Disclaimer: I don't own anything of importance related to Xenogears or Vandread. " " Speech < > Thought | | Computer vocalization - - Telepathy * * Action sounds or emphasis ( ) Author's notes Xenodread Chapter 1 – Where The Hell Are We?! By Raiu Kusanagi + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Ugh..." Id silently mused. "What the hell happened?" Id grunted as he opened his eyes to the red glare of the emergency lights of Weltall's cockpit. "Weltall!" Id snapped, his hands flying across the control panels, bringing Weltall fully online. "Sitrep! I want to know where Original Weltall is and if it's capable of combat!" |NO ABNORMALITIES DETECTED. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. ORIGINAL WELTALL NOT WITHIN MAXIMUM SCANNING RANGE.| "What about Grahf? Run a full scan." |FULL SPECTRUM SCAN COMPLETE. SUBJECT GRAHF NOT LOCATED.| A large weight against Id's chest finally registered in his mind. Looking down, he saw that Emeralda was still unconscious, though she seemed fine, otherwise. She was sleeping peacefully with her head propped against Id's shoulder. "Hey, Emeralda." No response. "Time to wake up, kiddo." Still nothing. "Hey. Come on. Wake up!" Emeralda simply snuggled closer against Id. "Damn it. Might as well see what's going on," Id mumbled, looking up to see what was on the main camera. Id mentally chuckled. Eight women armed with some sort of rifles were ushering a group of men more than triple their number into a cluster of small rooms off the side of the hangar they were in. Several more were staring up at Weltall in shock while a young girl was watching a man treat some wounded women and a woman with dark green hair was all but sobbing as she stared up at... Lying about the room were a number of puny, dorky looking Gears that were each barely a third of Weltall's height. Also, several more air fighters were resting in various places around the hangar. Turning to his left, Id saw a third fighter stuck halfway through the wall, another of those puny Gears lying next to it. Tapping a button to open the cockpit, Id shifted Emeralda around so she was sitting in the cockpit seat. He turned around and hopped out of Weltall's cockpit, landing silently on the ground between the Gear's legs. + + + + The Mejele women tensed up and raised their weapons when the center chest plate of the giant red machine hissed open. A moment later, a red-haired man wearing a strange outfit hopped out, landing lightly on the ground. Id mentally hummed, ignoring the women. Id closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, using his Ki to scan for Citan. "So, any of you ladies wanna tell me what the fuck is goin' on?" Id asked, crossing his arms over his chest. The absolute lack of emotion in the man's voice startled a couple of the young women looking at him. One of them opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by an insistent beeping. The women all grabbed small communicators hooked on their belts while keeping their weapons trained on Id. The assassin's sensitive hearing was able to pick up what was being said over the communicators. "All crew evacuate the Ikazuchi! Incoming missile!" Id silently mused. Before Id could continue that line of thought, the hangar shook, as if something had hit it. Without a second thought, Id leaped back into Weltall's cockpit and sealed the hatch behind him. Shifting Emeralda around so that he was in the seat and she was in his lap again, Id smirked as he grabbed the control sticks. Just as Weltall was about to punch a hole in the wall, something stopped Id. "Why...?" Id whispered, then blinked in realization. "Damned conscience. Of all the things I had to get from the Construct, it was a conscience. Stupid bastard." Weltall turned around just in time to see two women run out of the hole the blue Dread was stuck in, each one heading toward one of the remaining free space fighters. Out of the corner of his eye, Fei saw a short teenage boy jump into the cockpit of the puny Gear lying next to the blue Dread. "All three accounted for!" A young woman's voice stated over Weltall's main radio channel. Id took a half-second to pinpoint the source of the voice, prompting Weltall to zoom in on a young woman, named Meia Gisborn, with shoulder length sky blue hair wearing a black and gray outfit that resembled a flight suit. "We're leaving now on the Dreads!" Suddenly, the young woman stopped short, staring at something. "Damn! Barnette's Dread is pinned under a giant powered suit!" "Don't worry." Id sighed, cutting into the conversation as he guided Weltall forward. "I'll handle it." The woman, Meia Gisborn, gasped in shock when she looked up and saw Weltall stepping toward Barnette's Dread. A moment later, the crimson Gear lifted Heimdal into a fireman's carry, then Weltall's head turned toward Meia. "Now get out of here before I change my mind." Id's ordered the women, then continued in an angry grumble. "Damned conscience." Meia and Barnette didn't need a second warning. The two women raced toward their Dreads as Weltall started to fall forward, only to lift into the air, feathery wings of blue energy emerging from its wing fins. A moment later, the Gear shot out of the hangar and came to an abrupt halt. Outside the ship was something Id had seen only at night before. "Ho. Lee. Shit." An endless expanse of darkness and stars surrounded the Gear. Before Weltall was an immense tan-colored sphere, in front of which floated several gunmetal gray ships that could individually dwarf the Yggdrasil several times over. Off to the right was a streamlined