Hello again everyone. First new story on this year and I have changed my pen name too as a symbol of my resolve. This time it's a crossover between Gundam UC and one of the ongoing anime with bishoujo, mecha, dragons, and a fanservice here and there the CROSS ANGE. If you guys are wondering about what happened with the rest of my stories, don't worry because I still writing them. Because of my college's assignments I had so little time to write, not to mention I have to think thoroughly how the story should progress. But now I have more spare times enough to even complete my game achievements, Gunplas (poor SD Sazabi and HGUC F91 are still in their boxes), and the stories.
But enough of my personal matters, here's my latest new story and enjoy.
Please remember that some events in the future may end up different from the canon since this is a crossover fanfic.
Oh, and this is my first fic which incorporates Japanese honorifics like -kun, -san, and -sama, so forgive me if some parts sound bizzare for English-Japanese terms mix.
Disclaimer: Both CROSS ANGE and Gundam franchises belong to their respective owners.
Universal Century 0096...
Almost three months had passed since the conclusion of the third Neo Zeon War, otherwise known as the Laplace Conflict. The truth of the spacenoids' independence had finally been revealed by Princess Mineva Lao Zabi, the heir to the throne of Zeon and the last descendant of the Zabi family. With the help of Syam Vist, the first inheritor of Laplace's Box and also Banagher's great grandfather, Mineva under the alias "Audrey Burne" spoke about the existence of the real charter that inaugurated the Universal Century that originally was thought to be lost after the 'Laplace Incident' throughout the broadcast system of Magallanica, not only to the citizens of Earth but also the Colonies.
A day after the speech, citizens from all over the Earth and the colonies within the Federation's territory began demonstrating against the Federation Government after they learned the awful truth that had been kept hidden for almost a century. They felt that the Federation had deceived the people of the colonies, hiding the fact that their independence had been granted to them from the very beginning.
There was also tension and uproar among the activist groups that either supported or opposed the Feds that argued the validity of the broadcast. The former insisted that the broadcast might be a fake and nothing more than an attempt to overthrow the Federation because it was made by the princess of Zeon, an organization that had transformed the Universal Century into an era of bloody warfare. The latter on the other hand argued back that the Federation should have let the colonies have their freedom.
The tension almost progressed to the point where violence between Federation supporters and their opposites was about to break out, but thankfully the conflict was prevented thanks to the Federation's special taskforce unit 'Londo Bell' which was led by Bright Noa. The group moved quickly to act as a mediator between the two conflicting sides.
After going through various political discussions and debates with the Federation government, final decisions were made: First, the founding document which had been found in Industrial 7 was considered as legitimate and would replace the current charter stationed in Dakar. Second, the Federation had to remove their administrations from the colonies that weren't directly allied with the EFF. This had to be done in order to win back the public's trust that had already responded negatively to the Federation's deceit while sacrificing more than half of its territories.
Spacenoids finally obtained the rights that had been granted to them nearly a century before and were freed from the rule of the corrupted Federation. Even though the situation had become tense for a while, everything gradually returned to a state of peace. As for the Sleeves organization, even though they acted on behalf of Zeon Zum Deikun's ideals of independence, the actions they had committed were still considered as acts of terrorism. Because of this, the Sleeves were disbanded and most of its members, including Full Frontal's right hand man Lieutenant Angelo Sauper, were captured and brought to trial. Their punishment was unknown as the trial process wasn't publicized. Some speculated that they might be given the death penalty for their deeds but others believed that they would spend the rest of their life in prison cells.
When the news had reached the ears of the Garencieres' crew, everyone decided to part ways and start again from square one. Fortunately they also got some help from the members of the Nahel Argama's crew who were now on good terms with them to hide from the authorities. However, ever since then, no one knew what happened to the ex-Sleeves members, mainly their captain Zinnerman.
Audrey Burne or Mineva Lao Zabi continued her duty as the heiress of the Zabi family and led the people of Zeon. Ensign Riddhe Marcenas had decided to resign from the Federation Armed Forces to follow his father's footsteps of becoming a politician in hopes of guiding the Federation government to its rightful path again. As for Banagher Links and his friends: Takuya Irei and Micott Barsch, they continued their lives as students at the Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, although this time there was something different. After the Laplace conflict, both Micott and Takuya seemed to be growing closer to the point that their relationship could be considered as an 'unofficial couple' since they started going out, but neither of them had confessed to each other. Banagher on the other hand had gotten a new part-time job. After Anaheim got the report of Banagher's piloting skill in the Unicorn Gundam, they decided to recruit him as the new test pilot of the full psycoframe Mobile Suit for them. While the payment wasn't as high as a full-fledged official pilot, it was more than enough to cover his daily needs and tuition.
