GBG Session 26: Spy vs Spy

<Darkling> Staring across the way at each other, the pilots face off. Though they were trading words, neither side could hear the other, frequencies on their Aesir being reconfigured. Wilhelm takes a step forward, signalling his ready to his fellow pilots. "You ready to do this?" He says to them.
Rasia swallows hard, knuckles turning white.
Corrin is uncharacteristically silent, Unit still standing there with its shield raised. He opens and closes his mouth, but doesn't speak, looking as though he's about to be sick. "Ready." he finally forces out, almost whispering, not sounding remotely like he means it.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> "Rasia? Corrin?" Lahja asks, her tone a bit worried. After hearing nothing but silence she repeats it louder, now more than a little worried. "Rasia? Corrin?"
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "Communication isn't possible currently, Lahja. Focus on the imposter for now."
<Darkling> "What are you waiting for then?" Wilhelm brings up the Aesir's hand, "Orders are orders."
<Rasia> Unit 01 creeps forward on all fours, its unrestrained jaw revealing a snaggletoothed mouth that can't help but drool. Beneath its eyeslits, all each eye fixed on a different target. An uncertain rumble is its only anthem, almost visibly tense.
<Darkling> "That's a girl. Show them who's boss." Wilhelm's Aesir stays in place, hand still out as its body shimmer blue.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Null Drei moves forward, hovering as it always did, in Unit 01's direction. As it came to a stop its arms unfolded, a hand offered out toward Rasia.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Vier follows suit on foot, but not going nearly so far. Lahja takes a long and peculiar look at Ein. Its head soon snaps toward the other Wilhelm, leveling a little something new at the Aesir. That something new being a giant gun almost as long as Vier.
<Rasia> Its head twists up, devoting three eyes to Drei, splashing in the shallow water.
<Corrin> "Oh no, you don't." Corrin snarls, broken out of his hesitation by the sight of the fake Wilhelm. He's not hurting Rasia too. Unit 02 splashes through the swamps, muck splashing onto its shinguards as the machine crashes towards the two.
<Rasia> Even as a grey and red blur, Ein purposefully slows itself, jaws opening wide. Up on its hind legs and sinuous neck at full extension, Drei's neck sat comfortably in its jaws, just the faintest bit of pressure transmitted to the Wilhelm within. She needs to know it's you.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Drei's head tilts ever so slightly back, seemingly offering more of its neck as a hand comes up and simply pats Unit 01 on the head. An odd sight for two Aesir, sure...
<Rasia> Just to be absolutely sure, Ein utters a sharp bark and tightens its grip, but whatever the hell just happened, it convinced Rasia. Releasing Drei completely, Ein twists around as it lands on all fours again, this time facing the other Wilhelm!
<Corrin> "Rasia! Get back!" Corrin shouts, Unit mere meters away and hammer raised in one hand. It's a fake, not Pilot Wilhelm. It deserves it. It could have done something to her too. Go for the neck, the plug. But Rasia's still in the way...
<Rasia> "Trust me." She reiterates into the comm, swallowing hard.
<Darkling> "Tsk." Wilhelm states through the comm. "Ah well, nothing changes our plans."
<Corrin> That stole the thunder from Corrin's charge. "Pilot Rasia, that's not..." He stops. "What?"
<Darkling> His hand turns, moving palm up to the sky, the ground in between Drei and Ein erupting in a bright light, engulfing even Zwei in the light as it rises up into the air creating an explosive cross. "Too easy."
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Lahja twitches a little at the sight, then sighs and turns her head away just enough to not see the strange display between the two while still seeing the other Wilhelm's Aesir. But not in time to avoid an eyeful of light.
<Rasia> Rasia screams, Ein shoved down into the shallows by the force of the attack, but the Aesir rises, armor steaming. That cinches it.
Corrin is stunned in both senses of the word, yelling in pain as the searing heat of the blast slams into his Unit and sends it staggering.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Drei, seemingly unharmed, charges the imposter with a giant hammer forged from its AT Field. The hammer lands a hit...but does nothing. "Bastard!"
