Hello! This is my second Tenchi fic, also, my first actual romance fic! O.o Is that even possible?! It's like saying I'm sane! But oh well, this was bound to happen sooner or later. *shrugs* I don't own Tenchi Muyo. However! I do own Ashley Nonaka, Jared Azerar belongs to Metal: Gear Tempest, Kyle Jones and all the Armored Cores belong to Madcar. On with the fic! ^^ It's funny, it's some what cool, it's

No Need for Armored Cores

"Nonaka! You better get it right this time!" Jared's voice snapped over the intercom.

The blond muttered something in mock of what he had said, she never did get along well with him, the two were constantly butting heads. Her shamerock green eyes narrowed with anger at Jared. Ashley quickly tapped the few key buttons, and blasted out of the hanger. She was the only girl in this group, her curly blond hair was usually pulled into pigtails, but today, she had it down, but, her signature black bandanna was tied around her head. She wore a white baggy shirt, the short sleeves nearly came down to her wrists, her black boys cargo pants had holes torn in the knees, she had gotten them when she was making adjustments to Beta. She was twenty years old and only five foot three inches, not short, but not very tall.

Her Armored Core was a hover type. In other words instead of legs it had a large hover system on its torso. It was colored Green and White. On it's left arm was a picture of two swords crossed with the word: Myth written under the swords. It's head looked like an alligator's head horizontal with the teeth. A large red Eye in the middle. On it's left shoulder was a large gantlet gun, on it's right shoulder was a missile pod. In it's left hand was a semi-auto rifle and on it's right was a light shield.

She set the coordinates to the location of the Armored Core battle, some weak team had decided to pick a fight with the top ranking team in Neo America. Once it was all set, she placed it on autopilot, and slumped further into her seat. She knew if she screwed up once again, Jared would surely kill her. Then again, why'd she care, he always wanted to do that. She shrugged off the thought and concentrated on falling asleep.

Jared Azerar busily worked on his laptop, he had also set his AC on autopilot, he needed to check the attack plans again, he wanted to make sure they would win. The blond boy was pretty much the brains of the group, he set up the attack plans, the others and him would go through with them in a fight. He had blond hair which he kept cleanly cut, rarely did you see him with his hair messed up. He peered over at his sunglasses, he wore them all the time, he didn't want people to see his mechanical right eye. It was gauged out during a knife fight for a tough bounty head. It was replaced with the computer one so he could operate his AC with it. He wore a blue shirt with a black dragon on it, he also wore loose fitting black jeans. Jared quickly looked up at Iota's power level and other things, then went back to his lap top.

Iota was dark blue all over. It's legs were reverse jointed (just like the back legs of a dog). On it's left shoulder was a picture of Mars before it was Tara formed with a large hole in it's middle. On its shoulders was one large missile pod. In it's left hand was a oversized bazooka and on it's right hand was a laser blade.

Kyle Jones busily nodded his head to the heavy beat of the techno music playing in his cockpit, his shaggy blond hair swiftly flowing with each bob of his head. His green eyes sparkled with happiness, finally, he got to fight! This is what he had been looking forward to all week. He wore a red shirt and baggy black jeans, over that, he wore a brown trench coat. After setting his AC to autopilot, he could do whatever he wanted, Jared never really cared, he did have a habit of chew off Ashley's head at every little mistake. If Kyle screwed up, no big deal. Kyle's AC was Alpha.

The AC was fifty five feet tall. It was Red and black in a tiger strip pattern. It had human like legs and a triangular head with a white slit across its face. On it's left shoulder blade was a symbol that said: Bungie with a small earth as the dot on the "i". In its left hand was a sub machine gun that didn't have a barrel, on it's left should was a large plasma rifle that was folded over on it's self, on it's right shoulder was a large grenade launcher painted black and on it's right arm was a laser blade who's blade could extend twenty feet.

The three ACs arrived at the battle spot, the trio looked around, there was no one in sight, just a harsh wind blew over the empty field.

"Where are they?" Jared growled, everything seemed to be going wrong at the moment, he slammed his fist down on his armrest, his teeth were clenched tightly, his eyebrows knitted together.

Ashley smirked, "What's the matter? Are you afraid we might lose?" She taunted in a sing song voice.

"They might not even show!" Jared argued.

"Your just a coward!" The blond girl shot back, the cocky smirk never leaving her face.

Jared punched a few buttons, "You'll pay!" Jared's AC launched a heavy attack on Beta, knocking it right over.

The girl wasn't strapped into her seat, so she was tossed around in the cockpit until the AC came to a complete stop, she was laying on the floor, she felt a bruise beginning to form on her side. Ashley didn't bother moving just yet, mine as well let Jared think he's won.

Suddenly, the three ACs were surrounded by a blue bubble.

"What's going on?" Kyle cried.

"I have no clue." Ashley responded with both fear and amazement.

