Heeyyy there mah bois (and girls, if there's any), aaannd it's invasion time! LLLEEEET'S GET RREEAADYY TOOO RRUUMMMBLLLLLEEEEE! Oh, and anyway, I updated the previous chapters. Again. God, why do I keep on having typos?! Anyway, Enjoy!

I don't own Armored Core or Muv-Luv


Chapter 2: Invasion - Part 1

10 Km from Sadogashima, at the other side of the Anomaly…

"Uhhhm…guys? Remind me again why we rushed the invasion ahead of schedule?" Hari asked the whole squad as they were hovering above the water 10 Km away from the other Sadogashima after they went through the Anomaly. The shores of the island could be seen in the distance.

Some of the pilots audibly groaned in annoyance. "You kidding me? Didn't you get the briefing video the League sent to EVERY ONE OF US, before we accepted the mission?" Gerald asked in exasperation over the comms.

Sheepish, Hari replied "Ehehehe… I uh, didn't watch it. Just accepted the mission right away when it said Invitation to participate in the Alternate World Invasion, with the sender being the League."

Leo chuckled as he reminisced that he did the same thing a few times before in his career in the first timeline. He then explained to the wayward LYNX.

"Zared, we rushed ahead of schedule because originally, we were supposed to invade on October, but the info we managed to get from the captured Type-MIND revealed that there's more of their kind here in the other side. The higher-ups are worried that the more we wait, the more we give them time to attack. So we'll strike them first before they do. At least, that and to look if we can assist the locals there."

Hari blinked, seeing that it was rare for Leo to call him by his real name. However, he just shrugged it off as he and Leo are friends. "Nah, there ought to be nobody left here but the Harvesters if they can freely send their forces to our world. The locals would've noticed the big-ass Anomaly and sent their own forces here the moment they've seen it." He said, regarding to the last part of Leo's explanation to him.

"Or maybe they can't send their forces because of the nearby Hive, idiot." Wynne chided him. She continued, "Wanna bet? 500 says the locals will contact us once we take the Hive."

"Oh, so you're taking bets with me now? You're abso-fuckin-lutely on." The LYNX grinned. The group's further talks were however interrupted by Thermidor. "Hey, the subs are beginning to attack the beach. Quit yapping and get ready."

(Play any awesome music made by FromSoftware's sound team "FreQuency" at this point for a BGM if you feel like it.)

The skies were then filled with red lights, lasers, explosions and smoke as the Harvesters were shooting down thousands of EX-DAGON drones and missiles launched by the submarines, while the battleships attacked soon after the subs did with their own weapons. The LYNXes then proceeded to boost towards their mission objectives as any of the laser-shooting Harvesters were preoccupied by the allied fleet.

As teams 1 and 2 went on to their mission objectives, Leo and CUBE stayed back to defend the landing force. They were not alone as groups of BFF-manufactured 044AC-F Naval ACs came along with them, with some armed with machine guns to complement their standard-issued sniper rifles. Strangely though, each of those armed with MGs have infantry teams sitting in their catamaran hulls.

"Must be the first wave. They're sending in infantry and Naval ACs to clear the beach for the bigger units." Leo surmised. "And Cyril and I here to minimize casualties as much as possible, since we've got like, 20 thousand men, 900 ACs, 3200 MTs, 6300 vehicles, 3 thousand aircraft, 411 ships of all classes, and 6 AFs. While the Harvesters have 5 million units, not even counting the ones within the Hive."

As the ally ACs began to fire at the enemies at the beach, Leo and CUBE proceeded to go ahead and attack the Harvesters on the landing site. CUBE opened fire with his machine guns, wildly jerking and circling around to dodge laser attacks. Leo on the other hand, he simply ignored the lasers as his NEXT's Primal Armor took the hits, letting his NEXT's generators recharge the shield near-instantaneously like he was never hit in the first place.

Seeing that CUBE is already taking care of the weaker Harvesters, Leo looked around for the bigger and more dangerous TK-Class units. His search quickly went over as he saw a group of Type-BULLs and Type-CRABs charging towards him, and there's at least 50 of them.

He smirked as he equipped the handheld laser blade and Kojima rifle that was kept at his NEXT's weapon hangars. He Quickboosted forward while shooting at the enemies, the Kojima rounds corroding through their tough armor like acid and killing them with ease, with the ones getting too close being cleaved in half by his laser blade.

"So far, so good. The first wave's already got a beachhead and the bigger guns are rolling in soon. Hey Cyril, what's your ammo count?" Leo asked the cyborg, calling him by the long-lived man's actual first name.

CUBE didn't mind it and replied through the comms, "I still have a good amount of ammunition. However, my calculations have predicted that my NEXT will run out of bullets before we can proceed to the Hive. I will retreat back to the fleet for a resupply once we gain a foothold here in the beach."

Leo nodded. "Alright, let's continue with the mission. Remember, take potshots and save your ammo. You gotta make 'em count and try to coordinate with the allied forces if needed. They can deal with HK Harvesters just fine."

