Disclaimer: see Chapter 1.
Saga of the Crimson Fox
By Storm Wollf77415
La Edenra Strike
The whole world was abuzz of the incredible actions of Celestial Being in Moralia. How four mobile suits single handedly brought the best of the AEU to their knees. The news reported on it for days on end, and how the AEU Council would be able to use this incident as a rallying cry for further militarization. Of course for Saji Crossroad, that was the furthest thing from his mind, as he had to endure something far worse…clothes shopping with Louise.
"Come on, Saji!" The Spanish beauty whined, her long thick blonde hair bouncing about as she skipped down the sidewalk. "If we don't pick up the pace we'll miss the best deals!"
"Coming!" Saji huffed, lugging all of the shopping bags Louise had accumulated. "Well…at least I'm getting my exercise!" He remarked. There were times he wondered if such a high maintenance girl like Louise was right for him if all he had to look forward to was hauling shopping bags around. "Where are we going next, Louise?"
"Oh, to look at clothes! And then some more clothes, and then maybe shoes…and then some more clothes!" Louise giggled. She had barely taken a single step when the entire street was ripped apart by a colossal explosion. Saji dropped the bags and ran to his girlfriend. Louise was shaking all over as he slowly helped her up. They saw the source of the explosion, the blackened remains of a bus. Other bystanders cried out that it was a terrorist attack. The two teenagers looked at each other in panic and ran as fast as they could back to Saji's home.
(Union Air Space)
In six other cities across the world, similar bombings occurred. A terrorist group calling themselves "La Edenra" accepted responsibility for the bombings, proclaiming they would continue their campaign until Celestial Being quit its armed interventions. The intelligence agencies and militaries of the three blocs were already racing to uncover whatever hole they were hiding in.
The four Flags of the Anti-Gundam Task Force soared through the skies, tearing over the expanse the American Midwest. "It's a nice day for flying, isn't it boys?" Graham remarked. "I couldn't stand sitting around the base while this was happening!"
"Got that right!" Howard replied.
"Anything's better than sitting around Hillbilly Central!" Joshua huffed. The last few weeks had been unbearable for the hotshot from Alaska. He hadn't adjusted well to being stationed in the back end of United States, and not having indoor plumbing. One time he had gone out into the woods to do his business and he encountered an actual bear…a very hungry bear at that. Joshua had to run for it before he became dinner. He had to endure the humiliation of running across the base with his pants hanging around his ankles. Both Howard and Darryl had gotten a quite a few good laughs from it.
Mark and Rick had been merciless in disciplining him, but anyone who knew the two senior officers well enough could see they were trying to stifle their laughter.
"What do you think the higher ups are going to do about this?" Darryl asked.
"I have no idea," Graham said, "It's not our place to determine that. Our job is to carry out those orders. I doubt we're even going to deal with La Edenra." The four pilots continued on in silence, looping back towards the base.
(Celestial Being's Island HQ)
As far as Celestial Being itself went, The Gundam Meisters and the rest of the Ptolemaios crew hadn't taken news of the attacks lightly, and so had relegated themselves to lying low at their earthbound camp. Wang Liu Mei had provided the use of her private yacht for Sumeragi and the girls to travel on to meet with the Meisters.
"Why are you girls all dressed like that?" Allelujah asked in disbelief.
Sumeragi put a hand on her hip, "It's camouflage, silly! No one would expect a yacht with three beautiful women on board." The tactical forecaster smirked. Feldt blushed slightly at being called beautiful. She was a little uncomfortable in the new swimsuit Christina had bought her, a two-piece with a green top and blue boyleg bottoms. The pinkette preferred the one piece she had worn the last time she was on Earth.
"And this is my favorite style!" Christina added playfully. She had on a peach colored bikini that did little to hide her gorgeous hourglass shaped figure. A very tight green t-shirt with a yellow cat's face tied at the waist covered her upper body, clearly outlining her curvy, hips and revealing long creamy legs with a pair of pink sandals on her feet.
"Christina sexy! Christina sexy!" Haro replied in its usual happy tone.
"Haro!" She giggled before looking out over the brilliant blue ocean. I wonder what Anthony is doing right now? Is he safe? She thought of the man of her heart, the brilliant green eyes and kind smile which always put the programmer at ease. She blushed slightly.
"Do you know how dangerous the situation is?" Allelujah said. Sumeragi stepped forward, hands on her hips.
