Armored Core Flames of Life
Arc 02
Chapter 13 battle in the arena, learning about human history into the grid
(Opening Song – Let It Burn from Red)
(Instrument )
Out on a worn torn battlefield 621, Ayre and many other pilots from other factions are seen
(I watched this city burn these dreams feels like ashes float away your voice I've never heard only silence)
621 is seen sitting by himself not knowing that Ayre is wrapping her arms around him, Jaune seeing days of happier times that is long gone now turned nightmare.
(Where were you? when our hearts were bleeding, where were you? when it all crashed down, never thought you deceived me where are you now?)
Luke remembers living in blissful ignorance of what was happening around him, Strayed remembers being experimented on and taken from his family.
(How long)
(Can you stand the pain?)
Then are seen heading into battle.
(How long will you hide your face?)
(How long will it be afraid, are you afraid!)
(How long)
(Will you play this game?, will you fight or you'll walk away? How long will you let it burn? Let it burn! Let it burn!)
( I watched the city burn these passions slowly smoldering a lesson never learned only violence)
Eren is seen remembering his past of killing 80 percent of humanity, Mikasa is seen trapped in a cage showing lifeless eyes looking into the void.
(Is a world just a broken promise? is your love just a drop of rain? Will we all just burn like fire are you still there? Tell me now!)
(Can you stand the pain?)
The A.C are now seen fighting against I.S pilots.
(How long will you hide your face!)
(How long will you be afraid? Are you afraid!
Then they are seen fighting against huntsmen.
(How long)
(Will you play this game? Will you fight or will you walk away? How long will you let it burn? Let it burn! )
(Let It Burn!)
The land is seen in ruins as everything is burning, Walter thinks about his pilots and his past, Kal'tsit and the doctor focuses on why there really here on Rubicon, Stella and Nana are seen standing on a building reflecting on why there on the run.
(Will you wait till it all burns down?)
(Will it hurts when it all burns down?)
(Will you hide when it all burns down?)
(Will you fight when it all burns down?)
(Will you stand when it all burns down?)
(Will you love when it all burns down?)
(Will it end when it all burns down?)
(Will you just let it all burn down?)
The A.C pilots continues to fight no matter how hard it gets or the enemy's they will face.
(Can you stand the pain?)
( How long will you hide your face?)
(How long will you be afraid?)
(Are you afraid?)
(Will you play this game?)
(Will you fight or will you walk away?)
(How long will you let it burn?)
(Let It burn!)
(Let It burn!)
(Let It burn!)
(Let It burn!)
621 looks up to the burning skies waiting for his next mission.
(End of music)
After 621 returns from the Watchpoint Walter tells him what has happened after the Coral Surge on his tablet and shows it to him.
Walter: a friend of mine sent this observation data "look here". The localized Coral explosion caused by the Surge… has a certain directionality..
The screen then shows another area on where the coral is going to.
Walter: like a flock of birds or a school full of fish Coral loves company. Which means.. somewhere in the Ice fields there's a huge mass of Coral lying dormant.
The screen soon fades away.
Walter: you said you can hear a strange voice in your head… that's a side of effect of old gen augmentation it could also be from that Coral Surge you were in don't let it bother you.
After Walter left Ayre spoke and showed him something.
Ayre: Raven. The Coral explosion vaporized northwestern Belius's bay area. …and even yet… compared to the fires of ibis, that explosion was hardly a spark.
621: … how… did that … explosion happened?
Ayre: according to the information there was a battle between the huntsmen and I.S pilots one of them must've ignited the Coral and unintentionally destroyed themselves in the process along side there enemies.
Ayre: Raven. I have a favor to ask
621: ?
Ayre: let me remain in contact with you until we reach the Coral convergence. I have to see where there taking us. How the struggle over the Coral ends. I must as a Rubiconian.
621: I don't… mind you… coming along… let's see where… this road takes us… together Ayre…
Ayre: thank you Raven.
(Armored Core Fires of Rubicon – hearing things)
The next day 621 is seen resting after hard work from the last mission he is then told by the coms that he has two new messages.
Walter: I've got some business to attend to. I need to hawk some Intel to the corps and secure a backer for our trip to the ice field. One job for while I'm out… rest up and that's an order.
The message ends soon Ayre spoke.
Ayre: Raven. I see your handler's away on business. About that "trip" to the Ice field we've received a job from Balam already. Let's take a look, shall we?
