Vandread- The Lost
By: Demonic Auras
Disclaimer(for all writing): I don't own Vandread. Period. If I did, there would be more sexual references (and don't try and tell me there aren't any!) lol
Extremely brief Prologue (as prologues go...)-
The red Paksis (Pixus) has been obliterated at last, ending Earth's plague upon the humans of the universe. The majority of the planets, speckling the black canvas of outer space, with their human inhabitants, never knew of the war or the threat of the Harvest, and probably never will. However, the two planets which know of it as a turning point in history are called Tarak and Mejale (Ma-jer). The planet of the men, and the planet of the women, separated during the colonization period. At the war's end, the planets which fought together (alongside the people from Melanus) decided to make peace after three generations of separation and resentment, resulting in men and women learning to love and accept one another all over again. This story takes place after the Vandread events, twenty years later.
Chapter 1
In the Blink of an Eye
"I still don't get it,"
"Get what, Gen?" asked Kahlua while Genikuro, on a platform above her and laying on his back, messed around with his dad's old Vanguard. Rumor had it that it had played a key role in the winning of the Paksis War, but compared to the newer Tarak models coming out, it looked to be nothing more than...
"It's a piece of junk...!" he grumbled harshly before getting around to fiddling with the underside of a breast piece. Kahlua didn't get machinery at all, but so long as it kept Genikuro around and busy she was happy. He suddenly seemed to recall her question, and quickly followed up his comment with an answer; or, to be more precise, a slight rant. "Why the hell did he go getting the idea to just hand this thing over to me? And as a present for my sixteenth birthday, too! What a rip!"
"Well," Kahlua began, pausing to think of a positive side to the situation. "Hardly any kids your age are allowed to even have one, and if they are they're really expensive. Besides, it is a full two weeks early, so maybe your parents have something else in mind... Like a surprise, maybe."
It suddenly went quiet on the platform, and an instant later Genikuro poked his head over the edge, trying in vain to hide the curiosity in his dark-blue eyes.
"A surprise you say?"
Kahlua smiled up at him and nodded, giggling. His face was all smudged up with grease and whatnot.
"Hm? What's so funny? What are you laughing at!"
He watched her climb the ladder to the platform and sat up, groaning suspiciously. She loved that side of him, and she could see why Dita would say that it was like living with the teenage Hibiki all over again; though their attire was completely different. Genikuro wore a vest of a dark green color and shorts of a semi matching design, then under it all he had on a black body suit that just surpassed (lengthwise) his vest and shorts. For the moment, he also had on a welding jacket, grey with long sleeves and unbuttoned. Kahlua knelt before him and removed a handkerchief from her pocket, dabbing it on her tongue (making him flinch at this point), and began to wash away some of that grit.
"Hey! What're you doing! Get off of me!" he exclaimed, trying to pull away.
"Oh, hold still!" she mumbled, having a firm grip on his lower jaw. As he continued to squirm her fingers slipped so she ended up pinching the hollows of his cheeks.
"Arrgh!" he growled, suddenly still as he glowered up at her. "Why do you always do this! You treat me like a child!"
"Well, aren't you one still?"
Satisfied, she released him. He scoffed and tried to wipe away anything she could have missed, or rather left, on his face with his sleeve. She sighed when a great black streak formed across his cheek and dotted the tip of his nose and just tucked the kerchief away, giving up.
"Yeah, well, you're only five years older than me!" he defended, rubbing his jaw sourly and marking his face even more. "That's hardly any difference at all!"
"Hardly," she agreed, "but seemingly enough."
He paused, his other, equally blemished sleeve raised to wipe across the so far unmarred cheek. "What'd you just say!" He had an unquestionable itch for a fight.
"Are you two at it again!"
They both looked down from the platform to see Jurani and Mindona; two definite friends of theirs. Mindona was the one who had spoken, her high pitched voice reaching them easily. That she inherited from her mother, Parfet, but her lack of interest in mechanics was, as some would consider, a gift from Duero. She had long, dark brown hair held back in a braid that reached the dip of her back, lovely emerald eyes, and had quite the posture for a girl her age. She was only a few months past her seventeenth birthday, half a year younger than Jurani, Jura's son.
Jura's nature was one which drove everyone around her nearly to the brink of insanity and/or utter hopelessness; what with her idealism and thoughts. It was amazing how Barnette could handle her, being married and all. She was the one who, in order to relieve stress for both parties in Jura's quest to find a man to have a baby with, ordered in a male seed for her. Of course, that was how Jurani came to be, but Barnette was the ohma for his younger sister, Liewa, now reaching ten. It was odd to see them apart, since she would always tag along so often.
