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.

27. Rebirth

Author's Note One

Usual reminder about canon scenes

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Soma/Hallelujah speech"

Space around the Asteroid

The 00 flew out of the hanger it was in, course set to head to the Ptolemy. As it passed by a large hill, the Seraphim loomed in the distance, keeping the Veda machines shut down. Feldt's face popped up on Setsuna's display, sounding curious, "So that was the plan then? We helped unify the world to keep us from spreading war and violence into the stars?" Tieira had explained everything he knew about the plan to them, including the role of the innovades.

Setsuna nodded, frowning slightly, "Yes. And we were still expendable in that plan, in the worst case." He understood the logic of it, but it still bothered him that Aeolia had considered that an acceptable sacrifice. 'All those people would have died for a potential failed solution. Like what almost happened with us.'

Feldt gave him an understanding look, "It bothers me too. But he was the one who started it, he would have to think about things long term. I don't know if I could have. But where do we fit in? What is our role with our new powers? He never mentioned it."

Setsuna gave her a small smile, always finding it inspiring how empathetic she could be. He responded pensively, "Maybe we could-"

He was interrupted by an orange blast going through the Seraphim, blowing apart the machine. Setsuna and Feldt looked at the wreckage, shocked. Feldt looked around, searching for the origin of the blast. 'How could any innovade suit operate? The trial field is up!' She heard Setsuna call out, "Ribbons Almark!" Using her sensors, she saw a large mobile suit sitting on the asteroid, one of the four barrels on its chest mounted blaster trailing particles. The large mobile suit was red with yellow and white highlights, its faceplate with one digital eye under a helmet gripped into the ground with two large claws.

Ribbons responded condescendingly, "Some gratitude is in order. If it weren't for me, you two wouldn't have the powers that you do. And one of you isn't even fully awakened yet."

Setsuna replied, anger seeping into his tone, "You saved me, guided me and now you are saying you are god?"

Ribbons smirked in his cockpit, "That is exactly what I'm saying."

Feldt spoke out, her tone full of resolve, "Why do you want to rule humanity?"

"Because mankind will never be able to end its fighting and destroy itself. I will be its savior!" Both of them looked at the new suit, appalled. After all the crimes he committed, he thought that was peace?

Setsuna jumped in, anger building, "But you don't want to work with humanity? Try to understand us?"

Ribbons rolled his eyes, "It's like how humans watch over animals and use them for any purpose they see fit. And besides, if I can defeat two humans who have become pure-bred innovators, my worthiness will be undeniable!"

Setsuna scowled, Feldt feeling his frustration leaking into their link, "It's your ego that has twisted this world! Whatever world you are trying to create, I will destroy it!"

Ribbons smirked as he launched off the asteroid, happy to show how outmatched Setsuna actually was, "A fine determination! Feel the wrath of the Reborns Cannon!"

Setsuna charged the machine, blade raised. 'One more fight. One more and this is over!'

Bridge of the Ptolemy

Everyone but Marie, Billy, Allelujah and Lasse were on the bridge. Everyone was at a station, Anew back in the pilot seat with a space suit and uniform on. The exception was Lyle, who stood close to Anew and Billy, who felt out of place in this scenario. There was definitely an atmosphere of confusion, as the 00 had been heading to the ship before the Seraphim had been destroyed, but now wasn't.

Saji was caught by surprise when he saw a notification on his console. Reading it, he knew he had to report it to Sumeragi. He called out to the tactical forecaster, "Ms. Sumeragi, I just got a message from Veda!"

Sumeragi looked at him in surprise, floating over to his station, "Veda?" 'Why would Veda be contacting us? Is this Tieria?'

"It says a new machine unsupported by Veda is engaging the 00."

Sumeragi replied, worried, "What kind of new machine?"

Their conversation was interrupted by Lasse barging into the bridge, "Get the Ptolemy moving!"

Everyone looked at him in shock and happiness. The tactical forecaster looked at him with wonder, "Lasse! You're unharmed!" 'I wasn't sure how much longer he had, but he looks much healthier now.'

