This is it. Twentieth and last chapter of the first arc! I think this is also a good time to put here properly, for those who don’t know it already, that The World Without Authors has spinoffs!
They’re London, Unreal by Huinesoron and And This is the Gate of Heaven by Desdendelle. Both have received my official Seal of Approval, and in fact Desdendelle and I have worked together on the last chapter of his (and on a couple scenes of this chapter).
As usual, thanks to Doctorlit for his irreplaceable beta services, and thanks again to Aelit for the chapters on which we collaborated, and the tips he still gives me on how to make his characters act when I’m not sure.
Mission Record 20 – Galahad
“We’re ready when you are, your Highness,” Corolla said as she tapped in the last instructions on a holographic window.
“Thank you very much, Miss Corolla.” Prince Frederick glanced at the wall behind him. The main screen of the Wolfram’s conference room had been set to display the royal blazon of the Bedwig house and a Belkan flag, and a podium with a microphone had been set in front of him.
He did a quick re-read of the speech he had prepared, and took a deep breath. “We shall begin.”
“All broadcast aircraft online,” Corolla shouted. “Live across the continent in three, two, one… Now!”
“Good morning to all those who are watching this transmission. I am Prince Frederick of Bedwig, ousted monarch of the Principality of Belka. The news about my illness was fabricated by the military junta currently usurping power in our country.
“I have been their prisoner for several months just because I opposed their plan of bringing this continent under the military hegemony of Belka. A handful of brave souls, however, saw through their deception and rescued me from their claws.”
“The war waged against Japan and its allies was not authorized by me, and it will never have my support. Our country has a proud warrior history, but it is my belief that Belka will be even greater by walking towards the future alongside other countries, not by trampling over them.
“Especially now that our country has found itself in this unknown world, we need to build our future and face the uncertainty of this new situation by helping each other, not by creating more strife. This war is nothing but a tragic mistake, one that I seek to end.”
“Soldiers of the Kingdom of Belka, your enemy is not the NATO coalition but the snakes who have been living among us poisoning our hearts. As the commander in chief of the Belkan armed forces, I order you to cease any and all attacks against NATO forces. I have already sent an offer for a cessation of hostilities to the NATO coalition, so anyone who insists on fighting them will be considered a traitor. I humbly ask NATO forces to show mercy towards Belkan forces if they are following my order.
“Members of the Grey Men faction, the Belkan War is long over. The countries you want to enact revenge upon don’t even exist anymore, and the ones you waged war upon are completely innocent. Cease this senseless slaughter and surrender, your time is over and your hate will not prevail.”
***
Sergio relaxed against the backrest of his Galahad’s seat and closed off both the NATO radio channels and the intercepted Belkan ones. “Wow… that’s utter chaos out there.”
“Of course it is!” Snow transmitted from the SF-26 Blaze flanking him. “Now the Belkans don’t know what they’re fighting for anymore, and our guys aren’t sure whether they should shoot them either!”
Keiko’s VF-0 Phoenix flanking him on the other side closed in a bit. “So… the war is over?”
“Not right away,” Sergio said. “But if, say, half of the Belkan forces turn out to be loyal to the Prince and ally with us to help oust the Grey Men, it will be over soon.”
“That’s correct, Lightning,” Long Caster said. “We still need to push through a few more entrées before reaching the sweet dessert. Alright, the Prince’s speech is over. All units, mission accomplished. Let’s get back to base.”
Sergio flicked the switch to fold the giant dish antenna that had been installed on his Galahad in place of the multipurpose container. “Lightning, roger that.”
***
“As I think you heard yourselves, Operation Messenger Pigeon was a success,” Johnson said. “Prince Frederick’s speech reached deep across the continent and we didn’t face much opposition aside from that single squadron that tried to pay a visit to Long Caster but got repelled by Cherryflower and Grimm. With this, another milestone has been set towards the end of this war.”
Ami couldn’t help but smile. For the first time since the start of the conflict, peace was finally in sight.
Johnson shut off the holographic projector of the Wolfram’s conference room. “The Wolfram will now head back towards Sand Island, so that we’ll be able to perform maintenance on our aircraft and continue work on the incomplete ones. We will resume our usual schedule of working with the NATO coalition to support their operations, but depending on how many Belkan troops are loyal to Prince Frederick there might be an operation to try to reinstate him soon.”
Wow, they really are thinking ahead!
“What about Shilage? Did you manage to get some intel about Sol Squadron from him?”” Sergio asked.
Johnson shook his head no. “I didn’t have enough time to ask him all my questions, the central NATO headquarters claimed custody of him and the wreckage of his plane already. On Corolla’s insistence we managed to make the experimental railgun ‘disappear’, though, and we also got confirmation that this iteration of Sol Squadron was working in a contractor-like fashion, apparently under this ‘Professor’. Shilage didn’t know his name, though, and we only got the given name of the pilot flying as ‘Nemesis’, which seems to be Chris. From what he overheard, she’s the Professor’s daughter.”
“She?” Sergio’s eyes widened. “She’s a girl?”
“Yes. Apparently, the ‘Professor’ also tried to hide her gender, to further help conceal her identity. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get Shilage to describe them to a portrait artist before he was brought away, so we don’t have a lot to work on to try to identify them.”
Johnson looked straight at Sergio. “That would’ve helped a lot, since this ‘Professor’ seems to know you.”
***
“I’m pretty sure the only Professor I know is Hiroshi Agasa,” Sergio said as he idly stirred the cola in his glass with its straw. “And Shinichi confirmed that he’s still there building silly gadgets in Tokyo.”
Ami propped herself on the table. The Wolfram’s officers’ bar was empty at that hour, which meant they could talk freely. “What if it is a badfic version of him? I mean, we had two of you in this world, and there’s also Nikki and Hanami, so…”
“Hmm…” Nikki began. “He would share pretty much nothing with the canon character, if I remember well he’s still single and definitely doesn’t have a daughter. Besides, I don’t think he appeared in our fic at all?”
Corolla scrolled through one of her holographic windows, sipping on her drink’s straw at the same time. “That’s right. On the good guys’ side, the only Detective Conan character who has any appearance at all is Shinichi himself, obviously as ‘Conan’ since he’s still shrunk into a kid to this day. And a search for the word ‘professor’ only came up with…”
“Aurora’s Italian professor.” Sergio chuckled. “A minor villain, and the most nonsensical one. Besides, she was a woman, so unless she had a sex change or is very good at crossdressing he can’t be her. And I can’t really see her becoming a big schemer villain anyway.”
Nikki leaned towards him. “She worked for Marcus, didn’t she? Wasn’t he a scientist?”
“Yes.” Sergio’s eyes narrowed. “A deranged mad scientist with world domination delusions. I’m sorry, but I highly doubt the charismatic Professor we got told about by Shilage could be him.”
Ami lowered her eyes. Sergio always became tense when speaking of his old nemesis. Some scars never fully heal, do they?
“What about the version of Albus Silente from our fic?” Nikki wondered. “He was one of the villains, and before becoming Headmaster he was a professor. Maybe a younger version of him, with the memories from our fic?
“Also unlikely. Shilage’s interrogation report says he did a lot of technical work, and doesn’t mention a single spell.”
Corolla closed her window. “Maybe he’s someone you faced in one of your previous adventures, or during your first year at Strike Dove?”
Ami looked up in thought. “I don’t think we met anyone like that, no.”
“And nothing comes to mind from the time I was an Interpol investigator either.”
Nikki crossed her arms. “Seems that we’re back to square zero again.”
“Allow me to bring some good news, then,” Johnson said as he approached the table. “I suggest all four of you check your own bank accounts.”
Ami gave him a puzzled stare, and from what she could see out of the corner of her eye Sergio, Nikki and Corolla were doing the same. Nevertheless, she brought up Moschetto and opened her home banking page on a holographic window.
The last movement was a deposit, and she counted the zeroes several times to make sure it was not a mistake.
“That’s…” Nikki said
Sergio shook his head. “There must be a mistake.”
“Is that what I think it is?” Corolla asked. “Yes, it must be!”
Johnson smiled. “If you mean the ‘bounty’ you kept rambling about every time you guys crossed paths with Shilage… Well, it turns out there indeed was one. I took the liberty of splitting it equally across the four of you, since from what I understood it was a group effort.”
