"Vick, we got a problem."
The radio signal was distorted from the 70,000 screaming fans but she could see him well enough. He shook his head.
"No kidding. We have to look over an arena full of screaming, crazy men for a single homicidal maniac and stop him from destroying the city."
"I'm getting an SOS signal on military channels. I'll send it too you because its in the arena. Check it out, will ya?"
He grinned at her. "Not a problem."
*****
The score was 17-10. The Raiders had scored another touchdown and Jamal was pressured to drive again to tie the score. He shook his head, wishing he didn't have to balance his desire to play with the man in black's warning of death. He shook slightly and caught the snap. He dropped back three steps and quickly scanned his receivers but found none; instead he found a three-man blitz.
Panicked he immediately scrambled to the right and ran into a fourth defender. Seeing no other option, he leapt, hoping to vault over the defender and continue running, hoping to avoid him and run for a first down. In the air, the man grabbed his legs but slipped, dragging Jamal down with him. His hand touched the ground and he spun, breaking loose and jumping up to continue his run.
As soon as he landed, he was hit by the first three and knocked onto the ground. He groggily stared at the line and realized he had been sacked. Seven yard loss. Ouch. He shakily stood up, wobbling a moment and realizing something was not right. He raised his hands and formed a T, calling a time-out. His head shouldn't be spinning like this. What was wrong with him?
*****
"Colonel?"
Tobias couldn't believe his eyes. Someone had picked up his signal and sent Vick to get him. He grinned boyishly. "Good to see ya. Do me a favor?"
"Sure thing, boss."
"Untie me. I have a score to settle."
"Not a problem."
Quickly Vick got to work, methodically undoing the knots that bound his commanding officer one-by-one. Finally the last one came off and he rubbed his wrists.
"Who picked up the signal? It was one of us, I know. But which one?"
"The new kid, Robyn. She was bored so she scanned the waves. She picked it up and zeroed in on where it was. Since I'm one of the few people who hasn't done anything to her, she trusted me to go after it. Guess it's a good thing she was listening, eh, boss?"
"What about Rynn? Where's he?"
"Well, I don't know. I thought he was with you."
*****
Without warning, a gout of fire erupted around her. Startled, she jetted into the air and scanned to get a better view of the area. Again the guns burst at her, this time from the other side. Startled, she turned and saw the Gundam. It reminded her of Death.
Well then, she thought. I guess I'll just have to cheat Death again.
*****
Nyroska smirked grimly. The fireworks had begun, judging by the panic going over the radio waves. Too bad none of the fools trapped in the stadium would know. They would die before they had a chance to learn.
Picking up his comm link, he glanced at the door. "Send me a chopper to evac. Just me, so it can be small."
He threw the comm link on the ground and faced the door again. This time it was occupied.
"Well, Colonel, I guess we meet again."
Tobias stared at him in silence.
Nyroska looked at him in irritation. "If you plan to be silent, move. I have somewhere to be."
"And while you run away form your conflict, you condemn tens of thousands to die. You are not a man of honor, and as such you no longer have the right to wear the uniform of OZ."
Nyroska glared, his cruel mouth twisted into a snarl of rage. He brought his hand up and struck his face. "Stupid boy. Only when you have fought as I have, when you have seen your comrades, your friends, your family, killed while you watch, only then will you be able to dictate to me what is honor and what is not. But until you do, it is the decision of my own of what I do and, above all, if I wear the uniform that I do!"
"Old man. It is the likes of you, with your decrepit style of thinking that doom us all in this world. You, with your outdated belief of right and wrong, your twisted and perverted sense of honor, it is people like you who tarnish the reputation of the organizations you inhibit. If you are unable to keep up with the times, then do the world a favor and die."
They glared at each other again.
*****
It took several minutes of checkups and a pair of water bottles before Jamal realized his problem was a combination of nerves and dehydration. He felt renewed, slapping on his helmet and running back onto the field, the roar of approval from the crowd ringing in his ears. This, then was what the game was all about.
Quickly he took the snap and scanned, faking a pass before taking off to his left. No one stopped him and he was able to run his fastest, breaking through the hole and gaining a dozen yards and the first down. Another roar greeted him, and the announcers in the booth were going crazy on the commentary.
He felt invincible, even if only for a minute. It was the greatest feeling of his life.
He got ready for the next snap.
*****
Fighting a Gundam was a bitch, Robyn had decided. It just did not seem to want to die. And it never stopped attacking, always pressing its advantage. She was surviving, at least.
She yelled into her radio. "Help!"
Only static answered her until a small window appeared on her screen. A young man's face appeared. He couldn't have been older than seventeen.
