Orphan's Legacy

[shearx]

Episode 1, Part 1 - Widower

This is a fanfic that DarkEffigy and I made up when I told him of the Widower AC that I entered into the tournament. It is based off of the entrants in all of the tournaments, and also gives each AC a character and emotions. It was sort of a joke when we made it, but it kept going to what it is now (what you see is not all of the story)

Part 1: Widower
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Feeling like an outcast through his entire childhood, Widower left home when he was a teen, not knowing what to expect from life.

He first got a job as a burger flipper at the local fast food chain, having never graduated high school. There he met what would be his arch nemesis, David.

David was the "popular" type, always showing off, and picking on whomever he pleased. Especially Widower, mostly because of his tank like body, and his name, of course.

Having taken enough abuse from his peers, Widower decided it was time to leave. After moving from his home town, he traveled around the countryside in search of something more. Along the way, he met a girl named Sandra (hint, hint), and they fell deeply in love. They soon got married, and had a child, whom they named Orphan (for some reason). For the first few years, they lived a happy normal life, but then...

Orphan suddenly disappeared one day without a trace. Widower looked everywhere for his child, but couldn't find him. When he got home, there was a suspicious letter with only the word "lonely" scribbled on the front. Cautiously opening the note, Widower was appalled to find a picture of his son, bound and gagged, and only one sentence: "This will happen to you. David."

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Character notes by Dark:
Widower- Grey tank build that debutted in the no limits tourney, created by architect shear.
David- TS's white lightweight AC from the no limits tourney, grenade/rifle user.
Sandra- Shear's quad tourney build.
Orphan- Shear's 2nd build from the NL tourney.

[shearx]

Part 2: Revenge
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Suddenly realizing that his fiendish enemy had returned, Widower rushed inside to warn his wife of the danger, and also tell her the news of what happened to their son. But when he got inside, he found her body splayed all around the room. Pieces on the ground, more on the walls, and even on the ceiling. Never before had he thought that something this terrible could ever happen. He collapsed on the floor, as if to die in that place amongst the carnage. He withdrew inside, the sorrow consuming him.

Then, he snapped back to reality.

With a look of anger, sadness and rage all mixed into one, he stood up, slightly hunched and walked out the door. He went to the local weapon shop, broke into the building and stole a bazooka right from the shelf. The clerk, aghast at what had just happened, had no idea what hit him. Widower sent one of the huge shells right into the clerks belly. Chunks went flying everywhere.

Widower then went into the back room, where the heavy artillery was stored, and searched the inventory for the perfect choice. LX cannon... overkill... dual chainguns...not powerful enough... then, in the back corner of the room was an unopened box that had the word CHIMERA painted on the top.

Widower opened the box with a silent fury, pulled out the four barrelled contraption and slipped it on his back. Perfect fit. He left the store, now heavily armed, and went to where he knew David would be waiting. Aros Highland.

[shearx]

Part 3: Legacy's End
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When Widower reached the place, he saw David standing there, Orphan slightly behind and kneeling. The sun barely showed from behind the clouds, giving the scene a surreal look.

There were more figures standing behind David. Reinforcements. The reinforcements were infamous ACs from the tourney scene: Judas, The Arc, and Noah. Seconds later they decided to gang up on Widower.

But, without any hesitation..... he pierced through all of them as they approached, with a single chimera wave. David, cursing the unreliability of his lackeys, formulated a desperate plan...

"Drop your arms or I'll kill him," said David. He pointed his deadly grenade launcher to Orphan's forehead.

Widower, frustrated but sensing no other choice, dismounted his CHIMERA cannon and bazooka. As if on cue, the Arc hovered back on it's feet and destroyed the energy weapon with a shotgun attack.

"Alright... I'll submit to whatever evil plans you have... just don't hurt my son!" Widower shouted.

David smirked with satisaction. "Who said I was planning to let either of you go?"

Widower gasped, noticing a moment too late that there was a shadow looming above him. It was none other than the late Goliath, red eyes glowing menacingly. Time seemed to be at a standstill as Goliath readied it's bazooka, but then....

...Suddenly, everything blacked out. Widower looked around, confused... "Is this death?" he thought.

...."Widower... widower.... don't you remember me?" a voice echoed in the distance.

"S-sandra?" Widower gasped. "Is that you?" He noticed a ball of white light in the distance, thinking that it must be the spirit of his deceased wife.

He couldn't possibly be in heaven.. and yet, his wife was also here with him, when the battleground of death was waiting just moments before. "Wait.... wait for me!"

Widower tried desperately to run after his wife, but the more he ran, the further away she got. "Wait... Sandra!!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you longer, dear... but the call of battle awaits. Go, now, and finish off what you were trying to accomplish..."

Then suddenly everything went white.


*BOOM!!*


The sound of a bazooka shell echoed throughout Aros Highland. A veil of smoke arose from the chaos.... then, as it began to lift, a solitary figure remained standing. It was damaged, sparks of electricity surging out of it, but still alive....

The figure was Goliath. "Hah.... that weakling tried to resist. But I took care of him... PERMANANTL-!!"

Then, suddenly, a barrel shot was heard from the skies. Goliath fell to his knees, choking midsentence as a shot pierced the back of his neck, and through his throat. "I'm sorry... David...." With that, his eye lost its glow and he fell lifeless onto the gravel.

David screamed with rage.

"D**n it... I'LL KILL THIS KID! I SWEAR I'LL KILL HIM," David roared, piercing his launcher into Orphan's skull. However, he noticed that he was no longer holding Orphan, but instead a rock that had replaced him.

*BANG!!!!*

Another shot was heard from a nearby rock formation. David howled in pain, noticing that his left arm was missing. Turning around, he saw Widower, with one of Orphan's bazookas in hand.

"That one was for my wife," Widower said cooly. "THIS ONE'S FOR MESSING WITH MY FAMILY!!" Widower, consumed with rage, jabbed his bazooka into David's chest, pulling the trigger.

A large explosion followed.

Meanwhile, the escaped Orphan made short work of the wounded Arc, Judas, and Noah, defeating his opponents easily with a single shot...

Minutes later, a shower of parts went flying through the air. Widower, gasping breathlessly, slouched in tired defeat. "Son... get over here.... I have to tell you something important..."

Orphan walked towards his father obediently. "W-What is it.... Dad?" he barely whispered, his voice quavering with a sense of foreboding.

"Son... I'm sorry.... but my body is damaged beyond repair. I'm afraid I can't go on..."

Silence followed after this brief sentence; then the tears started to flow down Orphan's cheeks. He couldn't hold them back any longer; the reality was simply overbearing. "B-but Dad... it can't end like this!"

"Please, promise me... Orphan.... that you'll be strong. Not just for your mother's sake... but for your own as well. Be strong... so that you'll never live a life of sorrow... I know the threat hasn't lifted, so I need to ask just this one favor before I...I...."

Orphan, eye brimming with tears, could only stand by in pain as his father's body slumped forward, turning into a lifeless shell.

Today was the day when all his family members met there death; he would remember this forever.

Meanwhile...

"Emergency battery operating... Backup CPU downloading... 100% complete." The eye of David flashed to life, bearing a malevolant glint...
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Character notes by Dark:
Arc, Judas, Noah, Goliath- TS's other ACs from the NL tourney.

[shearx]

=========Prologue (short version)=========

*3 years after Widower's demise*


Orphan, now a bit more mature and battle hardened, visits the grave site of his father. However, he isn't alone... as the night comes to be, several dozen eyes surround him, each looking just like the eye of his mother's killer.

"Father... I promise you I'll be strong, so rest in peace..." Orphan says to himself. "I'll be strong.... not just for mother's sake, but for mine as well."

He prepares himself a bit as the enemies approach in hoardes.

"No matter how many enemies there are, I'll strike them all down, for all of us!" With this in mind, Orphan takes out the bazooka touched by the hands of his father, preparing to strike....



EPISODE 2
THE SEARCH

Orphan stood in the midst of a pile of wreckage, multiple copies of the same part strewn about the landscape, a look of exhaustion on his face. The sun had already gone down, the darkness had already taken over. Orphan felt a presence off in the trees. (One shot left...) he thought to himself. He lifted his weapon toward the entity, hoping it wasn't an enemy, but expecting it at the same time.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" came a voice from the shadows.

"And why not?" was Orphan's rebuttal.

"Because I have something you might want."

"And what could that be?"

"Maybe if you put down your empty weapon, I could tell you." the voice insisted.

Orphan, not sensing any danger from the voice, let his father's weapon fall to the ground.

"And that hangar weapon you have as well," the voice uttered.

(How could he know about that???) Orphan thought to himself.

"I have my sources," the voice said.

(What?! it's like he's reading my mind)

"Who are you?" Orphan yelled.

"..."

"SHOW YOURSELF!!!" he screamed again.

"Drop your weapon first!!!" Orphan did as he was told. The entity slowly stepped out of the shadows. It held two large rifles, each seeming to pack an extraordinary amount of power. It walked with a hidden grace, choosing each step carefully.

"What is your name?" Orphan questioned.

"Those who know me call me Blind Eye."

"Why are you here? Are you my enemy?" Orphan had a hint of fear in his voice.

Blind Eye laughed softly. "Hardly. Let's just say I'm an old friend."

(Old friend?) Orphan mulled it over... "What do you want?" he asked.

"Something serious has come up, and it can only be solved with your help."

"And what could that be?"

"It would seem that after you left the Aros Highlands, a piece of data was leaked."

"Data? the only data that could have been there was..."

"Your father's memory banks." Blind Eye picked up where Orphan had left off. "You're wondering what kind of data your father could have possessed, but right now that doesn't matter. Before you returned to retrieve your father's remains, his memory was downloaded by an operative of an unknown enemy"

"How do you know that?"

"That doesn't matter. We need to get that information back." Blind Eye seemed tense, continuing, "If we don't, who knows what will happen."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Orphan wondered aloud.

"We track down the AC that took the data. Intel reports that the culprit is the champion of a past tournament. If you are to beat him and retrieve the data, you need to improve you skills as a fighter."

"Reports also indicate that he is a master at his art, and that he is extremely fast. Many have tried and failed to defeat him, and few have succeeded."

"Aren't the champions of the tournaments supposed to be famous? How is it that you don't know his name?" Orphan was puzzled.

"I never said I didn't know his name. You must figure that out on your own. But on to the problem at hand... getting you ready for your battle with a champion."

"How am I supposed to defeat a master?!" said Orphan, distraught.

"That's why I came here... I will teach you. Under me, you will learn everything you need to know in order to defeat the thief, but you need to improve upon those skills and defeat me first."

"And what makes you so great?" Orphan said with a mocking tone.

"In the first tournament ever held, I was a finalist. The winner of the match and I have actually remained close friends since then." Blind Eye suddenly looked old. "In fact, he is helping us on a lower level."

"So I am supposed to train under you, defeat you, and then defeat this 'enemy' for my father's sake?" Orphan asked.

"Yes."

Orphan stood there silently for a moment, a look of hope shining on his hardened face. Blind Eye added in one last comment, "Your enemy is a fierce competitor. Keep that in mind." Contemplating the choice, Orphan had an inkling of what he could actually do with his father's memory banks...

"I'll do it." Orphan said with determination. Pleased, Blind Eye raised one of his rifles to Orphan's chest...
------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Bind Eye- Finalist in the very first GFaqs tourney, 2nd place by shear.

[shearx]

Part 2: Betrayal
----------------------
*1 year later*

Blind Eye kept his distance, steadily firing off his powerful rifles while Orphan desperately tried to hit his master. "Come on, Orphan!! I've seen you do better than this!!" Blind Eye yelled.

"You haven't seen anything yet!!" Orphan yelled back. Blind Eye gracefully dodged every shot that his protege fired at him, but Orphan did the same.

Then, in a surprise move, Orphan suddenly activated his overboost and dashed into close quarters with his master. He raised both bazookas to his master's chest and had a sinister look in his eye. "Remember this?!" Blind Eye, surprised by the tactic used by Orphan, was so shocked that he could only reply with one phrase...

"You're finally ready..." Orphan pulled the triggers of his bazookas and sent his master flying backward.

"MASTER!!!" Orphan screamed, realizing what he had done. He rushed up to Blind Eye's side. "Master, are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me, Orphan. This was bound to happen."

"No... I'm not ready yet..."

"Yes you are. just keep in mind everything you have learned."

"I will." The tears welled up. He couldn't hold them back again, remembering how he felt when his father passed away.

"I contacted the one you need to seek one year ago. I told him that you would be ready, and as always he was willing to accept a potential opponent." Blind Eye coughed. "He will be waiting for you at the south pole, in the Fros Region. You'll know when you see him."

"How?!" But the question came too late. The glow of his master's eye had already faded. Orphan slowly lowered the head of his master to the ground. He then stood up, looking at his master's body laying there, badly damaged. He turned around and thought about how to get to the Fros Region.

He thought back upon his master's teachings. Keep your distance, watch you enemy's movements... but there was always one lesson that he couldn't quite grasp.

During one lesson, his master had used blades... why?

"There must've been a logical reason for that... but what?" Orphan wondered. He thought back to memories of his master, but the answer still eluded him. Deciding he would simply get nowhere thinking about the past, he opted for a new plan....

"I'll visit that friend of his... Generic, I think it was. I'm almost positive I'll get some answers." Pausing for a moment, he recalled that Blind Eye said that Generic was living in a shack in Rus Field, which wasn't too far from here. It wouldn't be too exhausting to travel there by booster.


*2 DAYS LATER*


"Excuse me.... Mr. Generic? Is any one home?" called out Orphan, stepping through the open gates of the front yard.

"Whaddya want?" asked a gruff voice. Orphan noticed a shadowy figure sitting at the front of the house, sitting a rocking chair. However, he couldn't discern it's exact shape.

"I'm an apprentice of Blind Eye. He was.... er, knocked out of commission recently, so I thought you could give me some answers about this 'mysterious opponent' he spoke of."

There was a slight pause, and then a slow, but malicious response...

"Son.... I'd think it best if you gave up your search..." Generic said slowly.

"What do yo--" *gasp* Suddenly, Generic sprang from his chair, turning out not to be the quad champion of the 1st tourney, but an entirely different figure altogether.

Orphan's eyes lit up with fear. That gray body... that evil red eye... it had to be the opponent that Blind Eye was speaking of. But why was he here?

"Heh heh.... you did great, my underling...." another voice said from behind. Orphan turned around, and to his horror...

"Always a pleasure to serve under the great Wanderer," a familiar voice said. Orphan froze in horror, eyes lighting up with both fear and confusion. It was none other than his 'master', Blind Eye. Beside him, the empty carcass of the former champion Generic lay lifeless of the ground, smoke piling out of the several puncture wounds in his body.

"You see, it was a trap all along... we knew you would become a potential treat... so we downloaded your father's memory banks to discover any possible ways to counter your fighting style--a fighting style that could be revered for generations if not for our 'interference'. Unfortunately," Wanderer continued. "They were too damaged to discover anything, so Blind Eye here tricked you into becoming his pupil... so that he could experience your style first hand."

"Now that we've learned all your secrets you're as good as dead," Blind Eye finished.

"You...!" Orphan roared, facing his former mentor. "I trusted you... I really thought you would help me recover my losses.... but now you'll pay!"

His fist shaking with rage, he lunged forth to attack...
--------------
Character notes by Dark:
Generic- TS's champion of the 1st GFaqs tourney.
Wanderer- Shear's blade tourney champ.

[Shark]

Part 3: Resolve
----------------------
Orphan, eye lit with fiery emotion, fired off his bazookas at Wanderer's head. Quickly spinning around, he did the same for Blind Eye. They both evaded at the last second and the shots made destructive explosions over the yard.

The shack was destroyed, leaving only a pile of wood. "How sad.... do you really think that you can defeat a champion and his apprentice?!?" roared Wanderer. Suddenly, before Orphan could even react, Wanderer overboosted behind him, while Blind Eye boosted in front of him.

*BANG*....*SLICE*

Shock registered on Orphan's face as Wanderer used his parrying blade to completely demolish one of his bazookas. To further complicate matters, Blind Eye aimed his rifles with a precision even greater than when they trained, effectively shooting a gaping hole near Orphan's chest.

Orphan's body fell to the ground, landing with a loud thud. No... it can't be over yet, I can't be defeated here... I just can't be! Orphan thought. I promised my father that I'd get stronger.

Orphan, clinging to his last breath, saw his life flash before his very eyes. The memories of his father... the fight with David, and then the pain and suffering he endured afterward. It was all going away... he would be the one to die today.

"It... isn't supposed to end like this!" he thought, eye flashing to life. Then, in a trance like state-- almost as though he were possessed by an incredible spirit, he used his remaining energy to overboost, stabbing his father's bazooka into Wanderer's face.

"This is in memory of my father," Orphan uttered. Then there was a bang.... and the next moment Wanderer was beheaded. "You son of a....!" Blind Eye screamed, looking on in horror. There was a slight 'clank!' as a few pieces of metal scattered on the ground. "Ah.. but that was your last shot."

"Not quite." Orphan said solemnly. "Hanger units... remember?"

Orphan took out his little handgun, arming himself in the last way he could against the real threat.

"Hah... hahaha! Do you really think you can beat me with that puny thing?!" Blind Eye laughed. "This is pathetic.... I could kill you with my eye closed!!"

"Well why don't you try?" Orphan teased.

