Disclaimer: I do not own armored core but I sure as hell would like to own it. I would make some serious changes.

Age of Ascension

Chp. 1

The year is A.E. (After Earth, as in after the Great Destruction) 347. It was the beginning of the age of prosperity. Past the trying times of the ever impotent controller, Nine-Ball, Silent Line and the Mars threat. It had been ten years since the ever-defending Navis had been destroyed and the mysterious threat of the thousands of A.I. controlled drones nearly destroyed the face of the planet Earth. Now with the world back on track, Corporation conflicts have been on the rise, the difference between the rich and the poor have only gotten larger, and Ravens, men and women who pilot large mechs known as Acs, have never before been in more business. Some age of prosperity.

Especially now with Earth reunited with it's sister planet, Mars, Corporations from both sides have been in a constant battle to either absorb or destroy one another.

However because of the radical increase in Corporation conflict; more Corporations such as the return of Zio Matrix(Mars) and Chrome(Earth), and the creation of Net Nav(Earth), Solaris Enterprises(Earth), MT Empire(Mars), and Bicentennial Industries(Mars) now added to the mix, it calls for many more Ravens. The influx of Ravens however caused a flurry of different idealisms, conflicting sides, and problems. With that in mind, it wouldn't seem completely crazy if more then one Raven Group arises.

Now the Ravens themselves are divided. Raven's Ark(Earth), Raven's Nest(Earth), The Principality(Mars), Nexus(Earth), The Frighteners(Mars), Elitist Organization(Mars), and The Knighthood(Mars). Each of these groups are at odds with each other and fighting to gain the power and recognition required from the Corporations to become the strongest Raven group. Howbeit, even with all of these groups, there are freelance Ravens everywhere in the two worlds. Traveling from planet to planet in search of business or the thrill of combat, these freelance Ravens have made a living for themselves without getting involved with the political clashes between either the Corporations, The Raven groups, or the planets themselves.

One such freelancer, Marcus Barrington, the "Lone Wolf" goes from planet to planet in search of the necessary funds to keep his somewhat large cargo ship in somewhat working order. Suddenly, his ship was attacked by Raiders, Ac pilots with no code of conduct whatsoever, and pretty much pillaged and plundered. Then instead of killing off Marcus, they let him drift into a nearby Space Station near the earth's Moon. This is where our story shall begin…

On Space Station "Rangor", Year A.E. 347, 18:45

"Goddamnit! Sons of bitches! Bastard punks from hell!" That was profane mouth of the ever-aging Marcus Barrington. Yet even at age 53, he could still keep up with most younger Ac pilots, just not 20 at the same time. No Ac could stand those odds and for sure not Marcus's Tank Ac, "Goliath." Now stuck in this rotting hellhole people call a Space Station, Marcus had no choice but to find lots of cash very quickly. There was no way in hell that he would let them get away with this. Then again, the whole 20 against 1 problem came back.

Standing in front of a window in the waiting room of the "Rangor" Repair Station and Dock, he was pretty much fuming. Even the people that were sitting quietly around him decided not to make a single sound. In his hands was the cost of the repairs, not only to his Ac, but also to his ship the "Avenger." Both were pretty much in shambles and would require extensive repairs, totaling up to around the neighborhood of six hundred thousand credits. Marcus only had about twenty thousand left from the raid on his ship and barely had any working parts to sell. Why couldn't they just have killed him instead of making him suffer?

Growling outloud in another fit of rage, someone actually had the gall to poke him in the shoulder to get his attention.

Spinning on a dime only to yell, "What!" He noticed that it was the desk clerk that he had just talked to and received this bill from.

Pushing up her very narrow glasses and showing no fear whatsoever, she calmly stated, "So how are you going to pay for this Mister Barrington? Cash or Credit?"

Marcus suddenly started sweating and tried to say something but only mumbles came out.

The desk clerk, with her sharp burgundy business suit, merely asked, "You don't have the sufficient funds for this, do you?"

"Maybe?" Marcus peeped.

Slam!

Marcus gaped in horror as he watched his poor "Avenger" being bolted and chained down in the impound lot.

"My baby!" He screamed as the final Mk XII Lockdowns came down on it, bolting down it's long slender form. He really hated his life right about now.

