Chapter 21: War's End
The GENESIS was fired again, this time destroying the Lunar Base of the Earth Forces. The neutral forces split up as the Dominion and the nuclear force set their sights on the Plants colonies.
While the strongest mobile suits of the neutral force went to aid the ZAFT defence forces intercept the nuclear missiles before they could destroy any of the colonies, the A.C. universe pilots stayed with the Eternal and the Kusanagi to break through the fighting at Jachin Due to reach the fortress and stop the GENESIS.
"Well at least it's five fully armed Gundams plus two warships against a crap load of these piles of junk!" Duo said as both ZAFT and the Earth Forces ganged up on them.
"I have to agree with you on that… it makes the battle much easier with it being so spread out between us and with each of us fighting at our maximum force. Besides, they are fighting each other too." Heero said as the Wing Zero's twin buster rifle erupted, destroying several ZAFT and Earth Forces mobile suits.
The Deathscythe Hell swung its beam scythe and in its wake were several explosions. "You know… I honestly have to question why they explode pink. Of all the colours that exist, why are the explosions pink?" He asked incredulously before dodging incoming fire from ZAFT mobile suits.
"If you have time enough to be talking idly, then you aren't fighting hard enough!" Wufei snapped in irritation as the Altron's flamethrowers burned through several suits' engines, causing them to explode.
"It probably has something to do with the way they are powered. We don't know what their battery cells are made from, so we don't know if a chemical in it could be causing the unusual explosion colour." Quatre explained casually as the Sandrock slashed its way through two Earth Forces mobile suits.
"However, would that explain why the ships seem to explode in a similar colour fashion?" Trowa questioned as the hail of bullets and missiles from the Heavyarms destroyed a ZAFT warship.
"True… and I don't have an answer for that, but I do know that we're going to regret it if that damn monstrosity is fired again…" Quatre growled grimly as the Sandrock took out several more mobile suits.
They kept a close and wary eye on the GENESIS as the old piece that fired on the Lunar Base was quickly being replaced with a new one.
"That… we can all agree on…" Heero said grimly as the twin buster rifle ran out of power and the Wing Zero quickly replaced it with its twin beam sabre, slicing several mobile suits in half as they converged on him, hoping to take advantage of the Wing Zero as it was forced to change weapons.
Several moments into the fighting, news came in that the Justice was returning to help destroy the GENESIS. However, news also reached them that Mwu La Flaga and the Strike were destroyed defending the Archangel from an attack by the Dominion, which itself was destroyed by return fire from the Archangel.
"Damn… he was a good man…" Duo said sadly before destroying some missiles that were aimed at the Eternal.
The others nodded in silent agreement as Lacus made one last plea to ZAFT to try and stop them from using GENESIS again.
As the Calamity and Forbidden were destroyed and a new Gundam piloted by Rau entered the fray, the casualties rose further with the destruction of an escape pod from the Dominion carrying Flay Allster and the Dominion's crew.
A hard decision was finally made by Lacus as the Providence began to close in on them. "Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron… please return to the Eternal at once. Do not worry about us. We will be able to hold our own."
As the Providence was intercepted by the Freedom, the A.C. Gundams reluctantly retreated into the Eternal's hangar.
They returned to the bridge just as Athrun and Cagalli announced that they were heading into Jachin Due to destroy the controls of the GENESIS.
Lacus' eyes narrowed before their arrival caught her attention.
"Why'd you want us to return?" Quatre asked worriedly.
"I had heard from the others about you. Despite your words earlier, you had initially wished to stay out of our war. I am granting your wish." She raised a hand to silence the protests that were raised. "I understand that your minds have changed during the course of this war. However, I have other tasks that require your skills."
They stared at her in surprise as she floated from her chair and hovered in front of Duo.
"Mr. Maxwell, this battle will be the last, I am certain of it…" Her voice quieted as she whispered to Duo so none of the others could hear.
His expression darkened with her words before she passed him a slip of paper.
He nodded. "I'll be back in time for the final fireworks." Duo said grimly before leaving the bridge.
"Can you please help repair the damage to the Eternal and the Kusanagi? I do not believe this war will drag on past this point, but keeping damage to a minimum will help keep the ships from being destroyed. Our mechanics will instruct you on what has to be done." The others nodded before making their way off the bridge.
