Phase 02: Those who call for war
Review Replies:
Kopakanuvafan20: Thank you, sir, for your kind compliments. I wanted to make the comparison for a long time, so now I finally get a chance.
Blazeflare01: Only Athrun is confused, but he's had a lot of Trauma because of that machine. Kira and Cagalli know it's not the Strike, and I think Lacus can guess it's not. But I had Athrun ask to point out THAT's why they were surprised. And thank you for reviewing.
Oh, and for those who didn't notice: I wrote Vino's name as Ash, (I'd forgotten or didn't know his name, one of the two,) and I also wrote that Durandal had purple eyes, when his are actually gold. Sorry for those.
Phase 02: Those who call for war
Shinn roared, charging. Auel jumped over the Sword Impulse and flipped, bringing Abyss's Baileena Kai beam cannons to bear. Impulse drifted around and fired its beam rifle. Auel cursed and dodged, flipping Abyss back to its feet.
Chaos fired from around a corner. Shinn turned and threw Impulse's double-bladed sword at Chaos. Chaos ducked, and the sword landed in a wall, point sticking out. Shinn boosted at Chaos, firing Impulse's beam rifle.
Sting dodged the attack and grinded backwards to a halt. Impulse boosted at Chaos and kicked it at the anti-ship sword. Gaia suddenly rammed Chaos out of the way of anti-ship sword's blade. Shinn flew at Chaos, flipping and retrieving its double anti-ship sword. Gaia jumped at Impulse. Shinn blocked Gaia's beam blade with his shield, then spun its sword, missing Gaia. Abyss landed behind Impulse, and drew back its beam lance.
# # #
Kira saw the Abyss preparing to impale the Impulse. He gritted his teeth. These machines needed to be destroyed, all of them. But he couldn't fight the three stolen ones without help, and Justice wasn't sitting around like it had with Forbidden, Calamity, and Raider.
# # #
Freedom was suddenly between Impulse and Abyss, both beam sabers in hand, and caught the beam lance blade between the saber blades, and raised it above Freedom's head, and unfolded its Xiaphas railcannons. Abyss aimed its quad ram cannons. Both suits fired, knocking each other backwards.
Kira growled in frustration and unfolded Freedom's Baileena plasma beam cannons. Impulse did likewise. They both fired, and the beams impacted. The blue and red beams overpowered the green, and Freedom's attack continued and hit the Abyss.
# # #
Gaia was in mobile suit mode again, and charged the Impulse. Shinn blocked the strike with one blade, and pressed the attack with other, launching Gaia backwards.
"Damn you!" Stella cried. Chaos boosted at the Impulse, beam saber in either hand, and the bottom half of its beam claws activated. Shinn broke the double sword and blocked the beam sabers. Chaos kicked out at Impulse's head. Shinn ducked and dropped one 'Excalibur' to draw its beam rifle, and fired at Chaos's head point blank. Chaos blocked with its shield. Then, Shinn kicked the 'Excalibur' sword on the ground at Chaos. The sword hit Chaos's shoulder, sending it spinning to the ground. The radar drew Shinn's attention.
# # #
Kira and Freedom twisted, swinging both 'Lacerta' sabers, fighting both Abyss and Gaia in saber combat at the same time, the three suits flying into the sky. Gaia and Abyss both got on Freedom's back, and prepared to fire. Kira flipped Freedom so it was facing down and kicked out, knocking Gaia and Abyss to the ground.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Auel snarled. Kira flipped so it was facing Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss upside down, and fired his machine guns, beam cannons, and railguns. All three suits shielded and boosted apart. Kira dropped to the ground and retrieved Freedom's shield and 'Lupus' beam rifle. Kira glanced at Freedom's heat count. 135, when the max was 150. Maybe that's why he was sweating so hard. He opened Freedom's chest and wing vents and engaged Freedom's Hi-Mat mode.
# # #
"Finishing move!" Sting cried, stabbing at Impulse. Shinn dodged and stabbed out with his longer anti-ship sword. The physical edge didn't pierce the phase shift, but it knocked Chaos back. Chaos transformed to mobile armor mode and fired its Callidus. Shinn dived under the beam blast and rolled, then slashed at Chaos. Chaos boosted up, and Shinn followed, drawing a beam boomerang, and threw it in a random direction.
Chaos, back in MS mode, drew a beam saber and locked swords with Impulse. Shinn fired his thrusters, moving Chaos right into the path of the beam boomerang.
Sting saw the boomerang closing. "Oh, SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" He broke away from Impulse. Impulse caught the beam boomerang and charged. Sting blocked, and Impulse moved the saber out of the way, and stabbed Chaos's left shoulder with the beam boomerang.
