A/N : Hello and Happy new year for starters.
Do not worry i have not abandoned Raiden and his little problem, i am still working on it. Chapter 6 is almost done and ready to be up. i just hit a small block and i'm trying to fix that
To help me i'm beginning another story.
It's a crossover between Armored Core and Infinite Stratos. Hopefully everything will go as planned because so far it hasn't cause life wants to be a raging bitch, pardon my french.
Until then, enjoy? i guess...
Attack the unexplored region. That was the mission given to him by Global Cortex. The suicide mission to end them all...
He made the final adjustments on Fatalität, removing all OP-accessories and replacing them with OP-Intensify, something he only used in arena matches or high risk missions.
Running a few cursory checks and getting green lights on all ends he loaded his craft into the transport.
This was it. This was the final push to take down the Silent Line. The end of all this chaos...for the most part at least.
He had been deployed in an earlier solo operation to secure the entrance to what it appeared to be another Layered...the ramifications were huge if you understood what it meant.
The Layered complex he was from didn't hold all that remained of humanity. The Controller wasn't the only AI made to manage and keep humanity going...figures.
As he was dropped down near the crater his radar registered allied units converging on his location. That wasn't in the briefing...what the hell was going on, activating combat mode he boosted forwards, laser rifle ready to shoot them down. Five transport ships just like his own.
His comms came to life just as he fired his first shot. He was thankful he missed "Easy Raven! Friendlies...remember friendlies?" the voice brought him relief, they weren't just last minute reinforcements. There was a friend there and he dropped from the open hatches along with the other nine. An unexpected addition but hopefully a welcome one.
10 different AC's landed, he recognized the signatures. All piloted by Ravens he either fought in the arena, co-operated on missions or both. Pilots he knew closely and they him. He rushed to meet them
"What is this? The liaison didn't mention anything about allied forces" he told them with all the bluntness of a brick, not even bothering to say hi. He ran the recording of the briefing in closed comms to make sure...friends or not he remembered hearing Ravens and allied forces turn on each other during the final days of the Controller.
Pressing start he listened
We've completed our analysis of information acquired by the research team during their exploration of the old fortress. A passage leading to a new subterranean Layered was uncovered.
A representative from the Artificial Intelligence Office is thought to be on-site and we've confirmed that the signals responsible for recent equipment disruptions originate there as well.
What is going on at this location? Might the AI scientist somehow be involved in recent events?
The only way we can hope to answer these questions is to go see for ourselves.
We're sending you into the facility to act as our eyes and ears in this matter. Locate the source of the signal and destroy whatever it is that's producing it. Good luck.
End recording
He was right...there weren't supposed to be here.
"Relax Raven, we're here on a separate assignment. We've been informed of your objective and nothing's changed." A dark green lightweight machine wielding two heat shotguns took a few steps forward and if he or the other pilots were offended by his attitude they didn't show...they knew him well enough. Some more then others.
"You go in there as planned and eliminate whatever it is that's causing us headaches. Our mission is this." A message came on his HUD and he opened the file. Mission parameters and recorded brief along with pictures of himself and his AC
Requester: Global Cortex
Advance: 2.000.000c (Divided by the number of Ravens Accepting)
Upon Success: 0
Operation Area: Silent Line
Enemy Forces: High-end MT's, Heavy MT's (Unknown Number), I-C003-IN (Unknown Number)
Objective: Prevent enemy from breaching gate and protect designated asset.
Operation Code: Last Stand
Client name: Global Cortex
Place Name: Silent Line
Start time: 01:00
Security Level: 12
Estimated Success Rate: 0.5%
Recommended Raven Rank: -
Briefing:
We've completed analysis of information acquired by the research team during their exploration of the old fortress. A passage leading to a new subterranean Layered was discovered.
A representative from the Artificial Intelligence Office is believed to be on-site and we've confirmed that the signals responsible for transmissions and recent equipment failures originate there as well.
We believe the AI scientist is involved in these events. However we cannot be certain until we see for ourselves.
We've already deployed a Raven to handle the task at hand.
For the Ravens willing to accept this mission your objective is this:
Our scans have uncovered a number of mass storage areas containing an unknown number of unmanned MT's that are all being deployed and converging on his location.
Should they succeed in reaching and eliminating him, the damage that will ensue from the counter-attack is not something we will be able to recover from.
As such your task will be to defend the perimeter until the Raven succeeds. Good luck
End briefing.
So that's what it was. A defense line while he went in the nest. "You're a pro, Raven. Just get inside and finish this. We'll take care of things up here" A mid-weight orange biped AC with armor extensions stepped forward.
