There were two reactions from the gang in the hangar as I stepped out of my GM. The first was what I would expect given the situation, a cheer from the engineers and pilots. Lightwing even gave me a pat on the shoulder and a smile.
The second reaction was a loud groan from the Chief once he caught sight of the damaged limb of the blue and white GM. I couldn't do much but shrug at the man while being swarmed by the numerous people who were excited about my killing Char.
I guessed that the feeling over at the White Base was mostly relief by the majority but anyone that knew Sayla and Char were brother and sister would probably at least feel sorry for the girl. It did make me wonder how Amuro himself was?
The young boy hadn't responded after I killed Char. He even needed to be dragged back to the White Base. It was a rather worrying sign for our future. We still needed to assault A Bao Quo, and given the number of Aces Zeon has there it would be a tough project even if we're not dealing with Char himself anymore.
Not that he had been much of a factor given his obsession with Amuro in the original timeline. Though I imagine that even with the number of people he would've killed in that battle, Amuro taking his attention saved a lot of lives. The Damn Zeong was taking down ships as easily as it took down GMs.
Which given it was Char meant very easy.
If this fight hadn't just taken out Char, but also caused Amuro to be out for it. That would be a rather unequal trade.
But my inner thoughts weren't able to take over the world in front of me for long. Dull, along with one of the newbies, had reached down below my legs and started to carry me off into the crowd even while the Chief attempted to corral his people into quickly getting to work on my machine.
It probably wouldn't be as busy as it could be, I was the only one on this ship that had their Mobile Suit damaged in that last sortie.
I could barely keep myself steady as the duo brought me out of the hangar and quickly into the cafeteria. There wasn't anything special waiting for me, other than just more of the crew but I guess it was decided that celebrations were better held here away from delicate machine repair.
Eventually, the massive group disbanded. Being in the type of operation we were currently in, it wasn't like we could afford to have a massive party over the death of a single Ace. Even though I'm sure that was what the General had been hoping for in authorizing this trap.
"I am not surprised with this at all," Dull exclaimed to the remaining pilots. Myself, Lila, Lightwing, and two for the newbies I'll probably never bother learning the names of. "With the way you fly, it was either you killing Zeon Aces or going out in some mad daredevil-isk stunt that leaves everyone wishing we had your balls."
I chuckled.
"You've gotta be in line for a promotion," Lightwing interceded, his eyes grim. "Kill records like yours can't be ignored."
It seemed likely, but there was such a thing as too good of a kill streak as Amuro's fate in Gundam Zeta showed. I didn't want to end up House Arrested no matter how good the mansion they set me up in was. So I should probably stop being so impressive.
But there was a single ace outside of Char that needed to be killed, Gato.
Operation Stardust was utterly dependent on that loon managing to steal a Gundam. At least it did early on in the Operation. Later on, the operation became another example of Zeon(Remnants in this case) trying to drop a space colony on Earth. Killing Gato in this war would lead to Aiguille Delaz losing his only pilot of real skill.
That would cripple him, well that and the foreknowledge of the events that I had already given Sayla. The girl has too much of a conscience not to at least warn the right people of the Operation if ever came up, and she didn't. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to tell General Revils of the Operation myself.
It was the snap of Lila's fingers going off in front of my face that drew me out of my little world. She had a pair of glasses in her hands, holding the left one out to me.
"You said you wanted to have a drink with me, right?"
I blinked but took the offered glass. The rough smell of alcohol and apples filtered into my nose, I didn't need psyche powers to know what this was. My excitement was somewhat stunted by the fact we were all having a drink rather than the private affair the words alone would imply.
"Now, we should only take the one," Lightwing interceded with a dry authoritative tone. Something that made sure that I was annoyed somehow even though I agreed with him. Not that I would act on that feeling. "We're still in enemy territory, so I want us combat-ready and so hammered we can't tell which way is up?"
"We're in space. Up is subjective."
