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 (Phase 11 and 12 were a Christmas special and there will be no episode on New Years Day), 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
Angel of Dreams: you're always so quick to review. Which is good. Dearka froze from something he felt (y'know, the thought of losing your homeland and people to a single Natural ….)
King Arthur6687: Thanks for the support over the previous chapters, you've helped a lot.
C-town Chica: Read on to learn their fates.
Prince Takeru: As much as I hate to end a good thing, "all good things must come to an end". But do keep an eye out for my future plans.
Chapter 12: A Fierce Resistance
CE 72, January 2nd
"Status report now!" Ron demanded.
"Nuclear Warhead intercepted, War Gundam destroyed, Famine Gundam destroyed, Conquest Gundam destroyed. Death Gundam and Apocalypse Gundam still operational and in combat with Matrix Gundam and Veritas Gundam. Eternal Gundam, Angel Gundam and Aequitas Gundam all disabled, pilots have been recovered." The officer reported.
Fortune favors the brave? I don't think so.
-
A status message popped up on Dearka's display, quickly outlining their current standing. While it could have been better, it definitely could have been a lot worse.
"So Kuzzey is dead, along with two more of them. That leaves one for me and one for Yzak." Dearka muttered.
Hiroto wasn't a bad pilot by any means, but Dearka had seen plenty of missed opportunities to close to melee range. It was one thing that the ZAFT Academy had taught him. Never miss an opportunity, you may not get another. While Dearka was in possession of the Buster Gundam, he himself had purposely missed those same opportunities, due to the lack of a melee weapon.
Now it was different. The Apocalypse Gundam had a speed that seemed to go with a smaller suit, but it was frightening on his large Gundam. Still, it was obvious that Hiroto had landed his feet in the Apocalypse thanks to his connections with the Blue Comsos. But his younger brother, Untensu …
Dearka stole a quick glance to one of his secondary monitors, which had the fight between the Matrix Gundam and the Death Gundam. Both suits were moving at incredible speeds, swiping and slashing at each other with beam blades. It was obvious that even without his older brother; Untensu could have gotten his Gundam through skill alone.
What would the war have been like if he had the Strike instead of Kira? Yzak is holding his own, but I can't help but wonder how much the XML is helping him out.
Of course, musing in the middle of a battle is a bad thing. Dearka's alarm went off, and he looked up to see the Apocalypse Gundam rushing in headlong, both beam sabers drawn.
"Guess he finally ran out of juice. Oh well." Clearly, Hiroto meant to end this match between them and then go finish Yzak.
Well things don't always work out like you planned. Had their feet been planted on ground, it would have been called sidestepping. In space, Dearka moved sideways, avoiding the charge and the frantic attempt to swipe the dodging Gundam.
Dearka tracked Hiroto as the older pilot swept around to set up for another pass and opened fire with both his railgun and repeating beam rifle. As both weapons fired, his shoulder mounted "Aphelion" beam cannons swung into play, adding more punch against Hiroto's I-Field.
The Asian's eye's widened as his power drained more quickly; attempting to keep up with the demand the I-Field Generator was placing. Growling in rage, Hiroto set up a quick evasive pattern, avoiding most of the shots fired against him.
The Apocalypse Gundam quickly closed the space between himself and the Veritas Gundam. Dearka was motionless as he fired everything he had in a seemingly vain attempt to penetrate either the Phase-Shift armor or the I-Field.
"You think that will stop ME?" Hiroto demanded.
"Not really." Dearka calmly replied.
That response made Hiroto pause for a second. Dearka quickly ejected his Jackhammer railgun and grabbed his Cycler beam rifle in both hands. Hiroto was even more confused, until a meter long beam bayonet ignited from underneath the rifle.
"Oh."
Dearka plunged the blade into the Apocalypse Gundam as the I-Field, which extended several meters past the Gundam itself, passed over him. The Phase-Shift armor did nothing, and Hiroto didn't have time to react and block the attack with his now useless beam sabers.
"This is for Miriallia."
Dearka tore the blade out the side of the gigantic Gundam, and accelerated away as an explosion marked the simultaneous end of the warhead-equipped Gundam, and the leader of the Keshitai.
He sat in space, motionless for a few seconds, trying to comprehend the impact Hiroto's death would have upon Untensu. Most of his findings weren't turning out to be good endings. Sighing, he grabbed his Jackhammer and set a course to help his friend, against the last and possibly most dangerous pilot in history.
Untensu Syuu and the Death Gundam.
-
"Apocalypse Gundam has been neutralized. The odds are in our favor now!" the sensor officer almost yelled out.
Ron whipped his head around to glare at the poor man.
"Victory is never a sure thing. Especially against an enemy who has held out against all odds thus far."
