Work Text:
Amuro Ray’s brain had metaphorically left the building. Sitting alone in the cafeteria, the noise of his surroundings going in one ear and out the other, the boy’s empty gaze hovered in the general direction of his meal, unmoving.
Step… step… step…
“…Kid, I don’t think you’re gonna win a staring contest with your lunch.”
The familiar voice snapped Amuro out of his haze, a bead of sweat sliding down his face, which began to burn from self-consciousness. “Oh- uh-”
“Just messing with you, heheh. Mind if I sit here, Amuro?”
“…Sure, I guess. You’re, uh… ”
The White Base Corps – the name given to the amalgamation of the White Base crew, Photon Labs, Getter Team, and etcetera was so big, Amuro couldn’t learn the names and faces of the many, many people who joined. He vaguely recalled hearing the pilot’s voice over the commlink in battle at one point, but putting a name to it was easier said than done. What was it, what was it… Sifting through his memories, past that catchy song about Char that played on the radio all the time and beneath his ideas for his second Haro design, Amuro dug out what seemed to be the relevant piece of information. “…Ryusei! The pilot of that Gundam lookalike, right?”
The awkward chuckle the man let out was a swift indication to Amuro that wasn’t the case. “I think you got the wrong guy. The name’s Kit. I don’t blame you for getting confused, though – our group’s become so big, there are bound to be one or two guys who sound the same. I won’t voice any complaints about it. So… what’s wrong?”
Amuro sighed, before continuing. “Remember how Gundam Alex got trashed by some Zaku pilot?”
“Yeah, it was all over the internet. I’m glad neither pilot was injured, at least.”
“You’ve probably heard the rumours around the ship – that was actually meant for me. Now that it’s gone kaboom, I don’t know how to keep pulling my weight in the unit I have now. Koji’s received- uh, technically ‘borrowed’ Great Mazinger from that Tetsuya guy, and Ryoma’s got Getter Dragon. I’ve still got my plain old Gundam, and it’s barely scratching the elite enemies we face now.”
“There isn’t another unit you can pilot?”
“No, in terms of machines I can use, the Gundam is the strongest one we have. That’s why I went to Ryoma and asked the Saotome Labs for a favour. The Getter Labs combined their research with the EFF’s, and together they made an alternative Gundam to the Alex. It’s experimental, but if it works right… It’ll be much stronger than what the Alex could have ever achieved.” It was almost as if thunder rumbled in the distance at this statement and the air grew heavy. Yes, even though they were in space. “The transport shuttle carrying it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.”
Kit raised an eyebrow. “So what’s the problem? If it mechs it on time, everything’s peachy for you.”
“…That’s the thing, actually. Our assault on Solomon was delayed after what happened to Musashi, so now it’s also tomorrow. If we want to pick up the new Gundam, we’ll have to take a small separate group to receive it from the transport. And…” Amuro’s face twisted into a grimace of pain. “I don’t know if there’s anyone willing to risk going along with me. All the people I know I can ask for favours plan to be on the front lines, and they’re really important to the operation’s success. But on the other hand, if I went on my own, it would be a huge risk.”
“Ahh, that is an issue. Hmm...” The fellow pilot stroked his jaw in thought, before clicking his fingers. “How about my bro Ranger and I tag along? We were going to be on standby for the Solomon assault anyway, so it isn’t like us leaving will drag down the team.”
“Really? Is that alright? They scouted ahead and plan to go through the least-patrolled route, but it’s still really likely we’re going to have to fight.”
“Sure! We’re not on the level of white meteors- well, I’m not, but we can and will make bad guys see stars!”
“Kit! Ranger! Incoming!!”
True to Amuro’s words, the route they were taking to meet the Saotome Lab’s transport shuttle was very thinly patrolled – the usual formidable foes that the White Base Corps had grown so used to facing were nowhere to be seen. However, also true to Amuro’s words, there were a few foes stationed along this path!
One moment, there was nothing but void of space and twinkling stars, with the blue Earth in the background. The next, eight Zakus were on them! A pit formed in Amuro’s stomach as the cyclopes swerved around him, and towards Kit and Ranger’s units in the backline. Fighting enemy grunts had become the regular song and dance for the Gundam pilot at this point, but what about the brothers…!?
