With a rough thud, Jarvis fell into the sand, his arms and cloak singed from plasma shots grazing him. The storm raged on all around him as he spit out sand, wiping the dust from his eyes. His mind scrambled, thrown off by the sudden attack and his fading feelings as he tried to find the attacker.

He didn't get even a moment of respite before a massive dark form emerged from beside the Arachno-Walker: The Mind of the Unrelenting in all its cold, cruel glory. Its eye blazed with unadulterated fury as it launched a second barrage of plasma at Jarvis. It only took a second for him to shake off his surprise as he quickly scrambled to his feet, rushing through the sand as the Unrelenting chased after. He dove under one of the mech's exposed legs, hiding behind the thick metal. 

"Damn it all... Suzanne! Suzanne, where are you!?" Jarvis quickly pulled his rifle from his shoulder, loading the chamber as he searched the area from his hiding spot. He waited, but no response came. His heart raced, feeling his chest tighten as he assumed only the worst. Yet, the pursuit didn't end. With flaming thrusters, the mind slammed its spherical body into the leg, knocking Jarvis off balance. 

His eyes widened as the massive robot's spotlight shone onto Jarvis' slicing through the blur of dust all around. The mind hovered before him, the multi-barrels of its twin plasma cannons spinning rapidly as it stared down upon its victim's wounded form, eager to deliver the finishing blow.

Jarvis dropped his rifle, fully aware of the inevitability of fate... until an idea came to him. In the corner of his eye, he saw his speeder, the engine still primed and ready to go. With a click of his key fob, the speeder burst to life and charged forward, slamming into the side of the Unrelenting's giant form. With sparks and metal flying around the crash, the Unrelenting let out a high pitched screech as it flipped across the ground, its horns lodged into the sand. The speeder flew past, flipping onto its side as the engine died, the flames of the thrusters fizzling out. 

Taking advantage of the moment of safety, Jarvis lunged forward and away from the stunned mind, desperately crawling around to find Suzanne. He glanced up only to find her body resting limp on top of the mech, small bits of steam coming off of her. With the strength he had left, he climbed up the nearest leg and collapsed beside Suzanne, gently placing his fingers on her pulse. A sigh of relief left him as he felt the gentle thrum of her heartbeat, gathering his bearings as he held tightly onto her. 

The Unrelenting awoke from its stupor as the thrusters roared to life, turning the sand into molten silica as the mind arose, hovering several feet off the ground. The plasma cannon that took the brunt of the impact hung from nothing but exposed wired, while the other cannon spun oddly, drastically off balance. Jarvis pulled Suzanne into his arms as he leapt off the mech, narrowly avoiding the inaccurate flurry of plasma projectiles. He set down her unconscious form before standing on one of the exposed legs, reaching for his machete. With a quick flick of his wrist, he launched the machete right into the mind's eye, smashing through the glass as shards fell. With a small electrical explosion the robot was blinded, spinning around wildly and shooting in every direction. 

Jarvis grit his teeth, looking between Suzanne and the Unrelenting. He charged forward as glowing projectiles flew past and leapt off the top of the Arachno-Walker, grabbing hold of the lodged machete's handle. The mind rose higher as he hung from the handle, reaching out for the nearest horn while the Unrelenting tried its hardest to shake him off. 

Finally, his hand found purchase. With a triumphant grin he pulled himself up, yanking the machete from the damaged eye. With adrenaline bursting through his veins he stood atop the huge robot, hacking at the exposed wires and fuel tubes of the thrusters on the mind's back. Orange oil spilled from the cuts as more piercing cries escaped the mind's voice filters, the exhausts sputtering as the flames desperately burned, attempting to keep the Unrelenting afloat. With one final swing of the stained blade, the left thruster fell, exploding against the mech far below. 

Jarvis hung for dear life as the robot began to descend, the right thruster doing all it could to prevent a destructive crash. Just before hitting the ground, he jumped off, tumbling into the sand. He winced, brushing himself off as he stood, quickly turning to see the aftermath. 

With its single remaining thruster, the mind managed to push itself forward, the cannons dragging along the ground as the mind trudged through the sand, its spherical form leaving a trail of fuel and glowing oil. Jarvis couldn't help but laugh incredulously, his body buzzing with lingering fear and pride at the Unrelenting's wounded, crippled form. 

Not willing to push its luck, the Unrelenting's body began to vibrate, quickly sinking into the sand and vanishing from sight, leaving behind patches of glassed sand and puddles of oil all around the mech. 

As soon as the mind departed, Jarvis immediately returned to what took precedent. As he darted to the other side of the mech, he saw her. Suzanne sat up against the leg, her face filled with exhaustion and pain. Her hand clutched her side, where a small bit of her hip had been burned off from a plasma blast. "H-hey, you..." She smiled thinly, her hair a mess and clothes covered in dust and scorch marks. 

Jarvis fell to his knees, pulling her hand back to investigate the wound. Thankfully, it had only grazed her side, barely burning past all layers of skin. Her abdominal muscles would hurt like hell, but it certainly could've been far worse. As the adrenaline rush wore off, his body ached immensely. He sobbed, collapsing against Suzanne as he clung tightly to her, the weight of the fight and close call crashing upon him. 

She winced from the pressure of his body against hers before relaxing once more, gently fiddling with Jarvis' hair. "I'm fine, you big softie," she said with a rough, exhausted edge to her voice. "What... what happened?"

Jarvis sighed against her, face buried into her chest. "The Mind from before. The... Unrelenting. When I was leaving the sight of the attack, I... I could have sworn it was watching me, telling me I was next. I guess I was right."