Chp. 3
A long time ago, around the time of the ancient world, there was a man known only by the name, Alexander the Great. This man was beyond all others in terms of combat and social continuity. At the time of his death he had conquered most of the known world and he was respected as a leader, a philosopher, and a general. His deeds exceeded many others in both splendor and grandeur.
And yet he died like the rest of humanity dies when their time is up. The reason for this correlation is not to say that someone of his lineage is raising up. Nor is it to say that the man that we now look over is like him, a soldier, a general.
But we follow him for his name. The reason people remember him is because, not only what he did, but of his name, Alexander the Great. The name Alexander is now usually connected to people of high merit or high praise or of the complete opposite.
The young man we follow now is another man chosen by the hands of fate to have his story told like the other Ravens that have been chosen. None of them realize that their every desire, every thought, and every move is being recorded and told to show the universe their adventures.
His name is Alexander Xavior Torrin. He just started being a Freelancer Raven at the young age of eighteen but considering that he was very new to the business he decided to get into contact with a Contact Freelancer. Basically the same thing as a Contact for Ravens, her job was to guide him in the right direction for jobs, safety, and anything that might keep him living for another day. However, he also choose her because she used to be a Raven herself, he thought he might be able to learn the hidden tricks of the trade. And she is willing to teach him. As long as he gets up off of his lazy ass.
Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz
Turning to the side, Alex groaned as the alarm clock he set to ring at eight in the morning was going off at eight thirty and for the tenth time. He wondered at who in the world came up with an alarm clock that started howling every three minutes and then wondered if he could find him and brutally beat him within an inch of his life. Realizing the futility of that, he opted for the other choice.
He grabbed the alarm clock and flung it against the wall. The thing bounced off the wall undamaged and continued it's incessant ringing. Alex moaned in displeasure and just rolled over thinking he could shrug it off…..until the thing started ringing louder. Alex was inches away to finally going to sleep till it got louder and now he was getting a headache.
Unfortunately as much torment and pain that thing was causing him, he really didn't want to get out of that nice comfortable sofa that he claimed as his bed. Considering he had a very small apartment, it only had enough room for a sofa. This was supposed to be part of Kristi's training guide to 'How to become a better Raven in ninety days.' So far it only looked like, 'How to become a bitch ass penny pincher in no time.'
Finally after the ringing had hit it's peak, Alex realized that it was not going to stop out of shear sympathy for him. The thing was an emotionless robot bent on torturing him from getting the one thing that he prized more then life itself, sleep. So he decided on dropping his left hand to reach for any heavy and hard appliance he may have had laying on the floor for no explainable reason, and once upon finding it, he flung it as hard as his comatose-like body could at the moment. Which resulted in a little girly swing that pushed it about three inches, accompanied by a little girly squeal that resonated from Alex's throat.
The Alarm Clock was still ringing.
Alex used all of his effort to open one eye just enough to see the Alarm clock that rested on it's back on the floor in front of him and give it a glare that might silence it.
It kept ringing.
"Damn you!" Alex cried out in his young vigor filled voice. Of course it seemed more like a muffled plea for help under the mountain of clothes, blankets and god only knows what else rested on top of him. He then focused his entire mind and body on the object and pictured himself jumping up into the air while grabbing a heavy blunt object, and going Donkey Kong on his oppressor's ass.
Of course this never happened and the thing just kept ringing actually gaining another level of loudness.
It's like the damned thing actually hates him. Like it just wanted to reach out and strangle him with its never-ending rivers of buzzing that just poured down on him and flooded his ears with its infuriating jingle. He couldn't take it, he'd lose it if he didn't do anything.
He thought about getting up and then starting chuckling knowing that wasn't going to happen till at least twelve in the afternoon. Then he thought about something else to throw at it but realized that the only object that might work was an inch away from his hand and he already ascertained that he wasn't getting up for nothing. He then realized that any idea he could come up with would end in failure due to the mere fact that he would actually have to get up and move his body. His mind was saying 'You wish' and his body was agreeing. He wasn't moving. Like a boulder on a cliff edge, he laid looking at the clock continue with it's horrid screams of throbbing irritation.
Maybe he could use his psychic powers to silence the thing. Yes that was it! That was the solution! But then his brain said, 'You wish you had psychic powers and even if you did, laziness is becoming the biggest problem for you right now.'
