"Hey, it's good to see you." Athrun said, opening his palm to pat Nicol's back as the Blitz pilot floated next to him. "How're your parents?"
"They're doing well. Thank you for your concern," Nicol replied, smiling at the recollection. It was a brief rest, too brief, his father complained when he heard the news, but made no move against Patrick Zala's wishes. Their Gundams had been already calibrated for their use, and that Nicol was better off to be Blitz's pilot, instead of handing over the unit to some other soldier. A "gift for their bravery" by the military council.
Privately, a small sentiment he could never share with anyone, Nicol preferred to stay behind and concentrate more on his piano lessons. But these were not peaceful days, and he felt guilty to think of not being involved, when his friends and acquaintances that were younger than he was were active in the war. So he didn't complain, and instead he would try to rationalize that he was making his parents proud of him by fighting ZAFT's cause.
Though he certainly never showed it, Athrun was inwardly cringing when he saw Nicol. Apparently the younger boy never heard the news. He didn't like it himself, being decorated with medals as if he was already a war veteran. He knew it was a ploy of his father to gain popularity to the other politicians, and it was ironic that he was going to pry that power away from his future in-law. Lacus certainly never said anything regarding this development, but maybe because she already had a very busy schedule. Ever since her return, she flung herself to her singing career, but instead of inspiring the soldiers to fight as Patrick hoped, she was sending an opposite message by encouraging them to make peace with the Federation. Her father supported her move, thus making more unpopular… his ideas weren't very widely accepted by the Coordinators who were angry regarding the 30th Bunch Incident (1), when everyone was shouting vengeance.
Athrun sighed, withdrawing his thoughts from the snare of politics and was wondering what Isaac and Diakka would think regarding this…
He suddenly wished he didn't, when he later saw the said pair's dark expressions upon entering the ship that will transport them to the Earth's sphere.
"You, the leader of this squad?!" Isaac asked him loudly and bluntly, surprising Nichol from his thoughts. "I can't believe it! Captain Cruze would never allow this."
"But he did," Athrun said evenly, deciding he will not be intimidated by Isaac. "I'll try to live up with your expectations."
Isaac snorted, he already knew how Athrun chickened out during his battles against Strike, even when the pilot was his supposedly closest friend. Anyone who was that indecisive certainly doesn't deserve to be a leader, let alone in charge of their group. The perks for being the son of a high-ranking politician, he thought sardonically as he answered aloud, "You'd better. Cruze gave me instructions to look after your performance this time around. I won't be easy on you."
Diakka also shared his views, he never liked Zala, but would also prefer to allow the person to prove himself. So without giving a second glance, he followed Isaac to give a final check on their Gundams.
Athrun sighed again. This would be a long trip indeed.
----
Yurika wished the people who made Nadesico had bothered to put a Captain's chair for her to sit in. She really had no intention to literally stand in front of her console for the whole trip. She heard that even the missing SDF-1 Macross had one, so what the heck were those Nergal engineers thinking when they constructed this bridge?
With a sigh, she sat on Prospector's chair to ease her aching legs, as Ruri continued her report. "…the three pilots are volunteers from Von Braun at Nergal's Lunar HQ. Rather than head to the place, the President suggested we pick them up en route to make our getaway more conspicuous."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Minato asked her. "There are too many opponents in Space, what if the Titans comes and tries to arrest us?"
"That's why we'd do this as we leave the stratosphere." Yurika answered for Ruri. "It's the least likely place we'd meet enemy forces. As soon as we get their shuttle, we'll use the atmosphere to add firepower to the engines. Doing that will give us twice the speed of a Salamis kai warship."
"Your logic is sound." Prospector said, nodding his head in approval. "So all we have to do is coordinate with the other party, and everything would be a breeze."
"We should reach the stratosphere in one hour." Megumi reported. "Hopefully, the pilots would be at the rendezvous."
"Haaaa… they're all girls." Minato said in disappointment after determining the identity of their new pilots: Ryoko Subaru, Hikaru Amano and Maki Izumi. "What a shame."
"I'm starting to think that joining the army to look for guys is a wrong place to search." Megumi agreed.
Yurika ignored the talk in the bridge, she was busy daydreaming in a romantic fantasy with Akito.
----
Akito shivered, he felt a disturbance in the air. It was really creepy…
"Tenkawa! Where's my ramen?" Gai shouted at the edge of the counter in the Nadesico's cafeteria.
