Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam
Another long chapter, if this was anime my Renew rewrite could be considered OVA movies :)
This chapter we show off the abilities of the Purpose and some of the skills of the Gundam pilots. Also the introduction of one of the primary Antagonist OC suits the Massacre.
Gundam Seed Purpose Renew
Chapter 2: They're called Gundams
There was a smile on my face that day. I felt optimistic because he was optimistic too. After all we had promised one another that we would meet again. Athrun...how could it come to this?
"Gundam," Kira muttered the words he had seen on the Strike's activation screen.
Murrue Ramias understood the boy's awe. The G-Weapons all operated with the same computer system, utilising programs that formed the acronym G.U.N.D.A.M. which seemed to be as good a name as any for the machines. Her superiors however insisted on the name G-Weapons, not wanting the machines to be considered anything but weapons to use against the Coordinators, or in Murrue's eyes ZAFT. She gripped the controls tightly, her experience with piloting was very limited. In fact her experience in anything was limited. She was a reserve, had graduated top of her class in officer training but she was still a reserve, her main form of employment had been as a teacher. She looked at the brown haired boy and saw another one of her students, untouched by the effects of the war. Murrue activated the Strike's phase shift armour, turning the machine's dark grey armour white, blue and red. The ZAFT pilots however weren't impressed, a green GINN swung its sword down at the Strike. Murrue crossed the Strike's arms, blocking the GINN's sword, which grinded against the white machine's armour before deflecting back. The GINN stepped back and the pilot inside narrowed his eyes at the Earth Alliance machine.
"Already the Earth Alliance machines have something up on us," he said.
He looked to the Black GINN a few metres from his position. The machine was terrifying to the artillery truck teams, and deadly too. The pilot bought the GINN's foot down on the truck, soaking the armour in blood. Murrue grimaced slightly at the sight whilst Kira widened his eyes. For Murrue her experience with death had come from shooting far off targets, people who had been trying to kill her, there wasn't time to process your feelings about a person dying in a fire fight. From the safety of the Strike they could see every detail of the battle, every scorch mark, every blood stain, everybody. Murrue shook the fear off, moving the Strike towards the weapons trucks. She gasped as another black GINN suddenly appeared, landing near the container for the Strike's XM404 'Grand Slam' sword, a massive sword designed to cleave through mobile suits. The GINN blocking Murrue's path however was different from its brethren. As well as having the black armour common amongst those under Thanos's command its horn was split into three parts. Split horn GINNs were usually used by pilots of considerable experience and skill in the black Storm unit under Thanos, they weren't quite aces but they weren't far off.
"A little slow, either the pilot is inexperienced, or the machine's OS isn't any good," the pilot of the split horn smirked.
He slid his face plate down and lowered the mask covering his mouth, revealing a pale complexion common in pilots whom wore balaclavas with their flight suits. Those kind of soldiers were often called grunts, nameless soldiers unworthy of consideration. But those men who made up the bulk of the ZAFT forces weren't nameless, they each had stories. Despite their claims, officers and council members had little care for troops that weren't elite. The members of the Black Storm, though a top notch military unit didn't receive any of the benefits of the elite ZAFT units, they were treated like the grunts and that was on the insistence of their leader. Dagger Thanos was a man the split horn's pilot would follow to the death, because he didn't put himself above his soldiers, he remembered their names, the names of their family members. The split horn drew its sword and pointed its rifle at the Strike.
"If your OS system was good, you would probably be a decent challenge, I'm sorry natural but I will not allow you to claim an advantage. BRING DOWN THE LIGHTNING! THE BLACK STORM!" the pilot yelled.
"HOORAH!" his fellow pilots roared, relishing in the rush the battle cry of the black storm unit gave them.
The other two GINNs fired their rifles, belting the Strike with explosive rounds. Murrue and Kira felt every shockwave threatening to rip them from their places. Kira would have fallen on Murrue's waist if he hadn't been holding on to the Strike's chair. He cast his eyes over the view screen, seeing the flash of colours rush through one of the buildings. The green GINN rushed towards the Strike, hitting its shoulder with its sword. The force of the blow threw the Strike back, causing it to crash into a building.
"Damn it, watch it, there could be civilians in there," the pilot of the split horn said.
"So, they're just a bunch of naturals, besides they're acceptable losses," the green coat said.
"These people never asked for this battle, the Earth Alliance painted a target over them, we can at least try to hit the bulls eye," the other black storm pilot said as he aimed his rifle at the Strike.
Murrue cursed as the Strike shook from repeated rounds to its chest. The mobile suit was left imbedded in the wall, its arms touching what was left of the front of the building. She grit her teeth together as she fought against the controls and the strain the explosions put on the machine. Kira looked at the side view screen and saw the green GINN walk until it was standing next to the ruins of a building that was part of the technical college campus. The figures he saw hiding from the machine made him widen his eyes in shock and concern. He had only met with them earlier, he didn't know whether it was mere minutes or an hour but he had seen them.
Sai, Miriallia, Tolle, Kuzzey, Tachi and Kisagi, the friends I made when I came to Heliopolis. We were all so carefree a few moments ago, teasing one another about how behind we were on work and what girls we liked. Okay, they were all teasing me about how behind I was on work and the girl I liked. Everything was good, the closest thing we had to experiencing the war was the reports on the TV. We never thought it would reach the homeland let alone our colony, a neutral colony. Damn it, we didn't ask for this, we don't want this war, we don't to die!
"Haro!"
Yamato looked at the green ball in his hands. He had come to the technical college for three things, to show his children and friends the invention he had made with the help of a boy from the Plants and another from the side colonies, to see professor Kato their teacher and an old friend of his from the days since he had left the organisation, and to speak with Cagalli Yula Athha and to put her suspicions concerning the G-Project to rest. His hope had been to assure Cagalli that Uzumi had no control over the actions of the Sahaku family. They had been the ones to collaborate Morgenroete's assistance in the Earth Alliance's G-Weapon project. However the project whilst against Orb's ideals would ultimately benefit the country in the end, for the Morgenroete had been assisting the alliance, but also stealing data to use in their own Astray project. The three Astray units would be secured by parties that would benefit Orb, Yamato believed that more than he believed he had been right in providing Orb and the alliance with the mobile suit frame data. He gave both parties frame blue prints that would serve as the basis of the G-Weapons and the Astray. In a sense he was responsible for the creation of the ideas of the mobile suits.
He believed that at the current course the war was going, ZAFT would begin to steadily push back the Earth alliance forces, forcing the alliance to turn to disastrous uses of the Cyclops system. The production of the G-Weapons would turn the tide in the war effort, thus leading to the Alliance being able to hold its own and due to superior numbers and supplies, gradually force back the ZAFT forces. With ZAFT no longer having the advantage, the 'organisation behind all' would be forced to reveal themselves and turn the tide back in their favour. They manipulated the war to begin in the first place, Yamato had opted to in his own small way manipulate the war until both forces were at a standstill. Once that had been achieved, once both forces were equally matched, the more reasonable leaders would agree to a compromise. Yamato had hoped to explain that to Cagalli, to turn her hatred away from her father, to convince her that he hadn't betrayed Orb's ideals at all.
