Commanding Officer Mel
Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual.
Author's note – And anything in it is in Romanji or Pinyin and base Cantonese. Read And Review!
Time: August 31st, 8:00 am
Place: OS University: Main Campus
"What?"
"I said, do you wanna be my
roomie?" Sami asked, as Mel stood slightly stunned.
" . . ."
"Stupid!" She smacked him across the face with her hand. "Can you even hear me!?"
"Gah! Wha? Oh . . .sorry."
"Stupid!
Now, are you or not?"
" . . ."
"He's gonna." Sonja said. "I've already signed up with Andy!"
"You heard that? Good! Let's go Mel!"
"Why do I always end up getting screwed like this?" Mel muttered to himself. Sighing, he plodded after her.
Time: Perhaps a week later . . .
Place: University . . ."Dammit, class is soo boring . . ." Mel said, his forehead currently pasted against the desktop.
"Mel, are you even listening?"
"Sami . . .I've been passing with high marks for the last year, it's not like you need to listen to half the things they teach you. The only reason we're here is so that we're legally allowed to be in the military."
" . . ."
"And the other reason we have firearms and weapons is that . . .we just do."
"Say . . .Mel are those things even registered?"
"What do you think?"
"Yeah?"
"Exactly." He muttered from his desk. "I'm expecting to get another sword though."
"Really?"
"It's supposed to come next year . . ."
"Ooh."
"So, how's the past week been treating you?"
"Why are you asking me that? I've been in the same dorm as you for the past week."
"Yeah, and all you do is wake me up by sitting on my back when I'm half asleep."
"It works though."
"Blah. Ugh, is it necessary to just sit around and learn about the physics and mechanics of tanks and other units?" Mel groaned again.
"Say . . .where are the others? "
"Their classes are scheduled differently from ours, remember? We'll meet up with them at lunch." Sighing, he turned to see another red haired girl sitting next to him, scribbling down notes furiously. 'Eh? Who might that be? Ah, who cares? She seems way too tall . . .'
Time: 12:00 p.m. Lunchbreak
Place: Cafeteria
Mel resumed his position of sitting at the table and having his face planted on the surface of it.
"What's with him?"
"He said he was tired . . ."
"Do you think?"
"ARE YOU TWO THINKING PERVERTED THOUGHTS!?" Sami screamed at Gabe and Gary.
"Ah . . .no?"
"Good, or I'll smash you both into the ground."
"Eep . . .yes ma'am . . ."
"And don't call me that!" She then promptly whacked them with her book bag.
"What did we do to deserve such a beating?"
"Beats me, but I think we did deserve it for thinking like that."
"You two idiots, it's not worth pissing her off over your stupid theories. I'm tired cause she wakes me up at 5:00 so that we can get coffee . . ."
"And how much is that costing you?"
"400 G a cup . . ." Mel groaned.
"That much huh?"
"Yeah." Mel yawned, and reached for his wallet. "Eh?"
"What?" Andy asked, busily snarfing rice.
"My wallet's gone . . .DAMMIT!" He growled.
"Huh?"
"Just a sec." Mel stood up and ran into the busy crowd.
"What was all that about?" Sonja asked, as she sat down.
"I dunno. I think someone swiped Mel's wallet."
"Eh? Really?" Sami said, as she came back holding a tray of food. "That's no good. But the thing is . . .I have his wallet."
"!!!"
"Yeah, I took it from his bag before class was over."
"Hoo boy . . .you're in for an earful then." Gary said, watching closely as people were lifted up, shaken and dropped unceremoniously on the floor. "I'm surprised he doesn't make that many enemies by doing that . . ."
"No really?" Gabe said, "Mel is the scariest person I know. Anyway, he's held in such high regard, it's all right for him to do that sometimes . . ."
"Gah . . .no one had it . . ." Mel groaned as he slumped back into his seat.
"Um . . .Mel?"
"Yeah Sami?"
"Here . . ." She handed him something.
" . . .? You had it all along!?"
"Yeah . . .I took it during class. It wasn't even in your pocket . . ."
" . . .! WHAT!?" Mel was aghast.
"Anyway, I got lunch for both of us."
"Aw . . .isn't that sweet Gabe?" Gary asked.
"Yes, it is Gary." He replied with a sneer.
"IDIOTS!" Mel and Sami then smashed the two straight into the ground.
"Why us . . .?" The two groaned as Mel and Sami walked off to have their lunch . . .elsewhere.
Time: November 15, Saturday
Place: Mel's dorm
Two months passed quickly, and rather . . .boringly. As of now, you can see Mel lying face down on the couch, and Sami sitting on top of him.
"Mmph . . ."
"Hmm?"
"I said, 'Mmph . . .'"
Mel answered.
"So?"
"Why are you sitting on top
of me in your underwear?"
"It's Saturday, I'm tired and I don't
feeling like changing, and I have absolutely nothing better to do
than sit on you in my underwear."
". . .right." Mel
sighed.
"Mm hmm." She giggled.
"Could you go check if we have any mail?"
"Okay!" She hopped off his back and walked to the door. "Hmm . . .yeah, there's a bunch of stuff here." She said, picking it up from the ground.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, just some junk mail and . . .hey! They're holding a tournament for En fighting and there's some big prize. It's during next month!"
"That sounds interesting. But what's it all about? I saw posters a while ago . . ."
"Uh huh! And teams too! But . . . who are you going with?"
"Eh . . ."
"It's all right if you're not with me . . ." She said teasingly.
"Really?"
"I know how important it is for you to be teamed with the two nutcases."
"You mean it?"
"Of course I do." She said smiling. She leaned up to him and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Now I think I'll go back to bed or something."
"Eh . . .again?"
"Mm hmm. I really need to catch up on my sleep, the last few classes were murder . . ." She yawned.
"All right . . .but it's only twelve in the afternoon though." Mel said, trailing off. "What is with her?" He groaned. "Hmm . . .better call up the two then . . ." He walked off to grab his keys and left.
Time: Within the next hour
Place: Gabe and Gary's dorm
"Eh? That stupid thing?" Gabe said from his spot on his reversed chair. "You really want to enter it?"