"I know that. Let's continue with the mission." The cyborg replied as he Overboosted towards the nearing horde, with Leo's NEXT following soon after.


With Squad 1…

"Thermidor, on your 7. Type-SPIDERs." Explosions and gunfire rang out.

"Noblesse, a dozen Type-WATCHERs above the cliff on your 10." Said cliff collapsed from laser shots.

"Wynne, Serene Haze, 8 Type-BULLs, dead ahead." 6 dropped dead, but the remaining two Type-BULLs got away from Wynne and Kasumi and were proceeding towards Lilium, with the intent of crushing her NEXT.

"Lilium, look out!" Kasumi's voice rang as the two remaining Type-BULLs charged at her. However, the young LYNX calmly maneuvered her NEXT around the two Harvesters with grace like a professional bullfighter would.

She quickly aimed her assault rifle at one of the two and her laser rifle at the other, simultaneously shooting her weapons and finishing off the charging enemies from behind.

Wynne called out to her from the comms, "Geez, don't scare us like that, kid! What are we gonna tell your mentor if he hears that you died? He's gonna kick our asses, heal us, then kick our asses again!"

"I did not make it this far if I'm not skilled enough. Don't worry about me." Lilium replied in a very mature and formal manner, despite being just 19 years old.

"Uhhh…was Wong Shao-Lung really that bad?" Gerald asked as he never met Lilium's mentor. Thermidor's tone in his reply made their point clear to him.

"You wouldn't want to piss him off…he wouldn't have become Rank 8 at Collared if he's just a senile old man."

Gerald cringed. "Um…remind me to be nice to him the moment he shows up." Before he opened fire with his back-mounted EC-O307AB laser cannons to the remaining group of Type-WATCHERs on the field. Seeing that there's no more of the targets left, Thermidor called it in. "Squad 1 here. Area is clear of shooters."


With Squad 2…

Exhilarated. That is what Hari feels right now as he manically fired at the Harvesters surrounding him. Favoring twin 04-MARVE assault rifles over his 051ANNR rifles for this mission, he cackled madly as he mowed down one group of Harvesters after another.

"Man, ain't this great! Too bad the League won't let me use the Aretha like I once did when the EDL was almost breached." He exclaimed, his voice beginning to have hints of insanity in it.

Malzel deadpanned at him, "That last time you used that NEXT, you got too psychotic that you suddenly had one of your episodes. You better control yourself if you'd rather not have us killed by your stupidity."

The episodes Malzel was referring to involved Hari suddenly having a flame-like aura around him made out of psychic energy which manifested when his battle-induced psychosis finally reached a breaking point. There were a few dozen other psychics with a similar case and with varying triggers, but they all tend to go berserk and would aggressively attack friends and foes alike when it occurs to them. Hari however is exempt to such case, as he is still able to control himself and identify who his allies are.

This rare quirk among psychics is called the Robertson-Hetzler Effect Type 2, named after Lazlowe Robertson and Martin Hetzler, two researchers from Aspina who first discovered and documented the phenomenon. If there is Type 2, Type 1 is where two psychics, mostly twins or close relatives, would synchronize and act as if they were one person and with their abilities increasing to inhuman levels. Such case was observed in two deceased BFF LYNXes, Francisca and Eugene Wolcott.

Having heard of Malzel's reminder, Hari grumbled in annoyance and simply continued at fighting, albeit in a less aggressive pace. Malzel nodded in approval and went back to killing the approaching enemies at their flank with his twin GAN02-NSS-WR rifles and a back-mounted YAMAGA grenade launcher.

The team then heard Julius' voice at the comms, "Guys, I think I found our targets. There's a number of Type-WATCHERs and a couple of STINGERs and CYCLOPS about 1200 meters northeast of my position."

"I got one of 'em. Cover me when I'm done." Neo said as he began to charge up his LETHALDOSE Assault Cannon. Aiming at one of the Type-STINGERs, he fired a 5-meter ball of energy that whizzed through the battlefield and tore through the Type-STINGER he targeted, along with dozens of WATCHER units on the way. He then pulled back and deployed the ADDICT PA Chargers of his NEXT to recharge his depleted Primal Armor.

"Shinkai, with me!" Julius commanded the pilot of Split Moon. Shinkai coldly replied, "Understood." before boosting towards the enemy. The two then proceeded to eliminate the targets, with Julius killing off the bigger units with her laser weapons, and Shinkai wordlessly dispatching the remaining Type-WATCHERs at the field with his 03-MOTORCOBRA machine gun and 07-MOONLIGHT laser blade.

With their targets gone, Malzel called it in. "This is Squad 2. All targets in our sector are down."


With the Allied Fleet…

At the fleet's command ship, a 046CV1180 aircraft carrier named Camelot II, the communications officer got a report.

