Gundam SEED: Project Unity

by DragonKnightRyu

The power of the mind is an amazing thing. When two minds work in perfect unity, their power increases a thousand fold. Watch as Kira Yamato learns not just this fact, but just how powerful she and those close to her can become when Project Unity is unleashed. Rating may Change.

1. Chapter One: A False Peace

Disclaimer: This is a Story, based on a Story, based on a Story that I do not own, so if you'd kindly... SCREW OFF!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Radio"

Chapter One: A False Peace

Heliopolis, Park

A young woman looking to be about 16 years old with bright, expressive, amethyst colored eyes whose chocolate colored hair fell in waves down to her mid back with two thick strands of hair framing her Asian looking face sat in a Gazebo in the middle of a park. She was about 5'6" with a figure that had all the curves in just the right places, her clothing, while modest, did little to hide these curves, she was wearing a sleeveless black dress shirt that had a V-neckline that showed off some of her cleavage while her black jeans hugged her shapely hips with a pair of comfortable runners finished off her outfit.

Her eyes were darting from a computer screen to a stack of papers being held up by one hand as the other hand flew across the keyboard that rested on her lap, typing in the commands written on the pages. Pausing, she let out a rather cute looking yawn, stretching her arms out and rotating her wrists to work out the kinks from typing on the computer for a good part of the day.

"Break time for you, I think," a voice stated warmly to her right, causing Kira to smile warmly at the speaker.

He was certainly taller than her, standing at an impressive 6'5" with light brown hair cut short to the skull, his eyes were a dark green that seemed to draw a person in while at the same time looking as if he was examining their very souls. Most would attribute his body to that of a soldier with toned, but not overbearing, muscles while his hands showed many callouses upon them speaking of a man who was not afraid to work. He was wearing a denim jacket over a dark green shirt with a pair of blue jeans and what looked to be a pair of combat boots.

"You've been working hard enough today, Kira," He announced as he gently pulled the papers and laptop away from her and placed them on the table before taking Kira's wrists and starting to massage them making her groan in appreciation. "Keep going like that and you'll burn out for sure."

"But, Professor Kato wanted them in today, Ryu..." Kira protested half-heartedly as she closed her eyes and leant back against the bench, allowing him to continue his ministrations which soon followed up her arms.

"Then he should've given them to someone who is paid to do them, and not a University student who, while she may have the computer skills of a god, is just that, a student," Ryu said firmly, a smirk playing on his features as he massaged her upper arms before moving on to her shoulders. "Just relax for a while then get back to it later."

Kira sighed as she relented, leaning into her boyfriend of three months. The two had first met when Ryu had started working as an Technical Assistant for her professor, showing them tricks to robotics and certain types of command coding that Kira found oddly similar to that of a mobile suit's. For Kira it had started out as an admiration of sorts when he had stepped in and protected her from a group of Blue Cosmos extremists.

From there it had developed into a strong crush on him, and she had, after some cajoling from her friends, asked him out on a date. His reaction was rather humorous looking back on it, just the straight out flabbergasted look on his face as he dropped the tool he was holding onto his foot, which caused him to shout out a rather strong expletive and crash into the power loader he was working on for the University, causing it to topple over on top of him with only his reflexes saving him from injury as he moved his body into a better position.

Once they extracted him from the loader pinning him, he had agreed to go on a few dates with Kira to see if they had any chemistry together. As it turned out, they actually did have a good chemistry with one another as they talked with one another over dinner before going to see a movie. Since then, the pair had been seen spending much of their spare and working time together, Kira had learned much about the assistant, like that he had been engaged before, only for his fiance to die during the war.

While Kira knew Ryu was being completely honest about the past he did talk about, there were some things that he never did talk about. She didn't push him about anything, allowing him to take his time with telling her, although she had some guesses to him having been a mercenary at some point, due to the fact that he owned several firearms and weapons, along with his knowledge on mobile suit mechanics.

"There you are, Imouto!"

The voice came from the path leading up to the Gazebo, and Kira and Ryu both looked up to see a man walking up to them. He looked to be 21 years old, was Asian like Kira, and had the same hair and eye colors that she did, although his hair was done in a Buzz Cut and he also had a fairly bushy moustache. He had a fairly athletic build, was 5'11" in height, and was clad in a dark blue long-sleeved polo shirt and black pants.

"Miriallia and Tolle are looking for you," he said again as he got closer. "It seems like your teacher has more work for you."

Kira groaned in disappointment, both that her moment with her boyfriend was ruined and the news that she had more work being piled onto her. "Are you kidding me?" She asked despairingly. "I've been working here all day on the stuff he piled on me yesterday and I'm not even halfway done yet!"

Ryu let out a sigh as he shook his head. "I told him to get another assistant besides me, one that can actually do all of that stuff," He groused, looking at the massive lines of coding Kira was working on. "I can only understand about a single percent of what she's finished already..."

Kira snorted as she looked over her shoulder at him. "You're not that bad at it, Ryu," She admonished. "I've seen your work, it's pretty good, in fact I'm using some of the algorithms you showed me, albeit they are simplified to match the specs."

Kira turned back to her laptop, missing the slight narrowing of Ryu's eyes as they darkened a little before returning to normal not even a second later when the new report that Kira had playing caught his attention. Reaching around Kira he tapped the key to make the news report the main screen as the newcomer, Kira's older brother Takeshi, walked around to get a better look. "Kaoshiung," Ryu announced as the reporter announced the heavy fighting between the ZAFT forces and the EA, a ZAFT GiNN hovering in the distance. "This report is... two weeks old, Kaohsiung's fallen then."

"That's close to the homeland, will Orb be alright?" Kira asked her eyes shining in concern as she looked up to her brother and boyfriend.

"I'm not sure, Imouto," Takeshi replied. "Yes, Orb is neutral, but that can only last so long. Especially since ZAFT seems intent on making sure the Earth Alliance doesn't have any Mass Drivers. If they take all of the EA's Mass Drivers out, it'll only be a matter of time before they try to get access to Kaguya-either by diplomacy or through force."

"Don't forget about Orb's connections with Terminal, though," Ryu said as the report shifted to a group of Mobile Suits guarding a group of refugees as they fled from the city. "Terminal and Orb have always been on good terms with one another, they won't sit idly by if the EA decides to attack, not to mention the fact that technologically we have the edge on the EA and somewhat with ZAFT."

"True," Takeshi remarked, his expression surprisingly thoughtful. He then turned to Kira and said, "By the way, Imouto, I got a call from my Boss earlier today. Unfortunately, I need to go on another business trip-I'll be leaving tomorrow and will be gone for a couple of weeks at the very least."

"Really?" Kira asked with a slight pout. "I really don't like you disappearing all the time without being able to contact you, and you never tell me what these 'trips' you're on are about." She let out a sigh. "Alright, but when you get back, you are sitting down for dinner with me and Ryu and no excuses this time, Takeshi."

Takeshi chuckled. "I promise, Imouto," he replied. "In fact, since I don't need to leave until tomorrow, how about I hang out with the two of you for the day? It'll also give me a chance to see your teacher's lab, since you're both needed over there."

Kira smiled and nodded at her brother as she gathered up her things while Ryu and Takeshi stepped outside of the Gazebo. "I'm going to be having words with Kato on using his students to complete a military project without them knowing," Ryu growled softly. "I just want the EA off of this Colony before ZAFT shows up, or they realize I'm here right under their noses."

"I know," Takeshi replied. "They're leaving tomorrow, though-and I'm going with them. That's my latest contract-to safeguard their new prototypes until they reach their destination at either the EA's Lunar HQ or JOSH-A. Luckily, Morgenroete decided to build an extra machine just for me-similar styling to the prototypes, but customized to fit my personal style. It's considered the first part of my payment."

Ryu gave Takeshi a sly look. "Don't you think I already knew that?" He asked lightly. "I've been in there, oh, fifty times now checking on their progress and making notes of my own on the suits. Nobody notices the tech grunts, even other tech grunts."

Takeshi smiled. "Just wanted to make sure-you can be such a sneaky bastard at times that even I don't know what all you've managed to learn." His expression turned serious. "Take care of Kira while I'm gone, okay? I know how much she cares about you."

Ryu smirked as he clapped a hand onto Takeshi's shoulder. "Come heaven to high hell, nothing will harm her if I can stop it," he swore, looking over his shoulder, his face softening considerably as he watched Kira. "I swore to myself that night when I dropped her off, I swore I would never be that weak again."

Kira, feeling Ryu's eyes upon her, looked up to see Ryu looking at her with a sad, yet undeniably happy expression on his face as he watched her. She had seen him like this before a few times, and attributed it to thinking of his dead fiance. "Okay, I've got everything," Kira announced as she put her shoulder bag on. "Let's get going."

The two males nodded as they fell into step on either side of Kira as they chatted.

And as he continued talking to Ryu, making sure to avoid any topic that might cause Kira to guess what his job really was, Takeshi thought to himself, 'Imouto's really lucky to have found someone like Ryu-someone who she cares about and who cares about her just as much.'

'I hope I can find someone like that someday...'

Outside Heliopolis, ZAFT Warship Vesalius

Inside the Pilot Prep room, only one person was inside the locker room, floating over the bench. He was wearing a red ZAFT Flight suit which seemed to have some custom black trimming. His helmet was off, revealing him to be a boy no older than 18, with short spiked black hair and crimson red eyes.

The boy looked at his Helmet for a short while, a thinking look on his face before he sighed, putting on his helmet and leaving the room, making his way towards the hangar. It didn't take long until he opened the next door and he floated inside the hangar, where several GiNN's were preparing to launch.

"Hey Jaden, there you are!" A voice called out, as Jaden Takeo glanced to his side to see his fellow pilot, Miguel Aiman floating towards him. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing," Jaden said with a sigh. "Just... you think this is a good idea Miguel?"

"What do you mean?" The Magic Bullet of Dusk asked.

"Miguel, we're attacking Heliopolis, an Orb colony," Jaden said. "Not only will this be a political nightmare, but we're attacking a neutral colony!"

"Jaden, Commander Le Creuset said Orb is building mobile suits for the E.A!" Miguel said. "I don't think that counts as neutral."

"No, he said they were being built by Morgenroete," Jaden pointed out. "They're an Independent company, the Orb Government can't order them what to do. There's nothing in the treaty saying they can't do that." He then sighed. "Either way... there has to be a better way to do this, I mean attacking from inside of the colony?"

"We have to capture the machines, that's what the commander said," Miguel said, before Jaden shook his head. "I know that, but... we're attacking a civilian colony either way..." he said before he clenched his fists. "I keep getting reminded of the damn Bloody Valentine doing this..."

Miguiel sighed as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know where you're coming from, I do," he said. "But orders are orders, the best we can do is at least to try and minimize damage to the colony, alright?"

Jaden sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." he said. "I still don't like it... well let's get to our suits, you going in your GiNN? We just finished the repairs recently."

"Nah, going in one of the other GiNNs," Miguel said with a smile. "Don't think I need my Custom, at least not yet. By the way, thanks for doing those Repairs, Jaden, I didn't think you could repair it so quickly."

Jaden chuckled before he floated towards a Black-and-Red-Colored GiNN. "It's what I do best!" he called out as he approached the cockpit. "Good luck, Miguel!"

Earth Alliance Marseille-III Class Transport Ship

"Y'know Capt. we are either very lucky or walking straight into a trap if that Nazca-class that's been following us hasn't attacked us yet," Said a 6' tall blonde haired blue eyed lieutenant with a sinewy frame and lightly tanned skin. "Because I am getting a bad feeling about this."

"Mu, you are too paranoid for your own good, how do you sleep at night?" The Captain asked with a chuckle. Turning serious he said, "ZAFT wouldn't dare to try anything now that we are docked in a neutral colony."

"I don't know, Captain. My gut hasn't proved me wrong yet," warned Mu La Flaga. "The last time I ignored the feeling, Endymion happened and I'd rather not have this colony destroyed thank you."

The Captain sighed as he looked at the ace pilot. "ZAFT is a strong organization and the only reason this war went on is because ORB has maintained its policy of neutrality," He explained as he looked out the viewport at the work crews that are resupplying the ship ."they would not dare upset the neutrality that has kept ORB out of this."

Before Mu could respond, however, several pilots came in and requested permission to disembark. "We would like to get familiar with our new machines as soon as possible." one of the pilots explained to the captain.

"Very well, and do be careful-ZAFT may have spies posted here." The captain said as he saluted. He turned to Mu with a resigned look. "Do you think they will be alright?" He asked.

"Honestly, Captain, those kids won't last too long in the machines, the Operating System(OS) is far too complicated to be operated during a fight." Mu said honestly with a sigh as a faraway look crossed his face. "If only he was still here, than we would at least have a chance at making a better OS."

The Captain grunted his agreement as he knew who Mu was talking about, Mu turned towards the exit. "I'll take my squad on patrol," he said over his shoulder. "I don't want to get caught with my pants down again, the last time that happened we lost too many good people."

Inside of Heliopolis, Air Vents

A squad of ZAFT Green and Red Coats in their flight suits were all standing in the Air Vents looking to their leader who was looking at the watch on his wrist. He was about Sixteen with navy blue hair and green eyes. "You know the plan, guys," He stated looking up from the watch. "Make sure to plant the C4 around the ship, we cannot let it launch when the Commander makes his move."

The rest of the soldiers nodded their understanding before the group split up heading in different directions.