...
AE Industry – Bar
The bar area, an oasis and a paradise for off-duty mechanics, technicians, pilots, and other staff was quite empty. Usually the place was filled with conversations of the personnel on weekends since this was where they could gather and share their stories with each other, mostly talking about their seniors and superiors. But since it was the weekend and just a lunch break most of them were in the cafeteria save for two teenage boys in Anaheim Electronics jacket uniforms standing around one of the available space billiard chambers. One of them had short brown hair and brownish amber eyes while the other one had short wavy dirty blond hair and green eyes. With a billiard cue clutched in his right hand, the brown haired boy waited for his friend's turn who was measuring his cue ball aim carefully with a slightly bored look.
They were Banagher Links and Takuya Irei, students of AE Industrial College who currently were on their internships of becoming Mobile Suit engineers.
"...come on, how long are you going to do that?" Banagher spoke first.
His eyes never leaving the tip of the cue and the white ball, Takuya replied in a serious tone, "Shush! Don't talk to me, Banagher! I'm concentrating now!"
Banagher sighed in response, "It's just a game, Takuya. There's no need to be that serious..."
Takuya then finally poked the cue ball which then collided with another ball and another one before the rest of the balls moved around randomly. In the end though, two of the balls made it into the score area which scored two points in a row for Takuya.
Banagher whistled, impressed. Even though he wasn't sure whether it was pure luck or his skills, scoring two balls in a row wasn't something you usually saw happen even in Earth billiard games which still used a special table with six pockets.
"And that's how you play billiards!" declared Takuya proudly as he pumped his fist.
The blond haired boy then walked over to where the cue ball was and he was about to do another shot... or would have if only the loud bell sound from the speakers that signaled the lunch break was over didn't interrupt him...
"Awww... come on, just when I'm winning this..." Takuya grunted in defeat.
"This calls out the game then." Without wasting any time, Banagher put back his cue stick back in its holder and left the lounge first, "Come on Takuya."
"H-hey, wait for me Banagher!"
...
Later in Hangar B-6
The hangar was bustling and filled with the engineers and technicians. Some of the senior members could be seen instructing the new recruits while some of them were maintaining the Mobile Suits stored there or carrying spare parts in forklifts. On the railways of the 2nd level, the sliding door opened, revealing both Banagher and Takuya who then came inside. At first, the two just continued on their way to where the chief engineer was until Banagher suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. Takuya bypassed him before he noticed his friend's behavior and then did the same.
The blond haired boy rested his arms on the railings and looked at him in confusion, "Hey Banagher, what's wrong?"
But Banagher didn't answer him. Instead, he kept staring at a particular Mobile Suit with a distant look on his face. This puzzled Takuya before he followed Banagher's eyes to what his friend was staring at and he finally understood why.
Before them, numerous Mobile Suits of Earth Federation stood in their cages, ready for maintenance and repair. Most of the Mobile Suits consisted of the ReZel and its commander variant, along with various Jegan Type D, Stark Jegans, and a Jesta. However there was a one Mobile Suit that caught their attention. Unlike the rest of them, this Mobile Suit had a simple design without any binders or large booster attachments and it boasted a white color scheme with a lot of linings on its entire frame. Its head had a single horn that protruded from its forehead.
This was the Mobile Suit that had served as the key to Laplace's Box and brought about the end of the everlasting conflict between the Federation and Zeon... the Unicorn Gundam...
"It's hard to believe that three months have passed since then, right?" Takuya's voice suddenly brought Banagher back into reality from his personal thoughts as he looked at him who now had the same expression on his face.
"Yeah..." Banagher nodded slightly.
Banagher stared at the machine he had piloted months ago with mixed feelings. So many memories whether they were good or bad had occurred during his time as the pilot of the Unicorn Gundam. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he had never encountered the white Mobile Suit during his search for Audrey, what if the people he cared about even though they were from Neo Zeon like Gilboa, Loni, and Marida were still alive, and...
What if he had never met Audrey in first place...?
Banagher shook his head at the last part; there was no need to think about that anymore. One thing for sure was had he never met Audrey, he wouldn't be who he was now.
The two then just watched silently as the Unicorn Gundam's Double Beam Gatling shield was removed from its left arm. The progress then continued with the back thruster being removed from the back and then the head was separated from the torso. As the maintenance of the Mobile Suits went on, there was a silence between the two until a playful smirk appeared on Takuya's face as he looked at Banagher.
