In Another Time, Another World

by fnlrpa

You've all seen 00 as it is, but what if it was different? What if Marina was forced to look into the cost of her pacifism? What if our favorite split personality had a bigger role? What if Setsuna could actually react to romance? This and more inside. This is a rewrite with AU elements of Gundam 00 Season 2 that was long in the making (for me). Cross posted on Ao3.

14. Ghosts of Krugis

Author's Note 1

Usual reminder about canon scenes

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Soma/Hallelujah speech"

In the 00

As Setsuna traveled to the Ptolemy using the data that Nena gave him, he focused his thoughts on this new information. The realization felt like a weight in his chest. Without him realizing, Feldt had made her way into his heart and taken a part of it. He didn't know if it was love, an alien feeling after so many years of fighting, but he knew enough that it was a very strong attachment. Her kindness, her smile, her bravery. Those traits, among others, had drawn him to her. She felt so comfortable to be around and she could always bring out a smile from him. When she was upset, he wanted to hold her and make her feel better, like after she piloted the 0 Raiser or when she cried tears of grief when Marie showed up. He wanted to make her happy, keep her smiling and laughing. He didn't know how to though. He may have these feelings, but moving forward was another issue.

Ever since he had joined the KPSA as a child, his life had just been about fighting for one cause or another, Celestial Being being another one of them. He had never had time to think about or put any stock into romance or even thinking about any form of long-term future. He never thought about a happy personal future for himself. He had always assumed he would be an eternal watchdog, making sure that other people could be happy and have better lives. Probably go on until his body would give out from all the fighting or die in the fighting. He was ok with that, and had been for years. He had never tried to place himself in a normal life. Following his current path, people wouldn't know who he was, but he would keep those people safe from those that brought harm to humanity, like the innovators. But with these new feelings, he was suddenly conflicted.

He wanted to make the world better, but at the same time wanted to be happy himself. Was it ok for him to put Feldt through that pain, knowing that he was always at risk of dying? 'It would be unfair to ask her to constantly deal with that.' Could he live a normal life with her potentially? 'How could I if I don't know how to do it? All I know is how to fight.' He felt envy at the ease at which Marie and Allelujah got along, how comfortable they were together as couple. Despite their past, they found a way to be happy. It was like Feldt was just beyond his grasp, and when he tried to reach a barrier blocked him.

Did he even deserve that happiness? After all he had done in his past, like killing his own parents, should he even have that? 'That was probably what put off my realization. Me questioning subconsciously if I should be happy.' He needed to talk with someone about this. He didn't know who, he just needed to get this off his chest, get another perspective. Maybe Allelujah. Then he could talk to Feldt and clear the air between them. She deserved that much.

Reality set in as he knew he still had to meet up with the ship before he could deal with this personal issue. As he traveled to the area the ship was most likely in, he saw a large crater below him. His grip on the controls tightened. 'This must have been the capital of Suille. What makes the innovators want to go this far? These people were monsters, but what part of the plan drove them? What had caused them to want to change the plan?'

His sensors registered a mobile suit, drawing his attention away from the crater. Looking at the information, he saw a familiar silhouette of Ali al Saachez's suit. 'What is that bastard doing here?' The suit flew by him at high speed, ignoring him. Narrowing his eyes, Setsuna began to follow him, wondering where he was going. 'Sorry guys, but I need to know what he's doing out here.'

On the Ptolemy

Ian spoke in a deducing tone, "So after Lagrange 3, you learned the A-Laws had a satellite weapon and went on a mission to destroy it. You were successful, but you were caught by a surprise attack and crash landed on earth, making an emergency landing. You also have no idea where Setsuna and the 00 Raiser are. Did I get that right?"

Mileina spoke in a chipper tone, "That's it exactly!"

He yelled in a cantankerous tone, "It sounds like a disaster!" Mileina pouted at her father's response.

Lasse responded in an even tone, "C'mon, don't say that old man. We did destroy the satellite weapon."

Feldt spoke up, adding onto Lasse's point, "And we were almost out of GN particles when we came under attack."

Tieria gave Ian an neutral look, "Furthermore the enemy forces possessed a new mobile armor. It was Sumeragi's plan to use the force of the impacts from the attacks to accelerate down to earth, covering the ship in smoke to hide us. If she hadn't, we wouldn't be here."