Heliopolis, Vehicle Terminal

As Takeshi, Kira, and Ryu arrived at the vehicle terminal, having run into Miriallia Haw and Tolle Koenig along the way, they saw a group of three girls chatting amongst themselves.

'Just my luck,' Takeshi thought. 'Of all the people I could run into at a terminal like this, it had to be Flay Allster, spoiled rich kid of the colony and daughter of George Allster...'

Ryu merely sighed at the sight of the red headed girl, while he would be the first to agree to her being a spoiled brat, he also knew that she really was just unsure on herself, hence why she struck out at others who she perceived as a 'threat', although she avoided targeting Kira when the brunette had politely informed her that unless Flay wanted all of her dirty little secrets aired on the web, she'd leave Kira and her friends alone.

Just thinking of that day brought a smile to his face as the pale faced Flay fled from the classroom after attempting to turn Kira's friend Sai, and Flay's fiancé through political union, against Kira because of Kira being a first generation Coordinator. At least she was smarter than the average Blue Cosmos supporter.

Takeshi caught the smile on Ryu's face and resisted the urge to ask, even though he was sure what Ryu was thinking of was most likely hilarious.

"Hey look, it's Matthew and Amy. Matthew! Amy!" Kira shouted with a wave to catch the attention of a pair approaching the Vehicle Terminal as Mir was dragged into Flay's group to gossip about Flay possibly receiving a love letter from Sai.

The two people in question waved their hands in response as they crossed the street towards them. Matthew Takeo was a 19 year old man standing at 5'11 with short but shaggy black hair and dark green eyes, wearing a pair of blue jeans, a black T-Shirt and an old jacket along with a pair of boots. Amy Takeo, Matthew's younger sister by about two years, stood two inches shorter than her older brother, with long shoulder length red hair and emerald green eyes, wearing a dark red dress shirt with a knee high skirt and black shoes.

"Hey guys," Matthew said. "You guys got the call, too?"

Kira sighed with a nod. "Yeah, all the crap he keeps piling onto us is horrid!" she complained. "I haven't had a full night's sleep in ages."

Amy giggled a bit. "Matthew's been pulling extra hours to keep both of us up, too," she said, sighing a bit. "I wish our brother were here... he'd have gotten it all done days ago. He's probably as good with computers as you are Kira."

"You have a brother aside from Matt?" Takeshi asked in surprise. "You never told us that, who is he?"

"He's Amy's twin brother," Matthew said with a sigh. "We... haven't seen or heard him since the Bloody Valentine, he use to live in Orb but... but before we could contact him or anything... he left. We think he moved to the PLANTs... don't know where he's at now."

Takeshi nodded. "I see," he said. "Well, next time I'm at the PLANTs, I'll see if I can find him. What's his name?"

"Jaden," Matthew said. "Jaden Darwin Takeo."

Takeshi stiffened as he heard that, his eyes going wide. 'No way,' he thought. 'It couldn't be him... could it?'

Ryu froze for a minute as he looked at Matthew before breaking away his gaze so that no one would notice the strange look in his eyes. 'That kid, huh, sorry Matt...' He thought to himself as memories of a battle long past ran through his mind. 'I'd tell ya, but... that is all behind me now.'

Matthew and Amy looked at Takeshi oddly. "Take? Something wrong?" he asked.

Takeshi shook his head, clearing it. "No, nothing's wrong," he said.

'I wish I could tell them where I'd heard their brother's name before,' he thought, 'but if I did that now, Imouto might ask questions about where I'd learned that information, which would lead down territory I'd rather not go down at the moment.'

"Excuse me," A stern feminine voice said behind them, they turned to see a woman wearing dark shades with dark hair along with a pair of males standing behind them impatiently. "If you are just going to be sitting here talking, can we access the Terminal?"

Takeshi smiled at her, recognizing her from the meeting he'd had a few days ago. "Of course, Miss Badgiruel," he said, moving to the side and letting her go past. "And I must say, I look forward to working with you in the future."

"You know this woman, Takeshi-nii?" Kira asked.

"That I do," Takeshi replied. "Remember that business trip I mentioned? Well, it's a joint business venture between her employers and mine, and I'm going to be working with her and some other members of her company for a while."

"Ah, you're the... specialist that is being assigned to us," Badgiruel said as she looked him over before her eyes moved over to Takeshi's companions, in particular Ryu's back as he found something on the other side of the street particularly interesting. "I look forward to working with you in the future."

"Thank you, Miss Badgiruel," Takeshi replied as the woman and her companions made their way to one of the cars parked at the terminal. "I'll see you tomorrow when it's time to leave."

She nodded in agreement as they loaded up and punched in their destination before the car took off. "She seemed really uptight," Kira said with a shake of her head. "I don't say this often, but she needs to get laid."

"I agree with you there, Imouto," Takeshi remarked with a laugh. "She is pretty uptight, to be honest-always wanting to follow her company's rules and regulations to the absolute letter, no exceptions whatsoever. I pity any of her subordinates if she ever enters into a position of authority."

Ryu gave a snort of agreement as he watched them disappear down the road. "She'd be the type to ban fun because it's inefficient," Ryu stated with a sigh. "I suppose we really should be getting to the University now, as much as I want to avoid it."

Takeshi nodded, grabbing another car and taking the driver's seat as Kira and Ryu piled into the back, with Tolle, Miriallia, Matthew, and Amy taking another one. The two cars then left the terminal, heading for the University.

Ryu watched the scenery as it whizzed past with disinterested eyes as he held Kira close to him with her snuggling up close. 'This feeling...' He thought to himself as a cold feeling pit of... something settled within him. 'Something's going to happen today... is it ZAFT? or something else?' He let out a sigh before looking down to Kira with a soft smile on his face. 'Let come what hell awaits me, but I'll be damned it I allow it to harm her.'

Takeshi felt a similar feeling. 'My instincts are acting up again,' he thought. 'Last time they did this was back at the battle of Nova, just before I ran afoul of the Demon of Endymion. This doesn't bode well...'

Meanwhile, Vesalius

As he sat in the cockpit of his GiNN, Jaden felt a strange tingle in the back of his mind, causing his eyes to snap open. 'This feeling...' he thought, 'I haven't felt that since that battle at Nova, and since the last time I fought...' his eyes narrowed. 'him... he's here!'

He glanced at a small picture on the GiNN's console, which had the image of Jaden along with several other people his age in ZAFT greencoats, the only man wearing a black coat was standing next to Jaden, who had his head in a griplock, but both were still smiling with the others.

'Commander...' he thought before his fists tightened around his controls. 'If he's here... I'll finish what you started.'

"All hands, begin operation." The comm's turned on. "Launch all Mobile Suits."

The catapult hatch opened even as the linear rails extended outside the ship, and the GiNNs began marching to the catapult single file. Miguel was first to the Catapult, as he began drifting in zero gravity. "Miguel Aiman, GiNN, Launching!" Miguel called out over the comm before the catapult activated, sending him hurtling forward.

Jaden was next in line, as he followed Miguel's lead. Once he was in position his own suit began to float in Zero G. "Jaden Takeo, GiNN Custom, Let's Rock and Roll!"

Marseille-III Class Transport Ship

Alarms flashed through the bridge of the Alliance Vessel as it registered the the launching GiNNs. "What?" The captain asked in shock. "They're actually going to attack us? Dammit... La Flaga, take your squad and launch!"

"Understood, Mu la Flaga, Moebius Zero, Launching!" He shouted out as his custom Zero launched from the ship with two regular Moebiuses following him.

"Alright you two, keep it tight, this is the big leagues here, boys!" Mu ordered to his two wingmen as they got into formation.

"Yessir!" They replied smartly, keeping close to their Squad Leader.

Morgenroete Technical University, Heliopolis

As the battle was starting to get underway, the group had arrived at the University, and were just entering Kato's Lab.

Inside were Sai Argyle and Kuzzey Buzzkirk, two other students in the class, along with another figure, who was standing against a wall. The figure was wearing a coat and hat, concealing their gender, and had blond hair and orange eyes.

As most of the group greeted Sai and Kuzzey, Takeshi was busy looking at the other figure, recognizing her even with the coat and hat. 'What's Cagalli Yula Athha doing here?' he asked himself. 'Did she hear about the G-Project somehow?'

"Hey Kira, here's the stuff the professor wanted you to look over," Sai announced as he held up a data disk for the girl to take.

"Jeez, can't he do his own work for once," Kira complained as she took the disk and loaded it into her computer she used at the lab. "More of the same stuff, Sai, does this look like an OS to you or is it just me?"

"It looks the same to me and Amy," Matthew said as he sat down at a computer. "In fact, Amy did some tests last night, and when you put all of our work together, it almost looks like an OS to a Mobile Suit..."

Takeshi resisted the urge to tell them that they were right. He really wanted to, but his contract required him to maintain the security of the project except in case of an emergency. All he could do was just watch them work, and see if they could figure it out on their own.

Kira typed in a few commands into her computer to bring up several of her custom programs that immediately set upon the OS. "Screw whatever secrecy Kato is trying to pull, I want to know what I'm working on, here!" She declared angrily.

"Uh oh," Ryu muttered as he went to his own desk and picked up a device that Kato wanted him to fix. "Kira's going 'God-Modded Hacker' on us again."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow at that. "'God-Modded Hacker'?" he asked Ryu. He'd heard about his sister's programming skills, but he hadn't heard just how good they were.

He shrugged. "Seriously, if she felt like it, she could hack both ZAFT High Command and Earth Alliance High Command at the same time," he declared, watching her as she typed away furiously at her keyboard, the computer almost struggling to keep up. "Kinda scary to be honest, where we see lines of command coding, she sees what they are actually doing. How else would you describe it?"

Takeshi nodded. "Makes sense," he said. His voice then dropped to a whisper as he asked, "And you do know who that person leaning against the wall is, right? I wonder what she's doing here..."

Ryu glanced over to Cagalli. "My guess is she found out about Morgenroete and came here without saying anything to her father," Ryu whispered back. "The Lioness of ORB always has been an act first think later type of person."

"Yeah, that does sound like her," Takeshi whispered in reply. "Let's hope nothing bad happens-I'd rather not be the one to tell the Lion of Orb that something happened to his daughter."

Ryu snorted with a smirk as he fiddled with the object he was repairing. "Many people seem to conveniently forget he was in the military before getting into politics," Ryu pointed out. "And that 'Lion of ORB' is his ace title."

"Yeah," Takeshi replied. "Speaking of aces... you recognized the name of Matthew and Amy's brother as well, I take it?"

Ryu paused for a second before resuming his work, his face becoming blank. "Of course I did," he said, his voice no longer carefree or kind, but void of any emotion. "After all..." he looked up at Takeshi, his eyes darkened and cold. "He wants to kill me."

Takeshi's eyes widened slightly, before they narrowed. "Something related to Endymion, I take it," he said.

Ryu shrugged. "Only one of many who wishes to kill me in retaliation for the many that I have killed," He responded in the same voice before it started to take a dangerous tint to it. "However, even if he is Matthew's little brother, I will not hesitate should he become too big of a threat to those I care for."

Takeshi nodded. "Same here," he said. "It doesn't matter who my enemy is-if they threaten my friends and family, I will show them no mercy."

"After all, that's the fate of a soldier." Ryu whispered, closing his eyes even as he continued to fiddle with the object.

Meanwhile, Archangel Hangar

As ZAFT began their attack outside, the EA Forces and Morgenroete workers in the Archangel's hangar bay were preparing the ship for an emergency launch to help in the defense of Heliopolis. However as they prepared, the charges set up by ZAFT finally hit Zero, and exploded.

Back in Kato's Lab

Everyone was thrown to the ground as the building was rocked by a tremor.

"Frak!" Takeshi swore. "Why is it that things always go to hell in a handbasket at the last possible second? Just once, just once I'd like a situation where things go according to plan, or get fouled up almost immediately after said plan starts, so the plan can be more easily fixed. Apparently that's too much to ask, though."

"Yeah, plans never survive, ever." Ryu commented as he reached underneath his desk and pulled out a large foot locker and opened it up to reveal a flack jacket and a customized MP5 with a scope and several clips. His friends, save the Yamatos who knew he had them, stared in shock as he pulled the jacket on and slid the clips into holsters and picked up the weapon. "Alright guys, you know the drill, get to the shelters!"

"I'll head off on my own," Takeshi remarked, surprising his sister as he pulled out a Desert Eagle and strapped on his standard Katana. "There's something I need to do. I'm entrusting my sister to your care, Ryu-hopefully I'll see you two again once all this is over."

"Takeshi-nii?" Kira asked in confusion before her brother ran off with Ryu pulling her in the opposite direction. "Ryu, what the hell is going on?"

Ryu sighed as he led them to the stairwell "ZAFT's attacking the colony," He informed, kicking the door open to the packed stairwell. "I need to get you guys to the shelters!"

"You're kidding!" Tolle yelled. "Why would ZAFT want to attack us? And how are you so sure that it's ZAFT in the first place?!"

Meanwhile, the Professor's guest simply narrowed her eyes before separating from the group, running in a direction that almost everyone else would consider random.

"H-Hey, wait a second! The shelters aren't that way!" Kira shouted as she took off after the guest with Matthew and Amy.

"Sonnovabitch!" Ryu cursed angrily. "Sai, get yourself and the others to the shelters now!" He ordered before taking off after the four.

