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A Xenogears Fanfiction
By BG-57
Chapter 1
The fish were terrified. They weren't used to seeing lights this far down in the abyss of the ocean. The pair of brilliant lights resolved into the eyes of a massive mechanical dolphin. The front was bullet shaped, attached to a segmented tail. Inside the cockpit the endless ocean floor streamed past the monitors on all sides, giving the effect of an inside-out aquarium. However, the small waif of a girl was in no position to admire the view as her eyes were tightly closed. A pair of wires connected a blue barrette that decorated her forehead to a small box mounted on the back of her headrest. Her dark blue hair was cut short and matched the snow white and cobalt uniform, with long sleeved gloves that widened at the shoulders decorated with intricate fleur-de-lis patterns. She ran her hands lightly over the touch sensitive controls.
"Kelvina, come in!" said a crackling voice.
She turned to the sound coming from a speaker to her right.
"Commander Ramsus?" she inquired in a soft tentative voice.
"Yes," said Ramsus tersely, "Change of plans."
Kelvina frowned slightly. He sounded upset.
"Are you alright Sir?" she asked.
"Dominia has failed to report back," he snapped irritably, "Find her!"
Kelvina let out a small sigh. "Any leads on her last position?"
"Just check out the vicinity of Ethos Headquarters," replied Ramsus, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"Yes Sir," said Kelvina calmly.
"That is all," he said as the speaker shut off.
Kelvina sat quietly in her seat, no noise except for the echo sounder and the faint rumble of Marinebasher's engines. She touched a console, causing a square block of pins to rise out at different heights, producing a contour map of the sea floor. Her fingertips told her of a small island nearby that might prove helpful.
Marinebasher swam upwards and broke the surface of the water, launching into the air. Small islets rushed by as Kelvina sped through the air. Finally a small triangular island came into view, dominated by a lone pyramidal mountain. As she circled around the mountain she could sense a small farmhouse with a windmill. She maneuvered over an empty field and activated the landing thrusters. Marinebasher hovered over the field for a minute, then slowly settled down into the waist high grass. She reached up and flicked a couple of switches overhead. The engines shut down with a long rattling echo. She pressed a console button and a hatch opened up over her head. She unplugged her headset and clambered out onto the back in front of the main dorsal fin. Some children who had been playing in the barnyard stared at her in stunned silence. She hopped down onto the ground and ambled over toward the main house.
"Hello?" she called out.
"It's Gebler, run!" yelled a girl.
"Into the house!" cried a boy.
She heard their footsteps fade away as she walked around the fenced in chicken yard and reached the seesaws. The windmill creaked as the rusted vanes idly turned in the light breeze. Kelvina sensed the eyes of the children on her as she sat on a bench under the shade of a tree. She pulled out a piece of wood and began whittling. A young blond girl in pigtails peered out of the window.
"What are you making?" she asked nervously.
"An angel," replied Kelvina.
"Aren't you here to take us away?" asked a boy with brown hair standing near the door.
Kelvina shook her head. "Can I talk to your parents?"
"Brother Billy will be here soon," said the girl.
"Brother Billy?"
The girl cautiously walked out.
"Lucy, it's too dangerous!" said the boy.
"But Karl, I wanna see the angel!" protested Lucy.
The boy yanked her back inside. "Just wait until Brother Billy gets here!"
Kelvina sighed and went back to her woodcarving. As the sun began to sink under to horizon, she heard the faint rumbling of a gear. She raised her head to the east. A large white and blue gear with a pointed helmet and long blue cape dramatically blowing behind it resolved into view. The engine signature was unmistakable.
Kelvina shook her head in disbelief. "Incredible."
The gear landed in the center of the playground making the large metal grate vibrate underfoot.
"Hey kids, where are you?" reverberated a thin voice from the gear.
The gear turned toward Kelvina, regarding her with a single glowing green eye. She only had a fraction of a second to jump for cover as it raised its gun and blasted out the fence behind her with a tremendous explosion. The gear swiveled and shot through the trunk of the tree she was hiding behind. Splinters flew all over the place and a cloud of leaves slowly fluttered to the ground.
"Come out Element!" called the voice.
Kelvina emerged from behind the tree with her hands raised. "What a surprise Etone."
A circular hatch on the front of the gear opened and out climbed a serious young man brandishing a shotgun. His silver hair was cut short and his sapphire eyes flashed in anger. He was dressed in blue-gray robes and suede cowboy boots. A pair of silver pistols rested in leather holsters around his waist. He jumped to the ground.
"Kelvina, right?" he inquired.
She nodded. "Etone Billy Lee Black."
"Primera, stay in Renozukan!" shouted Billy without looking behind him. A small girl with silver hair and red eyes peered fearfully out of the cockpit.
