Into the Fire

Canon scenes happen like normal

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Video call or voice chat"

Feldt

Six hours had passed since the beginning of the operation in the Taklamakan Desert and no information about the status of the Gundams had come back to them. Everyone on the bridge crew was sitting or standing in the living room of Wang Liu Mei's house, herself sitting on one of the couches. Ian was up on the ship, making sure someone was taking care of it. Feldt had to sit there helplessly, hearing the updates from Christina about what the brown-haired girl assumed the Gundams were doing. 'I know we had to go in, but they should have been back hours ago! Setsuna should have been back sooner!' It had been getting harder and harder to keep her hope up. It was hard to maintain the emotional level of intensity she had shown during the HRL attack on the Ptolemy.

Feldt clenched her fist as she kept her frustration, fear and worry from showing too much. She silently worried about Setsuna and hoped he was safe. 'He can't die, not after how close we've gotten.' A tinge of shame flowed through her at her focus on Setsuna. She knew the other meisters were in just as much danger as him, but her mind couldn't stop focusing and worrying about Setsuna. She knew the plan was risky when she first saw it, but if she had known it would turn out like this, she would have begged Ms. Sumeragi to cancel the operation. 'I can't lose him. Not after I realized how much he means me.'

She looked down at her lap, tears threatening to come out and she didn't know if she could stop them at this moment. She felt a weight land next to her and arms come around her shoulders. She looked up to see Christina looking at her softy, her voice quiet, "C'mon Feldt, let's go somewhere private." Feldt just nodded blankly, letting Christina guide her to a room upstairs, squeezing their linked hands. She caught Sumeragi and Lichty giving her concerned looks in her peripheral vision, but right now she couldn't really absorb that. Her worry and emotions had been building up for the last several hours and she was silently thankful Christina had caught onto that. 'I don't know what I would do without her.' Christina had been like the older sister she never had.

Christina opened the door to one of the guest rooms, leading Feldt to sit down next to her on the bed in the room. Christina pulled Feldt into a quick hug and looked at her sympathetically, her own eyes tearing up a bit, "Feldt, we are alone in here. You can tell me what's going on."

A few tears escaped Feldt's eyes, "I'm so worried about everyone. Are they going to die? Were we stupid to do this operation?"

Christina gave her a hopeful look, "They can make it. We have to believe they can make it. They are probably on their way out as we speak." Christina spoke resolutely, "And Veda had to have planned for this. This may have been part of the plan." Feldt could hear Christina's voice waver, but she ignored it, wanting any form of reassurance. 'Was Veda fallible? Shouldn't it have predicted this?' The ship was her family and she didn't want to lose anyone, not like this. 'Especially Setsuna.'

Feldt nodded weakly, her voice weak, "I can't stop thinking about him. It's been hours and we haven't had any word about Setsuna." Feldt hiccupped, more tears coming down "I…feel so selfish about mainly being worried about Setsuna. But I never got to tell him how I felt, how I…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Tears came on thicker, the pink-haired girl beginning to sob.

Christina pulled the girl to her chest, wrapping her arms around Feldt, "It's alright Feldt. You like him. It's ok to be a little selfish. I would be the same if I was in your shoes." Feldt didn't respond, just sobbing harder into Christina's chest. Away from the view of everyone else, all of emotions let loose. She didn't want Setsuna to be in constant danger. She didn't want him to lose his life in battle. She wanted him to be around her, safe and not having to always fight on the frontlines. She knew that was selfish and she would never demand that he stop, it was just something that she couldn't help but think.

Setsuna had come into her life and had settled into her heart, filling a gap she didn't know there was. The loss of her parents had never gone away, becoming a dull pang even after all of these years. She knew they were dead, but she always wished she could have grown up with them. And just when she realized her feelings towards Setsuna, to think about a future with him, that was being taken away by an intervention. 'Just like my parents.'

She wished she could be as hopeful as Christina right now, but because they couldn't even see what the meisters were doing or even communicate with them, she felt lost, unsure what any of them could do to help. Normally she would feel a rush of confidence at this, the need to stay alive against all odds, but she had held her strong emotions in so much, it became hard to raise her head above the feelings of despair.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the feelings of tears upon her head. She glanced up to see tears coming from Christina. Feldt's sobs calmed down a bit, sounding confused, "Christina? Why are you crying?"

