DISCLAIMER: I don't own Vandread or any of the Gundam series, I do own my OC, Taiho Lobo, or any other characters and machines made for them.
THE LITTLE PROBLEMS
It had been at least a week since the attack of the sea urchin Harvester, and Taiho and Hibiki were now training. Taiho had to admit that the little guy was progressing very well. He wasn't as scrawny as he used to be and was now a bit ripped, athletically ripped, and was keeping up with the speed at fighting his sensei. But Taiho was still holding back half of his half of his strength, so as not to hurt him too bad…well, still bad, but you get what he is getting at. They had basically just their pants on, because they felt they didn't want their clothes wet from their sweat.
Right when Hibiki was about to give Taiho a good left hook, his sensei ducked right under it and uppercut him right in the stomach. Hibiki was about to double over in pain, until he felt Taiho get a hold of his left arm and slammed him down on the floor with a throw. He was about to get back up and get back to training, but he was stopped as Taiho motioned him to stop, signifying that training was over.
They both relaxed a bit at that moment. The Gundam pilot then went over to a table and picked up two towels. He then tossed one over to Hibiki," you're coming along nicely Hibiki. A few more training sessions and I'll let you go in your own way of fighting," he said as he wiped some sweat off his head.
The Vanguard pilot felt glad, but then felt a little sad at the moment," but that means I won't be able to learn anything new from you, like the techniques you use on your Gundam," he said in a disappointed tone, as he too wiped the sweat off of him with his towel.
Seeing the look on his face and tone he had, he gave a smirk to him at that moment," the training I gave you was just help you on your way to fight for yourself and others," still seeing the look on his face he continued," the techniques I have can't be passed on, but you can come up with your own techniques on your own…you just need the power of your spirit, mind, and heart to make your techniques to be made true."
Seeing the logic in his words a bit, he brightened up and looked determined," Alright, when this training is done, I'll make my own techniques and be better than you sensei. Then we'll see whose top dog around here," he said in a cocky tone, which made them both laugh.
"Well, like that you're so determined to pass me," he then took out his hand to him," let's promise to always strive to protect those we consider precious and always protect those who need it; plus, to always try to surpass each and see where we are at in our training."
Hibiki, seeing where this was going, clasped his hand with his and made a shake with it," yeah, let's do that, as men of honor," he said in a happy tone.
"Yeah, men of honor," Taiho replied back,' that one was a bit more corny than what I just said now…oh well; at least he's going to be able to fend for himself now.'
They stood up, bowed to each other, and then went to get their clothes back on. Once their clothes back on, they went their separate ways and went about their business. Taiho went to see what was going on with his Gundam, when he caught sight of what planet they were going to. He then remembered what was going to happen next.
With Hibiki, he was now working on his Vanguard to see if he could somehow upgrade it to be a bit more like the Dark Angel Gundam. He really wanted to do something like the Burning Fingers technique, if he could just find a way to incorporate that into his Vanguards systems, he could also come up with his own fighting techniques, like his sensei.
"Man, I really work myself hard here, don't I partner?" he asked his Vanguard as he closed a hatch to it, while not noticing a certain long haired red head coming up from behind him," I guess if I'm to protect anyone, it would be those women, they just need, aahhh," he then fell from his position and hit his head on a rail, as Dita shot him with a heart.
She then walked up to him, while not even caring he is getting a view up her skirt," are you okay?" she asked in genuine concern. Oblivious to the embarrassing moment, he just looked up to her and gulped in hunger for some good ol' food.
With Taiho, he went to see how Hibiki was doing, because he heard he got himself hurt while working on his mech. He then came in to see that the doctor was now checking up on him. When the doctor started to feel on his leg, Hibiki didn't mind until the hand started to go up further," Hey, what they hell are you doing?" he asked in a frantic voice as he pulled away from the doctor.
"Examining you," he said simply.
'Let's hope that's all you were doing,' Taiho thought as he looked at the situation.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Hibiki replied as he hugged himself and blushed, it just felt wrong somehow for him for another guy to touch him.
"You seem to be a bit exhausted," the doctor said as he looked him and his condition.
"Well, he would be after my training and going off to work on his mech, when he should be resting after every session," Taiho said as he announced himself.