Alas, Alex's brain was right! His laziness was the biggest foe. The Damned Clock of Eternal Agony and Torment wasn't his biggest foe! It was himself. He himself needed to change in order to get moving in the world. Maybe then he would be able to gain the energy needed to turn the damn clock off and go back to sleep! No. He would surpass even that! He would get up and do the drills that Kristi had instructed him to do. Then he would become a better pilot, have lots of money, and get it going with lots of beautiful woman. Then Kristi herself would come in and say, "I need you," and Alex would reply, "I know," and they would become one in the wondrous connection called intercourse…….
This all, of course, would be accomplished if he would get up. And while his mind was laughing at him for the absurdity of his dream, he knew, his mind knew, and his body knew, he wasn't going to get up even if the world was ending around him. Maybe if a girl in a bikini came in he would get up. Better yet, maybe a naked Asian…..OH! With a Hispanic heritage so she would be look Asian but have that rich golden tan. Uh oh. Mr. Happy's up. Damn it, now he had to get up. Stuck with a boner and under a mountain of clothes, with a resoundingly painful headache and that DAMNED THING WAS STILL RINGING, it wouldn't be long till he would go crazy.
Then all of a sudden, the ringing stopped. Alex's eyes busted open welling up with tears. Did it run out of juice? Did it find compassion in its cold metallic netlike matrix and turn off just for him? Oh my god…..there is a GOD!
And that's when he saw a shadow moving through his room and realized that it could only be one person.
"Shit! Kristie wait!" All he felt was the weightless of Zero Gravity as he felt the comfy sofa he was used to being flung up in the air. All he saw was clothes just fly around everywhere, blankets jumping for cover, and a box of half eaten pizza fleeing to the ground… Wait half eaten pizza! Pizza! Alex recovered it in mid-air then landed flat on his back just as the sofa landed on it's back as well. Pain coursed through his body like a tidal wave as for a moment he hated his life. But realizing the pizza was still in his hand he would endure. Until the Human-Plus Ex-Raven's Nest pilot, Kristi Archverress snatched the pizza from him and just gave him the smuggest look anyone could have gotten.
"God you are the lamest ass in the whole damned solar system." She said, her voice piercing and strong. For a twenty-two year old woman with more then four years of experience at being a Raven, and being a tough instructor, she was hot. She was tall, with a milky white complexion, short dark brown hair with dark brown eyes. She had long slender legs that her black and blue Raven's Nest Uniform hugged so nicely. The top was unzipped and she wasn't wearing a bra, but the damned top was still covering up most of it. All Alex got was a nice snapshot as some sexy cleavage. Which he didn't mind but he would rather have the whole present with no wrapping of course.
Kristi caught on that he had noticed and snapped, "You looking hard enough? Or did you forget something?"
Alex looked at her for a moment then remembered; she had his pizza! Alex lunged up in the air and dive bombed her while pinning her against the ground with his pizza in hand.
"My pizza!" He cried out in victory.
"Oh I'm so sorry Alex. Could you ever forgive me!" Kristi was heard shouting from under him.
Alex swept her from off the ground and held he closely, "Yes of course, I will always forgive."
….sad shame it didn't go like that. It was too early in the morning for something like that. Instead, Alex was seen hugging Kristi's leg begging for the pizza back. "Don't take away my only pleasure in life! Please! I beg of you!" He was pretty much in tears.
Kristi groaned in disgust and decided to let the poor bastard get his pizza. Besides god only knows how old it was. It was most likely collecting a new virus because of how long it had been in there. And yet Alex was on top of it like a ravenous beast that hadn't ate anything for months at a time. All she heard was crunching and the inhaling of food. After a while it was gone, even the damned box and Alex was just laying on his back rubbing his tummy.
Kristi just couldn't understand where it all went. Alex was a young eighteen year old Hispanic who barely weighed a hundred and eighty pounds. And he wasn't a chubby hundred and eighty. He was well-built for someone his age, with a slim long body that carried he natural tan evenly all over. His short rich black hair, though right now it was tossed every which way and the other, would soon be styled into a gelled up spikes that run backwards with two black bangs in the front. His eyes were also just as black. She always felt like she was staring into a deep never-ending void whenever she looked into his eyes.
Suddenly Alex flipped up and shouted, "I'm still hungry!"
Kristi sighed and rubbed her face, "We'll get breakfast."
"Sweet!" Alex jumped up.
"After morning exercises!"
"No!" Alex fell back down.
This was ridiculous. How anybody was able to keep up with her was just beyond Alex. She was like a frigging machine, like the damned energizer bunny going at full steam or charge or whatever the hell that she ran on.
