SUPER ROBOT WARS LW
CHAPTER 02
// Aeroscraft, 25,000 metres above sea level //
Team ATX were inside the hangar. Having accepted the Pistoleros' invitation, they could only wait for them to greet them before doing anything else.
"Alright, then," Excellen said as she walked around the vicinity of the hangar. "What are we supposed to do now?" Kyosuke did not answer the question; instead, he took a seat under the Alt Eisen Riese's Revolving Bunker, dozing off in tiredness. "Hey! You're supposed to answer me! Sheesh; he fell asleep."
"By the way, Amuro," Excellen spoke as she turned to Amuro. "When you said something about the Pistoleros, did it mean you know anything about them?"
"There was a rumour circulating around the Londo Bell about the Divine Crusaders' special operation division," Amuro answered. "I remembered my colleague mentioning the nickname Pistoleros before. If my memory is right, they were supposed to be the DC's best snipers."
"That didn't sound good," Excellen replied. "But how come none of us ever heard of DC snipers?"
"They were supposed to operate in covert, and the DC had fiercely maintained the Pistoleros were nothing more than an urban legend," Amuro continued. "Even I thought they never existed, but when the pilot introduced themselves to us…"
The door was opened. With the exception of the still-sleeping Kyosuke, they turned around and saw a woman and a boy walking into the hangar. "My apology for all the complications," the woman said after the pair approached Excellen and Amuro. "Your presence onboard is very much welcomed. Please make yourself comfortable."
Excellen blinked. "I thought I had heard that voice before…" She counted her fingers, scratching her head as she looked for the explanation. When she finally did, she was in for big surprise. "Ah! You're the robot's pilot!"
The woman giggled. "Perhaps I should introduce myself today." She corrected her eyeglasses and coughed for a couple of times. "My name is Frieda Hartmann," she pronounced her name and patted the boy's head. "This is my son Takeru Izumi."
The boy bowed. "2nd Lieutenant Takeru Izumi. Call sign: Pistolero 2. Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Excellen Browning," Excellen started. "This is Amuro Ray (Amuro nodded) and that sleeping man over there is Kyosuke."
Frieda and Takeru looked at the Beowulf. "I'm sure he's not the sociable type of person, is he?"
"Nah, he just decided to doze off," Excellen said and twitched when Kyosuke replied with "I heard you, Excellen." Frieda, Takeru and Amuro were staring at her as she started to laugh in silly manners before she yelled at Kyosuke in anger.
"I assume both of you are very close, aren't you?" Frieda asked.
"Of course we are!" Excellen boasted. "We are lovers! Lovers are always close, right Kyosuke?" Much to her chagrin, Kyosuke lazily replied with a wave and went to doze off again. "What's wrong with you? We have our introduction to do! Hey, Kyosuke!"
The alarm buzzed. "Oh, my, our introduction surely needs to finish some other day, right?" Frieda uttered. (Excellen moaned in protest at the alarm and shouted at the noise in anger.)
"What happened?" Amuro asked.
"We'd like it if you could give us some hands," Frieda said. "The Pistoleros have been assigned to hunt down the Green Sphere since they stole the new prototype from the testing facility in Finland."
"The Green Sphere? You must be talking about the terrorists, aren't you?" Amuro asked again.
"Major Hartmann, the Metal Gunslingers are ready," one of the engineers reported. Takeru excused himself and immediately headed to the Metal Gunslingers, climbing onto the Silberkugel for takeoff.
"This looks like an important mission to us," Amuro said.
"So, everyone," Frieda said and corrected her eyeglasses. "Would you like to help?"
-x-x-x-x-x-
// Shirokaze Town, Hokkaido //
"Gespenst Mark II Type-S has killed Strike Freedom with Gespenst Kick! Player 1 wins!"
"Yatta!!" The girl cheered and exchanged high-fives with her schoolmates. "This is my fifth victory this week!" she said and punched the air in repeated motions. "Take that! You know you can't defeat the White Demon that easily!" she jeered at the defeated player who had left the arcade.
"That was a great match, Sakura-chan," the girl's friend said.