Lasse nodded at her, "Yeah, somehow." 'It must have been those waves, but what were they?' He glared at Billy, not knowing who he was but suspecting he worked for Ribbons, but Sumeragi stepped closer to the man, silently asking her to trust him. Lasse sighed and headed to the gunner seat, "We'll back Setsuna up." He looked over at Anew, who seemed a bit awkward. Lasse gave her a nod, which she responded back with one of her own.

Sumeragi nodded at that idea and yelled out an order over the comms, "Ian, prepare to open fire!" Ian and Linda responded affirmatively. Lastly, she looked at Lyle, "I need you to launch and back up the 00. We know at least one enemy mobile was still out there."

Lyle gave her a grin, "Roger that!" As he started to move, Anew looked at him, worried, "Please be careful."

He looked at her with a soft smile, leaning over her, "Don't worry. I'll make it back. Wouldn't want to worry a pretty lady." Without thinking, she floated up slightly, giving him a peck on the lips, whispering, "For luck." He looked at her surprised, blushing slightly. Realizing she did that in front of the crew without thinking, she turned and focused on her display, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Lyle then grinned and left the bridge, feeling ready for anything the innovators threw at him.

The rest of the crew looked at the interaction with a smile. While many of the crew were unsure about which side she stood on, that was a good sign it was on theirs. It was a small, happy moment in this rough day they had been having. Refocusing on the task, the ship launched from the hanger, the Cheridum speeding ahead of the ship.

With the 00

The 00 dodged the blasts that were coming in heavy at it. Setsuna was having a hard time getting closer to the Reborn, but so far it was unable to hit him. One thing that made him nervous was it had an attached blaster with the firepower of the Gadessa. He called out to Feldt, "How long till trans-am?"

She replied evenly, "Two minutes." Setsuna swore under his breath. 'Shit. Looks like I need to get close then.' He saw out of the corner of his eye one of the claws launching at him, electric wires launching of the hand. Setsuna avoided the attack, slicing through the wires that were launched at the 00 Raiser. Keeping his momentum, he pushed forward, hoping this suit wasn't very capable in melee combat.

As he reached the Reborn, he aimed for the chest, sword point like a lance. The machine then drew a beam saber with surprising speed, knocking the 00 into the asteroid below with a loud crash. Setsuna and Feldt looked up in confusion, their thoughts the same. 'What kind of power does this suit have?'

This surprise was then compounded on when the Reborn began to shift, its various parts moving into a new place and a new head rising up as the old one lowered into the frame of the suit. Both of the 00 Raiser meisters looked in shock. Feldt spoke worryingly, "Is that…"

Her question was answered when the machine rotated to face them, looking like a gundam. Even more than that, it was obvious that the machine had two drives powering it. Setsuna let out the breath that he had been holding in. 'Is that what he did with the data he stole? Make his own twin drive system suit?'

Ribbons spoke confidently, "I hope you weren't expecting you were the only one with a twin drive system." Ribbons watched as the 00 Raiser charged back towards him, smiling to himself, "This is the machine! The gundam that will guide humanity!" He met the 00 Raisers charge, the two clashing blades as Ribbons began to push back the 00 slightly. Setsuna grit his teeth as he felt the 00's inability to push back against the Reborn. He broke the clash, getting some distance between them, trying to rethink his strategy.

The Reborn did not allow him to do that, firing at him with the back cannons, forcing Setsuna to focus on dodging the attacks. He spoke through gritted teeth to Feldt, "I need you to look for weaknesses. Anything we can use!"

Feldt nodded, her own frustration and anger at Ribbons beginning to grow, "Got it! Just keep us alive!"

Ribbons took advantage of their delayed action, firing his powerful blaster at the 00, catching its leg in the blast. Setsuna glared at the machine, but knew he was on the backfoot and needed to regroup. 'I need some breathing room!'

Setsuna was forced to stay on the move as Ribbons fired the back cannons at the 00, getting uncomfortably close to hitting it. As the attacks continued, Ribbons called out to the 00 in a smug tone, "What? Can't fight me up close?"

