Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Gundam franchise or anything even resembling other mecha series in this fic. If I did, you could be certain that this wouldn't just be a fanfic.
Chapter 14: Burning On!
"Levvy!" Belle shouted and jumped up from her sear with such concern that Blair had to pull her down and get her to calm herself, reminding the girl that their friend was in no real danger. She sat back down, almost embarrassed by her outburst.
"H-heh... d-damn..." Levanah's voice quivered, the smoke clearing from the area around her Crossbone EXCELSA. The cloak around it was completely gone, only a small amount of material around the neck remaining, almost looking like a scarf. Thankfully the compounded barriers managed to tank most of the damage, and what did make through them was stopped by the cloak, but it was clear that the same tactic wouldn't work twice. She lowered the Gundam's arms, revealing the chest, with a top section reminiscent of the Crossbone series proper and the bottom taking design notes from the Exia, a large circular segment occupying everything below the Crossbone parts. Curiously, some additional panels were added to it, that looked to be too oddly shaped to be extra armor. She wiped some sweat from her brow. "Barely made it... crap... that was a lot of power."
"And there's more where that came from, kiddo!" Kristopher gave a shout that was somehow both friendly and threatening at the same time. But instead of continuing an assault, he waited, his Wild Titus hovering in midair. "I know there's one trick you have left that you're holding off on using, but the question is, will you be able to hold your own against us before time runs out?"
Levanah smirked. "I'll be honest, I haven't had much practice with what I'm about to do."
You say anything about "going even further beyond" and I swear Levanah, I will punch you in the face after this match is over. Rin, who had been watching with the girl's other friends, thought silently to herself, a somewhat grumpy frown on her face. It's dorky enough as-is.
The brunette girl took in a deep breath, gripping the holographic controls. She tapped buttons on either orb, each labeled [SP]. I'll have to make sure I finish this quickly, or else I really will be a sitting duck... "All right!" she shouted, mostly to psyche herself up.
"Trans-Am..." she immediately pulled her arms up, crossing them.
"Faaaaace..." she started, then swiftly pulled both arms down as if to slam something, finally using the labeled items.
"OPEN!" The mouth vent on her Crossbone EXCELSA opened as the GN Drive gave a screeching howl, the little chest components pulling down as well. In what seemed like an instant, a reddish glow engulfed the Gunpla, followed by streaks of pink and what seemed to be gold, all together making is seem as if it were engulfed in, or perhaps letting out, furious, roaring flames.
"That's... new." Blair commented, eyes wide, a hand adjusting his glasses slightly to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The audience was shocked, even Fellini seemed to have not been ready for such a display. Rin, Mike, and Haley seemed to be the only ones in the entire stadium not surprised by this new ability. Haley could almost swear she started hearing music, but something unlike the low, almost orchestral tone she had come to associate with the Trans-Am transformation, the track "Fight." It was something new, something different, something almost... cheerfully vibrant, unrepentantly heroic, upbeat and inspiring in tone.
"Hah, it worked!" Levanah shouted with joy, eyes turning to a recently added timer on in her terminal area. Four minutes and counting? Well, let's see what we can really do, EXCELSA! As if in response to her thought, the eyes of her Gunpla gave a quick flash and hum, thrusters firing up and launching it towards the opponent at unprecedented speeds, afterimages forming behind it but with the addition of the blazing aura, they took on a far more haunting and ethereal form. Kristopher's Gunpla raised its arms in an attempt to block, but the Crossbone's vastly increased speed easily allowed it to plant a fist square in the enemy's face. Taken back by the strike, it is unable to block an incoming kick to the side, the dagger from the Crossbone's foot leaving a noticeable gash as the force from it threw the Wild Titus screeching into the ground.
"I... g-gah, wow, that was more than I was expecting. Damn, kid, what did you do to that thing?" Kristopher asked with a laugh, getting his Gunpla up.
"Oh, you know, non-stop push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a few kilometers of running every single day." the girl replied with a smug grin, launching her Gundam down to the opponent, the blazing aura surrounding it flaring. "And plenty of juice!" It threw a punch, but the Wild Titus managed to block the attack, countering with a right hook to the Crossbone's chest. While damaged, it was noticeably less than what Kristopher expected, both Gundams jumping back and taking to the air, flying around in a way that made it seem like the two were almost jousting in the skies. Strike after strike, blow after blow, neither one gave any indication of slowing down. The sheer force of the strikes were clearly leaving damage on the combatants' Gunpla, and after a minute of continued onslaught a strong punch to the Crossbone's chest sent it falling. Levanah managed to slow it down quickly enough that the landing doesn't damage her Crossbone, swiftly turning it around, looking upwards.