First it was one hundred laps around the damned base that they lived at. Well, more like where she lived at and Alex just happened to stay at one of the apartment complexes that rested in thus said base. This is where he was renting a little complex with pretty much no money considering the fact that he had only accepted two missions since he became a Raven. It had been two months since then and still she wouldn't let him do any of the better paying missions. Apparently she had it fixed into her noggin that he sucked beyond everything and he needed massive help and training. Which he didn't mind you, if it wasn't so damn early in the morning!
It was only eleven and he had already done three hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, four hundred jumping jacks, the hundred laps that was stated earlier including fifty hundred meter sprints one after another at max speed, and then a nice half an hour at holding your legs up six inches off the ground while laying back. This wasn't training, this was fucking torture. And now she wanted him to do some school work. He thought school ended by the age of eighteen and that was it. Obviously not to her.
"Alex! Wake up!" Kristi shouted at the top of her lungs.
Alex, now in gray sweats and a gray sleeve-less t-shirt, stumbled backward out of his seat and hit the ground pretty much slamming his head against it. Now in more physical pain then before and about to blackout, he looked up in a daze and barely got out, "Wha?"
Kristi looked at him over the seat at Alex's favorite restaurant, the Ramen noodle shop, located in one of the more quieter slums on base. Well it wasn't really a shop; it was more like a little walk-in with a long counter and four chairs. Then behind the counter were an old man who was cooking the Ramen with some mad skills and a young Asian looking girl that was like the sole server.
"Man you are disgraceful." She shook her head and then reached over and with one hand lifted Alex up and put him in his seat. That was one thing about her, she was unusually strong for someone so femine looking.
"Listen. You don't just need a physically strong body to pilot an Ac. You also need to know everything about your Ac. Like?"
Alex sighed and phrased as he had done so many times before, "Extensions, Inside parts, Right Arm Parts, Left Arm parts, Core; one type Exceed Orbit with counter attacking capabilities and the other type Over Boost with some serious speed capabilities. Then we have arms, left and right shoulder weapons, generators, radiators, head parts and legs. Did I miss anything?"
Kristi nodded glad that some of what she was teaching actually sunk in. "Yes you did, the new line of parts. Leg Extensions and dual-arm hand helds. Now even though you got that one wrong, you still get one bowl of Ramen."
Alex's eyes lit up with passion, as a bowl of hot boiling Ramen was set right in front of him. Immediately and not caring how hot the heat was, he took down the Ramen like it was juice. Then he extended his bowl in hand to the server and yipped, "More!"
Kristi hit Alex upside the head and shouted, "NO! You only get one per question!"
Alex rubbed the sore spot on his head and as Kristi turned to eat some of her Ramen, stuck his tongue out at her.
And with lighting fast reflexes, she used the chopsticks that she hadn't even touched yet to snagged his tongue. Then pulling on it hard and bringing him closer to her, she growled with a menacing intent, "You got a problem with the way I teach?"
Alex opted, tongue still stuck, "Would I get in trouwble if I said yes?"
Kristi squeezed his tongue even harder.
Alex barely got out, "Sorwy!"
She let go of him and then tossed the chopsticks into a nearby bin. Then grabbing another one, she started to eat her Ramen. Alex grumbled and looked at the server who was almost in tears from stifled laughter.
Alex grinned and said, "See Mika? This is what I go through everyday. Just plain and total torture."
Mika smiled, "Hai! Maybe you shouldn't be so reckless and naughty."
Alex's grin broadened, "Nah that's not it. She's just too strict."
Kristi shot in after finishing her Ramen, "You haven't seen strict."
Alex glared at her and yelled unnecessarily, "What are you smoking? This is the kind of stuff super humans do! I'm not super human! I'm barely human!"
Kristi nodded and with a grin, "Yeah, you barely get up to that level considering how lazy you are."
Alex scowled, knowing that he had fell right into that one, and Mika just giggled.
Mika had always enjoyed it when they came around whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They always acted like they were couples, arguing and the sort.
Mika then turned to her Grandpa, as he was busy cooking, "Grandpapa!"
He turned around eyes closed but still knowing what he was doing, "Yo?"
"Make much Ramen today." She smiled at Alex as now he and Kristi were pretty much wrestling with Kristi winning. "It looks like today will be long and pleasant."
"Yo!" He responded cheerfully.
