Mobile Suit Gundam Infinity

by TheAngryMan

The year is Infinite Century 0079, and war has broken out between the Earth Federation and ZAFT. When the neutral colony of Heliopolis comes under attack, Amuro Ray, Kira Yamato, and their friends will find themselves caught up in a war they thought themselves safe from. Gundam Mega-Crossover, but starts mainly with 0079 and SEED.

Disclaimer: I do not own Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, Mobile Suit Gundam: SEED, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, Martian Successor Nadesico, Mass Effect, or Halo. The Gundam series is owned by Sunrise, Nadesico by Xebec, Halo by 343 Studios and Microsoft, and Mass Effect by Bioware.

And before you ask, most of those series listed play extremely minor roles. Halo and Mass Effect have no physical presence, but were used as a guide when deciding what technologies to include. 00, AGE and Nadesico have a secondary role. The main series are Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, although that may change as events progress, for now, they are the main two.

Edit 5/5/13: Found out that Solar Era was being used by someone else, so I decided to change the dating system in the story to Infinite Century (I.C.), which I haven't found being used yet. I also added some things I forgot on the Mech Profile, and added a few things here and there.

Edit 5/13/13: In addition to fixing several minor errors and cleaning up the mech profiles, I also have come to the conclusion that this story probably doesn't need an M Rating just yet, so I decided to set the Rating down to Teen, although it is very likely that the Rating will go back up eventually.

Edit 5/31/13: Improved the Unit Profiles and added some details to the fight scene at the end.

Edit 1/23/14: Massive and hopefully Final Revision

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The year is Infinite Century (I.C.) 0079, and all of mankind is embroiled in a fearsome conflict.

The roots of this conflict lead back to many years ago, when genetic engineering brought forth a new strain of humanity, the Coordinators. Considered superior to baseline humans due to their genetic enhancements, the Coordinators faced severe discrimination from the rest of Earth's population. In particular, the group Blue Cosmos made it their singular mission to exterminate the genetically enhanced Coordinators. Fear and Inequality pervaded their lives, and no one was willing to help them.

Seeking to escape their tortured existence on Earth, the Coordinators fled to space. Setting themselves up in the PLANT-type colonies of Side 4, the Coordinators attempted to gain independence from the Earth. However, the Earth was largely controlled by the same men and women who had forced the Coordinators from Earth in the first place. By insuring that the PLANTs were deprived of Agricultural colonies, Blue Cosmos forced the Coordinators to remain dependent on Earth for their food supply. Independence seemed little more than wishful thinking.

This all changed when the colonies at Side 3 declared independence from the Earth. Under the leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun, the colonies renamed themselves the Republic of Zeon. As a longtime friend and supporter of the first Coordinator, George Glenn, Deikun gave the PLANTs several agricultural colonies, skirting around the laws that had prevented the PLANTs from procuring said colonies themselves. This caused the nations of Earth to enact strict sanctions on the Republic, but Deikun didn't yield.

Tensions only increased from there. Eventually, Deikun died and was replaced by his adviser, Degwin Sodo Zabi. Under his rule, the once benign Republic of Zeon was transformed into the militant Principality of Zeon. In response, the Atlantic Federation, Human Reform League, and Advanced European Union united their forces, forming the Earth Federation. Zeon and the PLANT's soon formed their own alliance, the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, or ZAFT, to counter the Federation.

Tensions came to a head in I.C. 78, when an Earth Federation strike force nuked the PLANT colony of Junius Seven. This event came to be known as the Bloody Valentines Tragedy, and caused ZAFT to declare a war of independence from the oppressive Earth Federation. At first, no one doubted that the larger Federation Forces would be victorious, but these early predictions proved to be anything but the truth.

Initial fighting lasted over a month, and saw the entirety of Sides 1 and 5 annihilated. Everyone was horrified by the indiscriminate destruction, but attempts to bring an end to the conflict by neutral third parties only succeeded in banning the use of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons, as well as Colony Drops. That was one year ago, and as fighting enters its second year, both sides are at a stalemate...

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Outside Heliopolis Colony

Heliopolis was far removed from the violent conflict that had consumed the Earth Federation and ZAFT for the last two years. As part of the Orb Union, it maintained a strict policy of non-interference. Its citizens would not pick a side in the conflict.

So it was definitely a valid question as to why a small fleet of Earth Federation warships were approaching the colony. Most of the ships were standard Federation ships, Thermopylae-Class Light Cruisers, a Malta-Class Escort Carrier, and a Versailles-Class Transport, but the lead ship was something else. Sporting a sleek white, blue, and red paint job, the ship was a major departure from the Federations usual drab grey. Both the Orb dock workers and other fleet personnel couldn't help but marvel at the new vessel.

They were not the only ones watching, however. Clamped onto the colonies outer wall, hidden from view, were three mobile suits. Their green paint job and cyclopean heads gave them away as Zakus, the first mass produced mobile suit, and the main unit of the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, otherwise known as ZAFT. The First suit, a Reconnaissance Type, was observing the fleet with its advanced camera. The other two suits were Standard Types.

"Well, Corporal Slender," Sergeant Denim asked the Recon Zaku's pilot. "What do you see?"

"A new ship, Sir, a carrier." Slender stated, zooming in with his suits camera. "Designation MSCV-02, Archangel."

"Archangel!" Gene, the final team member, scoffed. "How pathetic. These Feddies really think that ship is gonna save them!"

"I don't know," Denim replied. "But if that ship is here, that means the G-Project probably is as well."

"So what?" Gene laughed dismissively. "It's not like they could actually build something that could challenge the might of ZAFT."

"Underestimating your enemy like that is the easiest way to get killed, Gene," Denim replied harshly, before glancing at the inbound carrier. "We'd better report to the Commander!"

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The Ovan debris field, located near Heliopolis, was the remnant of a terrifying incident many years prior. Five years ago, the colony had come under attack by unknown forces, believed by many to be the same Unknown Enemy that destroyed the colony Angel in I.C. 66. Most of the colonies residents were slaughtered, and the few that avoided the UE's forces died when the colonies supports gave out, resulting in a complete collapse. The Junk Guild had long since stripped the site clean of anything of value, and it now remained nothing but a grave reminder of that terrifying attack.

The one thing that the wreckage did provide, however, was good cover. Neither the Federation ships nor Orb's own radar operators had detected the three ZAFT Cruisers that had hidden themselves in the debris. If the three ships had been discovered, the attacking force would have immediately regretted their discovery, for these Cruisers were no ordinary vessels. They were the Falmouth, a Stuttgart Class Cruiser that served as the personal ship of Char Aznable, the infamous Red Comet, the Vesala, the command ship of the infamous Commander Rau Le Creuset, and the Gallwitz, an older Tirpitz Class Cruiser that served as the headquarters for the newly minted Le Creuset Team.

On-board the Falmouth, Char waited patiently for word from the Recon Team. He was an imposing figure, draped in his red uniform, signifying his elite status. His most distinct feature, however, was his mask and helmet, which covered most of his face, with only his mouth and a few locks of cropped golden hair revealing themselves from under it. After what seemed like an eternity, a signal came through.

"Sir!" Char's loyal second in command Dren chimed in. "Were getting a communication from Denim's Team."

"Good," Char replied. "Put it on the main screen."

"Commander!" Denim saluted. "We've spotted a Federation fleet inbound to Heliopolis, two cruisers, an escort carrier, a transport, and one of their new Seraphim-Class Carriers. I'm sending you the visual data now!"

"Well," Char Smirked, looking over the Archangel's majestic form. "It looks like our informant was correct. The Federation's operation at Side 6 was just a decoy."

"Understood, Commander," Denim replied. "What are your orders?"

"Maintain position and wait for the Capture Team!" Char Ordered. "Once they arrive, escort them into the colony."

"Yes Sir!" Denim Replied. "Denim out."

"Dren! Open a link to the Gallwitz," Char continued, looking over the Recon Teams pictures of the Archangel. "Today may be the most important day of the war."

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Opening Theme: Eternal Blaze

Haruka sora hibiiteru inori wa kiseki ni

Mobile Suit Gundam: Infinity

Mayonaka no ao ni tokete nagareteku namida no tsubu

Mayoinaku tsutsumikomu nukumori ni deatta

Masshiro na yuki no you ni

Dokomademo sunao na kotoba

Tetsu no hane matotta boku wo ugokashiteku

Kizutsuku tabi yasashiku nareru

Kimi no sono egao dake mamorinukitai

Negai wa hitotsu

Toki wo koe kizamareta kanashimi no kioku

Massugu ni uketomeru kimi wa hikari no tenshi

Ano hi mune ni tomatta eien no honoo

Fukai yami tokihanate jiyuu no tabira hiraiteku

Tsuyoku hatenai mirai he

Gundam Rising Part 1: False Peace

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Civilian Sector

Inside the colony, Orb citizens went about their daily tasks without a care in the world. Some had always lived there, while others were immigrants, here to escape the devastating war that had engulfed the Earth Sphere. Whatever their reasons, the population of Heliopolis were very happy to be as far away from the ongoing ZAFT/Federation conflict.

Sayla Mass was not one of these people. While she was glad not to be involved with the war, there was a hole in her heart. One that was made when someone very close to her vanished, leaving on a path of vengeance against the ones that had stripped their family of everything it had once had. Sayla glanced at her golden locket sadly, staring at the picture inside.

"Casval," She said softly. "Why did you have to leave, and why can't I find you."

Officially, her brother had died in a shuttle accident years before, but Sayla knew that was not true. Just before he had left, he told her of his plans to fake his death, carry on under an assumed name, and get revenge for their father's murder and their subsequent exile. She had done everything in her power to find her missing brother, but years of searching had given her nothing. Trying to hold back the tears, she closed the locket, brushing some of her shoulder length blonde hair out of her eyes, and returned the locket to its place in her red jacket. Suddenly, she heard someone calling out to her.

"Sayla!" a familiar voice called out. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Sayla turned to see Fraw Bow, one of her friends, running up to her. Fraw had short orange hair and red eyes, stood five feet, three inches, and was dressed in a dark green coat and skirt. Although only fifteen, she had a warm, motherly attitude, and often looked after her friends, especially the more reclusive ones.

"Oh, nothing Fraw," Sayla responded, unable to keep her sadness out of her voice. "Just getting some fresh air, that all."

"You were thinking about him again, weren't you?" Fraw said knowingly.

"Yes," Sayla admitted.

"Don't worry," Fraw said, hugging her friend. "I'm sure you will see him again soon, and you can count on myself and everyone else to help however we can!"

"Hey! Fraw! Sayla!" a voice called out. "Over here!"

"Well, speak of the devil," Sayla said, as a group of their friends ran up towards them.

First, there was Tolle Koenig, a young fifteen year old boy with wavy brown hair and green eyes. He stood five feet, three inches tall, and wore a teal shirt and black pants.

Next there was Tolle's girlfriend, Miriallia Haw. She was sixteen years old, with shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She stood five feet, two inches tall, and wore a yellow and orange dress.

Then there was Kai Shiden, the group's resident pessimist. He had a mop of black hair and bluish grey eyes. He stood five feet, five inches, and wore a black shirt with a purple coat and black pants.

