Wufei: Of course they are. I'm in it.
::ignores him:: Alrighty, Chapter 13 (ooh, unlucky number... do I sense foreshadowing here?) finally we're getting some action here... ::blinks:: Does that sound dirty to anyone else but me?
Wufei: ::sighs:: Immoral onnako...
Heart of Space, Dove of Peace
Duo came to just in time to keep his face from being smashed against his control panel. "What in Jingoku…?" (Hell) he wondered aloud. All of his monitors - control panels, view screens, everything – were completely black. "Shimatta… must'a had a system shut down." He opened up a channel in hopes of contacting the Shenlong Gundam. "Oi, Wu-man! You there?" Suddenly, the cockpit of Deathscythe Hell lurched forward. "Wu-man!"
"Kisama!" Duo was relieved to hear the ticked-off voice of the Chinese pilot. "How many times do I have to tell.."
"Save it, Wufei." Duo said suddenly. "Check all of your monitors. What do they read?"
There was silence for a moment. "They're allblank…"
"So are mine." Duo replied. "We must've had some sort of system shut down."
"Curse that old man Howard," Wufei gritted. "I knew we shouldn't have relied on him."
"Take it easy." Duo said. "He's never let us down before. Let's just get in contact with him and – Whoa!" Duo's cockpit slammed to the right.
"What in Buddha's name was that?" Wufei exclaimed as his cockpit was slammed backwards.
"I don't know…" Duo answered. "But if I didn't know any better, I'd say we were being attacked."
"What dishonorable cur would attack a warrior when they are down?" Wufei asked, disgusted.
"Most likely the kind that doesn't play fair." Duo replied. "Somebody's gotta be out there that can help us out. Last contact I had with base was that Hilde and Sally flew out to provide back-up for Trowa and Quatre."
"What?!" Wufei roared.
"Easy, Wu-man, easy." Duo grinned. "The two of them are military women, they know what they're doing." There was low mumbling about women, mobile suits, and weakness, and Sally from the other end. "Besides, we're going to need all the help we can get. Supposedly Zechs and Noin are on their way to help us out."
"Apparently they haven't gotten here yet."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Noin gritted her teeth, trying to hold off the barrage of bullets tearing away at her suit's hull. Before she knew what was happening, Tallgeese III flew in, destroying the mobile doll with its dober gun.
"Are you all right, Noin?" Milliardo called out.
Noin smiled, hearing the concern in his tone. "I'm fine, Zechs." she answered. "I'm just a little rusty, that's all."
"If you want to call it quits, I'll cover for you." Milliardo replied, appearing on her monitor.
"No way." she said firmly. "I'm sticking it out until every last one of those dolls is finished. Besides, they're not the ones I'm worried about." Just as she finished her sentence, the enemy came at them for another attack. "Look out!" she cried out, shoving Tallgeese III out of the way.
Deathscythe Hell came flying at the two mobile suits with incredible speed, taking a swing at them both with its thermal scythe. Before Tallgeese III and Andromeda had time to recover, Shenlong came in, firing both its Dragon Fangs, knocking Tallgeese backwards.
"Zechs!" Noin cried out, watching as Tallgeese hit the dirt, skidding backwards about half a mile. "Shimatta! How can we fight them? Duo and Wufei are still in there!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Holy crap!" Duo cried out, horror written on his face.
"What is it?" Wufei asked, a little surprised at the at the American's tone of voice. "Have you discovered what happened?"
"You bet I did." came the reply. "Switch your visual systems over to auxiliary power."
Wufei did as asked without question. As he did so, he was surprised to see his monitors come back online just as Shenlong had plowed Tallgeese III into the dirt. "What in…"
"That's what I said." Duo replied.
"But I didn't do anything..."
"I'm guessing that weird ray that chick flashed on us was some sort of scrambling device. Basically, she's controlling us like puppets. She can make us do whatever she wants us to do!"
"Apparently she must have used the same device on Yuy." Wufei deduced with a frown.
"Right," Duo nodded. "That would explain how he got taken out so easily." Duo slammed his fists down on his console. "Man! What a way to go! I didn't think I'd get taken out like freaking Pinocchio!"
"Stop your whining, baka!" Wufei snapped. "We don't have time to waste. As you can see, Zechs and the onna aren't fighting back yet. They're just trying to avoid our attacks in order to buy us some time."
"Right," Duo nodded again. "But how do we let them know we're not in control? It's not like we can just hop out and warn them."
"We don't have time for that." Wufei replied. "We've got to find out how that Mayomato-onna managed to control us."
"With that weird beam thingy!" Duo answered. "She flashed us with it, remember?"
"However, we'd be safe to assume that a device with that kind of power can only have temporary effects. It's got to be still transmitting from somewhere."
Duo blinked and scanned the area. "Ah, there it is!" He pointed to a lone mobile doll standing off to the side. On it's tail was a satellite-type device, emitting some sort of beam over the two Gundams.
