During the Events of Attrition Part 1-3

I stared down at the slaughter that was happening before my eyes. I could only see so much through the goggles, but I didn't need to see the grunts to know they were being torn limb from limb by Excalibur. It annoyed the crap out of me that I wasn't down there with him killing those bastards. Instead, I was stuck on this mountain with my thumb up my ass. Me and my scorch titan, RD-1099 or "Ryder", landed on the mountain near a cave and have been stuck up here ever since. The battle below was about 40 klicks away, so getting a message to them without a signal booster was going to be hard. Even with my titan, the trees and the heavy clouds would cause too much interference.

I have yet to explore the cave behind me since I was too busy finding a way off the damn rock. Climbing down was not an option since Ryder would just break the rocks and fall. Distress beacon would be a good way for them to find me, but not without telling the IMC where I was as well. This whole predicament just had to happen to me of all of us. I let out a sigh and holstered my binoculars. I watched my heated breath leave my lips as the cold air around me reminded me what time it was. In the day this place was alright, but come night it became freezing cold.

I reached down and grabbed my black helmet, sliding on the piece of gear to shield myself from the cold. I walked back to my titan that was staring into the darkness of the cave. He just stood there hunched over as he looked into the cave without moving a single inch. My gaze focused down the large, dark cavern, looking upon every single rock I could see in the light provided by the moon.

"Your thermals see anything?" I asked calmly. He didn't respond for a few moments, making sure to scan every possible thing he could in the cave.

"I sense a very large heat signature in the cave, but can't confirm if it is organic or another source of energy," he stated. My eyes never left the darkness. I was never one to be scared of the dark, but this seemed a bit too suspicious. I tapped a small button on my computer gauntlet and walked over to Ryder. The doors opened, revealing my cockpit and the different tools and weapons I stored in there before we dropped from the ship.

I hopped in and closed the hatch behind me. Taking a seat, I began activating my titan's combat systems and primed all gas canisters and thermal slugs. After double-checking that I had everything ready for the worse, I walked forward with my titan's thermite launcher in hand and headlights raised to full power.

I kept a close eye out for anything that might try to poke its head out. While I'm not of a wuss as Christian, I am a bit trigger happy and have a tendency to beat the shit out of anything that scares me. Just ask Jax where he got that scar on his brow. He'll say it was from him hitting an IMC, but he's just a wimp.

My thoughts on the white-haired Asian were interrupted as my HUD started to beep aloud. I switched the camera from night vision to thermal and I instantly saw what the hell the beeping was for. I have been walking in the cave for barely 2 minutes and I see something I never thought I would see. A big, fat pile of gold.

The gold was very shiny and it made it difficult to see anything. I deactivated my thermal and switched to my normal HUD so I could see the large pile of jewels laying before me. I was dumbfounded by what I saw, laying only a few meters from me. The pile of gold was almost as tall as my titan. Anything from coins to silverware was made of gold and even a few gems sat in the pile.

I couldn't tear my eyes off of the riches that were ripe for the taking. I stowed my thermite launcher and grabbed a handful of the treasure. A few gold pieces and gems slipped through my titan's fingers as I stared at the treasure. I had completely forgotten about the beeping sound because one second I was admiring a ruby, the next I was flying across the cave and smashing into the wall. Alarms were blaring within the cockpit. I felt slightly light-headed from the impact, but I quickly shook it off and checked what had hit me and what damage it did. My shield was down and slowly recharging, other than that I only had a little hull damage. I brought myself up and turned in the direction of where I had been hit.

Hunched over the large pile of gold was something I didn't think I would see. To me, it looked like a giant Wyvern with Arms and legs. It was a dark red and had glowing, yellow eyes. It bared its razor-sharp teeth at me as it huddled closer to its gold. I guess I had stepped into this thing's nest and started poking around with its gold. I guess it would have been too good if I found all that gold unprotected. I didn't reach for my thermite launcher, instead, I held up my hands in surrender. I only hoped this thing would realize I wasn't going to fight.

I slowly started moving around the big lizard and his gold. He kept his eyes on me the whole time, never blinking and not moving anything besides his long neck. I was only a few steps away from the exit when I heard my Projectile warning start beeping. Not seeing anything in front of me, I quickly looked up and saw a stalactite falling towards me. I did the only thing I could in the brief second I had and raised my hand above me. I activated my Thermal Shield, disintegrating the piece of rock as it fell. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and deactivated my shield. My moment of relief was ruined when I saw the Lizard charging me.

"Fuck."

