Another Age, Yet Again
Third Chapter
Disclaimer still applies, so don't even go there.. ^_^ (If ya haven't see it, go to the First Chapter)
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We Meet Again...
A loud ringing sound suddenly blasted throughout my bedroom, scaring the pants off me. I rolled over on my back and lifted up my hand to the shelf attached above my bed and moved my hand around, trying wildly to stop the sound of whatever was ringing. The sound was unbearable and I had to stop it now.
"What the hell..." I said, my eyes half open and my voice was weak as I had just woke up.
As I felt around, I touch something I assumed was making the noise, so immediately I slammed my hand against it, hoping to shut it up.
Big mistake....
Once my hand hit the object, I could feel that it was round, plastic and light? I didn't notice this until it was too late, as my hand knocked the object over, a luke warm liquid splash into my face.
"Ahh, crap! " I jumped up with a start, shaking my head to try and get the water out of my eyes. Rubbing my eyes quickly, I remember that my alarm clock was located on my dresser, so I reached over and slammed my hand on clock, shutting it up.
As I calmed down, I took a glance over to the clock. I had overslept. It was 11:45 a.m, close to 12 o'clock. I usually get up early, about 8 or 9, don't ask me why. Finally I got up and walked to the bathroom, cleansing my face with fresh cold water and looking into the mirror.
I could hear as my TV turn on automatically, it seems the timer on it worked. As I washed up, I could hear about the destruction of the arena happening today. I looked at myself in the mirror, thinking about that day...
After that large battle I had in the arena, all participants of the tournament were arrested, they're AC's impounded (What was left of them anyway..), or taken apart to retrieve any operating part that was smuggled in. San's men also went in and checked around, not finding much, except destroyed AC parts and human body parts scattered along the ground from the unlucky pilots that didn't seem make it out alive. I killed so many that day, about 10 men. It may not seem much, but even one life lost seemed huge to me.
It had been three days since the arena was raided, and I was given a few days to get rested up. I had a large cut on the back of my head, but it wasn't anything that a few pain killers, rest, and a bandage couldn't fix. My AC wasn't in such good shape either. The Thunder Omega lost a Arm and Leg unit, my FCS was fried, as well as my onboard computer, and my generator had been completely destroyed from direct core shots. It cost about half my credits to fix the whole thing. I was also sent to the hospital for checkup by one of Robert Sans officials, being in a AC that was bombarded by gun, missile and laser fire can do some serious things to your body, even if you don't feel it. Good thing my medical bill was paid by Sans, which I though was nice, but he probably had something else in store for me, so I didn't say anything.
I decided to take a quick shower, but I stopped when I heard that, in about 3 minutes, the arena would be destroyed by implosion. I wanted to watch as the arena was destroyed from the inside, but I had a change of heart, forgetting about it and taking my shower. I never wanted to see it again..
After the shower and getting dressed in my usual clothing (black shirt, sweat pants and black shoes, Nikes of course), I was just about to clean up when I heard another ringing, it was faint, but hearable.
"Huh? Where is that coming from? It sounds like a phone, but I don't have anything that rings like that.."
I was curious as I walked around my room, listening to the sound to locate where it was. Not hearing it in my room, I walked into my living room and the ringing got louder, and once I stopped by the sofa, the sound was at its loudest. It seemed to come from...my coat pocket?
I rummaged through one pocket, finding nothing interesting but lint, a breath mint, and a quarter, but then I felt something in the second pocket. I was surprised when I pulled out the object, finding a gray colored cell phone, still ringing. I quickly opened it up and placed it to my ear, finally answering the call.
"Finally you answered, I was hoping I didn't put it in the wrong persons coat, heheh"
I recognized the voice. It was my new boss.
"Sans? What the hell are you calling me for?" I replied, getting a bit annoyed. "I do have a phone here you know.."
"I was just calling to check up on you, but I see your feeling like you always do. Oh, and by the way...how do you like your new toy I slipped in your pocket?"
"I'm ecstatic...." I said, sarcastically. I really didn't need another object that made noise.
He simply laughed. "Wonderful. Now, if its not to much trouble, could you come by the office here? I have a few things to show and discuss with you. Goodbye.
He hung up, not even hearing my answer. I could do nothing but hang up the phone and place it back in my coat pocket.
"Argh...I don't even know what is keeping me from choking that man..." I thought to myself as I went back into my room, cutting off my TV, grabbing my keys, coat, and then walking out.
I would usually walk to the Nerves Concord Office Building, but with the credits I earned from my very first mission (after subtracting expenses, which was a lot!) I was able to get myself a nice car. Pretty good one too. Its a year 2000 so it is a bit old, but it suits me just fine. I climbed in and started it up, taking off toward the Nerves Concord Building.
