GBN 1.8 Gunpla Battle Nexus 1.8: Community Update

[FrostyFoster 453]

It didn't occur to Kyle how many mobile armors would still be around, left alone how many would head towards him. Thankfully, he was able to take out the aggressor against Aida, but their large opponent had other plans, sending over a dozen units to the Trinames. "Let's hope Aida can handle the big one until I can get rid of these guys!" The Diver told his robot companion. He glanced at the torpedo's remaining energy. "IF I can get rid of these guys!"

There was no way he could head up back to the surface without taking a beating from the two Wing units, but he had to think quick. Sending the Trinames deeper into the sea, the resin weapon folded out its bipod, resting on the uneven ground. The pressure around the mobile suit did worry the Diver though, not due to him drowning, but he'd rather not finish this battle with a machine imploded just like his opponents were.

"Every shot has to count!" He counted a total of thirteen enemy Cancers and Pisces scattered around, with each making a beeline to the red and white Gunpla. Charo fortunately kept his mouth, or rather his voice box, shut as Kyle squeezed the trigger. A torpedo slammed into a Pisces' head, sending the entire unit into a blur of nothingness. "Two. Three." The next two, Cancers, attempted to dodge, but the Diver anticipated this, both getting hit in the middle of their bodies. 

Kyle was still in the safe zone, but definitely wasn't out of this onslaught just yet. Charo watched as the Diver's finger jolted, then rested with each shot. "Seven." BOOM "Eight." BOOM "Nine." Click. The trigger made a clicking sound, signaling what Kyle feared. The Torpedo was out of energy, now requiring the full power source from the GN Drive. "DAMMIT! I can't let it use that. No way I could even move!" Six remaining machines, with one Pisces only missing an arm, had reached their destination. A horrifying amount of their own torpedos launched at the Trinames, causing Kyle to jettison the rifle.

No heavy from having no connection, the Gunpla heaved as it threw the resin weapon at one of the Cancers, sending it down to his level. Nevertheless, he launched his leg missiles in an attempt to block the attacks, but damage all around the mobile suit was still being done. Without shields, the Trinames didn't have much time left. Bending upwards, the machine headed straight for the surface, knowing they'd follow. "This just went from bad, to worse..." 

[MM007 81]

The Tallgeese moved far more quickly than it had any right to once more, this time its beam saber sliding down his own parry and into Beta Gundam's firing Hip Beam Gun.  The weapon that had been aimed upward fired, sputtered, and exploded; making the Beta Gundam lurch toward the ground.  The weapon was a loss, though the hip skirt armor still protected the hip joint at the very least.

"Tch, what'd they do, put Magnetic Coating on that thing?"  Hikaru asked himself as he allowed the force of the hip beam gun blast to force the Beta Gundam closer to the ground.  It had been hard to miss the Nouventa Cannon adjusting its aim and heading for the dirt was the best defense...aside from raising his shield and continuing to move.  The blast was still felt though.  The force of the explosion above the Beta Gundam forced it to move toward the ground faster, light obscuring it from sight for a time.  Still, the machine was able to pull up and move close to the ground rather than strike it outright.

The machine was forced to keep moving, Hikaru eyeing the sensors and trying to either meet up with his allies or identify the Tallgeese' position before he could be ambushed.  The gap between a pure UC 0080s machine and a unit like the Tallgeese was just silly, but it was something they'd just have to deal with.

Edited December 23, 2020 by MM007

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

"Come on youre killing me here-" Carter shut up as a gun was pointed directly at him, he was absolutely ready to go for broke and attack but.. something- or someone had come up, he looked past his assailant to see two others there, Fa and.. Someone else, he didnt recognize them, but given their appearance, he knew that it was one of his fellow divers, He bit his lip, first he had to worry about the apparent ally Scirocco had captured, and now someone elses life was on the line, he tried to think quick, his heard pounded against his chest, he internally vowed that this would be the last time he would disembark from his mobile suit. 

Then.. BANG, it was like everything was in slow motion as the attacker pulled the trigger on his gun, he had to do SOMETHING "Jump on his hand Elemechu!" He shouted the command to his green companion, it jumped out from behind the attacker, but that might not be enough, upon realizing it, Carter tried to push away the gun that was pointed at him, but he was too panicked, hesitating for the smallest moment, the blue haired diver would be far too slow!

.. here's hoping the other person had an idea in their head

[Judge 221]

Apollo watched with annoyance as one of Une’s lackeys took a fatal blow for her. He jerked his controls to press the advantage on the Lady’s mobile suit, but was pushed back and suppressed by a hail of bullets from the remaining Leo units. In the end, the Shooting Star Diver was forced to bring up both his beam shield and his re-activated wings of light in order to stave off the attack.

“God damnit,” Apollo spat as he tried to think of a plan of action. Obviously he was about to trash these Leos but by the time he had dealt with them, Une would be long gone.

What, you give up that easily?

Apollo shook his head. “Not today, you hag,” With a great heave of his mobile suit, Apollo put as much juice into the wings of light as he could and swept them outwards towards the sieging OZ suits keeping him pinned down. They were obliterated almost instantly, with only a scant few managing to survive, albeit incapacitated. Alarms blared in the cockpit, warning him of dangerous energy output, but Apollo simply ignored them and wrapped his white-knuckled hands around the controls.

