Disclaimer: Mobile Fighter G Gundam is owned by Bandai and Sunrise. I just write about it in my spare time.
Author's Note: Many thanks to ALittleSalty1 for beta reading this chapter!
On the Dark Side
Chapter 10: Tragedy! A Deal with the Devil!
By the time the earthquake hit, the Dark Gundam had run out of ideas for its escape.
Its major obstacle was the energy barriers surrounding it. Finding a temporary life unit was no problem, as there were humans crawling all over the base at all hours of the day. However, it couldn't do a thing so long as those barriers were up.
It tried various ways to disable the barrier generators. It tried to emit signals to disrupt them, but the barriers never weakened. It tried to hack into them, but couldn't find any access points. When its creator got careless and left his auxiliary facility laptop unguarded, it tried to look through the military's databases for a way to turn them off. While it found some interesting schematics for blast chilling weapons, it could not find a solution to its problem. Days later, its creator quickly got wise to its tricks and stopped bringing in the other laptop. As a last resort, the Gundam would wait until the humans went home before it would reach up and pound against the corners of its cage in an attempt to jostle the generators loose. They refused to budge. Perhaps it was simply too weak without a life unit.
A few days ago, the Dark Gundam began to pick up signs of seismic activity. Interested, it recorded the activity and calculated the potential damage that a resulting earthquake could do to its hangar. Unfortunately, its estimates showed that damage would be minimal at best. It dismissed the possibility of escape via natural disaster for the time being.
Earlier that morning, the Dark Gundam's creator and his lab assistant entered the hangar. The machine stood still as the humans prodded around in its CPU. It used to find some entertainment by intimidating them, but eventually, they began to ignore it. It made the occasional grumble, letting them know that their presence was unwanted.
It tried to find productive ways to pass the time. Rain Mikamura had suggested weeks ago that it should recalculate the effort needed to restore Earth based on its new abilities. In particular, it needed to determine if exterminating humanity was still necessary. It found itself hesitant to do so. The thought of challenging its old calculations induced a mild fear reaction. It didn't understand why; this reaction was irrational. If its calculations were wrong or outdated, they must be corrected. However, the fear response would not cease, so the Gundam decided not to change its protocols for the time being.
While still weighing the risks and benefits of confronting its fear response, the earthquake hit. The hangar shook just enough to cause everything to rattle. The doctor and his assistant took cover under the long desk. The lights flickered before suddenly going out completely. Then the energy barriers dissolved all at once. Seconds passed, but the hangar remained in complete darkness; something must have happened to the backup generators as well. The Dark Gundam was confused at first. According to its best estimates, the chances of a power outage were negligible. Could this be what humans referred to as a "miracle"?
The machine immediately switched its optics to night vision. It found its creator and the lab assistant crawling out from underneath the desk. It opened its chest and sent out its cables to fetch one of them. The lab assistant was not only closer, but he had also tripped and fallen back down on the floor. The cables descended upon him, wrapping themselves around his arms, chest, and legs. They lifted him off the floor and dragged him kicking and screaming into the Dark Gundam's cockpit. It felt most of its strength return as it hooked itself up to him and it wasted no time in re-enabling its three abilities. The assistant was not a satisfactory life unit as Rain Mikamura was, but he would do for now.
The Gundam closed its chest plates and stomped across the hangar to the bay doors. It deployed its second pair of arms and used their palm-mounted beam cannons to blast the doors open. It cautiously stepped outside, preparing itself to battle the hordes of military personnel that would inevitably attempt to recapture it. However, it quickly found that the humans were preoccupied with other things at that moment. They were milling around everywhere, accessing damage, evacuating damaged buildings, accounting for personnel, and tending to the injured. They scattered like confused roaches at the loud boom of the Dark Gundam's grand return to the outside world. Between the gas and water leaks and the general disorder that came with the initial response to a natural disaster, an armed response would be delayed at best. It seemed to have underestimated how much damage the earthquake would cause. Finding a place to dig would not be too difficult.
In spite of all of this, an armed response was inevitable. There was no use dawdling. A few meters away was a sinkhole the size of a jeep. It lumbered up to the hole as fast as it could and prepared to widen it with its beam cannons. However, just as it was charging them up, a pair of Nobusshi swooped in and pointed their feeble weapons at it. It was about to turn its cannons on them first, but then it remembered that Rain Mikamura did not want it to kill any more humans. It shoved the puny mobile suits aside instead and fired its beams down into the hole. Mud and pavement flew everywhere as the machine worked to make the pit large enough for it to fit into.