The expression Lightwing wore out matched the dry tone he'd just used. I blinked at him before clinking my glass against his good-naturedly. My direct superior merely sighed before we all descended into taking a gulp. I think I was going to miss how much I got away with messing with Lightwing versus how I'd need to interact with future squad leaders.
"Hopefully," Dull said, leaning back into his chair. "I'll be getting some action in the next sortie."
"Yeah, you've been wasting that GM Cannon away from all the Zeon Super Weapons," Lila remarked. "Maybe the answer to deafening fascists is a shoulder-mounted mech cannon?"
I could instantly tell that Lila had either a very weak constitution for drink or had managed to grab a few drinks earlier without Lightwing noticing. No normal drinker would slur their words after, that's if they don't slur naturally in their speech. Though even just being a bit tipsy would cause most to stumble over the words 'shoulder-mounted mech cannon'.
"Don't wish for shit like that," I groaned, a bit annoyed with Dull. "I have enough to deal with normal Zeon Death bots coming towards me. I don't want you jinxing me into facing anything bigger than that Mobile Armor in the last fight."
"You're just trying to hog the limelight," Dull grinned. "Next Ace we fight, I'll take the lead."
"THEY'D BE PICKING YOUR FLOATING PIECES FROM THE SUIT DEBRIS!" One of the many people in the room yelled out in response to the proclamation. But I couldn't help but cut that comment off at the knees.
"Better space debris than crashing before leaving the hangar!" I yelled back, not even knowing if it was true. But from the laughter echoing in the room afterward, I guessed it didn't matter at all.
"If you ladies are finished celebrating!" The Captain's voice broke through the chaos, his voice erupting out from speakers in the wall. "We're still in enemy territory, all pilots and crew not fresh off combat are to report to their stations or the nearest AIRLOCK!"
I couldn't help the chuckles as I watched a large portion of the crowd run out of the area like chickens being chased by the fox. But thanks to this, I was finally able to grab a quick bite to eat, some sort of horrid nutrient paste.
"Certainly put a pip into their steps," Lila smiled, "There's a trick I want to learn as I go up the ranks."
"Couldn't imagine someone as pretty as you needing it," Lightwing piped… it was somehow more awkward than anything else I could think to say. It wasn't even proper given the difference in ranks, some hanky panky was expected to happen on ships but superiors weren't meant to 'go for' those under their commands.
"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that, Sir."
Lightwing sorta sent me a glare as if I had told him to go for the woman in the first place. Meanwhile, I was more impressed by how Lila's form radiated disinterest in the man by the mere act of eating her paste. Now to me, that was a talent to cultivate, I was not good at conveying my own emotions through body language.
I did wonder if I had been misreading the signals due to this. I'd hate to think that I was being like Lightwing and not seeing it because I was too into myself. I do have more than a bit of an ego after all.
Better change the subject.
"I want some sort of chocolate flavor of this shit," I said, suddenly breaking the tension with a non sequitur.
"So many months of this bland, tasteless rubbish. I just want something chocolate… no, I want something with just a tiny bit of spice."
"It's about keeping to a strict dietary regime," Dull came in, his relief at this random subject was so clear to see that I was surprised it didn't cause a magical transformation. "See for a lot of people those sorts of spices would lead to bathroom diversions that are too irregular for proper military schedules."
This somehow managed to create a very big conversation about this topic that lasted a good ten minutes. I was surprised that we managed to waste so much time talking about nothing important. By the time I was halfway through my meal the Captain's voice once more rang out of the speakers once more, calling for me to head over to the Captain's office.
I shoved down as much of the paste as possible before getting out of my seat… but then stopped suddenly at the sound of someone talking rather loudly.
"Probably to talk about his fucking medal."
Lightwing's voice filtered through my mind, sharing some qualities with the way Lalah's voice sounded to me when I'd been exchanging with her mentally. It was especially given the lack of reaction from anyone else, making it hard for me to tell if it was Lightwing somehow accidentally projecting or myself instinctively reading his mind. Still, I would need to somehow make him feel less like I was some sort of rival and more of a friend.
