SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu ❯ Chapter 11: Moriko's Skill ( Chapter 11 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: May-VeggieGirl1 
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.30.2007 | Updated On: 03.30.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 621 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.30.2007 | Updated On: 03.30.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 621 | Status: Completed
Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu
By: May-VeggieGirl1
~*~*~*~*
"Answer us, Chimi," Raidon growled while turning back to the hissing figures before him. "What are these things?" Chimi's eyes darted over to the shadows on his right, edging near and Hikyuu blinked with uncertainty, all the while translating his silence.
"They are what brought this empire to its knees along with all who stood against them... They're small, light, fast, innvulnerable, and, above all, most dangerous, hmm..." She paused with a frown, staring at him in mystery before turning to Daja and Raidon with sharp red eyes."We, as gundams, call them predators."
The tension in the air hung for a moment in stillness before another sharp hiss from the 'predators' broke it, lunging at Daja from behind. He turned his head to it and sneered, raising his hammer in attack but was beaten to it. Raidon encased the two of them in a protective shell of dark mana as they floated a foot off of the floor.
"Do not waste your magic on these things," Raidon said sternly while watching more attack from other sides. "You have used up enough mana breaking the seal." Daja watched the sleek, silver creatures, now visable in the light, futily attack, his eyes silent. His older comrade was right, he shouldn't push it. Instead he turned his focus to more of the gleaming, three piece 'predators' lunging at Hikyuu and the cloaked, unmoving figure of Chimimouryu. Hikyuu drew a sharp breath and several shuriken, clutching to them in between her clawed fingers and ready to unleash them. Twelve of the predators surrounded the two and moved warily, one darting toward's her feet. She chucked a star at them with a flick of her wrist but it relfected effortlessly off of the creature. With a growl, she hopped a step back up against Chimi in avoiding their threatening gestures.
"Chimi-sama, hmm," Hikyuu began to sweat and clutched the shuriken tighter, knowing it was no good. "Please tell me what we can do to stop them..." A shot rang through the open space, the sound vibrating off of unseen walls as a bullet of red light streaked through the air and struck a creature moving in from behind. A shiver ran up Hikyuu's spine in surprise as she turned towards the darkness nearby and hissed, "Who's there?!"
A gundam with dark green armor and hazel eyes stepped out of the shadows to stared at the two mushas apathetically, shifting feet. Slung over his shoulder, he carried a grey and ominous rocket launcher. One hand was pointing at them with the index finger, the thumb drawn back as if it were a gun, and Daja was surprised when he realized the tip of the finger was in fact a barrel. On his chest, above his yellow gunsoul stone, was a golden badge bearing an insignia the knight had never seen before but couldn't make out the details from the distance he was at. Hikyuu also sized him up with a sneer of disgust.
"Hmm, the seal hasn't even been open for ten minutes and they're already popping out of nowhere..."
"Fresh out of the easy bake oven," The new gundam muttered sarcastically. She glared and motioned to retaliate to his ill remark when she was interrupted by loud, overbearing laughter that suddenly rang throughout the halls. Hikyuu winced and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching the shuriken in her hand tighter until they nearly cut into her.
"I know that laugh... Araebisu," She hollared over the cackle as the figure of another gundam leapt out of the shadows in heated movement and spun quickly, slashing away ten more of the hissing predators nearing them. He landed on his feet and drew his weapons, six gleaming, black katana, inward as his body racked with the hysteria. Araebisu was a red claded gundam with katana sheaths lined across his waist. Each hand skillfully held two katana between the thumb and index and the pinky and ring finger. Holes with locks were on his elbows, enabling two more swords at his disposal which he wielded like a master. A grey plate covered where his eyes would be with a slit running from one side to the other.Two dozen more of the predators gathered around him in a circle, isolating him from the other three behind him but he only smiled deviously under his mouthplate. In an instant, he skid backwards, away from four leaping from the front, and slashed one arm back, three katana cutting a path past them. They didn't hesitate, all of them lunging at once at Araebisu from all directions. They hung in the air for a moment as the musha ducked low, readying his swords in the stilled time. Then with a great bound and spinning rapidly, he plowed through them all as a black and red blur. The predators tumbled aside, knocked every which way, and his bolsterous laugh began again.
"Bahahahaha-AHAHAHAHAH!" Another shot pierced the air, landing dangerously close to Araebisu's foot. The other gundam drew his hand back, finger still smoldering.
"That's enough, you lunatic. We can't fight them."
"Who are you to be giving orders, hmm," Hikyuu snapped back. Daja watched them all, his frusteration brewing all the more, Raidon giving him an exasperated look.
"Let's just leave. The deal is over." Daja clutched his weapon tight, new wings drawn back tense.