Amuro swung around as fast as possible and fired shots from his beam rifle! He managed to hit two enemy MS, but the remainder all split in separate directions! Damn it…! They were all ganging up on the brothers, swarming around them like angry wasps! From this positioning, if he tried to shoot the Zakus now, he’d just hit his own allies! It was impossible to protect either of them unless he was right next to their units – and given the wave of cyclopes had split the brothers apart, he could only pick one. Who should he prioritise saving…? He couldn’t make a decision like that!
With Amuro paralysed by indecision, one of the Zakus took the opportunity to swoop in for the kill at Kit, brandishing its axe… only for the unexpected to happen. “Buh?” An unintelligent noise left Amuro’s mouth at the sight. It gave even the Zakus pause, the mono-eyes on the visors somehow shrinking as if in response to their pilots’ emotions. Kit’s unit – a mechanical chimera painted in mixes of blue, white, and black which seemed to be a mix between a big cat and a stocky western dragon – didn’t have so much as a scratch on it. The enemy MS… had swung its weapon, hadn’t it…?
The cyclops held still for a moment, blinking (winking?) its mono-eye in confusion, before swinging at Kit again. Once more, the attack didn’t connect. It was as if the axe just phased through Kit’s mech! Slash! Slash! Slash! The Zaku attacked harder and faster, to the same result. Kit (his mech, rather) simply stared into the mono-eye. Its helmet had been designed to replicate a big, goofy grin – no doubt giving off the illusion in this situation that he was smirking.
The pilot within clearly incensed, the Zaku turned to the two robots accompanying it, thrusting out its free arm to point at Kit. At its signal, all three of them charged to attack Kit! They swung their weapons at him wildly, hacking and slashing at him with enough force to tear weaker metals to ribbons! Yet, despite the blazing ferocity of their attacks, they didn’t make contact at all!
Gazing at the action not with his eyes, but with his sixth sense, Amuro could decipher what was going on. Kit’s mech had created a live projection of itself and the surrounding space, which the enemy’s and his cameras recognised as the real deal. And to reinforce this illusion, Kit was only moving the bare minimum amount while dodging, leaving the projection undisturbed and leaving himself imperceptible to the enemies. The amount of dexterity required the maintain cover under such a small field… either Kit’s mech was incredibly fine-tuned, or he was one amazing pilot.
However, this couldn’t go on forever. Fed up with the ineffectiveness of their melee attacks, the Zakus threw their axes aside and drew their guns. Crap! Kit wouldn’t be able to avoid the barrage of bullets!
Kit seemed to notice this too, Amuro able to feel his tension through his sixth sense. Even though the commlink wasn’t currently on, the picture of dawning horror on the pilot’s face formed in Amuro’s mind clear as day. The Zaku’s trigger fingers slowly tightened… only for their arms to be ripped clean off. No sooner had Amuro registered this than the three Zaku’s legs were torn off, and the now-defenceless units were kicked away. The only thing the Gundam pilot’s eyes picked up was a white and red blur zooming past them. The first person who came to mind upon seeing the red was Char Aznable… but the presence he sensed within the cockpit was…!
“Ranger!” Sheathing its beam claws and standing tall with the aura of a proud lion, was Ranger’s mech. It was similar to Kit’s unit in that it was quadrupedal and beastlike, but in contrast to the shorter and bulkier build Kit went for, Ranger’s unit was tall and slender, a cross between a speedy greyhound and a graceful eastern dragon. He must have already dealt with his pursuers.
The commlink opened up, revealing Ranger’s smiling face. “Good work, brother, Amuro! Shall we proceed as planned to meet Michiru?”
“T-thanks. Yeah, let’s go.”
The three pilots proceeded onwards to the rendezvous point. It didn’t take long before they saw the welcome sight of the transport shuttle – no doubt containing Amuro’s new weapon. Anticipation swelling inside him, Amuro boosted towards the shuttle… but then a chill ran down his spine. “EVERYONE, DODGE!”
Kit and Ranger were swift to comply, throwing themselves out of the range of the torrent of laser blasts that seemed to come out of nowhere. “What the actual-!?”
The horizon seemed to ripple, like the mirage of a desert, before an army of beasts manifested before them. Both mechanical dinosaurs, as well as robots built in the shape of various monsters marched towards the trio in formation. At the back – though very visible thanks to their size – were two battleships depressingly familiar to the White Base Corps. One was a fortress carried by four mechanical dinosaurs (the latter were equipped with jetpacks to travel through space), while the other was a massive aircraft fortress with a ghastly face at the front.
“Dr Hell’s Flying Fortress Ghoul…”
“And Emperor Gore’s Invincible Battleship Dai!?”