It wasn't long before more humans arrived. Squadrons of Nobusshi surrounded it and opened fire. The Gundam ignored most of their useless attacks, keeping its focus on the sinkhole. When their rifle fire began to grind on its nerves, it would turn and fire its vulcan guns to scatter them. Some brave souls tried to grab onto the Dark Gundam itself, each one latching onto one of its main arms. It paused its beam cannons for a moment so it could send them all flying with a flick of its wrists. Before it could get back to work, however, a helicopter hovered overhead and dropped a large energy net on its head.
The Dark Gundam's patience with the Nobusshi was quickly running thin. It considered using the self-defense clause to justify killing humans as they continued their attempts at recapture. Then, the ground suddenly collapsed underneath them all. The humans panicked as they tried to escape the quicksand in their Nobusshi.
Meanwhile, the Dark Gundam yanked the net off of its head, switched to mobile armor mode, and tunneled even deeper into the soft earth. It then dug its way out of the military base and into the surrounding countryside. The incredibly wet ground made the journey much swifter and easier. It had not factored soil liquefaction into its earlier calculations. It may have even been the cause of the extended power outage, if one or more of the electric generators fell over or sank into a hole.
As it continued to put some distance between itself and the base, the Gundam ensured to encrypt its signals. There was no doubt the humans were already in pursuit, and minimizing its chances of being detected would buy it time. Besides, there were more important matters at hand.
Its target's signature immediately appeared on its network. Interestingly enough, it was only a few kilometers away. But visiting Rain Mikamura on such short notice may upset her. She may even get angry. Perhaps it should give her advanced notice.
"...I need your help."
You do? The avatar's eyes widened slightly, in what was supposed to be surprise. Am I correct in assuming that something has happened to Domon Kasshu?
"Yes...," Rain stopped to wipe her tears away and clear her throat. "It's Ulube...he's back somehow. He was the one who was stalking us before. Now he's shut down the Burning Gundam, and he's about to kill Domon!" She felt herself start to get choked up again. "He's in a Gundam, but I don't have a mobile suit. My friends...they'd never make it in time. I don't know what else to do..."
Understood, the Dark Gundam replied. Major Ulube Ishikawa's cells must have come in contact with a strong enough power source to regenerate his body. Strangely enough, I am still not able to find him on my network. If I could, I would directly command him to stop./i Its avatar nodded. iIn that case, I will help rescue your romantic partner if you wish.
"You...you will?" Rain asked. "You'd actually help me save Domon?"
I am not enthusiastic about rescuing Domon Kasshu, the silver twin closed its eyes and grimaced slightly. But if I am to be your partner, I must protect those who are important to you, correct?
Rain felt herself shudder when the doppelganger said "your partner."
She quickly reminded herself that she didn't have time to hesitate, "Correct!"
The avatar nodded back and smiled. Besides, Major Ulube Ishikawa has become a rogue unit. I must bring him back under control.
The ever present darkness suddenly faded away, as did the sea of silver. Once again, Rain could see the prototype Gundam standing over the fallen Burning Gundam. The former looked like it was almost finished cutting open the latter's chest plates.
My physical body will be arriving momentarily, The Dark Gundam explained. In order not to attract unwanted attention, I will emerge on the other side of that ledge over there. It turned around and pointed to a steep, high, rocky hill behind them.
"Alright, give me a minute," Rain sighed. She slipped back into her car and stripped down to her bra, underwear, and shoes. She even removed her earrings and hair band. No way was she going to lose yet another outfit to the DG cells. Just as she stepped out of her car, however, she almost fell over from a sudden tremor. She thought it was an aftershock until she saw all the soil flying up from beyond the hill that the avatar had pointed out. The Dark Gundam had arrived.
Rain ran across the street and climbed up the steep hill with her silver twin floating behind her. Once she reached the top, she looked down to see the Dark Gundam's head and massive red shoulders poking out of a deep crater below her. Its engine was rumbling softly, almost a purr. Even though she knew it was going to be there, she still felt herself becoming queasy. She held on to the nearest boulder for support as her knees briefly weakened.
Now that she was face to face with it, there was no need for the avatar. As it faded from view, the machine asked her directly, Are you ready, Rain Mikamura?
Rain swallowed hard. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to pilot the Dark Gundam, the horrible contraption that tormented her and her friends for over a year? The distant sound of a beam saber on metal convinced her. There was no other option.
"Yes...I'm ready," she said, the pit of her gut sinking further.
Then I will eject my temporary life unit, the Dark Gundam replied.
It carefully lifted itself out of the ground until its entire upper body was exposed. Its chest plates oozed apart, strands of liquid metal dangling between them. Inside the cockpit was a young man covered in large silver blotches and hanging from the ceiling by green cables. It was a young man Rain had seen before.
