Gundam 00 Season 2 Anthology: Updated 7/15/09 (Alternatives)

[Ribbons Yukari]

I see. I am beginning to understand more now. Thank-you.

[Dean_the_Young]

For the record, the 20-MS word page summary/episode guide/thoughts/over detailed ZOINKS was posted on the Reformation thread.

[Dean_the_Young]

Relatively short, and definitely a lighter take. Almost wrote a much more serious drabble on space sickness spreading among the crew of the Ptolemy, but caught myself.


---

00 S2 Drabble 11

00 Riser

---

The 00 Gundam: A mobile suit that defies all logic.
-Bandai teaser description

---


“Trans-am!”

Setsuna flipped activated the system, and a stream of GN particles poured from the 00 Riser. Soon Setsuna and his co-pilot fell into the ethereal realm, able to see the natural form of all around them.

“What the…?” was Ian’s only exclamation before Louise’s yell of “dirty old wrinkled pervert!” filled the airwaves.

“That was sexual harassment, Papa!” chided Millenia after hearing their strange tale afterwards.


---

“So you’re saying that when you used trans-am, you were suddenly able to see the truest nature of everyone?” asked a skeptical Lockon.

“Yes,” said Setsuna. “It was as if everyone’s soul was laid bare for all to see, everything stripped away. I don’t think I could have lied if I had tried.”

“Laid bared for all to see, huh? That sounds like quite an experience,” said Lyle. “Doesn’t that sound interesting, Anew?” he asked the Ptolemy’s newest member.

Anew blushed and demurred.

---

“So this is what it’s like…” breathed Feldt from the 0 Riser’s cockpit as the 00 underwent a test of the twin drive. “It’s just like Setsuna described… Can you see anything, Haro?”

“Nothing! Nothing!” Lockon’s partner cried in his tell-tale pattern.

Feldt listened, but looked around at the others inside the Gundam-carrier. When she turned her head, she could barely see Setsuna’s shoulders in the cockpit of the 00, and just as he had described she could ‘see’ him in his entirety.

A careless glimpse below gave an unsought view of Saji Crossroads, who was looking up and calling out to Setsuna from below in what looked to be a very compromising angle. Fortunately for the Crossroad’s modesty and Feldt’s ability to look at him without blushing for the next week, the mind’s eye’s view from the 00 Riser respected modesty and had removed most cause for concern.

Looking around, Feldt could see others throughout the ship. There, in the monitoring room, worked father and daughter pair Ian and Millenia, unaware of their appearance. (Or maybe Ian was aware, and had wanted his daughter away from any wandering eyes.). At the bridge sat Lasse, diligently monitoring the ship’s activities. Asleep in her room was Sumeragi, draped over an invisible bad, arms flailed in an image most men would pay to see. Asleep in another room was Tieria, a figure women as well would pay to see. There, in the lounge, chatted Lockon and Anew Returner, the suave Meister doing his best to make the newest addition feel at ease. Feldt had memories of the first Lockon’s kindness to her, and smiled softly as she spied on the second.

Innocent of memories of old were suddenly replaced by shockingly un-innocent thoughts of present when Feldt found the final two members of the Celestial Crew not in neither Marie’s cabin or in Allelujah’s room. Having discovered the limitation of the mind’s eye’s modesty, Feldt flushed and looked as far away from the hanger bay as she could, resolving on the spot to never do maintenance in the Arios’s cockpit again.

---

Marie stood beside the 0 Riser, waiting for the time to start the test. The normal participant, Saji Crossroads, had come down sick and was unable to take part. When Ian had asked Feldt to sit in the 0 Riser, the young girl had begged off. And so it was that Marie had been asked by a hesitant Ian to fill in.

“It’s easy,” Ian had said to her and Allelujah in the dining hall. “All you have to do is sit there and manage the flow of the drive. I would do it myself, but I need to be handling the data real-time as well and I need my daughter to help me.”

The tales of what happened during trans-am were a bit off-putting, but Marie had agreed to do her part and help. And so here she was, waiting for Setsuna to arrive so that they could begin the test.

Right as the time to begin arrived, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Ready to try this out?” asked a friendly voice, and there was Allelujah in his piloting suit.

“Allelujah!” she exclaimed, surprised, and he laughed. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she looked around and then asked “Where’s Setsuna? We’re supposed to begin once he gets here.”

“I’m taking his place,” her lover said in a deeper voice than normal, gold eye flashing as Marie began to feel the start of a headache. “Setsuna is tied up at the moment.”

[Dean_the_Young]

A shorter concept-story I've been batting around. Too short and too late to be a chapter in of itself, too long to be thrust in somewhere, not worth making a thread for misc. drabbles and what not (and I have a handful I haven't posted here yet).

So, into the thread it goes. This is definitely not comedy.






---

Selfish

---

“I’m not my brother,” Lockon Stratos had said, “but if you’re willing to look past that we can go to my room…”

It deserved a slap, had been deliberately crafted to incite one. She should have. But somewhere deep down she couldn’t escape that it was the same voice, the same smile. Her mind yelled fake, but her heart foolishly wished against his death, concocting so many impossible fantasies.

When she had gripped his arm on that catwalk, he had carelessly looped an arm over her shoulder, much as HE once had in a different setting, regardless of who might see. It had been openly possessive but not in the least restraining, allowing her every chance to turn, to step away. But she hadn’t, and they had silently and slowly walked to his room. Now she was in his room, shivering both from the cold and from nerves.

He walked to his bed, but turned to face her and said “You don’t have to do this. Just turn and walk away, and I promise I will never raise this to you again. You can blame me, if you want. Tell them that I took advantage of your emotions,” he said as he sat down on his bed. “But if you go ahead with this, it will be because you chose to. Every step will be because you want me to.”

The sincerity, the concern, the thoughtfulness of the offer to take the blame if she walked away. They were all so much like him. Only later would she realize that it may have well been his plea. But she wasn’t thinking of him, and wordlessly began unzipping her uniform’s jacket.

He was kind and attentive, and gentle. That only made it worse; it would have been so much easier to hate him, blame him for the pain if he had been rough and careless. But the one thinking only of themselves was her, telling him to continue even as he kissed her tears away. She thinks she even remembered to call out their name, their shared name, when the moment came. But she can never bring herself to look him in the eye afterwards.

It is the first of their meetings, but it is not the last. He never once asks it of her, which only makes it worse when she finds herself standing outside his door after her latest broken promise that the last time had been final, that it wasn’t what she wanted. The Crew notices in stages; Millenia is the most forward of them in her question, one which Lockon leaves her to answer. Their relationship, if it can be called that, does him no favors; one night when she stands outside his door he turns the corner of the hall, limping and with a black eye that he tries to pass off as tripping over Haro. That is the night, after they finish and when Lockon rolls over to sleep, that Feldt realizes who is using who.

[Dean_the_Young]

I couldn't decide whether to try this seriously or with humor, and so I tried for both. I don't think I achieved it, but it was an exercise in practice and I think it still wins some points for absurdity.

A lot of these could have been expanded into full, better oneshots, and this entire idea could have been made into a mini-series, a separate fic in itself. But that seemed too long and too much commitment, and so I left it as is.

Personally, my favorite sections are the first (interesting character interaction, and could have been respectable on its own) and Allelujah's present for Marie.


---

00 S2 Drabble 12

Allelujah’s Retrieval Service
---

“What’s the difference?”

---

The door to his dark room opened, but Saji didn’t move from his bed. “Setsuna…” he said, “I’m sorry, but please. Just leave me alone for now.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” said a voice most certainly not from the young Kurdish Gundam pilot. Saji sat up and looked towards the door, where his orange-colored guest stood. “May I come in?”

Saji nodded, confused, and the other young man walked in, taking the room’s chair as the door closed behind him.

“You’re… Allelujah, right?” asked Saji, wondering why the Meister was visiting him. Most of the Celestial Being crew left him alone unless business was involved; aside from spending work time with Ian, only Setsuna went out of his way to greet him. Not to say that the crew ignored him or was rude, but he wasn’t one them.

Allelujah smiled, and Saji noticed his dichromatic eyes. “Allelujah Haptism. And you’re Saji Crossroad,” he said with no doubt. “I’ve heard about you.”

Saji looked away, and Allelujah backtracked. “Nothing bad!” he lied, as they both remembered Tieria’s views of Saji. “Setsuna’s talked about you, and let me tell you that when Setsuna talks about something or someone, it means he’s put a lot of thought about them.”

Saji wasn’t sure how to respond, and said nothing. But Allelujah continued. “Setsuna’s concerned for you. Even Marie said good things for you, and suggested I come here to talk to you. It’s about the girl, isn’t it?”