With Takeshi

Takeshi had wasted no time running to a special Hangar inside the University, quickly typing in an access code and entering the hangar.

Inside was a Mobile Suit, colored a dull grey. The machine had a fairly large flight pack on the back with a pair of cylinders sticking out the top of it, two weapons on the shoulders, two swords mounted on the hips, a large shield on the left forearm, and a smaller shield with a beam rifle and switchblade equipped to it on the right forearm.

Quickly entering the cockpit, Takeshi strapped himself in and started the machine up, watching as the startup screen appeared on the front display monitor on the console.

MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM
/Version GX0 – N099/
General
Unilateral
Neuro – link
Dispersive
Autonomic
Maneuver
G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System

TXG-103 Tempest
Terminal

"Gundam..." Takeshi muttered as he continued his startup checklist. "Definitely sounds better than 'G-Weapon'."

The screens came active, showing the hangar around him even as a hatch opened above him. He triggered the switch labeled 'PHASE SHIFT', causing the torso of his machine to turn black with dark blue trim while the rest of it turned dark blue with black trim, the V-Fin head crest turning golden.

"As much as I want to focus on defending my home, I have to remember my contract-defending the EA Prototypes and preventing them from entering ZAFT hands takes priority. Well, here goes! Takeshi Yamato, Tempest Gundam, Let's do it!"

The machine launched straight up, flying out of the building as Takeshi began searching for where the other G-Weapons... no... where the other Gundams were.

With Ryu and Kira

Ryu growled as he lead the group through the abandoned hallways of the Factory District, once they had caught up with the guest of the professor the hallway they had came from collapsed into rubble blocking off their escape. 'The only way out is right past the G-Weapons Hangar,' He thought to himself as he lead the group. 'There's going to fierce fighting there, I just hope that I get at least get the others out of here.'

The guest, whose hat had blown off exposing her hair, was indignant that she had been followed. "You shouldn't have followed me," she said to them. "There's something I need to check out on my own."

"Cagalli, shut up, you've already put yourself in enough danger coming here without the knowledge of your father," Ryu barked out harshly, causing Cagalli to blink in surprise that he knew who she was. "So I highly advise that unless you want to be another casualty, you shut up and follow my orders."

Cagalli bristled. "Listen here, you, I-"

"Lady, trust me. Don't argue with Ryu," Matthew said as he and his sister ran with them. "You do not want to get him pissed."

Kira simply resolved the issue by grabbing Cagalli's wrist and dragging her along. "H-hey!" Cagalli cried out indignantly. "Let go of me!"

"Listen, I may not know what's going on entirely, but I think that making sure we are alive is more important than any fool's errand you are on," Kira snapped with a rare glare to the blond. "So unless this little errand of yours is going to mean the immediate end of the world, it is not our problem right now!"

Cagalli was silent, shocked at the intensity of Kira's outburst. A part of her noticed that they were still traveling down the path she was going in the first place, but she was still a bit annoyed that these people had decided to follow her.

Ryu held up his hand to stop the others as the sound of gunfire reached his ear. "We're heading straight for a fire fight here, guys!" He called out in warning. "I want all of you to make a dash for the other side, I'll be giving you cover fire to make sure no one starts taking potshots at you," He looked at Cagalli with narrowed eyes. "No stopping."

Cagalli wanted to say something, but common sense chose that moment to kick in and she simply nodded her head.

Ryu leapt forward taking cover behind a part of the covered safety bars and took a look down below at the raging battle, the EA and Morgenroete Mechanics were valiantly attempting to defend the G-Weapons, however, the ZAFT soldiers were making steady progress toward them. "Go Now!" Ryu shouted to the civilians behind him as he took aim and started to fire on the soldier up on the catwalks with them, making sure they weren't a threat.

The group looked at Ryu in surprise, before they quickly quickly ran as quickly as they could towards the other side of the hanger. However Matthew glanced down at the machines below. 'Where have I seen those before...' he thought before he continued running with the others.

Meanwhile, down in the hanger itself, Athrun fired his own SMG at the EA forces, before another ZAFT in a red coat arrived. "Athrun! We've got a problem!" He said.

"What is it, Rusty?" Athrun shouted as he tossed out a grenade.

"Intel screwed us over again!" Rusty shouted. "There's five more machines in here than what they said!"

"Are you kidding me?" Athrun asked in shock. "How could we have been off by so much?"

"No clue, sir!" a nearby soldier replies. "The only question now is what do we do about it?"

Athrun growled slightly. "Grab what you can! Destroy the rest!" he ordered out before several shots rang out as a pair of soldiers dropped dead, riddled with gunfire from above. "Suppressive fire!" Athrun ordered, blind firing at the general area of the sniper.

Ryu took cover behind the corner as his position was riddled with bullets. He looked across the walkway to see Kira and the others waiting for him. "Go! Get to the shelter!" He shouted out to them. "I'll make sure these bastards don't follow you!"

"No way!" Kira shouted back. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Go Kira, I'll be fine!" Ryu assured. "I've survived worse odds than this, get going! Get her out of here, Matt!"

"I don't care, Ryu!" Kira replied. "If you're staying, then so am I! I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Dammit, Kira!" Ryu shouted as the gunfire lessened, he leaned out and fired off several shots taking out another group of ZAFT soldiers, forcing the rest into cover as he scanned the room, taking in the positions of the mobile suits and what he remembered of them.

His eyes landed on a particular one that sat separated from the rest. 'That's... the Duo, the dual cockpit mobile suit...' he thought before looking up at Kira's stubborn face with a sigh. "Fine, Matt get the others out of here, Kira stay close!"

Kira nodded as she met Ryu at the middle of the Catwalk and stayed low behind him as he moved across the catwalk, taking shots at anyone who attempted to shoot at them. "Alright, Kira I want you to jump down on that mobile suit there and get in, start up the machine and fix the OS on it!"

"R-right!" Kira replied as she leapt down to the Duo.

However, as she approached the Duo, Athrun was still fighting the Morgenroete Engineers. "Rusty! Get into one of the machines!" He shouted. "This whole place is gonna blow soon!"

"Right!" Rusty said just as he ran from his cover, and hopped into the cockpit of a mobile suit with a large rifle mounted on its shoulder. Just as his cockpit closed, Athrun looked around, and saw someone moving towards one of the other suits. He wasn't able to see who, but he could tell they were not wearing a ZAFT flight suit, so they were most likely either EA or Morgenroete. Athrun took aim, lead the target... and fired a single three round burst.

As Kira ran towards the Duo, almost reaching the machine itself, she suddenly heard the sound of a gun firing, followed by a sudden burst of pain in her right shoulder and a spray of something red splashing on her face causing her to cry out, realizing she had just been shot.

"KIRA!" Ryu shouted out as he saw blood spray out from her shoulder with her crying out in pain.

Athrun watched as the target fell, however as the target fell, he got a better look at who it was through the scope of his rifle... and his eyes widened as he realized the feminine figure and the face...

'K-Kira?' He thought, before a sweep of horror came upon him as he suddenly realized that he just shot his best friend!

Before anyone could do anything, however, a roar of rage was heard above them as they spotted someone descending down from the catwalks. Several soldiers suddenly dropped to the ground with bullet holes dead center in their foreheads. "Shoot!" Athrun barked out as the person darted in between them, moving towards the fallen Kira, some of them dropping from bullet wounds, others dropping from a well-placed kick or punch.

Ryu knelt down next to Kira and carefully picked her up into his arms and leapt up atop of the Duo and climbed into the cockpit, he set Kira up in the second control seat making sure the safety straps were set firmly and not against her wound before quickly bandaging it. "Stay with me, Kira," He ordered, his voice filled with worry. "Just hang on, I'll get you some help as soon as I can."

Kira nodded weakly as she fought to stay conscious, focusing on her boyfriend as he set himself up in the control seat before hers and start up the unit, the OS flashing before her eyes.

MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM
/Version GX0 – N099/
General
Unilateral
Neuro – link
Dispersive
Autonomic
Maneuver
G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System

UPX-X001 'Duo'
O.M.N.I Enforcer

'Gun... dam?' She thought weakly.

"OH COME ON!" Matthew shouted as he slammed his fist against one of the shelter doors, all of which were full. "Dammit, what do we do now?"

"Well I don't wanna stand here and do nothing!" Amy shouted as she ran towards the railings which lead to the hanger below.

"Amy, wait!" Matthew shouted, but Amy didn't listen as she jumped down into the hangar, landing on the leg of one of the Mobile suits below, and ran to the cockpit.

Matthew sighed. "My crazy little sister..." he muttered, "Now I know how Takeshi feels..." He then took a few steps back before looking at Cagalli. "I think you'd better come with me." He said before he picked up Cagalli bridal style.

"Wait, what are youAAHHHH!" She shouted as Matthew suddenly ran forward, and jumped over the railings, and landing on the leg of one of the suits with a thud, causing him to grunt a bit. 'Gonna feel that in the morning...' he thought as he set Cagalli back on her feet.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Cagalli screeched, causing Matt to wince a bit.

"I'm saving your life!" Matthew shouted before he grabbed her by the wrist before he lead her into the cockpit of the machine they landed on. "Get behind the seat," Matt said as he closed the hatch right after they got inside, starting up the power sequence. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM
/Version GX0 – N099/
General
Unilateral
Neuro – link
Dispersive
Autonomic
Maneuver
G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System

GAT-X130 Templar

O.M.N.I Enforcer

'Gundam?' Matthew thought with a blink 'It couldn't be... could it?' Filing that thought for a later time for when their lives were not in danger, he began getting the Mobile Suit to get back onto its feet.

With Takeshi

Takeshi had been quick to notice the theft of a number of the Gundams, seeing them stand up from trailers and take off without taking any shots at the ZAFT machines in the colony.

'This isn't good,' he thought as he chased after them. 'I doubt the EA wants any of these things falling into the hands of ZAFT, so I'm going to have to try and take them down.'

However, before he could pursue any farther, his instincts screamed at him, allowing him to dodge a burst of gunfire from a GiNN-a familiar red-and-black GiNN.

'Oh, slag,' he thought. 'I just had to run into the Demon of Endymion, didn't I?'

He charged the GiNN, switching his 'Exia' Sword/Rifle to Sword Mode, hoping to at least disarm the enemy quickly and get back to his pursuit of the stolen Gundams.

Within the GiNN, Jaden eyed the mobile suit ahead of him suspiciously. 'Where have I seen that unit before?' he thought before shaking his head. 'Doesn't matter, it's EA, so it needs to go down before it engages Yzak and the others.' Jaden raised up his GiNN's 28mm Vulcan Shield before firing a volley of bullets at the enemy mobile suit.

Takeshi brought up the Tempest's shield, blocking a majority of the shots while the rest bounced off of its Phase Shift Armor. He charged even through the barrage, quickly closing to melee range and slashing with the Exia, attempting to remove the enemy's arm.

Jaden simply backed his GiNN up, avoiding his limbs from being chopped off before drawing his own two Anti-Armor Swords, one in each of his hands.

Storing the Exia, Takeshi drew his own Anti-Armor Swords, assuming a ready stance as he prepared to charge again. Takeshi couldn't help but chuckle at how similar this was to when he'd faced the Demon back at Nova, with the only difference being that Takeshi had been in a Patriot at the time, one colored similarly to the Tempest but still a Patriot.

Jaden was the first to strike, as his blades collided with the Tempest's, the two mobile suits soon began trading blows and flying circles around one another. As they fought, Jaden began getting a sense of familiarity from the fighting style of the mobile suit.

Suddenly, Jaden recalled his battle at Nova while it was still being towed to L5, where he fought a Patriot which shared a similar color scheme. He then grinned a bit. 'Could this be the same pilot from before?' he thought. 'Well, this should be fun.' He then raised his GiNN's leg, and kicked the Tempest in the torso, forcing it back before he charged forward again with his swords.

Takeshi quickly recovered from the kick before blocking the GiNN's swords with his own. Before either of them could do anything else, though, an explosion from below caught both of their attention.

'That explosion came from the factory...' Takeshi thought before his eyes widened. 'The other Prototypes!' He kicked the GiNN in the torso, forcing the enemy away from him before diving towards the source of the explosion, hoping nothing had happened to the other prototypes.

Jaden glared at the mobile suit, before he looked back at the explosion. Suddenly he felt a very familiar feeling in the back of his skull. 'What's this?' he thought. 'I haven't felt that since...' suddenly his eyes narrowed. "He's here... he's really here!" He then launched back towards the factory, following the Tempest at a distance. 'I've waited for this day for almost an entire year...' he thought as he glanced at the photo once again. 'This one is for you, Commander.'

With Ryu and Kira

Ryu looked over his shoulder to Kira, who was grimacing in pain with every step the Duo took as it jostled her wound. "Just hang on Kira," He said over his shoulder as the final adjustment to the OS was made. "I'll get you some help, just hang on." He paused when he felt a sudden sense of Killing Intent heading for him.

'So the kid's here after all, huh?' Ryu thought with a sigh, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry Kira, bear with it for a bit longer," He said apologetically as he activated the Duo's Phase Shift Armor, drew out one of the Heat Shotels, and held the shield at the ready. "This is going to get rough."

Kira nodded weakly. "Do what you need to do, Ryu..." she said. "I can handle it..." she then grunted as she felt another twinge of pain from the wound.

