IF you are reading those notes at the beginning of the chapters, don't pay attention to them b/c some of them are old; I don't know how they got there. Read on and review, por favor.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, but I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns.
Chapter 22 - DreadScythe HELL
Tre awoke, the loud alarm ringing nonstop in his ears, signaling him to change his air tank. He saw that he was still strapped in his seat. How did this happen? He looked about him and saw darkness, save for a small window that overlooked his position from two stories up. He unbuckled and turned the helmet lights on. He kicked off the floor toward the light. He had no recollection of where he was, why he was here, or how he got here. When he got to the light, he looked in and saw a face looking back at him. A very familiar face, one with a gray pencil thin mustache. The face smiled, the wizened visage wrinkling. It was Doctor X, whom pointed the way to the airlock.
Tre nodded, and went on his way. He reached the airlock, heard the hiss of pressurizing air, and then removed his helmet. The air felt strange, probably because it was old and rarely used. Tre entered the second door, to greet the squat doctor.
"Doctor X," Tre said.
"Tre," Dr. X replied. "It has been six months since I sent you on that mission. And you returned with the Sailor Scouts. Intere-"
"Look," Tre cut him short. "I don't have time to chat about that. I need to know what the Hell happened when we left."
"You don't want to know," the doctor advised. "Trust me."
"Doctor X," Tre said vehemently. "Don't pull this bullshit on me now. What happened? Where is my family? What the FUCK IS GOING ON!?!"
"CALM DOWN, LADDY!!!" the doctor bellowed. "You want to know, I'll tell yeh! After you left, the British finally realized that the Gundam attacks were stopping after the disappearance of their cruiser. The princess found out that Shawn was on that cruiser and demanded that her father conquer the rest of the colonies until she found yer family. Once she did, she besieged the colony by putting a blockade on it. The citizens were starving, and yer mum and dad gave in. They couldn't stand to see the rest of the citizens suffer at their expense.
"Once they were captured, the British tortured yer dad and Nikki. They finally told them that you were the new Gundam pilot and had no idea where you were. They were later released into the public again, doing God knows what with no family business left to run. As fer the rest of yer family, yer mum, being with child fer five months now, and the rest of yer siblings stayed in hiding. Even now, they are within the bowels of this very colony. I can't let you see them, because the British are still looking fer yer body."
Tre held his tears back. His mom...pregnant and hiding. This was all his fault. He didn't even have a Gundam left to fight with. Plus, Mina was on that shuttle and they were probably being hunted right now. Tre was blinking back his tears before they could fall, but it was a losing battle. He bent over, trying to regain his composure but ended up letting it go. He let all the anger, hurt, and frustration loose. His eyes were burst dams, letting forth the floodwaters that overflowed the rivers of his emotions. He screamed out in anger, kicking in the bottom panel of the control console. He threw his helmet at the wall, then went over and punched that same wall, a hole appeared as a result. Tre just crumbled to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. But he even rejected those, for he knew that he killed many with those hands. He hated being alive, he hated everything about himself, and he hated life.
'Why can't I just make it stop?' he thought.
Drying his eyes and calming himself down, he looked the doctor straight in the eyes and said,
"I need a new Gundam."
"Well, that was obvious!" the doctor laughed.
"Don't mock me, doctor," Tre growled.
"Not mocking," Dr. X said. "Just that the fact your ejection seat brought you here is because I made it bring you here. I have to give you a new Gundam: DreadScythe HELL."
"Come again?"
"DreadScythe HELL," Dr. X said slowly. "Totally improved and better than its predecessor. Come look."
The small window became a large one as Doctor X pressed a control. The large hangar lights burned to life, showing what looked like DreadScythe standing there. Only it wasn't DreadScythe; it looked more dangerous than a DreadScythe.
The machine looked more like a beefed-up metallic giant wearing a sleeveless trench coat. The Gundam sported the same hairstyle as the DreadScythe, the same brow rings, but the goatee was a charcoal gray color instead of the traditional red. Furthermore, the suit looked more like it had skin rather than armor. The exposed chest was finely chiseled and muscular looking, and underneath the ripped eight-pack, all bulging muscles black against the charcoal gray skin. The once black pants on the legs were just that (still baggy style) stopped at mid-shin by black combat boots. The arms of the Gundam again had a toned, muscular look with bulging biceps, deltoids, and large forearms. The forearms still had the black, trapezoidal prism arm blade pacs with the powder blue hemispheres and all. (AN: If you have trouble envisioning the arm blade pacs, think of what a brick of gold would look like. Then, take that, narrow it, and stick it on a forearm.) The hands were wrapped in black, fingerless gloves, the gray fingers visible from just past the middle knuckle on each finger. The propulsion system consisted of four (that's right, four) of the same wings used on the last DreadScythe. They were positioned to like an X (AN: Look at the wings on the soldier on Linkin Park's album cover).
The weaponry assembled on the Gundam included the arm blades, another beam scythe, a two-barreled version of DreadScythe's old beam cannon, the infamous sword, and a pair of Uzi's. Tre was astounded, and confused. This Gundam didn't look too armored and therefore, weak.
"Doctor X," Tre asked. "Where is the Neo-Gundanium armor?"
"It's on there," the doctor responded.
"Where?" Tre asked. "It just looks like it has a thin skin on it."
"That's the beauty of it!" Dr. X said excitedly. "The armor is the skin! I found a way to make the Neo-Gundanium armor like a skin, yet stronger than ever! You see how it looks like there is a muscular look to this Gundam? Well, like real muscle, the more you work the Gundam, the stronger and beefier it gets. The mechanisms used on the older Gundams were bulky and unnecessary. So I found a way to imitate the human body and yet make this the strongest Gundam ever! What do you think, lad?"
"Doctor X," Tre said.
"Uh huh?" the doctor waited.
"You're out of your mind," Tre said. "That thing will get me killed in no time, I mean look at it! If it really does imitate the human body, then bullets will pass right through it and destroy it."
"You're missin' the point, lad," Dr. X persuaded. "The armor is the skin and the armor is two times lighter than the previous Neo-Gundanium, meaning that you'll be able to move faster, especially with four rocket wings! Now, come on!"
Tre sighed, then gave in, "All right!"
"Great!" Dr. X yelled. "Oh, I forgot teh tell yeh! This Gundam's trench coat is also another layer of armor, but it can open into demon wings that span almost 150 yards! Plus, you get the Hyper Stealth II featured on this Gundam. This technology allows you to completely cloak yourself and any other Gundams that you touch with yours when using the Hyper Stealth II. You become invisible on radar, infrared, and even to the naked eye."
"Anything else?" Tre muttered under his breath.
"AYE!! You get to create an energy blast that is over ten times more destructive than a hydrogen bomb explosion! Of course, you'd have to self-destruct."
"Well, I knew this thing had to have a drawback," Tre sighed. "By the way, you have a spare air tank?"
"Aye," the doctor said. Tre was bursting his enthusiasm about his latest creation. But, he knew that Tre would definitely say no if he knew about the Shadow System.
~Flashback~
"Doctor X," Dr. J said heavily. "The Shadow System plans are just too much for the human mind to handle. Even the Zero System might be too much! I'll be surprised if Heero can handle it, let alone master it."
"You must understand," Dr. X pleaded his case. "This system could change the existence of peace for good! I am confident that Tre could handle the stresses of the Shadow Sys-"
"DO YOU REALIZE THAT THIS SYSTEM IS TEN TIMES MORE POWERFUL, RESPONSIVE, AND NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS!?!" Doctor G roared.
"Gentlemen," Dr. X continued. "I have tested the system on myself and have not been affected by its neuro-impulse stimuli! It is completely safe! I assure you!"
The rest of the doctors seemed to ponder this. They knew that Doctor X was a good man and had no intention of harming the human race with this cockpit system, but the Zero System alone drove the test subjects to the point of insanity and many into mental vegetables. Why would they let this man put a system ten times more potent into this young boy's Gundam? Dr. J spoke.