"Alright, you obnoxious little runt... I'll kill you with my eye deactivated, and you won't even be able to hit me!"

Blind Eye, in all his folly, deactivated his eye. "Heh... they don't call me Blind for nuttin. I'm an expert sniper," he proclaimed with a bit of pride. However, just before he could even aim his rifle... he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Heh... keep your distance, know your opponents movements," Orphan recalled, stabbing Wanderer's energy blade into Blind Eyes chest. "You can't even follow your own advice!!"

Blind Eye gasped. "I lost.... now I remember why..--" he murmured softly, toppling backwards.

Orphan's eyes were downcast, looking at the shell of his defeated opponent. "So this is the way it is. I'm forever cursed," he murmured softly. "I'm forever cursed to a life of fighting, no matter what direction I try to take."

"But no matter how many opponents I defeat, how many trials I must overcome, I can never forget what I'm fighting for... I now fully understand what my father meant in his dying words."

His fists trembled slightly with post-battle anxiety. "I must get stronger; no matter what the price. I can't afford to look back with even a shred of regret or doubt; because this is the path I've chosen and the one I'll walk on for the rest of my life."

"The path of battle and death."

Orphan looked at his father's bazooka, still unscathed. Then, looking into the sunset briefly, he vowed never, ever to forget the sorrows of his past.

....Then everything blacked out....

[Shark]

*DOOM!*

The sky darkened, a torrent of rain falling from the clouds. On the surface, a lone figure trudged through the soaked region of Rus Field, searching for his destination.

"Him.... will he really provide me with the answers I seek?" Orphan thought to himself.

*Flashback, 1 day ago*

Orphan, battle tired and weary, faints on the ground. The next thing he remembers, he wakes up, appearing in a lab of some sort.


EPISODE 3
DRAGONS AND ROYALTY


"Ah... so you're awake," a friendly voice greeted. Orphan gasped in surprise. There, right in front of his eyes, was the 1st tournament's champion Generic in perfect condition.

"But.. I thought Blind Eye had destroyed you," Orphan said in disbelief.

"Yes.... it did look like that, didn't it? But I managed to repair myself after the battle... in no small part to you defeating those two," Generic explained. "But that's not what's important right now. What I do think that you'll be interested to know is that I know of a way... that could possibly revive your father."

Orphan sprung to his feet. "How?" he inquired. "When I destroyed Wanderer, my Dad's memory would have gone with him... wouldn't it? I... foolishly forgot not to destroy his head while I was in that battle."

Generic chuckled. "Well, technically that's not true," he said. "It's quite a bit more complicated than that."

"You see, Wanderer was JUST one of the ACs who downloaded a part of your father's memory, and a very minor part at that. It turns out that Widower's AI was so complicated that it had to be downloaded into the minds of six seperate ACs... with one of the six already destroyed."

Orphan's eyes beamed with excitement. "T-then, there's a possibility that I could revive my dad?"

"Yes," Generic confirmed. "But again, it will be a complicated process. You were forced to destroy Wanderer because at the time you didn't know how to extract memory, but you can... with the help of this device."

At this, the quad legged AC withdrew an object from his desk. It was barely visible; apparantly a nanodevice of some sort.

"This is a mod chip called the MEM-01," Generic explained. "It is a prototype chip which allows you to explore the memory banks of other ACs, simply by getting into physical contact and asserting a mental command."

"Regrettably, I was forced to develop them by those horrible six ACs, who wanted to download your father's data for some reason. When I tried to defy all of them I almost paided for it with my life..."

"So... basically it's an advanced operation, right?"

"Yes," Generic explained. "I can simply insert it into your AI and you'll learn the skills required to download memory banks. However, you must be extremely cautious not to harm the head of your opponent in battle."

"Well ,what are you waiting for?" Orphan said impatiently. "Put the chip into my AI!"

Generic paused for a moment, apparently contemplating something." You see... Orphan, how do I put this," he said slowly. "I know the skill level of those remaining five.. and trust me they ARE extremely dangerous. At your current level of strength, you would likely be killed fighting only one."

"Promise me that you'll visit a friend of mine... for some advanced training. You cannot simply go off hunting for the ACs in your present condition."

Orphan, suddenly remember the hole in his chest, realized that it was patched up, but still slightly aching. "Yeah, I got it," Orphan muttered.

"Good, then let's begin the procedure. You will begin your quest tommorow by first seeking the advice of my colleague. He will answer any and all questions that you have in mind..."

*End flashback*

"So... this one called "Dragon", Orphan said to himself. "He apparantly lives somewhere around the Wavis Canyon... but I don't see him anywhere." He walked all around the large rock formations and couldn't spot any sign of life.

"Hmm.... is it me you seek?" a voice said in Orphan's head.

"What the...? Telepathy?!" Orphan said, shocked.

Dragon laughed. "Hmm... you are indeed a bright one," he mused. "I assume that it was Generic who sent you to my home?"

"Yes," Orphan confirmed, calming himself down. "And I'm here to get some answers.... what am I supposed to do to revive my father once I get the five remaining parts of his memory bank?"

"Why, simply look into the cave and you'll find out," came Dragon's telepathic voice.

Orphan, looking around, noticed a cave his right. Cautiously, he stepped forward, sensing slightly that it could be a trap. "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

But Orphan, sensing no response, took his chances and ventured deeper into the cave...

...There, his stepped back in shock at what he saw at the end of the tunnel....
---------------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Dragon- Anime's quad tourney champ. Note that this part was written well before she left...

[Shark]

Part 2: Shadow of his Father
------------------------------------
It was his father's old build, completely repaired. However, it was unmistakably identical to the original... right down to the quad cannon.

"You see," Dragon explained. "I was able to retrieve your father's old body and repair it after those six downloaded his AI.... they simply had no use for his body."

"If you were able to gather all five of the remaining parts, I could synthesize them into your father's AI... more or less with a bit of missing memory. Then it could be transferred back intro this build."

"I see...." Orphan said. "But how I am I supposed to do that? I don't know who these five ACs are or their whereabouts."

"Exactly," Dragon reinforced. "There was a reason that neither Generic or I told you who they were in the 1st place... otherwise you'd fight them without discretion, and most definitely would lose..."

"You've trained your body," Dragon said. "Now you must train your mind before continuing on your journey... by defeating me in a mental match..."

Orphan had a questionable look on his face. "How am I supposed to defeat you 'mentally'?" Orphan asked with a skeptical tone.

"You concentrate. Withdraw inside like you did when your father died. Remember that feeling."

"When my... father died..."

*flashback START*

"d**n it... I"LL KILL THIS KID! I SWEAR I'LL KILL HIM!!" David screamed as he held his granade launcher to Orphan's head. Suddenly, in a flash, Orphan had been moved to a safer distance and his head replaced with a large rock.

*BANG!!!!!*

The shot came from the side, near a rock formation. David screamed in pain. He looked down only to see that his left arm had been blown off. "What just happened...?" Orphan said to himself as he watched father easily disarm his kidnapper. David turned around to look at his attacker. The tides had turned against him.

Orphan heard his father speaking to David with a calm but resolute tone, but Orphan wasn't paying attention. His father cocked his head in Orphan's direction and uttered a few calming but firm words. "Take care of the others, son. David's mine. And don't worry... You can take them alone."

Orphan, now eager to please his father, picked up his remaining bazooka, his father having taken the other, stood up and looked menacingly at David's lackeys: Arc, Judas, and Noah. All three suddenly looked very frightened, as if they saw their end right in front of them.

Orphan didn't give them time to think it over. He immediately overboosted up to Arc and shoved his heavy bazooka right into Arc's core. A look of total surprise overcame Orphan's enemy, but it was too late. Arc exploded into thousands of pieces. Before the others could even react to the loss of their partner, Judas already had a fist on his face.

Orphan ripped off Judas' head, threw it to the ground, and sent a large shell flying into his core. Noah stepped back, aghast at how quickly his friends had been dispatched. He tried to flee, but with blinding speed, Orphan was already in front of the coward.

Orphan heard a large explosion somewhere, but he paid it no heed. "Time's up, pal," he said to Noah.

Noah again tried to flee the other direction, but Orphan had already grabbed what would be Noah's collar. Orphan tilted Noah's body slightly, and held his bazooka right up against the eye of his enemy.

And pulled the trigger.

Moments later Orphan was satisfied to see the ground though the gaping hole left in the verticle part of Noahs body.

"Son..." he suddenly heard his fathers voice. The only thing that could bring him out of his rage. "Son... get over here... I have to tell you something important..." Orphan walked calmly up to his fathers side. Seeing how badly his father's body was damaged, a deep feeling of remorse rushed through his body.

"Promise me... that you'll be strong..."

...

*flashback END*

Orphan sat silently, recalling the flood of emotions that he felt that day.

"Do you understand now?" came Dragon's voice.

"I do."

"Do you understand why you were able to do what you did?"

"I do." Orphan affirmed with a steady voice.

"Tell me." It seemed as if Dragon was testing him.

"Strength doesn't come from emotion. Emotion leads to mistakes, and is therefore it is unfit for one seeking perfection." Orphan though deeply, then continued, "Strength comes from one's will. The will to fight. The will to live. The will to uphold one's beliefs."

"The will to keep a promise."

"Good... good..." Dragon seemed to be contemplating something...

"Now that you have learned what you need to know..." Dragon continued...

"You are ready to fight. But first..."

"SHOW ME!!!"

Dragon, with extraordinary speed and agility, boosted out from behind Widowers empty shell, firing off both weapons at the same time. Orphan barely had time to get out of the way before he was run down by his newfound enemy, slightly in awe at his gigantic, white, lizard-like appearance with drool pooling out of razor-sharp jaws. This Dragon didn't seem like the mentor-like voice he was conversing with just moments ago.

(That was fast!!) - Orphan though to himself, the strain of the moment showing clearly on his face. Dragon stopped before the exit of the cave, and waited.

(How am I supposed to defeat something that is so fast...)

(...unless I....I know.....that just so crazy that it might work...)

Orphan walked up to his fathers renewed body. It was as if he was saying farewell. Dragon peered into the cave, straining to see his opponent. He yelled into the abyss. "You can't beat me!! I am a tournament champion!!"

--silence--

Then, softly, Dragon got his reply. "That isn't a problem."

Dragon suddenly saw a burst of light come from deep within the chasm. And before he knew it, Orphan was in front of him, both weapons disarmed.

But something else was there... something was different...

(The Quad cannon!!..) Dragon was totally caught off guard.

"I have beaten two other foes before you, each having a similar level of power. I think I can handle my own." Orphan said slyly.

"Why you..." Dragon tried to spit out.

Too late.

Orphan fired off the huge quad cannon, splitting Dragon in half and completely disentegrating the bottom with all four shots. He then dropped the huge weapon to the ground.

"You fools are so naive. You bring me in, trying to defeat me, or learn my style, or some other nonsense, but all you end up doing is making me stronger. Blind Eye taught me how to fight physically. You showed me how to fight mentally. I learned on my own how to fight with what matters the most-- spirit."

Orphan strode up to Dragons fallen uppen half, and downloaded part one of his father's memory. "I do have to say thanks, though."
--------------
Dark's Notes:
This is the end of the parts collaborated on by shear and I. From now on it will be my show unless Shear states that he wants to collab again.

[Shark]

Part 3: Ally
----------------------
A cold, gusting breeze drafted through the mountains; a lone figure trudging slowly through the tormenting storm.

His visor blinked briefly as he looked up towards the summit. He felt almost every joint in his body going numb--save his legs, which seemed like they could give way at any moment.

Briefly, Orphan thought back to what his former "mentor" told him when they were still in training.

"I contacted the one you need to seek one year ago. I told him that you would be ready, and as always he was willing to accept a potential opponent. He will be waiting for you at the south pole, in the Fros Region. You'll know when you see him."

He pondered the validity of this information, thinking it could very well be another trap. But, as of now, it was his only lead to getting another piece of Widower's memory. He figured that there was at least something of minor importance if Blind Eye was willing to talk about it.

Shoot... it feels like my body can't take much more of this, Orphan thought. The winds were blowing even stronger; so strong in fact that he could feel it piercing like needles through his armor. If it hadn't been for his considerably hefty weight, it would have already blown him off the mountain.

Orphan could barely move his feet through the thick blanket of snow covering the mountain--he was already trudging slowly as it was. The summit seemed to get further and further even though he was actually getting closer, yet it didn't help that the storm was blocking most of his vision.

Maybe... maybe I should just... take a little rest...

Overcome by fatigue, his vision became a blur as he felt the unforgiving hail brush upon his back. For a split second, he thought he saw a grey blur zip quickly throughout the sky, approaching him.

Then he fainted.

*****

"Oi... you awake yet, eh?"

Orphan groaned as he woke up, feeling a sharp sting travel through his spine. The annoying greeting didn't help to improve his sour mood. "Where the hell am I?" he demanded, jumping up. "And who are you, anyways?"

A grey, bipedal AC stood before him. The AC had two wristmounted blades- one was for parrying and the other was a moonlight. What was more distinguishing about him, however, were the gigantic pegasus boosters mounted on his back. Orphan, vaguely recollecting his memory; was sure that this was the AC saw in the mountains earlier.

"Heh, I just saved your butt and this is how I'm thanked?" the figure spoke with a rough accent. He tossed the brown, tattered cloak he was holding towards Orphan; who caught it as it came. "The name's Drifter. I'm guessing you're new around these parts-- we're still in Fros Region, by the way. Just a warmer part of it, so to speak."

"I'm Orphan; I'm sorry I was so rude to you just now," Orphan said apologetically, calming down. "What do you mean by warmer part...?"

Drifter just chuckled. "No prob, mate... I get it all the time. We're actually in the King's domain right now. He lets us live in the warm domain as long as we abide by his terms."

"The King...?" Orphan asked quizzically. He thought it was it truly bizarre for a Kingdom to exist somewhere in Fros Region; the coldest part of the Earth.

"Yes... you may have heard of him," Drifter continued. "His name is King Rex."
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Drifter- Shear's other contestant in the blade tourney.
Rex- 2nd place in no limits tourney by Dark.

[Shark]

Part 4: Death by Nightfall
--------------------------------
"King Rex, huh?" Orphan shrugged. "It doesn't ring a bell."

"Well, he runs things around here so you'd best not disobey him during your stay," Drifter said. "He really doesn't appreciate visitors much; unless they're willing to work hard."

Orphan thought about it silently as Drifter walked into another room. This 'King Rex'... since he's in charge around here he might know something about my father's memory... I could gain some valuable information from him.

Standing up and putting on the tattered, brown cloak he stepped outside for a moment. Scanning his surroundings a bit, he noticed that they were in a small hut on top of a lump of snow. Over in the distance, an enormous gold tower stood erect. The structure stuck out like a sore thumb, it had to be Rex's castle.

"Hey, what's up?"

Drifter's voice piped up from behind, as he emerged from the hut. "You shouldn't be walking; you're probably not fully recovered yet."

"I heal fast," Orphan said quickly. Both of them knew he was lying just by the tone of his voice. "Regardless... I want to see this 'King Rex' as soon as possible. Will you take me to him?"

Drifter scratched his head a bit. "Eh... I guess we need to go there any ways, to figure out what to do with you. But not now. Maybe in a few days or so."

"Well... alright," Orphan said in spite of himself. He walked back into the hut, feeling restless that he wouldn't be able to continue yet; but knowing very well that Drifter was right. If he was to defeat the one who held his father's next piece of memory, then he'd need a couple days rest...

*****
The castle was silent as nightfall came; and the torches were lit up to guide those walking through the halls. At the front gates, two heavily armored ACs stood guard with heavy weapons at arms.

"Hey, another boring night, huh?" Barda muttered. He was a hefty, grey AC with a karasawa on one arm and grenade launcher on the other.

"No kidding, it's the same old thing over and over again," said Zeratul. Zeratul was a considerable lighter AC with a lesser shade of grey; sporting a nichirin on his left arm and micromissile pack over his left shoulder. "For once, I'd really like to see some action around here. I mean, we have to rid the dust off these weapons somehow, right?"

They both sighed, as midnight came and it was time to end the shift. Barda rested his arm on a tiny lever to his left, cranking it gradually to lift the front bridge. But, just then, there was a slight flash.

"Hey, hang on a bit... I think I see something up front," Zeratul whispered. They both heard the sound of slight footsteps approach the front castle. Tiny footsteps. Getting slightly louder and increasing in frequency.

Cautiously, Zeratul raised his nichirin and pulled the trigger. A tiny wave of flames were emitted from the nozzle; acting like a torch. He waved it around slightly as the noise got closer.

*BANG!**BANG!**BANG!*

Suddenly, three successive bazooka shots came out from the darkness. Zeratul's nichirin became his baseball bat; he parried each of the shots as they came, flinging then back to where they came from.

"Not bad... but not quite good enough!" came a malicious voice. Suddenly, a black, quad-legged AC boosted from the shadows; stopping in front of both guards. It was equipped with bz bazooka arms.

Barda reacted quickly, activating overboost to circle around the AC repeatedly while firing off grenade shots. The black one merely laughed, leaping up to avoid everyone.

"Your time's up..." came another voice from the shadows.

Zeratul spun around quickly, almost nervously. "Just how many of theses guys are there?! We need backup!"

Just then, two more ACs came from the shadows--moving with a frightening grace. They looked nearly identical; except one was a magenta build while the other was orange.

