Today, we get some Gundam SEED plot out of the way, AND have ourselves another general from Akito the Exiled show up!
Chapter 22 - Birth of DREAM! The Land of the Desert Tiger! Part 1
The Carpenters worked with as much speed and precision as Guy claimed. Even with the extensive damage that the unknown weapon had caused the ships, it took less than three hours for all the ships to be completely repaired by the expert fix-it mechs, and another two to repair all of the damaged robots. The parts from the now scrapped base certainly facilitated the speedy repairs as well. Still, it was so loud, and caused such great vibrations that even the most notoriously heavy sleepers got no rest for the remainder of the night.
In an attempt to pass the time, Kira borrowed one of the Gekiganger discs from Tara, and had just finished a particularly heart-wrenching episode...and it reminded him of the moments after the battle with Artemis…
"Liar!"
"You said it would be all right! You said my dad would be all right because you were there!"
"Why didn't you protect his ship?!"
"It's because you're a Coordinator, aren't you?! You aren't fighting seriously, are you?!"
Finally, he couldn't hold his emotions back any longer, and slammed his head up against the hardened plexiglass window.
"BWAAAAAAAAAAA-AUH-AUH-AUH-AUH-AAAAAAUUUU…"
"Is something the matter?" a voice came from behind him. He turned to see Lacus standing there, with Mr. Pink bouncing in her cupped hands.
"Huh? What are you doing out here?" he asked, wiping his tears.
"HARO!" the pink ball chirped.
"I was bored," Lacus replied with a gentle smile; "So I decided to go for a stroll, and maybe see the Carpenters in action. Then I heard a loud voice."
"You really shouldn't be out here," Kira said.
"DAMN IT!" the pink Haro beeped and it started bouncing on the floor, on Lacus and off the walls.
"Mr. Pink loves to take strolls," the songstress giggled; "And whenever he finds a locked door, he just opens it."
"CRYBABY!" Mr. Pink said, suddenly bouncing on Kira's head. "DYING CAT!"
"Mr. Pink!" Lacus exclaimed, trying to snatch the Haro out of the air; "That wasn't nice!" Kira couldn't help it...who in the world would make something so innocent and friendly say something like that? He managed to catch the pink orb and hand it back to Lacus.
When she took it, their fingertips touched, making Kira blush a little.
"Let's get you back to your room," Kira said, trying to shake off his embarrassment. The two started walking.
"So, the fighting with that Zonder ended, I see," she said, looking outside at the rebuilding work being done by GGG's Carpenters.
"Yeah," Kira sighed. "Thanks to Koji and Goldymarg." Lacus immediately noticed Kira's dour mood returning.
"You look sad," she said sympathetically.
"DAMN IT!" Mr. Pink chirped.
"I'm sorry," Kira said awkwardly; "I just got done watching a really sad episode of Gekiganger 3, and…"
And somehow, he couldn't help but start to spill his guts at this girl who was so kind and gentle.
"Well, the truth is that I really don't want to fight. You see...I'm a Coordinator like you...and there's a close friend of mine in ZAFT that I don't want to fight against."
"What's his name?" the pop idol asked.
"Athrun Zala," Kira replied. Lacus' eyes widened a bit when she recognized the name. "Who would have thought that he'd be the pilot of that mobile suit, the Aegis?"
"I WON'T ACCEPT IT!" Mr Pink said.
This time, Lacus gently took hold of Kira's hands and clasped them in her own, making him blush again.
"You and Athrun are very good people," Lacus said with a smile; "And so are all the people of the Archangel, Nadesico and Ra Cailum. It's a sad reality that you might have to fight each other."
"You know Athrun?" Kira said, surprised to hear this.
"He's my fiancee," the singer said. "He's very kind, but he's quiet."
"HARO!" Mr. Pink chirped, hopping up particularly high.
"I told how much fun Mr. Pink was," Lacus said, almost squealing; "So he made a lot more!"
Kira remembered...Athrun was a whiz at building small robots. He remembered his own memento from the ZAFT pilot.
"He also made Birdy for me," the Strike's pilot said.
"I see," Lacus said. "I do wish that you two didn't have to fight anymore." As they walked, Kira came to a decision.
This girl...she can't be kept prisoner here any longer. She belongs with Athrun...and I have to make sure she gets back to him, one way or another!
I see. So it's finally begun, the voice of a young boy sounded in Muge's head. It was the same boy who had contacted Muge when Gildrome had revealed the reborn Titans.
"Indeed," Muge replied. "We will move to seize the Thought Elevators whose locations you and Shapiro provided for us."
But the locations weren't exact, were they? Shapiro's voice said. Why not save us the trouble of searching?
If I gave you exact coordinates, Lord Muge, the boy replied; And your generals appear on top of them, my brother would immediately suspect Shapiro or myself. But even Deathgaia should still be able to find them with a little effort.
"I see the sense in your judgment. Very well. I shall send Deathgaia to seize the one on the continent called Africa. Moving all at once will attract needless attention."
And the experiments? the boy asked.
"You will continue them until I say otherwise!" Muge boomed before severing the mental connection.
Yes, Lord.
Shall I do the same in regards to monitoring the Britannian emperor? Shapiro asked.
"Indeed. Him and his Church must not achieve their plans before I do."
Of course.
Akiko Hirata, as thanks for saving her from her fate, agreed to renounce her place on ZAFT and instead join as a member of GGG's operations crew, and offered valuable information about the current state of the region to the crew of the three ships.
