SUPER ROBOT TAISEN S
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Chapter 36 - Love and Hatred
Rau and Ades have called the pilots onboard to the bridge of the Vesalius as there was an important matter to discuss concerning Lacus Clyne, what surprised them, Dearka and Shiho the most out of them, was that Yzak was also going to be involved despite the wound on his face. "Even if we continue to peruse the Legged Ship, we couldn't take any action" began Ades, seeing as how Lacus being held hostage on the enemy warship seems to be hindering them quite a bit. "Especially with Ms. Clyne in enemy hands."
"And it's likely that their next move is to rendezvous with the Lunar Fleet... Fortunately for us, the Duel has been repaired" added Rau, even with their allies assisting them it wouldn't do any good to risk Lacus' safety since Zala had given them a task of searching for the songstress and bringing her back home safely.
"So that's it! We sit back and watch them take Lacus to the fleet?" asked Ades, not liking what he was hearing not even the pilots would approve of this since they needed to act if they were to get her back, especially as Sasuke, Miyuki and Rin were not happy about that either, more so as while Sasuke knew Lacus since childhood, Athrun was engaged to her as of recently since Clyne and Zala themselves were friends prior to Athrun and Lacus being born.
"I never said we were going to do nothing, fortunately the Duel's repairs should already be completed by now" answered Rau, which would mean that Yzak would want to immediately return to action right away and more so now that his Gundam was equipped with the newly developed Assault Shroud in the Vesalius' hanger, which he will use this new fire power to destroy the Strike. "Where's the Gamow? How soon will it and the Galvani be able to get here?"
"The Galvani should already have departed from the PLANTs, the Gamow on the other hand… It's now at six mark five, zero-nine, Exelon zero comma three" responded the Nazca-class captain, which would mean that there might not be enough time to wait around for the two Laurasia-class ships to join with them on this rescue operation. "It will take at least several hours before Zelman joins us here."
This made Rau scowl a bit, he too knew that by the time the Gamow and the Galvani link up with them, it might be too late to take any action. "The Legged Ship will be linking up with the Lunar Fleet well before then" he commented, surely he could tell that Yzak was furious that he never got the chance to get involved in the battle earlier but will make up for that in assisting in rescuing Lacus and getting revenge for what had happened to Rusty. "This is a tough one…."
Archangel Cafeteria
Kira's friends were speaking with each other in the cafeteria concerning Flay's previous outburst at Kira, though from what they heard from Jessica and Misha, they weren't sure what to say concerning the situation. "I kinda understand how Flay feels about what happened…" began Mir, lowering her head after everything they were informed about. "However, this time I think she went too far."
"Because he was a Coordinator, he didn't make any serious effort to fighting…" added Sai, he never would have expected Flay to actually have so much hatred towards Coordinators but remembered how much the Coordinator pilot had done to keep the ship safe from the ZAFT and Neo Zeon forces by far, even nearly being killed in order to protect them.
Tolle nodded his head and said. ""There's no way that's true, the whole time Kira's out there, he's fighting the best he can!" Yet none of them had noticed Kuzzey had entered the room, it seems that he had a serious expression on his face involving what happened before.
"Yeah…" said Mir giving Tolle a glance then had her attention back to Sai as aside from Jessica and Misha, Mir was the only other person to have spent more time with Flay than any of the boys did when they were living in Heliopolis. "Besides, out of all of us… I knew Flay the best and it was a shame that she never mentioned much about her past, but now…"
"Listen, I'm not really doubting that at all…" Sai spoke up again, wanting to make sure Jessica, Misha, Tolle and Mir had his full attention as he decided to continue what he was going to say. "On the bridge, we've all seen first-hand the ferocious battles he fought in that mobile suit and we can appreciate how tough it is…."
It wasn't long before Kuzzey decided to speak up himself. Are you really so sure about that?" he asked, causing them to turn their attention towards their friend while at the same time wondered what exactly he was talking about.
Fiona and the Excellence-S had left the Nadesico and came onboard the Archangel as right now, she was worried about Kira since he failed to save Flay's father George and might be upset over having broken his promise but who could blame him? He was too preoccupied with fighting his best friend Athrun that there was nothing he could do, hell she and the other pilots from the Archangel, the HOME and the Nadesico couldn't prevent the Advance Fleet from being wiped out themselves though…. However she failed to notice that she was being watched by a ZGMF-LRR704B GINN Long Range Reconnaissance Type, one that had somehow followed the Archangel, the Nadesico and the HOME all the way from the Debris Belt but did not take action but instead decided to make contact with its mothership. Once onboard the Earth Alliance warship, Fiona passed the cafeteria and she ended up hearing the conversation the other Heliopolis Students were having involving what happened, even before she saw Kuzzey coming to the area for a glass of water though she never asked him what occurred while she was on the Nadesico. "What's with you Kuzzey?" asked Tolle, hoping that it wasn't going to be another problem as that is what they didn't need then the normally silent blue-haired young man turned around as there was something the others needed to know themselves.
"That stolen mobile suit; the Aegis… I heard the person piloting that thing just happens to be an old friend of Kira's…"
Needless to say, the others were shocked to learn that the Aegis pilot is actually someone that Kira personally knew first-hand, though Fiona remained silent as this wasn't anything new to her as from her timeline… Athrun and Kira were fighting side-by-side while at the same time, she never actually realized that there were conflicts between the two prior to her having met the Archangel, the Eternal and the Argama. "I overheard him talking with Flay in his room a moment ago, that's what he said." Kuzzey continued, having actually heard Kira and Flay talking earlier concerning that issue. "The pilot is a good friend of his and they were like brothers ever since they were at Copernicus…."
oooooooooo
Onboard the Vesalius, Rau had taken a shower to help him to relax a bit so to better come up with his next phase of attack if they were to ensure Lacus' safety and donning a white bathrobe, he was drying himself off with a towel in his office when he was being contacted from the bridge. "Yes, what is it?" he asked Ades, his face was hidden by the towel he was drying himself off with.
"A message from Chairman Zala of the National Defense Committee… Shall I forward it?"
Shaking his head, Rau gave a simple frown. "No, I'll listen to it on the bridge…" he replied before cutting off transmission then picked up a cup that he had on his desk. "My goodness, what a fuss over the life of one single girl" with that said, he took some pills that he had near his cup of water and took it yet his thoughts were more on the Strike's pilot Kira Yamato as there was something truly familiar about him that he couldn't place his finger on just yet.
As for the Duel, its Assault Shroud Armor was quite unique in comparison to the ones that were previously used by the GINN and the CGUE. Rather than shoulder mounted Gatling cannons seen on the GINN's Assault Shroud, the Duel's has a single "Shiva" 115mm Railgun mounted on the right shoulder and a 220mm 5-barrel Missile Pod on the left shoulder instead of M68 "Pardus" 3-barrel Short-range Guided Missile Launchers or the 2-tube Grenade Launcher. He was certain that Yzak would make excellent use of his Gundam's Assault Shroud Armor in the next battle.
Luckily for them, the Long Range Reconnaissance Type that was currently watching the three ships from a distance is from the Yun-Law Team, previously it had been sent on a mission to find the Silver Wind when the civilian vessel went missing ever since going to the Debris Belt to celebrate the anniversary of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy yet it was informing its mothership of what has happened and only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive to assist them further. Yet there was nothing they could do as long as Lacus was on the Legged Ship, not only that but Athrun and Chairman Zala were not the only ones to have ever suffered a loss of a family member as he was well aware that Sasuke's father Dr. Seth Blaze, beloved husband of Saria and brother-in-law to Eileen, had perished in the destruction of Junius Seven while the ZAFT redcoat's older brother Seto Blaze had tried to prevent that at the cost of his own life…. Initially successful, his sacrifice proved to ultimately be in vain as a second nuclear missile had destroyed the PLANT right there and then which along with the fact that Blue Cosmos had tried to kill the Blaze Family right then and there back on Earth, led to Sasuke and his cousin Rin joining the military to prevent such tragedies from repeating themselves.
Then there was another man, Jean Carrey a doctor of engineering and a Coordinator from the PLANTs…. Ever since the destruction of Junius Seven and the start of the war, he had actually defected and joined the Earth Alliance with his GINN painted white in order to tell it apart from the ones used by ZAFT which meant that the Alliance actually had one mobile suit pilot even before the development of the Gundams and the Archangel at Heliopolis. Only he and Zala knew about this fact, while the rest of his team, Athrun included, were unaware which led to the Aegis pilot thinking that Kira was the only Coordinator pilot in the Earth Alliance. If only you knew Athrun….
In the meantime, Athrun was in his quarters as he soon found himself floating off the bed he was on due to zero gravity yet he turned his attention towards the red uniform that was bed next to him, that of Rusty Mackenzie as he was killed in the failed attempt to shoot down the Archangel which would make his father Jeremy Maxwell despise the Alliance even more than ever but that wasn't the only thing on his mind… his thoughts were on his fiancée Lacus and his best friend Kira, he truly hoped that this event would convince the Strike pilot that the Naturals are manipulating him just like what he told Rau when he revealed to the masked commander that his friend was he one piloting the remaining Earth Alliance Gundam.
Kira, you damn fool… Why do you still insist on fighting alongside the Naturals? he thought to himself, mentally cursing Kira for not having his eyes open right now and hasn't forgotten when Yzak had gotten injured fighting his friend last time beforehand more so as he wonders how he will deal with Kira cause if he still helps the Earth Alliance warship and there being no convincing him otherwise then he'll have to shoot down the pilot himself.
