An: Heya guys, ARC Alpha 12 here! Sorry about all the confusion last month, with the shorter chapter and the double release.
For those who would like some questions answered, I am always happy to take a look on either my personal account (which you can access in the review section, as I've commented there a few times) or by PMing this account, which will likely get a response from either Kyrus Lowen or myself.
To answer the question that was posed in the comments, "why don't I add the character bios to the chapters," it's simply about consistency. I explained it in length in the review section but in short, I want a format that will fit all the chapters, and as the story update some chapters or character sheets will be much, MUCH longer than others. To avoid making the chapters too long, I separated them from the bios. I hope this helps make things clearer.
Now, with that out of the way, on to the chapter! We are beginning to dig into the meat of the Gundam Build Fighters universe, so prepare for some developments in the next few chapters that'll start fleshing out some of the worlds they live in!
Yang and Blake stood at the front gate of the traditional looking dojo. Yang held the address in her hand, which was shaking lightly. Blake put her hand on Yang's shoulder to steady her.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," Blake tried to reassure her.
Yang took a deep, slow breath and nodded. "Yeah. I'm just… it's the first time meeting her in person, ya know?" She looked at Blake's amber eyes and gave her a smile. Blake knew that look all too well; Yang wore that smile when she was being brave to cope with her uncertainty.
"Would you prefer if we waited for my mother to get here? I'm sure she wouldn't mind-"
"-Let's get going!" Yang blurted out, marching forward towards the gates. "The day's only getting older!"
Blake gave her a surprised look but then smiled. She knew she wanted to keep Kali and Ghira away from Raven until she'd had the chance to make sure there was nothing to be afraid of. While Raven had had nothing to do with raising Yang, it was still her mother. And Blake's parents were quite loving and accepting of Yang. Their opinions mattered to her.
They entered the main area, which featured a large battle table and eleven students, ranging from ages six to in their early twenties. They were all dressed in comfortable martial arts gi and seemed focused on learning the intricate nature of the Mobile Trace system, as they moved inside their holographic and hard light cockpits.
Circling the outer area was a middle-aged woman who looked remarkably like Yang, though her hair was jet black instead of gold, her eyes red instead of lilac, and her skin pale rather than bronze. She also wore a stern, but slightly tired, expression. She glanced at the newcomers and nodded, before turning back to watch her two students practice in the battle system.
Blake watched the fighters; even though their Gunpla were being flipped around, the obvious limitation of the Gunpla Battle cockpit is that certain motions had to still be automated or simulated. A judo flip could be performed, with the system reacting only if the Gunpla's touch each other. If they do, then a temporary hard light projection was displayed, allowing the grappler to toss the grappled. This, in turn, tossed the Gunpla.
But the act of getting up was handled differently. The Gunpla would automatically begin righting itself if possible by computer automated control to get into the same pose as the pilot since the pilot would remain upright. Blake noticed, however, that the tossed pilots often knelt down or even sat down, so that they could get back into a position to control their Gunpla more quickly, rather than to wait. And, through the table, she also noted that even the kids could compete with the adults equally; using Gunpla, the battlefield was limited only by the motions they knew.
This was plainly evident when the smallest student in the dojo completely toppled one of the adults in the battle and forced them to surrender, which brought a small smirk to Raven's face, though she quickly hid it.
"That's enough," Raven called out, raising her hand up to signal the end of training. "I'm calling class early today. Practice your katas and be prepared to show them off in our next class. Dismissed."
The students all bowed respectfully, then proceeded to leave. All but one, who gave Yang a curious look. His vibrant red hair and amber eyes crossed with Yang's, and within a moment, a spark lit up in both of them. She also noted his gi had a symbol not of the birds wing behind an eye of Raven's dojo, but of an open hand, burning gold in a red circle.
They each could sense the other's fierce determination and love of a good fight. A natural instinct, so to speak, one felt only when rivals sized each other up. He glanced up and down, noting the toned biceps, muscles under her leggings, and abs barely peeking out from the mid-drift of her shirt. The body of someone who knew how to move in a fight, without a doubt.
