Chapter Two: Astra-X Awakens

The first Void mech detected him. Its head split open in a soundless shriek. Space contracted before it into a black arc, and the dark blade swept sideways. Leon did not retreat as simulator training demanded. He stepped forward. One step from a forty-meter body was a landslide. Astra-X's left shoulder scraped past the dark blade, blue sparks bursting across the armor. Leon used the motion to turn and drove the right elbow into the enemy's chest. The impact wave threw scrap into the air. The black mech flew backward, and before it hit the ground Astra-X jumped behind it. Short-range jump was not flight. It tore away the distance between two points.