Carom at first treated him like an idiot.
'A second-rate pilot and nothing more' and he made the Firebird eat his words for that.
They had Co-operated on a few missions since then and formed a camaraderie.
Another stepped forward. Mid-weight, no changes on his craft since they got in together aside from green and purple paint-job. "Just leave things to us man" Little bear, a good pilot confidence aside.
The blast gate in the crater opened. A grey purple camo pattern AC came to stand in front of him, dual blade arms. Eclair, he was the closest to her...he was hailed on a private channel "Get to it Xayvion, daylight's burning and i prefer to stay alive" The sound of her voice, deep but soft brought him a sense of calm he sometimes didn't think was possible. That remark was hollow, she and the others were ready to die for this mission to succeed and so was he.
He nodded and closed the channel, instead using open comms "Begin mission...and stay alive...all of you" And with that the boosters flared and he went in...
Back on the Surface...
Shade being the de facto leader turned back to the other 9...they were few. Sure, Armored Core's could turn the tide of a battlefield, specially if they were more then one. But this? This was suicide plain and simple. Their Job was to just survive and hope for the best. Out of the 32 Ravens still alive and affiliated with GC and whatever irregulars were still out there and only ten of them are out here on a mission that would make or break it. Still Mission's a mission, target's a target and all that.
"Alright lets get set up. Form teams of two and don't stray too far from the gate. We hold the line so go all out. We don't want to get bunched up and mowed down so make sure you don't get surrounded.
They could see the armada faintly closing in. Shade was with Carom, Little bear with Foreman, Drunkard with Freedom, Calamity with Ronin and Diligent with Eclair. This was it...they were within range "Engage, OPEN FIRE!" The wave crashed on them and all hell broke loose...
He was in. The first gate had locked behind him. He kept a line open towards the others so he can monitor the conditions up top. Nothing else he could do 6.5km below ground.
He ran rather then boost forwards, EO drones active for caution. 2 pairs of laser gun turrets popped out of the steel and glass hallway only to be gunned down by two shots each from the drones. Engaging Boosters he went for the gate.
"Raven...your signal..." he heard his operator trying to get through. That was hopeless...he was currently 7km underground and there was too much interference from whatever he was facing here.
"I'm waiting" He reached the raised platform and opened the gate when he froze...what was she doing here...she couldn't be...he buried the thoughts and moved on...another corridor with the same turret placements.
"Sera's voice...?" So he wasn't crazy...she wasn't an AI scientist, she was the AI. "Raven...the connection is breaking up..." Not only hers.."There's too...uuugghhh" little bear...
Connection lost with the others and Little Bear was the first casualty...fifteen minutes had passed...he kept moving.
Losing contact wasn't the problem. Nor were the wall turrets. What was the problem was the moving target both radar and fcs picked up behind the gate. It opened and he immediately boosted left avoiding a grenade launcher in the process.
Room was vertically large but narrow, not leaving much room for maneuvering. Which was an issue cause his enemy right now was an I-C003-IN, nicknamed "Big White". Unmanned Armored Cores used by the Silent Line for high priority targets. Bigger then most Heavyweights and enough firepower to match.
Left back unit being a quick firing grenade cannon
a rapid fire dual missile launcher
a two handed laser cannon and rarely used laser blade that puts the MLB-Moonlight to shame. and boosters that allowed it to move much faster then something that size had any right to be able to.
Normally on an AC he could deal with such a setup because you normally stay stationary when firing rear mounted cannons. However these units, just like him and many Ravens employ the OP-I which disables the software limiters and allow it to fire on the move.
He leveled the KARASAWA and fired away strafing left and boost jumping to try and avoid the barrage. He knew he was doing damage, he'd taken down four of these monstrosities before.
The mirage high powered laser rifle had enough power to make anyone think twice. He got sloppy and took a grenade head on stopping the boosters and knocking him back.
He boosted forward and immediately lashed out with the laser blade, he was a distance away but that wasn't an issue. OP-I had another nifty feature. It allowed laser blades when swung mid movement to fire blade waves. Half the strength but it can stagger most machinery.
Generator was at full capacity, he deployed EO and continued the previous tactic. Which was good considering the Big white started firing five round bursts from that energy cannon.
He stopped firing and dismissed the drones. While his unit was pretty good for most missions it had one flaw. The laser rifle compensated for its high power by having a hefty energy consumption, drones also fired laser shots which had a decent drain of their own and he used the CBT-FLEET boosters which had the highest boost speed at the cost of a heavy drain of their own.
The generator could handle all the drain for a bit but if it got anywhere near the red zone he needed stop otherwise he'd be dead in the water.
