Prologue: Hindsight
The sound of a kettle's high-pitched whistle stirred the slumbering Draco from her deep sleep. Her ears twitched, as did her nose together in excitement as the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans drifted into the room.
Hearing soft, shuffling footsteps approaching the room, she opened one eye and adjusted her vision to the cosy abode she called home. The familiar face of a man crept into view, a warm smile decorating his face as his eyes rested on her.
A wave of comfort raced through her entire body; this person right here was the only one that could make her feel such a way. A feeling once deemed impossible for her to achieve was now being given to her daily.
"Hey…." He greeted her softly, kneeling next to the bed.
"Mmmmm…morning…." The Draco woman stifled a yawn.
Tossing the blanket to one side, the scaly, thick tail swished back and forth on the bedsheets excitedly. She brushed her messy hair aside and sat upright to receive the freshly brewed drink. She took a sip whilst staring at the man next to her; their gazes fixated on each other.
"Did you get a good night's sleep?" He rested a hand on her thigh.
"Crashed and burned into the bed, to be honest with you." She stifled a small laugh.
He shook his head, "I can't have another arson incident on my list again."
"Hey, I'm not that chaotic!" She playfully tried to hit him, but her reach wasn't long enough.
"Too slow missy; gonna have to be faster than that!" He grinned from ear to ear. "I'll be heading into town to pick up some supplies. You wanna come with?"
The Draco woman stared at him for a few seconds before promptly shaking her head, "I think I'll pass this time. Besides, I feel like tending to the plants today." She smiled softly.
He nodded his head in agreement, "All right, but do you need anything from the town, though?"
"Mmmmm, some fertiliser would do. Need to get ready for the next season's harvest, and I want the plants to feel like they're being treated well."
"Very well, I'll do the usual pick up as always from Madam Cathay."
Stepping out of the room, the man grabbed his embossed coat from the rack and set forth into the wide world. The cool autumn breeze brushed his face as trees shredded their leaves for the approaching winter period.
The calming ambience was soothing, yet the peaceful façade would undo itself mere moments later as the sound of rumbling explosions drummed themselves up in the distance. His gaze drifted forward, fixated on the columns of smoke rising in the distance.
A frown crossed his face as the realisation drooped over him, the buildings that once crested the tree line were all but gone. The intermittent sounds of artillery shells pounding the city became a numbing drumming sound in the back of his head. Viewing such a conflict from this distance was akin to watching a forbidden play unfold.
Suddenly, the sound of engines cackling and screaming to their heart's content roared overhead, propelling a machine that would typically be impossible to fly. The silhouette of a flying bipedal walker screeched over the terrain.
The gushing wind it left in its wake rattled the house and swept into the Doctor's body. The man remained unfazed, as if he was used to such a phenomenon. He momentarily glanced at the rundown barn next to the house before his attention was drawn elsewhere.
"Reed, it's not safe out here." He began to move towards her.
"They've breached the city already? Faster than you and I anticipated." She motioned for him to stop. Standing beside him, her eyes studied the horizon with a weary expression. "I can feel them; they're drawing closer." She mumbled under her breath.
"I never expected them to breach Count Lohengramm's domain this quickly; even with the full support of the Victorian government, the enemy is still gaining a foothold at an alarming rate." The man said.
"They're not going to touch us civilians, are they?" Doubt was woven into her voice as she stared at him for reassurance.
He smiled calmly and caressed her cheeks, "don't worry; this aristocratic feud is beyond us. To them, we're just simple farmers minding our businesses." He shifted his expression to a more concerned one, "However, something tells me this isn't some ordinary feud between two noble houses."
Reed let out a long sigh, "I hope this conflict blows over quickly, I can't exactly tend to the fruit trees with all this noise going about." She nonchalantly shifted her tone back to a happier one and began walking towards the house.
The Doctor let out a small chuckle, "Alright, I'll be quick in the town then. See you soon." He waved.
Driving down sections of dirt road and onto a moderately maintained highway, the automobile hauled itself to the town of North Ashwinder. Parking his car in front of a simple grocery store, he stepped out and was greeted by an air of uneasiness.