Lasse put a hand on his shoulder, "We are just lucky that we survived."

Ian sighed, calming down, "Alright, what's the Ptolemy's condition?"

Feldt listed off the issues, "The engines work, but the weapons, navigation, communications and sensors are all seriously damaged."

Ian put a hand on his face, rubbing his brow, "Lord give me strength. If the enemy attacked us now we would be done for."

As he finished saying that Marie walked through the doors with a stack of trays. She looked at the assembled crew and stated kindly, "I brought you guys food."

Mileina perked up, yelling, "Food!"

Ian looked at his daughter, his frustration mounting, "I said done for!" Marie looked at Ian in concern, looking around at the rest of the group in confusion, but Lasse just waved it off. Ian saw that and walked off in a huff, heading to begin work on repairs inside the ship.

Ptolemy Hanger

Sumeragi stood in the hanger, looking at the hatch to the Arios. Sighing, she spoke to Allelujah in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry Allelujah. I had Marie actively assist in the battle."

Allelujah put down his comm unit, and sighed exasperatedly, "It's ok. What's done is done. Besides, Marie volunteered to do it. But please, in the future, never ask her to do that again as a favor to me."

Sumeragi spoke sincerely, "I won't do it again." In the back of her mind, she knew Marie was a useful member for the crew, but she did owe Allelujah for all he had done. She would let the super soldiers deal with this between the two of them. She also had one more person she needed to talk to today.

With a nod, Sumeragi walked out of the hanger, leaving Allelujah in the cockpit of the Arios. He heard Hallelujah chuckle in his mind and speak to him in a sarcastic tone, "It seems you learned your lesson."

Allelujah frowned at that. He asked curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

Laughing slightly, Hallelujah just gave a smug reply, "You really have learned nothing from living with me all these years? If you can't figure it out now, you'll just have to learn on your own."

Allelujah silently cursed the other voice in his head, curious as to what he was missing. 'I just want to keep her safe. What is wrong with that?'

Outside the Ptolemy

Lyle ended the call with his Katharon contact as he sat against a nearby rock, happy they would be able to give support. 'It feels strange to talk to them now. I guess I've been with Celestial being long enough to get attached.' He then heard footsteps approaching him. Looking up in curiosity, he saw Anew approaching him. Giving him a curious look, she asked, "Who were you talking to just now?"

'She's certainly sharp.' He supposed it was another good quality to add to the pile with her. His heart rate increased slightly as he looked her. He looked away, trying to act casual, "Just some minor business."

She looked down at her feet, confusion in her tone, "I've been noticing recently that the A-Laws always seem to know where the Ptolemaios is. How is that?"

Lyle looked over to her, curious about that as well. 'Did she think it was me?' He chuckled to himself and asked, "So you are suspicious of me, Ms. Returner?"

She rolled her eyes at his tone of voice and with a snarky tone, replied, "If it was, I don't think you would be on the ship. And you can call me Anew you know. I don't bite."

Lyle laughed quietly, "Well if you say that, then you can call me Lyle."

Anew gave him another curious look, leaning her head slightly, "If your real name is Lyle, why does everyone call you Lockon?"

Lockon deflated a little, his smile growing slightly smaller, "It was the code name for my brother when he was a member. I used it at first, but honestly I would rather just be called Lyle."

Anew detected some lingering animosity in his voice at the mention of his brother. 'I wonder why he feels that way about his brother.' She looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry if that was too personal."

Lyle's smile went back to the way it was before his brother was mentioned, and he waved off her concerns, "Don't worry about it. You probably weren't told any of that. It's better than when I first joined the crew. Every single person who knew my brother was always shocked to see me. It got old fast." He laughed at the memory quietly. 'Granted one of those reactions did leave a mark.' He continued, his voice becoming more flirtatious, "So Anew, what brought you out here? Looking for me?"

She responded, smirking, "Not intentionally, but I don't mind that I found you. Mainly I was taking a short break when I noticed you up here. I realized that we haven't got a chance to talk since the base attack, so I just wanted to see what you were doing. I then saw you talking with someone and overheard the very end of the conversation. I will say you should try to look less suspicious when you make secret calls. Someone might think you are up to something."

Lyle, curious if she knew, asked, "And what would I be suspected of doing? I don't need to keep secrets."

Anew shook her head, "Ever since you joined, we suddenly have been able to contact Katharon a lot more easily. Almost as if they had someone inside our organization. And you are the only one here from outside the organization."