"Of course I do! But there's nothing any of us can do about it until Wang Liu Mei hears back from her agents." She sighed, fanning herself. "Oh, it's so hot…we got any cold beer?" Sumeragi whined as she settled down on the padded bench. The solemn pilot of the Kyrios just shook his head in frustration. La Edenra had already killed several dozen people and the bloodshed wouldn't stop unless the armed interventions ceased.
Christina came up, "If only we could contact those agents ourselves, maybe we could make a plan of attack." Tieria came forward.
"We're a combat team, it's not our place to know about every part of the organization." Tieria replied. Christina's shoulders slumped a little. She grabbed Feldt by the arm and headed for the bow of the ship away from the others. She pushed her phone into the younger girl's hands.
"What's this about?" Feldt asked, wondering why her friend was posing.
"I want you to take a picture of me!" Christina explained, posing like a model. Feldt said nothing, just snapping the picture. "Thanks, Feldt. You're the best!" She gave the pinkette a sisterly kiss on the forehead before trotting off to her bedroom. She cued up the picture and put it into an email. 'A little present for you wherever you are in the world!' was the message. She keyed in Anthony's number and set it to him. Christina sighed, hoping to see him again soon.
(Unknown location)
Nathan was in the briefing room with his two top pilots. They had also been keeping abreast of La Edenra's activities and they were prepared to launch a strike of their own against one of the network's weapon depots. "So they finally reared their ugly head? We knew it was only a matter of time before someone tried to get us to back down."
"It appears so, boss." Reaper replied. "Whoever these guys are they don't like what Celestial Being stands for."
"My sources tell us that they're an international terrorist network called La Edenra. They want us to disarm in exchange for the lives of the civilians." Nathan snorted. "They're just afraid of what happens if we get our way…They don't want to share the planet! But by taking such aggressive actions means they've marked themselves as a target. The Ptolemy branch will probably attack their camps directly. We'll hit their main weapons depot." Nathan replied.
"Cut them off at the knees." Hawk said, his fingers clenching. "Just give us the order, boss. We'll reduce it to a smoking wreck!"
"That's exactly what I want you boys to do. Level it to the ground and leave nothing left for them to use! Bring these bastards to their knees, to their stomachs, I don't want them to even breathe!" Nathan said, his voice had the same consistency as frozen helium. These attacks had struck a personal chord in the man known as the Steel Fox. The somber atmosphere was undercut as a phone started ringing.
The gray clad Meister pulled out his phone to the consternation of his wingman and superior. Reaper twitched in surprise when he saw the email sent to him, before clicking it off. "Uh…sorry about that, boss. We'll get on it right away." He quickly left the briefing room without a single word. Hawk gave a look to Nathan and followed his partner behind.
"Hey…something you want to share with the rest of us?" He asked the bespectacled pilot as he was putting his pilot suit on.
"What do you mean?" Reaper asked, sealing the airtight zipper.
"Come on dude, you get a call during vital briefing and you just suddenly walk out without any further explanation. That is not like you at all. What is going on here?" Taka asked.
The soft-spoken Meister sighed, "If you really want to know…I met someone down on the planet before the Taribian operation. She's a real looker and just sent me a picture of herself." Reaper pulled out his phone and Hawk whistled, "Wow…of the people you could have met…it was her!" Hawk started laughing, "I'll admit she's got a nice pair of legs!" He said. Reaper gave a stern glare. Hawk held up his hand defensively, "Hey relax man! I'm giving a compliment here! She looks really good."
"Just keep it to yourself alright?" His partner replied, the front and back of his collar starting moving, segments of armor plating started rising up around the back of his neck and up over his head, a dark tinted visor then lowered over his face, locking into position. "Let's move out!" They made their way into the darkened hanger bay, the lights coming up on the Azrael. Reaper looked up at his machine for a few seconds. "You ready, Hawk?" He said to his partner who gave him the thumbs up and boarded his own machine. The Gundam slowly eased out of the hanger and into the black void of space.
Azrael was in mobile armor mode, loaded with a full loadout of penetration type GN bombs and missiles. The La Ednera weapon's depot was a heavily fortified compound and the extra firepower would be required. A couple of seconds later Hawk's machine joined him. A modified Flag painted brilliant white trimmed in dark blue, it was more streamlined than the regular Flag used by the Union, and the rifle was of a far different design. It had extension rails under the wings, carrying the same missiles and bombs the Azrael did. The sleek mobile suit fell into position on Azrael's right wing. "Ready to begin when you are, Reaper." Hawk's voice buzzed on the radio.