Zeratul and Barda backed up against the castle walls... cornered, as the trio approached. Barda chuckled nervously. "I think.. it's about time we showed these ACs our trumph card."

Zeratul grinned as they stood back to back; sweat dropping from the side of his metal face. "Alright... it's about time we practiced that."

Barda, grabbing Zeratul's right arm, spun him around as the intruders approached. Then, increasing the speed, he activated overboost while Zeratul unleashed his nichirin and micromissiles simultaneously.

*FWOOOSSHH!!*

The result was a fiery whirlwind of terror, creating a small inferno along the ground as tiny missiles showered everywhere. "Is this... some kinda joke?" the orange one said skeptically. All three of the intruders vanished as a veil of smoke rose; seemingly destroyed.

Barda stopped spinning around, letting go of Zeratul, who stumbled slightly from the dizziness. "I.. I think we got 'em," Barda panted. Both struggled to catch their breath as they recovered from the exhausting maneuver.

....Little did they know, there were three figures creeping up behind them...

"Times up."

A cold, steel barrel met the back of their heads, and they froze in terror.

"AAAaaaaaaaahhhHHHH!!!"

"What's going on?!"

Just then, the King burst out from the front doors; alerted by the loud noises. He looked slightly surprised as he saw the two guards at the front badly damaged, possibly even dead.

Nearby was the trio of culprits, standing with their backs turned. Rex could barely make them out, but he knew without a doubt that they were up to no good. He treaded his way to the bodies of the unconscious guards.

"You imbeciles... I can't even count on you to keep this castle safe!" Rex roared. Charging up both his karasawa and geryon, he unleashed a continuous energy burst at the three ACs. They looked at the enormous beam with a bit of shock, but evaded it just in time. The beam then hit the ground causing an enormous tremor; while eliminating a huge chunk of earth in the process. This created what appeared to be a small mote.

"Hmph. He's a bit more powerful than we expected. Time for a tactical retreat, Sinners..."

The black, orange, and magenta ACs vanished into the shadows; moving stealthily like elite ninjas.

Rex's eye narrowed as he watched them escape. "Go ahead and try escaping... you'll all be dead by tommorow..."
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Cobra II, Despair II, Serpent II- Sinner's ACs
Zeratul, Barda- Oonga-Boonga!'s ACs

[Shark]

Part 5: Reversal
----------------------
"We understand that you have a new arrival. Could you please take us to him?"

Groggily, Orphan awoke from hibernation mode and lifted himself from bed. His eye regained its emerald luster, and hearing voices from the main compartment; he decided to move in closer while leaning against the wall.

"Well, first I'd like to know what business you have with him before I hand him over... Mr. Rook," the second voice replied. Orphan knew that voice, it was unmistakably Drifter speaking. What he wondered was who the other voice was, and why he wasn't informed of about its arrival beforehand.

"I think you've forgotten, Drifter. You're obligated under King Rex the III's rule to show us in, without question. Now, if you would please... escort us to your transcient, we can accomplish our objective without conflict."

A long silence ensued.

Then, footsteps were heard approaching the room. They seemed hesistant but loud; almost as if they were a warning.

Orphan paid no heed to this warning.

He wanted to see Rex any ways, and now was the perfect chance. He stepped out of the room before the visitors even walked in, revealing himself out in the open. They looked slightly taken aback that he did so without resistance; while Drifter merely rubbed his hand in his temple looking exasperated.

Two ACs were walking behind Drifter. One was a bulky, bipedal heavyweight painted black and red. He towered above them all and looked postively menacing with several micromissile armaments and a 5HP bazooka. Orphan was pretty sure that this was the one which Drifter referred to as "Mr. Rook"; the voice seemed to match his build.

The other was a mysterious silver and gold quad. He was lightly armored from the chest up and held two weapons: a slim shotgun and grenade launcher. Orphan got the chills looking at him; the cold, icy look in his eyes reflected killer intent. That was for certain.

Rook raised his fist to cover his mouth as he coughed a bit. "Excuse me, Orphan is it?" he asked. "We understand that you are new around these parts... I'll need you to come with me. The King requests your presence immediately."

Orphan looked slightly surprised by this statement, grinning a little. Everything was falling into place; there would be no need for conflict at the moment. "Alright, I accept your term. Take me to your King now. I was planning to visit him soon any way."

Drifter looked a bit surprised and guilty at the same time. His gaze wandered briefly from the confident Orphan to the escorters, as if torn by indecision...

*****
"So, this is your crib? Not a bad place to hang..."

Orphan's casual statement attracted many unwanted glares as they walked towards the King's throne, but he thought nothing of it. The room was immense; a long and wide corridor which seemed almost a mile long. The walls were constructed with some sort of rare element... neither crystal or marble, or anything of the like. Orphan didn't know what it was, yet it shimmered with a beauty beyond compare. And on the floor was an elegant red carpet with golden lining, leading to the King's throne itself.

"We have arrived, your majesty..."

Both Rook and Bishop bowed as they arrived before the King. Orphan and Drifter soon followed suit, the former deciding that it was best to play along for now.

The King was a tanky, turquoise build with a tiny crown above his hornet head. The throne was designed oddly to fit his awkward form. Orphan didn't exactly know why... but something about the King reminded him of his father.

It could've just been the legs, but he couldn't be too sure.

"Good work bringing the boy here. Now, Bishop, if you would do the honors...."

Orphan, immediately sensing malice in the King's voice, turned around to face the escorters. Drifter's head was hung down low in shame, while the other two looked at him menacingly.

There's no time any more... I guess I have to take them out one by one...

Orphan raised his only bazooka and discharged a single round at Rook; but at the same time a small three pronged object levitated out of Rook's core.

"Aaaagghhh!!"

Orphan realized with trepidation that it was the most dreaded ECM disruptor: the hohshi. Suddenly, he felt a huge migrain in his AI and his targetting system went offline. He fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain while the shot missed target completely.

"Bishop... if you would please..." came Rex's voice.

The silver one nodded without question, vanishing at the speed of light. Orphan looked completely stupified for the moment; but regained a bit of his senses quickly; eye darting left and right trying to track down Bishop's movements. Then, hearing a step behind him, he overboosted forward just as the hohshi's effect wore off.

Dang... looks like I can't finish them off with just my father's weapon, Orphan thought, cursing silently to himself. "A handgun's no good either... but I think I still have that blade in my hanger..."

Orphan's eye lit up intensely as he opened his left hanger; the blade stolen from Wanderer popping out of it. He immediately attached it to his left arm, and the energy blade beamed out in a blinding, fiery-orange rage.

Bishop and Rook, who had been in hot pursuit, suddenly stopped in horror as they saw the blade. They looked as though they had seen a ghost, and stepped back a bit with fear.

The wind blowed heavily outside at that exact moment, intensifying the new silence.

Drifter looked the most shocked of all, nearly devastated. "Is- is that my brother's blade?"

Orphan's mind raced with confusion at this statement. Drifter... he couldn't be....

Rook interjected loudly. "K-King Rex.... is this for real?! How is it possible that this... unknown has the legendary Wanderer's energy blade?!"

King Rex's eye was narrowed in seriousness. "Ah, yes... I only received the sorrowful news this morning, right after last nights.... unfortunate murders. You see, this boy here; he has built up quite the reputation as a mercenary, of sorts."

The wind blowed more heavily outside as this particular statement was said. Drifter's head was hung lower to the ground, his normally red eye now completely dark. He was frozen in place; the King's words were the only thing registering in his mind.

"You see.... this troublesome one has already eliminated several powerful figures of the tournament scene... his motives are unclear, in fact he does it for no apparent reason. Wanderer was just one of the targets in his way, distressing but true.

Our law might've been out of jurisdiction to harm him if he had done nothing wrong in this land... but last night there were three ACs who attempted to invade the castle."

Bishop and Rook looked at the King expectantly as he concluded.

"All three of them were confirmed to be wielding at least one bazooka. It can, therefore, be a safe assumption to say.... that this newcomer is one of the perpetrators of the crime. That is a class A offence under the Rexian code. The punishment: execution by guillotine in the eyes of the public, commencing immediately at afternoon tommorow. In the meantime... I give my full condolences to Drifter, who must be effected the most by this tragic loss..."

Rex cackled softly under his breath as he spoke. "For that, I give him full consent to capture the offender, and the right to be the one to lower the blade tommorow...!!"

"Drifter... I..." Orphan began. His emotions were a mix as he felt that he wanted to apologize deeply, even though he destroyed Wanderer on purpose. But at the same time he and Drifter had only just started to get along; he owed Drifter one after saving his life...

His body moved on its own as Drifter stirred into motion, a look of fury in his blood red eye.
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Death Rook II, Bishop II- Current ACs by Dark

[Shark]

Part 6: Vicious Cycle
--------------------------
The ground below the castle rumbled as Drifter fired up his pegasus boosters. Orphan looked on, awe-struck, as he witnessed him display his true power.

Tiny bits of cement began to fall from the ceiling. Rex simply sat on his throne, looking amused to overlook the ensuing fight. "King Rex, shouldn we...?" Rook began, stepping towards the two.

"No. This is his fight. We must honour his... will for revenge."

Drifter assumed a bending stance, boosting straight at an extreme velocity while taking out his moonlight blade. Orphan was still dumbstruck at his amazing speed, but managed to parry the attack with Wanderer's own blade.

This only seemed to enrage Drifter further.

He followed up the initial attack with a stab of his rasetsu. Orphan was taken off guard, getting a slight nick as he was sent flying backwards.

"Drifter... it doesn't have to be like this!!" Orphan tried. But the plea went to deaf ears.

"You killed my brother!! I'll never forgive you for that!!" Drifter screamed. Again utilizing the pegasus, he lunged at Orphan a second time. Orphan sidestepped at the last minute to evade the attack, causing Drifter's parrying blade to get stuck in the ground. However...

Drifter boosted immediately again, this time using it as momentum to swing both legs at Orphan's chest. Orphan was sent flying backwards with a loud crash and smashed into one of the castle walls, creating a gigantic crater in the process.

At that point, the attack was far from over.

Drifter disappeared in a blur, and reappeared leviatating in front of Orphan. A look of rage was cemented into his contorted face. "You... die now..."

He swung his sharp blade into Orphan's chest, who screamed in pain. Then, Drifter continued the attacks like a madman, jabbing both blades rapidly against Orphan's body. Every sharp, deadly slice made for another painful scream.

Rook and Bishop merely watched, mouths open and overwhelmed by their subordinate's viciousness. Rex was laughing in sheer delight. "Oh my... at this rate, maybe there won't be any need to prolong the execution."

Orphan could barely feel himself as the barrage continued. Lifting his blade directly in front of him with the last of his energy, he uttered a few quiet words as he began to overboost.

"I'm sorry...Drifter, but my battle can't end today."

With that said, the overboost took effect and Orphan transformed the blade into a powerful energy wave. Drifter tried to dodge but it was too late; the shot hit him and it exploded, burning him severely as he fell to the ground.

Orphan fell to the ground shortly after, landing with a loud thunk. Silence reigned; the battle had ended in a draw and both of their eyes faded out.

"Hmm... it seems that he wasn't successful in revenge after all," Rex commented shortly. "Seize the boy. The execution will still take place tommorow at noon."

"And Drifter?" Rook inquired.

"Leave him be. He deserves to be left there for putting on such a sloppy performance."

*****
Orphan groaned slightly, feeling every wire in his body ache as he awoke in a heavy reinforced cell without his weapons. His eyes were only filled with sorrow as he began to remember the previous battle.

You killed my brother!! I'll never forgive you for that!!

The words repeated in his head like a endless tape, tormenting him to no end. The voice was everywhere; echoing throughout his cell, the dungeons; even the entire castle. He's just like me Orphan thought. So what makes my cause more honorable then his? We're both motivated by revenge... but in the end the way we go about it will only bring more pain and more suffering...

He sat there silently, continuing to lament over this newfound realization. It was truly a vexing choice... the power to end suffering by giving up the fight, or to continue onward in the memory of his father...

...It's like a vicious cycle...

"H-hey!! Lemme go!!" a voice screamed.

Orphan tilted his head up at the voice, his thoughts interrupted. Bishop was bringing down a handcuffed biped, it was of the magenta color. Rook was following closely.

"Yeah I'm talking to you, the silver one?! Couldn't you at least say something... you haven't spoken a word this entire time!"

Bishop merely jabbed his grenade launcher at the prisoner's temple, which shut him up. He then used the other arm to open up the cell opposite to Orphan's, and shoved the biped inside.

"You'll be sorry for this.. you'll see!!" he screamed. "The others will be here for me, and they'll destroy you all!"

Rook gave him an evil glare as he and Bishop were about to leave. "Quit yer yapping... we already caught two of you no good murderers," he said, eye turning to Orphan. "All that's left is the last one. He'll be no threat."

The magenta one suddenly stopped talking, a grin flashing across his face. It was very brief, but Orphan was sure that he saw it. The two subordinates of the King left.

"Well, isn't this a pretty sight?" the prisoner said immediately. "Framed for a crime that you didn't commit, it must be such a shame."

The only response was more silence. Then the prisoner took the initiative to introduce himself.

"I'm Serpent; I got captured last night by those two when they caught me off guard. Who are you..?"

"I'm... Orphan...." Orphan replied reluctantly.

Serpent grinned a bit, a tongue flickering out of his mouth. "I've heard a bit a 'bout you. You're that mercenary who's been running around killin' random ACs. I like your style..."

More silence.

"Well, Orphan... how would you like to bust out of this unpleasant place?"

Orphan lifted his head a bit, mildly interested. He didn't know whether or not to trust this AC, although right now it was his only hope. He did want to escape the cell at least before deciding his next course of action. "How do you intend to do that?"

The next moment a slight shudder was heard and explosions came from the castle doors. "They're here."
----------------------
Dark's Note- Next part by shear!

[shearx]

Part 7 - Westward Wind
---------------------------
"Who's 'they'?" Orphan asked Serpent.

“Why, my brothers," he replied, as if Orphan should already know them. After a bit of silence, Serpent realized that orphan didn't know who he was talking about. "We're part of a guild called the 'Alter of sinners'. My brother, Despair, is the leader. My other brother, Cobra, he's the youngest, serves under him along with me"

Orphan looked on with curiosity. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked.

"I personally don't know. Despair keeps the details hidden so as to prevent any... second thoughts. If you really want to know, you'll have to ask him yourself. Now we have to go." Serpent was getting anxious.

"And how do we do that? There seems to be some locked cell doors in the---" Orphan was cut off by a huge explosion that sent him flying into the back of his cell. He though he heard serpent say "Like that", but he couldn't be sure. As the smoke a dust cleared, there stood two ACs. One being a reverse joint, the other a quad leg.

Orphan assumed from the massive armaments and dignified stance that the quad legged AC was the afforementioned Despair. "What are you doin laying on the ground in a time like this? Get up!" Serpent was yelling. Orphan gathered his senses and picked himself up tentatively from the rubble strewn ground.

"Your brother's I presume?" Orphan asked Serpent.

“Yeah, though there's no time for introductions," Serpent replied. He then briefly told the others who Orphan was, and they looked quizically at him. Orphan felt a little uncumfortable under their gaze. Without warning, all three boosted towards the exit, as if they knew eachother's thoughts. Orphan found difficulty in following.

They crossed though countless coridors and hallways, through numberless arches and doors. Finally, they reached a large open are, presumably the courtyard, though apparently not near the exit. On the other side of the clearing there stood 3 ACs that orphan had never seem before.


Two male ACs, and one female... Orphan couldn't make out their builds, but the gleam from their weapons showed what they were packing at least.

"Not you two again!" Orphan heard The reverse joint AC, Cobra, scream.

"And who have you brought with you?!" Serpent chimed in. "A woman?! HA!!"

Why hasn't Despair said anything I wonder, Orphan thought to himself...

One AC, equipped with a flamethrower and Missile pack, let loose a solvo of missiles. The other two, one with a bazooka and the other with A massile hi-laser rifle and grenade launcher, added their fire to the attack.

The female AC, who had the bazooka, then suddenly boosted forward so as to nearly pass the previous barrage of attacks. Despair weaved through the onslaught of shells and unleashed his own mixture of explosives. Cobra dashed to the side so as to avoid the wave completely, and Serpent just stood his ground; every missiled a grenade and beam missed.

Orphan, being unarmed, just hopped around avaining what he could, and knocking away what he could not dodge. Orphan decided that since he could not add to the fight, he might as well continue on. He Overboosted past the ensueing battle, leaving his newfound comrades to fight it out. He dodged several stray shells and misfired rounds, here and there, but he eventually made it through the doorway.

It led to a long hallway, with statues and sculptures lining the walls. Halfway dow this path, he stopped in at the entrance to the kings royal chamber. On the throne sat Rex, with Drifter still resting where orphan lest saw him.

Wha... why hasn't drifter moved?, Orphan pondered...

"Welcome, Orphan. I see you've finally made it. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?!" Rex blared.

Orphan just stood in the opening looking incredulously upon the shell of Drifter and at the majestic, yet sinister, King Rex.

"Why have you done this?!" Orphan demanded.

"Done what? This little party we have? I planned the whole thing! Your little friends out there are going to lose, what with Juliet joining the battle. And this disappointment," indicating Drifter, "has a bone to pick with you. Oh, and I wouldn't want you to be left without a weapon." Rex seemed to speak with a menacing voice.