crimson ship firing blue energy beams at a pair of incoming missiles. "Well, this sucks." Id commented, watching the energy beams bounce off the missiles for a moment. "No way am I stupid enough to try tagging those things with a reactive blast." Before Id had a chance to maneuver Weltall away from the Ikazuchi, something impacted against the Gear from behind. "What the hell?!" Id snarled as he spun Weltall around to see Barnette's Dread hovering before him. "Oh. It's you." "Watch it!" Barnette's voice yelled at him over the radio as her Dread swerved around him. "Mmmm." Emeralda moaned as she started to wake up. "Kim? What's happening?" |THIRTEEN SECONDS TO MISSILE IMPACT,| Weltall reported. "Crap." Id hissed, pulling Weltall around to face away from the missiles. "Just hope we can get far enough away to save our asses." Just as the missiles were about to hit, a strange feeling washed over the two Gear pilots as Weltall's cockpit was flooded with green light. Half a second later, they were falling into a sea of green energy along with an unconscious Citan, three women, a short teenage boy, and an egg-shaped object of some sort. Before either Id or Emeralda could get their bearings back, everything went white. + + + + Many Light Years away In the depths of space, far away from any civilization or inhabited planet, a flash of light bright enough to blind anyone that looked at it, had there been any witnesses, erupted from out of nowhere. A moment later, the light faded away, revealing the Ikazuchi, the pirates' ship, the two Gears, and a great deal of debris. Several seconds after that, various people began waking up. "Unh." Magno Vivan, Captain of the Mejele pirates, groaned. "This doesn't look like the afterlife. Where are we?" Before either of the two young women with her could response, the ship shuddered, as if something had collided with it. "What's going on now?!" A number of spine-like tendrils of green crystal had extended from the bottom of the Ikazuchi and attached themselves to the top of the pirate ship while numerous others extended from the Ikazuchi's arms to collect debris. "What the heck is goin' on? Is the crystal trying to eat the ship or something?" Behind the Ikazuchi, a small cluster of arms latched onto Weltall and Heimdal, dragging them back into its hangar. As soon as Weltall's feet touched the floor, Heimdal was leaned against a wall and the cockpits of both Gears opened, allowing their occupants to fall out. The moment the three touched the crystal covered hangar floor, more crystal started growing on the Gears, forming cocoons around them. Had anybody been there to look at the three displaced warriors, they would have seen a fading green glow surrounding all three. + + + + "Sorry about this, Captain." Meia apologized. "You had to come all the way up here." "There's no need to apologize. I simply wanted to see this with my own eyes." Magno replied, walking ahead of the group of women she'd arrived with and gazing around until something caught her eye. "Hm?" "This is the man Dita was chasing," Meia supplied, staring down at an unconscious young man by the name of Hibiki Tokai. "It's been a while since I last saw a man. Were their faces really this funny looking?" Before Meia could comment on that, a woman's voice cut in. "There are more over here!" Meia and Magno turned toward the voice to see Jura Basil Elden, a voluptuous blonde wearing an ankle-length black dress with a plunging neckline and a slit up one side that reaches almost to her hip. When the blonde Dread pilot waved to them, the pair walked over to her, the rest of the group trailing along behind. "What part of the Tarak Military do you think they come from?" Jura asked, pointing to Id and Citan. "I don't recognize their uniforms, if those are even uniforms." Magno responded. "What about the girl? Is she part of our crew?" "I've never seen her before," Meia answered. "Same here," Jura added. "I see." The Captain mused. "BC, take that man's weapon and have both men taken to a cell. Bring the girl to my quarters. I'd like to know what she was doing with a man." + + + + "M... MOTHER!" Id yelled as he jerked upright into a sitting position. A second later, he was clutching his head in pain. "Ow..." Id moaned, slowly lowering his hands, not noticing that the restraints on his wrists had slammed into his chin. "Did somebody get the make and model of the Gear that decked me upside the head?" "I would second that notion," Citan groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position, then turned to lean against some crates next to him. "Are you two all right?" A man's voice asked. "We will be," Id answered, leaning against a large box as he glanced at the long-haired man that had spoken. In that glance, Id saw that he and Citan were in a cell with green lasers for bars and the long-haired man was in a similar situation across the hall. Citan slowly opened his eyes and focused on Id. "Hello, Fei," Citan stated guardedly. "Good ta see ya, Doc," Id responded. "Are you... you?" "Near as I can guess, all three personalities merged into one, Doc." Fei chuckled. "I'm still sorting through it all right now." "I see." Citan said, relaxing slightly. "Any idea where we are?" "In the brig of some ship called the Ikazuchi. That's all I know." "Hm, interesting," Citan muttered. Fei raised a hand to rub his forehead only to stop when he noticed the restraints. "What the...? Fuck it." A sequence of sickening pops issued from Fei's wrists as he twisted his hands around, pulling the restraints off after a few seconds of working at