"Good job, baka." Wufei replied. Duo was surprised at this. "Now, how to let the others know…"
"I got it!" Duo exclaimed, putting on a microphone headset. He hooked it up to his speakers and turned them on. "Hoi, Zechs, Noin! Can you guys hear me!"
After narrowly missing another swipe from Deathscythe, Noin stopped in her tracks. "Huh?" she blinked. "Was that Duo?"
"Forget about me and Wu-man for a moment!" Duo yelled out. "There's a lone mobile doll at Zechs' six. It's transmitting a signal that's controlling us. Ya' gotta take it out, fast!"
"Zechs!" Noin called out.
"I'm on it." Milliardo replied, whipping out his beam saber. With one fell swoop, Tallgeese III cut the doll in question into two neat pieces. He then zipped away as it blew up. "That takes care of that."
Shenlong and Deathscythe's eyes, which had been glowing white, turned back to the normal green as they ceased their assault on Andromeda.
"Thank goodness." Noin smiled, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry we had to rough you up there, Noin." Duo grinned, appearing on her monitor, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"It wasn't your fault, Duo." she smiled. "You couldn't help it."
"True," Duo laughed. "Let's just think of it as a practice run before the real fun begins."
"Idiot." Wufei muttered. Just then, his console beeped, indicating another attacker. "Zechs, behind you!"
Milliardo looked up to see the main Scorpio Gundam coming down on top of him. Before he could react, however, Arch Angel came in out of nowhere and rammed into Scorpio from the side. Both Gundams fell to the ground not too far away.
Moments later, Heavyarms and Sandrock Kai touched down along with Hilde and Sally's mobile suits.
Seeing Arch Angel plow into Scorpio, Hilde gasped. "Relena!" she cried out.
All heads turned to her. "RELENA??" six people cried out in disbelief.
"Sorry…" Hilde smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it, Hilde," a voice from Arch Angel replied gently. "They were going to find out sooner or later."
"No way…" Duo blinked. "That's you, 'Jousan?"
"I'm afraid so." Relena smiled softly, appearing on the others' monitors
"You mean to tell me that my little sister is the mystery Gundam pilot??" Milliardo bellowed, his eyes threatening to pop out of his skull.
"Um, surprise?" Relena joked. Milliardo wasn't laughing. Wasting no more time, Relena lifted Arch Angel back into a standing position, and then proceeded to take out all of the remaining mobile dolls.
"I can't believe it!" Duo was still stunned. "She's smoking mobile dolls almost as fast as Heero."
"I'm no Perfect Soldier," Relena replied, turning her suit back towards them. "But I am perfectly capable of piloting Arch Angel and any other mobile suit." A low muttering could be heard from Tallgeese III. Before Milliardo could even open his mouth to express his opinion on the matter, Relena beat him to it. "Onii-sama, before you say anything," she cut him off. "I want you to know that I did this on my own. I wasn't forced into it, I wasn't kidnapped and brainwashed into some soulless fighting machine, I am piloting Arch Angel of my own free will. I made this decision."
"In error in your judgment, I'm sure." Everyone looked up to see the Scorpio Gundam floating above them with four or five mobile doll escorts.
"Looks like you didn't get'em all, Jousan." Duo said.
"An error I'll soon rectify." Relena replied, narrowing her eyes. Arch Angel raised its crossbow, preparing tofire.
Naya snarled at disgust as Arch Angel appeared on her monitor. Her eyes filled with hatred. "You won't defeat me so easily." She spat. "I refuse to be defeated!" With that, she whipped out a beam cannon and fired at the Gundams.
"Everyone, scatter!" Quatre called out as everyone jumped out of the way. As they did so, a small squad of mobile dolls appeared out of nowhere, heading towards the city.
"Don't worry, we'll stop them!" Hilde called out as she and Sally took off in pursuit.
"Now for us to take care of you." Milliardo replied, addressing Scorpio.
Naya laughed out loud. "Ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "Don't think for a minute that you have a chance of defeating me just because you outnumber me! Fools! I'll crush you all like insects! The Dark Claw will destroy the Cinq Kingdom!"
"Then you'll have to destroy me first!" Relena flew towards Scorpio with Arch Angel, her scimitar in hand. However, three ofher mobile dolls blocked her path, firing at her.
"Relena!" Milliardo cried out as Arch Angel went plummeting downwards.
Though stunned, Relena received no damage. She turned on her verniers and hovered in the air before hitting the ground.
"Well, it seems as though the new addition to the merry band of fools wishes to fight." Naya mused as Arch Angel came at her again. "Very well then, let's give them what they want." With that, two of the mobile dolls came forward, the Omega jammers on their tails activated.
"Oi, Ojousan!" Duo called out to no avail. "Watch out!" The dreaded beam of white light emitted from their tails, hitting Arch Angel head on.