Lyle looked ready to protest for a second, then stopped as he realized she had a point, giving her a look of 'you caught me', "I would try to refute that, but that wouldn't go far. Good detective work, Sherlock. You have a problem with me doing it?"

Anew gave him a friendly smile, "Certainly not. They are allies, even if they aren't the best fighting force. I don't think any of us would have an issue with you continuing to report. I do think other people are aware, but just haven't said."

In a slightly exaggerated dramatic voice, the Irishman responded, "And here I was thinking I was a master spy." He dropped that tone, shrugging his shoulders, "I only headed out here to make a call. Want to head back in?"

Anew looked at him warmly, "Not just yet. I'll stay out here for a few more minutes. Get some fresh air."

Lyle blushed slightly at her look, and gave her a flirtatious wink, "If you want company, I don't mind staying."

She rolled her eyes at that but laughed. She sat down against the rock Lyle was previously sitting on, patting a spot next to her on the ground, inviting him to sit down. He accepted the invitation, putting his arms behind his head and relaxing. Both of them knew they had to be back on duty soon, but would take advantage of the time they had.

On the bridge of the Ptolemy

Feldt looked at the status of the system checks. The damage to the ship was extensive and it would take hours to get many of the basic sensor systems back up, and she didn't even want to think about the weapons. Currently all she could do was watch as the bar showing the scan progress slowly. 'I hope Setsuna finds us soon. We need the 00 Raiser. And I need to talk to him.' She could hear Mileina humming to herself as she focused on navigation fixes. 'Hope it's going better over there.'

She heard the door to the bridge open and she craned her head to see who it was. She saw Sumeragi enter, looking around the bridge, before the tactical forecaster's eyes fell on the pink-haired girl. In a friendly tone, Sumeragi asked, "Feldt, do you mind talking with me for a bit?"

Feldt looked at the progress bar, seeing that it wouldn't be done anytime soon, nodded her head and began to lower her seat, "Sure. It will be a while before we get any solutions to the system damage." When the seat reached the ground, she stepped out of the chair and began to follow Sumeragi, reaching the conference room before stopping. Sumeragi gestured to the door, Feldt entered before Sumeragi, wondering what she wanted to talk about. Sumeragi gave her a smile when she got inside, the door closing behind her, "I'm sorry it took so long to get to this. I wanted to talk about you piloting the 0 Raiser at the battle of Lagrange 3, but the station took up so much of my time."

Feldt shook her head, her tone friendly, "Don't worry about it Ms. Sumeragi. The station was a bigger concern than anything else at the time. I don't blame you."

The brunette woman shrugged her shoulders, "Still, I wanted to see how you were doing. First time combat in a mobile suit can be intense, even if you are trained."

Feldt looked down at the ground, her voice a bit shaky as she relived the experience of piloting during the battle, "I did shut down a little when I came under fire, but Setsuna saved me, so it all worked out. And I have to admit it was a little exciting in hindsight." Feldt blushed slightly as she thought about Setsuna saving her. The next thing that popped in her head was wondering if Sumeragi would let her stay as the pilot.

Sumeragi replied sympathetically, "It was brave of you to willingly go out into the battlefield like that. We owe you for getting that to the 00. And if you want to talk about it in the future, you can always come to me."

Feldt looked back up at Sumeragi, eyes and voice full of happiness, "It's fine. I just did what needed to get done. And Setsuna talked to me after we got back and reassured me how I reacted was normal. Thank you for offering though." Feldt then frowned slightly after she finished. Her voice became noticeably worried and longing, "I hope he gets back soon."

Sumeragi took note of the shine in the pink-haired girl's eye when she mentioned Setsuna, as well as her worried tone of voice after. Something connected in Sumeragi's mind. The way Feldt was blushed when she talked about him saving her. The happiness in her voice mentioning him. The moment on the bridge after Setsuna's speech came to her mind. Of Feldt wanting to say something but changing her words. She also remembered Feldt talking quietly to him before he launched to distract the enemy. Sumeragi recognized what was going on and sighed. Feldt had fallen for the raven-haired pilot. 'Oh Feldt.' Sumeragi remembered when she was younger and was like that with Emilio. 'It's not an easy emotion to deal with. There are plenty of happy moments, but love can also hurt. I hope you can avoid the heartache I went through.'