Yang grinned, and he returned it. "Hey, what's your name?" She asked, her American accent coming through rather plainly in her somewhat rusty Japanese.
"Sekai Kamiki," he replied, his excitement spilling into his voice. "And you?"
"Yang Xiao Long."
Raven approached them both. She, too, sensed the rising tension and eagerness between them. "Careful, Yang. Sekai isn't my student," she explained. "His master sent him to me to study additional martial arts after his team won the Tri Battle Tournament last year."
"Oh, so you're part of the team my sister keeps fawning over?" Yang asked. Her grin got wider. "Interesting. I might wanna spar sometime."
Sekai shot his fist out at her, wind rushing right past her hair, blasted forward by the speed of the punch. "I'll take you on any time!"
Yang leaned back slightly, surprised, before repeating the motion, replicating his own act, with similar effect. He was shorter than she was-not much taller than Ruby, but he commanded a presence that she could not help but admire.
"I'm afraid, at your current skill level, Sekai would completely destroy you, Yang," Raven said frankly. Her blunt statement threw Yang off balance, and she looked at her, confused. "Your skill in the martial arts isn't the problem," she continued, answering the unasked question in her daughter's mind. "It's your temper, which I saw on full display when you fought Ruby."
"Hey! That's- Ow!" Yang's tantrum was stopped abruptly as Raven flicked her forehead. She recoiled and scowled, which made Raven smirk in response.
"My point exactly." Raven crossed her arms. "Sekai has mastered his hot-headedness to work in his favor, something I think you can learn from. But it's not something that's impossible to change. By the time I'm done, it will work for you, instead of the other way around. Your father explained that I asked you to come here to train before the tournament?"
"Yeah," she grumbled. Blake couldn't help but let out a giggle, which made the blonde shoot her a daring look. Blake cringed slightly but put on a cute look, which soothed Yang's mood.
Raven raised an eyebrow at the girls but said nothing. She did, however, make a mental note of how easily her companion was able to calm her.
Sekai smiled, the determined look only intensifying. "Well, in that case, I can't wait to see how much stronger you'll get. But I have to run. I have to go practice with my partner for the doubles match." He bowed to Raven respectfully.
Raven bowing slightly to Sekai and smiled as she watched him rush to the locker room, before turning back to Blake and Yang. "Pardon my abruptness; there is a specific air I try to maintain around my students," she explained.
"It's cool," Yang replied. "I kinda figured it was an act."
Raven turned to Blake and bowed respectfully, which Blake returned. "You must be Blake. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Tai speaks highly of you."
Blake blushed slightly. "Oh. I'm...glad. He does seem to like me."
Yang gave Blake a loving look. She was glad Raven was so accepting of her. One of her biggest fears was that Raven wouldn't like her, but thankfully that didn't seem to be the case.
"Also, I do apologize for not making it last night." Raven closed her eyes, stress showing on her face. "I had a difficult situation here last night that required my attention. A student had to be forcibly ejected. It was...not pretty."
"Oof, what happened?"
"I'd rather not get into it... So, have you thought about my offer to train with me?"
"I have. But I was wondering; Blake is still pretty new to Gunpla Battle. She's good, but I was hoping maybe she could stay here to train with us?"
Raven glanced at Blake, scrutiny crossing her face. "No."
Yang and Blake both glanced at each other, shocked. "What?!"
"My dojo is designed and set up for training in the Mobile Trace system. Based on her slender body type, she likely is not a martial artist. I'm not sure I'd be as helpful to her as I can for you." She paused for a moment in thought. "But, perhaps I can offer a different kind of assistance. Yang, I'd like to propose a deal. For three days, you and I will work solo. No distractions."
She looked away, a sad expression crossing her face. "I...want to bond with you. To try and make up for a lost time, and to talk with you. So stay here and train with me. When classes resume, I'll have you both work with my students. They might be able to learn a few things from you both, and you, them."
Yang hesitated, but Blake touched her shoulder and smiled. "I'm good with that. That gives me time to finish the customization for Gundam 00 Shia so it's more of my own, and it'll let me spend time with my family."