"Oh, sorry! Sorry!" Akito muttered as he carried Gai's bowl.
Gai scowled. "You really shouldn't be distracted like that. You'd lose customers that way. In a fight you could get killed."
"…" Akito sweat dropped, trying not to point out that Gai broke his leg in the first day of his job. But in fairness, Gai did very well against the JSSDF army and its allies. After that brief skirmish with Lond Bell, who never managed to catch up with them after they ran away, missiles and fighter planes near Neo Hong Kong were thrown at them, after the Nadesico refused to answer to their hails. But he and Gai managed to beat them all on their own so easily that when they heard news of new fighter pilots joining in, Akito couldn't help but feel a bit miffed with Yurika's idea.
"Hey, Tenkawa." He was surprised that Gai placed in his hand, then looked at his friend, gaping in excitement and disbelief. "Gekigangar stickers!" he shouted.
"Yep, there only three of these left in the world." Gai said. "You've proven yourself to be a man who loves justice, protector of the blue Earth and values friendship above all else. I believe you deserve it to put these in your cockpit."
Akito was touched. "Thank you, I'll treasure them always." He looked at his friend happily, clutching the precious stickers reverently.
Gai's face gave a look of disgust by Akito's expression. "Euuuwww, that sort of thing doesn't suit you, Tenkawa. Knock it off."
"That's right!" Yurika cut in from nowhere, banging her hands on the table so hard that Gai's now empty bowl jumped. "Akito should have that expression directed at ME!"
"Where the hell did you come from?" Akito looked at her, clutching his chest. "You scared the beejezuz out of me!"
"How come you thanked Gai for those stickers, when I gave you that homemade lunch yesterday you couldn't even see me?!" Yurika pouted, ignoring his rhetorical question. Her love of her life simply walked away with a grunt, not wanting to hurt her feelings. She didn't get the message though.
"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she said, following him, throwing empty cans from the nearest recycling bin at his head to get his attention.
"Because they taste bad!" Akito shouted back, rubbing the back of his head where the cans hit, "I spend that whole day in the clinic with an upset stomach!"
Yurika looked like she was about to cry when he said those words, making him stop. "Akito you jerk!" She gave a dramatic turn, her hair sweeping, and fled away from the cafeteria.
"Hey…" Gai said, after he was sure it was safe to intervene. "She looked upset."
"Crocodile tears." Akito said, "She always does that. Ever since she was a kid, she always gets mad at me for not paying attention to her and then she'll forget it. Don't worry, she'll be alright later." The soup looked like it was ready. Even though he was a fighter pilot, he still had to do the job of feeding Nadesico's crew. In which case he was very serious regarding it, more important than piloting, in his opinion. He took out a small saucer to taste his concoction…
"You like her, don't you." Gai's matter of fact voice was so unlike him that Akito almost spit out the contents of his mouth back into the pot. He barely managed to tilt his head to spit it on the floor instead.
Gai made another face of disgust. "That's gross…"
"That's below the belt!" Akito shouted at him, but Gai could see his friend was blushing furiously. "Why should I like her? She's annoying and clingy… and acts like a five year old…"
"You protest too much. If you didn't like her you shouldn't be eating her food." Gai pointed out
That got him, as his mouth snapped, Akito couldn't think of a better retort.
"But then again Joe and Nanako were in a love-hate relationship too. So it's not a bad thing."
"It's not a love-hate!!" Akito insisted.
"On second thought, I shouldn't demean their relationship by comparing it to yours." Gai replied. Since Akito's attitude never really reminded him of Joe's…
"Why you…!"
----
Jed looked on obvious interest as Kazuya was teaching Camille some basic kata before they would begin sparring. From what Fa had told him, Camille was a member of the karate team from their school in the Gripps colony. Sousuke was also wearing a gi, sparring against Megumi Oka, both drawing wooden stakes that were supposed to be daggers, since the Arbalest pilot knew self-defense that he learned in his youth, and he was eager to learn Megumi's counter moves against his knife work . Though Daijiro Gou was also a martial artist, he declined, as he preferred to spend the time meditating.
Chidori sighed, "I never really appreciate this sort of thing. But Kazuya and Megumi made it look as if it was easy." She frowned at Jed, "How come you're not training?"
Jed didn't look at her, "It looks too strenuous." He said.
Chidori sweat dropped, "I can't believe you're that lazy."
