Chapter 11: And your heart shall burn.

When we went to the Freedom's wreckage over a month ago we recovered data about the past of X, including the events that rose to the destruction of both ships. Some of this data lead to breakthroughs including a new type of anti-ena armor and weapons that work on cores. However we have yet to find the truth behind the motives of Ochiai or any more information on John Reaper, it seems as though he had much experience with hybrids and even was the Garde pilot that won the Gravity Festival without a squad, who is John Reaper?

"John, you ok?"

"Yeah Tsumugi was just thinking about the new intelligence from that damaged data core."

"Like?"

"We pulled some data about Kunato Developments… they made another Hybrid, they named him Kanata he is your younger brother."

"I have a brother?"

"From X, yes. Here I tried to look into it and got nothing but roadblocks."

"Listen John, I really appreciate you at least trying to fulfill your promise but you don't have to in order to make me happy."

"Yeah, anyways I wanted to thank you for coming along with us."

"Just wish I knew where we were headed."

"Theta nine, an ice planet that has a colony from the Freedom set up."

"I don't understand if it's an ice planet than how can it support life?"

"Temperatures on the surface reach below -300 at -200 ena freezes and at -250 the core cracks under the stress, unless its during a darkness period it will not affect you though."

"What do you mean?"

"Once every year the planet moves farther away from the sun and reaches below -400 normally Hybrids can survive up to -350 before any issues, other than being really cold."

"Oh, well what about the others we brought?"

"They will need arctic survival gear to leave the Hearse, and Gardes would just break down they will remain with the Hearse in orbit."

"John, Tanikaze would be able to survive those temperatures for roughly two hours before he died."

"True but the other humans aren't like him."

"Ok guys we are entering the atmosphere I recommend you get your gear on unless you want to die the second the door opens."

"Thanks Herald."

The crew of thirty starts getting the white and black winter gear on while we enter the strong winds knocking the ship around like if it was rough seas.

"I don't feel too well."

"Well Kouichi I recommend you never get a boat once Sidonia inhabits Lem from that Gauna cluster."

"Umm guys, just thought I would let you know I picked up roughly three hundred Gauna cores on the planet surface."

"They are no threat to us, Ionization technology was developed after this planets severe defenses."

"Ionization was made here?"

"Yeah the first Gauna that tried to land froze and fell from the sky, its core cracked after a few days."

"Ok we landed."

"Everyone ready?"

"Yup."

The door opens and the snow and ice enter the hold frost instantly covers every square inch of the hold.

"Welcome to Theta, the biggest freezer in the galaxy. Don't take off your helmet or play with the snow unless you want to die. If you see a Gauna in the snow and ice, leave it alone because it is all ready dead it just doesn't know it yet."

"Why would we play with the what?"

"Snow is frozen water, and back on Earth during winter kids would have snowball fights and make snowmen."

"Oh… sounds kind of fun."

"It is, once we reach the colony we can get the advanced environmental systems for the Gardes, pick up the prototype, and then while the few Gardes we brought with get refit we can visit the snow field."

"You never did say what this prototype was."

"Something Andrews swears killed a Mass union ship without using a Kabi round."

"What weapon could do that?"

"Some sort of gravity cannon, when I asked the Captain she said Ochiai had dreamed up some sort of Gravitational beam emitter."

The silence for the rest of the four hour walk was unsettling among the hundreds of frozen Gauna sticking out of the snow and ice like statues. Some of the Cadets that came were yelling about a Gauna that was still moving, meaning it came just minutes before we found it, not that it mattered.

"There's the door stay back guys."

"Ok."

I head over to the control panel and pull the safety cage up and reach my hand in and move the chips around the door creaks open.

"Secret code, to protect the colony from Undying."

"Undying?"

"Undead, zombies, so many terms for it, and worse when a Gauna becomes one it's near impossible to kill."

We enter the base and remove the gear in the safe room and proceed to the security checkpoint.

"Hey Aria!"

A moment of silence is broken by a gun loading.

"John, is that you or an undying?"

"It's me."

"Prove it."

"When we first met you tried to poison me thinking I was a demon and when it failed you tried twice to get me to date you."

"It is you!"

I quickly duck as the frying pan she carries around goes flying past me into Tanikaze.

"Oh my gosh!"

She drops the pan on my head making me fall to the floor.

"Master John I suggest a pain killer."

"Thanks for the tip."

After few minutes of getting everyone acquainted we proceed deeper into the underground colony.

"So this is the Hybrid the Sidonia made… I thought Rex said it was a guy."

"Aria, that was a hundred years ago."

"I am Tsumugi Shiraui; it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Quantum displacement… you're from X right?"

"Yes she is."

"John mentioned that this is a colony where are all the people?"

"Deeper in the ice, the farther down you go the hotter it is. Are you sure that Tanikaze will be okay?"