Then the other message plays and it's from ALLMIND.
ALLMIND: Registration number Rb23, callsign Raven. Your records have been updated. F-Rank through E-Rank virtual encounters are now available in the Arena. We invite you to hone your technique.
The Message ends and 621 thinks about trying out the Arena.
621: Ayre how about we learn about… the Arena first before… we see what the job …Balam wants us to do first.
Ayre : hmmm it does intrigue me and human history yes let's what the Arena is Raven.
(Final Fantasy 13 test of the L'Cie)
621 boots up the virtual reality simulator and enters the E-Rank his first opponent is someone who went by the callsign "invincible" Rummy and his A.C MAD STOMP but he went down easy since his log showed he is a drug addict 621's next opponent is Index Dunham and his A.C BURN PICKAXE his logs reads he is a member of the Liberation Front it appears he join them when he was inspired by there leader father Dolmayan and his symbiosis preaching but it also says Dunham rather work on his machine then pilot them.
621: he is… really lucky… I didn't… fight him…
Ayre: indeed.
621 then fights the virtual version of Dunham and defeated him it's just like the bios says he likes to work on machines not pilot them. His next opponent is G6 Red and his A.C HERMIT his bios reads how inspired he was to Commander Michigan's victory in the Jupiter War it also reads how he worked very hard to support his siblings and when he finally got the job to join the Red Guns where his ideal and hero is he was overjoyed.
621: huh… this is… something else…
Ayre: he sure is. He worked very hard to get were he is today I think he's earned it.
621 then fights against G6 Red and he was a bit better then the last two opponents but he still went but had a lot of potential to be a great pilot.
He then entered the E-Rank Arena in order to fight there rankers and see how strong they are the first opponent is Nosaac and his A.C BITTER PROMISE his log showed he is an independent mercenary, that he came to Rubicon in order to get rich and it looks like he has a big debt to pay for. 621 enters the arena fights him and defeated quit easily he then moves on to his next opponent is a pilot from the Vespers call Maeterlinck and her A.C INFECTION, her log reads she is very loyal to Arqubus and is a problem solver. 621 enter the Arena and battles her, it was trouble some since she used pulse weapons energy cannon but he was able to defeat her.
621's next opponent is a Liberation Front pilot named Little Ziyi and her A.C YUE YU her log says she was a baby while with her parents but they soon died when they crashed on Rubicon, she was saved by Flatwell one of the leaders of the Liberation Front, once she was old enough she joined them in order to protect her home as Coral warrior.
621: …it's a good… thing I help save her… from the corporations.
Ayre: I think you did the right thing in saving her and the Liberation Fronts comrades Raven.
He nods to that then 621 goes into battle in the simulation against Ziyi and defeated her even though it's a simulation shows how much she wants to protect Rubicon 621 hopes that she survives this war. Now his last opponent of the E-Rank virtual arena is another member of the Vespers number Swinburn his logs says he is generation Seven of augmentation and the rest says his fears and doubts leads to an overwhelming paranoia. 621 goes into the simulation and fights Swinburn and just like his logs says he is very paranoid which made it easy to defeat him and with his defeat 621 completes the E-Rank Arena.
(End of music)
After completing both F and E-Rank ALLMIND soon calls.
ALLMIND: Congratulations. You have surpassed F-Rank and E-Rank. We are glad to oversee your development as a mercenary. ALLMIND exists for all mercenaries.
When the call ended 621 then looks into the job that BALAM sent him.
Ayre: Here's the request from Balam industries. They want you to carry out an advance survey of the Central Ice field… to confirm the information Walter brought to them about the Coral convergence. As for how to cross the Alean Ocean… This is the intercontinental cargo launcher installed on the upper level of grid 086. You could use it to launch you're A.C to the ice field.
The screen soon showed the grid and who occupies it.
Ayre: Grid 086 is occupied by the Dosers – outlaws who treat Coral like a drug. It's also the territory of a belligerent group of arms dealers who calls themselves RaD. Be prepared for a perilous journey. I'll be here to support you, Raven.
Then the Briefing was over is sent to the Grid.
Ayre: let me handle getting us into the Grid. I'm fairly adept at analyzing systems - and manipulating them, too.
