Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, Trigun, or any songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Readers Note: This is a re-post. Also this contains major spoilers for Trigun, so if you haven't seen the whole series I wouldn't recommend reading this.
Gundam Wing & Trigun
Trigundam
Episode 10: Angel Arms
q
"Never the less." Knives smiled, "You will all die."
Dominique the Cyclops was there behind him. She knelt before her master, even though she did save his life and that she should deserve some gratitude for it. She did expect some kind of special treatment from Knives for saving his life from the Gundams. Still there wasn't any in all the time that they had been in this God forsaken spot called Death Valley. She wanted to know what to do even though she was burning with annoyance that she wasn't offered even a goddamn thank you.
"What should I do, Master?" She asked bowing her head
She heard knives turn from his boot scraping through the dirt and sand, she looked up to the malevolent face of Millions Knives. She wanted to hear him say to stay here in Death Valley and distract the Peace Guns. Yet, that wasn't what she heard when she saw Knives begin to move his lips.
"You should die." He smiled as he brought up his black 45 Colt Long and took aim at Dominique.
"No," She pleaded in a whisper; "please Master let me help you."
Knives heard the pitiful reply; "You are too weak to face these boys. Not even I could stop them with my mind techniques. They will have to be fought on their own grounds."
The muzzle of the gun was at point blank range from Dominique's face, and in the instantaneous moments between that look between Knives face and the gun, the trigger had already been pulled.
Although Dominique did not die directly, Knives simply wounded Dominique. She lay on the sand and dirt gripping her side while curling up like a worm in the sun. She was bleeding expeditiously; it was seeping through her clothes, her gloves and slipping out onto the dirt and sand. She looked like a humanistic version of the Exxon spill.
"Yes." Knives smiled even more, "Feel the pain, the pain in living, or rather the pain in surviving."
He looked up to the towering Wing Zero with its feathered Gundanium wings draping down to the ground. In it's towering height Knives saw the open cockpit door and the lift cable coming down to the ground.
"I will have to fight those little bastards on their level if my mind powers won't work." He thought, but as he thought about this he looked behind him towards the Angel Feather. The pod was about as far away as a football field. So Knives could see it quite well from his perspective, but he couldn't see what was going on inside. That is until he saw something happen to it, he saw it's side begin to open like the payload doors of those mobile suit transports, opening up and down.
Behind those doors Knives saw what he had suspected all along, he saw Nicholas D. Wolfwood, a former minion of his as well as Vash the Stampede, his brother. He smiled as they approached the football field distance between themselves and him. As they crossed the distance, Knives saw that they were armed. Wolfwood with his Cross Punisher and Vash with his gun which, Knives had built with his own hands.
Over the sounds of explosions and gunfire in the distance the gap between the Peace Guns and Knives was closed. Vash and Wolfwood were already at a short distance from Knives. The two of them pointed their guns at Knives hoping that Knives would give up.
Vash and Knives were just smiling at each other, each waiting for the other to say something, anything.
"Welcome brother." Knives smiled, "Did the humans treat you well?"
Déjà vu all over again.
Vash smiled, "Yeah, they're a wonderful group of boys."
"Those boys, Vash are killers just like you and me."
"They only kill because they have to!" Wolfwood shouted with his Cross-Punisher still out and ready to fire.
"Like you?" Knives laughed, "I'm sorry brother, but I'm going to have to fight you later, because I have some boys to kill."
Knives quickly reached around to grab the lift cable and immediately he was lifted up to the cockpit of the Wing Zero Custom. He climbed his way up to the cockpit platform, he stood tall and proud as if he knew the outcome of this battle. He looked down towards Wolfwood and Vash.
"I'll be back to kill you brother." Knives prophesized
Those on the ground only saw Knives dash into the cockpit and it's platform closed onto the chest and it's internal motors started up. Vash and Wolfwood heard the Gundams high pitched whirring as it began to move and with a puff of dust and dirt from the ground and engine exhaust the Wing Zero Custom took to the air.