It was under the control of a ZAFT commander by the name of Andrew Waltfield, better known as the "Desert Tiger". He ruled the area ruthlessly, and had, up until this point, been battling Britannia's attempts to take over the region. However, it was now possible that ZAFT and Britannia would actively join forces in controlling the region. There was also a resistance group hiding somewhere in the desert named "Desert Dawn". This group waged battle against both sides using guerilla tactics. As it so happened, Hirata had calculated, down to the nearest mile, the location of their base; but never got around to revealing its location to Waltfield or any other ZAFT commander.
"However, I feel it will be vital to your cause if you meet Desert Dawn," Hirata concluded. "They know this area as well as you would know the backs of your own hands."
The three ships reached the coordinates where Hirata told the ships to start looking. Sure enough, they spotted a group of tan-skinned men in bandanas and light clothing, about thirteen strong, as well as a blonde girl with short hair after a mere half hour of looking. The group stopped and watched with interest as the three ships landed on the dunes and the captains came to greet them. However, they were prepared for the worst; several members of each ship's crew were hidden and armed, in case a fight broke out. In addition, Kira, Akito, Izumi, and Hikaru Amano (Hikaru Makiba, Daisuke's friend, was aboard the Ra Cailum in its sick bay) were deployed in their machines.
The apparent leader of the group, an aging but vigorous man with a thick brown beard and a green bandana, approached Murrue, Bright, Yurika, Akiko and Zero.
"Well, well, fancy finding types like you out here. This is ZAFT territory," the man said with a chuckle.
"Are you part of the Desert Dawn resistance group?" Akiko asked.
"And what's it to you," the man replied, "that we might be Desert Dawn?"
"We're with the Alliance," Zero replied, deciding that it was best if he did the talking. "I am Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, who fight for Japan's liberation. I take it you are Desert Dawn's leader. This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel, Yurika Misumaru, captain of the Nadesico, and this is Bright Noa, captain of the Ra Cailum."
"Ah, always good to meet a fellow freedom fighter. Sahib Ashman's the name...and yes, I am the leader of this little group here."
"So, will you help us?" Zero then asked. "We're trying to get through this area, but our ships got shot down by some strange weapon. Can you help us out?"
"Well, if you want us to help you, you'd first better lower YOUR weapons," Sahib said rather genially. The crew in hiding marveled at the man's keen perception, and came out into the open, weapons lowered.
"Oh, and those robots...have their pilots come out as well."
After a few tense moments, the cockpits of the Strike and the three Aestivalis uneasily got out of their mechs. Kira removed his helmet as well, while the Aestivalis pilots didn't need them in the first place, so their faces were already exposed.
"The light...it burns us..." Izumi muttered under her breath.
Everyone was shocked to see that all the pilots were so young...barely children. But the blonde girl quickly recognized Kira. In a fit of anger at seeing the boy who had saved her life now piloting the Strike, she rushed over to him, but stopped mid-stride.
"It's you," the girl said. "Why...why are you piloting that thing?!"
She tried to punch him, but Kira caught the punch. After getting a few moments to really get a look at the girl, he recognized her - it was the same girl he had saved back at Heliopolis!
"Let me go, you bastard!" she yelled, hitting him hard with the back of her free hand. Everyone recoiled in shock at this act - the armed crews of the three ships started to lift their weapons, now assuming the worst, but Sahib was quicker.
"Cagalli! That's enough!" Desert Dawn's leader called out to them.
Cagalli and Kira stared at each other, one with confused shock, the other with a quiet fury.
"Man, we might be in over our heads here, Commander Creuset," Yzak said as the Duel, Buster and Lancelot flew across the desert. He, Dearka, and Suzaku had witnessed the events of the past night from a great distance, and the memory of it had stayed with them the whole way.
"I am glad to see you're alright, but what do you have to fear?" the masked man asked curiously.
"The three ships have immense power on their side..." Dearka said, still exasperated by the memory of the event. "...far beyond anything we have in our arsenal! They make the Strike look like a kid's toy! Here, I'm sending you some footage."
He electronically sent the footage of Mazinkaiser and Goldymarg fighting EI-19, and then GaoGaiGar using the Goldion Hammer to defeat it. Creuset looked carefully at the footage.
"Yes, it is quite impressive;" the masked commander said frankly, "Super Robots are not to be trifled with. But other than that, I see nothing particularly frightening."
"Commander...that was the ENTIRE Gibraltar Base!" Dearka cried, rather frustrated at his commander's lack of concern. "It was turned INTO LIGHT. We don't have defenses against that kind of weapon...did I mention that about HALF their force consists of Super Robots?!"
In truth, Rau was very frustrated by the increased power of the legged ship and its gravity cannon wielding partner. He had failed to snuff them out at Heliopolis, and it was going to be more difficult with each passing day. But the masked commander never let his feelings show, always staying calm, collected and calculating.
"Indeed, we will have to prepare measures to counter such powerful weapons," Rau said. "All the same, you are to continue to support Britannia and the Desert Tiger. I've received word that Princess Cornelia has pulled out of the El-Almein front now that Britannia is our ally, and has agreed to supply a little extra help for your hunt to retrieve Lacus Clyne. Kururugi, I trust you'll cooperate with Joule and Elsman?"
"Yes, sir," Suzaku answered. He wanted to stay with Euphemia, especially from Shapiro. He didn't trust that man any farther than he could throw him, but the Emperor's orders were absolute, and as a Knight, he could not disobey.
That, and he had to deal with Zero before his power grew any more and he caused the world to spiral into all-out war.
Nunnally sorely missed Shinji, Suzaku and her big brother. What possessed a nice boy like Shinji to go to war was beyond her. She had help from others around the school, but without any of those three around, she felt all alone. If she could see and walk, she would have gladly followed her big brother to the ends of the earth. As she pondered this, the girl heard someone knock. But then she didn't hear the door open, but a low hum, just barely audible.
It was Kaworu, who knew that Shinji cared a lot about Nunnally, and as his friend, saw it as his obligation to be hers as well.