"I see, you should take his advice Hibiki," Duero commented as he didn't mind the intrusion.
"Yeah, but I have to work on my Vanguard, or I won't be able to protect the women," Hibiki protested as he remembered the pledge he made with his sensei.
"So you're fighting to protect the women?" the doctor questioned with a smirk on his face.
"Well, you see," he then started to blush and fiddle with his fingers," me and sensei made a pledge to protect the women, and since we're stronger than they are, it's only natural for those who are strong to protect the weak," as he said all of this, the heart rate on the monitor started to quicken.
"I think that's enough on the topic of females," the doctor said as he could tell it was an embarrassing moment for the short man.
Paiway then made herself known at that moment," What's this? A video game?" she asked as she pointed to the monitor and made Taiho jump a bit from her sudden entrance.
"You've never seen a pulse-meter?" he asked, as he felt the little nurse would know about such a thing.
"What's it to you if I haven't?" she asked as she felt she was being degraded," anyway, all health problems can be solved and helped in the Jacuzzi," she said as she pouted a bit.
"Ja…cuzzi?" the doctor asked as he felt confused by the term.
"Basically, a nice hot bath doc," Taiho said as he answered the confused the doctor. He then leaned up against the wall and sighed a bit," wouldn't mind having a nice hot bath with those ladies, it'd be paradise for a guy from my planet."
"You are way to confusing for me, so I won't even ask," the doctor said as he lifted an eyebrow at him. Taiho just shrugged and went up to his student.
He then put a hand on his shoulder," you should get some rest, I know that we have said that we were going to protect them. But what good does it do if the protector is feeling fatigued and can't fight at all," he then gave a pat on his shoulder," our next training session won't be until the week after, so relax for now and take some good R & R," he then gave a stern look to him," but don't forget to do some light exercises so that you can keep the body you have just gotten now."
"Sure thing sensei and thanks," Hibiki replied in a happy voice,' good, I don't think I would be able to go another session to soon, I'm really tired.'
They both then Heard BC's voice," attention all pilots and crew members," she called out as she got everyone attention," we're going to investigate a planet, all crewmembers are to are immediately begin simulations on board the Vanguards."
"WHAT?! Women are going to be using the Van-types?" he asked to no one in particular, until he felt a knock on the head," ow, why'd you do that sensei?"
"What have I told you about being a sexist," Taiho said in a sternful voice and face.
He then hung his head low," don't be discriminative to the other sex. If you can do it, they can do it too," he said in a sad voice,' I don't know why he had me remember that, I still don't see the point in it,' he then remembered that they liked to paint their things in colors and started to think about his partner," oh crap," he then rushed off to stop them from doing such a thing to his machine.
'Oh yeah, almost forgot he get plastered with pink paint while trying to stop from Dita coloring his Vanguard,' he the let out a bit of a chuckle,' now I guess I know who else likes to wear a pink-T,' he thought as he remembered the song 'Me in my Pink-T' or something like that. As he started to remember the song, he started laugh,' that song was hella funny,' he thought as he walked out to where they will have the simulations.
They were all in the monitoring room watching the women try and get a feel for the Vanguard types. While monitoring them, Parfet came in," hey Taiho, I need to tell you something," she said as she motioned him over to her.
Not seeing anything better to do, he went over to her," hey Parfet, What's up? Is something the matter with my Gundam?"
"No, but we did find out a neat thing about it," she answered with smile.
"Oh and what would that be?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow.
"We found out that the Gundam can go in and out any planets atmosphere and adapt to its environment. I was checking its systems, when I happened upon apart of its specs. It seems that the Gundam is an all purpose type mech made to survive even the toughest of environments," she said as she gave him the low down on his machine.
"Cool, so I can go with them on this little mission," he said as he felt that he could he could help them when the situation gets tough on the planet's surface, he then turned to go back and see how the women were doing," thanks for the info Parfet, I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see ya," she then left to go back and see how the Paksis is doing.
He came just in time to see Meia pushing herself in the simulation. The doctor then pushed the intercom for that specific sim pod," are there medical overrides on Mejale?" she then looked at the popped up screen of the doctor," on Tarrak, doctor are given authority if they see the pilots in similar situations such as this, do you want that?"