"What's all this about?" Gary asked from the kitchen. "Tournament? Bah, is it worth getting beat up, or not beating everyone else to death?"
"Well judging from what I've gathered, it's a Wars World Wide tournament and basically, some big prize. It's international."
" . . .WHOA! This is big! Count me in for massive beat downs on everybody else!" Gabe said excitedly.
"Ah . . .this proves to be quite a task. I think I'm up to it." Gary said, walking out with a bowl of ramen noodles.
"All right, White Sun team is
assembled."
"Why the heck do we have to be the White Sun
team?" Gabe asked.
"Because I said so." Mel said,
stomping him into the ground.
"AUGH! AUGH! I GIVE! OKAY! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, STOP!!!" Gabe screamed as Mel was about to use 'unholy damage' techniques.
Time: November 22
Place: Mel's dorm
Another usual boring week of school had passed,
and it was time to spend another weekend at Mel's dorm. Andy and
Sonja finally managed to find some time in their busy study schedule
to come over.
"Are you two really studying so much?" Mel
asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I doubt that you'd bother to study Andy." Sami said, peering carefully at him through her glasses. "I could have sworn you were some incredible lazy idiot."
"I'm not that lazy!" Andy said.
"That is unfortunately true Andy. The only reason you've passed the last few assignments is because I stayed up and did them for you." Sonja said grumpily. There were a few circles forming under her eyes. "So there we go."
"Sonja-chan, did you hear about the tournament?" Mel asked.
"Yeah. Father did too. He's coming to join it. He 'agreed' to let me join with him and 'win' the tournament."
"How'd you manage that?"
"He knew all along that I was practicing and such, and I knew how he wouldn't pass up a chance to prove the greatness of Yellow Comet, blah, blah, blah, so I 'persuaded' him to let me team with him and 'show' everyone how great it is."
"So you have a team too, huh Sonja?" Sami asked. "That means . . ."
"I'll go with you Sami." Andy said. "We can find someone else too."
"That's nice of you Andy." She smiled, "Since a certain someone had to go with his friends." She said with a rather . . .sinister look.
"Uh . . ." Mel looked rather worried.
"Of course, I'm not holding it against you Mel." She said, giving him a silly grin.
" . . .phew."
"Why don't we ask Max or something? He seems to be a guy that can put up a fight." Andy suggested.
"Yeah, that's if you can convince him to not team with Rush and Squall." Mel said. "Good luck." He finished, sitting down next to her.
"Bleh, it can't be that hard with Eagle here. He's gonna team with them for the
'Storm Bringer' Team." Andy said.
"Ah ha! There we go Mel. We've got the Orange Star team!"
" . . .out of curiosity, is it just you and your father Sonja?" Mel asked.
"Yeah."
"You sure the two of you can last against teams of three?"
"Heehee! You don't know don't you? Father is a master swordsman. He'll take all comers."
"I hope your right Sonja . . ." Mel said, griping. "If you lose, don't come back crying to me though . . ."
"That's mean Mel!" Sami said, whacking him with a cushion and sending him flying to the other side of the room.
"Gah!"
"Either way, ignoring Mel here, we'll be sure to have fun while we're at it too. As long as we're not killing each other." Sami said.
"I beg to differ – urk!" Mel was about to argue that, but was silenced as a flying cushion aimed at his head met its mark.
"That takes care of him . . .anyway, let's go find Max, Andy!"
"Ooh . . .Mel? Are you all right?" Sonja said prodding him carefully.
"I will once I regain all my senses . . ." Mel groaned.
Time: December
Place: Main Campus
"Father!" Sonja said cheerfully, hugging Kanbei.
"Sonja!"
"Sir . . ." Mel bowed.
"Mel." Kanbei said in a similar manner.
"Ah yes. Meet my . . .friend Andy, daddy!" Sonja said, pulling the boy over.
"Uh . . .nice to meet you."
"Ah! You're Andy! You seem quite interesting."
"Uh . . .yeah."
"So this tournament is approaching I take it?"
"Well since you're here daddy, I think so."
"Indeed!"
"Um . . .right sir." Mel said getting relatively confused.
"Speaking of which . . ."
"But Mel didn't say anything daddy . . ."
"I mean this." Kanbei handed Mel a long package wrapped in cloth. "The master personally wanted to give it to you, but I insisted that I take it, as it was completed faster than he thought."
"Are you sure it's not shoddily constructed?" Mel asked, wary of the package.
"Of course not! I tested it!" Kanbei laughed. "I clove straight through the plating of a battleship!"
" . . .eep." Andy said from behind Sami.
"Hello uncle."
"Ah, Sami!"
"Yes, I see you've met my idiot cousin . . ."
"You mean he's your cousin!?"
"Yes
. . ." She sighed.
"I feel sorry that you have been teamed with him. I won't beat you two so badly if we have to face each other! Hohoho!"
" . . .right." Sami said rather dully. "I need some chocolate . . ."
"I'm right behind you Sami." Mel said going after her, dragging Andy along.
"Not so fast Mel." Sonja said, grabbing his arm.
"What!?"
"Let Andy go with her first, father wants to talk to you."
"Yes sir?"
"Ah . . .either way Mel, I believe you'll find the Origin much to your liking. Or should I call it the Seein-ken?"
"Either will be fine."
"Go ahead, take a look at it. It's a masterpiece."
"Hmm, I shall be the judge of that." Mel said, sliding apart the cloth wrappings and pulling out the sheathed blade. He stuck it in a third strap in his coat along with the D. Blade and Flat Brand. "Quite light . . ."
"Indeed, of the finest metals."
"I see . . ." Mel drew it out. At first glance, it was decorated with a black and gold handle, the White Sun insignia was etched on the hilt. The blade itself was a pale white, various markings and etchings marked across the metal. ". . .amazing." Mel breathed silently.
"Indeed it is."
"But how? How did he finish it so fast?"
"The master sensed something odd, and decided that this is to be finished as soon as possible. He himself hiked down the mountain to meet me at the Hot Springs. I had received a carrier pigeon and hurried there as soon as possible."
