Chap 4 Breaking Through
We made it back to the hangar in about 4 more minutes. I grabbed my new weapons and clipped them to my legs.
"All ready." I said as I clipped the weapons to my legs.
"Finally, lets go. Follow me." And she boosted straight up into the air then hit her overboost and shot away.
I tried to follow as best as I could but her AC was alot faster. But I could try to keep up. We kept boosting, running, and overboosting for about an hour. All the while I was still getting used to the AC and asking questions about the mission. Finally she got sick of my annoying questions and just sent me the mission request:
Operation name: branching out
Requesting corporation: Mirage
Opposing corporation: Crest
Advance: 0
Reward: 56,000 Cr
Area of Operation: Mountainous Area 563-T
Enemy forces: multiple AI turrets and MTs
Recommended raven rank: C
Survival Chance: 67%
Mission review: Crest has been spreading rapidly through newly discovered land and has been claiming new and previously undiscovered minerals deposits and even elements! They do not have the manpower to occupy all this area at the same time with living people. To rectify this problem Crest has been greatly employing the use of AI controlled basses. One such base has been just previously constructed and is standing guard over a newly discover element ore. Your mission is to secure the ore and destroy the base.
Sounds simple enough.
"Here we are!" Angel stopped boosting and kneeled down behind a small ledge on the edge of a cliff. I did the same.
She pointed down into the valley and towards a small base that was bustling with movement. "It doesn't look to bad from up here."
"Try zooming in. Things are rarely what they seem." I did as suggested and zoomed in my view as far as would go.
"Computer, magnify image."
"CMH-MISTEYE is at maximum range."
I could see eight turret-towers, at least ten battle MTs, and at least twenty of new model MTs from the ledge. Along with numerous heavy lifting MTs that seemed to be walking back and forth from the base and about three or four access tunnels that led into various mountains surrounding the base. "You ready?"
"What? Do you have any ideas? Just because you're in an AC doesn't make you invincible."
"I know that." I replied as I clipped both my shotguns back to my legs, I had taken them off earlier to see if I could hold them while I overboosted, and I picked up my sniper rifle. "This is why I have multiple weapons; I want to be prepared for any and all different situations. Here's the plan: you start locking on to those new MTs with as many missiles as you can. Once you get a full lock, tell me and I'll start planting sniper shots into those turrets, right when I start firing you launch off as many missiles as you can and start flying down this hill."
"Ok, but if I get so much as one scratch on my AC from your lack of cover..."
"Just shuttup and start locking."
"Ya-ya." I watched as both of her Missile launchers raised over her shoulders and opened up. "These each have a six lock maximum. So I'll disable the safe lock and lock-on until I run out of missiles."
"You can do that? But will any of them hit?"
"Sure they'll hit! Not ALL of them will hit but the ones that miss will spread out and hit everything else." She smirked and laughed a bit under her breath. "Locking on..."
"Tell me when your ready." I was a bit nervous about the whole idea.
"Ready."
"Alright, taking aim." I kneeled down and put my sniper rifle up to my shoulder and used my left arm to brace it. I used my computer to quick- lock onto the turrets. What a quick lock did is it would lock in the next targeted turret and angle that I would need to aim at the turret accurately from my position. So basically, as soon as I fired off one shot the AC's computer would move the rifle and aim it at the next turret instantly. All I had to do was pull the trigger eight times and the turrets would be destroyed. That was an ideal situation; there were six turrets on our side of the base and two on the other side. I would have to take out the other two myself "as soon as I take the first shot, you launch off the missiles and start boosting down the mountain."
"Alright, go already."
"Ok, Here goes!" I fired one shot and then another, and another. Until there were six towers of fire surrounding the base. Angel jumped off the ledge and unloaded both of her missile launchers at once, leaving 84 missiles bombarding the base in a semi-spread pattern making the base glow crimson red. Numerous small explosions followed as multiple MTs got hit or caught fire from the bombardment. I got up from my firing position and began boosting down the mountain. I fired my machine gun continually as I 'skied' down the mountain. Hitting MTs randomly. When I got down to the bottom Angel overboosted right in front of me and across the base. She stopped her overboost right in front of an MT and shoved her blade into the middle of it and then ripped it open up-ward causing the MT to launch into the air above her. She pointed her small laser rifle straight up and fired multiple shots straight into the MT, the plasma orbs shredding it apart and melting the rest. She boosted away before the MT hit the ground and she disappeared behind the main building of the base.
I boosted to the left and rammed into another battle MT. I pulled up my sniper rifle and fired right into the front of the MT. I boosted back as it fell forward. I hit the overboost and flew around the base to find angel barely dodge a pair of rockets from a turret as she flew forward and extended her blade. Then she sliced through the entire pillar causing it to fall over onto the main base wall creating a huge hole. I boosted up and forward into the air towards the remaining tower. I landed on top of the tower and pointed my machine gun straight down between my feet and started firing full throttle. Bullets started penetrating the light armour of the turret and small explosions were setting off inside. I jumped off as the turret blew. Angel finished off the last MT with her blade as I landed.
"WHOO!!! What a rush!" She was ecstatic.
"Yes it is. Too much fun." I was having a bit of fun as well.
It was almost nighttime now. The sun was about a planets length from the horizon and steadily dropping, painting the flat clouds vibrant shades of red, pink, and purple.
A wall on another building behind us started rolling upwards. Seven large walker MTs lumbered out. They were taller than us by about half an AC, they had large cannons on their backs and they walked on all fours.
"Now what?" Angel actually sounded annoyed at this new threat.
"Wait, I'll handle these." I wanted to test out my back weapons. I activated my missile launcher and started locking onto the first MT as angel boosted to the top of the main base building. I strafe-boosted to the left and fired six missiles at the first MT. All of them plowed into the front of the walker, decimating the front of it and blowing off the two front legs. It fell forward and exploded in all the glory of red flames.
"Nice effect that had but I could do that in my sleep." Angel snickered.
My AC turned around and flew up, facing angel, into her view with both middle fingers standing proudly on end.
"HAHAAHA! Is that an offer Xero? HAHA!"
"It just might. But I'm way too hot for you to handle."
"Oh, ya think so, huh?"
"Just watch this!" I let go of the boosters and dropped straight down as a huge energy blast flew over my head. I hit the ground in a crouched position and lifted my head, looking straight at the MTs. I lowered my laser cannon over my shoulder. I fired one shot still crouched then stood quickly and hit my overboost which shot me forward and caused my eyes to blur as a swarm of vertical missiles impacted the ground behind me. I literally raced my own plasma shot towards one of the MTs. I strafed to the right just in time as the shot plowed ruthlessly into the MT, ripping it into three pieces. I cut the overboost and landed behind the group. Their large size made it hard for them to turn around quickly. I took advantage of they're obvious weakness and ran towards the closest one. I stopped behind its left rear leg and unclipped my shotguns. I pointed the guns at the actuator joint between the legs and fired, ripping the joint apart. The legs gave out and I fired again into the 'hips' of both legs. The legs came clean off and the MT fell backward, leaving it immobile.
"Four more, want some help yet Xero?"
"Shuttup! I can handle this by myself." To tell the truth I doubted myself. But I glanced back toward where angel was expecting to see her taunting me somehow. I was greeted with a much more disturbing image. Instead of angel I saw another of the strange units that I saw during my raven test. For some reason, seeing it caused a feeling of blind rage to flood inside me. I jumped up and lowered my cannon again. I boosted backward for an unknown reason and was blinded as four large plasma beams sparked and crackled inches from my AC's core.