"Commence attack," Reaper's voice was almost robotic. The two machines dove into the atmosphere. Their target, a repurposed concrete bunker built in the days of the Cold War. The Azrael would make the initial strike, using the cover of darkness to hide its approach, made easy by the Gundam's dark paint job. "I'm on approach, bomb bay doors opening." He said monotonously. The bottom of the tail unit opened up, revealing dozens of bombs. "Letting them drop!"
Azrael sped low along the ground, letting its deadly cargo hit their target, smashing into a cache of ammo and hitting the left wing of the main compound building. A wall of fire erupted into the night sky. Hawk's Flag swooped in to deliver its cargo next. A pair of GN missiles leapt off the racks and hit the compound directly before banking right and plugging the armory and guard tower. "I'm out!" Hawk said, ejecting the rails.
"Everything's going like clockwork!" Reaper said, banking around to line up on the compound. Smoke and flames rolled out of the bunkers, making it easy for Azrael's targeting computer to spot. "Coming about to finish the job! GN Missiles locked onto target! Reaper, Fox Three!"
The top of the tail unit opened up and the VLS spouted out numerous missiles, raining down on the compound and reducing it to rubble. "And that is how you do it, people!" Hawk smirked in approval. "Not bad, boss. They're not going to be hurting anyone ever again!"
"We're not done yet, we got twelve mobile suits inbound…Hellions from the look of them." Reaper said, "You know I almost feel sorry for the poor schmucks. Let's do what we do best, Hawk!" The Azrael ejected the tail unit and switched into mobile suit mode and settled into the brush. "You set them up, I'll knock 'em down!" Hawk smirked and the Flag took off towards the enemy mobile suits, painted in a deep olive green.
The Hellions all opened fire with their linear rifles, 88mm shells streaking towards the white and blue mobile suit, Hawk smirked, weaving in through the poorly aimed shots.
A formation of three mobile suits pursued the Flag, Hawk made a high speed turn, switching into mobile suit mode. The sleek rifle came up and started firing 120mm shells, catching one with the first salvo. The other two veered in opposite directions in an attempt to catch their foe in the middle, but Hawk was prepared, one of the wrist compartments opened, revealing a long cylindrical shaped object.
"Hah, you're done!" the Hellion pilot crowed, preparing to hit the Flag at close range, to his horror, a blade of frozen fire ignited and he was cut in half. The remaining pilot gaped at the weapon the Flag held, it wasn't a sonic knife, and it wasn't a plasma blade either.
"A b-beam saber!" He choked out. The Hellion promptly turned tail and retreated towards its squadmates, but he barely got two feet before the Flag impaled the older, smaller machine right through the torso. Hawk looked on emotionlessly as the unit slid off the blade and fell a few feet before turning into a conflagration of fire, smoke, and metallic shards. The rest of the Hellions were fast approaching and it was time to finish the job. The Flag shifted back into flight mode and streaked over them.
"Get that bastard!" the unit commander hollered, the remaining Hellions got into three ship formations and bore down on the Flag. "Hah, we got him now!"
They continued streaking over the thick jungle. Hawk smirked, "Reaper…got some souls to send down the River Styx…you know what to do!" An ominous double click was the only reply. The La Edenra commander lined up the Flag in his sights, this monster had killed three of his best men and soon he'd get his revenge. His wingman closed in on both sides. He was about to give the order when they both exploded. He barely caught a glance of a magenta lance taking out another mobile suit.
"A sniper!" the commander said, he immediately began forming a plan. "You three take care of that Flag variant!" The three Hellions sent an acknowledging click and broke off, "As for us, we're going after the sniper! We'll flush him out and finish him off! No one messes with us!" The commander said to the remaining two mobile suits. The two teams broke off.
The La Edenra commander scoured the jungles, looking for the mysterious sniper. "Keep your heads on a swivel, boys. Whoever these people are, they're not rookies. They've already destroyed the depot and taken out half the squadron, stay alert."
"Copy that Boss!" One of his wingman replied, leading out in front. "Wait a second, I'm getting something here…Oh shit!" He screamed, his machine turning into a blossom of fire and ash. An ominous dark shape loomed up from the trees. The commander's eyes widened in stark terror as the sun slowly came up, illuminating the mobile suit's dark armor, Clenched in one hand was a long barreled rifle, in the other a menacing scythe, the magenta blade angrily blazing. The machine truly looked like an instrument of death. There were only three words he could utter.
