It's been way, WAY too long since I've written something for fanfiction, but I figure this is a better time than ever with Ninebreaker being my game of choice lately. I've been re-inspired to write this story again, and hopefully I've gained insight to the workings of the AC stories enough to make this one a lot better. Hope you enjoy, and I'll deal with some of the complaints I've had in this chapter. There was a reason I did what I did with the Prelude.
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"Okay, I'll be there first thing in the morning. Thanks for the call."
Vince hung the phone up and leaned back in his chair, the last thing he hadn't packed up yet, save for the phone, but that had come with the apartment.
"Great... I get to be nervous all night about finally getting to be a Raven. This sucks a lot more than I had dreamed it would. Plus they're gonna send me off on missions where I'm going to be getting my head shot at."
With a shake of his head, he stands up and heads for the door, grabbing his jacket.
"Maybe a beer or two'll calm me down..."
The night progresses not as he expects...
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BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
"Shut the fuck up!"
With a loud smashing sound, the alarm clock crashes into a wall, and shatters. The sound stops.
Vince slides out of the side of his bed, and stumbles toward the bathroom. About halfway there, he realizes his clothes aren't where they should be- on him. Rubbing his eyes enough to clear the haze, he turns and checks out his room. The place is trashed, and his clothes are strewn across the floor.
"Wh- what the hell happened here!"
A short groan makes Vince jump, and the stirring under his blankets make his eyes clear up rather quickly.
"Who're you, and why are you in my bed!"
As the blankets unfold down the bed, a brunette beauty yawns and smiles at Vince.
"Mornin' drunk an' disorderly. Forget who your old girlfriend is, or what?" the woman says in a slightly petite, yet very sure-of-herself voice.
"Oh my god... Rina, we did what I think we did, didn't we?"
"You are a quick one, ain'tcha?" she retorts with a chuckle. Not bothering to keep the sheets around her, she stands and heads for the bathroom, giving Vince's privates a tap on her way by.
"You gonna join me, or is that too much for you this early in the morning?"
Following her into the bathroom, reluctantly, he shuts the door behind them.
"Rina, we gotta talk..." he says as she steps into the shower and turns the hot water on, "..'cause I know what happened, but how? I've not seen you in almost 4 years."
"Of course you haven't, silly... You never returned my phone calls, answered any of my letters... and you want to know why you haven't seen me?" she replied, beginning to scrub the sweat off from the drunken night before.
He couldn't really explain that one, so he lowered his head and shrugged, reveling in the sight of Rina's gorgeous backside. She wasn't really a problem, but he knew what she would want. Ever since he'd become an MT operator, she wasn't happy being without him. Jealousy led to anger, and that led to their relationships demise. It then dawned on him.
"Rina" he said softly.
"Yes, Vince?" she replied, looking back over her shoulder with a twinkle in her eye.
"There's... a problem... with you being here."
"And what would that be?" she questioned with intrigue, turning to face him and placing her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm... leaving, in a few hours."
Rina's face turned slightly pale, and she stepped back, the water running down her shoulders, trickling down the front of her body, over all the right places. Vince couldn't help but notice, and it showed.
"It doesn't seem like my being here is a problem, does it?" she said, color coming back to her cheeks.
"That's just it. You're not a problem, were I not..." he trailed off, leaving tension in the now steam-filled shower.
"Were you not what, Vince?" Rina asked with a strong hint of compassion.
"...Moving. I'm moving, Rina, and I don't think I'll be able to take you with me. That's the problem. I don't want to get involved... I mean, I want to, but I don't want to and have to leave you again. This time, it's... worse."
"I... understand, Vince. But do you have to go so soon? I just want some time with you..." she lowered her head, and he could hear her sniffling back the tears. He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly. She looked up at him, and amidst the water and steam, he could clearly make out the trails of tears down her cheeks. He hugged her tight, and whispered in her ear.
