Many apologies for this chapter being so late. Lots of things came up (brother's wedding, school, sickness, spring break madness, etc...) and just couldn't fine much time to watch Vandread and transcribe it. On the upside, Gundam 00's ending matches quite well with my original ideas so I should be able to pop out chapters quiet easily (easier than before).
So with all that behind me, I do not own either Gundam 00 or Vandread but welcome you to experience both.
A blood-tinged twilight flared across the roof of the world holding in its womb a grey sun that just peaked over the horizon. Below, towers of steel protruded into its sight, greedy gangly claws lusting after the sky. From far away they seemed to cradle the light for all to see but never touch. Still, human curiosity is not so easily thwarted.
Beyond the wall of the city, the lowly black and white shadows of men surged sluggishly towards the light. Their eyes, hallow and devoid of reason, stared longingly at their plunder as their fat hands reached to the heavens. Like flies bouncing against a light bulb, they lumbered on.
However, none showed more conviction, or more idiocy, than Hibiki Tokei.
Breathing heavily, he pushed and shoved through the herds of men, all the while muttering to just get a little closer.
'If I could only get a little bit closer, only get a little bit further, maybe I can make…If I get up ahead a little bit more, get a little bit higher, maybe I can see everything!'
His face contorted in pain the youth valiantly struggled through the last stretch of cows to the wall. Mouth gaping open and eyes wide with anticipation he reached into the world beyond the crowd.
'Just a little bit more!'
Adrenalin spiked in his blood as he stumbled backwards. Crystallized spikes burst forth from the ground, impeding his odyssey. Within each was a woman, the same he'd seen on the ship. He knew this not from their faces, which were enshrouded in darkness, but their odd choice of clothing. For a brief moment he thought of the girl who'd stalked him through the Ikazuchi, the glowing smile and sparkling eyes she'd flashed him.
Bolting around these distractions, he reached the wall, not a wall made of concrete or steel, but of a stone. Planting his fingers in the splintery rampart, the young man hefted himself up.
"Just a little further," he repeated in breaths, "Just a little bit more!"
His hand met empty air as he reached the top, hauling himself into the heavens.
"Just a little…"
He stopped abruptly, transfixed by the sun. It was not grey, but aqua, shimmering as twin torpedoes rained down upon him.
_
He was falling. Or was he flying?
Setsuna did not know. Up and down were imaginary ideas based on perspective, especially in empty space.
Light was all there was, ever shining, ever growing. Setsuna's clothes cast away, the light surrounded him, clothed him, protected him. Screams echoed in his head, small, insignificant. Hibiki, Tieria, Meia, Jura, and Dita. They were with him, but unlike him, scared, trapped, falling.
One would think that after using Double-O Gundam Setsuna would be accustomed such a situation, but this was different. The Light was different. With Gundam it moved around him like the ripples in a pond, systematic, tranquil. But this was…distorted. Chaotic. Scared.
'The Paeksis.' He thought to himself and not to himself, his own thoughts no longer private. All who listened heard. 'Is it scared? Is it trying to protect us?'
A new light appeared before him, a light of crimson fear. Grasping out with his hands, Setsuna let this fear wash over him. The Paeksis's fear became his fear, its worries his. And then it was gone.
"Who are you?" A thousand voices asked.
"Gundam."
Life sparked into his eyes in the form of shifting golden streaks. In a heartbeat, a trail of GN particles exploded behind him as Setsuna F. Seiei delved into the chaos to sever the distortion.
_
The twin Muramasa torpedoes detonated across the hull of the Ikazuchi's old section. Fire spilled forth into the ensuing darkness, metal boiling into the endless abyss. And then it was all gone.
…
And then it was.
Shades of a radiant purple light exploded many systems away, coiling through the abyss like a small (very, very, very small) newborn sun. In the flash of a solar flare, the Ikazuchi and Pirate ship spilled forth into the third-dimension once again.
Undamaged, but still not unchanged. Tendrils of crystallized light bloomed across the hull of the Ikazuchi, emanating from the Paeksis core. Crackling with lightning, scales formed over the wounds in the ship, layering upon them selves to hold it together as shards of metal returned to their home. Within, jagged roots sprouted from the walls and ceilings and floors, entangling the organs of the ship and pulsing a faint blue light.
At the base of the ship branches stretched out and grasped the Pirate ship with crystal fingers. With a jerk, they pulled the ships together, fusing the roof of the pirate ship to the base of the Ikazuchi. Another plot of land for the Paeksis to plant its seeds.
_
The Pirates, however, were not so happy about this revelation.
In the bridge, Magno returned to the land of the living with a groan, "This certainly doesn't look like the afterlife. Where the hell are we?"
"I'll check." Belvedere responded as she recovered from the space jump, but she got nowhere before the bridge shook violently.
"What's going on now? Is the crystal trying to eat the ship?" Queried the Captain again, her old bones barely keeping themselves together.
_
Many levels above her in the hangar Jura awoke to a stabbing pain in her chest. Apparently, either member of her chest had rolled to the sides. Moaning seductively, the blood blinked several times at the topsy-turvy room.
Along all pieces of metal layers of layers of a spidery crystal web entangled the tattered remains of the hangar.
"Jura!" Rolling her head, Jura found her leader sitting not that far away, her chest fine and dandy. "Dita?"
"Hiiiiii!" The young girl answered joyfully, "Over here!"
She waved lazily and plopped herself down on the floor, grey bags hanging from her eyelids. "Something went BEEP! And then BOOM! And I don't know what happened. Alien power is amazing!" She exclaimed, enunciating the last words of each sentence.
Meia blinked several times at her trainee before studying the gaping hole above her. To her surprise, she found a familiar purple-haired figure hanging from its maw.
"Jura! Get up! We need to help her!"
_
Unlike the pirates, Tieria did not have the luxury of awakening on the ground. However, decades of space travel had made weightlessness quite dull. Blinking several times at the Amazonian below him, the Meister sighed dryly and returned to sleep. Better not to be awake when they realize his chest had been blown off in the explosion.
_
Back on the bridge…
The Captain, unlike the Taraak Prime Minister, had quickly adapted to the situation. Each of the bridge members was tirelessly hunched over their monitors with an assignment.
"Gascogne!" An image of the burly left-hand-woman appeared before the Captain. "Do you think you can detach us?"
"I can't do it with a laser," She responded with her signature needle in her lips *no idea what the hell she has in her mouth. * "And if we don't hurry, this place will get swallowed up too."
With a beep and a flash, the right-hand-woman appeared on the screen, "The corrosion has started to spread throughout the ship."
Another beep and flash and Parfet popped into the conversation, "The engines dead, too, so we can't move!"
"Hmm," the Captain hummed as she rolled all this over in her head, "So we got to get rid of it at the source. I'm going up! BC, Parfet! Come with me!"
"Roger." They replied as one.
_
In a small cruiser, the three of them and a series of aids exited via the only working hangar, jettisoning them selves up to the Ikazuchi part of the ship. Entering the hangar, the Captain clutched her walking staff tightly and exclaimed, "This is amazing."
Waddling forward she nodded to Meia and her crew.