"So, how is it doing with that princess of yours, eh?"
Banagher was caught off guard from the sudden question his friend asked as he looked at Takuya with a slight blush on his cheeks, "W-what are you talking about? Me and Audrey aren't like that!"
"And who said I was talking about Audrey?" Takuya replied. The smirk on his face became even wider and turned into a grin that annoyed Banagher a bit.
"Cut it out! I'm leaving now!" the now upset brown haired boy turned around and began walking the other way.
"Easy Banagher, I'm just pulling your leg." Takuya said with a chuckle as he followed him and patted his shoulder, "But seriously, when will you ever ask her out? You like Mi- I mean Audrey, don't you?"
"Well... I'd be lying if I said I didn't like her..." Banagher replied in a low voice and his head lowered slightly, his expression then turned a bit sad, "But it's just... lately I'm feeling that I'm out of her league... I mean, she's royalty, Takuya."
"So what? This is so unlike you Banagher. You usually don't give a damn about personal backgrounds." Takuya tried to reassure him.
"Enough about me. What about you?" Banagher suddenly asked back, clearly not wanting this conversation to only be centered on his personal life.
Takuya raised his eyebrow, "Huh?"
"Everyone in our class already knows that you and Micott are dating, but neither of you have confessed to each other." explained Banagher as the two finally reached the elevator. He then pressed a button on the control panel before the metallic floor they were standing on began descending, "When will you tell her?"
This time it was Takuya's turn to blush madly. However, unlike the latter who got upset before, he was fidgeting and playing with his fingers while thinking of an answer.
"Well, I want to tell her, but..."
"About damn time you brats got here!" A loud and harsh voice suddenly called the two from afar which made both Banagher and Takuya almost jump in shock. They turned around to see the chief engineer who was supposed to be their mentor. The chief engineer was a man who appeared to be in his 40's with an average build body, he had short blond hair and blue eyes and some stubble on his chin. Like the other mechanics there, he wore a standard mechanic uniform with the addition of a scarf and goggles hanging around his neck. As per the usual he was idly chewing on a toothpick.*
The chief was in one of his typical moods judging from the stern look that seemed to always be present on his face. "This is your first day and yet you're 10 minutes late! Explain yourselves!"
Both Banagher and Takuya didn't know how they should reply. They wouldn't dare say that they had been distracted by the Unicorn Gundam's maintenance and unless they wanted to get chewed out by the irate chief.
Finally, they did what people usually did when they were late; they hung their heads in shame and said, "We're sorry sir."
"Whatever! We're on a tight schedule here!" The chief curtly replied then looked at Takuya first, "You, pipsqueak! Why are you just standing there!? Get your ass to the Jegan over there quick!"
"A-aye-aye, sir!" With a salute, Takuya then rushed to his assigned mobile suit.
He then looked at Banagher who started getting more nervous from the hard glare he received, "And you pretty boy, what are you doing in that uniform!? Get changed into your pilot suit now!"
"Y-yes sir." Banagher responded but then he noticed the last part, "Eh, what was it again?"
"Did you even hear a single word that I said, shorty?!" The chief engineer spat the toothpick from his mouth, "I said get changed into your pilot suit NOW! You're going to take that Gundam of yours for a trial run!"
"Ah, y-yes sir." Immediately, Banagher then pushed himself towards where the pilot changing room was located. It was kinda surprising because he didn't expect that on his first day he would be tasked to pilot his Gundam again instead of learning how to repair a Mobile Suit.
...
Minutes later
Banagher, now clad in his pilot suit stood before the white Mobile Suit which now had been fully assembled. The pilot suit he wore now possessed slight modifications from what he had been familiar with. Instead of the Vist Foundation Unicorn logo, the upper chest part now had the AE initials which stood for Anaheim Electronics, the red lines on the emblem were now green while the grey accented part was blue. The only section that remained unchanged was the pilot helmet held in his right hand.
He stared at the new Unicorn Gundam with wide eyes. Instead of the standard Unicorn Gundam or the Full Armor Unicorn he had piloted, the Unicorn Gundam had been refitted with extra equipment that made it look like a totally different Mobile Suit. Installed on its right arm was the beam smart-gun which had been used by its brother unit the Banshee, the Armed Armor BS. The left arm now had been equipped with a boxing glove-like armor that doubled as both melee weapon and shield and it was also the same weapon the Banshee had, the Armed Armor VN. On its back, the Armed Armor XC which was used by the Banshee Norn variant had been attached with two more Armed Armor DE's equipped on each side, giving the impression that it had a pair of shield wings on its back. On its rear waist was a tomahawk-like weapon that could be unfolded into a double-edged spear, the beam javelin.
