SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Apocalyptic ❯ Quickening ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Heya there! Another quality chapter from SilverBellsAbove!
I can promise you a fight scene, as well as a bunch of fan cameos. I promise I'll have one of my nice, long A/Ns afterward explaining random stuff and explaining how everyone got where they are in the fic.
This was chapter was originally going to be one with the next chapter in production, but since It's so long I had to split it into 2 chapters, one of which I'll be writing shortly after I post this one. So, unless you wanted a 40 page megagiant piece of text to read, I doubt you want the chapters to be coupled together. Cheers. Lots of humor here.
Disclaimer: If you think I own SDG, you are deluded. Go shoot yourself if you have any intention of suing. Thank you for your cooperation.
--CHAPTER START--
Things changed that day. A promise was made, bonds were broken, and most of all, a fighter was born.
She didn't know what repercussions her decisions would have that day, and she didn't care. All she knew was that she had promised her brother to save earth.
Graye Tyrone Kenneth keeps her promises.
While the threat of an everlasting winter hung over the already war-torn earth, a faint light was dawning in the darkness. For this land now had a hero, or more accurately a heroine, one that could save it from absolute desolation.
An open gold locket lay over the inanimate neck of a gray stone statue that day. Inside was the picture of Cyrus David Kenneth, and next to him sat a new insert.
A portrait of the heroine herself smiled from the left slot of the locket, there to forever watch over her brother.
On the day that I need you more that you need me
-@-
“Graye!” Shute exclaimed and ran up to the approaching girl. Fierce clouds blocked the dim morning sky out, but no snow fell. The force had just risen, and to see Graye walking to them with a slight smile on her face relieved them. All of them knew it was hard to lose a loved one, and to see such a quick recovery from despair was quite reliving for them
She nodded as Shute approached her “That's my name.” She beamed and ruffled his hair.
“You are unharmed? There are zaku soldiers around, we were lucky to find camp in a hidden spot.” questioned Baku.
Graye blinked “what are you talking about? I didn't see any.”
“Milady,” Zero observed “Where did you acquire the glaive on your back and the firearm in your belt?”
Grave gave a slightly faraway look “Cyrus gave them to me in return for a promise.”
Captain gave a confused look “That is not logical; your brother is petrified.”
“I promised Cyrus that the Dark Axis won't take earth, and even if he isn't ever returned to normal, There will be people after all this is over to treasure his memory.”
Everyone was silent, until Shute spoke up “So you're really going to fight?”
“Yep.”
Even thought you might get killed; even though you're human?”
“Yep.”
Shute grinned and shook the girls' hand vigorously “Welcome to the SDG, Graye!”
“AWESOME!” she grinned, accepting the gesture and then motioned to the others “Well, we're burning daylight. What to do about the problem first?”
-@-
“Ok. Graye pointed to a tall skyscraper in the distance. “That's where we need to be right now,” she informed as snow fell softly, and her breath clouded. Crystalline ice edged windowpanes of broken glass and hard-packed hoarfrost made the ground creak and crackle as if you were walking over dry paper. The place was a sight of total desolation by attacks and bitter cold. Water polluted by gunpowder and bombs could be seen behind them, and the blasted and destroyed bridge that the Force had just walked over hung in ruins a few feet away. Buildings sat windowless, roofless, in every state of wreck and disrepair you could imagine. A war zone is not a pleasant sight, and this is exactly what a war zone was. Utter devastation.
Shute eyed the surrounding structures with distaste “The Dark Axis really got this place.”
“The city has been reduced to mere rubble, milady. What business do we have here?”
Graye gave a serious look “This is a city called New York. It was one of the first sites of the attacks. The dark axis may roam the streets, but half the metropolis is still blockaded and is safe. It's only the unprotected part we have to worry about. The military headquarters for this region is situated here. This is one of the battlefields of the war; this is where our best shot at finding out the situation is.”
Bakunetsumaru drew his katanas “It is a gauntlet run, then.”
“Pretty much.” Graye nodded, drawing and readying her gun.
Shute switched on his rollerblades “Let's hop to it!”
Entengo neighed as Zero summoned his sword and shield.
“Gundam Force, Move out!” Captain barked, and they all rushed into the city in a clatter of hooves and a trod of running shoes.
Immediately after they stepped onto the concrete, unseen zako soldiers pelted the ground with bullets, dancing at the heels of the Gundam Force. Captain Gundam took aim and sent a single blast at a gas tank flanking where some of the shots were coming from.
It exploded in a fiery boom, and zako death cries were heard en masse a moment later.
“Nice.” Graye nodded and readied her silver laser pistol “My turn.”
