Wyvern Gold: Chapter 9
~*~
"What the hell is up with this wiring system?! There's enough to make two mobile suits in here!" A mechanic pulled up a thick bundle of cords in Wyvern Gold's face. They were clamped down by what looked like a brass ring, and each wire and cord looked like it passed through its own loop in the ring.
"If it ain't broke, don't mess with it. You heard what the pilot said!" The head mechanic cursed under his breath and hit a series of buttons in the cockpit. The armor didn't respond kindly; it tried to thrash around, but the mechanic ignored it.
From the first hour, the three teams knew they would have to restrain or demolish Wyvern Gold. They did as instructed and ignored the foreign parts of the mobile armor, but it tried weakly to thrash about. A maintenance suit had to restrain it so it could be suspended from the ceiling of the work bay. Since there were so many more people working on it, an extraordinary amount of work was done on both Dragon Silver and Wyvern Gold. The burned plating was being replaced on both suits, but they had only halfway finished reconstructing Wyvern Gold's face plates when it had 'awakened' and started struggling again.
"Damn uppity thing. I'm tempted to chuck it out into space and hit the self destruct button." The head mechanic kept testing different systems, and wondered why he couldn't find any underlying doll system.
Dragon Silver was much easier to fix, there seemed to be no doll system in that one, nor was the damage as extensive. Just some charred Gundanium (which had stunned all the mechanics, only severe explosion could destroy that stuff), a fried generator, and some recalibrating to do.
"Does anyone have the new cameras for the eyes?!" A mechanic called down from the top catwalk.
"It'll be here in a few hours! It's coming from an earth base!" Someone below shouted.
"How much time before we finish all we can?!" The head mechanic gave up trying to find what kept Wyvern Gold going, and climbed out of the cockpit.
"3 MORE DAYS FOR THE ARMOR!" One mechanic tried to shout over the sounds of sparks buzzing.
"By the end of the day for the camera systems! Easy install!" The mechanic from the top called again.
"We need some time for the Beam Cannon and the Dimensional Remote! The jaw's been fused shut! At most a week!" The source of all the sparks stopped temporarily to get his message out.
'Maybe those pilots will get that foreign armor all worked out and get out of our hair…' The head mechanic sat down at a console and made notes of everything that was happening, including findings on the Gaean components to the armor. It wasn't necessarily advanced, but something weird was going on and no one was getting to the bottom of it.
"SIR!!! Come take a look at this!!!" Two younger mechanics ran around the mech with puzzled looks.
"More of the foreign technology?" He didn't even bother looking up.
"They've replaced the power core."
"Have they, now?" He suddenly remembered that the pilots said that all the energy had been spent during the merge.
The other mechanic spoke up. "None of our equipment will read it, and as far as we can tell, it's not giving off any energy. In fact, it looks like they removed the nuclear components and capped off all the connections.
Now that was interesting. "Lemme see this."
They led their supervisor around to the back of Wyvern Gold motioned around to the armored doors between its shoulder blades. Instead of a large black box connected to hundreds of small wires, they found two large vacuum tubes; one going in the top and one coming out of the bottom. What linked them together was a real mystery: a pinkish-red crystal that pulsed at the same rate as the crystal in front. The large crystal pulsed slowly and brightly, with the two vacuum tubes matching the rhythm with a pumping motion in and out, much like a heart.
"We can't do anything about it. It's more of their technology. Pilots told us not to touch it." He made another note of it.
~*~
"What the hell happened to her face?!?!" Kai stared incredulously.
"Save for that light scar down her face, she looks fine." Raion moved some of Dei's raven black hair out of the way. Kai 'hmph'ed and slapped her 'Kitty's' hand away.
"But almost a week ago, I nearly chopped it half. NO ONE heals that quick. Everyone back inside, NOW!"
"But they bugged my apartment-"
"Or and I will take care of it, now move!" Tyson almost broke the window slamming it all the way up so she could crawl back into the apartment.
Or put Dei back on the couch and went with Kai on an exhaustive search of the apartment. Jeremy came back with 4 tiny dots in his palm, while Kai had 6. She took them, put them on the kitchen counter in a pile, and enjoyed herself immensely by hitting them repeatedly with a mallet out of Raion's closet.
Jeremy whispered to Raion. "And you like your women of the violent, psychotic persuasion?"
"She's usually not bad unless she's upset. This is the worst I've ever seen her, really."