"Doctor X, for now, just leave the Shadow System out of the DreadScythe's cockpit interface. Should Tre need such powerful battle tactic data in the future, then you may install it. But for our sakes, leave it out."
"Aye," the doctor answered his colleague.
~End Flashback~
"Hello?" Tre waved his hand in front of the doc's face.
"I'm here," Dr. X said, snapping out of it.
"Good," Tre said. "I'll take the new DreadScythe. I just need a new tank."
"Oh, right."
Doctor X gave Tre a new tank, full of fresh air. Tre wrenched the empty tank out and replaced it with the new one. He then picked up his helmet and proceeded to the airlock.
"Hey Doc," Tre said through the opened visor.
"Hm?"
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Ah, 'tis a boy!"
"Sweet!"
The door slid shut, and so did Tre's visor. The room was vacated of any gases and Tre stepped out of the outer door and flew around toward the opened cockpit door of the DreadScythe HELL. He sat in the comfortable new cockpit seat, and then remembered Mina's stuff was still strapped to the back of the other seat. He brought the Gundam to life, the controls all where they were remembered to have been. Slowly, he walked the Gundam toward the old seat, then stopping when it was at its feet.
Tre lowered himself with the cable to retrieve the large and overstuffed duffel bag from the back of the ejected seat. He then rode the cable back up into the cockpit and stashed the bag behind his new seat. He then closed the door, bringing the front view screen to life. He saw that the Gundam was heading toward the large, jagged opening in the colonial wheel. Tre, being the speed-junkie he is, opened the throttle wide only to find himself flattened like a pancake against the seatback. He was amazed at the force these four rockets generated. Then, DreadScythe HELL left the forgotten colony and set a course for its shuttle.
Unbeknownst to Tre, the avionics behind him were whirring to life. A set of four racks labeled 'Shadow System' came to life, on standby. A black tinge wound its way around the all the cockpit monitors' borders.
Tre let loose a whoop of victory as he spotted his shuttle, then he hailed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe he's gone," Mina sobbed. "And-and-and we j-j-just found each other again."
"Look at it like this," Pyrone soothed. "He's gone to a better place."
"Who has?" a cheery voice rang out over the shuttle comm.
Mina slowly raised her head from her knees and looked at the speaker that uttered those words. Her face suddenly brightened, as she knew the voice that spoke those words. She shrieked Tre's name and he answered back,
"Mina! Hey baby! You all right?"
"I'm fine now that you're alive!" she screamed. "Where are you?"
"Right outside the shuttle, honey," he said. "See me?"
The group all took a place at the front window. They saw a DreadScythe that was foreign to them, one with a muscular body and wearing a huge sleeveless trench coat. What was this thing? They all saw it with their own eyes...the explosion.
The pods doors were opening for DreadScythe HELL like the arms of a waiting parent for their child. The new Gundam settled inside the large pod, waiting for the clamshell doors to shut around it. Once they did, Tre exited his new Gundam and pressurized the pod. He removed his helmet and opened the door to the shuttle cabin. But he found himself tackled back into the pod by Mina, who hugged Tre tightly. She was still crying, afraid that she might have lost Tre for good that time. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, smiling. He just smiled back as they floated backward toward DreadScythe HELL. He slowly pulled her face toward his; kissing her with all the love he had in his heart. They bumped softly against the DreadScythe HELL, still wrestling with their tongues. Tre stroked Mina's soft golden tresses, letting his gloved fingers lose themselves in her perfect mane.
She released herself long enough to say, "You and I are going to celebrate your resurrection."
"Uh huh," Tre said. He could read her thoughts and he was all for it. "Wait until we're in my room, OK, babe?"
"Mm hmm," she said, kissing him again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the time, the group celebrated Tre's rebirth. They partied the best they could with freeze-dried food and plastic sealed beverages. They danced in Zero G, enjoying the moment with their friends. Then, Mina pulled Tre away from the action to his room. She flung him inside, locked the door, and started to unzip her spacesuit alluringly. Underneath, she had been wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. Slowly, she removed her shirt, revealing the thin white brassiere that held the supple mounds Tre had dreamed of since last time he saw Mina. She then shook her hair free of the shirt and proceeded to unzip her jeans...very...slowly. This was killing Tre, so he got up and thrust his lips on hers, helping her to undo the zipper and button that held within Tre's desire. He slid her jeans down, then her undergarment. He then unhooked the bra, sending that over his head. Undoing his own spacesuit, he slipped out of it as Mina settled her nude form on his bed. He removed his black attire from underneath the spacesuit and soon was nude himself. He settled atop Mina, kissing her long and hard. Then, he slowly pushed himself inside her. And for the rest of the night, the quarters of Tre Young were never silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawn and Sven had cleaned themselves up and were on their way to meet with the king. Shawn had a plan and Sven was to be the assistant in this plan. Since Shawn didn't have the powers Sven had yet, he would need someone to have his back while he faced the king. Shawn planned on marrying Elizabeth tonight, and then killing the king so that he may become king himself. That was the plan, but they were going to see how well it would work. Sven was to keep the king from killing Shawn. They both entered the throne room. Coming to the bottom of the small flight of stairs, they bowed on their knees to the king and princess.
"Arise," the king said.
"Your majesty," Shawn said. "May I humbly introduce, Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect?"
"Your highness," Sven bowed deeply. "And princess."
"Lord Sven, it is true that you assisted Shawn in his homecoming, correct?" the king asked.
"Why, of course," Sven drawled. "Shawn and I are inseparable now. Like brothers, we are."
"Well, in that case, may I grant you lordship under our flag as well?"
"No, no need for that."
"Oh, but it is most necessary," the king insisted.
"Really, your majesty is too kind," Sven said, taking a knee.
"I dub thee, Lord Sven of the British Royalty."
"Thank you, my liege."
"My Lord," Shawn started. "I should request that your daughter and I should wed as soon as possible."
"What's the hurry?" the king asked. "I have a whole ceremony, reception planned afterward, and even the perfect honeymoon spot picked out for you two."
"How long?" Shawn asked.
"Within the next two days," Elizabeth answered. "Oh, Shawn, it will be wonderful! Fiji!"
'Oh shit,' Shawn thought. 'I can't kill him now!'
'Problem?' Sven's voice invaded Shawn's thoughts. 'I'm listening.'
'I can't kill him now,' Shawn thought in his head. He wasn't a telepath.
'Soon,' Sven said. 'After you are wed. Then, you can make me your High Lord and I'll kill the Sailor Scouts!'
Shawn decided to change the subject, "Majesty! I've killed Tre Young!"
"What did you say? That Tre Young is dead?" the king was astonished.
"Yes, my lord," Shawn grinned. "I've killed him with the Xonyx. His Gundam will never again haunt the Mobile Suit Division of the British Royalty."
"EXCELLENT!!!" the king cried out in glee. "THAT LITTLE BASTARD IS DEAD AND GONE FOREVER!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's see what is in the news for today!" Tre whispered happily.
The morning report would amuse him to no end. The first strong newscast he received was that of the British.
'What a surprise,' Tre thought glumly.
"It has been announced earlier today by the Royal Family that Tre Young, the heir to the Young family, has been killed in battle yesterday with the Royal Mobile suit Division. Jonathan Davidson is on site for the press conference called forth by his majesty, John?"
Tre's face suddenly became curious and amused. His mouth twisted into a smile and he started to laugh. The screen shifted to reveal the Royal Press Room. The king himself was addressing the press,
"It has been confirmed that Tre Young's death took place as a result of a battle that he partook in against our prestigious mobile suit pilots. The rumored pilot of the Gundam that threatened to unravel the tapestry woven between the colonies in peace, Young fought a losing battle and died by self-destructing his Gundam. His foolish actions should be remembered to all those who dare to oppose the British Royalty-"
Tre's laughter was too much to hear the news over and in fear of hearing something else that would make him laugh so hard as to piss himself again, so he shut the news off. This was too much! Him, dead. The British actually thought he was dead, when they were known for their impeccable search efforts. This was a good thing! This way, he knew that they were becoming more lax in their efforts and that him being dead gave him and the Gundams the advantage.
