"I-I… I can't believe we're about to do this!"
Joy couldn't even begin to describe the emotion that was coursing through Hanji's chest right this moment as she stood in the holding tent to the Mechanical Titan… no… the Gundam Barbatos…
Gaining access to the holding tent for the Gundam was no small feat, and that was putting it lightly. Being under the watchful eye of all three Military Brigades, the holding tent for Gundam Barbatos was inaccessible to practically everyone less they had the complete approval of one Military Brigade Commander at the very least alongside a written letter that stated that they were allowed to be as close to it as they were.
In Hanji's case, and by extension Moblit as he was her assistant and had probably signed a blood pact to stay by Zoe's side until he died, she was given the opportunity to perform research on the Gundam by Erwin, who had offered her his full approval and a written letter, however reluctantly. The happiness that was radiating from Hanji's body as soon as she got the approval letter was rather… worrying, to say the least, and Moblit was required to drag her out before she exploded with joy.
As soon as she recovered, Hanji was quick to flip the script and drag Moblit to grab their Maneuver Gear before they blasted off to Gundam Barbatos' holding tent. So fast was she that even the horses struggled to keep up with her, and within a short handful of minutes, the two were already standing before the tent flaps that led to Barbatos, with Hanji standing proudly with her hands on her hips while Moblit looked ready to throw up at any given second.
"Can you feel the anticipation, Moblit?! Within a few seconds, we'll be stepping in and seeing the Gundam firsthand!" proclaimed Hanji, smirking widely as Moblit doubled over and vomited onto the ground, causing several of the guards present to wince, though they didn't do much to help. Moblit knew what he was signing up for when he became Hanji's assistant, especially after how the previous one supposedly died after Zoe told him to jump down the throat of a Titan for her amusement.
That was probably just a weird rumor, but who knew with Hanji at this point…?
"I'm sorry, Captain… but all I feel is my breakfast rising up my throat…" apologised Moblit moments before he emptied the contents of his stomach, and as though she were oblivious to her poor assistant's indigestion issue, Hanji simply laughed and slapped him on the back, which didn't do much to help his poor stomach as he continued hurling.
"Don't be such a baby!" chastised Hanji, patting her assistant on the back as she motioned for him to follow her into the tent. Rather unfortunately, Moblit was unable to follow so quickly, as he ended up vomiting for a few more seconds before getting up and looking around weakly, only to widen his eyes when he saw Hanji waltz into the tent, tossing the guard who had stopped her the written letter from Erwin before she did so.
Said guard read the letter before nodding in approval, though when he turned back to face Hanji and to return the letter to her, he realized that she had already walked past him, much to his dismay, though he quickly got over it as he turned to see Moblit weakly hobble up towards him.
"Moblit, you poor poor man…" muttered the guard empathetically as the other guard looked rather worried for the most unfortunate man who stood before them. Even so, however, Moblit simply waved them off as he offered an awkward smile and straightened himself up.
"Save the sympathy for someone else, you two. Someone has to keep her in check, so it may as well be me. Unless you wish to take my place, of course," challenged Moblit with a rare cheeky grin, handing the two his written approval as he spoke. The guard who took the letter shuddered a little at that as the other raised both her hands up to signal that she didn't want to deal with Hanji on a regular basis either, and that seemed to be the end of it as they read through his letter to make sure it was authentic before handing it back to their senior alongside the letter that Hanji forgot to take along with her.
"You can keep your job, Moblit. You're clear," replied one of the guards, stepping to the side to allow the assistant to enter the tent. At that, the guy walked in, sighing as he heard Hanji scream in joy inside the tent, and though he simply rolled his eyes at that at first, Moblit was quick to unroll them when he saw why she was screaming.
"W-Whoa…" muttered Moblit, widening his eyes when he saw the kneeling form of Gundam Barbatos, stoic and unmoving, like a powerful mountain that would not move for anyone's sake. All around them, soldiers were noticeably keeping their distance, which was understandable at the very least. Though inactive, the Gundam was very well one of the most powerful things that were held behind these walls, and none of them wished to get too close and risk having it wake up and attack them.
Of course, this principle didn't apply to Hanji, as she simply waltzed up towards the Gundam in spite of all the other soldiers telling her otherwise. And, despite his typically cautious nature, even Moblit couldn't resist the urge to follow, albeit a little less carefree than his Captain.
Though Moblit and Hanji have both seen the Gundam up close on more than one occasion, neither one of them were able to properly view the thing up close properly due to various issues. The first time either one of them had seen Barbatos was during the failed expedition nearly half a decade ago, and the Gundam had been cloaked in shadows the entire time, and more recently, during the Trost cleanup incident, though they did have a better look at the Gundam at the time, the unit had been moving so quickly that it was practically impossible to focus on it without their eyes glazing over.
As such, to see the Gundam kneeling down, unmoving and with its features completely visible to the naked eye… it was enough to make Moblit forget about his fears for a short while as he simply looked at the unit before him, the… the machine that inspired so many tales, myths and rumors to have been created.
And yet, despite all the rumors of it being a mighty beast that could bring down even the Armoured Titan… despite all the talk about how it was some deity that could not be tamed by even the harshest of opposition… to see it in person, without Mikazuki Augus present and controlling it, it made Moblit realize something…
'It's nothing more than a machine…' thought Moblit, widening his eyes as he rubbed his wrist, his eyes locked firmly onto Barbatos' optics. The senior soldier couldn't help but feel a mild shiver go up his spine as he looked into the cold, dead optics of the Gundam, though besides the mild sensation of terror, it confirmed Moblit's suspicious rather well as he nodded. 'Without Mikazuki Augus… it's nothing more than that. So we shouldn't be too wary of it-'
"A-Amazing!" proclaimed Hanji, inadvertently snapping Moblit out if his thoughts just in time to see his Captain stop right in front of Barbatos and looking up into its lifeless eyes. And as if she had just flipped a switch within her assistant, Moblit was quick to forget about almost everything he had thought about and leap up a few inches into the air. Gundam Barbatos may be nothing more than a mere machine, but knowing Hanji, she'd somehow find a way to hurt herself while performing research on it, and as her assistant, Moblit refused to allow that to happen!
"Hanji!" proclaimed Moblit, rushing towards his captain, though as per usual, the woman in question didn't acknowledge him as she raised her brow when she saw how Barbatos' optics lacked the green glow that was present during a majority of the time when it was active, though she didn't think much of it as she moved on to examine the unit with great interest, with Moblit right behind her, pleading for her to exercise caution, all the while.
Many things were noteworthy about this Gundam, and though it was visually stunning, Hanji found the true beauty of the thing to come from what was not so easily seen, with an example being the 170mm Autocannons that were on the underside of the unit's forearm. Examining it closely, Hanji noticed how several parts seemed to be able to move in conjunction to one another, and the thing seemed capable of semi-auto fire thanks to an auto shell ejection slot near the back of the Autocannon. A semi-auto cannon as big as this was unheard of within the walls, and to see it for herself, well… it was certainly quite an experience.