“That’s right.” Sergio nodded slowly. “Well… looks like we won’t need a mortgage for that house.”
***
Chris flopped on a chair in her father’s lab. “I’m telling you, that thing gets on my nerves.”
The Professor chuckled. “She is… unusual, all right. But behind that armor, there is a person like us. I’d like for you to not think of our collaborator as a thing.”
He glanced at his whiteboard. “Besides, if I didn’t trust her I wouldn’t give her the most delicate role in ensuring my Dream comes to be.”
Chris rubbed her forehead. “You gave it to a gal who sounds like she’s a grade schooler having too much fun playing mercenary.”
“But she is professional, skilled, cannot be traced back to us, and has the freedom of movement we currently lack. Sometimes, the true value of an individual can’t be seen at a first glance.”
He turned back towards his daughter. “Have a bit of faith. Don’t you want to be reunited with your mother?”
***
Nikki stood in front of the white-trimmed Galahad in Corolla’s hangar. “So… This is my plane?”
“Exactly!” Corolla pumped her fists. “SF-32N, close quarters combat specification, with a few bits and pieces carefully chosen to suit you best.”
Corolla paced over to one wing. “I took the liberty of borrowing the forward-swept outer wings and the canards from Xaos’ Siegfrieds. As such, it will be even more maneuverable than the other Galahads, but at the cost of losing the wingtip rails and tighter weight limits on the other hardpoints. Though, considering you don’t like doing bombing runs, I don’t think that’s going to be much of an issue.”
Nikki nodded slowly. “That’s right. I’ll focus mostly on other fighters from now on, and if I can I want to force them to retreat, not destroy them outright.”
“Which is what Delta Flight used to do back in their world, too. That is why I also borrowed these.”
Corolla walked over to the right wing root, where the right-hand mini gunpod was located. “I replaced the LM-27s with the same LM-25s used on the Siegfrieds. They’re just as accurate, but the smaller caliber means you can more easily control how much damage you’ll be dealing to enemy craft.”
“You really thought it over,” Nikki said with a smile. There was no doubt, Corolla had done everything in her power to make sure she could use that plane to fight her own way.
As in, with the least possible amount of bloodshed.
Corolla ran over to her, tackling her in a hug. “Of course I did! We’re friends, right? And I don’t want my friends to have regrets. I really don’t want to see you suffering that way ever again.”
Nikki laughed. “It won’t happen, promise. And… We’re not just friends. We’re family.”
***
“I have visual on the enemy reinforcements Shit, it’s the White Birds!”
“Isn’t their flight leader the one who shot down the King of the Sky? I’m outta here!”
“All aircraft, retreat! Retreat!”
Sergio couldn’t believe his ears. He was getting used to some enemy pilots panicking after spotting his plane – but it sounded like the entire enemy front was pissing its pants in terror.
“They’re… retreating already?” Ami asked. “We didn’t fire a single round yet!”
“Uuh… Uh.” Long Caster’s voice sounded unsure. “Enemy aircraft retreat is confirmed. According to our ground troops, the enemy’s ground units are surrendering, as well.”
Sergio relaxed against his seat. “This is just ridiculous…”
He took a deep breath. What kind of monsters do they believe we are?
As he glanced down, though, he couldn’t help but smile. The fighting had entirely stopped, which meant that an element of Skystreaker Squadron showing up had effectively stopped any more deaths from happening.
***
“Today marks two weeks since Prince Frederick of Bedwig, head of the Principality of Belka, broadcast his speech across the continent. With the reveal of his extraneity from this war, the Belkan armed forces effectively split into two, with a loyalist faction supporting him now fighting alongside NATO troops against the nationalist faction that has been revealed to have been usurping power in the nation since the very start of the hostilities. The new power balance effectively led to the Belkan lines crumbling, with the fighting having now reached the borders of Belka itself. The Prince, who claims to have been rescued-”
Sergio shut down the television in the pilot’s lounge. “Yeah, we know that part of the story. We were there.”
He turned towards his grandfather. “By the way, what’s the official NATO stance on that operation?”
“Well, of course they’ll never admit it was all the idea of a small private military outfit acting outside of official orders.” Johnson chuckled. “The official stance is that he was liberated by Belkan loyalists reaching out to the NATO coalition, and that we just happened to be those chosen to perform the extraction operation to bring them to safety.”
Johnson laughed again. “In reality, you should’ve seen their faces when I waltzed in alongside the Prince, and said, ‘Here’s the Belkan prince, he actually wants to end hostilities. Oh, and my guys bagged the Ace Killer and a prototype Belkan aircraft along the way, too.’ They still weren’t too happy about us acting on our own, though.”
Sergio put down the remote and crossed his arms. “But, the way things developed, I think we proved them we were right, didn’t we?”
“That’s right. And that’s why we’re gonna do that again.”
***
[Lucas Ricciotti – Tournament of Aces]
“This is AWACS Long Caster of Strike Dove Incorporated. We’re escorting Prince Frederick of Bedwig back to his rightful throne. To all those who wish to end this pointless war: please join us.”
Sergio looked out of his Galahad’s canopy while Long Caster repeated his transmission. As crazy as it sounded, there were already answers to that call.
Below him, the Wolfram was being flanked by Xaos’ Macross Elysion and Strategic Military Services’ Macross Quarter, with Variable Fighters from both variable space carriers already in the air.
“Long Caster, this is Umiroku Squadron of the JASDF. We’ll be joining your operation.”
Sergio shook his head. “Of all the crazy things we’ve done, this is the craziest. A full frontal assault… Everyone and their dog will be after us.”
“And we’ll make them bite the dust!” Corolla shouted. “With such a blatant operation, we’re going to flush out all those loyal to the Grey Men, and take them all out in a single swoop!”
“And prevent a long and bloody civil war from happening,” Nikki completed for her.
“Wardog One to Long Caster. Our commanding officer will have us demoted when we get back, but we’ll be supporting you.”
Good to see Hibiki and his squadron are in the game. They’re good.
“This is Indigo Team of the honorable Belkan Air Force. We have sworn our loyalty to the Prince, and we’ll see it through to the end. Long Caster, we will join the operation. You may be mercenaries, but anyone fighting for a real cause gets our respect.”
“Ghostrider Squadron of the US Navy to Long Caster, you can count on us. We owe our lives to the Skystreakers, it is time to pay back the favor. ”
“This is Grau Squadron of the Belkan Air Force. We heard the Prince’s speech. Long Caster, our most sincere apologies for Sand Island. We’ll try to make up for that mistake.”
“Apologies accepted, Grau Squadron,” Long Caster said. “What really counts is that we’re all on the right side now.”
“This is incredible…” Grimm said while the airspace around the three ships kept getting more and more crowded. “It’s like Sudentor all over again, soldiers from both sides are coming to our help!”
“Never underestimate the will of people believing in peace,” Nagase said.
“That’s right,” Snow agreed. “Evil may be strong, but there’s plenty of good men and women too.”
“Long Caster to all aircraft. We’ll be over Area B7R soon. We expect fierce opposition to show up there, but we still have some time so I’d like to ask if our top ace has some encouraging words for everyone.”
Sergio gulped. Me? I’ve never been good with words!
Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and pushed the radio button.
“This is Skystreaker One, TAC name Lightning. If everything goes well, we’re ending this meaningless war today.”
Way to state the obvious. What more can I say…
“We may have fought each other in the past, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
Come on, there must be something cool and inspiring I can say!
“Let’s leave our anger behind. Hatred and revenge are what caused the death of many of our comrades.”
Okay, this may work. Let’s keep it up.
“As we fight today, let’s not do it to avenge those no longer with us, but to give a peaceful world to those who are still with us. Let’s prove to those warmongers that an open heart is stronger than a closed fist!”
By blasting them up anyway. Man, that was corny.
“Razgriz Squadron, roger that!” Snow answered right away.
Well, such a speech is right up their alley.
“Haro Squadron, roger!”
Thanks for the sympathy, Hiro.
“Wardog Squadron, roger that!”
Hibiki must have understood my plight.
“Delta Flight, roger.”
“Skull Squadron, roger.”
Wait, what?
“Umiroku Squadron, roger.”
“Grau Squadron, roger that.”
It worked?
“Ghostrider Squadron, roger!”
