Thanks, everyone!

WritingKnightmare: Thank you! I'm glad to make you happy!

Drair: The reason why Tolle and Cagalli are a couple here is because I thought it was a natural way to show the differences of what would happen if Cagalli's in Kira's place. Tolle already likes a tomboy (Miriallia) in canon, and Cagalli is even more tomboyish so there's that . . . plus Tolle was Kira's best friend in canon, so it made sense that Cagalli and Tolle could develop an even closer relationship here. It just seemed to work even though it's crack pairing-esque.

Thank you for reading!

372259: The Asucaga interactions will start again soon. The point of this story is to have it viewed from one perspective, but you will see Athrun's side of things eventually.

animefan29: Keep in mind that what Cagalli's theories may or may not be true. This is just her perception, her conjecture. However, she has a pretty good read on things.

Here we go again! Hard at work on getting 25 ready to go already.


Chapter Twenty-Four: Guiding Hand

It wasn't very long before Ahmed led me to a building and we walked inside it. Inside were other Desert Dawn fighters, and most of them looked like they had been in war forever. They looked battle-hardened but exhausted, their eyes seeming to stare into blankness, with grim determination on their faces. Their qualms about war were stifled by their vows to continue fighting ZAFT . . . or, perhaps, their hatred of Coordinators. North Africa and the Middle East were notorious for being anti-Coordinator hotbeds.

How did these people feel about there being a Coordinator in their midst? Did they care? Or had they not been told that I was one? It occurred to me that Desert Dawn might not know. I hadn't told Ahmed that I was a Coordinator because of this fear that the Atlantic Federation might have deceived Desert Dawn in such a way, or misled them into thinking I was a Natural.

Unless the topic got brought up, I decided to keep that piece of information to myself. Something told me that Desert Dawn wouldn't be happy to discover that their men were getting killed over a Coordinator pilot.

"How long has the fight for Tassil been going on?" I asked finally, to break my own nervousness and get some kind of dialogue going with Ahmed. He seemed to be the only one capable of speaking a language I was fluent in.

Yeah, as I heard the fighters talk, I could make out some of the Arabic, but not enough to get more than a few words. It just confused me to listen to them more than helped.

"Only since yesterday," Ahmed said. "After you crashed."

So I was the reason. That made me feel guilty, until I realized that Athrun had to have steered me right into town. The blood was on his hands. Unless he had lost control himself . . .

"You think you can hold the city?"

"Probably not. A couple of hours before I found you I heard the Desert Tiger himself was bringing his main force here. It seems that ZAFT wasn't ready to attack this town yet and you and another pilot crashing into it forced their hand."

There it was, that mention of the 'Desert Tiger' again. Why did he expect me to know what he was talking about?

"Who's this 'Tiger'?" I asked.

"Andrew Waltfeld," Ahmed said. "He is supposed to be the most brilliant Coordinator on the Earth right now. No matter what we do we haven't been able to score a victory against him."

Ahmed sighed. "Of course, things have gotten better the last few days. Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation have felt like providing air and special forces support. Probably over you but I can't say I'm surprised. From what I heard about you, you've been able to kill the Coordinator bastards. That makes you important to them and to us."

That pretty much confirmed it without anything outright being said. Ahmed had no clue I was a Coordinator. So, I was going to need to play along until I was back in Earth Alliance hands, rather than Desert Dawn's. Ahmed and everyone else were potentially hostile.

"I would think so," I said. "Haven't fought any land battles yet though. I've just been up in space."

"What's space like?" Ahmed asked, his voice suggesting genuine curiousness.

"Weightless," I said, not really wanting to get into it. Not when I had so many more questions.

Ahmed turned to face me. "You think you're hilarious, don't you?"

"I've found that taunting my enemies can provoke them into making mistakes," I said. Quickly realizing my ownmistake, I rectified, saying "Not that I'm implying you're an enemy. I . . . you know what I mean."

Ahmed shook his head. "Typical outsider."

That kind of made me feel bad, as we went down some stairs into a basement. I wasn't a typical outsider, but I had shown typical ignorance in my words.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep or food or water or much else. I'm not thinking straight."

"Most of us haven't gotten a lot of sleep or food or water either," Ahmed said. "Consistent supply lines are nothing but a dream to us."

"I just want to help you," I said as we approached another door, which looked like it was tightly locked. Two of the men went over to unlock the door. "It's not like they're going to evacuate me. I don't think there's any way they can get me out of here, not without destroying this 'Desert Tiger' first."