But none of that had worked out, Kato was buried under rubble (Yamato was thankful the kids hadn't seen that), he never got to see Cagalli and Kira was nowhere to be found. The only comfort Yamato had was that his adopted son had found the Gundam. That and the girls had found Haro adorable. The green ball was bigger than the ones the boy in the Plants made and designed with the same ability to absorb information that the mechanic in the side colony's gave his Haro. In fact the Haro was an exact replica of that model, right down to its shade of green. Yamato held the machine tightly, its eyes blinking as it yelped.
"What are we going to do?" Kuzzey Buskirk asked.
The dark haired boy was a good kid and his kind nature couldn't cope with the violence he had suddenly been shown. In fact of all the children Yamato wanted to keep Kuzzey away from Kato's body the most, the sight of the Professor's arm poking out of the rubble would have driven him to hysterics.
"Why don't we try the way we came, it might offer some shelter," Tolle Koenig suggested.
"No good, we could get trapped or crushed," said Sai Argyle.
Tolle was Miriallia's boyfriend and the most light hearted person Yamato had met, he was a good counter to Kira's focused work ethic. Whilst Kira was always focused on going from one task to the next, Tolle would be the one to get everyone's mind off of the moment and on something one might consider less important. He would get people's minds off of their troubles and though he could be rash and act without thinking he was a loyal friend. Sai was similar, but more like Kira in the fact that he was a dedicated scholar, but still made time to hang out with his friends and write to the girl he liked.
"Head to light, head to light," Haro chanted.
"What's it talking about?" Sai asked, motioning to the little machine.
"I think its talking about that light we saw earlier, what was it anyway?" Kuzzey asked.
"The entire colony saw it, yet the fighting still goes on," Miriallia said.
"It's okay, we'll make it through this," Tolle said.
Suddenly, a shell landed right beside their hiding spot. The teens looked up and saw one of the GINN's, firing its rifle at the Strike. It continued firing the weapon, blindly disregarding the fact that the empty shells were hitting the college.
"WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" Yamato yelled.
He pushed Tachi and Kisagi forward, ushering the group on. They ran out of cover, underneath the GINN's legs. Tolle grabbed Kuzzey's shoulders and pulled him out of the landing zone of a shell. The group ran away from the mobile suit and ducked as bullets flew wildly past the GINN.
"What the hell, hasn't this pilot heard of aiming?"
"Most mobile suits use complicated, one could argue too complicated computer systems that don't match the individual reaction time of the pilot. The pilot clearly no control over the machine because of the operating system," Yamato explained.
"Dad now isn't the time for a lesson," Tachi said.
"I'm just..."
"JUST RUN!"
Yamato yelped as a dust cloud appeared behind him. It was a sound the Haro shared as it flew out of Yamato's arms and into Miriallia's.
"Oh Haro, any other situation and I would hug you," the girl said.
"LOOK!" Sai pointed to a nearby jeep.
"We can use that to get away," Kuzzey said, eagerly running towards the vehicle.
"That's a Sensou issued jeep, but why is it out here?" Tachi wondered.
"What's Sensou?" Tolle asked.
"They're a private security provider, our brother works for them," Kisagi said.
"Your brother's a mercenary?" Miriallia asked.
"Well if you want to get technical about it yeah."
"KUZZEY WAIT GET AWAY FROM IT!" Yamato yelled.
"What, but it's our way out of here," Kuzzey said.
The coordinator ran at the boy, lifting him on his shoulder and turning away from the jeep. He ran as fast as he could as more bullets flew in their direction. Missiles flew from beyond the warehouse the jeep had been hid beside. Artillery trucks rolled out of the warehouse, followed by a tank. The crew inside the tank each occupied a station, one pilot, two navigators and a gunner.
"Locking onto target, preparing rail gun," the gunner said.
The barrel of the tank's cannon expanded and energy coursed up the barrel.
"TAKE THIS COORDINATOR SCUM!" the gunner yelled.
A blast flew from the cannon, sparking yellow with energy. Its target however swerved to the right and the round slammed into the technical college, bringing the building the building down completely. The GINN swung around, firing its rifle and taking out the line of Earth Alliance vehicles. The jeep the group had been beside was caught in the crossfire and blew up, landing just inches from where Yamato and Kuzzey stood.
"That was close," Yamato breathed a sigh of relief as Kuzzey shivered in fear.
"So much for the EA fighting back," the GINN pilot smirked.
He turned to the Strike as the black storm GINN bought it to the ground. The GINN raised its sword, and then bought it down on the strike again. It grinded against the Strike's phase shift armour, sending sparks spreading across the ground.
"Is that it, is that all the resistance that it can offer?" the pilot of the split horn raised his mask over his mouth and narrowed his eyes at the machine.
He drew his sword and stabbed it into the Strike's chest, or at least tried drilling it through the phase shift armour.
"Die as helpless as the colonists YOU PUT IN THIS SITUATION!"
Can't let my friends die, CANT DIE!
Suddenly, the Strike grabbed the blades of the GINN's and pushed them both back. It jumped to its feet, shaking the very ground as it assumed a fighting position. The pilot of the split horn noticed the sudden change in stance and correctly assumed that the pilot had created a new OS. Inside the Strike, Murrue looked at Kira in shock. The boy had just taken command, insulting the OS and then began writing a new operating system. He had worked at a rate faster than Murrue had ever seen before, to the point where it would have seemed to be random typing. Murrue however could see that not only had the boy altered the Strike's operating system, but was piloting the machine with greater skill than she had.
'Cant risk hitting any of the shelters or my friends with the CIW's,' Kira thought as he cycled through the weapons.
Pockets on the Strike's hip armour opened and a pair of knives shot out. Kira flawlessly grabbed the 'armour schneider' blades and held them in reverse style grips. He blocked the swords of the black storm GINN's and shoved both back. Both machines activated their thrusters, recovering quickly from the counter and circling around the Strike. Kira kept up his defence, preparing himself for their attack. Murrue looked towards the green GINN and gasped as it flew at the Strike. Kira saw the GINN at the last second, his attention had been on the black GINNs. The green one had used the distraction they created and flew through them as they passed the Strike from other side.
"MY TURN!" the pilot yelled.
The Strike adjusted the grip on its knives and crossed the blades together. It effectively caught the GINN's sword. The ZAFT pilot widened his eyes as the Strike snapped his sword in two.
"What the hell, it became a badass all of a sudden, who the hell's piloting it?"
"GET BACK YOU IDIOT!" the split horn pilot yelled.