"Not until I figure out what's going on," Daja roared over the three and they silenced quickly. Chimi, who had been watching with the same apathy in his eyes shifted calmly to stare at the Lacroan knight. "Who are you two? What are these predators?" The unnamed gundam's hazel eyes shifted to the side as more of the creatures stalked in closer for a kill.
"I am Kouheimaru and this is Araebisu... We're just here to keep little ninja girl from going under." She glared in response, flicking a shuriken at him. Kouhei didn't flinch in the leash, shooting it out of the air with his trigger finger. "In all honesty, Chimi, you haven't quite given us an objective yet besides coming here."
"Then tell me," Daja continued but a little more calmly. "Predators? What does that mean?"
"Isn't that obvious? They're an abomination the Dark Axis created ages ago, when this land was once something to be proud of." He paused for a moment to look back at them, everyone but Chimi listening with interest. "Now it is dust, all because of these little things."
"These things? Not BagguBaggu," Raidon questioned and looked back down at the ones ramming up against his shield. Their determination was something to admire, he gave them that. The gundam scoffed.
"BagguBaggu don't force an entire planet to evacuate." He paused again to hold his breath, mulling the words on his tongue while shooting at another one edging too close to him. "No... these things were what unravelled this land. It was called Project 00723 of the Dark Axis' attempts to invade. All movements before had failed until these suckers were thrown off the press into battle... And, heck, did they give the Dark Axis a clear edge. There was no magic, no power, that could stop one of these, much less the hundreds- and then thousands- that reigned terror. With their teeth that spike into a four-inch blade, they picked apart gundams and devoured them, and then, when there were no gundams left to eat, they tore humans to pieces as well." Grimly, he smiled, though hidden, and bent lower to look down at the deemed 723s with a hint of spite in his voice. "Resorceful little bastards, aren't you? Use every scrap of metal or flesh you could get your tiny teeth into..."
"If it was such an overwhelming invasion," Daja drawled, lowering his hammer. "Then why was the seal placed?"
"Don't you see? They're predators." Kouhei straightened himself and shot three rounds in his index finger at them, the creatures hissing and scattering apart. "They're programmed solely to hunt and kill and devour. Those are their sole objectives. There's no option for loyalty."
Daja blinked and said quietly, "Oh."
"As you can imagine," Kouhei continued. "The Dark Axis quickly lost control of their own weapon. Even they had nothing to keep the 00723 projects in line for their purposes. These things see in black and white- either you're one of them or dinner. Realizing they couldn't stop the snowball of destruction they had created, the Dark Axis was quick to withdraw- Ark following close behind- leaving everyone in this world stranded and doomed."Those left behind fled to different dimensions as the country quickly fell apart. But it was realized that their mass movement was threatening to bring the 00723 projects into the other dimensions as well. In an effort to protect the people of all worlds, the royal kingdom gathered their greatest mages to seal the dimensional space with the Universal Seal, so none of these could escape." Daja looked aside in quiet contemplation, Raidon watching Chimi with unease again. The predators moved to attack every one of them- except Chimi. Something the musha found most intriguing- and further unnerving. Kouhei shrugged and laid a hand on Araebisu's shoulder, pulling him back from swinging wildly at more of them. "And that's the story. I said that's enough, Araebisu."
"So this abandoned land is yours for the taking now... how to do plan to keep these things at bay when the last residents couldn't- even with the powers to create a Universal Seal?" Raidon asked with a low growl in his voice. He couldn't hold up his shield forever, especially if there were thousands of these things roaming around. The cloaked gundam lowered his eyes slowly and moved with fluid grace past Hikyuu, the cloak completely visable with it's tattered edges now away from the shadows. Pushing past the cloth, he extended his right arm out straight in the air. Chimi had simple black armor with his lighter grey arm, a gold band around the arm guard and attached to the arm guard was a smooth, crisp black spike with four blasters or jet-like attachments- looking much like a missile in general. The fingers clutched into a fist as everyone watched in waiting- even Chimi himself as he stared at his own fist with the white slit puipils. Finally, with a clear, cold, deep and piercing voice, he answered Raidon.
"Fools. All of them." Raidon only had time for his circuits to freeze at the voice that strangely filled him with dread before Chimi moved with astounding speed. The entire arm swung back in a violent throw, aiming right for the ground and around it a crackle of white for a split moment, then violet then finally pitch black, so none of them could see the energy they felt against the darkness of the room. The flash happened quickly, the draw released as Chimi, with amazing intensity, slammed his fist into the ground forcing a resounding ripple of energy to burst outward, the ground shaking and crumbling around them. Hikyuu gasped and braced her footing, cowering slightly as Kouhei tried to keep his balance as well on the turbulant floor with his long launcher still over his shoulder. Araebisu stood bewildered and the two mana users looked around in awe as the whole castle shook as if trying to shake the 00723s off as fleas. They tumbled this way and that, many falling to the floor immobile and in complete havoc as the mad event ensued for two minutes before finally settling. A few pieces of the ceiling came down, revealing light from the darkly clouded sky above upon a multitude of the predators that once hid in those shadows, now laying across the ground, paralyzed. Kouhei looked down at them startled but his composure slowly regaining and raised his gaze up to Chimi.