"Of course not," she snapped back at him, angry that this male thought she was weak.
"In that case, I would advise that you open your vid monitor to all directions. That should help lessen the stress to your body," he replied as she gave some advice to the blue haired woman.
"Keep your advice to yourself. I don't need help from anybody, least of all from you. I'll be fine, thank you very much," she said as she gave scornful look to him.
Deciding that he should at least talk to her, Taiho left to wait for outside of her pod, not noticing that Hibiki was behind him, until he was stopped and stuffed in between Jura's melons.
When the doctor came to see Meia, he saw Taiho was already there and stepped back bit into the hall and watched to see what would happen,' hmm, what is you are going to do Taiho? Let's see how you handle this.'
When the sim pod opened, Taiho went over to her and put a hand on her right shoulder blade," you doing okay?"
"I don't see how that's any of your concern," she said as she looked away from him.
"It does concern me, because you're my comrade and I don't want to see you in such a state," he said as he rubbed his hand up and down her back.
Feeling a bit weird from such contact, she batted away his hand and started to get up," I don't want your pity," she said only to almost fall, but was caught as two hands came around her waist.
"I'm not giving you pity, I'm giving you the chance to have a friend," he then spun her around so she can look into his eyes," but I can't succeed until you let me in. Why are you so afraid of someone getting close to you?" he asked as he slowly raised his voice, he just couldn't figure out, even though he saw her memories from the episodes.
That made her snap and she slapped him across the face," I 'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING, YOU DON'T KNOW ME AT ALL," she then pushed herself off of him and stomped away to the door. She then gave one last look to him and couldn't help but feel bad,' why? He's the one who shouldn't have butted in, so why do I feel bad?' with that last thought, she left to go work and let off some steam.
Feeling the sting on his cheek, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit,' there you go again, you go and try to make a girl feel better and what do you get? A real hard smack to the face,' he then leaned up against the wall,' it's almost a replay of my life back at home,' he thought as he remembered the same smack he got from his ex-girl. He then heard a camera snap and someone saying 'Pai check', which made him a little frustrated,' Paiway,' he thought slowly.
"Are you alright?" the doctor asked as he finally felt it was time to come in,' what was he trying to do? To get so close to woman like that seems strange, but almost right for some reason; this is a scenario I must solve,' the doctor as he remembered the scene between them.
"I'm good doc, nothing like a good fight to make you feel good," he said in a fake cheery tone. Duero could tell he was faking, but didn't say anything as he felt that it was his way to cope with things," well, time to get ready for the operation, see ya."
"Until then Taiho," he said as he watched him leave.
'I don't want her to go on this mission, she almost got killed when she did,' Taiho thought as he started to go over to the Vanguard Hangar,' what can I do to stop her from coming,' he then looked at all the Vanguards and got an idea,' hehehe, time to use the knowledge I got from Gasco and Parfet,' he thought as he remembered the lessons he got from the two women.
When about an hour passed, he wiped the sweat from his brow,' good thing I asked those two teach me how to work on the software and hardware of these mechs, or I might not have been able to sabotage the ones she might've taken,' he then looked the ones he didn't touch,' at least with just us, we won't be cutting it close when the planet goes boom,' he then heard his stomach growl a bit,' hehe, I see that you're hungry, huh pal?' he then started to walk out of the hangar and towards the kitchen.
When he went around a corner, he saw Jura and Barnette coming down the hall with some food. Taiho went straight back to the corner to hide,' please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me, oh please, just don't see me,' he thought as he remembered the offer, upon offers, to combine with Jura's dread and turn into something 'elegant'.
As they passed, they didn't even notice him there, until Barnette looked back to see him freeze up,' hmm, why is he hiding? Oh well, it's not like he's trying anything to get Jura,' with that thought on Barnette's mind she continued on her way with Jura.
Taiho then let out a sigh of relief," glad she didn't snitch on me," he then cocked his head a bit though,' but why didn't she tell Jura I was here? Eh, not my problem, as long as Jura is off my back for awhile, I'm good,' he thought as he entered the kitchen, only to see Bart go for a piece of food," Hey Bart, what you doin'?"