"Yeah he survived worse than a frying pan to the face."

"You mean like you and that Red Death five years ago?"

"Yeah like that, just less limbs being lost."

"Ah, and I take it you're here for the prototype?"

"That and a few other things including some refitting of a few Gardes, and the advanced environmental control systems for the Garde units."

"Like the extreme weather ones?"

"Like that but more extreme like the sun extreme."

"Oh the internal cooling systems, why didn't you just say so?"

"By the way why do I smell a Gauna in here?"

"Oh Gauna 799, a fascinating subject I have been taking him apart for a few weeks now. He has extremely high regeneration and shows signs of intelligence."

"How so?"

"He or it spoke."

"A Gauna that speaks?"

"And it survived the cold outside, the first Gauna in recorded history that had survived for over four hours in freezing temperatures."

"And?"

"We called him Ion, he is a human sized and shaped Gauna, he was ena but somehow the core ended up shrinking and now he is the Gauna not just ena."

"And your theory of a human soul surviving a Gauna consuming the body?"

"Proven correct, a P.H.A. with the memories and experiences of one pilot Harry is a civilian here."

"Think you could do it with a Crimson Hawk Moth?"

"A what?"

"Red Death, it has been a pain in our rear ends for too long and well it did eat a pilot that Sidonia needs for the coming battle with a Gauna Cluster."

"Oh so you want an android or ena body for him or her?"

"Right before Reaper finds the Sidonia."

"Makes sense I will pull strings with Jerry."

"Ok."

Aria and her crimson red hair that goes down her back marches off with her cast iron frying pan.

"Well now what?"

"Let's check on the prototype Garde unit."

"Good idea, maybe Tanikaze would want to check it out too."

We all head to the primary hanger where a prototype mark 21 and all its glory sat ready for combat its twin Battle Rifle Kabi guns on both arms fully loaded and with the replication system needed for unlimited ammo shining off of its sky blue shell. Comprised of Black Guard, Titanium, Neutrolic alloys, and pure Ionization armor plating that shell is nearly un-destroyable.

"What is that?"

"The Sky Dragon, piloted by the Knight Javelin in the battle for Theta, the only Garde that survived the attack on the Union ship."

"It looks well armed."

"Yeah those guns on its arms could fire three Kabi rounds a great distance without having any recoil, of course this is its prototype mark 21 design, the old Mark 20 was badly damaged and the pilot had so little interest in flying a weak one so here we are with the strongest Garde I have seen to date."

"What made it strong?"

"It's survival in any situation, it's Achilles heel however was the sun, it's environmental systems fail after ten minutes of exposure, cooking the pilot inside."

"Oh, that's not very encouraging."

"It had a unique AI that made it able to autopilot if the pilot became deceased or unconscious making it a deadly advisory to have on the battle field."

"So that thing can fight without a pilot?"

"Yeah but it combats better when piloted by a skilled pilot."

"Not to mention that shadow mode."

"What mode Aria?"

"Shadow mode, able to read your brain patterns making you and the Garde almost one thing. You think and the Garde does it."

We all leave the hanger and head to the dome, the snow filled area of the colony where the cold snow isn't packed down and heated, making a perfect play zone for the kids and the members of Sidonia that don't know what a snowball fight is.

"Welcome to the dome, please put on a jacket or snow gear it is cold inside the main dome, not deathly cold but if can catch one nasty cold from it."

"Are those kids in there?"

"Yes, those kids are building a snowman at the moment."

"It that a frozen Gauna in the roof?"

"Yup, dead of course the core was destroyed the ena was frozen solid so it didn't dissolve."

We all enter the area and I pick up some snow, forgot how cold this stuff was on bare hands.

"Now first rule of the dome's snowball fights, don't aim for the head."

"How do we make a snowball?"

"Simple first grab some snow than clump it together like this and boom snowball."

"Oh so how do we fight with them?"

"Throw them like this."

I throw the snowball into the side of the dome making it leave some snow on the icy wall.

"Oh so we throw it at each other?"

"Yes."

It seemed quiet with Izana being too cold from the temperatures being below the temperature of Sidonia. Tsumugi and Rex started to work on a sculpture… until Samari sent Kouichi flying into it from a mean left hook. That caused a snowball fight to breakout and the only injury was caused by the punch to Kouichi. After we all got dried off we headed back up to the main area.

"So how was your first snowball fight?"

"Cold and wet."

"Yeah snow is both so that is true."

We all sit and talk with Aria and Jerry about the Sidonia and if they had any knowledge of Ochiai or Blood Nematodes, of course they never heard of either one. And after a long talk they agree to come to Sidonia with us and we head off with the plans, upgrades, and the Sky Dragon.

The next day, B4 hanger Sidonia…

"You want us to do what to the Sky Dragon?!"

