Chapter 7: The Bloody Honey Cannot Stop
The moon illuminated the pitch black NEXT as it soared through the skies, its add boosters glowing like a sun in the heart of the night. The pilot sighed as he neared a large cave hidden quite well away from what remained of civilization. As the NEXT swooped down into the dark crag, he heard a loud rumble from above his head.
"Oh great, there's Maebure." He scoffed, landing Yin on the barely illuminated runway just below the surface. The pilot disengaged his NEXT as the large mech landed next to him, shaking him nearly off of his NEXT as he was trying to climb out.
"Jesus, Maebure, you might wanna take it easy on landing that piece-a-shit you call a mech! You're gonna wear out the shock absorbers." He snapped, his heart beating from nearly falling head first onto the concrete.
The behemoth mech started to rattle as the core opened up, revealing the pilot. Her hair streamed dark blue and down past her waist. He piercing bright blue eyes glared at Sangue, the pilot of Yin.
"Keep your insolent mouth sealed shut before I have to weld it shut." She snapped, her expression barely changing as she climbed down from her open NEXT, looking way from Sangue, as if disgusted by his presence.
"Yeah, fuck you too." He growled, finally putting his foot on the runway, treading behind her, far enough away from her so he didn't have to listen to her.
Maebure stopped as they reached the doorway of the stronghold. She pulled out a keycard and swiped the reader. She quickly strode in and turned to face Sangue. She motioned for him to follow, and he started to, until she pressed a button near the entrance and slammed the sliding metal doors inches from his nose.
"You're a prick." Sangue growled. "You know I can't get in, 'cause I don't have a key card." The door suddenly reopened and Wynne D Fanchion was standing in front of him, holding Maebure aside with her right arm.
"Get in. Now." She barked, pushing Maebure aside so Sangue could get in. He quickly ran in so Maebure couldn't shut the door on him again. Maebure snarled at Wynne as the blonde girl continued walking, ignoring the threatening demeanor. "Malzel has something to talk to us about. Something about the Redemption."
Maebure scowled before coughing and regaining a calm composure, striding past Wynne to the main monitor room.
As they entered the large expansive room, a tall, strongly built man stood at the far edge, his blood red eyes scanning the large radar on the monitor. His wavy black hair reached down to his shoulders. His expression was blank, but had a slight spark of ferocity, with slightly arched eyebrows and a constant frown.
Malzel turned to face them as he heard their footsteps, his eyes scanning over them like a hawk.
"Where's Damon?" He called across the room. Wynne looked at Maebure, hoping she knew. She shrugged and shook her head. Sangue did the same, but with less of an attitude. "One of you must know where he is."
A light laugh echoed across the room as a door on the sidewall swung open. Before them stood a tall and thin man with dark gold hair and black eyes, patches of his exposed skin covered in thin plating, especially on his neck and right cheek. His lips were twisted in a wicked grin.
"Who on earth is this, Wynne?" Malzel raised an eyebrow, not removing his eyes from the newcomer.
Maebure spoke up. "He is known as Nineball. He was the former rank 1 in the times of the Ravens. He was defeated by a skilled pilot deemed "Ninebreaker" because Nineball had held the rank in the Arena for such a long time." She explained. "I recovered his Armored Core and refurbished it myself, while my mechanics were working on my mech, and I happened to find what was left of him, and used what we know about Kojima particles to give him life, with the assistance of a cyborg technology."
Malzel looked from Nineball to Maebure, not amused in the least. "And why is this cyborg laughing evilly?" Malzel asked in a monotone droning, raising an eyebrow high.
Maebure started to get nervous that her plan to impress Malzel would not work, since Nineball was being a maniac for some reason. Maebure was about to cut her losses when Nineball grinned and walked a few steps forward, throwing a heavy red and black mass in the middle of the room.
Wynne started at the mass for a second, then nearly vomited in disgust as she realized what the heap was. "Oh my god… he… he killed Damon!" Wynne yelled, staring at Nineball fiercely.
"My logic is fully explainable." Nineball began. "He tried to kill me, seeing as I was not human. Basic reaction, I understand, but my normal reaction, as a living being is to defend myself. He just didn't stop struggling, even when I tore off his arm and smacked him upside the head with it a couple times. He didn't even stop when I started to rip his torso apart… Foolish being, that… what'd you say his name was, Damon…? Anyways, the weak die anyways. I saved him the prolonged belief that he had… That being that he thought he was strong." Nineball shook his head as he spoke, looking over at the crumbled and leaking body of Damon.
Wynne scowled at him as she held back her wrenching stomach. "You monster! Maebure, how dare you bring such a being to our side!"
"Wait, Wynne." Malzel began, looking over at Nineball, who had a devilish grin on his face. "If he kills those who try to kill him, and doesn't stop until they're dead… doesn't that make him the cliché Perfect Killing Machine?" He asked, looking over at his blonde comrade. Wynne's expression, still laced with disgust, cracked into a wide grin.
