Chapter 12: Time to meet the woman behind the mask
The Desert Dawn's camp was suddenly busier than a beehive as reports came in that the town where most of them lived, Tassil, was under attack by ZAFT forces.
One of the resistance fighters, manning a radio, slammed his fist down on the machine. "I can't get through!"
"Those filthy pigs!"
Kira, Flay, and Sai were equally startled, especially when Cagalli raced past, and the Coordinator broke into a run, wondering what was going on. "Kira, wait!" Flay protested, and ran after him; Sai brought up the rear.
"I need at least half of you to remain here, at the base," Sahib was telling his men. "There could be a second force."
"This isn't good, Commander," Ramius observed to La Flaga. "What do you think we should do?"
"If there's one thing about the Desert Tiger, it's that he's not known to be needlessly violent," the Hawk of Endymion said. "But it's not as if I'm personally acquainted with the guy; Blade would be the one to ask." He shrugged. "What'll we do? Do you think we should go too?"
She thought for a moment. "It wouldn't be a good idea to have the Archangelgo anywhere," she said slowly. "We can't rule out the possibility of a second attack force." She smiled at him. "Someone should go, so how about it, Commander?"
"You mean me?" he said in mock surprise.
"The Skygrasper is the quickest way to get there, right?"
"That is true... Okay. I'll be right there." La Flaga ran back toward the ship.
"Just try and help out the best you can, Commander!" Ramius called after him. "I'll also send a jeep with the doctor and some other crew to help!"
Cagalli rushed out of one of the caves, carrying a rocket launcher. She glanced around, looking for transportation, and one of the group's artillery vehicles pulled up in front of her. "Climb aboard, Cagalli," its driver, Ahmed, said.
"Thanks, Ahmed!" As she climbed in, Kisaka leapt into the back, carrying another launcher and several rockets.
A moment later, a figure coalesced out of the darkness. "Mind if I tag along?" Kevin said; he'd split up with her when the alarms sounded, presumably to retrieve equipment.
Cagalli smiled. "Get in, Kevin." She noted that he wore a black leather jacket over a flak vest. He wasn't visibly carrying weapons, but there was a suspicious bulge in his jacket suggesting a shoulder-holstered revolver, and a knife hilt was barely visible on his hip.
Kevin grinned back, then held on for dear life as Ahmed kicked the truck into high gear, tearing off in a spray of sand. "Ah, stability, I miss thee so," he muttered. His hand darted reflexively under his jacket, caressing the wooden grips of his Colt. "You sure this thing is safe?"
"Ahmed will get us there intact," Cagalli assured him. "A little shaken, but fast."
"Shaken, not stirred," he muttered; his death wish seemed to have been replaced with a tendency towards wisecracking during stressful situations. It certainly wasn't his way of dealing with tension; Kevin Walker didn't get tense. He did, on the other hand, have a healthy dislike of bumpy rides, and hoped that Ahmed would try driving a little more carefully.
Long before they got anywhere near Tassil, Kevin felt ready to throw up.
Cagalli, her driver, and her bodyguard were horrified when the flames became visible over Tassil, yet Kevin was more relaxed. "Don't worry too much, tovarisch. I know it looks bad, and the town itself is certainly going to need some work, but there won't many, if any, fatalities."
Cagalli jerked her head around, fury evident on her face. "How do you know that? The Desert Tiger-"
"I know Andy Waltfeld," Kevin shot back, "and I know he'd never just burn down a town without warning the people to leave first! Look beyond the fact that he's the enemy, Cagalli; the Desert Tiger is probably the most honorable commander you'll find in ZAFT! And be honest with yourself: the fact that Tassil was chock full of weapons made it a legitimate military target. As long as they took care to harm as few civilians as possible, this action is no more dishonorable than any other."
She stared at him in shock. "Just whose side are you on, anyway?"
"Mine," he said flatly. "It just so happens that 'my' side includes you, the Archangel, and the Desert Dawn; ZAFT is even moremy enemy than they are yours." His tone softened. "I didn't say that ZAFT was in the right, Cagalli. I just said that when you have a town filled with weapons, that makes the town a legitimate target. Would you refrain from attacking a church or a hospital that was full of terrorists, just because of what it was? You don't hold your fire, you just use tactics that minimize collateral damage." Kevin shook his head as the truck came to a stop, noting absently the Skygrasper going overhead. "You can call me a monster if you want," he said, climbing out. "Others have, and I no longer deny it. Just don't expect me to blindly think everyone in ZAFT and everything they do is evil."
Cagalli stared after him as his black-clad form disappeared into the night. "You have changed, Kevin," she said to herself. "Maybe the boy I once knew is dead." She winced, ashamed, and regretting now her choice of words. "But you're no monster."
As she saw it, the name Blade fit him perfectly. He had been cast into the fire, and came out tempered and purified: the perfect warrior, one with the skills of a soldier and a warrior monk's knowledge of when to use them.
Perhaps, she thought, others would benefit from his attitude.
Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga nearly had a heart attack when the shadows next to his grounded Skygrasper suddenly coalesced into Blade, standing a mere meter away. "What the? Oh, it's you, Blade. I didn't even know you were out here."
"Hitched a ride with Cagalli," Kevin said; he was absently flipping his knife. "Wanted to see if I was right about what Waltfeld would do."
La Flaga shrugged. "It was pretty surprising, wasn't it? A few injuries, sure, but not one death. I didn't expect that."
"I did," the younger pilot said. "I've met Andrew Waltfeld, and the Waltfeld I knew wasn't the type to slaughter innocent civilians. Destroy weapons stockpiles, sure. But murder? I don't think so." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, Cagalli didn't quite see it that way."
The Hawk of Endymion took a closer look at his young comrade, and inwardly raised his eyebrows in surprise at the changes he saw there. No longer did Kevin's eyes bear the haunted look of someone who has seen too much and desires only death; the brush with insanity had left its mark, but in its place was a new strength, the strength of one who has seen, and experienced, the depths to which men can fall.
He wondered if the change had anything to do with the young girl with whom he'd arrived; La Flaga had seen them spending quite a bit of time together, and heard Kevin's classmates speaking of them. Since their arrival at the resistance base, the two had been nearly inseparable, and he suspected they'd known each other since long before.
"So," La Flaga said, "how are things going with the girl?"
Kevin half-smiled. "I know what you're thinking, Commander, but I'm afraid you're incorrect. It's not like Flay and Kira; she's just an old friend I hadn't seen in years, and who thought me dead. That's all there is to it."
The older pilot raised an eyebrow. "Kira and Flay? I know she was worried about him when he was unconscious, but I thought she was Argyle's girlfriend."
"That's what I thought, too," Kevin said, staring into the flames. "More to the point, Saithought so. But he had a pretty acrimonious exchange with Kira just before the alarms started, and Sai ended up flat on his back in the dirt." He nodded approvingly. "Kira's not in my league, but then neither is anybody else. I can think of very few Naturals who could take him."
"Was anybody hurt?"
"Just Sai's pride." Blade scowled, looking wise beyond his years. "But I'm going to keep an eye on all three of them. Sai's starting to look a little unstable -I should know the signs, having been so myself- Kira's been a little messed up since the battle in orbit, and Flay..." He glanced at La Flaga. "Commander, she scares the daylights out of me. I didn't know her as well as the others did before all this started, but I remember that she was a friendly, naive girl. After her father died... I could understand the anger she expressed toward us, even the hate, but just before our little run-in before the orbital disaster, she starting acting real friendly. Now this thing with Kira... An unpredictable Flay scares me. She has... a certain amount of sympathy for Blue Cosmos, and I would not put it past her to tell them my whereabouts if she suddenly decides she doesn't like me. And if that happens, people are going to get hurt."