Feldt replied angrily, "You stay quiet!"

"Ah, Feldt Grace. It's a shame you are going to die like your parents, fighting pointlessly and stupidly." Anger flowed through her veins. 'How dare you! They were heroes!'

"You do not insult their memory!" 'How does he know my parents? Was he responsible for their deaths?'

Ribbons smirked, enjoying her frustration, "Well I would tell you what happened, but you won't live long enough to learn." She fired at him with the shoulder blasters as Setsuna charged the machine, Ribbons dodging easily, slicing off the tip of the right wing.

Feldt kept her focus on the innovade's suit, gripping her controls tight. In Feldt's anger and focus on Ribbons, she failed to notice a large orange blast coming to the side of them. Setsuna, sensing something coming, dodged just in time, calling out to Feldt, "Don't let him get in your head! Stay calm and focused. Don't let you anger control you." She could hear that he was angry as well but was not blinded by it. She took a deep breath, refocusing herself. 'He's right. I can't let him get to me!' Looking at the sensors, she spotted a trail of GN particles approaching them.

In a more controlled tone, she reported to Setsuna, "It's the Gadessa." Setsuna scowled. 'On top of our issues with Ribbons, we have to deal with another suit?' Caught between the two suits, Setsuna was kept on the defensive, dodging blast after blast that came their way. He desperately wanted to strike against the two suits, but when he tried to advance on one, the other would force him to peel away from that attack.

He was curious when he saw an armor bit blocked one of the attacks from the Gadessa, getting destroyed in the process. The 00 Raiser's sensors showed the Cheridum approaching them, opening fire on the Gadessa. Lyle opened communications with the 00 and 0 Raiser, casually smiling, "You handle Ribbons. I'll handle the Gadessa!" Both the pilots nodded at him, ending the communication.

Setsuna gave Feldt a determined look, "Let's end this!" Feldt nodded, matching his expression.

With the Cheridum

The Cheridum and the Gadessa traded fire, Lyle noticing the innovade was less accurate without Veda support. He smirked. 'Looks like they aren't as good as they say they are.' Revive's frustration was mounting, seeing the gundam dodge all of his attacks. He called out to the Cheridum, frustration apparent, "I see my twin is alive! Don't worry about her! After I'm done with you, she won't remember a single thing about any of you!" Lyle grit his teeth but kept calm. 'They are only desperate. They want you off balance so they can win.'

He responded casually, "Well based on your aim, it looks like you innovades aren't exactly as good as you say you are!" Revive growled at that, aiming his wrist blaster at the Cheridum, destroying the sniper rifle. Lyle pulled back, firing at the Gadessa, but found himself unable to hit the agile mobile suit. Lyle drew out his pistols, keeping up fire as the two maintained their dogfight away from the other fight, pink and orange blasts traveling through space.

It changed a little when the Cheridum's right arm got caught in the large blast from the Gadessa, But the left blaster landed several shots on the Gadessa's cannon, destroying it. Both of them pulled back, reconsidering their options. Lyle looked at his trans-am meter. '30 seconds. Gotta make it count.' Then the two entered combat, charging at each other as they poured fire on the other mobile suit. The Cheridum managed to destroy one of the legs of the Gadessa, but that came at the cost of a severely damaged head. Both of the suits began to spark, the damage adding up.

Revive could hear Anew's voice in his head, "Stop fighting, Revive! It doesn't have to be this way!"

The Gadessa pilot raged, "I will kill your pet human then bring you back! You won't ever see or remember a single one of them again!" He shut the connection, not needing that distraction. 'Ribbons will beat the 00 Raiser and I'll beat the Cheridum. Then no one will be left to oppose us!' Drawing out his beam saber, he charged towards the Cheridum, seeing he had the advantage in melee.

Lyle looked at the damage to his suit and knew he couldn't trade like this. 'I have an idea, but it's risky.' He could see the Gadessa was charging towards him, beam saber activated. Instead of his usual tactic of dodging, he floated there, firing at the Gadessa. Revive grinned. 'What an idiot! Did he think that would work?' He aimed his sword at the cockpit, going for the killing blow.