She let loose her firearm, and blue pulses of light came sizzling to blast the enemy soldiers. Zako heads stuck up out of windows and with a flurry of shots, she nailed them all, neat as in a shooting gallery at a carnival.
Captain gave a surprised look “You have a 95 percent firing accuracy.”
“I blame my brothers sucky visiting schedule. The only free time he had when I could visit was during his shooting practice, and we usually chatted over a pair of disruptor rifles.”
Shute grinned and dodged a stray zako gunshot, “Guess it wasn't so bad a schedule after all.”
“Some kids play video games afterschool. I handled firearms. Go figure. Cyrus is a much better shot than I am; I don't think he misses a single target ever.”
Zero nodded “Your brother is of great renown?”
“It's the only reason they would bother getting a leg for him to fight. I spent hours on the weekends polishing all his medals and awards.”
Bakunetsumaru was about to say something, but he was cut off by a huge scream of metal as a truck slammed into their path, effectively cutting off the road. The Zakos stopped shooting from the buildings and stepped out into the open, guns cocked.
“Go on.” Graye sneered, “Make my day.”
“OK!” A high-pitched devious voice grinned from atop the upturned tanker, and four mechas jumped down to meet them.
“What business do you have with us, you vile knaves?!” Zero sneered at the three members of the dark Axis trio, and then blinked when they saw a forth figure. “Who are you?!”
The other members of the ambush party stepped backward, and the remaining one giggled, “It's nice that you noticed me! I thought I'd have to introduce myself the painful way!”
Of course, with all the zakos normal-human sized in this world, the appearance of this one was rather…strange. Standing only waist-height to Zapper, Destroyer and Gouf, she, yes, SHE, was painted a light purple color and her single eye was screaming pink instead of red. She seemed to resemble a little girl, and it was clear that the rest of her `companions' didn't like her. Her weapons were twin hand scythes, and she seemed to give something like a zako version of a maniacal grin.
“Eh…” Baku coughed “Who are you?”
“Silly question! I'm Slayer Edge, sister model to Zako Red, and I'm gonna kill you!”
“Wow, really threatening.” Shute whispered sarcastically.
Zero gave a negative look `W... what?! I can't fight… a girl!”
“Ok, troops! Let's go to work!” Edge grinned, and the rest of the antagonists glared at her
Zapper gave a glower and said “Why do I have to listen to you, pipsqueak?!”
“Uh-uh, uh. Someone's being catty…” she scolded and pushed a button on a little keychain she had. The gundam force noticed that the three elite zakos had metal bands around their necks, and the collars gave off a powerful electric discharge. The trio screamed and clawed at their collars.
“ARGH!” Gouf cried “Why'd you do it to us too you little-“
“`Cause you're being a dummy! Now get them!”
Slayer Edge lept at Zero, who had no choice but to fight her.
“Gah… make everything go BOOM!” Destroyer drawled stupidly and shot rockets at Captain, who was soon embroiled in his own fight scene. Grappler shrugged and jumped Baku, who he soon became locked in combat with. Zapper hesitated, glaring at the lavender zako skirmishing with Zero.
Graye was left without an opponent. So then she gathered her courage and asked “Are you going to get to it?”
Zapper blinked “Get to what, you dirty little organic?”
“The FIGHT. Duh.”
“You want me to fight YOU?! Are you trying to make me die laughing?!
Graye rolled her eyes “No. I'm trying to make you die in general.” And took a single shot at the fin on the top of his head. The tip was blasted clear off “OH, what now, walking scrap heap?! What now?!”
Zapper stood there for half a second, until his red eye flared with rage “YOU BRATTY LITTLE HUMAN!!! I'LL BUTCHER YOU!” he aimed his gatling gun and shot a few rounds. Graye dodged behind a trashcan, and then peeked above it, and fired some well-aimed laser pulses.
“So tell me, what does it feel like to be a Christmas bulb in the land of 100 watts?” She asked casually as he dodged her gunshots with difficulty.
Zapper growled and shot away the trashcan, and sent Graye dodging machine gun bullets “Better than you'll feel when you're in a world of injury!”
The girl took a few shots while running, one of which melting the tip of his gun a bit “And you'll send me there? I don't think you can send me to the corner of bruises, let alone the world of injury, chump.”
“Meatbag!”
“Tin can!”
“Obnoxious squirt!”
“Incompetent jerk!”
“Snot nosed brat!”
“Bucket brigade goon!”
“Organic small fry!”
“Ignorant leadbutt!”