(Xenogears The One Who Bear Fangs At God)
While on the way to the Grid Ayre takes the chance to look into the history of humanity and how far it advanced she even learned about the situation on Earth, Remnant and Terra. With Earth there's a split between males and females this problem seems to has been caused by the I.S which was originally meant for space travel until it's creator changed it to a weapon and the only ones that can pilot it are Females, she soon saw many other events that soon happened later then the second war of independence happened once humanity was able to travel to travel the stars again once the war was over and those who has left has won there independents the Earth government manipulated some of there history so that none of the next generation won't know how they lost and the defeat of the I.S.
Ayre: why would the government lie to there people on what happened in the war? It's very important to there history…
Ayre then looked into Remnants history there wasn't much on it since it is somewhat similar to earth's history only that it has creators known as Grimm and a race called the Faunise, people who has animal features the rest of Remnant's history is a mystery but two major events has happened there protectors who are called huntsmen and huntresses then started causing trouble.
Ayre: hmmm it looks like the huntsmen was formed to deal with Grimm problems… but it looks like remnant doesn't have a proper government or military until… it was dismantled hmmmm.
Ayre: continues to read on Remnant's history as it reveals that the leader of the military of Atlas James Ironwood has died along side the kingdom of Atlas being destroyed for unknown reasons, Ayre continues to read since there was no further information on what happened the rest of the information tells her that years later started to fall apart for Remnant since there was no proper government or military around anymore and there protectors has gone out of control then the corporations arrived along with there private military forces.
Ayre: hmmm looks like this entry revealed that since Remnant doesn't have a proper military or technology, many huntsmen and huntresses all died in the battle against the corporations and since Atlas got destroyed the technology that on Atlas was also destroyed and the information tells Ayre that the corporations took care of all of Grimm leaving no trace of them meaning there were no more Grimm on remnant anymore, she soon learns that the Government that tries to keep the corporations in check when they learned of the situation on planet along with it's messed up system the Government decided to do something about it and that is handling the huntsmen and huntresses who have gotten out of control they put a wanted list on any huntsmen or huntress and be captured dead or alive who would cause trouble also if any of them went too far like mass murder or much worse they are to be killed on site, Ayre knows that this was bound to happen with the huntsmen and huntresses since no one has a handle on them.
Ayre reads the last information on Terra but there's not much information on planet and it's history is shrouded in mystery but it's people are similar to the Faunise from Remnant and has an unknown energy source called Originum this may be a great energy but it's also dangerous do to a disease it has caused known as Oripathy there's no cure for it which makes things much more mysterious even though the corporations are there and the government they don't get too much involved but what confuses Ayre is why is Rhodes Island on Rubicon which they should be on Terra she looked back on the Fires of Ibis and to her surprise she learned something.
Ayre: Terra is in Rubicon space and so is Remnant I wonder did Terra or Remnant got hit by the Flames?
She soon noticed they were now near the mission meaning it was time for work.
(Armored Core Flood A Life)
621 arrives in the mission area, the Grid he spots a catapult he gets on it as Ayre works her magic.
Ayre: Commencing infiltration to Grid 086. Creating back door into systems. Deactivate on vertical catapult. Launching.
621's A.C is sent upward then he jumps on to a platform then begins the mission.
Ayre: alright, Raven. Let's get to work shall we?
621: …lets…
621 began exploring the Grid taking down many of the Dosers along the way Ayre tells him to take the elevator that is ahead as they head in that direction they are confronted by an A.C called invisible Rummy and it's pilot mad stamp but he goes down easily since he's rank E and is dead last once he is taken care of a voice is heard.
?: looks like your having fun… tourist. You know RaD loves a good welcome party. Come on in lets get acquainted.
Ayre: how curious. Lets see what she has to offer Raven.
621 then heads into the path that has been opened up for him and continues to take down more enemies along the way, Ayre soon tells him what she has learned.
Ayre: I've gathered data on the woman from that broadcast. That was Carla… Leader RaD, a formidable Doser faction. She joined years ago, bringing with her a crew of junk wizards and hackers. In half a year, she seized total control and greatly expanded their operations.
621: interesting I'll be careful as go Ayre.
He continues to explore the area more knowing full well Carla must've set traps for him as she sends out mechs to deal with him but he takes care of them, then ran into another A.C pilot known as Nosaac who is without a doubt trying to get away from his debt, sadly the man mets his end by 621, who continues on his mission taking down more of Carla's men he even noticed explosives on the ceiling and below them are more of her men and a tetrapod he fires at the explosives causing them to fall on them this destroys the enemies but damaged the tetrapod 621 goes down and finishes the job by destroying it for good, Carla speaks from the broadcast again.
