Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY
The New Coordinate
Story:
AU of GSD. Xander Darklighter, a ZAFT ace pilot was thrown into a string of events that will test his skills, resolve, courage and determination. Which side will he choose to fight with? How will he deal with the events unfolding before him?
Notes:
ChibiRulz: Like all other stories, heroes DON'T die. Or will he?
NukeDawg: FATE postponed? Oh well...
nick2591: Another new reader. This late? Thanx for the comment.
Shinigami Keitaro: I heard of it but never gotten around to register. I'll think about your suggestion though it would be better for them to come over and check it out. :P
GodNo127: LMAO. Keep on reading on how this battle will turn out.
The climax is here! Chapter title was taken from the song Human Touch (Gundam X ending theme) by Warren Wiebe.
I don't own GSD, their characters or anything else aside from Xander Darklighter, Claire Whitestar, Yvonne Norman and Crystal Blue.
Chapter 33: Human Touch
Around the area of Station One of Requiem, Lunamaria was disabling many of ZAFT's mobile suit units until she stopped to see the Archangel was battling against Minerva.
"Captain..." she thought.
Suddenly, she felt a pain on her chest. At once, she knew what was happening. "Xan..."
"Luna, behind you!" Yvonne warned before she sliced off a GOUF unit who was trying to attack Impulse from behind.
"Thanks, Yvonne."
"There's no time for being distracted. We need to hold out until the station is taken out!"
Kira and Athrun made their way inside the station with the unexpected help from Yzak and Dearka.
"Kira!"
"Got it!"
With that, both Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice used METEOR's beam sword to tear apart the station. As they left the remains of it behind, Lacus appeared on display.
"Kira, Athrun. We'll move towards Daedalus."
"How is Xander doing?" Kira asked.
Lacus shook. "No news from him. Only the COMET returned safely."
Athrun silently cursed. "Xander, what in the world are you doing?"
In the intense ship battle, Minerva was in a position to finish off Archangel with its Tannhäuser cannon. And the Archangel couldn't avoid it because the shot will certainly hit Eternal which was just alongside it. The positron shot was fired and was about to hit the bridge of the Orb battleship until Neo interfered to block the blast. With the help of Akatsuki's anti-beam armour coating, he survived the deadly blast and took out the Tannhäuser. It then used its DRAGOON laser beams to create a shield to prevent it from further attack.
Lunamaria looked at Minerva's condition and ignored it. She then contacted Archangel.
"Can you send me the IWSP now?"
Murrue nods. "Tell Murdoch and his men to launch the IWSP!"
Within minutes, the IWSP was launched and Lunamaria detached the Lightning Striker pack and replaced it. The Impulse changed its color into red and approached Daedalus with Yvonne.
"Colonel, please defend Archangel for a while. We will go ahead." Yvonne informed Neo.
"Yeah. Sure Lieutenant. By the way, I am no longer Neo Lorrnoke."
"Eh?"
"The name's Mwu La Flaga. Remember that."
Yvonne took some time to accept it then smiled. "The legendary Hawk of Endimyon. Never thought I get to work with him..." she said silently.
"Let's go, Luna. We'll put an end to this!" she continued.
Lunamaria nods. As they approached Daedalus, Messiah appeared from behind the moon and launched its new superweapon NEO GENESIS. Lunamaria and Yvonne avoided the blast as it decimated most of Orb's fleet. Everyone looked at the massive destruction in shock before they resumed the battle.
Kira and Athrun were approaching Daedalus until Shinn and Rey appeared and attacked them. Kira and Rey continued from where they have left off while Athrun tried to avoid battle with Shinn but his persuasion failed. Kira sensed something was wrong with in his battle against Rey and started to wonder who he was.
"You...who are you...?" Kira asked as his Strike Freedom exchanged attacks with Legend.
"You should know who I am. I am...Rau Le Creuset!"
Kira was shocked and he barely dodged Rey's melee attack. He then remembered his battle against Rau two years ago and thought that he already buried Mwu's genetic father at Jachin Due. He shook his head and pushed it aside as he need to concentrate. Seeing that they were now engaged in battle and wasting their time here, Kira unleashed his DRAGOON beam pods to attack Shinn in his Destiny Gundam.
"Athrun! You should go to Daedalus as soon as possible! I'll hold them off!"