I dropped back down to the ground while I boosted back and left. When I landed I had maneuvered my way so that I had three of the MTs lined up. I braced myself on my feet and fired my cannon; at the same time I started my boosters forward so I wouldn't be thrown backwards by the recoil. My cannon shot blasted through the rear of the first MT, through the front of the second MT, and it finalized by plowing square into the center of the third MT, blowing it to dust. I jumped to the left without thinking about it and another volley of vertical missiles crashed into the ground where I just was. I jumped into the air again and put away my cannon. Instead I unclipped one of my shotguns and my machine gun. I flew up and to the right, looking down I saw the final MT standing there. I started dropping towards it firing my machine gun and shotgun at the same time. By the time I got to the MT it was littered with holes. I landed on the MTs back and it completely collapsed because of its weakened structure from all the holes in its armour.
"HOLY SHIT!" Angel was flabbergasted. "Xero, how the hell did- did you do that?"
I looked up to where angel was and all I saw was her AC, nothing else. "Wha-? Angel, are you ok?"
"What? Ya, I'm fine. What do you mean, am I ok? Your the one who just took out four mammoth MTs in like thirty seconds!" She started laughing hysterically. "I guess you are a bit too hot for me to handle."
"Well, I... Lets just get going." And I started walking off towards the hole in the main base that was made by the guard tower earlier. Leaving angel standing there with her foot in her mouth.
"Well then fine!" I'm sure that if I would've looked back at her she would have had her head cocked sideways and her hands on her hips.
We walked back to the crashed tower and we both got under it. "Lets get this out of the way."
"Lets." We both bent our knees and put our arms up and our hands on the underside of the tower.
"One! Two! Three!" We hit our overboosters at the same time and we pushed the tower up and over. "Good enough for me." That left us alone with the hole in the wall. "Ladies first." I bowed and motioned my arms toward the hole that we were using as a door.
"Thank you, sir." And she proceeded to walk, as snobby as possible in an AC, through the door. Her arms extended at her sides and she was swinging her hips as much as the AC would allow. I followed her inside laughing.
Once inside we were in the middle of a large corridor. The radio started crackling. "Angel, do you copy?"
"Huh? Um, this is Angel."
"Angel, this is Mirage Intel, we have confirmed the presence of an AC in that base. Watch yourself."
"Roger. Do you have any info on the raven?"
"She is a relatively new raven. AC name: Fire Stream. Lightweight. Very fast."
"Alright thanks."
"Angel? What about the ravens name?"
"Doesn't matter who she is. If she interferes with our mission she's an enemy."
"Well... Alright, I guess..." I thought her response was a little cold blooded but I guess that's the way it works in our field of work.
We decided to stick together and take the left passage. We were only encountering minor resistance; ceiling turrets and wall mounted turrets, but nothing special. We came to our first door and angel had to use her blade to open it. Inside was a large room with a lot of side doors and various pieces of equipment: computers, MT parts, etc.... At the far end of the room there was a large pillar that went from the floor all the way to the ceiling (which was way up there).
"Haven't we seen this before?" I asked angel, pointing to the pillar.
"I think so. Its just like the one from the Kisaragi base a few weeks ago." And indeed it was an identical pillar to the one that angel disemboweled at the Kisaragi base. "We should probably take this one out to. It had a nice effect last time."
"I think so to, but who is the one stealing technology here? Is it Crest from Kisaragi, or Kisaragi from Crest?"
"I have no idea. Kisaragi is usually right on top of any technological advances, but Kisaragi has been really struggling ever since Nydem destroyed the Controller." We walked towards the pillar.
Nydem was the raven solely responsible for the release of the layered cities, and the repopulation of the surface world. "Nydem... I wonder what it would be like around this part of the world if she was still alive?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, she was the best raven that ever lived. She probably could have ended the corporate war a long time ago."
"That's quite possible, but nobody ever said she was dead."
"Angel, she disappeared five years ago. On the day that I became an MT pilot." That was how I always remembered the date that the world's greatest raven went MIA. The same day that I got my confirmation from Global Cortex, I saw it on the news.
(Just a note for the reader: Nydem means Goddess in some language that I can't seem to remember the name of right now.)
"Well, that's all in the past now Xero. And I have a feeling that Nydem is still out there somewhere." We walked up to the pillar and angel heated her blade and routed more energy into it just as she did before. "Well, goodbye AI." With that, she stabbed her blade into the pillar and she routed more energy into it, causing the blade to heat and expand. A large hole melted away around the blade and we could hear the pillar shutting down. The pillar's computer voice crackled to life once more...
"loSIng poWeR, ActIvAtiNg StAndBy gAteS." The whole pillar shut down. Every light, every computer screen dimmed and then went completely black and quiet as death.
"Xero, what are standby gates?"
"I don't think I want to know." The doors on the sides of the room all slid down and dozens of strange new MTs walked through the door. The MTs were about half as tall as I was, they had four legs, small thin cores that were pointed vertically, thin elongated arms that stretched straight out from the sides of the core, and the heads looked like TV antennas (like the AC head part).
"I think we have a problem here Xero." Angel took a step back and one of the MTs took a step forward.
I dropped to one knee and brought my laser cannon over my shoulder. "When I fire it should take out a bunch of 'em. You blast your way through and I'll keep them busy." After I said this, another door opened behind us and two ACs came in.
"Shit! I thought they said one AC not two!?"
"This is Blaze." One of the ACs announced.
"This is Morrow." The other followed.
"Identify yours- angel? Is that you?" Blaze started.
"Ya, its me."
"And it's me Xero." I was quick to announce before they shot me. "Ha, what's up guys?"
Morrow answered first. "Well nothing really. This was my first mission and I shoulda known it; here you are to screw it up." We all couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the whole situation. "These MTs are under our control should the main control computer crash or get destroyed."
"Angel did it!" I laughed at myself as I pointed my finger at her. They all joined in.
Our laughter was cut short as the radio came back on. "Blaze, Morrow. Your objective was to eliminate the intruders. But as you are obviously in league with the enemy than we have little choice than to treat you as such. You have hereby failed your mission and have lost all privileges that came with your mission acceptance; mainly, control over the new SXT-R5 prototype MTs. Pleasure working with you. Crest control out."
"Damnit. There goes our reward, Morrow." Dissapointment filled her words.
"And your lives." Angel said as she backed away from the battalion of Battle ready MTs.
"Hey blaze. What are these MTs fitted with?"
"Shotgun arms. That's it."
"Ya, but in these confined quarters that many shotguns are gonna rip us apart." Morrow pointed out.
"Not if we rip them apart first. Morrow, looks like you've got some big balls, get over here." Morrow had large, rounded, high-load capacity legs. A middleweight, overboost core with missile interception. Mid-weight arms, and the RACHIS head unit. He was outfitted with missile interception on the shoulders, the LIC-10 linear cannon, the KARASAWA, and the MOONLIGHT laser Blade. "Nice moonlight, where did you find that?"
"It was the garage's only one." Blaze growled over the com.
"Well, I beat her to it." Morrow laughed. Blaze was the only one not laughing now.
"How can you guys laugh at a time like this!?" Blaze shouted as she took a step forward. Blaze's AC was a light-weight with an 800 round machine gun, a HALBERD laser-blade like angels, and two 30% ammo additions on her back. She had light-mid-weight SPINE legs, HADRO arms, a good mapping head, and a lightweight, solid ammo EO core.
"Ok, ok. Lets get outa here. Morrow, come over here with that giant cannon of yours." I was done laughing here and I was getting anxious to get back home and laugh there.
"Alright. Here I am." Morrow walked over and kneeled down next to me.
The radio crackled to life again. "Blaze, morrow, your contract is hereby dissolved. You have thirty seconds to get out of that base before we activate the MTs."
"Morrow, we couldn't get out in thirty seconds if we tried!" Blaze was beginning to panic.