“Indigo Team, roger.”
It really worked!
“Long Caster to all aircraft, we’re at Area B7R. I’m picking up several enemy aircraft headed our way. Weapons free, all aircraft follow Skystreaker Squadron!”
***
“These coordinates are your actual objectives,” the Professor said as he handed over a few slips of paper to Chris, Miksa and Foulke. “It goes without saying that we’ll disregard every single order coming from the Belkan forces. Make sure to pick up the last of your belongings before getting in your aircraft – not only are we not getting back to the Durandal, but this ship is headed towards the eye of the storm.”
Chris glanced at her aircraft. Her Sv-262C Draken III had finally been completed, and some kind of large bomb had been slung under one of the wings. It was large and cylindrical, white with a yellow flat tip at the front. “I know I already asked, but… that’s not a nuke, right?”
“It uses a thermonuclear fusion reaction instead of a fission one, so it won’t have radioactive fallout. But it is still powerful enough to completely obliterate your target. If no one else has questions, we can sortie.”
Chris turned towards the blue Mobile Suit the Professor had started walking towards. “Are you sure? You’re going to crash and burn in that thing.”
“This is a Kampfer. It is leagues above a Zaku, and I got enough practice lately. Focus on not getting shot down yourself – you’ll be against Skystreaker One today, after all.”
***
[Vincent Moretto – Project Wingman Showdown Metal Remix]
Nikki turned her Galahad to Battroid mode and took aim carefully with the mini gunpods. She opened fire, riddling a Flapper’s engines with holes.
“I’m losing thrust! Ejecting!”
Something shot off the Flapper’s cockpit, and a parachute opened from it. The pilot seemed to have ejected safely.
Nikki smiled. Five aircraft shot down, no deaths.
***
[Vincent Moretto – Project Wingman Showdown Metal Remix] (same as previous)
Ami took aim carefully towards an Anura-class air cruiser. Being the markswoman of Skystreaker Squadron, everyone had agreed to give her Galahad the railgun they took off Shilage’s Draken III.
It’s up to me to put it to good use now!
She pulled the trigger, and electricity cracked as the railgun fired. Flames erupted from the cruiser’s starboard engine, which then exploded in a big orange fireball.
“Comet, one cruiser down!”
“I found the one with the railgun! I’m enga-”
Ami turned around, but the enemy aircraft was already breaking apart. Between them, an SF-26 Blaze with magenta trim was standing in Battroid mode, aiming down its Support Assault Cannon.
“No one is going to shoot down my mom, understand?”
Ami laughed. “Nice shot, Thunderbolt.”
***
“Sir, Sol Squadron has changed direction and is not responding to communications.”
Weisse huffed. “Those cowards must be running away. Ignore them, we’ll deal with the White Birds and the traitors ourselves.”
Weisse looked straight ahead. “We’ll be arriving at the Round Table soon. Deploy the Vogels!
***
[Vincent Moretto – Project Wingman Showdown Metal Remix]
“Long Caster to all allied aircraft. A new enemy aerial warship has entered Area B7R. Looks like it is the Durandal.”
Ai gulped. The stealth flying aircraft carrier?
“It is only deploying drones for now, but be careful.”
Ai gripped the Galahad’s controls, and looked for her next target. Some white triangular drones were closing in, and she fired a burst of micro missiles at them.
There were several explosions, and some drones fell apart. She had no time to rejoice, though, as her missile alarm blared. The smoke dissipated, and more drones appeared.
Ai turned her Galahad into GERWALK mode and backpedaled, firing wildly with the Assault Cannon and head turret lasers. She managed to intercept the missiles and destroy some more drones, but it looked like two more appeared for each one she shot down.
“This is Mermaid, I need a little help!”
“Blue Skull to Mermaid, I’m on it.”
Blue Skull? Who is that?
A blue Variable Fighter dove in the middle of the drones, turning into Battroid mode as he did so. It twisted in the air as if it was breakdancing, firing its gunpod at the same time.
In a blink of an eye, the area surrounding the two Variable Fighters was cleared.
“Thank you so much, Blue Skull!”
“It was a pleasure.”
The blue fighter turned into fighter mode, and accelerated away. It was a design Ai didn’t know – it looked like one engine had been clamped over each of its thin, forward-swept wings.
Now that she wasn’t busy with the drones, she realized the pilot sounded fairly old too.
“Lightning to Mermaid, are you alright?”
“Yes, I got some help from Blue Skull. The guy with the blue four-engine VF.”
“I see. I guess I should thank him- wait, Blue Skull? He’s here, and flying a YF-29?”
“Oh, I’m famous here too.” Blue Skull sounded genuinely surprised. “Who knew…”
***
[Gundam Build Fighters Try OST – Bell of requiem]
Sergio obliterated a Flapper with a quick burst from his Galahad’s gunpod. “Lightning, splash one. Damn, I’m losing count.”
“Keep it up!” Long Caster cheered him. “Belkan Nationalist reinforcements have dried up, their numbers are starting to dwindle.”
“Good to hear. I’m getting a few more Flappers out of the picture so we can start thinking about how to deal with the Durandal.”
“Good idea. I’m analyzing the ship as we speak. It looks like it wasn’t fully repaired since-”
There was a blinding light from above, and the glass of Sergio’s helmet darkened automatically. “EMP ALERT” appeared over the Galahad’s multifunction display, and radio comms became more garbled.
“Lightning to Long Caster, do you read me?”
“EMP… warhead… no radiation…” Long Caster’s voice was drowned in static.
Someone fired a nuke or something high up in the atmosphere?
He glanced around. It looked like the aerial warships and most Variable Fighters were still up in the air, but the sky was dotted with parachutes and falling aircraft. The EMP effect knocked out many aircraft on both sides.
He took a deep breath. “Skystreaker Squadron, status report.”
“Skystreaker Two, I’m good.” Ami’s voice was still staticky, but much less than Long Caster’s.
“Skystreaker Five, same!”
“Skystreaker Four, I’m OK.”
Sergio gritted his teeth. Corolla hadn’t answered.
“Robogirl, are you alright?”
“I… kinda… system error…”
Shit!
Sergio took advantage of the confusion to look for Corolla’s aircraft. Her Galahad was still flying, but it was rocking left and right as if Corolla was drunk.
Nikki’s Galahad was getting close, as well, and Sergio brought up the squadron status window on his display. “Starlight, the EMP effect must’ve gotten to Robogirl. I’m slaving her aircraft to yours, bring her back to the Wolfram.”
“Leave it to me.”
Sergio pushed a few buttons, and Corolla’s plane stabilized, now following Nikki’s like a shadow.
“Long Caster to Skystreaker, do you hear me?”
“A bit better now. What happened?”
“Someone detonated a reaction warhead in the high atmosphere. The EMP wave knocked out many aircraft on both sides, what’s your squadron’s status?”
“No losses, but Robogirl’s being affected herself. Starlight is escorting her back. What about the others?”
“Razgriz and Haro are alright, the Wolfram is doing some damage control but is still in fighting condition. We received reports of three more such explosions across Belka – Stier Castle, Avalon Dam and Camaalot have been wiped out.”
Sergio blinked. Avalon Dam was the main Belkan ICBM site, and he had recently learned that Camaalot, like Stier Castle, was one of the Grey Men’s headquarters. “Did someone on our side get too trigger-happy? Or did the Belkans self-nuke again?”
“I don’t know, but we need to focus on the matter at hand. The Durandal is still active, and there’s still enemy aircraft in the air as well.”
Sergio nodded. The battle was slowly resuming, they would have plenty of time afterwards.
“Nemesis, Cherub, Pixy, the attack was successful,” someone said over the radio. It was a calm voice Sergio didn’t recognize, but couldn’t help but feel sounded familiar somehow. “Time to reveal ourselves.”
I was wondering when they were going to show up. Is that the Professor?
“That voice… No way!” Kathleen shouted.
“The Brimstones are approaching Area B7R, bearing 344, four aircraft!” Long Caster shouted. “As if we didn’t have enough on our plates…”
Sergio took a deep breath. “It can’t be helped. Comet, Knight, with me. We got some scores to settle with them. Mermaid, Tsunami, Thunderbolt, Lowroar, join up with the Razgriz and help them flush out the Durandal’s last escorts. Long Caster, send us Starlight as soon as she’s up in the air again.”