"You should talk to my sis about that someday." He replied easily. "Besides, I'm scheduled for patrol half an hour later, so I couldn't hang around even if I wanted to."
"With Fa, oooohhhh…" Chidori teased. She had seen the two of them hanging out together a few days ago. But the girl recently accompanied Camille instead, and so she was curious.
"That from a girl who was in denial." Jed said, when he realized that Camille might overhear them.
The way Jed said it so matter of factly was like having a rock crash into her skull. Chidori stood up, literally flaring. "What did you say?!?!" She had always liked Jed, but that was below the belt.
"Am I wrong?" He replied. Chidori stopped… it could be her imagination, but was Jed looked angry?… "Then you should choose your words carefully before saying such things."
"I'm… sorry." Chidori relented, taken aback by his words. She really didn't mean it, but was quite relieved when Jed looked up to her, but his eyes revealed no annoyance as he smiled and said. "And I'm not going with Fa. I'm with Noin and Quattro this time around."
"Oh…"
"What do you think of Sousuke?" Jed asked her as Sagara and Megumi were now attacking each other earnestly. He decided to change the subject, as the present one was over and done with.
"He's annoying." Chidori replied primly, glad of the change of pace.
"Er, other than that." Jed said, as he couldn't refuted that. Actually, he really meant on what Sagara was doing against the duel. Jed could see that Megumi had an upper hand in this spar, but then again Sousuke could have a couple of tricks under his sleeve.
Chidori, who apparently misunderstood what Jed asked, suddenly reddened in the face as she nervously played with her fingers. "He's an overprotective war freak," she admitted, "But then I realized that he was really… really…"
Megumi shouted a kiai, when she dodged Sousuke's thrust, grabbed his extended arm, and threw him over her shoulder. Sousuke flew through the air, and crashed onto Chidori. And before Chidori could regain her composure, she saw Sousuke's hand groping her chest. "Really…!!!" she was shouting now.
"STUPID!!!" grabbing Sousuke in the waist and did a powerful pile driver, Chidori literally smashed him to the ground.
Even Kazuya flinched after Chidori finished clobbering him, and Jed decided it was time to head for the hangar.
Megumi knelt down near Sousuke, whose head was now embedded on the floor, after the angry girl stalked away with a huff. "I think you need more training." She assessed seriously.
Sousuke could only groan.
----
Quattro frowned at his mug. The coffee tasted stale this time around, as Bright called his attention regarding the reports he received from his last patrol. "The Nadesico is slowing down?" he was worried by such a risky maneuver. Or Quattro guessed that Bright had some bad experience with the stratosphere in general.
"Engine trouble?" The blonde pilot shrugged. "Or supply shipment. But then again, they gave everyone else a slip, I suppose they have reason to lower their guard." Another option occurred to him "Or they knew they're being followed."
"I don't think so…" Bright said slowly, "Captain Misumaru gave her information discreetly. I think she didn't want to alarm her people that could very well demoralize them."
"Then you shouldn't worry so much if you trust their capabilities."
Bright shook his head. "It's not that… it's just that I don't like it. I can't explain this instinct, but it seems off somehow. When you go out with Jed and Noin, make sure you'd be ready to engage in combat. The La Kairam will remain in her current position. Be careful,"
So the patrol wouldn't have the mother ship's support. Something he was already familiar with. Still, Quattro had questions regarding that, but he simply said "Roger."
----
Nicol's voice snapped Athrun's weary brain into the familiar noise of the mechanical sound in the bridge. "What is it?" he asked.
"Computer has picked up an unidentified ship in her radar." The captain replied, overhearing him. "We're getting a visual."
Athrun blinked as a small shuttle was displayed in the main screen. "Did it answer our hails?" He asked slowly.
"No, but look what we found out through heat sensors." Athrun saw it too. That shuttle contains three small mechas. "We couldn't identify it though. But I could safely guess it's not a Gundam. Is the shuttle a Federation ship?" Nicol asked the ZAFT captain.
The captain commented. "Sensors do not identify it as a Federation vessel."
"What could this mean?" Athrun whispered, puzzled by this as well.
"What should we do now, o great leader?" Isaac said as he entered the bridge. Diakka trailing closely behind.
Athrun pondered on their next move, "It could be weapons against us. We'll have to attack the vessel and take whatever it was inside for our people to figure it out."
Isaac gave him a grim smile. "Not bad," he reluctantly conceded.
"We're attacking by ourselves. So don't bother attempting to destroy the ship."
