Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam.

As always, huge thanks to LW for all her help beta reading this!


Gundam Gemini

Episode Twenty

Ghosts of Lemuria

Part B

.

"-lice… Alice! The damn… -ed Scarlet Wolf is d-… down here with us! Watch your backs!"

Laura's scrambled warning would have otherwise shocked Alice but the blonde was already staring at her monitor with wide-eyed concern.

"Too late, Laura!" she cried and hurriedly switched comm channels as her radar was swarmed by red dots. "Lionheart, a squad of Wargs have just appeared out of nowhere! And the Orthrus and Brunhild report they are engaged with the Fenrir underground!"

"Copy that, Jabberwock. Fall back and provide covering fire for the Hermes. The Lionheart will assist," Sofia calmly responded before barking orders at the CIC operators. "Ready our Hellfire missiles on the double! We cannot allow the Wargs to enter the bunker and join up with their leader!"

"Prep the beam cannon too! If the Space Wolves are here, the Lunar Fox can't be far behind!" ordered Milos who leaned forward in the captain's chair with an irritated look on his face. "But where the hell did they come from? Radar, report!"

"Nothing showing up on the electromagnetic or infrared spectrums, Captain. And the PP Radar is quiet too," said the operator. "There's nothing out there."

"Oh, but the facts indicate otherwise, son; those Wargs didn't just fly all the way out here…" Milos stared at the main monitor in thought and it hit him the second he saw the approaching sandstorm. "Prepare to fire the beam cannon!"

"Captain?" Sofia turned on him with a perplexed expression.

"Just a hunch, Commander," Milos replied before stretching out his arm. "Our target is the centre of the sandstorm! Fire!"

At his command, the Lionheart's beam cannon unleashed a surge of blue plasma directly into the swirling sandstorm, tearing through it like a bolt of lightning in a pitch black night. The rolling wall of dust parted like the Red Sea for a moment before the winds picked up again and it reformed. However, in the short period of time it had dispersed, a black ship could be seen hiding within the vortex.

"Crow-class ship detected!" the operator yelled as the radar went off – only for it to fall silent again when the sandstorm reformed. "No, now it's… gone?!"

"What's going on, Captain?" Not one to enjoy being left out of the loop, Sofia narrowed her red eyes at Milos.

"Whatever the Cataclysm did to this planet, it changed the makeup of this desert," Milos explained his hypothesis, quoting what he had read in the most recent archaeological reports. "The sand is acting like chaff and jamming our sensors – and the Lunar Fox is taking advantage of it by flying right in the middle of the storm!"

"That's so reckless… They're risking damage to their engines – not to mention they must be flying blind!"

"But if they can take us out in one shot, it will be worth it to him," Milos grunted, alarmed by the Lunar Fox's strategy even as he quietly admired the tactician's genius. "Evasive manoeuvres! Team Orthrus, those Wargs are relaying our position back to their ship – either take them out or keep them busy!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Ray responded and the Hermes proceeded to spray hot plasma at multiple Wargs using its dual bullpup rifles. Most were forced back but the feisty one – whom Ray had dubbed Scarlet Wolf Lite – skilfully slipped past the beams before making a rush for his Garm. Only Alice's pinpoint shooting stopped the Warg in its tracks as it took cover behind the Shield Warg.

The Lionheart followed up their counterattack by launching a barrage of Hellfire missiles, igniting a cascade of explosions which scattered the enemy. But the lull in the battle was short-lived when both ships simultaneously fired their beam cannons, irradiating the sky with blinding light. The giant beams crossed each other, one completely missing the Lionheart and the other smashing into the sandstorm, momentarily exposing the Blue Crow before the rising winds concealed it again and the skirmish began anew.

As Ray single-handedly repelled the Space Wolves once more, he was surprised by how well he was handling the situation despite being outnumbered. While he was worried about Laura and Freya, knowing that the Scarlet Wolf was far and away from him was doing wonders for his confidence. Still, as he manoeuvred the Hermes through the plasma-filled skies like a dragonfly, the former ace couldn't help but think he was forgetting something.

"Wait… Is it just me or are they missing a Warg?"

.


.

To say Ursula Roland was having a bad day would be an understatement.

It had all begun when Commodore Sparrhorn had ordered a reconnaissance operation and Vega had instantly volunteered. Ursula had done her best to dissuade their ace, explaining it would be better to let one of the other Space Wolves take on such a task, but she had been insistent. Of course, the Scarlet Wolf's bold solution had only made things worse.

"Oh, very well, Ursula… If you're going to miss me that much you should just come along."

Vega's misunderstanding had left Ursula tongue-tied but, thinking about it at the time, it was probably the best outcome she could have hoped for. The captain couldn't very well trust anyone else to keep an eye on their erratic leader even if she had had to fend off a very angry Charlotte for the supposed honour. However, that had been far from the end of her problems as she had discovered when the pair had stumbled upon the entrance to a Lemurian bunker during their recon in the desert. Despite Ursula's pleas to wait for backup, Vega had dived straight in.

"Come, Ursula! Where is your sense of adventure?"

'Since meeting you? On life support,' Ursula had wanted to respond but had instead simply sighed and flown right after the Fenrir. Unfortunately for both of them, the ancient bunker was built like an underground maze and it hadn't been long before they had become completely lost in the pitch-black darkness with only their lights to guide them. They had wandered blindly afterwards in search of the exit, and throughout the journey an increasingly livid Ursula had berated her leader for having gotten them into this mess.