Orphan realized that Wanderer's blade was left in the middle of the room.

"Go on, pick it up!!" Rex ordered.

Orphan slowly walked to the middle of the room, and attatched Wanderer's blade to his arm. In doing so, the lifeless body of Drifter began to hum. His eye flickered to life, red with anger and hate. He slowly turned towards Orphan, who looked on in horror.

Drifter had a disturbing look in his eye as he stared at his opponent. "You..." he mumbled. A dark feeling cvoursed through DDrifter had a disturbing look in his eye as he stared at his opponent. "You..." he mumbled. Evil coursed though Orphan's registers, and it only intensified when he realized that he was no longer looking at drifter...

Drifter was now behind Orphan.

***Cut to Alter of Sinner's battle***

Despair blasted Juliet with a full 8 rounds from it's arm cannons. Juliet flew back, slammed against a wall, and slid to the ground. Despain nonchalantly walked up to Juliet, dispensed a Hohshi, and placed it on her head. Juliet began convulsing, and continued. Despair decided that she was well taken care of.

Serpent still stood in his place, watching as His brothers battled. Despair seemingly dispatched the Female AC, while Cobra had just engaged the AC who had fired the missiles before. The remaining AC, equipped with a Karasawa and massive granade launched, also stood his ground.

Serpent decided that this would be his opponent. He boosted off with madening speed as Cobra continued to battle with his opponent. Cobra flew through the air with grace, zigzagging this way and that. Zertatul, his opponent, tried desperately to frend off the vile snake, but was doing poorly. His reserves of missiles were running low, thought Cobra had yet to move within range of the flamethrower.

Zeratul decided to take the initiative, and made a desperate attempt at closing the gap between he and his foe. The tactic succeeded, and Cobra immediately began to feel the burn of the feared Nichirin. Flames cloded his vision; he fell to the ground, energy depleted.

Trying to get his bearings, cobra was suddenly hit with an entire lock (on lock-on) of micro missiles. His heat scales could no longer determine the exact temperature. Cobra's last hope was to find his opponent and finish him off. Cobra began to jump, madly, trying to find Zeratul. His opponent was getting cocky, and now was just playuing with his helpless enemy.

Cobra got glimpses here and there of the grey menace, and decided to base his next shot off luck. He waited, trying to predict when Zeratul would enter his point of view. Zeratul was jumping this way and that, toying with the venomous beast, and to his folly, he got in front of his quarry. Cobra, sensing the time was right, unleased the power of both of his weapons. An explosion ensued.

Flames enveloped Cobra as he tried to see what had happened. Zeratul stood there, a large portion of his midsection mising. Sparks were emenating from his insides, his breathing heavy and labored.

"For... the king" Zeratul muttered. His eye then went blank.

Serpent boosted towards his enemy, who continued to stay put. As he he neared his enemy, Barda, He came to a sudden stop just in front of him.

"Lacking a bit of firepower?" Barda asked.

Serpent chuckled. "Maybe... what's it to ya?"

"Oh, I just don't want to kill an unarmed foe. Here," Barda held out his Karasawa. "Take this."

Serpent looked at the weapon and smiled. "I don't need your charity. I can fight just fine without a weapon."

"Can you?" Barda said sarcastically. He then suddenly flashed forward and shoved his bazooka into Serpent's stomach, and fired. A sharp flash appeared from Serpent's back. Barda took his place again and stood, silently.

*cough* "Is that..." *cough* the best you can do?!" Serpent became enraged. He activated his overboost, and was instantly in Barda's face. Serpent grabbed both of Barda's arms and pulled them down, which in turn brought. Barda's head right into Serpent's knee. "Don't think that I'm helpless just because I let you hit me."

Serpent then ripped both of barda's weapons from his hands and threw them to the ground. He made a move to kick Barda in the face, but was caught off guard when his foot was caught and tossed to the side. Barda rose with amazing speed and shoved his fist through the gaping hole in Serpent's stomach, lifting him into the air.

"I don't get cocky; Not like---" Barda was interrupted by a steel foot being kicked into his crotch. Barda winced in pain and let out a little Groan. Infuriated, he threw Serpent across the courtyard into a pillar, which gave way and crumbled.

Barda picked up his weapons and began to run, though with a slight limp, towards his stunned enemy. He kicked Serpent square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. "You just won't cut it with the funny stuff, will ya?"

"Of course not," Serpent struggled to respond.

"Now..." Barda lifted his weapons to Serpent's chest. "You DIE!!"

Barda pulled the trigger on his weapons, which caused an explosion followed by a shockwave that shook the entire fortress.

Before the smoke had cleared, Barda began to speak. "Hah... looks like you were too---" Barda stopped and looked at his spoils. He expected to see a magenta colored build, with several holes riddling it's body, but instead he saw something else...

A large, quad legged AC stood in his place.... though the expected holes were there. Despair, gasping for breath and struggling to stand, made one comment: "You do not destroy my siblings!". Following this, Despair made one final attack and unleashed all of his power upon Barda. His arm disintigrated, his leg, destroyed.


He flew back and slammed into the opposite wall, where he lay. Not dead, but close to it. Serpent opened his clenched eyes to find that he had not beed sent into oblivian... but where he once stood, his brother now was slumped. "Despair!!" Serpent scrambled to his brother's side, tears streaming. Cobra was soon there as well, also in turmoil.

*gasp* "You... must... help Orphan..." Despair struggled to remain alive, though it was futile. "My span is short... Don't..." *gasp* "let him..." *gasp* Despair began looking wildly around, his eye darting this way and that.

"Despair!!" Cobra screamed. Despair's body became limp, and the two remaining brothers lay his body softly to the ground.

"Why..." Serpent pondered. "Why would he do that? He died because of me!!" Serpent grabbed his head, as if tormented by some sound none other could hear.

"Serpent..." Cobra tried to console his brother, but failed. He stood up to look around, thinking that all was done. But to his horror, the fight was not over. Juliet stood not twenty yards from him.

She look at the gruesome scene, littered with shrapnel and rubble, agast at what had transpired while she was out.

"You killed my comrades, and apparently you seem to be alone, what with those pathetic brothers of yours."

"Don't you talk about them like that!" Cobra snapped. "Despair sacrificed himself for one of his own. What did you do?! You slept!!"

"Thanks to your dead brother there," Juliet said mockingly. Cobra became enraged and readied for battle. Juliet laughed softly. "You think you can take me? If any of you could have, it would have been that old shell over there." Juliet was picking at a weak spot. And it had been the last straw for Cobra.
----------------------
Notes by shear
Juliet - One of O-G's League ACs

[Shark]

Part 8: Comrade
---------------------------
Orphan's eye side shifted to the left as he felt the wind change it's flow behind him. Instinctively, he brought up his arm to catch Drifter's, stopping his energy blade attack in mid-strike.

Drifter looked slightly surprised by his quick reflexes. Orphan then activated Wanderer's blade, and it hummed with a sickly orange glow under the moonlight shining into the castle. Once again, the sight of it brought nothing but fury on Drifter's face.

"You murderer... you dare to use my brother's blade again?" Drifter shouted. He boosted in quick bursts just like the last battle, only this time Orphan could read his movements more easily; they seemed slightly more erratic yet predictable all the same.

Drifter seemed troubled in the mind, the glow of Wanderer's blade bringing more discomfort to his brewing thoughts. His fists rattled as though he was going paranoid, looking more intently at his brother's blade. Useless fool... you couldn't even save me, came Wanderer's stern voice. Drifter screamed out in all of his agony, trying to jab Orphan with his parrying blade but missing completely.

Orphan noticed the change in his opponent's AI with ease; this was not the skilled opponent he had fought with earlier. It was clear now that the anger was too much, and it was taking over Drifter's ability to fight effectively.

I know that he's my opponent right now... but he doesn’t deserve to suffer like this, the way I did for my father… Orphan thought, feeling troubled. I know I owe him one... so maybe... if I can just get close enough...

*SLASH* Drifter sliced again, this time pushing Orphan back.

He boosted into midair for a finishing dive, but that's when Orphan spotted an opportune moment to counter.

Reacting with near exact-moment speed, Orphan over boosted under Drifter and thrust his blade into his torso. Drifter was stunned as he couldn't evade in midair, and was met with the full impact of the blade.

The stab was only midway, but Drifter froze in shock, staring into nothingness.

*****Meanwhile...*****

Serpent clutched his head, tormented by the demise of his brother, his mentor, and his best friend. His eyes reflected affliction, eyeing the empty shell that was once Despair.

"Heh, it looks like it's just you and me... seeing as emo-AC over there is still mourning over that empty carcass," mocked Juliet.

Cobra snapped, a wire in his head almost popping. "Never... look down on my brothers!!" he uttered warningly. Discharging a grenade over to Juliet, she countered quickly by meeting the shot dead on with a bazooka shell. The attacks negated themselves in a small explosion.

Juliet just smirked, activating her back weapons all at once. "It's useless..." was the only thing that she muttered. Cobra wasn't left with any time to ponder what she had said, as he noticed instantly that there were several pods surrounding him, each poised to strike.

The pods glowed with a magnificent blue as they charged up to attack. A loud shriek accompanied the first shot fired, which he dodged easily. The beams came in more frequently after that, their combined might sounding like a chorus of birds crying, and Cobra practically had to dance his away around them to dodge.

"Pathetic," Juliet mumbled again. This time, she fired off numerous hydra missiles in tandem with the pods that were already activated. Inevitably, Cobra was hit by a few and he winced a bit as they exploded on impact.

"Brother, how long to you plan to mope around like that? I can’t defeat her on my own," Cobra hollered. Serpent barely acknowledged his existence, turning around a bit from his crouched state. His eye was blood red, showing rage and sadness all at once; and his disposition melancholic.

"It's useless…. they've already defeated our leader, what hope do we have of defeating this last one…?"

Suddenly, Cobra gave him a slight scowl and stopped his movements, letting the energy beams and missiles shower upon him. Serpent looked at him incredulously, wondering what was going on. He could tell that his brother was dodging quite well earlier, yet now it seemed as though he was letting the shots hit him purposefully.

"You fool... just what are you trying to prove?!" Serpent yelled savagely.

Cobra simply laughed, even though it was obvious that his voice belied the pain he was in. His body was forced down from the impact of multiple beams; as he hunched over in a pathetic position. Soon he was reduced to his knees, but still refused to do anything about it.

Serpent’s steel heart ached as he watched his brother suffer the way that he did. It was though he was simply giving up after all the trials and tribulations they had gone through, yet now seemed to be the most inappropriate time to do so. “Idiot… don’t you understand when it’s time to fall back…?” he murmured as tears flowed down his cheeks.

"…It's you who doesn't understand," Cobra whispered. His voice was shaky and full of anguish. "Don’t you realize why our brother sacrificed himself?! Before we were able to fend off these ACs effortlessly, but look at us now! We lost the resolve to fight because of our separate paths, and we paid the ultimate price!"

The heavy assault continued, and Cobra could barely talk over the shrieking of the beams.

"The reason why our brother sacrificed himself... was not only to protect us, but to teach us the importance of being a comrade; to be one who has the will to protect those close to him. We took our bonds for granted until the point that it was too late, and now Despair is gone... so are you just going to let his sacrifice be in vain?! He was always there for us in the hardest conditions, he stood by our side no matter how rough the battle, and never stopped telling us how important our teamwork was, " Cobra paused for a moment, his body rattling and shaking in torture and grief at the same time. “If brother was still alive right now… he definitely wouldn't approve of your actions!!”

Serpent just sat there, shocked as he heard his brother's words. It was true; this entire time he was only being selfish thinking only about his battles. His pride and not anyone else’s. He could feel the tears falling more freely down his eyes; he felt like he had been a horrible sibling.

Finally deciding to take things into his own hands, he tackled Cobra out of the line of fire, taking a few shots in the process. They stumbled against one of the castle's walls, taking some hits by stray boulders. Serpent started to grin in spite of their harsh conditions. "Ha... brother, are you ready to end this battle?"

Cobra smiled back even though his body was a mess, having several large dents in his armor." With pleasure, brother..."

****Back at Rex's throne room****

Drifter's mind ached with an uncontrollable pain, as he felt memories transfer to him. He was suddenly taken to a shack at Rus Field, looking with what he assumed to be Orphan's perspective. There was an exchange of words.... then a figure on a rocking chair leap up and assaulted Orphan. It was his brother, Wanderer.

"DATA TRANSFER 100%" Orphan withdrew the blade, and Drifter fell to the ground in hibernation mode. He would need time before the memories were fully absorbed.

"Well now, that was a disappointing rematch by the very meaning of the term," Rex complained loudly. He lifted his tank like form and threaded off the throne. "I s'pose it's my turn now."
---------------------------
Notes by Dark:
Juliet- One of O-G's league ACs.
Data Transfer- In addition to absorbing from memory banks Orphan's special chip can transfer his own memories to others. He chose to give memories of Wanderer to Drifter.

[Shark]

Part 9: Denouement
---------------------------
Thunder rumbled outside of the castle as if to give way to the ensuing match. Rex grinned looking fairly at ease, albeit menacing at the same time. His form conveyed a tremendous sense of power; equipped with hefty karasawa as well as a geryon2 back weapon. It looked as though every aspect of his build was designed to kill.

Orphan stood his ground, and assumed a battle stance with his blade as Rex treaded onward, the very earth shaking beneath him. He felt his heart pound rapidly as the gap between them was closed.

No words were spoken.

Rex activated his back cannon, and charged both of his energy weapons at once. The room was lit up entirely with an intense bluish glow, which gave way to the blasts: one indigo and the other emerald. Their enormous range and wideness emanated with an awesome power, and as they approached Orphan he felt like he was staring through Hell itself.

*SSSWWWOOOOSSSHHH!!!*

The combined beams barely missed Orphan, who forced himself to side strafe at the last possible moment. His feet felt heavier than usual as he examined the aftermath: there was a gigantic path on the ground and a good portion of the north wall was missing.

Orphan felt a bit rattled as he attempted to steady his blade. In reality, his mind was far from calm. How am I supposed to counter another attack as powerful as that? he pondered. His movements were a bit shaky and he felt his body going a bit numb.

But before he could complete the thought the sound of charging returned.

Rex let loose another energy attack; Orphan steadied himself and whipped out an energy wave as it approached. The tiny explosion managed to knock back the beams a bit, but proved only a momentary diversion. Soon the wave diminished and the beams were back on target. “Ha, do you really think you could stop my attack with a puny wave?” Rex laughed as the attack destroyed yet another part of the wall. “I’m sorry, but that just isn---what?!”

When all the debris cleared Orphan’s body wasn’t there. Suddenly, Rex felt a presence move behind him. He just smirked and stood there as it approached.

Orphan dived in with Wanderer’s blade but at the last second he noticed two pods lifting from Rex’s back. He gasped as they turned a full 360 degrees, revealing themselves to be EO energy weapons. The inevitable occurred.

The twin shots were unleashed and Orphan was blown several meters away with a loud *SMACK!* as he landed on the ground and a small, burning hole appeared in his belly. He couldn’t help but scream from the searing pain.

“Tsk tsk tsk…” Rex uttered with a glare in his eye. He treaded in closer to Orphan’s damaged body. Orphan wished he wouldn’t as he struggled to lift himself up. “It’s not very polite to sneak up on a King, now is it?”

Orphan choked but continued to try getting up. “Now is it?!” Rex repeated with a roar. Suddenly, he treaded much more quickly than before, running over Orphan’s legs in the process.

Orphan howled in pain as he felt his legs getting crippled. They felt like nothing now… just two extended, metal blocks that were holding him down. He had no control of them any more.

Rex cackled with satisfaction as he viewed the suffering of his opponent. He aimed his karasawa at point blank range to Orphan’s head. “Now… it’s time to say goodbye…”

Reacting immediately, Orphan disappeared in a flash, using over boost to tumble his way to safety. Then, following it up with an upward boost, he used the last of his energy to extend his blade and dive, slicing a part of Rex’s left shoulder as he passed him. After that little maneuver, his generator was completely drained and he fell to the ground again, completely defenseless.

Uttering a few foul curses under his breath, Rex spun around and examined the helpless body of Orphan. “Oh my, getting a bit defiant are we?” he whispered with malice. “No matter… it all ends now…”

Without warning, a napalm blasted out of Rex’s core, burning Orphan in an inferno and throwing him into the air. But before he could even land… Rex began charging up his energy weapons again. “Farewell, young mercenary…”

Orphan deactivated his eye, waiting for it all to end. Unexpectedly, he heard a swift change in the wind's course... then a cry of pain. He activated his eye again and was surprised at what he saw.

Drifter, panting slightly and looking weary, stood in front of Rex; who had the ends of his karasawa, geryon, and left arm sliced off. The King was screeching out in agony. "You fool... who's side are you on?" Rex roared. "I made you who you are... you would be nothing with---"

Drifter never let him finish.

His pegasus boosters outputted maximum power, and he stabbed both blades into the very heart of Rex. Immediately, the King slumped over with his eye deactivated.... dead.

"Urgh... nasty little brutes," A voice came from the hallway at the exact moment of the death. Orphan used his weight to roll to his left expectantly, wondering if it was another opponent. Gradually, the form of Juliet became visible, and she was boosting away from two familiar figures.