"Athrun, may I come in?" came Nicol's voice, entering the room and sees Athrun was mopping a bit though he understands where the blue-haired Le Creuset Team redcoat was getting at since he and Sasuke were the only ones who knew Lacus the most out of the pilots onboard. "How are you holding up?"
Remaining silent, Athrun turned away as he needed to be alone right now which made Nicol frown even more. "If it's about Lacus, then I might have a way we can get her off the Archangel…." He said, unlike most of the forces in ZAFT, Nicol knew what the Archangel's name was rather than calling it the Legged Ship and knew that the Mirage Colloid could be beneficial to helping them with the task at hand. "I'm not sure you'll be willing to hear it though."
"Actually, it isn't just that…" he told Nicol, since Yzak and Dearka were busy with their own plan of attack, Miguel had been working on a means to improve his GINN's performance and was going to be equipped with an Assault Shroud of its own should it ever be needed, Shiho . "I have a lot on my mind right now at it already is."
Nicol couldn't help but be concerned himself, especially as it as he doesn't bear any ill will against Naturals despite the development of the Heliopolis Gundams and the Archangel by Morgenroete and the EA in question, then decided to try and change the subject a bit. "You know, I'm starting to suspect there might be something between and the Strike's pilot…." He spoke, making Athrun float towards him and see the serious expression on his friend's face. "Is there something you're not telling any of us ever, ever since Heliopolis, you weren't exactly yourself lately? Especially as now that I think of it, the way the Strike managed to fight us off in battle… I'm suspecting the pilot might not be a Natural at all."
"Nicol…. I'm just not in the mood to talk about it…"
"Athrun, listen it is just the two of us and besides, if you don't want anyone else to find out then I won't reveal it at all…." said Nicol, he was hoping that this secret isn't eating out inside of Athrun and if it was then it needed to be told to someone he could trust especially as Nicol knows it is a promise he will keep no matter what. "Besides, it's not good for you to be here by yourself all the time."
There was a part of him that wished to tell Nicol while another didn't want that to happen, then again he did tell Rau and his father knew too so he needed to think this through. "Alright, just promise not to let Yzak or the others find out about what I've told you…" he said, giving a small sigh since it was something he wished he never brought up. "The pilot of the Strike is my friend, Kira Yamato… he and I went to the same prep school in Copernicus together, and he's a Coordinator…."
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On the Archangel, Kira slowly woke up and while he was still fully-clothed… he started remembering what had happened then looked to see Flay was holding him in her arms, having cried herself to sleep ever since that talk they had and her uniform jacket was unbutton, showing the white t-shirt that was underneath it. She looks so peaceful… he thought, glancing at the slumbering red-haired girl in his arms then found his face inching towards hers as he wanted to try and make it up to her for having let her down before. It wasn't before long that Flay began waking up herself and felt something warm touching the cheek that Kain had slapped earlier then realized what it meant.
Flay murmured something as she woke up, and the first thing she saw were Kira's kind, saddened purple eyes, his hand gently caressing her cheek after having kissed it. "Rise and shine, Flay…" he said. "How are you feeling now?"
"A little better…" she said gently, climbing to a sitting position and placing her hands in her lap, her eyes still downcast. "I… guess I'm a little calmer now…"
Kira gently stroke her hair, noticing that her usual ponytail was undone and her hair was flowing down her back. For some reason, this made her look even prettier than usual, and Kira blushed slightly at that. "Flay, don't try to overdo it, okay? I… I can understand what you're going through… and I think you should stay here and rest, if you don't feel like going out."
"Thanks, Kira… but I think it would be good if I went out a little… Jessica and Misha will be worried about me, anyway…" she murmured, holding herself close to Kira. At that moment, it felt to her like he was the only thing keeping her from breaking down and going mad. "And… I think Kain, Tapp and Light are a little worried about you too… and the rest of your friends as well. Can I… can I come with you, Kira? I know Kain might not like me that much, but… I need to stay with you right now…"
"It's no problem, Flay… I'm sure Kain will understand." Kira answered calmly as he helped Flay up. Smiling to each other, the two teens straightened themselves out and began walking out of the room, ready to face the harsh reality of the war once again…
oooooooooo
On board the Nadesico, other people were going through their own share of turmoil. The young comm. officer Megumi Reinald was sitting in the Nadesico's virtual room, a special room in the large battleship in which several holographic projectors could recreate an Earth environment, and was used by the crew to rest and relieve themselves of stress. Megumi had chosen to project a grassy field, under a beautiful starry sky, but even this beautiful sight was unable to take her mind off the grim thoughts that rolled around in her mind.
Megumi had been quite shocked by the destruction of the Montgomery. Witnessing the explosion of George Allster's ship, she had frozen up in shock for several minutes, only being snapped out of it when Yurika of all people had helped her. But the horror of it all was still fresh in her mind: one minute before, she was in contact with the Montgomery, and was talking to them… and one minute later; they were all gone, just like that… War was so cruelly casual in stealing the lives of good people…
Caught up in the moment, Megumi failed to see the other crewmember until he was somewhat close to her. When she raised her glance, she was met by Akito's questioning face, and lost herself for a moment in his deep chocolate eyes, feeling herself blush for a moment.
"Oh… it's you, Megumi…" Akito said, with what Megumi interpreted as embarrassment. "I… had no idea you were here as well… mind if I sit here with you?"
"I don't mind at all, Akito…" she answered, motioning for him to sit beside her. She noticed he seemed to be rather sullen and depressed, and she imagined it was because of the battle they had sustained. Anyone with anything resembling a heart would have felt bad about a whole civilian ship going up in flames. "So, tell me… what's the matter?"
Akito laid down on the virtual grass and put his hands behind his head, staring at the stars with a forlorn gaze. "Nothing, really… It's just that, well… it feels so absurd, you know? Nobody really cares about the fact that other people have died. All those people on board the Montgomery were killed off like that… like they were animals to the slaughter! And I feel like I'm the only one who gives a damn about that!"
"That's not true, Akito, you know?" Megumi gently answered. "I feel bad when people die, too."
A moment of silence fell between the two, as Akito pondered what to say next. "I guess I should say that the two of us are the only ones who give a damn…"
The voice actress turned comm. officer shook her head. "You mustn't think like that, Akito. I am sure they feel bad too… it's just that they have a different way to grieve. It's only natural when you think about it; I guess… everyone reacts differently." She explained.
Even so, Akito remained despondent. "I always tried to do my best as a pilot, but aside from Gai, I never felt like anybody gave me the time of the day. They just think I'm a wannabe who wants to play hero… when all I wanted to do is become a cook and live a quiet life. And now there's the Jovians being revealed to have been humans all along, the daughter of a ZAFT politician on the Archangel, and so many enemies on our trail. It's like we're in a nightmare we can never wake up from…"
Akito rolled to one side, facing away from Megumi and looking in the distance… but he was shaken out of his funk when Megumi gently placed a hand on his forehead, and turned in her direction in time to see a kind smile appearing on her cute freckled face.
"Nobody here thinks you're a wannabe, Akito." She reassured him.
Akito's reaction was to freeze in place for a couple seconds, bewildered by his crewmate's action… and then, he stood up and looked away in embarrassment, as if he had somehow said a strange thing. "Sorry…" he said, causing Megumi to perk up a little, giggle and shake her head as if saying that there was no need to apologize.
"We all need some warmth sometimes, don't we?" Megumi answered. For some reason, this caused Akito to regain some confidence. "Don't think our friends don't care about the people who aren't with us anymore… as I said, they just have they way of handling it. I'm sure they all support you, when push comes to shove!"
After thinking about it for a few moments, Akito smiled slightly himself. "Yes… you're right about that, Megumi. I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself…" he reasoned, before standing up and nodding proudly. "But from now on, I won't run away anymore. I will perform my duty as a pilot… to the best of my abilities!"
He ended the sentence by looking at Megumi and smiling at her… and the purple-haired comm. officer blinked for a moment in surprise. That wasn't exactly what she was aiming for… but hey, as long as Akito wasn't sad anymore, that was good enough. "Yeah! And I'll be supporting you all the way!"
oooooooooo
Kira and Flay managed to make their way towards the cafeteria, yet there was something the red-haired girl was worried about… as if the others might hate her for having lashed out at Kira when her father George was killed, especially since it was bad enough that she already lost a family member when she was a little girl. "Flay?" asked Kira, hoping that it wouldn't be anything too serious. "You okay?"
"Not really…" answered the young girl, she kinda wasn't looking forward to this as it would be something she may end up living through for the rest of her life especially from Sai, Mir, Jessica and Misha, the four people she knew the most out of all the Heliopolis students then reflected on a moment that happened before the two ships reached the Debris Belt and it was something that Mir, Kira and Flay couldn't forget even to this day.
Flashback
"What is this?!" asked Flay, not liking that this whole tub of water was the only thing that she and Mir had to take a bath right now since the Archangel was running dangerously low on it due to not having resupplied at Artemis before the Eurasian Federation base was completely destroyed in the conflict with the Le Creuset Team. "That's all the water we get?!"
Mir gave a small sigh, she didn't like it either but they have to make do for now. "I know how you feel but what can we do?" she asked her childhood friend, noticing the expression that was on the other girl's face.