"It's a Gundam!" His voice quivered in fear, a cold sweat rolling down his face. Never before had he ever seen something like this and never again would he. The Gundam's rifle came up, and the La Edenra commander realized the foolishness of challenging Celestial Being before his life ended with the magenta flash emanating from the tip of the rifle. His Hellion pulverized by the blast. The remaining Hellion attacked Azrael in a rage, pulling out its sonic blade. The Gundam simply sidestepped and swung downwards with the scythe, bisecting the terrorist mobile suit in half.
Reaper looked on impassively as the remains of the Hellion crashed to the jungle floor. He looked over to his partner, who had just finished dispatching the last of his opponents. "Well, I think that's good for a day's work. With their main armory destroyed, they won't be able to launch any more attacks. We can let the other Meisters deal with the rest of network."
(Gundam Island)
Indeed, Reaper's words held true. With the destruction of the bulk of their arsenal La Edenra was forced to give up its attacks and retreat to their various camps scattered across the world. The Union, AEU, and HRL decided they would give Celestial Being a helping hand just this one time, ordering their respective intelligence agencies to give everything they had on the terror network to the shadowy organization. Sumeragi's lips curled into an evil smile as the data rolled in.
She had assembled everyone in Exia's container. The data flowed on the screen; highlighting locations in each of the three blocs. "We have the locations of all La Edenra's main camps. Each of the Meisters will deploy immediately to a specific location around the world and wait for my signal." She addressed everyone. "Meisters, saddle up!" The three men snapped to attention.
The girls watched as the Gundams slowly rose from their slumber. Virtue emerged from the water like a great leviathan while Exia and Dynames rose from their steel crypts The GN Drives started spooling up, the telltale greenish-white particles began flowing out of the thrusters on the mobile suits back. The thrust kicked up dirt and leaves, and the Gundams lifted off. Christina shielded her eyes with her arms, her ponytail whipping around as the Gundams took off into the bright. Feldt just looked on. Watching as the two massive engines of war became specks in the distance.
"So what happens now? Are they any other orders for us?" Christina asked Sumeragi.
The combat strategist just grinned. "No girls, our part in this over, we can leave the rest to the Meisters while we hit the beach." She said.
"Really?" Christina said, looking excited. Sumeragi crossed her arms.
"You know that once this mission is over, we're going back up to space. So you should get in your fun time while you can." She gave the younger girls a knowing smile. Christina didn't need any further prompting. She grabbed Feldt by the arm and two headed for the water to go swimming.
Sumeragi leisurely strolled along the beach, her long brunette locks swaying in the tropical breeze. Her delectable, curvy figure showed through the tight, revealing purple swimsuit she wore. Sumeragi pulled her designer sunglasses down and kicked back in her lounge chair, watching as Feldt donned her pink flippers and a dive mask and went snorkeling. Christina pulled her shirt off, revealing a gorgeous toned body; the peach colored haltertop barely kept her breasts in. She slid on a pair of yellow flippers and joined her friend for a swim.
"Ahh, what a lovely day." She sighed happily, soaking in the rays. Ian walked up alongside her, watching as Feldt and Christina splashed about in the waves.
"Who would have thought the blocs would help us out. So very nice of them isn't it?" the crusty old engineer's sarcasm could have been cut with a knife.
"You realize they're just using us." Sumeragi said.
"But at least it's a step in the right direction," Ian remarked. Sumeragi pulled down her sunglasses to look at him.
"Gotta start somewhere." She said.
(Glasgow, Scotland, Advanced European Union, Azadistan Embassy)
Marina sighed; her trip was starting to go nowhere quick. Her meeting with the English representative had been delayed due to all the terror attacks. She had just finished a conversation with Shirin, talking about how one of the conservative parliament members had been attacked by a group of reformists and how it would only be a matter of time before full-scale riots broke out. It had left her in a bad mood all day. It was an uncharacteristically beautiful day. The raven-haired beauty got up from her desk and left her room.
"Eli, prepare the car." The Princess said to her longtime bodyguard.
"Where are we going, milady?" He asked.