"Did you... kill them," He murmured in a hushed breath. As if on cue, they came to from their shock, pulling themselves back up on their single piece footing. Their red eyes moved over to the entire group with hesitation but, after a moment of suspense, clattered away in a great migration out of the room.
"That... takes care of that?" Hikyuu chuckled nervously a little, tucking away the shuriken and wringing her clawed hands. Daja nodded slowly, still taking it in.
"I suppose so." He blinked in surprise and turned back to his comrade who clung to himself in a hug, shield down. "Raidon...? Is everything okay? You've been acting strange since we first came here..."
"I," The older gundam took a shuddering breath and brought his shaking hands down to his sides again and began again with a quick voice, "I don't feel well. Please, let's wrap this up." Daja looked Raidon over for a moment and nodded quietly. It was true, Raidon had been acting nervously the whole time, and there didn't seem to be any good with staying longer. Daja glanced over his shoulder at them, between his attached white wings.
"Everything is settled and under control. The deal is done- so we'll be off." With a great flap of his wings, Daja tried to usher Raidon off but one word made him freeze in his tracks.
"No." Slowly, they turned back to stare cryptically at Chimi. What did that mean? They couldn't leave or they weren't done? Hikyuu watched in fascinated speculation before blinking in realization and grinning, holding up a clawed finger.
"No- Not yet, Daja and Raidon, hmm. We have one more offer to lay on the table... and we're sure it's worth considering, hm hmmm?" Raidon sighed, closing his eyes.
"What do you want from us?" Chimi moved his arm back under the dark cloak, hiding entirely, but continue to stare unnervingly at them with the dangerous white slit eyes.
"To kill the gundam force for us," Hikyuu purred and licked her clawed fingers, red eyes narrowing. "The red musha gundam in particular... Bakunetsumaru, hmmm. You see, we can't have them bothering us while we continue to move forward. You understand, hmm? They must be a nuisance to yourselves as well?" Raidon exchanged a look with Daja tiredly, nodding once.
"Crushing them is something inevitable for us... but for the haste, what will we have in return?"
"A little pretty bird told us that you served another back in those years the Dark Axis had reigns in Lacroa..." A lump formed in Daja's throat, knowing exactly what she meant but Hikyuu continued with vigor. "Hm, before he met that most unfortunate end... now, do remind me what his name was?" She toyed and he looked down with a clenched fist, voice bitter.
"Lord...Tallgeese."
"Ah," She exaclaimed, mock remembering simply to tease. "Yes, yes, hmmm! The Knight of Tempest!" She stepped closer to Daja despite him still floating in air, twirling a four-pointed shuriken in her hand idlely. "If you would do well to dispose of our little pest problem," With a clink, Hikyuu snapped the shuriken out of her hands, landing squarely in the wall with a ominous thud. "We'll bring your Master back to life." Daja's wide-eyes brightened as he stared in disbelief of the words.
"T... Tallgeese? You can bring back," His voice jumped in excitement with each syllable. "-Lord Tallgeese!" Raidon sighed and looked away, accepting the fact they weren't going to be done in this business quite yet. Hikyuu grinned at the excited gundams and folded her arms.Chimi knew the chord to strike for his tune.
"Can we please stop just for a little while? You've been hurt- you need to rest." Captain sighed with a hint of frusteration. At least Moriko was consistant, and it was a kind gesture to be concerned over him, but he had objectives. And those objectives were his top priority.
"Soon," He promised again as Shute gave him a worried look. His gunsoul throbbed for a moment but he cleared his head and focused solely on the ground level for more signs of the enemy.
"Captain, I think she's right now," Their human companion protested, slowing a bit. "We've gone pretty far from where they attacked."
"It's not far enough, we're still in the circumference I calculated."
"How does that matter," Baku muttered, one hand still clasped warily on a katana. "They pop up from the ground like gophers. We don't know where they are or when they're going to appear no matter where we walk. Going further may be even more unsafe with a breeding ground of them under our feet and we still wouldn't know it." The group fell quiet for a moment as a breeze gently blew by, picking up some dust from the earth and carrying it off into the distance. Still, nothing seemed to appear on the horizen, just flat land.
"I'm only trying to keep us safe," Captain tried to reason, scanning his eyes across the landscape. Shute frowned.
"And we are for you!"