-
Curious, I feel nothing. Untensu had just witnessed the death of his older brother and leader of their cause. Yet, there was a feeling of emptiness, a void that simply didn't care. Granted, the siblings weren't exactly loving towards each other, but they didn't hate each other outright either.
Hiroto respected Untensu's skills, and Untensu respected Hiroto. Still, there was that detached feeling. It was something he wasn't quite used to. Untensu was known as a more passionate man, willing to fully give himself to whatever or whoever he believed in. Such as the Keshitai. Or piloting mobile suits.
I never knew that I might one day grow tired of it all. Feelings or no, his death MUST be avenged. This suit has managed to keep pace with me the entire time, even after fighting Gideon. He, or she, is very good, no doubts there.
"I respect your skills pilot. Perhaps we may end this conflict with a duel, with no interference from the artillery unit." He suggested.
Yzak paused and narrowed his eyes. Just what was he planning? Clearly the man abided by an older code of honor, based more on following your feelings, knowing what is true rather than swearing an oath to a corrupt government.
Dearka opened a private channel to Yzak.
"I don't know what he's planning, but I'm against it. We can finish this with little risk."
Yzak pondered for a moment as Untensu spoke again.
"I will give you two minutes to decide. When you have reached a decision, contact me."
Deep in thought, Yzak weighed his choices. Dearka's argument was valid from nearly all standpoints. Granted, their main objective was complete, the Apocalypse Gundam and the nuclear warhead had been stopped, PLANT was safe. He knew that Athrun and Otto and Ron would agree with Dearka, and under normal circumstances, Yzak would have too.
But there was something about this man that Yzak had underestimated. Something that compelled the enemy pilot to keep on giving everything, regardless of personal cost. Whatever it was, it reminded Yzak of himself during the final days of the last war.
Honor, such an outdated concept. Who knew that my enemy would be one of the few people to posses it?
"I accept your challenge. I am Yzak Jule, pilot of the Matrix Gundam, defender of PLANT and peace." He finally replied.
"I am gratefully Yzak Jule. My name is Untensu Syuu, honored pilot of the Death Gundam. As much as my blood burns to see you die, I wish you the best, as one honorable man to another."
The Death Gundam saluted Yzak, who returned the gesture. Both suits advanced to within three meters of each other and extended their beam weapons, Death's double beam scythe and Matrix, having activated only one of his two beam sabers.
"What the hell are you doing Yzak? Let me help you!" Dearka demanded.
"Dearka, I order you to escort the recovery shuttle back to the Chon-Ji Tul. You will not interfere." Yzak ordered.
"Yzak, I don't know what you're trying to prove here, but there are other ways, what happened cannot be changed!" Athrun pleaded, jumping into the conversation.
"Shut your trap Zala. My actions are none of your business." Yzak replied harshly.
"If I die, people will mourn, but they will move on. If I don't fight, I will most likely regret this for the rest of my life." Yzak said, in a softer voice.
"That doesn't give you permission to disobey orders Commander Jule." Ron said.
Wow, this turned into a real party line. I am trying to duel here. Ungrateful bastards.
"I've received no orders concerning duels. Jule out." Yzak silenced the friendly channels.
The tips of the beam weapons met in a brief instant, before each pilot quickly pulled them back and begun their assault. The duel was on.
-
Dearka was cursing the entire way until he rendezvoused with the recovery shuttle.
"This Dearka in the Veritas Gundam, what's your status?" he asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"This is Otto of the Rescue and Recovery craft CHT-RR 1. We have recovered Cagalli Yula Athha, Athrun Zala and Kira Yamato. All three are alive and not in critical condition." Otto replied.
"Fine then, lets get back to the Chon-Ji Tul." Dearka said, slowing his speed to match the shuttle's velocity and course.
They slowly made their way back to the Xephon-class battlecarrier and both craft received permission to dock. Dearka secured his Gundam and shut it down. Opening the cockpit, he sat in the pilot's chair for a moment, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
"Damn you Yzak, why do you have to be so stubborn?" he muttered angrily.
Miriallia, who had seen the Veritas Gundam enter through bay two, had made her was to the hangar bay as fast as humanly possible. She saw his Gundam, powered down and resting in its berth with the cockpit open.
Looking around quickly, she didn't spot anyone that looked remotely like him, or any colors even close to his beige and black flight suit. She eyed the open cockpit again, and a recent memory of a wounded Yzak sitting in his own cockpit a few months before.
She remembered his wounds and launched herself towards Dearka's cockpit, praying that he was safe. He was, fortunately, and she floated just outside unnoticed. His helmet was off and floating above him, his arms both extended outwards, obviously from recently punching his view screens in anger or frustration, or both. Eyes squeezed shut, the tan pilot didn't notice Milly float slowly inside until he felt her breath and warmth mere inches from him.