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Vier meets with similar results, firing off a rather large, metallic bolt at the Aesir. It doesn't end well and simply bounces. "Well, Wilhelm... suggestions?"
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "I'm thinking on it."
<Darkling> The fake's Aesir almost seems to be laughing.
Corrin finally picks his Unit back up. The seared giant storms heavily back towards the gloating Aesir, its pilot staring straight ahead at the figure. Confusion gone, everything suddenly seems clear. Whatever's in the Aesir is trying to kill them. It's the enemy. "You're not Wilhelm." Corrin says flatly, then swings without waiting for a response.
<Darkling> The attack bounces clear off of the Aesir, not even leaving a scratch.
<Rasia> Finally Rasia wrenches Ein's limb free from a sinkhole, a fountain of water kicking up everywhere its feet land on the charge. No sooner does Corrin's attack bounce off than Ein's naked claws come screaming down for the hit.
<Darkling> "Come now." The Wilhelm you've all turned on says as Ein's claws rake at his Aesir, leaving it unscathed. "Is that any way to treat your lover?"
<Darkling> One empty fist raises up and smashes down in a glow where Ein previously was, water spraying up from the impact.
<Darkling> With an audible growl from the Aesir, the fist swipes back up, narrowly missing Zwei.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Water splashes as Null Drei drops, taking on a bracing stance as both arms come up with palms out.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> "Oh imposter... do you like flowers?" Lahja asks sweetly before breaking into a gigglefit as the smaller gun mounted on Vier's shoulder unleashes a spray of glowing bullets like a glorified shotgun, leaving a series of holes in the Aesir's chest.
<Darkling> The Aesir stumbles a moment, realizing it was hit. "How dare you!"
<Corrin> As the fake takes the hit, Null Zwei clambers back up once again with its shield still raised, hammer drawn back. Not giving the imposter the warning of a yell or taunt, Corrin sends Zwei tackling the imposter shoulder-first, sending both machines splashing into the muck, a layer of flickering light pressing against the downed Unit. "Fake." Corrin spits.
<Rasia> In a rage, Rasia and her Unit slash at the fallen Aesir's face, claws scraping against the armor but not accomplishing much more than kicking up sparks. The sheer volume of assault is terrifying, though.
<Darkling> Laughter breaks from the Aesiras it floats up from the water.
<Darkling> Following the laughter a ripple of energy emits from the Aesir, blasting through the surrounding attackers.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "You only delay the inevitable."
<Darkling> Following the blast the Aesir floats forwards, hand shooting out and smashing into Drei. "Isn't that what you are doing, brother?" The voice doesn't come through the comm channels, but you definitely heard it Wilhelm.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "Surrender now, and I may let you live."
<Darkling> "We both know that won't happen."
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Glowing hexagons gathers and errupt, a blast of super-heated AT Field sent screaming at the imposter.
<Darkling> It doesn't have to travel far before exploding against the Aesir, leaving steam rising off of it and flesh bubbling.
<Darkling> "That actually hurt..."
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Vier's twin guns take aim at the enemy Aesir, firing in unison. Lahja leans far forward with a wide smile on her face, as if that would somehow make her view of the Aesir better as she watches for the results.
<Darkling> The Aesir twitches back, bullet holes riddling it's body. "You can't... do this to me."
<Corrin> Corrin lunges as the fake staggers back, the wounded Unit managing to evade and his swing going wide, burning through nothing but air.
<Rasia> No sooner does the false-Wilhelm evade Corrin's swing, than Ein's jaws find his arm. Seething with white-hot AT Energy, blood gushes from the beast's gums as its teeth rattle against their roots. There's a snap, crackle, and Ein whips its head in a vicious death-roll, shredding the enemy Aesir's arm right off, blood splattering on its armor.
<Rasia> Stumbling back to all fours, Ein swallows most of the arm in a single bite, its pilot compelled to swallow a mouthful of LCL psychosomatically.