"Whatever…"
Kai pounded away at the tiny dots until there were about 4 times as many specks on the counter. Then she scooped up the pieces and dropped them in a jar of acid she found in Raion's workshop; giggling to herself all the way. "And now that that's done, to the next part of this little mission."
"Would that be waking the girl up or figuring out how to get off the colony?" Jeremy chose not to focus on the frightening display that just happened and went right back to business.
"Since we're all here, the MP is out there, I know my koneko-kun has cookies in the pantry, a change of clothes, and a few other supplies, we're campin out."
Raion stiffened up immediately. "NO! No no no no no no NO!!! You can't stay here. I already told you that the MP would be back for you. And they'll come even faster now that you've destroyed the bugs."
"You worry too much, koneko-kun. Now, how shall we choose to wake our hostage?" Tyson rubbed her hands together menacingly.
Or cut her off as soon as he saw her smirk. "As calmly as possible so as not to put her back into shock. She might be healing at an alarming rate, but she's still injured and we don't know how she'll react to being on the other side of the Gate."
"She may look like a teenage brat, but she's still a soldier and a prisoner of war. Get over yourself, Or." Tyson responded flatly.
"How about this? Take it somewhere else." Raion was getting impatient again at Kai's hard-headedness.
"We already decided we're not going anywhere, koneko. So drop it." Kai sat down on the coffee table beside the couch. "God, she can't be any more than 16. Maybe she is like the old Newtypes…"
"But the Newtypes didn't have any extraordinary healing abilities." Jeremy was thankful to get a chair next to the couch; it was the first time he got to rest since they had left the hospital about 5 hours ago.
"What we did learn about Gaeans didn't say anything about being able to heal up instantly." Raion offered to keep from being left out of the conversation completely.
"Jeremy here still hasn't given us a reasonable theory for this whole mess, but he swears it has something to do with the armor we brought back."
~*~
Dei slept soundly while they talked and theorized about her. She was in a vivid dream state about everything she remembered from being taken away from home, up to her last conversation with her sister and best friend. Everything after that was jumbled and echoed, and caused her frustration.
"Where are you taking me?! Dad help me!! DAD!!!!" Her high-pitched voice carried up the hallway. She could see where her parents slept, but they weren't coming out of their room to help her.
"Shaddap, kid! We need you and your sister's talent!" The loud barking voice that carried her wrapped a huge leather-gloved hand around her neck. Dei squeaked in pain and put more effort into crying and gasping for air than calling for help.
"SIR! I have the elder daughter! The son unfortunately has disappeared." A normal human voice materialized from somewhere in front of them; Dei couldn't see since she was tied up and being dragged.
"That traitorous bastard! He hid him! I bet he wasn't counting on us taking these two, though. If he weren't so powerful, I'd burn the place to the ground! How dare he not help us get rid of those accursed monsters! Down to the basement and the Guymelef rooms!" The harsh voice got louder, and angrier since they couldn't capture her little brother.
"RESIA!! What's going on?! Where's mom and dad!?! Why isn't anyone helping us!?!"
"What are you doing?! Dei's just a kid! Put her back!" Resia's voice was tense, but it didn't seem too concerned…
"Insurance in case you don't work out. One of you three has got to fit that damn lock. And it better be you two. If it's the boy, all bets are off and people start dying until we get what we want! Besides, there are younger than her who know how to work a melef."
"JUST PUT HER BACK, I CAN TELL YOU NOW SHE CAN'T OPERATE ONE!" Resia's voice went up in pitch; now she was getting scared…
Dei remembered lots of screaming and cursing, then the grinding of machinery and a terrible headache. Her dream jumped forward to her being bonded to WyvernGold and how much she wished one of them would die…
"DAMMIT! Get that away from me!" Dei managed to subdue one of the people holding her down and was backing away from Neuill holding a black dagger.
"Fine. But you'll wish you'd taken the dagger." Neuill's inhuman speed allowed him to easily grab her and knee her in the stomach.
She could've dealt with having the wind knocked out of her, but she didn't know about the kind of pain as her stomach kinked sharply and she tasted warm salt in her mouth. Dei couldn't see as Neuill then grabbed her cheeks and forced her mouth open to let the blood drip out of her mouth and onto a grey and white Dragenergist. He let Dei drop to the ground and waited patiently, and was rewarded as the Energist lit up with a pink aura.
"Get up, brat! You've gotta put the key in the ignition. I ain't allowed to touch the thing." Neuill put the energist in Dei's hand and waited for her to get her bearings back.