"I know that blaze. They just gave us a thirty second head start." He looked at me and charged up his cannon. "Xero, you with me?"
I caught on, "hell ya, I'm in. Lets get the hell out of here." I charged my cannon as well. "Hey girls, as soon as we fire, you ladies start ripping through them. Make a way through. As soon as you have cleared a way to the door we'll overboost right through."
"Ok." Angel was on it.
"Alright." Blaze didn't sound so confident.
"Ok morrow, on three.... THREE!" We both fired our cannons into the crowd. My shot was dwarfed by morrows cannon shot. But it was no less effective. Both shots ripped through the crowd, destroying and that were in the way and melting any that got to close.
Blaze and angel flew past us: Blaze's machine gun roaring and her EO punching through random targets, Angel firing her laser rifle and swinging her blade constantly. Morrow stood up and starting firing his KARASAWA shot after shot. I stood up and activated my missile launcher. I got six locks and fired off the missiles, all of them hit their respective target and the ones that were hit seemed to just fall apart.
"They're activating the MTs!" Angel shouted as a cloud of bullets flew at her, most bouncing of her armour but some catching soft spots from the previous battle. "Blaze help me clear a path for the boys!"
"Alright, I'm right here!" Blaze flew in next to angel and started firing constantly at the group of MTs.
"This isn't working!" Morrow said, after about one minute, sounding lost. "It's a losing battle. For every one we destroy there are five more to take its place." We were losing hope.
"The gates!" I watched the gates. New MTs were pouring in constantly. "Morrow! Blast those doors shut! It'll stop the MTs from coming in!"
"Gotcha!" He lowered his cannon as another wave of shotgun shots plowed into his heavily armored AC. He charged his linear cannon again and ignited his boosters forward as he fired his cannon. The shot melted numerous MTs on its way to the wall. And once it hit the wall, cement and chunks of rock and steel flew everywhere. Once the dust settled we could see what was left of most of the wall; it was a huge crumbled mess. There were legs and arms of MTs sticking out every which way, along with gate shutters. Morrow stood up and fired his KARASAWA a few more times at the rest of the wall, destroying whatever wasn't damaged by the first blast. Then he turned around and started firing his KARASAWA relentlessly into the other wall, destroying it completely. With the flow of MTs stemmed for now, I got out my machine gun and one of my shotguns and started picking off the leftover MTs. One shot from Morrows 'sawa' completely disintegrated the MT and the one behind it. So he was our heavy-hitter of the group. We couldn't let him fall.
"This is blaze. Taking heavy damage, running low on ammo." Her panicked voice returning.
"We still have a good fifty to sixty of these things left. Just keep at it." I tried my best to sound supportive but for some reason it always comes out wrong. I turned to my left and was confronted with six or seven shotgun blasts. The ringing of the bullets as they bounced off my armour was driving me nuts. I opened up on them with my machine gun and started to sweep back and forth with the 300 round a minute weapon. They fell easily but their great numbers and speed is what made them deadly. The more we destroyed, the harder it got to hit them as we opened more space in the room with every falling MT.
"Angel here. My missile launchers are wasted because I'm getting hit in the back so much. Dropping them now." And she unclipped her ruined missile launchers onto the ground behind her. After disposing of the launchers she was knocked backward by an MT. Then another three MTs climbed on top of her. The leading MT fired its shotguns at point-blank range and shattered her right arm. "YYYEEEEAAAAAAA!!!" The other two MTs fired their shotguns about four times into her head, destroying it. She activated her blade and swung it wildly around, cutting the first MT in half and cutting the front legs off of the other two MTs. "My head is wasted. Heavy damage to my front armour. My right arm is gone. Left leg immobile. I'm done, sorry guys." She just lay there. Her AC almost completely destroyed. The MTs hadn't been there long but the damage was done. They may be light MTs but so was angels AC and it looked like the front of her core had caved in a bit from the weight.
"Angel is out of commission guys, were gonna have to carry her out." I was too busy shooting down the remaining MTs to run over and help Angel right now. I was firing my shotgun and my machinegun constantly. One shotgun shot took out one MT. So if I hit it square I can take them out quickly.
"Ok guys, I'm sick and tired of playing around with these little pieces of shit. Its time to end this!" With that Morrow boosted forward, picked up angel, and boosted to the back of the room (near the pillar). Blaze and I followed the heavy AC and provided cover fire for him on the way. Once we were behind him he put angel down behind him, turned around and got into a firing stance as he lowered his enormous linear cannon over his shoulder. He started charging the cannon. "I'm gonna waste all these little bastards in one shot!"
"What are you doing morrow!!?"
"He's overloading his cannon! Get back behind him!"
"HAHAHAHA!! HERE IT GOES!!!" His cannon glowed like an unholy black sun. It was blinding us, and the MTs were getting closer and closer.
"Morrow, what's wrong with you? Your freaking out!" He fired his cannon. The ensuing blast decimated everything in the room, the MTs, all the other equipment, and the opposite wall. After about thirty seconds my ears had recovered and I could hear again. "Morrow? Are you ok?"
"Wow, I don't know what just came over me."
"Looks like you went a little power crazy for a second. But you got the job done. Damn, look at that." Blaze walked forward and looked down the span of the "half-pipe" that morrow's linear cannon had made in the floor.
Morrow stood up and turned around to pick up angels ruined AC then he began walking towards the opposite wall that he just decimated. We followed him across the room, not saying a word. We walked through the half-pipe that he made in the ground. Watching as the metallic gas, that was made from the MTs as they were disintegrated from the blast, float around like a heavy, black fog, hardening to anything that it touches.
"Hey blaze. Could you cut this wall open for me? My hands are busy." He lifted angel's AC a bit to show that his arms were taken.
"Alright. Ill have it open in a second." She walked up to the door, heated her blade and started carving away an exit.
"I could just blast it open." I stepped forward, ready to power my cannon.
"No Xero. I don't want to hear anymore loud noises tonight. I've had enough."
"O, well alright." I took a few steps back behind morrow as blaze kept cutting away at the pile of rocks. I looked up at morrow and admired him for a second. It was a strange moment; I had never seen morrow act that way before or put cutting a wall open before blowing it up. I laughed at myself. "I'm being stupid." I thought. "It was in the heat of battle and he snapped. I've done that before! Its really no big deal." And I tried to dismiss it as such but I had a bad feeling.
The sound of machine gun fire woke me up from my phantasmagoria; I picked up both my shotguns and prepared myself for battle.
"All done! Lets get outta this hell-hole." It was just blaze finishing up her hole making with her machine gun.
I looked up at morrow again and saw him flinch when blaze fired her machine gun again to widen the hole a little more. "C'mon morrow, its time. Lets go home." He shook his head and stepped through the hole.
We walked silently all the way through the base. Blaze taking the front, morrow with angel in the middle, and I took the rear. We made it to the exit that angel and I made and proceeded outside. By now it was completely dark. There was no moon but the stars sang a beautiful song of serenity and innocence above us in the heavens.
"Well guys, do we want to call in a transport or just boost back?" Blaze turned around and asked innocently, like nothing had ever happened. That was the kind of mentality that is usually required of ravens: senseless killers, is what they call us. But most ravens are never able to grasp that. Most just go on with their missions and in the arena but eventually their conscious catches up to them and they end up basically losing themselves. And the ones that do grasp that... become heartless warriors. Sadly, the heartless warriors tended to be the best ravens around. I'm torn on my feelings about blaze, its good that she is able to put things behind her but at the same time I hope that she doesn't lose herself completely.
"We'll just boost back." Morrow spoke up unexpectedly.
"You sure?" I wasn't sure if morrow was quite up to boosting all the way back to Zenith city.
"Ill be fine. Lets just get going." Sadness and depression forming his sentence.