"You're good kid, and your Gunpla is damn strong, but it seems you're close to your limit." The arms of the Wild Titus began charging again, ready for another Wild Roar. "I'll show you that I'm the strongest Gunpla Fighter here!"
"Strength means nothing..." Levanah started, the I-Fields in the palms of her Crossbone activating as the aura around her Gundam blazed, a small, bright sphere forming between the hands. "If you can't bring it all out!" The sphere started to grow, becoming vibrant, the aura around her Gunpla now feeding into it as the timer's countdown increased in speed frantically. "Let's finish this, EXCELSA!" The Crossbone pulled its arms back and started focusing the energy feeding into the glowing sphere. "G.. N... BLAAAAAZER!"
"WILD... ROOOOAAAAAAAR!"
The two projectiles, the tiger-shaped one from above and the vibrant white sphere from below, flew towards one another. As they made contact, the Wild Roar seemed to engulf the smaller blast... but soon found itself breaking apart. The smaller sphere flew through the larger blast, speeding towards Kristopher's Gunpla. A split-second attempt to stop it by blocking achieved nothing more than the arms being destroyed, warnings flaring around him. As he tried to regain some semblance of composure to the damaged Gundam, he noticed the Crossbone charging at him.
"Dagger... INAZUMA... KIIIIIIIIIICK!" the girl let out a powerful yell as the Crossbone kicked the opponent in the chest. The sheer force of the unblocked strike cleaved the Wild Titus in two, the separate halves falling to for a moment, the EXCELSA landing on the ground. "Close Face!" The panels and faceplate shut hard, the aura leaving the Crossbone as the timer displayed that there were 7 seconds left. The Wild Titus's explosion was followed by a clear declaration:
[BATTLE ENDED]
"Th-the... the winner is, Levanah Morgan!" Haley shouted frantically, finally aware that she'd been gawking silently for almost half a minute after the battle was. The crowd stayed silent for another half a minute, then erupted into applause and cheering. The brunette girl adjusted her hat and wiped some sweat from her brow, Kristopher coming over to congratulate her.
"Almost had you, Miss Morgan." he says with a cheerful smile as he shakes hands with her.
"You did, actually. Damn that was close..." she shyly admits. "If you lasted about seven seconds more, I'd have been a sitting duck."
"Hah, guess I should have dodged instead of trying to block, then." Kristopher rubbed the back of his head. "Aw well, good luck for the finals. I'll be rooting for you!"
"Thanks." The two nodded, collecting their Gunpla and walking out. "Hmm..." the brunette girl looked over the damage; minor on the machine itself, and the cloak could be easily replaced. Glad I made a couple spares for the Murasamas... this could have ended up a lot worse than it did, I can't waste any time fooling around... hrmn. While eager to get straight to repairs, she turned and looked back, still walking forward. The next match would decide who her opponent in the finals would be, and while she might have hoped for a surprise, she severely doubted that one would occur. The girl gave a small, quiet sigh.
"Something's eating you. History with that lady clouding your mind?" the man asked, looking back as well. "Or is there something else up?"
Levanah shook her head. "No, just... guess there's no easy way to explain it." She looked down at her Gunpla, trying to clear her mind, to no avail. "Kind of worrying that there's more at stake here, if I lose."
"'More at stake' huh?" he repeated, rubbing his chin. "What, is she going to suddenly start raising Devil Gundam heads out of all the Battle Terminals in New York?"
"Har har." she feigned a bit of disapproval at the comment, but was clearly trying to hold back a legitimate chuckle. "I just... I know there's something bigger happening in this. That hacker incident at the Yajima offices..." her voice became quieter as she recollected what happened there.
"I see..." Kristopher decided to stay quiet, turning back again, this time to look towards his niece, currently playing "Silent Voice" with her Gunpla Band as an intermission. He made a quick glance between her and the girl walking next to him.
"Maybe... heh, actually, it's just... selfish." Levanah started, but didn't finish, instead looking at her Gunpla again.
"Ah, whatever it is you'll be able to handle it, won't you? I mean, at the very least you've demonstrated that you're one of the best Gunpla Fighters in the whole US by now, what do you really have to worry about?"