"Sorry about this, Captain. There is no need for you to come up here." The Dread leader said submissively.
"You don't need to apologize. I simply wanted to see this with my own eyes," Then she noticed a small boy sprawled out on the floor, "Hmm?"
"This is the man Dita was chasing," Meia answered.
Gazing deeply into the contorted features of Hibiki's face, the Captain said nostalgically, "It's been a while since I last saw a man. Were their faces really this funny looking?"
Meia shifted from one foot to the other, unable to answer the captain's question.
"Is there something else?"
"Well, we found someone else, but…"
Then the old crone saw him. He was dressed in a pilot's uniform that she found rather familiar, but could not place it. What caught her eye, however, was his short purple hair and feminine but stern demeanor. Though her chest was gone and hair far shorter, this was Tieria.
"How…" Was all the old woman could muster before the young man awoke.
"Morning, Captain." He said dryly, "Guess you want an explanation."
_
Dusty grey white and black clouds fluidly shifted around Hibiki as he felt a rush of adrenalin pass through him. His whole body "rippled," almost as if a stone had been through into him like a pond. Lightheaded and nauseous, the third-class citizen struggled to keep upright in the four-dimensional realm.
"What are you?" A robotic voice asked, dull and grey like the space around him.
"You mean me?" He responded as he gazed into the grey. "I'm Hibiki."
"Hibiki." A female voice repeated briskly, echoing from the body of the aqua haired girl he'd seen in his dream.
"The term for this organic being or a personal name?" The once red haired girl asked with eyes so wide they nearly touched.
"Why have you come?" The once blond haired girl questioned as she floated upside down.
"Are your objectives instinctual or preconceived?" The egg shaped robot chirped up, its screen fazed out with black and white lines.
"I don't know why I'm here! I was just sick of everything!" Hibiki cried desperately. Memories flashed through his head, "I just wanted to escape from my life. Nobody respects me just because of how I look and where I work!"
"Response incomprehensible." The droid declared.
"What exactly is a 'Hibiki'?" Blondie.
"What do you mean 'what am I?'"
"I mean…" Red.
"…exist?" Blondie.
"What is the proof that you are? Who you are? Who you are?" the voices echoed.
"Why do you need proof? Can't you tell from just looking at me?" Hibiki growled sharply.
"That response is primal. Three-dimensional." They faded away, leaving the boy to his questions.
"Hold on! Who are you?" He shouted as the world crumbled like a shattered mosaic window. "Where is this? Somebody tell me what I'm supposed to do! Why am I here? What's going on?"
His shouts disappeared into the blinking emerald light of the sky above, but not before an answer befell him.
"Live!" Shouted Setsuna, who barreled towards him in a shroud of red light. He grasped the younger lad at the wrists, and, with a tug, they awoke.
_
Again, Setsuna found himself staring longingly at the black abyss above him, but this time it was really space. Before his eyes, clouds of metal and crystal encased the world above, pressurizing the room.
"Paeksis," Was all the young man said as he rose to his feet. Spinning in place, he was surprised to find that he was not in the cockpit of Double-O, but in the dreadful remains of the hangar. "Paeksis."
"Hold it right there!"
Keeping as still as a deer in the headlights, Setsuna stretched his mind out to the rough female voice. 'That uniform, it's the one Tieria was wearing. Could they be accomplices?'
"That's exactly what we are," Setsuna declared before placing his hands on his head and turning to face the voice. Meia, that was her name. The same woman who'd saved him from Dita. 'I should thank her,' he thought as his eyes dimmed from gold to red.
"I said Hold it!" She shouted, her thoughts muddy, raising her laser-ring.
'How the hell did he know what I was thinking?'
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Setsuna said nothing, but rather bowed to the girl. "Thank you!"
"What?"
"Earlier, in the Paeksis chamber, you saved my friend and I from Dita. Thank you." He said again, raising his head.
'What the hell is going on here?'
"I would suggest you take me to your superiors. I have much to explain to them," Setsuna pleaded, hoping to salvage the situation.
"Grr…" Growled the Amazonian as she stretched her hand out, "Take off your belt and throw me any weapons you have."
Slowly and gently, Setsuna detached his belt and dropped it into Meia's hand.
"Now, take me to your leaders." He turned around, hands against his head.
The woman said nothing as she put her ring against the center of his spine and pushed Setsuna forward. They only took two steps before they were interrupted.
"Setsuna's alright! Setsuna's alright!"
An orange sphere no bigger than a soccer ball bounced out from behind a pillar, its "ears" flapping up and down.
"Setsuna's alright! Setsuna's alright!" The Haro robot repeated as it bounced up and down with joy.
"What the hell is that thing?" The woman shouted as she raised her ring to shoot it.
Gently, Setsuna lowered her wrist, "Don't worry. He can't hurt anyone."
"Haro nice! Haro nice!"
"Grr…Don't touch me!" The capturer snarled as she pulled her wrist away briskly. Waving her ring at her captive, "Pick that thing up and start walking."
He did so, curling the orange AI in his arms.
"She scary! She scary!"
Setsuna smiled as he petted the little droid. 'You stowed away in the GN Arms didn't you?'
'Haro be quiet. Haro be careful. Haro want to help.'
'Don't worry you'll get your chance.'
_
Hibiki awoke with a jolt, banging his head on the shelf he sat under.
"Owww!" He cried. Blinking the pain away he found himself in another storage room locked with aqua energy bars. Again. "Oh man! Well it looks like I'm stuck behind bars again, huh?"
"You're awake," A sly male voice stated form Hibiki's left.
"Who's there?"
In the corner sat what only can be described as a rare beauty. Long raven hair cascaded down a tanned young man's face, obscuring half of his features in alluring suspense. A white and red jacked hung around his shoulders; three large green dots on the right signified he was in the military. Slightly open, it revealed a muscular chest seemingly cared from gold by the gods lightly wrapped in a black tank top.
"My name's Duelo McFile. Do you also have a name, Mr. Third Class citizen?" He asked with a smirk.
"Don't make fun of me!" Hibiki sternly replied, "My name is Hibiki Tokei and I'm not just another Third-Class citizen!"
"You're the one who cause all that ruckus during the ceremony, right? How'd you manage to sneak in anyway?"
"There sure are a lot of questions today!" He snarled, "Anyways…"
"BBBEEEE!" Moaned the navi robot lying at his feat. Rolling onto its back, it beeped "Pyoro!" before hopping to life. Feet and arms popped out as it landed, large eyes flashing onto its monitor. Scratching its head (Do robots itch?) Pyoro hummed, "Hmm. Where am I? Who am I?"
"You've changed a bit haven't you?" Hibiki asked with a dull expression.
_
Deep within the hangar Bart Garcus gently tapped an inner wall of Lord Grandpa's statue. The crystal holding it together cracked and crumbled to dust, freeing the young recruit.
"Sure in big mess now," He stated dumbly as he wondered around the remains of the once great ship, "What the heck happened to the ship?"
His voice echoed of a nearby piece of stalactite the size of a house, which promptly came crushing to the ground. Knocked on his ass, Bart yelped like a wounded dog and crawled clear of the resounding dust clouds. Crawled right into Meia's hips.