The girl chuckled and started outstretching herself. "I'm the ace of this game, right?" she said. "Besides, with five championship titles around my belt, I'm the undisputed champion around."
Another friend of the girl reminded her with a poke on the nose. "Pompous Sakura-chan is pompous. Don't forget to step on the humble ground," she said with a giggle.
"So what's your plan after this?" the orange-haired girl asked.
"I don't know," the girl replied as the trio left the arcade. "But Otousama told me I should be visiting Centaur-Hanagami this afternoon. They're going to field their new prototype. Oh! I can't wait to see it in action!"
The orange-haired girl laughed. "Oh, okay then. We hope we aren't bothering you," she said.
"No, Patricia, you won't. I'd rather have you and Suzuka-chan stay to watch," the girl replied.
"We'll see about that," they joked.
The girls reached a shopping mall and looked at one another. "I guess we'll meet again at class tomorrow," Patricia said.
"Aren't you coming with us, Sakura-chan?" Suzuka asked.
"I can't right now, Suzuka-chan. Sorry," the girl apologized.
"Oh, alright then. Be careful on your trip, Sakura-chan," the purple-haired girl said.
"Bye-bye, Sakura," Patricia said.
"Ja! Mata ashita!"
The trio bade farewell and separated to their destination. The twin ponytail girl headed to the field, running down the road as to chase time and watching spot. She arrived at the field where hoards of people had been gathering around the perimeter, barricaded by military polices to prevent them from trespassing the area.
"Hey, Sakura," one of the bystanders waved to her. "Good timing. The robot hasn't arrived yet, so can I buy you some drink?"
"Thanks, Kazuki-san," the girl replied, "but I'm in a hurry. I have to meet Suzuki-san right away. Later, okay?" She headed to the makeshift tent and asked the workers to bring her to the field test superintendent.
(Sakura Kazahana. Citizen of the peaceful seaside Shirokaze Town. An avid fan of arcade robot fighting game, she is one of the leading PT Tournament contestants and has won the regional-level competition for five consecutive times. Very naïve, clumsy at times and tends to question every chore she performs, she is nevertheless well-liked by the townspeople for her friendliness and openhearted attitude. She loves cooking and has a pet ferret named Yuno.)
Sakura was not impressed by the answer. "You mean the test has been cancelled?" she growled in protest. "When I thought I could see it up close…"
"We're very sorry, Kazahana-san," the officer (25-year-old Suzuki Franklin) answered. "But due to terrorists' threat, the upper administration has decided to call off the prototype's deployment."
Sakura stooped her head in defeat. "I knew it. I should've read the newspaper yesterday…"
The woman just smiled and corrected her eyeglasses. "Tell me, Sakura," she said as she went informal, "do you really want to become a mecha pilot? Your father has expressed his thought of assigning you to the corporation as our test pilot."
"I would like to," Sakura scratched the back of her head. "But right now I still have school to attend. Not considering this month's PT tournament I have to train."
The conversation was interrupted when a military police entered the tent. "Miss Franklin! The terrorists have arrived! We have to go to the bunker!" he reported.
"Just as I thought," Suzuki said. "Sakura, we have to leave. Follow me."
"Err… yes, right away!"
Sakura and Suzuki left the tent and were escorted to an underground bunker, while military polices were evacuating civilians from the field. The deployment of Centaur-Hanagami's prototype had to be cancelled when terrorists were detected around the seaside town, and now everybody was running for safety.
The commotion stopped. Everybody looked up and pointed skywards, as if they had spotted something over their head. Sakura stopped following Suzuki and looked into the sky.
"Am I seeing it right?"
A caped mecha emerged out of its entry pod, leaving the crowd in curiosity as it descended towards the coastline.
The girl followed the mecha, notwithstanding the crowd that started panicking again when soldiers ordered them to leave the town. She arrived at the beach, and was appalled to see more and more robots landing on the beach and heading to Shirokaze Town.
"It's the terrorists!"
The caped mecha landed next to Sakura, almost startling her because the landing was smooth rather than a hard crash. "I know you…" It took Sakura a while to figure out the answer, and when she did she was in for big surprise. "You're the Romancer Otousama has always told me!"