"It's easy to just say that..." the brunette girl said in a quiet tone approaching a mumble, her free hand reaching up and twirling a finger in her ponytail.
"Damn it, come on, come on!" Johnny Ennio frantically shouted, his Psycho Gundam dashing away from a number of Funnels trailing it, taking shots at the large frame. Moving behind an asteroid, it sent out its own, Haro-shaped Bits to engage the pursuing Funnels. The man gave a sigh of relief, only for a warning sign to flash up.
"Is this the best you can do?" Jen addressed him dismissively. The Phoenix Gundam Voyager floated down in front of its opponent, arms crossed. The Full Burst Psycho Gundam took aim at it with its shoulder-mounted Burstliner cannon, firing. While a direct hit, the barrier surrounding the Gunpla made the effort useless. "I should have expected such..." It fired again and again, desperately trying to damage the opponent.
"Captain..." Mr. Rus turned to her, noticing the power on the shields steadily decreasing from the continued barrage.
"Hmnh. This is pathetic." Jen fired up her Gunpla's thrusters, avoiding one final, frantic shot from the opponent and slicing off the Burstliner with the Gundam's Beam Saber. One of the Beam Cannons pointed down at the enemy's mug began charging. "To think, this is the cream of the crop? I'm disap-"
"I yield." the man stated, tapping on the controls to surrender.
[BATTLE ENDED]
Jen looked at her opponent with an almost stunned reaction. Johnny let out a quiet sigh of defeat. "There's no point in continuing this." He walked over, offering a handshake. The three obliged him after a moment's hesitation, Jen trying to force a respectful smile. the man walked over to collect his still intact Psycho Gundam, Mr. Rus gathering the Phoenix Gundam Voyager. "Good luck with the final round."
"This semi-final match goes to Jen Mul and Team Voyager! Everyone give them a big round of applause!" Haley shouted, the crowds obliging her enthusiastically.
"Guess that's it." Jen looked around, taking in all the cheering people in the area, realizing how many more there were out there watching across the country, and beyond. A mixed sense of pride and disappointment, in her accomplishments and in her battles, filled her head. Her comrades turned to her, showing similarly mixed emotions.
"Captain...?"
"We defeat her and we're through. We can... put our doubts behind us." she gave as a reply, walking off. If she fails to defeat me, this is on her. Let's hope you have what it takes, Levanah Morgan. Thinking deeper, she verbalized one short, quick thought before leaving the area entirely, "'When can our glory fade? Oh, what wild charge we've made...'"
"All righty, ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the semi-finals! We will have a short break, and at-" Haley stopped for a moment, a voice coming into her earpiece. "-ah, we will begin the final match at 1:30. The Battle Terminal will be undergoing special maintenance until then, so hope you all stick around today for the final match! This will be the match to determine the American Champion, who will go on to fight in the World Championship!" She finished her message off by starting up another song. Feeling a bit inspired, she went for a less commonly expected Gundam song, but something certainly appropriate for the tournament, G Gundam's "Sentou Danji - Kitae Yo Katsu Tame Ni."
Her Extreme Gundam's eyes flashed as it led the others around in formation, the Dom Drummer not far behind, Maxter on Keyboard with its back to the Dom, the two spiraling around each other, and the Descem Bassist following up the group from behind. As Haley continued playing her own guitar, the Dom Drummer and Keyboard Maxter crossed around her, finally stopping about half a meter away on either side, the Extreme Gundam and Descem Bassist flying up above her. As they continued to play, subtle glows emanated from the Gunpla, flickering in intensity with the music, as if the sound waves themselves were becoming visible around them, resonating into different patterns. Finally the Gunpla stopped their flights, the glows becoming radiant as the song came closer and closer to finishing, letting out a vibrant burst right as the song ended. Haley gave a bow as the crowds cheered and applauded, her Gunpla slowly landing down on the stage.
"Thank you all, and enjoy some of the refreshments set up in the area! Once again, final match will be at 1:30! Don't miss it!" Haley collected her Gunpla and cheerfully skipped off the stage, setting them and her guitar all in place in the case. As the crowds began clearing out, her uncle approached her.
"Well well, seems you're a step closer to becoming an Idol or something, aren't you?" he asked in an intentionally condescending and irritating manner.
"As if." she replied by sticking her tongue out, not taking any of his teasing no matter how obviously in jest they were.
"You sure? I bet Katie would just love to help you find lots of cute costumes for you to wear~"
Haley glared at him with enough intensity to set fire to his face if she could. "What do you want, uncle?"