All this came to an abrupt halt when Vega suddenly instructed her to hide.

Hearing the urgency in the Scarlet Wolf's voice, the captain brought her Warg to a stop behind some rubble and switched off her lights, leaving them in complete darkness. Seconds later, the underground ruins were illuminated by the bright glow of a pair of probing torches and Ursula and Vega discovered they were not alone. Passing them by, completely unaware of their presence in the bunker, was the Orthrus Gundam and the pink Garm.

"The White Hellhound…" Vega whispered with barely contained excitement. "To think we would meet again here of all places… Truly, the Fates must enjoy toying with the both of us."

"And me… Don't forget me…" Ursula quietly fumed as she weighed up what they should do. "We should formulate a plan, Major… Major?"

Checking on the Fenrir, Ursula was startled to find it had completely disappeared from her monitor. Realising Vega had switched on Ghost Mode so she could stalk her prey, Ursula swore and activated her night vision before following them at a safe distance.

"I take my eyes off her for one second and this is what happens…" the brunette grumbled as she piloted her Warg as silently as possible.

Their covert pursuit of the enemy through the darkness led them to an expansive chamber with an equally titanic door and Ursula was momentarily frozen by the sight. Regaining her senses, she quickly hid behind a giant slab of concrete and observed as the Orthrus placed a manipulator on the door, lighting up the etchings on its surface like a purple magic sigil. With their RDF foes distracted by the promise of Lemurian relics, Ursula knew Vega would not waste this most opportune moment to strike and she waited for some kind of signal from the invisible Fenrir.

What happened next, however, took her completely by surprise when the Orthrus suddenly spun around and fired its rifle, unleashing a burst of blue beams which found the invisible Fenrir with inexplicable accuracy. Only Vega's quick wits saved her as she activated her red beamsabre mid-swing and cut the shots down, briefly disabling Ghost Mode as the Fenrir's black armour was hit by the resulting sparks. The mobile suit reverted back to its invisible camouflage almost immediately but it was too late – the Orthrus and Garm split up and put down a furious barrage of crossfire, tracking the side-stepping Fenrir across the room as it returned fire while flitting in and out of view.

Witnessing her hopes of a quick ambush descend into a full-blown firefight, Ursula grimaced but did not panic. Her Warg had still gone unnoticed in the array of red and blue beams lighting up the cavern and the calculating captain bided her time. Only when the Gundam was close enough did she leap out of cover, blasting a well-aimed plasma bolt directly at its exposed back – only for the Garm to suddenly jump in the way and absorb the shot with its shield.

"Ursula! How unsportsmanlike of you!" Vega playfully chided her second while providing covering fire.

"This isn't sport, it's war!" Ursula angrily shouted back, narrowly diving out of the way before her concrete cover was melted into cheese. Immediately finding some fresh shelter, she and Vega blasted the enemy with beams from both sides, forcing the Orthrus and Garm to stand back-to-back with their shields up.

"Damn! Looks like she wasn't alone, Laura!" Freya grunted and furiously returned fire as she protected her friend's rear. "But at least we can see this one!"

"Yeah! It's just like the reports from the ZU said," Laura replied as her purple eyes followed the camouflaged Fenrir around without blinking. "She's found a relic that makes the Fenrir invisible!"

"Well, she's not the only one who's learnt some new tricks! Are you ready for this?"

"Let's do it!"

In a display that only years of friendship could explain – in addition to months of gruelling drills under Demon Commander Gabriel – the Orthrus and Garm switched places with perfect synchronisation. At the same time, Freya launched several flares towards the cavern ceiling which hung in the air and flooded the chamber with light along with the shining Gundam as Laura activated Solar Mode. Ursula quickly shut her eyes before she was blinded and opened them in time to see the back of the Gundam as her beams were safely absorbed by its golden wings. With Solar Armour transforming the Orthrus' entire body into a glowing shield, Freya's pink Garm kneeled in front of the Gundam and both mobile suits brought up their weapons.

Sensing what was about to happen, Vega hurled the Fenrir into a run just before a combination of beam rifles and Vulcan miniguns opened fire. Despite her invisibility, the Scarlet Wolf was forced to dodge as beams and bullets hurtled past like a hurricane, tearing up the concrete wall behind her and shredding any abandoned Gorgons into purple confetti. The relentless barrage was not without reason as the dust cloud it created began to coat the Fenrir with white powder, making the mobile suit clearly visible under the added lights.

"Found you!" Laura triumphantly exclaimed. "Shoot!"

Caught out in the open with no cover in sight and with beams and bullets bearing down on her, Vega was forced into a decision. Remaining remarkably calm, she thrust the Fenrir forward, zigzagging in bursts while firing her rifle and deflecting shots with her beamsabre. In the process, however, she allowed the partially camouflaged mobile suit to take the full brunt of the Vulcan miniguns and by the end of her charge Ghost Mode had overheated, leaving the Fenrir's red armour fully visible.

But it was all within the Scarlet Wolf's calculations. Having closed the distance in an instant, she used the momentum to kick the pink Garm square in its shield, sending it flying backwards into the Gundam. Aggressively maintaining her impetus, Vega pushed on her throttle and drew her beamsabre back, ready to skewer both mobile suits through at once. What she did not expect was for the Orthrus to use its shield like a springboard, catching and softening the impact of its comrade before propelling the machine straight back at her.