Hanji was also quick to notice the Land Boosters that were attached to both sides of the Gundam's waist. Staring up at the one closest to her, Zoe, against the protests of her assistant, pressed her hand against its side and examined it closely. If she recalled, Barbatos used these in conjunction with five other boosters to propel itself forward at breakneck speeds, though if she had to make a guess, these Land Boosters were the main contributing factor to the immense speed of the Gundam.
Frowning as she found herself discontent with staying on the ground whilst examining the Gundam, Hanji was quick to launch both of her Maneuver Gear wires up to the Gundam's upper arm, much to the shock of everyone present, especially Moblit who damn near had a heart attack when that happened, and hoist herself up onto its arm.
"C-Captain! Please don't be so reckless!" pleaded Moblit, widening his eyes as he spoke, to which Hanji scoffed a little as she shook her head.
"Ah shucks, Moblit, don't worry about me! Just make sure it doesn't come to life and grab me, alright?" joked Hanji, sticking her tongue out and giving the peace sign at Moblit before turning back to Barbatos with a smile, all while ignoring all the infuriated and bewildered looks of the Garrison around them.
Kneeling down on one knee atop Barbatos' lower arm unit, Hanji brushed a hand across the white metal forearm of the unit. Hanji raised her brow rather quickly, however, when she noticed how the white paint on the Gundam felt much different from the paint used by the soldiers or even civilians. The texture was much… rougher than she was used to, and overall, it felt more resilient.
Narrowing her eyes at that, Hanji was quick to smirk as she got an idea, a horribly one at that. And, before her more sane side could stop her, the woman was quick to unsheath one of her Anti-Titan blades and swing it dramatically off to the side, much to the shock of everyone who could see her.
"Captain?!" proclaimed Moblit, unsure of what his senior was doing at first, though as soon as he saw Zoe raise her weapon up, realization dawned upon him as he widened his eyes and held an arm up in hopes of her listening. "C-CAPTAIN, WAIT!"
And at that, Hanji swung her blade down, in turn causing a massive CLANG to be heard. Everyone shielded their ears at that, not having expected the reverb from the Anti-Titan blade striking the armour of Barbatos creating such a loud sound, though as soon as they recovered, they heard another sound.
A mild ting, and upon hearing that, everyone turned to see part of Hanji's Anti-Titan blade fall onto the ground, with Hanji now holding a snapped Anti-Titan blade in her hands and with eyes that were rather wide in amazement.
What followed were a few seconds of silence as everyone processed what had just happened, and upon acknowledging all that, Hanji was quick to gape in amazement at the durability of the Gundam's armour. Anti-Titan blades were made from a super hard alloy, with said alloy, no matter how thin, being rather difficult to break. Hell, even clashing them against each other at their weakest points wouldn't do much more than dent it a little.
Yet… the metal that was used to forge Barbatos' outer armour was durable enough to snap the blade apart. Such durability was impressive indeed… and it was also terrifying.
"H-Hanji…! Are you alright?!" proclaimed Moblit, his worry causing him to temporarily forget about formalities as he spoke, to which Zoe replied with a chuckle as she flung the snapped Anti-Titan blade stump off its handle, with said stump landing on the ground with a mild cling, before turning to face her assistant.
"Yeah, I am. I'm just a little… taken aback by this thing is all," assured Hanji, and at that, Moblit sighed as he used that to his advantage.
"Well perhaps you'd wanna-"
"Come down?! NEVER!"
Well… nevermind…
"You think that the Captain would be tired after the latest bout of tests she did on the other two, hm?" quipt a Garrison standing guardas she crossed her arms, raising a brow when she saw the Captain in question crawled up onto the shoulder of the Gundam, standing atop it and stomping her feet onto its 'shoulderpad' out of curiosity, only to wince when said 'shoulderpad' shifted a little from the force.
"Heh, there's no telling when it comes to Hanji these days," countered another Garrison, waving his comrade off as he smiled and stared at the Gundam. "But she's seen so many Titans in her lifetime that I'm honestly not surprised that she ditched Sawney and Bean as quickly as she did for the… uh… what was it again? Gundam Barbatos?"
At that, the first soldier scoffed a little as she rolled her eyes, partially agreeing with her fellow soldier as she glanced over and shook her head.
Sawney and Bean… those were the names that were given to the two Titans that were captured during the Trost incident, with the former being a four metre while the latter was seven. Sawney was captured after Gundam Barbatos, perhaps unintentionally, sliced off all his limbs and left him nothing more than a limbless beast while Bean had been pinned down by the Gundam's Longsword… and the Longsword was still lodged in the seven metre's back even now.
Seeing as how Bean was quite literally stuck and unable to be moved, the Military Brigades opted to build their concealment tent around where the Titan was stuck at. How they got Sawney there is beyond anyone's comprehension, though regardless, they had two captured Titans to study, so it was all good in the military's eyes.
As one would expect, with no way to perform research on Barbatos at the time, Hanji rushed to perform experiments on the two captured Titans. No one dared stop her, knowing that her wrath would be swift and painful if they did, and besides, even if they did have a mind to stop the Titan pervert, none of them would have gotten on with it as Zoe was probably the most knowledgeable when it came to Titans. Thus far, Hanji has confirmed that Sawney seemed immune to pain whilst Bean was able to operate for extended periods of time even when deprived of sunlight, with the former discovery being rather mundane, though the latter was noteworthy enough to be catalogued by a few soldiers.
By all means, Hanji would have done more research on Sawney and Bean, though a new opportunity had presented itself before she could do so, and she couldn't resist the urge to see Gundam Barbatos up close and personal, which led to the present, with her now standing atop the Gundam's head, holding onto its one remaining v-fin to keep herself from falling as she did so, much to Moblit's terror.
"C-Captain!" proclaimed Moblit, the fear in his voice incredibly apparent as he yelled. Likewise, everyone else seemed either horrified by Hanji's boldness or outright shocked that she even managed to climb up to the top of the Gundam's head without them noticing until now. Such skill…
"What?" replied Hanji with a raised brow as she vaulted over Barbatos' head, terrifying everyone once more with that bold move, only for them to calm down a little when the woman's rear rested against the Gundam's crest, allowing her to sit down atop the unit's head with a content smile, resting her arm against the unbroken crest of the Gundam as she spoke. "I'm just performing some research!"
"The research part is debatable at best, but even if you were performing research, doing that is one thing, but resting atop the head of the most dangerous weapon within these walls is another!" countered Moblit, to which Hanji scoffed and had a good look around the place from her new vantage point, content with ignoring her assistant's warnings as she looked around with a smile.
Hanji was quick to notice how the tent didn't seem large enough to fully conceal Barbatos, however, as from where she sat, she could peek over the edge of the erected tent with little issue. It was rather nice to be as high up as she was right now, though she was quick to dismiss that when she looked down and saw… the opened cockpit of the Gundam.
"Oh?" quipt Hanji, raising a brow as she slid off the Gundam's head. Landing atop its collar, the woman raised a brow as she crouched down low to peek into the cockpit, only for her eyes to widen when she saw what was within it. "Oh my!"
To call the interior of the Gundam's cockpit incredibly interesting to Hanji Zoe would be quite the understatement. No, the bespectacled woman was quite literally foaming at the mouth when she saw the wonder of engineering that was the cockpit of the ASW-G-08.
