Last Raven

[Dragge]

Foreward

I've decided to start a new story. For now I can't think of a good plot line for Casket except that in about eight or nine years from the point in time I have it at, Barrel and Bluecher will head to Forbidden Island then wake back up on Calinca then eventually find Trigger. I don't know how many of you are full on Armored Core fans like I am but this story is loosely based off of Armored Core: Last Raven. So until I get a good plot line, Casket won't have much of anything new for now. I hope everyone enjoys my first non-Megaman story.

[Dragge]

Prologue

"How did I get myself into this mess? This is crazy!" a human told himself. He looked out and saw nothing but rain and fallen buildings. His A.C. was getting low on armor points and he had no clue how much longer he could hold up.

Then he saw it. Hundreds of Pulverizers rose up from underneath the rubble that sat around him. The man flipped a switch and an energy blade shot out from a weapon located on the left arm. "Bring it!"

The Pulverizers rushed in to attack him all at once.
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"My name: Supernova VI. My occupation: Armored Core pilot. My goal: to become the Last Raven standing. This is my story told from start to finish. How I got into that situation and how I got out. This is a story of war, romance, peace, and death. This is not a story for the weak-minded. This is a story that only one can truly understand.

[Dragge]

Chapter 1- Runs in the Family

A man of about twenty or so walked up to what looked like to be a large warehouse. He put his hand on a scanner and immediately opened up for him. He stepped inside and went to flip the lights on. However, the lights were already on.

The man walked up to a large mech sitting there about one-hundred feet in front of him. "Is this what all new-comers start out with?" he asked himself.

"Of course it is." said an anonymous voice.

"Who's there?"

"I am." said the man stepping out of the shadows. This man was about five foot, ten inches with a muscular structure. He looked like a guy someone didn't want to mess with. "So, you're one of the newbies that I heard about, right?"

"Yes."

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm..."

"Oh I know who you are. You're Jack-O. Previous leader of the Ravens' Ark and founder of the new Vertex group."

"Exactly. And you are?"

"Supernova."

"Why does that name sound so familiar to me?" Jack-O asked himself. He rubbed his chin as he walked over to officially greet Supernova.

"Maybe it's because you knew one of my relatives under the same name: Supernova IV, my grandfather."

"Yes, know I remember him. He was one of the Ravens to survive the unmanned suicide weapons attack. You're what? The fifth Supernova?"

"Nope, the sixth. Sit down Jack-O and I'll tell you about my families history dating back to my great-great-great-grandfather Supernova the first."

Jack-O sat down on a metal container across from Supernova. "Well, you recall that people fled underground for fifty years after the Great Destruction right?"

"Yeah of course."

"Well, after that time period, Supernova came up with the rest of the people and joined in with the first group of Ravens. He shouldn't have made it in. He was sixteen and back then you had to be eighteen to pilot an A.C. Anyway he looked older for his age and was accepted."

"He was amazing. He flew up through the ranks until he even surpassed the great Nineball. His missions were perfected with care using his A.C. still known to this day as Zero: a red and green A.C. with exceptional armor and quad-legs."

"Just like Supernova IV."

"Exactly. After a while he came face to face with Project Phantasma and defeated all three prototypes. He was recognized immediately. After the Phantasma incident he ended up becoming the Master of the Arena."

"I've done some research on him and indeed he was a great pilot." Jack-O said for no reason.

"Anyway, between the sixty-seven years between the arena battles and the Mars mission, he settled down and had a family. He ended up with a son, Supernova II about halfway through that time period."

"The second Supernova, years later joined the Ravens' mission to the barren planet and survived. Five years later he returned to Earth and continued his piloting. His son was Supernova III and would go on to fight against the Controller."

"Supernova III also found out what was going on with the Silent Line."

"The Silent Line. Anything that tried to pass over it was destroyed instantly. It seemed to take forever to finally find out what was back there." Jack-O said recalling the incident.

"Supernova IV you remember. He survived the unmanned suicide weapon attack and claimed the title of Nine Breaker. During this time his son Supernova V was an architect for his team in the Formula Front. Then there's me. The sixth in my family."

"It seems like Armored Cores run in the family."

"It really does. I can't wait until I start my first mission."

"You have potential kid. Listen, if you decide to join any of the two sides, go with us, Vertex. Don't go with the cheating Alliance."

"Ah yes of course. The three corporations as one; Mirage, Crest, and Kisaragi. I'll think it over."

"Good. Well I have to get going. There's another newbie coming just across town from here. I hear that she comes from a line of A.C. pilots as well."

"Sure, stop by anytime. Tell that new person to stop by if she has questions."

"Will do. Don't forget though, Ravens usually work alone and will turn on other Ravens that they claimed as friends. Oh and you're crew should be arriving shortly."

"Thanks Jack-O."

"Hey, just call me Jack if you wish to." Jack-O opened the door and left. Supernova was all alone with his A.C.

Supernova looked up at the A.C. and smiled. "Let's get started on fixing you up."

[Dragge]

Chapter 2- Zea

Supernova looked at a screen with a keyboard sitting in front of it. "Let's see what this does." Supernova was about to touch a couple of keys when a hand from nowhere hit his hand. "What the?"

Supernova turned around to see an attractive female standing over him. "That's my job to touch the computer."

Supernova stepped away from the computer. "Who are you?"

