Armored Core 4: Zedaine's Story
Disclaimer: This story was written as a mission for AC Ravens, it is a fan fiction on the game of Armored Core 4, telling the story of my character. This may relate to the story of Armored Core 4, and other Armored Core games in the series, but it is still fan fiction and not official. I do not own anything that is Armored Core related, From Software contains all the rights to the games and story. I am not a writer, and I don't consider myself one. I do not plan writing more to this story unless it gets enough attention, and even then I still probably wont write any more. Enjoy.
Chapter 1:
On the outskirts of Colony Anatolia, two scientists are exploring a small limestone cave, searching for any resources they could use for the benefit of their colony.
"Emil! Take a look at this!"
Emil Gustav, a member of Professor Jarnefeldt's Next tech development staff. He assumed responsibility for Anatolia's welfare after the death of Professor Jarnefeldt, the former leader of Anatolia.
"What do we have here?" Emil said as he focused attention on the finding of his young apprentice.
"It's a limestone shell," the young pupil replied, "but look closer..."
Emil stepped around to the right side of the lime stone casing. Pushing his LED cave lamp against it for more light, he squinted his eyes as he tried to focus on what was inside.
"By god!" He exlaimed as he took a step back, almost tripping over a stalagmite. "There's someone inside!"
"We need to get him out of here!" The young pupil exclaimed. Being rash she started to smash her crowbar into the limestone shell.
"Wait Fiona!" Emil grabbed her shoulder before she could make another swing. "This could be a delicate procedure. We'll call the excavation team, they have MTs that can get him out."
Fiona Jarnefeldt, the daughter of Professor Jarnefeldt. An operator for Ravens. After her fathers death, she has been helping Emil take care of Anatolia.
"But.." Fiona was cut off.
"We're not even sure if he is still even alive, but even if he is, this is far too delicate for us too handle. We don't want to end up killing him." Emil stated.
Fiona looked back at the man in the limestone, then back at Emil, and nodded in approval. She waited as Emil contacted the Anatolia excavation team.
- - -
She placed her hand over the young mans head.
"Still has a high fever." She sighed to herself.
The excavation process was a success. After the excavation MTs had removed the limestone rock from the cave, a team of Anatolia's best archaeologists carefully carved the young man out of the rock. He was in stable condition, but was in a coma and had to be hooked up to life support systems until he awoke.
She moved her hand through his emerald green hair as she inspected him. She had never seen anyone like him before. He looked to be in his prime age, but his face still had the young, and innocent look of a child, especially since his eyes were closed.
"You've been asleep for weeks... will you ever wake up?" She asked him.
- - -
Piercing bright light. Light that even eyelids have an inability to block out. His eyelids started to slowly open. However he couldn't fully open them yet, the light was still too bright, burning his eyes because they hadn't fully adjusted yet. He slowly turned his head to the left, the room was darker where he was looking now, soothing his light sensitive eyes.
"So you're finally awake?" A young females voice came somewhere toward the direction he was looking. "You've been sleeping on that bed for over a month now. No one thought you we're going to wake up."
He focused harder in the direction where he was hearing this voice. After a few seconds he could see the outline of a figure sitting on a stool.
"Do you know how to speak?" She questioned him as she stood up from the stool she was sitting on and started making her way toward the bed.
As she made her way closer, he could see her now. She was young, maybe early twenties, she had long blonde hair that reached down passed her waste, slim build, and average height for a Caucasian. She stopped when she reached the bed and looked down into his emotionless emerald eyes. He looked back into her bright brown eyes. He saw nervousness, or maybe it was fear in the eyes that gazed into his. These two unique eyes gazed at each other for several seconds.
"Well..?" Her voice was quivering.
Words tried to form in his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Can you understand me?" She asked, her voice still had a slight quiver.
He understood her language perfectly. He closed his eyes and concentrated, his mouth formed, and with one small breath he uttered a sound.
"Yes."
Her bright brown eyes changed from anxiety to relief and excitement. She smiled, then sat down on the bed, and asked, "What is your name?"
He paused for a moment, a puzzled expression grew on his face. He clenched his right hand and closed his eyes as he tried to think. He finally exclaimed "I don't know," his voice was weak, but low. Almost monotone, but there was some emotion.
"What?" Her expression was again transformed back into a nervous one.
"I don't remember anything..." His voice was a little stronger now.
