What Dreams Are Made Of

A Witch From Mercury Story

Chapter One

A Surprise Party


It goes without saying that everyone must come to terms with their own mortality. We all have to die eventually, so all of us have to accept it. But rare are the people who have to come to terms with not being dead. As Elan sat at the dinner table, prodding idly at his breakfast, he supposed he could call himself one of those few.

"What's wrong dear?" Asked Belmeria, staring at him from across the table, "Aren't you hungry?"

Elan manufactured a smile. "I'm fine... Mom." That sounded so unnatural. "I guess I'm still half asleep, that's all." Still half asleep? That's all he could think of? He was a better liar than that. Still, a morning like this would throw anyone off. It was all so much to take in. For starters, he still wasn't convinced he was alive. But, once he'd assured Bel that he wasn't going insane, she did help him piece together a few of the details.

The year was not 122 Ad Stella, but 2057 CE/AD and they were living on Planet Earth, Japan. They'd moved here aa couple weeks ago, for work, and he would soon be starting school at Asticassia High. That was easy enough to understand, but there were still nagging little thoughts in his mind. Why could he remember everything from his dream (if he could even call it that), but nothing from his life on Earth? And what was with that plastic figure in his bedroom? Gundam Pharact, nothing but a plastic toy? This was just bizarre. It couldn't be real.

But it felt real. The bacon in his mouth? It tasted real. He wanted it to be real.

Elan's past life (or, was it his dream?), could scarcely be called a life at all. His face, his name? Peil had taken those from him. He had a "home" back at headquarters, but that was just a prison in disguise. His past was wiped from his mind, his present was spent testing the GUND Format, and pretending to be someone else. And his future? What future? His life was so bleak, the mere memory of his birthday was enough to satisfy him.

Now, it was if life had taken its boot off his face, and handed him the keys to paradise. Well alright, 'paradise' was an exaggeration, but compared to his old life, it was Nirvana.

"By the way..." Said Bel, "Your Student ID arrived, finally."

She handed him a blue, leather booklet, containing a laminated card. Reading the details on it was like reading a diary entry, from a time now lost to him.

Name: Elan Winston

Date of Birth: 2040/11/06

Place of Birth: Swansea, United Kingdom

Class: 3-B

It was written in Japanese, which was a language he'd never tried to learn but, somehow, he understood perfectly.

This was him. This was who he was now. Not a parody of someone else, but his own person... His name and face were still the same, but it was his face - it was a name that belonged to him. One tiny detail was enough to turn his life around.

"Sweetie?" Ms Winston asked, "Is everything ok?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Elan told her, as he realized he'd be staring at his ID for the past two minutes, "Everything... everything's great."

"Well, if you're sure..." She said, giving him an odd look. He couldn't really blame her. He'd been acting emotional since he got up. It must have been quite worrying. "Go ahead and finish your breakfast, dear. You need to be at the mall soon.

"The mall?"

"Yes." She said, "Your friends will be waiting for you." Friends? He had friends? "Oh, and they told you to bring that little Gundam thing."

Elan wasn't sure what his friends would want with that, but he had so many questions already. He finished his breakfast quickly, before running upstairs and grabbing Pharact. He was just about to head out, when he heard something that made him freeze on the spot.

"I love you."

Elan couldn't remember the last time he heard that, or any time, in fact. "Th- thank you..." He said, looking back for just a moment. "I... I love you too..." With that, he stepped outside, closed the door, and let out a deep sigh.

He felt like such a jerk. But it was still so hard to see that woman as his Mother. He still had mixed feelings about Ms Winston. Out of all the people at Peil Tech, she was the only one who was somewhat nice to him. But she was still part of the same corporation that took away his identity, and killed him. Yes, maybe that version of her wasn't real, but how could he know for sure? And even if she wasn't, what did it say about his mother that he imagined her as complacent in his own misery?

Elan tried to put those thoughts out of his mind. He had better things to think on. At least he had a mother. Moreover, he had a life, and a whole new world to explore.

As he wandered the streets, he tried to imagine what his friends were like. Would they be anyone he knew? And then he realised...

He had no idea where to go

Elan had been so distracted by the... everything, that had been thrown at him in the last hour, he didn't even think to ask! His first day in a new life, and he was already screwing up! The boy turned back towards home. Asking Ms Winston for directions would be embarrassing, but at least he'd get there.