"Oh, Taiho, you see this," he said he pointed to some overly spiced beef," this is food women eat, want to try some?" he asked as he was curious to the taste of food women made.
"First of all, you don't want to eat that piece of food," Bart then looked at him questionable," it's too over spiced for you or anyone who doesn't eat anything particularly real spicy," Taiho then went over to a fridge and brought the left overs of when he cooked the Mexican food he made for everyone," here, have some of the food I made," he then put the enchilada in a microwave to heat up, once it was done, he gave it to Bart.
"What is this?" he said as he looked at the strange piece of food.
"My cultures food, from my planet," he then motioned his hand to him," go on, eat, it may taste different from the tablets you guys eat, but it's good. Trust me," seeing no harm in it, he took a small bite from the piece of taco.
After munching it for a few moment, he got a good look on his face," wow, this is good," he then started eat it faster, but savored the taste in his mouth.
"See, it's good that I stopped you from eating the fire hazard that was one that plate," Taiho said as he went and got his own taco.
"Thanks Taiho, your good guy," Bart said as he finished the enchilada," well, see ya," he said as he walked away only to see Dita in front of him," oh, hi."
"Oh hello there Mr. Pilot?" the ice cream in her right hand started to melt a bit," uh-oh, you want one?" she said as she offered it to him.
He started to think a bit, but just shook his head," naw, I already ate something and I think I'm good as is," he the walked past her to the door behind her," I'll see you guys later."
"BYE," they both said, they then heard the door on the opposite side open. The person who just walked in was Ezra," HEY EZRA," they both said in unison.
"Hi there you two, having a good time?" she asked in that sweet tone a mother has. They both nodded to her question.
Dita noticed that she was carrying a lot of lemons in her arms," Ezra, what are you doing with those?"
"I've been craving for something sour lately," she answered shyly, as it felt a bit embarrassing to be eating so many lemons. Taiho gives a bit of a chuckle while Dita just got a cute look on her face.
They both then heard the alarm, signifying it was time for the operation to commence," let's go Dita, we don't have anytime to lose," nodded as she threw away her ice cream in the sink and ran with Taiho to the Vanguard Hangar.
They all get in their respective machines and blast off towards the planet, though there were some complications with Dita and Jura fighting over Hibiki on who would combine with him first,' at least she isn't trying to go for me…for now,' he thought as he felt of the hook for the moment.
When they entered the atmosphere, the Gundam indeed adapted to the heat and went through it no problem. Once everyone started to get close to the ground, the Vanguards sprout some metallic umbrella and floated down and landed softly, with the exception of Hibiki who just plain out crashed on the surface. Taiho though just used his energy wings and boosters to land on the ground safely.
Back on the Nirvana, Meia made it to the Vanguard Hangar," oh no, I got her too late," she said as she looked around and saw that no one was around, nor was the carrier for the regular Vanguards.
"Don't push yourself," she then turned her head to Pyoro who spoke," won't they be alright without you Meia?"
"This shouldn't have happened, I'm responsible for all of them," she said in an angered tone.
"The drop ship was only meant to be used one-way, there aren't any others," the little robot said to her in a sad look.
"What are you talking about?" she asked in surprise, but shook it off," 'growl' whatever, I'm going anyway," she then jumped in to the cockpit of a grey Vanguard, but it didn't move," what the hell?" she then got out and started to try out the other machines, but to no avail, none of them worked at all.
Seeing this, she went back into the grey Vanguard to see what was wrong. She then found out that it had been tampered with,' who would be able to do this, only me, Gascogne, or Parfet could do this. But then again,' she then remembered the concerned man that wanted her to feel alright,' it had to be him, no one else would do this,' she then started to repair what was wrong with mech,' you won't stop me from going on this mission Taiho.'
Back on the planet surface, the five pilots started to search the planet for anything to salvage," well, this place is deserted," Jura said in a bored tone.
"There wasn't any need for Meia to come here," Barnette said as she looked at the area around her from the viewing screen.
"Wow, look at all this sand," Dita called out as she saw the endless view of sand dunes. Everyone then started to go in separate directions.
"Hold on, don't go off on your oww, whoa," Hibiki started to say until he slipped up on the sand dune he was on and slided down to the bottom.