The two were Serpent and Cobra, shooting off shells rapidly at their female opponent. Serpent was using Barda's dropped karasawa and grenade launcher; but what Orphan wondered was why Despair wasn't with them.

"Yo... Orphan!" came the voice of Serpent. "Whoa, you don't look so good... did you get run over by a tank or something?"

Orphan laughed bitterly. In reality that wasn't too far from the truth.

"Hey, brother, she's getting away!" Cobra interjected. Serpent turned around and saw Cobra chasing after Juliet, who boosted through one of the windows causing glass shards to fall everywhere.

"It's okay, let her go; she isn't a threat now," Serpent called over. His voice became more somber after that. "After all... Despair's final wish was for us to help out Orphan first."

Orphan immediately noticed the change in his voice and realized the truth… Despair must have passed away while they were trying to get to the throne room. He felt a horrible pain in his stomach that extended beyond anything physical; it was though it was his fault because they were only trying to help him. “I’m sorry…” he spoke apologetically.

“It’s alright,” Cobra mumbled with regret in his voice. “Originally… we were only trying to invade the castle to dethrone the King, since we couldn’t stand the way he ruled over everything. But brother… I mean, Despair, told us that we should go help you out…”

The entire time Drifter stood away from the conversation, his back turned and looking restless. He was just about to walk through the door when Orphan called out to him.

“Wait…. Drifter, thank you,” Orphan said. “You saved me again back there, I’m grateful for that.”

Drifter just smirked a bit. “Don’t thank me yet…”

Two imposing figures stood at the doorway, one a biped, the other a quad. “We have to thank you for what you did to the King… he was gettin’ a bit of a drag….”

[Shark]

Part 10 (Chapter Finale): A King's Leave
--------------------------------------------------
Fear coarsed through Orphan's circuits as he watched the two ACs get closer: Bishop and Rook. The two lackeys that Rex had sent out to capture him, now probably infuriated by what they did to the King.

Serpent and Cobra quickly positioned themselves in front of him, their stances offensive as they held their weapons out. But, from the looks of it, even they looked ill-prepared to battle seeing as they were severely damaged.

Things looked terrible for their side.

"We have to thank you for what you did to the King... he was gettin' a bit of a drag," Rook commented. Bishop seemed to concur as he nodded his head slowly; but said nothing as usual.

The two brothers looked at them incredulously. "W-what do you mean by that?" Serpent asked. "I thought you two were supposed to be the King's most loyal subjects."

"Well," Rook began, scratching his head. "We really hated him as much as everyone else, but the way things were we couldn't do anything about it."

"Why's that?" Drifter finally spoke. "At your current level you might've been able to overthrow him with your collective power."

Rook seemed to agree as he crossed his arms. "That might be true," he continued, "But you know that ol' Rex has a lot of backup. Even if we did fight him together he would call for reinforcements, and we'd never escape the castle alive. That's when you guys came in. We figured it'd be a good idea to capture you all first then formulate a plan; but that proved unneccessary."

He turned his head to indicate the two brothers, who now looked saddened remembering that one of them was gone. Orphan, noticing this, decided to change the subject.

"Hey Drifter... if you don't mind, could you help me out a bit?"

Drifter looked taken aback and reluctant at the same time. "Listen... I saw what happened between you and Wanderer, that day..." he said quietly. "And I know that it wasn't really your fault that you had to do what you did. What troubles me is why my brother would attack you like that... it just isn't like him."

His head faltered as he thought about it.

Orphan wasn't really sure why, but he has a hunch that the organization holding his father's memory had something to do with Wanderer's change in heart. They probably had convinced him by some means to join their ranks, possibly blackmail. The real question was what their purpose was; they had to be planning something greater with Widower's memory, and that was what they needed to find out."

"Actually," Orphan said. "I was wondering if you could help me stand up; my legs are kind of dead as it is."

All eyes turned to him as he spoke, immediately noticing the change in his normally serious attitude. "Well, he certainly knows how to lighten up the situation," Rook noted with a chuckle.

Everyone laughed.

****

"Alright, you should be as good as new," said Rook. Orphan whirled his legs around as Bishop finished the repairs on them. He then walked around the room in circles, holding his father's renewed bazooka in his left hand.

"Great, this is perfect," Orphan said. He noticed Drifter, Serpent, and Cobra in beds along the other side of the room; probably in hibernation mode and recovering from the injuries they sustained from battle.

"Well... since everyone else is still asleep I should be finishing my business with Rex." He turned to Bishop and Rook again. "Thanks again, guys."

They nodded in affirmation as he left the medical room, heading down the hall and into the King's chamber. Sure enough, Rex was still standing there looking empty; the slice wounds all over his body accentuated by the light shining from the roof.

"Now to finish things..." Orphan muttered as he put his hand above Rex's hollow head. The data transfer ensued, but as the download completed Orphan felt a hand reach up, forcefully grabbing him.

He back-boosted instinctively, a pain throbbing in his left wrist. "You...!" Orphan growled in surprise. "How is it that you're still alive?"

Rex chortled softly as his eye and body glowed with new life. "Ha ha... just like your dad."

Orphan's eye widened a the comment. The next moment, Rex had a bazooka aimed at his head. "What do you know about my father?" he uttered coldly. "Speak... or else this barrel will become both ends of the conversation."

"Relax, young mercenary," Rex said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I do not intend to do any harm; as I barely have any time left as it is. I will tell you all that I know.... as long as you hold down your weapon."

Orphan, sensing something different in the softness of the King's voice, lowered his bazooka.

"I knew your father as a teenager; we were both entering a world tournament at the time and I was only a mere prince," Rex recalled. "At that time, our views differed; he was a simpleton working at a fast food chain looking for money. I on the other hand was royalty; and sought nothing else than to expand my glory."

He paused for a bit, seeming to lose his train of thought. "Naturally, we got along only as fierce rivals as we made our way to the top. The final match was in Aros Highland; and I seemed to have underestimated his power. He defeated me at the last possible moment and stole the cup.

...Back then, I took the loss very harshly. I was humiliated, disgraced... it was an outrage for I, a prince, to be bested in combat by a commoner. To make matters worse that commoner seemed to disappear after the battle. I was looked down upon even as I walked through the streets, and there was nobody to take my anger out against... so when I became King that rage was channelled against my Kingdom. My heart changed as the years went by and my harsh rule seemed to become second nature.

Then one day... a figure approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse. I was to take part in a heist involving Widower's child and wife. It was the perfect opportunity for revenge."

His face was solemn as he spoke, and his voice filled with regret. Orphan's eye lit up with mixed emotions as the story finished. He didn't expect his father to be so amazing, but he also kind of felt sympathy for Rex.

"Listen, Orphan..." The King bellowed with the last of his breath. "I'm afraid I took the wrong path when I joined that evil Organization... but I hope I can at least aid you in finding Widower's memory.... so listen carefully."

Orphan's receivers perked up attentively as he heard this.

"The next piece of your father's memory banks should be in Dewlite City, held by the leader of a group of rebels. Also at that place is an extremely powerful, ancient warlord named Firefly. He was so powerful, in fact, that he put himself in hibernation mode for a thousands of years because no opponent could challenge him.

The rebels are trying to revive him. DO NOT allow them to do so. Any one who has tried to defeat him has died a terrible death. I have an aircraft on top of the castle that you can use to get there quicker. Now go...! The sooner the better!"

Orphan hesistated for a moment, but turned around in spite of himself and left the King's chamber. Rex sighed in relief as he watched him leave... but that moment was short lived.

A familiar voice ringed through his head, through a tiny microphone. Traitor.... did you really think you could defy us without our knowledge?!

The next moment a loud scream echoed throughout the room. Sparks came out of Rex's head as he froze.

Lifeless.

*****

The wind blowed casually as small specks of snow dropped from outside of the castle. Orphan stood at the top, eyeing Rex's aircraft. Expectedly, it was a sleek, streamlined gold build that offered a lot of free space. A futuristic build even on his terms, unlike anything he'd seen previously. Well, I guess it's time to leave this place, Orphan thought to himself. He was just about to board the craft when he spotted three figures at the corner of his eye.

"Hang on... you're not leaving yet are you?" came the familiar voice of Cobra.

Orphan didn't know what to say...
---------------------------
Dark's Note- Sorry shear, I took the initiative to finish off this chapter; hope you like where I've taken it.

And so comes the official end of chapter 3. Look for a poll!

[shearx]

Episode 4, Part 1 - Departure

“Hang on… you’re not leaving yet, are you?” Cobra spoke from behind. Orphan turned to greet him, as well as Serpent, and Drifter, who stood slightly behind all of the rest.

“Well,” Orphan paused. He looked at each of his newfound friends, and though about the pains that each of them had suffered. Cobra and Serpent lost their brother. Drifter too lost his kin. That was Orphan’s fault. In part. “I have something that I need to do. Something that only I can settle.”

“What makes you think that after what we’ve been through that we’d let you go after the rebels alone?” Serpent piped in, in a semi-sarcastic tone.

Orphan was caught off guard How do they know about them?! He thought to himself. “You’re wondering how we know about them?” Serpent spoke again. Orphan nodded his head. “We didn’t come after Rex just to dethrone him. We knew of his connections with the rebels from our intelligence. In fact, they were our next target. Do you know what it is they are trying to do?” Orphan stood still for a moment.

“They are attempting to revive Firefly.” Orphan had a sullen look upon his face. “I don’t know much about him except from the stories my father told me. A legendary warrior, powerful beyond reason…” Orphan tried his best to remember the stories and legends, as well as what rex had told him.

“Go on,” Cobra urged. Orphan, abashed, delved farther into his memory. He began again.

“He was supposedly so powerful, that none could stand against him. All who tried to defeat him, died. Those who joined him were the only ones to escape his hand… Coming to his senses a little, he apparently put himself into hibernation mode to prevent further destruction.”

Cobra and Serpent were slightly impressed by the boy’s knowledge. Serpent began, a slightly serious tone tipping his voice. “And the rebels are attempting to bring that back. This is not something that involves just you. The entire world is now on the brink of its end. We cannot allow that beast to be brought-”

Drifter interrupted. “The stories about Firefly are skewed.” The others looked at him incredulously.

“How so?” Orphan asked.

“Firefly was not all powerful. He would never have put himself into hibernation. It was against his character. He was a ruthless being, with a taste for destruction. Many tried to defeat him, that much of the story is true. But Firefly was one day met by an enemy that even he could not defeat. Firefly was forced into hibernation. The one who defeated him also went into hibernation, in case something like this would happen in the future. The location of the other AC is unknown, but is supposedly near Firefly’s location.” Orphan, Serpent, and Cobra were surprised at what Drifter said. Strangely though, it made much better sense than the previous story.

Cobra turned to Serpent and whispered something that Orphan could not hear. His gaze wandered from the two brothers to Drifter. He was leaning lazily on a wall, one leg cropped up, arms crossed and head lowered, though his eye was fixed upon Orphan. They started for what seemed to be an eternity. Orphan was only awakened from his trance when Cobra shook him lightly on the shoulder. “Orphan!”

“Sorry…” He looked at Drifter once more, then back to Cobra. “What were you saying?”

“I said we need to do something. Originally we,” Cobra motioned towards Serpent, “planned on going after the rebels ourselves, but it seems that this turn of events has changed that. We need a new plan.”

“Right,“ Orphan though to himself. “You and Serpent should find out all you can about the one who forced Firefly into hibernation. I’ll go to Dewlight city and investigate the rebel base and attempt to infiltrate the installation.”

Serpent and Cobra both nodded and began to walk back the way they came. Cobra turned and threw a wide-area comlink to Orphan. “You’ll need this. We’re one frequency 2.012854. Contact us as soon as you reach Dewlight. And you shouldn’t go alone.”

Orphan acknowledged this and looked back at Drifter as the other two left. “Coming?” Orphan said to Drifter, with a jovial smirk.

Drifter was taken aback by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean are you coming with me? Serpent was right. I can’t get in alone.” Orphan was insistent.

“I can’t….” Drifter became withdrawn.

“Look,” Orphan walked closer to Drifter. “ You have a bone to pick with these people as well, perhaps even more that I do. You have to come. For Wanderer.”

Wanderer… Drifter thought about his fallen brother. He remembered the time he was watching Wanderer as he fought for his life, quite literally, in the Blade tournament. He remembered the grace with which his Brother fought, and while he himself participated in the same tournament, he did not do nearly as well. Wanderer… teacher, brother, parent…. Drifter thought about everything that Wanderer did for them during his childhood. Then the image of his brother demise entered the field of his memory’s vision.

***Small Flash back, Wanderer’s death***
Orphan fell to his knees, a huge hole in his chest. Wanderer stood behind him, parrying blade outstretched. Orphan seemed to be thinking deeply of someone close to him… Another AC, Blind Eye, spoke in a mocking tone at the injured Orphan. Out of nowhere, Orphan lifted a large weapon to Wanderer’s head. He mumbled something, and suddenly Wanderer’s head was gone…

***

Drifter snapped to; out of his acquired memory, though he did not show it.

Orphan decided that Drifter wasn’t coming. “Well, thanks for the help anyway.” He turned around and began walking towards the aircraft, but before he boarded, he turned halfway and spoke again, “I think Wanderer would’ve wanted you to have this.” Orphan had pulled Wanderer’s blade from his hangar. He threw it at Drifter, who caught it and looked at it despairingly. A tear rolled down his cheek.

“Wait up,” Drifter called up, as he ran towards The open gantry of the craft.
-----------------------
Notes by shear
Wanderer and Drifter are brethren, obviously. The references to Drifter's past denote that Wanderer was in charge of the family, meaning that their parents were either dead or not present.

[Shark]

Part 2: Spy
---------------
A flood of relief came over Orphan as Drifter boarded the craft; he figured he couldn't handle the rebels alone. With a strong companion tagging along, they at least had a fighting chance. "So... you got any idea on how this thing works?" Orphan asked. They both looked at the imposing dashboard, which had a plethora of different levers, buttons, knobs and switches.

Drifter went on ahead, strapping himself to the pilot seat and adjusting a few of the levers. "Heh, what were you expecting? I was the King's best scout. That's why you saw me flying around the mountains the other day."

The ship rumbled to a start and the left door closed automatically. Orphan could feel the excitement surge through him as they leviatated into the air. "Don't forget to put on your harness," Drifter yelled over the engine. Orphan sat on the adjacent passenger seat as they got higher, fumbling with it's fancy harness.

The turbulence adjusted itself just in time as he figured out how to put it on. But, he knew this was only the beginning. "Hang on," said Drifter. With another slight shake, the craft was propelled forwards at an amazing velocity, causing just about everything in it to vibrate.

A few minutes into flight everything settled down. Orphan could only look in amazement and anticipation as the world of Fros Region disappeared from the ground below them.. giving way to a warmer mountainous area.

The time to revive his father was drawing nearer.

******

Hours into flight Orphan could see the sun setting in the distance, bathing the area with twilight rays. "How much further?" he inquired.

"We're a couple minutes from landing, actually," Drifter replied. He pointed his left index finger to a city approaching in the distance. An odd thing about it was that a good amount of the surface area was covered by a few milimetres of water. It was somewhat dark and gloomy, looking nearly isolated but ironically very developed. There were high, tower-sized metal structures everywhere and a tower for every ten of them. Each of those towers almost rivaled the size of Rex's castle in height.

"So.... this is Dewlite City," Orphan murmured. He felt the ship rock as they began to land on a particularly large portion of the wet area, wisely isolated from the bulk of the main area. It was best for them to keep it in a safe spot. "Where is everyone? This certainly doesn't look like a place where civilians would hang out."

"It's not something they can control," Drifter said matter-of-factly. "The rebels have probably scared them with what they're trying to do. We're both too young to know too much about Firefly, but from what I've heard in the tales his battle prowess was unparalleled. They always said that an earthquake erupted for every step that he took."

Orphan listened on with interest. This Firefly.. I wonder if my father knew about him? he thought. Any way... we need to locate the rebels and stop them before they can suceed. Otherwise much more than this city could be at stake.

Taking the comlink off the aircraft's dashboard, he turned it on and held it to his ear. "Serpent, Cobra... can you guys hear me?" Orphan tried. There was a bit of a crackle and the expected static, then a steady response came from the other end.

"We hear you, Orphan," answered the voice of Cobra.

"Drifter and I have arrived in Dewlite City. How are you guys doing?"

"We're still scouting out potential areas around Fros Region," Serpent piped up. "Talking to some of the locals, there appears to be some commotion going at Poline Range. We'll keep in contact with you guys if there are any developments; in the meantime let us know if something happens over there. Got it?"

"Yeah, we'll let you know," Orphan assured them. He turned off the comlink, and put it in his hangar. Turning his head around instinctively he noticed that the door of the aircraft was already open. Drifter was standing outside scanning their surroundings.

"Hey, wait for me!" Orphan called out. He bounded over to his companion and they walked around the city, searching for any clues. The first thing they needed to know was what the rebels were up to; and secondly they needed to stop them from reviving Firefly, wherever he was. Only then would it be okay for Orphan to absorb the next part of his father's memory.

Unfortunately, a few minutes in they realized nothing stood out in particular and all they saw was more of the same. Steel structures as far as the eye could see; not so much as giving them a hint to where everyone was. Orphan sighed, feeling depressed to be in such a grey, empty city.

