Chapter 4 - Start Up the Gundams
#4 of Two Worlds One Heart
Author's note: Any reference to actual events, people, or places are just coincidental. I hold no ownership to the Gundams or any of the Mobile Suit Gundam series.
"Liek" is pronounced as "leek"
"Li'thel" is pronounced as "lee-thel"
Chapter 4 â€" Start Up the Gundams
Location â€" Li'thel's World
"Shit! I came back at a bad time!" exclaimed Li'thel as stood back up with the laptop closed in his arms.
I thought I got away from my headache and now it's even bigger than this morning. Why does my life have to suck so bad? I was better off not replying to that IM in the first place. Oh God how I want this headache to go away.
"Hey kid, you well enough to do some running?" asked Li'thel.
Liek got up and wobbled a bit before nodding.
"I know you want the pain to go away but you're going to have to deal with it a little longer. Until we get to a shelter anyways," said Li'thel opening a door. "By the way, keep close and don't lose sight of me no matter what happens."
Liek nodded again before moving towards Li'thel.
"Here goes nothing. May the valkyrie's bless our lives," whispered Li'thel as he opened the door and dashed out of the room with Liek following right behind him.
Location â€" Li'thel's World: Street
What's going on? Why are we even running? Oh right, there was an explosion. Everything here looks so different from the last time I was here. The headache is slowly going away and I'm starting to remember what happened last night.
After I closed the laptop, it opened again on its on and Li'thel's arm pulled me into the screen and I appeared in that room. Everything around me was just like my world but the only difference is that the people were different types of animals rather than human. According to Li'thel, his whole world is nothing but animals so I guess there are parallel worlds even though science can't really prove it. He told me that there was a war going on but it wouldn't hit the city anytime soon. Guess he was wrong about that. In the end, I went back home really tired but when I got back, it was already time for me to go to school.
"Down here!" shouted Li'thel above another explosion as he held a man hole open.
Location â€" Li'thel's World: Sewer Tunnels
Through luck, Liek made it into the hole as Li'thel followed after. They climbed down the ladder and made it to the sewer pipes that were still in tact. Li'thel started to breathe a little easier now that they were out of harms way for now. They both rested at the base of the ladder trying to catch their breathe.
This is all too much for me to look at. I guess war is a dangerous thing then. Then that would mean people dying in this world are dying in my world and other worlds if they also exist.
After a few minutes passed, Li'thel got up and helped Liek up. Liek was feeling much better now that he got a chance to rest and let his headache subside.
"That was quite a run, wasn't it?" asked Li'thel.
"Ya, it was. Last time I was here, you said that the war wasn't gonna reach this city anytime soon. Was that a lie?" asked Liek.
"I dunno. Sometimes when crossing between worlds, you end up in a different time zone that you aren't aware of but I think this just happened recently," said Li'thel.
"That's just great. I stuck with a guy who doesn't know everything that he's supposed to know," said Liek.
"Don't blame me. Either way, we need to get to a shelter that isn't too far from here. I'm sure the citizens are there safe and sound while all of this explosions are happening," said Li'thel as he started to walk down the sewer pipes.
Great, I'm walking in a sewer pipe with a guy who I now no longer feel safe with when I'm in this world. I thought sewers were supposed to smell horrible and everything but I guess that's not the case in this world.
"Hey! Don't leave me behind," said Liek walking quickly behind Li'thel.
The water is actually clean here but I guess this is only a clean section of the sewers. Maybe there really is a place that smells horrible in the sewers. Something shiny caught my eye when I entered the streets. Maybe I should ask Li'thel about it. He's a commanding officer after all so he should know something about it.
"Hey Li'thel," said Liek.
"What?" answered Li'thel as he looked ahead to make sure he was going in the right direction.
"When we were running down the streets, I saw something shiny and tall. It looked like a really big robot. Do you know what it is?" asked Liek.
"Ever heard of Gundams?" asked Li'thel.
"Not really," said Liek.
"In your world, there are Japanese animations, or anime as it is formally called by people, called Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam G, and so forth. I'll show you it when we get to the shelter. Anyways, those giant robots, which are fake in your world, are actually weapons here in my world. Both sides have some but only the enemy has produced strong ones. We have some special Gundams in production now but they are under a different name," answered Li'thel.
"Wait, those giant things are what did this to the city?" asked Liek in shock.
"Pretty much. I just wonder who first came up with the design though," said Li'thel.
I wasn't expecting to find something from an animation to actually be here. I've heard about Gundam Seed and stuff from my friends but I never really paid much attention to them. Now that I've actually seen one in real life, it just seems really strange to me now. It's like I want to go and ask them so many questions about it and stuff so that I get a better idea of what they are and maybe how to beat one if the time comes. I've never been really passive about war but just the thought of violence makes me enthusiastic.
"Are those Gundams controlled by remote control?" asked Liek.
"No, they are controlled by people. I've piloted one myself but the controls were hard to understand so I became a commanding officer for hand to hand combat instead of robot to robot," said Li'thel.
"I still can't believe that Gundams actually exist," said Liek.
"You'd be amazed on what we can produce in this world. One time, we've produced a pokemon but that failed miserably so we had no choice but to kill it. I mean, most of our creations comes from your world believe it or not. I have my doubts though since similar versions are also in this world," said Liek.
"You mean that you guys can bring stuff to life?!" exclaimed Liek in surprise.
"Pretty much," said Li'thel.
Liek and Li'thel stopped before a steel door that read "Emergency Shelter # 250." The door was rusted over and a broken control panel is on the right side of the door.
"This looks really old," said Liek.
"It is but we still use it for shelter. This shelter connects to the facility were the special Gundams are being made," said Li'thel knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" asked a muffled voice on the other side of the door.
