Spectre: Hoo boy! Holidays are a blast safe to say! I had to finished my new MG Quanta Full Saber before I resumed writing lol. Also, shout-out to Dragoon725 for giving me awesome ideas for the story that gives me the concepts on what to do next. If you're reading this, thanks for the awesome help man!
RedRat8: Apparently yes, the 105 Dagger is supposedly the mass production unit that the Alliance wanted for the military but had to settle with the watered down and less expensive Strike Dagger for quick production. And Kira in the Strike have the ability to use the Lightning and Jet Striker Packs, and the same could be said for the Launcher and Sword to Jane in her 105 Dagger. Jane and Rena could train with Setsuna and Kira if given the opportunity. Knowing Halberton, he was the only Admiral in the Alliance who had a good side compared to the likes of Sutherland or the others, so it may be possible. As for the Astray Characters, I already have an idea for Lowe but I'm not sure about Gai or Gina at that matter.
Accelbreaker: Yep they are. And I might just do that safe to say.
Ghostly: That is something I haven't figured out firsthand.
Chapter 14: Trans Am
Without warning, the 00 Raiser dashed towards the ZAFT fleet in what they could say is a red blur. A GINN pilot only had a second before a large blade slashed through his cockpit before exploding, and the 00 Raiser was at the center of an entire squad and before they can comprehend what just happened, they were shot down with its GN Sword II and III in its rifle mode in a rapid succession.
From there, hell broke loose for the ZAFT 6th Division. The 00 Raiser dashed through every enemy mobile suit that stood on his way, cutting down and firing at GINNs who were unfortunate enough to oppose him, as it blitzed through their formations that caused chaos and confusion among the ranks of the entire fleet. "Sir, we lost contact with Churchill and Thorne's GINN teams!", a frightened operator aboard the Patroclus exclaimed to the Captain. "We can't get a reading of the unknown machine!"
Captain Vauban his teeth and quickly ordered. "Intensify all forward batteries! Shoot down that mobile suit!", he barked but as every GINN that fell before them, death's door was heading towards them at such speed. However, before they could even execute the order, the 00 Raiser appeared in front of the bridge, its cyan eyes flashing followed by a large blade rammed through the bridge, causing it to explode.
Focusing his attention towards the rest, the 00 Raiser dashed forward towards Paulsen's GINN teams, slashing through their torsos in seconds before exploding as a result before dashing towards the Priam, slashing through the bridge horizontally and of the ship, causing a massive fireball as a result.
From the 8th Fleet, Halberton and his staff watched both in complete shock when one mobile suit turned a seemingly hopeless battle into a one sided massacre for the enemy as it sunked two ships of one of the most formidable ZAFT Squadrons in a matter of two minutes as well as a dozen GINNs at that matter, causing them to question: who is Commander Seiei exactly?
Hoffman cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, glancing at the Admiral, who was still wide-eyed at the sudden display of destruction made by the Gundam Meister. "Sir, are we certain that he is from special forces, at all?
The Admiral's gaze remained hardened, the same question running through his mind regarding one of the Archangel's pilots. Being the primary backer of the G-Project, Halberton knew that the technologies of ZAFT or even Orb hadn't reached that level of technology that the 00 Raiser displayed, considering the early age of mobile suits and its ability to surpass any existing G-Weapon, his near destruction of the Duel being proof of that.
However, its performance and judging from Setsuna's rather secretive nature, he was given the impression that both him and his machine had...otherworldy origin. As much as he would want to dismiss the idea, it was convincing rather, and he began to pale at the idea of his colleagues at the Atlantic Federation to try and take Setsuna's machine, not daring to imagine what kind of monstrosities they intend to do with it. Regaining his focus, Halberton addressed the rest of the fleet. "Continue on with the retreat towards Ptolamaeos! We'll fight another day!"
