Chapter 28: Sonata of Sorrow

Act 1:

Nothing but a massive cloud of furious smoke and earth could be seen where Sin Replica once stood. A combined attack of Fox Eye's Karasawa and grenade launcher, coupled with the back cannon of a still kneeling Echoic, had all but devastated the area.

"Wow... That was easy." a dispirited Q called over to Fox Eye. "I can't believe I used to let that guy get to me so much."

Jack-O ignored the statement, his AC slowly turning to the distance where Monsoon still stood over the remains of its victim, Fire Burst. "Rain, why didn't you fire?" he asked in a slightly disappointed tone.

"There was no need." Rain plainly stated. Her machine had been relived of its duel railguns, which were replaced by the most deadly back cannon on the market, which, due to its lengthy part name, was simply called the LX. It was a massive energy cannon that had the potential to destroy an AC in a single shot if placed well enough. No tinkering here, this weapon was death right out the box. "His AC was clearly in no condition to..." Rain slowed her words to a stop at the sight being unveiled as the debris from the attack began to clear.

"No way..." Q whispered as Echoic stood and took a few safety steps in reverse. Sin Replica was still there, and undamaged by their duel attack. The smoke finally with the wind, the AC was now clearly surrounded by what looked like some form of energy barrier. One so potent, even the dust particles in the air seemed to get a reaction out of it, the globe fizzing every other second.

I hadn't intended on using this for you guys... Damn you, Jack! Zen bared fangs at the fact, his finger still on the no longer 'mystery switch'.

"As I thought," Jack started as his machine turned to face Sin Replica once again. "you were using lost technology. Tell me, is this something you acquired from the factory you destroyed back then? Or, is it the spoils of one of your prior plunders?"

"Jack, you simple-minded fool!" Zen sneered over the radio. "Can't you see past anything other than restoring the way!?"

"There is nothing more important to me. Not even my life." Fox Eye raised its Karasawa again and fired off another spear of energy, which splashed and smoothed out about the surface of the defiant globe now fending for Sin Replica. "Interesting..." Jack-O responded to the event.

Zen decided to bank on the Ravens' ignorance of the technology, his eye shifting to the new gauge on his HUD, which was rapidly falling to the red zone. "Jack, the shield I just activated is absolute. There's no way to penetrate it. Now hear me out before you make a terrible mistake."

"There is no such thing as an absolute defense." Jack-O announced. "The current standing of your AC proves that, and though I'm sure you're up to something, speak."

Zen made sure to broadcast on an open channel for all of them to hear. "Alright... Within Borbos is an AI-controlled facility, which in actuality, is a giant doomsday device from a lost era, and it's still active. If the machines inside get free, everyone is going to die, everyone! All this time, I've been trying to prevent something like this from happening, and I've finally gotten both Mirage and Kisaragi to comply. This place is a Pandora's box, and soon, the corporations are going to send a thermonuclear warhead to completely erase this cursed facility."

"Jack." Rain called out, the tone of her voice clearly one of concern.

"He's bluffing..." Q replied to the warning. "There's no way something like that can be real."

"Hmm."

"I can't belive this." Zen sneered as he immediately reestablished a link to Mirage and Victoria, putting her through to the Ravens. "Victoria, tell them about the nuclear strike!"

"It's true, Jack. We're in talks with Kisaragi and Crest right now. And though Harriman is being stubborn, it's going to happen. I don't agree with Zen's ways of handling the situation, but we have no choice but to follow through."

Jack-O's face grew harder than usual with the news. "Victoria, I'm surprised that you of all people would take his words at face value, especially after what he just pulled on you."

"As I said, I don't approve of his methods, however, the evidence he sent us has already been confirmed as legit... Besides, I won't risk the lives of our people for this place." Victoria then paused at the realization that things seemed so calm on the surface of Borbos. "Wait, Zen, the devices aren't outside of the mine?"

"Luckily, no. It seems Jack and his group were responsible for the death of my consort out here. As for the suicide weapons, I managed to seal them in for the time being. And as far as I can tell, all the gates throughout the mine have been locked. As long as we don't disturb the mine itself until the strike, we might be able to pull this off without retaliation on their part."

"That's good news." Victoria exhaled, a great deal of relief flooding her body, along with a fresh spark of interest. "And you are sure this development won't allow us a means to perform at least a small amount of research before the act?"

"Victoria..." an obviously vexed Zen whispered upon hearing the request.

"Very well." she complied. "I'll update the others of the situation. Jack, though we now have time thanks to Zen's actions, we still plan to wipe away that area. There are bigger matters at hand than hunting down unlawful AC pilots. I suggest you lower you arms and have your people clear the vicinity. Zen, that includes you. There is no longer a need for you to sacrifice yourself." Victoria then finished in a warm tone before signing off, clearly a gesture for him to come to Mirage. They never quit...

"I see." Jack-O muttered. "Well, in that case, we must hurry." Zen sighed a breath of relief, but it was short lived. "Rain, Q, we take him down as planned and return to the Raptor."

"But..." Rain wanted to disagree, but she had signed a contract, and being the Raven she was, there was no backing out of it, unless Jack-O annulled it. Something that was clearly not going to happen.

"Jack, don't do this..." Zen pleaded as his machine took a step back, the barrier around it beginning to flicker somewhat.

Another Raven had a more direct approach than Rain. "Jack, no!" Macawi shouted, breaking her radio silence, which instantly revealed to Zen that the rest of the team were probably waiting about the area in order to ambush him if he managed to brake through, or decided to flee. "What Zen said has been confirmed, we can't just ignore that and kill him!"

"Macawi, dammit, you gave away your presence." Q grumbled. "Now he knows."

Etzam... did you come as well?

Jack-O let out a grunt at Macawi's unprofessional outburst. "Raven, you're jeopardizing the success of the mission. A special deduction had been place."

"Are you crazy!? You honestly think I care about something like that!?" Macawi defiantly shouted back, shocking several, if not all the pilots on the scene. "Jack, I took part in this mission because I thought we were getting rid of traitors, but it turns out that all along Zen has been trying to preserve more than even you have. Not just OUR way, but everyones, our way of life. Doesn't that make him Raven after all?"