"Hello there, Nunnally Lamperouge," Kaworu said kindly. The girl shuddered a bit, wondering who this strange new voice was.
"Don't be afraid;" Kaworu continued. "I'm Kaworu Nagisa. Shinji-kun wanted me to watch over you while he and your brother were away. If you don't believe me, give one of them a call."
Kaworu smiled. "Who do you want to call, Nunnally-chan?"
Nunnally pondered for a second, then held the phone up to her mouth.
"Call Shinji." The phone rang twice, then someone answered.
"Hello?" the EVA pilot's voice came from the other end.
"Shinji? It's me, Nunnally!"
"Hi, Nunnally; how's everything?" the boy asked happily, excited to hear his friend's voice again.
"I'm a little lonely without you and big brother; but I'm calling because there's a boy here who says you wanted him to help me while you and Lelouch were gone. Is that true?"
"What did he say his name was?" Shinji asked.
"Kaworu Nagisa."
"Oh yeah, I did ask him!" the boy replied. "If he comes across as a little too friendly, don't worry. He's like that with everyone."
Nunnally giggled. "Okay, thank you, Shinji. Goodbye!" With that, she hung up.
Kaworu smiled and approached the girl, taking the handles on her wheelchair and starting to push her along.
"It's almost noon," the boy said, now that Shinji had legitimized his presence. "Let's go get some lunch. I wonder what they're serving..."
The rebels brought the three ships and their crews to their base - it was a makeshift facility within a range of mountains to the west. Even for ZAFT mobile suits it would be difficult to capture - it was partially underground, making it difficult for anything except regular armed soldiers and small vehicles to get inside, and here, Desert Dawn had the advantage.
But now the issue was supplies. The gravity wave caused by EI-19 had done a number on the food and water reserves, so someone had to go out and get some, enough to at least keep the three crews fed for a couple of days, until they were outside of ZAFT territory. And then there was the issue of being recognized.
Sahib suggested that Cagalli and Kira take a few people into the nearby town, but no one who looked terribly unusual, lest unnecessary attention come their way. Janus, who was familiar with haggling for goods, volunteered. Rei, Shinji, Asuka, Domon (at Kaji's urging) and Rain followed suit, each wanting to keep an eye on the one that came before. Finally, Akito and Ryoko were volunteered by Akatsuki to head into town and gather information about the unknown Jovian weapon.
However, to minimize suspicion by the local ZAFT officers, they all agreed to enter from different parts of town - Janus, Natarle, Shinobu and the EVA kids would enter from the town's south gate near the market; Cagalli, Kira, Akito and Ryoko would enter via the west gate.
But there was time before Kira left, so he went to look for a little help...and found Koji, Hyoma, Hathaway and Tara shooting the breeze with Hathaway. No one else was around, so he knew their voices wouldn't be heard.
"Hi, guys," he said.
"What's up, Kira?" Hyoma said in reply.
"So, what's the plan?" Tara said, much to Kira's surprise.
"Huh?"
"We overheard Sai and the other Archangel bridge crew talking how you've been acting suspicious ever since last night," Koji said. "We figured you were going to help a certain someone back to where she belongs. Keeping a hostage doesn't feel right at all to us."
"So, you'll help?" Kira exclaimed, glad to have such good friends.
"Of course!" Hyoma said, giving the Coordinator a friendly slap on the back. "What are friends for?"
"Thanks!" Kira said. "Since I'm going into town, I'm depending on you guys."
"No problem," Hathaway said with a nod. "You can count on us."
"Well, here we are," said the driver of Janus' group, a Desert Dawn member with heavy five o'clock shadow and a scar over his left eye. "We'll be back in four hours. You remember the merchants we told you to go to, right? Make NO purchases of supplies from anyone else. Just tell them what I told you and they'll know what to do."
"Maybe we could get some nice knickknacks?" Shinji said. "Yeah, I'll get something nice for Nunnally."
"What is it with you and that girl?" Asuka groaned as the EVA pilots got out of the car. "Are you that desperate to get laid that you'd have a girlfriend that's blind and crippled?! Or do you get hot from that sort of thing?"
"Knock it off, Asuka," Domon scolded them. "This isn't the time or the place for that. Let's go and get those supplies."
"Hey, that looks like one of the merchants," Janus said, looking at an aging fellow with a short grey beard and a purple shirt. "You go ahead and keep looking...we'll meet up where we were dropped off." He walked over to the man, and Rei followed him, not wanting to stray too far from her "big brother". This left Domon and Rain to babysit Asuka and Shinji. He turned around and saw Shinji looking at some jewelry a merchant was hawking. He grabbed Shinji by the shirt and dragged him onward.
"Let's go, lover boy...we don't have time for that right now," the Gundam Fighter said with a sigh.
"Domon!" Rain scolded. "Let him shop. Besides, I'd like to take a look at what they have myself."
Great...babysitting AND carrying packages. How did that Kaji guy talk me into this?
Dearka thanked the merchant as he handed some coins over to him as payment for a bag of delicious-looking dried figs. He handed a few to Yzak, before taking one from the main bag and eagerly popped it into his mouth. They openly wore their ZAFT uniforms, which made the locals more compliant with their demands.
"Man, you gotta give these Naturals credit," the Buster's pilot said after swallowing one. "If there's one thing that the people around here do better than us Coordinators, it's growing the best figs ever!" He turned around and started walking backwards, turning down an alleyway to another part of the market.
And it just so happened that Shinji and Asuka had decided to turn down that same alleyway, and Dearka collided into Asuka, who was doing the exact same thing, except she was dining on some salted almonds. Both of them ended up dropping their goods, and spilled them all over the sandy ground.
