Entry 17: Striving for a Better Tomorrow


Down the streets of Tokyo city, Usami Sumireko ran as fast as she could while carrying two young girls. Exhaustion threatened to take over her being, but she pressed on regardless.

"Aunty Sumi," the brown haired girl in her arms spoke quietly, "are we safe yet?"

"Not just yet, Renko-chan," she puffed. "Not just yet. Just... keep Maribel-chan close, alright?"

The second girl in Sumireko's arms, a blonde haired child in purple, quivered greatly. The scent of smoke filled the air, and explosions rocked the ground in which Sumireko stood on. "I... I's scared," Maribel Hearn whispered.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, Mary-chan," Sumireko consoled gently. "Remember who's protecting you? The head of the Sealing Club, who's psychic powers can silence the terrors of the night!" It was half-arsed at best, and she had to change her usual catchphrase on the fly, but at least it calmed Maribel down a little.

Something landed behind them, hard. Sumireko looked over her shoulder hesitantly, to see an 18 meter tall white-and-blue machine with jet wings on its back. A GAT-04 Windam equipped with a Jet Striker pack.

"Oh, crapbasket!" Sumireko cursed. The Windam aimed its beam rifle, and fired. Sumireko, quick on her feet, took off to the skies, avoiding the blast. With her hands full as they were, she had limited options for fighting back, save for a few small psychokinetic tricks. A major downside of powers like that was that they still required the usage of hands to maximise effectiveness.

Concentrating her mind, Sumireko managed to rip a streetlight out of the ground, and launch it towards the mecha. It grazed against its wing, but ultimately missed. The Windam fired again, and though it missed still, the sudden turn Sumireko had to take caused her to fall to the ground.

It was a rough landing, but she had to protect the two kids from the brunt of the impact. Forcing herself upright again, Sumireko held Renko and Maribel close as the Windam stomped towards them.

"Damn it," Sumireko cursed quietly, before screaming skywards. "Reimu! Where the hell are you?!"

A sound carried on the wind. A sound like a giant missile soaring through the air.

"Blazing..." a voice shouted over it all, catching the attention of both Sumireko and the Windam.

Then, a burning yellow comet struck the Mobile Suit with the force of a tank shell. "...STAR!"

The Windam shot back at speeds impossible for a machine of its specs to reach on its own, crashing through two buildings and into a third. Sumireko watched in awe as the comet gently floated down to the ground, revealing a black and white witch in its glow.

"Trailing through on wings of starlight!" the witch boasted loudly. "Raging against injustice with the burning heat of a love-coloured spark! Ordinary Magician Kirisame Marisa, arriving on scene ahead of time!"

It was a scene straight off the TV. A heroic entrance to end all heroic entrances. Sumireko would not deny that she teared up at the sight.

"Ma... Marisa-san!" she called out.

Marisa turned around, and gave a confident smile. "Yo, Sumi! Been a hot minute," she greeted. "Got your message, by the way."

"You did?!" she exclaimed. "Oh, thank God. There's hope yet!"

Marisa chuckled, then noticed the two kids. "So, who're the little ones?"

Sumireko quickly regained her composure. "This one is Renko, my niece," she said, hefting the brown haired girl. "And this one is Maribel, her friend," she lifted the blonde haired girl. "Been trying to keep them safe from all the sh... stuff that's going down."

"Well, ya've done a fine job on that," Marisa said. "So, how bad is it?"

"Pretty bad, but according to the news, it's all being localised here in Tokyo," Sumireko replied. "Why the heck are freaking Gundams dropping in? It makes no sense."

"Lunarian invasion," Marisa answered. "They invaded another dimension, stole a bunch of tech, and from the looks of it, are now turning their attention here."

Sumireko gave a surprised look. "How... do you know this?"

"We've got allies," Marisa said. Then, two more Windam's landed around them. "Well, rude of 'em to interrupt us," she muttered, before tapping the earpiece she was wearing. "Yo! You guys got these two?"

Almost immediately, a dark giant shot down from the sky, shoulder-checking one of the Windam's, before turning to the other and, to Sumireko's surprise, shot it with laser eyes.

Usami Sumireko could not make this shit up, even if she tried.

"Apologies for the delay," spoke the voice from within Hisoutensoku. "Traffic in the skies was hell."

