This chapter took a lot longer than I intended. I originally meant to get it out in time for Episode 12, but I was already starting to feel a little burned out during the Christmas Chapter, and it only improved a little after that. I think I might take a break after Chapter Nine, so I have some time to recover.

I hope you enjoy this chapter in the meantime, and I sincerely hope it was worth the wait.


What Dreams Are Made Of

A Witch From Mercury

Story

Chapter 8

Angel Island


"So this is our Force Nest, huh?" Said Chuchu, checking out their new place. "It's not bad, I guess."

A Force Nest, it turned out, was a special home base, given to every Force in the game, and only accessible with permission of the owner. In short, it was a little hangout where friends could relax, plan, e.t.c, in perfect privacy. A Nest was also fully customizable, with thousands of different options for furniture, entertainment, and even themes. This one, however, was a starting Nest, and thus only a few options were available to them. Suletta had gone with a basic log cabin preset: A small, one room base, with wooden walls, a couch, and a trio of bunk beds. A TV was mounted on the wall, displaying their logo: A horned Gundam head, baring it's fangs, and flanked by a pair of angel wings. Their first nest was nothing special, but it was warm and cosy: a decent place to hang out.

"I call the top bunk!" Aaron said, hopping up atop one of the beds, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Go ahead." Elan said, "Not like we're gonna sleep here anyway." Things had gotten awkward between him and the original in the past couple of days; more awkward than usual, anyway. When Aaron had admitted that he could see Anastasha, Elan hoped he might be able to tell him something new about her. As it turned it, he knew about as much about her as him, perhaps less. That did make a kind of sense (Aaron wasn't the most trustworthy person after all), but it disappointed him. If he wanted to learn more about his guardian angel, he'd have to ask her himself, assuming she didn't pull her vanishing act on him.

"It is a nice place." Said Nika, "But we could use a little more room. I mean, there's six of us here. It would be nice to have some more space to move, maybe an extra room or two?"

"That's fine," Miyuki said, "But we'll need a lot of credits if we want to upgrade our Nest."

"Hey, no problem!" Suletta assured her, "We'll just do a few missions. If we pick the right missions, we should be able to buy ourselves in extra room in about..."

"Two months." Said Nika, doing some calculations on her screen.

"Oh." The Tanuki deflated on the spot, "Well, what if we just bought some credits? It's about 35,000 for a new room right? How much is that in real money?"

"7,000 yen." Said Nika, "With a bulk offer."

Suletta's ears drooped, and she dropped to her knees. 7,000 yen was a huge price for one more room, and the girl was too sweet to ask Miyuki for money, especially for something so frivolous. "L-look..." She said, desperately hanging onto her confidence, "Let's just try out a few missions and see if we can get anything good..." She brought up her screen to check the day's missions, only to be interrupted. The image of a silver-haired boy appeared on her screen. Shaddi Zenelli was requesting a video call. Being a nice person at heart, she answered immediately.

"Hello, Miss Megumi!" Said the leader of the A-Sec Angels, "It's good to hear from you again."

"Uh, hello, Mr Shaddi!" She replied, "It's good to see you too."

"Oh please, just call me Shaddi." The boy chuckled, "Word around class is you and your friends got yourselves a Force at last!"

"Oh, yes!" She said, "But, it's been over a month by now. You really still want to..."

"Of course we do!" Lauda yelled, pushing Shaddi out of the way, "We still have a score to settle, and we're going to settle it, right now!"

The room went quiet. "Really?" She asked, "You're still wound up about that?"

"It's been weeks!" Chuchu added, "Just get over it already!"

"Even your brother didn't hold a grudge this long!"

"Do you have a life? Like, anything you do outside of GBN?"

The reprimands just kept coming, each one a lance in Lauda's inflated ego. By the time they were done, the boy could barely speak. He looked as if he might explode in anger, or burst into tears. Instead, he just shrunk in on himself, quietly walking out of shot to spare himself any further humiliation.

"My, that was cold-blooded!" Cecilia said, with a smirk, "I haven't been so entertained in a while!"

