Chapter 1 - Starting Over
The young girl's footsteps echoed along the marble floor. She wore the heavy expression of someone deep in mourning. All around her people moved along happy and smiling enjoying what a fun day they were having. Even on the Neo England Colony a trip to the Imperial War Museum was fairly rare, but for Lisa Gill it was a daily trip. She came to a stop; in the same place she did every day, looking up at Neo England's two greatest Gundam Fighters. Life size still holograms of Gentle Chapman and Paul Snowdon, behind them were replicas of the Britain Gundam and Royal Britain Gundam crossing their main weapons.
'Gundam why do you look so sad?' she whispered staring impassively into the Royal Britain Gundam's cold eyes. 'Are you mourning as much as me?'
She let her hands drop down onto the handrail separating the walkway from the exhibit.
'He's been turned into some show hero,' said Lisa quietly to herself. 'They don't understand him. He wouldn't have wanted this.'
'You really think that is true?' asked a gentle voice from behind her.
'Mrs Kasshu?' said Lisa slightly surprised as she recognised the voice.
'Please nothing so formal,' said Rain holding up her hands. 'Call me Rain. You said Paul wouldn't have wanted all this, but are you really sure? Didn't he join the fight to gain honour for Neo England?'
'Yes,' said Lisa. 'But this isn't right. They've turned him into some throwaway hero to give a brief boost to the colony's moral.'
'I think you're misjudging the impact Paul's sacrifice has had.' Said Rain leaning on the railing in front of the display. 'Not so long ago people from Neo England just kept to themselves with no real pride. But now it's like the old 'Bull Dog' spirit has returned.'
'You think that this was one of those character building moments for Neo England?' asked Lisa
'Maybe, maybe not.' Replied Rain. 'I think that is something you have to decide for yourselves.'
The incandescent hum of the beam claymore hung in the air. Ross Cunningham surveyed his position carefully; on raw power and strength his Tartan Gundam was superior to his opponent. However his opponent had superior speed and manoeuvrability. The two opponents were at opposite ends of the Gundam design spectrum. Sensing a possibility Ross took a giant swing with the beam claymore only to have it blocked by the magenta beam rotor of the Spitfire Gundam.
In the Spitfire Gundam's cockpit Lady Elena Wilson let out a slight yelp as she strained to keep the Tartan Gundam's claymore at bay. She could feel the pressure of the blade through her brilliant white mobile trace suit. Pulling her arm, with the beam rotor attached, back she caused the Tartan Gundam to lose its balance and stagger forward. In a swift and elegant movement Elena sent her Gundam up onto the back of her enemy. Continuing the movement she kicked the Tartan Gundam in the back as she leapt off.
Ross Cunningham felt the pain in his back as his Gundam fell to the ground. With a roar of frustration he got back up and readied the claymore again, however he couldn't find his opponent.
'Whaur sre ye, ye wee lassie,' he grunted through his thick accent. 'There's nae use hidin'. i'll gie ye yit.'
'If only I could understand what you're jabbering about.' said Elena in her slightly upper class tone. 'Then maybe I'd listen to you.'
'Ye English think yoo're sae feckin' smart! weel i'll shaw ye!' yelled Ross[pic][pic][pic][pic].
Falling from the sky the Spitfire Gundam landed one footed on the head of the Tartan Gundam before somersaulting back into the air. Mid way through Elena reached for the hip mounted beam guns and fired off a volley. The beam battered the Tartan Gundam causing it to falter.
This didn't last long as with amazing speed the Tartan Gundam swung around and managed to grab the leg of the Spitfire Gundam. With a mighty toss Cunningham sent the Spitfire Gundam crashing to the ground before ramming his elbow into the back of the prone Neo English Gundam.
'Ha huir! Yoo're nae sae toogh. Bide deid an' lit me win!' he jeered. Getting no response from his victim Cunningham grunted while grabbing the hilt of his beam claymore.
'Didn't that slag mother of yours ever tell you it's not polity to hit a lady!' screamed Elena as the Spitfire Gundam forced the Tartan Gundam off it's back. Putting all her strength into one punch Elena rammed her fist into the stomach of the Tartan Gundam. Which was followed up by a roundhouse kick to the head. While the Tartan Gundam was off balance Elena ignited the Spitfire Gundam's beam rotor and proceeded to carve [pic][pic][pic][pic]a deep X into the Tartan Gundam's chest. 'Bastards like you make me sick!'
