Episode XXIII: A Long-Expected Reunion
“We’re back!”
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeey, pretty lady!!!” Ichi smiled warmly as she was greeted by Gerrand and Xyphos, and gave them both a hug that was just slightly out of character. Considering everything she had been through, though, it was a proper gesture.
“It’s so great to see you two again! I’ve really missed being away from here!”
“Yeah! The place must seem like home to you now!” remarked Gerrand slyly. Ichi smiled and nodded her head.
“Yeah… I guess that after everything I’ve been through, this place is like my home. Oh hey, before I run off and forget, weren’t you going to show me something, Max?”
“Yes,” he replied, and he led her and the others down the shuttle hangar hallway and into the main area of the foundation. Since he didn’t know the lay of the area as well as Ichi, he asked her for directions.
“I want to go back to where you stored the mechanical suit I brought with me,” he requested. Ichi understood and took the lead.
“So this has something to do with that message that was in there, right?”
“Indeed,” replied Max warily, “though you won’t like me very much when you hear it.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’ll see,” he muttered. Ichi frowned, but kept her silence as she led the four men through the Foundation. After passing through several long hallways and corridors, they came to an area that stored large items (such as Max’s mecha), and passed through the door. Max leaped up into the cockpit of his machine, and turned it on using the procedure that Kit had taught him. He beckoned for Ichi to join him in the seat, and rose out just as he completed the last input.
“The message will be activated by pressing this button,” he pointed, indicating a small green circle on the main terminal. “Bear in mind that this recording is roughly a year old, and its entirety was not available to me until very recently. It’s rather amazing that the portion I saw was available when I first used it. Perhaps it was destiny for me to find this, but I don’t care for such matters as that. Anyway, it’s yours.” Ichi understood, and made herself comfortable in the seat as Max hopped out. Gerrand, Matthew, and Xyphos craned their heads up curiously, wondering what the big secret was.
“Here goes nothing,” muttered the pale woman as she pressed the button. An image flickered on the screen, and to her sharp surprise, it was that of her childhood friend and lost lover, Tobi. “Tobi!! Max, why didn’t you--”
“If you’re listening to this message, then you were able to find someone trustworthy to decode it,” interrupted the voice on the recording. Ichi paused, and her insides melted as she heard the beautiful sound of her friend after such a long period of painful silence. Her fingers instinctively touched the screen, aching to caress the beautiful golden locks of the image before her. “I had to use all my skills to imprint this message inside of this thing, but it was worth it to keep the security.”
“She hasn’t changed,” croaked Ichi weakly. “Still a damn computer nerd, bless her heart.” The recording continued, uninterrupted from then on.
“By now, you must wonder who I am and how I know your name. My name is Tobias Kay Faraday, and I was once a resident of Sion IV, one of the colonies that revolve around the planet Earth. I know you because, as difficult as it seems, we’re really from the same source, you could say. I don’t have time to explain anything else to you, Max--just trust me and listen.
“Hopefully by now, it isn’t too late to give you this information. Sion IV was attacked, and the man who orchestrated it all was a cruel tyrant named Grady Dorina. I’m not in his captivity yet, but by the time you hear this, I will be. I need to give you this information before I’m caught. I found the only available copy of the location of the creature known as Aisuna, an Ice Djinn of astonishing power. I didn’t look at it myself for fear that a truth serum would be used on me and I would disclose information accidentally, so I downloaded it into the memory banks of this machine, and destroyed all the other copies. Grady will be looking for it, so I’m going to hide this in a very safe place.
“Dear Max, you were the only person I knew of to stow this to. I have a beloved named Ichi, but I don’t know what happened to her; we were separated when Sion IV was attacked. I pray that she is well. Max, if by some chance Grady is defeated and Aisuna is undisturbed, you’ll be able to find me somewhere in a place called Pandora Base. That’s where Grady sent all his other captives; I’m bound to go there next, after I dispose of this machine. He’ll be looking for this, but he’ll need a very skilled mechanic and code-breaker to access this information, so I trust it will be safe. As for me, well… if they find me, I don’t know what will happen. I fear the worst… Oh, God! They’re coming for me!