Athrun reluctantly nods. "Don't die on me, Kira. I..."
"Don't worry about me. And Xander. We'll live after this battle."
With that, Athrun left the battlefield as Shinn was distracted by Strike Freedom's DRAGOON.
"Damn you, Freedom!" Shinn yelled as he fired his beam cannon with Kira countered with his chest cannon. Both of them then went into SEED mode and attacked each other.
"Shinn! You should go after Athrun!" Rey instructed.
Shinn nods. "Understood."
Then, Destiny left Strike Freedom and Legend as the Kira and Rey engaged yet again.
Lunamaria and Yvonne were disabling numerous ZAFT units until the Infinite Justice went past them as Athrun made his way towards Daedalus.
"Heads up, Luna. That guy is coming." Yvonne warned after she detected another mobile suit.
Lunamaria checked her display and gasped when she saw Destiny Gundam coming their way. Shinn then stopped not far from her.
"Luna..."
"Shinn..."
"Luna! Why did you joined them? Why?" Shinn demanded.
"Shinn, I love him. I love Xander. That's the reason why..."
Shinn then pulled out his anti-ship sword. "Luna, I...have to take you down..."
Lunamaria then pulled the same weapon from her IWSP and prepared for the battle.
"Luna, don't push yourself. I'm here, remember?" Yvonne said as she positioned her N Dagger N alongside Impulse.
Lunamaria smiled. "Thanks, Yvonne."
Shinn narrowed his eyes and attacked.
Near the fallen third station of Requiem, Atonement Gundam was covered in ice and was frozen completely. Inside the cockpit, Xander tried his best to move around to warm his body but he eventually gave in to the very low temprature. He leaned back in his seat in frustration as he let icicles formed around him.
"This...is not my idea of dying..."
He then closed his eyes and he saw a woman floating towards him. He instantly recognized her.
"Claire..."
"Xan, don't give up. You still have to fulfill the promise..."
"Promise...Maria..." he muttered.
Claire nods. "Yes, Maria. Until then, don't give up on anything..."
"Claire..."
"Xan, I have to go now..."
"Claire, wait! Don't go!" Xander cried as he tried to reach her. Claire smiled as she faded away into darkness.
Xander opened his eyes to see his frost-covered hand was already at the button that will enable the PX system.
"Looks like I have no choice..." he muttered.
He hauled himself up and quickly re-calibrate his unit's power settings.
"I'm sorry, my friend. You have to take some punishment because of my stubborness. Alright, power settings re-configured. Overwriting all limitations and unit's power barriers. N-Jammer Canceller, maximum output. PX system activated."
Crystal was about to release the frozen Atonement Gundam until she detected massive heat signature coming from its N-Jammer Canceller generator. Moments later, the ice started to melt as Atonement came to life again. Crystal gasped in astonishment.
"This can't be! You should have..."
"I don't think I want to die just yet." Xander said, with his breath could be seen clearly.
With that, Atonement broke free from Eiskristall Gundam's submission grip and used its four remaining DRAGOON swords to push Crystal away. With his remaining hand, Xander pulled another beam saber. Then with deadly speed, precision and accuracy, he took out Eiskristall's transparent wing blades.
"YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!" Crystal screamed in rage as she entered into SEED mode.
Xander narrowed his eyes as he too went into SEED mode. With both pilots' eyes turned white, both New Coordinators engaged in intense melee battle. After more than at least twenty times exchanging blows, Xander finally decided to end this battle. With the PX system enabled, he easily took out every weapon his opponent could use and he also took away both of Eiskristall's arms. Realizing that Xander was poised to strike the killing blow, Crystal laughed hysterically.
"Hehehehehe. So the original is superior than me after all...hehehehe..."
"You're wrong. I am no different than you in terms of strength and power but I possess a greater power; it is called the human touch." Xander said.
Crystal stopped laughing. "Human...touch..." she muttered.
Xander nods. "I have my friends and my love one waiting for me. That's why I won't allow myself to die. And that gave me the strength and courage I need to go on."
Crystal went silent for a while before she replied. "I see. That is why I am no match for you."
Xander turned around and Crystal stopped him. "Why don't you kill me?"
"I...never want to kill anyone. Not anymore."
With that, Atonement left the battered Eiskristall behind. Smiling, Crystal activated the self destruct sequence.