The laughter had awakened the rest of the shuttle's inhabitants from their peaceful slumber. When they saw the floating maniac laughing, they had one thing in mind: Kill him for waking them up. Pyrone was the most irritable of the group, therefore the more daring one to approach Tre. He grabbed the teen by the collar of his shirt. Tre stopped laughing and looked at his tired friend, then broke into a smile.
"Do you have any idea how early it is?" Pyrone croaked.
"Pyrone," Tre started sarcastically, "I am dead and no I haven't the conscious to realize how early it is because I'm six feet under th-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"Tre," Trista yawned. "You aren't dead but you almost were yesterday-"
"No," Tre argued. "The high and mighty British Royal Family has confirmed my death as of this morning and now I no longer exist. What they say goes, and so you better listen to them."
The Gundam pilots seemed to let this sink in. With Tre's new Gundam, and his being "dead" coming into the equation, they had the advantage on the battlefield. One Gundam could do the work of all seven just by showing up and destroying a few mobile suit squadrons. Then, the Mobile Suit pilots won't want to fight anymore because of the "Ghost of Tre" coming to haunt them and kill them. Tre spoke,
"I know how we can resurrect DreadScythe and strike some fear into the British."
"You have a plan?" Duo asked.
"Absolutely!" Tre said. "It's perfect!"
"Do tell, then," Heero requested.
Tre looked at all his fellow Gundam pilots, "Do any of you know about the Ghost Cluster?"
"They used to be colonies of the first generation," Trowa explained.
"Exactly! It's the perfect hiding place for any rebels, like the Gundams," Tre said.
"What are you getting at, Tre?" Pyrone asked.
"What I propose we do," Tre said, "is to trap the British. Suppose they received a distress transmission from that cluster and were sent to investigate. As they surveyed the wreckage, I would wait inside one of the hollowed out colonies until I flash the Gundam's eyes, attracting their attention.
"Then, they would have to check it out. Once they're all inside, you guys block their escape route and I'll break Hell loose on 'em. Once I've destroyed the majority, I'll let a few escape and tell their precious king what they saw.
"I get it," Heero said. "Then, the long-term end ensures that as word spreads about this massacre, the more fearful the mobile suit pilots are going to become."
"Then one by one, the British will lose control of the colonies as the pilots won't want to defend their king's cause," Wufei concluded.
"That's it," Tre praised. "You guys are really something."
The pilots agreed that this was a good plan. After they had some breakfast, and brushed their teeth (morning breath is killer!), they would put their plan into action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir, the patrols are going about without a hitch!" Ensign Daniels reported.
"Excellent, ensign," Shawn drawled. "It seems no one wants to oppose our mighty pilots, eh?"
"No one, indeed," Daniels laughed. "Should I carry on?"
"Please do, don't want to get you demoted."
"Sir! Uh, sir?"
"Hm?"
"Should I tell the tall bald guy outside or the tall girl?"
"It doesn't matter," Shawn said. "Neither can speak anyway."
"Sir!"
All morning, Shawn had been pushing papers, the most boring part of his job as Wing Commander. He was lucky to be promoted back to Wing Commander, but he despised the work he had to do. He was happy out there fighting. But, without the Gundams showing themselves after the incident with Tre, he was bored. No one resistance group decided to rise up and revolt anymore. If the Gundams couldn't handle the British, then how could these rebels even attempt it? And what's even more disappointing is that Tre hadn't really put up a good fight against his Xonyx. Almost as if it weren't even worth fighting anymore.
Shawn sighed as he rose from his chair. He was on his way toward the mobile suit hangar to join a patrol with his Xonyx when the alarms suddenly snapped on. The PA joined the blaring tones.
"Now hear this," the voice announced. "All Forty-fifth Division mobile suit pilots report to your battle stations, on the double. Wing Commander Shawn Chamberlain, report to he Gundam Xonyx at once. That is all."
Shawn bolted toward the mobile suit hangar from his office. Streaking past the tenants of the palace, he ran into several butlers and maids, knocking them down. He raced into the hangar, which was already launching mobile suits out of the racks that held them. The suits had to wait for all personnel to vacate the hangar before the large doors were to be opened. Shawn raced across the cavernous hangar, dodging the large feet of the walking machines. His personalized team awaited him at the foot of his Gundam. He yanked his spacesuit on as he reached them, asking for details about this sudden all call.
"Sir, there was a distress signal coming from the Ghost Cluster," an older soldier replied.
"What was it?" Shawn asked.
"Gundams, sir," a lieutenant told him.
"Was it our suits that made the transmission?" Shawn demanded.
"We aren't sure," the older soldier said. "But, they requested help."
"Helmet!" Shawn yelled.
He was handed the helmet, which he jammed on his head and locked it with his spacesuit collar. The air in his tank filled his helmet with fresh oxygen, and he held onto the cable that raised him to his cockpit. He swung himself in and strapped in while starting the Gundam up. He heard the warning to the personnel to clear the hangar. Shawn was ready and walked the Gundam to the front of the long line of mobile suits. He led them out of the hangar and toward the Ghost Cluster.
'This time,' Shawn thought. 'Your friends will meet you in the afterlife, Tre Young.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other six Gundams, prepping themselves for the attack, surrounded DreadScythe HELL. Tre had informed the other pilots of what his new Gundam was capable of. So, each Gundam was touched by DreadScythe HELL, each becoming invisible. Soon, it was just down to Neo Deathscythe and DreadScythe HELL.
"How do I look?" Dread seemed to ask Death. "Too cloaked?"
"No, you look fine," the smaller Gundam patted the larger one on the shoulder.
"Now, you're gone," Tre said.
Neo Deathscythe disappeared completely, cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Each of the other Gundams took their positions around the large holes of the colony while two stayed by the main entrance. The shuttle was hidden within another colony, also cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Tre was just loving this new Gundam; now to test its armor.
"Now remember, guys," Tre cautioned. "The Hyper Stealth only works until I stop using it myself. Once I do that, I have to cloak you guys all over again. Just so you know."
"Right," they said in unison.
"Tre," Trista's voice was heard on his intercom.
"What's up, Time-Waster?" Tre joked.
Trista tsked, then, "Something's coming."
"OK, radio blackout!" Tre advised. "No more transmissions."
Tre saw the large assembly of British mobile suits led by that new Gundam. Tre had DreadScythe HELL do a reading on that new Gundam. It was pretty much based on the same design as the old DreadScythe, save for it didn't have the wing-rocket combination and it had a spike sensor array atop its head. Tre had the DSH run a scan on the sensor array. The results were not good, for they showed that this array could detect heat, radar, and even sound vibrations. This sensitive sound detector could pick up even the slightest ping against metal. Tre slowly lowered the right arm of DreadScythe HELL to pick the beam cannon out of its holster. But, he decided that the cannon would attract too much attention with its enormous heat energy. He instead decided the sword would be better, so the DreadScythe HELL slowly drew the long weapon out if its sheath.
Tre flipped a special switch on each monitor to track the invisible Gundams. He saw each one all around him on the globe of a radar monitor. Deathscythe was seen out front, crouching like a tiger on a large piece of debris and ready to pounce when the time came. Each second that crawled by was an eternity of waiting for the Gundam pilots. They needed a victory here or there would be no victory for the war. Everything had to be pulled off perfectly; it was now or never.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My God," Shawn choked.
The utter chaos that must have ensued here to create this much debris from mobile suits. Each large piece of debris flew the British insignia on it, several bodies floated by in tattered spacesuits, and the large colony nearby was giving off a spooky vibration. This really was a ghostly cluster of colonies!
