I own nothing from either property. All rights belong to their respective owners.

All humanity has ever known was struggle. Before now, it was with corporate powers waging war against each other, trying to assert their dominance. Their main tool was the Armored Core, a tall humanoid war machine that can wield awesome weapons. These were often piloted by Ravens, mercenaries for hire, and usually were unloyal to any party. Usually. The privatized war reigned for decades until humanity leashed them. It was only then society experienced the facade of peace... Until a new curse was brought upon the world.

Infinite Stratos. An exoskeleton designed to overcome the challenges of space exploration by enhancing the senses and shielding the human body from space anomalies. When the creator, Tabane Shinonono, announced it nobody took it seriously. When 2341 ballistic and cruise missiles were launched toward all major cities in Japan, she sent the very first IS, the White Knight, to destroy them all. When the major world powers went after it, all their forces were either disabled or destroyed.

This became forever known as the White Knight incident, and because of it, the Alaska Treaty was signed. This treaty prevented the IS from being used in military combat, required nations to publish all advancements made in IS technology for the public, and forced Japan to create and maintain a training facility for all the world's IS pilots without external support. Because of the machine's user exclusivity, a power struggle was born, causing society to re-prioritize. To help build and maintain the IS Academy, the Japanese government punished their citizens by raising taxes and cutting back on public programs. With families wanting daughters more than sons, the ratio between men and women is unbalanced.

Unknown to many, a threat lurks in the shadows, growing in power and waiting for the perfect moment to strike as cracks in the system begin to show.

The Curtain Rises

Goosebumps formed on my skin as the cold air wrapped around the transport plane. I sat in my cockpit, arms folded and eyes closed. It's been three hours since we took off for the Himitsu Mountains in Hokkaido. Each passing minute I spent going over the operation plan, keeping warm, and stockpiling on sleep.

"5 minutes till drop off." informed the pilot through my helmet.

I began to initiate the start-up sequence, pressing a bright red square button causing the cockpit to come to life with multiple screens for my sensors lighting up with green grids on the angled screen in front of me displaying a 5-meter titanium humanoid machine.

The scanner ran a red bar across my face. 'PERMISSION GRANTED' was displayed on the center screen. The text dissolved and in its place were my AC's radar, energy meter, weapons, and armor points. My body felt the seat's internal cords inserting into me, synchronizing with my skeletal, nervous, and muscular systems.

"All enemy communications have been jammed. Make sure not to let them distract you from the generator for too long." Stated my operator's mildly deep voice.

"Understood," A timer appeared in the upper right quadrant of my HUD displaying the ten-minute window. The ramp lowered itself slowly, the audio sensors picking up the turbulence. With the pilot's 'Clear to jump', I activated my boosters to 30 km/h, plummeting towards the Earth. The sky was pitch-dark with an occasional cloud. I activated the built-in night vision and shifted my eyes toward the altimeter. The meter decreased to 25,000.

20,000.

15,000.

My radar began to detect hostiles. 3,000 ft, I noted. I activated my boosters for a safe descent. The B83s roared to life with full might as the radar contacts were identified: Ten MT-08M Ostriches and Cerberi. The Ostriches were spaced out by ten meters while the Cerberi patrolled the outer perimeter. Easy pickings. Ostriches have a slim frame and won't require much to take down. The Cerberi can be a bit of a nuisance, however, given their treads allow for more mobility and speed. "Cascade Range, commencing the operation." Flicking one of the buttons on the left joystick, I swapped to my missiles and locked my sights on the Cerberus furthest away from the others. With a thumb press, a missile was launched, screaming towards the treaded tripod. Within several hundred meters, the missile separated into three warheads and impacted the target. The MTs stopped soon after and looked toward the burning drone. I disengaged my boosters after reaching 100 meters above the ground. My AC absorbed the hard landing, hydraulics screeching as it recoiled. In front, I saw the MTs splitting up. Three Ostriches remained in the center, maintaining the spacing, while the rest flanked.