Wolfwood and Vash could only stand with dumbfounded looks on their faces as they watched the Gundam take off for the first time. They may have seen the Gundams close up but they never saw one take off. Now there was only one thing to do.
"Let's go Vash!" Wolfwood shouted, "We have to warn the Gundams."
Vash didn't hear Wolfwood's screaming voice, he could only see the helpless Dominique lying on the ground and bleeding.
"Did you hear me Needle Noggin?" Wolfwood asked
"We have to help her." Vash stated as he dashed over to Dominique. He grabbed her and lifted her in his arms and began to jog over to the Angel Feather. Before he could even get a good start Wolfwood held out the long end of his Cross Punisher out against Vash.
"Are you out of your head, Vash?" He asked
"I am," Vash claimed, "we have to help her."
"She tried to kill you!"
"I know that, but regardless we still have to help her."
Wolfwood let down his Cross Punisher and exhaled, "That's just the way you are."
q
Duo was the first to see the Wing Zero come towards the battlefield. His responses made his hand go towards the COM switch and he made the call to his fellow Gundams.
"The Wing Zero is heading this way." He called out, "And I'm willing to bet that Knives is in there."
The Gundams made their own responses to the situation while they still fought the mobile dolls.
"Roger that." Heero responded, "I'm going to go after it."
"No." Quatre called out, "I don't think we should attack at first."
"Why is that Quatre?" Trowa asked
"I think I see Quatre's point." Johan said, "Knives hasn't used the Wing Zero fully, so he'll more than likely try to test it. Once he's doing that the Zero system will be on, so I'll go in with the Zero system on, so that way we'll be able to fight on the same level."
"I can see where you're going with this one." Duo said, "With that damned Zero system it'll make that Knives one crazy son of a bitch."
"Yeah." Johan smiled, "So we'll keep fighting the mobile dolls until he decides to attack us."
q
In the air, Knives controlled the Wing Zero to his whims. He made it turn left, right, made swirls in mid-air. Feeling the heaviness of the controls made him realize at what kind of power was at his fingertips. Not only was this a destructive machine but it also carried one of their deadliest weapons, it's beam rifle. Still, Knives didn't realize the most hidden and insidious danger of all, the Zero System. Perhaps, Johan's fears will become true that Knives might loose himself to the Zero System.
"Marvelous technology." He laughed, "Watch out boys. Your own weapon will kill you."
The grandeur of this technology was so intoxicating for Knives that for a start he began to attack his own mobile dolls. He drew out the Wing Zero's beam saber and sliced and diced the first set of mobile dolls that came his way like vegetables in a blender on frappe.
"Show me more!" Knives screamed
His eyes were wide and hungry to see the damage that this machine could do. It was maddening, but this was only the start, the Zero system didn't even turn on. Perhaps, Zero itself could sense the evil within Knives and simply didn't want to turn on, or on the other hand it was waiting for the right time to strike with its mind warping effects. Even a superior being like Knives would have to be susceptible to its effects.
Knives began to destroy more and more mobile dolls on his own, and he didn't even use his buster rifle just yet. He was simply using the guns and the beam saber, at the times when he would use the guns he would make the mobile dolls look like something that resembles Swiss cheese.
"You're going to die Gundams!" Knives laughed madly
In his madness of laughter and homicidal thoughts, the zero system finally turned on. It's yellow haze engulfed Knives like an ameba swallowing it's prey.
"What the hell?" Knives whispered
His hands trembled on the controls, he didn't know what was going on, and then he suddenly saw his enemy. Within the yellow haze he saw the image of the Gundams, he knew that he wanted to kill them. The vision was clear, the enemy was right in front of him. Beyond the yellow haze he saw the Gundams fighting the mobile dolls and fighting them became unimportant to him as he jolted towards the Gundams.
q
"Here he comes." Johan smiled as he put in his CD of Rage against the Machine's "Wake Up".
"Be careful Johan." Quatre advised
"You know me."
"That's what frightens me."
Johan jolted towards the Wing Zero like two bulls rushing head to head against each other. Johan had put away his buster rifle and drew out his beam saber along with the long heat rod.
