Gundam MS: Episode 9

Fire and Light, Red and White

Dilandou chuckled. “You’re all dead, you know that? I’d kill you now, but I don’t have time. I have a friend to meet.” He chuckled even more evilly. “I never thought I would ever be grateful to Escaflowne for anything, but it gave me the stimulus I needed to finally get free of that damn girl. Ugh, I feel dirty just by association! She’s so… so… nice! And demure! Oh well, at least it’s over now.” Dilandou straightened, and faced dead ahead. “Oreades, lend me your power!”

For a second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, a fire exploded underneath Dilandou, completely consuming him in a matter of moments. When it was gone, he was left in a sleek, ornate, and red robot. Very red. When he talked, his voice echoed oddly.

“I’m coming, Escaflowne! You’ll feel the heat of my flames!” So saying, he leapt into the air, and both his legs came together to form a flying jet. With a sudden blast of air and maniacal laughter, he flew off into the distance towards the white dragon.

For a minute, they all just stood there. Then Goku opened his mouth.

“That’s not normal, is it?”

Everyone just stared.

“You know,” said Keyonne hesitantly, “you could probably give Relena a run for her money in the sheer stupidity department.”

“Impossible!” yelled Vegetta. “No one could be as senseless and moronic as Goku!”

“Want to set up a betting pool?” asked Keyonne hopefully. “I got 15 on Relena.”

“Sure!” said Gohan. “I’ve got 40 on dad.”

“Hey!” yelled an angry Goku. “I’ll put 20 on Relena! I’m sure I’m smarter than her!”

“Shouldn’t we be worrying about Celena?” asked Ayeka. “Oh, and 30 on Relena.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” said Goten. “Or he. Whatever. It’ll work out. These things always do. Also, I’ve 20 on dad. I’d put down more, but that’s all the money I have. I don’t suppose we can make a pool for bitchiest mom? Mine’d win without trying.”

“Sorry, we don’t have a competitor there,” answered Keyonne. “Alright now, everyone form a line to put down your bets…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Relena was bored. She had nothing to do, and her only two companions were sitting around discussing something about the fabric of Reality that totally over her head.

“Hey, guys, what kind of clothing could you make out of Reality fabric?”

“Real clothing,” replied Ryo Ohki without breaking stride. “Now, Ryoko, I’m sure that portal will collapse eventually…”

Relena sighed. She couldn’t even get them to insult her! Not that she was entirely joking, of course, but even she knew something that stupid was, well, stupid.

“The others are probably having a fabulous time…” she moaned.

Well, most of them were, but only because they were unaware just how much danger they were in.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dilandou and Escaflowne danced across the landscape in a battle of both magic and metal. Fireballs flew out of Dilandou’s fists to meet bolts of lightning lobbed by Escaflowne’s sword. Attacks that were not met in the air crashed to ground in spectacular explosions, close to but never quite hitting their target. Then, after exchanging fire, the two figures would close in and clash sword-to-sword, showering sparks on the countryside. After a particularly fierce clash, the two figures parted to rest and exchange boasts, as per fighting tradition.

“Who are you anyway?” asked Escaflowne. “What are you doing here? And how did you get a guymelef?”

“Hmph,” said Dilandou contemptuously. “Poor child. You have no idea of the power of that suit. Why won’t you use it to it’s full? Why do you insist on being weak? Oh well, it can’t hurt to tell you my name. I am Dilandou, master of the Oreades! And who are you, boy?”

“My name is Van Fanel! I will destroy you as my girlfriend ordered!”

“Hah, so you’re that stupid kid! Then… Hitomi must be Epyon. Ha ha ha ha ha! This will be interesting! I wonder what they’ll do when they find out, huh?”

“How do you know that? Who’s ‘they’?”

“I used my brain, something you ought to learn about. And you didn’t answer my other question. Why are you… fighting… it…” Dilandou trailed off, and then broke into laughter again. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Of course, why didn’t I figure it out sooner? You’re fighting it because you don’t want to pay the price for its power. Van, you’re a weak fool. You should embrace it as I have! The strength it gives is incredible!”

“If I’m so weak, then how come I’ve held my own against you so far? You’re full of crap!”

“So, that’s what you think? Well, I’ve got a secret for you. I’ve been taking it easy on you. So lets go for real! Burn in my fire!” Dilandou blasted into the sky and released a huge shower of fireballs, which crashed around Van, each erupting into a giant column of blossoming flame. A small shield of lightning held around Van, barely able to protect him. After several seconds, the barrage stopped, and Van straightened up to see where Dilandou had gone.