"Now who's the coward?" Jared snarled at Ashley.

Ashley didn't even bother answering him, she knew better that anyone else that Jared was scared too.

With a flash of light, the three ACs disappeared without a trace.

~*~

Mihoshi was the first to notice the three ACs coming in for a crash landing in the lake. The sunshine blond had been sweeping up at the shrine with Kiyone, it was the least they could do for letting them stay at the Masaki house hold.

"What do you suppose those are?" Mihoshi asked her partner, leaning slightly on the broom.

Suddenly, there came a large wave of water, which eventually settled back in the lake.

"Let's go check it out!" Mihoshi grinned, she grabbed her partner's hand and literally dragged her down to the site.

~*~

Everyone who lived at the Masaki shrine emerged from hiding and cautiously approached the lake where the three ACs were settled.

"They're Armored Cores." Washu simply said.

"How do you know what they are, Miss Washu?" Ayeka asked politely.

"Well, I am the greatest scientific genious in the universe." She responded with a laugh. The two little A and B dolls popped up on her shoulders.

"Yes Washu!" A cheered.

"The greatest!" B continued

"Washu! Washu! Washu! Washu!" A and B chanted in unison

The whole group took a step back when the cockpits opened up, they were unsure of who or what they were going to see come out of those Armore Cores.

Ashley was the first to leap out of there and land directly into lake, then swim over to the rest of the shore, slightly short of breath. Jared and Kyle were not to far behind.

"Who are you people?" Ayeka asked sharply.

"I know who they are!" Mihoshi squealed, clapping her hands together and smiling.

"How do you know who were are?" Ashley growled at the blond girl.

"Because of the Armored Core show!"

"Well, I guess we really are famous Jared." Kyle joked.

Ashley didn't buy it, she just narrowed her eyes at the group, "You're bluffing."

"I'm not!" Mihoshi protested.

"Then who am I?" Kyle asked.

"You're Kyle Jones, and the other guy is Jared Azerar." Mihoshi quickly recited, then she stopped at Ashley, "Though, I can't remember your name. Are you Sarah Sheen?"

The tough blond snorted, "It's Ashley Nonaka, not that you'll remember it."

"Oh yeah, forgot." Mihoshi said, almost sadly.

"If you forget again, I'll spear you." Ashley snarled, then stomped off into the forest.

"Don't mind her, she's just shaken up from everything that's happened." Kyle explained, strutting over to the group of people.

"Can we stay at your place for a while?" Jared quickly asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Sasami smiled, "Did you think we were about to leave you here with no place to stay."

"You mean it?" Kyle said in disbelief.

Sasami eagerly nodded.

"Thank you so much!" Kyle and Jared thanked the group in unison.

~*~

As nightfall came, Ashley still refused to come out of the woods, the temperature dropped dramatically, and she hadn't completely dried off from her swim earlier. Another cold breeze whistled past her, causing her to shiver.

"Ashley?" A voice rang out.

She refused to respond, she was sitting in a tree, hoping no one would find her.

"C'mon! Those people were nice enough to let us stay at their house, the least you could do is come and eat!" The voice begged.

"Fine! I'll be there in a minute." She finally answered.

"Thank you!" The voice shouted.

The blond girl swung down from the tree and landed softly onto the ground. Her eyes examined her dark surroundings. Suddenly screams seemed to echo through the woods. They sounded like her parents and her sisters. Ashley shut her eyes tightly, she covered her ears trying to mute the screeches.

"Stop it! Cut it out!" She curled up on the forest floor, tears threatening to spill, "Stop it!" Her voice was growing meaker.

"Ash!" The voice shouted to her.

She looked up, there was Kyle standing over her. She quickly regained her composure, and stood up, the shrieks seemed to have disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, just fine." Her eyes narrowed and she headed back to the Masaki household. When she got in the house, she noticed Jared's clothes were dry, Kyle's were also. She took a seat next to Ryoko, who was drinking some sake, Ashley just grabbed the bottle from her, and chugged the rest of it down.

"Hey! That was mine!" Ryoko yelled as the tough blond set the empty down in front of her.

"Tough luck." She murmured back.

"Aren't you going to eat anything Miss Nonaka?" Ayeka asked.

Ashley narrowed her eyes at the princess, "I'm just really tired!"

"Tenchi, why don't you show the young lady to her room?" Yosho asked calmly.

"You don't mind sharing a room with Mihoshi, do you?" Tenchi asked.

"No." She growled.

"Follow me." Tenchi motioned for the blond girl to follow, which she did.

When they got to the room Tenchi pulled out the extra mattress thing, you know, the things they sleep on! Ashley quickly snatched it from him and rolled it out in the corner of the room.

As soon as Tenchi left, Ashley shut off the lights and lied down. She reached into her cargo pant pockets and pulled out her two guns, they were ruined, she rolled up her right pant leg and unattached the knife from her lower leg. She set everything closest to the wall, maybe she could get her guns fixed soon.