There was more activity on the streets lately, with townsfolks shuffling about in the streets and dozens of people who belonged to the city joining them. Deciding to ignore the commotion, he briskly strode into the grocery shop with the sole intent of purchasing some goods.
The bell rang lightly and garnered the attention of an old woman tending to the shelves behind the counter. Her face lit up with joy as she recognized the familiar face, and she giddily came to the till.
"Oh, Doctor, fancy seeing you here! I thought you had forgotten about your previous order from County Hilllock; mind you, these are some expensive seeds as well!" She proudly proclaimed as she placed a medium-sized box on the countertop.
"Come now Sharon, you know I don't miss these delivery dates. Besides, the housemate of mine would kill me if she found out I forgot the delivery." He jokingly laughed. "Oh, I need some fertiliser as well, the usual, if you don't mind."
Sharon smiled and gestured at the box, "I figured you'd ask me for that, so I went ahead and put some in there for you anyways." She cheerfully declared in a thick Victorian accent.
The Doctor shook his head in disbelief, "Always one step ahead of me aren't you?" A grin crossed his face.
Just as the two were about to exchange another bout of words, the low rumbling of heavy machinery rattled the store, causing loosely secured items to dance in place. Clamouring voices belonging to a foreign language were being chanted in the air.
Staring out the window, a column of tanks trundled past the shop with soldiers sitting on top. The men repeated phrases and lines, riling up the townsfolks who cheered them on. Walkers marched behind the armoured vehicles, towering above the smaller buildings as their legs were only visible from the ground level.
"Those are Tarans out there, belonging to Duke Rackham. They're the ones rebelling against Count Lohengramm's rule. That chant's they're saying are some old Taran poem, a battle cry if you'd look at it."
The man said nothing. Instead, he inched closer to the window to inspect the passing parade. A sense of worry began to seep into the back of his mind as he wondered just how close the fighting was going to be for them.
Marvelling at the equipment that passed by, he paid close attention to the Armored Cores flanking the convoy. He counted six in total, all of them sharing the same design features with different weapon load-outs setting them apart.
"They look like MT's, something straight out of a Leonemeccanica factory plant." He silently noted to himself. "Miss Cathay, I'm not sure about you, but I have a bad feeling about this whole civil war." He glanced back at the MT's, "And I think it's about to get a lot worse."
"You don't have to tell me twice. But all this talk of avenging the Taran legacy and fighting against the Aslan oppression has gotten most of the folks riled up here. They see an opportunity to cut down a tyrannical Aslan leader, you bet your arse they will take it." The woman grimaced.
"Dear me, what a mess this all is." He shook his head.
"Take my advice Doc; you take your friend and your belongings and leave this hell hole. I fear there may not be a town of North Ashwinder in the coming days. Either count Lohengramm bombs us into oblivion, or the government lapdogs do it." She sighed heavily, removing her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Draco, Aslan, Feline, doesn't matter. They'll wipe us all out for breathing the same air as the rebel forces." She paused, struggling to find the next set of words. "I've just gotten word that my dearest nephew Macintosh, has taken up arms. Oh, the buggering fool."
"M-Miss Cathay…..I'm sorry to hear that." He told her, unable to find the proper response to such bombshell news.
"Please, take my advice Doc. Leave whilst you still can; you have no place in this petty squabble." The woman pleaded.
Grasping the box in his hands, he silently nodded to the woman and promptly bid his goodbyes. Whether or not this would be the last time they saw each other was up for fate to decide. But deep down, the man knew this was probably his last conversation.
Stepping outside the shop, he gave one last glance back inside. Madam Cathay waved solemnly through the glass. Without another word, he placed the box inside the car and drove off towards the house, an uneasy feeling creeping down his spine throughout the drive.
The 30-minute commute ended as the car pulled into the dirt driveway. Stepping out, the lights inside the house were brimming brightly as the evening sun began to dip below the horizon. Fetching the box out of his car, he called out Reed's name to gauge expression.
"Reed, I got those seeds you ordered from Miss Cathay!" He announced joyously, waiting for the door to burst open any minute.
A few seconds passed, which turned into a minute and into two. A frown crept up onto his face, this was unlike Reed to ignore his calls. "Reed? Are you ok, talk to me here, I'm coming in!" He announced before walking towards the door.