"Help ain't coming for you, like it or not. I have made sure of that."
She stared at his image skeptically. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
He seemed miffed for a second, but recovered quickly. "I am the great Duo Maxwell, pilot of the Gundam 02, otherwise known as the Deathscythe Hell. As for what I want, it's only your life. But you're such a pretty face, might I ask who you are?"
"Learn my name, because you will hear it again. It's Robyn Goodfellow."
He grinned. "If we shadows have offended, eh?"
She glared. "I hate that book."
He ignored her, continuing. "Think but this and all is mended/That you have but slumbered here/While these visions did appear."
He grinned again. "Care to go on?"
"Fine," she spat. "And as I am an honest Puck, you will regret that load of shit."
He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Finally, he spoke again. "I don't think that's how the book went. Care to try again?"
She ignored him and jumped to strike, bringing the shaft around her and igniting it in a burst of energy. The glaive glowed an odd tint of yellow, its energy pulsing from years of abandonment and disuse. It still functioned, however, and was receiving its first major combat in seventeen years.
*****
The chopper landed on the roof and waited. Across the roof a single figure ran, his form shrouded by a cloak. After a minute, Nyroska hopped in.
"Let's go, the score's tied at seventeen. I have a bad feeling something is going to happen. We need to get out of here."
As the chopper's blades began to rotate again, a burst of energy erupted from a short distance away. From the darkness, a massive shadow appeared, a seemingly anti-light that pulsed with a hidden power. It towered above even the heights of the Gundams, a full twenty-four meters. Every part of the titanic MS glinted in the simulated darkness. The only reprieve from the black was the light of its weapons, a diamond based system that absorbed any light and amplified it.
"Avoid him at all costs, as well. He's not on speaking terms with me, believing I'm only here to set up the people of this stadium to die."
Nyroska turned away from the anti-light and stared out the cockpit window. In the distance, small explosion rocked the night and he squinted. Whatever that is, he thought, it's no longer important. All I can hope for is to get out of here with my life.
*****
Ohh...half-time. Time to get this on, in the figurative sort of way. Look for more on this later when I have more time to write some more. And since I forgot it the last two chapters, here's the disclaimer. I don't own Gundam Wing, so I can't get sued if you find this offensive. Most of the people in this story I do own, however and I can do with them what I want.
Colonel
The radio signal was distorted from the 70,000 screaming fans but she could see him well enough. He shook his head.
"No kidding. We have to look over an arena full of screaming, crazy men for a single homicidal maniac and stop him from destroying the city."
"I'm getting an SOS signal on military channels. I'll send it too you because its in the arena. Check it out, will ya?"
He grinned at her. "Not a problem."
*****
The score was 17-10. The Raiders had scored another touchdown and Jamal was pressured to drive again to tie the score. He shook his head, wishing he didn't have to balance his desire to play with the man in black's warning of death. He shook slightly and caught the snap. He dropped back three steps and quickly scanned his receivers but found none; instead he found a three-man blitz.
Panicked he immediately scrambled to the right and ran into a fourth defender. Seeing no other option, he leapt, hoping to vault over the defender and continue running, hoping to avoid him and run for a first down. In the air, the man grabbed his legs but slipped, dragging Jamal down with him. His hand touched the ground and he spun, breaking loose and jumping up to continue his run.
As soon as he landed, he was hit by the first three and knocked onto the ground. He groggily stared at the line and realized he had been sacked. Seven yard loss. Ouch. He shakily stood up, wobbling a moment and realizing something was not right. He raised his hands and formed a T, calling a time-out. His head shouldn't be spinning like this. What was wrong with him?
*****
"Colonel?"
Tobias couldn't believe his eyes. Someone had picked up his signal and sent Vick to get him. He grinned boyishly. "Good to see ya. Do me a favor?"
"Sure thing, boss."
"Untie me. I have a score to settle."
"Not a problem."
Quickly Vick got to work, methodically undoing the knots that bound his commanding officer one-by-one. Finally the last one came off and he rubbed his wrists.
"Who picked up the signal? It was one of us, I know. But which one?"
"The new kid, Robyn. She was bored so she scanned the waves. She picked it up and zeroed in on where it was. Since I'm one of the few people who hasn't done anything to her, she trusted me to go after it. Guess it's a good thing she was listening, eh, boss?"
"What about Rynn? Where's he?"
"Well, I don't know. I thought he was with you."
*****
Without warning, a gout of fire erupted around her. Startled, she jetted into the air and scanned to get a better view of the area. Again the guns burst at her, this time from the other side. Startled, she turned and saw the Gundam. It reminded her of Death.