"Shute is right," Zero added. "You're health is most important to us." Captain finally paused, miffed that he had been outnumbered in logic and turned back to them, accepting their proposal.
"Very well, then." Naturally, Shute was the first to bound up close to him for inspection and a good bout of worry. His wide eyes trailed down the trickle of black oozing liquid from the injury and he clenched his fist, feeling the anger that his friend was hurt quell inside.
"Captain," He began but was cut off as Captain stared back with navy blue eyes.
"It's okay. As long as I don't have another one attach to me again, I'll be fine."
"But," Shute mumbled and looked away as Zero and Baku peeked around him at the wound as well. "I've never seen you bleed before..."
"They certainly got to thee well," Zero nodded in agreement again.
"I understand. You've never seen something like this before, Shute, because no enemy of ours prior has targetted points on us so precisely..." Moriko shyly tried to poke her way in there to observe as well as Baku folded his arms with a confused look.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Considering the effects, I concluded that the chance they were aiming to attack major energy channels on us is about 94.1%," Captain said and practiced clenching his right hand again, the thumb still not responding. "When it had latched onto me, it had begun absorbing the energy from my gunsoul immediately, through that merged, entended tooth..."
"Why did they attack me too then? I'm human, I don't have anything like that..."
"Probably for the same reason any Dark Axis robot had before... perhaps found you to be repulsive as an organic or thought you to be a good liability..." Captain paused as Moriko finally moved around them to his side, struggling to poke her head over his shoulder.
"You're wound is still open..."
"Only Kao Lyn can fix this," The gundam informed and his friends looked away grimly at the thought. Who knew when they would return to Neotopia, especially if this land was barren?
"But," She murmured quietly, straightening again formally and not trying to hunch over for sight. "I can heal it if you want me to..." The force stared at her in confusion.
"Heal," Captain tossed the idea around in his head. "Is that possible? I am a gundam from another land with completely different functions..."
"I can handle it." He turned to look at her serious green eyes and nodded.
"Alright, it's worth a shot." Zero, Baku, and Shute gathered around and watched in suspense as Moriko's hand rested on Captain's wound. The blood trickled through her fingers but she ignored it, eyes going up to him in concern.
"This will hurt, but you will have to trust me."
"Very well," He nodded. Still antsy at the idea, Shute shifted and asked.
"You've done this before, Moriko? Are you sure it will work?"
"Yes," Moriko said calmly and focused her energies, digging her fingers further in the opening. They all watched carefully as a few sparks came, Captain cringing.
"Captain," the boy frowned but neither moved, only concentrating on the task at hand. After a minute, Moriko moved her fingers out and rested her hand gently on the outside of Captain's wound, patient.
"Well," Zero asked. "Did it work?"
"I didn't see anything," Baku commented, squinting a little in hopes he could see something more amist the inky blood. He couldn't.
"That's because you're not looking with your mind." She stepped back, pulling away her hand after another minute. Blood still covered the area, but the hole the tooth had cut through was healed. The onlooker's eyes widdened as Captain inspected his systems with genuine surprise and much appriciation.
"I'm functioning at eighty-three percent without the open injury." He flexed his right hand, the thumb mobile again. "Thank you for repairing me, Moriko." Shute grinned and pulled off his red shirt, using it to rub the blood off of his best friend.
"I'll clean you up, Captain!" Moriko watched him with interest as the boy hummed. Zero noticed and smiled to himself, remembering when Baku had first encountered Shute in Neotopia.
"You've never seen a human either, I suppose," He asked more than speculated and she quietly nodded in return. Baku hadn't recovered from the shock and moved beside Shute, gingerly fingering Captain's chest.
"How did you do that? Do you know magic?"
"No, it would have been most obvious if magic were the source," Zero corrected quickly.
"I only used my nano skin," She said, her eyes shifting to him. He turned around abruptly, eyes as big as basketballs.
"EHH??"
"Nano skin... Then you use your assets well and to such potential, mi'lady!" Zero produced a princess rose as a token of appriciation, bowing a little on their behalf. "And we thank you greatly for your assistance." Baku pouted and crossed his arms, turning away as she took the rose with awkward curiosity.
"It is the least I can do for the protection you have offered." She looked away, lowering the rose. "I am sorry if I had seemed rude before... You must understand my plight, it is as if my life exploded all at once- taking everything I know with it..."
"Well get everything fixed and back to normal!" Shute held up a fist in promise.
"Affirmative."
"You can rest peacefully with knowledge the situation will be in our hands." Baku seemed to miss his comrade's reassurance, still looking away in deep thought, and whispered to himself.
"But I still wanna know about the nano skin healing..."