"Well, alright c'mon." Blaze boosted away first, morrow next, and I followed the two of them.
We had been boosting back for about twenty minutes when I saw a large glowing blue ball about one and a half meters to my left and closing in fast. "Guys I see something. Hit your overboost and get the hell back to the Cortex. Ill check ou-" my sentence was cut short when the ground in front of me exploded and I was thrown backwards backwards.
"XERO!!!" A strange new voice screamed over the com.
"Alright, later Xero." Blaze called and activated her overboost. Morrow did the same without a word.
"Xero...be...careful..." angel struggled to speak. I was surprised to hear her; I was also surprised that her com worked after those MTs decimated her AC.
I stood up again and turned to face my new threat. I looked up and saw an AC: This AC had high-load, mid-weight legs. A lightweight core with overboost and missile interception, lightweight arms, and a good function head. Its weapons were high-ammo dual missile launchers on the back, high ammo missile extensions, an 800 round machine gun, and a left arm grenade launcher. It was painted mostly black with some red details. But the thing about this AC was the eye, its eye glowed black somehow. It made for a frightening scene.
"Huh. I guess these machine guns are popular." I pulled out my own and took it in my left hand.
"I guess they must be." He held up his own. But what surprised me was his voice, his voice sounded so young.
"Wait a second. How old are you? Are you even supposed to be piloting that?"
"Well for your first question, I'm seventeen. For your second, yes."
"Your only seventeen!? But how can you be allowed to pilot at seventeen?!"
"You don't know who I am, do you?"
"Should I?"
"Well, most people know the A ranks pretty well. Most people know the A-1 ranked raven when they see them. My name is Nexus, this is my AC, Firestorm."
"A-1 ranker huh? I think I've heard of you. The youngest raven, I remember now. You became a raven at fifteen and got to A-1 in two months. A new record right? That's pretty impressive being as there's over one hundred arena competitors in this region. And no losses yet right?"
"Ya thanks. I think I beat the last record by one day. And nope, no losses yet." He sounded very proud of his accomplishment. And why shouldn't he be proud? He's the greatest raven at seventeen years old.
"So, back to business. What do you want?" I sounded exceptionally terse.
"Ah, the point. Well, it seems you and your friends did a damn good job of pissing Crest off. So they just gave me one hundred and fifty K to eliminate you guys."
"Ok. Well, then, lets see what the A-1 raven can do, shall we?" I unclipped my shotguns.
"I guess we shall. Ill deal with your friends later. Sorry about this but orders are orders." He was totally cool about this whole thing.
"Well you have to get by me first." I lifted my shotguns and started locking with my missiles.
"You done locking yet?"
Wha-? How did he know I was locking? Whatever. "Lets go!" I boosted up and back launching six missiles at him. At the same time I fired both shotguns constantly. He boosted back but didn't make a great effort to dodge my missiles, which four of hit, and I was showering him with shotgun blasts. I saw the missile launchers on his back open along with the extensions on his shoulders. A second later there were eight missiles coming at me. I cut my boosters and dropped until the missiles flew over me and I hit my overboost in mid-air. My overboost shot me forward at around 700 mph, straight at Nexus. I flew right at him, firing my shotguns the whole time. I lowered my cannon and fired one shot right at him at point blank before I flew over his head. I cut the overboost and landed, the blood rushing back to the rest of my body and the adrenaline making me extremely energetic and I put my shotguns back on my legs. I spun around in time to see a grenade coming at me. I dropped to the ground and it exploded behind me. I looked up and Nexus was standing over me with his machine gun pointed at my head.
"That was a nice show! You almost got me with your cannon and you put a great number of holes in my armour with those shotguns." His voice was loud and triumphant, like he already won.
"I'm not done yet!"
"Oh?"
I hit my boosters and pulled up my machine gun at the same time. I pointed my machine gun straight up and started firing. I slid on the ground towards Nexus. I put my other arm out to my side. I slid in-between his legs and my left arm caught his right leg as I fired my gun up into his leg gyro. When my arm caught him, he started falling backwards. My machinegun, that was going the whole time, started firing into the back of his core and then as it climbed I tried my best to keep it firing into the back of his head.
"You sneaky little bastard. You'll figure it out eventually." He sounded way to confident.
He hit his overboost. Not good for me, if he lit his overboost with his back so close to my AC he would fry me! I hit my own overboost as his was about to explode with energy. I pulled up my sniper rifle and fired into the back of his core and into his overboost. His overboost fired off and melted my machine gun into a puddle that sizzled as it hit the ground. My left arm was red-hot but fortunately not melting. I managed to roll over just before my overboost activated and drove me into the ground, but was instead shot straight up into the air. Right after I took off I cut the overboost and watched Nexus as I was free falling. He got about nine hundred yards away when something sparked in his overboost machinery. His overboost plasma stream got three times bigger but he was slowing down, and the plasma was still getting bigger. He landed on his feet and turned around.
He opened up a com channel but it was barely audible because every alarm must have been going off in his cockpit. "What the hell did you do!?" He turned his machine gun around fired into his own core. He only fired a few rounds but he must have hit something because the back of his core shutdown but didn't close up. "Well I guess you hit the power restriction conduit with that well placed sniper shot you managed to fire off." The alarms in his core had shut off and it was a lot easier to hear him now. Even though he was out of breath. "No more overboost for me."
He started running at me again and fired off a few grenade rounds before hitting his boosters and shooting left and up.
I dodged the grenades by following his lead and flying up and right. I looked up just in time to be hit in full force by a complete volley of eight missiles right into my head and my core. Luckily my core took most of the hit and because of its rounded shape I escaped with just some huge dents. I recovered myself and saw flashes of light then my own alarms began going off. I turned around and there he was, unloading machine gun rounds into my back.
"How the hell did he get back there!?!" I opened up my cannon again and spun around. As soon as I saw him, I didn't even wait for my F.C.S. to lock onto him, I fired three shots. The shots drained my energy and I started falling.
He managed to dodge two of my point-blank shots but the last one hit him in the upper right side of his core. It ripped his head and the entire top- right of his core clean off. Including his right arm and the missile launcher on that side. "YYYAAAAAAAA!!" He fell down and slammed the ground from 1500 feet. I landed right before him and fell to my knees when I hit. I got back up and walked over to the smoldering Firestorm. He was lying on his back; his head was about 125 yards away and smoking. I walked up and put one foot on his waist and pointed my sniper rifle at his cockpit.
"You lose Nexus." I was breathing heavily and I was so tired I could barely hold up my rifle.
"Huh, well I guess so Xero. But I wonder why my AC was reacting so slowly. Ill have to take you more seriously next time." He started laughing. He was actually laughing! Little bitch.
"If there is a 'next time'." I started to walk away but after a minute of nothing... "Do you need a transport?"
"I already called one in. But thanks anyway." He rolled over onto his front and managed to stand with the help of his left hand. I was surprised his AC or himself would move after that battle. He stood up and put his hand out for a handshake. "Peace?"
I gave him a sideways glance.
"I'm not gonna do anything to ya! I'm lucky to be standing. Hell, after you leave I'm gonna sit back down." He was determined to get me to shake his hand. "Id love to shake with my right hand but being as that is about 300 meters away and half melted you get the left!" At least he's got a sense of humor.
I extended my own left hand and gave him a handshake.
"There now, that wasn't that bad was it?" He laughed a little more then fell straight backwards and landed hard on his back again.
"Well Nexus, I gotta go. Maybe ill see you later or maybe in the arena. Maybe we could have a rematch!" I turned and hit my overboost. I shot away at 700 mph, leaving him on the ground with nothing but the stars to talk to.
"Xero, I can hardly wait..." he said softly to the stars then closed his eyes.
