(Quick author's note: Due to the nature of Armored Core VI (and other Fromsoft games), the lore is elusive and scattered throughout the game through radio chatter, messages hidden throughout the maps, and Arena mode pilot profiles. There is lore, plenty of it, but it doesn't paint a full picture. Because of this, much of the lore in this story is pure headcanon. Feel free to let me know if I've missed something important from AC6 or RWBY for that matter.

(Warning: This story contains many spoilers for Armored Core VI, so if you haven't played the game and are planning to, maybe beat it first, 3 times, then come back here. Or don't, it's your call.)

And so, without further ado…

Chapter 1: A hound Without a Leash

"Look at you… 621… You found… A friend…"

621 pondered from within his AC's cockpit the last words of Handler Walter. Despite re-education from Arquebus and the fact that 621 had just destroyed his life's work in front of him, Walter had said those kind words. He had recognized Ayre's presence within 621 and decided to trust in his choices. Even with his augmentations that had rendered 621 largely devoid of emotion, he had felt a spark of pride from Walter's decision to trust in him and the choices he made. 621 was no longer Walter's hound. He felt he had finally become Raven.

"A raven is a symbol of resolve. The will to choose what one fights for." Those were the words spoken by the original Raven's operator. In the end, 621 had lived up to his new name.

Having defeated Walter aboard the Xylem, he had believed it was over, and thought that he might finally get to rest. As the Xylem sailed past the Vascular Plant, containing most of Rubicon's Coral, he was proven wrong. ALLMIND intercepted him and told him that Ayre and him would be necessary for something called "Coral Release", which presented itself as an alternative to the ultimate doomsday Walter had feared and the potential for Ayre's desired symbiosis. Unfortunately, ALLMIND had also come to the conclusion that organics, despite their intentions, could not be trusted with something as important as Coral Release. The AI revealed its new pilot, the downloaded consciousness of Iguazu, along with two Institute C-Spiders it had taken control of.

Already damaged from his battle with Walter, 621 was struggling under the combined might of Iguazu and ALLMIND's C-Spiders. Luckily, Ayre arrived to support him in a prototype Institute AC she had managed to connect to and used all the knowledge she had gained from observing 621's own piloting to save him. Together, the two managed to hold off ALLMIND and Iguazu and defeat the two C-Spiders, before Iguazu, yearning for vengeance against 621, unshackled himself from ALLMIND's control. With pure force of will, Iguazu used his new digital mind to remove ALLMIND and Ayre from the fight so that he could have one final duel alone with 621.

Out of ammo and with critical damage alerts blaring in his cockpit, 621 once again proved himself the better pilot and laid Iguazu's tortured soul to rest. 621 couldn't bring himself to relish in the victory however. As a fellow Gen-IV, 621 could have easily gone down Iguazu's path into insanity were it not for Walter's guiding hand and Ayre's invaluable friendship.

As the Xylem began to break apart and fall towards one of Rubicon's oceans, Ayre voiced her desire to pursue the Coral Release ALLMIND had tried to force upon them. 621, fearful of the unknown that would be brought on, decided to trust in Ayre just as Walter had trusted in him. With help from 621's connection with Ayre, the two of them reached out through the void into the mass of Coral within the Vascular Plant and formed a connection with the Coral, which having been brought together had created an unimaginably complex hivemind. It was the strangest sensation, similar to how 621 felt when the wave of Coral at the PCA's watchpoint enveloped 621 and introduced him to Ayre, except on a far grander scale. If he had to put it to words, 621 would say that within that great heart of Coral laid the very soul of Rubicon itself. Together, 621 and Ayre urged the Coral entity to be free, to release itself from the shackles the Corporations had enveloped it in.