But, just as he was about to head back, when he heard a voice.

"Lost?"

He turned around. The voice belonged to a young woman, around his age. Raven hair cascaded down her back, almost blending with her long dress. Her skin was like bronze, and her lips like two rubies. She was almost impossibly beautiful.

"Umm, yeah..." Elan said, "I'm supposed to be at the mall but, I have no idea where to go..."

"Just go straight ahead, until you reach the Pharmacy," she told him, "Then turn right, and follow the road. You'll get there in no time."

It embarrassed him, how easy that was. If he'd just gone a little farther, he could've found the place himself. "Unbelievable..." He said, "Sorry, I'm just so confused. Nothing seems to make sense at the moment..."

"It's alright." Said the girl, "There's a lot in life we don't understand. Sometimes we just have to, you know, go with it. See where it leads us."

"I guess that makes sense." Said Elan, brushing the hair from his eyes, "It's just I'm so used to being led around I... why am I telling you this?"

He looked back up, and the girl was gone.

Odd, but perhaps she was just in a rush. Speaking of which...

He ran down the alleyways, following the girl's directions until he came to a massive building, covered in brightly coloured posters. People milled in and out, leaving with more bags than they could reasonably manage. This looked like the place. He tried to see if he could recognise anyone.. A few vaguely familiar faces stood out among the crowd, but no dead ringers. Well, there was one exception: the young girl sneaking up behind him.

"Happy Birthday to you~ Happy Birthday to you~"

A smile crept across the teen's face. If there was one person he wanted to see again, it was this one. He turned around, and there she was, with that same ketchup-red hair, those same thick eyebrows, and that same irrepressible enthusiasm.

"Ms Suletta!" He said, showing a level of excitement that threw even her off, "It's good to see you again!"

She blinked at him. "Miss Suletta?" She asked, chuckling, "You haven't called me that since we were little!"

"Oh, sorry." The boy said, "You've just been calling me Mr Elan for so long, I thought it would be polite to..."

The Mercurian girl scoffed. "I don't think I've ever called you 'Mister.'" She said, affecting an over the top noblewoman's voice. "But, if you wish to call me 'Ms Suletta Megumi I won't deny your humble request." She petted him on the head, as if he were her dog.

"I'll call you whatever you want me to." He said, happily. She wasn't quite the same girl he knew, but she was still Suletta.

"Where the hell where you!?" Said another voice, high and demanding. Elan whipped around to see two more girls. One had straight black hair, with a blue streak at the front. The other had bright pink hair, styled into pom-poms like giant mouse ears. Chuatury Panlunch, if he remembered right. She looked absolutely livid.

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Chuchu!" The tan girl stuttered, " Oh... I was sss-supposed to meet you at my house, w-wasn't I?" There was the Suletta he knew.

"We waited half an hour for you." She said, her eye twitching in fury, "The one day you get up on time..."

Elan blinked in surprise. "You've been here for half an hour?"

Suletta chuckled awkwardly, "W-w-well, I guess I just wanted to be there on time, so I could surprise you." As if she ever failed to surprise him.

"We would have been there another hour." The mousey girl said, "If it hadn't been for your Mom."

The Mercurian girl, dropped to her knees, bowing her head in a pose Elan didn't quite recognise. "S-s-sorry..."

"Chuchu, please relax," Said the blue-haired girl, "She was just excited that's all."

Chuchu sighed, her puffy hair bobbing up and down. "I know, Nika. I know. I guess we can let you off, if it's for birthday boy..."

"Oh!" Suletta said, digging into her bag, "That reminds me..." She pulled out a crudely wrapped box and nearly thrust it in his face. "This is for you!" She blurted out.

"A present?" He asked, cautiously, "For me?"

"Um... yeah?" She replied, "Who else?"

He took it slowly, handling the gift like a priceless antique. The box rattled, gently, as he undid the wrapping paper.

The box was beautiful, depicting a tea-green robot, with a skull and crossbone on its chest. It didn't match any mecha he'd seen in Ad Stella, but there was still something vaguely familiar about it.

And then he saw the name of the robot.

GUNDAM

"I know you liked Crossbone." The girl explained, "So I thought the Phantom would be a good pick!"

"Crossbone?" Elan asked.

"Gundam Crossbone?" The mousey girl said, "The manga? What, did you hit your head or something?"

"ChuChu, that's rude!" Nika whispered.

