Revolution and Judgment rendezvoused with Belurius at the agreed debris
belt.
###########################################
Gundam SEED: Endless Conflict
Realize?
##########################################
On Belurius bridge, Kazu and Shute video-conferred with William. "Good job." praised William. "But don't bother returning here, you have another mission. As for the info, Kazu, just send it via computer."
"Sir. Actually we have quite a big problem. It seems that CAF's secret units are operable. Captain Shute and Kazu exchanged fire with them in Earth." said Ardvil.
"Alright then. This task should suit Belurius. You will capture Heliopolis and the abandoned fortress, Yakin Heatch, in its victinity. They will both serve as our forward base for future assaults so it is imperative that you do not damage them."
"Pardon, sir, but it is Orb's civilian colony. We might cause innocent casualties." said Gralle.
"Ha! Who knows what kind of 'civilian' colony it is. It was destroyed in the War since it has been found to develop Alliance's secret weapons. And, my boy, in war, there will always be casualties whether may it be hostile or not."
"We are quite worn out since the last mission and will need parts for the GuAIZs." said Ardvil.
"Special reinforcements are already in their way to the battle site. You can secure an area for them first. Good luck gentlemen." concluded William as cut off the transmission.
#############################################
William is receiving the transmitted information from Belurius. "Just as I expected. The core program has been taken away. Even that SOB was eluded by this useless surface data. No matter, I don't really need this anyways. Revolution and Judgment are enough information givers. My researchers can improvise and improve on the adequate data, using the suits as the experiment subjects. Just a while more...and my dreams will come true. After this is done, I shall have no need for those two. No one shall stand in MY way." said William as he exited his office and went on to a restricted area. Meanwhile, Geory watched the scene from his computer monitor. '"Enjoy your short time wisely, old man."'
#############################################
"Kazu. I think this should interest you." said Ardvil, handing him a disk. Kazu took out his pocket laptop (Not IPalm), which was supplied to every higher ranking officer. The laptop projected a holographic image. Kazu's eyes opened wide as he scrolled down the contents.
"You guys interested in High Senate's chairman Phillip Kaiger's daughter?" asked Shute.
"In Lumio..." Shute suggested.
"....No. No way. How can you be so lucky!" said Shute, realizing what Shute meant.
"What do you want to do now?" asked Tochji.
"I don't know but I don't want this matter to leak out of this ship yet." All nodded in agreement, knowing the seriousness of it. Kazu left the bridge to have his lunch in the canteen, followed by Shute, Worelt and Louis.
"You didn't place her in the cell, didn't you?" asked Shute.
"Captain wanted to since she is considered a prisoner but his "hero" here decided to give her a better place." said Louis sarcastically.
"Hey. Hey. Learn how to be a gentleman towards a pretty girl, okay?" Kazu shot back.
"And make them fall for you? It's easy since you, and you, are so handsome." said Worelt, pointing to Kazu and Shute's faces.
In the canteen, the four boys took their seats and started to consume their food. "We hadn't a chance to eat some time. Man, this is good." said Worelt as he gobbled up his food.
"I think even crap taste nice to you when you are hungry, Worelt." said Louis. Worelt choked on his food when he heard that. He grabbed Kazu's glass and gulped down the liquid. He then noticed Kazu looking at him and then to his glass. He quickly apologized formally.
"No. It's not that. The thing you just drank is..." said Kazu, making a terrified face. Worelt turned pale, really pale.
"Should I call for the doctor?" said Shute, catching the faint curve at tip of Kazu's lips as he understood what Kazu was playing at. He then tapped Louis's shin to get him to understand what was going on since he too was fooled by Kazu. Louis understood and cooperated by saying, "That drink...can't it be?" Worelt 'felt' nauseous due to the three's reaction. The three started to grin a little. Worelt, however, caught that and said, "Come on. Laugh it out. You are making a fool out of me, right." Like a door being unlocked , all the laughter went out of them.
"...Fuuh. Okay. Calm down guys." said Shute. Worelt had his face 'color' back. It took them some time to regain control over their jaw muscles. "That was good, CAPTAIN." criticized Worelt.
"At times like this we need all the laugher we can." said Kazu. They settle down and continued to finish their food.
"Why did you two join ZAFT?" asked Shute, breaking the silence. Louis and Worelt did not say anything for a while.
"Our parents worked for ZAFT even after the war. They were on spy mission but were caught in a sudden crossfire between CAF and Alliance remnants. The General told us that they were dead and their will was for us to help in the cause."
"I see...War is such a sad thing..." said Kazu.
"What about the others?" asked Shute.
"Ocuda and Tochji each had their whole family wiped out in Bloody Valentine. They could not really get rid of that bitter memory. As for...what's their names?" asked Worelt.
"Trezze and Ateale. We met those dudes only since Belurius assignment, so we don't really know. What about you two? Why did you join?" asked Louis. (A/N: Most of Belurius crew is ignorant about Kazu's and Shute's real identity.)
"More or less the same reasons as you guys." replied Shute.
###############################################
At the same time...
"Damage report?" asked Phillip.
"Bad, sir. 70% of both space and earth ENFORCER forces have been annihilated. Combined with California Defense force, the remaining number makes up only half of the original amount." reported an officer.
"Lumio's destruction is our fault, isn't it."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"What about the colonists, and the data?"
"The survivors have been safely evacuated and the data has been secured but, sir, I fear that Ms Kaiger is not in any of the retrieved lifeboats."
"My daughter is what?! What are you guys doing?!" exclaimed Phillip as he grabbed the officer by the collar.
"Pa, pardon sir, but it seems that she was somehow left behind in the rush. She was part of the development group that is responsible for transferring the data from Lumio main computer." replied the officer.
"And where is THIS group of developers?"
"They are secure, sir, but as I said, Ms Kaiger is not with them."
"Th, then she is dead ?" asked Phillip, dropping the officer.
"Ehrm..It is quite premature to assume the worst, sir, since Revolution had been reported to enter the interior of the colony. So it might have been possible that the pilot have taken her."
"Get me Waltfeld here quick."
"Yes, sir." replied the officer before saluting and leaving the room.
'"You better have her, Hibiki, or I will make sure that you suffer."' thought Phillip. Another officer entered the room saying that the Senate wants a conference. "'Damn it. They are annoying."' Phillip then said, "Tell them I will be there soon. Dismissed."
###############################################
"How is she?" asked Yzak.
"Better. She has cried herself to sleep, poor girl. Milly is keeping an eye on her." replied Lacus.
"The scene around here seemed like a replay of Alliance's attack." said Dearka as he looked through the window.
"Expect that there is only one suit that did this." continued Yzak.
"Are you sure Athrun is in the black suit?" asked Lacus.
"Quite but actually, there are two of them. The one that looks like Freedom joined in just as we were about to catch the other. It destroyed my sniper rifle and almost slashed me apart."
"Why are they black in the first place? Mine has its colors." said Lowe.
"Ask the creator, not me."
"What are you going to do next?" asked Lacus.
"Return to X13A, and help in the rest of the maintenance. We need get these done quick to be able to capture those units." replied Yzak.
"I want to come with you, please."
"What do you want to do there?"
"Kira is involved in this. I want find the reason and truth......and Cagalli will want to join in too." said Lacus determinedly. The three sighed. Dearka started, "Looks like the old group going to get beck together."
"You are forgetting someone." said Yzak.
"Who?...No, I would not involve her in this."
"I think she wants to get involved herself, and you used to brag about her CIC skills."
"What do you know about her?"
"What you YOURSELF know about her? Huh? Suppressing that feeling for so long. Coward." taunted Yzak.
"Sh, shut up! You don't understand my situation...but why do you care about this anyway?"
"Forget it! I'm leaving!" said Yzak as he left for Resistance, avoiding the continuation of the argument. Dearka followed in a distance.
"What's with them?" asked Lacus, confused.
"Beats me. They have been like this for a while, occasionally."
################################################
Kazu and Shute were reconfiguring their suits to prepare for the upcoming mission.
"We haven't been really able to learn about these since the first we got them." said Kazu as he rapidly typed in commands into the keyboard.
"That sniper MS. Its shot range is quite short but my radar is useless."
