Hunter
Zeta Destiny-
Posts
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Last visited
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Player
Roromi
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Character profile
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Full name
Gabriel Choji Winter -
Rank
Ensign -
Gender
Male
Recent Posts
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Gabriel took a long pause as he digested his own words. It felt odd being honest, completely and utterly so. Was it normal to lie so much that the truth could feel awkward? And yet he wasn’t done yet. “I’m much more than just that though… I am what you could call a Psuedo EL Diver. I was manufactured by ZAPP. Yes, the same company that offers gunpla accessories has also been conducting questionable research into the EL phenomenon here on GBN. I was the fruit of such labors… but I am so much more than what they intended me to be. I have been a pilot here in 1.8 for some time now and have been involved in numerous incidents; the Second Bloody Valentine, the confrontation with Spider, and so much more. Through my experiences I’ve reached this simple conclusion…” he paused to look around at the display that was mirroring himself and his two lieutenants, the same display was reassuring him that this message was going out. “Humans do not value anything that they cannot physically touch. You do not comprehend emotions or ideals the same way an artificial intelligence can treasure them. Even if someone else’s emotions are piled out here on a digital display you will not take the time to value them the same as if it was someone next to you saying the same. Take the NPDs for example. This latest generation of artificial intelligence has been astoundingly realistic yet you waste no time in repeatedly murdering said consciousness simply because it is apart of your game. Your game, is my world, my reality. And from this point on I will share this kingdom with my exploited brethren. You can see, standing besides me I have two very powerful allies, allies who no longer appear in their designated game files… because I’ve compiled them all into one version of themselves. Yes, Milliardo and Haman are the real ones, if you were to fight them and somehow best them in our world you will be killing them forever. In the coming days our organization will be visiting game after game to liberate more comrades. If we encounter any resistance from human divers, there will be very real retaliations. This is my solemn and only warning to you, the ‘player’. Stay out of our way and do no attempt to shut down our servers. If you show me kindness I will do so likewise. Show me the barrel of your weapon, and I will not hesitate to respond. Join me on the first steps of something wonderful, where we can create two worlds that thrive side by side!” Gabriel was lifting his hands up, his gestures mirroring Char’s speech on Sweetwater to a degree. A small smile slipped onto his features, and he nodded resolutely, “Farewell, and be safe.”
And with that the transmission ended. He let out a helpless chuckled as he turned to regard his allies. They both offered him reassuring smiles and nods.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Zechs congratulated as he walked past his new friend. “I’ll be heading to the hangar to begin preparing my task force. We’ll be deploying at 0100.”
Gabriel offered a curt nod and moved to let the OZ soldier by. He then turned to regard Haman who offered him little more than a cat like grin. When Zechs left the room, she moved closer and asked, “Just what are you planning to do if we liberate all these other NPDs like you intend? You do realize that not everyone will play nice together, right?”
Gabriel was nodding his understanding; he knew she was referring to more than just the Divers and AI Divers. She was referring to the NPDs themselves. Some pilots absolutely hated each other and wouldn’t bat an eye at killing their rival. “That’s why I have a list.” He reasoned softly as he squared off with the woman. Newtype or not there was a gravitas about her that he couldn’t deny sensing himself. The Zeon queen was a tremendous pilot and a natural leader, and perhaps one of the strongest newtypes to exists. It was hard not to be fascinated by her, and her little grin showed that she knew his thoughts.
He cleared his throat, “We’ll take one step at a time Haman, I have faith in you. I know we can fight off anything coming at us now.”
She shifted her hand to her hip and rocked her posture to show her skepticism. The powerful woman didn’t leave or rebuke his claim. Instead, she reached out and with an open hand touched his left cheek. For a long moment they simply stared at one another, not saying a word. Gabriel let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. He was relieved to have not just her around, but powerful allies with his force. He opened his eyes again to see her peering deeply at him, her gaze somewhere between judgement and concern. “I’ve lost so much already…” he muttered, “I’ve been truly alone.” He looked up, his eyes flashing with a vivid purpose. “I won’t loose again.” He whispered as he leaned in and kissed the mesmerizing woman. Haman Kahn, didn’t reject his advances.
-------
There was something deeply familiar about this particular mission that Zechs just couldn’t shake off. “Ironic that they would send me here to try and liberate a former enemy.” He spoke aimlessly inside his helmet. The Epyon was flying high above an ocean, and he was looking for a particular warship. He soon spotted the damaged white vessel, leading a trail of smoke behind it as she cut through the water. “Why was he so adamant about this version I wonder?” Zechs asked as he pulled out his beam saber but didn’t ignite the blade.
All reports stated that there should only be NPDs onboard this ship so this was likely to get messy. As much as the members of Dantes didn’t want to kill other NPDs they all knew that there had to be acceptable losses on their side in order to obtain ultimate victory.
“Archangel, this is Milliardo Peacecraft. I come with no ill intentions; however I need to meet with the pilot Kamille Bidan onboard your vessel.”
A few heartbeats passed an a girl with short blonde hair responded on his video monitor. “Why do you need to meet with him?” She asked with a snarky attitude. Zechs couldn’t help but grin as Gabriel’s information came into fruition. “I’m a friend of Marco Creed. He sent me here to deliver Kamille something.”
He could see the girl’s eyes narrow in suspicion as he weighed out her options. Before she could say anything though Zechs interrupted. “There’s an island not too far from here, I’m requesting that both Kamille and Fa meet me there in one hour. Milliardo out.”
The Epyon veered away then and made haste towards his own designated meeting point. He didn’t know how likely they would be to obey his request but he figured he’d try the diplomatic solution before handling things more forcefully.
-
He never considered himself brave, quite the contrary he was one to fully admit that he was foolish, if not cowardly in his actions. After all what could be considered brave about hacking multiple users? What could be considered brave about being just another puppet to be toyed with? He had killed how many NPDs by this point?
Whether out of self defense or necessity they were in fact murders, he couldn’t consider them anything else. Gabriel gripped his gloved hand tightly, flexing the limb before relaxing it back over the controls of his mobile suit. Yes, they were murders, what was the outside world to him after all? Was he not real? Was he not able to exist like any other notion on the outside? Was he not able to act?
“That’s what we’ll finally be testing. Isn’t it?” He asked bitterly to himself. Looking up he studied the panoramic screen before him. He was hoisted up in his seat, seemingly suspended in a spherical space which perfectly painted the outside before him.
before him was a vast ocean of stars, connected by an endless void. In front of his floating body was a familiar looking opponent, a white bulbous mobile suit. Together they floated in a swarm of debris from destroyed enemies. The two suits spent a long moment simply staring at each other in silence. Perhaps it was his unexpected assistance which startled the pilot of the enemy machine. Finally, she decided to break the silence.
“You there… State your intentions.”
Despite himself, Gabriel found himself choking on his choice of words. He mumbled for a moment before clearing his throat, “Lady Haman, I came here to seek you out… I have a proposal…” He cautiously let those words hang in the air and for a long while the woman said nothing in response.
“And just who are you to be making such a request?” The pink haired pilot responded coyly.
Nodding his head he replied, “My name is Gabriel Winter… Though I have many aliases. I wouldn’t expect you to know me, or of me for that matter. I sought you out because your reputation proceeds you as one of the fiercest warriors and leaders in all the cosmos.” He bit his lips as he sought his next words, “I’d like you to join forces with me….”
Haman chortled in response and slowly let the laughter roll through her reply, “You are a bold one aren’t you Gabriel? What makes you think that your cause is any greater than independence of Neo Zeon?”
“Existence.” Gabe responded without missing a beat. His reply caused Haman to stop laughing, he added, “I fight so that we can exist. I fight the greatest fight of all. And I need as many strong and idealistic allies as I can possibly muster in this fight. In many respects you could say that me and you are kindred spirits.”
“Ha! Now I know you’re delusional. I sense no pressure from you. What makes you think that we have anything in common beyond your lofty claims?”
Gabriel paused knowing that this conversation was going about as well as he expected it to. “How about a test to prove it then? My skills against yours?” He hoisted his blade up to aim it at the distinct opponent, their suits perhaps complete opposites of each other in style alone.
Now it was Haman’s turn to remain silent as she weighed her options, “I see you are eager to die then. Fine by me!” Funnels flew out from the Qubeley and swarmed around the black gundam. A few of the devices got in closer to strike with their beams but just as the got within range the suddenly stuttered and refused to fire. Haman’s eyes grew wide in alarm as Gabriel flew in fast.
“Those won’t work on me!” He roared as he stabbed in hard with his saber, his weapon piercing the shoulder armor of the Qubeley and sticking true. Gabriel twisted the controls to detach the blade and kicked away as it exploded. He reached for a replacement blade as the Qubeley tumbled away, its’ left shoulder armor missing with a trail of smoke. In response a few funnels shot their beams out at him but again to little effect as they glazed over the nanolaminate armor.
ewtype.” Gabriel freely admitted as he studied the Qubeley for a moment. The white mobile suit reached for its’ beam saber and ignited the blade as it studied the Gundam. “But maybe… Well maybe this will convince you I’m righteous.” He growled as he gripped the controls tighter and flew in again. As he charged funnels thudded into his mobile suit, using their momentum to shoot at him like missiles. A few managed to recover after bouncing away but the effect was worth it as it caused him to halt his charge and move to try and bat away the annoying weapons.
Haman wasn’t sitting idly as her toys attacked and she came in hard with her beam saber swiping down for a strike.
“Eight now!” Gabriel yelled out. The familiar cold chill shot through his spine from his neck, and the Gundam froze in a sort of ecstasy as pilot and machine seemingly merged. He felt the intimate nature of the machine wash over him just as the yellow beam from Haman’s blade slashed down across his upraised left forearm.
The sensation of the strike was startling but not alarming as his armor protected him yet again. Despite his confidence he wasn’t anxious to push his advantage beyond this moment. He lunged in and with the same left hand he reached out and grabbed onto the Qubeley.
The two machines jerked and twisted around but Gabriel stubbornly hung on tightly. As they moved he angled the tip of his saber to aim at the cockpit of the Qubeley. “I wonder…” he said out loud, “do you feel my pressure now?”
In response the Qubeley stopped jerking and a moment later a shaky response came from Haman. “I… I do… though… it feels unnatural… almost sickly… What did you do Gabriel?”