"Ain't no problem, Zala," Marisa responded. "Sumi, meet Athrun Zalam; one of the backup guys I was talking about."

"Athrun... Zala. I know that name," Sumireko muttered. "Isn't that the name of one of the main characters of Gundam SEED?"

"Trust me, it's weird for us too," Athrun responded. His radar began to beep, indicating approaching enemies. "Ground forces heading this way. Marisa, get those three out of here!"

"On it, bud!" Marisa replied, mounting her broom. "A'ight, you three; hop on!"

Sumireko got on the broom behind Marisa, and made a valiant attempt to hold on to both Maribel and Renko, while also keeping a grip on Marisa as they took off.

From around the street corner, three green Mobile Suits that looked not too unlike the GINNs Athrun was familiar with stomped in. "Those must be those ZAKUs Sanae was telling us about," he muttered. Pressing a button, he opened a comms channel with them. "Before we take this fight any further, I have just one thing to ask you."

The radio buzzed, and a connection was made with one of the pilots. "Then ask your question," responded a woman who sounded slightly older than him. On the screen, he saw what was unmistakably a Lunar Rabbit.

"Are you fighting this war against your will, or are you loyal to your leaders?" Athrun asked. "Your answer may affect how badly I beat you down."

"So, you've met with Sagume-sama's forces, then?" the Rabbit asked. "Unfortunately for you, while we don't exactly care much for this war, we believe in Yorihime-sama and Toyohime-sama. Our orders were that we were to only kill that Usami girl; the rest of you Earthlings could be spared to the best of our abilities."

"That so?" Athrun muttered. "Hisoutensoku to Archangel, did you get all that?"

"Ten-four, Zala," responded Himekaidou Hatate over the comms. "Information is now being relayed to the other pilots."

"Copy. Over and out," Athrun switched off the link to the Archangel, and turned back to the Lunar Rabbit. "Well, guess that just means we're giving it 110% today."

"What are you on about?" the Rabbit asked.

"Like you, we've orders to spare as many of you as we can," Athrun explained. "If there was something to save you from, that would have made our job very easy. But, considering your fighting under your own will, and not because of a Slave Collar... well, you get where I'm coming from."

The ZAKU aimed its rifle. "Yeah, I do," its pilot said. "Let's see if you can back up your talk, human."

The Hisoutensoku took on a fighting stance. "Gladly!" Athrun shouted, before charging forward.


Not all Lunar Rabbits had a Mobile Suit; not for a lack of supply, mind you, but more for a sense of pride and efficiency. After all, an 18 meter tall robot couldn't effectively clear out a building without knocking it over.

Four Lunar Rabbits crept through the foyer of the large hotel, where several civilians had taken shelter. Armed with little more than bayonet-affixed rifles, the four checked every logical corner they could.

They were not prepared, however, for three figures to drop on them from the ceiling corners.

They barely had time to react before a green haired Shrine Maiden, a violet haired Rabbit, and a Yamawaro, knocked them all out.

"Well, that was easy enough," Takane commented. "Do all Lunar Rabbits have that bad training?"

"Regretfully, yes," Reisen replied. "On the Moon, we treated our training like a sort of playtime."

"A military in looks only," Sanae said. "The kind that looks good on paper, but doesn't hold up in actual combat."

"Pretty much," Reisen nodded. "For now, though, we should focus on clearing out more areas." She tapped her earpiece. "Reisen to CIC, where's our next target?"

"CIC reads you, Reisen-san," came the voice of Hieda no Akyuu. "Two city blocks from you is a campsite set up by the Lunarian forces, where they're keeping roughly twenty humans. There are approximately thirty foot-soldiers and precisely five Mobile Suits, comprised of two ZAKUs, two Daggers, and a Windam. Yzak-san and Dearka-san have been sent ahead to handle the Mobile Suits."

"Copy that, thank you," Reisen said. "Alright, girls; let's get to work."


In the sky, a red Windam, piloted by the commanding Lunar Rabbit of this operation, watched the sudden turn of events in shock.

"Where... where did that battleship and those mechs come from?" she asked. "Was this what we were suppose to be prepared for, focusing all our efforts on this one city?"

Her radar pinged an enemy heading her way, and nimbly, she dodged as several large stones and beam rifle shots flew past her position.

