Resistance of steel
Chapter 17 Machine Brothers
It has been strangely quiet in the GGG headquarters, ever since they met the Black Knights. The Zonder did not attack again yet and the Britannian Empire has been quiet as well. Kallen, who was more open towards the others by now, guessed that the Britannians wanted to wait for either GGG or the Zonders to win, in order to attack the survivor. Another theory is that they preferred to know where Zero was and just kept the city surrounded.
If the latter theory were true, it would be very ironic though, since Zero has been gone for a few days now. His assistant, C.C. stayed behind, keeping an eye on the Black Knights. With the calm time, Twilight and Rarity had time to listen to some rumors. Both ponies sat in the mess hall of the GGG headquarters, together with a group of Black Knights, including their former leader Ohgi. "Sometimes I wonder if even our theft of that strange capsule wasn't set up by Zero. It was just too strange of a coincidence, that this top secret weapon managed to fall into our hands, just so we could get surrounded in Shinjuku and get help from a mysterious stranger." Ohgi did not hold a grudge on losing his leadership position. His goals of freeing the occupied Japan were more important than his ego after all and Zero has brought them one victory after another. It took them years, getting that one, busted Knightmare Frame Kallen used at first and now they had an entire hangar full of Burais, the Gurren and an alliance with GGG.
From what they gathered, that was also the very same day that Zero also assassinated the Britannian prince Clovis. "Say, when he killed Clovis, did any of you assist him?" Twilight then asked. If the meeting between Zero and the now Black Knights happened by pure chance, the masked leader must be incredibly intelligent and talented in the fields of strategy and infiltration. The studious unicorn couldn't help but feel a strange form of respect for Zero. She did not believe she could make up a plan like that on the spot.
Ohgi shook his head. "No, our entire group was together then. Only his assistant here could have possibly helped him back then." He said, nodding towards the green-haired girl, sitting at the far end of the mess hall. Said woman was overjoyed, as she learned that pizza was served today and happily ate some with the happiest smile on her face. It was a strange sight, since most of the time she was rather stoic.
"Yeah, I don't really see the cutie there sneaking past armed guards and offing royalty." Another member of the Black Knights butted in, Tamaki. He was not known to be the most talented soldier but he certainly was impulsive and fiercely loyal to Zero. "I bet Zero used to be a spy or something, long years of training under the toughest conditions, that is how he became a genius badass." He argued.
While prior training would certainly explain his skills, somehow the others doubted it. While usually covered by his large cloak, they saw that Zero was a pretty thin guy. No noticeable muscles were visible through his clothes. Special training was right out of the question, he may not even be working out regularly. Still, his strategies have brought the Black Knights one victory after another.
"No, not really. But he definitely has some kind of special trick up his sleeve. Remember Shatter Mountain? We managed to set up camp there without the Japanese Resistance even knowing we're there, despite the watchpost on the peak. Managed to surprise everyone." She still wondered what his motivation behind that was. Why not just tell the Resistance up front that they were coming to help them? The only answer she could think of was, that he wanted to play the savior again to play up his own reputation. "Well, I guess his 'miracles' do bring us a lot of recruits. Heroes do motivate people."
Heroes motivate the people. This sentence hung heavily in the minds of the two unicorns. After defeating Nightmare Moon and freeing Princess Luna of the dark influence, they did become heroes. Neither of them really noticed any changes in the way they have been treated but did they have the same effect on other ponies now? Twilight also thought back on her brother. He was always her hero, even long before he joined the guard. Twilight opened her mouth, wanting to throw in her own thoughts into the conversation, as an announcement rang through the speakers. "Would C.C.,Ougi, Kallen, Twilight and Rarity please come to the hangar? We have an important issue to discuss."
Just a few minutes later, the group arrived at the hangar. Most of the Black Knights mechs had to be hidden somewhere else, since the GGG facilities were not made to house so many machines. Only the Gurren, Granteed and Zero's mech were housed here. Many other pilots were patrolling the surrounding areas around the city, looking out for Britannian troops and other possible attackers. Still, regularly those defense teams received tools and materials to maintain their Knightmare Frames, as well as some GGG mechanics to help them.
However, along with their own mechs, Galeon and the Gao-machines, there were two new vehicles stored in the hangar right now. One was a blue, mobile crane and the other was a firetruck. In front of them stood Guy and Leo, with the old engineer looking very proud. "Ah, good to see you. May I introduce, Enryu and Hiryu, the latest additions to our team." He greeted them, gesturing towards the crane and the firetruck respectively, as he said their names.