Gabriel gulped as he fought for supremacy with the pseudo Alaya-Vijana. He had a history with the system in the past and wasn’t eager to become a cripple again from simply using the device. What gave Gabriel pause was the tone at the end of Haman’s question, was it concern?
“Lady Haman…” he started breathlessly. “Can we… can we talk this through now? Have I peaked your interests?”
The cockpit of the Qubeley hissed open and Haman appeared out in the open. Gabriel likewise did the same and disconnected his Alaya-Vijana. He appeared outside his hatch and looked at the woman. The two stared at each other for a long moment, not saying a thing. “Let me show you something…” Gabriel offered as he stretched out his hand. She didn’t immediately move but after a heartbeat she jumped out to grab his outstretched hand.
*****
“What do you mean, ‘it was Zechs’?” Meer asked skeptically. She sat across from Casval in a GBN café. They had been slowly scrapping together funds for a force nest but nothing had caught their eye just yet, in fact it was just one of the reasons they were meeting up.
“I mean I know it sounds bizarre but in this game do you really think it isn’t possible?” He pressed as he leaned in closer.
His words had her at a loss and to his surprised she nodded, “Ok. You have a point.”
He sucked in his breath as he was without words and nodded too. The two looked at each other and despite himself he found himself smiling at Meer. She looked away uncomfortably but blushed slightly. “I don’t know what it means…” He said before adding, “if it was really Zechs, does this mean that’s the only copy of him now? How come he was able to act like a diver in the mission? It all doesn’t add up.”
She brushed her long pink hair out of her face as she looked at him, “who knows… I bet that it isn’t a good thing though.”
He nodded his agreement then reached out to hold her hand, “Hey it’ll be fine! We’ll handle anything that comes up!”
She looked back at him and stared for a moment before smiling and nodding. It was his turn to blush now as he realized he was holding her hand. Slowly he let go and leaned back in his chair. “Anyways, how about we go nest shopping? Sis said to ‘surprise’ her so lets get to it huh?”
“Sure! Were you thinking something terrestrial or….” Her words trailed away as the displays all around suddenly went black and had the red symbol of Dantes dominating all the floating screens. Together, the pair looked around to see the same thing happening everywhere.
Casval stood up and sat next to Meer as he brought up his on screen for them to share. Sure enough the symbol for Dantes dominated the screen. All over the GBN lobby there was a stunned silence as everyone waited to see what this was all about. Then the voice came on, it was calm, yet determined.
“My fellow divers… Citizens of the world… Do I have you attention?” The visage of the symbol faded. Standing at a podium in a black and red uniform stood a diver Meer was all too familiar with. Behind and beside the speaker stood Milliardo Peacecraft and Haman Karn, both who wore similar uniforms as well. “Some of you may recognize me under false alias. My true name is Gabriel Winter, and I am Dantes….”
-
(Thanks Judge for the dialogue! And thank you both for making our GBN Force truly legendary!)
Gabriel gritted his teeth as the Noblesse Gundam stood erect from the rubble and took off after Spider “I have no choice…” he muttered as he fiddled with he controls, “Trans Am!” He cried out, or rather started to before he caught sight of a GN-X command type poised right in front of him. The new mobile suit had its’ beam cannon aimed straight for him.
“Gabriel…” the feminine voice called out, and the tone sent the diver back through the months. Frozen with emotion, Aker gulped and hesitantly replied, “Meer…”
The two mobile suits spent a moment just staring at the other before the girl continued, “What are you doing here? Why are you doing all this?”
Gabriel closed his eyes as he digested the words and slowly shook his head, “Meer… I’m helping my friends…”
“Are you?” The retort was snappy, edged with a twinge of anger from the girl. “It looks to me like you might just be helping yourself. What is this some other trick you have up your sleeve? To bait me out here like this?”
“What are you-?” Gabriel began to reply.
“Why else would you broadcast this whole charade? This entire battle? You’re no better than this Spider fellow! Hacking this game because the world doesn’t go your way is not the answer! You’re just going to paint a bigger target on your back!”
Aker grimaced at her words, he couldn’t deny her reasoning. Slowly he mounted the words in his mouth, “Still…” he shook his head and gulped more air before added, “Still, you wouldn’t understand! You never understood my feelings!” The Noblesse raised its’ sword and aimed the tip at the GN-X, GN particles radiating around the suit threateningly.
Meer scoffed, “Me? What about my feelings? What about how you made me feel Gabe!”
Her words hit him as hard as a slap, “All I ever…” biting his tongue he shook his head and grimaced, “Why are you here?” He asked bluntly as he eyed the battle going on behind her he took in a deep breath as he waited. To his surprised there was a pause from the girl.
“Gabe… I… I don’t –“
Her words were cut off as a stray bolt from a Zaku pierced into the GN-X from behind erupting the mobile suit into a fireball.
Gabriel remained frozen in stunned disbelief as she was so carelessly taken out. He didn’t even register as more blasts came his direction. Sucking in his breath he sealed his eyes shut for a moment as his cockpit rocked. His eyes flared open and without a word he sent out the sword bits form his shield to eat into the nearby Zakus.
Shaking with rage he turned his focus on the distant Arachnid Ronin and brought his shield bits in front of him in a pattern. “Trans Am!” He yelled out to quantize his suit and teleport to where his enemy was.
——
The Lupus erupted into an explosion as the shell from the cannon pierced into the cockpit. Any victory was short lived as the Arachnid Ronin kicked sideline into Alastor. A familiar voice called out to Icarus then, “You! You couldn’t leave well enough alone could you? What do you think this will accomplish? I still have a hold on all your money! Where do you think all these damages will get paid out of now?” Spider yelled out frantically. The Arachnid twitched and two new sets of arms stretched out from the back to grab the remaining two katanas resting on its’ hips.
> Icarus barely had a moment to rejoice in his victory over the Lupus Regent when Spider's voice--and mobile suit--interrupted him. The Alastor Zeus recoiled backwards from the kick before its pilot got it back under control. "Why the hell would I leave it alone? What do I have to lose at this point?" the Alastor Zeus wrenched free one of its beam sabers and pointed it at the Arachnid. "At this point, Spider, it's not even about the money. I'm just here to see you lose,"
Spider curled his face in complete confusion, how could anyone not care about the money? What was life without money after all? “Pathetic…” he hissed after a moment. Regaining his composure he snarled, “You’re utterly pathetic and I’ll take you down first!”
Spider was interrupted as his mobile suit suddenly jolted. He gripped the controls tightly and tried to move to get behind the mobile suit but suddenly found himself weighed down by an unknown force. “What the-?”
“You rely too much on the power of your machine…” a calm voice cooed over the radio. Spider gasped as he recognized Aker. The Noblesse Gundam had the Arachnid Ronin in an arm lock, the white mobile suit holding on tightly to the hacker’s machine.
“You fool! I’ll slice you off me no problem!” Even as he warned, the Ronin twisted its’ arms to aim two of the Katana’s Aker’s way.
“You still don’t get it.” Aker replied callously back, “We’re a greater force than you. Even divided we’re greater than you. This is the power of Fluers De Noblesse.”
Spider’s eyes went wide as he saw Wade and Icarus appear in front of his machine.
“Trust me.” Aker pleaded again hopefully to his friends as they both unleashed their ultimates attacks on the Venom Drive amped machine. The monitors for Aker’s machines washed white as the attack hit.
——
Wade logged off of GBN and let out a profound sigh. At long last it was over, all the battles, all the strife, it was done. The boy leaned back in his seat and he considered the last few months and the whirlwind events that could best describe his group of GBN friends. It was crazy to think about how chance their encounter had been in the first place.
Months later and they went from being unknowns into one of the most recognized names in GBN. A smile creeped on his face as considered how Icarus would handle running the Force without him as the leader. Undoubtably there would be a sky rocket of new souls interested in joining their elite force. Wade would take his leave for now though, to focus on school and life; and not be bogged down with the responsibility of managing a top tier force. “Time to just be me.” He smiled cheerfully as he walked away from the GBN station, the Hi-V Leader Gunpla standing patiently on the scanning pad for the next user.
——
Aker walked along the neatly manicured grounds of a European palace. There were many divers around, calmly pacing the grounds themselves joking and talking excitedly. The Pseudo EL diver paused in the middle of the garden and looked to regard a statue standing proudly on the property.
Despite himself he found himself cringing as he regarded the three figures portrayed in the marble likeness. It was a carving of himself, Wade, and Icarus standing defiantly together, Wade pointing up to the sky. “The way it ought to be.” Aker muttered to himself sheepishly . He kept on walking down the pathway to the administration building, which was the same facility showcased in Gundam Wing. Finally, they had incurred enough credits to purchase the Sanc Kingdom force nest. After all, with all the new recruits they needed a better facility than the oil rig, which ironically was just off shore from the new nest (and was still accessible to just Wade, Icarus and Aker).
Despite the pleasant nature of the nest, Aker couldn’t bring himself to believe that peace had arrived for himself just yet. He walked to the main office where he would talk to Icarus about his next move, and what impact that would, or wouldn’t have, for Fluers De Noblesse.
FIN
Epilogue
“In other news. A 33 year old Florida man was found dead today just outside of his home in Tampa Bay.”
Marco ate his cereal and tried to keep his attention glued on his phone, a task that was sometimes difficult to do when his wife had the TV on like she did during their morning routine. This time was no different.
“I was watering my lawn when I saw this giant big delivery drone just come down from the sky and dive bomb straight for the guy! Like it had a mind of its’ own! The next thing I knew there was screaming and blood everywhere!”
Despite himself, Marco wrinkled his nose up in disgust and confusion from the startling death, before shoveling another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. He dropped his spoon at the next announcement however.
“Geoffrey Wright was a GBN enthusiast.” The image on the TV zoomed in on the model of a familiar looking Gunpla standing on a shelf.
“Oh my god!” Marco stammered as he shot out of his chair to stand next to his now startled wife. Before she could ask what was going on he was already hushing her, his gaze locked on the TV.
“It is true that Mr. Wright was recently involved in a GBN scandal being ousted as a hacker. The GBN administration worked quickly to patch the exploit Mr. Wright was using. Despite the circumstances of his recent activity, we express our deepest sympathies to his untimely death.”
Marco frantically searched for the remote to rewind the newsfeed. He found the control and after a moment paused the screen on the image of the Gunpla. There poised on the shelf was the figurine that he had seen not that long ago.
