Prologue
Disclaimer: I don't own the Armored Core series, Software does. My OCs and their NEXTs belong to me.
Armored Core: Demons of Hell
On the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah, a 6-year old boy was walking by himself. He had long black hair that reached the back of his neck and it almost covered his face, he had deep blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, his attire consisted of a white shirt, black shorts, socks and aging shoes and a knife was housed in a sheath attached to a belt on his shorts. His shirt was covered with blood and his left arm had a vertical healing cut on it caused by a hunting knife. His eyes were distant and held pain and sadness. Then he heard a girl scream so he heads to the origin of it, he soon arrives at the origin and saw a bunch of teenage thugs picking on a girl around his age.
The girl said, "Stop it! Leave me alone!" What the thugs were doing to this poor girl was disgusting. The black-haired youth decides to take action.
He walked up to them and said, "Knock it off!"
The leader of the gang taunted, "Oh, what do we have here? Mr. Tough Guy. You think you can take us on all by yourself, shrimp?"
He pulls out a knife and the boy warned, "Get out of here." The teen didn't listen and strikes but the black-haired American quickly dodges the knife and twists his right arm before punching the thug.
The thug exclaimed, "You brat!" He tries to attack again but the challenger moved out of the way and knees the thug in the gut hard, causing him to drop the knife and fall to his knees. The last thing he saw was the 6-year old slamming his shoe right into his face.
Another thug said, "He knocked out the boss! Get him!" The black-haired looked at them with no fear on his face and the next thing that can be heard is fists flying and yells. The girl didn't dare to look. The American executes a vicious uppercut to his final opponent and when the girl turns to look she sees her attackers on the ground moaning in pain and had bruises on their bodies while her savior stood in triumph, panting all the while.
He walked over to the girl and asked, "You okay?"
The girl nodded, "Yes. Thank you for saving me."
The boy said, "Don't mention it." He heard the sirens of police cars approaching, "You better go on and get out of here, kid. Go on, your parents are probably worried sick about you." The girl nodded reluctantly and when the police units arrive, they see the girl and the beaten up thugs behind her. The police officer in charge instructed her to approach them. Soon the mother embraced her daughter and scolded her not to run off like that again, hiding behind a wall the boy listened in and when he poked his head out and looks at the pair, he felt his heart ache. He left the area and went to get something to eat, he soon arrives at his favorite little restaurant and he rang the service bell.
A voice said, "Coming!" Soon a young man appeared and recognized the customer, "Ah, Keith welcome. How are doing?"
Keith replied solemnly, "Okay I guess, Kyle."
Kyle nodded with sympathy, "Hm, it's not easy living without parents there for you. Anyway what can I get you?"
Keith answered, "The usual." Kyle heads to the back where he cooks the food. Keith waited and a bit later Kyle came out with a black tray that had a piece of fried chicken, bowl of hot mash potatoes with gravy, corn and a glass of water. Keith thanked him and begins eating, he was cautious around others on the streets because there can be shady people but Kyle could be trusted. Soon all of the food is gone and Keith emptied the glass. He gives the tray to Kyle and paid him before heading off. Kyle watched him leave.
'Poor kid, having lost his parents in that power plant fire and he's forced to live here on the streets.' Kyle thought. Ever since Keith lost both his mother and father to that fire, Keith was forced to live a life of kill and stealing. A street thug! Just doing everything to stay alive but Keith felt empty on the inside since he's an only child that his parents had. As he walked back to the place he resides at Keith looks up and spotted ugly storm clouds approaching, this was going to be a bad one. Keith reached his shelter underneath the stairs of an apartment and just in time before rain begins to fall. Keith hugged his legs and rested his head on his knees. He rubbed his arms to keep himself warm but his wet clothes don't help.
He shivered, "So cold. I would love to live in a warm place instead out here." He begins to cry since nobody was around. Suddenly he hears footsteps approaching his location and then stop, Keith looked up and saw the most beautiful girl he's seen. She had short blue hair, purple eyes and was wearing a shirt that had a badge of some organization that Keith hadn't seen before. The girl held an umbrella in her hand, she had a sympathetic look on her face then she kneels and placed a hand on Keith's cold cheek. The boy blushed from the warmth.
The girl smiled, "Hi, my name is Katrina. What is yours?"
Keith replied, "K-Keith Oswell."