Kira let out a yell as he thrust his left knife, hitting the GINN's shoulder. The blade sunk through the armour, severing the connection cables, causing the GINN's right arm to go limp. Then Kira followed up with his right blade, dragging it across the GINN's chest.
"What the hell? Why didn't he just stab me?" the pilot wondered.
"He's green," the black storm pilot said.
"You have to aim for the cockpit or the power source," Murrue said.
"If I hit the power source it..." Kira screamed as the split horn tackled him.
Murrue struck her head hard as the Strike crashed down. She fell onto Kira's lap, falling unconscious. The boy looked from the dazed woman to the machines he knew would kill him.
I can't let my friends die and I can't die either. I don't want to kill but I don't want the people in front of me to die too.
The black GINN fired its rifle as it ran at the Strike, raising the sword over its shoulder. Kira nestled Murrue on a spot beside the pilot's chair and turned to the black GINN. The targeting circle locked onto the mobile suit and Kira pulled the trigger, firing a flurry into the GINN's chest. The bullets tore through the machine's armour, ripping open the cockpit and cutting apart the soldier inside. Kira immediately turned away, not wanting to look at the corpse. He activated the Strike's thrusters and rushed towards the damaged GINN. Both coordinator youths yelled as they fired their weapons. Rounds hit the Strike, depleting its battery, and the bullets from the Strike's machine guns cut at the GINN's armour. The GINN's right arm fell off and another shot slammed into its head.
"The main camera," the pilot grit his teeth together as his screen flickered.
A blade ripped through the cockpit, and the pilot let out a yell of excruciating pain as the blade tore through his side. He struggled just to breath, blood gushing from his mouth and onto his helmet's visor. The man couldn't even scream as the Strike stabbed the GINN again, this time hitting the pilot's chest. Kira withdrew the blade and gagged at the sight of the blood. The reality had already begun to consume him and fill him with guilt.
Oh god, I killed him, why did this have to happen? Why did I have to get involved like this? Oh god, oh god, please let this be a bad dream. It has to be, Athrun doesn't believe in fighting, Orb is neutral too. This is all impossible, it can't be real.
"First kill huh?"
Kira turned and widened his eyes, the Strike was looking into the barrel of a bazooka. The split horn fired the bazooka, blowing open the barrel but sending the Strike slamming front first into the ground.
"That pause, it wasn't very brief, you're processing what you've just done haven't you?" Kira heard the man's voice echo on the radio, the man had hacked his frequency. "It's a bad time to do it in the middle of a battle, especially when your opponent is a mobile suit. People die when you hesitate, just like people die when we follow orders, but there is a reason, a higher purpose behind these orders. Maybe you're sorry the fighting came to this colony as I am sorry to have attacked it, my people are as responsible for this chaos and death as yours are. I will never allow a weapon like this to be used against my homeland!"
The split horn slammed its foot into the Strike's wrist and raised its sword into a stabbing position. Kira looked at the Strike's battery, he didn't have enough battery to survive another assault and this time the split horn was ready to kill him. He yelled as the GINN's bought its sword down.
As the Strike was engaging the GINNs, another battle was going on. The light that had caught the eye of so many had gone dark. The fire blazing behind the Gundam gave it a very dark look, enhanced by its glowing eyes. Gekido looked from one opponent to the next, analysing each enemy whilst occasionally being drawn to the orange GINN. Rounds suddenly flew towards him. He span the Gundam on the spot, ducking as if avoiding a punch. The ZAFT pilots widened their eyes as the Gundam jumped to the side. Particles flew out of its back as it slid across the ground, dragging its hands through the dirt. It had landed in the pose runners would take at the start of the track. Gekido pushed the controls forward and shifted the pedals on his feet. In turn the Gundam ran forward, bringing chunks of dirt and debris up with it as it stampeded towards the nearest and brightest GINN.
"He's fast," Miguel noted as he fired his rifle.
The rounds struck the Gundam's chest, causing it to stumble slightly. Gekido sidestepped, avoiding several bullets coming at him from the left. Then he ran forward, leaping to the left, and then the right to avoid Miguel's gunfire. The orange GINN backed away, adjusting its aim to for a better chance of hitting the white and grey behemoth. It swung its arm forward, grabbing the GINN's rifle.
"AIMAN!" the other GINN pilots yelled.
Miguel was fine, but shocked by the Gundam's actions. It held the rifle, raising the barrel to the sky. The machine's arms shook and for a moment Miguel felt as if the machine was staring at his. He narrowed his eyes as he heard a snarl across the radio.
"Clever ZAFT, you came all the way out here to stop the Alliance building its weapons, one step closer to winning the war...bravo good guys," the voice sounded like it came from someone as old as Miguel, and clearly very angry.
"Good guys?" confusion was clear in Miguel's return transmission.
Gekido closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a deep breath. He thought it would relieve his anger to stop for just a single moment. But it didn't, his anger only intensified, much like the flames that had consumed where the Gundam once resided. Those flames spread through the grass, blowing up nearby vehicles, the smoke darkened the area. But every pilot could see their target as it eyes were like the flames.
"YOU BASTARDS JUST HAD TO TAKE THE BAIT DIDN'T YOU!" Gekido yelled.
Miguel widened his eyes as the Gundam crushed the barrel of his rifle. The Gundam threw the damaged weapon aside and threw a punch at the GINN. Miguel stepped back again and again, using his arms as shields to block the punches. Each punch caused damage to appear on the monitors for the limbs, and each punch was accentuated by the Gundam pilot's words.
"'We're justified' you tell yourselves, when the truth is you're as bad as the Alliance, the fact that they came here shows winning was more important than the lives they'd destroy coming here, just like you didn't care about the people caught in the crossfire! 'The Earth Alliance made this place a target' but YOU'RE THE ONES SHOOTING AT IT!" Gekido roared as he continued to punch the GINN.
Miguel drew his sword and thrust it at the Gundam. The blade grinded against the armour, scratching it only slightly before the machine stepped to the side and then shoved Miguel back.
"'Pure blue world', 'independence for the Plants', 'justice for Junius seven', 'protect the Earth', big words but all just talk, political bullshit given out by politicians, bullshit you've swallowed."
"Oh yeah, and what are you doing here huh?" Miguel retorted.
He swung his sword, catching it on the Gundam's wrist. It seemed as if both pilots were glaring at one another as their machine's heads slammed together.
"I'm not with the Alliance numb nuts," Gekido said.
"What? Then you must be a dog of war," Miguel snarled.
"Mercenary, nomads, I don't care what you call me!"
Gekido slammed his fist into the GINNs' shoulder. Miguel stepped back and swung around, striking the Gundam's wrists with his shield. They deflected the blade, but Miguel followed up with his own fist, hitting the Gundam's face.
"I don't care about the EA and its hypocritical bullshit," Gekido head butted the GINN, disrupting its main camera.