~*~*~*~*~*
Ahh, I wanted to add more but plans changed and I won't have a chance to upload this until next Tuesday it seems... I'll be away for a while for spring break, but I'll definitely keep working on art and this fic to post whenever I get back to internet access! :3 Review please!
By: May-VeggieGirl1
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"Answer us, Chimi," Raidon growled while turning back to the hissing figures before him. "What are these things?" Chimi's eyes darted over to the shadows on his right, edging near and Hikyuu blinked with uncertainty, all the while translating his silence.
"They are what brought this empire to its knees along with all who stood against them... They're small, light, fast, innvulnerable, and, above all, most dangerous, hmm..." She paused with a frown, staring at him in mystery before turning to Daja and Raidon with sharp red eyes."We, as gundams, call them predators."
The tension in the air hung for a moment in stillness before another sharp hiss from the 'predators' broke it, lunging at Daja from behind. He turned his head to it and sneered, raising his hammer in attack but was beaten to it. Raidon encased the two of them in a protective shell of dark mana as they floated a foot off of the floor.
"Do not waste your magic on these things," Raidon said sternly while watching more attack from other sides. "You have used up enough mana breaking the seal." Daja watched the sleek, silver creatures, now visable in the light, futily attack, his eyes silent. His older comrade was right, he shouldn't push it. Instead he turned his focus to more of the gleaming, three piece 'predators' lunging at Hikyuu and the cloaked, unmoving figure of Chimimouryu. Hikyuu drew a sharp breath and several shuriken, clutching to them in between her clawed fingers and ready to unleash them. Twelve of the predators surrounded the two and moved warily, one darting toward's her feet. She chucked a star at them with a flick of her wrist but it relfected effortlessly off of the creature. With a growl, she hopped a step back up against Chimi in avoiding their threatening gestures.
"Chimi-sama, hmm," Hikyuu began to sweat and clutched the shuriken tighter, knowing it was no good. "Please tell me what we can do to stop them..." A shot rang through the open space, the sound vibrating off of unseen walls as a bullet of red light streaked through the air and struck a creature moving in from behind. A shiver ran up Hikyuu's spine in surprise as she turned towards the darkness nearby and hissed, "Who's there?!"
A gundam with dark green armor and hazel eyes stepped out of the shadows to stared at the two mushas apathetically, shifting feet. Slung over his shoulder, he carried a grey and ominous rocket launcher. One hand was pointing at them with the index finger, the thumb drawn back as if it were a gun, and Daja was surprised when he realized the tip of the finger was in fact a barrel. On his chest, above his yellow gunsoul stone, was a golden badge bearing an insignia the knight had never seen before but couldn't make out the details from the distance he was at. Hikyuu also sized him up with a sneer of disgust.
"Hmm, the seal hasn't even been open for ten minutes and they're already popping out of nowhere..."
"Fresh out of the easy bake oven," The new gundam muttered sarcastically. She glared and motioned to retaliate to his ill remark when she was interrupted by loud, overbearing laughter that suddenly rang throughout the halls. Hikyuu winced and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching the shuriken in her hand tighter until they nearly cut into her.
"I know that laugh... Araebisu," She hollared over the cackle as the figure of another gundam leapt out of the shadows in heated movement and spun quickly, slashing away ten more of the hissing predators nearing them. He landed on his feet and drew his weapons, six gleaming, black katana, inward as his body racked with the hysteria. Araebisu was a red claded gundam with katana sheaths lined across his waist. Each hand skillfully held two katana between the thumb and index and the pinky and ring finger. Holes with locks were on his elbows, enabling two more swords at his disposal which he wielded like a master. A grey plate covered where his eyes would be with a slit running from one side to the other.Two dozen more of the predators gathered around him in a circle, isolating him from the other three behind him but he only smiled deviously under his mouthplate. In an instant, he skid backwards, away from four leaping from the front, and slashed one arm back, three katana cutting a path past them. They didn't hesitate, all of them lunging at once at Araebisu from all directions. They hung in the air for a moment as the musha ducked low, readying his swords in the stilled time. Then with a great bound and spinning rapidly, he plowed through them all as a black and red blur. The predators tumbled aside, knocked every which way, and his bolsterous laugh began again.
"Bahahahaha-AHAHAHAHAH!" Another shot pierced the air, landing dangerously close to Araebisu's foot. The other gundam drew his hand back, finger still smoldering.
"That's enough, you lunatic. We can't fight them."
"Who are you to be giving orders, hmm," Hikyuu snapped back. Daja watched them all, his frusteration brewing all the more, Raidon giving him an exasperated look.
"Let's just leave. The deal is over." Daja clutched his weapon tight, new wings drawn back tense.
"Not until I figure out what's going on," Daja roared over the three and they silenced quickly. Chimi, who had been watching with the same apathy in his eyes shifted calmly to stare at the Lacroan knight. "Who are you two? What are these predators?" The unnamed gundam's hazel eyes shifted to the side as more of the creatures stalked in closer for a kill.