In a gesture that was as intriguing as it was unanticipated, it knelt and brought its hand to the ground, directly in front of Sakura. It was as if it was asking her to come aboard it, and it ignored the fact that the town was attacked by terrorists.
"You want me… to get up?"
-x-x-x-x-x-
// Aeroscraft //
"Assault 1, launching!"
"Assault 2, launching!"
"Hi-V Gundam, ikimasu!"
"Pistolero 1 and 2, launching!"
"Everyone, our mission is to prevent the terrorists from stealing the new prototype," Frieda said as the mechas descended to lower altitude. "But we also have to protect the civilians and keep the terrorists from destroying the town."
"Assault 1, roger," Kyosuke replied.
"Understood," Excellen said. "Frieda, if I have to ask, does this have to do with the fall of Baikonur?"
"I'm afraid so," Frieda answered. "The Green Sphere is unlike the other kind of terrorists we have come across. If I can summarize them in a phrase, they're ruthless."
"Ruthless…" Kyosuke pondered. "I don't like the sound of that word."
"We'll split up," Frieda later spoke. "The Pistoleros will take care of the eastern sector. Team ATX, Amuro, you are to go to the Centaur-Hanagami's facility in the east."
"Roger," the three pilots answered.
The mechas arrived over the town. The Pistoleros headed east, while Team ATX and the Hi-V Gundam flew west. Upon arrival at the facility, they were immediately greeted by Lion-F's anti-air missiles and had to dodge. "Hey! Is this the proper way to greet a lady?" Excellen demanded and fired the Oxtongue Rifle.
The Alt Eisen Riese was surrounded by the Doms as it landed close to the building. "Trying to repeat the tactic like in the Siberia, huh?" Kyosuke chided and blocked one of the Doms' Heat Sabres with its Plasma Horn. He counterattacked, and the Dom was tossed into smithereens by the Plasma Horn.
Amuro manoeuvred the Hi-V Gundam to outrun a Guarlion and blasted it with its Beam Rifle. "They're coming from everywhere!" Amuro shouted.
The Alt Eisen Riese head-butted a Dom and plunged its Vulcan into the mecha. "Whatever they want to look for, don't let them get close to the facility," Kyosuke spoke and kicked the destroyed Dom out of the way.
"I don't think these guys will give up!" Excellen cried out and fired an energy beam at a row of Armorlions. "Whoosh! One stone, three birds!"
The three mechas' RWR buzzed. Excellen, Kyosuke and Amuro could not put their eyes on the radar as they were too busy attacking and counterattacking the terrorists, but then Excellen spotted a caped mecha standing on the beach close by.
And she saw a girl climbing into the robot's cockpit.
"Did I just see it right?"
-x-x-x-x-x-
// Sylvia //
Sakura had came onboard the Sylvia and was now sitting inside its cockpit. "I know this is similar to the PT cockpit," she murmured and looked for any manuals that could help her. "Uhh… how am I supposed to pilot this thing anyway?"
The control panel activated by itself. Sakura looked down at the panel and saw the screen blinking many times. The cursor was typing something on the screen, and she waited for it to complete.
"Welcome onboard Sylvia. Initiating voice recognition. Please say your name."
Sakura blinked. "Is this robot talking to me?" She wasted no time and spoke to the voice recognition software. "Sakura Kazahana."
"Sakura Kazahana. Processing and storing voice data."
Sakura waited again.
"Data stored. Approving Master Sakura as Sylvia's operator."
"EH???"
Amidst the new information overload, Sakura managed to see several Guarlions chasing after a lone starship above the town. "We have civilians onboard! Please hold your fire!" she heard the starship captain shouting in the intercom.
Then another voice was heard: "As if we would. We care of nothing but money. Prepare yourself!"
"They're going to attack the ship!" Sakura gasped. "I must do something!"
The Sylvia reacted. It boosted its triple back-mounted thrusters and jumped towards the Guarlion in high speed, tackling it with such force both of them were driven several miles away from the town (and into the gulf). The girl got hold off herself after suffering from the initial impact and brought the mecha from the sea.
"Did I just do something?" Sakura asked.
"Are you alright, Master?"
