Deadly Research
Disclaimer: Ugh . . . why must we writers constantly do this disclaimer stuff? AC and GW are not mine.
Note: I live in Mississippi and the devastation down on the coast is more brutal than it looks on the news. First hand experience will always beat out second handing it. Your support of my work during this troubled time is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Now onto review response!
Dra Gan: Well thanks for the support! Yeah, my profile explains a lot about my pen name, which also in and of itself explains my e-mail address. This chapter may end up longer than the previous one. Maybe . . .
T.R. Fanatic: Glad you liked the AC specs. More will be added whenever a new OC mech comes onto the field. Noir is also one of my favorite anime series. Check out Madlax, from the makers of Noir. It's just as if not better than its predecessor.
Recap
"Miss Darlien. I have some questions as I've said before. I'm sure you also have a lot of questions for me too." She nodded once as a scowl on her face. Her eyes told him she knew where this was going.
"You wish to speak with me on a political basis, right?" He smiled openly. He hadn't seen another girl who possessed some sense in her head for some time. He was going to enjoy this exchange of information for once.
"Yes I do. I'm glad to see that someone around here doesn't think with a trigger finger."
Melissa took the joke in stride, laughing lightly despite the looks she got in return from everyone in the room.
"Now, let's begin my half of the questions. I still consider this an interrogation though. So not answering is not in your best interest. Understood?" He merely tapped the pistol in his belt and pointed into the crowd. She swallowed and nodded.
"Good, now first . . ."
Chapter 4: Warrior's Pride and Shame
"Good, now first I want to know just why these people are here and what their intentions are." Dark Heart reclined in the chair he was sitting in. Maiden Sword was sitting in a corner where she had a good view of the two doors.
Minister Darlien spent some time thinking before she answered.
"The point in coming to Mars was to begin developing an inhabitable ecosystem to move former space colony dwellers here."
"Not to interrupt and offend Minister, but we were here first and are far ahead of you by light years. Our technology has gotten us to the point where our cities radiate an artificial ozone layer which holds in oxygen and blocks outside radiation like Earth." The Minister stayed quiet. Another person in the room spoke up.
"That's not possible! You're lying. You just got here before us during the whole White Fang incident and worked ahead . . . you're all a bunch of . . ."
"LIARS!" Dark Heart glared at the politician with a look that silenced him in his tracks. Standing from his chair, he walked to the man, who began to step back. The AC pilot stopped just in front of him.
"Did I ever say where we came from?" Their noses almost touched. Dark Heart gave him a sharp punch in the gut, doubling the rotund man over.
"I don't like people who say things about stuff they don't know. That's why I'm talking with your Foreign Minister . . . to clear things up and just maybe, end this foolish fighting."
Melissa walked over to the younger woman and sat down across from her.
"I'm sorry. We aren't really quite fond of politics." Darlien smiled and nodded, fully understanding her words. She had to admit that she wasn't too fond of it at times either.
"Dark Heart, I'll take over the questions now. Guard the doors." Her partner huffed and sat down where she had once been seated. The pistol at his hip was now twirling around like a cowboy. Propping his feet on another chair across from him, the pilot sighed heavily and shut his eyes. He needed rest.
"Miss Darlien," Melissa began with a small grin. "I would like to know what it is that your goals are for Mars, and what will become of your projects in the future."
The younger woman looked at her and repeated what she had told Dark Heart. Melissa nodded and motioned for her to continue her explanation. Relena looked to Dark Heart and then back at her current questioner.
Just as she was about to begin, a noise from above earned a glare from both pilots as they drew their pistols and aimed them at each of the open ventilation shafts. A small pen shaped object fell from the opening Melissa held a bead on.
The object exploded in a blinding flash, sending Dark Heart and Melissa into defensive positions on either end of the room. One other person fell through the open shaft, landing in a crouching position, a pistol in hand.
"Hey, you alright in here Miss Darlien?" The young minister sighed in relief.
"Duo? Is that you? Be careful."
A volley of gun fire erupted from the stand Relena was behind, Melissa wasn't happy about their situation. The figure jumped behind a toppled desk to hide. She smirked, the desk couldn't stop bullets, but any protection was better than nothing.
The civilians in the room were screaming in fear at the sudden violence. Dark Heart couldn't have had a bigger grin on his face. He reveled in it, the chaos that came with a battle. Civilians would always remain ignorant to its cruelties; which is why he loved drilling it into them whenever they got caught up in the fighting. It showed them just how destructive humans could be; that no one was immortal, or safe.
Yet the boy who had jumped into the room was younger than he was. A long brown haired braid fell down his back. Not that he cared; the boy had a something about him, an aura that told him to be wary, cautious. He recognized the pistol though, a .38 Long Colt semi auto. It was a good pistol that balanced power and bullet capacity.
Not that it mattered. The pistol he'd gained from the earlier killed guard was a Sig .45 cal.; not his favorite weapon of choice, but it had more stopping power than the .38. As more shots from Melissa rang out, the boy hadn't noticed him, concentrating only on Melissa and her distracting, if not potentially lethal fire.