"Just out for a drive. I need some fresh air." She said. Eli bowed slightly and went to prepare the limousine. A few hours later, Marina came out into the warm Scottish air. The sleek black car rolled outside. He got out of the car and opened the door for his princess. She gave him a warm smile and got in, Eli had been her loyal bodyguard since she was a little girl, and was always on hand to provide advice when Shirin wasn't able to.
The car drove down the highway. Marina pondered as she stared out of the window, watching the skyline pass by. It seemed like the entire world was against her, but she had been chosen to become the leader of Azadistan, and nothing would dissuade her from her mission. A spot of yellow flickered out of the corner of her eye, and to her surprise a dark brown sedan roared by, a yellow taxi in pursuit. "What the?" she asked.
Setsuna cursed as he weaved in and out of traffic, he had tracked down a cell of La Edenra operating in the city, but they had gotten the drop on him and ran away, so now he was chasing after them. Nothing was going to stop him from accomplishing his mission. An uncomfortable feeling crawled into the Kurdish Gundam Meister's stomach, remembering a time from long ago. A time in his life he wished he could forget…
(Krugis Republic, 2301)
Setsuna didn't want to believe what Ahmed was saying, their leader had selected him for a "holy mission" and he was clearly excited at the thought of fighting…and dying for the cause. "Stop! You're not going to come back alive!" His small hands grabbed at Ahmed's sleeve, begging him not to go through with it. Ahmed backhanded him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"Are you showing weakness? That's blasphemy against God! You're too soft! I'm going to do it…in the name of God!" Ahmed stomped out the door, leaving the dumbstruck future Meister there to curl up in a ball and softly cry.
Three weeks later, a public square in Ireland was torn apart by an apparent suicide bombing, Setsuna swore never again he would be so weak. It was a few days later that he would see the mysterious mobile suit as it single handedly brought an end to the fighting between the Krugis rebels and Azadistan armed forces.
Shifting back to the present day, Setsuna's face hardened. His fingers curled around the steering wheel. It was people like this that he swore to change the world. They were the worst case of scum, and there was no way in hell he was letting them escape his sight. The taxi continued to pursue the terrorists' getaway vessel. He stopped on an overpass and drew a bead on the sedan. He opened fire, but the bullets just pinged off the bulletproof glass. "Damn it!" He growled slightly, about to hop back into his taxi.
"Hey! What's going on here!" A cop called out from his cruiser. He got out and marched up to the young man, taking note of the weapon in his hand. "What are you doing?"
"Excuse me!" a voice called out. A long limousine rolled up, and a young woman got out. "I apologize for this officer. But he's with me. One of my undercover guards, isn't that right?" She gave a pointed glance to Setsuna. He simply nodded and went to his taxi. The cop could only stand dumbfounded as the two vehicles rolled down the road. He sighed, figuring there was no point in worrying about any longer and went back to his regular patrol.
(Glasgow Park)
Marina watched as the mysterious young man with the unruly dark hair and dark blue jacket climbed out of the taxi. She had been very surprised to see the driver was of Arabic descent. Hard chestnut brown eyes gave her a fierce glare. "I'm sorry, but did I do something wrong? I thought was doing you a favor by stopping that police officer from arresting you." She replied, slipping into her diplomat mode. "I didn't expect to run into one of my countrymen all the way out here. You are from Azadistan, aren't you?"
"No…I'm from Krugis," Was the young man's monotonous reply. His eyes once again were cold and merciless.
Marina's heart clenched. She remembered those dark days, when Azadistan totally decimated the Krugis military and razed the country to the ground, incorporating its territory to increase their strength. It was a dark chapter in her nation's history and she hoped to move on past it. "I'm Marina Ismail," She said.
"My name is Kamal Majirif." Setsuna replied, "If you'll excuse me…your highness. I have work to do. Have a nice evening." He said, turning on his heel to leave, not wanting anymore to do with princess.
"Wait! Wait a minute!" Marina called out, struggling to keep up his with quick strides. "Don't you want to know why I'm here in Scotland?"
"Not really, but I guess you're going to tell me anyway." Setsuna snarked. His cold demeanor put off Marina, but there was something about this young man that said she shouldn't give up on him just yet. So she launched into the reasons for her diplomatic trip.
"I'm sure you know this already, Kamal, but Azadistan is currently divided between those who wish to keep the status quo and those who desire to reform the government. It's caused a lot of bitterness between the two factions. With the regulations on oil we need access to the Solar Energy Relay, the Conservatives don't approve of this measure at all. There's more and more violence every day and it could lead to a full out civil war. If I don't do something to stem the tide soon, then they'll be sure to come."
