Gundam SEED: The Keshitai
A Kido Senshi Gundam SEED Fan Fiction by Prayer Reverie
Contact: prayerreverie(at)yahoo(dot)com
Summary: The heroes of the war set off to stop a vicious group from starting another! The fate of the Earth and the Colonies rests on their shoulders. KL, DM, AC, Y ... uh ...
This will be AU, thanks to Destiny (anyone seen Phase 01: Angry Eyes yet? It's awesome, with good background music!), however try to think of this story as a side-story, or a filler story much as Battlefield of Pacifists and Ground Zero was for Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED in any way (although some days I wish), but any Original Characters and Original Mobile Suits are mine.
Rating: PG-13. I don't plan on mincing words and there will probably be some descriptive scenes, but nothing outside of the rating boundaries. You have been warned.
Author's Note: Shiho Hahnenfuss was Yzak's second-in-command during the last weeks of the war when Yzak was transferred to back to go there and she's the second pilot with the shorter brown hair. She piloted a GuAIZ during the Battle of Jachin Due. She can be seen in SEED Episode 43 and 48 IIRC. She can also be seen in the Destiny ending, sitting beside a standing Yzak and Dearka. She piloted a CGUE Deep Arms before formally becoming Yzak's second.
King Arthur6687: Yeah, I think that's my first chapter without major errors (whew)
Chibi Fyrefly: I don't believe that many people know that Shiho exists within the SEED universe, and it's rumored that she's engaged to Yzak in Destiny. I guess we'll find out sooner or later!
Angel of Dreams: Well I've never had anyone scared about the outcome, but it's welcome anyways. Less people know about Shiho than I thought.
cherri-san: Phase 3 was interrupted due to an earthquake on Saturday and there's talks about re-airing it on the 30th, but nothing for sure. There's a raw out that's only 11 minutes long.
Chapter 4: A Series of Unfortunate Events
C.E. 71
The group met on the bridge several hours later. Dearka had already filled Milly and Sai in on what happened on the asteroid while Yzak had been on the com line with somebody from PLANT for the last few hours.
"So what do we do now?" Kira asked, with Lacus as his side.
"For now we return to Armory One, return our suits and then we figure out what our next move is." Yzak said.
"Is the council mad that you borrowed several suits and took off to parts unknown?" Cagalli asked.
"I think they're madder that Yzak didn't respond to Durandal's letter than they are at us leaving unannounced." Dearka said.
"I think it would be a good idea to contact Malchio and let him know we're all fine." Lacus suggested.
"We can use PLANTs communicator, it's better than the one onboard the Aprilius Null." Shiho said.
The journey back to PLANT took less than an hour, so the group busied themselves with repairs jobs and other minor tasks. However, they were not prepared for the carnage that awaited them.
"Uh, Yzak, I'm picking up a debris field ahead." Sai said suddenly.
"What? There are no recorded fields anywhere near PLANT, even with the battles that went on." Yzak responded, confused.
Mobile suit parts floated past them and clanged off the hull. Then something hit the forward viewscreen with a dull thud. It was a body of a pilot, wearing a ZAFT uniform.
"Oh my god, what the hell happened here?" Yzak asked slowly.
"INCOMING SUITS!" Sai yelled.
Yzak turned to the sensor monitor. Five suits were closing in fast.
"All pilots to your suits!" Yzak ordered over the intercom.
Kira froze at the order. He was confused as to why they had to prepare to launch when they were so close to PLANT. Finally, he shrugged and started to activate his GINN. Lacus floated up to his cockpit and poked her head in.
"Why are you launching?" she asked innocently.
"I'm not sure; I thought PLANT was supposed to be safe."
"Just come back to me ok? I can't stand the thought of losing you." She said, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"I promise." He leaned forward and kissed her.
-
Dearka was standing around anxiously, waiting for the technicians to clear his suit for duty. The tech floated down to Dearka with a nervous look on his face.
"Sorry Commander Elsman, Buster Dagger won't be ready for this battle, it'll take us at least four hours to fix it. But we'll get right on it."
Dearka swore and punched the foot of his suit in anger as the tech floated over to check on Shiho's suit.
"Can't even protect the ones I care about." Dearka muttered as he slowly floated away from his damaged suit.
