19-Dec-2000
*drumroll* Ta da! After much waiting, and a great deal of help by all my volunteer beta readers, here it is! This sections a little GW light... hope you guys don't mind too much. I thought it was only fair to give some other Xeno characters the spotlight for a change...
Title: The Longest Dream, Part 12
Author: Hope of Dawn
Feedback: C&C appreciated!
Archive: GW Addiction at http://www.geocities.com/fenris_wolf0
Legal stuff: None of these characters are mine. Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise, and Sotsu Agency, among others--Xenogears belongs to Squaresoft. For time-wasting purposes only and not for profit, so don't sue, 'kay?
Writer's Notes: Okay, same caveat emptor applies for the next few parts--I tried to get the military details right, but there may be mistakes.
Warnings: Shonen-ai, minor angst, and AU. OOC-ness is entirely up to the reader!
(The Yggdrasil IV, en route to Nisan)
As the Yggdrasil rumbled underneath him, Billy Lee Black sat cross-legged on the stained titanium decking between his Gear's feet and began to break down his guns in anticipation of the coming battle. Even the finest firearms required care, and he was fully aware of the demands he placed upon his chosen weapons in combat. As he ran an exacting eye over their gleaming surfaces, searching for the minute flaws or scratches on the barrels that would impair their accuracy, Billy remembered the teachings of his old Ethos preceptor.
'Honor Deus, your people, and your weapons. In battle, it is they that shall preserve you.'
So, as Sigurd pushed the Yggdrasil's engines to redline, Citan immersed himself in their communications problems and Bart paced and ranted at his Gear pilots about their lack of readiness--Billy took this opportunity to divest himself of his weaponry and ensure that his guns were clean, loaded and ready.
His curious gaze hidden beneath pageboy-cropped white bangs, Billy split his attention between scrubbing out the chambers of his revolver and watching the two Gundam Gear pilots that had lingered in his line of sight. He smiled as the black-clad Duo popped out of the cockpit and scampered over his Gundam with the cheerful recklessness of a demented squirrel. Such irrepressible antics reminded him greatly of some of the more rambunctious children at his orphanage: all energy and mischief bundled into one innocently exasperating package.
"Oi, Wufei! I don't like the way this left thruster's diagnostics look. Hand me that--umm, that thingamajig."
Wufei arched a sardonic eyebrow as he looked over at his fellow pilot. "'Thingamajig?'"
"Yeah!" Duo gestured comically as he tried to explain. "The doohickey next to your foot that looks kinda like a wrench but not really with those weird nobbly bumps on the end." One wildly gesticulating hand overbalanced him slightly, and he lost his balance. "Whoa!"
Even as he fell backwards, Duo pushed away from the precarious platform, grabbed one of the many dangling cables nearby, and swung easily to the horizontal armored plate of Deathscythe's bent knee. Unperturbed by his unplanned acrobatics, he pointed at the tool he wanted. "Ya know. *That* thingamajig."
Wufei picked up the object in question, scrutinizing it carefully before tossing it up to Duo. "If you don't know what it is, Maxwell, what makes you think you know what it's used for?"
Slapping the tool into his palm, Duo grinned. "Well, I don't know what they use it for--but I know what I'm gonna use it for. That's all that matters, right?" With that he wriggled into a maintenance hatch, and the loud banging that ensued effectively ended the discussion.
Billy sobered slightly as he watched Wufei sigh and turn back to inspect his own Gundam minutely. Innocent--no, they were no more innocent than he was, and he doubted greatly that they had ever been given any real measure of peace or safety. The wariness in their eyes belied any such sanctuary. He sighed as he carefully wiped his revolver with an oily rag and set it aside to dry. He studied his weapons with a sober sense of awareness as he pulled the pin and took apart the slide assembly of his larger automatic pistol. They were the tools of his trade. Finely crafted, they gleamed under his meticulous care--and were as bloodstained as his own two hands.
Innocence--it was something he still did his best to protect, even with the realization that, like these resurrected Gundam pilots, he had lost his own a long time ago. After their victory over Deus, he had tried to escape the heavy mantle of an Etone that demanded he be both judge, jury, and executioner--the duty of an Etone to deliver the justice of God.
However, time had proved that the discipline of a lifetime were not so easily broken. Even once the teachings of the Ethos church were proved to be merely doctrines of control by Solarian masters, he had been unable to escape his duty. Now, even as he responded to the call to arms, he did so burdened by a new, inescapable truth; the realization that without the mandate of the Ethos, what he had spent his life doing became nothing more than murder. Without God, he wasn't a priest, a protector of the people. He was a killer. One that ran an orphanage and had helped save the world, perhaps--but a murderer nonetheless.
