Here is another chapter~! :3
GCD: Thanks! :D
merendinoemiliano: Sorry it was a bit rushed. Had some trouble with the last chapter. ^^'
nightmaster000: Trust me, the Warriors still have their D-Tectors. The devices are more for communication now, but they will play a role still. Where do you think the Spirits are held still? XD
Lord Maximus: Thank you for the scene. :3
Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)
Note: If any readers have an account, then please review using your account please. If you are too lazy to log in, then at least leave your account name so I can know who you are. If any reader does not have an account, then PLEASE use a consistent - i.e. THE SAME name when reviewing, not the usual 'Guest', so I can respond in a more personal manner, as the name 'Guest' does not seem too personable to me.
*"Cybertronian"*
*Files Accessed*
File 10: Lucha Academy
The home of the Luchador students, this school teaches aspiring kids to become wrestlers who are also Hunters. The academy is located in Mexico, close to the Temple of the Foodian Order. It is also home to the Gem of Ability, which is one of the twelve Spiral Gems.
GrimmFall
"Admiral, there is something you should see."
Heero walked up to the main screen. "What is it?"
Looking at the screen, Heero was greeted with the surprising sight of Phil Ken Sebben, wearing a simple tank top and black shorts that showed off his muscular figure. He wore running shoes and appeared to be with a group of people jogging through the park.
Only Sebben stopped and looked seemingly in the direction of the ship.
The way he was looking at the camera made it almost feel like he was looking directly at Heero and the bridge crew. It was so surprising that Heero almost didn't notice the basket in Sebben's hands as he put it on the ground for the crew to see. In the basket was an assortment of cookies, sweets and a bottle of wine with a card on it.
The camera zoomed in to see what was on the card: WELCOME TO GRIMMFALL. ENJOY YOUR STAY AND THE ROSES IN THE PARK. JUST WATCH THE THORNS.
"It's a message." Heero narrowed his eyes. "And a warning. He's not going to cause trouble for us... as long as we don't cause trouble for him."
Captain Ramius frowned. "So it would appear Leonardo and Cree were right. He knows we're here."
Heero frowned, but waited until the mayor left before he gave out an order. "Someone go and retrieve that basket. Flight suits are to be worn when doing so."
While someone went to do just that, Admiral Yuy looked out again. 'So, our arrival was not unnoticed by Sebben. Good. If he knows, then we can reveal ourselves at the right moment, whenever that moment is.'
In about 10 minutes, the person who had retrieved the basket of goodies, Rear Admiral Joule, returned, flight suit on and helmet off. The rear admiral set the basket down, and reached up, removing the 'Snoopy Cap' from his head.
"Things look clear, but we can't be too sure." Yzak noted as Leonardo just chuckled.
"You guys are too paranoid." The ninja teased.
"Says the ninja." Yzak shot back, but a grin was on his face regardless.
Heero walked up to the basket and examined it, but it looked normal. Cree scoffed before she snagged one of the cookies and bit into it. "None of it is poisoned, if that is what you are wary about." She said as Heero gave her a glare, but she just smirked back at him.
Shaking his head, Heero reached out and took a sweet before he bit into it. Everyone was tense for a moment, but nothing happened. Heero felt fine as far as he could tell. "Well?" Athrun asked as Heero looked back at his sub-commander.
"Things are clear." Heero replied before he ate the rest of the sweet.
Leonardo just sighed as he shook his head while Cree laughed at his reaction.
Townsville
Brass looked on nervously at the primate that was running around, studying Rokusho's body and weapons. It wasn't what they had intended, but then again, getting captured was never planned to begin with. Erika, beside Brass, was shaking as they watched the primate working.
Despite her fears, Brass found herself hoping that Metabee would come barging in like he usually tended to do. Except... she couldn't pick up his signature anywhere on her radar. Brass found herself groaning mentally.
'Where is that brash Medabot when you need him?!' Brass thought in dismay.
GrimmFall
Heero was looking over the recent reports of events going on, obtained legally of course. The newspapers were a good way to get news, even if it was not as thorough as their usual methods of obtaining information. "Hmm... It seems this new skirmish was a bit difficult to handle for the local heroes."