Horror danced across his face as he stared into the pink light of the pirate's laser ring. It was an upside to the distorted glare emanating from her eyes.
"H-Hi there!" He stuttered with a pathetic smile.
_
'My third trip around this place and I find myself another weirdo!' Meia curse to herself as she escorted the recruit to the storage room. 'What the hell is going on here?'
_
Throughout the ship others were wondering the same thing.
The crystal connecting the two ships together flared as it pulled them closer. A blue haired "stage-hand"/engineer squinted into a massive hole in the roof of the registry. Thunder rumbled up ad down the ship causing flakes of crystal to rain down on the poor girl.
"Wow! Ms. Gasco! It looks like we're connected from the inside too!" She exclaimed.
On the level below her the third in command chewed on her needle as the ladies around her sliced into the crystal patches with laser drills. Loaming over the monitor the burly woman said, "Well that's just great. I did not know the Paeksis had such incredible amounts of power and energy. By the way…
"Its not Gasco! Its Gascogne!"
_
In the Paeksis chamber Paiway faced her own slice of frustration. As she scanned either ship on her laptop, she declared, "Just as I feared. The ships are linked all the way down to the core! We got to do something! Try and insert the light-star particles into the main cable right away. Just make it so we can control this thing!"
_
In the Med room…
Barnnette banger her fist on the green viewing screen to the showers, her brown bangs waving angrily in response.
"Paiway! Let us out!" She cried as disinfectants rained down upon her and her fellow scantily clad pilots. "It's freezing in here!"
"Not until all the male germs are gone," Stated the young nurse in a matter of fact tone. She jutted down the days interesting little tidbits amidst the chaos. "Even in times of crisis like this the super cute Paiway never loses her cool."
And in some ways, she was right.
_
Back in the storage room the two and a half (?) men seemed to be far away from the commotion around him. Duelo lazily hung his head as he watched Hibiki fight with the robot formally known as Pyoro. Its screen would randomly flicker with white fuzz and beep strange words, but when Hibiki offered to fix it the robot leapt up and down with rage. For a moment Duelo thought a vein (cable?) was pulsing along its back.
"I'm not broken!"
"Well what to you want?"
Footsteps clattered to a stop just outside their cell. Opening his one visible eye Duelo gazed upon an intimidating silver-haired woman and two women who seemed to be her aids. Behind them was a familiar black haired boy holding an orange sphere in his arms.
"Women!" Hibiki splat with more fear than disgust as he backed away. "What do you plan on doing with us? Why are you here?"
"Try and stay calm. This is the safest place for you right now," assured the older women.
"Sure you say that! But…you wanna eat my guts!"
"Eat your...guts?" The woman queried as giggles splashed out of her aids' mouths.
"Hahaha! He actually believes that!"
Smiling wickedly the leader said, "Before we have dinner I'd like to ask you something's. Come with me please."
She disabled the locks and while here aids cuffed either man, Hibiki noticed Setsuna.
"Setsuna! What are you doing here?"
He raised his cuffs in response.
"Oh yah."
"You two know each other?" Asked their captor, who eyed Setsuna with suspicion.
"He friend? He friend?" Chirped the orange ball in his arms.
Setsuna looked from Haro to his captors to Duelo to Pyoro and lastly Hibiki.
"Yes."
And that was that. As the little group marched through the maze of halls, Duelo leaned towards Setsuna and asked, "How did you know they'd need a doctor?"
"I didn't. Just had a feeling."
Duelo frowned at the mediocre answer. "Who are you really?"
"I will tell you all that you need to know in due time," Setsuna bluntly declared and then pointed at Hibiki, "Watch."
Duelo raised his eyebrow at the even younger young man, who was staring with a keen eye at the chests and hips of his guards.
"What the hell do they have in those things?"
Leaning forward he "poked" one of their "packages." The young girl squealed and, with fiery red cheeks, smacked her assaulter up side the head. Both Duelo and Setsuna couldn't subdue short, warm smiles of joy as they watched their fellow man's face was mutilated from the Pirates' Secret Open Palm Technique.
_
"What the hell is going on?" Jura exclaimed as she pointed at Tieria's flat chest.
Tieria raised one eyebrow slowly but said nothing.
"What the hell is going on?"
Tieria raised the other eyebrow slowly but said nothing.
"What the hell is going on?"
Since he had no more eyebrows to raise he leaned his head back and counted the ceiling panels. 42.
"Calm down Jura," Magno said sternly but calmly.
"But what the hell is going on?" She shouted one last time.
"Look! If you're not going to be patient then you can wait outside. Am I clear?"
"Argh!" She growled, shaking her big hips as she stomped away.
"Thank you Captain." Tieria said.
"You be quiet too," Magno spat, "I'm still debating whether or not to kill you yet. The only reason you are alive is to satisfy my curiosity, as well as other reasons…"
Not a moment later Buzam and her merry band stepped through the door.
"I've brought the prisoners as you asked, Captain," the silver-haired vixen reported.
"Very good. You gentlemen take a seat while we wait for Meia to arrive. Apparently she found another one of you."
Tieria looked up for a moment, glanced over his fellow prisoners (spending one second more on the one holding the orange bowling ball), and let his head fall back again. 'What happened to the little guy?' He thought to no one.
Setsuna's quantum brainwaves flared, 'Touched one of his guards the wrong way.'
'That explains the red mark.'
Next to him Hibiki rubbed his face, "Why the heck did she do that?"
"A gentlemen should never be rude to a lady!" Piped up the little navi robot.
"Hey I don't even know what you're talking about!"
'Loud isn't he? I don't see how you survive around him.' Tieria thought to Setsuna.
The door hissed open as Meia marched Bart in at ring-point.
"Hey, comrades, glad to see you here," He announced with a nervous laugh.
"I found him hiding in the platform," Meia declared as she pushed Bart into the spot between Setsuna and Hibiki.
"Well, looks like we're all here," The Captain declared as she stepped forward. "But you're all a bunch of kids."
"Hey! Its time to interrogate!" Pyoro shouted joyfully, "I'll tell you everything!"
"Oh look at this! A navi robot. Haven't seen one of those since I was a little girl," She said nostalgically, her ancient eyes passing over each of the men and stopping at Setsuna. "I've seen you before. What's your name, boy?"
He said nothing, and when Haro tried to chirp up he tightened his grip on it.
"Well? You're not mute are you?"
"This is a waste, Captain," Meia said as her laser ring hummed to life, "We should just dump them out an airlock. We have enough trouble as it is."
"Now lets not be too hasty. I still wanna see how charbroiled man tastes," She licked her lips slowly before turning to Tieria, "And I'd also like to know why the hell you betrayed us."
Just like his friend, Tieria said nothing.
"Well? Your voice box get blown off along with your breasts?"
All but one of his fellow prisoners gave Tieria a wide-eyed stare, however none could think of anything to say. Except for the idiots.
"You had breast?!" Both Hibiki and Bart shouted as one, scooting away with much haste.
"Hey," Hibiki nudged Setsuna, "Is this the friend of yours you mentioned earlier?"
Still as stone.