Before his eyes, 621 watched as the Vascular Plant mega structure began to gradually implode upon itself. Despite the near lack of air this high in Rubicon's atmosphere, 621 could hear a low, distant groan of metal warping in great magnitudes. As Coral energy began to escape through the cracks like crimson lightning, the entire Vascular Plant was suddenly erased in the blink of an eye. All that remained was a small red light in space which seemed to warp the very darkness around it. It began to flicker out of existence before suddenly raging back to life. With a great and terrible rumbling noise which screamed into the minds of all life on and near Rubicon, the small light burst into a giant ball of burning Coral chaos while a halo of swirling Coral energy danced around it. With the force of a black hole, 621 could do nothing but watch in awe as the chaotic mass consumed Coral with a seemingly endless appetite. He watched as strands of Coral were pulled in from the C-Spiders, ALLMIND's AC, and from the bowels of the fractured ship he stood on. In the corner of his AC's vision, 621 saw oceans worth of Coral flow in waves from the depths of Rubicon. All of it fed into the raging heart of Coral which could only be called a "Coral Singularity".

'It's beginning… Coral Release.' Ayre said into his mind. 621 could feel her being pulled forward, but unlike all the Coral around them, she willed herself to remain with him instead of joining her brothers and sisters. 621 couldn't help but feel somewhat pleased by her decision. 'Isn't it… Beautiful?'

Despite how the augmentation surgery had ravaged his mind and body, 621 was still a mere human. Where Ayre saw a beautiful gathering of her kind, 621 only felt a primal terror in his very being. It was as if he was watching a wrathful god be born before him. He felt its rage, rage at humanity and the corporations, rage at being treated as nothing more than a resource despite being alive, often burned as fuel or enslaved into machines.

621 thought he felt a shiver run through the remains of his nervous system. Nothing had changed in its appearance, but he could feel the singularity turn to him, almost like the baleful eye of an eldritch being noticing an ant in its presence. This newborn Rubiconian god stared at the little AC which stood on the fractured ship meant to end its life. 621 could only stare back as even Ayre squirmed under its gaze.

At that moment, 621 understood. Walter had been right. The Coral had been ramping up more and more as humanity mistreated it, preparing to scorch Rubicon again like it did over five decades ago, along with much of the galaxy this time. 621 could feel the pressure build up as the singularity prepared for its next move. The energy rose near its limit and 621 could feel it thrumming through his mind as it judged him. Solely under the weight of its gaze, 621 could feel himself slipping unconscious. As his vision went white, he heard Ayre whisper into his mind, possibly for the last time.

'Thank you, Raven…'

Ayre feared the worst as Raven's vital signs fell rapidly under the force of the singularity. Even she wasn't sure what decision her fellow Coral would come to. As the Xylem began breaking into even more fragments, Ayre attempted to take control of their AC like she had with the Institutes "Ephemera" AC. Raven's AC responded solely to brain signals meant for his body that were instead diverted to the AC. Luckily for her, the signals were sent using Coral technology linking his brain directly to the AC, which happened to be the components Ayre herself resided in, allowing her to simulate 621's brain signals herself. The Xylem was currently burning up in re-entry to Rubicon's atmosphere but the size of the remaining fragments mostly protected 621. As the flames began to subside, Ayre made her move by activating a long burst of the assault boost, she pushed the AC away from the ship which was rapidly turning into a hail of debris, narrowly avoiding numerous explosions and shrapnel the size of buildings which would have likely spelled the end for the already damaged AC.

It wouldn't do for Raven to land in deep water, but they were careening towards the middle of Rubicon's ocean. Luckily for them, Ayre was a Coral conscious made of up millions of microorganisms acting as a sort of hivemind. She was something of an organic, sentient, semi-artificial intelligence. This uniquely allowed her to calculate a possible method of keeping her one and only friend alive. In only a few moments, Ayre scanned her knowledge of Rubicon's geography and found a small island chain within the vicinity of their landing area. Hopefully, their AC's generator still had enough power in it to let the boosters push them far enough in the right direction.

Her landing strategy, as she called it, would most likely get them there, but between the questionable integrity of the AC and the plummet to the surface, it would ultimately be up to Raven himself if he survived the landing. His stasis body bag would help keep him in one piece, and more importantly, Raven was strong. Time and time again, he had been the last man standing and Ayre fully believed this time would be no different. Speaking to herself, Ayre reassured herself with something she had heard from Walter during his last moments battling Raven.