The impound officer walked out of the lot then locking the gate that opened into the lot, he turned to the gaping Raven and laughed.

"Sucks to be you right about now doesn't it?"

Marcus turned to him and gave him a glare that could wilt flowers.

The officer then decided to leave before he got beaten down by Marcus's large frame. The Raven definitely looked like he could kick his ass, he didn't need to find out.

After the officer left, Marcus sighed to himself and stretched his arms out to relax. After getting those few cricks, he thought about what he should do next. He could try and figure out how to get the money needed to repair his Ac, his ship, and pay the newly inducted ninety thousand credit impound fee…….Or he could just go to the nearby Bar and drown his worries in beer and alcohol.

Marcus nodded at the latter choice and started walking down the craggy sidewalk to a bar he saw not too far away. Considering the fact that his car had been taken by the raiders too, he had to foot it.

Marcus then looked around to truly get his bearings. He knew generally where he was at, just not that well. This was the city Lost Haven, where dreams are born then broken. It rested inside the remarkable advance atmospheric system of the Rangor Station. Speaking of which, Marcus remembered that the Rangor station was actually composed of three large Cities, each of them facing each other in a giant egg design that the station was created with. It looked weird that when you look up you could see one of the other citied but it definitely added an interesting feel to it. The gravity system, he remembered, was a marvel of technology itself. All three cities had their own field that expanded as far as the city limits in the form of a bubble. The fields however where created with opposing frequencies so they only expand as far as the opposite field was. That way each city had it's own gravity to simulate life on a planet. Even if you where just walking in circles no matter which way you walked. Then again the same could be said on just a regular planet.

Even the lighting system was very advanced. It simulated both daytime and night time from this elongated rod that spanned the length of the station but laid on the very edges of the grav fields. Right now, it was night time. Marcus looked at his watch, and after setting it to Ragnor Station time, it read 12:44. Just the right time to get drunk.

After quickly jogging his way through the busy traffic, he reached the "Got Spirits?" Bar and entered in. It was a decent bar, as compared to some others he had been to. This one was actually clean and had some strobe lights shooting out of every corner and wall. There was a dance floor in the middle which was occupied by a variety of people dancing as if the end was near. The music, though loud, had that techno beat to it that Marcus could actually enjoy. Aside from the fact that it was loud as hell. Surrounding the dance floor were the tables were people were enjoying themselves with drinking, talking, and……other stuff.

"Ah youth." Marcus sighed remembering the somewhat good old days. He missed those times where he was young and did all the stupid shit that he did. But aside from the fact that he was older he still is doing that same stupid shit.

Shaking his head, he walked around the dance floor and through the crowd that was just standing around watching people dance. When he reached the bar, he slapped the hard silver metal counter top and got the attention of the bartender. The craggy gray looking man, turned around and smiled, "Another Raven down on his luck?"

"Shut up and give me a beer." Marcus snapped.

The bartender gave a slight chuckle and said, "Just a beer?"

Marcus glared at him for a moment and then looked at his pocket, "Give me a cal-free beer."

The bartender burst into laughter and gave a Bud-Light, "Damn you must really be down on your luck."

Marcus snatched the beer from the bartenders hand and started drinking it. After the first few swigs, he put the beer down and realizing that this would take him more effort to get drunk then usual, he said, "Give me a bottle of Vodka."

The bartender nodded his head, "That'll put some hair on your ass. In fact……" The bartender looked around and ducked under the bar. After fumbling through some drinks he found his goal and came back up. "Catch."

He tossed the large bottle of clear liquid to Marcus and all Marcus could do once reading the front was smile. It was a bottle of Vodka from the year 1946. This thing had to be at least four to five hundred years old. The fact that it was still in one piece was a marvel in it's own.

But he kindly refused and said, "I can't afford something like this."

The Bartender pushed it back and said, "Nah, it's on the house."

Marcus pushed it back, "This thing is worth some serious money. Can't do it."

The Bartender pushed it back and said with a little more force then before, "You look like you need it more then I do."

Marcus looked at him for a moment and smiled, "Thanks for the comment. And the gift."

The Bartender nodded as he turned to grab a shot glass but as he turned back, he realized that this Raven must be really down on his luck. The guy just popped the bottle open and started guzzling it.