The insults went on and on until Zapper decided to end it “You've got nerve. But nerve isn't gonna save ya!” he charged her, firing repeatedly
“Well to heck with that!” Graye yelled, tucking her gun away and unsheathing her Plasma Pike. Unfortunately, she had nowhere to hide. The bullets whizzed to her, a few threatening to be fatal. Graye almost flinched, bracing herself for lethal impact, but caught herself. Something went `click' in her head and her hand snapped in a blur, deflecting the bullets.
“No way! What the heck is wrong with you, organic?! You down a couple cans motor oil or something?!” Zapper exclaimed in surprise; his attack totally failed.
“Whoa, didn't know I knew how to do that. Well, now I do, I guess!' she thought in surprise.
A stray bullet caught her leg, grazing her thigh. It cut her pants a bit and drew quite a bit of blood.
“OUCH!” she cursed and glared at her adversary “Ok, you are OFICIALLY going too far!”
Before he could fire a shot off, she knocked the gun from his grip with a mighty hit from her pike, blasting him back a few feet.
“That's it! You're a freak! No way you could EVER throw me! No frigging way!”
Graye smiled “So what if I am?” and then she noticed his alignment compared to the other people in combat “Bon Voyage.”
“Let's send these goons back to where they came from!” Shute whooped in joy as he saw that the entire Dark Axis party was arranged in a single line, facing the gundam force.
“No! Not-!”
“SOUL DRIVE ACTIVATE!” Captain bellowed, fist glowing golden in righteous fury
Zero gave a powerful gesture “Super Magical Violet Tornado!” a gale blew up in an instant, touched with the soft scent of flowers and the razor edge of petals.
“"Secret Arts! Bakunetsu!” Bakunetsumaru exclaimed as he made his preparation step “TENGYO KEN!"” a flaming `X' erupted from his swords, and engulfed Captain and the wind, speeding at the quartet of aggressors.
“Oh…god…” Graye ogled as she saw the magnificent attack blast all of the offending mechas high into the air, scarred and broken. They disappeared into the Zakorello gate, and the battle was over. The zakos at the sidelines squeaked in fear and ran off, too terrified to attack again.
“Ha! Score another win for the gundam force!” Shute grinned, and then froze when he got sight of Graye's left thigh “Graye! Your leg!”
Captain inspected it “You are injured?”
“I am?” she blinked, and then looked down “Oh, right. I am. Whatever, it isn't that bad.” Truth be told, it didn't hurt very much, it was only a little bloody. Graye wiped it with a handkerchief (Graye ALWAYS carries a handkerchief XD) and she looked fine, if a little bloodstained.
“You are certain you are not hurt, milady?” Zero offered “I could carry you if you wish.”
“No, no, I'm fine!” Graye shook firmly.
Bakunetsumaru blinked “An honorable injury should always be cared for.”
“I swear! It's not a big deal; I've gotten worse from kids on my block! You won't even be able to see it by tomorrow, I promise!”
Captain looked at her seriously “You are 100 percent positive?'
“YES!”
Shute grinned, “Man, you're more stubborn than Baku.”
Graye only made a face and walked away.
“H-hey! Wait up!” Shute yelled, and the gundam force began to travel onward.
-@-
“So who is this guy,” Shute asked as they waited in an elevator “Why do we have to see him?”
Graye gave a blink “He's the guy that's in charge of the army in this area. My brother knows him, and so does my father. I mean; someone in the government should know what the heck's going on, right? And if they don't we'll tell them what's really going on.”
“Your sire knows one of the important knights in this world?” Zero asked and Graye gave a meek chuckle.
“ `Important knight' I don't know, but I do know they were best buds in college. They're in touch a ton, too. I just hope he believes me, or earth is screwed.”
Captain gave a confused look “There is a chance that he will not acknowledge the situation?”
Graye nodded “Yeah. He's a firm disbeliever in the supernatural. And by earth standards, parallel worlds are kinda classed as paranormal.”
“Perfect.” Bakunetsumaru scowled “The lords in this world are as fickle as they are in mine.”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Graye yawned “You should hear about all the mess in 2005.”
“There was a conflict at that time?” The Neotopian gundam shrugged.
The girl nodded “George Bush stank royally as a president, and to top it off, season two of your cartoon didn't get out to the public! We're still trying to coax Bandai, even after, what, seven years now? And there are still really loyal fans too. They're only gotten more devoted as time goes on… I wanna see a season two boxed dvd set, for crying out loud!” Graye finished angrily.
“What a predicament you have forced thyself into, milady.”
“No, my name is Graye. Melady is a devoted dark axis fangirl.” Graye grinned.
Shute sweatdropped “Ha, ha.” And then perked up “Wait, the DARK AXIS has fans?!”