"Thinking of the mentality of these city folk... where do you suppose that they'd be hiding?" Drifter asked after a few minutes of the walk. Orphan shrugged, having just about the same idea as his partner. His eye darted around aimlessly as he examined their surroundings, and then to the ground again.

Then he stopped upon looking into the water's reflection.

Orphan froze with a look of anxiousness in his face.

Drifter, who had been walking ahead, just noticed this now. "Hey, what are you standing there for?!" he yelled. "We have to find those rebels as soon as possible."

Looking even more anxious, Orphan briefly side-glanced to his right, giving Drifter the signal to see what was there. The blader eyed the area but there was apparently nothing; just more of the same structures and a tower that stood above them. Wait... a tower.... Drifter thought.

"Sniper at three o'clock," uttered Orphan. He didn't know if Drifter heard him, but he began to pace around in circles restlessly.

"Gotcha," whispered a voice in the tower. He looked through the narrow scope of his long rifle, which was aimed at Orphan's head. Adjusting his shaky arm a bit, he got ready to pull the trigger.

But then...

Orphan suddenly began to boost around rapidly, moving in random circles. "Shoot.... crazy kid," he complained. "Hold still for a sec' so that I can hit ya."

"I won't allow that to happen," came a voice from behind. The sniper nearly jumped in surprise, dropping his rifle as a parrying blade was held to his throat. Behind him stood none other than Drifter.

"Tell us everything that you know... or else I won't hesistate to end your life with this blade," Drifter whispered threateningly.

The sniper could feel cold sweat drop down the side of his metal face.

"A-Alright, alright... just relax bud, okay?" he stuttered.

"Hey Orphan, we got a captive over here, you can come over now!" Drifter shouted out.

Orphan stopped boosting around, then made his way into the tower. He walked the steps up to the top floor, where Drifter was waiting patiently with the sniper's life in his hands.

"Who are you?" Orphan asked immediately. "Why were you trying to shoot at me?"

The sniper was a slim, yellow biped build, equipped with an EO core and having a bright green visor. Two sniper rifles were lying on the ground near him, presumbably his belongings; which had been dropped upon encountering Drifter. "I-I'm known as DC around here," the sniper said, still talking nervously. "About the shot, p-please don't take it personally... I was only doing my job, which is to eliminate any intruders."

Orphan almost felt sympathy seeing DC in such a pathetic state. Nonetheless, he was their only clue to finding out anything about the area. "Tell us all you know and we'll let you off without any damage," Orphan offered. "Refuse and we might have to take some drastic measures."

Drifter just sighed inwardly. The bluff was so unconvincing that almost anyone could see through it; since both knew they couldn't afford to kill the captive and the information held by him. Even so, DC seemed to buy into it.

"Okay... but will you promise not to hold this blade at me anymore? It feels uncomfortably talking with a sharp object near my throat," he said with a bit of sarcasm.

Orphan looked at him warningly, which seemed to quiet him down again. He then turned to Drifter. "Do it."

Drifter released his blade and the captive stumbled forward overdramatically. "Who told you to be here?" Orphan demanded. "What group do you belong to?"

DC seemed overwhelmed by the sudden questions. "I-I was stationed here by my superior," he claimed. "His name is Volt; if that is important at all..."

"And your purpose?" Drifter asked.

"We're been trying to stop a couple rebels running around here... they've been up to no good lately. Say, you two are outsiders right?"

Hmm... so he's against the rebels, Orphan thought, completely ignoring the question. But he still can be useful finding our way around this place. Walking around the room, he grabbed the two sniper rifles on the floor, tossing them to DC.

"You're trusting me with these?" DC asked incredulously.

"Arm yourself," stated Orphan. "We're heading to your superior to get some info about the current situation."

All the while, Drifter looked at DC with a hint of skepticism. The story didn't seem believable at all.
---------------
Character Notes by Dark:
DC, Volt- Two of anklbreaker's league ACs.

[Shark]

Part 3: Silent Infiltration
---------------

“Orphan... are you sure we can trust this one?” Drifter asked, voicing his concern. DC, the sniper build they had met earlier, was leading the way to what should have been his superior. But from the looks of it all they were seeing was more of the same—identical structures for every turn that they took. He could have well been leading them into a trap.

Orphan decelerated his boosting to stay on level with Drifter. “Relax, will you?” he said. “You should learn to trust others a bit more. It's not like all of the ACs we meet are going to turn around and betray us.”

Drifter seemed to contemplate it for a moment. Maybe he's right.... but it's best that I don't abandon my suspicion completely. That would be a fool's mistake...

Taking a sharp left turn around another corner, DC finally seemed to slow down. Ahead, a small isolated building stood out from all the rest. Granted, it was notably smaller than most of them... but that was just what made it unique. The structure was rusty and worn almost as though there were some history behind it. It was also quite jagged—lacking the polish and finesse of most of the other buildings. So much so that it looked like that it could collapse at any moment. “That's it up in front,” DC affirmed.

They all turned off their boosters, landing with a gentle splash to the watery ground below. Then, upon DC's guidance they made there way into the front of the building. He held out his right palm to a computer device on the front door; apparently some sort of scanner. After a few seconds of waiting it popped open with a slight clank. They walked up a flight of stairs.

“This is Volt's office and also general HQ; we meet here whenever there's a need for collective meetings,” DC explained. “But today he should be alone. He probably isn't suspecting us so you should both be polite.”

“And what makes you think we wouldn't?” Orphan uttered under his breath. DC seemed to pay no heed to this, as he opened yet another door that was on top of the steps. It gave way only slightly.

“Volt, sir... we have some visitors,” DC said with a more formal tone.

“Ah, so you've returned DC...” a voice came from the other side of the door. “Well show them in; I suppose we don't have much to lose.”

The sniper then pushed open the door completely, revealing a figure sitting at a desk. He had a long barreled grenade launcher attached to his right arm and 5BP bazooka hung around his back by a long red strap. Orphan presumed it was Volt, and he was looking at some sort of map laid out before him. At the same time, he was busy making lines and squiggles on it; as if planning some sort of battle tactic. “And now who might you two be?” Volt asked, looking up and eying the two travelers cautiously.

Orphan stepped forth. “I'm Orphan, and this is my companion Drifter. We've come to Dewlite City with the primary objective of seeking the rebellion leader; he has something that we need. But we've also heard of some AC named Firefly around here...”

DC and Volt suddenly looked very serious. “We're trying to stop his revival,” Orphan finished.

Volt looked relieved the moment he said this. He stood up from his chair, now pacing around the office contemplatively. Then, after a few moments, he stopped in front of a large, wide window overlooking the city outside. “It appears that we have some common ground, as we already have a unit over at the site where Firefly is, guarding him so that he isn't revived by any of the rebels. To further ensure this, we've encased him in a block of ice...”

Orphan looked taken aback. “So... how about it? If you were skilled enough to take on DC here then you must have some experience. We could use your help... perhaps form a temporary alliance...”

“Temporary alliance?” Drifter repeated skeptically. He turned to Orphan, who didn't seem to share the same sort of doubt that he did. In fact, he seemed eager to oblige.

Sometimes I think his trusting nature could be his downfall.. Drifter thought critically. He had seen evidence of this through the flashbacks with Wanderer and Blind Eye; even with Rook... memories which still saddened him greatly.

“Yes, I think it would benefit us both if we joined forces,” Orphan answered.

Volt smirked, seemingly pleased. “Good, because we were planning a raid on the suspected rebellion base tonight,” he said. Turning around and looking back at the map, he checked over the marked area again as if to examine for any imperfections. “This will be the decided route... we will all go there as one unit and meet Static there.”

“Even you, sir?” DC asked, surprised.

“Yes... I have some business to take care of with them,” Volt told them. Orphan and Drifter examined the map with interest; the site wasn't too far from where they were staying. Another point of interest was also marked a couple blocks from that area; it was circled in red and labelled “Firefly”.

“Alright, we'll be ready...”
---------------
A/N: Probably a boring part... but it was necessary to advance the plot. The action is yet to come.

[Shark]

Part 4: Night of Deceit
----------------------
Nightfall soon came, and it was time to initiate the raid on the rebel base. Orphan, Drifter, DC, and Volt moved swiftly to the outside of the area—Vina Parking, where an ivory tank was waiting for them.

“How's the situation, Static?” asked Volt as they landed.

“The reports were probably true, there was definitely some activity going on here,” the tank replied. “I held myself not to take any further course of action until your arrival.”

“Good, because we've brought some aid,” said Volt, motioning to the two travelers. “These two are Orphan and Drifter. They'll be assisting us to stop the rebels from reviving Firefly.”

Static extended his arm warmly. “It's nice to meet you two; it'll be a pleasure to work together.”

Orphan shook his arm in return. “Yes sir, it's a pleasure.”

Drifter merely stood in silence as he looked into the interior of the place. It was a spacious parking lot but with very little head space; and the walls were musty, painted in an almost lime-like color that was peeled off in many areas. To add to the peculiarity of it no vehicles were parked in at the moment; seemingly defeating the purpose of building one in the first place.

“Tis an odd place to hold a meeting... dontcha guys think?” DC commented, as though reading Drifter's mind.

“Well, actually... if it hadn't been for the scouts who noticed rebels coming here ever so often then we probably wouldn't have suspected anything,” Static said. “They regularly arrive around this time, so we should be planning our attack about now--”

“--Wait.... I'm seeing something on my infrared,” DC interjected. “There appears to be two heat signatures coming from inside the building; and they aren't our guys...!”

Everyone looked at him in surprise, then back to the building again. Volt motioned with his hand to move in closer, and they all did—moving inside the lot itself.

“Where are they?” Volt inquired.

“They're in that room out front; probably where they are holding the meetings. Both of them are standing still, I think they're siting down. What should we do, sir?”

Volt seemed contemplative for a moment, then he finally spoke up. “Eliminate them. Then we'll ambush the others as they move inside.”

“Got it,” DC affirmed. He was just about to move in closer with his sniper rifles when a hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back.

“Wait,” said Static. “Leave it to me. I can do this much faster.”

DC just shrugged, but moved out of the way as Static treaded towards the door. Stopping with a slight rumble, he activated his karasawa, skylla, and garum at once-- and Orphan was instantly reminded of his fight with Rex. It seemed as though Static bore an uncanny resemblance to the King, both in physical appearance and power. The weapons emanated with a familiar bluish light as they were charged up.

Yet, somehow... things seemed almost too easy...

*FWWWOOOOOMMMM!!!*

The charged shots were released, and almost instantly the three beams penetrated through the steel door; melting the center of it like butter. On the other side, two small shrieks of surprise where heard, but they quickly faded.

“Heh, you never did bother to defeat the enemies in style, did you?” DC commented. The smoke began to clear; but Volt did not look happy...

“Hey boss, what's up?” DC asked, noticing his boss' sullenness. Volt pushed aside the new debris surrounding the room, walking inside with a look of anger of his face. Everyone followed suit.

What they saw inside truly shocked them...

Two of Volt's own scouts; dead with gigantic, fresh burn holes ripped into their heads and torsos. Sparks came crackling out of their newly deceased bodies. There were also metal ropes on the ground; as if they were forcibly tied up earlier and were used for bait.

Static looked the most horrified of them all; looking at his hands with carnage written all over his face. His head was bent down in shame as he realized what he had done.

“They tricked us-- apparently these devices are able to manipulate their heat signatures,” Volt noted. He pointed out the small, glowing triangular devices which were still attached to their left shoulders. He then detached both of them and crushed them with his bare fists. “Those rebels.... they'll pay for this....”

“But for them to do this.. they must've caught on...” Drifter noted. Suddenly, at that exact moment some footsteps were heard at the front of the parking lot. They were quick on their feet, almost as though there was more than one of them- but when they stopped Orphan could see why.

A white quad stood in plain sight, in front of Vina Parking. He was the bulky type with a hornet head, loris arms and large EO pods. On his left arm was 5HP bazooka and on his back was a micro missile pack. “Well well... you're more foolish than I thought, o great Volt... taking the bait,” the quad spoke.

“So I might as well introduce myself... the name's Decibel, remember it... because it's the last thing you'll ever hear.”
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Static- White tank with various energy weapons by anklbreaker
Decibel- Silence's AC in NL tourney and league.

[Shark]

Part 5: Gems of the Past
----------------------
“'Great Volt'?” DC repeated. “Commander, do you know this AC?”

Volt growled a low, nasty growl; his eye darting to and from the newly deceased scouts and their opponent. “We don't have the time to play with small mice like you, Decibel,” he uttered. “So scurry along and we can have a little chat with your leader.”

Decibel laughed coldly. “Oh, I reckon you have all the time in the world....”

Taking a bold leap, he fired off a single shell, forcing them all to evade. As if by reaction, DC immediately whipped out his sniper rifles and flung twin shots at Decibel. They were easily evaded with a quick sidestep, impacting on the opposite wall and causing rubble to fall from the ceiling.

“Darn it, there's no time for this... they've probably found out where we've hidden Firefly, by now!” Volt shouted. “One of you stay back and handle this one. The rest will go on ahead to intercept the rebels.”

His eye scanned the room, looking for any takers. Orphan and Drifter just shrugged, looking reluctant. They both knew that there business wasn't with Decibel, they'd only waste time by fighting him. It was the rebel leader that they were truly after.

Static was still looking crestfallen after what he had done to the scouts. That leaved only one choice.

“I'll handle him, you guys--”

“--No,” Static interjected. The tank slowly lifted himself up, looking dejected, but battle-ready and determined nonetheless. “This is not your fight, DC. I took the lives of two innocent.... and now I must make repent for my sins.”

“Go now. Leave him to me.”

“Hmph. Always acting out the noble guy, huh,” DC smirked.

“An impressive resolve... yet one that will easily go to waste,” came the voice of Decibel.

Suddenly, a loud boom erupted from the left end, and a flurry of micro missiles escaped from the either sides of two pillars. Static held several lock-ons, managing to take out about half of them with energy weapons while the rest plummeted all over the place.

Tiny smoke explosions resulted; and Volt, DC, Orphan, and Drifter took this as an opportune moment to leave Vina Parking. “Heh, leaving a comrade to die... it seems that the Great Volt hasn't changed at all,” Decibel's voice shouted as they left.

Volt growled angrily once more, but didn't look back. They continued to boost out of the parking lot and back into the city; expecting to encounter more rebels but seeing none. Then, they made their way towards the site where Firefly was.

“Umm... commander, what did that AC mean about leaving a comrade to die?” said DC. “He seemed to know a lot about you.”

Upon the comment, Volt seemed to look very resentful; no matter how much he tried to hide it. “It's not important right now,” he insisted. “We need to get to Firefly now, before----sh**!”

All of them stopped boosting; noticing that there were presences somewhere near them.

Lurking.

Hiding as if waiting for the right moment to strike.

A second later, a shadowy figure dropped from one of the windows of the surrounding buildings. It was a deep-blue biped, overboost model... with rifle and grenades at hand. Another one soon followed from the adjacent building. It was a biped also; but it was a rusty gray dual wielding rifle user.

“The ZX mercenaries.... I should have known,” uttered Volt.

“Huh? So you know these guys too?” DC asked.

“The blue one is Overdrive, and the other is Prototype. These two are infamous mercenaries-for-hire; it's something I learned in my old travels. But I had no idea they were still in league with the rebels.”

“Heh, so we meet again o great Volt,” spoke Overdrive. “I promised you wouldn't survive in our second encounter. And look, you've even brought some friends to see to your death.....”

His voice was cool, seemingly calculating... something Orphan would expect from a mercenary. Yet this was the first time he had seen one.

“Apparently you're pretty famous around here,” Drifter spoke up. “So I think it's time for some answers. What do you know... and what are you hiding from us, Volt?”

Prototype let out a small chuckle as he heard the comment. “So he doesn't even trust his new teammates, eh... it's a shame. These are things you shouldn't keep bottled up, old friend...”

“Old friend?!” DC repeated in surprise.

Volt continued the guilty look, while Orphan and Drifter didn't look fazed. He had been part of the rebels in the past before, but had somehow come to his senses. It was fair game to suspect this based just on his knowledge of the opposition. The real question was why he switched sides.

“It's true. I was part of the rebel group in the past; I suppose I couldn't hide from my past forever,” Volt confessed.

“Yes.... it was about ten years ago, wasn't it?” Overdrive piped up. “This loser was a nobody back then. A child who had lost his mother and father to the wars of the past.”

“He came to us for acceptance, a sense of belonging... and although we let him in, not much was thought about it at time,” Prototype continued. “Only a couple weeks after that, our initial impressions were proved wrong. Volt was a natural, almost... a genius skilled at the art of fighting. He quickly rose up the ranks and became the leader's right-hand AC.”

“But one day... he left that all behind,” Overdrive spoke bitterly. “We will never forget that night....”

**FOUR YEARS PRIOR**

At the time, it was decided that we would find and awaken Firefly. It was all part of our master plan and we were trying to further our ranks...

“It is time to carry out our objective, Volt. I've heard news of where Firefly is in Dewlite City. We'll awaken him, tonight.”

A squad was taken to the site of where Firefly was: an ancient temple hidden and untouched by the modern city, with untold treasures and secrets...

We were traveling with that squad. Along with our leader and a few others... including Volt.”

“This is perfect... with a powerful ally at our side we'll become a force that no one will dare reckon with. Cities will crumble in our wake, and all will fear the might of the Rebels. It is time, Volt... awaken him!... awaken the legendary Firefly!”