The girl's eyes widened, "Keith Oswell, the son of Ryan and Serena Oswell?" She saw Keith nod and she said, "I heard of what happened to your parents, Keith. I'm sorry."
Keith averts his gaze.
Katrina stayed quiet and then asked, "Come with me to Collared. I'll give you a new reason to live and fight those who threaten to take your life."
'Collared?' Keith thought. Katrina held out her free hand with a gentle smile and Keith momentarily hesitated. Can he trust her? Most of the other street people deceived him and attempted to steal his things but he prevented that. Keith took her hand and follows her to a passenger train and they board it then take a seat. Throughout the journey, Keith remained quiet. Soon they arrive at Collared in Washington, D.C. and they reach the entrance. Katrina flashed her ID card to the scanner and it approved the signature and the entrance gates open up.
Katrina looked at Keith, "Come on, Keith let's go."
Keith nodded timidly, "O-okay." The base was huge in size and width, was rectangular in shape and was gray in color. Whatever this base is used for, it had to house something big to be of this size. When they enter the base, the interior was completely different from the outside. There were shops, restaurants, etc.
Katrina said, "The first thing we need to do is cut this long hair of yours." They enter a cutting salon and the barber welcomed them. Katrina said that Keith needed a haircut and the barber nodded, meaning he would do it. He motioned Keith to sit in the chair. The boy did what he was told and the barber placed an apron of some sort around the majority of his upper body leaving his head and neck uncovered. He started the process by first wetting Keith's hair then combing it to get rid of any knots that may have formed. He then measured the thickness of Keith's hair to see what size of attachment he will need for the hair clipper. Ultimately it settles to a large one so he attaches that to the clipper, plugs it in and turns it on. He uses a comb to lift the hair on top of the boy's head so he could cut it then he switches to the back of Keith's head and neck. The cut off hair pools on the floor around the seat. The barber stops using the clipper and next grabs a pair of scissors. He starts cutting hair along the edges on Keith's head carefully and switched between the scissors and the comb. Katrina watches the whole thing and noticed how calm Keith was being. She wondered if it was due to her presence.
'Wow, he really needed a haircut!' She thought in amazement as she looked at the amount of hair that was on the floor. The barber rinses Keith's hair one more time before using a towel to dry it then removes the apron and Keith stood and dusted himself off.
The barber offered a mirror, "What do you think of your new look, young one?" Keith grabs the mirror and looked at his reflection a bright smile appeared on his face as he observed his new hair style. It was now a medium length that stopped above his ears.
Katrina walked up and said, "It looks nice, Keith. Thank you, sir."
The barber smiled genuinely, "My pleasure, Katrina." Katrina pays the man the cost and the two next head to a clothing shop. Katrina asked what shirt size Keith wears and Keith said that he wore a small currently. Katrina picks out some shirts, pants, shorts, socks and size 11 shoes. She paid the toll and they head to have Keith registered. Katrina calls for an elevator and they wait for it to arrive. Soon enough the down arrow lights up and the doors opened up, Keith and Katrina step in and Katrina pressed the B1 button. The doors close in response and begin to take them to the selected floor.
Keith asked, "Katrina, I thought this was the base. I was expecting to see computers and all that kind of stuff. Where is it?"
Katrina answered, "The base is divided into sections. The first floor is where personnel come to relax and get fresh air when they're on break or off duty. The third floor is the resting quarters and the base itself is on the first basement floor." The elevator stopped moving, "We have arrived at our destination." The doors open and its passengers exit it Keith takes a good at the place. There was personnel everywhere sitting at computer desks with headsets on. Keith couldn't quite make out what they are saying but it looked like they were communicating with someone. Keith stuck close to Katrina. In no time they reach a room. At a registration desk they see a young woman in her early 20s with short blonde hair, green eyes, a slender body, and her uniform consisted of a button-up shirt and a skirt that stopped at around her mid-thighs. On the shirt was the same badge that Katrina had.
The woman looked up and spotted Katrina, "Hi, Katrina. Welcome back."
Katrina smiled, "Hello, Serene. What you are doing?"
Serene answered, "The person who usually deals with pilot registration is on lunch break so I took over until he got done." Then she spots Keith, "Who's this?"
Katrina said, "Serene this is Keith Oswell. Keith, this is Serene Haze. She is the operator to my NEXT."