"It's not that," Ahmed said. "Our collective enemy is the Tiger, but Sahib Ashman has always been hostile to the Earth Alliance. If he thinks you're going to walk on out of here, he'll destroy the Strike and you."

"Sahib Ashman?" I asked.

"The leader of Desert Dawn. Has fought in many wars, even before PLANT came unto its own. Before PLANT, he fought the Earth Alliance to hold onto what few remaining fossil fuels that remained. He has fought all of his life, and he does not trust you people. He will kill you if you try to leave, and most of us here will obey any command he gives no matter how reasonable or unreasonable it may seem."

"Sounds like a pleasant guy," I said, before I could stop myself.

Ahmed did not spin around and yell at me, but his voice was testier. "Don't mock him. He's held us all together single-handedly. He is the only one who inspires people to follow him. Who manages to get people to resist the Tiger rather than kowtow to him."

The men opened the door, and we walked into the underground. Surprisingly, it didn't smell that rank. Maybe no one had been using it for a while. Or perhaps this wasn't a sewer at all and instead was a truly elaborate underground passage. Or maybe I was just used to bad smells at this point, so inured that some new ones weren't making an effect on me.

"So if he does not trust the Earth Alliance, why is he working with them to help me? The 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' kind of situation?"

"Yes," Ahmed said. "Most of the people here would prefer an Earth Alliance victory, but that is choosing between bad and worse. At least bad is predictable. Worse is not."

It sounded like the Tiger was a really pleasant person too. I wondered if I was going to face him.

"How the heck are you guys going to get the Strike out of the city?" I asked.

"We're not," Ahmed said. "You are."

"Huh?" was all I managed to say.

"They're trying to power up the blasted thing for you, Ensign Yamato," Ahmed said. "You're going to be walking the thing out of the city."

Suddenly, what seemed to be a reasonable plan didn't seem like one anymore.


The Strike was still sitting where it was, looking like an absolute wreck.

"Is this thing even remotely flyable?" I asked no one in particular.

One of the soldiers by the Mobile Suit shook her head. "No. You're going to have to walk it back. I'm not joking."

I just stared at her, and then stared at the Strike. I had been through a night of hell in this city, walking around in circles, just to wind up where I had started, and learning that my salvation was this.

I almost felt like laughing.

The soldier sighed. "I think this can give you ten minutes of Phase Shift, plus five more minutes of unguarded power. That's enough to get out of Tassil. Once you're to the east of the city, you'll be beyond ZAFT's front line. The Archangel can take care of everything else from there. They're trying to get at least one Skygrasper fly-ready so some kind of air support can be provided for the ground units to get you back."

Fifteen minutes, five of which I was going to be completely vulnerable. That's all I had? Really?

A desperate plan clinging to a lot of things.

"This is not going to work," I said. "There's gotta be a way to transport this thing out of the city."

"Don't have the equipment and ZAFT has air superiority, they'd blow up any transport trucks we could bring here," the soldier said. "This is the only way."

Ahmed smiled. "We managed to chase off most of the BuCUES. That would be giving you the toughest fight around here. There might be a couple left but we'll handle them."

Was that supposed to make me feel better, Ahmed? I didn't even know what a BuCUE was at that time.

I remembered the robotic wolf-looking thing from yesterday. Had that been a BuCUE? The thing looked terrifying from the ground level, that was for sure. Would it look the same from a GUNDAM seat?

"So when is the Strike ready?" I asked.

"We just drained the last battery we could bring," the soldier said. "Get it out of here. Tassil is going to fall very soon, and ZAFT is trying to take the eastern side of the city, trying to cut us off and surround us inside the city. If you can manage it, cause some chaos. Make it easier for the rest of us to get out."

"Just don't hit the wrong side," Ahmed said. "Desert Dawn is fighting everywhere."

I could only wonder how easily I could keep that in mind, considering I was going to be entire stories above the Desert Dawn forces. How could I avoid stomping on a truck or a bunch of people if I had no clue they were there?

I was going to have to guess where I stepped. At least I could see where the buildings were. I could avoid those, that is, if something didn't plow me into one.

Those wolf-things looked like they could.

The Strike looked like it had seen better days, but it looked like there was no other plan. They were right, it would be extraordinarily difficult to just drive the Strike out of the city. It's best way out was when it was fully powered and armed. But with the Phase Shift rapidly draining what power there was, how far could I possibly get before the Strike would be doomed?

I decided the only way to find out was to try.

I could make vent air in from the outside, so I wouldn't suffocate the way I would in outer space. That was an advantage to fighting on Earth. I didn't need things to be completely sealed. If necessary I didn't need a helmet.

A convenience, of course, but not a necessity.