Lightwing clearly had some major backer, I didn't need another powerful enemy after making one out of Lalah.
"Guys get me some leftovers to eat once I come back," I yawned, the events of the day exhausting me to the extent that standing was akin to holding a heavy box. "I'm still hungry and I don't really expect this place to stray from recycling any food without request."
"I wouldn't exactly call this food," Lila grumbled, a spoon scraping against her plate. The noise caused Lightwing to grimace "I guess if you want dried paste for later. We should comply with the Hero of the Hour."
I quickly took a quick detour for the locker room, but only to place my helmet down properly. I didn't want to waste time changing in case it was something urgent, and I think that it was improper of a soldier not to report immediately once called to a superior?
Probably should go and look at the rule book a few times.
When I finally arrived at his office, I didn't need Newtype powers to feel the rather somber mood that permeated the room. Even Captain Synapse's eyes were hard as I entered the room.
"You asked for me, Captain?"
"I'm afraid that we've developed an unforeseen problem," If this wasn't the Captain speaking I'd make some glib comment about not being psychic but that would be a lie.
"It sounds serious, sir. What can I do to help?"
"It seems there was some sort of mental backlash from Aznable's death, Ensign Ray's in a coma onboard the White Base."
"... I hate my life."
The plan was simple. So simple that I was surprised. I was to go on board the White Base, an easy task when we were flying alongside them, and help Amuro Ray wake up. See, the kid was considered to be too important for the upcoming operation to be left in a coma.
Not sure how I was supposed to wake him, outside of vague orders to attempt some sort of connection with him, given that Amuro was put into this condition by such a connection, our respective commanders seemed to think it was possible.
That combined with the stunning visions of the future I'd had made it look like I was the best chance at waking him up.
Thankfully, I hadn't brought up the better idea of having a fully grown woman flash him. I felt that such a comment would've been rude… and probably wasn't going to be taken seriously…
… that and Amuro wouldn't have been able to see the boobs anyway. So… the inception attempt was the only plan I had.
I walked out of the shuttle with no small amount of tension. The White Base Hangar was much larger than the one on the Vanquishment, something that appeared more from the height of the room rather than its width. I managed to glance over the scoffed Guncannons and the immobile Guntank to find the duo of legendary Gundams the ship had on board.
The 'Alex' was pristine as if it was a divine being that dust feared. The thick arms were the only clue to the machine guns that laid under a latch of sorts, while the differing head shape was so minutely different from the original Gundam that I wasn't surprised that people would confuse the two of them. The nice thick backpack was also visible from the front due to the beam sabers protruding out.
Meanwhile, the Original Gundam sat there in a fresh coat of paint, only I could feel the experience of dozens of battles rolling off it. From Zaku to the Big Zam, I sense the battles as if they were textures that I could run my hand over. I'm sure if I walked over to it I would be able to spot some of the wear and tear.
The two machines together struck such a striking image that I could feel chills going down my spine. I'm not sure how to describe seeing the Gundams up close other than it was like meeting Cu Chulainn or Micheal Collins in person.
Simply Legendary.
"Oi!" The purple-haired Ensign Kai Shiden of the White Base yelled out to me, seeming to take some umbrage with me staring at their machines. I didn't need Newtype powers in order to see the barely hidden sneer the other man had. "How about we move along here, I'd rather Lieutenant Bright didn't reprimand us for loitering around the hangar when you're supposed to report to him."
I didn't bother to respond with much more than a nod. It was obvious that Shiden was somewhat amused by the way I kept tugging the collar of my uniform nervously every so often. There was just something to my uniform collar that bothered me, perhaps I'd gotten it too small in the neck?
"So I heard that you struck out with our lovely Gundam pilot," Kai's attempt to tease me fall flat since not only was that something that never happened. My mind had gone for Amuro rather than Sayla, something that I'd take advantage of.
