~Ber~

For one gloriously short moment, Lena thought she had freedom. The door shut behind her, and the whole room went silent as her so-called "caretakers" finally relented and left her alone. As the jumpsuit she was wearing acclimated to the cool room, she looked back at the door, not even really wanting to turn around. There were two things that would appear to her if she did that, either complete and utter silence, a chance to rest....or yet another newbie who couldn't handle piloting. What made her sure was an intuition built over dozens upon dozens of failed experiments, because that's exactly what her life had turned into. Just a series of experiments done on an adolescent girl to find her a partner, a second pilot with whom she would form an unshakeable bond to fight whatever horde of beasts threatened humanity this time. It never really mattered, because at the end of the day, there was no difference between the beasts outside and the monsters inside. She just wanted to take this moment of pure silence to finally-

"Uh...Hello?", a voice came behind her.

Great... Just. Great.

Lena turned around with a sigh. In the little room, mostly lined with chairs, a few tables and not much else, was a boy, standing opposite her. Dirty blonde and bearing gray eyes in sharp contrast to Lena's own pitch black pupils and hair, he simply stared at her, face scrunched in confusion. Nothing she hadn't seen before, and yet she could basically feel the aura of innocence and cluelessness radiating off of him.

"What do you want?", she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She really did not have the patience to explain the ropes to yet another idiot whom she will be seperated from within seconds.

"Oh, um...Well, since we're going to be undergoing the sync test, figured I'd say hi. So, my names Leo, short for Leonidas, and you're-"

Lena interrupted him, immadiately sensing where this was going, "Just...call me Lena"

The boy simply blinked at her: "Uh...am I supposed to be undergoing the test with you? Cause as far as I was told, you'd be-"

Now her patience was really running thin.

"Nono, I'm the right one. The Major's squad doesn't do mistakes. Trust me, else I probably would've been sent back by now".

Nodding along, Leo approached her, extending his hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lena!", he exclaimed, projecting a smile that made him look like an idiot.

Although she couldn't know that, Lena's expression in that moment betrayed her shock. He must REALLY be clueless to respect her chosen name.

Still, the extended hand made Lena feel a little guilty. If he was going to at least have his second or two of joy before it all came crashing down, who was she to make it worse? Misery loves company, but Lena didn't want to give it the satisfaction. And so, she embraced it.

Then, literally that second, the doors swung open, and two grunts entered.

"The sync test conditions have been met. Come"

As the two walked through the squeaky clean corridors of the facility, Lena wondered what kind of a mech they were gonna put them into this time. No one even bothered to inform her of anything regarding any of this, at any rate. Not like she would've cared, but still. But it was in that moment that Leo actually spoke.

"So, ever been in a hero class before?"

Lena rolled her eyes, but something about that made her suspicious. Leo sounded almost...comfortable as the words left his mouth. Almost like he...Surely not...

"I...have.", she responded, trying to mask her wondering.

"Oh, that's great! Well, 515 isn't anything special like 119 or even Apollo, but it's not a bad ride!"

"Wait...You're not a newbie either?!", Lena exclaimed, unable to contain her surprise.

"Huh? Why do you look so surprised? Didn't they tell you anything about this sync test?"

Lena stayed silent, but she felt her sigh spoke for her regardless.

"...At any rate, what mech did you used to pilot?"

Lena shrugged.

"Never bothered to learn the designation. It was something like...like...8-"

"844?! I've heard about that one! That's the one that was supposed to test chemical weaponry, right?", Leo asked

"How do you-"

Suddenly, the soldiers stopped, and for the first time in a while, Lena aaudibly gasped upom seeing the mech.

Sure, it was a hero-class like any other, but what made it special was both the sheer amount of battle damage and uneven plating, which spoke of years of fighting, and, of course, the weapon. A giant metal ball and chain.

"I know, right? this guy's seen his fair share of chimeras, but nothing he couldn't handle! Also, I know the weapon isn't the most flashy, but it gets the job done!", Leonidas smiled.

------

The inside seat of the mech was...actually comfy? For the first time, Lena wondered if this was all some dream that she would wake from, and yet even as she pinched herself reality stayed strong.

"So, how are you settling in? Feel like home?", Leo asked from his side, which would've been audible without comms were there not a metal sheet seperating their cockpits.

"Uh...yeah...", Lena responded.

But then, within a second, a massive holographic eye appeared before her screen. This hero class also had an ai?! But that was only reserved for lower class mechs?