"Fine," I said. "I'm going to take the Strike out of here. You want me to head east, right?"

"To the east," the soldier confirmed. "I'm going to get everyone clear of the building to give you more room. We need to evac anyway, ZAFT is coming and fast. We can't keep them away from this place for much longer."

"Joy," I grumbled, I couldn't keep my mouth shut at that point.

The soldier frowned. "There's no need to be so sarcastic, Ensign. In subordination isn't tolerated."

I was about to point out that I was not a member of their military until the word "Ensign" resonated with me. Then I realized that the soldier was telling the truth. I had enlisted. Or, rather, had been "volunteered" by Natarle Badgiruel and promoted by Lewis Halberton personally.

So were my friends, and by this point, nearly every Orb civilian onboard the Archangel. They all had become soldiers. There was no one innocent left on that vessel anymore . . . other than Elle, and that was because she was just a kid. Not even Badgiruel would dare to enlist Elle, would she?

Just the thought of Elle sitting by a flak gun made me want to walk up to Badgiruel in the Strike and squish her flat.

I was under the Earth Alliance's authority until we made it to Orb. And even then, who said that the Archangel had to stop there? We were soldiers. We had to follow orders. If they wanted to, we could be stuck on that ship forever.

I wonder how many of us were actually looking forward to serving the Earth Alliance and wouldn't mind such a fate. After all, this could be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. None of them had to go out in the Strike, after all. No, they were safe behind their metal armor and gigantic engines. Except when they weren't, like what happened to that last battle before we entered the atmosphere, and several Orb civilians were killed over it.

No one really thought about what it's like for me to go out there, expose myself, and fight. The stress they had to deal with was nothing compared to my own. Every moment for me was terrifying and horrific. If I did my job, the Archangel may not see any action at all.

And yet, like I could just become a soldier again like clockwork, was the Strike, and I was expected to pilot it.

I couldn't even choose my weaponry. I was stuck with the Sword Pack, the same pack I had entered the atmosphere with. Out in the open, in the desert, it was borderline useless. Those wolf-things, with their cannons, they could shoot me at will.

And yet I was expected to just walk out of here.

What a plan. What an asinine, suicidal plan. And that was our only bullet. My only bullet.

"Fine," I said, after a long pause. "Get eveyrone out the building. I'll walk the Strike out. Give me as much cover as you can."

The soldier nodded. "Excellent, Ensign. Just so you know, you'll hopefully be within communication distance of the Archangel once you leave city limits. The buildings are interfering with radio communications in here."

The buildings would be nonfactors if it weren't for the fact that the N-jammers were interfering with communications. It was made incredibly clear about how the rules changed down on Earth. It's like all forms of communication had reverted back to where it was in Anno Domini. And when I mean Anno Domini, I'm talking about "lucky to exist in Anno Domini's 20th century".

"So what, I just call for help?" I asked.

"They're the ones who'll get you back the rest of the way," the soldier said.

I just shook my head. What a stupid plan. Desperate and reckless.

Ahmed, for his part, just gave me a thumbs-up. "Give the Tiger a headache."

I nearly flipped Ahmed off, but thought the better of it. I just simply said "Get your people out of here too," and walked towards the Strike.

Time for yet another battle.


The Strike, remarkably, was still operable. As I activated Phase Shift, I managed to turn on a power countdown, it told me I had fifteen minutes and 20 seconds of power, with about ten of those being under Phase Shift.

And the thing was clumsy as hell. I very nearly crashed the Strike into the left wall. If I had fallen, I would have brought the entire building down on me. I tried to blast out, but all I could manage was a pitiful lurch out of the building and into the middle of the street.

The rules were different. Down here on Earth, every bit of the Strike's sixty-ton weight was felt. The thing was an ungainly, slow metallic mess with a big sword.

Every step caused miniature craters in my wake. Nothing could support this monster. I could only imagine what was going to happen to me once I left asphalt and was in desert sand. I'd sink for sure.

I had no clue how to adjust the Strike so it could be more manueverable. I wished Kira was here with me multiple times, more fervently than I ever had. He'd know the proper settings. Why? Because he just plain did. I'd have never made it this far without his technical expertise. Without him, I felt lost trying to operate this behemoth.

I turned the Strike eastward and continued to stomp around. The Strike shook more than once, and it wasn't because of bad steps, but because every single ZAFT gun was now fixated on me. But the ammunition they were firing was nowhere near good enough to wipe out the Phase Shift. In fact, they were hardly even blips on the Phase Shift's radar. Even the rockets weren't making a dent in the Phase Shift. It represented an evolution in armor that made gunfire and rockets borderline worthless. Energy beams were the only things possible that could be threatening to me.