“Let’s go all out, big guy,” he whispered to his Gundam, a smile creeping up his face. “No mercy. The big wigs want a show and the people will love you,”

The wings of light pulled back, curled, and with a might flap the Oriole was pushed forward at breakneck speed towards Une’s retreating Leo.

“Lady Une! Your evil cannot go unpunished! I, the light of justice, shall delight in dismantling the dark hold you have over these lands,”

Piece by bloody little piece…

He came up behind her quickly and began his assault by throwing one of his GN swords, spear-like, towards the back of the mobile suit. He didn’t care if it hit or not—that wasn’t fully his intent. The Oriole reached out its now free hand for the Leo’s flight unit, hoping to snap hold and grapple the grunt suit.  

[Shin Hakuren]

Shin kept flying at high speed ripping through the mobile dolls. The speed and force was incredible, and the unit's performance surpassed even Shin's expectations. While he understood the unit could only handle this for so long as his time was already ticking down. He wasn't done playing with the dolls. 

With each strike he taunted the next. His unit making a beastly like howl as the thrusters blasted past each enemy. The explosions only adding to the force of his strikes. This, a unit like this is one of the few reasons Shin is known as the beast of GBN. 

Shin laughed as cut through his last doll as the cannon fire continued to approach. 

"Is that all you have! Come on dance for me! At least show me a challenge. Because if you don't. I'll kill you and your damned leader!" His tone was aggressive but not like normal, he wanted to drive them to make a mistake, to act on emotion. He wanted them to be just like him. If even for a moment, with that they wouldn't stand a chance. 

Allowing them to pull back as he saw the cannon fire getting close. Now Shin was just going to show off. They wouldn't escape and he would make that Tallgeese realize he went after the wrong target. As the cannon's beams split apart and trailed toward the AXCEL the unit danced around them making a beautiful light show in the sky as cannon's beams and his thrusters intertwined. Even with his speed and control Shin wasn't able to come out completely unscathed while his unit hadn't taken any real damage, one of the beam sabers had crossed stream with the cannon's beam and blown up. Being a single saber down was no big deal for Shin though, it's not like he was defenceless and when all was said and done Shin had reached an altitude higher than that of the dolls and was now able to make his counter attack.

With the Remaining 2:15 seconds he had, Shin would eradicate those mobile suits, and show this group just who they were messing with. As another blast from his thrusters fired his unit took off Rushing forward them,quickly gaining ground. 

 

[Aida]

Now, his enemy was preparing to fire another burst of energy. Aida knew that he had to destroy the cannon with his next movement, because he wouldn't be able to dodge the blast if it managed to fire this time. I can do this! Rather, I must! Cranking up the heat claws and flaring up all the thrusters, Aquatel went for an attack on the Sub Walo's, fully aware that it was a do-or-die moment. "For the love of God, HIT!"

-

Carter and his companion Elemechu were quick to spring into action to defend Fa, unlike Risu who had apparently frozen in place, probably due to the shock of the moment. While the Elemechu made Scirocco stumble, it wouldn’t take him long to recover by pushing himself away from the wall, kicking the Elemechu down the corridor and shooting Carter twice in the stomach, before making his exit down one of the doors in the corridor. He quickly closed it manually, and fired at the lock from his side, keeping the mechanism shut. “Paptimus” was angry as he took off the purple wig, but even if his intellect couldn’t hold a candle to that of his namesake, he saw that it was too risky facing who he thought were three Divers. I’ve been careless. They’ve got nothing to lose, but I do. I should know better than to do these things.

Outside, the rain had stopped, the clouds giving way to the bright afternoon sun. While the unknown figure made his escape, away from the sights of Carter, Fa and Risu, alarms started blaring. The PA System dutifully broadcasted the base commander’s voice to everyone inside the island. “This is Base Commander Dangar! All forces, Kronos is being launched! Switch to the offensive as soon as it deploys! It’s payback time!” For all players, the ‘Objectives’ screen briefly glitched out. ‘Recapture Risu’, ‘Destroy Mogadishu Base’ and ‘Retrieve Red Hard Drive’, along with the three secondary objectives, were soon replaced by an ominous message, as an insurmountable foe rose from the waters.

Mission Update: RUN AWAY

Aida and Otto both opened their eyes right after the former’s suicidal attack on the latter’s Mobile Armor. To their surprise, neither were dead. The mega particle cannon had failed to fire and the heat claws were now stuck inside it. They shared a moment of silence, which did not last long. Aida soon realized it wasn't in his best interest to kill Otto anymore, as Isla shared her view of the battlefield with him. From Mogadishu Base, a black Argama-Class ship could be seen surfacing from the sea, deploying Taurus Mobile Dolls in frightening numbers. Further Taurus MDs arrived from outside the battle space, previously hidden in Mogadishu, waiting for this moment. From the bridge of the unknown Argama, Chief Engineer Tubarov laughed uproariously. “Hahahaha! If those fools would know just how screwed they are!”. A blonde man in an expensive pastel blue suit smiled in response. “I take it your engineers have finished the firmware on time.” Tubarov was delighted with his guest’s interest on the Mobile Doll Project, and didn’t hesitate to keep running his mouth. “Indeed! The very first one not to start with a zero! Now, not only will the Taurus run perfectly, those Leos, Aries and Cancers will start performing like they were supposed to! The Gundams don’t stand a chance!”