Saji nodded. “It’s… I just can’t believe-”

But Allelujah interrupted him. “’I can’t believe she would have joined A-LAWS.’ ‘She wouldn’t be there if she was in her right mind.’ ‘She was always so kind.’” He said, pretending to be quoting Saji. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”

Saji chuckled nervously. “Well, she could be pushy at times…”

Allelujah laughed. “Of course. But,” he said, leaning forward, “you aren’t the first person to have this problem, not by a long shot. I’ve gone through the same experience, just after Setsuna rescued you.”

Saji looked up at Allelujah. “You did?” he asked, and Allelujah nodded. “Louise blames you for murdering her parents. I know you didn’t, but she doesn’t. She won’t listen. How did you convince Marie?”

Allelujah leaned back. “I told her the truth,” he said. “She didn’t believe me at first, didn’t even remember me, but when she did and we had time to talk…” he smiled. “Well, you’ve met Marie.”

“But how can I get her to listen to me?” Saji asked. “She’s fighting for the A-LAWS, and I’m here. I’m not a pilot like you, I can’t make her stop and listen.” His shoulders slumped. “It’s hopeless.”

“It’s never hopeless.” Allelujah said firmly, causing Saji to straighten by reflex. “As long as you don’t give up, it can still happen. You’re with people who can help you. Here,” he said, pulling out a card from his pocket and handing it to Saji.

“’Allelujah’s Rescue Service’?” Saji read. “’For when the love of your life is on the other side of the battlefield’?”

Allelujah blushed and scratched his head. “I sort of made that as a joke to myself when Marie was with A-LAWS, to convince myself that I could do it. But I thought I’d keep it. Maybe I should make a business out of it,” he laughed. “But we’ll help you save her, I promise. Consider this one on the house.”

---

Convincing the crew had been a matter of putting it in terms of their interest. Setsuna readily agreed out of his friendship with Saji. Marie would have supported him anyway, was sympathetic to Saji’s plight, and hoped that Louise could be brought away from the A-LAWS. Millenia thought it was romantic. Ian was convinced on grounds of being able to analyze the custom-enact and its specialized technology. Lockon, Feldt, and Anew were amiable and willing to help.

The hardest to convince had not been Tieria (who merely grunted in annoyance and warned he wouldn’t be distracted from the true enemy), but Sumeragi, who insisted “Celestial Being is not a kidnapping organization for strays.” But she had been convinced of the strategic value when Tieria had revealed that Louise, as the last Halevy, was a major investor in A-LAW mobile suit development. “I am not consenting to this because I’ve changed my mind,” Sumeragi had warned Allelujah. “I’m only allowing this because removing Louise Halevy will hamper the A-LAWS mobile suit development. But either alive or dead is fine with me.”

Allelujah had thanked her profusely on Saji’s behalf, given her a nice bottle of wine, and then promptly gone off to inform Setsuna and the other Meisters of the upcoming rescue mission. A surprise raid later, so fast that the A-LAWS didn’t even have time to scramble all their suits before the Gundams had disabled the custom suit and were hauling it away, and Allelujah proudly stood in the Ptolemy’s hanger as Ian prepared to force open the cockpit.

“Allelujah…” Saji said while standing beside him and watching as the cockpit slowly opened. “I… I really don’t know what to say.”

“Why not ‘thank you’?” offered Marie, standing on the other side. “That’s a good place to start. Allelujah,” she said, turning to look at him with loving eyes, “you really are too kind.”

Allelujah only laughed. Saji was about to thank him, but Allelujah gestured towards the custom Enact’s cockpit as a well armored and armed Ian gestured for the pilot to exit. Everyone watched as the pilot came into view.

Allelujah blinked. “I didn’t realize she was so… muscular,” he said, thinking of something nice to say.

Marie, on the other hand, started surprise and pushed herself forward towards the downed machine. “Lieutenant Andrei Smirnov! What are you doing here?”

Andrei Smirnov, hands in the air but defiant in the face of Ian’s rifle, turned in surprise at the sound of his name. “Lieutenant Peries? You were alive? But…!”

The rest of their exchange was lost to Saji and Allelujah.

“I… really don’t know what to say,” said Saji again, but there wasn’t any sense of awe and near-worshiping respect in his tone this time.

“‘Better luck next time?’” Allelujah offered.

---

With the information Marie was able to get out of the surprised Andrei before he clammed up and refused to speak, Celestial Being learned their mistake, which was ironically to be too quick and too good in their surprise raid to steal the mobile suit. In the frantic chaos of the emergency alert, pilots and even mechanics had jumped into the nearest mobile suit at hand to ward off the surprise attack. Walking past Louise’s machine, Andrei had jumped in and taken off long before Louise had had a chance to leave her quarters where she was on her sleep rotation.

So the next time Celestial Being attacked, they allowed a bit more warning. Not that they needed to; after the last raid, and enemy commander had wisely put more pilots on ready at all times. With Marie’s suggestion, it became just a matter of looking for which of the mass-produced models looked to have the most exceptional pilot, and then for Lockon to disable her and for the rest to throw back the other enemies.

And so they were once again back in the hanger, watching as Ian opened the GN-XIII’s cockpit. Allelujah and Marie stood with Saji, but this time congratulations were waiting for afterwards.

“Think we saved her?” Allelujah whispered to Marie, trying to not show his doubt to Saji.

“I hope so,” whispered Marie back. “Lieutenant Halevy was a respectable pilot, from what I saw. If she could have a request for a custom suit approved, then she’s definitely been seen as a step above most regular pilots. Anyone better than her, and other ace would be piloting something better, right?”

Wrong, as they realized even before they saw the pilot.

“Not happy to steal our mobile suit, but now you’re kidnapping the Immortal Colasour? What are you up to, Celestial Being? Eh?”

Saji didn’t say anything, and Allelujah and Marie watched him leave without even seeing their new ‘guest.’ Saji greeted them cheerfully enough later at dinner, but when Allelujah returned to his room afterwards he found a small card.

It was a new version of the card he had handed to Saji. Re-designed and touched up with a touch of professionalism, it certainly had a more business feel to it. But most telling was a change to the words.

“Allelujah’s Retrieval Service,” it read. “Getting that person close to your heart back from the other side of the battlefield, or your money back.”

Marie laughed when she read it, and so Allelujah forgave Saji his little joke, even when he found more of the cards scattered around the ship. But when their latest guest eventually asked to see him with card in hand, and Allelujah wondered what he had started.

---

“Colonel Mannequin,” Sergei said with some surprise. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”

“It’s good to see you too, Sergei,” said the A-LAWS officer, both with unusual tone and uncommonly casual.

Sergei looked closer at his co-conspirator with surprise and a little worry. “Are you alright, Colonel?” he asked with some concern.

“No,” Kati admitted, though from her expression Sergei had already gathered that. Even inside a combat space suit, her normally tidy manner was a mess, her hair was slightly disheveled, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. “My ship is disgraced, my best pilots have been kidnapped, and I haven’t had an hour’s sleep in days. I’m only awake now thanks to nanites and stimulants, and no one knows what’s going to happen next.”

Sergei was no stranger to a shortage of sleep; during the Solar War, sleep had been a luxury at times in the age of modern medicine and stimulants. But that made his concern no less sincere. “What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Kati confessed before spilling the entire story. “Ever since we attacked their base, Celestial Being has changed their MO. After their first attack, I thought they were just taking the advantage to steal our most advanced suit, the quantum brainwave model. The captured it and the pilot inside, and then fled. But then they attacked again, and took care to capture my… my best pilot, alive.” Her stumble, unintentional, was a clue at her distress and helplessness.

“What then?” asked Sergei, confused as she was.

“They did it again, and again and again. First it was one at a time, then two, and by the end they disabled and took the last of my suits. They can’t have taken them all for intelligence. I now have more pilots than suits, and we’re defenseless”

Sergei sat straighter with alarm. “Defenseless?”

“They aren’t trying to kill us,” Kati said, though by the sound of her tone she might have preferred it. “They’re looking for someone, and though I don’t know why I do know who. We’re meeting with more ships as we return to Earth, for protection. For whatever reason they want one pilot so much, I’m not going to let it happen.”

Sergei narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps it’s time I transferred to A-LAWS as well,” he offered. “It sounds as if you could use some support.”

A week ago Kati would have forcefully refused the offer. The fact that she seriously considered his offer concerned him as much as her tale. “No,” she said. “Stay where you are; I want to send the target to someone I can trust. If I-” she was cut off by alarms. “What?” she exclaimed. “Again?!”

“Colonel?” Sergei said, but Kati was already no longer listening to him.

“But we have no more mobile suits, they must know that! Have they changed their mind?”