# # #
"What's the news with those machines? Give me a status report!" Durandal called.
"Mr. Chairman! Toxic gases are being released!" A black uniformed officer called.
A praetorian guard turned to Durandal. "Mr. Chairman, I must insist that you find a shelter."
"How can I head for shelter at a time like this?"
"Sir, at least board the Minerva." Durandal looked at the new warship. A pity the ceremony would be postponed. He growled, but relented.
# # #
"Ma'am, incoming message. Chairman Durandal will be boarding the Minerva!" Meryin Hawke called. Arthur Reed, the Minevra's XO, looked up, shocked. Talia Gladys nodded.
"Get me a line to Shinn and the Freedom."
# # #
"Dammit! These guys have escaped every plan I've made, and I'm starting to run low." Impulse took cover behind a piece of rubble. Abyss was suddenly in front of the Impulse. Shinn raised his beam rifle to fire. His radar sounded, and he looked left. Gaia tackled him, beam blades ignited, missing the Impulse, but knocking it rolling.
# # #
Athrun's eyes widened. He looked to Freedom, then back to Impulse. "Help him!" Cagalli cried.
"Hold onto somethin'!" Both Cagalli and Lacus grabbed the roll cage surround the pilot's chair. Athrun boosted at Abyss, and blocked its beam lance with the Zaku's tomahawk, and punched Abyss itself in the chest, knocking it backwards. He turned to see Gaia approaching, beam blades screaming through the air. He threw the tomahawk, but the handle hit and bounced off Gaia's quadruped mode head. He jumped over Gaia.
"Don't they have anymore weapons on this crate?!" Athrun shouted, angry. Unknown to Athrun, he'd just broadcast his voice on the radio, Lacus having accidentally turned it on when she got in. Kira's eyes went wide. He looked to see Gaia charging the Zaku, and broke away from Chaos to fire his Baileena beam cannons at Gaia. Gaia dodged. He landed next to the Zaku and handed it his 'Lupus' beam rifle.
# # #
'Shinn! You're orders are to capture them! They belong to us!' The Minevra's XO, Commander Arthur something, said.
"I know! But I don't think I can take them! How the hell did this happen, anyway? Did they just walk in and ask for the keys?" he shouted, angry.
# # #
"That's enough, Asuka!" Talia shouted. "Focus on the battle! Freedom, can you provide assistance?"
'I'm already providing assistance! If you guys at ZAFT hadn't built the new machines, this wouldn't have happened! I haven't had this much trouble since Forbidden, Calamity, and Raider, but at least they didn't have Nuclear reactors!'
"They don't. Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss are battery operated. Unfortunately, so is the Impulse. Instead, they recharge."
# # #
Kira's eyes went wide. "In the field? Great!" He charged Chaos, beam saber in hand. He slashed, only to be blocked by Chaos's, and he blocked Chaos's saber attack with his own shield. He glanced at the heat. 142. That close?
"I have to get out, Freedom's gonna overheat." He opened Freedom's wings and broke away, heading for the Zaku.
# # #
Auel roared with laughter as he fired Abyss's Callidus cannon. Athrun shielded. The beam cannon blast knocked the Zaku into a wall. Athrun heard Cagalli shout out. He looked, and she fell. Athrun caught her, then felt something on his hand. He looked.
Blood. From Cagalli's head! His eyes went wide. The Zaku was suddenly picked up. Athrun looked up. Freedom.
# # #
"Why would they try to steal three units unless they had a carrier? But that doesn't make sense. No one's found a ship outside…" Talia suddenly looked up, eyes wide. She grabbed the phone. "There's a ship with Mirage Colloid outside! I repeat, a ship with Mirage Colloid!"
# # #
Neo Roanoke smiled at the captain's words. "De-cloak the ship and fire Gottfrieds." The Girty Lue phased into visibility and unleashed twelve beams of green light, destroying one Nazca-class and disabling the other two immediately.
# # #
Inside the Harbor, a pair of Laurasia-class frigates moved down the launch tracks. Then, a pair of Dagger Ls with recoiless rifles were at the end. The captain stood up just in time for the a round to vaporize his torso.
# # #
Talia felt the shudder from the Harbor. "Another attack? Dammit!" The back door of the bridge opened, and in stepped Chairman Durandal. Meryin looked and shouted in surprise.
# # #
"The combining bastard's gonna die now!" Auel said, smiling madly. A trio of beam rifle blasts hit the Abyss, knocking it aside. Sting looked. Three Zakus were shooting at Chaos and Abyss.