"When is anything ever easy here?" Yzak grumbled. Heero was currently with the rest of his unit, and the two newest returns, Chris Dante and Shinn Asuka, had come back from Denver with no new information on the infamous Dragon said to lurk there.
Shinn groaned. "And our mission was a bust!"
"Yeah, we couldn't even find the Dragon of Denver said to have taken up residence in the city." Chris added, grumbling as he did so.
Heero sighed. "I see."
Nicol and Derek, having returned from the Steelhaven, also had bad news to report, and Heero had not been happy to hear the device responsible for dimensional breaches had not yet been destroyed.
Nicol sighed. "At least we found the Steelhaven..."
"And noted the location." Derek added. "This way we can head back at any time to destroy that device."
However, before any of them could get any further, the alarms on the ship sounded, making the unit look at the main monitors. Heero's eyes widened as he saw the massive tidal wave coming at the city. "Oh... slag..."
Heero and Zero Squadron watched as the tidal wave came towards the city, but luckily, Major Glory, the main hero of the city, flew in and stopped the wave with what looked to be ice breath of some kind. However, the wave, while stopped, was still very large, and loomed over the city in a way that made Heero and his unit uncomfortable.
"Um... What do we do, Yuy?" Yzak asked uncertainly.
Heero frowned. "That wave is stopped for now, but looking at its position, it appears to be looming over the city. If hit in just the right way, it will come crashing down on the areas closest to the shore, and those are major areas of living or gathering places."
Tao looked back at Heero. "So we evacuate the areas in danger?"
Mackenzie frowned as well. "Even if we did, people may not want to leave." The former president noted.
Heero was running through a plan, but it was risky. "We have several options. One, we evacuate the populace around that area. Two, we find a way to destroy that frozen wave with only limit explosives. Or, three, we vaporize that frozen wave in one blast."
Everyone there looked at Heero with worry, save for Cree, who just looked at him in confusion. "How could you possibly hope to destroy a frozen wave of that size?"
Leonardo caught on and looked at the admiral. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Heero sighed. "No, I don't. But we have only a few options. We can't exactly fire our ship's weapons at it, lest we cause ice chunks to fly everywhere. We need to vaporize the frozen wave, and we have only one method of which to do that."
"But it could give you guys away!" Leonardo pointed out in his exclamation.
"Yes, but we do it on our terms. This is a chance we can't blow." Heero pointed out.
Cree blinked. "You mean, you are going to out yourselves now?"
"What better time than the present, right?" Heero said before he looked at Captain Ramius. "Can you get the ship airborne? I will be headed out."
Captain Ramius blinked but nodded. "Yes, I can."
Heero nodded. "Good. We lift off in ten. Once we get airborne, hover up to 1000 feet. I will launch from there."
"Wing Zero SX, proceed to launch pad." The voice of Mirillia Haww said as Heero boarded his machine, wearing his white flight suit, including helmet. He slipped inside, shutting the cockpit as soon as he was seated. He buckled in as the door shut completely with a hiss of air. Once buckled in, Heero powered up WinG Zero. The optics flared green, as did the orb on the chest. Heero then grabbed the controls and pushed down in the pedals on the floor. Wing Zero took its first step before taking another step and yet another step. The Gundam-type machine made its way to the catapult, stepping on as soon as it reached the launch bay.
"Hanger door opening, standby for launch clearance." Just ahead of Wing Zero, the hanger bay doors opened, showing the outside where GrimmFall was.
Heero ran over the systems as the clamps latched onto Wing Zero's feet. "All systems are operating within optimal parameters. Reactor flow output is at maximum efficiency and power output. Weapons systems are online and operating within the designed safety parameters. All systems are operational at 100%."
"Wing Zero SX, you're cleared to launch!" Mirillia's voice said over the com-system for the entire ship.
Heero looked up, Wing Zero's optics flaring as he did so. "Admiral Yuy, Wing Zero SX, launching!"
In a roar of fire, Wing Zero's engines ignited before the force of the catapult began to push the famed war machine down the catapult bay. The extra thrust given by the engines only pushed Wing Zero to higher speeds, so by the time Wing Zero reached the end of the hanger, the Gundam-type machine was moving at maximum speed.