The big ass lizard hit me with all its weight. I grunted as it tackled me into the wall. Its claws were scraping away at my armor as I tried to fend off its head with my arms. I used one of my hands to pin an arm to its side and the other to hold its mouth closed. The big bastard was strong and I was struggling to keep it as still as I could. I needed to get it off of me before it clawed through my plates. I looked around my cockpit for anything I could use. I saw my guns, a bagel, some kinda wrapper, and one Satchel charge. The only way I could use it would be if I stepped out, and that would be suicide. Taking another quick look around the cabin, I didn't see anything else that would help me in this current predicament. I guess I didn't really have any choice.

I tapped a few buttons on my consoles and diverted all the power to the arms. Taking control again, I took hold of the lizard's left arm and held it up high above its head. I used my other hand to grip its muzzle and hold its jaws closed so I wouldn't get eaten when I get out there. Taking one moment to regret my decision, I quickly set it to autopilot with a tap on my brace computer. I pulled the lever above and the cockpit burst open. I wasted no time and dashed outside of the cabin. The lid of the cabin opened upwards, so as it opened I gripped the edge and used it to pull me out and over my titan. Now on top of my titan, I could see just how big this thing was. Its arm was easily the same length as my titan's and its body was easily a couple of stories tall. I shook my head and focused on my task. I attached the satchel charge and detonator to my belt and started my climb.

It wasn't very difficult, but being so close to the giant red lizard made me over-cautious. I would have just boosted to the top, but I didn't want to risk anything that would have me getting closer to it. Each step I took and each piece of metal I grabbed I made sure would be secure enough for me to climb. The arm shaking as I crawled made it a bit more tedious, but I was making my way up. Now hanging off the arm, I grabbed the satchel charge and aimed for its arm. I wasn't sure if this thing's hide could withstand the blast, so I needed it to go off near its joint. I prepared to throw it but was knocked to the side, almost losing my grip from the arm. I looked up and saw the Lizard's eye staring at me as it struggled in my Titan's grip. I guess this guy knew I was up to something. Wasting no more time, I chucked the satchel charge, hoping it would at the least land close to my target. I held my breath as it flew through the air, spinning slightly due to my horrible attempt at throwing it. The satchel brushed off its forearm and I nearly choked on my breath. Before I lost hope, the satchel somehow managed to stick itself right under its elbow. I smiled and released my held breath,

I let go of my titan's arm and slid back down to the cockpit. Smiling broadly, knowing this thing is gonna feel pain like nothing else. As I sat in my chair, I reached down for the detonator. My heart stopped when I didn't feel anything there. I looked down and saw it wasn't hanging off my belt as I thought. I looked around and when I saw it laying on the ground behind the lizard's feet, my dread came back full force. My dread was quickly replaced with panic when I heard metal grinding and straining against something. I looked up again and saw the lizard using all of its strength to open its jaws. As its jaw opened I could see a small light in its throat. This light seemed to come from its belly which too was glowing slightly. I just realized what this thing was trying to do. I switched back to manual and put even more power into my grip.

As strong as my ogre titan was, this thing was clearly stronger. Despite not actually moving, I felt I was putting all my strength into holding this thing back. I grit my teeth to the point of drawing blood, trying in vain to keep it from roasting me alive. It was in that moment of helplessness did I feel something fall in my lap. It was my Wingman Elite. That hopelessness in me was starting to fade away, now being replaced with determination and vigor. I switched my titan to autopilot on my left arm that was holding its jaw. I only had one shot before it would overpower me and burn me alive. I had to use my other arm to keep the satchel steady so I could shoot it.

Grabbing the gun, I took aim. I took a deep breath, aimed down the sight, and lined the small dot with the small pouch. I only had one shot, after that, all bets were off. As much as I would love to fuck off into the next world, I had a job to do. I wasn't raised to half-ass anything in my life and I sure wasn't going to do it if I died here and now. Releasing my breath, I put my finger on the trigger and pulled. The recoil from the gun bent my arm upwards due to me not holding it with my other hand. Such an act would have Alex chew me out, but she wasn't here right now. The bullet traveled through the air faster than I could see. The only thing I saw was a large explosion that knocked the wind out of me and cover my helmet and armor in blood and ash.