But Volt had other plans. We soon discovered that he was nothing like us.... one of those fools who believed in nonsensical concepts like freedom and equity. Upon hearing our plans, he decided that this was the last straw... our methods were too extreme for his morals. Volt quickly betrayed us, thinking we had to be stopped before more harm to innocent ACs was done; even going so far as to kill our former leader and the rest of squad that had come along... except us two. We had been particularly close, so he spared us from death.

“Volt.... why?! Why have you done this?! We could've had so much... the world would be at our fingertips!! So why betray us now?”

“Because I have the choice. I... originally joined you guys because I had no other place to go. I was a nobody, with no parents or siblings. It was my way of finding acceptance.

.....But now that I've seen what you plan to do, I won't be able to tolerate it anymore...!

Simple thefts or smaller crimes I didn't mind because they were only minor in comparison, but I won't simply turn my back when I see something that is definitely wrong, clear as day.

Our friendship, our goals... they are nothing to me if it means so many others will be at stake.”

“You fool.... leaving me alive like this. I promise.... the next time we meet you'll be the one to die at my hand....!”

**PRESENT TIME**

“Prototype and I had been the only survivors of that night. We fled back to the rest of the rebels, disgraced. Shortly after, Volt moved the entire temple to a safer location with some help... and Firefly along with it. He then assembled a petty group of his own to protect it, while we also increased our numbers.”

“Now under the rule of a new leader, we've established Firefly's new location. We'll finish what we started all those years ago,” Prototype finished.

DC, Orphan, and Drifter looked at them in awe as the story finished. Orphan wasn't sure whether to praise Volt for what he did or to start fearing him. Almost an entire squad.... he's a beast in terms of power, he thought.

“You guys.... I am truly sorry for not having told you earlier,” Volt muttered apologetically. “I... I can understand if you now see me as an unfit leader. Do as you please...”

He lowered his arms, as if expecting anyone of them to attack him in fury. Yet DC just smirked. “Commander... this isn't the time to be going on guilt trips. The past is behind us now, you've turned over a new leaf... and done great good for the City.”

Volt looked genuinely surprised, his head turning to Orphan and Drifter; whose looks seemed to convey agreement. “Thank you... for giving me a second chance. I promise I will not let you down.”

“Yeah yeah, this is all very warm... but I think it's about time we got the fighting started,” Overdrive interrupted. Holding out both weapons, he sprayed his ammo at Volt, Drifter, and Orphan; who jumped up on top of the buildings to evade the shots. The ZX quickly followed suit, taking two separate buildings.

“There's no need for you to waste your time like this, commander Volt,” said DC. “I'll hold these guys off while you take the new guys to Firefly.”

“--But...” Volt began.

“Hmm.... two against one are pretty bad odds. Why don't I even them up?” Drifter suggested. “We'll stay here and catch up later. Volt and Orphan will advance ahead.”

“....Are you sure you're going to be okay?” Orphan asked.

“Yeah. After all... my brother will be fighting right here with me.”

Confused, Orphan could only understand what Drifter meant as he watched him drop his parrying blade—replacing it with Wanderer's powerful slicer. He then activated both his own and his brother's blade; one blue and the other orange.

Orphan was truly impressed by the sight. He felt as though he were seeing both brothers united together, imbued into a single power. “Alright, we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's go Volt.”

Volt nodded, and they continued their way to the temple of Firefly. Boosting past the mercenaries and various structures along the way, they could barely hear the talking and fighting going on behind them.

“Bah. We'll let them go for now, since this will only take a few minutes. Then we'll get our revenge on Volt...”
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
ZX-Overdrive, ZX-Prototype- League ACs by Fallen

[Shark]

Part 6: Origins
----------------------
Sunset came, and the placid, twilight rays faded into darkness. On the rooftops, the dying light set the stage for an epic battle.

DC readied his weapons listlessly, a firm and resolute look in his eye. Facing his opponents, he found himself surprisingly calm in the face of such a formidable threat.

“Hey, think you can handle these guys?” he asked with a bit of a smirk, turning to his companion.

“....Do you really need to ask....?” was Drifter's reply.

“I guess not...”

Taking a great leap over to the next building, both of them took on a respective foe. DC fired his rifles at Overdrive, distancing himself in the process. The shots were quick and precise; as Overdrive barely managed to evade. Seeing an opening after the initial attack, he lobbed a grenade over at DC; which hit dead on.

Being pushed back as a result of the impact, DC slowed down his momentum using boost power. Recovering himself from the heat, he was attacked again as Overdrive boosted at him, tackling him back down to the buildings.

Meanwhile, Drifter dived at his cunning foe, who evaded the attack expertly. Trying to gun down the blader with both rifles, Prototype was largely unsuccessful; as few shots managed to land on target. A couple of boosts later, Drifter was right in the face of his foe... and taking a swing with both blades Prototype was unable to evade; receiving the full force of the attack.

However, the battle was far from over. Managing to recover himself before he hit the ground, Prototype landed on both of his feet; clutching the newly created, vertical scar on his chest. Wasting no time in launching a counterattack of his own, he recovered his pacing with an over boost.

Drifter managed to match his movements at every turn; their attacks become a blur at heightened speeds. Prototype's over boost prowess was matched only by Drifter's proficiency with the Pegasus boosters and energy blades. Shots and swipes were exchanged, yet the damage caused remained fairly mutual throughout.

Nearby, DC was having troubles of his own. Evading rapid EO attacks as quickly as he could, he found it difficult to launch any type of offense while defending himself. Releasing a hohshi from his core, he managed to slip away from the line of fire as the shots were guided off target.

“Hey, where do you think you're going?” shouted Overdrive. A second later he was right in DC, both armed weapons locked on and ready to fire. DC froze in tension. “Goodbye, it's been a pleasure...”

Releasing both triggers, DC was sent flying into the streets below, plummeting into the water with a resounding splash. Overdrive followed and examined the damage dealt—his eye was cracked and no longer glowing, and there was a slight hollow in his upper chest. His left leg was almost disconnected while other limbs looked quite mangled; surely a sign of death.

Figuring that his opponent had been finished off, Overdrive turned away to join Prototype's fight.

*****

“This is the place,” Volt murmured. They stood in front of an ancient looking temple; almost looking inspired by Chinese architecture. It was built on multiple layers—about five in total—each bearing the same, signature orange slanted roofs. The structure was cleverly wedged between two inconspicuous buildings; added to the fact that there were many towers surrounding them.

Orphan could see evidence that it had somehow been moved—the ground beneath them was slightly cracked as if impacted on forcibly. He didn't know how Volt could accomplish such a feat, much less without any help—but felt glad that they were on the same side.

“D**n it.... they've already arrived?!” Volt cursed to himself. Running into the temple at full speed, Orphan found himself struggling to keep up.

They hurried up several, dark flights of stairs; going past some very peculiar looking sculptures and paintings in the process. The paintings portrayed various scenes of the past; looking largely abstract and stylized. Most of them told some sort of story—presumably one of war, as Orphan noticed by the grotesque scenes they depicted. Some had ACs getting beheaded by blades-- while others, melting apart through flames. Even odder was the fact that all of them had more than the war theme in common—there was also a red commander painted into every one. He was thin yet imposing—a familiar icy glow in his light blue eyes. In each arm was a heavy looking shotgun, which he was often shown waving to command an attack or using to penetrate the enemy's armor. Orphan got the chills just by looking at him pierce holes into the opposition.

The sculptures, on the other hand, were much more approachable—replicas of past ACs, maybe war heroes; each looking battle worn and wise beyond their years. Looking at them with great interest, Orphan hardy noticed as he and Volt arrived at the top floor. What they found up there was absolutely terrifying.

The bodies of Volt's guards were strewn across the floor... all dead. Their bodies were horribly disfigured as though smashed upon severely. Sparks crackled here and there; and across from them, on the opposite side of the room was the one responsible for it all.

He was an enormous, dark biped... about the same class as Volt. A behemoth who was almost completely black in color; except for the eerie, yellowish glow in his eyes. Armed with a 5BP in each arm, he didn't exactly look friendly.

Even more interesting, Orphan noticed, was a large frozen figure behind the black AC. He presumed it was Firefly, but couldn't see his exactly shape behind the thick ice. On either side of the sleeping warrior were two life sized sculptures of other ACs. Some odd aspect of them led Orphan to believe they were alive... or at least looked lively enough. Their appearance gave the impression that they were twins.

“So... you've taken over the lead of the rebels, eh Deadlock?” Volt uttered, apparently recognizing the figure. “I'm surprised... did you not bring any backup?”

Deadlock laughed, his voice deep and booming. “Heh heh... hah hah hah! This is splendid... the good news just keeps on coming, hey? First we find Firefly... then the great Volt comes knocking at our doorstep, with another one, too!--”

“Enough, Deadlock,” Volt interrupted. “What kind of game are you trying to play? If the Organization is trying to prevent the revival of the legendary warriors, then why have you come to awaken Firefly?”

“Hah... you're just as naive as ever, Volt,” said Deadlock. “Since the beginning, our purpose was always to AID in the revival of the legendary warriors.... except one particular bloodline.”

“....One particular bloodline....?” Volt repeated.

“Yes... as you know all life on the planet came from the legendary armored core, the first being in existence. This legend was responsible for starting civilization; creating an unknown number of sons and daughters to walk the face of the Earth. But perhaps the two most well known... were the war master, Firefly, and the peace-loving son, Omega.”

“So... you're purpose is to...?”

“Correct. The First One was more than just a creator, he was a visionary too. And what he envisioned.... was Utopia. The perfect world where his evil children would be punished accordingly, and only the good ones remained. In other words.... this was to be accomplished through elimination and reformation.

To accomplish this, he created the ultimate weapon. In modern times, some say it was a blade, others say it was a mysterious force, but all have known it by a simple name: Black Requiem. It was something capable of seeing evil everywhere it lurked, and punishing it accordingly.

And yet, some say the First One's sense of justice was twisted; for the war master Firefly continued to walk the Earth unpunished. Also curious was the fact that Firefly's exact opposite, Omega, was also allowed to live unpunished. Omega was the First One's peace-loving son. He secretly despised his fathers ways, thinking that good and evil cannot be judged so plainly by a mere weapon. So one day... he abandoned his peaceful ways and set off to defeat the First One and his ultimate weapon. How Omega went about this remains unknown, but what we do know is that he somehow succeeded, bringing him into hibernation mode.”

“So... now I get it,” Volt muttered. “You're trying to stop the bloodline of Omega, who was the main opposition to the First One.”

“Exactly,” continued Deadlock. “And to carry out his unfinished will... elimination and reformation. It all begins today...”

Orphan felt a cold tingling down his metal spine, sensing something very... familiar with what Deadlock spoke about, yet alien at the same time. It was though he had heard the story somewhere once before, in a different context.

Then it suddenly hit him like a rock.

It was what Wanderer said to him, that day....

You see, it was a trap all along... we knew you would become a potential treat... so we downloaded your father's memory banks to discover any possible ways to counter your fighting style--a fighting style that could be revered for generations if not for our 'interference'. Unfortunately, they were too damaged to discover anything, so Blind Eye here tricked you into becoming his pupil... so that he could experience your style first hand.

That same day, he had almost died by Wanderer's blade... but found himself renewed with power, almost possessed.... and destroyed Wanderer's head. Could it be... that.... his power came to me?! Orphan thought. His head was spinning with confusion as he came to a startling epiphany.

“Well well, looks like he's finally figured it out,” Deadlock sneered. “This brat... he's a direct descendant of Omega, isn't he?! No wonder we had to kill his father.”

“You-you've gone too far, Deadlock!” Volt screamed. He boosted at the rebel leader, pinning him to the ground while grasping his throat violently. Then he aimed a grenade launcher right at his face.

“Heh... it's too late. For I just have to utter the First One's name, and his most loyal son will awaken..” Deadlock uttered.

Volt's eye widened with terror.

“His name... Alpha.”

The moment the name left his mouth, a gigantic whirlwind swept the room, smashing the already dead corpses into tiny bits. Volt was blown back with ease, as was Orphan; still dazed by his realizations. Deadlock got on his feet, looking pleased as the ice began to give way and shatter, seemingly destroying the two statues in the process. Deadly shards of wood and glass were thrown everywhere; but the wind died as quickly as it had come. In its wake, it left a small cloud of smoke...

Three figures walked out of the shadows. One was unmistakably Firefly... but the other two...
----------------------
Character Notes by Dark:
Deadlock- League AC by Jacques
Omega- AC by Rainmaker

[shearx]

This is to be the final part of Episode 4. Coming up is the next arc in the series

Overdrive looked at the battle that ensued between his comrade, Prototype, and their enemy, Drifter. He watched for a moment as Drifter darted here and there, matching his foe's movements at every turn. he does well against one opponent.. let's see how he does against two!

Overdrive suddenly boosted right into the fray, taking up a position directly behind Drifter, with Prototype in the front. Drifter paused for a moment, glancing behind to note his new distraction, and altered his fighting to cope with the situation. He now focused on deflecting attacks rather than attacking himself. He would turn and briefly combat with one opponent after pushing away the other. He would stun the one and turn to fight the opposite. Drifter became a virtual sphere of light as his blades whirled and danced around him. The two ZX mercenaries were amazed at the sight and only intensified their assault.

Overdrive, seeing a small lapse in Drifter's technique, took the opportunity to launch a grenade at the blader. The shot hit it's mark, and Drifter was sent flying into a building. Both the mercenaries then launched an all out attack at where Drifter had fallen until the building collapsed. They halted their fire to watch the implosion, but before they could truly enjoy the moment, Drifter boosted out from under the rubble, Pegasus flaring, and came right into the face of Overdrive.

"Disappointed?" Drifter asked sarcastically. He then kicked Overdrive square in the chest, effectively pushing him back for a moment. Drifter took the opportunity to maliciously attack the flabbergasted Prototype, slicing off his left arm above the elbow. Prototype stumbled back and clutched his new stump, and looked at Drifter menacingly.

Drifter laughed mockingly. "Bet you weren't expec--" He was cut off by a grenade in the back, fired by the now recovered Overdrive. The grenade did not detonate on Drifter's back, but instead pierced through and appeared out of his stomach. Drifter looked down to see a gaping hole. He then looked up at Prototype and slumped to the ground.

The two mercenaries came together and stood above the fallen Drifter, and prepared to finish him off. "Weren't expecting... that?!" Prototype screamed, turning Drifter's comment around.

"No... this." Drifter said before passing out. The two ZX's looked at each other quizzically, wondering what the statement meant. As prototype looked at his comrade, a sudden flash through Overdrive's head startled him. Overdrive's dead body crumpled to the floor, and all Prototype could do was watch. He looked incredulously at the lifeless body, then attempted to find where the shot came from. He looked up, only to see none other than DC, eye cracked and faintly glowing. Before he could say anything, DC fired another shot at Prototypes head. The round hit true, and the final mercenary fell to the ground, dead.

DC walked up to Drifter's side and lightly shook him. Drifter slowly came to, and looked at the two enemies they had just fought. "That was interesting," Drifter commented.

DC only chuckled a little. "We've got to get some repairs. Come on." He helped Drifter to his feet, on arm over his shoulder, and the two stumbled back inside the garage to see what had become of Static before heading back to base.

***************************

"No!!" Volt screamed as he helplessly watched the reborn Firefly walk. Never before had he thought this day would come. The end was nigh...

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" bellowed Deadlock in triumph. "Now I shall rule the world, with the mighty Firefly at my side!!!" He had a sinister look on his face, almost as if he had gone mad. Firefly only looked at the behemoth, then motioned one of the two AC accompanying him to move. He did, with blinding speed. He appeared right in front of Deadlock, who had a startled look on his face, then one of pain as two grenade launchers tore through him like paper. The shell of Deadlock slammed against the wall, a good 100 meters away. The AC then resumed his place at Firefly's side.

Orphan was shocked, but wasted no time analyzing the three ACs that stood before him. Firefly was colored as the legends had always depicted: Deep shades of red and gray, with red shotguns and sleek quad legs. On the sides of either of his robust arms, there appeared to be auxiliary shields. The very look of him struck fear into Orphan's heart. He then moved on to examining the other two ACs. Orphan had originally thought of them to be twins, though now seeing them closer up, it was apparent that that assumption was false. They had similar coloring: Various shades of violet and white or gray. They looked strikingly similar, almost mirroring each other. They sported radar plates, each with it mounted on opposite sides of the other, and the same core, or so it seemed. The main difference Orphan noticed was their weaponry. The one on the Orphan's left had dual Chain guns, while the other had two Grenade launchers. Truly frightening.

The one on the right spoke first of all three. "Interesting crew we're facing here, eh Valkyrie?" He said. Orphan and Colt were still looking with fear upon all of them.

"Indeed, Triple 8. What say we have a little fun?" The other replied with a beautiful tone, obviously female.

Next Firefly himself spoke. "No," he said, voice deep and demanding. "Now is not the time. Ominis, Ominia, we need to leave. As for you two," referring to Orphan and Volt, "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I am Firefly, and these are Ominis," motioning right, "and Ominia. Forgive their rudeness."