"And they are?" Dearka jumped at the sound of Miriallia's voice.
"Oh! Miriallia! I didn't hear you coming." Dearka said, starting to calm down just a little.
"I think the clang you made with your fist was heard on the moon." She joked.
Dearka did not reply to her joke, and a moment of tense silence crept up.
"Uh, how's your shoulder?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Its fine now, thanks." Dearka said, blushing as he remembered her gentle ministrations
"So you're not going out there?" Milly asked.
"I wish I was, but my Buster Dagger can't be repaired in time. It really bites." Dearka said angrily.
"Good." She said curtly.
Dearka stared at her, astonished at her tone of voice. Milly realized how that had sounded and turned red from embarrassment.
"Err, that's not what I meant to say..." she stammered out.
"So what did you mean to say?" Dearka asked.
"Well, it's just that I have a bad feeling about this battle. It's the same kind of feeling I got when Tolle died ..." she explained.
Dearka felt bad for accidentally bringing up Tolle. He knew that she needed time to get over his death, so he had to keep his distance.
"I see." He replied slowly.
"I ... just don't want ... anyone else ... that I care about ... to die." She said her voice full of emotion as she started to cry.
"Thank you." He kissed her gently on the cheek before wandering off.
Milly's eyes widened with surprise as she brought her hand up to her cheek to feel the spot where Dearka's warm lips had been.
-
Shiho was unhappy. The techs had certified her GINN as 'busted', meaning she could not even help PLANT in their time of need. She drifted across the hangar to leave and perhaps help on the bridge when she bumped into Yzak.
"Ow, Hahnenfuss, watch where you're going!" Yzak said irritably.
"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, confused as to why she was leaving the hangar.
"My GINN has too much damage from the last battle, so it's down for repairs with Dearka's Buster Dagger.
"Well I suppose you and Dearka can help out on the bridge or help the gunners. Just make sure we're kept up to date on our opponents." Yzak suggested.
"Be careful out there Commander Jule." Shiho said, saluting Yzak.
"Damnit Shiho, I'm not a Commander." That would have had a greater effect on her had she not kissed him on his cheek before heading to the bridge.
"Yzak! Get to your suit before I take it!" Dearka said, coming up upon a stunned Yzak.
Yzak was still stunned; he didn't notice that Dearka was looking happier either. Dearka floated towards the bridge as Yzak shook his head and started towards the hangar again.
-
"All suits have been launched Commander Dearka." Milly reported.
"Err, thanks, but I'm not a Commander anymore." Replied Dearka. Commanding something other than a suit was not his style.
"Yamato! Stick with me! Zala and Athha will pair up." Yzak ordered.
Lacus and Shiho were watching on the bridge as well, waiting to see the outcome of the battle.
"Arm our forward cannons and prepare the CIWS." Dearka ordered, trying to sound like he knew what he was doing.
"Enemy suits identified! Four 105 Daggers, two with Aile Striker Packs, one with a Launcher Striker Pack and one with a Sword Striker pack!" Sai confirmed.
"And the fifth?" Dearka asked.
"Fifth?" Milly asked.
"There were five suits before we launched!" Yzak put in.
Sai wasn't even paying attention to his com line. An orange suit had placed itself in front of the bridge and flashed its eye cameras. It was clearly a Gundam-type suit, V-fins and head design practically screamed it out.
The suit raised its left arm, aiming one of its rocket anchors at them. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, Lacus lowering her head sadly at the thought of never being with Kira again, Milly's eyes widening in fear, Sai sinking into seat as if it would provide adequate protection, Shiho ducking behind one of the consoles, an angry expression settling on Dearka's face as if looks alone could scare the pilot away.
"NO!" someone shouted as one of the GINN HMs rammed into the enemy suit at full thrust. An insignia of two crossed sabers over a rose flashed by as the suit stabilized itself.
"Ed the Ripper." Dearka whispered.
"Who?" Milly asked.
"Ed the Ripper." Yzak said, stopping beside Kira's GINN.
"That's a GAT-X133 Sword Calamity!" Sai said, the computer finally identifying their fifth enemy.
"Only three were built according to Alliance records, one was given to Edward Harrelson. After every battle he would come back with his suit covered in the blood of his vanquished enemies, thus his name 'Ed the Ripper'." Lacus explained.