Christina let out a sob, "Because you are crying and when someone else cries, I cry and…" Feldt heard Christina choke back another sob, "I'm so worried about everyone else and we can't do anything to help them!" Feldt could feel another bout of sobs coming along and she didn't have the emotional strength to resist them. The two bridge crew members just held onto each other as they let lose their anxiety, fears and sadness through their tears. They held each other for the next several minutes, not caring if everyone else in the living room heard them. Both of them needed this.

As their tears came down to normal and the sobs stopped, Feldt looked up at Christina, who's eyes were red and slightly puffy from all the crying. Feldt chuckled, "Your eyes are all red."

Christina nodded, smiling back, "Yours too." Feldt felt more in control now. She was still worried about Setsuna, but her head was clearer. Feldt then gave Christina a warm smile, "Thank you for this. I needed that."

Christina just nodded, "Of course. We both needed this. Besides, what friend would I be if I just let you wallow in worry." Christina pulled back from their embrace, "They will make it. We just have to trust them and the Gundams."

Feldt nodded and as she stood up, she could feel exhaustion wash over her as she yawned. Christina put her hands on Feldt's shoulders as she also stood up, looking at the pink-haired girl, "Feldt, get some rest."

Feldt's eyes widened and she shook her head, "But what if you guys need me?!" 'I don't want to let down the crew.'

Christina looked at her softly, "If we get any info, I will rush up to wake you up. So get some rest."

"What about you?" Feldt was worried that Christina was pushing herself too hard.

Christina shook her head, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Feldt reluctantly nodded at the brown-haired girl, lying on top of the bed as her eyes closed. She could hear the sound of Christina walking out of the room fading out as she lost consciousness, the image of Setsuna smiling the last thing going through her mind.

Setsuna

Setsuna let out a tired sigh as he retreated from the battlefield. 'Fifteen long hours.' The Gundam meisters had effectively been under siege for fifteen hours by the combined forced of the three power blocks. 'And we walked right into their trap.' Setsuna shook his head, knowing it wouldn't help to think about that at the moment. They could do that after they succeeded. 'But the fact that this escape is so easy is making me feel uneasy. If the enemy had us trapped, then why would the loosen their grip?' His tired mind told him to not question it. It was the best shot he and the rest of the meisters had in a long time and they all took it. 'I hope the rest of them are safe.' They had all gone in different directions to stay low profile.

How could they have been cornered so easily? This was just supposed to be a training exercise for the three blocks. 'But it hadn't. They were waiting for us. Why would Veda send us into an obvious trap?' The fact they had to protect the nuclear waste facility put them in a lose-lose situation. And even with the superior firepower of the Gundams, the weight of enemy numbers and tactics could still challenge them. 'We just have to fight smarter now.'

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a silhouette of a large machine approaching him in front of the rising sun. 'What is this? A new machine?' His sensors zoomed in on the suit, or more correctly, mobile armor. The machine was almost like a large red block, with a mobile suit sticking out of the top of it. 'Wait, I know that suit. It's Ali!' The suit on top was a red enact with a lightning-like light on its face. 'How did he get that!?'

Setsuna didn't have a lot of time to react as the mobile suit began to fire at him with its gun. Setsuna desperately dodged out of the way of the blasts; his reflexes were dulled from having been fighting for so long. But the machine kept getting closer and closer. 'Why is it getting so…?' His eyes widened. 'It's trying to ram me!' He tried to avoid it, but he could feel the exhaustion catching up with him. The large machine smashed into him, sending him crashing into the sands. Setsuna let out a grunt of pain as he felt the impact. He internally cursed, his exhaustion having slowed down his reaction. 'Of course they had people waiting to ambush us. I knew our escape was too easy. And I couldn't even dodge a large mobile armor.'

The machine groaned as it tried to move, and Setsuna couldn't react in time as the brick that he previously thought it was split up to reveal spider-like legs jutting out of it. 'What is this machine?' Ali spoke, taunting him, "You can die now." Lines of electricity jumped out of panels in the machine's legs, sending it through the Exia, causing Setsuna to let out cries of pain. He could hear Ali taunting him, but the words didn't register. He could only feel pain and all of the thoughts rushing through his mind.

'I can't die like this! Not when the world is how it is! Not when I have people to protect! Not to him!' He had survived everything thrown at him so far. He had survived the long, grueling guerilla war against Azadistan, the time between him being the last survivor of the KPSA and being recruited by Celestial Being, and all the previous operations. This was not going to be his grave. It couldn't. Not to Ali al Saachez. Not the man who had ruined his life so many years ago. He had to find the twistedness and corruption of this world and remove it. That was Celestial Being's purpose. 'That is my purpose!'