“Understood, Lightning. Good lu-”
“Lowroar here, I’ll go,” Kathleen interrupted him.
“Are you insane?” Sergio snapped at her. “You’re the least experienced here, and those guys are good. I don’t want to see you die again!”
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing,” Kathleen said, her voice deadly serious for once. “If that guy is who I think he is, this is something I need to do.”
Sergio resisted the urge to facepalm. You never know what you’re doing, but you’re not going to listen either. “Alright, but I’m still having Starlight come to help you as soon as she can.”
He turned towards the direction Sol Squadron was coming from, Ami’s Galahad and the two Gundams forming up on him. “Let’s end this.”
***
Corolla massaged her own head while Nikki laid her on an infirmary bed. “Ow…”
Error messages and fuzzy HUD windows floated spastically all around her vision, her stomach turning on her as she tried to single one out to close it.
She hadn’t felt this bad since that one time she had thought it would be a great idea to mix CAFfine and Pink Stuff.
A pale green magic circle appeared under her just as Shamal walked over. “It was the EMP wave, right?”
“Yes,” Nikki said. “She’s still conscious, but…”
“Let me see…”
Corolla lifted her arm weakly. “I don’t plan on dying now, don’t worry. Just close those Sankt-Kaiser-damn error messages for me, please.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage,” Shamal said. “Your self-repair subprogram should be able to handle it with no problems. You just need some rest.”
“Thank Madoka…” Nikki let out a sigh of relief.
Corolla blinked. “Rest? But I cannot rest now, my friends are out there fighting!”
She sat up, but the world started swimming in front of her eyes once again. She fell sideways, with Nikki catching her just in time.
Shamal sighed. “Are you all like this…?”
***
[Vincent Moretto – Project Wingman Kings Metal Remix]
Sergio fired wildly with the gunpod as he flew backwards in GERWALK mode, destroying the micromissiles chasing him one by one and filling the sky with smoke.
Nemesis’ Draken III emerged from the smoke in Battroid mode, headed towards him at full throttle with its sword unsheathed.
Sergio switched to Battroid mode and quickly pulled out the beam saber from its bay, parrying the attack just in time. He curled up the Galahad’s legs and kicked the Draken III away, following with a quick burst with the left wrist mini gunpod.
The Draken III backpedaled in GERWALK mode, then fully transitioned into fighter mode and accelerated away. Sergio turned the Galahad into fighter mode as well and gave chase.
She’s not as good a dogfighter as Shilage, but she’s still damn good and contrary to him, she knows how to use all modes.
He got a lock and fired two standard missiles, but Nemesis was quick to turn around in GERWALK mode and obliterate them with machine gun fire.
Sergio fired a burst of micromissiles as well, following it with a long burst from the gunpod. The Draken III weaved around, continuing to destroy missiles while it dodged the shells.
We’re matched too damn evenly for my tastes. We both know the same tricks.
“Just go down already!” Nemesis shouted as she turned her aim towards the Galahad.
Sergio shifted the Galahad into GERWALK mode, trying to circle her while continuing to fire his own gunpod as well.
“Well, excuse me if I want to live! Why are you so obsessed with me anyway? You’re not even a Belkan to begin with!”
Nemesis fired another burst of micromissiles. “Yeah, I’m Italian, so? Like knowing that will help you.”
Sergio set the head turret to intercept mode, and let it deal with the missiles as he fired a full salvo of XMAAs in her general direction to throw her off.
She’s Italian too? Great, we’re an endangered species and we’re trying to kill each other!
“Answer my Madoka-damn question! At least the Belkans gave a reason for wanting me dead!”
Nemesis charged in again with her sword. “I don’t need you dead! I just need to defeat you!”
Sergio parried with the beam saber, and kicked the Draken III back again. Nemesis lost grip of her sword, which fell in the woods below.
“Good to hear, but you’re still evading my question!”
Nemesis charged in again, this time going for a punch. “You get on my nerves, is that good enough?”
Sergio tried to dodge, but while the punch flew over the Galahad’s shoulder the two machines still collided, the Draken III’s momentum enough to send them both into a rock face.
The two Variable Fighters recoiled off, falling on the ground in a tangled heap amid a shower of dislodged boulders.
***
[Brandon Strader – Guinevere (Ace Combat Zero – Zero Remix)]
Ami rolled out of the way of the laser beam fired by Pixy’s Draken III.
“Is it you behind this?” she shouted. “The reaction warheads?”
“The Grey Men had outstayed their welcome.” Pixy’s voice was low, but resolute. “It is time to start anew… you know what I mean, right?”
“If you intend to bomb Japan too, I’m not going to allow that!”
She gave chase and fired two standard missiles, but Pixy managed to dodge them.
“As long as there are borders, there will be war, Comet. And as long as there are governments, there will be borders.”
Pixy’s Draken III turned into GERWALK mode, and spun around to fire a couple missiles at Ami. She rolled, turning her Galahad into GERWALK mode as well, and retaliated with both mini gunpods.
“And you think doing a massacre is the way to fix it?”
Some rounds hit the Draken III, but it didn’t look like they had done any meaningful amount of damage.
“It’s the only way. We have to get rid of the borders dividing us, and give power back to the people.”
Pixy dove towards the ground, weaving around the wreckage of an aerial cruiser to dodge Ami’s gunfire. “Besides, don’t tell me you’re not doing a massacre yourself. You know how many people crewed these things? You really renewed the legend of the Demon Lady of the Round Table today, buddy.”
“We gave them the choice to surrender, but they tried to intercept us anyway!”
“And that is why we need a forceful approach, Comet. The world won’t change without sacrifice.”
“And you think things will really change just by removing governments?” Ami gritted her teeth as she gunned down a missile headed for her. “You take one wall down, another will get built up! Political beliefs, race, money, sports teams… people will always find ways to create divisions and hate each other!”
“Is that so?” Pixy seemed to contemplate the thought for a second while his Draken III turned into Battroid mode. “So what is your solution, Comet? Keep fighting one war after another, until someone kills you?”
Pixy fired another laser beam from his gunpod – a handheld mecha version of the Tactical Laser System, probably.
Comet rolled out of the shot and turned her Galahad into Battroid mode, taking aim with the railgun. “Make things better day by day, that’s what I do!”
She fired while upside down, and Pixy barely parried the shot with the Draken III’s shield. He turned the mecha back into Fighter mode, and accelerated away.
This time, the Draken III showed signs of damage – the shield folded to become the tail fin, but it failed to close completely.
“Fighting my entire life, to make things better,” Ami said as she gave chase. “It’s a decision I made a long time ago, like my parents before me!”
“Dammit…” Pixy whispered. “It takes more than a fancy plane to fight like that. You really believe in what you’re saying, don’t you?”
***
[Vincent Moretto – Fairy Tail Erza Slicer Of Fate Metal Remix]
Hiro crossed blades with Miksa, pink energy beam against metal and energy barrier blade.
“Is this the ‘dream’ you’re following, Miksa?” Hiro shouted. “One of destruction?”
“One of rebirth,” Miksa said as he slashed again. ”But to allow rebirth, the beasts feasting on the carcasses have to be eliminated. Otherwise… We’ll never be able to be together.”
“And yet, you’re fighting me instead!” Hiro said as he parried with the Arondight heavy beam saber. He pirouetted, and retaliated forcing Miksa to step back.
Miksa had a new mecha, alright, but Hiro had to give it to Corolla: the new modifications, which she had dubbed “Knight Destiny Gundam,” made his machine much more responsive.
“I don’t want to be your enemy, Miksa, but you have to stop this nonsense!”
“Then you have to let me through,” Miksa said. “We dealt with the dark part of the Principality of Belka, but there’s darkness in the rest of the world too.”
“The world will never be fully devoid of darkness, Miksa! The yin and the yang… you know what I’m referring to, right?”
Miksa’s Draken III stood still, sword in hand. “I know. But-”
“I don’t believe in crazy plans or magical solutions, Miksa. I believe in fighting all the darkness the world has to offer by standing side by side with my friends.”
Hiro charged in, aiming for the arms of the Draken III. Miksa tried to dodge, but the Knight Destiny’s Arondight cleaved the variable Fighter’s left arm off above the elbow joint.