"It's not that…" began Flay, she wanted to get cleaned up right now and she didn't want to smell funny in case they reach allied forces from the Atlantic Federation. "It's just that, there's not enough to wash my hair"
"You should be grateful that there's enough to wash your face" said Mir, having some clean underwear for the both of them to wear after they have their back. "I also brought us a change of underwear."
"NO WAY! I CAN'T WEAR THESE KIDDY PANTIES!" exclaimed Flay, shocked to see what kind of underwear it was while Mir shook her head with a frown.
"There's nothing we can do about it. They're military-issue supplies." Mir calmly explained to her friend, making her flush bright pink in a way as Mir took her uniform belt off. "Come on Flay, off with your clothes…. Besides even though this room is off-limits, they're making an exception for us."
Flay gave a small sigh as she stripped off the uniform she was wearing, while she was a bit thankful that the captain of the ship is a female though neither of the girls were aware that they were being overheard by none other than Sai, Kuzzey and Tolle with the sandy-haired young man acting as a lookout while Kuzzey and Tolle were attempting to open the door but with little success. "Why won't this door open manually?" wondered Tolle.
"Guys, I don't think this is such a good idea" Sai tried to explain to the other two boys but to no avail, especially as boys their age would usually want to see what a developed female body was like, since they weren't kids anymore.
"Mir, if only our home wasn't destroyed…." muttered Flay, now down to just her pink panties and pink bra, letting out a small sigh as this wasn't the kind of thing she had to go through before volunteering to help the Archangel right now.
"Well at least it's better than you remaining trapped in that broken lifeboat" added Mir, sometimes wondering how things could have gone if Heliopolis wasn't attacked especially as they had no choice but to help put an end to the conflict. "Sometimes I just don't understand you…"
She didn't finish what she was going to say as they heard the voices of Sai and Kuzzy speaking to each other from outside the door. "Sai, can't you get through this lock somehow?" asked the timid male from the group.
"I told you, I can't!" Sai protested, especially as Kuzzey and Tolle found they were having no such luck with getting through at all no matter what. "I'm not a Coordinator like Kira!"
"Even so…" began Tolle, being the next one to speak especially as they were now having a heated argument right now. "What if you could search through all the electronic lock numbers…"
"I already told you that nobody can do that sort of thing except Kira." Unfortunately, this conversation wasn't unnoticed as Kira and Mu saw that the other boys were near the bathroom door trying to break in for some reason.
"Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle…." They all heard Kira's voice and saw that the Hawk was with him, causing them all to freakout at this very moment. "What exactly are you guys doing?"
"KIRA?! LIUETENANT LA FLAGA?!" they three exclaimed in disbelief as Mu approach the three with a frown on his face since they wouldn't be doing such a thing without a good reason then passed by them.
"What are you doing?" asked the Hawk, seeing the boys near the door and saw them running off through the halls for whatever reason while saying they weren't doing anything, which made him frown even more. "What's with them?"
"I'm not sure…" answered Kira, then their attention went towards the door that Tolle and Kuzzey were trying to manually open which led to Mu finding something suspicious, then they both heard splashing from inside.
"Someone is inside… don't they know this room is off-limits?" wondered Mu before knocking on the door as whoever was inside needed to be aware they were suppose to be saving the until they could reach the Debris Belt. "Hey open up! You're not supposed to be using any of the water!"
Needless to say, the door slid right open and water was thrown right at the blonde-haired Lieutenant of the Alliance. "YOU PERVERT!" exclaimed Mir, she and Flay each had a towel around their body especially as they weren't too happy that they were being peeped on. "You better leave us alone or we'll really get mad!"
"Liuetenant La Flaga?! Kira?!" Flay snapped, giving a glare at Kira and Mu as the two had no idea on what was going on. "What's going on here?" Mu asked the two girls, yet he still wasn't really too pleased that they were using water without consent but before anything could be said, her towel fell to the ground which revealed her naked figure to the two much to their dismay and all that was heard was a loud scream throughout the entire ship as four loud slaps were here.
End of Flashback
"I'm sorry…. I thought you and Commander La Flaga were the peeping toms…" Flay lowered her head as she remembered having slapped Kira across the face before he could explain himself, wishing she could make it up to him somehow especially as it seems she got a taste of her own medicine when she got slapped by Kain for blaming the Strike's pilot after her father's death even though the small kiss Kira gave her sort of made it better though it wasn't until long before Kira ended up bumping into a little girl with lovely brown-hair that were tied in pig-tails. "Sorry, are you okay?"
He didn't mean to knock her onto the floor, he wasn't paying attention as he went to help the little girl back up, yet Flay beat him to it. "Sorry, Kira was in deep thought and didn't see you…" she reassured the girl while helping her back onto her feet. "You're not hurt are you?"
"No, I'm alright… thank you" said the little girl, though both Kira and Flay knew that she might have wondered off from her mother and needed to at least be taken back to her, which was easy since the mother would be in the cafeteria with the rest of the Helopolis Refugees and was probably worried sick about her.
"Come on, we'll take you back to your mother okay?" smiled Flay, giving the little girl a sincere expression while holding her hand and they floated off since they were already in the direction of the cafeteria which wasn't too far from where they were.
Upon their arrival, they saw that their friends and surprisingly Fiona were talking amongst themselves right now yet their presence became none when the female pilot saw them. "About time you two joined, we need to have a serious talk… all of us…" she said to them, which made the two somewhat worried. "Don't worry; it isn't anything to do with what happened here before… Mir and the others told me everything."
"Yeah, we're just concerned for you…. especially Flay" added Mir, ever since having learned that Kuzzey overheard the conversation Kira and Flay had before as well as the fact that the Aegis pilot is actually a friend of Kira's added to their concern. "Kuzzey told us that he overheard the two of you talking."
They really got their attention as Sai continued right where Mir left off. "It's understandable, we're well aware that the Aegis pilot is a friend of your Kira…" he spoke, catching the two even the little girl that they found somewhat off-guard before Flay gestured for the child to go back to her mother which she complied before leaving the group. "How come you never told us before?"
Kira lowered his head, he never would have thought the others would find out about this and at the same time he wasn't sure how to answer as Kuzzey decided to at least find out once and for all why Flay lashed out at Kira earlier even though he did keep them safe up till this very moment. "Flay… are you a member of Blue Cosmos?" he asked, needless to say everyone couldn't believe what he was asking right now.
"What? Kuzzey, do you even know what you're asking?" Sai exclaimed, rather shocked that his friend would get such an idea. "You know what sort of people Blue Cosmos are, don't you?"
"Er… well, I did hear that Blue Cosmos are a sort of anti-Coordinator political movement that is pushing for greater discrimination against Coordinators, and they have quite a following in the politics of the Earth Sphere…" Kuzzey answered, as he began to understand that he hadn't chosen the right words.
"It's more than that, kid. You have no idea what exactly Blue Cosmos are." A familiar voice felt the need to add, and when Kira and his friends turned that way, they saw Kain, Tapp and Light walking in, all of them dressed in their civilian clothes. It was Light who had spoken, and he raised his hand in a friendly greeting. "We're glad to see you're doing a little better at least, Flay."
"Thanks, Light…" Flay sighed, knowing that she must still have looked rather distraught. "So… how are we doing now? We're… getting away from ZAFT and their allies?"
"Yeah… thanks to that stunt Lt. Badgiruel played, ZAFT isn't going to risk attacking us, at least for now. Though I don't exactly like what she did in the first place…" Tapp answered, rubbing the back of his head in awkwardness. "We're basically using Lacus Clyne as a bargaining chip."
"I understand…" Kira said, bowing his head in quiet disgust.
"But to answer your previous sentence… Blue Cosmos' true colors are far more sinister than you might think, kiddo." Light told Kuzzey. "They are actually a terrorist group, hiding behind the façade of a legitimate political party to further their agenda of exterminating all Coordinators. From what my father told me, they have already infiltrated much of the Earth Union's upper echelons, and they are actively steering the war against the PLANTs so that it will eventually escalate into an all-out genocide of the Coordinators."
"This is terrible…" Flay answered with a shudder. "I… I'll admit that I once agreed that the Coordinators were dangerous… but to completely destroy them?"
"Now you know why we don't like those bastards." Kain answered. "You know what sort of people you were agreeing with. You don't feel quite so confident now, am I right?"
"Kain, please…" Tapp murmured, giving Kain a small nudge. "You don't exactly have to rub it in Flay's face…"
The chestnut-haired Dragonar pilot sighed, somewhat angrily. "Heh… you're right, I went over the line there… It's just that I cannot stand people like Blue Cosmos." Kain answered. "They think they have the right to impose their will upon everyone, and they won't accept anyone to think differently. And I can't imagine how many people they have killed because of their hatred for Coordinators."
"Now, now, no need to get incensed, Kain. We won't have to deal with them, at least I hope so…" Light answered. "But still, that's the true face of Blue Cosmos."
"Wow… you seem to know quite a lot of things." Mir answered, rather impressed at Light's knowledge. "Is your father in politics too, perhaps?"
"Yes… my grandfather was a member of the Eurasian Parliament, while my father is a member of the Eurasian Ministry of Defense." Light answered. "I was never into politics though. Computers and electronics are more my thing… though I did pick up one thing or two from them."