“Max, please… I beg of you… Please leave with me as soon as you can! I’m so afraid!” The transmission came to a sudden end, leaving everything that happened after that up to the imaginations of those who had overheard it.
Silence.
“Good Lord… it all makes sense now…” Matthew whispered quietly, shaking his head in amazement as he absorbed everything the recording had said. Max nodded his head.
“Yes… Ichi, I pray you can forgive me for not revealing this information sooner. I had… doubts, you could say--not in the message, but… well… I wanted as few people as possible aware of the information. In the event that we were captured and forced to reveal the information, well… The fewer who knew, the better…”
“But… you could have told me that Tobi was…”
“I’m sorry,” sighed Max, honestly sounding hurt over his mistake. “You… will probably detest me for doing this…” Ichi sighed wearily, shaking her head.
“No, it’s okay… but you can make it up to me by taking me to this Pandora Base, wherever that is. I don’t suppose you know where it is?”
“No.”
“I would,” said Matthew suddenly, his gentle voice standing out amidst the quiet of the other two. Ichi gave him an inquisitive look. “Yes… it’s on the moon of the Earth, somewhere on the far side. I wonder if the base still populated or not.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Pandora Base was Grady’s main headquarters,” he told her. “It included the bulk of his forces, as well as most of his resources, technology, and funds. Grady was killed by lady Keiko, but the people who worked for him don’t know that. If we go there, we could meet with significant resistance.” Ichi shook her head and spoke back to him in a very quiet voice.
“I don’t care; my friend and loved one is in there. I’m going to go in there and free her… and if she’s not there… I swear I shall avenge her by killing everything in that stinking place and blowing it to kingdom come.”
“That’s our Ichi,” shrugged Xyphos, “always the peacemaker…” Gerrand snorted.
“Ichi, Tobi’s a strong woman. I’ll bet she’s alive and well, probably giving all those people a hard time. Hey, if she’s anything like you, she’s taken over the whole place herself!” Ichi smiled, barely, and slipped out of the mecha with a grunt.
“That would be too easy… But you’re right; she’s probably still there. I know she is. I feel it… in my heart…” She pressed her pale hand to her breast, feeling the pulse of her throbbing muscle as it sent life flowing through her body, and sensed the beat of her soul mate weaved within every cell of blood that passed through. Even Max couldn’t help but smile a little.
“We had better get going, then,” he said. “If we want to reunite you with this love of yours, it’d be better to hurry. Still, we should prepare for opposition.”
“I’m always prepared,” replied Ichi quietly, her hand still resting on her heart. “I detest fighting, I always have, but… for Tobi, I would fight tooth and nail, to the very last drop of my blood. Let’s go.”
---------------
Since it didn’t take the shuttle long to travel from the Earth to the Foundation, it didn’t take it very long to travel from the Foundation to the far side of the moon, where Pandora Base resided. Since it was the main headquarters for a tyrant, it was considerably large, best resembling a tall, black spire protruding out of the lunar surface. There were no windows or doors to the area, except one at the very bottom, and it was protected by six guards and thick steel shields. When the shuttle landed and the crew got out, Ichi took care of the guards and Max’s mecha took care of the door.
“We had best hurry,” recommended Matthew as he led everyone inside. “If we linger too long, we shall be overwhelmed by security.” Everyone agreed and hurried as fast as they could through the large construction, though they didn’t have any idea where they were going. Ichi was letting her heart guide her, almost as if there was a real honest connection between her and the one she loved, kind of like a red string of love that would bring them together. Headstrong and persistent, she led the charge through the massive building, plowing through any opposition with everyone else barely able to keep up with her advanced speed. Matthew and Gerrand were forced to fly, lifting their comrades in the air so they could keep up.
