Chapter 12

SIN

After a hearty recovery from the fight, most of the MTs were destroyed. Some of the fighting was still going on at the outskirts. Reese, Lexington, Roger and Dastun were fine. Raven then activated the energy bypass system controls. All of the Tallgeese II's energy started to gather quickly into the generator. After compiling for a moment, the alert sounded, all energy was gathered. Quickly Raven leaped upward and began his flight toward Kisaragi HQ.
Lexington rang on the communicator, "Good luck! And I hope you know what you're doing. I know it probably won't be easy, but... watch your back over there."
Reese was next, "Raven, I know I can't stop you now, and trying to persuade you to stray from your path is useless, but please... for me, stay alive… I want to see you----" The Tallgeese sounded in, "Break in the comm system . . . out of range."
Raven had to think to himself, Stay alive for her? That soft tone in her voice, what did she mean? She knew Raven lived only for the fight, she knew he was a warrior and nothing more. Did this woman have feelings for Raven? Strange for a raven like her to display this sudden emotion. She had been a ruthless sniper, a killer who put no hesitation into sending the bullet of her gun into the brain of her target.

Then again, she is a killer, but first and foremost a woman... "No matter," he said out loud, "I shouldn't blur my mind with these trivial thoughts. It is time... There it is..."

The damaged Tallgeese II landed in the central courtyard of Kisaragi HQ. There were three equidistant roads stretching like wheel spokes. His AC's head turns left then right as it's pilot examines the area.

"Hmm… no enemies in sight, what's going on here…" The AC's leg joint suddenly buckles, and Raven barely corrects his AC's posture before stumbling. Raven runs a full status check on the Tallgeese II... Boosters Malfunctioning. Armament: MWM-MG-800 discarded, Grenade Launcher discarded. Ex-Primary Armament- Laser Blade HALBERD destroyed. External Damage: Left Forearm Destroyed, Left Leg Joint Balancer Malfunction. Armor Points in Danger Zone. System: Sensors-Functional, Radar-Error, FCS-Optimizing, Overboost: Functional.

Now it comes to this. Raven stands there at the center of this fortress. Strangely he see no signs of movement, activity, or even one MT, but he could care less. He was on the brink of finding the ones responsible for the terrorizing of, and unjust deaths of all the Raven's lost when that prototype Lucifer Dragon was unleashed at the yearly arena championship in LC 086 those months ago.

They all fought back, and most were crushed under it's unreal power. In those ACs that were destroyed were many young Ravens. The young pilots with aspirations to chase their dreams, yet they never got their chance due to that weapon... that hellish creation whose sole purpose was to destroy all beings. Eventually after a grueling battle against this weapon Raven was able to subdue it. Reese, Lexington, Roger, Raven and a few other pilots managed to destroy the machine, but after so many human losses.

They were still debating on rather to rebuild that arena, Raven doubted he'll even set foot in there again the way things are going now, but he must go inside and meet his destiny. With his participation in the discovery of that weapon, he seemed to have been cursed. The enemies noticed him, and they sent many assassins his way.

He managed to evade or counter them during the Avalon Hill ambush on a fake mission request. What baffles him is the question of why did his enemies take his AC from him, leaving him unconscious yet unscathed in the desert? Now Raven may finally know, and he must travel into the bowels of this sinister place, not knowing what awaits him. With this badly damaged AC the odds are against him but he could not quit now, and turning back is not an option.

As he stood there, Raven felt the rage of endless combat. As he stood there, with this one barrier left before him, he wanted the blood of his enemies' hearts on his hands. As he stood there he felt the demise of every last enemy he ripped the power out of in his fight with these automated enemies. As he stood there at the center of this fortress in the snowy field, with his final prize left inside of this blasted infernal construct... Raven knew of the risk that awaited him, yet with no remorse he approached the entrance...

Raven walked his AC up to the large skyscraper, to the main cargo door, and with no hesitation he punched with the right hand and drove it into the center of the door, thus activating the weak door mechanism, causing it to open.

After the door slowly slid open, Raven took a deep breath and slowly walked inside. Once inside he walked along a long dark corridor, and eventually came to a dead-end door. This door opened without aggression, and there at the back of the room Raven saw the crimson figure so familiar to him. Raven had finally found him, Dalriadan was there kneeled at back of the large hangar. There as if he had been placed waiting for him, this situation cried out trap.