-KABOOM!-
Before he could even react, he was swept off his feet and tumbling backwards into the dirt. Dazed and confused, his ears rang uncontrollably whilst the most harrowing migraine plagued his head.
Finally gaining his bearings, he managed to steady his breathing before fully regaining his consciousness. For a moment, it was as if his soul had been blasted outside his body, and he'd been waiting for the physical realm to pull him back.
Taking a moment for his brain to process what had happened, he stared at the former house that was now a flaming husk. Words failed to come out of his mouth as he stumbled towards the residence in a turmoiled manner.
"REED! REED! REED, ANSWER ME!" He cried out, attempting to approach the burning rubble but was repelled by the scorching heat. Nothing of familiarity stood out to him; everything within the house was vapourised in the initial blast.
He wanted to scream, run into the burning flames, combing every nook and cranny until he found what he was looking for. Yet his body refused to take another step forward, leaving him motionless to watch as the remains of the house was turned to ash.
"How….how did this happen?" He mumbled, trying to piece together a puzzle that wasn't even meant for him. "The barn, shit, is the barn ok?!" His gaze darted to the wooden building.
Seeing the structure still standing, he sprinted in a mad dash over to the doors and burst them wide open. Greeted by nothing, the only thing that lay dormant was the various pieces of tilling equipment strewn about randomly.
Unmarked crates and hand tools lay untouched, seemingly unfazed by the explosion outside. A part of him hoped he'd find something in here, but to his dismay, the place was left unscathed. It seemed the perpetrators ignored the building's existence.
"Reed….where did you go?..." He looked around, seemingly lost in a trance.
Stepping outside, the raging inferno burned brightly as the man contemplated his next move. He knew he couldn't stay here forever. Be it loyalists or rebel forces coming to inspect the arson; he'd be locked away in prison since he was illegally residing here.
Non-citizens were frowned upon in Victoria; any ounce of suspicion would land you in jail. Didn't even have to be a petty crime; outsiders were treated just as severely as the Infected populous.
Pulling himself together, he hastily walked over to the side of the barn and kicked away the hay strands that littered the floor. Exposing a trapdoor underneath, he hauled the door open to reveal a locked chest inside.
Hastily retrieving the chest, he hurried over to the car and threw it into the passenger seat. Running back to the barn, he picked up a half-empty jerry can and began strewing the liquid all over the place. Dousing anything remotely flammable, he wired up a coil pack to ignite in 30 seconds to set the fire ablaze.
Jumping into the car, he floored the accelerator peddle and sped down the dirt road towards the forest in the distance. As the house slowly receded in the rear-view mirror, another bright light briefly flashed as the barn burst into flames.
As the car slipped into the coverings of the trees, a bright spotlight grazed overhead as an unknown helicopter made its way towards the source of the fire. Noticing the airborne vehicles, he switched the headlights off his car and drove at a slow pace to avoid crashing.
A voice gnawed at the back of his head, telling him to go faster, that the enemy was on his tail. The paranoia was slowly creeping up on him, making him tremble and blurt out unnecessary noise. By now, he'd pulled over onto a small, rugged path that led deeper into the forest.
Abandoning the car, he carried the suitcase on his shoulder and legged it through the shrubbery with limited visibility. The path trek itself was nauseating, with ups and downs and bends ever so often. Yet the man kept pressing on, as the voice told him to keep running from his pursuers.
After what seemed like forever, he finally came to a rest with his lungs desperate for air as he kept panting like a rabid dog. Dropping the chest on the ground, it landed with a heavy noise indicating something heavy was inside.
A large tarp anchored down to the ground towered over the lonely man, which was his next objective, dismantling it to reveal what was underneath it. One by one, he undid the straps securing it in place. With every strap undone, the tension holding it in place began to loosen.
-TWANG!-
With the tension alleviated, the tarp pulled itself back and revealed the towering bipedal machine crouched to the ground. Seemingly dormant for a while, the odd shrubbery here and there showed that nature had begun its reclamation of the elegant machine.