"But you're not leaving?" La Flaga said, recalling Kevin's words before the rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet.
"No, sir, I'm not." His expression was chilling; frozen jade eyes reflecting raging fires. "I'm through running from my past. If they come after me, it'll be the worst, and last, mistake they'll ever make." Kevin smoothly drew his Colt, sighting it against the fiery scene before him. "They'll learn, as have so many others, that to hunt the Blade is to die," he said softly, voice even colder than his eyes.
As the resistance fighters conferred and began getting a handle on the fire, Kevin wandered over to Cagalli's driver. "It's Ahmed, isn't it?" he said, stopping in front of him. "Cagalli's driver?"
The younger fighter nodded. "That's me." Ahmed raised his eyebrows. "You're the guy Sahib and the others called Racher, right? I remember them taking about you sometimes, wondering if you'd gotten to safety. That was before I was old enough to fight."
"That's right. You can call me Blade." Kevin glanced toward Cagalli, who was conversing with Ashman. "I saw your reckless stunts, by the way, when you showed up at the Archangel. I suggest you be a little more careful. If Cagalli gets hurt, I'm going to be very angry." He delivered the warning in a conversational tone, but his feelings were not at all calm.
Ahmed cocked his head. "What's with you?"
Kevin's right hand shot forward, grabbing a fistful of Ahmed's shirt and hoisting him off the ground. "I've seen how you act around her; don't even bother denying your feelings. If one of your reckless attempts to impress her gets her killed, you'd better hope you don't survive it either." He smiled coldly, eyes jade ice. "Because if you do, I'll hunt you, and I guarantee you won't survive me. Consider this a friendly warning; you won't get another. But if you just learn to drive a little more carefully, that situation will never arise, will it?"
The resistance fighter shook his head convulsively. "Of course not," he said, mildly terrified of the killer that had been revealed within the other teenager, little older than he was.
"Good." Kevin dropped him, and walked away.
Cagalli caught up with him a few steps into the darkness. "Hey, Kevin. I see you had a little talk with Ahmed."
He shrugged. "We reached an understanding." He steps out of line and I shoot him. I'd call that an understanding.
She touched his arm. "I'm sorry about I said earlier; you were right. It's just, after seeing something like this..."
He nodded. "I understand. And I probably wouldn't have been so blunt, but things like compassion and tact were burned out of me a long time ago." Kevin grinned. "Be glad we're not in Orb; if someone caught me talking to you like that there, I'd probably be stoned in the street."
"So you're serious about not returning to Orb?"
"Yeah." He sighed. "You know how much I grew to hate my high status there, and the royal treatment that went with it. And face it: your father never did approve of me. I expect that if he hadn't needed my parents' support in the government, he wouldn't have allowed me anywhere near you."
Cagalli frowned. "Come on, Kevin, it wasn't that bad."
"Yes, it was," he disagreed. "There was something about me Lord Uzumi didn't like, and to be honest, he might even be right, now. These days, I'm not exactly the kind of guy people expect princesses to associate with. Used to be, I was considered something of a prince myself; now I'm not even a proverbial Knight in Shining Armor. Lord Uzumi would probably want me summarily shot. Lucky for me, Orb thinks I'm dead and the Chief Representative doesn't have that kind of power." Kevin met her eyes. "When next you speak with your father, I'd appreciate it if you not mention I'm alive. Even if he really doesn't disapprove of me that much, I would really, really hate it if I got dragged back into that life. I had to die to escape it once; there is no way I'm going back."
"I understand," she said, which was partly true; she understood perfectly his desire to remain anonymous. But it had not before occurred to her that her father might have had something against the then-fencing champion. Now that she thought about it, though... Uzumi Nara Athha was very good at concealing his feelings, but whenever he thought no one was looking, he'd slipped and showed something besides amused tolerance, on those occasions when Kevin and Cagalli had been together.
"Peaceful place," she heard Kevin murmur beside her, "even if it is hotter than bloody blue blazes."
She turned to him. "You know, Kevin, there's something I've been wondering about since you disappeared two years ago."
He turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"I remember the times you visited home from the Moon pretty well," Cagalli said, "and I've been wondering for awhile now: why did you spend so little of that time with your parents?"
Kevin froze for a moment, then turned back to the flames. For a time, she thought he wasn't going to answer, but he finally spoke, voice barely audible over the crackling fires. "Ever since I was first sent to that school in Copernicus," he said slowly, "I've been exposed to how normal people live. Ten years ago, I saw what it was like to be treated as a simple human being, not some kind of nobility. It was... refreshing, you know? No special treatment, no obsequious servants... and most of all, no political maneuvering or unwanted attention." He looked up at the starry sky. "Up there, beyond the grip of gravity, I could just be myself. The only other times I felt that way were when I was with you. You see, my parents never understood that; they lived for politics. It wastheir life, and they never understood that I hated it. They expected me to follow them into politics, expected it to consume me, too. It was part and parcel of how they treated me, so the only way I could get away from it was to get away from them."
She gazed at his scarred face, and nodded slowly, understanding. "I had no idea..."
"Neither does anybody else." He gave a hollow laugh. "And the thing of it is, the real irony, is that they finally got a clue about it just before they died. They promised me that that trip to the PLANTs would be the last bit of politics I'd ever have to endure, and then I could get on with my own life, do what I wanted to do. They didn't understand it, but they recognized it." Kevin closed his eyes in remembered pain. "And then they died, and I was set adrift. The next time I felt at home was two years later, when the Yamato family took me in. I'd known Kira for a long time, ever since Copernicus, so his parents took me in on Heliopolis. I lived with Kira for that year of peace." He finally looked at her again. "You can trust Kira, Cagalli. With your life. He's tovarisch."
Cagalli nodded again, this time with a hint of surprise. "Tovarisch" meant "comrade", but when Kevin Walker said it, he meant something more. There were few people he called that, but when he did, it meant he trusted them implicitly, and considered them very close friends. They were the ones with whom his loyalty truly was.
Kevin sighed, and it took her a moment to realize it was contentment, something which seemed almost alien to this new, darker incarnation of the friend who had been almost a brother to her. "Ahh, it's good to see you again, mon ami," he said, staring into the flames. "This war is the darkest thing I've ever seen, but somehow it's a little easier to endure when I've got someone I can talk to, someone who knows who I really am." He put an arm around her shoulders. "I've lived in the shadows for far too long; I've lived far too many lives in the last three years. That there's someone I don't have to hide from... It's a great relief." He smiled. "You're the only person alive who knows who I really am."
She nodded. "I can't imagine what the last few years must have been like for you, but it's good to see you, too." Cagalli smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Unless you've got a friend who'd object...?"
He glanced away. "She died," he said softly. "At my own hand." Kevin drew a ragged breath. "But I guess it's just as well; I'll never know if we would have been that close had I been in my right mind."
She winced. "I'm sorry, Kevin."
"It's an old wound now," he said. "Just another part of my dark history. You're right; I should remember the past, but not let it dominate my present."
Cagalli looked at his face, seeing the scar that adorned it. "Speaking of old wounds, Kevin, I've been meaning to ask you... how'd you get that scar?"
"Oh, this?" Kevin shrugged, thinking back. "Remember how I ended up in Orb, two years ago? I'd just been chased through the Debris Belt by some pirates; ended up crash-landing on Earth, and in the process the controls blew up in my face. When I came to, my right eye was gone, and there were pirates standing over me; I remained conscious long enough to take care of them, then dropped off again. When next I awoke, it wasn't long before I ran into you."
She reached out and touched his face. "How much...?"