In fact, gone was a very appropriate term.

Van looked all around, up and down, but couldn’t see his opponent anywhere. After about thirty seconds, he decided that Dilandou had fled, but as he turned to leave, he caught something in the corner of his eye.

It was the sun. A bright, brilliant ball of yellow that hurt his eyes to look at directly.

But if he turned his head just to the side, he could see a bright, red dot in the middle, which looked disturbingly like a man with both hands stretched above his head.

“Dilandou! You bastard! Get down here and fight like a man!”

“So, finally found me Van? Well, I’ve got a present for you! It’s a history lesson. You’ll like this one.”

“I don’t have time for games!” Van yelled. He pointed his sword straight up and shot a single lightning bolt with all his power straight at Dilandou.

It shattered into a hundred shards before it got halfway there.

“You’ll have to do better than that, Van! Now, for my lesson. You see, several thousand years ago, I found a small, red crystal, just like the one you have. Mine contained the power of Oreades, just as yours contains Escaflowne. I fully embraced the power, and eventually the price took its toll. But it didn’t matter, because I was invincible, just as I am now!”

For some reason, Van felt as though some sort of pressure was building up, like the feeling you get when you’re in an airplane that’s steadily climbing.

“So,” Dilandou continued, “the people of my world began to fear me. They thought I was a destructive menace. Which I was, and still am. Unfortunately, they knew that they didn’t have the power to defeat me. So, they bound me instead, and sent me into a perfect container. That girl’s family has passed me down for generations, going from mother to daughter for a thousand years. But eventually, all that was bound to take its toll on them as well. Whereas I am cruel, evil, and sadistic, they gradually became more and more kind, gentle, and altruistic. Truly disgusting, in my opinion. Thankfully, though, the nicer they became, the weaker they were. This girl was the epitome of that weakness, and I was able to break free occasionally, if only temporarily. Now, though, I am free forever! While I was trapped, all I wanted was release, and that remains true now. But there’s no way I’m going to hell alone! You’re all coming with me! HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

* * * * * * * * * *

“What’s taking Death so long anyway?” asked Relena impatiently. “What’s he talking about?”

THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW.

“Great, appear behind me. You really have to work on your entrance. No flashy lights or sounds or anything. Couldn’t you grandstand a bit more?”

“He’s not an amateur, mortal,” said Misato angrily. “He doesn’t need tricks. Besides, seeing you jump like that was mildly amusing. Ever consider going to the Olympics?”

“Oh, shut up.”

SHE’S JUST ANNOYED THAT I HAVE FORCED HER TO APPEAR IN BODY.

“Oh, get off it, Tenchi! I’m only annoyed because of the principle of the thing. It’s not really all that embarrassing when you consider the level of intelligence held by mortals in general, and this one in particular.”

I AM SURE YOU HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH THE STUPIDITY OF MORTALS.

“Hey, that was a cheap shot! I like it. You might have some backbone in you after all.”

JUST BECAUSE I AM HELPING YOU DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU BULLIED ME INTO IT.

“Yes it does. Remember how mad you were? I bet it’s because you knew that I was going to make you do what I wanted, not because you were mad at me for threatening your world.”

ADEPT AS ALWAYS, MISATO. OF COURSE, YOU FORGET THAT THE MAIN REASON I’M HELPING YOU IS SO THAT MY WORLD IS NOT DESTROYED ALONG WITH YOURS. YOUR REPUTATION IS… NOT EXACTLY STELLAR.

“It’s not my fault the others are so damn… damn…”

I BELIEVE THE WORD IS ‘SANE.’

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘boring.’”

AH, AS OPPOSED TO YOU.

“That’s right. They are boring, whereas I am-”

WEIRD? CRAZY? A FOOL?

“Hrmph. I would use the word ‘exciting.’”

“That’s funny,” interrupted Relena. “I didn’t know you two were married.”

Everyone froze.

Ryo Ohki and Ryoko stared at Misato and Death. Misato and Death stared at Relena.

“Uh… was it something I said?” asked Relena weakly.

They still froze. The tension was thick enough to cut a knife, or at least keep it stuck indefinitely.

Abruptly, Misato erupted into laughter, and the tension drained from the scene.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I haven’t been tagged like that in centuries! There might be more to you than there seems!”

“Ah, it’s a gift.”

“Of course, there probably isn’t. After all, I wasn’t the one running around without any clothes.”

“Well I wasn’t the one who left a big pile of chopped up monster guts in the middle of the street.”