"You don't know what you've done, you stupid monster. You should've just let me pilot the thing. If you keep abusing her, she'll kill you. She should kill you the second she gets into the controls." Resia stood off to the side and glared at Neuill. He approached her with the same speed he attacked Dei with, but didn't lay a finger on her.
"Quiet! You're more valuable to me where I can see you! The girl's a sucker and I'm sure if your father lost her to Mystic Moon, he'd be much more willing to fight." He muttered into her ear.
'Dei, forgive me…' She turned around and left since she couldn't watch anymore.
Once Dei could breathe again, she stumbled over to the heart of her new soulmate and placed the energist into WyvernGold's core. The hatch opened for her slowly, almost reluctantly, and Dei fell in and collapsed on the seat. What happened next was the worst part. Wyvern Gold was a fusion of Yspano and Mystic Moon technology, neither of which was completely understood except by the makers themselves. And since neither the little impish creatures nor the humans were available, the scientists and engineers of this world had to make due with what they had.
It was evident that a mistake had been made somewhere because as soon as Dei felt what she was supposed to do and hit the switches for WyvernGold's ignition, the armor lurched forward and the Energist Core flashed rapidly. Dei screamed in pain, which could be heard well outside of the Gundam and far past the camp, with a little help of the PA system. It felt like her chest would burst from the pressure coming from her heart. The hybrid monster clawed its Energist Core while the tail and wings thrashed about. What the scientists had neglected to do was turn off the Gundam's natural power source, since no creature has two hearts. The Gundam's power grid was overloading, and Dei's heart was feeling the same. She slammed her fists overhead in hopes of hitting the ignition buttons again to turn it off. She was successful just in time, and by the time they had both finished their tantrums, Wyvern Gold was on it's back with sparks flying out of it, and Dei was completely comatose. Since she didn't die immediately, Neuill considered the test to be a success, while he ordered the scientists to fix whatever problems his little guinea pig showed them.
This went on and off again for a month, each time decreasing the pain a little until the two systems were intertwined. All the while Dei was being shaped into a soldier and to forget everything about her past life until she defeated the Mystic Moon, and she was the only one who could defeat the Mystic Moon, since her Melef could fly into the darkness of space.
~*~
Dei's voice trailed off weakly. "Why are you trying to kill me..?"
"And she's at it again. Who is she talking to?" Kai muttered.
"I think she's having nightmares."
"Then by all means. Her crying and moaning was getting on my nerves." Kai grabbed the girl roughly by the shoulder and shook her hard. "C'mon, we can't concentrate with all the noise you're making!"
"mmmMM… Bite me, Resia…" Dei rolled over.
Kai's eye twitched as she thought for a second, then stood up and positioned her combat boot over Dei's throat. "WAKE. UP."
Dei coughed and put her hand around Kai's ankle. "Fatch, Resia! Get your big feet…. YOU…" Dei could only get her right eye open, but it was good enough to see who was pinning her down.
"It's about time you woke up. You won't believe the trouble I had to go through!"
"You didn't have to carry her, Tyson. And get your damn foot off her neck. You see she can barely breathe." Or got up to pull Kai off Dei.
"What's going on…?"
"Guess who's a prisoner of war, sister."
"Fatch." She muttered again and went back to sleep.
"You're not getting anywhere with this." Raion laid his ice cold hands on her cheeks.
This was enough to get Dei conscious enough to get everything to sink in. 'This place sure doesn't look like a prison…'
Dei took a few deep breaths and felt around on her face. She felt the scar there, but was thankful there was no pain attached to it. It would go away with further work to WyvernGold. She felt a burning sensation up and down her back, but that would have to take back seat to everything else. She also still couldn't get her left eye open and that was enough to start a tirade.
"Why can't you monsters be happy with the Mystic Moon? Do you know how long we had to fight and how many people had to die before we could enjoy peace on Gaea?"
"Probably not nearly as many as have died here, brat." Kai resisted the urge to wring Dei's neck rather easily. This wasn't like her…
"That would explain why do you don't have anyone left to pilot those pathetic Melefs. Get me a glass of water." Dei felt more like a strong drink, but thought better of asking for any kind of liquor.
"I see they teach great manners on Gaea. Not until you answer some questions for us." Jeremy felt a little more laid back. Why wasn't she on wit's end and trying to escape? Not that he wanted to deal with that…
~*~
End of Chapter 9
Huzzah! This one took too long to finish cause I had all the ideas right there and couldn't write 'em.
See ya around for the next chapter! *waves*