He felt the scar with his hand. "The scar marks the boundary... between flesh and machine." His hand moved over, touching hers. "Feels real, doesn't it? But that explosion blew off fully half my face, and everything to the right of the scar is synthetic, including the eye. Doesn't feel right, either; not to me."
Cagalli smiled, lightly stroking the synthetic flesh. "Feels okay to me."
"It would." Kevin glanced up abruptly, noticing Ashman arguing with some of the other resistance fighters. "What the...?"
Cagalli's eyes widened as the fighters suddenly drove off. "They're chasing the BuCUEs!" She took off running, trying to catch Ashman.
"Are you out of your mind?" Kevin followed her, catching up just as Ashman pushed her away. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he demanded.
Before she could reply, another truck drove up. "Climb aboard, Cagalli," Ahmed said.
Kevin sighed and hopped in after her. "Well, if you're gonna pull a crazy stunt like this, I'd better tag along." Sitting back, he closed his eyes, apparently concentrating. On the battle ahead, and if he can get the initiative if Aelan was with them so he knew what he was getting into.
Cagalli jumped slightly and glanced at him when she heard a click come from the general direction of his skull. "Kevin, what are you...?"
He smiled, opening his eyes. "Just summoning reinforcements. Not sure if it'll get here in time, though."
Back at the remains of Tassil, La Flaga and Badgiruel watched the Desert Dawn guerrillas go. "What can I say," the pilot said. "This is a land where both the wind and people get very heated."
"They're going to be wiped out!" Badgiruel protested. "With their mediocre equipment, they don't stand a chance against the BuCUEs."
"You're so right." La Flaga looked at her, an amused smile on his face. "What'll we do?"
She blinked. "Don't ask me, I haven't a clue."
"What did you say?" Ramius said when La Flaga reported at daybreak. "They went after the enemy? But don't they know how crazy that is? Why didn't you try to stop them, Commander?"
He winced at the volume. "Like I could," he said. "They were so determined that if we'd tried, they'd attack us." La Flaga looked out over the refugees from his vantage point on his fighter. "More importantly, there are many injured here who need treatment. And there's the problem of food, and especially water. What'll we do?"
The Captain pondered the problem, recalling as she did so the young woman who had been among the resistance fighters, whom both Kira and the Blade had recognized.
"Captain, may I suggest you send the Strike to help, it has a better chance against the Tigers troups than the Resistance fighters, even with Kevin, they wont stand a chance." Jason told her from behind.
"Alright I'll send Ensign Yamato to check up on them," she said finally. "We can't just sit by while they get wiped out. I'll also send our remaining vehicles with water and medical supplies."
"Roger that." La Flaga's image winked out.
"Alright, Guess I will suit up then, I have some experience in fighting fighter planes so I should be handle a Skygrasper." Jason said waving bye as he went to the hangar.
"Al. . .righty." Murrue said as Ironwall was gone before she could say anything. "Crewman Haw, order the Strike to launch at once."
"Yes, Ma'am." Mir turned back to her console. "Kira, prepare the Strike for launch."
"Roger that. Kira Yamato, launching!"
As the Strike lifted off and headed out on its mission, Mir noticed activity on the displays linked to the other launch bay. She frowned. "Captain, the Punisher is preparing itself for launch."
Ramius spun around. "What? I thought Ensign Walker wasn't back yet."
"Ma'am, he isn't; Commander La Flaga reported he left with the resistance fighters." Mir shook her head in confusion. "According to Chief Murdoch, it just sealed its own hatch and started moving for the catapult." She looked back at the Captain. "Shall I cancel the launch sequence, Captain?"
Ramius paused. "No, Crewman," she said after a moment. "Let it go. I'm not sure what's going on, but I am sure Ensign Walker arranged it somehow. I'll trust his judgment."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Ensign Walker himself was questioning his own judgment at that moment, and wondering if his signal had gotten through at all.
He also thought himself to be completely and totally insane. "Is it just me, or are we crazy?" Kevin asked, glancing at Cagalli. "Eight artillery trucks against three BuCUEs?"
"If you think it's so crazy, why'd you tag along?" she riposted, loading a rocket launcher.
"Because," he replied, loading another, "it's far more difficult to kill me than any of you, so I'm the perfect choice to try and keep you out of trouble. Failing that..." He slammed the rocket home. "I'm a good shot. Thing is, I hate rocket launchers."
Cagalli grinned fondly. "Don't like the brute-force approach?"
Kevin raised the weapon to his shoulder, peering down the rudimentary sights as the mobile suits came into view. "Something like that; it's like taking a broadsword to a fencing match." His eyes narrowed. "And if you remember, one of my opponents back in Orb actually tried that, with some crazy idea that sheer strength would work against me where others had failed with technique."
"And you took him apart," she said, recalling the incident.
"Taught him a valuable lesson: speed and maneuverability can make up for a lack of brute strength; that's why axe-wielders have fallen to the sword so much over the centuries." His bionic eye registered as close to a target lock as one could get with a rocket launcher and he also scanned the area, with no sign of the Red Queen's BuCUE. "Okay, I'm on target. Firing now." Kevin squeezed the firing mechanism, sending a rocket-propelled grenade speeding through the air not toward the mobile suits, but rather the jeep ahead of them; Andrew Waltfeld may have been his mentor, but now he was the enemy, and Kevin had no aversion to assassination.
The BuCUEs' pilots, however, were not interested in letting their commander die, and one of them interposed itself between missile and target, causing the explosive charge to detonate on the BuCUE's heavy armor.
"Nice trick," he muttered. "But I'm smarter than you are." Kevin began reloading his weapon, while Cagalli and Kisaka opened fire on the mobile suit.
"Yeah!" Ahmed shouted as the rockets connected, hitting the BuCUE right in the ankle. "We did it!"
Blade nodded approvingly. "That's right, go for the joints; it's our only chance against mobile suits." He raised the weapon to his shoulder again, wincing as one of their comrades' vehicles exploded, run over by a BuCUE. "That one is out of action; concentrate your fire on the two still mobile."
His next shot was delayed, as Ahmed's next trick had him holding on for dear life: the young resistance fighter slipped the truck neatly between the legs of a BuCUE, giving them a perfect belly shot. Kevin, Cagalli, and Kisaka opened fire simultaneously, striking the mobile suit's belly armor... which was barely scratched by the barrage.
"I'll get you!" its pilot shouted, and raised a foot.
"Jump off!" Kisaka shouted, hauling his charge out while Kevin leapt out as if made of springs.
Ahmed glanced around in confusion, and thus was still in the driver's seat when the BuCUE struck, knocking the truck flying. "Aaaahhhh!" he screamed, hurtling through the air.
"Ahmed!" Cagalli cried out, seeing her friend land heavily a few meters away.
"This is bad," Kevin muttered, staring up at the mobile suit, which was preparing to strike them again. "This had better work..."
His hand darted into his jacket and came out with a fistful of revolver; in the space of less than half a second, he slipped into the two-handed Weaver stance, aimed high, and pulled the trigger twice.
Ordinarily, this move would have been less than useless. But Kevin Walker did not use ordinary bullets; though he could do nothing but pray as the projectiles sped toward their target, striking it in the optical sensor lens... and temporarily blinding it, with a pair of small explosions that cracked the lens.
Take a hollowpoint bullet. Fill it with mercury. Cap it with wax. You've got a miniature high-explosive bullet with a slim chance of damaging even a mobile suit's optics; had the target been human, he would probably have been blown apart.
Of course, that still wouldn't have stopped the BuCUE from making a blind, and probably lethal, swipe at them, but Sahib Ashman was angry. Anger a man of the desert, and he will make you hurt.
