, firing repeated shots from his gauntlet into the creature's face to keep its attention away from the evacuation.
One by one they dragged the soldiers free. The last one stumbled out clutching a bleeding arm.
"Thanks!" the man shouted breathlessly.
Raye simply nodded.
The Ursa finally recovered.
The soldiers opened fire immediately and the resulting storm of bullets finally tore into the creature back long enough for Shore to grab Raye by the arm.
"We're leaving!"
"My bike!"
"It's dead!"
She looked at the twisted wreckage lodged beneath the dissolving Grimm's feet and winced.
"...Right."
From that point onward she rode on the back of Shore's motorcycle as they continued toward Beacon. It turned out that abandoning a vehicle while surrounded by Grimm had consequences.
Namely that the Grimm became very interested in killing you.
A steadily growing collection of Beowolves, Creeps and smaller Ursas pursued them through the streets of Vale with the enthusiasm of predators who had just discovered takeout delivery.
Raye twisted around on the back of the bike and fired repeatedly into the pursuing horde.
Several creatures collapsed immediately but others merely stumbled and some shots simply bounced entirely from heavy bone plating while others only cracked masks or chipped armor.
"These things are tougher than hybrids!" she shouted over the engine.
"That's because they're actual monsters! The Hybrids were failed products. Except for that one guy we saw at the facility, I guess!"
"Not helping!"
A Beowolf lunged from a storefront and Shore swerved around it. Another dropped from a rooftop only to receive a shot in the face, courtesy of Raye.
Somehow they continued surviving.
When they were about a block away from the academy, the train station where the bullet train was supposed to top at, exploded.
Concrete and steel erupted outward as an enormous black shape burst through the structure with enough force to collapse part of the building behind it.
Shore's stomach dropped.
Rank One.
The Ursa dwarfed every Grimm they had encountered so far with blood dripping from its jaws.
Fresh blood.
Its eyes immediately locked onto them and then it moved.
Far too fast.
The creature crossed half the block in a blur of motion while crimson-black runic energy wrapped around its body like a second shadow layered atop its form itself.
Pounce.
Shore recognized it instantly. Except Pounce was a Beowolf rune. What the hell was an Ursa doing with it?
The answer unfortunately appeared to be attempting vehicular homicide.
"Shit!"
Raye grabbed him.
The next moment she ripped both of them off the motorcycle and threw them sideways as the giant paw crashed down exactly where they had been.
The motorcycle ceased existing as a recognizable object as metal folded inwards and the frame flattened into something resembling modern art.
Shore stared at what remained of his transportation.
"...Damn it."
The Ursa roared and lowered itself for another leap. Shore genuinely thought they were dead. There were no military convoys nearby.
No soldiers, duocopters or convenient artillery support. Just them and a Rank One monster large enough to bite through buildings.
Just as the Ursa launched itself forward once again, something hit it. The impact sounded like two freight trains colliding.
A gigantic metallic knee smashed directly into the creature's face and launched the several-ton Grimm backwards through the remains of the train station wall.
Shore couldn't help the small grin that bled itself across his face.
"...Nice!"
Raye stared. Because standing where the Ursa had just been was a giant robot. An actual fucking mecha.
The machine stood nearly equal in size to the Grimm itself and its armored frame gleamed beneath the crimson moonlight while thrusters along its back and legs burned with brilliant blue fire.
The Ursa recovered quickly but the mecha moved faster. Its thrusters ignited and the machine surged forward while a massive rotary weapon unfolded from one arm.
The gun opened fire and the sound resembled thunder.
Rounds larger than Shore's fist slammed into the Ursa repeatedly, carving enormous craters into its limbs and shoulders while forcing the Grimm backward through sheer violence.
The pilot had aimed for the head but the Ursa proved smart enough to protect it. The creature crossed both arms over its face while the ammunition instead tore through muscles and joints.
Ironically that worked out better as the Grimm couldn't dodge anymore. The machine's wrist shifted and an enormous blade of energy erupted outward with a violent hiss.
