Paranoid Disclaimer

I do not own either the Titanfall or Fire Emblem franchises. Those belong to Respawn Entertainment and Intelligent Systems respectively.
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I'll try to avoid Titanfall specific terms, however, sometimes it's unavoidable without making the story seem wrong. The glossary will only be posted on the prologue to avoid unnecessary word count inflation.

GLOSSARY START

Apex Predators: Based on rumors you hear from enemy soldiers, the Apex Predators are a group of the most ruthless mercenaries in the Frontier.

Draconis: A transport ship. I can't go into detail without spoiling the plot.

Frontier: The setting of Titanfall 1 and 2 and its conflicts, the Frontier is the battleground between the Militia, people fighting for their freedom and the IMC, a manufacturing corporation that exploits planets on the Frontier for its resources

Ion: A titan using the Splitter Rifle. It's abilities are Vortex Shield, Laser Tripwire and Laser Shot. Its ultimate ability is the Laser Core, a continuous laser that needs a few seconds to charge up.

Laser Shot: Basically a sniper rifle ability. That takes out half a health bar from a titan (which have 3,4 or 5 bars depending on the class) Has no charge up time or shot delay and you can fire 2 shots in rapid succession. Slightly OP

Neural Link: The bridge that connects a Pilot and a Titan. Allows titans close to its pilot to read the pilot's thoughts and utilize its commands for rapid action. Essentially, the Pilot is the player and the Titan is the character. The shorter the distance the more effective. After a certain distance, simply the radio is used.

Northstar: Sniper titan that uses Plasma Railgun. Abilities are Tether Trap, VTOL Hover (Star is a modified Northstar capable of flight), and Cluster Missile. Ultimate ability is Flight Core which is a combination of VTOL Hover and normal Missiles. Lots of Missile.

Plasma Railgun: The Sniper rifle of the titan weapons, the Plasma Railgun has a slight travel time and can be charged to deal more damage.

Tether Trap: Motion-sensing trap that releases, at least in this story, steel wires with magnetic clamps. This is based on how traps only work on titans or reapers (Mini non-sentient titans). Able to lock down titans for a few seconds in the game.

Titan: Sentient machines around 20 feet tall used for a multitude of roles such as construction, transportation, etc. Used primarily for warfare in Titanfall 1 and 2 cause no one wants to read about a disenfranchised titan seeking her dreams of "Living off the fatta the lan". Estimations of weight based on BT-7274's 40 tonne chassis.

Vanguard-Class: A special class of titan capable of using all loadouts, it combines the speed of light titans with the armour of heavy titans. Basically the most overpowered titan.

Vortex Shield: Overpowered Shield presumably made from my tears, absorbs all incoming fire from the front before releasing it back all at once. Waiting out a vortex shield will lead to scientists finding your fossilized remains, still clutching a controller/keyboard and mouse.

GLOSSARY END
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And please for the love of Chin Chin if you have a question, try to review while logged in. If it's a question that crops up a lot I'll put it in the Author's Notes before/after the relevant chapter OR answer it in the story if it's feasible. Otherwise, I don't want to give too false an idea of the size of this story because I answer every question IN the story.

"Hello" is normal speech
"Hello" is thoughts/neural link conversation
-0- is my scene transition magical device for when I can't think of details here etc. short and simple.

Prologue

A single Northstar-class titan hovered several kilometres off the ground, silhouetted by the cloudless noon sky. Her pilot gazed at the mountains, graveyards for burning ships and droves of militia grunts.

"Good targeting Pilot." The familiar drone of the titan passed through his mind. "The engines of each enemy aircraft combusted. Chances of survival: Minimal."

The pilot considered his options. Fly down to eliminate survivors or refuel at the Draconis. Before he could decide, a crackling of the radio interrupted his thoughts.

"Viper One, this is Voodoo One requesting assistance, how copy?"

Brows furrowed in thought, the mercenary scanned the corpse-ridden ground once more before responding.

"Solid Copy. Sitrep."

"There's an enemy pilot and vanguard-class titan closing in on the Draconis."

Surprised by the enemy's rapid progress, he analysed what he knew.

"They captured the escort ships in only a few hours? Impressive. And the pilot controls a Vanguard-class titan. So this is why they made a personal request."

Viper glanced over his titan's HUD and grimaced.

"Agreed pilot," Northstar chipped in. "Excessive damage on the hull. Fuel and Ammunition running low. Warp drive is compromised. Extended combat not recommended."

Viper weighed his options for a few seconds before deciding on a course of action.

"Keep the warp drive powered. We might need it to escape."

"Understood."

Clicking on his radio, he reaffirmed his decision.

"Voodoo One, we're stalling the pilot, prep a Northstar-chassis for my return."

"Copy that Viper, good luck." The relief in Voodoo One's voice was palpable. It seems that the reputation of the Apex Predators as the most ruthless force on the frontier preceded him.

Calming his thoughts and beginning to plan, he turned off the radio and addressed his titan.

"What do we know about this pilot?"