Wing Zero sped out from the ship before turning into its fighter form and heading for the frozen wave.
A few Mobians and Faunus were warily looking up at the giant wave that was frozen. It loomed above them, looking like claws reaching down towards them. Even the humans in the area looked unnerved by the sight.
Many were pointing at it, wondering if it would come crashing down at any moment. It certainly looked that way.
One Faunus perked up as he heard engines, and looked up, only to see an odd fighter craft heading towards the frozen wave. He took out his cell-phone and began to record the scene unfolding before him.
Heero sped towards the frozen wave, scanning it with Wing Zero's sensors and systems. "One section is weaker than the rest. Time before breakage and collapse, 1 hour and ten minutes."
He flew Wing Zero towards the weak section. "Scan of section complete. Optimal firing position found." Heero said in an emotionless tone. "Commencing mission."
Having down the best spot to fire upon, Heero transformed his machine into its Mobile Suit mode. "Target, locked on."
Wing Zero grabbed its Buster Magnum before aiming at the frozen wave's weak section. Heero knew he was taking a great risk, but it was needed. 'Last night, The Order was given. We can use it now without fear of repercussions.'
The charge began to build as Heero switched the rifle over from its Magnum mode to the infamous mode that had earned him his nickname back in the First Bloody Valentine war, the Twin Buster Rifle mode.
"Charge complete." Heero noted in his emotionless tone. "Target's structural integrity optimal for vaporization with no collateral damage."
The lock-on alert chirped, giving Heero the final signal to proceed. "Wing Zero, Twin Buster Rifle charge, 100% power output confirmed."
With that, he fired.
The golden beam lanced out at full power from the barrel, looking nothing like a thin beam of light. Instead, this massive beam that seemed impossibly big for the rifle's barrel came lancing out and towards the frozen wave before hitting the weakened section and turning it right into water vapor instantly. Heero then separated the rifle into its two halves, advancing out towards the frozen wave as he did so. He spread Wing Zero's arms apart, the rifle's power still firing at the frozen wave sections. Each half of the frozen wave was quickly becoming water vapor due to the high temperature of the plasma beams.
Heero watched the frozen wave fading from view before he got the signal the wave's parts were gone. "Target elimination, 95% complete. Remaining 5% determined to be of no risk to inhabitants of the city." Heero said as he looked over the remnants of the wave. He cut off the firing of the Twin Buster Rifle, lowering Wing Zero's arms down to its sides.
Wing Zero hovered there in the sky, steam emitting from its engines and from all around it. The sunlight shone down on the famous war machine, giving it sort of an ethereal look due to the steam that was all around it.
"Mission, complete." Heero said before he turned Wing Zero around and flew back to where the Constitution was hovering in the air, unseen thanks to its cloaking armor.
On the ship, Cree and Leonardo were staring at the sheer power that one machine of this unit had unleashed. Cree was more shocked than Leo though, mainly because Leo knew a bit more about Wing Zero's capabilities.
"W-what...?" Was all Cree could say as Leonardo gaped.
"I... I heard the stories... but to see it for real..." Leo murmured. "No wonder they wanted to stay hidden..."
Cree could only nod, her mind stunned into nothing but awe, respect, and fear...
Mayor Sebben had seen the large golden beam of energy once the wave had been stopped by Major Glory. He had expected the major to finish the job with the wave, but seeing this... this... beam of energy coming out from what had to be one of the 'War Men' stunned him.
On his screen, Mayor Sebben could see the symbol on the machine's left shoulder guard. It was the same symbol he had seen from the Gem of Sight a few times. 'So... they finally reveal themselves here...' The mayor mused.
This would be interesting indeed.
Major Glory was floored. He had never expected this powerful 'War Man' to come and finish the job he had intended to finish himself. Not only that, but the sheer power of that beam of energy was enough to make even him think twice about challenging one of these 'War Men'. 'Not to mention the wave's frozen form was wiped it in a matter of minutes, or even seconds!' Major Glory thought with awe and a bit of fear as well.
He watched as the winged 'War Man' hovered there, the twin rifle halves lowered down towards its sides. The steam that resulted from the vaporization of the frozen wave gave the machine a sort of ethereal look about it; with its wings spread, it looked like a mechanical angel almost. Major Glory had not expected this to happen, but happen it did.