"You mean Celestial Being?" Setsuna asked.
"Violence is wrong, but Celestial Being is nothing more than a group of fanatics, acting like they're God or something." She said, not aware how her words rubbed Setsuna the wrong way. His hands clenched in anger.
"Death is a natural part of fighting. It can't be helped." He spat out.
"It's just wrong in my eyes that Celestial Being feels the need to resort to violence without trying to talk things over." Marina said. Setsuna's hands clenched. He hit the brick wall, causing her to jump.
"People would still die even while politicians like you continued to talk!" He snapped. It wasn't often that Setsuna lost his temper, but this was hitting just too close to home for his tastes. Marina tried to explain herself but he wasn't finished yet. "Azadistan destroyed Krugis without mercy or consideration to the people's lives they were destroying!"
"We tried to reach a peaceful solution." Marina whimpered, half expecting him to hit her.
"And people still died!" Setsuna replied, his anger out in full force. "It's exactly reasons like that I can't stand politicians! Sitting in an air conditioned room around their little table, chatting about how to settle everything while people are fighting and dying in the streets, being told it's all in the name of God! Where is God in that?" Marina was completely floored by all the rage.
"You…have experienced this tragedy first hand, haven't you?" she asked. "Did you fight in the Solar Wars, Kamal?"
"Yeah, I did." Setsuna said, "I'm still fighting. Even now I still fight. It's all I know how to do." Marina felt her knees give out from underneath her, falling on her rear end as she could look up at this strange young man with such anger and rage in his heart.
"Kamal…Did the Conservatives send you to kill me?" she asked. Accepting in her heart that her time had come. She wouldn't try to resist, there was only regret that she couldn't have done more for her people.
"No, your death wouldn't change a thing about the world. My name isn't Kamal…It's Setsuna F. Seiei. I am a Gundam Meister of Celestial Being. Let it be known, Marina Ismail, if the fighting in Azadistan does continue. You can guarantee we'll be paying them a visit, and we will intervene!" He turned on his heel and stomped off to his taxi, driving away to leave the princess frozen on the spot where she fell, absolutely terrified at the notion she had been with a member of the secretive organization the entire time.
(Outskirts of city)
Setsuna stewed in his emotions, meeting with the Princess had brought up unpleasant memories that left a bad taste in his mouth. The Kurdish Meister took a few deep breaths, trying to banish the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't be weighed down by his past when he had a vital job to do. Setsuna drove out of the city into the wilderness where Exia was stored. "Deactivate optical camouflage! Priority to Setsuna F. Seiei." He issued a command to his wrist control unit, the GN particle field hiding the Gundam flowed away, almost like water washing away dirt.
The taxi sped towards the mobile suit, Setsuna leapt out of the vehicle, grabbing the lift cable and immediately heading into the cockpit. The Gundam lurched into the sky, heading out over the ocean. La Edenra was about to find out they had messed with the wrong big dog, and now Celestial Being was going straight for the jugular.
(HRL, Marshall Islands)
The Virtue flew low over the archipelago. One of La Edenra's main camps was located on the largest island. Tieria had no problem finding the place. He looked on dismissively at the armed thugs lounging about, supremely confident they would have their way and that no one would ever be able to touch them. The heavy looking Gundam's shoulder cannons swiveled into position and fired massive beams of magenta death at their target. None of the terrorists even had time to react as they all met their swift doom.
All that could be seen was a brilliant light before a giant cloud of fire and smoke mushroomed into the sky. Virtue's strike had been clean and precise, almost surgical in how it had attacked its target, but the devastation spoke volumes. The crate caused would last for a long time.
"This is Virtue, the target has been obliterated. Mission complete. I am returning to base." Tieria announced monotonously, to him it was just another day at the office; now that the minor problem was resolved it was to back work as usual. The Virtue turned and left, and all became quiet once again.
(Union, Andes Mountains, Argentina)
Lockon was attacking the second of the terror network's bases, but he wasn't being as nearly cool and professional as his compatriot was. This was the worst kind of scum in his opinion and he sending a message to every other would be terrorist that Celestial Being didn't take kindly to being told what to do by common thugs. Dynames was forgoing its sniper rifle, instead relying on its pair of GN beam pistols to lay down some authority.