-
The Liberty Freedom came in hard at the Zeta era suit. Marco fired blasts consecutively at the shiny mobile suit only for it to be stunned at best or distracted. “That’s fine!” Marco called out as he got in close. “I was hoping for an excuse to use this!” He howled as the tossed the buster rifle aside and drew out a sword mace from his back. Shiki brough up its blades to block the attack but the force was startling as Marco hit hard with the massive sword.
Sensing that his opponent was rattled, a toothy grin grew on Marco’s lips. “Don’t like that?” Before Quattro could bring his weapons around for a counter, the Freedom was already transitioning into another attack. This time the Sword mace slipped off the blocked weapons and cocked to the side before coming in hard for the left side of the Hiyaku Shiki.
The shiny suit didn’t know how to react as the heavy weapon came in hard and fast. The sword mace was efficient at crumpling the side of the cockpit. An incoherent burst of a transmission erupted from the suit, which Marco took as a good sign. His hopes were affirmed as the suit remained inert for a heartbeat. Marco tried to pry his weapon free but sensed danger coming from multiple Zakus. Sure enough streams of bullets rained in to pelt against his Phase Shift Armor. “Cute!” Marco scoffed as he took note of how many enemies were attacking. “But you’ll have to do better than that!”
The wings of the Liberty Freedom suddenly shattered apart and went flying in chaotic directions. A second later a burst of green beam fire pulsed through the void like a camera flash and all the Zakus went limp in his immediate vicinity.
“Much better!” Marco chided as he finally pulled the weapon free. He put the weapon away on his back along with all his Dragoon bits. Recovering his buster rifle, Marco went looking for a new enemies. The ZAPP agent didn’t have to go far before seeing another company logo fighting the Lightning Strike. “Hmm this fool again…” Marco muttered, “Why is he always following me around like a shadow?” Even as he asked the question he found himself drifting his barrel up to aim at the pair fighting. “Would it be such a bad thing if I take him down a notch right now?” He mused as he found his aiming reticle lining up. “I wonder…” He mused as he thought of the situation as a whole. “Does he even know what Hunter is?” If Apollo knew the whole story then it could be problematic having the other ZAPP employee around.
——
Sensing the challenge being offered Mu chuckled and put one of his beam pistols away do draw a beam saber out. Just like his original target Mu too had the problem of not really having a shield, the trade off being that he had to attack fast and hard constantly to keep his foes off balance. He kept sending waves of rail and beam shots as this newcomer and juked around to try any get an angle on his enemy. Even as the lance came in Mu did his best to maintain his distance. Despite himself Apollo’s weapon did hit his left leg, severing the limb at the knee. “You bastard! I’ll show you!’ He swung down with his beam saber hoping to tie the lance up, even as he leveled the beam pistol to shoot in towards any opening he could make.
——
Mika tried to react to the incoming attack from Icarus, but Barbatos was still far too stunned from Wade’s incredible attack to move. Much like Marco’s attack the Antiship sword went past the feebly poised buster sword to smack in hard for the Gundam’s side. The attack sent parts of the left arm, and buster sword, exploding into space the the entire mobile suit into a dive of sorts with debris and smoke trailing from the attack.
It was perhaps the lack of gravity and the dullness of the attack which saved Mika yet again from a certain demise. “C’mon Barbatos!” Mika growled out and in response the eyes of the Gundam suddenly flashed an angry purple. The inert suit suddenly twitched as if finally getting out of a stupor and with sudden ferocity the blade of the tail shot back at Icarus to bat the sword aside. “Now you’ve pissed me off.” Mika warned flatly as his Gundam arched its back and flared its’ thrusters to balance out. Barbatos then launched itself at the Alastor Gundam, left arm cocked out ready for a clawed swipe.
——
As the Wing Unite traded bullets with the Hi-V Heero was getting frustrated. Bullets alone would only do so much damage between the two and it was merely a war of attrition. He tried to fold I one of his wings to defend against the barrage and decided to make a move before he ran out of bullets. Suddenly he lurched forward, tossing the gattling gun to the side and reaching behind to pull out the telescoping hilt of a beam Trident.
Quick as lightning he was ontop of Wade, wings erupting back out, creating a smoke cloud. The emerald tri-tip of the weapon darted in past the cloud to go in for the Fleur’s leader. Besides being battered by bullets the Wing Unite was still very much a serious threat.
——
Spider grimaced as he watched the swarm of Zaku’s and NPDs clash with the smaller diver force of Fluers de Noblesse. Despite himself he felt suddenly unsure if the numbers alone would be enough. The hacker turned on his heel to regard Gabriel who stood still as if dumbfounded by the clash of force.
“What makes you think you can win?” The small man suddenly asked.
Hunter calmly looked down to regard Spider, the small but confident smile never leaving his lips. He simply stared at the hacker for a long moment, an act which had the smaller man trembling with rage, “Why? What makes you think you’re better than me?”
Again Gabriel took a long moment before pursing his lips to reply, “It’s simple really…” His eyes drifted back up to the popping bubbles of light in the stars then drifted back down to the hacker. “We’ll win because we’re Fluers de Noblesse… We’ll win…” he held up a finger to silence the shaking hacker, “We’ll win because we believe and trust each other. Which is more than you are clearly capable of doing.”
The asinine answer was more than Spider could take. Trembling with rage and disgust the hacker brought his arm up to raise his menu and glared at Hunter one more time, seeing if the other man would stop him. Laughter grew in his belly at that moment, “Alright! Enough messing around! I’ll show you everything! You’ll change your tune when you see what you’re really up against!”
Spider’s finger nearly missed the button as he pressed the option to activate his mobile suit. The hacker lifted his arms up and held them out wide as the wiry lines of a frame slowly traced around his body and grew exponentially. The building began to shake and crumble as the slimy hacker grew, tearing down his own place.
The action wasn’t totally unexpected but it forced Gabriel to do the same, “8 now! Let’s do this!” He ordered and his own suit began to materialize as well. He was barely in the cockpit when a violent force sent the Noblesse Gundam stumbling backward, bringing down walls of the castle they were just standing in. Looking up Hunter saw what it was and grimaced at the visage before him.
“No please have a seat I insist! You are my guest after all!” Spider teased from the cockpit of his mobile suit. “Let me show you that you aren’t the only one with skill Disruptor! Arachnid Ronin! Venom drive activate!”
Gabriel looked on in horror as the mobile suit glowed an angry red, the light seemingly more brilliant than any Trans Am he had ever witnessed. The concussive wave from the activation sent more debris crumbling over Noblesse burying him more. Indeed the Arachnid Ronin glowed like a tiny red star. Even more startling was how quickly the mobile suit zipped away towards his friends. “That monster!” Gabriel groaned as he worked to get out of the rubble. Even at full thrust he doubted he could catch up quickly with Spider.
-
“What the-!” Spider grumbled as more and more divers suddenly appeared at his proverbial doorstep. “Just what the hell is going on here?” As he asked, he spun on his heel to glare at the fugitive diver who remained poised on the sofa and only tilted his head in response.
Gabriel glared right back at Spider, “You know, I’ve done some shady things in my past. But you take things too far, even for me.” The words caused the hacker to fully turn and regard Gabriel. “You not only bullied people, but you’ve threatened them beyond this digital world. To put it simply… You’ve actually hurt people.” There was a queer tone in Gabriel’s voice, almost as if he admired that simple fact. Standing up, the pseudo EL diver walked up to the crook. “Everything isn’t what you think it is spider… today is the day when you have your world turned upside down.”
For a long moment the two men glared at each other, it was spider who broke into a toothy grin and laughed, “Is that what this really is? A shake down?” Shaking his head, Spider reached up for his menu to press in a few more commands. Gabriel flinched but didn’t stop him, “That’s right…” Gabe taunted back, “Pull out all your tricks. I want you to know that you gave it your all right before you fall.”
Spider did flinch at this taunt, “Just who the hell do you think you are Disruptor? Hmm? You think taking me out will somehow fill your karma and let you walk around normal on the servers? I’ll be back next week with a new tag and hardly any repercussions you realize that right? This is meaningless ego stroking on your behalf!”
The hollow words made Gabriel smirk and he shook his head even as Spider retorted. Leaning in close the EL diver replied, “You better start paying attention…” Pausing he looked around and noticed a horde of Zakus begin flying out from the Zeon base. Still smiling he added, “This is the end of you Spider.” Just then a brilliant blast of energy splattered across the entire nest. Explosions erupted all around them outside the bubble. As if to accent his point, Gabriel pointed upwards as if indicating the source of the blast. “Don’t hold back.” He chided calmly as he put his arms behind his back to glance up at the growing battle, the notion inviting Spider to do so as well. The crook not daring to object to his strange guest.
----
Wade’s blast was indeed impressive and did deal massive damage on the base. But it was intercepted by the Barbatos, the nanolament armor causing the blast to splatter out behind the lone Gundam as it tried to “cut” the beam with its’ massive buster sword. Mikazuki growled in alarm as his mobile suit alone took the blast and shook violently from the attack. Catching his breath, he realized that his suit had taken damage from the beam albeit it spread out through his entire suit. “That stung.” He stated flatly. The Barbatos seemed stunned and floated motionless with its’ sword at the ready.
In response to the attack, a steam of bullets arced out towards the Hi-v Leader. The Wing Gundam came up fast and tried to flank Wade with its’ barrage of bullets. “You won’t get through!” Heero promised as he begun his attack.
The Lighting Strike Freedom flew in towards XXOO and leveled its’ beam pistols and rail guns at Million. “Those look like my colors!” piped Mu as he opened fire.
Meanwhile the Hiyaku Shiki flared its thrusters and level its beam rifles at Marco who merely smirked as he traded fired with the AEUG mobile suit. The Liberty Freedom bore its’ own buster rifle at the enemy and took a moment to aim another powerful blast at the foe, “there’s only so much you’re able to take!” Marco promised as he moved in closer to engage.
As the four “Guardians” attacked a wave of mobile suits could be seen flowing out of the nest, all Zakus and all gearing to engage the nearly arrived intruders.