The five of them slowly rose higher and higher up the Base, perhaps finding such good luck because its feared commander had been eliminated. Had Grady been there during the invasion, he would have organized an unstoppable force to overcome the quintet, but as it stood, they had taken the entire place by surprise. Thankfully, nobody recognized Ichi as she plowed her way through the scrambling droves--otherwise, they would have fought a lot harder and probably would have gone to some measure to recapture her.
Upon reaching one of the middle floors, where Ichi insisted that her love was being held prisoner, two things happened to the group, one that encouraged them and another that discouraged them. As they burst onto the level, the discovered that they had indeed found the prison area, which was a huge relief to everyone. They didn’t know whether to attest the find to coincidence or sheer persistence--or perhaps Ichi’s deep feelings had been accurate all along. It didn’t matter; they had made it, though with a very bad welcome waiting for them.
There were at least sixty guards waiting for them, all of them armed with powerful weapons and all of them thirsty for a fight. The large group of soldiers just stood there, their weapons leveled and their faces leering, while the small group of invaders froze. There was no way that they could all fight back, not even with Ichi’s skills. However, despite the overwhelming odds, Matthew parted past his comrades and stepped up to face the army on his own.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” hissed Ichi. The angelic man stood steadfast and unwavering against the crowd.
“My duty.” The room unexpectedly flashed and trembled as a dark light clouded the area. Thunder shook and lightning snapped, as if some unnatural force was brewing within the very cell block, and without warning, a ring of flames surrounded the quiet man. He glared back at the obstacles before him with the angry fury of Heaven in his eyes, and the damning torment of Hell spewing from his mouth. Matthew rose up into the air, seemingly by his own will, and spread his light and dark wings for all to see. The entire area was being consumed by fire and lightning, striking horrible fear into the guards.
“BE YE FOOLS THAT STAND AGAINST THE OMNIPOTENT WRATH OF HEAVEN!!!??” boomed Matthew terribly. The voice was so loud that it almost cracked the very walls. His entire body burned with a powerful light, and everyone in the room trembled in fear. “A CURSE IS STRICKEN UPON THEE THAT BAR THE DIVINE JUSTICE OF GOD!!! SCATTER, ENEMIES OF DIVINE RIGHTEOUSNESS, OR YOU SHALL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE VERY FURY OF THE LORD GOD!!! HIS RIGHTEOUS WRATH OVERFLOWS ONTO YOU AS A FLOOD, AND THERE BE NO ESCAPE FROM HIS ALMIGHTY EVERLASTING JUDGMENT!
“IF YE BE WISE, FLEE AND ALLOW THE MESSENGERS OF HEAVEN TO PASS, VILE HEATHENS, ELSE THE CURSES OF HELL STAB YOUR SOUL INTO THE VORTEXES OF SUFFERING!!! AND IF YE PERSIST IN THIS OBSTRUCTION, THEN MAY THE LORD NOT SHOW MERCY ON YOU, FOR HE SHALL SURELY CONSUME EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, AND TAKE YOUR VERY SOULS INTO THE LAND OF THE DOOMED!!! FLEE!!!”
A pause.
The guards scrambled out of the room as fast as they could, shrieking for their lives and wailing miserably. Matthew descended back down, and the fire and lightning ceased. He took a deep breath, and smiled cheerfully at his friends.
“Well, they certainly seemed to be in a hurry. Shall we proceed?” Ichi, so petrified that she was almost a block of stone, suddenly reached out and grabbed him.
“Hold on!” she hissed, her face seeming more pale than usual. “Matthew, how in the worlds did you DO all that? That was unbelievable!!”
“Oh, that?” he chuckled humbly. A twinkle came to his eye as he gave her an answer. “I studied in theater and special effects, that’s all.” Ichi stared at him in utter disbelief, and broke out in rich laughter as the sheer audacity of it all hit her.
The group quickly sprinted through the detention area as meticulously as they could, not wanting to leave a single cell unchecked as they searched for Tobi. The guards had been taken care of by Matthew’s dramatic show, but more would certainly be coming after them, and the angelic man didn’t look like he was able to perform so many feats a second time. Ichi began to grow worried that Tobi really was not among the members of the captives, and that she had been lost somehow, forgotten and sent to a cruel, cold fate. That thought frightened her more than anything else she had ever experienced.