Major Glory used his X-Ray Vision to try and see through the armor of the 'War Man', only to see what looked like one of the 'Faceless Ones' inside. On the shoulder of the machine, and the 'Faceless One's' chest, was the same symbol he had seen on Alex's computer before. Focusing his eyes a bit more, Major Glory was able to see through the 'head' of the 'Faceless One', only to see the being did have a face... a human face to be exact.
The major was stunned. 'These 'Faceless Ones' are actually human?! I guess it does make a certain amount of sense, but... where did these guys come from? And what kind of technology do they possess that allows them to have such power at their command?' Of course, Major Glory decided to leave it for now, since this 'War Man' had done the city a big favor by wiping out the frozen wave.
Heero flew back to the Constitution, only to land inside the hanger, which closed up as soon as Wing Zero touched down. Heero moved Wing Zero to its dock before powering down his machine. The optics and orb on the chest went dark before the cockpit opened. The admiral grabbed the zip line and rode down to the hanger bay's floor, stepping off as the crew ran over to greet him.
"That never fails to give me chills!" Yolant exclaimed as he shivered, but he had a grin on his face nonetheless.
"Are you kidding?! It makes me giddy every time I see that kind of power!" Vino, another mechanic, added with a big goofy grin of his own.
"Now calm down, boys." Chief Murdoch chuckled. "You know that power is only used when it is necessary."
"Aw, c'mon, old man! It's rare we get to see the TBR used at full power like that!" Another mechanic snorted.
"Yes, but with such great power comes a very big and great responsibility. Such power is never used willy-nilly, now is it?" Chief Mechanic Lee spoke up from his spot fixing the Buster's right knee joint.
Chief Murdoch laughed as the other mechanic pouted at the slight scolding she had received from Chief Mechanic Stan Lee.
Yolant and Vino snickered as well. The rest of Zero Squadron then came in, making Heero and the assembled hanger crew look back.
Yzak snorted as he folded his arms over his chest. "Leave it to you to make a big entrance like that."
Heero grunted once in response. "Hn."
Shinn gave Yzak a look. "Hey, can't you at least admit it was necessary to use the TBR at full power?"
"I can." Yzak countered. "It's just that Yuy here did it to out us before this Sammael could do that for us."
Heero grunted again before speaking. "It was that or we don't out ourselves on our terms at all."
Tao then spoke up. "Well, if you think about it, it could work out to our advantage now. I mean, we did technically save a city from the collateral damage if parts of that wave ever fell on the city while it was frozen."
Athrun smirked. "Yeah, and we also gave a show of power to indicate we are not to be messed with."
Everyone assembled had to agree.
Cree came over, looking at Heero and the rest of the unit in what had to be equal parts awe, respect, and fear. She swallowed nervously before speaking. "That... is that the kind of power you have at your command?"
"On a daily basis? Yes." Heero replied. "And it's not just me." He then gestured to the other machines in the hanger. "Each of these machines is just as deadly, but without the sheer firepower my machine possesses."
Looking around, Cree eyed the Dynames, the sniping Gundam. To imagine such a machine was just as deadly made her respect these guys even more. 'To have such power at their disposal and not use it to oppress others... I can't help but wonder if these guys are saints or if they just have immense self-control...'
Leonardo looked back at Cree. "Is something on your mind?"
Cree looked back at Leo before glancing at the rest of the unit around her. "Either you guys are some kind of saints or you have immense self-control to not use this power of yours to oppress others."
Shinn scoffed at the comment. "Us? Saints? Hardly."
Cree blinked. "Huh? But you have all of this power at your disposal! How can you not be saints to have it?!"
Mackenzie looked back at Cree. "Cree... when Shinn says we aren't saints... many of us have taken lives. We did despicable things in war. The reason we don't use this power of ours to force others to do what we want is because of what we did in war. We have seen what others with such power will do with it. We are afraid of our own power. But we don't hold back with it because of the fact we are afraid of using it in the wrong manner. If we don't show we mean business, as in we don't tolerate anything that is against the UEN's Convention on Warfare, we won't be taken seriously, and if we aren't taken seriously, then we would begin to use our power in the wrong manner to show we mean business, as in we will make them regret not taking us seriously by using our power to make them follow the Convention on Warfare, which is in of itself a form of oppression."