"Yeah, I understand… I can't say I have notable parents… my parents, Haruma and Caridad Yamato, are simply citizens of ORB." Kira answered. "By the way, Kain… have you heard news of your mom? Ever since Heliopolis was destroyed, I don't think I've heard of her…"
Kain shook his head, as Flay widened her eyes in slight shock. "No… I just asked Lt. La Flaga about it, but he told me they had had no such luck in finding her… Even though I can understand they're quite in a mess, with all these threats they have to take care of…" he answered.
"Kain… your mom disappeared at Heliopolis?" Flay asked in surprise. When Kain nodded slowly, Flay sighed and glanced down, understanding all too well how the young Dragonar pilot must have felt. "I… I'm sorry about it, I had no idea… I do hope you… you manage to find her. And… I'm sorry for how I acted earlier…"
Kain managed a slight smile. "I should apologize as well. I was a little out of line too." He answered. "And… about your father, I'm sorry for what happened. We tried to protect him, we really did… but with all those Giganos swarming around us, we just couldn't get to him in time…"
"Its okay, Kain… thank you anyway." Flay answered, with Kira putting a hand on her shoulder in order to comfort her.
The small reunion continued in silence for a few seconds… until a door slid open, letting Fiona, Misha and Jessica in. Flay was the first one to turn to her friends, and her mood brightened a little at seeing them. "Misha, Jessica! I'm glad to see you… how are you doing?"
"That's what we should be asking you, Flay." The dark-haired girl told her best friend as she got to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing? Are you feeling better?"
"I will be. Thank you for asking anyway." Flay answered, smiling sadly as she accepted the condolences from the three girls. "Say, Fiona… what's the situation on the ship?"
"Everyone is on edge…" Fiona answered. "As of now, Lt. Badgiruel and Captain Ramius are trying to reach an agreement with Captain Misumaru and Captain Bright. The Professor, the captain of the HOME, has already made clear that they are to separate themselves from our company and go on their way before we reach Earth, but the other ships will be accompanying us for as long as they can. Everyone is standing guard for another enemy attack… though we aren't expecting ZAFT and their allies to show up anytime soon."
"I see…" Misha said. "I guess that's how it is, though I don't feel exactly comfortable with what is going on…"
"May I join the conversation?" the clear voice of Lacus Clyne was heard, startling the team a little. The pink-haired idol singer from the PLANTs approached the small group, nodding politely in a gesture of courtesy; she seemed rather calm and collected, and didn't seem to hold against them the fact that she had recently been used as a bargaining chip. Beside her was the pink Haro she had with her when she had been found. "My apologies. I know I was supposed to stay in my quarters, but Mr. Pink wanted to go out on a walk, and I couldn't say no."
"Haro! You're fine, Lacus! Haro! And you guys too!" the pink Haro exclaimed, flapping its wings.
Fiona chuckled, and a small sweat drop poured down the back of her head. "I'm never going to get used to that robot…" she commented to herself.
"Oh… it's good to see you're doing well, Ms. Clyne." Tapp answered with a small nod. "I hope you're doing well… and we apologize for how you were treated by Lt. Badgiruel."
Lacus gently shook her head, as if to say there was no need to apologize. "Its okay, Mr. Oceano. I do not blame any of you for that." She answered, before sobering a little and turning to Flay. "By the way… I am sorry for what happened to your father, Flay… though his views might have been at odds with my father's and my own, he did not deserve what happened to him."
"Thank you… Lacus? Can I call you that?" Flay answered, glancing up at the pink-haired idol singer, who smiled and nodded at her. "I… I'm sorry as well. I think I'm beginning to realize that Coordinators aren't as bad as the Earth Union tries to make them seem. And… what happened to you wasn't any more right."
"You know, guys… I'm actually thinking that we should do something about Lacus' situation." Kira said, looking at Kain and his friends. When the small group stood in silence, wondering what he meant by that, Kira cleared his voice and continued. "Maybe, if we were to hand Lacus back to ZAFT, they will grant us some leniency. And in any case, I don't feel right taking advantage of her like she was a pawn. So… why not attempt to hand her back to ZAFT? I think… Athrun will be able to testify on our behalf that our intentions are sincere."
"I… can imagine that." Kain answered, scratching his chin. "But… I'm not sure if ZAFT will even let us explain… Oh, what the Hell, it's worth a try at least! But how do you propose we do that? It's not like we can just sneak out and take our units… that tight-assed Lieutenant will be on our necks in a snap!"
Fiona seemed convinced, anyway. "I would be willing to lend a hand." She answered. "I just need to know whether we have enough time to get to the Strike and to the rest of our units…"
"I think I have an idea on how we can do it… but we need to wait until the night shift comes… And see if we can get a few of our comrades to help us too." Kira said, taking a look at the clock…
oooooooooo
A few hours later…
As the night shift had arrived, everyone was in their quarters… among them, Lacus Clyne, who was lying under a light blanket in her own bunk, only half-asleep and waiting. She had to admit, she was feeling somewhat nervous about what was going to happen. She knew Kira and the others were taking a big risk helping her break out of the Archangel… if it went badly, they'd probably be thrown in the brig at the very least, and she didn't want to cause them trouble.
As she pretended to be sleeping, a bright light penetrated the darkness of her room, along with the sight of several figures… among which she recognized Kira, Fiona and the three Dragonar pilots, as well as two smaller figures that no doubt belonged to the Ginga and Hokuto, the two preteen pilots of Dendoh. Her pink Haro, who had been placed near her bed, turned to the door, greeting the newcomers.
"Haro. No problem. No problem." The pink robot said in its high-pitched voice.
Kira motioned for Mr. Pink to stay silent, while Lacus rubbed her eyes and stood up from her bed. "It is good to see you, Kira… everyone… I will be ready momentarily." She said, getting off the bed and beginning to change in her stage dress. In a moment, the pink-haired songstress was ready, and the small team of pilots sneakily guided her through the Archangel's corridors, getting to the hangars in little time.
"Okay, here we are…" Fiona whispered as she stepped into the hangars first, slowly making her way towards her Excellence-S. "Kira, you take Lacus with you in the Strike. We'll follow and protect you in case something happens."
"We'll also contact the Nadesico, the Idaho and the Argama." Hokuto added. "I'm sure they aren't okay with Lt. Badgiruel's stunt as well. Some of them might even come to lend us a hand."
"Good idea. I'll take the Aile Strike, since it will allow for greater mobility." Kira said, taking a pilot suit and handing it to Lacus. "Please, put this over what you're wearing now."
"Okay." Lacus said… before merrily beginning to take off her dress in front of the flabbergasted pilots, causing Kira and the Dragonar pilots to widen their eyes in disbelief! Kira quickly turned around and plugged his bleeding nose with a handkerchief, hoping Flay was not around to see and get the wrong idea… while Kain succumbed to temptation for a moment and tried to turn around and sneak a peek. He immediately punched himself in the face and turned back again, nervously muttering to himself!
"No! You idiot, what are you doing? Remember you've got Linda!" Kain said to himself, hoping his nosebleed wouldn't be noticed as Tapp and Light snickered at him. Hokuto and Ginga, for their part, became rigid like steel and stood up like a pair of soldiers, while keeping their glances away from Lacus!
"Gah! What is she thinking! We're underage, for crying out loud!" Ginga exclaimed.
Fiona just sweat dropped and shook her head. "Oh, boy… if we don't get caught, it will be a miracle of sorts…"
oooooooooo
"What is the matter? What's going on here?" Natarle exclaimed as she walked into the main bridge, right after the signal that the hangars were bring used had been broadcast. "Who is trying to take off without permission?"
"The Aile Strike Gundam… the Excellence-S, the Dragonar units and Dendoh, lieutenant Badgiruel!" Neumann answered, showing her the screen where the six robots took off into space, closely followed by a few more robots from the Nadesico, the HOME and the Argama! "Also confirmed two Aestivalis units, the Astray Red Frame and the ZZ Gundam launching from the other ships! The Idaho is the only one who hasn't launched anything!"
"They have Lacus Clyne with them!" another operator exclaimed, causing Natarle to widen her eyes in indignation and shock. "We think they're going to hand her back to ZAFT!"
"Have they gone insane or what? Patch me through to the other ships!" Natarle exclaimed. In a moment, three comm. windows had been opened to the other ships of the small fleet, showing the Professor, Captain Bright and a rather drowsy-looking Yurika on them. "To all captains, some of our pilots have launched without authorization! Recall them back!"
"Forget it Ensign, they've taken the girl out…" began Mu, contacting the black-haired ensign from within the ship's hanger and he may as well get ready to sortie in the Moebius Zero should his Mobile Armor be needed if something else goes wrong. "The airlock's already been opened so it's too late…"
"We know, we know…" Yurika murmured, almost tiredly. "I just gave Akito and Mr. Daigouji permission to launch and accompany Pilot Yamato and the others. And I'm afraid I cannot comply with your order, Lt. Badgiruel."
"Our pilot Judau Ashta has launched with permission as well." Bright intervened. "We regret to say, Lt. Badgiruel, that your actions have not met with favor among this alliance, though we understand the intent behind them. Therefore, in an exceptional way, we have given our pilots permission to escort Yamato and the others as they hand Miss Clyne back to ZAFT."
"We aren't going to recall Lowe as well." The Professor said. "After all, taking hostages is a villain's work… and while we of the Junk Guild wouldn't exactly call ourselves defenders of justice, we do have our standards."