Then placing her small elbows on the counter and brushing back her silky black hair, Mika entered a state of daydreaming, wondering what had happened to the other customer that usually came here with Alex. It had to have been about four years ago since the last she had saw them together. For some reason she couldn't remember his name but she remembered his face. It was so hardened and strict for someone so young. They were only around fourteen at the time and they were always talking about how they were piloting Acs. Well more like Alex was talking about it. The other boy was always silent. There was also another girl with them that Mika had thought at one point to be Alex's sweetheart. If memory served her right, she was related to the other boy. Where had they gone? Every time Mika asked Alex, he had always said, "Don't worry about them, they went their own path."
But the way he said it, it was always filled with pain. She had spent many a nights wondering about it.
"Uncle!"
Mika shook her head and then peered over the counter and nearly had a laughing fit.
"I called Uncle!" Alex screamed as Kristi sat on him with both of his arms under her butt. She only had one hand on his neck, while she was busy inspecting the nails on the other hand when she said, "What was that?"
"Uncle!" Alex yelled louder trying to get out from under her butt, even if it was soft and cushiony. Still her weight alone was enough to cause pain to rip through his backside. Then he decided, well more like slipped out, to say uncle in a more heartless manner.
"I said Uncle! Now get off of me you fat bitch!" Alex tried so hard to catch himself before he had said it and realized he was screwed as Kristi's head started twitching with a demonic intent.
"What did you just say?" Kristi clutched his throat a little harder and proceeded to beat the crap out of him.
After five full minutes of beat-downs, Kristi continued to consume her ramen elegantly while Alex couldn't even get his hand stable enough to eat his. Pretty much beaten to a blue and black pulp he realized that a woman's wrath is one thing that he needs to figure out how to get away from and never incur.
"Hey Alex?" Kristi said while finishing her ramen.
Alex flinched and tried to shield himself from anymore pain, "I didn't say anything! I swear it!"
Kristi grinned deviously and said, "No that's not it." She then bowed in gratitude to Mika for the meal and placed her card on the table. Mika grabbed the card and pulled out a little scanner and placed the card in the scanner. This was the formal currency of the world. Credit. Not as in someone pays you and I pay him or her later. It was the same thing as in the old cash system except these were called credits. It was universal for every purchase around. And with the cards, it added more freedom then carrying a wad of bills everywhere. The thing was that everything was electronic and it was connected to your account so however much money was in the account would be on the card and it was only one card. It was even redundant with a system that would allow you, even if you lose your card, to shut off that card making it void and impossible to use, and get a new one with no problems.
Of course it still had faults as hackers spend day and night trying to figure out new ways to get into those little babies but it got harder and harder with time. The most recent security feature was fingerprint scan and voice recognition. If the thumb was not the one recorded by the card it notifies the company that supplies these nifty things, Bicentennial Enterprises, and then shuts off. Same thing with the voice recognition, it just analyzes the users voice and after a brief period of set protocols, if something is amiss, the card itself will beep and initiate a countdown for the fingerprint. That's when it will either shut off or just go back to normal use mode. Either way, it's still a really good thing to have in this age of currency.
"Twenty-four credits." Mika gave back the card to Kristi and nodded, "Anything else?"
Kristi shook her head and then turned to Alex, "I arranged an Arena Match for you."
Alex suddenly found himself not in any pain at all when he heard those words.
"Are you serious!" He found himself jumping out of his seat staring at Kristi wide-eyed.
Kristi turned away for a moment while saying, "I didn't want to really, but I have this friend of mines who wants to see what you are capable of. I've been telling him about how much potential you have, if only you weren't so lazy."
Alex rose an eyebrow, "What friend?"
Kristi then grinned again while looking at him from the corner of her eye, "Oh you'll see. It's nothing special, just a good friend."
Alex thought about it for only a moment and said, "Cool, then I accept."
"Of course you would. You don't have much of a choice me being your contact." Of course this never made it into Alex's ears. He was already out of the Ramen shop and halfway down the street when he starting waving back and yelling out, "Move it or lose it grandma!"
Under normal circumstances, that would have infuriated Kristi, but at the moment she could only admire his youthful energy to do combat in Ac's. He truly did love Ac's, even if he was fighting with them. Guess it was the thrill of combat that everyone gets into. Of course that usually leads to trouble and disorder. Maybe he will be different.
Mika then stuck her head out so she could see Alex down the street, "Sayonara, Alex-san! And good luck!"