"Well, well, so you two don't just have the same fashion sense. Mind explaining."
Mums the word.
"Captain," Buzam said, "I'd have to agree with Meia. This is rather pointless."
"Now, now Buzam. Give the boy a chance."
Cat got your tongue?
"Talk!" Shout Meia. In two steps she crossed the room and firmly placed her laser ring against Setsuna's head. Everyone stood nice and still, even the machines. For a matter of seconds they all just breathed recycled air over and over again.
Finally, Tieria leaned forward and said, "Get comfortable. There's a long story behind all of this."
"Tieria!" Setsuna growled through clenched teeth with an anger that even made Meia step back.
"Alright then. But this better be a good story," Magno mused with a grin. To one of her aides, "Can you get me a bowl of jello please?" And to the other, "And a chair?"
They were out of the room in a flash, and thus freeing everyone from the tense chains that restrained them all in place. Almost robotically Meia stepped away from Setsuna and stood as far away as possible, glaring with the intensity of a thousand suns. He didn't even notice, inclined to glaring at Tieria with the intensity of a thousand dying suns and rubbing the blisters left behind by Meia's ring. When the aides return the Captain took her seat and jello with a ravenous sigh. It was strange for the young men to see such a power figure so relaxed.
"Well? Begin your little tale."
Tieria wrapped his fingers together as if to pray. With a deep breathe, he began.
"In the year 2307 A.D. the humans on Earth had depleted all fossil fuels and left without any means to maintain the machines they'd grown so dependent on. To deal with this 'crisis,' scientists and engineers used the manuscripts of Quantum Physicist Aeolia Schenberg to design and build the Orbital Elevator System. Basically, three 50-thousand-kilometer-high compressive elevators were placed across the globe, connected by two geostationary rings at 10-thousand-kilometers and 40-thousand-kilometers above the equator. Along these rings were numerous solar panels that constantly supplied energy to the surface."
"Wait! Hold up," Bart pleaded, "I'm not exactly following you."
"Orbital what…" Hibiki tilted his head to the side, dumbfounded.
"Let me explain," Pyoro said, "May I borrow that?" He pointed at Haro.
Without hesitation Setsuna handed Pyoro his little orange friend.
"Imagine that this guy is Earth and I have placed two rings around him, one larger than the other, that are connected to him via three metal bars. Now, along each of the rings are mirrors that absorb solar energy."
"Oh, now I get it," Bart exclaimed, "So basically our ancestors designed a way to create clean renewable energy for all. Genius."
"Yes and no. The technology did have the capabilities to power every machine across all of Earth as well as colonies, however, like all things good it came at a price.
"For each of the Orbital Elevators there was a world power to maintain them. Governing North and South America as well as the nations of Australia and Japan, was the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations. To the east sat the Human Reform League, a political and economic alliance of China, Russia, India, and Southern Asia. And lastly, was the Advanced European Union, obviously made up of the said continent.
"Though they had all banded together to design, construct, and defend the towers, they were not friends in any way. The only common characteristic was their exclusion of under-developed nations from solar energy. Reliant on fossil fuels to maintain their economies, these nations erupted into numerous wars. The largest of these was the Solar Wars, which engulfed the entire Middle-East and left millions dead or without home."
"Why exactly are you giving us a history lesson?" Meia barked.
As one, Setsuna, Buzam, and Magno each gave her a glare that would have stopped death in its trap. Clearing his throat, Tieria began once again.
"Once again, Aeolia Schenberg rescued the Earth. During his life and long after he set about creating a private military organization known as Celestial Being. The sole purpose of this organization was the complete and total eradication of war through armed conflict."
"Armed conflict? Isn't that a little hypocritical?" Duelo asked.
"While politicians talk people kill each other." Setsuna silenced him with this simple statement.
"They did this through the use of the revolutionary mobile units known as Gundams and their pilots the Gundam Meisters. Four key units were designed, each powered with solar furnaces called Gundam Nucleus's, or GN Drives for short. Following the missions and strategies suggested by the super computer Veda, these pilots intervened in nearly a hundred of armed conflicts, crippling either side's forces in the process. Slowly, the world's armies began to collapse
"After nearly six years of bloodshed, Celestial Being united the world against the organization, and then simply disappeared. With the world's hatred gone, it could heal. Resources once focused towards war were put to fighting poverty and developing smaller nations. Ultimately, humanity began to move towards space colonization."
"And here we are now," The Captain declared, "Back on the original colonization ship. But what exactly does this have to do with you two?"
Now it was Setsuna's chance to explain everything, "Even though mankind was united in peace, Celestial Being still had a purpose. Behind the scenes they worked to maintain the peace and protect humanity on its journey into space.
"We are the remnants of that mission. We are Celestial Being."
"You two boys?" Buzam dismissed the idea with a shrug.
"Were we not able to infiltrate your little band of pirates as well as the Taraak military with relative ease?" Tieria smirked, "We are only the vanguard for Celestial Being; hundreds of us exist, among both men and women."
"Why? Why return?" Duelo asked.
"Because you have failed. Men and women have failed to maintain the peace their ancestors died for," Setsuna responded venomously. "Mejare and Taraak are two of the largest and most prosperous colonies in the known universe. It would be a waste to allow them to descend any farther into war."
"But is for that up to you to judge?" Magno queried, tightening up her old bones as she sat up. "What of the will of the people?"
"Is it the will of the people to lead their families into a racial war? Is it the will of the people to focus efforts on war rather than building colonies?" Tieria replied.
Once again they were all silent as Magno and Tieria stared each other down, ancient eyes locked in an invisible struggle. Eventually, the old crone relented with a sigh.
"Well, we're not going to get anywhere arguing politics, so why don't you explain why you infiltrated our organization?"
"I already did," Tieria stated, "Didn't I? The whole point of assaulting the men's ship was to get 00 Gundam back."
"So that wasn't a lie. Was that why this young man here joined the military?" She nodded to Setsuna.
"Wait! What's this 00 Gundam?" Bart dared to ask.
"Its one of the original Gundams designed by Aeolia Schenberg," Setsuna proudly explained, "Some time before the colonization ships left Earth it was hidden within the Ikazuchi for safekeeping."
"So you getting recruited by the military…" Duelo began.
"False background, false identity," Setsuna ended.
"And the story about you killing a squad of Mejarian soldiers singlehandedly was false too?" Bart dared, again, to ask.
Setsuna shrugged, his expression void of all emotion as he said, "They were too close to one of our safe-houses. I neutralized them."
-
In the garden…
Pristine sapphire shards had sprung up here to, however unlike their web-like counterparts these added a bit of serenity to the already heavenly garden. This was one of the few areas in the ship where one could gaze into the gaping void that is the blackness of space and realize that this is just a physical representation of your soul….
Or one can compare the time it takes for a star's light to reach us to how hard it is for one's feelings to reach that special someone….
Maybe one can just ponder that each star has a different species of intelligent beings and the chances of meeting one is a chance you have to take. Even if everyone else wants to kill said intelligent beings.
All these things rattled around in Dita's head; not the first two, just the last. The alien one. Not the blackness of one's soul or their unrequited feelings.