"Incredible . . .but does it . . .augh!" Mel dropped the blade as he felt a burst of En run up his right arm. " . . .What . . .what was that?"
"I . . .I have no idea."
"Bizarre . . ." Mel said, picking the blade back up and concealing it back in his coat.
"Mel-nii-chan, why did you place it in your jacket?" Sonja asked, curious, as he didn't hang it by his waist.
"Look." He reached with his left hand and drew back the left side, showing the three swords hanging there.
"Isn't that heavy?"
"And doesn't that off balance you?" Sonja finished.
"No . . .here." Mel drew back the right side as well, and three firearms hung there as well.
"Isn't the jacket itself heavy then?"
"Not incredibly. It's stitched with titanium alloy strands within it . . .being the only one left in my family, I've grown rather paranoid of being killed . . .that and utilizing En doesn't help at times."
"But you're the one of the youngest masters though." Sonja said.
"That as it may, it's bullet proof, fire proof, shock proof, crash proof and slash proof."
"Onii-chan must be really paranoid then."
"That and I can use it as a secondary weapon. It's reasonably heavy enough to slam someone into the ground with ease."
"Isn't that because of the other junk that's hidden inside?" Sonja said, going through the various pockets. "Let's see, guitar pick, iced coffee, candy, medicine, Band-Aids, money, munitions, thermos, pop, lint, nail-clipper, ointment, glue, pocket knife, sunglasses . . ." Sonja had gone through at least half the pockets in Mel's coat.
"Are you quite done yet?"
"Nope. Sewing kit, pencils, pens, ruler, eye glass cleaner, MP3 player, spare batteries . . .and a picture of Sami in a swimsuit!"
"HEY! THAT'S PERSONAL!" Mel yanked the photo out of Sonja's grasp and stuffed it in his wallet.
"Heehee!"
"Hmph." Mel sighed. "Hey . . .why is your hair done up in pigtails today?" Sonja quickly pulled him aside.
"Because daddy's here."
"Eh? Oh, right."
"You know, it's not too bad. I like it."
"But what about . . ."
"Never mind what I said last year. I did it because Andy said it was cute."
"Ah, the opinion of a numskull."
"He IS NOT a numskull."
"With the way he acts, it's hard to disprove." Mel said with a shrug.
"Ah, Sonja!" Her father's voice came.
"Yes?"
"Where am I to stay?"
" . . ." Sonja was speechless.
"Uh . . ." Mel gaped.
"Onii-chan!!! We need to find a place for daddy to stay!!!" Sonja said panicked.
"Why can't he . . .never mind. Bad idea in
general."
"Exactly!"
" . . .he's not
staying with me! Not with the way Sami dresses in the morning!" Mel
said, panicking as well.
"Wait . . .how about those two idiots?"
"Oh
you mean . . .them!?" Mel saw out of the corner of his eye and
spotted Gary and Gabe.
"Yes!"
"Great!" Mel ran headlong
at the two.
" . . .? HOLY!"
"CRAP!!!" They
managed as Mel clotheslined them straight into the ground.
"GAH!!!"
"What the heck was that for?"
"I
have a favor to ask . . ." Mel said gasping for air.
"After you just nailed us, no deal."
"It has to deal with his highness . . ."
"His highness?"
"Sonja's father
dolt!"
"OH!!! Whatever it is, we accept!"
"Good. He's staying with you two for the next week or so." Mel said, dragging their limp forms over to where Sonja and Kanbei were standing. "Sir, you may stay with my two friends." Mel said bowing deeply.
"Ah! Excellent! Though I would have preferred to stay with my darling Sonja, she has graciously told me that her roommate was sick, and that she was staying at your room."
"Uh . . .okay." Mel quickly pulled Sonja
aside. "WHAT!?"
"It was the best I could do on short
notice, sorry nii-chan . . ." Sonja whispered back to him.
" . . .fine. Ahem. Now would you two so kindly take him to your room?"
"Sure thing!" The two dashed off without anything further to say.
"Problem solved. Now you can snuggle all day long with Andy . . ."
"I can't. No 'close' contact until
daddy's gone."
"I see. Well then . . .I'll be off.
Sami's probably waiting for me." He ran off in the opposite
direction and left Sonja with her father's luggage.
" . . .HEY! Just my luck . . ." She moaned as she began lugging the two heavy bags towards her father's current quarters.
Time: Mid-December, 8:00 am
Place: Mel's roomTournament preparations were beginning shortly. Mel sat on his bed sorting out the various things in jacket. He tossed out the various unused contents, lessening the weight in his jacket.
"This has to go, so does this, and this . . ."
"How the heck can you fit so much crap in your coat Mel?" Sami asked, peering in. Her hair was straying over her face and she inattentively pushed it away from her forehead.
"Many, many pockets." Mel said, finally shaking out everything. "That's better. Three swords, and three guns."
"Overkill much?" She asked, looking at the white jacket. She plunked herself onto his bed and peered carefully. "What's this?" She asked, examining some odd looking straps and buckles inside Mel's coat.
"Hmm?"
"Here." She pointed at the
swords.
"Oh. That's like a sheath for the swords. It's hidden nicely in my coat when I fight. You pull it out, and strike and immediately sheath it. Well that's my fighting style anyway."
"That's interesting." Sami said, clinging onto his back. "We still have a two more days."
"Yeah . . ."
"What do you think is gonna happen?"
"Another fiasco?"
"More or less."
Sami said indifferently. She knew one thing, if you're with Mel or
Andy, something weird is bound to happen.
"I hope not though."
"Yeah . . ." She hugged him tightly. "Mmm . . .good luck huh?"
"Yeah . . ."
"I don't wanna fight you if I have to, you know?"
"Neither do I . . ."
"Hmm . . ." She rested her head on his shoulder and breathed loudly. "What a tournament this will be."
" . . .say, out of curiosity, are you still in your PJs?"
"Yep."
"I figured."
"How?"
"You sound like you're
still half asleep."
"I just woke up, showered, and then was gonna go back to bed, but noticed you were up to something so I came in."
"That's nice of you."
"Don't we have classes today though?" She yawned.