"It's a legit question!" Said ChuChu, defensively.

"Maybe I did..." Elan said, distantly.

"What's wrong?" Sulleta asked, "Do... do you not like it?"

"What, no!" He said, snapping back to reality, "No I love it."

"You better!" Chuatury said, "That's P-Bandai right there."

"It's just, I feel... weird. I don't mean sick, but... I don't know."

Nika spoke up. "Umm, we were going to hang out in GBN for a little while. Wanna join us? Maybe you'll feel better."

Elan smiled politely. "Sure!" He said, "Sounds like fun!"

He had no idea what they were talking about

.


Elan stood with his back against the wall, trying to block out the sound of elevator music. He stared at the model in his hand. Supposedly a custom figure - something he built himself. But every time he looked at it at, all he could think of was the data storms that destroyed his body from within.

"Is everything alright?" Nika asked, "You've been staring at that thing, pretty intensely."

"Oh." Said Elan, "I'm just really proud of it, that's all."

The elevator came to a stop, and the boy was greeted by one of the more impressive storefronts he'd ever seen. The outer wall was plated in white steel, with panel lines embossed into it. The store name was lit in blinding neon blue. A giant LCD screen dominated the wall, showing an animated logo on an endless loop. He'd seen less extravagance from high-end tech stores. This was a model shop!?

Suletta was the first one in, nearly bumping Chuchu as she rushed out the lift, "Come on!" She yelled, "They're just setting things up!"

They were led through the store by a cute young cashier, with short brown hair. The booth was located at the other end of the store, giving Elan a moment to take everything in. A sea of boxes, stacked on top of each other in a way that reminded him more of a wholesaler. It was like he'd stepped out of the mall, and into an afterlife for hobbyists. And the variety in this place. There were the regular saber, shield and rifle Gundams, there were transforming Gundams, four-legged Gundams, even Gundams that didn't look like Gundams. And that was without getting into all the non-Gundam kits, tools, accessories, e.t.c. Elan couldn't help but chuckle. If Delling Rembran could see this, he'd have a heart attack. No sign of Aerial though, or any of the mobile suits he'd seen at the academy. This seemed to confirm his suspicions: that the Ad Stella timeline didn't exist in this world, even in fiction. At least he could rule out the possibility of his past life being the work of some author (and all the existential implications that came with it). But it did make him wonder, could he really have imagined all that? He never saw himself as that creative. Maybe...

"Ah, here we are!" Said the cashier, "I'll give you a knock, when your time is up."

"Thanks, Nanami!" said the redhead, pulling Elan into a small room, bathed in dim blue light. There were six chairs, three on each side, fitted with a small podium, and a green visor. Suletta, ChuChu and Nika all took their seats. "Well, come on! Suletta said, patting the seat next to her. "We're all waiting for you!"

Elan sat down, cautiously and copied the girls, as they put on their visors, and placed their game IDs on the podium. He wasn't sure what this device was meant for, but at least it came with instructions.

"ID Data confirmed. Please scan your Gunpla." The machine said, in heavily accented English. Elan did as instructed and watched as the plastic model was enveloped in golden light, and its eyes flashed red. "Login data confirmed. Are you ready?"

"Umm, I guess..."

"Dive start now!"

All of a sudden, Elan felt something pulling at him, deep within his mind, as he was dragged from his seat into a swirling, blue tunnel. It was like being pulled into a vortex. He closed his eyes for a moment. Had something had happened? Was he being sent back into oblivion? No. This felt different. He opened his eyes again, and found himself in an infinite, blue void. It was a space made of pure data, with pillars of light shining in the distance. And at the end, a glowing portal, from which emerged these words.

WELCOME TO GUNPLA BATTLE NEXUS ONLINE

WILL YOU BE ABLE TO SURVIVE?

With that vaguely ominous greeting, he slipped through the portal, into the the unknown. Everything turned white, just for a moment. But, as the light faded, this new world came into view, and what Elan saw blew him away.