He picked up the double-barreled rifle and checked the sights, shaking away his dour thoughts. Primera would scold him, if she were here. The knowledge that Bart needed him did not keep him from missing the silent wisdom of his sister or the chaotic peace of his overfull orphanage. Brushing a lock of silvery hair out of his eyes, he adjusted the alignment slightly and frowned at the increased vibration in the decking under him. Even in the hangar located at the opposite end of the sand cruiser-turned-airship, he could hear the straining whine in the rumbling of the engines. Sigurd was really pushing the ship's speed to the limit. Billy smiled faintly--he'd wager it would be a long time before either Sigurd or Bart would be willing to brave the righteous anger of their chief engineer after abusing his 'precious engines' like this... Satisfied with the accuracy of his heaviest weapon, he laid it gently aside before returning to his pieced-apart automatic.
As he unfolded a clean patch and applied the gun oil, he turned his attention back to the two 'Gundam' Gears docked across from his Renmazuo. His hands continued the familiar task expertly as he assessed the machines, swabbing out the barrel of his semi-automatic with careful long strokes. Both of the Gundams were grimy, the blackened edges of old oil and the dulled pigments in their paint telling the story of their ancient origins. However, as the flying incident with Xenogears had so thoroughly proved, looks alone did not dictate the latent power that might hide behind those battered facades. The two machines, clothed in muted hues of emerald and ebony, had a certain... impassivity to them, Billy realized as he ran his eyes over their forms. An aura of restrained patience that should have seemed out of place around these machines of war. Instead, it felt... right.
The crispy rasp of the in-ship open com jerked him out of his contemplations as everyone, technician and soldier alike, paused in anticipation.
"We are at code five-repeat-code five and ten minutes from engagement. All officers, report to your stations. Clear the launch area of all unnecessary personnel. Red Bandit Team, roll out for initial launch--Green Bandit Team, stand by on deck!"
Gear pilots and launch mechanics leaped into action before the echoes had died, hurrying to their posts. By the time the first red Gear had begun to move towards the launch cradles, its heavy tread shaking the decking underfoot, Billy had slid the last piece of his automatic pistol into place and locked it down with brisk efficiency.
"Move your asses!" Bart shouted. He trotted across the deck to Brigandier's gleaming scarlet bulk. "I'll be damned if we're gonna let Kislev have all the fun. Billy!"
"Here," Billy answered mildly as he stood, guns once again holstered and the gleaming barrel of his rifle canted over one shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Duo and Wufei as they stood on their still-docked Gundams and watched the activity with interest.
"Emeralda's gonna go with Green on the second launch. I'm taking point with the Red Team; you and Renmazuo are gonna cover my flank, alright?"
Billy nodded, resting his off-hand on his gunbelts. "Of course." He resisted the urge to argue with Bart about being in the forefront of the battle. It was horribly inappropriate to put Aveh's top military commander at such risk, but convincing Bart of that was a waste of both breath and time. Bart was Bart, and whether he was a pirate, prospective king, or general, he would always be at the forefront, leading the way.
Besides, Billy reminded himself, they had survived Deus and the end of the world. To die in a nasty little skirmish like this would be not only ironic, but embarrassing.
"Great!" Bart grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Time for some payback."
As Billy turned towards his Gear, Bart grabbed a nearby ladder and clambered easily up to the second level. He looked up affectionately at Brigandier's headpiece: jaunty sculpted metal feather, black eyepatch, and all, and patted the armor plating. Brigandier hummed faintly as he slid into the waiting cockpit, system displays snapping online as initial pre-op diagnostics scrolled by. Then, under Bart's guidance, the powerful Gear moved forward carefully and settled itself in the launch cradle. Even as robot drones scurried underfoot and made final checks, the slate-blue form of Renmazuo stepped up to the next catapult, the heavy material of its cobalt cape snapping in the backwash of hot air as Gear thrusters fired up into launch readiness.
Bart grinned ferally as the launch bay doors began to rumble open. He wrapped his hands around the controls and kicked Brigandier's thrusters up to maximum, waiting for the catapult to fling them into battle.
The launch signal flashed. Grinning, Bart whooped as Brigandier was catapulted into Nisan's besieged skies.
"Chaaarge!!!"