them. Raising them up to stare at them, Fei contemplated the restraints for a moment before tossing them to the side. "Annoying little things," Fei quipped as he flexed his hands, letting off another short series of pops. Looking back at the long-haired man again, Fei noticed another young man about sixteen and a white, egg-shaped robot with overly large eyes on its display screen. "And just who are you?" "The name's Duero McFile," the long-haired man answered. "And I'm Hibiki Tokai," the teenager added. "Mm." Fei grunted. "I'm Fei Fong Wong and this is Doctor Citan Uzuki." Citan smiled at the two younger men and waved as best he could. "A pleasure to meet you." Citan stated, then turned back to Fei. "Fei, just how did I end up here as well?" "Grahf and I tore a hole in the space-time continuum, Doc." Fei sighed wearily, lowering his head to rest his chin against his chest. "Rifts in space- time generally don't follow the laws of physics as we know them. So, I have no clue how you and Heimdal got pulled in with me, but you did." "That's a very interesting theory, if it were possible," a female voice commented. "Wo-women!" Hibiki gasped, falling backwards to land on his ass. Fei raised his head and glanced around. Five women were standing between the two cells. Four of them wore uniforms that consisted of a white torso, green shoulders, tight black or loose white sleeves, form-fitting black leggings, and green boots or white shoes. The fifth woman, Commander Buzam A. Calessa (a.k.a. BC), had tanned skin, silvery hair, steely gray eyes, and wore a sort of harem-girl's outfit that was quite revealing though it only displayed the skin of her arms, midriff, and head. "Trust me. It's not just possible, it actually happened. Citan, Emeralda, and I got dragged here along with my Weltall and Citan's Heimdal." "What are you planning to do to me?!" Hibiki demanded. "What am I doing here?!" "Try to calm down." Buzam responded. "This is the safest place for you right now." "She's right." Fei added, crossing his arms over his chest. "No point getting all riled up for nothing." "'Nothing'?!" Hibiki yelled. "Are you crazy?! They wanna eat our guts!" "Eat your... guts?" BC asked, incredulous. "Actually, young man," Citan stated, ignoring the guards' giggling, "I believe that we would already be dead and digesting if they were cannibals." "Yes, well," the leader began, "before we have dinner, I'd like to ask you something. Come with us." + + + + Fei smirked at the silver haired woman for a moment as the group entered the interrogation room. She had tried to replace the restraints on him several times, but each time, the red haired warrior simply slipped out of them again. The bench in the middle of the room was only wide enough for three people, so one of the men was forced to stand. Without waiting for anything to be said, Fei walked over to the wall to the left of the entrance and leaned against it. Citan sat on the end of the bench closest to Fei, prompting Duero to sit beside him and Hibiki to sit on the other end of the bench. On the way to the interrogation room, Hibiki had reached out and prodded one of the guards in the butt. The side of his face still had the red handprint from her slap. "Why the heck did she do that?" Hibiki whined. "A gentlemen must never be rude to a lady!" the egg-shaped robot scolded him. "Hey! I don't even know what you're talking about!" Hibiki countered. At that moment, Meia Gisborn entered the room. "What's up?" The Commander asked. "The hangar was clear." Meia answered. "No other men were there." "Well, that's good," Buzam stated, smirking slightly. "My goodness." Magno stated as she walked into the room. "I heard you'd rounded up some prisoners, but they're just kids." "Hey, hey!" the robot chirped. "It's time to interrogate! I'll tell you everything!" "Oh, my. How nostalgic." Magno commented, looking down at the egg-shaped machine. "It's a Navi-Robot. And this one still seems to function, eh?" "I'm not following this," Duero commented. "You ain't the only one," Fei chipped in. "Oh, you're one of the ones we found with that girl, aren't you?" The Captain asked as she grabbed one of the stools that had been next to the door and sat down on it. "This girl. Is she a little taller than you with emerald colored hair and wearing a rust-colored outfit?" Fei asked. "Yes. You know her?" "Emeralda is my daughter. Where is she?" Everyone in the room except for Citan and the Captain stared at him in confusion. Magno simply raised an eyebrow, while Citan furrowed his brow as if considering something. "Daughter, hm? You wouldn't happen to be from Earth, would you?" "Earth? Not in this lifetime." Fei smirked inwardly at the private joke. "Well, you needn't worry about the girl. She's in my quarters and seemed to be fine when she was taken there, though she hasn't regained consciousness yet, to my knowledge." Fei slowly released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in a low sigh. "Hey, this a men's ship, isn't it?" Hibiki cut in. "Yes," Magno answered, "and before that it was used for colonization." "Huh?" Hibiki gasped. "You really don't know anything, do you?" Magno smirked. "This old ship was one of a fleet that departed from a planet called Earth to colonize. Of course, this happened a very long time ago before your fathers were born. Unfortunately, your cowardly grandfathers severed this section of the ship and ran away into the night." "They overhauled the old battleship and added residential quarters," the robot piped up. "One of the ships in this fleet you mentioned wouldn't