Ezra, on a lighter note, was trying to figure out where the hell they were. Gazing into a small orb slash telescope, she flicked through the hundreds of constellations stored within the device.
"Oh, none of them match. I just don't get it," She whined in her pregnant way. Shhh…don't tell anyone. It's a surprise.
"Don't get it?" Dita exclaimed, leaning against the outer railing to the garden, "It's an amazing thing to actually come across an alien."
"You're right! It is amazing," The older woman exclaimed, excitement returning to her voice. Stupid mood swings. "We thought Paeksis was just an energy source, but it restored the whole ship."
"It made it just like new," Dita purred, "That means if I could get abducted—"
Ezra's sigh cut her off. Stupid mood swings.
"What's wrong Ezra? Don't you feel well?"
Setting down the orb slash telescope slash bowling ball, she exclaimed, "Oh, I'm fine Dita. I've just been thinking about everyone."
"I think about them too. All those people we left behind at our base."
"I'd really like to go back soon." Stupid moaning.
" Huh? Ahh!" Dita cried.
"What is it?"
"Hey! Look at that over there!" She cried out as she lunged half her body over the railing and pointed in the blackness of my soul. I mean space.
Utilizing the orb slash telescope slash bowling ball slash I've killed this joke, Ezra scanned the horizon. "Where—" Then she saw them. Three bright red lights moving through the void, slowly getting bigger. "What do you think they are?"
Dita danced around her friend like a cat chasing a fly and purred with ecstasy, "Isn't it obvious? They're UFOs!"
-
Back in the lounge?
Slowly, the Captain slid a spoonful of jello into her mouth, savory bite.
"So that long-haired boy is a doctor. But what about the other one?"
"He's an attacker." Meia quickly stated. Pyoro apparently agreed for he was literally trying to glare a hole into Hibiki's head.
"Wait minute! I'm not—" He didn't get to finish, for Bart jabbed his elbow into his shorter counterpart's stomach.
"Why you…" Hibiki muttered in rage as Bart smiled quite proudly to himself.
"I saw him with Setsuna climbing into an enemy powered suit."
"Wait a second—" Again Hibiki was cut off.
Over the loudspeaker Ezra said, "There's something approaching!"
Into her headset, Buzam asked, "Is it male reinforcements?"
"Actually—"
"They're UFOs!" A familiar peppy voice shouted over Ezra.
-
As the red lights grew closer to the ship they revealed themselves to be dark gray cubes outlined with lights. In a flash, they transformed, red tube-like arms and powerful legs sprouting from a flat head/torso. A single red eye scanned the newly born ship with a burning hatred. Or a laser beam. Four beams of lights rained down on the ship, and with the shield down they melted clear through the hull.
-
Within, fear fostered as Ezra, Dita and Pyoro shouted either "They're attacking!", "The aliens are attacking us!, or "Danger! Danger!" over and over again.
The entire ship shook violently as the attackers made another pass. The resulting shockwave caused the Captain to lose hold off her desert, the bowl shattering to the floor.
"Oh! My desert!" She groaned, longingly reaching for the red blobs.
"I'll launch the Dreads!" Meia shouted, already in the hall running.
"Parfet! Can you move us?" Buzam asked into her headset.
"The Paeksis is to unstable! I can't control it at all!" The engineer shouted from the Paeksis chamber. "And the automatic defense system is barely functioning."
-
As the Dread Leader bolted through the mazelike hallways she checked up on her sub-captains. Paiway had apparently trapped Barnette, along with most of the other pilots, in the evil shower dungeon. To make matters worse none of their ships could leave with the crystal still growing in the hangar. Also, Ms. Gasco was really named Gascogne. Who knew?
Playing her last card, Meia contacted Jura, "Jura, what's your location?"
"I'm heading towards the platform right now!"
As the pair entered that very section simultaneously they gasped, not at the mass of crystals that layered the entire room, but at how the Paeksis had caused their Dreads to grow twice their normal size. Nervously they hopped aboard their respective ships.
The cockpits hadn't changed much, still compact and barely large enough for one pilot. On the up side, the once complex control system had been replaced with two green orbs. Also, to Dita's delight, the overall system had powered up.
Ordering her underlings to keep cautious, the Dread Leader led the trio out of the platform and right into the heart of battle.
Initially the awkwardness of the new controls made it impossible to the pilots to score a direct hit. The only thing that kept them from being blown to bits was their superior speed, which didn't really do much in the long run. While Jura and Meia focused on trying the kill the attackers, Dita tried a different approach.
"Um! Mister Aliens!" She shouted as her Dread bounced around the enemy fire. "We're a very peaceful race! Maybe we can talk about our differences!"
The cube-types responded by with a hail of laser fire. Dita barreled away from the shots, nicking the side of Jura's Dread in the process. Only a little ticked, Jura spun her Dread out of the gunfire and shouted at her fellow squad captain, "Dita! These are our enemies!" But to herself she mumbled, "She was never that good of a pilot."
Unlike her cohorts, Meia had finally gotten a hold of the new system and quickly annihilated a pair of cube-types with a flash of plasma bolts.
"The instruments respond differently." She stated as images of the other two popped up on her monitor.
"I'm not really sure who the enemy is. Its definitely not men," Jura stated, out of breath.
"Its obvious isn't it?" Dita responded, her face flushed with rage for once, "These are really bad aliens!"
Just as she finished her sentence three explosions rippled across the bow of the ship. A large black ship shaped like a clamshell descended upon them, its center opening up to a massive stockpile of cube-types. It spat out two large cubes, which quickly broke down into nearly thirty units.
As they rushed towards her, Meia dared to question, "What the heck are those things? Are they really aliens?"
-
Buzam leaned over one of the monitors in the lounge, sorting through the half a dozen voices coming through it. Complaints and reports were coming in from all sections of the ship, some relevant and some miniscule.
Finally, the Captain ordered her second in command to go to the bridge and take full control of the ship. However, just as she entered the hallway another explosion rippled through the ship, causing a piece of one of the walls to come crumble down on guard Hibiki had earlier poked. She laid sprawled out on the floor, her breathing slow and lower half buried under rumble.
"Are you okay? I'll get you out of here!" Her partner cried as tears dripped from her eyelids.
"No!" Duelo shouted from the couch, "You mustn't move her!"
The guard quickly pointed her laser-ring at him, intent on protecting her friend from all harm.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'm a doctor," Duelo assured her as he hopped over the couch and hurried to the young girl's side. "I just want to see what I can do for her. I'll need your help."
The guard quickly nodded her head and they went to work gently moving the rubble off of the young girl.
From the couch Bart studied the situation carefully, blinking several times at Duelo. Spinning around to the Captain, he drew upon a more confident demeanor as he said, "Well now, it certainly appears you could use some assistance. While the fact is we are enemies, I think right now we're going to have to make our survival top priority. And, well, you may wish to use my skills. You see, I happen to be a helmsmen."
"Oh, so the gentlemen claims he's a helmsmen," The Captain responded.
"Warning!" Pyoro yelled, pointing one finger menacingly at the young man, "Warning! This guy's trying to pull something!"
