Disclaimer: See previous chapters
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Epilogue
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Journal Entry – September 13 3XXX
Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote in this thing again. But then again, a lot has been going on since. And honestly, I didn't think I'd be here to write in this again. Shows what I know. Anyway, let's give the rundown. Since I'm writing, it's obvious that we made it through Silent Line. Well…most of us did. Our fight with the Death Dealers beforehand had cost us White Wolf and Baron was killed. I know it sounds a bit heartless to say it that way, but it has been awhile and I've had time to get over it. Not completely though; nobody ever get over loosing a friend completely. On the plus side, he managed to take down the Death Dealer, Anubis, with him before he fell. Not a bad way to go out.
After that, we continued into the Line, with Cain staying behind for some personal business. Go figure. After we got in, it was hectic from the get-go. I would get into the details, but I've been sworn to secrecy by our client. Sufficient to say, we had one hell of a fight. Cain even managed to show up and we won.
The three of us…The Hands of God…
After that, things began to blow up (go figure) and we had to run. But Cain remained behind for God knows what reason. He really is a weird person. It's like the more I think I know about him, the less I actually understand him. We escaped and managed to open the way to Silent Line.
Clan Nightwatch rulz, baby!
From then on, things have been going on great. The credits we got from the mission made us filthy, stinking rich. Not to mention being the only guys to actually go into Silent Line and live to tell the tale making us famous among the other Ravens around. Baron's share went to making his grave. With it, Koemai and I made a more permanent gravesite, freezing up White Wolf in place so that no one would think about stealing it or such nonsense.
Dead or alive, we look after our own…
Speaking of which, Koemai and Diana finally decided to move in together. I've even heard a rumor that they were to be getting married. Of course, it's probably true, given the way Koemai was acting in the bar lately. All spaced out and such. It was kind of pathetic really.
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"So, how 'bout it? Ready to go for a round of the drink of death?"
Elijah and Koemai were once again at the local bar drinking away. Or, Elijah was; Koemai seemed to be in a slight daze that was limiting him to a single drink. For Koemai, that was really odd behavior.
"Nah, not tonight." he answered. "I'm going to be heading home early."
Elijah downed a glass and chuckled. "Oh man, does she have you on a leash."
"What was that?"
"You heard me. You're waiting for Diana to come back from her mission so you two can get all nice and cuddly."
Koemai's face began to turn red and he frowned. "I don't want to hear it, kid."
"See, look at you." Elijah egged on. He was a little buzzed now, but he saw this as payback for all the times Koemai had teased him. "You couldn't even say that right. Face it, you are so whupped!"
Getting pissed off; Koemai looked dead in Elijah's eyes and simply said. "When's the last time you had a girl?"
At this, Elijah shut up immediately and Koemai chuckled evilly.
"That's right, now sit there, shut up and drink."
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So what if that was true. That was still a pretty low blow…
Ellie and Charles are other stories altogether. Ellie used her reward to build a new AC, Ghost's Shadow. Once she was done, she went out, saying something about having some other business to deal with and she wouldn't return for quite a while. No worries here, though. We all know she could take care of herself. Hell, if she could hang on to a AC while it was flying to escape a exploding structure, fixing it all the while, then it's a safe bet she could survive anything.
Charles left a few months afterward, saying that there were some things he had to take care of. He seemed quieter nowadays, probably because of completing his quest into the Line. He's probably out there searching for…something. A new mission…a new purpose perhaps… I get the feeling when he returns; there will be real action on his tail. But truthfully, I think he wanted to find Ellie. He never said anything, and neither did she, but I think there was something going on between them. But what do I know; I don't have a girlfriend.
Something I definitely needed to change…
As for Cain, I haven't seen him since Silent Line. I told the others what I had seen, but they were a bit skeptical, except for Koemai. His funds were nowhere to be seen, but that could simply be because he didn't take it. He's the type to actually refuse money. Weird! His last words…Paradise… We knew that if he had survived, he went back to his wife. I never thought I could see someone love someone else so much that he would go through all kinds of odds just to be with her again. I hardly expected to see it from Cain, the way he acted when we first started.
Anyway, it wasn't until just yesterdaythat our question was answered, that being, did Cain really survive?
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"This was a great idea!"
Silent Line… Crest had sent in a massive unit of forces to enter into a section of the city and gain materials from an old research facility stationed there. Bloodhand and Havoc were called in by Mirage to quell the invaders and they managed to succeed, even taking out a team of ACs that had been sent in by Crest. They took significant damage, but all in all, they were doing pretty good.
And then the reinforcements came in…
'Is this the end?' Havoc and Bloodhand found themselves cornered in a closed off section of the city. Advanced MTs were coming in by the droves and helicopters were preventing them from taking flight. But they couldn't just lay down and die. No…NO…NOOO…!
"Oh hell no!"
Elijah continued to par forth more machine gun fire along with Bloodhand. The piles of fallen MTs were clearly evident, but they underestimated how much Crest wanted control of the facility as more MTs and helicopters came in. With their limited AP and weaponry, this would seem to be their last mission.
And then…
POOOOOSSSHHHH!
Three MTs fell under the destruction blast of a grenade. Elijah looked over at Bloodhand to check and saw that Bloodhand's grenade launcher was still folded up. Moving out of the area they were trapped in, they soon saw their savior.
"What the…?"