I reached the building in about a half an hour. I decided to park inside the underground parking, I figured I would be here a while. I got out and walked to the entrance, security easily let me through, knowing I was expected by Sans, and they led me to the elevator. Once we arrived, they handed me two keys on a key chain, both keys had my name on them and they also instructed me on how to use them in the elevator.
Once the doors to the elevator had closed, I did what I was instructed, placing one of the keys in a keyhole at the bottom of the button panel, turned the key and removed it. As soon as I withdrew the key, the elevator did the rest, taking me down to the very bottom, or the floor the elevator called "GA". After the wait, the elevator doors opened slowly, and I was completely surprised at what I saw.
I now knew why the elevator called this floor "GA". GA was short for "Garage Area", because here, there is a large underground garage area, where AC'a and other machinery where being tended to and repaired. I stepped out of the elevator and looked around, amazed at how large the place was. The place spanned out for almost ages, about three or more football arena's put together. AC's and others that looked just like them where lined up against the wall in a standing position, not sure how they kept stable if a leg part had fallen apart. Farther down, there was a large steel door, which stood about 3 or more stories high, probably controlled by a machine to open and close it.
As I looked around amazed at what I saw, a blue AC caught my eye, and then I realized that that AC was the Thunder Omega. I had been completely repaired. New leg and arm parts and everything, it had also been cleaned up. It looked better than new. I also saw the entrance to the cockpit open, and a person inside. Angered by this a little, I rushed down toward it, preparing to climb up there, grab that person by the collar and toss him to the ground.
As I reached the front of the AC, I noticed a crowd of men, probably repairmen, looking up at the Thunder Omega. I stopped right behind the crowd, looking around and trying to hear what they were talking about, but to much commotion was going on.
I chuckled a little. "They're probably admiring the best AC in the whole garage, maybe I should show them who the owner of this bad boy is..."
It seems one of the repairmen had heard me, as he turned toward me and spoke.
"So your the owner of that baby there? Your a lucky guy. I wish I had a girl like that."
It seems he had the wrong idea, as he seemed to be pointed to the person up in the cockpit.
"Eh? What are you talking about? I think your mixed up here...I own the AC, I have no idea who that person is up there...but he or she...is coming down!"
And with that, I pushed through the crowd of people, disregarding they're words and going toward the side of my AC. I was just about ready to climb up there when I saw a large elevator lift begin to descend slowly. I backed up, a bit in front of the crowd and watched, ready to pounce on the person as soon as the lift touched the ground.
Once the lift touched the ground, there stood a young girl, just about my age, holding a wrench in one hand and a light looking tool box in the other. Her face was a little dirty, I guess from cleaning up, and her hair was long, a bit lower than her shoulders, and a little matted, but other wise ok. She wore overalls, the same all the other repairmen wore, and a jumpsuit under it, except it was a different color, a light blue. In the light, her skin seemed to glow from all the hard work she had been doing. I now understood what the repairmen were looking at, because even now, this girl was hot.
The girl looked around, a bit confused at all the people staring at her, and she then noticed me. She walked up to me and held her hand out.
"Hi! I haven't seen your face around here before."
"Umm...well.. I.." I couldn't even answer this simple question. Good thing I was saved by the one person I hoped would appear. Robert Sans...He walked through the crowd and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"I see you made it. Well? What do you think? We fixed up your AC, and our new mechanic seemed to do a real good job, I'd say.."
I closed my eyes a little, recalling my anger, and shrugged his hand off my shoulder. I turned around and got in his face.
"Oh yea...I appreciate you fixing up Thunder Omega and all, but no one goes into my cockpit without my permission, or unless I'm with them...(That way I can brag! lol) And another thing...what is with getting a girl to fix up my AC? I could have done a...Oww!
I was cut off by a sharp pain. Something had fallen on my foot, something hard and heavy. I looked down to notice a wrench on the ground. I hopped around a little to shake off the pain, and I remember that "she" was behind me. Slowly I turned as she got in my face. I could swear I saw a vein on her forehead as her eyes met mine.
"What do you mean!" She yelled at me. "You have a problem with me fixing up your AC? I worked pretty hard to get it the way it looks now! You should be grateful you arrogant little snot!"
Sans simply laughed as we argued. He was finally able to stop us.
"Now, now you two...I want you two get along. Besides....you two will be working together. Besides...both of you don't even know each others names. Now, introduce yourselves"
She seemed to calm down. "Yea...I guess so.." Rubbing her hand against her pants leg and placing it out to me.
