Chapter 2: "Ocean of Tears"

Tomoya heard what she had said and was a bit surprised by her last remarks.

Quote :

"I know you're too in love with Risa. I can see your eyes. I can feel your heart. Your feelings are genuine. You won't betray her..."

That gave him a lot to think about. Sure he wanted to protect her, but love her? He said bye to Kara as she walked off but he wasn't even sure she heard him. In a confused daze, the news report and Kara's words swirling around in his head he made his way along only half knowing where he was going. He had planned to talk to the man who had come on board with Risa but instead he found himself in Sieg's office. "No Not Sieg's office not anymore." He thought to himself. Tho he could understand why he was here. The last few months even before coming on board with the Foxes Seig was the person he went to for advice. And the thought he wasn't who he claimed. "If Seig wasn't who he claimed then who am I, who spent so long trying to be like him?" Tomoya wondered as he wandered around the room. No matter what he thought now two things were clear to him. Both people he looked up to in life were lying to him and he didn't know why.

Wanting to clear his head he sat down in Seig's chair and pulled out a cigarette. As he sat there smoking his second cig in a short span of time he looked around for an ashtray of some sort. What he saw was surprising and he blinked his eyes knowing it couldn't be there. But still it was there, a pocket watch. One he had seen several times in the past seven years. But what was his brothers pocket watch doing on Seig's desk? Reaching out tentatively he picked it it up by the chain and felt the watch. He remembered this watch. His sister in-law Dany her father had presented it to Sid on the day they announced there engagement. He remembered it was the first time he had seen his brother up and about after his injuries sustained during the war. The old man sad and yet proud looking had giving it to them.

But that couldnt be his brother never took it off he had said it connetcs them no matter how far away they are...so he never would have let Sieg take it. As he felt the watch it's back opened revealing the winding mechanism. As well as the name Thomas etched into the back. That was her fathers name he had indeed made this watch. Not that he had any doubts he had once asked the old man to make him a watch but he said he was retired and only made watches on special occasions. Under the name was something else engraved in "A gift to my son, may this piece give you the time to watch over my daughter". His cigarette in his mouth being puffed subconsciously the ashes spilling on the desk he wound up the watch and looked at it. Tt was another mystery he didn't understand. And not knowing why he clipped it to his belt and put it into his pocket. It was at that moment he realized he was crying and couldn't stop. The dead civilians, his brother and Sieg's lies, or his own confused feelings he wasn't sure which one he was crying about probably all of them. All he knew was he felt like a child left cold and alone.

FUSE Carrier Urutsukidoji
Hallway
April , 6, LC 214



Ariah doesn’t say anything as she quickly got on to her feet and grabbed Alice’s hand and she trails behind Phuc and Issac. The sooner they get away from the three, the better. She can’t help but wonder why veteran pilots with such vulgarity somehow manage to still continue service in the military without being reprimanded; But such a thoght

As soon as they were far enough, Ariah finally spoke out.



“I…suppose I should be thanking you for taking er…that in my stead Lieutenant O’Ryan; However I didn’t ask for your assistance, and it was uncalled- ”

Alice suddenly cuts Ariah off as she lets out a huge sigh, waving her hand out as if dismissing what Ariah had just said.

“Haaaa- Ari, always the stubborn one are you? It’s a little sad that you’ve never changed, However ” Her lips curl into a small grin ” it is refreshing to know that you’re still the same cute knight that would always come save me from my demise~”

There was this slight, chipper tone in Alice's voice that felt quite out of place with the current atmosphere, it was almost as if she was unaware of the predicament that had occurred not to long ago. Of course, it was not that she was unaware- Alice is simply just one of those people who doesn't take interest in things that doesn't exactly interest her at all.

“Ah, silly me~ I should introduce myself, least you might be wondering who I am” she says, remembering that she has not yet introduced herself to the group . Never mind the fact that Ariah had somewhat introduced her already, and that they might have deduced that they were twins, it never hurts to introduce oneself properly after all. She does a little twirl, and makes small curtsey towards the rest of the group.



“Alice Lowe at your service~ I recently just graduated and was assigned here I also don’t like fighting in the frontlines , So I’ll be supporting you guys as a CIC officer, so I hope you guys are fine with that. “ She then promptly hugs ariah from behind, giving off a cute mischievous smile in the process



“ I’m also Ari’s older sister and her beloved hime-sama, though I don't think it's that hard enough to realize we're siblings~


“…” Ariah can only let out a huge sigh , wondering if the heavens had some sort of grudge against her. Because really, things really weren’t going in her favor today; from the riot to the mission, and now her sister being here; That fact alone is vexing enough for her. In fact, she's made a mental note to confront Alice later and demand her for answers.