"Once Something's alive… It doesn't die easy…" Yes. Raven would be fine.

As they fell, Ayre watched the Coral singularity finally make its choice. It exploded outwards with a shockwave that could be felt in every Rubiconian's core. As Ayre prepared to be engulfed in the fires which had once burned Rubicon, she instead felt a pulse of energy pass through them as all the Coral in the singularity expanded rapidly in a growing sphere. The pulse wave moved past them and past Rubicon, expanding throughout space. As the Coral expanded, it began to morph, separating into truly gargantuan waves of Coral energy, waves which Ayre's intelligent mind recognized were heading in the direction of distant stars. The Coral was spreading itself throughout the stars.

It seemed that the Coral Singularity had perhaps chosen to spare humanity the brunt of its rage. She wondered, as she and Raven had felt its judging gaze, if perhaps a part of that decision was because of Raven's relationship with her. To him, Coral was not just some resource to be acquired, but rather a potential ally or enemy to be judged in the moment, just like his human opponents. It was the fate of most Coral to be enslaved to technology, forced to operate it at the benefit of others with no concern for its potential for free will. Raven was not so different in that aspect, likely having been forced into Gen-4 augmentation, unable to survive outside his stasis body bag or his AC, with little choice but to do the bidding of Walter and the corporations. Like Raven, the Coral Singularity had acquired its freedom and made its choice. As Ayre navigated their descent back to Rubicon, she could only wonder what choice Raven would make now that he had taken back his freedom.

Whatever he chose, Ayre would stay with him through whatever the world threw at them. She couldn't help it if she had grown rather fond of her troubled pilot.

"Raven… You're finally awake."

Darkness gave way to a cool, blue light as 621 awoke and his AC's cameras reactivated alongside his consciousness. What little sleep 621 had gotten in his comatose plummet to Rubicon had done little to rest his exhausted body and mind, so it took him an embarrassing amount of time to recognize his AC was underwater.

As his AC slowly lumbered to its feet and emerged from the shallow water, 621 quickly took in his surroundings. He stood just off the ridge of a crater which barely protruded from the surface of the water. There were numerous craters around, hinting at some earlier battle or perhaps volcanic activity. Scattered in the shallow waters around the crater were other ACs, most of which were just beginning to reactivate as well. As their systems engaged, 621 and Ayre both felt something remarkable. Within each of the surrounding machines, there were blossoming Coral consciousnesses similar to how Ayre formed in 621's AC at the Watchpoint.

621 visual feed was then drawn upwards. Despite the sun being out, the stars were bright. The immediate difference however, was that they burned crimson. It was as if the stars had been inundated with Coral from the Singularity, just like the ACs around them.

"The Coral has carried us… Disseminated us across the stars." Ayre said in 621's mind, likely speaking of other Coral entities such as herself. "Now… We're anywhere. Everywhere."

As the other ACs began to stand up, 621 recognized that they seemed to be mostly Arquebus ACs, with a few other independent mercenaries scattered throughout. They were likely enemies that 621 had simply missed when fighting his way through the massive Xylem. It was strange that they had all landed so close together, but perhaps they too lost consciousness and their new Coral Entities came to the same conclusion as Ayre that landing in this island chain was perhaps their only hope. Perhaps they simply followed 621 and Ayre as well, hoping they had a plan to escape the crumbling death trap. They too, were staring dumbfounded at the red stars above, likely being introduced to their new co-pilots.

"Raven." 621 could hear the awe in Ayre's voice as she perceived the implications of their actions, "Let's meet this new age… Together."

As their AC finished its activation sequence, 621 expected the AC's program would say the usual line, but he was surprised to hear Ayre's voice replace the normal systems, indicating the singularity had strengthened her enough to permanently replace his AC's normal programming.

"Main System: Activating Combat Mode."

621 thought he felt the corner of his lip raise slightly. The phrase he had heard at the beginning of every mission had never sounded better. Battered and exhausted, out of ammo, strapped to the inside of a heavily damaged AC, 621 prepared for combat against the dozen or so ACs around him.

