The battle was chaos.
Hideauze swarmed in the void, their massive, writhing forms gliding effortlessly through space. Plasma rounds illuminated the darkness, streaks of energy colliding with monstrous shells. Axel maneuvered with precision, his Machine Caliber dancing between enemies as he fired shot after shot.
"Axel, on your left!" Ledo's voice cut through the comms.
Axel twisted his controls, narrowly dodging a Hideauze tendril. "Thanks!" he shot back, firing into the creature's core. It screeched in silence before dissolving into the abyss.
Through the battle, Axel stole glances at Kugel. The commander was a machine in human form, each movement calculated, every kill efficient. This was the man the Alliance revered. The man who would—if events played out as before—change drastically when he arrived on Earth.
Axel had a choice to make.
But before he could dwell on it, a pulse of energy rippled through space.
"Anomaly detected," CHM-002 warned.
Axel's eyes snapped to his scanners. There it was—the disturbance that would transport them to Earth. The moment of no return.
"Ledo, Kugel!" Axel called. "We need to retreat!"
"Mission priority remains unchanged," Kugel responded sharply. "Engage and eliminate."
Axel cursed. He couldn't stop it, but he could prepare. "CHM-002, deploy emergency stabilizers."
The void twisted. Gravity fluctuated wildly. Axel gritted his teeth as his cockpit systems flickered, the universe around him warping.
And then—
Sunlight. Open sky. Endless blue waters.
They had arrived on Earth.