This Ashman did, by firing two RPGs at once, thoroughly distracting the gigantic weapon from its intended prey. And he continued to be a great distraction, until a BuCUE came up behind him, and was itself greatly distracted a moment later.
Martin DaCosta was the first to see the incoming enemy. "Inbound heat source detected! Commander, it's coming from-"
A beam lanced out of the sky, vaporizing sand directly to the left of one of the BuCUEs. "What the-"
"It's the Strike, really?" Cagalli said in surprise, watching with relief as the humanoid mobile suit flew into view in Aile Striker mode, firing its beam rifle.
"It's about time, Kira," Kevin muttered, also relieved; even his augmentation wouldn't have allowed him to survive if a BuCUE had decided to sit on him.
"I missed it?" Kira said, surprised. "Right. The heat convection must be causing it!" The Strike hit the ground, running on foot as Kira hastily reprogrammed the targeting systems.
His next shot caught the enemy mobile suit in the back, causing its missile launcher to break off, exploding some distance behind. "How did he-"
"The weapon from the Earth Forces," DaCosta said, somewhat dazed. "It came to rescue them?"
"It's equipped with different hardware than the last time," Waltfeld observed. "Check out that beam targeting; has he instantly included the heat convection within the parameters?"
While the Strike engaged the BuCUEs, Cagalli knelt beside Ahmed's broken body. "Ahmed! Ahmed, speak to me! You have to pull through!"
Finally, the young man's eyes opened, and he reached up toward her. "Cagalli..." he said weakly. "To me... you are the..."
His hand fell back, and his eyes closed forever.
Cagalli cradled Ahmed's motionless body in her arms. "Ahhhhmedddd!"
Behind her, Kevin stood silently, feeling helpless; grief was an emotion with which he had long ago parted company, so all he could do was stand there, with a hand on his friend's shoulder, simply being there. But, perhaps, it was enough. "Even though..." he murmured, "...I don't have any more tears to shed."
Without warning, a nearby sand dune erupted as a giant form burst into view: the Punisher, obeying its master's call. A strange fire lit Kevin's eyes as he released Cagalli and ran over to his machine, an odd contrast to the jade ice that they usually became.
"Where are you going?" Cagalli called after him.
"To avenge Ahmed," he replied, swarming up toward the hybrid suit's hatch. "And all those these ZAFT flunkies would kill. The desert sun will truly be bloody this day!" The hatch sealed behind him.
Cagalli and her bodyguard shielded their eyes from the sand as the Punisher's verniers propelled it into the sky, right hand already darting to its hip to draw its katana.
Once Kevin Walker had been known as Orb's greatest fencer; today these ZAFT pilots would learn why.
Observing the strange, hybrid mobile suit coming to life, Andrew Waltfeld lowered his binoculars. "Well, well. I had no idea Racher was in the area."
DaCosta glanced at his superior in confusion. "Sir?"
Waltfeld looked at him. "Around two years ago, a young fellow, barely fifteen, going by the name of Racher, passed through this region. I encountered him in Banadiya; he was seeking instruction in the art of war. I obliged him, teaching him both tactics and strategy, and the psychology of war. In the process, I learned some of the youngster's history; I never found out who he really was, but he did mention that he was officially dead, and that he had Blue Cosmos tailing him." His gaze returned to the Punisher. "Racher was quite the pupil; it appears he's built on that foundation since then."
Over his radio, the pilot of the immobilized BuCUE made a satisfied sound. "Okay! Back in the game!"
Waltfeld raised his microphone. "Kirkwood!"
"Yes, sir?" the pilot replied instantly.
"Let me get in and pilot that BuCUE."
His aide looked at him in surprise. "Commander...?"
He smiled. "Some things you can't be sure of until exchanging fire with one another." He climbed out of the jeep and made for the mobile suit.
DaCoasta called over to his commander. "Sir, The Red Queen has been spotted on the Scanners!" he called.
"Good, tell her to hang back and provide support!" Andy called back. She must be in her Hyperion unit he thought.
As in the Distance, Aelan was updateing her mobile suit for combat on the ground as Kira was doing in seconds with the Strike, as she was doing the same. "Those two machines have one advantage over me and that is the power of Flight, so I have to play smart, like Andy suggested." She said as she bared her Red Mask again and ready for battle.
Meanwhile, Kevin faced another of the BuCUEs with a sword in hand. His face a mask, his only extraneous thought was that it was fortunate this battle was in atmosphere; this way, despite his lack of flight suit, he at least wouldn't have to worry about explosive decompression if his cockpit were breached.
Kira, on the other hand, was quite busy with his target. He knocked it off its feet, and, crosshairs narrowing toward a lock, prepared to fire his beam rifle.
"Give me a break!" the pilot complained... and he got it.
The Strike was hit from behind by the third BuCUE's sudden missile barrage. "The third machine? It's still up and running?" Kira twisted around, evading another salvo midair... and came face-to-face with Waltfeld's machine, which proceeded to knock him out of the sky.
"Even if you only use regular missiles, the phase shift loses its effect after seventy-six hits," the ZAFT commander said, launching more warheads at his enemy. "When that happens, the rifle simultaneously runs out of power."
Kira engaged his verniers at the last moment, slowing his descent and blasting away in another direction, attempting to evade the ZAFT suits.
"Now, you weird and wonderful pilot," Waltfeld said through a grin, firing more missiles, "how are you gonna get out of this jam?"
Kira's eyes went wide, and once more he entered a clearer state of consciousness. He throttled back his verniers, allowing the incoming warheads to detonate ahead of him, and he wrenched the Strike around, bringing it back to face the BuCUEs.
The Strike released its shield, and the fast-moving mass of metal collided with a BuCUE, knocking it out of formation. "What?"
Kira spun, unleashing a blast from his rifle at the solitary target, which barely jumped out of the way. "Attack him separately!" Waltfeld ordered. "Let's try and throw him off balance."
Unfortunately for them, their target was several steps ahead of them; when the first BuCUE leapt for him, the Strike's left hand yanked out a beam saber and sliced off a wing, sending shrapnel flying and the four-legged suit off course... where it collided with the Punisher's katana, cutting it into two distinct pieces, neither of which contained a living pilot.
In the Hyperion Unit Aelan locked on with her Crosshairs. "Take this you BASTARD!" Aelan called as her shoulder Cannons opened fire on the Punisher.
Kevin felt her pressence in time and saw the coming shot as he blocked it with his shield. "What" He said zooming in on the origin of the Shot. "Its her!" Kevin said.
Snarling in frustration, the remaining BuCUEs charged directly at Kira's mobile suit. "Now you've taken this way too far!" Waltfeld shouted, and fired yet another missile salvo.
Two things happened at once: the Strike flipped in midair, kicking up an obscuring sand cloud, and Kevin targeted the Punisher's hyper-impulse cannon on the missiles. He, too, had entered the Berserker state, and his shot was unerring... as was Kira's.
The warheads detonated, and so did Waltfeld's remaining subordinate. "Hurry, DaCosta!" he ordered, turning around. "We're retreating."
"Right, sir."
The Desert Tiger smiled. "You to Aelan!" he told her. "Now that's my kind of guy. Been awhile since I had this much fun."
The battle over, the Strike and Punisher powered down, and their pilots lowered to the ground, where the surviving resistance fighters awaited.
Kira pulled off his helmet and stopped. "Are you looking to get wiped out," he said, face grim, "in a place like this?" Cagalli began to glare; he took no notice. "There's absolutely no reason for any of you-"
"That's the last straw!" Cagalli shouted, running up to him. "You heartless moron! They all fought desperately! We're all fighting desperately! All so that we can protect the things and people that are so important to us!"
Kira slapped her in the face, while Kevin looked on, motionless. The resistance fighters stared at him, but he didn't look away from her. "What can you hope to protect when your feelings are the only weapons you've got?"