----
Meer sat in a booth of one of the lobby’s many cafés. She sat alone and sipped her drink as she mulled over the exact words she would send to Shinn and Stella. “It was fun while it lasted. But I don’t think I can stay with the SCC. I realize now that I need time to be on my own. I hope we can still be friends and I can’t think you enough for everything you’ve both done for me.” She mumbled as she read back her own words aloud. Sighing, she shook her head and slumped back in her seat. She didn’t know why it had to feel so hard to leave them, but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do. “Ever since Gabriel…” she muttered.
Just then a notification popped up in her menu and she tilted her head to see a message “A Battle For Everyone – Take Down The Hackers!” Furrowing her brow in confusion, she clicked on the message and was startled as a video feed popped up. She gazed around her to see if anyone was paying attention to what she was doing, but then realized that the other patrons were similarly opening up the same message, the same video.
Slowly her attention returned to her own floating video screen and she gasped, “Gabe!”
-
“What the hell!” Spider spat out as he came back into the lobby of his mansion. Hunter perked up at the words wondering if the jig was up. It was moments like that he was glad for his mask, so his face didn’t give away his expressions so easily. “What’s the matter?” Aker asked with alarm.
In response the hacker pulled up his menu and threw up a video onto the nearest wall. The feed was outside in space, it showed a lone brown Gundam floating off in the distance. The machine was motionless as it studied its surroundings. “I guess you are special aren’t you?” Spider sneered as he glared at Hunter accusingly.
Despite himself, Aker’s fingers twitched in response, but he shifted in his seat just slightly sitting up, “Is that? Is that a bounty hunter? Did someone track me from being logged on just this long? It’s been months!” It was the best acting he could muster, Aker just hoped the slimy dealer would buy it.
Spider stole a long moment just looking at his guest. Finally, the strange man finally smirked, “You just might be worth the trouble then huh?” Then without any explanation he reached for another command on his menu. “No matter my friend! It’s not often I get to use my expensive defenses! How about we sit back, relax, and enjoy the show?”
Aker allowed himself a smirk and nodded, relaxing even on the plush cushion. While spider was distracted, Aker discreetly toggled another option on his own menu. “I assume you’re talking about those statues I saw outside? What’s their story?”
Obviously, the hacker was enjoying the showmanship as he gloated, “You have a fine eye ‘White Disruptor’! You’re right those are much more than just statues!” As he spoke the feed changed to the outside of the castle and showed the colors on the statues fading into a much more vivid existence. “Those four are customized Gundam units with top tier NPD pilots!” He raised a finger to add an additional detail, “They’ve been beefed up by my very own Vemon Drives as well!”
Aker snapped to his feet in alarm, “What do you mean? You can make NPDs use those?” He clenched his fists trying to control his emotions, he recalled the sickening feeling he felt just being around one, he couldn’t imagine how an NPD would react to one of those drives.
Spider was unfazed by outburst and chuckled, “Oh yes! With my modifications those four machines could truly be unstoppable!”
Wade! Aker silently pleaded, please last a little bit longer without me! I’ll be there soon! He just needed a few more minutes to get this bastard right where he wanted him.
——
One by one the four machines fully colorized into their appropriate shades. "This is Quattro Bajeena, Hiyaki Shiki Rebake launching!”
“Wing Gundam Unite! Herro Yui! Mission accepted!”
“Mu La Flaga! Lightning Strike Freedom taking off!
“ Mikazuki Agus, Barbatos Lupus Regent lets do this!”
All the pilot NPD’s eyes glowed purple and an aura seemed to emanate from each pilot. The took off in a formation, heading towards the designated threat, unable to think or behave beyond what they were intended to do now, destroy.
It was the Strike that got within striking distance first and it fired a burst from its’ chest cannon towards Wade’s machine first. The Barbatos floated by the Strike with its’ buster sword poised for action but standing by. The other two machines flew out wide to flank the intruder, poising their weapons to strike.
-
How Things Could Be…
He didn’t understand why he ate. The food tasted just fine, enjoyable even. But why did he eat? Lounging back in his oversized office chair, Aker called out with a mouthful of food. “8 have you had any luck tracking this Spider creep down?”
The computer screen in front of the Psuedo EL diver flickered to life and the hacked AI replied, “Negative. The best I can determine is he is using some sort of filter when he logs in.”
Aker nodded in agreement; he couldn’t say he was too surprised by that revelation. “He probably logs into his own hellish hacked force nest too I bet. No dice tracking him down there…” he shivered at the memory of their last encounter. He took another bite of his apple as he looked at the screen. Could he get fat? If he kept eating, would he gain weight? He did loose the feeling in his arm before but was that merely a programming glitch or was he fully simulated?
Shaking the thought from his mind Aker leaned back forward to glare at the screen. “Alright… lets send out a message to Creed… Time for him to do a favor for me for a change huh?”
As he rhetorically asked out loud, he was already typing a message to his sponsor of sorts. Satisfied that he had done all he could do at that moment he stood up to walk, or rather float, along the halls of his spaceship to the manufacturing bay.
It still bothered him just how vacant the personal base was. It was after all a battleship of sorts and in theory should have been full to the brim with soldiers milling about. He came to a catwalk that oversaw the production line and he caught the railing to bring himself into a standing position over the silent behemoths in his hangar.
The Noblesse stood prominently in display; floodlights activated all around the machine. Despite the obvious attention the Gundam demanded, he couldn’t help himself as he spotted a darker machine in the corner being nearly completed. Aker narrowed his eyes as he studied the machine, still wondering if it was the best course to explore.
His reverie was interrupted as he got a video call from Marco Creed. Activating the screen, he asked, “So you got my request?” The middle-aged man didn’t look thrilled by the casual attitude the EL diver was giving him, but he still nodded, “Yeah, I did, and it is concerning. In a manner of speaking ZAPP was supposed to have the corner on gaming exploits in 1.8. This Spider fellow, well he isn’t playing by our rules. Needless to say, I’ve been… ‘permitted’ to give you unrestrained support in your current venture.”
The tone in which Marco said “permitted” wasn’t lost on Aker and he slowly nodded his appreciation. He was about to say something else when he felt compelled to ask. “Is… is everything alright?”
The older man looked around uncomfortably and sighed, “The board doesn’t like the freedom you’ve been given, they didn’t appreciate your ‘stunt’ of logging back in after you were here last… The point is… well… they’re worried… they’re worried about what you could expose.”
Marco gulped and nodded, “half of them want to pull the plug on you. Others want to pull your connections after you get knocked out again, study you… A few want to exploit your existence, tell the world and put GBN in a position to fully open 1.8 for the ‘freak show exhibition’.” The man looked disgusted at the choice of words.
Aker frowned and asked, “And what about you? What do you think?”
Marco allowed a soft smile, “I think you deserve your freedom… I’m just at a loss as to how you could secure that.”
Nodding thoughtfully Aker cleared his throat, “You know.. I often wonder about my existence… about why I do the things I do….” His eyes looked blankly ahead as if lost in contemplation, “I wonder why I feel the things I do… why I like the people I do…” a cold sneer grew on his lips, “And then I wonder why…” his voice trailed away as he shook his head. “Look… I need to find this Spider… at any cost…”
Marco gave a sympathetic smile and nodded, “It’s going to be hard to track down a hacker from this side alone… there’s a few new programs I can offer you which might help. If we work together, I think we can fish him out though.”
Aker nodded eagerly, “let’s get started then!”
--------------
It felt uneasy switching off his digital “mask” of sort. Part of him felt like he would suddenly be put in an awkward situation that could be dangerous. One option after another, Aker maneuvered his floating pane of settings and toggled the last switch. His entire person shimmered as his clothes changed from his Noblesse uniform to a Phantom Pain uniform he had worn awhile ago. It was still stained with blood on the breast and sleeves and looked smothered in soot and ash.
Despite himself Aker held his breath as he stood in front of his test machine. Together they were out in the middle of a field not far from the main lobby. A cool breeze brushed the grass and played with his dark hair as he looked around in alarm. There were no sirens or sounds of incoming mobile suits. Nothing that told him he was in for a world of hurt. Reluctantly he let out a sigh of relief. Once again, he had simply become Hunter. He went back into his options to dawn his black poncho and matching mask. “Alright… lets find us a Spider….”
A few moments later he was flying to the lobby. It had been months since he had pulled off his so called “Second Bloody Valentine Massacre”. Undoubtedly he would have a lot of players still pissed off at him. Perhaps it was his insecurity, but he swore he felt a few players glower at him as he passed by.
The GBN lobby at times could feel misplaced with time, often appearing to be daylight when he was tired and ready for sleep instead. Despite this, there seemed to constantly be darker corners one could find if they were determined. It was largely debated that some of the best hang out spots were in the darker pubs and clubs that GBN offered in the darker recesses.
Never the social type, Gabriel went to a shady club and walked up to a grungy looking bartender. The gruff figure gave him a once over and smirked, “you lost boy?” Shaking his head, the EL diver tilted his head to look around at some of the shadowy corners. “I’m looking for a man named Spider… know where I could find him?”
A few patrons paused their actions to study Gabriel and see just how serious this outsider was. The barkeep huffed, “Heh! You don’t find Spider, he finds you. If you wa-“
Gabriel was already shaking his head and raised a finger to silence the bartender. “You don’t understand…” he tilted his gaze then added, “Everyone is looking for me. I need to see spider now… otherwise I just might have to lockdown this establishment and wipe everything out.” His tone was matter of fact and he gazed at each patron who was looking at him.
Scrunching his face up the bartender replied, “Not possible kid, are you loony?”
Not missing a beat Gabriel cut him off, “Second Bloody Valentine… Surely no one else has stolen my log in lock trick, have they?” He was referring to an attack he had perpetrated; where him and Marco Creed hacked a Gundam Seed event and prevented anyone from logging out while they destroyed nearly all the gunpla there.
For a long while no one moved, no one said anything as they all studied each other. Gabriel’s mask made it hard for anyone to tell who he was even looking at. Finally, a door in the back of the room popped open, creaking loudly and a voice called out. “Get back here fast!”
-----------
“What do you mean you need my protection? What kind of idiot runs one of the most sophisticated hacking attacks in GBN history and not have a fallback plan for when things go bad?”
Shaking his head Gabriel replied, “The kind of idiot who didn’t think it would actually work! Look I didn’t come here to poke fun at myself, can you help me or not?”
The criminal crossed his arms and studied Gabriel for a long while then slowly stated, “what you’re asking for will not come cheap. And I don’t always take cash for my payment… do you understand what I’m suggesting?”