"I am Kouheimaru and this is Araebisu... We're just here to keep little ninja girl from going under." She glared in response, flicking a shuriken at him. Kouhei didn't flinch in the leash, shooting it out of the air with his trigger finger. "In all honesty, Chimi, you haven't quite given us an objective yet besides coming here."
"Then tell me," Daja continued but a little more calmly. "Predators? What does that mean?"
"Isn't that obvious? They're an abomination the Dark Axis created ages ago, when this land was once something to be proud of." He paused for a moment to look back at them, everyone but Chimi listening with interest. "Now it is dust, all because of these little things."
"These things? Not BagguBaggu," Raidon questioned and looked back down at the ones ramming up against his shield. Their determination was something to admire, he gave them that. The gundam scoffed.
"BagguBaggu don't force an entire planet to evacuate." He paused again to hold his breath, mulling the words on his tongue while shooting at another one edging too close to him. "No... these things were what unravelled this land. It was called Project 00723 of the Dark Axis' attempts to invade. All movements before had failed until these suckers were thrown off the press into battle... And, heck, did they give the Dark Axis a clear edge. There was no magic, no power, that could stop one of these, much less the hundreds- and then thousands- that reigned terror. With their teeth that spike into a four-inch blade, they picked apart gundams and devoured them, and then, when there were no gundams left to eat, they tore humans to pieces as well." Grimly, he smiled, though hidden, and bent lower to look down at the deemed 723s with a hint of spite in his voice. "Resorceful little bastards, aren't you? Use every scrap of metal or flesh you could get your tiny teeth into..."
"If it was such an overwhelming invasion," Daja drawled, lowering his hammer. "Then why was the seal placed?"
"Don't you see? They're predators." Kouhei straightened himself and shot three rounds in his index finger at them, the creatures hissing and scattering apart. "They're programmed solely to hunt and kill and devour. Those are their sole objectives. There's no option for loyalty."
Daja blinked and said quietly, "Oh."
"As you can imagine," Kouhei continued. "The Dark Axis quickly lost control of their own weapon. Even they had nothing to keep the 00723 projects in line for their purposes. These things see in black and white- either you're one of them or dinner. Realizing they couldn't stop the snowball of destruction they had created, the Dark Axis was quick to withdraw- Ark following close behind- leaving everyone in this world stranded and doomed."Those left behind fled to different dimensions as the country quickly fell apart. But it was realized that their mass movement was threatening to bring the 00723 projects into the other dimensions as well. In an effort to protect the people of all worlds, the royal kingdom gathered their greatest mages to seal the dimensional space with the Universal Seal, so none of these could escape." Daja looked aside in quiet contemplation, Raidon watching Chimi with unease again. The predators moved to attack every one of them- except Chimi. Something the musha found most intriguing- and further unnerving. Kouhei shrugged and laid a hand on Araebisu's shoulder, pulling him back from swinging wildly at more of them. "And that's the story. I said that's enough, Araebisu."
"So this abandoned land is yours for the taking now... how to do plan to keep these things at bay when the last residents couldn't- even with the powers to create a Universal Seal?" Raidon asked with a low growl in his voice. He couldn't hold up his shield forever, especially if there were thousands of these things roaming around. The cloaked gundam lowered his eyes slowly and moved with fluid grace past Hikyuu, the cloak completely visable with it's tattered edges now away from the shadows. Pushing past the cloth, he extended his right arm out straight in the air. Chimi had simple black armor with his lighter grey arm, a gold band around the arm guard and attached to the arm guard was a smooth, crisp black spike with four blasters or jet-like attachments- looking much like a missile in general. The fingers clutched into a fist as everyone watched in waiting- even Chimi himself as he stared at his own fist with the white slit puipils. Finally, with a clear, cold, deep and piercing voice, he answered Raidon.
"Fools. All of them." Raidon only had time for his circuits to freeze at the voice that strangely filled him with dread before Chimi moved with astounding speed. The entire arm swung back in a violent throw, aiming right for the ground and around it a crackle of white for a split moment, then violet then finally pitch black, so none of them could see the energy they felt against the darkness of the room. The flash happened quickly, the draw released as Chimi, with amazing intensity, slammed his fist into the ground forcing a resounding ripple of energy to burst outward, the ground shaking and crumbling around them. Hikyuu gasped and braced her footing, cowering slightly as Kouhei tried to keep his balance as well on the turbulant floor with his long launcher still over his shoulder. Araebisu stood bewildered and the two mana users looked around in awe as the whole castle shook as if trying to shake the 00723s off as fleas. They tumbled this way and that, many falling to the floor immobile and in complete havoc as the mad event ensued for two minutes before finally settling. A few pieces of the ceiling came down, revealing light from the darkly clouded sky above upon a multitude of the predators that once hid in those shadows, now laying across the ground, paralyzed. Kouhei looked down at them startled but his composure slowly regaining and raised his gaze up to Chimi.