"Commanding Officer Li'thel Va. I have a civilian with me," said Li'thel.
"Do you have any form of proof?" asked the voice.
"High Court Teriz has issued a proclamation on the destruction of the enemy Q," answered Li'thel.
"Hold on a moment," said the voice.
Sets of clicks could be heard on the other side of the door as Li'thel and Liek waited for the door to open. After a few more clicks the door was pushed open from the other side and Li'thel and Liek entered. The door closed behind them and another set of clicks went underway.
Location â€" Li'thel's World: Emergency Storage # 250
"Li'thel, I thought you had a civilian with you. What is that?" asked a young jackal.
"This is a human from the other world I was telling you about before I left. I thought I'd be back long before the war started but I guess I was wrong," said Li'thel as he walked into a large room that looks brand new.
"That's a human? I thought they would look like us," said the young jackal.
"I showed you what a human sorta looks like through the anime," said Li'thel.
"I thought you were only joking," said the jackal with some innocence.
"I wasn't joking. Where's Namna?" asked Li'thel.
"She's waiting at the facility. A new Gundam is almost done but nobody wants to try it out," said the young jackal.
"Got it. Come on Liek, you're coming with me. Namna knows more about out machinery than I do," said Li'thel as he walked towards a door on the other side of the room.
"I'm Jak by the way," said the young jackal to Liek. "I just recently joined the ranks of the army while Li'thel was gone. He taught me everything I need to know about surviving in this war but I want to help my allies in their fight for survival."
"You look no older than I am," said Liek in shock.
"I still attend school but when I'm needed to help the war, I go," smiled Jak.
I'm meeting strange people now. Jak seems so innocent I don't know what to say when he gets ruined by war. He looks cute but that's about it. If he's only as old as I am, then I should be able to join the army in my world. Then again, laws are different everywhere so I better not get ahead of myself.
Li'thel, Jak, and Liek continued in silence until they reached the other side of the room. Li'thel and Jak exchanged a few words before Jak departed to do something. Li'thel opened the door and entered the well lit hallway as Liek continues to be in awe with what he is seeing around him.
Location â€" Li'thel's World: Hallway connecting Shelter and the facility.
As the door closed behind them, Li'thel stopped and sighed. "That kid doesn't know what he's getting himself into," said Li'thel.
"What makes you say that?" asked Liek.
"What kind of question is that? I'm a military personnel and I've been on the front lines many of times. It's not a place for a kid like Jak," said Li'thel.
"If he thinks he can survive the this war then why don't you let him? I mean, he seems really bright," said Liek.
"That's my point. Jak is a really bright kid and I don't want to see his brilliance get wasted just by going to war. I think the only reason he joined is because of me. He practically idolizes me," said Li'thel.
"What are you trying to say? That Jak is cut out to be something somebody else wants him to be?" asked Liek. "If that's the case then you're no good than other adult that I know."
"You don't get it. If your brilliant, then you can go to the neutral city and live a life of peace instead of war. I've seen my share of kids that are as brilliant has he is go to war to die on the front lines or during training. Believe me, training is very rigorous and it isn't suited for him. I'm sure he'll be headed to the front lines the moment this school year is over for him," said Li'thel slightly depressed.
"If you say he's as bright as you say he is, then he should have been smart enough to study and go to the neutral city. This is his life so let him do what he wants," said Liek in a strict tone.
"I wish I could do that," whispered Li'thel.
I wonder what is Li'thel's relationship with Jak. The only times I ever saw something like this is either brother/sister love, love within one another, or motherly love. Does he love Jak or does he think of Jak as the little brother he never had? Either way things are just confusing. Guess I'll develop another headache if I keep thinking about this.
"Why don't we just keep moving on and go the facility that you mentioned? I want to meet this Namna," said Liek.
"That's right," said Li'thel as his mood brightened a little.
Liek and Li'thel walked for a couple of minutes without meeting anyone or hear anything else other than their breathing. Liek doesn't want to bring up the conversation about Jak since he doesn't want to be next to a depressed guy who is probably in love with Jak. The conversation about the Gundam is out of the question cause he could just ask Namna about them. The only thing left that could be talked about is the laptop that Li'thel is still carrying.
"Why do you carry that laptop with you?" asked Liek.
"This? It's a memento of my family. It's all I have left actually. Even though they live in the neutral city, I rarely get to see them since I'm on the front lines so often," answered Li'thel.
A memento? That's interesting considering the facts that this is war. I guess people can make anything a memento if its that important to them. I wonder if I'm going to have a memento if someone gives something to me. I don't really get the idea myself.
"We're almost to the facility. If you feel a hot wave then stand behind me. I'm used to the heat so it's not big deal," said Li'thel as they approached an opening.
Location â€" Li'thel's World: The Facility
"Hurry up with the check! You! Did you find any testers yet?" yelled a female's voice.
"Namna!" shouted Li'thel from the opening.
"Eh? Li'thel! Come on down!" shouted the female.
"That's Namna?" asked Liek.
"Yup. She's the expert of the machinery that we are producing down here," answered Li'thel as he stepped into the lift followed by Liek.
The air here is sorta hot but I can deal with it for now. So Namna's a girl. I would have never guessed but I guess war makes a lot of new openings for people. I wonder where the Gundam is.
The lift reached the bottom and Li'thel and Liek got off as Namna made her way to greet them.
"Is that a human?" asked Namna.
"Yup. Names Liek," answered Li'thel.
"Nice to meet you Liek. Say, would you mind testing out something for me, Liek?" asked Namna.
"Uh...okay. What do you want me to test out?" asked Liek.
"That thing over there," pointed Namna to a tall robot that is similar to ones Liek saw on the surface.
"Is that a Gundam?" asked Liek.
"Sure is," said Namna.
What the hell am I getting myself into?