Raven knew something had to be awry, "It has to be a trap." he thought. Raven slowly walked toward the Dalriadan and scanned the area, he saw nor sensed any enemy, and radar was useless due to the radar resistant coating of the fortress. A fine security feature.

Raven opened the cockpit of the Tallgeese II and then code-activated Dalriadan's cockpit. He brought the Talgeese close to the Dalriadan and jumped. Closing the Tallgeese II's cockpit, he also closed the Dalriadan after he set himself in and brought the AC online.

Strange, he thought; it's amazing that these people didn't hack into the main computer system and change the activation codes of the Dalriadan. But that didn't matter now. He had his old AC back. The Tallgeese II could be recovered later.

The Dalriadan did go through some changes, though... the energy shotgun was modified to narrow the beam spread into one powerful blast.

Raven stood up and then walked the Dalriadan close to the Tallgeese II. He then made the Dalriadan grasp the derelict AC by the midsection and began walking to the door in which he had entered. "Maybe I'll make it out of here alive."

Raven walked out from the long hallway and was once again outside on the main intersection of roads. He narrowed his eyes as a thin image stood there before him, broken by the sun which shone behind it's figure. Upon seeing this potential enemy, Raven set Tallgeese II down against a wall away from him, and slowly walked towards the figure.

He was in the center of the connecting roads as the image became clear. A new AC, quadruped with grenade launcher arms, sniper laser cannons, and CROW units. Raven's sensors were now working, heard the lock-on warnings for two other units. Raven looked to his sides, and two other similar ACs were walking down their respective roads.

"And who might all of you be?" asked Raven.

"No need, no need!" the frontal AC stated. "Gustave has allowed the three of us to contend with the honorable likes of you. No doubt that you might find that three against one sounds unfair. Three against one, unfair?"

"Sorry, I have this thing about death. It's just not me." stated Raven.

"Fine then," said the one to the left. "We'll have to force you to stay here until you rot! It is our mission to protect the last space pod-"

"And so I shall take that pod, if it leads me to Gustave."

A standstill. Fresh snow fell from the sky.

One of the enemy ACs flinched, letting off dual grenades. Raven jumped as the grenades his the opposite building, sending debris everywhere, but he was hit with two more grenades from the frontal AC, sending Raven back to the ground. The leftmost AC boosted forward with CROWs engaged, firing the laser sniper rifle. Raven strafed from the lasers, and hit that AC with a concentrated shot from his modified energy shotgun. The blast tore through the enemy AC's torseau, sending the upper half clattering onto the concrete.

The strafed laser shots took the rightmost AC in the head and left cannon as it was about to shoot grenade rounds. The left cannon's round was detonated at it hit warped metal from the damaged barrel and crippled the entire AC.

"What?!" shouted the foremost AC as he saw the Dalriadan boosting towards him. Single-shot grenades flew all over, hitting the sides of buildings, as Raven dodged each one. The extended length laser blade of the Dalriadan activated, burrowing itself into the generator section of the enemy AC.

"Some people just can't be taught!" laughed Raven as he boosted away towards the spaceport while the last AC exploded.

He managed to escape with the last pod with ease, and looked down with external cameras. The air support that Roger spoke of just arrived, bombarding the area with high-yield explosives. The Kisaragi fortress shook violently as it collapsed into the snow. Raven couldn't help but mourn the loss of the Tallgeese II, "Rest in peace, my admirable friend..."

***

"Get away from me!" shouted Alicia as Christov continued to smother her against the wall. She pushed him aside with force as she ran into the next hallway near the satellite AC airlock. She was about to close the door as she was scared half to death from a figure kneeling on the floor. "...G-Gustave?!"

Gustave was suppressing the urge to scream. Finally he let it loose, "Why WHY?! Victory was meant to be mine, OURS!"

Alicia backed away as Christov caught up. He pushed her aside to witness the inevitable. Gustave continued to fight for sanity. "Nng... No! Get out of my damn head! They won, we lost. It's over!" "No. It's not over until the Great Destruction is complete!"