The numerous monitors, levers, switches and control panels, while incredibly familiar to its pilot, were all incredibly alien to Hanji, so much so that viewing them was enough to make the woman shudder a little in awe as she examined every nook and cranny of the cockpit. And yet… an examination was not enough to satisfy Hanji's lust for knowledge, it seems, as within seconds, the young woman vaulted over the edge of Barbatos' collar and dropped down into its cockpit, much to the dismay of everyone who saw what happened and the terror of Moblit, who had nearly fainted by then, though he kept himself together as he yelled for his Captain, though unfortunately for him, Hanji had tuned out basically everything at that moment just to focus on the interior of the Gundam's cockpit.
The cockpit chair was shockingly comfortable, all things considered, with Hanji requiring very little shifting to make herself comfortable. It was probably a chair that was made to accommodate people of all sizes, Zoe reckoned, and once she was comfortable atop it, the woman examined the cockpit more closely.
Leaning forward as she brushed a hand across the main monitor of the cockpit, Hanji narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the digital screen. Such an advanced piece of tech seemed so… alien to the woman, and she couldn't help but allow her curiosity to take over as she rapped the back of her palm against it. When nothing happened, the woman disregarded it and turned her attention towards the controllers and steppers within the cockpit.
Focusing more on the controllers first, Hanji extended her hands forward and grabbed onto them. Adjusting her grips on the controllers, she shifted her arms back and forth a little, in turn causing the controllers to extend back and forth in the process. Zoe blinked in wonder at that, and said wonder only grew when she noticed several buttons that were located near the controllers. The woman pressed down on them without thinking, though disappointingly, nothing happened.
"Aw man…" muttered Hanji, sighing as she slouched a little at the lack of anything happening thus far. As she released the controllers, however, the woman found herself leaning back in the cockpit chair, and as soon as her back hit the back of the chair, the woman felt a sharp pain near her upper spine, prompting her to squeak out in pain and jolt forward in shock. "Eep?! A booby trap?!"
Turning to have a look at what had poked her, the woman fully expected a booby trap to be the thing that struck her, though much to her surprise, it wasn't a spike that had hit her, but instead a strange looking 'tube' that was located near the upper portion of the cockpit seat. Extending her hand towards it, Hanji brushed it against the thing out of curiosity as she narrowed her bespectacled eyes.
"... what in the world is this…?" muttered Hanji, silently lamenting how her knowledge of this thing was so limited as she brushed her hand against the small 'tube'. And at that, it struck her.
If there was one person that knew more about Gundam Barbatos than her…
"MOBLIT!" proclaimed Hanji as she stood up and poked her upper body out of the Gundam's cockpit, though from the ground, everyone could only see her poke her head as she spoke, though it was enough to relieve most of them as they realized that she was still alive.
"C-Captain! Are you well?!" inquired Moblit worriedly as Hanji gave a thumbs up, much to his relief, though said relief was quickly squashed when she continued speaking.
"I'm pretty good, but my mind is starving for more info! And I know the one who can satiate its hunger!" proclaimed Hanji, hoisting herself out of the Gundam's cockpit as she spoke. Moblit, alongside the other soldiers present, were confused as to what she meant, though not long after, she continued, and by then, Moblit was able to connect the dots and he blinked in apprehension.
"Pack your things, Moblit! We're going to meet Team Mike!"
Elsewhere, Wall Rose
He knew that he's always wanted this, though even with that in mind… Nac couldn't help but feel scared at the prospect of becoming a Survey Corp.
The things he's seen on the battlefield were… horrifying, to say the least, with the copious amount of death being enough to make him pale more than a little even now. He didn't know if he wanted to go through all that again, and yet… the Cadet knew that he was already in too deep to turn back now.
"You alright there, Nac…?"
Blinking as he was called, the tall Cadet in question perked up as he turned to glance down at Mina, who was staring up at him with a small, uneasy smile, to which Tias offered one in return, though it didn't seem too genuine as he nodded and crossed his arms.
"Yeah. Just… thinking about stuff," assured Nac, pinching the bridge of his nose a little as he spoke. Releasing it, the tall guy shook his head and glanced around the place they were in with apprehension. Currently, the two of them, alongside all the remaining members of the 104th Cadet Corps that managed to survive the Trost Incident, were grouped up in a large auditorium.
More of a massive field with a rather well made stage near the front, the auditorium's history dated all the way back to the formation of the Military Brigade, being the area where all soldiers were transferred to their chosen military branch upon graduation. Even now, it was being used for that purpose, though even so… things were moving along much slower for the Graduation ceremony for the 104th Trainee Brigade.
Due to the manpower that was required to be redistributed to help quell civil unrest in the aftermath of the Trost incident, the soldiers from all three Brigades that were chosen to speak to the Cadets regarding their graduation were unable to attend the ceremony or were outright killed in action. If all had proceeded according to plan, the Cadets would've been assigned to their respective branches by now. As things were, they had to simply wait here until someone came to get the ceremony back on track.
"Oh… well, sorry about that, then. Didn't mean to butt in on your thinking," apologised Mina, smiling at Nac with closed eyes as she gestured at him with an opened palm. Nac chuckled a little at that before he nudged her shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, don't sweat it. It's probably for the best if I didn't think much anyways…" assured Nac with a gentle smile, attempting to reassure Mina as he chuckled. At that, Mina nodded as she glanced around the place with apprehension, and though it was subtle, that already small smile on her face dropped a little more when she saw the state of her fellow Cadets.
The still lingering fear was rather apparent in the eyes of her fellow Cadets, and the general atmosphere of the entire auditorium was incredibly depressing, so much so that it was enough to make even Mina feel incredibly down as she crossed her arms sadly. She wasn't used to this, to say the least. Though her Trainee days weren't always the brightest, things never got this depressing. The general atmosphere of the place was comparable to a graveyard, and though that probably wasn't too inaccurate, Mina really wished that it wasn't the case.
"Do you feel… scared too?" muttered Nac after some time, to which Mina raised a brow as she snapped out of her minor trance and glanced over at her taller friend, who blinked in confusion, prompting Nac to explain himself. "After everything we've seen… I can't say I'm as thrilled as I was before at joining the Survey Corps…"
"I know how you feel, trust me…" assured Mina as she placed a hand up on her friend's shoulder, prompting him to raise his brow. "We've seen people die left and right during the Trost incident… and a lot of them were our friends too. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified of joining the Survey Corps now, but… we made our choice, haven't we? We made a promise before we even became Cadets."
"You can always change your mind."
Raising their brows at the unexpected intrusion, both Mina and Nac glanced off to the side to see Annie Leonhardt approach them with her usual stride, her gaze reflecting her usual emotion of complete neutrality, though some hints of worry did shine through as she moved to stand in front of her friends with her brows lowered and a frown on her face.
"P-Pardon me?" muttered Nac, sounding rather uncertain as he slouched his shoulders, to which Annie scoffed as she crossed her arms. For someone as bright as him, the guy really was quite a dense one.
"You don't have to join the Survey Corps," reiterated Annie, frowning as she spoke, prompting her two friends to look at her as though she were crazy as she shook her head. Kids, both of them… even after that trial through fire, these two were still kids at heart.