"Do you really expect them to just change over night?" Jurani asked Mindona.
"Of course not, Jur," she responded in an almost sarcastic, sing-song way. "If one gets their expectations too high they're bound to be disappointed."
Kahlua just looked at them where as Genikuro took offence to the comment, his fists clutching the tips of his boots. Men truly were weird.
"I've had enough talk of this!" he stated, almost snootily as he lay back down to work on his Vanguard. Despite what he had said, Kahlua had a feeling that he was starting to form a bond with that machine.
"You're just going to leave him there! Unmonitored?" Mindona inquired in a 'whisper' once Kahlua climbed down to join them. Mindona had rushed to meet her, her loose red pants swishing as she approached, whereas Jurani was still walking over. One could tell that Genikuro had heard Mindona's question by the sudden clank from above. It was a fair guess as to what made the noise, whether he had simply dropped a tool or had actually hit his face-piece against something. Despite her curiosity, Kahlua felt it was time to let him be and herded the other two out of the hanger.
"So... what's happening?" Mindona asked in a bubbly mood as they walked down the corridors of the Nirvana to an unknown destination. "I mean, there's gotta be some reason for you to actually go to a hanger of all places on the weekend. So who's the one being troubled this time?"
"Troubled?" Kahlua asked, surprised.
"Yeah! You or Genikuro."
"What would lead you to presume something like that?" Jurani asked, calm. It was a tad annoying to look at the example of his mother and see a side of Duero in his cool and collected nature. Annoying, and unnerving. It would support Parfet's tale of Jura's audacity of showing a great interest in Duero before he, Hibiki and Dita, Bart and the Commander Tenmei Uragasumi, or preferably known as BC, returned to Tarak to pick out some suitable men to bring aboard the Nirvana; the first colony to have men and women live together under the same roof. There have been other attempts, though none as successful as the Nirvana Colony. The men had to make three trips to Tarak with how many Jura rejected, but the women were at no objection to her strict eye and judgment.
"Oh, nothing I suppose," Mindona responded, disappointed. Not only. She liked to dig up some dirt on certain people, though she denied it at every opportunity. "It's just that... Well, it's just that I think Gen needs to... you know... get out more. I see him either in his room all day, studying endlessly for that pilot's exam he's so determined to take right on his birthday, or he's working on that machine his father gave to him. It just makes me... well, it makes me sad, actually."
"Sad?" Jurani inquired. "Why sad? It's not like he can just zoom out of your life just on a whim." Mindona blushed at that and promptly opened her mouth to protest. Jurani didn't notice and just kept on talking. "Don't forget Min, you and I are also taking that exam soon, and I sort of feel guilty not showing the same dedication Gen has for this father's machine towards my mothers."
It took him a moment to realize they had stopped walking, and he turned to see them gawking at him.
"Yes?"
"But... but I though men couldn't use the Dreads," Kahlua stated, confused.
"Yes, but..."
"But you still want to drive one!" Mindona cried, a peculiar look on her face. "What are you thinking! Do you know what people will start to say if they find out you..."
Kahlua nudged Mindona with her elbow and she fell silent, but it was obvious she had more to say on the issue.
"Yes," Jurani repeated, "but I never said that I was the one to use it, now did I?"
"Your sister, Liewa?" Kahlua asked.
Jurani nodded and, finding no more interest in the subject, continued to walk; allowing the other two the choice of falling behind or tagging along. They caught up, and the silence didn't last long.
"Hey, Kahlu?" Mindona began. Kahlua glanced at her to show she was listening. "Kahlu, do you... Do you think that maybe you could take the exam as well and, uh, maybe ask Dita and for her Dread?"
Jurani took quick interest in this, but Kahlua had already made up her mind not to. They knew that Mindona had already asked Meia for her Dread (surprisingly persuading her after two months when a new Dread model came out), and she had said that she would give it to her as a gift when she passed the exam, so that did leave only Dita's Dread and they could reform the team from...
"Min, why do you ask?" Kahlua inquired. "It's not like we could do anything they did if we had their machines. And besides, I have no interest in driving a thing like that out there. Not within even two miles of Genikuro when he finally shoots out of that hanger."
"I know," Mindona admitted, "It's just that I really don't want to be... you know... left out."
"Of what?" Jurani asked, still walking slightly ahead of them.
"Of..." she paused to think, then scrubbed her nails through her shiny hair. "Oh, I don't know! I don't wanna miss anything, is that so wrong! I wanna be right there and with everyone all the time, 'cuz that's what friends do, right?"
"To some extents, yes," Kahlua admitted, catching her meaning whereas Jurani walked on ahead once more, confused, "but I have heard that if you do not give a man room to breath, you may very well suffocate them with your presence. Just don't..."