A hurried tilt of her control sticks was all that saved Vega from the blue beamsabre that would have sliced through her cockpit as the Garm flew past but the reprieve was short-lived as the Orthrus continued blasting at the Fenrir. The Scarlet Wolf found herself sandwiched between the pair, fighting off fierce beamsabre strikes on one side and relentless beam fire on the other. As she gracefully evaded the Orthrus' deadly sharpshooting while duelling the pink Garm, Vega could not help but smile at their teamwork. Despite being shot at while engaged in a melee with LIRA's ace, the Garm showed no fear of friendly fire and coordinated its attacks perfectly with the Gundam as if they could read each other's minds.

Realising the complete and absolute trust she was witnessing on display as the duo did their utmost to kill her, Vega's smile only widened.

"Bravo! But we cannot lose to their teamwork, Ursula!"

"This isn't a competition!" Ursula decried. She had been trying to get a better angle on the pink Garm to assist Vega but the Gundam thwarted her efforts at every turn by putting its golden, beam-resistant body in the way of her rifle sights. Exasperated, the brunette was just about to charge in herself when there was a flash of purple light and she saw the Fenrir's armour had transformed into a pale, almost lucent lavender.

"Follow me, Ursula! I believe a change of scenery is in order!"

Vega followed up her words by kicking off Freya's shield and launching the Fenrir into the air while the pink Garm fell flat on its back. As the lavender mobile suit spread its wings and engaged its thrusters to take flight, the Orthrus readied its rifle to shoot it down only for the Fenrir to split into a dozen clones which all blasted off towards the ceiling. Cursing, Laura fired randomly only for her beams to pass through holograms each time and the flock of Fenrirs disappeared into an exposed tunnel together with the Warg.

"Damn her Holo Mode!" the Gundam pilot seethed before initiating her own mode change and powering up her thrusters. "After her, Freya!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Freya yelled and got the Brunhild back on its feet just in time to see the Gundam's gold armour change to the electric blue of Pulse Mode as it blasted off into the air. The Pink Diva followed soon after and flew straight into the tunnel with the Orthrus, weaving through the darkness at high speed using their headlights until they caught up with the Space Wolves. Seeing that the narrow passageways had forced the Fenrir and its holograms to fly in a bunched formation, Laura and Freya fired their rifles instantly and thinned out the copies with a sizzling rain of blue beams.

"Hmm, I may have inadvertently exacerbated our disadvantage…" Vega nonchalantly remarked, technopathically manoeuvring both the Fenrir and its dwindling clones between the enemy's beams until she noticed a fork in the tunnel ahead illuminated by the passing plasma. "Ah-ha! A solution presents itself! Get ready, Ursula!"

"What? We're splitting up?" the brunette exclaimed incredulously while narrowly dodging beams in the restricted space. "What happened to teamwork?!"

"I believe it would be best for both of us if we spent some time apart."

"Major!"

Ursula wanted to give her superior an earful but with the fork in the tunnel inbound there was no time for discussion. She reluctantly leaned on the control sticks and her Warg veered left while the Fenrir went right. Coming up close behind them, the Orthrus and Brunhild were forced to make their own decision.

"Take the Warg, Freya! I'll handle the Fenrir!"

"Okay, but don't let your guard down, Laura! They're definitely up to something!"

The Orthrus and Brunhild separated and took off down their respective tunnels with an ear-splitting roar. Utilising the speed of Pulse Mode, it wasn't long before Laura was on the Fenrir's tail and bombarding it with beams. As they played a high-speed game of cat and mouse in the darkness, she was reminded of a similar chase underneath the surface of Lenos a year ago – except this time the positions were now reversed.

"What a difference a year makes," Vega chuckled, thinking exactly the same thing as she watched the dogged azure Gundam on her monitor. "But you'll need more than speed to best me."

Pushing on both her flight stick and throttle with precise motions, the Scarlet Wolf had the Fenrir darting across the Gundam's monitor like a bee while rounding impossible corners at breakneck speed. Only quick reflexes allowed Laura to keep up but her aim suffered; despite being right on the Fenrir's tail, every pull of the trigger felt like she was threading a needle. Her mounting frustration, however, soon turned into alarm as Vega shot ahead of herself towards the ceiling and the resulting rubble hurtled down right into the Orthrus' path.

Laura jerked her flight stick, taking evasive manoeuvres, only to fly straight into the path of a massive boulder. Holding her breath, she fired a rapid burst of plasma from her rifle and was flabbergasted when the blue beams simply passed straight through it. The Orthrus followed soon after and for a split second confusion reigned on Laura's face until she wised up to Vega's ruse.

When the Gundam erupted from the closed world of the hologram boulder, its shield was already raised to absorb the Fenrir's barrage of red breams as it momentarily faced backwards. The Orthrus returned fire only to miss as the Scarlet Wolf rounded another corner in the darkness and disappeared. By Laura's count, they should be heading back towards the chamber with the giant door now and she suspected that was by no accident.

"Freya, you still alive?" she shouted into her comm while quickly trying to catch up to her rival.

"Alive and kicking… but so is this Warg!" Freya replied through a stream of frustrated grunts and static.

"Which direction are you headed?"

"Back towards that giant door, looks like. Why?"

"I knew it… Well get ready because it's time to turn the tables!"

Sensing the change in momentum, all four pilots ramped up their throttles and blasted through the underground bunker with explosions of light and fire. For their part, the Orthrus and Brunhild chased after their respective prey like single-minded bloodhounds, twisting and turning through the darkness until they reached dead ends in the form of walls of solid rock. But the sights hardly deterred the Fenrir or Warg; in fact they sped up, firing their rifles at the dual obstacles as they charged straight towards them.