"I'm part of the crew that Jack mentioned. The name's Sheila Caldwell. The other half of your crew, Ed Weisz should be here shortly."

"Nice to meet you Sheila. I'm Supernova and of course I'm a rookie."

"I like you all ready. Great to be on your team." Sheila turned around when she herd a person gasping for air.

"Nice to see you both. I'm Ed. I'll be your analyst on missions accomplished by yourself." The five foot, three inch man took a couple more deep breaths then took his glasses off to wipe the sweat off.

"I'm Supernova." said the Raven pilot shaking hands with his analyst. "Well, first thing's first. It's time to start ordering parts for my A.C."

"Already?" Sheila asked with shock. "Usually a Raven doesn't start ordering parts until after a couple of missions."

"I'm loaded right now. I even know what I need to make my A.C. what it is."

"Well, let me bring up the ordering page on the computer and we'll get started." The two of them walked over to the computer. Sheila pulled up a chair and flipped a switch. The platform they were on rose up to the air and went over to a nearby control room in the corner of the garage.

"What's this place?" Supernova asked after the platform locked into position.

"A control room for Ed and I. It also serves as a room for the three of us including all the food and utilities that you could ever need."

"Let's order some parts now shall we?" Supernova pulled out a magazine that also sold parts and read off the list of parts that he knew he needed for his Armored Core. It only took ten minutes tops and they were done.

"What now Supernova?"

"Well. Until I get a mission request nothing really. I might go out and explore some of the city." Supernova was just about to walk outside but the door slammed open. In the door frame stood a beautiful woman letting her long black hair flow in the wind. She walked in and let the door close behind her.

"Jack told me there was another rookie across town. I guess he was right. Nice to meet you. I'm Zea."

Supernova almost didn't respond since all he really cared about was her beauty. "I'm Supernova." he said shaking her hand.

"Looks like we're almost roommates or something like that."

"I guess you could say that." Supernova responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if what Jack said was true. He was right. It's kind of nice to know that there's another rookie alongside me."

"Yeah." Supernova said laughing. "I just hope we don't have to fight each other on a mission."

"Yeah wouldn't that be something. I would win."

"What do you mean you!?" Supernova asked.

"Back when I had my own place I used to have an A.C. simulator. I messed with it everyday. I knew that I would need skills before I got here."

"I get my skills from my heritage. My family is my skill."

Zea laughed for what seemed to be forever. IT was only a few seconds before she settled down though. "I'm sorry but that's really funny! How could your family be your skills!?"

"Being an Armored Core pilot runs in the blood. It started back with my great-great-great-grandfather Supernova the first became a Raven right after the Great Destruction."

"Well, I should be going. I think I got a mission so I'm going to kick butt."

"Good luck!" Zea just waved her hand behind her as she left the garage. Supernova stood there for a few minutes and didn't notice Sheila come up behind him.

"You're in love with her."

"What me!!! No way never!" Supernova reacted.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Sheila said walking off. It was true though. Supernova did like Zea but she would probably never love him. There was a knock at the door. Supernova opened the door and saw a man in a suit standing there.

"Can I help you?" Supernova asked.

"Sure can. Just swipe your credit card through this machine and everything will be your's."

"What do you mean everything?"

"Your A.C. parts of course."

"Sure thing." Supernova swiped his card through the machine the man was holding.

"Send the parts in!" Then box after box was shipped into the garage and opened up and stored away immediately.

"Sheila. Time to put my A.C. together!" Supernova walked over to the computer where Sheila was all ready getting the platform off of the ground. The both went up into the control room and started equipping the different parts.

[Dragge]

Chapter 3- Mission: Stop MTs from Leaving with Cargo

"Supernova, you have a mission request!" Sheila put over the inter-com system. Supernova went over to the elevator platform and rode it to the command room. "It's from Alliance."

"Read it Sheila." The message came up on the screen in front of them. It said:

"Raven, we have a situation that we need under control. A group of three MTs have taken some of our cargo while we were having it transported to our base. We need you to stop them from leaving the area. Your reward will be: 25,000 credits. Will you accept?"

"I accept it. Sheila, send a reply back to them saying I take the mission."

"Will do. Your A.C. is ready for deployment."

"Thanks." Supernova left the Command Room. The elevator landed on the ground. Supernova then proceeded to walk over to the staircase behind his A.C. which lead up to the cockpit located in the core.

Supernova entered the cockpit and saw the A.C. power up. "This is amazing. Let's do this." The screen in front of him lit up showing the garage. Supernova moved the left joystick forward and the A.C. moved it's left leg forward. Supernova moved the right joystick and the right leg moved forward. Supernova continued on until the A.C. left the garage.

Supernova piloted the A.C. to the coordinates on the screen. Issac City wasn't far from his location so he got there with ease. He set down the A.C. once he reached there and immediately spotted the three MTs stated in the mission briefing. "Let's see what this machine can do." Supernova turned on the boosters and took off down the stretch of road leading to the MTs' location.

The MTs turned around and started firing at him. With a huge A.C. it was hard to dodge but the hits did little damage. Supernova activated the A.C.'s right weapon, a sniper rifle with decent attack power. Supernova easily picked off all three MTs.

"That's that Sheila." Supernova reported.

"No it's not. You've got two more to deal with, and they're worker MTs too."