Jack-O's stern eyes didn't flinch as they stared down the AC on his main monitor. Macawi's 'speech' did very little against the steel of his beliefs. "This isn't a Raven." Jack-O announced as he had Fox Eye point its giant laser rifle at Zen's machine. "Final warning, Raven," he called to Macawi. "if you get out of line again, you'll be executed..." A series of shocked breaths filled the waves at Jack-O's cruel announcement.

"Jack!?" a rightfully angered Q barked. "What the hell!?"

"This is not a democracy." Jack-O said in his classic, domineering tone. "For too long I've watched the Ravens' creed become misconstrued by the like of politics, greed, ignorance, rookies, and the bleeding-hearted alike." Fox Eye then lowered its weapon and took a proud and ground trembling stomp. "We Ravens were once the most feared individuals on the planet, mercenaries of the highest skill and honor, and answered to no one but the founding principles of old. I won't allow that order to take another lost step into the sands of time." Everyone there got where Jack-O was coming from, and deep down, they all knew he was right, totally... Even so, now was not the time for this, but that didn't deter the silver-haired vet, as one of the two Titan launchers over Fox Eye's shoulders came to life in order to punctuate its pilot's last sentence.

"Jack..." Rain tried once more, her voice pressing for his reconsideration.

"You've totally lost it..." Zen whispered over the radio, the memories of battling old friends beginning to enter his mind, which caused his eyes to become enraged. "You really want to do this...?" he then sneered, his anger continuing to surge. "Placing even humanity's future in peril for the order!? For a damn grudge!?"

"This has nothing to do with a grudge. I've never had one towards you. This has nothing to do with personal matters. This is all for the preservation of our order... A world without it, isn't a world worth existing."

Hidden, and their ACs in normal mode, Silphe and Sandoval listened to what was transpiring from their positions. "What do you think, Sandoval?" Silphe asked in his pro tone, his alter ego ignoring even the threat Jack-O made to Macawi, who didn't dare speak another word in fear for her life.

"Hm, I think Zen's on the up and up for once. If it was his goal to prevent this place from going live, a lot of what he's done now makes at least a little sense."

"And the fact that he seems to have already known what was inside Borbos doesn't trouble you?"

"To a degree that give me chills, partner." Sandoval chuckled. The dark-skinned Raven then let out a sigh as he reached for the custom helmet he had taken off during the wait. "Even so, Jack's obsessed with restoring the old ways. We'll be fighting soon," he added as he locked his helmet on. "you can be sure of it."

"It is unfortunate, I actually liked the guy."

"Didn't trust him too much, but yeah, there was something." Sandoval's eyes grew intense at that 'something', the thought of facing off against Zen. "We follow Jack's lead without fail, Silphe."

"Copy that."

"Order!?" Zen hissed in response to Jack-O as Sin Replica's shield gauge finally went dead and the barrier quietly faded out. Zen grunted at the error message being displayed as the gauge slowly began to recharge, hopefully it would finish before they noticed; the dust had cleared, so their was a good chance that it would seem like the device was still in effect. "Jack, there won't be any life left to follow order if you don't stop this nonsense and help me!"

Jack-O thought about it, but not for very long, because his sharp eyes noticed the dust at Sin Replica's feet blowing past freely. He also noticed that the left breastplate of the AC's Gaea had slightly split open, revealing some sort of mechanism within, which was beginning to release a thin vapor of bluish smoke. Jack-O smirked, realizing that Zen was stalling, and possibly using the time to fix the device. Suddenly, Fox Eye fired off a Titan missile, and Echo immediately followed with its rifle. With a generator still in recharge, Sin Replica had no choice but to strafe to the right, making sure the Titan didn't hit the ventilation shaft behind, for it would have surely set 'them' loose. Instead, Zen lead the sluggish missile into the side of the canyon wall, where it made a massive impact, bringing down a landslide of heavy earth and smoke, which further buried the pit to the underworld instead.

"I'll finish you off quickly!" Q called out as Echoic ignited its blade and tore into the fresh field of smoke after Sin Replica, who was now using it as cover. Jack-O, being a far more cautious pilot, didn't follow, and he and Rain simply waited like the pros they were. "How!?" Q shouted in disbelief to some unseen action. "GWAAAAAAA!!!" his pained scream then filled the airwaves as Echoic exploded from the ring of ash, the slowly melting AC literally being carried away by a punishing beam of energy. A lumbering Fox Eye just barely evaded collision as Echoic flew across the Mine, soaring past Monsoon, and leaving a dumbfounded Rain in its cockpit, who could only chirp up a few breaths in her shock. Echoic crashed hard into the canyonside and immediately went off-line, the entire front of the AC molten, leaving no traces of the Crest craftsmanship that once made it distinguishable.

"Q!!!" Macawi screamed, worried for her boyfriend and partner.

"He'll live." Zen called as the silhouette of a clearly recharged Sin Replica could now be seen boosting within the blanketing smoke. Not taking any chances of being victim to something like that, Fox Eye began firing its Karasawa and arm-mounted grenade launcher at the target.

"Rain, some assistance!" Jack-O requested, as Sin Replica evaded another spear of light and emerged from the mini sirocco, continuing to charge Fox Eye. "You won't leave this place alive, traitor!" Jack-O heralded to the closing mech.

"Roger..." Rain almost sneered to Jack-O's call. Monsoon then activated its machine gun arms and sent a shower of bullets across the area. Sin Replica turned to the side, sacrificing an already useless right arm, the bullets tearing and piercing its metal.

Zen directed his anger at the Raven desperately trying to end his life, his mission. After Monsoon's attacked paused for reload, Zen pushed his remaining main booster in order to reach Fox Eye, who was far too slow to get away. Zen wanted to lose the jammed left arm, and since he couldn't detach it on his own, he decided that Fox Eye could lend a hand, or better, a head. "Get the hell out of my way, Jack!!" Zen screamed as Sin Replica reared back and swung its lifeless left arm at the head of the giant AC. The stock of the M2 and Sin Replica's fist shattered as Fox Eye's entire head followed suit. The towering mech staggered back as Sin Replica blazed by, finally jettisoning its jammed arm with the melee attack. After passing by, Sin Replica immediately spun around in its boost, lowered its Geryon2s, and fired two beams which tore through the backs of Fox Eye's lightly-armored knees.