"Regardless of Lauda's wounded pride..." The tanned boy continued, "We would be honoured to test your strength. We've been watching your progress for a while, and I'm curious to see how you'll handle a real challenge, like us."

Miyuki rolled her eyes at him. "You're really kind of full of yourself, aren't you?"

He got a good laugh out of that. "Hey, there's no shame in knowing your own strength!" He said, "Anyway, you go ahead and think about it. We'll be here tomorrow, after school. I do hope you'll take us up on our offer." The Mythmaker's were unconvinced. They didn't think they had chance at the Angels, not at their level. Besides, what could they possibly have to gain from this? "Oh!" Shaddi added, "I forgot to mention, the reward for beating us: 200,000 credits."

The gang looked at each other, making up their minds, pretty much on the spot.

"Deal!"


The sun hung low in the sky, dipping beneath the horizon, and bathing Japan in a warm, orange glow. Boys and girls milled out of Asticassia, in a sea of green and white. The school day was over, and it was time for the Mythmaker's to face their greatest challenge yet. Elan couldn't lie, he was nervous. Yet, at the same time, he was excited to test his mettle against the Duelling Committee.

Or he would be, if he wasn't forced to stay after hours.

The young man gritted his teeth as he ran a broom over the classroom floor. It was not his turn to clean up after class - nor was it Aaron's - but they'd been made to anyway, as punishment. He watched as his fake cousin walked by, and thrust his broom forward, giving the boy a face full of dust, quite deliberately.

"Hey!" Aaron spluttered, nearly dropping a chair on his foot, "What the hell'd you do that for!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Elan lied, "Perhaps you should worry less about me, and try controlling your temper."

"Oh don't give me that." The boy grumbled, "It's not my fault we're stuck back here."

"So what happened then?" His double asked, "Did Tatsu punch himself in the face?"

"Well, yeah!" Aaron insisted, "In a manner of speaking! If he hadn't called us 'a pair of filthy leeches', I wouldn't have punched him, would I?"

"That doesn't mean you just throw hands in the middle of Philosophy class!" Elan said, "And now we're both stuck here, because Mr Kawashima couldn't tell us apart."

Aaron stared at his 'cousin' in disbelief. "What, you think it's alright for that guy to just be an arsehole?"

"No," Elan told him, "But punching him in the face didn't help anything, did it!?" He got back to sweeping. The sooner they were done, the better. "Sometimes," he said, "People are awful to you, and you just have to deal with it. Trust me, I know... sir."

Aaron shrivelled on the spot. "Just, who even cares if we miss a couple minutes of Philosophy?" He asked, deflecting, "How are we ever gonna use Gorgias in the real world; I mean honestly?"

"Gorgias is that Solipsist guy, isn't he?" Asked Guel, surprising both of them. He'd spent most of his time quietly sitting in the corner, letting his two groupies doing most of the work.

"Um, yes." Said Aaron, "I'm surprised you know that."

"Never really liked that philosophy." Said Guel, "Just sounds so depressing."

Aaron raised an eyebrow at the Jeturk boy. "Really, you think it's depressing?"

"Just sounds lonely." He said, "What's even the point if all your friends aren't even real?"

"Does it really matter if they're real?" Aaron asked him, "I mean, your feelings are still real, aren't they? And, in a weird way, I think that kind of makes those people real." He shook his head, before getting back to work, "But what do I know? I didn't even have imaginary friends until a few days ago."

"Let's just get this done." Said Elan, "Our friends can't face the Angels without us."

"Angels?" Guel asked, surprised, "You're gonna to fight my brother?"

"Probably not me and Aaron, specifically." Said Elan, "But yes."

Knowing that, Guel turned Unusually serious. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Maybe..." Said Elan, "Depends what it is."

"Beat the crap out of him."

Elan gave the boy a look, of the sort you'd probably give someone who told you to beat up their sibling. "Why?"

"My bro has, issues." He said, "He's always trying to one-up me, and he's got a serious anger problem."

