Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X
-----------------------------------------------------------
Phase 09- The Disappearing Light
As Milly walked down the hallway, she heard noise coming from the cafeteria and then saw that it was packed with civilians. All of them were talking happily about the future rendezvous with the 8th Fleet and she smiled as she went on. Entering the shower room, she was surprised to see Flay inside dressed only in her undergarments with something white on her face.
"Um…Flay?" she asked, "What are you doing? And what's that stuff all over your face?"
"Just a facial mask," Flay replied, peeling it off and rubbing her cheeks a little, "As the daughter of the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Alliance, I can't afford to be a mess. He's aboard one of those ships, you know." Miriallia just sighed and headed into a shower. "I just wish I could do something about my hair," Flay added as the brunette took her clothes off and turned the water on, "But I suppose this will just have to do with us being in an emergency situation and all." Milly shook her head and rolled her eyes, bored of Flay's talking about herself. On the bridge, the crew was standing by as a message appeared from the main flagship Montgomery, which was being escorted by the ships Law and Bernard. Currently, the screen showed the Montgomery's Captain and a second man sitting next to him.
"Greetings, Archangel," the second man said, "My name is George Allster, I'm the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Alliance. I'd like to personally thank you for rescuing the civilians from Heliopolis and I must say, I was quite surprised when I saw my daughter's name on the passenger list." At this, Murrue looked up in surprise, distracted from the drink that she was holding in her hand at the moment. "I was wondering if it was possible for me to see her face before the rendezvous," he added.
"Vice-Minister Allster, I'm sure that you will be able to see your daughter afterwards soon enough," the Captain of the Montgomery replied.
"Well, that's Flay's dad to you," Sai remarked when the message had ended. Meanwhile, in the Mobile Suit dock, Kira and Ryo were both working on their respective Mobile Suits when Murdoch went into the Strike's cockpit to check on Kira.
"Hey, kid," he said, "What are you up to this time?"
"Just calibrating the offset and adjusting some other things," Kira replied, looking up from his work, "Mr. Murdoch, are the Strike and X Gundams really going to be needed anymore after this?"
"Well, it's your job and Ryo's until we've carefully rendezvoused," Murdoch laughed, "Heck, the two of you can stay after that if you want."
"It's no joke," Kira muttered to himself after Murdoch left to check on the other pilot.
"Well, Ryo, what are you doing?" he asked, "Calibrating the offset like Kira?"
"Actually," Ryo said, "I'm trying to see if I can program the Scylla Cannon on this thing so that it can be used while it's in Mobile Suit mode, 'cause it gets kind of annoying to just switch back and forth, you know what I mean?"
"Ah, I hear ya, kid," Murdoch smiled before adding, "Say, don't take this as an insult or anything, but to me, you look almost exactly like Kira, except your eyes and hair are different colors." Ryo blinked before glancing at a reflective screen and then that was when he realized just how similar he was in appearance to his friend.
"Hey…you're right," he said and chuckled, "Wow, I guess we have more in common that I thought!"
"I guess so," Murdoch grinned. The happy mood was all throughout the ship. Lacus sang a song of peace in her room and elsewhere, Mu drifted around in a sleeping bag, taking a nice long nap after the day's work. Back in the hangar, Ryo and Murdoch left the X Gundam's cockpit and then Ryo popped into the Strike's cockpit.
"Hey, Kira, guess what?" he asked.
"Yeah? What is it"? Kira said, looking up again.
"Have you ever noticed just how much we look alike?" Ryo said and then held up a small mirror was lying on the walkway so that Kira could look. After looking for a few seconds, Kira's violet eyes widened in surprise and he laughed as well.
"Hey, I never noticed that!" he smiled, "Wow, today really is a weird day!"
"You bet! I feel so good, I could just sing!" Ryo grinned before pulling Kira out of the cockpit, "Come on! Let's go do something fun!"
"H-hey! What're we…"
"I've got a deck of cards in my room somewhere," Ryo said, still smiling, "After we get it, let's round up the others and then I'll teach you guys to play Big 2!"