“Yeah; you should see the stuff they write about them. I feel kinda bad for Zapper Zaku… I don't think feather dusters are his friends anymore…”
The elevator dinged open, and they all stepped out. It was the top floor of a skyscraper, and there were seemingly only two rooms in it. A secretary sat at her desk before a oaken door, labeled “Major Vincent Gregory'
Graye stepped up to the secretary's desk. “Hey, I'm Graye Kenneth here to see Vincent Gregory, a friend of my dad. I'm reporting for my brother, Cyrus Kenneth, first lieutenant in the united states armed forces.”
She shuffled through some files on her computer and then nodded “Ah, yes. He's free now, you can see him.”
Graye turned to her comrades “Ok, you guys wait here, I'll go talk to him.” And stepped through the door, shutting it carefully behind her.
The gundam forced gave each other a shrug and sat down on the waiting chairs.
Unbeknownst to them, the secretary gave Shute an odd look before going back to her files, noting some things down in a journal.
-@-
Graye, after about a half an hour or so came out, scowling.
“How'd it go?” Shute asked, and Graye sighed an irritated sigh
She glared at the door “He didn't believe a word I said. I mean, he's gotten reports of the petrification, but he just doesn't believe that the dark axis is the same as in the TV show! He just refuses to accept it, no matter how much obvious duh-evidence I show him!”
Bakunetsumaru gave an annoyed frown “He blinds himself to truth, then.”
“Exactly.”
Captain blinked “What evidence did you offer him?”
“Everything that I've seen so far, and everything that we can prove, which is a lot. I know my dad said he was stubborn, but man! This guy is stiffer than Captain and his statistics! Oh, no offense there, Captain.” She ranted to no one in particular.
Zero rolled his eyes “Then he is ignorant, and pleased with his beastly lack of truth.”
Graye nodded “Yeah.”
“Well, don't give up yet. He may not be willing to help you, but I am.” The secretary nodded in satisfaction.
They all turned around in a flurry. “Huh?! What?!” Shute yelped.
“How do you know of us?!” Bakunetsumaru exploded.
The woman, about 23 or so sprang up from her chair and glomphed Shute with an ecstatic smile “YOU'RE EVEN CUTER IN PERSON! YAY!”
Captain looked at her with a disturbed expression and tried to pry the woman off his friend.
Graye gave her a disbelieving look “No way! There's only one rabid Shute fan I know of, and that's Charon The Sabercat! Wow!”
She finally let go of Shute and explained. “I go by C.T.S. while in service.”
“Still as paranoid about identity as ever. You didn't even put your real name on your army application forms, I bet.”
C.T.S. Grinned “Yup! You're Graye Kenneth, right?” she shook Graye's hand “Nice to meet you, your fanfics are really good!”
“Eh… thanks?” Graye mumbled “So what are you doing here as a secretary?”
C.T.S. shook her head “Oh, I'm not a secretary. I've been standing in for Vincents sec. since she came down with the flu. I'm his right-hand woman, second in command! Don't you forget that!”
`Wow,” Graye nodded
Zero blinked “You know this woman, fair lady?”
“Yep! Charon The Sabercat, one of the oldest rabid fans of your TV show! She's been around the block, and she's been fanficing since the show was out. Oh, she's a Shute fan, just in case you didn't notice, so Shute, you had better watch your back, or she'll glomph you at a moment's notice, man.” Graye explained to them, finishing with Shute. She turned back to the older fangirl and asked “In speaking of that, why did you get involved in all of this?”
C.T.S. gave a shrug “Drafted. Don't you pay any attention to the message board?”
“Eh… no.”
C.T.S. gave a sweatdrop “Figures. So, what can I do your you… fine…” C.T.S mumbled as she finally noticed the REST of the force, not just Shute “Eh… what the crap, you guys are human.”
“Transport device malfunction.” Captian explained.
She nodded “Oh. Ok. So… what can I do for you guys?”
Bakunetsumaru gave a doubtful look “To do what the other man can, probably… wait, what DO we want him to do?”
“Have you forgotten the lack of vital news, Bakunetsumaru?” Zero glared “Then again, I'm not surprised.”
“WHAT?! What is that supposed to mean!?”
“Can you not comprehend speech, now? You are slipping.”
“Can you get off my case for once?!” the samurai huffed “You're just annoying!”
“Crass!”
“Irritating!”
“Obtuse!”
“Brainless!”
Graye glared at them both “I'm warning both of you… quit it right now or face the consequences…” she groaned, obviously annoyed at both of them.
“HA!” Charon laughed, “I've always wanted to see an argument between you two in person!”
Graye sweatdropped “It gets old really fast, take my word for it.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” C.T.S. shrugged “well, there's going to be something held soon that will answer most, if not all of your questions about the situation.”
