Gundam 00:IS
Mission 4: The Student from China
Cover Image: Rin standing between Ichika and Setsuna with a smirking Ribbons standing behind them wearing an IS Academy uniform that resembled a tailcoat tuxedo.
On-board the Ptolemaios, Sumeragi was discussing the latest details of Setsuna's mission with Lockon, Tieria and Allelujah.
"Alright, Gundam Meisters, we've received our new orders from Veda." Sumeragi spoke to the group in her regular commanding tone, briefing them on their upcoming roles. "But specifically for Allelujah."
"What do you mean?" Allelujah was surprised at his involvement, already seeing Setsuna's mission as confusing and unnecessary, the Kyrios Gundam Meister couldn't understand why Veda issued such orders. "I'm too old to enrol at the IS Academy… this will cause some obvious complications."
"Must be nice being young..." Lockon shrugged, wearing an amused smile on his face, feeling that Setsuna was wasting his youthful opportunity at the IS Academy. "Damn idiot doesn't know how lucky he is."
"That's not the case; your mission is to provide backup for Setsuna." Sumeragi reassured Allelujah of his role, knowing full well the consequences of such an action. "His latest reports indicate that he's being targeted by an unknown force, so I need you to keep an eye on him…"
"Roger… is there anything else I should know?" Allelujah questioned Sumeragi, knowing that any detail would be critical to the mission's success.
"Veda also wants you to observe one of the A.E.U's Super Soldiers." Sumeragi was careful with her tone, knowing how sensitive this issue was to Allelujah. "The Super Soldier in question was created as part of a joint project between the A.E.U and the HRL by Doctor Clay Lihichyte using the Shaman Template. She eventually became Germany's IS Representative Candidate, her name is… Laura Bodewig."
Allelujah could barely contain his shock upon hearing Laura's name, the Kyrios Gundam Meister, as if he knew the fellow Super Soldier on a personal level.
"Miss Sumeragi, I do not approve of this." Tieria voiced his contempt for the mission, seeing it as detrimental to the plan as a whole. "Sending yet another Gundam Meister out before the Armed Interventions is nothing short of foolish."
"This mission was given to us directly from Veda" Sumeragi assured the importance of the plan to Tieria, knowing that the Virtue's Gundam Meister held the super terminal's word above all else.
"Relax." Lockon tried to calm down both the shocked Allelujah and the annoyed Tieria and to lighten the mood in the now tense atmosphere. "If Veda's involved, I'm sure nothing too bad is gonna happen."
"Your codename will be "Alfred Halliburton" and you will visit the IS Academy as a technical intern from Krung Thep who was sent to observe the IS in order to gain technological data." Sumeragi gave Allelujah his fake name as well as his scripted background, knowing that his identity was a very important secret.
"This whole plan is very suspicious…" Tieria crossed his arms, though he viewed Veda's missions as absolute orders, he couldn't help but question the risks involved with this particular operation.
"I'll go down there ahead and take care of the brat." Lockon sighed before smiling at Sumeragi and his fellow Gundam Meisters, thinking that Setsuna needed help with his stay. "I've always wanted to go to Japan anyway."
"Lockon, please reconsider your course of action." Tieria glared at the Dynames Gundam Meister, thinking that his comrade was doing something completely unnecessary. "Allelujah being sent out is foolish enough."
"Someone's gotta help Setsuna deal with his cute little stalker." Lockon remembered the report sent by the Exia Gundam Meister regarding M. "And I'm the one with the most experience with blending into society."
"Alright, I'll recommend that plan to Veda." Sumeragi saw the logic behind Lockon's idea and decided that the Dynames Gundam Meister was qualified to look after Setsuna.
Ribbons waited over Squall at their luxurious hotel room, once again, hiding his sinister intentions behind a benevolent mask of kindness.