“Yeah, you weren’t. You should remember that.”

“Ouch, you recover fast, don’t you?”

“Ah, it’s a gift. Hey, Tenchi?”

YES?

“I know I you probably are aware, but…”

YES, MISATO, I AM AWARE. AFTER ALL, I AM A DEATH, NOT AN IDIOT.

“Just making sure. You wouldn’t be too happy if he succeeded, would you?”

GIVE ME A LITTLE CREDIT. BUT YOU’RE RIGHT, WE MUST HURRY.

“We can’t do it until you give me back my full power!”

WHAT, AND RISK YOU STABBING ME IN THE BACK? I’M NOT UP TO TAKING THAT KIND OF CHANCE. BESIDES, IT WON’T BE NECESSARY. WE CAN USE MY PAIR OF ANGELS TO ROUND OUT YOUR SLIGHT LACK.

“Hey, boss,” said Ryoko, “I’m not an angel. I’m a demon, remember?”

WHATEVER. HONORARY ANGEL THEN. RYO OHKI, RYOKO, LET’S GO. OH, AND RELENA, GO BACK TO THE OTHERS AND TELL THEM NOT TO LEAVE THAT PLACE.

“Why-” Relena began.

Then they were gone.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ryo Ohki, Ryoko, Death, and Misato stood-

No, that’s the wrong word. They didn’t exactly stand. They existed. You can’t really stand if you don’t have a body, and you couldn’t have a body where they were. Which isn’t to say that they didn’t have bodies, of course, it’s just that those bodies couldn’t follow them to their current location. It’s complicated. Ryo Ohki would probably tell you to take a 500 year course in advanced Reality mechanics, but you could probably get by with only 200 years if you were really smart and studied hard.

Anyway, Ryo Ohki, Ryoko, Death, and Misato existed in a circle-

No, that’s not quite right either. There wasn’t really geometry where they were, and it could just as well be said that they sto-, I mean, existed, in a line. But their mentality was definitely that of a group in a circle. After all, powerful magic always requires the participants to stand in a circle, and this was the most powerful of all. So powerful that it takes two virtually omnipotent entities, because virtually isn’t quite good enough.

As I was saying, Ryo Ohki, Ryoko, Death, and Misato existed in a circle-ish formation. They existed in a plane just below the skin of Reality, where only Deaths could go (of course, they could bring others along with them for a short time, but nothing else could go alone). Slowly, they gathered their powers, and then merged them together.

* * * * * * * * * *

“-me?” finished Relena.

“Yes, it is you,” said Keyonne. “You’re really making progress since last week.”

“Wow, she really is dumb,” said an amazed Trunks. “Can I get my money back?”

“Nope,” answered Keyonne.

“What money? What are you guys talking about?”

“We made a betting pool on who was stupider, you or Goku,” answered Ayeka. “Unfortunately, our debates have ended in a stalemate. You’re brilliant at personal relationships, while Goku is brilliant at kicking the crap out of people, or at least conveniently finding strange new powers that weren’t in him three minutes ago at the last possible second. You’re both idiots about everything else.”

“We were going to have a stupidity-off,” continued Gohan, “but that was sort of difficult without you here.”

“Did I ever tell you guys how mean you are to me?”

“Yes,” answered Keyonne and Ayeka in unison.

“Great.”

“Hey, I don’t think you’re stupid,” fawned Goten. “In fact-”

“Oh, shove it. By the way, Death said for all of us to stay here. I assume something is going to happen and that we aren’t supposed to go anywhere. Oh, and I’ll put down twenty on my being stupider than Goku.”

Everyone was shocked. Goten managed to recover first though. “Why on earth are you betting on yourself?”

“Hey, I know my place, even if it is at the bottom. I’m not about to throw money away just because of a delusion that I have any intelligence.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“What do you mean?” cried out Van. “Why are we all going to die?”

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha! You fool! What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, huh? I’ve been gathering my power for one last world-destroying blast! You must be able to feel it. Like a pressure building up on your eardrums, right?”

Van realized he could feel it, he just hadn’t known what it meant. In terror, he gathered all his power into his sword, every once he could take safely, formed one giant lightning bolt, and launched it at Dilandou. That single bolt could have destroyed an entire city, and killed nearly everyone in the blast radius.

It disappeared into nothing just over halfway to Dilandou.