"Not really into guys," I replied smoothly, "But if you think Ray's so lovely I'd try my hand if I were you."
I think there was something to be said about how I could be to read for most people because Shiden reacted as if I'd managed to be funny. He chortled into his fist and rolled his eyes in response.
"No one told me the Immortal had a real sense of humor," His mirth didn't last long though before his expression shifted back towards a normal one. "Joking aside, don't take her dismissal to heart. Sayla takes a while to warm up to a guy, I should know the first time that I met her she slapped me right across the face-"
He regaled me with some of the details of how Sayla and he first met and even some of the crosswords the young lady had with Bright at one stage. For some reason, Kai seemed to want to unload with me. I suppose while the Ensign had become fairweather friends with the rest of the crew at this stage, there were still things that he couldn't make fun of without getting a fist to the face.
I had noticed the other members of the crew buzzing about while we made our way through the ship, but besides the little fellow that will marry Frau, I didn't even know a hint about them. What I did know about the White Base Crew was the blonde Netw Type of theirs had somehow learned to glare using her mental powers.
The second I came on board Sayla had sent her… feelings at me.
From what I could tell those weren't even meant to be about me but rather the situation in general. I guessed that this was less her projecting and me not being able to stop my own mind from reaching out contextualizing those open thought waves. I tried to send some thoughts of comfort towards the poor girl…
… but while this seemed to cause Sayla to stop sending me those feelings, I'm not sure it actually helped her. I think I just sobered her up a tiny bit is all. Still, it was something helpful.
"Hello?" Kai's voice piped in, getting me out of the bizarre mental landscape I'd been trapped in. "Are you still awake? You sleepwalking?"
Since the last time I'd paid attention, I'd ended up going through an elevator, out through a hall, and all the way towards the medical bay. We were now waiting outside for the word that we could come in. Apparently, being in a coma requires a person…
… clean you. So Frau Bow was probably inside cleaning Amuro up for my inspection and/or my attempt to fix him. So I wasn't in a rush to get in just yet… and I hoped that the girl sprayed the place for the smell.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied after coming to realize where we were.
The purple-haired young man nodded, his eyes gaining a knowing gleam.
"Well, just remember this, if the stress starts to get to ya, there's a closet somewhere on the ship where you can scream your heart out!"
With that Kai left me alone outside the med bay, something that wouldn't hold up for long as Frau Bow walked up the hall. Something that made me blink for a moment as I came to understand that it was not Frau Bow in the medbay cleaning Amuro. I suppose that made sense, couldn't really let the girl that had a crush on him clean his naked body.
Now that I thought about it, it was probably one of the guys onboard giving him a cleaning rather than a woman. At least, that is how I recall such things typically going. But I've been wrong before.
"Hello, Ensign Colasour," She responded politely, nodding as she walked past me. "Lt. Noa is on his way, he's caught up in a discussion with Ensign Yashima. Things have been pretty hectic since Amu-" She caught herself, her eyes lowering to the ground. "-Second Lieutenant Ray's been out of… commission."
There was something pretty odd about the situation here. I can't recall this girl being so formal towards even visiting officers in regards to using the crew's titles. It wouldn't have stuck out to me if it wasn't for the awkwardness the young girl had obviously found using them.
There was something weird about this? Maybe they were worried that unprofessionalism would get back to the brass? I don't think they'd really care if White Bass had a gang of monkeys on board flinging poo as long as it kept performance up.
It also went against the image she portrayed herself with her choice of outfit being a pink jacket/skirt combo with a cream ascot to match. My thoughts briefly supplied me with a key detail, makeup stains on the ascot, the type that came from crying and having the run-off drip off your chin.
I couldn't see any signs of this on her face, which left two options. it was either she'd only been the shoulder to cry on or had cleaned up after.
