Chapter three is up. I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.
Note 1: The USSA. They do not exist in this story either. In their place is the Southern Atlantic Federation, or SAF for short.
Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.
Read and review please!
C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…
January 25th, C.E. 71
Heliopolis…
Chris stared in amazement at the warship coming out of the smoke. It was not ZAFT in design, so that meant that it had to be on their side…at least, he hoped it was.
The CGUE also caught sight of it and flew right at it, gun now out once again. Its pilot attacked, strafing the ship while firing. But the gun did little against the armor of the powerful vessel.
"Guess that answers my question." He said to himself.
"So much for that move…" Akira smirked to himself. The CGUE's pilot was definitely not taking down that warship, that was for sure.
The CGUE turned and looked as if it was preparing to do another strafing run on the ship when it flew downwards. It was heading towards where the Strike was and…
'Liz!'
Chris flew the Raven down to take on the enemy Mobile Suit. Nisha jumped off of the Raven so it could turn into its Mobile Suit form. He landed unharmed.
The Wing then stood up and ran at the enemy Mobile Suit.
As Akira neared the CGUE, he turned his machine to face the enemy unit and then opened fire with the beam rifle. "Leave them ALONE!" the boy cried. The CGUE then responded by opening fire as well.
Chris pushed the Raven as fast as it would go. He had to intercept the CGUE before its attack hit. But it was too late. The shots from the CGUE neared the Strike and the people near it.
"NO!" Chris shouted.
Then, the Strike knelt down in front of the path of the CGUE's bullets, protecting Liz, Johanna, and the others.
Using the Wing's superior maneuverability, Akira dodged the beam shots and attacked himself. The boy opened fire with the Wing's beam rifle and got in a hit on one of the legs of the enemy Mobile Suit.
"You're good, but I doubt you could stand up to my superior skills." The enemy pilot sneered. Akira just growled as he flew out of the way of a beam shot.
"Damn coward!" Chris yelled as he fired the Raven's cannon at the CGUE.
Inside the Z.A.M. Gundam, Nisha swore to himself. He knew that he was unable to use the missiles of his machine, but on the downside, he was unable to attack as a result.
The CGUE flew upwards, dodging the shots. As it did however, the Archangel fired four missiles at the CGUE. The enemy pilot destroyed two of the missiles while the other two missed and hit the central shaft of Heliopolis.
'Damn it! We can't risk anymore damage of Heliopolis!'
Suddenly, Chris heard a bleeping noise. It was coming from the power status bar, which showed the Raven's power at thirty percent.
'Damn!'
Akira glanced at the enemy unit before a bleeping noise got his attention. He glanced at the power status bar and swore. The Wing's first battery unit was at thirty percent while the second was at eighty percent.
"Kira," Chris called over the com-line. "I'm low on power and I doubt Heliopolis is gonna be able to take much more. We have to end this fight now. Nisha, Aki' and myself will try to keep him busy, you try to hit him with that big gun of yours. Got it?"
"Got it." Kira replied.
"Sounds good." Nisha said.
"Let's just get this over with." Aki' replied.
Chris aimed and fired the cannon at the ZAFT Mobile Suit. Yet again, the skillful pilot of the CGUE avoided the shots. But before the enemy pilot could aim at him, Aki' opened fire with the Wing's beam rifle. But, just as before with Chris, the CGUE dodged the shots fired at it, except for a few that managed to hit it on the right leg.
However, the CGUE then turned its attention back towards Chris, whom it considered a real threat due to the fact that the Raven was the only one actually airborne. It raised and aimed the rifle at him.
It was about to fire when a massive beam streaked towards it. The ZAFT pilot barely dodged the shot, but it lost its right arm in the process. Unfortunately, the beam continued traveling and pierced the superstructure of Heliopolis.
"No…" Chris said weakly as the CGUE fled through the hole that had been made.
Aki' stared before slamming his fist into the cockpit wall. "Damn it!"
Nisha gaped at the damage before him. Was that the power of the Strike?!
Heliopolis had been devastated, and all three couldn't help but wonder if the colony could recover from the damage inflicted to it.
A short time later…
Archangel…
The Wing, Z.A.M. Gundam, Strike, and Raven all landed in the hanger of the Archangel's Mobile Suit catapult. All four knelt down side by side and set down the precious cargo they each held. Liz, Sai, and Johanna both got off of the Raven's hands while Miri, Tolle, and Kuzzey got off of the Strike's hands. Lt. Ramius got off of the Wing's hand and Taikyu got off of the Z.A.M. Gundam's hand as well.
"Lt. Ramius!" Natarle cried as she ran up with the few surviving members of the Archangel's crew towards the Mobile Suits and the people near them.
"Ensign Badgiruel."
Badgiruel saluted her superior. "I'm relieved to see that you're alright."