Ryu nodded and quickly looked over the armaments and noticed the DRAGOON units. 'These must've been a recent addition,' he thought. 'But in this part of the Colony they'll be useless...'

Suddenly, two additional GiNN's arrived at the battlefield, landing on the ground before the last black and Red colored GiNN with Katana Swords landed in front of them as well. The GiNN's Omni-eye glaring right at the Duo's face. It then reached its hand behind the GiNN's back, before pulling out a new blade, which after drawing it out fully, had a bright pink blade ignite out of it. Wordlessly, the GiNN then darted forward, in a side-swipe in an attempt to slice the Duo in half.

Ryu's response was swift as he used his shield to stop the blade and used the leg of the Duo to kick the GiNN away before opening up with his Igelstellungs, riddling the unit with Bullets as he activated the flight pack of the Duo to take to the air in an attempt to get to a more favorable area.

Jaden rose his GiNN's Vulcan Shield up as he fired the 28mm rounds ahead of the Duo, though only a few of the shots hit, doing no damage.

'So that's the rumored PS armor...' Jaden thought, 'Standard bullets and missiles can't do much... but the kinetic force of the strikes themselves should rattle the insides, not to mention that armor can't cover the whole suit, there has to be chinks in that armor... and I'll find 'em.' He then smirked a bit. 'The limb joints should be an easy start, and parts of that face must be vulnerable, too.'

However, he was interrupted by a small barrage of energy blasts, which he was forced to evade. Looking at the source, he saw the Tempest hovering between him and the Duo, Exia in Rifle Mode and pointed directly at him.

Takeshi spared a second to look at the Duo. 'Judging from how viciously he was attacking the Duo, and what I've learned today, there's really only one possibility as to who one of the pilots is...' He then opened a comm channel to the Duo. "To the Pilot of the UPX-X001 Duo, this is the TXG-103 Tempest. Ryu, is that you in there?"

"Takeshi, glad you showed up, listen, Kira got injured when we got separated from the group!" Ryu informed, causing Takeshi to gasp. "I can't fight with her in the cockpit like this!"

Takeshi snarled as he turned his gaze towards the red-and-black GiNN, the GiNN that was currently threatening the safety of his sister. "Get out of here, Ryu, I've got this," he growled. "These bastards just lost any leniency I was planning on giving them."

"I owe you one, Takeshi," He said gratefully as the Duo rocketed away, looking for a safe place to land.

Takeshi nodded, before setting his Comm system to broadcast on an open channel. "All right, temes," he said in a dangerous tone of voice. "Attacking my home was bad enough, but when you threaten my sister's safety, that's where I draw the line." The Exia switched back into Sword Mode as he pointed it at the group of GiNNs.

"Who dies first?" he growled out before closing the channel.

Jaden rose an eyebrow as he glanced at the Duo, then back at the Tempest. 'Is there someone else in Hisanaga's machine?' He thought, just before he saw several more machines jump out of the factory, only two of which were transmitting ZAFT IFF's.

He growled a bit 'This isn't good...' he thought, 'We didn't come prepared for this, Intel screwed us over yet again. We're gonna need a lot more help with these guys than what we have now.'

"Miguel, Athrun, Rusty, we're pulling back to the Vesalius," he ordered, surprising the others. "We don't have the firepower to take these things on, and we're out numbered. We can't risk losing what machines we have now."

"Understood..." Athrun said, however Jaden noticed the slight amount of fear in his voice "R-Returning to the ship."

While the two G-Weapons launched, Jaden glared at the Duo before he turned on his own open comm "This fight isn't over yet, Ryu Hisanaga!" he shouted. "I'm not fighting you when you appear to have a wounded passenger... but next time, it's just gonna be you and me. And I'll take your suit's head as a souvenir!" With that said, Jaden turned the GiNN around, and the remaining GiNN's withdrew from the airspace with Athrun and Rusty's G-Weapons.

However, on the ground, Matthew and Amy heard the voice, and their eyes were wide. 'No... that... there's no way...' Matthew thought. 'That...couldn't have been him...'

'Jaden-nii... it can't be...' Amy thought, horror on her face. 'H-He's in ZAFT?'

Ryu's eyes narrowed as he looked at the retreating unit. "I'll be waiting," he informed coldly.

'He won't be facing you alone, Demon,' Takeshi thought. 'If I know my Imouto, she'll join him permanently in that suit, and I'll fight alongside him to help keep her safe.' Activating a Comm Channel to the other Machines, he said, "This is the TXG-103 Tempest. GAT-X105 Strike, GAT-X130 Templar, GAT-X221 Viral, respond on this channel."

"T-This is Amy," Amy's voice came through the radio, seeming rather shaky. "I'm in the... the Viral. Everything's looking good so far..."

"Matt here," Matthew said, his voice seeming calm but there was a slight shake to his voice. "Templar is good to go."

"This is Murrue Ramius in the Strike," came the voice of a slightly older woman. "I'm having some trouble moving this thing..."

"Roger that," Takeshi replied, keeping an eye on the Duo as it set down in a Park. "It seems like the enemy has withdrawn for now. I'm sending you all the coordinates of the other machine that's still out of ZAFT Control, the Duo." A glowing blip appeared on their screens, indicating the park in question. "We'll regroup there, and then I get the feeling we'll be needing a question-and-answer session."

Ryu, meanwhile, was busy ensuring Kira was alright before grabbing the med kit stashed behind the seats, and he then carried her out of the Duo and over to a park bench, where he immediately set upon cleaning the wound. "The bullet's lodged in there," He whispered in realization as the others started to arrive. "Kira, I'm going to have to remove the bullet, now the med kit has some morphine so I'm going to give you some before starting, alright?"

"All right..." Kira replied. "Ryu... I'm sorry about worrying you like this..."

"If anyone should be apologizing, Kira, it should be me," Ryu countered with a sad look in his eyes. "My carelessness got you hurt. I promise, Kira, I'll make sure you'll get out of here just fine."

"Thank you, Ryu..." Kira said as Ryu set to work.

The Tempest set down at that moment, its Phase Shift Deactivating as it powered down, and the hatch opened, Takeshi leaping out and running over to Ryu and Kira. "Imouto! Are you alright?" Takeshi asked.

"Take-nii..." Kira said as the morphine started to kick in. "I... I'll be fine..."

Takeshi smiled a bit before turning to Ryu as Matthew, Amy, Cagalli, and Murrue walked up. "What happened, Ryu?"

"I told her to get to the Duo while I provided covering fire from the catwalks," Ryu explained tersely as he sterilized his combat knife. "It was a stupid decision, I thought that since she was dressed as a civilian they would just ignore her. I should have gone down first, dammit."

"It's not your fault, Ryu," Takeshi replied. "I would have done the same thing in your position. I promise you this, though: When I find the soldier who shot her, he is going to die slowly if he isn't dead yet."

Takeshi then turned to the others. "So, I said we were probably going to need a question-and-answer session once we'd landed, didn't I?" he said. "Who wants to ask the first question?"

Matthew and Amy were the first, as they stepped forward and looked at Ryu, Matthew speaking first. "Ryu..." he said, looking at him dead in the eye. "I know that voice, that was Jaden's voice! Why the hell is my little brother in ZAFT, and why the hell does he want to kill you!"

"I can't answer the first part, as for the second, it is because his commanding officer is another notch on my kill count," Ryu answered as he turned back to Kira and made a small incision to remove the bullet. "Honestly, I believe him to be a fool. No matter their ranking, every soldier understands the risk of entering the battlefield. Your brother should have realize this a long time ago, after all, he himself has ended the lives of the precious people of others."

Amy didn't take that very well, however, as she glared at Ryu. "I know Jaden, he knows that just as good as anyone!" She shouted. "Dad died during the Mandelbrot Incident! He'd never kill anyone in cold blood! He'd only kill if he had too!"

Ryu didn't look up as he used a pair of tweezers to extract the bullet. "Yeah? Tell that to the people who fell to him during the war," He said in a cold voice. "After all, he's the Demon of Endymion."

Hearing that, both of the Takeo siblings paled. "W-What...?" Amy asked. "D-Demon o-of Endymion?"

"J-Jaden's the number 4 top ace in ZAFT?" Matt asked with wide eyes. He had heard stories about the Demon of Endymion, during the battle he was accountable for the destruction of one Agamemnon-class Space Carrier, Five Nelson-class Battleships, dozens of Drake-class escorts and Dozens of Moebius mobile armors, including a few Moebius Zero's. He also heard a rumor that he fought toe-to-toe with the Dragon of Endymion when he went on his berserk rage, and was the only one who fought him and lived before the Cyclops went off.

"That he is," Takeshi replied. "I don't know what he was like when you knew him, but I doubt that he is the exact same person now. Rare is the soldier who retains his humanity in war, rarer still is the one who emerges completely unchanged." He then sighed. No use trying to hide it anymore. "To be honest, I actually fought your brother in one of the battles at Nova, when ZAFT was bringing it to the PLANTs to turn it into Boaz."

At Matthew and Amy's shocked expressions, Takeshi continued, "I never told you what my job was, did I? The main reason for that is I didn't want Imouto to worry about me. No sense hiding it anymore, though. I'm the one they call the Azure Tempest of Terminal."

Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No... this... this isn't..." she said, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "This isn't like Jaden-nii at all! He only would fight if he had to! He hated killing! This... this..."

"Like I said, War changes people," Takeshi replied. "Especially a war started with a frakking nuclear massacre! It's entirely probable that your brother saw the Bloody Valentine first-hand! Do you think he'd be able to walk away from that exactly the same as he was before it happened? Do you?!"

Matthew, Amy, and the others were taken aback by Takeshi's sudden outburst. "I..." Amy said, that's all she could say after Takeshi's last outburst.

Takeshi sighed. "I saw a live newsfeed of the Bloody Valentine as it happened," he said. "My desire to never see something like that happen again was why I signed up with Terminal. I try to avoid killing on any of my jobs, but I know that it can be unavoidable at times. And I would kill without hesitation in order to keep my sister and her friends-including you two-safe. If that's what happened to me, seeing it on the news, imagine what it would be like for someone living in the PLANTs, like your brother. No one could walk away from something like that unchanged."

Matthew sighed "Yeah but... Jaden..." he said, "I mean, I lost my Fiance during the Bloody Valentine, but I didn't become revenge obsessed! I moved to Orb to get away from the war! This... this doesn't make sense..."

"Maybe you can ask him yourself if you get a chance," Takeshi replied, before turning back to Ryu and Kira. "I'm sorry for keeping my career a secret from you for so long, Imouto-I didn't want you to worry about me."

Kira shook her head slowly as Ryu gently stitched her wound closed with a needle and thread before wrapping some gauze around it. "Don't... worry... Take-nii," she said with a smile, obviously out of it due to the morphine injection. "I... understand..."

Takeshi nodded. "Thank you, Imouto," he said before turning back to Matthew, Amy, Cagalli, and Murrue. "So, any other questions?"

"Yeah, exactly how do you know all of this?" Cagalli asked, as she pointed to Ryu. "Who exactly are you?"

Ryu looked up at them with cold eyes. "Ryu Hisanaga is my real name," He assured as he stood. "However, there are some things attached to it that will probably help you connect the dots better, I am Ryu Hisanaga, the first Coordinator Ace of the EA and the Dragon of Endymion."

"And as far as I'm concerned," Takeshi added, "despite what quite a few people say about him, he is one of the lucky ones who has managed to retain his humanity, even considering what he's experienced... and what he's lost."

Ryu snorted. "Whatever Humanity was left," he muttered under his breath.

Takeshi heard him, though. "You're more human than some of your superiors in the EA were, Ryu. After all, you told me once that when you heard about the Nukes at Junius Seven, you did all you could to stop them. That alone tells me just how much humanity you still have."

Ryu looked over to Takeshi with almost dead looking eyes. "Takeshi, I appreciate what you are saying, but trust me when I say this, I lost much of my humanity before I even enlisted," he announced, turning on his heel and heading for the Duo. "You all better make sure that if you're going to fight, that your suits are ready for it."

Takeshi nodded. "Ryu has a point, there-we have no clue as to when we'll be going into battle next, so we'd better make sure our machines are ready to go. Miss Ramius, you said you were having problems moving the Strike?"

"Yes..." Murrue replied, still somewhat shocked as to how the conversation had gone. "Our Natural-Use OS hasn't been completed yet..."

"Take-nii... my laptop..." Kira called out drowsily from her position on the bench. "File Program... AD-NUOS."

Takeshi went to his sister's bag and retrieved her laptop, quickly booting it up and opening the requisite file. His eyes slowly widened as he looked the file over. "Holy..." he said. "This... this looks like an actual Natural-Use OS! I remember hearing that your professor was placed in charge of designing one for the G-Weapons, but never could get it to work... When did you make this, Imouto?"

"Been a... self project... wanted to... give it to... Morgenroete... for ORB's defenders..." Kira explained, her eyelids drooping. "Princess... please use it... to protect ORB..."

Cagalli's eyes widened, her natural urge to correct people who called her 'princess' overridden by what Kira seemed to be saying. "Is she saying..."

"...that she wants you to use the OS she designed? I believe so," Takeshi replied, sticking a blank data card into the laptop and copying Kira's Natural-Use OS onto it. Once the OS was copied, Takeshi ejected the card and then handed it to Cagalli. "From what I read when going over the file, it'll automatically override the existing OS of whatever machine it's installed in. All you need to do is select which machine you want to use and insert the card into its computer."