"Don't worry about that. The technicians had to reduce the radar range so that we would be affected by ECMs. You can actually adjust the range anytime you want. Try it."
"I didn't notice that......Not bad."
"Beware though. The accuracy of your automatic lock-on system is decreased."
"I don't really need the system. Your suit needs it more than I do."
Captain Ardvil walked into the dark hangar and noticed lights coming out of the suits' cockpits. "Gentlemen. Get some rest. We have quite a tough battle next." he said.
"There's barely any military there, Captain. What so tough about it?" asked Shute as he kept navigating through Judg's system.
"No damage to both targets, or Coordinator casualties. Those demand focus and accuracy, boys. And who knows, CAF have strong influence many of space sectors, so be sure to expect enemy reinforcements. Finish up whatever you are doing quick." said Ardvil before leaving the area.
"Come on. Let's finish this quick."
"Geez. I have forgotten about my destroyed rifle."
"Use mine. I have enough projectiles." said Kazu as Revo passed the rifle to Jugd. After finishing reconfiguring the weapons lineup, Kazu came across a lock in a sector he is trying to get into. He tried a password but the screen stated, "2 tries to self-destruct". Kazu entered another wrong pass code. He panicked a little. A voice in his head informed him against what he is attempting. '"Shut up."'. Part of him told him to realize the consequences while part of him urged him to go on. He felt the stinging sensation in his head. "'Not again."' he thought, resting his head on his left palm. That was when something came across his mind as his head ache began to subside while his hands typed in characters by themselves. The moment ENTER key was pushed, he braced himself for an explosion but instead, the cockpit hatch suddenly closed and Revo's eyes glowed a dim yellow.
"Hey! Kazu. What's wrong?"
Revo's cockpit became pitch black from its gray atate. A statement appeared for a few moments but Kazu could only catch the words, 'system' and 'activate'. The cockpit and the central radar sphere then flashed intensely for a second before several scenes appeared before Kazu. The first showed a colony exploded; another, a fortress; and another, a red Nazca class crashing into a large, unidentified battleship. '"Wh,where is this...so real."' His breathing grew heavy, and he sweated. More scenes appeared. The first one showed the first person view of a pilot in a cockpit fighting a red mobile suit with yellow sabers drawn on each of its foot and forearms. Then, the scene switches to an enormous explosion on an island. Next, a cannon firing a massive laser beam in the path of a fleet. "St, stop. Wha, what is all this..." Kazu was bombarded by uncountable migraine attacks before passing put. The cockpit returned to its gray state.
Shute opened the cockpit hatch from the outside and found an unconscious Kazu. "Kazu! Hey. Kazu! Damn it. What happened?" Shute called as he shook Kazu's slightly shaking body. He then pulled Kazu out and placed his arm over his shoulder and dragged him out.
##############################################
"How are they progressing?" asked Waltfeld.
"It's more complicated as we did not realize that the Neuro-Link was badly severed from the MSOS (Mobile Suit Operation System) of a few of the MS. I am sorry, sir." said Rondo Sahaku, the chief engineer of P-Units.
"What will be the problem caused by it?"
"Cockpit's Tele-Commu system would not react immediately to the pilot's mind patterns, resulting in delayed movement, or in other words, only 50% chance of surviving a battle with either Revo or Judg." replied Dearka, sliding out of Countenance cockpit. "Hey! Bring it over here. I'm ready!" he shouted to a crane operator, whose crane carried a long rifle.
"Not only that, sir. The PS armor would not function well either. Only Intrepid is able to Phase-Shift at the moment."
"So the problem is with the MS? What about the ships?" asked Murrue, appearing behind Waltfeld.
"We actually took priority to fix them first and the whole maintenance group and I are confident that they are ready for action. You are free to look around both of them."
"Not bad. Speed up the work." said Waltfeld. 'BANG' All heads turned to where the noise came from.
"Watch it! It's a very important armament. Now bring it up slowly..." said Lowe, supervising the transfer of his 'Gerbera Straight' katana. The two high-ranking officers shook their heads at this. Then they proceeded on to the bridge of Ariel. "This looks like Archangel's and Eternal's..." said Murrue, in awe.
"Both Ariel and Zechiel are the descendants of the previous ships. Good day, General, Colonel." said a brunette swinging her seat around to face them. "How are you, Erika?" greeted Murrue. The MS researcher smiled.
"I presume you would like to scan through the ship's abilities?"
"Indeed, thank you." replied Waltfeld. Simmons showed the two all about Ariel's specs and armaments.
"...Did the kid really created this?" asked Waltfeld. Erika nodded, frowning a little.
"Is it possible for us engage the two units with these two?" asked Murrue.
"Unfortunately not as the MSs assigned to this ship have overwhelming capabilities to take down any battleship when configured properly and in the hands of a capable pilot."
"They are capable alright."
"Are you so sure it's them turning against us, especially not Kira?" asked Murrue. Waltfeld did not answer. Just then, the bridge door slid open.
"Ah. General, here is the crew of the bridge but you may already know most of them." Ssigh and Milliaria entered first followed by the crew of Archangel; Dalida Loraha Chandra, Romel Paru, and Jackie Tonomura, and other familiar faces from both Kusanagi and Eternal. They then saluted each other.
"Neumann, is it? Where is he?" asked Murrue.
"He is assigned to Zechiel as the pilot, captain. Sorry, colonel." replied Chandra, forgetting that the captain of Archangel is now a Colonel. Before Murrue could ask who will be piloting Ariel, Ssigh has already took his seat in front of the wheel and started to fiddle with the equipment, and thus providing her with the answer.
"Alright everyone, go to your assigned posts and warm the system up." ordered Erika. After that, "May I have a word?" asked her. Murrue and Waltfeld approached her. She started to access a sector in the database. "We have trouble getting through the lock on this armory. Cutting through the armor just under the deck would cause interference so bad that it would freeze up the entire system. Even Chief Sahaku gave up on this one."
"What's in it?"
"A Classified series of Neutron Buster rifle."
".............Again?" asked Waltfeld, not believing the words.
"M6-M9 8-X series of nuclear induced buster rifles, for every single one of the MS."
Waltfeld's hand trembled with anger. "Nuclear?"
"But fortunately, we can't unlock it. So it would be useless."
"Who then has the code for this?" asked Murrue. Erika shook her head.
"It is not just an ordinary code entering and, 'viola'. Something more complicated has to be done. But this is not the urgent thing right now. Here." Erika showed the two another screen on Revolution's database.
"Like Freedom..." said Waltfeld.
"Almost, but it has a pilot support system that can turn negative if the user is not in the right state of mind and/or he or she could not stand immense data pressure send by system. The support, also called REVRO(Revision Predictive Override) system, provides the pilot information about the battle and, most terrifying, the events that is yet to come so that the pilot could make instant decisions and therefore, far amplifying the MS's reaction time."
"The future in a battle?" asked Murrue.
"Yes, but the downside of it is that it sends so much info and predicts many different things, even sometimes far to the future, that most, even experienced, pilots could be driven mad if they did not have superb control psychologically and physically. The system's AI too, allows it to indirectly control the pilot. But that is not all of the function of the system. I didn't know all of them for sure."
"How could this be developed?"
"It is the joint project by CAF, NCA (Natural Coordinator Alliance), High Senate and even ORB. At first, we wanted to use it for human benefit, but a number of people have fallen victims to its overwhelming abilities, and several groups like ORB backed out of the project. So, it was transferred to the Institute for further quarantine, but it seems that the Institute had secretly proceeded developing it in Lumio. The raw data in Lumio, has, fortunately, been transported to safely. I've found this out only recently that it seems only Revolution was equipped with the better enhanced version of the system and it is protected by a lock."
"So the REVRO can either be controlled or in control, but mostly, in control?" asked Waltfeld. Erika turned off her monitor as she nodded.
"Let's just hope that nothing has happened yet." said Murrue.
"It's just that I can't imagine that if Kira is really piloting Revolution and he has broken the lock to the system, the MS would be almost invincible when combined with his SEED." said Erika. Everyone in the bridge became stunned when this was mentioned.
##############################################
"What happened, doc?" asked Shute.
"...Never seen this before. Pulse, muscle tension, and the rest are just fine except for his eye response. He seemed to have been in a nightmare or some psychological shock. I have just administered him some Primidone to calm him down. We can only wait for the result." said the doctor in charge.
