"I understand....But I don't like being in captivity, but some choices are not mine to be made." a voice echoed in her head, and Blaire's first reaction was to turn around and look for another person, however she saw nothing but darkness and silence. Perhaps she was just imagining things. She then turned to look back at the Gundam, and saw a glint of light in its pale green eyes, instantly making her step back in shock.
"What in the name of all that is....." she said as she backed away from the machine with the same look of shock on her face.
"Did....did that thing just talk? Did you just talk?" Blaire said out loud before she could censor her words, and her bright golden brown eyes tore up and down the huge mechanical being's form. The massive machine was still as stone, but a soft hum started to echo throughout the cave. Carefully and cautiously Blaire took a few steps toward the Gundam and tilted her head she gazed back up into the face that stared down at her. The Gundam's eyes were now clearly, but dimly lit, and they seemed to be following her as she made her way closer. "They never told me Gundams could talk.....My father never told me they could-" Blaire said with a raised brow as she straightened up and tried to look confident, even though she was still in slight shock.
"Speaking is a privilege. You are my pilot.... I have been waiting for this day. For too long have I been hidden in this cave, and too long have I waited the day when a pilot strong enough would come into my view and be bound. Your family's secret is me, but you know this, and this secret can be kept in chains no longer. I sense villainous treachery afoot in this world, and I was created to stop it. With or without you, I will...However..... Without you, the journey could be difficult.... for a Gundam is nothing without a pilot. Which is what annoys me so.... release me, and we will fight! Hiding is for those who are scared of the truth.... you are not scared are you?" The massive Gundam spoke in a deep, booming, but smooth masculine voice with only slightly mechanical tones mixed in. The intelligence was almost human, as well as the inflections in the tone of voice it used. These traits intrigued Blaire more than just the fact that a machine, thought to be mindless and dead was speaking to her right here, right now after all the years of silence.
"So what....are you like, bound to me or something? How do you know? And how do I know you're not just trying to trick me into getting you out of here so you can allow those faction freaks to capture you and use you against the people to destroy us?" Blaire questioned with a stern tone, her hands on her hips and her gaze like steel only a woman could make.
"As I said, with or without you, time will change..... This new evil that brews is growing stronger. My brethren have spoken to me for many years, and they have told me tales from all corners of this world; space and Earth. News travels fast when you have nothing to do but wait for it. I'm not asking for trust... trust is earned. I do not trust you..... So you should not trust me... but you ARE my pilot.... and we....are the seekers to a new revolution of a new breed and color......Do you comply? Free me, and we shall end this war..... Once and for all."
Blaire's eyes widened once again as she stood before the massive machine body, and she took a small step back.
"What do you mean 'end this war'? There is no war, and there will be no war so long as your location is kept secret! I'm not about to just free you so you can be captured by those heathens!" Blaire replied hotly before turning her back on the Gundam and folding her arms across her chest in a very firm manner.
"Listen to me… The war was never over. So long as Gundams exist the war will never be over. But a world without power is peaceful, and they know this. They will not stop until every last one of them is destroyed." The Gundam spoke again, and Blaire could hear the tension in its words, but she stood her ground.
"You can't destroy all of them you dumb machine! There will ALWAYS be someone who will try to bring back the ideals of the old corporations! What chance do you think you have against defeating them all? I'm not about to get myself involved in some 'war' that can be prevented." Blaire said as she turned around with an angered expression and her hands balled into fists.
"Whether you believe me or not, the war is NOT over. You have an obligation as a pilot of a Gundam to uphold honor and truth. We are the masters of fate and destiny. You forget, I know you much more than you think." Marauder said with a hint of amusement in its voice.
"You don't know ANYTHING about me! You're just a dumb over opinionated machine!" Blaire spat, and she kicked a rock that was at her feet before turning around away from the immobile, but obviously not dead Gundam.
"I watched you grow, I knew from the moment your father brought me here that YOU were my chosen pilot. You are the only one who can control what power runs through my circuits, and YOU will pilot me in this war." Marauder hesitated before continuing.
"Your father brought all of his offspring here to teach you all how important it was that my existence was kept secret, but you didn't care. You would walk around this cave, ignoring me and your father as if neither of us mattered. Your will is strong, but you desire for independence is stronger. I KNOW you want this. I know you want to find out what it feels like to be honorable and have the power to stop chaos in its tracks. We can do this! I am made to fight, and you were MADE to pilot me."
For a moment Blaire's shoulders dropped, and it seemed as though she were actually thinking about these words, but alas, she shook her head and began to make her way back out of the cave.
"No….. You are a secret that MUST be kept. I'm not about to ruin my father's honor after all the decades of him keeping the family legacy secret by letting YOU free. And, most importantly, not under my doing. If you can find a way to somehow move without a pilot, then you are free, but until then, you will stay here in this cave. And, by the way, for the record, don't talk to me ever again."
With that, Blaire stepped out of the cave and closed the gap behind her with the bushes and leafy branches.
"You're making a mistake you may not live to regret….." Marauders voice said before it faded from her head as Blaire walked farther away from the cave.
"Stupid machine…. Why didn't anyone tell me they could talk?" She asked herself coming to a stop and looking up to the bright blue sky. "Father…. What am I to do? I want to uphold the secret like we have for generations, but what if that damned machine is right? What if there IS a war that never stopped when it ended…?"