"It's the middle of December silly. We're on holiday again. The tournament would be easier to hold during the holidays too."
"Ooh, silly me! Right!" She sat on top of his
bed and peered at him. "Do you think I look better with or without
my glasses?"
"Without."
"How about my
hair?"
"Long."
"My chest?"
" . .
.I'm not gonna answer that question." Mel said, reddening
slightly.
"Darn! Almost had you." She laughed.
"How
about this? Do I look better with or without
glasses?"
"With."
"Hair?"
"Short."
"Damn.
Scars or none?" He said softly.
" . . .what?"
"You
haven't seen my scars yet, have you?"
" . . .no."
"You wouldn't want to . . ." He sighed, taking a seat next to her. "I've got too many to count."
"Poor you." She said patting him comfortingly. "Anyway, good luck in the tournament. But I won't go easy on you if we get matched up."
"I wouldn't expect anything less of you." He said, hugging her. "Now let's go!" He got up, tucking away his weapons into his coat.
"Yeah! See you in the finals Mel."
"I promise you that!" With that, the two walked out hand in hand towards the tournament hall.
Time: 9:00 am
Place: OS U Outdoor Sports Arena
Nell and Grit sat at the head table with the other officer's starting the various commentary on the tournament.
"Well here is the first and foremost Destructive En tournament at Orange Star University this year!"
"That's right Nell, and isn't this a sight?"
"You bet Grit! I'm surprised to see so many people gathered here to watch their friends and family duke it out!" Nell said. Of the 1000 or so students at OS U, most of them sat in the stands cheering on their friends. Various people from all over Orange Star had gathered to the capital to watch this 'spectacle' of martial arts, Destructive En and weapon handling. Even people from Green Earth and Yellow Comet had come overseas to watch their countries' heroes take on Orange Star.
"Well darlin' there's the bearded one, standing over yonder getting ready to start the battle!"
"Yes, Commander Olaf is ready, along with Orange Star's former command, Hachi to start out today's battles."
"Well with all that goin on, we might as well go over some of the teams."
"Indeed we will!"
"Well first thing's first. We got the Orange Star team, the Firestorm team, Yellow Comet team, White Sun team, Dragon team, Orochi team, Falcon team, Serpent team, Sword team, Blaze team and the Gun team! Hehe!" Grit chuckled.
"So, there we have it! A various crew of students of Destructive En taking each other on to prove their worth!" Nell said.
"That, and we'll need to go over the rules!" Grit said. "As you can see on the wide screen monitor, all of our fighters are fitted with a special pin like this, that gives us vital statistics of how much stamina, or life, and adrenaline, or En Super meters."
"Also, the usage of En weapons is allowed, as long as they don't kill each other. All battles are to be one on one, unless there are some sort of extenuating circumstances, more than 2 fighters can get into the arena."
"And usually there are."
"Anyway, here come the fighters!"
"Yeah, and look at the commotion they're causing!" Grit said, trying to plug his ears and scream into the microphone at the same time.
"Well, Green Earth's favorite, Eagle is the leader of the Firestorm team, with Commanders Rush and Squall, the Emperor of Yellow Comet himself has made it, along with his daughter, and Orange Star is being led by Max and two other students. The rest of our teams are made up of various students of the university, but here seems to be one of the more famous . . ."
"Or infamous ones." Grit added.
" . . .I guess. The White Sun team, led by Mel and his cohorts."
"Yeah, that's infamous."
'Zip!' Something sharp flew by Grit's face.
"Eh!? My cigarette!" He groaned, as he saw only the stub left in his mouth. "Dammit!"
"Uh . . .Grit, you're not supposed to curse when announcing." Nell said.
"Whatever darling, let's leave this to Commander Olaf and Hachi!"
A wave of applause filled the air and the attention was focused to the center figures of the table.
"Good day everybody! And I hope you're ready for the one of the greatest events in Orange Star!"
"Yep. That and plenty of butt-kicking and explosions!"
"Anyway, we're proud to announce that the tournament is to begin, now!"
Cheers and clapping filled the air as vid screen of the various contenders walking onto the field.
Time: ???
Place: ???
"Hmm. Orange Star is holding a tournament? I think I shall intrude on them."
Time: 9:30 am
Place: Grass fields
"First round is Team Firestorm Vs Dragon Team!" Nell said excitedly.
"And the first battlers are Eagle and Kensou!"
"Well it looks like the crowd is more on Eagle's side than Kensou's, but we'll see!"
"And away we go!"
"Hmph. Commander Eagle of Green Earth is here to take you out."
"I'll give you what for Eagle!"
"Let's go!" Eagle leapt straight at Kensou and began unleashing a barrage of lightning quick jabs.
"Well looks like Eagle's on the offensive with his Lightning En skills." Grit said.
"I'll have to agree with that, those lightning slash attacks are definitely taking a toll on the Dragon team."
Place: Contestants waiting area
"Well, looks like Eagle is pretty capable at laying smack down." Gabe said, watching lightning charges fly everywhere as Kensou flew across the arena.
"Indeed." Mel said, adjusting his shades. "Either way, we're up against one of those weird teams."
"Which one?"
"Orochi . . ." Mel said.
"Lovely . . ."
Place: Battlefield
"BLADE!!!" Eagle shouted, as he summoned up a huge pillar on shining light and sent Kensou straight out of the ring and onto the grass. "Hmph. Too easy!"
"DID YOU SEE THAT!? THAT WAS GREAT!"
"Yes
I did. And the winner of this round is Eagle! Now we're having a
team switch and Rush is coming in to lead team Firestorm possible to
their second round win."
Time: 11:30 am
Place: Tournament Stadium
Teams Dragon, Orochi team, Falcon team, Serpent team and Sword team had just been eliminated in the last few rounds. All that remain are Orange Star, Firestorm, Yellow Comet, Blaze, Gun and White Sun.
"Wow! Did you just see that last KO!?"
"And what a KO that was! Mel sent that guy flying!"
"What's the ruling on this?"
"Well it's fair! But with six teams left, we're heading into the semi-finals!"
"Yep, that's right darlin! But who's gonna make it through this?"