Alex waved back at her as Kristi started on her way. For sure, Alex was stoked. This was going to be his first Arena match ever since he had gotten his Freelancer license and it was bound to be great. Just wait; this was his first step to becoming the greatest pilot in the world!
Alex was a proud person; both in nature and in attitude. And everything he did pretty much tied into his idealism that he set for himself. The way he saw things was a pretty radical view on the world. Do unto others, that which you would want done unto you. Not that he was a religious person. Far from it. In fact he was an atheist. He believe that religion was the reason that too many people died, even nowadays. All of the Raven groups on Mars bounded themselves by some type of code of religious prestige or adhered to a certain way of life that seemed saintly in nature. It always aggravated Alex to no end because they always seemed to think that they were better then others just by some godly overlook.
But he didn't want to think that this life that he had been granted was the only life out there. He wanted to see more, try to find the lost piece of humanity that some many people have seemed to have traded off to the devil. He just couldn't sit still while other people got hurt even if he didn't want to get involved. This was the kind of thing that caused him to get into so much trouble sometimes. He also wanted to prove to himself something; that his worth in this world isn't just some price tag or some type of modern day commodity. He wanted to see just how far he could push himself before he could break the limit. He wanted to see just how good he was and show others in the world that he was that good. Call it ego, call it a hunger for power. For him, it was just a race against himself to see just what he was made of; a true test of his mettle.
Even still, he wasn't without his faults as well. He left most matters to other people and only dealt with stuff that affected him. You could say that he wasn't any better but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. Of course he saw the dirtiest and most horrid people that were part of the web of humanity and even worked for them at some point. But he always wanted to keep an eye out for those less fortunate. He had been one of them just before he had become an Ac pilot. The least he could do is right some of the wrongs that have been oppressed on him and others so much before. Or at least try to. Maybe he was out of his league. Or maybe he was out of his mind. Which is why he enjoyed the more neutral position. Of course, past events lead him not to forget the pain that many people feel all the time.
"Alex!" Kristi shouted from below him, knocking him out of his little daydreaming.
Alex shook his head and looked down from the open cockpit and saw Kristi still standing in front of the Repair and Arming Console. He looked around and remembered where he was at. He was sitting in the South Archos Base garage, situated on Earth, tuning up the only pride and joy left in his life, save for food, drinks and women. His Ac, Gunner Mark I, was just about the only thing that he truly enjoyed being with, even if it wasn't alive or just a machine. He felt truly at peace when he was in an Ac. Better yet was the fact that he had created this from his own sweat and money. Some of the parts were out of date, almost predating that of the Silent Line Era. Still, it handled well for something so old, and the parts where relatively cheap. It could go toe to toe against some of the more advanced Acs. But against those that were the top of the line, like most of the SA, S, A, B, and upper C class Ravens were just way beyond him. The best he could go, according to his own calculations, was beating the Sub-Arena's on both Mars and Earth, then excelling at F, E, and D classes on Earth, and F, E, D, and some of the lower C class Ravens on Mars.
The reasoning behind this was that Earth held more corporations and some of the more stronger ones as well and they pumped out more advanced parts all the time. Earth had Chrome, which excelled at every facet of Ac design period, then Mirage, which was even bigger and badder, then Crest which was as good as Chrome, then Kisaragi who had some the more interesting parts which still ran at some incredible paces. And then after that there was Solaris Enterprises, which at first wasn't that big but now people think they might be the another Mirage. They pump out specialized parts that are borderline outlawed due to the destructive firepower they carry or the devious advantage that they can give. In fact, they were the ones that put out the new categories of parts into play, the dual-hand arm weapons, the new line of extensions that can cooperate with other weapon systems on you other then just missiles. As well as the new line of leg extensions that can range from some serious counter-acting defense systems, more missile extensions, more extra ammo cartridges, and a new revolutionary Stealth system that have already been outlawed in the Arena. If fact, this system is so powerful that it cannot be sold commercially. It has to be done out of the range of the Law, which is easy nowadays considering that all of the five space colonies that orbit around the Earth, the Moon, and Mars, are out of the jurisdiction of the Space Police Forces.
Even still that new system is something to drool over. It's the first active camouflage ever created. It bends light around an Ac for a set period of time making it damn near invisible. For a full ten seconds the enemy can barely even see you, let alone hit you. Of course, it takes up some serious weight and the leg extensions as well as the shoulder extensions.