"Big…2?"
"Yup! Greatest card game since poker!" the black haired Coordinator replied, dragging Kira out of the hangar, "Well…it technically is poker, but who cares? It's fun anyway!" Kira laughed at his friend's enthusiasm and let him pull him through the hallways, which received them quite a few stares from passing by personnel.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"The Legged Ship is currently en route towards the 8th Fleet," Ades said, "It's obvious that they mean to rendezvous with them in order to either re-supply or to gain an escort to the Lunar Headquarters."
"Either way, we cannot allow them to join together," Rau frowned, "If they do, we will have lost all hope for capturing the Legged Ship before it reaches the Lunar Base."
"Does this mean that we'll have to engage them, Commander?" Athrun asked, although he knew that this was stupid question because he knew what Rau was going to say.
"We're soldiers, Athrun," Rau said, "No matter how important the search for Miss Lacus is, we must keep the Legged Ship from reaching the 8th Fleet." Athrun nodded, although he wasn't entirely thrilled with the plan. Back on the Archangel, the crew was excitedly anticipating the long awaited rendezvous with their allies.
"We'll be meeting up with the Montgomery, Bernard, and Law soon," Pal said, "Wait…there's something…"
"What is it?" Murrue asked
"Something's interfering with the radar," Pal frowned, "There must be a Neutron Jammer somewhere out here." Shock filled the room and the crew members looked at each other in question.
"It must be a ZAFT ship," Mu said, "Nothing else would have create such powerful interference at this range." Meanwhile, the Vesailius had launched three Ginn units and Athrun was standing by in the Aegis waiting for launch clearance. As he waited, his father's words came back to him and then Kira's did as well. Making up his mind, he focused on the objective.
"Athrun Zala on Aegis, launching!" he said and the Mobile Suit was launched from the catapult before its crimson Phase Shift Armor activated. At the same time, alarms went off in the three ships that there were enemies at hand.
"Postpone the escort of the Archangel!" the Captain of the Montgomery ordered, "Launch all Mobile Armors! Keep those Mobile Suits away from the ships!" George frowned in disappointment but stayed in his seat. On Archangel, the bridge began picking up signal waves as well.
"We've got a big battle coming up ahead," Chandra said.
"Captain, the Montgomery is issuing an order for us to withdraw at once," Pal added.
"What's the enemies' strength?" Murrue asked.
"Three Ginns...and the X303 Aegis!" Tonomura announced.
"The Creuset Team! Here!" Natarle asked, startled.
"Captain, we'd better launch the Strike, X, and Zero!" Mu said.
"Go to it!" Murrue nodded, giving her assent. Out in space, the battle wasn't going so well for the Earth Forces, as they had already lost several Mobile Armors and not one Ginn had been shot down. "All hands, level one battle stations!" Murrue announced over the speakers, "I repeat, all hands report to level one battle stations! All noncombatants please remain in your quarters!" Kira, and Ryo were already hurrying to the locker room to get their pilot suits when suddenly, they saw Lacus standing outside her room.
"Miss Lacus!" Ryo shouted, "Get back in your room, please!"
"Oh, hello there," she smiled, "What's going on? Everything's getting so rowdy."
"There's a battle going on," Kira replied, "Please follow the Captain's directions and stay in here."
"Will you two be fighting?"
"Yes, now in you go!" Ryo said and shooed her back into her room before the two hurried off again. Not too long after, however, the two ran into Flay, who was looking for them.
"Kira, Ryo!" she said, "My daddy's onboard that flagship!"
"W-what...?" Kira asked while Ryo just groaned.
"Come on, we don't have time for this!" he said and thought at the same time, "This is getting ridiculous…"
"I'm begging you two," Flay pleaded, "Please save my daddy!"
"Ugh, first your shouting at us because we're Coordinators and now you're begging us for help?" Ryo asked irritably, "After all you've put us through, how do you expect us to…"
"Don't worry," Kira nodded, "We'll make sure he's okay."