"Here I come you son of a bitch."
Meanwhile from Knives point of view, he thought to himself, "Prepare to die boy."
The two banged their beam sabers against each other, this battle wasn't like the ones that Johan fought with Milliardo, Kazuki or Treize for that matter. This was different, Johan only spoke with Knives for only a few moments, and in those few moments was an ultimatum as well as his charges for arrest.
The two of them fired their bullets at each other and continued to attack each other head on with no success of even scratching the other.
"If he doesn't use the buster rifle then there's a guarantee of safety." Johan thought
"That's enough!" Knives screamed as he reached for the Wing Zero's Buster rifle
"Oh damn!" Johan screamed he scrambled for the COM switch, "everyone get out! He's about to fire the buster rifle. Get the hell out!"
The other Gundams finished their fights and retreated out of the path of the buster rifle. Though Johan was concentrating so much on whether the other Gundams were all right or not that he failed to notice that he was right in the path of the beam. His attention turned and the last thing he saw was the beam coming out of the buster rifle. There was only enough time to get the mobile suit chest out of the way, but it wasn't enough.
Inside the cockpit, Johan could feel the shake and rumble as the beam hit him and tore whatever it touched off of the suit. The only thing that he could think about was his wife, Haruka. Within that same yellow haze of the Zero system he could only think about her. Her smile, her laugh, everything that even brought the slightest joy into Johan's life. At least in his last moments he wouldn't have to think about himself, but this wasn't his last moment. He opened his eyes to see the damage report flash onto the screens around him.
"Damage report:" the screen read,
"Legs: Inoperative
Shield Wings: Inoperative
Engine Wings: Inoperative
Carrier Arms: Inoperative
Buster Rifle: Inoperative
Buster Shield: Inoperative
Heat Rod: Inoperative
Communications: Inoperative
25% Propulsion left."
"That's enough to stay in the air." Johan thought, "So this is it." He sighed leaning back, he reached for the side of his seat, brought out his CD case and took out a single one and began to play it. He heard soft piano music, then the words started
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us.
Above us only Sky
Imagine all the people, living for today
"It's not easy for me to imagine no Heaven." Johan spoke as he watched the Wing Zero, "If there isn't, I won't see my mom or dad." He looked up to see the sky, "I'm coming mom and dad. Have a spot waiting for me."
Heero watched all of this happen before his own eyes and he began to feel rage. It burned inside of him like bad heartburn. He couldn't' just stand by and watch a fellow Gundam, and a friend at that, die. Especially by someone piloting a Gundam.
Heero brought about the buster rifle and took aim against the Wing Zero. The distance was so far that he didn't know if he could hit the Wing Zero, but he had to try.
q
On the ground, Vash the Stampede saw the same events in the sky. He stood outside watching all this happen overhead while inside the Angel Feather Dominique the Cyclops was being taken care of by Millie and Meryl. Thanks to the medical kit that was inside the Angel Feather, thank God for back-up thinking.
Wolfwood was outside with Vash watching this mobile suit war going on in the air. They saw that the mobile dolls had stopped as if they were watching the fight themselves for their own enjoyment. They saw the Wing Zero nearly destroy the Ryu.
"NO!" Vash screamed, he reached for his silver 45 Colt Long.
"What are you doing?" Wolfwood shouted as he reached for Vash's gun, "NO one can shoot them from here, not even you."
"Not with this, but I will with the Angel Arm."
"Angel Arm! Are you crazy? You destroyed July, Augusta and put a hole in the fifth moon because of it. There's no telling what you'll do if you fire it, you'll probably destroy one of their colonies!"
"I know, but I have to help him."
The casing above the barrel of the 45 Colt Long popped out it's screws as if it was about to burst. Inside it there was a strange apparatus, a cylinder that hung in mid air by itself with no strings. It began to spin within it's own suspension with sparks of light and color. The Angel Arm was about to be formed.
Imagine there's no country
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us,
And the world will be as one.