"Yo, looks like someone is admiring the new 'Split Horn'." said a voice from behind the young pilot which caused Banagher to quickly turn around to see who it was. His eyes went wide again when he saw a familiar person walking towards him with his usual cheerful smile, "It's been a long time, eh? Banagher?"
"Mr. Tomura!" Banagher exclaimed at the presence of the man who had been a part of the Garencieres' mechanic crew, "What are you doing here?"
"Well you see, after the Sleeves were disbanded, everyone from the Garencieres decided to over from square one." answered Tomura while scratching his head, "I had nowhere to go and when I read that Anaheim had openings for Mobile Suit technicians, I thought to give it a try. I was quite lucky that they didn't question my track record as a member of the Sleeves and just hired me. I guess they were really short on workers."
"I think I can understand that, but why here?" Banagher asked again, still a bit confused.
"Hey kid, I might be from Zeon, but my love for Mobile Suits knows no limits." replied the ex-Sleeve member. He then looked at the Mobile Suits around with a small smile on his face like a child seeing toys on a shop display, "Besides, I've seen enough of Zeon's Mobile Suits during my career. I always wanted to see the Feddie Mobile Suits up close."
Tomura then looked at Banagher again and quirked his eyebrow, "What about you? I thought after those crazy things that happened, you would continue your studies at Anaheim instead of piloting Mobile Suits here."
"It's... kind of complicated..." The boy answered in a somewhat hesitant manner, scratching the back of his head before he continued, "Piloting Mobile Suits is now a part of my studies."
"I see... I see..." Tomura nodded and crossed his arms before he turned his head to the Unicorn Gundam and then to Banagher again, "Anyway, how long are you going to just stand there? Don't you want to take her out for a spin?"
"I was about to do that." replied Banagher as he put his helmet on and pushed himself off from the ground towards the Unicorn's cockpit. Like a knight that had known his master, as soon as he landed on the suit's waist, the hatch automatically let out a low pitched whistling sound and opened up after responding to his presence. Banagher began to climb inside, but he suddenly stopped. His face was filled with nostalgic feelings as he looked around the inside of the cockpit for a moment.
"Three months, huh..." Banagher whispered in a low voice until he heard Tomura call him.
"Hey, Banagher! What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"Ah, nothing, Mr. Tomura."
The brown haired boy then proceeded in and sat in the pilot seat. The cockpit hatch then slowly shut and everything turned black for a moment before the panoramic view activated and showed him the surrounding view of the hangar. From outside, the Unicorn's green visor flashed on and its head rose up before the Gundam slowly walked towards the elevator that would bring it to the launching gate.
"All systems are online... check. Control calibrations... check. Weapons and extra equipment..." Banagher trailed off in the middle when he suddenly saw something unfamiliar written on the equipment screen. Under the 'Special Equipment' tab was the familiar word 'NT-D' that stood for Newtype-Destroyer System, a system which would reveal the Unicorn Gundam's true colors by exposing its inner psycoframe, giving the Mobile Suit a dramatic increase in performance and output. However, this time there were additional words written beside the word 'NT-D', which read...
"Unchained Mode?" repeated Banagher with a quizzical look, "What's that?"
"Hey, Banagher!" The voice of Tomura from the comm. link brought him out of his thoughts again as he looked at the mechanic waving at him with commlink mounted on his left ear from the panoramic screen, "Be careful with her. My team and I already skipped our lunch break to tweak out your machine."
"Don't worry, I will." replied Banagher.
"Well I wouldn't doubt it. Last time I saw you pilot it, you made that Gundam of yours grow crystals on its entire frame and you stopped an entire Mobile Suit squadron in a single swipe of your mobile suit's arm before it magically reverted back. Maybe this time it will take you to some kind of magical kingdom?" He said the last part with a laugh.
Banagher just chuckled a bit at his humor. Truth be told, he was quite surprised when he learned that his Unicorn Gundam's psycoframe had overloaded and sprouted crystal shards from Takuya. That time when he took the hit from the Gryps 2 Colony laser with the Psyco-field, the last thing he remembered was the image of Marida speaking to him and then he met his father again for the last time before Audrey called him to return back. He knew it a few days later when Takuya showed him the recording from the Nahel Argama had illustrated how his Gundam had grown crystal shards all over its body and had stopped the entire Mobile Suit force from the Federation battleship General Revil with a single hand motion like magic. Strangely, when Takuya asked him how he did it, he didn't quite remember how. In fact he didn't even know he had performed such a feat until he saw the video.