Halfway through the drink later, he slammed the bottle on the countertop and gasped. His entire chest was on fire and he was loving every moment of it. He already started feeling a little buzzed from it too. Damn this was one of the good ones. He felt like the heavy liquor was filling every single inch of his body warming, it was a sweet sensation. He quickly felt all of his worries and fears disappearing. But he still wasn't drunk yet. Though he would be after tonight.

Six drinks later, four for Marcus and two for the Bartender; they started talking about all sorts of stuff. Marcus finally got the name of the Bartender and his name was Ted. Marcus had almost hit the floor when he heard that name but he was able to somewhat keep his balance.

After their laughing fit, Marcus had told Ted about the Pirates that had revenged his ship and Ac. All Ted could do was join him in the crying. After they had finished crying, Marcus had suddenly decided to take a trip down memory lane.

"Damn. And I used to be so good too." Marcus said after gulping down another shot of Bacardi.

Ted looked up and with a slur, "What?"

"I used to be such a good pilot!" Marcus yelled almost over the music. "I was among the best. I could have taken on more then six Ac's at the same time."

Ted started giggling and asked, "When was that? The Stone Age?"

Marcus hit his head on the table and said subtly muffled, "Yeah. About twenty years ago."

Ted gave him a wryly look, as wryly as a drunk man could do, and replied, "Who did you fight for?"

"Raven's Ark. During the few years of peace that we had, I worked for Navis, Mirage, and Kisaragi."

"What about Crest?" Ted asked curiously.

"Bah! Fuck them." Marcus cursed, " Crest are a whole bunch of bastards with their own fucking stable of damned pilots."

"Oh." Ted nodded to himself and asked, "Genobee and Redstar?"

"Yeah. Them and the whole lot of them. That and Genobee stole something from me that I could never get back, just because I didn't have enough power."

Ted got curious and asked, "Did you fight in the Navis War?"

"Yeah. Mirage was the main buyer while Crest and Kisaragi were falling behind. So I had a lot of Mission requests from Mirage."

"What about after that one Raven got attacked by Mirage?" Ted asked wondering if this guy knew that Raven.

Marcus looked up and said, "That guy was good. He was able to destroy the Ac that was attacking that place while dodging all that firepower. But yeah, after that, I lost my taste for Mirage."

"Then what did you do?"

"I decided to help Navis a little. Even Kisaragi asked me to help them on the side." Marcus sighed and then sat up and stretched. Sighing again, he looked at the Bartender and released a hearty laugh. "What about you? What do you do besides getting friendly with drunk Ex-Ravens?"

Ted grinned and said, "I have always been a Bar-man. It's my life. I love it and this will be what I do till I die."

Marcus nodded impressed. The man had one hell of a goal. Going down with the ship took a very strong resolve. "What about family? Got anybody? Got a girlfriend maybe?"

Ted let out a small chuckle, "Marcus, I'm more then forty years old. Having a girlfriend would seem a little out of line, don't you think?"

"You're never too old, I always say." Marcus stated while swallowing another shot.

"Yeah, well the misses would think otherwise." Ted noted.

Marcus put his hands up in defense, "Oh? A married man?"

"More like a ball and chained man." Ted joked."

"I take it she wears the pants in the house?" Marcus asked now the curious one.

"More like the pants, shirt, boots, and hardhat." Ted took a gulp from his bottle of beer and added, "I guess that's what you get for marrying a Raven."

Marcus tipped over from his seat.

Ted looked over and found Marcus on the ground laughing his head off. Ted rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "I know, unbelievable isn't it?"

Marcus tried to say something but couldn't through the fit of laughter. Ted rolled his eyes again and asked, "Could you knock it off for just a moment?"

Marcus decided that now would be the best time and slowly got back up while looking around. It seemed there were other people who wanted to know why he was laughing so hard. Marcus grinned at them and sat back down on his stool. Looking back to Ted, he said, "Damn, that would definitely be a Ball and Chain relationship. A Raven huh? Who? Maybe I know her?"

"Well, she quit around the time Navis fell. She was one of their top defenders." Ted commented.

Marcus automatically knew who she was, "Rebel Cross? Used to be teammates with Iron Cross?"

"Yep."

Marcus thought for a moment and asked aloud, "But I thought that Iron Cross and Rebel Cross were lovers?"

"They still are." Ted stated with a sly grin on his face.