Treize was having none of it. He was sitting on the captain’s chair, but he was not in charge. The Colonel despised those soulless weapons of Tubarov’s, however, it was at Duke Dermail’s insistence that this show was being put on, to appease the man in the light blue suit. In that moment, he thought of the few people who understood him, Une in particular. Lady… this is no place for people like us to die. Please, come back.

The wave of new models proved to be merciless, putting their Beam Rifles to good use in order to cover the retreating forces, while establishing a front line of their own. First and foremost, a dozen of them flew to Une's rescue, shooting down Oriole's GN Sword and keeping Apollo away from the Leo's Flight Pack. Soon, she was the first to land alive and well in Kronos' hangar. Next was Noin: with another squadron of Taurus MS focusing their fire on the fiery AGE Axcel, Lucrezia found the perfect moment to pull back, reuniting with her superior. Finally, a volley was directed at Beta Gundam by yet another dozen MDs, offering Zechs a chance to follow her.

"They played us like a damn fiddle!" Aida, enraged, lifted Aquatel’s other hand. In response, Otto tried to grab the Gunpla with one of the giant pincers. However, rather than try to kill Otto, Aida severed Aquatel’s lodged hand to free himself, and used the thrusters to evade the Cancers and Pisces until he could surface. Now hovering over the water, he could see the hordes of black Mobile Suits flying above them. “How the hell are we going to outrun these? We’re-!” However, his prayers were immediately answered when a gray Garuda, the namesake of the class, arrived with its back hatch open. A white, red and orange Gundam, which stood inside with two gatling guns on each hand, contacted Aida’s team. “Challengers of Diamond. This is T.B. We have a mutual friend. Can you reach this flight?”

Tubarov, never the wiser, bossed the engineers in charge of feeding the Mobile Dolls orders. “Don’t you see the big gray plane over us? Let’s make an example out of them, shall we?” However, moments later, a shockwave was felt by everyone in the bridge. By the time they could realize what was going on, the Nouventa Cannon was engulfed in a devastating explosion, struck by a powerful weapon. The chief engineer could feel his chin touching the floor, only managing to muster a “Sweet Lord...” Soon, another transmission would be intercepted, this time from a certain legged ship, which was now retracting its sole functioning Lohengrin cannon. “Alpha Team! I hope you got what you wanted, because we’re only going to do one pass!” Cagalli’s voice could be heard by the members of Alpha. “I suggest you hurry the hell up and get in while you can! We’ll cover you!” Furious, Tubarov regained his composure, and started yelling at the engineers. “Fire! Fire! Take those down too! No mercy for the enemies of the Foundation!”

Ever obedient, the Mobile Dolls flew towards both ships, firing their Beam Rifles at them. While Archangel put its myriad anti-air weapons to good use, along with a green Dom and a red Hi-Zack standing on one of the ship’s legs, the Garuda would resort to the covering fire of Trowa Barton’s Heavyarms Gundam, and four valiant Maganacs equipped with similar weaponry. The radars of both teams were updated to show yellow lines that they could cross to board their ships safely and escape the wrath of OZ. “That’s what i’m talking about! Challengers, we’re getting the hell outta dodge! All we gotta do is board that Garuda!” Now experiencing an optimistic second wind, Aida made Aquatel hover towards the little islands near their getaway flight. “Let’s all go home alive!”

Edited January 16, 2021 by Replicator
Oh yeah and it stopped raining. Have fun!

[Roromi 417]

Creed growled out as one of his golden blades cut deep into a Murasai. He was working his controls hard to keep up with the relentless assault on him and Kamille. To the boy’s credit; the Newtype was keeping up with Creed’s pace, and the two manger to work out a system of defense and attack. 

Still the odds weren’t looking favorable as the clunky MKII Strike worked the alien sword mace in wide swipes. Melee didn’t appear to be Kamille’s strongest skill and Creed could tell. One particular swipe with the heavy weapon left Kamille open for counter attack from a different opponent and the boy yelled out as smoke billowed from the shot placed on the top portion of the Strike’s chest. Creed responded by recklessly throwing one of his swords at the perpetrator like a throwing knife. The attack solidly connected sending the Murasai sprawling on its’ back with fire and smoke bleeding from the impalement. 

“Kid! Kamille! Are you alright?” Creed yelled out as he reached out to the damaged MKII. It took a moment but Kamille finally responded, “y-yes… I think so… but this mobile suit isn’t going to take much more abuse.” 

Even as Kamille suggested that notion Creed was already looking over the Frankenstein suit and concluding the same thing. Marco was about to say something when it dawned on him that the attacks had stopped. He looked around I bewilderment and realized that all the Titans had retreated. A black cloud could be seen on the horizon, even as the rain stopped, the  cloud was in fact a menacing force of Taurus mobile suits “More dolls…” he mused. 

Suddenly his mission screen updated with a simple objective of “retreat”. Clearing his throat Marco hoarsely asked, “You haven’t heard anything from Fa have you?” He was worried about her too of course, but knew she meant much more to the kid than himself. Kamille grunted as if in pain, “no… I haven’t…we can’t leave yet…” 

Marco was already shaking his head as he watched the MKII try to sit up and fail. “You’re at your limit kid… we…” the words faded as he couldn’t bring himself to order their retreat. There was a quality that both Kamille and Fa possessed that was too raw, too organic to be a coincidence. Opening his team channel Marco called out, “Alpha team we need to pull out this is too much activity to counter!” He bit his lip as the words left his mouth and scowled as he turned his PA back on for Kamille, “Kid pop your hatch… please… trust me…”

A plan was hastily forming in the veteran’s mind as he considered the implications of what he was about to do. “Damned be the sponsors…” he hissed under his breath as he reached down to scoop up Kamille. Some things were more important than money.