"Mr. Alien," Dita said quickly as she tried to catch but he still went down to the bottom of the sand dune.
"You know, come to think of it, this is MY first time using a Van-type on land, too," he said to himself, as he had an embarrassed look on his face," man, I must look stupid."
A red mech then appeared beside him, it then laid down on top his Vanguard," hey, can't we hurry up a little," Jura said in a sexy tone.
"Y-Ya gotta be kidding me, right?!" Hibiki said as he looked at her with a comical scowl. A rock then hit the red mech in the head.
"Dita?" she asked in surprise.
"The only one Mr. Alien is going to do it with is me," she said in an angered tone.
"Now just a minute, who do you think you're talking to?" Jura snapped back, wondering when the little girl had the back bone to say such a thing to her superior.
"We-well YOU CAN'T DO IT," she yelled out as the sparks started to fly in between them.
Looking at the scene between the two, Taiho had only one thought,' you know, if they were fighting and saying things like that on earth in my time, it would sound so wrong, yet so wishful to us guys.'
Having enough of the situation, Hibiki explodes at them," WOULD THE TWO OF YOU JUST CUT THAT OUT," he then blasted off up into the air to get away from them, when he tripped on some laser wire. Sounds were then heard and lasers shot out from the building in almost every direction.
"What's that?" Barnette asked as the laser homed in one target and hit Hibiki's Vanguard. Hibiki then fell to the ground only to have Taiho catch him in time before he hit the ground.
"You alright man?" Taiho asked as he popped a vid screen to see how he was physically doing. The sand behind the three women pilots was then shot up.
"What now?" Jura asked as the situation wasn't looking good.
A few moments passed as a strange sand storm seemed to be affecting their systems," landing party, status report," a voice called out as BC face came up on a vid screen.
Everyone started to give frantic reports, but Taiho knew it was going to be okay. So he calmed himself down and start to try something, as the sand started enter through his Gundams body, he heated the exterior of his armor as much as he could. He then looked at his hand where some of the sand turned in to fragile like glass which crumbled off when he closed his hand into a fist.
Seeing how everyone was doing, he knew he couldn't do the same for them seeing as how they were partially covered,' if I do it when they're like that, I'll most likely burn them alive in those machines, hurry up Jura and let them know you can use the vacuum thing on the Vanguards,' but then he heard a voice that he didn't want to hear at that moment.
"This is Meia here, does anyone copy?" the blue haired woman called out as she finally made it to the planet surface.
'What the hell? I made sure those mechs were out of commission,' he then started to get worried now for sure,' I need to get to her, now,' he then blasted of towards her position, knowing that the others would be fine.
When he got close to her position, he saw that she was still not covered in sand. But when he looked at what was in front of her, he quickened his flight speed," MEIA," he called out, only to have the Sandguard blast off towards her and capture her mech," shit."
"What…should I do?" Meia asked herself, as she clutched her head in fear," I'm scared," she said in a weak voice.
"You don't have to be," a voice called out, a screen of a concerned Taiho then appeared on her viewing screen," I'll get you out of here," he then started by trying to scrape off, only to have the sand come back on," dammit, this the reason why I sabotaged the rest of those Vanguards, you weren't in the condition to be piloting these damn thing."
"Damn you, you know this is your fault," She called out in anger and fear,' someone, please save me,' she thought weakly.
"Whatever, I'll take any blame you throw at me. But I'm still going to save you, no matter what," she then shot her eyes right into his own," I'll save you, even if I have to give up my own life," he said as he vigorously tried to get the sand off," DAMMIT."
Seeing how the situation, she closes her eyes," go on, leave me, go and save the others and get out of here," she said in a resigned voice.
"Don't you dare give up on me leader; I won't forgive you if you die here now. I will go into heaven, bring you back down, and give the smacking of a lifetime to get your senses straight if you die on me now," The sand had now completely covered her mech and he was now grappling with it,' what should I do? If I don't do something now, she's going to die, along with everyone else?' the then got an idea,' it maybe a bit crazy, but it's all I got for everyone to get out of here in one piece.'
"Go, don't do this for me," she called out to him.