Yang listened, then smiled. "Alright, that's not too bad. Let's do it!"
Raven nodded, her sadness replaced with approval. "Good. I'll get you a gi then, Yang. Your training starts in an hour."
Raven walked away, leaving Blake and Yang alone. They turned to each other. "I'm gonna miss you, Kitty Kat.
Kitty Kat took a step forward and gave her a peck on the lips. "It's only a few days, silly. And we can still text and talk when you're done."
"Yeah…" She returned the gesture with a hug. "Then I'll see you in a couple of days. Go have fun with your folks."
Blake nodded and kissed her one more time, before turning and heading for the door.
Raven glanced at the two and smiled. She could tell that her daughter had definitely inherited Tai's traits more than herself. And she was glad.
Yang glared at the straight built Astray Red Frame ahead of her. The katana it held was pointed at her Burning Echelon, unwavering. So far, Yang had not done any damage to it. Raven had danced around every attack, with effortless fluid movements befitting a samurai and debilitating, lightning-fast strikes she'd only seen ninja in video games perform.
Never before had Yang thought that the Mobile Trace system could be used like this, in swordplay, but Raven opened her eyes.
Raven was on a screen to her right, holding a hard light rod forward. She moved the rod, and the Astray shifted with her, raising the sword up near her face and pointing it at her daughter.
Burning Echelon charged again, but watched as the thrown punch sailed harmlessly away and she stuck out her foot, tripping the machine. She landed hard on the ground, kneeling, trying to catch her breath.
Yang inhaled deeply, calming herself. She thought back to Raven mentioning her anger, and how it was holding her back, and she could feel the frustration building. She wasn't wrong. All she wanted to do was pummel that Astray's face in, but it would just have easily avoided the attack and probably slashed her backpack to weaken her further.
"Have you heard of Assimilation before, Yang?"
Her voice snapped Yang's attention out of her thoughts and to the screen. "Huh?"
"Assimilation. It's the reason you won't beat Sekai Kamiki in a fight. It's a rare state achieved through extreme focus and a serene state of mind, and a perfect balance and harmony between your Gunpla and yourself. Sekai and you have a lot in common, but unlike you, he's mastered allowing his anger to work for him, rather than control him."
Yang watched as Raven put her sword away, and she dropped her stance. "What is it?"
Raven inhaled slightly. "It is as I said. It's a state at which you become one with your Gunpla. The reasons for it are unknown, as are many of the details around it. In fact, selectively few pilots have accessed it, and even fewer have mastered it. It can be achieved through either normal or Mobile Trace controls, but it's more potent if you are directly controlling the machine. And since the introduction of the Mobile Trace controls, more and more people have been seen accessing the ability.
"In short, it allows for superb, near-lagless control, allowing you to use the Gunpla and the Mobile Trace system to their absolute maximum potential. However…"
She closed her eyes. "Through means I'm not entirely certain on, it also transmits some of the damage from the Gunpla into your own body."
"What?!" Yang cried out. "That's impossible!"
"Plavsky Particles make it possible," Raven explained. "The nature of the Plavsky Particles allows emotional wavelengths and brainwaves to be carried through to others. It allows you to read the emotional state of an opponent at a base level. Plavsky Particles aren't just affecting Gunpla; they affect the pilot, as well, when they are created by the Battle System, and through them, it allows pilots to judge each other's emotional states, which in turn grants us a greater understanding of each other through our battles.
"Some have described it as similar to the Newtype Effect in the actual Gundam anime, allowing people to telepathically communicate, though that is only rumor, And, in addition, it helps us push past our limits and unlock skills and abilities in Gunpla Battle that people have only ever dreamed of. But becoming one with your Gunpla has its drawbacks."
Yang looked at her hands, which of course made the Burning Echelon look at its own hands. "...how much damage are we talking about?"
"Sekai once said that a cut on his own Gunpla, the Build Burning Gundam, actually caused a small, shallow cut on his cheek. He also said that several times, upon taking a lot of damage in a fight, he was rendered unconscious from the connection. But, it should also be noted that he was not accustomed to assimilation during that second event, and recovered quickly, though it did startle his teammates. Some have argued that assimilation is far too risky, yet the nature of martial arts is a risk versus reward system. Assimilation is no different."
