Armored Core: Warped Souls, Wired Minds (Uncensored)

Party Of Corpses: Act 2 - Nzube The Phantom

It has been several hours since the incident, the boardroom of the main Nova Tech building is filled with tension as representatives of each corporation gather to discuss the recent events, the death of Lumintek's president hasn't been revealed to the public and a fake news was made to cover his death so that suspicion and panic couldn't spread around the city. The faces of the representatives display a mix of anger, frustation and concern. At the head of the table a member of Lumintek, Harrington, pounds his fists on the table, demanding answers.
"How in the world did those terrorists know about the lumintek president being inside that train?! This is an absolute disgrace!"
A heated exchange of arguments ensue between the representatives of each corporation involved in the human plus project.
"This is clearly a failure of security on Lumintek's part! We trusted your corporation!"
The Mercury Heavy Industries representative points to Harrington.
"Hold on just a minute! Let's not forget that Mercury Heavy Industries had their own share of security breaches, like that one incident in the oil rig!"
The Nova Tech representative shouts defensively.
"Gentlemen, let's stay focused on what's important, accusing each other won't solve anything, what we need to do is find out how this breach happened and prevent further damage to the reputation of our corporations"
The Synthesis Dynamics representative interjects.
"We need to concentrate on damage control, those terrorists probably know about the Human Plus project, this entire project was shrouded in secrecy, only a select few knew about it's existence. There must be a spy within our ranks. Our reputation is at stake"
The room falls into silence as the gravity of the situation settles upon them after what Harrington said.
"We currently have test subjects on the way to the main Lumintek lab. We contracted a Raven to escort the convoy"
"A raven? You didn't tell them about the test subjects, right?!"
The Nova Tech representative questions Harrington's decision.
"Of course not! We told the raven that the convoy was transporting prototype weapons for new ACs, there's no need to worry"
Harrington calms down the Nova Tech representative.
The sun rises on the outskirts of the city as Nzube, a renowned 37 year old raven born in Africa, pilots his 5th gen bipedal gray and red AC unit equipped with two sniper rifles in both hands and two gatling guns mounted on it's back, code-name "Michaelis" He navigates through the rugged terrain, his movements precise and efficient. Inside the cockpit, Nzube scans the mission briefing on his head-ups display, his face concealed by a sleek visor.
"Intel suggests an imminent attack on a LuminTek transport carrying valuable prototype AC weapons. Your mission is to scout and protect the transport until it reaches its secure destination"
Nzube clenches his fists, he's not a very big fan of escort missions.
"This is gonna be a pain the ass..."
Michaelis moves stealthily, it's bipedal form allowing for silent and swift maneuvering while the transport follows him behind. Nzube keeps a keen eye on his surroundings, ready to engage any potential threats. Suddenly, his radar picks up movement ahead, he activates the long-range targeting system of his sniper rifles, analyzing the area for potential enemies.
"Time to earn my reward"
Michaelis assumes a stationary position, Nzube calculates the trajectory of his bullets, adjusting for wind and distance. He identifies a group of 5 armed mercenaries AC unit, all of them are 3rd gen ACs, 2 in the front, 2 on the right and left side of the leads and 1 on the back. They're closing in on the transport, he has no intention of letting them succeed.
"No one gets past me"
With precision and deadly accuracy, Nzube fires a barrage of shots, taking out the leads.
"It took out our leaders?! Scatter!"
The remaining ACs scatter around Michaelis, the bipedal form of Nzube's AC allows him to swiftly reposition,targeting each mercenary with deadly efficiency.
"Die!!!!"
The mercenary shoots blindly at Michaelis, the AC easily dodges the bullets and is already behind him.
"Three down"
Michaelis activates it's chain guns, firing it at the core of the AC, these 3rd gen ACs are known for overheating easily.
"My AC is overheating! I can't eject, I'm burning, m-melting!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The mercenary AC blows up while Michaelis makes his way to another mercenary AC.
"That bastard got Kaith! destroy that transport!"
The mercenary AC and his ally boost towards the transport truck, one will attack from the left and the other from the right. Michaelis jumps off a rock, flying above the remaining ACs and landing in front of the transport truck.
"As I said, no one gets past me"
Michaelis boost towards the AC on the right, kicking it on the ground.
"Bill, no! You son of a bitch, you're gonna pay for killing my comrades!!!"
The mercenary AC turns around, ignoring the transport truck in front of him and boost towards Michaelis, firing his guns.
"5 down"
"What?!"
Michaelis holds the AC he kicked on the ground and throws it at the other one.
"I can't get up!"
Both ACs are stuck on the ground, unable to move or even eject, Nzube fires at the booster of the AC on top with his sniper rifle, it blows up and takes the AC on the bottom with it. Nzube takes a moment to assess the situation. The transport, albeit shaken, continues on it's path, thanks to his battle experience. Nzubes steers Michaelis towards the transport proceeding along the nearby city streets that are completely empty due to the terrorist attack. As he escorts the convoy his path takes him near the apartment where the train had crashed, the destruction still visible.