"I am just a copy. I have no right to exist. I can have no friends and...love."
Eiskristall Gundam then exploded a while later, killing Crystal inside.
On Eternal, Meyrin detected a mobile suit coming in fast. She gasped.
"Atonement is coming back!"
Lacus looked up at the screen as Atonement Gundam appeared in view and Andrew nods. "Darklighter, you there?"
"Yeah. I'm here. Sorry for the wait. There's some problem but I still managed to take out the third station."
"Sir Xander, please head towards that mobile fortress. They fired GENESIS from there." Lacus informed.
Xander widened his eyes in shock. "G...GENESIS? Damn that god-wannabe Dullindal! I'm heading there. Can you send me the COMET?"
Lacus nods. "Sure."
"Thanks, Miss Lacus. Darklighter out."
Despite teaming up, Lunamaria and Yvonne were having a hard time in their battle against Shinn. Shinn too, started to frustrate at his efforts.
"Damn!" he cursed as he turned into SEED mode again and attacked Yvonne.
Yvonne caught the blade of Shinn's weapon with her rapier but it was sliced easily and Shinn took out the Dagger's right arm. Yvonne groaned and Shinn prepared to drive his sword into the cockpit. Impulse appeared before him and blocked the attack with its own sword. Destiny was thrown away by the impact and Shinn was shocked by Impulse's ability.
"Shinn! Stop this! You shouldn't be doing this!" Lunamaria shouted.
"I...I can't! This is the only way to end this war!"
Shinn then fired a few rounds from his beam cannon and Lunamaria was forced to dodge them. Using that as a distraction, Shinn threw a beam boomerang and cut off Impulse's left leg. Lunamaria reeled back in her seat and Shinn came over and prepared to deal the fatal blow with his palm cannon.
"Luna, I'm sorry..."
Lunamaria didn't reply but instead, she called out Xander. "Xan..."
Suddenly, Atonement came in and slammed itself into Destiny, pushing it away from Impulse.
"Xan!" Lunamaria beamed with joy.
Xander winked. "I said I'll protect you, right?" Then, he turned to Shinn. "Kid, you got a lot of nerve on trying to kill Maria. And I won't spare you any chance on what you were trying to do."
Then, a white seed burst brightly and Xander went into SEED mode and attacked Shinn. Both Atonement and Destiny then exchanged attacks with their anti-ship sword.
"You...traitor!" Shinn yelled.
Xander dodged Shinn's powerful swing. "At least I'm not a traitor to humanity." he said.
"Shut up! I won't be tricked like you tricked Luna!"
"I tricked her, you say? How distorted your mind is. Very well, I'll knock some sense into that thick skull of yours."
Xander then activated the PX system and Atonement blocked Destiny's sword with its bare hands. Giving no time for his opponent to even express his surprise, Xander tore off Destiny's right arm. Shinn attempted to counter with his palm cannon with the remaining hand but Xander easily sliced it off with his anti-ship sword. Xander then kicked Shinn away and unleashed his DRAGOON swords to cause massive damage to Destiny. Losing his balance, Shinn fell on the surface of a meteorite, his confidence and ego shattered. Xander looked at his beaten opponent and left for Messiah. Lunamaria took a moment to look at Shinn.
"Yvonne, can you take care of him for a while?"
Yvonne nods. "Sure."
Lunamaria followed Xander's trail while Yvonne descended towards the battered Destiny Gundam.
Xander and Lunamaria past over the badly damaged Minerva. Xander turned to Lunamaria.
"Do you...want to check up on them?"
Lunamaria paused. Then, she shook. "They will be alright."
Xander nods and gave a formal ZAFT salute before they went on.
Athrun and Mwu managed to make their way inside Requiem's energy generator and destroyed it, preventing Orb from being the next victim of the super laser. As they left, they saw Atonement and Impulse approaching Messiah.
"Xander, you're still alive!" Athrun exclaimed.
"Pretty much, my friend." Xander replied then turned to Lunamaria. "Maria, you wait here. I have to go in alone."
"Xan..."
"Don't worry. I'll be back, okay?"
With that, Atonement docked into COMET which was following him and sped up towards Messiah.
Shinn slowly opened his eyes as lights flooded his view.
"Stellar..." he muttered.