"Hey, Nineball…" She turned to face the killer with a plan in mind. "Would you mind seeking someone out for me, and ripping him to shreds?" She grinned wider as Nineball nodded.
"Did he harm you, comrade?"
Wynne laughed. "He destroyed my NEXT, and nearly killed me at Carpals."
"Then my logic would be sound." He responded. "When shall I leave for this battle?"
Wynne thought, and then laughed cockily, crossing her arms. "Whenever you're ready."
Nineball laughed. "When it comes to sound logic, I am always ready for a battle."
The entire base grew quiet as the night settled upon the group of Lynx pilots. The occupied infirmary was dark, as the lights went off around midnight to conserve power. The only person up was Silver, who was suffering from slight insomnia. His head was wracking ideas of what could be going on, and it had been for a few days now.
'What on earth is going on… New NEXTs, different mechs, excavations? Good lord, how strange can this week get?' He sighed heavily, turning on his side to look out his window. The crescent moon shone down on the ocean, creating a waving reflection that shook left and right, back and forth as the ocean churned. He admired the natural beauty, smiling softly as his eyes began to get heavy. The only sounds he could hear were the calming sounds of the ocean, and a light whirring sound. He quickly opened his eyes. 'Whirring sound?' He jolted out of bed and quickly ran to his window, looking for the source of the sound.
Out in the distance, he could spot a bright orange glow, and two other light blue glowing lights next to it. Obviously, the behemoth mech had returned, with an ally.
"Crap!" He yelled, running out of his room and to the hangar bay. "Shit, shit, shit, this cannot happen!" He yelled as he ran through the hallway.
Aozora, Neo, Mark and Qwerty all woke up at the sound of Silver running fast through the base.
"Silver? What's the commotion?" Neo called out as Silver nearly rounded a corner.
"Get ready for battle! We have three approaching enemies!" Silver called back, turning the corner and running even faster. The four who had woken up all looked at each other and ran after Silver.
Maebure sat back as her monstrous mech flew easily next to Yin and Nineball, not even having to use half of its power to be level with Yin's extreme speed. Nineball sat uneasily in his cockpit, a big grin on his face from ear to ear.
"So this guy is apparently skilled, huh?" Nineball asked, his NEXT's head turning to the behemoth. The mech nodded, but Maebure remained silent, her mechs orange eye staring straight forward at the approaching League base.
"Oh lookie here." Sangue scoffed as he noticed four fast moving light sources on the runway. "They noticed us. I think it was your Overweapon, Maebure. Shouldn't have activated it."
"I have a method to my madness." She snapped quickly, increasing her boost to move ahead of the other two. Sangue shrugged and continued his speed as Maebure lifted in the air more.
The massive mech disengaged its high-powered boost and slammed down on the runway, creating a crater in its place.
"Seems like you came back for a fight." Qwerty aimed his NEXT's shotgun at the mech, which did not stop moving as it landed. "Wait… Guys? Is that the weapon that tore up the girls' NEXTs?"
"You better move!" Mark called as they all split apart and broke formation. Qwerty quickly followed, boosting off with Mark to the right.
Maebure did not stop and divert her direction. She continued moving towards the base, her weapon extended outward.
"Shit! Someone stop her!" Aozora yelled just before the massive mech ramming into the wall of the base, ripping a rotating hole in the concrete. The wall started rumbling as she pulled back her weapon, and it collapsed without a decent support system.
At this point, Nineball and Yin landed on the runway as well, nearby Mark and Qwerty. Nineball aimed his heavy rifle at Mark and proceeded to light up the distracted Lynx. Velvet Blues quick boost turned and began firing at the red NEXT. Nineball swiftly avoided the attacks and backed up.
"Ohhh, no. I must complete my mission fair and square. No one else is to hit me." Nineball smirked, gripping his blade trigger readily. "Which one of these is Silver?"
A loud quick boost sounded from behind Nineball, and the startled pilot turned around to see a heavy shell blast him in the face, sending him flipping through the air and landing heavily on the runway, sprawled out.
A black NEXT hovered in the water, its heavy grenade rifle barrel smoking. The NEXT held the same blade weapon Nineball carried; the Moonlight. The only difference was it was black and had a shuriken decal in the middle.
Nineball quickly jumped up, aiming his rifle at the newcomer. "Who are you, and why have you attacked me? My mission has been compromised now!"
The pilot grinned and laughed. "I am the one you're looking for. My name is Silver, and I don't need to explain myself to you." He launched his NEXT forward, preparing a blade slash. Nineball laughed maniacally, getting his blade ready to counter.
The bright blades clashed as they leapt into the air, a crackling sound and blinding flash exploding in between them. Both NEXTs leapt back, continuing their countering and striking at each other as the runway erupted with action.
Mark dodged as Yin launched at him, clipping the side of his Primal Armor with an energy blade.
"Come here so I can slice you up!" Sangue laughed as he boosted around Velvet Blues rapidly, easily avoiding the gunfire. Mark gritted his teeth and dropped his assault rifle, drawing out his storage energy blade.