"Hey, watch it, you dummkopf!" Asuka yelled after whirling around. "You made me drop my almonds!"
"You watch where YOU'RE going, kid!" Dearka shot back. "You made me drop my figs! Pay up, you stupid Natural!"
"No! YOU pay up!" Asuka retorted. "Or I'll beat the crap out of you!"
"Big words coming from a weak little Natural girl!" the Buster's pilot taunted her. Asuka let out a battle cry and lunged at Dearka. To the Coordinator's surprise, Asuka was speedy and strong for her size, and managed to nail him in the jaw with a right hook. He counterattacked with a punch of his own, smacking her in the same place, but much harder. Yzak joined in, seeing that his friend was having more trouble than he should have.
That, in turn, forced Shinji to act. He picked up a nearby wooden plank.
Letting out a cry, Shinji raised the plank and smacked Dearka and Yzak on the head. While Dearka took a blunt hit, the corner of the board slashed Yzak's right eye, leaving a deep cut. This final blow was enough to stop the fight, two ZAFT pilots got up, with Yzak covering his bloody face and running away. Shinji was panting heavily as he came out of the high of his brief berserk rage.
Just then, Domon and Rain, who had been looking for them, came onto the scene.
Asuka dusted herself off, and looked at Shinji. She was surprised that the wimp was even capable of such a daring act. Domon, on the other hand, was less than pleased, but said nothing.
"Wow, Ikari - you sent those morons packing! I guess I misjudged you," Eva Unit 02's pilot said, suddenly looking very awkward.
"What happened?" Rain asked. "You're bruised, Asuka!"
"These two guys from ZAFT came after us, and tried to beat me up! But..."
Rain raised an eyebrow, and Shinji tilted his head, wondering what Asuka was about to say, even as she struggled to finish her sentence.
"Shinji...saved me," she finally said. "There, I admitted it! You happy now, dummkopf?!"
"C'mon, you two," Domon sighed. "Let's keep looking around...and try not to get into any more fights, Asuka. Save it for when we face enemy mobile weapons."
Cagalli, Kira, Akito and Ryoko wandered around a nicer, more upscale part of town. This was where most of the ZAFT officers lived. They had purchased some supplies as well, and decided to stop for a quick bite to eat, sitting down at a street-side cafe.
"Well, we have most of what we need," Cagalli said as she sat down and laid the leather bags full of non-food-related supplies before pulling out a small slip of paper and looked at it with some disgust.
"But the requests of this Flay chick are ridiculous!" she continued. "Elsario brand milky lotion? Beauty wash? Scented sanitary napkins?! They don't sell that sort of crap here!"
A waiter employed by the cafe stopped by, and handed each of the four a menu. Akito, always eager to expand his repertoire, perused the menu carefully. Cagalli, on the other hand, took one look and decided.
"I'll have the doner kebab," Cagalli said in the local language before turning back to her friends and speaking in the language she usually used; "I recommend we all get it. It's quick, tasty, filling and not too expensive!"
"Sounds fine to me," Ryoko quipped. "I could eat anything right now."
"Yeah, it sounds delicious!" Akito said.
"Make that four doner kebabs," Cagalli then said to the waiter. He nodded, calmly took the menus, and left.
"So, I hear you two, among others, were in another universe," Cagalli said, turning to Akito and Ryoko. "And that part of your force is from that universe. Is that true?"
"Yeah, and it's not too different from this one," Akito replied. "Except that the Earth in that universe is in really bad shape. I don't remember the exact details of what caused it."
"And did you see those two guys who look like twins in our group?" Ryoko said. Cagalli nodded.
"Well, they're not twins...they're literally the exact same person. It's like going inside the mirror and hanging out with your own reflection!"
"Wow...and I thought I had some crazy adventures," Cagalli said. At that moment, the waiter returned with their doner kebabs, which were ground lamb slices, lettuce and tomato, all on top of a thick, hot pita bread. The waiter also brought a white and red bottle containing different kinds of sauce.
"Man, it's been what, a minute and a half?" Akito exclaimed. "Do they actually freshly make them, or do they prepare them in advance?"
"I'd rather not think about it. Let's eat!" Ryoko said excitedly.
"Yeah," Cagalli said, picking up the red bottle. "But first, let's add some chili sauce..."
"WAIT! HOLD ON JUST A MOMENT!" an unknown voice called out to them. They looked behind them as a strange fellow in a short-brimmed hat, sunglasses, long sideburns, and sporting a tacky yellow and red shirt. The four looked on, baffled at this weirdo's sudden appearance. The man picked up the white bottle.
"How can you add chili sauce to a kebab?!" he ranted; "it's obvious to ANYONE with proper taste that you put yogurt sauce on kebab!"
"What's wrong with you?!" Ryoko yelled. "You don't just walk up to total strangers and tell them how to eat!"
"Yeah!" Cagalli said in agreement before squirting a lot of chili sauce on her kebab, folding it like a taco and taking a big bite, smiling with satisfaction.
"What a waste!" The man in the tacky shirt moaned, turning away in dismay and disgust as if he had just seen someone dine on rotting garbage.
"Mm-mm-MM! Deeelicious!" the blonde girl said with her mouth full, savoring the combination of flavors. After swallowing her bite, she held out the bottle of chili sauce to Kira. "C'mon, Kira! Kebab and chili sauce are meant to be!"
"Don't force your habits on this guy!" the man exclaimed. He thrust the bottle of white sauce toward Kira's lunch as well. The two struggled for a bit, and then accidentally squirted their respective bottles, covering Kira's kebab with half chili sauce, half yogurt sauce. The Coordinator looked at it uneasily. Akito, on the other hand, eyed it with interest.