The elevator that carried the white winged Gundam then began to ascended followed by the sound of the metal bulkhead that linked the hangar and linear catapult opening. When the Unicorn Gundam had been brought inside the launching gate, Banagher brought his Mobile Suit forward and placed it on one of the available linear catapults. After adjusting the mobile suit's footing, the Unicorn bent down a bit while the pilot released his hands from the controls and intertwined them while waiting for a clearance announcement.
"Opening launch gate number 2..." He heard the operator announce and readied his hands on the controls.
"Releasing linear catapult lock B. Launching the Mobile Suit in 3... 2... 1... RX-0, you're clear to launch."
"Banagher Links in Unicorn Gundam, I'm taking off!"
- Chapter 1: The Reborn Unicorn -
Outside Industrial 7 – Space Combat Training field
From outside, the blue flame trail of the Unicorn Gundam's thrusters could be seen blazing through the shoal zone where wrecked ships and random debris was disposed of. The first test that was given to Banagher was the zero-g navigation where he had to pilot his Mobile Suit at a certain level of speed while avoiding the debris. Even though he had only piloted the Unicorn Gundam for a few weeks back then coupled with three months of not piloting any other Mobile Suits, the brown haired pilot hadn't lost his touch at all as he could maneuver quite well and maintain his pace without losing speed. Banagher had to admit that his Gundam was now easier to handle and its movements were smoother to the point that it seemed like he was controlling his own body thanks to the Armed Armored XC that increased his compatibility further.
After he finally made his way out of the shoal zone, he looked up at the screen which then displayed the result of the first test with the words 'course cleared' written in all caps. A small smile of satisfaction flashed on his lips before he slid his finger on the small monitor in the middle to find out what the next tactical program was.
"Tactical shooting test?" He questioned with one eyebrow raised, "What's that?"
The answer he got was a warning signal in form of red dots of hostility coming from the main screen. Surprised, Banagher quickly looked up at the apparent enemies and zoomed in on their images to find out what they were. On the zoomed images were the said target drones that strangely bore an uncanny resemblance to a Ball mobile pod, except their paint scheme was black which made them less visible by eye and they lacked any cannon and manipulator arms, instead they boasted multiple thrusters on their bodies that explained their fast movement.
At the same time, the communication node on the right monitor blipped several times which prompted him to receive the incoming transmission. To his surprise, the one who had called him was none other than Tomura as his face appeared on the monitor.
"Hey, Banagher. Like my new toys out there?" asked the mechanic with a hearty chuckle.
"You mean those target drones?" Banagher inquired, looking back at his targets again.
Tomura nodded, "Those modified AI-controlled Balls are your primary targets in this training program. You will have to destroy them using any of the ranged weapons your Mobile Suit possesses."
At his words, the teenage pilot opened the weapon slot from the monitor on his left and slid his finger to check the available weapons ranging from melee, ranged, and auxiliary. He then heard him continue.
"The final score of this test is determined by your accuracy and how many times you use your weapon. The less you use it, the higher your score will be. If you can take them all down in a single shot, you will receive a perfect score. And make sure you get it because my two dollars are at stake."
"But their movements are very fast! Maybe faster than regular Mobile Suits!" Banagher exclaimed, both feeling unconfident and shocked that Tomura had made a bet on the outcome of the test, "There are even six of them. How am I supposed to take them all out in a single shot?"
"Well, you fought a massive Mobile Armor that dwarfed any Mobile Suit, stopped a colony-sized laser cannon and an entire army of Mobile Suits with your magic or whatever it was. What makes you think that you can't do a simple test like this?"
"That's not the prob-"
"I'm counting on you, okay? Don't fail me Banagher because I'm watching you."
As Tomura cut off the transmission, Banagher could only sigh in defeat. He didn't like it when people bet money on something trivial like this, but nevertheless the Unicorn pilot then did as he was instructed (or rather requested) and tapped the Armed Armor BS option. This caused the fins on Unicorn's right arm to flip over and form a mounted beam cannon and lock on to the markers that appeared on the main screen.
Two more option tabs then appeared under the weapon name: Standard, and smart beam. This time, Banagher tapped the second option, and the beam chamber began charging up while the fins began emitting blue sparks. On his cockpit screen there were now vector lines coupled with what appeared to be some advanced math formulas that calculated the targets' positions. Banagher then brought his Gundam to where he could see all of the Mobile Pod Balls moving around together in a manner where he could lock onto all of them using the hyper lock-on system.