“What do you mean?” Baku blinked.
C.T.S. grinned “A first-ever council of SDGManiacs. You see, almost all of us know what's really going on, and we know that our butts are being royally whupped by the REAL LIFE dark axis. We all love the show, but no one will listen. So we're taking things into our own hands and going to decide what to do.”
Graye's eyes lit up like little stars “REALLY?! Everyone will be there, in person? All the shiny people? All of them?” asked the star-struck girl.
“Yup. All of them”
“SWEET! WHEN DO WE LEAVE?!”
C.T.S looked at a watch “Right... now. Yay, I'm officially on vacation. Let's go.”
“How are we going to get there?”
Charon The Sabercat grinned, pulled out a keyring and pushed a button. A car-unlocking sound came on, and out the window a military personnel carrier (think gunperry here, people) flew up “That's how.”
-@-
“Here we are.” Charon grinned to the force (especially to Shute) as they got off the personnel carrier. “Brace yourselves. Your entire fanbase is inside!”
It appeared to be like a church, but very new-looking with glossy stained glass windows, but shaped strangely. It was rounded on all sides, the roof tapering to a cone. All in all, it looked less like a church, but more like a round theatre.
“Here?” Zero blinked
`Yeah. This performance theater was built in honor of the people who died in the first attack. Unfortunately it's been in disuse ever since the military occupied this town.” C.T.S explained and opened the huge double doors. “Now it's like a battery, there's even docking for planes underground.”
The Gundam force as well as CTS walked down a thin isle. Inside, the only lit area was a thin aisle and a round stage. The other parts of the room were blacked out.
As soon as they stepped onto the arena, all the lights snapped on. Zero gave a very overwhelmed and embarrassed look at what they all saw.
Women. There were twenty women in there, all around 20-25 years of age. Attractive women. Zero's jaw dropped a foot.
Graye was the same way, but for an entirely different reason “I, I'm in the presence of… THEM… they've been fangirls ever since I was, like, four! Wow! I'm honored!”
Bakunetsumaru looked at them all “Our fanbase is entirely comprised of WOMEN?!”
“It would appear so” Captain nodded.
The fangirls gave a hungry stare.
`SQUEEEEEEE!” They all screamed and dogpiled the gundam force.
“Ouch- devoted- AH THERE'S A BOOB IN MY FACE! CAN'T BREATHE!” Shute screamed.
-beeeeeeeeeep brief interlude *picture of zapper and grappler sweeping while whistling happy things*-
The scene came on again, to the Gundam force staring in awe of the Fangirl council.
“So,” Charon The Sabercat nodded “Have you guys voted on representatives yet? I know not all of you want to talk. I mean, it'd get all noisy and bad, and you know.”
“Yes, we have.” A woman in the back row nodded and passed a piece of paper up to Sharon
“Thanks, NeoYami.” Charon nodded and sat down, leaving the gundam force to stand in the spotlight. “Uh, the people chosen are… Me, well duh, I'm awesome.”
Everyone sweatdropped.
“Uh, yeah, right then.” Charon grinned nervously and read off “SilverBellsAbove.”
A 21-year-old lady with bushy auburn hair and smoke azure eyes stepped down and into a special chair. She wore a uniform proclaiming her as `Senior Airman' of the air force. She nodded and said, “Delighted to be one.”
Graye gasped, “Wow! She made the SDGManiacs forum! She's really important, and she's not even the oldest fan here!”
“An ambitious one.” Baku nodded
“Yeah. As soon as she came on the scene she started cranking out some of the best bits of writing! She got her fame in three days flat!”
“TDAT-CrystalDragon.” Charon read
Another 21 year old stepped down from the stadium seating, slightly shorter than the first and into a chair next to SBA. Her dirty-blonde hair fluffed a bit and she turned her crystal-blue eyes to her fellow Senior Airman in a good-humored way “Mkay. I'll take the job.” Bakunetsumaru blinked when he noticed a small blue dragon embroidered on the back of her uniform.
Graye whispered, “It's her! She wrote Tide Of Hopes and Fears! One of the best fanfics on mediaminer! She's a regular on the messageboards; she knows everything!”
“Everything about us?! Impossible!” Zero gasped
“Yep, everything.”
C.T.S continues with “Melady.”
A slightly sinister-looking 22 year old stepped down, even taller than SBA. Her eyes seemed to fluctuate slightly between green and blue, and her long yellow-blonde hair fluffed to obscure a black jacket with a red stripe running down it. “Sure. Why not?”
