It's with some annoyance that he still recognizes the person still looking back at him.

That must seem pretty strange; after all, being able to still recognize your face in the mirror was usually a good thing, right?

Not in this case.

Staring at the person in the mirror did nothing but remind him of the debt he'd been working to pay off for the past four years now - a debt was still nowhere close to paying off.

With what sounded almost like a sigh leaving his lips, the young man stared at his reflection a bit longer before popping the seal on his medication and turned it over to grab hold of a pill before popping it in his mouth and drowning it with sink water.

The water goes down pretty cold, in truth, it's so cold that it almost hurts.

He's actually grateful for that.

What was done to him - the surgeries he'd been forced to get they took a lot from him, but thankfully they left a few things behind.

He appreciates those little blessings.

Without a word he wiped his lips with his sleeve, shuts off the water and turned around to see his quarters. It's a simple box-like L-shaped room with eight beds and taking up one part of the room and a shower sector in the other.

There's eight beds, well bed wasn't exactly the right word, coffins might be more accurate. Each 'coffin' was built into a hole in the wall; had just enough room to move around in, and hold a handful of belongings. Having a bedmate though was downright impossible.

Not that that mattered.

The coffins weren't built for comfort or for having guests over, they were meant to give people a place to rest for a few hours.

Still… it's quiet here.

To be honest, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise; after all, it's always quiet here. That's how it should be. Even when the others were still here, staying in the coffins next to his, it was always quiet. Only time it got noisy was when someone was either using either the toilet, showers, or the sink, or when the voice over the speakers was calling out for one of the teams.

"Attention: 732 to Hanger immediately."

Times like now.

Taking a minute to fix his piloting suit and zipping it back up, C5-732 headed off, leaving his room before walking down the halls of the complex he was currently stationed at. Even he'd admit that the complex was pretty big, little bigger than what he was used to to be honest. Not that that was a bad thing mind you. Meant there was more space to move around, and if there was more space that meant that there was usually more people and more equipment to be found being moved around.

Still, with that being said, it's… quiet around here. The hall's he's wandering around are pretty empty. Everyone that needs to be somewhere, are likely already there instead of wandering about.

It's fine, really. If they're where they need to be then he shouldn't be the only one dragging his feet since he needed to get somewhere himself.

And that place was the hanger.

Walking into the hanger he's greeted with two giants looming over him, each one casting a shadow that - if given a chance - felt like they could block out the sun.

What do these shadows belong to?

The world called them Mobile Suits.

A piece of fantasy pulled into reality; there probably wasn't a soul living or dead that didn't know what a Mobile Suit was. Once upon a time they were nothing but images trapped on a tv screen, once they were toys children just pieced together and customized to their liking.

Those were happier, simpler times.

Since the first fully automated Mobile Suit was built; since the line between fantasy and reality blurred, what joy these machines brought was replaced with an almost humbling fear.

They became the face of World War 3 and they brought the horrors once locked behind a tv screen to reality.

Cities became tombs, the skies bleed, worlds burned, and the stars flickered in and out of reality.

That was a long time ago though.

War's over now, it's been over for a few good centuries.

All that's left are well… these metal giants that were nothing like the machines they were meant to mimic.

The vibrant colors were absent, the armor was dented and scarred.

They were cold… so very cold.

Nothing like the machines once presented on a show.

Staring up at the two AC's before letting their gaze drift to focus on one in particular - their personal Armored Core, the young man took a moment to look it over as they nodded their head.

Looks like repairs were done, of course they were done. His handler wouldn't just call him up if the MS - Siegebreaker - was still in need of repairs. Without the Siegebreaker being in operational condition, Torchwood had no use for him.

And he needed Torchwood to use him.

If his Handler didn't need him, he couldn't work.

If he couldn't work, he couldn't get paid.

If he couldn't get paid then he'd never make any headway in paying off his debt.

And he needed to pay off that debt; it was the only way he could get his life back - get his fucking name and his voice back…

Getting into debt cost him more than he was willing to probably admit.

Staring at his MS for a moment longer, 732 took a much needed breath as he walked across the hanger bridge and made for his Mobile Suit, and hit a button to open up the cockpit.

'It's a bit stuffy in here .' 732 notes, crawling into the cockpit as he grabs the helmet he he had a bad habit of leaving in here.

The MS is cold outside and it's stuffy inside the cockpit. Then again when you don't vent the cockpit that often it's no surprise that it gets a bit stuffy in here at times.

Have to remember to leave the hatch open when he gets back.

If he gets back.

Fastening his helmet, 732 strapped himself into the cockpit as he started flipping switches to power on his Mobile Suit before sealing the cockpit hatch.

[MS, Main System activated]

[Generator, Radiator, FCS, All green.]

[Entering Normal Mode]

Everything online, the pilot took a moment to breathe as he rolled his shoulder as a voice broke through the comms..

"Good of you to join us 732."


Notes

In the title there is an event known as the Great Fall, it originates from the Gundam Game known as MS Saga: A New Dawn. It's described as the apocalypse that followed an unknown event. It's essentially the Great Destruction, from Armored Core; is an apocalyptic event that left the world either ravaged or polluted with Kojima Particles that humanity was forced to migrate underground in order to survive.
In this story the two events are basically blended together, but the "Name" of the event switches between the two depending on who you ask. Some will call it the Great Destruction, others will call it the Great Fall.

As its revealed earlier in the chapter, the main character is an Augmented Human/ Human Plus much like 621 from Armored Core or perhaps a Biological CPU from Gundam Seed. Disregard what you choose to call it the effect remains the same, the main character is a human that has undergone surgery's to develop enhanced physical and combat capabilities. In both universes the surgeries came at a cost.

- In Gundam Seed the two iterations of Biological CPU's - Boosted Men and Extended displayed signs of aggression, mental instability and several other side effects from their surgeries like drug addiction.

- Armored Core, Human Plus also suffered mental instability and some other issues. In the case of Catarina from Armored Core: Tower City Blade, her surgeries not only stunted her growth trapping her in the body of a 12 year old, but also took away her voice and ability to make facial expressions. Not only that it's said that her heart will eventually stop beating less her Human Plus Surgeries are reversed.

Another note on that, In the regards to the Biological CPU were created from indoctrinated children where as Human Plus were created through forced surgery on AC Pilots who went into debt.

Your free to guess which version 732 was hit with.