Anyway, going back to the whole ranking deal, since Mars only has three Corporations, Zio Matrix, Bicentennial Enterprises, and Mt Empire, they are lacking in terms of special and newer age parts then Earth is. This of course causes a lot of problems since Mirage, Crest, and Chrome all want a piece of Mars for it's more abundant resources. But Zio-Matrix and the other two Corps aren't push-overs.
But other then that, they are losing in the race for strength.
"Alex." It was Kristi again. This time she was standing in front of the open cockpit with her arms crossed. Her expression was a mixture of annoyance and worry. "You alright?"
Alex looked at her for a full thirty seconds before he shook his head again and said, "Sorry, just daydreaming again."
Kristi shook her head and complained while watching Alex play with his newly formed bangs, "I do not understand how you can just daydream all the time. What is it you think about it?"
Alex chuckled, while still playing with his bangs, and replied, "Stuff. Just stuff." Alex suddenly stopped fooling around with his hair and looked up at a console of switches with a light above each of them. This was the switchboard for the primary parts. Everything was green save for the Fire Control System. Alex groaned and then said to Kristi while flicking the light hoping it would go to green, "The damned FCS is fucked up again."
Kristi looked at a pad she had on her waist and then said, "Well isn't it four years old dating before to Silent Line." She flipped it up and tapped a series of buttons, "Or maybe it's just messed up. It's one of the new MF04-COWRYs. That's odd that it doesn't work that well."
Alex suddenly looked a little guilty.
Kristi shot him a nasty look and asked, "What did you do to it?"
"Eh, I tired to tweak it a little."
"You did what!" Kristi couldn't believe he tried that. Slapping her hand on her face, she snapped, "All FCS have a damn fail-safe against that shit. If you try to mess with it, it will just shut off!"
Alex had the infamous 'Oh shit' look on his face.
Kristi looked at him through her fingers and said, "You do realize that that was the only FCS system you had right?"
Alex's eyes then got really wide and the tan color in his skin started to drain away.
"And you don't have enough credits to get another one. You remember, it cost you forty-three thousand to get that one, and that was because it was on sale."
Alex then fell out back into his seat and started flopping around lie a limp fish.
"Yeah, you're screwed." Kristi said slapping her hands on her hips. "Guess we'll have to call off the match."
Alex then at that moment, snapped up like an arrow. He looked like he had an idea. And Kristi knew, his ideas were nothing but trouble.
How on Earth he knew how to do what he did was beyond her. Kristi had sat there and watched Alex trick the Ac into thinking that the FCS was still there and still in working order. The way his fingers had danced through the forest of wires and components was almost to the level of Mastery. But he has only been a Raven for two months, how did he have such skill so early? Unless there was something he wasn't telling her.
Taking a seat in a special room that overlooked the Arena, she looked at the information on Alex's opponent. She knew him to an intimate level, they once knew each other very well. Of course it was one of those oddball relationships. He was over sixty years old; over forty of those years he has been a Raven. He at one point was one of the best pilots around, the top of his league and a brilliant pilot. In terms of facts and statistics, he would shred Alex. But there was something she wanted to see.
"Hey Kristi!" A cheerful female voice called from behind.
Kristi suddenly shuddered and cringed in fear. She knew who that was. And she couldn't stand her because she was-
From behind, two arms came in and wrapped Kristi's torso. "Oh I've missed you!" Then the woman came in and pecked Kristi's check with a kiss.
Gay, "Get off me damnit!" And she was her old Contact for Raven's Nest. Even though she was twelve years her senior, Sasha Evengal was still one of the most gorgeous women she had seen, even if she was gay and a very respected individual. She had long silky black hair that came down past her shoulders, a slightly tanned complexion and deep blue eyes that could mesmerize anybody. Her body was well formed, but it was her long legs that attracted a lot of attention. That and she was a very experienced Raven, and with the Human-Plus thrown in, she was very capable of defending herself.
Sasha smothered Kristi with kisses till she was pretty much on the floor and that's when Kristi used her abnormal strength to try to throw her off but seeing as she was also an Ex-Raven from Raven's Nest, as well as a Human Plus, she could barely budge her.
"Did you forget?" Sasha smiled as she leaned close to Kristi's face, "I'm just like you."
Kristi looked to the side and scoffed, "No. I didn't forget. But we are not similar. You're gay, I'm not, simple as that."
Sasha moaned lightly and said, "But Little Krwisti-"
Kristi suddenly snapped, "I hate that name! Stop calling me that!"