The Rabbit looked to the point of origin, to see a blue haired humanoid, and a red-white-and-blue Mobile Suit with an enhanced Aile Striker pack.

There was no real attempt at communication between her and the enemy. It was obvious what both sides had to do; words were superfluous at this point.

The Windam had an advantage in the air, but the Lunar Rabbit's experience in Mobile Suit operations paled in comparison to that of Kira Yamato's. Added on to the constant barrage of stones and bullets from Hinanawi Tenshi, the Lunar Rabbit barely held on for more that a few minutes before she had to bail out of the mech.

The Windam tumbled downwards, before exploding into thousands of pieces. While the Lunar Rabbit was distracted, a Keystone slammed into the back of her head, knocking her out.

Tenshi deftly caught the Lunar Rabbit. "That's one down," she called. "I'll get her back to the ship and put her with the rest of them, got that, Kira?"

"Loud and clear," Kira responded. "I'll continue doing the rounds, and backing people up where I can."


Through the streets, several Lunar Rabbits were on the run, being chased by the two Skygraspers. It was a terrifying prospect, playing cat-and-mouse with jets, and doubly so when you knew that they were loaded with the magic equivalent to riot rounds, meaning that their shots hit like a truck, but didn't turn them to paste.

Two Lunar Rabbits fell to the ground. "Nice shooting, Allster!" Mu called out. "Really starting to do work, aren't ya?!"

"Have to pull my own weight at some point!" Flay responded. "Although, I'm still a bit weirded out by the fact we're shooting them with 20mm rounds, even if Nitori and Sanae customised them to be none-lethal."

"Goes against literally everything we know, I get it," Mu said. "But if it works, it works. Best not to think about it too hard."

"Considering our track record? I know better than to do that."


At the camp that had been set up by the Lunar Rabbits, the humans that were being held captive huddled together in fear.

Well, most of them, anyway. Three young boys, no younger than six but no older than seven, observed the situation at hand as calmly as they could.

"It's been rather noisy out there," one of the boys, who had brown hair and green eyes, said quietly.

"That's a good thing, I'd say," the blonde haired boy replied. "It just means that they're here to save us."

"How do you think they'll react?" the last boy, with forest-green hair, asked. "I mean, look at us. We were retroactively reincarnated."

"Retroactive reincarnation... not a phrase I thought I'd ever consider," the blonde said. "Nor did I think the Yama could do something like that."

Out of the corner of his eye, the green haired boy noticed a married couple consoling each other. "For now, we should focus on helping the people around us."

"But how?" the brown haired one asked. "We're kids, remember? We can't pilot a Mobile Suit, yet along hijack one."

Wordlessly, the green haired boy moved towards the couple. He took note of their appearances, from the man's yellow-green eyes, to the woman's green hair. The blonde noticed this, and felt they were somehow familiar.

"Hey," the green haired one said. "Are you two alright?"

The man looked at the boy with a sad look in his eyes. "It's... far from that, kid," he said. "Even with everything going on, we're..."

"It's out daughter," the woman said through sobs. "She disappeared over two years ago, and now this... I don't know if she's caught up in all this!"

"It'll be alright, dear," the man said soothingly. "I'm... I'm sure Sanae's fine, wherever she is."

"Sa...nae?" the blonde boy repeated. That was a name he hadn't heard in a long while. So, these two must have been the Kochiya family, then.

"What the hell are you saying?!" they all heard a Lunar Rabbit shout. "Toyohime-sama said we were not to kill! Now you're suggesting we threaten this new enemy by holding the hostages at gunpoint?!"

"What are we suppose to do, then?!" yelled another Rabbit. "If we fail now, it'll reflect badly on Toyohime-sama and Yorihime-sama! If we fail, there's no telling what Tsukuyomi-sama will do to them, to us! We can't risk that!"

"So, what? We should stoop to Sagume-sama's level?!" the first one yelled back. "Our orders are absolute! We can't just..." the Rabbit was cut off, however, when one of the others hit her on the back of the head with the butt of their rifle, knocking them out.

"In-fighting?" the brown haired boy muttered.

A scream echoed, as a Lunar Rabbit grabbed the green haired woman by the hair, and dragged her to her allies.

"Dear!" the man shouted, trying to rise, only for a separate Rabbit to force him back to the ground.