We made it back to the hangar in about 4 more minutes. I grabbed my new weapons and clipped them to my legs.
"All ready." I said as I clipped the weapons to my legs.
"Finally, lets go. Follow me." And she boosted straight up into the air then hit her overboost and shot away.
I tried to follow as best as I could but her AC was alot faster. But I could try to keep up. We kept boosting, running, and overboosting for about an hour. All the while I was still getting used to the AC and asking questions about the mission. Finally she got sick of my annoying questions and just sent me the mission request:
Operation name: branching out
Requesting corporation: Mirage
Opposing corporation: Crest
Advance: 0
Reward: 56,000 Cr
Area of Operation: Mountainous Area 563-T
Enemy forces: multiple AI turrets and MTs
Recommended raven rank: C
Survival Chance: 67%
Mission review: Crest has been spreading rapidly through newly discovered land and has been claiming new and previously undiscovered minerals deposits and even elements! They do not have the manpower to occupy all this area at the same time with living people. To rectify this problem Crest has been greatly employing the use of AI controlled basses. One such base has been just previously constructed and is standing guard over a newly discover element ore. Your mission is to secure the ore and destroy the base.
Sounds simple enough.
"Here we are!" Angel stopped boosting and kneeled down behind a small ledge on the edge of a cliff. I did the same.
She pointed down into the valley and towards a small base that was bustling with movement. "It doesn't look to bad from up here."
"Try zooming in. Things are rarely what they seem." I did as suggested and zoomed in my view as far as would go.
"Computer, magnify image."
"CMH-MISTEYE is at maximum range."
I could see eight turret-towers, at least ten battle MTs, and at least twenty of new model MTs from the ledge. Along with numerous heavy lifting MTs that seemed to be walking back and forth from the base and about three or four access tunnels that led into various mountains surrounding the base. "You ready?"
"What? Do you have any ideas? Just because you're in an AC doesn't make you invincible."
"I know that." I replied as I clipped both my shotguns back to my legs, I had taken them off earlier to see if I could hold them while I overboosted, and I picked up my sniper rifle. "This is why I have multiple weapons; I want to be prepared for any and all different situations. Here's the plan: you start locking on to those new MTs with as many missiles as you can. Once you get a full lock, tell me and I'll start planting sniper shots into those turrets, right when I start firing you launch off as many missiles as you can and start flying down this hill."
"Ok, but if I get so much as one scratch on my AC from your lack of cover..."
"Just shuttup and start locking."
"Ya-ya." I watched as both of her Missile launchers raised over her shoulders and opened up. "These each have a six lock maximum. So I'll disable the safe lock and lock-on until I run out of missiles."
"You can do that? But will any of them hit?"
"Sure they'll hit! Not ALL of them will hit but the ones that miss will spread out and hit everything else." She smirked and laughed a bit under her breath. "Locking on..."
"Tell me when your ready." I was a bit nervous about the whole idea.
"Ready."
"Alright, taking aim." I kneeled down and put my sniper rifle up to my shoulder and used my left arm to brace it. I used my computer to quick- lock onto the turrets. What a quick lock did is it would lock in the next targeted turret and angle that I would need to aim at the turret accurately from my position. So basically, as soon as I fired off one shot the AC's computer would move the rifle and aim it at the next turret instantly. All I had to do was pull the trigger eight times and the turrets would be destroyed. That was an ideal situation; there were six turrets on our side of the base and two on the other side. I would have to take out the other two myself "as soon as I take the first shot, you launch off the missiles and start boosting down the mountain."
"Alright, go already."
"Ok, Here goes!" I fired one shot and then another, and another. Until there were six towers of fire surrounding the base. Angel jumped off the ledge and unloaded both of her missile launchers at once, leaving 84 missiles bombarding the base in a semi-spread pattern making the base glow crimson red. Numerous small explosions followed as multiple MTs got hit or caught fire from the bombardment. I got up from my firing position and began boosting down the mountain. I fired my machine gun continually as I 'skied' down the mountain. Hitting MTs randomly. When I got down to the bottom Angel overboosted right in front of me and across the base. She stopped her overboost right in front of an MT and shoved her blade into the middle of it and then ripped it open up-ward causing the MT to launch into the air above her. She pointed her small laser rifle straight up and fired multiple shots straight into the MT, the plasma orbs shredding it apart and melting the rest. She boosted away before the MT hit the ground and she disappeared behind the main building of the base.
I boosted to the left and rammed into another battle MT. I pulled up my sniper rifle and fired right into the front of the MT. I boosted back as it fell forward. I hit the overboost and flew around the base to find angel barely dodge a pair of rockets from a turret as she flew forward and extended her blade. Then she sliced through the entire pillar causing it to fall over onto the main base wall creating a huge hole. I boosted up and forward into the air towards the remaining tower. I landed on top of the tower and pointed my machine gun straight down between my feet and started firing full throttle. Bullets started penetrating the light armour of the turret and small explosions were setting off inside. I jumped off as the turret blew. Angel finished off the last MT with her blade as I landed.
"WHOO!!! What a rush!" She was ecstatic.
"Yes it is. Too much fun." I was having a bit of fun as well.
It was almost nighttime now. The sun was about a planets length from the horizon and steadily dropping, painting the flat clouds vibrant shades of red, pink, and purple.
A wall on another building behind us started rolling upwards. Seven large walker MTs lumbered out. They were taller than us by about half an AC, they had large cannons on their backs and they walked on all fours.
"Now what?" Angel actually sounded annoyed at this new threat.
"Wait, I'll handle these." I wanted to test out my back weapons. I activated my missile launcher and started locking onto the first MT as angel boosted to the top of the main base building. I strafe-boosted to the left and fired six missiles at the first MT. All of them plowed into the front of the walker, decimating the front of it and blowing off the two front legs. It fell forward and exploded in all the glory of red flames.
"Nice effect that had but I could do that in my sleep." Angel snickered.
My AC turned around and flew up, facing angel, into her view with both middle fingers standing proudly on end.
"HAHAAHA! Is that an offer Xero? HAHA!"
"It just might. But I'm way too hot for you to handle."
"Oh, ya think so, huh?"
"Just watch this!" I let go of the boosters and dropped straight down as a huge energy blast flew over my head. I hit the ground in a crouched position and lifted my head, looking straight at the MTs. I lowered my laser cannon over my shoulder. I fired one shot still crouched then stood quickly and hit my overboost which shot me forward and caused my eyes to blur as a swarm of vertical missiles impacted the ground behind me. I literally raced my own plasma shot towards one of the MTs. I strafed to the right just in time as the shot plowed ruthlessly into the MT, ripping it into three pieces. I cut the overboost and landed behind the group. Their large size made it hard for them to turn around quickly. I took advantage of they're obvious weakness and ran towards the closest one. I stopped behind its left rear leg and unclipped my shotguns. I pointed the guns at the actuator joint between the legs and fired, ripping the joint apart. The legs gave out and I fired again into the 'hips' of both legs. The legs came clean off and the MT fell backward, leaving it immobile.
"Four more, want some help yet Xero?"
"Shuttup! I can handle this by myself." To tell the truth I doubted myself. But I glanced back toward where angel was expecting to see her taunting me somehow. I was greeted with a much more disturbing image. Instead of angel I saw another of the strange units that I saw during my raven test. For some reason, seeing it caused a feeling of blind rage to flood inside me. I jumped up and lowered my cannon again. I boosted backward for an unknown reason and was blinded as four large plasma beams sparked and crackled inches from my AC's core.
