Gundam SEED: Different Reality
by DreamersLTD
If you can dream, then anything is possible. – DreamersLTD Motto
Disclaimer: Same as before...
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(Previously)
Elsewhere, Sai watched over Flay as she slept. She had to be given a sedative to calm her down. Meanwhile, Lacus was escorted back to her room. She felt horrible about what had happened.
And while the ZAFT MS retreated for the time being, one man had an evil smirk on his face. 'Yes... That's it Miri. Let your anger further you along the path that you were meant to travel... As the Ultimate Coordinator!!!'
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(Archangel)
Murrue watched as the ZAFT mobile suits from the immediate area. She glared at Natarle, sickened, disturbed, and upset by what had just transpired. Natarle had threatened the safety of Lacus Clyne in order to protect the Archangel and everyone on board, but that plan partly backfired when the Strike got its hands on the Vice Foreign Minister. Now, instead of a possible peace negotiation, it was a critical hostage situation. One girl for the life of the George Allster and four damaged, but surviving EA ships. Natarle's present actions made her a complete hypocrite, especially when she constantly badgered them about military regulations. Just hours ago, the Archangel swept through the remains of Junius Seven like scavengers and now had to use a civilian girl like a human shield. With the fate of the crew, the Vice Foreign Minister, and the four surviving EA vessels weighing heavily on her shoulders, she grew more and more frustrated... and lost.
"We've only managed to dig ourselves into a deep pit thus far, and I think that it's going to get deeper if we don't do anything shortly." She said. "They have left for now, but they'll be back in God know how long."
Natarle sighed as she straightened her collar out. "At least I have given us a chance to reorganize and plan." She said, "We need to get to Earth or the Moon as fast as possible."
"Yes, that would nice, but you forget one thing: We still have a VIP and four ships held hostage. Add to that the fact that once they're gone, we'll be breathing vacuum moments later." Murrue sighed. At that moment, she was at a loss on what to do next. Then, a temporary flash of light and energy was detected.
"Um, Captain?" question Pal.
"What is it now?"
"We lost half of the Bernard."
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(Hangar)
The moment Cagalli landed the Zeo Astray back in the hanger, she launched herself from her cockpit right up to Mu. "Just what the hell is going on here?" she demanded. "I thought that this ship would have more morals than just using a high-ranking civilian we saved out of goodwill as a human shield!"
"It's just as it looks like." The older pilot said, "We're trying to stay alive." He turned away and headed back to the bridge.
"Oh yes. We're trying to stay alive. By hiding behind an innocent civilian!?" Miri furiously added. "Is this an army or a band of thugs? What was the Captain thinking, letting Natarle do that?"
"Is this really the way the Atlantic Feds handle things? By turning an innocent woman into a hostage!?" growled Canard.
Mu turned about face and leaned over Carnard, Miri, and Cagalli. "The Captain had nothing to do with this!" he shouted, Miri only flinching a bit. "The first mate did it because she thought it was the best way to keep us alive! It may be sad, but war can drive people to do wicked things. In the end, though, we're nothing more than spineless weaklings."
Miri said nothing further as Mu left. She heaved a heavy sigh and headed towards her quarters where she hoped to get some rest, regardless of the situation. As she was leaving, she heard Cagalli mutter, "Damn it. And I was starting to like this ship! I'm going to have a chat with the Captain!"
"Hey Cagalli! Wait up!" called Canard.
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(Bridge)
"Captain Ramius! Why won't you let me hand back Lacus Clyne!? If I get captured, it won't hurt you in any way!"
Before the captain could speak, Natarle had to interrupt. "We simply can't hand over Ms. Clyne! We have no guarantee that they will actually trade Vice Foreign Minister Allster to us! They're in the exact same position we are in!"
"You're wrong! They have all the time in the world! They have several Mobile Weapon Platforms, 5 Nazcas (the advance group + the Vesalius and 2 others), and 3 Laurasias! They also have two supply ships to further augment them! Even as we move, they're already boxing us in!" Canard pointed towards the visuals. On all the monitors, the Archangel was very nearly boxed in. Two Laurasia's were covering the sides, two Nazca's were covering them above and below, and the Vesalius plus two other Nazcas were shadowing them from behind. All of them were just out of the Archangel's maximum effective firing range. Two MWP's were following from a distance, while the remainder remained locked on to the hostage ships; one of which had no bow. "The only reason they haven't boxed us in completely is because our forward arc has two positron cannons. Look! They're already deploying 'mines' (delayed attack missiles waiting for a target to enter their attack envelope)!"