Miguel bought up his sword, turning it onto its flat side as the Gundam threw its fist forward. The Gundam punched the blade and then pulled its fist back for another strike.
"I don't care about ZAFT and its self righteous sense of justice," Gekido snarled.
The Gundam's knuckles began to glow red and a booster ignited on its elbow, increasing the speed of the punch.
"I DON'T CARE!" Gekido yelled.
The Gundam slammed its fist into the GINN's blade, bending it. Miguel saw what was going to happen and dashed backwards, letting go of his sword. The blade snapped in two, the hilt bounced upon landing and the blade imbedded itself on the ground. Time seemed to slow for the two pilots as their machines looked at one another. Both youths, both angry with one another glared without even looking at each other. The glow in the Gundam's armour had faded, but the eyes were still blazing.
"Right now I'm just a man fighting for his life, about as innocent as you Crossbones," Gekido said.
"Clever," Miguel muttered, knowing it was a reference to the symbol on the GINN's shoulder.
"Hey Aiman, I hope you aren't planning on taking that thing on with your bare hands," one of the other GINN pilots said.
"You don't have anything left Miguel, leave him to us," said another pilot.
"I'm not done yet," Miguel said.
"You are, report back to the Vesalius and tell them the situation, if we're not back in two hours the commanders will know what response is necessary to take out these machines," the leader of the squadron explained.
The Gundam began walking into the middle of the GINN squadron, turning its head to face each one. Gekido counted the enemies, one on his left, two behind him and three were in front of him. He looked towards the orange GINN, noting its hesitation in retreating. As the GINN's began targeting him he searched the cockpit, scanning the controls and their functions. He pushed a button on his left control stick and bought up a holographic interface. It showed weapons and gauges for the energy being regulated to those weapons. His interest was in ranged combat at the moment, but he knew he couldn't rely on the Gundam's fists forever. Once he had two primary weapons logged he focused on the GINNs. Reason had overcome Miguel's pride. He saw quite clearly that he didn't have the weapons to match the Gundam.
"I'd say I'm looking forward to seeing you again, but we won't see each other again," Miguel smirked as he began floating off of the ground.
Suddenly, the Gundam raised its arms and yellow blasts flew from its wrists. The projectiles hit the two GINN's either side of the squad leader, causing him and Miguel to widen their eyes. Both GINN's sparked before falling to the ground. But Gekido didn't stop there, he fired two more blasts, hitting the GINNs again, then again before finally piercing through their cockpits. The resulting explosions consumed the leading GINN in fire and smoke.
"So much for the best of the best," Gekido muttered.
"Bastard," Miguel snarled.
He turned and began flying away as the other GINNs engaged the Gundam. Gekido raised the Gundam's arm, using it to block the sword of the GINN. The Gundam barged into the ZAFT suit, then swung its arm around and fired at the other GINNs. Two dodged and the third took a shot to its shoulder. The sword wielding GINN swung at the Gundam again, only for the machine to flip back. Gekido held his controls tightly, keeping a perfect balance as his mobile suit flipped in midair. The move astonished his enemies, establishing the manoeuvrability of the Gundam. Once Gekido landed he activated the secondary weapon of the Gundam. The ZAFT pilots widened their eyes as red blades ignited from the Gundam's wrists.
"Beam swords," the leader gasped.
"NO SHIT!" Gekido yelled as he rushed forward.
The man raised his sword, only for the Gundam to cut it apart. Gekido swung his arm, beheading the GINN first. Then he plunged his left wrist sabre through the GINN's torso. He pulled the sabre out of empty machine, leaving it to fall to the floor as he turned to the other three GINNs. The explosion of the fallen GINN darkened the Gundam, intimidating the other ZAFT pilots beyond what they thought capable.
"DAMN NATURAL!" one of the pilots yelled, firing his rifle at its full rate.
The spray of bullets pushed the Gundam back slightly, scratching its armour. But that was the limit of the damage they could do. Gekido activated his thrusters and lunged forward. He thrust his sabres through the chests of the first two GINNs and glared at the other as it took to the sky. He immediately deactivated his blades and took to the sky, pursuing the fleeing GINN.
"NOT SO FAST!" Gekido roared.
"NO, GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" the ZAFT pilot hysterically fired his rifle at the Gundam.
The machine swerved from left to right, easily dodging the rounds. Out of desperation the GINN threw its rifle and drew its sword. Gekido avoided the rifle and flew around the GINN. He grabbed its left wing and pushed his knee against its back. The GINN's armour began to creak as the Gundam pulled. A rocket ignited on the Gundam's knee, burning the GINN's armour and pushing the Gundam further back. It ripped the GINN's wing off, but the Gekido didn't stop there. He grabbed the horn of the GINN and pushed his feet against its back. The GINN tried keeping itself off the ground with its remaining thrusters, but its damage, along with the Gundam's weight wasn't enough.
"Gravity handles the rest," Gekido muttered.
The ZAFT pilot screamed as his suit impacted with the ground, bending and crushing the hatch for the cockpit. A beam pierced through the GINN's head, blinding it, leaving the pilot to imagine what kind of death Gekido would give him.
"Quit your crying in there, I'm not going to kill you," Gekido said.
"What are you planning to do then?" the pilot asked.
"I need information, which is pretty much the only thing you're good for right now, who's in charge of the operation?"
"It's a joint operation, I'm part of the black storm unit," the pilot said.
"Bull shit, the black storm has some of the greatest warriors in the Earth sphere, you're barely out of pilot school."
"Thanos's personal guard was transferred, he's leading a new force consisting of some of the best graduates from the academy."
"The standards must be low if you idiots are considered the best. How many ships and what kind of equipment did they bring?"
"There are three ships, a Laurasia class the Gamow, and two Nazca class ships, the Vesalius and the Argos."
"Zellman, Ades and Le Creuset and Thanos, all pretty capable commanders but no significant forces for an operation this important. This was a rush job wasn't it, your commanders don't have official authorisation from the Plants do they? Oh it doesn't matter, if its Le Creuset I assume he'll utilise heavy equipment for a siege, Thanos tends to be close quarters and Zellman will just follow the lead of whatever plan assures victory. All right idiot you've given me everything I need, I'm done with you," Gekido explained as he began walking away from the fallen GINN.
"Wait, the hatch, I can't open it, you can't just leave me here," the pilot said.
"Send out an SOS, your forces will probably respond, once they've picked you up they'll cut you out of there," Gekido didn't even look back at the GINN as he activated the Gundam's thrusters.