Yang thought about what she said for a moment. She wasn't wrong. The risk of injury was always present. And, it sounded like it wasn't even all that serious…
She clenched both fists, her resolve renewed. "Yeah, you're right! No pain, no gain!"
Raven chuckled. "You are just like your father. So, shall we try again to focus your emotions?"
Yang lowered her fists. That reminded her of one of the things she wanted to talk to Raven about. "Wait." She canceled the battle, and the holograms faded, leaving the two Gunpla motionless on the now-empty table. Raven gave her a curious look. "I wanted to ask.. Why'd you and Dad split up?"
Raven looked surprised, but that quickly turned to sadness. She sighed. "Your father… I loved him, very much. But we didn't always get along, and frankly, we ended up at each other's throats more often than not. He's a good man, and you were a precious and innocent little baby. And I knew your father had feelings for Summer, too.
"So, one night, I spoke with him. I told him everything I felt. Mainly about growing up in a home where my parents didn't get along, and how your Uncle Qrow and I were essentially just in the way, the very weak glue that kept our parents together. I did not want you to go through that. You were innocent, and I...I wasn't cut out to be a mother. I knew that. Summer, however, was."
She looked at Yang with a tear in her eye, her hard eyes softened by remorse and happiness both. "And seeing you now, seeing how you've grown to be such a bright and fun-loving young woman, I can tell that I made the right choice. You might not see it, but Summer was the best mother I could have ever asked to raise you."
Yang looked away, trying not to cry. "Yeah, but...did you not want me?" She looked at the floor, her shoulders shaking. Raven's words were things she felt too, and she knew that Raven was probably right, but she couldn't help but still feel abandoned. "Was I just...too much for you, or-"
"I wanted to stay, I really did Yang. But what I wanted more, was for you to become better than I could ever be and I could never bring you up to be that person." She shook her head. "I'm too harsh, too severe, too focused, and I know it. You would have ended up colder, angrier, and probably resenting me. Aside from training and Gunpla Battle, I don't even know the meaning of the word "fun" anymore… Summer, though, is nothing but fun. She always has been, even when we were in school. And I knew you and she would bond far better than you and I would. I'm...more your speed now. But I didn't want you to become like me."
Yang glanced at her, seeing that the woman that she had thought was so strong was now barely holding herself together. She faced her fully, as Raven looked up at her. "Leaving you was the hardest decision I ever had to make. But I would do it again. Because I knew it was the right decision then and still believe that now, I can tell you without a doubt that I will always wish I was like Summer, so I could have had the chance to know you."
So that's why. Yang thought she had seen a glint of regret in Raven's eye when they first met, a small twinkle that hadn't gone away. "Well, I'm right here now," Yang said, smiling. "I get it. I do. Maybe you weren't who I needed as a kid. But I'm basically an adult now. And I'd like to get to know my real mom."
Raven smiled warmly. Her heart swelled with joy at hearing those words, words that she was hoping Yang felt. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, before taking a deep breath and centering herself, collecting her thoughts, before leveling a determined gaze at her daughter. "Don't think that I will take it easy on you just because we got all emotional. Playtime is now over."
Yang smirked and slammed her fists together. "I'd be disappointed if you did. So? Another round?"
"No more practicing." The Battle System started up again as Raven took the hard light rod back into her hand and caused Astray Red Frame to move its katana into a defensive posture. "You have a long way to go before you're tournament ready. Focus, and prepare for a real fight. By this time tomorrow, I expect to see some improvement. Now, come to me!"
Yang dropped into a fighting pose, left hand out slightly, right fist by her face, body turning sideways. "Show me what you got...Mom."
Raven faltered, surprised at her word, but quickly recovered as she blocked the first heavy blow with the flat of her blade. The impact cratered the ground beneath her feet, and she couldn't help but match the excited smile on her daughter's face
Yes, she really was Tai's daughter. And now, she's starting to see a bit of herself.