Something flashed in Shawn's front monitor, and it didn't look good. He called for the rest of the suits to follow him. Slowly he led his troops to the hollowed and damaged colony, proceeding slowly into it. All the suits were dwarfed by the sheer size of the colony, entering the large gash in the wheel. Shawn looked around carefully, inspecting each sensor for anything they might pick up. Then, the squealing crackle in the headsets invaded the cockpits of each British pilot. The ear-splitting sound was so loud that Shawn barely heard the words "ECM's" and "powerful" coming from one of his pilots. Then, out of nowhere, a faint white glow surrounded a silhouette of a huge winged demon with dreaded hair and wielding a large sword. Then, a black bladed beam scythe was ignited, sending the glow over the demon and its wings. Shawn's heart froze when he realized that it was the Gundam he had destroyed yesterday.
"RETREAT!!!" Shawn screamed. "RETREAT!!! RETREAT GODDAMN YOU ALL!!!"
The demon attacked the suits, destroying each one in less than half a second. The relentless fire on the part of the British mobile suits was futile, for each slug's explosion energy was absorbed into the armor of the demon, the slugs themselves bouncing off. The demon was fast, too fast to track and shoot at and it disappeared altogether. Soon, the enemy knew it was losing a battle it couldn't win and decided to retreat. But, from out of nowhere, gunfire sprayed them down, destroying them all. All the exits had this invisible offense and the enemy knew it was trapped. All around the colony, the darkness was alight by the recurring explosions of mobile suits.
The Xonyx was able to itself out of trouble and not get hit, even though the armor alone would withstand the barrage being delivered for a while. Shawn was scared, more scared than he had ever been and was about to become more panicked. The Gundam that he destroyed yesterday was back, so it had to have been a ghost. Well, like a ghost, it suddenly disappeared into thin air. He couldn't track it using the heat or radar. The sound sensor wouldn't be prudent at this point, what with all the explosions and whatnot. Soon, darkness enveloped the innards of the colony once again. Shawn saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape, and slowly allowed the Xonyx to make a sneaky exit. As Xonyx approached the large opening in which he entered the colony, a pair of shimmers produced themselves in front of Xonyx. Shawn thought nothing of them and continued to exit, checking on a reading. As his vision skated back toward the forward monitor, he spied the angry face of a Gundam directly in front of his, and he let forth a blood-curdling scream as the Gundam stopped his. He was being contacted by an outside source, and he was stupid enough to answer it.
"Attention pilot of the unidentified Gundam," a cold and deep voice spoke. "You are alone and outnumbered and I suggest that you hand over your weapons or suffer a gruesome death."
Xonyx handed the weapons over without complaint, and was held at gunpoint by the black Gundam accompanying the one it almost ran into. Then, the heat sensor found out that several more weapons still fresh from battle were pointed all about his Gundam. Shawn was extremely frightened at this point and was willing to cooperate with any request they made.
"What you are going to do is run a special mission for us," the voice continued. "You're going to tell your king that you were visited by the ghost of the Gundam you destroyed yesterday. And, if you don't start to free the colonies, he will come back to haunt your mobile suit division by destroying each and every one until there are no more pilots left for you to use. You will also tell how many died within the space of five minutes, the exact length of this battle, as a result of this ghost. Now, do you understand the instructions that have been given to you?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-ye-ye-yes-s-s-s-s-s," Shawn stammered nervously.
"Then get out of here," a new voice spoke.
Shawn searched the Gundams that in his front view, trying to fit the voice to one. He soon saw another shimmer as the demon appeared in front of the Xonyx. It looked just like the Gundam Shawn had battled yesterday and that scared him even worse as it disappeared like it had appeared: from out of thin air. The other Gundams looked at Xonyx like they were saying, "Didn't I tell you so?"
Shawn was shaking uncontrollably and could barely move the controls with enough precision to move out of the colony safely. The Gundams had to drag him out of the colony and send him on his way. Even still, his control of the Gundam was jerky, so Neo Wing Zero blasted a small shot to get him working again. It worked and Shawn was out of the Ghost cluster in no time flat.
DreadScythe HELL reappeared within the ring of Gundams and took its place among them. Tre spoke to them all once he found out what he was going to say.
"Well, guys," he started. "I've just secured us seven manned suits of the British in case we might need them again for something like this."
"That's good," Duo said. "Tre, I've been wonderin', where did you get all this British wreckage from? Was it just laying around somewhere?"
"Actually, yeah," Tre answered. "It was just floating around here and so I just guided it over here and had it strewn all over the place. It was from when the British attacked this colony because it was a home base for a resistance movement not too long ago."
"Interesting," Trowa mused.
"What do you say we head back?" Quatre suggested.
"I'm up for that!" Pyrone announced. "Let's get the Hell out of here."
The seven Gundams all fired their rockets and left for the shuttle's hiding place to restock and reload, plus the pilots needed to get some well-deserved R&R.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawn was heading back to his colony at an incredible rate of speed, and he wasn't slowing down even as he got nearer to the hangar. He only started slowing down when he was just outside the hangar door. The force of this action slammed him against his straps, slowing down just in time to not wreck the hangar or the Gundam. The Gundam was slow enough, and it started to walk to where its designated spot was. Shawn immediately got out of the Gundam, taking the cable ride down and sprinting toward the airlock. Once he got out of the airlock, he tore off his helmet and made a mad dash for the throne room to report what he just saw. He burst in and started to say things all at once,
"YOURMAJESTYTHEGHOSTOFTHEGUNDAMIDESTROYEDYESTERDAYDESTROYEDTHEENTIREBATTALIONANDIWASTHEONLYSURVIVORANDTHEYTOLDMETHATI," he took another breath, "WASSUPPOSEDTOTELLALLOTHERBRITISHMOBILESUITPILOTSTHATTHEYWOULDDESTROYEACHANDEVERYONCEOFUS!!!!!!!"
The king sat there stunned, "What did you just say?"
"Shawn," Elizabeth soothed. "It's all right, we're here and you're safe."
Shawn breathed, "OK."
"Now," she said, "tell us everything that happened slowly."
"I was investigating a distress call that we received just moments before we launched at the Ghost Cluster," Shawn explained. "Then, I saw a flash of light inside one of the colonies and decided to investigate it with the entire battalion. As we went inside, a demon appeared out of nowhere and started to attack. I had sounded retreat, but it was too late. I hid the Xonyx behind a large building within the colony, watching the battle unfold. Our pilots fought bravely but each was destroyed as they tried to escape or fight the menace. It seemed all the escape routes were blocked off by a ghost themselves-"
"You mean to tell me," the king wondered. "That the ghost of this Gundam you destroyed came back to destroy the entire fleet you took with you?"
"I'm telling you, your majesty," Shawn pleaded. "I saw it with my own eyes; one minute it was there, the next it disappeared into thin air!"
"My God," the king laughed. "You actually believe it was a ghost!"
"What the Hell else could it be?" Shawn raised his voice. "What else could it be?"
"You watch your tone with me," the king threatened.
"I apologize, majesty," Shawn said. "But, it is urgent that we hold our grip on the colonies, for this ghost will surely take them back."
"Not if I can help it," the king said. "Messenger! Contact Dr. Theo Reigns and ask him what he can construct for me on his Space Wasps for detecting a "ghost" on their scopes."
"Sire," the messenger bowed. He then left the throne room.
"Shawn," the king waved him over. "Come."
Shawn approached the king, and then bowed on one knee. The king lifted Shawn's face up to look at him. Shawn didn't know what to expect from this, but it was either very good or very bad. Lucky for him, it was a good thing. The king gave him a pure gold ring with a rather large diamond atop it, then whispered,
"You must be engaged to someone before you are to wed them, correct?"
"Yes," Shawn replied. "You want me to...?"
The king nodded. Shawn then stood up and took a knee by Elizabeth, taking up her left hand, and looking her straight in the eyes, he asked her,
"Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? That I may hold you and love you for the rest of my life?"
She was overcome by emotions as she said, "Yes."
Shawn then slid the ring onto her left ring finger. Her eyes were flooding with tears and she stood to hug him. The king shed a tear of joy that his daughter was so happy about this man. Maybe he was worthy for something.
Well, how about that? What do y'all think of the new DreadScythe? You like? You hate? Tell me what you think of the plot thus far and how you like the characters or the story in general.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, but I do own Tre Young/Sailor Universe and Pyrone Reigns.