"Worse than you?"

"Shut up..." Guel growled, "Point is, the guy's out of control. I need you to give him a beating he won't forget, then maybe he'll, I don't know, get over himself - chill out a little."

Elan rolled his eyes. "I don't see why I should have to clean up your problems." He said, "But, if we get into it, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." Said Guel, "And good luck."


Shaddi sat in his cockpit, a smile on his face as he waited for their battle to begin. This was his favourite part: the anticipation. The thrill of battle, the joy of victory - these were all wonderful, of course. But the expectation: not knowing who would win, who would fall, what their opponent had up their sleeve. It was an unbeatable high. He peered through the central dome, surveying the arena. This would be a Created Mission; one of their own making. A domed building sat in the crater of a volcanic island, with metal towers positioned on the north, south, east and western slopes. To beat this mission, the Mythmakers would have to destroy all four towers, lowering the main base's defences, and leaving it open to attack. The catch? Shaddi and his knights would be guarding each tower. It wasn't unbeatable (the Admin wouldn't have cleared it if it was), but extremely difficult. Only two groups had ever beaten it, and they were legendary in GBN.

Then there was the sound of roaring engines, and Shaddi's heartbeat quickened. His newest challenge approached from the east. They'd put together a good Force: a nice variety of Gunpla, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. With good teamwork and handling, the Mythmakers would make excellent sport.

Gundam Dream Phantom was the first to reach the battlefield, carrying the Groundgoose in its arms and dropping it on the northern slope. The pink girl's mobile suit dropped to one knee, planting its shield in the ground and holding its gun at the ready. The Dream Phantom circled the island, surveying the area. Not bad. They had the sense to scout the battlefield. But, without a reconnaissance probe, the Mythmakers would never find them. His hands trembled as he waited, for the moment when all his opponents were on the island. And then, they sprang into action.

Sabrina Fardin made her move, leaping from the nearby forest, her Gunpla hidden by green camouflage. An oft forgotten member of the Angel's, Sabrina was still a deadly opponent, especially with the element of surpise on her side. She made a beeline for the Groundgoose, and stabbed it in the back with a steel longsword. The pink-haired girl yelled in shock, pulling out a beam sabre and slashing at her assailant. But it did no good. Sabrina's cape was protected by anti-beam coating, which the sabre glanced right off of. She kicked the Groundgoose in the head and swept her cape out of the way. The camo effect soon faded, revealing her Gunpla in all its glory. The Grim Sabre: A Pale Rider Cavalry, with Leo-S' cape, and Gundam Bael's weapons. A fairly simple custom, but a deadly one. Charlotte's mech rolled over, putting its shield between her and Sabrina, but the Grim Sabre struck at her again and again, giving her opponent no room to fight back.

Suletta, being the helpful type, immediately rushed to Charlotte's aid. But, in doing so, she left herself wide open, and an absolute storm of beam fire struck Aerial in the side. The girl turned in the air, blocking the beams with her shield, as the И (or Turn N) stepped out from behind the mountain. Lauda's Gunpla was a monster: A Turn X, painted red, with the Zeong's hands, and the blue Astray's Tactical Arms on it's back. A hefty machine, to be sure, but an absolute damage beast. "You're not going anywhere." The boy growled. "Not until I get you back!"

"Jeez..." Suletta groaned, pulling out her beam rifle. "Will you get over it already?" She fired a few shots at his mobile suit, but it too was protected by an invisible I-Field - one of the many advantages of using the Turn X as a base.

"I'll get over it..." Lauda assured her, "Once I've turned your Aerial into scrap metal!" He detached the Astray's flight pack, splitting off into a pair of huge beam blades. He held the swords in his hands, and his Gunpla split into eight parts, hovering in the air. "Turn N!" He yelled, "Special Attack: Bloody Siege!" The hands flew at Suletta Megumi, slashing at her with a ferocity only held by the most irrationally angry of people. She tried to block with her shield, but those beam swords were only one part of the problem. In this mode, every part of Turn N was a weapon. Each piece was equipped with a mega particle cannon, letting it blast Suletta from a distance while she wrestled with the И's swords.