"Cagalli! Athrun! Keep those 105's busy!" Kira yelled.
"What? Why?" Cagalli demanded, dodging a shot from the Launcher Dagger.
"Yamato and I are going after Eddie boy here, that's why." Yzak replied.
Kira and Yzak took off after the Sword Calamity before it reached Athrun and Cagalli. Yzak fired several shots at Ed, all of them missing, but got his attention. Ed swiveled around and threw both of his beam boomerangs.
Kira dodged the attack and fired on the Sword Calamity, doing minor damage. The boomerang started back and Kira dodged again, letting the weapon fly past. Yzak took a different approach, firing his beam rifle and head vulcans at the boomerang in an attempt to destroy it.
"Yzak! Behind you!" Kira warned.
Yzak raised his shield in time to block an attack from one of the anti-ship swords that the Sword Calamity was equipped with. The second boomerang finished its arc when Kira opened fire on it. Most of the bullets were destroyed by the spinning weapon, but one bullet found its mark, hitting the handle and destroying the weapon.
Kira holstered his rifle and pulled out his heavy sword, swinging the weapon downwards at the Ripper. Ed pulled out his other anti-ship sword and blocked the attack. The young Coordinator growled in anger as the older Natural pilot activated the beam blade, cutting through the GINNs blade and send the top half flying.
The silver-haired Coordinator cursed, and then activated his own beam saber to counter the second sword aimed at him. Kira backed off, threw the useless remains of his sword away and fired his rifle again, this time aiming for the cameras mounted on the Sword Calamity. The pilot disengaged one of his swords to use his forearm mounted shield to block the incoming fire.
Cagalli and Athrun were having a much easier time dealing with the 105 Daggers and their Striker packs. Cagalli had targeted the Agni hyper-impulse cannon of the Launcher-Dagger and fired at it. The bullets impacted all up the length of the cannon, destroying it and severely damaging the 105 Dagger.
She closed the range between them and cut the Dagger in half with her sword. Athrun fought off both of the Aile Daggers, dodging their shots and trying to score direct hits himself. The 1017M had more maneuverability than a 105 Dagger with an Aile pack, and the blue-haired Coordinator used that to his advantage.
Finally, one of the pilots hesitated, allowing Athrun to properly aim and open fire, riddling the 105 Dagger with bullet holes. It didn't explode, but several bullets had penetrated the cockpit, killing the pilot. The Sword-Dagger came flying in, swiping at Athrun left and right in a vain attempt to exact vengeance.
Kira pulled the trigger again, but found out that he his clip was empty. He hit the reload function, but Ed the Ripper charged and sliced off Kira's gun arm. The GINN backed away from the Sword Calamity in haste. Ed smiled and ignited his thrusters again, swords poised.
None of the other pilots could react in time to completely dodge the attack, but Kira, the recipient of the attacks, managed to avoid getting killed. Ed the Ripper sliced off the GINNs head and other arm before Yzak charged, scoring a hit on the right rocket anchor.
"Get back to the Null Yamato; you can't do any more good back there!" Yzak said, sliding in between Kira and Edward.
Kira started towards home when Ed batted Yzak away with the back of his sword. Yzak cursed as he fired his thrusters to stop his momentum. Ed sped towards Kira and fired his left rocket anchor at the defenseless GINN. It tore the GINN's lower right leg off before Ed retracted it.
He pulled both of swords out, activated them and connected them together, making it a double-thick weapon. Kira's secondary cameras showed him the orange horror approaching him, but he wasn't able to move in time thanks to the damage he had sustained.
Lacus' heart stopped for a moment as she saw the double swords slice mercilessly and effortlessly through Kira's GINN, starting at his right shoulder and quickly making its way to exit out his left hip. The severed section of the upper torso exploded before it had drifted more than a meter.
"Bastard!" Yzak screamed.
"Kira!" Cagalli yelled, her sword embedded in the Sword-Dagger's head. She fired her rifle and jetted towards Yzak and her brother.
"All too easy." Ed commented before turning to face Yzak's Duel Dagger.