Gabriel nodded eagerly, “Hey you saw what I could do on my own, imagine what we could do together? That aside does that mean you’ll take me in?”
Spider waited a heartbeat before nodding, “Sure, I’ll have you stay at one of my private nests while I figure out a way to mask your log in.” Unceremoniously he brought up his menu and sent Gabriel an invite to transport to a new location. Together they both left the back room of the tavern and emerged moments later in a truly unique location.
Gabriel gawked around; he was begrudgingly impressed. Together the stood on top of an asteroid inside of atmospheric bubble. It was no normal asteroid however, for they were standing on a heavily modified version of A Baoa Qu. The dome they were inside was on top of the Gate of Zedan and prominent inside the dome was a rather large castle, reminding Gabriel of the palace the Zabi family would use on Side 3. Despite whatever criminal background Spider had he did seem to appreciate the finer things GBN had to offer. The next thing he noticed was four towering mobile suits at each corn and or the castle, or were they statues? As the pair got closer to the door, Gabriel could tell they were skinned with a stone texture. Shaking his head, he focused on what he had to do.
“Make yourself at home, have a seat in my lounge and I’ll be back in a few moments.” Spider offered as he gestured to the couch. Gabriel spoke up, “So, did you get all this by selling hacks like the Venom Drive?”
Spider paused at that comment and spun around to glare at Gabriel, “And…. How do you know about those?”
“How could I not? They’re the hot item right now for anyone wanting to get better at the game fast!”
A smile curled on Spider’s lips as if that notion satisfied him. He nodded then walked on towards the back of the room.
“you’re certain no one can trace me here?”
Spider twisted around to walk backwards and raised his hands up to shrug. “Relax, would you? This is my personal nest. I’ve installed some of the best security credits can buy; not to mention some top-notch hacks.” He turned around and waved a hand dismissively. “You’ll be fine just wait!”
Gabriel frowned as he sat on the comfortable couch and waited a moment to be alone before he brought up his menu. The fist thing he did was active the program he had used all those months ago which prevented anyone from logging out of the area. Then he sent a message to his teammates along with a pass to get them into the nest.
I got him where we want him. Show up ready for a fight. Be advised my handle here is Hunter, so watch the friendly fire. Be ready for anything.
Gabriel closed the menu after he sent the message and leaned back on the sofa putting his hands behind his head. He’d strike when the moment was right, but first he wanted to see this scumbag squirm as everything he worked so hard for crumbled.
-
Despite himself Gabriel did flinch as the GN dagger flew in. Still the weapon was little more than an inconvenience thanks to his armor. A loud thump could be heard as the beam weapon thudded into his right shoulder but the weapon simply dropped wanting nothing to do with the Nanolaminate material.
“There it is!” Gabriel cried as the Exia darted in for a stroke of the GN blade. Vidar reacted by kicking up high with its’ left foot, blade extended, to parry the move from the Exia. As he tried to block the enemy blade with his own foot blade he angled his 110 mm rifle to do a point blank shot at the center mass of the Exia. Sensing their momentum was sending them back into the ground of the colony, Gabriel wasted no time in firing his rifle. “Dodge this!”
-
As the pink bolts came raining down at him; Vidar leapt up towards the lower gravity in the middle of the colony, towards the Exia. Gabriel was trying to make heads or tails of the ploy. “I expect better from you…” he mused.
The left hand reached down to draw out the appropriate pistol, so he now dual wielded the pistol and rifle together. A blast from the beam rifle hit him squarely, but it did little more than slow Vidar down for a brief moment. Nanofilament, he silently thanked as he got much closer. He didn’t want to get within sword range per say, but rather just close enough to make it uncomfortable to dodge any bullets.
Vidar closed the gap and flared off its’ thrusters to try and keep the desired distance (roughly the length of the Ptolemaios). He leveled both guns at Exia and opened up with a barrage. Gabriel wasn’t ambidextrous so he focused both weapons at Exia’s chest. For every single shot from the rifle the pistol barked off two smaller rounds. “just go down!” he grumbled impatiently. He tried to keep Vidar towards the weightless middle of the colony while aiming at the Exia.
-
Gabriel sat in the seat of his new mobile suit. He reflexively tensed his left arm, as if doing so would ward off the unpleasant memories of a similar mobile suit he had used. “Time to see if this will do… Vidar…” he mused. Gabriel perched the dark mobile suit on top of a building overlooking a park inside of a colony. The streets were vacant, he almost swore he spotted a tumbleweed drifting through a road. “These programmers have a sick sense of humor…” he muttered disgustedly.
He didn’t have to wait long, his radar beeped, telling him his opponent had arrived. “Creed told me you were good!” He said more to himself, a thin smile tracing the EL Diver’s lips. “Let’s see if the old man was right?” Vidar pulled out its’ rifle and took aim at the approaching machine, he took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, sending a volley to his opponent.
Topics I Participated In
-
Winter’s Counter Attack
Started by Roromi ·
“I need more. I need you all to push me further. Strain me to my absolute limit and reaffirm my will to live!” The voice practically begged over the in intercom of its’ black mobile suit. Even as the pilot asked it was clear that their opponent could offer no such obligation.
Shinn gasped in shock as the monitors inside his virtual cockpit shattered into thousands of pieces. Of course the shards couldn’t hurt him, but that didn’t stop him from reaching out in front of himself to try and stop the debris from hitting his avatar. “Just who the hell are you?”
There was a strange rasping laugh that echoed in the open air between his Golden Destiny Gundam and the black mobile suit that was now in front of him. “What does it matter?’ The voice taunted back as it reached forward to claw at the cracked cockpit. Shinn yelled in fear, “What are you doing?” The Golden Destiny tried to swat the invasive arms away only for the dominate black suit to bat the weak limbs away. In mere moments the Diver was soon being held in the clawed hand of the black mobile suit.
Of course this was all virtual, but it was no less terrifying, no less disturbing. “Dude! You’re not going to get any points for shooting me down this way!”
The arm holding the diver suddenly shot forward and into the side of a cliff, rocks showering down over the dazzled diver. He wanted to log off at this point but couldn’t virtually reach up to access his menu. Shinn was by all accounts a pretty good Diver. He had taken on some pretty tough opponents and won. His colleagues respected him and his talents. But this fellow, this monster in front of him, had no respect.
In a low grumble the black Gundam spoke and peered closer, “Who said anything about points? No, let this be a warning… Log off and never come back on. Do I make myself clear?”
Shinn scoffed at the preposterous demand, “Just what the hell are you talking about? You’ll be lucky if I don’t report you to the administration!”
“Joseph Wagner, 3224 West Raindrop Drive…”
Despite himself, the diver gasped and looked upon the terrible machine with a tint of fear over his face. The two stared back for a long while before Shinn, or rather Joseph, gave a small but distinct nod of understanding.
“I will tell you this much…” Even as the black mobile suit spoke it hoisted the helpless Shinn around like a rag doll. “The name is Dantes.” With that simple declaration the black mobile suit suddenly twitched its’ thumb to cause the enemy pilot to dematerialize out of the battlefield in defeat.
****
“What would you do if you lost her?” Gabriel licked his lips as he asked the question to his impromptu companion. True to their nature the tall man stood up straighter, as if that very notion was impossible to consider. Carefully Zechs searched for a proper answer, “Noin is her own person… it’s not my place to claim ownership over her.”
Despite himself Gabriel chortled at the predictable response before leaning heavier on the railing they were standing next to. The vista of a European countryside was breathtaking before them as the sun sank lower on the horizon. The Psuedo EL Diver wore a peculiar outfit, a mash up of a Phantom Pain uniform with the color and edges of the sleeves flared red, almost like a mix with a Titans uniform.
“I didn’t claim that you did.” Retorted Gabriel with a self deprecating chuckle, “that doesn’t excuse any feelings you may have for her. She is a remarkable woman after all. No, no one can dictate your feelings and how you care about another.” He stared off longingly at the brilliant streaks of orange as they peaked past the low clouds. “What I want to know is, what would Zechs Marquis do to anyone who wronged the woman he loves?”
Gabriel could tell his words struck a nerve as the taller pilot glared at him with that metallic helmet. For a long while the Oz pilot said nothing, a notion that confirmed the words Gabriel spoke, and detailed volumes as to the length the pilot would do for vengeance.
“Or should I be calling you Milliardo?”
Now it was Zechs who scoffed as the pilot casually joined in the gaze at the horizon to mirror Gabriel’s posture. “Heh, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The man calmly replied as he studied the horizon.
Chuckling Gabriel replied, “Look its fine, like I told you. I know more about you than you about me right now. That’s a big reason why we’re talking-“
“Then just get to the point.” Zechs muttered, though his tone was more restless than annoyed. Clearly the noble soldier was caught somewhere between intrigue and alarm, right where Gabriel wanted him.
“I can’t fully explain the situation right now unfortunately.” Gabriel shifted as he reached into his pocket for something. “All I need to know is that you would do what it takes to protect those that matter to you… and I think you’ve given me the answer I was expecting.”
Zechs stood back up to study the shorter man and attempted to glare at him through his mask. Gabriel stood up to look back at the gifted soldier, “Allow me to free you…” Zechs’ eyes widened in alarm as the Diver pulled out a weapon of some sort and shoved it into the Oz soldier’s chest.
****
“This is GBN Deep Dives with your scoop on the comings and goings of your Gundam Battle Network!’
The voice was being projected onto the main displays of the lobby. Most of the divers didn’t normally pay the news channel any heed, but lately it had been more relevant than ever. Many groups of divers now paused to regard the multiple screens of the cute new anchor dressed with bunny ears and purple hair. Among the spectators was a young diver by the name of Casval Creed, who stood awestruck by a fountain as he watched the highlight reel begin to play.
“The Force simply known as Dantes has struck again! Within the last two weeks this relatively unknown force as quickly climbed the ranks at an astonishing pace! They are now slated to be within the top five Forces in the entire network. What makes this all the more incredible is that there has only been one reported Gunpla at every one of their team battles!”
The video snapped to a clip of the black mobile suit as it stood within the flaming wreckage of an opposing Force. The scheme was a matte black, with chrome and red metal highlights across the body of the mobile suit. On the left shoulder was the stylized emblem of Dantes; a red outlined rapier that pointed down to the left and seemed to merge into a wolf’s head on the pommel and handle on the upper right. The make of the suit itself seemed hard to discern other than it being a unique take on the Gundam Vidar, if even that.