The lizard roared in pain from losing its arm. It gripped its arm, now a bloody stub, in pain. The blood flowed from its wound like a waterfall. It kept roaring in pain to the point of falling back on its gold and jewels. As happy and as surprised as I was, I couldn't give it any time to recover. After wiping the blood from my visor, I quickly stowed my gun and closed the hatch to my titan. Pulling myself up with one hand, I reached back for my thermite launcher and aimed for it. I didn't wait one second longer as I pulled the trigger. The slug flew for only a moment before hitting the lizard directly in the chest. It again roared in pain as the thermite from the slug burned away at its scales. With rapid precision, I ejected the shell and slapped in a new one. This time I aimed for its leg in an attempt to keep it off balance. I fired and splashed its knee in thermite. The thermite quickly burned away the scales on its knee and made it struggle to stand up. The lizard at this point was roaring in agony as I burned it apart.

I kept up the barrage, firing slug after slug at its hide. In its agony I saw it had wings and I took the opportunity to burn them away, melting the skin and making them useless. As I loaded another slug, I guess it decided I was done attacking and turned to me, fury burning in its yellow eyes. It opened its jaws and smothered me in its flame. I couldn't help but chuckle as it tried to burn away my fireproof plates. The cockpit got a bit warmer, but that was nothing I couldn't handle. I stowed my thermite launcher and approached the red lizard bastard. Its eyes widened as I walked towards it through its flames. It opened its jaw wider as the flames grew a bit bigger, but I just kept marching towards the scaly bugger.

I pulled my arm back and threw it at the lizard jaw, punching it as hard as my titan could. Blood and teeth flew from the lizard's mouth as it crashed into the wall. The lizard's impact shook the cave and cracked the wall it hit. I watched as the cracks made their way up to the ceiling. The cracks made contact with a pair of stalactites that were hanging. I watched in pity as the spikes fell and impaled the lizard's legs, effectively pinning them to the ground. Its roars echoed through the cave and I'm sure outside far beyond. It tried to remove the spikes, but all it ended up doing was shift them in place, making the wound bigger and more bloody. I knew I had to put the thing out of its misery since it was gonna bleed out if I don't. So, with one hand, I reached back and pulled out my thermite launcher. I aimed for its head and prepared to pull the trigger. Before I could, a single high-velocity round flew past me and blasted the lizard's head off, painting the wall behind it with brains and blood. Its body fell limp, quickly realizing there was nothing there to keep it moving. I quickly turned around, and once again, I was surprised to see what was there standing behind me.

Standing there at the entrance of the cave was a Northstar Titan. Its silver armor glowed in the darkness due to the light coming from the gold. I aimed my launcher at it and prepped my gas canisters. The titan stood there holding its Railgun to my level. I prepared to squeeze the trigger, but before I could burn this thing to hell, a quiet chuckle came from him. The chuckle soon grew into uncontrollable laughter. I immediately knew who was standing before me, and I wanted to pull my trigger even more.

Seth continued to laugh as he stowed his railgun on his titan's back. He and his titan GS-9999, AKA Gilgamesh, were notorious for making entrances and being the smug person of the team. I always hated him, but damn he could outfly and outshoot just about anyone and anything. The bastard took out a carrier by himself and just came out with a bent finger on his titan. He only said it was because "His titan couldn't stop pulling the trigger."

"So it seems I missed all the fun, too bad you couldn't finish what you started. How embarrassing." he chuckled. I just grunted and stowed my thermite launcher.

"Where the hell did you come from?" I asked. He opened his cockpit and teleported to the top of his titan's body. He stood there looking all proud and mighty despite only just finishing off the large lizard.

"Well, I was just flying around and admiring the view when I heard some loud roaring in the distance. I thought it was just some IMC mongrel getting his ass railed before I noticed a Titan's power signature. So I decided to see for myself and low and behold I find you standing over that large beast with the plunder glowing so great and magnificently!" he proclaimed. I just rolled my eyes and walked over to the exit.

"Come on, we have to find the others. I saw Christian and the Others down the mountain. I don't know where they are headed, but if they are out there, we can find them quicker with your tracking mods." I suggested. I looked back and saw Seth staring at the gold with a smile on his face. My anger swelled in me and I launched my thermite canisters into the gold pile. I activated my titan's core ability and slammed the ground with my fist, launching a wave of fire and thermite into the gold. I watched in glee as the fires impacted the gold and started burning and melting it. Seth turned to me with annoyance in his eyes.

"I should make you pay for that, but I won't waste my time trying to make you understand the error you just committed." After he said that, he vanished into thin air and his titan's hatch closed. His titan turned around and walked past me, not even giving me a glance. I just suppressed my anger and followed him out of the cave, the fire illuminating the way for us.

Author's Note

Mr. Lizard