Rocket boosters on the Gundam's back, legs, feet and elbows ignited and particles emanated from the secondary propulsion unit on its back. The Gundam was capable of flight without the use of a secondary pack. That was something Gekido liked in particular. Even with so many having lost their homes, there was one person in the colony who could be happy over something as simple as flying. Gekido pulled off a flip in midair and positioned the Gundam to look up at the ceiling of the colony. It had an artificial environment to mimic the blue skies and clouds most probably found beautiful. Gekido on the other hand imagined the machines behind those artificial environments, the air vents, the generators to provide 'Earth like' gravity and other life support systems. He imagined beyond those machines, pictured the thrusters that kept the colony in a controlled orbit, the satellite pylons picking up transmissions, the sensors looking out for debris. Beyond those he saw the scrapped Earth Alliance ships and the ZAFT warships that had destroyed them.
"Can't exactly get far on my own, and I don't feel like giving myself to ZAFT free of charge, what could I do?" Gekido wondered.
"Perhaps you would like me to make a suggestion," a voice echoed through the cockpit.
Gekido paused for a moment before smirking.
"Sorry god we got tired of waiting," he said.
"There is little time for humour pilot, the nameless unit must not fall into anyone's hands, you have already killed ZAFT pilots, until you can reach a resolution of your differences it is logical that you side with the Earth Alliance for now."
The voice was cold but carried its own personality, unlike a computerised voice. Gekido looked at his main screen and saw what was probably the avatar of the artificial intelligence. It was a Kanji symbol, a simple kanji symbol that glowed whenever the AI spoke. The simplest translation for the symbol was wisdom.
"Who are you?" Gekido asked.
"The correct term is what, there is no intelligent acronym for my name but my voice, personality and intellect is based on a colleague of your adopted father Yamato Kuzunagi," the AI explained.
"I'll just call you Biggs then how about that?"
"That would be acceptable as both myself and this machine have no names."
"Why weren't you given names?" Gekido asked.
"I cannot say, I was simply made aware that I and this machine would be given names. I am also aware of the purpose of this machine though at present I am limited in what information I can share, limits have been placed on my knowledge and independence by the creator Yamato Kuzunagi, your adopted father I believe," Biggs explained.
"What function do you serve, other than to sound intelligence and to be an annoyance?"
"I am to inform you of weapons as well as the limits of this machine, I cannot control the machine but I can process data and assist the machine in adapting to its environment. My presence makes the machine's adaption speed instantaneous, without me it would take the machine sixty seconds to adapt to changes in environment. Also if you are to allow this machine to be captured, or are killed I will trigger a self destruct sequence within this machine."
"Why?" Gekido narrowed his eyes at the avatar.
"Because you are the chosen pilot, Yamato Kuzunagi made that abundantly clear, if you are to sell this machine or it falls into the hands of ZAFT or the Earth Alliance then I am to overload the machine's Arc generator," Biggs explained.
"Arc? Did he finish the Arc system?" Gekido asked.
"Unknown, sensors indicate there are still Earth Alliance forces in the area!"
"Hey you didn't answer my question."
"Because I don't know the answer," Biggs said, a bit too defensively for a computer.
That made Gekido blink in confusion. He then changed the position of the Gundam so that it was looking down at the city. He saw the smoke and ruins of the technical college and the GINN and the Strike.
"GAT-X105 Strike, general purpose machine developed to utilise Striker packs," Biggs said.
"No need for a running commentary Biggs, better deal with the GINN, then get answers from the EA pilot," Gekido explained.
He swooped downwards, aiming his wrist vulcans at the GINN.
I thought that I was going to die, every thought I had was filled with dread. I thought that I'd never get to see Athrun again, that I never see my friends safe. Strangely at the time my last thought had been about Flay, her hair, her beautiful face, how I never really took the time to talk to her properly. Then something happened that meant I lived and not that GINN pilot, that GINN pilot who had a name, a family, a love of his own.
Time seemed to slow down for Kira as he watched several beams cut through the GINN's armour. The split horn fell back, crushing the college completely.
"JASON!"
That was the last thing the pilot said before he died. Was it the name of a brother, a son, or a lover? I don't know the answer but later on looking back at that man's last moment I realised something. There is a story behind every soldier, they're all just like us really. Beyond coordinator or natural we're all alike, we have family and loved ones, people we want to survive to go back to.
Shaken by the ordeal, it took all of Kira's effort to stand the Strike up. He looked up at the white and grey Gundam, hovering above the ground. The particles it gave off formed a subtle silhouette, a pair of wings blazing behind the machine. Then the light stopped and the Gundam landed, looking towards the Strike and then towards the technical college survivor.
That light, when people saw it emotions were invoked within them. Wonder, terror, I felt...sadness when I saw it. Was it the pilot or the machine itself? Don't laugh, the idea isn't so farfetched. There was something, strange about that machine, the Gundam.
The hatch of the Gundam opened and a grey haired boy looked out.
"I'm not with the Alliance or ZAFT, that doesn't mean we have to be enemies at this moment. We both need help, so do those civilians down there and we can all help each other, so step out of your machine so we can negotiate terms face to face, on even ground," as he spoke, the boy threw a hand cannon to the ground, a sign of disarmament.
Kira immediately opened the Strike's hatch, supporting the EA officer's head as he looked out.
"Please, I need help, this woman took a shot to the shoulder," he explained.
The grey haired pilot nodded his head and stepped back into his machine. It took on a crouched position, mirroring the Strike's position. Kira noticed the pilot put the hand cannon in his pocket.
"GEKIDO!"
Kira and the pilot looked towards the technical college survivors. Tachi and Kisagi were running towards the pilot, the Haro bouncing beside them. The brown haired coordinator looked at the pilot in astonishment. His younger friends always spoke of their older brother, how fearless he was and how kind. What he did shocked Kira and his friends. He batted the Haro aside, sending it flying into Tachi's face. Then he grabbed both coordinators by the collar of their shirts and lifted them up.
"WHY THE HELL WEREN'T YOU TWO IN SHELTERS!" he yelled.
"Itai! Nii-sama," Tachi rubbed the red area of his face.
"Don't call me that," Gekido growled.
"BIG BROTHER!" Kisagi screamed.
She tried to reach out and hug him, but he threw her to the ground.
"ENOUGH! You should have kept yourselves safe, why didn't you get to shelters as soon as you could?" Gekido asked.
"That's my fault Gekido," Yamato said.
The man stood with a more serious expression than what Kira had seen from him in the past. Normally he was a cheerful, almost naively happy man who always had a smile on his face and seemed enthusiastic about most things. What Kira saw in the man now was a scolding father, or at least an attempt to seem scolding. Gekido on the other hand was defiant, his gaze was as firm and fierce as Yamato's.
"Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, Kuzzey, please help Kira treat Miss Ramias, Kisagi there's a med pack in Gekido's mobile suit, ask the AI for help finding it, Gekido and I need to talk," Yamato explained.
"Yes sir," Sai nodded.
Kira couldn't bring himself to look at his friends as they helped him get the officer, Miss Ramias out of the Strike. Kisagi quickly returned with a med kit whilst Tachi joined the other boy's in looking at the Gundams.