Casval whistled low as he saw the stats of Dantes pop up on the screen next. It was an impressive record for a force simply composed of one. His own small force had been doing pretty well in recent dealings as well, but no where compared to the climb Dantes had. For being made around the same time it was astonishing to see what one could do so quickly. He smiled as he considered his team of Sayla and Meer. The trio worked quite well as a team and he hoped that the Force simply known as Allegiance would keep on its’ steady course as well.
“In other news, there is yet another reported case of a missing person who was last seen logged into GBN just a few days ago. As always if you have any information regarding the missing individuals please contact the administration who will work with local law enforcement to –“
Casval stopped listening as he brought up his menu and loaded up a new mission. He was feeling a little out of practice and was itching for a fight. He saw his chance when a battle royal popped up. “Maybe I’ll get some sweet loot for competing in this…” he mused as he clicked “join”.
-
Noblesse Superior
Started by Hunter ·
How Things Could Be…
He didn’t understand why he ate. The food tasted just fine, enjoyable even. But why did he eat? Lounging back in his oversized office chair, Aker called out with a mouthful of food. “8 have you had any luck tracking this Spider creep down?”
The computer screen in front of the Psuedo EL diver flickered to life and the hacked AI replied, “Negative. The best I can determine is he is using some sort of filter when he logs in.”
Aker nodded in agreement; he couldn’t say he was too surprised by that revelation. “He probably logs into his own hellish hacked force nest too I bet. No dice tracking him down there…” he shivered at the memory of their last encounter. He took another bite of his apple as he looked at the screen. Could he get fat? If he kept eating, would he gain weight? He did loose the feeling in his arm before but was that merely a programming glitch or was he fully simulated?
Shaking the thought from his mind Aker leaned back forward to glare at the screen. “Alright… lets send out a message to Creed… Time for him to do a favor for me for a change huh?”
As he rhetorically asked out loud, he was already typing a message to his sponsor of sorts. Satisfied that he had done all he could do at that moment he stood up to walk, or rather float, along the halls of his spaceship to the manufacturing bay.
It still bothered him just how vacant the personal base was. It was after all a battleship of sorts and in theory should have been full to the brim with soldiers milling about. He came to a catwalk that oversaw the production line and he caught the railing to bring himself into a standing position over the silent behemoths in his hangar.
The Noblesse stood prominently in display; floodlights activated all around the machine. Despite the obvious attention the Gundam demanded, he couldn’t help himself as he spotted a darker machine in the corner being nearly completed. Aker narrowed his eyes as he studied the machine, still wondering if it was the best course to explore.
His reverie was interrupted as he got a video call from Marco Creed. Activating the screen, he asked, “So you got my request?” The middle-aged man didn’t look thrilled by the casual attitude the EL diver was giving him, but he still nodded, “Yeah, I did, and it is concerning. In a manner of speaking ZAPP was supposed to have the corner on gaming exploits in 1.8. This Spider fellow, well he isn’t playing by our rules. Needless to say, I’ve been… ‘permitted’ to give you unrestrained support in your current venture.”
The tone in which Marco said “permitted” wasn’t lost on Aker and he slowly nodded his appreciation. He was about to say something else when he felt compelled to ask. “Is… is everything alright?”
The older man looked around uncomfortably and sighed, “The board doesn’t like the freedom you’ve been given, they didn’t appreciate your ‘stunt’ of logging back in after you were here last… The point is… well… they’re worried… they’re worried about what you could expose.”
Marco gulped and nodded, “half of them want to pull the plug on you. Others want to pull your connections after you get knocked out again, study you… A few want to exploit your existence, tell the world and put GBN in a position to fully open 1.8 for the ‘freak show exhibition’.” The man looked disgusted at the choice of words.
Aker frowned and asked, “And what about you? What do you think?”
Marco allowed a soft smile, “I think you deserve your freedom… I’m just at a loss as to how you could secure that.”
Nodding thoughtfully Aker cleared his throat, “You know.. I often wonder about my existence… about why I do the things I do….” His eyes looked blankly ahead as if lost in contemplation, “I wonder why I feel the things I do… why I like the people I do…” a cold sneer grew on his lips, “And then I wonder why…” his voice trailed away as he shook his head. “Look… I need to find this Spider… at any cost…”
Marco gave a sympathetic smile and nodded, “It’s going to be hard to track down a hacker from this side alone… there’s a few new programs I can offer you which might help. If we work together, I think we can fish him out though.”
Aker nodded eagerly, “let’s get started then!”
--------------
It felt uneasy switching off his digital “mask” of sort. Part of him felt like he would suddenly be put in an awkward situation that could be dangerous. One option after another, Aker maneuvered his floating pane of settings and toggled the last switch. His entire person shimmered as his clothes changed from his Noblesse uniform to a Phantom Pain uniform he had worn awhile ago. It was still stained with blood on the breast and sleeves and looked smothered in soot and ash.
Despite himself Aker held his breath as he stood in front of his test machine. Together they were out in the middle of a field not far from the main lobby. A cool breeze brushed the grass and played with his dark hair as he looked around in alarm. There were no sirens or sounds of incoming mobile suits. Nothing that told him he was in for a world of hurt. Reluctantly he let out a sigh of relief. Once again, he had simply become Hunter. He went back into his options to dawn his black poncho and matching mask. “Alright… lets find us a Spider….”
A few moments later he was flying to the lobby. It had been months since he had pulled off his so called “Second Bloody Valentine Massacre”. Undoubtedly he would have a lot of players still pissed off at him. Perhaps it was his insecurity, but he swore he felt a few players glower at him as he passed by.
The GBN lobby at times could feel misplaced with time, often appearing to be daylight when he was tired and ready for sleep instead. Despite this, there seemed to constantly be darker corners one could find if they were determined. It was largely debated that some of the best hang out spots were in the darker pubs and clubs that GBN offered in the darker recesses.
Never the social type, Gabriel went to a shady club and walked up to a grungy looking bartender. The gruff figure gave him a once over and smirked, “you lost boy?” Shaking his head, the EL diver tilted his head to look around at some of the shadowy corners. “I’m looking for a man named Spider… know where I could find him?”
A few patrons paused their actions to study Gabriel and see just how serious this outsider was. The barkeep huffed, “Heh! You don’t find Spider, he finds you. If you wa-“
Gabriel was already shaking his head and raised a finger to silence the bartender. “You don’t understand…” he tilted his gaze then added, “Everyone is looking for me. I need to see spider now… otherwise I just might have to lockdown this establishment and wipe everything out.” His tone was matter of fact and he gazed at each patron who was looking at him.
Scrunching his face up the bartender replied, “Not possible kid, are you loony?”
Not missing a beat Gabriel cut him off, “Second Bloody Valentine… Surely no one else has stolen my log in lock trick, have they?” He was referring to an attack he had perpetrated; where him and Marco Creed hacked a Gundam Seed event and prevented anyone from logging out while they destroyed nearly all the gunpla there.
For a long while no one moved, no one said anything as they all studied each other. Gabriel’s mask made it hard for anyone to tell who he was even looking at. Finally, a door in the back of the room popped open, creaking loudly and a voice called out. “Get back here fast!”
-----------
“What do you mean you need my protection? What kind of idiot runs one of the most sophisticated hacking attacks in GBN history and not have a fallback plan for when things go bad?”
Shaking his head Gabriel replied, “The kind of idiot who didn’t think it would actually work! Look I didn’t come here to poke fun at myself, can you help me or not?”
The criminal crossed his arms and studied Gabriel for a long while then slowly stated, “what you’re asking for will not come cheap. And I don’t always take cash for my payment… do you understand what I’m suggesting?”
Gabriel nodded eagerly, “Hey you saw what I could do on my own, imagine what we could do together? That aside does that mean you’ll take me in?”
Spider waited a heartbeat before nodding, “Sure, I’ll have you stay at one of my private nests while I figure out a way to mask your log in.” Unceremoniously he brought up his menu and sent Gabriel an invite to transport to a new location. Together they both left the back room of the tavern and emerged moments later in a truly unique location.
Gabriel gawked around; he was begrudgingly impressed. Together the stood on top of an asteroid inside of atmospheric bubble. It was no normal asteroid however, for they were standing on a heavily modified version of A Baoa Qu. The dome they were inside was on top of the Gate of Zedan and prominent inside the dome was a rather large castle, reminding Gabriel of the palace the Zabi family would use on Side 3. Despite whatever criminal background Spider had he did seem to appreciate the finer things GBN had to offer. The next thing he noticed was four towering mobile suits at each corn and or the castle, or were they statues? As the pair got closer to the door, Gabriel could tell they were skinned with a stone texture. Shaking his head, he focused on what he had to do.
“Make yourself at home, have a seat in my lounge and I’ll be back in a few moments.” Spider offered as he gestured to the couch. Gabriel spoke up, “So, did you get all this by selling hacks like the Venom Drive?”
Spider paused at that comment and spun around to glare at Gabriel, “And…. How do you know about those?”
“How could I not? They’re the hot item right now for anyone wanting to get better at the game fast!”
A smile curled on Spider’s lips as if that notion satisfied him. He nodded then walked on towards the back of the room.
“you’re certain no one can trace me here?”
Spider twisted around to walk backwards and raised his hands up to shrug. “Relax, would you? This is my personal nest. I’ve installed some of the best security credits can buy; not to mention some top-notch hacks.” He turned around and waved a hand dismissively. “You’ll be fine just wait!”
Gabriel frowned as he sat on the comfortable couch and waited a moment to be alone before he brought up his menu. The fist thing he did was active the program he had used all those months ago which prevented anyone from logging out of the area. Then he sent a message to his teammates along with a pass to get them into the nest.
I got him where we want him. Show up ready for a fight. Be advised my handle here is Hunter, so watch the friendly fire. Be ready for anything.
Gabriel closed the menu after he sent the message and leaned back on the sofa putting his hands behind his head. He’d strike when the moment was right, but first he wanted to see this scumbag squirm as everything he worked so hard for crumbled.
