Data File 0176: Kaiser Titan

The Mechanical Armored Exoskeleton Mark 3/A (MAE Mk.3/A) is a modification package to the Ogre Titan (MAE-3). With the world becoming more hostile to the Hammond Republic, the country needed a way to step in for international issues regarding Hammond or their technology. The Hybrid ISs were enough, but issues in the Big Three required a more "psychological" image when dealing with stronger nations. The Kaiser Titan is the "be all end all" Titan. Declassified after a border skirmish with Turkey revealed footage of tanks being destroyed by Trebuchet rounds without Hammond deploying any Hybrid IS suits. The Kaiser Titan has heavy shielding, more than the Ogre's Overshield core, and an upgraded servo kit/propulsion kit. The propulsion kit is a major upgrade to the one on Northstar titans. The flight time is now capable of intercontinental flight, and an increase in speed. This upgrade makes them the first Titan to be able to stand toe-to-toe with any Mass Produced IS (MPIS) model. The servos now allow for the Kaiser to move at an Atlas Titan's pace, but early models have a tendency to break down. Kaiser Titans will always come armed with a 50mm Cannon, with a Trebuchet and a 150mm Howitzer as shoulder weapons. This loadout is unable to change due to the costs of the Titan itself, with the nuclear core being slightly larger and much more powerful than the standard titans. Thus, the ensuing explosion of a Kaiser Titan, upon the death of pilot and loss of any chance of evac of Titan chassis, is larger and more deadly. Kaiser Pilots are the cream of the crop of the Hammond Pilot Corps, and are the equivalent of Jaeger Special Forces in the army.

Somewhere in Sector Croatia…

Large ceiling doors opened up, letting light into a large hangar, as well as a squadron of Kaiser Titans and a trio of IS pilots piloting Ronin-Hybrid IS models. As the group landed, a small cluster of soldiers following a uniformed officer came to meet the IS pilots.

"Captain Eve, I take it the mission was a success?" The officer said. As he walked into the light, it was apparent the man was wearing a Commissar uniform, except the black was replaced with white while the hat was a light grey color.

"Yes, Commissar Fauzer!" Eve said. "The engine system was destroyed, and the nuclear core was detonated."

"Excellent. Dismissed." The Commissar said, and the pilots dismissed their IS suits and walked away.

The Commissar turned to the Titans. "Alright, how'd the mission actually go?"

One of the Titans opened their hatch, revealing a male pilot at the control. "The USMC saw the mechs, and were unable to do much damage to us. Our systems detected that an AC-1000 and a squadron of F-35s were going to be deployed to our AO. That call was straight from Air Combat Command." The pilot briefed. "I'm sure the Kaiser could hold up against the 30mm and 50mm cannons, but the 175mm cannon is iffy."

"Correct, it would be bad news if a Kaiser was destroyed so early into its deployment life." Commissar Fauzer lamented. "Anything else?"

"I'm sure you saw the fight through our cameras, Commissar. Need we say more?"

Chifuyu's Office, ISA

Chifuyu sat in her office, staring at the computer screen and the video she was sent. She watched in silence as the video played the attack on the Sikorsky Factory. She watched as the Kaiser Titans absolutely destroyed the perimeter defense, and took note of the three Hybrids landing in the back of the factory, and then leaving a minute later. The Kaiser Titans then stopped their onslaught, and took off as well. It was when the Kaisers took off that Chifuyu arched an eyebrow. She turned around in her seat, ignoring the explosion in the factory.

Hammond only had one recorded flying titan, the Northstar model. That titan was the third model to leave the Hammond R&D Department and enter the production lines. 85 percent of the models could sustain a small flight time, but it was slow and cumbersome. The real threat of the Northstar was their Plasma Railgun, which could penetrate the armor of the IS and the Absolute Defense shield. The downside was the charge time.

The other 15 percent of the models had a flight system capable of standing toe-to-toe with MPIS models. All of these models were in the Viper Division, and were the main force behind Anti-IS Operations in the Hammond Republic itself. If a Viper Division pilot was encountered, it was highly recommended that you leave that area, as more were probably around.

"If a Kaiser Titan is stronger than a Legion in terms of shield and regen...and it can easily overpower a Stryder…" Chifuyu thought aloud. "Then a Kaiser that can fly as fast as the Vipers...Oh no."