"But… we made a promise, didn't we? We said that if we could, we'd all join the Survey Corps together," muttered Mina, clasping her hands together as she spoke, though at that, Annie could only scoff as she shook her head.
"It was made nearly five years ago. You don't have to keep it. If you don't think you're up for it, then just join the Garrison. It's… it's the safer alternative..." muttered Annie, some emotion spilling into her voice as she spoke, and at that, Nac couldn't help it. He wasn't the kind to poke fun at others, though he wasn't above teasing his own friends from time to time, prompting him to step forward and gently punch Annie's shoulder.
"So you do care for us," teased Nac in an attempt to lighten the mood, prompting Annie to redden a little as she slouched a little, confirming the taller boy's suspicions all the while, though unbeknownst to him, her reasonings ran much deeper than mere worry.
"I do… but… you two saw what happens to soldiers out there. How easily they die," countered Annie, narrowing her eyes at her taller friend, who shuddered a little as he finished processing that.
"We did… but we can't just turn back now. We're set on this… and… and Mika's waiting for us too," retorted Nac, and at that, Annie snorted as she looked between Mina and Nac as she shook her head, bewildered that they still had their minds set on joining the Scouts, even now.
"Knowing him, he'd be happier with the two of you joining the Garrison," pointed out Annie, and at that, her gaze softened just a little as she looked between her two friends, crossing her arms tightly as she sighed and shook her head. "You two… are you willing to risk your lives just for this lost cause? To… to die for an impossible goal?"
"I… we…" began Nac, only to trail off when he realized that he had no proper answer to that. His heart told him yes, but his brain said otherwise. He didn't want to die… but at the same time, to perhaps contribute even a little to mankind's victory… that was something that he would, perhaps reluctantly, sacrifice himself for.
Annie was quick to narrow her eyes at Nac, shaking her head after some time. The guy really was a naive piece of work, with a heart of gold but a childish mindset. Four years of ruthless training didn't change his heart one bit, and for as good as that was off the field, she doubted that he'd last a full minute against a horde of Titans, even when assisted by Barbatos.
"What if we do?" inquired Mina, and at that, both Nac and Annie perked up and glanced at their friend in varying levels of shock, neither having expected her to speak up, much less say what she just said. Hell, even Mina seemed surprised that she said such a thing, though she kept her voice as steady as it could be she continued. "We… we already gave our lives to the cause when we became Trainees, so I don't see any problem with dying for it."
"Is that so?" asked Annie, narrowing her eyes at her slightly taller friend as she spoke. Mina noticeably cowered a little under that glare of hers, though she didn't back down as she nodded rigidly, to which Leonhardt hardened her gaze enough to make Nac flinch. "Then why? Do you not value your life?"
"I do…" piped up Mina, clenching her hand into a fist and raising it up to her chest as she did.
"Then why do you want to throw it away like that? Just for a slim chance of pushing mankind a tiny bit forward," continued Annie, taking a few steps closer to Mina as she spoke, only stopping when her face was an inch or two away from Carolina's, allowing the twintailed girl to see just how serious the blonde was as she gulped, though she didn't falter more than that as she replied.
"Because… because even if it's just a slim chance of it happening… I want to help humanity achieve a brighter tomorrow," replied Mina, clenching her fists and raising them up to her chest as she spoke. Annie winced a little at that, having acknowledged how naive that reasoning was, and how some fear was present in her voice. And yet, the seriousness in Carolina's tone and the determination in her eyes was impossible to ignore. "If we can make the world safer for the people… for mum, then I'd gladly die for that…
"You're so naive, even now…" muttered Annie, shaking her head in well meaning disapproval as she stepped away from her slightly taller friend. Mina smiled a little at that, though that smile was probably more of relief of her blonde friend respecting her personal space more than anything.
"Heh… thanks," muttered Mina, offering a half smile as she sighed in relief. Nac too sighed in relief, glad that the tension between the two ladies had died down, though before he could try and ease it further, he noticed how Mina was glancing in the general direction of Trost, with her half smile faltering a little as she did so. "And… well… I… I really want to know how Mika's holding up too…"
"He'll be fine," assured Annie, crossing her arms as she spoke, and though he was probably imagining it, Nac thought that he heard some hints of fear in her voice as she spoke. "Especially with… that thing…"
"Gundam Barbatos, wasn't it?" muttered Nac, opting to chalk Annie's fearful tone up to her still being wary of that 'Mobile Suit' as he spoke. "It seems… powerful, to say the least."
"Yeah. I… I wonder what it really is. I don't think Mika told Zachary everything about Barbatos back then," said Mina, glancing up at Nac, who nodded in agreement as he rubbed his chin.
"Mika isn't really the smartest…" pointed out Nac, to which Mina elbowed him in the stomach as he winced, though he got over it quickly as he continued. "But even he's smart enough to not reveal everything to Zachary."
"Do you think that he'll reveal it to us?" muttered Annie apprehensively, to which Mina offered her most genuine smile as she nodded, holding a fist up to chest level as she did so.
"I'm sure he will. Mika trusts us… I know he does. He'll tell us," assured Mina, smiling as she made eye contact with Nac, who offered a smile and a thumbs up in agreement. "We just need to ask him about it and I'm sure that he'll reply."
"Well, whatever he says, make sure to mail it to me," quipt Annie, muttering the last few words as she unintentionally reminded her friends about her decision to join the Military Police Brigade, and at that, Mina and Nac noticeably slouched a little, prompting Annie to frown a little deeper as she opted to quickly change the subject. "Hey… what do you think Mika's doing right now…?
And at that, both of her friends perked right back up, prompting Annie to snort in amusement. These two were so easy to manipulate, and Leonhardt reckoned that if she pulled on their strings hard enough, she could use them to help accomplish what she wished to do in the foreseeable future, though she didn't wish to pull it that far. She may have been a monster in a literal sense, though to bring her friends down with her if she fell was something even she wasn't comfortable with.
"I'm sure he's fine. Nothing phases Mika, y'know?" piped up Mina, raising an index finger up as she spoke, to which Annie huffed at.
"You can't be so sure," retorted Annie.
"I feel like you may have jinxed it."
"You wanna bet on that?"
Elsewhere
Mika didn't like to believe in luck.
On the field, luck had very little effect on the outcome of a battle, often taking a backseat to skill. The more skilled you were in battle, the higher your chances of success were.
And yet, off the field, luck played a bigger part in the daily lives of so many people, and evidently…
"I do hope we can get along, Mikazuki Augus!"
… Mika's luck ran out quite some time ago. It was as though someone jinxed it, though he wouldn't bet too much on it as he slouched over a little and focused on riding his horse. Hanji Zoe was certainly not making things easy for him, however, as she rode her horse very close to his, almost uncomfortably close, as she attempted to speak with him. Moblit, bless his soul, was at least trying to pull Hanji away, though his efforts were for naught as Zoe stuck next to Augus like glue.
Glancing behind himself, Mika narrowed his eyes when he saw that the entirety of Squad Mike were following Hanji, Moblit and himself on horseback, though they seemed to be deliberately trotting on at a slower pace. Upon noticing his gaze, more than half of Team Mike appeared sheepish, though Mike simply gave Mika a look that said "Sorry kid but you're on you're own for now", much to the boy's irritation as he turned his attention back forward, tuning out Hanji's questions as he did so.