"My name is Shannon, I'll be your mechanic and navigator during your missions."
Getting rid of my anger for now, I took her hand and shook it, returning the greeting.
"I'm Espikes, owner of the AC your repairing. I guess Sans here has told you a lot about me." I said, feeling proud of my reputation.
She blinked, as she seemed to be thinking, she then smiled and replied.
"A lot about you? Hmm...as far as I know...I don't have a clue about you."
A little disappointed, I turned to Sans, wondering why he had called me in. "Hey, you said you wanted me for something?"
He looked at me and suddenly remembered. "Oh right. I need to discuss some things with you. If your going to work here, you need to know and remember what we will talk about. Follow me to my office." He then turned to the other repairmen still watching. "The rest of you, back to work now...come on!"
The crowd whined a little before dispersing, going they're separate ways. I watched as Sans walked toward the elevator, and I was about to follow when a hand was placed on my shoulder. It was Shannon.
"Hey, you don't have a problem with me working on your AC now...do ya?" She asked, eyeing me a little.
I shook my head, my anger under control this time. "As long as you take care of my baby here...then you can work on her...but, if you change anything...."
She waved her hands a little, walking back to the lift. "I get the hint, I won't change...much..." She hit the button after finishing her words, causing the lift to rise back up to the cockpit. She waved once more before going back to work.
"Geez...I'm gonna..." I shook it off and walked back to elevator, meeting back up with Sans as the doors closed and he pressed the button to the fifth floor, where his office was located.
During the ride and the walk toward his office, he told me about the building and some ground rules that applied to both above and below the garage area. For one, I was given access to the shop down in the garage area, allowing me to purchase any parts at my disposal, as promised. Also, all repairs to my AC would be done for free (I really liked this rule, it would mean more credits for me!), and all replacement parts would be at no cost, but paperwork would have to be filled out and all that.
Next, he explained to me the two keys I was given. Both keys give me access to the garage area and the hatch area, incase I need to open the large steel door to get the Thunder Omega out on my own. If I were to lose those keys, then I would be screwed...because I don't get any more, so I guess I'll have to make a copy and keep it at home.
The last rule is that all missions assigned to me must be completed unless told otherwise. I would only be paid when my mission is complete. This rule I have already been though, so it shouldn't be much to worry about.
That is basically what the discussion was all about. It wasn't long before I was given a new mission.
"So...what now?" I asked, leaning back against the chair in front of Sans desk.
"During your first mission, you told me about another AC in the arena with you, am I correct?" He replied, tapping his fingers against the desk, awaiting my answer.
I nodded. "Yea....he said his name was...umm...Seer. He was really active, even in his AC"
Sans turned around in his chair, facing toward the large window, thinking to himself. "I see. Well, while fixing your AC, you black box was damaged, but we were able to extract the conversation you had with him."
I looked up a little, thinking. "Funny...I remember that black box, but I never remember installing it though."
Sans shook his head. "That is because the officials from your tournament installed it. Remember yet?"
I shook my head. "Not really...hey, how'd you know?"
He laughed a bit. "You should know we know just about anything, M'hehe. Anyway, through some research, we were able to find his wavelength and tap into his communications. Our intelligence has found out that he stays in a large warehouse downtown. There are two warehouses, but unfortunately, we don't know which he is currently in"
Nodding, I rose up from my seat, slamming my fist into my palm. "Say no more! You want me to go the warehouses and find him. Am I right?"
Turning his chair to face me again, he nodded. "So I see your going to do this one?"
I simply nodded. "Oh yea! I owe that guy a rematch....I never got to even fight him, and he called my AC a piece of junk. He'll pay for that wise crack!"
Sans laughed, placing his hands together. "You really appreciate that AC of yours. Alright then, leave ASAP. And take this with you." He then reaches into his dresser and pulling out a small electronic device, handing it to me.
Eyeing the device, I looked up at him. "What the hell is this thing?"
"That thing, is a PMB (Portable Mission Briefing). It will give you information about your mission, and your earnings. You will always receive one of these for each mission. You can keep it until you finish your mission, but once it is completed...bring it back."
After looking at it for a moment, I then nodded. "Right, I'll keep in touch....maybe" Before he could say anymore, I rushed out of his office and into the elevator, going down to the garage area. After the doors opened, I rushed out and to my AC, stopping in front of it.
"Hey Shannon! Are ya up there?" I yelled. The lift was up and I didn't know where the button was, so my only choice was to get Shannon to bring it back down. "Hey! If your sleep up there....wake up!"