"I've always loved you. Even when we fought, I thanked every god there's ever been that I had you. But this time... I don't think I can take you with me, and that makes me want to stay... but I can't. You know that. I'm about to be a Raven, and that means I can't stay here... always remember that I love you."
With a kiss on the cheek, he stepped out of the shower and went to get dressed. He was about to have a long day ahead of him.
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The cargo truck had already gotten the last of his things when he started the drive to the Nest. It wasn't far, considering there were entrances to the Nest placed strategically around the city. Despite the ten minutes it took him to reach the gate, it seemed like an eternity after what had occurred in his apartment.
"Well, let's hope for the best, at least. Maybe I can get right into some practice and take my mind off that … beautiful, accursed woman."
As he pulled up to the gate, two guards stepped out in front of his truck, forcing him to stop. Probably an ID check.
"I'm sorry sir, but no civilians are allowed beyond this point" one of the guards stated bluntly.
"I'm Vince Tsyaerin, and I'm supposed to be coming here to take a new Raven position" he said calmly, or as close as he could get his voice.
The guard who'd spoke to him waved the other away, to which he simply nodded and trotted toward a computer console in the wall. After a minute or two he came back, taking his stance once again. Nodding to the first guard, he made no eye contact with Vince.
"My apologies, sir. We don't get word about new Ravens until just before we need to know. Head down to the parking garage and someone will meet you there to take you where you need to go. Welcome to the Nest."
With that, the gate was raised and Vince did as he was told. Down two stories and around a bunch of other vehicles, he finally found a space to park. Kicking the truck into park and locking the doors, he stepped out and shut the driver door behind him, taking a look around. The ceiling seemed unusually high for a parking garage, but it made no difference.
"Vince Tsyaerin?" came a voice from seemingly nowhere.
"Yes, but… who… where are you?" was the ignorant reply.
A woman, average height, well-above average size chest, and light brown, shoulder length hair stepped out from behind the car next to him.
"Sorry. Can't be too cautious when you're a Raven. You'll learn it soon."
"Alright… Well, you know my name, how about yours?"
"Oh, sorry. The name's Rachel, call-sign 'Huntress'. I pilot the Amazon AC. You, however, don't pilot yet, though you are a Raven. We'll fix that in about 5 minutes. Come on, we have things to do."
Her voice, though pleasant, seemed to denote nothing more than her job. Obviously she wasn't the best choice for a friendly welcome, but she seemed to know what she was talking about. Vince trotted over and followed her through the structure to an elevator. Stepping in, he noticed the floor button she pushed- '6'.
"How many levels are in the Nest?" Vince asked innocently.
"Around 20. The first eight are the only ones for human occupants to traverse. The next two are for mission debriefing and the like. Two more are for training and the arena. The rest of them are for AC and part storage. Those you aren't allowed in, unless you've called in someone to paint your AC."
"Wow… I never realized this place would be so big" replied Vince timidly. He felt more out of place ever moment he was in the Nest.
"It's hard to adjust to, but once you're in, it feels like home. Here we are."
She motioned for him to exit the elevator to the right, so he walked slowly so as to give her time to catch up. She did, and they took stride down the hall. From her information, he learned that this floor was housing, where everyone came to sleep or just relax. His room was 112C, and they'd just passed 110C.
"Your room is right up there, second door on the right. Your roommate will introduce himself, and if he doesn't, make sure to tell him Huntress says it's in his best interest that he does. I have to let the Commander-in-chief know you're here… she'll probably want to see you before we give you anything."
"Thanks. I guess…"
She nodded and turned to walk away. After a step, she turned back.
"Don't let him scare you. He gets pretty vicious when provoked, but he's a great guy to have as a friend. I'd suggest getting on his good side off the bat, or you'll be in hell your whole time here."
With that, she walked away.
Vicous? What, is this guy psycho or something?
Vince reached 112C with no trouble, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to go in. He decided knocking might help.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
The door eased open, revealing the occupant inside. He towered over Vince, standing shy of six and a half feet, and weighing near 260. There was no way he was gonna piss this guy off.