“Look around you,” Hiro said as he parried Miksa’s counterattack. “The Belkan nationalists, the ones who started this war, are losing! As I told you, I’m not alone… and my friends and I are stopping this war.”
Miksa backpedaled, firing a burst of micro missiles. “But this won’t prevent a new war from starting in five or ten years, will it?”
Hiro let the head turret machine guns deal with the missiles as he switched to the beam rifle. “Because your solution will? People never learn from history, new villains take the place of old ones!”
Hiro aimed for one of the Draken III’s leg joints, hoping to take one of the engines off the plane. He fired, but the hit didn’t fully sever the leg, instead opening a gash in one of the engine nacelles.
“… Perhaps you’re right,” Miksa said. Hiro could hear alarms going off under his voice.
“Hiro… get away.”
“No, I won’t. I’m here to save you. To save you from this madness.”
Small explosions started to erupt from the damaged leg.
“I know you want to. But… The Cordium engine is going critical. For me, it is too late… but you can still save yourself.”
Hiro’s blood froze. His friends of Skystreaker Squadron had mentioned that Cordium engines were extremely volatile – did his last attack doom Miksa?
No… I won’t let it end this way!
***.
[Vincent Moretto – Metal Gear Rising It Has To Be This Way Metal Remix]
Kathleen flew towards the blue mecha, beam sabers in both manipulators of the Wave Gundam. She raised them to strike, and charged straight at it.
The blue mecha sidestepped, avoiding the attack. “Well, isn’t this unexpected? But I’m glad to see you’ve made it to this world safely, Kathleen.”
Kathleen clenched her teeth. “No thanks to you… dad.”
“Such a cold reaction… I assume the me from your world was one of the least sympathetic ones?”
“You wanted to conquer the world and tried to kill us all!” Kathleen shouted as she slashed again. Her father’s mecha parried with the shield it carried on the left arm.
“That was despicable of me, I agree with you.” His voice didn’t betray any reaction. “Be reassured that I don’t plan anything like that.”
Kathleen sidestepped, aiming for the mecha’s back, but her father parried that attack as well. This time, with what Kathleen could only describe as a “giant-ass glowing ax.”
“You’re still working with the bad guys though. That doesn’t really build my trust.”
“Only for as long as they could be of use. The fall of the Grey Men was always a desirable outcome to me, as you can guess by the fact we just lent a hand.”
Kathleen pirouetted to bring her other saber on target, but her father’s mecha back stepped in time to dodge.
“Let me guess. You’re up to something crazy all over again.”
“I’m just trying to realize my Dream. I’m sure it’s one you can get behind.”
Kathleen tried to keep her breathing in check. He’s toying with me!
“Sorry, the only dream I have is for people to just let me live my own life in peace!”
“You may not believe it, but it isn’t that different from mine. We both know how it is to be a victim of someone else’s dark plots.”
“I was a victim of yours!”
Kathleen moved to close in, but two large gatling guns flipped up from the blue mecha’s back just as it grabbed what looked like two giant sawn-off shotguns with its manipulators. The blue mecha flew backwards away from her, opening fire with all guns – the shotguns fired what looked like plasma blasts.
Kathleen weaved through the onslaught. “A bullet hell? Really? You know I’m a pro at Touhou Project.”
“I do not wish to harm you, Kathleen. But if you keep attacking I’ll defend myself.”
“But I need to stop you! Before you ruin my life again!”
***
“Wolfram to all allied aircraft. We’re preparing to fire the Augusto cannon at the Durandal. Please clear the line of fire.”
Hayate summoned her captain’s key and stood at her console. A holographic lock appeared in front of her, and she inserted the key in it while the ship repositioned itself to fire.
“Aiming is completed!”
“Line of fire is clear!”
Hayate turned the key, unleashing the full power of the main magical cannon of the Wolfram on the Belkan vessel. When the light cleared, the Durandal was still in the air, but much worse for wear: no active weapon emplacements were detected, and fires streaked all across its hull.
Johnson crossed his arms. “They’d be crazy if they tried to keep fighting like that.”
Prince Frederick took a deep breath. “I agree. Commander Yagami, please…”
Hayate nodded. “Your Highness, I’m going to open up a communication channel so you can ask them to surrender.”
“Thank you.”
A few seconds passed, then a holographic window opened showing what looked like the bridge of a sci-fi vessel. Most of the crew was working frantically at their positions, red alarm lights were flashing and it looked like there was smoke in the air.
A person who looked like the captain of the ship looked straight at the people on the Wolfram. “Prince Frederick.”
“I assume you are the captain of the Durandal?” the Prince asked.
“Yes. I am Commander Weisse of the Belkan Air Force.”
“Then, I order you to surrender. Your ship is no longer in condition to fight; please spare the lives of your crew.”
Weisse closed his eyes. “I do not take orders from someone who defiled the warrior traditions of Belka. Full ramming speed.”
“Sir…?” one of the Durandal’s crew members asked.
“That’s an order! If we are to lose, they must not win either!”
Prince Frederick froze in shock as the holographic window closed. Commander Weisse must have been completely out of his mind.
“Evasive maneuvers!” Hayate ordered.
The Wolfram listed to starboard as it turned to get away from the Durandal’s run. Before the latter got close, though, what looked like a three hundred meter tall mecha flew in between the two ships, and grabbed the hull of the Belkan vessel from below.
“Macross Quarter to Wolfram.” The voice was that of Jeffery Wilder, the captain of the Quarter. “Please give us some space, we’re going to deal with these fanatics. All hands, prepare for the Monday Night Attack!”
Johnson raised an eyebrow. “Monday Night Attack?”
Hayate rolled up her eyes in thought. “I only know their Crazy Wednesday Formation, but if it is anything like that… they’re up to something cool. Full speed reverse, let’s give them the space they need.”
Once the Wolfram had gained some distance, the Quarter arched backward and let herself fall towards the ground, slamming the Durandal’s bow into the ground. Part of the front hull of the Belkan vessel telescoped in, and the carrier broke in half at the midsection, the stern half falling on the ground upside down.
The Quarter, instead, managed to right herself up just before touching ground with a burst of its engines.
“Well…” Johnson started. “That’s a new way to sink a ship.”
Prince Frederick kept staring at the wreckage. “Did they just…”
“Suplex a spaceship.” Hayate whistled. “And they say I am crazy.”
***
[Brandon Strader – Guinevere (Ace Combat Zero – Zero remix)]
“Can you see it, Pixy?” Ami shouted as the Durandal broke apart in the distance. “This battle is over! They wanted war, and tossed everything they had left at us. But we won, and you know why?”
She took aim, and fired with the mini gunpods again, scoring a few hits on the wings of Pixy’s Draken III just as they flew past each other.. “Because the will of those wanting peace is stronger!”
“You’re really turning my words against me, aren’t you?”
Ami turned around, only to have to roll out of the way of the laser beam. “We want the same thing, Pixy… Peace. Give the path I found together with my friends a try.”
Pixy chuckled. “Isn’t it ironic, buddy, for two mercenary dogs of war like us to actually want peace?”
He fired two missiles at her, which Ami dealt with with her Galahad’s head turret lasers.
“I’m sorry, though. We’re two faces of the same coin… similar, but facing different ways. I’m afraid we’ll never see it the same way.”
They passed each other again, and Ami selected the railgun pod.
“If that doesn’t sit well with you, buddy, you have to come shoot me down.”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.” If her words couldn’t get through, it was time for the heavy duty persuader.
She turned around, finding herself facing Pixy head-on once again. The Draken III’s laser pod fired again, and Ami rolled out of the way, this time turning her aircraft into Battroid mode at the same time.
She gripped the railgun tightly, and took aim.
Shoot true, and you will never miss.
“Come on!”” Pixy shouted.
Pixy corrected his aim, and the laser beam hit Galahad’s left shoulder. Ami pulled the trigger,and kicked away full throttle, just as the energy conversion armor failed.
The Galahad’s canard got severed from the shoulder and fell off, but her railgun shot hit the Draken III straight on its left side, ripping the entire wing off.
Ami turned her Galahad into GERWALK mode and turned to follow the Draken III as it went past, trailing smoke.
“Looks like I’ll have to paint both wings red from now on,” Pixy said as he continued straight instead of turning back. After all, his plane was crippled.