But just as the Gadessa was about to stab the cockpit, the Cheridum turned red, dodging behind the Gadessa. Revive's eyes widened, knowing he made a catastrophic error, "No! I can't die! Not like this!" Lyle responded to that by opening fire, the shots punching through the armor over and over again till the blasts went right through the cockpit, causing the suit to begin sparking violently. Lyle flew away from the suit, running out the last of the trans-am as he escaped the blast zone of the exploding suit.

Taking a deep breath and letting the adrenaline in his system rush out, he grinned at his success. 'You were the one that almost cost me Anew. Who caused all that to happen.' He shoved that thought away, knowing that was what cost Neil his life. He then saw the blasts coming from the 00 Raisers battle as well as a smoke cloud. He began to travel to assist Setsuna and Feldt, but a communication appeared on his display, showing Sumeragi, "Lyle, I need you to check on the 00 Raiser. We are launching the Exia, but Feldt will need a ride back to the ship." He then saw a signal showing the Exia's reactor on his display.

He nodded at that, "Understood." The communication closed, leaving him a ride he knew would take a little more than a few minutes. 'I wonder what happened with the 00 Raiser?'

With the 00

As the Cheridum pulled away the Gadessa, Ribbons scowled in annoyance. 'Not that I needed him, but the 00 Raiser is still active.' He shook his head. 'No, I can handle him. Revive will have to answer some questions after this is over, however.' He launched a few drones from his left arm, calling out to the 00, "Your little friend won't be any help. He has only hastened his demise."

The drones began to swarm around the 00, forcing Setsuna to keep dodging as Feldt returned fire at the drones, destroying two of them. Ribbons then began to open fire with his own blaster, adding more pressure on the 00 to avoid getting hit. Setsuna sliced through the last drones with the sword and turned to face the Reborn. Ribbons spoke evenly, "That was fairly impressive. It seems innovators can work well as a team. Too bad I don't need one."

Shots began to come from behind him as the Ptolemy rained energy blasts at the Reborn. Ribbons looked at the ship, annoyed, "Enough of that!" He aimed him blaster at the engines of the Ptolemy and unleashed the large orange energy blast, devastating them. Feldt looked on with worry about the crew while Setsuna focus his fury. 'I can't let them take another hit like that!' Just as he was about to charge, GN-infused smoke began to billow out of the Ptolemy, surrounding the two mobile suits. Setsuna smirked. 'Thank you, Sumeragi!' He called out to Feldt, "We finish this!" Feldt could sense his confidence through their bond and gave him a smirk of her own.

The 00 Raiser charged the Reborn, blade forward. As Setsuna was getting close, the reborn, which had been firing shots at where it thought the Ptolemy was, turned to face him, sending drones to stop the 00 Raiser. Feldt managed to get all but one, which pierced the left arm of the 00, blowing the arm up as the drone detonated. However, that did not stop Setsuna, who slashed at the Reborn as he got in melee distance. Ribbons brought his shield to block the blow, but unlike before, the 00 Raiser seemed to have the advantage. 'How can it have so much power! Is it the suit or him?'

Setsuna broke through the block quickly, slicing through the right arm of the reborn, leaving only the left arm with the beam saber. He shot off into the smoke cloud to pull back for another attack. The smoke began to clear around the Reborn, Ribbons spotting the 00 charging him once again. He met Setsuna's blade with his own, sparks flying as the two suits were evenly matched this time. Ribbons spoke to Setsuna and Feldt, his voice full of frustration, "That power of yours, you two only have that because you have the original GN Drives!" He kicked away the 00, "I want them back!" He sent out a massive blast of energy, hoping to catch the 00, but the suit dodged out of the way.

Setsuna replied angrily as Feldt began to fire back at him, "Never!" The two suits fired at one another, neither able to hit the other. Ribbons voice took a manic tone, "Those drives are mine! Otherwise, what was the point of my creation? What meaning would my existence have?"