"Hey, Kira, I'll trade you," he said, offering up his still plain kebab in exchange for Kira's. Kira quickly made the switch, and Akito took a bite of the two sauces combined. The man in the tacky shirt and Cagalli looked over to see whether Akito would retch from having the opposite sauce combined with their preferred choice.
"Actually, they're pretty good together," Akito said with a grin before starting to wolf down the local delicacy.
"The master chef has spoken," Ryoko quipped. "Gimme!" She snatched the bottles from Cagalli and the man, and squirted both sauces on hers, and took a bite. "Mmmmm-MM! Yessiree, Akito, your taste buds have yet to steer us wrong! If only you were as good a pilot as you are a cook!"
Kira shrugged and did as Ryoko did. It did taste pretty good. Cagalli and the man glanced at each other and silently agreed to accept Akito's verdict, and the latter sat down in a spare chair. He glanced down at the bag of supplies on the ground.
"That's a lot of stuff you're hauling. You couldn't possible need all that for just you four..."
"None of your business, buddy," Cagalli replied. Suddenly, the man's carefree expression turned grim, and his vision shifted to just behind him. With one swift act, he kicked up the metal table, making it land behind him. Akito's kebab flew off and smacked Cagalli right in the face, messing up her hair as well.
The comedy of the moment was shattered when Kira saw the man pull a gun. Then the street rang out with the sounds of gunfire and furious cries from several gunmen, all wearing blue berets, rushing out, weapons blazing.
"Die, Coordinator! You monster from the sky!" one of them roared.
"For our pure, blue world!" another yelled. Cagalli recognized that phrase as soon as she heard it.
"Blue Cosmos...what are they doing here?" she gasped. Ryoko, meanwhile, pulled out a small gun she had concealed in her pocket and opened fire, striking one of the terrorists in the shoulder. The man in the tacky shirt scowled, quickly stood up and fired a few shots, downing two more. Men at an adjacent table flipped their table over to use it as cover and opened fire as well.
One of the terrorists' guns dropped to the ground, and slid a few feet, stopping right near Kira. He picked up the gun, then noticed another terrorist sneaking out of a side alley. The young man grabbed the gun, tumbled forward, then instead of firing it, he threw the gun as hard as he could like a boomerang, smacking the terrorist in the chin, causing him to accidentally fire his weapon upwards. Before he could regain his balance, Kira rushed up to him and did a flying kick to his chin.
The men at the adjacent table walked around to the fallen terrorist. The four, who had been but two minutes ago watched Cagalli and a man argue over which sauce was suprior, watched one of the men, obviously the man in the tacky shirt's bodyguards, coldly put a bullet in the fallen terrorist's head, while the other did the same to the one Ryoko shot. As that happened, a man in green military clothes rushed up to the man in the tacky shirt.
"Commander, are you alright?" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. thanks to these two kids here," the man in the tacky shirt answered, eyeing Kira and Ryoko. "I owe them my life." He removed his sunglasses and hat...and it was only then that Cagalli realized who this man was.
"You're...Andrew Waltfield...the Desert Tiger..." she gasped.
"You know," Mu suddenly said, "Referring to ourselves as the 'crew of the Nadesico, Archangel and Ra Cailum, supported by Nergal, GGG and NERV'is going to get cumbersome really quick. We need a snappy name for our merry band. Anyone got any suggestions?"
"How about Londo Bell?" Amuro suggested. "That's what my group is called."
"That implies Bright's running the show," Misato said. "We already decided that all of the decision makers will contribute equally to maintaining the group."
"...ZEUTH? Or maybe ZEXIS?" Simon asked.
"Nah. They both sound too nasty." Amuro replied. "ZEXIS reminds me a little of Axis, and that never has any good connotations to people."
"How about Neue Warter?" Akatsuki suggested.
"New water?" Simon replied. "What kind of name is that?"
"I've got it! The Alpha Numbers!" Mu said.
"Not bad...but I think it should be one word, no more than five or so letters," Misato replied. She looked over at Tara, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. "Actually, now that I think about it, we should be leaving it up to Tara and Janus...or maybe just Tara, since she's still here."
This got Tara's attention.
"...Say what?" she said.
"I agree," Zero said with a nod. "After all, was it not Tara Zifell and Janus Olendra, thanks to the ability of their mechs to open Thresholds that facilitated the meeting of our group in the first place? As the glue that binds us all together, I feel they deserve the final say in the name of the group they were so critical in forming."
"That's fair," Simon said in agreement.
"So, Miss Gekiganger Fangirl, it's on you," Mu said. "What are you going to call our merry band of heroic misfits?"
Tara closed her eyes, and waited for a fitting word to come to mind. But before one came, a Desert Dawn member came rushing in.
"We've got trouble."
From out of the ships came Lifthrasir, Nu Gundam, Guren mk II, ZZ Gundam, HyoRyu, EnRyu (who immediately combined into ChoRyuJin), Xi Gundam, C.C. and Zero's Burais, Tohdoh's Gekka, Shin Getter, Hikaru and Izumi's Aestivalises (using Air Frames), Mazinger Z and Dancougar. Meanwhile, the Nadesico was up in the air. Luckily, the ground here was hard and rocky, so the Knightmares and other ground-bound would get around easily. They then assembled around each of the cave entrances, hoping to protect Desert Dawn. They spotted the enemies approaching, loping across the sand.
"Invaders?!" Amuro exclaimed. Indeed, there were a number of ground and flying Invaders, as well as a pair of GolBrais.
"Gray ones..." Hayato said. "This isn't good."
"How did they learn to cross between worlds?" Hikaru said.
"We taught them!" a boisterous, brutish voice sounded from seemingly nowhere.
Appearing from out of portals came a number of small orange star-fighters and bulky green robots, Zei Fars - these possessed large pincer claws and horns on their relatively small heads. Flanking the sole battleship were two mechs that resembled larger, orange Zei Fars with horns curved down instead of up.