I dropped back down to the ground while I boosted back and left. When I landed I had maneuvered my way so that I had three of the MTs lined up. I braced myself on my feet and fired my cannon; at the same time I started my boosters forward so I wouldn't be thrown backwards by the recoil. My cannon shot blasted through the rear of the first MT, through the front of the second MT, and it finalized by plowing square into the center of the third MT, blowing it to dust. I jumped to the left without thinking about it and another volley of vertical missiles crashed into the ground where I just was. I jumped into the air again and put away my cannon. Instead I unclipped one of my shotguns and my machine gun. I flew up and to the right, looking down I saw the final MT standing there. I started dropping towards it firing my machine gun and shotgun at the same time. By the time I got to the MT it was littered with holes. I landed on the MTs back and it completely collapsed because of its weakened structure from all the holes in its armour.
"HOLY SHIT!" Angel was flabbergasted. "Xero, how the hell did- did you do that?"
I looked up to where angel was and all I saw was her AC, nothing else. "Wha-? Angel, are you ok?"
"What? Ya, I'm fine. What do you mean, am I ok? Your the one who just took out four mammoth MTs in like thirty seconds!" She started laughing hysterically. "I guess you are a bit too hot for me to handle."
"Well, I... Lets just get going." And I started walking off towards the hole in the main base that was made by the guard tower earlier. Leaving angel standing there with her foot in her mouth.
"Well then fine!" I'm sure that if I would've looked back at her she would have had her head cocked sideways and her hands on her hips.
We walked back to the crashed tower and we both got under it. "Lets get this out of the way."
"Lets." We both bent our knees and put our arms up and our hands on the underside of the tower.
"One! Two! Three!" We hit our overboosters at the same time and we pushed the tower up and over. "Good enough for me." That left us alone with the hole in the wall. "Ladies first." I bowed and motioned my arms toward the hole that we were using as a door.
"Thank you, sir." And she proceeded to walk, as snobby as possible in an AC, through the door. Her arms extended at her sides and she was swinging her hips as much as the AC would allow. I followed her inside laughing.
Once inside we were in the middle of a large corridor. The radio started crackling. "Angel, do you copy?"
"Huh? Um, this is Angel."
"Angel, this is Mirage Intel, we have confirmed the presence of an AC in that base. Watch yourself."
"Roger. Do you have any info on the raven?"
"She is a relatively new raven. AC name: Fire Stream. Lightweight. Very fast."
"Alright thanks."
"Angel? What about the ravens name?"
"Doesn't matter who she is. If she interferes with our mission she's an enemy."
"Well... Alright, I guess..." I thought her response was a little cold blooded but I guess that's the way it works in our field of work.
We decided to stick together and take the left passage. We were only encountering minor resistance; ceiling turrets and wall mounted turrets, but nothing special. We came to our first door and angel had to use her blade to open it. Inside was a large room with a lot of side doors and various pieces of equipment: computers, MT parts, etc.... At the far end of the room there was a large pillar that went from the floor all the way to the ceiling (which was way up there).
"Haven't we seen this before?" I asked angel, pointing to the pillar.
"I think so. Its just like the one from the Kisaragi base a few weeks ago." And indeed it was an identical pillar to the one that angel disemboweled at the Kisaragi base. "We should probably take this one out to. It had a nice effect last time."
"I think so to, but who is the one stealing technology here? Is it Crest from Kisaragi, or Kisaragi from Crest?"
"I have no idea. Kisaragi is usually right on top of any technological advances, but Kisaragi has been really struggling ever since Nydem destroyed the Controller." We walked towards the pillar.
Nydem was the raven solely responsible for the release of the layered cities, and the repopulation of the surface world. "Nydem... I wonder what it would be like around this part of the world if she was still alive?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, she was the best raven that ever lived. She probably could have ended the corporate war a long time ago."
"That's quite possible, but nobody ever said she was dead."
"Angel, she disappeared five years ago. On the day that I became an MT pilot." That was how I always remembered the date that the world's greatest raven went MIA. The same day that I got my confirmation from Global Cortex, I saw it on the news.
(Just a note for the reader: Nydem means Goddess in some language that I can't seem to remember the name of right now.)
"Well, that's all in the past now Xero. And I have a feeling that Nydem is still out there somewhere." We walked up to the pillar and angel heated her blade and routed more energy into it just as she did before. "Well, goodbye AI." With that, she stabbed her blade into the pillar and she routed more energy into it, causing the blade to heat and expand. A large hole melted away around the blade and we could hear the pillar shutting down. The pillar's computer voice crackled to life once more...
"loSIng poWeR, ActIvAtiNg StAndBy gAteS." The whole pillar shut down. Every light, every computer screen dimmed and then went completely black and quiet as death.
"Xero, what are standby gates?"
"I don't think I want to know." The doors on the sides of the room all slid down and dozens of strange new MTs walked through the door. The MTs were about half as tall as I was, they had four legs, small thin cores that were pointed vertically, thin elongated arms that stretched straight out from the sides of the core, and the heads looked like TV antennas (like the AC head part).
"I think we have a problem here Xero." Angel took a step back and one of the MTs took a step forward.
I dropped to one knee and brought my laser cannon over my shoulder. "When I fire it should take out a bunch of 'em. You blast your way through and I'll keep them busy." After I said this, another door opened behind us and two ACs came in.
"Shit! I thought they said one AC not two!?"
"This is Blaze." One of the ACs announced.
"This is Morrow." The other followed.
"Identify yours- angel? Is that you?" Blaze started.
"Ya, its me."
"And it's me Xero." I was quick to announce before they shot me. "Ha, what's up guys?"
Morrow answered first. "Well nothing really. This was my first mission and I shoulda known it; here you are to screw it up." We all couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the whole situation. "These MTs are under our control should the main control computer crash or get destroyed."
"Angel did it!" I laughed at myself as I pointed my finger at her. They all joined in.
Our laughter was cut short as the radio came back on. "Blaze, Morrow. Your objective was to eliminate the intruders. But as you are obviously in league with the enemy than we have little choice than to treat you as such. You have hereby failed your mission and have lost all privileges that came with your mission acceptance; mainly, control over the new SXT-R5 prototype MTs. Pleasure working with you. Crest control out."
"Damnit. There goes our reward, Morrow." Dissapointment filled her words.
"And your lives." Angel said as she backed away from the battalion of Battle ready MTs.
"Hey blaze. What are these MTs fitted with?"
"Shotgun arms. That's it."
"Ya, but in these confined quarters that many shotguns are gonna rip us apart." Morrow pointed out.
"Not if we rip them apart first. Morrow, looks like you've got some big balls, get over here." Morrow had large, rounded, high-load capacity legs. A middleweight, overboost core with missile interception. Mid-weight arms, and the RACHIS head unit. He was outfitted with missile interception on the shoulders, the LIC-10 linear cannon, the KARASAWA, and the MOONLIGHT laser Blade. "Nice moonlight, where did you find that?"
"It was the garage's only one." Blaze growled over the com.
"Well, I beat her to it." Morrow laughed. Blaze was the only one not laughing now.
"How can you guys laugh at a time like this!?" Blaze shouted as she took a step forward. Blaze's AC was a light-weight with an 800 round machine gun, a HALBERD laser-blade like angels, and two 30% ammo additions on her back. She had light-mid-weight SPINE legs, HADRO arms, a good mapping head, and a lightweight, solid ammo EO core.
"Ok, ok. Lets get outa here. Morrow, come over here with that giant cannon of yours." I was done laughing here and I was getting anxious to get back home and laugh there.
"Alright. Here I am." Morrow walked over and kneeled down next to me.
The radio crackled to life again. "Blaze, morrow, your contract is hereby dissolved. You have thirty seconds to get out of that base before we activate the MTs."
"Morrow, we couldn't get out in thirty seconds if we tried!" Blaze was beginning to panic.