"This can't be!" Jack-O yelled as the force swung his AC forward into the air and crashing to the grounds just before its colossal lower legs, which were still standing... Fox Eye began to jerk about like a tortoise on its back, the pilot's raw pride trying to somehow continue the fight.

"Forgive me, Raven, but I can't let you kill Jack." Rain radioed as she fired Monsoon's LX at the one-armed Sin Replica before it could fire another round at the downed Fox Eye. Zen bit down as he pressed his AC to evade a wall of energy even greater than what his machine was capable of producing. Sin Replica's 'shield' arm became one with the light it just barely managed to evade, leaving the mech literally armless, though, it still had a single shoulder left...

"Sachko." Zen called, looking to the AC across the mine. "Fine, I understand..." he told her as his mech prepared itself.

"Thank you, Raven." she exhaled, a deal of release in her voice. Monsoon raised its machine gun arms and activated their secondary feature, greatly increasing the storm of bullets which headed towards the armless AC. Sin Replica danced as best it could while heading for the south end of the Mine, Monsoon stomping in pursuit. Rain grumbled at the fact that the mech's Geryon2s hadn't retracted, and were both at the ready. The thought of such an attack irritated her, which caused the normally composed Raven to lose her focus, and the moment she did, one of the beams made an appearance, the light causing her main monitor to brighten as the blast tore through one of her quad's knees, sending the mech crashing to a kneel upon the dusty grounds of the mine. With her mech practically disabled, she activated her LX and fired another hefty energy attack, which Sin Replica managed to completely evade this time. Before she could activate her energy replenishing extensions for another LX attack, Sin Replica quickly turned and headed off through the gates that lead out of Borbos. "Raven..." Rain whispered as the mech disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

After clearing the man-made tunnel, Sin Replica entered the canyon area. A place that held an infinite number of ambush points. With one of its main boosters off-line, Zen didn't take a chance at trying to fly away, especially with sharpshooters like Sandoval and Silphe about, and, possibly even Etzam. It was clear that they were going to use the terrain's natural gauntlet to deal him in, and blatant that Jack-O had prepared for numerous scenarios.

"Both arms are gone?" Silphe said to himself as Sin Replica came into view. "He's lost one of the main boosters as well. Let's see what you can do without the other." Front Runner was perched atop a ledge high in the canyon, prepared for a perfect manual snipe. With his machine in normal mode, Sin Replica wouldn't be able to pick up his energy source so long as he kept out of range. The moment the AC passed, Silphe lined up a shot without the aid of his targeting computers. "There..." he whispered as he fired both rifles, using his signature attack. The solid rounds hit dead-on, completely destroying Sin Replica's remaining main booster. The explosion sent the AC from a boost to a drunken run as it just barely managed to stabilize on its feet.

"Silphe..." Zen grunted as Sin Replica turned to see a swarm of missiles headed its way, which were avoided by a spry jump to the left. I was hoping you wouldn't take the shot. Guess I was counting on the wrong 'Silphe'... Zen thought. Silphe's hover AC powered into combat mode and took off down the canyon. "Can't risk this guy picking me apart here." he mumbled to himself as he hit the switch to the lost tech shield. He didn't get a barrier as a result, instead, Sin Replica's breastplate began to sizzle with more blue smoke as another error message appeared on Zen's main monitor. "I was foolish to think I could maintain Primal Armor using this shoddy technology..." Zen admitted as Sin Replica just barely dodged a duel round meant for its knee joint. Steady boosting was no longer an option, but with the work he had recently done on the machine, he could achieve a pretty decent running speed, especially with the loss of two arms and guns. Sin Replica gave its back to the approaching AC and began running, and at an incredible speed.

"What's this?" An almost stunned Silphe raised a brow to the feat before him, bringing his machine to a temporary pause at the bottom of the canyon as Sin Replica raced into the distance. Silphe quickly shook it off and gave chase, his hover AC tearing across the terrain in pursuit. "How are the joints of those legs holding together under such friction?" Silphe then checked his map and acknowledged the coming plan. "Macawi, I'm in pursuit. We'll be in your range in thirty seconds.. We finish it there..." The young Raven didn't reply to his call. "Macawi, respond."

"I'm here... I copy..." she finally answered. Clearly disappointed, Macawi prepared MMM for a missile barrage, every compartment on it arms and extensions coming to life.

"This guy..." Silphe almost growled, as Sin Replica darted left in its run, avoiding its fourth shot. "No one's ever dodged my attacks like this. It's like he can sense my actions... No matter, this will end in ten more seconds..." Silphe sharply told himself.

"There they are..." Macawi sighed from her position atop the canyon as she saw Sin Replica charging across the area with Front Runner maintaining a fixed distance behind. "Zen..." she whispered in her helmet as her finger trembled before the trigger. Macawi had faced and killed many opponents before, most notably, Castoff, and the thought of attacking Zen took her back to that tragic day.

"Macawi..." Silphe called over the radio. "It's time for your attack."

"I..."

"Jack will have you executed if you don't comply..." Silphe coldly reminded her.

"Do it, Macawi!" Zen suddenly shouted over the waves, shocking the pilots.

"Z-Zen!?" Macawi gasped. "How did you-"

"Silphe is right about Jack. He will have you killed if you don't fulfill your duties to this contract as Raven... Remember what I told you!"

"Did he tap into our communications?" Sandoval whispered to himself as he listened in from his location.

Macawi bit down and pulled the trigger, releasing a swarm of angry missiles into the canyon. "Zen..." The missiles devastated the area, and Sin Replica pressed forward into the sea of flames the canyon had become. Macawi didn't let up, her AC continued to flood the area with salvos, turning the canyon into a literal trial by fire.

Zen gave his attention to the fact that none of the missiles were going for him directly. "I see." he whispered. They were trying to cause so much interference with the heat and flames, that Sin Replica's radar and cameras would be blind, allowing for someone to score a swift kill. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not relying on this AC's radar at the moment." Through the flames, Zen 'sensed' Front Runner closing for the deathblow, and Sin Replica exploded into the sky with an extraordinary leap, avoiding the rounds that would have pierced its cockpit and allowed the raging flames admission to its pilot's flesh. It was a very devious plan... Zen's AC landed on a higher level of the canyon and quickly returned to its irregular pace as it cleared the raging flames below.