Another flash appeared, followed by a warning beeping afterwards. "Captain, we lost the Bernard."
Murrue gritted her teeth in loss. "But, even if the trade was completely successful, they could still sink us in a heartbeat. I'm sorry, Cagalli, Canard. But with the way things are going, we just can't hand Ms. Clyne over. Dismissed."
"You'll regret this..." muttered Cagalli. "If you don't hand her over before the last ship is gone, then I'll be leaving this ship, and leaving you short one battle-ready MS." She turned and stalked out.
"Even though I'm Eurasian, I'm not bound to you Atlantic Feds in any way. I too will leave should you decide not to hand over Ms. Clyne. And, I'll take the Strike II with me. If you should dare interfere, I will not hesitate to fire my weapons within the hangar." Canard then turned and went down a different direction.
"... Well, that didn't go well at all," muttered Mu.
"... All I can say is that I have a very bad migraine and an equally bad feeling about this," muttered Murrue as he had to recline her chair for a moments rest.
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(Another part of the ship)
Miri was nearing her room when, as she turned the corner, heard frantic screams wails, immediately identifying the voice as Flay's. She carefully went in the direction of the infirmary. When the door opened, she saw Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey trying to calm her down. She looked half-crazed as she shook, cried, screamed, and tossed. Her face and hair were a complete and utter mess. Sai was holding her close, trying to comfort and calm her.
"This can't be true!" she wailed, "It just can't be! Why? Why couldn't they just force them to give my daddy back!?" she was quivering.
Miri steeled herself and cautiously stepped inside. "Flay?"
Her head snapped and bloodshot and hate-filled eyes fixed on her. "You lying bitch!" she screamed, "You promised that everything would be all right because you'd be there! So why didn't do anything!?" Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't even put up an effort, didn't you?" she accused. "It's all because you're one of those damned Coordinators!" Flay then stood and took threatening steps towards Miri.
Her words cut deep into Miri. The entire reason she was fighting was that she was only one of four who could pilot an MS to defend the ship. She now felt like everyone thought her as a spy or a traitor.
"You are a stupid, retarded, and genetic mistake of a bitch! You are inhuman! And all abominations like you should just DIE!!!" Flay roared.
That was the last thing needed to cause Miri to snap. "I'm a stupid, retarded, and genetic mistake of a BITCH!? If anyone is any of those things, it would be YOU!!! You are nothing but a shallow, misguided, disgraceful, and pathetic excuse of a woman! All you care about is yourself! You don't even try to understand how others feel nor do you try to comprehend what your actions result in! In fact, your very actions led to your own father's capture and four surviving ships held hostage!!!"
"Oh, and like some inhuman abomination would know!?" Flay attempted to scare Miri by thrusting her face right in front of Miri's.
Miri's vision was clouded by red. With surprising speed, she had grabbed a hold of Flay's neck and slammed her hard into the nearby wall. It was her turn to lean in dangerously close to the struggling girl. "Well at least this... inhuman abomination was willing to show some humanity by dragging in your sorry lifepod and by attempting to defend this ship! Had this abomination not done so, then your sorry little life would have been another piece of space debris and nothing more than a statistic! Don't think for one minute that I don't have feelings and emotion!" Miri then let go of Flay and punched the wall so hard it dented. "And as for the record, I never promised."
She couldn't think straight anymore and turned to run out. She crashed into Cagalli, quickly apoligized, then ran wherever her legs took her. Tolle, Kuzzey, and Cagalli tried to call after her, but she ignored them completely.
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(Miri's location)
No one could understand what she felt as she fought, especially since she fought against her own race. She had tried so hard to fight off the aggressors that attempted time and again to sink them, but instead of receiving comfort, all she received were disappointing remarks. She eventually found herself in the 0-Gee Observation Deck and tried to clear her thoughts by staring into the vast space of stars (the view only being ruined by the ships that closely followed). Her mind was filled up with so much confusion, rage, fear, loss, and want of acceptance that tears flowed freely from her eyes. Finally, she couldn't contain it anymore. "RAAAHHH!!!" she wailed, before letting her body go limp from the tightness.