And he not only needed to survive for himself, but for others. 'Feldt.' A memory of the pink-haired girl giving him a warm smile appeared in his mind and another memory echoed in his mind.

Feldt looked up at him, their eyes meeting, "Please be careful. I don't want to lose you, like I lost my parents." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear with her free hand, squeezing Setsuna's hand with her other one.

No. He would survive. He had promised he would survive. He needed to protect her, to keep her safe. He didn't want her to lose someone else and he wouldn't want to be the person who caused her more grief. He struggled to reach up with the Exia, the right arm of the Gundam beginning to lift off of the desert sand. He couldn't bring up his weapons, but he had to show he was alive, if only for himself.

Suddenly the electric shocks going through the Exia stopped as several red energy blasts impacted near the Gundam, having gone through the mobile armor that had been pinning him down. The mobile armor exploded above him, scattering shrapnel over the Exia, thankfully none of it getting through any of the armor. He quietly let out a sigh, internally relaxing at his survival and not breaking his promise to Feldt. He then looked up to where the energy blasts came from.

While he could see Ali fleeing from the battlefield, what drew his attention was his savior. It looked like a Gundam, but with a less humanoid head, the particles coming out of it were red, unlike the rest of the meister's greenish-blue particles. 'There were more Gundams? I knew Veda was secretive at times, but to keep another Gundam hidden from us? Did Sumeragi know about this?' Unfortunately, he knew he probably wouldn't find out any answers here. Either way, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth right now.

With the Exia free from mobile armor, he reached up to the new Gundam, his voice curious, "Gundam."

The voice of a teenage girl then echoed in the Exia, sounding casual, "You alive down there?" Setsuna was surprised to hear someone that young piloting, but then realized others would say the same thing about him. The girl then spoke a bit more insistently, "Hey Exia pilot, are you ok in there?"

Setsuna replied tiredly, the electricity not helping his exhaustion, "Who are you?"

The girl's face popped up on his display, revealing a teenage girl that looked roughly his age. While the blue tint of the helmet mostly hid her eye color and hair, he guessed it was some shade of red. She spoke in an energetic tone, "Nena Trinity. I'm a Gundam Meister just like you." She winked at him, but for some reason that caused an unhappy shiver down his spine.

Setsuna's eyes widened at the surprise, "You're a Gundam meister. And what is that machine?"

She giggled and grinned at him, and unlike Feldt, he did not feel like smiling, "This is the Throne unit three, Throne Drei. My brothers are rescuing your friends,"

Setsuna frowned, "Three more Gundam meisters."

The girl just grinned at him, "Yep!" Setsuna studied her, finding it strange just how energetic and happy she was. 'I wonder what is going on. Three new secret Gundams and three new pilots. But why now?' Again, he was happy being saved, but something felt wrong here, especially with the way the pilot of the Throne unit in front of him was treating him. She was so unlike Feldt or even Christina. 'What does this mean for the future? What is Veda hiding from us? More Gundams?' He frowned and then let out a sigh. 'When I get back to safety, I'll call Feldt to tell her that I am ok.'

Christina

Christina sat at the console, waiting for any news of the meisters. Suddenly a message popped up from Haro, causing her to smile, "I just got a coded message from Haro! All four Gundams are safe and are headed to the number six spot in the Pacific."

She looked around at the group, seeing everyone smile cheer. She focused on Feldt, who smiled happily, "They made it." Feldt had woken up the previous hour, looking more relaxed and energized. Christina could tell that Feldt was happy Setsuna made it. She gave Feldt a knowing smile, nodding, to which Feldt nodded back at. Christina could see the silent thanks in the gesture. 'I told you that he would make it. Now you just have to show him what he means to you.'

She was then shocked at learning about the new Gundams. 'New Gundams? Where did they come from?' She looked over at Sumeragi, who looked equally confused about these mysterious Gundams. 'Not even she knew? I guess we all are dealing with a mystery.' She had a bad feeling in her gut, but she would keep that hidden. It was a happy mood at the moment and she didn't want to ruin it. 'I hope I'm wrong.'

Author Note

Welcome back! The trinities arrived and we all know what's coming up! Please review, comment, like, etc. and I'll see you guys next week! Also if you don't want to leave a public review, feel free to send me a private message.