"That AI in Gekido's suit was very helpful, if I was delayed it was because he was telling me how to treat the wound," Tachi smiled as she ripped open Ramias's sleeve.
"It looks like it didn't hit the bone but," Miriallia recoiled slightly, looking at the wound in its gory detail. "Good, the bullet went straight through," she removed her hand from her nose and took out some disinfectant.
"Gekido told me there are four things about shoulder wounds you need to remember, one: they hurt a lot, two: they can bleed a lot, but three they are pretty easy to patch up by yourself so long as a bone hasn't been hit and four, they hurt a lot," Kisagi explained.
"It doesn't seem like she's in pain," Kira said.
Kisagi and Miriallia smirked slightly as Murrue winced. It put Kira's statement in the dust as he watched the woman gasp, awakening from unconsciousness.
"It's okay, there's no damage to the nerves that we can tell," Kisagi said as she wrapped the bandages around the woman's shoulder.
Tachi looked up at Gekido's Gundam in wonder, he attempted to get onto the machine. But a quick look from Gekido diverted him to the Strike. Tolle was already in the machine, holding the controls with Kuzzey beside him.
"I think you guys should get out of there," Sai said.
"I wonder why it turned grey," Kuzzey said.
"Maybe its cause it's out of juice," Tolle suggested.
"Maybe you need to talk louder Sai," Tachi grinned.
"GET AWAY FROM THERE NOW!"
A shot echoed in the air and a bullet bounced off of the Strike's chest. The four boys looked to where the shot came from, raising their hands up on instinct. Kira, Miriallia and Kisagi backed away from their patient as she got off the floor, pointing her gun at the boys.
"Get off of that machine now," she said sternly.
"Wait, they're the ones that helped me get you out of that thing," Kira said.
The woman turned to Kira, pointing her gun at him and keeping her stern expression. She waved the gun, pointing it towards a space a few inches away from the Strike. Realising just how serious she was, Kira and his friends followed her lead. Gekido on the other hand had ignored the whole situation, he had been carrying on his conversation with Yamato at the time. The Earth Alliance officer cautiously turned to the pair, looking between the kids and the two men talking to one another.
Her name is Murrue Ramias, and believe it or not she quickly became one of my closest friends, almost like an older sister. Gekido Jaeger however, took longer than Murrue for me to ease my fear of him. That look in his eyes, I don't think I'd ever seen anyone so angry before. What Gekido did though shocked me to the core.
"YOU BASTARD!" Gekido suddenly roared.
He kneed Yamato in the chest, bringing him to his knees. Then he raised his cannon, pushing the barrel against the man's head
"NII-SAMA!
"YAMATE KUDASAI!"
Even the cries of his siblings didn't stop him from threatening their father.
"Put the gun down NOW!" the EA officer yelled.
"BACK OFF BOOBS!" Gekido yelled.
The nickname made the woman blush before she narrowed her eyes and glared at Gekido.
"Maybe we should exchange names, just so you won't call me something so inappropriate again," the woman said.
"Sexist yeah, inappropriate no, I'd say it was right on the...well you know," Gekido huffed, still keeping his gun to Yamato's head.
"That's Yamato Kuzunagi, he's an Earth Alliance advisor, I'm ordering you to let him go."
"Yeah, I'm still not getting a name from you lady," Gekido said.
"Lady now," she muttered, gritting her teeth together. "I'm lieutenant Murrue Ramias of the Atlantic Federation, assigned as commander of this facility, kids tell me your names now!"
The Heliopolis students all looked between Murrue and Gekido. So far they didn't know who to trust, but looking at Gekido told them all they needed to know. Whatever Yamato told him had angered him, to the point where it looked like he actually was going to shoot him and Murrue. The brown haired woman however was keeping her cool, even with her wounded arm. One by one Kira and his friends told her who they were, Tachi and Kisagi however seemed too shocked to saw anything.
"Those are my children Murrue-san," Yamato said.
"You don't talk until I tell you to you piece of shit, how could you do it? How could you put them in danger like this?" Gekido asked.
Kira and Murrue both looked at the exchange, dropping their guards slightly. They both saw that there was more to the confrontation than Gekido's anger. Murrue kept her gun raised as she stepped around Gekido, looking at the new Gundam only briefly. Gekido's knuckles had gone white from gripping his gun so tightly. He was grinding his teeth together, his finger loomed over the trigger but Yamato seemed to offer no resistance. On the contrary, Yamato seemed eerily calm and it was a side of him the Heliopolis students hadn't seen before, a side that disturbed them greatly.
"I had to keep my research safe, in the event I was taken ZAFT and the Earth Alliance wouldn't be able to steal my research because they lacked the two other biometrics required to access the database," Yamato explained.
"Your research, tell me, where you hoping that you'd get to your computer first, or that the only means of accessing your data would be lost when the rubble came down on you all?" Gekido asked.
"The first was my hope, the second was...also a hope."
The meaning of Yamato's statement wasn't lost on the siblings. Kira could see how ashamed of the man they were, yet he could also see the deep love they had for their father. Gekido on the other hand pushed his gun deeper against Yamato's skull.
"You're insane," he said.
"Drop the gun now young man, it's my unfortunate duty to inform you people that I cannot permit any of you to leave," Murrue said.
Gekido narrowed his eyes at the woman and grinned.
"Typical Earth Alliance officer graduates, all theory, no instinct, all books, no common sense. These are civilians, kids, are they all you can handle lieutenant?" he asked.
"Despite the circumstances, the fact is you have all witnessed a classified military project. Until I am able to notify the proper authorities who will then determine how the situation is to be handled I am afraid you will all have to remain with me at all times," she explained.
Gekido raised his eyebrows in frustration whilst the Heliopolis children began speaking protests.
"In case you haven't noticed we're citizens of Orb so we're neutral, we have nothing to do with the military or your war," Sai said.
"What were the Earth forces doing here in the first place?" Tolle asked.
"Enough," Murrue said, silencing the protests. "Look around you, can you really distance yourself from the situation and say that you're neutral? The fact of the matter is the Earth Alliance's greatest military secret was here and you've seen it, I cannot permit any of you to leave with this knowledge so it's just something you'll have to deal with," she explained.
Gekido let out a laugh as he pushed Yamato to the ground, putting his pistol in his pocket. Murrue kept aiming her pistol at him, standing her ground as he took a step closer.
"Wow, that's either idiocy or denial, is it your way of hiding the fact that you need our help and are lost without us?" Gekido asked. "Or maybe you're too stupid to see that ZAFT already got its hands on your precious prototypes, the secret is already out Lieutenant, there's no point in protecting something you've lost. The only option you have right now is to link up with any survivors from the Earth Alliance, get the Strike to your nearest headquarters and use what you've got left to build your mobile suits, a bunch of teenagers aren't going to threaten your plan but they want to get out of here as much as you do, isn't that right?"