~*~

During the night, Tenchi woke to the sound of someone crying. He figured Mihoshi must have had another nightmare, but, just to make sure, he slowly got out from his sheets, and shuffled over to Mihoshi and Ashley's room. When he got in there, he saw Mihoshi fast asleep. He quietly tip toed over to Ashley, his eyebrows shot up too. She was sleep crying, but about what?

"Mommy......Daddy....." He heard the tough blond whimper in her sleep.

Unsure of what to do, Tenchi tried waking the girl up, which worked just fine. In a quick movement the girl snatched up one of her guns, and pointed it directly between Tenchi's eyes, which widened in surprise.

"I'm sorry." She murmured setting the weapon back where it was, she quickly wiped off any tears that remained. "What are you doin' in here anyway?"

"You were crying and I came to see what was wrong."

Ashley narrowed her eyes, "I wasn't crying! Now get out before I really do splatter your brains all over that wall."

Tenchi started to open his mouth to argue, but, he thought better of it, and left the blond girl to go back to sleep, he needed his sleep as well.

'I can't believe I did that!' Ashley mentally scolded herself, 'I can't be seen crying like that!'

She angerly punched her pillow, then laid down to go back to sleep, hoping she wouldn't start crying once again.

~*~

The smells of fresh food cooking slowly eased Ashley out of her sleep, she slowly sat up, stretched and yawned. Just then, Jared's head poked in.

"Nonaka! Time to wake up! I have some plans for the next AC battle!" He snarled before walking off.

Ashley sighed, she stuffed her guns back in her cargo pant pockets, and placed her knife back in it's holder. After lingering for a bit, she decided to get Jared's lecture over with.

On her way down the stairs, she nearly ran into Tenchi.

"Good morning Miss Nonaka!" Tenchi smiled to her cheerfully.

The blond narrowed her eyes at him, she knew he was trying to make her feel better, but, she wasn't going to buy it. She continued her way down the stairs, ignoring Tenchi. She took a seat next to Kyle on the couch, Jared had already started when she got there.

"You're late!" Jared growled.

"Shut up and get on with it." Ashley snapped back.

"Very well. As I was saying, Kyle and Ashley, you two will go on for the full front attack, I'll take control over their leader's AC and destroy it. Any questions?" Jared finished.

Ashley raised her hand.

"Yes, Nonaka." Jared said irritably.

"Why can't I take the leader?"

"Because you can barely handle the attack!" Jared snarled.

She narrowed her eyes again, after the meeting she was going to get him, bad.

~*~

The blond didn't bother paying any attention as to who they were fighting, she just kept thinking about how she was going to attack him! As if on cue, Jared closed up his laptop, and disconnected it from the t.v.

"You and me. Outside. Now." Was all Ashley said coldly.

Jared smirked, "Trying this again, eh?"

"Yes!" She growled.

The two quickly headed outside, everyone else seemed to gather all around.

"Get ready to go down, Nonaka!" Jared yelled to her.

"You wish." She answered, swinging a punch at his jaw.

Jared easily blocked the attack and countered it with a punch to her gut. Ashley wheeled back slightly short of breath, not enough to knock her out of the fight. Jared took this oppritunity to punch her square in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. The blond girl started to get up, but was pinned down by Jared's foot, she quickly pulled out her knife, took a stab at Jared's foot, but missed and hit the ground. The blond boy quickly backed up, ready to counter any attack. She pulled her knife out of the ground and dove at Jared with it. He kicked at Ashley's hand, sending the knife flying, he knocked Ashley across the ground, and quickly picked up the knife. Ashley narrowed her eyes and instantly went after the knife, Jared took the oppritunity to stab the angry blond girl in the leg, even though he was aiming for her gut. Ashley sank to the ground holding her leg, blood had already began seeping through.

Ayeka had been watching intently the whole time. Jared was just as good as Tenchi fighting, she felt her cheeks go slightly red when Jared looked at her, he must have figured she was staring at him. His eyebrows shot up, and she saw his cheeks turn a slight pink. She watched him as she stuffed his hands in his pockets and sulked off into the house.

The blond girl quickly yanked out the knife, wiped off her blood on her pants, wouldn't matter because they were black, and she placed it back in it's holder. She looked up to see a hand being offered to her, she looked up at it's owner, it was Tenchi. She glared at him.

"Need some help?" He asked.

"No! I have two legs I can walk just fine!" Her eyes narrowing every second, she quickly stood up, and limped back into the house.

Chapter One Complete.

Hey all! See! It wasn't that bad. And you thought it would kill you. ^^' Well, what'd ya think? Tell me please and thank you! This is your authoress saying that if hackers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any wars, just a lot of accidents. ~*~Carol 'Minion' Maxwell~*~