“You’ll have to do better than that! But you won’t have time, will you? HA HA HA HA HA HA! Burn in my fire you fool! All of you, BURN! ULTRA… KING…”

* * * * * * * * * *

Death took hold of the power coming from the other three. He formed it and shaped it into what he needed. There were no incantations. Those were for people who needed them. He was far beyond that level.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Hey,” asked Pan, “Do you guys see something over there? A bright red light?”

“Now that you mention it, I do,” answered Ayeka. “But it’s pretty faint. Does everyone else see it too?”

There were varied shouts of “I do” and “I don’t”, although the “I do”s outnumbered the “I don’t”s pretty heavily.

“Somehow, I don’t like this,” said Ayeka slowly. “I’m going to break out my scanner.”

Everyone else groaned. “Not that useless thing again,” mumbled Relena. “You know, for a genius, you can be damn dense sometimes.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“SUPER… POWER…”

Van looked on in horror as Dilandou started glowing. There was nothing he could do except reach for Escaflowne’s full power. Even though there was a terrible price, he had to do it. Even though she had turned evil, he still had to protect Hitomi.

Even though he knew that it was too little, too late.

* * * * * * * * * *

Death carefully manipulated the energy he was receiving. Even for him, the tiniest mistake could- well, it couldn’t kill him, not as such, but it could obliterate his entire Universe, and, without that Universe to act as his focus, he would cease to exist. So he was careful. Perhaps overly careful, but that didn’t matter.

It was almost ready now…

* * * * * * * * * *

“Oh my God!” yelled Ayeka, “There’s an immense buildup of magical power several miles to the west! That’s the direction Dilandou and Escaflowne flew off in! There’s also a general rise in magic power, but I can’t pinpoint the source. It almost looks like it’s coming from the entire Universe. Unfortunately, I think I can pinpoint the target.”

“Well, where is it?” yelled someone in the crowd.

“It’s right here! The power is nearly off the scale, but I think this is only the fringe! Whatever it is, it’s infinitely more powerful than the first one, and that first one is enough to destroy this entire planet!”

“So, in summary, we’re screwed,” said Relena.

“I hate to agree with you, but yeah,” answered Ayeka.

* * * * * * * * * *

“MEGA… DEATH…”

Van knew that the next word would finish the spell. This was all the time he had. It wouldn’t be nearly enough, but lost causes were the only causes worth fighting for, right? His only chance was that Dilandou wasn’t paying him any attention.

Not even the price could make me insane enough to believe that, he thought, and smiled.

He stopped charging and raised his sword to throw his last lightning bolt.

* * * * * * * * * *

Death finished shaping. It was now or never.

DONE, he said, and released the magic.

Everything stopped.

The Universe vibrated like a plucked guitar string.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Universe vibrated like a plucked guitar string.

Everyone standing around the portal fell to the ground clutching their heads in pain.

When they got up, they saw two things. First, the old portal had stopped pulsating, and was now even clearer than it was when it first arrived. You could only see it if you knew what you were looking for. It looked like a small, isolated patch of mild heat waves, so that anything you saw through it weaved back and forth.

The second was more startling. It was a new portal, just like the old one, about twenty feet to the side, and just as clear.

“Why am I getting a bad feeling this?” asked Keyonne.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dilandou prepared to say the final word in his grand spell, and send a ball of flame spiraling to earth that would destroy it completely. He felt only happiness that he would soon go to hell with an escort worth of him.

Van’s sword almost reached its peak, where he would let his bolt fly. He felt only regret that it would not be enough, and that he and Hitomi would perish.

FLARE, Dilandou thought, and then yelled it.

Or tried to, anyway.

Before he could even get out the first sound, the Universe vibrated like a plucked guitar string.

Both of them would have screamed, except that they both passed out from the pain almost before they knew it existed.

Van collapsed with a metallic crunch. Dilandou fell from the sky like, well, a several ton object that suddenly didn’t have engines supporting it anymore. He hit the ground with a crash. Both of their armors disappeared back into the crystals around their necks.

Several seconds later, Duo appeared above them, and stared down, smiling. In his hands, he played with a golden circlet. He floated down so that he hovered just over Dilandou, and smiled wickedly down at him.

“It’s time to play my last trump, Dilandou.” Slowly, grinning like a maniac, he placed the circlet over Dilandou’s head.

What does the circlet do? Where does the second portal lead? Will this series get interesting soon? You never know! Tune in to find out the answer to at least one of those questions, in the next episode, “The episode where I finally stick back in Heero and Sasami, and thereby get to make fun of Tux Mask and Rini (give me any bullshit about proper names and I’ll kick your ass) by association!” I bet you just can’t wait!