Cree blinked, taking in this information.
Leonardo also blinked. He had known they were strong, but to hear the unit was afraid of their own power and yet used it to show they were serious when it came to taking on those who threatened the peace of their home dimension was something new for him.
Heero was soon resting in his room, just as Mackenzie sat on the bridge. Cree was with her, looking out at the park. "You said you guys are afraid of your power."
Mackenzie nodded. "Yeah, I did." She replied as she looked back at Cree. "Why?"
"If you are so afraid of it, why not just disarm and leave it at that?" The fox Faunus asked.
Mackenzie's eyes took on a hard glare. "Cree, do you know of Satyra?"
Cree scoffed. "Who could not?"
"Well, imagine that, but with the idea of genetically enhancing the human body. Several of us in this unit are genetically enhanced. There were those who believed that because of this, the genetically enhanced were not human and went to the lengths of Satyra, if not worse. And for the genetically enhanced, well, some came to believe they were the next breed of human who had evolved and that the unenhanced humans were nothing but vermin to wipe out. Oddly enough, it was the Naturals who went to the lengths of Satyra to wipe out the Coordinators, not the other way around." Mackenzie explained. "Of course, if one counts the attempts to wipe out all life on Earth made by the Coordinators, then it is the Coordinators who were worse than Satyra, but just a few bad Coordinators doesn't meant the majority are that way as well. As you can see, because of these events, we take racism very seriously. Such people cannot be negotiated with, so that leaves only two options; either take them out with force, or surrender to their demands."
"So, you're saying that those responsible will only respond to force to stop them?" Cree asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Mackenzie replied seriously. "That is the best way to get them to back off, or rather, we have no choice but to stop them."
Cree blinked in surprise. "So you don't hold back, to show you will not tolerate what those people are doing."
"Exactly." Mackenzie replied. "And if we bring all our power to bear on the people who threaten the entirety of the human race, then they know the UEN, our planetary government, means business and can back up any claim of putting down the violence."
The fox Faunus could only listen in silence. It seemed these guys were willing to do whatever it took, even if they didn't like it, to keep others safe.
Nowhere Mountains
Ikki and Metabee stuck close to Rex and Six, hoping to be of some use to the two other worlders.
Six and Rex seemed to know what was going down right now with this Van Kleiss guy and Metabee wanted a bit of payback on the man for trying to hurt a young girl. Not to mention his dimensional displacement device that had brought the two of them, and their missing friends, there as well.
"So, what do we do when we get there?" Metabee asked Six.
"We find Van Kleiss and shut down his device." The agent replied.
Metabee nodded. "Well, if we get there, if you need some extra firepower, I'm your bot!"
Ikki groaned. "Yeah, but only if you listen to me..."
Metabee just grumbled under his breath. "Way to ruin the mood, Ikki..."
"Not to mention our... special bond..." Ikki added, making Metabee wince slightly.
"Ah... right..." Metabee muttered.
GrimmFall
In his room, Heero was looking over some images he had seen of the battle between Major Glory and the one who had launched that wave at the city. His blue eyes narrowed as he observed what went down.
Leaning back at his desk, the Admiral had to wonder what was going on.
'So, the person behind that wave was intending on wiping out the city, but only so he could get away.' The Enhanced human mused. This would throw a wrench into their plans, unless...
Looking at where the Hall of Heroes was, Heero felt a plan coming into place. "Maybe... it's time we took ourselves from surveillance to active roles..."
He knew what he had planned was a big risk, but if played right, things could work out for them all.
The rest of Zero Squadron was gathered in the pilot's lounge, watching the local news, picked up thanks to the satellite hacking they had set up upon first arrival.
Yzak was frowning as he watched the news, which showed Heero's machine. "Well, it's happened. We've just revealed ourselves to this city."
"Not fully, though." Shinn pointed out. "They only saw Wing Zero and our insignia, not our faces or anything like that."
Athrun frowned as well. "No... Major Glory was there. He saw Wing Zero and its power. And if what we learned about him is correct, he has X-ray vision, which probably allowed him to catch sight of Heero."