Ramius returned her salute. "You as well. I'm pleased to see that you were able to protect the Archangel. You do realize that you saved our lives, right?"
Badgiruel nodded in confirmation.
"Indeed." Johanna replied as she stepped forward. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, Ensign Badgiruel, that CGUE might have very well destroyed the Strike, the Raven, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Wing."
"Yes, you may have saved those machines as well as us." Taikyu added as he came up as well.
At that moment, the cockpits of the four machines opened up and Aki', Chris, Kira, and Nisha all climbed out.
The Archangel's crew stared in disbelief and shock at the four teenagers climbing out of the four top-secret Mobile Suits.
"Alright!" Chief Murodch said. "What's going on here? Those machines were piloted by four kids!"
"Lt. Ramius, Mrs. Dante, Mr. Itsuno, what is going on here?" Ensign Badgiruel asked.
The two were about to explain what happened when a man interrupted. "Wow, now this is a surprise."
A blonde-haired man wearing a purple EA flight suit wlaked towards the group. "I'm Lt. Mu la Flaga of the 7th Orbital Fleet."
The crew of the Archangel returned the salute.
"I'm Lt. Murrue Ramius of Sector 2, 5th Special Division."
"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel of the same division."
"Johanna Dante of Morgenroete."
"Taikyu Itsuno of Morgenroete."
Mu nodded. "I'd like permission to come aboard. Who's in charge here?"
Ensign Badgiruel looked hesitant for a moment before answering. "The captain and all of the officers of this ship have all died in the explosions at the beginning of the attack."
"What?!" Murrue shouted in disbelief.
"Therefore, I believe that Lt. Ramius is now in command." Badgiruel said. "There about only a dozen or so of us left, mostly non-commissioned officers and workers from Morgenroete."
Mu sighed. "Oh man. What a disaster. In any case, permission to come aboard, Lt. Ramius?"
Murrue was in shock, but she responded. "…Yes…you can come aboard the Archangel. Sorry about that." She replied.
Then, she looked over at the four machines. "Mr. Yamato, Akira, Nisha, Chris, can you all come down here please?" Lt. Ramius asked the four.
All of them came down, earning murmurs of shock from the crew onboard. "They're kids!" "Kids were piloting those things?!" Countless phrases came around the three, but they ignored them.
Natarle was still mad from before about that. "Lt. Ramius, what is the meaning of this?! They are just children! How could you let children pilot those things?!" she demanded again.
"Natarle, they were all at the factory. These children wound up saving me and the people you see here. Don't be too hard on them. I am aware that these four are civilians. They are aware that they will be staying with us until the proper authorities can handle them." Lt. Ramius finally explained.
"And who are these four?" Mu asked.
Johanna answered this time. "The one who piloted the Strike is Kira Yamato and the pilot of the Raven is my nephew, Christopher Dante. Nisha Itsuno is the Z.A.M. Gundam's pilot and his cousin Akira Nishikama piloted the Wing. They all stumbled into the factory district when we were under attack. Thanks to their help, we were able to drive off four GINNS and that CGUE as well as protect the last four machines."
"What?! These four kids were able to defeat four GINNs?!" Natarle asked in shock.
"What happened to the G-unit pilots?" Mu asked.
"They were with the captain at the time of the attack and died as well." Natarle replied.
Mu then approached the four kids. "You four wouldn't happen to be Coordinators, would you?"
The crew of the Archangel collectively gasped.
"Yes." The four replied.
A group of armed soldiers suddenly pointed their guns at the group of teenagers.
"Lower your weapons damn it!" Johanna shouted in a commanding voice, startling the soldiers. "They may be Coordinators, but they are not with ZAFT, you trigger-happy idiots! If they were a part of ZAFT, they would have taken the Mobile Suits and left by now!"
"Lower your weapons men." Lt. Ramius ordered.
The soldiers hesitantly complied.
"Like it will do much good. These Blue Cosmos creeps don't even care about us Coordinators. To them, we are just 'monsters' and 'inhuman things'." Akira growled. Mu frowned at the kid's tone. 'Why does he hate the EA so much?' The older man wondered.
"Lieutenant, I would like an explanation." Natarle demanded.
"It's not that surprising, considering Heliopolis belongs to a neutral nation. It's only natural to find Coordinators who wish to avoid the war altogether living here. Am I right?"
"No, you're right." Kira answered. "Especially since I'm a first-generation Coordinator."
"Which means that your parents are Naturals." Mu noted. "What about you three?"
"And Lt. Ramius is right about me and my sister." Chris replied. "We're both second generation Coordinators and we were born in the PLANTs. But our parents, fearing that a war was going to break out, sent us to Heliopolis to live with our aunt and uncle shortly before the war broke out."
"So then, your parents are still living in the PLANTs?" Murrue asked.