"Why the hell do you keep telling her that 'we'll' do something whenever she asks!" Ryo shouted when they left, "I'm telling you, she's gonna be a big problem in the future! Just you wait, Kira!" Out in the battlefield, more and more Mobile Armors were shot down and the Aegis began to dish out some serious damage.
"Escort Ship Law is under fire!"
"It's really not the time for this…" Athrun thought, "What was the Commander thinking?" Even as he thought this, he hit a switch and the Aegis began to transform.
"X-303 Aegis is heading towards the Bernard!"
"The Aegis is transforming into Mobile Armor mode!"
"It's going to fire it's Scylla Cannon!" the Montgomery Captain exclaimed, "Escort Ship Bernard, pull out now!" It was too late, a burst of concentrated energy shot from the Aegis' "claw" and punctured right through the ship, destroying it in a single shot.
"Shot down by our own stolen weaponry! I've never heard of such a sick joke!" George Allster frowned, "Shoot it down! Do whatever you must to destroy the Aegis!"
"Vice-Minister Allster, please get onboard the life pod!" the captain requested.
"Don't be ridiculous!" he said, "Under these circumstances-!"
"Sir! A Ginn has penetrated our final line of defense!" At that same time, Mu had already launched in the Mobius Zero and Kira and Ryo were standing by.
"Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri, proceed to catapult launch!" Milly said, "The enemy forces consist of the Nazca Class ship, three Ginn units, and the X303 Aegis. Good luck, you two."
"Kira, Ryo," Sai added, "Flay's dad is onboard the Montgomery…please do your best…"
"We know that," Ryo cut in, rolling his eyes, "She told us while we were on our way here; she was practically begging us to save the guy…" As he said this, the two Mobile Suits were loaded onto the catapults and as the doors opened, he thought to himself, "Well, here I go. This is my chance to change the progression of the war for the better…"
"I'm not fighting in order to kill," Kira thought, fingering his controls as the Aile Striker Pack was installed, "I'm fighting to protect…and to save Flay's dad…"
"Everything checks out!" Miriallia announced, "Go ahead, guys!"
"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam! Blast off!"
"Ryo Mouri, X Gundam! Let's rock!" The catapults activated and the two Mobile Suits were propelled from the ships as the cables snapped off, their Phase Shift Armor activating as they took flight. On the deck, Flay watched in wonder as the two pilots flew off into the battle, prepared to engage the enemy.
"Ready the Gottfrieds and the Igelstellung guns!" Natarle ordered, "We've got to protect the Montgomery at all costs!"
"Gottfried cannons number one and two are fully charged!" Tonomura announced, "We have a Ginn in our sights!"
"Fire!" Both of the Archangel's Gottfried cannons opened fire and successfully destroyed the ignorant Ginn.
"You fools!" the Montgomery's captain shouted, "I gave you an order to pull out, Lieutenant Ramius!"
"With all due respect, sir," Murrue replied confidently, "When an allied ship is under fire, I cannot just idly stand by and watch!"
"Enemy reinforcements, sir!" Ades announced.
"How many are there?"
"Two Mobile Suits and one Mobile Armor!"
"So, they've finally taken my bait," Rau thought with a smirk, "Now, I will destroy them once and for all." Meanwhile, the Strike and X Gundams had followed the Mobius Zero to the battlefield and Kira was shocked at what he saw.
"W-what's this…?" he muttered, looking around. The Escort Ship Law was belching smoke and the Montgomery wasn't much worse for wear.
"It's nearly demolished," Mu sighed, "Kira, Ryo, I want you to go back and tighten the defenses around the Archangel." Kira sat there for a while and then Flay's words came back to him.
"Please save my daddy!"
"Kira? Come on, we're heading back," Ryo said over the radio, "I'm sure that Mu can handle this on his own." Kira hesitated and then stepped on the pedal, boosting towards the damaged Montgomery. "Kira!" Ryo shouted and went after him immediately, the Mobile Suit's wings splitting into the trademark "X" shape as the thrusters ignited.