“She's the biggest dark axis fangirl around! I'm amazed that she hasn't sided against earth yet; probably because the dark axis won't let a human help them. She looks kinda miffed now that I think of it…”
“Wow, she does seem the kind of person. She gives off the right vibe!” Shute blinked
Graye grinned “You should see the stuff she writes about them; I feel really sorry for the trio…”
“”FennFeatherDragon”
The oldest (23 years old) girl stepped down, surveying everything with a clear, methodical air. She collapsed into a chair, studying the force intently. Her expression demonstrated patience and a clear mind.
“Wow! She wrote Demon Nightmare; she's one of the very oldest fans around! Well, one of the oldest ones that isn't lost in the void or dropped out of contact, anyway.”
“She has that much renown?” Captain asked
“Yeah. She's one of the big honchos.”
“And to end it, our witness and bailiff and commentary person is NeoYami.”
NeoYami waved from the back row “This meeting is now officially open! Let all the randomness BEGIN, people!” she then heard some whispers from the peanut gallery “Oh, right! Sorry about this, but Cybertoy00 isn't gonna be here today. She's still pursuing the campaign at Bandai headquarters. So she won't be joining us this afternoon. Sorry.”
“S'kay.” SBA nodded “So, what I'D like to know is how you people got here. Oh, and hello Graye… Kenneth? As in Cyrus Kenneth?” She blushed. TDAT-CrystalDragon poked her
“See, I knew you liked the whiz kid! You're blushing!”
“I DO NOT! JUST BECAUSE YOU ENDED UP SHARING A BUNK WITH ME DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN ACT LIKE AN ANNOYING SISTER! I ALREADY HAVE ONE OF THOSE BACK HOME! DOG OF A DEAD DOG'S DOG!” SBA cursed loudly, red as bakunetsumaru's hair.
CrystalDragon patted her on the back “Whoa, chill. I'm just teasing you.”
Melady rolled her eyes and turned to Bakunetsumaru with an interested look “So, interested in sharing?”
“Uh, okay.” Shute gulped. “We, uh, had transporter problems and we ended up here, but this world's in trouble with the Dark Axis too, so we're staying to help.'
FennFeatherDragon blinked “So, last time I checked, you guys weren't human.”
Captain took an explanatory gesture “This world is in absence of gundams. The transporter had to take drastic measures to prevent the collapse of the space-time continuum, which would result in-“
“Okay, okay, we get it.” C.T.S. nodded “So, what do we need to cover first?”
Zero was still blushing “The situation at hand, fair ladies.”
“Ah. Okay.” FeatherDragon nodded “I can shed a bit of light on that.”
Melady rolled her eyes “You would. You're like a war hero.”
“I prefer `experienced officer'”
“Right.”
`Well, anyway.” FennFeatherDragon went on “You guys know that the Dark Axis is invading, right? Any you guys know about the snow right? The bagubagu don't work on earth because of the electromagnetic field of the planet. You guys MUST know that stuff, right?”
“Yeah, we do.” Graye nodded
F.F.D. nodded “So, what you don't know is that the nations of the world are all mounting counterattacks, rallied against the Dark Axis. Ironic that we all have to be attacked at once for there to be peace between us isn't it? Well, anyhow, what you don't know is about the minor attacks.”
“We do not know what?” captain asked
“That we're losing all of them. The Dark Axis has been abducting people daily. That's why there are no bodies afterward. The Dark Axis incapacitates humans and then takes them away. Why, we don't know. But it can't be a good reason.”
“Well, to THEM, it probably is.” Melady shrugged
SBA shook her head “We don't know, so we can't say anything.”
“Can you guys let me finish?”
“Sure, whatever.” TDAT-CrystalDragon sighed
F.F.D. nodded “Thanks. Well, you guys know that the battle isn't going well for earth. And what's the bad news is that we haven't seen anything but Zako soldiers yet. We could probably rout them in a second, but while there might be peace between us, countries aren't too keen on working together, so we're having problems. We're collapsing from the inside out.”
“But we've seen the trio!” Shute piped, and Melady's eyes seemed to light up green
She smiled “For real?! You've got to tell me!”
TDAT-crystal dragon stood up straighter “You, know it'd be a good idea to tell us exactly what happened when you've been attacked so far. You guys seem to be the center of the action.”
All the gundam force members looked at Shute.
“Thanks a lot for nominating me as spokesman, guys.” Shute sweatdropped “well, uh, the first attack happened as we were following Graye home from school… it was really cloudy and we fainted because of the knockout gas. You'll have to ask Graye about that one.”
They turned to the girl who nodded “'Covered my face with the scarf I'm wearing now and dragged them all out of a firefight.”
CTS gave a look of respecting surprise “You ran into a bunch of people shooting at each other?! Awesome! A little crazy, but awesome!”