He stood in a beautiful, circular chamber, overlooking views of lush forests, barren deserts and towns that looked like they could be from three different eras. The lighting was bright, but just soft enough that it didn't hurt his eyes. In the centre was a giant holographic globe, with the latest news circling around it. But what fascinated him the most was the other players. Most of them looked like ordinary humans, albeit in unusual garb, but then there were anthropomorphic mammals, cat people, and all sorts of weird looking characters. He looked to the side, and found his partners' appearances were just as bizarre. Suletta Megumi wore a black and white jacket, with a gold trim. She sported a pair of round, brown ears and a striped, club-shaped tail. Chuchu was straight up a human mouse, her fluffy pigtails now a pair of gigantic ears. And as for Nika... Well, she just looked like Nika, with her hair all in blue.

"Mmmm, it feels so good to be back!" Suletta said, stretching herself out. "Come to think of it, we've never played together, have we Elan? I wonder what... you..." She and the other girls starer at him, a look of horror on their faces

"What?" Elan asked, "What's wrong? What do I look like?" Chuchu, who, out of all the girls, seemed pretty amused by his appearance just pointed to a nearby mirror.

Elan took a good long look at himself. He had never believed in a god before but, on that day, he became convinced that if there was a god, he was making fun of him. In his reflection, Elan saw an effeminate young man, dressed in a long, silk kimono. His skin was pale, and slightly translucent, his black hair cascaded down his back, and over his right eye. In place of his legs, there was a long, thin trail of smoke, allowing him to float just above the floor.

Elan's avatar was a ghost.

"I can't believe this..." He groaned.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad!" Nika assured him, "I think it looks kind of cute!"

"Only you'd find that cute..." Chuchu said, "And what are you complaining for? You chose it, didn't you?"

Elan didn't even have time to answer, before a fifth person pushed his way into the conversation. Someone loud, and angry and, sadly, all too familiar. "Oi, Megumi!" He yelled, barging onto the scene as if the whole server belonged to him.

Great, Elan thought, Just who I was hoping to see...

Guel Jeturk, obnoxious in this life as he was in the last, walked right up to Suletta Megumi, accompanied by two young women. He looked furious. "You have any idea how long I've been waiting?"

"Ummm..." Suletta said, looking about nervously, "Do I know you?" One of the girls - Felsi, if he remembered right - answered for her.

"Six days..." She said, loudly, "Thirteen hours and 57 minutes.

"We almost got suspended, because we skipped class to be here." Petra added.

"That kind of sounds like a you problem..." Suletta mumbled, before Guel interrupted again.

"That match last week was a fluke!" He told her, "We're settling the score, right now!" An uncomfortable silence hung over the main lobby. All eyes were on the two of them.

The red-haired girl squirmed on the spot for a moment. She always struggled when put on the spot like this. Elan was just about to step in, but Nika stopped him. Closing her eyes, the redhead took a deep breath, smiled sweetly, and made an X with her arms.

"Pass!"

Guel stared at her, equal parts annoyed and bewildered. "Huh?"

"Pass." She repeated, "I don't want to."

Guel stood there, frozen in shock, until Chuchu broke the silence with a light chuckle. The laughter spread from person to person, growing louder and louder until the whole lobby was bent over laughing.

"Oof! De-nied!" Said one player, who had recorded the whole thing.

Guel's face turned bright red. Being refused was bad enough, but getting humiliated in public took it to another level.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'PASS'!?" He bellowed, getting right up in the girl's face, "YOU THINK I'M JUST GONNA WALK AWAY AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO MY DILANZA!? DID YOU KNOW THEY KICKED ME OUT OF MY OWN FORCE FOR THAT!?"

"Will you back off!?" Chuchu snapped, shoving the boy away, despite being two-thirds his size. "God, you're pushy! No wonder Mio dumped you!"

Guel stopped for a moment, letting himself cool off in the vain hope that he might avoid further embarrassment. "I was the MVP of my force for three weeks..." He said, through gritted teeth, "I'm Gunpla Battle Nexus' biggest rising star, and I refuse to let myself be humiliated!"

"Too late."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE PUNK!?" The meathead barked, staring daggers at the ghostly boy. So much for playing it cool.

"Just a simple fact." Elan didn't even look at the guy as he spoke.

"That tears it..." Guel hissed, "You three are officially, On. My. Shitlist!" The boy looked like he was was about to start throwing punches, before he remembered he was in public. "3-on-3." He growled, "Desert Arena, five minutes."

"Do you listen to anyone but yourself?" Chuchu scoffed, "She told you..."

"Deal."

All eyes fell on Suletta. Her nervousness had evaporated completely, and she stood before Guel with fire in her eyes. "But when we win, you have to promise you'll stop harassing us."