"So this is your orphanage Etone?" inquired Kelvina.
"How did you know?" he demanded.
Kelvina smirked faintly. "I didn't until now."
Billy muttered something inaudible under his breath.
"What now?" she asked.
Billy leveled the shotgun across his left arm. "I wish I knew."
"I have a suggestion," she remarked.
Billy frowned a little. "What is it?"
Kelvina suddenly lunged at him, knocking the shotgun upwards as he pulled on the trigger. The bullet whizzed off high in the air as she swept her leg under his boots, tripping him. He fell over backwards, breaking the board of one of seesaws. Kelvina began to glow with a blue aura as Billy sat up, his pistols drawn. He fired a salvo that hit her in the neck and shoulder, knocking her back into the splintered stump of the tree.
"Yay!" called out the children from the window, "Beat her up!"
He swung one of his hands down, still gripping the pistol. "Get down kids!" he shouted.
Kelvina began to glow again with ether powers and cast a spell that deluged Billy with a torrent of water. He shivered and fell down on one knee.
"Don't underestimate me Etone," warned Kelvina icily.
Billy rolled forward and scooped up his shotgun and fired it at nearly point blank range into her stomach. He then drew out his pistols and fired a series of shots that hit her arms and forehead. One stray shot knocked off her barrette. She shrieked and collapsed facedown onto the ground. Billy stood up and cautiously walked over to her. He poked the end of his gun at the back of her head.
"Get up Element."
She began to whimper quietly. "It hurts."
Billy arched an eyebrow. "Of course it does."
She began to tremble all over, her fingernails digging into the dirt. "I can't stop it."
"Stop wh-" began Billy.
He gaped in amazement as the barnyard and house began to melt around him. His hands began to shake as he pointed the guns wildly around him. Everything was dissolving into pools of water.
"T-this can't be real!" he stammered, trying to fight down his rising panic.
"Make it stop!" screamed Kelvina as she started to sink under the waves.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
She raised her head and opened her eyes. Billy's jaw dropped as he saw tears spilling out of her bright glowing cerulean eyes. Water began to rise around him, up to his knees.
"Stop it!" he shouted, raising his pistols.
"I can't!" she sobbed.
The pistols began to writhe in his hands like snakes. He yelped as he dropped them into the water. As he began to fumble for his shotgun, he got slammed with wave after wave of cool energy emanating off of Kelvina. Her body was now burning a furious blue, like a spectral fire. Billy's eyes rolled upwards and his nose began to bleed as he collapsed into the water, succumbing to a welcome oblivion….
What felt an eternity later Billy woke up with a start and saw a rough-hewn wooden ceiling. Children peered anxiously down at him from all sides of the bed. Primera removed a wet cloth from his forehead.
"What happened?" asked Lucy.
Billy blinked in confusion. "Where am I?"
"Your bedroom," said Karl.
"Where'd she go?" asked Billy.
"She's over there," said a green-scaled dragon child.
Billy looked over and saw Kelvina lying on a cot by the wall. Her arms and shoulders were bandaged and the barrette once again rested on her forehead. Automatically, his hands went down to his gun holsters. Empty. He sat up and swung his legs over the side and suddenly felt woozy. Primera gripped his arm fearfully.
"I'm alright," he said, slowly getting up, "Who patched her up?"
"Prim did," said a young boy with red hair.
"Did you kids see the water?" he asked as he limped over to Kelvina.
"You mean the water spell?" asked Karl.
"No, I mean later," he responded thoughtfully.
"She only cast that one time," said the dragon child.
"Prim said she was glowing funny at the end," said Lucy.
"Did she see anything melting?" he asked still staring down at the Element uneasily.
"Melting?" asked a red haired boy.
Billy glanced back at Primera who solemnly shook her head. He then dropped his hand on Kelvina's face and ran his hand up to the barrette.
"It started when I knocked off this thing," he muttered to himself.
"Etone," said Kelvina in a whisper.
Billy pulled his hand away as if he had touched a hot stove.
"I thought you were asleep," he said hastily.
"Tolone always says I look asleep even when I'm awake," said Kelvina with a small smile.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Why should you care Etone?" replied Kelvina sadly.
Billy found himself loosing his patience. "Oh for crying out loud…just call me Billy!"
Kelvina looked puzzled. "Mr. Black?"
"Close enough," he said sighing, "What happened to you Kelvina?"
She held out her hand. "Help me up."
He gently pulled her into a sitting position.
"Come closer children," she said softly.
The kids looked up at Billy. He nodded silently. They gathered in a semicircle on the floor in front of Kelvina. Primera climbed onto Billy's lap.