Gustave pulled out a control card with a large red button. He pressed the switch, Christov and Alicia had to keep their balance as the satellite shook violently beneath their feet. Gustave continued, "Hahaha... fools! All of you will now atone for your sins!" "GET OUT!" "I refuse!"

Gustave screamed, clawed at his head until he drew his own blood. He retracted himself into a corner like a traumatized child. Alicia tried to bypass Christov to help, but she was shoved back.

"What's wrong with you?" shouted Christov.

"Gustave, he . . ."

"He's gone! He's nothing more than a sniveling piece of rotting flesh! The satellite is about to engage the reentry rockets and crash into the earth. I, for one, don't intend on staying here or leaving without taking you with me!"

Alicia fell to the floor, looking up at Christov. What a monster, she thought. All hope was being drained from her that instant.

Christov continued, "Look at what that maniac wrought! All of my work, GONE! He ruined everything, it's the end!"

A chill formed up Christov's spine. Fear, anxiety . . . doubt. His skin turned pale as he heard the most haunting words he has ever heard. Last word one heard were often disturbing.

A shadow appeared behind him, "It is the end... for YOU!" proclaimed Gustave as he grabbed Christov's right shoulder, forcing him to turn. Christov glared into the eyes of a madman satisfied with what he was about to do. Gustave slammed his fist into Christov's face, sending him flying down the hallway, skidding and sliding on the steel floor.

Gustave slumped against a wall opposite from Alicia. She couldn't believe what just happened, "Gustave . . . are you really-"

"No," he interrupted. "He's still there... my other self. Born from ignorance, from Jun and you experiments to keep me alive."

Alicia got up, "But..."

"I don't blame you for what happened. Actually, I'm thankful I'm still alive. Still . . . alive." he said as his eyes closed.

Alicia walked over to Gustave. Blood was trickling down the sides of his head. She took out a spare handkerchief to wipe the side of his head dry. Gustave looked out at his long-lost ally. They were the last of the Engelhaft, and a reckless act caused the clan's downfall. No regrets, thought Gustave. If it wasn't for the reckless acts of others and himself, perhaps he and Alicia would never meet this way.

Alicia cleaned the last of the drawn blood, the wounds clotting. Gustave gently raised his hand to push Alicia's away from his head. "I was the one that betrayed our friendship... our planet. What do you think you are doing by healing these wounds of mine?"

"Gustave... I..." Alicia began to get tears in her eyes. The man she once loved... isn't dead. That in itself was wonderful. Now that he came to her rescue as well... Gustave understood.

"Shhh..." he said as he put his right index finger to her lips. He rose, slowly and painfully, onto his feet. He helped Alicia up to meet his gaze. "I have one last thing to accomplish before I can leave in peace. You go and disable the reentry rockets that my other self activated," he then whispered three simple words into her ear.

Her eyes widened in half-shock, half joy. She was now frightened, however, as Gustave swiftly turned and headed for the AC dock. Now the real challenge begins.

***

The Dalriadan jumped from the pod onto a flat surface on the satellite. There was plenty of construction debris everywhere from the removal of the main cannon. The sun rose over the earth, shining at the bottom of the satellite. Orbital dust from the construction combined with debris created an eerie sunstreak effect from the bottom up. Raven looked at the opposite end, where an opponent rose from a loading ramp to greet him.

This AC's design was strange, and it had parts of which Raven had never seen. Seemingly a mid-heavyweight design, it held a gun with a long barrel... perhaps the laser cannon used on protector-class AIs that guarded the previous Silent Line of Layered 086. Mounted on his back were two strange rod type weapons with pods at the tips, and at the bottom of the spine seemed to be booster additions. It also had a MOONLIGHT-type blade.
Raven called out to this AC, "Who are you, another raven hired by Gustave?"

Suddenly Raven heard a slight, quiet laughter. This pilot replied with Gustave's voice, "No, no. I'm no raven, I'm much better than any raven could be. I am the leader of the former Engelhaft clan."

Raven replied "Blast you, you're the one who orchestrated all of this!" "Ah, that toy of my megalomaniac self? Tell me, did you like it?" A rage then overcame Raven, almost driving him to attack. Then he remembered the phrase 'those who make the first moves are the ones that ran out of ideas.'