Marcus caught the hint and said surprised, "You're Iron Cross?"

Ted pulled up his sleeve and flexed his slight prominent arm muscles revealing a tattoo of a cross made out of rusty iron. "The one and only."

"Wow. Didn't see that coming." Marcus said still surprised.

Ted though had another question, "Hey Marcus?"

Marcus cocked an eyebrow at the sound of his name.

"What happened after those drones came in and destroyed everything. Where did you go? I mean I had heard rumors but I never heard anything definite." Placing his elbow on the table, "I mean I really doubt you were the first Freelancer."

Marcus sighed solemnly and said, "Let's just say that I got involved with the wrong group of fanatics."

Suddenly, the dance floor was in a frenzy and there was something or someone was running through the group. With slurry words of profane insults and cries of displeasure going about, Marcus got curious as to what was trying to get through. Ted was curious also.

Then out of the group came a little kid. He looked like he had seen a ghost, pale as anything. And his clothes, or more like rags, indicated that he had gotten into a little scrap with someone. Or maybe some people.

"Hey kid!" Ted yelled out in obvious amusement and anger, "What do you think you're doing in here?"

The kid though paid no mind to him and started looking for someone with a look of bewilderment on his face. Marcus could recognize that something, or someone had scared the crap out of him. What it was, he was certainly interested in.

The kid finally found his target which was a young looking girl in the corner enjoying a drink with an assortment of other individuals. Marcus recognized all of them as Ravens, and by the fist and white sword insignia on their shoulder, they had to be among the Knighthood. These guys were rough and tough but were bound by an Honor's code that helped them select their missions. They mostly picked missions that involved people being oppress by other corporations. Still, with that mentality, they were often criticized and killed because of their lackluster commitment to the kill. Marcus however appreciated that someone, or group, still had some common decency in the word.

Of course, that decency was completed tossed out the window by the next group that came in. Just as the boy had reached the girl and the girl sent a flurry of questions to him, another group came in shoving their way through the crowd. At first even more profane judgment was sent upon the people who interrupted them but they were quickly silenced. In fact the dance floor seemed to part ways like Moses to the Red Sea.

And once Marcus saw the group he completely understood why. He spun around in his chair and faced Ted quickly saying, "Don't look at them!"

Ted looked for a moment longer and asked, "Why?"

Marcus grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down practically screaming out in a whisper, "They're Frighteners!"

Ted got that pale look on his face as well and ducked under the table.

Frighteners… They were pretty much the darkest part of humanity. They were a group of B, A, S, and SA class Ravens who held no regard for humanity whatsoever. They were called in on the most dangerous and often the most messy of missions. With the abandonment that they carry, they often kill in public just to have fun. And nobody will do anything about it because they are pretty much scared shitless of them. Of course, that doesn't mean that Marcus is scared of them. He just knows what they can do in a place like this.

And whatever this boy did to them to make them chase after him, he felt sorry for the boy. They would most likely kill him and kill whoever protects him. Which meant that the five Raven pilots that sat at the table, all who Marcus guessed were from The KnightHood, were pretty much struck. And from the looks on their faces, they realized that too.

"Where is he?" One of the larger male Frighteners bellowed, "I'ma rip that little runt to pieces as soon as I get my hands on him!"

Marcus took another drink from his wondrous Bacardi and wondered as to what the little kid did to gain such an audience.

"Shut up Vicious." A somewhat younger female Raven snapped. Even though she was half the other guys size, he shut up really quickly. It seemed that she was the one that instilled fear amongst them, therefore she was the one in charge. Still, even though she look small, their was a air of ruthlessness about her that nearly seemed inhuman.

"It's you're fault that you let the kid get in your Ac and fuck with the controls."

"I only left the cockpit to let the air out! It was only for-"

Marcus didn't even see the arm fly as the larger Raven was slammed with what looked and elbow right to the side of his face. The one in charge seemed to had nailed him straight to the ground. And what was even more scary was the fact that the guy didn't even do anything about it. He just sat on the ground trying to soothe out the stinging sensation that enveloped his face.

The female Raven looked at him for only a moment and then turned and found the kid being clutched but his very scared sister. Even though both females were Ravens, Ravens from different groups often found dislike for the other group. At the top were the Frighteners.

"Give me the kid," The Frightener ordered coldly.