"A long time ago, there lived a monster called the Gorgon," began Kelvina, "She had snakes for hair and was so ugly that anyone who looked her in the eyes was immediately turned into stone. Many people died until an evil king summoned a great warrior to slay her."
Primera glanced up at Billy as Kelvina continued her story.
"This hero was very clever and polished his shield so that it reflected like a mirror. He then traveled to the island of the Gorgon. He found the island covered with statues that had once been men. Then in the deepest lair of the dungeon he saw her image reflected in his shield. He drew his sword and slew her in one blow."
The children gasped in unison.
"He then took the Gorgon's head and brought it back to the evil king. He removed the head from the bag and all in the court were immediately turned into stone. The end."
"That was scary," said Lucy.
"I wasn't scared," retorted Karl.
"I felt sorry for the Gorgon," said the dragon child.
"What?" said several other children.
"Well, it wasn't her fault that she looked like that," said the dragon.
"That's true," said Billy looking directly at Kelvina.
"It wasn't her fault?" echoed Kelvina.
Primera hopped down from Billy's lap and walked over to Kelvina. She put her hands on Kelvina's knees.
"Prim," said Billy nervously.
Primera looked back stubbornly at Billy.
Kelvina put her hands on top of Primera's and fought back tears. "Thank you."
The next morning Billy stood on the porch of the orphanage and watched the children playing on and around Marinebasher. To them it was just another piece of playground equipment. Lucy sat on top of the head.
"Fishy!" she said.
"It's not a fish, it's a dolphin!" lectured Karl sitting next to her.
"Doll fin," said the dragon child from the ground.
Billy shook his head and walked back into the house. The main room had a long wooden table standing in the center of the room, with benches all around. A fire roared in the fireplace on the opposite wall. Kelvina was sitting on a bench near him, sipping tea demurely. He sat across from her.
"You don't have to keep an eye on me," she said, "I'm not here to fight."
Billy filled a cup from the kettle. "Why did you come here then?"
Kelvina sighed. "I'm searching for Dominia."
"Where is she?" asked Billy.
"I don't know," replied Kelvina, "That's why I'm looking."
They sipped their tea in silence.
"Can I help you look?" asked Billy.
Kelvina nearly spit out her tea. "What?"
Billy looked away. "I know, we're enemies."
"Adversaries," she corrected.
He mulled that over.
"Enemies imply opposite goals," she elaborated, "I feel while our methods are different, our goals are the same."
"Not true," said Billy shaking his head, "I don't want Solaris to dominate the world."
Kelvina smirked. "Solaris doesn't matter, only Commander Ramsus."
"What makes him so great?" asked Billy.
"You haven't seen this side of him, but he is kind and compassionate," said Kelvina with a quiet smile, "He is brave, strong and intelligent."
Billy found himself wishing he could see her smile more often. "Sounds more like Fei," he said eventually.
Kelvina shuddered. "We do not mention that name in front of the Commander."
Billy sighed and glumly sipped his tea.
"I need to leave soon," she said eventually.
Billy stared at her intently. "What about the orphanage?"
"It is an unimportant detail," she replied evenly, "It will not feature in my report."
"How can I believe you?" inquired Billy.
She drained the last of her cup. "You can't."
"So either I trust you or I don't," he stated.
Kelvina stood up. "Ultimately it's a decision everyone has to make."
Billy stood as well. "I'll trust you this time."
"You may regret that," she said.
"No, I'll make you regret it," he retorted.
She nodded and they walked outside together.
"Kids, get down from that gear!" barked Billy.
He was met with a chorus of groans. Reluctantly the children climbed down. They surrounded Billy and Kelvina.
"Are you really a bad guy?" asked Lucy.
"I'm trying to make a better world for all of you children," said Kelvina, "If that makes me a bad guy then so be it."
"Why don't you help Brother Billy instead?" asked the dragon child.
"We fight for different people," replied Billy.
"And they hate each other," added Kelvina.
"Why can't they be friends then?" inquired Lucy.
Billy and Kelvina turned to face each other.
"It's not going to happen," said Kelvina sadly.
"Let's not keep her," suggested Billy.
Kelvina climbed up the side of Marinebasher. She flipped open a lever and the hatch opened. She threw a small bundle down and Billy caught it.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's for the children," she replied, "Unwrap it after I'm gone."
The hatch swung down and sealed with a faint hiss. Everyone backed away as the thrusters on the end of Marinebasher's fins fired up. The gear levitated and swiveled around. Then with a loud bang it rocketed off toward the ocean. As it vanished over the horizon, Billy undid the strings the bundle. A small wooden carving of an angel with one wing rested in his palm. He handed it to Primera, who held it up for the other children to see.
"Brother Billy, is that an angel?" asked Lucy.
"Yes she was," said Billy staring off into the distant waters.