Changing tactics, the Tanuki girl split her shield into its funnel components, using them to fire at the separate parts, while she fought off the blades with her own beam sabres. But, this was just delaying the inevitable, and she had no way to fight back.

Help was not far away. Alonso and Erinyes Gundam stood on the western slope, watching as their leader did all she could to keep Lauda at bay. They would have made decent backup, if not for the convoy, barrelling toward them. Three large, metal containers ran over the mountain side, carried along by tank tracks. Atop them sat, of all things, a Mobile Haro, all in orange, with a black visor painted on its face, and a golden H emblem on its chest. The makeshift vehicle screeched to a halt, as Rouji hopped off, getting right up in Alonso's face. "Heroic Gunpla: Haroman!" He cried, as he struck a pose like a Power Ranger.

"Oh, that's adorable!" Aaron said, giggling maliciously, "Ok guys, we got this." Many people had that reaction to Rouji's Haropla, and all of them learned a very hard lesson.

The Haroman cartwheeled backwards, hovering above the second container. "Haro Formation β!" He screamed, as the container flew open. The spherical Haro detached from its robot body, and the holes on its sides opened. Normally, these were used to fit a pair of tiny Haro arms and legs. Instead, the container released a new pair of limbs, painted in black and orange. The huge, chunky arms of the Gundam Dantalion, the iron knuckles of Gundam Maxx Revolver, and the legs of a Gundam Kimaris Trooper. The new limbs latched onto the Haro, resulting in a Gunpla that was equal parts imposing and absurd. "Boxing Man!" The boy announced, with pride.

Aaron Ceres scoffed at the transformation. "Please." He said, as his horse reared up, "Let's get this over with, so we can put Neil out of our misery." He charged at the boy, not even noticing the Haroman's legs, as they split open and dug into the mountainside. He took out his beam javelin, thrusting it at Haroman, who didn't even try to defend itself. It just twisted to the left, letting the spear strike him through the arm. A good hit, but the Haro barely flinched. Its body was rooted to the ground - allowing it to withstand Alonso's blow, and leaving the matador mech open. The Haropla swung its fist wide, striking Alonso's chest with the force of a speeding truck. The name Boxing Man wasn't just for show. This form's melee strikes could crush titanium. Even a formidable mech like the Sinanju would be reeling from a punch like that. "Son of a bitch!" Aaron screamed, as he fell of his steed. "You'll pay for that..." He got back up, only to find Boxing Man was standing right in front of him. The claws on its legs reached out again, this time digging into Alonso's feet, and pinning it to the ground. "Oh no..."

With his opponent trapped, Rouji unleashed a flurry of punches at Alonso, and gave Aaron Ceres the beating of his life.

Nika, impatient with her failure of a teammate, stepped forward to help him. And then, she saw a glimmer of steel, in the corner of her eye. The girl leaned back just in time to save herself from being decapitated. A pair of Grandslam blades sliced the air, embedded in the legs of a tea-green Mack Knife. A kick like that could have cut her clean in two. The first attack may have missed, but the Mack Attack kept turning, following Erinyes, and aiming its beam gatling guns directly at it. "Stay the hell away from Rouji!" Cecilia yelled, as she fired on Nika, leaving a set of smouldering holes in her Gunpla. "Your kind has no right to mess with the likes of us!"

Shaddi smiled to himself, as Erinyes' chest opened, firing a massive laser at the Mack Attack, which nimbly dodged out of the way. He had such a talented group of subordinates, and all of them had served them well in the past two years. But there was one tower left unprotected, and the Angels' leader was itching for battle. There was only one more Mythmaker to deal with: Elan Winston. His Gunpla hovered above the western tower, ready to blast the thing with his rifle. Putting the objective before his team: a pretty cold move, but also the most logical one. Even if they lost the battle, a competent team could still win the mission.

Of course, he'd have to deal with Bastian.