Suddenly Tieria's voice appeared in Ribbons head, the green-haired innovades eyes glowing gold, "You're wrong."

Ribbons looked around for a second, confused, "Tieria Erde? You're using Veda?"

Tieria continued, "We are not here to guide humanity. We are here to create a future together with mankind." Ribbons was forced to dodge attacks from the 00 as he talked with Tieria, losing the shield on his right arm in the process, "That was the path that the innovades were meant to take."

Ribbons replied angrily, "Together!? With inferior humans!?" He felt an impact on his suit as the 00 kicked the reborn, sending it flying back then raining blasts down on it, destroying a leg and two of the blasters on the back. Setsuna and Feldt could feel their bond adding to the combat prowess of the suit.

Tieria continued to talk down to Ribbons, "As long as you keep looking down on them, you'll never understand them!"

Ribbons, frustrated by this battle and being told he had to treat humans like equals, snapped at Tieria, "I don't want to understand them!" He activated trans-am, plowing toward the 00 Raiser. Setsuna matched him, seeing there was a minute and a half on his trans-am. The two suits began maneuver and fire on one another, both suits having a hard time hitting each other. The first blow that hit was from the back cannon on the Reborn, which destroyed the head of the 00. The drone that was meant to follow up that attack just phased through the 00 Raiser as it teleported, leaving only GN particles like a ghost behind. Setsuna teleported behind the Reborn, slicing through the machine's legs as he let out a battle cry.

Ribbons, reacting on instinct, sliced his beam saber around, slicing off the left shoulder of the 00. The trans-am began to fade on both the machines. An explosion of both true and pseudo GN particles then went off, leaving the area covered in GN-infused smoke as the two suits were launched by the explosion, both Feldt and Setsuna getting knocked unconscious by the blast.

With the Remains of the 00

Setsuna opened his eyes, blinking as he looked out into space in front of him. He called out to Feldt in a panic but didn't hear her respond. 'Please be ok! Please be ok!' He focused his mind, checking to make sure she was ok. Sensing the link was intact and she seemed ok, he relaxed.

Remembering the explosion, he looked at the damage the suit had taken. He frowned seeing the damage report. They were down one leg, the head and the whole left arm was gone, the reactor with it. They had the emergency power, but that wouldn't last long, maybe get them back to the ship at best. 'Damnit! Ribbons must have the 0 Gundam's drive. But how can we fight him? There are no other…' His thoughts trailed off as he saw an approaching mobile suit. Looking at the sensors, he saw something he didn't expect.

The Exia moved through space, getting stopped by the 00 as Setsuna put out the remaining hand. He looked at it with awe. 'My old suit! Did they fix it?' As he was caught up in looking at the Exia, he didn't notice that Feldt had woken up.

She let out a grunt as her body felt sore from the explosion. She was about to check on Setsuna and ask what was going on, but her mouth went dry and tears began forming when she saw the Exia on her damaged sensors, realizing what this was for. 'No! No! Please no! I can't lose him!' She opened up the comms, looking at Setsuna with tears streaming down her face, "Please Setsuna! Let's go back to the ship! You don't have to do this!"

Setsuna looked at her, regret readily apparent, "Feldt, you know someone has to fight Ribbons."

"We can wait for the other suits to be repaired! We can…" She felt extreme regret and apology on their link, causing her tears to come on thicker. She could see a tear go down Setsuna's cheek. Her voice cracked, "Please…I love you so much Setsuna! I…I can't lose you! Not like my parents! Not like Chris! Not like Neil! I don't want to write a letter for you!" She began to sob, looking away from Setsuna.

Setsuna, sensing the immense grief and fear from her, moved out of his cockpit to the cockpit of the 0 Raiser, knocking on the glass. Feldt looked up, eyes red from the tears, hearing the impact on glass. She opened up her cockpit as Setsuna got out of the way. She made a beeline for Setsuna, wrapping her arms around him, forcing the Krugis man to grab onto the suit so they didn't get launched into space. He wrapped his free arm around her. He could hear her sobs as she put her helmet onto his chest, letting out all her fear and grief. Knowing that they were secure, he let go of the suit, putting that hand on the bottom of her helmet, lifting her head to look at him.