“Max, are you sure she said that she’d be in here?” she asked him desperately. He nodded his head.
“Yes, but she didn’t say where. Of course she wouldn’t, since she was incarcerated right after she completed the message! Curses, this is taking more time than we have!”
“Worry not; she will be here if you have faith in it,” assured Matthew. Ichi smiled weakly, and continued searching with strength anew. Feeling a sudden burning sensation well up in her heart, she decided to head down a passageway she had not explored before, one with three grim words written on it: Maximum Security Block. She dove through the passageway, going past cells that still contained a few creatures inside of them (there were very few humans in the mix). Somewhere near the far end, towards the left side, she spotted a cell covered by a thick steel door, and the sensation welling up inside of her grew even more.
“This could be it,” she murmured, daring to hope. She clenched her teeth and braced herself as she grabbed the steel door and began to yank on it with all her might. As she struggled, Matthew, Max, Gerrand, and Xyphos spotted her and ran down to join her. Crowbars were wedged into the door and everyone helped their comrade pry the door open, until it finally gave way with a tremendous shudder. Ichi coughed out a gush of relief as the cell became accessible, and gazed inside to ascertain her feelings.
The woman inside, tall and blonde and reclining wearily, looked up over at the door, not appearing very shocked over her sudden freedom. Her face was completely devoid of all emotion, but as she saw the breathless pale woman standing at the door, a hundred feelings surged back into her body. Without a single thought, she threw down the chains of depression that had been bundled over her body and leaped towards the woman, screaming out her name as her arms wrapped around her desperately.
“ICHI!!!!”
“Tobi…” So stunned that she could barely move her arms to receive her love, Ichi caught the woman and dug her face into her rich honey hair, breathing in the unforgettable smell of the ocean--Tobi’s one and only brand of shampoo. It was her, all right.
“Oh… Tobi…… I never thought this day would happen!”
“Yes you did!” whispered Tobi, too overcome to do anything except cry and hold her love closer. “You always knew in your heart that it would happen… I know you too well for you to feel anything else, Ichi…” Slowly, with tears streaming down both their faces, the women loosened their grip on each other and kissed slowly, with deep love borne from untold eons of bitter loneliness. It was only by the intervention of the patient men behind them that they ever stopped at all.
“This is great and all, but we really gotta get outta here!” stated Xyphon. Ichi reluctantly pulled away from her love, giving her a look of love, determination, sadness, and hope all at once.
“Yeah… let’s go… but where?”
“Take cover,” muttered Max mysteriously. Everyone looked at him, puzzled, until they saw that he had a remote control in his hands. Knowing what purpose it was for, they quickly dove inside the safety of the cell as he activated his mecha. Outside the base, the mechanical suit that had been the key for the entire rescue mission aimed its weapons systems far up into the sky, towards the detention area. It released a missile, which soared in the air and exploded on impact, creating a huge hole in the base and a very big mess everywhere else. Matthew coughed as smoke rose up, and fanned it away with his wings.
“An exceptional shot.”
“Thanks, now let’s go.” Max quickly tossed Tobi a small package, and leaped out of the opening with Matthew carrying him down. Gerrand took Xyphos as he hovered to the surface; Tobi looked at the package questionably.
“It’s a parachute,” explained Ichi shyly. She smiled and blushed a little as Tobi gave her a look. “We, ah, wanted to be prepared.” Tobi smiled sweetly, gave her a kiss, and surrendered herself to the embrace of her friend and lover as they descended down gently to the surface, where they would all ride off in the sunset together inside a shuttle.
Both Ichi and Tobi sighed wearily as they collapsed in the seats, and allowed the vehicle to take them away into their new life. They held each other tenderly, gently caressing each other’s faces as they stared into eyes of green and crystal.