have happened to be called the Eldridge, would it?" Fei asked. "Hmmm..." Magno hummed, thinking. "No, I don't recall ever hearing of a colony ship by that name." "I see..." Fei mused. "Something wrong, Fei?" Citan inquired. "The Eldridge was the ship that crash landed on our planet ten thousand years ago, Doc. Its survivors were our first ancestors there." "Ten thousand years, you say?" Magno asked. "I get it." Citan mused aloud. "So we were either sent into a parallel dimension, or..." "Or we were thrown into the past more than ten thousand years," Fei finished. "Oh, please!" Hibiki exclaimed. "You don't really expect us to believe that, do you?!" "Regardless of whether they are to be believed or not, we have more pressing matters at the moment. Since we're going to be taking the ship, the only problem is what to do with you guys." "We should get rid of them." Meia suggested. "Things are already unstable enough." "No reason to be hasty." Magno countered. "We'll carefully consider exactly how we want to cook these fellas up." Magno licked her lips as she finished that sentence, causing Hibiki to break out in a nervous sweat. "If that's your idea of a joke, you're a pretty sick old woman," Fei stated indifferently. "I wouldn't have put it so... bluntly, but those are my sentiments exactly," Citan agreed, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. "You two are quite interesting, aren't you?" "You have no idea," Fei chuckled as Citan's mouth curved into a small smile. "There's something approaching!" A young woman's voice stated over the hand-held radio Buzam was carrying. "Is it male reinforcements?" BC inquired, speaking into the radio. "Actually –" "They're UFO's!" A different voice cut off the first. Cracks started forming in the ceiling and wall in one corner of the room as the ship was rocked by an impact. "They're attacking us!" "Danger! Danger!" The Navi-Robot began squealing. "What's going on this time?" Hibiki asked. "We're under attack, stupid," Fei growled. The ship was rocked again by another impact. "Dreads are going out," Meia stated, running out of the room. Fei pointed a finger at Hibiki's restraints and fired a tiny Ki bolt, tearing them apart in a small explosion. "We're headin' out, too, Doc. You comin'?" "No." Citan sighed, leaning back. "I believe I'll stay here. I trust you can take care of it." "Thanks, Doc." Fei smirked before grabbing the stunned Hibiki's arm. "C'mon, kid. We're gonna go kick some ass." Before anyone could protest, Fei was out the door and running down the hall, dragging Hibiki along behind him. Magno stared at the doorway before blinking and turning to Citan. "What in the world did that young man just do?" "What you just saw was but a small sample of Fei's capabilities." Citan answered. "On our world, almost anybody with the right training can use a power called Ether. That power can be used for various purposes, such as casting spells. However, certain people are unable to use Ether. Fei is one of those people. So, instead of Ether, Fei learned how to manipulate the energy his own body creates. That energy is called Ki, the life force of all living things. "Fei's skill in manipulating Ki is nothing short of astounding, especially for one as young as he," Citan finished. "Captain..." BC started to say. "Shouldn't we -" "I have a feeling those two young men won't be much of a problem, BC," Magno replied, smirking at her second-in-command. + + + + "Not much farther," Fei muttered. "H-hold it!" Hibiki yelped, trying to wrench his arm free of Fei's grasp as he stumbled along behind the older man. Fei's sudden stop caught Hibiki by surprise and he stumbled forward, nearly falling on his face before he could catch himself. Standing up straight, Hibiki rubbed his wrist as he glared at Fei. "Why did you want me to stop? You have a problem with fighting?" "No... It's just..." Hibiki slowly replied. "I'm not actually a pilot of the Vanguard. The truth is, I'm just a parts mechanic, that's all." "Then why are you even here?" "Because of a stupid dare. I just got so sick of everyone telling me I could never be anything better than what I was, that I just had to do something." Hibiki stated, then hung his head and let his arms drop to his sides. "But, it looks like they were right. I shouldn't even be here. I'm so pathetic." "You're right." Fei replied after a few moments of silence. "You are pathetic." Hibiki simply hung his head lower at Fei's condescending tone. "But that doesn't matter now. You did what you did because you wanted something more out of life, right? It doesn't matter how much of a loser you are, or how pathetic you are. You can't keep cowering at every obstacle that comes your way if you want to become more than just another nobody that's done nothing with their life. Do you really want to be just another nobody, Hibiki?" "I..." Hibiki hesitantly began, slumping to his knees. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do!" "Don't ask what you're *supposed* to do. Just ask yourself what you *want* to do." Fei stated, then turned away from Hibiki. "I'm going to go fight and protect this ship. Do what you want." Hibiki silently watched as Fei ran off down the corridor toward the hangar. "What... what do I want to do...?" + + + + As she slowly woke up, Emeralda groaned and slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. She was sitting on a large, four post bed, the sheets draped over her legs. "Kim...?" Emeralda muttered as she opened her eyes and looked around at the room. "Where is..." Emeralda trailed off for a moment before speaking again. "In the... hangar? How did I... know that?" Pushing the sheets off her, Emeralda slid to the edge of the bed and stood up, glancing around curiously. "Something's... calling...? But Kim is... Kim is alright...? How...?" Her confusion only growing, Emeralda slowly approached the bedroom door and tapped the keypad next to it. The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a silvery-gray, well-lit corridor. Two guards, one on either side of the door, jerked in surprise and spun around to stare at Emeralda. "Hi!" Emeralda chirped before slipping between the guards and taking off down the corridor toward the bridge. "Captain!" One of the guards snapped into her radio. "The girl woke up and slipped past us. She's headed for the bridge." "Leave her be." Magno's voice responded. "I'm on my way there now." Less than a minute later, Emeralda charged into the bridge, startling the crew members there. The girl stumbled to a stop, pressing a hand against the side of her head and hissing in pain. "Excuse me, but who are you?" Belvedere Coco, a blonde member of the bridge crew, asked. Emeralda ignored the question, releasing her head as she stalked toward the green well of energy attached to the end of a short bridge that extended from the front of the bridge. When she got close enough, several tendrils of energy reached out and grabbed her, pulling the unresisting girl into the energy well. The bridge crew simply stared in shock until the bridge's door hissed open again, revealing the Captain and the Navi-Robot. + + + + In the sick bay, Citan was using some of the scanning equipment to examine the guard that had slapped Hibiki earlier. Not long after Fei had left the interrogation room, another impact shook the ship hard enough to knock a portion of the room's wall loose. That portion then fell on top of the guard, burying her from the waist down in debris and knocking her out. Before the other guard could react, Citan had snapped his restraints, flipped over the back of the bench, and begun examining the young woman, all in one fluid motion. "Relax. I'm a doctor." Citan had stated when the other guard had pointed her laser ring at him, then started lifting some the large chunks of thick tile off her. "I just want to help. Duero, you're a doctor as well, correct?" "Yes... how did –" "That red X on your trench-coat is a crooked version of a common symbol for doctors and hospitals. That and a lucky guess... well, you get the idea. But we need to get her to the sick bay, and quickly. This debris is heavy enough that it may have broken some bones." "Right," Duero had stated, then turned to BC and raised his hands. BC had nodded and pressed a button on a small remote at her belt, disengaging the restraints. Without waiting for anything else, Duero had hopped over the bench and gently turned the guard over onto her back as Citan was moving the last of the debris. A few gentle prods and pokes later, Duero had determined that her left tibia and right femur were broken and the right side of her pelvis was softer than it should have been. Nodding to each other, the two doctors had lifted the girl, Citan supporting her torso and head while Duero held her legs steady. "Take us to sick bay," Citan had stated, looking straight at Magno. "Alright then. BC, show the kind doctors to the sick bay, then meet me on the bridge." "Right." Once in the sick bay, they had managed to locate a small backup generator and connected the scanning equipment to it. Refocusing on the present, Citan frowned in thought as he looked down at the injured guard. + + + + In the control well, Emeralda silently growled at the attacking drones as the information she had asked for finished downloading into her. Due to her request, she now had a general idea on how to pilot the Ikazuchi, though she was quick to take note of the distinct lack of weapons the ship currently had. When she sensed someone enter the bridge, she opened a holo-screen to the bridge. "Hello there!" Emeralda chirped, looking straight at Magno. "Are you the captain?" "Yes, I am." Magno answered, approaching her chair. "You must be Emeralda." "Captain? Do you know her?" Amarone Slaintheav, a black woman with braided dark brown hair, asked. "The man, Fei, mentioned he knew her." The Captain responded, then turned to Emeralda. "So just what are you doing here, young lady?" "The ship asked me to pilot it, so that's what I'm doing," Emeralda answered, shrugging. "Um... do you want me to take you away from these Gears?" "Gears?" "Those robots out there." "Oh. Yes, that would be nice," Magno said, amusement clear in her tone. "Okay!" With that, the ship spun 180 degrees and shot away from the drones. "Well!" Magno exclaimed. "The ship moves!" "Uh huh!" Emeralda chirped. "Their main system is in pursuit!" Amarone reported. "Meia's group is attempting to intervene!" Belvedere called out. "But it looks like they can't do anything!" + + + + Fei skidded to a stop when he reached the hangar and quickly glanced around. When his gaze locked on Weltall, he ran over to it. "Well, this was unexpected," Fei muttered as he gazed at the Gear. Standing just over three sharls taller than before, the now-black Gear had been significantly altered. The silver feet were resting completely on the floor, a pair of support struts connecting the "heels" of each foot to the lower legs, both of which had reshaped into narrow, downward pointing wedges – the tips of which were resting against the hangar floor just behind the "toes" of the feet - while the knee blades had shortened into small, spike-like plates