Chris hesitated before finally speaking. "No…they died early in the war…"
"My family moved to the PLANTs to avoid war and be near my cousin and his family as well." Nisha replied.
Aki' just grunted once. "I was born here, just like Chris was, but not at a normal one. I was born in New Juneau instead."
Badgiruel stared as did a few other members of the crew before the silence was broken.
"I'm sorry for causing such a fuss." Mu said. "I was just curious, nothing more."
"So what do we do now?" Natarle asked.
"Now? Well, I've just been shot down and the Le Creuset Team is waiting for us outside. He's a persistent fellow, so he'll be waiting for us. Especially after the defeat you four gave him."
"Wait. You're saying that the pilot guy the four of us fought and managed to beat a short while ago was the ZAFT ace, Rau Le Creuset?" Chris asked in shock.
Mu nodded.
"How did we manage that?"
"I'd have to say it was a bit of skill and a lot of luck." Mu replied.
Elsewhere
Aboard the Gamow…
"D-equipment? Does Commander Le Creuset plan on storming a fortress or something?" Yzak asked.
Tao narrowed her eyes at the heavy equipment being loaded onto the GINNs. "Why would he need all of this stuff for just four machines in a neutral colony? It doesn't make any sense, really." She mused.
"What's gonna happen to Heliopolis?" Nicol asked, concern in his voice. Tao picked up the slight hint and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. 'So, he's feeling the same way I am.'
"It's gonna be bad." Saul said as he watched yet another GINN being armed with heavy missiles. "A single misfire could cause massive damage to Heliopolis."
The white coat commander snorted at the mere idea. "He probably wants to destroy the colony, if you ask me." She noted.
"It serves them right then." Yzak said. "Calling themselves a neutral state. What a joke!"
"So, the people of Heliopolis should suffer for the crimes of the people who run the ORB government? For the crimes of something they weren't even aware of?" Saul asked before shaking his head. "Cause that's what's gonna happen with those heavy weapons."
Tao, Nicol, and Dearka didn't even say anything. Yzak just let out an amused snort, causing Tao to glare at him.
Saul sighed. "This whole situation really sucks."
No one dared to disagree with him.
But they were not aware of what Athrun was doing, or that he was disobeying orders…
Elsewhere
The bridge of the Archangel…
Lieutenants Ramius and la Flaga, Ensign Badgiruel, Johanna Dante, and Taikyu Itsuno all stood on the bridge discussing their situation.
"Alright. Here's what's happened. We've loaded up the last of the surviving supplies from Morgenroete. Chief Murdoch is currently overseeing the resupply of the Raven, the Strike, the Wing, and the Z.A.M. Gundam as well as the repairs for your Moebius Zero." Johanna reported.
"The Strike and Raven should be ready for combat in 10 to 15 minutes. The Wing should be ready a few minutes after, though I could get the crews to speed things up. The Z.A.M. Gundam will be able to join in this fight due to repairing a firing delay glitch that would have caused the missiles to not launch right away after the thrusters are ignited. Moebius however, that won't be ready for quite some time." Taikyu added.
"Thank you." Murrue replied as she sat in the captain's chair.
"So, what's our next move?" Johanna asked.
"Once the Raven, the Strike, and the Wing are resupplied, we'll leave before any more damage befalls Heliopolis." Murrue replied.
"So you're gonna rely on Kira, Chris, Nisha, and Aki' then?" Taikyu asked.
"What?!" Badgiruel interrupted. "You can't be serious about letting those kids pilot those machines again. Shouldn't Lt. la Flaga at least pilot one of those machines?"
"Have you taken a look at the OS of those machines?" Mu asked. "An ordinary human couldn't pilot those machines."
Badgiruel stared before speaking up. "But what about those Naturals who live in NASA? Couldn't they pilot those machines?" she asked
"NASA is not a nation who will do whatever is asked of them. So don't even think about it." Murrue warned.
"And before you ask about those kids changing the OS of the G-Units back to their original format, you should know that the original OS didn't really work all that well." Johanna replied.
"And don't ask us to re-write the OS for Naturals. That is not our specialty. We worked on the bodies of the machines, not the programming." Taikyu added. "So we're gonna have to rely on them for protection."
"I agree." Murrue said. "Without Lt. la Flaga's Moebius Zero, the Raven, the Strike, the Z.A.M. Gundam, and the Wing are our only means of defense against ZAFT's Mobile Suits. And the only ones who can pilot those machines are those four boys."
"But Lt. Ramius, we can't just allow four civilians, much less four children, to operate top-secret military hardware!" Badgiruel argued.
"It's a long way to the moon, and I highly doubt that we'll be able to get there without a fight." Mu said. "And without those machines, we're pretty much defenseless against Mobile Suits."
Ensign Badgiruel hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not argue back.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, Taikyu and I are going back to the hanger to see if we can get the crews to hurry up." Johanna said as she and Taikyu started to walk out of the bridge.