Natarle grit her teeth in anger, only for Vega to chuckle mildly and chide her. "Well… you should have expected that, Lt. Badgiruel." The masked woman said. "Ginga and Hokuto aren't the kind of kids who will stand for an injustice being committed in front of them."
"They should know they're committing an act of treason!" Natarle exclaimed angrily. "They're breaking out a prisoner and handing her back to the opposing faction!"
"Well, last time I checked, Natarle… Ms. Clyne wasn't exactly a prisoner of war, but rather a civilian we had rescued of our own free will while her lifepod was floating in space. We cannot imply change our minds at the last moment and declare her a prisoner instead." Murrue answered sternly. "Therefore, as I see it, what you did with her is borderline criminal and should warrant at least an inquiry. Only the mitigating circumstances of the state of extreme necessity, and the fact that we're already rather understaffed as it is, keep me from pursuing legal action."
Natarle turned to Murrue, incredulous that her friend and superior would say that. "Captain Ramius, Pilot Yamato is endangering himself and the safety of the whole ship!" she attempted, even though she did have a suspicion that her complaints were not going to be met. "What if they were to be attacked by ZAFT just as the hostage is given back to the enemy?"
"That's probably why Kira asked for his friends, Ginga and Hokuto to go with him in the first place." Vega answered. "They know they can't just blindly trust ZAFT on this one, so they're bringing some backup just in case. I don't think ZAFT is going to risk getting in a battle they cannot win."
"And in any case, we'll follow them from a distance and be ready to intervene if trouble hits." Murrue answered. "So, as you can see, there is no need to get worried."
Natarle sighed and sat down, rubbing her forehead as if she was nursing an headache. "Fine… I'll go along with this, even though I don't agree…" she murmured, feeling like she was the only one to follow proper military procedure…
oooooooooo
Onboard the Vesalius, the crew of the Nazca-class ship was shocked when they detected units being deployed from the Archangel. "We confirmed a few mechas launching from the Legged Ship and additional ones are being deployed from its escorts" reported one of the bridge crew members though Rau was rather intrigued by this as the announcement for all hands to assume level-one battle stations and for all pilots to prepare for launch at once.
"This is the pilot of the mobile suit GAT-X105 Strike!" came Kira's announcement to the Vesalius, with everyone on both sides listening in to what Kira has to say. "I am from the Earth Alliance Forces vessel Archangel; I am bringing Lacus Clyne to you…"
The crew members on the Vesalius on the other hand were silent at the fact that the Strike's pilot wants to bring Lacus back to them but the question was for what reason? They remained silent as Kira continued with what he has to say. "The Nazca-class is to cut its engines and I'll hand her over on the condition that we are met on by the pilot of the Aegis!" Nobody had any clue as to why the Strike's pilot only wants to be met by Athrun in particular. "If you do not meet these demands, I cannot guarantee her safety!"
"What could the Legged Ship be up to?" asked Ades, while Dearka, Athrun, Nicol, Miguel, Shiho, Olor, Matthew, Sasuke, Rin and Miyuki were already in their respective mobile suits… there isn't anything they can do until they can be certain that it isn't a trick.
"Commander!" Athrun's voice came through communications and Rau took notice to the Aegis pilot's face on the main screen from within the Aegis' cockpit itself. "Allow me to go!"
"Their true intentions are still unknown!" Ades tried to protest, having a feeling that it could be a trap that the three vessels are trying to lure them into. "We haven't even confirmed if Ms. Lacus is actually inside it, besides Yzak Joule hasn't fully recovered yet even the Duel has just been repaired and upgraded with the new Assault Shroud Armor!"
Rau however knew it could work to their advantage, especially if the Strike's pilot is to actually come to their side with the right motivation. "Alright then… You have permission…" he spoke, causing Athrun to be a bit relieved at this.
"Thank you, I appreciate it!"
Once communications ended, Ades turned his attention towards the masked commander himself even if he didn't like the idea of Athrun meeting with the Strike alone. "Are you sure about this?" he asked his superior officer.
"This could also be seen as a chance for us, it seems the enemy pilot is equally young and foolish…" he explained to the ship's captain, knowing that the other mechas wouldn't dare risk any harm to Lacus if they are returning her to ZAFT custody right now then prepared to take his leave but not before giving one last order for the time being. "Bring the ship to a halt and prepare my CGUE for launch along with the rest of mobile suits Ades."
Needless to say, Rau wasn't the only one who intended to take advantage of this as Yzak Joule was leaving his quarters on the ship and was making his way to the hanger himself, half his face was bandaged up due to having been wounded by Kira before and he intended to return the favor one way or another. "That bastard…. He better be ready cause I'm coming him…" he muttered, not caring that he hasn't fully-recovered from the injury as he is wishing to make use of the newly developed Assault Shroud made for his Duel Gundam. "I'll make sure he doesn't survive this time, once Ms. Clyne is returned to us, he's good as dead!"
oooooooooo
Kira and the other pilots detected the Aegis launching from the Vesalius then he turned his attention towards his allies. "You guys stay here…" he said before heading off to meet with his childhood friend face to face and needs to be certain that the Aegis was alone then raised the beam rifle at the stolen Gundam, there is nothing but silence from the two friends as it seemed that they were still not on good terms with each other after what had happened previously involving Lacus. "Athrun…"
"Yes that's right…" he heard Athrun's voice, confirming that it was indeed him and not someone else using the Aegis to retrieve Lacus.
"Open your cockpit!" Kira told him, he wasn't exactly going to take any chances with the blue-haired Le Creuset Team pilot and waited for Athrun to do so, and once he did… it was a sign that it was going well so far before opening the Strike's cockpit to reveal himself and Lacus inside then glanced at Lacus. "Say something Lacus… he can't see your face from here, he has to convinced it is really you before you can leave the Strike's cockpit."
Remain silent; Lacus knew that the young EA pilot made a good point. "I understand, thank you Kira…" she said softly before glancing at the Aegis which was right in front of them. "Hello Athrun! It's me; it's very nice to see you again!"
"Lacus!" chirped the pink Haro, in her arms and despite the fact that Lacus was wearing an EA space suit that they took from the Archangel before leaving the ship… the pinkette's voice was more than enough to convince Athrun that it is her with his childhood friend.
"I confirm it's Lacus!"
"Then prepare to receive her…" Kira responded, wanting Athrun to leave the Aegis' cockpit so to better get Lacus and with a gentle push, he wanted to be certain that she would safely float towards her fiancé's mobile suit without any issues though with a smile, he is rather relieved that she would be safe and won't be used as a bargaining chip any longer. Thank god, she made it…
Athrun managed to reach out and grab her hand, pulling her towards the Aegis though it was strange that Kira would bring Lacus back to him, it could be a sign that his friend might be seeing the light. "Are you okay?" he asked his pink-haired fiancé, needing to be certain that she hadn't been harmed.
"You don't have to worry, I am unharmed" answered Lacus as he carefully got her into the Aegis' cockpit along with her Haro, still he was somewhat surprised that she kept the pink one with her this whole time as she has all the other Haros he made for her back home in the PLANTs with her father Chairman Siegel Clyne. "Kira was very kind to me during my time on the Archangel."
"I see…." he replied, making contact with the Vesalius as he had two people that he knew he could trust with bringing Lacus back to the ship since there was something he needed to do alone concerning Kira and didn't want Lacus to see this. "Sasuke, Nicol… I managed to retrieve Lacus… I want the two of you to come out and bring her back to the ship but only you."
"Right away." Sasuke answered, reaching Athrun's Aegis Gundam with his own customized GINN. Nicol's Blitz Gundam appeared soon after, and Kira quickly recognized it as the black-and-red Gundam that had taken out Artemis with a clever trick. Giving a nod to Athrun, Lacus climbed on board Sasuke's GINN, allowing Kira to get a glimpse at the pilot inside… but he was unable to see much of him before Lacus entered and the hatch closed again, the pink-haired pop singer just barely managing to give Kira a grateful smile and a nod before the Mobile Suit turned back to its flagship.
With that done, Kira sighed and turned back to Athrun, who was still standing right in front of him, close to the Strike Gundam's entrance. The purple-eyed Coordinator nodded sadly and stood in front of his old friend, ready for whatever Athrun was going to say.
"We… are grateful for your concern, and for returning Lacus back to us, Kira." Athrun said solemnly. "To be honest… I didn't think they would have allowed you to do that."
"These people aren't what you think they are at all, Athrun." Kira answered. "They aren't manipulating me. I've joined them of my own free will… and as I said, I'm with them because I want to protect my friends."
Athrun stood in silence for a while. "Kira… you know as well as I do that it's not that simple. I have orders I need to follow, and that makes the crew of the legged ship our enemies." He answered. "I can't stop following orders just because you are onboard that ship. For the last time, Kira, why don't you come over to our side? I will do my best to ensure that your civilian friends aren't harmed and are instead taken t a neutral colony where they can live in peace!"
Kira sadly shook his head, feeling tears sting his eyes. "I'm sorry, Athrun… I cannot do that, and you know it. It's not just those who are not part of the military… I can't abandon the Archangel just when they need my help."
"In that case, I'm afraid I have no other choice." Athrun said, trying and mostly failing to conceal his reluctance. "If you insist on fighting for the Natural, then I will have no choice but to shoot you down next time we meet. I… wish it wouldn't have been like that, Kira."