Coming up in the rear was Hayato Kobayashi. He was rather stocky, coming in a four feet, nine inches. He had black hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a black shirt with light blue pants.

"Hey guys!" Fraw greeted them happily. "How are you doing today?"

"We're all good!" Tolle remarked happily, before asking. "Hey, have either of you seen Amuro and Kira?"

"They should be over at Amuro's house," Sayla responded. "Why, does his dad have more work for them?"

"Yeah, the professor needs them to look at something," Kai said. "Problem is, the door is locked, they're not answering the doorbell, and you're the only one with a spare key."

"I see," Fraw sighed "Some things never change. Alright then, let's go."

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A few minutes later the group had arrived at the Ray household. It was a decent sized family home, but the only occupant was Amuro, since his father often worked late at the labs, and his mother hadn't followed them to Heliopolis. Fraw grabbed her key and opened the door.

"This should only take a minute," she said. "You guys just wait here."

The house was, as usual, a total wreck. Fraw sometimes wondered if Amuro would be able to survive without her. Finding the ground floor devoid of life, she moved up to the second. Moving to Amuro's room, she was about to open the door, when suddenly, she heard what sounded like someone crying. Curious, she pressed her ear against the door.

"Man," the first voice sobbed. "No matter how many times I watch that episode, I still tear up every time."

"I know!" the other replied. "Joe's death just hits so hard, and comes out of nowhere!"

Fraw almost immediately figured out exactly what was going on, and wasted no time burst through the door.

"Amuro! Kira!" she yelled. "Did you spend all day watching Gekiganger again!?"

Both teens jumped at the unexpected intrusion, crumbling into an undignified heap on the floor. They quickly untangled themselves from each other, and glared at Fraw. Amuro was fifteen, stood five feet five inches tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He was still wearing the white sleeveless shirt and boxers that he slept in. Kira, on the other hand, was sixteen, stood five feet four inches tall, and had spiky brown hair and purple eyes. He was also much better dressed than Amuro, wearing a nice black shirt and green pants.

"Fraw, don't do that!" Amuro complained.

"Yeah!" Kira continued. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking."

"Have you ever heard of doorbells?" Fraw countered. "I guess not, or otherwise you would have answered yours and not stayed in your room watching cartoons until three in the afternoon!"

"THREE IN THE AFTERNOON!?" both teens exclaimed. Looking up to the clock for confirmation.

"Oh man," Amuro groaned. "We still haven't finished with what dad gave us to work on last night!"

"Well, too bad," Fraw said. "He's already asking for more of your help."

"Darn," Kira said, before asking. "Hey, Amuro, does your dad ever spend quality time with you that doesn't involve doing his work for him?"

"Not usually," was his short reply.

"You know," Fraw added. "If you guys spent more time working, and less time watching TV, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Hey," Kira defended. "We didn't do nothing but watch Gekiganger, we also finished up maintenance on Haro and Birdy!"

As if on cue, a small spherical robot with a green paint job rolled out of the corner where it had been resting, followed by a green and yellow mechanical bird.

"Watch Gekiganger! Watch Gekiganger!" the sphere said with a high pitched voice, before jumping into Fraw's arms using its wing-ears.

"Birdy!" the mechanical bird chirped as it perched itself on Kira's shoulder.

"Well," Fraw said. "I guess I have to thank you for that."

"We know bring you images from the Kaohsiung front, where heavy fighting is taking place." The TV blared on in the background.

"Hey," Amuro said, turning back to the television. "it looks like more news from the war."

"According to information just received," The reporter continued. "ZAFT forces have approached within six kilometers of Kaohsiung."

"Kaohsiung?" Fraw asked, worriedly. "Isn't that pretty close to the mainland?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry," Kira said comfortingly. "Orb is neutral, there's no way that the war will come here."

Kira's words had an unexpected effect on Amuro, who slumped down, deep in thought.

"That was what Athrun said," he muttered under his breath.

"Huh?" Kira said, turning to Amuro. "What was that?"

"That was what Athrun said," Amuro repeated louder. "Back at Copernicus."

"Oh, right," Kira said, suddenly understanding. Both youth's found themselves caught up in memories from several years ago.

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Flashback

November 15, 0077

Lunar Surface, Neutral Territory

Copernicus City, Civilian Sector

The Lunar City of Copernicus was a sight to behold. As the first permanent lunar city, Copernicus had a fair amount of prestige. It was also well known as a place where Naturals and Coordinators could live together in peace, its crack police force keeping Blue Cosmos at bay in ways that other parts of the Earth Sphere could only dream of. Rows of cherry blossom trees could be found all around the city, symbolizing the cities commitment to peace.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if those peaceful days were coming to an end. Ever since the Riah Crisis seven months earlier, the Earth Federation and ZAFT had been at each others throats. Many were worried that conflict was imminent, and in one sector of the city, a group of friends were already being torn apart. On one side, there was the slightly younger forms of Amuro and Kira, and on the other was the third member of their group and best friend Athrun Zala. Amuro was the first to speak up.

"Do you really have to go?" he asked, pleadingly.

"Sorry guys," Athrun replied with a sad smile. "My Dad called me back to the PLANTs, and Mom is adamant that we get there as fast as we can."

"Athrun," Kira asked. "Do you think that there will be a war like everyone been saying?"

"Of course not!" Athrun said reassuringly. "There's no way a war will break out between the Federation and ZAFT. This whole evacuation is just everyone being cautious."

"Oh, by the way," Athrun added, reaching into his bag. "I got something for you guys."

Athrun pulled out a mechanical bird, and handed it to Kira.

"This is Birdy," Athrun said proudly. "He's not a sophisticated as Haro, but he's still pretty advanced."

"Birdy!" Birdy chirped.

"That reminds me," Amuro said, opening his backpack. "I got something for you to."

"Hello, Athrun! Hello Athrun!" a smaller, blue version of Haro remarked happily.

"Hey, you finally miniaturized Haro successfully." Athrun stated happily.

"Yeah," Kira chimed in. "He spent all night trying to get all the bugs worked out."

"You two are the greatest," Athrun said, before asking. "You'll both come to PLANT eventually too, right?"

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"Guys!?" Fraw shouted angrily, knocking the boys out of their flashback.

"Oh, sorry Fraw." Amuro apologized.

"Geez, you two are hopeless," Fraw bemoaned. "I'll be waiting downstairs."

After a few minutes of searching for something clean to wear in the mess that was Amuro's room, the pair eventually found a yellow shirt, light blue pants, and matching jacket for Amuro to wear. Finally, the motley group of students made their way to the nearest auto-taxi station.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

MSCV-02 Archangel, Bridge

In another part of the colony, the Archangel had finished docking. In Captain Paolo Cassius' opinion, he couldn't have been put in charge of a better ship. State of the art weaponry, beam resistant armor, and in an hour or two, a set of next-generation experimental mobile suits.

"Captain Cassius," One of the bridge crew, an Ensign Bright Noa, spoke up. "We have successfully docked and can begin loading the new suits."

"Excellent," Captain Cassius commented. "Ensign, would you accompany me off the bridge?"

"Yes, Sir," Bright responded. "What do you need?"

"Command wants us to play this very close to the vest," Captain Cassius explained. "We aren't allowed to radio Anaheim to tell them of our arrival, so I need you to go and meet with Professor Ray in person."

"I understand Captain," Bright affirmed. "I'll leave immediately."

"Thank you, Ensign," Captain Cassius replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet with the new pilots and other personnel we're bringing on-board."

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

LST-71 Westminster, Bridge

Outside of the colony, things were rather calm. While the transport docked with Heliopolis, the light cruisers and escort carrier stood guard around the hanger entrance. There was no need for concern, yet, but it always helped to be prepared. Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, the famous Hawk of Endymion, knew this fact all too well.

Ever since he was a child, he had been able to sense things that he should not be able to. Some in ZAFT would call him a Newtype, but in the Earth Federation, he was just listed as having High Spatial Awareness. As a result of this, knew that ZAFT was nearby, but here on the bridge of the Westminster, he couldn't really do anything about it.

"Feeling nervous, Lieutenant?" The ship's Captain asked.

"Yes sir," La Flaga replied. "It's a miracle we arrived without incident."

"Well, don't worry," the captain said. "Even if ZAFT does find us, they can't do a thing while we're docked."

"Because it's a neutral colony?" he responded. "What a joke!"

"Sure," the Captain laughed "but it's because of that that we've been able to proceed with our plans to this point."

"Excuse us, Captain," The leader of a group of five pilots interrupted. "We need to get going."

"Alright then," The Captain responded. "Dismissed."

The five pilots too their leave, exiting the bridge. As soon as the bridge door closed, Mu spoke up.

"Anyway, what do you think of the pilots?" La Flaga asked "Do you really think that they will be able to handle those things on the ground?"

"They're young," the Captain admitted "but they're all top guns, selected to be G Pilots. They'll be fine."

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

CCV-124 Vesala, Bridge

Captain Fredrik Ades, a 28 year old Coordinator with brown hair and matching eyes, frowned as he watched a pair of Sturmwind Shuttles, carrying both the nascent Le Creuset Team and a number of ZAFT Marines, boost off towards Heliopolis. His superior took note of his look, and commented on it.

"Try not to look so frustrated, Ades." Commander Rau Le Creuset, head of the Le Creuset Team and one of ZAFT's famous pilots, said as he glided weightlessly across the Vesala's bridge. Like Char, Rau was blonde and wore a mask, though he did not utilize a helmet, and his uniform was white.

"I'm sorry, Sir." Ades frowned. "But shouldn't we wait for approval from the Council or Admiral Dozle?"

"There's no time for that," Rau replied. "It would take the Council weeks to debate the operation before giving it approval, and Dozle is too busy chasing ghosts at Riah."

"If we let this slip by us now," Rau continued, tossing a picture of one of the Federation's prototype mobile weapons past Ades. "We would eventually pay for it with our lives."

"We must capture the Federation's new weapons before they are moved away from here." Rau said with conviction.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Auto-Taxi Station

It took about ten minutes for Amuro and his friends to reach the nearest public transport stop. In that time, they had mostly talked about trivial things and had fun, since they had to try and behave themselves at the lab. As the group moved forward, Amuro noticed someone ahead.

"Hey," he said, pointing forward. "isn't that Flay and her friends?"

The group looked ahead, and saw that he was right. Flay Allster, a fifteen year old girl with long red hair and blue eyes, wearing a pink shirt and skirt, was just ahead. Kira found his eyes glued to Flay. It was no secret that he had developed a crush on the feisty girl. She appeared to be having a conversation of some sort with some of her friends.

"I'm telling you, it's nothing!" she said.

"Really, you're lying." One of her friends retorted.

"Come on," The other friend added. "Why don't you just admit it?"

"But I told you…" Flay's train of thought was cut off as she noticed the approaching group "Hey! Miriallia, Fraw, Sayla! How are you doing?"

"Were fine," Sayla responded curtly.

"Hey," one of Flay's friends said. "I bet you guys will know!"

"Know what?" Miriallia asked.

"Come on," Flay said to her friend. "Stop it!"

"She got a letter from Sai Argyle!" the friend continued, this information causing Kira to balk. "But she says nothing is going one, and won't tell us anything!"

"So?" Amuro asked.