Carla: Alright tourist, that's enough. You've made your point. I surrender its not worth the losses. C'mon. I'll let you through. Hop along now..
621: …
Ayre: let's see what she has up her sleeve. Shall we. Raven?
621: …lets…
621 goes through the gate then he sees another gate then Carla talks again.
Carla: your not afraid of anything are you I like that in a tourist.
Once the gat opens and 621 goes inside he is greeted by a large machine.
621: !
Carla: too bad this is good bye.
Ayre: so it was a trap. The Dosers are certainly living up to there reputation.
621: it… sure looks… like it…
621 does battle against Carla's machine called the cleaner which has been made for combat, Ayre tells him that it can easily destroy an A.C easily 621 takes notice of that and tries to be careful but he noticed two weaknesses the hole on top of it's back and in its mouth, 621 flies above and fires into the hole that's on its back this damages it's inside once it got staggered 621 attacks its mouth with his pulse blade hurting it more than damages it further with a grenade launcher he then repeated this strategy damaging it more until it was finally destroyed.
(End of music)
Ayre: enemy systems offline. Complete shutdown confirmed.
Carla: … enough tourist. It's been miserable knowing you, but… I guess playing nice is the smart choice here. You want to go up top, right? Let me show you the way guided tour Cinder Carla herself.
After the mission is complete 621 returns to base meanwhile Carla is mets one of her A.C pilots who is a female as she tells her some important information.
?: Carla we have a problem…
Carla: another problem seriously?
?: yup another Mercenary who appears to be working for Rhodes Island has also got in the grid don't know what there up to but there's a possibility they are doing the same thing as that person your friend told you about.
Carla: jeez things are definitely getting hectic… what a crazy world we live in.
The scene changes as an A.C is seen taking down many huntsmen, Huntresses and I.S pilots the pilot is Iguazu one of the Redguns who went AWOL and started acting independent.
I.S pilot: curse you A.C pilots your supposed to be pathetic weakling too us…
Huntress: how could we lose… to these… monsters…
Iguazu: hmph these guys we're too easy even though they got on my nerves and wouldn't shut up. I wonder is there anymore jobs I can take hmm?
Iguazu noticed there's a job for him from a Dozier faction who wants to steal something from Carla who is the leader of RaD.
Iguazu: tch as long It's a job nothing else matters but if I run into that freelancer again I'm going show him everything he did was luck.
Then he flies away from the mission area then everything fades to black.
End of Chapter 13 battle in the arena, learning about human history into the grid
That's another Chapter done 621 goes into the Arena and complete both F and E Rank, Ayre learns about Human history along with other events from other worlds, 621 complete the job from Balam and Iguazu is seen acting on his own and going independent. Now on to the reviews.
Xs0nicblAdeX: your right even though Iguazu is petty especially his grudge against 621 but it's that very thing that is pushing him forward until he defeats him but I'm going to say this his fate is going to be changed why because two women are going to be very toxically more petty then him and it's Jaune who is haunting him down to bring him back even if he isn't like it.
To Gojira: thank you. Oh I have to ask if you do picture for this story can you have them be surrounded by flames?
To MaxHD2490: glad I got that fight right. As for the I.S fighting that very same enemy hehehe see for yourself.
Blagoj Pejov1: yup Crimson squadron is coming to Rubicon and everyone knows to stay far clear away from him because, Mercenaries, huntsmen and I.S pilots knows how dangerous he is.
Okay that is all I hope you all liked this Chapter and everything that happened take care and be safe bye.
Omake
Terror of Balteuse
I.S pilots are seen investigating the area they are sent to by command.
I.S pilot: there's nothing here are we really in the right place there's appear to be nothing here at all huh what's that?
Then a large machine that has a ring around them arrives in the area and points its weapons at them the girls laugh at the machine.
I.S pilot: Ahahahah! Do you really believe that piece of junk can defeat the infinite Stratos? Come on girls let's turn this thing in scrap metal!
I.S pilots: yeah!
Meanwhile on the plane Chifuyu contacts the team that are on the ground.
Chifuyu: ground team what's your status?
I.S pilots: AAAAAAAAAHHHH! SAVE US, DEAR GOD SAVE US-*click* *zzztzz!*
Chifuyu: …
Chifuyu has now learned that the I.S squadron has been terminated.
End of Omake