At the Archangel, they could only watch in shock as Setsuna tore through the ZAFT fleet like a red colored shooting star blazing through the battlefield. No words could describe the rampage that the otherwordly pilot had committed, so much so that the rest became afraid, especially to the civillian volunteers.
"How did he...?", Arnold began, his voice trailing off in shock along with the rest.
"Now we know why he was so adamant at keeping his machine's secrets...", Mu lowly mused, though he was a little thankful that they didn't press with that issue, otherwise they would probably have to face the ugly side of him that they are looking at now.
"He has engaged an entire fleet...and winning?", Natarle gasped, losing her disciplined visage at the sight. "Just what is Celestial Being really capable off to go this far?"
Murrue couldn't say anything. She was shocked as the rest of them, not thinking that it would go this far. Shaking her head, she adressed the crew. "Continue on with the descent! We can't afford to stay here any longer!"
Away from the battlefield, Team Nova could do nothing but watch as the machine slashed through scores of GINNs. All of them were horrified at the spectacle of the Blue Flash tore through the 6th Division as well the other ships who had joined them at the pursuit of the legged ship. The screams and final words of the GINN pilots were heard by their open channel, all of which were judged by their anger, fear, horror, and dread as every sentence said was followed by static before followed by another.
"I can't reach him-gaaaah!!!
"Where the hell is he?!"
"He's too fast! I-I can't see him!"
"What kind of monster did these Naturals gave us!?"
"HELP US!"
Regina closed her eyes, as she turned off communicator, where she opened a channel to the rest of her team. Mare slammed his fist on the right side of his cockpit in anger for the helpless situation, Riika was lightly sobbing at hearing their final words of terror that equally frightened her, and Courtney clenched both his fists in anger, trying what he can to hide his frustration from the team.
"Damn it!", Mare cursed. "Who the hell is this guy?!"
"Can't we help them?", Riika asked, desperate for an answer of what to do at the matter but Regina shook her head in remorse in response.
"There is nothing we can do...", she said in a lowly tone, understanding what the others felt while keeping them safe. "If we go back, we'll die...
The rest of Team Nova lowered their heads, knowing that this day would haunt them for the days to come.
"What...", Ades gasped in horror and shock as the lone machine tore apart the fleet as the helmsman went against orders and began to turn the ship around, something that neither Ades or Rau opposed. "What kind of mobile suit have they sent in...?"
"A wildcard that the Earth Forces had been hiding", Rau said, equally shocked as the rest of the crew but remained calm as the Vesalius slowly withdrew from the battle. "The Council won't take this news well once we get back to PLANTs. Now with the Earth Forces having something to show off at the meantime"
Elsewhere, Athrun, Dearka, and Nicol watched in horror at the screen as numerous ZAFT personel were slaughtered by the unknown machine that not even the Strike had a body count that large from all the times they fought against him. Sure, they knew that none of them were capable of actually fighting the Blue Flash in a one on one and has since wreaked havoc from the first time it appeared, but they never thought that it was capable of tearing an entire fleet apart.
"This...this isn't a battle anymore...", Nicol uttered, shaken to the core as the three considered themselves fortunate that they were already inside the Vesalius before things went haywire, aware that Yzak hasn't returned since the unknown mobile suit had mutilated the Duel prior but was left floating in the void of space.
Athrun was visibly shaken. It could have destroyed them all if it wanted to from all its previous confrontations, but this was nothing he had seen before. From his point of view, the unknown machine had went berserk as means to protect the legged-ship and the remains of the 8th Fleet by activating the yet unknown system to them that made all their mobile suits look pitiful compared to them.
And now, all they could do is watch as the 00 Raiser wreak havoc while they are forced to fall back from the battle.
Slicing down another GINN, Setsuna boosted towards the Hector and the Priam where he was met by another squad of GINNs who tried to intercept him but he shrugged as cut them all down one in seconds by one before jamming the GN Sword III onto a GINN's chest, before drawing both GN Sword IIs in Rifle Mode. Charging both weapons, Setsuna let out a light roar as the 00 Raiser fired two powerful blasts that tore through the hulls of the Nazca-Class and Laurasia-Class vessels, resulting of two massive explosions behind the 00 Raiser, who turned its attention to the right flank of the enemy fleet.