# # #
'Shinn!' Mayu called. Shinn grinned in relief. He looked over his shoulder and smiled in relief.
# # #
"Sting! That was our cue, and my machine is starting to run out! Stupid Mobile suit!" Auel shouted.
'I know! How many blasts can you get out?'
Auel growled. "Let's see!" He fired Abyss's eleven beam cannons into the wall. Nothing happened. Auel hesitated. "Uh, this may take all three of us."
Sting growled. "Stella! We need you to blast out!"
# # #
Stella was currently charging the Impulse. "I can take this guy out! I can! I can take him!" Both gundams slashed out, missing.
'Stella, that's enough! We're leaving!' Sting shouted.
"He's not gonna beat me! I won't let him!" she blasted at the Impulse.
# # #
'Come on, Shinn!' Rey shouted. Shinn started thinking up a plan. Gaia's pilot was attacking like a berzerker, so if he could lock swords with him when his boomerangs came back…
# # #
"Well, I guess Stella will just have to DIE here!" Auel shouted.
'Auel!'
# # #
Die. Stella froze. She didn't wanna die! "You won't die Stella, you won't die. You're fine." She tried to calm herself.
'Don't worry, Stella, I'll tell Neo you're last words, "All she said was, 'Goodbye!'"'
"Goodbye? I don't wanna die! Do you, Stella? No! I'm not gonna die!" she boosted away. She had to get out. She couldn't die! She couldn't! The wanted to live, not die! Live near the ocean! Yeah, the ocean! She loved the ocean! She had to live, so she could learn to swim in the ocean!
She fired her beam cannons at the colony wall.
# # #
Sting gritted his teeth as Stella fled. "Auel, cover me!" He flew Chaos after Gaia. Abyss brought up the rear, firing its ram cannons at the Zakus and Impulse.
# # #
Neo checked his watch. They were late. He looked back to the main viewscreen.
"Any word?" he asked the com officer.
"No sir."
"They might have failed." The captain offered. "They may have smashed the Harbor up, but that place was a military arsenal. The longer they stay, the worse the chances get."
"I know. But I wouldn't have sent them on that mission if I didn't think they had what it took to pull it off and get back here safely. I'll go buy us some time."
"Yes sir!" Neo turned and floated away from the bridge. "Hangar deck, prepare the Exus."
# # #
Shinn zoomed on Gaia firing at the wall. "Dammit, we gotta stop it!" He boosted at Gaia, drawing the Impulse's 'Flash Edge' beam boomerangs. He threw both. A blue and red beam destroyed the first, then six more green beams destroyed the second. Shinn Abyss and Chaos boosted between Impulse and Gaia. Shinn gritted his teeth.
# # #
Durandal looked around. "Give me a status report." Talia only hesitated a moment.
"The Impulse is engaged in combat, and Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss are at the colony wall. Freedom is bringing in a damaged Zaku."
# # #
Kira smiled in relief as the Minevra's left catapult opened. He checked Freedom's heat level. It had dropped to 124. He sighed and dropped into the catapult, and set down the Zaku.
# # #
Lunamaria jumped as her Zaku gave a jump, then started to sink in the air. She cried out in surprise.
'I got you, Luna!' Mayu called, her pink Zaku picking up Lunamaria's Red one.
"Mayu!" Shinn shouted. "Get to the Minerva. I can handle this. That means you, too, Rey."
'Gotcha.' Mayu said, carrying away Luna's Zaku Warrior.
'I'm fine, Shinn, let's finish this. If they get out of here, that's it! We've got to stop them here.' Shinn smiled.
"Now there, we agree. Minerva! Send out the Force Silhouette!"
# # #
"What?" Arthur cried.
"Send it out, I authorize it! There's no point keeping it a secret now. Is there?" Talia turned to Durandal. Durandal sighed.
"No."
"Force Silhouette, prepare for launch."
# # #
Shinn dodged Chaos's dragoon pods, and charged the MA itself. He slashed out. The Excalibur gave a final scream and snapped over Chaos's heavy armor.
Shinn cried out in surprise, eyes going wide.
The Red winged Force Silhouette Flier launched from the Minevra.
# # #
Kira dropped from the Freedom to see Lacus climbing from the Zaku's cockpit, followed by Athrun and a barely conscious Cagalli. Kira jumped off the drop line and ran to Lacus, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
"Thank god you're okay." He said. Lacus smiled.
"Athrun kept me safe, Kira. You don't need to worry, so long as he's around."
"Right, only when Cagalli's around a mobile suit do I really have to worry."
"Oh, shut up." Cagalli mumbled, holding her forehead.