Days after the battle with Andrew Waltfeld in the desert, Kevin lay half-buried in the guts of the Punisher, uttering the occasional grunt or curse as tools slipped and hit him. He was the only soul in the Archangel's hanger.
He'd been there for some hours when Cagalli wandered in. "Is that you, Kevin?" She could see only a pair of black-clad legs.
From within came a thump. "Ouch!" A few muffled curses later, Kevin emerged from the access panel, rubbing his head. "Hey, Cagalli. I was just making a few repairs; I'm the only one aboard sufficiently familiar with this bastardized monstrosity."
Curious, she looked up at the enormous weapon. This was the first chance she'd had to examine it up close. "What's wrong with it?"
He looked disgusted. "Everything." Kevin waved the huge wrench he was holding (presumably, that was what had hit him) at the open panel. "Sand in the joints, a stray missile cracked the optics, the scale system short-circuited itself and several other systems, Shield needs to be repaired from the Red Queens assault, and, to top it all off, they scratched the paint."
"Ouch." Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "You always do this alone? None of your friends help out?"
"I don't see much of them these days," he admitted, setting aside the wrench and wiping his hands on a rag. "Tolle and Mir spend most of their time as a couple, Kuzzey hasn't really trusted me since he learned of some of my shady past -not to mention since I threw him halfway across the ship- Sai's been spending his time going quietly out of his mind -I should know- and Kira, well..." He shrugged slowly. "He's been spending his time with Flay of late." Kevin scowled. "I don't like the smell of it; especially since Flay seems to have moved into Kira's quarters." He shrugged again. "So, anyway, if I want intelligent conversation I pretty much have to talk to myself or the Punisher's computers, and let me tell you: mobile suit computers are not the brightest AIs out there. Besides, the only other people I talk to besides the others are people who are trying to blow my ass out of the Sky." Kevin added in.
"I see. Must get pretty lonely," she observed.
Kevin sighed. "I kinda got used to that over the years; it comes with the territory when you can't trust anybody. I'm only just starting to learn to trust people again. Those years left me with very little faith in the human race, Natural or Coordinator."
Cagalli nodded, still staring at the mobile suit. Suddenly, a light dawned. "This was what you meant by 'reinforcements', wasn't it? You knew it was coming."
He nodded. "Yeah; I've got a radio built into my skull, which operates on a frequency that seems to ignore N-jammers. The Punisher here has limited remote-operating capabilities, enough for me to summon it via radio; I expected trouble in that battle." He looked away. "I only wish it had arrived in time to save Ahmed. I didn't get the chance to know him very well, and I'm afraid the few words I spoke to him were a death threat, but he was obviously a good friend of yours. I'm sorry."
She swallowed hard. "It wasn't your fault, Kevin. You did... what you could..." The pain was too much, too fresh; Cagalli buried her face in Kevin's shoulder, sobbing.
He held her as she grieved; it had been a long time since he'd grieved for anything, but he still remembered how it felt. And when his parents died, he had had no one to share his pain with, no one to turn to. He would not leave his oldest, best friend in that position.
After a few minutes, she finally pulled back and looked up at him. "Sorry about that, Kevin. It's just..."
Kevin shook his head with a smile. "Nothing to apologize for. He was a friend of yours; it's natural. I was happy to be of service." He reached back into a pocket, withdrew a black silk cloth, and gently wiped her face. "That's what friends are for."
"Thanks." Cagalli looked at the cloth and managed a smile. "I see you haven't quite lost your taste for the finer things."
"That's true; I'll admit that I sometimes miss some of the luxuries of home." He shrugged. "But I don't miss the treatment I escaped when my parents died." Kevin glanced away. "That's another reason I'm glad to have been here for you; I didn't have anyone when my parents were killed. They say there's nothing worse than dying alone, but I've done that, and I say it's worse to survive alone, to not have anyone to turn to in time of grief."
"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. "By the way, where were you that day? You told me you were already in the PLANTs..."
"As it happens..." He paused, uncertain of how she'd react. "I was staying with the Clyne family, in Aprilius."
Cagalli blinked. "You don't mean..."
Kevin nodded. "Yeah. I've known Lacus Clyne for a number of years, and since it was a diplomatic mission, Siegel Clyne hosted me for a few days, until I was kidnapped. That was about a month before he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council."
"Is there anyone you don't know, Kevin?" she said, shaking her head. "The Desert Tiger, the leader of the PLANTs and his daughter..."
"Also the head of ZAFT, Patrick Zala," he said, voice a tad grim. "That's a tale for another time. I also met Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia, just before Artemis' destruction."
Cagalli frowned. "Garcia? I've heard of him, but I don't think anybody knows exactly how he died. There were no witnesses..."
"There was one," Kevin said softly, and she looked closely at his face. "The one who actually killed him still survives."
She saw it in his eyes. "You killed him? Why?"
He hissed softly, apparently at himself. "Like I told you, tovarisch, I have a great capacity for vengeance. Garcia had taken the ship at gunpoint, hauled the officers away, and apparently had something planned for Kira. Then ZAFT attacked, and I used the distraction to make my way to Artemis' control room, where I killed his men in cold blood, and interrogated Garcia himself. Then a mobile suit stationed at the base blasted the room away once I left"
Garcia's eyes widened in recognition. "You're one of-"
"Yes." In a flash, Blade's gun was out again, and he put a bullet right into Garcia's heart. In the four seconds of life left to the treacherous Eurasian, the soldier spoke quite unflinchingly. "You know too much, Admiral. See you in the next life."
"I promised him," Kevin went on, almost inaudibly, "that I'd let him live if he answered my questions. Then I told him he knew too much, and blew his heart out anyway. Didn't feel even a twinge of guilt; just shot him like an animal."
Cagalli laid a hand on his shoulder. "From what you've told me, Kevin, you weren't exactly in your right mind at the time. And after all you've been through, I don't think anybody would blame you." She cocked her head. "Does anyone else know you did it?"
He cracked a slight smile. "Commander La Flaga is virtually certain of it, Captain Ramius strongly suspects it, and Lieutenant Badgiruel appears to think I made the threat as a bluff, questioned him, and stood back while explosive decompression did the job. She doesn't know me well enough yet -though she should- to know that I'm not that subtle. I've always preferred the immediate, permanent solution."
"Yeah, I remember you didn't waste time in your fencing matches," Cagalli recalled. "You weren't the type to toy with them; that's one thing that made you so famous."
"And that fame has made me very cautious." Kevin glanced around, as if worried about eavesdroppers. "I'm pretty sure La Flaga, at least, saw some of my matches; that's one reason I uncovered the scar. My face has changed just enough since then to conceal my identity from everyone except those like you, who've known me under more than one name." He returned his gaze to her. "That reminds me; did you have something specific in mind when you came in here?"
She nodded. "Yeah; Kira and I are going to Banadiya for some supplies, while a couple of your people and some of ours go meet with a black market weapons dealer." Cagalli glanced away briefly, ashamed. "Kira was right, out in the desert." She shrugged it off. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go with us."
His eyes cooled. "Banadiya, eh?" Kevin pulled on his leather jacket over a flak vest, picked up one of his Colt .45s, and checked the chamber. "I'm in." He slid the weapon into a holster at the small of his back; there was already a bulge under his arm.
Hours later, Ensign Arnold Neumann, the Archangel's chief pilot, brought the jeep to a stop in the middle of Banadiya, looking somewhat uncomfortable out of uniform.
Badgiruel appeared even more so, as Kira, Kevin, and Cagalli got out. "Meet us back here in four hours, Ensign- I mean, Kira," she said. "Good luck. I'm... uh... counting on you..."