A moment later, a voice asked, "What's the matter?"
She went alert and lifted head up to see Lacus' face. Lacus reached out her hand in an attempt to console Miri, but Miri dodged her touch.
"Why are you out here?" whispered Miri as she attempted to pull herself back together.
"Taking a walk."
She sighed. "Look, you can't just keep wandering out when you feel like it," she told her, "People might start thinking that you're a spy for ZAFT."
"But Mr. Pink loves to go on walks." She said, pointing to her robotic pet, "He hates being confined. Whenever he finds a locked door, he just finds a way to open it."
Miri simply couldn't believe that the little (demonic) pink robotic ball was the reason she kept getting out of her room. She watched as Lacus lightly kicked off the floor and floated closer up to the window.
"Is the fighting over?" Lacus asked as she stared at the ZAFT vessels.
"Yeah, for now anyway," she answered, "Because of you."
"Me?" Lacus then remembered how that came about. "Oh, yes." She paused before looking back to her. "You seem sad, but I'm sure that whatever happened wasn't your fault." She smiled.
Miri felt a bit perturbed. "You see, I... I really don't want to fight, since I'm a Coordinator. And what's worse is my (denies boy)friend, Dearka, is one of the pilots that I had to face so..."
"Dearka?" she suddenly asked, "Do you mean Dearka Elthman?"
Miri nodded and explained everything to her, omitting no detail. She listened intently as she told the story. After she finished, she floated over to her and took her right hand. "I understand completely." She said, "Both you and Dearka are good people. This is so sad that it's turned out this way."
A bright flash signaled the destruction of half of another EA ship. A moment of silence passed.
"You actually know Dearka?"
"Yes, Dearka is in fact one of my fiancée's fellow pilots." She revealed, "Kira says that Dearka is annoying most of the time. He along with Yzak, Nicol, and Athrun are subordinates to Kira and Commander Le Creuset."
Miri could just see Dearka driving a man up the wall with his bright (and annoying) personality. She had to let out a short laugh. "So Dearka hasn't changed a bit," she said. "He even made me go crazy too sometimes."
"Really?" Lacus' eyes gleamed in interest.
"Yeah, its true. But if we had met under better circumstances, then you would have seen his better side, for a lack of a better term."
"That would have been nice." Lacus paused. "Miss Athha, you can come out now."
Miri turned in surprise as Cagalli sheepishly came out of hiding. "Were you here the whole time?"
Cagalli replied. "Yes, just to make sure that you were okay. But I heard the rest of the conversation." She then turned to Lacus. "So you know Athrun, correct?"
"Yes I do, but as a friend. Why, do you want to know a bit more about him, seeing that you'll have to marry him soon?"
Cagalli's cheeks tinted pink. "Um, well... Oh fine. Yes. I'll admit it. I want to know about the man I'm destined to marry. To be honest, I am actually afraid. I'm afraid that he would be just like his father... and would treat me like a slave just because I'm a Natural." Cagalli had to look away, embarrassed.
"Oh Cagalli, I understand. No need to be embarrassed. I'll tell you about Athrun. He's not what you think. He's kind, caring, but somewhat introverted, shy if you will. He rarely questions orders, just because he's hesitant about any unexpected things that may pop up. He loves making robotic pets, which by the way, Mr. Pink is one of his inventions, just because Kira begged him to make something nice that I could play with. Anyway, Athrun is nowhere like his father. He has his late mother's looks and personality. But to be honest, I think he's a bit naive and easily misguided."
"Oh... I never knew about his mother. What happened?" questioned Cagalli.
"She was in Junius 7."
The three girls were silent for a long moment. Then, another flash of light signaled the end of the second EA ship.
"Why is that MS pilot so aggressive?" asked Miri after another moment of silence.
"Kira is just very protective of me. After all, we are both engaged and we both truly love each other. Threatening me to him is basically signing your death warrant."
Miri suddenly missed Dearka more than ever. Miri hoped that she and Dearka hadn't had a falling out. But hoping for that would only make the next battle more difficult. Miri was getting very tired, especially with being called a traitor and with Lacus being used as a hostage and threatening her life when she had done nothing wrong. "This is just wrong."