"Not a problem. I'll take them out easily." Supernova spotted the MTs and blasted over to them. "Energy blade, activate." Supernova said to himself while igniting the laser blade located on the left arm. With a single swipe he took out both MTs. "All done here Sheila. Any more?"

"No that's it. Return to base Supernova." Supernova activated the boosters and took off for the garage.
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Supernova entered the Command Room and saw Sheila get up and hug him. "Great job! Alliance sent their regards for helping them out. Your first mission was a success!"

Supernova saw the screen and saw new mail blink itself on screen. "What's this?" Supernova opened up the letter.

Sender: Zinaida

Raven, never before have I failed a mission, until today that is. My mission was to guard those MTs you destroyed earlier. I'm warning you know Raven. Stay out of my way and I won't have to kill you.

"What now Supernova?"

"I'll do what I have to do. Keep doing missions weather someone threatens me or not."

"Go get freshened up Supernova. If there are any more mission requests I'll let you know."

"Thanks."

"The 25,000 credits are now in your account Supernova."

"Thanks!" Supernova started to remove his pilot suit as he made his way to the showers. His first mission completed. He knew that he was born to pilot an A.C. He knew that he could become one of the best Ravens out there.

[Dragge]

Chapter 4- Long Into the Night

Sheila woke up and swore she heard someone breaking into the garage. She walked over to her nightstand and pulled out a small pistol. She kept hearing the noise and wondered why anyone would try to break in.

She got out to the main storage area and saw a figure working with parts. Sheila moved over to the elevator and took it down to the main floor. She got closer to the figure; however she could not see the person's face any clearer then when she looked from above.

Sheila approached the person and pulled out her concealed weapon. "Stop ambushing this A.C. and no one gets hurt!"

"Sheila please it's only me." Supernova replied rolling out from underneath the huge arm.

"Are you crazy!?"

"Maybe I am." Supernova said smiling. He got up off of the ground and walked over to the elevator. Sheila also followed close behind. Both took the elevator up to the main office.

"What are you doing up this late? You should be sleeping! Once more missions roll in there will be almost no time for sleep."

"Yeah I know. So what? I don't really care."

"So what are you doing?" Supernova walked over to the computer and hit a button bringing up a screen with a right arm part shown displaying what all is needed for it to function.

"This." he stated pointing to the screen. "I'm creating my own type of arm. It's a weapon arm but with different properties."

"Where's the weapon at? There's no weapon there!"

"That's where you're wrong. Look at these circular parts right here in the palm. That's the weapon."

"What does it do?"

"It takes energy from the generator and unleashes it as a blast of pure energy."

"So what makes this so different?"

"As you know, arm parts can only use those weapons. Well this can use not only those, but regular arm weapons such as guns, blades, bazookas, chain guns, and all that."

"So why work on this now?"

"Before I became a pilot, I helped my dad with architecture of A.C.s back in the Formula Front. Before I could do that though he made me take apart A.C. parts and put them back together. I could take apart a part in two hours and reassemble it in three and a half."

"Impressive."

"I know. That's why I'm creating a special core to go along with the arms. It's going to have two generators, one for each arm. The core as well will have both functions; the weapon system and over boost."

"A lot of work ahead then."

"Sure is."

"I'm going back to bed."

"I'm coming too. I just want to finish up a few things to the arms, cover them up, then save the project files so I can continue at a later date."

Sheila walked out of the office and headed back for the bedroom. Supernova got up and went back to complete his work. He welded a couple of last pieces together and indeed covered them up. He got back to the office and saved his files under the name IRN-MN-01.

Supernova then proceeded to turn out all the lights and get into bed himself. He had been up until three in the morning. As he reached his bed he just hoped that in the morning he could hit the snooze button and not have to worry about another mission.

[mybusterbroke]

I like this keep posting.

I want to see our hero do some more heroics.

[Dragge]

Chapter 5- Mission: Mass Hysteria

Supernova's alarm clock rang in his ear. He angrily rolled over in bed and hit the snooze button. The ringing; however, kept going. Supernova sat up in his bed and walked to the office area.

There was a message waiting to be read. Supernova then proceeded to sit down and open up the message.

From: Alliance

To: Supernova

We have another situation on our hands Raven. Our hidden weapon storage facility is a secret no more. It seems that Vertex has sent an unmanned M.T. to destroy our facility. It's up to you whether or not our facility stands.

Award: 100,000 credits

Supernova finished the note and looked on in disbelief. 'How could just one M.T. take out so much?' he thought to himself. "Sheila!"
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Ten minutes later Supernova was at the pilot's chair inside his A.C. ready for it to be deployed. He had taken the mission as soon as he showed Sheila. He couldn't let them down.

"Arriving to the drop-zone!" Sheila called out over the intercom system. "Dropping in three, two, one!" Suddenly the door below dropped open letting the Armored Core free-fall to the desert area below.

Supernova activated the over-boost and sped off for the facility in the distance. He hadn't even made it half way there before he could see the flames shooting up toward the newly lit morning sky.
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Supernova arrived on the scene and saw the facility still in tact. He still had time before the place was completely destroyed. Supernova started to turn his A.C. in a 360 degree circle. He was about half way around when out of nowhere rubble hit his A.C. hard almost knocking it over.