"Mistress Squall, I will be carrying out my mission now." Ribbons wrapped his arms around Squall in a show of faux affection, knowing the effect it had on the love-struck woman. "I shall live up to your expectations."
"I know you will, my dear Ribbons." Squall's ordinarily sinister expression turned into a soft blush as she was held in her false lover's arms. "Who would have known that you could pilot an IS? Such a rare and gifted man and he belongs to me."
"Your praise warms my heart." Ribbons's angelic smile curved into a malicious smirk as Squall's back was turned, knowing that her love for him made her nothing more than a docile puppet.
It was morning at the IS Academy and classes were about to start and as usual, Setsuna and Ichika were the centre of attention, both male students oblivious to their growing popularity, while the first male IS user was embarrassed by all the attention; the undercover Gundam Meister couldn't care less.
"Kamal, doesn't it feel like we're being watched?" Ichika nervously whispered to Setsuna, feeling uncomfortable with all the eyes that were staring at them.
"It doesn't matter." Setsuna answered Ichika's question, though he was uncomfortable as well, the undercover Gundam Meister didn't let the stares affect him as much, due to his mind constantly being on the battlefield.
"The interclass tournament is right around the corner!" A female student announced excitedly, seeing it as the perfect chance to show off to either Ichika or Setsuna.
"That's right! Did you hear Class 2 changed their class rep?" Yuzu Tanimoto, a girl with auburn hair tied in two pigtails asked curiously, wondering what kind of person could easily replace the current class representative.
"Oh, they got a transfer student, right?" Another female student asked to confirm he news she had heard.
"A transfer student, this late?" Ichika was surprised to hear that a new student had arrived and he found the timing to be quite strange.
"Yeah. I heard she's from China." Yuzu smiled as she answered Ichika's question, though just as confused as he was, the auburn haired girl was glad she could be of service.
"I wonder if she transferred to the IS Academy in order to study my techniques?" Cecilia closed her eyes and smiled arrogantly, hoping that her display of confidence would impress Setsuna.
"A new transfer student, huh…?" Setsuna asked Ichika about the new student, ignoring Cecilia's boasting, much to her chagrin.
"I wonder what she's like?" Ichika smiled at Setsuna as he brought up his own questions, enjoying the relatively friendly exchange. "Is she strong?"
"Only classes 1 and 4 have personal suits, and we have Kamal now, so it should be a piece of cake." Takatsuki Shizune, a girl with messy navy blue hair with pink clips voiced her confidence in the results of the upcoming tournament.
"That info's outdated." From the distance, the voice of the transfer student herself, Lingyin Huang, a petite Chinese girl with green eyes and long brown hair tied in twintails with a yellow ribbon on each side dressed in a variant of the IS Academy uniform with detached sleeves. "Class 2 got a class rep with a personal suit, too. It won't be that easy to win!" The small girl spoke in a very prideful tone.
"Rin?" Ichika called Lingyin by her nickname with a sense of familiarity in his voice, as if her were greeting an old friend "Aren't you Rin?"
"Yes! I am the Chinese Representative Candidate, Lingyin Huang!" The petite girl raised her hand and pointed her finger at the entire class, her voice still brimming with confidence. "I'm here today to declare war!"
"So she's the transfer student in Class 2?" A female student said as she thought back to the earlier conversation.
"Chinese Representative Cadet?" Another female student was having a hard time believing that another personal IS user would be facing them on the interclass tournament.
"There's no way we're going to lose to her!" Cecilia declared angrily, seeing Lingyin's declaration as an insolent attack on her ego and again, trying to show off to Setsuna, who didn't seem to care very much.
Setsuna just stared at Lingyin with his usual stoic expression, without meaning to; the undercover Gundam Meister intimidated the Chinese Representative Candidate with his cold stare.
"Wh-What's with this guy?" Lingyin stepped back, feeling chills down her spine from Setsuna's cold gaze, likening him to either a battle-hardened problem child.