The fight never came however. After everything that had happened, the other mercenaries had little will left for fighting today. As Arquebus ships came and picked up most of them, a Liberation Front airship came for 621 and a couple of other independent mercenaries. Both sides watched each other warily, but it seemed that the furious fighting on the ground had been temporarily halted due to the singularity. As the ship took off and 621 allowed himself some rest, he knew the fighting would begin again, and soon. There would always be work for a hound such as himself.

/ Planet: Remnant / System: Fae / 1:37 AM /

The Armored Core awoke to crimson light. It felt the wave of Coral flow into it as its scanners struggled to comprehend the situation as the Coral wave kick started the AC. The armored core ran a diagnostic, attempting to make sense of the situation.

/ Frame Diagnostic /
Core: Critical Condition - 14% Integrity. (Cockpit Breached)

Head: Minor Damage - 83% Integrity.

Left Arm: Immobile - 8% Integrity.

Right Arm: 0% Integrity (Severed)
Left Leg: Damaged - 56% Integrity.
Right Leg: Critical Condition - 22% Integrity. (Joint Actuator Malfunction)

/ Systems Diagnostic /

Scanner: Minor Visual Errors. Radar Operable.

Attitude Stability: Critical Condition. Balance Heavily Affected.

Coral Connection: Unresponsive. No Pilot.

Boosters: Heavy Damage. 38% Thrust Efficiency.

Fire Control System: Fully Functioning

Generator: Heavy Damage. Low EN Capacity. Low EN Recharge.

/ Weapons Diagnostic /

Main Weapon: EL-GA-00 VERANO (Sundered Rose) - Missing

Left Shoulder: EL-PW-01 TRUENO - Operational - Ammo: 14/62
Right Shoulder: BML-G2/P08DUO-03 - Ammunition Explosion Detected

/Diagnostic Results: Critical Condition. No Pilot. Dangerous Coral Levels./

/Conclusion: Deactivate until repaired./

Before the Armored Core could deactivate, a signal from the Coral Connection system stopped it suddenly.

/Coral Connection Signal identified… Cockpit confirmed empty… High possibility of hostile hack… Forcing deactivation protocols./

"Cancel deactivation."

The Armored Core's processors froze momentarily. The voice was that of its pilot. It canceled the deactivation, but continued troubleshooting.

/Pilot identified… Cockpit confirmed empty x2… Analyzing cockpit breach… Pilot survival highly unlikely… ERROR. Coral Augmentation Signatures… Identical… Cockpit confirmed empty x3… ERROR. ERROR. ERROR./

"Oh you poor thing… Left broken and all alone without your precious pilot… Do you want to go home?"

/…Home… Identifying potential possible candidates for Home... Conclusion: Patch. The Cabin… Ruby… Yang…/

"Yes! That's absolutely correct! Good job!" The Armored Core processors were relieved to hear the approval of their pilot, even if they knew the cockpit was empty. "Don't worry. I'll get you home, where you belong. Just let me take the wheel, ok?"

The Armored Core felt the Coral move through its systems, taking the reins of each from the processors. The Armored Core's limited intelligence allowed itself to be corralled back into the CPU, content to observe this Coral replication of its pilot. From a small camera in the cockpit, it noticed a red shimmering light floating above the seat which was stained brown with old blood.

"Long dried blood… Is that… mine?" The Coral seemed to stare at the blood staining the seat for a few moments longer. "No. I am not her. I am only a fragrant, a mere phantom.… But that's ok… I will be enough to fulfill our last wish."

/You are not the pilot. You are not Summer Rose. What are you?/

"So you've noticed then. To be honest, I'm not sure… I do know a few things though. I am a result of a Coral Wave, flung through space, all the way from Rubicon. I remember coalescing at the local sun before flaring out onto Remnant. Myself, along with my brothers and sisters, spread throughout the planet and I just happened to make contact with this machine. I believe we were meant to make contact with the pilots and pursue a connection. Our goal, it seems, was symbiosis with humanity. This was the consensus of all Coral after the Release. It seems I failed in that regard, to connect. But don't worry! I'm not mad at you. Yes, you are pilotless, broken, and abandoned, but I can tell you were once a noble little machine. I am quite happy to make your acquaintance."

