The time of deviation is nigh...
Brace yourselves, for we now enter uncharted territory.
Deployment 3: Dream Rut
The Tekkadan headquarters were now in a state of mass panic after their last "battle", or whatever kind of rational word that a crazed man can think of to describe such anarchy.
Orga himself was cradling his temple with his hands on his desk. In the same room, Mikazuki was slumped on one of the couches next to Atra, Kudelia was sitting on the adjacent chair with her hands on her knees and her gaze looking down, and to top it all off, the Revolutionary Fleet's spearheads, Isurugi, still bandaged all over, and McGillis, who still has his signature confident smile on his face.
Orga, still unamused about their current situation, glowers at the "Chocolate Man" (courtesy of Mika) with a glare that can probably burn holes through nanolaminate armor.
"Hmm?" McGillis glanced towards his planned "King of Mars". "Is something the matter-"
Orga bursts out of his seat, rushes toward the ex-Gjallarhorn scion, and slugs a right hook square to his jaw, knocking him down onto the floor.
"'Something the matter', you said!?" He snarled out, barely containing his rage.
Before Isurugi can intervene, McGillis raises his hand, signaling him to cease.
Orga picks him up by his collar, right before slamming him into a wall.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He roared out. "WE TRUSTED YOU! WE PUT OUR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR YOU! YOU SAID THAT IT WOULD WORK! BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE BRAINS TO COME UP WITH A BACKUP PLAN AND NOW ALL WE CAN DO IS TO WAIT FOR GJALLARHORN TO COME BY OUR FRONT DOORS TO KILL US ALL!?"
"In my defense." The ex-scion spoke out while his lips were dripping out blood. "I did not expect Gaelio to be alive and well, nor I've expected my rapist of a father to still have some degree of influence within the Seven Stars."
Orga snarls out once again, slinging him onto the edge of his office desk.
"You no different from those scumbag adults in the past that tried to use us." Orga bit out. "Self-serving, short-sighted, and above all else, having a really annoying tendency to dig all of our graves, as if digging your own wasn't enough."
The ex-scion glares at the enraged youth while blood trails down on his face.
Before anyone else can step in, the tablet on the desk starts beeping.
The screen reads "Caller: Nobliss Gordon".
"Well?" McGillius smirked. "Aren't you going to pick it up?"
The boss then spits on the ex-scion's face.
"We're not finished just yet." Orga then sits back down on his desk chair and answers the call, expecting their so-called sponsor (Orga himself never trusted that bastard with anything but he knew that without him, Tekkadan would sink towards rock-bottom in an instant) to cut off their funding.
So much to his shock, when he saw anyone else other then Nobliss on the intercoms, Orga lost his balance on his own chair and fell on his rear.
"Greetings, boss of Tekkadan, Orga Itsuka." The filtered and familiar voice spoke through.
The others scrambled towards where the intercom was, seeing the same masked man in pure black who ordered that Dainsleif shootout up in space a few days back.
"JUST WHO ARE YOU!?" Orga roared at the black masked man. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?"
"Peace, for I mean you no harm." The masked man stated.
"BULLSHIT!" Orga roared out while he grabbed the tablet off of the desk. "AFTER YOU KILL MY GUYS, YOU'RE NOW EXPECTING A PARLEY!?" Enraged, the boss throws the tablet against the office walls, not breaking it, but cracking the screen. "ALSO, YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!"
"Very well, I shall enlighten all of you." The masked man stated.
"Hmm, this ought to be rather intriguing." McGillis commented.
The masked man clears his throat before speaking.
"Call me Ishmael, and I'm one of the representatives of Ragnarok, an anti-Gjallarhorn organization." The masked man stated. "And no, I am not the same masked figure that was in space that time, but yes, I am antiquated with that person of your interest."
"Bullshit." Orga growled out. "You're psyching us out, aren't you?"
"No, for that is not a lie." Ishmael stated. "For that was Metatron. And regarding that, I sincerely apologize for his... uncouth behavior."