Kanzashi's Dorm

Kanzashi led Gio into her dorm room, and closed the door behind her. She walked over to her bed and sat down, with Gio sitting on the other bed.

"So...you built me a Hybrid." Kanzashi started.

"I did." Gio answered. "But do you know why?"

"I know it's not because you feel sorry for me." Kanzashi answered.

Gio stayed silent. "I still kinda do feel sorry for you, but you are correct."

"You built it because you need a partner." Kanzashi continued. "No one else has a Hybrid at this school except you...and now it's both of us."

"Correct. But I do have a mission for you."

Kanzashi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I know Chifuyu told you to watch me." Gio said flatly.

Kanzashi stayed silent.

"I won't tell you to go against her orders, but I need eyes in the sky while I'm in tournaments. The attack from the MT-2s is still very fresh in everyone's mind, and with the Doubles tournament coming soon, we need a viable first line of defense. That's where I need you." Gio explained.

"I don't quite understand."

"That I expected, but when you're fighting I'll be watching the skies. When both of us aren't fighting we both watch. Look, the reason I'm doing this is because we can't afford another MT-2 incident. The Hybrids are the soft counter to Titans, and Paradise is as close as I can get to a Hybrid." Gio continued.

"But why me?" Kanzashi asked.

"You and your sister both have been exposed to Hammond tech for longer than anyone else here. I am not going to ask your sister considering her history with the Hammond military. Your proficiency with IS is a huge deciding factor as well." Gio explained.

"So you're not picking me because of my connection to my sister?" Kanzashi asked.

"I'm picking you over your sister."

Outside the dorm room

The sister in question was outside Kanzashi's dorm, listening in on the conversation. Tatenashi was unsure of what she was supposed to feel. On one hand, she was happy someone accepted her sister as who she was and not based on her relationship with the family. On the other hand, it was the same pilot who had attacked her family long ago.

Top it all off, Tatenashi was sure her sister had feelings for the Hammond pilot. How cute, if only it was someone else.

Tatenashi sulked away, unaware that the Hammond pilot knew she was out there. Unaware that the Hammond pilot had helped her sister.

Unaware that her sister now had an IS much stronger than hers.

Back in the dorm

"Tomorrow morning, we're gonna train. I gotta make sure you can pilot Paradise with ease before you go out to watch." Gio said.

"Is it different from the IS suits?" Kanzashi asked.

"No. But the weapons are heavy and the recoil is strong. So it's about getting used to the weapons."

Kanzashi nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Good, now I should go back to my IS before someone gets too handsy with it. No telling what girls will do in this academy." He got up from the bed, patting Kanzashi's head before leaving. Before he opened the door, he stopped and turned around to face the blunette one more time. "Meet me at the garage tomorrow morning."

And with that, he left the room.

Gio closed the door to Kanzashi's room, and walked down the deserted hallway. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into someone.

"Oh, excuse me-" Gio stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh my, someone needs to watch where they're going." The person says. "It's nice to finally meet you, Pilot Inferno."

"Tatenashi Sarashiki." Gio said flatly. "We meet again."

"Oh? We've met somewhere else?" Tatenashi questioned.

"We have."

"Pray tell." She said, whipping her fan out.

Gio sneered. "Like I'll tell you that easily. How about I show you?" Gio partially deployed his IS on his shoulder, his Trebuchet coming into real-space. "Meet me in the arena I nuked in 10 minutes." Gio aimed his railgun at Tatenashi. "Or this whole school goes up."

Tatenashi narrowed her eyes. "Very well, Pilot."

Arena 6, closed due to certain circumstances, 9 minutes later

Gio was already in his IS, standing on the arena floor. He was looking over his stats, making sure everything was in order for the fight. Firestorm wasn't exactly in the best position for a fight, but it would have to do. He made sure his thermite emitter on his hand was working properly, the flames would come in handy for the fight. Gio hadn't used much thermite in his time at the ISA, but today that would have to change drastically.

The sound of an IS landing on the other side of the arena alerted him. Gio turned to face the IS of the hour. He already knew what he was fighting tonight.

Mysterious Lady. Tatenashi twirled her lance, and pointed it at Gio. "You know, it would be much easier for you to just tell me where I know you from."

"I give no quarter to my enemy." Gio responded. "And I will give no answers to you."