The battleship itself had a head very much like a wasp, but its body was a jumble of other parts behind it.
"I am Deathgaia, general of the Muge Zolbados Empire!" the voice said, and the group realized that it was coming from the battleship.
Muge Zolbados...where have I heard that name before? Zero thought.
So...the Demon King of Lies is making his move, C.C. thought; If he's sent one of his generals here, then it must mean...
"Humans! Tell me the location of the Thought Elevator!" Deathgaia boomed; "Tell me, or suffer pain beyond your darkest nightmares!"
He's looking for a Thought Elevator? C.C. thought, shocked to hear this; But there's no way they could know they even exist...unless...
"What's this guy yammering about?" Kouji said with a laugh.
"Who cares?" Shinobu yelled; "We'll smash him up before he wrecks Desert Dawn and the surrounding villages! YAAAAATE YARUZE!"
With that, the battle was joined. Deathgaia's forces charged straight at the forces of the three ships, who prepared to defend their hosts with everything they had.
"We're not deploying all of our Super Robots?" Bright said, surprised at their choice of troops.
"We have to consider Desert Dawn," Zero said as his Burai opened fire on one of the Muge starfighters. The attacks of a Super Robot could easily collapse their hideout."
"Zero, don't let those Invaders get too close to you!" Gai warned him as Shin Getter 1 slashed a flying Invader in half with its scythe. "They can infect you and your machine!"
I see...that's good to know, Lelouch thought. And something tells me that my Geass won't affect such inhuman creatures.
"Leave the big guys to us Super Robots, Zero!" Shinobu said as Dancougar jumped past Zero's Burai and punched a hole in one of the Zei Fars. "Dancougar is more than a match for them!"
"Hey, don't underestimate Gundams, pal!" Judau retorted as he shot down a trio of the orange starfighters down with ZZ's beam rifle.
Wait...was that Shinobu or Judau? Lelouch thought. They sounded almost exactly the same! His confusion allowed a ground Invader to lunge at him. Luckily, another beam struck it - this one belonging to Lifthrasir.
"Watch yourself, Zero!" Tara quipped before turning to face the GolBrai with a grin.
"This may be the first time I've seen your kind in this timeline," she said as she charged up the TZUM. "But I still know how to beat you!" She started opening portals and dashing through them, slashing with her beam tonfas with each pass.
Finally, numerous portals opened around the Invader, and multiple copies of Lifthrasir rushed out of each.
"Say good night...HEAVENLY BLAZER!"
The combined strikes of the many Lifthrasirs triggered a huge explosion that Zero narrowly avoided.
Maybe I should stick with Kallen and C.C., the prince thought as he sped off toward his immediate subordinates, who were fighting one of the orange machines.
Meanwhile, Hathaway and the two Aestivalis were making tracks for Deathgaia's battleship. Both were swooping and dodging to avoid energy beams and missiles.
"I don't care that this isn't my universe," the young Newtype declared, "but I won't let you have your way! Go, Funnel Missiles!"
Numerous Funnel Missiles launched out of Xi Gundam's back, and rushed at the wasp-headed vessel, striking it dead on in several places.
"Nice going, kid!" Hikaru cheered. "Izumi, let's help him out!" She started to fly in, raising the power of her Distortion Field.
"GEKIGAN FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!" she cried as her Aestivalis blazed forward.
"Remember the light brigaaaaade!" Izumi called out as she followed suit. Both Aestivalis smashed into the battleship, taking out some of its missile launchers.
"Grrrr…cursed humans!" Deathgaia snarled. "I'll teach them to mess with me! Send the signal to Guzard!" After a moment, the ground began to shake. Then, a fountain of magma shot out of the ground, sending it globs of it spewing everywhere.
"What?! A volcanic eruption?!" Kouji exclaimed. Mazinger took a direct hit from the magma, but the burns it suffered were regenerated immediately.
Something burst out of the magma - a red biomechanical creature with a three-jawed mouth that looked like a cross between a beetle, a mole and a frog. It had webbed forelegs just like the amphibian it resembled, which ended in sharp claws. It immediately burrowed back into the ground.
"Leave the magma to me!" ChoRyuJin called out. "FREEZING RIFLE!" He fired a beam of cold energy close to absolute zero, cooling the magma instantly. But just then, the creature burst back up, creating another magma fountain.
"Bwaahahahaha!" Deathgaia laughed; "You thought me just a dumb brute, but I have more than my fair share of tricks! Guzard can burrow through ground as easily as a fish swims through water, and deep enough to bring magma to the surface!"
"Stop that monster!" Yurika ordered; "If we let it raise too much magma, it'll destroy Desert Dawn's headquarters!" Just then, everyone was scrambling to try and deal with this beast - but even Amuro's Fin Funnels couldn't move fast enough to keep up with the burrowing speed of this creature.
But just as it popped up one last time, something extremely quick rushed by it, slashing its leg and toppling it to the ground. Everyone looked over to see who had done it.
"Knightmares!" Yurika exclaimed.
"Cornelia?" Bright said.
"No," Zero said. "Those markings are red, white and gold…they're not from the normal Britannian army."
"Check out that gold one!" Kouji exclaimed. The golden Knightmare in question also had prominent red and white accents, though its chest notably featured a golden symbol on a white background, which in turn was surrounded by red. It held a Knightmare-sized knife.
That gold Knightmare...it's Manfredi's Vercingetorix, C.C. thought. But what's he doing here? She then noticed a familiar white and gold Knightmare follow it, slashing Guzard's other rear leg.
Suzaku, Lelouch thought when he recognized the Lancelot; Why have you left Euphemia's side?