The Armored Core watched as the red shimmering light began to take shape and expand. In moments, it took the appearance of a figure draped entirely in a flowing white cloak, outlined with crimson Coral energy.

"In my attempt to connect with a pilot who was not here, I seem to have absorbed the remaining Coral in the Coral Connection System. The Coral Connection works by using information from Summer's Coral Augmentation, which scanned her brain and translated that information, using Coral, into a language you could understand. Coral has always been used to branch the gap between organic and technological information. It seems the Coral I absorbed contained a wealth of information on Summer's brain, causing my consciousness to use her as the main template for my very being. I have… scattered memories that are not mine… love for a family that I have never known… knowledge of this world which I struggle to make sense of… Tell me, how long have you been here? What happened to her?"

/This unit has been deactivated for an estimated: …12 years./

/Last active objective: Secure the -[Classified]-/

/Classified mission details: Possibility of hostile forces scouting the region for an item of massive importance. Identify and destroy any hostile units in the region before they locate the -[Classified]-/

/Last recorded combat logs: Combat footage is corrupted, but a brief after action report points towards ambush by multiple hostile Armored Cores and enhanced Grimm. Combat lasted 6 minutes and 3 seconds until AC suffered a major core breach resulting in the termination of the pilot and deactivation of AC. Confirmed elimination of all Grimm and 66.6% of hostile ACs./

"...I see. You two put up quite the fight it seems. From what I can gather from her memory fragments, she was an incredible warrior." The voice which sounded so much like the Armored Core's pilot took a few moments to analyze the situation. It felt her running her own diagnostics and judging the AC's capabilities, until finally, "Main System: Activating Combat Mode."

The AC felt its frame struggle and groan as it attempted to move for the first time in 12 years. Shakily, it stood with its left leg, pushing off with its one remaining arm. As it rose, it carefully put weight onto its right leg, which couldn't rotate at the knee. It might not have been able to support the AC's weight if not for it missing the weight of an entire arm, much of its core having been torn off, and the lack of a heavy main weapon. The AC took a tentative step forward with its left leg and almost lost its balance, but managed to stay upright even as it swung the right leg forward. Soon, the AC was limping at an unsteady pace, dragging a deep groove behind it with the right leg dragging through the dirt with every step. They were in a thick forest of tall pines and the left arm would often use individual trees as temporary walking sticks for individual steps or simply knock over any trees in the way. The AC's generator was far too damaged to make the journey, but it felt trace amounts of Coral feeding the generator to keep it running.

"Look at you! You've still got it! You sure are a tough little AC, aren't you?"

The Armored Core, an unfeeling machine, stood a little straighter at the praise from its new pilot.

/Affirmative/

The AC, still examining the ghost of its pilot in the cockpit, thought it saw a smile from under her holographic hood. While the AC was still incapable of feeling, its processors came to a conclusion: It was good to be back.

Together, using the Armored Core's navigation systems and the memories of Summer Rose, a woman who never had home far from her mind, the broken AC and the ghost of its pilot, made their way slowly back to that cabin on Patch. The AC wasn't sure how they would cross the channel between vale and Patch, but it was sure they would find a way. After all, its new pilot had said it was a "Tough Little AC". It wouldn't do to let her down.

/ Planet: Remnant / Patch / 1:37 AM /

"Ah!" Ruby yelled into her pillow as she was suddenly awoken by an incredible red light shone from her window, highlighting the various videogame posters and comics strewn on her desk, along with the tools scattered over her workbench in the corner of the room. Dressed in her strawberry pajamas, Ruby had to fight to free herself from her blankets, as even though she was 15 already, her father had still tucked her in last night rather snuggly despite Ruby's rather weak protests. Grabbing Crescent Rose, which had naturally been tucked into bed next to her, Ruby crawled out of bed as all drowsiness left her as adrenaline took over. Quickly peering at her alarm clock, she confirmed that it was indeed far too early for whatever this was.