In a swift motion she brought her Gundam's left leg up with tremendous force right into the Tartan Gundam's crotch. She dropped back slightly in order to watch the Tartan Gundam holding itself as it fell to the ground. While her opponent was prone on the floor she walked up and hacked off its head.
'Men!' she spat in disgust.
Colonel Harrison couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He'd watched the rather painful end to the fight and was suffering the ageless male sympathy pains. He made a mental note to talk to Elena about ladylike behaviour, not that she would listen. Harrison knew that Elena didn't like men and the only man she ever really trusted was now dead, which made his job difficult because he was meant to look after her.
Harrison sighed and leant back on the edge of the plotting map console. Parliament had put an amazing amount of pressure on Neo Germany in order to allow Neo England to bring a second fighter into the tournament. They had been allowed, but only because this was a 'special case'. However it meant that he was now personally responsible for the safety of Elena Wilson when she wasn't in her mobile fighter.
'You did well Elena,' he said as she came into the control room. 'Though I can't say I loved that last move.'
'He deserved it.' She snapped. 'Men like that disgust me.'
'What? Scotsmen or just men with that mentality.' Quipped Harrison, only to be shot down Elena's ice-cold stare. 'I was only joking.'
'Don't bother, it doesn't suit you.' She said coldly. 'No offence colonel, but I don't like you, or any man for that matter.' She then promptly stormed out of the room muttering a few curse under her breath.
'She's going to have a real tough time considering the number of men involved in the Gundam Fight.' Said Harrison to Elena's dust cloud. 'Even with all that equal opportunities crap women are still rare in the fight.'
Elena Wilson ran a brush through her shoulder length red hair. She sat on the edge of her bed in her cabin aboard the Neo England carrier Hermes. She couldn't go on with all these detestable men around. They'd only serve to distract her from her mission, win the fight and avenge Paul. Her thoughts slowly turned to her only true companion: Paul Snowdon. For as long as she could remember she'd always been close to Paul. They'd grown up together both being trained for the honour of being Neo England's Gundam Fighter. So many fond memories flashed before her eyes.
'Stupid!' she yelled throwing the brush across the room as tears rolled down her cheeks endlessly. 'Stupid. Why did you.. why did you have to die?.we were meant to celebrate your victory together.stupid, stupid bastard.'
Elena sobbed gently to herself. Curling herself up into a tight ball her tears continued to flow.
'Why did you leave me Paul? Why?' she sobbed.
Lisa sat down heavily into the comfy that nestled close to the open fire. Her talk with Rain Kasshu had caused her to do some deep thinking. Maybe she had been wrong the more she thought about it the more it seemed like Rain was right. Lisa pulled her legs up close to her body and stared into the fire's flickering flames.
'Ever changing, never the same,' she mumbled. 'Nothing can contain its strength.'
She let her gaze drift around the small cottage within which she'd been living for the past few weeks. Upon her return to the colony she'd been immediately bustled off by the military for questioning. After they were done with her she was let go, but didn't really have anywhere to go. That was until Paul's mother allowed her to stay in the cottage that Paul used when he was on the colony. With hindsight it could be said that living in Paul's old home probably wasn't the best place to try to get over his death, but Lisa still clung to the hope that if she was there he'd come back for her. With the fire crackling gently before her Lisa slowly drifted off to sleep.
She awoke suddenly; at least she thought she awoke. She certainly wasn't in the cottage anymore or anywhere she knew. She was standing on a dark ever- lasting plateau, which seemed to be covered in a knee-high fog bank.
Suddenly a shape appeared not far in front of her. The shape slowly began getting clearer and clearer until it resembled a Gundam. The Gundam's body hung limp and its head tilted downwards so she could barely make out its face. The more Lisa looked the more she realised that this was unlike any Gundam she'd seen before, it looked too organic to be a Gundam. Then another two shapes appeared behind the organic Gundam. They became slightly clearer but not as much as the organic Gundam. However she still couldn't make out what they were. She did however sense some very powerful emotions emanating from them. From one of them she sense hatred and anger while the other one gave off feelings of love and compassion. The two shapes appeared to be locked in some sort of combat, neither with a true advantage.
Abruptly the Organic Gundam's head snapped up its eyes burning an unholy rage. Then it started to roar a soul-shaking howl. Lisa screamed as the beast's war-cry invaded her mind. She dropped to the ground covering her ears with her hands trying to block out the ungodly sound.