One by one, the lock-on markers turned red until finally...
"I got them!"
The Unicorn Gundam fired its weapon; a blue energy beam emerging from between the fins at high velocity and its shape contorted into a snake-like form. Despite the agility the Ball targets had, all of them were ultimately destroyed in a single whip-like motion from the Armed Armor BS.
"Whoa..." was the only thing that Banagher could say as he stared in awe at the resulting destruction from the power and accuracy of the smart beam weapon before it folded back into its inactive form. He didn't know much about the weapon's capability other than it was powerful enough to tear even the Shamblo's armor with ease despite being weaker than the Beam Magnum. Deep within his heart, he was relieved that those were just unmanned units. He obviously wouldn't dare to use this weapon again should he have to fight an enemy pilot in the future. Well he wouldn't have to face one, would he?
It was then that he received another transmission from Tomura which he received with an annoyed sigh.
"Woooohooooo! I knew you could do it, kid!" Tomura exclaimed in a joyful tone before he showed him the extra two dollars he'd won in his hand, "Thanks to you I'm now two dollars richer."
"(Sigh) just don't do that next time, Mr. Tomura." Banagher told him off which earned him a chuckle from the mechanic, "So what's the next training program?"
"You guess it. The clue: it's one that shows your Gundam's face." Upon seeing the surprised look on Banagher's face, he gave him a thumbs-up.
"The NT-D? But I thought the research of that system had been stopped due to so many flaws regarding the system being not suitable for normal pilots!"
"Tell that to the R&D team. It was their idea after all." Tomura replied with a shrug, "But hey, don't worry. This time you won't have to fight anything, just some speed and maneuver tests like you did before."
Banagher wondered why these R&D people suddenly wanted to do more research on a system designed to fight Newtype pilots which ironically required a Newtype to handle it. Did it have something to do with his ability as a Newtype which was the reason for why he was recruited as the test pilot of the Unicorn Gundam in first place? Well, he could think of it later as he had one more test to do.
Inhaling a deep breath, Banagher closed his eyes in concentration and the lining on his helmet began glowing blue. The color then turned green followed by the green NT-D word appearing on all three monitors before they folded inside the linear floating seat and the seat transformed. The linings on the armored frame of the Unicorn Gundam began glowing green and the armor plates folded out, revealing the inner psycoframe from the lower legs all the way up to the head. When the transformation reached the upper body, the Armed Armor VN on the left arm opened and turned into a claw like weapon with some of its parts glowing green. As the head section transformed with the horn splitting in two and the face visor opening along with showing its trademark Gundam face, the Armed Armor XC backpacks opened and rotated out, forming a glowing green lion mane-like look. The two Armed Armor DEs on the Gundam's back then expanded their shields and revealed their inner psycoframes, transforming the Unicorn Gundam into its Destroy Mode.
However, this time there was something different. The transformation continued with some of Unicorn's parts being exposed further. The armor on the side legs, forearms, shoulders, upper chest, rear skirt, main back booster, and head slid open and revealed more psycoframe material inside before the Gundam began releasing yellowish green mist from its entire body.
The Unicorn pilot was awestruck at the new transformation dubbed as the Destroy Unchained Mode. He looked at performance chart of his Gundam on the main monitor with eyes widened in disbelief. Compared to the previous one, this new Destroy Mode had significantly higher overall performance which was about 50% higher than before. Also, he could feel that his mind was more calm and serene just like when he heard Marida's voice in his head. Was this because of the additional psycoframe parts added to his Gundam?
"Okay, now that your NT-D is now active, here's your next and final test, Banagher." the voice of Tomura snapped the pilot back from his thoughts as he looked at the mechanic, "See that debris field over there?"
Banagher then looked up at the mentioned area. Unlike the shoal zone that he had been through for the first test earlier, the debris was composed of not only asteroids and rocks, but also numerous destroyed Mobile Suits and warships from many previous generations of war. The given sight was almost as if Banagher was looking at a space graveyard which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
"I see it. All I have to do is navigate through the field until I make it out, right?"
"Yeah, but you better be careful because from what we gathered, there are still active missiles in those broken battleships that could explode at any time if you're not careful." warned Tomura. "The test will end when this timer reaches zero, okay? Best of luck to you, kid." And with that, his face then disappeared from the monitor and was replaced by a digital counter that was counting down from 4 minutes, leaving Banagher alone with an expression on his face that clearly said 'what did you just say?'