Lacus tilted her head, not quite understanding what she was talking about. Neither did Cagalli. "What are you talking about?"
"Please come with me," Miri said, abruptly taking Lacus's hand. She nodded, trusting her.
"Oh... I get it. Alright then, I have an idea. I'll launch out with you, while having Canard pretend to go after us for leaving. Then, we'll hang back while you make the exchange."
"Really? You're not going to turn me in?"
"No," Cagalli said. "Using a girl as a shield is something that the bad guys in movies do. So I take it that you agree?"
Miri nodded and gave Cagalli a quick rundown of the specifics as they went down the corridor towards the pilots' locker room. Miri and Lacus slipped inside while Cagalli served as a lookout.
Miri pulled a spare spacesuit out of one of the lockers and held it out to Lacus. "Here, put this on over what you're... wearing..." she looked her over, realizing that there was no way that Lacus could possibly to slip the suit over such a detailed outfit.
Lacus saw her confusion and knowingly grinned. As she quickly disrobed the lower excess skirt, Miri blushed and looked away, out of courtesy. All of a sudden, a momentary surge of pain hit Miri. She doubled over and clutched her head. 'Not now...' she glanced at her Control Wristband. She needed to take another dose of ZSER. Lacus, who had noticed, asked "Are you alright?"
Miri recovered and said, "Yes, I just had a sharp, sudden headache. It'll go away." 'Only if I take my medication,' she added in thought. Lacus gave her a skeptical look but said nothing.
Once they had both suited up, they exited the locker room just to have Cagalli laughing. "Since when did Lacus get pregnant?" she giggled. Miri just shook her head.
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A couple of minutes later (and Cagalli notifying Canard), they were within empty hanger. The plan was that Canard would come in a couple seconds later should anyone else notice their exit and pretend that he had no knowledge of what was happening. He would then board his Hyperion Gundam and take off after them to 'bring them back'.
The two entered the Heavyarms L's cockpit and Miri started up the OS. It was going to difficult to pilot the Gundam with Lacus inside the cockpit as well (and the fact that she was beginning to suffer from ZS's Effects on her), so she hoped she wouldn't have to fight at all. Moments later, Cagalli appeared on a side screen. "Ready?"
"Yes."
"What's going on here?" Murdoch's voice shouted through the intercom, "What are you two doing!?" He and other mechanics and several soldiers had rushed in the hanger.
Miri switched on her external speakers. "I'm going to open the launching bay hatch. Everyone evacuate the hanger right now. This is my only warning."
Murdoch and the others immediately turned and made a mad dash towards the exits. While Miri was stepping onto the launch catapult, Cagalli strapped the Lightning Striker Pack to her MS and stepped to the next launch pad.
On the bridge, warning signals and sounds blared, causing everyone to jump in surprise. On the screen everyone saw the Heavyarms L followed a moment later by the Zeo Astray streak out from the ship.
"Miri!" Natarle yelled into the intercom, "What do you think you're doing?"
Canard's face appeared on one of the monitors. "It looks like the she's taken the girl." He said, playing innocent and running his fingers through his hair as if it was complicated and annoying. "I heard their plan just as they were heading for the launch bay. I wasn't able to stop them in time, so I'm going to go out and bring them back. Canard, out."
As the comm went dead, another flash of light signaled the partial destruction of a third vessel.
"What?!" Natarle gritted her teeth and clenched her fists under they hurt.
"... Well, That didn't go well. They made their decision without us. Captain, please radio Murdoch and tell him to prepare the Strike II. I'm going to make sure that they come back alive." With that, Mu turned and ran out of the bridge.
Among the commotion and chaos, Murrue partly grinned. "Well, it seems that we lost. All hands, prepare for possible combat!"
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(Vesalius)
Rau had just finished his shower when his desk notified him of an incoming transmission from the bridge. He switched on the radio. "Yes, what is it?"
"Sir, we've detected three mobile suits from the Earth Forces legged ship. It's heading this way."
'This is unexpected,' he thought. "I'll be there right away." He cut contact then dressed himself. He then went over to his desk, pulled out a bottle of pills, and took two. Whatever he was suffering disappeared as he put on his mask quickly and efficiently. With his facade back to normal, he went straight to the bridge.