"Paint it black, and reverse the Heigus flow to match these specs."

"That would make its Heigus core and beam emitter red though."

"And make it blend in more."

"I still think you're insane."

"Takes…"

My train of thought is broken when I feel that something is wrong, I turn to look at Tsumugi the look on her face says she did too.

"Did you feel a Gauna too?"

"No I felt something far worse."

I quickly grab my things from my work bench including the negative Heigus particle sidearm and head out the door towards the Garde hanger, the smell of rotting corpses that are common when a Reaper was nearby filled the air confirming my fears was a second Tsugumori that was covered with the green ena that controlled the infected, by the looks of things this Tsugumori was heavy damaged before it was infected and the cockpit was ripped wide open.

"Where did the pilot go?"

"To get checked out you should have passed him."

"Sound the alarm and dump that Garde ASAP we have a Gauna aboard the Sidonia!"

"What impossible we would have detected that."

"Reaper is not a pure Gauna he is here and he is more powerful than anything the Gauna can throw at us, so pray we can stop him this time."

"You're crazy."

The Garde pilot just turns and walks away, guess we do things by ourselves.

"Ben red alert intruder aboard all Gardes to stations now."

"Yes Master John."

The alarms all start to go off and the protocol 001 started to pour to all Garde pilots alerting them of a Gauna aboard the Sidonia.

"This is Reaper wing Commander John all Garde pilots we have a high priority target get him before he reaches anywhere important or too small for Gardes because he is more powerful than the Gauna. Reaper wing protocol 003 Omega 1 engage with live weapons, don't go easy on him because he won't on you."

I run to the main area and try to follow the stench but the amount of people not paying any attention to the alarms make me loose the scent. I quickly jump over them and onto a building using the Anti-ena armor's gravity boots to keep myself going forward, soon I catch up to the pilot still covered with the pilot suit, a perfect disguise.

"It's over Reaper, you won't get away this time."

"You already tried to kill me before, you still are too primitive to this time as well."

"Last time we couldn't drain you of Heigus Particles or have a Gauna on our side."

"Big whoop I have three, no make that four."

"What do you mean four?"

"Rise Chimera of old, and take your revenge for your death."

The stench grew as ena started to form around a signal point and I can only watch with horror as he revives the Gauna that nearly destroyed Sidonia a hundred years ago.

"John, come on we can take that guy."

"Herald at least someone came."

"The rest of the wing is on their way."

"I see you still haven't taken my advice and given up John, too bad the only lesson that this day will teach is misery, behold my army from X!"

Three small rifts open and Gauna come through, Gauna 491, Kanata, and Gauna 487 all of which were undead using the Reaper parasites.

"Well Herald we faced the impossible before, but how do we fight a Gravitational beam emitter before it kills us on foot?"

"Go for it in Hybrid form, or in a Garde not on foot, those bugs not only control them but also transfer memories and experience to them from Reaper."

Some Gardes rush to the scene, including Tanikaze.

"About time some air support showed up."

Gauna 491 and Gauna 487 both turned to the Garde to fight them.

"I'm not detecting any cores!"

"Switch your beam emitters to waveband 445 or you won't be able to kill those things aim for the bug hiding somewhere in the ena."

"But that will drain the Heigus particles in one shot!?"

"Do you want Sidonia to fall?"

"No but…"

"Than do it and stop complaining or would you like to see what an angry undead Gauna hybrid looks like?"

The hybrid that was just brought back roars in anger the sound it made sounded like nails on a chalkboard and echoed throughout Sidonia. The hole in its chest was where the Kabizashi had struck and killed it; the rest was a complete thing.

"Sidonia shall burn like all the seed ships I have destroyed before!"

"Not likely Reaper, or should I say Adam?"

"Adam is dead, I am Reaper the king of the undead and taker of freedom!"

I grip the hybrid saber, the ena had not yet thawed from the trip to Theta leaving me at a disadvantage but a chance to use both swords like swords in combat.

"I see your visit to Theta left you in human form, a pity I could have enjoyed a real fight."

"Reaper your threats to the Sidonia will end here!"

While the Gardes deal with the two undying Gauna Herald deals with the undying Hybrid, that still seems to be under no one's control yet. With a squeal of pain Herald rips the bug free from the ena and it and the bug turn to dust.

"Herald you always were a favorite of Andrews."

"Guess he knew who to trust and not to."

"A shame."

With a flick of his wrist another rift opens behind Herald and an infected Garde unit comes through and crushes Herald's chest making him cough up blood.

"HERALD!"

The Garde lets go of him and he falls to the ground lifeless, Gauna 491 and 487 both die moments later as the Gardes take out the bugs. That leaves Reaper and the infected Garde that was the Tsugumori, its green ena covered it from head to toe, the bug was sitting in the armored cockpit impossible to hit from the outside, the rotting corpse of someone inside was also covered in ena.