Cagalli almost reverently picked up the data card, before heading towards the Strike.

Matthew and Amy glanced at one another, before they sighed. "We should get our units ready too," Matt said. "I think ZAFT could come back soon... and if they do and Jaden's with them... just let us handle it. "

"Right," Takeshi replied. He then turned to Murrue. "Do you have any questions for me personally, Miss Ramius?"

"What's Terminal's true interest here?" She asked suspiciously. "True you were hired to escort us, but what is your real purpose here?"

"Honestly?" Takeshi replied. "Well, that comes in the form of our payment. My machine over there, the Tempest, is the first part of said payment. Developed in conjunction with your machines, but designed and tuned specifically for my combat style. The rest comes in two parts: monetary payment for me once I get you to either Alaska or Ptolemaios, and performance data on your machines, which could be used to further upgrade Terminal's existing MS arsenal. We like trying to stay one step ahead of the competition."

Murrue nodded her understanding before looking over to Kira. "And her? Is she a member of Terminal as well?" she asked. "To be able to create a Natural-Use OS like she did completely on her own..."

"No, she isn't part of Terminal, not yet at least," Takeshi replied, smiling fondly at Kira. "She's my younger sister, and a programming student here on Heliopolis... although calling her a 'student' downplays her skills, she is the most talented programmer in the Earth Sphere. She's also Ryu's girlfriend, and cares about as deeply for him as he does for her."

"Speaking of Ryu..." Murrue said, looking over towards the Duo, "I should be arresting him on the spot for desertion to stand trial..."

"One, I doubt you'd be able to," Takeshi said. "He's skilled enough that he could take you down pretty dang quickly. And two, if you did arrest him, Imouto would probably hack the daylights out of your computer system-according to Ryu, she could hack both the EA Mainframe and ZAFT Mainframe at the same time. It's probably better if you just let him be-he's been through alot, and originally came here to get away from the war. Unfortunately, it seems the war has found him again, and he's not going to have much choice but to throw himself back into the thick of it."

"My commanding officer often spoke highly of him," Murrue admitted. "A stark contrast to any other Admiral or High Ranking officer."

"He says he lost his humanity before he enlisted, but part of me believes it's merely buried deep down inside him," Takeshi remarked. "And I believe Imouto is the only one who can truly bring it out again."

Murrue didn't reply for a minute as she recalled something. "Admiral Halberton once said this to me about Ryu: He is the result of a man's hubris and obsession over legacy, an obsession that cost Ryu his childhood... and created a dark mark in human history..." She revealed, a confused look on her face. "I think I can see what he meant when I saw those eyes of his when they were so... lifeless."

"I wouldn't know about the 'dark mark in human history'," Takeshi remarked, "but I do know that he's happier with Imouto than he is anywhere else, and heaven help anyone who tries to take them apart." He shook his head. "Anyway, we should probably make preparations of our own-we have no idea when ZAFT will attack again, after all..."

Murrue sighed and nodded, turning to the civilians to instruct them in what they needed to do, as Takeshi walked back over to the Tempest, getting back into the cockpit and making a few final tweaks to ensure that the Tempest was well and truly adapted to his style.

Meanwhile, inside the colony

"DAMNIT, LE CREUSET!" Mu shouted as he flew his Moebius Zero through the narrow interior of the colony, while in a duel with his rival, Rau Le Creuset, who was in his white custom CGUE. "I didn't think you would actually attack a neutral colony!"

The White masked commander said nothing as he simply fired his CGUE's shield vulcan at the Zero, destroying Mu's last functioning Gunbarrel, causing him to curse as he jettisoned it to avoid the entire unit being destroyed. Suddenly Rau shot ahead of Mu, destroying the wall in front of them, which lead into the living area of the Colony...

Meanwhile, with Ryu and the others

Eventually, Ryu and the others managed to regroup with Sai, Mir, Tolle, and Kuzzey, who couldn't seem to have found a Shelter for them to use. They put them to work, with Sai and Tolle gathering the Number 5 trailer, which contained one of the Striker Packs for the Strike.

Soon, the two aforementioned students returned, driving a Morgenroete Truck which was carrying a trailer with the number 5 on it. "This the one you wanted, Takeshi?" Sai shouted out.

"That's the one, all right," Takeshi called back. "Cagalli, can you bring the Strike next to the Trailer? Miss Ramius, I'll let you oversee mounting the Striker Pack."

Cagalli nodded as she moved towards the Strike. However just as she began to enter the cockpit, there was a large explosion causing everyone to dart their heads up, just as they saw a Moebius Zero and a white CGUE soar into the colony.

"Oh shit, ZAFT's here!" Matt shouted as he and Amy rushed towards their mobile suits.

Takeshi ran to the Tempest, even as he called out, "Miss Ramius, Cagalli, hurry and get that Pack mounted!"

'Only one pilot I know of flies a Moebius Zero at this point,' he thought to himself as he leapt into the Tempest, 'and that's the Hawk of Endymion, Mu la Flaga. And I'd recognize that white CGUE anywhere-Rau le Creuset, the White Duelist. This is going to be an interesting fight.'

He then started up the Tempest, looking over the readouts. '75% power remaining-good thing the swords and Phase Shift don't drain too much. It'd probably be better if I stuck with the swords and limited the Exia to Sword Mode.'

He then activated the Tempest's Phase Shift and took off, intent on supporting the Hawk and hoping the others would join him soon.

He didn't have long to wait as the Duo was in the air right beside him, its own Phase Shift active. "Right behind you, Takeshi," Ryu informed. "Thankfully the Duo is able to be used with only a single pilot, not to mention the two battery packs it uses."

"Glad to hear it, Ryu," Takeshi replied. "You'll probably need a co-pilot for future battles, though, and I think we both know who the best option would be in that case... as much as I don't want to get her involved in this war..."

"Neither do I," Ryu assured, his voice heavy. "The life of a soldier... she's not suited for it..."

"But you and I both know that's not our call to make," Takeshi added. "It's hers... and if she chooses to join you, there's nothing we can do to stop her..."

"... I hope she doesn't..." Ryu replied honestly before focusing on the battle that they were about to engage in.

"So do I," Takeshi remarked. 'But I have a hunch that she will...' he thought to himself before charging the CGUE, slashing with the Exia in an attempt to remove the CGUE's Shield Arm.

As the CGUE moved out of the way, Ryu came streaking in from the flank, ramming into the unit with his shield and sending the CGUE tumbling before following up with a barrage from his beam rifle.

Takeshi then set up a comm channel with the Zero, even as he charged the CGUE again. "TXG-103 Tempest calling Moebius Zero," he called out. "Need a hand, Hawk?"

"Certainly been awhile, eh, la Flaga?" Ryu piped in.

"Takeshi! Ryu!" Mu said in a mixture of surprise and gratefulness. "Am I glad to see the two of you here!"

"The feeling's mutual, Hawk," Takeshi replied. "Last time we flew together was when I was hired for that battle at Nova, I believe. But we can reminisce later-want a hand sending that Bastard packing?"

"I'll drink to that!" Mu said in agreement as he swooped down at Rau, firing his linear cannon as Ryu started firing with his beam rifle, keeping Rau moving and preventing his counterattacks.

Takeshi took advantage of the distractions provided by Ryu and Mu to close to melee range again, slicing the CGUE's Shield Arm off with his Exia, thus robbing the CGUE of some of its firepower.

Inside of the CGUE, Rau bit back a curse as he surveyed the area, down below was a collection of the remaining G-Weapons that they had failed to capture along with a sizable group of civilians, he would have loved to take the opportunity to destroy the machines, but being pressed by the EA current Top Ace, the previous Top Ace and one of Terminal's major aces all at once was a rather daunting task. Firing off a wide spray of shots, he put some distance between himself and his opponents. "I would love to stay and play our little game, but unfortunately I have to end our little game here!" Rau shouted out over an open comm line before launching himself towards the exit at high speeds.

Takeshi's eyes narrowed as he watched Rau leave. "We'll be waiting, teme..." he replied, "we'll be waiting..." He then turned towards Ryu and said, "Ryu, do you think you could grab the arm I chopped off of Rau's CGUE? Might be a good idea to see if we can equip that Shield onto one of the G-Weapons, or even enhance it."

"Got it." Ryu confirmed as he snatched the arm before heading towards the ground to link up with the others.

Takeshi then turned to the Zero. "Care to join us on the ground, Hawk? We could probably use your help."

"Sounds better than just flying around waiting for my energy battery to run dry." Mu said dryly as he followed the pair down towards the park.

Takeshi smiled as he brought the Tempest in for a landing next to the Duo.

However, before any of the machines could land, there was a massive explosion, causing everyone to look just in time, as a massive white ship soared over them, coming from inside the colony.

Takeshi looked in awe at the ship soaring above them. "The Archangel..." he whispered in awe. "Somehow, I knew it would survive the attack." He then set up a comm channel with the ship and said, "This is TXG-103 Tempest calling Archangel, do you read?"

"This is Natarle Badgiruel of the Archangel!" Came the response. "Thank god there's someone left!"

"Good to hear from you, Miss Badgiruel," Takeshi replied. "ZAFT's managed to make off with a majority of the G-Weapons, but we've managed to retain control of my machine, the Duo, the Strike, the Templar, and the Viral. Requesting permission to bring our machines aboard, along with several people who have given us a hand."

"Granted, we're opening the Hangar doors now." Badgiruel informed as the others landed to gather up their friends.

Matthew and Amy gathered Sai, Mir, Tolle and Kuzzey into the Templar and Viral's hands, as they launched back into the air, and towards the Archangel.

Takeshi gathered Murrue into the Tempest's hands before following, with Ryu taking Kira in the Duo and Cagalli using the Strike to help the damaged Moebius Zero into the hangar.

Once they had all landed in the Archangel's starboard hangar, Takeshi lowered Murrue to the deck before exiting his machine and joining her as several EA personnel ran up to them.

"Lieutenant Ramius!" Natarle called out as she came up to the group. "It's good to see you're alive."

"You as well, Ensign Badgiruel," Murrue replied. "I'm pleased that you managed to protect the Archangel."

"Good to see you again, Miss Badgiruel," Takeshi added. "The circumstances aren't quite what I was expecting, but at least we're able to meet like this in the first place."

Natarle nodded as she looked the group over. Looking up to the Duo, her eyes widened in shock as she saw Ryu descending from the cockpit with Kira in his arms. "It's him! Ryu Hisanaga! Arrest him!" She shouted out to the security force.

Takeshi's gun was out before they could even move. "I wouldn't if I were you," he said. "One, we need all the pilots we can get at the moment, and he's one of the best pilots I know. Two, I doubt you could take him, even encumbered as he is with my Imouto. Three, if you did, my Imouto would hack your government's mainframes six ways from Sunday because of how much she cares for him. And that leads to four: I'm not going to let you arrest him and take him away from her simply because of how he left your military. In fact, I'm willing to use my authority as a Terminal Combat Agent to place him under my authority and protection if it means it'll get you off of his back."

"Stand down!" Murrue barked out in a surprisingly stern voice. "Ensign, you need to learn how to look outside of the box in situations like this, we are in the middle of an ORB colony, of which I have no doubt he is a citizen of, but he and his friends are the ones who saved the remaining G-Weapons and fought off two ZAFT Ace Pilots. We owe them."

"Speaking of which," Ryu said in a cool voice, getting their attention. "I'd like Kira here to be looked at by your doctor, I got the bullet removed, but I just want to make sure she'll make a full recovery."

Takeshi nodded, putting his gun away. "That sounds like a plan to me, Ryu," he said. "I'll go with you, too, both to make sure that she'll be fine myself and to make sure no one else gets any funny ideas. And Miss Badgiruel, I'd recommend getting the stick out of your arse before someone else does it for you and beats you over the head with it. Rules and Regulations have their time and place, but they are not the be-all and end-all. Do I make myself clear?"

"I'd listen to them, if I were you," the voice of Mu La Flaga was heard, as he approached the group. "Trust me, you do not want Ryu Hisanaga to get pissed. It never ends well for the people who got him pissed. Just ask Rear Admiral Garcia."

"He should consider himself fortunate that he's still alive after what he did to her." Ryu said in a monotone voice, adjusting the sleeping Kira slightly. "And it goes to show you just how corrupt the Earth Alliance has become when a serial rapist can become a Rear Admiral."

"That's for sure," Takeshi remarked. "Miss Ramius, Miss Badgiruel, Hawk, I'll see the three of you on the Bridge later to discuss our options."

Ryu nodded to Mu who nodded back, clapping him on the shoulder as he moved past, following Takeshi to the Infirmary. "Takeshi, you didn't have to put yourself on the line like that," Ryu said as they walked through the hallways. "I could've just handed Kira off to you and left the Archangel."

"No way, Ryu," Takeshi replied. "Like I said, I'm not letting anyone tear the two of you apart in any way, shape, or form. She needs you, Ryu-she needs you to be truly happy, more than she'll ever need me, and probably more than she'll admit. And you need her, too. If I have to use my authority as a Terminal Combat Agent to keep you two together, I'll do it without hesitation."

Ryu remained silent for a minute before quietly whispering, "Thank you," to Takeshi.

"You're more than welcome, Ryu," Takeshi replied as they approached the medbay. "All I ask in return is that you make Kira happy, keep her safe... and maybe give me a niece or nephew someday."