Almost breaking though his persona, Silphe gritted his teeth at the evasion. "Macawi, fall back, you've played your role." he then called to her. MMM stopped its jog across the top of the canyon and came to a stop, its pilot relieved that her part in the plan didn't lead to Zen's demise. Front Runner began firing it missiles at the AC as it continued to give chase. Silphe quickly activated his EO, and the thin beams of rapid-fire tore into the canyon wall, slowly catching up to score against Sin Replica's frame. But just before they did, the AC leapt back down to the canyon floor and continued on. "This is beginning to get... Irritating..." Silphe almost sneered to himself as he increased his speed dramatically.

"I've got to take Silphe out here and now." Zen stated as his eyes fell shut for a moment. "Sandoval is up ahead, which is the real reason he told Macawi to back off. If I have to face those two at once, I'm finished..." Banking on Front Runner's intense acceleration, Zen quickly came up with a plan, and after a quick weapons confirmation, set it in motion. Sin Replica suddenly began to leap, as if it were attempting a triple jump, which seemed to have failed as the AC slammed back on its feet after the second landing and continued to run.

"What was that for?" Silphe questioned as his speed continued to increase, his target almost in range. "Was he trying to fly away?" The Raven ignored it and went back to acquiring another shot, this one aimed at Sin Replica's ankle, a blow that would surely put its speedy ways out of commission for good. Just before Silphe fired, something caught his eager eyes; a series of objects were scattered across the canyon floor before him. The devices sparkled as the sunlight felt upon them, and Silphe's eyes widened as he realized what they were. "Contact mines!" Silphe quickly tried to bring his racing AC to a halt, but the heat from the speeding hover ignited the explosives, and coupled with his sharp attempt at steering clear, his machine went into an uncontrolled slide, colliding with another patch of mines that laid in wait.

"Sorry, Silphe..." Zen called as he readied his AC for the out of control machine, brining it to a bracing stop and lowering the remaining shoulder. As Front Runner slid into its path, Sin Replica rammed the blue mech with enough force to completely destroy what remained of the Baboon arm part, and sent Front Runner violently flipping across the terrain, breaking with each crash until the machine finally came to slide on its side almost 200 yards down the canyon.

Saved by his harness and armored flight suit, Silphe struggled to recover. "Heh... That's why you were leaping... sneaky bastard..." Silphe laughed in his normal tone just before passing out. After making sure Front Runner was down for the count, Sin Replica continued on its way, fleeting towards freedom as it passed the downed hover.

Not trying to kill anyone, eh? Sandoval didn't hide Noche Quebrada, he didn't lie in wait, nor did he have any intentions of a surprise attack. His thin Mirage mech stood defiant in the center of the canyon grounds, the sunlight beaming down lending it a sheen of pure majestic. Sandoval then raised a curious eye at his target. Sin Replica was stampeding through the canyon with its body slanted forward, and its long-barreled cannons protruding before its frame. The posture almost gave it the appearance of a mad bull, instead of its usual gorilla semblance. "Sheesh, are you serious?" Sandoval muttered in response to the sight. "He's pushing over 600 km/h on foot with that broken beast." With his adrenaline flooding his senses, Sandoval's bright smile appeared as he readied himself for a battle he felt he had waited long enough for. "You really are a genius, aren't you...?" he chuckled as he activated his AC's vertical and extension missiles. "Or, some kind of monster... Either way, you're far from handicapped!" he shouted as his AC released its payload.

"Here we go..." Zen whispered as the missiles began to rain upon and rip past his now madly hopping AC. His special gauge had finally recovered, and even though his pseudo Primal Armor was busted, he could at least use his back cannons again. Even so, Sandoval was far from a slouch, and Sin Replica could only get off about four shots before going into recharge again. Meaning, he would have to get close, which was not the range one would want to face a blader like Sandoval at.

"Zen?" a taken aback Sandoval whispered as he watched the AC continue to dance about the area before him, evading the ferocity of his salvos with footwork no normal AC could possibly manage. A dance of impossible virtuosity.

On the outside, Sin Replica's movements may have been filled with fluid and splendid motions, however, on the inside, it was a totally different story. Its pilot's hands and feet were constantly in motion, and not only on the controls and throttles. Zen's fingers were systematically shifting about from the keyboard, switches, and to buttons about the cockpit at ridiculous speeds. An inhuman feat, yet almost exquisite. It was a symphony of an Ancient's processing power. The sheer strain of such response wouldn't be possible for a normal person, at least, not one of the current era. It were times like these that made Zen pondered whether he should have configured his AC to respond to his thoughts via JACK, or a wireless link to his enhanced encephalon (nanomachines networks) as the machines of his time did. But that would have required a great deal of work, not to mention giving his cockpit a very 'alien' appearance, which would have only blown his cover far sooner. Still, he had come this far piloting ACs as he was now, and completing his tasks in the end. Even so, Ancient or not, it was still just an AC, and a now Over Boosting Noche Quebrada was prepared to prove it.

"Round two, Zen!!" a clearly excited Sandoval shouted as his AC's machine gun fired madly, scoring rounds about Sin Replica's chest. The dust red AC had jettisoned its missile launchers, and was now moving in for close range combat. It was the moment Zen was waiting for as his armless mech quickly came to a stabilizing pause and fired off one of its sizable beams, the force sending it back a few steps. "Hmph!" Though shocked by the coming attack, Sandoval didn't allow the feeling to do him in. His AC darted left, and though it lost part of the right arm in the wave, it continued on approach, the twin laser blades of its Taros coming to life. "IT'S OVER, ZEN!!!" a berserker Sandoval roared as his blade tore into the right side of an evading Sin Replica's torso, causing an explosion to follow as Noche Quebrada came to a slide past the now partially kneeling mech.