"We'll see as Orange Star will take on Blaze, Firestorm against Gun and White Sun against Yellow Comet! But as of now folks, our fighters are resting up and getting ready for the next match this afternoon!"
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Place: Fighter's rest area
Sami stood fanning herself with her palm.
"Ooh, that was exhausting."
"Was it?"
"Hmm? Mel!"
"Hey."
"How was that last fight? You were great!"
" . . .not as great as you were. I'm surprised you could take on that huge guy."
"Well, I had a good teacher." She said, smiling warmly at him. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have even bothered entering this. And it's fun!"
"Well, whaddya know." He said.
"Phew . . .it's really hot."
"You're hot? You're like wearing just a tank and cargo pants."
"Still."
"Hmph. I promise to buy you a drink later."
"Thanks!" She skipped off to talk with Sonja.
" . . ."
"Mel."
"Eh?" Mel spun around to see Eagle.
"You are indeed quite an impressive En user. Who taught you?"
"Emperor Kanbei himself." Mel said.
"No less from someone as great as him eh?"
"Yeah."
"But every so often I noticed you reach into your coat, but in less than a blink of an eye, your foe was knocked back by an invisible force. What is it?"
" . . .a sword." Mel drew back the side of his jacket containing his sword.
" . . .incredible."
"You see, I've managed to master a form of extremely fast En strikes, making it unnoticeable to the human eye."
"Either way, I commend you on your skill and I wish you good luck in the finals."
"You too sir." Mel said, turning away to talk with his teammates.
"Well how's it all going?"
"Good."
"Alli-chan is worrying about my health. She won't stop text messaging me." Gary groaned.
"You didn't even get touched." Gabe said, placing an ice pack on a tender spot on his back. One of the Orochis had managed to land a kick on him.
"Well long range will own you all!"
"Unless you're me and I can just deflect your long range easily, then kick the living snot out you, then it won't own anyone." Mel said annoyed.
"Gah! Scary!" He laughed.
"Whatever, I'm gonna check up on Sami." Mel walked off.
"Boss man da bomb. Super Gang Beat on that last guy was sweet."
"True. True. But still, is that even allowed?" Gary asked thoughtfully.
"Whatever, as long as we didn't kill him."
"Despite it looked like we did."
Sami was busily chatting with Sonja as Andy was trying to arm-wrestle with Max. Kanbei was talking to the Orange Star COs and Mel had headed to where the girls were.
"Hello."
"Hey! Onii-chan!" Sonja said cheerfully. "Do you think I look good in this robe?"
"Hai, hai." Mel said.
"Hee! Did you use your new sword onii-chan?"
"Never needed to."
"Ooh, you think you're so good that you don't need to huh?"
"Hmph. C'mon, I don't see a need to permanently gash anyone."
"Ooh, secret weapon then?"
"No, never."
"Then what was that when all three of you beat Shiro into the ground?"
"Secret technique!" Mel defended.
"Looked more like Super duper Asian Gang beating, if you ask me." Sami said, snickering.
"Want me to pull that on either one of you two?"
" . . .no." Sonja said, hiding behind Sami.
"Mel!" Sami said, angrily. "That's not funny!"
"Heh, sorry. I couldn't resist."
"Hmph. Where's my drink?"
"You
still want that?"
"Yeah! You promised." She leaned into him and traced a line across his chest.
"Hey! Quit that!"
"Buy me a drink then."
"Fine, fine. Here's 500 G. Knock yourself out."
"Thanks!" She headed off to find a vending machine.
"You know, I'd thought she wouldn't take much of a liking to you. I guess I was wrong." Sonja said, her back against the wall.
"Hmm?"
"Sami. She was never too fond of guys. But you must have been that 'difference' that she'd been looking for."
"Haha."
"It's true though. I've
never seen her act so warmly towards anyone."
"Well . . ."
"You two make a good couple."
" . . .!"
"I knew you'd do that!" She teased as she bounded away before Mel could get her back.
"Hey Mel!" Andy waved at him from the table. He was still grappling onto Max's arm and not letting up.
"Hey Andy. Hey Max."
"Hey. C'mon lose dammit!" Max grunted as he tried to force Andy's arm down.
"Never!"
"Hmm, who's won?"
"No one yet." Rush said, it's been 10 minutes.
"Aren't you tired Andy?"
"Naw, I'm on a sugar high! HAHAHA!!!"
"Oh dear God . . ." Mel groaned.
'Ding, ding, ding!' A bell sounded.
"Huh?"
'Thud!'
"BOOYAH! WHO DA KID!?" Andy had managed to force Max's arm down with his entire body weight while the bell distracted him.
"DAMN! I demand a rematch kid!"
"Next time!" Andy said, heading out the door.
"Onii-chan!"
"What now Sonja?"
"I'm gonna get you back for that last fight we had!"
"We'll see Sonja. I'm pretty sure you're gonna end up butt-naked on the floor again."
"Nyah! Meanie!" She pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him.
"Don't worry, I won't go too hard on you. Haha!" Mel laughed as he headed out.
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Place: Stone arena
Of course, as expected, Firestorm and Orange Star had taken out Gun and Blaze, leaving the semi final battle of White Sun against Yellow Comet.
"Ready?" The official said.
"Hai!"
"I'm always ready!"
"Begin!"
"C'mon, c'mon!" Mel taunted.
"I accept your challenge! Now prepare to meet your fate!" Kanbei said back.
"Master, we shall truly see who is the better swordsman this time around." Mel said springing at Kanbei, sword in hand.
"Not so fast!" Kanbei said, deflecting the first strike and countering Mel with a knee to the gut.
"Gah!"
"Hoho! You believe you truly are a match for me?"
"I'm more than a match for you sir! Slash!" He sent a cutting flame straight at Kanbei.
"Whoa!" The emperor leapt back.
"You seem to have underestimated my ability to generate En! Pulse!" Mel smashed the ground with tip of his blade, sending a shockwave rippling across the ground. Kanbei simply leapt over them and prepared his next attack.
"YA!" He simply sliced downward with his sword, smashing Mel straight into the floor.
"That does it! DESTRUCTION STRIKE!" Mel pulled out his gun and shot a blast of pure En at Kanbei.