The La Edenra operatives had hollowed a cliffside to use for their base, and were firing at the Gundam with assault rifles, which may have well been spitwads against Dynames's GN composite armor. Lockon usually would have thrown out a quip, but he was too angry today. "It's people like you that make me glad for people like me! I'm not holding back today, and you're going to suffer for it!" He continued to unload rounds into the cliff, pulverizing into rubble.
"Mobile suits incoming! Mobile suits incoming!" Haro beeped in its usual annoyingly cute way. A trio of Hellions approached Dynames, but Lockon was in no mood to play. He stowed his pistols and pulled out his trusty rifle.
"It's like I told your buddies just now…" He replied, squeezing off three quick shots, downing each mobile suit with a single hit. "I'm not holding back today…so expect to suffer!" He growled.
(AEU, twenty miles off Scottish Coast)
It didn't take long for Setsuna to find his target. The La Edenra cell was using a merchant vessel to cover their escape, but Exia wasn't about to let them go that easy. "Exia, engaging target!" He said. The GN Blade flipped out. The Gundam crashed onto the deck of the vessel, causing the bow to rise out of the water. A single swing of the blade hacked off the conning tower. Setsuna took a moment to survey his handiwork.
A pair of heavy metal claws burst up through the deck of the stricken freighter, latching onto Exia's legs. "What the?" was all Setsuna had to time to say when he was pulled into the water. He then saw the cause of it, " A mobile armor? It's old, but I'm surprised they even have something like that!" The MAJ-03 Shuichai had been service with the Human Reform League years ago, obsolete by modern standards, it was perfect for a ragtag group like La Edenra. Sadly, it was still junk compared to the likes of Exia.
A pair of metallic pincers opened, almost seeming like the mouth of the beast. Exia's blade swung back into position, chopping the manipulator arms clean off. It launched a barrage of torpedoes at the Gundam, causing a massive geyser to bloom upwards, the pilot of the Shuichai saw Exia's shield float to the bottom of the ocean. "Did that get it? Is it dead?" he asked nervously.
His answer came as the proximity alarm starting screaming; Exia dove down on the hapless mobile armor, GN beam dagger in each hand. Setsuna swung downwards burying both weapons into the mobile armor. He then activated the beam sabers, hacking the remains of the manipulator arms off, letting it float down into the depths where it was crushed by the ocean pressure.
"Exia, target destroyed." Setsuna intoned. The Gundam rose up through the depths, taking off into the evening sky. As the Gundam climbed higher, he saw a passenger jet soaring by. Exia soared over the top of the plane, and whom did he see but Marina, gawking like she couldn't believe her eyes. He gave her a cold expression before heading back to the island, perhaps it was worth looking into his old homeland after all, just to see what was going on…
(Tokyo, Union)
"In international news, La Edenra, the terrorist network that ordered Celestial Being to stand down from its armed interventions was thoroughly destroyed by the very organization they threatened. The attacks were swift and decisive, and it appears there were no survivors after the Gundams were finished." The reporter continued, but Saji paid it no mind. He was too busy looking over to Louise, her eyes glued to the television. Ever since the attack on the bus, she hadn't left his side. All she could do was watch the news come in about the various attacks.
"Hey…you alright?" Saji asked softly. "I know you've been upset since the bombing, but it's over now." He turned off the TV, the screen going dark. "I don't think we need to watch this anymore."
"I'm not alright." Louise whispered, curling up into a ball and sinking in the couch. "I just feel like the whole world is messed up. It's like nowhere is safe." Saji smiled and pulled her into his embrace. Despite being bossy and irritating at times, he couldn't stand there and see her scared and frightened.
"Saji…" Louise blushed.
"It's okay, Louise." He whispered, running his hands through her soft, sunkissed locks. "I'm still not sure about Celestial Being or their motives, but I do have to say they're heroes. Kind of like Batman really, misunderstood, but still trying to do the right thing. I wish I were as strong as they are. That way I could protect you."
Louise giggled. "Oh, does that mean you're going to start dressing up as a bat and fighting crime? I'm flattered!" Both of them started laughing. Her blush returned, "But…I'm glad you're so concerned." The blonde Spanish beauty leaned over and kissed Saji right on the lips. "I love you, Saji Crossroad."
"I love you as well, Louise Halevy." Saji said, feeling his own face warm up. They curled up on the couch together, the TV ignored as they soaked in each other's love.