"Likewise, Athrun…" Kira answered, as he saw his old friend float back into his Gundam's cockpit and closing it behind himself. Sadly, almost mournfully, the Aegis took off, trying to rejoin the Blitz and Sasuke's GINN as they returned to their Nazca-class flagship…
But his musings were interrupted by a sudden sound, and a blast from a machine gun ripping the air around him as a group of GINNs, led by Rau Le Creuset in his CGUE, swept in to attack! Biting back a curse, Kira got back into his Gundam and closed the hatch, grabbing the controls!
"We're being attacked!" Akito exclaimed, expanding his Aestivalis' Distortion Field in order to weather the assault. In a moment, a large group of GINNs was upon them, and Rau's CGUE was already targeting the Strike! "Damn… I should have known they wouldn't play fair!"
"This isn't Athrun's doing! He would never do such a thing!" Kira exclaimed, before a powerful kick from the CGUE sent his Gundam tumbling among space debris. He quickly scrambled to regain his balance, while Gear Fighter Dendoh charged into the group of GINNs, trying to scatter them!
Needless to say, that things were about to get worse as the Duel, with its newly equipped Assault Shroud Armor, and the Buster launched from the Vesalius as well alongside the GINNs piloted by Miguel, Olor and Matthew as well as the CGUE DEEP Arms operated by Shiho herself though Yzak was less than thrilled that their commander reached the Strike first. "Oh great, the Duel's been upgraded with new equipment!" muttered Fiona, being the first to notice the new armor that the Duel now had and decided to join Kira in case the stolen Gundams were to assist the masked commander in the attack on the Strike.
"Commander?" asked Athrun, wondering what Rau is doing by getting involved despite the fact that Lacus was safe and sound in their custody again.
"Athrun, return to the ship at once!" the CGUE had the Strike targeted with the machine gun, even though PS Armor will protect it from impact weapons however, he knows it won't protect the pilot forever as sooner or later, the Earth Alliance Gundam will run out of power and when it does… the PS Armor will deactivate itself, leaving it vulnerable to any attacks. "Huh?"
He suddenly felt the presence of a familiar Newtype from the Earth Alliance's military as Mu had entered the fray in his Moebius Zero, having expected that Rau wouldn't let them go without a fight. "Lieutenant La Flaga?" asked Kira in surprise as the Moebius Zero activated the Gunbarrels and targeted a nearby ZAFT GINN.
"Did you really believe they'd just sit back and watch?" Mu knew better than anyone else since he fought against Rau before, their first time actually being at the Grimaldi Front when the masked ZAFT ace was piloting a ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type and how it was the only enemy mobile suit that could match his Moebius Zero in terms of skill which served to be a backstory for their conflict with each other before Heliopolis.
"There you are Strike, this is for the wound you inflicted on me!" yelled Yzak, drawing a beam saber and was firing the rail gun at the Strike, which the young brown-haired EA pilot was shocked to see the Duel had been upgraded. "Now take this!"
The Duel slammed its beam saber against the Strike's shield and Kira responded by firing the beam rifle at the stolen machine, fortunate that the Aile Striker was helping him in this fight while Mu had managed to destroy the GINN and is further proving himself by living up to his title as the Hawk of Endymion… destroying five mobile suits at once due to his sense of spatial awareness. "Bastard!" Dearka decided to take action, knowing the bullets from the Mobile Armor would not be able to dent the Buster at all as long as the PS Armor and responded by firing both of the Buster's main weapons, wanting to save the missiles for the right moment against the enemy.
As this was happening, Olor took the chance to target the Excellence S with the recoilless rifle, having a feeling it didn't have the PS Armor that the Heliopolis Gundams had and it was so busy with facing Miguel's orange GINN that it would fail to notice his surprise attack. "Fiona, behind you!" yelled Kira, temporarily distracting the Duel with the CIWS bullets from his Gundam before targeting the beam rifle at the GINN, with one shot the shoulder was pierced and it caused Olor's attention to be diverted from the Excellence then a second shot from the Strike's weapon drilled its way into the cockpit.
"Olor!" Matthew yelled in horror as Olor's GINN exploded, taking Olor himself with it in the process, something even Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, Shiho, Miguel and Nicol were horrified by as if Rusty's death in the attack on the enemy wasn't already enough. "You Fucking Naturals will pay for this!"
He tried to get close only for Akito's Aestivalis to get in the way of the enemy unit. "You're not going anywhere!" he yelled, delivering a punch at the GINN which Matthew dodged and then responded with a shot from the recoilless rifle. "You got Ms. Clyne back so why not leave at once!"
Matthew gave Akito a darkened glare then drew the heavy sword from the GINN's hip and delivered a vertical slash that the young man was able to dodge without too much trouble. "We have our orders and sinking the three enemy vessels is one of them!" he informed the Aestivalis pilot before continuing his assault.
Inside the cockpit of Sasuke's GINN, Lacus knew that she had to do something and fast before things get completely out of hand…. Unfortunately during the Strike's battle with the Duel, Kira failed to notice Rau firing the CGUE's machine gun at him and as he was about to react, one bullet pierced right through the beam rifle. To his shock, he let go of the sparking beam weapon and raised the Strike's shield moments before the rifle exploded in front of him. "Kira!" whispered the pink-haired songstress, having had enough of this.
"Lacus what are you doing?" asked Sasuke, he didn't want anything to happen to her just as Rin and Miyuki had joined with him and Nicol upon having launched from the Vesalius themselves, which is the reason he didn't risk joining in on the attack as long as she was in the cockpit with him at this very moment. "You'll get hurt!"
Paying no heed to her childhood friend's warning, she activated the communications as she wanted all ZAFT forces in the area to hear what she has to say. "Commander Le Creuset, stop this at once!" she spoke in a serious tone, getting Rau's attention. "Are you attempting to make this a battlefield in the presence of a memorial representative like myself?"
Why now of all times… thought Rau, mentally cursing the fact that this girl was trying to bring a stop to this battle, something even Yzak was not too pleased with as the fight between his Duel Gundam and the Aile Strike, now armed with a beam saber, came to a brief halt.
"I will not permit this to happen!" Lacus continued with what she has to say, being one of the very few who isn't afraid to stand up to Rau due to her status as the daughter of Chairman Siegel Clyne himself. "You're to cease any and all hostile actions immediately! Can you not hear me?"
There was silence from both sides; then again Rau gave a small sigh as he lowered the machine gun. "What a troublesome young lady…" he mused to himself, and then decided he'd best not argue with the girl. "I understand. All units, return to the ship!"
Yzak was rather angry at this order and punched the control of his mobile suit. "You were lucky this time, however you better be prepared for one hell of a battle next we meet!" he said, as all remaining ZAFT mobile suits withdrew from the area.
The Moebius Zero and the Excellence S met up with the Strike, none of the pilots were sure what exactly happened though they'd best not to take anymore chances should the enemy decide to change their minds again. "Not sure what just happened but we're returning too" Mu hailed Kira and Fiona, getting their attention as wondered about two things… One; how ZAFT managed to develop this new armor for the Duel so quickly and two; why the enemy decided to retreat. "We don't want to stir up a hornet's nest."
Kira couldn't argue with that as the three pilots in question made their way back to the Archangel alongside the Dragonar units yet along the way, his main focus was on the Aegis, the Blitz and the custom GINN with them and he had a feeling that he will have to fight against Athrun again soon. "That was one unbelievable princess" continued the Hawk, yet neither Kira nor Fiona responded and it wasn't for long before his image appeared on the screen in their respective cockpits. "What? Something the matter?"
"No… There's nothing wrong at all…" answered the Strike's pilot, trying to hide the fact that there is indeed something wrong but Fiona knew what's going on as the Aile Strike and the Excellence S were the first to start heading back to the Archangel's Mobile Suit Deck followed by the Moebius Zero itself. They were about to ask for clearance to land, when Kira picked up a signal from his onboard radar, and cast a worried look at it. There were quite a few signals appearing on it from seemingly nowhere… and another signal, which seemed different from the others, had come out on the radar and then disappeared!
"Everyone… take a look at your radars! Have you seen that?" Kira asked to the rest of the crew.
"We have seen a strange thing on the radar… there are several unknown units around here!" Hokuto answered, blinking at the dots appearing on Dendoh's radar. And unfortunately, more were appearing with each passing moment, and it seemed they were heading straight towards the Nadesico, the Archangel and the other ships! "Hold… hold on a second, they're all heading towards us!"
"What? What sort of things are those?" Lowe asked. "Hey, Professor, do you have anything on those…?"
"We are… officially at a loss!" the Professor answered from the deck of the HOME, sounding both irritated and alarmed. One thing that annoyed her was not knowing what they were up against, and whatever those things on the radar were, they sure didn't look friendly…
oooooooooooo
Not a long time before, the pilot of the GINN LRRT that had been tailing the Archangel and its allied ships had decided to hang back, making itself scarce as Lacus was being given back to ZAFT. It went about as smoothly as it could be expected given the circumstances, but now that Rau Le Creuset's surprise attack had failed, the legged ship was certainly going to be on high alert, possibly expecting another attack soon. The pilot thought it would be wise to not risk getting intercepted by their targets, and provide ZAFT with frequent updates on the Archangel's position and status…
But just as the ZAFT pilot was about to hang back, something unexpected had happened. His proximity alarm had gone off all of a sudden, and as he took a look at his radar, several blips had appeared on it, pretty much surrounding his GINN. Alarmed, the pilot switched his outside cameras on, trying to get a better view… and what he saw coming towards him shocked and horrified him!