Raven managed to calm himself and then tilted his head forward, narrowing his eyes, staring directly at him. "Tell me, why is it that you've decided to restart the Great Destruction?"

Gustave replied in a synical manner, his alter self creeping in, "I think you human's are the scum of the Earth. A viral beast. You chase your petty prizes like the dogs you are, and go on these foolish wars. You fools are expendable and you blemish the image of this planet. My name is Gustave Shen Macross. My family is a proud family, a family of knights who have always lived by honor. I must fight you, the strongest warrior of my time. You're the one who defeated my Lucifer Dragon. The title of the strongest will be the flowers I will leave on my fallen comrade's graves."

Raven grew more angered after hearing this man's shameless admittance to the mass murder of humankind. He then thought about some of the things he had mentioned. "Hmm… I wasn't the only one who fought the dragon, why is it that I was targeted and not the others…" Then it occurred to him, "That's right, it was my blade that bore through that hellish machine's armor, thus destroying it! So therefore I am considered by you the ultimate warrior, the one who struck the finishing blow. That must also be why you stole my Armored Core... only to get me here and try to prove yourself in battle against me…"

"Oh, please." Gustave sighed, "Fate has chosen this place, this time, this fight for a reason. I am sure of that. You just happen to be caught up in the threads of fate. I must fight an honorable duel to the death if I must write myself down as an Engelhaft."

I glared up at this madman and began to address him in a low, deep tone. "Honor? You capture my Armored Core, draw me into battle with those blasted MTs, risking the lives of my allies. You sacrifice the lives of all those ravens that followed you… You caused all of this bereavement for one duel with me?! Damn you... You are the scum of the Earth. Now, I'll make you pay, I will give you your chance to fight me, and I'll humiliate you and put your entire blasted clan to shame. With your loss will come a punishment worse than your own demise, your eternal disgrace. The name of your entire clan will be permanently destroyed at the hands of… a simple human."

Gustave slightly laughed, then suddenly began to laugh maniacally as he replied to my words, "Oh... you'll see... Raven Cross, you'll soon see that you don't stand any chance against the power of my noble lineage!"

Raven stood across from his enemy primed for battle. They stared each other down. Raven could barely contain his hatred for this man, yet he awaited Gustave's first move. The sun shone off this fighter's gleaming black and golden AC. This AC seemed to be in tip-top condition, undoubtedly because of corporate wealth.

Raven also tried to study Gustave's strange weapons. This gun of his intrigued Raven, he had never seen anything like it. A silver weapon with three long prongs like LC 086 AI MTs. All of those were thought to be destroyed. This gun seemed to be either a new type of weapon variant, or custom made. The whole body of this AC also seemed to be composed of either new or custom parts, meaning that there was no way to truly predict the actual potential of this machine. His back weapons were what looked to be a thin cylinder, perhaps small missiles or orbit cannons. If this man went through so much trouble as to have all of these components custom made, he must be able to handle them.

"Feel my wrath, RAVEN!!!" Gustave shouted as he dashed forward in a burst of sudden speed. Raven stood there and closed his eyes slowly. A slight smirk appeared on his face, and as he opened my eyes he let out a scream of rage... "Lets go! KYAAA!!"

Onward Raven charged, and he vowed not to stop until this enemy's blood was stained onto his hands, and would not give up until the victims of the past had been avenged...
A violent flare of Raven's boosters and he was off into mortal combat, engaged in battle with Gustave Macross. Raven flew upward, as did Gustave, and as their blades met in midair they struggled for supremacy. Raven lost his advantage and was pushed back by the sheer force of Gustave's power.

Sparks flew as Raven's AC landed and slid backward roughly on it's feet. He quickly look upward, and there he saw Gustave's dark silhouette coming downward. Raven leaped backward quickly, narrowly avoiding the downward slash, which would've undoubtedly been fatal if it had connected. Gustave stood slowly from his crouched position as his AC's menacing face looked upward at Raven, standing in front of the melted metal the blade had touched. "Is that all you've got, Raven?" gloated Gustave, "Hah... I was expecting better…"

Raven narrowed his eyes in reply "Such confidence..."