Feldt saw Sumeragi just looking at her, not saying anything. She tilted her head curiously and waved her hand in front of the tactical forecaster's face, trying to get her attention, "Are you ok? Ms. Sumeragi?"

Sumeragi snapped back to attention, seeing the pink-haired girl looking at her strangely and waving her hand in her face. Her voice took a more serious tone "Feldt, how long has it been?"

Feldt lowered her hand, but her confusion continued, "How long has it been for what?"

"When did you fall for Setsuna?"

Feldt immediately blushed intensely and looked away from the older woman, embarrassed. 'How did she know? Was I that obvious?' Looking back up, stuttering as she asked, "Wh-what do you mean? He's just a-"

Sumeragi immediately brought up the palm of her hand, causing Feldt to stop talking. Sumeragi, lowering her hand, spoke in a calm, comforting tone, "Feldt, you don't need to pretend. I know what you are going through. It's nice to see you so happy about something. It's nice to see you care about Setsuna. I just want the truth."

The pink-haired girl felt reassured by the tactical forecaster's words, but still surprised at the bluntness of them. Feldt replied awkwardly, "Oh."

"Do you like him?"

Taking a deep breath and swallowing, she looked right into Sumeragi's eyes with obvious worry, "Yes. I really like him and I'm worried that he isn't coming back or that he's hurt. He's alone out there and we can't do anything to find him. I tried to tell him after the Lagrange 3 battle how I felt about him, but my nerves gave out. I told him I wanted to talk to him after the attack on the Memento Mori, but…" A tear rolled down her cheek and her voice raised, "But now he's separated from us, and I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to tell him!"

Sumeragi looked at Feldt, the girl's sea green eyes brimming with potential tears, and put her hand on Feldt's shoulder. In a motherly voice, she responded, "Feldt, it's alright. It's natural to be worried about the people we love and care about, especially people as risk taking as Setsuna. But he survived for five years on his own and came back. We have to trust that he will come back this time as well. And when he comes back, you tell him how you feel. What made you stop before?"

Feldt's voice hitched slightly, "I was worried he wouldn't reciprocate my feelings, or just not say anything. I was worried about putting myself out there. It was stupid and I regret it now, but I couldn't stop worrying."

Sumeragi gave her a smile, chuckling a little, "Feldt, it's love or at least close enough to it. You don't have to explain yourself. Just tell him when he shows back up. Just be blunt and honest with him. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, you can at least say you got your feelings out in the open. You don't need to regret never telling him. And who knows, maybe he cares for you in the same way."

Feldt nodded, her emotions calming down, causing the tears to go away. She gave the tactical forecaster a warm smile, "Thank you. I know he'll come back, I just can't help but worry."

Sumeragi laughed, "With a boy like Setsuna, I can completely understand your worry. He constantly gave me heart attacks during the events five years ago." Feldt laughed as well, remembering how many times he had broken protocol or shot ahead against orders, like when he opened his cockpit when facing Ali al Saachez in Moralia. 'I really did pick an impulsive man, didn't I?'

Sumeragi realized in the face of what she just learned, she had an important question to ask. Her tone shifted to become more serious, her smile evening out, "I do need ask you something. When he gets back, do you intend to stay as the pilot of the 0 Raiser?"

Feldt was once again caught by surprise. 'I was just going to ask her that. It saves me the awkwardness in asking her.' Feldt nodded resolutely, though still a little nervous, "As long as he intends to fight, I want to be at his side, supporting him. And I want to be able to protect the ship in a mobile suit."

Sumeragi looked at her proudly, happy to see the introverted young girl from five years ago grow into a strong and resilient woman. The pride in her voice was apparent as she spoke, "Well if that is your plan, then I need you and Mileina to begin to teach Saji how to take over your role on the bridge. I need someone to cover your job when you are out there on the battlefield."

The pink-haired girl felt a surge of happiness go through her. 'Ms. Sumeragi is ok with it?!' She pulled Sumeragi into a quick hug, both of them letting go after a few seconds. The pink-haired woman's excitement was palpable, "Thank you! Thank you so much Ms. Sumeragi!"

Sumeragi felt a surge of maternal pride. 'Is this what it feels like to be a mom?' It certainly felt good. With a playful voice, the brunette asked, "So what color do you want on your pilot suit?"