Holding the gun to his forehead, the top of the barrel touched his forehead. Whispering an inaudible mantra, he spun the weapon around his finger in a reverse circle before leveling it at his target. Aligning the sites, he let his eyes focus on the .38 in the boy's hands, letting the now aligned sites to go blurry. He squeezed the trigger.
The bullet found its mark, shattering the gun into pieces. The shrapnel from the decimated weapon cut into its owner. Another series of screams from all of the innocents echoed through the room. The boy ducked behind another toppled desk, hiding from his new adversary and the original one.
"You should have checked the number of foes before jumping into this room boy." Dark Heart held his pistol in the sweeper shooting position. He'd be ready to shoot at anything that came from behind the desk.
"Yeah, well, Hilde always said I was brash. Oh, got a present for yah!" Duo hollered as he tossed an object over the desk. Melissa ducked behind the podium again as she saw the shape.
Flash grenade? Time to close in . . . Dark Heart began a full on sprint to the desk.
His feet barely made a sound due to the hysterics from everyone else in the room. Passing underneath the explosive, the raven haired Raven slid to a stop just in front of the desk when the blinding light from the phosphorous erupted in an ear shattering blast.
Duo stood from his hiding place as the light dimmed; a new pistol in his uninjured hand. Dark Heart brought up his pistol, the sights placed on the Gundam pilot's face. The bullet would go through the bottom of his jaw and out the top of his skull if it hit.
"Duo! Below you!" A new voice entered the foray as the firing pin ignited the gunpowder, sending the lethal chunk of lead to its final resting place. A small tuft of brown hair fell to the floor. Its owner lay on the ground, thoroughly peeved.
"Holy crap! Way to close, even for Shinigami!" The antics didn't help him as his vision cleared in time to see the desk fall on top of him.
It landed solidly with a crack as ribs were broken. Dark Heart had flipped the desk and stood on top, pinning his opponent. He cocked the hammer back and pointed it at his helpless foe.
"Who's there!" He glanced about, trying to find the newcomer. Melissa's distressed cry made him spin around, throwing knife ready.
Behind Melissa was a shorter boy, around Relena's height. Unruly brown hair hid cobalt blue eyes; which held no emotion. He had a pistol to Melissa's temple and looked to have some amount of strength. He held the woman's arms behind her back, Melissa was wincing slightly.
He was dressed in a simple white button up shirt with short sleeves. A pair a black slacks and a pistol belt. The Foreign Minister stood behind him; a slightly worried but obviously grateful look covered her face.
It looked to Dark Heart as if the two of them were rather close. Closer than a politician and her bodyguard, if that was what the boy was. Lowering the knife, the pilot looked deeper into Melissa's eyes, trying to read her thoughts.
The downed Gundam pilot's voice distracted his concentration.
"Yo, Heero! Ugh! Ouch . . . 'bout time you showed up.(Wheeze)" The boy nodded, Dark Heart wasn't sure about his new situation. Force wouldn't work now, he knew that much. He suddenly plopped down on the desk Indian style, eliciting a comic cry of agony from the self declared God of Death.
"You're Heero I presume?" Another nod answered that question. Heero followed with one of his own, his monotone voice sounded slightly distant.
"Yes, and yours is?"
"Dark Heart, and that is all you'll get for a name at the moment."
"I'll take that. What are you doing?"
"Trying to get some answers as to what you people are doing." Dark Heart smirked pointing to Relena. She glared at him. A chuckle escaped his lips as he shook with the quiet laughter. "She has fire; that much is clear. That's a good thing, I assure you."
"One more advance like that and I might advance on you partner here." Dark Heart's laughter abruptly stopped. He hung his head as a snort of disgust left him. Lifting his eyes, the two pilots locked glares. After a long, cold silence, Dark Heart smirked again; he had seen a flicker of emotion that was terrible for a soldier.
"No you won't." Heero, Relena, and Duo were speechless. Seeing the silence as a sign to continue, Dark Heart stood, pitting the younger man with a cold stare.
"You won't harm her. You can't. I see it in your eyes." The Gundam pilot frowned.
"You've a heavy and conscious laden heart. The death of a bystander." Heero flinched, surprising Relena. A bystander? An innocent person? Dark Heart pressed on.
"I don't know whether or not is was intentional or not, but if you're a pilot of one of these, Gundams." The word was strange coming from his lips. "Then you should expect collateral damages. You won't do anything to her because right now, she's helpless, just as that victim was." Heero looked shocked to the core, the handgun fell from his hand. Melissa took the opportunity to get back to her husband's side. Relena kneeled beside the shaken pilot, his mumblings heard by those close by.
"No . . . I didn't mean to." Was the only thing that came from his mouth.
Dark Heart and Melissa took that moment to leave through the shaft openings they had come down. Once back in the ventilation systems, the two began to make their way to a different room.