While most of his friends could have seen Amuro's reaction to the situation coming from a mile away, both of Flay's friends looked at him like he had just asked them how to breathe.

"What do you mean "So?"?" Flay's first friend yelled. "Getting a letter from a boy is a really important thing!"

"Um, okay." Amuro was thoroughly confused. Why was Flay getting a letter from Sai important? Was he hurt? Did he have cancer of something? He was brought back to reality when someone coughed behind him. Turning around, he saw a young man with black hair, a black suit, and sunglasses. Seeing that he had gotten their attention, the man spoke up.

"If you're not moving on, mind if I do?" he asked

"Oh, sorry," Miriallia apologized. "Please, go ahead."

As the man moved past the teens and into an available car, Flay turned to her two friends.

"Alright, let's go," she said, before turning to Amuro's group. "See you guys later!"

As the three friends piled into the auto-car, discussing where they were going to shop and what they were going to eat, Amuro continued to puzzle over this "Letter", and its significance. Tolle decided it was time to add his two cents to the conversation.

"Sai wrote a letter to Flay, that's a surprise." He said, grinning as he put his hands on Kira's shoulders. "He may prove a strong rival for you, Kira."

"Huh." Was all Kira could say, as Tolle and Miriallia made for the next available auto-taxi. "But I'm not really…"

"Hey, what's all this stuff with the letter about?" Amuro yelled, following Kira.

"That's our Amuro for you," Kai said smirking. "The day he understands social interaction is the day that Blue Cosmos and the Supreme Council go tap dancing in Atlantis!"

"Yeah, sure." Hayato muttered, sending a non to subtle glare at the teenager in question.

"Hayato, what's wrong?" Fraw asked.

"Well, if it wasn't for engineers like Amuro's father…" Hayato started, before being interrupted by Fraw.

"Are you still mad that you got kicked out of your old place when Anaheim expanded its facilities?"

"Not exactly." He started, before saying. "It doesn't matter, let's just get going!"

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As his auto-taxi sped away from the station, Ensign Bright Noa couldn't help but look back at the group of teenagers he had passed by. Although the war had only been going on for a year, it felt like an eternity since he had been able to relax and have fun.

"It's so peaceful here." Bright thought. "Nothing like the hell that Earth has become since this war started."

In no time at all, the auto-taxi arrived at Anaheim's Heliopolis Department and attached Technical College. Quickly scanning his ID card at the gate, Bright entered the complex. The entire area was in a state of organized chaos, with technicians running around working on and inspecting various devices. Bright quickly singled out one, a woman with shoulder length brown in her mid-20s, who appeared to be in charge of the operation. Bright quickly spoke up.

"Excuses me, Ma'am." Bright said, the woman turning around to look at him. "I'm Ensign Bright Noa. I was told to meet with Professor Ray."

"You're with the Archangel, right?" The woman asked. "I'm Lieutenant Ramius. Professor Ray is waiting on the second floor of Building J, room 213."

"Understood." Bright responded. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Bright wasted no time making his way to room 213. When he arrived, he found Professor Ray looking over some blueprints.

"Professor Ray, Sir." Bright said, catching the good professors attention. "Ensign Bright Noa. Captain Cassius sent me to contact you."

"I see," Professor Ray commented. "I take it the Archangel has finished docking?"

"Yes Sir." Bright replied.

"Excellent, I'll have the first set dispatched immediately." Professor Ray said, before taking a good look at Bright.

"Ensign Bright, was it?" Professor Ray asked. "How long have you been in the service?"

"Six months, Sir." Bright responded quickly.

"So you're about what, nineteen?"

"Yes Sir."

Hearing this, Professor Ray looked down at his blueprints, and then to a picture that he had on his desk, depicting a young boy that Bright could have sworn he had seen somewhere before. Then, Professor Ray smiled and looked back a Bright.

"Once the G-Project is complete, maybe we can end this without sending more kids like you to fight." Professor Ray said with a hopeful tone.

"Is that your son, Sir?" Bright asked, motioning towards the picture.

"Yes." Professor Ray replied, before asking. "Is it true that there are guerrillas his age on the frontlines?"

"I'm afraid so, Sir." Bright confirmed.

"That's just awful." Professor Ray replied, sparing one last glance at the top blueprint, labeled GPX-78-2.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Exterior Maintenance Access

Outside the colony, the Sturmwind Shuttles had touched down, releasing a total of twenty soldiers, five in red, and the other fifteen in green. The group moved to an old maintenance shaft, left over from the early days of the colonies construction. Slender opened up the hatch, and Gene moved to charge in headfirst, only to be stopped by Denim.

"Hey!" Gene yelled, irate. "Why did you stop me?"

"You'll see in a moment, Private." Denim responded, before addressing Slender. "Corporal, scan the hatch."

Slender's Recon Zaku moved in front of the hatch. While to the naked eye the entryway was unguarded, the Recon Zaku's advanced sensors showed the truth, there was a grid of laser tripwires. One of the marines quickly hacked the security grid, bringing the tripwires down.

"That's why you have to be careful, Private." Denim chided. "If you rush into things, you'll end up in a situation you weren't prepared for, and that WILL get you killed!"

"Yes, Sir." Gene replied, dejectedly.

"Slender." Denim addressed his other subordinate. "Stay here. We need someone to transmit messages back to the Falmouth."

"Yes Sir." Slender responded, as the marines and other two mobile suits descended into the depths of the colony.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Anaheim Technical College

Back with Amuro's group, Tolle was continuing to mess with Kira as the two auto-taxi's approached the entrance to Anaheim.

"What's the problem?" Tolle asked in regard to the whole Sai/Flay letter incident back at the station. "If you don't ask him, I will."

"Tolle, stop being a pest!" Kira yelled back, sliding his ID card through the entrance scanner.

"Nobody tells me anything." Amuro grumbled from the back seat, eliciting a small giggle from Miriallia.

The two taxis came to a stop, and the eight friends quickly made their way up to their classroom. Inside were a number of computers and other machinery, all hooked up to a machine in the center of the room, the prototype exoskeleton that the group had been working on for the last couple of months.

"Hey guys." Tolle called out, alerting the other occupants of the room to their arrival.

Popping out from behind the exoskeleton was none other than Sai Argyle. He was sixteen years old, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a black shirt, grey pants, and a jacket that was dark red on the top and yellow on the bottom. He also had on a pair of orange tinted glasses.

Sitting at the back of the room was the last member of the group, one Kuzzey Buskirk. He was fifteen years old, had black hair, grey eyes, and was wearing a green and black jacket with tan pants.

There was one more person in the room, though, one that no one seemed to recognize. He appeared to be in the same age group as the others, and had blonde hair and golden eyes. He wore a brown overcoat, tan pants, and a baggy black hat, making it seem like he was trying to hide his identity. For some reason, Sayla had the strangest feeling she knew this boy…

"Oh, you guys finally made it." Sai said.

"Sorry for the delay." Fraw apologized, motioning towards Amuro and Kira. "I had to rouse the two eggheads out of their stupor."

As this happened, Kai walked over to where Kuzzey was sitting.

"Hey." Kai asked, pointing to the stranger "Who's that creeper in the overcoat?"

"Oh," Kuzzey remarked "That's the Professor's guest."

"Where is the professor anyway?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't he be here right now?" Amuro added.

"He said he had some important business, and wouldn't be around for a while." Sai said, pulling out a flash drive. "He gave me this, said it was for you two."

"Huh." Kira commented, looking over the drive. "What is it?"

"No clue." Sai replied. "I'm assuming its work for Anaheim though."

Amuro took out his personal datapad, and Kira inserted the drive into it, then took a look at the drives contents.

"Nothing special." Kira commented. "Just some stuff regarding improving the frame setup module."

"Yeah." Amuro agreed. "It's simple program analysis."

"More importantly." Tolle said, grabbing Kira in a headlock. "Ask him about the letter!"

"Letter?' Sai asked, confused.

"It's nothing really." Kira insisted, but Tolle wasn't giving up that easily.

"It's not nothing." Tolle countered.

As everyone began to focus on the commotion in the center of the room, the professor's guest made a move. Quickly moving over to a door in the back, he tried to open it, only to find that the door was locked tight. Sighing in defeat, he turned around to watch the show unfolding in the center of the room.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Maintenance Tunnels

The twenty soldiers of the ZAFT Infiltration team flew silently through the old maintenance tunnels of Heliopolis. It didn't take them long to find their target, the secret hanger where the Archangel was being held. The lead soldier motioned for the others to move out.

The group of twenty split up, each squad planting bombs in different areas of the hanger. By the time they were finished, nowhere in the hanger was safe from the inevitable countdown. The leader took a look at the countdown timer, and transmitted the data back to Slender. Then, the Marines exited the hanger, and pushed forwards towards the true goal of the operation.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

CCV-102 Falmouth, Bridge

Onboard the Falmouth, the entire atmosphere was tense as the crew waited for final conformation. Finally, the communications terminal light up.

"Commander Char." Dren said. "The Infiltration Team has planted their charges and moved to the ambush point. T-Minus 4 Minutes to detonation."

"Excellent." Char commented. "Send word to the other ships, we attack now."

"Understood sir." Dren responded, before opening a channel to the Vesala and Gallwitz. "All ships, Operation: Lucifer has commenced. Begin your attack!"

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Harbor Control

Sirens blared inside the main harbor of Heliopolis as sensor suddenly detected the trio of ZAFT warships moving towards the colony. There was a flurry of activity of the controllers desperately tried to get into contact with the ships. The Chief Controller burst into the room.

"Everyone, calm down!" He yelled, before grabbing the announcement headset.

"Attention approaching ZAFT vessels!" He said. "Your actions are in violation of a treaty with our nation! Stop your ships at once! I repeat, stop you ships at once!"

Onboard the Falmouth, Char smirked in response to the Controllers demands.

"You hear that Dren?" he asked. "They want a response. Let's give them a proper greeting."

"Yes Sir!" Dren replied, understanding exactly what Char meant by that. "All ships, begin GM Particle dispersion and set up a beam cannon volley on my mark."

After a few seconds went by, he continued. "Mark!"

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

LST-71 Westminster, Bridge

The Federation fleet was in a state of panic as the three undocked vessels scrambled to deploy their fighter squadrons.

"Enemies?" Mu asked.

"Three ships." The Captain responded. "Two Stuttgart-Class Destroyers and a Tirpitz-Class Heavy Cruiser. They haven't launched mobile suits yet, but…"

Before the Captain could finish, all three ZAFT ships unleashed a torrent of beam cannon fire on the Federation Fleet. The Westminster was rocked as several stray blasts hit the colony.

"Report!" the Captain yelled out.

"The Genoa is gone, sir." A sensor operator yelled out. "The Sevastopol lots its bridge and is dead in the water. The Leningrad is okay, it only took glancing hits. Half of our Saberfish units were destroyed before they could take off."

"Have Luke and Gail stand by in their Saberfish units!" Mu stated. "I'm going out!"

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Top Secret Hanger

Inside the Archangel's hanger, crew were rushing all around in response to the ZAFT attack. In the observation room, Captain Cassius tried to keep a semblance of order intact.

"Everyone keep calm." He ordered. "If we start to panic, we'll just be playing right into ZAFT's hands."