The dome opened, for a moment, and a winged Gundam flew out of the top, descending on Elan's Gunpla like an eagle.

He pointed his drill lance at the Phantom, but whiffed it by a bare inch.

"You missed." Said Elan.

"I never meant to hit you." Shaddi replied, "I'm not the type to hit someone in the back." He was, in his mind, a man of honour (if a playful one), and his attack was meant to scare Elan, more than anything. "Welcome to Angel Island, Mr Winston. I do hope you'll..." Elan did not let him finish. In fact, he fired on the custom Kimaris without a second thought. Shaddi's wings swung forward, and the beam struck them dead centre, but Shaddi took no damage. "Psycho Plate." The boy explained, "Sturdy, versatile, and highly beam resistant." He struck a heroic pose, aiming the drill lance square at Dream Phantom's chest. "As I was saying, I hope you'll give me a good challenge."

He lunged at Elan, but the boy rolled over in the air, and the drill dealt a lethal blow to the earth. The Phantom had him outmatched in manoeuvring, but Shaddi had a few tricks up his sleeve. The Dream Phantom flew over him, turning over in the air, with Shaddi's head in its sights. But the Angel's leader had predicted this. Bastian's wings split into pieces, whistling through the air and striking the Phantom like blades. The Moon Gundam's Psycho Plate functioned not unlike funnels, but dealt physical damage. Unusual, but a great way to get around beam protection. Phantom Light would do Elan little good in this matchup.

With nearly a dozen Psycho Plates on his tail, Dream Phantom struggled to line up a good shot. So, Elan switched tactics, releasing his GUND Bits, to give himself some breathing room. He took out a couple Plates, but only a a couple. The rest were speedy little bastards, weaving around the electromagnetic beams, keeping the kid on the run. He tucked his arquebus behind his back, instead pulling out a pair of black beam pistols. These were weaker than his main weapon, but their higher firing rate meant he could at least get in a few shots here and there. But, by the time he turned to fire, Shaddi was already beneath him. The drill lance, Kimaris Bastian's main weapon, was not a pure melee weapon. The sides of the lance concealed two small railguns, from which it fired a pair of Dainsleaf bolts. The Dainsleafs hit Dream Phantom right in its core, and Elan's Gunpla came crashing down.

"You'll never beat me, if all you do is run away."

"I thought you weren't the type to blindside people." Elan groaned drawing his beam sword.

"I said I wouldn't hit you in the back." Shaddi reminded him. "I hit you from below. Big difference." He drew a steel longsword, as his Psycho Plates hovered in front of him. "Now, let's try this again."


Suletta was in one hell of a tight spot. She'd been on the backfoot this entire fight, and it didn't look like this was going to change soon. She had managed to stay alive for now, using her shield to block the И's cannons. But the shield could only move so fast, and every now and then a shot would hit its mark, all while the beam blades kept pushing her backwards. The girl was starting to panic. She was getting nowhere fast, and it was only a matter of time before she broke. She had to think of something, before...

She was trapped.

Lauda Neil was a hot head, but he wasn't brainless. He'd come up with a decent strategy, forcing her backwards until the girl backed herself into a cliff. At this point, she had two options: fly away and risk getting shot down, or charge in, with beam weapons, against a Gunpla with beam resistance. Whichever road she took, the future looked pretty grim.

"End of the line." Lauda hissed, as all thirteen particle cannons charged brighter than ever. Suletta was all but doomed. She'd need a miracle to win now.

Well, she didn't get a miracle, but a happy accident would do.

Fuunsaiki charged onto the scene, having gone out of control without a rider. The horse robot was not made for combat, but it was a big hunk of metal, moving at a high speed. So, when it crashed headfirst into the И's

head, and sent it flying into the mountainside, the damage was more than enough to put Lauda's I-Field on the fritz. "Oh no..." The young man said, as his barrier flickered out. "Nononono! Shit!"

Suletta jumped at the chance, blasting the И with her GUND Bits. "Now who's scrap metal!?" She yelled, as she flew away. This lucky accident had given her a small edge against her opponent, but this still wasn't a great matchup for her. Besides, she was needed elsewhere.

