Man, this fanfic isn't getting any reviews! Doesn't matter, I guess. I'm doin' this for the lulz.
Unknown Area
"Pour it on him." A somewhat familiar voice says.
Following the order, a little girl throws hot water at the now unconscious Ace.
"Holy crap!" Ace yells. "What the hell was that for!"
He looks around for a second. The room he's in seems to be a ward. Other than himself, there's a middle-age man with orange hair and a nine year old girl with white hair in the ward.
"More importantly, WHERE am I?" Ace asks.
"That information is classified." The man says.
"Tell me where I'm at right NOW or I'll-"
"Shut up." The girl said. "Listen to me."
"(Listen to a grade schooler she means.)" Ace thinks to himself.
"We found you in the middle of Garav Desert. You were half-alive, so we rescued you." She continues.
"I don't remember going there." Ace says.
"We don't either." The man says. "We found you in the cockpit of an AC we destroyed two months prior. The Ace Custom."
"WAIT A GODDAMN SECOND!" Ace yells. "YOU TWO are the pilots of those NEXTs?"
He got hysterical. But when he tries to get off the bed, he found his arms shackled to the railings of the bed.
"As I thought. You're that annoyingly loud pilot." The girl said. "If Hasta Caeli were the ones who found you, they'd cut off your fingers, torture you and then make fun of you."
"WHO CARES! You bastards tried to kill me!" Ace yells.
"In self defense. You would've attacked anyway." The man says.
"Doesn't matter! You-"
"Reasoning with this one proves to be quite improbable. Daisy, stay here and make sure he doesn't try anything stupid." The man says, leaving the ward.
Ace keeps on shaking his body, trying to get off the bed.
"Give up. You won't get off that easily." Daisy says.
"Dammit..." Ace stops struggling. "So. Why in the world did you rescue me?"
"We wanted answers. Even I thought you were dead."
"Oh... Wait, there was a two month period from that incident till now?"
"Yes."
"So what the hell happened in that two month period! I don't remember anything! Why can't I remember anything!"
Daisy looks him in the eye. She then asks,
"What was your last memory?"
"Um... Giant laser blade impaling my cockpit?"
"You don't remember anything AT ALL?"
"Yep."
Standing up to pick up some device that looks like a mini laptop, Daisy starts typing furiously and then shows Ace an article.
"Circ City Massacred By An AC" it reads.
"A week after that, it was revealed that the AC in question is the Ace Custom." Daisy says.
"Wha...? But I don't remember doing THAT!" Ace shouts.
Daisy's eyes widens for a second. She immediately stands up again and runs out of the ward.
After an hour, Daisy and the middle age man walked into the ward.
"Can you unshackle me already...? My nose itches." Ace says.
"You. Whatever your name is. Tell me. You absolutely don't remember killing all those people?" the man asks.
"I'll say it a billion times! I didn't do it!" Ace yells.
"So, Beowulf, should we believe him?" Daisy asks.
"I don't know. I have a nagging feeling he's telling the truth." Beowulf answers.
"You could at least help me scratch my nose!" Ace yells.
"If we leave him, there's no doubt both Terra Sphere and Hasta Caeli will hunt him down." Beowulf speculates.
"SCRATCH MY NOSE!" Ace yells.
"But if we recruit him, both organizations will hound us." Daisy says.
"Yes... Dealing with them will prove to be a pain in the ass. But they won't be too much trouble." Beowulf says.
"YOU GUYS! MY! NOSE! ITCHES! LIKE! HELL!" Ace yells, emphasising each word.
"Ace, would you join us?" Daisy asks.
"ONLY IF YOU SCRATCH MY NOSE!" Ace growls.
"Okaaay." Daisy, scratching his nose. "So, we really need an addition to our group. Are you okay with that?"
"Wait what? You try to kill me and now you want me to join you?" Ace, confused. "What's the matter with you two?"
"I'll say this once." Beowulf says. "We need another member to our group. Badly."
"And why does it have to be me?" Ace asks.
"It doesn't. But if you DON'T join us, both Terra Sphere and Hasta Caeli will hunt you down for the massacre of Circ City." Beowulf explains. "So it's either you join us... Or you're screwed."