The young girl's footsteps echoed along the marble floor. She wore the heavy expression of someone deep in mourning. All around her people moved along happy and smiling enjoying what a fun day they were having. Even on the Neo England Colony a trip to the Imperial War Museum was fairly rare, but for Lisa Gill it was a daily trip. She came to a stop; in the same place she did every day, looking up at Neo England's two greatest Gundam Fighters. Life size still holograms of Gentle Chapman and Paul Snowdon, behind them were replicas of the Britain Gundam and Royal Britain Gundam crossing their main weapons.
'Gundam why do you look so sad?' she whispered staring impassively into the Royal Britain Gundam's cold eyes. 'Are you mourning as much as me?'
She let her hands drop down onto the handrail separating the walkway from the exhibit.
'He's been turned into some show hero,' said Lisa quietly to herself. 'They don't understand him. He wouldn't have wanted this.'
'You really think that is true?' asked a gentle voice from behind her.
'Mrs Kasshu?' said Lisa slightly surprised as she recognised the voice.
'Please nothing so formal,' said Rain holding up her hands. 'Call me Rain. You said Paul wouldn't have wanted all this, but are you really sure? Didn't he join the fight to gain honour for Neo England?'
'Yes,' said Lisa. 'But this isn't right. They've turned him into some throwaway hero to give a brief boost to the colony's moral.'
'I think you're misjudging the impact Paul's sacrifice has had.' Said Rain leaning on the railing in front of the display. 'Not so long ago people from Neo England just kept to themselves with no real pride. But now it's like the old 'Bull Dog' spirit has returned.'
'You think that this was one of those character building moments for Neo England?' asked Lisa
'Maybe, maybe not.' Replied Rain. 'I think that is something you have to decide for yourselves.'
The incandescent hum of the beam claymore hung in the air. Ross Cunningham surveyed his position carefully; on raw power and strength his Tartan Gundam was superior to his opponent. However his opponent had superior speed and manoeuvrability. The two opponents were at opposite ends of the Gundam design spectrum. Sensing a possibility Ross took a giant swing with the beam claymore only to have it blocked by the magenta beam rotor of the Spitfire Gundam.
In the Spitfire Gundam's cockpit Lady Elena Wilson let out a slight yelp as she strained to keep the Tartan Gundam's claymore at bay. She could feel the pressure of the blade through her brilliant white mobile trace suit. Pulling her arm, with the beam rotor attached, back she caused the Tartan Gundam to lose its balance and stagger forward. In a swift and elegant movement Elena sent her Gundam up onto the back of her enemy. Continuing the movement she kicked the Tartan Gundam in the back as she leapt off.
Ross Cunningham felt the pain in his back as his Gundam fell to the ground. With a roar of frustration he got back up and readied the claymore again, however he couldn't find his opponent.
'Whaur sre ye, ye wee lassie,' he grunted through his thick accent. 'There's nae use hidin'. i'll gie ye yit.'
'If only I could understand what you're jabbering about.' said Elena in her slightly upper class tone. 'Then maybe I'd listen to you.'
'Ye English think yoo're sae feckin' smart! weel i'll shaw ye!' yelled Ross[pic][pic][pic][pic].
Falling from the sky the Spitfire Gundam landed one footed on the head of the Tartan Gundam before somersaulting back into the air. Mid way through Elena reached for the hip mounted beam guns and fired off a volley. The beam battered the Tartan Gundam causing it to falter.
This didn't last long as with amazing speed the Tartan Gundam swung around and managed to grab the leg of the Spitfire Gundam. With a mighty toss Cunningham sent the Spitfire Gundam crashing to the ground before ramming his elbow into the back of the prone Neo English Gundam.
'Ha huir! Yoo're nae sae toogh. Bide deid an' lit me win!' he jeered. Getting no response from his victim Cunningham grunted while grabbing the hilt of his beam claymore.
'Didn't that slag mother of yours ever tell you it's not polity to hit a lady!' screamed Elena as the Spitfire Gundam forced the Tartan Gundam off it's back. Putting all her strength into one punch Elena rammed her fist into the stomach of the Tartan Gundam. Which was followed up by a roundhouse kick to the head. While the Tartan Gundam was off balance Elena ignited the Spitfire Gundam's beam rotor and proceeded to carve [pic][pic][pic][pic]a deep X into the Tartan Gundam's chest. 'Bastards like you make me sick!'