“Colonel!” Sergei yelled. “Colonel Mannequin!”

Kati stood up. “Are they going to try and board us, or rip us apart to search?” She ignored Sergei’s calls and ran to the bridge. She didn’t return.

---

“I was right,” said the ghost from Sumeragi’s past. “It was you all the time, Kujo.”

Sumeragi looked back. “You’re looking well too, Kati,” she said, and felt the urge for a drink.

Kati only glared. “Why did you do it, Kujo? I never thought you would be so foolish, back in college. Whose mind do you think you’ll win with actions like these?”

Sumeragi held back a wince at the tone. “I don’t expect others to understand or agree,” she said, “but I had faith that we could stop conflicts through our plan. We were certainly making progress.”

“Stopping conflict?” Kati asked. “That’s a stupid goal too, of course, but I was asking why you’ve been kidnapping my command one by one, and then went out of your way to capture me.”

“Oh, well,” Sumeragi said, a bit off put that her prepared words were now useless. “I didn’t exactly go out of my way to capture you.”

Kati raised an eyebrow. “Having a gundam thrust its arm through the window of my bridge, grab me, and then spirit me away wasn’t out of your way?”

Sumeragi winced. “It wasn’t my idea. I just approved it because doing so helps us. You’re a formidable opponent, Kati,” she praised, trying to fend off the criticism she heard coming.

It didn’t help. “Not your idea? What sort of operation are you running, Kujo? Can’t you control your own men?”

“Not really,” Sumeragi admitted. “We’re pretty easy-going here.” Seeing the opportunity, she took out her flask and took a drink. “Want a sip?” she offered.

“No,” said Kati. “Now tell me why you’re trying to kidnap one of my pilots.”

“If you tell me where Louise Halevy is,” Sumeragi offered, admitting why exactly they had kidnapped Kati Mannequin.

Kati sneered. “Safe from you,” she said. “I transferred her to the Memento Mori, at the heart of the A-LAW fleet. Please, try and get her.”

Sumeragi seemed unreasonably cheerful, possibly from the strong drink. “Well, if you insist!” she said. “We were going to destroy your new toy anyway.”

Kati suppressed her smirk, but couldn’t suppress her shock when a voice behind her said “She’s lying. I can tell from her brain waves; she sent Louise to Earth, to someone she trusts.” Behind her was a familiar silver-haired girl.

“Lieutenant Peries! You were alive?” Kati asked, shocked that Sergei’s report was wrong.

The young woman winced. “Do you have any idea of how sick I am of hearing that every time someone one of you sees me? I am Marie. MA-RIE.”

Sumeragi interrupted. “That’s fine, Marie. Please, escort Colonel Mannequin to the detention block.”

Kati looked at Sumeragi one last time. “You have an entire detention block?”

Sumeragi took another swig of beer. “We do now. We’re still expanding, so excuse the spacing.”

---

As they walked down the halls, Kati marveled at the space and organization, and at the obvious air-tight doors that could be sealed at any sign of trouble. She marveled even more at her guide.

“Lieutenant Peries,” she began.

“MA-RIE. It’s not hard, Colonel.”

“Marie,” she said, humoring her, “how are you still alive? The Colonel… he told me you had died in combat. Did Celestial Being recover you? Are they forcing you to help them?”

Soma looked down slightly, and proved to Kati that she was Soma Peries. “No,” Soma admitted. “The Colonel allowed me to leave with Celestial Being after I regained my lost memories, on the promise that I never have to fight.”

“Lost memories?” Kati wondered.

“I’ll tell you later,” Soma promised. “We’re here,” she said, stopping in front of the room. “We don’t have enough cells for everyone, so we had to put you with someone else. This one claimed you know him, and he asked that we take special care in keeping you unharmed. But if he gives you any trouble please let me know right away and I’ll find a solution.”

Kati had a moment of dread and anticipation as the door opened. The occupant looked to the door, and Kati’s feelings encompassed both relief and exasperation all in one.

“Colonel, you’re safe! I didn’t believe them when they said they were going to capture you alive, but…”

---

“So she’s on Earth, huh?” asked Allelujah after Marie related Kati’s hidden thoughts. “Well, that’ll make our task of taking down the Memento Mori easier. Think you can wait a bit longer, Saji?”

Saji sat across the table and nodded. “Now we won’t have to worry when we attack the Memento Mori. That relieves me like nothing else.”

Marie and Allelujah were both surprised. “We? You have decided to fight, Saji?” asked Marie. “You don’t have to. Ian can take care of the 00’s Twin Drive.”

Saji shook his head. “I can’t just stay here and watch while everyone else risks their lives. I still owe it to Kataron to help you against the A-LAWS, and if you all are trying to rescue Louise then it’s the least I could do to support Setsuna.”

Marie and Allelujah exchanged looks. “I’m surprised,” admitted Allelujah. “When that captured pilot asked me to make sure we captured…” he looked at Marie.

“Kati,” she supplied.

“Kati alive and unharmed,” he continued, “I never thought it would motivate you like this. I guess my business is giving all sorts of dividends, huh?”

“You should make a franchise,” Marie suggested, playing with one of the business cards.

---

And they did. “Allelujah’s Retrieval Service: Recovering those on the wrong side of the battle field” read the new cards, expanding from just lost-loves to serving any need. The cards popped up everywhere; on the bridge, in the hanger bay, and even on the meal trays for the impressive number of A-LAW prisoners.

The first customer was Tieria, much to everyone’s surprise. Soon after the battle at the Memento Mori, Tieria cautiously walked into their ‘office,’ holding one of the cards.

“I never thought I would be involved with this foolishness,” Tieria said, “but I could use your services.”

Saji and Allelujah looked at each other, and back at Tieria. “You know someone out of Celestial Being?” asked Allelujah in surprise.

Tieria frowned. “I knew this was a waste of time. Forget it,” he said, turning to leave.

“Sorry, sorry,” Allelujah said, “I’m just surprised. Who do you want rescued?”

Tieria frowned again, in a slightly different manner. “Not rescued. Retrieved. I want you to retrieve someone from the Innovators, alive.”

Eyebrows flared. “That’s a pretty important target. Can you tell me who?”

Tieria looked around, and then sighed and bowed his head. “Regene Regetta. He is my genetic twin. I want him away from the Innovators, where I can keep my eye on him.”

---

A long-time soldier, Sergei was used to dealing with unusual orders from the top. He’d probably given some himself. One of his newest pilots, however, wasn’t.

“Sir? Why are we being sortied? I was didn’t know any enemies were in our region.”

“Neither did I,” said Sergei. “But this came down from the very top and went out to all units. We are to try and find any trace of Celestial Being and to report in. We are not to engage, even if fired upon.”

Lieutenant Halevy was shocked. “Not engage?”

Sergei nodded. “If I had to guess, Celestial Being has just captured a high-value target, and we’re being sent on the off chance we can find them.”

Lieutenant Halevy asked “Sir, what are the chances of that?”

Sergei thinned his lips. “Not good,” he admitted, before a member of the squad radioed in an unusual reading and went to check it out.

---

Once again, Saji and Marie stood in the hanger of the Ptolemy, watching as Ian prepared to open yet another mobile suit. In the many trials to date, Celestial Being had learned many helpful lessons.

For example, it was now customary for Haro-controlled repair drones to be the ones standing in front of the cockpit when it opened. In addition to being invulnerable to the bullets the more obstinate foes tended to shoot out at the first sign of light, their unusual appearance tended to disconcert A-LAW soldiers long enough to be easily disarmed by Ian. They had also learned other helpful tricks. Saji and Marie were now watching from behind a bullet-proof glass shield: hopefully the only other person to ever see that scar would be Louise, once she was rescued.

As they watched, Allelujah walked up, still in his piloting suit. Marie greeted him with an embrace and a quick embrace and a quicker peck, but Allelujah didn’t let her go immediately afterwards.

“I’ve got a surprise for you!” he sang.

Marie looked confused, but not even a glance at Saji (conspicuously not paying attention) gave any clues. “What is it?” she asked.

“Call it a make-up present for all those birthdays I forgot,” Allelujah said. “Even though I know it’s sure to take some of your time from me, and it’s going to be a serious responsibility to feed and take care of, I know you’ll appreciate this more than anything else I could give to you.”

Marie looked at Allelujah oddly. “Allelujah, did you get me a pet?”

“Something like that,” he admitted with an alarmingly crazed grin. These days, the differences between Hallelujah and Allelujah were worryingly thin.

“Love,” she began, “I don’t think bringing a dog or cat onboard the ship is really-”

“Better than those,” Allelujah interrupted, waving of such mundane pets as unworthy of mention. “You should thank Saji here for the idea; without him and his help, I never would have known where to look or been able to get it.”