Cracked and melted by their beams, the rock walls were sufficiently weakened by the time the mobile suits burst through them like brittle paper. Vega and Ursula found themselves back in the chamber with the titanic door, simultaneously erupting from opposite sides as they sent stone and dust flying everywhere. The flares the Garm had fired into the air before were only just fading but there was enough light for the Fenrir and Warg to see they were headed straight for one another – just as planned.

Using their own mobile suits to block their respective pursuers' line of sight, they would change course at the last second, passing one another and emerging from hiding to make a coordinated ambush on the enemy directly in front. This would pit Ursula against the White Hellhound but Vega was confident her rival would not succumb to a surprise assault so easily; at the very least, she would eliminate the Garm so they could duel each other without further interference.

"Now, Ursula!" At her signal, the Fenrir and Warg adjusted course, passing one another at breakneck speed and avoiding a collision with only a metre of proximity to spare. The resulting turbulence rocked their cockpits violently but the trained pilots barely broke a sweat as they maintained their focus on their targets. As the Garm appeared from behind Ursula's Warg on her monitor, Vega smiled and lined up her targeting reticule… only to frown when she realised the pink mobile suit was giving off a rosy glow.

"Surprise!" Freya let out a gleeful cry and imagined the stunned look on the Scarlet Wolf's face as she flipped a switch hidden beneath her seat. The Brunhild immediately began to hum with power, courtesy of its new experimental upgrade, and its armour glowed hot pink as it gained incredible speed. Leaving afterimages in its wake, it closed the distance with the Fenrir in an instant, miraculously getting above the lavender mobile suit and smashing it with its shield.

"Mode Change…!?" Vega managed to murmur as she was sent plummeting towards the bottom of the cavern. The impact cancelled Holo Mode, switching the Fenrir's armour back to red mid-fall as she struggled to regain control.

"Major!" The sight of her invincible leader being knocked out of the air by a supposedly inferior Garm caused Ursula to cry out with both alarm and shock. For a chaotic moment, she was torn between turning back to assist Vega or fighting the Orthrus on the monitor bearing down on her. As it would happen, however, the White Hellhound ended up making the decision for her. The Gundam completely ignored her Warg, zipping underneath her and dispersing the cloud of dust in a blue blur as it made a beeline straight for the falling Fenrir.

"Mode Change!" Laura shouted, technopathically transforming the Orthrus even as it dived after the Fenrir towards the earth. "Burst Mode!"

The Gundam's blue armour melted away and Pulse Mode was replaced by the colour of vibrant red which spread across the mobile suit like literal fire. It was as if the Orthrus had burst into flames, turning night into day inside the cavern as it left a blazing trail of orange particles. Just before it caught up with the Fenrir, Laura brought the Orthrus' arms above its head and channelled her technopathic abilities. The orange particles congregated into the palms of the manipulators, burning brightly like two huge fireballs until they fused and stretched to become a giant flaming sword.

"Buster Blade!"

By the time Vega had pulled out of her tailspin with a series of thruster bursts, the Orthrus was already looming on her monitor, poised to strike the Fenrir down from above like a crimson angel of judgement. The last time she had seen this powerful new mode was on Arcturus but she had not forgotten the trail of destruction it had wrought upon the city – and the Fourth Fleet – in its wake. The red armour produced orange particles that not only increased its speed but also vaporized anything it touched, much like plasma, and made the Gundam nigh invincible by forming an impenetrable shield around it. The particles could also be moulded at will, allowing the White Hellhound to shape a flaming sword that seemed to have no limit to its size with her technopathic powers, but this came at the cost of its protective shield not to mention the severe drain on the mobile suit's battery.

Like the Fenrir's Gravity Mode, it was the Orthrus' trump card and after their intense duel on Arcturus they had both been wary as to who would play their hand first. Vega had been waiting for the right moment – when she could exploit her most powerful weapon for maximum advantage – but so had her adversary, and now it was the White Hellhound who had her by the throat. Gritting her teeth, the Scarlet Wolf knew she now had no choice but to respond in kind.

With speed only a supreme technopath could command, the Fenrir mode-changed instantly and a maroon shade washed over its armour like a bloody wave. Its Gravity Shield was deployed with equal haste and the mobile suit floated in mid-air for a split-second before the Orthrus' Buster Blade came roaring into its field. A blinding flash of light followed and in the next instance both mobile suits had crashed into the base of the cavern like a catastrophic meteor strike.

The collision shook the earth violently, sending dust and rock flying sky high into the ceiling like a geyser, and both Ursula and Freya thought the Fenrir had been pulverised out of existence. But when the smoke cleared, not only were the Fenrir and Orthrus still standing on the grounds of a newly formed crater intact, they were also still locked in mortal combat. Crossing her twin, scimitar-like red beamsabres – which she had whipped out just before the Gundam had made contact – Vega was holding the Buster Blade at bay but only just. The giant flaming sword was mere centimetres away from the Fenrir's head, its edge of scorching orange particles curved away by the blue flickers of the Gravity Shield which was otherwise ineffective as the White Hellhound tried to overwhelm her with raw power.

"Fall… Fall, damn you!" grunted Laura, emboldened by the Fenrir's wavering beamsabres as her Buster Blade inched closer and closer.

"Don't yield, Fenrir…!" Vega tried to channel her usual bravado only to falter when she felt the Fenrir's feet sliding backwards. Both pilots felt the intensity of the moment, underscored by the beads of sweat brought on by the Buster Blade's close and searing proximity. It also did not escape either of them that the stalemate had left both mobile suits somewhat vulnerable.