Supernova quickly spun his A.C. back around and saw the culprit of the whole situation. It did look like an M.T. but it wasn't. It looked more like an A.C. with enhanced blade arms and hover conversions for the legs.

The "Pulverizer" (as Supernova liked to name them afterward) saw the A.C. and went into an evasive maneuver. Supernova couldn't keep track of it as it circled around him. Before he knew it, the unmanned Pulverizer sliced at his A.C. taking out approximately 350 armor points.

'This thing is too fast! I can't even see where it is!' Supernova thought to himself as he tried getting a lock-on. Then he thought to himself that if he could throw his blade out there and get a lucky shot in, that he might have a chance at it.

He did just that and the Pulverizer stopped dead in its circular motion. He... no IT looked at Supernova's A.C. dead on as if it was a wrong choice to make.

The Pulverizer lashed out and started slicing away at the A.C. Supernova raised the A.C.'s arms in defense and locked on with his shoulder-mounted chain gun. The rapid-firing gun hit every time not missing the machine right in his face.

Supernova then switched to the grenade launcher and knew that at such close range it would damage his A.C. as well, but it was a risk he would have to take. He fired the massive cannon and blew off the head of the Pulverizer.

The machine fell with a heavy thud and laid there not stirring a bit. "Sheila. I'm all finished here. I also have something extra I need to take back to the garage with me if you don't mind."

"Nope, not at all. I'll be there shortly."
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Back at the garage Supernova and Sheila were looking over the large mechanized killing machine. "What is it?" Sheila asked in shock.

"I don't know. It pulverized everything it its path though almost like the unmanned suicide weapons."

"Well we'll take a look at it later and see what it's composed of. For now we'll name it a 'Pulverizer' for its destructive behaviors." Sheila walked off without another word leaving Supernova alone.

'I have a feeling that this isn't the last Pulverizer' Supernova thought to himself looking up at the machine. 'Let's see what you're made of.'

[Dragge]

Chapter 6- Deeper into a Mystery

Supernova walked toward the Pulverizer. How could something that looked like an Armored Core be so much more powerful? Supernova started climbing up the side of the mechanical destruction machine and immediately searched for an entrance to any type of pilot area.

After twenty minutes of searching, Supernova found nothing. "What are you doing up there Supernova?" Sheila asked walking up from behind him.

"Trying to find out just what the heck this thing truly is. I haven't found any type of pilot area so it's either controlled remotely or it has A.I."

"Artificial Intelligence huh?" Sheila asked not believing him.

"It has to be true. Think about the unmanned suicide weapons. They had a mind of their own!"

"No they didn't!" Sheila shot back. "They were programed to go off when they were disturbed!"

"Oh yeah that's right." Supernova started sliding down the front of the Pulverizer. "So are there more of these things out there or what?"

"Only time can tell my friend. By the way, you have a couple of requests." Sheila told him as she walked away. Supernova headed for the office and read the requests.

Message #1:

Sender: Alliance

To: Supernova

We need your help again. We are currently engaged in a battle with Vertex's forces. We are in the Gareb Forest pushing our forces to gain Vertex's M.T. facility. We will pay you well.

Award: 50,000 credits

Message #2:

Sender: Jack-O

To: Supernova

How's it going rookie? I hear you've done work for those Alliance @%%!%. I want to see you join the true Alliance when the final attack comes. I want you to work with us more often. Anyway our problem is with Alliance trying to storm our M.T. facility in the Gareb Forest. We need your help fending them off.

Award: 250,000 credits

"Sheila load up the A.C. We're helping Vertex this time around."
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The Gareb Forest is usually a place of peace and warmth. A place where trees are spread out far enough to still find your way through but not enough to see the other side. It's a place where one could see a beautiful sunset and watch the sunrise. That day however, things wouldn't be the same there for years.

Sheila's massive dropship hovered over the forest waiting from Supernova for confirmation. "Okay Sheila, open the door." Supernova heard the large door open and piloted his A.C. into the middle of the battle below. By luck he landed right next to Jack-O.

"Great to see you again rookie!" Jack-O said blasting away a couple of Alliance M.T.s. "I knew you would help us out!"

"What can I say Jack? I hate to see either side lose some sort of base or facility. I go for mainly money. It is good to see you again." Supernova piloted his A.C. around and blasted a couple M.T.s. One came from nowhere and almost hit him. He evaded the attack and struck back with his A.C.'s blade.

"Supernova come in. We've got news of another wave of M.T.s on their way."

"Thanks for the heads up Jack!" Supernova evaded a shot but was hit from behind by another M.T. Supernova switched to the grenade launcher and blasted at a tree which then fell over and took out several M.T.s at once.

Supernova looked up and saw the reinforcements arrive. They wouldn't get past him if he could help it. As soon as he saw the second wave he shot at them like crazy. He took out every one of them.

"That's all Supernova. Thanks for all of your help! I'll get those credits to you as soon as possible."

"No problem Jack. Take care of yourself." No response came from Jack-O. Supernova started to call Sheila when out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a Pulverizer that looked like it was recording the event.
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The Pulverizer could tell that it had been caught. It immediately sent off its message to its unknown master before Supernova's A.C. sliced its head off.
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In an underground facility a man sat at a seat in front of a screen as a message appeared with a video attachment. The man opened the attachment and saw the battle from start to finish. "So, Supernova WILL fight for anyone. Interesting. He'll be one to look after. He may cause problems for me in the future.
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"Sheila I'm done here. Come pick me up when you're ready. I found another Pulverizer as well. Something tells me that there's more of them."