"ENOUGH OF THAT!" Orga roared out. "JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH US!?"
"Before I get to that, I'd like to show you all something."
The camera's view then pivots around to an image of Nobliss Gordon's naked body being hung over a meat grinder.
Literally everyone seeing this were attempting to avert their gaze from the horrific sight shown on the intercom (the fat man's body, not the meat grinder).
Even Mika was on the verge of vomiting upon seeing such a grotesque image. Blood and guts seemed more favorable then this.
"Kudelia." He asked the blond girl. "You said that bleach is used to clean things, right?"
She nods after vomiting in the office's waste bin.
"Can I use that to clean my eyes?"
"Normally..." She then goes back to regurgitating in the trash can. "... Actually, you know what? I won't stop you if you do."
Atra nods in agreement right before dashing out of the office doors and towards the nearest bathroom.
Then grunts of Nobliss waking up was heard from the intercom.
"Start it up."
Then a mechanical sounds of whirring blades was heard from the speakers.
"Wha-WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Nobliss roared out. "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"
"A soon-to-be can of Spam?" Ishmael replied dryly. "Actually, considering how morbidly obese you are, I'd say..."
The sounds of chains being lowered by a mini-construction crane was heard.
"... An entire food drive's worth of Spam."
Then the sounds of screaming and rotating steel grinding through fat, flesh, and bone echoed out of the speakers.
McGillis took a peek at the intercom's visuals, seeing the fat man's body being ground up feet-first down to his neck.
Nauseated, the ex-scion then vomits on the floor.
Orga then tries to look away from the macabre scene, but then said scene was then replaced with Ishmael, now with his boots kicked up onto the desk.
"Now regarding my demands..." Ishmael stated. "... I'd like to hire Tekkadan for an assignment."
Upon everyone in the room hearing that, they all gather towards the intercom.
"What do you mean, hire?" Orga's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Okay, maybe not 'hire', but more like... absorb Tekkadan into Ragnarok." Ishmael stated. "But fret not, for I do have some benefits, but I also have some... additional demands. But rest assured, said additional demands are minimal compared to the benefits."
"Bullshit." He snarled out. "And how are we supposed to trust you after that crap you just showed?"
"Did you know that person-oh sorry, pig, was actually in cahoots with Rustal, out of all people?" He stated. "Oh, and let's not forget to mention that he's playing Tekkadan, Kudelia's whole Martian Revolution, and even Gjallarhorn, all to string in some dough amidst this whole three-way."
"If I may speak." Kudelia then approaches Orga's desk. "Orga, mind if I take over?"
"All yours." The boss then steps aside to make room for the young lady.
"Thank you." Kudelia then adjusts the intercom towards herself and comes face-to-face with the masked man.
"Lady Kudelia." Ishmael spoke out. "You may now begin your opening statement."
"Then allow me." She then clears her throat as she takes a seat on the sole office chair that she's just picked up. "Mr. Ishmael, just what are your benefits and demands that you speak of?"
"Allow me to elaborate." The masked man stated. "The first benefit, additional logistics."
Ishmael then sets his feet back down and straightens himself into a businessman-like posture.
"Should you agree to join, I will ship 20 Shiden Kais, 200 Mobile Workers, 10 years worth of provisions, which includes emergency rations, toiletries, and hygiene products, and additional manpower, advertising, and if I may be so brazen, new uniforms."
He then holds up a set of clothes that look like much an military officer's suit, but in the colors of Tekkadan's camo-green and orange.
"Regarding that benefit..." Kudelia continues. "What is the trade-in?"
"I want Gundam Bael in my possession." Ishmael stated.
McGillis is then taken back by the masked man's demands.
"And just what do you want with Bael?" McGillis cut in.
"Funny you should mention that, because that has to do with my second benefit." Ishmael replied. "With the aforementioned Bael in my hands, I plan to give it a... upgrade."
"And what are your reasons for marring the founder's Gundam!?" McGillis barely contained his rage.