"I had a look around Barbatos earlier today! It's truly a marvel of engineering! Tell me, how was it made?!"
Several minutes prior, Hanji Zoe had quite literally burst into the Trost Refueling Station while the entirety of Team Mike, plus Mika and several unnamed Garrison soldiers, were managing the repairs on the station. Their combined efforts allowed them to fix a small portion of the station within a handful hours, though as luck would have it, their repair work was interrupted when Hanji, accompanied by Moblit, burst into the station and asked (begged) Mike for his permission to borrow/kidnap Mika for some questioning in Barbatos' holding tent.
"Those things on its forearms… are those cannons?! How did you shrink a cannon down to that size?!"
Though reluctant, having heard of Hanji's unfortunate reputation when it came to research, Mika ultimately had no choice in the matter. Mike was calling the shots, and when he gave Hanji the greenlight, she had quite literally housed the boy up over her head and attempted to kidnap him. Thankfully the combined efforts of Team Mike and Moblit allowed them to halt her attempted kidnapping, and after she had calmed down, she opted to just bring Augus to the tent on horseback, however reluctantly.
The soldiers had equipped their Maneuver Gear before they departed, with Mike offering a set to Mikazuki in spite of the protests from some of his teammates. Before they left, however, the pilot had been instructed by Tomas to wear his newly received Survey Corp jacket. When asked by Lynne, Tomas simply said that it was just a hunch that made him ask the pilot to do so.
"I was in its chest for a while and I noticed a strange tube near the upper segment of the chair! What exactly is that, anyways?"
And all of that ultimately led here, with Mika slowly but surely being irritated to the point of genuine anger by Hanji's constant questioning. Off to the side, Moblit was doing his best to urge Zoe to save the questions for later, though he was readily ignored. Rather unfortunately, Team Mike knew better than to step in, knowing that Hanji would throw a fit of legendary proportions if they did, though at the same time…
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Henning?" muttered Gelgar, leaning close to his comrade's ear as he spoke, prompting Henning to chuckle.
"I want to see him crack. That stoney mask of his has to give way eventually. Ten bucks says he gives in within the next few minutes," quipt Henning, smiling a little as he spoke, though before Gelgar could chastise him for his childishness, Nanaba beat him to the punch, both verbally and physically, as she thumped him over the head.
"You're such a child, Henning," chastised Nanaba, sounding somewhere between disappointed and amused as she glanced at her Commander, who appeared disinterested in the whole thing as she did so. "Commander, should we intervene?"
"I agree with Nanaba. I know he's abnormal, but no one deserves to listen to Hanji yell into their ear for as long as he has," agreed Tomas, sounding rather sympathetic as he glanced at Mika, who was reaching into his pocket as he did. Similarly, Lynne appeared rather empathetic to Mika's current ordeal as she glanced at her Commanding officer. "With your permission, we-"
"Leave them be," ordered Mike, and at that, though reluctant, a majority of his subordinates did as they were told with little resistance, with Henning smirking rather victoriously as he chuckled, only to be slapped in the back of the head by Gelgar, though unbeknownst to them…
'I wonder how this will end…' thought Mike, watching in amusement as Mika pulled a small black object out of his Survey Corp jacket's pocket. Turning towards Hanji, Augus narrowed his eyes as he waited for the right moment, and when it came, he tossed the black thing into Hanji's opened mouth, prompting her to stop her questioning for a brief moment and gasp.
At that, Team Mike tensed up, having assumed that Mika may have done something to Hanji. Though she was an irritating gremlin of a woman, Team Mike, their Commander especially, knew of Zoe's value to the Survey Corps, and if something were to happen to her, they'd risk lose one of their greatest assets in this war, though even then, they held back briefly to make sure that they wouldn't deprive mankind of their strongest asset on accident.
Holding back seemed to be the right choice, however, as within a few seconds, Hanji was chewing whatever Mika had thrown into her mouth, going silent as she did so, and within seconds, she swallowed it before slapping both sides of her face in glee.
"W-What was that?!" demanded Hanji, stars now visible in her eyes as she glanced at Mika, who didn't reply as he rode on, and at that Team Mike only looked on in disbelief.
"What the fuck just happened?" muttered Henning, with him looking at Gelgar, who appeared just as lost as he was. Hell, even Mike seemed a little confused at what just happened, though before long, he snorted as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.
"What a strange one you are, kid," muttered Mike, rubbing his chin as he spoke.
A short while later
It took a short while, though before long, Team Mike, Hanji, Moblit and Mikazuki reached the tent that shielded Barbatos from the public, with Augus tossing raisins at Hanji to shut her up as often as she could.
A waste, sure, though it was better than the alternative, which was to listen to her bicker on endlessly.
The small group entered the enclosure with little issue, with each member of Team Mike flashing their written letters, having been given to them by a messenger sent by Erwin the day prior. Mika himself took a moment to reach into his Survey Corp jacket and pull it out, having to weave his fingers through the leftover raisins in his pocket before he could pull the letter out, much to the amusement of the varying members of Team Mike.
"... you're clear," muttered the guard after she made sure that Mika's letter was authentic, though he didn't seem to be convinced that the kid whom he was speaking to was given permission to see the most dangerous weapon within these Walls. Even so, they had enough faith in Commander Mike to not question all this, even if their gaze did linger on the pilot for a short moment as they walked past them.
"It probably would've went a lot worse if you didn't wear the Survey Corp jacket," pointed out Tomas, smirking a little as he nudged Mika's elbow cheekily, though the pilot offered no response to him outside of a mild snort, much to Tomas' bemusement, though he didn't press the matter any further as he continued on. "You're quite a killjoy, aren't ya?"
Still no response, to which Tomas simply rolled his eyes and decided to just drop it, prompting the pilot to huff in apparent relief as he followed his seniors into the tent surrounding Barbatos, and as soon as he stepped in, the pilot couldn't help but offer a small smile when he saw his Gundam kneeling in front of him.
"Barbatos," greeted Mika, stopping in his tracks as he took a moment to look his Gundam in the eye. It may have been just a hunk of metal, a weapon, to everyone else present, though to Mikazuki, this thing was a friend, so to speak, and it was nice to see that it was untouched by the soldiers that were guarding it. At least, not visibly damaged by them, anyways.
"So that's the Gundam, huh? Not too shabby," admitted Henning in apparent approval, prompting Lynne to smirk as she nodded in agreement. Glancing off to the side, Lynne raised an eyebrow when she saw what appeared to be a massive piece of scrap that was resting on the ground not too far from the Gundam, piquing her interest quite a bit as she approached it to have a closer look, with Henning following her all the while.
At the same time, Tomas rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he eyed the unit with wonder, narrowing his eyes when he noticed a strange flower-like symbol etched into the side of the Gundam's blue arm shields. Out of curiosity, the soldier approached it for a closer look, leaving Mike, Gelgar and Nanaba behind as he did so.
Mike made no move to stop any of his subordinates, seeing no reason to restrain them too much, and simply opted to just stare up at the Gundam with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed. The general appearance of the Gundam didn't really interest Mike too much as, unlike most others, Zacharius already knew of its general appearance and capabilities, though the thing that did catch his attention were the many damaged bits of the Gundam.