"Rin!" Ichika smiled at Lingyin as he called her attention. "Rin, what are you showing of for? That's not like you at all!" The first male IS user laughed at the Chinese Representative Candidate's supposedly uncharacteristic behaviour.
"D-Don't you have anything better to say?!" Lingyin's cheeks turned red from anger as she yelled at Ichika, annoyed by his comment, but before she could continue, the Chinese Representative Candidate felt something hit the top of her head. "That hurts!" The twintailed girl held her head in pain. "What are you doing?!" She turned around and yelled before noticing that the blow to her head came from Chifuyu.
"It's almost time for homeroom class." The black haired teacher spoke to Lingyin in a strict tone, not amused by her disruptive speech.
"Ch-Chifuyu…" Lingyin spoke nervously with a hint of fear in her voice upon seeing the annoyed teacher.
"It's Miss Orimura. Now back to your class, you're in the way." Chifuyu commanded Lingyin in a strict and stern tone, seeing the Chinese Representative Candidate as a misbehaving student.
"I-I'm sorry." Lingyin apologised timidly as she stepped aside for Chifuyu, almost trembling from fear. "I'll be back! Don't go anywhere, Ichika!" The Chinese Representative Candidate called out to the first male IS user before storming off angrily.
"She's a representative candidate?" Ichika asked himself as Lingyin left, wondering about how she achieved that status.
After the first set of classes had ended, and Ichika and Lingyin were the first in line for the Cafeteria.
"You surprised me!" Ichika smiled at Lingyin as they conversed, happy to be in her company. "So you were the transfer student in Class 2? You could have let me know. I mean, we're childhood friends after all."
"That would have ruined the dramatic reunion." Lingyin answered Ichika's question. In truth, she wanted to surprise her childhood friend.
"Say, are you still not getting along with Chifuyu?" Ichika remembered the exchange between Lingyin and his older sister and the Chinese Representative Candidate's uneasy expression.
"N-not really… it's just that she's still really strict." Lingyin looked away to hide her embarrassment, not wanting her childhood friend to know that she was deathly afraid of his older sister.
"Here's your ramen." The lunch lady placed the bowl on Lingyin's tray.
"So you still like ramen, huh?" Ichika smiled, happy to see that his childhood friend was still the same down to her eating habits. "It's been exactly a year. How have you been?"
"I've been well! It's your turn to get sick or injured for once!" Lingyin snapped at Ichika, annoyed by how casually he treated their reunion.
"What's with that?" Ichika was confused by Lingyin's rude comment and her angry tone, not knowing what he did to upset her.
Setsuna was seated alone next to the window, staring at the city. The undercover Gundam Meister thought about his run in with M and how his mission was now more complicated than before.
"That woman… why was she following me…?" Setsuna tried to make sense out of what happened the other day, not knowing why M was fixated on following him. "Does she intend to kill me?" The undercover Gundam Meister trusted his instincts and sensed just how dangerous the mysterious girl was.
Houki and Cecilia noticed that Setsuna was sitting alone with his eyes closed, at first they thought he was asleep, but his posture said otherwise, both girls then had the same thought and approached the undercover Gundam Meister.
"What the…?" Setsuna noticed that both Cecilia and Houki were sitting dangerously close to him and at the same time, shooting glares at each other.
"Kamal, please tell me what you and Miss Shinonono did on the roof last night…" Cecilia still hadn't let Setsuna's late-night rendezvous with Houki go, feeling that she had been cheated on, despite there being no romantic relationship in the first place. "You shouldn't be keeping secrets from me!"
Houki glared at Setsuna, waiting for any form of acknowledgment of their emotional reunion from the undercover Gundam Meister.
"I told you. It was a simple conversation." Setsuna was growing annoyed with the constant attention he was getting from Houki and Cecilia, not only was his personal space being violated, but the Japanese girl knew his true identity as Soran Ibrahim.