"Time for a bit of close quarters combat." Mark turned and boosted in front of Yin.
"You sure you wanna do that?" Sangue smirked, boosting forward to slash. Velvet Blues launched forward, destabilizing Yin with a strong impact. Yin staggered back, due to its low-stabilization legs, and was quickly struck by an orange flash across his shoulder. Yin's right add-on booster's engine fell to the runway with a clatter. "Dammit… I'm gonna take off your arm for that!" Yin's side add boosters disengaged, flying off as he leapt at Velvet Blues, raising his sword.
Mark quickly tapped the quick boost to the side, and then did a 180-degree turn and fired a few shots from his machine gun. Yin quickly predicted this and continued boosting, avoiding the shots as the distance between the NEXTs increased rapidly.
"Jeez, this guy likes boosting around." Mark mumbled angrily, still trying to fire at Yin. Yin quickly turned around, zigzagging away from the bullets as he neared Mark.
Qwerty decided to jump in as Yin launched himself at Mark. He aimed his Sampaguita shotgun at Yin's trajectory and fired, knocking Yin aside. Qwerty then aimed his rail gun point blank at Yin, firing off a direct shot that blew a hole in the tip Yin's Lahire core. Yin quickly backed up, taking to the skies.
"Pfft, fuck this. I'm not dying here." Yin quickly turned around and activated its Overboost, quickly leaving the battlefield.
Qwerty tried to get a lock on with his rail gun again, but by the time the gun had reloaded and recharged, Yin was long gone.
Neo and Aozora both circles Maebure's mech as it fired off rounds from its heavy assault rifle, barely missing them. She gritted her teeth and launched high in the air, rotating her mech with a quick turning boost, the folded up Over Strike weapon sending Nirvana flying across the runway as Red was forced to face the massive mech's rifle.
Aozora quickly let go of the ignition as the heavy rifle fired off loud shots, so Red dropped just out of range and below Maebure. Red's energy wings folded over and unleashed all six blasts from beneath the shadow-laden beast. The behemoth was sent backwards, its core scorched by the massive amount of energy.
The mech's faceplate opened up and the teeth showed again, a screech emitting from the headpiece. The Overweapon began its activation sequence, the heavy weapon lighting on fire and spinning rapidly. Aozora landed heavily, her energy supplies needing recharging. The behemoth let out a roaring sound as it raised its meat grinder, lowering rapidly towards Red.
Nirvana quickly popped out from behind the behemoth and grabbed its back, quick boosting backwards and throwing the mech as far as he could from Aozora, which was only a few meters away due to the weight. The behemoth turned around swung at Neo's NEXT, who ducked, barely avoiding the whirring blades. Neo quickly swung his blade, digging barely into the legs of the mech. The behemoth swung again and Neo boosted backwards, once again avoiding the heavy swing. Neo then noticed the damage Aozora had done, and quickly switched to his Sapla grenade launcher, aiming for the scorched spot. He fired, the loud shell launching sound waking everyone who was miraculously still asleep in the base. The impact was so close; it knocked Nirvana back, but also knocked the massive mech to the ground with a heavy thud. The core of the mech had been blasted nearly open so Maebure could see through a small crack in her cockpit out into the outside world.
The Overweapon folded back up, the faceplate closing up as the mech's back began to charge Kojima energy. Neo and Aozora quickly moved aside as the behemoth activated its maximum speed Overboost, plowing by the other NEXTs on the runway and away from the chance of defeat.
All that was left now was Nineball and Silver, blading each other furiously, neither able to get a strike in. After a while, Nineball looked around.
"Huh… Cowards, these so-called "Mercenaries"… I think I'll take my leave, Silver. Wynne's revenge will have to be a bit late."
"What… Wynne's revenge? She sent you to kill me?" Silver gritted his teeth. "Whom are you working for?" Both NEXTs leapt backwards, staring each other down, and then Nineball shrugged.
"With all honesty, I don't know. I'm just like you; an old pilot who is fighting for what he believes is right. We're not so different." Nineball grinned and turned around, Overboosting away swiftly.
Silver slumped in his cockpit, closing his eyes. 'Not so different… huh?' He thought as the sun showed signs of rising over the dark horizon, the sky lit up with a mix of grey and crimson from the dust and pollutant particles in the sky. What a beautiful sight it was. It was about the only beautiful thing left in the world.
So, after quite some time, and deleting and retyping of awkward scenes, I got this to actually come out decent, for a chapter with weird characters interacting… I hoped you all enjoyed it! Chapter 8 probably won't be out for some time, because I need a recharge to gather ideas, so at the latest, it'll be out in week.
So, basic repetitive comments; Read and review, spread the word, blah blah blah… Please keep viewing! The support is greatly appreciated!
Next chapter has yet to be named, and might be the first of the non-Armored Core For Answer OST themed chapters. Stay tuned folks!