"I don't mind waiting," I replied as nonchalantly as I could. Which meant I'd probably come off as an asshole given my track record.
She glanced over to the door to the medbay. I wondered if she was waiting around for a chance to see with Amuro or if Bright had wanted me watched while I was onboard the ship? There was a certain level of paranoia that I'd started to develop as I'd not be able to keep my secret Newtype powers after waking Amuro up. Even if I didn't manage to wake the boy, the fact that I was here to make the attempt meant that it would get out eventually. There were too many people here to keep a secret like that.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened the last time we'd met," Frau's rather timid voice peaked out above a whisper. Like she was worried about angering me? Or perhaps she was just embarrassed?
"I'm not sure what your sorry about to be honest?" I said in complete honesty.
"I… just know that we can come off as a bit standoffish around other crews."
I held back a yawn while stretching slightly, an act that at the very least drew surprise from the girl. Once more, I hadn't really noticed how rude they had been to me during that exchange, since I had more important things to worry about how someone sounded to me.
"Sorry, this war has exhausted me," I said, apologizing for the yawn. "I didn't notice you guys being too standoffish, but details like body language aren't a strong suit of mine. So I'll accept your apology."
She smiled in a nervous, almost terrified, kind of way people would do when they were backed into a corner by someone really scary. Like a biker gang, the ones that were not for the protection of rape victims or a political target, and didn't know anything else but that they were big folk.
Smaller people tend to be wary of taller people, add a motorbike gang on top and you get the majority of people scared.
The tap of feet coming down the hall caused Frau to hop slightly in surprise before going off down the opposite direction. I guess she wasn't meant to have stayed here long or at? Only thing that makes sense with that reaction anyway.
"Lt, Sir!" I stood to attention, saluting the commanding officer of the White Base as he came into sight. "Ensign Colasour, reporting for duty."
Bright wasn't the only to have arrived, also there was a young woman wearing the pink version of the uniform. There was a causal closeness between the two, nothing suggestive but it did read that the two were very close friends.
"At ease," Bright said, before pointing to the woman at his side. "This is Ensign Yashima, our navigator."
"Honored."
"..." Bright glared at me, his eyes only just glancing over to the woman at his side. "So I'm told that you can help Am- Lt Second Grade Ray. Just how are you supposed to do that? Some sort of NewType power?"
I was ever so briefly tempted to claim not, say that instead I'd go into the room screaming, wake up and start slapping Amuro in the face till he did. But I don't think that this time period, in this universe as well, would get the reference, so I settled on agreeing with him.
"See, my theory is that the pain from the connections that we Newtypes had formed on the battlefield amplified emotional trauma and sent it out from the originator. So I'll attempt to reconnect and perhaps either give him a mental shock that will wake him up or perhaps poke a hole in the trauma for relief."
Bright glanced at Mirai, who seemed to have understood me perfectly unlike Bright himself. But truthfully that was to be expected, that was a load of shit I'd made up practically on the spot.
"In English, Ensign."
"Oh I do say! Sorry good chap, I'm a right of daft fellow. I'm going into the young lad's tipper, and going to let loose a grand gander that should straighten the chap upright and good. Or me name's not TopHat McGree."
That is what I wanted to say, but instead of tempting the mighty Bright Slap, I decided to answer the spirit of the order.
"I'm going to psychically relieve his tension and hope that it will wake him up."
This time it got a more subdued response from the man. That was till I decided to voice my request;
"I'll also need the help of Ensign Mass. She's got a strong connection to Ensign Ray that will be useful in waking him."
"I should've suspected this," Bright mumbled to Mirai, while the young woman herself rolled her eyes. "Fine," He addressed me, giving a glare I'd expect from an older brother meeting his sister's boyfriend. "Wait here and the Ensign will enter the medbay with you once she arrives."
?
I wonder why I'm not allowed in the medbay alone? Maybe they didn't want a virtual stranger alone with their star pilot while he was in such a defenseless state? It was hard to tell.