"Propellant filled to eighty percent capacity." One tech reported.

"Squad sixteen, begin loading materials." Another tech ordered.

"If this situation gets any worse, we may have to launch prematurely." Captain Cassius mused. "Get Lieutenant Ramius on the line, we need the G-Weapons loaded immediately!"

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Harbor Area

Having successfully knocked two Federation ships out of the fight, the three ZAFT cruisers ceased their advance. Each ship then activated their Linear Catapults, and began launching their compliment of mobile suits. A total of ten Zakus, three Space Types and seven Standard Types, shot out eager to fight the weakened Federation forces.

Heliopolis was not idle during all of this, and launched their own forces to intercept. Unfortunately, all the Heliopolis Defense Force could muster was a mere six Balls, mobile worker pods reconfigured as combat units. In terms of pure numbers, the difference in power between the two sides didn't seem that bad, but that completely discounted the superiority of ZAFT's mobile suits. The battles outcome did not look good at all.

"Lieutenant La Flaga!" The Westminster's Captain yelled.

"Launch the ship!" La Flaga ordered as he climbed into his fighter. "The harbor is about to be overrun."

"I'm heading out!" He added.

The Westminster burst out of the hanger, accompanied by two more Saberfish Fighters and La Flaga's Raven Sword, adding three more fighters to the battle. Still, the odds did not look good, and Mu could only watch as the enemy mobile suits got closer and closer. Then, the real fight started.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Interior

As the fighting outside the colony intensified, the clock continued to count down on the bombs that the infiltration team had set earlier. Life went about in the colony, no one outside of the Federation forces and select personnel even aware that a battle had started at all.

10…

The Governor of Orb prepared to enter his residence, but was pulled aside by his guards and informed of the developing situation outside the colony.

09…

A family of four walked through a shopping center.

08…

A small band of musicians played their instruments to a small crowd.

07…

Ensign Bright rushed back to the Archangel.

06…

A young woman in a green suit sat down and relaxed, glad to have finished her supply run.

05…

Professor Ray sat at his desk, holding the picture of his son.

04…

Inside the Archangel, a mechanic was yelling at some of the other crew to get moving.

03…

Flay and her friends were busy looking at clothes in a shopping center.

02…

Amuro and his friends tested their exoskeleton, with Tolle as the unfortunate guinea pig.

01…

Murrue Ramius directed the technicians to get the first three G-Weapons to the Archangel.

00…

The bombs went off. The resulting explosion consumed the hanger. Captain Cassius barely had time to shield his eyes before the explosion enveloped him. Bright made it back into the area just in time to see a cloud of smoke blast forth from the Archangel's hanger, enveloping him as well.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Anaheim Electronics

The explosion was felt all over the colony. At Anaheim, all the students were shocked by the sudden rumbling.

"What was that?" Sai asked. "An asteroid?"

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On a nearby hill, the Infiltration team was watching, on the lookout for the G-Weapons. After a bit of searching, they found their target on the main highway.

"That's it." One of the Red's, whose white hair and blue eyes could be seen through his now, depolarized visor. "It's just like Commander Le Creuset told us."

"What?" Another Red, this one with dark skin, blonde hair, and purple eyes, responded. "That if we poke them they'll come out of their holes? The Feddies are blockheads, after all."

"Sergeant!" The leader of the Reds, who had blue hair and green eyes, asked." You hear that?"

"Don't worry kid." Denim replied. "I heard you. Come on Gene, let's go."

"Finally!" Gene cried as the Zakus boosted off from the cliff. "Time for some real action!"

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Harbor Area

Miguel Aiman, the Magic Bullet of Dusk, couldn't help but smirk. The battle was already going in ZAFT's favor. Orb's Balls had already been eliminated, along with three Saberfish Fighters. The only problem so far had been the surviving Thermopylae-Class Cruiser, the Leningrad, who's CIWS guns were helping to keep pressure off the Saberfish Fighters. Two Zaku's had been downed, and Miguel decided it was high time someone put these Feddies in their place.

"Matthew, Olor." Miguel called to his wingmates. "Form up on me. We're taking out that cruiser."

"I figured you would say that." Olor Kudenbru sighed. "Just don't get yourself killed."

Olor and Matthew boosted ahead at the cruiser. Detecting their approach, the Leningrad's CIWS guns quickly locked onto the two Zaku's and began firing. The two pilots, however, were veterans, and easily dodged the incoming fire. Suddenly, they broke off, Matthew going right and Olor left, and the CIWS guns turned to follow them.

This proved to be a huge mistake, as it left the front completely unprotected, something that Miguel was quick to take advantage of. Boosting straight in front of the bridge, he took a second to savor the horrified looks of the bridge crew before drawing his heat sword and slicing the bridge clean through. The personnel that weren't killed by the saber quickly died as a result of explosive decompression, and the now directionless cruiser was finished off with missiles.

Suddenly, Miguel's console beeped. Checking it, he found a message from the infiltration team. They had found their targets.

"Olor." Miguel said. "Take over here. I'm going to see if the rookies need any backup."

"What?" Olor asked. "But that's against…"

It was already too late, as Miguel boosted off into the colony, leaving his two wingmates behind.

"Well, that Miguel for you." Matthew spoke up. "Always rushing into things."

"Yeah, you're right." Olor sighed. "I probably should have expected that by now."

Two Saberfish Fighters tried to take advantage of the two suit's inactivity and fired their linear cannons and missiles at them. The Zakus dodged just in time, and managed to catch one of the fighters in their crossfire, forcing the other to break off.

"None of that matters now." Olor said. "We still have a battle to win!"

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On the other side of the battle, Mu was doing his best to keep calm. The Federation forces had been reduced to eight mobile armors, including his wingman Gail, the Westminster, and his Raven Sword. ZAFT, on the other hand, still had six Zakus, and their capital ships were intact.

Seeing an opening, Mu deployed two of his Raven Sword's gun-barrels, and charged at one of the Zakus. Firing a shot from his linear cannon, Mu caught the Zaku's attention, and it quickly turned to fire on him. This left it completely open, however, to Mu's gun-barrels, which fired from different directions, catching the Zaku in the crossfire. Mu finished off the Zaku with his linear cannon. He had no time to celebrate, though, as he noticed his wingman was in trouble.

"Gail!" he called out, but it was too late.

Gail was so caught up in trying to acquire a lock on the Zaku he was pursuing, that he wasn't ready when the Zaku flipped around and grabbed its heat hawk. Gail barely had time to scream as his unit was torn in two.

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January 25, 0079

Orb Union, Side 7

Heliopolis Colony, Anaheim Electronics

At the Anaheim Testing Site, Lieutenant Ramius was attempt to get a hold of the situation.

"Alright everyone, keep calm," she said "Do we have any idea what's happening?"

"No ma'am," A worker told her "We lost contact with the Archangel. The situation is unclear."

Unfortunately, the situation very quickly made itself clear, as two Zakus flew overhead, unleashing a barrage of fire from their machineguns and hip mounted missile pods. Lieutenant Ramius and the other workers hit the deck, as the strafing run took out several vehicles.

"Damn it, it's ZAFT!" she yelled, turning to the other workers "Prepare the 78-3 and 78-5 for combat! Whatever the case, we'll get them to the factory district!"

"Yes Ma'am!" the worker responded.

The Zaku's continued their strafing run, annihilating most of the units guarding the three prototypes that were already on their way to the dock.

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Inside Anaheim, the ten students and the Professor's guest had made their way to the elevators, and Tolle quickly pushed the call button, but the elevator didn't arrive.

What's taking so long?" he asked in frustration.

"Hey Genius, you ever tried reading?" Kai said, pointing to the "Do Not Use Elevators In An Emergency" sign that accompanies practically every elevator in existence.

"Oh! Right," Tolle said sheepishly "I knew that."

The building continued to shake violently. Moving to the stairwell, the group found it packed with people.

"Hey!" Sai asked "Does anyone know what is going on?"

"It's an attack by ZAFT," one man replied "They've got mobile suits inside the colony!"

The Professor's Guest reacted with shock. Turning away from the stairwell, he bolted off down the hallway. While most of the group ignored this, Amuro and Kira took notice, and took off after him. An explosion shook the building, causing all three teens to stagger for a moment.

"Amuro! Kira!" Fraw called out, the group having noticed their friend's departure.

"Don't worry about us!" Amuro yelled back.

"Yeah, we'll be back in a moment!" Kira continued.

The Professor's Guest continued running, followed by the two "Techno Nerds." Fraw stared in their direction, before making a decision.

"I'll go after them," she said "make sure they don't do something stupid. You guys just get out."

Fraw then took off after her wayward friends, the rest of the group heading down, hoping that Amuro and Kira didn't do something stupid.

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Denim and Gene touched down, continuing their relentless assault. A group of Missile Buggies locked on to the two suits, but before they could do anything, they were hit with machinegun fire from above and destroyed. Denim looked up and spotted Miguel's Zaku coming in for a landing.

"Hey guys." Miguel said. "I thought you could use some reinforcements."

Just when it seemed as though the day couldn't possibly get worse for the defending soldiers, the ZAFT commandos arrived.

"Destroy the parts that we can't carry, as well as the factories," the white haired commando ordered "According to the report, there should be five suits here, but I only see three."

"The others are probably still inside the factory." The team leader stated "Rusty and My Squads will go, Yzak, you guys take these three.

"Okay, I'll leave it to you," Yzak replied, turning to the others "If you get one of the suits, make sure to disarm any self-destruct mechanism you find inside."

The commandos touched down, unleashing a hail of bullets against the few surviving personnel. Those who attempted to hide inside the trailers were met with grenades. In no time at all, ZAFT had total control of the area.

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After a few minutes of running, Amuro and Kira caught up to the mystery man.

"What are you doing?" Kira asked, grabbing hold of the guy "it's no use going that way."

"Why are you following me?" the other teen said "You should get away from here!"

"He's right you know!" Fraw said, finally having caught up to her two friends "This is a dangerous situation!"

As if to emphasize the point, an explosion occurred behind them, blowing up a powerful gust that knocked the hat off of the mystery person, revealing…

"A…Girl?" Kira said, surprised that the person they had been chasing had been a woman the whole time.

"Of course I'm a girl!" she shouted angrily "What were you thinking this whole time!"

"It's not our fault that you dress like some kind of flasher." Amuro said.

As Fraw and the girl glared at the tactless teen, another explosion occurred further back. Turning forward once again, the girl continued forward.

"Just go!" she said "There is something I have to check here first!"

"We can't exactly go back the way we came!" Kira pointed out, before grabbing the girl again "Here, this way!"

"Let go, you fool!" she yelled, but seeing as he would not let go, she sighed sadly "I never expected that I would get stuck in here."

"Neither did we," Fraw said comfortingly "but for now, we've just got to stick together."

"There should still be some shelters left in the factory district." Amuro said, checking his PDA.

As the four teens rushed towards the factory district, the sounds of gunfire became clearer and clearer. Finally, the group exited onto the catwalks of one of the factories, and came across a startling sight. Two mobile suits, one colored pure red, the other white, blue, and red, were lying in transport truck on the factory floor.

"What is this?" Kira asked, stunned.

