Chapter Twenty Four: Dogfight Over Panama
A storm of bullets soared around and above Carrus' head as he clutched Mayu by the shoulders. Mayu ran in front of Carrus, struggling to keep looking in front of her as the pair rushed into the main Mobile Suit hanger. Kayos slowly backed into the doors that Carrus had bolted through, firing a pair of pistols toward the pursuing soldiers, Twi cartwheeling after him. The guards ran toward the door that Kayos closed behind him. Their eyes jerked at the sight of an onyx canister with a pink note on it that had fallen onto the ground, which simply read, 'surprise!'
Kayos had ducked behind cover, as the bomb on the door exploded with a loud bang. Looking up with a chuckle, he laughed at the prank that the guards fell into. "Heh! Great work Twi!"
"Nevar saw it coming! I be leet!" Twi chuckled.
"Come on! We gotta go!" Kayos leaped to his feet, bounding towards the Heavy arms cockpit and under the metal hatch, flipping a few switches and toggling some buttons. Twi on the other hand, readied himself within the Deathscythe as Carrus shuffled Mayu into the powered down Eternal Freedom. Carrus leaped into the Freedom himself, flicking the switches as he leaped in to the seat, as Mayu clutched to the back of the seat.
"Damn it… why'd they have to be that destructive…?" Carrus frowned.
"I know…" Mayu whispered. "But we still need to get out of here at whatever cost, right?"
"You're beginning to sound like Casval La Flaga." Carrus began to grumble. "It's real irritating."
"Carrus?"
"Hey! You two ready?" Kayos called over the comm, as he shoved a microphone over his head and set his microphone to fully tune, all while he settled into the seat of the Gale Strike Gundam.
"Shut it!" Carrus snapped angrily. "We didn't need to kill them you murderer!"
"Yeah, we didn't need to kill them if you didn't want to get out with the same quantity of blood you had when you got in." Kayos answered as he powered up his Mobile Suit. "Look, these guys are soldiers, prepared to lay down their lives, right? You let 'em survive in a battle, and you'll only hurt their pride."
"… And he kinda sounds like my dad…" Mayu whispered to Carrus softly.
"I noticed." Carrus growled as the Gale Strike and Deathscythe began to rush out of the hangar. "Look, just hang on and don't squirm. We're going to be flying, and that means a rougher ride compared to what I was doing in the Strike months ago."
"Okay." Mayu nodded, clutching the back of Carrus' seat. She watched as the Deathscythe launched in front of the Freedom, followed closely by the Gale Strike. "You sure we can escape?"
"Hey… look who you're talking to!" Carrus smiled. "I promised I'd get you outta here, and damn it! I'm going to!"
"Now that's hot…" Mayu chuckled in Carrus' ear, as the Freedom began to run out of the hangar. As it approached the open doors, Carrus flicked a switch, the wings of the Freedom spread, and it flew out of the building, as the Heavyarms detonated, throwing all surrounding Mobile Suits to the ground in a rush of flame and pressure.
"Whoa… whoa!" Carrus jerked up on the controls, and Mayu gripped tighter on Carrus' chair as the Freedom took to the skies. "There we go again! You just blew up-"
"That was for Weiss…" Kayos interrupted. "Don't lecture me now. He would've wanted one last chance to throw our enemies off, all to complete our mission."
"Oh spare me the sentimentality!" Carrus jerked his head to the side upon hearing the sinister voice. As the Freedom hovered over the burning base, the Gale Strike and the Deathscythe spun around to spot the Judgement, flying at Carrus, his right beam Claymore raised over the shoulder as Raven swooped in on his prey.
(M.N: Shuumatsu no Anji, Sahashi Toshihiko)
"Carrus!" Mayu screeched loudly, almost immediately, Carrus slammed his feet down on the pedals, and the Freedom jolted forward as the Judgement lodged its Devine into the tarmac below.
"Son of a bitch!" Carrus roared as he jammed on the controls violently, trying to evade the Judgement's left sidearm, which had pivoted toward him, firing off several beams in his direction. "Was he just waiting for us?"
Mayu clung tightly to the chair, as the Freedom swayed to and fro away from the beams that scorched the terrain around her, the beams grazing against the hull of the Freedom. "We need to run Carrus! We can't compete with that monster!"
"I know, damn it!" Carrus growled, raising the Railguns on the hips, and firing three rounds from each cannon into the Judgement. Before the smoke faded, Carrus squeezed the trigger again, and the Impulse cannon in the centre of the Freedom's torso surged into the Judgement's location, causing a large explosion that blanketed a large portion of the airstrip in thick smoke.
