Armored Core: Titan Breaker

by Professor Curly

It's been over two centuries since the Great Destruction, and humanity's retreat into the underground megacity Layered. A city dominated by elite mercenaries called... Ravens.

1Chapter One- Exam

"Hello! Please, what is your name, what is your favorite color, and will you be my friend?"

The line was silent for a solid ten seconds. The red head didn't really notice though, her smile never faltering, emerald eyes wide in innocent anticipation. Her skin was well tanned, almost glowing in the light from her various displays that showed all relevant information about her machine like energy levels and internal temperature as well as armor integrity and how much ammunition remained in her weapons.

Not that she was paying attention to any of that at the moment, she was patiently waiting for a reply from her hopefully new friend. His response wasn't quite what she expected, "Are you... High or something?"

Tilting her head to the side, she motioned her main camera situated above her cockpit in the head of her unit to look down, thinking, "Well, my cockpit is a fair distance from the ground, why do you ask?"

An exasperated sigh filled the air around her, as the frustrated sounding man explained in blunt terms, "Listen, kid. I'm don't want to be your friend. Right now, all I care about it getting this stupid exam over with so I can go home. My favorite color... I don't have a favorite color. And as for my name, call me Falcon. Death Falcon."

"I see..."

For some reason, just the way she said that made him feel like a complete jerk. Which, was really an odd feeling for him. Normally he was quite used to being a jerk; It had stopped bothering him a while ago. Yet, now he cared that this green recruit was probably crying in her cockpit, "Ah, look I'm sorry. I've got a lot of things on my mind right now, about ten different people breathing down my neck and I've never been a real 'touchy-feely' person. Unless you happen to be a really hot chick."

He smacked his forehead as soon as he said it, kicking himself mentally, "Girlfriend DF, you already have a girlfriend. A girlfriend that can kick the living crap out of you and who is currently in 'that' time of the month. You do not need her finding out that you've been flirting with the new recruits. Must have discipline..."

Now, he had in fact said those exactly lines to dozens of females. And he had heard responses ranging from insults, to laughter, to interest. His conscience ridiculing him about it was a new addition, but the lines had remained almost unchanged. However, for all the times he'd said them and for all the responses he'd heard, nothing compared to what came out of the girl's mouth.

"Um... The air-conditioning unit in my core is functioning quite well, and I do not believe I am a recently hatched bird. Please, I thought it was bad if you were very hot in your core."

"Okaaay..." He said, shaking his head inside of his cockpit thinking 'is this girl for real?'. Then he pulled up a registration form on one of his secondary displays, routing his keyboard to it, "Moving on, we need to fill out your registration. Answer the questions when I ask you them alright?"

"Yes, I am ready."

"Right, full name?"

"Kori Anders."

"Spell that please."

"K-O-R-I A-N-D-E-R-S."

"Thank you, age and birthday?"

"August twelfth, 236. I am seventeen years old."

"Man, you guys keep getting younger... Height?"

"Five feet, eleven inches."

"Pretty tall for a girl. Weight?"

"Um..." She bit her bottom lip, "Must I answer that one?"

He rolled his eyes, "Yes."

She whispered it to him, so that he could just barely hear her, "...And I trust these records are kept in strict confidence?"

"Ya, right... Sure... Well, I think I can guess, but sex?"

"Uh..." Kori began, her cheeks blushing beat red, "I am not married..."

"No, that's four questions away," He said with a frown scrolling down a bit, before shrugging his shoulders, "Ah screw it, if your sex isn't female I'm never speaking to you again."

"I do not engage in intercourse with other females!"

"What? What did that have to do with anything?!"

"You said that you were putting down that my 'sex' was 'female', and I want it stated that I do not believe in having sexual intercourse before marriage, much less with other women!"

"Well good for you! I was asking what your sex was! You know, gender? Whether you are a boy or a girl? For the love of all that is holy, did you grow up on a Martian mining camp?" DF asked in a voice raised by his frustration induced anger.

"Oh... Forgive me, please. Perhaps I should've said this earlier. In the area that I grew up in very few people spoke English in day to day life, and I am not entirely fluent in it yet hehehe..."