"Miriallia?" he asked, looking up.
She slowly undid the straps and gently pulled him out of the cockpit. His rage more subdued now, he followed her lead as she made her way to the lift. The doors closed and she hit a random button before pulling him in close and kissing him hard on his lips.
Unexpected as the kiss was, Dearka returned it in full force, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her in close. The last time they shared a kiss this passionate was aboard the enemy ship during Kira's rescue.
This one was decidedly better, Dearka decided. Not having to worry about random gunfire was a nice thing. The lift came to a stop at its destined floor and the doors opened. Neither of them cared until someone clearing their throat was heard.
Dearka turned as Milly ducked behind him, peeking her head out to see who it was. Ron was standing there, a bemused expression on his face.
"Sorry, I think I got the wrong place." He said simply, and then turned and floated down the hall, allowing the lift doors to close once again.
"So, what did I do to deserve that?" he asked, facing her.
"You came back to me." She said quietly.
He enfolded her in a hug, not entirely trusting himself to speak after her comment. She returned the hug, and was grateful for the silence, it was comfortable.
Ron finally stepped out onto the hangar floor as Otto led his charges out from the shuttle, where the awaiting medics could perform a more thorough scan of the survivors. Looking up, Otto saw Ron and met up with his captain and friend.
"What's the situation P?" Ron asked.
"You know about the duel, Dearka's pissed off to all hell and back, but everyone is alive for now. Yamato is either sleeping or unconscious, the meds will let us know. Athrun and Cagalli are fine." Otto replied.
"Odd, but I don't remember Lacus signing on as a member of this crew, much less on the R&R team." Ron remarked.
"Well it was either let her come along or she'd find you and beat some sense into you, so I decided to spare you the misfortune of having your ass handed to you by a pacifist female younger than you." Otto smiled.
"Funny P."
"I thought so."
The medics announced that Athrun and Cagalli were fine, although both were recommended rest and no strenuous activities for the next 12 to 24 hours. Kira was sleeping, his previous wounds and the last battle proved to be too much for his system to handle and it shut down, or so to speak.
Lacus took Kira off somewhere private as Athrun put his arm around Cagalli's waist, leading her out of the hangar.
"Could be worse." Ron said.
-
Untensu charged Yzak, his beam scythe swinging in a wild-looking yet-intricate pattern, designed to keep the opponent guessing where the blow would land. Yzak blocked the slash at his legs with ease and forced the scythe upwards, outside of his defense. Using the small opening he provided, Yzak brought his beam saber around to the other side and swung it towards the cockpit of the Death Gundam.
The slow attack was effortlessly blocked and Untensu jabbed the other end of his scythe pole at Yzak, who tapped his thrusters lightly, letting the ineffective attack slide across his shoulder armor. Yzak's right fist struck out, hoping to dislodge Untensu's weapon, but no such luck.
Still holding the scythe with one hand, Untensu blocked the primitive attack with his own fist. Disengaging his beam saber from the beam scythe, Yzak backed up a bit before bursting forwards, an overhead slash coming down upon Untensu.
He sidestepped the attack and swung the scythe in a quick pattern which left the blade portion at the bottom. Untensu swung the scythe up in an attack meant to slice Yzak in half from crotch to head.
Growling, Yzak back-flipped avoiding the attack entirely. His thrusters lit up as he again charged his foe, now trying to slice Untensu across the waist. Caught in an awkward position, the asian pilot managed to block the attack and counter, send Yzak's arm wide and the beam scythe moving in for the kill.
Laughing, Yzak activated his second saber, quickly blocking the attack.
"Done playing yet?" Yzak taunted.
"The warm-up was for your sake." Untensu jested in reply.
Child's play was over, now the fight was truly on. Untensu charged using his scythe to sweep Yzak's two beam sabers out of the way. He quickly turned his attack into a spinning back kick, which connected with Yzak's head and sent him flying backwards.
Using the momentum already provided, Yzak followed up and hit his thrusters, pushing him just outside Untensu's follow-up punch. His scythe was once again back in both hands, spinning above his head before he brought it swinging across, trying to decapitate Yzak.
The silver-haired Coordinator ducked underneath the attack and eliminated most of the little distance between them, jetting upwards and connecting his uppercut with Untensu's jaw.
Untensu's foot came up as he back flipped in the same place, striking Yzak across the chest and stopping his next attack from starting. Narrowing his eyes as Untensu's skills, Yzak attacked again with rapid slashes from his two beam sabers.
The attacks weren't actually meant to inflict much damage if they weren't countered, they were just lightning attacks to get a better opening for a more lethal strike. Untensu was up to the challenge and his scythe flew back and forth blocking the fury of attacks from Yzak.