Murrue stood up next and also proceeded to leave. "Lt. la Flaga, you have the bridge. I'll go and talk to Kira, Chris, Nisha, and Akira about this."
Archangel's crew quarters…
"No! I won't do it!" Kira said upon hearing what Lt. Ramius wanted from them.
Akira's reaction was far different though. "You want us to fight for you?! The ones who killed my sister?! Forget it! I will not fight for people who believe that we are 'space monsters' and 'inhuman beings'!" the black-haired boy snarled.
He then turned and left for the hanger, leaving a shocked crew behind him.
Chris and Nisha, on the other hand, were not so sure on what to do. Chris really didn't want to get involved in the war that had taken so much from him, yet at the same time, his sister, his aunt, and his friends were all on board this ship and he had the power to protect them. Nisha felt that if he didn't get involved, more people would be lost, and his friends and father were on the ship as well and he felt he had to protect them. Ever since he lost his mother, he felt like doing something to try to prevent a second Junius Seven attack.
"Please, don't get us involved any more than you already have." Kira continued. "We know there is a war going on out there, but we don't want any part of it. That's why we chose to live here in a neutral nation."
"I'll do it." Chris replied.
Kira, Nisha, Liz, Tolle, and everyone else stared at him in shock, so he explained his decision.
"Now, I don't want you to think that I am calling you a coward Kira, because I'm not. But as long as my friends and family are on this ship and I have the power to protect them, I will." He then turned to face Ramius and continued. "But make no mistake; I will not fight against ZAFT offensively. I'll only fight to protect this ship and the people I care about onboard."
"I agree. As long as I have the ability to, I will protect those I care about as well. If I have to fight against ZAFT to do so, then I will." Nisha added as he walked up beside Chris as well.
"I understand. Thank you." Lt. Ramius said. "I suppose two is better than none."
"Lt. Ramius. Report to the bridge at once!" a voice called over the com-line.
Ramius walked over to a nearby com-line panel and activated it. "What is it?" she asked.
Mu's voice answered. "There are Mobile Suits approaching. We need you to get back up here and assume command. You're the captain now, remember?"
A surprised look crossed her face. "I-I am?"
"I may have the seniority, but I don't know the first thing about this ship. You do. So that makes you the captain." Mu replied.
Lt. Ramius sighed. "Very well then. Prepare the Archangel for take-off. Order all hands to level one battle stations. Is your Mobile Armor ready?"
"No. As you know, it's been damaged and needs repairs, so I'm out." Mu answered.
"Then Lt. la Flaga, please take charge of the CIC." Ramius then turned to face Chris and Nisha. "Chris, Nisha, get to the hanger and into one of the Mobile Suits. You two are going out."
"Actually, I could pilot the third machine." Liz said as she stepped forward as well.
Chris's response to his sister was simple. "NO!"
"But I'm a Coordinator too! I can pilot the other Mobile Suit!" Liz snapped back.
'I said no! Nisha and I will go out alone."
"That's suicide and you know it!"
"I don't care! I'd prefer risking my own life rather than let you go out there with me!"
"Enough." Lt. Ramius said, interrupting the fight. "If Kira does not want to pilot one of the Mobile Suits and if Akira is not willing to protect the ship, then I will allow you to pilot it if you wish to."
"You can't be serious!" Chris shouted.
"Unfortunately, we don't have any other choice." Ramius said.
"You people aren't being fair!" Kira said, fists clenched and shaking at his sides. "Fine. I'll do it!"
"Alright then. C'mon Kira, we don't have much time." Chris said.
Kira and Nisha nodded and the three of them sprinted to the hanger.
"Thanks Kira for changing your mind. If you hadn't, then my sister really would have piloted the Strike and risked her life out there." He then added, more to himself than to Kira "This war has taken too much from me already."
"There is the issue of the Wing though. Liz could still pilot it, so that means we need to convince Aki' to pilot it until safety can be reached." Nisha added.
"Doh!" Chris smacked his head at the reminder.
"Don't worry. I'll talk to him." Nisha said.
Chris nodded, hoping that Aki' would agree to it.
Archangel hanger…
Chris sat in the Raven's cockpit, his machine now in the port Mobile Suit catapult. Kira and the Strike were in the starboard catapult alongside him.
Johanna's voice then came over the radio. "Alright Kira, we're equipping the Strike with the Sword Striker so we won't have a repeat last time." Then a pause came. "Hold on a second."
During that pause, Aki' and Nisha were arguing over whether he should pilot the Wing again or not.
"C'mon Aki'. Three machines aren't enough against the other six machines. We need you out there in the Wing. That machine is the only one that can stand up to the stolen Surge in speed. If you are out there, you can keep the Surge at bay while the rest of us take on the others." Nisha pleaded. "It may be the only way to keep the ship safe!"