THONK!
Jurani went crashing backwards to the floor as Pyoro plowed over his face and clutched Kahlua, making his happy robot noises. Where he clutched made her very uncomfortable, but robots had limited knowledge of human emotions and reactions; especially Pyoro.
"Pyoro-2! Good morning! I've made you breakfast, cleaned your room, fetched the hard mail, and fluffed the cushion of your favorite seat while you were gone! Oh, and one of the hard mails is from Nemanu..."
"Uh... I've, missed you too?" Kahlua blurted out, hoping the others didn't hear that last sentence.
"Pyoro!" chirped the little machine happily as Mindona helped Jurani to his feet. He had a bloody nose.
"Pyoro! I swear I'm gunna make it so you can't hover one of these days!" Jurani threatened, in a rare and pissed off mood, sending the little robot to hide behind a smiling Kahlua.
Genikuro replaced the last piece on the Vanguard and sighed, stepping back to take a look. He was happy that there was no remodeling needed for that part, like there was for so many others. He hadn't told anyone yet, but he had figured out that his Mecha, or face-piece as others liked to slangy call it, along with other similar pieces could connect to the Vanguard systems while he was inside it. It was a risky idea, considering the machine was warped by the still mysterious blue Paksis, but he was ready for something different in his life, and he felt a strange but invigorating call come from that idea. Now, all he needed was his pilot's permit and Parfet's cooperation, for she was the only one who knew or even had an interest in the making of Mecha. She was the one who made and repeatedly upgraded the one he wore then, a gift from Meia on his thirteenth birthday.
"Done!" he breathed, gathering his tools. He wasn't done with the Mecha rewiring, but something even more complicate which had been keeping him busy for well over a week. He never liked his father's old model with a cockpit, where a pilot sits to navigate, so he decided to spend a fortune and what felt to be a lifetime to remodel it into a suit design; an idea newly out on the market.
To him, this was a far better way to pilot any machine. Commands were reaction-instant for starters, the design allowed for more of a shock absorbent environment, and he just liked to idea of being fully in control. He had to think ahead though in the design, and still expected to have to go back and rewire some things many times before any testing was done. For now though, he found the suit to be wired fine, and he was hungry so he would leave and do some minor tests tomorrow.
Gathering his things he began to climb down the ladder. He was halfway down before his hand slipped off a rung, and since his other was clutched to his toolbox he ended up falling the rest of the way.
"Dammit!" he muttered, waiting for the air to come back to his lungs. "Why the hell did..." he looked at his hand, the one what had been descending, and saw the oil and lubricants covering his palm. He had to admit that his face probably had looked funny to Kahlua, now that he thought about it, and that only annoyed him.
Standing himself up he dusted off his pants, getting them more greasy and his hands dusty, and looked up to see someone leaning against the hanger opening.
"So, have any ideas for the Vanguard?" Hibiki asked, looking at the towering machine instead of Genikuro.
"Plenty," he responded, picking up a tan towel and wiping off his face and hands.
"You know, Dita's not going to like having you around if you keep giving her more work to do."
Genikuro paused, looked at Hibiki, and dropped the now filthy towel back onto the floor. "She's the one who chooses to do it." Not waiting for a response he walked past Hibiki for his room. He still hadn't memorized how to execute a parallel landing.
Hibiki waited for the footsteps to fade away behind him before walking into the hanger. He looked at the Vanguard and his gaze became unfocused as memories came back to him, of the first times he combined with the three Dreads, of all the battles he had, of the ultimate combination which, as he detested, was still named Vandread-Pyoro, but most of all he thought of the war.
Not wanting to think on it he searched for a different memory.
"Hah," he chuckled, thinking about Dita fighting alongside him in his lap for the first time ever. "Was I really that immature, partner?"
The Vanguard just stood there, solid as ever. Even the mark he had made on it, seemingly far too long ago, still remained.
"For the most part, you haven't changed a bit, have you partner? I'm just getting older and older, whereas you still look like new."
He stared at it a moment longer, observing his son's work, then with a sigh turned away and walked out of the hanger. An oddly blue light glinted in the Vanguard's green eyes, then winked out.
I know, some of you are probably cursing me for changing Hibiki so much, but you have to admit that he would have matured after twenty years! I'm trying to revive his nature through his son, but I don't know how that's going to turn out yet... Other than that, please send in some reviews! (They don't have to be positive either, just give me your true opinion!) Oh, and for those of you who have already read this section, I did rewrite some of it while on break (sorry if I've confused you!). But, I hope you like the changes, and if you don't you can bicker all you like in a review!