that jutted up from the shins to cover the kneecaps. The basic design of the legs and the hip & groin area resembled armored versions of a muscular human's legs & groin area. The human-shaped torso was protected by single plate of flexible armor that covered the Gear's abdomen and lower "ribs". A line of interlocking silver plates traced a straight line up from each of the Gear's hips to the matching "armpit". Though Fei was unable to see Weltall's back from his angle, it was covered in a plate of metal identical to that on the Gear's abdomen, and a wider line of interlocking silver plates covered the Gear's "spine" all the way up to the base of its "skull". The Gear's chest plates had seemingly fused together into a single heavy plate with only a barely visible seam down the middle to mark its former state. Additionally, the shoulders had been reconfigured into blunted cones that angled slightly up and the pauldron blades were reduced to small spikes of emerald affixed to the tips of the Gear's shoulders so they pointed straight up. Weltall's human-like arms were extremely similar to how they used to be in its weaker form, though the fingers ended in razor-sharp claws. Weltall's head fin was gone, replaced with a pair of straight horns angling back from just over where a human's ears would be on the Gear, forming a large V along with a forehead that spiked out over the Gear's face. The aforementioned visage was now little more than an unremarkable plate of off-white armor with only the general shape of a human face with a slightly pointed chin. The upper half of the Gear's face was covered by a translucent black visor, behind which Weltall's unchanged eyes could barely be seen. A second pair of eyes stared forward from their positions on the sides of the Gear's forehead spike above the Gear's main eyes. The two armor plates that had previously wrapped around the sides and back of Weltall's head were now white hexagonal plates that resembled backwards-facing air scoops and only covered the parts of the Gear's head where its ears would be, if it had any. Attached to four heavily armored support struts extending from the Gear's back in a large X was a quartet of thrusters, which were currently pointed toward each other to form another X and save space. Finally, the Gear was noticeably shinier, as if someone had taken the time to polish it. Fei took notice of a green and white Gear similar to Heimdal nearby and a smaller, pale gold & off-white Gear a short distance away, but disregarded them for the moment. The martial artist's mouth twisted into a feral grin as Weltall seemed to sense its master's presence, its eyes coming to life in a flare of blue light and a hatch popped open just above the Gear's chest plate. Fei grinned as he leaped up to the cockpit. Once Fei had settled into the seat, the cockpit had sealed shut and a dim white glow filled the cockpit, giving Fei just enough light to see by. The Gear pilot started examining the remodeled steel gray cockpit as a six-inch-wide green sphere rose out of a socket on each armrest and hovered just over the sockets. Fei reached out and gripped the spheres, slightly surprised at the slight give he felt under his fingertips. Instantly, lines of green energy traced circuit-like paths up Fei's arms to his shoulders, where they abruptly disappeared. "Okay..." Fei muttered, blinking in surprise. "Question. How the hell do I pilot you now?" This prompted a holo-screen to appear before Fei, displaying all the relevant data. "How about weapons?" Fei asked. The holo-screen was instantly replaced by one that had the new weapons specs detailed and highlighted on an outline-only schematic of the Gear. "The reactive cannons are gone, huh?" Fei mused aloud. "Looking back, I almost can't believe I was willing to use those damned things. Oh, wait. I was on that whole 'destroy the world' kick." Fei deadpanned. "Hmmm, so those gems on Weltall's shoulders are actually Ether cannons, eh? Cool. And the chain guns were replaced with Vulcan cannons that fire Armor-Piercing, High-Explosive rounds? Very nice. Palm lasers... Heh. They're the only things that haven't changed." The man grinned as he closed the two screens. "Now let's go kick some ass." Fei squeezed the controls slightly, causing the rest of the cockpit to come alive, revealing that it was one giant view screen, thus giving Fei a nearly 360-degree field of vision. Weltall lifted several feet off the ground, causing the feet to slide back, then flip up to lock against the Gear's calves as the thrusters aimed straight behind the Gear. Half-a-second later, the thrusters snapped open into 45-degree V's, revealing a fan of blade-like structures that glowed blue as Weltall turned toward the open end of the hangar and engaged its flight system, shooting out of the hangar a moment later. + + + + Despite the enhancements their Dreads had received from the Peacsis, Meia, Jura, and Dita Liebely, a novice pilot with long, dark red hair, were still being overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone. For every drone they destroyed another three were there to replace it. The three large, silver seed-shaped ships that kept spewing out more cubes that broke apart into the drones weren't helping matters either. "Meia." Buzam stated, her face appearing on a holo-screen in the chief pilot's cockpit. "You've got some backup coming." "Roger that." Meia replied, then blinked when she saw Weltall emerge from the Ikazuchi's hangar. "That's our backup?" "This is Weltall reporting." Fei stated, a holo-screen with his face appearing