"Thank you, doc." The doc nodded.
'"That girl...she's a psychologist. Maybe..." thought Shute. He opened Kazu's room and found her fast asleep on Kazu's bed. '"He is way too kind."'. Shute tapped his gun on the door. The girl woke with a start, and stared at him with eyes full of fear. "Come with me. You are needed." The girl stepped off the bed and followed Shute. '"So it's true that both of them have revolted against the alliance."'
"Examine him and tell me what he's suffering from." ordered Shute. "You may use any equipment here." She grabbed a stethoscope and listened to Kazu's heartbeat. '"Funny..."' Suddenly, an announcement came over the inter-comm, "Captain Shute Hibiki, please report to the bridge immediately. Repeat..."
'"What now?"' thought Shute. "Don't exit this room unless you want to be killed." Shute left, leaving the unconscious Kazu with the girl.
'"Shute Hibiki?? I thought his name was...never mind, must be a code name or something."' She shook of the thought and reluctantly continues to examine Kazu. "He has the same symptoms as the previous test subjects of the system...!!!Don't tell me the MS captured was Revolution?"
*************
"Kira...Kira..." Kazu found himself floating in the darkness. "Kira..."
'"That voice...so familiar."' "Who is it?"
"Do you love me..."
"Who are you? Where are you?" Kazu propelled himself to the faint ray of light. The light grew larger as he approached it and felt himself being enveloped in the warmth he felt somewhere before. A vague outline of a person appeared before him, with its arms welcoming him.
"Hey!" called a voice, which sounded like his, behind him. He turned around towards the darkness where the voice came from.
"Kira...I am sorry..."
Kazu faced the direction where the light was, but it started to fade away, together with the person's outline. "Wait! Please don't leave me! Who are you? Why do you call me Kira..."
*************
Kazu grabbed her hands, pressed them to his chest, and kept repeating, "Don't leave me." Her heart raced wildly in her chest and she felt her face burning. Being a professional on psychological affairs, she immediately realized what this meant. She stared down at Kazu. '"I have not felt this before, not even with any of my boyfriends...but...he already has a sweetheart...I don't care."' Pulling one of her hands free, she started to stroke Kazu's hair and wiped away his perspiration. He relaxed at her touch, which made her smile. Suddenly, the door slides open, and Shute steps in. She was so fixed on Kazu that she didn't hear him entering.
Shute's eyes opened wider a little at the two. He smiled, '"Something has happened a lot in such a short time. He has that peaceful smile."' He left, not wanting to disturb them.
######################################
"How is he?" asked Ardvil.
"It seems that the Kaiger girl managed to calm him down."
"Good. I hope he would be up and ready for this critical mission."
"Captain? May I request a favor, sir?"
"Anything."
"I think it is best for Kazu to let the girl accompany him."
"Are you sure?" asked Ardvil. Shute replied with confidence. "He is fortunate to have brother like you."
"Thank you, sir."
'"They are both such nice boys. I don't understand why is William doing this to them.'"
#######################################
Kazu stirred and found a similar outline of a head in front of him from the dream he had. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized who the red-head was. "It's...you..."
"Sshh...rest. You are still weak." she said. Kazu realized she looked different without her glasses, more beautiful, like someone. He realized that he was holding her hand, but before he could do anything, she beaten him to it by pulling it free. Kazu noticed a blush appearing on her cheeks as she avoided eye contact.
"What..happened to me?"
"You had a shock. It's because of system Revro."
"..System what?"
"The software installed in Revolution. You don't know?"
"...No.."
'"Ammesia? Possibly. Let me try."' "What is the name of CAF's secret weapon?" she asked.
"Huh?" asked Kazu, bewildered.
"It's okay. You were just too stressed. Revolution's system has taken a lot out of you. Get some rest." she advised.
"...Thank you. Hey..."
"Yes?" She smiled at him.
"Stay with me, please...Flona..." said Kazu, managing a weak smile, before falling asleep, holding one of her hands.
Her heart raced as she thought, '"He is so cute."' She quickly turns serious as she started to concentrate, '"He has some minor symptoms to brainwash...but how could he know my name if he lost his memory? Maybe just my imagination."'
###################################
"How is it?" asked William.
"Ready. Just awaiting your orders for mobilization, sir." answered Geory over the comm.
"Good." He cut off the transmission, and smiled to himself.
'"The more you trust me, the deeper you will fall. This will be mine.'" thought Geory as he observed the enormous object in front of him.
####################################
"Go first. I will catch up later. Don't worry, the guards will let you through." said Lacus. Cagalli entered the elevator to the Institute's underground factory. Lacus, on the other hand, went another direction. She entered X09A, Kira's living area. She looks around with sadness on her face. '"Kira..."' She tried hard not to let herself break. '"You are strong, Lacus."' She remembered the words Kira told her before he left in the stolen Freedom. But, immediately as she noticed the blood on his bed, she cries again. "You idiot!!!-hic-you lied to me...don't you love me?" she shouted in between sobs while pounding her fists on the bed.
######################################
Shute found Flona asleep on the chair with her head on Kazu's stomach. He woke her up to check on his condition. She looked flustered for a moment before answering, "He should be fine, but..." Before she could finish, Shute grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.
"Thank you for your help but we have something more important to do." Shute locked Flona in Kazu's room again.
"Where is she?" asked Kazu.
"In your room, Captain's orders." replied Shute. His serious face turns into a sarcastic one as he started, "Pretty, huh? Nice?"
Kazu returned Shute's looks as he retorted, "Jealous?"
"Seriously, have you fallen for her?"
"I don't know. I had this dream where there's someone alike her, that someone who gave me warmth and happiness."
"Come on! Don't beat around the bush. Admit it. If you don't, she will be disappointed."
Kazu moved closer to Shute as he started, "Really? How do you know?"
"It's all over her face, can't you tell?" Kazu pretended to be confused but actually, felt both pain and joy in his heart. He ignored it. Suddenly, a man announced via the comm, "Personnel involved in operation Corestrike, please proceed to your assigned positions."
"That's it. How are you feeling? Up for this?" asked Shute.
"No problem." said Kazu as he got off the bed. Both met with Belurius's GuAIZ pilots in the changing room. Louis, Ocuda, Tochji, and Worelt expressed their concern for Kazu while Trezze and Ateale remained cold. As each manned their MS, Ardvil appeared in their communication monitor and started to brief them of their current position.
"They have detected us and started evac. It is highly likely that a large force, which is en route to this sector, might be intercepting us. They might also try to destroy the colony when the civilians are evacuated. Your task is to defend both the colony and fortress until the promised reinforcements from home arrive. Good luck."
As Judgment proceeded to the launch catapult, Ardvil placed the ship on 1st level battle status. One by one, the 6 GuAIZs launched, following Revolution.
######################################
"General! General!" called out Lacosta, running towards Waltfeld, who was drinking coffee in Ariel's official room, which is still his favorite pastime.
"Calm down. Relax. Mhm...like this coffee, strong in smell but soft in taste."
"Generaaallll. Heliopolis has requested assistance. It said that it has been attacked by the same group of units that attacked Lumio." Waltfeld's hand that held the cup almost broke it, but he calmly placed it down and went on to the bridge. He ordered Ariel and Zechiel to scramble. Everyone was taken surprise by his sudden decision.
"Chief, which MS are ready?" he asked Rondo.
"Only Intrepid, sir."
"Never mind. Load it up. The other 4 can rendezvous with the ship later."
"Move out." ordered Waldfeld. Ariel and Zechiel were moved to the launch bay.
"Colonel Ramius, would you take the place as weapon's officer?"
"Yes, sir." She replied.
"Installing atmospheric boosters." said Milly in her usual monotonous CIC voice. Then, the bridge door slid open and Lacus walked in. Waltfeld caught her at the side of his eye and said, "I thought you wouldn't come." She took her seat at the extra revolving chair beside the Captain's seat, similar to Azrael's seat in Dominion.
"General." Kisaka's face appeared over Waltfeld's chair monitor.
"All set?" he asked.
"Cagalli insisted that she come along."
Waltfeld frowned a little before saying, "Let her be."