Ever a stubborn one, Kamille was about to object but the tone in which the man asked was solemn enough for Kamille to oblige. A few moments later the teen was inside the cockpit of Bael. At first it was awkward because Marco stood up to offer the seat. “What’s this about?” Kamille wearily asked. “You have a reason to fight more than me. You want to be validated as a man? Then do what you know you have to… protect Fa.” Creed motioned once more to the seat, “time is of the essence. You’re a better pilot then I’ll ever be.”

The words startled Kamille but he couldn’t argue about the circumstances. He quickly took the seat with Creedstanding as much to the side as he could. “Grab the sword I threw at the Murasai, you’ll need it.” As Kamille obeyed, Marco cleared his throat. “Listen well to me.” He warned, Kamille couldn’t help but gulp. Marco slowly added, “neither of us can tap the full potential Bael has to offer. There is no upper limit that you can bring out from this machine.” The man squeezed the kid’s shoulder, “prove me wrong.” He whispered as he let go, and braced against the cockpit. 

Bael picked up the golden sword from the fallen enemy and tested both weapons in its’ grips before raising its wings. The thrusters shimmered to life and Bael soon gained speed to head headlong into the enemy forces. The beam weapons from the mobile dolls did little to white mobile suit as it shrugged off hit after hit from the enemies. Kamille roared as he gained more and more confidence from the bizarre mobile suit. 

His confidence was rewarded as he rushed up to a flying Taurus and cleanly sliced the mobile doll in half. “Fa!” He roared out as he came on into the enemy line. Still Bael zipped past enemy after enemy, all which seemed more confused by the suicidal appearing charge, but none of the weapons they possessed seemed capable of harming the white and blue Gundam. “I’m coming Fa! Just hang on!”

——

Zechs couldn’t help but marvel at the maneuverability that the Axcel was demonstrating overhead. It was clear how foolish their encounter was with this small enemy force, “Gundams are not to be underestimated it would seem…” 

He wasn’t sure entirely how to feel as the Kronos came onto the battlefield, with scores of Taurus mobile dolls spilling out to attack his enemies. There was a ferocity the enemy possessed which was both appalling and commendable at the same time. If the friendly forces shot down were human pilots Zechs would have felt more of the former emotion. 

An alarm buzzed queuing Zechs to the presence of the Beta Gundam. He didn’t like being bested like this, not so flippantly, like he wasn’t even on the same level as his opponents. He squinted as the incoming dolls directed their fury at his two opponents. “There is no honor in this…” he stated flatly and detached his dober cannon. He reached into his shield for his remaining beam saber and ignited the blade standing ready. “I will not attack a retreating enemy but if your hostility persists I will stand my ground.” 

Zechs kept himself poised over his controls and studied the two opponents as best he could, to see if any would test him. The fact remained that there were people in the base, on that ship behind him; and he wouldn’t let these two monsters endanger them if he could help it. 

[FrostyFoster 453]

The Trinames broke through the water barrier, its pilot fearful of what was to come. "This is it, Charo!" Kyle yelled out. "I'll be seeing the great beyond soon!" While Charo's face could emote, the look it gave the Diver wasn't good. "Stupid! Stupid!" The machine motioned toward one of his screens flashing RUN AWAY. "What?! Well, that's a good thing for me, I guess..." Using what little energy the Gunpla had left, Kyle made his way toward what seemed to be a checkpoint for their team to retreat.

The Diver wondered if Carter had completed their mission, not that it really matter once OZ's cavalry arrived. "I can't believe it." Kyle muttered while Charo took over piloting. "Was this a win or a loss? I didn't even get to fight the sub either..." Their Garuda seemed to be defending itself well with the Wing units covering Challengers, but he still wondered how this battle could have played out differently. Whatever the case, Kyle shrugged as he put his feet up on the dash, crossing the yellow line. His time here was over. 

[MM007 81]

(OOC: Collab with Roromi)

Hikaru grimmaced while the Beta Gundam's Composite Shield lost its first layer to some of the Beam Rifle volley of his enemies,  The light of its integrated Beam Shield, though primitive due to the contemporary 0080s technology used in its construction, managed to hold.  The unit was pockmarked and stressed, however.  Beta Gundam had seen better days.

Hearing Zechs' comment, the boy considered Zechs' personality and personal honor.  He was even willing to attack his own allies to ensure that the rules of war were maintained at this stage of development.  After a moment, he established a laser link to the Tallgeese.  The voice Zechs heard was young...a bit too young.  "If you're as honorable as you appear given your offer...then I might just be able to entrust my primary purpose here to you.  There have been children dragged into this mess.  One Heliopolis citizen the Titans conscripted into fighting for them to protect his civilian friends before he was injured, one girl who fell from the sky and was captured by the Titans, and one survivor who went in to save them.  None are truly soldiers and all are children.  Help rescue them or look the other way as they withdraw if able, and our primary reason for fighting you at this moment will cease to exist.  Though there was a secondary objective, it's essentially unattainable by this point.  Just know that the purple-haired Titan has his own aspirations and isn't to be trusted by anyone.  He is also very capable of manipulating women to his cause."