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(Outside)
Miri put her radio on all ZAFT frequencies (remember her MS designation) and switched on her intercom. "This is MS unit ZGMF-H96-003, Heavyarms Leopard of the Earth Alliance's battleship, Archangel (odd, I know). I have Miss Lacus Clyne with me and I am willing to hand her over in exchange for Vice Foreign Minister George Allster and the release of the surviving EA vessels," she paused. "Her release will come under three conditions, the first being that the ZAFT fleet will cease pursuit, the second being that only the Buster, and two other MS and their pilots will come to meet with me, and third, as I had just stated, the return of the Vice Foreign Minister and the release of the EA vessels." She then hesitated before adding, "If any of the conditions are not fulfilled, then I cannot guarantee her safety."
Lacus remained calm as she knew that it was an empty threat. She understood what Miri was doing, and she trusted Miri to not harm her.
Miri's focus then momentarily wavered. 'Ugh... my head...' she thought. Small beads of sweat was beginning to form on her forehead.
Lacus, feeling something was off, glanced at Miri. Miri was holding her control sticks and seemed to be panting a bit. "Are you alright?"
"Ugh... Yes. Don't worry about me."
Meanwhile, Cagalli had taken up a sniper position with the EM Cannon activated to cover Miri while Canard primed his beam-submachine gun and had his shield systems ready for a moments notice.
"Do you think that they will attack?" questioned Canard.
"It's possible," responded Cagalli.
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(Vesalius)
On the Vesalius, Ades and Rau carefully listened to the incoming transmission.
"What could they be up to?" Ades pondered.
Before the Commander could offer an opinion, Kira's and Dearka's face suddenly flashed on one of the screens. They were currently standing at one of the comm stations within the hanger. "Commander, please allow us to go out," asked Kira. "I'll be the one to confirm if it is really Lacus!"
Rau then asked, "All right then. How about you Mr. Elthman? What's your reason?"
"One, that was part of that girl's requirements, and two, I have a plan. I request to take Nicol and Yzak along."
"Oh? But we still don't know what their intentions are." Rau cautioned. "Nor do we really know if Miss Clyne is in fact aboard that mobile suit."
"Please Commander, I'm asking you to trust me on this," (nearly) begged Dearka.
Rau seemed to contemplate the matter momentarily. "All right, you, Yzak, and Nicol may go also."
"Thank you, sir." Both Kira and Dearka saluted and then ended the transmission.
"Are you sure of this, Commander?" Ades asked.
"No, not exactly." The Commander turned to leave, but paused a moment. "Stop all vessels and prepare my CGUE just in case. Also, tell Athrun to be ready.
Ades nodded and saw to it immediately.
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(Archangel)
Back on the Archangel, everyone watch intensely as the events unfolded.
"Captain, they're actually doing as she says." Natarle said to Murrue, "This would the perfect opportunity to launch an attack!"
Mu chimed in on the intercom. "If we were to do that, missy, Miri may just turn around and attack us. But then again, maybe not."
Natarle was speechless. As a military officer, couldn't fathom such a betrayal.
Murrue let out a small sigh. It's been only a couple of weeks since she had become a Captain, yet here she was, already burdened with so much. Officer Pal then reported that the Buster, the Strike (with an escape pod), and the Duel were closing in on the Heavyarms L, and Murrue hoped everything would go well. They didn't notice a faint distortion moving in right behind the Heavyarms L...
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(Space)
As soon as the Buster, Duel, and the Strike launched, a faint distortion could be seen slowly exiting the Gamow's launch bay and positioning itself for a surprise. Meanwhile, Dearka was the first to initiate contact.
"... Is this Miriallia Haww I'm speaking to?"
"Dearka? Is that you?" Miri hailed over the radio.
"Yes. I need to confirm if Ms. Clyne is really there with you."
"Understood." Miri then turned to Lacus. "I need you to wave to them via the camera." She then opened a visual link to Dearka. "Here she is."
Dearka smiled, then opened a link to Kira. "Sir, I confirm Ms. Clyne's presence. She's safe and unharmed."
"Thanks. I'll take over from here." Kira then moved in front of Miri. "May I have her back?" he asked as he reached out a hand.
