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A soft silver mist spread throughout the forest, gently enveloping the foliage and animals inside it. A pleasant breeze passed through the air, giving a brief respite to the heat of the day. Soft grass swayed from side to side while the leaves of the trees rustled, occasionally falling to the ground. Deep inside the forest was a small pond, filled with shining clear water that reflected all the colors of the rainbow when alighted. As the buzz of dragonflies and tweets of birds resounded through the air, a young boy and girl stood near the bank of the pond.
"Augh! The mud is getting on my shoes!" The boy complained as he tried to find a solid piece of dirt to stand on.
"Typical Spacian. Just get used to it." The girl brushed off his yelling with her typical scowl. "Let's find a place to set down our stuff."
"There won't be any bugs, right? I read that stuff like ticks and ants live in the grass." He whined. As someone who spent almost their entire life living in sterile space stations and empty rooms, the boy was lacking in outdoor experience. The hike here was already tiring, what with the dense foliage, heat, and uncaring partner. He didn't think he could handle a bunch of little critters crawling all over him.
"Sorry to tell you this, but every place has bugs. You should have put on bug spray." The girl chided him.
"I thought that was just a suggestion! Besides, I don't like how it smells..." The boy grumbled.
"Four incoming enemies. Target lock on."
The two walked around the pond before the girl eventually found a clear space of land that wasn't covered in sticks or made out of mud. Setting out a blanket, the boy collapsed onto the ground and laid back.
"I thought you wanted me to show you the scenery?" The girl said. "What's the point if you just lie down and go to sleep?"
"Well I didn't know it would take so much effort to get here. What are you even supposed to do at a pond or lake anyways?" He asked.
"Swim." The girl stated matter of factly.
"I can't."
"Then I guess you'll just drown."
"Bitch." He grumbled.
"Electromagnetic stun beam connected. Readying sniper shot."
"Sophie and the others would just sorta splash around in it and try to catch animals." The girl looked melancholy as she stared out over the pond. Her eyes were starting to cloud over, and the boy, noticing this, spoke up.
"Well sorry to tell you, but I prefer laying around. Of course, it can get quite boring, but with a beautiful lady near me-"
"Do you want me to try and stab you again? Why can't you ever just be quiet?" She grumbled.
"Because I like talking to you." He smiled.
"Targets taken out. Five more coming. GUND System detected."
"Don't say stupid stuff like that." The girl opened the red journal that she kept in her jacket pocket and began flipping through it. The boy's face turned into a pout and he sat up.
"I don't think it's stupid. I think it's normal to enjoy talking to people you relate to." He peeked over her shoulder and saw the startings of another sketch.
"Do you really think we're that similar?"
"Well, I know you're lonely and I'm lonely too, so it's just common sense for us to be lonely together." The boy laughed.
"Permet level rising. Target lock on. Electromagnetic stun beams single-focus."
The girl looked back at him with a dirty look, one she frequently gave him. He enjoyed seeing that expression, though of course, her smile was something he treasured even more.
"I'm...not lonely..." She said with a soft voice.
"You're not lonely anymore, that's what you should be saying." He teased. The girl let out a huff and put all her attention on her notebook, scribbling away.
"Electromagnetic stun beam connected. Hijacking commencing."
The two sat quietly near the pondside. The girl continued to sketch in her notebook, sometimes looking up from the page to check the scenery. The boy meanwhile directed his attention to multiple points of interest, but always came back to watching the girl. The pond water took on a dazzlingly bright blue as the afternoon sun passed overhead, and the calls of the birds turned into a song that spread throughout the forest. Eventually, the girl began whistling a tune, and the birds began copying her. It was a simple four note melody, but the boy seem entranced by the music coming from the young girl. After a couple of minutes, the girl finally stopped and soon the birds went on carrying their own tune.
"Encore, encore. Do you take any requests?" The boy clapped as the girl shot him another dirty look.
"Hijacking complete. Four targets locked onto. Firing beam."
"Have you ever sung before?" The boy asked.
"Of course not. There's no point." The girl argued.
"I think there is. Music is calming to listen to. It was one of the ways I passed the time as a child." The boy looked out over the water as he recalled his past. "Even when I couldn't do anything else, at least I had my own body."
"Why don't you sing then?" She asked.
"I don't like the sound that comes out. The voice I have...is pretty disgusting. At least to my ears." He smiled. "That's why I want to hear you sing instead."
"Targets taken out. Starting self-detonation program."