Everyone looked to Athrun in surprise. "Are you kidding me, Zala?!" Yzak demanded.
"No, I'm not." Athrun sighed. "But it's better that Major Glory saw us. If it was someone else, what would they do? They would try to paint us as villains."
Tao pursed her lips in thought. "So you're saying it's for the best that we revealed ourselves to the major, because he can confirm we are not on the enemy's side."
Athrun nodded, but he was still frowning. "I am well aware the plan could backfire and we could be painted as enemies by Major Glory, but... We didn't get this far, nor as strong as we are as a unit, by being cautious and not taking risks."
Everyone there had to agree. The fact they were a unit that took risks when it was needed was how they had gotten so fearsome, in addition to their power.
Dearka grunted. "Well, if there was ever a time to take such a big risk, that time would be now."
Stella looked down. "It could go either way."
"And we have to have faith it will work out, or it will backfire." Kira added at last.
In the Hall of Heroes, Major Glory had returned and while everyone was glad he had stopped the wave, the fact one of those 'War Men' had shown up and finished off the frozen wave had stunned all of them.
Valhallen was looking at the image playing back on the main screen, and he let out a low whistle. "Wow... That was some power..."
Krunk was in awe and even shaking a bit in fear. "Krunk no like War Men..."
"Well, that particular War Men did do the city a favor by wiping out the frozen wave." Tiki Torch noted with some apprehension and thoughtfulness. "So maybe the War Men are not exactly bad news."
Major Glory nodded. "Yes, that is true. And that fact is why we will leave the War Men alone for the time being. It did not seem to have hostile intentions, and it did save our fair city from the frozen wave before damage could occur."
Major Glory then looked back at where the winged 'War Men' had flown off to. 'If that 'War Men' flew off, then a ship has to be nearby. Well, either that or a base.'
Deciding to forget the War Men for now, the major turned his attention to the TV news to see what else would be on.
In his office, Mayor Sebben was observing the footage on the TV himself. 'So, they finally show their power...' The mayor thought as he leaned back in his chair. A smirk played at his lips. 'This should prove interesting for future battles.'
Callie looked appalled however, at seeing the power of that one machine. "Is... Is that the power of the War Men and the Faceless Ones?!" She squeaked out.
"It would appear so." Mayor Sebben noted, taking care to observe his deputy mayor's reaction.
"B-but that... How can they possess such power? And can we even trust these Faceless Ones won't use that very power against us?!" Callie began to panic a bit.
Mayor Sebben leaned forward at his desk. "Tell me, have these Faceless Ones attempted any sort of invasion against us? Or have they only been observing us?"
"Observing us, but that could be a prelude to the invasion." Callie countered.
"And yet that War Men only attacked the frozen wave before leaving the area. That power could have been used against us yes, but if that was the case, why leave once the wave's remains were gone?" Mayor Sebben asked.
Callie looked down in thought. "It could have been a show of power to scare us. But it also could have been doing us a favor."
Mayor Sebben nodded. "I have no doubt it was an attempt to help us. But it was also a warning and a show of power. It was a warning to Sammael and Satyra, while also being a show of power to those who would dare to threaten this city."
Deputy Mayor Briggs looked up, surprised. "Why would they give a warning to Sammael and Satyra? Wouldn't they just do a show of power?"
"I can only assume the warning was the show of power, to scare the enemies of our city, and of all humanity." Mayor Sebben mused with a smirk.
Callie looked out at the city again, where the frozen wave had once been. "That reminds me of the saying 'the best defense is a good offense'."
"And you would be right." Mayor Sebben chuckled. "They are a formidable unit, relying on offensive firepower and tactics to catch the enemy off-guard so they can finish them off. But that's not to say their defensive tactics should be laughed at. They seem to be an adaptive fighting unit, but with an emphasis on firepower and tactics that rely on it." He then leaned back in his seat again. "But we have yet to see how they can fight when on the defensive. So it may be interesting to see how the Faceless Ones fare in that situation."
Callie could only nod in agreement.
On the Constitution, the crew went about their daily duties, including reloading weapons and checking up on the Gundams in the hanger to see if they were functioning at 100%. Cagalli was working on the Justice's right arm joint, trying to get it to stop sticking, but with little success. "RAH!" She threw her wrench to the platform she was on in anger. "Why won't the damn thing unstick?!"