Chapter 22 - DreadScythe HELL
Tre awoke, the loud alarm ringing nonstop in his ears, signaling him to change his air tank. He saw that he was still strapped in his seat. How did this happen? He looked about him and saw darkness, save for a small window that overlooked his position from two stories up. He unbuckled and turned the helmet lights on. He kicked off the floor toward the light. He had no recollection of where he was, why he was here, or how he got here. When he got to the light, he looked in and saw a face looking back at him. A very familiar face, one with a gray pencil thin mustache. The face smiled, the wizened visage wrinkling. It was Doctor X, whom pointed the way to the airlock.
Tre nodded, and went on his way. He reached the airlock, heard the hiss of pressurizing air, and then removed his helmet. The air felt strange, probably because it was old and rarely used. Tre entered the second door, to greet the squat doctor.
"Doctor X," Tre said.
"Tre," Dr. X replied. "It has been six months since I sent you on that mission. And you returned with the Sailor Scouts. Intere-"
"Look," Tre cut him short. "I don't have time to chat about that. I need to know what the Hell happened when we left."
"You don't want to know," the doctor advised. "Trust me."
"Doctor X," Tre said vehemently. "Don't pull this bullshit on me now. What happened? Where is my family? What the FUCK IS GOING ON!?!"
"CALM DOWN, LADDY!!!" the doctor bellowed. "You want to know, I'll tell yeh! After you left, the British finally realized that the Gundam attacks were stopping after the disappearance of their cruiser. The princess found out that Shawn was on that cruiser and demanded that her father conquer the rest of the colonies until she found yer family. Once she did, she besieged the colony by putting a blockade on it. The citizens were starving, and yer mum and dad gave in. They couldn't stand to see the rest of the citizens suffer at their expense.
"Once they were captured, the British tortured yer dad and Nikki. They finally told them that you were the new Gundam pilot and had no idea where you were. They were later released into the public again, doing God knows what with no family business left to run. As fer the rest of yer family, yer mum, being with child fer five months now, and the rest of yer siblings stayed in hiding. Even now, they are within the bowels of this very colony. I can't let you see them, because the British are still looking fer yer body."
Tre held his tears back. His mom...pregnant and hiding. This was all his fault. He didn't even have a Gundam left to fight with. Plus, Mina was on that shuttle and they were probably being hunted right now. Tre was blinking back his tears before they could fall, but it was a losing battle. He bent over, trying to regain his composure but ended up letting it go. He let all the anger, hurt, and frustration loose. His eyes were burst dams, letting forth the floodwaters that overflowed the rivers of his emotions. He screamed out in anger, kicking in the bottom panel of the control console. He threw his helmet at the wall, then went over and punched that same wall, a hole appeared as a result. Tre just crumbled to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. But he even rejected those, for he knew that he killed many with those hands. He hated being alive, he hated everything about himself, and he hated life.
'Why can't I just make it stop?' he thought.
Drying his eyes and calming himself down, he looked the doctor straight in the eyes and said,
"I need a new Gundam."
"Well, that was obvious!" the doctor laughed.
"Don't mock me, doctor," Tre growled.
"Not mocking," Dr. X said. "Just that the fact your ejection seat brought you here is because I made it bring you here. I have to give you a new Gundam: DreadScythe HELL."
"Come again?"
"DreadScythe HELL," Dr. X said slowly. "Totally improved and better than its predecessor. Come look."
The small window became a large one as Doctor X pressed a control. The large hangar lights burned to life, showing what looked like DreadScythe standing there. Only it wasn't DreadScythe; it looked more dangerous than a DreadScythe.
The machine looked more like a beefed-up metallic giant wearing a sleeveless trench coat. The Gundam sported the same hairstyle as the DreadScythe, the same brow rings, but the goatee was a charcoal gray color instead of the traditional red. Furthermore, the suit looked more like it had skin rather than armor. The exposed chest was finely chiseled and muscular looking, and underneath the ripped eight-pack, all bulging muscles black against the charcoal gray skin. The once black pants on the legs were just that (still baggy style) stopped at mid-shin by black combat boots. The arms of the Gundam again had a toned, muscular look with bulging biceps, deltoids, and large forearms. The forearms still had the black, trapezoidal prism arm blade pacs with the powder blue hemispheres and all. (AN: If you have trouble envisioning the arm blade pacs, think of what a brick of gold would look like. Then, take that, narrow it, and stick it on a forearm.) The hands were wrapped in black, fingerless gloves, the gray fingers visible from just past the middle knuckle on each finger. The propulsion system consisted of four (that's right, four) of the same wings used on the last DreadScythe. They were positioned to like an X (AN: Look at the wings on the soldier on Linkin Park's album cover).
The weaponry assembled on the Gundam included the arm blades, another beam scythe, a two-barreled version of DreadScythe's old beam cannon, the infamous sword, and a pair of Uzi's. Tre was astounded, and confused. This Gundam didn't look too armored and therefore, weak.
"Doctor X," Tre asked. "Where is the Neo-Gundanium armor?"
"It's on there," the doctor responded.
"Where?" Tre asked. "It just looks like it has a thin skin on it."
"That's the beauty of it!" Dr. X said excitedly. "The armor is the skin! I found a way to make the Neo-Gundanium armor like a skin, yet stronger than ever! You see how it looks like there is a muscular look to this Gundam? Well, like real muscle, the more you work the Gundam, the stronger and beefier it gets. The mechanisms used on the older Gundams were bulky and unnecessary. So I found a way to imitate the human body and yet make this the strongest Gundam ever! What do you think, lad?"
"Doctor X," Tre said.
"Uh huh?" the doctor waited.
"You're out of your mind," Tre said. "That thing will get me killed in no time, I mean look at it! If it really does imitate the human body, then bullets will pass right through it and destroy it."
"You're missin' the point, lad," Dr. X persuaded. "The armor is the skin and the armor is two times lighter than the previous Neo-Gundanium, meaning that you'll be able to move faster, especially with four rocket wings! Now, come on!"
Tre sighed, then gave in, "All right!"
"Great!" Dr. X yelled. "Oh, I forgot teh tell yeh! This Gundam's trench coat is also another layer of armor, but it can open into demon wings that span almost 150 yards! Plus, you get the Hyper Stealth II featured on this Gundam. This technology allows you to completely cloak yourself and any other Gundams that you touch with yours when using the Hyper Stealth II. You become invisible on radar, infrared, and even to the naked eye."
"Anything else?" Tre muttered under his breath.
"AYE!! You get to create an energy blast that is over ten times more destructive than a hydrogen bomb explosion! Of course, you'd have to self-destruct."
"Well, I knew this thing had to have a drawback," Tre sighed. "By the way, you have a spare air tank?"
"Aye," the doctor said. Tre was bursting his enthusiasm about his latest creation. But, he knew that Tre would definitely say no if he knew about the Shadow System.
~Flashback~
"Doctor X," Dr. J said heavily. "The Shadow System plans are just too much for the human mind to handle. Even the Zero System might be too much! I'll be surprised if Heero can handle it, let alone master it."
"You must understand," Dr. X pleaded his case. "This system could change the existence of peace for good! I am confident that Tre could handle the stresses of the Shadow Sys-"
"DO YOU REALIZE THAT THIS SYSTEM IS TEN TIMES MORE POWERFUL, RESPONSIVE, AND NOT TO MENTION DANGEROUS!?!" Doctor G roared.
"Gentlemen," Dr. X continued. "I have tested the system on myself and have not been affected by its neuro-impulse stimuli! It is completely safe! I assure you!"
The rest of the doctors seemed to ponder this. They knew that Doctor X was a good man and had no intention of harming the human race with this cockpit system, but the Zero System alone drove the test subjects to the point of insanity and many into mental vegetables. Why would they let this man put a system ten times more potent into this young boy's Gundam? Dr. J spoke.
"Doctor X, for now, just leave the Shadow System out of the DreadScythe's cockpit interface. Should Tre need such powerful battle tactic data in the future, then you may install it. But for our sakes, leave it out."