He re engaged the boosters and checked the drones...fully charged so he re deployed. Sawa had a power cell that fired fifty rounds per charge and he was down to 33, by his estimate the unmanned MT didn't have much left to go down jf it used the energy cannon. The drones did the work as 2 minutes later the damn thing went up in flames.
He checked the unit's condition...AP 6297/8952
laser rifle ammo 33/50
EO ammo 50/50
all readings nominal
Time...1:35
He pressed on forward. Opening the gate into the next corridor and another 2 pairs of turret placements. opening the gate at the end he got on to the elevator.
The moment it started descending he received a transmission the voice was the same but distorted "Checking serial number...XA-26483"...there was a momentary silence as he went down...reaching 8km below ground
"Registration...confirmed" Registration? To what? This Layered?..the elevator reached the bottom and he went through another gate into the next corridor...same pattern so far and he stopped just before the gate...same movement pattern and signature...another one!?
He opened the gate and immediately boosted forward. Large circular empty room, perfect.
No shots rang out, instead there was a missile lock on him he boost jumped while strafing to avoid the projectiles and fired the laser rifle.
"Security...disabled" He wanted to laugh...if she...it disabled security it would turn that behemoth off as well.
8 shots later and he emptied the generator...damn, he was both unfocused and preoccupied with dodging the Big white's assault and he payed for it with two grenade shots straight up...come on come on...there.
Generator up to use, he quickly engaged boosters, he kept strafing and firing with a dew missiles hitting him. The white started burst firing its energy cannon so he closed in while still moving sideways...he lashed out twice after the fifth shot with the moonlight...laser blade and blade wave both making contact twice brought the damn thing down...
AP 3741/8952
Laser rifle ammo 11/50
EO ammo 12/50 and charging
Warning... craft damage above 50%
time...2:24
He doubted anyone was still alive at this point...yet that small irrational part of him hoped some of them survived...she survived.
As he scanned his surroundings he saw no way to proceed at first. Then he noticed the for holo-screens sitting in the on the walls splitting the room in four. Activating them, caused the central part of the floor to open up revealing a long drop...
A kilometer long drop. Landing with bone shaking momentum he turned towards the gate
Another transmission from it...the ID was IBIS "Establishing connection" the voice switched to male...keeping that distorted effect. He passed the gate and the multiple blast doors that opened up as he boosted forward...and bumped into another gate...backing up slightly he activated it and came into...a garage??
"Recommended action...repair and resupply before proceeding." In enemy territory using enemy machinery...did it suffer a malfunction?
A thought hit him 'Registration Confirmed'... technically he wasn't in 'enemy grounds'..."Don't be wrong" he said to himself, this was a hell of a gamble. Stepping on to the central platform He was hooked to an AC cradle and large charging cables extended from the right wall connecting to the Karasawa's power supply.
Repairs were being worked faster then he thought possible...he checked the time. 2:56...repairs were done, ammo refilled. He hoped this didnt backfire in the ways he imagined...or at all. He got into another elevator this time going up.
"Raven..." Something didn't add up...he thought the elevator would have defence measures to impede progress but there was nothing
The elevator reached its destination...judging from the Power lines running through the room and into the wall in front of him he. guessed this was the AI core...nothing like the controller's where it was one giant pillar in the center of the room housing the core...
Time: 3:20
"Switching modes... engaging final directive"
He was also aware of the mech unit a couple hundred meters in front of him...thin and far too tall, if it wasn't for its armaments it could be seen as a mechanical angel...designation 'I-CFFF-SERRE'
Capabilities unknown..."System phase 22-4...engaged"
And the battle was on. Initially he tried to close the gap since the AC didn't seem to move and quickly boosted to the side to avoid the laser beams...emitted by the wings...multi shot laser cannons...great.
Deploying the EO he strafed and jump boosted to avoid them...firing twice with the laser rifle and after 20 shots from the drones destroyed them...
AP: 8104/8592
From one hit...not too bad considering the hard part began because it engaged boosters and started to move...far too fast for him to keep a lock at all times. He recalled the drones and backed away to get some space...the farther it was the better he could keep up and shoot it...the Karasawa was at full charge so he fired away...every other shot seemed to miss.
"Scanning target.." Scanning him? By all rights and evidence so far it should know everything about him...probably knew more then he himself knew. He shaked the thoughts out of his head and re-focused, just in time to start dodging the orbit pods shooting down at him...eight of them.
"Target scan in progress...adapting systems" adapting...to his piloting and combat style...could it get worse?
He engaged his own exceed orbit and fired back "Scan complete.." yes it could get worse...