"What!? NO!!!" The beam sent him flying straight out to the edge of the ring. "Grr! Prepare to taste my wrath boy! STRIKE!" Kanbei jumped straight at Mel and unleashed a rapid fury of sword strikes.
"Not if I have anything to say about that." Mel grabbed Kanbei's collar. "BURST FLAME!" That final explosive burst sent Kanbei flying straight out of the ring.
"RING OUT! The Emperor has left the building!" Grit said. "Mel has won this round, but will he last through the second?"
" . . .heh . . .ha . . .phew." Mel groaned, checking out his stamina meter on the boards. "75% optimal. Let's see if I can hold out against Sonja . . ."
Time: Meanwhile
Place: Near the general vicinity
"Hmm. Well it appears that the 'White Sun' team is a rather . . .talented group of En users. Perhaps I shall allow them to taste true power and interrupt this final round." The shadowed figure walked out from his hiding place and headed towards the fighter's quarters. Slinking past the various people in the area, he slid through the entrance just as the fight was about to start.
"ONII-CHAN!!! THAT WAS INEXCUSABLE!!!" Sonja berated angrily."Sorry . . ." Mel groaned.
"Sorry doesn't cut it! Now I'll have to get you!" Sonja angrily pulled out her sword and gripped it dangerously.
" . . .does it have to end like this?"
"It will!"
"Hmph. All right then."
"Fighters ready?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"FIGHT!" Nell shouted, as Sonja ran straight at Mel, swinging angrily at him.
"Easy, easy." Mel said, side stepping the glancing blow. "You'll never hit anything if your temper flares up that much." He rebuked, as he slammed the hilt of his sword straight onto her back. "I'll just make this round quick. Gimme 10 seconds."
"AH!" The heavy blow dropped her straight into the ground. "Braggart."
"And if you don't know better, I should just finish you off right now!" He drew out his sword and rushed straight at her. "Destruction blade!" With the same shining cleaving strikes he had used the first time, he appeared behind her after the flurry of motions and sheathed his blade with a small 'click'.
"Ooh . . ." Sonja groaned. "That's no fair, using the same finishing move on me every time . . ." She fell to the ground, out cold.
"KO! White Sun wins!" Grit shouted. "But how did he do it so fast!?"
"Well that wasn't too bad." Mel sighed. "On to the finals . . ."
"Well, we would have the finals, but I'm afraid I can't allow that!" Came a voice.
"Huh?" Mel looked up to see a cloaked figure standing a top the stadium lights. "What the?"
"Hahaha!" The figure jumped down and landed on the arena, just as Sonja was removed from it.
"Who are you?"
"Your worst nightmare." Said the cloaked figure.
" . . .a black uniform? Could it be?"
"Enough chatter fool. I came to see if your En skills were truly as amazing as it was said, I stood from afar and watched long enough, and I believe that it is true. Now show me your strength!" The man rushed at Mel, fists glowing with a dark purple flame.
"Holy crap!" Mel flipped away from the first blow. But he wasn't fast enough to dodge a giant Energy burst that sent him flying.
"Die fool!"
"What, what the hell are you!?" Mel said, grabbing the collar of the figure. "EN SHOCK!"
"Urgh! Worm! I'll let you experience my power firsthand! BLACK HOLE!" He grabbed Mel and sucked him straight into an energy void and the two of them disappeared.
"HOLY HELL! WHAT'S GOING ON THERE NELL!?"
"I have no clue Grit, whatever it is, that guy is interrupting the tournament and he's beating the holy hell out of Mel!"
"Somebody go up there and stop him!" Sami shouted.
"Grr . . .Mel!" Gabe said, leaping up to the arena.
"Don't think you're having all the fun without me!" Gary said, following.
"AH!" The void reappeared from mid-air and Mel dropped out of it. "Damn!" He swore. "Guys! Beat him down!" He grabbed the figure's head and slammed it straight into the ground. "Use live rounds if necessary!"
"Gotcha!" Gary flipped over the figure and unloaded both his pistols into him. Then he pulled out his rifle.
"Die!" Gabe leapt over and unleashed a barrage of his knives and then slashed his foe, he stood ready to strike again.
"And let's finish this!" Mel had tossed his En rifle up and jumped directly over the fallen figure, and just as he got up, Mel tossed his sword down, striking the dark man, driving him back into the ground. Catching the gun, he aimed downwards and sent a stream of pure En directly at his foe. Gary fired a horizontal stream and Gabe slashed upwards, leaping over both beams. Mel landed, and walked up to the body and pulled out his sword. "Fool!"
"Hahaha! You're the fool! STORM!" Black lightning filled the arena, knocking Gabe and Gary back.
"Ah!"
"Grr!"
"Oof!" Mel was slammed straight into the ground.
"WHAT THE!? THAT GUY SURVIVED THE LEGENDARY GANGBEATING ATTACK!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?"
"Quick! This is an emergency! Get all fighters ready to try and help Mel out!" Nell shouted to Sami, who nodded and ran off to gather the remaining teams.
"Argh . . ." Mel wiped a small trickle of blood from his mouth. "Bah!" He threw his glasses over to Gabe and drew out the Origin. "This time, you've pissed me off!"
"Fool! You're attacks are useless compared to mine! METEOR!!!"
"What on earth are you babbling about!?" Mel said, then he realized the cloaked figure was gone. "Huh?"
'BOOM!'
"WAH!!!" An enormous meteor had fallen on top of him, driving him straight to the floor.
"I've had enough of you, you're strength is great, but no match for mine." The figure said picking up Mel and throwing him out of the arena and sent him flying straight through the sideboards.
"Mel!" Sami screamed. "That does it pal! You've messed with the wrong people! Everyone attack at once!"
Time: 20 minutes
As the battle of En continued raging, Mel was breathing shallowly in the hole he was stuck in.
" . . .what, what was that power? I've never felt anything like that?"
' . . .Dark En.' came a voice from his head.
"Who . . .who are you?"
'I'm you in a sense, but not you in another sense.'
"So?"
'I can free your potential, now that you have a weapon that exceeds the Destruction Blade.'