"I hope that your stay here will be productive, Ensign," Bright said as if I wasn't a rising star in the ESF. "While Second Grade Lieutenant Ray recovers you'll be taking a spot on our Mobile suit team. That is until you wake him up."
His glare was beginning to get on my nerves. I was willing to give the man some leeway given the stress he was under. I could relate to being put into a situation that I lacked the experience for after all. And maybe it was how I could feel his dislike of me rather than see it in his expression. Bright was mainly hiding it behind a calm facade, one that I'm sure fooled Mirai beside him.
But my Newtype powers seemed to have increased even further, so even good acting didn't get past me now.
"I understand, sir," I said, swallowing the ever-rising feeling of annoyance with this man. "I'll be getting right at that once Ensign Mass arrives."
This was part of the whole deal in coming over here. I'd try and wake, but if I failed to do so, I'd need to be ready to take his place. A rather difficult task given his power in the Alex. I'm not even sure if I have the reflexes to make use of it yet.
I took note that Sayla arrived finally. Her eyes were unfocused in a dazed manner. The girl oozed sorrow, but the young blond quickly borrowed those emotions deep, so deep that I could only feel her concern for Amuro.
I waved and she blinked, a confused expression crossing her face.
I wondered if she was mad about her brother's death. Mad at me I mean. I could guess that Mass was upset because I would need to be in a coma not to know that. But I couldn't tell if Sayla was mad that I killed him or just sad that Char was dead.
There was a rather stark difference.
"Ensign?" Bright politely caught my attention before I could engage even in a mental conversation with the blond. "Is something the matter?"
"Not at all sir, I am mentally preparing myself for the inception I'm about to undergo."
Bright blinked, before sharing a glance with Mirai. Briefly, I wondered how they wouldn't get the reference to the film of the same name, but it only took me a second to realize that I was in the far future. I doubt people from the 21st century knew about plays from the 15th without being buffs, so the same logic probably applies to this situation as well.
Better to focus on the situation at hand.
"Ensign Mass," I greeted the woman, who returned it. "Come, we're going to need to sit close to Lt Ray."
"Amuro was hardly in the same room as the pilot that did this to him," Bright noted, "I can't see why you need to be so close?"
I sighed but made sure to sit down next to Amuro's bed before I started to explain a rather important factor.
"I'm not sure if you know that Zeon's developed tech that takes advantage of a Newtypes thought-waves to control weapons or machinery remotely," I explained, "But it does so by boosting it. I think post leaving the brain, like a radio wave bouncing off a tower. Anyway, due to the way it works, once a connection is open it should be possible for anyone to bounce their thoughts back to the beginning point."
"Could you take over those remote weapons?" Sayla asked, her hand scratching her chin as she came to sit on the opposite side of Amuro than me.
"Not with the current tech," I replied, thinking of tech introduced in the 0090s that would allow it. "Bouncing thoughts off this tech is easy, but control is part of the beginning of… this chain. Which even if I was in a replica of their machines, would be tuned for their pilot's origin point. So it would be hard to make it seem like I was both them and on their side of the signal."
It was interesting to think about though. Mind me wonder if it was even possible to mimic someone's thought-waves? Without tech assisting me I mean. It probably isn't possible, thought waves aren't like mimicking someone's voice. They're even more unique.
Didn't mean it wasn't possible, it just meant that I'd need to test the theory somehow. Before I'd even attempted it in battle. And currently, that is impossible given the limited number of Psycoframe machines around to test.
"As interesting as this conversation is," Mirai interceded. Her concern for Amuro was clear on her face, and I couldn't blame her given the boy's condition. "It's better that you get to work now when we're not being attacked or attacking Zeon Forces."
"Right."
"Right."
Both Sayla and I said in tandem. A deliberate action on my part, trying to sync up with the young women before we dived deep into the core of things. It would be better if we were acting as one… I think? It sounded good, at least to me. Might make our intrusion less traumatizing for Amuro if we follow the exact same path… metaphorically speaking.