At first everyone looked for the driver seat, wondering if they were new pilots. However, they couldn't even see a driver seat and no driver anywhere. And for that matter, what were they supposed to do with these vehicles? Would they now help put out any fires and help with reconstruction of destroyed buildings after fights. Kallen decided to speak up in behalf of the others. "Um... that's nice and all but could they step out of the cars please? It's kinda rude to remain in there during introductions.
"I am afraid that is not possible miss. You see, we are not exactly human." Came a polite voice from the crane. The really strange thing was, that the voice didn't come from somewhere inside, it came directly from the vehicle. Another voice, sounding more brash came from the firetruck. "Don't tease them like that, just explain what we are."
The two unicorns and the Black Knights members eyes widened, as the cars talked to them, while Leo Shishio just laughed a bit. "Sorry, I should have explained that right away. The two of them are the result of our research regarding artificial intelligence. Hiryu and Enryu are AI's, built into the vehicles you see before you. And to answer your question Kallen, aside from the obvious uses, they can transform into bipedal mechs and posses combat abilities. That way they will be able to help you in fighting the Zonder machines. And the Britannians, should they show up again." While telling them about this, he sounded less like an engineer, introducing his latest invention but more like a father, introducing his children to friends. Then, with a slight sigh he added. "They would also be able to combine, forming a singular, strong robot. For that their personalities need to be in synch though, however that is where problems arise. Also, a lot of energy is needed for the system change to occur. We managed to acquire some Sakuradite for that but we would prefer our new engine technology, based on the G-Stone of the Galeon to work properly." Sakuradite, the material that motivated the Britannian Empire to invade Japan in the first place. This superconductor was capable of managing high temperatures and conserving much energy, making it one of the most sought-after minerals on earth. Knightmare Frames rely heavily on Sakuradite.
"Is it my fault he is so slow to get in gear? I would combine at once if it means to destroy whatever menace arises." Enryu indignantly protested. From his hasty answer and tone it was abundantly clear that they were dealing with a pretty hot-headed machine there. "You forget that using too much firepower can deal a great amount of damage to the infrastructure and even endanger civilian lives." Answered Hiryu, sounding very calm and calculating.
"So, they need to be in perfect synch, yet they have completely opposing personality types. Seems like a pretty big oversight in their programming." Kallen was clearly not as impressed as before, when she said that. It seemed very counterproductive to her and she wondered, why they even bothered with giving them personalities. Twilight and Rarity on the other side were amazed by the two of them. Machines that were alive, something neither thought possible.
Professor Shishio noticed the tone and seemed a bit embarrassased that the others witnessed the two AI's fighting. "Actually Kallen, their personalities were not pre-programmed. The two of them were instead outfitted with highly advanced learning software and we spent the last six months teaching them everything they know." He explained. Of course they could have just programmed fixed personalities but the professor did not want them to be soulless combat-machines that only existed for battle.
In Twilights mind meanwhile, an idea started to spark. Just because she was involved in this war now, didn't mean her friendship studies stopped. This could be a unique opportunity for her. Teaching two artificial intelligences to set their differences aside, forming the first friendship between machines. "Professor, if you allow it I would like to help them get along better." She suggested. "If they are so good at learning, learning about friendship should be possible to am I right?" Her face had an eager grin, like a small filly that just got a new set of crayons and wanted to get drawing right away.
Professor Shishio didn't seem to be so sure about that idea. Still, if the symmetrical docking procedure was to work, the two of them needed to get past their differences. "Very well then Twilight, I trust you to get these two to cooperate." In the end it wouldn't hurt to at least try.
A wide grin of absolute glee spread out on Twilights face as she heard this. Professor Shishio could even swear he heard a squee noise. "Oh thank you, this is so exciting. This is a unique opportunity to teach two artificially created beings the value of friendship." Twilight already made a mental list of everything she needed. She could probably fill an entire book with the unique dynamics between sentient machines and document their progress. Princess Celestia would surely be impressed. "If you don't mind, we can start right away."
Three days later, Twilight Sparkle sat in the cafeteria, scribbling notes down and erasing them again. She was visibly less thrilled than before. As Guy entered, he immediately took note of that change in attitude. "Why so glum?" He asked, as he sat down with the purple unicorn.