in the Dread cockpits and the Ikazuchi's bridge. "Engaging the enemy." The ebony Gear shot forward and seemed to merely skim past several clusters of the drones. A second after he passed, though, the drones all exploded. Weltall pulled into an upward spiral and paused as it fired off a short burst of Vulcan fire, tearing apart another cluster of drones. As the black Gear continued demolishing the drones, Meia took a moment to look at readouts from the sensors she had watching Weltall. Inside Weltall's cockpit, Fei grinned savagely as he grabbed a drone and used it like a club against another drone. The resulting explosion helped propel Weltall toward one of the seed ships. A moment later, Weltall slammed into the silver ship, latching onto it with one hand as it pulled the other back, gathering a large sphere of blue energy in the palm of that hand. "Let's see how you like taking a Ki blast up the ass, you bastard!" Fei growled as Weltall slammed its free hand through the ship's outer armor. The force of the Ki blast pushed the Gear and ship away from each other. As Weltall spun around and headed toward another seed ship, the one he'd attacked erupted into a massive explosion, the shockwave of which took out a good number of drones. + + + + "Is there a chance we'll escape?" BC asked from her position next to Magno. "Well, your guess is as good as mine," the Captain replied just before the ship was rocked by an impact. "Port side engine has taken a hit!" One of the bridge crew reported. "Shields weakening!" "We won't get too far under conditions like these," Magno commented, watching Weltall get swarmed halfway to the second seed ship. Inside the control well, Emeralda winced in sympathy as the drones attacked Weltall. "Damn it!" Fei's voice snarled over the radio as he tore through the drones, using Weltall's claw-like fingers with brutal efficiency. "There's no end to these things!" + + + + "I got here as fast as I could, partner!" Hibiki yelled as he ran through a doorway into the platform, only to stop dead at the sight that greeted him. The Vanguard that he had marked was lying in a pile of the blue crystal that was everywhere on the ship. However, it had been changed much as Weltall had. The now pale gold and off-white, ten-meter-tall powered suit was bulkier, but more streamlined. Two vents formed the junction between each sideways-cone- shoulder and the torso, though the upper vents had what looked like a large gun barrel in each. The armor on the arms was thicker while the hands now had four fingers and a thumb. The elbow fans of the standard Vanguards were still there, but didn't show any signs of being able to open. The leg armor had also become thicker, but more articulated. The legs from the calves down and the feet were remarkably similar to those of the Andvari Gear. The knees had split open into a pair of spikes, one above and one below the actual joint, while the groin armor had sealed into a single piece similar to Weltall's. The head was more human shaped, with two spherical green eyes, a flat face plate beneath them, and a rounded forehead spike similar to Weltall's, but sans the second pair of eyes. A sword hilt stuck up on either side of the Vanguard's head from the double sheath attached to the powered suit's back between its thrusters. "Hey, partner." Hibiki said, as he walked up to the Vanguard and ran his hand over the mark he'd left on it. "So you've changed a little bit, huh? But I guess this is still you, isn't it?" Hibiki smirked cockily as a thought came to him. "Alright, I'll just have to change myself, too!" He stated before hopping up into the open cockpit. The teen silently vowed as he settled into the seat and grabbed a pair of control spheres identical to those in Weltall's cockpit. "I have no idea how to use this thing, but I'll make it move with my mind!" Hibiki snarled, then gasped in surprise when the Vanguard came to life and stood up, the cockpit closing in the process. "I - I'm making it move! I'm really doing it!" Hibiki exclaimed as the Vanguard walked toward the hangar exit, ignoring the large green and white Gear leaning against the wall. "This is my chance! To finally do something with my life!" The teen gripped the controls tighter, pushing them forward slightly and the Vanguard's thrusters responded, hurling him out into space. + + + + "Hey, Fei!" Hibiki's voice called out, his face popping up on a holo-screen in the martial artist's cockpit and the Ikazuchi's bridge. Weltall finished of another pair of drones and turned toward the Ikazuchi in time to see the yellow Gear from the hangar flying unsteadily toward him. It was about ten sharls tall and vaguely resembled the Vanguards. "What are you doing out here, Hibiki?" "I've decided! I'm going to fight! I'll prove I'm not just another third- class citizen! I want to prove my own existence!" "Good. Now let's –" "I don't need your help!" Hibiki snapped, aiming his mecha toward a quartet of incoming drones. "Watch this! Lightning Fist!" The upgraded Vanguard pushed forward, its right arm lashing out with a powerful jab which... did absolutely nothing. The four drones promptly blasted Hibiki's Vanguard, engulfing the humanoid machine in a large explosion. "Idiot," Fei grumbled as he blasted the drones a few quick blasts from Weltall's palm lasers. "Okay, I'll admit, you guys are pretty good." Hibiki stated, somewhat dazed. "But I'm getting the hang of this now!" "Hold it, Hibiki." Fei stated, clapping Weltall's hand on the Vanguard's shoulder. "I just had Weltall do a quick scan of your Gear. It has the