The boy just walked by them, brushing the pink-and-brown hair out of his eyes. "When you win..." He grumbled.

"The hell was that?" Chuchu asked, "You said you didn't want to fight him!"

"I still don't." She said, "But I hate to see my friends get bullied!" Suletta turned to her guyfriend, a look of embarrassment on her face. "Oh. I'm sorry, Elan." She said, toying with her fingers. "I didn't mean to drag you into this."

The boy shook his head, black locks drifting from side to side. "You didn't." He said, "I hate people like him, who think they can push everyone around." He placed an ethereal hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Suletta. I'm right behind you!"

"Change your avatar before you say things like that!"


Elan sat in the cockpit of Gundam Pharact, waiting for the moment when he would soar out of the launch bay, and onto the battlefield. He took a look under the seat, watching his ghostly tail sway from side to side. It was good these controls were hands-only, he mused, or this would be a nightmare. This wasn't the first time he'd been in a mech fight, but he'd never felt so, at peace. Maybe it was the comforting knowledge that failure would not be rewarded with execution. Or perhaps it was because he stepped into the arena of his own free will. Or maybe it was because he had a friend on his side. A friend...

The lights came on, and Pharact stood alert, ready to enter the fray. Triumphant music filled the launch bay, sparks flew as the Gundam's feet ground against the rail, and the door flew open, setting Elan loose upon a breath-taking desert landscape. A deep canyon tore through the earth, and tall plateaus stood proudly amongst the barren dunes. This arena was perfect for him. He turned to see his teammates. Suletta's mech was just as he remembered. The Gundam Aerial, its blue-and-white steel shining in the desert sun. Chuatary Panlunch plummeted to the ground in a white-and-pink mobile suit. It's head resembled a Roman helmet, its crest slid backward, the plumage replaced with what could only be described as a metal pom-pom. A long, thin rifle was attached to it's right arm, and a gigantic shield sat on its back. Another sniper, by the look of it. That could make things difficult. Suletta would no-doubt be busy dealing with Jeturk. That would leave two long range specialists, with limited mid-to-close range options.

At the other end of the field, a trio of mobile suits sped toward them. A pair of green Dilanzas. Pretty standard, for the Jeturk family, but also quite formidable. And leading the charge, the Daribalde: Jeturk Heavy Machinery's top of the line (at the time of his death). Its beam javelin glowed bright green in the night, as it raised its shield. Elan loaded his beam arquebus, hoping to get in an early kill, but their opponents were way ahead of him. The Daribalde's jet engine came alive, bursting forward at max speed and smashing into Aerial like a battering ram. The teen watched in horror as the white Gundam crashed into the ground, its paint scraped away by the harsh desert sand. "Suletta!" He yelled, pulling out his beam saber. Pharact lunged forward, ready to strike, only to be blindsided by two green behemoths. In his fury, Elan had forgotten Felsi and Petra. This was bad. Suletta was down for the count, Chuatury was nowhere to be seen, and now he had to fight off two mobile suits, on his own.

Nothing for it. It may hurt, but he needed to get this done quick. Elan closed his eyes, and braced himself for pain.

"Permet Score Three!"

His cry echoed across the wastes. Pharact's eyes glowed a bloody red. And...

Oh no.

Nothing was happening.

Petra's suit pulled out a massive axe, its blade glowing with thermal energy. Elan rolled away, but not quite fast enough, as the giant Heat Hawk cut through his side. Dilanza's weren't supposed to have those! This was going far worse than he expected. He'd never been in a team battle before, and that lack of experience had cost him. For now it was all he could do to put some distance between them. Gundam Pharact flipped over, its heels folding into the shape of a gun barrel and firing off a pair of concentrated beams. The first cut through Petra's right arm, sending it flying, along with her weapon. The second grazed Felsi's head, a near miss, but he took what he could get. In the next moment, his Gundam was on its knees. His desperation move had paid off, as his jets fired up, sending him into the sky with blinding speed.

It was at that moment that Elan realised what had gone wrong before. The Permet Score; he couldn't push this machine beyond its limits because its power needed no limits. Pharact soared like an eagle, reaching peak performance in mere moments. No pain, no data storms. Just unbelievable speed and the smoothest of handling. It was incredible. This feeling. It was like...

Freedom.