Of all of her teammates, Chuchu was the closest. She'd done her best to hold Sabrina back, but her defense was finally starting to crumble. The Grimsabre was too close for her rifle to be effective. And even if she did manage to distance herself, her opponent was even more deadly at long range. Luckily, Suletta was at hand. Aerial fell through the air, crashing into Sabrina's Gunpla like a comet. The girl had been too ferocious for her own good, to the point she forgot to watch her own back.

"Run!" Suletta cried, as Chuchu yanked her shield out of the ground, "I'll take care of this one!" Chuch did as she was told, making a run for it, heading for the beach, where Nika and Aaron were getting their asses kicked.

From there, the battle finally turned in their favour.

Chuchu blasted Rouji and Cecilia from afar, using her superior range to keep them pinned down as long as she could. The two tried to rush her, but Aaron made himself useful for once, shooting them in the back with his Rose Bits. Alonso wasn't great in a straight up fight, but it made for a decent ambush suit.

Erinyes flew off. Her friends had this situation in hand, but Elan still needed their help. Dream Phantom dueled with Bastian, sparks flying at their blades clashed. Elan had fared better than the others, but he was still in a bad spot. Shaddi easily matched him, blow for blow, while the Psycho plates struck his Gunpla, again and again. All the boy could do was delay the inevitable, until Nika flew onto the scene.

"Erinyes' Fury!"

Her whip slit apart, each piece latching onto a Plate, and forming a new chain. Shaddi's ace in the hole was crippled, as the chains dug into the ground, binding them. "Go!" She told Elan, who soared into the air, blasting Shaddi's tower with his arquebus.

One down. Three to go.

By now, Lauda had recovered from his encounter with the rampaging horse. He was absolutely livid. The tanuki had slipped away from him again. No matter. All he had to do was find her again, and blow her straight to hell. He scanned the area. There, up in the sky. While she was busy tangling with Sabrina, he could sneak in a few cannon blasts, and finally get some payback. He turned toward Suletta, took aim at the Aerial, and set his cannons to fire.

Nothing happened.

His systems must have taken more damage than he thought. That stupid horse wrecked his cannons! Whatever. He still had Astray's tactical arms. With Fardin's help, he'd easily crush that red-haired moron. All he had to do was reassemble his mech.

He couldn't. The parts refused to budge. Only his head remained mobile. "What the hell is going on!?" He screamed, "Who did this to me!?" He looked around. The И's limbs hung still, in the air, each of them pierced by an electromagnetic laser.

"Nice trick!" Said a voice, from above, "But you've left yourself wide open." Gundam Dream Phantom hovered above him, its arms folded.

"You bastard!" Yelled Lauda, turning his cannons to fire. Cannons which, of course, refused to move.

Elan rolled his eyes. "You might be dumber than Guel." He said, turning his rifle on Lauda's tower, and blasting it to pieces. "Two down..." He said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Now I just have to take out the others and..."

There was a great rumbling beneath him, as the И began to tremble. Weird, he'd never seen this before. Was the game bugging out or something?

"Hey..." Lauda's voice echoed, "What's happening?" His anger had vanished. If anything, he seemed frightened, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm not doing anything!" Said Elan, "I have no idea what's going on!" Lauda yelled something back at him, but none of it made sense. His voice was garbled, as if his comms had been fried. The boys cries became more and more panicked, until his voice was completely drowned out, lost in a sea of white noise. "Lauda?" Elan asked, nervously, "Lauda?"

Everything went silent. No noise, no distortion, not even a whisper from И's pilot. Perhaps the bug had been fixed, or maybe his Gunpla had broken?

And then, the mech came to life again, it's eye glowing red as it turned on Elan. "Lauda?" The boy asked, as the head was enveloped in dark energy. Oh no. Elan had seen this before. "Lauda, you're a Mass Diver?"

No. Not Lauda.

Worse.

XX-FOUND-YOU-XX