"General. Preparation complete. Awaiting your orders." said Milly.
"What about Intrepid?"
"It's already in the hangar."
"Ready?" asked Waltfeld. Lacus nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back before saying, "Start her up." Ariel's main boosters' exhaust glowed bright blue as the ship lifted off the ground and Phase-Shifts. Zechiel followed suit.
"General Kisaka, fire your main weapon the moment Colonel gave the word." said Erika.
"Roger"
"I believe you still remember the procedure, Colonel?"
"Of course." Murrue replied. She ordered the positron blaster gun to be loaded and paused a while before saying, "Heremin, fire!" Both ships fired their positron guns at the same time and blasted a path of energy to the sky.
"Engines full speed!" ordered Waltfeld just before the ships were engulfed in an atmospheric interference of brilliant pink, white, and light blue wave.
On Zechiel, Cagalli dashed out of the bridge and sobbed in the vibrating corridor as she remembered the similar event that took Uzumi Nala Attha's life, who she still took as a father. Kisaka looks towards her direction sadly.
(A/N: You can review the ships' stats in the end of Chap 3)
########################################
'Beep' 'Beep' Revo's radar signaled Kazu of an approaching force. "Shute. It's CAF's 2nd Armada."
"Darn it. Guys, protect the targets at all costs. We will try to distract the armada." he ordered the GuAIZ pilots, who were still engaging the defense group. With that, Revo and Judg daringly charged at the rapid barrage of energy. ENFORCERs started to launch from the Agememnon, and Laurasia Classes. Revo and Judg dodged the barrage while engaging and destroying the enemy forces.
"Don't let them any ship get through us." said Shute. Some ENFORCERs managed to get through Revo and Judg but were engaged by the GuAIZs. Belurius moved towards the colony to aid the defense. It occasionally fired its main cannons from long distance to distract the enemy from Revo and Judg. After shooting down a few ships, Revo finally got a piece from a Laurasia Classes.
"Urh...Damn it." said Kazu. He and Shute were separated in the midst of battle. Suddenly, Revo's radar sphere glows a dim yellow and the screen all around Kazu turned somewhat darker. Kazu's facial expression changed and his eyes became blank. He sees a ship flanking him at the corner of this eyelid and three ENFORCERs approaching him from the rear. REVRO showed him that the ship is going to fire its left cannon at him while the MSs are going to unload all on him and then use their sabers. Given this information, he boosted Revo exactly the middle of the units. When they fired, Revo moved over and thus causing the units to damage and destroy each other. '"Destroy...all..."' a voice in his head told him. "Yes..." he replied monotonously. Revo continued to decimate the 2nd Armada.
REVRO system smoothly gave him accurate predictions, but as the time goes by, the time lapse kept getting further from the present. Kazu could not control it and he screamed out while clutching his painful head with his both hands. Making no movement, Revo became a sitting duck for the armada's fire. Shute noticed Revolution getting hit several times and went to his rescue. Judg managed to block a lethal energy beam which could mark the end for Kazu.
"Hey. Wake up. What's wrong?"
*************
'"Here again..."' thought Kazu as he found himself in the same darkness, but he felt his feet touching a hard floor instead of floating. Suddenly, the darkness turns to a gray atmosphere.
"He, he, ha, hahaha..."
"Who is that? Show yourself." Kazu looks all around him and found nothing, but the laughing still continues.
"Come out, coward!" The laughing stopped.
"Hey!" said a voice. Kazu turns around but much to his horrible surprise sees a splitting image of himself in front of him, wearing the same pilot suit.
"W,who are you?"
The other Kazu smirked before saying, "Who am I? My, my. Kazu...or should I say Kira, I am you. Your ultimate creation, the creation of a created, out of selfishness and ambition. Sorry...I suppose you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Let me enlighten you." He snapped his fingers and the gray atmosphere changed to a scene in Archangel, when Kira was suffering from pressure and depression of war he has been dragged into. Him meeting Cagalli and Andy Waltfeld in the desert battle. Then, to his desperate battle against Athrun and ending up with the Clynes. His participation in the Last Battle, him finding the truth of his existence, his romance with Lacus, and finally, him being brainwashed by William. The other Kazu snapped him fingers again and the scene returns gray.
"I, I don't understand...What is all this? My head hurts so bad." The other Kazu smiled menacingly at his counterpart's misery. "You were brainwashed by ZAFT extremists and put against the very thing you have fought hard to attain. Is that simple enough?"
'"La...????"', mumbled Kazu as he struggled with his headache.
"But I cannot allow you to regain your memory. You are weak without her, like you were before. That way I can control you." said the other Kazu, walking towards the defenseless one kneeling down. He held Kazu's head in both hands and...
*****************
"Kazu! Answer me. Are you there?" Shute tried calling him.
"What...............!!!!" He realized that they are in the middle of a battle and Judgment is shielding him from attacks. Kazu placed his hands on the controls again and replied to Shute by engaging his TRAGOON funnels to take out the unsuspecting firing-happy ship.
"What the hell happened back there?! You shocked the shit out of me!" shouted Shute as he broke free from Revo to re-engage the enemy.
"I don't know...I don't remember. What happened?" Kazu asked back as his funnels kept the enemy busy while trying to re-"configure" himself to the situation.
"You almost let yourself get killed, and you tell me you don't remember?!"
"I feel a gap inside my head. I remember when we started to engage this armada and then...I...don't know." said Kazu as Revo slashed the full length of the hull of an enemy ship, cutting a few of its unfortunate crew directly.
'"This strange thing has happened. What is wrong with that MS. That girl tried to tell me something. I shall ask her again."' thought Shute.
"Shute, go for the flagship." said Kazu as Revo burst forward pass Judgment, with its funnels blazing the way for it.
"Distract him. Fergrieg, fire!" ordered Murrue. A ray of green beam whizzed past the front of Revo, destroying a few of its funnels in the process.
"What." Kazu was forced to switch to defense and retracted the remaining funnels, which returned to Revo's wings.
"Send a message to 2nd Armada flagship. We are friendly." said Waltfeld. "Intrepid launch!" Lowe exited Ariel's catapult tunnel and immediately Phase-Shifts. It drew its katana and charged at Revo.
REVRO activates again and took control of Kazu. A voice told him, "Get the Buster Rifle." Revo eluded Intrepid and left Judgment to engage it.
"Kazu! What are you doing?! Captain, where are the reinforcements? We could use some help here!" said Shute.
"They are near. Don't worry, I will send the guys out." replied Ardvil.
REVRO ensuring his safety, he approached Ariel without a scratch, despite the heavy-fire barrage.
"Avoid the chest, and keep shooting!" ordered Waltfeld. Lacus locked her fingers and closed her eyes as she thought, '"Kira, please stop doing this."'
As soon as Revo were of enough distance to Ariel, a message appeared both on Revo's screen and Erika's monitor, "REVRO system detected. CSGP-X088 Revolution. Ejecting M6-M9 88X."
"What! No!" Erika panicked as she tried futilely in overwriting the command. Ariel's deck weapons eject pod opened and a blue-white rifle ejects into the hands of Revolution. The whole crew of Ariel and Zechiel looks on petrified at the scene.
"Now fire!" ordered the voice. Revo armed the rifle and a power meter appeared at the edge of the monitor. It indicates the power needed to fire buster rifle in comparison to the current usage power, and the maximum power limit.
Lacus stared, stunned, at the black MS as its twin rifle barrel glowed white. Kazu pulled his finger muscle...
#########################################
Next episode on Gundam Seed: Endless Conflict
Fallen Angel
Regrets for something that shouldn't have been done. Revo's pilot plunges into despair. With no one understanding his position, can he find the comfort and warmth that he longed?
#########################################
A/N: Gundam Seed is starting in Cartoon Network in April. OH BOY!! I watched the series originally through the satellite connection to Japan's TBS channel. I live in the US and the DVD has not arrived here. It SUCKS! Anyway, pardone if I don't update for some time since I want to watch the series again. REVIEW!!! Arigatou! (Is this right?) Psst! In case you have not noticed, I have changed the rating to R. You should know what to expect in the previous chapters...(Wink, wink), but, do not blame me if the scenes are too...you-know-what, my older brother wrote them!!!! not me! Also, I have revised those chapters and made some minor changes.