The Draken III lost altitude, and eventually hit the ground.
“Pixy?” Ami asked. “Are you OK?”
Pixy laughed, his voice more staticky. He had likely ejected. “Still alive, buddy. Until next time.”
***
[Ace Combat 5 OST – 15 Years Ago]
Hiro stared at the huge orange fireball under him. It was just like Ami had told him, a failing fighter-sized Cordium engine was a high-yield bomb.
He took a deep breath, still holding the limbless Draken III tighter.
“Hiro… You could’ve died too.”
“Nonsense. I told you: I’m making this one the world where we can finally be together.”
He turned around so both him and Miksa were facing the center of Area B7R. The only ships still in the air were the Wolfram, Elysion and Quarter.
“Look. The fighting is over. We were just a handful of people, me and my new friends – scattered shards of worlds already gone. And yet, we ended the war.”
Miksa laughed. “So, this is the way you found?”
“No. This is our way – Strike Dove’s way.”
***
[Vincent Moretto – Berserk My Brother Metal Remix]
Sergio wrestled with the controls of the Galahad. The aircraft shook, but refused to move and a red “ACTUATOR OVERLOAD” warning covered the multifunction display.
“Damn it!”
He took his helmet off and looked out. From what he could see, the Draken III was immobile as well. Due to its armored canopy he couldn’t see inside, but a hatch in it slowly started opening.
Hoping to catch her by surprise, Sergio opened the Galahad’s canopy and jumped out, but Chris apparently had his same idea. They jumped into each other and rolled down to the ground, not unlike their own mechas had just done.
Sergio got to his feet just as Chris did. He squared her off: roughly as tall as Nikki, light framed, long, dirty blonde hair, ice blue eyes behind a pair of glasses, and of course glaring at him like he was the source of all her problems.
Despite the fact they had never met before the first time she went gunning for him in Tokyo.
This face looks new to me. Is she after some kind of alternate of me?
Chris clenched her fists, and Sergio raised his in a guard. “I’m telling you again: I have no idea who the hell you are, and I’m pretty sure we have never met before Tokyo.”
Chris charged in for a punch. “I don’t really remember you either, but I know I have to do this!”
Sergio sidestepped to dodge. Okay, she’s missing a few sprockets.
“And how do you know-”
Chris turned around, and punched him straight in the stomach. Sergio staggered a couple steps back, and retaliated with a hook hitting her cheek. “I’m asking you a question!”
Chris spat out, “I just know it, OK? And my father says he agrees.”
Chris went for a roundhouse kick, which Sergio parried. He grabbed her leg, and used it as leverage to toss her on the ground.
“Your father? This “Professor” guy? I’d like to know why he’s so interested in me as well!”
Chris jumped back on her feet. “Ask him, I haven’t figured it out either!”
Just as she prepared to attack again, though, a large blue mecha vaguely reminiscent of a Zaku landed behind her.
A MS-18 Kampfer?
Chris turned towards it as well, and the chest armor of the Kampfer opened to reveal the pilot’s seat.
“Dad!” Chris shouted.
Sergio tried to get a better look at the pilot. Let’s finally see who this guy is.
Contrary to Chris’, that face was familiar. Sergio’s blood froze in his veins. That was one face he had hoped to never see again.
No way… of all people, not him!
“Hello, son. Long time no see.”
“…You,” Sergio managed to say.
If he wants me dead, there’s not much I can do. On foot against a Mobile Suit doesn’t tend to work very well.
Just as he thought that, though, the Wave Gundam landed next to him, beam sabers in hand.
“I don’t think he ever called you ‘dad’, and I doubt he’s gonna start now,” Kathleen shouted through the Gundam’s loudspeaker.
A rope unrolled from the open flap in the Kampfer’s armor, and Chris quickly climbed it to reach the cockpit. The Kampfer took off as soon as she was inside.
“I have some business to take care of, so I will take my leave now,” The Professor said, “but I believe we’ll meet again. Until then, take care. Hopefully, your mother will be able to attend the next family reunion as well.”
Sergio turned towards the Wave Gundam as the Kampfer sped away. “Kath, let me in! We need to go take them down!”
The cockpit opened, but before Sergio could try climbing up Kathleen rappelled down instead. “I’m afraid it’s not gonna work, the engines lost a lot of power as I was getting here.”
“… The thrusters, you mean?”
“Thrusters, engines, whatever. I called for reinforcements, but our father is slippery, remember? He’s going to be fully gone by the time anyone gets here.“
She crossed her arms. “Besides, if anything he just said about Mom is true, I don’t think we should kill him. Not yet, at least.”
Sergio sat on the ground, his back against the Gundam’s foot. “You may have a point. Any news from the others?”
Kathleen sat next to him. “So, Ami and Hiro managed to shoot down the other two. Corolla is already trying to get out of bed, everyone else is OK and the remaining Belkans are surrendering left and right after their last flying ship got suplexed by that transforming one on our side.”
Sergio blinked “… I missed all those comms?”
“I picked up that stuff my own way.”
Sergio nodded slowly. “Right. Wait… you said the Durandal was suplexed? You’re pulling my leg.”
“I wish I was. And I wish I had seen it with my own eyes, I’m gonna ask for a recording.”
Sergio raised his eyes, and shrugged. “Well, at least this stupid war is over… but I’m afraid this crazy story isn’t.”
***
[Ace Combat Zero OST – Epilogue – Near The Border]
“After the fierce battle on the Round Table plateau ended with the complete annihilation of the Belkan Nationalist forces deployed there, and the simultaneous bombing of their main headquarters, Nationalist forces surrendered all over the Belkan territory. While some units have been reported to be still skirmishing with NATO troops, Prince Frederick of Bedwig has just entered Dinsmark and reclaimed power, marking the end of the Belkan-Japanese War. The Prince is rumored to have already started working on reinstating his government’s policies, revolving around peaceful collaboration between countries…”
Larry Foulke outstretched his arms, sitting at one of the tables of Falcon’s Nest’s bar. “Well, this is giving me food for thought. If he keeps his word, that little ace might’ve had a point.”
Foulke took out a photo from a pocket of this flight suit, and put it on the table so the Professor and Chris could see it. It showed him and a short Asian girl with black hair, wearing flight suits of the Ustio Air Force and standing in front of an old Saab J35J Draken. The girl was clutching her flight helmet over her chest, and didn’t look happy at all at being photographed.
Chris learned over the table. “This shorty is Skystreaker Two? I couldn’t tell from the portrait photos Dad had, but she’s small.”
“Well, in this photo she was barely old enough to fly, it was taken after her first sortie. Her parents were mercenary pilots like us, but had been shot down and killed a few days earlier, so she took their backup plane to provide for herself. Or so I thought, she barely talked at all.”
Foulke shook his head. “Some paperwork switch-up made us go up with her as the flight lead, but the girl was a natural. We got sent to intercept several bombers alongside their escorts, and she managed to do ace-in-a-day. And yet… When we got back, she didn’t talk about how she was already an ace, or how she had avenged her parents. ‘I am ending this war. So there won’t be any more orphans like me.’ That’s all she said.”
The Professor took up the photo. “I’m not sure the iteration of her you met back then is the same one you fought today, but what you say about her behavior matches the intel I have on her.”
“If that’s the case, they’ve still got the same mind. I normally think that having those ideals in the head while flying gets pilots killed… and yet she made it work. Twice already.”
The Professor gave him back the photo. “So, what are you going to do now?”
Foulke sighed. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna lay low for a while. Let the dust settle, and put my thoughts in order.”
“That is alright. I don’t think I’m gonna need your services anytime soon, so staying under the radar and resting is the best course of action.”
The Professor studied his expression. Besides, Ami Tanegashima managed to sow the seeds of doubt in you. Better to not involve you further until I can ascertain if they have taken root or not.
***
[Ace Combat Zero OST – Epilogue – Near The Border] (same as previous)
“Your position has been cleared, Miksa,” Johnson said. “You have been confirmed as being a lawful combatant in the conflict, and the facility you fired the Reaction Warhead on was purely a military one, in fact one completely under the control of the Grey Men faction. Its destruction likely helped convince the other Belkan Nationalist forces to consider surrender.