Well then, she thought. I guess I'll just have to cheat Death again.
*****
Nyroska smirked grimly. The fireworks had begun, judging by the panic going over the radio waves. Too bad none of the fools trapped in the stadium would know. They would die before they had a chance to learn.
Picking up his comm link, he glanced at the door. "Send me a chopper to evac. Just me, so it can be small."
He threw the comm link on the ground and faced the door again. This time it was occupied.
"Well, Colonel, I guess we meet again."
Tobias stared at him in silence.
Nyroska looked at him in irritation. "If you plan to be silent, move. I have somewhere to be."
"And while you run away form your conflict, you condemn tens of thousands to die. You are not a man of honor, and as such you no longer have the right to wear the uniform of OZ."
Nyroska glared, his cruel mouth twisted into a snarl of rage. He brought his hand up and struck his face. "Stupid boy. Only when you have fought as I have, when you have seen your comrades, your friends, your family, killed while you watch, only then will you be able to dictate to me what is honor and what is not. But until you do, it is the decision of my own of what I do and, above all, if I wear the uniform that I do!"
"Old man. It is the likes of you, with your decrepit style of thinking that doom us all in this world. You, with your outdated belief of right and wrong, your twisted and perverted sense of honor, it is people like you who tarnish the reputation of the organizations you inhibit. If you are unable to keep up with the times, then do the world a favor and die."
They glared at each other again.
*****
It took several minutes of checkups and a pair of water bottles before Jamal realized his problem was a combination of nerves and dehydration. He felt renewed, slapping on his helmet and running back onto the field, the roar of approval from the crowd ringing in his ears. This, then was what the game was all about.
Quickly he took the snap and scanned, faking a pass before taking off to his left. No one stopped him and he was able to run his fastest, breaking through the hole and gaining a dozen yards and the first down. Another roar greeted him, and the announcers in the booth were going crazy on the commentary.
He felt invincible, even if only for a minute. It was the greatest feeling of his life.
He got ready for the next snap.
*****
Fighting a Gundam was a bitch, Robyn had decided. It just did not seem to want to die. And it never stopped attacking, always pressing its advantage. She was surviving, at least.
She yelled into her radio. "Help!"
Only static answered her until a small window appeared on her screen. A young man's face appeared. He couldn't have been older than seventeen.
"Help ain't coming for you, like it or not. I have made sure of that."
She stared at his image skeptically. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
He seemed miffed for a second, but recovered quickly. "I am the great Duo Maxwell, pilot of the Gundam 02, otherwise known as the Deathscythe Hell. As for what I want, it's only your life. But you're such a pretty face, might I ask who you are?"
"Learn my name, because you will hear it again. It's Robyn Goodfellow."
He grinned. "If we shadows have offended, eh?"
She glared. "I hate that book."
He ignored her, continuing. "Think but this and all is mended/That you have but slumbered here/While these visions did appear."
He grinned again. "Care to go on?"
"Fine," she spat. "And as I am an honest Puck, you will regret that load of shit."
He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Finally, he spoke again. "I don't think that's how the book went. Care to try again?"
She ignored him and jumped to strike, bringing the shaft around her and igniting it in a burst of energy. The glaive glowed an odd tint of yellow, its energy pulsing from years of abandonment and disuse. It still functioned, however, and was receiving its first major combat in seventeen years.
*****
The chopper landed on the roof and waited. Across the roof a single figure ran, his form shrouded by a cloak. After a minute, Nyroska hopped in.
"Let's go, the score's tied at seventeen. I have a bad feeling something is going to happen. We need to get out of here."
As the chopper's blades began to rotate again, a burst of energy erupted from a short distance away. From the darkness, a massive shadow appeared, a seemingly anti-light that pulsed with a hidden power. It towered above even the heights of the Gundams, a full twenty-four meters. Every part of the titanic MS glinted in the simulated darkness. The only reprieve from the black was the light of its weapons, a diamond based system that absorbed any light and amplified it.
"Avoid him at all costs, as well. He's not on speaking terms with me, believing I'm only here to set up the people of this stadium to die."
Nyroska turned away from the anti-light and stared out the cockpit window. In the distance, small explosion rocked the night and he squinted. Whatever that is, he thought, it's no longer important. All I can hope for is to get out of here with my life.
*****
Ohh...half-time. Time to get this on, in the figurative sort of way. Look for more on this later when I have more time to write some more. And since I forgot it the last two chapters, here's the disclaimer. I don't own Gundam Wing, so I can't get sued if you find this offensive. Most of the people in this story I do own, however and I can do with them what I want.
Colonel