“Allelujah, start making sense,” Marie warned, a hint of Soma Peries came through. “What did you get?”

“I got you,” Allelujah said with a flourish and gesturing at the emerging Federation pilot with a theatric flair, “a Russian Bear.”

---

“I’m sorry, but just how far do you intend to go with this rescue business of yours?”

Allelujah took another swig of beer and looked back at Saji. “As far as I can. Why? Do you think it’s wrong?”

Saji shook his head. “No, not that. Capturing these soldiers alive is much better than just killing them on the battlefield, and I can understand the use of interrogating them. But don’t you think you’re going overboard, going out of your way to capture people who aren’t fighting us directly?”

“Actually, they all have strategic significance. That’s why Miss Sumeragi agreed to each and every plan. By taking the best of their best, we’ve been able to cripple the A-LAWS while simultaneously strengthening ourselves.”

“Really?” asked Saji.

Allelujah took it as a challenge. “Name a one that hasn’t.”

“How about that other commander, that Colonel Mannequin?” Saji asked. “Didn’t you just single her out because that captured pilot asked you to?”

“Counter point: she was a skilled enemy commander, and she had information for your friend Louise.”

Saji winced at the reminder. “These ‘Innovators’ that Tieria mentioned, including the pilots.”

“Well,” explained Allelujah, “They are our ultimate enemy, and each one we can get out of the way is one less who might kill us. Any information they give up is good; just look at what Tieria got out of his clone.”

Saji cast around for more. After a point, there had been too many to remember the names of, especially once the Ptolemy had been able to take prisoners in-mass.

“That design bureau engineers?”

“Working on another Memento Mori, and now we have that technology.”

“The Earth Federation President?”

“Working with the Innovators, done to destabilize the Earth Federation and hinder their operations.”

“The Princess of Azadistan?” Kataron had handed her over willingly, true, but…

“Setsuna and Sumeragi were convinced she could lend moral support to our cause.”

“The Wild Bear of Russia? He wasn’t even fighting you, or in the A-LAWS.”

Allelujah paused, and then leaned forward. “Just between you and me,” he whispered, “that one really was just for Marie.”

Saji just sighed, and Allelujah put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll find your friend one of these trips.”

---

Billy Katagiri held no lingering affections for the woman in front of him. “What are you up to this time, Kujo?” he demanded. “It wasn’t enough to use me once, and now you set out to kidnap me?”

It was exactly what she had expected, but that made it nor more pleasant. “It’s good to see you too, Billy,” she said with a tired smile.

Billy’s reply taught everyone in the room a few new words, and made the more impressionable ones blush.

Sumeragi sighed. “Take him to Security, Ian,” she requested, and Ian guided the Canadian engineer away. As Billy walked the halls, he took care to memorize the layout. His escort only laughed.

“You’re not the first to do that,” Ian remarked, before gesturing to a door. “Here you are, the permanent cell block. That means you won’t be transferred out like most of you mooks. If you have a problem, be sure to enter it in the system, and one of us will come to assist you when we can. Oh,” he added, “try and get along with everyone.”

Billy was about to ask him what he meant, but then he looked into his new room. More people than he could count were assorted through the room: men and women of every race, country, and status were present. Some of them Billy even recognized; the President of the Earth Federation, who was currently in conversation with a number of people with unusual hair colors, and…

“Uncle Simpson?” Billy exclaimed, gaining the room’s attention. Homer Katagiri winced at the nickname, but annoyance quickly gave way to family concern and once Billy hurried over the two traded quick embraces.

“So, I see they got you too” stated the formidable man. “They’re farther along than I thought.”

“They charged straight into the Solar Elevator,” Billy said, indicating the space suit he was still wearing. “We were about to start a trial run for a new machine, but…”

One of the technicolor-haired people guessed. “But they stole the new machine, and took you along while they were at it? I am Healing Care,” said the man, extending his hand.

Billy shook it and nodded. “They singled me out somehow. Their gundam chased me through the station, ripping it apart until I was trapped.” More than one of the notable present nodded in sympathetic understanding.

Healing Care said “You’re not the only one. Celestial Being’s begun kidnapping anyone and everyone who’s gotten their attention, and it’s tearing the A-LAWS and Federation apart. If they caught you, they must have effectively decapitated the military and all the aces of the A-LAWS and Federation and are now moving on our technical experts.”

“At least you’re alive,” said Homer. “Go look around, see for yourself. I have a feeling you’ll be here for awhile, so you may as well introduce yourself.”

And so Billy did. He saw politicians, major financiers of the Federation and A-LAWS. Officers and pilots a plenty: in one corner was a silver-haired officer, in another a red-haired pilot tried to get the attention of a European woman that Billy might have seen before. She was talking to a man Billy belatedly recognized as the famed Sergei Smirnov. But what shocked him most was the blond-haired man with a fearsome black mask who was leaning against the wall with a cup in his hands, listening in. As Billy approached, the man turned his head and lifted his cup in greeting.

“Yo,” said Mr. Bushido.

[Thundermuffin]

"Yo."

[Dean_the_Young]

"Yo."

That entire A-LAWS conversation was just an excuse to throw in Mr. Bushido and that one line. I admit it. I had only three points in mind with Billy; angry at Sumeragi (couldn't figure out a good way to throw in a joke/insinuation that Sumeragi ordered the kidnapping to get her own romantic fix), the Uncle Homer "Simpson" joke, and the one line that epitomizes Mr. Bushido's character.

You've heard the saying "true beauty is not when there is nothing left to add, but rather when there is nothing else to take away?" Mr. Bushido needs two letters to make us all laugh.



And in other news, I'm looking for a proof-reader/editor for a work nearing completion. Approaching forty-thousand words, it's already larger than the entirety of the Season 1 anthology. Anyone interested (and willing not to be surprised when I slowly release it), please let me know.

[Dean_the_Young]

An Innovator fic!

Or, as someone once insisted on calling them, "those arrogant androids."



---

00 S2 Drabble 13

Less Than Human

---

“Ever notice how the farther you separate yourself from human nature, the more human you act?”

---

“And that is my report,” finished Revive Revival in Colonel Mannequin’s office.

Having finished his formal report on the battle, Revive stood in front of her desk, though not with his usual confidence. Their exact relation was unusual; though Kati Mannequin was the strategic planner and commander of the entire taskforce, Revive held a Permit, putting him beyond the usual chain of command. Still, unlike others he didn’t abuse the privilege, and was usually cooperative. That made it easier for her to converse with him.

“Quantamization? Is that what you called it? That is a most fearsome ability,” Kati mused. “You described as resembling teleportation?”

“I didn’t think it possible,” Revive admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like it in action. One moment you think you’ve hit, and then… gone.”

“Fearsome indeed,” Kati said. “You were lucky to survive at all. I don’t many pilots who could handle that sort of ability at the best of times.”

Revive’s eyes glared, though not in anger at her. “If I had known ahead of time, I could have countered it,” he promised, though whether to her or himself she couldn’t tell. “Next time I won’t be taken down so easily.”

“I’m sure you won’t,” Kati agreed. “Everyone can be surprised; it’s learning and adapting and overcoming that makes us human.”

---

“Oi! You’re the new pilot, aren’t you?”

Bring Stability turned to look at the new arrival. Most humans respected his space, and the few that hadn’t had quickly given up after encountering is iron-strong stoicism. This one hadn’t been one of them, and to date Bring Stability had counted that as a point of intelligence. Apparently he had been wrong; that made twice in a day.

“You’re Stability, right? The pilot of the other new suit?”

Stability nodded. “And you are?” he asked, not familiar with the ship’s cannon fodder.

The other man pulled himself up. “I am Patrick Colasour!” he exclaimed, as if Bring Stability should have recognized it.

He didn’t, and the other red-head seemed to deflate. “Surely you’ve heard of me? Undefeated in mock battles, ace of the AEU?”

Bring Stability just stared at him.

“The Immortal Colasour?” Patrick tried one last time.

Bring only continued to stare, and Patrick bowed his head in apparent misery, but got over it quickly.

“Anyway, you just seemed a little down over here. This was your first fight against a Gundam, right?”

Bring said “I engaged them once right before I arrived here.”

Patrick quickly counted in his head. “Second fight, huh? Well, clearly you didn’t kill one of the buggers, but not a bad start. You’ll learn the tricks to countering them soon enough.”

Bring looked at the human who patronized him so. “What have you done?” he asked with an edge.

Too dumb to detect the tone, the human took it merely as bluntness. “Well, this was my ninth battle with Celestial Being,” Patrick said good naturedly. “I’ve fought them since day one four years ago, and without any nifty escape pods like yours. It was a lot harder in the old days, but I still managed to shoot one down,” he added, laughing at his own near deaths and missing Bring’s look of shock and disbelief.