The girl held on to him harder and yelled, "No! Just get out of here! He didn't do anything to you guys!" The other four KnightHood Ravens stood up and surrounded their comrade and her younger brother who looked as scared as his sister.

Marcus turned back to the female Frightener and watched at how she laughed with such a cold emptiness. She tossed her semi-long black hair back revealing a ghastly scar on her face that ran from her chin up over her eye. She still had her eye, but it was obviously fake. The injury had been very destructive from just the look. But just the fact that she survived something like that was a bit scary. Which only added to it's intimidation role.

"That rat had the gall to mess with Breaker's Ac. Though he is the ass for letting something like that happen, it's still unforgivable." She said coldly.

The other Raven looked at her younger brother, scared out of his mind, and then closed her eyes for only a moment. Marcus for a moment there actually thought that she was going to turn him over. He was wrong thankfully.

She opened her eyes and then stood up placing herself between the Frightener and her brother. "You won't touch him." Her other comrades moved forward as well, bravely placing themselves right beside her in obvious defiance.

The Frightener chuckle and whipped out a large black handgun, aiming for the head of the female Raven that would defy her. And just as everything was about to go to hell, a large white hand grabbed the gun and pointed it upward just as it fired.

The shot resounded through the entire room scaring the mess out of everyone. Most of them took off, screaming in fear while a few stayed just to see what would happen.

The Frightener looked to the side and saw Marcus standing there with his hand on the gun. Snarling violently at him, she let go of the gun and tried to punch him in the face but Marcus, even though aged, was still very fast, and moved out of the way. Then he grabbed her by the wrist twisted her arm around and pinned her against the counter.

The other Frighteners reacted by pulling out their guns but they stopped once they saw that Marcus had placed his newly acquired gun against the forehead of their commander.

"Now then," Marcus said politely while looking at all of the Ravens, "We don't need any bloodshed today."

The Frightener under his grip shook fiercely trying to get up and threatened, "Get off me or I'll kill you!"

Marcus rolled his eyes and said, "No, you won't Eva."

The Female Frightener stop shaking and got a confused look on her face. She turned her head as best as possible as tried to take in her holder's face. Suddenly her face lit up with the light of recognition. "Marcus? Lone Wolf?"

The other Frighteners gasped outloud while the Knighthood Ravens, backed up a little.

Ted looked up from over the counter as for he was curious as to why everyone started getting surprised.

Marcus smiled at Eva and said, "Sorry for the rough handling but I'm not going to let you take a life today." He let Eva go and as she slowly got up, turning to Marcus, Marcus expertly snapped the chamber off and dropped the dismantled gun to the floor.

Eva looked at him in disbelief and then snarled, "You were always so damned soft 'Lone Wolf.' You never did enjoy the taking of lives as we did. Even if you were one of us."

Ted gasped quietly and whispered, "He was a Frightener!"

The KnightHood Ravens looked like they had taken a crap in their pants now wondering what was going to happen. One of them spoke out to Marcus, "Are you indeed the Legendary 'Lone Wolf?' The Raven said to have taken on twenty others in combat and won?"

Then another one added, "The one who defeated the legion of Mts single handedly? The Army made by MT Empire?"

Marcus scratched his head and said, "Well I don't know about the twenty Acs parts. It was more like eighteen. But yeah, that's me."

The girl Raven backed up, "But you are Frightener, aren't you?" She asked hesitantly.

Marcus shook his head, "Nope. That's Ex-Frightener now. But out since the Neo Vass City slaughter."

Eva suddenly grinned and said, "Ah, good times, good times."

Marcus glared at her for only a moment and said to the other Ravens, "You guys can go. They won't mess with you."

The Frightener Ravens started objected stating that they had the right to retaliate but it only took a snap look from Marcus to shut them up.

The female Raven clutched her brother tightly as they moved around the Frighteners and then moved out to the door. She was the last to leave, turning around to Marcus, she called out, "My name is Sophia, 'Last Ark', I hope I can repay you one day." And before Marcus could say no, she left.

Marcus sighed and said to Eva, "Now are you going to mess with them anymore?"

Eva growled under her breath and quietly said, "No." She knew Marcus all to well. He was the protecting type so he wouldn't allow her or her men anywhere near those other Ravens. She would just have to wait.