A swarm of horrifically alien things, bearing down on him like angry locusts, waving around razor-sharp mandibles and beating insect-like wings, was charging upon him, covering his GINN's whole visual! With an alarmed yell, the ZAFT pilot tries to grab his weapons and defend himself… but the monsters were too fast, and in a snap they were upon him, their horrible mandibles gnawing away at his GINN…
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"What is the meaning of this?" Ades exclaimed, blinking as the heat signature of their GINN LRRT disappeared from their radars, and several other form appeared out of nowhere. "Commander Le Creuset, we have an unpredicted development! We lost contact with the Long Range Reconnaisance Type that was keeping the legged ship and its companions under scrutiny!"
Rau's mask was still covering his eyes, but Ades was sure he could have felt him blinking in surprise. "Are you sure, Commander Ades?" he asked. "Have you determined the causes?"
"As of now, we are still unable to get a visual… but we do know that several unknowns appeared near its position!" Ades answered. "We think they might have overwhelmed our reconnaissance unit!"
"Right…" Rau answered, rubbing his chin in thought. This was one really unexpected development, but one that might have had its uses. "Have you gotten a position of the unknown units?"
"They are attacking the retreating units of the legged ship and their allies as we speak." Ades answered, causing a small smile to appear on Rau's thin lips. "Shall we order our pilots to be on standby for an imminent sortie?"
"Not this time, Ades." Was Rau's quick answer. "Let's hang back and watch how things go. Should these newcomers prove to be hostile, we'll be ready to fight back. Still, issue a warning to our pilots and have them be ready to intervene if things don't go our way."
"Yes, sir." Ades answered, wondering how Rau's mind worked in such cases. Still, until then he had obtained nothing but successes, and Ades trusted Rau's strategic genius and planning abilities to see them through once again…
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"What's going on here?" Yurika asked from the main bridge of the Nadesico. "Ruri, can you get a visual on the unknown units?"
"Doing it right now, Captain." The silver-haired pre-teen answered calmly. Running her pale hands on Omoikane's interface, Ruri opened up a few panels, and managed to get a visual of what was approaching… but judging from the gasps of horror and disgust that came from the rest of her crewmates, they would probably have been better off not knowing what they were up against: on the screens, a huge swarm of horrific monsters, covered in a green exoskeleton and with far too many eyes jutting out of their abominable bodies, was barreling at high speed towards the ships! Looking like an horrific cross between spider and crab, the alien monsters quickly closed the distance… and soon enough, the pilots that were still out could see them approaching, hungry and thirsty for blood!
"Unknown organisms approaching, Captain." Ruri said in her matter-of-fact style.
"WH-what? You… you mean those… things… are in fact living creatures?" an aghast Minato stammered. The sight of those monstrous things swooping down on them in a feeding frenzy was more than enough to shake the normally confident helmswoman.
Ruri nodded. "Omoikane cannot detect any sort of mechanical or electronic device inside their bodies. They are living beings. Albeit extraordinarily alien ones."
Yurika swallowed and tried to take charge of the situation. "O-okay then! Keep those things away from our ships! Expand the Distortion Field and try to draw them on us, then shoot them down with point-blank defense missiles!" she ordered. "Patch me through to Captain Ramius and the Professor! We're going to need help on this one!"
"Already on it, Captain!" Megumi exclaimed, opening a comm. channel to the other ships in the fleet…
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"What the… what on Earth are these… things?" Fiona exclaimed, using her Excellence-S' clawed arm to fend off one of the spider-crab hybrids, who was threatening to bite her robot's head off. "No, wait… there is no way these things could ever come from Earth! They must be some sort of aliens! Crusher Kick!"
The Excellence-S did a sweep with its right leg and kicked the monster in what could reasonably pass for its face, hitting one of its eyes! The creature screeched in pain and relinquished its grip on the Excellence-S, allowing Fiona to get back in an advantageous position. But more of those spider-crabs were swarming around and towards her at every moment, and she was finding herself hard pressed to keep up!
"Firewall!" Hokuto exclaimed, using Unicorn Drill's power to create a barrier around Dendoh and blocking the attacks of the spider-crabs. The monsters bounced upon the barely-visible protection, screeching in pain and frustration, and Daitarn-3 swept in to slice one of them to pieces with its Daitarn Zanba, while Dendoh broke its defensive stance and unleashed a crushing punch on the closest spider-crab, accompanied by a warlike yell from Ginga. The monster was hit and smashed into a pulp, and the two Dendoh pilots allowed themselves to breathe a sigh of relief… but it was not over at all, with their enemies still outnumbering them and attacking from all directions!
"Damn, these things just don't let up!" Kain cursed, slicing at the closest spider-crab with his double beam saber. The heated blade cut a deep gash in the monster's exoskeleton, causing it to screech in pain… but much to Kain's disappointment, the wound quickly stitched itself close, disappearing after just a few seconds! "Gah! And if we don't kill them outright, they quickly heal up! We must take them out in a single shot!"
"Dammit… this is getting heavy!" Akito exclaimed, using hisDistortion Field to swat away another spider-crab. Yet another one flew at his pink Aestivalis, opening its hideous maw and shooting out an awful-looking fluid substance whose effects the cook-turned-pilot had no interest in discovering! With an alarmed gasp, Akito managed to barely dodge the attack, which hit some space debris behind him… and melted them in a puff of white smoke!
"That stuff is highly corrosive! Don't let yourselves get hit!" Ryoko exclaimed. She charged head-on towards the closest spider-crab, punching it with a Distortion Field-powered punch and sending it to clash against two more of the rampaging horrors… and Hikaru and Izumi were more than glad to finish the three off with a concentrated and prolonged hail of gunfire from their Rapid Rifles!
Gai's blue Aestivalis, for its part, was doing a good job distracting the spider-crabs, and sometimes sweeping in with a Gekigan Flare to destroy one of them, or letting Akito do the same thing. Unfortunately, the frail Aestivalis units couldn't ease up too much of the pressure, and were too busy surviving to really pay attention to what was going on… and as a result, the swarm of alien locusts was quickly splitting up the team, despite their best efforts!
"These things are tough… what are we going to do?" Judau cursed, his ZZ Gundam's large beam saber drawing a powerful arc in the air and lopping off a leg from an offending spider-crab. The wound did not impair the monster for long, as another leg instantly grew in the previous one's place. Lowe managed to slash one of the spider-crabs with his beam saber, but once again, the alien creature healed in no time, and the Red Frame was forced to beat an hasty retreat in order to avoid getting hit with the monster's acidic spittle, firing a couple rounds from its beam rifle to cover both himself and the Argama pilots.
"We need to concentrate on one at the time, and thin their numbers as fast as we can." Emma Sheen exclaimed, managing to avoid a vicious bite from the spider-crab attacking her. With a deft demonstration of skill, Emma managed to aim her beam rifle at the monster's face and fire away, blasting the creature's head into oblivion! Then, without taking any chances in case the thing could regenerate, she fired another round that destroyed the spider-crab's body, and sighed a breath of relief… before she had to deal with another spider-crab shooting its acidic goo at her! She managed to raise her Gundam Mk-2's shield and block the attack, but the protection melted away in a few seconds, and Emma was forced to discard it. With a quick reaction, she managed to draw her beam saber and slash through the spider-crab hybrid, killing it even as more of the monsters arrived on both sides!
"There is just no end to these things..." Banjou said, firing a missile from the Daitarn 3's legs and blasting another of the monstrous alien creatures to nothing. The Dragonar units flew in a tight formation, blasting away at the opposition, and soon enough, more of the spider-crabs were destroyed... but the Dragonar D-1 was forced to raise its shield to defend itself from one of the creatures' acidic spittle, which melted the protection into a pile of twisted metal in a matter of seconds!
Tapp's Dragonar D-2 was ensnared by two of the creatures, which charged head on in an attempt to overpower it... and the boy of color was barely able to dodge one before the other one hit him in the back, causing his cockpit to shake dangerously! "Aaaargh! Shit, these things play for keeps!"
"Tapp! Hey, Tapp, are you alright?" Light asked from his D-3. Tapp answered by pointing his robot's shoulder cannons against a group of the strange monsters, and letting loose with twin beams of energy that vaporized two of the monsters on the spot!
"I'll be okay... man, I thought I was done for for a moment..." Tapp answered breathlessly.
Fiona was busy taking care of several of the spider-crab monsters, ne of whom was trying to ensnare the Excellence-S with a volley of slimy, sticky tentacles. The girl managed to avoid the attack and grabbed the offending spider-crab in her robot's massive claw-arm, squeezing it for a moment before firing a point-blank beam of enrgy that blasted the thing into nothingness. Unfortunately, more of the tentacle menaces were closing in...
"Hey! Keep your tentacles off, you filthy beasts! We're not in an hentai manga!" Fiona exclaimed, using the Excellence-S' massive claw arm to deflect her opponents' attack. Snarling in rage and frustration, the redhead tried to get out of the midst of the enemies and mount a solid counterattack...
And that was when it happened.
