I walked my AC up to the large door, and with no hesitation I activated the laser blade and drove it into the center of the door, this activating the door mechanism causing it to open. After the door slowly slid open, I took a deep breath and slowly walked inside. Once inside I walked along a long dark corridor, and eventually came to a door. This door opened without aggression and there at the back of the room I saw the crimson figure so familiar to me. I had finally found him, Epsilon was there kneeled at back of the large hangar. There as if he had been placed there waiting for me, this situation cried out trap. I knew something had to be awry, �It has to be a trap.� I thought. I slowly walked toward Epsilon and scanned the area, I saw nor sensed any enemy, and radar was useless due to the radar resistant coating of the fortress. I opened the cockpit of the Azure Knight AC and then code-activated Epsilon�s cockpit. I brought the Azure Knight close to Epsilon and jumped from Azure Knight unto Epsilon. Closing Azure Knight�s cockpit I also closed Epsilon�s and brought him online.
[All Systems Functioning, Ammo: Plasma Rifle-Full(12), Small Missle-Full(48), Middle Missle-Full(32), Moonlight/Laserblade-100% Energy] Strangely I found nothing was wrong, and the AC seemed totally undamaged and in full functional condition, except of course the radar, due to the radar jamming waves emitted from the fortress�s base material. I stood Epsilon up and then walked him close to Azure Knight, I then made Epsilon grasp Azure Knight by the midsection and began walking to the door in which I had entered. �Maybe I�ll make it out of here alive.�
I walked out from the long hallway and was once again outside on the main deck of the fortress. I narrowed my eyes as a thin image stood there before me broken by the sun which shone behind it�s figure. Upon seeing this potential enemy, I set Azure Knight down against a wall away from me, and slowly walked towards the figure. This AC�s design was strange, and it had parts of which I had never seen. Seemingly a midweight design, he held a gun with a long barrel. Mounted on his back was a strange cannon type weapon, and at the other side were what seemed to be rockets.
I called out to this AC �Who are you, a Raven?� Suddenly I heard a slight, quiet laughter. This pilot replied with a bit of a European accent �No, no. I�m no Raven, I�m much better than any pitiful Raven could be.� I replied �Blast you, you�re the one who orchestrated all of this!.� This unknown pilot responded �Ah that toy of mine? Tell me, did you like it???� A rage then overcame me, almost driving me to attack. I managed to calm myself and then tilted my head forward narrowing my eye staring directly at him �Tell me, what is your name? Why is it that you�ve decided to terrorize the Ravens?� He replied in a synical manner �I think you Raven�s are the scum of the Earth. You chase your petty prizes like the dogs you are, and go on these foolish sorties. You fools are expendable and you blemish the image of this Earth.� You are all fools, dogs chasing worthless scraps. My name is Charles William Zadion the forth, my family is a proud family, a family of knights who have always lived by honor. I must fight you, the strongest warrior of my time. You�re the one who defeated my Raven destroyer. To uphold the name of my family, and prolong our legacy as warriors I must defeat you, it is my duty� Fight me Crimson Fury, I am a duelist. Now let us see if your Epsilon can stand up to myself and my AC� Legacy.�
I grew more angered after hearing this man�s shameless admittance to the mass murder of my kind. I then thought about some of the things he had mentioned. �Hmm� I wasn�t the only one who fought the destroyer, why is it that I was targeted and not the others�� Then it occurred to me. �That�s right, it was my blade that bore through that hellish machine�s armor thus destroying it! So therefore I am considered by him the ultimate warrior, the one who struck the finishing blow. That must also be why his assassins have harassed me and not the others who survived, and he stole my Armored Core only to get me here and try to prove himself in battle against me�� I glared up at this madman and began to address him in a low, deep tone.
�Honor? You capture my Armored Core, draw me into battle with those blasted MTs risking the lives of my allies, you sacrifice the lives of all those Ravens� You cause all of this bereavement all for one duel with me?!? Damn you.. You are the scum of the Earth. Now, I�ll make you pay, I will give you your chance to fight me, and I�ll humiliate you and put your entire blasted family to shame. With your loss will come a punishment worse than your own demise, your eternal disgrace. The name of your entire family will be permanently destroyed at the hands of� a Raven.� Zadion slightly snickered, then suddenly began to laugh maniacally as he replied to my words, �Oh you�ll see little Raven, you�ll soon see that you don�t stand any chance against the power of my noble lineage!"
I stood across from my enemy primed for battle. We stared each other down, I could barely contain my hatred for this man, yet I awaited his first move. The sun shone off this fighter�s gleaming black and golden AC. This AC seemed to be in tip-top condition, undoubtly because of his family�s wealth. I also tried to study his strange weapons, this gun of his intruged me, I had never seen anything like it. A silver weapon with a long narrow barrel, this gun seemed to be either a new type of weapon, or custom made. The whole body of this AC also seemed to be composed of either new or custom parts, meaning that there was no way to truly predict the actual potential of this machine. His back weapons were what looked to be a thin laser cannon, and perhaps a rocket launcher. If this man went through so much trouble as to have all of these components custom made, he must be able to handle them.
"Feel my wrath RAVEN!!!" My adversary dashed forward in a burst of sudden speed. I stood there and closed my eyes slowly. A slight smirk appeared on my face, and as I opened my eyes I let out a scream of rage... "Lets go! KYAAA!!" Onward I charged, and I vowed not to stop until this enemy's blood was stained unto my hands, and would not give up until the ravens of the past had been avenged...
A violent flare of my boosters and I was off into mortal combat, engaged in battle with this man. I flew upward, as did he and as our blades met in midair we struggled for supremacy, I lost my advantage and was pushed back by the sheer force of his power. Sparks flew as My AC landed and slid backward roughly on it�s feet. I quickly look upward and there I saw his dark silouette coming downward. I leaped backward quickly, narrowly avoiding his downward slash, which would�ve undoubtly been fatal if it had connected. He stood slowly from his crouched position as his AC�s menacing face looked upward at me, standing in front of the melted metal his blade had touched. �Is that all you�ve got Raven? Hah I was expecting better�� I narrowed my eyes in reply �Well now, you seem to be confident��
>>The Epsilon AC stands there in front of the enemy. Crimson stares down the adversary waiting for him to make a move, but at the same time he notices something, they seem to be ascending� Loud hydraulic noises could be heard as the gigantic fortress began to rise upward and far over the clouds. The ground that the ACs stood on began to violently shake as the ship quickly rose into the heavens, and as the fortress came to a slow stop, Crimson Fury looked upward and gasped as he saw that they were nearly in space and high above the clouds.<<
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