“I missed you so much,” whispered Ichi sweetly. Tobi grinned and kissed her love’s milky hands.
“I missed you too, precious. I missed you so much that I ached for you every day…”
“Mmm, so did I…” Ichi smiled dreamily, and drew her love in for several soft kisses. Their noses touched after sharing a few, their breath tickling each other’s necks as they sighed dreamily, content to keep silent as they basked in the warmth of a lost loved one.
“Aren’t you going to ask me about my appearance?” wondered Ichi. Tobi grinned.
“I was just about to get to that! How did you…?”
“It’s a very long story,” sighed Ichi, her smile remaining despite the pain affiliated with her new looks. Tobi returned it lovingly.
“Well, that’s okay. You still look as radiant and beautiful as you did before. In fact, I think it’s an improvement.”
“Really?” Ichi grinned, blushing cutely as she rubbed her nose against that of her lover. Tobi squealed softly and leaned forward, softly caressing her mouth against her lover’s with as much gentle passion as she knew how--everything that had been bottled up, locked away, imprisoned and tormented all that time, released in the form of a powerful loving kiss. They almost fogged up the windows of the shuttle.
“Mmm, Tobi…”
“Mmm, yes love?” she whispered. Ichi paused, her crystal eyes lovingly absorbed into the emerald eyes of her lover. Her milky fingers clasped with the peach hands of Tobi, and raised them up so that Ichi could look at her hand and her face at the same time.
“Tobi… I spent what seems like an eternity without you, without the one person who made me feel like I was really whole… and that was my own personal Hell. I can’t possibly live on any more without my precious friend at my side; it’s like you’re a piece of my own body, and if you’re cut away, I bleed to death…”
“What are you saying, Ichi?” whispered the blonde, her face glowing beautifully. Ichi smiled softly, and kissed her love’s soft hand.
“I want to marry you, Tobi… I want to spend the rest of my life with you… I know this is sudden, but… going all that time without you made me realize just how important you really are to my life. Please, Tobi, I don’t ever want us to be apart like that again. Please, say you’ll accept my proposal, and make me a happy woman.” Tobi, who had gasped in awe as Ichi whispered to her, could only smile broadly and cry as her mouth hung open in boundless joy. It was true that she had not expected such an intimate question to come so suddenly, and she barely had any time to really register it all, but even then… even then, she knew that it would come, and she knew what to say.
“Ichi… yeah, you’re right, that was very sudden,” she managed with a chuckle. “But… it doesn’t matter. We’ve known each other all our lives, and that’s more than most couples can say about themselves. Oh, Ichi, of course! Of course I’ll marry you! I never thought that you would ask!” Tobi embraced her lover warmly, hugging her beautiful pale body close, pressing her joyful mouth to Ichi’s lips, crying joyfully and shivering just slightly from the overwhelming happiness. Xyphos, usually not one to eavesdrop, looked back at the couple and gave them a rare smile.
“Heeeeyyy, congratulations, you two! About damn time, too; Ichi never stopped talking about you. It got really damned annoying. Now she might actually shut up.”
“Oh, shut up, you freaky grouch!” snorted Gerrand, slapping Xyphos on several of his arms. “You obviously have no romance in you at all! No sense, no humor, and no romance!”
“Yeah right! You just wanna get off watching two girls express their love for each other, you sick winged freak!”
“I ain’t the freak here! You look like a damned spider!”
“Shut up!”
“You shut up!”
“Shut that beak!”
“Shut that trap!” Ichi and Tobi chuckled heartily as the men bickered, too overcome with happiness and joy to care about anything else.
---------------
The shuttle finally returned to the Angel Foundation with an extra crewmember on board, who was currently stricken with love towards the pale leader of the organization. Of course, now that the Demon’s Twenty had been abolished and all attempts to terrorize Ichi’s life had failed, there was little reason for the Foundation to be so cold and gloomy. It was certainly going to experience a new renovation in the years to come, probably under the guidance of a very happy pale woman and her future wife, who were snuggling close together even as they stepped out of the hangar.