As the adrenaline rushed through him as he boosted towards the other vessels, his mind has warped to somwhere else. From the dispersal of GN Particles that he could feel with his Quantum Brainwaves, Setsuna could hear each and every voice and thoughts of every individual at his line of sight, all mixed with fear, anger, and desperation. Emotions that are no longer new to him, as he had already been used to feeling them ever since A-Laws had fallen.
However, as he did, the presence from before came back to him as he looked beside him to see the new model he had faced earlier, one that gave him a sense of both familiarity. The machine was flanked by his three comrades, where Setsuna could see them through the Quantum Dimension. As he looked closer to the GUAIZ's pilot, what he saw was not what he was expecting...
Those reddish-chestnut eyes and that lavender hair. He could only recall two people from his world that had been gone ever since. And yet it shouldn't possible. But there was no mistake, and Setsuna could see through it.
Anew? Setsuna gasped in shock, followed by disbelief at what he was seeing. Anew Returner? How did she....
And as if it came to him all of a sudden, the memory of him shooting down the Innovade coming back towards him in order to save Lyle from her, that caused the younger Lockon to have a heartbreak at losing her.
She trying to come back to us! Not as an Innovator! As a human! But because of you, she's DEAD!
Those words echoed within his mind, the last word even proved to be more haunting upon seeing the familiar lavender hair and those chestnut eyes, feeling as if he was being haunted beyond the grave by her presence. But it didn't make sense to him, how in the world did she managed to end up here?
Deciding to deal with it later, he looked at the Archangel, Setsuna found that the legged ship had already begun its descent, with the remainder of the 8th Fleet already withdrawn to the moon. But as he did, he realized that an incoming Laurasia, the Gamow, was pursuing the Archangel. But not to shoot them down, but to ram the entire ship as a means for a suicide attack.
Murrue looked at theArchangel's position in the atmosphere, she was able to at least take comfort in the fact that they were too far down for any reasonable enemy ship to pursue now.
One damaged frigate, the Gamow, broke out of the ZAFT formation, and was making a direct course for theArchangel. "They wouldn't…" she whispered. But indeed, the green vessel seemed determined to catch the white warship at all costs.
However, appearing a red flurry, the 00 Raiser appeared in front of the Gamow, covering the Archangel, causing the crew to gasp in alarm for the Gundam Meister. "Setsuna! The frigate is heading your way!", Mir cried out. He didn't say a word in reply. Raising the GN Sword over the head head, the said blade began to convert copious amounts of GN Particles to until the said blade took a form from that they could say is a beam saber, where it brought down the large blade, searing through the frigate vertically as the two halves exploded in impact
"Awesome...", Tolle gasped in awe along with the rest of the crew, with Mu giving him an odd look.
"You think?"
"Sir, the Gamow has been sunk! Galvani and Ziegler are lost! The Achilles and the Vesalius are still afloat! The rest of the Division were destroyed!", the operator aboard the Ares reported to the Admiral, who clenched his fist on losing countless lives within his command.
"Inform the Achilles to rejoin with the Ares and to fall back from the battlefield!", was all that Markhov could say as he watched the debris of the ships that were once under his command.
Setsuna observed as the remainder of the ZAFT fleet, which about three ships left, began their retreat but just as he was about to rejoin the Archangel, a voice called out to him, the familiar voice that guided him when he returned to pilot the 00 Raiser.
Let them know why you are here. Let them know your true purpose...
00? Setsuna thought, looking at his surroundings for the two sides. That question echoed through his head, what was he doing exactly? If asked to why he was here, a system with the 00 Raiser went haywire that inadverdently sent him here. And he only stayed with the Archangel, is because that is the only ship and crew he felt he could trust until he figured out how to come back to his own timeline.