Numerous videos and pictures popped up on the HUD, anything that was relevant to the pilot in question. A surprisingly sparse amount. "Based on the data we salvaged, this enemy pilot is highly skilled, cautious and quickly adapts to an enemy's tactics and behaviours. He is not to be underestimated."

Turning around towards the Draconis, Viper reconsidered what he knew, bouncing ideas off Northstar as she flew.

-0-

Cruising along the side of the captured ship, Viper relied on Northstar's sensors to detect the enemy pilot.

"Target sighted: Enemy titan using Ion Loadout. Firing Plasma Railgun not recommended."

Knowing he'd been heard during his flight, Viper dismissed using the element of surprise, instead soaring between the Draconis and the enemy, taunting them.

"Voodoo One, Viper's on station. Your journey ends here Pilot." Viper extended a single arm in front, palm open and waved to his side. "The skies belong to me.

Nowhere to run."

The metal palm snapped shut before opening and gliding to his front.

"Nowhere to hide." Viper clenched the hand once more, an image of calm arrogance. A bluff.

The plasma railgun suddenly tilted up and fired, six kilograms of molten slag driving into the enemy's hull and knocking them back several feet. The enemy Ion returned a laser shot.

"Left arm holding, recommend finding cover."

"I have something better in mind."

"Lucky shot Pilot. But you won't be making anymore. Dodge this."

Hovering at nearly fifteen metres off the chrome floor, Northstar rained dozens of armour-shredding missiles on the enemy position.

As he expected, the enemy dashed behind cover with a vortex shield raised, avoiding death by meters. Patiently waiting, magnetic coils hummed with unreleased power.

Seconds later, the enemy titan dashed out of cover, straight into Viper's aim.

His honed reflexes scored a direct hit on the enemy's hatch. Immediately cutting off the jets, he landed behind five feet of steel and re-assessed the situation.

Contrasting Viper's precise speech, Northstar rattled off advice, "Left arm damaged but holding, Ground mobility at approximately 78% efficiency, Enemy now recognizes phrase "Dodge This". Recommend avoiding ground traversal and utilize deception."

Situation reassessed, Viper flew off to the side and under the ship, outside of the enemy pilot's view. Re-emerging on the other side, Viper took advantage of the enemy's confusion and aimed for the left shoulder.

Instinctively whipping around, the enemy fired another laser into Northstar's damaged chassis before raising its vortex shield, slowly advancing towards Viper.

Viper slowly backed away, calmly firing off shots and keeping the enemy's sight firmly on him, ten metres off the ground. Though his shots were ineffective against the Vortex shield, the enemy pressed on to negate his ranged advantage.

Right into his trap.

Small explosives sounded and magnetic clamps slammed onto the Ion's hull, now caught in a Tether Trap.

Viper instantly halted, preparing to fire off a barrage of missiles.

"I've got you in the pipe, five by five."

Victory was his. The prey was caught. The snake darted in for the kill.

Until sirens blared and warnings exploded onto the HUD. The enemy Ion had returned all of his shots, bombarding Northstar's chassis and jostling her warp drive. Alarmed, Viper looked to her for confirmation.

"Pilot, eject now! Warp Drive malfunctioning."

Recognizing his defeat, and subsequent death, Viper's last thoughts in this world turned to his titan.

-0-

Across the veil dividing worlds in a burning forest, fragile soil slowly yet surely cracked from a relentless torrent of lava. Within this perilous footing, a small group of soldiers unwaveringly held off hordes of monsters. Arrows soared true, thinning groups before they even raised a weapon, lances impaled the more tenacious ones and swords slashed whoever remained.

Even when surrounded and outnumbered by these mindless beasts, even as molten rock slowly consumed the battlefield, even when the very air filled with smoke and ashes, becoming treacherous to breathe, Robin held full confidence in her allies. But when she released another thunder into the approaching hordes, she happened to glance to the night sky.

A loud crack not unlike thunder accompanied a cloud bursting and scattering its vapor across the sky. Despite all the ordeals these tenacious warriors faced and overcame, it was but one colossal monster which sealed their fates within their minds.

But this would not be the last battle of the Shepherds, nor the last day of Viper.

With a resounding crash, the very ground cratered. Those at Ground Zero were crushed beneath a war machine's unyielding chassis. The luckier ones were thrown off their feet or merely staggered.

As these survivors prepared for a bitter end, they stared down what was supposedly death's cold eyes. An unblinking gaze flashed across the ground, noting and assessing everything in sight. Its owner rose to its full height.

Forged from metals far stronger than anything this untainted world could fathom; its head would have reached a village's walls with metres to spare. Fists with a reach rivalling its height held a cudgel of unbreaking steel suitably designed for a giant's use. It remained silent, but there was clearly no need to announce its presence. That it was an insurmountable force.

A Titan.

First contact was never a peaceful ordeal when it concerned the Apex Predators, and even though he remained unaware of where he'd just appeared, this encounter would be no exception. This conflict was hardly his first, and it would it not be his last, but simply a prelude to the path of destruction he would blaze.

And so, the journey of the flame-faced demon begins. Beset on all sides by foes and ruin in a devastated warzone.

How fitting for a pilot.