"Stupid kid!" Mu scowled, "If the two of you and I get shot down, then all is lost…!"
"Lieutenant Flaga, I'll keep an eye on Kira!" Ryo said, "I'll see what I can do about the Ginns, but you'd better do your share too!"
"I'm more used to giving orders to pilots than I am receiving them from one," Mu replied, "But I'll go with your advice this time." Meanwhile, Athrun was making another run by the Law when his sensors reacted to something.
"That's…the Strike!" he exclaimed, "Kira!" He immediately shifted the Aegis back into its Mobile Suit mode and went forward. This time, however, Kira aimed the Strike Gundam's beam rifle and fired several shots at the Aegis. "Stop, Kira!" he shouted.
"Back off, Athrun!" Kira replied, "I don't want to fight you!"
"You're the one who should give up!" Athrun frowned, "Why are you, a Coordinator, allying yourself with the Earth Forces!" The Aegis continued to dodge shots from the Strike as the X Gundam flew off elsewhere. "When it comes to mobility…" Athrun said, "You're no match for the Aegis!"
"Aren't you the one who was so opposed to war!" Kira shouted, firing again. This time, the Aegis dodged and then drew a beam saber before flying at the Strike, who put its rifle away and reached back before drawing its own beam saber from its Aile Striker Pack. Before long, the two units had clashed with one another and were locked in a fierce melee battle. The Mobius Zero, on the other hand, was busy fighting another Ginn when all of a sudden, a second one appeared out of no where and fired, damaging the craft.
"Dammit," Mu cursed through gritted teeth, "I can't stop them with Zero alone!" With that, he used his Linear Gun and Wired Gunbarrels to destroy the first Ginn but just as the second was about to finish him off, a burst of pink energy smashed into its cockpit and destroyed it. "Thanks, kid!" Mu said gratefully to the X Gundam as he turned and flew off back to the Archangel, "I owe you one!"
"Think nothing of it!" Ryo grinned, "You just hurry up and get that thing fixed!"
"What's the position of the enemy ship?" Murrue asked.
"I can't find it!" Kuzzey replied, "Maybe it's been shot down…"
"Don't be ridiculous! This is the Creuset Team we're talking about!" Natarle replied, "Search harder!" At that moment, the door opened and every turned to see that it was Flay.
"Miss Allster, please return to your quarters," Murrue said, "Now is not the time for a stroll."
"Flay, what are you doing here?" Sai asked.
"My dad…" Flay said, "Where's my dad's ship? Is it okay?"
"Escort Ship Law has just been shot down!" Neumann announced and Flay panicked.
"Where are Kira and Ryo!" she demanded, "Let me talk to them! I have to tell them to…"
"Somebody get her out of here," Natarle groaned and Sai got out of his seat and led Flay into the hall.
"Flay, calm down, I'm sure that it's gonna be okay," he said assuredly but then the ship shook. Flay screamed and tried to go back to the bridge but Sai managed to restrain her. Just then, they heard something coming from one of the rooms and they both recognized it as Lacus' singing. It was shortly after Sai left that Flay got an idea and rushed into Lacus' room, causing the occupant to look up in surprise.
"Come!" Flay said dangerously, "Follow me!" Back in space, the Strike and Aegis continued to fight and the X Gundam joined the fray, using its oversized beam sword to assist the Strike. Just then, Ryo noticed something in the debris and he recognized it as the Vesailius.
"There!" he thought, "Now's my chance to take out their ship…I just hope this works…I don't want a repeat of last time…" Thinking that, he opened the cover on the dashboard again and his finger hovered over the button momentarily before he steeled his nerves and pressed it. At once, the screen changed to show the X-shaped power meter and the X Gundam's wings unfolded into a full "X" while the Satellite Cannon rotated into position. "Let's see now…" he thought, calculating some numbers in his head, "If a fully charged shot was enough to split a colony in half, I'd only need about…25 power to ensure a hit…" As he thought this, a beam of light came hurtling from the moon and struck the cockpit, causing the pale blue components of the Mobile Suit to glow brightly as the wings shone brilliantly in the black of space. Meanwhile, on the Archangel, the door to the bridge opened again and the crew turned to see Flay with Lacus in her grip.
