Disclaimer: You already know, so there's no point in writing it.
AN: Sorry for the long wait. I was caught up writing another fanfic.
Chap. 21
A solitary figure walked into town, his face deep in a seeming focus. Dressed in white Chinese clothes, Wufei left the area where his sword remained. His mind was repeatedly replaying his defeat. I am weak. I am no longer able to fight. His fists clenched periodically as he entered into a small town a short distance away. His eyes saw an OZ base not too far away, so he can assume that OZ soldiers were most likely occupying the area. Just as luck would have it, as he entered the town, he passed a bar where three soldiers had just exited. Wufei glared at them. They're drunk while on duty. And they call themselves soldiers. One of them noticed his lance and stood before him.
"Well, what have we here? A little pretty boy."
"Step aside if you know what's good for you", was the irritated reply.
The man stepped back, irritated by his reply. One of his buddies can up to him next.
"Do you know who we are? We are top OZ soldiers. You better show the proper respect, boy."
Wufei was not intimidated at all. "I'm showing you all the respect you deserve. Now stand aside."
Angered now, the second soldier grabbed Wufei by his collar, "Why you...?"
Ka-Pow!
Having had enough, Wufei sent the man a sharp kick in the shin. The man bent down in pain and dropped him back. Now enraged, he charged at the young man, but Wufei simply sidestepped the man's charge and sent a hard chop to the back of his head, knocking him flat on the ground. The other two now joined in and charged. But Wufei swiftly twisted around and sent a fist into the man's abdomen. Stunned, he was them kicked into his partner who fell into a pile of trash can and lay still. He tried to rise, only to be knocked out himself by a blurring roundhouse kick. Wufei then heard a click behind him and turned to see the first soldier was holding a gun on him.
"Snotty little punk. Making fools out of us."
The soldier looked ready to fire, but an arm came out of the alley behind him and wrapped around his face. Dragging him a bit, a fist flew out and knocked him out cold. A blond-haired woman came out of the alleyway, accompanied by another woman and a few men. The woman looked down at the beaten OZ soldier.
"Actually, you did a good job of that on your own." She then looked over to Wufei. "Are you alright, kid?"
Wufei gruffly responded, "I didn't ask for your help."
One of the men with her grumbled, "Huh? Hey, show her some respect. She just saved your life."
The woman waved her hand, "Its okay. It doesn't matter." Noticing the other soldiers on the ground, she ordered, "Apprehend them. We can take them in to base."
The men followed her command and lifted them up and began to carry them away. The woman looked back at the Wufei. He was able to beat two soldiers like this? I guess he really didn't need my help.
"What's your name?"
At first, Wufei thought about ignoring her. She is a woman after all. But...she did save me. Damn, I am so weak.
"Chang Wufei."
"Wufei, huh. I'm Sally Po. It was good to meet you, Wufei."
Wufei noticed the group. They were obviously soldiers, probably from the former Alliance trying to fight back. In any case, it didn't concern him. It was then that he noticed the other girl was still looking at him, almost staring. He frowned, "What are you staring at?"
The woman's gaze didn't leave him, "You're a tekkaman, aren't you?" He didn't answer and she continued, "No, you're something else...a gundam perhaps?"
Wufei glared harder. "What if I am?"
"If you are a gundam, then surely you know what is going on." She stepped forward a bit, "My name is Fera. Would you consider joining us? We're fighting OZ the same as you are."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I can't." Wufei shot back. "Now leave me alone." He began to walk away.
The woman looked at him briefly and then slowly nodded, "Very well then. Take care, Wufei."
As Wufei walked away, Sally came back to her comrade.
"What was that about?"
Fera shook her head, "...Nothing. It's nothing."
The rebels returned to their secret base, which was a small bunker alongside the hill a short distance away from the town. Inside were a few other soldiers, some from the former alliance. The three prisoners were taken to holding cells while the command group gathered together for a meeting. Sally Po and Fera were on there way there.
"What is it?"