"I believe you. I'll be there soon." Supernova piloted his A.C. over to the freshly destroyed Pulverizer. 'Where did you come from? Why are you here?' Supernova thought to himself. A shadow came over his A.C. and knew it was time to go home.

[Dragge]

Chapter 7- Iron Formation

It was about an hour after the previous mission was completed and Supernova was once again working on his personal A.C. parts. He wanted to get them tested by the end of the day. He had worked so hard on them to get them completed yet with the missions he didn't have much time.

Supernova slid out from underneath the left arm. The arms were each about seventy-five percent done. They looked amazing from the angle he was standing at as well. He went back under and finished both arms in another hour.

"Sheila! Power up my Armor Core. We're going to test out the arms today." About thirty minutes later, Supernova was sitting at the pilot's chair of his A.C. The arms had been equipped and the two way generator installed. The only thing that still had to be completed was the core which for now could wait.

"Activating test sequence." Sheila said. The test was about to begin but suddenly the test was terminated. "Incoming mission requests." Sheila said over the intercom.

"What is it?"

A screen on his A.C. came up and displayed the mission.

From: Triturate

To: Supernova

I need you help fellow Raven. My greatest partner Evangel has been captured by those new Pulverizers. I need your help to get him back safe and sound. You don't have to accept this mission but I would greatly appreciate it Raven.

Award: 60,000 credits
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"Do you think this will work Evangel?" Triturate asked his master. The head of the Oracle looked over to Triturate's A.C., Vigilance.

"Of course it'll work. This Supernova person is a threat to every Raven still out there. We need to kill him here and now. Also I'll scan his A.C. for parts that look worth it."
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"Are you sure about this?" Sheila asked piloting the carrier ship over the drop zone. "It seems like a trap. Evangel isn't one to get captured easily."

"Trap or not I'm going for it. It'll give me time to test the IRN-MN-01 arms. We'll see if they can truly be an asset in battle."

"We're here." The door underneath the A.C. swung open and the A.C. dropped to possibly its doom. The A.C. hit the forest floor.

"Let's see where Triturate is." Supernova said to himself as he scanned the surrounding area. No sign of anyone, or anything. Then a shot went off and Supernova immediately took to the sky. The shot still hit his A.C. and it fell head first to the ground. Supernova got his A.C. back up on both feet. He turned around and saw the Vigilance standing still with its weapons aimed for Zero VI.

"Way to go Supernova. Stepped right into our trap. Prepare to die." The weapons fired off but Supernova evaded the attack quick enough. Supernova went to fire his sniper rifle but it was shot from his A.C.'s hand before he had a chance. He then went in close to use his blade. That too was shot away.
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"Triturate, watch out. Not only does he still have shoulder weapons but his A.C.'s arms are weapons themselves." Evangel said over a two-way intercom.

"That's not possible."

"Well, I've scanned the A.C. and the arms don't show up at all as if they don't exist."

"Maybe they don't Evangel. Maybe he created them himself."

"That's impossible. No one can create their own A.C. parts in such a short time." Evangel then turned his attention back to Triturate. "Listen to me. Cut both of those arms off. I want to know how this is possible. Call me back when you've killed him."
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Supernova sat in his pilot seat and had this whole thing planned. It's time to test out these repulsor blasters. He switched on the second generator and unleashed the weapons full blast on the Vigilance.

The Vigilance shot backward a good two-hundred feet. These were the best weapons ever created. Supernova could rule the Ravens. No that wasn't what he wanted to do. He wanted to become the last Raven when the final battle happened.

Supernova saw it just as well as the next person. The Vigilance got back up and half of its outside armor was obliterated. These things had potential. Supernova powered them up again and shot at the Vigilance.

This time the Vigilance saw the shot coming and dodged before the lasers reached him. Supernova glided backward and activated the chain-gun on the left shoulder.
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"This weapon is insane. There's no way someone with so little knowledge about A.C.s could create a weapon so devastating." Triturate said to himself. Half of his A.C.'s armor points had been lost in the blast. Another blast like that could kill him.
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Supernova waited for the right moment. There. He fired the repulsor blasts again and hit the Vigilance with everything the lasers had. The A.C. fell to the ground and multiple explosions started around it.
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"I'm sorry Evangel. I've failed." Then Triturate was gone.
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The Oracle sat with Evangel in it in the far distance on top of a cliff watching the battle. "Such raw power. I can't imagine such a person with little knowledge can form a weapon so powerful." Evangel turned his A.C. and called for his manager. In about ten minutes. Evangel had left the scene.
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Supernova was back at the garage in about half an hour. He was replaying the entire event in his mind. Those weapons were like no other in the world. He had created a massive destruction machine. At least the testing on it worked out fine. He would leave the arms on there for now.

Supernova sat up from his chair and went to his room. He needed some well earned sleep. He had been doing missions non-stop for the past two days. He had gotten no sleep over that time period and decided that instead of work that he would get rest.

Supernova crawled warily into his bed and shut his eyes immediately falling asleep within three minutes.