###########################################
Gundam SEED: Endless Conflict
Realize?
##########################################
On Belurius bridge, Kazu and Shute video-conferred with William. "Good job." praised William. "But don't bother returning here, you have another mission. As for the info, Kazu, just send it via computer."
"Sir. Actually we have quite a big problem. It seems that CAF's secret units are operable. Captain Shute and Kazu exchanged fire with them in Earth." said Ardvil.
"Alright then. This task should suit Belurius. You will capture Heliopolis and the abandoned fortress, Yakin Heatch, in its victinity. They will both serve as our forward base for future assaults so it is imperative that you do not damage them."
"Pardon, sir, but it is Orb's civilian colony. We might cause innocent casualties." said Gralle.
"Ha! Who knows what kind of 'civilian' colony it is. It was destroyed in the War since it has been found to develop Alliance's secret weapons. And, my boy, in war, there will always be casualties whether may it be hostile or not."
"We are quite worn out since the last mission and will need parts for the GuAIZs." said Ardvil.
"Special reinforcements are already in their way to the battle site. You can secure an area for them first. Good luck gentlemen." concluded William as cut off the transmission.
#############################################
William is receiving the transmitted information from Belurius. "Just as I expected. The core program has been taken away. Even that SOB was eluded by this useless surface data. No matter, I don't really need this anyways. Revolution and Judgment are enough information givers. My researchers can improvise and improve on the adequate data, using the suits as the experiment subjects. Just a while more...and my dreams will come true. After this is done, I shall have no need for those two. No one shall stand in MY way." said William as he exited his office and went on to a restricted area. Meanwhile, Geory watched the scene from his computer monitor. '"Enjoy your short time wisely, old man."'
#############################################
"Kazu. I think this should interest you." said Ardvil, handing him a disk. Kazu took out his pocket laptop (Not IPalm), which was supplied to every higher ranking officer. The laptop projected a holographic image. Kazu's eyes opened wide as he scrolled down the contents.
"You guys interested in High Senate's chairman Phillip Kaiger's daughter?" asked Shute.
"In Lumio..." Shute suggested.
"....No. No way. How can you be so lucky!" said Shute, realizing what Shute meant.
"What do you want to do now?" asked Tochji.
"I don't know but I don't want this matter to leak out of this ship yet." All nodded in agreement, knowing the seriousness of it. Kazu left the bridge to have his lunch in the canteen, followed by Shute, Worelt and Louis.
"You didn't place her in the cell, didn't you?" asked Shute.
"Captain wanted to since she is considered a prisoner but his "hero" here decided to give her a better place." said Louis sarcastically.
"Hey. Hey. Learn how to be a gentleman towards a pretty girl, okay?" Kazu shot back.
"And make them fall for you? It's easy since you, and you, are so handsome." said Worelt, pointing to Kazu and Shute's faces.
In the canteen, the four boys took their seats and started to consume their food. "We hadn't a chance to eat some time. Man, this is good." said Worelt as he gobbled up his food.
"I think even crap taste nice to you when you are hungry, Worelt." said Louis. Worelt choked on his food when he heard that. He grabbed Kazu's glass and gulped down the liquid. He then noticed Kazu looking at him and then to his glass. He quickly apologized formally.
"No. It's not that. The thing you just drank is..." said Kazu, making a terrified face. Worelt turned pale, really pale.
"Should I call for the doctor?" said Shute, catching the faint curve at tip of Kazu's lips as he understood what Kazu was playing at. He then tapped Louis's shin to get him to understand what was going on since he too was fooled by Kazu. Louis understood and cooperated by saying, "That drink...can't it be?" Worelt 'felt' nauseous due to the three's reaction. The three started to grin a little. Worelt, however, caught that and said, "Come on. Laugh it out. You are making a fool out of me, right." Like a door being unlocked , all the laughter went out of them.
"...Fuuh. Okay. Calm down guys." said Shute. Worelt had his face 'color' back. It took them some time to regain control over their jaw muscles. "That was good, CAPTAIN." criticized Worelt.
"At times like this we need all the laugher we can." said Kazu. They settle down and continued to finish their food.
"Why did you two join ZAFT?" asked Shute, breaking the silence. Louis and Worelt did not say anything for a while.
"Our parents worked for ZAFT even after the war. They were on spy mission but were caught in a sudden crossfire between CAF and Alliance remnants. The General told us that they were dead and their will was for us to help in the cause."
"I see...War is such a sad thing..." said Kazu.
"What about the others?" asked Shute.
"Ocuda and Tochji each had their whole family wiped out in Bloody Valentine. They could not really get rid of that bitter memory. As for...what's their names?" asked Worelt.
"Trezze and Ateale. We met those dudes only since Belurius assignment, so we don't really know. What about you two? Why did you join?" asked Louis. (A/N: Most of Belurius crew is ignorant about Kazu's and Shute's real identity.)
"More or less the same reasons as you guys." replied Shute.
###############################################
At the same time...
"Damage report?" asked Phillip.
"Bad, sir. 70% of both space and earth ENFORCER forces have been annihilated. Combined with California Defense force, the remaining number makes up only half of the original amount." reported an officer.
"Lumio's destruction is our fault, isn't it."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"What about the colonists, and the data?"
"The survivors have been safely evacuated and the data has been secured but, sir, I fear that Ms Kaiger is not in any of the retrieved lifeboats."
"My daughter is what?! What are you guys doing?!" exclaimed Phillip as he grabbed the officer by the collar.
"Pa, pardon sir, but it seems that she was somehow left behind in the rush. She was part of the development group that is responsible for transferring the data from Lumio main computer." replied the officer.
"And where is THIS group of developers?"
"They are secure, sir, but as I said, Ms Kaiger is not with them."
"Th, then she is dead ?" asked Phillip, dropping the officer.
"Ehrm..It is quite premature to assume the worst, sir, since Revolution had been reported to enter the interior of the colony. So it might have been possible that the pilot have taken her."
"Get me Waltfeld here quick."
"Yes, sir." replied the officer before saluting and leaving the room.
'"You better have her, Hibiki, or I will make sure that you suffer."' thought Phillip. Another officer entered the room saying that the Senate wants a conference. "'Damn it. They are annoying."' Phillip then said, "Tell them I will be there soon. Dismissed."
###############################################
"How is she?" asked Yzak.
"Better. She has cried herself to sleep, poor girl. Milly is keeping an eye on her." replied Lacus.
"The scene around here seemed like a replay of Alliance's attack." said Dearka as he looked through the window.
"Expect that there is only one suit that did this." continued Yzak.
"Are you sure Athrun is in the black suit?" asked Lacus.
"Quite but actually, there are two of them. The one that looks like Freedom joined in just as we were about to catch the other. It destroyed my sniper rifle and almost slashed me apart."
"Why are they black in the first place? Mine has its colors." said Lowe.
"Ask the creator, not me."
"What are you going to do next?" asked Lacus.
"Return to X13A, and help in the rest of the maintenance. We need get these done quick to be able to capture those units." replied Yzak.
"I want to come with you, please."
"What do you want to do there?"
"Kira is involved in this. I want find the reason and truth......and Cagalli will want to join in too." said Lacus determinedly. The three sighed. Dearka started, "Looks like the old group going to get beck together."
"You are forgetting someone." said Yzak.
"Who?...No, I would not involve her in this."
"I think she wants to get involved herself, and you used to brag about her CIC skills."
"What do you know about her?"
"What you YOURSELF know about her? Huh? Suppressing that feeling for so long. Coward." taunted Yzak.
"Sh, shut up! You don't understand my situation...but why do you care about this anyway?"
"Forget it! I'm leaving!" said Yzak as he left for Resistance, avoiding the continuation of the argument. Dearka followed in a distance.
"What's with them?" asked Lacus, confused.
"Beats me. They have been like this for a while, occasionally."
################################################
Kazu and Shute were reconfiguring their suits to prepare for the upcoming mission.
"We haven't been really able to learn about these since the first we got them." said Kazu as he rapidly typed in commands into the keyboard.
"That sniper MS. Its shot range is quite short but my radar is useless."
"Don't worry about that. The technicians had to reduce the radar range so that we would be affected by ECMs. You can actually adjust the range anytime you want. Try it."