"I'm sorry leader, but I have to do this," he then broke out of the grappling contest and rushed in and gave a big hug to her mech. Even though it was just her mech, she felt embarrassed that he was giving her such a close contact hug. But then she felt a slight heat in her mech. When he had let go, the sand crumbled off and she was now free from the sand.
"How did you…" but then she was cut off as alarms went off at that moment, they both looked at each other and nodded. They then went over to back up everyone else and tried to get out of there as soon as possible.
Seeing this was now time to enact the rest of his plan, he called out to everyone," guys, I need to tell you something," everyone then looked at him," when I give the signal, you blast off towards the Nirvana, I'll take care of the rest here."
"Wait, what about you?" Barnette asked in concern, she felt bad to just leave someone who saved one of their own.
"I'll be fine," a group of sand guards then appeared right in front of him," GO," he called out. They blasted off, albeit reluctantly, and left him to his plans.
'I know this is going to sound cheesy, but at least it will sound a bit cool too,' he thought as he brought his hand to his face," this hand of mine is burning red, its loud cry tells me to defeat you all," he then shot his hand up into the air. He clenched his right hand into a fist as it erupted into a big flame," HERE I GO, ERUPTING BURNING WAVE," he then slammed his fist into the ground. A wave hot fire then shot out from him where he was and sent it out into the area around him. This made all of the sand turn into fragile glass, thus made all of the Sandguards turn into glass and fall to pieces.
Back up in space, there was only seconds before the self destruction would occur,' come on sensei, please make it,' seconds went by, until…boom," NO, TAIHO," he called out as he looked back at the explosions occurring all around the planet. Everyone started get sad, they all started to think about the man known as Taiho Lobo, who did nothing but be kind and help them out.
'Why did you save me? You could have just saved yourself, so why did you do that?' Meia thought as she slammed her fist against the wall of her mech and tried to fight back the tears in her eyes.
'He's gone, he's really gone…how can that be?' Barnette thought as she looked at the destruction occurring on the planet surface,' you always seemed so talented, kind, smart, and almost invincible, but now…'
"Hey, what's with the long faces?" a voice called out. Everyone's eyes shot up to look and see a Gundam shoot out from the fires of destruction on the planet," it'll take more than a planet size bomb to take me and Dark Angel Gundam out," he said in a cocky tone as he vid screen popped up on everyones monitors, showing him to be partially fine," though I will need an aspirin for this killer headache I got," everyone face faulted as he said that.
After some moment, there was an announcement about what the Harvesters were after. Taiho just went ahead and landed in the hangar, he already knew this information, so it didn't really matter if he heard it again.
Once he got out of his mech, he was met with a hard slap to the face. He looked to see that it was Meia who once again slapped him," DON'T YOU DARE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN," she yelled out in front of him.
A bit taken back by this outburst, he knew what she was feeling. So he went up to Meia, who was still yelling at him, and hugged her," I'm sorry leader, I just did what I thought was necessary, you're more important than I am here."
That made her just start hitting his chest a bit," don't you say that, you're my subordinate and I'd be damned if you die on me like that again, do you understand me?" she said as she looked in to his eye, while still being held in his arms.
He just sighed and closed his eyes for a bit," yes sir, I'll try not to go against your orders again sir," he said as he opened his eye and smiled," but anyhow, I'm glad that you're alive at least," he then tightened his hug on her.
That made her blush and quickly got out of it," very well, I expect you to be ready for the next mission Taiho," she replied as she looked away from him and then she left, without as so much as a goodbye. There then a sound of a camera being used again, with the same voice saying 'Pai check', which ticked Meia off a bit,' Paiway,' she thought slowly.
"See ya leader," he called out, he then remembered how warm she felt in his arms,' it looks like I'm finally starting to crack that shell of hers, hopefully it will do wonders for her in the future when she does get out of it,' he thought as he walked over to the other pilots, who were happy to see he was alive and ran to him to give their congratulations,' this is my new life, and I'll live it to best of my abilities.'
A/N: Well, that CH.4 for ya guyz, hope I made it good for ya. I hope I didn't make it too corny for the G Gundam reference. As for the Taiho and Meia, it's just to make the relationship grow in someway, but you'll just have to see where I take. If you guyz got any questions, post them up on the review, ja ne.
ShadowDragonGX