Tatenashi smirked. "Then that's what'll be on your grave." And with that she charged.

Gio repositioned his Trebuchet at the charging target, but Tatenashi disappeared. "Huh?"

His sensors screamed at him, and Gio turned around to catch the lance heading towards the back of his head with his right arm. The lance became embedded into his armor, but it didn't hurt Gio.

"Good catch" Tatenashi taunted. "But that's not my only trick." The lance started to spin.

But so did Gio's new assault cannon. He aimed it at Tatenashi, who looked down at the barrels. She tugged on her lance to get away, only to find it stuck in Gio's forearm armor.

"Nice try." The assault cannon belched out rounds, the initial burst impacting Tatenashi's shields. She made the split second decision to leave the lance in Gio's arm armor. The cannon stopped firing and Gio lowered his assault cannon. He looked at lance that was stuck in his arm. "Ooo, a new souvenir."

Tatenashi appeared right in front of him. "That's mine." She reached for the lance, but only grabbed flames. Her arm was enveloped in flames, and she stared at it.

Then it started to burn her, bad. She backed away from the flame wall, noticing Gio's right hand was open and closed as the wall disappeared.

"A flame shield…" She mumbled. Before she could say anything, she was blown backwards. She hit that wall on the other side of the arena in a cloud of smoke, while her frontal armor was blown off.

Gio's Trebuchet was smoking, the barrel closed as it cooled off. He smirked, but felt something wet hit his forehead. "Shit."

It was raining, and Gio scowled deeply. He watched the scattered armor pieces suddenly levitate off the ground and fly into the smoke where Tatenashi was. He heard something get up, as pieces of the wall fell onto the ground. "It had to rain." Gio mumbled. "Son of a bitch, now she might as well be God."

Tatenashi burst through the smoke screen, holding a new lance and flew towards Gio. Gio pulled out the lance from his arm, and snapped it in half. He raised his assault cannon, and fired. Tatenashi disappeared and reappeared in random places while still charging at Gio, as if she was shifting in and out of reality. Gio's cannon and computer were having trouble keeping up with her, but he landed some hits on the girl before she reached him and sliced at him. Gio was thrown back by the power, but still landed on his feet.

"Damn, you're still alive?" He asked. His armor was starting to heat up, the rain hitting him was becoming steam instantly. He paid it no heed.

"I've been told I'm tough to kill." Tatenashi smirked. "Though, this fighting style of yours is new to me."

"That's because you won't find it in your family's handbook of shit they know." Gio snarled, his right arm was starting to smoke violently.

"What is with you and hatred for me?" Tatenashi mumbled, not looking for an answer. She charged at Gio, while a wave of water formed behind her and suddenly separated to form clones of herself behind her. All three of the figures charged at Gio and disappeared.

"Fuck." Was all Gio said before he was subjected to rapid assaults by Tatenashi and her clones. They slashed at him, punched him, kicked his legs and knees, all at a pace faster than Gio could keep up. They finished the assault with a kick towards the other wall in the arena.

"Had enough?" Tatenashi asked. "I don't get why you hate me, I did nothing to you."

The entire arena rumbled. The rain poured harder as lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook the ground.
"Nothing you say?" A voice asked. Gio got up from the hole in the wall, and his armor stopped making smoke. Instead, it burst into flames as any and all rain around it instantly evaporated.

(I would prefer you play Megalovania by Caleb Hyles)

Gio walked out into the arena, his IS already in Canto 34 form. "I will make you know what you did."

His eyes turned red, and a pillar of flame shot into the sky, parting the clouds.

(Human child, depraved and vile. In your smile, a terror of a killer. When you stand before the mirror do you still hold your head high?)

Gio boosted out of the pillar and towards Tatenashi before she could even register what had happened. His broadsword, covered in flames slashed across her chest. She let out a guttural scream as the Absolute Defense failed her.

(Carved the sentence with a knife. Stole the gift they called life. So now you'll stand and answer for yourself. PREPARE FOR LIVING HELL!)

Gio's Trebuchets aimed at the clones and fired, destroying them instantly. He turned back to his target, and ripped off her chest piece. He threw the rest of her away, and crushed the armor he grabbed.

(You have chosen to have loved and lost. Knowing well that they'd never get the chance to see each other again-)

"Can you hear their memories calling from WITHIN?!" Gio shouted as he walked towards Tatenashi.