"Leo, you're back! And who's this? Wait, aren't you supposed to be...

"Hey, VIL! This is Lena!", Leo interrupted, " I know it seems weird, but she insists she's the right candidate. Must've been a glitch in the system or something".

Lena scoffed almost audibly. Yea right.

"Lena, hm...Well, that's not what your file says, but someone at HQ probably forgot to update it. Don't worry, I'll notify them to have it fixed", the ai helpfully explained.

Although she hoped the two wouldn't notice, Lena felt her eyes bulge. This had to be a dream, no way that-

"Oh, right, almost forgot! Lena, this is VIL, stands for-"

"-Version 1 Legacy edition assistant program!"

"Exactly!", Leo added.

Lena went quiet, still trying to proccess the interaction. Of course, nothing would come from the ai's 'notifying' but the gesture itself made her reel backwards, at least mentally.

It was exactly in that moment, as she audibly heard Leo take in air to say something else, did the comms crackle with another, feminine voice.

"Dexter and Sinister, ready for your sync test?", command stated, adressing Leo and Lena respectively.

Lena sighed. This peaceful dream was about to come to an end very soon.

"Ready!"

"Mhm".

The all too familiar sound of test sirens began blaring.

"Copy. Andro-sync test beginning in 3...2...1..."

Just as the voice finished reading off the numbers, Lena felt her world begin to shift, almost as though caught in a daze. Sure, it was something she had experienced dozens of times before, but linking with a new partner was always disorienting. The one thing she could feel in this moment was her own heart beating.

And then, another heartbeat appeared in her senses. Leo's. As it did so, Lena could feel the speed at which it was beating. Nothing unusual, hopes were always high, every schmuck thinking it was a sign of success. Only she knew it wouldn't last long. Gently, the second heartbeat began slowing down, eventually beginning to beat in sync with her own.

The next second, they achieved syncrhonization. Thoughts, feelings, all congealed into a blob of qualia within their new collective consciousness. She understood everything now: Leo's joy, his excitement to finally be back piloting, and of course, his nerves. Of course, she knew he could feel her own thoughts and emotions, something Leo made abundantly clear as he thought:

"It won't end that badly...right?"

The nerves intensified. Lena chuckled.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that"

the comms turned on yet again.

"Sync established. Movement test beginning in 3...2...1..."

And then, the restraints opened.

The massive mech began its free fall within the hangar, the whoosh of rushing air whizzing past the audio sensors of the mech. The next second, they touched down with a heavy thud as the mechs knee joints bent and buckled under the weight of the massive steel frame they supported, one hand falling down in front of it to support it as it kneeled on the hangar floor. Now came the real test....could they stand?

First began Leo, whom Lena felt move the right leg, slowly straighthening it as he began lifting his part of the chassis. Not to be outdone, Lena did the same with her side after a slight delay, straining her mind against the pistons and levers which responded to her every thought as though they were her own. Slowly, but surely they stood up, managing to achive a proud stance.

Lena extended the mecha's left hand, squeezing its fingers into a fist. Snaply, responsive, but still bearing that weight one would expect from such a hunk of metal. Interesting.

Immediately, a sense of pride welled up in both of them, radiating first from Leo before spreading to Lena. She had to admit, she hadn't gotten this far with any of the other pilots they paired her with. Could this really be something new?

No, she reminded herself. It was not over yet. They now had to walk, to prove they could maneuver around the battlefield, else theyd find themselves overwhelmed and destroyed rather quickly.

This time, Lena took the lead. She moved the leg slowly at first, aiming it just enough to achieve a proper stride. Then, she began applying force as the leg descended, before confirming with a thud that it made contact with the ground. Then Leo took the other leg, doing quite the same movements, almost as though trying to impress her. Wel, he actually was tryung to impress her, as the andro-stream could tell her, but not that she particularly minded. With each step, repeating the same motions, they amped up the speed, turning from the uneven steps of a child to a proper stride.

Lena couldn't help but chuckle. They actually did it! Somehow, despite everything, they were moving! And just as she did, she felt Leo share in her delight, the two forming one coherent entity, a unified front. So much so that as they began approaching the hangar doors, they failed to notice command's orders to stop. the stride turned to a run as they came closer and closer to the door, to freedom. They had become one, and they wanted to make the most of it, to defend humanity from that which plagued them. They would be-

"515, that's enough!", Command finally came through as a manual override forced the mech to stop right in its tracks.