"I didn't notice that......Not bad."
"Beware though. The accuracy of your automatic lock-on system is decreased."
"I don't really need the system. Your suit needs it more than I do."
Captain Ardvil walked into the dark hangar and noticed lights coming out of the suits' cockpits. "Gentlemen. Get some rest. We have quite a tough battle next." he said.
"There's barely any military there, Captain. What so tough about it?" asked Shute as he kept navigating through Judg's system.
"No damage to both targets, or Coordinator casualties. Those demand focus and accuracy, boys. And who knows, CAF have strong influence many of space sectors, so be sure to expect enemy reinforcements. Finish up whatever you are doing quick." said Ardvil before leaving the area.
"Come on. Let's finish this quick."
"Geez. I have forgotten about my destroyed rifle."
"Use mine. I have enough projectiles." said Kazu as Revo passed the rifle to Jugd. After finishing reconfiguring the weapons lineup, Kazu came across a lock in a sector he is trying to get into. He tried a password but the screen stated, "2 tries to self-destruct". Kazu entered another wrong pass code. He panicked a little. A voice in his head informed him against what he is attempting. '"Shut up."'. Part of him told him to realize the consequences while part of him urged him to go on. He felt the stinging sensation in his head. "'Not again."' he thought, resting his head on his left palm. That was when something came across his mind as his head ache began to subside while his hands typed in characters by themselves. The moment ENTER key was pushed, he braced himself for an explosion but instead, the cockpit hatch suddenly closed and Revo's eyes glowed a dim yellow.
"Hey! Kazu. What's wrong?"
Revo's cockpit became pitch black from its gray atate. A statement appeared for a few moments but Kazu could only catch the words, 'system' and 'activate'. The cockpit and the central radar sphere then flashed intensely for a second before several scenes appeared before Kazu. The first showed a colony exploded; another, a fortress; and another, a red Nazca class crashing into a large, unidentified battleship. '"Wh,where is this...so real."' His breathing grew heavy, and he sweated. More scenes appeared. The first one showed the first person view of a pilot in a cockpit fighting a red mobile suit with yellow sabers drawn on each of its foot and forearms. Then, the scene switches to an enormous explosion on an island. Next, a cannon firing a massive laser beam in the path of a fleet. "St, stop. Wha, what is all this..." Kazu was bombarded by uncountable migraine attacks before passing put. The cockpit returned to its gray state.
Shute opened the cockpit hatch from the outside and found an unconscious Kazu. "Kazu! Hey. Kazu! Damn it. What happened?" Shute called as he shook Kazu's slightly shaking body. He then pulled Kazu out and placed his arm over his shoulder and dragged him out.
##############################################
"How are they progressing?" asked Waltfeld.
"It's more complicated as we did not realize that the Neuro-Link was badly severed from the MSOS (Mobile Suit Operation System) of a few of the MS. I am sorry, sir." said Rondo Sahaku, the chief engineer of P-Units.
"What will be the problem caused by it?"
"Cockpit's Tele-Commu system would not react immediately to the pilot's mind patterns, resulting in delayed movement, or in other words, only 50% chance of surviving a battle with either Revo or Judg." replied Dearka, sliding out of Countenance cockpit. "Hey! Bring it over here. I'm ready!" he shouted to a crane operator, whose crane carried a long rifle.
"Not only that, sir. The PS armor would not function well either. Only Intrepid is able to Phase-Shift at the moment."
"So the problem is with the MS? What about the ships?" asked Murrue, appearing behind Waltfeld.
"We actually took priority to fix them first and the whole maintenance group and I are confident that they are ready for action. You are free to look around both of them."
"Not bad. Speed up the work." said Waltfeld. 'BANG' All heads turned to where the noise came from.
"Watch it! It's a very important armament. Now bring it up slowly..." said Lowe, supervising the transfer of his 'Gerbera Straight' katana. The two high-ranking officers shook their heads at this. Then they proceeded on to the bridge of Ariel. "This looks like Archangel's and Eternal's..." said Murrue, in awe.
"Both Ariel and Zechiel are the descendants of the previous ships. Good day, General, Colonel." said a brunette swinging her seat around to face them. "How are you, Erika?" greeted Murrue. The MS researcher smiled.
"I presume you would like to scan through the ship's abilities?"
"Indeed, thank you." replied Waltfeld. Simmons showed the two all about Ariel's specs and armaments.
"...Did the kid really created this?" asked Waltfeld. Erika nodded, frowning a little.
"Is it possible for us engage the two units with these two?" asked Murrue.
"Unfortunately not as the MSs assigned to this ship have overwhelming capabilities to take down any battleship when configured properly and in the hands of a capable pilot."
"They are capable alright."
"Are you so sure it's them turning against us, especially not Kira?" asked Murrue. Waltfeld did not answer. Just then, the bridge door slid open.
"Ah. General, here is the crew of the bridge but you may already know most of them." Ssigh and Milliaria entered first followed by the crew of Archangel; Dalida Loraha Chandra, Romel Paru, and Jackie Tonomura, and other familiar faces from both Kusanagi and Eternal. They then saluted each other.
"Neumann, is it? Where is he?" asked Murrue.
"He is assigned to Zechiel as the pilot, captain. Sorry, colonel." replied Chandra, forgetting that the captain of Archangel is now a Colonel. Before Murrue could ask who will be piloting Ariel, Ssigh has already took his seat in front of the wheel and started to fiddle with the equipment, and thus providing her with the answer.
"Alright everyone, go to your assigned posts and warm the system up." ordered Erika. After that, "May I have a word?" asked her. Murrue and Waltfeld approached her. She started to access a sector in the database. "We have trouble getting through the lock on this armory. Cutting through the armor just under the deck would cause interference so bad that it would freeze up the entire system. Even Chief Sahaku gave up on this one."
"What's in it?"
"A Classified series of Neutron Buster rifle."
".............Again?" asked Waltfeld, not believing the words.
"M6-M9 8-X series of nuclear induced buster rifles, for every single one of the MS."
Waltfeld's hand trembled with anger. "Nuclear?"
"But fortunately, we can't unlock it. So it would be useless."
"Who then has the code for this?" asked Murrue. Erika shook her head.
"It is not just an ordinary code entering and, 'viola'. Something more complicated has to be done. But this is not the urgent thing right now. Here." Erika showed the two another screen on Revolution's database.
"Like Freedom..." said Waltfeld.
"Almost, but it has a pilot support system that can turn negative if the user is not in the right state of mind and/or he or she could not stand immense data pressure send by system. The support, also called REVRO(Revision Predictive Override) system, provides the pilot information about the battle and, most terrifying, the events that is yet to come so that the pilot could make instant decisions and therefore, far amplifying the MS's reaction time."
"The future in a battle?" asked Murrue.
"Yes, but the downside of it is that it sends so much info and predicts many different things, even sometimes far to the future, that most, even experienced, pilots could be driven mad if they did not have superb control psychologically and physically. The system's AI too, allows it to indirectly control the pilot. But that is not all of the function of the system. I didn't know all of them for sure."
"How could this be developed?"
"It is the joint project by CAF, NCA (Natural Coordinator Alliance), High Senate and even ORB. At first, we wanted to use it for human benefit, but a number of people have fallen victims to its overwhelming abilities, and several groups like ORB backed out of the project. So, it was transferred to the Institute for further quarantine, but it seems that the Institute had secretly proceeded developing it in Lumio. The raw data in Lumio, has, fortunately, been transported to safely. I've found this out only recently that it seems only Revolution was equipped with the better enhanced version of the system and it is protected by a lock."
"So the REVRO can either be controlled or in control, but mostly, in control?" asked Waltfeld. Erika turned off her monitor as she nodded.
"Let's just hope that nothing has happened yet." said Murrue.
"It's just that I can't imagine that if Kira is really piloting Revolution and he has broken the lock to the system, the MS would be almost invincible when combined with his SEED." said Erika. Everyone in the bridge became stunned when this was mentioned.
##############################################
"What happened, doc?" asked Shute.
"...Never seen this before. Pulse, muscle tension, and the rest are just fine except for his eye response. He seemed to have been in a nightmare or some psychological shock. I have just administered him some Primidone to calm him down. We can only wait for the result." said the doctor in charge.