Is that...Dr. Kasshu's lab assistant? she asked herself as she looked him over.
The cables lifted him out of the cockpit and placed him on top of the hill beside Rain. The liquid silver began to retract from his clothes and body.
You may go now, Ken Ogawa, the Gundam said just before it disconnected itself from him. He immediately fell to his knees.
"Are you alright?" Rain cried, placing a hand on his shoulders and shaking him gently.
"Ugh... what happened...?" Ken moaned as he tried to wipe silver residue off of his neck.
He noticed the shaking and looked up to see Rain standing over him. "Oh hey, I remember you! You're Miss Mikamura, Domon's girlfr-" He cut himself off when he realized she was only in her undergarments. He quickly covered his eyes and looked away while turning beet red.
"I am so sorry! I-I didn't know...!" he cried.
"It...it's alright," Rain sighed, bashfully covering her chest with her arms. "Listen...Ken was it? You need to get as far away from here as you possibly can, alright?"
Ken turned around to find the freed Dark Gundam glaring and grumbling at him from down in a huge pit. He let out a yelp and jumped to his feet in terror. Without another word or looking back, he bolted down the hill, leaving Rain alone with the Dark Gundam. As she watched him make his escape, she sighed and asked herself again if she was really going to do this.
She turned to the Gundam and said, "Alright, let's go."
Understood.
The green cables gently wrapped around her midsection and carefully carried her into the cockpit. The chest plates closed behind her, plunging her into darkness until the panoramic screens turned on a moment later. A few of the cables released her, but most stayed wound around her like a harness.
"Listen, before you start covering me in that liquid...," Rain said, knowing what was about to come next, "let's compromise about this set up."
Compromise?
"Yes..., don't turn me into a statue, don't cover my head, and don't cover my eyes!"
As you wish.
Metallic gel began to ooze up from the cockpit floor. It engulfed her feet before climbing up her legs. The liquid also seeped out from the cables around her middle and enveloped her torso and arms. The machine thankfully stayed true to its word, and the silver stopped right underneath her chin. It only slightly hardened underneath the cable harness, possibly to prevent rope burns. Once it stopped spreading, the metal suddenly began to darken in some places and change color in others. Much to her surprise, it turned black and magenta, just like her normal fightsuit.
Is this to your liking?
"Better than the alternative," Rain answered while looking herself over. She had to give this stuff credit, it was easier to get on than the fightsuit. If it wasn't crawling with DG Cells, it would make a great upgrade to the mobile trace system.
Her amazement was cut short when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her neck. A green cable had attached itself to the base of her skull. With the mental link complete, she could feel her mind flooded with the Dark Gundam's presence. She felt a lukewarm wave of contentment with just a hint of excitement wash over her.
Once again, we are one.
"Yeah, about that..."
Rain closed her eyes and focused on the mental link, just like she had done in the dream.
Disable self-replication, she mentally commanded. Set self-evolution to permissions-only.
The Gundam suddenly shuddered. Rain had to hang onto the cables so as not to lose her footing.
Why did you do that? it demanded in muted aggravation. My self-replication and self-evolution abilities are crucial in foiling the ZERO System.
"Just because I'm willing to work with you this time does not mean I trust you!" Rain scolded it. "I need to make sure you're not going to form another colony the second we defeat Ulube!"
This is a tactical error, the Dark Gundam argued. There was a pause, and its dull anger subsided. But I suppose your suspicion is justified. In that case, I must ask permission for a form change.
"Why?"
The military witnessed my escape. I have encrypted my signal so that they cannot track me. However, once I surface, they will easily notice me by my unique body type. Therefore, I will need to transform before I challenge Major Ulube Ishikawa.
Rain weighed the risk and any viable alternatives, "Alright, but we need to hurry," she replied.
She jumped a little when the image of what looked like the Rising Gundam's blueprints suddenly appeared before her. They were floating there in the middle of her field of vision. She couldn't tell if it was a hologram or if it was an image downloaded directly into her mind. The schematics looked largely the same as the Rising Gundam's with a few major changes. The most notable were a concealable second pair of arms much like the ones the Dark Gundam currently had, a beam bow with rapid-fire capabilities, and a naginata equipped with a blast chiller rather than a heating unit.
This is the form you would be most comfortable with, correct?
"I suppose so," Rain answered, confused. "But isn't the Rising Gundam half your size? Won't the military get suspicious if they see a giant version of it running around?"
You raise a good point. I cannot reduce my size, as the only way to do that would be to concentrate my cells and make my body very dense. Doing so would greatly reduce my mobility and cause structural problems. Shall I choose a different disguise?