Ignoring Bring’s personal space, Patrick put a friendly hand on his shoulder even as the other man bristled. “I just thought you looked upset at losing to them, and thought a bit of perspective might help. I’ve fought them more than anyone else alive, and I’ve only destroyed one gundam and stabbed another in the cockpit. Don’t get so depressed if you didn’t shoot them all down on your second encounter. After all,” he said, unaware of how even he overshadowed Bring Stability’s entire world view at that moment, “you’re only human.”

---

“It looks as if you were driven off. Has the two-drives’ performance improved?”

She had seen him leaning against the wall, but had chosen to ignore him despite his License until he had spoken.

“Mr. Bushido,” she acknowledged coolly.

“Healing Care,” the masked man acknowledged his fellow License-holder. “Has the two-drive Gundam’s base performance improved?” he asked again.

“So I am given to understand,” she acknowledged. “I haven’t fought it before. Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

“I might yet,” Mr. Bushido said, “if it lives up to the latest reports. It may yet prove to be a worthy opponent.”

“You think you can take it on?” Healing asked skeptically. “When it took out ten suits and then dueled me evenly?”

“You make it sound as if I should care how many others fail,” Mr. Bushido said.

Healing Care narrowed her eyes and punched the wall beside Mr. Bushido’s head with enough force to break a weaker being’s bones. “Someone fired and interfered, and the pilot took advantage of the distraction. The same would happen to you. You’re only human,” she warned.

Mr. Bushido only laughed in the face of the combat Innovators power. “I have fought the Gundams many times and met many distractions, but only once when I dueled without the restraint of command was I the one repulsed. I have surpassed the Ashura; when you have matched a mere human, perhaps then you will have merit worth listening to.”

---

“I do hope you are in a better mood now, Ribbons.”

The leader of the Innovators and master of Veda, Ribbons Almark, looked at the speaker, a nominal subordinate.

“Regene,” he greeted with a frosty tone. “What brings this honor?”

Regene Regetta smirked as he walked down the staircase. “Didn’t I say? I came to see your disposition. That was a fearsome temper you displayed. Even your pet mercenary was surprised.”

Ribbons glared; Regene was overly fond of baiting and taunting the leader of the Innovators. “What is your point?” he asked with a warning tone.

Regene only chuckled at his bristling. “Only that you should learn to control that temper of yours when you are surprised. Wang Liu Mei is a valuable resource yet, and it would be a shame if your tantrum sends her running to Celestial Being.”

“What can she do? She’s just a human.”

“Oh?” said Regene, raising an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it a group of humans who destroyed the Memento Mori and shot down three of us?” he taunted.

“Stop speaking of things you have no perspective on,” warned Ribbons. “You’ve been corrupted by your Other’s associations.”

Regene laughed again. “And what is your excuse? After all, there’s only one species I know that flails out like that at allies when surprised. Why Ribbons, for a moment there I couldn’t tell which of you was the dispassionate one with the long-term view. Your reaction was so typically-“

“Don’t say it!” Ribbons roared, smashing a crystal glass off the table and onto the floor. Regene only looked him straighter in the eyes.

“Human.”

[Thundermuffin]

Heehee, stuff like that is why I wish Patrick got more screen time.

[Dean_the_Young]

Heehee, stuff like that is why I wish Patrick got more screen time.

Patrick is amazingly easy to wright for, especially this season when he's grown up a bit.

Skill + pride + clulessness and a touch of idiocy = lolz.

[Dean_the_Young]

A little something I put together this week to make up for the lack of a new episode.

I intend to try and post a small glimpse into this little world each day, exploring where other characters are. We'll see how that works.



---

Gundam 00 Extra Drabble

Alternatives

---

“’If you are to be the most privileged, you should bear the cost.’ So the Observers unanimously rule.”

The human in front of him doesn’t even bother to look at him, so confident is he. Does he even understand what has just transpired? Does he even care? Probably not; he is just a messenger.

When the human leaves, Ribbons turns on the viper that would strike him so. “Are you happy, Regene?” Ribbons Almark snarls. “Do you have what you want? Is it worth it?”

Regene, looking so young, is unphazed by Ribbon’s anger. “Where was that anger on my behalf when it was my Other who was to be separated?” he asked. “One combat alternate had to be set aside for the mission, even when the others are finally awoken; it does not matter whose. If you are to be the one with the highest access rights to Veda, than it is only fair that yours be the one to be a Meister. Leave me my Other, and we will both serve you faithfully.”

“Access rights? Is that what this is about? You can have them, just don’t take her!” unused to emotions as all of their kind was, Ribbons mixed pleading and anger together as well as any human. “Healing Care is mine!”

But Regene would not bend, had no desire to bend. “Keep your access rights; you wanted them enough when it was being decided. I will keep my Other, and yours can be the herald of the Plan. Let her be the Meister.”

Ribbons glared. “I will remember this, Regene,” he swore in his currently impotent furry. “Never forget that. You had better enjoy your Other while you can,” he threatened and warned before stomping out of the room, but not after one last look at the suspended Healing Care, still asleep in her development pod.

Regene stood and watched him go, before turning to the line of combat models. Bred to be warriors, they remained unborn just that much longer than their counterparts. Just long enough for Regene to correct that wrong.

“I will,” Regene promised, tracing a finger on the sleeping Tieria Erdre’s pod.

---


Desert desert all around, and not a drop worth drinking. That is the most polite thing that he can think of to describe this place, and he wonders why he is still here; it certainly isn’t for God, or the money. Even the battles bore him now; how is he expected to tear into the enemy when all he has are children? Cutting a deal with Azadistan, having a chance for some real action looks more and more attractive every day.

These are the thoughts a traitor-to-be has even as he prepares to engage what may very well be Azadistan’s key force. If there is to be a deal, best strike it now while he still has a chance. But such thoughts are cleared from his mind when it intervenes; floating there with an unworldly power, giving out death and destruction from its untouchable height. Ali watches what may as well be a god, and covets.

‘If only I could pilot that, the changes I could reap…’ he thinks.

Commander Ali does not return from that battlefield. His allies and the children give him a short ceremony, quickly mourning his passing while rejoicing at the destruction of the invader’s main force. The Kurdish Republic is saved, and peace is eventually agreed. Remembering the destruction of invader’s armies, some suggest that he was witness to the might of God smashing the enemy, and that he now resides in Heaven along with God as befitting His worthy warrior.

At the moment, they are wrong. But soon they will be more correct than they could ever imagine.

---

Subject Disposal Pending.

These are the words that reverse fate. The scientists don’t realize he’s found out. They don’t realize anything, except to flee in terror as the escapees gun down anyone who gets in their way.

“Allelujah!” one of them cries. “Hurry up!”

“Take Marie and go! I’ll catch up!” the dichromatic boy shouted, emptying another magazine to thwart the pursing soldiers, forcing them to hide behind the latest doors.

The one carrying the unresponsive girl merely runs on, closer and closer to the shuttle that will take them all away from this place. Inside the shuttle preparations to escape are already being mate, and all that is remaining are the rest of the passengers. Oh so slowly the boy with the girl manages to get onboard, and all that is left is one.

“Allelujah!”

Allelujah turns to flee, but he is thwarted when the last doors between him and freedom close oh-so-slowly. He can only see the looks of horror in the others as the doors finally close. Knowing the bitter truth they take off, thanking Allelujah for his sacrifice. Though they starve and die in the extents of space, they do so believing he died for them. The only one of them to not die is the small girl. She has no will to give up, and merely lays there, lungs breathing and heart beating until the point where they would be unable do so any more. Before that, the grave ship is found and the girl rescued, and eventually rehabilitated after a fashion.

In the present and out of ammo, he can only turn to see the numerous guardsmen advancing on him, laser dots on his forehead and looking for any excuse to fire. Throwing away his rifle only grants a small stay of execution.

“Get down on the floor!” they scream, and then “Don’t move!” when Allelujah does. They search, they try to beat him into submission when he’s already given up. They have lost friends, and any excuse will do. His feeble attempts to guard himself do him do favors.

‘Do you intend to get yourself killed? Stop struggling!’

‘They’re going to kill me! Kill me! I don’t want to die! I have to find Marie again!’

‘Struggling will only get you killed. Any resistance will get you killed. Stop it! Survive!’

‘But what else can I do?’

‘Obey.’ And that is the moment Hallelujah is born into obedience and Allelujah quickly becomes forgotten.

