A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, hamsters and gerbils, I present to you what is likely to be my only entry in Armored Core FanFics. This spent quite a bit of time in development hell, in large part due to the impersonal nature of the franchise. Giving a personality to a featureless protagonist is such a chore to do, and I honestly am not sure whether or not I managed to make anything convincing.
Disclamer: Armored Core is property of FROM Software. I do not monetize off of this, nor do I intend to.
Leave a review if you wish to add anything constructive.
All the mercenary felt was anger. He knew as soon as he heard the voice that Maggie Curtis—the newest addition to the Reaper Squad, and a former friend—arrived on the battlefield. Her AC was colored blue and black, which was appropriate since she was called "Blue Magnolia". The merc's hands tightened around the joysticks as he brought the Kayak HEAT machineguns to bear against his foe.
His anger was probably unjustified—it was the nature of war to tear friendships like the one he had formed with Maggie and Fatman apart, and in its nature to breed betrayals. It was a constant hazard of the mercenary business, but he couldn't help it. The anger could be felt in every round that Red Fox put downrange, conflicting emotions gnawing at the merc's psyche.
"God dammit, Maggie," he said, voice scratchy and rough from lack of use. All pretense of his usual stoic professionalism was dashed away. "Why are you doing this?"
"That's the first time I've ever heard you speak," Maggie's static-garbled voice replied. "I'm doing this for my pride!"
Red Fox high-boosted backward, avoiding a nasty boost charge from Maggie's AC, before retaliating with his Kayaks. Round after round exploded split seconds after penetrating the armor of Maggie's AC, and Magnolia boosted out of the way in an effort to break out of the stream of fire heading her way.
"So your plan to recover your lost pride involves killing me!?" the mercenary yelled out in anger. "Too bad for you! As much as I'd like to die, it's not going to be here!"
"AC damaged—take evasive action," the computer said as alarms blared in his cockpit. His craft lurched forward violently as a well-placed laser rifle shot hit it from behind. The merc's shoulder was wrenched against the piloting harness—a victim of inertia.
"The reason for our existence is simple," Maggie said. "It's to kill strong pilots like you before they become a danger…"
"Bullshit!" the mercenary retorted, bringing Red Fox's weapons to bear on the target. "You made it clear when you left that all you existed for was fighting—for killing… you feel it to be your raison d'etre. But you're dead wrong—experience has taught me that there is no existence in living for battles. Those who seek a life of battle are those who cry for death!"
A few more HEAT rounds made impact on Maggie's armor before she returned fire with the laser rifle. Seeing the projectile charging at the rifle's muzzle, the mercenary steeled himself to boost out of the way. The round let loose, and his thrusters fired—the merc's reactions were top-notch, but the laser bolt still grazed his AC.
He chuckled…
"What's so funny!?" Maggie asked.
"The fact that I used to idolize you, Magnolia Curtis—that's what's so funny," the mercenary replied. "I saw in you the very best of the mercenary business: you were professional, you kept your mind on the money, and you put the contract first. And as far as I know, you never backstabbed someone you thought of as a friend. I looked up to you—I got into the mercenary business because of you. I got into the business to do you proud."
A bitter silence set in, with both ACs standing still—the lone movement being that of dust carried on the wind, battering against the metal beasts. Maggie's AC stood downwind of Red Fox, the words the mercenary spoke carried along the breeze, hitting her as sure as the sand did.
"But now…" the merc said. "Now, you're just a broken pedestal—nothing more than a shadow of a woman I loved like family. A woman I thought of as the big sister that I never had…and you abandoned me…Now, my mission is clear: I will destroy Reaper Squad."
Maggie simply pondered his words, but what he said next shook her back to reality, and made his intentions very clear.
"Maggie?" he growled. "I'll kill you!"
Red Fox broke the silence by attempting a boost charge, but Maggie backpedalled out of the way—and yet made no attempt to retaliate, still dumbfounded by the mercenary's confession.
"STAND STILL SO I CAN CUT YOU DOWN!" the merc yelled, channeling something far more powerful than his anger. It was a wound deep in his soul, like someone stabbed deeply into his heart. It festered and he kept it bottled up, ignoring the blood that flowed from the wound.
It was on this battlefield that it exploded out of him with astounding force…
It was pain…terrible, crippling emotional pain…It was the type that introduced despair, and it threatened to crush him under immoveable weight, refusing to move until it had killed him. And yet, he didn't seem to care…
He kept the triggers taped down despite his AC's computer telling him how low his ammunition was. Some shots were hits and others were misses, but it hardly mattered: Maggie simply refused to retaliate regardless of what the mercenary did.
"Did I get to you!?" the merc asked. "Did I get into your head, Magnolia Curtis, like you let that bastard do? I must have—if I didn't, then why aren't you fighting back!?"
That's what it took to provoke a reaction from her, as their ACs met mid-air, each successfully ramming the other. Metal clashed against metal, convictions clashed with each other, and fire was the ultimate result.