"Did you... kill them," He murmured in a hushed breath. As if on cue, they came to from their shock, pulling themselves back up on their single piece footing. Their red eyes moved over to the entire group with hesitation but, after a moment of suspense, clattered away in a great migration out of the room.
"That... takes care of that?" Hikyuu chuckled nervously a little, tucking away the shuriken and wringing her clawed hands. Daja nodded slowly, still taking it in.
"I suppose so." He blinked in surprise and turned back to his comrade who clung to himself in a hug, shield down. "Raidon...? Is everything okay? You've been acting strange since we first came here..."
"I," The older gundam took a shuddering breath and brought his shaking hands down to his sides again and began again with a quick voice, "I don't feel well. Please, let's wrap this up." Daja looked Raidon over for a moment and nodded quietly. It was true, Raidon had been acting nervously the whole time, and there didn't seem to be any good with staying longer. Daja glanced over his shoulder at them, between his attached white wings.
"Everything is settled and under control. The deal is done- so we'll be off." With a great flap of his wings, Daja tried to usher Raidon off but one word made him freeze in his tracks.
"No." Slowly, they turned back to stare cryptically at Chimi. What did that mean? They couldn't leave or they weren't done? Hikyuu watched in fascinated speculation before blinking in realization and grinning, holding up a clawed finger.
"No- Not yet, Daja and Raidon, hmm. We have one more offer to lay on the table... and we're sure it's worth considering, hm hmmm?" Raidon sighed, closing his eyes.
"What do you want from us?" Chimi moved his arm back under the dark cloak, hiding entirely, but continue to stare unnervingly at them with the dangerous white slit eyes.
"To kill the gundam force for us," Hikyuu purred and licked her clawed fingers, red eyes narrowing. "The red musha gundam in particular... Bakunetsumaru, hmmm. You see, we can't have them bothering us while we continue to move forward. You understand, hmm? They must be a nuisance to yourselves as well?" Raidon exchanged a look with Daja tiredly, nodding once.
"Crushing them is something inevitable for us... but for the haste, what will we have in return?"
"A little pretty bird told us that you served another back in those years the Dark Axis had reigns in Lacroa..." A lump formed in Daja's throat, knowing exactly what she meant but Hikyuu continued with vigor. "Hm, before he met that most unfortunate end... now, do remind me what his name was?" She toyed and he looked down with a clenched fist, voice bitter.
"Lord...Tallgeese."
"Ah," She exaclaimed, mock remembering simply to tease. "Yes, yes, hmmm! The Knight of Tempest!" She stepped closer to Daja despite him still floating in air, twirling a four-pointed shuriken in her hand idlely. "If you would do well to dispose of our little pest problem," With a clink, Hikyuu snapped the shuriken out of her hands, landing squarely in the wall with a ominous thud. "We'll bring your Master back to life." Daja's wide-eyes brightened as he stared in disbelief of the words.
"T... Tallgeese? You can bring back," His voice jumped in excitement with each syllable. "-Lord Tallgeese!" Raidon sighed and looked away, accepting the fact they weren't going to be done in this business quite yet. Hikyuu grinned at the excited gundams and folded her arms.Chimi knew the chord to strike for his tune.
"Can we please stop just for a little while? You've been hurt- you need to rest." Captain sighed with a hint of frusteration. At least Moriko was consistant, and it was a kind gesture to be concerned over him, but he had objectives. And those objectives were his top priority.
"Soon," He promised again as Shute gave him a worried look. His gunsoul throbbed for a moment but he cleared his head and focused solely on the ground level for more signs of the enemy.
"Captain, I think she's right now," Their human companion protested, slowing a bit. "We've gone pretty far from where they attacked."
"It's not far enough, we're still in the circumference I calculated."
"How does that matter," Baku muttered, one hand still clasped warily on a katana. "They pop up from the ground like gophers. We don't know where they are or when they're going to appear no matter where we walk. Going further may be even more unsafe with a breeding ground of them under our feet and we still wouldn't know it." The group fell quiet for a moment as a breeze gently blew by, picking up some dust from the earth and carrying it off into the distance. Still, nothing seemed to appear on the horizen, just flat land.
"I'm only trying to keep us safe," Captain tried to reason, scanning his eyes across the landscape. Shute frowned.
"And we are for you!"
"Shute is right," Zero added. "You're health is most important to us." Captain finally paused, miffed that he had been outnumbered in logic and turned back to them, accepting their proposal.