"Aye," the doctor answered his colleague.
~End Flashback~
"Hello?" Tre waved his hand in front of the doc's face.
"I'm here," Dr. X said, snapping out of it.
"Good," Tre said. "I'll take the new DreadScythe. I just need a new tank."
"Oh, right."
Doctor X gave Tre a new tank, full of fresh air. Tre wrenched the empty tank out and replaced it with the new one. He then picked up his helmet and proceeded to the airlock.
"Hey Doc," Tre said through the opened visor.
"Hm?"
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Ah, 'tis a boy!"
"Sweet!"
The door slid shut, and so did Tre's visor. The room was vacated of any gases and Tre stepped out of the outer door and flew around toward the opened cockpit door of the DreadScythe HELL. He sat in the comfortable new cockpit seat, and then remembered Mina's stuff was still strapped to the back of the other seat. He brought the Gundam to life, the controls all where they were remembered to have been. Slowly, he walked the Gundam toward the old seat, then stopping when it was at its feet.
Tre lowered himself with the cable to retrieve the large and overstuffed duffel bag from the back of the ejected seat. He then rode the cable back up into the cockpit and stashed the bag behind his new seat. He then closed the door, bringing the front view screen to life. He saw that the Gundam was heading toward the large, jagged opening in the colonial wheel. Tre, being the speed-junkie he is, opened the throttle wide only to find himself flattened like a pancake against the seatback. He was amazed at the force these four rockets generated. Then, DreadScythe HELL left the forgotten colony and set a course for its shuttle.
Unbeknownst to Tre, the avionics behind him were whirring to life. A set of four racks labeled 'Shadow System' came to life, on standby. A black tinge wound its way around the all the cockpit monitors' borders.
Tre let loose a whoop of victory as he spotted his shuttle, then he hailed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe he's gone," Mina sobbed. "And-and-and we j-j-just found each other again."
"Look at it like this," Pyrone soothed. "He's gone to a better place."
"Who has?" a cheery voice rang out over the shuttle comm.
Mina slowly raised her head from her knees and looked at the speaker that uttered those words. Her face suddenly brightened, as she knew the voice that spoke those words. She shrieked Tre's name and he answered back,
"Mina! Hey baby! You all right?"
"I'm fine now that you're alive!" she screamed. "Where are you?"
"Right outside the shuttle, honey," he said. "See me?"
The group all took a place at the front window. They saw a DreadScythe that was foreign to them, one with a muscular body and wearing a huge sleeveless trench coat. What was this thing? They all saw it with their own eyes...the explosion.
The pods doors were opening for DreadScythe HELL like the arms of a waiting parent for their child. The new Gundam settled inside the large pod, waiting for the clamshell doors to shut around it. Once they did, Tre exited his new Gundam and pressurized the pod. He removed his helmet and opened the door to the shuttle cabin. But he found himself tackled back into the pod by Mina, who hugged Tre tightly. She was still crying, afraid that she might have lost Tre for good that time. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, smiling. He just smiled back as they floated backward toward DreadScythe HELL. He slowly pulled her face toward his; kissing her with all the love he had in his heart. They bumped softly against the DreadScythe HELL, still wrestling with their tongues. Tre stroked Mina's soft golden tresses, letting his gloved fingers lose themselves in her perfect mane.
She released herself long enough to say, "You and I are going to celebrate your resurrection."
"Uh huh," Tre said. He could read her thoughts and he was all for it. "Wait until we're in my room, OK, babe?"
"Mm hmm," she said, kissing him again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the time, the group celebrated Tre's rebirth. They partied the best they could with freeze-dried food and plastic sealed beverages. They danced in Zero G, enjoying the moment with their friends. Then, Mina pulled Tre away from the action to his room. She flung him inside, locked the door, and started to unzip her spacesuit alluringly. Underneath, she had been wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. Slowly, she removed her shirt, revealing the thin white brassiere that held the supple mounds Tre had dreamed of since last time he saw Mina. She then shook her hair free of the shirt and proceeded to unzip her jeans...very...slowly. This was killing Tre, so he got up and thrust his lips on hers, helping her to undo the zipper and button that held within Tre's desire. He slid her jeans down, then her undergarment. He then unhooked the bra, sending that over his head. Undoing his own spacesuit, he slipped out of it as Mina settled her nude form on his bed. He removed his black attire from underneath the spacesuit and soon was nude himself. He settled atop Mina, kissing her long and hard. Then, he slowly pushed himself inside her. And for the rest of the night, the quarters of Tre Young were never silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawn and Sven had cleaned themselves up and were on their way to meet with the king. Shawn had a plan and Sven was to be the assistant in this plan. Since Shawn didn't have the powers Sven had yet, he would need someone to have his back while he faced the king. Shawn planned on marrying Elizabeth tonight, and then killing the king so that he may become king himself. That was the plan, but they were going to see how well it would work. Sven was to keep the king from killing Shawn. They both entered the throne room. Coming to the bottom of the small flight of stairs, they bowed on their knees to the king and princess.
"Arise," the king said.
"Your majesty," Shawn said. "May I humbly introduce, Lord Sven Cadgrade of the Dark Sect?"
"Your highness," Sven bowed deeply. "And princess."
"Lord Sven, it is true that you assisted Shawn in his homecoming, correct?" the king asked.
"Why, of course," Sven drawled. "Shawn and I are inseparable now. Like brothers, we are."
"Well, in that case, may I grant you lordship under our flag as well?"
"No, no need for that."
"Oh, but it is most necessary," the king insisted.
"Really, your majesty is too kind," Sven said, taking a knee.
"I dub thee, Lord Sven of the British Royalty."
"Thank you, my liege."
"My Lord," Shawn started. "I should request that your daughter and I should wed as soon as possible."
"What's the hurry?" the king asked. "I have a whole ceremony, reception planned afterward, and even the perfect honeymoon spot picked out for you two."
"How long?" Shawn asked.
"Within the next two days," Elizabeth answered. "Oh, Shawn, it will be wonderful! Fiji!"
'Oh shit,' Shawn thought. 'I can't kill him now!'
'Problem?' Sven's voice invaded Shawn's thoughts. 'I'm listening.'
'I can't kill him now,' Shawn thought in his head. He wasn't a telepath.
'Soon,' Sven said. 'After you are wed. Then, you can make me your High Lord and I'll kill the Sailor Scouts!'
Shawn decided to change the subject, "Majesty! I've killed Tre Young!"
"What did you say? That Tre Young is dead?" the king was astonished.
"Yes, my lord," Shawn grinned. "I've killed him with the Xonyx. His Gundam will never again haunt the Mobile Suit Division of the British Royalty."
"EXCELLENT!!!" the king cried out in glee. "THAT LITTLE BASTARD IS DEAD AND GONE FOREVER!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's see what is in the news for today!" Tre whispered happily.
The morning report would amuse him to no end. The first strong newscast he received was that of the British.
'What a surprise,' Tre thought glumly.
"It has been announced earlier today by the Royal Family that Tre Young, the heir to the Young family, has been killed in battle yesterday with the Royal Mobile suit Division. Jonathan Davidson is on site for the press conference called forth by his majesty, John?"
Tre's face suddenly became curious and amused. His mouth twisted into a smile and he started to laugh. The screen shifted to reveal the Royal Press Room. The king himself was addressing the press,
"It has been confirmed that Tre Young's death took place as a result of a battle that he partook in against our prestigious mobile suit pilots. The rumored pilot of the Gundam that threatened to unravel the tapestry woven between the colonies in peace, Young fought a losing battle and died by self-destructing his Gundam. His foolish actions should be remembered to all those who dare to oppose the British Royalty-"
Tre's laughter was too much to hear the news over and in fear of hearing something else that would make him laugh so hard as to piss himself again, so he shut the news off. This was too much! Him, dead. The British actually thought he was dead, when they were known for their impeccable search efforts. This was a good thing! This way, he knew that they were becoming more lax in their efforts and that him being dead gave him and the Gundams the advantage.