It wasn't long before I encountered my first enemy. It was just a helicopter, and considering the jerky movements it made the moment it saw me, it was just as surprised to encounter me as I was. I lifted the sword and swung it upwards, and cleaved the helicopter through the middle, and it fell to earth in two large, smoking chunks.

Why would ZAFT be so stupid as to send a helicopter to try and stop me? If I could obliterate GINNs almost at will, what made them think a helicopter would do any better?

Helicopters were a leftover of past wars, they were useless against the Strike, just like a lot of things.

It made me feel terrible about the pilots, though. Did they deserve to die because of their bad luck? No. But I had killed them anyway, because they were in my way. I had to escape, and if that meant killing another ZAFT soldier or two, that's what I had to do. I was a soldier, and I was following orders.

That's what I told myself as I worked through the city.

Finally, I stumbled on a clay wall and sliced that apart until all that remained in front of me was debris I could easily crush beneath this monster's girth. It was borderline impossible to trip over anything, the Strike's weight was just that massive. It would take a massive, momentous force to give the Strike pause on Earth, even if I couldn't take off.

Or so I thought.

The first step I made on desert sands told me an entirely different story.

I could only make it five steps into the sands before I realized something horrifying.

I was sinking.

The sands could not support the Strike at all, and instead seemed to turn almost into quicksand. It was more and more difficult to try to walk, and I realized I was a sitting duck with no way to shoot back.

What do I do? What do I do?

Was I far enough outside the city to try to reach the Archangel?

Kira, I needed Kira.

Kira would help me.

I found the Archangel's frequency and as I continued to try to lurch forward, my colossus continuing to sink with each passing step, I began yelling.

"Archangel, are you there? This is Cagalli. Ensign Cagalli Yamato! Does anyone copy?"

No response, just static.

"Archangel, please respond! I'm just to the east of Tassil, and I'm down to eight minutes of Phase Shift! Please respond!"

Static.

"Someone help me! Kira, Tolle, La Flaga, any of you! Help me!"

I suddenly heard a faint voice. Miriallia's? "Is that . . . Cagalli? This . . . Archangel."

"I need help! I can't walk in the sands! Get Kira, I need help trying to operate this thing!"

The voice that replied was Natarle's. She was louder and clearer. "This is Archangel. Ensign, try to proceed as east as you can. We'll launch La Flaga right away."

"I can barely move, I'm sinking!" I wailed.

"I'll have the prince on the line, now stop complaining and start walking."

I heard multiple beeps, and I realized that three of the wolf-like BuCUEs and several helicopters were approaching my struggling machine.

"How about you get a trash compactor, huh? Because that'll all I'll need in a few minutes!" I shrieked as the first BuCUE opened fire.

The lasers hit a lot harder than any missile could. The Strike was nearly knocked on its back, and only by me scrambling with the controls could I keep the behemoth standing upright.

I looked in the sky, where the helicopters were circling. I got the bright idea to try to jump into the air and try to slash at one of them. I fired the boosters and rocketed into the air, but I couldn't get remotely close, they all saw me coming and flew out of the way, and I came down a lot faster than I had gotten up. I felt a hard impact as I came down and it put the Strike on its hands and knees, and I began sinking anew.

The settings were all wrong. There had to be a way to get this thing to operate better on Earth, but I couldn't find one. As I panicked and tried to look through the settings I realized that I had no skill with this language, only if someone told me exactly what to do. This was not something I could do on my own.

I had made it farther away from the city with that pathetic little leap, but it was not enough. Nowhere close.

"Help me!" I shouted.

Badgiruel's voice again. "La Flaga will be launching a minute, Ensign. Stop panicking."

"I don't have a minute!"

Mercifully, Captain Ramius was the next to speak. "Ensign, you will be fine. We're coming to get you, understand? You've come too far to die now."

"You think they give a damn about anything like that?" I yelled, and then I couldn't help but scream again as the wolf-like BuCUEs opened fire again, knocking the Strike over. I forced the Strike back up, and then it occurred to me that I was surrounding, and they were circling me like sharks.

Dying like this would be pathetic. I had survived a descent in the atmosphere and a night inside that hellish city, and for what? Dying out here?

Or were they trying to capture me all over again? I got the impression that they were trying to take the Strike intact. Perhaps that's why they hadn't already killed me? They knew I was floundering.

Damn it, I wasn't going to be a P.O.W! I was going to go home! I had to protect the Archangeland get everyone home! That was my job! No one else could do it!

Kira's voice, he sounded breathless. "Cagalli, you have to reset the friction coefficient!"