"Stellar? You got the wrong girl, boy." Yvonne, who was cradling Shinn in her lap replied.
Shinn stared into her dark eyes for a moment before he turned red.
"Eh...ah...I'm sorry..."
Yvonne chuckled. "It's alright, boy. Xander and Athrun had told me about you."
"They...did?"
"Yeah. According to them, you're not a bad guy. You're just being stubborn. That's why Xander did this to you."
Shinn then remembered the things he did all this time. He never listened to reason and acted solely on his own feelings. And he finally realized it.
"I...see. Please, let me be like this a little longer."
Yvonne smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Sure thing. This 'big sister' will take care of you..."
After seeing Kira single handedly took down Messiah, Xander commed him in.
"Yo Kira."
"Xander! Glad to see you!"
"Same here. You're going in?"
Kira nods. "Yeah. There is someone I need to deal with."
"Alright. I'm going with you. Just to make sure you return to Miss Lacus."
Kira smiled. "I can say the same about you."
The control centre was deserted and poorly lit as Gilbert pondered on what will happen. Then, he heard two new presence behind. He turned around to see Kira and Xander standing near the entrance. Kira pulled out his gun and Gilbert did the same. Xander however, didn't move save from his tightened grip on his sheathed sword.
"This is certainly an honor to me. To see the Ultimate Coordinator and the New Coordinator side by side against me."
Both of them looked at each other in amazement. But they decided to set it aside and focused their attention at the PLANT Chairman.
"If you two continue in doing this, the same thing will happen over and over again. This world will plunged into darkness. The cycle of tragedies will continue."
"That maybe true but we could also choose a path that won't end like that." Kira said.
"But there will always be a possibility for such things to happen." Gilbert countered.
"That is OUR choice. Not yours. It is all up to us to correct it and certainly NOT by you." Xander finally said.
Gilbert smiled because Xander's reply hit the right spot. "Well said, Xander Darklighter. But in the end, which world will humanity choose?"
He aimed his gun at Kira and about to pulled the trigger. Xander prepared to pull out his sword and Kira prepared to fire. Then, the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room. Kira, Xander and Gilbert looked at each other. Moments later, Gilbert collapsed to the ground with a fatal wound in the chest. Kira and Xander looked at each other then they heard Rey behind them, crying with his gun in hand.
"I'm sorry...Gil..." he sobbed.
Moments later, Talia entered the scene and kneeled beside him. Moments later, more explosions occurred. Gilbert opened his eyes to see Talia.
"Talia...were you the one that fired..."
"No, Rey did it."
Gilbert's eyes widened in surprise and looked at Rey who was still crying.
"Gil...I'm sorry...but they...tomorrow..."
Gilbert sighed. "So I see..."
A pillar than fell not far from them. Kira felt Xander's touch on his shoulder. "Kira, we should be going now."
"But we can't leave them like that..." Kira replied as he approached Talia. Talia pointed the gun at him.
"You two should go." she said. Kira gasped. "I will be by this man's side. Till the very end."
Kira stared at her sadly but Xander felt irritated by her words.
"Please tell Captain Ramius this. 'I have a son. Please visit him when she have the time.'"
Kira nods. "I understand." he turned around and left but Xander didn't follow.
"Xander?"
"You go on ahead, Ace. I have one thing to say to Captain Gladys here."
Kira reluctantly nods. "Be quick about it." Then, he left.
Xander looked at demoralised Rey, the dying Gilbert and the one who had pledged her life to be with him.
"Do you have anything to say, Xander?" Talia asked, with the gun now pointed at him.
Xander nods. "I do, Captain." With a blink on an eye, he unsheathed his sword and sliced off the gun's nozzle cleanly. Talia dropped the gun in shock as Xander sheathed his weapon.
"Captain, I've seen enough death these past five years and I'd like to drag you three out of this."
Talia and Gilbert smiled at his remark.
"But I still respect your decision regardless. I'm pretty sure Captain Ramius will have to form some sort of logical explanation to your son..."
Xander finally did a salute. "Captain Talia Gladys of Minerva. I am proud to have the chance to work under you despite my short time there."
Talia returned the salute. "Thank you for the hard work all this time, Xander Darklighter."
"That's GENERAL Xander Darklighter." Xander coughed jokingly. "Well, I'll be leaving then."
He then turned around and left quickly as more and more explosions happened.