He walked closer, his joking tone fading. "Noticed your girlfriend seemed just a bit troubled after our match. Maybe y-" Before he could even finish, Haley bolted from the stage to try and find her, passing Katie as she came walking towards her father. The puzzled expression on the little girl's face faded as she saw Kristopher's knowing smile.
"What did you do?" she demanded, an eyebrow raised.
"Why whatever do you mean, sweetie?"
"Last time she ran off like that you 'implied' there was a snake in the house." she told him accusingly, eyes squinting.
"It looked like a snake." he backed up, trying not to laugh.
"It was a garden hose!" Katie declared, recalling the incident all too well. The screaming, the shouting, the kitchen utensils. She shook her head at the memories surfacing. "Daaaaaad..."
"I just pushed her in the direction she needed to go." Kristopher answered with a cheeky grin.
"You're going to give her a heart attack one of these days..." the girl sighed, grabbing her father by the arm and pulling him with her.
Beyond earshot of the conversation of her relatives, Haley was still running, dashing to find Levanah, skillfully avoiding crashing into other people walking by. Going to the waiting room, she searched the tables set up for the Gunpla Fighters' use, finally finding Levanah on her own using one. Her sudden stop almost made the brunette girl leap out of her chair with surprise, Haley attempting to speak but quickly realizing that she was out of breath.
"Y-you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost..." Levanah asked, setting down her recently repaired Crossbone EXCELSA.
"Ha... ha... I... I just... hooh... haah..." she took a minute to catch her breath, Levanah standing up. "I.. um, is everything ok?"
The younger girl sank back down in her seat, leaning back, hands behind her neck. "Your uncle mentioned something, huh?"
Haley nodded, taking a seat beside her. "Sounded like there was something wrong..."
Levanah sighed, trying to think of the proper way to explain. "...I guess what's worrying me is, well, this feeling like I sort of 'have' to win the next match. Like there's something more to it all than just the title, than just... I dunno."
"I think you do know." Haley leaned forward, placing a hand on the other girl's knee. "You're just not really sure how to say it, right?" Levanah stayed quiet, staring down at her Gunpla. Haley tilted her head, asking, "No? Ahh, I see now... you're a bit ashamed to say it, aren't you?"
"Ah, I-!" Levanah started, but cut herself off, her cheeks pinker than before. A slow nod confirms the blonde girl's suspicions.
"Levanah..." Haley scooted closer, her other hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"It's... selfish. But, I just want to enjoy this, not have to worry about something bigger at stake. Miss Mul might be connected to the folks who were behind that incident at the Yajima offices, and..." the brunette sighed, twirling a finger in her ponytail.
"You're putting too much of this on yourself." the blonde girl told her plainly, eyes focused and serious. "Sweetie, worrying like this, it really isn't something you need to do. You're sounding like you think you're responsible for this." She gave a comforting smile, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. "Even if there is something bigger going on behind the scenes of this event, does it really change the fact that you're here for the tournament, first and foremost?"
"But what if I lose, and then-"
"No, none of that." Haley spun the other girl's chair to face her. "Repeat after me: everything's gonna be all right."
"Haley..."
"Do it."
"'Everything's gonna be all right.'" she shyly repeated.
"Hitori ja nai!" Haley stood up and shouted, pumping her fist into the air.
"W-what?"
"Saaaaay iiiiiit~"
Levanah gave a small chuckle, then mimicked Haley's actions, shouting clearly, "'Hitori ja nai!'" Both stood there for a moment before laughing at how ridiculously serious they looked. "Th-thanks..."
"Any time, darling~" Haley wrapped her arms around Levanah's waist and gave a soft kiss. A cough coming from the doorway alerted the two to the presence of onlookers. Rin, Nils, and Caroline were all standing in the doorway, Caroline trying to cover her face, her cheeks red.
"H-how long have you been there?!" Levanah demanded as the two girls abruptly ended their embrace.
"Long enough to at least know what we have to say is some good news for you, come on." Rin said, nodding her head for the two to follow, Caroline trying to exit the doorway with her face still covered, Nils helping her avoid walking into a wall.
"Well, guess that's something. Shall we?" Haley stretched out her hand, Levanah nodding and taking it, both girls walking together with the three. As they walked, none were aware of someone else following them, keeping her distance but obviously intent on seeing what they were about to discuss.
What tricks do you have planned, Nils Neilson?