They were moving as if they were sparring person to person on level ground, not in mobile suits in space. A quick snap-kick from Untensu which missed ended the flurry of attacks for the moment.
Perhaps my opponent has the advantage with his smaller and faster sabers. My scythe hasn't failed me yet!
Not letting up, Untensu charged forward, making use of Yzak's unintended retreat. Untensu directed his slashes and slices in one spot more or less, essentially corralling Yzak's beam sabers to defend that one position. As soon as he finished his last slice, Untensu quickly made a back roundhouse, aimed at the beam sabers now off center.
If they were on Earth, the attack would have knocked Yzak off balance and possibly would have sent him dirt-bound. In space, the attack knocked one of his beam sabers right out of his hands and sent him flying sideways.
Recovering, Yzak turned it into a spin and sent his fist flying towards Untensu, hitting with full force on his shoulder, creating a large gap in his defenses. It would take Untensu several precious seconds to bring his scythe back into play where it would be useful, and the dark-haired man didn't have the luxury of time.
Yzak's beam saber closed in far too quickly, so Untensu rolled with the blow, barely avoiding the well-crafted counter. Standing up again, he smiled as the beam saber once again was back in position.
Both pilots charged together, with Yzak managing to hook his beam saber underneath Untensu's curved beam scythe and pull him forward and off balance. Untensu's stumble was stopped with an elbow to the head from Yzak.
Going with the flow again, Untensu's leg snapped out at Yzak, hitting his hip. They both moved sideways and neither got an attack off before Untensu righted himself. As good as they both were; this fight was going nowhere fast.
Feinting a slash from the left, Untensu pulled his attack short, letting Yzak overcompensate with his defensive block. Quickly bringing his scythe inside of Yzak's saber, Untensu batted the beam blade aside and thrust his own weapon forward.
In a risky move, Yzak shut his saber down and grabbed the scythe just below the blade emitter with his free hand, stopping the attack but opening himself up to a whole other world of attacks. Untensu made good on Yzak's blunder and sharply pulled the scythe down before jerking it back up and out of Yzak's grip. Reversing his swing once again, Untensu attacked with a powerful overhead slash that would finish Yzak off.
The XML system once again turned Yzak's world red as he snapped and brought his forearms up to block the scythe a foot below the emitters. The curved blade stopped inches short from Yzak's head, temporarily – in Untensu's opinion – sparing the Coordinator's life.
Not allowing Untensu to go on the offensive again, Yzak brought his knee up and slammed it into Untensu's stomach, forcing him away, if only a little bit. Keeping on his own offensive, Yzak slid one hand around the handle of the beam scythe and pulled it, rotating himself so that his back was facing Untensu.
Unwilling to let go of his last weapon, Untensu held on as Yzak was about to toss him over. It turned out to be a feint and Yzak's elbow smashed into Untensu's chest, forcing him to a sudden stop.
Yzak followed up by facing Untensu and throwing his fist, which crashed into Untensu's face, sending him flying backwards and making him loose his scythe. Activating his beam saber again, Yzak quickly slice the scythe in half, rendering the Untensu's weapon completely useless.
Facing his opponent head on, Yzak brought his saber up to a guard position and paused, which enraged Untensu. So much for respect then, it's time to end this, one way or another. Ending it in Untensu's favor would be rather difficult, but he was damned if he was going down without a fight.
Untensu charged one last time, bringing his fists together and raising them above his head, preparing for a powerful hammerblow. As he brought his fists down, Yzak slipped inside, his head smashing into Untensu's chin, the shock stopping his attack cold. In a quick and brutal moment, Yzak stabbed the beam saber right through Untensu's stomach, cutting right through the reactor.
"Our duel comes to an end." Untensu managed to say before his suit exploded.
The large explosion from the large Gundam cleared, and Yzak flashed his eye cameras before shutting down his saber again and putting it back in its place.
"This is Yzak Jule. Death Gundam has been destroyed and mission accomplished." He announced tiredly, re-opening the general broadcast lines.
A/N: Wow, uh sorry for the massive wait. World of WarCraft coupled with a bad case of writer's block and the holidays do not make for a quick update. So I'd like to apologize. Sorry. Quick note to Angel of Dreams: I didn't even realize that you are the author of Fate in Destiny. I promise I'll review your next chapter! Uh, for now please Read and REVIEW! I hope you all had a good holiday, and enjoy the New Year celebrations.
Serious Note: I assume you've all heard about the massive tidal waves hitting Southern Asia and India, and I would like to send my condolences and prayers out to all of those involved, including my good friend and former manager Jag Patel, whose sister and wife are currently in India.
I pray that your loved ones survive, and that we all have the strength of heart to help out in any way possible.