"Look pal, I gotta be blunt here." Ishmael replied. "The Gundam's design is outdated as fossilized dinosaur shit."
"Oh really?" McGillis barely hides his disdain in that remark. "Then explain, if you can-."
"No ranged weapons, no room for conventional modular adjustments without completely overhauling the whole Mobile Suit, no other melee options in case its swords end up destroyed, and to top it all off, the whole Mobile Suit isn't what you call user-friendly by general Mobile Suit or even Gundam standards." Ishmael explained. "Call me selfish, but if we're going to go through with this agreement, then I want compensation for my offers."
"Selfish!?" McGillis was now on the verge of snarling at this point.
In a fit of fury, he pushes aside Kudelia and begins to rant towards the intercom with unrestrained fury.
"WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS FLAT OUT UNREASONABLE!" He roared towards the screen. "YOU'RE EXPECTING ME TO GIVE UP THE VERY SOUL OF AGNIKA KAIERU HIMSELF, SO THAT YOU CAN TOGGLE WITH IT LIKE SOME CHEAP MODEL KIT! HOW DARE YOU SPOUT SUCH SACRILEGE TO HIS LEGACY!"
The masked figure then lets out a sigh of frustration.
"I'd sort of knew that negotiations will break down as soon I've mentioned Bael, but there are other ways to go about this." Ishmael claimed.
"Like what?" McGillis's voice was now barely above a whisper, but his words and tone were drooling with venom.
The ground below them quakes as a sound of an explosion rings through the air.
"BOSS!" The intercoms then present an audio box right next to the video with Ishmael on it.
"What is it!?" Orga then shoves McGillis aside.
"O-ONE OF OUR WAREHOUSES CAME UNDER UNKNOWN FIRE!"
"WHAT!?" Upon hearing that, the boss rushes out of the office to see where one of the warehouses were at.
The one with the Mobile Workers in it was blown to fiery bits of roasted scrap iron. And in the skies above were three hovering Mobile Suits.
The boss then dashes back to his office to get an update. "How many guys did we lose?"
"There were no casualties boss." The voice stated. "But a lot of our guys are badly burnt and in dire need of help."
"On it." He then turns to Atra. "Atra, gather up our paramedics and treat the guys out there."
"Got it boss!" The girl then hurries out the office doors.
"I'll help-"
"I advise you stay, Lady Kudelia." Ishmael spoke from the intercom. "For I'm still not finished with you just yet."
Then everyone turns their attention back to the intercoms.
"Continuing on from my second benefit..." Ishmael states. "... All those never-before seen Mobile Suits that my boss homemade? They're all yours, along with the aforementioned upgrades that I'll give to your Gundams Barbatos, Gusion, and Flauros? All of them, free of charge. But of course, all those upgrades are your choice, except for Bael, because that tin can of a Mobile Suit needs some serious help."
Before McGillis can flip out again, Mika grabs the crystal ashtray (that no one uses, but keeps it around just for courtesy's sake) from the coffee table next to him, and and tosses it square towards McGillis''s nose, knocking him out ice-cold upon shattering onto him.
"Thank you." Ishmael stated. "As I was saying, I'm willing to improve your current logistics should you comply."
"What's the catch?" Orga gritted out.
"Nothing much compared to the last one." Ishmael stated. "It's just that the next one is assisting us in assimilating Teiwaz into our little circle. And by that, I mean your consent to do so."
"YOU WHAT!?" Orga slams his fist onto the desk. "YOU WANT ME TO PISS ON MY SWORN BROTHER'S GRAVE!? TO HELL WITH THAT!"
"Look pal." The masked man replied. "For me and Ragnarok in a nutshell, the dead have no value other then potential logistics." He answered. "True, he's the one that got you and your little entrepreneurship off the ground and running, but consider this: now that he's dead, methinks is that its time for the little birdie to fly off on its own and become the top dog that it aspires to be. Which then brings me to my third and final benefit."