While informing Zechs was a risk, it was a calculated one.  He wanted honor?  He wanted to protect?  He could accomplish all of that simply by allowing three children to leave the area.  The mention of the secondary objective was necessary because Zechs would likely fail to believe that all this was exclusively to save children.  Beta Gundam stayed ready to respond to attack, and even staying in this position might keep the Tallgeese from chasing after the Bael...

 

Zechs squinted as he studied the Beta Gundam and the pilot hailing him. The story sounded like something a desperate person would spin, yet it still nagged for a reason. If what the enemy was saying was true then it was very alarming. “I have no reason to agree or disagree with what you are saying right now. The fact remains that this is where the line is drawn. I cannot endanger the lives of my men on the words of an enemy. I can assure you that Oz has no interest in dragging children into this war. If this is something the Titans have done you can rest assured that I will get to the bottom of this acquisition. You have my word as an Oz soldier.”
For effect, Zechs angled the tip of his blade to aim at the Beta Gundam and its’ pilot. Indeed this was an interesting development.

 

Hikaru found that comment good.  Zechs may have had his issues at times, but he was a man of his word.  While the pilot kept his shield up, he actually did not move his weapon toward Zechs in a threatening way.  If anything, he was more wary of the Mobile Dolls.  "What I've heard of you makes me believe you, Colonel.  I'll support my allies against Mobile Dolls, especially for our retreat, but I don't mind falling back now so long as those three get out of this alright.  I've had enough regrets seeing victims on the battlefield."  The implication was that he couldn't disarm because of the Mobile Dolls, and couldn't guarantee the actions of his comrades, but he was willing to retreat and leave Zechs and his men alone.

Beta Gundam jumped back, moving away from the Tallgeese, before speeding off toward the Archangel in its simple transformed state.  The vessel would need defending, after all.  Leave it to Cagalli to come in as the cavalry.  Hopefully revealing that the Titans had abducted an Orb citizen and held them in the base would help ease political consequences for her later...

 

Zechs breathed a small sigh of relief as one enemy retreated. He looked up at the Axcel and waited patiently to see what the remaining bogey would decide to do. “There will be hell to pay when this battle ends…“ the noble soldier mused to himself.

 

Hikaru, meanwhile, sent a laser link to the Axcel.  "Shin, we don't have many options here.  Luckily, the Tallgeese' pilot has strict rules regarding warfare.  They've promised consequences if the Titans have really dragged civilian children like Kira into the situation.  That's...the best I can do right now if Fa can't get out in time.  I don't think the Beta Gundam can hold on against the inbound Mobile Dolls."

Edited January 25, 2021 by MM007

[ImAnnoyingHer 111]

Carter really thought he had something, in fact.. he was feeling rather smug till he heard a loud bang, and saw the muzzle of the gun light up, he went wide-eyed.. and felt his stomach become warm, he placed his hand on it and looked.. seeing the crimson coat it "... Shit" He said, just barely.. falling to one knee and trying to stem the bleeding, his heart pounded- though he tried his best to calm himself down, he could barely do that given what had just happened to him "Bit off more than I could chew.." he said, he saw the new objective come out- which.. only gave him more anxiety to be honest, now he had to get out of here.. after being shot in the stomach twice. 

"Aha.. You got it boss!" He said, wincing and trying to hide how badly hurt he was "Isla, you go ahead! I'm a little stuck.. and there's no need for both of us to be captured" He tried to sound all.. cool and collected, but the panic escaped his voice "I'll get outta here in a jiffy, Faster than a comet!" He said, before eventually laying back against the wall as his eyes darted around, he turned off comms and then looked at his two fellow prisoners "Man.. do i hope you two have an idea.." he said with a low chuckle, his uniform was getting more and more red by the second

[Rabbidy 65]

The ear-splitting crack of gunfire snapped Risu back into virtual reality, breaking her momentary stupor. Even though none of this was real, the stress of being down the barrel of a gun was too much to handle. As Carter dropped to the floor, the beginner Diver felt her knees buckle, and clutching Fa’s wrist, she dropped to the ground herself. This was all her fault. She was the one that made the mistake of being captured, of leaving Higanbana behind.

The realization set in that everything that went wrong was her doing was punctuated by the blare of klaxons, and the crackling voice of a man with a grudge. Risu tried to think, but the roar of explosions and the telltale screech of beam fire growing ever nearer made it impossibly difficult, not to mention the ache growing in the back of her head.

Dozens of Taurus swarmed the hospital, seemingly preparing to raze the building and leave little for their enemies to recover: a scorched earth retreat by the Titans, as well as their OZ benefactors. Training their weapons on the structure they begun to open fire, pillars of harsh ruby light tore through brick and metal, leaving molten holes in their wake: several shots tore into the west wing of the hospital, and quickly, the hallway that Risu, Carter and Fa found themselves in was now open to the air, giving them a view of the chaos overhead.

Risu’s attention shifted towards the hole in the ceiling as a black mobile doll lowered itself from the air, training its massive rifle towards the three; its single square eye pulsing with murderous intent. It had acquired a target, and as per its programming, it prepared to engage. Her eyes widened, staring down the barrel of yet another gun while it charged with that same deadly energy.