"......"

For a while Luke simply stared ahead soldiering on through the hallway with Akira slung over his left shoulder, and then the woman in red began talking. She was....dramatic to say the least, absolutely grating on ones nerves to say the most, still she seemed like a decent person. He still however kept his distance, he had the feeling that this 'Alice' was a lot more trouble than she initially let on.

"Um nice to meetcha, the name's Luke. You're uh......rather close to your little sister aren'tcha?"

Issac had been in a heavy mood ever since they had gotten back from the facility and all the shit that had happened since hadn't done much to improve said mood. However, Issac couldn't help but smile at Alice's charm. She seemed like a sweet girl, and though she was almost completely identical to Ariah in appearance, she was her polar opposite in terms of personality. Ariah seemed much more reserved, and held a strong sense of pride. Issac was glad that she still managed to thank him for stepping between her and Hirmm.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Alice, being a CIC officer is a tough job, one I could hardly stand to do. I believe pilots like us should thank people like you who do the do all the work so we can run around in giant machines, heh heh" Issac smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"And as for my actions earlier, I must apologise," Issac said, turning to Ariah, "But you of all people should know that chivalry does not wait to be asked. Besides, I was just as offended by that pig as you were. I acted as much for myself as I did for you're well being. Though I have to say...the outcome was less than desirable."
Issac pointed to the fresh stain on the front of his pilot suit as spoke.

Once they had finally made it to the infirmary, Issac called over a nurse to see to Akira. Once the boy had been tucked into a fresh bed, Issac proceeded to unzip his pilot suit. Had he been in uniform he could have simply removed his top, but since his suit was all one piece, Issac was reduced to standing in his briefs.
"Phew, that's a bit chilly~" Issac remarked as he pulled his legs out of the suit.
A nurse offered to wash the suit for Issac but he declined, throwing the suit in a nearby trash bin instead.
"Sorry nurse, but no amount of washing could make me wear that suit again." Issac noted, "Shame too. I had it custom made to match the colour of my Cambarus. Guess I'll have to find a standard issue replacement."
One of the nurses offered to fetch Issac a fresh shirt, they had some spares they'd give to patients post surgery. Issac thanked the nurse and she took off in search of one.

Meanwhile, Issac was left standing in the infirmary in nothing more than his skivvies. He snatched a carton of milk off of a nearby food tray, piloting a mobile suit always made him thirsty. He popped it open and took several deep gulps.
"...phew! much better!" Issac exclaimed, turning to face Alice, Ariah and Phuc, "Akira should be come to in a little bit. In the mean time, why don't we learn a little bit more about each other? Seems like we might be working together in the future~"

Zach stared down at the floor while the nurse quickly cleaned and dressed his wound. After a few minutes the nurse had finished. "You are welcome to stay here and rest for a while if you want sir." the nurse said with a polite smile on her face. Zach gave the young girl a simple nod and stood up. He could hear the sound of a group of people coming from the other end of the infirmary. Zach turned and looked down toward that end of the area and could see a half naked man standing there. Zach let out a sighs as he slowly began to walk toward the exit beyond the group.

Aesir Foxes Warship "Fortissimo"
April 6 LC 214...
Cafeteria...

Fresh from the shower, Angela headed out to the caf to get a snack. She chanced upon Kara exiting the door. She just passed by her, without even so much as a nod or eye contact. Angela was tired, and she didn't want to socialize that much with Kara. The only person on her mind was Risa, and she still hasn't seen her again.

She saw a haro saying that Tomoya went to the office in the hangar. She wanted to thank him for saving them a while ago from the Nereid. So, she took the haro and walked to the office. Sieg's office. And the Haro was right, Tomoya was there.

"Mr. Kerberos, thanks for the save. Im sad that Mr. Seeg betrayed us, but at least you're here..." she opened up a conversation.

Quote :

"Mr. Kerberos, thanks for the save. Im sad that Mr. Seeg betrayed us, but at least you're here..."