It was at that moment, however, that all went to hell in a hand basket. Two Mobile Suits, one blue and the other beige, dropped from the sky and made quick work of the five the Lunar Rabbits had on hand, while a girl in army camo and a fellow Rabbit dropped in and began taking out the foot-soldiers.

"What the hell?!" the Rabbit with the hostage called, eyes fixed on the form of Reisen Udognein Inaba. "Aren't you one of us?! Why are you fighting for..."

A strong wind blew through, knocking the Rabbit back, and breaking her grip on the woman. The Rabbit regained her footing quickly, glared at the source of the disturbance, and froze in fear.

Lunar Rabbits were trained to recognise people who had spent a lot of time in Gensokyo. They were, after all, considered to be the one major threat to the Lunar Capital. They were also taught to recognise a Gensokyo Shrine Maiden when they saw one, and were given one very specific order of they saw one: Run. Do not engage in combat.

The only saving grace right now was the fact that she was not staring down the red-white Shrine Maiden known as Hakurei Reimu. This was immediately offset by the fact that this blue-white Shrine Maiden, Kochiya Sanae, looked extremely pissed off.

The Rabbit tried to raise her gun to fire off a shot, but was struck head-on by what could only be described as a pentagram of light. The Rabbit was flung against the wall, and knocked unconscious.

Takane let out a whistle. "Nicely done, there," she commented. "Definitely no slouch when you go all in."

"That's what happens when the fight becomes personal," Reisen said. "Emotions are powerful things, after all."

Sanae let out a sigh, calming her nerves as Reisen and Takane addressed Dearka and Yzak in the Mobile Suits. It had been what, a few hours since everything had started? Fighting a war was exhausting, to say the least.

"Sanae-chan?" said a voice she knew all too well. "Is that... really you?"

Sanae looked at the woman on the floor, and struggled to suppress the emotions that welled within her. It really was the textbook definition of 'looking at an older version of yourself', in a way.

"Mother..." Sanae muttered quietly, before smiling sadly. "Guess I haven't exactly been a good girl, huh?"

The tears that barely held themselves back broke free, and Sanae's mother leapt into her daughters arms, sobbing inconsolably. The man, Sanae's father (as if that needed elaborating at this point), quickly rose to his feet, and drew his family into a tight embrace. Everyone present, even the Lunar Rabbits that were still conscious at this point, couldn't help but feel somewhat pleased to be witnessing this scene.

All good things, however, have to come to an end. "Heads up, Kochiya!" Yzak called out. "Word from the Archangel is that more Mobile Suits are headed this way! All of you, get on your feet and move! We can't exactly carry you all, so walking it is!"

"Geez, couldn't have put it nicer?" Sanae sighed. She looked at her parents. "Mother, Father, I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but... is it alright if it waits just a little longer?"

Sanae's father gave a small smile. "Of course, dear," he said. "We have... so many questions about where you've been, but... at least we know you've been alright."

From the seat of the Buster, Dearka watched Sanae reconcile with her parents and smiled. It's always nice to see a sweet story in times of war; it put into perspective exactly what it was they were fighting for.

As the people began to disipate, having tied and picked up the Lunar Rabbits that were unconscious, Dearka noticed something on one of the monitors. Namely, three kids looking up at him. Three young, yet very familiar kids.

The Buster turned its head towards them, making it obvious that Dearka had noticed them. "It couldn't be," he muttered in disbelief. "Could it?"

The green haired boy looked into the cameras, as if making eye contact with Dearka, and placed a finger against his lips.

Dearka wasn't one to say his 'heart swelled with optimism'. That was more Athrun's kind of line, after all. But, something inside of him felt just a bit lighter.

"Oi! Dearka!" Yzak yelled. "Get your ass into gear!"

"Shut your yap, Yzak!" Dearka yelled back. He looked back, and noticed that the three were now making a very good attempt to blend in with the other civilians.

Dearka smiled lightly. "Reincarnation, huh?" he muttered. "Well, guess there are certainly worse ways to go, huh?"


Aboard the Archangel, everyone who's job didn't involve sitting at a computer was moving to and fro, making sure everything was still in perfect operation. The crew was a well oiled machine at this point.

"Report from Joule Team is in," stated Miriallia. "They've moved the civilians to a safe location, and are now making their way back to the ship with the captured enemy soldiers."