“As for your involvement with Professor Leone’s plans, you were clearly used as a pawn and you’ve fully collaborated with us so far, so I see no problems there either.”
Hiro relaxed against his chair’s backrest. “So he’s not going to face a trial? That’s a relief…”
Miksa lowered his eyes. “Is that really alright?”
“Prosecuting you for vengeance’s sake would help no one.” Johnson crossed his arms. “Besides, the prosecutors here in Japan don’t start a trial unless they have a rock solid chance of a conviction, and the charges and evidence against you are nebulous at best.”
Johnson smiled. “Pardon me if I am taking the liberty of talking about your private lives, but I believe the two of you can finally be together.”
***
[Metal Gear Solid 4 OST – One More Reboot]
“So my brother is alive?” Virgilia asked as Sergio sat down on a chair in the laboratory room of Tomoeda Field’s infirmary.
“Yes, Auntie.” Kathleen crossed her arms. “And he’s up to something, I’m telling you.”
Sergio took a deep breath. “Nikki’s hunch was right, The ‘Professor’ was him after all. Looks like he’s a lot less deranged than I remembered, though.”
“And he mentioned Mom might be with him next time we meet,” Kathleen added. “He never talked about Mom, but he sounded like he was actually looking forward to having a full family reunion.”
“Maybe he’s from a timeline where things between him and Aunt Irene went differently?” Faith asked as she turned on the computer attached to her analysis machines.
Sergio offered her the flight helmet they had found inside Chris’ Draken III. “I don’t know, but I hope you can be of help understanding who this Chris is at least. She calls him ‘dad’, but I’m pretty sure my only sister is the crazy one over there.”
He pointed at Kathleen with his chin, and Faith laughed as she took the helmet from his hands just as Kathleen stuck out her tongue at him.
She set down the helmet on a table, and used a pair of tweezers to retrieve a strand of hair from it, which she put inside a test tube.
Faith inserted the test tube into the analyzer, and pushed a button on it. “I took the liberty of sequencing DNA samples of all of us as soon as you mentioned having a sample of Chris’, so as soon as the sequencing is finished we’ll know if she’s actually related to us.”
Kathleen sat on a table, dangling her legs. “How long will it take?”
“With this sampler? Just a few moments, don’t worry.” Faith smiled. “I know how impatient you are”
“Good.”
“I admit I’m feeling kinda impatient myself,” Sergio said. “I haven’t got a straight answer yet on why Chris is so obsessed with hating me, knowing anything about her would help.”
The sampler pinged, and Faith sat on the chair in front of the computer. “Let’s see… the sequencing is complete, so I can open a comparison.”
Several sequences of colored blocks appeared on the screen, and Faith leaned against her chair’s backrest. “This makes no sense.”
Sergio got up and walked over to her. “What’s not making sense?”
“Her DNA. I’m fairly certain that, from the cell nucleus’ DNA, she’s the daughter of Uncle Marcus and Aunt Irene, but there are too many things that are completely off. First of all, her mitochondrial DNA is the same as mine and Mom’s – so the same as Uncle Marcus’. But, since mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother, she should have had Aunt Irene’s like Kath and you.”
Faith turned towards Sergio. “On top of that, she shares almost no nuclear DNA with you. In fact, she only shares those few sequences you don’t share with any of us. It’s almost like she got the opposite DNA sequences from Uncle and Aunt compared to you.”
Kathleen blinked. “I’m not sure I understood anything at all.”
“That’s the point,” Faith said. “I’m not really understanding either. This makes no sense.”
Virgilia walked over, and leaned over her daughter’s shoulder to have a look at the diagrams. “No… It makes sense. So he really used that technique after all.”
Virgilia turned towards Sergio. “You know how you were made, right?”
“The gist of it.” Sergio shrugged. “Marcus spliced together his DNA and Irene’s, did a few other manipulations to it to make me a better fighter, and here I am.”
Virgilia ran over to the whiteboard, and drew two rough approximations of cells. She labeled one “Marco Leone,” and the other “Irene Johnson.”
“It’s a technique my brother developed as part of his university thesis, originally developed as a way of performing artificial insemination with completely sterile parents. You start with a staminal cell of each parent, from which the nuclear DNA gets extracted.”
She drew one arrow from each cell, and then drew the DNA masses again.
“The DNA of the two cells is then chemically forced to split, and recombined with each other.”
She drew two arrows converging, and two more masses of DNA.
“Telomerasis is then inducted into the resulting DNA to rejuvenate it, making it viable to be injected back into the cells and turn them into embryos.”
Sergio’s eyes darted over the whiteboard. “Embryos? Plural?”
“Plural. Combining DNA from two people this way still results in DNA for two people.”
Virgilia drew the rest of the cells around the two masses of recombined DNA, and labeled them “Sergio Turbo” and “Chris Leone.”
“As a result, only one of the offspring has the mother’s mitochondrial DNA – Chris’ DNA must’ve been inserted in what was originally my brother’s cell.”
Virgilia turned towards Sergio. “Chris is your twin sister.”
Sergio let himself fall on a chair. “So she didn’t come out of nowhere? She always existed, she’s my Madoka-damn twin sister, and I didn’t know it?”
“Her embryo could’ve been cryogenically stored until recently and then artificially aged into adulthood, but she was made the same day you were. Also, I believe she might have received the same DNA modification you did… is there something about her that resembles you, and only you?”
Kathleen crossed her arms again. “She looks nothing like him. She has Dad’s eyes, and Mom’s hair, but both Sergio and I took the opposite.”
At “eyes” something clicked in Sergio’s mind. He tapped his glasses. “She wears these too, but none of you does.”
Virgilia looked down in thought. “That’s right, you’re the only one who does, on either side of the family, from what I know. “
Faith scrolled through one of the sequences of coloured blocks. “Let’s see.. A genetic defect causing hypermetropy should be located around… here.”
She stopped the cursor over a blue block. “Blue… that’s how the program highlighted those sequences only you and Chris have. It isn’t a random mutation, it is identical between the two of you.”
“My brother must’ve accidentally introduced the defect while editing the genome,” Virgilia said. “He prepared both embryos with the same modifications, but only used one. Until now.”
Sergio took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. He didn’t know what to think anymore – just when he finally thought he had a grip on his family status, things spiraled out of control once again.
He glanced at Kathleen. “One crazy sister was more than enough.”
“Hey!”
***
[Metal Gear Solid 4 OST – One More Reboot] (same as previous)
Chris climbed out of the water and removed her rebreather. “You know what I was thinking? You should’ve told me that he was my brother. And that I also have a sister.”
“I assumed you remembered,” her father said. “And, besides, since you’re still recovering your memories I didn’t want to jostle them too much. It might have caused psychological issues.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Chris sighed, and pulled out of the water the bag she had been carrying. A dungeon with an underwater entrance, all hidden under a museum. What kind of crazy place was that?
The third member of their group, ever the showoff, cartwheeled onto dry ground, the long, spiked braid attached to her helmet flapping in the air. She dumped her bags on the floor, taking care not to hit the two large scabbards attached to her belt.
“The place is safe,” she informed them, “except for one room full of gas I wasn’t quite able to burn out. But it’s not on the way to the objective, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Gas? Ah, it must be the Kabitus Morbante,” Professor Leone said. “The previous owner of this place, a former collaborator of mine, had… peculiar security habits. I assume he was not here?”
“Unless he is a rat, or child-sized, in which case, oops, no.”
“He wasn’t here, then. But if he was, eliminating him would’ve been the correct course of action. He would’ve been a liability.”
Speaking of rats, the ground in front of them was littered with squished rat carcasses.
Thank God I’m not squeamish.
Her father and their armored companion – Tenno, as she asked to be called – proceeded further into the dungeon, and Chris followed them. It was a dark and humid place, with stone walls and just a few torches for light. It wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Japanese RPG videogame.
Chris’ feet met something. She looked down, and found what looked like the body of a child – though it was clearly not human. Or maybe even biological – under its burned face machinery poked out.
“The hell is this thing?”
Her father walked over to her. “One of Karkon Ca’ D’Oro’s loyal little androids. With him gone, they weren’t going to live long anyways. Farewell, Alvise, but forgive me if I won’t really miss you.”
Chris glanced at Tenno, but she didn’t seem to display any emotion. Hard to tell, with the full-face helmet and all.