"Oh, well that explains a lot...". Needless to say, by the time it was done Death Falcon was bashing his head against his display, which was thankfully very sturdy and shatter-resistant. He should know; His head had in fact slammed into much harder than it currently was in the past and it had proven itself quite hard to break.

"Finally, last question. Raven name?" He asked with a sigh of relief.

"Ummm...?"

"...What do you want your alias to be, and trust me don't use your real name. It's just painting a big red bulls eye on your back."

"I see... My Godfather always called me Starfire, would that be appropriate?"

"Starfire it is. Make it a habit of answering to that name. In fact, as of now that is your official name from now until you leave the fold. Which can't be any earlier than five years. Now Starfire, before you can become a Raven you must pass this entrance exam. Once you begin this test there is no backing out; Last chance if you want to change your mind." He asked with a weak smile, already knowing the answer, but wanting to make sure just in case. The middle of a battle was a bad time to get cold feet after all.

Her voice was steady when she answered, much to his relief, "No, I am sure in my decision."

"Good, we will be at the target area in ten minutes."

Silence again. Starfire felt her body moving slightly as the massive truck that held two Armored Cores lumbered along the Layered Super-Highway 53 made it's way down the road. Suddenly she became nervous, as if all the fear and anxiety that had been residing just under her skin suddenly decided to rise up in her throat and make her heart begin to race.

"Excuse me, mister Falcon?"

"Dang it kid, if you're going to call me 'Mister Falcon' then just call me DF."

"Oh... DF... I am curious. What would happen if I were to, fail this exam?"

"In all likelihood? You would die." He told her in a 'matter-of-fact', uncaring kind of way.

Starfire gulped, trying to keep her fear from overcoming her. It wasn't just the prospect of death, it was the way in which he had said it. So calm and off-hand, as if it was nothing. That the extinguishing of a person's life was something that wasn't to be taken seriously, as if it were business as usual. What had she agreed to become?

"I see..."

"You may think that's harsh; It is. You are currently piloting one of the most powerful weapons of war even devised by man, there has to be some deterrent to keep every tyrant wannabe or crazy radical from trying to become a Raven. We have a bad enough name already."

"I understand."

DF sighed, placing his face in his hands. He'd done this many times in his career, and he never got over how shaky their voices got. He could hear her fear over the radio, practically see her shivering as it finally settled in that this wasn't a game, "Look kid, you're still young. Don't be like me; Don't throw your life away like this." He told her in a soft, concerned voice, his face never leaving his hands.

"A-are you saying that I will not be able to succeed in this mission?"

"All odds are that you will; Almost no one fails the induction exam, those without that basic level of skill are weeded out in the initial training phase. But once you complete that mission, once you become a raven... The Cortex owns you."

"I... I am appreciative of your concern, but I cannot turn back now. I've come too far, worked too hard for this."

"I see..." The truck decelerated, before finally coming to a stop, "Alright, we're here. Cargo bay opening."

The side of the vehicle swung open like a massive door, the thick armor plating exposing it's occupants to the outside world, allowing Starfire to carefully maneuver her core out. And it was quite a sight to behold.

It towered at just over thirty feet tall, it's thick bipedal legs providing a stable, sturdy base for the rest of the machine. It's torso, or core, was blocky. The thick chest plate provided ample protection for the pilot, and from the center of it sprouted a small mobile gun that was designed to shoot down enemy missiles while they approached, a basic but effect AMS (Anti-Missile-System)..

The core, like all cores, was proportionally longer than you would expect, meaning the distance from the front of the core to the back of the core was almost twice as much as it was from side to side, or height-wise. That put more armor in front of the pilot and behind the pilot for additional protection. Also, it meant that back of the core was far enough from the arms for weapons to be mounted on it that could be fired over the shoulders, earning them names like 'Back Mounts' or 'Shoulder Mounts'.