"I know that blaze. They just gave us a thirty second head start." He looked at me and charged up his cannon. "Xero, you with me?"
I caught on, "hell ya, I'm in. Lets get the hell out of here." I charged my cannon as well. "Hey girls, as soon as we fire, you ladies start ripping through them. Make a way through. As soon as you have cleared a way to the door we'll overboost right through."
"Ok." Angel was on it.
"Alright." Blaze didn't sound so confident.
"Ok morrow, on three.... THREE!" We both fired our cannons into the crowd. My shot was dwarfed by morrows cannon shot. But it was no less effective. Both shots ripped through the crowd, destroying and that were in the way and melting any that got to close.
Blaze and angel flew past us: Blaze's machine gun roaring and her EO punching through random targets, Angel firing her laser rifle and swinging her blade constantly. Morrow stood up and starting firing his KARASAWA shot after shot. I stood up and activated my missile launcher. I got six locks and fired off the missiles, all of them hit their respective target and the ones that were hit seemed to just fall apart.
"They're activating the MTs!" Angel shouted as a cloud of bullets flew at her, most bouncing of her armour but some catching soft spots from the previous battle. "Blaze help me clear a path for the boys!"
"Alright, I'm right here!" Blaze flew in next to angel and started firing constantly at the group of MTs.
"This isn't working!" Morrow said, after about one minute, sounding lost. "It's a losing battle. For every one we destroy there are five more to take its place." We were losing hope.
"The gates!" I watched the gates. New MTs were pouring in constantly. "Morrow! Blast those doors shut! It'll stop the MTs from coming in!"
"Gotcha!" He lowered his cannon as another wave of shotgun shots plowed into his heavily armored AC. He charged his linear cannon again and ignited his boosters forward as he fired his cannon. The shot melted numerous MTs on its way to the wall. And once it hit the wall, cement and chunks of rock and steel flew everywhere. Once the dust settled we could see what was left of most of the wall; it was a huge crumbled mess. There were legs and arms of MTs sticking out every which way, along with gate shutters. Morrow stood up and fired his KARASAWA a few more times at the rest of the wall, destroying whatever wasn't damaged by the first blast. Then he turned around and started firing his KARASAWA relentlessly into the other wall, destroying it completely. With the flow of MTs stemmed for now, I got out my machine gun and one of my shotguns and started picking off the leftover MTs. One shot from Morrows 'sawa' completely disintegrated the MT and the one behind it. So he was our heavy-hitter of the group. We couldn't let him fall.
"This is blaze. Taking heavy damage, running low on ammo." Her panicked voice returning.
"We still have a good fifty to sixty of these things left. Just keep at it." I tried my best to sound supportive but for some reason it always comes out wrong. I turned to my left and was confronted with six or seven shotgun blasts. The ringing of the bullets as they bounced off my armour was driving me nuts. I opened up on them with my machine gun and started to sweep back and forth with the 300 round a minute weapon. They fell easily but their great numbers and speed is what made them deadly. The more we destroyed, the harder it got to hit them as we opened more space in the room with every falling MT.
"Angel here. My missile launchers are wasted because I'm getting hit in the back so much. Dropping them now." And she unclipped her ruined missile launchers onto the ground behind her. After disposing of the launchers she was knocked backward by an MT. Then another three MTs climbed on top of her. The leading MT fired its shotguns at point-blank range and shattered her right arm. "YYYEEEEAAAAAAA!!!" The other two MTs fired their shotguns about four times into her head, destroying it. She activated her blade and swung it wildly around, cutting the first MT in half and cutting the front legs off of the other two MTs. "My head is wasted. Heavy damage to my front armour. My right arm is gone. Left leg immobile. I'm done, sorry guys." She just lay there. Her AC almost completely destroyed. The MTs hadn't been there long but the damage was done. They may be light MTs but so was angels AC and it looked like the front of her core had caved in a bit from the weight.
"Angel is out of commission guys, were gonna have to carry her out." I was too busy shooting down the remaining MTs to run over and help Angel right now. I was firing my shotgun and my machinegun constantly. One shotgun shot took out one MT. So if I hit it square I can take them out quickly.
"Ok guys, I'm sick and tired of playing around with these little pieces of shit. Its time to end this!" With that Morrow boosted forward, picked up angel, and boosted to the back of the room (near the pillar). Blaze and I followed the heavy AC and provided cover fire for him on the way. Once we were behind him he put angel down behind him, turned around and got into a firing stance as he lowered his enormous linear cannon over his shoulder. He started charging the cannon. "I'm gonna waste all these little bastards in one shot!"
"What are you doing morrow!!?"
"He's overloading his cannon! Get back behind him!"
"HAHAHAHA!! HERE IT GOES!!!" His cannon glowed like an unholy black sun. It was blinding us, and the MTs were getting closer and closer.
"Morrow, what's wrong with you? Your freaking out!" He fired his cannon. The ensuing blast decimated everything in the room, the MTs, all the other equipment, and the opposite wall. After about thirty seconds my ears had recovered and I could hear again. "Morrow? Are you ok?"
"Wow, I don't know what just came over me."
"Looks like you went a little power crazy for a second. But you got the job done. Damn, look at that." Blaze walked forward and looked down the span of the "half-pipe" that morrow's linear cannon had made in the floor.
Morrow stood up and turned around to pick up angels ruined AC then he began walking towards the opposite wall that he just decimated. We followed him across the room, not saying a word. We walked through the half-pipe that he made in the ground. Watching as the metallic gas, that was made from the MTs as they were disintegrated from the blast, float around like a heavy, black fog, hardening to anything that it touches.
"Hey blaze. Could you cut this wall open for me? My hands are busy." He lifted angel's AC a bit to show that his arms were taken.
"Alright. Ill have it open in a second." She walked up to the door, heated her blade and started carving away an exit.
"I could just blast it open." I stepped forward, ready to power my cannon.
"No Xero. I don't want to hear anymore loud noises tonight. I've had enough."
"O, well alright." I took a few steps back behind morrow as blaze kept cutting away at the pile of rocks. I looked up at morrow and admired him for a second. It was a strange moment; I had never seen morrow act that way before or put cutting a wall open before blowing it up. I laughed at myself. "I'm being stupid." I thought. "It was in the heat of battle and he snapped. I've done that before! Its really no big deal." And I tried to dismiss it as such but I had a bad feeling.
The sound of machine gun fire woke me up from my phantasmagoria; I picked up both my shotguns and prepared myself for battle.
"All done! Lets get outta this hell-hole." It was just blaze finishing up her hole making with her machine gun.
I looked up at morrow again and saw him flinch when blaze fired her machine gun again to widen the hole a little more. "C'mon morrow, its time. Lets go home." He shook his head and stepped through the hole.
We walked silently all the way through the base. Blaze taking the front, morrow with angel in the middle, and I took the rear. We made it to the exit that angel and I made and proceeded outside. By now it was completely dark. There was no moon but the stars sang a beautiful song of serenity and innocence above us in the heavens.
"Well guys, do we want to call in a transport or just boost back?" Blaze turned around and asked innocently, like nothing had ever happened. That was the kind of mentality that is usually required of ravens: senseless killers, is what they call us. But most ravens are never able to grasp that. Most just go on with their missions and in the arena but eventually their conscious catches up to them and they end up basically losing themselves. And the ones that do grasp that... become heartless warriors. Sadly, the heartless warriors tended to be the best ravens around. I'm torn on my feelings about blaze, its good that she is able to put things behind her but at the same time I hope that she doesn't lose herself completely.
"We'll just boost back." Morrow spoke up unexpectedly.
"You sure?" I wasn't sure if morrow was quite up to boosting all the way back to Zenith city.
"Ill be fine. Lets just get going." Sadness and depression forming his sentence.