"Flay, now what…?"
"Tell them that we'll kill her if they keep shooting at my dad's ship!" Flay demanded, "Tell them now!"
"Flay, what are you doing!" Miriallia asked, "Let her go!"
"Go ahead!" As the crew tried to calm Flay down, the radar began to react to something.
"Huh? W-what's this?"
"What is it?" Murrue asked.
"For some reason, the X Gundam's power output has suddenly increased!" Neumann reported, "And it's still going up!"
"I'm picking up a major increase in thermal energy coming from the X Gundam," Chandra acknowledged. This greatly startled and confused the crew and not just that of the Archangel.
"Sir! One of the enemy units has locked on to us!"
"Just one?" Rau smirked, "No matter, there's no way that just one unit can break through our shields…"
"Sir, the enemy unit's thermal energy is going up to an impossible level!" the pilot said, "At this rate, whatever weapon it's using will have enough power to wipe us out with one shot at twenty-five percent charged!"
"What!" Rau exclaimed, "Let me see those readings!" He floated down to the controls and sure enough, the readings were as clear as daylight. "How is this possible? There's only one unit capable of such power but…" Rau thought but then it dawned on him, "Could it be? The Earth Forces have captured a prototype X Gundam….?"
"Call back the Aegis!" Ades ordered, "If you can't stop that unit from firing its weapon, then divert its course!"
"Aegis, return to the ship at once!" the voice blared over Athrun's radio, "Repeat! Report back to the Vesailius! Engage the enemy unit nearby immediately!"
"What?" he thought, "What could they possibly mean?" Nonetheless, he flew back in the direction of the ship and then saw a strange light in the distance. A closer look revealed it to be one of the enemy units and he saw that it was aiming its weapon in the direction that the Vesailius was in. That was when it all clicked. "No you don't!" he shouted and transformed the Aegis into Mobile Armor mode and gunned the thrusters.
"This ends now, Creuset!" Ryo shouted but at that moment, he sensed another unit approaching him and checked the monitors to see the Aegis approaching. "Crap…Kira!" he said, "Hold off the Aegis until I can get a clear shot!"
"Right!" Kira nodded and fired the Strike Gundam's beam rifle at the Aegis. The problem was, the crimson Mobile Suit was much too fast and his shots missed. The Aegis' "claw" opened up and managed to grab onto the unsuspecting X Gundam from behind at exactly the same moment when Ryo pulled the trigger.
"Shit! Abort, dammit, abort!" Ryo cursed, slamming the button again and again in a desperate attempt to cancel the firing sequence but it was no use, the stored up energy erupted from the Satellite Cannon's nozzle and since the Aegis was still moving, the beam moved as well. Eventually, it had cleared a path through the debris, damaged the Vesailius, and finally engulfed the Montgomery's remaining Mobile Armors as well as the Montgomery itself in a deadly stream of white energy. By the time the blast faded, there was nothing left of the ship. "No…no, no…not again…." Ryo muttered, shock filling his every nerve, "No…this can't…I didn't…" Memories of Junius Seven came flooding back to him and he let out a long, harsh cry; a cry filled with the anger of his failure and the sorrow of his past deeds. "GOD DAMMIT!" he shouted, pounding on the controls with his fists, "Why! Why can't…why can't I ever do anything right for once! Why do I have to kill all these people and cause so much pain to others! Why me! Aren't there enough genocidal maniacs in existence! Why do I have to be among them!"
"Wh-what…what was that!" Murrue stammered, shocked by the sight.
"The…the Montgomery has been destroyed!" Neumann exclaimed, "The entire escort fleet has been…obliterated…!"
"O-obliterated…! No…no, it can't be…" Flay gaped, her eyes bulging from her head as her pupils dilated to the size of a pencil eraser, "They promised me that he would be okay! They…promised me…" At this, shock overcame her and she fainted right there on the bridge while Sai called out to her and Lacus and Murrue looked on in pity.