"Give me your hand," I asked the blond, "Physical contact will help the Newtype connection form… probably. And then we talk about Lt Ray, could just him in general or try to talk to him. It may take a while to reach him so don't worry if he doesn't respond right away."
I took her hand, she took Amuro's right and I took his left. Then I had a sudden flashback and unfortunately the lines right through the part of my mind that I had been attempting to link with Sayla and Amuro.
"I know that you can hear my thoughts, boy… meow, meow, meow, meow, meow."
"Going straight to annoying him awake," Sayla smiled. It was a small, nearly bitter thing that looked out of place on her face. There was a mere smidge of amusement around the girl's brow. Like she couldn't believe that I would say something so silly suddenly. It didn't really fit in my character profile.
"Can you take this seriously," Bright interceded in a low voice. "I'd rather my pilot not have his brain scrambled because you decided to dick around."
I decided to be a bit more crass than I probably should've been with a superior officer. But I really couldn't stand being around this guy. I could see why Titans liked to punch him.
"Look, I'm connecting my thoughts to another person," I retorted with some vigor. "It's not something that can be done halfway. It's frankly a good sign that she's picking up whatever random shit is going through my brain. It means that it's working. Now, do you want him awake or would you rather sing lullabies to him?"
There, in this moment of silence, Bright's shocked expression only mildly made me feel better. He didn't counter what were just mildly aggressive words. Perhaps my tone carried my anger better than I realized or I had sent my emotions directly to him thanks to the boost I received due to my connection with Salya… and hopefully Amuro.
This silence was only broken, well for me, when a stray thought was picked up by my psychic connection with Sayla.
"That's hot."
Sayla and I glanced at each other fast, her face as confused as mine. It certainly wasn't her voice, it wasn't a male voice, so it couldn't be either myself nor Amuro. Which left it to be the only other possible person in the room.
The two of us slowly turned to face Ensign Mirai Yashima, who appeared oblivious to having broadcasted this thought.
"It was rumored that Ensign Mirai was into that Pilot Sleggar. Maybe she's into assholes?"
Sayla having realized that she didn't need to speak out loud continued;
"I don't want to think about this. I didn't want to know what she's into. Let's ignore it… and just wake up Amuro."
I did as she asked, but sadly for that request neither one of us could truly ignore the words. Brief surges of us just having the stray thought about Mirai's preferences would flare up every once in a while. It happened more often in the beginning, but it ended up only once every few minutes after five minutes passed.
But with enough time, I think we were here an hour already, and centering ourselves we were eventually able to stop stray thoughts.
We were eventually able to enter a zen-like state, where we rhythmically spoke Amuro's name in soft tones while sending calming images. Sayla handled the second, taking one of the moments on board the White Base that they weren't desperately struggling for their lives.
It was a nice calm lunch in the ship's cafeteria…
… and that was when we finally caught a thread from Amuro's coma mind. It started out simple, a messy desk covered in some circuit boards and other gadgets and gizmos. An empty plate of food sat on a different counter nearby with the remains of a ham sandwich in the middle of Amuro's mouth.
It was an odd experience, looking out towards our surroundings like we were wearing old-school VR helmets. Ones without a free look function, so we're stuck with a perfect vision of the area better than a photo, capable of moving our eyes but not our heads.
"He's so young," Sayla noted, something that caused the room around me to morph and twist.
It went from the room he had in the first episode of the series to something I'd expect from a seven-year-old. There was still some tech stuff around the area, but it was from electronics that had been taken apart. It was rather impressive to see.
From the look of him alone, I'd say Amuro was five… maybe four?
"He looks five," I replied to Sayla,"Maybe we can tempt him out with candy."
"Amuro!" A yell caused the young boy to hop up to his feet. He grabbed as many bits as he could, shoving them into drawers as the sound of thumping started to come into focus. Soon enough an adult entered the room. "You seen… where my hoover… is."