(Nisan)
Thrown against her Gear harness by a fresh volley of laser fire, Elly slumped over her controls and listened to the harsh sound of her own labored breathing. As she threw Vierge to one side, rolling into the minimal shelter of a bombed-out building, she swiped at the sweat-soaked strands of red hair that hung limply over her eyes.
"Renk, Broyer, what's your status?" Elly asked tiredly, letting her Gear's armor absorb the occasional lucky shot. She watched Vierge's gauges flicker as the reactor slowly recharged the fuel cells and came to the unwelcome realization that she'd be forced to counterattack long before Vierge regained full power.
"Still with you, Elly," Renk replied, his nasal voice sounding about as tired as she felt. His narrow face belatedly came into view as the visual feed caught up with the audio. "We took cover in one of the large cisterns during that last barrage... no appreciable damage."
"Running low on ammo and recharges, though," Broyer added raspily. Elly frowned in concern--the visual channel from Broyer's Clawknight had failed earlier, to be replaced with a blinking scarlet 'error' message where his face should be. "We're running out of time, ma'am," he continued. "Vance, Stratski, and Helmholz are already pinned down over by the mausoleum entrance, and it's only a matter of time before they do the same to us."
Elly clenched her hands on the sweat-slicked surfaces of her Gear controls. "It doesn't matter; retreating is not an option. That would give Nicklay the opportunity he's always wanted, and he'd use the refugees here as a shield to prevent Bart and the others from retaliating." She straightened her shoulders, and wiped the sweat away from her eyes. "Fei and Bart are coming--I know it. We just need to hold out until they get here."
She ignored the stiff tension in her neck and shoulders, the bruises forming along the contact lines of her harness. The initial attack had occurred only twenty minutes ago--but the intense, desperate fighting against the onslaught of Kislev Gears had made it seem more like days. It hadn't taken long for them to realize that they were utterly outnumbered and outgunned, and Elly's ex-Gebler Gear squadron had retreated even as the last remnants of the Aveh troops assigned to Nisan's defense had crumpled. Now they played for time, using hit-and-run guerrilla attacks against Kislev's divisions. However, the simple fact was that they weren't even slowing down Kislev's advance. Much of the city had already fallen.
She shut her eyes briefly in the darkness of Vierge's cockpit as she whispered softly, "Fei... I can't do this by myself... "
"Ma'am!" Renk's shout snapped her attention back to the situation. "Check your readings--I've got Gear squadrons moving in on us from all sides. Looks like they're all moving towards the interior of the city at once!"
A fresh burst of adrenaline ran like fire through her veins as Elly toggled Vierge off of standby and fired up the thrusters again. "You're right. Three full divisions, heading our way. It looks like this is their final push to take Nisan; let's make sure they pay for it! Renk, you take the division coming in from the west. Broyer, take the one from the southeast. I'll take the larger division coming straight in from the south."
"Affirmative." Renk snapped off a salute before cutting off the connection.
"Yes, ma'am," Broyer responded, his voice interrupted by static. Elly waited just long enough to see Broyer's Clawknight glide off through the rubbled streets, then moved to intercept her own targets. Taking advantage of both Vierge's flexibility and her own knowledge of Nisan's layout, Elly ducked around buildings and under bridges in order to weave a furtive path towards the invading Gears. While ignominious, her weaving, scuttling movement kept her under the radar and out of the gunships' fire. After a few tense moments Vierge was crouched, hidden in the roiling black smoke of a burning warehouse, as Elly assessed her options.
"Fuel is low, rod charges are low... multiple targets," she muttered as she watched the squat, dark-green Gears as they marched towards her, crushing buildings and bridges in their path. "No resources for an extended fight, which means... " She drew in a deep breath, clearing her mind. "One shot, maybe two. It'll have to be enough."
Eye-sensors flaring ominously through the gloom, Vierge surged forward as its partially-recharged fuel cells provided new power to the thrusters. The Kislev Gears paused, startled by the appearance of Vierge's slighter form, its white-and-pink armor stained scarlet by the surrounding flames. Elly took advantage of their momentary hesitation and continued her lunge, even as she drew on her reservoir of Ether power--Miang's unwitting legacy to her.
Responding to her mental commands, the small, metallic aerods burst free from their containment and hovered with silent menace around Vierge. The Kislev Gears had never been confronted by this level of Solarian technology; they didn't realize the menace inside those deceptively innocuous metal drones. They charged--and fell headlong into a deadly crossfire barrage of Ether-energies as the aerods attacked. Spitting multiple beams of devastating, white-hot destructive energy, the aerods effortlessly sliced through the armored Gears and turned the front line into twisted heaps of smoking metal. Meanwhile, Elly continued her lunge, using Vierge's Chaos rod to best effect even as she continued to feed power to the aerods.
