Disclaimer: Same as usual.

Chap. 10

Glaive returned to the hanger and Cain had the repairs working on it. Fortunately, arena battles pay for repairs in advance so there was no need about worrying about debt. Still, it was a hard-fought battle and it would take time to repair Glaive. Cain looked over to and found Interceptor gone. He's using Interceptor? If he's on a mission with Interceptor, then it must be against a single large target. What is he blowing up now? Just then, Koemai stumbled into the hanger.

"Koemai? What happened? Where's Interceptor?"

"In short, I got beat up."

Koemai explained the battle, the massive MT, and the fact that he had to self detonate Interceptor in order to escape with Dagger.

"Sounds like you had a rougher day than me. How's Keini?"

"He's alright. His Dagger got away with some damages, but it's not much."

"And the MT?"

"MT's. They're still active and roaming around."

Where are they from anyway?"

"According to the mission, it was sent by the Controller. But it is unknown as to why. I also found out something else. It's heading here."

"The Cortex?"

"No, this entire city. And I'm guessing it's not to say hi."

"And its firepower is that destructive?"

"Yep. But that's not a problem. I still have my intensify part. I'll just use Darkhand and you and I can destroy him."

"Good plan, except for one problem." Cain pointed to Glaive and Koemai saw the damage it was in. "What the...? What happened?"

Cain told him about his battle with Apocalypse. Koemai scratched his head as he looked at the damage Glaive was in.

"Well, so much for that plan. Wait, why don't you use one of the others?"

"I could, but without my signature AC, we won't be able fight at maximum power. And if what you're saying true, we need all the power we can get."

"So what do you suggest? Do we call for the aid of other Ravens?"

Cain turned around and stayed quiet. Koemai looked at him strangely before Cain turned back at him.

"No need. Come with me."

Koemai continued his gaze. What's wrong with him? He's acting a little strange. Stranger than normal. Cain walked to a deck underneath Koemai's ACs. There, a computer terminal awaited them. Cain activated it and Koemai stood behind him.

Please enter code:

Cain typed it in.

9-B: Seraphim.

A hatch opened in the ground and Cain walked in. Koemai followed and was lead into a immense chamber. There were several massive crates before them. Koemai looked further and saw several papers and blueprints strewn about on the tables nearby.

"Cain, what is all of this?"

"Koemai, it's time I told you a little story. Have you ever heard of Nine-Ball?"

"The legendary Raven? Who hasn't? According to the legend, he was the most powerful Raven ever. Legend also says..."

"It's not a legend. Nine-Ball actually existed."

"What? How do you know?"

"Here's what I know. Nine-Ball existed a hundred years ago. His power and skill was unrivaled. He had a 100% success rate on his missions and other Ravens feared him. At the time, Arenas didn't exist but they still feared encountering him on a mission. He would destroy any and all that stood in his way."

"He sounds like my kind off guy."

"But another Raven did encounter him and survive. And when the Raven completed his mission, the world at the time changed. Different corporations arose and began the initial stages of arena battle. Then he reappeared again. Nine-Ball resurfaced as a deadly force once again. But then another skilled Raven arose. This guy wasn't afraid of Nine-Ball. In fact, he had a vendetta against him and was hunting him down. He found out that Nine-Ball was more than a skilled Raven. He was actually a computer program that emulated a Raven. Because of this, he was highly skilled, but that didn't stop the other Raven. He continued on and confronted him, but never truly defeated him. Then he found Nine-Ball's true form, a monstrous AC with power beyond anything that was known. They battled and the Raven defeated him, under the narrowest of margins. It's unknown whether the Raven itself had survived, but ever since then, it was always considered a myth."

"But you believe otherwise?"

"20 years ago, a Raven confronted a powerful Raven. Despite the fact that it was an old model AC, this AC destroyed two Ravens and almost defeated a third. According to the description it was the exact same design as Nine-Ball. Then the Raven met Nine Ball again in an area called the Lost Field in his ultimate form. They fought and Nine-Ball was defeated again, but the other Raven died in the fight from severe injuries. When I linked the stories together, I discovered that the only reason these Ravens defeated him was because they were Plus Ravens. And even then, he was almost too much."

"Plus Ravens? Oh, I've heard of those. The pilots were given upgrades to their bodies and that gave them enhanced abilities as well as their AC's. But they were outlawed because of the way the pilots were operated on because of their defeats and near deaths."