The arms themselves were like the core, blocky and rugged with heavy armor protecting every system within. And the head was the same way, heavily armored and somewhat ugly, but cheap and practical for most uses. The entire AC was painted a standard steel-gray. In it's right arm it held a standard rifle-type weapon, and mounted on it's left arm was a vaguely triangular device with the point of the 'V' pointing towards it's hand. From the point of the 'V' it could emit a focused beam of highly powerful energy, but due to it's lack of range and the energy drain of it's use it was only really useful for quick slashing attacks which earned it the title of a 'blade'.

On the left back mount was a slab-like piece of metal with various other devices attached at the base, yet it's seeming simplicity was deceiving; It was in fact a radar, with decent range and a basic but effect array of battle sensors. And on it's right back mount was a box-like weapon which held dozens of small missiles just waiting to be unleashed from their prison.

Boosters attached to the bottom of the core glowed orange as they powered up, ready to propel the mechanical wonder at incredible high speeds, and a hum filled the air as it's internal systems powered up.

This core and weapons set-up was very famous around Layered. It was the standard core assigned to all new ravens. Some called it a 'piece of crap', but most fondly referred to it as the 'training wheels'. All ravens started out with this AC, made entirely of cheap Crest Industries parts. But none kept it, customizing their machines at their first opportunity.

"This is raven trainee Starfire, systems check complete, ready for my mission."

"Good."

She turned her core's head to the side at the sound of Death Falcon's AC moving. She gasped in shock and jealousy at what she saw. It was much smaller than her core, and every part was streamlined. The long, narrow core came together at it's AMS gun, which stuck out like a needle from the front. It's legs were stick-like compared to hers and sported an extra set of boosters for improved speed. Spikes shot upwards from it's arms in an almost fin-like fashion; Probably for improved stability and control at high speeds. And it's head was curved back and smooth, the only thing that disturbed it's smooth surface was a wide 'v' shaped visor-like slit that contained it's main cameras. This slit glowed dark red in contrast to the blue and white paint scheme which reminded her of pictures from before the Great Destruction, when there was a 'sky', and not the metal roofs of Layered.

It was thinly armored though, she knew. And it's weaponry, only a high-ammo capacity machine gun in it's right hand and a blade on his left arm which, while it was higher quality than her's, didn't make for much of an offensive punch. She knew that in order to pilot such an AC took extreme skill, and she was awed by it.

"...What's wrong?"

"I-I am just admiring your AC... How long did it take you to assemble it?"

"Six months for the basic frame, another year for the internal systems like the generator and radiator. But enough small talk, you have a mission to be thinking of."

"Oh, right."

"Now, normally we have a mock up section of deserted urban area for you to fight in, but we thought this would be more appropriate given the circumstances. This sector was damaged in that earthquake last week, and hasn't yet been repaired. It's a small area, and many of the buildings weren't really worth repairing anyway, so Crest really didn't place any priority to it. That didn't go over so well with the residents that refused to evacuate."

"And this has to do with me?"

"Right, well apparently Crest had a cache of MTs hidden in the zone, which they thought had been buried in the earthquake, but they weren't. We suspect there to be a dozen MTs. Your mission, clear the area of any and all hostile MT forces."

"Alright. What kind of MTs are they?"

"Chicken-bots." He told her without thinking.

"Erm...?"

He smacked himself in the forehead when he realized who he was talking to, someone who sure as heck didn't know raven-slang, "Reverse joints, about 3/4s the size of an AC. They have two HADES rocket packs in place of arms and a rifle on the torso, but they can't move fast and are weakly armored. Watch out for the rockets though."

"Why?"

"They're in this box type thing with all the rockets pointing out one side, twenty five rockets to a box. Normally they only fire one rocket at a time, but since they don't have to reload there is little stopping them from letting loose a full barrage, which will eat your armor away quickly. Trust me, I've had it happen to me once. It's not pretty."

"I see... So if all twelve of them were to fire their weapons at me in such a manner..."

"That's why they still MTs honey, but these guys won't be that coordinated." DF flipped a switch on his radio to speak with the operations officer, "Alright, we're in position. Unlock the doors."

Two blast doors opened on the side of the large, tunnel like super-highway, sliding outwards to reveal a broken down, decrepit urban area. The building were in disrepair, or toppled completely. The pair of ACs made their way down a street, looking both ways for any signs of enemy machines. Starfire turned as the doors slid shut behind them, locking back into place with a loud snapping that sounded final, absolute.

