Chapter 6: wounds.

After a few days the X Tsumugi is moved out of the tank and to a room, although two Gardes armed with Kabizashi are on guard 24/7 due to the unknown timelines history. One day while Tanikaze, Izana, and Yuhata are all asleep and Tsumugi and I are talking and playing chess something distracts her.

"What it is you were doing so well at this?"

"Something keeps making noise in the main lab."

"Hmm ok, your move."

She moves the Queen to take out my last Knight, and checks my King.

"Good move Tsumugi."

"Thank you for showing me this game and for the support."

"I hardly doubt you haven't played this, your skills here rival Rex's skill."

"But Rex has those cybernetics to help him."

"True but his brain is like yours, a true strategist."

I make a move with a Rock at the Queen and take it out.

"You move well too."

My phone thing interrupts the game I check to see who it was, one of the Garde's on duty.

"One minute Tsumugi."

"Ok I will wait."

I walk outside and answer.

"Yes?"

"The other Tsumugi is up and is not happy, what should we do?"

"Keep calm and don't panic, I am on my way."

I head back inside for a minute.

"Tsumugi I will be back I need to run to Kunato Developments for an emergency, and don't leave your room, there's a problem."

"You mean the other me?"

"Yeah, just stay calm and wait in the room where it's safe."

"Okay, good luck."

I go inside to my "room" and grab out the katana I was given and the small sidearm… although it won't defeat a Gauna, it can do heavy damage to hybrids and even paralyze them from the electrically charged rounds. Armed for a worst case scenario I run all the way there. Upon entering I notice damage to both Garde units and their arms are pinned.

"Tsumugi, calm down, we aren't here to hurt you."

"Stay away from me, I don't know you."

"I am wing Commander John, although my birth number is 115."

"Stay away you were human, why are you so different than I remember?"

"I am not a human I am like you, a hybrid."

"Liar!"

Negotiations are not working here as much as I thought they would.

"Let me prove it to you. I am about to draw my left sword it's not a weapon that can harm you."

She was shaking most likely afraid of what's happening, just like from this Sidonia she is like a child. I grab the sword and the ena forming the hilt crept up my arm. She tensions and watches closely, I get closer to the edge behind me.

"I am not afraid of you Tsumugi."

I start to draw the sword and walk off the back, I hear a small squeal of shock from her when I stand before her as my hybrid form.

"See Tsumugi the same but different."

"Stay away from me!"

I barely dodge a tentacle, if it hit it would have gone straight into my ribs.

"Listen I know you're shocked, but I am telling the truth."

"You don't know me, why do you think you do?"

Now she was crying, she is scared and misses her home.

"I know how you feel, when I first opened my eyes I was scared beyond reason and struck out at anything even my own brothers and sisters."

"You died saving the Sidonia and the Freedom, how can you be here?!"

Well crap.

"Listen Tsumugi I am not dead, if I know hybrid senses the way I do, I know you can hear that I have a heartbeat just like Izana."

"Master John incoming call, it's from… Izana."

"Go ahead and talk to her, I will try to get this under control."

"Ben?"

She knows Ben… well that's good… I hope.

"You remember him?"

"Yes after Gauna 550 attacked the Sidonia and you died he started following me around."

"Master John… Izana wants to know what's going on."

"Tell her that I am in a heated conversation and can't come to the phone at the moment."

"What's going on here?"

"Tsumugi let go of the Gardes so they can leave us."

"No they will hurt me."

"They wouldn't disobey an order from a commander."

"I don't believe you."

Those tentacles are getting tighter on those Gardes, and the ones barley there are twitching.

"Garde pilots, power down the Gardes."

"Leave me alone!"

She is panicking and may soon lash out, and each tentacle is Kabi lashed and if one hits me it will slow my regeneration, I would need to go into a tank for a few weeks if I get badly hurt.

"Listen Tsumugi I know the hybrid I know is in there, the one that loves to fly, that wants to see the residential tower, the one who wants to see the ocean, and the one who cares for her friends."

"We just meant and then you died how do you know me?"