"Don't worry about that. I won't disobey your order. You know the only thing that I wanted to destroy more than anything." Isaac told him pointedly.
He knew what he meant, alright. Strike. But Athrun also knew that showdown against Kira would be in another day as he gave the others the order to suit up. Still, he couldn't help but anticipate this upcoming battle. He sensed that that was no ordinary ship, and he was eager to try his hand on it.
----
"They're late." Megumi said, Minato could sense that her friend was nervous. And she supposed that she has every right to be. Their engines were currently stalled, since they were now building up the energy the Nadesico needed to leave the Earth's gravity. But this leaves the ship literally defenseless. Still, Yurika made sure that Akito and Gai were ready in their respective units if something has come up.
"Just a few minutes, and they should be coming in any moment." Prospector said when Ruri's calm voice shattered their brief respite. "ZAFT enemy forces are heading in our direction, chasing after our shuttle."
"What?!" But their sensors had just showed regarding Ruri's report. Three mechas were indeed opening fire on the Nergal shuttle.
"They're identified by Omoikane as Gundam types." Ruri relayed.
"I never heard of Gundam type ZAFT mobile suits before." Yurika said. But her face looked grim. "But I think our Aestivalis should hold them off. Prep the engines for battle."
"Roger." Megumi said, relaying the orders to Uribatake.
"We're heading out?" Prospector asked Yurika.
"I'm afraid we'll have to." she answered. "Those three Aestivalis in the shuttle wouldn't have the energy to protect themselves. But if we risk the Nadesico to get closer…"
"They might help Mr. Yamada and Mr. Tenkawa…" Prospector said. But he still looked worried, he had calculated the odds in his head, and he didn't like it so far. "But this is ZAFT we're talking about."
"We have to take that risk. We mustn't lose the three pilots."
"Our Aestivalis has left the ship and are now engaging the enemy."
"Follow them slowly." Yurika instructed. "And try to contact the shuttle. We can't afford to fight them for now. We'll just have to make a run for it."
"Roger." Megumi said, already sending the message to the shuttle, as the Nadesico was slowly powering up, it's distortion field in place, following their units.
------
"Careful." Nicol warned, as his sensors picked up the two Aestivalis. "Here they come."
"Two against four? I liked the odds." Isaac drawled from his speaker.
"What's that ship?" Deakka asked for all of them. Athrun was a bit disturbed, the white ship eerily reminded him of the Archangel.
"We'll just test their combat capabilities, if your unit gets damaged, do not hesitate to retreat." Athrun was saying.
"Depends on the damage." Isaac said. A smile of mischief lighting up his features. "Let's go." The Buster and Duel's thrusters lit as the two mentioned units went ahead without waiting Athrun's go ahead.
Athrun resisted to curse Isaac as a dumbass when he opened fire on the red Aestivalis.
Akito saw the attack from the Aegis Gundam, and easily dodged the attack, opening fire on the Duel and the Blitz with its rapid rifle. Gai also preventing the two from coming too close while shouting enthusiastically his "Gekingan Punch!!!". Buster shrugged off its own buster cannon and opened fire on Gai's Aestivalis, only to see a barrier canceling the attack altogether. "It's just like our phase shift system." Nicol observed. He was ordered by Athrun to stay behind and record the battle. Even though they may fail to take the shuttle, the videos would also help them extremely.
So that's where the Earth Federation got the idea for these set of Gundams. Isaac suddenly felt more threatened by these smaller robots than what he initially thought. "Deakka. Shoot down the shuttle."
"What?"
"If this keeps up, the enemy ship will get three more units!" Isaac shouted.
Deakka never liked Zala either, but insubordination was not his cup of coffee, "But Athrun…!"
"NOW!" Isaac shouted, he was distracted that he didn't noticed that the red and blue Aestivalis were now flanking him from both sides, he barely managed to use his energy for his defense when both Aestivalis rammed the Duel Gundam with their Gekigan flare. The Duel gave a brief shudder as it was on the danger of explosion. Gai and Akito's units were drove off by Athrun's Aegis' beam rifle, it's shield ready to defend the Duel.
"Isaac!" Athrun called.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Isaac cursed, the Duel was heavily damaged rendering it out of the fight. That Athrun would come to his rescue was humiliating. More so than his defeat from the Aestivalis.