"I am Michele Manfredi," the pilot of the Vercingetorix began; "I am the Grand Master of the Knights of St. Michael. We have come for a hostage you have in your possession."
He turned his Knightmare towards Deathgaia's forces.
"However, it seems that we have more pressing issues to deal with."
They're helping us?! Tohdoh thought. But why?!
"Look upon them, warriors," Michele said, pointing his weapon at Deathgaia's battleship; "These are some of the forces of the Eden Vital Church's sworn enemy...the Muge Zolbados Empire, ruled by the Demon King of Lies!"
The other white and gold Knightmares, a mix of Sutherlands and Gloucesters, lined up in formation behind him.
"As Knights of St. Michael, our purpose is to rid the world of the evils that oppose God!"
He then turned to face the machines defending Desert Dawn.
"Black Knights and allies, for now, let us put aside our differences to defeat this common enemy!"
"Sounds like a plan," Zero replied. "We appreciate the help."
Zero, Suzaku thought as he prepared to fight; It seems we'll finally be even.
Janus had no idea what was going on as he followed the merchant, accompanied by Natarle, Amuro, and several armed guards, both by the merchant and from the Ra Cailum. Rei was asked to wait outside. Janus had bought her a tangerine from the merchant to keep happy before following them in.
"So, we've got all the food and whatnot, Al-Jairi," Janus said, trying his best to sound business-like, "but what about all this other stuff you said you could provide?"
As if to answer, the group stopped in a small area where four crates were lined up in a row. The armed guards went around them, and opened the boxes. Janus and Rei gasped when they saw the contents:
"Mark 500 radar arrays, 75 millimeter armor-piercing rounds, Morgenroete EQ-177 magnetic shielding panels, and 9200 kilowatt positron canisters." Al-Jairi said.
"These parts definitely look genuine," Natarle said, picking up one of the boxes that were obviously the radar arrays. "I can't imagine the illegal channels you must have gone through to get these."
"We have our sources," Al-Jairi replied with an amiable chuckle. "I take it they're what you need?"
"Yes, we have no problem with the merchandise," the Archangel's XO answered. "Janus, I leave the bargaining to you."
Geez, I've never haggled with a black market weapons merchant, Janus thought, swallowing nervously. Man, did I goof up on taking this trip.
"I see your negotiator is a bit uncomfortable with this," the merchant replied. "Thankfully, I've thought ahead. Here is the invoice." He handed Janus a clipboard with a piece of paper on it.
I knew military hardware didn't come cheap, but this is ridiculous! Janus thought as he perused the bill. There's no way I can possibly know whether we're getting ripped off or not! He looked to Amuro, who simply nodded, as if he trusted Janus.
"Um...can't you lower it to...maybe, ten million?" Janus began anxiously.
"Fourteen," Al-Jairi replied without missing a beat.
"Eleven," Janus said, suddenly getting a bit more into it. He had done this back and forth with salesmen back in Kamina City all the time...this was just with different goods.
"Thirteen," the merchant answered.
"Twelve."
"Twelve and a half."
"Twelve and a quarter."
Al-Jairi smiled. "Very well then. 12,250,000 it is. I assume your 'sponsor' is footing the bill?"
"He will," Natarle said grimly.
"Very good. We'll deliver the goods with all due haste," the merchant answered. The armed guards loaded the crates onto dollies and wheeled them off back down the hall. Natarle and Amuro followed them out. But as Janus turned to leave as well, the merchant stopped him by grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Whoa, what? You heard the lady...I'm not the one paying!" Janus exclaimed.
"Easy there, boy. I'm throwing in a little bonus, free of charge," the merchant said. One of the men, who had stayed behind, marched forward and presented him a rather unassuming shoe box. Janus nervously opened the box, wondering what sort of blood-stained item this black market merchant was so freely giving him.
It was a disk of some strange black rock, possibly from a meteorite. Carved on it was what appeared to be a great whale with feathered wings.
"I found this piece of black rock out in the desert years ago. The night afterward, I was granted a vision of an angel. He told me to wait for a young man with raven hair marked by the color of vine-ripened red grapes, and that I was to give this carved stone to him, and once I had done that, to forswear my illicit trade forevermore and live in the desert as a holy hermit."
"So I guess that transaction was the last you'll ever make, huh?" Janus said, looking over the piece of rock.
"Indeed. You don't just ignore the word of an angel," Al-Jairi replied. "Now, be off. I will pray for your success in your endeavors."
While Suzaku and the Knights of St. Michael were fighting with incredible skill and ease, Zero and his forces were starting to get worn down, and the Invaders and Muge starfighters seemed to keep coming. But it was too risky to swap anyone out at this point.
"Even with the help of those Euro Britannians," the masked man growled; "There's still too many...and with Desert Dawn to worry about..."
"Perhaps we can be of assistance, Zero?" a new voice came over the prince's communicator. He and the Cyber Beast Force looked up to see a strange ship descending from a high altitude. It was entirely metallic and resembled a dragon, though it was armed with all sorts of missile tubes and beam weapons.
"That's…" Masato gasped as this new ship started an assault on the surprised Muge troops.
"The Gandor!" Ryo said.
"Doc, you made it!" Shinobu cheered.
"Cyber Beast Force!" Dr. Hazuki declared as the Gandor stopped its descent. "Now that our enemy has shown itself, the time has come to unleash Dancougar's ultimate attack!"
Shinobu grinned. He had been waiting to show off the machine's true power.
"Right!" he cried. "DAN KUU KEN!"
Dancougar's sword extended out of its body, and then held it up high. The four pilots began to concentrate, filling the sword with power.
"Give us the likeness of love's soul…the blade that cleaves the dark world!"