[Dragge]

Chapter 8- Nightmarish Events

Supernova woke up, or so he thought. He was in his A.C. even though he didn't remember waking up and walking to it. A.C.s started appearing in front of him. A lot of A.C.s not just one or two.

The one standing right in front of him was the Vigilance, Triturate's A.C. Behind him stood the Oracle, Evangel. He also noticed Zea, Jack, Zinaida, and numerous others. He didn't move a muscle. Was this a group take down or were they coming to him for help. He waited longer wanting them to make the first move.

The Vigilance pointed a finger behind Zero VI. "Save us Supernova. Save the Ravens from the menace of the Pulverizers." Supernova turned his A.C. around and saw thousands upon thousands of the Pulverizers. No way could he survive an onslaught like this. It was suicide.

Supernova turned his A.C. back around to face the other Ravens. "How in the physical universe am I supposed to stop all of them?" Supernova asked anyone of them going hysterical now.

A familiar A.C. stepped up from the crowd. It was marked with the family "Z" symbol. It was his grandfather, Supernova the Fourth. "Find the answer within yourself Supernova. We all believe in you." As soon as he finished that statement, Zero IV along with all traces of his grandfather disappeared.

One by one the other A.C.s started disappearing too. Supernova knew he would have to fight them alone. He turned his A.C. back around to look at the Pulverizers. They hadn't moved an inch since he turned around the first time through. One however glided forward.

The core opened up to show Evangel. "Welcome to your doom Raven. This is where your final stand will be remembered as a failure in the history archives." The core closed up and the Super Pulverizer shot forward.

Supernova didn't move his A.C. He then flipped a switch activating the double generators. He went to fire the repulsors but they didn't respond.

The Super Pulverizer came closer. He was running out of time. Soon he would be dead right there on the spot. What killed Supernova was that he had no weapons on his A.C. at all. He tried to pilot his A.C. away from the oncoming attack but the legs didn't respond. He was finished.

The Super Pulverizer increased speed and eventually sliced through Zero VI.
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Supernova woke up in a cold sweat. "What a nightmare. Is this a possible future?" Supernova got up from his bed and shot a glance at his clock. About time for breakfast.

Supernova walked into the kitchen and brewed up some coffee. That was all he felt like having that morning. He needed to think things through. 'Am I becoming too cocky?' he asked himself. 'I feel like I am the best but I have this feeling deep down inside of me that's telling me that if I keep it up any longer that it can lead to my death.'

Supernova couldn't take it anymore. He walked back to his room and went back to sleep hoping that the nightmare wouldn't occur again. If somebody needed him. They could wake him themselves.

[Dragge]

Chapter 9- Bomb Disarming

Sheila vigorously shook Supernova. "What is it?" he asked still half asleep.

"We have an emergency from Alliance."

"Tell me what it said."

"Vertex has planted about ten bombs on one of their main transport bridges. They're set to go off in an hour. Do you accept?"

"Get the A.C. ready. I'll be there in a minute." Supernova got up out of his bed and pulled on his pilot uniform. He walked out into the main garage and walked over to the elevator. His A.C. stood there in the glistening sun. Supernova got on the ladder and climbed up to the cockpit.

The cockpit opened when he arrived and he sat inside. He was ready. Ten bombs to locate and disarm was nothing. He switched his A.C. on and took it forward to the hanger door. Sheila was all ready outside with the carrier plane. Supernova loaded his A.C. into the back and sat there to wait for when they would reach the destination.

"Hold on back there Supernova. I'm going twice as fast so that we can get to the bridge before half of the time is up." Before he had time to respond, the plane shot forward. Supernova held on to his seat and tried to not blackout from the sudden rush.

It took no time at all before they were there. "All right Supernova. Here you go." The door opened up and Supernova's A.C. fell onto the bridge.

"I've updated a timer into your A.C. that will give you how much time you have left. It should read a little over thirty minutes."

"Affirmative. I'm going out." Supernova started to scan underneath the bridge for any unfamiliar devices. He found the first three no problem. He was reaching for the fourth when shots rang out from nowhere. Zero VI turned around and there were about twenty Vertex M.T.s on their way to distract him.

Supernova disarmed the fourth bomb and went after the M.T.s. They were nothing. Once again Supernova was using the repulsor arms. One shot for each M.T. He had destroyed about seventy-five percent of them when he looked at the time again. "Fifteen minutes. I'll deal with the rest of you later."

Supernova backed away from fighting and went for the last six bombs. They were getting more difficult to find. He was running out of time fast. The last of the M.T.s were starting to get on his nerves so he finished them off.

He was down to about a minute. It was then and there that he spotted the last of them. He reached and had the idea of blasting it with the repulsors. He tried the left arm repulsor. Nothing happened. 'What the?' Supernova thought to himself. He tried using the right arm but that didn't work out well either.

Zero VI took the bomb in its hands and was fortunately able to activate the boosters. He had to get that thing away from the bridge within the next ten seconds. He blasted off and headed for the sky. The timer counted down to the final seconds. He moved the A.C.'s arm to throw it but it exploded right there sending the A.C. back to the bridge.

Supernova's A.C. hit the bridge and rolled a good thirty or forty feet before stopping. Supernova looked at the screen and saw blackness on the monitor. Then he blacked out.
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Supernova awoke back at the garage in his bed. Sheila was standing over him with her hands in his. She looked happy to see him back up again.