A flash of light filled her vision, and for a moment, Risu thought she’d been engulfed by the Taurus’ beam, but just as quickly as she had been blinded, the hole in the ceiling had been covered in shadow. The familiar, fairy-like outline of a gargantuan machine appeared overhead, seemingly out of nowhere. As her eyes adjusted, the mobile suit’s colours became more apparent: that white-and-red scheme was immediately obvious to her. Higanbana! However, its proportions were different: it was longer, possessing a pair of wing-like prongs protruding from its shoulders. Where once it carried a single weapon, it now carried two identical beam rifles.

Autonomously, the custom Woundwort raised its weapons skyward, which crackled with a harsh purple energy instead of the regular pink. An incredible beam engulfed the Taurus as well as several other above, its size comparable to that of the Argama’s Mega Particle Cannon. Then, with the roar of its thrusters, which by now sounded more like the cry of some monstrous creature, it surged forward, leaving behind a trail of that same sickening purple energy in its wake. The mobile dolls that it touched begun to shut down, and for a moment, they seemed to twitch unnaturally, as if something had broken them on a fundamental level. The amber glow in their monoeyes faded, before assuming that magenta hue.

An angry red window dominated every Diver’s vision:

UNKNOWN BREACH DETECTED

Edited January 29, 2021 by Rabbidy

[Judge 221]

The battlefield had changed in an instant. Doom, heralded by an army clad in black, had come to them. As the leviathan ship rose from the waters, surrounded by its army of Taurus suits. They came on him quicker than Apollo could imagine and with a startling accuracy they shot down his sword and forced him back with a volley of fire.

Apollo was pissed. But he knew better than to blow his top now. If his Zapp overlords could be taken at their words, this was far from over. He’d get his revenge on Une someday, but not today. With a grumble, Apollo brought the Oriole’s beam shield up and took the brunt of the fire from the Tauruses.

“What’s with these guys?” he grunted. “They have some kind of precision and they seem to be moving in perfect…oh god dammit,”

The penny dropped. Mobile Dolls. Apollo sighed—at least he didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing some EL-freak. He surged forward then with wild abandon, slashing through one of the Taurus suits before being beaten back by the other eleven who seemed to know just how to catch him off guard.

Apollo tried to ignore all the radio chatter that he was picking up from the other divers, his teammates who hadn’t been informed he was joining their team, but it was incessant. Then, another voice appeared on the comms.

An escape ship? He looked up at the Garuda sailing overhead, as another hail of laser fire rained down around him. It didn’t take much thinking to find the correct course of action. He was heavily outgunned and these other divers were so spread out that he would be an idiot to try and rely on them for help in fighting back.

Just because they’re useless right now, doesn’t mean they’ll be useless later. Plus the bosses would be pissed if I let the Oriole get totalled on my first run.

“Fine,” he said aloud, setting his focus on the Garuda. “I guess we’re making a tactical retreat, big guy. Later, losers!”

Apollo maxed out his thrust and soared on violet wings towards the Garuda, folding them in as he boarded, crossing the yellow finish line to a losers’ victory.

 

[Shin Hakuren]

(Collab with Roromi) 

Everything began to happen so quickly a new machine retreat orders... the fact they hadnt recovered Risu yet. Shin was getting more and more angry. He did what they wanted, he played his part but now it was time to get Risu back and forget his teams plan.  A transmission came in from the Beta Gundam as it retreated. 

 

"Shin, we don't have many options here.  Luckily, the Tallgeese' pilot has strict rules regarding warfare.  They've promised consequences if the Titans have really dragged civilian children like Kira into the situation.  That's...the best I can do right now if Fa can't get out in time.  I don't think the Beta Gundam can hold on against the inbound Mobile Dolls." 

 

Shin had the Axcel look at Zechs Machine off in the distance. He knew if he moved these two machines would clash. He opened a com channel and began to speak to the Pilot of the Tallgeese.

"I dont like saying this so ill only say it once. I cant retreat yet not till i have the young one known as Risu. I dont suppose you would let me though without a fight because right now, I dont have time for games. So please let me save my teammate…"

 

Zechs furrowed his brow, “I’ll tell you the same thing I told your comrade . No one will go past this point.” The Tallgeese raised its sword to aim it at the Axcel. “I gave my word as a soldier, if that isn’t enough for you then you have no place on the battlefield.” The tallgeese raised its’ back thrusters to prepare for a counter attack but stayed firmly in place.

 

Shin looked at the Tallgeese and maneuvered the Axcel to look at the unit. seeing it was ready to fight Shin gave small smile 

"I figured that would be your answer, however the word of an enemy doesn't mean anything to me, and as a soldier you should understand no man left behind. Since we have come to this impasse I guess there isn't a choice but to fight. Ready yourself Zechs because me and the Axcel won't accept defeat." 

 

Shins thrusters roared as he made a mad dash toward the Tallgeese, his beam saber ready to strike.

 

“I will protect his excellency!” Zechs roared as the Gundam came in for a strike. Though he mentioned Trieze his thoughts were really on noin and what this monster could do to her if he got past him. Thrusters flared to life and Tallgeese brought its’ shield up to deflect the incoming blow, he kept his own sword tucked in close and poised. He hoped to knock aside the incoming attack and reciprocate with a stab of his own.