“What are they doing here!? Koji and Ryoma already beat them!”
“Correct, Amuro Ray…” The two voices – one gravelly and deep, the other smooth and cunning – speaking perfectly in sync were unmistakable. Establishing a commlink with the Ghoul, the eyes of Amuro and company were assaulted the repulsive visage of the monster who Koji faced time and time again.
“Baron Ashura!”
Another commlink was established from the battleship Dai, revealing the moustached face of General Bat. “Thanks to your allies, what you see before you are the last of our forces. However, this is far from the end. If we have what’s on that shuttle… You shall soon witness the Dinosaur Empire’s glorious-”
“Ahem.”
“I mean, the Dinosaur Empire’s and Underground Empire’s comeback!”
With that announcement, hell rained upon the trio of pilots. Like predators that finally cornered their prey, the army of mechanical monsters charged at them! Fangs and claws outstretched, laser-shooting maws and cannons at the ready to utterly vaporise them!
On the pilots’ end, they were more than prepared to give the enemy hell. Knowing all the enemy grunts weren’t people, or even alive, they could fight without pulling any punches. They had to, if they wanted to defend either the shuttle or their own lives. Amuro got in front of his allies and attempted to block with his shield, but to no avail! The beast’s claws cleanly sliced through it, nearly hitting Amuro himself if it weren’t for him throwing the remains of it in a shield bash, knocking the monster and several of its allies backwards.
“Tch…!” Amuro retreated out of the enemy’s immediate range, reaching for his beam sabre, but Kit placed a mechanical paw on the Gundam’s shoulder.
“Bro, Amuro. Hang back for a bit.”
“What’re you going to do, Kit?”
Ranger had a confident, knowing smile on his face. “Trust him, he knows what he’s doing.”
Through the audio connection, Amuro could hear a series of beeps on Kit’s console. Was that… a multi lock-on system? Kit’s mech proceeded to open its jaws wide, and from within, light and heat emanated. Even in the vacuum of space between them, and within his cockpit, Amuro could feel the immense power being built up…! With a roar, the blast fired! Mid-air, it split into several separate beams, which utterly obliterated the front lines of the enemy! “Now! Go! The rest is up to you guys!” Steam discharging from its jaws, Kit’s mech went limp.
But that didn’t matter – he had bought Amuro and Ranger the opportunity they needed. The duo charged into the fray! Ranger made quick work of the enemies with his razor-sharp beam claws, while Amuro, true to his unofficial title as the Federation’s White Meteor, was like a humanoid blur, knowing exactly where to attack and when. Where he could, he shot the enemy straight through the AI block and moved onto the next. Where he couldn’t, he made quick work of them with his beam sword. They were like a pair of brilliant white comets. However… all comets eventually melted.
Midway through one of his patented (well, not really) combos Koji helped him come up with, Amuro heard the dreaded click he heard in one of his first battles – his beam rifle was empty. The dinosaur that he would have easily headshot lunged at him, Amuro receiving an unwelcome view of its maw. “AAAAAAAAARGH!” In his panic, he threw his beam rifle at it, which it swallowed without hesitation. Using the precious second this bought, Amuro drew his beam sword and thrust it into its throat… only for the weapon to fizzle out mid-thrust. If the AI-powered dinosaur could feel, all it would have felt was a light tap. “…Uh oh.”
Powerful scaly arms gripped themselves around the Gundam’s arms and tightened, the slow creaking of metal causing bile to rise in Amuro’s throat as he imagined the painful death in store for him… Then abruptly, the pressure released as the familiar white-red blur of Ranger slashed the dinosaur’s arms off, then followed up by whipping his blade-like tail around and ramming it into the AI core. “Amuro, are you alright!? …Ah!” Ranger’s attention changed from the wellbeing of his fellow pilot to his own, noticing the glow of his beam claws going dark.
“I am, but…”
It was clear that they were completely overwhelmed – even though they were both skilled pilots, the sheer number of enemies turned this into a battle of attrition…! For every one dinosaur they beheaded or mechabeast they impaled, it seemed two would take their place. The crowd displayed not even a small sign of thinning.
“Amuro, you got any of the other weapons you use? A beam javelin? The Gundam Hammer?” Kit had turned off the video link at this point, but Amuro could hear panic start to seep into the normally calm voice.
“No, I didn’t want to get bogged down. All I brought was my sabre and rifle.”
Ranger growled uncharacteristically, sounding unsettlingly familiar to the very beasts they were fighting. “This is absurd! Why do they want the new Gundam so badly!?”