"You idiot…!" Houki yelled loudly at Setsuna before storming off, completely outraged at how calm and casual the undercover Gundam Meister was being about their emotional reunion.
Upon seeing how emotional Houki was, Cecilia eyed Setsuna suspiciously like a jealous wife. The English Representative Candidate was now somewhat possessive over the undercover Gundam Meister.
After classes had ended, Ichika decided to approach Setsuna at the IS Stadium to ask him for advice.
"Yo, Kamal!" Ichika called out to Setsuna and greeted him in a friendly manner. "Can I ask you for something?"
"What is it?" Setsuna reluctantly turned his attention to Ichika, feeling that the first male IS pilot was acting a little too friendly.
"Can you please teach me those cool sword moves?" Ichika pumped his fist in excitement, hoping that Setsuna could teach him the attacks he used on Cecilia. "My Byakushiki has a sword, too, so it would be great if I had some more training."
"Alright, but I won't go easy on you." Setsuna said blankly as he deployed the Seven Swords, ready to train Ichika through combat.
"Right!" Ichika deployed his Byakushiki, a white IS with large wings and dark blue and yellow markings armed with the Yukihira Type-II, a fold out katana with a beam saber.
Setsuna stood his ground and unfolded his FV Folding Sword/ Rifle A and pointed it at Ichika, waiting for his sparring partner to make a move.
Ichika charged forward with the Yukihira Type II in hand, hoping that the match could be decided with a single move.
Setsuna sidestepped immediately to avoid Ichika's attack and with a quick swing, he sent the Yukihira Type-II flying out of his opponent's hands and the undercover Gundam Meister then took out his FV Short Blade C and pointed it at the his disarmed sparring partner.
The fight went on for at least two more hours with Ichika trying different versions of the same move over and over earning the same result each time.
After training with Setsuna, Ichika was absolutely exhausted. The first male IS pilot felt the effects of all his failed attempts to break the undercover Gundam Meister's defence all over his aching body.
"Man, how did you get so good at fighting?" Ichika was dumbfounded by Setsuna's combat skills and his experienced movements with his swords.
"It's all I've known for a long time." Setsuna answered Ichika coldly before walking out of the IS Stadium. The Undercover Gundam Meister had no intention of revealing any more than what he just said to the first male IS pilot.
Unknown to the two IS Pilots, Houki, Cecilia and Rin were spying on them from the stands, each shocked to hear Setsuna's genuine comment about his harsh past.
"Soran..." Houki thought to herself as she saw the cold gaze in Setsuna's eyes, unable to believe that the boy she loved all those years ago could harbour such sadness in his heart.
The next day, Miss Yamada was faced with a very tough situation, she had to introduce her new student to the class, the mysterious Alan Ray, an angelic looking young man with light green hair, violet eyes and a petite figure, and the ethereal youth's appearance could be likened to a modern idol or a novel protagonist that was written for a female audience.
"Pleased to meet you all, my name is Alan Ray, representative Candidate of Canada." Ribbons spoke with a voice as smooth as silk, in his usual calm and polite tone that emanated an aura of charisma that most of the girls within the classroom felt. "I am in your care." With a curt bow, the angelic youth concluded his introduction.
The room was filled not with the rousing screams and comments, but with an awe induced silence, Ribbons' powerful presence lulled the girls into a dream-like trance, unlike Setsuna and Ichika, the angelic youth was dangerously aware of his charisma and he was not afraid to use it to manipulate whoever he deemed useful, proven by his interactions with Squall, but hidden beneath his gentle smile was a cunning mastermind and a cruel utilitarian.
They were all right where Ribbons wanted them, like moths mesmerized by a flickering candle, they were drawn to the angelic youth's beauty and charisma, and he intended to use that to his advantage.
Author's notes: Sorry for the wait guys! Chapter 4 is finally up! The theme of the IS Academy mission is chaos due to Tabane constantly messing with Veda and causing trouble for the Gundam Meisters, particularly Setsuna and Tieria.