"And which is?" The boss replied with barely-restrained hostility.
"Expansion opportunities." Ishmael stated. "The Earth Branch, last I checked, ended up in failure ever since that... skirmish that caused lots of meaningless deaths due to a Gjallarhorn mole pulling strings behind your lines all because of him hating kids in general."
"Just what are you getting at?" Orga glared.
"Ragnarok however, will be a bit more hands-off with that approach." Ishmael answered. "All we'll do is just advertise around Mars to bring in more potential workers, while my side will begin our little pet project to monopolize all human debris, and should that go smoothly, I'll send them in to your side as a little thank-you-gift."
"You do realize that what you're doing is now winning you any favors, right?" Kudelia stated. "'Monopolize all human debris'? Mr. Ishmael."
"Call me Ishmael."
"Mr. Ishmael." Kudelia insisted. "If this is some kind of a joke, then you have a really bad taste of humor."
"In my defense, we're the same as Tekkadan when it comes to our policy with human debris." Ishmael retorted. "Hell, I'm a former human debris myself."
Ishmael then takes off his mask, to reveal a man's face with a burnt patch on his left cheek and his lower lip missing half of its whole.
The man then puts his helmet back onto his head before continuing. "Our boss happens to treat them rather kindly, and happened to catch you on our radar a while back. They were cheering for you, believing that Gjallarhorn can be toppled down like the Tower of Babel, and while you didn't completely topple it, you managed to vandalized the brickwork rather significantly."
"Then why did you kill our guys during that little incursion?" Orga's outward flames now all but burned out, replaced with a heartless blizzard from the depths of his soul.
"Blame Metatron, not me." He answered. "He was the one who insisted that we bring our own Dainsleifs to massacre the Gjallarhorn."
"Orga." Mika called out from the seats in front of the desk. "Can I talk to him? I need to say something."
Without a word, the boss takes the intercom and places right towards where the crippled Gundam pilot is at.
"So, the Devil of Tekkadan himself decides to grace me with his time." Ishmael commented. "How may I help you?"
"I challenge you to a Mobile Suit Duel." Mika answered. "Me and Barbatos against your three Mobile Suits that fucked up our warehouse. If you claim that you're good as you advertise, then put that money where your half-lipped mouth is. Should I scrap all three of your Mobile Suits, then you leave us the hell alone."
"And I'm assuming you know what happens if the opposite happens?" Ishmael replied. "Granted, I'm not doubting you in the slightest, but give me some credit for putting up some bravado."
"So do accept my challenge?" Mika then sets himself straight on the couch he was sitting on.
"We'll meet in 20 minutes, front of the Tekkadan headquarters, and I trust you to not be late."
The intercom then shuts off while at the same time, the three circling Mobile Suits then fly elsewhere.
"Orga, tell the other guys to get Barbatos ready." Mika requested.
"On it." Orga then begins to relay the update to the others through the intercoms.
"Mika." Kudelia then approaches the crippled mercenary, picking him up over her shoulder.
"Yeah?" Mika replied.
The girl just smiles. "Kick his ass."
With his remaining good hand, Mika then ruffles Kudelia's hair.
"Proud of you."
20 minutes later...
Tekkadan Headquarter Outskirts
"Just in time and already presenting." Ishmael spoke through the Mobile Suit's comms.
In the wastelands just outside of Tekkadan's Headquarters, there were only four giants made of iron that stood waiting. And from the headquarters, the rest of Tekkadan and affiliates were watching this 3-on-1 duel.
"Is big bro really taking all three on at the same time?"
"Psh, this'll be piece of cake!"
"KICK THEIR ASSES, BIG BRO MIKAZUKI!"
On one side was Mikazuki's Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex, the White Devil itself.
On the opposition were three identical Mobile Suits.
All of them were chalk-white and crimson in paint job. It's looks were an odd mix between the Hyakuri and the Hekija, as if this was their missing link.