"Thank you, doc." The doc nodded.
'"That girl...she's a psychologist. Maybe..." thought Shute. He opened Kazu's room and found her fast asleep on Kazu's bed. '"He is way too kind."'. Shute tapped his gun on the door. The girl woke with a start, and stared at him with eyes full of fear. "Come with me. You are needed." The girl stepped off the bed and followed Shute. '"So it's true that both of them have revolted against the alliance."'
"Examine him and tell me what he's suffering from." ordered Shute. "You may use any equipment here." She grabbed a stethoscope and listened to Kazu's heartbeat. '"Funny..."' Suddenly, an announcement came over the inter-comm, "Captain Shute Hibiki, please report to the bridge immediately. Repeat..."
'"What now?"' thought Shute. "Don't exit this room unless you want to be killed." Shute left, leaving the unconscious Kazu with the girl.
'"Shute Hibiki?? I thought his name was...never mind, must be a code name or something."' She shook of the thought and reluctantly continues to examine Kazu. "He has the same symptoms as the previous test subjects of the system...!!!Don't tell me the MS captured was Revolution?"
*************
"Kira...Kira..." Kazu found himself floating in the darkness. "Kira..."
'"That voice...so familiar."' "Who is it?"
"Do you love me..."
"Who are you? Where are you?" Kazu propelled himself to the faint ray of light. The light grew larger as he approached it and felt himself being enveloped in the warmth he felt somewhere before. A vague outline of a person appeared before him, with its arms welcoming him.
"Hey!" called a voice, which sounded like his, behind him. He turned around towards the darkness where the voice came from.
"Kira...I am sorry..."
Kazu faced the direction where the light was, but it started to fade away, together with the person's outline. "Wait! Please don't leave me! Who are you? Why do you call me Kira..."
*************
Kazu grabbed her hands, pressed them to his chest, and kept repeating, "Don't leave me." Her heart raced wildly in her chest and she felt her face burning. Being a professional on psychological affairs, she immediately realized what this meant. She stared down at Kazu. '"I have not felt this before, not even with any of my boyfriends...but...he already has a sweetheart...I don't care."' Pulling one of her hands free, she started to stroke Kazu's hair and wiped away his perspiration. He relaxed at her touch, which made her smile. Suddenly, the door slides open, and Shute steps in. She was so fixed on Kazu that she didn't hear him entering.
Shute's eyes opened wider a little at the two. He smiled, '"Something has happened a lot in such a short time. He has that peaceful smile."' He left, not wanting to disturb them.
######################################
"How is he?" asked Ardvil.
"It seems that the Kaiger girl managed to calm him down."
"Good. I hope he would be up and ready for this critical mission."
"Captain? May I request a favor, sir?"
"Anything."
"I think it is best for Kazu to let the girl accompany him."
"Are you sure?" asked Ardvil. Shute replied with confidence. "He is fortunate to have brother like you."
"Thank you, sir."
'"They are both such nice boys. I don't understand why is William doing this to them.'"
#######################################
Kazu stirred and found a similar outline of a head in front of him from the dream he had. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized who the red-head was. "It's...you..."
"Sshh...rest. You are still weak." she said. Kazu realized she looked different without her glasses, more beautiful, like someone. He realized that he was holding her hand, but before he could do anything, she beaten him to it by pulling it free. Kazu noticed a blush appearing on her cheeks as she avoided eye contact.
"What..happened to me?"
"You had a shock. It's because of system Revro."
"..System what?"
"The software installed in Revolution. You don't know?"
"...No.."
'"Ammesia? Possibly. Let me try."' "What is the name of CAF's secret weapon?" she asked.
"Huh?" asked Kazu, bewildered.
"It's okay. You were just too stressed. Revolution's system has taken a lot out of you. Get some rest." she advised.
"...Thank you. Hey..."
"Yes?" She smiled at him.
"Stay with me, please...Flona..." said Kazu, managing a weak smile, before falling asleep, holding one of her hands.
Her heart raced as she thought, '"He is so cute."' She quickly turns serious as she started to concentrate, '"He has some minor symptoms to brainwash...but how could he know my name if he lost his memory? Maybe just my imagination."'
###################################
"How is it?" asked William.
"Ready. Just awaiting your orders for mobilization, sir." answered Geory over the comm.
"Good." He cut off the transmission, and smiled to himself.
'"The more you trust me, the deeper you will fall. This will be mine.'" thought Geory as he observed the enormous object in front of him.
####################################
"Go first. I will catch up later. Don't worry, the guards will let you through." said Lacus. Cagalli entered the elevator to the Institute's underground factory. Lacus, on the other hand, went another direction. She entered X09A, Kira's living area. She looks around with sadness on her face. '"Kira..."' She tried hard not to let herself break. '"You are strong, Lacus."' She remembered the words Kira told her before he left in the stolen Freedom. But, immediately as she noticed the blood on his bed, she cries again. "You idiot!!!-hic-you lied to me...don't you love me?" she shouted in between sobs while pounding her fists on the bed.
######################################
Shute found Flona asleep on the chair with her head on Kazu's stomach. He woke her up to check on his condition. She looked flustered for a moment before answering, "He should be fine, but..." Before she could finish, Shute grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.
"Thank you for your help but we have something more important to do." Shute locked Flona in Kazu's room again.
"Where is she?" asked Kazu.
"In your room, Captain's orders." replied Shute. His serious face turns into a sarcastic one as he started, "Pretty, huh? Nice?"
Kazu returned Shute's looks as he retorted, "Jealous?"
"Seriously, have you fallen for her?"
"I don't know. I had this dream where there's someone alike her, that someone who gave me warmth and happiness."
"Come on! Don't beat around the bush. Admit it. If you don't, she will be disappointed."
Kazu moved closer to Shute as he started, "Really? How do you know?"
"It's all over her face, can't you tell?" Kazu pretended to be confused but actually, felt both pain and joy in his heart. He ignored it. Suddenly, a man announced via the comm, "Personnel involved in operation Corestrike, please proceed to your assigned positions."
"That's it. How are you feeling? Up for this?" asked Shute.
"No problem." said Kazu as he got off the bed. Both met with Belurius's GuAIZ pilots in the changing room. Louis, Ocuda, Tochji, and Worelt expressed their concern for Kazu while Trezze and Ateale remained cold. As each manned their MS, Ardvil appeared in their communication monitor and started to brief them of their current position.
"They have detected us and started evac. It is highly likely that a large force, which is en route to this sector, might be intercepting us. They might also try to destroy the colony when the civilians are evacuated. Your task is to defend both the colony and fortress until the promised reinforcements from home arrive. Good luck."
As Judgment proceeded to the launch catapult, Ardvil placed the ship on 1st level battle status. One by one, the 6 GuAIZs launched, following Revolution.
######################################
"General! General!" called out Lacosta, running towards Waltfeld, who was drinking coffee in Ariel's official room, which is still his favorite pastime.
"Calm down. Relax. Mhm...like this coffee, strong in smell but soft in taste."
"Generaaallll. Heliopolis has requested assistance. It said that it has been attacked by the same group of units that attacked Lumio." Waltfeld's hand that held the cup almost broke it, but he calmly placed it down and went on to the bridge. He ordered Ariel and Zechiel to scramble. Everyone was taken surprise by his sudden decision.
"Chief, which MS are ready?" he asked Rondo.
"Only Intrepid, sir."
"Never mind. Load it up. The other 4 can rendezvous with the ship later."
"Move out." ordered Waldfeld. Ariel and Zechiel were moved to the launch bay.
"Colonel Ramius, would you take the place as weapon's officer?"
"Yes, sir." She replied.
"Installing atmospheric boosters." said Milly in her usual monotonous CIC voice. Then, the bridge door slid open and Lacus walked in. Waltfeld caught her at the side of his eye and said, "I thought you wouldn't come." She took her seat at the extra revolving chair beside the Captain's seat, similar to Azrael's seat in Dominion.
"General." Kisaka's face appeared over Waltfeld's chair monitor.
"All set?" he asked.
"Cagalli insisted that she come along."
Waltfeld frowned a little before saying, "Let her be."
"General. Preparation complete. Awaiting your orders." said Milly.