Sending an intense amount of love through their bond, he spoke resolutely, "I love you Feldt. I will never willingly abandon you. I will come back to you." He put his helmet against hers, voice soothing, "Just one more battle and we won't have to fight anymore. We can have the peaceful future we want."

Feldt could sense the resolve and sincerity behind his word, looking into his brown-red eyes. Her tears began to slow down somewhat and her voice was shaky, "But last time…it took you…"

"It won't be five years. We have the ship and gundams intact. We don't need to operate in secret to find each other. Just trust in me and our bond. You will be able to find me." He looked at her, begging, "I need you to help install the drive. I can't do it without you."

Against her selfish wish, she nodded, "Ok. Just don't leave me alone. I don't know if I can handle that, not after all we've been through." He nodded, confirming her request. The two then began the process of removing the drive and inserting it in the Exia. The process took a few minutes, in which time Feldt secured a degree of control over her raging emotions but still felt like they could come out at any time. 'I don't know what I'll do if he dies.' As the drive was inserted, it fully connected and sync'd to the gundam, they saw an approaching trail of green GN particles.

The Cheridum closed in on the suit, seeing the drive sync with the Exia. Lyle called out to the two, "Nice to see two. Looks like you need help." He sighed seeing Setsuna enter the cockpit of the Exia, its eyes lighting up. Setsuna spoke through the Exia's comms, trying to hide the regret having to send Feldt away, "Take her back to the ship. I'm hunting Ribbons down." He quickly shot off, not looking back, knowing it would just weaken his resolve. Lyle could see the anguish Feldt was going through. 'I should probably ease up on the commentary.'

The Cheridum put out its remaining hand, Lyle's voice gentle, "C'mon Feldt, let's get back to the ship." Feldt complied silently, too focused on keeping herself from crying.

Hanger of the Ptolemy

As Setsuna looked for Ribbons, Lyle made his way into the hanger of the Ptolemy. The Cheridum wasn't steady but maintained its balance as it was lowered down the elevator. He could see that Anew and Sumeragi were waiting for them, helmets lowered, and for once, a not annoyed Ian at seeing a severely damaged gundam. The suit was put in its spot and he saw Feldt launch off the hand and Sumeragi brought her into an embrace, Lyle seeing tears begin to fall from the pink-haired girl. 'It's hard not to feel bad for her. Even Setsuna didn't seem happy about having to hunt Ribbons.'

The two women exited the hanger, leaving Anew focused on the suit. Lyle exited the hatch of the gundam, floating towards anew. As he landed in front of her, taking off his helmet, he casually said, "Hey babe, I got-"

He felt Anew's hand smack his face, leaving a solid red hang print where it hit. He looked at her confused, "What was that for? I got Revive then I rescued Feldt."

Anew glared at him, "When Revive was about to stab you, I thought you were going to die!"

Lyle put his hands up defensively, "I had to draw him in! Make sure he couldn't dodge out of the way of my attacks."

She continued to glare, her tone picking up anger, "Did you think about how I felt?! How it looked?!"

Lyle spluttered, "Well…I…I didn't-" He was interrupted by Anew giving him a searing kiss, one he quickly found himself kissing her back with just as much fervor. The kiss broke after several seconds, both of them blushing and Lyle still confused. He tilted his head slightly, "Now I'm even more confused."

Anew pulled him in tight, wrapping her arms around him, anger leaving her voice, "I'm just happy you survived. I was so worried during your battle with Revive."

Lyle let out a breath, "I'm sorry for scaring you so much. I probably could have done a better plan. I promise not to do that again."

Anew smiled slightly, "I don't believe you."

Lyle mock pouted, "Hey, it was a moment. I'm allowed an exaggeration or two." Anew rolled her eyes and pecked him on the lips, showing her anger was all but gone.