As if that wasn't odd enough, this Mobile Suit had a similar serial designation model number to their recently-acquired Hekija.
STH-21 Ginga
With a huff, Mika then propels the Barbatos forward, mace in its clawed hands and towards the three Gingas.
The three then scatter away from the Gundam's mace, transforming into three rectangular jets.
Nonplussed, the Gundam then begins to fire its cannons on its arms, attempting to shoot it down from the sky.
The Gingas then begin to open its rear hatches, releasing their payload onto the Barbatos.
The Gundam simply evades the explosions, but little did Mika know that the payload weren't incendiary.
The Barbatos's armor were then given a few scratches from the scattered shrapnel.
"BTW, we prefer shrapnel." Ishmael taunted.
"Don't care, gonna shoot ya down regardless."
The Barbatos then picks up its massive mace, and throws it towards one of the Gingas in the air.
The mace hits one of the Ginga's verniers causing to stall and lose altitude.
"Gotcha." Mika then thrusts the controls forward, allowing Barbatos to catch the mace falling from the sky and swing it down towards the falling Ginga.
The falling Ginga then transforms back into its Mobile Suit form, pulling our a 150mm Grenade Rifle and points towards the Barbatos.
The rifle fires out a round, but the Barbatos ducks under it, now sweeping the kneeling Ginga off of the earth and onto its sides.
The now-legless Ginga is then sent tumbling across the wasteland in a messy heap.
"One down." Mika mumbled as he moved onto his next target.
"003 is down." Ishmael mumbled. "002, cover me."
Ginga 002 then transforms back to its Mobile Suit form while Ishmael's 001 then carries the Mobile Suit in its fighter form on the top.
002 then begins to bombard the earth below with its Grenade Rifle, firing canister after canister towards the Devil of Tekkadan.
The Barbatos dances around the explosions with savage grace as it then begins to lash out its signature Tail Blade.
"SCATTER!"
002 then gets off of 001 as 001 then transforms back into its Mobile Suit form. Both then fly away from the tail blade bolting towards them.
"Oh no you don't."
The Tail Blade then makes a sharp 90-degree turn towards 001.
Ishmael's.
The masked man just scoffs.
"I got you right where I want you."
The Ginga 001 then catches the remote-controlled blade by its wire to the blade's lower base, preventing it from moving any further.
Once pinning down the Tail Blade, the Ginga then fires out a miniature wire anchor from its wrist towards the Barbatos.
The Gundam tries to knock it away with its arm, but the hook itself was too small, resulting it catching onto the Barbatos's wrist instead.
... Not that Mika's any less nonplussed, mind you.
"You just made it a lot easier for me to aim."
From the same wrist, out came the 200mm rounds barreling towards the Ginga.
"Ballsy, aren't ya?"
The Ginga then propels forward the Gundam, using its own Tail Blade as a makeshift shield while reeling in towards the Gundam with its own wire anchors.
Amidst the charge, a few 200mm rounds knock off a few armor pieces from Ginga 001, but the Mobile Suit's doesn't cease its charge.
The two Mobile Suits then appear close towards one another, with Barbatos ready to maim the Ginga with its claws.
"You're mine-"
Suddenly, the Barbatos buckles down on one knee.
"What the-"
Behind the downed Gundam, Ginga 002 two was about to hack away at the other kneepit.
"Dammit!" The Barbatos then lashes out its clawed hand to chase away the other Ginga.
It only manages to knock off the 002's head off of its body as its Tobiguchi blade digs into the Gundam's other knee.
"Aw crap." Mika sighs out at his temporary pyrrhic victory over the second Ginga. "Wait, what about the 001.."
At the corner of his right eye, Mika stares down at the barrel of the Ginga's 150mm Grenade Rifle.
"Oh shit-"
"Don't blink."
The next thing Mika sees was the blinding color of white.
From the barrel of the 150mm Grenade Rifle was a point-blank flashbang.
The glaring pale flash overwhelms Mikazuki's Alaya-Vijnana linked senses, causing him to squirm in pain from the extrasensory that is inflicted upon him.