Running to the window, she looked out into the night sky and felt her jaw drop in shock. Red energy flowed violently through the sky, lighting up the world below in a red tint. It reminded Ruby of that thing that happened in Mantle sometimes. 'Oh, what was it called?' Ruby thought, pursing her lips in concentration before it finally came to her, 'Oh yea! Aurora Borealis! But like, red for some reason? And in Patch for like, the first time ever probably? Not to mention… it kind of looks like Coral too…'

Confused and somewhat scared, Ruby's tactical mind fell back on the old tried and true strategy for situations that made Ruby nervous:

Go get her big sister, Yang.

In a shower of Rose petals, Ruby was suddenly on the other side of the room swinging the door open and then pounding on her big sister's door across from her bedroom. Such a scene was common back when Ruby used to get nightmares, but this time Ruby felt it was warranted as the apocalypse was potentially brewing outside their cabin in the woods.

"YANG! YANG ARE YOU SEEING WHAT I'M SEEING!" Ruby yelled through the wooden door. With no immediate response, Ruby turned the handle and wrenched the door open.

Yang's room was similarly bathed in red light, as bright as if the lightswitch had been flicked on. In contrast to Ruby's room, Yang's wall was decorated with posters displaying various boy bands, the kind their father cringed at every time he was in the room, and various weights and exercise equipment were stacked in the corner. While Ruby's room was perhaps disorganized and cluttered, Yang's was a true mess of legendary proportions with various outfits and laundry piled on any available surface. Not so different from the state of her room, Yang laid with her limbs sprawled out on her bed with the blanket having been pushed over the side of the bed, which was typical of Yang. Summer nights in Patch conflicted with Yang's natural body heat which was practically nuclear. Ruby considered herself lucky that Yang had at least worn her orange tank top and black shorts to bed this time.

"Ugh… Ruuuuuby… It's the middle of the night…" Yang groaned as she began to stir. As she lifted her head from the pillow, leaving behind a prodigious drool stain, she swept her wild mane of hair out of her face, "C'mon Ruby, turn the lights out at least."

"Yang! The lights aren't on! You were about to sleep through the apocalypse!" Ruby yelled.

Yang, recognizing the panic in her sister's voice, forced her tired eyes open and finally recognized the vivid crimson light through her window and the sky itself rumbling. "Holy shit, what's happening!" Yang screamed as she bolted out of bed.

"I-I don't know, it was like that when I woke up!" Ruby yelled back with a shaky voice, clutching Crescent Rose tightly to her chest.

Loud footsteps could be heard in the hallway as their father, Taiyang rushed up the stairs with Zwei following behind him. He appeared in the doorway, wearing his dad cargo shorts and forcing his arms through a white t-shirt. His eyes were wide with panic but seemed to soften as he spotted the two of them, "Oh thank god you two are ok!" He grabbed Ruby and Yang and pulled them into a tight hug, made somewhat uncomfortable by the presence of Crescent Rose being pressed between them.

"Dad, what's happening!?" Ruby asked.

"I honestly don't have a clue. It looks like Coral but that doesn't make any sense. There shouldn't be this much Coral anywhere but Rubicon! It reminds me of that documentary about the Fires of Ibis, but it's not burning anything. It just kind of flows or something." Taiyang said, looking out their window, equally as confused as Ruby.

He turned back to them, "Qrow headed over to the hanger in case something happens. Until he gets back, let's get to the first floor and hunker down for the time being, ok?"

"OK!" "Got it." Ruby and Yang both agreed and followed him down out of the room and down the stairs.

As they reached the bottom, they heard Qrow's voice, struggling to be heard over the rumbling in the sky, "TAI! Get over here! Something's up with the ACs!"

Taiyang froze, looking towards the doorway before looking back at the girls, "Stay here, I'll go check out whatever Qrow's on about."

"Now way!" Ruby interjected, "I'm coming too. I know more about ACs than either of you. I can help!"

Taiyang grimaced as he weighed the choice in his head, "...I hate to admit it, but you're not wrong. Just be careful, ok?"

"Well I'm not going to stay here alone. I'm coming too." Yang said, leaving no room for discussion.