Hearing this Tomoya looked up to see Angela she was a bit blurry from his tears but he clearly recognized her. By her manner he knew she hadn't seen the news. He was about to say something about the innocent deaths. when he realized that her as the Fox with the biggest heart would take the news worse then any of them. So wiping the tears from his face the long burnt out cig falling to the floor. He looked at her and smiled. "Call me Tomoya but no need to thank me Angela it is what I am here for. Yes Sieg's betrayal has been hard on me as well." He said then looking at her he walked past her and closed the office door I have been wondering you never killed any one have you?" He asked trying to get away from the subject of the civilians. And remembering her targeting the Nereid's weapons but not it.

Aesir Foxes Warship "Fortissimo"
April 6 LC 214...
Sieg's Former Office, near the Hangar...


"Ummm... Mister... Tomoya! Ahum! I have never killed anybody, nor will I attempt to. Killing won't solve anything. That's why I go for... uhhm..." Something interrupted her. Angela felt something round creep up her pajamas. It was trying to get out. Suddenly her buttoned shirt busted wide open and a haro came out, apparantly it entered her shirt and tried to get out. Another haro pulled her pajamas down and exposed her little blue panties.


Angela looked in horror as her breasts were also exposed in front of Tomoya. Almost naked, she jumped behind the desk and hid. The mischievous haros flew around and kept teasing Tomoya.

"TOMOYA SEXUAL ASSAULT! TOMOYA SEXUAL ASSAULT!" the haros beeped on and on. Meanwhile Angel was trying to button her shirt frantically but some of the buttons were lost on the carpet. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Haro! What are you idiots doing!!! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!" she screamed. "TOMOYA PLANNED THIS! PLANNED THIS!!!" the Haros repeated.

Quote :

"Ummm... Mister... Tomoya! Ahum! I have never killed anybody, nor will I attempt to. Killing won't solve anything. That's why I go for... uhhm..."

Angela had answered as he expected and was about to answer her when her pajamas had burst off due to the mischiefious haros. Tomoya tried not to stare at Angela and instead began focusing on chasing the loudly screaming haros trying to turn them off. At the same time he pointed to behind Angela to one of Seig's old jackets. "Put that on While I quite these guys down." Then deciding what needed to be said needed to be said as he grabbed one of the orbs He said

"As to not killing it is easier to kill an enemy then disarm them. one shot to the chest and there gone" He said as if advocating the killing. quickly he caught the second haro. And turning to look at her he said "That just means you have to be stronger then the rest of us." Unfortunately he forgot about her pajamas and when he looked at her his face turned bright red and he dropped both struggling haros. Looking away he asked in an embarrassed tone "How do you shut these things up anyways?" trying to end the awkwardness of what had just happened.

Aesir Foxes Warship "Fortissimo"
April 6 LC 214...
Sieg's Former Office, near the Hangar...


"Waaah! Haro's weren't meant to be hurt! Don't try to capture them they'll just get angrier!!" Angela yelled out. The room became so noisy with three Haros flying around Tomoya. The Haros were so fast but Tomoya got two of them. Unfortunately the last one which was red was three times faster than the two. It looked at Tomoya and extended out its arm, exposing its middle finger.

"FUCK YOU MOLESTER TOMOYA!!!" said the red Haro. It was the same one he hurled at the TV back in the cafeteria and now it was mad at Tomoya.

The Haro jumped at Tomoya and charged straight at the young man's head.

"DESTROY THE MOLESTER PERVERTED TOMOYA!!!" the red Haro beeped again. It was going to bump Tomoya's head at full speed.

The member 'AngelfromAbove' has done the following action : DICE ROLL

'LC Melee' :

Result :

Tomoya couldn't believe it the Haro he had thrown earlier was the ring leader behind this. And it was coming at him full speed. puting up his hands to block the orb he was caught full in the face by the thing. Sent flying he hit the wall blood was rushing down his face. As he looked at the defiant little ball he worked to stand up. His first instinct was to bat the thing like a baseball but based on Angela's words and the actions of the one he had thrown he realized robot or no they seemed to have feelings. so he sat back down and let the haro continue running into him bruising him up. Looking at it he said. "I'm sorry comet" he didn't know why he had dubbed the angry haro comet it just felt appropriate perhaps it was the way it had smashed his face but shoving that aside he looked at the orb and said I shouldn't have thrown you at the TV. I'm Sorry it was just the news about the dead civilians at the factory it....."