Mikazuki had claimed that the Gundam was not a Titan, and though skeptical at first, seeing the unit up close did allow Mike to acknowledge that the guy wasn't lying. If this were a Titan, its damaged portions would've healed up by now, something which couldn't be said for that damaged horn atop its head, the massive slash wound on its forearm shield and the hundreds, if not thousands, of cuts and dents that riddled its body.
That confirmation was nice, to say the least, though it did bring up one other question that, frankly speaking, unsettled Mike.
'For as sturdy as it is, something managed to inflict these injuries upon the Gundam… but what…?'
"Commander…?" muttered Nanaba, glancing over at Mike as she spoke, snapping Mike out of his minor trance as he glanced over at his subordinate, to which Nanaba appeared somewhat relieved as she smiled just a little. "You spaced out a little there. It's not common."
"Hm. yeah, I was just thinking about stuff," apologised Mike, smiling just a little as he chuckled a little. Nanaba truly was something else, with the young lady being spatially aware enough to notice the less noticeable emotions that Mike would show from time to time. Most impressive, and it was something that not many could claim to do.
"I see. Well, I apologise for interrupting," apologised Nanaba, sounding just a little sheepish as she spoke. At that, however, Mike smiled and shook his head just a little as he replied.
"No need to worry," assured Mike, only to turn to Gelgar when he spoke up.
"Hmph, well it ain't too shabby. Though that Gusion he told me about seems cooler," admitted Gelgar, prompting both Mike and Nanaba to look at him in confusion as the pompadour haired man raised a brow. "Erm… what?"
"What does a cushion have to do with all this?" asked Nanaba, genuinely confused, to which Gelgar stepped back in shock as he looked at her with widened eyes.
"Eh?! No no! Gusion!" corrected Gelgar without thinking, piquing both Mike and Nanaba's curiosity as he explained himself. "Mika told me about it, I think. I… don't remember much cos, erm…"
"Because you were drunk?" quipt Mike, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, prompting Gelgar to redden in embarrassment as he continued.
"P-Perhaps… but besides the point. I just remember him telling me about another one of these things… he called it Gusion," continued Gelgar, and at that, Nanaba and Mike glanced briefly at each other, finding this new piece of information both worrying and intriguing, before they looked back at the pompadour haired man.
"Do you remember him telling you anything else?" inquired Nanaba, and at that, Gelgar slapped the side of his forehead as he attempted to recall more details.
"N-No… memory's still fuzzy," apologised Gelgar, frowning as he spoke. "Just something about a Chocolate Man… and the number 72… though I'm not sure what those things really mean. Sorry, sir."
"Hm, no, thank you, Gelgar. I'll look more into this another time," assured Mike, placing a hand on his subordinate's shoulder as he spoke. At that, the pompadour haired man smirked rather proudly as Mike huffed a little and removed his hand from his shoulder, silently chuckling at Gelgar's straightforward self all the while.
"Heh, any time, Commander," assured Gelgar as the three of them looked back at the Gundam, only to raise their brows when they saw Mikazuki standing directly in front of it, with a hand resting against the left shin of the unit. The pilot brushed his hand against the Gundam's shin rather delicately as he stared at the white armour, and the look in his eyes told Mike that the pilot wasn't doing this just for fun. If anything, it almost looked as though he was greeting a friend.
"Mikazuki!"
Rather unfortunately for the pilot, however, his little moment was cut short when Hanji called out for him, prompting the guy in question to glance up and raise a brow when he saw that the bespectacled woman was already up on the Gundam's chest. How she got up there so quickly and quietly was beyond his comprehension, though he didn't question it too much as he walked into view and stared up at her.
"How did you get up so quickly?" asked Mika, opting to get that off his chest as quickly as possible as he stared up at Hanji, who offered a "psh" as she waved his question off into the abyss, disappointing many of the soldiers present who also wished to know how she got up there so quickly all the while.
"No time for questions, Mika, just get your ass up here! I wanna see how this works!" rebutted Hanji, prompting Mika to roll his eyes a little as he took a step back and fired both Maneuver Gear anchors up onto his Gundam's chest. Said anchors latched onto it firmly, and with a single strong tug accompanied by a powerful leap, Mika flung himself up into the air and landed in front of Hanji, who nodded in approval. "Not bad for a rookie."
No response from Mika as he just raised a brow, not bothering to even process Hanji's comment as he tugged on the Maneuver Gear attached to his waist. Everyone present, including Hanji herself, felt rather confused at first, though after a second, Zoe felt a gear in her head click into place as she stepped towards Mika.
"Hey, is that really a-" began Hanji, only to be silenced when Mika's Maneuver Gear detached from his waist and dropped down towards the ground, knocking against the edge of the Gundam's chest before hitting terra firma. "-smart thing to do…"
"You wanted to see how it works. I won't fit in if it was removed," explained Mika, short and simple as he continued on to remove his Survey Corp jacket. As soon as it was off, the pilot coiled it up and tossed it into his unit's cockpit, all the while allowing Hanji a good look at his muscles.
By all means, though she wasn't exactly one to be impressed, she had to admit, Mika had a strong set of arms attached to his body. With muscles that seemed comparable to even Levi, the kid looked as though he could hoist Hanji up above his head with very little issue if he wanted to.
And yet, the thing that caught Hanji's eye, more than just how ripped Mika looked, were the three spike-like things that were on his upper back. Tearing her gaze away from his muscles for a brief moment, the woman narrowed her eyes at those spikes as she tired to figure out what they were, though before she could even form a proper conclusion, Mika shifted his body, in turn causing his spines to disappear from view, and sat down on the edge of the cockpit hatch.
"Your face is red, Glasses," pointed out Mika before he slid into the cockpit hatch, to which Hanji gave a mild "Eh?" before he sat down on the cockpit chair. The pilot shifted around a little as he got comfortable, and by the time he was settled, Hanji had mostly gotten over her first viewing of his muscles and was refocused on the task at hand, as evident by how she crouched down and peeked into the cockpit. "You said you wanted to see how it works."
"Yep!" confirmed Hanji, smiling as she spoke.
"You'll want to get off. If I shake you off then it's your fault that you die," urged Mika, sounding indifferent to Hanji falling off Barbatos' chest as he shifted a handful of the controllers to make sure that they weren't jammed up. The unit was sturdy, though a bit of checking wouldn't hurt. Rather unfortunately, however, whilst he was checking on the unit's functionality, Mika didn't notice how Hanji was flashing a devilish grin as she rubbed her chin.
"I have a better idea…" muttered Hanji, and for a split second, Mika felt a shiver go up his spine as he instinctively glanced up at his senior, and for the first time in his life, he felt unrestrained terror when he saw Hanji quite literally leap up into the air before she came crashing down onto him.
Or more specifically, onto his lap.
Now, Mikazuki wasn't one to admit to feeling pain, but even he would at least wince when a 60 kilogram woman crashed down onto his soft spot, though to his credit, he didn't yell out in pain when Hanji slammed her butt down onto his lap.
No, instead he just had to hold back the urge to close the cockpit up and rip Hanji to shreds for attempting to ruin his manhood by force, though he managed to hold it in, albeit just barely, as he sighed.