Johan laid his hands behind his head, "Get it over with." He said, "If there's one thing that I can't stand is being held up."
Johan waited for death while on the ground and in the air, his friends were taking desperate measures, Heero with the buster rifle and Vash with the Angel Arm. Both of them wanted to save their friend from his death but they didn't know that he was already expecting to be at Death's door.
"Johan!" Duo called through the COM, "Johan answer!"
"It's no good." Quatre moaned, "His communications are down."
"It's not like Johan to just give up like that." Trowa stated, "He's probably preparing for something."
On the ground, as Vash's Angel Arm was slowly becoming larger, Wolfwood was trying to talk him out of it in his own way.
"You realize that's your brother up there don't you?" He asked
"I know." Vash groaned as the Angel Arm became larger and heavier with it's great cannon nose and long body that used to be his arm with his jacket sleeve around it. Now it was this great gray cannon and it's nuclear reactor like core in the center of the of the arm. He held it together with his arm like a prop and with whatever muscles might be morphed into the arm. He aimed it towards the sky at the little figure that was the Wing Zero Gundam. He closed his left eye and narrowed his right to get the sights right onto the Wing Zero.
"Whatever happened to that thou shalt not kill?" Wolfwood asked
Vash didn't hear it, his ear was pressed firmly against the Angel Arm he could only hear it's high pitched whirring as it was getting ready to fire. Vash couldn't hear the voices of the others screaming at him not to fire it, but he simply had to otherwise their friend would die. Even Vash couldn't tell what Johan was planning.
In the cockpit of the severely damaged Gundam Ryu, Johan was planning a very crazy act of either stupidity or heroism.
"I'll have to use the self-destruct button." Johan said, "I'll take out myself and Knives with me. If I'm going to die, I'm not going out without a great bang."
Johan reached down to a small red square that was surrounded by black and yellow. He pushed the red square and the red square split perfectly down the center and out came the self detonating switch. He took it in his hand and placed his thumb gently down on the shining candy red button.
"I'll use the last of my propulsion." Johan thought, "TO head towards the wing Zero and I'll press the button when I get there."
He set the self-destruct button down between his legs like a cup of coffee while he set his hands on the controls. He took his grip as he heard the last of John Lennon's Imagine. He pushed the controls forward, nothing happened.
"So, there isn't enough propulsion to get me over there." Johan thought it over, "Just enough to keep me in the air. What a lousy way to die, I didn't even get a chance to go out with a fight."
Back in the area of the Gundams Heero had his finger on the trigger to fire the buster rifle. If he was to take the shot now had to be the time or never and his friend would die at the hands of Millions Knives. He couldn't' stand that thought, he forced his finger to come back down on the trigger.
"You will not die!" Heero screamed as he forced his finger to pull the trigger and the buster rifle fired.
"You shall not die!" Vash screamed as he fired the angel arm. The light that came from the Angel Arm was so bright that Wolfwood had to cover his eyes. Though he had to run before Vash fired it. The sheer force of the Angel Arm kicked up dust like a tornado, or rather a Typhoon since Vash is, as he's called, The Humanoid Typhoon.
The beams from the buster rifle and the angel arm came at the Wing Zero like two lines coming to meet at one point or two trains coming at each other on the same track. The only thing that both Heero and Vash could pray is that they hit the Wing Zero, though the thought that Knives would die from this never occurred to Vash. He just wanted to save another before Knives kills any more innocent lives.
Knives in the meantime didn't realize the beams that were coming at him, he was so warped in the Zero system and wrapped up in his own grim kind of work that he didn't even notice them, until it was too late.
"What the hell?" He asked, he looked to his front and to his back and saw the beams of light and power that were coming towards him. He found himself frozen with fear; he couldn't move the controls of this magnificent machine to save his own life from this situation. He couldn't even figure out where they came from. At least he couldn't' figure out where the first one came from, but he immediately recognized the second one. IT was the same beam of light and power that was part of the Angel Arm.