Outrage coursed in Deakka at the mere thought that they were being defeated by a couple of Naturals. Perhaps when they fought Strike was another thing, he took small comfort that the pilot was a treacherous Coordinator. But to see them having a hard time with these group was enough to throw common sense into the vacuum of outer space. He shifted his aim and opened fire on the fleeing shuttle.
The attack destroyed the thrusters of the shuttle as the said vessel was now struggling to the enemy ship. As Aegis shifted its gaze to the enraged Duel, ordering Deakka to stop. Still the Duel continued firing wildly, ignoring the danger of the approaching Nadesico.
Akito desperately looked at his console. His energy was getting low from pulling off the Gekigan flare, and Nadesico was too far away. Even though he knew it was futile, he willed his rapid rife to open fire on the Aegis, knowing that the shuttle won't last any longer.
What greater surprise when Akito realized that Gai didn't see it that way. Duel made a last point blank fire on the vessel, but instead of hitting the shuttle, it was Gai's blue Aestivalis, in a last ditch effort to protect the said vehicle. Akito was horrified to realized that Gai also didn't have the energy to activate his distortion field.
The blue Aestivalis stayed immobile for a few seconds, before it exploded before Akito's eyes.
"Gai…" Akito whispered, his mind was going numb by the sudden realization that his friend was gone forever. Just like that. He could almost mentally hear his last words…
"Sorry, I couldn't take you to the ocean."
"Damn it!" Akito screamed, opening fire on the Aegis. Athrun managed to back away as the Nadesico opened fire with its missiles.
"Athrun!" Nicol cried.
Buster was now at Aegis' side, helping Duel to rise, and Athrun knew they'd overstayed their visit. "Prepare to retreat." He said, giving a last regretful glance on the red Aestivalis. Coordinator or Natural, he knew what it was like losing a comrade in battle.
Akito, in blinded rage, would have also followed the retreating Gundams in a suicidal rampage. But Yurika had seen to it that his Aestivalis was to be recalled back to the ship. In dejectedness, Akito slumped in his seat, taking no pleasure that the shuttle containing the pilots were safe. Tears fell from his eyes, floating in cockpit, knowing his life will never be the same.
He was so upset that when he left the mecha, and the leader of the three pilots, Ryoko Subaru extended her hand to thank him, Akito only glared silently at her.
Though Ryoko also quietly thanked Gai for saving them, she was mad for Akito for blaming them for his death. "Come back here, you jerk!" she shouted when Akito walked away.
"Hey, hey, Ryoko…" Hikaru Amano said meekly, stopping her green haired friend from saying anything more. "Please stop. You'd feel the same if me or Izumi were killed that way."
Ryoko stopped alright. She kicked at the nearest box to vent her frustration that they should have helped them. If only they were fast enough… "Goddammit!!!"
-----
"Gai…" Akito whispered, tears falling down in his cheeks. "You shouldn't have done that. You should have left that sort of thing to Geikgangar… you stupid arrogant man…"
"Akito." Yurika stepped forward, sympathy clearly etched in her beautiful face, but Uribitake, shaking his head in warning, stopped her.
"Leave him alone. It's something we should be aware of and seriously think it over. Anyone of us could die out here."
"But…!" Yurika protested.
"It's the truth." The mechanic told her grimly. "You of all people should know that."
She knew. She never spends those days studying war tactics to not understand the necessity of sacrifices, the loss of lives of the few for the majority to survive. But these cold logic applied in those battles in her classrooms were emulated, made believe. She never expected this violent loss, never anticipated the danger, and as she looked into this light she blamed herself the most for letting it happen.
Akito's sobs grew louder, and Yurika could only helplessly watch.
"Why did you have to die?…"
"…" Yurika turned away, for she remembered guiltily that while losing a pilot was disastrous, she was horrified to discover that she was glad that Gai died instead of Akito. "A captain shouldn't think like that." She whispered, remembering her hero Bright Noah. She quickly left the hangar, feeling unworthy to face him.
It was indeed something to think about seriously.
-----
"Damn, what happened here?" Jed asked as he watched the ZAFT shuttle entering in the atmosphere.
"I guess they made a brief combat with the Nadesico." The Hayaku Shikki glanced at the remains of an Aestivalis floating in space. Soon gravity will pull its remains to the Earth, burning it in the atmosphere. "And I should guess Nadesico got considerable losses."
"Sir. La Kairam's heading in our direction to pick us up." Noin reported.
