Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam
Back with a long awaited update, sorry it took so long and I hope it lives up to the wait.
Geoffrey Draygon, Luther Forest, Eddie Keys and Chris are property of Many Faced Mage.
I thought long and hard on a redesign or 'disguise' for the Purpose and settled for a Gundam Command style armour upgrade with a Virtue/Shiden mix head.
Gundam Rise Purpose
Chapter 18: Stillness and regret
Shuuji Kuroso walked through the streets of the fabled Neo Japan colony. The Neo Shinjuku district was designed to mimic a more primitive era of that part of Japan. He walked receiving an equal amount of respectful bows and glares from the people working the markets. Though a respected martial artist and champion, he was still a foreigner to them. Still he had some places that were willing to accept his patronage and serve him. The Garden was a beautiful place that invoked images of the rivers in the village he grew up in. A tea house positioned over a pond with cherry blossoms beside it, it was one of the more peaceful areas of the colony.
"Sifu Kuroso," the serving lady used the Chinese name for teacher as opposed to Sensei.
She poured tea into his cup and he knelt, his shoes already at the door. The man smelt the fumes of the tea before drinking, sighing at the taste and the relief the calm offered him. Although he was not above technology or using it for small comforts or necessities, he felt at his best in the calm of nature. The sight of a perfect bloom of peach cherries would always be more breathtaking than the ships at the docks, the Earth itself would always be a greater wonder than a colony and the achievement of the body being perfected through hard work, study and training would always be greater than genetic engineering. That was Shuuji's principal, self improvement, improvement of your home and respect for nature.
"SIFU, SIFU, SIFU KUROSO!" voices yelled, barging into the tea house.
Shuuji opened his eyes, looking to the youths that came into his booth. He sipped his tea again before placing it on the table and analysing his students. They had bloodied bruises on their faces, they were dishevelled from more than just the run here and of course they were afraid.
"Sifu Kuroso," one of the students said.
"I heard you boy, now, why have you barged into this place without removing your shoes?" he asked.
"Damn it, I am so sorry Sifu, I am so sorry miss," the students bowed to the server.
"I should have you offer your thumb to this young lady, these floors were the image of perfection, a reflection of her hard work polishing them and now you have dirtied them with the mud and dust of your sparring and mischief," Shuuji explained, sipping the tea again.
"Forgive us please, but Sifu, please, we had to find you, it's terrible," another student said.
"Please come at once," said another.
After apologising to the tea house owner and paying extra for his tea, Shuuji made his way with his students to the small square where other dojos had made their home. He raised his eyebrows in mild confusion when he saw martial artists groaning on the ground. A young man stood over these fighters, he was probably a foreigner like him, though he had silver hair and a left eye that had a feint white on the pupil, an indication of blindness. His fists were bloodied and bruised and he was huffing and puffing. Then the man let out a whistle.
"Wow, you guys still have some more left, all right, I suppose one more will do," he said.
Shuuji took a few steps forward, formally bowing his head to the man. Then he rolled up his sleeves and got into a stance.
"Let's see what you've got old man," the foreigner said before rushing towards Shuuji.
He slammed his foot forward, striking the one eyed man in the chin with the palm of his hand. When the man attempted to punch him, Shuuji side stepped, gripping the man's wrist and pulling him forward. He tucked his foot underneath the man's shin, causing his opponent to stumble forward. Using that momentum, Shuuji flipped the man onto his back. The silver haired man brought his foot up to try and kick Shuuji, but he blocked it and got it into a lock.
"Stay down," Shuuji said.
Suddenly, the silver haired man pushed his other foot forward, making Shuuji step back. Shuuji regained his composure as the man got up off of the floor. His opponent continued to try and hit him, only for Shuuji to deliver a flurry of blows to the man's face and chest. He threw the man onto the ground, punching his face and drawing blood from his nose, then punching his stomach. Shuuji was about to strike the man again when he heard him begin to laugh.
"What are you laughing about?" he asked.
"You really are strong, I just wanted to taste defeat," the man grinned, his nose and mouth both bloody from the treatment.
Shuuji huffed and brushed his sleeves.
"Baki, really?" he asked.