Sakura had to stabilize herself. "Yes, somehow." She blinked again. "You… you were talking to me just now!!"
Several Guarlions fired their machineguns at the Sylvia. Panicked, Sakura shouted "DODGE!" and the Sylvia steered away from the attacks. The Doms continued attacking and Sakura continued shouting "DODGE!" many times, making the Sylvia zip around the sky in frantic manners.
"Warning!"
The Sylvia was sneak-attacked by a Guarlion. Sakura was not sure of what she was doing, but she did what she had learned from the arcade game.
"I need a weapon!"
The Sylvia complied and withdrew a bayonet-tipped pole from its back and incapacitated the Guarlion. She now gained confidence and faced the rest of the mechas. "Yosh! I can do this. Let's go!"
"Yes, Master."
-x-x-
// unknown location //
"What did you say?"
"We're very sorry, sir! The terrorists have attacked the facility, and we have to abort the deployment."
"Professor Franklin! The Sylvia self-activated itself and is now fighting off the terrorists."
"Who authorizes the activation of the Sylvia?"
"No one, Professor. It seems the Sylvia has acted on its own will."
"Its own will? Impossible! There has to be someone piloting the Sylvia! Give me more reports on it!"
"Professor, you aren't going to believe this. There's a girl onboard the Sylvia. Either she forgot to switch the radio frequency or the terrorists have deployed frequency jamming, but we can't contact her at the moment."
"Professor?"
The old man fell onto the chair. "At this point, we can do nothing more than wait," he told his colleagues. "God help us."
-x-x-
// Sylvia //
"Unknown robot, can you hear me?"
Sakura glanced at the right panel. The Weiss Ritter was several hundreds feet away from the Sylvia, shooting at the enemy with its Oxtongue Rifle. "Yes, I can hear you," she replied.
"We'll help you with the terrorists," the voice continued, even as the Weiss Ritter continued firing at the oncoming Doms. "Is that alright?"
Sakura was about to answer when an explosion caught her attention. She looked at the other direction and saw the Doms leaving the crumbled the shopping mall. She remembered her friends going to the mall. "…Patricia… Suzuka-chan…"
She snapped. "YAMETE!!!"
The Sylvia pounced at the Doms and impaled them with the Fin Blade. "What have you done to my friends? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FRIENDS!!!!??" she screamed, even as the Sylvia continued shredding every piece of the Doms with the Fin Blade.
Sakura was infuriated. The terrorists were going to destroy her hometown, and she knew many lives would be in danger.
She turned to the arriving mechas. She was not afraid of their numbers. She was not afraid of their advantages. She was not afraid of anything.
She clenched her hands on the dual controllers. "I will stop you…"
The control panel glowed bright magenta. "Establishing weapon control. Standby."
("Professor Franklin, the Sylvia's Linked Power Core reading is rising!"
"Professor, the Sylvia's LIOH System is activated!"
"Who authorized the commencement of both systems?"
"No one, Professor! It seems the Sylvia has voluntarily triggered its systems!"
"It's the girl! It has to be the girl who pilots the Sylvia!")
The Sylvia withdrew a shooting staff out of its shoulder plate. It charged the weapon with energy flows and made it glow bright magenta.
"I will definitely stop you!!"
"Sylvia's weapon system ready. Master, your command."
The girl screamed into the microphone.
"Raging Heart… SHOOT!!!!"
The Sylvia fired away.
In one swipe, the airborne Guarlions and Barrelions were wiped out by the energy beam. Sakura did not stop there and fired at the Doms, obliterating them into burning metal pieces. Then the Sylvia jumped into the air and charged at the terrorists to the east, firing the Raging Heart and stabbing the Fin Blade into the mechas.
"Why are we standing here? Kyosuke, let's give it some hand!" Excellen exclaimed and rushed towards the Sylvia.
"…" Kyosuke followed her lead afterwards.
"Excellen is always fired up, isn't she?" Not wanting the question to waste his time, Amuro brought the Hi-V Gundam towards the Sylvia.
"Unknown robot, allow us to assist you!" Kyosuke said as they approached the Sylvia.