"Relena, no!" Milliardo cried out, flying in with Tallgeese III. It seemed as though in a blink of an eye, Arch Angel, with its eyes glowing white, wheeled around, knocking the mobile suit back with the flat side of its sword. The suit flew backwards, colliding with Deathscythe, knocking both suits to the ground.
Quatre's eyes went wide with shock. "Wha-what just happened?" he asked, horrified.
"It's those dolls!" Wufei explained. "They're equipped with some sort of mechanism that can override our systems."
"You're kidding…"
"I wish…" Duo said, strain in his voice. "Those things pack a wallop."
"Are you two all right?" Trowa asked.
"We won't be until we destroy those two dolls." Milliardo replied. "There's no way we can fight Arch Angel. We'd risk hurting Relena."
"Right!" Noin nodded, as Andromeda, HeavyArms, SandRock fired at one of the dolls, obliterating it.
"One down…" Trowa began.
"One togo." Noin finished, taking out her beam saber as she headed towards the second. However, Arch Angel blocked off her path.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Laughter came from Scorpio. "I do believe Arch Angel is the most efficient suit out of your whole lot seeing since it's never been destroyed." Naya appeared on the pilots' monitors. "I'll let you in on a secret. My Scorpio and Arch Angel are based off of the same prototype."
"What are you babbling about?" Milliardo snapped irritably. With his sister being used as a shield for Scorpio, he was powerless to do anything. He knew that Naya was well aware of this.
"During the war, the five scientists that created the Gundams were recruited by OZ to make new, advanced mobile suits." Naya replied. "They created the Mercurius and the Vayeate, programmed with the fighting ability of a Gundam Pilot. However, these dolls were destroyed in space. The next type to come along were the Virgo mobile dolls, equipped with the technology of the destroyed Mercurius and Vayeate-"
"We know all of this!" Wufei snapped. "What's your point!"
"I'm getting there." Naya grinned, aware that she was starting to get under their skin. "But I suppose I am wasting time telling you what you don't know. Perhaps I should get to what you don't know."
"Such as?" Quatre asked calmly.
"You probably already know that while the scientists were creating mobile dolls forOZ, they were reconstructing the DeathScythe and Atlong Gundams." Maya went on. "However, what you don't know, is that they created two new Gundams as well."
"Scorpio and Arch Angel I presume?" Noin frowned.
"But of course." Naya answered. "However, they were only prototypes then. When the White Fang came in, they commandeered the Scorpio, in hopes of using it against the Earth Sphere."
"To recreate Operation Meteor." Milliardo growled. "Why wasn't I…?"
"Only Quinze was told." Naya answered simply. "He was under the orders of Dekim Barton to withhold that information from you. After all, why did you need to know? You already had the Epyon Gundam. Scorpio was merely meant to be a back up, in case you decided to betray us."
"'Us'?" Milliardo blinked. "You were a member of the White Fang?"
"Of course." Naya replied smugly. "Who else do you think they would have found worthy to pilot Scorpio." Milliardo snorted. "So, as you now know, Scorpio has an interesting history. With its power within my possession, I will be able to succeed where OZ, White Fang, and the Barton Foundation has failed."
"You're pretty confident in yourself." Duo frowned, forcing Deathscythe to its feet. "How do we know you're not alltalk?"
"A fascinating piece of machinery," Naya mused, ignoring his comment as she observed Arch Angel, who still stood battle-poised in front of the otherGundams. "Cast from the same mold as my dear Scorpio. Small, built for speed, very efficient. No doubt the suits themselves are equals. Yet I am sure, we have yet to see its full capabilities." With that, she smirked for all the others to see. "I say we find out, shall we?" With a flick of a switch, Arch Angel flew forward at full speed.
"Whoa,watch it!" Quatre yelled out as he narrowly missed being plowed into the ground. "Relena, snap out of it!"
"She can't hear ya, Q-man!" Duo called out. "Scorpy's got complete control over her systems. We gotta get rid of the doll!"
"But we can't get to the doll as long as Relena's in the way!" As Arch Angel continued its assault, the mobile doll transmitting the Omega Jammer remained safely behind her.
"We cannot risk hurting Relena." Milliardo replied. "We've just got to stay out of her way."
"There is no escape." Naya replied. As she spoke, Arch Angel flew up into the air, its scimitar raised high. An eerie glow formed around the weapon, pulsing brighter and brighter until light seemed to flick off of it like bolts of electricity.
"What in Jingoku is that??" Duo gaped.
"Gundanium technology at its best." Naya answered. "Prepare to meet your death." With that, Arch Angel brought the scimitar down, splitting the ground in an earth-shattering explosion. The light from the sword rippled off like a pulse wave, tearing ripping up the ground surrounding it.
Quatre's eyes went wide in horror. "Shimatta…" Similar expressions could be seen on the other pilots' faces as well.
The explosion that occurred could be heard from miles around, lighting up the sky in a nuclear-like explosion.
~End of Chapter 13~