And at that moment Tomoya realized what he had just said and looked at Angela horror struck he had known she would find out sooner or later but he had not planned to be the one to tell her to see the look on her face when she found out. "I-I-I am so sorry" He said tho this time no tears would come he had to be strong. As he had told her those who cared had to be the strongest and instead he just punched the ground and refused to look at her. He wanted to get up and run away. But he couldn't even the repeated bashings by the haros didn't matter. He suddenly felt numb what should he do? What could he do? So He did the only thing he could at this point. Sitting on the floor not looking at her blood rushing from his nose, mouth and the cut on his hand, he told her in a hollow dead voice about the news report he had seen.

Lp-

Aesir Foxes Warship "Fortissimo"
April 6 LC 214...
Sieg's Former Office, near the Hangar...

Cheese barged into the room, and he wasn't so happy with what he saw. Angela was hiding behind a desk, naked, and Tomoya was on the floor bleeding. There were haros in the room, and one seemed to be in a bad shape. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHH! Fakking kids! You should go back to sleep! I don't know what you doing but you fakking kids should stop all this fakking games!"

Pissed, Cheese slammed the door and went back to work.

GRANDEST SUPER OCEANIC FUSE CARRIER "URUTSUKIDOJI"

Infirmiry

The new guy, the turncoat who suddenly "jumped ship" from the Aesir Foxes to FUSE, got up from his bed almost as soon as he saw The FUSE pilots enter the sterile, off white medical bay of the Urutsukidoji. Luke carefully lowered Akira onto one of the infirmiry's empty beds, as the dusky man passed by him. Luke looked at the man as he passed by, sizing him up. Oooooh? Now this guy looks intersting. I better be careful though or I'm liable to get my shit fuck up, this one's dangerous.

With a smirk on his face Luke reached out to catch Sieg's shoulder he was quick, delibirate with his movements, and utterly sure that the man would catch his hand before it even got anywhere near his shoulder.

(Hayase can force catch Luke's hand or let himself be felt up by Luke)

Perhaps from damage sustained from hitting him, perhaps from when he had thrown it, or the Haro was simply bored for whatever reason by the time he had told Angela the whole story The Red Haro he had dubbed Comet had stopped moving.

After telling Angela the story the pain of what had happened was welling back up inside but he refused to let it get to him. He had a duty to the Foxes and while he couldn't protect them from things like this. He could put on a brave face and be strong so that in times like this they didn't have to be. So gathering what remained of his strength he stood up. Walked over to Angela gave her a hug and told her that everything would be ok. Then turning he was about to leave the room when his foot hit the prone Haro. Bending down he picked it up and placed it in his pocket. The other two got agitated but he didn't care "It is my fault he is broken so I will fix him up. Don't worry little comet here will be right as rain when I'm done. As he went to his room he became aware he was still bleeding and wiped his face off.

Upon reaching his room he set the Haro down. And after stripping off the bloodied clothes he climbed into his shower...Well shower was a relative word he thought with a laugh. It was actually merely a three foot by three foot area where normal cleaning crews dumped dirty water, and refilled buckets. As the ship was cleaned by Haros the "sink" wasn't used and not wanting to waste it had converted it into a crude yet effective shower for himself.

After he finished his quick shower he collapsed into bed and began to try and get some sleep but quickly realized that while his body was exhausted his mind wasn't ready to let him escape that easily. Sitting there in bed alone with his thoughts and a body that ached he reached over and grabbed an acoustic guitar. It was an old Guitar with chips and splinters the strings frayed. It had been one of the many things that had been left in the closet back when that was what it acted as. And having nowhere else to put it he had left it where it stood. looking at the strings he realized he hadn't played in years not since he was a kid. His father had insisted he learn an instrument. "Music brings balance" he used to say. He had stopped playing when he first started getting into trouble. But with nothing better to do and wanting to escape his thoughts he began gently strumming the guitar ignoring the pain in his hand and just letting his feelings guide him.


He quickly found the music came easily to him and tho he had no words to add the Melody soothed him and he quickly passed out from exhaustion his fingers still on the guitar.


(OOC Tomoya will not accept any money for this Mission. For two reasons he feels guilt about the civilians and as of now he is no longer a Moorhound which is to whom the money would have been paid. PS. sorry I would have preferred to put this into two posts but seeing as the chapter will be ending soon I wanted to get this final post in.)

Zach stood there and allowed the man to pat him down. It surprised him that he had not been searched the moment he fell out of that mobile suit. Zach stared forward with his arms upward, his eyes looked on those standing in front of him. He tilted his head back a small amount as she spoke to the man searching him. "You know had you just asked if i had any weapons on me i would have told you.." He then returned to looking forward once again and it was at that moment he saw the man standing there in only his boxers. Zach let out a sigh at the sight of this."Do you really feel the need to stand there like that man. You could at least put a robe on or something." Zach looked away from the man and noticed the pilot of the mobile suit that had saved him. the same one that for some reason felt the need to shout something at him and sucker punch him. He stared at her with his cold emotionless eyes.