"Did you really have to crush him like that?" Dark Heart nodded.
"Unfortunately yes I did. The look in his eyes tells me that if it's a military object, he wouldn't hesitate. For us to get out of here, we had to get by him. I doubt anyone else on this base is as skilled as he is."
Maiden Sword was confused by his statement.
"To put it bluntly, he didn't drop from the ventilation systems. He forced an electronic lock override from the other side."
She suddenly understood his cruel tactic usage. But how were they supposed to make it back to the hangars, assuming that the ACs were actually being kept there. Dark Heart shrugged.
"Just great. Let's just trounce around this cursed base until we find them. Swift idea there dearest. How about we find the central control unit and then . . ."
A massive explosion from the outside rocked the base, klaxons blared as the red glow of emergency lights flared on and off. Below them, they heard the frantic rush of soldiers.
"Get moving, four more of those AC things are attacking the base!"
"Are you serious? Four more? Those two we captured were too much even for the Wing Gundam!"
"Yeah, and the leader hailed himself as Mobius, or something like that."
The Fallen Angels looked at each other in shock. Mobius was leading? He never, EVER went on missions; preferring to perfect his skill in the arena. This was news on a whole new level.
"Well, I guess Global really wants us back." Melissa raised an eyebrow.
"You mean if we get back. Come on, now we have to get our ACs back!" The couple sped down the shaft to another grate and popped down.
Right in front of two frantic guards.
Several quick punches knocked out the guards, who they then dragged to a nearby room and left them there. Still wearing their flight suits, the only article stolen from their victims were the caps, sporting officer insignias. One guard ran up to them with a salute, which they returned; playing along.
"Sir, please get to the hangar and guard the two mechs we captured!"
"Understood, which one?"
"You forgot? Straight down the hallway, elevator three on your left. Floor B3."
They traded salutes again and rushed past him. Reaching the elevators, they punched the buttons given, arriving a moment later in the hangar. There stood Dark Heart and Maiden Sword Armored Cores, fully re-equipped. They stood in silence for a moment. The mechanics and research teams were thorough, are the damage they sustained was gone. The weapons and other gear were replaced perfectly.
Repressing a shudder, Melissa gave Dark Heart a quick kiss on the lips. He stood there even more stunned by her actions than his repaired AC.
"That's for luck, from here, we're on our own. Who ever gets going first watches over the other till their functional." He smiled. They would be on their own getting to their respective ACs. Silently praying for her safety, he dashed off in the opposite direction.
No one appeared to notice him as he got closer to the cockpit until he was already there. Several guards shouted and began shooting; their bullets ricocheted off the metal armor plating. The cockpit closed and sealed as the voice recognition systems uploaded.
Please state your name and registry code.
"Avalesti Sionnodel. Registry code: 590B7L7O1OD."
Name and Code acknowledged. Please enter Bypass Phrase.
"Dark wings are descending, for Fallen Angels have no light to guide them save their own."
Bypass Phrase . . . accepted. All systems green, entering combat mode.
Cannon fire from nearly clipped Dark Heart's head off with a devastating flash. The tank erupted in flames as a three shot burst riveted the thin armor. Pulling out of its forced docking bay, the shadow mech turned to see Maiden Sword waving the AST rifle around.
Incoming transmission . . .
"You're slow Dark Heart!" Melissa's voice filled his earpiece. Grinning from ear to ear, the grizzled pilot looked around at the suddenly panicking workers. Their two little "projects" were now lurking around the hangar . . . fully armed.
"You know I've got a huge real name!"
"That's no excuse Avel!"
Looking at his ammo reserves, he was impressed. The Karasawa still had twenty-three shots left and the Orbit Launchers still had eight units left. He asked Maiden Sword about her ammunitions status.
"I have fifty rounds left in the rifle, the linear gun's got four shots remaining. But I've got the laser blade still attached." His smiled disappeared as his displays flashed a single message in red.
System Overweight.
"I've got a problem. My AC is overweight. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to use that Option part."
"The Opt-I! You've got it on board?" The Opt-Intensify was a Kisaragi masterpiece. Only a select few had obtained the part, but those who had received it had been known for their piloting prowess before being granted it.
"Yeah, hopefully it'll be enough. Melissa, if I can't pull my half of the weight, I may have to activate my other side. Don't let me." She nodded grimly. His past was the main reason she had stayed with him. When she had made that discovery, he had nearly killed her.
This escape was going to be difficult.
Thanks for reading! Please Review!
Heero's breaking down is due to the flashbacks seen in Endless Waltze where he destroys the MS base and a Leo falls into the apartment complex of the little girl and her dog. Those of you who play AC, can you guess what Avelesti's "other side" is? Send your guess as part of your review.
Oh, if some of you have AC designs along with pilot names and AC names, please send them to me along with the color scheme. Nothing from AC 2 Another Age and before please. AC 3 and Silent Line. If I like what I see, then I'll get to having them show up in the fic. Thanks again!