Twilight seemed startled for a moment. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Guy until he spoke to her. As he glanced at her notes, he saw that she was writing down possible trust exercises, some which were discarded due to the bodily limitations. "Oh, it's just... well..." Twilight was not sure where to start. How could she best put the issue? "They are stubborn. These two have polar opposite personalities and just can't seem to agree on anything." She thought that some creative roleplay, inspired by the many times she saw her brother play Oubliettes and Ogres with his friends, would help them see some similarities but it only seemed to make things worse. Twilights head fell onto the table, her horn leaving a small scratch-mark on the surface.
Guy gave the unicorn a sympathetic smile, along with a pat on the shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Lots of siblings fight, that does not necessarily mean they can't stand each other. Those two just have a very different viewpoint. I'm sure, if the need arises, they will be able to put their differences behind." He assured her.
Twilight did not really see it the same way. She always got along perfectly with her brother. For as long as she could remember, Shining Armor has always been the best BBBFF she could possibly wish for. Of course she heard of other pairs of siblings fighting but before going to Ponyville, she never really spent too much time on other ponies. And in Ponyville, all her friends actually got along very well with their siblings. Applejack, Applebloom and Big Macintosh were about as close to each other as she was with her brother and even if Sweetie Belle and Rarity had their differences, the little filly looked up to her big sister. "I guess so, maybe I was being too optimistic, thinking I could get them to be as close as I am with my own brother in one day."
This problem really did not have an easy solution at hand. It was possible to just reprogram the two of them but the very idea felt wrong. Hiryu and Enryu are their own people now, with unique personality. Reprogramming them had about the same implications as lobotomizing soldiers to make them follow orders more willingly. No, that was not up for debate.
As the two of them were talking a bit, about how they could get Hoyru and Enryu to work together, the door slid open, letting Zero in. The Black Knights immediately got up and greeted their leader, as he finally returned from the trip. "I'm back. There were a few things I needed to attend and I bring good news. A smuggling ring, carrying goods from the free regions of Japan to the occupied has agreed to help us deliver ammunition and other supplies to this base. They have their own warehouse at the harbor, at which we can pick them up." He explained. Thanks to his Geass, the negotiations were easy enough but Lelouch needed to show up at school again, in order to not raise suspicion. The Britannians believed he was here at GGG headquarters. Now he had the perfect alibi.
The Black Knights cheered for their leader. Securing their supplies would make sure that they can keep fighting for a long time here. Not being in the occupied area already did wonders for the morale, now that they weren't in danger anymore had anyone found out about their affiliation. Only the present GGG members had their trepidations about working with smugglers but there was probably no other way. All major weapon and ammunition manufacturers were in the occupied area, while the ones that were left to independent Japan only delivered for the military.
Before anyone could ask further questions though, the TV switched from the normal show to an emergency broadcast. "All citizens are advised to avoid the streets as an unknown machine has been seen rampaging through the streets. Our corresponded is live at the scene, delivering further details." The camera switched and showed a street that was basically ripped open and littered with busted cars. Finally, it showed the cause for this destruction. After what they have seen before, they recognized it as a Zonder.
All present people and ponies did not continue to watch though. On the order of Zero they all ran towards the control room of GGG, in order to plan their attack. "Why hasn't Mamoru contacted us? Shouldn't he be able to sense a Zonder before they manage to cause so much destruction?" Kallen asked on the way. Twilight wondered the same but figured that he may have been too far away from the scene or the pager was broken. There had to be some reason.
The sortie was quick and effective. While running towards the control room, Zero already had a plan figured out. The smaller Knightmare Frames of the Black Knights used their speed and small size to go ahead and get the attention of the Zonder, luring it back to where they already evacuated the area. Then, Granteed, GaoGaiGar and Guren would attack from different sides, damaging the Zonder and enabling Guy to remove the core like last time. Mamoru was not there though, so hopefully they would be able to quarantine the Zonder core until they could get the boy.
"Team two, we have made contact with the target, we'll lure him towards the Yamada intersection." Came the radio call from Ohgi. His unit was running from the Zonder towards the called direction, occasionally stopping and shooting a few rounds at it to keep the attention.
"Team one here, we'll come to support you."
"Team three, guarding the rear."
"Kallen here, I'm waiting at the intersection."
"Twilight and Rarity, almost there."
"Guy here, I need some more time until I'm there, keep it busy." Unlike last time, the Zonder was smaller and kept moving through the streets. They also decided to have Guy inside Galeon and fuse to GaoGaiGar right away. With the help from all the others, they could allow playing it safe at the expense of a speedy sortie, cause Granteed alone was good enough to keep any enemy busy. Hiryu and Enryu were also rolling out at the suggestion of Twilight. The two machines stayed at the sidelines and kept ready to rescue any civilians that were stuck in the battlezone.