"You're wide open!" With a battle cry full of gusto, Freya came swooping in from behind Vega with her beamsabre drawn, leaving pink afterimages in her wake. With the Orthrus immobilising the Fenrir in front and the Brunhild attacking from the rear, all would have gone according to plan if not for the volley of red beams that came out of nowhere.

"Major!" Making a perfectly timed entrance, Ursula charged the Orthrus from behind with guns blazing, firing almost wildly. Knowing her second did not make a mistake without reason, Vega caught on quickly and expanded her Gravity Shield with moments to spare. The beams that missed the Orthrus went around the shield, bending and hitting the shocked Garm in the face instead.

When Laura saw the Warg gunning for her, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and diverted burst particles from the Buster Blade to her rear armour – nullifying the beams – only to gasp when the rest hit Freya. She could only watch as the Brunhild veered off-course, trailing smoke as it scraped along the ground before losing its pink glow as its own Burst Mode was deactivated. But once it disappeared from her monitor, her attention snapped back to the Fenrir in front which was already pushing back against the weakened Buster Blade. With the Warg closing in from behind and firing its rifle with one hand while readying its beamsabre in the other to strike, the tables had turned.

That was until a flying blue beamsabre boomeranged into the Warg, slicing off its beamsabre hand before it could strike.

Dumbfounded, Ursula turned her head to find the pink Garm barrelling towards her like an out-of-control rocket. She tried to redirect her rifle at the incoming threat but the mobile suit slammed into her like an orbital truck, taking them both out of the air and crashing into the ground. The colossal machines were sent rolling along the dirt, disorientating their pilots in the process until the Brunhild's bulk won out and Freya had the Warg pinned to the ground. Showing no mercy, she coiled the Brunhild's manipulators into fists and began to hammer at the Warg's cockpit with a guttural roar.

"Ursula!" The sight of Ursula's Warg getting pummelled into submission sparked a burst of rare alarm in Vega's voice as well as guilt. It was she who had led them into this situation after all. Knowing she would never forgive herself if her favourite brunette lost her life here, the Scarlet Wolf's features contorted in anger and the Fenrir pushed back against the Buster Blade with even more force.

Although Laura had rerouted the burst particles back into the sword, she was still taken off guard by the Fenrir's fierce show of strength as it tried to throw the Orthrus backwards with Gravity Mode. However, her surprise transformed into shock when she spied the Brunhild on her rear camera pulling back for another punch only to get its arm blown off by a shot of red-hot plasma. Freya quickly rolled away to reveal the battered Warg had reclaimed its dropped rifle with its remaining hand and its pilot was fully intent on some payback. The Brunhild picked up its own discarded shield in time to weather the relentless volley of beams as the Warg slowly got back on its feet but Laura knew Freya was unarmed and Burst Mode had likely drained her energy reserves.

"Freya…!" The technopath unconsciously mouthed her friend's name in fear, refusing to suffer another loss. Returning her focus to the Scarlet Wolf, she hardened her lips into a thin line and her determined gaze almost took on a purple glow. Calling upon every ounce of her technopathic ability, Laura reinforced the Buster Blade with even more burst particles, honing it until she slowly began to push back.

Feeling her rival's resolve through their crossed blades, Vega allowed herself a momentary smile before gritting her teeth and responding two-fold. The Fenrir's Gravity Field expanded, causing pebbles to float en mass and its crimson beam scimitars to elongate even further. The Orthrus in turn seemed to pour more fuel into its Buster Blade and the flaming sword grew to such a length it almost reached the ceiling as it lit up the cavern with blinding light.

The pure power radiating from both mobile suits at that moment was almost palpable to the point that Freya and Ursula had to pause their battle in awe. The overwhelming heat and light from the Buster Blade were especially intense and no one felt it more than the two duelling pilots in the middle. Vega and Laura were locked in a contest of wills, each unwilling to budge even an inch as they tried to cut the other down.

Finally, the weight of their combined blades became too much for either of them and the towering inferno began to tilt sideways. When Laura realised she had lost control, it was too late. Vega, for her part, saw her chance and helped it along.

The Buster Blade fell in an instant, cleaving down the cavern wall without resistance… and straight into the titanic door.

The flaming sword melted through the impenetrable steel vault like butter and for a split-second a massive black crack was visible before it erupted with orange flame. The explosion shattered the door into pieces, peppering them with shrapnel that quickly became indistinguishable from the debris already falling from the mutilated cavern wall. All four pilots quickly retreated to opposite sides of the chamber only to freeze in place when the explosion suddenly dissipated, leaving them in complete darkness.

Not daring to move lest they give away their positions, they waited out the falling debris and tremors until everything became still. But a voice in the back of their minds told them the danger had not passed and their gazes were inexplicably drawn towards the gargantuan door's remains. No longer closed to them, it had transformed into a dark, gaping maw… and from within that abyss they witnessed a pair of glowing purple eyes.

Speechless, the pilots had to check their instruments to make sure they weren't seeing things but their confusion was only compounded when the eyes began to multiply. Soon, a pair became a dozen and a dozen became an army. Not only that, but more bodiless eyes were also appearing in the chamber around them… and they were on the move.

Holding their breaths, the pilots all switched on their headlights at once and came face to face with a nightmare.

"The Gorgons…!" Laura shouted, watching in disbelief as the abandoned Lemurian mobile suits rose from their graves like purple zombies, missing limbs and all.

