Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Armored Core series. That belongs to Agetec and From Software. I only own the original characters. Thank you.

In TALON's Grasp

by: T.R. Fanatic

Chapter 15: Launch

Could it be him? Kaze thought as he started up Mecha. Could that AC be Nine-Ball?

"All right, Kaze." Pyro's voice called over the radio. "How about a status report."

"AP and energy are full." Kaze replied as he strapped the harness on. "All weapons are loaded and all systems are green. Do you copy?"

"I do copy. Sit tight, and wait for Chief's orders."

"Roger."

"Team, listen up." Chief called from his AC, Fortress, that stood upon the rooftop. "Since I'm the slowest AC, I'll take the catapult to as close as I can get to the mission point. The rest of you can take the V-Launcher."

"The V-Launcher?" Kaze asked.

"The V-Launcher is a vertical catapult." Tsubasa informed. "The AC elevators that we are standing on also work as a catapult, in case of an emergency like this one."

"Impressive." Lazy-Eye commented.

"Yeah, this base is full of surprises." Kaze added.

"Are you ready up there, Chief?" Rebel called.

"Ready whenever you are!" Chief replied. "Team, we all leave when the light turns green... Red..."

Kaze relaxed his grip on the controls as he realized something. An AC the likes of which they've never seen... he thought.

"Yellow..." Chief continued.

I guess it's not Nine-Ball then...

"Green!"

For a split second, gravity was reversed and Mecha, along with Sinner and Silent Blade, were shot out of the vertical catapult like fireworks.

Right before Kaze's decent back to Earth, he could almost hear Pyro saying, "You forgot to scream again..."

Simultaneously, the three AC's made their two-point landing on the soft ground and began to scan the hilly area for Chief's whereabouts.

"Everyone okay over there?" Chief's voice came over the radio.

"A little shaky from the launch," Kaze replied. "but I'm okay."

"I am fine, Chief." Tsubasa replied. "There is no need to be worried..."

"YEEEEEHAAAAA!" Lazy-Eye cheered. "That was fun! Let's do that again!"

"Maybe later." Chief replied. "Let's focus on the mission. Right now, you three are behind me by about fifty-five meters and the base is about a hundred meters ahead of me. Think you guys can fly past me? Don't worry, I'll support you from behind."

"Roger..." Tsubasa replied. "Team, move out."

Silent Blade began to lead with a boost dash, while Mecha and Sinner followed close by, quickly advancing to the nearly destroyed Chrome military base...

To be continued...

T.R.: (blushing in embarassment) Okay, sorry about this chapter being so action-less. I promise you the next chapter will have action!