The mecha swung and the glowing weapon carved through the Ursa from shoulder to hip in a single motion.
For one moment the creature remained standing, then it split apart with black ash erupting into the air as the Grimm dissolved completely.
Silence followed.
Raye stared upward.
"Holy shit."
Shore nodded slowly. He had never been trained to pilot any of LUCID's mechs. His specialty had always been infiltration, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
The giant war machines had belonged to entirely different departments and entirely different people.
Seeing one in action was...
Quite surreal, to say the least. The mecha slowly turned toward them and a small spotlight activated.
Then a familiar LUCID insignia illuminated across its armored chest.
Maybe humanity wasn't out of cards just yet.
The speakers embedded within the giant machine crackled to life, the voice that emerged calm and professional despite the city burning around them.
"Citizens, please make your way to the nearest shelter. We will protect you on the way."
Shore blinked.
"We?"
The answer arrived a second later in the form of overwhelming gunfire erupting from somewhere overhead.
Shore turned around just in time to watch the pursuing Grimm behind them vanish beneath a storm of heavy caliber rounds. Beowolves exploded apart in showers of black smoke and bone fragments while several Creeps were simply torn into pieces before they even had time to react.
The source of the attack descended from above.
Two additional mechas dropped from the crimson sky, retro-thrusters roaring as they slowed their descent before slamming into the ground with enough force to crack the street beneath them.
Raye stared openly.
The expression on her face was one Shore rarely saw.
Pure, undisguised admiration.
The nearest machine was slightly slimmer than the first one they had encountered, though that description was admittedly relative considering it still stood nearly fifteen meters tall.
The pilot's voice emerged through external speakers.
"We have to move. Squad One has already engaged with four Rank Ones in Central City."
The original machine facing Shore responded immediately.
"Understood."
The giant mech then lowered itself slightly and extended an enormous metal hand toward Shore and Raye.
"Citizens, hop on. We shall escort you to the nearest shelter."
Shore shook his head.
"That won't be necessary."
"I am Operative Shore of Ghost Division, LUCID. We are proceeding to the base."
There was a noticeable pause.
Ghost Division technically outranked standard combat and support divisions within LUCID's hierarchy due to their strategic and intelligence responsibilities. Even if Shore himself spent more time sneaking through facilities than giving orders, protocol remained protocol.
The machine lowered its arm.
"Understood. Do you have any inquiries, sir?"
Shore nodded immediately.
"What's the status of the awakened? Communications are unstable and we've been hearing reports that they've disappeared."
The machine remained silent for a moment before turning toward one of the other mechas. The pilot that had originally ordered the squad to move answered instead.
"Yes, sir. As far as we are aware, every awakened in Vale has disappeared, although I'm not privy to the status of the other awakened in the rest of the kingdoms."
Shore's expression darkened.
The pilot continued.
"As for communications issues, they are primarily due to the imposition of Dream Realm infrastructure coalescing into reality."
Shore frowned slightly.
"Meaning?"
"Specifically speaking, there has been structural damage due to overlap between the LUCID Dream base and our reality spaces. However, there have also been benefits. Runic technologies that previously only existed within the Dream are now capable of functioning in Reality."
The pilot gestured vaguely toward the city beyond them.
"We are currently in the process of switching communication channels to accommodate the new environment, though there have unfortunately been some leadership issues."
Shore understood immediately. Most of LUCID's command staff were awakened, including most of their department heads and strike leaders.
Most of the people authorized to make decisions.
If all of them had vanished simultaneously...
The entire organization would have effectively lost its brain overnight. Suddenly the sluggish response times made perfect sense.
Truthfully speaking, if the awakened had remained present, the mecha division would have deployed much faster than it appeared to currently have. Though... if the awakened were present, the mecha divisions likely also would never have deployed this quickly in the first place. Rank Twos and Rank Threes would simply have solved the problem themselves before conventional assets became necessary.
Instead...
The contingency plans were activating.
Shore almost laughed at the irony.