A high speeding machine was weaving through the buildings and the oncoming forces. It reminded Elijah of IBIS, but he quickly saw that it was quite different. The core of it was clearly an AC, but it seemed to be armed with some advanced weaponry that Elijah had never seen before. The back was lined up with spines, with the booster fire giving it the appearance of wings. Also, the right arm had what appeared to be a grenade launcher, but it was in the shape of some kind of weird gauntlet. And last, but not least, on the back, there was hooked a long sword weapon, which they figured would be in use soon. Or maybe not, because the super AC was literally tearing through the enemy forces like a hot knife through butter. The machine paused for a moment and then turned to the side. Upon turning doing so, Elijah soon recognized the machine as and AC and more importantly, a familiar AC.
Salvation…
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's Glaive?"
Koemai was slower to answer as he had a big grin on his face. He knew exactly what this meant. At that moment, their radar picked up a beacon signal, indicating to a point that was close by.
"What's this?" Elijah questioned.
Koemai did not stop grinning and began to move Bloodhand to the designated area. "I think I know what that means. Come on."
Confused, Elijah followed and the two Ravens moved to the area. It was a clear out space, just outside of the city. Awaiting there where two massive AC trailers, right where the beacon indicated. Bloodhand moved up to the first trailer and Koemai jacked in to open it, but a small screen came up on his monitor.
-Input passcode-
Koemai sighed to himself. 'Let me see. If I know him…' He then typed in one word and hit enter.
Vengeance-
-Passcode accepted-
A click was heard from the trailer, indicating that it had been opened. Koemai looked over at Havoc, laughing lightly to himself as he did.
"Hehehe… Your turn."
"…Okay." Elijah was still mystified by all of this, but he hooked up to the locking terminal and the same thing came up. Following Koemai's example, he typed in his own designation.
Justice-
-Passcode accepted-
A second click and both trailers opened altogether, literally transforming into a makeshift hanger. Hooked onto it were several mechanical parts that looked quite like the same things that they had seen Glaive flying off with.
"Can you now tell me what's going on?" Elijah repeated with some frustration.
Bloodhand began to move toward the trailer hanger. "Has Cain ever told you about the Seraphim parts he had made some time ago?"
"No."
"No surprise there. Some time ago, he got the idea off building parts of out the design idea of Nine-Ball in his final stage. The result was these bad boys that are in front of you."
Elijah looked back at the parts. On his trailer, there was a similar device as Koemai's. Only the weapons were different. On both sides, there was some sort of weird machine gun, in which seemed odd in some of its placement. Also, the massive part seemed almost the size to his core. Surely, this would create some weight problems.
"They seem a bit…big though."
"That's okay. You'll have to jettison you back equipment though."
To demonstrate, Koemai flicked his switches, jettisoning all his weapons, save for the left arm saber. Elijah too followed suit, disengaging all his weaponry entirely.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Trust me." Koemai replied, wheeling his machine around and entering the hanger backward. "You'll love it."
5 minutes later…
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Bloodhand and Havoc soared back into the battle from which they had come from, equipped with the Seraphim parts. Bloodhand was armed with the same right arm weapon, a quad-energy machine gun capable of firing four energy bullets at once while being powered by its own generator. On the shoulders were the vulcan cannon, to take out any smaller inconsistencies. Last, but not least, was the ZOLTAR-BSTL back mounted weapon system. In the shape of buzz-saw halves, this system allowed the AC to hover automatically and fly at heightened speeds. It also has a duel laser cannon attached, containing the same amount of power as linear energy cannon.
For Havoc, the same back unit was in place, only it was in the shape of two stretched out half circles, like beetle wings. The shoulder vulcans were in place and in both arms where the two machine guns, large enough to reach down to the feet of the machine. Not that it mattered, since they were both off the ground. Returning to the site of the invading force, they saw the destruction left behind by Glaive and then…nothing. No sign of the AC they had seen. But the reinforcements they had been battling before were still coming in through the edge of the city. Koemai's grin became feral as he saw, not enemies, but target practice.
"I'll lead off and show you how it's done."
The buzz saw shaped boosters ignited in a red blaze and Bloodhand Seraphim soared toward the enemy units. Lifting his machine gun, Bloodhand opened fire; the energy bullets raining down pure destruction and tearing through MT and tank alike. Elijah watched in amazement as Bloodhand Seraphim tore through the enemy forces with no signs of let up or slowing down. Whatever he missed was caught in the shock of his flight and he rarely missed. Helicopters soon came in from behind Bloodhand Seraphim, thinking that they were safe in the skies. But they had neglected to see the second Raven in wait.
"Alright guys. Round two."
Activating his overboost, Havoc Seraphim flew upward in a green flare of energy. The helicopter pilots where in total shock about this, but they weren't able to do anything else, for Havoc raised its machine guns and let them fire. The shocking thing was that the gun barrel had partially separated into three, thereby let loose fire in six directions. The helicopters had no escape to them and when Havoc Seraphim landed on the ground, the skies were clear of them. But unknown to him, a single MT had escaped the destruction and was aiming a bazooka onto Havoc's back. Elijah picked it up and was ready to turn, but a single flash on light cut across the MT and it exploded a few seconds later. Havoc looked upward at the buildings to see Glaive Seraphim holding the long saber that was on its back before, now glowing in same blue-white glow as a Moonlight blade.
"Where the heck have you been?"
"Home…"
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Home… That was all that he said and then he flew off into the skies. I didn't need to wonder what he meant by that though. She's alive. Aria…his wife. Whatever operation she went though, it must have worked; otherwise I doubt he would have returned at all. If its one thing I knew for certain about Cain, it was that woman had his heart.
I will have to meet her one day…
Actually…now that I think about it, he could have returned regardless. It might have been a longer period of time, but he would have come back. I know he would have. It was something I have learned for myself since I first began training under Cain. The fights, the experiences, the losses, all of which helped me learn one thing about what it meant to be a Raven.
We stand and fight…
It is our way…