"Man knows his classics," the man groaned and sat up. "I'm not looking for a teacher, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about with you," he said.
"And did I meet your approval, Mr Foreigner?" Shuuji asked.
"The name is Sakon, Sakon Date!"
That was then, and now, Shuuji Kuroso looked down at a face that could have been mistaken for Sakon's. Gekido bowed his head, sitting cross legged with Kamille next to him.
"I am so, so sorry," Kamille said, bending his head down.
Shuuji rolled his head back and laughed a boisterous boom that echoed through the dojo. Despite his age he still had incredible strength in his lungs alone.
"Tell me young one what is it exactly that you have to prove, and to whom, anger is good when wielded as a weapon, but when it is your primary motivation it can often lead to your downfall," Shuuji explained.
"Sometimes all we have to motivate us is anger," Gekido said.
"Indeed, and few people know this better than you do they Mr Mercenary?" Shuuji asked.
"I know my anger has led me into many a troublesome situation, it served me well, but now, now I'm at a stage of my life where I believe anger will only…is this some kind of joint lesson, do these two have to be here?" Gekido asked.
"Think of it as a joint lesson, I see you both have many things in common," Shuuji said.
"WITH HIM!" both Gundam pilots yelled, pointing at one another.
Fa rolled her eyes as Shuuji laughed again. He slapped his knees and stood up, sliding his feet back and adjusting his hips. His hands moved in a small arc before resting with his elbows pointed at the ground and his palms open.
"Anger is not the only way to prove that you are a man, nor is it the only way to prove that you are human, or even the only way to prove that you are alive," he explained.
Gekido and Kamille stood up, the latter removing his jacket and folding it before he gently put it on the ground. They both slipped into fighting stances, making the older man smirk, Kamille's was traditional karate and Gekido was a self taught style.
"Now, try to hit me without anger," he said.
Kamille widened his eyes, before Master Asia slammed his palm into the boy's chest. The air was knocked out of Kamille's mouth and his eyes went white as he was thrown across the mat. Gekido looked at where Kamille landed in shock, before his mouth twisted into a snarl. He yelled in fury as he spun towards Shuuji, both slamming their fists together.
"SCHOOL OF MASTER ASIA!" the martial artist yelled.
Legacy looked at his fist, it was shaking, could the other one be fighting? He didn't know why he was still surprised. Looking away from his hand, he refocused his attention on the Newtype lab. The Earth Alliance, Human Reform league, Titans and Side Colonies all had their own version of Newtype study. This one was a place where children would end up bashing their faces into glass, clawing at their scalps to make the pressure they always felt go away. Even the scientists were bothered by such a sight, one man even vomited. But the boy kept swinging his head with all his strength against the observation window, and Legacy's fist never shook. Such a thing would have bothered his other, but he just thought:
'Another Tuesday,' with a shrug he dismissed the boy as the boy's blood left a trail across the window when he slumped to the floor.
"Believe it or not, we're not even in the top ten worst labs," a voice spoke from half way down the corridor.
The masked man turned, his eyes widening in rare surprise.
"Dr Smith," he said.
The dark haired man's bang covered his right eye, he wore a lab coat and had a smile of amusement as he approached General Legacy. They raised their arms and embraced as if old friends.
"What do you need?" Smith asked.
"Now what makes you think I need something?" Legacy asked.
"People only see their friends when they need something, besides you've been on the move lately, picking up where the bitch left off," Smith said.
"One has to in the organisation, you never know who your next rival for authority will be am I right?" the masked man asked and the Doctor smirked.
"You don't actually think I want to be in charge do you? That's cute, all I want is to continue doing my work," he said.
"Torturing children?"
Smith let out a small laugh, looking at the Newtype subjects in the observation room.
"These kids are practically being spared from the fate most kid's their age on Earth are being forced into. Glemy Toto is gone, and so long as I'm one of the head scientists in the Side Colonies, no child here will be forced to awaken their abilities through battle," he explained.
"Like your son did…Ulen?" Legacy asked.
The scientist's eyes narrowed darkly at the masked man, despite their obvious strength difference.
"So is it blackmail you've reduced yourself to?" he demanded.