Ryu smiled slightly as he looked down at the peaceful expression on Kira's face. "I'll do my best," He assured before they stepped into the medbay.

Meanwhile, with ZAFT

"So, in short, Intel screwed us over once again." Jaden explained as he, Athrun, Miguel, Ades and Rau were on the bridge of the Vesalius. "There are way more Prototypes than we anticipated, and the Dragon of Endymion is here with one of the prototypes. Not to mention the legged ship survived as well."

Rau sighed at the information. "It is indeed troubling," he said. "However, our mission remains the same. We must destroy the legged ship, and capture, failing at that destroy, the prototypes."

"Easier said than done Commander," Jaden said. "Their PS armor makes them impervious to almost everything our GiNN's and even your CGUE could dish out. The only weapons that will have any effect are energy weapons."

"Everything has its limits, Jaden," Rau said with a smile. "We simply need to hit them hard enough. We will issue out D-Type equipment to our GiNN's. That should be enough."

"D-Type!?" Jaden nearly shouted, while Athrun and Ades looked at their commander in shock. "Rau, you know an Island-3 Colony like Heliopolis can't take that kind of punishment! If we miss our shots, we could destroy the whole damn colony!"

"We need to destroy that ship," Rau sated a frown forming on his face. "If they make it to the moon, this war just got even longer than it already is and more people will die as a result of it."

"Then we wait for them to come to us!" Jaden said. "If we wait for them to leave the colony, like we should have from the beginning, we could've engaged them right there, and not have to hold back! Their Operating Systems have to still be in the early development stages, they would have been easy kills!"

"We have to strike now Jaden, if we don't they will remain holed up in there and the next thing we know we are getting swarmed over by the EA's Fleets and quite possibly ORB's as well," Rau countered logically. "We have no choice in the matter but to attack now."

Jaden just glared at Rau, before he simply stormed out of the bridge "Hey, Jaden, wait!" Miguel said as he followed Jaden as they left the bridge.

"I hate him so much!" Jaden said as he and Miguel passed through the halls of the Vesalius. "The closest EA or Orb fleets are weeks away from Heliopolis! And the shelters of Heliopolis might not be strong enough to save off D-Type weapons!"

"Yeah, but... what are we suppose to do?" Miguel asked, as Jaden sighed.

"I am not stooping to the EA's level and destroy a civilian colony." he said. "We are not using D-Type gear, Miguel. I want you to take one of my spare laser swords, and I'm going to mount Thermal Cannons on our GiNN's, they're the only weapons that are not classified as D-types that could damage their PS armor. We have to limit damage to the colony as much as we can."

"Alright, that sounds like a better idea." Miguel agreed with a sigh and a nod. "Wish we had more of those for everyone, though..."

Jaden sighed as they headed for the hanger. "So do I, Miguel," he said. "So do I."

Meanwhile, Archangel's Medbay

Ryu sighed as he sat next to the bed Kira was sleeping on, the ship's doctor had looked her over and said that she was going to be completely fine, Ryu had extracted the bullet perfectly and the stitches were holding, she'll be sore for a while, but thankfully the bullet itself didn't do any damage to the muscles and had been stopped by her bones. Given her above average healing rate due to her coordinator heritage, she should fully regain her mobility in her arm by the time she woke up.

Ryu remained by her side even after Takeshi had left to go meet with the EA officers to plan out their strategy for escaping Heliopolis. 'Everything has gone downhill big time,' Ryu thought as he watched over Kira. 'I wanted to just leave it all behind me, but my past will never leave me alone will it?'

Kira groaned as she began to stir, breaking Ryu out of his thoughts. "Hey Kira," He greeted with a smile as her eyes opened up. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Ryu..." Kira whispered with a smile as his face came into focus. "Where are we?"

"The Earth Alliance ship Archangel," Ryu informed as he took one of her hands into his own. "It's the Assault Carrier that was built alongside of the G-Weapons."

"Mm," Kira replied tiredly before looking up at Ryu. "I remember a little of when I was under the effects of Morphine... is it true that you're the Dragon of Endymion?"

Ryu was silent for a minute. "It is," He confirmed after a while his voice soft. "I was enlisted into the EA when I was sixteen, my dad used his connections as a Rear Admiral to get me into the EA and eventually I went into the Zero Corps due to my high levels of Spatial Awareness, my dad wanted the legacy of the Hisanaga's continued, which was also why I was born as a coordinator, just so the Legacy of the Hisanagas being the the best soldiers in the EA could continue. When Junius happened, however... I couldn't do it anymore, it was bad enough that my family was killed when our home was bombed by ZAFT, but the EA using Nukes... I just left, I didn't want to work for either side, so I left. I then became a citizen of ORB and... met you."

Kira smiled up at her boyfriend as she squeezed his hand. "Thank you for explaining it to me," she said kindly. "And... knowing you, you're worried about me leaving you now that I know the truth, right?" she asked, getting a surprised nod from Ryu. "Don't worry, I suspected you were a soldier of some kind, though admittedly, I thought you were a mercenary."

Ryu sighed as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Thank you Kira." He whispered with a smile. "Thank you very much."

Kira simply smiled in return as the pair enjoyed the quiet moment while it lasted.

Meanwhile, on the Bridge

Takeshi walked onto the bridge to find Murrue in the Captain's Chair, with Mu and Natarle next to the chair. Surprisingly enough, Cagalli was there, too.

"Sorry if I'm late, Miss Ramius," he said. "And it's definitely good to see you again, Hawk."

"Takeshi," Mu greeted with a nod of his head. "They were just asking for some more info on Ryu, from the standpoint of someone who actually worked with him."

"Ah," Takeshi replied with a nod. "To be honest, I only got to know him after he moved to Heliopolis and began a relationship with my Imouto. I can say, though, that he had the look of someone who had been through the grinder and was looking for a new purpose to his life, which he found in my sister. And after he told me about his past, I could tell that he was someone who didn't want anything more to do with the battlefield, and Orb was his best bet. Unfortunately, it seems that war has found him once again, and he's gonna have to throw himself right back into the thick of it in order to survive." He then turned to Cagalli and asked, "Out of curiosity, what's the Tomboy doing here?"

Cagalli glared at Takeshi before answering, "You know damn well why I'm here!" She shot back, "Heliopolis is an Orb colony, meaning this is as much of a problem to me as it is to my father and the rest of Orb."

"Your father?" Mu asked as he looked her over.

Takeshi sighed. "Her full name is Cagalli Yula Athha," he replied. "She can also be called Lady Athha, Princess Athha, the Lioness of Orb, or That Girl Who Tends To Act Before She Thinks. Although Tomboy fits her pretty well, too."

The three EA officers choked on air as they looked at the scowling Princess. "The Princess of ORB?" Murrue managed to finally choke out. "Oh, fuck!"

Cagalli continued to glare at the EA officers. "Though I would love to find out why you decided to make your oh-so-beloved G-Weapons on ORB TERRITORY," she growled out, "I suppose we have bigger problems, concerning how we're supposed to get out of this situation for when ZAFT comes back."

"She has a point," Takeshi remarked. "However, Miss Athha, I will say that you should look into the Seirans and Sahakus as likely candidates for why the G-Weapons were built here. The Seirans have always wanted closer connections to the EA, while the Sahakus are power-hungry enough to pursue a project like this on territory where they could easily reap their own benefits." He then shook his head briefly before saying, "Anyways, what's our situation?"

"Shit in a shit basket, to put it frankly," Mu said bluntly. "We did manage to save some of the G-Weapons, but none of the pilots survived." He looked at Takeshi. "Outside of yourself, the only pilot with any experience in mobile suit piloting is Ryu..."

"What about those children who piloted the G-Weapons in the first place?" Natarle asked. "They obviously seem to be able to pilot them."

If looks could kill, Natarle would be six feet under from the glare Cagalli was sending her way "Those children are Orb Citizens!" she shouted. "You have NO RIGHT to force them to do anything!"

"As much as I would hate to do this," Mu said with a sigh, catching their attention. "Let's ask them to pilot the machines, we won't force them, but unless we get somebody in those machines we'll be up the creek without a paddle."

Cagalli looked at Mu, but not with the same harsh glare she gave Natarle. "What if I went out?" She asked, surprising most of the people on the bridge. "The Strike has a working Natural-Use O.S, I can pilot it."

"Thank you for your offer, Lady Cagalli," Murrue said gratefully. "We really do need all the help we can get."

"You can count me in, then, as well," Ryu announced as he walked into the bridge, with Kira right behind him. "I can pilot the Duo since I've already calibrated the OS for my preferences."

"I'll be operating the Duo with him," Kira announced, getting a surprised look from Ryu and a knowing one from Takeshi. "Don't even think of arguing with me Ryu."

Ryu sighed, but nodded his agreement nonetheless. "Alright, if you think you can handle I'll let you handle the piloting, I'll handle the DRAGOON System." He relented.

"Thank you very much, Imouto," Takeshi replied. "I know you're an incredible programmer, but something tells me you'll be a good Mobile Suit Pilot, too."

"Thanks, Take-nii," Kira said with a bright smile to her brother. "Ryu, can you take me to the Duo? I'd like to get familiarized with the controls."

"Sure, it's this way." Ryu confirmed with a soft smile before leading Kira out of the bridge and towards the hanger.

Mu stared at the pair as they disappeared through the doorway. "Heaven help the man who shot her," Mu stated. "He's going to learn the true meaning of pain when Ryu gets his hands on him."

"Which is nothing compared to what I'm going to do to the guy," Takeshi replied. "Whoever hurt my Imouto is a Dead Man Walking... they just don't know it yet."

Meanwhile, on the Vesalius

As Athrun Zala headed to the cockpit of his captured Mobile Suit, the Aegis, in order to possibly take it out to confirm if Kira was indeed at Heliopolis, he suddenly had a chill run down his spine, and an urge to find the deepest cave he could find and hide out there until Hell froze over.

Back on the Archangel

"Anyway, I'm going to go talk to Matthew and Amy, see if they want to keep flying their Mobile Suits," Takeshi said. "Miss Ramius, you feel like helping me?"

"Of course I can," Murrue agreed as she stood. "If I'm going to be ordering them into combat, I should be the one to ask them for help."

"Right," Takeshi replied. "You should probably lead the way, because even though I know where the crew quarters are, I don't know which cabin you put them in."

"Right, this way please." Murrue said, leading Takeshi out of the room.

Meanwhile, in Matt and Amy's quarters

While Tolle and the others found a room for them to use, Amy and Matthew had found their own private room to discuss their recent revelation as to where and what their brother has been up to. Amy was sitting on the bed, hugging her legs tight to herself. "This... this doesn't make sense at all..." she said. "Jaden... the Demon of Endymion?"

Matthew sat on the bed opposite to his sister's, and sighed. "I know... but we both know that was his voice," he said. "And since Ryu and Takeshi confirmed it... we can't deny it... Jaden's in ZAFT now."

"But Why?" Amy said louder, a few tears brimming. "We know Jaden, he was angry with the EA when dad died at the Mandelbrot Incident, but he didn't go all up and arms against them! He knew that not everyone in the EA hates Coordinators!"

"That may be," Matt said. "And... maybe Jaden still thinks like that, but something had to have happened to cause him to join ZAFT and leave... Orb..." suddenly Matt's eyes widened. "Oh no..."

Amy blinked. "What is it?" She asked, as she lowered her legs.

"I understand now..." Matthew said. "Jaden... he must think we died! At the Bloody Valentine!"

Amy's eyes widened when her brother said that. "W-What?" she asked. "But... how... why would he...?"

"There was no way Jaden could have found out our shuttle to Junius 7 malfunctioned before it launched." he said, "As much as he knew, our shuttle was on time and reached junius 7 at the time of the attack... and the fact Kelsey died in the attack, and we haven't been able to contact or find him since the attack..." He then suddenly sat down on his bed. "It's my fault..." he said. "I should've tried harder to find him... Dammit, I should have tried to tell him we were still alive!"

"I see," came Takeshi's voice from the doorway, causing them to turn to see both him and Murrue standing there. "Thinking that his whole family was dead would probably cause him to hate the ones who supposedly killed them..."

"What's up, Takeshi?" Matthew asked.

"I'm here, because I wish to ask you to pilot the G-Weapons you've managed to prevent from falling into ZAFT hands," Murrue stated stepping forward. "I know that this is a lot to ask with everything that is going on, but we need all the help we can get in order to protect this Colony from ZAFT's attacks."

"You won't be going out alone," Takeshi added. "I'll be there in the Tempest, Cagalli will be in the Strike, and Ryu and Kira will be flying the Duo together. But as Murrue said, we need all the help we can get.

"We won't force you if you don't want to fight," Takeshi continued, "but we would be exceedingly grateful if you would be willing to fight with us."

Matthew and Amy exchanged glances, and the two simply nodded their heads at one another before Amy stood up. "We'll do it," Matthew said. "Jaden will be here in the next attack, we know that for certain. Just let us handle him, Takeshi."

"All right," Takeshi replied. "Just don't believe that you'll be able to talk him into surrendering or even defecting. If he truly does believe that you are dead, he might believe that you're impostors, or that you were captured and brainwashed, fighting against your will. And even if he instinctually realizes that you are alive and fighting of your own accord, he probably still won't turn on his fellow ZAFT soldiers."

Matthew nodded. "I know... but that won't stop me from at least trying." He said, "Just leave him to us, and don't get involved unless we need your help Takeshi."