Lacus stopped Heero before he could go with them. "I need you to break into Jachin Due's computer system to help Athrun. I fear he may not be able to stop them on his own." The fear for her friends in her eyes made Heero nod as he went over to a control panel.
"We already have access to their system, but we need to get past their security." She hovered over his shoulder worriedly as his fingers flew over the keyboard.
He hit several dead ends before shaking his head. "They know it's an outside source. There's no access no matter what tricks I try… of course, I doubt there is any sort of an external access. Your fortresses are designed differently."
She nodded in understanding. "Thank you for trying Mr. Yuy."
Heero frowned as he stared at the battle raging out in space before he went to join the others.
The others returned to the bridge when Duo informed them that he was on his way back. They stared at him in shock as he came in with blood pouring from his cheek.
He made a dismissive wave at Lacus as she asked if he needed medical attention before pulling her over to a corner and talking quietly to her.
She nodded in response to whatever he was saying before she took a package he had been holding.
"I thank you deeply. Now please go and get that wound looked after." She said as they returned to the others.
"Once I do that, we're heading out to the battlefield… there's something we want to check. This may be the last time we see you guys."
Andrew nodded at them as Lacus saw them off the bridge with a worried expression.
"What do you think that means?" She questioned.
Andrew shrugged. "What's in the package?"
She shook her head. "I am sorry Mr. Waltfeld, but it is a secret…"
Andrew nodded in understanding as the Archangel limped into visual range.
The doctor examined Duo's wound while he cleaned it. "This looks like a bullet wound…"
Duo shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."
The others watched as the doctor began to stitch it up.
Once that was finished, Duo hopped from the table and thanked the doctor.
"All right, let's go." He said quickly before heading towards the hangar.
"What was in the package?" Trowa asked.
Duo shook his head. "Even if it doesn't involve us, I'm not saying anything. She wanted it kept a secret and I intend to take it with me to the grave."
The others rolled their eyes as they entered the hangar and ran towards their Gundams.
Jachin Due began to self-destruct, which was the signal for the GENESIS to fire one last time: at Washington D.C. on Earth.
The Justice was forced to self-destruct inside to set off a nuclear explosion which would stop the GENESIS from firing.
However, the GENESIS was able to begin before the explosion stopped it, causing a small blast to destroy what remained of the Providence Gundam. The Providence and the Freedom had been battling in front of the GENESIS, and the Freedom was engulfed in the explosion created when the GENESIS was destroyed.
The Gundam pilots grimly looked at what remained of Jachin Due and the GENESIS as they passed the Strike Rouge, which was following Birdy in search of the Freedom's remains.
"I hope Kira's all right…" Quatre said sadly.
"Aren't you glad our universe never resorted to such measures?" Duo asked as they began a radar sweep of the area.
"I don't know… dropping a colony onto the Earth could be considered just as bad…" Trowa said as he examined his radar.
"Found one!" Duo roared triumphantly as he told them the co-ordinates.
"Could it really lead home?" Wufei asked warily as they began to make their way to the spot.
"There's only one way to find out…" Heero said as they stopped near its location, safely out of the gravitational pull's range as they watched debris from mobile suits, Jachin Due and the GENESIS vanish into the nothing that was the anomaly.
"Archangel, Kusanagi, and Eternal… Good luck to you all in the future. We hope everyone is all right. We're leaving now and we hope you all find peace once and for all." Quatre said, representing all the A.C. pilots.
"Roger that. Take care, you guys. Good luck in your world." Andrew replied as similar messages came in from the Archangel and the Kusanagi.
The Gundams pushed themselves a slight bit closer, into the range of the anomaly's gravitational pull and shut down their thrusters.
The Wing Zero was the closest and the first to be pulled in, followed by the others in the same order they had been taken before.
The Strike Rouge found the Freedom's remains and Kira's unconscious form floating beside it, tears streaming from all three weary pilots' eyes as the Three Ships Alliance slowly made their way into the debris to find them, listening to the speech presented by some Plants officials regarding new peace talks between ZAFT and the Earth Forces.
Author's Notes: Yep, nearing the end. Sorry for the delay in uploading this, but my dad's comp was out of commission until this week. A bit of my own confused curiosity made it into this chapter with Duo's question about the pink explosions that were so prevalent in Gundam Seed. I haven't found any really good sources that explain that, so it's always just been a bit of a mystery. Hope you enjoy!