"Not just yet. I need confirmation on Vice Foreign Minister Allster's presence."
Kira sighed, but responded. "Very well. See for yourself." He held the pod out in front of Miri's head (MS-wise). Miri scanned and visually confirmed that Allster was there.
The Minister then attempted to talk to Miri. "Don't hand that Coordinator over! She can be used–!" Kira shook the pod warningly.
"Open your hatch," Miri then commanded, as her MS activated the Chest Beam Gatlings and took aim. At this, the Duel raised its rifle in warning while he Buster had its weapons in Shotcannon mode. Kira remained calm and did as he was told.
Thankfully, his flightsuit protected him against the vacuum of space, but even with backup, the Chest Gatlings of the Heavyarms L could still end him. However, Kira trusted his subordinate's (Dearka in this case; remember Kira's White Coat status) knowledge that he knew Miri well enough and that she wouldn't do anything stupid or rash. He watched in silence as the Heavyarms L's hatch open to reveal a slim figure and someone else in a standard spacesuit.
"Go ahead and say something." Miri told Lacus.
"Hmm?"
"He can't see your face from here. Let him know that it's really you."
The figure waved. "Hello Kira, it's wonderful to see you again. I'm completely safe and unharmed!"
Kira could no doubt recognize the voice immediately. He then breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "Confirmed, it is Lacus." He radioed the Vesalius.
"I'll hand her over to you at the same time you hand over Mr. Allster."
Kira, not wanting to show his impatience, sighed again. "Very well. Here. With his hatch still open, he slowly moved the pod containing the Vice Foreign Minister towards Miri.
"Canard, please take the pod. Now," radioed Miri.
"What? Why!?"
"Because, I still have their princess, and besides, only you have an impenetrable shielding system."
"Alright... Fine. But take care of yourself." Canard slowly stowed his weapons and slowly approached the Strike.
Miri then radioed the Strike. "He'll be picking up the Minister. As soon as he's away, you may have Lacus."
"How can I trust you?" Kira said, as he narrowed his eyes.
"Because... Even if I did try to escape with her, I would be too slow." Miri then slowly nudged Lacus. "Please, help me out here."
"Kira," she stated. "I promise that she won't leave. I'm still here."
"... Alright. I trust you Lacus."
She giggled despite the situation. "As I, you."
The Hyperion by now was reaching out for the pod containing George Allster. Kira reluctantly handed the pod over, then turned to face the Heavyarms L again. "Get him back to the ship now, Canard," commanded Miri.
"... Understood." With that, Canard turned and left.
"Now, here's Lacus, as we promised." Miri then gave Lacus a well aimed shove, propelling her out of Miri's cockpit, and straight into Kira's outstretched arms.
"Lacus! I'm glad. Glad that you're safe and here with me now."
"So am I, Kira. So am I."
Kira then turned. "Thank you, Pilot." Then he turned back to Lacus. "Let's go." Lacus only responded with a nod. Then, as she was getting situated in the Strike's cockpit, she waved to Miri as the hatch closed. A moment later, the Strike was on its way to the Vesalius.
As Miri closed her hatch and powered down her chest weapons, she heard Dearka come over the radio (and a secured link at that). "Miri! Please, come back with us! There's no need for you to stay with them anymore!"
"B-but, my friends!"
"Weren't they on the shuttle that left Artemis?"
"N-no... they ended up staying onboard the Archangel..."
"Damn it. Then, if you don't want them dead, help us capture it! Destroy the engines or something!"
"I... I just can't! I'm sorry Dearka, but I just can't!" Miri was beginning to lose it. The pressure within her head was making her lose focus. "Ugh... My head..." she muttered.
"Then, if you won't join of your on will, then I will have to take you back with me!" Dearka then terminated the transmission and shouted, "Do it now!"
A black MS then appeared behind the Heavyarms Leopard... With its Glepnir claw and wire already tightening around it. The Blitz had slowly and effectively laid its trap for the Heavyarms L.
"Wha!?" Miri exclaimed as the wire ensnared her unit, and prevented her from effectively escaping.
"Miri!!!" Cagalli yelled. She then fired two bursts of the EM Cannon at the Blitz... only to have it blocked by the Duel's shield. "Damn it!!!" She attempted to fire several more shots.