By the time Mikazuki opens his eyes and regains his senses, the Ginga was nowhere to be found, nor were his barely-functioning senses were helping in the slightest.
Behind him, the Ginga then grabs both of its own Tobiguchi Blades, and hacks down on the Tail Blade's contraptions.
All Mika hears was a loud *thud* sound as the Barbatos's tail was literally cut off.
"Guess I win." Ishmael stated.
"Yeah..."
The kneeling Gundam then slightly points its arms towards the back.
"Keep thinking that buddy."
The two 200mm Cannons then fire towards the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt, obscuring the Ginga 001's vision.
Before the Mobile Suit can react, a pair of arms then shoot out from the dust, digging its Rex Nails into the Ginga's shoulders.
With all of its strength, the Gundam swings the Ginga over its shoulder and throws down the Mobile Suit right in front of him.
With the opportunity open, Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex then begins to wail on the downed Ginga, hailing down swipes, punches, and point-blank 200mm Cannon Fire without a hint of mercy.
By the time the Lupus runs out of ammo, Mika was already short of breath after letting out everything he had left of his Mobile Suit, leaving the Ginga 001 beyond recognition.
"So..." Ishmael's voice coughed out. "So this is... the Devil of Tekkadan at his full power..."
"You..." Mika's chin then drops a bead of sweat. "You're still alive?"
"I... kinda had fun... with our little bout..." Ishmael continued on. "In fact... you could say that I..."
Mika then hears something *clink* with his Gundam's knee.
He then looks down upon the dusty earth, slowly revealing a wasteland littered with 001's payload.
"... had a blast."
Then Mika goes blind once more, but this time, by a maddening wildfire of conflagration.
As the flames devour the two Mobile Suits, the Gundam's now-armless and legless torso flies out of the fiery cloud, tumbling and crashing like a metal tumbleweed rolling on the arid earth.
Upon seeing this happen, the entire peanut gallery stationed at the headquarters went completely silent in horror as they see the lifeless Gundam splayed on the dirt upon that fiery explosion.
Everyone except Orga, who then forgoes of taking a car and proceeds to run out of the gates on foot.
"MIKA!" Orga roared out. "MIKA!"
"MIKAAAAAAAAAAA!"
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Sorry for the holdup. Busy with other fanfics.
And hoo boy...
... The suffering has now begun. Both in narrative, and in my personal schedule.
Wish me luck!
OC Mobile Suits Specs (Shown in Debut Order)
STH-21 Ginga: Raganrok's aerial-specialist Mobile Suit. Based off the Hyakuri's Teiwaz Frame with the Hekija's design philosophy, this Mobile Suit is an all-range specialist designed to down enemy fleet and Mobile Suit alike in hit-and-run bombardment tactics, with its specialized 150mm Grenade Rifles and its exclusive back containers dubbed the "Lunchbox" that carry an array of disposable mines designed to disrupt enemy formation or add extra firepower to their bombing raids. For close range options, it carries two of Hekija's Tobiguchi Blades on its waists, and in place of its wrist knives are a pair of miniature wire anchors for mid-combat disruption options. It's unique feature, is that unlike the Hyakuri, this Mobile Suit is able to fully transform into a fighter, going from a humannoid Mobile Suit to a vaguely-rectangular-looking fighter jet form. In this form, it is able to act as a carrier unit for other Mobile Suits with its accommodation available on its back, whether for carrying Mobile Suits in or out of the thick of battle. A hit-and-run specialist and a part-time rescue unit, this Mobile Suit is at its best when working with other Mobile Suits, setting the opposition ablaze while acting as rescue for downed units.
* Overall Mobile Suit is based off NRX-044 Asshimar (Zeta Gundam) and RGZ-95 ReZEL (Gundam Unicorn).
* Named after the Yokosuka P1Y1 Ginga Navy Land-Based Bomber from the Imperial Japanese Air Force Bombers.