Soul Drive: Ignition

Chapter 25: Clone

Hiro's fingers trembled as he pressed the talk button on the old cellphone. With a soft hum, the teal cybernetic armor enveloped his body, transforming him into his powerful Mach form. The weight of responsibility settled heavy on his shoulders. "I'll fight," he declared, his voice edged with determination, "but I won't go out of my way to save Daiki. I'm just going to stop them both before they cause any more destruction."

Osamu nodded, gratitude evident in his eyes. "Thank you, Hiro." 

Hiro hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why aren't you activating your own Mach?"

"Kimiko's headed towards the parking lot," Osamu explained, concern creasing his brow. "I need to get her out of harm's way before joining the fight above the Embassy."

Relief washed over Hiro, knowing that Kimiko was in good hands. "Thank you, Osamu. Now go, before they suspect you of setting me free." As Osamu disappeared from sight, Hiro took a deep breath and blasted his way up and out of the Canadian Embassy.

The chaos of battle greeted Hiro as he emerged from the building. Rubble littered the streets below, evidence of the fierce struggle between Daiki and Atsuko. He could see Daiki's panicked movements as he tried to evade the relentless assault of Atsuko's clones. Both were clad in their respective Mach armor, the tension palpable in their every move.

Hiro scanned the battlefield, searching for an opening - a chance to intervene and bring an end to this destructive battle. But as dozens of Atsuko's clones fired blasts and lunged at Daiki, Hiro couldn't envision a feasible way to defeat her. There were simply too many clones.

In his desperation, Daiki spotted Hiro hovering nearby. A glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes, and he propelled himself towards Hiro at top speed, attempting to draw some attention from the clones.

"Dammit," Hiro muttered under his breath, watching Daiki's approach. He knew he had to act, but the odds seemed insurmountable. Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself for the challenge ahead and prepared to join the fray.

Hiro's instincts kicked in as he saw Daiki closing the distance between them. He maneuvered his Mach upwards, evading Daiki and gaining a higher vantage point. Atsuko's attention shifted to Hiro, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. She didn't recognize him as an ally, but rather as another Canadian agent in a Mach armor.

"AI, redirect half of the clones to engage the new target," Atsuko commanded, her voice cold and calculating.

As the clones split off to pursue Hiro, Atsuko focused on finishing Daiki. Her thoughts raced, revealing the truth about her soul clones: their primary function was to confuse and distract enemies while she escaped. Yet here she was, using them to hide herself amongst their ranks and strike from unexpected angles. Time was running out; she needed to eliminate Daiki.

Hiro found himself suddenly overwhelmed by the swarm of clones diving towards him. He dodged their swipes with precision, questioning why they didn't simply open fire. It must take immense power to maintain this many clones, he reasoned. Racing away from their relentless pursuit, Hiro tried to calculate a plan to gain the upper hand.

In a desperate attempt to clear some space, he fired his blaster at the approaching clones. To his surprise, the blast passed straight through them.

"Of course," Hiro muttered, realization dawning on him. "Only the real one has mass."

Unbeknownst to Hiro, Nori had been observing the battle from afar, and now he knew Atsuko's secret too. Witnessing Hiro's discovery, Nori finally understood how to defeat Atsuko. He swooped into the scene, his presence startling Hiro.

"Stay sharp, Hiro," Nori said over their comms, his tone serious. "Weakness means death in battle."

Hiro nodded, his heart racing from the scare. Meanwhile, Atsuko remained occupied with taunting Daiki, unaware of the two Machs now aware of the flaw in her plan.