AP 3276/8952
Laser rifle ammo 18/50
How much more could this thing take...his answer came when it blitzed him and struck with its laser blade...hit threw him off balance for a sec but he recovered faster then it...and struck back with the moonlight...and it was finally done.
The AC blew up and he was left with an AI core to deal with...only that wasn't the end.
AP: 1417/8952
Laser rifle ammo 4/50
EO core ammo 12/50 (recharging)
He was in no state to handle anything else that might show itself...he waited...and waited...time: 4:10
His comms went on "Confirmation check... disconnecting...reverting to safe mode" the vocals started switching back to 'Sera's' mid-sentence as the glass protection shattered and small explosions rippled throughout the core "Main system shutdown"
He turned to leave...only for a notification to appear on his HUD 'Integration complete...suspending motor control'...this wasn't right. In a panic he tried setting the unit into normal mode and reboot the software.
As he desperately tried his comms were suddenly open wide.
"Left side heavy artillery...aargh"
"Carom get foreman...out of there"
"There's too many..."
"Come on Raven hurry up...eughhhh"
"Shade on your six..."
"Eclair...on your right..."
And many more that bombarded his radio.
It was the last one however that got to him
"Raven... Xayvion I'm sorry... I'm not gonna make it...make it count...hope I'll see you on the other side..."
They were still fighting? No that can't be...3 hours in with all that was impossible to have survived...
His operator's voice came through...barely "Raven...can you hear me? Raven do..y...copy over? Reinforc...stroyed...how...copy?"
He lowered his head and closed his eyes...he'd be the first to admit he was emotionally inept...sure he was on friendly terms with all of them and they knew each other but only 3 of them did he have any sort of meaningful relationship...and one mattered far more then the others. That was a mistake he thought.
Ravens no matter their demeanor never should form any sort of actual relationships unless there was a pre-existing one prior to their enlistment...there were a few cases here and there but they were mostly exceptions to the rule for one reason.
This profession inevitably forced you to face the other side... corporate warfare, rebel groups or GC itself for various reasons. And there were times you had people on that side.
People you'd be ordered to kill. It has happened to him unwittingly on multiple occasions. And he kept the fact that it could happen again in the back of his mind. Of course he became desensitized to it...
Raven's were mercenaries by trade so they didn't have any inherent obligations other then fulfilling their side of a contract. But there were those who held allegiances either with the corporations or a few years ago with the Controller. And that never ended well. He hated it with all his being.
But in the end he accepted that he couldn't do anything about it. So he endured it.
His suffering however wasn't finished yet however..."Beginning Vital protocol...activating transportation..." Activating...pillars were raised around the elevator platform, their position forming a hexagon. There were large emitters running their length. They started whirring and lighting up.
"Come on...move" He banged they keyboard and the controls in desperation...and stopped a moment later. It didn't matter much...the AI was done and his radar registered multiple pathways opening...just like what happened with his home 10 years ago...they'd done it. They won...
His comms crackled with the AI getting some final words in as the lights were getting far too far too bright for both his eyes and the Head's receptors.
"XA-26483...my function is complete...Raven...the rest is up to you.." And the transmission is cut. The pillars fired.
Up to him was it? He was finished...as far as he was concerned the AI could go fu-
He didnt get to finish as the beams striking knocked him unconscious...
A/N: And that's it for the prologue...Yes i know screw me. I should be working on Middle Earth's very own Ripper and i am.
I promise you i am. My problem is that i tend to hit a wall very often and then other ideas pop into my head...i draw them out in my head try to see where they go.
This is such an occasion. I swear chapter 6 is almost done and Raiden will have shit to do.
For this one however i got an OC in mind. Normally im not a fan of OC centric fanfics but i do read them from time to time. Any fandom that uses an unnamed protagonist at the playable game character is an OC and some of them are bonkers cool.
So i gave it a shot. This will be an Armored Core- Infinite Stratos crossover...weird i know but bear with me on that. There will be a ship but not what you think...and i will try to keep the ecchi stuff as suppressed as possible.
Im using the playable character of Armored Core: Silent line for this one.
Now then...character Bio
Name: Xayvion Ahrendt
Serial number: XA-26483
Alias: Griever
Height: 1.87
Weight : 90kg
Age: 19
Hair color: Dark grey (Formerly brown)
Eye color: Gold-orange (formerly turquoise due to optical enhancement surgery)
Build: Slightly thin, athletic
Ethnicity: Caucasian- white
Nationality: Unknown
Since I'll be using English dub the voice ill put on him is...Robin Lord Taylor's outsider from dishonored 2, minus the distorted echo.
Well back to work for me. Stay careful and ill be seeing you all.