The Doctor stared at the mech, in awe of its design and revelling in the engineering marvel. Yet he shouldn't be surprised at all, for it's been the same Armoured Core he piloted for since his aspiring career as a NEXT pilot. Yet now the two of them were reunited after almost a year of being apart from each other.
"Hello, old friend." He whispered to the machine with a hand placed on it. "I know we said our goodbyes the last time we met. But here I am, back to square one." He scoffed.
The moonlight seeped through the cracks in the trees, casting its cerulean breath onto the NEXT vividly. The man put on a half-baked smile, reflecting the drastic measures he took to leave behind his old life. He swore never to touch a NEXT again, yet the twisted coils of faith dragged him back here.
Maybe he was a coward; maybe the fight he desperately tried to finish was not over. Whatever the reason, there was nowhere to run anymore. Even cutting contact off from his previous life wasn't enough. The powers that be weren't done with him just yet.
"Tch, no more running!" He bit his lower lip, "If you want me to pilot my NEXT until I run it into the ground, so be it." Fingers were punching in a code sequence into the chest to unlock it. "To think the pilot of White Glint couldn't even put his own NEXT to rest. What has the world come too." He scoffed.
The chest emitted a series of beeps before popping open with a hiss. The contents inside were a jumpsuit, a helmet and a foldable SMG. Snatching the items inside, he slid into the jumpsuit with ease and began his routine check.
Entering the unlock code for the NEXT, the centre piece hydraulics released themselves and opened the cockpit. Revealing a somewhat cramped space, there was room for only one occupant with some legroom to spare.
Stepping onto the hoist, the cable reeled him up, and he entered the mech akin to being devoured by it. With a flick of the wrist, the main systems came online and several holographic screens popped up in his peripheral view.
Datasheets and numbers ran past as the reactor spun into action and the main boosters roared to life. Blasting away small shrubbery and uprooting young saplings, the revival of White Glint was well underway with its dramatic arousal from its slumber.
"Switching over from auxiliary power to the main source. Prioritising startup of secondary and third boosters. Back booster primed and ready, legs, arms and reverse boosters online in 5 seconds." He ran over the checklist by heart, watching the individual powers graphs climb steadily. "Over boost armed, activating primal armour. Beginning transference process."
Letting himself be drawn into the machine, his consciousness was abruptly tugged away by an invisible hand. His fingertips felt hard and cold, and so did the rest of his body. He was now mended with the NEXT as if it were his own body.
Just as things went smoothly, alarms began flashing inside as sensors were triggered relentlessly. "Shit, the hydraulics in the left arm are still leaking. It must've been from the last battle I had." His eyes studied the diagnostic chart. "Movement speed is down by 85%, tracking sensors are awry, and the sync rate is off. Looks like I won't be doing much shooting with this arm." He groaned and rolled his eyes.
Disengaging the locks on the weapon hangars, a sleek-bladed shape assault rifle rested in his right hand whilst a large elongated high-powered laser rifle sat in his left hand. "Oh….." Was all he could mutter as disappointment visibly filled his face.
"Left missile pod is empty, right missile pod only has 4 warheads left. To top things off, the machine gun has 300 odd rounds, and the laser rifle has 10. Terrific." He sarcastically cheered on deaf ears. "What the hell am I even thinking? It'd be suicidal trying to fight another Armoured Core in combat." A sigh escaped his mouth.
Shaking his head at the current situation, it meant that the rules of engagement were strictly defence oriented. Yet the hostile environment he was in begged to differ. "ECM jamming don't fail me now. I need to escape this domain and enter free route airspace ASAP."
"Engaging boosters to maximum thrust. White Glint preparing for take-off!" He proudly announced before engaging the throttle wide open.
A torrent of bright white energised ion energy burst forth from the boosters, propelling the NEXT into the night sky whilst scorching the ground it previously stood on. Climbing at break-neck speeds, the altimeter was reading 1000ft and climbing rapidly.
"Opening public comms channel on line 1, switching to Rhodes Island frequency on line 2. Lastly, hijacking any open frequencies on line 3. Let's hope Count Lohengramm and Duke Rackham are too busy squabbling to notice me, but something tells me it isn't gonna be that easy." He sighed.