“Home again,” mused Ichi warmly. Tobi smiled and nodded her head; Gerrand and Xyphos wisely distanced themselves.
“We’d better leave you two alone. I’ll bet you’ll want some privacy for a few hours. Lord knows that you both deserve a whole week off. If you need us, we’ll be in our rooms.”
“Right. Later, guys!” Ichi and her fiancée waved farewell as the two older men walked away, but Max and Matthew stayed behind.
“Will we not be following them?” asked the winged one. “It would be impolite to overstay our welcome.”
“…You can go,” said Max feebly. “I’ll stay behind a little while longer.” He shyly turned towards Tobi, who was giving him an unexpected smile of love. To Ichi’s surprise, she walked towards him and gave him a gentle hug.
“Thank you, Maxie… You’re my official hero now… Thank you, thank you… my dear half-brother…”
“Say what?!” blurted Ichi in shock. Matthew’s eyes bugged out of his head; Max didn’t seem all that shocked.
“Yes, I had a feeling there was a definite connection between us,” he said as he examined the young woman. “I didn’t think we’d actually be related or anything, but now that you say it, I see something of a resemblance in you. You look like my mother.”
“Yes, I was born just before she passed away,” whispered Tobi softly. “Your father, Mr. Rockwell, died a few years after you were born, at sea, and mom thought you went with him. She was lonely for a long time before she met my father. I guess I was the result, birthed ten years after you were, long-lost big brother. I… I have the certificates, if you need proof…” Tobi quickly dug into a sack she had brought with her from her cell, but Max stopped her with a rare smile of affection.
“No need… I knew there was something between us when you gave me that recording. You must have learned of my existence through your father, and confirming the falsehood of my demise, you sent that mecha to my place of work so I would discover it. Ah… Tobias… if only I had known that I had a sister all these years…!” Max slowly guided his hand over her face, studying the beauty of it carefully, as it truly did resemble the mother he barely knew. Tobi grinned warmly, and gave him another hug.
“I know… And it sounds like something out of a trashy soap opera, but… I suppose these things do happen. Oh, but I’m glad we did find each other, and not too late to have a good life together. Maxie…” The silvery-haired man chuckled, another rare action, and returned her embrace fondly.
“Yes… It will take some time to adjust… and to think that I will soon have a sister-in-law as well!” He smiled coyly and waved at Ichi, who could only stare at them in dumbfounded stupor.
“……I’ll be a naked marmoset…” she murmured, too amazed to say anything else. She chuckled once, and politely pried her future wife away, so that they could have the privacy promised to them. Matthew chuckled softly, and regarded himself and his comrade with a nod.
“Well… I guess it’s just you and I who are in need of a loved one, Mr. Rockwell.” Max, however, gave Matthew a very uncharacteristic grin.
“Speak for yourself, Checker-Wings. Heheheheheh…” With that, he ambled away towards his room, leaving the poor angelic man confused. Ichi and Tobi giggled.
“What did he mean by that?” wondered Matthew.
“Maybe Maxie found a nice sweet woman who loves his beautiful silvery hair!” squealed the blonde, ruffling her lover’s locks. Ichi blushed cutely, reflecting the smile given to her by her love. Matthew, feeling unfortunate and left out, sighed and shook his head.
“Dear me… Why am I always the one who is the last to know?”
Closing comments: Aaaaaaaand that’s it for Ichi, Max, and Matthew. Pretty sweet shoujo-ai ending, with some humor and action thrown in for all to enjoy. Now that some questions are answered at long last, it’s time to conclude the stories of the other characters! Preview of next chapter: Brinna takes care of some things in her homeland, and drags--erm, invites the others along with her. Shellby and Lantariz form a permanent partnership with their companions (whilst further consummating their relationship), Asuka meets Brinna’s gorgeous twin brother, and Bloodstorm has a field day when he decides to eavesdrop everywhere. It’s a good time had by all, and the “final” fate of two of the cutest couples in the story!
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