Sasha burst into laughter and get up.
Kristi finally pushed herself up and after wiping her pants she looked at Sasha and asked, "So you're still the Contact for him?"
Sasha finally calmed herself down and said, "Oh you mean Ace? Yeah. He may be a man, but he is a very nice person."
"You've been his contact for how long now?" Kristi asked as she took her seat again.
Sasha sat down crossing her legs and mentioned, "For about six years now."
Kristi looked at her accusingly, "Thought you couldn't stand men even for a moment?"
Sasha returned the look with more of a sensual flare to it, "He's different."
"Yeah, ok." Kristi said while looking out to the middle of the Arena, both Alex and Ace where out there. "Oh he knows now."
"Knows what?" Sasha said looking at Ace's middleweight Ac. As a Raven, she could only marvel at how it was so well put together.
"That my Alex is fighting against your Ace." She said with the up-most confidence. Suddenly her cell phone started ringing.
"You mean you didn't tell him that he was going to be the last fighter that the Legendary Ace fights against for all the world to see just before he retires?" Sasha inquired.
Kristi nodded and answered her phone, "Hello?"
Guess who it was? "What the hell is your problem? I can't fight this guy! This guy is a beast! He'll own me!"
"Ah don't worry about it. You'll be fine." And with that she hung up the phone. Truth was that she didn't' know how this would turn out. Ace was incredible, Alex…..well, Alex was just lazy. Still, she sensed something different about Alex from any other Raven. Maybe it will come up in this match.
With the Arena filled to capacity, and members of every corporation, as well as Raven Groups now in their seats to watch the Final Fight of Ace, there was nothing but an air of excitement. For the Corporations, this was a chance to see new blood. For the Ravens, new recruits. For the rest? Just a good time. Of course there was one individual who was standing at the very top of the Arena who was watching for more then just a good time or new blood. He had came to see the Legend himself in Action, to see if he could get him into his cause just one time. To see if he could help him gain the object that he has been after for so long.
Well, and to have a good time. The guy that Ace was going up against has only been a Raven for two whole months.
Marcus scoffed at the fact that this nobody was fighting a Legend. "Damn this is going to end poorly. It will be funny though."
"Great, I get to fight against the man himself, Ace." Alex rolled his eyes as he checked his ammo for the tenth time, "Yippee."
Rechecking his array of weapons, the HALBERD, the MG-500, his back weapons, the GNS-15, the HA-30/4, and the multi-directional boosters, he knew that he couldn't get anymore ready. Gunner's body was the Hadro arms, the LW legs, the Ray core, and the Skyeye. He had the defense, and the weapons, it just requires the skills now. And Alex wasn't that sure if he had all the skills required to beat him.
And if that wasn't the worst of it, his FCS doesn't work so he would have to manually aim. That meant that his missiles wouldn't lock and with the fail-safe, they wouldn't fire. Alex had to find a way to get rid of that fail-safe because he could already tell that he would need those missiles, even if they just fire as rockets.
Suddenly his comms started acting up. He tapped the button and saw the aged face of Ace himself.
"Lets have a good match."
Alex couldn't help but grin, "Yeah, good match."
After that, Ace closed the comms and the lights at the top of the Arena went from red to green. Ace immediately charged forward with the crowd cheering him on.
"Shit!" Alex screamed like a little girl as he boosted hard to the side and barely dodged Ace slashing with his Moonlight. "Ahh!" Alex then dashed back while firing a few pot-shots with the Machine Gun.
Ace easily dodged them and charged forward again, this time with OverBoost while flushing most of his remaining energy in the Moonlight Laser Blade. This was one of his favored ending attacks. Pretty much a one shot kill.
"It's over." Sasha said, pretty much getting up out of her seat already.
Kristi just smiled.
"This is going to be so damned close!" Alex squealed as he hit the brakes hard and just let the Ac fall backwards.
Ace came in with the slash but didn't realize what was happening at the time. When he did, he couldn't believe his eyes.
The clear-blue energy of the blade whooshed right past Gunner's line of vision as it looked like it was trying to limbo.
"Now!" Alex activated his boosters just before he hit the ground and came back up against a defenseless Ace and lashed out with his Halberd.
Ace's Ac tried to move but the blade was incredibly long and it singed Ace's torso. He dashed back to a safe distance and checked his armor. It was only about a hundred point decrease, but that was the first time that anybody had ever done that! Let alone dodge his finisher!