"(Aww crap. What this guy is saying actually makes sense!)" Ace thinks to himself. "Fine. But I want to know why I would attempt a massacre."
"Us too. Our leader wants to have a word with you." Beowulf, unshackling Ace's arms.
Beowulf leads Ace to the hallway. There, another man with multiple hair colours , presumably slightly younger than Beowulf takes a quick look at Ace.
"So... This is... Whatever his name was?" he says.
"It's Ace, Captain Technicolour Hair!" Ace shouts in anger.
"Then I shall address you as Char Clone." The man says sarcastically.
Ace turns to Beowulf and speaks softly enough for the other guy no to hear.
"THIS is your leader?" he asks.
"He may seem immature and sarcastic, but he's a good leader." Beowulf answers.
"Quit screwing around. Everyone, gather up!" the man shouts.
Daisy and some guy covered with dirt rushes to the hallway.
"It's intro time Char Clone. I'm Dirk Scalone, just call me Dirk." He says, pointing at himself.
"(I'd call you Dick.)" Ace thinks to himself.
"And this one is Lang Zhi." Dirk says, pointing at Beowulf. "Call him Beowulf."
"This is Daria." Dirk, pointing at Daisy. "Call her Daisy."
"And finally our head mechanic, Ron... Whatever his last name is." Dirk, pointing at the man covered in dirt.
"Vi Naelon." Ron anwers.
"Too hard to pronounce. And your name is...?" Dirk asks.
"Mark Ayeris. Call me Ace." Ace says.
"You will be called Char Clone." Dirk says boldly.
"(This guy is getting one my nerves!)" Ace thinks to himself.
"Anyway! We rebuilt your Ace Custom and now you'll go on a mission with me!" Dirk says loudly.
"What? No obedience test or whatever?" Ace asks.
"You're dead meat if you're not obedient to us! C'mon. Let's go." Dirk pointing toward the NEXTs.
Ace got into the cockpit of the Ace Custom. He noticed the cockpit looks different than usual. Mainly, instead of only being limited to the voices of others, the screens will show their faces. And the controls let him use any combination of his back units and arm units.
"What's up with this?" Ace asks.
"It's a NEXT." Ron answers.
"Isn't that supposed to be super expensive?" Ace asks again.
"I got money to burn." Dirk answers, his face appearing on the screen. "Oh, and if the thought of betrayal ever crosses your mind, we installed a bomb to your NEXT."
"The Dirk team thinks of everything huh?" Ace says.
"Yes we do." Dirk says, patting his chest. "Let's go."
"Wait! What about pilot uniforms?" Ace asks.
"Pilot outfits are for pansies!" Dirk says, making a trollface.
And with that, Ace and Dirk left. Ace piloting the Ace Custom, and Dirk in a quad-legged NEXT called the F.O.D.D.E.R.
Terra Sphere Main HQ
"You screwed up again!" the sergeant yells.
"I'm sorry! I just-" Madeline, trying to explain herself.
"If I didn't tell them to retreat, my men could've been killed! And now we have to deal with a large sum of money for repairs!" the sergeant, scolding Madeline.
"I'm sorry! I thought that-" Madeline, bursting into tears.
"You're fired!" the sergeant shouts.
Drooping her head, Madeline walks out of the control room.
In the two month period, Madeline was transferred to the Main HQ after her ability as an operator became well known. She was tasked to deal with the high rank missions.
But when the Circ City massacre became public knowledge, she started making terrible mistakes.
So far, an AC pilot was killed because she forgot to tell him important information. The Ruga Mine was taken over because she overlooked the approaching enemies. And finally, several pilots were an inch away from death because she forgot to tell them about the reinforcements that were approaching.
"What now...? If I don't try to get an occupation, I'll get thrown underground." Madeline, pouting.
Suddenly, the warning siren goes off. An announcement is made.
"All individuals are to evacuate the building immediately. I repeat..." the feminine voice says.
Out of curiosity, Madeline runs to the conductor's room where she was before instead of evacuating. The sergeant runs past by her and then turns around as he notices her.
"Where are you going? The exit's that way!" he asks.
Madeline ignores her superior. After all, she was fired and therefore doesn't have to take orders from him anymore.