With the 00

Setsuna had followed Ali al Saachez long enough to the point that the sun was setting. He had occasionally taken some potshots at him, but the Arche easily dodged all of them. The mercenary was not fighting back despite him shooting, so he must have a different goal entirely. 'So, it's clear he wants to lead me somewhere. But where does he want to lead me to?' Without a detailed map of the area, he didn't have a lot of reference to where Ali was heading. It was probably somewhere in the middle east if he had to guess. He looked at his sensors again and the topographical map reminded him of something. 'Wait, this is Krugis.' Why would the mercenary lead him here?

As the Arche flew over the ruins of town, it suddenly slowed down, floating down to the ground slowly. Setsuna caught up and followed him down to the ground. There was something nagging in the back of Setsuna's mind, something familiar about this place. But he didn't have time to think on that, not after seeing what Ali was doing. What shocked Setsuna was the fact that Ali stepped out of his cockpit, giving the raven-haired pilot a smirk as he stood on the descending mobile suit. 'What is your plan?'

When they both reached the ground next to a ruined church, Setsuna scrambled out of the cockpit of the 00 Raiser, jumping into the raised palm of his mobile suit. He saw Ali standing on the shoulder of his own gundam, near the bell tower on the church. Ali spoke first in a flippant tone, "Well, well, well, it's been a while Krugis punk. I'm sorry, I mean Mister Krugis punk."

Setsuna replied angrily, "Ali al Saachez! You're with the innovators!?"

Ali shrugged his shoulders, "That's right. If a mercenary is asked to do a job, he'll go anywhere for the right price."

"So are you saying that you don't need a reason to fight!?"

The mercenary just shook his head, "Even if I did have a reason, I'm sure you wouldn't understand." Setsuna drew out his gun, beginning to aim at Ali, when the man called out to him, "Hold on a minute. I brought you here because there is someone that wants to meet you." Setsuna looked at him confused. 'So that answers that question, but who wants to meet me?' With a dramatic flair of his arm, Ali stated, "Allow me to introduce my sponsor."

Setsuna heard steps coming from the other side of the tower heading towards the pair. As the person came into view, Setsuna saw a lithe green-haired man with purple eyes walking casually and confidently to face him. The first word that came to Setsuna's mind was "innovator" upon seeing this man. 'So this of those that corrupted the world.' He spoke harshly to the green-haired man, "Are you an innovator?"

Nonchalantly, Ribbons replied, "I am. My name is Ribbons Almark. It's been a long time Setsuna F Seiei, or should I say, Soran Ebrahim." Setsuna's eyes widened in shock. 'How did he know my name!? What did he mean by it's been a long time!?' Ribbons continued, "To you this is the first time we met. But I first met you eleven years ago." Setsuna glared at the man and Ribbons just smirked, "Here in this hellhole of a battlefield where foolish humans were fighting. And on it was one child running for his life. I was watching you, from the vantage point of a mobile suit cockpit."

"A-are you saying…" Setsuna remembered those moments vividly. Running for his life from enemy mobile suits. Ineffectually firing at them, hoping to get a lucky shot. Rejecting God for the cruelty he saw and did. And that shining light in the sky saving his life. He had lived his life after that wanting to bring the justice that only a gundam could bring and now it turns out the pilot of this suit was this cruel, destructive being in front of him? 'Was he the same then or had he changed?'

Ribbons let Setsuna soak that in for a few seconds, then continued, eyes glowing gold, "That armed intervention was a field test for the 0 gundam. We were supposed to dispose of all witnesses to maintain secrecy. But on the spur of the moment, I decided to spare your life. It was because the way you stared at the 0 gundam, at me. And that's not all. Because of that, I decided to recommend you to Veda as a gundam meister."

Setsuna continued to soak in what he was being told. 'I was chosen because I fed this man's ego? That's the reason? Does he think that will get me to stop fighting? If he thinks I'll be swayed by that, he's wrong.' Setsuna sent a harsh glare at Ribbons, narrowing his eyes, "Do you think that I'll thank you?"

The innovator closed his eyes and smiled before reopening them, "Now that your services are no longer required, I thought it was about time to return that to me, seeing as I am its rightful pilot."