But instead another question rang in his head; is there another reason for that? Something much more prevalent that he had thought? As a Gundam Meister, he knew that his purpose was to end conflict, and they made sure of it once then had ended the rule of A-Laws. But he had always felt that their work is not yet finished.
Does his duty as a Meister extend beyond the borders of his dimension? The mutual hatred between Naturals and Coordinators differed from what he had seen to his own timeline is what determines the conflict within this timeline.
Then he thought. A Meister's purpose is always the same no matter what. Opening his eyes, Setsuna knew that what he is about to do won't bring a true lasting change towards everyone. But he had to at least try.
The 00's GN Tau Drive II's particle dispersal further intensified as the machine scanned Setsuna's biometrics. Roaring in determination, the Gundam Meister's brown eyes evolved into a gold color as the the 00 Raiser's GN Particle dispersal further intensified, releasing a massive wave of particles all over the area as everyone braced for impact as the waves surged right before them.
"Admiral! We are receiving a massive signal interference coming from the 00 Raiser!", the operator aboard the Menelaos reported. "They... didn't have anything to with any type of weaponry!"
"What?!", Hoffman exclaimed. "Then what do those particles do?!"
Halberton, however, remained calm. Whatever emotion he had carried was replaced by curiosity as he looked at the the particle waves that surrounded the battlefield.
"What...what are those?!", Yzak exclaimed from the Duel's cockpit.
Murrue and the rest of the crew gasped at the now marvelous sight of the particles that shrouded the battlefield, so much so that their dread and fear was already replaced by sheer fascination. This radiance..., she thought to herself.
"Urgh...", Regina groaned in pain as the particles surged the battlefield like wildfire. What is this? Something had went through my Quantum Brainwaves, but what?
"Lieutenant, these voices...", Riika began, equally appalled at her mental state, wondering what kind of phenomenon are they experiencing.
"You heard them too?", Mare asked, bewildered as the rest of them. "And I thought I was going insane...what's going on here?!"
"It feels like we are connected...mentally", Courtney theorized to his squad, causing the rest, to gasp slightly.
The purified GN Particles in conjunction of the Twin Drive System caused the people's minds to be expanded and had the capability to connect. Regina keenly observed before she widened her eyes in realization. Then are you...an evolved Innovator?
There would neither be a future, Coordinator and Natural alike, without change with understanding.. Setsuna proclaimed to everyone, whose minds are being warped to a sense of understanding. Those who never had any hate for either genetic were struck by those own words, words that touched their hearts as a whole.
Commander Seiei...could you bring the peace that both Naturals and Coordinators sought for so long?, Halberton thought, before glancing at Hoffman and the rest of the crew.
Your orders, Admiral?, Hoffman asked
We continue our retreat towards the Lunar Base. He ordered, glancing at the 00 Raiser, with hopeful eyes. If this is what you fight for Commander Seiei, then I would be honored to join you if possible
"Sir.. are you hearing this?", one of the Ares' operators inquired to the elderly black uniform, who observed the unknown machine further.
"I know...", Markhov replied lowly. How could there be change if many didn't have the heart to do so?
From the Vesalius, the crew gasped in awe at the marvelous display, causing Rau to smirk at the sight whereas Ades remained wide-eyed. So beautiful, yet so destructive...
Athrun, Nicol and Dearka also heard the voices, causing them to stagger back in shock. How could change even be possible? Athrun mentally thought. They struck first have they?
But that doesn't mean it's impossible, would it? Nicol interjecred mentally for Athrun, causing the bluenette to look at him in shock. I think we could, we just had to understand one another.
Can't bet on that Nicol, Dearka snidely said. If anything, I don't think the PLANTs would take this very well...
Hearing the voices, Setsuna closed his eyes. Captain Ramius
"Wait...was that Setsuna?", Mu gasped, hearing his voice mentally along with the crew in the bridge. Kira, Jane, Rena and the rest felt their conciousness being connected to one.