His voice became cold and monotone as he told her simply, "The rest is up to you. I am merely present in the context of an observer, I will not help you in any way."

With that, he was gone in a bright blue flash of his boosters. Starfire shivered suddenly; She was alone. Worse, she was surrounded by enemies, people who wanted her dead. Her nerve was holding, if only just, but she knew that this could be an ambush, even as she stood with her eyes glued to her radar.

"Uh... Falcon?"

Silence, nothing. Shaking her head, she steeled her resolve and started forward, her core's loud footsteps echoing in the otherwise quiet sector. The gloom from the emergency lights was eerie, putting the already haunting desolation into an entirely different tone of foreboding. Her eyes wandered from one display to another, hands shaking on her controls.

That's when she heard it.

"A raven! Attack!"

Suddenly MTs began to power up, appearing on her radar as red dots. She cringed at how close they were, and had to boost to the side in order to avoid several rockets. Her orange boosters weren't as powerful as the ones on DF's AC though, and what's more her AC was heavier, meaning that it was an even closer call. Several rockets impacted the building she was hiding behind, causing it's already weakened structure to give way and collapse, kicking up a blinding cloud of dust.

More rockets, and rifle fire came through the smoke, while she wandered through the smoke trying to dodge all she could. The rifle shots didn't do much to her armor, but her cockpit shook violently as a random rocket hit her in one of the legs. Warning messages flooded her displays, and she had to fight back the urge to scream. Then another rocket blast, not a direct hit but close enough.

"I do not wish to cause you harm, please power down your MTs and surrender!"

One of the pilots laughed harshly, "Listen to this girl! Power down our MTs, heh. Should we kill her now or disable her core and kill her later?"

"Stop messing around you idiot, she's a Raven! Keep firing!"

Another bombardment, and then Starfire sighed, "I see... Please forgive me."

Satisfied with the cloud of smoke and dust from their exploding rockets and rifle shells, the three MTs that had been firing upon her AC ceased, scanning for any sign of their enemy, "Did we get her?"

The answer was revealed to him soon enough; A resounding no. Starfire's AC shot out from the smoke, firing her rifle as her Firing Control System(FCS) got a lock on the closest MT. It fell backwards from the force of the bullets impacting it's feeble armor, exploding soon after. The death cry of it's pilot echoed in her ears, but she had to block it out and move onto the next target.

As she continued boosting forward, sparks flying from the friction of the feet of her unit sliding across the ground, the second MT fell under a withering assault of bullets from her rifle. Unfortunately the close distance and relatively slow speed meant that the third MT was able to land hit after hit with it's rockets and rifle, and in places internal systems were suffering damage. While it was mostly superficial, it was still a problem that needed to be dealt with, quickly.

Turning towards the reverse jointed robot, she activated her blade. Shooting forward with a sudden burst of speed, she brought the beam of energy around in a wide arc that cut the MT cleanly in half. Only the glow from her AC's main camera could be seen in the cloud of smoke from the wreckage of the three machines.

But she knew she couldn't stop then, and quickly switching weapons to her missiles she boosted towards a lone MT a fair distance away from the others, patiently waiting for a lock to solidify on her target. The pilot frantically fired every rocket that he could, to shake the Raven off of him. His nerve broke, and he bailed from his machine just as Starfire fired a missile. The shockwave knocked the pilot away from the machine and slamming him into the ground. Starfire didn't notice, firing another missile which penetrated into it further and destroying it as well.

Missiles, rifle shots, and the occasional blade strike. The MT pilots didn't stand a chance, even against a novice pilot in a third-rate AC. In minutes, only two of the dozen original MTs were left. They backed up against a line of buildings, waiting for her AC to appear. They had their rockets on full burst; Near on one hundred small rockets stood ready to fire.

Starfire caught her breath, hiding behind several buildings. She knew that the MT pilots were well aware that she was there, and that they would be able to track any of her core's sluggish movements. Her mind was in overdrive, trying to figure out a plan of action that didn't involve her core becoming a molten pile of metal and circuitry.