The last 105 Dagger exploded from Athrun's barrage. Two GINN HM types and a Duel Dagger couldn't hope to match against a Sword Calamity, even with its damage. Kira's engines fired intermittently as his friends surrounded Edward.
A hail of bullets narrowly missed the Sword Calamity, and everyone turned to see who was foolish enough to challenge Ed the Ripper. The suit was coming out from in front of the sun. The glow added with the flare from his thrusters masked the suit until the gap between the new suit and the other four disappeared.
"You again! Didn't learn your lesson the first time?" Ed called out; apparently, he knew who it was already.
"Ed The Ripper. Last time I wasn't trying to beat you, but this time it's different." The mysterious man replied.
"This time he's got me." Another masculine voice chimed in.
The glow finally subsided, revealing two suits, nearly identical in base form; one blue and one red. The blue suit had a massive thruster pack with large wings and held two beam spray pistols while the red one had a flight pack similar to those from Orb and a massive katana mounted on the left hip.
"The MBF-P02 Red Frame and the MBF-P03 Blue Frame." Cagalli murmured.
"Huh? Orb mobile suits here?" Athrun asked, confused.
"Red Frame is piloted by the Junk Tech Lowe Gear; he was at the Morgenroete facility when the Archangel first set in for repairs." Cagalli said.
"And the Blue Frame?" Yzak demanded.
"I am Gai Murakumo, leader of the Serpent's Tail." The pilot of the Blue Frame replied.
"Get your friends out of here, Gai and I will deal with the Ripper." Lowe said, drawing his Gerbera Straight in one fluid motion.
Cagalli and Athrun each grabbed one side of Kira's GINN while Yzak trailed behind in case the Sword Calamity got past both of the Astrays. Lowe engaged the Sword Calamity to keep Edward occupied, while Gai kept a lookout for reinforcements.
The Gerbera Straight had no problems blocking the beam part of Edward's anti-ship swords, and the two pilots were swinging their swords in an attempt to disable or kill the other. Thanks to Lowe's reprogrammed OS, he was able to manipulate the Red Frame and use some kendo moves along with his sword.
Edward grimaced when he caught a face-full of Red Frame's foot, and then fired his Scylla chest cannon. It had only 30 maximum power compared to the original Calamity mobile suit, but it was still sufficient to destroy another mobile suit. However, Lowe was too fast for the beam and ducked beneath it.
Edward blocked the incoming blow with his swords and kicked out at Lowe, forcing the Junk tech to back away. He threw his remaining beam boomerang, which Lowe promptly dodged. It came circling back and Lowe dodged again and started another offensive, forcing Ed the Ripper to either block or dodge. The boomerang flew past the Sword Calamity and sliced into the right-hand side of the torso of the GINN which Cagalli was piloting.
"Cagalli!" Athrun yelled in fear.
"I'm okay ..." she replied weakly as static ate into her transmission.
"8! Let's turn up the heat!" Lowe said, transferring more energy to his left hand plug. It began to glow brightly.
Lowe fired the Orb Blaster at the Sword Calamity. Edward smiled, connected his swords again and swung them like a baseball bat, sending the energy orb flying back towards Lowe.
"Oh crap! He deflected it!" Lowe and Gai went evasive to dodge the blast.
With Blue Frame and Red Frame distracted, Ed the Ripper moved in to finish Kira and Cagalli. He lifted his still-connected swords and prepared to strike. Kira had no chance at dodging the attack; most of his controls were dead, while Cagalli had a slim chance to live. Neither got the chance to even try, Athrun poured all power into his verniers and slammed into the oncoming Sword Calamity.
Unfortunately, a GINN weighs less than a Sword Calamity, and although there is no weight in space, there is still mass. Edward fired his thrusters briefly to stop his backwards momentum and swung his swords at Athrun. The young Coordinator started to dodge, but lost the GINN's right arm.
Lowe let loose a battlecry and swung his Gerbera Straight, slicing Ed's anti-ship swords in half. Ed fired his rocket anchor in retaliation but Gai had already moved in and opened fire with his beam spray pistols, which destroyed the weapon.
Edward charged his chest-mounted Scylla cannon again and fired it, this time at the retreating group of suits he harassed earlier. Gai activated his Full Armor Phase Shift, and the extensions attached to Blue Frame swung down and covered the suit like a coat. The Serpent's Tail leader moved in to block the beam from hitting one of the weaker suits, but he was too late.