"Pyoro, you keep quiet now," The Captain ordered, intrigued by Bart's suggestion, "Well then, what do you have to say?"
"Okay. I was thinking we could call for a ceasefire right now. Maybe we can all help each other somehow," He dared to step forward, making sure to bow his head to the older woman as he did so, "It might be much smarter for us to gather our forces and get over this crisis together."
One eye watching the young man from underneath her hood, Magno politically dance with the young boy, "Interesting. That's not a bad idea."
Bart gave a little laugh. Nervous as he was, he was able to keep from shaking under the old crone's gaze. Extending his hand he said, "I appreciate you taking my advice. So, what do you say we shake on it?"
This old crone wasn't going to played that way, Magno thought as she batted Bart's hand away with her cane.
"I've no wish to get chummy," She declared as she rose to her full fight, "You'll still be treated as one of our prisoners."
"Whatever you say madam," Bart laughed, stumbling in his dance steps.
Up until now Tieria and Setsuna had be calmly sitting back and watching the ship fall apart around them, but now they both knew they had to act. Rising, Tieria offered himself to the Captain.
"Take me to the bridge. I should be able to help you get control of her ship."
"Oh really? What makes you think we'll trust you? You did betray us once before." Magno queried.
"Cause if you don't your whole crew could die. I don't think you're that heartless of a person to let that happen over one person performing his job."
"Hmm…alright. Granted. Not like there is anything you can do."
"I can't do anything from here!" Duelo shouted, his frustration reaching his peak. Really, it's not that bad. "I need you to take me to sickbay!"
"Alright then," Magno said. Though she didn't show it, she was glad to see all the support coming from her enemies. Maybe we can salvage this situation, she mused.
"You two young men will come with me to the bridge," She ordered Bart and Tieria. To Setsuna, she asked, "And what about you young man? You going to let your friend here do all the work?"
Setsuna sat their silently, quickly glancing at Hibiki (who'd been cowering on the floor) before saying, "He can handle it. Besides, there's not much I can do other than kill. You probably don't need one of your enemies with a gun in their hands right now."
"Right you are. BC, you take the attacker and him to the warehouse." Magno ordered, rising rather quickly for her age and marching her set of prisoners down one end of the hall.
Calling upon another aid to help her, BC led Hibiki and Setsuna through the dark, crystal coated hallways. Ominous crimson lights clashed against the shadows as their only way to navigate the vast hallways. Numerous holes and cracks lined the walls, some as small as a fingernail, others as big as man.
Leaning into one such hole BC commented on the disastrous situation. "Well it looks like it will be a while before this place stabilizes. I'm afraid we won't live to long if we can't get control of this ship. It'll probably be the end of us if the men attack."
"Hey um…" Hibiki muttered quietly.
"What is it?"
"Uh... I know I haven't said too much so far but I wanna say something," He cleared his throat and stared at the ground, to nervous to look at his captor What I want to say is that I'm not actually a Vanguard pilot. The truth is I'm actually a parts mechanic. I guess somehow I just didn't have the courage to tell you this."
BC blinked, then turned to face the young man. "So what exactly are you doing here?"
"That's a really funny question actually," he laughed awkwardly, "You see, I sorta got suckered into doing some really stupid thing. I sorta said I would steal a Vanguard. Hah! I guess I didn't want you to think—"
"Our data must be wrong," BC cut in, looking down at the younger man, "Cause I always thought that men were a proud race. But who would've ever thought they were such pathetic beings."
Hibiki gasped, finally looking at the woman.
"No matter what the reason aren't you here because of your pride. Or is it that you got yourself because of your need to provide proof of your existence. Male or female it doesn't matter now," She scoffed, her voice steadily boiling with anger, "In situations like this what it really comes down to the fact that we are human beings who breathe the same oxygen. While there are people around you desperately trying to overcome this crisis are you just going to crawl up like a helpless baby and wait for the end? What deficiencies are you trying to make up for?
"What do you think you can hide at a time like this? No matter how much of a loser you or how uncool you are if you cower at every obstacle nothing will ever change. And without change your race will shrivel up and die. Do understand that?"
Hibiki clenched his shaking hands, fear wading through his bloodstream. Gasping from holding his breath to long, he cried, "I don't know. I don't know what to do."
Fear overcame his system, driving him to his knees. His entire body shook and he whimpered quietly to himself. Despite driving him to this, BC did nothing for the young man. Sighing as she walked pass him, she admitted her mistake. "I guess I didn't need to say all that. Let's get moving."
"Yes, mam," Her aid replied as she turned to follow her superior, "But what about…"
"Don't worry," BC assured her, "This kid has no where to go."
Turning to Setsuna she asked, "You coming? Or you gonna stay here with him?"
Setsuna stood over Hibiki's shoulder, Haro sitting idly in his arms, studying his young new friend. Had he not once been just like Hibiki, afraid and alone in his homeland of Krugis, forced to either kill his fellow villagers or die? Had he not been on his knees, hands shaking as he clutched his rifle while he gazed up at O Gundam?
And it was not just him who'd been like this. Saji, Lockon, Sumeragi, and many other members of Celestial Being had reached the middle line, the line between kill or be killed. And they all crossed it.
"Fight."
Hibiki stopped whimpering. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder at Setsuna.
"Wha-what?"
"Fight," Was all he said before he stepped past him and made his way down the hall to the platform.
"Wait a minute!" His guard shouted, raising her laser-ring menacingly. "I'll shoot!"
He kept walking. The guard turned to Buzam. She nodded once and said, "Do it."
And the guard did it. Squeezing her hand she let loose a red bolt of light from her ring, a light that burned towards Setsuna's back. But when it was just a foot away, he dropped Haro, turned around and sidestepped the light, all while bringing his bound hands up. The light exploded across his cuffs and melted them instantaneously. Charred black, they fell to the floor at his feet.
He stared at the young girl, his eyes no longer a calm shade of red. They had changed, changed in such an extraordinary way. They were golden, not just plain golden, but a spectrum of gold streaks moving to the center of his eye.
"If you are as cold-blooded as your captain, then you will not miss next time."
And then he was gone, Haro with him, disappearing into one of the holes.
"Should we…" Was all the guard could muster, still shaken by those eyes.
"I don't think we could," BC muttered pessimistically, "Lets go back to the bridge."
"Wait!"
The voice came from the small young man at their feet. For a moment they had forgotten him.
"Take these things off of me."
BC stared at him, then smiled. "Why?"
"Cause I want to fight," He nearly shouted, courage and confidence emanating from his throat, "I want to fight. I want to fight to prove my existence."
He was on his feet now.
"I know I'm pathetic, I know I'm a loser, I know I'm uncool. But, like you said, if we don't change we'll die. And I'm not ready for that yet!"
"Is it just a man's nature to be defiant?"
"So what if it is?" He responded.
She stared into his eyes for a moment, and for a moment she thought she saw gold. She pulled a small device from her belt and with a flick of a switch the cuffs around Hibiki's wrist clattered against the floor.
"You won't regret this." And then he was gone, running into the hole Setsuna had disappeared into.
BC smiled one more time, nodded to her aid, and began walking towards the bridge.