"Captain, we have to get going!" Natarle shouted, "We can't just sit here! Captain!"
"I realize that!" Murrue said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, "Call back the Strike and X Gundams! The Archangel will withdraw from this sector."
"Kira! Ryo!" Miriallia said, still shaken, "Return to the Archangel!"
"In the middle of a battle?" Kira asked, "And…there might be an escape pod with Flay's dad on it…"
"It's unlikely that they would have had time to launch the escape pod under such circumstances," Neumann replied, startling Tolle who was sitting nearby, "Besides, it would have been wiped out along with the ship in that blast."
"Where is it!" Kira frowned, ignoring his words and flying off to search.
"Come back at once, Kira Yamato!" Natarle shouted, "What's going on with Ryo Mouri?"
"I don't know, he's not responding," Milly replied nervously, "Ryo? Ryo, are you there? What's wrong? Ryo, please respond!"
"Enemy ship sighted!" Tonomura announced, "Wh-what's this…the enemy ship's main guns are locked onto us!"
"What!"
"It's been hiding in the debris…behind one of the destroyed Escort Ships!"
"Emergency retreat!" Murrue shouted, "Get us out of here!"
"There's no time for that!" Natarle responded and then went up to Kuzzey's seat and grabbed his headset.
"Ensign Badgiruel, what are you intending-"
"Attention to ZAFT ship! We currently have on board Miss Lacus Clyne…" Natarle said into the headset, "The daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne!"
"What!" Ades exclaimed and even Rau raised his eyebrows in surprise. Athrun and Kira stopped their struggle to listen.
"By chance, we happened upon her life pod and took her in for humanitarian reasons!" Natarle continued, "However, if you persist in attack this ship, the safety of Miss Clyne cannot be guaranteed!"
"A dirty trick! Using a civilian as a hostage!" Athrun shouted, infuriated by the turn of events, "Is this your sense of justice, Kira? Fighting alongside such treacherous company!"
"Athrun…"
"I'll get her back," the green eyed Coordinator said, "That's a promise."
"Our army does not submit to threats!" Rau frowned in response, "If she really is the daughter of the Supreme Council Chairman, then she should be prepared to die an honorable death in battle rather than go on living as a prisoner!"
"Commander!" Ades suddenly interrupted, "As the Captain of this ship, I cannot risk any harm coming to Miss Lacus! As of now, I propose that we retreat until we can devise a strategy to retrieve her!"
"Hmm, very well then," Rau nodded reluctantly, "Give the signal to withdraw." The signal was given and the Aegis left and Strike began to return to the Archangel. However, Kira noticed that the X Gundam had not moved at all since it had fired the Satellite Cannon and he grew concerned.
"Ryo? Are you okay in there?" he asked, drawing near but all he got was silence. Worried for his friend, he had the Strike drag the X Gundam back into the Archangel's Mobile Suit hangar.
"Ensign Badgiruel!" Murrue fumed, "That was a completely unacceptable and uncalled for-"
"I'll take any punishment you give me later!" Natarle retorted, "But for now, I won't let the Archangel or the Strike and X Gundams be destroyed!" Murrue fell silent, for she knew that the ship would have been shot down if Natarle had not intervened.
"Haro, Haro, does not compute…" Lacus' Haro said, floating around its owner.
"Someone bring Miss Clyne back to her room," Natarle sighed and Tonomura quickly got up to escort a slightly upset looking Lacus back to her room. Meanwhile, in the hangar, Ryo had quickly come out of the X Gundam's cockpit and then fled from the hangar, ignoring the people who called out to him. Not bothering to change out of his pilot suit, he found an isolated closet and opened it before smashing his helmet into the panel, causing it to shut and then lock itself when he had gone in, leaving his helmet to drift around in the hallway. As soon as he was alone, he slid down to the floor and curled up into a ball before tears began to flow freely from his eyes, the burden of what he had done still heavy on his mind and body.
-Phase 09: End