Yzak intercepted the beam with his shield, and while the beam was only 30 as powerful as the ones found on the Forbidden, Raider and Calamity, it was still more than the mass-produced suit could handle. The explosion blew off the Dagger's left arm and leg and sent him wobbling back to his squad-mates.
In the resulting confusion, Ed made his escape. Gai and Lowe took off after the Sword Calamity, but their enemy had too much of a head start. The three GINNs and the Duel Dagger, all damaged, finally docked inside the Aprilius Null. Kira unbuckled his safety harness and floated out of the remains of his suit while Athrun rushed over to Cagalli's suit to help her out.
Lacus had made it down to the hangar bay in record time, the lift doors opening just as Kira put his feet on the deck. He pulled his helmet off as Lacus pushed off the back wall of the lift. She embraced him tightly and kissed him passionately, letting go all of the worries that haunted her while he was fighting Ed the Ripper.
Yzak was the last one to set down, but he didn't come out of his cockpit. Kira noticed it first and decided to go see what was wrong. Athrun was bringing an injured Cagalli out of her cockpit; evidently, the beam boomerang did more collateral damage that anyone thought.
Kira came to a stop by the emergency handle on the side of Yzak's cockpit. He quickly opened the cockpit and peered inside.
"Yzak, are you alright in there?" Kira asked.
Yzak was slumped over, held up only by his harness, his helmet's faceplate was open judging from the blood slowly trickling from his mouth. Blood was slowly coming out of a wound on his left kidney, and there was a shard of metal lodged in the wound. Yzak's breathing was shallow and rapid, but he was conscious.
"Yamato ..." he started.
His next words were drowned out by Lacus' gasp as she saw Yzak's condition. Kira moved in and unbuckled him and lifted the injured pilot out of his chair.
"Get me a medical team!" he called out. One of the technicians rushed to a comm unit to summon the doctor.
Kira gently lead Yzak towards the lift doors at the side of the hangar and Lacus followed. She noticed that Cagalli's injuries weren't that severe, judging from the way she was kissing Athrun.
The doctor and two aides met Kira and Yzak just as they landed on the deck. One of the aides floated over to check on Cagalli's condition while the other aide and the doctor took Yzak into the lift.
The aide and Cagalli were arguing about her injuries as Athrun came over to see Kira and Lacus. Cagalli was adamant that her injuries were 'mere scratches' while the aide refused to believe her story until she was examined. Finally the blond princess of Orb relented and followed the aide to the lift to be examined.
"That was a close battle, and if it wasn't for Lowe and Gai I think we wouldn't have made it back alive." Athrun said.
Lacus was horrified at Athrun's comment.
"How could you say that?" she demanded.
"It's true Lacus; Yzak had the only suit even remotely close to matching that Sword Calamity. Our GINNs may have had a speed advantage, but there's no way we can combat beam weapons." Kira said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Lacus turned to stare at the suits. Kira's GINN was a complete write-off, it was wonder he made it in alive. Yzak's Duel Dagger was severely damaged; it would most likely have to be scrapped as well. Athrun's GINN was in better shape, missing an arm, much like Shiho's GINN. Finally, Cagalli's GINN had sustained damage to the cockpit, much the same as Dearka had during their escape from Port Arthur. It really was a miracle they had made it through the battle alive.
Of course, it was thanks to Kira's actions that the Aprilius Null wasn't damaged when Ed tried to destroy the bridge. She didn't know how PLANT was going to react to the status of Yzak and all of the suits he borrowed, but it would be more of a relief for them to find out that he was still alive.
"We're coming upon Aprilius One, and they want to speak to Yzak." Dearka announced over the intercom.
They all looked at each other. Athrun spoke first.
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us."
A/N: For the 'sword combining' scenes, it's the same method as seen in the Blue Frame MSV short, where Ed takes out the Nazca-class. As for Lowe and Gai, Astray X doesn't happen until after the war is over, and I think they just finished their fight with Gold Frame Amatu. You can check out for pictures of Blue Frame Second G and Second L (which I'll feature later on), along with the Sword Calamity and Dagger variants.