"Good." Marcus said suddenly feeling the drunken feeling coming back again. He turned to Ted who was now vividly interested and threw him the last of his credits. "Thanks for the drinks"

Ted nodded and watched him leave. Then turning to the Frighteners, he laughed, "So he was the Legendary Lone Wolf that led the Frightener group, 'Exile 13', correct?"

Eva did not say nor did nothing.

"The same group you guys are, correct?" Ted said while pointing to the Emblem on their Raven Uniforms. It was a Raven flying with the numbers in black, 13.

"Wasn't he also involved with the Neo Vass City-"

"Are you done, 'Iron Cross?'" Eva snapped.

Ted was shocked at first that she recognized him, but he just dismissed it and said, "Have a nice day."

Eva snorted and snapped, "Whatever."

Well, now Marcus has officially had a piss poor day. One, he has no money, no Ac, and no ship to get off this bubbling pot of hatred between Ravens. Well, that was actually more like three problems. But now he has an idea and it wasn't pretty. He knew this was a haven for different types of Ravens and shit but he didn't know that the Frighteners were here. Simply put, they don't like anybody so that's bad news for everyone. And depending on how many Frighteners are here will determine just how many people will suddenly go missing. In the end, it will go bad, very bad.

His second problem was now he was among those that the Frighteners hate. Well, that's no change. The Frighteners don't stand for Ravens that leave them. Too many secrets and so forth. The only one-up that he had on them was that they didn't know where he was. Now they do and now he was screwed.

But hell, it really didn't matter. He had nothing to his name save for the scrap pile of an Ac sitting in front of him in the Rangor Station Ac repair shop and that wasn't really worth anything right about now.

And after all that drinking, he wasn't even half drunk! He had planned to be laid out against the ground pretty much into a coma by now. Instead he's as sober as a new born baby getting his rear slapped to hell and back. And here walking was some more bad news.

Marcus turned from looking at his melted Ac and saw the Master Chief Technician walking up to him. He had the standard blue jumpsuit that came with all techies, but it was actually clean cut and sparkling. Which seemed weird since this guy would be the top dude getting dirty from repairs and mess.

From Marcus's memory, his name was Roy, Roy Arcturus. He owned one of the many repair company firms that served as a major tool for Ac pilots, Mt pilots, and Corporations alike. He was supposed to be brilliant when it came to Ac construction and reconstruction. And with an army of mechanics that are just as good as he is, or near, he can recreate any Ac from any type of destruction. Maybe he can save Goliath.

Roy walked up to Marcus and sighing sorrowfully, Marcus already knew what was the result. Roy ran his hard worn hands through his old black hair and decided to just flat out tell him the bad news.

"Marcus, you're boned." Was the best way he could put it.

Marcus rolled his eyes and groaned, "How bad is it? You told me it would only be a hundred thousand credits over the phone."

Roy snapped his head to him and pointed at him, "And you said it was a somewhat damaged Ac. Not one that had been raped by twenty different Acs." Roy turned back to the slag of molten steel and retorted, "You can't even salvage these parts. They have been destroyed beyond any type of restoration. I could repair them."

Marcus's eyes glowed with the light of hope.

"But it would cost you more then the actual cost of the Ac, complete ammo refit, and tuning combined. It could easily run you over four hundred thousand credits."

Marcus exploded in rage and disbelief, "How the hell does it cost that much!"

Roy looked at Marcus like he was a newborn child, even though he was most likely five years his senior at least, and explained with the experience he had gained through the years, "When someone asks to get an Ac repaired, it usually consists of damaged parts, replacing ammo, and maybe even replacing some minor or major parts here and there. The smallest I've dealt with would be armor missing because of shrapnel, to the biggest, replacing arms and joints. This!" He pointed to Goliath, "Is not some armor missing. Both arms are fragged to hell. All of the rolling mechanisms and ball point system in the tread system are completely fried or melded into each other. The outer and inner rim armor have been either completely destroyed, removed, or wielded onto the exoskelton of the body. All the weapons are either useless due to malfunctioning parts or key components being fragged. Your Lx cannon for instance is now completely useless because the satellite configuration system is damaged beyond repair. All of the microchips are zapped and the triangulation system is ruined. The barrel has bent to a complete ninety degree angle and it's missing most of the firing mechanisms. And that's just scratching the surface. Want to know the rest?"