“Eh…” Graye blushed.
Shute nodded “The next day, Grayes school got attacked by the dark axis, and we found out how Graye can fight.”
“I'm not THAT great… I mean…”
Shute gave a cute expression that was meant to be a serious stare, but he failed miserably at it “Don't be silly; you rank right up there with the force and I'm not kidding.”
Graye blushed ten shades of red “Thanks?”
FennFeatherDragon nodded “So what happened in that fight? We all know that that school was attacked, but there were no details.”
Graye nodded “School was blasted by zako soldiers, and I was jumped by Grappler Gouf. We sent him packing, end of story.
TDAT-CrystalDragon gave a huge whoop of joy “You saw him?! What was he like?!”
Graye shrugged “He was exactly like in the show… but to tell the truth he didn't really seem thrilled to be there. I don't think he was motivated to do the job. He didn't say a thing about wanting to take earth, or any cheesy bad-guy monologue or anything. He just complained about why he was sent to fight a school, and then he got his butt whupped.”
SBA gave a curious look “Bizarre.”
“Yeah.”
CTS nodded “So what next?”
“We got jumped running through New York City by the whole trio... And someone else.” Shute explained.
Melady grinned, “Please tell us!”
Shute nodded “we were running to get to the safe zone, and we were being shot at by zako soldiers, and suddenly this big truck crashed in our way. The trio jumped off off it, and also someone who we didn't recognize.
“Who was it?” F.F.D. blinked
“Uh… it was, get this, a female zako, and looked kinda like a kid… purple and a pink eye. Uh… her name started with an `s'…”
“Slayer Edge.” Graye reminded.
“Yeah.” Shute agreed. “That one.”
SiverBellsAbove and TDAT-CrystalDragon exchanged looks. “That one's a piece of work, alright.” SBA went on “Her aerial drones are a pain in the butt as is.”
CrystalDragon Nodded “Don't be duped by her kiddy appearance; she was designed specifically to neutralize human targets.”
“So, what HAPPENED in the fight?” Melady yawned
Graye gave an explanatory look. `Well, you see, what happened was that SlayerEdge introduced herself, and then told the trio to attack us. They weren't so hot to do it, so she pressed something and shocked them with collars they were wearing. They were forced to fight us, and in the end the gundam force nailed them with a Triple Attack.”
“Well, THAT'S weird.” Melady blinked “I mean, they're usually LOOKING for an excuse to jump you guys, right? How out-of-character.”
FennFeatherDragon nodded “Something else is going on here, and we don't know what it is, I'm sure of it.”
A hand rose in the second row and another young woman asked in a slight southern accent, “Can I say something, please?”
NeoYami nodded “Go ahead, ZZH16.”
“Why would the Dark Axis want Earth in the first place?” ZZH16 asked, “I mean, we've kinda exhausted our natural resources, our technology isn't up to par, the entire world is organic life and heck, the scenery isn't that great, either!”
SBA nodded “Yeah, good point. We've screwed ourselves up so much already; we kind of don't need help. What would the dark axis want with a backwater world like us, anyway?”
Melady rolled her eyes “they probably have a pretty good reason. If you ask me, this is all really sketchy. Dark Axis members not wanting to do their duty; attacks on a world that's meaningless to them… Not DarkAxislike at all. There's something really wrong with my boys, and I want to know what.”
TDAT-CrystalDragon shrugged. “This is just as treacherous as that snake slide in Year of the Dragon… and I dunno about you guys, but I'm not willing to die a couple hundred times to get over this.”
“So the question remains- what are we going to do about it?” FennFeatherdragon offered.
Melady gave a shrug “Simple. We go up and ask them what the heck's the matter.”
SilverBellsAbove gave an incredulous look “You're nuts! We can't just go up to the base and say `good day fine sirs, lets talk over tea and crumpets so you can tell us all your uber-secret plans, oh and what lovely weather we're having' can we?!”
“Whoa, chill.” TDAT-CrystalDragon patted her fellow airman on the back “Wait... I get what you're saying, Melady. We go to the main base and find out the problem ourselves.”
FennFeatherDragon blinked “An Infiltration mission?”
SBA grinned, “That'd work.”
Charon the Sabercat, who had been silent for some time, spoke up “But how're we going to get into enemy territory? There has to be at least a hundred soldiers and drones monitoring the place.”
“Leave that…” TDAT-CrystalDragon grinned “to the professionals.”
SBA gave her a look of agreement “You thinking what I'm thinking, my wonderful armed escort?”
“I think. Unless you're thinking about constipated penguin hula dancers with potato fetishes again.”
“Oh god, please don't bring that incident up now.”