"You get 'em?" Twi called out, as the Deathscythe hovered just over Carrus' head.
"Don't count on it." Carrus scowled. Sure enough, multitudes of beams blazed from the smoke, and the Deathscythe and Freedom scattered. While they escaped, Raven's roars of laughter echoed through the speakers, and the Judgement stood straight on the same spot, covered by a sphere of black and silver specks. "What the?"
"The fuck is that sphere?" Kayos spat from his console, the Gale Strike looming behind the Judgement.
"Some new weapon?" Mayu exclaimed.
"What, this old thing?" Raven sniggered. "Oh, my GN field isn't anything too special. It's just a way of utilizing GN particles to make up for the limits of PS armour against that all powerful Impulse Cannon of yours…"
"Bastard…" Carrus clenched. "You can't take me without some kind of super weapon?"
The very insult from Carrus made Raven snort loudly in amusement. "Please. You're not that special. This isn't just for you, rather, to destroy an army of… say… ZAFT's finest? Or maybe given how I'm seeking to take them out, a one man assault on the Earth Alliance's most fortified bases?"
"That thing's worse than those Destroy Gundams…" Kayos snarled.
"Worse? What makes you think that Innovator boy?" Raven chuckled, alerting Carrus as to Kayos' identity.
Kayos roared, as the Gale Strike dived, drawing its two ribbed swords and swinging them on top of the Judgement's GN field, the blades slowly began to penetrate the GN field, but were quickly stopped when the forearms of the Judgement revealed two built-in Beam Sabres, which parried the swords effortlessly. "Maybe that psychotic ego of yours gave you away!"
"Hah! Like you haven't killed enough of the Earth Alliance just now!" Raven snapped. "Your hands are just as red as mine!"
"I knew when to stop!" Kayos was quick, his boosters surged, and the Gale Strike landed, swiping both arms of the Judgement away with one swipe, and thrusting a sword at the cockpit of the Judgement, when a sidearm slammed the Gale Strike away, forcing the thrusting sword to drop to the ground. Suddenly, the Deathscythe lunged from behind, swiping its Beam Scythe along the back of the Judgement, before Raven caught the pole with one of his freed arms and kicked the Deathscythe away from its trademark weapon, crushing it in hand.
"All you knew how to do was pick a fight you couldn't win, Innovator." Raven was smirking into his view screen, knowing full well Carrus was watching him, looking helplessly at Kayos and Twi as they tried to keep Raven away from him.
"Damn it Carrus!" Kayos cried out. "Get outta here!"
"But…!" Mayu called into the screen. "We can't leave you!"
"Mayu's right!" Carrus said with a fiery determination in his eyes. "I refuse to let you two get killed alone!"
"Better the two of us die rather than all four of us!" Kayos snapped, as the Gale Strike got to its feet, and drew its beam rifle, firing off a couple of shots into the sidearm of the Judgement. The GN field deploying instantly and fending off the shots.
"Besides!" Twi snapped, drawing a pair of Beam Sabres from a fallen Jegan. "Kayo knows that if he stays behind, I'm stupid enough to follow him!" The Deathscythe sprinted toward the Judgement, leaping and slashing in a crossing fashion that called for Raven to parry with a Devine, the beam erupting from his right sidearm and pushing Twi's Suit into the ground, slowly crushing its legs under the pressure of the massive weapon.
"And we can keep him off you as long as possible!" Kayos answered, lunging at the distracted Raven, discreetly drawing a dagger from the Gale Strike's hip holster, as the sword swung into the left sidearm's Devine.
"'Keep him off you'?" Raven sniggered as the Gale Strike revealed its disclosed dagger, plunging it at the Judgement's neck. "How retarded do you think I am?" The Judgement suddenly slid backwards, forcing the Gale Strike to fall toward the Deathscythe, allowing Raven to swipe at the extended arm of the Gale Strike with a Beam Sabre, cleaving the arm at the elbow.
"Kayos!" Carrus screamed, watching as Raven swung his freed left hand Devine through the torso of the Gale Strike, cleaving the Mobile Suit in two. After a few moments, a pod flew out the back of the Gale Strike, and the Mobile Suit exploded.
"Now… where was I?" Raven chuckled, not paying attention to the Deathscythe, whose knee joints had been crushed, leaving Twi to flail the torso about pathetically. "Oh yeah… sweet, sweet revenge against that Freedom…"
"N… now what?" Mayu stammered.
"I… I don't know…" Carrus was jittery, Kayos and Twi lasted little more than a minute, and Raven was simply staring at Carrus, expecting him to make the first move.