The black-haired boy just glanced back, a glare visible in his golden eyes. "I said no Nisha! So back off! Why should I help these EA creeps anyway?!"
Aki' then turned to face Nisha. "Those Blue Cosmos idiots responsible for this war not only hated us Coordinators, but she was killed by 50 of those Blue Cosmos Naturals!" he snarled.
Nisha looked down, but did not back off. "I know…but…just do it until we reach safety, alright? Besides, I'll be fighting anyway…"
His cousin just growled before speaking again. "Fine…I'll do it. But only because you're fighting as well, got it?!" Aki' snarled.
Nisha grinned as the black-haired Coordinator got into the Wing's cockpit.
"There's six Mobile Suits incoming. One's the…Aegis? Okay, it's the Aegis and five GINNs armed with…WHAT?! Are they nuts?!" The alarm in Johanna's voice got the attention of all four boys.
"What is it?" Chris asked.
"The GINNs are armed with heavy weaponry used for taking out heavily fortified bases! A single misfire could be disastrous for Heliopolis!"
Kira gasped while Chris shook his head in shock. Aki' let out a growl over the radio and Nisha rapped his head with his hand as if trying to process the information. This was insane. How could ZAFT use such weaponry inside a civilian colony?!
"Be careful and good luck." Johanna said as the catapult doors opened.
"Chris Dante, Raven, taking off!" Chris shouted just before the catapult activated, launching the Raven.
A moment later, the Strike launched as well.
"Alright, you can launch any time Akira." Johanna said as the Wing was loaded into position next.
"Akira Nishikama, Wing, launching!" Aki' shouted as the Wing's catapult activated, sending out his machine into the blackness of space.
The Z.A.M. Gundam was out a moment later.
'Well, let's try this Mobile Armor mode again…'
Chris pushed the button to transform the Mobile Suit and a couple seconds later, found himself sitting in the cockpit of the bird-like mobile armor.
"Hop on Kira. We need to get rid of these guys before Heliopolis takes anymore damage."
The Strike landed on the back of the Raven and the two machines sped towards the five enemy Mobile Suits.
"Let's go, Aki'. They'll need back-up if those guys unleash those heavy-weapons on us."
Akira just growled at his cousin's comment, but he pressed the button to transform the Wing into its secondary form. A few seconds later, he found himself in the cockpit of a fighter-jet type alternate mode.
'Nice secondary form…'
"Get on Nisha. You want to help them, right?" he asked.
Nisha grinned as the Z.A.M. Gundam landed on the Wing's back, prompting Aki' to speed towards the six oncoming enemy suits as well. When they had almost reached them, the three GINNs armed with heavy missiles broke off from the others and headed towards the Archangel.
"Kira, will you be able to fight these three by yourself while I deal with those three GINNs?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Then hop off and good luck."
"Hey! Don't leave us out of all the fun!" Nisha exclaimed as he and Aki' flew up alongside the other two pilots.
"Leave two of those GINNs for us as well." Aki' said as he chose one as his target. "Hop off Nisha. You're going to be helping Kira, got it?"
"You got it." Nisha replied as he hopped off the Wing's flight form.
The Strike leapt off the Raven and moved in to engage the remaining GINN and the Aegis with Nisha while the Raven and the Wing turned around and chased the GINNs.
The GINNs were fast, but the Raven and the Wing were faster in their Mobile Armor and flight modes. One of the GINNs, seeing the Raven catching up to it, turned around and fired a trio of missiles from its ankle-mounted missile pods. Chris opened fire with the Raven's shoulder-mounted guns at the missiles, destroying two of them and evading the third.
'Not bad. But's it gonna take more than that to get rid of me.'
The GINN then fired two of its large missiles and some of its ankle-mounted missiles at the Archangel. The ship performed evasive maneuvers as its point defenses opened fire, destroying the large missiles and dodging most of the smaller ones. The missiles that missed hit Heliopolis, further damaging the already damaged colony.
"Stop it!" Chris shouted as he transformed the Raven back into its Mobile Suit mode and fired its cannon at the GINN.
The GINN dodged the twin shots and fired off the last two heavy missiles and its remaining smaller missiles at him, before discarding the launchers and pulling out it's holstered rifle and firing. Chris fired both the arm cannon and the Igelstellungs, desperately trying to destroy as many of missiles as he could before they hit him or Heliopolis. He managed to destroy one of large missiles and a couple of smaller ones. He aimed at the second large missile and was about to fire when the GINN fired upon him, throwing his aim off and missing the missile. The missile impacted the central shaft of Heliopolis, damaging it.
"Are you trying to destroy Heliopolis?" he shouted as he turned and fired at the GINN.