"Report from Athrun," Hatate stated. "The vast majority of enemy Mobile Suits have been destroyed. Hisoutensoku is now returning to base with captured enemies."

"Looks like things are going smoothly," Natarle commented. "Any word from Ensign Yamato?"

"Message just came in from him," Miriallia said. "Aerial Mobile Suits are moving in on our position. He and Hinanawi Tenshi are moving to intercept."

"He's pushing himself a bit thin," Captain Ramius muttered. "Tell Ensign Yamato to keep within the two kilometre radius of the Archangel."

"Roger," Miriallia replied.

"Things seem to be going smoothly, at least," Natarle said. "Here's hoping I didn't just jinx us."

"At this point, I'm more worried about our allies on the Eternal," Murrue said. "Theirs, after all, is a team that has only been together for a short while. I can't help but worry about their synergy together."


High up in the sky, deep within the space between Earth and the Moon, the Eternal slowly, yet surely, moved forward to its destination.

Within the hanger, the Eternal's four MS pilots, as well as Gensokyo's greatest Incident solver, sat at their stations, awaiting the call to action.

Hakurei Reimu tugged at the outfit she wore; a red pilot suit. "This thing is suffocating," she muttered. "Do I really have to wear this damn thing?"

"If you want to be able to breath out there, then yes," Rey Za Burrel responded. "I may not know how outer space works in regards to Gensokyo, but we're taking the direct, Outside World route. Thus, every precaution."

Reimu pouted slightly. "Seriously, how do you put up with these things?" she asked. "Way too hard to move around in."

"Well, these things were made for pilots, more than Spell Card battles," Shinn commented. "I think for you, it'll either be a pilot suit, or the bulkier normal suit."

There was a moment of silence between the five. "This is the most stressful part, huh?" Cagalli commented. "This time before the enemy notices us."

"Really makes ya antsy," Lunamaria said. "Seriously, my wrist just won't stop twitching."

"Try to get it under control before the enemy shows up," Rey stated. "It'll mess up your aim, otherwise."

As the two Coordinators 'bickered' with each other, Shinn felt something tug on the back of his mind. The familiar white noise of psychic communication.

"They're here," he muttered, just as the sirens began to wail.

"Heads up, kiddos!" shouted Andrew Waltfeld's voice over the speakers. "Enemy battleship has been spotted up ahead! Captain calls it a Minerva class! Get out there and prepare for battle!"

"That's our cue, then!" Cagalli yelled. "Let's move!"

The Strike Rouge launched first, followed quickly by the Freedom and Justice. Shinn hung back a little, though. "Reimu," he said. "During this battle, I want you to stick close to me, alright?"

"I've fought Mobile Suits before, Shinn," Reimu told him. "I know how to handle them."

"In single combat, sure, but not an army," he pointed out. "It won't be like fighting hordes of fairies in an Incident." There was a momentary pause in his speech. "Three years ago, I struggled to keep up with you, and died for it. Now, though, things are reversed. Please, don't make the same mistake I did, and try to bite off more than you can chew."

Reimu paused, before laughing slight. "Funny how the shoe's on the other foot, huh?" she commented, before taking up position on the shoulder of Shinn's MS. "Alright, but don't think I'll just be sitting back and letting you do all the heavy lifting."

Shinn gave a friendly smirk, and mounted his Mobile Suit onto the launching track. At its core, it was still the Impulse, but now it was now equipped with the wings of the Destiny, two large beam swords and two large beam cannons on the back, beam shield generators on the arms, and two beam boomerangs. A merging of the Impulse and Destiny, which was given a fitting, if not unimaginative, name.

"Shinn Asuka and Hakurei Reimi!" Shinn yelled. "Destiny Impulse! Launching!"

The Destiny Impulse launched from the hanger, and took off, its Phase Shift armour taking a white and violet hue.


The bridge was filled with a heavy silence as the four Mobile Suits + Shrine Maiden took up position in front of the Eternal.

"Mobile Suits are in position!" Meer stated loudly. "Awaiting further orders!"

"Enemy ship is signalling us!" Kuzzey yelled. "They're trying to open a channel!"

"Is it to gloat, or out of respect?" Lacus wondered. "Put them through, Kuzzey Buskirk."