"I knew it," the mystery girl cried, dropping to the floor "The Earth Federation's new mobile weapons."

"Father," she yelled "You've betrayed us all!"

Unfortunately, that outburst got the attention of Lieutenant Ramius, who instinctively turned towards the noise and fired off a warning shot. Kira grabbed the girl, and ran with Amuro and Fraw further down the catwalk.

"Children?" Ramius exclaimed, surprised to see civilians still evacuating.

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On the freeway, the Le Creuset Team had secured the mobile weapons, and had begun to power them up. The first suit began to stand, the colonies sunlight reflecting off the titan of steel.

"Well, this is pretty impressive," Yzak said from the cockpit of the grey and blue Guncannon Duel "How's yours Dearka?"

"It good," Dearka responded from the cockpit of the tan and green Guncannon Buster "Update activated, Nerve Links reconstructed. Calibration complete. It'll move."

As the Buster stood up, both pilots noticed that their last companion still hadn't moved his suit.

"Nicol?" Yzak asked impatiently.

"Just give me a little more time!" Nicol Amalfi said from the black and red Gundam Blitz. Before long, it was up as well.

"Where's Athrun and Rusty?" Dearka admitted "They're taking an awfully long time."

"They'll be fine," Yzak assured his comrades "In the meantime, we should head back to base with these three."

"Roger that," Sergeant Denim said over the radio "We'll follow you once the last two suits are secure."

With that the three suits lifted off, heading back towards the maintenance tunnels they had first entered the colony in. Denim, Gene, and Miguel, on the other hand, moved over to the factory, intent on aiding the remaining commandos in their theft of the last two G Weapons.

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Amuro, Kira, Fraw, and the other girl finally made it to the back of the factory. While all of the new, automated shelters were full, there was an older, manual one in the back. Running up to the shelter, Amuro activated the control panel.

"See," Kira said to the girl "Some people evacuated here."

"Hey," a voice called over the intercom "Is there still someone out there?"

"Yeah," Amuro said "My friends and I got stuck out here. Can you let us in?"

"Sorry, kid," the man on the other end said "We're already filled to capacity."

"Are you sure?" Fraw asked "We're just teenagers, so we won't take up to much space."

"Sorry, but there's no way I can…Hey, lady, what are you doing?" the man said suddenly, and some commotion could be heard behind the door.

Then, a new voice came over the intercom. "Fraw, dear, is that you?"

"Mom!" Fraw yelled in surprise "What are you doing here?"

"Your Grandfather and I were going to Anaheim to visit you, but then the attack happened," she explained "Oh, darling, I'm so glad that you are alright."

"Mrs. Bow," Amuro cut in "We know that it's really full in there, but could you please take Fraw and the other girl we have here. Kira and I will find another shelter."

"Oh Amuro, you are such a brave man," Mrs. Bow said "I think I finally understand why Fraw took such a liking to you, and yes, we'll let them in."

"Yeah, sure," The guy from earlier said, before muttering "I'm not paid enough to put up with this shit."

As the heavy doors to the shelter began to open, the mysterious girl spoke up.

"You can't be serious," she yelled "There's no way you can make it through all the fighting that's going on!"

"We can, and we will," Kira said "You just get in the shelter, it will be safe there."

There was absolutely no way that the group could have known that the two Zakus that had previously been firing wantonly around the area had focused their assault on the factory. There was also no way for them to know that Gene had just unleashed his last missile into the factory, and that that missile was headed directly for them. Realistically, by the time they would have heard it, the missile would have impacted and killed them.

Yet somehow, Amuro did know.

"MOVE!" Amuro yelled, pushing his friends to the side.

Less than a second later the missile streaked by, entering the now open shelter, and exploding, instantly killing all of its occupants. Fraw got up first.

"Mom!" she called, hoping beyond hope that her mother had survived. Unfortunately, her mother's charred remains lay at the entrance of the shelter, where just seconds before, she had been jubilantly awaiting her daughter. At this sight, Fraw broke down.

"NO!" she cried, sinking to her knees "No, Mom, No, No, Mom."

Fraw's speech disintegrated into cries of "No" and "Mom", the other teens could only watch on in shock. While the mystery girl and Kira could only stare horrified at the scene, deep in Amuro, something was rising. Slowly, the shock started to wear off, replaced by seething rage. How dare these ZAFT bastards. What the hell gave them the right to come here, and do this? Then, Amuro remembered something, something the girl had said. Slowly, he turned to her.

"What Do You Know?" He asked, emotionless, except for the hint of the anger building within him.

"What?" the girl asked, clearly intimidated by the boy's sudden change.

"When we got here, you said something about those suits," he continued, more and more anger seeping into his voice until he was screaming "You know why we're being attacked, so I'll ask again. WHAT! DO! YOU! KNOW!"

"Amuro, please," Kira begged his friend "She isn't the one who did this!"

Amuro forced himself to calm down, but maintained eye contact with the girl. Finally, she spoke up.

"Alright," she said "I'll tell you."

"My name," she stoped to take a deep breath, before continuing "is Cagalli, and my parents are… rather high up in Orb."

"A few months ago," she began "I got information stating that several Orb Noble Families were secretly working together with the Earth Federation to develop new mobile weapons, in strict violation of our own neutrality."

"At first," Cagalli continued "I dismissed this as conspiracy, but more and more reports came in, I decided to investigate it myself. That's why I was here, to talk with the man in charge of the project, one Professor Tem Ray."

That hit Amuro like a punch in the gut. His Dad was the reason for all of this. All the death and destruction, what had happened to Fraw's Mom and Grandpa, all because of his own Father? Was this what he spent late nights working on? Was this why he kept handing Kira and him all this work? How much of the work they did in the lab was secretly being used to make weapons for the Earth Federation?

"I…I have to go." Amuro stuttered out, before bolting back towards the labs.

"What happened?" Cagalli asked, stumped at the boy having another sudden mood swing.

"He's Amuro Ray, Tem Ray's son." Kira explained.

Cagalli blinked. That kid was Tem Ray's son? She could definitely sympathize with him, He must feel like the same way she had when she had discovered her father's involvement in the G Project. She just hoped this Amuro didn't get himself killed.

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Amuro ran like a man possessed. There was no way his dad was responsible for this, but Cagalli had seemed pretty convinced that her information was correct. He had to ask him, he had to hear the truth from his father's mouth.

Rushing through the now abandoned labs, he pulled out his PDA.

"Personnel Search," he said "Professor Tem Ray."

"Match found," the machine answered "Tem Ray is currently in sublevel six, hanger five."

Amuro managed to find an elevator that still worked, and headed down to sublevel six. The whole place seemed deserted, and there was no artificial gravity this close to the outside of the colony. Floating through the area, Amuro managed to locate Hanger 5. Inside, there were three more mobile suits, these ones colored Gold, Red, and Blue respectively, as well as his father.

"I need these suits loaded onto the elevator and sent to the Archangel immediately!" he yelled at one of the workers.

"But sir," the worker responded "I thought that these suits were to go to Orb?"

"Plans change!" he responded "We've already lost three to ZAFT, and there's no guarantee they won't get the other two. Orb will get the suits we promised them, just later."

"Dad!" Tem was surprised to hear his son's voice, and turned around.

"Amuro?" he asked "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Amuro countered angrily "Is this what you've been working on all this time, mobile suits for a nation we are not part of!"

"It is more complicated than that," his father said "There was a mutual agreement between the Federation and Orb."

"Yeah, Cagalli said something about that," Amuro stated "but that doesn't change the fact that your work has brought ZAFT to this colony!"

"Amuro," Tem sighed "I can't justify what I did, at least not right now, but I don't want to mess up your life any more than I already have, so please leave."

"Fine!" Amuro yelled.

No one had noticed that while the father and son argued, a shadowy figure had slipped into the cockpit of the gold mobile suit. Suddenly, its systems powered up.

"Huh," one of the technicians said "Who the heck is in the Proto Gundam?"

Suddenly, the Proto Gundam tore through its restraints. Stepping out onto the floor, it opened fire with its head mounted CIWS guns, unleashing a hail of fire across the hanger. Tem managed to push Amuro onto the freight elevator, but was hit in the process.

"Ugh," Amuro said as he hit the wall, before looking up at his father "Dad!"

Tem had had most of his lower body shredded, and was clinging onto the freight elevator controls. The pilot of the mobile suit, seemingly satisfied with the wanton destruction he had caused, looked around the hanger, and located a massive rail bazooka.

"Amuro, I'm sorry," Tem said as he pushed the up button on the control panel "please, forgive me."

The elevator shot up, and just in time, as the pilot fired the rail bazooka at the hanger doors, blasting them open, and escaping into space. Everything in the hanger, including Tem and the other two mobile suits, were sucked into the vacuum of space.

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Kira, after a few minutes, decided to try and follow Amuro. Making sure the Fraw and Cagalli were relatively safe in the back of the hanger, he ran back to the catwalks. As he went, he noticed that the women who had shot at them earlier was still fighting. Suddenly, a ZAFT soldier tried to flank her from a higher catwalk.

"Watch out," Kira yelled "Behind you!"

The woman responded with a hail of bullets, which felled the solider, but also happened to be the last she had for her rifle. Looking up, she saw Kira.

"That kid from earlier?" Ramius mumbled "Why did he come back?"

Lieutenant Ramius had little time to dwell on this, as one of her few remaining defenders was shot dead. Discarding her spent rifle, she jumped and pulled a sidearm, taking another ZAFT commando out.

"Come here!" she yelled to Kira.

"Thank you," he said "but I'm going to the shelters in the left block! Please, ignore me."

"There's nothing but left that way!" she told him, as an explosion ripped through the only exit.

Seeing no other choice but to follow the woman, Kira did as she told, jumping down onto the mobile suit. As this was happening, a lucky Federation worker managed to hit Rusty, much to the team leader's shock.

"Rusty!" he cried out, charging forward and gunning down the worker.

"No!" Ramius cried as her last subordinate was gunned down. The team leader fired off a burst at her, grazing her arm. As she collapsed, Kira rushed to her aid, while the commando, freshly out of ammo, pulled a knife and moved in for the kill. Then, Kira looked up at the commando, and to his surprise, recognized him.

"Athrun?" Kira asked, shocked to see his friend, one that he distinctly remembered despising war, in a ZAFT commando outfit, gunning down workers on a neutral colony.

"Kira?" Athrun was equally shocked to see his old friend here, on top of the Federation mobile suit, standing over the wounded Lieutenant.

Ramius, however, made use of this distraction to pull her pistol on him. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to close before she could take a shot, he fell back. Unfortunately, the hanger began to fall apart. Ramius, forcing herself up in spite of the pain, threw Kira into the cockpit of the mobile suit, before jumping in herself. Athrun himself jumped into the other mobile suit.

Cagalli and Fraw could only hold each other and hope that they remained safe as the entire factory went up in flames.

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Amuro had no idea how much time had passed since he was thrown onto the freight elevator. His entire body felt numb, the shock of watching his father's final moments, combined with the earlier deaths of Fraw's family, had put the young boy through more emotional turmoil than he had ever expected, or wanted, to see. Slowly, he forced himself to his feet, and tried to get his bearings. Looking out into the room, he saw something that surprised him.