"Well, alright c'mon." Blaze boosted away first, morrow next, and I followed the two of them.
We had been boosting back for about twenty minutes when I saw a large glowing blue ball about one and a half meters to my left and closing in fast. "Guys I see something. Hit your overboost and get the hell back to the Cortex. Ill check ou-" my sentence was cut short when the ground in front of me exploded and I was thrown backwards backwards.
"XERO!!!" A strange new voice screamed over the com.
"Alright, later Xero." Blaze called and activated her overboost. Morrow did the same without a word.
"Xero...be...careful..." angel struggled to speak. I was surprised to hear her; I was also surprised that her com worked after those MTs decimated her AC.
I stood up again and turned to face my new threat. I looked up and saw an AC: This AC had high-load, mid-weight legs. A lightweight core with overboost and missile interception, lightweight arms, and a good function head. Its weapons were high-ammo dual missile launchers on the back, high ammo missile extensions, an 800 round machine gun, and a left arm grenade launcher. It was painted mostly black with some red details. But the thing about this AC was the eye, its eye glowed black somehow. It made for a frightening scene.
"Huh. I guess these machine guns are popular." I pulled out my own and took it in my left hand.
"I guess they must be." He held up his own. But what surprised me was his voice, his voice sounded so young.
"Wait a second. How old are you? Are you even supposed to be piloting that?"
"Well for your first question, I'm seventeen. For your second, yes."
"Your only seventeen!? But how can you be allowed to pilot at seventeen?!"
"You don't know who I am, do you?"
"Should I?"
"Well, most people know the A ranks pretty well. Most people know the A-1 ranked raven when they see them. My name is Nexus, this is my AC, Firestorm."
"A-1 ranker huh? I think I've heard of you. The youngest raven, I remember now. You became a raven at fifteen and got to A-1 in two months. A new record right? That's pretty impressive being as there's over one hundred arena competitors in this region. And no losses yet right?"
"Ya thanks. I think I beat the last record by one day. And nope, no losses yet." He sounded very proud of his accomplishment. And why shouldn't he be proud? He's the greatest raven at seventeen years old.
"So, back to business. What do you want?" I sounded exceptionally terse.
"Ah, the point. Well, it seems you and your friends did a damn good job of pissing Crest off. So they just gave me one hundred and fifty K to eliminate you guys."
"Ok. Well, then, lets see what the A-1 raven can do, shall we?" I unclipped my shotguns.
"I guess we shall. Ill deal with your friends later. Sorry about this but orders are orders." He was totally cool about this whole thing.
"Well you have to get by me first." I lifted my shotguns and started locking with my missiles.
"You done locking yet?"
Wha-? How did he know I was locking? Whatever. "Lets go!" I boosted up and back launching six missiles at him. At the same time I fired both shotguns constantly. He boosted back but didn't make a great effort to dodge my missiles, which four of hit, and I was showering him with shotgun blasts. I saw the missile launchers on his back open along with the extensions on his shoulders. A second later there were eight missiles coming at me. I cut my boosters and dropped until the missiles flew over me and I hit my overboost in mid-air. My overboost shot me forward at around 700 mph, straight at Nexus. I flew right at him, firing my shotguns the whole time. I lowered my cannon and fired one shot right at him at point blank before I flew over his head. I cut the overboost and landed, the blood rushing back to the rest of my body and the adrenaline making me extremely energetic and I put my shotguns back on my legs. I spun around in time to see a grenade coming at me. I dropped to the ground and it exploded behind me. I looked up and Nexus was standing over me with his machine gun pointed at my head.
"That was a nice show! You almost got me with your cannon and you put a great number of holes in my armour with those shotguns." His voice was loud and triumphant, like he already won.
"I'm not done yet!"
"Oh?"
I hit my boosters and pulled up my machine gun at the same time. I pointed my machine gun straight up and started firing. I slid on the ground towards Nexus. I put my other arm out to my side. I slid in-between his legs and my left arm caught his right leg as I fired my gun up into his leg gyro. When my arm caught him, he started falling backwards. My machinegun, that was going the whole time, started firing into the back of his core and then as it climbed I tried my best to keep it firing into the back of his head.
"You sneaky little bastard. You'll figure it out eventually." He sounded way to confident.
He hit his overboost. Not good for me, if he lit his overboost with his back so close to my AC he would fry me! I hit my own overboost as his was about to explode with energy. I pulled up my sniper rifle and fired into the back of his core and into his overboost. His overboost fired off and melted my machine gun into a puddle that sizzled as it hit the ground. My left arm was red-hot but fortunately not melting. I managed to roll over just before my overboost activated and drove me into the ground, but was instead shot straight up into the air. Right after I took off I cut the overboost and watched Nexus as I was free falling. He got about nine hundred yards away when something sparked in his overboost machinery. His overboost plasma stream got three times bigger but he was slowing down, and the plasma was still getting bigger. He landed on his feet and turned around.
He opened up a com channel but it was barely audible because every alarm must have been going off in his cockpit. "What the hell did you do!?" He turned his machine gun around fired into his own core. He only fired a few rounds but he must have hit something because the back of his core shutdown but didn't close up. "Well I guess you hit the power restriction conduit with that well placed sniper shot you managed to fire off." The alarms in his core had shut off and it was a lot easier to hear him now. Even though he was out of breath. "No more overboost for me."
He started running at me again and fired off a few grenade rounds before hitting his boosters and shooting left and up.
I dodged the grenades by following his lead and flying up and right. I looked up just in time to be hit in full force by a complete volley of eight missiles right into my head and my core. Luckily my core took most of the hit and because of its rounded shape I escaped with just some huge dents. I recovered myself and saw flashes of light then my own alarms began going off. I turned around and there he was, unloading machine gun rounds into my back.
"How the hell did he get back there!?!" I opened up my cannon again and spun around. As soon as I saw him, I didn't even wait for my F.C.S. to lock onto him, I fired three shots. The shots drained my energy and I started falling.
He managed to dodge two of my point-blank shots but the last one hit him in the upper right side of his core. It ripped his head and the entire top- right of his core clean off. Including his right arm and the missile launcher on that side. "YYYAAAAAAAA!!" He fell down and slammed the ground from 1500 feet. I landed right before him and fell to my knees when I hit. I got back up and walked over to the smoldering Firestorm. He was lying on his back; his head was about 125 yards away and smoking. I walked up and put one foot on his waist and pointed my sniper rifle at his cockpit.
"You lose Nexus." I was breathing heavily and I was so tired I could barely hold up my rifle.
"Huh, well I guess so Xero. But I wonder why my AC was reacting so slowly. Ill have to take you more seriously next time." He started laughing. He was actually laughing! Little bitch.
"If there is a 'next time'." I started to walk away but after a minute of nothing... "Do you need a transport?"
"I already called one in. But thanks anyway." He rolled over onto his front and managed to stand with the help of his left hand. I was surprised his AC or himself would move after that battle. He stood up and put his hand out for a handshake. "Peace?"
I gave him a sideways glance.
"I'm not gonna do anything to ya! I'm lucky to be standing. Hell, after you leave I'm gonna sit back down." He was determined to get me to shake his hand. "Id love to shake with my right hand but being as that is about 300 meters away and half melted you get the left!" At least he's got a sense of humor.
I extended my own left hand and gave him a handshake.
"There now, that wasn't that bad was it?" He laughed a little more then fell straight backwards and landed hard on his back again.
"Well Nexus, I gotta go. Maybe ill see you later or maybe in the arena. Maybe we could have a rematch!" I turned and hit my overboost. I shot away at 700 mph, leaving him on the ground with nothing but the stars to talk to.
"Xero, I can hardly wait..." he said softly to the stars then closed his eyes.