"What the? Where did that come from? Did they send two Ravens?"

"I dunno, I can't see it! No, it's behind-AHH!"

"Jeff, where are-"

Her eyes widened in her cockpit at the sounds. Her radar suddenly stopped displaying the location of the two hostile robots, as if they had been destroyed. Then she smiled, "Falcon?"

Moving her AC forward into the clearing where the two MTs had been, she expected to see the sky-blue and white machine of the experienced pilot standing over the wreckage. However, that is not what was waiting for her.

It was black, with streaks of red down the middle. It's legs were somewhere between the bulk of her Cores and the stick-like thinness of the ones one DF's, and it seemed made to have the epitome of balance between armor and speed. On it's shoulders were emblems, a long and yellow demonic skull. Also, on the sides of the shoulders were two triangular devices that stuck upwards into the air, emitting a pale purple glow. Try as she might, Starfire couldn't find it on her radar, and her FCS was unable to lock onto it.

"Hello my dear, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I simply couldn't resist the urge to take in a new student."

"Um... Student?"

"Yes, you see I am the headmaster of a rather prestigious institution called the HIVE Academy."

Furrowing her brow, it took Starfire a moment to place that name. She gasped when she did, "You are the Brother Blood!"

"You've heard of me, I'm flattered. I offer you freedom my dear, freedom from the Corporations, from the Global Cortex, from the Controller itself. And I can teach you, teach you to be more powerful than any Raven in the Fold. Join me."

"You are a mad man, a thief, and a terrorist! I will have nothing to do with such a person!" Starfire yelled at him angrily, remembering his last 'lesson', which had involved an attack on a Corporate hospital that killed hundreds of innocent people.

"I see. Then I'll have to end your existence won't I?"

Blood's AC shot forward far faster than she had expected, but it did not fire any weapons. It had a three-pronged device on it's left arm from which sprung a blinding blue beam that made the air around it shimmer with heat. She felt faint as she watched him approach. Firing her rifle blindly, she knew it wouldn't stop him and her missiles were useless unless she could lock onto him. Tears welling up in her eyes, she mumbled, "No, it's not supposed to end like this... How can my journey end before I have even truly begun?"

He drew closer still, as her bodies adrenaline surged through her body like a fiery flood of molten rock. With tears still in her eyes, she screamed. Fear, anger, and desperation united into a single war cry that made Blood hesitate if only a second before slashing his blue beam of energy at Starfire's machine.

It was met with her own orange blade at the last second, deflecting the blue beam downward but not stopping it from cutting straight through one of her core's legs and severely damaging the other. As the Armored Core fell to the side with nothing to support it, Blood boosted back out of the way smiling.

"Impressive. Tis' such a shame to have to waste such potential."

"The only thing you're wasting is my oxygen, freak."

Blood turned around quickly, eyes widening. There on a building across the clearing stood a blue-white AC. Though it was light for an AC, it still weighed several tons, but the building supported it. Most structures could; Designed with the ever present danger of the ceiling collapsing in mind any well constructed building could support the equivalent of ten ACs standing on them. However, with this emphasis on up/down strength the integrity against the shaking caused by Earth quakes or collateral fire could damage and even topple structures. Which was why the building groaned dangerously beneath the giant robot.

"I see, so this was an entrance exam," Blood said cooly, "I'm glad to know my sources are still as good as they once were."

"How did you hack into the Cortex mainframe?"

"If I told you that, what kind of example would I be setting for my students?"

"What kind of example do you set anyway? Weren't you supposed to have died last time when some raven destroyed the headquarters of your so called 'school'?"

"Well, I suppose I was, but dying never really appealed to me."

"Heh, I'm afraid I have bad news then."

"What's that, pray tell?"

"Death comes on swift wings; It's my job after all!"

The back of DF's core clicked, while four came out of it in an 'X' shape with energy building in the center. A high pitched shrieking filled the air as the machine began to shake, and with a final boom the AC rocketed forward at hundreds of miles an hour faster than it's normal boosters could ever have propelled it using the core's built in 'over boost' system. The structure his AC had been standing on collapsed under the force of the take off, and sparks flared up from his core's feet as they slid across the ground as if it were ice.