 

As the AXCEL got close almost in Range the thrusters turned and burned hotter then before and in a Flash the unit vanished into thin air. With speed the unit appear next to the Tallgeese. Attacking the side where the shield would be useless. The Saber came down slashing Shin was hoping to quick work of the high speed thruster on its back but knew that this fight wouldnt be that easy.

 

Zechs’ eyes went wide as the Axcel disappeared. It was fortunate luck and good reflexes that saved the lightning count from immediate defeat as he brought his saber up to block the incoming slash from the Gundam. Had Zechs actually lunged he wouldn’t have been able to offer the defense. “I see you have some tricks up your sleeve.” Zechs mused as he locked the blade with the enemy. “Such cheap tricks demonstrate your lack of decorum. That is precisely why I can’t allow you to proceed.” He pushed the Axcel away. He didn’t follow up with a counter, clearly he was at a disadvantage when he didn’t fully understand all of the abilities his strange enemy possessed. “This could be my last battlefield Noin…” he muttered under his breath.

 

Shin watched as the unit countered his move and pushed the AXCEL away. He didn't even give chase yet as he spoke. 

 

"Decorum? On a battlefield?! You are either overconfident in your skills or daft. On the battlefield it win or die." 

 

The AXCEL readied to strike again as it engines roared like a raging beast. It flew toward the Tallgeese with its full speed and power to crush it

 

Zechs tried to counter by bringing his shield down to intercept the speedy Axcel. He managed to block the saber but wasn’t able to repel the momentum of the Gundam crashing into him. His teeth rattled from the impact. “Without decorum this place ceases to be a battlefield and soldiers are resorted to little more than beasts!” 

Both suits hit the ground at an angle, with Tallgeese taking the brunt of the punishment. With the Axcel so close he had to react. Tallgeese brought its beam saber up and over and threaten to stab down at the entwined mobile suits. Zechs wasn’t sure how much more fight Tallgeese had left but he was determined to make the most of his circumstances. 

“I’ve seen how you fight!” Zechs warned through gritted teeth. “You don’t deserve to have any power when you act so lowly.”

 

The Axcel took the hit as the beam cut into the arm of the unit. it was as if the unit smiled the thrusters started to burn again grinding the Tallgeese into the ground Shin spoke and smile crossed his face as well. 

"You might just be right..... but up until i can no longer fight, ill use this power how i see fit, and right now its to show you! WHY THEY CALL ME THE RAGING BEAST OF GBN!" The unit kept flying holding down the unit into the ground its now free arm grabbing the Tallgeeses head and with the now damaged arm and gripping the side of the unit it lifting it off the ground it tossed the Tallgeese through the air the saber still in its arm now cutting through it making the unit have a single arm left. Shin looked at the Tallgeese as it flew and then looked at his timer. 60 seconds remained.... He moved his cannon on his working side into place and fire off a full powered shot toward the Tallgeese. however he wasnt aiming to kill oddly enough Shin actually enjoyed this fight and killing this pilot now would old serve to bore him later. 

 

"Hey Zechs.... If we dont kill each other here, promise me we will have a real fight later, with a stronger unit on both parts.. however... I have a mission to complete so i cant waste here any longer…"

 

Maybe it was the initial impact or the sudden motion of getting tossed but the mask that concealed Zechs shattered as he was thrown away from the powerful Gundam. Shards of the helmet flew around the cockpit mixed in with drops of blood, his blood. He grimaced as he saw the demon aim a cannon at him. Not yet… he reasoned defiantly as the bolt arced for him. 

Shin’s mercy only fed Zechs’ stubbornness, as the shot did hit Tallgeese, severing the right leg just beneath the knee. The shot was wide because even as he was tossed, Zechs was pushing his thrusters to gain some sense of control. Tallgeese zagged, and arced back in towards the Axcel “don’t ignore me just yet!” 

For Zechs there was no resetting, no rematches, this was everything he knew so he would fight tooth and nail. His pink blade came slashing back in, he aimed for the dangerous arm of the Axcel as he came bounding in close, smoke trailing behind his lopsided approach.

 

Shin watched his units timer slowly ticking down. He scoffed all he wanted to help Risu but lust for battle got him. No matter what he did here he couldn't save her, but this Zechs he put a fire in Shins belly. He talked of decorum but right now all Shin could see was a wounded animal lashing out. It was a look he knew something of and he held on to. 

 

The Tallgeese rushed the unit the AXCEL was starting to move slightly slower as the energy drained. He dodged the slash to his working arm but wasn't able to keep it from cutting into the damaged arms shoulder. The thrusters flickered and Shin spoke again over the comms 

"Do me a favor, keep that pride and spirit, and another thing. Don't Die!" He placed the cannon right into the Tallgeeses thrusters and fired again but not nearly as powerful as before and then with the shockwave pulled his unit back just enough to kick the Tallgeese with its leg. His time kept ticking down and down. The flames of his thrusters dimming. Till they turned off and the AXCEL look dead in the water.  Then the computer spoke giving a warning to Shin

 

"AXCEL Burst OVER"

 

Zechs groaned as the enemy shot out his thrusters and sent him into the ground. Darkness engulfed him as everything shook from the violent series of impacts. His eyes fluttered open after awhile and he looked around in alarm to see that his cockpit hadn’t been destroyed. A gloved hand reached up to soak up some blood streaming from his head. He looked at the retracted hand and grimaced at the crimson he saw. “But why the mercy?” He asked rhetorically, knowing his foe wouldn’t hear him now that the tallgeese was out of commission. Indeed he wasn’t appreciative of being defeated, but it did mean he could very well have the chance for redemption in the future. “Tallgeese…” he murmured reflectively, “I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you… thank you.” He reached blindly for the emergency hatch release. He hoped he could get out to see what was happening at least, to see if maybe Noin would make it out of this mess alive…. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by ShirokuHakudo

[Roromi 417]

When the Higanbana miraculously appeared in the battlefield emotions were mixed. To the Divers there was a sense of awe and shock, if not confusion. To the NPD’s however there seemed to be a wave of physical pain almost. Like something truly abhorrent had appeared in the natural world.