"Well? You coming?" Raven snickered, as his right Devine lowered to the neck of the Deathscythe. "Or do I gotta kill someone to make you get down here?"
Carrus began to show how terrified he was, he knew Raven could see the clumps of sweat that fell down his face and neck, and couldn't control how to show himself to his opponent. "You… you wouldn't…"
"Look at my face, Yamato Junior!" Raven yelped happily. "Tearing this guy open isn't a problem for me! Or do I gotta choke that bitch in your cockpit first?" Mayu yelped, reaching for her neck in shock on instinct hearing this. She and Carrus were speechless, as the sun began to set over the burning base. The entire setting was almost apocalyptic, as the Judgement stood defiantly on the tarmac. "Well? I'm waiting!"
(M.N: Trans-AM Raiser, Kenji Kawai)
Suddenly, a clear and red blast screeched at the Judgement, catching Raven's attention. With a grimace, his GN field was raised, deflecting the blast from his side. Carrus and Mayu's face grew wide with surprise, looking up, as two golden beams flashed at the Judgement, forcing Raven to jerk away, his GN field began to flicker after taking the beams head on. Before he could react again, the Gundam Harute screeched overhead, transforming, and firing a burst of beams on top of the Judgement.
"Carrus Yamato!" Lotte called out over the mic, as he opened his channel to Carrus.
Mayu gasped happily, and Carrus yelped in shock as he called into his comm to Lotte and Kat, who now appeared in a monitor "Lotte? What are you doing out here?"
"Damn! Another GN machine!" Raven snarled.
"Confirmed." Shadow interrupted. "Only one GN drive… but that isn't a mass produced model, it's much faster than the Judgement.
"Only in its fighter mode!" Raven sneered, as the Judgement lunged toward the Harute, swinging its Devines around and at Lotte and Kat, who instinctively drew a Beam Rifle, and activated the built in Beam Sabre, and fended off Raven's attack, when suddenly, a Blue Astray flew from behind Raven and swung a massive sword on top of Raven. "Aw Shit!" Raven cursed, barely catching the sword with a Devine, as it scratched the side of the right sidearm, which had now begun to parry his attack.
"Damned machine…" Brandon murmured through grit teeth inside the Blue Frame Astray. "Why kill so many of these soldiers? What'd they ever do to you?"
"Heh!" Raven snickered. "You some kind of a psychologist? Cause you seem to be getting into my head!" Raven was quick, as he spun, smacking Harute away, and stabbing the Astray through the head, and ripping the massive sword from its grasp, and hitting it with the blunt edge toward the ground.
"UGH!"
"Brandon!" Mayu cried out as Brandon fell, watching the Astray tumble through the sky.
"Fall back Brandon!" Carrus was surprised to now hear Lawrence, as the Wing Zero flew out from below, wielding both Buster Rifles, firing off pot shots at the belly of the Judgement.
"What? This it?" Raven sniggered, raising his GN Field in defence, stopping the powerful beams from the Wing Zero dead, as he fired shots at the Harute, which had taken a couple of hits through the left shoulder and leg.
"Raven! One minute of power before we reach critical levels!" Shadow interrupted urgently, his face appearing on all spare monitors as Carrus fell behind Lawrence, firing more shots at the GN Field, trying to keep out of harm's way. "And the way your GN Field's taking these hits, I doubt you'll hold out even that long!"
"Shut it Shadow!" Raven barked. "I KNOW what I'm doing!" When suddenly, a familiar machine seemed to burst from the sun, sword in hand and flying on wings of light, which began to swoop down above the Judgement. "Crap! From behind?"
"EAT THIS ASSHOLE!" Shinn roared, as the Destiny swung down with its sword, whilst throwing its spare hand outstretched and charging the palm cannon, he swung the sword into the GN Field, forcing Raven to concentrate his Field on the sword, and the rapidly approaching palm cannon.
"You… son of a…!" Raven began to tense, failing to notice the Boomerang that was flying in at his side. Raven jolted when the beam of Shinn's hidden attack smashed into the right sidearm, and Carrus and Lawrence both began to fly at him from behind. "Shit! NO!"
"HRRRAAAAHHH!" Shinn snarled as the Judgement's flank buckled, and smashing his palm into the thick armour on the chest, he fired, and smashed thick fragments off the Judgement.
"All right! Let's finish him!" Carrus jeered, as the Eternal Freedom and Wing Zero holstered their long range weapons, drawing Beam Sabres that flashed red and gold.
"Damn it all to hell!" Raven snarled. "Activate Trans-Am!" The Judgement began to glow a familiar red to Carrus, and in a swirl of Black particles, disappeared from sight in an instant.