Setsuna stood there for a few seconds, slightly shaking in anger. 'He really thinks I would let him use the 00 Raiser to further corrupt the world? Not a chance.' He raised his gun at the green-haired man, yelling, "Sorry! But I refuse!" He was about to shoot when he heard a gunshot and suddenly felt immense pain in his right shoulder. He saw Ali al Saachez aiming his gun at him, red particles coming out the end of it. Setsuna fell to his knees, some blood hitting the 00 Raiser. Grunting in pain, he raised the hand to the level of the cockpit, getting into it. He activated the suit, right shoulder causing constant pain as he manipulated the controls, trying to get out of there.

He left the town, trying to gain distance. However, he quickly spotted the Arche gundam following him. 'Do I have to fight him in this condition? I hope the 00 Raiser can hold out.'

In the Arche gundam, Ali licked his lips at the prospect in front of him. 'Not only can I get the fight I wanted, but I can kill the Krugis punk and mess with Ribbons plan at the same time? It's like it's my birthday!'

With the Arios

After they had gotten the warning that they had two enemy suits approaching from two opposite directions late in the evening, the Seravee and Arios had been sent out to deal with them. The Arios shot towards the coast in jet mode, spotting the contact on his radar. Hallelujah spoke to Allelujah happily, "Finally, some actual combat! I was tired of sitting there not getting to kill." Allelujah rolled his eyes at the other personality's bloodlust. He would have to get used to that again.

In an even tone, he asked, "Can you help out a little in this battle?"

Hallelujah laughed, "You are asking someone who just came out of a coma for help?" He paused for a second before continuing, "Fortunately for you, I can help a little. Nothing great, but it should help you keep up with the enemy more, especially if it's one of those innovators."

Allelujah smirked, "Then let's go!" He located the enemy on the water, seeing it was the same type that Setsuna had fought. 'The bombardment type, huh? Too bad you'll never reach the ship!' As he dashed towards the enemy, he could feel the quantum brainwaves from Hallelujah boosting his abilities. 'I forgot how nice a feeling that was.' The enemy opened fire on him, trying to hit him with the large orange blast, as well as smaller blasts coming from the smaller barrels on the cannon. The super soldier dodged out of the way of the shots, owing to the Arios fight jet shape. Hallelujah spoke pridefully to Allelujah, "Is that really the best they got? I thought the innovators were supposed to be good?"

Allelujah replied to that, feeling good with the advantage he had, "We can outmaneuver them on Earth, so they are on the backfoot."

Allelujah waited for the right opportunity as he dodged around the blasts. The enemy was keeping up enough of a barrage that he had to focus on dodging. At last, he saw the opening he was looking for when he saw it shift the cannon to its left hand. He charged the suit, opening the shield on the Arios and grabbing the cannon, slicing it in half as he closed the shield back up. Allelujah called out to the enemy, "Not so tough now, innovator!"

He heard the enemy growl in response, pulling out its beam saber. Allelujah knew he wouldn't be able to pull that trick off again and pulled back for another run, knowing the enemy had reduced firepower. Now this fight was more even.

With the Seravee

As the Arios was dealing with one of the Innovators, Tieria was facing his own. He was in a similar position to the bombardment model suit fighting Allelujah, firing at the new model with the beam saber claws with little success. The new model was dodging and weaving out of the way of his shots, returning fire with its own wrist mounted blasters, forcing Tieria to use the GN field to block them. 'The Veda support for them is not making this easy!' The enemy suit called out with a deep, male voice, "You are an innovator!" Tieria gritted his teeth. 'I'm not like you bastards!'

The suit extended both sets of beam sabers, as it tried to get into melee range. The Seravee opened fire with its shoulder mounted canons, a purple blast narrowly missing the enemy. The suit took advantage of the missed shot, cutting off moist of the barrel of the weapons Tieria just fired, causing an explosion that rocked the gundam. The innovator called out again, the voice full of passion and anger, "Join us! We can carry out this mission together!"

It then raised its two arms, preparing to slice into the Seravee, but as the attack came down, it was intercepted by Tieria's own beam saber as he called out in response, "I refuse!" They clashed their blades for a second, before the new model broke it and proceeded to kick the Seravee, sending it falling onto the nearby beach. After the Seravee landed, Tieria thought, 'So much power. This is the power of the innovators. I need a plan. I can't hit it at range and its better in melee. I need some way to take advantage of the Seravee's strengths.'