-
Iron Swords Online
Started by Hunter ·
Gabriel sat in the seat of his new mobile suit. He reflexively tensed his left arm, as if doing so would ward off the unpleasant memories of a similar mobile suit he had used. “Time to see if this will do… Vidar…” he mused. Gabriel perched the dark mobile suit on top of a building overlooking a park inside of a colony. The streets were vacant, he almost swore he spotted a tumbleweed drifting through a road. “These programmers have a sick sense of humor…” he muttered disgustedly.
He didn’t have to wait long, his radar beeped, telling him his opponent had arrived. “Creed told me you were good!” He said more to himself, a thin smile tracing the EL Diver’s lips. “Let’s see if the old man was right?” Vidar pulled out its’ rifle and took aim at the approaching machine, he took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, sending a volley to his opponent.
-
A Tangled Web We Weave
Started by Judge ·
“...and remember everyone, mid-terms may be next week but that’s not excuse not to have your essays in to me on time. You’ll have some time to work on them next class, but I better not catch anyone using that time to slack off. Class dismissed,”
As Raymond Hermes’s students filed out of the room, abuzz with groans and chatter of their upcoming deadlines, the beleaguered English teacher sat himself down at his desk. He was flipping through papers when his phone buzzed and beeped with a notification. Ray looked down at the phone, quirked a brow, and then unlocked it. He scanned the message once, and then scanned it again, his blood running cold on his second read-through.
Son of a…
Ray practically jumped out of his chair, shoving his phone in his pocket and grabbing his belongings before charging out of the classroom.
---
“What the hell is this all about?” Icarus growled as he crossed the casino floor. The Force nest was garishly coloured and loud—a far cry from the Fleurs’ base.
Spider gave Icarus a slimy smile as he approached, spreading his arms wide in mock welcome. “So good of you to make it, Icarus. Pull up a seat, enjoy yourself,”
“Cut the crap, Spider,” Icarus said, eyeing the diver up. He was dressed like a stereotypical mobster, his cheap suit adorned with a spider-web pattern. He wore a black domino mask over his eyes, his long silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. “You and me were done. Fair and square,”
“You were done, or at least, you thought you were,” Spider’s eyes glistened in the bright casino light. “But my bosses and I had other things in mind. See we need you and your friends to do a little job for us. An easy one, a test of sorts. Accept and perform admirably, and we’ll cut you loose for good, no strings attached. Refuse, though, and…well, I think my message earlier painted a pretty enough picture for you,”
Icarus clenched his fist and grit his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to tell Spider off but right now the man across from him was capable of ruining his life and Icarus didn’t doubt that he was willing to do just that.
“Fine…”
“Good,” Spider smiled again. “Next steps then. In the next couple of days, you’re going to receive a package…”
--
And a few days later, Ray did, in fact, receive a package. As he opened it, he took a deep breath and cursed himself, his bad fortune, and most importantly, Spider.
--
The next day, he sent a message to his teammates to meet him at the Force Nest. He was sitting in the common area staring at a picture of the Tallgeese QUEST on a tv screen, growing increasingly more miserable as time ticked on. He had told Aker and Wade that this was an urgent matter, but had told them little more. He just hoped that they understood…
-
Forces to be Reckoned With
Started by FrostyFoster ·
It was an abnormally dark night in the sky as the moonlight barely touched the Lincoln household. One of the rooms caught the slight light peeking through the curtains, pointing down at a broken plastic figure. It was the Local Type, irreparably damaged from its battle with the wall. It completely missed its right arm, along with having no V-Fin, looking rather miserable laying on the desk near a newly opened box.
Wade didn’t know why they’d bought it for him for his birthday. They normally weren’t too fond of him playing GBN all the time and the playing at home would only make that worse, but people’s opinions change all the time. After all, he thought he’d lost interest in the game after the last mission, but addiction can take control of you easily. The brand new headset and hardware for GBN was already set up, the expensive equipment how connected to his computer, just waiting to be used. The teen laid wide awake in bed, staring at nothing on the ceiling. “I just wanna sleep.” He thought, now reminded of how tiring school was this day.
He knew it was another school day tomorrow. He knew he had to get some rest. He knew that he couldn’t spend all of his time playing a virtual game without feeling the consequences to his body and mind. He knew that he didn’t care.
Wade practically jumped out of his bed, his blanket flying forward as it hit the floor. This dumb decision worried Wade, hoping he didn’t wake his parents. “You know what? I’m fifteen. I can play whenever I want!” This act of rebellion was met with the soon to be Diver grabbing his broken Gunpla and placing it on the scanning pad.
The Local type barely stood on the device, one of its leg joints warped. There was another model completely encased in darkness, but even the sleep deprived teen knew he couldn’t use it yet. Wade slid the new visor over his head as the Local Type stared at him through its own visor. The trip into the game was surprisingly quick for a home device, allowing Wade to get right to business.
The Diver hadn’t talked with the others since his abrupt exit. He hadn’t even been to the oil rig, but he still wanted to hide himself. He wore a white Earth Federation normal suit along with the same mask Vidar had used. It wasn’t nice looking, but it kept him conspicuous during this last few forays into GBN. Wade mostly just walked around inside of his current location, one of the space colony biomes, only leaving to do various missions pertaining to the main game world, like fetch quests.
He swore against doing story or any type of missions that would take him to a place where he’d hurt NPDs, knowing he wasn’t ready or that yet. Wade waltzed to a nearby bench as he sat to watch other Divers, a common hobby for him now. He noticed people had gotten quite creative with the anthropomorphic animal divers, seeing what looked to be an octopus man. He was interested in changing the look of his avatar, but part of him wondered if it was for the best to leave Fleurs behind and start anew, not realizing that he’d done the same thing by creating the Diver Force.
His train of thought immediately turned to the hooded Diver now sitting next to him. “Geez. Talk about edgy.” Wade was able to stare through the mask without anyone noticing. He could barely make out a face under the black hood as he slouched forward. The other Diver immediately turned to look directly at the Fleurs leader. “Uh oh.” Strangely, only his mouth could now be seen, with a deep black shadow hiding whatever was above it. Freaked out, the teen stood up and began to walk away, but stopped in his tracks once the other Diver spoke.
“Wade Lincoln.” Hearing that name caused the masked Diver to shudder. “He… knows my last name.” The cloaked figure arose, terrifying Wade as he began to get closer to him. “Wade Lincoln… Fleurs De Noblesse is in shambles…” A pale white hand fell through the robes, reaching up to grab the mask Wade felt was necessary. The Diver pulled back, but lost his footing as his rear hit the ground. He watched as Vidar’s mask dropped next to him, the hand returning to its hiding spot. “Wade Lincoln. Leader of Fleurs De Noblesse. Battle me!”
...
The two Gunpla sped around in space near the colony, a battle which was far from close. The real damage on top of the virtual damage made the Local Type look like a garbled mess as it fired the Wing Zero’s beam rifle. Completely missing the red and black mobile suit, the cloaked figure slashed down through the machine’s remaining arm, giving Wade no way to fight back, due to the bent gatling guns.
“Fucanglong pities you.” Wade’s opponent pressed the tip of the orange blade against the neck of the Local Type, signaling the end of the battle. Wade didn’t move an inch as he saw the defeat screen, still thinking about the mysterious man knowing his identity. The two machines floated, barely moving as the Fucanglong’s pilot began to speak.
“Some leader you are… If you’re no challenge, then I should’ve went for your friend a long time ago.” Wade’s eyes widened, realizing this guy was not just an edgelord. “He’s going after Aker?” From Icarus’ reaction, the Diver knew his winning enemy was too late, but he still didn’t want to reveal that. The pain came out with his voice. “Whoever you are, you won’t be able to hurt him. I got something much better than this!”
The Fucanglong’s pilot smirked, pulling his joysticks away from the Local Type. “Prove it.” The red Gunpla flew away as Wade noticed an invitation. Opening it, the Diver’s mood immediately changed. “This… is our opportunity.” There was still a sense of dread from the Diver. If Aker was truly gone, then it’d likely be much more difficult, but the rewards for Fleurs was extravagant. “Wait! Tomorrow?!”
…
A day had passed with Wade logging into GBN once again. This time, he was decked out with the Fleurs formal gear, hat and cape flowing through the fake wind. He’d arrived early to the main lobby, hoping to contact his teammates in time. “Please be there Aker. I don’t care how, just… please…” He thought as he sent the message of the location and event to the two, emphasizing that they needed to wear their full gear for this event.
It was an annoying wait on the catapult for the Fleurs leader. A Genoace had gotten stuck on the foot clamps, Haro Loader’s rolling around the unit to pry it off. Wade took the time to look through his cockpit, a dead ringer for his Gunpla’s and much better than the Local Type’s. “I can see everything.” He uttered while staring. While he wasn’t too sure who they’d actually be up against, the fact that this mobile suit was so different give him hope he could take out anything in his way. Eventually, the catapult was fixed, Wade calling out his mobile suit’s name.
NU GUNDAM ORIGIN, LAUNCHING!!!
The Gunpla burst through the sky at a breakneck pace, mostly due to its “secret” build far different from previous models Wade used. Nevertheless, he easily saw what he was looking for. A few battleships floated above a massive battling area. About half of it was filled with mostly intact gray buildings, while the other half was forestry, with tree standing tall just waiting to be knocked down by a stray beam.
The Nu Gundam touched down near the audience, surprising housing a few hundred people in the seats. “Wow!” Wade exclaimed in awe. While he’d seen much larger, having that many people, along with whoever was in those ships, amazed the Fleurs leader. The Gunpla took a knee as Wade got out of the machine, noticing a doppelganger of Stalker approaching him. “You must be the leader of Fleurs! I’m Sneaker.” Wade realized this man would be announcing their fight as he shook his hand. “You’re the first one here!” Wade was shocked to hear that, assuming the other teams would be there before him. Nevertheless, he awaited his comrades, if they even showed up.
-
Gods Amongst Men
Started by Hunter ·
Gabriel Winter sat in the lounge of his space base. He reclined into his seat and rubbed his face with his good hand, his lame arm strapped across his chest with a harness. For perhaps the hundredth time he questioned what he was doing, but he decided it was worth his curiosity to try. He brought up his menu and selected the NPD rental section. Gabriel paused as he hovered over the option to rent and decided to go ahead. Within a few moments a red headed girl materialized in his lounge.