---


A true accident, a seemingly malicious friendly fire against his own commander. A harsher court, one to find him criminally negligent in the death of his superior. That is all it would have taken to have disgraced him, to have him drummed out of the service. To add insult to injury, the Flag is passed over; no one wants to be associated with that machine, and it won’t be until years later that the Europeans will realize it for the excellence that it is.

But for him, the sentence is clearer than merely a dishonorable discharge. No job means no money, no money means no flying. Flying is oxygen to him, and his few remaining friends could only watch as he crashes and burns. But they would not be the only ones watching. Veda always watched, always observed. And so the men would approach and ask if he truly wanted to fly again, and Graham Aker would disappear off the face of the planet Earth to the worry and fear of his friends.

To say he mixes oddly with his allies would be unfair; military training is conducive to team work, and his discipline allows him to tolerate eccentricities. But he is different. The Mercenary is in it to wage war and he cares not why, or even the security measures to ensure he doesn’t betray them. The Super Soldier girl is even more strict than him, though he has vowed to wean her out of it. And the final woman… he doesn’t know what to think of her, to be honest. As inhumanely dedicated as the Super Soldier, but vibrant and cheerful and a most frightening Enforcer indeed. But he is in it for the speed, and nothing else. He doesn’t believe the goal is possible, has nothing vested in it or against war, and isn’t guided by a sense of duty like the women.

All he wants is to fly again. Perhaps if he flies fast enough, he can forget why he’s flying at all.

---

It would have been appropriate if at least one of the Meisters was a victim of war and wanted to fight this fight, rather than following her orders merely because they had been told to. But then again, she didn’t appear to have a reason to be here either.

Kati was in this for the pride, and little else. Or maybe her literary professor had been right to describe her as a woman destined to be scorned, and this was the result. It was absurd when she thought about it, which was why she rarely did think about the reasons why. Jealousy and envy were hardly reasons to rebel against the world, but they were reasons.

Damn she hates how Kujo still haunts her thoughts. The doctors who had tracked her recovery after the Incident had suggested the possibility of neural damage, that that was what made her obsess so. Lord knows Kujo never intended or tried for so many things to happen; Kujo had been more distraught as anyone at the results of the Incident, horrified at the consequences of what had occurred. Kujo had never tried inter-organization squabbling in her life, so the Commander’s decision to cover his own ass and blame her was his own. Not even that faint unrequited college attraction could really be attributed to Kujo; some engineers fit the stereotype of clueless to a white lab coat, and Kujo hadn’t been much better.

But Kujo does haunt her thoughts, and that’s why she’s here. She has to step out of that woman’s shadow, to surpass her. She knows that that is what will let her get over her. Kujo wishes to end conflicts quickly? Fine; she’ll end conflicts forever. If, when, she does, there won’t be anything Kujo will be able to match, and Kati will truly be peerless.

---

Oh, the carnage and the overwhelming mobility and dexterity the Exia’s seven blades could unleash; who else but the Mercenary, who wanted nothing more than to feel the exhilaration of the kill, to feel his blades sink into his victim? Ali took to his machine like a fish to water, and the world tremble in fear.

The marksmanship of the Dynames fell into the only one as dispassionate as a chooser of death could be. Her higher mind able to react faster than anyone else’s, and her precision was unmatched. The Dynames was a worthy machine, and Haro an able partner.

It was no surprise to see the Kyrios fall into the hands of the disgraced flier, the only one willing to push it to its limits and beyond. Precious speed and flight were Graham’s once more, and he would return the favor in the form of his service. Overwhelming speed and power would leave many watching in fear of the shuttlecock’s deadly approach.

The Virtue fell to Healing Care, but there was no sense of left for last. The woman gladly took and handled the behemoth to further Veda’s plans, and she never forgot the Nadleeh either. She was the bringer of Veda’s will, and nothing could please her more.

---

[Thundermuffin]

Very cool. And it makes sense too, they all definitely have the potential to be selected by Veda.

[Dean_the_Young]

Sorry this was late: wrote it this afternoon after a five-hour car drive. Not sure how much more I actually want to write on this: classes start on Wednesday, and I certainly don't want to make this into a project. The planning alone would take days.

Expect one or two more updates.

---

Alternates: Rivals

---

“I don’t believe I heard why you volunteered for the Super Soldier Project,” Sergei said to the young man across from him in the cabin of the magnetic train. Disconcerting as it was to hear that the Institute had continued its work in private, at least they had the soul to give him a young adult. True, the dichromatic youth across from him couldn’t legally drink, but when Sergei looked at him he could pretend he was just looking at another young soldier.

“I did not volunteer, Colonel,” Hallelujah Haptism said. “I was an orphan who had an ideal genetic profile for the earlier generations of children.” Though his tone was rough it was also perfectly respectful. Everything about the young man across from him exemplified discipline; he never complained, always worked to meet and surpass any and all expectations, and never once disobeyed any authority.

Rather than please him, it horrified Sergei. This young man didn’t live to serve, to spend his life to advance the wellbeing of others or to further a cause like Sergei had spent his life. No, this man served to live, as if he would die in a heartbeat should he be found useless. He fought only for himself. He didn’t fawn or try to curry favor, but surely only because doing so had been beat out of him.

It horrified Sergei, that anyone should be raised in such an environment. Even if he was supposed to be the League’s trump card against the Gundams, Sergei wondered at what price it would be.

---

“You’re leaving? Nothing I can say to change your mind?”

Neil stopped in the doorframe, but didn’t turn around.

“No,” he said. “I’ve made up my mind.”

His brother sighed. “I know you have. You’ve always been the stubborn one.” He paused, then spoke again. “Sis is going to miss you.”

Neil remained silent, and Lyle backtracked. “I didn’t mean to say that to make you change your mind. I was just pointing out the truth. It’s going to feel empty without you here.”

“It’s not like I’m going away forever,” Neil defended himself. “I’ll be just an email away.”

“And if that email is the one notifying us to pick up what’s left of your body?” Lyle challenged. Sensing the silence, he sighed again, and Neil smelled the lingering scent of cigarettes. “Look, I’m just worried. We have steady jobs, and Sis is going to finish medical school soon. You’re already a police sniper; why do you need to enlist? You’ve already been fighting the same type of people for years. There’s no need for you to run off and get yourself killed against Celestial Being. They aren’t even all bad anyway; I know you were happy to see the Real IRA lay down their arms.”

“I can’t stand it,” Neil raged. “Watching people like them attack whoever they feel like for no reason but their own self-justification, I can’t stand it! They’re worse than the Kurdish terrorists: at least they were trying to fighting for their people, bastards as they were.”

Lyle sighed a third time, but it was different, a sign of acceptance. “Alright,” he said, though he was clearly far from convinced. “You’ll just upset everyone if you stay home like this. If you’re going to go, at least take this.”

Neil turned to see what it was, and was shocked to see Lyle holding a specific case. “This is your… I can’t take this,” he rejected, trying to push away his brother’s prized rifle. “That was Sis’s birthday present to you.”

“It’s your birthday too. Don’t go acting as if we aren’t twins,” Lyle said. “Take it: you’re going to need to keep up your practice.”

Neil took it, handling it with far more care than it required. “I’ll snipe them all,” he promised.

---

“So this is the Flag… I never thought I would see an actual production model. The Lieutenant would have been pleased.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Howard said, teasing his black friend. “I knew all along. So did Graham.” Both men paused, silence falling in memory of their lost friend. If they could have found him, both of them would likely have dragged him to see this day.

“Pity it took them the AEU’s Enact trials to realize the obvious,” said Billy Katagiri, walking up to them. “After so much time and money put into the Realdo Blast, we’re only now starting to move to what we should have had for years. Idiotic backroom politics.”

“Well, there’s no use crying over spilt milk this late,” said the fourth voice, the venerable Professor Eifman. “As it is, I’m just sorry I don’t have more to offer you. A sixth of the power, a fraction of the armor or firepower… you two will have enough trouble staying alive, until we have a chance to develop more technology to keep you pilots alive. As it is, you two were chosen because you do have experience piloting the Flag during the trials all those years ago.”

“What about that one?” asked Darryl, indicating the black Flag that stood behind the others. “It looks fiercer already.”

“That’s because he doesn’t care if the pilot is alive,” came a mocking voice. The two pilots whirled around, and Howard gasped at recognizing the speaker.

“You’re…!”

“Fon Sparks, at your service, apparently,” said the handcuffed terrorist with a satirical bow. “What do they care of the stress on the pilot if the pilot is a terrorist?”

“Professor!” protested Howard. “You can’t let someone like him pilot the Flag!”

“I’m afraid I have little say in the matter,” confessed Eifman. “Due to the risk involved with this particular design, Command wanted someone who they wouldn’t mind dying as the pilot. Fon Sparks is on strict probation; he has had an explosive device surgically implanted in him, and both of you will wield detonators. Should he show any sign of going rampant, you are authorized to trigger the device.”