"I need a favour," Legacy said and Smith blinked in confusion before he broke down into hysterical laughter.
"A favour, you want me to do you a favour, you aren't officially in charge of the organisation yet, do you think your little coup will go unopposed, there is more than one masked general in the organisation Legacy," Smith smiled when a familiar rage crossed Legacy's face.
His fist tensed, his body was shaking and the pupils of his eyes had narrowed into bestial slits. He was in a glass container again, seeing through clear liquid into a room where other containers were. Adult silhouettes were floating in those containers, their faces hidden much like his was now.
"You didn't think you were the only general did you? You didn't think you were the only…you?" he could hear Smith's smirk, but see alongside him the containers of younger, unscarred bodies. "Uragiri wanted an army of you, of him, replacements for her bedchambers, or just to torture a little more. She's even more disgusting than I am," Smith explained.
"She was, she was more disgusting than you, but she's dead now, all of the old guard of the organisation are, except for you, but it is my time now Ulen Hibiki, it is mine," Legacy slammed his foot forward, glaring at Smith with eyes that resembled the 'Seed' effect.
Smith remained calm though, taking Legacy's shaking hand. It wasn't a tender touch, but a curious one, looking at it, turning it over and then letting it go.
"Degeneration, common amongst people with short telomeres, La Flaga's clone had it, along with the other one, as a result they were never going to live the full expected human life span. Oh, they could live, they would age, a little slower perhaps as one can expect from living in space too, but eventually their bodies would simply give up because slowly each cell was dying. Gilbert is a brilliant man, but even his medication had a limit, yet there was one thing neither of us was able to really determine, whether the breakdown of Rau Le Creuset, and perhaps the inevitable breakdown of the other one is because of the nature of genetics, or the nurture of those genetics," he ranted and Legacy cleared his throat, sounding like a dog breathing through a muzzle with barely restrained, yet slowly calming fury.
The masked man lowered his shirt down, revealing metallic veins on his skin. Smith's eyes lit up at that sight, his eureka moment as well as the sign that his taunts had worked.
"A techorganic virus, so that's how your cells are breaking down, but it has come with some other consequences hasn't it?" Smith asked.
"My body is stronger than ever, but I have dreams Doctor, dreams that aren't my own, memories that aren't mine, I remember, I remember kissing a girl I hate, I remember feeling affection for people I hate, your son included, I remember a love for battle which gets in the way of my mission, my right to control the organisation," Legacy explained.
"I'm a geneticist General, not a psychic, what do you think I can do about it?" The doctor asked.
"I need the Psychoframe your lab has developed, give it to me and I can get you more test subjects, protection even from the rest of the potential Organisation leaders," Legacy assured.
Smith put his hand to his chin, leaning against the wall and thinking more. He smirked and looked to the children again.
"All right, you can have the Psycho frame, but you'll need to answer one question first, and answer honestly General, do I need to move away from the Side colonies?" he asked.
General Legacy huffed, shaking his head and looking at Smith, his eyes set in a smile.
"Of course you're going to have to move," he said.
The Music of Hiroyuki Sawano's Outsiders echoed through Gekido's workshop. He traversed from a wire, fusing parts to his mobile suit. It was the Purpose, or rather, something that would hide the Purpose from this point on. The Gundam was the suit that could best keep up with him, next to the Nenshou. His lesson with Sifu Shuuji had come with some positive effects. Once he and Kamille were on the mat, both panting for breath, Shuuji laughed, a ground sound that bellowed through his dojo.
"One too eager to prove himself, and another too eager to lose himself," he said, in analysis of both of them.
The music shifted to 'Into the Sky' and Gekido wiped the sweat away. He pulled up part of his shirt and saw that a section of his torso had begun to flake. The positive of Shuuji's teachings to him, had been a reminder to not let his worries overwhelm him.
"Pressure builds, one problem can pile onto another, small issues can become big problems," Shuuji warned him, not just of his own problems after all.
Over the music Gekido saw on his TV the small issue. The Titans, they were always there on the streets, their ships around the colonies. Some cargo ships nearly crashed because of the increase in Earth Alliance traffic. Complaints got angrier and angrier, until there came protests.