The man screen flickered, and on it stood a purple haired woman in red and a blonde haired woman in blue. "Watatsuki no Yorihime and Toyohime," Yukari muttered. "I suppose it was inevitable that we'd run into you sisters."

"Yakumo Yukari," the one in red, Yorihime, said, while Toyohime waved politely. "It's been a few years since we last met, hasn't it?"

Then, Toyohime looked at Lacus. "My, are you the captain of that fine, red vessel?" she asked. "So young, too. Might I ask your name, miss?"

Well, they certainly seemed polite enough, at least. "I am Lacus Clyne," she stated, "captain of the Eternal. Yukari has told me much about you, leaders of the Lunar Defence Corp. I do not suppose we can settle this amicably?"

"I fear the only condition we'll accept is your surrender," Yorihime said. "Should you agree, we will strive to spare the lives of you and your crew, you have my word."

"Well, you're nothing if not courteous," Waltfeld commented. "Better than that egotistical bitch with the white hair, at any rate."

"Kishin Sagume is... patriotic, to put it kindly," Toyohime said, straining the word 'patriotic'. "Her detest of anything not Lunarian is matched only by her misfortune with words."

"Regardless, I'm afraid surrender is not an option," Lacus stated plainly. "It was you who invaded us, destroyed our homes, and you expect your 'mercy' to last us a lifetime? How can we trust your leader to uphold that?"

There was slight hesitation on Yorihime's part. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I had wanted to resolve this as peacefully as I could, but... I guess there's no other way. To war it is, then."

The radar began to beep furiously. "Multiple Mobile Suits detected!" Meer shouted. "They're were hiding behind the enemy warship!"

"Detecting multiple readings of the same model!" Kuzzey added. "50... 65... 80... there's over 100 of them! Mobile Suit IDs are ZGMF-X20A and ZGMF-X19A! And... about a tenth of them are equipped with METEOR units!"

Sheer, abject terror etched its way onto Lacus' face. She knew those model numbers. How could she not? "Strike Freedom... Infinite Justice..." she muttered. The two Mobile Suits she believed to be at the pinnacle of MS tech in the Cosmic Era, the two machines used by people she cared dearly for... now turned against her in the hundreds.

At that point, something in her heart just... broke.

"Farewell, Lacus Clyne," Yorihime said sombrely. "Were we to meet in peaceful times, I'm sure we could have been friends."


"What the hell?" Shinn muttered, seeing the army of Mobile Suits ahead of them.

"There's... so many of them," Reimu said in shock. "I can't... I can't keep up with that many enemies at once!"

"Captain, what are our orders?!" Rey shouted into the comms. No response came. "Captain Clyne!"

"Oi, princess!" Waltfelt yelled. "What the hell are we suppose to do?!"

"We..." Lacus muttered weakly. "We can't... win... There's no way..."

"Lacus, pull yourself up!" Yukari shouted. "This isn't the time to surrender!"

It was pretty bad if even the aloof Yakumo Yukari was starting to yell like that.

"Um, guys?" Lunamaria spoke up. "They're... firing at us."

All eyes looked at the enemy, and saw innumerable specks of light blink. At roughly that same time, an equal number of beams shot past, with none hitting anything vital, but most assuredly striking the least populated portions of the Eternal.

Hastily, Reimu leapt from her perch on the Destiny Impulse, landed on the hull of the ship, and erected the largest barrier she could. It couldn't quite stop the beams, but it at least turn 'hole-punching' into 'scorching'.

"I won't be able to hold off this assault for long!" she yelled. "You four! Take them out!"

It wasn't much, but it was a task to do, and a damn good one. The four nodded, and shot off towards the enemy.


"Hanger has taken serious damage!" Kuzzey yelled. "All turrets on the left side are inoperable!"

"Third, fourth, and ninth thrusters are down!" Meer shouted. "Hull damage is sitting at 40%!"

"Damn it! What the hell kinda plot twist is this?!" Waltfeld yelled. "Captain, your orders?!"

Lacus, however, was in no mindset to give any. "We... never had a chance," she muttered, watching as Shinn, Rey, Lunamaria, and Cagalli all struggle to keep up with the superiors Mobile Suits. She watched as the Strike Rouge was barely able to dodge, getting slightly clipped by rounds on the edge of its Aile Striker pack. She watched as the shields used by the Freedom and Justice failed, depriving both of their main defensive options. She watched as the Destiny Impulse, the most jury-rigged MS out there, only barely able to go toe to toe with one enemy, while three others tried to score pot-shots on it.