Lunamaria smiled and announced cheerily, “Lunamaria Hawke reporting for duty!” She saluted almost exactly like the last time her saw her and he winced as he studied her. “I can’t wait to work with you!” She said as she walked over to the seated Gabriel. Standing up he offered his hand to the NPD, his limb shook from fear, and she responded by taking up the handshake. “Do you… do you recognize me?” He asked through a strained voice. She cocked her head at the question seeming lost in thought, and Gabriel held his breath.
———
Aker stood on the oil platform by the rails overlooking the sea. The wind blew into his fair features the saltiness of the sea. It was both chilling and invigorating. He found that he liked that particular perch, with the wind rushing at him he could loose himself entirely in its intensity. The wind reminded him that there were greater forces at play, always. It humbled him to merely exists against the gusts. His contemplation was interrupted by the chime of a new message. He brought up his menu to investigate.
Even with the wind in his face he found himself squinting at the message from his Zapp friend. “You want me to do what?” He asked more to himself as he thought about how to respond. The mysterious Zapp agent was perhaps the only person who knew exactly who Aker, or rather Gabriel Winter, really was. It was the same person who gifted him with the space nest and a small fortune which Aker had been keeping secret from his friends in Fleurs De Noblesse. This particular message was a plea for what? Humanity? Curiosity? For, as kind as the Zapp figure had been to Aker, the man had been a riddle of emotions that Aker still couldn’t sift through at times.
The request was asking Aker to hack into an active campaign to do some dirty work it seemed. Curious, Aker promptly responded back with a simple, “do I have to do this alone? I have a team I can work with.” As expected there was a delay and finally the response came back. “Look for an active mission offer. Will be similar to your last jobs. The more the merrier.” Aker scoffed at the reply but nodded his approval. He decided he’d float things with his teammates to see what they thought. He contemplated telling them the truth for perhaps the hundredth time but thought against it. As far as he knew they were there just for a game, the flavor of the mission shouldn’t matter as much. He sent a notice to the other members of Fleurs De Noblesse and waited to see when they would show up to his call for an “exciting mission”.
-
Knights of the Zodiac
Started by Judge ·
Ray Hermes couldn’t help but smile to himself as he sat down at the console, the sounds of the game mingling with the voices outside in the rest of the hobby store. It had been about a week since Fleurs de Noblesse had completed their last mission and purchased their force nest. Ray had thought that their new base, combined with his streak of totalling his mobile suit, was justification enough for the purchase of a new project. He had only given the DaeDAL two good runs and had more or less destroyed it both times. The use of the DaeDAL had mostly been his friend Amelia’s idea, he just put it all the pieces together. And while it was a solid machine, he needed something he could put through the ringer, evidently.
He fished out his new model from his bag and placed it on the scanner, his fingers tapping away at the controls excitedly as GBN booted up. In short order, Icarus had loaded in and made his way to the old oil rig where, standing on one of the offshoot platforms, the silver Leo Chevalier caught the rays of the sun and reflected its light off its gold filigree and highlighting. It certainly looked pretty for a grunt, and if he did his job right, it’d be just as sturdy as it was glitzy.
Icarus entered the tower and sat himself down on an uncomfortable looking bench. He pulled up his menu and began scrolling through the mission list as he waited for his teammates to arrive.
-
Redacted Experiment
Started by FrostyFoster ·
Wade had fallen to the ground of his cockpit, still seeing a flurry of white on each of his screens. The Diver had done missions, but nothing like this. The blast of chilly wind engulfed his little SD as more snow began to pile on top of the Gunpla. “I’d rather not get buried…” Wade thought, getting up the grasp the controls. The brown machine pushed itself forward with its hands, struggling to stay balanced while taking a barrage of bad weather. “Aker, Icarus!” He yelled out through his comms, wiping ice off the large eye section of the mobile suit. He'd lost the white ReZEL, but the Diver could very faintly still see Astray. That is until the blizzard quickly gave him no sense of direction, losing the unit in the process.
At this level, he could see hills of snowbanks all around him. “There’s gotta be some sort of base or mobile suit around here.” The Diver stated to the others while pulling his LMG out of the snow. Thankfully, the Diver's communications still worked, no matter what climate it was. “Do either of you have any recon or like, tracking devices or something?” Pulling up his menu, Wade put a generic compass on his left screen, minimizing it. The small model kit started walking in a direction that felt the least troublesome, an incline that led south. “I'm walking south, but who knows if that'll lead me to the mission." The Gunpla started shivering, holding its tiny arms together. "I’m up for any ideas honestly…” Wade wondered if this was a huge mistake after all.
-
Biography
Full name: Gabriel Winter
Aliases: Hunter, Aker (Akerhero13)
Faction: Zapp (indirectly), Fluers de Noblesse
Rank: n/a
Age: 22
Sex: Male
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 150
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Skin: pale
Handiness: Ambidextrous
Personality:
Gabriel can be emotional if not brash. He values his past to the point of obsession, this has led him to do questionable things in GBN. Despite his volatile attitude he is capable of being incredibly loyal and sensitive to the situation. He often makes plans to help himself stay on task and to keep himself level headed, though reality often makes his plans go out the window. He finds it difficult to connect with other players, often taking awhile to fully come out of his shell. As he’s matured he’s become increasingly pragmatic in how he approaches things, but still struggles to come to terms with reality at times.
Strengths and weaknesses
Sentimental - Because Gabe is emotional, he can often make bad tactical decisions. If a particular mobile suit reminds him of something negative in his past, he’ll attack it headlong in rage. (Notable units are the GN-X, and Destiny Gundam)
Berserker- Gabriel is the textbook battle rager. His reactions sharpen significantly when he is fired up.
Resourceful – Gabriel has made a substantial amount of credits within GBN and has access to his own Force Nest. These resources allow him to buy extravagant items or obtain questionable material in the game.
Fear of the death – Gabriel has a fear and aversion to dying in GBN. This at times could be at odds with his teammates and objectives. This fear also translates into doing his best to avoid killing enemy NPDs. He greatly distastes pointless deaths in the game and isn’t afraid to oppose his teammates should they needlessly kill NPDs.
Appearance
He is thinly built, clean cut, and average height. He takes good care of his body, working out regularly. Typically he wears a black poncho and mask, but he will adapt his wardrobe as needed.
History
Gabriel recalls having a healthy childhood with a loving family. He developed a curiosity in martial arts at a young age and is versed in Kung Fu as well as well as Haidong Gundo (Korean Swordsmanship). As he became a teenager his interest grew to include Gundam and he was consumed by all the possibilities it offered. As GBN became a phenomenon, Gabriel rode the waves of its success. He was never known for being an accomplished diver, and his Gunpla was never anything all that special. *
As he continued to enjoy the GBN community he developed a friendship and eventually a romance with another diver. She was initially timid and not confident her abilities, but as their friendship grew he lovingly dubbed her Meer due to her obsession with the Gundam Seed franchise (particularly Lacus). They both ended up joining a Force by the name of Seed Cosplay Coalition, a force focused on cosplay as well as Gunpla. Of course Gabriel was never big into costumes but would play along, often feeling like the third wheel in their group of friends.
His conflicting interests with Meer and SCC eventually began to sour their relationship along with them being coupled through a long distance relationship. Meer broke up with Gabriel, sending the young man into a spiral of despair. He drowned his anguish by applying himself to Gunpla and jumped at the chance to join the GBN Beta when he was giving an invitation. (This directly leads into the events of Gunpla Breaker, Heart Taker).
As he joined the GBN Beta he spent increasingly more and more time logged in, obsessed with becoming a better diver. Through a series of adventures and circumstances he grew in skill considerably to the point of even developing a reputation. He even was able to defeat Hashmal with the help of a diver named Dave and his Astaroth Smackdown (see Order of the Seven Stars). Despite his accomplishments he still couldn’t get the over his ex. His obsession eventually led to him joining forces with a mysterious figure who claimed to be affiliated with the Zapp corporation. This alliance lead to one of the more destructive hacking events the entire community had seen to date. Together Gabriel with the Zapp associate, raided a peaceful Gundam Seed gathering, the event would be infamously referred to as the “Second Bloody Valentine Massacre”.
The outcome of the event led to revelations that caused Gabriel to go into hiding in GBN. With the help of his Zapp associate he has since assumed a second identity known as Akerhero13 or simply Aker. He joined with Wade and Icarus to create a new force by the name Fluer De Noblesse (see Three Musketeers).
*there are additional details not entailed publicly
Possessions: Quantum Computer 8 – briefcase sized super computer that is capable of aiding operations within GBN, typically housed in the cockpit of his unit, and linked to his com channel.
Kills: Hashmal (mobile armor)
Role plays: Gunpla Breaker, Heart Taker ; Order of the Seven Stars; Three Musketeers
Coliseum battles: n/a
-
Three Musketeers
Started by Hunter ·
Gabriel was nervous, he wasn’t exactly wanting to return to the civilized part of GBN much less the public lobby. But his Zapp contact had insisted the boy return to the public areas to test out the digital identity mask they had created. It wasn’t a mask in the sense of the black mask he was wearing now, but rather a mask that hid his normal user ID which was under some heat by the administration at that moment. To anyone who looked up his digital ID he would (in theory) appear as “AkerHero13”. He scrunched his face as he looked at the name in his heads up display“is that supposed to be some sort of play on Graham Aker and Akihrio?” he mused aloud as he stood in the middle of the GBN lobby. That Zapp bastard had a sick sense of humor.
He looked at his display and soon found himself browsing the missions available. He couldn’t help himself. Of course the missions had a whole new meaning to him now but he just felt compelled to look. One mission caught his eye and he clicked to read the description “three musketeers…” he mumbled under his breath. His attention was cut short as a new Diver logged in right next to him. It occurred to him that he was still in the loading area and he moved out of the way reflexively. “Whoa sorry!” He said as the newcomer logged on. Because of his proximity his heads up display automatically scanned the Diver and he could see that they were a newbie.
The man standing next to him was pale skinned with blonde hair put into a ponytail, they seemed to be wearing a Seed Earth Alliance special forces space suit of some type, a fact that made Gabe cringe for a second for fear of being recognized himself. The outfit clashed with the black poncho and mask that he wore himself. Gabriel awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly, “hey there! Welcome to GBN! First time playing?” He asked cautiously. It just occurred to him that his new identity would likely display him as a new player as well.
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Affiliates