"..." no words escaped Mika's mouth as he glared at Hanji for doing such a dumb thing, though in response, the woman smirked and gave a thumbs up as she got herself comfortable on Mika's lap, leaning her back against Mika's left forearm while she propped her legs up above his right. Her left arm was slung around the pilot's neck for support, and her right was propped up against his thigh in a rather uncomfortable manner, though the pilot didn't think much on it as he glared at the lady.
"Well, here I am! If you wanna view the action, you may as well view it as close as possible!" proclaimed Hanji cheekily, ignoring the glare that Mika was giving her, as she spoke. Said glare was maintained for a few seconds before Mika shook his head and leaned back against the cockpit chair, connecting himself to the Gundam's Alaya Vijnana system, closing his eyes as he focused on connecting to his unit. This confused Hanji at first, though when Mika's eyes suddenly shot open, with a thin streak of blood flowing down his left nostril all the while, she admittedly felt some form of worry.
Worry at her research abruptly reaching a dead end, of course. Mika, for as impressive as his combat records were, at least based on the records given to her by Keith, was more or less redundant to Hanji, with the only thing she valued about him being his ability to control the Gundam and not much else.
Even so, Hanji wasn't completely heartless, and she was about to ask if he was alright out of basic human courtesy, though before she could, however, Mika recomposed himself, with his once pained expression replaced with his usual stoic one, with him nonchalantly wiping the blood off his face all the while.
The sight of this was enough to make Hanji raise a brow as she began to wonder… what exactly did it take to control a Gundam? If what she had just seen was anything to go by, it most certainly took a lot of willpower to control it alongside at least some pain, though said pain didn't seem to be unbearable to Mika as he shrugged it off within seconds, causing several theories to pop up in her mind as she stared at him.
'It was almost as though he was fighting the Gundam for control over its body, though considering just how easily he gained control, I reckon that he's got experience with this,' thought Hanji as the cockpit for the unit shut itself and depressurised, with the cockpit darkening quite a bit as the hatch shut itself.
Admittedly, Hanji was just a little worried. Being stuck in here wasn't exactly something she wanted happening, though before long, Zoe noticed a light off to the side, prompting her to turn towards it and widen her eyes when she saw that the once deactivated main monitor of the unit lighting up.
"Whoa…" muttered Hanji as she poked the cockpit monitor several times, only to recoil her hand when an unfamiliar symbol appeared on the monitor. Zoe stared at it in wonder as she memorised the thing closely, though Mika didn't think much on it, being rather familiar with it by now, as he patiently waited for the unit to power up.
Not long after, the symbol of Barbatos shifted towards the left, allowing the codename of the Gundam to appear with its actual name being displayed beneath it in smaller letters. ASW-G-08, Gundam Barbatos… upon seeing its codename, Hanji raised her brows in curiosity as she memorised it, though moments later, the words faded from view, with both being replaced by a radar on the left side of the screen and two bars that showed how much ammo and fuel the Gundam had to the left, both of which were dangerously low, Hanji noticed, though before she could point that out, something rather beautiful (to Hanji at least) happened.
Almost immediately after the main monitor of the cockpit had fully activated, the optic-to-cockpit visual feed came on as well, with the panoramic view allowing them to see through the optics of the Gundam. At first, it simply displayed a simple optical feed, though after tapping the main monitor a handful of times, Mika altered it to a more detailed heads up display. At that, Hanji Zoe widened her bespectacled eyes and allowed her jaw to drop as she quite literally looked through the Gundam's eyes, and it took her less than a few seconds to take note of every last detail that was visible to her all the while.
Rather unfortunately, she fidgeted a lot on Mika's lap as she moved her body around to have as close a look at the various cockpit pop ups. Thankfully for the pilot, however, he had a high tolerance to these things as he simply sighed and leaned back on his cockpit seat in irritation while Hanji leaned forward and had a look at everything, with the former acknowledging a minor sensation on his side of the Alaya Vijnana all the while.
'Yeah I know, Barbatos. I want her out too,' thought Mika as the woman in question began to go a little crazy, much to both the pilot and his Gundam's dismay.
A few seconds ago
"This thing's made from some form of high strength metal. If anything, it's probably stronger than the Super Hard Steel Alloy we use to make our blades…"
As she spoke, Lynne brushed her hand against the side of the Gundam's heavily damaged Wrench Mace, with her fingers gliding over the rusted, dented chassis of the weapon as she spoke. The weapon was laying on its side with its 'jaws' opened, allowing anyone who dared to have a closer at it to enter its exposed maw if they wished. Lynne herself was amongst those who dared to walk into the jaws of the Wrench Mace against Henning's warning.
"This blade… it seems to be more than just a simple sword," continued Lynne, rubbing her chin as she stared up at the Wrench Mace's exposed chainsaw 'tongue', narrowing her eyes at its basic structure as she spoke, with her prodding at one of its curved 'teeth' as she observed it. "Judging by its appearance, it looks as though the curved blades that line it are capable of rotating and provide a more effective cut."
"Really? Looks more like a spiked club to me," commented Henning offhandedly, prompting Lynne to roll her eyes as she stared at him with a slightly teasing gaze.
"And that's why you're ranked lowest in this team," quipt Lynne, taking a jab at her junior's lack of imagination as Henning winced in embarrassment and glared at her indignantly, to which Lynne stuck her tongue out at him. For as serious as they were on the field, these two could really be quite a handful off the field. "But regardless, this technology… it could potentially be replicated and downsized to be used by regular soldiers. We only need the proper materials and funding…"
"An Anti-Titan blade with a rotating edge? Sounds dangerous. Sign me up," quipt Henning sarcastically, not believing that such a thing could be downsized enough to be used by a human soldier as he rolled his eyes. Lynne ended up rolling her eyes as well after she acknowledged the sarcasm in her junior's voice, though before she could chastise him for it, the two of them heard something rather loud, to say the least.
The sound of shifting metal was unmistakable, and considering how loud it was, everyone present in the enclosure, and even those who were outside it, couldn't help but turn and stare at its source, the Gundam, with Lynne rushing out of the jaws of the Wrench Mace and screeching to a halt just in time to see the unit's cockpit shut itself.
"W-What did Hanji do this time…" muttered a close by soldier as she stared up at the Gundam, with most of the soldiers present on edge as they brandished their Anti-Titan blades. Hell, even the members of Team Mike had unsheathed their blades by now, though Mike seemed to be the exception to all this as he simply stared up at it in curiosity.
"I don't think Hanji did anything this time," commented Henning as he glanced over at the soldier briefly before turning back to the Gundam, narrowing his eyes intensely as he tightened his grip on his blades. The prospect of fighting this thing was something that Henning was not exactly excited about, but if he had to… he would have no choice.
The sudden activation of Gundam Barbatos' optics caught everyone off guard, and despite it still being rather bright out, the green glow of its optics was unmistakable to everyone who could see it, prompting them to step back in shock, and seconds later, steam was ejected from the several vents on the Gundam's body, knocking those who were too too close to it onto their backs all the while, with even Mike having to shield his eyes as the steam came at him hard.