"Energy charge at 100%!" Hazuki said as the Gandor's head opened its mouth; "Gandor Cannon, fire!"
But the beam was aimed down, straight at Dancougar's raised sword. The weapon absorbed the beam, which caused the energy to extend from the sword and grow higher and higher, until it seemed to pierce through the atmosphere.
"We call it, DANKUU KOUGAKEN...YAATE YARUZE!"
Dancougar swung the sword, and the energy came down across the battlefield, smashing every last Invader and Muge troop left, along with dealing substantial damage to Deathgaia's battleship, sending them all into a panic.
"Retreat, retreat!" Deathgaia screamed. A portal opened behind the ship, and it returned to whence it came. With that, the battle was over...or so it seemed for a moment. But as they had feared, the Knights of St. Michael, who had suffered no casualties, turned their attention back to the exhausted forces of the three ships.
"Now that the matter of those demons is settled," Michele said grimly; "It's time we got back to our mission...rescuing Lacus Clyne."
"Hand her over peacefully," Suzaku said. "You owe us for saving your hides."
"Fine by us!" a voice came from inside one of the caves. They looked down to see Lacus and two other people next to her.
"Koji?! Hyoma?!" Yurika exclaimed. "What are they doing?!" The three started to run towards the Knightmares, only to be accosted by Tohdoh.
"Stop right there!" he boomed; "Have you lost your minds?!" But before he could do anything, Lifthrasir and Xi Gundam fired beam rounds between the Knightmare and the trio.
"Zifell...even you, Hathaway?!" Bright exclaimed, shocked at what seemed to be a betrayal.
What are they doing? Mu thought; We have more than enough power to fight off these Britannians!
"Listen, guys...it's not right for us to keep hostages!" Tara said. "Can we really call ourselves warriors of justice if we keep an innocent girl against her will?!"
"We just saved Daisuke's friend, who was also being held hostage!" Koji yelled; "She was being used as a bargaining chip to get Grendizer!"
"Everyone, please!" Hathaway pleaded. "You know that Koji and Hyoma are doing the right thing, don't you?" The group was silent, considering the words of their friends and allies. After a few moments, Koji started yelling to Michele.
"Here's the deal, Manfredi," Koji said; "We give up Lacus Clyne, you guys pull out and leave us be!"
"Is she unharmed?" Suzaku asked.
"She's fine!" Hyoma replied.
"Good...I'll take her," the Lancelot's pilot said. Koji and Hyoma walked with Lacus and Mr. Pink while the white Knightmare approached them.
"Zero, are you seriously going to allow this?" Tohdoh said. "They do have a point, but we can't afford to give up that kind of leverage!"
This could be an opportunity to start swaying Suzaku over to my side, Lelouch thought; And if this Michele Manfredi is as honorable as Suzaku, he'll keep his end of our bargain.
"Kabuto, Aoi...go ahead," Zero said. Koji and Hyoma grinned as they met the Lancelot. They let her go, allowing the white Knightmare to gently pick her up.
"All right, I've got her," Suzaku said.
"Believe it or not, it was nice meeting you all," Lacus said pleasantly, projecting her voice as much as she could. "Maybe someday our dream of a better world will come true...so that the next time we meet, we can truly be friends."
Dream, Tara thought. I like it!
"Please tell Kira that I wish him the best as well," Lacus added. "Take care!" With that, Suzaku took Lacus back toward the Knights of St. Michael.
"Now, your end of the deal," Zero said.
"Our mission was to retrieve Lacus Clyne," the leader of the Knights said; "Since we've succeeded in that, we have no reason to fight you."
He turned to his troops.
"Knights of St. Michael, fall back. We're done here."
As the Knights turned to leave, Michele turned his attention to Tara.
"By the way...what do you call your group?" he asked politely. "If we should meet again, I would like to know what to call you. It's only proper."
Tara grinned.
"We are…DREAM!" she declared. "
Michele seemed pleased by this.
"I see," he said. I salute you, DREAM, for your honor and honesty...as well as your abilities. Farewell for now." With that, he followed the withdrawing Knightmares.
"Hmmm...I like it," Mu replied after the Knightmares were out of sight. "It's short, it's simple, and if we want, we can call our fellow members DREAMers!"
"Yeah, I don't know if it stands for anything," Simon added, "but it's definitely a name I can get behind."
The other members of the group voiced their approval as well.
"It's settled, then," Zero said, standing up and extending his arm dramatically. "From this moment forth, all those who fight as part of the crews of the Nadesico, Archangel and Ra Cailum shall hereby be known as members of DREAM!"
"Where's Kira's group?" Janus said as he looked around. It was the appointed meeting time for the two groups, but Kira, Cagalli, Akito and Ryoko weren't back yet. "They said they were going to meet us here, and we've been waiting twenty minutes already."
Natarle shook her head in dismay. She had feared something like this would happen. She had heard something about Blue Cosmos terrorists attacking Andrew Waltfield while he was out in town. Knowing Kira, he was likely caught in the crossfire...and it wasn't so farfetched that he would be taken by the cunning Desert Tiger, either. The jeeps from Desert Dawn soon arrived.
"Everyone, once we've returned to the ships, prepare for battle." the Archangel's XO said grimly. "We're going Desert Tiger hunting tomorrow."
Took me a while to make the plot for this work out. Anyway...next time!
*Kira, Cagalli, Akito and Ryoko find themselves guests at the mansion of the Desert Tiger, and find him to be something quite unexpected. But even when they manage to return safely to DREAM, they must still do battle with him, when Zero concocts a plan to take out the devious Jovian weapon that had shot them down AND the Desert Tiger at the same time! Will the plan work? Find out next time in Chapter 23 - Birth of DREAM! Land of the Desert Tiger! Part 2! Until next time, mecha fans!