"Active missiles? You've got to be kidding me..."
With another sigh, Banagher then launched his Unicorn Gundam into the debris field while leaving a green and yellow mist trail in its wake.
...
Hangar – Observation Area
From the observation deck, Tomura along with two other mechanics watched as the Unicorn Gundam navigated through the debris field with ease. If the Sinanju was known as the Red Comet's ghost due to its red color scheme and speed, then the Unicorn Gundam was the White Shooting Star thanks to its pure white color and the yellow green trail. Almost every member in the mechanic crew had awestruck expressions on their faces while they stared at the observation screen, save for Tomura who looked very proud at the display of the machine's performance and one female technician member who was monitoring the live feedback of the Unicorn Gundam's performance from her laptop. For a moment, everything seemed normal and nothing wrong would happen until...
"Uhhh hey, Tomura... you might want to take a look at this."
"Hm?" Said mechanic then turned to the female technician who had called out to him and he walked over to her, "What is it?"
"Look at this psycowave reading! It keeps increasing like there's no tomorrow!" She replied; her voice becoming somewhat anxious as she gave him some space to show him the laptop that displayed the readings of the psycoframe with a concerned look. As she had said, on the laptop screen was the Unicorn Gundam model in its NT-D mode with its psycowave being displayed as a percentage. What made her worried was that the psycowave level had already gone beyond a hundred. "Is that supposed to be like that?" She asked.
Tomura looked at the screen for a moment before his expression suddenly became terrified as his pupils shrank in utter shock, "No, it shouldn't...!"
The mechanic rushed to where he had left the comm. device and put it on his ear. The sudden change in his mood of course had got him the attention of his fellow crewmates. Tomura was known in their team as the mood swinger who always looked cheerful, energetic, and sometimes a bit laidback. This was the first time they seen him so anxious.
"Banagher. Hey! Can you hear me? Turn off the NT-D now!" He tried to call Banagher, but all he could hear was static from the other line.
"Banagher?" He repeated, "Hey, Banagher. Answer me, dammit! This isn't funny, kid!"
...
With Banagher
"The Psyco-field is somehow getting thicker. I almost can't see anything ahead." Banagher said, looking at his surroundings which now seemed to consist of almost nothing but the yellow green mist from the Psyco-field, "I better deactivate the NT-D before my vision completely disappears."
Banagher then pulled out the keyboard pad from his seat and punched several keys before he folded it back and then closed his eyes to turn off the NT-D with his mind. However after a brief moment and he opened his eyes again, nothing happened. His main screen still only showed the view of the psyco-field that seemed to be growing even thicker and his pilot seat didn't revert back.
"Huh? Nothing happened? What's wrong with you, Unico-HHHNNNGGGRRHH!?"
All of a sudden, the young pilot felt a massive pain within his head. The once calm and peaceful sensation he'd previously enjoyed had been replaced with his head feeling like it was being hit by two giant hammers, the agony almost causing him to collapse in the pilot seat. Banagher tried to fight the pain back and remove his helmet to stop the NT-D by force, but it was futile. The harder he tried to pull it off, the more painful the headache he received.
As this happened, a red warning signal blared violently and the panoramic screen began displaying warning boxes everywhere which said...
"SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" "SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" "SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" "SYSTEM OVERLOAD!"
"Urrrgghh... the psycoframe... is it... trying to overwhelm... me?" He gasped out while fighting back the nausea that almost made him want to vomit. His breathing had already become heavier and cold sweat was running down from behind his helmet. Even worse was that his helmet visor was now fogged from the air he breathed out inside.
Holding his helmet in pain, the pilot then heard his comm. node blink again. With every last bit of the strength he had left while resisting the pain in his head, Banagher pressed the receive button and a blurry image of Tomura appeared on his screen pad.
Sadly, he couldn't hear clearly what the mechanic was saying due of the mix of the warning signal and the jamming noise from his comm. line...
"Bzzz... Ban..gher?! Bzzzz... off the... Bzzz... now! Quick! Bzzz..."
"I... can't... Mr... Tomu.. ra..." were the last words that he could gasp out before his vision became blurry and he fell unconscious. As the body of the young pilot lied motionless in the cockpit, the comm. link was cut off and the entire panoramic view turned black before it shut down followed by the pilot seat reverting back into its normal form.
.
.
.
Meanwhile... in another reality at a royal palace...
On one of the balconies of the palace's structure, there was a young girl standing there with her arms resting on the marble railing. The girl had long blonde hair that reached her back and her right braid was stylized in a drill-like shape and she had a beautiful face with a pair of unusual pink eyes. She also wore a long transparent pink nightgown that barely showed her soft white skin and underwear.