Blood boosted back as Death Falcon activated his blade which was also blue, but a darker blue and much longer than Blood's. The red and black AC only narrowly avoided damage as DF turned his core around in a giant U-turn. For an ever so short moment in time the AC was motionless with white flames of energy pouring out of it's back.

That is the last thing Starfire saw, white light coming out of a blue being with a blade held at the ready, "My... guardian angel..." She muttered, before passing out from the injury she had received when her AC had fell.

Then DF zoomed back at Blood who couldn't react fast enough this time and paid for it with a large gash on the back of his core. DF stopped his over boost after he put some distance between them, breathing hard. He cursed at the lack of damage his attack had inflicted. His weapon paid for it's length with it's power. His eyes darted to the energy gauge on the side of his main display. It was in the red, and though his generator was replenishing it quickly he suspected that perhaps he had done a bit too much showboating with that last move.

He heard clapping over his radio, "Impressive, truly. Few are those who can maneuver so well using OB, and that two strike blade attack was phenomenal."

"It's generally not good to inflate the ego of the one who's going to kill you."

"Well then, it's equally as good that you haven't complimented me yet. For you see, all that skill will do you no good against me!"

Blood boosted forward before DF's energy had fully recovered, but he was renowned for his ability to keep a stead/increasing energy table even in the most heated of battles. Using his boosters to 'hop', he would boost backwards, cut off the thrusters, then boost again just before he hit the ground to cushion the fall and then start the cycle over again. Not as fast as straight boosting, but it allowed him to gain back energy and still move quickly enough to fight and dodge.

Not that dodging was his primary concern due to his opponent's lack of a ranged weapon. Thus Blood could not answer to the withering spray of machine gun fire that issued forth from DF's 1000 round weapon, the MGW-1000. It's shots were comparatively weak and the weapon was heavy, but he could keep a constant stream of bullets going without really having to worry about running out which was useful for his fast paced 'bait and feint'/'hit and run' style of fighting.

"Shade extensions, make you invisible to both FCS and radar..." DF commented, before smiling, "Unfortunately for you, they wear off and can't be used for a while if keep them running too long."

Dodging what he could, Blood gritted his teeth as the bullets impacted his core's armor, most just leaving dents but if they continued to bombard him like they were it wouldn't be long before they started punching holes. His core was faster than DF's, but not by enough to close the distance as quickly as he wanted to. Then he noticed what was coming up behind DF's core, something that made him smirk.

"You're mine now!"

Of course, the experienced raven realized exactly what was happening just before Blood said something and instinctively brought his core to a screeching halt mere yards from slamming into the metal/concrete wall of the sector.

"Dang it!"

"Die!"

He looked back to see the red and black core coming for him, with it's right arm pulled back as if it were going to punch his AC. Eyes widening, he moved to the side just in time. The arm of the Blood's machine came forward in a punching motion, and from a device attached to the arm shot a spike of solid metal that pierced the wall as if it were butter.

As the spike retracted and Blood's core rounded on DF again, he grimaced, "A parry blade... how... quaint."

Parry blades. Like their cousins the energy blade, they were designed as close combat weapons, and were similar in appearance with one striking difference; Parry blades featured a large spike protruding from the front. Using a mixture of the core's momentum and highly powerful magnetic acceleration that spike could puncture any armor, no matter what it was. Not even the most powerful energy blades could match a parry blade in sheer one-strike power, but the parry blade was also notoriously hard to connect with. Unlike the energy blades that could be slashed, the parry blade was limited to thrusts which were considerably easier to avoid.

"You won't get that lucky a second time!" Blood yelled at him, charging forward again, this time with his energy blade.

However, he was kept at bay his opponent's blade. They darted back and forth, flicking out their blades as if their core's were fencers and the beams of concentrated energy were rapiers. Feeling out one another's skills, and weaknesses. Brother Blood's core which had glimmered as if it were brand new was now dull, with dents and small cracks in the metallic armor along with sparks coming out of the slash on it's back. Death Falcon's core on the other hand hadn't been touched yet, his renowned skills at evading proving true.