One shot, while it didn't destroy the suit, sent it tumbling lifelessly. Odds were not good on survival.

This wasn't an 'uphill battle'; this was an impossible scenario, and Lacus had sent four kids out there to die.

"We... we can't win..." she muttered. "There... there was never a chance in hell... We..."

Then, Yakumo Yukari slapped her. It was hard, loud, and were it not for the safety belt, Lacus would have been thrown out of the chair.

"Pull yourself together!" Yukari yelled. "This isn't the time to be freaking out!"

"Yukari's right!" Reimu yelled over the comms. "Everything depends on this battle! We can't stop now!"

"But!" Lacus yelled. "I... I could have just gotten your love killed! My recklessness..."

"It was still his choice, regardless!" Reimu shouted back.

"She's right, captain," Meer stated. "You may have given him that suit, but it was his choice to pilot it."

Lacus couldn't respond. The guilt still ate away at her. How was she suppose to continue, knowing she'd forced good people into what she considered an unwinnable situation?


Shinn's consciousness edged on the border of waking and sleeping. Things were... really not looking good, huh?

"Is that it, then?" a voice asked. "If you were to give up now, no-one would blame you."

"Who... who's there?" he asked.

"Aw... didn't you tell Yukari-san about me the other day?" the voice said. "Don't tell me you forgot my voice, too!"

"The other day... you mean, the Goddess that saved me three years ago?"

A flash of light, and before Shinn appeared a blue haired woman dressed in yellow and green. "So you do remember!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm glad, really! You didn't forget the Idol God Haniyasushin Keiki!"

Shinn, however, didn't quite share the optimism. "I... I don't want to give up," he muttered. "But, what the hell can I do? I don't even have a beam rifle anymore, and I... I don't want to kill them."

Keiki smiled kindly. "That's not a bad thing," she said. "It just proves that you have kindness in droves. As for options, though, you've still got one you can use." Shinn looked at her, puzzled. "Believe in Better!"

"Believe... in Better," he repeated. "Lord Uzumi told me the same thing, before he died. What the hell does it even mean?"

"It's simple, really. If you don't like something, then make it better!" she stated boldly. "Gods require belief in order to survive. If you direct belief into something, you can make it real!" For a brief moment, she looked wistful. "Did you know? When an artist creates something, they put part of their soul into it? The same thing happens when they repair something, too. Do you know what that means for you and your soul?" She gently placed a hand on his chest, as a faint glow began to shine. "You are a human with a small portion of a God inside you. Don't believe in a God that believes in you; Believe in yourself!"

His vision began to fade. Shinn reached out his hand, only to grasp at nothing as he finally woke up.

"What the hell?" he muttered. Alarms were beeping all over the cockpit, and over the comms, everyone was shouting about something. From the sounds of it, Rey and Lunamaria were starting to lose the limbs of their Mobile Suits, Reimu's barrier was struggling to keep up with the onslaught, and Cagalli was down to only her beam sabers. He had to do something, anything. But what?

Then, he noticed he was holding something in his other hand; a Spell Card.

He just had to believe in something, right? Well, might as well hedge his bets on this.

He tapped at the communication device. "This is Shinn to all allied pilots! Head back to the Eternal! I have a plan!"

"Asking a lot there, Shinn!" Cagalli yelled, dodging through shots from no less that 17 Super-DRAGOONs. "But fine! We'll try your idea!"

The four formed up, and made a mad dash for the Eternal, dodging between beam rounds and missiles as they did. It was like dodging the rain during a hurricane.

Somehow, Shinn felt right at home doing it.

It was a close call, but they made it back in mostly one piece. Shinn landed the Destiny Impulse on the hull of the Eternal, and flared out its wings. "All of you, inside!" he yelled. "Reimu! Focus your barrier into a cone-shape!"

"Got an idea, do we?" Reimu asked. "You got it!"

As Reimu did that, Shinn looked to the bridge. "Waltfeld! I need you to set a course for the moon's surface! Through the Minerva!"

"You out of your mind, kid?!" Waltfeld asked in a tone of voice that sounded distinctly not against the idea. "Dunno where you got those balls from, but I'll play!"