LUCID had always prepared for disasters in case awakened weren't available. The organization practically collected contingency plans as a hobby.
And now, for perhaps the first time in its history, those plans were finally being used exactly as intended.
The mecha divisions, created specifically for scenarios where awakened response could not be guaranteed, were finally getting their chance to prove themselves.
The squad leader's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Apologies, sir, but we are required elsewhere. There are personnel within the base who can answer your questions more thoroughly."
A brief pause followed.
"Would you like a ride before we depart, sir?"
Shore looked toward the burning city around them and nodded.
"I think we'll take you up on that."
The machine carefully lowered its massive hand once more. Shore and Raye climbed aboard before the mecha stood and immediately launched skyward.
The sudden acceleration nearly made Raye lose her footing.
"Whoa!"
The city spread out beneath them and Shore could actually see what had happened. Beacon Academy had changed.
Or more accurately...
It had merged.
The LUCID facilities that existed at the location of Beacon in the Dream Realm had somehow imposed themselves onto reality itself.
Entire sections of architecture protruded from places they absolutely should not exist. Some structures looked partially embedded into one another while others appeared to overlap in impossible ways that hurt to look at for too long.
New buildings stood beside old ones. Structural damage was visible throughout the campus.
Walls had collapsed and several support sections had partially fused with underground facilities.
Operatives moved everywhere.
Repair crews, engineers, security teams and even logistics personnel.
Everyone looked busy but everyone was moving. The mecha descended near one of the temporary command points that had been established near Beacon's main courtyard.
The pilot lowered them carefully onto solid ground.
"Good luck, sir."
Shore nodded.
"You too."
The machine saluted briefly before its thrusters ignited and it shot back into the sky alongside the rest of its squadron.
Raye watched them disappear.
"They're cool."
Shore hummed.
"You're not wrong."
They didn't waste time. The nearest logistics operative looked stressed as hell but still managed to greet them professionally. Shore quickly relayed everything they had learned while simultaneously gathering information of his own.
The operative filled in the remaining gaps. The underground base itself remained operational.
Mostly.
The problem was access.
The original elevators and transit systems connecting Beacon to the underground complex had suffered significant damage during the overlap event and were currently non-functional.
Temporary measures had been implemented instead.
"Runic stabilization systems are keeping things together for now," the operative explained.
"Hover tech and support arrays?"
The man nodded.
"Exactly."
Shore thanked him and immediately headed toward the temporary access point with Raye following close behind. The makeshift elevator looked more like a cargo platform than an actual lift.
Runic stabilizers lined the edges while glowing arrays pulsed beneath the platform itself.
Hover technology built off runic energy, which essentially functioned as independent power systems. Technology that didn't require electricity or awakened aura to operate.
Another benefit of the Dream merging with Reality. An operative waved them aboard before activating the descent sequence. The platform slowly began lowering them into the depths beneath Beacon Academy.
Raye crossed her arms.
"So what's the plan?"
Shore remained silent for several moments.
"Considering all available guards and combat assets are currently being deployed..."
His gaze drifted downward into the darkness below.
"...we might have a chance."
"A chance for what?"
"To use a prototype that might be able to turn around the situation."
Raye blinked.
"A weapon?"
Shore considered the question, then he shook his head.
"To a degree, yes but not exactly."
He leaned slightly against the railing as the platform continued descending.
"It's more of an experiment than a weapon."
"Experimental how?"
"It hasn't really been tested yet and... you sort of have a connection to the tech. Technically speaking."
Raye frowned.
"I have a connection to it and it's recently developed?"
Shore nodded and the platform passed another layer of exposed infrastructure. Shore noticed several of the stabilizer systems nearby running entirely off runic circuitry. The actual elevators had completely stopped functioning, which explained why LUCID had resorted to replacing them with glorified floating platforms.
Necessity truly was the mother of improvisation.
Raye glanced toward him again.
"Alright, you've officially got my curiosity. What is this thing?"
Shore looked toward her but he answered her question with another one.
"Raye, what do you know about the Shadow Realm?"