Guel's flunkies gave chase, their heavy mobile suits granted flight by three huge jets on their backs. Not bad for a pair of flying bricks, but there was no way they could match his speed. The two girls reached over their shoulders, pulling out a pair of gatling guns and opening fire. Their accuracy was terrible, but with that rate of fire they'd have to hit him eventually. He turned around, blasting Felsi in the shoulder with his beam arquebus. A decent shot, but not as deadly as it should have been. He had to remember he wasn't playing by the usual rules.

Elan opened his comm link. He had a plan, but he'd need back up. "Chuartary!" He yelled, "Where are you right now?"

"Charlotte!" She spat back, "My name is Charlotte! I don't even know what you just called me!"

"Whatever." Elan said, "Just tell me your location."

"I'm in the canyon, moron! Didn't you check your radar?"

"I, kind of forgot..." Elan said, sheepishly. "It doesn't matter. That's perfect. Get your gun ready. I'll be there in about five seconds."

"I don't need you to hold my hand..." The mousey girl said, "But thanks." She held her rifle at the ready, poking it through the hole in her shield, and a moment later her targets flew over the canyon. She pulled the trigger, and a shining beam blew Felsi's head clean off. That would have been an instant win, back at the academy. But this was no duel. This battle wouldn't be over until their mobile suits lied in pieces. The blonde girl descended on Charlotte, raining machine gun fire at her, but the thick shield could not be penetrated. Chuchu fired shot after shot, taking off Felsi's arm and leg, before she sped out of the gorge, taking her shield in both hands and slamming it into the Dilanza's chest.

"Felsi!" Petra screamed, as her friend's mech fell to the ground in two pieces. "Why you upstart little..."

A purple beam pierced her torso, barely missing her engine. "Forget someone?" Elan said, as he shot up into the sky, turned over in the air and went into freefall. "You really should learn to pay attention."

"As if you can talk..." Charlotte scoffed. Elan barely heard her. He could barely hear anything in fact as he let himself fall into the gorge. He was having the time of his life right now. Before, piloting the Gundam meant suffering, it meant building a future for someone else, while his own life was cut short. Now he could build his own future.

Petra gritted her teeth as she watched him vanish into darkness, "Where are you, you little bastard!?" She hissed, firing blindly into the abyss. The girl was beyond furious at this point, so much so that she never saw the GUND Bits lodged in the walls, until it was too late. A web of scarlet lasers filled the chasm, cutting through the metal armor as if it were nothing.

Elan allowed himself a moment of smugness, as her Dilanza hit the ground in pieces. "I tried to warn you." He rose out of the chasm, to be greeted by the metal afro of Chuchu's mobile suit.

"Not bad, I guess." She told him, "Even if you did steal Su's gimmick."

"Well, if it works it works." Said Elan, "Speaking of Suletta, where is she?"

"Over there, dealing with that Guel jerk." She pointed to the other end of the map, where Aerial was doing its best to keep away from Guel's javelin. "You wanna get in there?"

"We could," Elan said, "But I doubt will get much done. If I know Suletta, she can beat this moron in his sleep."

"Least we agree on something." Chuchu said, with a shrug.

Just as they predicted, the battle ended soon after. Aerial's GUND Bits hovered above her, shooting at the Daribalde's feet. A simple trick, but it gave Suletta the distance she needed to deliver the coup de grace. Guel charged at her, weapon at the ready, but the Bits reformed into a shield, right in front of his mech. It startled him, just for a moment. And in that moment, Aerial lunged at him, piercing his mech with her beam saber and dragging it through the torso, until it get right through the engine. The crackling green blade sliced through his Daribalde, and its top half slid right off, before exploding in a huge fireball.

It was over.


"That's some nightmare." Said Suletta, as they sat atop their mechs, surveying the battlefield.

"No kidding." Chuchu added, "I've had dreams about dying before, but that's just depressing..."

"It felt so real." Elan told them. "The data storms, the impacts against my Gundam, the emotions I felt..." He left out the fact that he still didn't remember his past in this world. Share too much, and he might find himself in a mental institution.

"Must've been terrifying." The redhead mused, "Getting killed by a laser beam like that."

"That's the weirdest part." Said the boy, "I wasn't scared. I was happy. My life had been so ,empty - in the dream I mean - just knowing I was happy once; that was enough for me." He shook his head, as Nika scribbled away at a note pad. "Why would I dream something like that?"