"The Earth Alliance is out of bounds, out of order," said Garma Zabi in an interview.
"We are well within our rights to investigate colonies that may be harbouring terrorist arms dealers," said Jamitov.
"The Side Colonies have a massive population, it's easy for individuals to escape into them, you cannot judge all citizens because of the actions of a few and assumptions are dangerous, especially after we've worked so hard to end the last war," explained Flay.
She was never someone Gekido expected to see again. Of course she inherited her father's fortune, and Gekido had developed enough of a respect for her development to know that she wouldn't have wasted that fortune on shopping sprees of vanity projects. But to become Sensou's chief financier and representative was not on his list of ideas. She seemed to throw herself into the role, appearing as both politician, reform campaigner and even leader.
"The reforms of the treaty justify a greater responsibility for the Earth Alliance forces to take, especially from areas where radical behaviour is known," Jamitov said.
"Some said that the reforms of the past Treaty of Versailles were so harsh that they simply became the catalyst of the war that came after," Flay said.
"You spout nonsense of a forgotten history that is irrelevant to this situation," the Titan leader huffed.
"No she doesn't, our own people are struggling, you demand more tribute from us, you've reduced our defence budget to the point where we have to hire mercenaries to protect our own cargo ships. Something that wouldn't be necessary if the Earth Alliance protected our trade routes as much as it guarded our ports, you act more like guards of a prison than patrollers," Garma explained.
The arguments on the TV were just one part of it. Online there were complaints, and even calls to carry out a protest. These desires to demonstrate were especially present in Colony 30, where there were reports of Titan officers abusing their authority, holding prisoner simple business owners and apparently they even killed a couple of people.
"There has been no death caused by Titan intervention, we are here to protect the whole of the Side colonies, these reports are fake news at best," Gekido nearly laughed at Jamitov's excuse.
He went out for some food shopping, and on those streets Gekido witnessed citizens clashing with Titan officers. The local pizza place was where Gekido nearly intervened. A big Titan's officer held one of the hosts against the wall, pointing to it.
"Zieg Zeon, I'm familiar with the term, such a thing instigates and encourages conflict, which of your staff painted on there?" he demanded.
"The motive of our decoration is Side Culture, Zeon is a part of that culture, we have quotes from so many proponents of colonisation painted on our words, from George Glenn to our own Zeon Deikun," the host explained.
"A mad man who pretty much called for a complete rebellion, how did that old fool die anyway? It seems the Side Colonies accept murderers and usurpers as their rulers, or they at least prefer them over elected and earned leadership," the officer explained.
"You haven't earned anything, you people are only here because of power you kept for yourselves, whilst your own people on Earth suffer, tied down by the curse of gravity," the host said.
"You know, I hated the spicy food here, but a statement like that makes it clear this place is filled with ignorant fools drawn in by…" the man seethed, but another officer walked into the restaurant, this one was in a regular Earth forces blue uniform.
"That's enough Luther," the other officer said.
He took hold of the man's shoulder, pulling him away from the restaurant host.
"My apologies, we must return to our duties," the more reasonable man said.
"Graffiti? You're going to dictate how these people should express themselves now Luther?" he asked.
"There are insurgents here, we confirmed that the people who traded weapons and attacked the Build colony came here, if we're soft then they'll take advantage Draygon," the man explained.
"You don't need to tell me about harsh conditions requiring harsh reactions Luther, my team and I were at Junius Seven," Geoffrey Draygon said.
Gekido recognised the soldier from an old job, head of the Rampager Battalion, a heavy weapon specialist mobile suit division. His equipment was an anvil, but he handled every battle as if it wasn't a nail. Out of all the divisions in the Earth Alliance military, the Rampagers were praised for having no friendly fire and no collateral damage (at least in terms of the avoidable kind).
"ZAFT was allowed to grow, look where it got us there," Luther huffed.
Luther Forest, not a bad pilot or commander, but not a great one either. He had some military achievements under his belt, being known as the Enforcer. Gekido imagined the man would be beating whatever 'aggressor' the Titan's arrested today. Though a bully, Luther was still a fighter, Gekido had seen a few of his recorded fights, he was a boxing champion in South Carolina and it went into his close combat fighting style.