The Sylvia kicked the impaled Guarlion into the ground. "I don't care!" Sakura shouted. "Just don't let them destroy my hometown!"
"Well, well," Frieda grinned. "This is going to be interesting. Takeru."
"Yes, Miss Frieda?" Takeru replied and brought the Silberkugel close to the Beowulf.
"Let's dance, shall we?" the spectacled woman asked.
"With pleasure, Miss Frieda!" Takeru answered in excitement.
Mayhem ensued. More and more terrorists' mecha arrived over Shirokaze Town, and the sky became a smoke-filled battlefield. The Metal Gunslingers were outmanoeuvring the Guarlions' Sonic Breakers and catching them off-guard with their unconventional 60mm dual handguns; the Hi-V Gundam whizzed around the area, shooting its Beam Rifle at any mecha that was approaching; the Sylvia fired another Raging Heart bombardment without showing any sign of overheating; the Alt Eisen Riese and the Weiss Ritter were fighting their way towards the Sylvia, covering each other from the terrorists.
"Damn, at this rate we won't be able to drive them out," Amuro said and brought the Hi-V Gundam to a firing distance. "Hyper Bazooka Launcher… HASSHA!" The Hi-V Gundam fired the cannon, destroying almost 60 percent of the terrorists in one shot, but the radar showed another concentration of the terrorists to the north-west. "Oh, hell no."
"Kyosuke! Excellen! Amuro! Can you hear me?"
Excellen had to grin. "Rätsel-san! Just in time!"
The Kurogane had arrived, having been tipped off by EFA intelligence agents to head to Hokkaido. Immediately upon arrival, the DaiRaiOh and the King Kittan took off and flew into the battlefield, assisting Team ATX and the Pistoleros in dealing with the mercenaries. Even Masaki and the Cybuster took part and instantly fired a Cyflash that knocked half of the attacking Airlions.
Onboard, Rätsel watched the entire battle in interest. His eyes were fixated to the Sylvia, as the caped mecha was relentlessly smacking the hell out of the terrorists. "What do you think?" he asked Sanger.
The grey-haired man nodded. "She has potential."
The Alt Eisen Riese and the Weiss Ritter landed next to the Sylvia as it began cooling down. "Unknown robot, we'll take it from here. Excellen, follow my lead!" Kyosuke declared.
"Alright, alright! If we do this together, we can beat the terrorists, right?" The Weiss Ritter withdrew its Oxtongue Rifle and commenced attack. "Well, what are we waiting for? Take this and that and there too!"
Amuro took his attacking position. "Now! Go! Fin Funnel!" The remotely controlled Funnels detached from the Hi-V Gundam and pursued the Guarlions.
"You have no fear, King Kittan is here!" Kittan declared and attacked the Barrelions.
The DaiRaiOh took the air. "PLASMA SPIRAL DIVE!!!!" Touma screamed and dive-kicked the Doms.
The carnage finally stopped. The remaining mercenaries fled the town. Everybody onboard the Kurogane and the mechas cheered in victory and sighed in relief.
The Weiss Ritter landed. Excellen jumped out of the cockpit and approached the Sylvia, which was standing amidst the ruins. "Hey! Anyone onboard! Are you alright?" she shouted.
The Sylvia knelt. The cockpit opened, and Sakura stepped outside. She was dazed, too tired after spamming the Raging Heart attack. "Patricia… Suzuka-chan… please be safe…"
"Hey! You there!" Excellen continued shouting (and not noticing Kyosuke who had approached her). "Are you alright? Yoo-hoo! Hello?"
Sakura did not hear the shout from below. She looked around her. Her beloved hometown was now in ruins. She was frustrated; despite her best efforts, the terrorists still managed to cause serious damages to Shirokaze Town.
"Sakura-chan!"
She was startled. She turned to the right and saw Patricia and Suzuka carried out of the shopping mall ruins by the soldiers. A faint smiled finally carved upon her face. "You're safe… thank goodness…"
She fainted, and fell off the Sylvia's hand into the ground, caught by Kyosuke before she crashed. Both Kyosuke and Excellen looked at the unconscious girl, and then at the Sylvia that had turned idle.
"This girl piloted that mecha?" Excellen asked.