"Kaagh!" The explosion reached Zen's cockpit and sent shrapnel flying from the right, piercing several sections of his body, the most noticeable being the large daggers of metal which staked their claims in his eye and gut. Zen growled, and his entire posture lessened as he lowered his head and bared intense and blood dripping fangs.

Sandoval released a breath of satisfaction and pure intensity as he ordered Noche Quebrada to slowly walk towards Sin Replica, its blade at the ready. "Zen, you're beaten..." the Raven almost proudly declared.

Zen continued growling in breaths, his memories of past era battles posting their most intense and tragic moments about the detailed walls of his mind. Zen's head abruptly shot up, and his eyes flashed open in response to the coming enemy. "SANDOVAL!!!" a bloody Zen suddenly roared over the waves in a fury they'd never witnessed. Sin Replica immediately spun around and fired both of its cannons at the red AC, which quickly took to the air, just barely avoiding what was surely meant to be a closer.

"Guh!" Sandoval uttered as he watched the beams clear the area below.

"RAAAAAA!!!" a rabid Zen screamed as Sin Replica had somehow taken to the sky as well, and came down upon an unsuspecting Sandoval, its foot slamming into his lightweight AC's abdomen. Sin Replica's weight brought down and pinned Noche Quebrada against the canyon wall. With one foot secured on the ground and the other against Sandoval's mech, Zen, in his old age fury, recklessly activated his AC's ruined boosters, forcing one of them to respond. Its fierce ignition blowing out an entire Fleet unit in the process; the rabid and untamed flames screamed intensely while scorching Sin Replica's backside, heating up the cockpit as the black machine cruelly boosted a foot into its prey.

"Huuuu..." Sandoval grunted as his cockpit began to buckle under Sin Replica's steadily crushing foot. Monitors around him began to crack as the entire cockpit appeared to be growing smaller by the second. Sandoval smirked as he made out the image on his main monitor just before it shattered under the pressure. The barrel of Sin Replica's left Geryon2 was starting to glow, and Sandoval knew his time had come. "Heh, no regrets..." he whispered to the fates that had carried him so far in his exciting life.

BOOOM!!!

Sin Replica was suddenly blown aside by an explosive attack that destroyed the Geryon2 before it claimed Sandoval's life. Zen grunted as his mech staggered for footing, and when it obtained it, Zen made out his assaulter in the distance. "You?" he murmured in response to the blow. A kneeling, and completely hideous looking Echoic had appeared, its metals so twisted and mangled that they almost appeared organic.

"I'm... not done just yet..." a barely conscious Q then called over the radio, his cockpit still rippling with heat as his radiator continued to slave for order.

Zen scoffed blood at Q, who wanted to continue fighting. After a moment of artificial solace from the busy nanomachines throughout his body, Zen managed to reclaim the reigns of his sanity from the programmed savage that had snatch them away. He then pulled out the shrapnel from his eye, his blades of black hair almost instinctively shrouding the horrific wound as he did. Zen then looked to Sandoval's AC with his remaining eye. It was still pinned into the canyon wall, and was no longer a threat to the smoldering Sin Replica, who suddenly turned and left the scene before Q mustered up another round.

"Macawi... He's running... from us..." Q managed to squeeze out before completely losing consciousness as MMM could be seen jogging to his aid in the distance.

Act 2:

Sin Replica staggered towards the natural gates leading out of the canyon and came to a pause, the joints in its knees sizzling from the abnormal feats demanded of them. Zen very slowly removed the blade of debris from his stomach and tossed the bloodstained metal to the floor behind his seat. After a moment of controlled breathing, he looked over his shoulder, relying on his N.C.C (Neo Cerebral Cortex). It was this that allowed many of his feats to take place, such as his ability to store Zettabytes of detailed files, skills, and even memories... This was also how Zen was able to pick up on certain energy signatures and transmissions when they entered his proximity. "Etzam... I don't read her AC's signature..." he whispered as Sin Replica's cracked main camera zoomed to see the Raptor waiting about 300 yards from the canyon entrance. Suddenly, and as if on the Devil's cue, Zen picked up something. A transport was rapidly closing with an AC in tow.

"Zen..." a very familiar voice called as the transport appeared in the sky from the north. Upon its passenger's request, the chopper released the AC that hung below.

"Proto... Exus?" Zen responded to the ID signature he was now picking up on. "Etzam..." he said in a defeated air at the newly painted and weaponized mech soaring in his direction. No longer red and redder, the AC now sported patches of purple throughout its frame, and carried a new left arm prototype obtained from Nine Breaker grounds. Silky, was a long and deadly energy machine gun which had yet to be mass-produced due to energy consumption issues. For Proto Exus, who had managed to salvage its lost technology heart, this wasn't a problem... I don't have anything left... Not for her... Zen thought to himself as he quickly pressed Sin Replica to flee to the east of the canyon entrance. A series of energy bullets tore into the canyon wall just before the machine, which steered it to a halt before their accurate destruction.

"I... I can't let you go..." Etzam radioed as her machine came to a slide before its target. Her face suddenly appeared on the sub monitor to Zen's left. No helmet to be seen, her eyes as they were when she saw him last. "I can't let you get away with what you've done... To the team... To Agraya... And..." she paused in her heartbroken mumbles.

"To you...?" Zen finished, his bloody face now making an appearance on one of her own sub monitors. Seeing him in his battered condition made her cringe as she felt a great deal of sorrow consume her. "I don't want to fight, Etzam. Not you..." he said softly.

"But you'll kill even me if I get in your way, right...?" she asked in an equal tone, trying her best to keep her anger from making too quick an appearance. "You were right... We played a dangerous game with each other... I don't know you... I've never known you..."

"You don't understand... There are things coming, things you aren't prepared to face..." Zen lowered his head at the thought of throwing Etzam into his world. "Things I don't want you to face if I can help it..."

"That's what Ingrid said as well..."

"But unlike her, I'm fighting to keep the past from revolting again!" Zen pleaded.

"No... Enough!" Etzam screamed as she clamped her ears shut. "Enough of these rhetoric omens!" she cried.

It didn't take a genius to see that Sin Replica was in no condition to beat the AC before it. Zen decided to try his luck. "Hey, I'm unarmed." he poorly joked as his AC took a few steps forward, showcasing the genuine fact.