CTS nodded “You two will get the Gundam Force where it needs to be?”
SilverBellsAbove “If the order is issued, ma'am. Then I'll convey the target to the desired destination if it costs me my life.”
“Oh good grief,” CTS sighed “don't bother with the formalities; you don't have to rub it in that I'm your superior. You just get a kick of sounding like Captain, don't you? You guys ship the force, plus Graye if she wants to go to the dark Axis base.”
“Yes ma'am!”
“You really *are* being a doofus.” CTS giggled, “As for Melady, can you hack the Dark Axis base? We need all the help we can get, right?”
FennFeatherDragon nodded “It would be a pretty good idea.”
Melady hesitated, and then nodded “I'll do my best to find out why they have collars and shocks on my trio.”
“One problem.” TDAT-CrystalDragon poked “I doubt that the army comm. Link line would like us tapping their communications; if we do it in the middle of the Dark Axis base they could get access to every communication earth has; and that won't be good for us.”
A girl raised her hand, the same as before “hey! I can help!”
NeoYami nodded “What do you want to do, ZZH16?”
“I'm a communications officer, and I have some spare communication scrambler links I can use. That way, all they'll be able to tap into is static.”
“Brilliant.” SilverBellsAbove grinned, “Let's get going.”
Charon nodded “Yes, lets. For humanity!”
All the fangirls in the room raised their right arms “FOR HUMANITY AND THE PRESERVATION OF THE SDGF CONTINUITY! FANGIRLS MOVE OUT!”
“Gundam Force, and transport team 1313, scramble!” Charon The Sabercat pointed and then grinned, “Man, I've always wanted to say that. Take that, Chief Haro!”
Bakunetsumaru whispered under his breath `I am starting to wonder if this is a good idea.”
Shute nodded “Yeah. I hope so to, or else... How did Graye put it? We're screwed. Yeah, that's what she said.”
“Yes. Completely and utterly screwed.” Graye agreed and the fangirls started to devise a tactical plan. By gods, the gundam force hoped they all knew what they were doing. If not, well, they didn't want to think about that.
--CHAPTER END—
a/n
`Downed a can of motor oil'- kind of a zako saying for `downed a can of whupass' it refers particularly to an organic who's being especially stubborn when it comes to being eradicated. Basically Zapper is giving a hearty round of `WTF'
WHERE THE FANGIRLS ENDED UP-
Charon The Sabercat- right hand woman to a key earth major. Got there through sheer hard work, enthusiasm, and determination. I wonder if being a Shute fan set an example? Known for her perkiness and casual manner in service, she usually likes to give officers in trouble a break from her slightly severe superior.
TDAT-CrystalDragon: Senior Airman in the Air force, but is actually much more important to the army than that as her flying and aerial combat skills far exceed her peers. She is usually an armed escort for her bunkmate, SilverBellsAbove. Where at least five planes are usually used to escort transport ships, TDAT-CrystalDragon and her ever-faithful plane, the SX RAGE are so efficient they make drones wet their pants, and she is usually the only protection needed.
SilverBellsAbove: another Snior Airman, She pilots a craft new out of development, a light transport plane. It is designed to hold up to seven passengers, and is basically a large fighter jet. It is capable of combat, but not as maneuverable as the SX RAGE her sister-at-arms pilots, but it has more firepower. But she can use it in a very creative manner, due to the many white-hot thrusters on all sides of the wings (for a smoother landing, and the plane can fly backwards like a dragonfly in order to make up for its sub-par turning radius) She too is of great renown but not of high rank (darn the generals not appreciating us!)
Melady- expert Hacker and a weapons specialist. She defends her home bravely even though not being enlisted in the army. Of course, she wants to help her beloved trio, but she's getting the bad feeling that they're in trouble…
FennFeatherDragon- a war hero. End of story. She commanded troops through a seven-day siege on the pentagon building, and won the battle. She instantly became of great renown and has high standing in the army to boot (she's actually a captain in the army, but don't tell Captain Gundam that)
Cybertoy00- while not making an appearance in the fic, she is working hard overseas in foreign relations to help keep the economy stable... and convince Bandai to FINALLY break out the season 2 dvds after 7 years >_X
So yeh, lots of fun. There will be cameos next chapter, as well as a large Shute-centric portion. I promise I'll write him well.
`Constipated penguin hula dancers with potato fetishes'- inside joke between my friends, and the product of a night in which I was so filled to the brim with caffeine and sugar I could probably be labeled `under the influence' just a silly thing that my irl buds won't let my live down.
In the continuity, TDAT-CrystalDragon and I share a bunk in our barracks. You should have heard the `squeeing' we did when we realized who each other were XD