"I understand one of your men, Nick Nitross got blown up by the Genesis right, not even the miracle of the Gundam could save him could it?" Luther asked.
Geoffrey's fist tightened and stepped away from Luther.
"Maybe if ZAFT hadn't been allowed to become what it did, he would still be alive," Luther said.
"You could say the same about how we treated the Plants, how we're still treating them and the Side colonies," Geoffrey said.
"I didn't figure you for a socialist major Draygon," Luther huffed.
"Weird, I didn't figure you for an ignorant thug," Geoffrey retorted.
Small issues could become big problems. Gekido went out on Sortie and saw that, he would return and find another Earth Alliance ship flying around the Side Colonies, more mobile suits with guns aimed at passing transports. There was a fear on the streets, and one day, Gekido just decided to see what the higher ups of society looked like where they were living. Garma Zabi hosted a ball at his manor, inviting many officials and guests to the colonies. Gekido was able to secure a waiter's uniform, using sunglasses to hide his eyes as he served drinks and snacks. Over his shoulder he could see Flay conversing with Garma and some Zeon and Earth soldiers, one of whom embraced one of the Zeon men in a quick hug.
"Good to see you Cuz," the Earth soldier said.
"Hey Eddie, how's the family?" the Zeon soldier asked.
"They've been okay, things on Earth have been pretty hectic, good thing Sensou has been putting some of its money to use," the brown haired, freckled man motioned to Flay and Casvall.
"Sensou has dedicated itself now to two things, repairing the world after what Junius Seven had done, and preventing another war, that's why we're here," Flay explained.
"Yet war seems to be part of the sad truth that human advancement is only possible through war is it not?" asked Treize.
"Not at all, some advancements have come through peace time, the invention of the colonies was one example," Flay said.
"But the colonies have created problems of their own," Jamitov said, walking over with a group of Titan pilots.
"We produce some of our own resources Sir," Garma said.
"Whilst requesting aid from the Earth Alliance and offering very little in return, at least the Moon colony gives something back," Luther said.
Gekido nodded to Shuuji as the master passed him, going to speak with Rustal Elion and the young Gigi Andalucia. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a pale, purple haired woman in a red dress. His mouth curved upward and he nearly laughed, before refocusing on the conversation that Flay was having.
"What we must fight is the corruption that is present in all of the factions," she declared bravely (perhaps even foolishly).
"Earth came first, it is the birth place of our species, whatever theories of evolution or supremacy doesn't change the fact that the Earth is of importance, that it is needed, it isn't as if we can just pick and leave like that mad blogger Mafty insists," Jamitov explained.
"People are already being migrated off of Earth, it's been flooded, polluted, within generations it might even be incapable of supporting life," Garma stated.
"Have you ever been to Earth Zabi?" Eddie asked.
"Easy Cuz!"
"No Chris I want to hear this, you're not from aristocracy I understand and I greatly respect those whom have served on the front lines, were you at Junius Seven?" Garma asked.
The group suddenly became silent and Gekido shook his head.
'Learn to read the room rich kid,' he thought.
"The Titans need to be careful, throw a bone to the people every once in a while, showing some kindness can come with its rewards, just basic human rights like the right to protest," Flay explained.
"HA! Lady, protests can end with riots," Luther said.
"They're hardly likely to rip open the walls, they're in space for gods sake. What I'm saying is that if you deny them permission, they'll do it anyway, give them the opportunity to air their grievances with you in a constructive way, hell, maybe even do something unique and listen to those grievances," Flay stated, glaring at Jamitov and Luther.
Both men were visibly shaken and angered by Flay's accusation. Luther grit his teeth together, but then looked over Flay's shoulder at her body guard. The mute man was matching his gaze and showed little in terms of being intimidated. As much as Gekido wanted to see a fight between the two, he knew it wouldn't come to that. He also decided now was the time to go outside and confirm something. Those suspicions were confirmed when he found a tanned, dark haired young man sitting by the fountain. Gekido crossed his arms and leant next to where the boy sat.
"So, Celestial Being is interested in what's happening here too?" Gekido asked.
The young man raised his head and nodded to Gekido.
"Gekido Jaeger," he said.