"Was it really worth the cost?" He asked. "Was it you who deserved to be the one left standing in the end? Can you feel the darkness crawling with your SINS!?"

(The time...has come…)

Gio picked Tatenashi and held her so that she was face to face with him.

(Nowhere...to run!)

For a moment, nothing happened.

"Answer now for your sins…" Gio mumbled, looking down.

"What?" Tatenashi asked, her whole body hurting.

"ANSWER NOW FOR YOUR SINS!" Gio faced her, his face covered in the same helmet from Storyuski. Tatenashi looked at the face, and her eyes started to water.

"You...why?" She asked.

"Ask my fellow soldiers when they look down at you in hell." Gio snarled. He lifted her up, and threw her into the ground with enough force to demolish the back Mysterious Lady.

"AAAAHHH!" Tatenashi shouted as she felt something break in her body. She was greeted with flashes of flames and destruction. Scenes of dead and dying.

Scenes she caused on her rampage against Hammond after they attacked her family.

One scene was of a soldier holding a rocket launcher, and an explosion as the rocket hit her chest.

She was still on the ground, as her nanobots worked to repair the damage. She made no effort to move, why should she?
The consequences of her actions against Hammond had finally caught up to her, and now they had taken form of one Hammond Hybrid Pilot walking towards her with a sword in hand.

He said nothing as he raised his sword, and brought it down onto Tatenashi.

Who caught it with a fist made of water. She stood up from her crater as thunder and lightning crashed around the two pilots.

"I should've known you would persist till the bitter end." Gio growled.

"You killed them all...am I next?" Tatenashi asked, crying as the emotional pain from Storyuski and the physical pain from Gio's sword started to overwhelm her. "Is this where I fall?"

Gio put his other palm onto the hilt of his sword, pushing it down further towards Tatenashi. "It was bound to happen eventually. We have been searching for you for years after your little crusade against us."

The water fist pushed back harder onto the sword. "You started it."

"Tell that to the previous Tatenashi who destroyed Hammond forces in the War."

Tatenashi looked up.

"I'm sure I still have that harpoon somewhere you can talk to." Gio's face twisted into some sort of gleeful rage.

That broke her. Tatenashi screamed, and a wave power was emitted from her as her IS emitted a large blue flame. Gio was forced back by the power, and he put his left arm up to shield his face. The rain around them seemed to stop.

"Yes…" Gio whispered. "This is her true power."

The rain started to gather around Tatenashi, becoming various forms of clones or levitating lances. Tatenashi herself levitated into the air above the forms, along with lances of water. She snapped her fingers, and hell broke loose.

Gio was assaulted by clones and hit with lances of water, one pierced through his Absolute Defense and went straight through his gut and out through his back. A clone appeared in front of him and slashed his right arm, breaking the armor and cutting skin. Gio backpedalled, but was constantly under assault. Another round of lances came and impacted him, one getting stuck in his shoulder. He fell to one knee, and the clones back off, only for another lance to get impaled through his down quad and pin his knee'd leg into the ground.

Tatenashi dismissed everything, except the lances still in Gio's body. "Had enough, Hammond?"

Gio said nothing, a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth as his eyes stared at the sky. He brought up a hand to reach towards the sky as the rain stopped and the sun started to peak out.

Tatenashi walked towards the pilot, as the lances disappeared. "So… enough?"

He put his head down, and coughed up blood.

"Doesn't answer my question."

"Perish...bitch." Gio growled.

And before Tatenashi could even register, the Trebuchets on Gio's shoulders faced her and fired while he brought up his Assault cannon

The Sabot rounds in the chamber flew towards Tatenashi, the spear shaped shells pierced both her shoulders and ignored her Absolute Defense. The shells went right through skin and out through the other side of her body.

Gio's Assault cannon fired one shell from each barrel at the same time. They impacted her chest where she was slashed, and she was blown back. Tatenashi landed near the arena wall, and was still.

Gio's bloodied face had a small smile on it. He stared at the body, and coughed up blood. "Oh man, Kanzashi's gonna fucking hate this." With that, his body gave out and he fell to the floor.

Chifuyu would run into the destroyed arena less than a minute later to find the two barely alive pilots in puddles of their blood.