Serene held her hand out, "Nice to meet you, Keith." In response the boy hid behind Katrina, "What's wrong with him?"
The blue-haired girl cried, "He's just shy. Anyway I want to register Keith as a NEXT pilot."
Serene nodded, "Very well." A big screen appeared and Serene typed in Keith's name and she told him that she needed to take a picture of him. They went over to a room that is used for taking pictures. Keith forces a smile on his face and soon his face is placed on the projection screen. Serene applies the final touches before an ID card comes out of a slot in front of her. She grabbed it and hands it to Keith, who gladly accepted it. Katrina gives Keith a tour of the base.
Keith asked, "Um, Katrina when you were talking to that Serene Haze person, you said that you wanted to register me as a NEXT pilot. What did you mean?"
Katrina answered, "I guess I should tell you the truth. You see, Collared is a management corporation. They take care of accepting missions and Arena matches. We NEXT pilots work for this organization since we're mercenaries. That means our loyalties lie with no one. We accept missions for money to repair, purchase parts and upgrade our NEXTs for tougher missions. Come on, I'll show you my NEXT." They eventually reach their destination.
Keith said, "Wow!"
Katrina chuckled, "Impressive, isn't it? That's the Armored Core I pilot. I named it Red Angel."
Keith cried, "That's one powerful machine. How come the hanger is here in the east corner of the base?"
The blue-haired girl stated, "Because these NEXTs aren't small. Plus this corner was typically abandoned when the owner found this base, he discovered that this place was big enough to house up to 6 NEXTs currently. A plan to increase this hanger's maximum holding capacity is underway all that is needed now is a stamp of approval."
Keith titled his head, "And I get to pilot one of these powerful machines?"
Katrina informed, "Come on let's head to living quarters so you can get cleaned up because you reek." They board the elevator again and soon reached the third floor and step out. They walk down the hallway until they reach Katrina's room which was room 246. When Katrina opens the door, the inside resembled an apartment room.
Keith asked, "I'm assigned to be in this room?"
Katrina explained, "You see, a Lynx has a room that has two beds, they have an option of having the room all to themselves or want to share it. The bathroom is to your left." Keith entered the bathroom and placed his new clothes on the counter, grabbed a fresh towel, got out of his old, stinky clothing, closed the shower curtains, turned on the water making sure it wasn't too hot. He sighed in content feeling the water hit his body. He spends 5 minutes in the shower removing pebbles and other nasty stuff from his hair and body. Katrina waited patiently outside and was relaxing on her bed reading a book.
'I guess I was really in need of a shower.' Keith thought with a chuckle. Then she hears the water stop running. Inside the bathroom, Keith opens the shower curtains and stepped out. He grabs the towel and starts drying himself off then he puts on his new clothing which consisted of dragon patterned underwear, a dark blue shirt and dark blue pants. He opens the bathroom door and walks out with his hair still a little wet. She looked at him and a blush appeared on her cheeks.
'My goodness he looks nice in those.' Katrina thought.
Keith said, "Um, Katrina you can stop staring at me."
Katrina snapped out of her trance, "It's time to start your training, Keith."
Keith nodded, "Right."
Red Angel Schematics
Color: Red with the back of the legs gray. Eyes are cobalt blue.
Head: ZHD-2000/SV
Core: CR-HOGIRE
Arms: 03-AALIYAH/A
Legs: LG-HOGIRE
FCS: Inblue
Generator: GAN02-NSS-G
Main Booster: 03-AALIYAH/M
Back Booster: BB11-LATONA
Side Booster: AB-LAHIRE
Overed Booster: KRB-SOBRERO
Right Arm Unit: 03-MOTORCOBRA
Left Arm Unit: EB-R500
Right Back Unit: HLC09-ACRUX
Left Back Unit: WHEELING-01 Multi-chain missile launcher
Shoulder unit: SM01-SCYLLA
A/N: Well, here it is everyone my Armored Core story! This story isn't canon so it won't completely follow the game's storyline. Also I added Red Angel's schematics here. Black Dragon's schematics are the same as it was in Vandread Raven.
Let's see. What else? Oh yeah, since the exact year where ACFA takes place isn't mentioned, so for right now in my story the year is currently 2004.
Katrina's rank number is 2 and Keith's starting rank is 31.
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Stick around for chapter 1.
Vader 23A