"Vash, I'll kill you for this." Knives declared
The two beams didn't hit each other; they nearly missed each other by only a fraction of an inch. They both tore apart the Wing Zero Custom like a paper doll, it's legs came up in front of it and burnt to cinders. The left arm was ripped off like the leg of a roast turkey with the sounds of screeching metal and the pitch of the beam.
The beams never hit the Vindicator or Vash; they simply dissipated after hitting their targets. After the target was hit they vanished like steam from hot water and the Wing Zero began to fall to the ground.
"Looks like I'll live to fight another day." Johan smiled as he eased the propulsion down, now there was only 24% left, "24% should be enough to get me to the ground."
q
A few seconds later the Wing Zero came tumbling down to the ground at a distance of two football fields from the Angel Feather. It came down with a thumb and a puff of dirt and smoke into the air like a meteor. Yet this puff of dirt and smoke was nothing compared to the impression that Vash and his Angel Arm left in the same.
Vash stood in the middle of a large crater that was only a few inches deep. Its sand was untouched by boot or wind, it didn't even look like sand it looked almost like solid rock. The Angel Arm itself was now gone, all that was left of it was Vash's bare arm, torn sleeve hole, and the Silver Colt 45 Long in his hand. He turned, making his impressions in the now untouched sand to the down Wing Zero.
He looked up and saw the Ryu coming down softly like a snowflake. He continued onward towards the Wing Zero to face his brother, behind him Wolfwood was lying down in the sand with his Cross-Punisher at his side. He looked up to the walking and ragged looking Vash with the Wing Zero in the distance and the Ryu coming down from the sky.
Back in the sky, the Gundams noticed that the mobile dolls had stopped, and they began to fall down onto the mountains like flies. The battle is now over, now all that remains is to bring the criminal to his own justice.
"Let's go down there." Duo suggested as he began to set down his Death Scythe into Death Valley.
Soon, the Sandrock followed, then the Heavyarms, the Nataku, the Vindicator, and the Tallgeese III. They wanted to check on their friend to see how badly hurt he was and to see if Knives was still alive or rather if he was able enough to kill anyone.
q
On the ground the Ryu came down onto its side, it's arms hanging and it's head looking towards the sky like a legless soldier. The cockpit door opened and out came Johan without a scratch or a dent in the fender. He hopped out onto the ground with his Outsider in his hand he walked over to the down Wing Zero and hoped that Knives would come out of that suit.
Johan's hopes were lived up as the cockpit door opened and out came Knives with his black Colt 45 Long in his hand. He held it out and took aim against Johan.
"Die Gundam!" Knives screamed
Johan's reflexes acted, he pulled the trigger sending his bullet flying at Knives gun. The gun was knocked out of his hand; he bent over grabbing his hand in pain from the shock of the bullet hitting his gun. Knives looked at the Gundam with anger and hate, he wanted nothing more than to strangle the life out of the Gundam. He jumped down to the ground still holding his hand in pain but before he even knew it, Johan was right in front of him. He brought up his leg and knocked Knives to the ground on his back.
Johan pointed his gun at Knives staring at him with those same green eyes, "Millions Knives." He said, "You're under arrest for theft and destruction of Preventer Property, namely the Wing Zero Custom, kidnapping of the citizens of Colony X-18999, resisting arrest, assault and attempted murder on a Preventer Officer, namely myself. You have the right to remain dead."
"Oh shut up." Knives sneered
Johan shot Knives in his right legs, strange coincidence would point out that Knives was shot in that same spot of the same leg at least three times. The first two times were by his brother Vash and now this one by a mere boy.
"That was just for the hell of it." Johan smiled, "But I'm going to give you a choice. You've been fighting all this time against humanity and your own brother. Now I offer you this choice Millions Knives. Either you can stop this fight and live in peace with your brother or you can pursue your course and face death at my hands. I will not hesitate to kill you, I will simply wait for your answer."
To be continued…
Author's Notes: I felt that this was a good way to leave it, leave Knives with a choice either to keep fighting or just give up and live with the others in peace. Let's see what he'll choose.
Come back soon for the exciting conclusion of Trigundam…