"Right."
"Sailors," Kevin snorted. "At least ground-pounders are used to the occasional covert op; I'd wager the Lieutenant would feel more comfortable in a prison camp than out here."
His companions ignored him; Kira was looking about, seemingly out of place himself. "Are you sure this is where the Desert Tiger's headquarters are?" he said. "It looks so... peaceful."
Cagalli sighed. "Come with me."
She led them to a place where there apparently used to be a building, but now had only a burned-out foundation. Beyond it was visible a large mansion... and several TMF/S-3 GINN OCHERs, the desert model.
"See?" she said. "It looks peaceful, but any resistance is dealt with harshly; one group tried to fight them, out in the Talbadiya factory district. Now it's burned-out ruins." She nodded at the building. "That's where the true power here is. It may look peaceful, but there is no doubt the Desert Tiger is in charge."
Kira nodded slowly, while Kevin stroked the rubber grips under his jacket; the place made him very nervous, and he had the uncomfortable feeling they were being watched and worst is that he could sense the Red Queen to be Nearby without a doubt. "My word..." he murmured. "Andy Waltfeld never did mess around, did he?"
"Come on," Cagalli said. "We're not here for sightseeing."
Inside the Mansion Aelan watched from a window as she watched the three of them leave the area. "So, he has come, better tell Andy, after the battle, Andy wanted to meet with the two pilots. Well now be that time." Aelan said as she removed her mask and waved her silver hairs bangs out of her face.
A couple of hours later, the three sat at a table in an outdoor restaurant; Cagalli was going over the list they'd been given.
"We've gotten everything on here," she said, "except the things that Flay girl asked for. This is ridiculous..."
Kevin paid little attention to his friends' discussion; he happened to agree with Cagalli on the subject of Flay, but he wasn't keeping silent out of long-standing friendship with Kira. He was, rather, exceedingly nervous, surreptitiously glancing in all directions, using his bionic eye to get a closer look at anyone suspicious. He had every reason to be wary: the last time Kevin had been in an outdoor restaurant, a sniper had shot him dead.
He was the first to notice the approach of two strangers one with a straw hat, yellow-and-red shirt, and sunglasses. The other was a girl with Silver hair going down between her shoulder blades. She wore a white shirt which was tied in the chest area. She aslo wore a jacket that exposed her already exposed stomach. And she aslo wore a black mini skirt. Kevin notice the two because of his sudden feeling that he knew two people close by. "Excuse me, sir...?"
"I just happened to notice what you ordered," the stranger began, indicating their food, "and it happens that that goes best with..."
Kevin hardly heard what the man was saying, because his empathic sense had suddenly informed him of who he was. Andy! What are you doing here?
He carefully kept all signs of recognition from his face; it was entirely possible that Waltfeld didn't recognize him, and it was better if it stayed that way. He'd make the connection far, far too quickly. But the woman he had never seen before in his life, but he was getting the same sense he did when the Red Queen was near. And that can't be her, she hasn't attacked me yet
So Kevin kept all his attention on his surroundings while his old mentor rambled on about food, hoping he wouldn't be recognized, until he felt a most peculiar sensation. As if his senses had suddenly been limited, and his strength greatly reduced.
The woman was feeling a bit of the same way. As it was indeed Aelan but she was also feeling the same limitations Kevin was.
That was when the diagnostics began scrolling behind their right eyes. Warning. Malfunctions. Electromagnetic sensors: offline.
Sensory boosters: offline.
Nano-repair systems: offline.
Electromagnetic field: offline.
Pharmacopoeia: offline.
Strength enhancements: reduced 50 percent.
ECCM attempting to compensate. Probability of success: 5 percent.
Jammer pack, his mind whispered.But only twelve of them were ever made, and all of them were destroyed in the explosion. Wrong; one went missing a month before that, and Oracle ordered us to forget about it. There were rumors then of his having made deals with Blue Cosmos, because they both wanted war. Solkin syn!
The girl however was looking around with regular senses to see if she can see anything. "Nic is something wrong?" The stranger asked the girl using her civilian name.
Kevin glanced up at the nearby rooftops, and his mouth tightened in anger and worry, for his friends. "Andy," he said quietly, abandoning the pretense, "if you have people here, I suggest you tell them we're about to be under attack."
That was when he saw the woman draw a revolver from her jacket and held it with a proficient grip. "And so the bastards come." Aelan said as she looked to the rooftops coming to the same conclusion Kevin has done.
All three of his companions looked at him in surprise; Waltfeld because of the warning, and Kira and Cagalli because of that and the revelation of who their chatty tablemate was. "Are you sure, Racher?" the Tiger demanded.
"There's no time to chat, Andy," Blade said tensely, "so let's just get them!"
Kira reached out a restraining hand. "Blade, even if they're out there, they haven't attacked yet. You can't just-"
"I don't careif they haven't attacked yet!" Kevin snarled back. "They're Blue Cosmos, and Blue Cosmos must die!" With more than human strength, he shoved Kira away, and without further ado leapt several meters to the center of the street.
Aelan kept her sights on the rooftops and do to Kevin's actions apparently set off the Blue Cosmos attack, as the first rocket quickly lanced out from a rooftop toward him; but Aelan didn't choose to go for revenge to let Blue Cosmos kill her prey. She fired a shot as her bullet hit the tip of the Rocket blowing it up before it could reach Kevin.
That was when the assault element got into the attack, firing automatic rifles.
Andrew Waltfeld had originally intended to call in his people for support, but now he held back, satisfying himself with knocking over the table... inadvertently dumping various types of sauce on Cagalli, who had just been tackled by Kira. What are you up to, Racher? he wondered. Can you really take them all? Well he isn't actually alone right now anyways.
Kevin was effortlessly dodging around bullets (in reality, he was reading his assailants muscles, thus determining where the guns would be pointed when they were fired) as was Aelan, and he'd drawn his own revolver; his automatic had fallen from his waistband when he jumped, and had been retrieved by Cagalli.
Now he and Aelan opened fire, dropping a dozen terrorists before running out of ammo; bullets expended, they holstered their guns and continued the engagement hand-to-hand. They began by ducking a barrage of attacks,and rushing forward, Kevin snapped the man's neck with a leaping kick.
Aelan on the otherhand elbowed one in the gut then grabbed his arm that held the firearm. She grabbed his pistol and shot the man when she drew it. Then she karate chopped him in the throat cutting off his passage for Air.
Another raised his assault rifle at the girl, and Kevin jumped infront of him and after the jump only the man had a knife appear in his throat; one more suddenly found himself face-to-face with the dark demon Kevin Walker was now doing a very good imitation of, and had his trachea crushed by a powerful punch.
Aelan twisted her body so she aimed with uncanny accuracy at another man as he fell to the ground dead with a bullet in his brain from her smoking gun.
Kevin followed up by leaping sideways, crushing a terrorist's skull with his boot, and rebounding to sandwich another between himself and a wall.
Very quickly, there was only one terrorist left, across the street; he carried a bulky object, and was clearly Kevin's next target. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the man, raising his hand for a final, killing blow.
That was when a bullet took him in the side, spinning him around. "Think you're tough, huh, Crimson Tiger?" a voice mocked.
Another Blue Cosmos man, heretofore hidden by the shadows, strode up to him, a gloating look on his face. "You'll pay for that," Kevin got out, gritting his teeth in pain.
"Oh, I don't think so... Hydra." The man laughed. "Your kind never were any good without their enhancements, were they? Pathetic, really."
If only they knew of the backup Hydra had as a Bullet ended up in the guy who shot Kevin temple. The other man saw this and fired a shot at her hitting her in the Arm. Aelan twirled around and landed on the ground clenching her arm. Damn, I forgot how much pain comes from being hit by a bullet. She thought to herself.