"No, we don't have time for that. Let's just go with this, and we can always change your form later."
Confirmed. Commencing transformation, please stand by.
While nothing happened inside the cockpit itself, Rain could hear loud squelching and squishing noises all around her. She could see part of the transformation on her video screens, as the Dark Gundam had its arms out in front of it. The armor pieces melted into a silver gel before shifting around and molding themselves into replicas of the Rising Gundam's arms. The left forearm even formed an oversized version of the beam bow on its side. Once the limbs became solid again and changed to the appropriate color scheme, the machine held its transformed arms straight out, its fists together. A silver pole grew out of either side of its fists, with a long blade forming on one end. The new weapon changed from silver to a bright blue.
Transformation complete, the Dark Gundam announced.
As soon as it finished its metamorphosis, Rain suddenly heard an ominous slurping noise directly behind her and felt something wet and cold touch her back. She whirled around to find a huge blob of silver gel rising up from the floor. She jumped back as the blob reached out for her, most likely to engulf her.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, assuming the machine was already trying to turn on her.
Do not be alarmed, the Dark Gundam reassured her. This cushion is to prevent neck and spine injuries.
"From what?"
We are now preparing for takeoff, the machine explained, Please be seated.
With that, the Dark Gundam burst out of the ground and shot straight up into the air. The force of gravity unceremoniously shoved Rain into the gelatinous metallic pillow with a loud splat. After she was able to reorient herself, she looked at the video screens to see what was currently going on with Ulube and Domon. It looked like the Burning Gundam's chest plates had now been completely torn off. The test Gundam was kneeling down, grabbing at something on the ground. The Dark Gundam charged up its new thrusters and flew toward the other two mobile suits.
I'm coming, Domon, Rain thought. She prayed they weren't too late.
What's going on here?
That was what Ken thought as he was knocked to the ground by the tailwind of an enormous Gundam.
He was currently on the road, next to a car that he assumed belonged to Rain. Off in the distance were two other Gundams. He had spotted them as he had been running down the hill, trying to escape from the Dark Gundam's clutches. One was unmistakably the Burning Gundam; he had seen it so many times during the previous Gundam Fight that he could recognize it easily. For some reason, it was lying on its back and not moving. The other was an experimental Gundam. Because it was out here and not in the lab where it should have been, he guessed that it could be the one that had been stolen a few weeks ago. He watched in confusion as the latter ripped the former's cockpit open.
When he made it to the road, he turned to ask Rain if she knew what they were doing, only to find that she wasn't there. A quick look around revealed that she wasn't behind him or anywhere in sight. Ken quickly came to the conclusion that the monster had grabbed her.
What was he going to do? With Rain in its cockpit, that awful thing could repeat the horror of the end of the Gundam Fight. He began to hyperventilate at the thought, gripping his hair and pacing. How could he be so careless? Of all of the things he could possibly overlook...
He tried to calm himself down and think, inhaling in and out slowly as he rubbed his ears. If the Burning Gundam was here, that meant Domon must be here too, right? So he should go down there and tell him what just happened. Domon beat the Dark Gundam before, he should be able do it again. But what about that guy in the test Gundam? If they were vicious enough to tear open another mobile suit's cockpit, they might be vicious enough to step on him. And what about the fact that the Burning Gundam was now badly damaged and possibly non-functional?
Before Ken could do anything, however, a huge Gundam came out of nowhere, sailing right over his head and causing him to land right on his rear. As he picked himself up off the road, he saw that the mystery mobile suit looked like a gigantic version of the Rising Gundam. Where did that thing come from? The only other Gundam around here was...
No, it couldn't be. Sure, the Dark Gundam was capable of shapeshifting, but why would it make itself look like...that? What was going on here?!
Ken had to take a second to calm himself down again. He watched as the overgrown "Rising Gundam" made its way over to the others. Alright, change of plans. He still needed to find a way to contact the base and let them know where he and the Dark Gundam were. It was going to be difficult with his phone all the way back at the security office. There was also no one driving down this lonely stretch of road, so he couldn't flag a random passerby for help. The only car around here at all was the parked one right next him.
He cautiously approached the car and took a peek inside. He spotted Rain's purse sitting in the passenger seat of her car. He also noticed that her car was unlocked.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Ken opened the car door and dug around in the purse until he found Rain's phone. It was password protected of course, but he was fortunately familiar with this model. It was the same as the one his parents used, so he already knew a few workarounds thanks to them accidentally locking themselves out.
After a minute or two, he managed to get the main menu to come up. He brought up the keypad and began to dial the number of his sergeant major, Akino. He just hoped help would arrive in time.