"Right, the other shelters are probably cut off or full, if it's between trusting the people who attacked our home and the alliance we'll go with the alliance," Tolle explained.
"Glad you all saw reason," Gekido said as he turned away.
"Wait aren't you going to help us?" Miriallia asked.
"Yeah after all that talk of survival," Sai said.
"I am going to be helping, my Gundam Purpose and I will stand guard, consider that service free of charge," the young man climbed into the cockpit of the suit, settling on his chair.
"What do you mean charge?" Murrue asked
"You're a smart woman Ramias, figure it out," Gekido mockingly saluted the woman as the Gundam's cockpit closed.
The Heliopolis students turned away from the machine, only to look back as the cockpit opened.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Gekido yelled.
A green ball flew past Murrue, slamming into Tolle's face. The ball bounced into Miriallia's arms as her boyfriend fell to the floor.
"Haro, Geki not nice, Geki not nice," the little robot said.
Gekido removed his coat and put it over his seat. He also took bullets from the pockets and began inserting them into the chamber of his gun.
"Curious, you assaulted the creator with an unloaded gun," Biggs said.
"I wanted to know why he didn't get to a shelter immediately, why there was a delay, turns out he was keeping more data for this suit in Kato's office," Gekido explained.
To prove his statement he removed what Yamato had slipped into his pocket during the 'assault'. It was a flash drive that Gekido was certain contained whatever data Yamato didn't keep in his house. Gekido took his laptop out of his bag, it was small, almost as small as any hand held or twenty first century I-pad. After starting it up he inserted the flash drive.
"He keeps certain pieces of data within special locked devices, they only open when Yamato's biological data, his body silhouette, prints, eye scan and the key part, his heart beat are picked up by the box's sensors. Except for this lock he also logged Tachi and Kisagi, he couldn't get to the data without them," he explained.
"A logical plan, considering he wishes to keep it from falling into unethical hands," Biggs said.
"Ethical? Don't make me laugh, Yamato put his children in danger over...the specs of a damn generator," Gekido snarled, seeing the blue prints of stored within the drive. "The arc generator, wait a minute," he narrowed his eyes, seeing that there was more on the drive.
They were programs, with numerous labels but no explanation over what purpose they served.
"Wave, boost, armour, shield, sword and burst," Gekido read the files curiously.
He noticed a connection point underneath his display. Extending a cable from his laptop he connected it to the console. Gekido checked each file for viruses before downloading them into the newly named Purpose's server.
"Purpose, why did you call it that?" Biggs asked.
"Because a lot of people have been using the word purpose, saying that this machine doesn't have a purpose, well I've given it one," Gekido said.
"What purpose?"
"To fight, it's as simple as that!"
'And maybe, help me find what I'm looking for,' the teen thought.
The Heliopolis students looked up at the Purpose between work. Sai, Kuzzey and Tolle were helping with gathering the Strike's weapon packs. Miriallia, Tachi and Kisagi (and Haro) stayed close to Yamato, he was rubbing the bruise on his forehead and the marks Gekido left from his gun.
"You two are the most important people in my life, I'd never allow any harm to come to you, you both realise that right?" he asked.
"We do dad," Kisagi said.
The man smiled as he hugged his children. Miriallia turned away slightly, whatever was going on with the Kuzunagi family was between them. She smiled as Tolle waved from the truck he was driving.
"OI! PUSSY WHIPPED! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING!" Gekido's voice boomed over the Purpose's speakers.
"He's right be careful with the striker packs," Murrue said.
Tolle carefully reserved his truck towards the Strike's back. He began the process of equipping the Strike's heavy weapons pack. The appropriately named 'Launcher' pack latched onto the links on the Strike's back and shoulders. Kira sat inside the machine and activated the Strike's phase shift armour. Much to his and the shock of the other civilians, the Strike's armour did not change into its previous white, red and blue form. Instead the majority of the armour took on a green colour that matched the colour of the launcher.
"The phase shift armour changes with the equipment too then, okay Miss Ramias what should I do now?" Kira asked.
"The launcher has a dish for extended communication, see if you can contact any Earth Alliance forces," Murrue said.
"Okay," the boy extended the Strike's communication dish and began cycling through frequencies.
Survivor instincts took over, we were desperate enough to work with the Alliance. I could tell that despite her attempts to convince us otherwise Murrue had a conscious. Gekido was right, she had no intention of taking us as prisoners. It wasn't a matter of us having the right to leave though, we were involved and we had to survive. Gekido however was something more difficult to figure out, he just sat in his Gundam making modifications to it. Whatever questions Murrue had about it would only be answered later. But looking up at the newly named Purpose my friends got the opposite feeling they got from Gekido. The Purpose seemed calm and peaceful, completely different from its chosen pilot.
"Mum, Dad, are you okay?" Kira wondered.
"Hey idiot!"
"Is that you Gekido?"
"Your frequency isn't secure, keep the SOS signal going, at this point we're so close to ZAFT forces anyway there's no point in hiding our communications. There may be an Earth Alliance ship in the vicinity, if my hunch is right, but that's not why I called. I can tell you're a bit of an idiot, but are your parents like that?" Gekido asked.
"I think the point Gekido's going to try and make Kira is that your parents must have gone to the shelters first thing...I'm sure they got to the shelters," Murrue said, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself more than the boy.
"Thank you Miss Ramias, Gekido how did you get a hold of that machine? Why did you get into it?" Kira asked.
There was a brief pause before Gekido answered, the Purpose stood up and rotated its hands.
"I wanted to fight ZAFT, or the alliance or whoever I was being paid to. Right now however I just want to survive, and there's someone in ZAFT I really can't stand," Gekido explained.
Part of me wondered whether I was better because I fought for better reasons. But at the time for some reason I couldn't hate Gekido or even fault him. He was at the least being honest, not hiding behind words like duty or justice.
Suddenly, an explosion on the ceiling of the colony alerted the group. They looked up and saw two figures emerge from the hole that had formed. Gekido zoomed in on the dog fighters, although it was a one sided battle.
"A Moebius Zero, that must be La Flaga," Gekido said.
The mobile armour was leaving a trail of smoke behind it, making the white CGUE's job easier.
"Rau Le Creuscet," Gekido narrowed his eyes at the commander's unit.
He fired the Purpose's wrist vulcans, just enough to put the CGUE on the defensive. Rau looked down at the Purpose and smirked.
"Well it seems our spy outdid himself, the Sensou unit is truly unique," he said.
"You're the one behind this attack," Gekido growled, his face appearing on Rau's screen.
"Good to see that it wasn't picked up by the alliance, can you really fault me for wanting to deprive my enemy of their weapons?" Rau asked.
"Not really, except you turned what should have been a covert operation into a show," Gekido said.
"Hmmm, you're pretty smart for a mercenary, tell me what has the Alliance paid you?"