"Whoa, I would've never guessed that it had been a hoover," I commented idly. The thought caused the young boy to glance away from the person to the sight of me/Salya, before rushing it back. "I wonder which parent this is?"
Whoever it was, they were a dark foreboding figure without much form or features. More like Father from KND. Less a person and more a silhouette that somehow inspires dread into small children.
"You know I can read a lot of your thoughts?" Sayla intruded.
"So?"
" You have a lot of thoughts about 20th and 21st-century cartoons for a man with amnesia."
Before I could explain how amnesia isn't just one type of mind blanking thing, there was a loud slap. Our shocked faces were matched by Kid Amuro as he rubbed against his red cheek, the figure's hand rose back up, a warning that she would repeat the action.
Amuro's little eyes watered, his other cheek puffing up. But he didn't start to cry, instead, he took deep breaths and closed his eyes. There was a bit of me that felt… more than a little uncomfortable at watching this.
Then the boy was slapped again and I didn't just feel as uncomfortable but felt sick to my stomach. His face wasn't just red, it had a visible bruise that was forming.
"Amuro!"
"Amuro!" Another yell piped in at the same time, a new figure came rushing in. They were taller than the first, and their features weren't obscured at all. But I would've easily been able to guess from his purple hair alone. "Kameria! What are you doing?"
The darkness peeled off from the figure, revealing the woman's brown hair but soft eyes. Something that contrasted against what we'd just seen her do.
"He's broken the hoover again, we can't just let Amuro go around taking apart everything he can get his hands on! He needs to learn there are limits."
Tem Ray shook his head, his anger plain to see. I don't think he disagreed that the boy needed limits. I think he disliked violence in any of its forms being applied to children. It was a vibe I got from him. Though, given his involvement with Project V, the project that created the Gundam, I'd say it was obvious he stopped thinking that once they became adults.
"He's only curious. The worst thing he can do is make us buy a new one," His fatherly hand came down to pat Amuro on the head, calming the young boy down from his fit of tears. "Not that he's ever taken something apart so roughly. The last time he did this, I was able to put all back together in ten minutes."
Kameria sighed, it was a harsh wet noise that caused the hair on the back of my neck to rise. There was something odd about the woman's demeanor, outside of being abusive to Amuro.
"When are you around to do that?" She replied, stepping outside of the room. Her figure faded but her voice remained strong and clear. "I spend all day alone with flirty floors and no tv because Amuro refuses to leave anything with a circuit board alone."
Tem gave Amuro a proud smile as he followed after his wife(Soon to be estranged given this scene).
"You're hardly alone if you have Amuro with you…"
"He breaks everything he touches!"
The two voices faded away, but there was this feeling that I got that this conversation only got worse. Perhaps Tem Ray would try and excuse his absence with the importance of his work? Truthfully, I'd never know and it doesn't really matter.
"What did we watch?" Salya asked.
I was amazed that she waited so long to ask that question.
"Either a memory or a dream. Inside the sleeping mind, they're basically the same thing. The only person who can say how true that scene was is Amuro."
The area started to warp and bubble, it started to change from a bedroom into a large open cottage area with a large lake out front. Salya continued to make conversation in the lull of any meaningful sound we were having.
"How does this help us wake him up?"
"I don't know, maybe we should be mentally yelling at him?"
I had a feeling that we were going to be stuck watching scenes out of Amuro's life like we were Tifa going through Cloud's scattered mind in Final Fantasy VII. We could be here a long long time. I hope to god we don't get any of his fantasies.
"I'm not sure if I would prefer that to what we just saw."
And then it started to rain.
Author's Note: Pacing on this one is extremely different from how it came out on the other site. So much so that the reveal of 'Amuro in a coma' was the cliffhanger for at least three days. So people were annoyed with me for a bit lol.
There's not a lot to go through with this brief arc, in terms of how long it'll take.