"Then we better hurry back. We need to take the pilot to Von Braun for medical treatments." Quattro replied.
Jed looked at the ruined mecha, wondering if it's pilot relished the thought of being left behind by his team. As the Sentinel, Hayaku Shiki and Taurus headed back.
----
"What do you mean I'll be in charge of them?!?!" Erin shouted, forgetting that she was raising her voice in front of a famous superior officer. The shock of the news was enough to make her forget it anyway, as she half-rose from her chair, her cup of coffee forgotten in the light of the recent news.
Amuro was undeterred, silently thanking the Bright treatment in his younger days. "Well, Kouji and Haruka are very happy to recommend you. And that you've been quite a leader when you guys were stranded in Tokyo Jupiter."
"When was that?" Erin said, raising an eyebrow on the part of her being a leader. She half-suspected Kouji made that part up.
"No one was up to the task of taking care of them." Amuro pointed out. "Until Noin comes back to formally train them, you have to be patient."
"Masaki and those kids from Tokyo Jupiter?" Erin said. "Wonderful."
"They're under your care." Amuro said in finality, "It's good to experience the responsibility while you're at it."
"As a baby sitter. Maybe."
"It's an order." Amuro said firmly, "Bright wanted you to do this."
Erin sighed. He got her there, and she really had no choice regarding this even if it was against her better judgment. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."
Amuro gave a small laugh as he gave a small pat on her hands. "I know it would be tough. Hell, Bright had a lot to talk about when he had us kids work for him."
She barely had the restraint to tell him that perhaps he should be the one to do it when she sensed Umi and Fuu were standing behind their table. They both have a worried look on their faces.
"Is something wrong?" she asked them.
"Hikaru." Fuu said, "She's not feeling any better."
----
Hikaru felt a cool piece of cloth placed on her heated forehead. She was literally sweating all over, but none of it helped her cool down.
"I've never seen anything like it." Franzenberg said. "She's not suffering other symptoms that I'm familiar with. It's just that her body temperature is unusually high."
Erin didn't like the sound of that. "Is there anything you could do."
"I don't even know what's wrong with her." Franzenberg showed them the jewel embedded in her hand. "Although I have a feeling this has something to do with it."
Masaki looked grim, "It's a test of her spirit."
Umi grabbed Masaki's shirt and surprised them all when the tall girl gave him a violent shake. "And what the hell is it doing to her?!?!"
Masaki wasn't fazed. "She was chosen as an avatar." He said evenly. "It's a question whether a Mashin would accept her and vice versa."
"And what was that?"
"I know it's difficult." Masaki said, and deep down Umi believed him. "She won't be harmed."
"Then why?"
"She's looking for a reason why she accepted the jewel. Until she made a decision, the Mashin can't either leave or complement her. We'll just have to wait."
Fuu looked at her friend, wishing she could help her somewhat… "Hikaru…"
-----
Hikaru opened her eyes, and instead of the ceiling of the Freeden's clinic, she saw fire all around her. And somehow, she felt someone calling her name. She felt compelled to ask out… "Who are you?"
The voice answered. "My name is Lexus…"
====
Fire, Water and HatredOn route on getting EVA-02, the Invader attacked once more. RahXephon, Lexus and Black Getter would have to work together if any chance of defeating it would accomplish.
(1) Really should have mentioned this before. The 30th Bunch Incident was the massacre of an entire civilian colony (most of the citizens having anti-Federation sentiments) by releasing poison gas in the air ventilation system. It was popular belief that the Titans were held responsible for the inhumane act but had no proof regarding this. The Earth Federation also claimed no guilt for the tragedy, but made no move to relocate the bodies, as they were unwilling to spend money and manpower for it. The Colony became a grave; the dead degenerated into mummified husks. This triggered the founding of the AEUG.
Notes: Got my copy of MX, and I have to say it…. Heaven Dragon Zeorymer is so cooooool XD (flashing fists of death and destruction! No wonder Kihara Masaki considers the thing as his best work). I could've added it in the story, but I only watched two out of four. Nobel Gundam God Gundam Double God Finger is so awesome, I didn't even bother with Love Love Tenkyouken o.0;; (though very cool in R, the player got it so late in MX it's no longer practical). Super Robot Gundan, though the music is so dated, is fun to watch. I also appreciate EVA and RahXephon, both favorites of mine, and the crossover between the two is nicely done. This will inspire me to a future chapter, which will be unfortunately unwritten as of now.