The GINN dodged the first two pairs of high-velocity rounds, but the second shot of the third pair tore through its left leg, but unlike the last one, this one kept fighting rather than fleeing. Seeing no other option, Chris aimed and fired one last shot. The twin rounds tore through the GINN's chest and a second later, it exploded.
Chris barely registered fact that he had just killed someone. This wasn't the time to think about that. Heliopolis and the Archangel were still in danger.
Aki' barely even noticed the first GINN explode, as he was fighting his own battle at the exact same time.
He let out a grunt as he dodged a trio of large missiles that had been fired at him. Aware of the damage to Heliopolis, Aki' opened fire with the beam rifle, destroying all three missiles before they could cause even more damage to the colony or the Archangel.
"You dumb Natural! Did you really think I would fall for such a simple ploy?!"
Aki' gasped as he heard the enemy pilot's voice. The alarm bleeped from beside him, prompting the boy to yank back on the controls, just barely dodging another round of missiles. The missiles, having missed Aki,' impacted along the structure of the damaged colony, causing even more debris to float away from the impact sites. Some also hit the Archangel, causing burn marks on the white hull.
"Stop this! What are you trying to do?!" he cried.
A laugh from the enemy unit got his attention. "Why, I am trying to wipe you out of course! Are you Naturals really that dumb? You make me laugh, Natural!"
Akira snarled as he opened fire with the Wing's Igelstellungs at the enemy GINN. The other unit was impacted by the bullets fired, making Aki' smirk at the sight. Beneath him, the Archangel was still under fire from the other two machines, as it unleashed its own firepower at the ZAFT Mobile Suits. The ship dodged a beam shot meant for the engines, only to fire back with its anti-aircraft guns. The shots missed, impacting the damaged colony even further.
The enemy GINN then came at Akira again, the pilot now enraged. "You'll pay for that, you Blue Cosmos creep!" he snarled, sword out in front of his machine.
Suddenly, time seemed to stop for Akira.
He gripped the controls so hard his hands turned white from the effort and the pressure he was exerting on them.
Before him, something hovered, wrapped in a golden aura. He did not understand what it was, but thoughts were crashing through his head so rapidly that he could not focus on anything else other than he could not die.
Everyone he knew was counting on him. His cousin, his uncle, his friends, they were all counting on him. And yet he was going to fail, fail after just beginning his mission! The faces of his friends, his cousin, and his uncle flashed before his eyes before a face he kept deep inside his mind came to the surface…the face of his most loved one…blue hair shining…red eyes sparkling…the care-free smile on her face…shattered.
Then, a feeling, something powerful, glorious, and horrific, came into being with each passing face. Akira saw an image of his loved one, bloody and covered in horrible wounds, as well, interwoven with those who needed him most, those who were reliant on him.
They would die if he died.
He could not die, not when his mission had barely even begun!
'Damn it! I'm not going to die!'
'I'm not going to die!'
'I can't!'
Then, his body began to burn as the thing he was seeing began to crack. His mind suddenly began to become clear as his body and mind began to go feel like it was going into some sort of overdrive. Akira could not comprehend the speed of what was happening to him, but he did not care. All that mattered was that he was not going to die.
Then, the thing broke. All of his humanity seemed to disappear, leaving only rage and anger at the enemy before him.
A rush of power filled Aki's body as the thing was absorbed and disintegrated by the feelings inside, released upon breakage.
'I am not going to die!'
Everything from then on was on sheer instinct. Aki' only cared about his survival and no one else's. No other considerations were made or came to mind either.
'I have to live!'
"RRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Aki' let out a primal scream as he attacked the enemy GINN. He reached back, grabbing the beam saber, pulling it out, and igniting it all in one move.
The GINN fired three more large missiles at the Wing, but Aki' dodged them, slashing the tops off as he did so. The heat-seeking components missing, the missiles flew off course before blowing up.
"Don't EVER compare me to those Blue Cosmos BASTARDS!" Aki' snarled as he flew in close to the GINN. The GINN attacked with its sword, but, in a flash of movement, Akira had stabbed the GINN in the chest.
The ZAFT pilot, Andreas, barely registered the pain before he spoke. "What the…"
Those were the last words he ever said.
Aki' sat in his cockpit, panting from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Sweat covered his face, making his hair stick to his wet skin, covering his eyes.
Tears streamed down his face as he let out a few quiet sobs in the empty closed space around him. Pain from old wounds died hard…
Nisha dodged a missile trio from the third GINN, grunting as he did so. 'Damn it all! Are they trying to destroy the colony?!'
The GINN he was fighting pulled out its sword, forgoing all ranged weapons. Nisha smirked at this. 'Even if the Z.A.M. Gundam can't use its missiles near the colony, it still has beam sabers.'
The Z.A.M. Gundam then pulled out one of its beam sabers and ignited it. In a flash of light, the two machines had matched sword on sword. Nisha grunted as he struggled with the controls of the Z.A.M. Gundam, hoping to get the upper hand.