Yolant walked over and looked at the arm joint. "Have you checked all hydraulics and servo motors?"
"Yes, and everything is working, which doesn't explain why the joint is sticking!" Cagalli snapped back.
Yolant leaned in and frowned. "Huh..." He then looked to Cagalli. "Can you try to move the arm?"
Cagalli frowned, but nodded and got into the cockpit, which had been open so she could move the arm joint before trying to repair it again and again.
As soon as she was inside, Cagalli moved the arm joint, and Yolant frowned as he saw it was indeed sticking a bit for a few seconds before moving the way it should. "Okay, keep moving it. I will see if I can find the problem."
Cagalli nodded and resumed moving the arm joint before Yolant saw something. "Wait!"
At his words, Cagalli poked her head out. "What?"
"Move it again." Yolant instructed. "I think I saw something."
Cagalli moved the arm joint again, only for Yolant to see what was going on. "That's it!" He exclaimed. "I know what the problem is!" He then looked to Cagalli. "Straighten out the arm!"
The ORB queen did so, allowing Yolant to climb out onto the limb and peer into the elbow joint more closely. "Aha! Here's the problem!" He exclaimed. "It's a piece of duct tape that somehow got wound around a servo motor!"
Cagalli gaped. "H-how did that happen?!"
Yolant sighted. "It was most likely Vino. He probably did this as a prank."
Cagalli groaned as she heard that. "Ugh... That punk... Doesn't he know that in battle any few seconds could be the only thing between life and death?!"
Yolant sighed again. "Don't blame him completely, but I have to agree."
"Heero will be giving that kid a reaming for sure..." Cagalli sighed, not exactly feeling much sympathy towards Vino for his prank.
"What?!" Heero exclaimed. "Vino used Duct Tape to cause one of the Justice's arm joints to move slower as a prank?!"
"Yeah. Yolant got it removed, but I am having Vino sent to your office." Cagalli replied. "You know how he can get. He likes to prank, but this could have ended badly had we had to send out the Justice at all."
Heero nodded. "I will give him a stern talking to. I know he meant no harm, but anything could go wrong, and we can't take any chances."
As soon as the line went dead, the door to his office opened. Heero looked back, only to see it was the prankster himself, Vino.
"Glad you could come, Mechanic second class Vino." Heero said as Vino entered and sat down before the admiral. "You know why you are here, don't you?"
"I do, sir." Vino sighed. "I played a prank and got caught by Queen Zala-Attha for it."
"Well, yes, but you are here mostly because of one thing, and that is because you are aware anything can happen in battle, and that a difference of a few seconds could mean life or death for the pilot of the machine sent out, correct?" Heero asked.
Vino nodded. "Yes, sir. I know that all too well."
"So then, tell me, why did you think it was a good idea to cover one of the servo motors of the Justice's right arm in Duct Tape as a prank?" Heero asked. "What if we had sent out the Justice and there was a battle going on? What if Athrun had been unable to pull his right beam saber in time, all because of those few seconds of movement lost?"
"It wasn't like I meant to leave it like that!" Vino protested.
"I know." Heero assured the mechanic. "But the fact remains you still pulled a prank that could have ended up taking the life of one of the sub-commanders had he been sent out into battle. For that, you will be given brig time of a week, and you will have to go through remedial training on what each servo motor does, as well observing battle video, and undergoing simulation training involving the exact scenario we prevented, to make sure you understand how a few seconds of slowness could cost a pilot their life."
Vino, to his credit, gave a cringe at the prospect of the training simulations. "Yes, sir..."
"You will be escorted to the brig by Rear Admiral Joule. After your sentence there is completed, the training will commence. This will last for a month." Heero said as Yzak came into the room, looking pissed off.
"I see it's the prankster again." Yzak noted with a grunt.
"Yes, and it is because of a Duct-Taped servo motor this time." Heero sighed. "The fact he did such a prank is worrisome, but given how most of his other pranks are harmless, I think we can let this one slide in terms of potential for discharge from Zero Squadron. However, he will be watched until we can get back to our home dimension. Vino will then be transferred to hanger duty on New Juneau where he will be working on Mobile Suits there."