I'll give you time to escape. This is something that I'll have to finish for myself
But we can't leave you here!, she told him mentally.
JUST GO!
Murrue looked at the crew and they all had varying expressions. Mu and the rest of the civillian volunteers weren't keen at leaving the Gundam Meister behind, while others such as Natarle, knew they had to do so in order to get to Alaska.
Captain Ramius, Natarle spoke within her conciousness. We have to go.
Deactivating the Trans-Am System, Setsuna breathed out as both fleets had withdrawn to a safe distance. Checking his GN Particle Gauge, which was at 20%, Setsuna opened a compartment beside him and pressed a button where it activated a familiar red ball whose eyes blinked and its ears flapping.
"Haro to Setsuna! Haro to Setsuna!", the little ball called out the Gundam Meister who lightly smiled.
"Haro, can you land the Raiser towards the Earth Sphere?", the Gundam Meister asked the little robot.
"Will do! Will do!", the red ball confirmed as Setsuna sighed in relief, hoping that the Archangel was safely descending towards Earth, and he closed his eyes.
Then the sweet embrace of sleep took him.
"Captain, the 00 Raiser is at atmospheric re-entry!", Flay hurriedly informed Murrue, who gasped slightly. "The remainder of the 8th Fleet had withdrawn to the Lunar Surface Base, Ptolemaeus"
"If we go after him, we won't be able to reach Alaska!", Natarle argued, where Murrue glared at her. Checking his signal, the Captain saw that the Gundam Meister was indeed way off course, slowly descending from orbit towards Earth.
"He won't be able to make it back here on his own," Kira said, worried, as he couldn't sortie immediatley with the Strike to intercept him.
Murrue nodded. "I know. I'll have the ship moved so we can intercept him."
"But we'll miss the drop point!" came Natarle's voice in the background.
"We're not leaving anyone behind!", Murrue argued before turning to everyone on the bridge. "Change trajectory from Alaska towards the 00 Raiser. If ZAFT managed to get to him, I wouldn't want to imagine what they would do if they got their hands on him and of his machine"
The rest fell silent, not wanting to imagine ZAFT mass producing the powerful capabilities that the 00 Raiser had, which would only mean the change of warfare as they knew it. "Brace yourselves; moving the ship like this while in the atmosphere will be rough."
AN:I think I went a little overboard with the 00 Raiser using Trans-Am Burst, because it's really hard to write their reactions firsthand. But before you judge me, there are reasons to why:
-Setsuna had to at least show people that there are more than just needless warfare to begin with, such as the understanding with one another despite the different genetics, though this is questionable since he had just destroyed most of the fleet. This gives moderates, such as Markhov and Halberton here, that there are more reasons to pursue a mutual understanding between different genetics.
-Second, this is to show to ZAFT that the 00 Raiser could be their salvation, because of the effects that it gave for the remainder of the ZAFT Fleet due to the overexposure of pure GN Particles that cured whatever defects they had suffered for years (Such as infertility and the sterile status of third gen. Coordinators such as Yzak, Nicol and Dearka), which would give basis as to why they should pursue the Raiser, albeit carefully, as you guys know what kind of they people are at the Council.
Also, to those who were wondering as to how Setsuna managed to execute Trans-Am Burst despite not using the true GN Drive, let me explain. The GN Drives he was using were prototype GN Drive Tau II, which are improved GN Taus developed to compensate for the lack of any usable True Drives because of the lack of resources to build any more.
These Drives practically had the same effects as with the original Drives (Such as green/cyan colored particles that extended exposure could cure just about anything) but it had thrice operating time and particle capacity than a regular Tau Drive, and it could safely use the Trans-Am systems without any problems of the Drives being destroyed after usage, though the need for a power re-supply is required since this Drive doesn't give the unlimited power supply unlike the originals.