"He seems to be suffering from amnesia," An older man stated as he walked into the room, "It may pass over time, but the best thing we can do is let him rest until he regains his physical strength."
He glanced at the new face who had entered the room. He was an older man, well into his fifties. A gray mustache covered his wrinkled face, and some gray hair on top of his head that wasn't long enough to cover his wrinkled forehead. Wearing a lab coat, he looked like a scientist.
"But, Emil..." She stopped when his hand touched her shoulder.
"You can speak with him tomorrow, I'm sure he'll have something to talk about then. Now get up! I need some help with this plan to sell these Nexts."
She sat up and started following Emil out of the room. She stopped as she reached the doorway and turned her head around. He was still staring at her, with those emotionless emerald eyes. She looked at him for a moment, then turned her head back around and continued out the doorway. She was about to shut the door, then she heard that low, monotone voice. "What is your name?"
She almost jumped. She looked at him through the doorway. "Fiona, my name is Fiona Jarnefeldt." Then she quickly shut the door and left him staring at the black wall.
- - -
"Emil! Where is he!?" Fiona screamed as she found the room completely empty the next morning.
"Our new guest?" Emil put his right hand to his lower lip and thought a moment. "Oh yes, he was looking at our Nexts in the garage.
Fiona quickly made her way over to the Armored Core garage where the Nexts were stored. Nexts are the next generation in warfare, based on Normal AC technology, the combination of Akvavit's Kojima technology, Aspina's Allegorical Manipulation System, and other breakthroughs. The exclusive Nexts also represent the Companies' power, as most Colonies and independent armed groups do not have access to them.
Fiona was relieved to see him standing in front of the Armored Core models in the garage. She quickly walked up to him and asked "Are you sure you're okay to being moving around?"
He continued to inspect the machine, as if he didn't hear her. Fiona looked up at the Armored Core and explained, "That is the 03-AALIYAH, manufactured by Rayleonard. It's highly mobile."
The young man started to climb up the leg of the Armored Core, he was quick and was already halfway up before Fiona realized what he was doing.
"What are you doing!" She exclaimed, "You can't pilot that thing! You haven't even been tested, and this AC isn't even yours!"
He stopped climbing and looked down at her.
"I had a dream. I remember that I was a Raven, and used to pilot an Armored Core." He paused for a moment. "I'm going inside. I feel like my memories may be in there."
She didn't know what to say. She couldn't stop him, but what if he was right, what if his memories were in that Armored Core? And what if he was a former Raven? Could he pilot these new Nexts and help Anatolia? Or even change the world?
Somehow he had remembered how to open the cockpit. The central part of the core moved back and the head lifted up and moved forward, revealing the cockpit area. He jumped inside and closed the cockpit. The systems immediately started after he had grasped the controls. The monitor screens activated, revealing inside the garage. Fiona's face appeared in the bottom left corner of the right monitor, she was at her communication terminal.
"Well, you managed to activate the Next. That proves that you are AMS compatible. The Allegorical Manipulation System, or AMS, is an advanced piloting system, and only those with certain physic traits can use it." Fiona explained to the young pilot, who almost seemed to be ignoring her now.
"Are you okay in there?" Fiona asked, concerned.
His eyes shot open. His pupils dilated and his gaze turned lifeless. He was completely motionless, not even a breath came from his nostrils.
"This isn't good..." Fiona said out loud to herself. "Maybe he wasn't AMS compatible after all! I've got to get him out of.."
"I remember..." Came the familiar low voice from her terminal.
"What!?" Was Fiona's only bewildered reply. She looked back into the terminal's monitor and saw him staring straight at her.
"My name, or what I was called, is Zedaine. I'm an experiment that was created years ago, possibly thousands. A corporation called Murakumo Millenium was conducting secret experiments on humans to give them advanced unnatural abilities, especially when piloting an AC. I came about in their final project, when they decided to use their "human plus" experiments on a fetus. Creating a super powerful being that couldn't age beyond it's prime. They thought they had created the most powerful weapon of its time. Perhaps they did, but it soon led to the corporations destruction. After I had escaped from the grasp of Murakumo I joined the ranks of a Raven, then soon after obliterated Murakumo and their experiments from off the face of the planet. I lived on as a mercenary for the Raven's Nest, completing any mission that was sent to me. I destroyed anything that I deemed a threat to myself or the entire planet. Many decades later the Raven's Nest fell and the mercenaries became useless. Mars was later terraformed and many Raven's and citizens made their way to inhabit the new planet. A new Raven's Nest, the Nerves Concord, was formed, and work for mercenaries had returned. However, Leos Klein, a powerful Raven who was a former Arena "Nine Breaker", was leading an advanced AC mercenary group called the Frighteners. His intentions still remain unclear to me, but he was a threat to the inhabitants of Mars, and was dealt with." Zedaine paused for a moment and closed his eyes as if he had to think a little more.