"I don't think I will."
-
"Wow! What's this thing?" Bart asked at he stared at the platform that sat above the garden.
"The bridge has been extended all the way out to there," The Captain answered. Looking over her shoulder, she asked, "How's it going over there? Can you get it to work?"
"Hmm…" Tieria hummed as his fingers ran over one of the control stations while he stared intensely at the monitor before him. "It seems when the ships fused the Paeksis took full control of the main systems of both ships. With your ship acting as the main hub for them the Paeksis needed to recalibrate it to align it with the Ikazuchi's. Basically, right now it's rebooting to deal with all those changes. It will take some time to get it all up and running again, however…"
He looked at Bart, both eyes brimming with ideas. "Bart, go to the end of the platform!"
"Umm, okay." Bart did as he was told, albeit rather cautiously.
"Hurry it up!" The Captain shouted.
"Hey! Don't rush me!" He shouted back as he reached the end of the walkway. In the center was what looked like a green puddle of jello.
"What the hell is this think?" He muttered to himself.
"What was that?" The Captain asked impatiently. "You saying you don't know how to work it?"
"Its not that. You…" Quickly, he formulated the simplest lie he could come up with. "This thing is a secret weapon of our military. Now, lets see…"
Crouching, he reached out with his foot to tap the green jello, and, in a flash of light, it ate him.
"My goodness!" The Captain exclaimed at the mind-boggling reaction. "That's some sort of secret weapon. Did you know that would happen?"
"I had a theory," Tieria replied as he hacked into the comm system.
-
"What the hell is going on?" Bart shouted, now floating naked in a translucent green crystal. Through it he could see the cube-types and Dreads flying around him, gun's blazing.
Four cube-types stopped right in front of him and unleashed a volley of plasma fire. Screaming Bart pushed away from the battle and, in the process, actually moved the ship.
"Bart!"
"Huh? Tieria is that you?"
Tieria's face flashed in front of the helmsmen within a small cube. "I think that circle you stepped into is where the Paeksis moved the ship's main control system."
"So what? Does that mean I'm…" He couldn't finish, part of his mind stopping him in order to keep his sanity.
"All things considered, you're the ship."
"Huh?" Was all he could say before swimming to the left to dodge another barrage of plasma fire.
-
At that same moment Duelo had just reached the sickbay, cradling his guard in his arms. Clearing a bed of clutter with his elbow he laid the young girl down and went to one of the monitors. After pressing a few buttons, he sighed.
"Looks like nothing seems to be working," he said, rolling up his sleeves and flexing his hands, "Guess I'll have to do this the my way."
"Umm…" His other guard muttered as she pulled out her comm device, "Paiway! Are you there?"
"Shut up! No one else is allowed to get hurt!"
-
Screaming and cursing, Hibiki rolled out of one of the holes in the platform's wall. Rising from the dust and shattered crystals, he found himself only feet away from the feet of a mobile suit. Gazing up he's eyes ran over the thin white legs, the massive blue torso, gallant head that sported a large V over the eyes and the red gem that glowed above them. What captivated him the most was that to the sides of the head hung two gigantic metallic blue and white wings, each emanating what only can described as green snow.
"You came," Setsuna's voice echoed throughout the platform. Bewildered, Hibiki glanced from side to side, but could not find the Gundam Meister. "Up here."
Looking straight up (way up) he found the older boy stand on the very top of the mobile suit's right wing, data pad in hand and Haro at his side.
"Get to your Vanguard. You'll need to head out first. I have to run a system check before I move out." He stated, hopping down from the wing onto the cockpit door that slid out to catch him.
"Hehe…right," Hibiki giggled nervously as he scampered away. After looking around for a while he found his Vanguard lying defeated on its back, crystal nearly enveloping the entire machine. Running his hand over the katakana he'd inscribed into its chest, he muttered with awe, "Looks like you changed a bit partner, but I guess you're still you. That just means I'll have to change too!"
Leaping into the newly designed cockpit, Hibiki stared at the controls. "I can't screw up this time. I may not know how to use this thing, but I'll make if move with my mind!"
With that said the monitor booted up and the Vanguard's eyes flared to life. Grasping the control sticks and focusing his mind, Hibiki steadily brought the machine to its feet, dusting of the excess crystal in the process. Planting it atop the launch pad, he muttered one final prayer to Lord Grandpa before pushing forward with either control stick. The launch pad flared to life and flung him through the hangar doors at a brain melting speed.
He rolled through the blackness of space, unable to maintain an upright position (again, no up in space). The attackers were on him in seconds, unloading round after round into his bronze armor.
"AHAHHH! Get the hell away from me! Leave me alone!"
-
"How's he doing?" Setsuna asked Tieria via the comm channel.
"Lightning Fist!" Hibiki shouted, fruitlessly punching the space before him.
"Fine." Tieria lied as he watched the attackers unload a barrage into the Vanguard's head. "How's 00?"
"Life support is fine. Weapons systems are all green."
"Alright! Let's try this!" Hibiki shouted, drawing a long green sword from its scabbard. Spinning it around his wrist he succeeded in shredding two of the cube-types into scrap metal.
"Impressive," Tieria muttered, "How's the Twin-Drive system?"
"Hovering at 70%. Seems like the Paeksis completely repaired O Gundam's drive."
"Good. Better not use Trans-Am till we're sure it's stabilized."
"Roger. Haro, take control of the 0-Raiser," Setsuna said as he pushed the Gundam forward, the twin-drives swiveling around and propelling him out the hangar doors. "Setsuan F. Seiei. Eliminating the target!"
-
Finally in complete control of the Vanguard, Hibiki cut through two more cube types and flew forward to the main ship. However, the aliens adapted quickly to their new foe and two dozens poured from the ships mouth. Roaring a battle cry, the young cut into the mass of foes, metal and fire dancing around him. Blinded by smoke, fire, and fury Hibiki barely noticed the eight octopus arms that had rapped around his torso, pulling him away from the main group.
"Dammit! Let go of me!" He shouted, effortlessly struggling against his captors. The three Dreads, on the other hand, won many kills as they outmaneuvered the pack.
"I…won't lose to you!" He growled, twisting his machine's arms to grab a pair of octopus arms. With a flash, a sword erupted through the center of them, exploding a second later. Twisting the control sticks to one side, Hibiki spun the Vanguard in place. Try as they might the attackers could not pin him down and each flew off into the darkness.
"Heh, I think I'm getting the hang of this," he laughed, but stopped when he saw the ship. Six cubes rocketed past the Dread's line of defense, weapons burning with light.
"You idiots!" He shouted at the pilots, "You let hem get past you!"
"A little busy here!" Meia barked back, whirling her Dread around to aid the ship but faced another pack of cubes.
"Blast it all!" Hibiki did the same, and met the same fate.
The light burning from two of the cube-type eyes reached their peak, and just before they released them, they exploded. Well, they didn't just simply explode. Twin bolts of purple light flared out of the hangar and detonated on the attackers.