<Darkling> "Nrrrgh.." The Aesir clutches the wound. "Betrayers, all of you. You have no idea what this boy will do to the world."
<Corrin> "You're the one that shot us in the back, fake." Corrin retorts into the com. "And if he's the real Wilhelm, then you can go to Hel."
<Darkling> "You'll all burn either way.”
<Rasia> "Wilhelm mine. World not mine." Genius logic, Rasia.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> "No one's been very forthcoming with information, I'm afraid, so of course I have no idea." Then Lahja giggles. "Maybe I'll blow my own head off first. That's the beauty of guns. If things aren't going your way you can turn the gun on yourself."
<Darkling> The Aesir seems to ignore the pilots, instead throwing a blast of energy at Zwei, then erupting the spot where Zwei dodged to in a column of bright energy.
Corrin contemptuously leaps away from the blast, opens his mouth to shout a retort, and takes the second full-on. Bringing his arm up instinctively to shield himself, Corrin screams in pain as Zwei's shield-bearing arm just vanishes in a cloud of acrid smoke.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Null Drei manifests its glowing hammer again, taking a swing at the suddenly chatty imposter!
<Darkling> The hammer hits, the Aesir taking the blow to the chest. Its body ripples blue with energy.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Another rain of glowing bullets from Vier, riddling the Aesir's chest with holes. "Hey, Wilhelm... that's where your predecessor shot Kurt, right? Or did you aim for the head?" Lahja asks in an odd tone that just lacks something that would make it cheerful. But cheerful is still the closest comparison.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "I aim for the center mass."
<Darkling> The Aesir stumbles back, the blue energy rippling on its body coming to a full flame. "So the end has begun."
<Lahja_Ilvainen> "The center mass." Lahja laughs, apparently finding that funny. Hilarious, even.
<Darkling> It then erupts into a giant column of light, shooting int othe heavens, blinding everyone around but leaving them unscathed. In a matter of a minute, the light is gone, and only charred feet remain of the Aesir, smoke raising from the ankles as the protrude from the water.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> Null Drei lowers to one knee and hunches over, plug ejecting. With some shady moves that may have included hovering Wilhelm stands on the back of Null Drei's head, staring at the location the importer had occupied.
<Rasia> Ein turns, padding towards the kneeling Drei and lifting its head to gaze at its pilot. With a sound that could be relief, it tries to nuzzle Wilhelm with as much tenderness as possible at its size.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> After a moment to regain his balance the Aryan pats its massive head.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> Lahaj closes her eyes and almost recoils from the light. When it's gone she blinks a few times, squints, and then opens her eyes. "Lit? If you can hear us we've dealt with the opposition. I think Rasia and Corrin are here, too."
<Wilhelm_Faustus> "When we return to Berlin...maybe it's time I told all of you everything I know." He peers up at Ein.
Corrin 's eyes water as he blinks furiously, shaking fading until he can fumble with the controls one-handed again. Null Zwei takes half a step forwards, power cord still trailing behind it, then abruptly stops midstep. Inside, Corrin stares at the Wilhem moving ahead, breathing ragged. He turns his head, looking to Vier, then slumps again.
<Darkling> "We read you Lahja. A detachment is moving in on your position, sit tight, and good work."
<Darkling> A squadron of VTOLS appears soon in the air above them and begin evac procedures.
<Rasia> Rasia's unharmed, healthy. God help anyone who keeps her from seeing Wilhelm, though.
<Lahja_Ilvainen> A lazy salute from Lahja as she eyes the smoking remains. It's sort of revenge. Not nearly enough, but for now it's nice.
<Wilhelm_Faustus> The already pale Aryan looks physically ill for a few moments, eyes darting around frantically despite a silent demeanor.
Corrin sits, watching the circling VTOLs as they descend. He's almost fatalistic about it now. The clarity's gone, and the only thing he can do is hope that Rasia was right. NERV can go to hell with that fake Wilhelm.
<Darkling> ================END================