The entire Arena was speechless. Everyone, even Sasha and Kristi. Kristi knew that this was going to turn out differently then what everyone had expected, but not like this.
Even Marcus was stunned beyond belief. He had never seen anyone do something like that. It was just incredible.
Alex, even though his Ac had done all the work, was tired already. He had put in a lot of effort just to get his Ac to move like that and time it right. But now that Ace was caught off guard, it was his turn to attack.
He activated the OverBoost and went straight for the offensive.
Ace got defensive and raised his MG-1000, sending a flurry of hot pellet rounds forward.
Alex though wasn't some bum at dodging either; he slanted to the left then jumped up and to the right moving too fast for the FCS with the Machine Gun to keep up. Ace was astonished that a Raven of just two months could move so fast and fight so well. This was what he had envisioned for his last match, the greatest match ever in the world was now his.
Just as Alex had gotten close enough Ace charged forward with blinding speed with his blade ignited but Alex had already shut off his OverBoost and then activated his own extension boosters to boost him back just enough to dodge Ace's swing. Ace couldn't believe this, he had timed it to the millisecond!
Alex charged forward with his Halberd and with a battle cry that seemed to echo from the Ac itself, sliced Ace's midsection then he dashed forward again and shoulder rushed him while firing his Machine Gun. Then after pushing him back enough, he switched to his High Act Missile launcher and fired four missiles straight forward.
Ace however was not going to take that. He activated his decoys and watched the seemingly aimless missiles hit the decoy and explode nearly in front of his face.
Then he waited for the smoke to clear up while his blade was activated. He knew this tactic all too well. This was a very favored tactic for bladers.
But what he expected and what he received was much different. Instead he got a high power grenade to his face. Aces cried out as he felt the shock shudder his Ac and tried to get away before the second blast but it came way too fast and nearly flatten him. Ace then tried to dash off the ground but watched Alex's Ac Gunner come in and just straight gunning him down with a rotating combo of missiles and machine gun fire.
Now enraged, Ace charged forward, ignoring the weapons fire peckering his Ac with holes and melted metal. He rammed Alex knocking him off balance and then charged forward with his own OverBoost. By the time he reached Alex, Alex tried to dodge but couldn't as Ace focused his blade in front of him like a spear.
"No." Alex groaned as he tried to force the Ac to move. The blade was aimed right at his cockpit!
Everything seemed to slow down, as Marcus watched over, impressed at how the other pilot performed but knowing the outcome, it only looked like an act of desperation. And now that he had angered Ace, who was notorious for his untamed anger in battle, it would end for him. A sad shame. Marcus turned away and was about to walk over to Ace's Garage when his eyes flared. Suddenly, surprised, he spun around just to see the end of the match. Ace had forced the blade straight through the weaker torso of Gunner. The insides of Gunner were fused the moment the blade razed through the protective armor and it just merely sputtered as the generator died right that second.
The entire Arena gasped at once as they saw the energy blade protrude the other side.
Sasha was caught completely off guard as Kristi was struck with horror. Did Ace just kill Alex? Immediately, she turned around to two men in suits that were required to aid the Contacts during a Arena match and she screamed, "Get an ambulance down there now!"
Both men froze for only a second and suddenly bolted while yelling out orders through their miniature headsets they each wore.
Ace gripped Gunner as it fell to one knee, preventing it from falling backwards. He deactivated his blade and shut off the combat mode then flinging open the cockpit doors, he jumped to the other Ac. He found Gunner's cockpit and found the lower half completely seared through by his Moonlight blade. He cursed himself to doing this. This was all his fault, if he just hadn't gotten angry then this wouldn't have happened. But he had wanted to win this last match so badly and it was just so good.
Suddenly, sirens were heard, their blaring noise and lights increasing as they got closer. It didn't matter though. Ace knew this. He already killed the pilot.
Marcus looked on. Something had happened. Something very odd and very different. His eyes had reacted to something in the air. Something unnatural. It could have been the fact that he was so close to the Ark. His own Ethereal powers could have reacted with that. Or maybe it was somebody.
He looked at the corpse of the other Ac and knew right then that the pilot had indeed survived. How he had survived was beyond him. But as he looked closer to the Ac labeled Gunner, he saw that the point at where the blade had struck the core was directly under the cockpit. It still left enough area for the pilot to move himself out the way. That's probably what had happened. How it happened was most likely an act of God.
"God?" Marcus said to himself, "Damn, I have been here too long."