Excuse me?"
I know that look. You have something on your mind. You can tell me. And I'm not going to buy the 'it's nothing' line, so you might as well get it out,
"Well, it's that boy we met. Wufei."
"Yeah, what about him?"
"I believe he's a gundam."
"Hmm. I had a feeling about him, but what makes you think he's a gundam?"
"When you hang around tekkamen for awhile, you get to feeling them out. Besides, the Soul of Outer Space tells me so."
"I see." Sally Po nodded. Since they met, Sally knew that Fera was definitely no ordinary person. In fact, it was that that led her to check her record to determine who she was and ultimately finding out that she was actually the one of the Space Knights. But she never found out why she left or who she was hiding from at the time, but it was of no consequence now
"Well we better move. You know how grumpy Max gets when we're late."
Fera gave a small chuckle, but that was abruptly ended by an alarm.
Sally grabbed her walkie-talkie and shouted, "What's going on?"
A voice came back though, "One of the prisoners has escaped."
Her eyes widened. If he reveals the location of this base...
"Find him immediately!"
It didn't take long. The OZ soldier managed to get to a communications link-up and began to contact his base. Moments later, the door bashed in and Sally and a few others stormed the room.
"Hold it right there."
"You're too late. I've already sent a message. A squad of Leos is on its way as we speak." He then sneered, "You're history, Alliance trash!"
__________
The high whine of the base sounded once again and troops moved rapidly to their stations. The command group met up together to discuss their plan for the upcoming attack.
"We will be divided into two groups." Sally Po announced. "Group A will retreat to the rendezvous point with the supplies. Group B will engage the enemy while they escape."
One of the men commented, "But they're using Sol-Tekkas. How can we possibly defeat those?"
"We're just going to bide for time. We have enough weapons to hold them off and once group A has escaped, we are to withdraw. I will lead Group B into battle. Max, think you can handle getting everyone out of here?"
Max grumbled, "Fat chance. I'm going to go with you." He held his hand up to stop her objection. "I have more battle experience than you do. You're going to need it if you want to get out alive."
"I'll handle Group A." Fera announced.
Sally sighed, "Fine then. You'll lead Group A out while we handle the Sol-Tekkas. We have to hurry. We have only 20 minutes at the most before they get here."
__________
Wufei stood on the hill he had just traveled from. He stood there unmoving as he was deep in thought. How can I fight OZ? I am too weak to fight anymore. What can I do? His thoughts were stopped by a familiar humming. Looking over the cliff, he could make out several green objects moving toward the far base of the hill. Sol-Tekkas. Wufei followed them from a distance, but was still unsure as to why he should.
_______
Sally and the rest of the rebels were ready for the incoming OZ force. The supply convoy was slowly trudging its way out of the area while Sally and her team drove forward in jeeps and trucks, armed with rifles and rocket launchers.
"We aren't going to do much good with these?" one of he men muttered.
"Quiet boy!" Max snapped from nearby. "This is what we've got, so stop whining about it."
Sally smirked at the display, but inwardly she cringed. The young rebel was right in saying that their weapons won't be too much of a match for Sol-Tekkas. Still, they would be enough to hold them off, just for awhile. They had to.
"Here they come."
On the horizon before them came five dull green objects. The Leo Sol-Tekkas were coming at them at high speed.
Sally spoke on the walkie-talkie, "Alright, remember. Do not, I repeat, do not engage them directly. They won't use their beam weapons in this kind of space so they'll have to come in close. Use long distance fire and the trees and rocks for cover. We only have to hold them off for a while and then retreat. Don't try anything heroic, understood?"
The soldiers replied, "Yes, ma'am."
The jeeps slowed down and stopped as the Sol-Tekkas neared. One of the men fired a rocket, catching their attention and bringing them toward them. Rounds of fire followed and the battle began. Just as Sally predicted, they didn't use beam weapons to fight with. But their armor and boosters still made them deadly and they were armed with machine guns. The rebels wasted no time in their distraction, weaving through the trees and all avoiding fire.
