A/N: hey there, this one is based on a bunch of events that take place in episode 18 I think it is. Vital to the story line, I can't just have fluff-chapters all the time. And I quite like writing about the fight scenes.
B the w, just so there's no confusion I am an Australian and therefore I probably do spell things slightly differently to American English. I'm sorry if it's bugging you (because I know I hate it when people spell things wrong…) but it's all just how I've been taught to write.
And anyway, you get the main idea no matter how I write it! :D So I'm sorry about that but there's really not much I can do, please enjoy this chapter and I'll try to get the next one up real soon.
Chapter Ten – The Frontlines
"…haven't finished the final adjustments…"
"…just attach an extra battery pack and…"
"…can't activate…"
"…you sure…?"
"I guess. Start the preparation sequence."
Gino fitted his earpiece in and pulled up his gloves before he was lifted by the sturdy wire up into the cockpit of his Knightmare, Tristan. The attack had been declared and it was all out on the frontlines and they couldn't really start without him.
Gino shot a sideways glance at Anya in her Mordred beside him, legs crossed as she waited for the technicians to finish charging her multiple Hadron Cannons. Those things took days to charge completely. She flicked back a strand of pink hair from her face, her fingers moving across her little camera-phone, probably logging what was going on. She never did anything without punching it into her electronic journal, Gino thought as he smiled at her, her pink cloak seeming far too big for her narrow shoulders.
"Hey Anya," Gino called out, leaning out of the cockpit, "Did they tell you what was going on?"
"Mmm," Anya replied absent-mindedly. "It's just Zero. Nothing new." She lifted her dark red eyes from the device and raised an eye as she said, "They want us to get him this time."
"They said that last time," Gino chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll get him." His smile faded slightly as he thought of Kallen, knowing well what would happen if she escaped. Of course she would hijack the Guren, and of course she'd want to fight.
Gino sighed. Could he stop her from being who she really was?
"Sir Weinburg, he's all set and ready to go!"
"Thanks, Jasper!" Gino called back, before he gave a small wave to Anya and sitting back in his seat, strapping himself in and running his fingers smoothly across the keys, activating starting sequence.
"Time to fight some terrorists," Gino mumbled to nobody in particular as he felt his heart pick up speed. God, it had been so long since he'd been on the front lines. He'd forgotten how exhilarating it was.
The screens flashed across in front of him briefly before Tristan sorted itself out and set up what he needed to see. Gino nodded as he tested out the dials, running his hands over the gears and the levers and buttons as he payed particular attention to the new parts – extra power supply on the Slash Harkens, very nice…
He heard a small crackle and beep and then the technician's voice sounded in his ear. "Just be careful of mid-flight transformation, it's still a little rocky so don't try anything stupid."
Gino smiled a little. "You don't sound like you've got much confidence in my piloting skills, Jasper."
"Honestly, you're the only kid I trust to fly this thing."
"Thanks. Now, do you mind if I use it to the best of its abilities?"
"Be my guest."
Gino's hands rested on the gears, and he took a small breath before he said, "Confirm activation."
"Activation confirmed," the technician replied. "You go first; Mordred will follow. Tristan activation sequence complete. Commencing sortie."
"See you round, Jasper," Gino said cheerfully before Tristan lurched forward and sped out of the hatch, out into the open air, the Knightmare's flight-mode moving much faster than any normal frame would. Gino watched as the lights flashed and explosions sounded around him, and then he saw his radar flashing as a somewhat larger pink dot appeared on the map.
"All good, Anya?" Gino asked.
"Most likely."
Before Gino could reply, he heard Bismarck's voice on his channel.
"Gino, Anya, finally," he said. "We want you to follow Suzaku to where Zero is. Try not to get into too many combats on the way there, we'll need all three of you to take him down."
Gino's eyes flicked to the coordinates that Bismarck had just sent to him and he turned Tristan sharply to the left, Mordred's turning circle somewhat larger as she dragged behind a bit.
"You go on ahead, I'll be there soon," Anya said calmly, but Gino's reply was once again interrupted but this time by heavy gunfire aimed at Mordred. Gino was about to turn and help when she sighed heavily and said in her blunt voice, "Keep going, these scraps of metal can't hurt me."
As if to prove her point, she let fly a number of missiles which sought out the 'scraps of metal', as it were, causing another few more bright explosions to light up the strange darkness of the power-cut Tokyo. But the stars were definitely much brighter too, Gino noticed, but he didn't watch them for long.
Zigzagging through the many minor melees in the sky and noticing the same amount of bloodshed occurring on the ground, Gino was coming closer and closer to his destination. He could see Lancelot in his vision, and he zoomed into the scene and noticed something strange happening. He frowned, and he could see the Lancelot suspended in the air, sparks racing across the metal surface as some sort of force field held him in place – a force field generated by the enormous Siegfried. Gino felt a low growl begin to rumble in the back of his throat and he quickly pulled the targeting gearstick across to the centre of the cockpit, but he decided to change his target at the last minute.