An unexpected cackle echoed into the machines of all three pilots – the commlink was still connected to Baron Ashura! “You mean to say you don’t even realise the significance of what lies inside your precious machine!? All the more reason why we should take it!” The Ghoul, which up until now had stayed at the backlines, flared up its engines, charging straight over its own allies and right at Michiru’s transport shuttle.
“No!”
“Michiru!” Amuro and Ranger tried to boost towards the transport, but were quickly dogpiled on by particularly ferocious dinosaurs and mechabeasts. They weren’t going to make it…!
“Remember our deal, Ashura!” Echoed General Bat’s voice over the public transmission lines.
“Yes, whatever.” The baron snapped back.
“I won’t let you…! I still have some energy left!” The light in the eyes of Kit’s unit weakly came to life, flickering as he galloped through space towards the Ghoul.
“You imbecile! Have you not realised the difference in our size!?” The loss of scale space provided, combined with the heat of the moment, must have thrown Kit’s decision-making off. It was like the age-old story of a knight charging at a windmill! The painful tearing of metal and sparking electricity pierced the area, as the Ghoul rammed straight into Kit’s unit, continuing unimpeded to the shuttle and pinning it there.
“BROTHERRRRR!”
“KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!”
“Heh… I’m not done for just yet…!” Amuro could see the small form of Kit – miraculously uninjured – emerging from the cockpit and entering the shuttle. Over the lines (which were still public), hearing what Kit intended to do made his jaw drop.
“Michiru! Tell me how I can get inside the new Gundam!”
“Wow, how do you know the Nu Gundam’s name already?”
“…”
Kit scrambled up the body of the inert mech, throwing the cockpit hatch open and climbing in. So this was what a Gundam’s cockpit looked like… It was surprisingly similar to his own mech’s. This made things easier. “I’m not the intended pilot… but whatever keeps those guys’ slimy hands off this…!” A powerful hum – stronger than anything he had felt in any machine he had ever operated – reverberated through his body as the machine came to life. There was something special within this unit, Kit could feel it.
“Alright, may as well do it like how the kid does… Kit, Nu Gundam, taking off!”
With that, he emerged from the shuttle, like a butterfly from a cocoon. The parts of the shuttle which housed it quickly fell apart, the only remaining parts being the Lady Command jet (specially reinforced with Saotome Lab tech for atmospheric exit and re-entry) that was responsible for towing it all this way. Both the Ghoul and Kit’s ruined mech were freed, too.
“Michiru, get back to the labs. Thanks for the help, you were a real go-getter to come here.”
“Y-yes…”
“By the way, Ryoma and Hayato said hi.”
That got a chuckle out of her. “Tell them I said hello, too.”
“Grrrrr… so you obtained the Psycoframe before us? No matter! We shall simply take it from you! Mechabeasts! Hold that woman hostage!” Kit could feel Baron Ashura’s seething, as the Ghoul retreated back to behind enemy lines. So Baron Ashura doesn’t want to fight the Gundam directly, eh…?
A section of monsters who were previously ganging up on Amuro and Ranger split off and lunged at the Lady Command. “Like hell you will!” Kit blocked the way in Nu Gundam, allowing Michiru to escape beyond their firing range. He expected his movements to be jerky, going from a quadrupedal unit to a bipedal one, but it moved incredibly smoothly! Now, how about an attack…!
Kit fired the Gundam’s Vulcans, the relatively small bullets hurtling towards the enemy. He knew they rarely did much, but they would at least slow the enemy do- BLAM! “Huh!?” The Vulcans punched through the armour of the mechabeasts like thin paper, the entire group of them staggering and crumpling! Even the weakest attack of the Gundam – the one that the others liked to make jokes about… was this powerful…?
He had little time to marvel at this, however, for the mechabeasts roared and fired their missiles at Kit! Kit prepared to dodge the usual way, but he had barely completed the thought before the Gundam seemingly evaded the attack on its own! It was thought-controlled, at least to some extent…? That would explain why everything was so fine-tuned and responsive. What other tricks did it have up its sleeves?
Quickly glancing at the armament options on the convenient list the OS provided, Kit selected his option of choice. In a single swift, fluid movement, he drew the Nu Gundam’s beam sabre and cleaved through the enemies, leaving a trail of explosions behind. Hope began to swell in his chest. He could do it! With this power, he could take them all on!