Volt decided to interject. "I would've expected such statements from you, you beast." He said, anger flicking his voice.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat you superior..!" Firefly flashed forward, placed one of his shotguns against Volt's shoulder, and pulled the trigger. Volt screamed out in pain. Orphan, enraged at the arrogance of Firefly, boosted forward, preparing to attack his seemingly unwary foe. He was interrupted by Ominia as she pummeled him with mini-gun fire. Ominis the boosted forward and kicked Orphan in the face, sending him flying backwards. "Glorious display, darling." Ominia said to Ominis. He looked back with a look that Orphan longed for...

"Pathetic..." Firefly laughed at the pathetic ACs that lay before him. "Come find us when you have some skills worth displaying." With that he motioned to Ominis and Ominia and the three disappeared through the doorway through which Orphan and Volt had come.

Volt stared at the opening, a look of desperation in his eyes. "It's hopeless Orphan... We were too late and now Firefly has been revived... all is lost."

Orphan crawled to the corpse of Deadlock, which was covered with rubble and debris. He cleared the mess, hoping to see something... and was relieved to see Deadlock's head intact. He touched the lifeless head and began the memory transfer that would revive his father. DATA TRANSFER 100% COMPLETE came the sound of his computer.

"Not all is lost. Not yet," Orphan said as he leaned back against the wall with a thud. He then pulled out a mall com link from his hangar.

"Serpent, Cobra, do you copy?"
---------------------------------------
Notes by shear
Ominis and Ominia - Atrum's League ACs

[Shark]

Some static crackled over at the other end, and Orphan got his reply. “We copy, Orphan,” came Serpent's voice. “Did you have any progress?”

Orphan felt relieved to hear his friend's voice once again. He felt his spirits lift a bit after all the confusing events which happened today. “Yes, we made some allies in Dewlite City... although I'm sad to report that Firefly... we couldn't stop him....”

EPISODE 5
REVELATIONS

A long silence ensued, as if the two siblings were in shock. “.........Hmm...... so he's awake,” Cobra piped up. “How troublesome... he's definitely one obstacle that we could do without, right now....”

“.....What do you mean? Have you guys found anything at Poline Range?”

“Well, not exactly. We were inquiring about the one who forced Firefly into hibernation mode, but the locals didn't seem to know much about the myths. In the end, we came shorthanded... but scouting around the area, we noticed the Organization's presence around us. They are planning something, Orphan, something big....”

“How do you figure?” Orphan asked.

“We learned from the locals that one of the members was staying in the area, a few days back,” Serpent continued. “They say he and his men were doing mysterious activities all over the place, like mining. We figure that they have some greater objective that we don't know about. But that AC left before we even came, so we couldn't inquire any further.”

Contemplating his brewing thoughts, Orphan more confused than he ever did in his entire life. To him, the revelations of his origin were a grand enough mystery already, but now he had to deal with the Organization and their mysterious purpose... all while trying to revive his father. It was also ironic how they were trying to cut off Omega's bloodline, and carry out Alpha's will; or so Deadlock put it... but when Firefly was revived he only cared about his own agenda.

If that's the case, then what use did they have for my father's memory? thought Orphan. He should have also been a directly descendant of Omega. They could have killed him on the spot, but they also downloaded his memory banks....

Maybe... he had something that they needed, which could only be acquired through the Omega bloodline. A secret... maybe? But what?

What troubled Orphan further was the fact that he was a descendant of Omega, and that meant Alpha as well. Two of the first armored cores in existence. No one, not even his father, had told him about this in the past. Is.... is it expected that I carry out Alpha's will too? Or Omega's? Then should I really be taking any sides?

“Orphan..... Orphan, are you still there?” Cobra yelled.

“Huh—uh, yeah!” Orphan replied, shaking off his thoughts. “Guys, there's no need for you to continue your search. I know who forced Firefly into hibernation mode.”

“.....And?” Serpent asked expectantly. “Who was the one?”

“His name.... was Omega. That's the only logical explanation; he forced both Alpha and Firefly into a state of sleep and somehow negated the threat of Black Requiem. Then he eventually went into hibernating himself. Though whether or not the weapon was destroyed remains unknown.... I highly doubt that it was, since Firefly is probably out searching for it right now. We'll eventually need to stop him, of course... but right now it would be impossible with our current power.”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down Orphan... what in heck are you rambling on about? Omega?! Alpha?! Black Requiem?!”

“.... Black Requiem, it's an ancient weapon or power that Firefly is out seeking right now. As for Alpha and Omega.... I'll have to tell you guys on the way. We'll have to head to your coordinates with our ship. I'm picking up you guys so that we can head to Rus Field. I know an AC there who could give us some answers.”

“Well....... alright,” Cobra said rather hesitantly. “We'll be counting on you, Orphan.”

With that, the com link clicked off. Orphan turned over to Volt, who was horribly damaged on the shoulder by Firefly's shotgun attack. “Sorry about that little interference... are you going to be okay?”

“No.” Volt uttered simply. “That Firefly... he really lives up to his name. Even though I've experienced much pain as a veteran of battles, that one small attack.. it's astounding how much damage it caused.”

Orphan chortled in spite of himself. “It's really amazing how you can be frank under these conditions.”

“Yeah, well, it just comes naturally I suppose?”

Silenced reigned, both feeling the bond between them strengthen. Then Volt spoke again.

“Listen, Orphan... I know I can't speak much being a risk taker myself, but what you're doing... chasing Firefly and this Organization, is it really what you want?”

“Yes,” Orphan answered without hesitation. “I have to admit... I'm a bit shaken, finding out all this new information today. But I've never forgotten why I took up the fight. To revive my father... if I have to defeat these guys along the way, then so be it.”

“Hmm, your resolve is certainly strong...”

Orphan felt his temperature rise a bit. He felt a bit embarrassed being complemented by an elder; something he wasn't used to after his father's demise.

“....But consider this Orphan. You'll fight many battles along the way, and destroy many opponents. I'm sure that you're used to this by now. But the enemies will only get tougher from here.”

“....What are you trying to say....?”

“To defeat them. You'll need experience and power. And you won't have too much power just wielding that one bazooka of yours.”

Volt indicated the bazooka; the one Orphan treasured as a memory of his father. His mind then traveled back to the day when he met Wanderer, the elder brother of his companion. That same day he had got a taste of Omega's strength, and it was also when his other weapon had been destroyed.

“So what do you propose...?”

“Take one of his,” Volt suggested, pointing to Orphan's left.

Orphan turned around, facing the empty shell of Deadlock. Much if his armor was already banged up, but surprisingly both bazookas remained in tact. Hesitantly, he took the one held in Deadlock's left hand.

“It's not really my style.... picking from fallen enemies. But you do have a point.”

Volt just laughed. “Ha, think of it as payback... he got what he deserved, eh?”

Orphan joined in the laughter.

“HEY.... ORPHAN, ARE YOU UP THERE?” a voice yelled from downstairs. “DC SAID YOU'D BE IN THIS PLACE.”

Orphan nearly leaped, recognizing the voice after a bit of thinking. “Yeah, we're up here, Drifter! We could use a little help!”

“Alright, don't worry. We're going to head over to HQ for repairs.”

*****

The sun rose over in the horizon, signifying the start of a new day. The light reflecting on the steel buildings and towers in Dewlite City, Orphan felt calmness sweep over him as he looked over the waters; feeling renewed yet a bit sad at the same time. This was when they'd say farewell to their comrades.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Volt said, DC and Static standing behind him. “It was a pleasure working with you Orphan. I wish I could help, but the city demands protection... there's no telling when the rebels may establish a new leader, and strike again.”

“I understand,” Orphan said solemnly. “We've got a quest of our own ahead of us too, and now we'll need to move ahead more than ever. It was a pleasure to meet all of you; and the best of luck to your efforts.”

Extending his hand, Orphan felt pleased as Volt shook it firmly. No words further words were spoken between them; but the looks they exchanged said it all. It was fitting for everything to end like this.

“Later,” DC uttered, glancing at Drifter.

Drifter just smirked. Following behind Orphan as he got into the ship, he waved one last farewell before closing the door... and leaving their past comrades behind them.

“So, we're heading to Serpent and Cobra's coordinates, first? Then Rus Field?” Drifter inquired, taking the pilot seat.

“Yeah.... we're going to meet an old friend of mine. He's got some important explaining that all of us need to hear.... that Generic....”

[Shark]

Part 2- Loss
---------------------------------------
The aircraft tumbled roughly as they landed on the vast expanse of Poline Range. Orphan, eager to greet his old friends, strode out of the aircraft to head to the appropriate coordinates. He felt rejuvenated feeling a warm summer breeze blow over him, his eye darting here and there examining the green, lush scenery; but at the same time, a bit uneasy.

It wouldn't be long before they had to face Firefly again, and when they did, they would have to be prepared. A lot more prepared. That was why they needed to see Generic first, for some answers.

“Hey, Orphan, do you notice something.... odd about this place?” Drifter noted, trailing behind. He looked around in all directions, taking in the sights as if there was something out of place in the area.

“Is that going to be your key phrase whenever we visit a new place?” Orphan asked, a bit annoyed. “Anyway, it doesn't really matter. We're only here to pick up Serpent and Cobra, then we're out.”

They quickened their pace to the coordinates, soon finding themselves at a small village hidden in between the hills. Drifter examined their surroundings with caution. The place was barren, but not deserted.... there were a couple of civilians doing business outside of their houses, and children playing along the stone paths. What seemed odd to Drifter was the fact that a few of the houses were smashed; as if there was some sort of attack recently. Not just the houses either... the wells, the shacks, carts... it seems that someone was angry, he thought.

As Orphan passed by, he stopped abruptly in front of one of the stone houses in the village “Well, our craft said that these were the coordinates, “ he announced. “I guess Serpent and Cobra are staying here. Shall we knock?”

Not waiting for an answer, Orphan banged his fist loudly on the front door of the small house. Silence followed. Then footsteps approaching rapidly.

“Hey, Orphan, is that you? Long time no see buddy!” exclaimed a familiar voice. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the tall, slender figure of Serpent. Cobra was following just a few steps behind him.

“Yeah, it's been a long time,” said Orphan. “How have you been? You guys living with someone here?”

“Naw, the both of us are doing okay. The folks around the village here were really nice-- when we told them we'd be staying for a while they lent us a house free of charge. A bit odd, really....”

“More importantly, Serpent,” Drifter interjected. “Just what went on here? Any particular reason why the structures are ruined?”

“Hmm... straight to the point as always, huh Drifter? Well as we mentioned earlier one of the Organization was snooping around the place before we arrived. I'm guessing he left a bit of a mess behind him... the villagers said his name was “Axel”, but don't have much of a clue what he was trying to accomplish. Interesting, isn't it?”

“All the more reason why we should stop those guys as soon as possible. Now that we've told our part I think it's time that you two told yours...” said Cobra.

“Alright, we'll explain along the way.”

*****

The sun shone brightly along the horizon as the craft flew across Poline Range, leaving it behind them. As they headed towards their next destination, Rus Field, Orphan recounted the events in Dewlite City and why it was important for the brothers to come along.

“So let me get this straight,” said Cobra upon hearing the end of the explanation. “Firefly and Omega were sons of this “Alpha” fellow.... and right now Firefly is trying to revive some ancient weapon?”

“That's right,” Orphan replied. “It's called a Black Requiem; and from what I've heard its not something that we can take lightly. We need to destroy it at all costs.”

“Still.... it's kind of amazing. I mean, you Orphan, being a direct descendant of two of the most powerful ACs in history. I would've never figured.”

“Hrm.... yeah, well...”

Sensing Orphan's discomfort on the thought, Drifter changed the subject. “And we can't forget the Organization either. With all the commotion they've caused recently and their acquisition of Widower's memory, I think it's safe to say that they're after something-- or someone, as well.”

“That's where Generic comes in. I have a feeling he knew a lot more then he was--”

*BOOM!*

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard from the rear-- an explosion of some sort. The aircraft rocked violently, sending Orphan and the others reeling off their seats. “What's going on, Drifter?” Orphan asked, panicked. “Did we hit something?”

“Sh**.... it seems that we're under attack,” Drifter murmured. “There's someone flying to the left of us. Hang on guys, this might get a little rough...”

*RA-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!*

Guns shots flew by rapidly to the left of the craft, which Drifter barely managed to outmaneuver. Yet they continued to fire without fail; as if determined to take down the craft. “D**n.... didn't Rex have the sense to put weapons on this thing? I can't see any arms or fire buttons anywhere.”

“Alright, I'm going to see what's going on outside,” Orphan shouted, barely making his voice heard over the gunfire. “Cover me, will you Drifter?”

Drifter just nodded; and Orphan opened the door to the craft. The wind blowed harshly at his body as he succeeded, sucking him in; but with a bit of balance he managed to regain his footing.

“So... the star makes his appearance...” a mocking voice uttered in the distance. “I'm a bit unimpressed by first appearances... but let's see how you do.....”

Tilting his head up, Orphan could barely see what was going on; as the air blowed harshly against his eye, making it sore, and the clouds zipped by in the distance. He could barely make out a pale white airship, similar in size to their own... only this one didn't seem to have a pilot. Oddly enough, there was no visible figure that appeared through the other ship's windows, as if flying on its own... AI controlled, maybe.

How odd... I could've sworn I heard somebody talking to me, Orphan thought.

Deciding that there wasn't any time to think about it any more, he climbed his way to the top of the craft, standing to face the opposing vessel. Then, taking out both his bazookas, he fired off two rounds to the white airship.

The shots were evaded with ease, as the ship heightened its altitude to avoid them. That's when Orphan caught sight of a pale white figure standing on top of the other ship... with a matching body color to his vessel. From what could be seen, he was a biped... with a striking green eye and two sirens on his back. In either of his arms were lengthy rifles; seemingly the culprits of the earlier gunfire.

“Hmm.... so you've finally noticed me. To say the least, you've shown rather.... weak detection skills...” the figure spoke.

“Just who do you think you are?” Orphan yelled, infuriated. “Why are you attacking our craft?”

“You'll know who I am in time.... but first, I think I deserve a demo of your skills...”

That being said, the AC swung his arms forward in the blink of an eye, aiming both rifles at Orphan. Shots were fired off with amazing precision, and Orphan felt the force of each one slam against his armor. Falling back a bit, he did a long jump into the air, boosting forward to gain momentum while landing on the white ship.

Taking a swift left turn, Orphan slammed his bazookas at the white ACs, while pulling the triggers; only to notice that the AC was no longer there. Suddenly feeling a presence behind him, Orphan gasped, and, reflexively, rolled away as the mysterious opponent let loose another round of rifle bullets.

Seeing this as an attack opportunity, Orphan overboosted at the opponent, kicking him squarely in the chest. He seemed to cough a bit, genuinely surprised, and fell to the side of the ship—clinging only to the right wing.

“So much for that, huh?” Orphan commented, aiming his father's bazooka at the white AC's hand.

“Heh heh... good, but not good enough. I'm afraid I'll have to end this one right now.... another time, maybe?”

“Huh?!”

In a flash, the white AC flung himself up using only his left arm; and in the next instant he was behind Orphan again.

Not having any time to react, Orphan felt two cold barrels meet the back of his arms.

“Ta ta....”

The rifles were fired, and Orphan shouted in pain as they pounded against him; sending him flying back to Rex's craft. His vision became blurry as his head hit one of the wings... but the last thing he remembered was seeing the white AC's mocking face, laughing as the craft soared into the distance...

*****

“Orphan... Orphan, are you okay?”

Mumbling a bit, Orphan groaned as he got up—feeling a sharp pain in the back of his arms. His vision gradually came back to him, and in the next moment he saw Drifter sitting in front of him, looking slightly concerned. It reminded him of the time they first met in the Fros Region; only this time he recognized the area that they were in as Rus Field. It looked like a military area of sorts; with large craters dotting the area and even tanks to boot.

“That white armored core... where did he go?” Orphan asked, whipping his head around as if expecting him to be somewhere.

“Gone. He left after you fell unconscious... but I wonder why he randomly attacked you like that...”

“You figure he's a part of that Organization...?”

“No, I doubt it. If he was he would've finished you off back there and then... but he seemed to be teasing you or something, as if it were only a test. I wonder what his purpose is?”

“No clue,” said Orphan. “.....By the way, did you guys manage to locate Generic?”

Drifter paused, looking distraught. “Umm.... about that.... well....”

Hearing him trail off like that without continuing, Orphan felt in his gut that something terrible had gone on. Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled past the landed aircraft, regaining his footing and then rushing past the destroyed shack, then over to where Serpent and Cobra were standing..... Generic's destroyed lab.

“D**n it.... d**n it... don't tell me that they got to him..first....”

Running past the two brothers, who only exchanged sorrowful glances, Orphan slammed the door of the lab open-- and saw that his worse fears were confirmed.

Generic's dead body lay before him.... part of his head missing, as well as his lower body and forearms. His chest was crackling with fresh sparks; as if he were killed recently—a fact which Orphan resented deeply. This time it looked as though he couldn't be healed.

Falling to his knees, Orphan felt a familiar sadness come over him... like the time he had lost his father. “D**n it.... d**n it all... if only we had come earlier, then this would've never happened...”

A solitary tear rolled down his cheek, and Orphan took a moment to send his prayers to Generic. Then, doing his best to compose himself, he stood up, looking around the lab as though searching for some source of comfort. What he found upon first inspection surprised him.

Across from where he was standing, there was a very noticeable large machine-- by appearance, Orphan assumed it was a holographic projector of some sort. Curiosity getting the better of him, he strode over to where it was placed, unscathed by the recent conflict...