The laughter had awakened the rest of the shuttle's inhabitants from their peaceful slumber. When they saw the floating maniac laughing, they had one thing in mind: Kill him for waking them up. Pyrone was the most irritable of the group, therefore the more daring one to approach Tre. He grabbed the teen by the collar of his shirt. Tre stopped laughing and looked at his tired friend, then broke into a smile.
"Do you have any idea how early it is?" Pyrone croaked.
"Pyrone," Tre started sarcastically, "I am dead and no I haven't the conscious to realize how early it is because I'm six feet under th-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"Tre," Trista yawned. "You aren't dead but you almost were yesterday-"
"No," Tre argued. "The high and mighty British Royal Family has confirmed my death as of this morning and now I no longer exist. What they say goes, and so you better listen to them."
The Gundam pilots seemed to let this sink in. With Tre's new Gundam, and his being "dead" coming into the equation, they had the advantage on the battlefield. One Gundam could do the work of all seven just by showing up and destroying a few mobile suit squadrons. Then, the Mobile Suit pilots won't want to fight anymore because of the "Ghost of Tre" coming to haunt them and kill them. Tre spoke,
"I know how we can resurrect DreadScythe and strike some fear into the British."
"You have a plan?" Duo asked.
"Absolutely!" Tre said. "It's perfect!"
"Do tell, then," Heero requested.
Tre looked at all his fellow Gundam pilots, "Do any of you know about the Ghost Cluster?"
"They used to be colonies of the first generation," Trowa explained.
"Exactly! It's the perfect hiding place for any rebels, like the Gundams," Tre said.
"What are you getting at, Tre?" Pyrone asked.
"What I propose we do," Tre said, "is to trap the British. Suppose they received a distress transmission from that cluster and were sent to investigate. As they surveyed the wreckage, I would wait inside one of the hollowed out colonies until I flash the Gundam's eyes, attracting their attention.
"Then, they would have to check it out. Once they're all inside, you guys block their escape route and I'll break Hell loose on 'em. Once I've destroyed the majority, I'll let a few escape and tell their precious king what they saw.
"I get it," Heero said. "Then, the long-term end ensures that as word spreads about this massacre, the more fearful the mobile suit pilots are going to become."
"Then one by one, the British will lose control of the colonies as the pilots won't want to defend their king's cause," Wufei concluded.
"That's it," Tre praised. "You guys are really something."
The pilots agreed that this was a good plan. After they had some breakfast, and brushed their teeth (morning breath is killer!), they would put their plan into action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir, the patrols are going about without a hitch!" Ensign Daniels reported.
"Excellent, ensign," Shawn drawled. "It seems no one wants to oppose our mighty pilots, eh?"
"No one, indeed," Daniels laughed. "Should I carry on?"
"Please do, don't want to get you demoted."
"Sir! Uh, sir?"
"Hm?"
"Should I tell the tall bald guy outside or the tall girl?"
"It doesn't matter," Shawn said. "Neither can speak anyway."
"Sir!"
All morning, Shawn had been pushing papers, the most boring part of his job as Wing Commander. He was lucky to be promoted back to Wing Commander, but he despised the work he had to do. He was happy out there fighting. But, without the Gundams showing themselves after the incident with Tre, he was bored. No one resistance group decided to rise up and revolt anymore. If the Gundams couldn't handle the British, then how could these rebels even attempt it? And what's even more disappointing is that Tre hadn't really put up a good fight against his Xonyx. Almost as if it weren't even worth fighting anymore.
Shawn sighed as he rose from his chair. He was on his way toward the mobile suit hangar to join a patrol with his Xonyx when the alarms suddenly snapped on. The PA joined the blaring tones.
"Now hear this," the voice announced. "All Forty-fifth Division mobile suit pilots report to your battle stations, on the double. Wing Commander Shawn Chamberlain, report to he Gundam Xonyx at once. That is all."
Shawn bolted toward the mobile suit hangar from his office. Streaking past the tenants of the palace, he ran into several butlers and maids, knocking them down. He raced into the hangar, which was already launching mobile suits out of the racks that held them. The suits had to wait for all personnel to vacate the hangar before the large doors were to be opened. Shawn raced across the cavernous hangar, dodging the large feet of the walking machines. His personalized team awaited him at the foot of his Gundam. He yanked his spacesuit on as he reached them, asking for details about this sudden all call.
"Sir, there was a distress signal coming from the Ghost Cluster," an older soldier replied.
"What was it?" Shawn asked.
"Gundams, sir," a lieutenant told him.
"Was it our suits that made the transmission?" Shawn demanded.
"We aren't sure," the older soldier said. "But, they requested help."
"Helmet!" Shawn yelled.
He was handed the helmet, which he jammed on his head and locked it with his spacesuit collar. The air in his tank filled his helmet with fresh oxygen, and he held onto the cable that raised him to his cockpit. He swung himself in and strapped in while starting the Gundam up. He heard the warning to the personnel to clear the hangar. Shawn was ready and walked the Gundam to the front of the long line of mobile suits. He led them out of the hangar and toward the Ghost Cluster.
'This time,' Shawn thought. 'Your friends will meet you in the afterlife, Tre Young.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other six Gundams, prepping themselves for the attack, surrounded DreadScythe HELL. Tre had informed the other pilots of what his new Gundam was capable of. So, each Gundam was touched by DreadScythe HELL, each becoming invisible. Soon, it was just down to Neo Deathscythe and DreadScythe HELL.
"How do I look?" Dread seemed to ask Death. "Too cloaked?"
"No, you look fine," the smaller Gundam patted the larger one on the shoulder.
"Now, you're gone," Tre said.
Neo Deathscythe disappeared completely, cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Each of the other Gundams took their positions around the large holes of the colony while two stayed by the main entrance. The shuttle was hidden within another colony, also cloaked by the Hyper Stealth II. Tre was just loving this new Gundam; now to test its armor.
"Now remember, guys," Tre cautioned. "The Hyper Stealth only works until I stop using it myself. Once I do that, I have to cloak you guys all over again. Just so you know."
"Right," they said in unison.
"Tre," Trista's voice was heard on his intercom.
"What's up, Time-Waster?" Tre joked.
Trista tsked, then, "Something's coming."
"OK, radio blackout!" Tre advised. "No more transmissions."
Tre saw the large assembly of British mobile suits led by that new Gundam. Tre had DreadScythe HELL do a reading on that new Gundam. It was pretty much based on the same design as the old DreadScythe, save for it didn't have the wing-rocket combination and it had a spike sensor array atop its head. Tre had the DSH run a scan on the sensor array. The results were not good, for they showed that this array could detect heat, radar, and even sound vibrations. This sensitive sound detector could pick up even the slightest ping against metal. Tre slowly lowered the right arm of DreadScythe HELL to pick the beam cannon out of its holster. But, he decided that the cannon would attract too much attention with its enormous heat energy. He instead decided the sword would be better, so the DreadScythe HELL slowly drew the long weapon out if its sheath.
Tre flipped a special switch on each monitor to track the invisible Gundams. He saw each one all around him on the globe of a radar monitor. Deathscythe was seen out front, crouching like a tiger on a large piece of debris and ready to pounce when the time came. Each second that crawled by was an eternity of waiting for the Gundam pilots. They needed a victory here or there would be no victory for the war. Everything had to be pulled off perfectly; it was now or never.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My God," Shawn choked.
The utter chaos that must have ensued here to create this much debris from mobile suits. Each large piece of debris flew the British insignia on it, several bodies floated by in tattered spacesuits, and the large colony nearby was giving off a spooky vibration. This really was a ghostly cluster of colonies!