"What?" He asked. "Another Suit?"

Laying on a maintenance bed a few feet away was another mobile suit, the same type as the ones he saw in the factory. In fact, this one had the same white, blue and red color scheme as the other one, but was distinguishable due to a few cosmetic differences. To his right, Amuro noticed a control room of sorts, with a number of monitors. Entering the room, he noticed a book on the table, one with a simple label.

G-Project Operators Manual

Amuro picked up the book and began reading it, partly because of his natural curiosity and partly out of the need for something, anything, that could take his mind off the traumas he had endured today.

"Amazing!' he said, looking over the various specifications. "Advanced titanium alloys, compact beam weaponry. No wonder ZAFT doesn't want the Federation to get their hands on these suits."

"Warning!" An automated alert rang out. "Factory District had been destroyed!"

"What?" Amuro yelled, realizing that that was where he left Kira and Fraw.

He quickly moved to the computer and began cycling through what cameras were still active. Then, he spotted them. Fraw and Cagalli were laying on the floor covered in ash and surrounded by fire.

"Oh no." he muttered. "They're still in the factory. This isn't good. What can I do?"

Amuro lowered his head, only to find himself looking at the G-Project Manual. He stared at it for a few seconds, then turned his head to the inactive mobile suit, then back to the book.

"I… can do this?" He said to himself questioningly, before taking another glance at the monitor displaying Fraw and Cagalli's downed forms.

"I can do this!" He repeated, this time more confident and affirmative.

Amuro grabbed the manual and rushed over to the mobile suit. Quickly climbing on top of it, he removed the sheet covering the unit's cockpit, and, finding it open, he scrambled inside. Sitting down in the cockpit, he kept the manual open on his lap, and began to startup the mobile suit.

Let's see." He said. "The power button should be here."

The mobile suit hummed to life, and the main screen lit up, with the message.

Mobile Suit Operating System

Version 0079

GPX-78-2 Gundam Zephyr

"Gundam… Zephyr?" Amuro repeated.

The Gundams startup sequence continued. The cockpit closed, and to the front, right, and left, the blank walls were replaced with real time video feeds from the unit's sensors, giving Amuro a 270 Degree view of the area around him.

"Alright." Amuro said. "Now, to stand up."

Slowly, the Zephyr pushed itself up, and began to move towards the adjacent factory.

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Outside Anaheim, Amuro's group of friends had made it out of the building, and were trying to find some sort of shelter. Suddenly, there was an explosion. As they looked to the source, they saw two mobile suits jumping out of the burning factory.

Athrun easily landed his pilfered Gundam Aegis behind Miguel's Zaku. He saw the other unit, the one still in the Federation's control, land further away, stumbling a bit.

"Athrun!' Denim yelled over the radio "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Rusty failed." Athrun stated. "A Federation officer has control of the other machine."

"Yeah, and what a remarkable job their doing." Gene commented snidely.

Inside the Gundam Strike, Lieutenant Ramius was struggling to maintain control. Thanks to the ZAFT attack, the never got around to installing the new Version 0079 Operating System, and as a result, the Strike was stuck with the infamously imprecise Version 0078 Operating System. Every move the Strike made was either had too much force behind it or too little. The Strike's monitor lit up, identifying the Zakus, the Aegis, and, to Kira's shock, his still present friends.

"Sai! Tolle! Sayla!" he yelled.

Gene and Miguel opened fire with their machineguns, hitting the area around the suit's legs, and keeping it off balance. Smirking at the suit's inability to stay steady, Miguel drew his heat sword.

"Then I'll capture this machine." He announced, before directing Athrun. "You go ahead and leave here with that."

Athrun activated the Aegis' keyboard and began renovating the incomplete mess that was the unit's current Operating System. As he did so, he couldn't help but keep coming back to one thought.

"Kira, was that really you?"

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Fraw felt awful. She had just had the worst dream she had ever had in her life. ZAFT had attacked Heliopolis, then her Mom and Grandpa had been killed, Amuro and Kira had run off, and she had been left with a girl she barely knew in an exploding building. She had no idea what she had done last night that had set such a dream upon her, but she was just glad to be back in her nice soft be…

"Wait a minute" she thought "Why is it so hot, why does my bed feel like cold steel, and who am I holding on to?"

Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at an unconscious girl with blonde hair. Cagalli, if she remembered correctly. Suddenly, her eyes widened. If Cagalli was real, then was everything else real too! Looking around, Fraw realized the horrible truth, her "dream" had been real. Fraw resisted the urge to curl up into a ball and cry, and instead attempted to rouse the other girl.

"Hey, get up." She urged Cagalli. "We need to get out of here."

"Five more minutes…" Came Cagalli's half-asleep reply.

"God, your worse than Amuro." Fraw muttered, before shaking the girl violently. "Come on! Get up!"

"Alright! I'm up!" Cagalli shouted, bolting upright. "You don't have too…"

It was at this point that Cagalli noticed who she was talking too, and where they were.

"Oh no." Cagalli whispered.

Then, the ceiling began to collapse. Staring up in horror, the two girls closed their eyes, held onto each other, and waited for the inevitable. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over them, and they found themselves quite alive. Looking up, they saw another G-Weapon standing over them. The suit looked at them intently, and then its cockpit opened up.

"Fraw, are you okay." Called Amuro, who much to the two girl's surprise, was the unit's pilot.

"Amuro." Fraw said softly.

"You!" Cagalli yelled. "What the hell are you doing in that?"

"No time for explanations." Amuro yelled back. "Just get in."

The two girls scrambled into the cockpit. With them secured, the Zephyr burst out of the factory just as it completely collapsed. Landing nearby, Amuro took in the situation outside. One of the other Gundams, the red one, was standing next by two of the Zakus. The other Gundam was staggering around, and a third Zaku was charging it. Amuro quickly skimmed through the Zephyr's menu, and located the weapons options.

"Vulcan Guns?" he said, reading the topmost option. "Alright, let's go with that."

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Miguel rushed forwards at the Strike. Ramius evaded his first attack by making a hard right, the force and sharpness of the move throwing Kira over the chair and into her lap.

"Stay back." She yelled. "Do you want to die?"

"Sorry." Kira apologized.

Before Kira could move back, Miguel charged again. Kira screamed as the Zaku jumped into the air…

And was forced back by Vulcan fire from the left. Both sides turned to look at the perpetrator, and were shocked to see another Gundam, in the same colors as the Strike, standing a few feet away, its head mounted Vulcan Cannons smoking.

"No way. The Zephyr?" Lieutenant Ramius said in disbelief. "Who's piloting it?"

"Another one!" Kira cried.

"What the hell?" Miguel commented.

"I thought there were only supposed to be five units?" Gene yelled.

"There wasn't supposed to be anything else except spare parts," Denim added.

"How could our intel have been this off?" Athrun asked.

The Zephyr proceeded to move forward. Unlike the imprecise movement of the Strike, the Zephyr moved flawlessly. Standing in front of the Strike, the Zephyr glared at the three Zakus in front of it.

"So this guy can actually walk." Gene stated, his old confidence coming back. "It'll still go down just like everything else."

Gene unleashed a hail of machinegun fire at the Zephyr, which made no move to block. Much to Gene's horror, his barrage didn't even scratch the unit's paint, and the Zephyr continued to glare at the ZAFT soldiers.

"What kind of mobile suits did the Federation create?" Gene stuttered. "How did it just shrug all of that off?"

"These suits are made with Lunar Titanium Armor," Athrun informed the group, looking over his unit's own specifications. "They're virtually invincible to physical attacks."

"Pilot of the Zephyr." Ramius ordered over the radio. "Identify yourself!"

"There's no time for that." Amuro yelled back.

Unbeknownst to them, Athrun was listening in on their conversation, and was shocked to hear Amuro's voice over the radio.

"That can't be!" Athrun thought. "They can't be with the Earth Forces, can they?"

"Athrun!" Denim called. "Get out of here. We'll cover your exit."

Athrun took one last look at the two mobile suits, and then boosted off towards the maintenance tunnels he had used to enter the colony in the first place. The Zephyr opened up with a renewed burst of Vulcan fire moving forward towards Denim and Gene's Zakus. Miguel took this opportunity to attack the Strike. Ramius countered with her own Vulcans, but the calibration was off, and her shots went wide.

"Superior armor alone isn't gonna save you!" He declared, slashing at the Strike. "You haven't got the movement!"

The battle was not looking good. The Strike was thrown into a nearby building by the force of Miguel's attack, and the Zephyr ran out of ammo for its Vulcans.

"What…?!" Amuro said. "I'm out of ammo!"

"You're dead." Gene snarled as he drew his heat hawk. "I don't care how tough your armor is!"

"Oh no?" Amuro started panicking as the Zaku rushed towards him. "What do I do?"

At this point, the Strike had gotten back up, but was still helpless against Miguel's Zaku. As it was forced back, Kira noticed that, to his horror, his friends were directly behind the Strike. If it was forced back any more, they would be crushed.

As Gene and Miguel prepared to land their final blow, both Amuro and Kira sprang into action. Suddenly, the Zephyr's left arm thrust forward, catching the Zaku's arm mid swing.

"What the hell?" Gene stuttered, as the Zephyr began crushing his Zakus arm.

Just as quickly, the Zephyr grabbed the Zaku's "snout" with its other arm, and began pulling in different directions. It wasn't long before the Zaku's snout and main camera were ripped out, sending the Zaku flying through a building, its pilot screaming in terror…

In the Strike's cockpit, Kira bolted forward. Grabbing the Strike's controls, he quickly had it crouch, barely avoiding Miguel's stab, and then boosted forward, throwing Miguel back.

"You?" Lieutenant Ramius was shocked at the young teen's sudden maneuver.

"There are still people here," Kira yelled. "If you're going to ride something like this, try putting it to use!"

While Miguel's Zaku struggled to get back up, Kira opened up the Strike's O.S. and began to look it over.

"This is nuts!' he yelled. "How do you expect to move complex machinery using this kind of Operating System?"

"It's in an incomplete state," Ramius replied. "It can't be helped.

"Please move." Kira said. "Hurry!"

Lieutenant Ramius moved out of the seat, and Kira took her place. He immediately pulled down the keyboard and began completely rebuilding the Operating System; his hands were like lightning as they flashed across the keyboard.

"Damn you!" Miguel cursed as his Zaku got back up.

"Gene! Miguel!" Denim called out. "We're retreating."

"What?" Miguel asked. "We can't just let these two get away!"

"Dammit Miguel, this is no time to let your pride cloud your judgment!" Denim yelled, before addressing his other wingman. "Gene, can you make it back to Slender?"

"Yeah." Gene replied. "My backup camera is still working, I can make it."

Gene activated his boosters and made a break for the maintenance tunnels…

Amuro, watching from the Zephyr's cockpit, was not about to let him get away.

"You think you can just run? After all you did?" he hissed, before returning to the Zephyr's weapons. "There must be something else I can use… Huh, beam sabers?" he said, looking at one of the selections. "Okay, let's go!"

The Zephyr charged at Denim and Miguel's Zakus, which both raised their machineguns and tried to ward him off. At the last second, the Zephyr boosted over the two, straight toward the retreating form of Gene's Zaku. In a flash, the Zephyr pulled a cylindrical object from its back, which ignited into a magenta colored blade. Denim tried to warn Gene.