"What about Intrepid?"
"It's already in the hangar."
"Ready?" asked Waltfeld. Lacus nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back before saying, "Start her up." Ariel's main boosters' exhaust glowed bright blue as the ship lifted off the ground and Phase-Shifts. Zechiel followed suit.
"General Kisaka, fire your main weapon the moment Colonel gave the word." said Erika.
"Roger"
"I believe you still remember the procedure, Colonel?"
"Of course." Murrue replied. She ordered the positron blaster gun to be loaded and paused a while before saying, "Heremin, fire!" Both ships fired their positron guns at the same time and blasted a path of energy to the sky.
"Engines full speed!" ordered Waltfeld just before the ships were engulfed in an atmospheric interference of brilliant pink, white, and light blue wave.
On Zechiel, Cagalli dashed out of the bridge and sobbed in the vibrating corridor as she remembered the similar event that took Uzumi Nala Attha's life, who she still took as a father. Kisaka looks towards her direction sadly.
(A/N: You can review the ships' stats in the end of Chap 3)
########################################
'Beep' 'Beep' Revo's radar signaled Kazu of an approaching force. "Shute. It's CAF's 2nd Armada."
"Darn it. Guys, protect the targets at all costs. We will try to distract the armada." he ordered the GuAIZ pilots, who were still engaging the defense group. With that, Revo and Judg daringly charged at the rapid barrage of energy. ENFORCERs started to launch from the Agememnon, and Laurasia Classes. Revo and Judg dodged the barrage while engaging and destroying the enemy forces.
"Don't let them any ship get through us." said Shute. Some ENFORCERs managed to get through Revo and Judg but were engaged by the GuAIZs. Belurius moved towards the colony to aid the defense. It occasionally fired its main cannons from long distance to distract the enemy from Revo and Judg. After shooting down a few ships, Revo finally got a piece from a Laurasia Classes.
"Urh...Damn it." said Kazu. He and Shute were separated in the midst of battle. Suddenly, Revo's radar sphere glows a dim yellow and the screen all around Kazu turned somewhat darker. Kazu's facial expression changed and his eyes became blank. He sees a ship flanking him at the corner of this eyelid and three ENFORCERs approaching him from the rear. REVRO showed him that the ship is going to fire its left cannon at him while the MSs are going to unload all on him and then use their sabers. Given this information, he boosted Revo exactly the middle of the units. When they fired, Revo moved over and thus causing the units to damage and destroy each other. '"Destroy...all..."' a voice in his head told him. "Yes..." he replied monotonously. Revo continued to decimate the 2nd Armada.
REVRO system smoothly gave him accurate predictions, but as the time goes by, the time lapse kept getting further from the present. Kazu could not control it and he screamed out while clutching his painful head with his both hands. Making no movement, Revo became a sitting duck for the armada's fire. Shute noticed Revolution getting hit several times and went to his rescue. Judg managed to block a lethal energy beam which could mark the end for Kazu.
"Hey. Wake up. What's wrong?"
*************
'"Here again..."' thought Kazu as he found himself in the same darkness, but he felt his feet touching a hard floor instead of floating. Suddenly, the darkness turns to a gray atmosphere.
"He, he, ha, hahaha..."
"Who is that? Show yourself." Kazu looks all around him and found nothing, but the laughing still continues.
"Come out, coward!" The laughing stopped.
"Hey!" said a voice. Kazu turns around but much to his horrible surprise sees a splitting image of himself in front of him, wearing the same pilot suit.
"W,who are you?"
The other Kazu smirked before saying, "Who am I? My, my. Kazu...or should I say Kira, I am you. Your ultimate creation, the creation of a created, out of selfishness and ambition. Sorry...I suppose you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Let me enlighten you." He snapped his fingers and the gray atmosphere changed to a scene in Archangel, when Kira was suffering from pressure and depression of war he has been dragged into. Him meeting Cagalli and Andy Waltfeld in the desert battle. Then, to his desperate battle against Athrun and ending up with the Clynes. His participation in the Last Battle, him finding the truth of his existence, his romance with Lacus, and finally, him being brainwashed by William. The other Kazu snapped him fingers again and the scene returns gray.
"I, I don't understand...What is all this? My head hurts so bad." The other Kazu smiled menacingly at his counterpart's misery. "You were brainwashed by ZAFT extremists and put against the very thing you have fought hard to attain. Is that simple enough?"
'"La...????"', mumbled Kazu as he struggled with his headache.
"But I cannot allow you to regain your memory. You are weak without her, like you were before. That way I can control you." said the other Kazu, walking towards the defenseless one kneeling down. He held Kazu's head in both hands and...
*****************
"Kazu! Answer me. Are you there?" Shute tried calling him.
"What...............!!!!" He realized that they are in the middle of a battle and Judgment is shielding him from attacks. Kazu placed his hands on the controls again and replied to Shute by engaging his TRAGOON funnels to take out the unsuspecting firing-happy ship.
"What the hell happened back there?! You shocked the shit out of me!" shouted Shute as he broke free from Revo to re-engage the enemy.
"I don't know...I don't remember. What happened?" Kazu asked back as his funnels kept the enemy busy while trying to re-"configure" himself to the situation.
"You almost let yourself get killed, and you tell me you don't remember?!"
"I feel a gap inside my head. I remember when we started to engage this armada and then...I...don't know." said Kazu as Revo slashed the full length of the hull of an enemy ship, cutting a few of its unfortunate crew directly.
'"This strange thing has happened. What is wrong with that MS. That girl tried to tell me something. I shall ask her again."' thought Shute.
"Shute, go for the flagship." said Kazu as Revo burst forward pass Judgment, with its funnels blazing the way for it.
"Distract him. Fergrieg, fire!" ordered Murrue. A ray of green beam whizzed past the front of Revo, destroying a few of its funnels in the process.
"What." Kazu was forced to switch to defense and retracted the remaining funnels, which returned to Revo's wings.
"Send a message to 2nd Armada flagship. We are friendly." said Waltfeld. "Intrepid launch!" Lowe exited Ariel's catapult tunnel and immediately Phase-Shifts. It drew its katana and charged at Revo.
REVRO activates again and took control of Kazu. A voice told him, "Get the Buster Rifle." Revo eluded Intrepid and left Judgment to engage it.
"Kazu! What are you doing?! Captain, where are the reinforcements? We could use some help here!" said Shute.
"They are near. Don't worry, I will send the guys out." replied Ardvil.
REVRO ensuring his safety, he approached Ariel without a scratch, despite the heavy-fire barrage.
"Avoid the chest, and keep shooting!" ordered Waltfeld. Lacus locked her fingers and closed her eyes as she thought, '"Kira, please stop doing this."'
As soon as Revo were of enough distance to Ariel, a message appeared both on Revo's screen and Erika's monitor, "REVRO system detected. CSGP-X088 Revolution. Ejecting M6-M9 88X."
"What! No!" Erika panicked as she tried futilely in overwriting the command. Ariel's deck weapons eject pod opened and a blue-white rifle ejects into the hands of Revolution. The whole crew of Ariel and Zechiel looks on petrified at the scene.
"Now fire!" ordered the voice. Revo armed the rifle and a power meter appeared at the edge of the monitor. It indicates the power needed to fire buster rifle in comparison to the current usage power, and the maximum power limit.
Lacus stared, stunned, at the black MS as its twin rifle barrel glowed white. Kazu pulled his finger muscle...
#########################################
Next episode on Gundam Seed: Endless Conflict
Fallen Angel
Regrets for something that shouldn't have been done. Revo's pilot plunges into despair. With no one understanding his position, can he find the comfort and warmth that he longed?
#########################################
A/N: Gundam Seed is starting in Cartoon Network in April. OH BOY!! I watched the series originally through the satellite connection to Japan's TBS channel. I live in the US and the DVD has not arrived here. It SUCKS! Anyway, pardone if I don't update for some time since I want to watch the series again. REVIEW!!! Arigatou! (Is this right?) Psst! In case you have not noticed, I have changed the rating to R. You should know what to expect in the previous chapters...(Wink, wink), but, do not blame me if the scenes are too...you-know-what, my older brother wrote them!!!! not me! Also, I have revised those chapters and made some minor changes.