But it was not just the Gorgons. They felt the unmistakable hum of electricity and what was left of the bunker's emergency lights came on, bathing everything in shades of blood red. Vega immediately had a dire premonition which was confirmed when they heard wailing sirens.

The Gorgons raised their arms from the sands as one, revealing ancient rifles, and the human pilots had a short-lived moment of incredulity. But any doubts regarding their functionality were instantly dispelled when they fired en masse, unleashing a barrage of violet beams.

The bunker had come back to life… and it had marked them as the intruders.

.


.

Far above the bunker, the battle persisted as the Lionheart and the Blue Crow continued to mar Lemuria's greying skies with streaks of red and blue energy. It was a different story for the mobile suit dogfight, however, as the Space Wolves appeared to be suffering from a lack of leadership – something Ray had taken full advantage of. With Alice and Sofia's support, he had already sent four of their number limping back to their ship with their tails between their legs, leaving only the three most troublesome Wargs to deal with.

"Don't underestimate a former ace!" Ray bellowed as he finally boosted the Hermes around the Warg with the shield. He could tell the pilot was the most experienced of the bunch – probably even more than him – which was why they kept getting between him and Scarlet Wolf Lite. Chasing the cub down, he sensed not only hotheadedness – something his younger self was all too familiar with – but also technopathic talent and piloting instinct of the highest order.

Ray knew he was witnessing an ace in the making – one that was already learning fast judging by their improvements since their last encounter – and their piloting style gave him chills. One Scarlet Wolf was already bad enough. He had to take them out while they were still young and reckless – before they could shoot down his new friends. With their comrades not there to get in the way, now was the perfect time.

Keeping up with the Warg in the midst of impossible twists and turns, Ray carefully lined up his targeting reticule until it was dead centre. To his surprise, the pilot chose that exact moment to spin around mid-manoeuvre with their rifle pointed straight at the Hermes like they had eyes in the back of their head. For an instant, Ray thought they were going to shoot each other through… but they were suddenly interrupted by a hail of violet beams coming from below.

"What the hell?!"

The mobile suits dodged out of the way just in time and looked down to find purple humanoid figures rising from the sands with beam rifles at the ready.

"Gorgons!" Alice exclaimed, zooming in on the Lemurian weapons on her monitor while taking evasive manoeuvres. "How? Who's piloting them?"

"It's not just Gorgons," Sofia warned, watching from the Lionheart's CIC as sand conspicuously began to disappear down pits around the bunker before a dozen missile launchers emerged. "Captain, SAMs detected!"

"Chaff and anti-beam smoke on the double!" Milos ordered.

Within moments there were several deafening bangs and a glittering cloud of blue smoke engulfed the Lionheart just as the surface-to-air missiles launched. They veered away harmlessly from the battlecruiser before exploding, lighting up the sky with a cascade of fireballs as the bridge crew endured violent tremors. Meanwhile, an army of Gorgons had gathered underneath the ship, firing a barrage so heavy that even the anti-beam smoke could not dissipate the heat and the temperature on the bridge began to rise as a result.

"We can't take much more of this!" Milos growled before recalling there was more than one enemy out there. "What's the Lunar Fox doing?!"

"It looks like they deployed their own countermeasures before retreating," Sofia reported, frowning as sand and static saturated her monitor. "The sandstorm is almost on top of us, Captain."

"Then we better do the same as LIRA," Milos nodded and got on the com. "Jabberwock, contact the Orthrus! We're getting out of here!"

"Roger that! Ray, cover me!"

With the Hermes mowing down Gorgons on either side of the descending Jabberwock with blue bursts from its twin bullpup rifles, Alice landed in front of the bunker's entrance and stared down the abyss.

"Laura! Freya!" she shouted into her com, praying they could hear her. "You've got to get out of there! We're under attack by Gorgons and the Lionheart is about to–"

The blonde froze mid-sentence when the earth shuddered beneath her feet, sending the Jabberwock stumbling backwards. Cracks formed around the edges of the entrance, breaking the ground and sending whole swarths of rock falling down into the chasm. In their place, a metallic ring appeared which gradually grew in a spiral motion. Alice gasped and her gentle blue eyes widened with dread.

The entrance was closing… and her friends would be trapped inside.

.


.

"L– …Laura, the entrance is clo– …closing… You've got to get out… now!"

Deep inside the bunker, amidst the constant din of beams whizzing overhead and Gorgons exploding into scrap, Alice's broken voice still managed to stop her friends in their tracks.

"Did you hear that?!" Freya asked, yelling to make herself heard above the battle. With only one arm, all the Brunhild could do was guard the Orthrus' back with its shield as they made a hasty retreat through the bunker.

"Sounds like it's about time we make our exit!" Laura yelled back, picking off Gorgons with her rifle as they rose from the sands like the undead. The ones abandoned around the bunker were too decrepit to be a threat but the army coming from the vault was a different matter. They seemed perfectly intact, were well-armed, and would have swarmed the Orthrus and Brunhild if not for the constricting terrain inside the tunnels. The Fenrir and the Warg were nowhere in sight, having gone their own way, but they were now the least of their worries.

"Can you fly?!"

"Long enough to make it out of this hellhole!" Demonstrating her point, Freya extended the wings of her flight pack and went full throttle, launching the Brunhild into the air. The Orthrus quickly did the same, taking the lead and clearing a path back to the exit while evading purple beams from behind. Thanks to the bunker's emergency lights, they didn't have to feel their way through the darkness like before and were soon going up the open chasm at breakneck speed. Just as Alice had warned them, something was closing over the light at the end of the tunnel but it still appeared they would escape with time to spare.