Alarms rang in his ears, letting the mercenary know that his AC's integrity was about to give way. But from the looks of it, so was Blue Magnolia…she boosted as if to run.
"Knock the rust off yet, Magnolia?" the Reaper Squad leader's voice flooded the communication channels.
"I'm not at my best," Magnolia replied. "I'm falling back…"
The hush was deafening as the opponents eyed each other down—the mercenary felt anger, which dulled out the pain from his shoulder. All that inertia…the sudden impact left him with his left shoulder partly dislocated. And who knew what Maggie was thinking?
Fatman broke the silence, "Maggie…are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes," she simply replied. "This is what I have to do…"
"Why?" Fatman asked back.
"It's…the only way I know how to live," Maggie said. "It's been my destiny since the day I was defeated."
She went on to explain, "this battle the Foundation set up—Reaper Squad—they all lead to one goal: to find someone with your ability," she referred to the mercenary. "To find you…and kill you…"
"Why?" the mercenary asked. "Is it because I pose a threat to their plans? Do I stand in the way of their crazy vision for the world?"
"Crazy…" Maggie said. "That sums up the human race perfectly…"
"Well, crazy or not…" the mercenary said. "I'll believe in myself, and continue fighting for a cause. I'll fight for humanity, flaws and all."
The F21C Stork that had dropped Maggie's AC off had come back to extract her.
"She was another who had potential—the power to destroy the current order," the leader of Reaper Squad said. "She was defeated, and yet she survived to fight once more…"
"One destined to burn all to ash…the other with an enduring will to fight—I want to know which is real. And when I have my champion, I will kill them. I am a Reaper, after all…"
"You are not right in the head," the mercenary said exactly what he and Fatman both thought. "All of you are insane…"
"And what is wrong with that?" was the final thing the leader said before they left the combat area.
"Sleep on this Maggie," the mercenary said. "Because the next time we meet will decide whose so-called 'destiny' is right."
"Kid…" Fatman said. "Are you alright?"
"I partly dislocated my shoulder," the mercenary said. "I'll live, though…"
"I heard every word," Fatman said. "A sister figure…someone you looked up to…was that all true?"
"All the way down to the letter," the mercenary said. "Damn it…"
"Maggie chose her own path," Fatman said. "Nothing you did forced her to walk it…"
"You know, when I first started piloting, I lived in Sirius territory," the mercenary said. "I met a young girl and her dog—we became fast friends. And then a raid from Venide came in the next day. We fought as hard as we could, but we lost the town…"
"But that wasn't what bothered me," he continued. "I fought to repel the attack, but a stray shot brought down a chunk of the building it struck. And underneath that chunk was that girl and her dog…she hadn't even seen her tenth birthday."
"Damn…" Fatman trailed.
"It's almost funny how things work out," the mercenary said. "Up until I met you two, I fought on the battlefield out of a desire to die. I wanted to be punished for the mistakes I made—I still see that girl's face every time I close my eyes. Money meant nothing to me—I wanted to do Maggie proud, but I still sought death. It was like battle was all I lived for…"
"Just like Maggie does now," Fatman said.
The irony of all this was not lost on either of them: Maggie and him switching roles—one having found a reason to fight for, and the other fighting for no reason because it's all they know. Was that how the mercenary would have turned out if he kept going down that path?
"I have a lot to thank you for, Fatman," the merc said. "You two gave me a lot to think about—more than enough to help me turn my life around. What happened here today…I think this was the final push I needed."
"I plan to make good on my word to destroy what's left of Reaper Squad," he concluded. "I've still got miles to go before I sleep for good."
"Then it looks like you've chosen the path you're going to walk," Fatman said. "Hang in there, Kid. Let's get out of here."
"…Ash."
"What?" Fatman asked in confusion.
"Ash…" the mercenary replied. "My name is Ash…Ash Jarnefeldt…"
"'Jarnefeldt'…" Fatman trailed. That was a name that spanned back who knew how long…said to belong to a scientist of legend from centuries—possibly millennia—ago. Unfortunately, all knowledge of that name was lost right up until the technology from the Towers was uncovered.
"Nice to finally hear your name, Ash," Fatman said. "I'm coming in to pick you up. You've really earned some rest after today."
Ash grunted as he stuck the shoulder right back into the socket, letting out a yelp of pain as he pushed hard against the seat. With an audible "pop", the joint set into place, leaving his arm limply hanging. He would need to get that in a sling as soon as possible—admittedly, setting the joint back in place on his own was an obscenely stupid and risky move, but he pulled it off.
As Ash panted in rhythm with the pulsating pain, he sighed and attempted to block it out. The events of the day repeatedly looped through his mind, and he focused so much on it that he forgot all about the pain.
"I hear you, Fatman," Ash said with a sigh. "Let's go home…"
Unbeknownst to either of them, the channel was still open—Magnolia Curtis had heard the entire exchange. From the past to his feelings all the way to the man's name, what she heard made her mind reel…
Ash Jarnefeldt…she thought. I suppose you were right about one thing: we really have changed roles. But…was it really for the better? I guess we'll find out when we next meet…