Muscle tremors began to wrack her body as the enormous drain on her resources took its toll. Since Vierge no longer functioned on Ether power, it could no longer produce the energy necessary for an aerod attack. Only her own innate power, the Ether energies that had been amplified since her joining with Miang, could support such advanced weapons now... and without an Ether engine as support, she couldn't sustain them for long. She gritted her teeth, black spots dancing before her eyes as she paused, drawing Vierge back from the teeth of battle. The aerods paused as she did, waiting for further commands as the wounded Kislev division did its best to regroup.
One more time. One *last* time--she was grimly aware of her tenuous hold on consciousness. In her debilitated state, draining the last of her Ether power would likely push her physical body to the brink as well. She knew what would happen then. It did not take a prophet to foretell what would happen to her, weakened and her Gear damaged, in the midst of the surviving Kislev Gears.
One more time.
She summoned the dregs of her power, ignoring the reactive shots that tore at Vierge's armor and rocked the ground underfoot. The aerods responded like eager hounds, emitting faint halos of reactive energies as they charged up for another deadly attack, and Elly readied herself for her final barrage. Cobblestones cracked underfoot as Vierge braced itself for another attack.
Oh Fei... I didn't think it would end like this...
Elly threw Vierge forward, committing all her resources to this final assault. Her aerods responded in seconds later, unleashing their own deadly attacks as they forced the Kislev Gears backwards. Then she felt her vision momentarily white-out as a concussive explosion rang in her ears and shook her cockpit. Confused, she pulled back from her last-ditch attack. Time seemed to freeze for one starkly outlined instant as her tired mind fought to catch up with what her reflexes had already responded to. More bolts of death rained out of the sky, their pinpoint shots slicing through the already-battered Kislev Gears from above, and she almost choked with relief.
"Fei!"
It took only a few seconds to realize her error. In those self-same seconds, the unknown aircraft had dived through the smoke, transformed into a Gear, and used its remaining momentum to land in the midst of the Kislev Gears and batter them apart with a flaming sword. Then it leaped into the sky once again, wings shifting in another split-second transformation as it struck straight forward into the heart of the Kislev airship fleet. With no time to wonder about her unexpected rescue, Elly struck forward, lunging straight into the crippled Kislev division. She took advantage of the openings her strange ally had provided and battered the Kislev Gears into the ground one by one, the searing energies of her Chaos rod frying their systems even as it tore through appendages and armor. Far above, her strange ally engaged the bulk of the Kislev aircraft in a deadly aerial ballet as it drew their fire away and sliced the smaller escort ships into shrapnel.
In those endless, focused minutes, Elly fell into a rhythm, sending Vierge into a destructive pattern of thrust-block-lunge-attack. The remnants of her enemies had fallen back--now, regrouped, they moved to flank her, forcing her on the defensive. Her sapphire eyes were hot and focused on the monitors, scarlet hair straggling into her face. Elly barely heard the urgent warning alarms as the last bits of Vierge's fuel was consumed in her fight. However even as the fuel warnings sounded, a voice battered against the walls of her concentration. A welcome, beloved, *frantic* voice.
"--ly! Elly! Come in! Elly, are you all right?" Fei's voice reverberated in the damaged cocoon of her cockpit. His wavering image flickered up, fractured jaggedly in half by a cracked display screen. "Elly--are you okay?"
Even as Vierge reeled back from another hit, Elly couldn't help but smile. "Fei! I knew you'd come." Another shot from an enemy Gear fried part of her weapons systems in a shower of sparks. "We've been keeping them occupied for you... "
Fei's eyes flicked away as he glanced at something outside of the range of the camera. His mouth flattened into a thin, angry line--but his reply was surprisingly gentle. "I see... and it looks like they haven't been making it easy."
Suddenly a rainbow arc of power slammed down on the main body of the Kislev Gear division, obliterating them in an instant. Xenogears dived out of the sky, almost absentmindedly swatting two pursuing Gears aside, and hovered protectively over Vierge's kneeling form. Over the link, Fei's face was stony with a new, deadly resolve.
"Don't worry, Elly. We'll show them what happens to people who threaten Nisan."
End Part Twelve
(:./hope/dream12)