"Supernova I'm so glad your awake."

"Thanks. That was some hit. I have a few questions for you."

"Yes what is it?"

"Who are you? Where am I?" Sheila looked at him in shock hoping that the worst didn't happen to him. "I'm Sheila Caldwell, your second in command in a sort of way. Your at your A.C. garage."

"I finally have an A.C. huh? Funny. Last I remember is helping my father win the Formula Front. Listen if you don't mind I'm going to sleep."

Sheila couldn't leave him. When he finally fell asleep she wept silently for her friend. Who knows if he would ever get his memory back?

[Dragge]

Chapter 10- Reawakening

Supernova woke up and decided to take a walk around town. He told Sheila he was going out and she decided to go with him just in case something happened. The two stepped out of the garage.

The two of them walked on into the morning sky. It should have been beautiful. It used to be. They decided to go on near the forest to see the trees. The look at the trees shook him. The trees were blackened.

"Sheila what happened to the trees. What's with this town. It looks like a wreck. I remember back when helping my father the brightness in the morning sky. I know I've lost my memory as you said and I can't recall a thing from the past months but this place looks terrible."

"War is what happened. Since the Ravens fell apart the whole town has been a war zone for Raven vs. Raven matches for them to get killed. The battles have devastated the city. There is heavy dust in the air. They have huge barricades up over parts of the forest due to toxic waste leaks from companies dumping the stuff where ever they please. This world has been a horrible place since the Great Destruction."

"The Great Destruction was the war between humans over land and power wasn't it?"

"Yeah it was. I've seen videos from survivors of the war that had to go underground due to high radiation. Those were the worst stories I've ever heard. This isn't the same world that it once was before all of these wars and fights. I saw videos of times way before the Great Destruction. The earth was a lush and green planet. So much more than there is now. I wish I could go back through time to live in that era."

"I don't know what it is but I feel as if it's my duty to reunite all humans. I feel it deep inside of myself. I don't know if I'll ever get my memory back or not. Something though is telling me to finish what was started at the beginning of the Great Destruction."

The two stopped their conversation and continued their stroll through the city coming into contact with cracked and destroyed buildings. The place was like an old city worth absolutely nothing. It seemed like they should fill the place with evil animals to keep humans from ever stepping foot inside.

Supernova didn't like the scenery the further they went on. the farther they went the worse it was. It was eerily quiet. There were no humans except for the two of them. Sheila had told Supernova that humans hadn't lived in the city for a good forty years. No one lived there anymore so the name of the city was long forgotten.

They finally arrived at the end of the city. It was worst part of the city. A large statue was blown away. Some of it still remained however. From what could be seen, it was a raven in front of what looked to be fire.

Supernova approached what was left of the statue and wiped away some soot over the name plate. It read: "Dedicated to the brave group known as the Ravens. This statue is dedicated to those who helped end the Great Destruction. This city is named in honor of the Ravens' Nest. Raven City."

Underneath that was a list of names of the original Ravens that stood up to end the war. Supernova recognized very few names but knew some. The one that really caught his eye was the original Supernova's name first in the list.

"Who could have done this?! This was dedicated to the original Ravens and people violated it! This is the city that I used to dream about going to. I used to see pictures of it when it used to look like it did in the glory days." Supernova walked around in circles screaming profanities near the top of his lungs.

He eventually settled down on the sidewalk and placed his head in his arms tears streaming from his eyes. Sheila walked over and sat down next to him putting an arm around him.

"Those jerks. I can't believe it. I guess this is what the world has really come to then. The Ravens have sided with either those companies, teamed up themselves, or go solo. I used to read about times where the Ravens would team up just to take out common foes. It wasn't often but usually they only fought in the arenas. I can't take this anymore Sheila. Let's get back to the garage."

It took longer than expected but they got back to the garage. Supernova went to his bed and went to sleep. He didn't want to do anything but sleep.
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"Supernova. Wake up." came a voice in his dream.

Supernova woke up and saw a familiar face. "Supernova the first. What are you doing here? I thought you were dead."

"I am. This is your dream. It was I who told you to reunite the humans. They have been fighting each other for over a hundred years now. It is you who needs to bring back the earth the way it once was before the Great Destruction."

"What can I do about it? This is my second dream where I was revealed to be a hero to the world."

"What you can do is become a solo Raven. What your true goal in life isn't just to reunite humans but to bring back the Ravens and the second Ravens' Nest. Your the leader that has been talked about since the beginning of the Great Destruction."

"Why wasn't it you, or any of my other relatives."

"We tried our best but we all knew it wasn't us. Listen. Our time is growing shorter now. You need your memories back if you want to succeed in both missions. I have gone through the deep reaches of your brain and found what you lost temporarily. Also put the original Raven Nest symbol on your A.C. as its symbol. Our family symbol is important but this is greater than that. Let the world know that the Ravens have truly come back."

"Thank you Supernova. I'll complete the missions and lead the next group of Ravens. It was great speaking to you."

"As it's been with you."
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Supernova sat up in his bed. He rummaged through his bag and found a piece of armor with the original Ravens' Nest symbol on it. The same one as the statue. "Sheila! We have work to do! I'm back and better than ever!"

[Dragge]

Chapter 11- Plans

Supernova stepped into Sheila's office to discuss what he was going to do. "Now that I'm not taking sides anymore, I have to create a distraction to allow me to get the Ravens back together for good."