Although it may be a gamble I know one last thing that can help her back to her senses. Although that plan goes out the window when I hear someone entering the hallway to the room… and by the scents its Tanikaze and Izana… well crap.

"Izana don't!"

Too late they both enter the room and Tsumugi sees them… well crap.

"Izana what happened to your arm?"

"You don't remember?"

They don't know it's not our Tsumugi, this will go downhill fast if they don't realize.

"Izana you need to back up, same with your friend you brought with."

"It's just Tsumugi, why do we need to back up?"

I feel a burn on my left arm and look, the tentacle did hit and now that arm's nerves and muscles are in shock from something.

"Ben get Rex down here now!"

"Yes Master John calling him now."

Rex's POV…

Me getting called to Kunato Developments by Ben? Must have to be about the other Tsumugi, but the Gardes would have reported it if she was awake right? Maybe I should ask them to put up the Gardes status?

"Is something the matter Rex?"

"No just thinking, could we put up the Garde status from Kunato Developments?"

"I don't see why not."

When they put them up I realize what's happening and start to run to Kunato Developments… she is awake and not happy. The first Garde has damage to the entire Garde, while the second one's arms and back are the worst. I have to reach there in time.

"Tsumugi stand down… no need for this to get… any worse."

That's John but something's wrong his voice is… cracking.

I see Tanikaze and Izana at the entrance to the main lab area hiding on the sides of the doors, something bad must have happened.

"You two get out of here I have a plan."

"What's wrong with her?"

"That's not the Tsumugi you know, that's the one from X, and worse yet hates your guts so get moving!"

"Right."

They both run out, I grab that sidearm that John gave me earlier, a creation of Andrews meant to injure or stun a hybrid until it can't move; most of the time one shot does it and lasts for an hour.

When I turn the corner I am shocked, John was back to human form and his right arm was bleeding badly. And his whole body was shaking from the injuries… the Kabi that hybrids use on Gauna must be effective on John.

John looks my way and nods.

"Tsumugi let the pilots go there's no reason for this to turn to violence anymore than it has."

"I don't understand what happened one minute I was talking and next I was here in that tank."

"An explosion occurred, it created a rift through space and time, we got you got of the debris and started to get you back into shape."

"For your own gains?"

"No, here you aren't just a hybrid, here you are a crew member you have people who care about you, here you are a part of a large family and that family is the Sidonia."

By the looks of things she has started to let go of the Gardes, good looks like most of the torso was crushed by shear force, but the cockpits are still intact.

"Tsumugi if there is anything you need just ask us, Reaper wing knows what it's like to be different more than anyone on this ship."

After a few minutes everything calms down and I explain to Tanikaze about what I told John.

John's POV…

Man my arm stings, last time I felt this way I got hit in the face by Jack and flew through several walls… than again I kind of asked for it. After getting checked up on by a doctor, and get a sling for my right arm I head to Tanikaze's to finish up our match of chess, and talk a bit more.

"Hey guys, I am back for the doctors."

No response but I hear someone upstairs. I head up to find Yuhata working on a model of a Garde… a model of the Vanguard to be accurate.

"You have the rail guns backwards."

"Huh!"

"The rail guns are backwards."

"The other models have instructions this one doesn't."

"That's because I built it from scratch, well most of it the main design was Mark 17."

"You designed your own Garde?"

"Yup, was going to dismantle the old one and build a new one."

"Why, your Garde rivals the Tsugumori's systems and can go faster than Tsumugi and Tanikaze in clasp formation?"

"Too old, its systems burn out every fight and its cores have fried."

"The engineers would probably want to watch you work, that Vanguard is a powerful Garde."

"It's only as powerful as the one who helped develop the armor."

"Who?"

"Henry Johnson, the captain of the Freedom, used the cores of Gauna that were slain to form the swords allowing us to transform at will, and later using that same tactic to develop organic/synthetic armor, or as we call it Black Guard."

Over the next hour I walk her through the design of the original Vanguard, now she has two Garde's that are legends in combat. But after she finished I left for the wing hanger, I wasn't bluffing when I said I am taking it apart.