Fiona was not sure what was that. All she was able to make out was a blindingly fast speck of blue light quickly passing through, and striking the spider-crab that was attacking her with the speed and the power of a blazing meteor! The effects were devastating, the monster's unnatural body simply exploding in a mess of alien blood and gore before the stream of azure light, guided by a will of its own, dashed towards a small swarm of the attackers! It went to work, brutally and efficiently, tearing apart the horrific beasts with shocking ease and reducing them to nothing more than paste with nothing but a powerful swipe before turning back and slaughtering another bunch of the things!
"What? What... what is that? What's going on now?" Fiona exclaimed in shock, taking a good look at that blue light as it finally stopped. Whatever that thing was, it glowed for a few second before the light died down... and the girl widened her eyes in disbelief! "Oh, you... you've got to be kidding me!"
"Is that thing actually..." Kira murmured, watching what it was on his Gundam's camera screens. The blue stream of light had revealed itself to be a humanoid creature, just a little taller than the average human, wearing some sort of complex, futuristic-looking white armor with red highlights on his helmet, shoulder pads and chestplate. His face was completely hidden by his helmet, only showing a pair of luminous green eyes that resembled those of a Mobile Suit. A black bodysuit was barely visible where the armor was not present in order to allow greater mobility. In his right hand, he was holding a double-ended spear with cruelly sharpened blades. Despite his small size, this particular creature looked powerful and not one to be messed with, and Kira found himself gulping in surprise at the sight of this newcomer who had cut down those spider-crab hybrids so effortlessly.
"A... a human being?" Ginga mouthed from his seat onboard Dendoh. "How... how is that possible? That guy... he destroyed those things like they were nothing!"
"Who is that guy?" Lowe said, whistling in approval. "I sure wouldn't mind having him tag along..."
Seemingly ignoring the group of pilots and their robots, the newcomer turned his cold glance at the incoming monsters, who had just been caught off guard for a moment and were now attacking once again. Feeling nothing but pure rage and hatred at those loathsome creatures, the mysterious stranger flew straight at them, avoiding the blasts of acidic saliva that the monsters were shooting at him... and in the blink of an eye, he arrived upon them, raising his double-edged lance and bringing it down on the beast in front of the group!
"Die, Radam!" he exclaimed. The mighty weapon cut through the monster's body like a hot knife through butter, instantly slaying it! With an enraged yell, the mysterious man turned to another of the spider-crab monsters and avoided its claws, before stabbing it through the abdomen with his lance! He sliced the monster into tiny pieces, before throwing both ended of the lance at the next attacker, stabbing two of its many eyes out! The creature, called a Radam, screeched in rage and pain before the armored man rammed through it, surrounded in a glowing blue aura! The creature was torn apart, but two more tried to gang up on the smaller figure, who stood there, wating for them to come closer...
"Yaaaaah! Take this, you monsters!" Ryoko yelled, her Aestivalis extending a Distortion field powered fist and striking one of the spider-crabs in its soft underbelly, tearing the thing apart before the armored figure could attack it! The newcomer almost seemed to blink in surprise as the red Aestivalis finished off its opponent... and soon after, Dendoh took charge of the situation, its fists hitting the next Radam monster and destroying it! Ginga and Hokuto drove their robot forward, punching yet another Radam and kicking a third one into paste before turning to face the rest of the swarm!
"I didn't ask for your help." the mysterious guy in armor said angrily.
Ryoko frowned at this reaction. "Well, we didn't ask for yours either, so I guess we're even." she answered. "And what's the deal about these things? Who are you, for that matter?"
"That's none of your business. Just don't stand in my way." the armored man answered. Another group of Radam creatures chose that moment to attack, causing Ryoko and the rest of the Aestivalis team to expand their Distortion Fields to protect themselves against the deluge of acid venom that rained down upom them. The filthy liquid dispersed harmlessy against the invisible protection, and the small Nergal robots answered with a volley of bullets from their Rapid Rifles, hitting the enemies and pushing them back! Just as the Radam monsters were starting to regenerate the bullet holes, a powerful blue laser tore through the first of them, blastng it apart... and the team turned in the direction of the shot just in time to see a small spacecraft with a bright azure chassis, looking like some sort of large, yet lightly armed, fighter plane. It was firing at the monsters, keeping them at bay before they could regroup and attack.
"Looks like you've met our resident social butterfly, everyone!" the voice of a young, cocky man was heard through the fighters' speakers. "Sorry if we join the party late, but someone here couldn't wait to turn those Radam Beasts into alien sushi!"
"What... what's this about? Radam Beasts? Are they those... spider-crab things we're busy smearing all over the cosmos right now?" Kain asked in confusion. His comm screens, as well as those of the rest of the team, came to life... and as the D-1's beam lance tore through another Radam Beast, the pilots of the small fighter plane appeared on the screens - a young man with short, curly blond hair, wearing a light blue pilot suit with white shoulder pads and a rather cocky expression on his face; and a pretty young woman with long, dark green hair, a bright pink sleeveless uniform, and a more serious demeanor. Both looked like they were in their late teens to early twenties as they greeted the squadron of allied pilots.
"Yep, you got that right, pal... yet another pain in the ass that Earth has to deal with right now!" the blond man answered cheekily. "By the way, this is the Blue Earth speaking. The name is Noal Vereuse, of the Space Knights! Pleased to meet you!"
"Aki Kisaragi, of the Space Knights as well." the green-haired young woman answered seriously. "Looks like you've been set upon by a swarm of Radam Beasts. It was just fortunate that we happened to pass by en route to our destination."
"The Space Knights? I've heard of them, actually." Mu answered, his Moebius Zero firing at another Radam Beast with its linear gun. "You are a group founded by the Earth Union for space exploration and travel, if I recall correctly."
"Right on the money." Noal answered. "Although, ever since we met D-Boy here, we've had much more to deal with."
Fiona blinked in surprise as she dodged another Radam Beast's tentacles and crushed the offending aberration in her Excellence-S' claw. "D-Boy?" she asked.
Aki sighed and shook her head, placing two fingers on her forehead in mock disappointment. "Short for Dangerous Boy... just the nickname Noal here gave to the young man who is currently helping you facing the Radam." she explained, pointing at the armored figure who was, still now, making short work of many of the hideous beasts attacking the allied ships.
Noal chuckled and held his hands up, feigning innocence. "Hey, don't look at me, Aki. The guy did all the work himself! Anyway, it's a bit of a long story... why don't we wait until the Radam are dealt with before we explain?"
"That sounds like a good idea. There seems to be no end to these things." Banjou answered. Daitarn-3's sword slashed another of the spider-crabs apart, but the solar-powered giant robot turned to a much larger swarm, probably numbering in the hundreds, flying at the allied ships like a swarm of enraged locusts. It was certainly going to be a tough fight, if they were to take down all those monsters... "And we need to regroup quickly. There is a whole army of them bearing down on us!"
"There are... too many of them! Can we face all of them?" Kira asked in fear, his hands shaking slightly on the Strike Gundam's controls.
Fiona grimly turned to the swarming Radam Beasts, preparing to face them... but the armored individual, responding to the name of D-Boy, anticipated her and placed himself right in front of the allied pilots, facing the swarm of Radam Beasts as if he wanted to charge right into them! "What? What on Earth is he doing? He can't face all those things by himself!" the redhead exclaimed in surprise, hoping D-Boy wasn't going to do what she was afraid of...
However, neither Noal nor Aki seemed to be too worried about it. "Nah, let him be. Just sit back and enjoy the fireworks!" Noal advised the team, who held back in surprise.
One second later, D-Boy seemed to power up, a shower of crackling lightning coursing through his body... and a pair of huge cannon-like extensions opened up on his shoulder pads, already chaged and filled with energy that was being pointed at the Radam swarm!
What followed was one of the most unbelievable events Fiona had ever seen...
...
...
"VOLTEKKAAAAAAAAA!"
D-Boy let out a powerful, warlike scream of rage... and a split second later, his shoulder cannons flared to life, firing a blast of pure energy in a massive wave of emerald light that tore through space like a raging tornado, striking the Radam force head-on! A blinding light exploded in front of the dumbstruck team, and on board the Nadesico, even the stoic Ruri had trouble not showing her amazement as the massive surge of energy simply annihilated the Radar swarm, engulfing the Radam Beasts and turning them into so much space dust! It all lasted for no more than five seconds, filled with deafening noise, dazzling light and a breathtaking blast of energy... and as she slowly became able to see again, Fiona could see that the Radam swarm was simply... gone. Nothing was left of the seemingly unstoppable army of space locusts. Just cold, empty space where they once were standing. The blast of energy, which D-Boy had called Voltekka, had flat-out destroyed the attackers. Fiona wasn't sure whether anything short of the Nadesico's Gravity Blast could have done the same thing...
Several seconds of stunned silence followed, before Akito was able to stammer out a comment. "Have... have you seen that?" he mouthed.
"Kinda hard not to, Tenkawa..." was Fiona's answer. "He... he just... blew all those things away!"
Hokuto gulped in fear. "Just... what is that guy? And... how did he do that?"
"One thing is for sure... I'm damn glad he's on our side!" Lowe commented.
Kira nodded, shivering a little in fear. "I'm definitely not going to discuss that..."
D-Boy's shoulder pads closed again, and the armored warrior seemed to calm down a little, before turning to the rest of the team in what seemed like a warning.
"If you really need to call me anything, call me Tekkaman Blade." he stated angrily. "And my mission is to destroy the Radam."
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TO BE CONTINUED...