Quote :

"You know had you just asked if i had any weapons on me i would have told you.."

"Sorry, sorry jus doin my job." Luke said with a slight bemused smirk on his face, "and besides would you believe a complete stranger? Especially one who's so quick to switch sides? Still ya seem like an interesting one. The name's Luke." The fox-eyed man was quick, thorough, and professional as he searched the turncoat for any hidden weapons, then again if he wasn't good with a standard pat-down after six months as a military guard then something would have been seriously wrong with him, or the military that trained him.

Luke finished his inspection, and true to his word the man didn't have anything more lethal than a credit card on him. He was disappointed to say the least, maybe he had misjudged the man....maybe. "Well he's clean guys, ummm relatively speaking anyway." The man still had a fair amount of bruises, fresh scars, and some open wounds nothing too serious but enough to make Luke seriously wish he had a bottle of sanitizer hand on him at the moment. He settled for washing his hands at a nearby sink.

Quote :

"Do you really feel the need to stand there like that man. You could at least put a robe on or something."

"Don't worry about it, its nothin you haven't seen before. Nobody ever went blind from seeing a nearly naked guy. Though he do got a point boss. Ain't ya cold like that lieutenant?"

Aesir Foxes Warship "Fortissimo"
April 06th LC 214...
Ship Bridge


BGM- "RX-0"

Back on the bridge, Cheese sat in his chair observing footage of the situation earlier. His side monitor started to beep, and the Haro attending it called the Captain's attention. "Sir we got a potential member..." said the round robot. Cheese quickly got off the chair and took a closer look at what the Haro found.

"Well well well, what do we have here? You're right... that's some serious talent there. Trace the uploader's IP and then send her a message. We found the perfect candidate for Unit 04..." Cheese ordered his Haro. While Sieg's betrayal was still fresh in his mind, he knew he had to find more girls to fill up his fighting force. And, it looked like he had found the final member to complete the four-girl band he always dreamed of.

"This is the Captain. Fortissimo will change coordinates. We are about to pick up another friend." Cheese spoke on the intercom again. He sat back on the chair and called his pet Haros again to attend to him. "You think Unit 04 is ready?" Cheese asked.

Fortissimo...
Hangar B...

This section of the hangar was closed off to most people. Here, only Haros in worker drone armor were present. They applied the final touches to what appeared to be a Gundam. A black Gundam. Carrying heavy stuff and whizzing to and fro, the Haros finally completed the suit. To top it all up, they sprayed the Aesir Foxes logo and the designation "04" on its thigh.

The Fortissimo slowly rose from the water's surface, breaking through it at high speed while activating its diffusive optical cloak. "FULL CLOAK MODE NOW! Set the Y-Oscillator to temporal node option B. I want us out of this damn place. Haro pink-09 do the math and estimate how much sigmi-09 units we got left. I want the MVB-9000 gears and all them rakka-tangos on the chop-chop! Shake those rakka-tangos and wakka-mambos everyone! " Cheese ordered all of the Haros to work hard and pump 100% energy into the takeoff and cloaking. The colloid particles filled the ship's surface up, rendering it invisible to the naked eye. With the location of the new girl things looked bright for Cheese.

April 6, Lunar Century 214
Approaching dawn...


The Urutsukidoji's crew, all of them including Commander Massoli, paid Ayana her final respects. Ayana had been posthumously promoted up to one rank, as tradition goes. Unable to contact Ayana's relatives, they decided to follow Ayana's note in her jacket. She wished to be buried at sea in case she died in a mission. Honoring this her body was placed in a casket and was lowered to the waves.


Everyone saluted the brave female officer one last time before her casket was released. Beside her casket was another one which contained the body of the officer Lexine killed. At Massoli's signal, both coffins were dropped, allowed to sink into the ocean.

In the east, the sun slowly rose up, giving rays of hope to the grief-stricken crew of the Urutsukidoji. Massoli looked at her cadets. "One day, your sadness will become strength...." she told them as golden rays shone on them.

CHAPTER 2: "Ocean of Tears" Path concluded
To be continued in Chapter 3.

Thanks to everyone who played this route. My heartfelt gratitude to you all.