Something flashed in Shawn's front monitor, and it didn't look good. He called for the rest of the suits to follow him. Slowly he led his troops to the hollowed and damaged colony, proceeding slowly into it. All the suits were dwarfed by the sheer size of the colony, entering the large gash in the wheel. Shawn looked around carefully, inspecting each sensor for anything they might pick up. Then, the squealing crackle in the headsets invaded the cockpits of each British pilot. The ear-splitting sound was so loud that Shawn barely heard the words "ECM's" and "powerful" coming from one of his pilots. Then, out of nowhere, a faint white glow surrounded a silhouette of a huge winged demon with dreaded hair and wielding a large sword. Then, a black bladed beam scythe was ignited, sending the glow over the demon and its wings. Shawn's heart froze when he realized that it was the Gundam he had destroyed yesterday.
"RETREAT!!!" Shawn screamed. "RETREAT!!! RETREAT GODDAMN YOU ALL!!!"
The demon attacked the suits, destroying each one in less than half a second. The relentless fire on the part of the British mobile suits was futile, for each slug's explosion energy was absorbed into the armor of the demon, the slugs themselves bouncing off. The demon was fast, too fast to track and shoot at and it disappeared altogether. Soon, the enemy knew it was losing a battle it couldn't win and decided to retreat. But, from out of nowhere, gunfire sprayed them down, destroying them all. All the exits had this invisible offense and the enemy knew it was trapped. All around the colony, the darkness was alight by the recurring explosions of mobile suits.
The Xonyx was able to itself out of trouble and not get hit, even though the armor alone would withstand the barrage being delivered for a while. Shawn was scared, more scared than he had ever been and was about to become more panicked. The Gundam that he destroyed yesterday was back, so it had to have been a ghost. Well, like a ghost, it suddenly disappeared into thin air. He couldn't track it using the heat or radar. The sound sensor wouldn't be prudent at this point, what with all the explosions and whatnot. Soon, darkness enveloped the innards of the colony once again. Shawn saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape, and slowly allowed the Xonyx to make a sneaky exit. As Xonyx approached the large opening in which he entered the colony, a pair of shimmers produced themselves in front of Xonyx. Shawn thought nothing of them and continued to exit, checking on a reading. As his vision skated back toward the forward monitor, he spied the angry face of a Gundam directly in front of his, and he let forth a blood-curdling scream as the Gundam stopped his. He was being contacted by an outside source, and he was stupid enough to answer it.
"Attention pilot of the unidentified Gundam," a cold and deep voice spoke. "You are alone and outnumbered and I suggest that you hand over your weapons or suffer a gruesome death."
Xonyx handed the weapons over without complaint, and was held at gunpoint by the black Gundam accompanying the one it almost ran into. Then, the heat sensor found out that several more weapons still fresh from battle were pointed all about his Gundam. Shawn was extremely frightened at this point and was willing to cooperate with any request they made.
"What you are going to do is run a special mission for us," the voice continued. "You're going to tell your king that you were visited by the ghost of the Gundam you destroyed yesterday. And, if you don't start to free the colonies, he will come back to haunt your mobile suit division by destroying each and every one until there are no more pilots left for you to use. You will also tell how many died within the space of five minutes, the exact length of this battle, as a result of this ghost. Now, do you understand the instructions that have been given to you?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-ye-ye-yes-s-s-s-s-s," Shawn stammered nervously.
"Then get out of here," a new voice spoke.
Shawn searched the Gundams that in his front view, trying to fit the voice to one. He soon saw another shimmer as the demon appeared in front of the Xonyx. It looked just like the Gundam Shawn had battled yesterday and that scared him even worse as it disappeared like it had appeared: from out of thin air. The other Gundams looked at Xonyx like they were saying, "Didn't I tell you so?"
Shawn was shaking uncontrollably and could barely move the controls with enough precision to move out of the colony safely. The Gundams had to drag him out of the colony and send him on his way. Even still, his control of the Gundam was jerky, so Neo Wing Zero blasted a small shot to get him working again. It worked and Shawn was out of the Ghost cluster in no time flat.
DreadScythe HELL reappeared within the ring of Gundams and took its place among them. Tre spoke to them all once he found out what he was going to say.
"Well, guys," he started. "I've just secured us seven manned suits of the British in case we might need them again for something like this."
"That's good," Duo said. "Tre, I've been wonderin', where did you get all this British wreckage from? Was it just laying around somewhere?"
"Actually, yeah," Tre answered. "It was just floating around here and so I just guided it over here and had it strewn all over the place. It was from when the British attacked this colony because it was a home base for a resistance movement not too long ago."
"Interesting," Trowa mused.
"What do you say we head back?" Quatre suggested.
"I'm up for that!" Pyrone announced. "Let's get the Hell out of here."
The seven Gundams all fired their rockets and left for the shuttle's hiding place to restock and reload, plus the pilots needed to get some well-deserved R&R.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shawn was heading back to his colony at an incredible rate of speed, and he wasn't slowing down even as he got nearer to the hangar. He only started slowing down when he was just outside the hangar door. The force of this action slammed him against his straps, slowing down just in time to not wreck the hangar or the Gundam. The Gundam was slow enough, and it started to walk to where its designated spot was. Shawn immediately got out of the Gundam, taking the cable ride down and sprinting toward the airlock. Once he got out of the airlock, he tore off his helmet and made a mad dash for the throne room to report what he just saw. He burst in and started to say things all at once,
"YOURMAJESTYTHEGHOSTOFTHEGUNDAMIDESTROYEDYESTERDAYDESTROYEDTHEENTIREBATTALIONANDIWASTHEONLYSURVIVORANDTHEYTOLDMETHATI," he took another breath, "WASSUPPOSEDTOTELLALLOTHERBRITISHMOBILESUITPILOTSTHATTHEYWOULDDESTROYEACHANDEVERYONCEOFUS!!!!!!!"
The king sat there stunned, "What did you just say?"
"Shawn," Elizabeth soothed. "It's all right, we're here and you're safe."
Shawn breathed, "OK."
"Now," she said, "tell us everything that happened slowly."
"I was investigating a distress call that we received just moments before we launched at the Ghost Cluster," Shawn explained. "Then, I saw a flash of light inside one of the colonies and decided to investigate it with the entire battalion. As we went inside, a demon appeared out of nowhere and started to attack. I had sounded retreat, but it was too late. I hid the Xonyx behind a large building within the colony, watching the battle unfold. Our pilots fought bravely but each was destroyed as they tried to escape or fight the menace. It seemed all the escape routes were blocked off by a ghost themselves-"
"You mean to tell me," the king wondered. "That the ghost of this Gundam you destroyed came back to destroy the entire fleet you took with you?"
"I'm telling you, your majesty," Shawn pleaded. "I saw it with my own eyes; one minute it was there, the next it disappeared into thin air!"
"My God," the king laughed. "You actually believe it was a ghost!"
"What the Hell else could it be?" Shawn raised his voice. "What else could it be?"
"You watch your tone with me," the king threatened.
"I apologize, majesty," Shawn said. "But, it is urgent that we hold our grip on the colonies, for this ghost will surely take them back."
"Not if I can help it," the king said. "Messenger! Contact Dr. Theo Reigns and ask him what he can construct for me on his Space Wasps for detecting a "ghost" on their scopes."
"Sire," the messenger bowed. He then left the throne room.
"Shawn," the king waved him over. "Come."
Shawn approached the king, and then bowed on one knee. The king lifted Shawn's face up to look at him. Shawn didn't know what to expect from this, but it was either very good or very bad. Lucky for him, it was a good thing. The king gave him a pure gold ring with a rather large diamond atop it, then whispered,
"You must be engaged to someone before you are to wed them, correct?"
"Yes," Shawn replied. "You want me to...?"
The king nodded. Shawn then stood up and took a knee by Elizabeth, taking up her left hand, and looking her straight in the eyes, he asked her,
"Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? That I may hold you and love you for the rest of my life?"
She was overcome by emotions as she said, "Yes."
Shawn then slid the ring onto her left ring finger. Her eyes were flooding with tears and she stood to hug him. The king shed a tear of joy that his daughter was so happy about this man. Maybe he was worthy for something.
Well, how about that? What do y'all think of the new DreadScythe? You like? You hate? Tell me what you think of the plot thus far and how you like the characters or the story in general.