In a underhanded tactic, the pilot of the GINN then had his machine's foot kick the Z.A.M. Gundam in the leg while the GINN's free hand went for the head. Metal sounded on metal as the Z.A.M. Gundam staggered backwards, Nisha trying to keep the machine upright.
"Damn him…" Nisha swore under his breath. The GINN ran at Nisha, but, in an unexpected move, the Z.A.M. Gundam raised its beam saber in a defensive move. The GINN's pilot was not aware of it until the beam had stabbed his machine through the side. Nisha, who had been looking away out of fear, looked back at his monitor, only to gape at the sight of the stabbed GINN.
A fireball consumed the GINN, making Nisha look away once more. He looked back again, only to stare at the remains before him.
The shock of killing someone set in, making his hands all sweaty as he gripped the controls tightly.
Kira wasn't fairing that well. The pilot of the GINN that was armed with the heavy cannon was firing like a maniac, not caring if he hit the Strike or Heliopolis. Didn't he realize that he was destroying people's homes every time he missed?! Kira had to stop him.
The GINN's pilot, Miguel, was growing angrier by the minute. He just couldn't seem to destroy the Strike and its Natural pilot. Adding to this was his embarrassment of his previous battle and defeat at the hands of the Strike. Miguel wanted payback.
"Get behind it Athrun!" he shouted over the radio.
Suddenly, the Aegis, which had stayed out of the conflict up until that point, lunged at the Strike from behind. Kira barely evaded the Aegis. But the second he did, Miguel fired at him again. Kira dodged the beam and struck back by throwing the Sword Striker's beam boomerang at the GINN. The GINN jumped over the boomerang and prepared to fire again. But Miguel didn't expect the boomerang to return, severing his machine's right leg. Before the pilot could retaliate, Kira struck, driving his large sword through the GINN's chest, cleaving the machine in two.
"AAAAAAARRRRRGH!" Miguel screamed before his machine exploded.
Kira turned to face the Aegis, ready for anything. He wasn't sure off who the pilot of the Aegis was. He had seen whom he believed to be Athrun stealing the machine, but was that same person piloting the Aegis now?
"Kira…Kira Yamato?" Athrun's voice came over the radio.
Kira gasped. It was Athrun! His oldest friend had been part of the attack on his home and was facing him in combat!
"So, it is you, isn't it, Kira?"
Chris chased after the remaining GINN, which was harassing the Archangel at the moment. Nisha was right beside him to provide ranged fire if the need ever arose. However, before either of them could engage it, the GINN was hit by one of the Archangel's Gottfrieds, destroying most of the GINN's waist and legs. Just before it exploded, the GINN released all of its missiles. The missiles flew wildly around before Nisha swore out loud.
"Damn it!" he cursed as he squeezed the trigger on his controls. Chris stared in amazement as all the missile tubes on the Z.A.M. Gundam's chest opened all at once. Then, in a blaze of light and sound, all of the missiles were unleashed on the missiles of the GINN, each finding their mark. But, ultimately, there were not enough missiles to save the colony. Nisha let out a few more swears as he tried to get the Z.A.M. Gundam to release its leg missiles, but he was locked out of the firing program. The Z.A.M. Gundam's systems had overheated due to launching all of its chest missiles at once!
"Fucking machine!" Nisha swore as Chris watched helplessly at the missiles impacting the central shaft of Heliopolis. The shaft broke in two, causing Heliopolis to start collapsing all around them.
"No…" Chris murmured as he watched his home of almost a year crumble into dust.
Suddenly, the effects of the massive vacuum that was being created violently pulled on the Raven. He struggled to control the Mobile Suit, but it was pointless. There was nothing he could to except sit back and pray that he would survive.
Nisha gasped as the Z.A.M. Gundam began to be pulled violently towards the vacuum of space itself. He tried to keep the machine in a stable position, but the vacuum proved to be too much for him. Nisha gulped and hoped that he would survive the ejection into space.
Aki' snarled as he tried to keep the Wing inside the now collapsing colony, but to no avail. The vacuum created by space was too much for the Wing's battery unit, and the Phase Shift armor went down. Suddenly, a piece of free-flying debris hit the machine on the side, the impact causing Aki' to hit his head on the side of the cockpit and black out…
"Athrun…Athrun Zala?" Kira said in disbelief. "Why…why are you here?"
"You should talk." Athrun shot back. "What are you doing in that thing?"
Before Kira could answer however, parts of Heliopolis began to fall all around them. Kira looked around in horror. Heliopolis was tearing itself apart. A few seconds later, both Kira and Athrun found themselves being pulled violently outside the colony.
Kira screamed as he was pulled into space. He heard Athrun shout out his name before the Aegis was pulled out in a different direction.