With a soft smile on her lips, the girl then looked up at the night sky filled with stars and began singing.
"Hajimari no hikari... kilari kirari... Owari no hikari... lulala rira..."
As she sang her song, the girl didn't notice another person walk up behind her. The said person was a woman who appeared in her 40s and despite her age, she still looked beautiful. The woman shared some of the features with the singing young girl in front of her like her long blonde hair and her pink eyes, indicating a blood relationship between the two. And like the girl, she wore a light purple nightgown that had been left partially open on the chest, exposing part of her cleavage.
"Kaesan el ragna... sunadokei wo... Toki wa afuren... lulala rira..."
With a motherly smile, the woman then called to her, "Angelise, you still haven't gone to sleep yet?"
The girl named Angelise then stopped singing and turned to face the woman before she shook her head, "Not yet, mother."
"But isn't it cold outside? Besides, don't you have your Iaria match tomorrow?" asked her mother in slight worry as she approached her daughter.
"That's why I couldn't sleep yet. I'm very anxious for the match tomorrow." replied the girl, "The song that you taught me always gives me peace within my heart every time I feel troubled as if it washes everything away. And besides..." she then looked back at the sky, "The sky is so pretty tonight, I just feel like it."
"Indeed, my daughter." Her mother replied, also looking up at the sky. For a moment, the mother and her daughter just stood there, enjoying the cool breeze of the night while admiring the twinkling sea of the stars above.
Something suddenly caught the woman's attention as she looked at one particular moving object in the sky.
"Ah, that's..."
"What is it, mother?" Angelise asked, looking back at her mother, Sophia.
"A shooting star over there. Look."
At her mother's words, Angelise then looked at what Sophia was pointing at. Both her eyes and her mouth opened wide in wonder and amazement when she saw a large shooting star with a long yellowish-green trail that moved slowly across the sky as if it was flying above them.
"It's so pretty, mother." exclaimed Angelise.
Sophia nodded and then turned to her daughter again, "Angelise, why don't you try to make a wish?"
"Huh? A wish?"
"When you wish for something upon a shooting star, it was believed that your wish would be granted someday." explained Sophia as she looked at the shooting star again with nostalgia, "I always did that before when I and your father were still recently married."
"Really? That's wonderful." Angelise exclaimed again, "So what did you wish, mother?"
"I wished... that this kingdom will be always at peace forever..." Sophia answered and looked at her daughter again, "And one day I and your father would be blessed with a lot of children like Julio, Sylvia, and you Angelise."
Angelise was so moved after hearing her mother's answer that the girl's eyes were teary from the emotional feeling she had. She was really grateful for her mother who had wished for something that had brought her and her siblings into the world of mana and made them as they were now. Noticing her daughter's state, Sophia decided to comfort her by tapping her shoulder.
She then motioned the girl to look back at the shooting star, "Now then, why don't you try to wish for something while the star is still over there?"
"Okay, mother." With a nod, Angelise brought her hands together on her chest before she lowered her head and closed her eyes in a praying position. After a moment, she finally opened her eyes and faced her mother who then asked...
"So, what do you wish for?"
"I wished that one day Sylvia would be able to walk again and..." She answered, "Like you, mother. I wished that peace and happiness would always last forever, not only in our kingdom but also the others."
A smile of satisfaction appeared on Sophia's face as she embraced her daughter in a motherly hug, "That's a wonderful wish you made, my daughter. I'm sure it will happen someday."
After both the mother and the daughter parted from their embrace, the former then reminded her, "But now, why don't you return to your room and sleep? You have an important thing to do tomorrow, right?"
"You're right. Let's go back inside, mother."
And with that, the two then walked back inside to their respective rooms followed by the sound of the door closing silently.
However, what they didn't know was the object that they thought was a shooting star was something else that had come from a entirely different place, one beyond their knowledge and reach as it made its way into the woods. For what purpose did the universe have to take this newcomer away far from his dimension? His universe? Only time would tell...
* The unnamed chief enginner's appearance is based from Cid Highwind from Final Fantasy VII and his Kingdom Hearts variant. In Kingdom Hearts, he's chewing on toothpick instead of cigar.
Okay that's all for the first chapter. Quite long enough isn't it? I hope I could reduce the amount of words into 4000-5000 on next chapter...
Pairings for now are still canon with Ange x Tusk. As for Banagher, I have my own idea, but I'd like to hear yours and why. Tell me in the review box below, okay?