"Is that so?"
'You know when you totally lose control in a battle and start mercilessly destroying your foes? That's me.'
"Then what are you?"
'En . . .en
. . .en . . .en . . .' The voice echoed inside his head.
"What do I do?"
'Concentrate and let me do it all. This might take a while though . . .'
"How much longer?"
'As long as your friends can hold out. By then, we should be able to beat this guy.'
"Let's do it then! I hate him!"
Time: Meanwhile
Place: Arena
The various officers were sent flying by the mystery foe, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
"LIGHTNING STRIKE!" Eagle shouted, causing a storm of electricity to rage on his foe.
"Second rate. Dark Field!" He stunned those within 3 feet of him and an unknown force paralyzed them all.
"Argh! It's no use! Nothing works!"
"I won't give up!" Andy said, breaking free and striking hard.
"Pathetic boy, don't you realize your skills are nothing!?" A burst of En sent Andy flying out of the ring.
"Andy! First Mel, then Andy! I'll get you! Double Time!" Sami unleashed her fury on the cloaked figure, tears of anger streaming down her cheeks.
"Stupid girl! Go away!" He backhanded her and sent her flying away, crumpled to the floor.
Time: 3 minutes . . .Place: Hole in the wall
" . . .Sami . . .He . . .that . . .AGH!!!" And explosion of light and energy sounded, a flash and the sound of burning flames emerged.
"Huh?" Sonja moaned, finally coming to. "What . . .what is that?"
"I don't know . . ." Gary said, running about, trying to get the wounded out of the arena. He had managed to pluck Sami out of danger and Gabe was trying to hold off the figure with Eagle and Max. Rush and Squall were out cold. "Not good! Not good!" He said, grabbing Sonja and leaping out of the way.
"Haha . . .you worms are no match for me at all! Where is a real challenge!?"
" . . .right here." Came a voice. "And I'm ready for round two." It was Mel, but he was clad in black, and he was covered in a glowing aura of black En. "Ready for your own demise?"
"You again!?"
"No . . .me again, and the help of the Origin!" Mel drew out his final sword, and tossed his coat out of the arena. "Time to die!" Leaping at the figure he swung viciously.
'Shink!' The sound of metal cutting flesh was heard."ARGH! YOU! YOU WORM! You've penetrated my defense!"
"That's not all! Destruction . . .rave!" He responded to his foes time of ignorance and struck repeatedly with a serious of deadly continuous blows.
"Urk . . ."
"HIYA!" With a upwards swing, he knocked the cloaked figure back. "And perhaps another! Destruction WAVE!" He slashed downwards, causing an immense shockwave to form, creating columns of exploding energy to form.
"ARGH!!! Such power, but in that state, he must be 10 times stronger than he used to be!"
"Hahaha! Muahaha! Gahaha!!!" Mel's eyes glowed a bloody red, and he prepared his final attack. "Hmm . . .are you worth it?" He grabbed his foe and tossed him skyward, then a series of explosions, and sword slashes sounded. "Now take this!" He slammed him into the ground and send En straight through him, then picked him up. " . . .die." With a final charge, an immense amount of En filled his foe's body and discharged, creating a loud explosion.
"WAAAAAAA!!!" The man screamed.
"Pitiful." He tossed him away.
" . . .grr . . .I know when I'm beaten. But we shall meet again!" A black fighter jet flew through the air, and the black clad man leapt out of view.
" . . .that . . .that bastard." Mel swore. "I'll . . .ugh." He collapsed straight to the ground, unconscious, the black glow leaving his body, and him returning to his white colored uniform.
"Holy Hell! Looks like Mel finally came back and did a number on that creepy guy!" Grit said through the microphone. He then surveyed the area. The arena was completely destroyed, the fighters were scattered from place to place on the ground and medics and armed forces were coming in now.
"Wow . . .what was all that about?" Nell said, visible shaking.
"I dunno darlin' but that was pretty damn freaky." Grit said, putting a cigarette to his mouth, lighting it and taking a long drag. "Whatever it was, they all managed to hold 'im off, then boom! Like some sort of freaky lightning, Mel comes back and manages to beat the crap out of him."
"Yeah . . .but . . .how is everybody now?"
" . . ." The sound of heavy breathing approached them. It was Max. "Phew . . .whatever it was, it was tough. Most of the officers are injured. Some even out cold. The medics are checking out Mel right now."
"How's Sami?"
"She's fine, a few broken bones, and then some, but we're hoping to find out what's going on.
"The crowds were in a panic too, some were injured when they tried to run away."
"Either way, I'm not sure how Mel did it, but he got rid of that guy. Despite his injuries and all."
"It doesn't matter Max. We'll just let things settle down first."
Time: 2 days or so later
Place: Infirmary
'Beep . . .beep . . .beep . . .beep . . ."
" . . .huh?" Mel blinked. "Where . . .where am I? What happened?" He groaned.
"Good morning . . ." Came a pained voice. " . . .you're awake!"
"Huh? Sami?"
" . . .Mel! You're okay!"
"Yeah . . .of course I'm okay."
"But when you, and then . . ."
"I only remember being tossed into the wall, seeing you get knocked out and . . .then I woke up."
"Oh my."
"Did something happen?"
"You have
no clue?"
"Yeah . . .but never mind that, how are you holding up?"
"A bit bruised, nothing serious. My ribs aren't broken, just badly, badly bruised."
"Oh."
"They made me strip! Heehee!"
"Oh geez you're so perverted." Mel muttered.
"Ooh, you're too uptight. I brought you your glasses." She placed them on his head.
"Thanks. Now let me take a look at you." He tried to sit up, but no avail. "Argh!"
"Mmm . . .you shouldn't move. You got beaten badly. It's a small wonder nothing broke."
" . . ."
"But you don't remember a thing? Well I saw a recording of it, and it was scary."
"Scary? How?"
"You were like . . .berserk, dodging all that guy's hits and just like beating him down. And . . .you were in black. That made it all the more creepy."
"Black?"
"Yeah. Like black as night black. And there was an aura around you and you fought like a demon."
"Demon?"
"Well that's what Sonja said."