Takeshi nodded. "All right," he said. "Now, if you're going to be flying again, you'll need to put on Normal Suits this time, just to be safe. I'll lead you two to the Locker Room so you can each get a Normal Suit."

Suddenly, alarms started going off all throughout the ship "Attention: All hands to Battlestations!" Natarle's voice was heard. "ZAFT Mobile suits are approaching!"

"Dammit," Takeshi muttered. "No time to get Normal Suits, I guess. Miss Ramius, you should probably get back to the Bridge. Matthew, Amy, let's go!"

Meanwhile, in the Hanger

Ryu had been occupied teaching Kira how to operate a mobile suit when the alert rang through the ship. "Crap, buckle up, Kira!" Ryu ordered as he jumped into the secondary seat meant for controlling the DRAGOON units stored aboard the Duo. "This is Ryu Hisanaga and Kira Yamato in the Duo, we're good for launch!"

"Understood, proceed to the launch pad!" One of the Bridge officers replied as Kira disengaged the magnetic clamps to the Duo and moved it to the launch pad where the beam rifle and shield came out and attached themselves to the arms. The catapult doors opened as it charged up and the red lights turned green. "Duo, you are cleared for launch!"

"Roger that!" Kira confirmed. "Kira Yamato and Ryu Hisanaga in the Duo Gundam, launching!"

Their backs slammed against their seats as the G-forces pressed against them as they hurtled down the catapult and experienced a moment of freefall before the thrusters kicked in and got them level. "Nicely done, Kira," Ryu complimented as he brought up the DRAGOON control unit and prepared to launch them. "Thankfully the gravity in the center of the Colony is minimal so I'll be able to use the DRAGOON units."

"Right." Kira said in understanding as she got the hang of actually moving the mobile suit. "This really isn't all that hard to get a hang of, actually."

Ryu smirked behind her as he heard her say that. "Takeshi was right, you are a natural at this, Kira." He complimented, causing her to blush slightly. "Focus on getting us into position, Kira."

"Right!"

Meanwhile, ZAFT attack force

Jaden lead the attack group of Mobile Suits, consisting of 15 GiNN's all with D-Type Equipment ranging from Ion Cannons to Anti-Ship missiles, along with his and Miguel's custom GiNN's which were now refitted with JDP8-MSY0270 directed thermal energy cannons on their suits right shoulders, and NOL-Y941 heavy laser swords on their sides, with Jaden having two replacing his Katana Swords, while Miguel only had one. Along with them was Athrun in the X303 Aegis. Once the data transfer was complete, Jaden convinced Rau to send Athrun into combat with the Aegis, in order to fight the EA in the colony. Rau said he was interested in seeing what two G-Weapons could do in a fight against one another.

Jaden glanced at the Aegis as it flew on his right flank, with Miguel in his Custom orange GiNN on his left flank. 'G-Weapon... Gundam...' he thought as he remembered looking through the data on the G-Weapons, and remembered the Acronym on the G-Weapon's start-up screen. 'So, you still work in Morgenroete, mom, and you used my model for inspiration.'

He then sighed as they flew through the central support pillar of the colony, and into its interior habitat. "Tally Ho people, the legged shipis there, and launching its mobile suits." he said on the radio. "Remember: You are using D-Type gear, one missed shot can seriously damage the colony, so check your damn fire! Try to focus on the ship, we destroy that and their suits will have to run out of power eventually, and its a hard target to miss!"

"Yes, sir!" came the reply of most of the grunts.

As they cleared through the habitat, one of the GiNN's was suddenly struck by a reddish blur that punched through the cockpit killing the pilot but leaving the suit intact before darting away returning over to where a small group of mobile suits were waiting in front of the Legged Ship.

"There they are..." Jaden said, narrowing his eyes at the Duo. "Engage the Mobile Suits and the legged ship! Remember, check your damn fire before you shoot! Leave the lead ones to Me, Miguel, and Athrun."

The GiNN's all split off into different approach vectors, while Jaden lead Athrun and Miguel towards the two mobile suits that Takeshi, Ryu, and Kira piloted.

'You're mine now Hisanaga...' Jaden thought as he activated his energy swords, and approached the Duo. However, warning alarms went off, as he darted his head up just in time to see two of the other G-Weapons attack him. "Stay out of this!" He shouted as he charged towards them with his swords.

Earlier, with the Archangel's G-Weapons

"Here they come," Takeshi remarked as the Tempest, Duo, Strike, Templar, and Viral all gathered in front of the Archangel. The Strike had been equipped with its Sword Pack and the Templar had its melee equipment, as well, to avoid excess damage to the Colony. "Looks like in addition to the Demon of Endymion, we have the Magic Bullet of Dusk, the Aegis, and 15 regular GiNNs... What the Frak?! Those GiNNs are using Heavy Artillery meant for taking out Bases! Does that teme le Creuset actually plan to use that level of firepower here?!"

"It doesn't look like Jaden or that Orange GiNN have those weapons..." Matthew said. "So, what's our first move?"

"Okay, as planned, Matthew and Amy will take on the Demon of Endymion," Takeshi replied. "Remember that he'll be gunning for Ryu and the Duo, though, so you'll need to do your absolute best to keep his attention on you. I'll handle the Magic Bullet-always wanted a rematch after our battle at Nova ended in a draw. Ryu, Imouto, you can take on the grunts-that's what the DRAGOONs are for, and will help Imouto get some needed battle experience. Lady Athha, you'll take the Aegis-just keep him busy until one of us finishes up and can come support you. Everyone ready?"

"Leave the grunts to us," Ryu confirmed as the full DRAGOON armament of the Duo launched and started swarming the GiNNs as Kira dove the Duo into battle using a heat shotel as the Duo's Beam Rifle was actually more powerful than the average one.

"I'm on it," Cagalli added as she went to engage the Aegis, drawing the Sword Striker's Schwert Gewehr Anti-Ship Blade as she did so.

"Then let's do it!" Takeshi replied as he charged Miguel's GiNN, Exia snapping into Sword Mode as he did so.

With Kira and Ryu

Kira was panting slightly as her hands expertly handled the controls of the mobile suit seemingly of their own accord as her eyes flashed all around them, keeping track of the GiNNs and the system updates from the Duo's systems.

Ryu's own hands danced over the controls as he watched his DRAGOON units fly around, some of them piercing through the enemy units while others entrapped and destroyed them in a net of beam fire. "This is really something, eh, Kira?" He asked as a grin started to form on his face. "One person flies and fights with the mobile suit, and the second controls the DRAGOON units."

"Yeah, it really is something," Kira agreed, her own grin forming as she swerved around a missile fired by one of the GiNNs and peppered it with the Duo's Igelstellungs, destroying it. "But we've still got work to do."

"No doubt about it," Ryu agreed.

With Cagalli

The Strike's Schwert Gewehr clashed with the Aegis' Beam Sabers again, Cagalli letting out a wordless shout as she pushed forward, sending the Aegis off-balance.

"You're not doing any more damage to this Colony!" she yelled, drawing and throwing the Midas Messer Beam Boomerang at the Aegis, forcing it to dodge.

With Takeshi

Takeshi brought the Exia in for another slash, the blade countering Miguel's weapon. He had to admit that he was rather enjoying this.

It seemed that the Magic Bullet's skills had improved since they last fought. However, so had Takeshi's. And with Takeshi in a special machine tailored to his style and Miguel in a customized GiNN, it was really no contest.

Eventually, Takeshi managed to knock Miguel's laser sword away, and then used his machine's free hand to grab the GiNN's shoulder, initiating a direct contact link between the two units. "You're pretty good, Magic Bullet of Dusk," he said. "You've actually gotten better since we fought to a draw at Nova, and I honestly believe you have the skills to be a proper challenge to me. But as long as I'm in a machine which was custom-built for my style, you don't stand a chance in that customized GiNN. Come back when you have a custom-built machine of your own, and then we'll settle which one of us is the superior pilot." He then let go of the GiNN, disconnecting the contact link, and used the Exia to sever the GiNN's arms and legs, leaving just the torso and head unit. The orange GiNN fled, unable to do anything else, but Takeshi did not pursue, instead turning to give Cagalli a hand against the Aegis.

With Jaden, Matthew, and Amy

Jaden growled as his laser swords connected with the beam sabers of the Templar Gundam. "Stay out of my way!" He shouted as he saw the Viral approach from behind, however he kicked the machine away before he spun his machine around and kicked the Templar back as well. Jaden then charged towards the Viral, intent on slicing the unit in half. "Take this!"

"JADEN, WAIT!" a female voice shouted on the comm, the voice causing Jaden's eyes to widen as he suddenly froze as did his GiNN, the laser sword lying dangerously close to the torso of the Viral.

'T-That... that voice...' he thought. 'No that... it can't...'

The lasers on the swords suddenly deactivated, however his GiNN still looked at the Viral. "Who are you, and why do you sound like my sister?" Jaden demanded.

"J-Jaden-nii... it's me!" The voice of Amy said again. "Me! Amy! Your sister!"

"No... no you... You can't be her!" Jaden shouted. "You're dead-she's dead! Along with my brother, they're all dead!"

"Jaden, we're not dead, we're right here!" Amy pleaded. "We weren't in the colony when it was destroyed, our shuttle broke down!"

"Jaden... she's telling the truth." Matthew's voice said, as the Templar floated next to them. "We're not dead... we're right here."

"M-Matt?" Jaden croaked out. "No... no you can't... w-what the hell are you two doing here!"

"We should be asking you that Jaden," Matthew said. "Why are you in ZAFT?"

"Wha-what the hell are you talking about?" Jaden shouted. "You should know damn well why! Does the EA firing fucking NUKES at a COLONY mean anything to you!"

"Jaden, you said you never wanted to take sides in the war!" Amy said. "You hated how everyone was making a big deal on Coordinators, you wanted to stay in Orb!"

"And what, just sit back and watch while the EA tries to wipe out millions of people?" Jaden shouted back. "And you're one to talk, Amy, Matt! What the Hell are you working for the Earth Alliance!"

"We're not!" Matthew said. "We were living here at Heliopolis! Then ZAFT attacked, and we ended up in these mobile suits because we need to defend the colony and our friends! We're not working with the EA... but why are you here, and attacking Orb! Orb is your home!"

Jaden was silent, trying to take in all of this information at once. "I... Our targets are the Gundams and the Legged Ship," Jaden said. "We wanted to... destroy the ship, and capture the machines with as little damage to the colony as possible... but Rau convinced most of the pilots to use D-Type gear..."

He then looked at the Templar and Viral. "Amy... Matt... if you really are who you say you are... stay out of my way." He reignited his lasers. "We're just going to destroy the legged ship. I don't want to fight you, but if I have to I won't hold back... my only target is the Legged Ship... and Hisanaga."

"We can't let you do that Jaden..." Matthew said, as he activated a beam saber of the Templar. "Some of our friends are still on the Archangel, and we have to protect them. And Ryu is our friend too."

Before Jaden could form a retort, the alarms on his GiNN went off, as he looked and saw one of the other GiNN's armed with "Canus" missile launchers fired off its payload towards the legged Ship, which apparently as said by his siblings was called the Archangel. Though the ships' CIWS guns destroyed two of the missiles, the other two soared forward, but they missed the legged ship...

...and slammed right into the central shaft of the colony, destroying it.

With Takeshi

Takeshi had almost reached Cagalli, to help her drive off the Aegis, when something compelled him to look in the direction of the Archangel.

His eyes widened when he saw the missiles hit the colony's central shaft.

"No..." he whispered, horrified. "The Colony..."

With Cagalli

"No..." Cagalli breathed, her battle with the Aegis giving her the perfect vantage point to the collapsing central shaft.

With Ryu and Kira

"No! The Colony!" Kira shouted out in a panic as the central support collapsed.

"Dammit!" Ryu cursed out, slamming his fist against the console. "Kira brace yourself! We're going to be getting hit by a massive amount of turbulence!"

With Jaden, Matthew, and Amy

Amy and Matt's eyes were wide, as they watched as their home began to crumble around them "No... H-Heliopolis..." Amy whispered.

Suddenly, their suits were hit by a blast of turbulence jerking their suits away from one another, as Amy screamed in surprise as both she and Matt went flying away.

"AMY! MATT!" Jaden shouted, as he tried desperately to chase after them, but his GiNN's engines faltered and failed as he found himself being taken over by the turbulence.

On the Archangel's Bridge

On the Bridge of the Archangel, the crew could only watch in stunned horror as the central shaft collapsed and the colony began breaking apart. The ship itself was buffeted slightly by the turbulence that resulted from the colony's collapse, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Status Report!" Murrue ordered out. "Any damage?"

"Minimal damage to us ma'am!" One of the ships officers, Romero Pal, informed.

"Get in contact with the G-Weapons, what is their status?" Natarle ordered to Dalida Lolaha Chandra II. "I want to know their status!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Dalida confirmed. "This is the Archangel calling out to the TXG-103 Tempest, GAT-X105 Strike, GAT-X130 Templar, GAT-X221 Viral, and the UXG-001 Duo, please respond. I repeat: TXG-103 Tempest, GAT-X105 Strike, GAT-X130 Templar, GAT-X221, Viral and UPX-X001 Duo, please respond!"

"TXG-103 Tempest here," Takeshi's voice replied over the radio. "I'm a bit shaken around by the turbulence, but I'm otherwise alright."