"We can make it!" cried Laura, edging the Orthrus ahead.

As they raced towards the exit, the closing gate dislodged a cascade of debris which rained down the tunnel. Laura steered out of the way immediately, thinking Freya was right behind her. But the next thing she knew, there was a chilling scream over the comm. Looking back, her blood froze.

Freya had been hit by a giant boulder which was now taking the Brunhild all the way back down to the depths with it. Laura instantly had a dire premonition that, in a matter of seconds, the pink mobile suit and its pilot would smash into the earth before being buried by a mountain of rubble; crushed beyond recognition and with no hope of survival.

The blonde felt her breath slow to a crawl and time seemed to stand still. Memories of Freya played out in her mind – her annoying but loyal friend since childhood – followed by the memory of Tully's death and the trauma they had all suffered afterwards. As the Brunhild's broken figure plummeted towards the earth below and her one last chance at escape disappeared above, there was no hesitation on Laura's face.

She knew what she had to do.

She turned around… and dived back into the abyss.

Moments later, the gate slammed shut with a heavy clang that echoed throughout the bunker as everything went black.

.


.

"Laura!? Freya!? Answer me!"

Alice desperately called for her friends but it was no use. The bunker entrance had closed shut before they could make it out, blocking off all reception as well as hope. She tried firing the Jabberwock's sniper rifle at point-blank range, hoping to blast it open, but the spiral gate remained stubbornly intact. Still, the blonde fired again and again until tears welled up in her eyes.

"Stop it, Alice!" A voice pleaded with her through the com and Alice realised it was Ray. "We have to go! Now!"

"But Laura and Freya are still down there!"

"I know! But there's nothing more we can do!"

The familiar plasma bursts of the Hermes' twin bullpup rifles reached her ears and Alice realised Ray had been covering her this whole time. Finally taking stock of her surroundings, she saw the Gorgons' numbers had increased and they were encroaching on their position. Furthermore, visibility was dangerously low due to the sandstorm's arrival and she could hear the raging winds even through her cockpit. Still, she hesitated to leave.

"Believe in them, Alice!" Ray shouted in between shots. "The best we can do for them is believe – and survive!"

Biting her lip, Alice finally turned the Jabberwock around. Engaging her throttle, she blasted off into the sand-filled skies with the Hermes following close behind. But as they returned to the Lionheart, her eyes never left the spiral gate on her monitor – not until the sandstorm buried it from view.

"…The Jabberwock and Hermes have returned to base," an operator reported to a tense and sombre bridge. "But the Orthrus and Brunhild are still MIA…"

All eyes turned to Milos, hoping for a miracle or some grand, master strategy as they awaited his orders. But the captain knew he had only one order to give… no matter how painful it was.

"…Turn us around, Helmsman," he instructed the disheartened crew. "Retreat until the enemy gives up their pursuit."

"But Captain! Freya… and Laura…!"

To the surprise of all, Sofia was the one who spoke up, her red eyes wavering with something between disbelief and grief. However, upon seeing her superior lower his cap over his eyes in silence, she instantly regretted her outburst. Biting her tongue, the XO sat back down and stared aimlessly at her monitor.

"Don't make me say it again…" Milos whispered, clearly summoning extraordinary strength to keep his voice from cracking. "Get us out of here."

With great reluctance, the Lionheart fled from the battlefield and escaped the sandstorm intact.

However, in doing so, they left two of their own behind.

.


.

In contrast to the ruins of the abandoned Lemurian city above which continued to be ravaged by the howling sandstorm, the underground labyrinth that made up the ancient bunker below was now as quiet as death. The red emergency lights and sirens had been deactivated, replaced by warm lighting and the hum of industrial air filters. Imposing Gorgons patrolled the tunnels with heavy mechanical footsteps and watchful purple eyes, giving the impression that the base had come back to life as it must have looked pre-Cataclysm.

However, not everything was as it appeared. In the deepest and furthest reaches of the bunker, a long trail of destruction spanning kilometres had been carved through the facility. One after another, countless concrete passageways had either been blackened by plasma burns or reduced to crumbling rubble, and the charred remains of Gorgon parts littered their halls.

If one followed the breadcrumb trail of eviscerated mobile suits – which were strangely devoid of human remains – they would be led to what appeared to be one of many underground hangars. Unlike the others, this particular hangar was engulfed in darkness and would have appeared empty if not for the shape of two mobile suits hidden in the farthest corner.

One was clearly the Orthrus Gundam which was still intact except for a few burn marks and dents. The Brunhild, however, was severely battered and scorched – although not as much as its shield which had all but melted – and was still missing its right arm. From a glance, it was anyone's guess whether it was still functional… and that was before taking into consideration the status of its pilot.

"Freya!" As soon as her cockpit door opened, Laura leapt out and removed her helmet, tossing it aside to reveal frightened purple eyes.

Having saved Freya from being fatally crushed by cleaving through the boulder mid-fall and catching the Brunhild, the Gundam pilot had half-carried the damaged Garm through the labyrinth while fighting off the pursuing Gorgons. She couldn't remember everything that had happened afterwards but she knew it had been one of the most chaotic and terrifying periods of her life. Every minute that passed felt like an eon as she had frantically searched for a safe place to hide as she had protected the sluggish Brunhild, all while wondering if its pilot was still alive, simply wounded or already dead. She thought she could recall Freya speaking and even fighting with her but it was all a blur and now there was no response on the comm.