Bolts of plasma from the Cerberi's energy rifles and armor-piercing rounds flew past me as I boosted away. I hooked left and fired my missiles at the Cerberi. The close-range proximity caused half of the warheads to hit the ground, but nonetheless, they were eliminated. I swapped to the RP3 rocket launcher and fired at the sole Ostrich. The rocket impacted the smooth and curvy torso, causing the slim MT to collapse on its side. I diverted my attention to the right flank. My armor points decreased by a few hundred from the plasma and AP rounds. I thrust my AC into the air and circled more to the left, avoiding the following tracers. My Python was next to shine. The conductors energized electrons and rapidly summoned ion beams. Each beam found its mark, leaving glowing entry and exit holes into the AI storage heads. I disengaged the boosters and landed behind the turning Ostriches. I activated my energy blade, letting out a long, bright, crackling, and scorching blue beam. With a simple thought, the beam swung at the torsos, slicing through metal, circuits, and wires.

I checked the timer. 7 minutes. I thrust towards the building at the far end of the base. A large blast door was in front of me with a panel. I opened up the panel's interface onto my screen and began scanning. A list of green text and numbers appeared. I swiftly type in commands, splitting the barrier open. I deactivated my night-vision as light seeped through and walked onto the ramp.

I looked at the timer again. 6 minutes and 35 seconds. The elevator leading down was at an angle. My radar indicated that I had two floors before I reached my objective. Wasting no time, I jumped down, using my boosters to slow my fall. Above the ramp entrance were turrets. Their rotary cannons unleashed a wall of brass, dropping my armor at a steady pace. I quickly responded with the Python and turned around the corner before dropping down again, repeating the process.

I landed hard on the ramp, denting the metal floor. The junction was spacious and had three tunnels. There was enough room for MTs and transports to maneuver in without too much trouble. Awfully quiet here, I thought as I scanned my radar's map for the correct tunnel.

A few seconds later, my operator was on the comm channel again. "Raven, enemy reinforcements are moving in on your position!" Her warning came too late, several red dots appeared. The tunnel doors opened and poured four green heavily armored Rafale Revives outfitted for close-quarter combat. They dispersed and surrounded me at various angles. Following behind them was a white bulky IS with a blue and red trimmed chest plate. The pilot had a shapely figure highlighted by her red undersuit and a black ponytail. Attached to her cheeks were armored vents, the frame's legs were slim, but not obtrusive while the shoulders were slanted. 'Target identified: X-78. Unit is a late-2nd Generation IS that utilizes a mid-range build equipped with particle field dampener extensions.' Informed my AI.

"Whoever paid you for this job has made a grave mistake, Raven. Surrender now and you'll have a fair trial." She proclaimed.

She's going to delay me. "I appreciate your offer, but I must decline. All I want is your core and the one stored here." I said an open channel. "Give them to me and I will spare your life. There's no need to share the same demise with your fellow soldiers."

She chuckled. "You're too late; the core is already being transported away. You failed."

"Then yours will do just fine." I quipped,

The pilot snarled. "Over my dead body. Open fire!"

I boosted to my right, avoiding SMG and energy rounds. Have to make this quick. I fired a snapshot at the X-78 with my railgun only to find that the damage was halved.

"Mercenary filth!" One of the pilots on the left screamed as they charged with their shotgun. She was able to fire two rounds into me before I sliced it. 5, 765 AP remaining. I boosted away from my targets and engaged the IS in my immediate vicinity. The blue blade came out once more and sliced through the power supply. The pilot could only get out a sneery curse before her machine exploded. I quickly engaged again at the pawns. Let's see how your armor holds up. The junction was filled with my rifle's screeches. I noticed blood through the entry holes in one of the pilot's upper torso. "Only had the kinetic armor mods to spare," I noted to myself.

I pressed one of the side buttons on the right joystick and deployed an ECM pod."He's jamming us!" Two of the Rafales tried to fire their SMGs, but their aim was hindered greatly. The rounds found themselves either ahead or behind as I skated around them. My energy levels reached the amount I needed. I aimed toward the two pilots firing at me and pressed the right trigger. Their armor and shields began to fail and soon embraced the light.

The wounded pilot began to step forward. "I got this. Akiyama! Go regroup… with the convoy!" She grunted before collapsing on her right knee.

"No, you're too wounded to fight. I'm the one he wants," Akiyama said as she helped her partner back on her feet. "I'll buy you some time. "

Her partner grimaced before reluctantly obeying. "It's been an honor, Warrant Officer."