The fallen super-soldier glared up at him. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world, right?"
"Exactly. Say hello to your teammates, will you? You'll be seeing them soon." The terrorist raised his weapon...
...And his head disappeared into bloody mist as Waltfeld finally opened fire; at the same moment, Aelan took the gun in her other hand and fired destroying the jammer pack. "The world will only be pure when people like you stop killing people to do it," the Tiger commented. So that's how Racher got his moves, eh? he thought, recalling where he'd heard the name Hydra. Not that I have any intention of telling anyone. If anyone other than Aelan got away from Oracle, good for them.
That was when one other overlooked attacker stepped from around a corner, aiming his weapon at an unsuspecting Waltfeld's back.
Kira spotted him, and made his move: he threw himself forward, snatched up a fallen pistol, and flung it at the man, catching his gun. Before the terrorist could recover, Kira leapt again, kicking him in the chin; his neck snapped with an audible crack.
Kevin hauled himself to his feet, glancing approvingly at the dead body, and the two Coordinators and the two destroyers gazed wearily at each other across the carnage which had only two minutes before been a terrorist attack squad. Aelan kept her hand over her wound as her nano repair system came back online.
It quickly became apparent that they had relaxed too soon, as a rocket suddenly arced out and struck Blade in the chest, blowing him backwards and into a wall.
Cagalli instantly raised the gun she'd taken from Kevin and blasted the shooter in half -she made a mental note to ask him just what kind of ammunition he was using- and ran over to his prone body. "Kevin! Kevin, answer me!"
His eyes opened. "Note to self," he said, quite distinctly. "Flak jacket ineffective against rocket-propelled grenade." His eyes rolled back in his head.
"He's alive," Waltfeld observed, kneeling. "I think he'll be fine. Tough customer."
"One of the toughest." Aelan said as she was resisting the urge to shoot the man again, but she had her honor and decided to help instead. Even when she was wounded.
Martin DaCosta ran up and saluted. "Commander Waltfeld! Are you alright, sir?"
Andrew Waltfeld pulled off his sunglasses. "Yep, I'm just fine. These guys saved my life."
Cagalli's eyes widened. "You mean... we really were talking to the Desert Tiger?"
"Come with me," Waltfeld said. "You can get cleaned up at my place. It's the least I can do, after you saved my life."
"But-" Kira protested.
"I won't take no for an answer. Besides, she's got salsa and yogurt sauce all over her, and he's just gotten blown halfway to next week." The Tiger smiled. "I couldn't let you go home like that."
Kevin stirred. "It's okay, Kira," he said thickly, sitting up. "We'll be fine."
"And hello to you, too, Racher," Waltfeld said pleasantly, helping the younger man to his feet. "It's been awhile."
"Yes, it has," he replied, swaying slightly. "You still make coffee?" and for some reason Aelan couldn't help but smile.
Minutes later, with Kevin having convinced his companions, they arrived at Waltfeld's headquarters. "Follow me," he said, leading them in. "Racher, I believe you remember your way around; I suggest you change into something a little less scorched. And Nic, I suggest you get that wound patched up alright" he told her as Aelan nodded and went for the infirmary, even though she didn't need it. A normal person would of had a shattered bone from the shot.
Kevin nodded, still dazed. "Yeah... I think I'll do that..." He staggered off.
"Well, well, Andy, Nicola." Aisha said walked over. "So this is the guy you've been talking about Andy?" she asked, looking at Kira.
"That's him." Waltfeld nodded at Cagalli. "How about you get her cleaned up and meet us in a few minutes, Aisha?"
"Sure." Aisha led her into another room.
Kira paused uncertainly. "In here," Waltfeld said from the door to his left.
He entered, looking about in bemusement. Everything that had happened in the last half hour was strange; especially Kevin's incredible speed, and the fact that he and Waltfeld were clearly well-acquainted.
Kira was drawn toward an item displayed an on a side table, something that looked like a fossil. "Evidence Zero One," Waltfeld said. He nodded; he remembered the artifact that had been brought back by George Glenn from one of the moons of Jupiter. "You ever see the real thing?"
"No, sir." He'd heard of it, but...
"I have no idea why they call this thing a Whalestone," the Tiger said, handing Kira cup of coffee. "Does it look like a whale to you?"
"Not really," he said, taking a sip. "So, you and Blade know each other?" he said, giving voice to one of his questions.
"Is that what he's going by these days? When I last saw him, he called himself Racher, the Revenger."
"Yes, I know him," Kevin said, walking in. His blast-scorched street clothes had been replaced by a black suit of military styling, and he seemed to be very comfortable in the formal uniform, as if he'd worn it all his life... "By the way, Andy," he added, "you might as well know it's not Racher. My name is Kevin Walker, these days, but like Kira said, I settle for Blade."
"I see." Waltfeld smiled. "It seems my instruction did you some good. Or so I judge, since you're still alive."
"Yes, it did, for which I am grateful." Kevin settled easily into a chair, himself holding a coffee cup. "It was... two years ago, was it not, when last we saw each other?"
Kira frowned; he'd never heard Blade talk like that before. It was as if donning a formal, high-class outfit had also altered his personality, to something almost... aristocratic. "So how do you know him, Blade?"
Kevin turned his head. "You will recall that about two years ago, I came through this region. I was still new to war, so I sought instruction, and Andrew here obliged me."
"You were, what, fifteen? He stayed about two weeks," Waltfeld said to Kira. "A most attentive student."
"One tries," Kevin said dryly. "Especially when one has Blue Cosmos trying to kill you; I was already a decent fighter, but without your teaching, I likely would not have survived this long." Kevin then had the same sensation he has been having all day, as though The Red Queen was near.
Infact closer than he thought, Aelan was walking to the room, wearing a red Tube top, and still had the black miniskirt on. Another new thing was the bandage on her arm. She put it on so that it would look like she was indeed injured in the terrorist attack.
Kira on the other hand was getting more confused by the moment; he had known that his friend was a very good actor, and had seen him slip into and out of several other personas, but he was getting the odd impression that even the Blade was a facade, that this aristocrat was the true Kevin Walker. And that made no sense to him. As far as Kira knew, Kevin's parents had been nothing more than government officials. Important ones, perhaps, but not that important. Andy then saw Aelan by the door. "Ah Nicola, come on in." Andy called as she opened the door.
"Sir!" She said in a ZAFT salute.
"Nicola, I would like to introduce you to, Kevin Walker and Kira is your name right?" Andy asked Kira as he nodded. "Guys, this is Nicola Stratos." Andy told them as Aelan nodded.
"Its a pleasure to finally meet the two of you." She said obviously lying. She shook Kira's hand first.
Kira, felt an erie chill off of her hand.
Kevin felt the same coldness, but he put it more as a coldness of Death on her hands. Like she was carrying more on her shoulders than he was. Aelan then turned around heading to the wall. That was when Kevin saw her back, seeing the Red Wing tattoos on her back gave him a huge headache. Flashes of a black haired woman with the same markings on her back flashed into his head.
"Nicola, are you sure this is our first time meeting?" Kevin wondered as one of his images was one with her, him and Rachel all together laughing.
"No I am afraid not Mr. Walker." She told him. Damn, has he figured out what I really am?. "Mr. Walker I have to say, you were very impressive in that fight earlier." She said as Kevin nodded.
"Same goes to you, you are indeed very skilled with a weapon." Kevin said complementing her.
"Now, Kevin I saw some of your matches; you had the speed and technique to survive on the battlefield."
Matches? Kira thought.