"What did you have in mind?"

"First part of the plan is infiltration. I'll break into the main headquarters of both sides and hack into their computers for data. After that I'll come back here and see what each side is planning to do to the other."

"How is this going to help you reunite everyone?"

"I was just getting to that. They'll be putting large bounties on my head. So they'll have Ravens after me almost twenty-four seven. I'll accept the fights. I won't destroy their A.C.s but I will leave them with a choice. Either they join the Ravens' Nest or they ponder the question. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"What if you lose?"

"Then what really is supposed to happen won't and whatever happens will happen. I'll be dead and won't be able to fulfill the destiny of the person who was supposed to reunite humans."

"Supernova you can't really go through with this." Sheila pleaded.

"I am and I will. No one can stop me." There was a short pause before Supernova talked again. "Sheila power up the A.C. I'm heading off to Alliance's headquarter."

"No." Sheila said shaking her head. "I won't help you get yourself killed. I'm leaving." Sheila took the elevator down to the main floor and walked around to her motorized vehicle. In an instant she was gone.

Supernova walked over to the computer and set up his armor core himself. The A.C. came up from the lower regions of the garage and sat there motionless. Supernova finally got up from the chair and walked all the way to his A.C. He climbed up the A.C. and got in. He put his helmet on and activated the systems.

Everything came up on the screen all right. Things checked out and it was time for him to go. He would have no transport this time so he would have to rough it all the way there. He didn't care how long this thing took just as long as it came out fine.
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It took a full five hours for Supernova to reach Alliance H.Q. He didn't care. He had compact discs from older days. They played music and he liked it. It gave him something to listen to other than nothingness.

He was approaching the base and saw no security around it. That didn't mean there wasn't though. It was dark out so he had a better shot of making it in. He crept his A.C. along the outer wall and waited for the right moment. It wasn't long before two high-priority officers came out of the door.

Their M.T.s went right by him and he went in. The place was enormous. He had no idea about where to start looking. So he went with instincts and took off down the long hallway. There was an elevator at the end leading to the higher parts of the building.

He tried activating the elevator but it needed a password. So instead of putting something in he hacked into the system and got through the fire-walls and such. He was in. Now for the hard part. Where was he to go?

He decided to take the second floor and thank goodness he did because he found a down-loadable map of the complex. He put it onto his A.C. and found the main computer room. It was on the top-most floor behind the main conference room. This would take skill to get through the security they had there.

He went back to the elevator and set it for the top floor. It took about five minutes to get there. He stepped out and readied his weapons. What shocked him was that there was no one in sight. His path was clear the whole way through.

He got to the computer room and found the main server. He hooked up his A.C. and started to hack their systems. He found numerous files but one really caught his eye; Evangel's Private File.

An alarm went announcing an intruder. "Come on hurry up." he said to himself. The downloading completed. He stepped out into the conference room and there waiting for him were a good twenty M.T.s

"You are under arrest for breaking and entering and possession of stolen property. Give us your name and step out of the A.C." announced the head M.T.

"How about I do give you my name but don't get out of my A.C.? The name's Supernova VI pilot of Zero VI. Catch me if you can!" Supernova put down his A.C.'s main gun and activated the repulsor blasters on both hands. He shot the main M.T. and made a break for it.

[Dragge]

Chapter 12- Revelations

The night was long. Supernova had escaped from the Alliance headquarters and away from the people who now held a bounty over his head. Soon enough there would be another group of people that would want to see him dead.

The heads up display inside his A.C. showed him that he still had another ten miles before reaching Vertex's H.Q.

Supernova's A.C. had taken heavy damage in the fight against the M.T.s. There were more stationed at the base than he had expected. Fortunately his A.C. had back-up emergency powers. He had also left his gun and blade back there as well.

Supernova checked the H.U.D and saw that everything checked out all right. His dual generators were still holding up. The repulsor guns and uni-beam checked out. His boosters and everything else were still operational.
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A short while later, Supernova reached Vertex. The same thing happened here. There were no guards anywhere in sight but that would change soon.

Supernova found Vertex's main computer and started hacking at that. Soon everything was fully downloaded onto his A.C.'s hard drive. He had to get out of there now.

His A.C. stepped through the door and immediately he was staring down the barrel of the Foxeye's gun. "I take it that you found out about a hacker." Supernova stated toward Jack.

"Yes I did. I never thought it would be you though Supernova." Jack said in his rough voice. "I'm going to have to terminate you."

"You'll never bring me down Jack."

"You're surrounded by hundreds of armored cores. You can't escape."

"Before I attempt to leave I'm giving you a chance. I want you and the others to join me in reuniting not only the Ravens' Nest but the entire human race with me as leader."

"Are you kidding me?" Jack said almost laughing. "You as leader of the Ravens?!" Jack got back into gear and was powering up his weapon.

Supernova saw the opportunity to leave and started blasting the armored cores out of his way. Right away his A.C. went into back-up power. He needed to leave. His way was getting blocked by all the A.C.s but he managed to get through.
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Supernova got as far away as possible from the Vertex headquarters before he decided to look at what he found. He got another file of Evangel's. "You're up to something my friend."

Supernova waited until he was back at the garage to upload all of his files. He sat down at the computer and cracked his knuckles and started to search.