same control system mine does." "Yeah? So?" "These controls respond to our thoughts, not how we move them around." Fei explained as he fired Weltall's machine cannons, taking out a trio of drones. "Your Gear basically functions as a second body for you. You control it like you would your own body. As for weaponry, you've got a couple of machine cannons in the shoulders and a pair of energy swords. Now, try taking out those drones coming at us with the weapons you *do* have." "Alright, take this!" Hibiki shouted as he whipped out one of his swords and started spinning it around as he charged the two incoming robots. The energy blade cut through one drone's waist, destroying it, and scored a glancing blow off the shoulder of the other. Hibiki seemingly reflexively spun toward the drone and fired his machine cannons before his opponent could blast him. Fei broke out of his musing when he saw Hibiki charging one of the seed ships, Dita's Dread following him. "Hibiki, you idiot! You don't have the firepower to take one of those things out!" "I'm going for it!" Hibiki exclaimed, ignoring Fei. "No one's gonna get in my way now!" A cluster of seven drones slammed into Hibiki's Vanguard and latched onto it, holding the machine in place as the seed ship's "mouth" started to ripple open and Dita continued advancing on them. "Just a little more! I can reach it! Just a little more... power! Rrrgh. I just need enough power to take one last step!" The seed ship took that as its cue to fire several orange tendrils similar to those the Peacsis used at Hibiki's Vanguard just as Dita's Dread reached the group. "I can't lose!" Hibiki roared just before his Vanguard, Dita's Dread, and the drones were engulfed in a massive explosion. "Hibiki!" Fei shouted, pushing Weltall forward, absently smacking drone after drone aside, then suddenly stopped. Weltall cupped its hands together and pulled them down near its hip. A huge sphere of swirling blue and crimson energy formed between the Gear's palms. "Here, you asshole. Guided..." Fei growled, his voice gaining an odd echoing quality. "SHOT!" Weltall shoved its hands toward the seed ship, firing a massive beam of energy at the silver machine. The beam impacted against the side of the ship and tore through it after a moment of pushing at its armored hull. As the oval ship exploded, Fei turned Weltall toward the last seed ship. "You're ne – what the...?" A faint tingling in the back of his mind prompted Fei to turn back to the still burning explosion that had engulfed Hibiki and Dita. A large hand, glowing red from sheer heat, reached out of the explosion and grabbed a group of the charred tendrils, easily crushing them. The hand crushed the tendrils like a handful of burnt twigs as a large shape emerged from the explosion. Everything seemed to stop as a humanoid object floated out of the orange fireball, shattering the charred tendrils against its chest plate. "Damn..." Fei gasped. "That thing's the size of Seibzehn..." In moments, the mecha's armor had cooled off, revealing a dark blue Gear. The enormous Gear was obviously what Dita's Dread would have been if it were a Gear. The obelisk-like cannons of Dita's dread hung parallel to its back. A wide blade with a rounded tip extended over the back of each hand from the shield-like bracer on each forearm and the shoulders were nearly perfect twins of Weltall's. The torso was similar to that of Hibiki's Vanguard, but without the vents and was a bit more decorative. The silver head seemed to be merely a larger version of the head of Hibiki's Vanguard, but with a large, blade-like horn extending from its forehead. "What is that?" Magno asked, staring at the image on the bridge in surprise. "A secret weapon of the men?" "But how?" BC added to the Captain's question. "Is this a real miracle?" As if on cue, the new Gear turned toward the last seed ship, ignoring the small fighters that started firing at it. The cannons flipped forward onto the Gear's shoulders a moment before green energy began collecting along the cannons. Suddenly, a powerful beam of green energy fired from each cannon and tore through the seed ship in a spectacular light show. "Impressive." Fei mused. "Damn impressive." "Hng?!" Hibiki's voice filtered through the radio. "What the heck is going on here?!" "Hibiki, tell me you didn't black out during that," Fei stated, activating a holo-screen between the two Gears. The man blinked in surprise when he saw Dita sitting in Hibiki's lap, asleep. "I just knew Mr. Alien would protect us somehow..." The girl murmured in her sleep. "Is this the proof of my existence?!" Hibiki gasped. "Hmmm..." Fei hummed, musing to himself. "Hey, Hibiki, what's your Gear called?" "Huh?" "Your mecha, what's it called?" "Oh... it's a Vanguard," Hibiki hesitantly answered. "Vandread... I like the sound of that, how 'bout you, Hibiki?" "Eh?!" + + + + TBC... + + + + Author's notes: Heh. The revision didn't add as much to the chapter as I'd thought it would. Oh, well. I decided to leave the first-person POV for just the prologue simply because it was much harder for me to write in than third person. Also, I decided to go with my own version of Weltall instead of the obvious choices of Weltall-2 or Xenogears. And, yes, it does resemble Jehuty from Zone Of The Enders. I did it this way, because, in my opinion, the Peacsis upgrades were simply an optimization of the initial designs Hibiki's Vanguard and the three Dreads in the show had. Therefore, it shouldn't be too hard to imagine Weltall transforming to resemble an Orbital frame, except for the cockpit.