"Whoa!" proclaimed Gelgar in shock as his pompadour was messed up real bad, and as soon as she recomposed herself, Nanaba grimaced and stepped forward, having instinctively assumed that the pilot was attempting hostilities towards them, though she was held back by her Commander.
"Hold," urged Mike, to which Nanaba reluctantly nodded and stepped back, still in a defensive position as she narrowed her eyes at the Gundam, ready for a tussle as she stared up at the unit, though Mike remained calm as he stared up at the unit.
And for several long moments… nothing happened.
Meanwhile
"A-Amazing… so this is what you see whenever you pilot the Gundam…?"
"Ah. The cockpit always looks like this when I'm connected to it."
At that, Hanji couldn't help but smile a little as she sat herself upright on Mika's lap, with her ponytail brushing against the bottom of the cockpit hatch all the while. As she adjusted herself on his lap, the woman slammed the top of her head into the cockpit hatch, and it was enough to make Mika snort in amusement as she held the top of her head in pain.
"Ouchie…" muttered Hanji, nursing the top of her head as she moaned in pain, though after a few seconds, she got over it as she sighed. "Jeez, this spot is much smaller than I'd like."
"You're just too tall," retorted Mika with a raised brow as Hanji pouted a little.
"Meanie… but regardless, lemme have a look, if you don't mind~" quipt Hanji, smirking as she flexed her fingers and reached for the left arm controller. Grabbing onto it, Hanji pressed down on the five buttons that were present on the controller, in turn causing the left manipulator of the unit to curl up into a fist. At the same time, a pop up on the optic to cockpit view alerted her to the fact that the left manipulator was currently clenched, prompting Hanji to blink in surprise. "Huh, convenient…"
After she acknowledged that, Hanji lifted the controller up a little, and that in turn caused the left arm unit of the Gundam to lift up into the air. Through the optic to cockpit view, Hanji saw the unit's arm raise, and it was enough to make her grin wildly.
"Amazing! To control something so advanced in such a simple way…" muttered Hanji, smiling as she shifted a bit more on Mika's lap, much to his irritation, as she shifted the left arm controller back and forth, in turn causing it to shift forward and back all the while, with its movements being accompanied by the sound of pistons shifting and gears clicking. Hanji smiled just a little wider at that, though her smile flattered a little when she noticed another button located near her index finger, almost like a gun's trigger, piqued her curiosity as she moved her finger towards it. "What's this…"
And yet, before she could press down on it, Mika almost immediately shot his hand forward to stop her from making a terrible mistake. Gasping as Mika pinched her index finger between his index and thumb, Hanji glanced over at Augus with a quirked brow as he glared at her.
"Don't touch that," warned Mika with narrowed eyes, remembering that specific trigger as being the trigger that activated the left Autocannon of his unit. He didn't exactly care if the 170mm shot hit anything, but he'd rather not get into trouble due to Hanji's childish nature. And, much to his relief, the woman sighed reluctantly as she nodded.
"Fine fine," grumbled Hanji in defeat as she rolled her bespectacled eyes and waved him off, only to glance down and smile when she noticed the steppers at the base of the cockpit. Smirking to herself, she attempted to step down on them, only for Mika to stop her once more. "Eh?"
"Don't touch those either," echoed Mika, his gaze reflecting quite a bit of annoyance as he spoke. Those steppers activated and controlled the leg units and thrusters of the Gundam, and for as entertaining as it may have been, Mika would rather not get into trouble due to Hanji sending several soldiers flying backwards with the Gundam's leg thrusters.
"Psh…" muttered Hanji, frowning as she glanced off to the side and noticed a button on the top of the arm controllers. Moving her hand towards it, she felt compelled to press down on it to satisfy her growing curiosity, only to be once more stopped by Mika.
"Definitely not that," stated Mika, and at that, Hanji growled and glared at him.
"Oh why not?! Does it make the thing explode or something?!" demanded Hanji, glaring at Mika for a change as she spoke. She didn't get a response, however, as Mika simply glared at her, and it was enough to make Zoe wince as she bit her lower lip. "Wait… does it really…?"
"What do you think?" inquired Mika, prompting Hanji to look at the button with newfound fear as she retracted her hand from it, prompting the pilot to scoff a little.
'It purges the armour for the left arm. It's probably best if that doesn't happen,' thought Mika as he sighed, raising a brow when he noticed how Hanji seemed to have deflated a little. Huh, she didn't seem too energetic now. Perhaps he could exploit this and get this issue over with…
"Are you done here?" asked the pilot, pressing his advantage as he eyed the woman apprehensively and just a little hopefully as he spoke. And, much to his dismay, Hanji almost immediately found her smile once more as she glanced at him.
"Perhaps not… I still have several theories that I'd like to confirm, like what that button does-" replied Hanji as she tapped a button near the cockpit monitor, which caused excess steam from the Gundam's vents to be forcefully expelled and sending several soldiers to be sent flying backwards in the process.
And upon hearing her, Mika sighed and leaned back on the cockpit chair.
"Fuck."
Oh dear me this was quite an odd one to write.
I had a few issues writing this, honestly, and if I'm honest it took a few redrafts before I got to this point. It's not completely to my vision of what I wanted, but hopefully it's a good read for now.
Regardless of that, I hope you enjoyed the read.
Review replies
starscreamer11: well hopefully it's been worth it
pt1oef: heh, I'm glad you thought that way!
SamBridger: I'm not raising any death flags… or am I? Who knoooooows? But regardless I'm glad you liked it, and I'll be doing my best to speed things up a little
budiankubu: it's best if you didn't think of that, trust me
Guest: dear me. To reread from chapter 1 must be an ordeal. To be honest the first handful of chapters are terribly written and I've yet to go back and rewrite them. Expect a few edits in the near future. As for your question, I usually write update any one of my stories at random, usually one update a month if possible, though considering how this is my magnum opus, for as pathetic as that is, it'll be updated more frequently.
Mark1: no problems. I'm glad you enjoyed it and heres the continuation
Spyro fanboy: well I'm glad you enjoyed the backstory stuff and here's the next one
NNN11ght: huh
Guest: heh, well I'm really glad you enjoyed all this. Me using Team Mike came more from me wanting to use his teammates more, and frankly speaking I most likely won't keep the tackle, though who knows. Things may change
Dead344156: it feels pretty good to be back, and erm… yeah admittedly I keep forgetting to mention the Alaya Vijnana spines on more than one occasion. I blame my terrible memory.
naufalrakha0104: thanks. And it's not really rare to find Gundam fics. There's probably others that're more entertaining than this.
Boshwa: we gottem boys. Another one has joined the IBO gang
Batman9117: pairings, eh? Well, let's not talk about shipping for now…
Grey Falcon Knight: I'll admit something, I originally planned for Ms Carolina to be featured here, though it endeed up being waaaay too long, so I had to cut it down. Next chapter most likely will feature her.
: yeah… slow burn amirite?
SCP-OH-FOUR-NINE: harsh words from a doctor like yourself, though I appreciate you bringing that to my attention. Admittedly my early chapters are pretty shoddy compared to my later work, which isn't saying much, though my only excuse is that I lacked a proofreader back then. I'll be editing the first few chapters before the next chapter is published, and I… uh, I look forward to your next TED Talk.
Hey do you guys know about Astral Chain? Great game.