Akiyama watched her fly down the center tunnel before the door shut itself closed. She returned her attention back to me. "Just me and you, Raven." She said with disdain.

The warrant officer gave a bloodlust-filled cry as she charged. I boosted to my right, sparing my left arm from the scorching blade, and responded with an energy round to her armored chest plate. My screen adjusted her shield strength to 550. She fired another burst of her rifle which found its mark on my center mass.

'AP at 50%.'

Despite that revelation, I remained calm. I switched to my missiles and fired. They didn't meet their target, however, the pilot destroyed them in the pre-separation stage, creating a smokescreen. I decided to close in with my blade and sliced forward only to hit one of her beam sabers. I saw her smirk, looking directly at the sensor. "What's the matter? Running out of ideas?" She smugly said.

Not yet. I swapped to my rocket launcher and fired. I boosted back from the explosion and flanked her, leaving a trace of smoke particles. I swapped to thermal vision and quickly swiped at the center of the pilot's heat signature.

A gasp echoed through the junction as the smoke cleared. The pilot suddenly collapsed with fear in her eyes as I hacked the case open. My AC's metal fingers wrapped around my prize. I felt the rage inside me boiling for every second I held on to it. It was because this society was in chaos. It was because of this my chance at a normal life was robbed of me.

I heard my operator speak again, "Raven, we looked at our satellite feed and confirmed the presence of a convoy retreating from the base."

"I thought they were jammed..." I said sharply.

"The base managed to unjam their comms while you fought and sent out an SOS."

"What of the convoy?"

"HQ will look into it later. Right now, they want you back. Enemy comm traffic is buzzing."

My operator's words did not soothe me, but the overall goal comes first. I begrudgingly replied, "Wilco"

"If you think you can take an IS core for yourself and get away with it, then you're mistaken! We'll hunt you down!" I turned my head towards her and applied pressure to the orb. "Wh-What are you doing?! Stop!" She begged. The glass began to cry at a high pitch as I squeezed harder. In a few moments, the orb gave in, glass shattering and particles flooding. "You bastard. Do you... have any idea... what you just did?" She grunted.

My energy blade crackled and thrust into her, causing her body to recoil in horror and gasp for air. "It was an honor… Akiyama." I sheathed my blade and returned to the metal craters, boosting my way back up to the surface.

Upon seeing the littered base, I double-checked my radar before flicking a switch.

'Objective achieved. Now switching to normal mode.`

"Mother Goose One, this is Cascade Range. Requesting extraction."

"We have eyes on you, Raven. Standby for retrieval," said the transport pilot. The C06-Stork's thrusters came into hearing. "Watch your head, we're conducting low-altitude retrieval."

"Acknowledged." I ascended up and flew towards the aircraft's rear, avoiding the thruster trails. The ramp was lowered shortly after and I carefully entered the craft's stomach.

"Raven is returning to Nest." The pilot emitted.

"Nest copies. Ingress east following bearing 197."

AN: Kept you waiting, huh?

It's been a while since I last wrote on here and what better way to come back than with a classic? To those who have read this before nothing has really changed with this chapter, but a lot of the story is being redone to suit a more Armored Core feeling. Originally, I was heavily influenced by Gundam 00 when I first wrote this years ago and I wanted to tackle some similar themes with this story. As I was writing, I couldn't find a proper way to communicate the more subtle societal themes like the change in societal power that the IS has brought, Armored Core's examination of the military-industrial complex and capitalism, and more while being a fun mecha story. As a result, I got fed up and scrapped the story.

Now, those themes are staying. Especially since the power struggle between the sexes was an interesting concept in the anime. I still want to have some sustenance to this fanfic and exercise my creativity, but at the same time, I don't want to come off as preachy or come off as a rabid incel. I'm just a silly war nerd who loves mecha and drama. Honestly, I find it wild that I looked at Gundam 00 as inspiration for a Gen 3 AC crossover. I should have stuck with my Gen 4 idea for that.

Anyway, for those who are new to this story, I hope you enjoy it. For the old-timers, welcome back. I'll make it right this time.

Oh, about time we got Armored Core 6. I can't wait to play it this month!