"People have been fiercely debating the MOONLIGHT versus the HALBERD for months now. I say the power of my MOONLIGHT will be the death of you, Falcon." Blood said with a smirk. The MOONLIGHT was the most powerful energy blade in existence, hands down with no competition.

However, the HALBERD proved itself to be just as well used, being lighter and having a blade length nearly double that of the MOONLIGHT making it much easier to hit with. Which is why DF used it, it's weight and how it made slashing as he boosted by a target easier. Still, he glanced down to his trusty blade doubtfully, "We could argue this all day, but I have a gun and that trumps both of them."

So DF began to booster-hop backwards again, firing his machine gun with a smirk. Blood cursed, then tried to activate the triangular devices on his shoulders again. The Shades unfolded and emitted the purple sensor disrupting radiation for a moment, before folding back and an 'error' message appeared on a side screen which he promptly smashed in frustration. He had to chase after DF, making him an easy target for the machine gun.

"You know Blood, only a few things really tick me off. One of them is people picking on ladies like the one over there. Especially ladies that are newly inducted raven hopefuls!"

Stopping suddenly, DF raised his blade and slashed. The sudden move caught Blood by surprise, and nearly cut the right arm of his AC off, and before he could counter-attack DF was already out of range using the over boost he'd been charging. More bullets pounded on the core, and finally the armor buckled and tore away beneath the constant pressure. Staggering as it's internal gyroscopes were damaged, it was a testament to Blood's skill at piloting that it was standing at all.

Death Falcon kept firing though, until like a sentinel the Armored Core fell to the paved street, sparks flying from every imaginable area. DF slowly walked his machine up to Blood's, and began gloating, "You know, I'll probably get a medal for capturing you."

He received a communication's link from the fallen machine, so he opened it. A balding gray haired man appeared on a secondary screen, leaning back in his cockpit. DF immediately noted that the man had no restraining straps on. How could he pilot without being strapped in? Wait a minute...

"Indeed, you would get a medal and more for my capture. If I was in the armored core before you that is. I hope your life's a blast."

The link ended, and an unholy rumble came from Blood's machine. DF barely had time to widen his eyes and begin boosting away when in an explosion not unlike a super-nova the heavily damaged red and black machine self destructed, the force of it taking out many buildings in the immediately surrounding area and caused Death Falcon's core to slam into the ground. It slid several dozen yards on the ground, before coming to a halt.

Eerie silence filled the air as the dust settled...

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The year differed depending on who you asked. According to some, it was 2542 AD. However, the few that hold this belief are in a small minority of scholars and archaeologists. Not to say that anyone really doubted this date, it's just that it held no meaning for them. The majority of people simply said that it was 253 PDE. Post-Destruction Era.

Earth had been ravished by war and man-made diseases, stripped of the natural resources upon which humanity depended to survive. Attempts were made to colonize Mars to harvest that planet for the materials needed, but the small mining colonies simply could not produce enough to satisfy the needs of the now vastly over-populated Earth.

In spite of the growing population, wars themselves had grown even more deadly and devastating than ever before. New technologies made destruction on a massive scale easy and efficient. This was exemplified by the cutting edge weapon of war the Muscle Tracer, or MT.

A mechanized robot that used a new movement system closely related to the structure of muscles in the human body, allowing greater stability, versatility, and the ability to move on any kind of terrain and function in any environment. Desert, Urban, Forest, Marine, and preliminary attempts at adapting the MT to space combat proved promising. Coming in all sizes and shapes, from small hovering scout units reminiscent of hover-tanks from the 22nd century, to lumbering tread-based goliaths that were little more than advanced weapons platforms, to those using bird-like reverse jointed leg configurations, to spider-like quad-legged machines, and of course the humanoid design that gave the best balance of speed, power, and stability of any leg type.

Standard tanks were little more than nuisances to these new weapons, as were jets, artillery, and all other standard forms of warfare that had been used up to that time. The MT utilized the cutting edge of armor, weaponry, propulsion, and computer technology that made combat against it by anything other than another MT paramount suicide.