For who else should be present, but Zero?
"Gino!" Suzaku said, slightly out of breath as his face appeared on screen, eyes wide, hair in a tousled mess. "Don't get involved!"
Gino smirked. "Sorry Suzaku. You don't give the orders around here."
Gino knew that his missile wouldn't get past Zero's defence shield, and he said to himself in a slightly over smug voice, "Defeat's just not an option when the Rounds are involved."
The missile lodged in Zero's shield and was quickly removed, but it was enough of a distraction for Gino to fire his Hadron Cannon and attack the Siegfried, whose own shields trembled under the enormous pressure of the blaster.
"Sorry, Gino," Suzaku began, but Gino cut him off.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Be grateful I got here in time." He winked into the camera and Suzaku's lips twitched in small smile before he settled back down into his now quite usual frown.
Gino concentrated back on the Siegfried, and then he noticed the windows to the cockpit weren't tinted enough for him to not see through, and he saw a strangely familiar face…
"Lord Jeremiah?" Gino muttered, before he switched onto the open channel and said with a smile, "Looks like those Orange rumours weren't a lie after all."
He heard Jeremiah chuckle. "Orange? How ironic – that name now represents my loyalty!"
As Gino was occupied with Jeremiah, he watched the radar as Zero slipped away from the battle and began to edge closer to the Tokyo headquarters. Suzaku followed, his Lancelot much faster than Zero's own Shinkiro, but Suzaku was being fired at from all sides. As Gino tried to outsmart the Siegfried – a task he was finding quite hard to achieve – he noticed the Mordred come back into view on the radar. He quickly tuned in on Suzaku's channel and said, "Suzaku, Anya's there! Let her take care of Zero!" Gino knew if anything could get through that damned impregnable shield on Zero's Knightmare, it was Anya's Hadron cannons.
Gino swore as Jeremiah's missiles fired and very nearly hit him. He had been told that this Orange bloke controlled the enormous machine with his own mind… it was going to be especially hard to beat him now.
Bismarck's bearded face appeared on Gino's screen. "Gino, what's the situation with Orange?"
"Now's not a good time, sir," Gino grimaced as his Slash Harken missed its target and he switched back into flight-mode as Jeremiah began setting up force-fields again.
"Not good then," Bismarck muttered. "Alright, get out of there. Anya's gone down and we need someone to back up Suzaku. We think the Black Knights have more backup."
Gino nodded, quite happy to be rid of the Siegfried – for now. He shot across the open sky, dodging the numerous frames and searching for Anya, the Mordred's flashing dot only coming on radar every now and then.
Gino cursed again and then he switched to Anya's channel. "Anya, where are you? Are you alright?"
Gino didn't hear anything but soft crackling at the other end for a few moments, and he asked once more, "Anya, reply if you can hear me. Just let me know you're there."
To his great relief, he heard a soft groan and Anya's voice said quietly, "Oh – what happened?"
"Not sure, you'd have to fill me in on that," Gino said. "Where are you?"
"Um… don't know. I'll just get off the floor."
The pink dot flashed on his radar again and Gino doubled back and spun towards the ground, quickly switching to Knightmare mode again as he hovered just above Mordred as Anya heaved the mighty machine from the road. "All set?" Gino asked. "You sure you're alright?"
Anya made a small 'hmm' sound before she replied, "Yes, I'm sure I'll be fine. You go find Suzaku."
Gino sped back off to the air as he followed Suzaku's little blue dot to a very nearly empty area above the city, and then something made him falter. It flashed across in front of him with lightning speed, a bolt of blood red across the midnight blue sky as it was chased by fast moving missiles – a sort that Gino had seen before somewhere…
Was the Vampire out on the battlefield by any chance?
Gino changed his tuning onto the open channel to ask if anyone had seen him but then he saw Bradley's Percival hovering in the sky, just in time to see his opponent break apart his lance, but then he laughed and said, "Stupid Eleven. Now I'm close enough…"
Gino watched for a moment as Bradley fired his Slash Harken at close range, and if it had been any other Knightmare, it would have completely ruined the internal central sakuradite system. But in a movement that Gino's own eyes nearly missed, the other frame caught the Harken and pulled Bradley closer.
Gino could have sworn he'd seen this frame somewhere before, but it seemed different…
And then, Gino's curiosity was sated, and he felt a rush of elation and horror rush through him simultaneously as he heard a strong and insolent voice from the Knightmare speak into the open channel.
"What is it that's important to you, Vampire?" the pilot asked, shoving a weapon-loaded, claw-like hand against the Percival's main body.
The Knightmare had been modified, but it was still the Guren.
And Prisoner 107 was free once more.