"What the hell is that?"

"It's what will make the Strike stand on loose surfaces like sand! You need to set the sand's fluidity at negative 20! The Strike will take care of the rest!"

I tried to find whatever Kira was talking about, but apparently he and his Morgenroete people had forgotten to create an easily navigated menu. "I can't find it!"

"Cagalli, it's-"

I could hear no more, because I was shot yet again.

No, multiple times. It was putting my Phase Shift on the brink. They were firing without holding back now. Had there been a change in orders? What if the Desert Tiger had personally taken command? Was he ruthless? Would he just kill me and not risk the casualties to his soldiers?

They were going for the kill. All of them. The helicopters, the BuCUEs. They were all shooting everything they had at the Strike. I was knocked on my back and promptly began sinking in the small sand dune I had wound up in.

I was at their mercy.

Damn it, if those BuCUEs could manhandle me like this, what could they do to the Archangel? The Desert Tiger could kill everyone in a single battle!

My friends, the soldiers, Elle . . .

No!

No, damn it!

Not ever!


It took me a bit to realize that the seed I saw wasn't just a reflex upgrade. It completely changed my thinking. I was a perfect soldier when I saw the seed shatter. And it is like every idea lost to me in panic appears to me immediately. I could think anything and act on it instantly.

When the seed reappeared and shattered in front of me, it was like a whole blank canvas had suddenly become a landscape with a clear, and stark image.

An image of death, of my triumph, at the cost of everyone who dared to oppose me.

My voice was a controlled instrument, firm and strong. "Kira, tell me the friction setting again."

"Uh . . . negative 20?"

"Thank you."

I found the setting in seconds. I realized I had seen Kira recalibrate these setting before. I just forgot how to navigate the menu because it was something I had only seen out of the corner of my eye, I had not given it full focus. But now, it was like I had. No, not just that. That I had spent weeks studying the interface and learning its naunces.

I changed the setting. "The pressure differential?"

"Decrease it. You're no longer fighting in the vacuum of space. Set it almost to zero unless you're planning on flying anytime soon."

"Got it."

I forced the Strike to stand up, and found it much easier. It wasn't perfect, but it would get the job done, until Kira could manage a more comprehensive upgrade.

Kira's voice sounded nervous. "Cagalli, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Let me focus."

I saw the helicopters, and realized what to do.

I fired the boosters and shot in the air, heading right for one of the helicopters.

I swung my sword right at the cockpit and connected. It exploded moments after I had sliced through it.

I saw one of the BuCUEs within landing distance. I shifted the landing angle and came down right on the BuCUE, crushing it beneath my weight.

I aimed my sword and stabbed the wolf-like BuCUE right where the metallic beast's "neck" was. It sparked, and realizing it was going to explode as well, I jumped backwards and let it blow.

I didn't focus on that lovely demonstration of destruction. Another BuCUE had chosen to rush me. It was a dumb mistake, unless it was out of ammunition and had no other way to attack.

That didn't change the real fact that rushing me was dumb.

I took the sword and aimed it horizontally and to the ground, and the BuCUE could not readjust in time to keep itself from literally running through the beam. It slid into a small dune in two pieces, and one of them exploded.

One BuCUE and two helicopters. That was all that was left.

The two helicopters were turning to retreat. I wasn't going to let them run away. They weren't going to kill anyone else. Not while I was here. They had to die.

I realized I had the perfect shot. They were flying away to the west in almost perfect unison. I could kill them both with a single attack. But without a gun, all I could use was my sword.

But that was okay. The sword could become a projectile too.

I chucked the beam sword right at them, and the thing swished like a tomahawk until it went through both of them before it crashed into the ground.

I sprinted down towards the sword, slid to a stop, and picked the sword back up. One last BuCUE.

I felt glorious, invincible, exhilarated. This could not have gone better. They were dead-

The Phase Shift vanished, and I lost my seed the next moment.

No, I was wrong. For all of my struggling and fighting, and no matter how lethal I had been in that brief moment, I had overlooked something despite all of my thinking and reacting.

I just plain did not have enough power left.

No, the last person on this battlefield that was going to die was me.

And the BuCUE knew it. It fired one last salvo of missiles, and the Strike took heavy damage and was knocked backwards onto the sand.

But why was there no kill strike? Why? Was it out of ammunition as well?

It had a beam sword as well, and wielded it through its mouth. It ran up to me, and stood on top of me like a predator staring at its kill.

For all of that, despite giving it everything I had . . .

I could no longer save myself.

I had been so close.

So close.

But ultimately, I had been too far away.