Tieria took to the air again, re engaging the enemy with a new plan. He forced the suit back with more of his attacks, but his attempts didn't dissuade it from charging in again. The enemy once again talked to Tieria, his voice just as angry, "I'm not happy about destroying one of us, but I must carry my mission!" Tieria charged forward himself, GN field active. The new model combined its beam sabers into one large blade, thrusting it at the Seravee. At the last second, the GN field turned off, slicing off the right arm of the Seravee. The innovator was confused. 'Where did its GN field go?' The pilot didn't have time to react as the other arm grappled the new model and the hands in the knee joints of the Seravee grabbed the legs of the suit.

Tieria activated the trans-am and activated the second suit function of the Seravee. 'The firepower wasn't the only feature that was copied over to this.' The back part of the suit began to shift, the shoulder cannons turning into arms as other parts of the back forming the torso, leg and head of the new gundam. He floated away from the Seravee and turned to face the grappled enemy. The innovator called out in confusion, "What is that!?"

Tieria replied, voice full of confidence, "This isn't like with the Nadleeh. I do this of my own choosing! This is Seraphim gundam!" The innovator panicked, activating the GN field on his suit, surrounding it and the Seravee. Tieria calmly forced the Seraphim's hands through the barrier, breaching the other side.

The new model spoke again, panic obvious in his tone, "You're destroying you own kind!"

Tieria, with no mercy in his voice, replied, "I am a human being!" The hands shifted into blasters and aimed point blank at the enemy suit. He opened fire right at the cockpit of the enemy suit, causing it to explode into pieces, the explosion sending the Seravee flying. As the battle was over, Tieria realized he had just killed an innovator. He was certain that Ribbons would hate that. 'Good. I hope realize you aren't as invincible as you think.'

With the Arios

The two had been fighting on a more even front for a while when Allelujah noticed the enemy looking towards the direction of the other battle as it had stopped moving for a few seconds. Taking advantage of the enemy pause, he came in on another pass, slicing off the left arm with his shield claw. The enemy immediately pulled back in response to this, dashing away from the battlefield. Hallelujah yelled out to Allelujah, "We have them on the ropes! Go after them!"

Allelujah shook his head, "No, we have to protect the ship. Something must have happened in the other battle if they got that distracted." He then saw an order to return to the Ptolemy. Following the order, he began to head back, wondering what happened with Tieria.

With the 00

After realizing he wasn't going to outrun the Arche gundam, Setsuna resolved himself to fight, even with his shoulder wound. Flying lower to the ground, he opened fire on Ali, hoping to keep him at a distance. Most of his shots missed and the ones that hit didn't seem to be effective. Ali, knowing the wound was slowing him down, dodged under his blasts and clashed with Setsuna's blades. Setsuna felt the power of the strike, rippling through his body and leaving his shoulder in immense pain, causing Setsuna to yell out in agony. Ali grinned, gloating with bloodlust, "How is that shoulder of yours?"

He hit him a few more times with his blade, every hit jostling Setsuna's wound. The raven-haired pilot gritted his teeth, resisting succumbing to the pain. 'How much longer can I take this?' The Arche gundam pulled back from its assault, launching its fangs at the 00 Raiser. The 00 Raiser opened fire on the drones, destroying two of them while it dodged attacks from the rest of them. The Arche, seeing an opening, charged in again, one of the beam sabers on its feet activated. Setsuna dodged out of the way faster than normal, something in the back of his head guiding his dodge, and the beam saber passed over the head of the 00 Raiser. 'Where did that come from?' Reacting quickly after the dodge, he sliced off the foot that just swiped at him.

Ali looked on in curiosity and worry. 'How is he fighting so well with that shoulder?' The drones continued to fire on the 00 Raiser, him flying low to the ground as he dodged all the blasts being sent at him. Setsuna could feel the buildup of sweat on his face as he tried to keep track of the drones. 'There are so many of them!'

Ali examined the situation. It was clear the drones weren't hitting him and trying to be tricky wasn't going to work. 'It looks like my plan to destroy the suit isn't going to work. The punk has gotten better. Fine, I'll play Ribbons game plan for now.' He called back the drones, surprising Setsuna, before charging back into melee head on. He once again met Setsuna's blades with his own, hoping the blood loss from the wound would make it easier. He was surprised he had lasted this long. Ali focused his attacks on raw power over finesse. 'I still have the advantage in strength. If he wasn't standing in my way, I might have been impressed.' As the Arche and 00 Raiser fought in brutal melee combat, the 00 on the losing side, Setsuna could feel the mounting effect of his damaged shoulder. 'I'm sorry everyone. I don't know if I can make it out of this one.'