The appearing Higabana practically ripped apart what was left of the room Aida, Carter, Risu, Fa, and Ilsa were in; separating the two teams so that the Alpha and Beta members could run away from each other. Both Ilsa and Fa staggered away barely outrunning the crumbling roof and walls as they retreated to their respective mobile suits.

Both Fa and Ilsa got to their mobile suits then did something that was almost uncharacteristic given the situation, each saying the same thing at the same time but not knowing it, “Everyone, retreat and get out of here. I’ll handle the Higanbana!”

The offending Mobile suit had engulfed Risu who was furiously attempting to jerk the controls, “C’mon!” She pleaded pathetically, “Why won’t you just do what I ask? I just wanted to be cool! Why won’t you obey me!” Her words were answered cryptically by the text “Venom Drive Activated” being displayed across her monitor.  The suit jerked on its own and methodically shot its’ cannons out at the waves of Taurus suits, slicing through their ranks like butter.

Simultaneously the Variable Gundam and a Asshimar both jumped in to attack the mobile suit from both sides at the same time. The Higanbana shrugged off the beam shots and turned to return fire, beams lancing out to pierce the Variable Gundam, Ilsa screaming out in terror as the beam pierced into her mobile suit, sending the Variable down to the ground in a heap of fire and smoke.

Fa didn’t react to the Variable Gundam’s demise, she just kept shooting the monster with her beam rifle, to negligible results. The twisted looking machine regarded Fa and raise a beam cannon to fire at her.

There was a bright flash from the attack, making Fa wince as she realized she couldn’t escape her fate. She cried out in terror, a call that somehow turned into a roar as her vision became obstructed.

“Fa!” Kamille roared out in rage as he brought Bael between the Asshimar and the Higanbana. The Nanolaminate armor absorbed the attack and Kamille watched as he crashed into the Asshimar sending it to the ground.

Confused, the Higanbanana kept firing at Bael’s back as Kamille tried to talk to Fa. “Are you alright? Fa!” The young woman fluttered her eyes open and responded back excitedly, “Kamille!? You came for me?”

“Of course.” Kamille calmly replied. His pleasure was short lived as Bael jerked from more shots.

“Kid move it” Creed barked as he braced himself in the cockpit. Kamille nodded and jerked Bael to the side as the hacked mobile suit tried to attack again. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done!” Kamille roared out in rage as he weaved his borrowed Gundam in closer to the abomination. Shot after shot, the Higanbana kept trying to stop the approaching white demon.

Finally, the shots stopped as a Gold sword lashed out to cut right down one of the barrels. It reflexively brought a hand up to try and block the other sword but Kamille impaled the feeble defense. “I’ll kill you, you monster!” Kamille cried out as he whipped the blades to the side, sending limbs and weapons out wide. He then brought both blades in together, stabbing in straight for the cockpit.

The effect was immediate as the Higanbana jerked then went limp. Hardly satisfied Kamille pulled the swords out and moved with dazzling speed to decapitate and dismember the useless heap. With a final cry of rage, he sliced straight through the wreckage, causing the cheating unit to erupt into flames. “Don’t ever threaten Fa again….” He warned callously to Risu, not knowing or caring if she even got his message.

-----

Trieze stood on the bridge of the Kronos, standing next to Tuberov. “My what a display of resilience…” his excellency remarked, “Who could have known that the Gundams could resist for so long?” Trieze eyed the engineer who only smirked, “It only goes to prove just how strong my mobile dolls are!” the proud aristocrat cried out.

Trieze frowned at the remark, “they are truly heartless machines Tuberov…I pray that the hearts of the soldiers fighting will prove to shine brighter than your soulless dolls. Zechs may have proven just that point.”

“But it was the dolls that repelled such an overwhelming force!”

Trieze scowled at the older man, “That may be, but they did not win the day.” His excellency returned his gaze to the battlefield before them. “Your dolls are just a start, a means to further ourselves as human beings colonel. I hope you’ll have more faith in humanity in the future Tuberov…”

-----

Both sides pulled out of the conflict zone with little fuss after the Higanbana was destroyed. There was a lot of questions about what happened. Perhaps no one better than Marco could properly say what it was that Risu had been doing. Using a new Seal Breaker, Risu had done the lowliest of acts, resorting to cheating. It was an alarming development to see in the Beta no doubt. There were still many things for both teams to accomplish.

-----

Risu cried out in frustration as she was shot down. Just before she could log out on her own though a black screen floated with the simple text “You have been banned. Your Beta permissions have been permanently revoked.” She took off her visor to ask around in bewilderment but before any questions came to mind, she gasped as she saw the melted mass that was once the Higanbana sitting on the scanning station. She could no longer play the game, even if she wanted to.