Off the Leash (Armored Core VI x Male Reader)

Resolve and Repair

617 P.O.V

Ruined PCA Position

Well, I guess my prediction was correct. It's been a few days, nearly a week now, since the battle and no one has come looking for salvage or me. It's been a plus for me since it's given me time to really look about the place, gather supplies, and let my wounds heal. Hell, I was even able to find some AC parts that weren't in the blast radius when I triggered the blast on the PCA's cannon. While that was nice and all, there were some drawbacks.

I've only scavenged enough things to get the power back on in my AC and fix some of the hydraulics, but it's taking time. I don't have a garage around here and anything suitable for the job was taken out by 619's missile barrage. And without proper equipment, I can't do much in terms of fully repairing my AC. So, for the time being, I'm going to be without a head or left arm... Wonderful.

To top it off, I could only take the silence of this place for so long while being surrounded by death, alone. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to not be ordered around like a dog anymore, but it gave me something to do while having decent, albeit one sided at times, conversations. It gave me purpose.

Purpose. What was my purpose now? I was free, off the leash, for the first time since my augmentations. But what has that freedom given me? A clean slate, sure, but I don't have resources, my mercenary license is more than likely decommissioned by now, and I don't have money. I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment and I hate it...

Y/N: *inhales* Focus. *exhales*

I verbally have to calm myself, to give myself a voice to listen to, and calm down with a few breaths. Anything to keep my sanity and my mind on track.

All right, start small. Keep doing what you are doing, repair the AC, survive, and move out. Hopefully during any of that, something will present itself, something to do. Hopefully, a new purpose.

I look towards my AC, a new sense of determination filling my mind. I pick up a nearby tool box before walking over to my AC. Time to get to work.

Third P.O.V

Over time, we watch as 617 attempts to repair his AC. We see him inside the AC's cockpit, fiddling with various wires underneath the cockpit's viewscreen. 617 accidentally tugs a wire too hard and manages to rip said wire out. He jumps briefly from the small electrical shock to his hand.

In the next seen, we see that 617 has wheeled over a portable welding kit to the left leg of his AC. With a quick nod of his head, a wielding helmet lowers in place of protection for his face. He ignites the welding torch and proceeds to weld some scrap in place of the AC's original armor plating. Not much, but it keeps it together for now.

Next, 617 is by a large puddle of water and is looking at his reflection. His burn mark on the left side of his face is still there, of course, but not as irritated as it was when it was first burned. With a shake of his head, 617 applies burn cream to the wound and proceeds to bandage it back up while looking at his reflection.

Night has fallen in the next scene as we see 617 tending to a fire next to the husk of his AC. He watches the fire burn as he uses a plastic spoon to eat from an MRE packet. He takes a bite of what looks to be something akin to chili and macaroni. He chews for a moment before giving an approving nod.

Out in the daylight, we see 617 using the handgun he picked up a while back while using it for target practice. The targets themselves are but some scrap with something akin to paint for the rings. 617 stands to a firing position before taking a few squeezes of the handgun's trigger. When the gun's ammo clip ran dry, 617 lowers the gun before looking at the targets. Most of the targets show his aim was true and landed in the middle's rings, though some were out to the third ring.

617 is back at it again with the wires in the AC's cockpit, noticeably there are quite a few more wires exposed now. 617 sets a pair of wires down before turning to the viewscreen in the cockpit. He messes with a few buttons and switches, but nothing happens. He signs and leans back in his seat. Unfortunately, he places his hand down near and exposed port, thus shocking him once again and jumping up from his seat.

617 watches the night sky as the fire next to him is dying out, the last cinders in it still burning. With mild interest, he watches as a PCA satellite orbiting overhead activates and shoots down an oncoming ship trying to enter orbit.

In the daytime, 617 is back by the puddle looking at himself. The burn mark is certainly looking a bit better, at the very least. Before reapplying more burn cream and bandages, 617 runs a hand across his face and over the facial hair that has been growing since his stay here. He sighs before moving on.

Again, we return back to the AC's cockpit with 617 in the pilot seat. Everything this time around is noticeably cleaner and more put back together, not a single wire in sight. 617 begins typing on a nearby keyboard before looking to the blank viewscreen. With a sigh and closing his eye, he hits the enter key on the keyboard. The screen remains blank for but a moment before white texts of code begin appearing on the screen, soon followed by the AC rumbling back to life.

COM: Reinitializing AC systems. Entering standard mode.

617 opens his eye in shock before letting out a long sigh of relief. He had finally done it.

Elsewhere, we are taken to a dark room. Noticeably, we see that there is a figure in front of a glowing computer monitor, the only light source in the room. The figure is typing away on a keyboard, looking over various schematics on the screen before diverting their attention to another tab on the screen being pinged. They stop what they were doing before opening up the tab. The thing that immediately catches their attention is three simple numbers.

617.

???: *chuckles* Well I'll be...

The figure spoke in a feminine voice, their tone both sounding amused and slightly relieved. They shake their head for a moment before opening up a new tab on their monitor and typing in a few lines of code.

Back to 617, we see him finishing up on loading/packing the left over supplies he found onto the back of his AC. They were all on a welded metal rack held down by some ropes and straps. Just for good measure, there were pieces of metal and scraps weighing it all down from the top and to stop it from spilling out from the sides.

With a sigh, 617 finishes tightening the final strap. He dusts his hands off before jumping up and into his AC's cockpit. Before he closes is, however, he looks around the ruined PCA position he's been camped out in for however long he's been here. With a small smile, he shakes his head before closing the cockpit of his AC. Inside, the viewscreen boots up and shows the outside. Since the AC was still missing its head, 617 had to install and rewire a few things in order for him to see from his AC from some mounted cameras on the AC's chassis. With a nod, 617 grips the AC's controls and moves them forward.

On the outside, the AC takes its first steps since the blast. It continues moving from the ruins of the PCA's position and heads towards a direction. Soon after, it activates its lower thrusters and quickens its pace. It's not much, but it helps, especially for the journey it'll undergo.

Meanwhile, up above in the clouds, we see what appears to be a drone. Its camera moves and focuses in on the AC, following its path. Soon, the drone itself moves with the AC, still keeping both its eye and distance on the AC...

A/N: And that's that. Took me a minute to figure out how I was going to write this, but I finally did it! Again, bit of a filler chapter, but I have to move the plot forward somehow. That and I'd rather not do a big time skip to where 617 is just suddenly on the move, it's better to build up to that moment like I tried doing. Don't worry, we'll be getting to the meat and bones of the story here soon, hopefully within the next chapter or two. So, 617, after quite some time, has managed to repair and get his AC operating and on the move. But someone has taken interest in the reactivated AC and is now keeping an eye on both it and its pilot. Who could it be? Will 617 manage to find a purpose now that he's on the move? Find out in the next chapter, "A Glint in the Snow." As always, let me know what you all think, and I hope you all have a great day/night. Cheers!