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 24: Guest
Never a dull morning, is it? Kaze asked himself as he frantically tied his shoes and slipped the half-gloves on, all the while running down the hallway.
"Good God, Kaze," was the greeting that Chief gave as Kaze entered the meeting room. "you look like you just saw a ghost!"
"Does an AC count?" the pilot asked back, now running towards Mecha.
"How close was it?" the TALON leader asked with concern.
Before Kaze could stop and answer, three more loud knocks came from the western wall, rattling some of the excess AC parts hanging along the wall. Then deafening static and high-pitched whistles began to sing over the intercom...
"...E-excuse me." an unfamiliar voice called as the static cleared. "I-is there anyone in there?"
"There is." Chief replied calmly. "State your name, who you work for and your purpose for being here."
"M-my name is Goki." the nervous pilot replied. Kaze's ears perked up at the pilot's name. "I'm from the 18th AC Team and I've seemed to have strayed from my teammates..."
Chief fell silent for a moment. "From the way you announced that, I'd guess this is your first mission, correct?"
"...Um, yes, sir. It is..."
"Well, then, come on in! We're a friendly bunch! No worries here!"
"'A friendly bunch,' Chief?" Pyro asked. He, like the other pilots standing behind him were awakened from their peaceful slumber by the unpleasant whistling from the intercoms that were placed in each room.
"Nothin' to worry about here, huh?" Lazy-Eye added as she rolled up one of her sleeves.
"Chief?" Tsubasa called while glaring at the annoyed pilots.
"Go ahead." Chief replied with a wave of his hand as he ran up to the control bridge.
Quietly, Tsubasa walked in-between Pyro and Lazy-Eye and restrained them by pinching hard on one of their ears.
"What the hell are ya doin'?" the southern-accented pilot whined, attempting to free her ear.
"I am sorry, Lazy-Eye." the cold pilot replied. "But you and Pyro will not be rude to our guest."
"Okay, okay..." Pyro whimpered, hiding back tears of pain. "We're sorry for the outburst. Can you let us go now?"
"...No."
"Please?" Lazy-Eye asked. "It feels like your pullin' my ear off!"
"Mercy? Uncle?" Pyro asked again before Tsubasa pinched down harder on his ear.
"How many times must I tell you..." Tsubasa stated, letting go of both ears. "I show no mercy and I am not your uncle."
"Terribly sorry 'bout our actions..." Lazy-Eye muttered as she and Pyro rubbed their sore ear.
"...You are both forgiven." the monotone pilot said as he walked away.
"We can't do that again..." Pyro mumbled to Lazy. "He'll go for pressure points next."
"...I'll keep that in mind." Lazy replied.
The massive front door swung out towards the grassy plains, welcoming the visiting AC.
The silver and turquoise bi-pedal shyly walked into the warehouse-like base, stopping in the middle of the wide landing pad at the edge of the base. It knelt down politely to the team, setting the machine gun down beside it, showing that it will not attempt anything stupid.
The cockpit hatch opened, revealing a young pilot about sixteen years young with light brown hair, dressed in a uniform similar to TALON's but with an emblem of a blue 18 stitched to the side of the left arm. He looked to the team standing before him, pointing out a familiar face with his eyes. "Kazuma?" he asked. "Is that you?"
"Goki Buri!" Kaze replied. "Did you and your AC really have to scare me to death? ...And don't call me by that name! It's Kaze now."
"...Sorry." replied Goki, while his mind stated, That's what you get for pulling that prank back at the academy! "I forgot that you don't like that real name of yours."
"So, how did lose yourself from your teammates, kid?" Pyro asked.
Goki looked down. "I... I'm really not sure myself." he stated. "All I remember was me and my team being out in the forest, working on a mission for Chrome when my teammates beside me were getting shot down by someone. Couldn't tell who, though... It was really dark out when it attacked.
"I was ordered to retreat to clearer ground and wait for everyone to regroup there. I flew out in a blind shock, letting R.O.M. take me anywhere. When I finally realized that I was outside, I had traveled further than I expected, about ten kilometers further than suggested.
"So, I kept wandering around, attempting to contact anyone... allies, strangers, it didn't matter. I needed help. And that was when I found this base."
"Well, you came to the right place!" Rebel noted. "Sure, we may look tired and grumpy now, but give us five minutes and we'll be ready to take on anyone!"
"Make that ten minutes tops!" Chief called from the control bridge. "The radar just picked up lots of aerial units and MT's closing in on us! They must've been tailing the R.O.M. ever since he retreated!"
"What type of units are they, Chief?" Bug asked.
Chief checked the radar once more. "...Looks like Stingray and Shogun models."
"Stingray and Shogun?" Kaze asked curiously.
"Murakumo..." Tsubasa replied sternly.
Bug saluted to Chief before running to his AC: Mantis. "I got this one covered, sir."
"I'll back you up, Bug!" Hyper said as she ran towards AC-195.
Kaze looked up to Goki standing on the R.O.M.'s core and smiled. "I should really pay you back for that time you helped me out on that dual AC team test in the simulator." he stated before walking to Mecha.
Goki nodded as he slipped back inside the AC. "'Bout time!" he said jokingly.
Yup... Kaze thought, starting up the AC. It's never a dull morning here...
To be continued...