In a swift motion she brought her Gundam's left leg up with tremendous force right into the Tartan Gundam's crotch. She dropped back slightly in order to watch the Tartan Gundam holding itself as it fell to the ground. While her opponent was prone on the floor she walked up and hacked off its head.
'Men!' she spat in disgust.
Colonel Harrison couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He'd watched the rather painful end to the fight and was suffering the ageless male sympathy pains. He made a mental note to talk to Elena about ladylike behaviour, not that she would listen. Harrison knew that Elena didn't like men and the only man she ever really trusted was now dead, which made his job difficult because he was meant to look after her.
Harrison sighed and leant back on the edge of the plotting map console. Parliament had put an amazing amount of pressure on Neo Germany in order to allow Neo England to bring a second fighter into the tournament. They had been allowed, but only because this was a 'special case'. However it meant that he was now personally responsible for the safety of Elena Wilson when she wasn't in her mobile fighter.
'You did well Elena,' he said as she came into the control room. 'Though I can't say I loved that last move.'
'He deserved it.' She snapped. 'Men like that disgust me.'
'What? Scotsmen or just men with that mentality.' Quipped Harrison, only to be shot down Elena's ice-cold stare. 'I was only joking.'
'Don't bother, it doesn't suit you.' She said coldly. 'No offence colonel, but I don't like you, or any man for that matter.' She then promptly stormed out of the room muttering a few curse under her breath.
'She's going to have a real tough time considering the number of men involved in the Gundam Fight.' Said Harrison to Elena's dust cloud. 'Even with all that equal opportunities crap women are still rare in the fight.'
Elena Wilson ran a brush through her shoulder length red hair. She sat on the edge of her bed in her cabin aboard the Neo England carrier Hermes. She couldn't go on with all these detestable men around. They'd only serve to distract her from her mission, win the fight and avenge Paul. Her thoughts slowly turned to her only true companion: Paul Snowdon. For as long as she could remember she'd always been close to Paul. They'd grown up together both being trained for the honour of being Neo England's Gundam Fighter. So many fond memories flashed before her eyes.
'Stupid!' she yelled throwing the brush across the room as tears rolled down her cheeks endlessly. 'Stupid. Why did you.. why did you have to die?.we were meant to celebrate your victory together.stupid, stupid bastard.'
Elena sobbed gently to herself. Curling herself up into a tight ball her tears continued to flow.
'Why did you leave me Paul? Why?' she sobbed.
Lisa sat down heavily into the comfy that nestled close to the open fire. Her talk with Rain Kasshu had caused her to do some deep thinking. Maybe she had been wrong the more she thought about it the more it seemed like Rain was right. Lisa pulled her legs up close to her body and stared into the fire's flickering flames.
'Ever changing, never the same,' she mumbled. 'Nothing can contain its strength.'
She let her gaze drift around the small cottage within which she'd been living for the past few weeks. Upon her return to the colony she'd been immediately bustled off by the military for questioning. After they were done with her she was let go, but didn't really have anywhere to go. That was until Paul's mother allowed her to stay in the cottage that Paul used when he was on the colony. With hindsight it could be said that living in Paul's old home probably wasn't the best place to try to get over his death, but Lisa still clung to the hope that if she was there he'd come back for her. With the fire crackling gently before her Lisa slowly drifted off to sleep.
She awoke suddenly; at least she thought she awoke. She certainly wasn't in the cottage anymore or anywhere she knew. She was standing on a dark ever- lasting plateau, which seemed to be covered in a knee-high fog bank.
Suddenly a shape appeared not far in front of her. The shape slowly began getting clearer and clearer until it resembled a Gundam. The Gundam's body hung limp and its head tilted downwards so she could barely make out its face. The more Lisa looked the more she realised that this was unlike any Gundam she'd seen before, it looked too organic to be a Gundam. Then another two shapes appeared behind the organic Gundam. They became slightly clearer but not as much as the organic Gundam. However she still couldn't make out what they were. She did however sense some very powerful emotions emanating from them. From one of them she sense hatred and anger while the other one gave off feelings of love and compassion. The two shapes appeared to be locked in some sort of combat, neither with a true advantage.
Abruptly the Organic Gundam's head snapped up its eyes burning an unholy rage. Then it started to roar a soul-shaking howl. Lisa screamed as the beast's war-cry invaded her mind. She dropped to the ground covering her ears with her hands trying to block out the ungodly sound.