"Group A. How's that convoy?"
Fera's voice came back over, "68% has been evacuated."
"Hurry it up. We're being hammered out here."
Suddenly, a beam of light struck out and hit one of the jeeps, destroying it and the passengers completely. Sally watched in horror as the Leo began using their energy cannons, destroying the entire landscape at random. This is insane! One of those beams could hit and destroy the town. Beam after beam was fired, swiftly wiping out the resistance. Sally's truck was hurled over by one of the explosions and the major struggled out, injured. One of the Sol-Tekkas was aiming at her.
"Sally, look out!"
A truck rolled into the way of fire and was blasted through. Sally saw the driver inside.
"Max!"
The truck exploded in a flash and Sally shielded herself from the debris. Climbing out again, she saw the Sol-Tekka's continue their original destination toward the base. No, they need more time. Picking up a fallen rocket launcher, she fired a full salvo at the war machines. But that did nothing aside from getting their attention. More rockets were fired and Sally turned to see a few had survived the onslaught and were now serving as a distraction themselves. The Sol-Tekkas began to move in.
___
Wufei had been watching the battle from above. He saw the Leos encircle the resistance and it would only be a matter of time before they are crushed. Yet they continue to fight...right until the bitter end. His eyes focused in on one in particular; the woman whom he had met before. The one who... His fist clenched at the thought of his own weakness, but he made a quick dash up the hill and found what he was looking for. His sword was still stabbed into the stone, with the crystal gleaming at the hilt. The sounds of battle increased as he approached it.
"Nataku. I know I am unworthy to ask, but..." His hand fell upon the hilt. "...please lend me strength." With a swift motion, the sword cracked the rock and Wufei raised it above his head into the sky.
"Tek-setta!!!"
____
The group had been completely surrounded by the Leos. Nevertheless, they never dropped their weapons to surrender
"Major?"
Sally turned to the same soldier she had spoken to before, holding a rifle.
"Yes?"
"It has been an honor serving with you."
Sally nodded sadly before glaring back at the machines, waiting for death. Suddenly, a long stream of fire poured out of the sky and engulfed the Sol-Tekka, incinerating it. Looking up, she saw the dragon tekkaman Shenlong dive in on the next Sol-Tekka, impaling the next one through.
"It's a gundam!"
Shenlong wasted no time in pulling out his weapon and sending it in a slashing arch, cutting through the next one. Three were destroyed before the others knew what was going on. Using more pressure, Shenlong unfolded his dragon arm and let it fly, biting into the next one. One of the Sol-Tekka's fired, but Shenlong jumped out of the way of the beam. Still holding the Sol-Tekka, Shenlong swung it at his partner, causing them to collide and crash into the ground. The last remaining one locked on and fired, blasting Shenlong and the area. The pilot let out a smirk, but it was cut down when Shenlong swooped out of the flame. With a loud cry, Shenlong jammed the lancer into the Sol-Tekka's face-plate and drove it into the ground, crushing it. All of the Sol-Tekkas were completely destroyed. Shenlong stood within the smoke, simply looking at the destruction he wrought. He then turned slightly to see Sally Po walking up behind him.
"Thank you, gundam."
A metallic scowl came out, "I didn't do this for you, woman. But now my debt has been repaid." With that Shenlong began to stride away, leaving Sally to her thoughts. So Fera was right, again. That boy is the gundam.
Meanwhile, unaware of her thoughts, Shenlong continued walking with his own thoughts in mind. OZ has deepened it shadow even into outer space. Then that is where I shall go. He raised his blade into the air. Show me your justice, Nataku!
__________
With both OZ and the Gundam moving into space, Earth is left under OZ's total control as well as more open to Radham attacks. Relena goes to Moscow to confront her father's killer, Lady Une. But a surprise Radham attack reveals another hidden part of Relena's life; her brother. Next on Gundam Tekkaman: Dove in the Battlefield.