"..." For the first time, Etzam wasn't remotely flinched by his casual humor. She was serious.

Proto Exus, in an amazing burst of speed, exploded towards Sin Replica, and instead of attacking the machine, simply flew past the battered AC, taking off into the skies. Zen got the gesture on the flyby; if she wanted, she could have flat out killed him right there. Partially thanks to him, she now possessed the speed, skill, determination, and maybe even the right to do so...

"Etzam..." Zen grunted as Proto Exus spun around in the air and revealed its new back-mounted missile launcher and extensions. The multiple missile-spitting Spartoi and CR-E73RM spilled a salvo of missiles in Sin Replica's direction, which detonated in the area the mech had prepared to takeoff in, and Etzam quickly served up that same devastation to the next area Zen tried to flee in.

Etzam's eyes narrowed as they scanned the AC at her mercy. "Hmph, that's why you've always used that mix of dark and battered colors, it's to camouflage the damage sustained to your machine... And as a person... you're no different." Etzam finished in a sneer. "Though, that clearly doesn't matter now. " Etzam brought her AC to a landing in the short distance and began putting her helmet on. "You can't win, Zen. " she announced. "I'm going to complete my mission. I'm going to destroy Sin Replica!" she then shouted as Proto Exus' Pixie3 came to life along with its Silky, sending daggers of death in Zen's direction. All the AC could do was run, as Zen couldn't bring himself to fire his remaining cannon at Etzam, which didn't matter once a series of rounds tore into the still retreating AC's back, destroying the weapon in the process. The explosion of the cannon sent the mech into a slide on one knee. This wasn't a battle, it was punishment on a scale of tons. Etzam could have delivered a killing blow anytime she wanted, but before that, she would beat the answers out of him, tell him her feelings."

Sin Replica, raised and turned to face the tormenting Proto Exus, which was stomping fiercely in its direction. "I've got to knock her out..." Zen whispered as he thought up an underhanded strategy. Zen began to have his mech take steps back toward the outside canyon walls as Proto Exus continued on with its Silky raised. Zen quickly activated his EO and the weapons sent their jade beams her way, but in a display of raw talent, her machine darted aside, which is what Zen had counted on, and Sin Replica used the moment to explode towards her machine in order to knock it off balance.

Etzam scoffed at the broken AC that had managed to launch itself her way so quickly. "I know all your tricks!!" Etzam violently declared as she responded as a Dominant, manually commanding Proto Exus to skip back and fire off a powerful kick to Sin Replica's already devastated Core, sending the AC crashing to the canyon wall in defeat. "You're nothing but a coward!" she suddenly yelled over the radio. "Running, fighting, whoring yourself to temporarily ease you own pain. It hurt me... so much..." she confessed as she lowered her head in grief. "Even so, I stayed by your side... Why wouldn't you just let me in!?" she asked. "It wasn't supposed to be just a moment... I wanted to save you!!" she cried as Proto Exus sent a salvo of missiles the pinned AC's way.

"Etzam..." a crush-hearted Zen growled. Her words were filled with such passion he almost felt the embrace of their purity, their truth. It was something Etzam made him finally realize he was losing sight of. Zen gave into that warmth as he released the controls and allowed Proto Exus' missile swarm to hit their mark. The explosion caused rocks to blow free from the canyonside, and as the carnage slowly ceased, Zen found himself still in one piece. Etzam had hesitated to finish him off yet again. Zen felt the winds from the outside entering his once self-contained cockpit, and noticed a gapping hole to the lower right, where the mech's final plates of armor had literally fallen off in the last attack. He then raised a hand in defense to the furious dust-adorned winds now blowing in his face.

"Zen..." she called, her tears evident even over the waves. "Why...?" she asked the person who had managed to come into her life and give her the warmth she so desperately sought. Her eyes shut in preparation for his answer, Etzam began to grow impatient at his lack of responsiveness. "ANSWER ME, DAMN YOU!!!" she roared over the radio.

Zen couldn't respond, he couldn't even think due to what had grappled his attention. Though the majority of its body was encased in the side of the canyon, the head of a Red Moth lifelessly hung beside Sin Replica. And after a jolt, the tri-star visor on the ancient weapon's smooth face came to life. Zen was paralyzed by fear as the head of the red machine slowly turned his way, the blue glow of its visor flickering for a few seconds before solidifying after an obvious verification.

"ID confirmed... " the machine called out as it began to jerk forward in an attempt to free itself from its canyonside crypt." XA-26483... Zenobis Wards..." the machine continued as the rocks began to give way. Etzam's last attack had unearthed a terror that, even after generations of inactivity, went right back to work within a few seconds of reactivation.

"Zen?" Etzam whispered at the sight before her as the smoke began to clear. "What in the world..."

The sound of her voice brought Zen back from the ancient abyss that were his memories. "Etzam, escape now!" he shouted as Sin Replica peeled itself off the rocks just as the Red Moth freed one of its weapon arms.

"Escape?" she asked as Proto Exus readied itself. "Zen, what is that?"

Sin Replica's act of freeing itself caused another portion of the canyonside to collapse, where two more ancient devices suddenly fell free from the rocks above, slamming hard to the ground beside one another. The first, a one-legged Red Moth. The other was something completely different, but at the same time, completely familiar, even to Etzam.

"Pulverizer..." Zen whispered as Sin Replica slowly began backing away from the units and towards Proto Exus. With an Internecine around, it's no wonder these things were here. Though the weapon had bipedal legs instead of the tank design the last one wore, the rest of its body was exactly as the one Zen and Etzam had saved Q from. The red frame, the giant crystal-like blades that were its arms, and the florescent blue energy, which started flowing throughout the openings about its large body. Both machines, after a moment of reactivation, began to force themselves up with the weaponized appendages that were their hands. The moment both machines stood (the Red Moth on a poor hover), they began to attack each other. The Red Moth quickly activated its energy blades and countered a double-armed swing from the Pulverizer's massive blade arms.

"Zen, what the hell is going on here?" Etzam asked in a mix of fear and confusion as the two weapons continued to battle, their blades leaving trails of pure energy in the atmosphere as they swung destruction in each other's direction.