"Ok first step is getting something to catch the grease and liquids in the Garde, next step is stripping armor, and yes if you find pieces of Gauna put them in the box called Gauna scraps."

"Why are we keeps pieces of Gauna?"

"To make more Black Guard armor, Rex will handle the fusion of the Gauna and metals."

"This is crazy."

"Black Guard is a super light metal, and even tough as that metal Kunato helped make and its more Gauna nature means if it's damaged it will repair over time."

"And chances are if you stripped Izana's Garde after the battle of 550 you may find some burnt but intact pieces but just don't tell Kunato that."

"What pieces?"

"Tsumugi covered her and Izana's Garde in ena and changed the beam's direction, chances would have been high that ena survived and got stuck in the creases of armor."

That example made me think of the battle that claimed Tsumugi's body… and how she survived thanks to Tanikaze's Garde having slots in the armor.

"Umm John you phased out there again."

"Was just thinking is all."

After a few hours the Garde was nothing but the frame, the old rusty frame. And as I said, about a core's worth of Gauna was pulled out of the armor plating.

"Some of these Gauna pieces are dead some are still kicking."

"Yup tends to happen."

I didn't realize that Tanikaze came in about five minutes after we found part of a core, and had a interesting talk about why it was there.

"Hey John, a fellow Knight just showed up."

"Thanks Rex."

I walk away from the project as the old mark 17 frame was dismantled and the Black Guard armor plating metals were used as the new frame.

"What's up Tanikaze?"

"Tsumugi was waiting to finish your chess game, we tried calling but your phone was in your room."

"Oh crap, ok I will be right there. Rex, you know how I like it."

"Yeah quick and deadly."

"Good I am headed home."

"Ok I will stop in about an hour."

We headed to the house to find Izana talking with Xena about me… great.

"Well I don't know much about him so I don't know how he thinks."

"Hmm was curious… hey John we were just talking about you."

"About what now, sister?"

"Oh just plotting, by the way tough guy you made both Tsumugi upset."

"Wait both, how did I make both upset?"

"The one was upset thinking you forgot about the chess game, the other is upset from hurting your arm."

"Oh well one I can fix now the other I will visit after the game."

After apologizing to Tsumugi and asking to finish the match, we started back up… but I lost the match when she pulled the cannon fodder trick on me. After the match and a meal I went to Kunato Developments to talk with the other Tsumugi, and I find Roy talking with her.

"Roy what you doing here?"

"What? Rex asked if I could help him out."

"Ok so how are you helping little squirt?"

"Asking her questions and typing her answers, Rex said that since they are exactly the same that they should both have a P.H.A. too and it would help tell them apart."

"True but how does a P.H.A. have anything to do with how she feels about me?"

"Well you see that was a question my mom wanted to know the answer to."

"Xena sent you to ask her about me?"

"Yup."

Just like Xena to do that, although this other Tsumugi was blushing just now… interesting.

"Well anyway thanks for answering have a good day Tsumugi."

"You too Roy."

Roy leaves and I let out a sigh, it's just like Herald and Xena to ask girls about me, I mean they are the ones pushing and pushing trying to make my single status go away.

"Listen Tsumugi, about my arm, no need to worry about it, it may scar but it won't kill me or anything."

"How are you so calm about it?"

"About my arm?"

"Yes the wound went straight through it must have hurt badly."

"Hmm not the worst that's happened and won't be the last one that scars."

"You sound sure, that you will get more."

"Hard fact of wars, it's bound to happen."

"That boy, Roy he knows his mother."

"I know her too, Xena she is one scary hybrid if you get her mad."

"Do you know your parents?"

"One of them, Henry Johnson, never found out about my mother."

"Does the other me know of our mother?"

"If so she hasn't said so."

"Can you look into it, I want to know her?"

"I will check on it, and how does a hunt sound tomorrow?"

"A hunt?"

"Yup the Gauna are hiding and I plan on hitting them first."

With a yawn I get up and jump to my old home, a pipe in the ceiling.

"Good night Tsumugi, I will stay here for tonight."

"Ok, good night."

Without another word we both fall asleep.

To be continued…