“That’s a fancy way of saying they put a bomb in me to keep me compliant,” Fon patronized while looking meaningfully at Darryl and smirking when the black man bristled. “Like I said: at your service, apparently.”

“Using a terrorist to fight terrorists is disgusting, but we have little choice” said Billy. “Try to put up with him, at least.”

Fon ignored him and walked towards the towering suit. “So this is the Flag, eh?” he said, looking up and down the machine. “A mobile suit made infamous for fratricide and murder. Fitting for a murderer and terrorist to pilot, don’t you think?” Rolling his neck, Fon turned to look at the two Union pilots. “Oh, that’s right. You were his friends, weren’t you?”

Darryl punched him and sent him flying to the floor, but Fon only laughed.

---

[Dean_the_Young]

Well, I thought the last one was especially good. Especially Fon Sparks. (Yes, I know that's a CB code name. But even fewer people would know him if I didn't, so call it writer's license.)

This one, not so much. Actual attempts at combat scenes aren't my thing, and so I tend to try and skip them.



---

Alternatives: Clashes

---

“The American and Union fleets have launched mobile suits: they appear to be supporting Moralia” Feldt reported from her terminal.

Kati nodded; she had read the situation correct. All it had taken was a short proof of the Gundams’ power and then everything had fallen flawlessly into place.

“That was a short farce” commented Healing Care, who had been floating at the rear of the room. “Ali alone could have put the fear of us in their hearts.”

Before anyone could address that strange sense of humor, a blip raced across Christina’s monitor. “Mobile suits moving to intercept the Kyrios! They’re far faster than the Union Blasts!”

“Are they Enacts?” wondered Kati. “In that airspace?”

Christina worked the numbers, but found no solution. “Impossible; the lead one is three times faster than the specs of an Enact!”

In space, everyone was left wondering what sort machine could do that. But on Earth, Graham Aker recognized it from his dreams. “A Flag…” he marveled, emotion clouding his voice.

“Well played, Mr. President!” cried Fon Spark inside the cockpit of the Custom Flag, appreciating the political maneuvering of the day. “But now let’s see how this machine performs!”

He fired, but the Gundam effortlessly avoided the linear slug. Instead it flew straight past him, allowing Fon to easily chase after it. But that was when the Gundam began acting… on. Rather than try to outrun or outmaneuver the Flag, it set itself even and parallel to it. Whichever way Fon moved, so did the shuttlecock. The Gundam shadowed the Flag, and not even the twin sonic booms of Darryl and Howard flying past at close proximity disturbed it.

“Enough!” Fon shouted, tired of being mocked. Decoupling the leg restraints, the Flag transformed into its mobile suit mode. At the same time, though, the Gundam spun and turned the barrel roll into its own transformation, grappling the Flag before it could pull a weapon. The two machines spiraled towards the Ocean in a deadly embrace, locked in a game of chicken as the sea approached. Even as crazy as he was, Fon had to put the Flag’s power to slowing their velocity. The Gundam obliged too late, though, and the joined mobile suits only stopped in the water, where the Flag’s engines were quickly rendered inoperable.

But rather let the machine sink, the Gundam held it for just a moment longer, waiting for the two standard Flags to approach closer before disentangling itself. Doing so was a clumsy process, however, and brought the faces of both MS into brief contact before the Gundam dove beneath the waves. Howard and Darryl arrived to support the Custom Flag, and dragged it out of the sea.

“Those Gundams… what versatility,” Darryl admitted. “The Flag stood up in power, but…”

“But… what happened there?” asked Howard, and not even Fon had an answer.

---

When the quantum brainwaves reach him, Hallelujah feels fear.

‘You… you’re…! No, stay away! You’re already dead! Stay away!’

This may seem strange, but remember that Hellelujah is a survival mechanism. He is whatever is required to stay alive. To beg, to steal, to kill. To serve. Whatever it took. In another time, he would have been the vicious murderer, fighting with the ferocity of a cornered animal. But that would have him killed now, and so he is a very different identity.

‘He’ll wake up if you get closer! You know he’ll try and take you! He’ll disobey, and we’ll die!’

It was a simple calculation for the currently-dominant personality. If Marie approached, Allelujah would stir from his dormant slumber. If he awoke, he would insist on acting to retrieve her and ‘save’ her from Celestial Being. He would not think twice about disobeying orders to do so, and in light of their past that would get them both killed.

‘I’m not going to die! I’m going to live! At any cost!’

When it came down to it, there was only one safe path to continued survival.

“I’ll kill you!”

///\\\

When the quantum brainwaves meet, Soma Peries feels fear. Not her own, surely; she has little to be afraid of, safe as she is in the Dynames’s armor.

But she feels the blind survival instinct, the fear and hate, radiating, and it confuses and panics her more than anything she’s ever experienced. Her shots stray, her concentration breaks. It’s hard to imagine what could do it to her.

Perhaps if she knew her past, if she remembered anything, she might understand. Might recognize the voice she hears in her head. But she doesn’t, and sadly never will. Celestial Being did not have the knowledge or expertise of the Institute: they could not merely put another personality, another mind into her to restore her senses. They truly had to make her a tabula rosa, a blank slate. Marie is gone, not dormant. What remains of her are fragments deep with Soma’s own heart, to shape but not replace her nascent emotions.

So as she fends off her mysterious assailant, Soma does not scream in pain or terror as another personality seeks to arise. She yells in surprise and shock as she is blasted with emotions and accusations she is unfamiliar with. At least these will affect her less over time as she grows.

Pity about the one who knew her past self, though.

---

‘Is he reading my moves?’

Warrant Officer Soran Ibrahim, soldier of the Kurdish Republic’s Heaven’s Legion (mercenaries for the PMC Trust, in effect, one of the few resources the Kurdish Republic had to offer to get foreign aid and investment) carefully backed up, his machine ready to jump at a moment’s notice. As expected from a Gundam, the bladed one was amazingly agile, and even now held two pink beam sabers in knife grips. He had only barely managed to avoid being annihilated in the first attack, and his attack with the sonic blade had been effortlessly parried.

Even so…

As he had been trained to do, Soran fainted left, and then jumped right for the lunge. His Hellion had long ago been specially modified for just this style. But the Gundam, with a speed and dexterity that he had only seen one man perform, danced to the side and swatted the knife out of the Hellion’s hand. Only a sense of expectation allowed Soran to save the arm itself.

‘Could it be… him?’

Attacking with his second knife did even less; the Gundam evaded and kicked the hand with ease. But that was more than enough. Memories of the war, of training and victory and of the ruins that had been his teacher’s resting place. God had both given and taken that day; given salvation for their country, but taken away a leader.

Quickly, before the Gundam could attack, Soran stood his machine down and signaled the Gundam through morse code: “Get out of the cockpit.”

The Gundam paused, certainly the pilot laughed, but it did not attack either. Soran opened his own cockpit, and stepped out into the Moralian heat. Removing his helmet and tossing his service pistol to the ground as a sign of good faith, Soran looked upon the Gundam and shouted “Is it you, Commander?”

The Gundam stayed as it was, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. But the cockpit did not open. Soran was about to shout again when the Gundam did strike. With a mighty blow, it toppled the Hellion and sent Soran tumbling. But it did not try to kill him, even when he staggered to his feet and faced it again.

“Did God spare you for a reason, Ali Al-Saachez?” Soran wondered aloud as he watched the Gundam fly off.

---

“How long has it been? Years? After the Incident, at least,” Kati mused, toying with her drink.

“Has to have been,” Billy agreed. “But you’re looking as formidable as ever.”

“And you’re still a flatterer,” she responded, and Billy laughed. “So, have you finally found the one?” she asked, craning her neck to see any presence of a ring.

“Not yet,” Billy laughed lightly. “I may just turn out to be one of nature’s bachelors.”

Kati raised an eyebrow. “Do you even know where that came from?” Seeing him shake his head, she explained. “It’s an old euphuism for being homosexual, back before anyone could get married. You’re many things, but after watching you try and chase her in college…” She didn’t say who, but they both understood. Billy had accepted and was at peace with Kujo’s marriage, but he had never really moved on.

Billy laughed again. “Shows me what I get for trying to sound intelligent.” As the easy air flowed between them, he turned to business. “So, did you…”

“You’re a horrible soldier, and yes I realize the irony in me saying that,” Kati said. “You’re gambling quite a bit. Trying to exhaust the pilots? You’ll have to keep them down, separate them, and even take into account scuttling. Outside assistance is also possible. But there’s one thing especially; they have to show up. I doubt they would.”