Changing weapon to his beam rifle, he boosted towards the horde of enemies at full speed! He soared through space, punching holes through the opposing soldiers with a weapon as powerful as its reserves were deep. Just like how Kit was in his original unit, he was swift and decisive. Not wasting a single unit of ammunition, he went straight for the AI cores as he carved a path towards the two battleships with ease.
The Nu Gundam’s thrusters flaring as Kit boosted upwards to see the battleship bridges, the cameras picked up on the shocked, terrified expressions of Baron Ashura and General Bat. The enemy commanders were both within reach! Setting his beam rifle aside temporarily, he produced the appropriately named Hyper Bazooka from his arsenal and took aim. “Cut off the head, and the body will die!”
Kit had the weird feeling that he would not be the first person to attempt such a feat, but he paid it no mind. With two precise shots, the commanders of the Dinosaur Empire and Underground Empire remnants were no more, vanishing within the explosion of the destroyed bridges. As the enemy motherships exploded from the several chain reactions of the initial attack with the fuel, Kit could swear he heard the enemy commanders’ voices.
“The power that lies within the Psycoframe… to convert the heart’s energies into physical force…”
“The power… to control time itself…”
“Apologies, Dr Hell…”
“Emperor Gore…”
“We failed.”
Huh…? Why could he hear…?
“YES! We’re safe!” Amuro’s and Ranger’s commlinks opened to Kit, revealing the relieved faces of the pilots, though the latter had a tinge of melancholy in his expression. Both were clearly running on fumes at this point, having had to resort to hand-to-hand combat after depleting their weapons.
“Good work, brother. Though it is unfortunate that we couldn’t reason with the commanders.”
Amuro turned to Ranger to raise an eyebrow, but quickly flinched again and practically slammed down his controls. The Gundam leapt away, narrowly avoiding a dinosaur’s jaws closing around its neck.
Kit whirled around to face the enemy grunts, which were still very much active. What was going on…!? He thought that the commanders were in control of them!
A lump formed in Kit’s throat at the sight of the now masterless robotic beasts going berserk. No longer with the commanders holding their inherent viciousness and aggression in check, they were now attacking everything in sight, including each other, with unmatched ferocity. Kit saw with dawning horror that like a spilled bag of marbles, they were beginning to spread out in their search for something to kill. If they reached a space colony…!
Was there a weapon to deal with them all at once? Something like an ‘AOE Attack’? Palms going slick with sweat, he scrolled through his list of possible weapons on the OS. No… beam swords didn’t have enough reach. No… he was out of ammo for his beam rifle and bazooka. No… definitely not the Vulcan guns, they didn’t have enough oomph or reach to get them in one hit. His gaze settled on the final option… and a grin spread across his face. Oh, he knew this one well. Remote weapons were one of his specialties!
He closed his eyes, slowly extending his will into the drones as time slowed down… With his awareness expanded, he opened his eyes, focusing on the battlefield. Taking a deep breath, he roared, “GO! FIN FUNNELS!”
Like a beautiful fireworks pattern spreading out, the laser drones divided and rained pure destruction upon the beasts. Dancing to the rhythm of Kit’s mental commands, the Fin Funnels were fast, accurate, and powerful! One shot was more than enough to down a beast, while the drone itself had the speed to move onto another before the shot had even landed. From a bird’s eye view, it was as if the field of mechanical monsters lit up with explosions all at once, before going silent. In Kit’s wake, nothing was left aside from the mechs of the three pilots. Exhausted and depleted of energy, but alive.
The threat eliminated and their prize in hand, Ranger and Amuro were able to start heading back towards White Base using the remainder of their energy – luckily, they had just enough left over to make the trip safely! Especially fortunate, considering that Kit’s Fin Funnel attack had completely drained the Nu Gundam, and it could barely move at this point. For all its impressive specs and abilities, it seemed infinite energy was not one of them.
So there they were, Ranger towing Kit’s beastly unit, while Amuro had the Nu Gundam Kit was still inside piggyback on his Gundam’s shoulders. “That was… way more action than I expected. Or wanted. It took a lot out of me.”
“But you did well, Kit! Especially in a machine that wasn’t even tuned for you.”
“Perhaps you could become the Nu Gundam’s pilot, brother!”
“Heh, no thanks, I’m good with my unit. Just need to… yawwwn… get it fixed… first…”
The Nu Gundam went totally limp, its eyelights dimming. Worried, Amuro stopped, preparing to exit the hatch and check on Kit, but relaxed when he heard the snores. He’d let him rest.