"They haven't paid me...yet!"
"I see," Rau's smirk grew, his eyes grew wider with that smile, giving away an emotion despite being covered.
The CGUE dived downwards, targeting the Strike with its rifle.
"Then I'll use this opportunity to destroy that machine here and now!"
"ALL OF YOU FIND COVER NOW!" Gekido yelled over the speakers.
Kira walked the Strike a short distance away from the group. Even with them scrambling for cover he couldn't risk them getting hit anyway. The CGUE's rounds struck the phase shift armour, causing the Gundam to flinch slightly.
"Impressive defence, no wonder Thanos's men lost, let's see which will last longer, your battery or my ammo," the masked man grinned as he continued firing at the Strike.
Kira raised the Strike's Agni Cannon and targeted the CGUE. Murrue looked towards the Strike in horror and the Purpose broke off into a run.
"KIRA WAIT!" Gekido yelled.
The Strike fired its Agni cannon, sending out a beam or red and blue energy. Rau widened his eyes and at the last moment pulled off a spin that no ordinary pilot could have done. The impulse beam tore through the CGUE's shooting arm and kept on going up, slamming into the surface of the colony, tearing open a hole into space. Kira, his friends and the two Earth Alliance officers gasped, horrified by the sheer power and consequences of Kira's choice. The Purpose clubbed the Strike across the head.
"You idiot, what kind of damage did you think a gigantic cannon would do?" Gekido asked.
"It has power too, good thing we recovered the others, what about the sixth one though?" Rau curiously looked towards the remains of the alliance hanger.
"Lower the weapon Kira, let me take care of the CGUE," Gekido said.
He narrowed his eyes at the white machine as he ignited his wrist sabres. The Purpose however suddenly stopped and an alarm blared inside the cockpit.
"Biggs what is that alarm?" Gekido asked.
"High levels of solar energy from an arc reactor have been detected, however the output is different from the Purpose, something is breaking through the surface of the Earth Alliance facility," Biggs explained.
"What do you mean?"
"It seems that the Alliance did not stop with five prototypes."
Everything was silent for a moment, save for the sound of cracks spreading across the ground. The remains of the hanger collapsed and the ground itself crumbled. A pillar of red light shot out of the ground, disintegrating the rubble from the Alliance facility. The pilots looked towards the pillar, whilst the civilians shielded their eyes. Yamato and Murrue stood side by side, unflinching as G-forces swept their hair back and forced the children to find cover. Gekido took on a defensive pose, seeing something within the pillar. Its silhouette was monstrous, bearing wings and some kind of tail and what looked like a pair of horns. A smirk spread across Rau's mouth, and the masked man began to chuckle as he flew around the pillar.
"He certainly knows how to make an entrance," he said.
"What is that? Why was it so close to our facility?" Murrue asked.
"Because it was part of the G-Project, an addition to the project put in by those who are behind everything," Yamato said.
The creature's wings swept the energy aside as if they were flames, finally revealing the sixth prototype. Its shoulders were thick and had curved spikes coming out of them, additional plates were on the front of the shoulders and Gekido wondered whether they were for concealed weapons. Similar plates were on the Gundam's rounded chest, which also included a red crystal on the belly. The head of the Gundam was slightly bigger than the other prototypes, and instead of the typical yellow eyes it had a clear red line. Suddenly the line faded and a pair of red eyes flashed, glaring at the Purpose. It spread its wings, revealing that they were well designed thrusters, designed to mimic the wings of a dragon. Even the tail was simply a part of the weapons system, a gigantic cannon attached to the backpack. Its hands were sharper than the other prototypes, more resembling a pair of claws than hands. Plates on it skirt and knees also hid weapons. The Gundam's phase shift armour was black across the face, arms and legs, whilst the shoulders, skirt, chest and other areas with concealed weaponry were a blood red colour, included the helmet, which had vulcans covering the 'cheeks' of the Gundam's head. As well as looking intimidating, the sixth prototype was built for taking on armies and fortresses.
"The sixth prototype, specialised in terror and mass slaughter operations, the GAT-ARC0 Massacre," Yamato named the machine as it flew over them.
It had its arms crossed and seemed to look at the Strike. Kira cautiously raised the Agni, but remembering the damage it had caused last time stopped.
"I...I can't make a mistake like that again," he said.
Terror, pure terror, that's all I felt from the Massacre, those red particles it gave off seemed better suited for Gekido. Part of me wondered if Gekido had a Gundam that was peaceful, maybe someone even worse than him had one that was terrifying.
"KIRA GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Gekido yelled.
He moved the Purpose in front of the Strike as the Massacre opened its arms, releasing a blast from the crystal on its belly.
"BIG BROTHER!" Kisagi yelled.
"KIRA!" Miriallia screamed.
Gekido crossed the Purpose's arms together and braced himself.
"Download complete, commencing program-ARC-armour," Biggs said.
The inside of the Purpose lit up, glowing an intense blue colour, illuminating Gekido. Outside the machine, the white pieces of its armour began to glow blue. The red beam from the Massacre collided with the Purpose, but much to everyone's shock, the beam split into pieces like a stone against metal. Gekido looked at the Gundam's hands, amazed just like the people looking at the Purpose.
"I see it now, the Purpose's alloy is a conductor for the energy from the arc," he said.
"Yes, this is the power of the Purpose's generator, absorbing energy from any source offered to it and converting it into power to carry out whatever purpose is required," Biggs explained.
Explosions suddenly rocked the landscape, causing the Purpose and Strike to shield the non-combatants. Rau and the Massacre flew back, looking at the annoyance that emerged from its hiding place. Murrue smiled upon seeing the other main product of the G-project. Even the Heliopolis children were amazed by the sudden and timely appearance of a red and white warship.
The Archangel, over the next few months I was going to have an incredible adventure on this ship, a place I would in time call home. But this isn't a fantasy, the ship would take us to dark places. The day I saw the Massacre for the first time was but the first of many devastating and terrifying events that changed our world.
Next Chapter 3: Leaving home
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time the 'monologue character' will either be Miguel Aiman as he has another battle with the Purpose, or Flay Alster as she makes her introduction, which one do you think I should go with? Also your thoughts on the chapter please :)
Some information on the Massacre, I based the look on the Gundam Heavy Arms Kai from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz and the Gundam Legilis from Gundam AGE. I also thought of voice actors for some of my OC's, or at least two.
Biggs (Purpose assistance AI): Peter Dinklage, famous for his role as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, also played Ghost in Destiny. He would portray well the intelligence of the AI as well as the subtle humour.
Gekido Jaeger: Robert McCollum, voice actor whose roles include Masamune Date from the Sengoku Basara anime, Mystogan from Fairy Tail and Shinjya Kogami from Psycho-Pass, when I first heard him as Masamune Date I just thought 'that's Gekido' he does anger and attitude pretty well.