"Why would terrorists attack a bullet train with zero importance to the city? there's someting fishy going on surrounding this entire thing"
Suddenly, the convoy is caught off guard as a deafening screech fills the air. Nzube looks up and spots a four-legged 5th AC descending from above, equipped with jamming devices and a barrage of weaponry. Michaelis reacts evading incoming fire and deploying countermeasures, but struggles to keep up with lightning fast movements of the enemy AC. The attacker's agility and relentless assault put Nzube on the defensive.
"This AC is from the same generation as mine, but it's speed and agility is faster than Michaelis, I need to adapt quickly!"
Nzube pushes Michaelis to it's limits, utilizing it's sniping capabilities to fire precision shots at the enemy AC. However, the adversary's speed and agility make it a difficult target to hit. Michaeli's radar is momentarily jammed by the enemy's device, leaving it vulnerable to a barrage of attacks. The enemy AC maneuvers effortlessly, striking with lethal accuracy.
"I can't keep up, that AC is too fast!"
As the battle rages on, Nzube analyzes the enemy's movements, searching for a weakness. He realizes that the AC's exceptional speed comes at the cost of stability during sharp turns.
"I have to exploit that, it's my only chance of survival!"
Nzube changes tactics, luring the enemy AC into a narrow alleyway. Nzube predicts the attacker's trajectory, timing his shots precisely. With a well-placed shot, he causes the enemy AC to lose balance and crash into a currently abandoned building. The enemy AC, however, is quick to recover. It activate it's boost mechanism, propelling the damaged AC back into fhe fight with even greater speed.
"Unbelievable, how did it adapt so quickly?!"
Nzube realizes that defeating this adversary will require more than just precision shots. He needs to outsmart them, anticipate their moves and use the environment to his advantage. As their fierce clash continues, a distant rumble fills the air. Unbeknownst to Nzube and the transport, a terrorist machine streaking through the sky towards the transport's location. It's sleek and formidable gigantic silhouette make it an intimidating presence.
"Is that... a Next?!"
The driver attempts to establish contact with Nzube. However, due to the intense electromagnetic interference coming from the four legged AC, the driver's attempt go unnoticed by the raven. The driver glances at their malfunctioning communication panel with growing concern. They grip the steering wheel tightly, their instincts telling them to accelerate, sensing imminent danger and grits his teeth.
"I have no choice, I don't wanna die here!"
The transport, now in full motion, accelerates with urgency while the giant Next chases it. Nzube continues his struggle against the relentless enemy AC, their battle unfolding near the apartment. The Next continues chasing the transport, it's mission being quite clear. The transport moves closer to the battlefield, unknowingly speeding toward a collision course with imminent danger. Nzube notices the transport's movement in the distance while fighting the quadruped.
"No... it can't be! Why are they...?!"
Nzube, determined to reach the endangered transport, accelerates through the chaos unfolding before him. However, in his distraction, he becomes vulnerable to the four-legged AC, which seizes the opportunity. The four-legged AC known as "Silent Fang", swiftly closes in on Nzube from behind. It's agile movements allow it to evade Michaeli's retaliatory fire and with a well-placed attack, disables Nzube's AC temporarily, rendering it immobile.
"You bastard, you'll pay for this!"
The head of his AC is shot down and he loses the vision of his camera, he can only hear the sounds of the enemy AC fading away.
"It spared me...? What the hell is going?!"
Back at the transport, it crashed into a wall, the Next and the quadruped AC standing near it.
"Viper, I have decided to spare the raven, they might be useful for us when we reveal everything about the human plus project and expose these corporations for all the lives they've destroyed due to this repugnant project"
"Splendid Silent Fang, we will take these test subjects and make them part of our army, an army that will fight back against all of those who want to play god, they must be punished for what they did to these people."
Viper skillfully grabs hold of the truck carrying the human plus subjects, it's mechanical grip tightening like a predator seizing its prey. The distinctive cross symbol decal next to the names on both machines signifies their allegiance to an unknown faction.
"The driver seems to have died due to the impact unfortunately. thankfully none of the capsules with the test subjects broke. We shall go now, connect your AC to my Unit's back"
Viper ascends into the sky, carrying the truck containing the test subjects, Silent Fang is connected to it's back. On the ground, the realization of failure weighs heavily on Nzube.
"Damn terrorists managed to escape with the transport! Something's still off about that terrorist sparing me, that terrorist had the opportunity to kill me right there, why didn't it kill me?"
Nzube notices a notification popping on his visor, another mission, the client this time is the police force.
"Another mission right now, what do these corrupt pigs want now? My AC's boosters are damaged so I guess I'll have to walk. This is gonna take a while"
The image on the briefing displays a 11th meter tall red and black Next unit, with two number 9s on it's shoulders and on it's chest, code-named "Nineball Archangel"