Nervously, Rarity and Twilight looked out at the eastern street. Some of the Black Knights were leading the Zonder towards them and should arrive from that direction at any minute. Finally, the two Knightmare Frames of the lure-team came around the corner, stopping only for a moment to fire at the mutated steamroller, before coming at Granteed and Gurren at full speed, followed closely by the Zonder. "Alright, it's all yours, good luck." Came the message, before the Black Knights retreated to leave the battlefield. Herding that monster through the streets made it painfully clear that their weapons were insufficient.
"Alright, first we'll have to immobilize him. Twilight, Rarity, help me to stop him. Kallen, you use the radiation wave unit to destroy the wheel." Guy ordered. After his teammates confirmed the order, GaoGaiGar and Granteed charged. The unicorns felt more than just a bit nervous as a literal monster steamroller charged right back at them, either unable or unwilling to change course. If she had more experience with the Granteed, Twilight could have probably calculated if they had enough strenght. Thinking about it was useless though now and Guy's bravery was inspiring. He didn't even need to think about taking this challenge head on twice and his voice also radiated confidence.
The Zonder seemed to get larger by the second as they got closer. The arms of the Granteed were outstretched to get a hold on it. Then, with a loud clang and a shaking cockpit, the machines collided with the monster. With a loud rumble the road cracked open as the Zonder pushed them along before slowing down. "D-d-d-d-arling, I c-can't hold m-myself in this s-s-s-eat much longer." Rarity stuttered. The two ponies were shaken in their seats, desperately holding on to the controls. "J-just a bit longer." Twilight answered. They had no choice but to hang on. Otherwise the Zonder would just roll them over possibly crush them. Leaving Guy alone was no option either.
Just as they thought they would be shaken off their seats though, they came to a stop. Looking next to them they saw Kallen and the Gurren Mk-II. The metal claw was dug deep into the steamroller and with a bright, red glow the destructive shockwaves shook the Zonder. The large barrel broke and finally, it fell to the ground, no longer able to move. The front part fell to the ground with a loud groan as the Granteed and GaoGaiGar took a step back in order not to be taken to the ground as well.
For a while everything was silent. Did they really do it? Was the Zonder already beaten? The voice of Taiga broke the silence, as he called the pilots. "Well done team, now we'll have to find Mamoru so he can purify the core and get whoever was used for it out of there." He praised them. In the control room, the others were already using the pager they gave Mamoru to locate him. With the lack of warning from him, chances were he could be out of town. Perhaps a field trip he didn't tell them about. "Sir, it seems like Mamoru is already at the site."
After hearing this, the others looked around for signs of the boy, until they looked at the bridge that the Zonder had been going towards. Up there, leaning against the rails was Mamoru. From how exhausted the boy looked, panting heavily and knees shaking, he obviously ran here from wherever he came from. "He was close enough to get here on foot? Why didn't he feel..." Kallen was interrupted in her pondering as she realized what must have happened. "Damn it, he probably felt the damn thing and just didn't contact us." She said angrily.
Finally he managed to find them. As soon as he witnessed some of the destruction first hand, Mamoru got out of the bus and followed the trail of the Zonder. While going through the town, terrible guilt plagued him. So much could have been avoided if he just hadn't gotten so distracted. After catching his breath again he looked down at the scene. At the far end of the street laid the damaged Zonder, GaoGaiGar, Granteed and Gurren standing in front of it, looking up at him. More shame filled the boy and he would have ran away on the spot if there wasn't something to do now. He would surely not fail them now after already failing to warn them in advance.
From below, a fire engine drove towards the bridge. Mamoru recognized it as one of the two machine brothers GGG invented. "There you are, quick, hop on." The robot said, while his crane extended towards the boy. There were some stairs nearby but Enryu figured that this would be much quicker. The Zonder could still recover, so every second was valuable in getting Mamoru to the wreck.
The arrival of the boy however provided exactly the kind of distraction the Zonder needed to get back up. Eyes aglow, purplish tendrils hoisted it back up and mended the damage that Kallen managed to do. Before anyone had time to react, the machine monster was already driving forward, knocking Granteed and GaoGaiGar into the buildings to the side. Kallen just managed to use the slash harkens in time to pull her away from its path. "Watch out Enryu, the Zonder is back up and coming your way!" Warned Guy, pulling his mech from the damaged building.