Aboard the Gamow…
Saul, Tao, Dearka, Nicol, and Yzak all watched as Heliopolis broke apart.
"Heliopolis…" Nicol weakly murmured.
"Jeez...How the hell did Miguel and the others screw up so badly?" Dearka said.
"The council's gonna have Commander Le Creuset's head for this." Saul solemnly said. "There's no way he can get out of something like this without some form of punishment. Using D-Equipment inside a civilian colony. What was he thinking?"
Tao grunted once. "He was not thinking very clearly, that's for sure."
Everyone could not help but agree with her statement.
A short while later
Newly formed Heliopolis debris field…
Chris stared out at the debris field of what had been his home for a few days short of a year. But now it was gone. Nothing more than dust in the wind.
"X3…Ra…05…Str…res…" A static filled call came over the radio.
A few seconds later, it came back, this time at full strength. "X305 Raven, X105 Strike, please respond!"
"This is the Raven." Chris replied over the radio. "Is that you, Archangel?"
"Affirmative Raven." The voice of Ensign Badgiruel answered. "What's your status?"
"Shaken, but I'm okay."
"Can you see the Strike, the Wing, or the Z.A.M. Gundam?"
Chris took a quick look around. He spotted the Archangel in the distance, but could not see the Strike or the other two machines.
"No, I can't see them."
"Very well then. Return to the ship."
"On my way."
He started to make his way back to the ship while Ensign Badgiruel continued to call the Strike, the Wing, and the Z.A.M. Gundam. A few seconds later, Kira replied. "Strike here. I'm fine."
"Do you have the ship' position?" Badgiruel asked.
"Yeah." Kira replied.
"Then return to the ship."
"Right."
Meanwhile, Chris had made it about a third of the way to the Archangel when he spotted a blinking light. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a damaged Heliopolis lifeboat pod.
"Archangel, I've found a damaged lifeboat out here. I'm bringing it in." he called over the radio.
"WHAT?! Who gave you authorization to do that?!" Badgiruel demanded.
'You have got to be kidding me…'
"I'm bringing this lifeboat in."
"You can't just bring in a civilian lifeboat without proper authorization!"
Chris just shook his head and pushed some of the buttons next to the radio, filling it with static. "What was that Archangel? You're breaking up. I didn't get that last transmission. You can tell me when I come aboard with the lifeboat."
He then turned off the radio, picked up the lifeboat and headed towards the Archangel.
Elsewhere…
The Wing drifted in space, not moving. The Phase Shift Armor was down, meaning that the power of the main battery used for the armor was drained. Inside the cockpit, Akira laid motionless, blood running down his face, the result of a head injury.
The Coordinator was unconscious due to the head injury combined with the fact that he was worn out from his SEED mode. In his mind, memories resurfaced, ones that he had tried so hard to suppress…
"Those damned Naturals! How could Blue Cosmos do this?! And to an innocent Coordinator at that?!" A ZAFT official was angry at the sight before him and his fellow officers.
Akira stared at the sight. His sister, the one who had been so innocent and interested in being a medic, was DEAD?! The boy felt so many emotions, but rage, anger, and sadness were the main ones that were showing.
Tears flowed down his face, the moment seeming so surreal, yet so real. 'Why?! Why did this have to happen to her?! WHY?!' The young Coordinator thought. He wanted a reason, yet the ZAFT officials could not give him one. They just could not give him one…
Akira opened his eyes slightly, the blood still fresh from his injury. The Coordinator looked over at the screen, and saw only the ruins of Heliopolis. The colony was destroyed…
Shock then flooded the boy's body. The devastation seemed too real to be there, but it was, right in front of him as well. Tears ran down his cheeks, making him feel even more upset. Why was this happening? WHY?! No answers ever came. A sick feeling emerged in the Coordinator's stomach, but he shook his head, hoping that the feeling would fade from him. It did not.
Clutching the controls of the Wing, Akira managed to get the Phase Shift armor back online due to the second battery unit. That taken care of, the boy flew around, trying to get a lock on the Archangel's position. A beep from the radar told him that the ship had been found.
The ship located, Akira maneuvered the Wing towards the Archangel. His hands were shaking, the images of the broken colony embedded in his mind. Images of his sister's broken and battered form also came to mind, but Akira shook his head to shove the images from his memory. He needed to get back to the Archangel and that was all that mattered at that point…
Elsewhere…
Nisha stared at the debris around him as he flew towards the Archangel. The boy was shocked at what had happened, but he knew that getting to the ship was of great importance.
He checked the radar and saw the position of the Archangel was nearby. Relieved, Nisha headed in that direction, tired and worn out from the day's events, but also saddened by the loss of his home for more than ten years.
I hope you all liked the chapter. Please read and review after reading. Reviews help me keep going and give me motivation to keep posting. Any flames will result in the flame being reported. Keep reviewing!