"Whaddya want, man? I ain't buying nothing."
"Um.. I.. This is my room. I'm Vince Tsyaerin, new Raven."
"Oh great… Lemme guess, the Huntress told ya to tell me 'it's in his best interest', right?"
"Exactly. You know my name, so…"
"It's Brigade, 'til you either leave or beat me. Welcome to your room."
Vince nodded, smiling, and stepped past Brigade. The room was actually clean, and looked better than his apartment had. Nice comfortable couch, big TV, even a glass-top coffee table. If Brigade really was vicious, how'd he keep his place so nice?
"Huntress said you're a hard guy to get along with. That true, or she just screwing with me?" he decided to ask.
"She's right. You're about the sixth roommate I've had in the past 4 months. All of them tried to suck up, or put up, and neither worked. You seem like a cool guy, so I'll give ya a hint. Beat me in the Arena, and you'll have a friend with me."
"I'd love to, but I have no AC yet. Brand new to the Nest, unfortunately."
"That'll change in a minute or two. My guess is the chief is coming down to greet you personally. No idea why though. She's like that with certain recruits. Have a seat, bro."
Finding a nice spot on the couch, and the remote, Vince and Brigade sat and watched TV for a while. It didn't last long. A knock on the door cut their relaxation short-lived.
"Yo! It's open!" Brigade barked.
The door opened and a woman stepped in. This one was half an inch taller than Vince, and perfectly proportioned. Her hair was pulled back in a braided ponytail, and hung down between her shoulder blades. The color of it caught Vince's eye- it was black on the underside, but there were bright green strips running along the top of it. Her hazel eyes locked with Brigade's and stopped.
"Won't ever learn some manners, will you, Brigade?" she asked in a sultry, yet very hardened voice.
"Not until someone forces me to, ma'am."
With a chuckle, she turned her gaze to Vince.
"Raven, you have two things to do before I can leave you alone. The first is to tell me your callsign, and the second we'll worry about when we get to the shop. Now, as to that callsign…"
"Whoa, whoa, ma'am. First, as I've found out, introductions are usually appropriate here. You know mine, so how about your name?"
A flash of confusion swept through her eyes, but quickly vanished.
"Not many fresh Ravens ever cared to talk to their chief like that. Don't make it a habit, or you'll end up like Brigade here…" she quirked, "but you are correct. You are Vince Tsyaerin, and I am Colleen. Last names-"
"Are for friends? I've heard that elsewhere, but I know what you mean. You wanted my call-sign, right? Well, I hadn't thought about it until now, but…"
Apparently the chief knew her way around the place, for when Vince started thinking on his call-sign, she made herself a drink and took a seat across from Brigade. Vince, too, took a seat, still pondering on what he'd want to be called in the midst of battle. A few names had come to him, but none really stuck. Finally, he got the one he wanted.
"Alright, I got it."
"It's about time. I don't have all day, though I wouldn't mind relaxing once in a while."
"Sorry chief. Anyway, you're welcome to come relax here whenever."
"Thanks for the invite, but to the point."
"Yea. Not sure how it sounds, but, uh… Vince Tsyaerin, call-sign 'Talon'. I just wish I knew what my AC's gonna be called."
"Talon, huh? Sounds perfect. Don't worry about your AC, you'll be getting to that shortly."
"Huh? How's that?"
"I'm taking you down to the shop, and you're getting your one-time credit deposit. You can build and tweak your AC with that, but if you want to do anything else, you gotta take missions or win in the Arena."
"Oh. Sounds like a plan."
Sitting her drink down on the table and giving Brigade a once over, the chief stood and headed for the door. Vince was only a step behind her. He was far too interested in getting to see what his AC would look like that he didn't even acknowledge Brigade waiving him back.
Alright, sorry if this chapter sucked, but it's a lot better than the prelude. Anyway, please review and let me know what you don't like, and I'll work on it. Hope you enjoyed it a little, at least.