Mamoru was already halfway over the rail as the approaching Zonder shook the road, causing him to almost fall. The boy screamed in fear, barely hanging by the edge of the bridge. Enryu had to drive away as the enemy approached rapidly, cursing silently as he didn't manage to get the boy to safety. Mamoru also did not get the time to climb back up and did not posses the strength to pull himself up. Guy already moved closer, ready to catch the child once the Zonder moved on but now it was holding its ground.
On one side of the bridge were now Hiryu, then came Mamoru, hanging on the edge, the Zonder and finally the three mechs GaoGaiGar, Gurren and Granteed. Through the tunnel, Enryu saw how close the Zonder was to the entrance. Quietly driving forward and getting Mamoru was out of the question, it would notice and attack him, also hitting the bridge. None of the could see where Hiryu was but at the moment they all had bigger concerns.
In Granteed's cockpit, Twilight was desperately trying to come up with a plan. If the Zonder was moving away, Enryu could rescue Mamoru and get him to safety while they dealt with the enemy but it seemed like he did not plan to move. Waiting for it to lose patience was also not an option, since Mamoru wouldn't be able to hang on for much longer. "Oh no, what are we supposed to do? If only my brother was here, he could come up with a strategy." The purple unicorn muttered. While she was always eager to expand her horizon and gather new knowledge, military tactics were never a topic she was too interested in. That was for her brother, who would later become captain of the royal guard.
Before any of the others could make a suggestion though, the voices of Hiryu and Enryu broke the silence, "Don't worry Mamoru, we'll save you!" Both shouted almost at the same time.
The Zonder turned around, only to meet the red, metallic foot of Enryu. The robot changed into his humanoid form and jumped over the bridge, drop kicking the mechanical monster and knocking it back. Mamoru cried out as the shockwave made him lose his grip but Hiryu's hand was waiting for him. The blue robot dove down beneath the bridge and caught the boy before retreating. "Are you alright?" He asked, on which Mamoru only nodded in response. Satisfied by this, Hiryu looked back at his brother. "We can't risk the Zonder harming Mamoru, let's finish this quickly. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked.
"Yes, for once we're in agreement." Hiryu and Enryu now stood next to each other, after the latter dropped off Mamoru, who ran for cover into a nearby alleyway. They saw the Zonder get up again. As they were now, it would definitely defeat them. For this the two of them would have to combine their power. "SYMMETRICAL DOCKING!" The combined cry of Hiryu and Enryu cut through the air as their bodies changed again. Each of them twisted into one half of the same body, their reactors and processors working in tandem now to give them double the power. The hydraulics in their arms and legs also combined their power to enhance their strength.
Seeing the two combine was awe inspiring. Twilight noted, that this combination might have been derived from GaoGaiGar. Before them now stood a large machine, right half red, left half blue with a grey head in the middle and a shining breastplate. Enryu and Hiryu have now become ChoRyuJin. The combined robot detached the cranes of his formerly seperate bodies from his hips and raised his arms. Now the second purpose of them became clear. In this form, they were basically Tonfa batons. Whirling them around, ChoRyuJin wasted no time clobbering the Zonder, before it had any time to retaliate.
Twilight quickly formulated a plan. "Guy, prepare that attack you used last time to get the core! We'll keep him in place." She ordered and rushed forward with the Granteed. With the pummeling the Zonder was subjected to, it did not even turn towards them as Granteed grabbed one of its arms. "Get the other one and turn it around!" Twilight ordered and ChoRyuJin followed suit. The creature resisted as they slowly forced it to face GaoGaiGar, whose hands glowed, one golden, the other dark purple. The Heaven and Hell attack was commencing.
Energy glowed brightly from GaoGaiGar, as it rushed towards the struggling Zonder. Nothing must go wrong now, so Twilight, Rarity and ChoRyuJin made sure to hold it extra tight, though it became increasingly difficult to do so. "Hurry, it's gonna break free." Twilight pleaded. Another yank and the Zonder managed to break her grip, though it was too late. The fists of GaoGaiGar rammed themselves into the chest. Now Guy knew what he had to do. He grasped the core of the Zonder and started pulling it out. The purple tendrils stretched, refusing to let go of it, before finally snapping. ChoRyuJin and Granteed stepped away, knowing what will likely follow next. As Guy turned around, the remaining body of the Zonder exploded.
Later, Mamoru purified the Zonder core, freeing the person inside of it. Hiryu and Enryu separated again and the repairwork could begin.