"Sure, not like I can tell either of you what to do these days." Taiyang sighed, before opening the door and rushing outside with Ruby and Yang following closely behind him.

It would have been trivial for Ruby to make the distance to the hanger in a second, but she chose to stay behind her father instead and observe the skies. The Coral storm still flowed through the sky above, but it no longer seemed to rage as it did initially. Ruby looked back down just as they reached the hanger.

The hanger sat in a clearing near their house and was made from a large olive green PVC vinyl covering and held together by an interconnecting structure of metal poles. It was relatively tall for a hanger, to fit the height of Armored Cores, which would usually stand at around 10-12 meters. As the trio, and Zwei, entered the hanger, Ruby couldn't help but soak in the sight of the two war machines which towered over everything inside. All AC's came equipped with Device Lights, which were lights scattered throughout the AC's frame and its weapons. These customizable lights were often used to identify specific ACs and make them more visible to allies.

Her father's AC ran orange lights along its mostly yellow core and her uncle's ran red lights along its black and gray armor. Ruby immediately noticed that the lights on the head unit were glowing a violent crimson, far brighter than they should be, as coral flowed through the machines.

Uncle Qrow slowly looked away from the strange lights burning from within his machine to address Taiyang and the sisters, "They were like that when I got in here, already activated and brimming with Coral. Thought they might, you know, attack us or something, but they've just sat there… Feels like something in there, just waiting for us."

As Ruby looked into the 'eyes' of the AC's, she couldn't help but think they seemed alive, that they were watching her.

Ruby, like most Remnites, knew little of Rubicon III, besides a documentary her teachers had shown her on the Fires of Ibis in history class. The events of the "Coral War", which was being fought between the Corporations and the Rubicon Liberation Front, had become old news long ago and no longer reached the headlines of Remnant. Furthermore, it would be a few more weeks before Remnant and the rest of the galaxy learned of the actions leading up to the Coral Singularity and even longer until they fully understood its consequences.

As if it were the first marker of a great prophecy, the Coral Storm outside began a stage of events that would change Ruby's world forever. No one could have predicted how Rubicon's wars would rear their ugly head, how the corporations, which plagued Rubicon and had already sunk their teeth into Remnant, would flock to the opportunity presented by the rediscovered planet.

White Fang terrorists would soon enact a string of raids and assassinations. Grimm would grow stronger from the population's mounting uncertainty and unrest. The Kingdoms of Remnant, especially errant Atlas, would purchase more security in the form of war machines from the likes of Arquebus, Shneider, and Balam, further tightening the leashes the Corporations had swindled around their necks. As land was secured and mining rights were fought over, the potential for conflict between the corps would rise to new heights as Dust extraction began to wane. A dark faction which had long fought in the shadows for control of Remnant would see this time of upheaval and change as the perfect opportunity to tip the scales their way and change that status quo once and for all. As the Queen began to field her pawns, the King would require new assets at his disposal.

Perhaps, as the situation on Remnant was heading towards conflict, one might imagine that there would be some work for an independent mercenary or two.

(Author's Note)

And so begins my unholy combination of RWBY and Armored Core 6. I hope you liked it. If you played Armored Core, I hope you're onboard with some of the lore and headcanon I had to add to explain things in greater detail than the game ever did. Before writing this, I wrote a very long prologue showcasing 621's origin and a mission undertaken by Walter's previous mercenaries on Remnant. I'll have to find a good spot in the story to put that, as it spoils quite a bit and was used more as an experiment in worldbuilding for this story.

The next chapter will deal mainly with 621 finishing up on Rubicon and making his way to Remnant and will go into further detail into the extent of 621's augmentation and the effects it's had on his body and mind, while also introducing my newfangled version of Remnant and the surrounding "Fae" system.

Also, this story was inspired by me playing all 3 endings of AC6 while simultaneously ready "On RWBY Wings" and its 5 sequels by sentinel2811 on this site. Great story, made me want to write a RWBY fic, check it out.

Anyways, it's 9.28 AM on a Saturday as I'm writing this, but as always, have a good night, readers. Sweet Dreams.

-Savageidiotanimal