Clambering desperately up the kneeling Brunhild, Laura banged on the cockpit door and called Freya's name over and over. Finally, the door folded down with a hiss and the blonde poked her head inside. What she saw made her eyes well up.

"…Keep it down, Laura… Can't a girl get some rest?"

Leaning back languidly in her pilot's seat, Freya sighed and ran a hand over her head and through her dishevelled pink locks, finally opening her eyes to reveal a spark of life. The sight of Freya alive and well was too much for Laura to bear; she threw herself at the diva, electing a surprised yelp as she hugged her friend tightly as she could.

"I thought I'd lost you too…" Laura whispered, making sure Freya would never see her tears.

"S-Stupid… You know there's no way I'm kicking the bucket yet…" Freya bashfully replied and her arms slowly returned the embrace. "Thanks… for coming back for me…"

Once they had both calmed down, the two pilots sat at the feet of the Orthrus to take stock of their dire situation. For now, it appeared the Gorgons were no longer interested in chasing them and were content to patrol outside the old hangar. Laura and Freya would probably be attacked again the moment they stepped outside but, even if they managed to get past the Gorgons, they had no idea how to escape the bunker now after the entrance had shut. And, as expected, their efforts to contact the Lionheart on the comm had only produced jumbled static… which only served to further spell out the obvious.

They were on their own.

"Did you see the insides of those Gorgons?" Freya asked, making conversation while they chewed on their emergency energy bars in the dark. "There was no one in the cockpit…"

"Do you think they were piloted by ghosts?" Laura joked and was surprised to earn an angry-eyed rebuke from the diva.

"Of course it wasn't ghosts!" Freya shouted, having somehow gotten over her fear under the circumstances. "It must be some kind of automated defence system set up by the Lemurians… Maybe some kind of artificial intelligence. It might even have something to do with the relic we detected here."

"Maybe… but I'm more concerned with how we're getting out of here alive," Laura replied, looking between their mobile suits. "The Brunhild is barely operational, we're both out of fuel and ammo, and our batteries are essentially dead. Even if we limit our comm usage, the odds of contacting the Lionheart from underground are basically nil – especially while that sandstorm is raging."

"I'm sure Milos and the others are trying to save us as we speak," Freya encouraged her, smiling at the thought of their friends. "Junko, Alice and your dad are probably worried sick… I mean, you only just got back from being MIA!"

"Yeah, now I'm really never going to hear the end of it…. I just hope they're doing okay the second time around." Laura was not comforted when her imagination conjured up headless chickens. "Well, at least Ray and Sofia are there with them. They know how to keep a level head."

"Yeah… It's only in times like these that I'm thankful for them…" said Freya, choking on her energy bar when she realised what she had let slip. "D-Don't you dare tell them that though!"

Laura finally laughed.

"If we ever get out of here, it just might be the first thing I do!" she teased, causing Freya's cheeks to inflate like red balloons. "Speaking of getting out of here, it might be a while before that happens… Good thing Junko always goes above and beyond with our emergency supplies."

On top of their emergency rations – which mostly consisted of snacks included by Junko – they each had a survival blanket, a survival knife, flares and a first aid kit. They were also equipped with their standard LIRA sidearm, a 9mm Beretta pistol with extra magazines, but seeing as they were the only two humans around it was doubtful they would need them. At least, that was what Laura assumed…

"Well, enough sitting around. What do you say we explore this place and see if we can't find another way out?" Freya's suggestion was met with silence and she looked up to find the Gundam pilot staring into space. "Laura?"

At first, Laura didn't understand what was wrong, only that some sensation was nagging at the back of her mind. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she knew exactly what the sensation was – it was just that she'd never felt it outside of a mobile suit before. She found herself clutching her necklace from outside her flight suit, praying that this feeling of foreboding would prove false for once.

It didn't take long for her to be proven wrong.

"My, what a cosy gathering this is… Do you mind if we join you?"

Laura and Freya simultaneously jumped up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, whipping out their pistols and pointing them at the hangar entrance.

Out of the shadows, with a slender silhouette clearly defined by the crack of light coming from the open hangar door behind them, stood a woman in a red, form-fitting flight suit. She was tall and long-limbed like a model with long, lustrous silver hair trailing down her back. But it was the white mask she wore over her eyes that drew their attention, leaving little mystery as to her identity.

"Vega Aurelia…" Laura whispered the name of her hated enemy with both disgust and disbelief as she cocked her pistol.

Feeling a wrathful gaze coming from the fiery young blonde with purple eyes, Vega's vivid red lips slowly curved into a mischievous smile before speaking.

"...The White Hellhound, I presume?"

.

END OF EPISODE TWENTY


Next Episode Preview

URSULA: They say adversity makes strange bedfellows. Under these extraordinary circumstances, that proverb just might prove to be true. I just pray Vega doesn't take it literally...

Next time on Gundam Gemini:

The Wolf and the Hound.

Perhaps wolves and dogs were never meant to mix… but we have no choice if we want to survive.


.

And they finally meet! It took two long years but we finally got here... Laura and Vega in the same room! I hope everyone has their popcorn ready because the next episode is going to have FIREWORKS.

However, I do have a lot planned for Episode 21 (which I envisioned years ago) so I expect it to be lengthy (I also have a bad record when it comes to delivering on time... _). That said, this time I have a pretty good idea of where the halfway point is, so I'll definitely post up Part A when it's done.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this episode and see you next time.