Yzak nodded as Vino groaned at the punishment.
"Be glad you got out of the discharge." Yzak grunted as he put the handcuffs on Vino. "Had the prank not been discovered when it was, it could have ended up far worse."
Vino nodded, feeling embarrassed.
As Vino was led away by Yzak to the brig, Heero sighed as he slumped back in his seat. "Ugh... After a successful mission, there's always that one thing that ruins the mood..." He muttered to himself.
Sammael's Lair
In his lair, Sammael watched with interest as Major Glory stopped the incoming wave with his Arctic Breath. He was always amused somewhat by Major Glory's actions, and yet, the man was also his equal in terms of power. One of only two to survive him, the King of the Fallen, in battle. However, when Major Glory flew away from the wave, something caught the Fallen's eye. It was a fighter-type craft of some kind, at least, it was before it transformed like one of those Cybertronians into a bi-pedal form. And yet... this machine was not Cybertronian. No, it looked more primitive in a few ways.
Sammael watched with interest, but before he could see the machine's capabilities, something caused his screen to frizz out, becoming nothing but static. Sammael frowned at this before he smirked suddenly. Yes, he knew who was responsible. The old mage never failed to surprise him. "Well played, Yen Sid. You never cease to surprise me with what you can do. It's little wonder you were considered the mage of your time, and even now." Sammael then held up a hand. "But I too have learned the ways of magic, so I too can counteract what you have done."
The screen fizzled again before regaining its picture. But by then, the machine had decimated the entire frozen wave. All that remained were a few fragments that had somehow remained in place. Sammael chuckled. "Ah, so that was your gambit, was it? You sneaky mage... Hiding what that machine can do. Well, no matter. I will find out in time what the technology of the Faceless Ones can do."
Sammael shut off the screen, just as he turned back to another one behind him, showing the areas where several dimensionally displaced beings were, including two that were going after Van Kleiss.
Nowhere Mountains
Ikki and Metabee were talking amongst themselves now, keeping things as quiet as they could. "Do you think we can really trust these two?" Metabee asked his 'brother' in concern.
"We don't have much of a choice." Ikki admitted, feeling Metabee's worry and concern over their Synchronization bond.
The KBT-type Medabot looked down. "Yeah, but... what if they are really working for that Van Kleiss guy? I mean... we know nothing about them, or about this place! We are just lost!"
Ikki frowned but had to admit, his 'brother' had a point. "I understand, but they did save us."
Metabee grumbled, knowing Ikki was right. "I hate it when you're right sometimes..."
Ikki laughed sheepishly. "Sorry..."
Metabee then looked back at Agent Six and Rex, who were walking just ahead of them. Six had dropped off the girl at the closest hospital, which was in the town of Nowhere. The name made Metabee snort mentally. 'Whoever named that town really wasn't very creative...'
Ikki nudged Metabee. "Something wrong?"
The Medabot looked back and shook his head. "Nah. Just thinking, that's all."
"About what?" Ikki asked.
Metabee sighed here. "Just... about what we may need to do to help these two out. I mean, I know I work best as your Medabot, but if our bond is taken into consideration, we cannot use it. We used it once before, and you know what that does to us."
"Ah... You mean...?" Ikki trailed off here, knowing all to well what Metabee meant.
"Yeah..." Metabee murmured. "The Medaforce…" He said softly, in a whisper. "We cannot Synchronize... Not if it exposes that and puts us in danger of using it when we do."
"But why can't we use it when we are here?" Ikki asked, confused.
"You really want to get an answer to that?" Metabee grumbled.
Ikki shook his head, realizing what Metabee was getting at. "No... I don't..."
"Good." Metabee said before Six's voice got the attention of the brothers.
"Hey! Are you two coming or what?" Six called back to them.
"Yeah, we're coming!" Ikki assured the two as he and Metabee raced to catch up.
Zero Squad reveals the true extent of their titular machine's power while Ikki and Metabee follow Six and Rex to Van Kleiss's lair as Yen Sid keeps Sammael from seeing Wing Zero's sheer power. What happens next? Read on to find out~! :3 Don't forget to read and review! ^^