Allelujah will have either a romantic or brotherly connection with Laura depending on what you guys think, but there is a romantic subplot written for Setsuna and Laura as well, given that they have so much in common and that Setsuna can serve as a reminder that true war is terrifying and power makes it worse.
For those who have read Gundam 00:IS The Second Birthday, Ribbons' backstory and character development deepens as the story goes and as he falls in love with Charlotte. Manyquestions will be raised in his heart and mind whether he's truly a separate existence from mankind or not.
Rin and Ichika's relationship will be developed next chapter and Ribbons' "friendship" with the main cast will be set.
Charlotte may appear at the end of the next chapter and let's just say she has two objectives now.
As Alan Ray, Ribbons will pose as a kind-hearted, polite and generally amicable individual, but the readers know what his true intentions are, but that will change slowly, somewhat like Zeheart Galette from Gundam AGE.
Thank you all for reading this story, you all keep it alive.
Now to answer my reviewers
KH-Hardcorefan4483
Yes, it is Ribbons' way of honouring his genetic donor. Ribbons is like your typical "nice guy" bishounen, and the funny thing is, it's not entirely faked.
Yes there is, Tieria once proposed a plan to create IS Drone Bits using Innovade Nanomachines, but the idea was not approved by Veda. IS Powered Gundams will become more common in the second season. The Angel's Book is indeed a powerful Prototype and it can mount several experimental Krung Thep weapons packs, making it far more versatile than its successors.
Neil will be paired with her and it will involve lots of harmless flirting that she takes very, very seriously.
Yes indeed, Allelujah acts like a guardian for Laura and it brings him joy that she's starting to enjoy the life of a regular girl. Nice parallel.
Anytime, dude. Looking forward to the next chapter, you must be brimming with awesome ideas after Unicorn ended.
BlaLig
Yeah, and it's more like a secondary power source for a Mobile Suit. The GN Razor Claw is a close range hand to hand weapon.
Yes indeed, Charlotte is tasked with obtaining the plans for the Lucifer Advent and a DNA sample from its pilot… through any means necessary. That was an initial idea, but I could reuse it.
Worldwanderer2.0
This was more of filler, kinda like that OVAs some animes have to tie in to the side stories. The Fight scene is a major part of 00P:IS and will be fleshed out heavily. The GN Long Cannons are 00P machine's weapons. The Lucifer Advent will be a monster in battle, even more after its initial upgrade. The Angel's Book will make an appearance very soon and it's a force to be reckoned with. As for pairings in general, everything's on the drawing board. Thanks, I used your correction.
Enigma95
Thank you for all three of your reviews, the harem will be some of the originals.
Thanks, other than Exia, we'll see more Gundam-themed IS.
M makes Yuno look like an abandoned puppy, and things only get worse.
Guest
It's part of 00P:IS, a side-story to this one.
Guest
Yes, Madoka, her yandere side hits Setsuna in the face with full force. Yes he is, and the one person who had so little, but gave half his heart to her when they were little. Yes and her lover was quite the stone-hearted guy, more on that later.
Guest
Setsuna's lack of social skills and aversion to physical contact make things harder for Cecilia, who grows bolder with each attempt. Bingo! It's based of the 1 Gundam.
Guest
I'm glad it invoked those feelings. I wrote it as a flashback OVA type story.
Grey vs Ale
Thanks, and good luck with your story as well. Ribbons will change and he'll fight and deny it constantly, for it clashes with his views on humanity. Somewhat, imagine Ribbons as a creepy kid with an ant farm.
GN00Altair
Allelujah will try to convince her that she has a shot at a normal life, and that she should embrace it, because others died or were cursed with the fate of a Super Soldier. Indeed, Laura will see the power of a True Super Soldier.
Yes I do, at the very end of S1, but not to the overpowered extent just yet.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.