It seemed my yelling worked, as I saw a head of hair look down at me. She waved.
"Hey, your back. Need something?!" She yelled at me as she looked down.
"Yea, I need you to lower the lift! I have a mission!" I pointed to the lift and nodded at the same time.
She seemed to get the idea, getting up and going over to the lift. She then lowered it down, tapping her foot against the steel, waiting. "Well, what is all the commotion about?"
"I got a mission, so I need my AC, that is what's going on!" I told her as I got onto the lift, basically forcing her off or I would have ran into her.
She stumbled off the lift and stomped her foot onto the ground hard, obviously pissed.
"Hey! Watch it! You can't be in that much of a hurry are you?
I slammed my hand on the button, activating the lift, sending me upward and causing it to stop just to the left of the core. I opened the cover located outside the core and press the button inside, opening the entrance to the cockpit. I quickly hopped in got into my chair, strapping myself down, and checking systems before I shut the entrance to the cockpit.
The inside hadn't changed since the arena battle, except two things. First of all, my chair had been changed to a comfortable recliner chair with a indigo color. My panels on the armrest were still there, just the way they were in my old chair. Lastly, there was a new panel on the other armrest, a button, encased in a lift able plastic case. There was no label or anything, so I had no idea what the button did, so I left it alone...for now.
The large steel door of the garage finally opened slowly, and my AC was released, allowing me mobility. I started up all my systems, in which all were working great, and started walking toward the steel door, and beyond. My AC stopped on a steel panel attached to the floor. I was instructed to wait here by one of the officials controlling the gate control. Outside around the back of the building, the ground split open, and the road leading outside lifted upward at an angle. Inside, I could see the road lifting up at an angle, and noticed that the panel my AC was on, was on the same road, and after a few seconds, the panel shot forward with incredible speed, despite my AC weight, launching me outside and into the air. The panel slammed into the end of the road, stopping and sliding back into the entrance. I activated my boosters and flew off, watching as the exit of where I was just shot out from closed, leaving no trace that it was even there at all.
My AC had a extra booster attached to the back, which would take me straight to my destination, and then would disconnect. It was a great tool in saving me energy for the battle I just might have when I reach the warehouse.
After about an hour, I reached the warehouse...or warehouses. There were two, right in the middle of an abandoned residential area, the perfect place to keep a AC. The warehouse was huge, able to house as many as 50 AC's, it was truly a great sight to behold. I landed in front of the first warehouse. This one was wore down, and falling apart. I refused to touch this one, knowing that even if I had pushed the side of the building, the whole thing would have fallen apart. Seeing this...I moved on to the second one.
This one was well kept, and cleaner that the first one, but still old. Activating my heat radar, I got hundreds of readings of something generating heat inside the old warehouse.
"This is the one.." I thought. "Time for some payback!"
Activating my boosters, my AC rose from the ground and up to the very top of the warehouse. Just like the PMB had indicated, the entrance to the warehouse was here. There was a door at the very top of the warehouse, and it looked like if I did enter, it would be a long drop to the bottom floor.
Looking around, I noticed that there was no way in. The mechanical door was shut tight.
"Hey...how the hell am I suppose to get in here?" I thought. "I could blast it open, but I would lose the element of surprise.
I soon learned that I had lost the element of surprise long ago, as a voice came over on my onboard communicator.
"So... we meet again.." It was Seer, his voice was unmistakable. "Welcome to my home, rookie"
"You know I'm here?!" I looked around, seeing if I could locate a security camera or something, but found nothing.
"Course. I saw you when you landed near the first warehouse." He laughed, finding it amusing that he had caught me by surprise. "I see you want access inside, and I'll be glad to give it to you. Come on in" He cut off the communication, and as soon as he did, the door on the roof of the warehouse opened, revealing a dark opening. I was right. It was a long drop, and the entrance looked dark and endless.
"Oh boy...that's a long fall." I said, looking down the endless pit of darkness. I shook off the feeling. "Oh well, I've come this far, can't back out now. Seer...here I come!"
I yelled this as I jumped down, my AC disappearing into the dark hole entrance of the warehouse. Once my AC was covered in the shadows, the entrance of the warehouse closed. This was it....
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This has got to be my longest chapter ever. Sorry it took so long. I have a girl that read my story and liked it a lot, and she begged me to place her character on here. So I had to do a little research and creating before I could start this chapter up again. Anyhow.... I know its long, and I promise that the battle with Seer and Espikes will be sweet! Until next time. Laterz ^_^
P.S: Thanks to those who reviewed my story. I really appreciate your opinion and it helped me out a lot in my confidence. Thanks you guys! *_*