"I don't know what to say... this is.."
"I'm not finished.." Fiona was cut off. "After the destruction of Leos Klien, war was started back on Earth. I returned since the work on Mars was dwindiling, and continued my missions back on Earth. Several decades had passed, I kept moving on with each new generation. However, things eventually got out of hand, and another great destruction occurred, forcing everyone underground. I don't remember what happened to me then, I only remember waking up into a new underground world called Layered which was ruled by a computer called the "Controller". There was a Raven's Nest, and I worked my way into the ranks. Living life being ruled by a computer was strange by all means, but it quickly, and efficiently brought justice onto those who defied it. Until one day unexplainable situations were going on, threatening corporations and the entire underground world of Layered. I decided that the Controller was malfunctioning and now was a threat, and had to be destroyed. This caused complications however, since the majority had decided that the Controller was the best system anyone could ask for, even if it is was malfunctioning. I found myself with lots of enemies, and even trusted partners turned traitorous. However, anything that got in my way was completely destroyed and eventually the demise of the Controller finally came. With the destruction of the Controller, the underground world of Layered opened up, and revealed the surface of the world, completely healed from the destruction that had forced everyone underground." Zedaine opened up his eyes, looked directly back at Fiona through the monitor, and continued.
"Life on the surface of Earth continued. The corporations still battled the land for more power, so the need for Ravens was higher than ever. Special defenses had been placed by unknown forced to guard ancient areas of the surface, they we're however later removed. Life on the surface continued for many more decades, and I continued to move on through each generation. Eventually, a new, but smaller, corporation called Navis entered the scene, claiming control of a new resource. The other corporations intended to take that new resource, so of course, the call went out to the Raven's Ark, the new nest for Ravens. However, further investigation of this resource had great consequences. Millions of suicidal machines were released and devastated the entire planet. To consolidate the power of the Corporations, all three corporations that were still in power merged, and became known as "The Alliance". However, Jack-O, an impressive Raven, formed an organization of Ravens called "Vertex" from the collapse of the Raven's Ark. Vertex's intentions were clear, they were going to launch an all-out war in 24 hours. I tried to stay neutral on the matter, trying to get as much information from both sides as possible. I ended up going freelance and deemed everyone my enemy. Anything that got in my way was destroyed and eventually I became the last Raven..." Zedaine looked away from the monitor and stared off into nothing.
"Is there anything else?" Fiona knew nothing of this history which Zedaine had come from. She knew there had to be some more to this outrageous story.
"I don't really remember much more, the world was in shambles, most if not all the weapons were destroyed, the use for the Raven's was completely gone. I may have just wandered off. Then I woke up here."
'The way technology is now...' Fiona thought, 'He could have been trapped in that limestone for several hundred years...'
It was quiet for the next few minutes. Words were not spoken, only deep thoughts were coursing through the brains of the two.
"I don't know what to say, that is some story." Fiona finally blurted out.
Zedaine didn't say anything, he continued staring off into space, in deep meditation. The two were quiet again for what seemed like hours, but was only several minutes. Fiona was too bewildered to say anything. Finally, a new face appeared on the monitors of both Zedaine and Fiona. It was Emil.
"I apologize for the interruption, but I couldn't help but overhear the young mans entire story. It sounds like you are just the key that Anatolia needs for my plan to work."
"What do you need me for?" Zedaine replied.
Emil chuckled at the comment, "What do you think!? I want you to pilot that Next that you are in. We are currently living under the harsh conditions of the Pax Economica. We have been forced into corporate-run colonies and have become slaves serving wealthy corporate masters. Maybe with your help we can change the tides of this war."
Zedaine closed his eyes and thought deeply for several seconds. His eyes swiftly opened and his gaze was straightforward.
"Roger that, what is my mission?"