"Well," Su told him, "At least it's over now, right? I mean it's all just a dream."

"Yeah..." Elan said, still not fully convinced, "I guess I shouldn't think on it too much. Honestly, after all that, I feel really good. Waking up from that dream, it's like..."

"You've died and gone to Heaven?"

"Chuchu..." Suletta whispered, "That's really not appropriate..."

"No, she's right." He said, "That's exactly what it's like..."

The girls gave him an odd look. "Elan, are you sure you're ok?" Asked Suletta, "Do you need to talk to someone?"

"I'm better than ok." He told her, "I'm..." He turned his head, as Nika showed her friends what she'd been working on. A highly detailed sketch of himself, chained to the inside of a laser cannon, screaming in agony as the laser tore through him. "I'm... impressed by your drawing skills, Nika..." He said, awkwardly.

He wasn't lying. It really was beautifully drawn.


The sky was dyed gold as Elan made his way back home. It felt weird, having so much time to himself. Was it really alright to stay out this long? No. Don't think like that, he told himself, stop overthinking everything and just enjoy yourself for a while. And enjoy himself he had. GBN, it was incredible. Piloting Pharact in game felt just like in real life, but without the toll on his body. In the heat of the match, he'd almost forgotten he was playing a game. And for the first time in his life, he had friends. Suletta was just as sweet and energetic as before, Nika was... a very interesting person, and Chuatury (or Charlotte)? Well, he'd get used to her.

He still felt awkward around his... mother, but it was nice to know someone was waiting for him back home. It would feel normal in time.

Elan was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice the girl as he walked right by her.

"I saw your match." She said, "You looked like you were having fun."

He turned around, and saw a tanned girl, dressed in black. "Oh, it's you again." He said, "I don't think I got your name."

"Anastasha." She told him, "Or you can call me Ana, if you like."

"Ok." Said Elan, "Nice to meet you, Ana. And yeah, I was. I don't think I've ever had such a good time in my life." He smiled, "It's strange, I keep waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me, but no. Sorry, I'm probably not making a lot of sense."

"It's alright," said Ana, "We all say weird things, sometimes."

"It's just, I don't understand why everything's going so well for me." He explained, "I'm not ungrateful but, what did I do to earn this?"

The girl laughed. "That's a weird way of looking at it!" She told him, sitting on a low wall, kicking her legs idly, "Everyone has the right to be happy, don't they? Why do you think you need to earn that?"

Elan shook his head. "I don't know. I guess it's just how I was taught. God, why am I telling you all this? I'm never this open with people!"

"Maybe you're just feeling extra talkative today." Ana said, "Try not to think about it so much. Just enjoy yourself!" She hopped off of the wall, placing her hand on his shoulders and giving him a tender smile. He couldn't explain why, but something about this girl made him feel really good. "I'll see you again soon, Elan."

And then she just walked away, leaving the boy a no less confused, but a little more comfortable. What even was that, he wondered.

He put it out of his mind, for now. Belmeria was waiting for him. She had promised him a special birthday dinner, and even a cake. A cake! It was such a small thing, but it made his evening. When was the last time he had cake? He stepped through the front door, into the warm, gentle light of his home. His home... Just saying that felt amazing.

His first birthday wasn't what he expected, but it was one hell of a party.


To be continued...


I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who took the time to read the first chapter of my glorified cope fic. I'm trying to write around a thousand words a day so hopefully new chapters will be coming out at a steady pace.

I do have big plans for the future of this story, but seeing as I'm writing this fic as The Witch From Mercury is airing, those plans may be subject to change. Depending on what comes to light over the next few weeks, I may incorporate these plot twists into the story, or I might just do my own thing.

Also, it's been a while since I've seen Gundam Build Divers, and I've only recently started to rewatch it, so I apologise if I messed any details up. If I notice any mistakes, I'll update the offending chapters promptly.

Trivia Time:

- Chuchu's Gunpla was based off the Tallgeese, with a modified crest, using Gundam Physalis' shield, with a hole cut in the middle and parts of the Ground Gundam, for increased land speed. Felsi and Petra used a pair of Dilanza's, with large Heat Hawks, Gouf gatling shields, and the Psycho Zaku's rocket booster for flight.

- My first draft of this chapter had Elan calling Suletta "Miss" a lot more often, but after reading through it again, I thought it made him sound kind like an incel, so I cut it to just the one time.