Kevin froze for a moment. "Somehow, Andy, it does not surprise me that you made the connection," he said, sipping his coffee as if nothing had happened. "I would, however, be grateful if you did not mention that to anyone; there are enough people out there who desire my death."
"That's true," Waltfeld acknowledged. "You have more enemies than you know, Blade." He picked up a computer disc and tossed it to him. "Here. It has information I think you'll find useful. Don't thank me; it's possible that I just saved your life, but I've also made it far more complicated."
"That, Andy, does not surprise me in the slightest." He was grimly amused. "Everyone makes my life more complicated, so why not you, too?"
"Back to the point I was making when you entered, Blade," Waltfeld said, nodding at the fossil. "It's interesting how much trouble that thing has caused over the years. After all, it started this whole mess."
Kira blinked. "How so, sir?"
"You don't agree? When you think about it, that's what started this war, if you go back far enough." The Tiger shrugged. "George Glenn's revelations and his creation of the PLANTs to study that rock started the Coordinator boom, and that's what this war is all about, when you get down to it."
"Our Genes, are what the Earth forces are all about attacking us, just because we are different." Aelan said in a sour tone.
Kevin nodded ""Perhaps historians will call this the Genetic War, when all is said and done." He chuckled. "Perhaps I will be one of those historians; it would give me an occupation other than war."
Can't be a historian if you are dead. Aelan thought to herself.
Behind them, the door opened, and Aisha led a self-conscious Cagalli in. "Here you are."
Kevin and Kira stood and turned; the Blade nodded approvingly, noting the green dress she now wore. It had been some years since he'd seen his friend in an outfit more appropriate to her rank.
He was amused to note that Kira, on the other hand, was struck dumb, staring at her. His mouth worked a few times, silently, before he managed to speak. "You're... a girl..." he said intelligently. With such a comment, Aelan could not help but giggle to to it.
Embarrassment dissolved into fury. "What did you think I was, huh?" She raised a fist at him.
Kira blushed and raised his hands. "No... I mean..."
Waltfeld, Aisha, Aelan and Kevin burst out laughing; the two both stopped, looking embarrassed. "Relax, Cagalli," Kevin said with a smile. "He just hasn't seen you like that before; Kira doesn't know you as well as I do, remember."
As Aisha withdrew, and Kira and Cagalli sat side-by-side on the couch, Waltfeld smiled. "You wear that dress well," he commented. "You look accustomed to such finery."
If you only knew, Andy, Kevin thought.
"Indeed, you look a lot better in a dress rather than that tomboy getup you wear." Aelan said to her.
Cagalli reacted with anger. "Is it your custom to dress people up before you kill them, Waltfeld?" she snarled. "Just another of your affectations?"
"Cagalli..." Kevin cautioned; he liked and respected Andrew Waltfeld, but he did not fully trust him. And his friend was coming all too close to revealing her identity as a member of the Desert Dawn.
"You've got lovely eyes," the Tiger said with a smile. "Something sincere about them. Very lovely eyes..." His expression suddenly hardened. "And too sincere for your own good."
She stood. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Waltfeld also stood. "Are you another one of those who rather perish?" he said softly.
"Nobody... make any... rash moves..." Kevin cautioned. His own hand was straying toward the jacket of his uniform, while Kira and Cagalli retreated toward a wall; her hands on his shoulders as he stood protectively in front of her. Kevin also noticed that Aelan grabbed from her back her own weapon as he could see the hilt of the revovler.
Waltfeld walked over to a small table in the corner. "There are no clear rules for ending a war like this," he said, opening a drawer. "So how do you determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it?" He swung a pistol up to point at them. "When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed?"
At the sight of the weapon, Kevin flung himself across the room, landing in a roll and coming up beside Kira, revolver in hand. "I would not do that, Andy," he said softly. "If I shoot you with this, it will detonate, cleanly splitting your spine in two."
With such a comment, Aelan walked over to Andy as she stopped infront of him with her own gun aiming at Kevin. "And you wont be able to survive my Magic bullet." She said with a wink. "In other words, the bullet is not made of metal." Aelan told him as Kevin was shocked.
Waltfeld, turned his attention to Kira. "I wouldn't try anything rash; we're all Coordinators here, like you. Even if you do have berserker capabilities, there's no way you'll get past all of us."
Cagalli's eyes widened, and she stared at Kira. "What? You're a...?"
"Some may believe it's a Natural piloting that mobile suit, but I'm not so credulous," the Tiger said. "I have no idea what your reasons are for deciding to fight against your own people, and it doesn't really matter." His aim was unwavering. "The fact is that we are enemies, to the bitter end. It can be no other way." Abruptly, he raised the gun and set it aside. "It almost makes you wonder if there's any other way but for one of us to die," he said with a smile.
Cagalli frowned, suspicious. "You're letting us go?"
"We're not on the battlefield," Waltfeld said. "Today, we have met as fellow warriors; I wouldn't kill you here. Besides, I suspect your friend there would make good on his threat, and while I don't believe he could get all of us, that wouldn't much matter to me, now would it?"
Aisha reentered, showing them out. "It is with great regret," Kevin said on his way out, "that I will face you again, Andy. I have no wish to fight you. But it seems we have no choice. It is our Fate."
"See you on the battlefield," Waltfeld called after them.
Aelan lowered her weapon once Kevin left as she took her mask out of a drawer in the china cabinet. "You Know Andy, I could of killed my rival right there and then." Aelan told him as he smiled.
"And in this time and age, there is no honor in killing an opponent when they are not within there machine." Andy smiled at her. "Wasn't that something you said once before." Andy said with a sly smile. "Don't worry though, you will get your chance."
Walking out of the Mansion Kevin looked at Kira. "Kira I don't know why but I think that woman in that room with Andy was the Red Queen." Kevin said as Kira looked shock. "And I am becoming more convinced that she was a part of my past." Kevin told them.
Some hours later, after returning to the Archangel, Kevin wandered into the hanger and stopped dead in his tracks. "What the blazes happened in here?" The Strike was collapsed on the deck, with the walkway normally leading to its hatch twisted and broken.
"That Sai kid went and lost his mind, as near as we can tell," Murdoch said. "Snuck in here and climbed into the Strike. He couldn't do much with it, though; just kinda flailed around until he collapsed, and starting ranting about it not being fair, whatever that means." He shrugged. "Nobody was hurt, but he's gonna be in the brig for the next week."
Kevin let out a breath, staring at the twisted metal. "I'll say he lost his mind; I even saw it coming, but I never expected this." He shook his head. "I knew that he was a little unstable ever since learning that Flay had dumped him for Kira, but it never occurred to me that he might pull a stunt like this."
"Yeah, well, none of us did." Murdoch cocked his head. "So how'd your trip to Banadiya go?"
"Confusing, but informative." He stroked the grips of his pistol. "I'm gonna have to make a return trip soon. I have... unfinished business to take care of."
Indeed he did; the disc Waltfeld had tossed him told Kevin the exact whereabouts of CARDINAL, and that was an account he intended to balance very soon.
The other piece of information had shocked and angered him; he did indeed have more enemies than he'd thought, and this one was the most surprising yet. Kevin wasn't sure what he was going to do about it yet, but he knew he had to be more cautious than ever.
A/N: Well Kevin has met the unmasked Aelan, and Ahmed is dead. Next will be the final battle of Aisha, and just wait and see, how mad Aelan is when Aisha is killed, Kevin wont be the only one she goes after, after that.
Solid: Kira may be acting in self defence, but all Sai was worried about was Flay. He just wanted to talk to her. Jason is a special kind of tactician, he looks deeper into the situation, and he acts in that way. Besides, you don't really need to have fighting within your own ranks.
Well thats it and I hope everyone enjoyed the Chapter.