However, this age of advanced warfare came to an abrupt, bloody halt with the sudden use of nuclear weaponry that initiated a holocaust like the world had never seen, billions of lives being wiped away in flashes of light brighter than the sun, which was blocked out by the mushroom clouds in an extermination that came to be known as the Great Destruction...

Humanity survived because an alliance of the greater powers decided to take precautions in case of such an outbreak, pooling their resources together and with the help of certain Corporate contractors, created a massive underground mega-city, simply called Layered.

Layered housed millions of people, completely shutting them off from the outside world and protecting them from the explosions and radiation that saturated the surface of the once beautiful planet. It used the most advanced bio-sphere and environmental stabilizing technologies to keep the underground refuge habitable. But in light of all of the advancements that it boasted, Layered's most profound and admired feature was in fact a computer. A massive super-computer designed and programed with the sole purpose of methodically and painstakingly keeping the human race alive.

It was The Controller. And it's will was law.

And under the controller, were the Corporations. Kept in check by their AI overlord, they were the second most powerful group in Layered, the very contractors that had help build Layered. Of course, now safely within their creation, their hearts turned greedy and once again they decided to turn their attentions back to military advancements.

MTs found a new niche in society, now as the backbone of the Corporate powers, each struggling for control of Layered even while being observed by the all seeing Controller. Kiseragi, the smallest of the three Corporations, but also the most advanced which kept them from being swallowed up by their competitors. Crest Industries, the second largest and leaders in AI, making use of un-manned MTs, fortresses, and factories. And finally the largest corporation Mirage, who maintained their position through sheer power.

Kept in check by the Controller, these three Corporations were the new governments. But this balance was disrupted by the rise of a new weapon of war. One that made even the mighty MT look like a child's toy. This new combat vehicle was called the Armored Core.

Using a myriad of weapons and leg types, they were really little more than highly advanced MTs in appearance, however in performance they were in a league of their own. Dozens of MTs could be felled by a single AC in one battle, sustaining little damage itself. Indeed, this weapon could tilt the advantage to whichever Corporation possessed it. Yet it belonged to no Corporation.

They were the brainchild of a rouge group of highly skilled MT pilots and deserter engineers from the Corporations. Using a secret factory built even further underground, below an Urban area of Layered, they began producing these units, and offering their services to the Corporations without prejudice or bias to any particular one; Any job for the right price. At first the Corporations wanted to eliminate the new threat, but then they began to realize the possible uses of a such a neutral forth party. They could use these mercenaries to do their dirty work for them, and save their public face without worry.

Thus the Global Cortex was born, riding on the shoulders of it's brainchild the Armored Core Battle Unit. And the pilots of these juggernauts of metal called themselves ravens.

The Corporations began to produce parts for these ACs, offering them to the Global Cortex for a fee. A truly symbiotic relationship. The ravens performed the role of strong-arm for money which was in turn used to buy parts to make their machines even more potent and deadly, thus allowing them to take on more difficult assignments.

The public began to view the ravens as sort of icons, mysterious soldiers that couldn't lose. The aura of invincibility and mystery combined to make anything associated with the Cortex something of public interest. Then came the inevitable, when two ravens were hired in contradiction to one another by different Corporations. Having expected this to happen from the beginning, the Global Cortex's policy was simple: Complete your mission, despite ANY obstacles.

When the two pilots met in battle, the resorting fight was one that caused awe and excitement in all those who watched. People went straight into harm's way just to watch the raging conflict. One observer happened to have a camera on hand, and sold films of the action to everyone, earning him hundreds of thousands of credits.

Officials in the Global Cortex did not overlook this.

And the Arena was born. Like gladiators of ancient times, ravens would fight in customized machines of their making in head to head matches inside the contained walls of the Arena for the excitement of the crowd, earning the Cortex itself millions, if not billions. And with the Arena, came a ranking system that showed just how much a particular raven was worth. And with the ranking system came the coveted position of Champion of the Arena.

Even a century and a half after it's creation the Arena remains the single most popular sporting event ever conceived. And many ravens join the Fold with nothing but the singular dream of reaching the top and if only for a little while sitting on top of the throne. The throne where the kings of Layered sit. The Throne of Champion of the Arena...