"Biped Pulverizer detected..." Proto Exus suddenly interrupted. "Update received... Red Moths detected..." the female computer then added. "The units possess technology and combat potential far exceeding that of this unit. Success rate of defeating the units in their current condition... 0. Recommend jettisoning all armaments followed by an immediate withdrawal from the area."

"Exus is right, Etzam, we can't beat them!" Zen followed. "You've got to get to the Raptor and have the pilots pick up the others."

"But... I don't understand what's happening here..." she whispered in response.

"You finally admitted it..." Zen called to her in a warming tone. As the ancient rivals continued to battle, Zen noticed that the Red Moth still trying to free itself hadn't taken its eye off of him for a moment. "Hmph... Right then..." He placed a hand on the custom helmet secured on the left side of his cockpit, the thought of its original owner giving him strength, and after a second of planning, Zen's warm smile finally made a return. "Listen, about Agraya..." he radioed to Etzam. "Talk to Genobee. While he's become extremely protective of her, I'm sure he'll take you to see her."

"Then she's not!?" Etzam gasped at the news.

"No, she's actually doing rather well..."

"Zen, why didn't you tell me...? Why let me think you had killed her!?" After a thought, she came to realize the answer on her own. I see now. This was how you wanted to distance yourself from me... By making me hate you. Oh, Zen... You cruel fool... Did you want me to kill you? Without another world, Proto Exus raised its arms, prepared to fire upon the AI driven weapons.

"DON'T!!!" Zen fiercely shouted at Etzam's action. "They're only after me. At least, those two are... But once I'm gone, they'll target any living person in the vicinity. That's why I can't come with you. Now, for the last time, go!"

"After you? Once you're gone...?" It did take more than a second for Etzam's reply. "I won't leave you! You'll die in the state you're in!" The Red Moth in the canyonside suddenly activated its blade and jammed it into the rock that held its other arm. By coldly severing its own right arm, the machine was allowed to finally pull itself free, and after walking clear of the rock-littered grounds, the mech came to a hover on its sharp legs, its eye still on Sin Replica. Upon noticing its brethren still in contest with the Pulverizer, it exploded towards the enemy and skewered it from behind with its remaining blade. The Pulverizer's arms fell silent as its powered glow began to flicker. The one-legged Red Moth then finished it by slashing the mech with both its blade, causing it to explode violently. Before the flames even cleared, the one-armed Red Moth was already racing towards Sin Replica, who darted away from Proto Exus' side.

"Let's go, you bastards!" Zen called as the second unit followed, both of them blazing past a still stunned Etzam, paying her presence no attention. "This way!"

"Zen!" she screamed after getting a grip, firing her machine guns at the latter machine, and scoring a number of hits about its backside.

The Red Moth under attack came to stop and reared its eye her way. "An Inferior..." It said in a soulless tone after a flickering scan of Proto Exus.

"Its elimination is not of importance at this time." The Red Moth after Zen replied to its comrade, who continued to soak up rounds as Proto Exus boosted its way with machine guns ablaze.

"Cease, Inferior..." the one-legged Red Moth told her as it raised one of its blades and fired the javelin of energy free, and sharply towards her machine.

"Uaaaahh!!" Etzam screamed as the blade of light ripped into Proto Exus' right side, tearing it to pieces in its travel. The force sent her AC spinning through the air until it crashed hard on its back side.

"ETZAM!!!" Zen cried out as he brought his machine about, the AC skidding in its run, and just barely evading the spearing one-armed Red Moth on its tail, the ancient weapon racing by with the miss. That last maneuver was all Sin Replica could stand, and one of its knees finally blew from the stress, causing the mech to limp. Replica... You hung in there... Thanks for getting me this far... "I comply!" Zen suddenly called out to the Red Moths, who both came to an immediate pause at his announcement. "Etzam get out of here. Please..." Zen begged as both Red Moths slowly hovered his way, their blades glowing intensely.

"You already know my answer to that..." she sneered as her boosters brought the damaged Proto Exus back to its feet. Its right arm gone, along with a small portion of the E2 Core, the machine's pilot was in a very dangerous place. That was, until the Exus Zen had been counting on finally decided to act.

"Etzam, the chance of success is none." the computer said in an almost stern voice. "Commencing Auto-Response mode."

"Auto what?"

"This unit will relieve all non essential parts and return to the Raptor at maximum speed. In doing so, the chance of survival will increase from 0 to 78."

"You can't act on your own accor-" Etzam was silence by force as the machine violently spun around, dropped all its weapons, and took off for the Raptor." Etzam grabbed the controls and shook them violently for a response. "Stop it, Exus! I can't leave Zen like that!" She stomped down on the brakes, and even tried to shut the machine down completely. Nothing worked, and the stubborn Proto Exus continued on. "Please stop!!" In her fit, she began punching and slamming her fists about the controls in order to bring the mech back under her control. "Stop it, you goddamned machine!!"

"You are complying with order?" The Red Moths now hovered before a finally crippled Sin Replica.

"Yeah... I comply with the order..." he answered in defeat.

"Zen, please don't go!!" Etzam cried over her radio as the uncontrollable Proto Exus carried her to safety. "I-I didn't mean it!" she suddenly called out in her desperation. "The cruel things I said before!" Etzam clasped her hands together as if calling for a miracle to stop time in order for her to confess the truth. "Zen, I love you! I can say that truthfully now, so please..."

"I know..." his voice suddenly replied over her radio. "No matter what... Stay alive... And... I'm sorry for being such a bastard. I hope you can both understand and forgive me. Someday... Elza Nardo..."

A high-pitched air escaped her mouth at that, and it wasn't the fact that Zen had called her by her true name, or the fact that he even knew it. It was clear to her what was about to happen, and the moment of that realization ripped her to shreds inside.

"Zenobis Wards, that was a pointless entry..." one of the Moths then stated at his last communication. "Your termination acceptance has been acknowledged... Under order:009282HEP, you shall now be relieved of your unnatural existence..." And with that, the heartless machine skewered Sin Replica though the chest with its remaining energy blade, the brilliant light exiting the AC's back. The Red Moth then tilted its head at the fact it couldn't retrieve its blade from the black mech, which began surging with a resonating flux as its generator began storing power to dangerous levels.