"Gene!" Denim called out, but it was already too late.

Gene barely had time to scream as the beam saber sliced through the Zaku like a hot knife through butter. The Zephyr landed safely on the ground, as the Zaku's two halves fell brutally. Then, the Zaku's reactor went critical, and it exploded in a brilliant flash forcing everyone to brace themselves and cover their eyes. When it was all over, a good chunk of the surrounding block had been reduced to rubble.

Miguel and Denim could only stare in horror at the fate of their comrade. Gene was only a recruit, fresh out of the academy. Sure, he had been arrogant, reckless, and indifferent, but he was still a proud soldier of ZAFT. Slowly, Denim spoke up.

"Miguel." He said, with no emotion in his voice. "You take the other one."

"What?" Miguel asked, surprised by Denim's sudden change in attitude.

"I'm gonna make this bastard pay for what he did to Gene." Denim continued, his anger rising. "You just make sure the other one stays down."

"Yes, I understand." And with that, both Zakus headed off, eager to make the Federation pay for this.

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Back with the Strike, Kira was finally finishing up the Operating System. Miguel, however, had no intentions of letting the Strike or its pilot get away. Opening up with a volley of machinegun fire, Miguel forced the Strike on the defensive. Kira reacted by boosting the Strike into the air, closely followed by Miguel.

"Weapons!" Kira said, as he browsed the weapons selections on the Strike. "The Vulcans don't have enough power, and the particle reserves are dry, so no sabers. That leaves…"

"Armor-Schneider Knives!" he said. "This is it!"

The Strike reached into its skirt armor and pulled out a pair of Anti-Armor Knives. Both it and the Zaku landed on the ground, the Zaku continuing to fire with its machinegun. The Strike boosted forward. Entering melee distance the Strike stabbed the Zaku, first in the shoulder, then in the neck. The Zaku emitted a whining sound as it slowly went offline.

"Damn it, the Hydro isn't responding." Miguel cursed. "Multi-Drive is offline as well.

Knowing that the battle was lost, Miguel quickly activated his Zaku's self-destruct system. He then opened the cockpit up, and boosted away. Lieutenant Ramius noticed this, and warned Kira.

"This isn't good!" She yelled. "Get away from the Zaku!"

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Meanwhile, Amuro had finally recovered from the blast, and moved to check on his passengers.

"Hey, are you oaky back there? He asked.

"I'm alright." Fraw confirmed. "But I think Cagalli is unconscious!"

"Damn it." Amuro muttered under his breath. "I can't risk another explosion like that."

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think, as Denim's Zaku was racing towards him, heat hawk drawn.

"You'll pay for what you did to Gene." Denim yelled in rage.

"What do I do?" Amuro asked himself. "Maybe if I just aim for the cockpit."

Denim's Zaku jumped into the air. In a quick motion, Amuro brought up the Zephyr's beam saber, piercing through the Zaku's cockpit. Everything stood still for a second, before the Zaku's mooneye sensor faded out, and it fell to the ground, disabled.

Before Amuro had time to do anything, another explosion occurred. Miguel's Zaku had finally self-destructed, throwing the Strike back. The Zephyr moved over to the fallen Strike, and offered a hand.

"Hey!' Amuro called out. "Do you need help?

"Amuro?" A familiar voice called out over the radio. "Is that you?"

"Kira?" Amuro asked. "What are you doing in there?"

"I could ask you the same thing" Kira responded.

"I think we could all use some explanations" Fraw added.

"Fraw, you're okay!" Kira said, relieved, before remembering. "Oh no, the Federation officer that is in here with me passed out, can you guys help"

"Sure, gust give me a minute." Amuro said as both suits cockpits opened.

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Sayla and the rest of her friends had thankfully gotten out of the Zaku's blast radius, and were now discussing what their next move should be.

"I say we just leave," Kai opted "I'm sure there are still some open shelters!"

"But we still have no idea where Amuro, Kira, and Fraw are!" Tolle countered.

"They probably got into a shelter by now," Miriallia pointed out "and we really should do the same."

"Hey, look!" Sai pointed to the two mobile suits "I think the pilots are getting out!"

As they looked, several figures disembarked from the two G Weapons.

"That's funny," Sayla commented "It almost looks like…wait a minute is that Kira?"

"Yeah," Hayato agreed "and it looks like Amuro and Fraw are getting out of the other one."

"And that creeper too!" Kai added "Man, what trouble did those three get into in the half an hour since we last saw them?"

The group headed over to the Gundams.

"Amuro, Kira, Fraw!" Sayla yelled, getting their attention.

"Sayla, everyone!" Kira was surprised to see the rest of his friends here "What are you doing here?"

"Well, someone, I'm not going to say who," Kai began, sarcastically. "Decided that they wanted to see the giant robot battle. Nice job with the whole stumbling around like a drunk at the beginning, by the way."

"Yeah," Kira said "The suits O.S. was a mess, so I had to rebuild it from scratch while Amuro kept them busy."

"Hey!" Fraw called "If you guys don't mind, we need some help with the wounded!"

Most of the group rushed over to help, but Kira and Amuro stayed back. Both had a lot on their minds.

"Athrun" Kira thought "Why are you with ZAFT. You always hated war, so why do you fight now? What could have happened to you to turn you into a ruthless killer?

"Dad" Amuro thought "I don't know why you were building these suits, but what's done is done. I just wish you were still here, to hear me forgive you."

While a sense of calmness had returned to the battered colony. Everyone was still on edge. After all, ZAFT was still out there, and it is unlikely that they will stop just because they lost three Zakus.

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Ending Theme: Growing Up

Tsuki-Ageta migite ni mijuku na mirai

Sou! yobi-okose yo! Bokura no rekishijou

Mada makenashi no koukishin

Abare hajimetara

Sodatsu rizumu takaku sora e

Tsuyogatte ike ashita no kimi wo

Tasukerareru no wa kyou no kimi darou!?

Yurase kokoro yami no naka kara

Tsukame hikari

Yudan shitecha dame sa

Tsuki-Ageta migite ni mijuku na mirai

Bokura no kanseido wo saizensen e

Saa! Fumikomou! Kimerareta

Ruruu wa nain da

Komero pawaa takaku sora e

GROWING UP!

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To everyone who read the first version of this chapter and left reviews, I feel I must apologize for the ridiculous amount of time it took me to get this out. Eight Months, to be exact. I know that I don't technically have any sort of obligation to make this, but I always hate having to wait forever for new chapters, so I feel pretty bad that I did the same thing too all of you.

This of course brings the question "Why did it take nine months for this to happen?" and there are several reasons. The first reason was worldbuilding. When I first posted this story back in May 2013, I was a newcomer to both the Gundam Franchise as a whole, and I had no idea how the story was going to go. Now, I've got an entire timeline written out, all the technology and how the two series mesh together fleshed out, and reliable sources for episodes of both series.

The next big reason was College. This last semester I put my all into improving my grades, and was successful. Unfortunately, this meant that what little spare time I had went into other things.

Lastly, I had several unfortunate instances where I finally started working again in 's editor, only for the browser I was using to crash, causing all my progress to be lost. If that hadn't happened, I would probably have gotten this revision done months ago. I finally got so fed up that I just painstakingly copy/pasted everything from into MS Word, and spent a good four days revising this.

Now, it's time to explain several of the changes I made. While I might not be able to remember all of them, I'll try to explain the biggest points

1. The Archangel/White Base: In my original draft, I had the Archangel arrive, which Char and Rau were aware of, and the White Base, which they were not aware of. Originally, the Archangel was to be destroyed by Char in Episode 2, only for the White Base to appear and rescue the main characters. This was dropped because A: I couldn't find a good excuse for why Char couldn't simply destroy the White Base the same way he did the Archangel, and B: It seemed weird that the Federation would risk two of their newest carriers in the exact same place during this operation.

Now, the first ship of the class, the Seraphim, was instead deployed as part of a decoy operation around Side 6 in order to distract the Space Attack Force from the G-Projects true development site, a fact that is indirectly mentioned throughout this chapter.

2. Wing/X/AGE: Another rather obvious change is the removal of most of the content involving three of the other series that were present in the first draft. For Wing it was simple. As cool as the Tallgeese's short appearance was, as I mentioned in the first disclaimer, Wing won't actually show up for a while, and I felt that the flashback with Athrun was more important to the plot.

X, unfortunately, has been entirely removed from the narrative. There are several reasons for this, but for the most part I simply didn't know enough about the series and couldn't find any episodes of it. Also, like with AGE, I never found a way to make the characters important to the overall narrative, and as someone who is trying to give every minor operator on the Archangel at least a little characterization, I felt this was not a good idea. X may reappear later, but for now, it's gone.

Last, we have AGE. I'll admit, this was the hardest one to take out, but in the end, I think the story will be better off for it. Unlike the two above, AGE isn't completely gone. As the first scene makes reference to both Vagan and Flit's home colony of Ovan. The main problem with AGE was that while I enjoyed having the characters around, they ended up overshadowing other characters like Sai, and also never had a good place in the narrative. AGE will come back later, though, that I can promise you.

Now, I'm hoping to have Chapter 2 out before I go back to College on Monday, but I have no guarantees. I'll just work my hardest and hopefully Chapter 2 will get done three times faster than this. Anyway, here's the revamped profiles.

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Mobile Suits

GPX-78-2 Zephyr Gundam

Unit Type: G-Project Experimental Close Quarters Combat Mobile Suit

Designer: Anaheim Incorporated

Features: Version 0079 Operating System, GM Particle Condenser, Lunar Titanium Armor, Core Block System, Hardpoint for Striker Packs.

Armament: 30mm Vulcan Cannon x2, Anti-Armor Knife x2, Beam Saber x2.

Optional: Shield x1, Beam Rifle x1, Linear Bazooka x1, Aile, Sword, or Launcher Striker Pack x1.

Deployed: I.C. 0079

Designation: G-Project eXperimental (GPX)

Appearance: The Zephyr in Infinity is a combination of the original RX-78-2 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam, and the RX-78EX-PH-1 Zephyr Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam: Outer Gundam, and visually appears as the original RX-78-2 but features the head of the Zephyr Gundam.

Description: The second Gundam unit, the Zephyr was designed to combine the basic frame of the GPX-78-1 Proto Gundam and the armaments of the GPX-77-3 Duel Guncannon. Equipped with 30mm Vulcan Cannons, a pair of Anti-Armor Knives, and two Beam Sabers, the Zephyr can also equip a Shield, Beam Rifle, and Linear Bazooka. The Zephyr proved to be a successful design, and served as the basis for all later G-Project Mobile Suits. It was later modified to be able to equip Striker Packs to make up for its rather basic armament. The Zephyr was one of the few units to remain in Federation hands, and it is piloted by Amuro Ray.

GPX-78-5 Strike Gundam

Unit Type: G-Project Experimental Multi-Role Mobile Suit

Designer: Anaheim Incorporated

Features: Version 0078 Operating System, GM Particle Condenser, Lunar Titanium Armor, Core Block System, Hardpoint for Striker Packs.

Armament: 30mm Vulcan Cannon x2, GM Anti-Armor Knife x2, Beam Saber x2.