Billy had been nodding along with each point, but the last one made him stop. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“If you were a commander, would you walk right into an obvious trap?”

“Well, I’m not part of an ideological group,” Billy pointed out. “I don’t know how they think.”

“Neither do I,” said Kati with every bit of honesty: she wasn’t an ideologue. “But part of that is considering: how do they judge their priorities? Why should they walk into an obvious trap in the Chinese desert that solves nothing… when they can continue to intervene against causes of conflict elsewhere? You’re expecting them to give that up in order to come to you, even though that wouldn’t meet their stated goals. I don’t think it’s going to work, unless they come up with a plan to get away.”

Billy was silent and contemplative. “You’ve given me a lot to think about; I’ll be sure to share your thoughts.” He stood.

“Leaving already? Don’t care to stay for another drink?” asked Kati.

“Next time, I promise. If you’re right, I’ll be sure to make it up to you,” Billy said before walking away from her once again.

It wasn’t until a week later that she remembered why she had bothered to show at that bar. Several days after the end of the Joint Military Exercise and the political (and actual) fallout from the terrorist attack that occurred under the watch of all three Powers, Kati received an email from Billy. Simple and to the point, it said “I was wrong. When and where do you want to meet next?”

Even in this day and age, a man who would admit he was wrong and take responsibility was a rare and precious thing.

---

[Thundermuffin]

I gotta say, I'm enjoying these mirror-verse fics. I hope you do more.

[Imperial]

Ditto on Thundermuffin

It's interesting to see the rivals made Celestial Being agents, while the former Celestials are with the Three Powers. Ali joining Celestial Being actually makes a fair amount of sense in my mind. He may be vehemently opposed to their mission statement, but he wouldn't pass up the chance to pilot a Gundam and pick a fight with the whole world. He seems like the type to think Celestial Being will never succeed, so being a Meister is like a lifelong license to kill.

I'm also surprised to see Healing is Celestial Being's resident Innovator, presumably taking Tieria's place. While the superiority complex would likely be carried over, someone like Regene or Healing might be less of an "ice princess."

[Dean_the_Young]

And this is why you don't go to Meisters for comforting. Especially these Meisters. Unless misery loves... well, you'll see.

---

Alternatives: Deathday

---

“Feldt? Are you… crying?”

The young girl quickly wiped a tear before turning to face Christina, despite the fact that the gesture gave it away. “I’m fine,” the younger girl lied.

“Nonsense,” Celestial Being’s other data analyst said. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Feldt looked back to the stars. “Today is the anniversary of my parent’s deaths,” she admitted. “They were Meisters, but I don’t even know when or how they died.”

“That’s horrible!” gasped Christina. “Not knowing how your own parents died? No one should have to grow up like that!”

“Like what?” asked Healing Care, walking into the room with Soma Peries.

“Not knowing what happened to your parents. Feldt’s died a long time ago, but she’s never been told. Isn’t that sad?”

Healing Care shrugged. “As far as I know, I have no parents. Certainly no one’s ever stood up and said they donated half my genetic material.”

If anything, that shocked Christina any more. “No parents? Everyone has parents! How else could you be alive?” Healing Care said nothing, and so Christina turned to Soma. “You had parents, right Soma?”

Soma looked at her impassively. “So I have been assured,” she said, “but I have no memory of my time before being found by Celestial Being. It doesn’t matter, either, so long as we accomplish the mission.”

Christina looked horrified at the calloused tones of her fellow gender, and only despaired at the sight of Feldt visibly clamming up and feeling guilty for feeling sad about her own fate. “That’s not right!” Christina said. “I’m ashamed of you both; you should both be more understanding. Not knowing what happened to your parent is a very horrible thing.”

“She’s right,” came a fifth voice, and leaning against the door was a certain red-headed Meister. Behind him was the last Meister, both likely returning from maintenance on their Gundams. “Not knowing what happened to a parent is a terrible and frightening thing.”

“Ali…” whispered Christina, far from the only one surprised at the mercenary’s apparent ability to empathize. Even Healing Care was surprised and listened with interest, while Soma carefully watched as the man looked into the past.

“I lost my father when I was just a boy. Even today, I wonder whether he’s out there, looking for me. I ran after our house was on fire, ran and never looked back. I was so sure that he was dead, but I heard that they never found a body. The man taught me everything I know, how to fight, how to survive in this world. Ever since then, I’ve spent decades checking over my shoulder, to see if he was finally standing behind me.”

All eyes were on him. Feldt watched, wide-eyed at the unexpected empathy with the battle-raging Meister. Christina wondered if she had misjudged him after all. It was hard to tell what was going on behind the masks that the other Meisters wore, but it was safe to bet that they were all listening intently.

“So many years, living with fear and worry, wondering if my father was still alive” said Ali, “and all because I could never find the body to prove that I killed the bastard.”

The silence was deafening, and Ali waved a hand in front of his face to break the spell. “Joking? I don’t know what happened to my father, really. Probably died a long time ago somewhere in the Middle East.”

The spell broken, a torrent of reactions streamed forth from the fairer gender.

“Men,” snorted Healing Care with disgust, throwing a dismissive glance at Ali before throwing it at Graham for good measure.

“Ali!” Christina exclaimed, while at the same time trying to shore up Feldt’s shattered view. “That was…”

Soma didn’t say anything, but immediately paid less attention to the man from the Middle East. That Christina had expected. She did not expect to see Graham begin to chuckle at the dark humor.

“Graham!” she protested, trying to appeal to the normally amiable Meister who had recently caught her eye. “Stop laughing! This is hardly a laughing matter. You had a normal life, you knew about parents, right? Surely you’re not like him?” she asked, indicating towards Ali who was laughing at the stir he had caused.

Graham and Ali exchanged looks of mutual… not dislike, but at least relief at their differences. But seeing the gazes of the other two Meisters present Graham was quickly cornered.

“We all told our origins,” Healing Care confronted, and even Soma looked slightly curious. Feldt, grasping for any straw or semblance of normality, looked on as well. Everyone waited expectantly, even though he had always been the most reluctant to discuss his past before joining Celestial Being. Ali never hid his past, Soma had none, and Healing just referred to a long history of service. A few, at least Ali and Kati, knew the impetus for why he had joined Celestial Being, but he rarely talked about his past.

“I’m an orphan myself,” Graham admitted. “I grew up in a government orphanage until I joined the military.”

Christina seemed to deflate at the lack of any normality or anything approaching normality among the Meisters. “Never adopted? No family?”

“No, never adopted,” he said, “though I had friends as close to family by the time I entered the Air Force. And I almost-” he began, but quickly bit himself off.

“And?” Christina, Healing, and even Ali prompted.

“It isn’t appropriate,” Graham tried to defer, but the implication of gossip only stirred more interest. Even Feldt was curious.

“We were all honest here,” said Healing. “Don’t wiggle out.”

“Yeah,” taunted Ali. “Don’t chicken out on us.”

Soma said nothing, but visibly awaited a satisfactory explanation.

“I almost got married,” Graham admitted, not quite through grit teeth.

“What?!” Christina gasped, the most vocal but not the most surprised. Quickly she looked to the American’s hands, and spotted a modest ring she had never noticed before. “When? Too who?”

“The daughter of my commander,” Graham said through clenched teeth. “Now can we drop this?”

“Wait,” interjected Healing. “You said ‘almost.’ How do you ‘almost’ get married? I admit I am unfamiliar with the institution, but either you are or aren’t.” Everyone waited for another answer.

“It fell through when I shot down the father-in-law to be and he crashed into the audience where she was,” Graham said with no passion in his voice or in his eyes. “Six months later, I disappeared and joined Celestial Being. That was three years ago to the day.”

If Ali’s joke had been tasteless, Graham’s admission was a shocker. Even Healing looked ashamed to have forced open such a wound, and Christina covered her mouth in horror. Feldt was also horrified, but part of her was guiltily relieved at not being the only one to have lost on this day.

But Ali laughed. “Now that is proof that life is a bitch!” he said. “I have to admit, yank, you have one on me. I’ve done many things in my life and career, but not even I’ve ever killed my own fiancée and father-in-law. Bravo! I’ll have to rethink my opinion of you now.”


---

[Thundermuffin]

Oh man, I totally knew where Ali was going with that story before he got to the punchline.

Great stuff.

[EinhanderAstraeaMk.I]

If Bandai was to ever redo Gundam 00 for a future audience (but with some changes to make old new), I'd like them to take your alternate Meisters idea and use it. I could seriously see it as if it was animated. That scene played out perfectly (though admittedly darker, which I don't mind).

[Thundermuffin]

Something occurs to me...

Graham's left-handed, so-

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/A ... rryios.jpg