"Sonja. Is everyone else all right?"
"A couple broken bones here and there. It's all right."
"Good to hear it."
"That and you're stuck here for another day or so."
"Damn, that's lame."
"Well we can always catch up later." She smiled. "I have to stay here too."
"But . . .you look fine."
"I'm under observation for En burns . . .heehee."
"Where?"
"On my butt!"
"Oh jeez! I shouldn't have even asked."
"Kidding! They're on my arms and torso. That's all."
"Hmm."
"Whatever, I'll stick around and watch some
TV with you or something."
"Thanks." He said, staring
at the screen.
"Hmm? Looks like you've got some visitors."
"Huh?" Mel turned to see Olaf, Max, Grit and Nell coming.
"Ah, it's good to see you're up Mel." Nell said.
"Darn tootin' kid. That was some crazy stuff you did." Grit chuckled.
"We're here to of course thank you for doing whatever you do." Olaf said.
"Too bad we never finished that tourney. I wanted to go up against you Mel." Max said.
"So . . .what do you all want then?"
"Just for you to accept this token of our gratitude. That and we have given everyone a consolation for attending in this . . .strait." Olaf handed Mel something wrapped in a silk cloth.
"What is it?"
"The final ranking emblem that students can achieve."
" . . .the Gold Dragon?"
"That it
is. You've proven yourself more than worthy of it."
"Thanks . . .how is Kanbei?"
"Oh, he's all right, just annoyed that you beat him." Nell said.
"How's everyone else then?"
"Healing up. No one's dead, but the worst injuries were yours."
" . . .mine?"
"Well . . .yeah."
"Great . . ." Mel sighed.
"But judging from how you used your En, you'll heal fast." Nell smiled.
"Let's hope so." Mel groaned.
"Of course you will!" Sami said hugging him.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark!"
"Oops! Sorry."
"Heh . . ." He laughed weakly.
"We'll be seeing you in January then you two."
"Yeah, of course sir." Mel groaned, closing his eyes.
Time: January 2
Place: Orange Star Main HQ
"Come in." Olaf said, busying himself scribbling down various details.
"Ah, Commander Olaf."
"Huh? You! That . . .thing!"
"Yes. It is I."
"What do you want!?"
"I have a
proposition to make to you."
"Huh?"
"Listen and I'm sure you'll accept.
End
of Chapter
A/N: Another chapter, another month heh! I'll be working here and there on it. And the other two, so no whining!
This is Mel's second Dossier:
Name: Mel Mah
DOB: Sept. 18
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Nationality: Chinese
Rank: 3rd year student
Eye color: Brown (red in En shift mode)
Hair color: Black
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 170 lbs
Country: White Sun/Orange Star
Bio: Upon entering his second year of Orange Star Military University, Mel noticed some changes within his own strengths as a CO. They were becoming more defined to one side, an incredibly powerful offense. However he noticed a drop in his formerly high defense and that his bases were left more vulnerable than usual. Ignoring this, he decides that he'll put his focus to getting to his foes before they can get to him. However, now slightly unstable as there is another force that seems to emanate from him. Sami noted this last year and saw that there was a strange entity with red eyes that would rear its head every so often. Gary defined this as an 'En Shift', which is classified as a strange anomaly within even COs that mastered Destructive En. By utilizing an En Shift, Mel goes 'insane' and begins to have his units attack relentlessly. This only lasts for a short while, before he himself goes unconscious. Perhaps there is more to it than that . . . especially when in En shift mode, Mel is then clad in black and when even in a fistfight, his powers change to ones that he has normally never used before. However, upon waking up, Mel doesn't realize what has happened . . .
Strengths: All units have a 1 movement cost on any terrain. All units can move perfectly in snow and rain. Can see everything in Fog of War, so vision doesn't matter. All units that are direct non-infantry have 1 to move and 20% to damage. All indirect units have 20% to damage. 10 to capture rate for infantry units.
Weaknesses: Inability to really want to hurt anyone. Sometimes over confident and forgets about things. As well, requires a large amount of damage dealt to him to fill his CO meter. Incredibly poor defense –20%, and capture rate of his properties except HQ is 10.
En Shift Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Attack power and defense increased.
Weakness: Defense is still rather low.
CO Power(s):
Destruction Strike: Uses the
rifle and fires off 24 shots of pure destruction. Defense is not put
into account and the selected units are then destroyed. Does not add
to enemies CO power meter, so it is the ultimate offensive attack.
'Time to die . . .'
Destruction Blade: Uses the katana blade's destructive force to attack, units within a 1-9 range in a certain epicenter of attack are damaged severely, the closer they are the more damage they take. I.e. range 13 = total defeat, range 46 = 75% damage 79 = 50% damage.'Feel my blade . . .'
Super CO Power:
Armageddon: Requires opponents CO power to filled as well, or else needs two allies meters filled. Due to the ferocity of the attack, it is usually left to be unused as the destructive capability leads to instant enemy defeat of one army. Or else must have 20 units and must sacrifice 20 units to pull it off.' . . .ARMAGEDDON!'
En Shift Mode CO Powers:
Destruction Zone: With an attack area of 1-9 this pillar of destructive energy is focused around the most densely covered areas of units. Anything within that area is then destroyed without a trace and it doesn't add on to enemy's CO power meter.
'Destroy them. Destroy them all!'
Destruction Wave: Uses the katana blade's destructive force to attack, units within an infinite range. The wave travels from the first enemy unit at the top of the screen all the way down to the last. i.e. range 13 = total defeat, range 46 = 75% damage 79 = 50% damage 10everything else 25%.'Have a taste of death . . .'
Super CO
Power:
Apocalypse: Even more formidable than that of the Armageddon, the Apocalypse summons up the force of the Destructive En and showers destruction across the battlefield, causing massive damage to all, including his own units. Mel takes 40% everyone else takes 80%.
' . . .DIE!'
The master of Destructive En, he really has nothing better to do than blow things up.Hit: Music, Slacking off, Iced Coffee!Miss: Braggarts, evil guys
"Just watch me, I'll show you!" or "Muha-haha-haha-HAHAHAHAHA!"