1 The System (1)
A student, with ginger hair, stood on a clear white platform. Over him was a sleek stadium roof. It was made of glass and composed of hexagonal pieces nicely slotted together.
"You're not getting me this time, Kai!" The boy shouted.
As he said such, miniature pieces of his mech started to climb over his body with the amorphousness of a liquid. His mech seemed to be quite thick and heavy, and it was a dark black with glowing orange lines and details across its design. It covered his whole body, climbed over his head to form a sleek helmet, and hurled down a darkened glass vice to cover his eyes.
"Don't just talk. Back your claim, Bernando!" The other boy shouted back.
He was clad in a slimmer, sleeker nanosuit mech that was white in colour with some grey-black textures in places. He had longer black hair and the other female students looked upon him with unwavering desire and affection. His face was toned, and he had a lean, athletic build.
'These girls can't get enough of him.' An envious boy said, slouched in his seat as he looked onto the platform.
This boy was Alonso. He possessed no mech and since he was still placed in this mech combatant academy, he was forced to watch others fight using mechs while he was unable to do so.
VOOM!
Kai blasted off toward Bernando and left white trails of energy in his path.
His body moved with such speed that Alonso couldn't perceive his movements at all.
BAM!
Kai's eyes looked vicious and full of intensity. He followed with various punches, but none of them seemed to be breaking through Bernando's impenetrable guard. His movements were so quick that Alonso couldn't track his movements at all.
It was all a complete blur to him.
Kai's strikes sounded like gunshots as they landed, but his adversary remained firm.
"My turn!" Bernando roared.
He threw a punch forward but Kai swiftly evaded his strike. With his left torso wide open, he kicked that part of his body, making him hiss in pain.
Subsequently, he made a light but quick sidestep then leapt in the air, now behind Bernando.
Extending his leg, Bernando managed to catch the leg whipping toward his head. With a swivel, he harshly slammed Kai onto the canvas.
Quickly releasing his foot, he gave out a grunt in pain and fury before raising to his feet.
The two warriors continued their battle and while Bernando outclassed his adversary in terms of raw power and durability, his mech was outclassed when it came to speed.
Kai stood directly ahead of him and zoomed forward with all his speed. This gave Bernando time to act, and he landed a full power uppercut right to his stomach.
Kai was stopped right in his tracks, and he followed up by concentrating his mech material into his arm. It formed a gargantuan arm nearly as big as himself, and he swung to try and land a punch.
However, Kai landed a light kick to his exposed chin, forcing him to the ground. Just this kick made him cough out blood, while he also struggled to remain conscious.
The black-haired student clenched his fist and was aiming to shoot down another attack now that he had subdued his foe.
Vrm!
He shot his fist through the air, and he did so with a maniacal smile on his face.
Voosh!
In between them, a much older person, that looked to be in his late forties, grabbed his fist and hurled him back with speed and strength.
"Kai, remember to not go overboard when you spar." The man said in a stern, authoritative tone.
The student bowed with respect, and his mech slowly started to pull of his body. It became concentrated along his spine, where people would usually keep their mechs when they were inactive.
"Bernando. You are a transformer type and expose your body to attacks as part of your fighting style. In order to do that, you absolutely must be at range when doing so. If Kai hit you as hard as he could, you could've died." He explained.
"Yes, Mr Piedrabuena." Bernando replied, slowly returning to his feet.
His mech formed a helmet over his head and there were slight hums and vibrations coming from it. His mech was already at work, attempting to accelerate the healing of his injury.
Alonso continued to look upon this sparring session with envy and deep sorrow.
Nearly everybody in the world was given a mech, regardless of if their genetic score was low or not. However, his score was so unbelievably low that doctors suspected he could die if he was to try and bond to a mech.
The general bonding age was between 13 and 15, but he was already turning 17 and hadn't received one.
Whenever mechs were being used in this academy, he would be forced to watch as the others enjoyed the thrill of using the ultra-powerful machines in combat.
Following this, Alonso exited this stadium to enter the main grounds of the school.
The school looked almost like a miniature city, with various stadiums, buildings and towers littered across an insanely extensive piece of land. It looked akin to the centre of a metropolis, and was bustling with students, teachers and other workers.
It was now the end of his school day, and he soon entered the main city that the school neighboured, Sago City.
With a population of 20 million, the urban area it encompassed was vast and there were skyscrapers that reached kilometres into the air.
Many people in the street would simply walk around with their mech activated over their body as a suit.
Mechs were usually created with body-cooling and body-warming devices and other things to maintain general comfort.
It was hard for Alonso to move on with his life when he saw that everyone around him had something that he so deeply craved. Being in a mech combatant academy only exacerbated his pain but he had hope.
It was all he could have.
Now on the outskirts of the large city, he arrived at a smallish gym.
He would come here after school to release the pent-up anger and pain that he felt due to not being able to receive a mech.
The doctors that provided mechs were aware of his desire, but the risks were simply too high.
'Those damn mech issuers! I'd rather die trying to get a mech than live without one. How am I supposed to become a mech combatant if I can't have a mech?' He thought to himself, entering the gym.
As he prepared to exercise, he couldn't stop watching videos on his holographic device of the achievements of mech combatants.
"Sago Unit 104 and 113 have conquered the dungeon planet Proxima in pocket realm 7909B3."
Mech combatants were people that not just possessed mechs but were soldiers, tasked with using their mechs in combat.
As mechs became commonplace, conflict between kingdoms and planets across the galaxy became a frequent occurrence. Thus, being a mech combatant became a highly respected and admired position.
They were titled as heroes. Brave warriors. Protectors. It was many people's dream to become one, and it was Alonso's too.
His father was a mech combatant and had served in the Sago Army for decades. It only seemed natural for him to follow in his footsteps, and there was no other position that quite as nearly enticed him as much.
In the gym, it was filled with the noises of those who were bashing at punching bags, using their mechs.
It was common for punching bags to weigh hundreds of kilograms and even tonnes to handle the force that people could output with their mechs.
Alonso just learned to tune it out with his earphones.
Bam! Bam!
With his gloves on, he would continue to hammer at the bag. Even though he had no mech, his physical fitness was elite.
People had the tendency to slack on their fitness since their mechs would make up for that, but there was no mech in Alonso's case. All he had to refine was his own body and he had done just that.
He had a muscular, athletic frame, with an 8-pack and had exceptional endurance from his frequent sessions at this gym.
He would punch all of his pent-up anger and frustration out, in the hopes of feeling a short-lasting period of relief once he was done.
Forcing his mind through the strenuous work also took his mind off things. It was a way to be 'at peace' in his own unique way.
"I've always admired your discipline, Alonso. It's like nothing else I've ever seen." An aged man said from beside him.
His name was Rex and he was the owner of the gym. He was clad in his very own grey mech, and looked to be in his fifties with his craggy face and whitening hair.
"Does it matter if I don't have a mech? What could I possibly do without one?" Alonso blurted out.
Rex was tactful and looked sorry for the child. Even farmers and office workers had mechs. It was almost something that one would be bound to have and train.
However, not only did he not have one but with his dream of becoming a mech combatant, it was totally crushing.
"I mean, you don't have to become a mech combatant like I was. I could name countless friends of mine that were brutally killed in battle – it's not all sunshine and rainbows, you know."
"I don't care!" Alonso shouted, immediately after hearing his statement.
It was almost as if he was hearing the same things over and over again. Everyone in his life understood the severity of the situation and attempted to soothe him with their words.
Now, he just didn't care anymore. To him, those words didn't soothe him.
They didn't feel like acts of kindness.
They felt like daggers being thrusted into his heart repeatedly.