"GAT-X105 Strike here," Cagalli's voice came in after Takeshi had finished. "I'm alright, and wanting to kick ZAFT's butts for this!"

"Calm down, Princess," Ryu's voice scolded lightly as it broke through the interference. "UPX-X001 Duo here, we're shaken up, but fine."

"T-This is t-the Viral..." Amy's voice said. "I'm fine, and... so is Matt."

Everyone on the bridge of the Archangel breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the units report in. "Right, all units return to the Archangel," Dalida ordered. "You can rest and rearm when you return."

"Roger that," Takeshi replied.

"Got it," Cagalli said. "I'm on my way back now-huh?" There was a moment's pause, and then, "Archangel, I've come across a Heliopolis Lifeboat. I'm bringing it in."

"What? Who gave you that authorization?" Natarle barked out. "We can't bring aboard any lifeboats!"

"You might want to re-think that, Miss Badgiruel," Takeshi replied. "I've just reached Cagalli's position myself, and that lifeboat's in fairly bad shape according to the Tempest's scans-the thrusters are shot, and it seems to be slowly leaking oxygen, meaning the outer shell might be cracked. If we don't take it in, its passengers might not survive until an official rescue team gets here. Do you want those lives haunting your conscience?"

"You have permission to bring them aboard, Lady Cagalli," Murrue said, cutting in before Natarle could say anything, looking over her shoulder she sent the Ensign a stern look. "Natarle, it would be best for you to remember just who that is, I for one don't want ORB breathing down our necks, either from her getting killed, or her telling everyone that we just left their civilians to die."

Natarle swallowed tightly at the reprimand, her eyes widening slightly as the realization sunk in. "Y... yes ma'am." She affirmed with a salute.

"Thank you, Miss Ramius," Takeshi replied. "Need a hand with that, Cagalli?"

"I should be good," Cagalli said. "These things are small enough to be carried by a single Mobile Suit."

"Gotcha-I'll stick close just in case anything unexpected happens," Takeshi replied. "Miss Ramius, once we're all back aboard, I'll head up to the Bridge so we can discuss our next move."

"I'll be joining you," Ryu announced as the Duo came into the view of the Archangel. "Meet you there, Takeshi."

"Understood," Murrue announced with a sigh of relief. "Let's hope they'll give us a breather first. Neumann, try to keep us in the debris, it'll hide us from their sensors."

"Yes, ma'am!" The ship's pilot, Arnold Neumann, confirmed as he guided the Archangel through the remains of Heliopolis.

Later, on the Vesalius

"WHAT THE HELL DID I TELL YOU, RAU!" Jaden practically roared on the bridge of the Vesalius, causing several of the others inside to flinch aside from Rau himself as Jaden glared at him. "I TOLD you using D-Type Gear was a bad idea, and look at what happened! The Whole damn colony got destroyed!"

"Jaden!" Rau barked out, freezing the pilot in his tracks. "I made a tactical decision based on the information we had at the time, the destruction is regrettable, but in the end ensuring that the Legged Ship does not make its way back into EA hands is more critical, the only reason we are able to hold our own against the EA is because of our Mobile Suits, if they can make their own then they will be able to overwhelm us with their numbers!"

"Still, Commander," Ades remarked, "I doubt that Orb or the Supreme Council will see it that way. And don't forget Terminal, who have very close ties with Orb. The way I see it, we'll be lucky if all we receive for this is a reprimand."

"Don't worry, Ades, I am sure the council will see things our way," Rau informed. "And the civilians should have all been evacuated to the emergency shelters, we will be fine so long as we destroy the Legged Ship."

"Still, the fact remains that we destroyed a colony belonging to a neutral nation," Ades replied. "Even if the council does agree with your tactics, I doubt Orb will take this lying down. And if they get Terminal involved, the consequences could be severe."

"They will not break their neutrality that they have been so adamant to defend," Rau stated confidently. "They have been doing everything to ensure they don't get involved, it's their own fault for not keeping a tighter reign over their companies."

"You have a point, Commander..." Ades admitted, sighing in worry. "Still, I have a bad feeling about what's going to come of this..."

"You worry too much, Ades." Rau informed with a grin.

Meanwhile, a short distance outside of Heliopolis debris belt

A pitch black mobile suit drifted through space as the pilot stared in shock at the destroyed colony. "This is not good," The man muttered, shaking himself out of his shock. "Alpha, get a line setup with Terminal High Command and patch in Orb Command as well."

"Yes sir," A synthesized feminine voice confirmed as a holographic image of an attractive woman wearing the Terminal Female uniform of a dark green uniform t-shirt and a short black shirt with a pair of heels appeared. "Connecting with them now."

"Thanks, Alpha," The pilot said as two images appeared. The first was of a dark skinned man with dark hair and eyes wearing a Terminal Officer's Uniform consisting of a dark green long-sleeved uniform shirt and a pair of black dress pants, the second person was a male wearing an ORB uniform with general bars. "Sirs, this is Agent Zeta of Recon Group Charlie reporting in, Heliopolis has been destroyed by ZAFT commander Rau le Creuset in his attempt to destroy the Archangel and G-weapons that Morgenroete built for the EA, orders?"

"Heliopolis? Destroyed?" The Orb General asked in shock. "The representative council will not stand for this! This will give Lord Uzumi the push he needed to get involved, but not with the Earth Alliance, they hold responsibility with this."

"We understand, General," The Terminal Officer said in a deep voice. "But please, keep your calm, I will inform the Benefactors of what has happened, and whatever should Orb decide, we will honor our treaty. Agent Zeta, I am assigning Recon Group Charlie to following and observing the Archangel as well as the ZAFT task force in watching this situation unfold, should you have an opportunity, get into contact with Agent Tempest to inform him of what may be happening with Orb."

"Understood, sir," Agent Zeta informed before the links were closed. "Right, back to the Night Stalker,Alpha, send out the recall order to the other units."

"Sir." Alpha confirmed as the signal was sent out and the black mobile suit slipped away from the debris field.

CHAPTER END

Mecha Profiles:

Model Number: UPX-X001 'Duo'
Unit Type: Prototype High Performance Mobile Suit
Powerplant: 2x Ultracompact energy battery
Manufacture: Morgenroete
Operator(s): Earth Alliance
Equipment and Design Features: Phase Shift Armor; Sync System; Radar, range unknown; DRAGOON System
Fixed Armament:
2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-barrel Anti Air CIWS, stored in head
2x Heat Shotels, stored on hips, hand carried in use
6x DRAGOON Fangs, stored in Flight Pack
6x DRAGOON Beam Cannons, Stored in Flight Pack
2x Beam Sabers, stored in Flight Pack
2x 'Armor Schneider' Combat Knives
Optional Armaments:
'Shiki' High Density-Energy Beam Rifle, stored on flight pack, hand carried in use
Shield, hand carried in use
Pilot(s): Ryu Hisanaga, Kira Yamato
Appearance: Has the base of the Aile Strike with the Head of the Hyaku Shiki with added parts onto it, such as extra thrusters to the Flight Pack and the DRAGOON backpack split into two parts and stored on either side between the wings and the armor looks more bulky. the Primary Colour is Black with the chest the same shade of blue as the Strikes and has woodland green highlights. Has a dual 'V' Crest on it's forehead
Info: The first, and only mobile suit constructed by Project Unity, the Duo. The First thing that sets this unit apart from most is the dual cockpit, it will allow two people to control the unit, more specifically one will control and fight with the unit itself, while the other will use the DRAGOON System to it's fullest potential without having to worry about defending themselves. While this unit can be used alone without aid from others, only when two pilots are working in sync with one another can the full potential of the unit be brought out. The second thing that sets this unit apart from any other units is the Sync System, it requires for a pair of pilots to align their mental wavelengths to a similar point with each other to activate it, but when active it will grant a mental link between the two, allowing them to synchronize with each other in battle to unheard of levels. Unfortunately this system was untested before the ZAFT attack on Heliopolis and as such there are no known side effects.

Model Number: TXG-103 'Tempest'
Unit Type: Custom-Built Seven Swords Close Combat Mobile Suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery
Manufacture: Morgenroete
Operator: Terminal
Equipment and Design Features: Phase Shift Armor; Radar, range unknown;
Fixed Armament: 2x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-barrel Anti Air CIWS
Optional Armaments:
"Exia" Folding Sword/Beam Rifle Unit, mounted on right forearm, hand-carried in use
Anti-Armor Longsword, stored on left hip, hand-carried in use
Anti-Armor Shortsword, stored on right hip, hand-carried in use
2x Beam Saber, stored on backpack, hand-carried in use
2x Beam Boomerang, stored on Shoulders, hand-carried in use
Shield, Mounted on Left Forearm
Pilot: Takeshi Yamato
Appearance: The Torso is that of the Strike Gundam, with an Aile Striker permanently mounted on the back. The Head Unit is that of the Gundam X. The Arms and Legs are those of the Gundam Exia, while the Shoulders both contain Beam Boomerang Mounts like those of the Sword Striker. The Exia's Sword/Rifle, Shield, Longsword, and Shortsword are mounted in the same places they would be on the Exia.
Colors: The Torso is Black with Dark Blue trim, while the Head and Limbs are Dark Blue with Black Trim. The V-Fin on the head unit is the same golden tone it always was.
Info: Designed by Terminal Combat Agent Takeshi Yamato for his personal use, the Tempest is specialized for High-Speed Close-Range Combat with its seven different bladed weapons. This is to fit Takeshi's personal combat style, and can be downright deadly on the battlefield. (NOTE: At some point later in the story, the Tempest's Energy Battery will be replaced with a new power source.)

Model Number: ZGMF-1017 GiNN Jaden Takeo Custom
Unit Type: Custom General Purpose Mobile Suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery
Manufacture: ZAFT
Operator(s): ZAFT
Equipment and Design Features: Sensors, Range Unknown; Lightwave pulse thrusters
Fixed Armament: MA-M92 sword OR NOL-Y941 heavy laser sword, stored on left hip, hand-carried when in use;
Optional Fixed Armament: M7070 Shield-plus-28mm Vulcan System, mounted on left forearm;
Optional Armaments:
MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Machine Gun
MA-M21G Beam Rifle
M68 "Cattus" 500mm Recoilless Rifle
M69 "Barrus" Heavy Ion Cannon;
Pilot(s): Jaden Takeo
Appearance: Looks like the ZGMF-1017M2 GiNN High Maneuver Type 2, only minus the head fin, and has the Vulcan shield of a CGUE, and the beam rifle of a GuAIZ.
Colors: Crimson Red with Black Trimming
Info: This is the customized GiNN piloted by Jaden Takeo. It has most of the same armaments as a regular GiNN, however with his upgrades its performance is on par if not surpassing that of a CGUE. The data from his unit would eventually lead to the creation of the GiNN HM Type II.

Model Number: GAT-X130 'Templar'
Unit Type: Prototype General Purpose Mobile Suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact energy battery
Manufacture: Morgenroete
Operator(s): Earth Alliance
Equipment and Design Features: Sensors, Range unknown; Phase-Shift Armor
Fixed Armament:
2 x "Midas Messer" Beam Boomerangs, mounted on shoulders, hand-carried when in use (can be used as beam sabers);
2 x "Armor Schneider" Combat Knives, stored in hips, hand-carried when in use;
Optional Fixed Armaments: "Kaefer Zwei" 115mm dual ram cannon, mounted on left forearm;
Optional Armaments:
2 x "Schlag" 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon, mounted on back over shoulders;
2 x "Schwert Gewehr" Anti-ship Swords, stored on back, hand-carried when in use;
"Todesblock" 337mm plasma-sabot bazooka
57mm High-Energy Beam Rifle
Pilot(s): Matthew Takeo
Appearance: Looks like the GAT-X133 Sword Calamity, however it can switch between the original Calamity's Beam Cannons and the Sword Calamity's Anti-Ship Swords, and has the Calamity's Shield and Bazooka.
Colors: Black with Gold Trimming
Info: The GAT-X130 Templar is the predecessor to the GAT-X131 Calamity and GAT-X133 Sword Calamity, being capable of switching between their respective equipment.

Model Number: GAT-X221 'Viral'
Unit Type: Prototype Electronics Warfare and Hacking Platform Mobile Suit
Powerplant: Ultracompact Energy Battery
Manufacture: Morgenroete
Operator(s): Earth Alliance
Equipment and Design Features:
Phase Shift Armor
Electronics Warfare Suite (EWS)
Remote Hacking Interface (RHI)
Mirage Colloid
Upgrades
Advanced Viral Uploading Programs
Viral Creation Package
Fixed Armament:
2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-barrel CIWS, mounted in head
2 x "Armor Schneider" Combat Knife, mounted in thighs, hand carried in use
1x Beam Saber, mounted on left forearm, hand carried in use
Optional Armaments:
LD-22C Beam Sub Machine Gun
Shield
Pilot(s): Amy Takeo
Appearance: Looks like the Blitz Gundam without the shoulder 'fins' or the rocket anchor or shield, has the head and backpack of the Gundam Throne Drei.
Colors: Primarily Black with a dark Blue chest and white highlights.
Info: The Viral is a mobile suit constructed not for combat, but for Hacking. By engaging the Mirage Colloid and drifting into range of enemy ships or bases, the Viral is able to hack into their systems and wreak havoc with them by setting them to self destruct, vent atmosphere, send out fake orders and such like.