Tenno led them through a couple more corridors, until they reached a room that contained a large machine consisting of a large glass tube, big enough to fit a person inside, flanked by several smaller tanks and assorted piping.
Chris’ stomach churned – for some reason, the sight of what looked like a sci-fi stasis machine put her on edge. Her father walked towards the main tube, and Chris followed.
The machine turned out to be a stasis tank indeed, with a woman in her late 20s or early 30s gently floating inside. The smaller tanks, instead, seemed to be filled with swirling black particles.
“Yes, it’s her,” the Professor said. “So, perhaps you have already done an overview of her situation?”
“Who, me?” Tenno crossed her arms, pocketing the small, gold-rimmed orb she’d been juggling until then. “The whole thing looks like some sort of cryopod, and since I don’t think you’d go paying me for a body, I’d bet a nice stack of credits that she’s in cryosleep or something similar. Those things, though?” She nodded at the smaller tanks. “Well, I can shoot one and see what pops out, but somehow I think you don’t want me to.” She shrugged.
The Professor wiped the light layer of dust covering one of the tanks. “No need, I know what it is. It isn’t harmful, in fact quite the opposite, but it is highly valuable so it would be unwise to let it go to waste.”
He then proceeded to wipe off some dust from the main tank. Only then Chris noticed that the woman floating inside – her mother? – was sporting a bullet wound in the middle of her chest.
“Contrary to what you supposed, though, she is, in fact, dead. But she won’t be for long.”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Tenno sounded like she was told her birthday came early this year. “You’re doing Void nonsense! Can I watch the Void nonsense? Will there be a long speech?” She clapped her hands excitedly.
Chris raised her eyebrow. Her father seemed convinced to be able to resurrect the dead, and their armored friend still kept switching between “professional killing machine” and “over excited grade schooler.” Which one was crazier, she didn’t know.
“Well, what I will be using I’m afraid is not a technique involving the Void,” the Professor admitted. “But I might be both God and the Devil, since I’m trying to raise the dead against the stream of time.”
Tenno tilted her head, then straightened up, holding her hands at the small of her back. “Look at them!” she exclaimed, “they come to this place knowing they are not pure. Tenno use the keys, but they are mere trespassers. Only I, Vor—”
“Will the two of you stop acting like drama queens?” Chris shouted in exasperation. “I’m here, I just discovered my mother is dead and pickled, I have siblings I didn’t know of and I even had to fight them, I got maybe ten percent of my memories working, I still think Dad’s ‘Dream’ is a load of idiocy, and now you even start having weird speeches?”
The Professor chuckled. “You should try having fun every once in a while too, Chris. Sometimes, being the crazy scientist is simply the fun thing to do.”
“Chris, Chris please,” Tenno added. “Didn’t anybody tell you that if you never smile, you’re going to end up with uncle Teshin’s permanent frowning face?” She giggled.
“It would be easier to have fun if I wasn’t tossed into one mess after another. Can we just, y’know, go to Disneyland or something once Mom is alive again?”
***
[Metal gear Solid OST – Enclosure]
Irene rang Virgilia’s doorbell, her other hand holding her daughter’s.
“I’m really going to sleep at Auntie’s house?” Caterina squeaked, clearly overjoyed at the idea of being able to play with her cousin for days.
“Yes. It’s going to be fun, isn’t it?”
Caterina hummed happily, and Irene tried to smile, but it was hard. She knew it was not going to be mere days.
It could be weeks, or months, or years before she would return. Maybe she would never return.
The door opened, and for a second Irene saw a grave expression on Virgilia’s face.
“Hi, Caterina,” Virgilia said. Her smile, Irene was sure, looked more genuine than hers. “Federica is in her room, want to go play with her?”
“Yes!” Caterina shouted, her hand slipping out of Irene’s as she ran in. It was a good thing she was just four years old – she wasn’t going to suspect anything.
Virgilia followed her with her eyes for a few seconds, then turned towards Irene. “Want to come in?”
“No, I’ll be leaving soon. You… know, right?”
Virgilia nodded slowly. “Yes, Marco told me. So you’re…”
“CIA. They wanted dibs on his research, and I… was the one who was to get it to them. But, believe me or not, I fell in love.”
“If you faked it, you’re a very good actress.”
“Believe me, I am not. They only chose me because I am actually good with genetics… I’m even using my real name because I cannot remember a fake one.”
Irene clenched her fists. “I messed up. I messed up everything. I wanted to ditch the CIA, fuck their spying on their own allies. But just as I decided to come clean with Marco, someone brought him the news of my affiliation before I could. He’s mad, and he’s right.”
Virgilia gave a single nod. She wasn’t trusting her fully, Irene could read it in her eyes.
“So, what are you going to do now? Go back to the CIA?”
“No… my cover is breached. They cannot admit they were spying on an allied country, it would cause a diplomatic incident. I’m burned, and badly.. I need to disappear for a while, before they make me disappear.”
Irene pulled up the hood of her raincloak. “Please take care of Katie, at least until Marco calms down. I’ll try to come back one day, but it will be a long time until then… maybe I never will. If that’s the case, tell Katie and Marco I’m sorry, and that I really loved them. That’s the only truth in my ocean of lies.”
***
[Metal Gear Solid OST – Enclosure] (same as previous)
“Shit!” Irene shouted as she realized she had taken a wrong turn. The shelves of the warehouse formed a dead end, rows of crates and boxes blocked any chance of crawling through.
“End of the line, Agent Johnson.”
She turned around, finding herself facing her direct superior. And he was already aiming his gun at her.
“Coggins, please…” Irene pleaded. “I know we cannot leave evidence, but spare me. Not for myself, for my father. And for my daughter.”
“Trust me, I hate having to do this,” Coggins said. “I owe my life to your father. But you’re a walking diplomatic incident waiting to happen. And you seem to have forgotten the oath you made. The oath to our country.”
Irene took a step back, but her back met one of the shelves. She shook her head no without breaking eye contact, her heart beating like crazy in her ears.
“You said it yourself… you owe your life to my father,” Irene said, trying to convince him. “Wouldn’t sparing me be the way to repay him? I promise I’ll stay quiet about this entire mess.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Johnson. Contrary to you, I know that the interests of our country are above personal matters.”
Coggins fired, and Irene felt an unbearable pain in the middle of her chest. Suddenly, her heart stopped making itself heard in her ears, and everything went black just as her knees gave out.
As she lost consciousness, Irene couldn’t help but hate herself for not having even kissed Caterina goodbye properly.
***
[Metal Gear Solid OST – Enclosure] (same as previous)
Irene opened her eyes. She was… alive? However, she was boxed up in what looked like a giant tube filled with a pale green liquid.
She tried to scream, but her lungs were filled with the weird substance as well.
“Dad!” someone screamed out of her tube. A young, female voice.
“Irene!” This time, it was a voice she recognized. Marco…?
“Hello new person!” the last, cheery voice sounded like it belonged to an even younger girl.
Someone walked over to the tube, and Irene punched the glass.
“Calm down, you’re safe,” Marco said, putting his hands on the glass where Irene’s were. “This is oxygenated stasis fluid, you can breathe it.”
Oxygenated… stasis fluid?
She looked down at her chest, but found no wound.
“Don’t worry, your wound has fully healed.”
But… I shouldn’t have been able to survive that. And… you saved me? After what I did to you?
While the liquid prevented her eyes from properly focusing, Irene could still make out that Marco had just sat in a chair.
“Dad, are you alright?”
Dad?… is that Katie? She sounds like a young adult. How long was I out…?
Another person, wearing what to her fuzzy sight looked like a knight’s armor, walked into her field of view, waving enthusiastically.
Irene recoiled back a bit.
“Don’t worry, she’s a friend,” Marco said. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Irene.”
The Belkan-Japanese War might be over, but as you can guess the Unraveled World has many more stories to tell. With Professor Marco “Marcus” Leone still out there chasing his dream, it won’t be long before the Skystreakers will see action again. However, the next chapter of The World Without Authors will actually be somewhat unrelated – since will be posting them based on the in-universe sequence of events, next chapters will be actually from the Cyber Circuits arc, which is the one focusing on Keiko’s Cyber Formula shenanigans.
I hope you enjoyed the first arc, and that you’ll keep following the new ones!
Wings Of Canon 