"Setsuna F. Seie, I didn't think CB had a lot left to give," Gekido said.
"We're following something, something I think you too have seen since the incident on the moon yes?" Setsuna asked and Gekido huffed.
"Of course, what do you people know?" Gekido asked.
"Nothing with any absolute confirmation, only what we've been able to find, remnants of the organisation that manipulated the events of the Bloody Valentine war, and we also suspect the war that occurred for Jupiter's succession," Setsuna explained.
"Uragiri is dead," Gekido said.
"But the organisation was more than just Uragiri, something's happening Gekido, we've followed the money trail and corporations have become interested in George Glen's trip to Mars. I don't pretend to be an expert in business, but you don't waste money trying to get to another planet when there's so much profit to be made in rebuilding after a major war," the Gundam Meister explained.
"I get it, so that's why Sensou wants to explore, it isn't trying to find something on Mars, it's trying to keep what's left of the organisation from finding whatever is there first," Gekido said.
"Exactly, someone wants there to be a war," Setsuna narrowed his eyes in fury.
Gekido tossed the dish he was carrying aside and removed his waiter's vest.
"There's not much I can do," he said.
"Is that what you believe?" Setsuna asked.
"I just wanted to find out where the wind could blow, now I know, I've got a real job to do now," Gekido said.
"Still fighting as a mercenary?"
"We can't all have an unlimited budget," Gekido shrugged his shoulders.
Gekido went to the space port, where his mobile suit was transferred to a shuttle. Fa and Kamille were inside waiting, the latter in the piloting seat.
"I'm for protecting the trade routes, but we also need to meet up with our own ship, the Argama," Kamille said.
"Good, you can drop me off on the way, it was a pretty good spar," Gekido said.
"Sensou could use pilots, something tells me you're a good one," Kamille said.
"Newtype Intuition?"
"Maybe," Kamille smirked.
"Tell your captain to get back here quickly, things may be pleasant in the mansions and negotiation tables, but they aren't on those streets," Gekido explained.
He remained standing throughout the shuttle flight, even maintaining a semblance of calm as Kamille's Haro bounced around him. When it came time for them to separate, Gekido put on his orange flight suit with grey gloves and boots. He fastened the body armour on and then climbed into his machine, fixing his helmet on.
"We could still take you some of the way if you want," Fa offered.
"I recently upgraded my suit's thrusters, I wanted to test them out," he said.
He clicked the buttons for the suit's activation sequence. It was in jet mode, allowing it to drift out of the shuttle. Gekido slid his visor down and gave the people he helped him one final salute. When the shuttle got ahead, Gekido powered up the green and brown craft's thrusters. He pushed on the thrusters controls, feeling the acceleration push him into his seat. Gripping the control stick with both hands, he maintained control, pushing the extra button he installed for the additional thrusters. More rockets engaged on the back of the craft, increasing the speed. Kamille and Fa looked up in shock when they saw the craft blur past their ship.
"Opening radio channel, Nebuchadnezzar, this is Fallen Star, I accepted an escort mission and am enroute to transfer, do you read?" he asked.
There was static, but someone trying to talk on the radio. Gekido turned his tuner once to the right, then tried to the left, giving a few twists before he found an eighty degree angle gave him a clearer message:
"Mayday, mayday, requesting local authority assistance, I repeat this is the Space Jockey we are in immediate need of reinforcements, possible attack from Teiwaz or space pirates, send assistance please," a frantic voice spoke out over the radio.
Gekido thought about that and he current mission. He removed his scales and pen, writing out the flight route, the angles he could take to ensure he could manage both missions, taking into accounts the Purpose's energy and the necessity of the supplies the Nebuchadnezzar carried. But there was no time, there just wasn't any time. Then he remembered Master Asia's advice.
"There are things you must worry about in this world, but don't let time be one of them, time will not be an issue if you organise your day. Take a moment, a breath, find that stillness and do as much as you can with that time you are given, to regret what you didn't have the time for is foolishness," the man said to him.
Gekido shook his head, and then smiled.
"There's time, because we'll make the time, right Purpose?" Gekido asked.
He felt the excitement resonate through the machine. Then he accelerated, moving to top speed.