"Admiral, we got confirmations from LYNX Squads 1 and 2 and from our allies at the beach. Nearly all of the enemy shooters are eliminated. We can safely send in air support now."

The admiral nodded and commanded the officer. "Things are going as planned, now tell the rest of our fleet the good news and have them launch the rest of our units in the next wave." The officer then nodded and did as he was told.

Within an hour, the fleet's three carriers deployed all aircraft they could muster. Camelot II deployed various attack choppers like the 043AF20 and GAAH3-Comet attack helicopters, and battlegyros like the SUNUNU and NASR.

The second carrier named Muhammad have deployed transport units like the LAQLAQ and Flying Jolt helicopters, and drones like the Kubel bomber drones and Hymenoptera gunner drones.

Meanwhile, the third carrier named Akihito deployed assault planes and ACs like Galaxy stealth jets, Goshawk fighter planes and Argine ACs.

The remaining landing force came in as well. Large amphibious transport ships went to the beach, carrying mobile artillery units, trucks and tanks like the Monster Gatling assault vehicles, Procyon laser artillery trucks and Wild Boar MBTs, while the smaller transport crafts were carrying infantry units and in some cases, heavy assault personnel wearing GAP90-NOSHIELD power armor.

Leo certainly noticed the reinforcements and went at ease. He called out to CUBE, "Hey Cyril, reinforcements are here! You can pull back now and restock ammo!" in which CUBE was inwardly relieved at, seeing that his remaining weapons, consisting of back-mounted XCG-B050 chainguns, are almost out of ammo. He quickly went back to the fleet to have his NEXT's weapons restocked with munitions.

Some minutes later, the other LYNXes rejoined with Leo at the beach. Wondering where CUBE went to, Kasumi asked Leo, "Leo, where'd CUBE go? Don't tell me he didn't make it."

"Nah, he just went back to restock ammo 'cause he's almost out of bullets. He'll be back within 15 minutes, give or take. Logistics really work fast nowadays." He answered her, in which she nodded in agreement with his last statement.

He continued, "I suggest you guys do the same. Ya'll know how tough battles at Hives go." Which they all have agreed upon. They all had experiences at Hive attacks, and they also knew that one of the leading causes of death of a LYNX is to get killed by ammo depletion in the middle of a fight.

"What about you, kid? I'm sure you want to take a break." Neo told him. Leo shook his head, "No. There should be at least one NEXT here in the field to respond in case the Harvesters make some surprises."

Understanding his reasoning, Neo went off and joined with the rest. The remaining LYNX at the battlefield then sighed. "Well, time to go back to work."


AND DONE! 2.2K words and 2 days are what it took writing this chapter. Now, for the terminologies if you don't know the shit I wrote, along with some explanations:

Robertson-Hetzler Effect (RHE) – basically Prafka (Type 1) and Nastroyka (Type 2), but it's slightly different on psychics. They basically involved a "trigger" like Hari's battle-induced insanity as an example before it manifests. Why did I make it so unlike canon? Because Espers and psychics are different in many aspects.

EDL – European Defense Line

Type-STINGER – Fort-Class BETA

046CV1180 – I made it 400 meters instead of 200 in this fic.

GAAH-3 COMET – I can safely assume that it's designed by GA as the successor of the AH-64.

And for the LYNXes:

Zared Al-Qasar/Hari (23, Class 4): Has black hair and heterochromatic red (L) and green (R) eyes. Abilities are Pyrokinesis and Telekinesis. Has a variant of RHE Type 2.

Lilium Wolcott (19, Class 4): Blonde with gray eyes. Abilities are Precognition, Remote Viewing, Levitation and Telekinesis.

Gerald Gendlin (34, Class 4): Blonde with blue eyes. Abilities are Psychrometry, Psychic Surgery, Thoughtography and Apportation.

Eren Sadna/Malzel (26, Class 2): Black hair with few streaks of grey and maroon eyes. Abilities are Astral Projection, Second Sight and Energy Medicine.

Wynne D. Fanchon (32, Class 4): Has short ginger hair and peach-colored eyes. Abilities are Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis and Telepathy.

Neo Nidus (48, Class 4): Dark blue hair bordering black and dark blue eyes. Abilities are Dowsing, Mediumship, and Remote Viewing.

Julius Emery (26, Class 4): Light silver hair and pink eyes. Abilities are Claircognizance and Energy Manipulation.

Minato Aotsuki/Shinkai (33, Class 3): Coal black hair and eyes. Abilities are Telekinesis, Telepathy and Clairsentience.

Cyril Umbridge-Bethesda/CUBE (62, Class 3): Unkempt black hair and ominously glowing red eyes. Abilities are Psychometry, Retrocognition, Clairsentience and Automatic Writing. Experimental cybernetic and genetic augmentations caused his appearance and physical health to remain in his late 20s.

For the NEXT weaponry and unit names, just search for them at the Armored Core Wiki. That'll be all, folks! JaphetSkie, signing out.