Disclaimer: I don't own Gatchaman. If I did, I would change nothing.
"It was a routine mission…" She began. The fire that encased her form flared up a bit, reacting to the surge of emotion of the events that caused all this to begin. "Nambu had the Science Ninja team assemble and yes, that's what they're called. Anyway, they assembled in the God Phoenix and took off while Nambu gave them their orders. Galactor was attacking some desert town with this wolf-like mecha, which they tend to vary throughout the war with them. The initial plan to stop it was from the Condor, who like usual figured the best solution was to launch a couple of Missiles at it. That plan went up in smoke once they found out that there was some kind of force field preventing the missiles from impacting it. The next plan was from the Eagle. He spotted some birds flying through the field with no problem so he figured out that non-electronic materials could get through the field. So Ryu flew as close to the force field as possible and let the other four members of the team drop down to infiltrate it from the mechas blind spot. Once done, he flew interference for a bit to distract the mecha. Once they were all on board safely, the Eagle ordered my Owl to evacuate the area and land somewhere safe, then to wait for the pickup orders." She gives a shake of her head then.
"It became routine there. Ryu complained a little bit about being left behind and out of all the action, before deciding to settle for a quick nap. He usually does complain a little at being left behind but most of the time there is a valid reason. The God Phoenix is completely manual, so there is no way for it to get an auto-pilot and Ryu has tried pushing for an auto-pilot to be installed but with Galactor constantly hacking into the communication systems, no one really wants to risk it until they come up with a way to create one safely. Anyway, about 5 minutes later we get contacted by the Eagle. That is unusually fast, most of the time it takes somewhere between 10 to 20 minutes for them to locate the engine room or control room, set some explosives or activate the self-destruct. It was then when my sensors picked up something worrying. Ryu activated the jets and took to the skies in an emergency take-off and I found out exactly why he did that and what I was sensing. A lot of small jets were approaching our position, with half of the Wolf mecha as well. It was a trap, the real target was us." She gives a brief growl, the fiery aura flaring up.
"As the wolf Mecha got closer, it shot out a missile from its mouth before the ear launched off and away, which was most likely Berg Katse. The Eagle was explaining things while fighting it seems, but we were both focussing on the large missile that was fast approaching us." She gives a sad look now. "Apparently Galactor had the mecha built as something that can split in half. They wanted a mecha that can attack the God Phoenix, but also take the infiltrating team away from the battle to prevent them helping. Without the full gestalt, the God Phoenix couldn't use the Hinotori and there was a limited amount of bird missiles we could use. That meant that we didn't have many options for us." She gave a sad sigh.
"So we started evasion techniques, trying to avoid the missile as well as the small jet's weapons. Unfortunately, the missile was following us so it was homing on us somehow. The Eagle explained that this missile is similar to one we took on before, how it was tracking us by heat and that he should do the same tactics they did last time. Ryu had to both keep up evasive manoeuvres as well as explain to the Eagle that he had small jets attacking him that was providing an effective distraction from doing that. The Eagle cursed on the other end as Ryu dodged a group of small missiles from the jets whilst banking hard to the side. Last time we encountered this type of missile, Ken had Ryu fly us into the clouds to cool the ship, before banking off and flying close to the mecha. Once we were close enough, we flew past while the missile switched targets with the hotter mecha." She shook her head.
"Ken told Ryu to fly close to the other mecha to pick them but there were several problems with that plan. Ryu told Ken that getting to the other mecha was impossible. On top of the G-forces the group would have to face when trying to land on the ship without getting flung off or crushed against the hull, the small jets could take shots at them while they were vulnerable and the homing missile was worryingly close to us." She gave a sigh. "The cloud tactic was out as well. By the time we would manage to get high enough to cool the ship, the jets would have been hitting us with enough missiles to heat us back up again. Flying to the ocean was out since we were in the middle of a desert and would take several minutes of high-speed flying to get to it." She slumped down, remembering the event in question and the fear she felt for her Owl as well as some disappointment.
"Ryu lost his hope afterwards and started to reminisce about his past. He remembered his little brother, then his father and then the team. He apologised to Ken that he wasn't good enough to save them all. I heard him loud and clear, as did Ken who was currently telling him to not give up. I'm telling you, hearing Ryu say that, it tore at my heart and soul hearing that defeat in his voice. I was sad that he felt that way, but also disappointed that he gave up so easily." She then looked up at the other figure, the fire surrounding her began flaring up with more energy as her eyes shone with determination. "It was then I knew I had to do something. I called out to him, pouring all my emotion and determination at helping him to survive into one phrase. Don't give up." She started smiling now.
"He heard me loud and clear and realised that he wasn't alone. His face then shone with determination as he started pulling all sorts of levers and buttons, activating and deactivating various systems in order to pour on more speed. His face then lit up, suddenly coming up with a plan. We then took off eastwards, further inland but also to a large, mountainous region. His plan was to launch a bird missile at the mountain-side, causing it to heat up before flying behind it and hoping it would hit the mountain rather than follow us." She gave a sad grin here.
"It kinda worked. Our bird missile flew into the mountain-side, colliding and causing a large explosion and several fires. Ryu pulled the ship up and over the mountain before setting the God Phoenix to hover on the other side to cool off in the dozen or so seconds until the missile hit the mountain. The mountain was thick and he was pretty sure we were safe. What we didn't expect though was the force of the explosion. Galactor really wanted to destroy us, enough so that the missile was a nuclear device rather than a simple missile. The other side of the mountain was most likely vaporised and the side we were on was crumbling from the force, but the shockwave hit the God Phoenix causing us to pitch and turn. Ryu tried to control us, but boulders started raining down and hit our engine, causing the rear of the God Phoenix to explode and spiral down to the valley below. Looking up, the sky was dark with debris but it had a worrying red tint that told me that the area was radioactive now. Ryu was going to die, either from the crash or the radiation."
She had fire burning in her eyes now, the outline of the phoenix now surrounding her due to her strong emotions. "I wouldn't have any of it. I loved my owl too much to let him die like that. He was resigned to his fate of death and had made peace with himself. Well, I had my mind made up as well. I called for help. Anyone for help. I let my power echo throughout the multiverse, letting my plea echo throughout the multiverse…"
She paused then, looking at the other women who mirrored her own knowing expression. "And then you answered.I heard you call out to me and then felt your power reach towards me, through the dimensional barriers. The Hinotori activated, surrounding us with my power as it responding to yours as you pulled us through the barrier. You saved him and for that, I thank you. If you didn't pull us through then, Ryu and the God Phoenix would have been destroyed. We were safe. At least, for a brief moment we were safe." She watched as the other figure grew a bit sheepish. "We didn't appear here, but over a river instead. The air rippled behind us as the Phoenix fell towards the water, the Hinotori fading away. Ryu was on the throes of unconsciousness, not expecting the pressure of traversing dimensional barriers along with the Hinotori activating as well. When we hit the water, the ship flipped twice before sinking. We were alive, although Ryu was now unconscious. We pretty much left the frying pan and fell into the freezer."
A/N: Part 3 of the fic. This is one time when Galactor actually has a cunning plan and implements it, partially successfully. A little sad at the lack of reviews but meh. I've got it down and it's going to be completed. One more chapter and then I'll start on the next part of the series.
Again, please critique honestly, I want to know of any mistakes I've made whether it's spelling or grammer mistakes. Since this is, technically my third fic, I'm fairly certain that it's slightly better (despite being written at the same time as the previous chapter). Expect the next chapter in a couple of days. Chapter 4 should be the last one.