"Who the hell are you?!" Lunamaria shouted. Kira looked to see a young woman bearing a strong resemblance to Flay, albeit with short hair, in a ZAFT redcoat uniform brandishing a machine pistol.
Kira mentally measured the distance and calculated how long it would take him to get to the gun.
"Lower your weapons!" Athrun called. "This is Ms. Cagalli Yula Attha, a representative of the Orb Union. I'm her personal attendant. My name is Alex Dino." Kira looked to his left and noticed Mayu Asuka.
"Mayu! Where's Shinn?"
# # #
Chaos and Impulse collided, shields sparking. Both mobile suits were launched backwards.
'Shinn! The Force flier!' Rey called. Shinn boosted after the flier as it flew past. Chaos chased after him. Shinn ejected the remains of the Sword Silhouette. He activated the laser lines with the Force silhouette, and brought it to the Impulse's Silhouette connector. The Impulse's armor phase shifted into white, blue, and red.
# # #
The extendeds' eyes went wide. Sting broke off chasing Impulse and flipped backwards, getting a wider look at the Impulse.
"No way!"
"He changed the equipment?" Auel asked.
"Oh, no, I'm just shouting at something for the hell of it! Of course he did, ya dumbass!"
# # #
Impulse shot straight at Chaos. Chaos fired its beam rifle, and Impulse dodged left, then right, and slashed at Chaos. Abyss fired its triple beam cannons at Impulse.
Shinn blocked and shield-bashed the Abyss.
# # #
Stella panicked. She aimed at the Impulse, but didn't fire. If he came after the Gaia, Stella would blast him away.
'You're gonna pay for that!' Sting cried, launching Chaos's twin Dragoon pods.
# # #
Chaos's blasts just barely missed Impulse, instead hitting the colony wall, and the Transperasteel wall flashed and melted open. Shinn's eyes widened.
# # #
The pink mobile armor shot forward. Neo launched its for gunbarrels and quickly dispatched the three GuAIZ Rs and a CGUE, smiling. Then he noticed the three mobile suits escaping. He let a breath in relief as Sting, Auel, and Stella flew back to the ship. Then a pair of other mobile suits followed through the hole.
Behind his mask, Neo's eyes narrowed at the white and blue mobile suit. His mind flashed.
Battle of Orb. First Bloody Valentine War, shooting down Strike Daggers. The Strike…yes, he'd flown the Strike, because Kira had the Freedom-
"Stop it! Stop the pain, damn you!" Neo's hands were on his masked head. The pain dulled, then faded.
# # #
Flash
Kira's eyes widened. Who was this? The thoughts were…chaotic. There was no sense…no sense of self. The brief touch of minds ceased, leaving Kira wide eyed.
# # #
"Captain, they're heading out on there own, and the enemy ship is still out there!" Arthur cried.
"The Impulse's power is critically low, 3 minutes left, at most!" Meryin shouted. "And we can't send it a Deuterium beam if it's on the other side of the colony wall!"
"Launch the Minevra." Talia ordered. The bridge went silent.
"Launch the Minevra." Durandal repeated. The Minevra rocked as it was dropped from the dry dock and let float on its rupulsor lifts. Lines began to drop and retract from the Minevra.
"All hands, brace for launch." Meryin said into the radio.
# # #
"Clear the catapult!" Kira shouted, walking to the Freedom's zip line.
"Hey! I'm the one giving orders here!" Lunamaria called.
"Much good you're doing. Stop playing prisoner detail and get the catapult clear. As soon as this ship is launched, it'll come under attack." Kira said.
"Kira!" Athrun called. Kira dropped into the cockpit and pulled out a number pad. Kira sighed as he entered the code. Freedom's cooling system had been disabled by Kira, to prevent it from being too powerful. As the system came back up, Freedom's heat monitor dropped to the standard 25, just hot enough to maintain nuclear fission.
"Vino! Yolant! Prepare the Port catapult! Ms. Attha, is there anything you need."
"Uh…how about a doctor?" Cagalli asked, weakly. Luna nodded and she and Mayu led Athrun and Cagalli from the catapult room.
"Kira! Be careful!" Lacus called, before leaving the catapult.
# # #
Shinn weaved through the barrage of beam fire as best as he could, but it was coming from everywhere. Rey had moderately more success, even managing to shoot down one of the wired gunbarrels.
Rey boosted backwards, then felt something and turned. The Minevra swerved away from the plants, opening its massive wings.
# # #
"Kira Yamato, Freedom. Launching!" Freedom shot forward, up, and spun, then opened its wings, aiming its beam rifle.
# # #
Next: Warning Shots
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