The girl let out a exacerbated groan and the boy expected her to just shoot down his request. However, after a few seconds, she took a deep breath and began singing. A soft and calming voice emanated from her and blanketed the area with a soothing melody. As she sang, the boy closed his eyes and listened intently to the tune, silently mouthing along to the lyrics. The girl only sang a few lines and when she finally stopped, no other sound took its place.
"You know, I lied earlier. When the younger kids couldn't sleep, I used to sing them lullabies." The girl put down her sketchbook and pulled her legs closer to her body. "Sophie liked to listen to them too, but I'm not anything special. It was just-"
"I think it sounded beautiful. It let me get a better look at the girl inside you, just like your pictures." The boy said.
"GUND System taken out. No targets found. Permet levels lowering."
"Is it really that beautiful?" Her voice was a whisper, almost as if she was scared of the response.
"Yeah, of course. You could be a big shot-"
"I'm not talking about the song. Is...Is the view pretty? When you said you wanted to see it, I was happy. I was scared to come back to a place like this. I was scared that a view like this didn't exist anymore. So, is it beautiful? Or..." Tears pricked the corner of her eyes. The beauty she could barely replicate onto her sketchbook was unfurled in front of her. A place filled with life, so different from the battlefields she lived on previously. A beauty that hadn't been tarnished by the cruelty of the world.
"No mobile suits detected. Entering non-combat mode. Permet levels lowering."
The boy looked out over the pond once again. It was a view he had only seen in picture books or on tablets. The fresh air that blew through his hair didn't exist where he loved previously, and the temperature was never as warm and comforting as it had been now. The shining blue water was gorgeous enough to captivate the heart of millions. But what he really wanted to see was the girl's smile.
"Yeah, it's very beautiful. Thank you, Norea." the boy said. The girl looked at him in shock for a few seconds, but then a small smile appeared on her face.
'Thank you, ****"
BZZT!
In an instant he felt as if his lungs were being crushed by heavy weights. The liquid energy flowing through his veins made it seem as though his whole body was on fire. His hands, which were wrapped around the suit's control sticks, were shaking fiercely. He took several gasping breaths, trying to fill his empty lungs. An incessant buzzing filled his head, so much so that he couldn't think of anything else.
The Pharact was floating out in space near some colony he had been staying in. The Benerit Group had sent mobile suits to come and apprehend him, most likely for the crime of stealing Peil's mobile suit or being involved in terroristic acts. Well, no matter what noble or legal reason they attach to it, at the end of the day, they're still executing him. If they were going to be so violent, it's only natural he would fight back. If anything, he was happy to participate in a fight, because it was the only time he got to see her.
Permet did funny things to the brain. When used by the GUND System it could link man and machine, and when pushed even further, it could hijack any electrical appliance, wireless or otherwise. But what he found out a few weeks ago is that if you raise the Permet score high enough, your brain starts to create a whole new memory or world. During the stress of battle, he could separate himself from his body and enter a world of his own making. Of course, since he had never experienced being by a pond or out in nature, he had to make up all those sensations, but that didn't matter. Even if it was all fake, the emotions he felt were real. That's why even though using the Pharact shortened his lifespan and he ate cold food and sleep in his cockpit, he didn't care. He had already lived without those comforts already. But the warmth of a human being, of someone who could understand the pain he went through and his anxieties about dying, was something he hadn't grasped until he met her.
The fact that someone was suffering just as much as him was a blessing. He didn't want to be on his own anymore. He wanted to travel the world, and eat good food, and fall in love. But the beings in power won't permit that. Whether it's the Peil leaders, Dominicus members, or some higher power like God, they hated him for existing. He was like a young bird, thrown out of the nest and unwanted by anyone. He spent his whole life with crippled wings, and just when he found another bird like him, one who could help him fly, she got shot out of the sky.
Now he could only see her in his dreams. When the Permet overtook his brain, he retreated into his fantasies and let his empty self take care of all the trouble. He would run away and travel to the places in her sketchbook. In his dreams, he could finally see her smile. That smile that was stolen from her, he can give it back to her in his mind. And in return, she gives him his real name. Even if he can't remember it, somehow, whenever she calls out to him, he feels something stir in his chest.
A loud beeping fills his ears and breaks his concentration. Looking at the Pharact's computer, he sees that over twenty new mobile suits were converging on his location. Did those Dominicus guys really have nothing better to do? WHy couldn't they put this much effort into protecting Earth or stopping companies from experimenting on children? Ah well, no point in complaining.
"Where do you want to go next, Norea? Personally, I was interested in the farm you drew. Does wheat really grow that high? Let's go see it, together." he said as he regained his grip on the cockpit's control sticks.
"Target lock on. Permet levels rising." the computer blared out.
"As long as I'm not alone, I can get through anything. So let's go together."