"What the hell?" Carrus stammered. "Did… he just…? Run?"
"No…" Mayu affirmed. "I get the feeling he isn't gone for good…"
"That COWARD!" Shinn snarled over the comm. "He ran away after all this boasting and levelling a whole base to the ground? What the hell does he think he's doing?"
"Hmmm…" Lawrence was indifferent unlike his comrades, scratching his chin while he contemplated Raven's actions to the last detail. "Squad, report."
"Gundam Harute." Kat sounded off. "Damaged, but nominal."
"Uhhh… Brandon here… kinda knocked about, but I'm okay…"
"What the hell do you think you're doin' orderin' me around?" Shinn snapped.
Carrus and Mayu simply watched from within the cockpit, looking at the base as the pair tried to comprehend the events that unfolded so quickly before their eyes. "Carrus…" The pair seemed oblivious to all talk that had gone on outside of their cockpit that they couldn't hear the chatter on the Freedom's comms. "CARRUS!"
"Huh?" Carrus had just snapped onto Lawrence's call, as he shook his head to get back to reality. "Uhhh… Yeah?"
"Are you all right?"
"…Yes."
"Can you get back to the fleet?"
"…Yeah…" Carrus replied self-assuredly, he was still alive, and Mayu was at his side. Even if what happened had indeed happened, he had at least gotten Shinn and Mayu out of their troubling predicament.
"Then return to base at once."
"Um… Carrus?" Mayu interrupted.
"I know…" Carrus nodded with a smile. "Commander, there are a pair of mercenaries on the ground who we should pick up, they aided us in escaping the base, and if it weren't for them-"
"They occupy a single Gundam class Mobile Suit?" Lotte interrupted.
"I'd imagine so, one of theirs got trashed." Carrus answered to Lotte.
Lotte nodded in return, turning to Lawrence. "I have already located them. The Suit's leg actuators are too damaged to use, but we can use the Harute to fly them out of the mission zone and back to HQ if given the order…"
Lawrence was quiet for a few moments as he landed next to the Blue Frame. "Carrus, you trust these two?"
"I don't have a reason not to if that's what you're asking." Carrus replied.
"Then pick them up and leave the mission area. Who knows when EA reinforcements will arrive?" Lawrence tensed his muscles, and Carrus saw his own fingers clench tightly against the joysticks, his arms still trembled while he remembered his moments facing Raven directly.
"Carrus? Sweetie?" Carrus snapped back to reality on hearing Mayu's voice in his ear. He turned slowly toward Mayu, reminding himself constantly that she was right there and no longer in the enemies clutches.
"Yeah… yeah I'm okay…"
The Eternal Freedom slowed over the Eternal, following the Wing Zero into the hangar, touching down softly onto the steel plates. Carrus sighed with relief as the hatch opened, slowly escorting Mayu out the front. Carrus watched the techs rush at the Freedom and begin to repair all the wear from his duel with Raven. The moment Carrus touched down, he noticed that Lawrence was handing a report to a Tech, whilst talking to Athrun.
"Hey… let's get you to medical…" Carrus whispered to Mayu, who nodded graciously.
Just before Carrus could walk through into the halls with Mayu, Athrun had turned toward Carrus, calling sternly outwards to him. "Carrus, a moment please."
Carrus turned back to face Athrun, Mayu striking Carrus a caring look. She wandered by herself to the halls, as Carrus headed back toward Athrun. "Uh… yeah Uncle… uh… Sir?"
"Have you heard anything from mister Yamato?" Athrun asked, keeping his firm and unyielding expression as he tried to keep his seniority in the public eye.
"Mister… er… no sir, I haven't…"
"Mister Yamato isn't in the fleet, sir?" Lawrence asked with great concern.
"He left shortly after Carrus did; he told me he was going on a routine patrol… sadly, with that same look that says to me he's going to do something irresponsible and dangerous…"
Carrus was thrown back by Athrun's sudden announcement. "What? Why?"
"So, you haven't heard anything."
"I was easily gone for four hours! How hasn't he called you?" Carrus exclaimed. "What the hell was he…? I'm going."
"I figured you'd say that." Athrun answered.
"Don't stop me."
"I… thought you hated him?" Lawrence asked hearing countless tales of Carrus' relationship with his father.
"Well… hate is such a…"
Lawrence turned to Athrun with a great look of determination as he clasped onto his helmet. "Sir, permission to leave on a rescue mission to search for Kira Yamato with Carrus."
"Uh… granted." Athrun asked, blinking.
"Carrus, get ready to launch in twenty minutes once your machine's ready to launch."
"Uh… sure?" Carrus answered.