Anew pointed towards the elevator, "Come on. Let's head to the bridge."

With the Exia

Setsuna scanned the area as he traveled around the asteroid, searching for Ribbons. 'C'mon you bastard! Where are you? The faster I kill you, the sooner I get back to the woman I love.' It hurt him more than anything to have to risk his life, with Feldt knowing she couldn't do anything to help him. She had told him before how much she hated not being able to help Christina, Lichty and Neil five years ago, and how much she hated worrying about him when they were separated on earth. 'And now I'm forced to do it to stop Ribbons.' He saw on his sensors a signature had appeared, showing a GN Drive nearby. 'There you are!'

He dashed towards the contact, getting a visual on the 0 Gundam with the GN drive in it, floating behind a hill on the asteroid. 'I never thought I would have to face the suit that saved my life from so long ago. But Ribbons is no savior of humanity.' Setsuna charged the machine, GN blade pointed and aimed at the 0 Gundam. This was not the time for words. Nothing he could say to Ribbons would affect him and vice versa. Only actions mattered now. He let out a battlecry as Ribbons turned to face him, firing the blaster on the gundam. Ribbons smirked at the irony. 'Here is the little boy facing the god that saved him. It would be funny if wasn't so deadly.' Setsuna dodged and weaved through the blasts, colliding with the 0 Gundam, bringing it crashing down onto the surface of the asteroid. Ribbons knocked him back, shooting at the Exia as he tried to keep a distance from Setsuna.

Setsuna, seeing that they were equally fast, switched his sword to blaster mode, aiming and hitting the blaster out of Ribbons's hand. Ribbons growled, stopping and counter-charging the Exia, throwing a punch at the mobile suit, hitting it in the head. Setsuna was stunned for half a second, before grabbing the arm of the 0 Gundam as it was throwing another punch and tossing it over the Exia's head onto the asteroid. Seeing it crashing onto the ground, Setsuna pulled out a beam saber, aiming it at the cockpit. Ribbons dodged just in time, the saber shearing the front of the cockpit away, giving Ribbons a clear view of the Exia as it landed in front of him.

Ribbons pulled out his own beam saber, slashing down at the Exia as it pulled back slightly, landing a horizontal slash across the front of the Exia's cockpit. Setsuna could feel the heat as it passed by, causing him to sweat a little. Setsuna stabilized himself, seeing his cockpit's screens were non-functional due to Ribbons cutting through the front of his cockpit. He looked out on the 0 Gundam across from him, glaring at the innovade. Setsuna raised the GN blade, pointing it at the being who created his corrupt government. Ribbons threw away his shield, holding the beam saber in two hands.

The two men stood there for several seconds, waiting for the other to move first. Setsuna let out several bated breaths before he charged forward, blade aimed at the cockpit. After several steps, he saw Ribbons countercharge him, his blade aimed similarly. As the two suits met, Setsuna felt his blade pierce right through the cockpit and into the drive. It took him a second to feel the heat of the beam saber right above his head, piercing into his own drive. 'I got you, Ribbons Almark.'

Both drives then blew out, exploding, sending both the suits flying. The 0 Gundam flew into the asteroid and the Exia launched into space. Pain erupted through Setsuna, the concussive force of the explosion hitting him. Breathing became harder and with every breath, there was only pain. His ears were also ringing. His eyes began to slowly close from the pain and exhaustion hitting him. He reached out in the direction of the ship, sending Feldt a wave of apology. 'Feldt…' His eyes closed and the Exia continued to travel into space, nothing guiding it.

Medical Bay of the Ptolemy

Setsuna slowly opened his eyes as he came to, looking around the room, seeing the back wall of the medical bay on the Ptolemy. He could still feel pain flowing through his body, which was added to when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and voluminous pink hair obscured his vision as he lay on the medical bed. His heart raced seeing the tear-soaked face of Feldt look at him in the eyes. Without thinking, he said, "I'm sorry." Guilt rushed through him, knowing he caused Feldt to feel this way.