"Very well, then." Naturally, Shute was the first to bound up close to him for inspection and a good bout of worry. His wide eyes trailed down the trickle of black oozing liquid from the injury and he clenched his fist, feeling the anger that his friend was hurt quell inside.
"Captain," He began but was cut off as Captain stared back with navy blue eyes.
"It's okay. As long as I don't have another one attach to me again, I'll be fine."
"But," Shute mumbled and looked away as Zero and Baku peeked around him at the wound as well. "I've never seen you bleed before..."
"They certainly got to thee well," Zero nodded in agreement again.
"I understand. You've never seen something like this before, Shute, because no enemy of ours prior has targetted points on us so precisely..." Moriko shyly tried to poke her way in there to observe as well as Baku folded his arms with a confused look.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Considering the effects, I concluded that the chance they were aiming to attack major energy channels on us is about 94.1%," Captain said and practiced clenching his right hand again, the thumb still not responding. "When it had latched onto me, it had begun absorbing the energy from my gunsoul immediately, through that merged, entended tooth..."
"Why did they attack me too then? I'm human, I don't have anything like that..."
"Probably for the same reason any Dark Axis robot had before... perhaps found you to be repulsive as an organic or thought you to be a good liability..." Captain paused as Moriko finally moved around them to his side, struggling to poke her head over his shoulder.
"You're wound is still open..."
"Only Kao Lyn can fix this," The gundam informed and his friends looked away grimly at the thought. Who knew when they would return to Neotopia, especially if this land was barren?
"But," She murmured quietly, straightening again formally and not trying to hunch over for sight. "I can heal it if you want me to..." The force stared at her in confusion.
"Heal," Captain tossed the idea around in his head. "Is that possible? I am a gundam from another land with completely different functions..."
"I can handle it." He turned to look at her serious green eyes and nodded.
"Alright, it's worth a shot." Zero, Baku, and Shute gathered around and watched in suspense as Moriko's hand rested on Captain's wound. The blood trickled through her fingers but she ignored it, eyes going up to him in concern.
"This will hurt, but you will have to trust me."
"Very well," He nodded. Still antsy at the idea, Shute shifted and asked.
"You've done this before, Moriko? Are you sure it will work?"
"Yes," Moriko said calmly and focused her energies, digging her fingers further in the opening. They all watched carefully as a few sparks came, Captain cringing.
"Captain," the boy frowned but neither moved, only concentrating on the task at hand. After a minute, Moriko moved her fingers out and rested her hand gently on the outside of Captain's wound, patient.
"Well," Zero asked. "Did it work?"
"I didn't see anything," Baku commented, squinting a little in hopes he could see something more amist the inky blood. He couldn't.
"That's because you're not looking with your mind." She stepped back, pulling away her hand after another minute. Blood still covered the area, but the hole the tooth had cut through was healed. The onlooker's eyes widdened as Captain inspected his systems with genuine surprise and much appriciation.
"I'm functioning at eighty-three percent without the open injury." He flexed his right hand, the thumb mobile again. "Thank you for repairing me, Moriko." Shute grinned and pulled off his red shirt, using it to rub the blood off of his best friend.
"I'll clean you up, Captain!" Moriko watched him with interest as the boy hummed. Zero noticed and smiled to himself, remembering when Baku had first encountered Shute in Neotopia.
"You've never seen a human either, I suppose," He asked more than speculated and she quietly nodded in return. Baku hadn't recovered from the shock and moved beside Shute, gingerly fingering Captain's chest.
"How did you do that? Do you know magic?"
"No, it would have been most obvious if magic were the source," Zero corrected quickly.
"I only used my nano skin," She said, her eyes shifting to him. He turned around abruptly, eyes as big as basketballs.
"EHH??"
"Nano skin... Then you use your assets well and to such potential, mi'lady!" Zero produced a princess rose as a token of appriciation, bowing a little on their behalf. "And we thank you greatly for your assistance." Baku pouted and crossed his arms, turning away as she took the rose with awkward curiosity.
"It is the least I can do for the protection you have offered." She looked away, lowering the rose. "I am sorry if I had seemed rude before... You must understand my plight, it is as if my life exploded all at once- taking everything I know with it..."
"Well get everything fixed and back to normal!" Shute held up a fist in promise.
"Affirmative."
"You can rest peacefully with knowledge the situation will be in our hands." Baku seemed to miss his comrade's reassurance, still looking away in deep thought, and whispered to himself.
"But I still wanna know about the nano skin healing..."
~*~*~*~*~*
Ahh, I wanted to add more but plans changed and I won't have a chance to upload this until next Tuesday it seems... I'll be away for a while for spring break, but I'll definitely keep working on art and this fic to post whenever I get back to internet access! :3 Review please!