Optional: Shield x1, Beam Rifle x1, Linear Bazooka x1, Aile, Sword, or Launcher Striker Pack x1.

Deployed: I.C. 0079

Designation: G-Project eXperimental (GPX)

Appearance: The Strike in Infinity is a combination of the original RX-78-2 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam and the GAT-X105 Gundam Strike from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and appears as the original RX-78-2 but with the Strike's head, arms, and color scheme, which is painted directly on the unit due to the lack of Phase Shift Armor.

Description: The fifth Gundam unit, the Strike was designed to be able to fulfill a variety of roles on the battlefield. It achieved this through the use of the Strike System, which allowed it to equip a variety of "Striker Packs" to augment its capabilities. As a result, the Strike's standard armament is very basic when compared to the other G-Project Mobile Suits, having absolutely no changes from that of the GPX-78-2 Zephyr Gundam. The Strike was one of the few units to remain in the Federation's hands, and it is piloted by Kira Yamato.

SMS-06F Zaku II Standard Type

Unit Type: Mass Production General Purpose Mobile Suit

Designer: Zodiac Company

Features: E-Carbon Armor.

Armament: Shoulder Shield x1, Heat Hawk x1, 90mm Machinegun x1, 3-Barrel Missile Launcher x2.

Optional: Sturm Faust x3, 150mm Bazooka x1, Cracker Grenades x6, Heat Sword x1 (In place of Heat Hawk).

Deployed: I.C. 0077

Designation: Standard Mobile Suit (SMS)

Appearance: The Zaku II Standard Type in Infinity is a combination of the original MS-06F Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam and the ZGMF-1017 GINN from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and appears with the legs and torso of the GINN, and the head, arms, and light green color scheme of the Zaku II.

Description: ZAFT's first mass produced mobile suit, the Zaku II is a venerable piece of hardware that rewrote the rulebook on warfare. Designed with an excellent mix of firepower and mobility the Zaku II proved superior to everything the Federation could send against it, both in space and on the ground. Although a number of new specialty designs have begun to appear, the Zaku II is still ZAFT's primary mobile suit. The Zaku II also features a variety of variants for specialist missions. The Zaku II is employed both in space and on earth, where it continues to excel due to its well-balanced design.

SMS-06C Zaku II Space Type

Unit Type: Mass Production General Purpose Space Use Mobile Suit

Designer: Zodiac Company

Features: E-Carbon Armor, Space-Use Thruster Pack.

Armament: Shoulder Shield x1, Heat Hawk x1, 90mm Machinegun x1, 3-Barrel Missile Launcher x2.

Optional: Sturm Faust x3, 150mm Bazooka x1, Cracker Grenades x6, Heat Sword x1 (In place of Heat Hawk), Dual Anti-Fortress Missile Launcher x2.

Deployed: I.C. 0077

Designation: Standard Mobile Suit (SMS)

Appearance: The Zaku II Space in Infinity is virtually identical to the Zaku II Standard Type, but features the GINN's large back thrusters.

Description: One of the earliest variants of ZAFT's Zaku II, the Space Type was designed for use exclusively outside of the atmosphere. Equipped with more powerful thrusters than the standard Zaku II, the Space Type is able to accelerate and maneuver far faster than the standard type while in space. The Space Type can also equip specialized Anti-Fortress Missiles for engaging capital ships and space fortresses. With the recent debut of Zimmad Fleet System's SMS-10 Zudah II, the Zaku II Space Type has fallen out of favor with Coordinator pilots, but is still a valuable part of ZAFT's Space Attack Force.

Mobile Armors

FF-MA3 Saberfish Fighter

Unit Type: Mass Production Space Use Waverider Mobile Armor

Designer: Hervic Conglomerate

Features: E-Carbon Armor.

Armament: 30mm Vulcan Cannon x4, 60mm Autocannon x2, Missile Hardpoint x4.

Optional: Linear Cannon x1, Air-to-Air Missile x4.

Deployed: I.C. 0072

Designation: Federal Forces-Mobile Armor (FF-MA)

Appearance: The Saberfish in Infinity is a cross between the FF-S3 Saberfish from Mobile Suit Gundam and the TS-MA2 Moebius from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, featuring the Saberfish's main body and the Moebius' engines and purple color scheme.

Description: Developed as part of the Earth Federation's Year 70 Rearmament Plan, the Saberfish Mobile Armor was designed to act as a replacement for the Atlantic Federations old Moebius Fighter. Designed hand in hand with the Federation's new Thermopylae Class Cruisers and Ericson Class Battleships, the Saberfish can be carried by both, though in smaller quantities than a true carrier. Unfortunately, mobile suit development left the Saberfish woefully out of date, and it was easily countered by ZAFT's Zakus mobile suits. In spite of its deficiencies, it is still the main Space Fighter of the Earth Federation Space Forces.

FF-MA5 Raven Sword

Unit Type: Limited Production Space Use Waverider Mobile Armor

Designer: Anaheim Incorporated

Features: E-Carbon Armor.

Armament: Vulcan Cannon x4, Linear Cannon x1, Gun-Barrel Mount x4.

Optional: Wire Guided Dual 60mm Autocannon Gun-Barrel x4.

Deployed: I.C. 0073

Designation: Federal Forces-Mobile Armor (FF-MA)

Appearance: The Raven Sword in Infinity is a cross between the FF-S5 Raven Sword from Mobile Suit Variations-R and the TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and appears as the Raven Sword, but with mounts for the Moebius Zero's Gun-Barrel pods and it's orange color scheme.

Description: While the G-Project was undoubtedly the biggest project that Anaheim Incorporated has undertaken for the Earth Federation, it is far from the only one. In the early I.C. 70's, Anaheim created the Raven Sword as their entry in the Earth Federation's contest for a next-generation Space Superiority Mobile Armor. While the Raven Sword lost out to Hervic's Saberfish, the Earth Federation was nonetheless impressed by the technical ingenuity of the Raven Sword, and purchased an order of the craft. Raven Swords are few in number due to the complexity of their Wire Guided Gun-Barrels, and are only used by a few aces, such as Mu La Flaga.

MWP-79C Ball Type C

Unit Type: Mass Production Combat Space Pod

Designer: Anaheim Incorporated

Features: E-Carbon Armor, Manipulator Arms.

Armament: 30mm Vulcan Cannon x2, Linear Cannon x1.

Optional: Missile Pod x2.

Deployed: I.C. 0074

Designation: Mobile Worker Pod (MWP)

Appearance: The Ball in Infinity is a combination of the RB-79 Ball from Mobile Suit Gundam and the MAW-01 Mistral from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, appearing with the main body of the Ball, but with the Mistral's Vulcan Cannons.

Description: Mobile Worker Pods have been around since the dawn of Space Colonization, and as a result, they were some of the first spacecraft to be weaponized, both by Pirates seeking a unit that can both attack ships and collect cargo, and Governments attempting to defend their space investments. The Ball Type C is merely the latest version of the concept. Equipped with a single Linear Cannon, a pair of 30mm Vulcan Cannons, and optional Missile Pods, the Ball serves as the last line of defense for many vessels. The Ball is horribly outclassed by Mobile Suits, but remains on the battlefield out of pure necessity in both the Federation and Orb Union.

Vessels

Thermopylae-Class

Unit Type: Mass Produced Space Use Light Cruiser

Designer: Yashima Heavy Industries

Features: E-Carbon Armor, Small Hanger x1, Linear Catapult x1.

Armament: Beam Cannon x3, Linear Cannon x6, 75mm CIWS Emplacement x6, 3-Tube Torpedo Launcher x2.

Optional: Starfighter x4, Mobile Worker Pod x6, Shuttle x1.

Deployed: I.C. 0074

Designation: Light Escort Vessel (LEV)

Appearance: The Thermopylae Class in Infinity appears as a combination of the Salamis Class Cruisers from Mobile Suit Gundam and the Drake Class Escort Ships from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, featuring the Salamis's main body with the Drake's side thrusters.

Description: Developed as part of the Earth Federation's Year 70 Rearmament Plan, the Thermopylae-Class Light Cruiser forms the bulk of the Federation's fleets. Designed primarily as an attack ship, the Thermopylae-Class is also able to carry a single team of Starfighters and a complement of Ball Combat Workers. It is outmatched by ZAFT's Stuttgart-Class Destroyers, however, which feature a heavier armament and mobile suits. As a result, Thermopylae-Class Cruisers are often deployed in large groups. In spite of this, the Thermopylae-Class Cruisers still serve proudly in the Earth Federation's naval forces.

Stuttgart-Class

Unit Type: Mass Production Space Use Destroyer

Designer: Zimmad Fleet Systems

Features: E-Carbon Armor, Small Hanger x2, Linear Catapult x2.

Armament: Double Barrel Beam Turret x2, Railgun x4, 50mm Point Defense Gun x8, Torpedo Tubes x4.

Optional: Mobile Suit x6, Shuttle x1.

Deployed: I.C. 0075

Designation: Combat Cruiser Vessel (CCV)

Appearance: The Stuttgart Class in Infinity appears as a combination of the Musai-Class Cruiser from Mobile Suit Gundam and the Nazca-Class Destroyer from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, with the Musai's main body, bridge, and light green color scheme, and the Nazca's side sections.

Description: ZAFT's primary space cruiser, the Stuttgart-Class Destroyer was designed around the same time as the Zaku, and as a result was designed to be able to hold up to six mobile suits in its hangers. The Stuttgart-Class was well armed, with two Double Barrel Beam Turrets, four Railguns, eight 50mm Point Defense Guns, and four Torpedo Tubes. The Stuttgart consistently outperformed its Federation equivalent, the Thermopylae-Class Light Cruiser, throughout the war. Char Aznable and Rau Le Creuset's personal command ships, the Falmouth and Vesala, respectively, are examples of this class of ship.

Tirpitz-Class

Unit Type: Mass Production Space Use Heavy Cruiser

Designer: Zimmad Fleet Systems

Features: E-Carbon Armor, Medium Hanger x2, Linear Catapult x2.

Armaments: Triple Barrel Beam Cannon x2, Railgun x6, 50mm Point Defense Gun x12, Torpedo Tube x6.

Optional: Mobile Suit x12, Shuttle x2.

Deployed: I.C. 0071

Designation: Assault Cruiser Vessel (ACV)

Appearance: The Tirpitz Class Cruiser in Infinity appears as a combination of the Chivvay Class Heavy Cruiser from Mobile Suit Gundam and the Laurasia Class Frigate from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, with the back half on the Laurasia and the front half and maroon color scheme of the Chivvay.

Description: One of the oldest ships in ZAFT's arsenal, the Tirpitz-Class Heavy Cruiser was created prior to the widespread introduction of mobile suits and lacked hangers to support them. Its cargo bay, however, was capable of being modified into a mobile suit hanger, allowing the class to hold up to twelve mobile suits and remain viable in today's mobile suit centric battlefield. Tirpitz-Class is armed with a pair of Triple Barrel Beam Cannons, six Railguns, twelve 50mm Point Defense Guns, and six Torpedo Tubes. The Gallwitz, the headquarters of the Le Creuset Team, is an example of a Tirpitz-Class Cruiser.