"You win this time, the Tsugumori is far too valuable a asset with the mind of its owner at the wheel and Kanata has the emitter making him just as important, fair well John, next meeting you will die."

"You coward!"

"Such hatred what will Xena say when she finds out that Herald died thanks to your orders?"

Before I can say anything he and his remaining minions just vanish in a portal leading back to X. I run over to Herald and my fears were confirmed by his mangled form and exposed bones from the ena burning into him, he was dead. In the battle that took his life, only two other pilots were killed, both killed by Gauna 491 before a VERY angry Crimson Hawk Moth ripped into it and killed the bug. Tanikaze using a Kabi gun killed Gauna 487 again.

"Three dead, inform the Captain we have a bigger problem than that Gauna Cluster to worry about."

"Master John, are you ok?"

"I need some space."

I head outside Sidonia for some time alone, and just throw small stones off of the surface of the ship. I thought I could face any fire with my wing behind me I had thought that with our strength that no one would have to die, now I know… Reaper defies what we think. There is nothing we can't do when we are one, and with the death of Herald no amount of man power or recruits can fill the gap that was torn into my family; even if it wasn't genetic we were still a family.

"I thought I would find you out here."

"Hey Tsumugi, just hanging out in the void."

"I am sorry for your loss."

"He will never truly die, as long as we remember him."

"What's our next move?"

"Cut off a head of a hydra two more grow back."

"Huh?"

"Ancient Earth mythology, the hydra was a near immortal creature where if you cut a head off it would grow two more. What if we see Reaper that way, we kill one avatar he switches to another one."

"If the head grows back kill it a different way."

"What if, we are seeing it the wrong way; we can't kill his body, what if we trap him?"

"Trap him how?"

"Seal his power away he loses control of his army and they die, what if he does too?"

"Well brother that may just work."

"Hey Rex didn't see you come out."

"The modifications to the Sky Dragon are complete, and I added a cloaking device."

"Thanks, but we need a battle plan for dealing with Reaper."

"The sky dragon is one ace up our sleeve, hell we can take on that cluster now."

"No if we kill it now Reaper would just bring it back to life and charge the Sidonia."

"By the way, the Captain gave you permission to recruit members for the wing."

"We will rise again, and this time no amount of undying will make us loose the fight. Please set up a meeting with Sidonia, a public debut is in order."

"What for?"

"The Black Knight battalion."

"You're using that old name?"

"Yes, Reaper holds too many bad memories."

"I will make it happen."

Rex's POV…

The Black Knight Battalion, once the highest amount of Knights in a signal wing, and due to the best training EVERY member became a Knight and the best of the best. Either John has a good relationship with the Captain, or he is trying to play a game with the cards against him.

The next day, John's POV…

"Thank you all for coming, I am John and I would like to announce that Reaper wing, has changed it's name and it's policy, everyone that wants results are allowed to join, and I would like to note when you do you will become a cadet all over again, Mark 17s are not like the 18, and the Mark 21 prototype we have will ensure victory."

"There is no Mark 20 let alone 21."

"Let me introduce you then."

The doors creak open and the 20 meter tall Garde stands taller than the two other Gardes beside it both are Vanguard class.

"That's a fancy Garde what can it do?"

"It has twin Kabi guns, these are more advanced than you current ones and can fire a three round burst of Kabi rounds at targets the same way your weapons do at speeds of your own, and in total can fire off 240 bullets every 3 seconds. This Garde unlike your own also has a shadow mode."

"Shadow mode?"

"Yes using a neural interface device installed on the helmet, you can think it, and the Garde will do it."

"So this shadow mode makes the Garde able to do all this without you moving the controls?"

"Yes, and with a small scale V.C.T. you almost become the Garde. However this technology's designer is dead and his plans of it were destroyed his assistant Thomas has gone insane and can't speak so this type of combat is near impossible."

"Near impossible?"

"Yes the smaller V.C.T. was lost when the creator died, a normal V.C.T. is still available, but it runs great risk."

"What's a V.C.T.?"

"Virtual Consciousness Transfer, made by Aria and her twin brother Troy."

"What does it do?"

"It was designed to test a theory, however when it proved successful, was repurposed to transfer a human soul into something like a clone or robot."

"What was this theory?"

"Gauna soul theory, it was based on limited to fully intelligent Gauna that took unique forms such as the Crimson Hawk Moth."

"Huh?"

"When a Gauna such as the Hawk Moth ate a person and gained all their knowledge, we had a theory that maybe it was possible to recover the person from the void through the Gauna, and this is a success to a point."

"What do you mean?"

"Our latest patient in this device is being stubborn and may die as a result, however with the proper push from a strong willed person we will save her."

"Her?"

"Yes the pilot Hoshijiro."

To be continued…