While the Duel covered the Blitz, the Blitz effectively ended any chance for the Heavyarms to escape by pinning it with its arms. "This is Nicol! I'm heading for the Gamow! Cover me!"
On the Vesalius, once Ades reported that the Strike was leaving, Rau ordered the fleet to start its engines and attack as he launched in his CGUE, immediately followed by Athrun.
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(Archangel)
As for the Archangel's crew, they had immediately detected the oncoming enemy mobile suits. Officer Pal informed Murrue that, "The ZAFT fleet is beginning to move!"
Mu's agitated voice came through the line, "Crap, I was afraid this'd happen!" He was waiting in the Strike II, ready to launch. "Permission to launch, Captain?"
"Granted." Murrue's voice replied.
The ace pilot didn't waste a moment and shot out of the hanger.
Canard, who was just coming in, radioed Mu. "Lieutenant, what's happening?"
"It looks like they're going attack, now that they have their little princess back!"
"What!?! Shit!"
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(Space)
Rau contacted Kira and informed him to take Lacus back to the Vesalius. Kira complied as Lacus was first and foremost, his priority. Second, he didn't dare go into battle with his beloved in his cockpit. And third, Kira trusted the other pilots to complete Dearka's plan.
But he was surprised when she suddenly leaned forward and grabbed the microphone.
"Commander Rau Le Creuset, stop this at once!" she ordered, "Do you really intend to start hostile actions while I, the official representative of the Junius Seven memorial service, am in your custody?" Her voice displayed a tone of authority and maturity the likes of which her fiancée had never heard before.
After a short pause, the Commander's voice replied, "No ma'am. All units! Return to the ship!"
Kira was surprised by her sudden action. He was reminded of the fact that she had her father's strength and determination as he watched her quietly shut off the comm system and just smile innocently.
Unfortunately for Miri, she struggled a bit within the Blitz's arms and wire. "Damn it... let, go!" But her unit was effectively dead. And to top it all off, a sudden, overwhelming surge of pain course through her body, but mostly in the head. "UUUAAAHHH!!! My head! It hurts... Make it stop!!!" Another wave hit her, this time, it robbed her of her ability to scream. At that moment Dearka came on-screen. The sight that he saw confirmed his worst feeling.
"MIRI!!! Miriallia!" he yelled. "Answer me! How bad is it!"
"Bad... It hurts so much... Make... Please make... It stop..." she whispered. Her control wristband was warning her (and Dearka) of her dangerous situation. Just as Dearka was about to say something else, Miri finally fainted.
"Miri!? MIRI!" Dearka then opened a channel to Nicol. Hurry and get her to the Gamow! I'll be there in a moment!"
As for Cagalli, she panicked when she found out that Miri was lost. She attempted to fire off several more shots, but each one missed... or were blocked by a shield. "D-damn you!!!"
She and the Lieutenant, who had just arrived, watched as all the MS immediately pull back, with a captured Heavyarms Leopard in tow. There was nothing that they could do.
"Let's get out of here before anything else happens." Mu said, resignation in his voice.
Cagalli quietly turned and followed the Zero back to the Archangel. Her mind was on Miri's well-being. Lacus was okay, but Miri seemed to not respond the Cagalli's hails.
"That girl was quite an extraordinary pink princess, wasn't she?" Mu asked, but Cagalli didn't answer. "Hey, something wrong, Princess?"
"Yes," answered Cagalli. "We lost Miriallia."
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To Be Continued…
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For all possible questions regarding this turn of events, Yes, Miri needs A drug. Yes, Miri is suffering from ZSE (Zero System Effects). Yes, Miri needs ZSER (Zero System Effect Reducer). Yes, she acted somewhat like a druggie on Gamma Gleptin withdrawls between 30 minutes to an hour after the medicine is gone. No, she needs it only once every 1 to 2 months. No, it has nothing to do with her status as a Perfect Coordinator, but everything to do with her Zero System Synchronization Implant (mentioned in one of the beginning chapters). Yes, this is where some divergence begins. And Yes, soon I'll be introducing 'new' characters into the lineup and one very special character that's going to be paired with Canard. To the ShihoxYzak lover(s), I may have to move her in sooner than I intended. Be on the lookout!
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