Entering the room then locking the door, Madeline pants a little while lying against the door. She goes to the computers and puts on the headgear. She begins typing furiously on the keyboard to take a look at the danger that caused the sudden evacuation.
As it turns out, 2 NEXTs were attacking the headquarters. A camouflage based quad leg NEXT, and a bipedal red, black and gold NEXT.
"Those colour schemes and the shape. There's no doubt it's the Ace Custom." Madeline mumbles.
She then makes a communication to the Ace Custom to see who the pilot is.
Ace and Dirk practically dismantled the MTs guarding the area. Dirk never let in on why he'd come here. After waves and waves of enemies, Dirk sends a message to Ace.
"All righty, Char Clone. I'm going in the facility on foot. You guard my NEXT and make sure nothing damages it." He says, climbing out of the cockpit.
"Roger." Ace responds. "(I can't believe I just said roger.)"
The MTs that guard the facility are jokes. They're AI controlled, but they're really pathetic. Or maybe it's just the fact that Ace and Dirk are using NEXTs.
While cutting a guard MT in half, Ace got a communication from an operator of the facility. The screen showed a face of a woman who looked awful familiar. She then asks,
"Mark? Is that you?"
"Maddy...?"
Around this point, the words 'OH CRAP!' were the only things going through Ace's mind. He did promise to come back with a smile on his face, but not like this.
"You're alive...?"
"Yeah I am." Ace, trying to keep a straight face.
They spent 5 seconds in awkward silence. Then, Ace's NEXT got shot by an MT.
Ticked off, Ace shoots the MT with his lineargun, and then cuts it in half.
"W-What are you doing?" Madeline shouts.
"My job." Ace, frustrated.
"You mean... You're a Hasta Caeli pilot now? Why? You we-"
"No! I'm a Raven now..."
"Why!"
"You know why! I'm accused of massacring an entire city! Both sides want me dead now! I don't even remember anything from the two months before this!"
Madeline bites her lip in confusion. There are about a hundred questions troubling her. But their reunion is finally cut short by a Terra Sphere AC.
The AC is a mauve hover legged model with sniper rifles for weapons. Ace thought of asking, but what's the point. Seeing as the pilot shot him without hesitation, he definitely isn't about to chat idly.
The pilot then shoots another round, this time; Ace manages to dodge it with ease. After that, Ace boosts forward to the AC, moving left and right, dodging every shot with ease.
Now this may sound like Mary Sue-ism, but keep in mind Ace pilots a NEXT now.
The pilot of the AC is shocked. He attempts to retreat.
Seeing this, Ace throws his machinegun directly onto the camera of the AC, obstructing the pilot's view for a second.
This second is enough for Ace to grab the AC's arms, and then kick the core. Pulling his NEXT's arms and stretching the leg, Ace listens to the pilot's horror as he witnesses the brutality of Ace's actions.
What do I mean? Ace yanks the arms of the AC off without any weaponry.
After pushing the AC back, Ace grabs the machinegun he threw and uses a quick boost to move directly in front of the AC.
Grabbing onto the head to make the AC stay in place, Ace then shoves his machinegun to the core.
"Mercy..." the pilot says.
Hesitating for a moment, Ace took a deep breath.
"Screw you." He says.
And then he fills up the AC's cockpit with ammunition.
"Gwaaaagh!" the pilot screams.
Ace pushes the AC back and lets it explode. He then notices the F.O.D.D.E.R. behind him.
"Bravo, Char Clone." Dirk says.
It seems that Dirk already finished whatever business he had with the facility. Giving a sign to leave, Dirk boosts away from the facility.
But Ace didn't leave yet. He looks at the screen which he talked to Madeline with before the fight.
The screen only showed the words,
"The other party was disconnected."
Sighing, Ace leaves the area and follows Dirk's lead.
Noticing Ace, Dirk sends communication of his own.
"So... That your girlfriend...?" Dirk asks sarcastically.
"NO!" Ace, embarrassed. "Wait, how were you eavesdropping?"
Back at the HQ, Madeline was captured by the sergeant and locked in the negotiation room.
They asked her questions like,
"What's your connection to those Ravens?"
"Why did you stay in the facility?"
Over the course of 3 hours, she was finally marked as a traitor and sentenced for execution.
To be continued...