Marcus was just beyond stunned. Guess it made sense. Taking on twenty was full-hardy at best. But still, where the hell was he going to get that much money.

"Tis a sad shame that Goliath has been brought down from it's former glory like that." A cold voice stated from behind Marcus.

Marcus instantly recognized the voice and whirred around. "Eva."

Roy turned around as well and sighed, "Great, Frighteners."

Eva walked up to Marcus and said to Roy, "Leave now."

Roy put his hands up and said, "Hey, I know when to leave. Especially with you." He strolled out and left Marcus and Eva to themselves.

After a few moments of akward silence, Eva said out of the blue, "You're like wine, you

look better with age."

Marcus chuckled and replied, "And you seem to just get into more danger with pain. Sometimes, I think you and him got a thing going on."

Eva grinned slightly and placed her hand over her eye, "This was punishment surprisingly." He said with a ruthlessness she saved only for those she hated most.

Marcus cocked an eyebrow and asked, "From who?"

"Laura." She stated flatly.

Marcus cringed at the sound of that name.

Laura Vargras. She was the second in command of the Frighteners. And you just don't get up there by bullshitting around. She is second only to Leos Klein, the leader of the Frighteners.

No, not to be confused with the original Leos Klein, the one who was involved with Phobos and the Disorder units. This guy only claims that he is part of his lineage. But one thing is for sure, whatever he claims, his skills more then back it up. Being number one in the Frighteners gives you a lot of enemies, within the organization and outside of it. Even still, the callousness and savageness you need to stay at that level is more then what normal humans should be able to have. Apparently he raises the bar at how horrid and dangerous a human being can be.

And Laura Vargras is right under him, and the only reason she hasn't taken his stop yet is because she hasn't had the chance to kill him yet. She has tried, and Leos has enjoyed every time she has tried. In fact, he turned it into a game. If she wins, she claims his title. If he wins, she is his forever. And it's not a bad catch either, even at 38 she has a very firm body with many temptations. Which can easily explain many things.

Still, why did Laura do that to Eva? What's the story behind that?

Marcus grabbed Eva by the shoulders and just as he was about to ask, Eva interrupted him.

"Don't worry about it. It's none of your concern."

Marcus sighed and shook his head. Then turning back to his own personal scrap heap, he forked the question, "Then what do you want?"

Eva turned professional suddenly and said, "I have a mission request for you."

Marcus got bug-eyed and looked at Eva, "A mission? For me?"

"Yes you." Eva snapped, "I suggest you take it. It's very profitable."

"No, no, no." Marcus knew this was too good to be true, "I'm Ex-Frightener. I don't do missions for you guys."

"No, you're Freelancer." Eva replied, "You accept missions from anyone."

Marcus shut up quietly after realizing how true that was. Then after thinking about it, he decided to bite. "What does it offer exactly?" There was definitely something wrong with this, and he wanted to know what. It was probably a ploy to kill him. They do shit like this.

"Two hundred thousand credits with bonuses. With a complete refit of Goliath." She stated like a businessman.

Oh yeah, ploy to kill him. "Screw that."

Eva's eyes turned to slits, "What?"

Marcus crossed his arms and said quite angrily, "You really think I'm going to just fall into something like that and get killed doing it? Please! I don't know how you think I am but it won't work."

Eva growled her usual growl and snapped, "Stop taking everything like we want to kill you! Believe it or not, Leos wants you back! Not dead!"

That caught Marcus's attention, "Who wants me back?"

This time Eva, crossed her arms and said more angrily then Marcus was, "Leos! He wants to change the way we have been doing things just to get you back in. He thinks you were too good of a pilot to just leave like you did. He wants to bring you back. This is a small incentive for it."

Marcus shook his head, "I'm not going back. Simple as that."

"He just wants' you to think about it."

"I'm not going to"

Eva really started getting angry now, "Whether or not you come back, this is a mission request from the Frighteners. Not some initiation ritual. It's you choice."

Marcus thought about it for a moment. It did seem nice. And he really needed the money. If he said no, then they would find somebody else and he would still need a huge amount of money. And without an Ac, he would have to do other jobs, more dangerous and reckless then his profession. 'Damnit.' Either way he was screwed.

"Fine then, I accept."