"That is true. But there is a supplement for it. The Op-Intensify part that you acquired grants a pilot the same abilities and thus a Raven plus is no longer needed. But it's a rare part to get."

"Okay, I understand all of that. But what does this have to do with these crates?"

"I was able to study and discover the components of Nine-Ball. The government tried to keep it secret, but I was able to find out about it. Anyway, I used some of my funding to create these."

Cain pushes a button and some of the crates opened. Koemai looks at what is inside.

"Weapons? Parts? I've never seen parts like these before."

"I created them myself. Using the plans from Nine-Ball, I created these new components. I specifically designed it for our AC's, Glaive and Darkhand. These are yours."

"Oooh. New toys."

"This is the XRX-5R quad-energy machine gun. This weapon shoots four bullets at the same time. Each chamber is loaded with 1000 bullets each just like a regular machine gun. But what makes this one different is that it has its own mini generator so that it doesn't drain your own."

"Cool."

"This here is an inside vulcan weapon. You can fit them into the shoulders. They are capable of taking out several MT's in a few rounds. And this..."

He points to a massive mechanism that looks like gigantic boosters.

"This is the ZOLTAR-BSTL. It is to be equipped on the back of the AC."

"It looks heavy."

"It is. But that won't be the case. This part is a hover part, booster, and weapon system. It uses the same principle as the hovercraft legs. This will keep your AC afloat for as long as you want. The booster power is the same as an AC's over-boost, so you can imagine what this thing's OB would possibly be like. On top of that, this too has its own generator, allowing you to stay airborne for a much greater time. It is also equipped with an dual laser cannon with almost the same amount of power as a linear cannon as well as a section to hold your Karasawa in the slim chance that you need one. All of these parts added to your AC will give you incredible power."

"Alright. Those MT's won't stand a chance. When do I get to use these?"

"They're already set up and ready. But there is a catch. In order for all of these to function, Op-Intensify must be activated. Without it, these won't work. And I don't recommend you use these often. They are expensive to maintain."

"I have two questions. First, where did you get the money and resources to make these?"

"From our battles. Surely you don't think I needed that much to keep my AC's repaired. As for the resources, I salvage part that where left out after our battles."

"Oh. That's why it took you so long to get the extra AC's. Now question two, where did you get the idea for these?"

"Well, even with the Nine-Ball design, I couldn't think of how to use it on a conventional AC. Then I started watching TV and I saw an anime called Gundam Wing. I used it as inspiration and managed to use the Nine-Ball design into components instead of a whole unit."

"You watch TV?"

"Funny. Anyway, are you ready to try this?"

"Cain, I was born ready."

"Oh, one more thing. You'll have to wear this." Cain opens a closet and show Koemai a black flight-suit and helmet.

"Not bad. But why do you want me to wear it?"

The ZOLTAR-BSTL normal speed is at over-boost level. Knowing you, you'll want to see how fast it really goes by over-boosting it. That is were this suit comes in. Do you really think your body can withstand the speed this thing will go?"

"Good point. Hey, what about you?"

"I have my own components, but I can't use them because I don't have an Op-Intensify part.   So it's up to you. Remember, these parts are only copies based on Nine-Ball's parts, so you won't be as powerful as he was. But these will make you stronger than a normal Raven, even a plus. And I haven't totally fielded tested them yet, so if there are any problems, just jettison them and get out."

"Right."

Above, Darkhand shifted backward and was refitted with the parts. The result was a massive monstrosity of metal and weapons. Koemai jumped inside and turned on the switch inside. Immediately, the alarm rang signaling that the AC was overweight. Ignoring it. he activated the Intensify option part. Suddenly, lights turned on inside his helmet and a message came up.

Intensify activated. Switching to insane mode.

"Insane mode? I like the sound of that." He looked into the screen. "Time for payback. Courtesy of the dark hand of vengeance."

The extra boosters ignited and Darkhand launched from the hanger. The power of the boosters caused the AC to fly at tremendous speed and it seconds, it was gone. Cain watched him fly off.

I better get going just in case, he thought as he headed for his Fenrir AC. But even as he did, he knew that it may not be necessary.

(Author's note: Yeah I know it seems a little far-fetched. But haven't you ever wondered what it would be to use Nine-Ball's parts. When I fought against him in Armored Core, Armored Core: Master of the Arena, and Armored Core 2: Another Age, I've always wondered that. I went even as far as to imagine that his parts were somewhere in the game. No such luck there. Anyway, what can't be done in the game will be used in this fanfic. You'll love it.)