Just then, a memory flashed through Setsuna's mind. Feldt looked down for a second before giving him a determined look, "Setsuna, promise me you will come back after this battle. I need to…I need to talk with you." Energy traveled through Setsuna, revitalizing him. 'No, I can't think that. I made a promise. I owe it to her, to the rest of the crew. They need me!' Activating trans-am, the air filled with GN particles. He visualized where he wanted to be out of the way of the next strike from the mercenary, leaving Ali confused. He called out, "Where did you go you Krugis punk?" He was answered by suddenly being kicked from behind, sending him flying forwards. 'What is happening? Where did he go?'

He turned around to face the direction of where he was kicked from, but there was nothing there. The 00 Raiser suddenly appeared from the right side of the Arche, aiming for the cockpit. Ali managed to raise his sword just in time, but Setsuna's blade sliced right through it, narrowly missing the suit as Ali pulled back. The suit disappeared once again, frustrating the pilot of the Arche gundam. 'Did Ribbons leave this info out on purpose? He never said the suit could do this!' He didn't have much time to reflect on that as Ali saw the 00 teleport in front of him, slicing off the Arche's right arm with one blade and the knee of the right leg with the other sword.

Ali was panicking now. 'I have to get out of here. I didn't take into account the pure power of this suit.' As he was beginning to activate the escape pod, the 00 Raiser raised one of its swords aiming at the cockpit. Setsuna could feel the adrenaline flowing through him. 'Now's my chance to get rid of this monster! To have him pay for all the crimes he's committed!' Just as he was about to slash into the Arche, his shoulder flared up in immense pain, causing him to stop the attack mid swing. Ali, taking advantage of the situation, activated his pod and flew off, leaving Setsuna hovering in the air as the pain from his wound was becoming too much. He could see the blood that had soaked his suit as he had been fighting. 'Why now?! I almost had him!'

Despite being in immense pain, he saw two contacts on his sensors. Immediately assuming A-Laws, he aimed his guns in that direction before he noticed they were GN drive equipped units. 'It must be Katharon.' Relaxing, he lowered his weapons as the suits approached. A male voice echoed in his cockpit, "Are you ok 00? We saw you just stop as the enemy escaped. Katharon sent backup just in case you needed it."

In a pained voice, he replied, "Medic. Hurt."

The other suit replied in a concerned voice, "Alright, we'll guide you to our base. Just hold on and follow us." The adrenaline in his system was flooding out, leaving him with a feeling of exhaustion on top of the pain he already felt. He tried to fight both feelings until he landed, holding out for now.

Setsuna followed the two suits to a large hanger door in located in the middle of some canyons. As the door opened, he noticed the layout was similar to the other Katharon base they were at before. A crowd gathered around the gundam, looking up in amazement. Setsuna slowly exited the cockpit, lowering himself on the rope attachment in the gundam. He could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness from the wound. As he hit the ground, he saw Marina running towards him, worry etched in her face. Just as she reached him, he collapsed in her arms, pain and exhaustion finally overcoming him.

Marina called out for help, getting a few people to assist her getting him to the medical bay. She looked at Setsuna's wounded form. 'What happened to you?'

Author's Note Two

So here is where I guess I explain my view on how I portray Setsuna. As I rewatched the series, I just thought that Setsuna didn't have any personal goals or anything personal that he wanted. I don't have a problem with that and I enjoy his character a lot, but with me having him in an active romance, I felt that it was worth examining the mindset of someone who for the longest time had no personal, more selfish goals suddenly have to deal with the idea that he has to think about the future for himself and the person he likes. Also the first part was definitely inspired by Bruce Wayne from the Mask of the Phantasm movie in the DCAU. I wear my references obviously sometimes.

The Anew and Lyle scene was fun to write and I think an explicit reveal that he was a spy was something that could add to the twos interactions.

On another note, the Sumeragi and Feldt scene went on longer than expected, though I still am happy about it. Giving Sumeragi a mom moment just felt right. Also no song. Me and all my friends agreed it really was a stupid way to spare Ali. I hopefully found a good way for it to happen logically.

Thank you guys for reading and I hope you guys are excited for the next one.