Not far from Messiah, everyone was looking at the fallen mobile fortress and the crew of Archangel and Eternal awaited for the signal of Strike Freedom and Atonement Gundam.
"Kira, Sir Xander..." Lacus muttered.
Moments later, Meyrin detected something left the Messiah. "Strike Freedom is coming!"
Suddenly, Lunamaria called her. "Meyrin, where's Xan? Where is he?"
"Sister..."
Kira and Athrun looked at the hangar for any signs of Xander.
"Xander, don't you die on us..." Athrun said.
Then, an explosion could be seen from the hangar and Lunamaria burst into tears.
Xander just turned on his unit as the hangar was completely on fire. He started to curse the 'slow' boot up process.
"Hurry up. I'll be toast if you ain't hurrying up."
More explosions occurred as Xander pushed forward towards the exit. Flames finally engulfed his unit as he tried to push as fast as possible. He could feel the temprature inside rised.
"Shoot! Even with the PX on, it still not fast enough. I have to try this. ACTIVATE PX OVERDRIVE!"
The Messiah finally exploded but still no sign of Atonement nor Xander.
"Xan! XAAAANNNN!" Lunamaria yelled.
"Sir Xander..." Lacus said silently.
Suddenly, a blazing mobile suit burst out from the explosion. It was the Atonement and its entire body was burning. It looked almost like a phoenix as it spread the wings and flew away from the destruction. After some time, the flames died out and the pilot contacted every ally units available.
"Xander Darklighter here. Did I missed the fireworks?"
With that, everyone started to cheer in this moment of victory. It was a victory for humanity but with a heavy price to pay.
Xander opened up his cockpit and left his unit. "Damn. Looks like I really burnt you out, my friend." he said as he looked at his severely burned unit. Because of the use of PX Overdrive, Atonement suffered more heavy damages than the ones that was cause by the explosion. Then he turned to see Impulse approaching him. It stopped and Lunamaria left and floated towards him. Without waiting, both of them held each other in this tight embrace.
"Xan!"
"Maria."
"I thought I lost you!"
"I always fulfill my promise, Maria."
"Are you...alright?"
"Eh...I'm...hot. I guess."
Hearing that, Lunamaria planted an elbow on his chest. Xander moaned in pain.
"Pervert!"
"Hey! I barely survived the heat in there. Of course I'm really hot!"
Lunamaria smiled and hugged him even tighter.
"I know."
"Well, shall we go now?" Xander asked.
Lunamaria nods. "Yes, let's go back to everyone."
Xander glanced at his damaged mobile suit. "I'll be back for you soon, buddy. I promise."
With that, he left for Eternal inside Impulse. Then, there's a loud hum from Atonement as if it understood what Xander had said.
Xander then pulled out the chain around his neck and held the ring tight.
(Thanks Claire. Thanks for everything...)
Far away from the scene, a mobile suit that resembled to Legend Gundam was watching the aftermath of the battle.
"Enjoy the victory. While you can..." the male pilot said.
Then, an unidentified mobile suit appeared beside him. "Roy, you don't have to feel so bitter about it. We'll get our revenge soon." another male voice said.
"How soon is soon?"
"The time will come, friend. We are the perfect clones of the two most powerful man in this world. We have all the time in this world. We will take our time in gathering our forces. When the time is right, this world will be righfully ours."
Can I find the words to tell you
How I live between the walls of steel and stone
How I close my eyes to find some kind of rapture
In a world where you can feel so all alone
Inside I'm full of light and laughter
There's a flame that burns in me
I need a way to set it free
When you find love in your heart
You can believe from the start
Dreams they come true
It all comes to you, oh all at once
If you believe
In human touch
I see wanting in your eyes
And I wonder will I always think of you
Do we simply find ourselves
Awakening
As angles touched
The heartstrings of our souls
We can find a way
To break the madness
Take my hand and come with me
To a place where we can feel
When you find love in your heart
The light in your eye is a star
Change that you feel
Helps you to heal from all the rest
If you believe
In human touch
Tell me that your love
Will live forever
Take your hand and touch my face
Oh, the warmth of your sweet embrace
When you find love in your heart
Nothing can tear it apart
Not man of steel
Nothing is real except for love
If you believe
In human touch
If you believe
In human touch
NEXT: Epilogue