"Heh, end game..." Zen exhaled in a sly air as Sin Replica detonated in a ball of unstable light.

"ZEN!!!" Etzam cried as her AC registered the massive explosion consuming the area behind her, the blue dome of intense energy completely erasing the three machines from existence. "ZEN!!! NO!!!" Etzam screamed as loudly as she could. "You... Zen, you can't just..." Etzam quickly began to unlock her helmet, and threw it to the floor of her cockpit as she began to retch uncontrollably.

"Final update received..." Exus' computer suddenly called to the still coughing and puking pilot as the AC entered the waiting Raptor's hangar.

Hidden safely within uncharted territory, Triton Ecoactivity Center lay in the now fading sun. It was a fairly large facility, its outer structure consisting of a series of domes connected by branching points. Though developed under the guise of a research facility dedicated to restoring the environment, it was actually Tokishiro Kisaragi's headquarters, and where he and his faction of loyalist ran their branch of the Kisaragi corporation. This place was also home to Tokishiro's most cherished projects. Within the bowels of this secret facility (which consisted of a network of laboratories), in the lowest and most secured level, two scientists sat at their stations within the confines of a high-tech, reinforced room, which could only be opened from the outside.

"Man, this thing gives me the creeps at times." the thirty-something researcher said to the much older man of science sitting to the station at his right. The elder man clearly didn't hear him, for he was too busy running tests and checking readings on the console before his eager hands. Despite not being heard, the younger man continued. "She reminds me of one of those ballet dancers my wife collects. You know, the hand-carved ones encased in glass." he added as he got to his feet and walked to the towering pod neatly secured in a port in the center of the cold metal room. It appeared as if the entire room was crafted just for the necessities of the device, large cables running from the walls and into ports on each of its sides. "The creepy part being that this one is life-sized." the intellectual then added as he took out his thin glasses and placed them on his narrow face.

"Just what are you doing...?" the senior asked as he took a break and finally offered his attention.

"How do you stay with her day and night like this?" he asked as he placed a hand on the transparent front of the device. Within the ancient stasis pod, which was completely filled with a clear, luminescent semiliquid, a young woman. Nude and hibernating, her lengthy blue hair branched about the lightly stilled substance, covering her privates and the top half of her face. "Gives me chills, but at the same time, gets me excited to finally be allowed in here."

"Oh, that's right." the other researcher said, going back to work after what he considered to be an extended break. "You just got transferred here yesterday."

"C'mon, you'd think I at least deserve to take up a bit of your memory..."

"Right, I remember now." the older scientist said as he tapped his balding head.

"Sure you do." the younger chuckled as he went back to examining the woman, taking notice of the bracelet around her left wrist, though, from the size of the thing, it may have been a shackle. His eyes narrowed at the inscription on the metal. "Dr. M. Okamura." he read aloud. "Is this her name?" he then asked with a jolt of his glasses.

"No, her name is classified." the old man replied as he continued to work. "As is the one you just mentioned." he then added.

"So, it looks like she was the property of another researcher back then as well." he said as he tilted his head and allowed a bit of emotion to touch his scientific mind. "Kinda makes you feel for her. Who knows how long she's been studied... Or, how long she's been in this device." he then stated as he began circling the upright capsule, going over the details of its frame. "An easy hundred years, the very least." he concluded.

"That information is also classified." the old man repeated.

The younger man sighed at the response, hanging his head slightly. "Even though I've finally worked my way into this project, I'm still not told anything..."

"Just be grateful you're taking part in this."

"I am, this is the most important project of my entire career!" he exclaimed. "This sleeping beauty is gonna be our life's work, isn't she?"

"Indeed. Though, I doubt you would have given her that title had you seen her when they first brought the pod in."

"What do you mean?"

"What was left of her was enough to disturb my sleep for the first few months."

"She was worse off than this?"

"Much." the older scientist then paused to say as the images of her previous condition entered his mind. "Her body has successfully regenerated from a mere half to what you see before you."

"Wait, so the rising stats of her recovery in the early reports, those percentages included her physical mass as well?"

"That's correct."

"Amazing..." he exhaled in a state of amazement. "And this regeneration is taking place during her suspended state. Imagine how quickly it would respond in a normal environment! Spontaneous human regeneration..." the man held his head as if to keep it from exploding in his overexcited state. "Do you realize what this kind of technology will do for mankind!?"

"That's why she's here. Us as well." the composed old man answered with a proud expression on his pale face. "Now come, let's run the evening's tests."

"Sure thing." Before returning to his station, the scientist paused at a discovery. "You know, I didn't notice before, but she has the most amazing eyes. So clear, like they go on forever..."

"What are you talking about, eyes?"

"Well, it's just the one, actually. I can clearly see one of her eyes past that forest of blue. Hey, it almost looks like she's staring right at me." The scientist chuckled before a sudden shake as he caught another case of the chills.

"The readings here are negative. You don't know what you're talking about." the older man said as he got to his feet and walked beside his talkative associate. "Stand aside." The sky-blue eye of the woman was indeed open, and it shifted to the presence of the older man, glaring in his direction, and causing him to fall on his backside in shock. "Gah!"

"Haah!!" the other man screamed in a panic. "It moved!"

After making sure his heart wasn't failing, the elder researcher was helped to his feet. "We had better get Kisaragi down here right now!" he shouted.

"Y-Yes, I'm on it!" the new transfer said as he scurried over to his station and accessed the intercom to the guards beyond the heavily-armored doors. "H-Hello!?" he stuttered. "Hey, we need Mr. Kisaragi down here!"

"Mr. Kisaragi is in the middle of an important meeting, and does not wish to be disturbed." a cold voice responded through the speakers about the room.

"Tell them that subject Nexus is responding!" the old man then shouted.

"R-Right! Subject Nexus is responding! Hello!?"

After a brief moment of silence, the voice returned. "Understood. We shall inform Mr. Kisaragi right away."

The old man slowly approached the woman's still motionless frame and placed a hand upon the unbreakable wall of clear. "Welcome back to the world... Ms. Lo." he whispered to the woman whose seen eye continued to glare his way.

Next Chapter: Project Nexus