Not a second later 00 Gundam dove out of the hangar, two GN Sword II shining in its hands. The remaining four attackers moved to intercept it but it's superior speed allowed to gracefully slip behind each one and cut them clean in half. For a moment it just floated there, basking in its GN particles. Inside Setsuna counted the remained cube-types. 29. Pushing forward, two green rings flared off of 00's wings, jettisoning it into the heart of the battle.
-
"Beautiful," Was all Jura could say, eyes sparkling at the elegance and brilliance Setsuna displayed as he cut down foe after foe.
"Amazing! Aliens are just amazing!" Dita squealed with joy, taking a moment to photograph Setsuna's massacre.
"You two stay focused!" Meia barked, boiling with rage that those two men had saved her pilots. Though, she did silently admit that their machines were impressive, not the pilots.
"Don't worry, Leader. The Aliens will protect us!" And just as the words left Dita's mouth Setsuna appeared behind a cube-type that had been chasing her and kicked it out his way before gunning it down with his GN's Swords' Rifle mode. "See!"
-
"Unbelievable," Hibiki muttered to himself as destroyed a group of attackers in a series of slashes. Try as he might, he could not reach the level of destructive serenity that Setsuna displayed.
"Hibiki!" Setsuna shouted as he moved to the Vanguard's side.
"Ye-Yes!"
"I'm going to cut us a path to their main ship. Once its clear head directly for it; I'll be right behind you. Understand?"
"Yah, I got it."
Together each of them moved the line forward, rending and mutilating their foes in the process. When they were only a matter of meters away from the enemy vessel, Setsuna stopped and swiveled 00's wings around so that the Vulcan cannons within faced forward. A pink-hued beam of light erupted from their tips, clearing away all of the cube-types before him. It continued on, rippling over the surface of the enemy ship and melting clean into its center.
"Now!"
Hibiki bolted past him, his blade shining with the desire to decimate its foe. And not far behind him was a blue Dread.
"Dita, pull back." Meia ordered, still a little dumbstruck at 00's power.
"There's nothing to worry about," Dita assured the Amazonian, "Mister Aliens are going to get us out of this somehow. I'm absolutely positive!"
"Dita!"
"I'm going for it!" Hibiki shouted only ten meters away from the ship. "No ones going to stop me now!"
Just as he said that five attackers were right on his tail, metallic claws narrowly missing the Vanguard's feet. Setsuna didn't let them get any farther. The first two he shot down and the third he pierced through the eye. However, the remaining two were able to latch onto the Vanguard, but Hibiki would not stop.
"Just a little bit more. Just a little bit farther." He muttered, dragging the machines with him.
"Setsuna!" Tieria shouted over the intercom, "I'm getting some strange readings from inside that thing."
"Just a little more. I can reach it. Just a little more." He reached out with the Vanguard's free arm, his arm. Just a little bit farther and he would've been he would've been through the ship's opening.
But it wouldn't have that.
Three molten orange and black prongs materialized from the hole, trapping the Vanguard and it's baggage in between them. They almost caught Setsuna, but they only pushed him back when he summoned a green GN Shield to protect himself. He raised his GN Swords to shoot the prongs.
He didn't get any farther than that when they burned bright red. A ripple of lightning danced down them from the ships. When they hit Hibiki the machines attached to him exploded. And so did he. To make matters worse Dita had been right next to him, probably trying to help him.
-
With the explosion echoing in her ear, Magno lowered her gaze from the monitor. Clutching her cane in a death grip, she resolved to obey her duties.
"Looks like our miracle didn't happen. Tell all crew members to begin evacuating."
"Wait!" Tieria commanded, "I'm picking something up."
Zooming in on the explosion, he displayed for all to see, a hand reaching through the prongs.
-
The "hand" grasped two of the prongs easily, burning hot orange with the flames around it. With a squeeze they broke, freeing the blazing metal giant from its cage. It grew like a newborn child, but instead of months it grew in seconds. I t was just as big as 00, in all aspects, and reflected the same gallantry the Vanguard did, but in a different way. Like a knight in ancient times its entire body was layered in plate armor, but rather than the desert bronze of the Vanguard it was a deep ocean blue. Most distinctively were the giant emerald wings that floated just a few meters from its shoulders.
Oh, almost forgot. It looked pissed
And the attackers though so too, quickly sealing off all openings. Except for one.
The mecha shrugged off the remaining cube-types, bolting for Setsuna's opening. Its powerful gauntlets tore the metallic membrane open like it was paper and jammed its wings into the hole. A bright light pulsed from within them and released a bolt of energy into the nucleus of the ship.
It grew like a balloon with too much air and then popped as a green needle punctured clean through to the darkness beyond. The resulting shockwave shredded the remaining the cube-types and even knocked back the Dreads. Meia, just barely over the shock of seeing 00's destructive power, stared wide-eyed at her savior. Setsuna on the other hand was just fine, a small grin forming on his ordinarily blank face.
_
'I made it,' Hibiki laughed inside his head as exhaustion overwhelmed his body. However, when he finally had the strength to open his eyes fear rippled across his body.
Underneath the palm of his hand were the soft smooth fingers of a young female pirate. And then he realized it. He was sharing a seat with the same girl who had chased him through the Ikazuchi, the girl who had scared him half to death.
She rolled awake, leaning back to rest on Hibiki's chest.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"I just knew Mr. Alien would protect us somehow," The gentle words fell out of her cute pink lips. Though Hibiki thought differently.
Gulping, Hibiki shouted into the great beyond, "Is this the proof of my existence?"
-
"Well, this is an interesting predicament," Tieria declared hoarsely. As soon as Setsuna and Hibiki had returned to the hangar all the men were rounded up, cuffed up, and locked up. He didn't even get a glass of water. Hibiki, Duelo, and Bart were throne in one of the old storage rooms in the men's section of the ship. Tieria and Setsuna, on the other hand, were given a more…deluxe treatment.
"You're the one who decided to tell them everything," Setsuna's voice echoed from the opposite side of the room.
"Quiet in there!" One of the Setsuna's twin guards commanded. Each eyed their prisoner with suspicion and gripped their laser spears tightly.
A bleak grey light shone down upon the two Gundam Meisters in their respective cells. A dozen other cells lined the walls of the jail, glowing blue energy bars impeding any escape. This was not enough to satisfy the women's fear.
Both the Meisters' ankles and wrists were bound to their chairs with electric handcuffs. That didn't matter to them. They could be bound with licorice for all they cared. To them, this was no different than when they were pinned down in the Taklamakan Desert for over a day. Just another battle they'd have to wait out.
'If I hadn't said anything they would've killed you.' Tieria thought to himself.
'They aren't that foolish. They need us to survive out here and they know it.' Setsuna pushed his thoughts into his friend's head.
'Is that why that blue-haired girl looked like she wanted to put a laser through your head?' Tieria retorted. 'Doesn't matter now. Not like they can stop us. They don't know enough.'
'No.' Setsuna thought quietly. Opening his eyes, streams of golden light dancing across a crimson background. 'They don't know anything.'
'Did you know that that would happen? The fusion of a Dread and Vanguard.'
'I knew that the Paeksis would do what it had to do to survive.'
'That's another way of saying you didn't know,' Tieria pointed out. 'Maybe we don't know anything.'
'Maybe.'