Everything was in place, and the Eternal began to move. "Alright," Shinn muttered. "Let's make this work! Spell Card!" He raised the card up high, and as it burst into fragments of light, the Wings of Light flared larger than any had seen them do before. "Greater Sign!" The wings wrapped around the Eternal like a warm, motherly embrace, engulfing it in a blinding white light. "Shine Spark!"

Then, the Eternal took off at impossible speeds. Three times didn't even begin to cover it.

From the bridge of the Minerva, Yorihime looked on in shock. "What... what the fuck is that?!"

"T...troops!" Toyohime stuttered out. "Can't... can't you shoot that down?!"

"We're trying!" a Lunar Rabbit yelled. "That light... it's deflecting all our attacks!"

As the Eternal shot forward like a blazing comet, the Mobile Suits that got in its way were pushed aside with extreme prejudice, causing such damage that the suits were inoperable, yet not so much that they would be destroyed.

How was that possible? Simple. It's because right now, Shinn Asuka believed he could do better.

"Evasive maneuver!" Yorihime instructed. "Get us out of the intercept course!"

"Too late!" a Lunar Rabbit yelled. "It's... it's right on top of us!"

As the shining Eternal drew closer, threatening to crash through the Minerva, Shinn made a call. "Now! Bank left!"

"Aye, lad!" Waltfeld yelled. "Banking left!"

The Eternal rotated, turning what was previously a head-on concision into the fastest sideswipe in spaceship history. At least, as far as anyone present was concerned. The light barrier grazed against the side of the Minerva, tearing the ship's hull asunder, before continuing towards the moon unimpeded.

There was no open communication, but the Watatsuki's were fairly certain they could hear a whole lot of yelling coming from the Eternal. How that was possible over the vacuum of space was anyones guess.

"Can we turn the ship around?!" Yorihime called out.

"Negative!" a Lunar Rabbit shouted back. "Engines are completely fried, and the enemy has already broken through the Lunar atmosphere! If we tried to go after them in this state, we'll burn up!"

Despite everything, Toyohime gave a small smile. "I guess we lost, then?"

Yorihime let out a small sigh. "Yeah. I guess so, huh?" she muttered. "But, the real fight for them starts now." She turned back to the crew. "Order all troops back to the ship and focus on repairs. We won't be able to make any difference to this war from here on."


Shinn Asuka was beginning to worry that he had a bad habit of blacking out. Well, this one felt the slightest bit different, he thought; less like a concussion and more like an adrenaline overload. There was a loud ringing in his ears, and all he could see was white.

"...!" someone called. Slowly, his senses came back to him, and he recognised the red-white Shrine Maiden in front of him. "Shinn!"

"Rei...mu?" he strained out. Groaning, he rubbed his temple with his left hand. "I... what happened?" At that point, he realised something that was, probably, really important. The cockpit door was open, they were on the hull of the Eternal, and neither he nor Reimu had their helmets on. He got up in a panic, before quickly realising that he was still breathing. "Air? But, moon... how?"

"I told you, I've been here before," Reimu said.

Then, Shinn finally got a good look at 'here'. It looked like they were in the middle of any ocean on Earth, save for the fact that the planet in question could be seen in the sky. "What... the hell?" he muttered. "Where are we?"

"The Sea of Tranquillity," answered the voice of Yakumo Yukari, who appeared behind them. "The ocean that exists between Earth and the Moon, though unseeable from the perspective of the Outside World." She turned her gaze to Shinn, and gave a surprisingly warm smile. "It would seem I've grossly underestimated you, Shinn Asuka. That was a remarkably beautiful Spell Card you used."

Shinn blushed, feeling rather bashful all of a sudden. "How's Lacus doing?" he asked. "She seemed... pretty freaked out before."

"Understatement of the century, that," Yukari sighed. "She's calmed down a bit, especially after you pulled us through. But, she is on the cusp of a panic attack at the thought of what's to come."

Shinn knew what Yukari was talking about. Before he could speak, however, he saw something glint over the horizon. "What was..."

At that moment, an onslaught of large beams and missiles assaulted the Eternal.


A/N:

The final battle begins, and already it looks bad for the crew of the Eternal. One abush after another. Who will come out on top?!

Well, I know the answer to that, but where's the fun in saying it here?