"Space Jockey, this is Fallen Star, mark incoming mobile armour as friendly, designation..." Gekido paused, he certainly couldn't call it Purpose Command, or Purpose 'Disguise mode'. "Mark as FS-0 Outlaw," he said.
He reduced speed just as he began to see the small shuttle craft dodging the bullets of old Teiwaz Hyakurens and an OZ Taurus with a green paint job. A Guaiz with a generator on its shoulder raised its rifle, clearly aiming at the approaching aircraft. Gekido swerved to the right, dodging the projectile and launching a few missiles. As he moved the suit with one hand, he detonated the missiles early with the other, spraying dust through the gap of space between the shuttle and the pursuing mobile suits, blocking the pursuer's sight.
"Nearby ships, I'm in a charitable mood today so I'm not going to kill you, that is to say, me kicking your asses is going to be extremely embarrassing," Gekido smirked.
The Purpose, or rather, the Outlaw began to transform out of its mobile jet form. Gekido had covered the suit with additional plates of green and brown armour, so giving it the nickname Command Purpose was an appropriate term. The additional armour gave the head a thicker design, and Gekido used that to block the two eyes of the Gundam with a Shiden's visor. He'd stored the main weapons of the Purpose back in the shield, but outwardly gave the Outlaw the fixed armaments of a missile launcher, a GN blade, a Maganac corps beam rifle and a Leo's 105 mm rifle.
"Target him, take him down," one of the Hyakuren pilots said.
She began to fire at the Outlaw, it was a cute thought for her to believe her rifle would break the Outlaw's armour. Gekido though didn't want any damage, so he dodged, he programmed in another path of missiles. Whilst using one of the mechanical arms he installed on the Outlaw's hip to move the GN blade to Gekido's hand. He cut off the Hyakuren's arm and gave the head a hard kick, breaking the main camera. Then he grabbed the Hyakuren's rifle, taking a few seconds to adapt the hand's universal plug and firing another volley of missiles. One hit the head and head of a Hyakuren, leaving one more, which was covered in dust. The Taurus and Guaiz flew through the fog and scanned for the Outlaw. A beam suddenly pierced through the Taurus's beam rifle. The barrel glowed orange, bubbling before it exploded and knocked the Taurus back.
"It's just one machine, how the hell is he…"
"We're dealing with an Ace," the Guaiz pilot interrupted his ally.
He deployed from his shoulder shield generators, igniting the beam sabre he had replaced the fangs on his shield with. The remaining Hyakuren drew its sword, only for a few shells to hit its shoulder. Gekido flew by the Hyakuren, cutting off its gun arm. When the Hyakuren attempted to fly after him, it was left wildly flailing about to catch the clearly faster machine. The Outlaw dodged the electrical fields the custom Guaiz's shield bits gave off. Gekido turned and cut through the Hyakuren's sword with the GN blade. Then with another swing, he cut off the Hyakuren's other arm. He left their engines so that they could still fly.
'I can't believe I'm taking some of Kira's moves, I guess I really have changed,' Gekido thought.
He blocked the Guaiz's sabre and flew back, avoiding the electric fields. Eye darting between the targets, Gekido fired the Vulcans, hitting and cutting apart each shield bit. Then he sheathed his sword and moved at full speed again, flying around the Guaiz as it tried to get a lock on him. A part of armour on the Outlaw's wrist slid over its knuckle, and Gekido pulled the arm back.
"Like I said, embarrassing," Gekido said.
The Outlaw punched the Guaiz straight in the face, shattering its eye and disabling its camera.
"Test flight successful, continuing to Nebuchadnezzar," Gekido reported.
The Outlaw gave the Guaiz and its wrecked friends a two fingered salute, before it transformed into its jet form and flew off. Gekido slid his face plate down and smiled, he actually felt a lot better now. He didn't buy into everything Master Asia taught, but maybe there was something about the fight that had calmed him.
Perhaps the fight itself is what calmed Gekido, and made him forget just for a little bit that he was a dying man.
Next Chapter 19: Riot at Colony 30
Hope that was okay, next time the plot thickens as we get closer to Colony 30's fate and a clashing of Titans.