She buried her face into his neck as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He could feel the tension release from her body, fear and panic being replaced by relief and happiness in their bond. She sounded like she wanted to cry, but he couldn't feel the tears. He turned his head slightly, seeing everyone but Sumeragi, who was in the medical bay, looking at him from the window. What surprised him the most was Anew was standing there, looking worried.

Lyle, seeing Setsuna was awake, called out the group, "Let's give them some privacy." Everyone nodded, moving away from the medical bay. That left only Feldt and Sumeragi in the medical bay, the former right next to him.

Feldt raised her head to look down at him, sounding drained, "I thought you were…you were…"

Setsuna brought his right hand to her cheek, "I'm so sorry I made you worry so much. I won't do it again." He looked at Sumeragi, "How did you find me?"

Sumeragi shook her head, also sounding tired, "It wasn't me." She pointed at Feldt, "It was her."

Setsuna turned to face the pink-haired woman, curious. She let go of him, moving to a chair right next to the bed. She put one hand on her lap, and the other intertwined the free hand with Setsuna's right hand, "Well, when I saw the Exia disappear…"

Feldt looked in horror as the Exia disappeared off the sensors along with the 0 Gundam. 'No! No! He promised!' The rest of the crew looked with varying degrees of horror and fear at seeing Setsuna's suit getting destroyed. People began to look at Feldt, her face going blank. She had been through so much and she didn't have any tears anymore. Her mind was a jumble, fear and desperation taking over. The man she loved had just disappeared off their sensors and they had no other way to track him. How could she find him? How could they find him? 'Wait, I can track him. He said trust in our bond, right?' She pulled on their link, trying find where he was. 'Please work!'

Her eyes began to glow a dull gold, the crew looking on her with amazement and confusion. The only ones who could tell what was going on was Anew and the super soldiers, as they could sense the quantum brainwaves Feldt was sending out. Allelujah and Marie were confused as to how she could do this, but Anew smiled, knowing what was going on. 'So, there are two pure-bred types. Ribbons must have hated that.'

She focused her mind, remembering his essence. All the memories of the two of them. Everything she wanted with him for the future. It took her a minute, but she felt a twinkle of life on Setsuna's end of the bond. A tear came to her eye. 'It worked!' It didn't tell her where he was, but she could follow the trail. She looked at Sumeragi, determined, "I know where he is! I'm taking the Gun Archer!"

Sumeragi was about to weakly reply, knowing how desperate Feldt was, but she was interrupted by Marie nodding at Feldt, knowing she would do the same if this was Allelujah. Sumeragi watched as the newly born innovator rushed out the bridge, focused on one thing. Her boyfriend.

Setsuna smiled at the story, squeezing their linked hands. Sumeragi smiled at the couple, happy Feldt didn't have to go through the same thing she did. Feldt dipped down to lightly give Setsuna a chaste kiss on the lips, Setsuna kissing her back. Setsuna began to speak, but Feldt interrupted him, "You don't need to apologize again. I know you had to and you came back. We can talk later. Right now, I just want to stay close to you." Setsuna tried to sit up, but pain ripped through him, his entire body sore, especially his core. 'I must have broken a few ribs in that explosion.' He laid back down, feeling slightly better in that position.

Sumeragi looked at Feldt, sounding relaxed for the first time since the start of the battle, "Feldt, keep an eye on your boyfriend. Anew will need to look him over later, but you two need some private time." She winked at the couple, "No funny business."

Feldt blushed, "Understood." Sumeragi walked out of the medbay, leaving the couple to enjoy a moment of peace. She could see Feldt curling up next to him, being gentle. 'We finally won.'

Author Note Two

And there we go. The end of Ribbons and the canon content. It's been so long, but we finally reached it. Only two chapters left, but combat is all done. I hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the conclusion and epilogue!

Thanks to everyone who read the story and to those that followed, favorited, kudos and reviewed this story! See you guys next chapter!

PS: I have a fanfic I want to recommend to all you guys. It's done by someone I know and it also is about Anew surviving instead of dying. Please check it out! It's called Renewing Trust by GaiaBlitz