Last Impression
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Episode 30: Flash of Reprisal
Legend
Word denotes character thought
Word denotes com-link dialogue
Word denotes flashback dialogue
Word denotes setting, time
-Word- denotes sound effect
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Timeline: C.E. 71, April 15; +1500 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands
Inside the Aegis and Strike Gundams' cockpits, both their pilots found themselves in total shock seeing the wreckage of the Blitz Gundam scattered around the beach shore of the small island they were standing on, seconds after its demise inflicted by the Seraph Gundam, which appeared out of nowhere.
Athrun felt his gaping jaw trembling with shock upon seeing the demise of a fellow teammate he personally regarded deep down as a kind, noble friend. Images of Nicol started flooding in his mind as he tried mustering enough willpower to regain composure.
Nicol… oh God…why…?
Arriving at the scene minutes later, the Duel Assault Shroud and Buster Gundams landed behind the Aegis to find the scattered wreckage of the Blitz before them. Yzak and Dearka previously had trouble piloting their MS in water, as both their MS's Guuls were destroyed by the Strike up in the air and unfortunately found themselves knocked down into the ocean water below by the Strike as well.
"What the hell…? Nicol! Hey, team leader, explain this!" Dearka exclaimed in disbelief.
"No… it can't be… who did this to Nicol?!" Yzak bellowed in rage before contacting Athrun via the Duel Assault Shroud's com-link, "Tch… Athrun, who killed Nicol?! Answer me!"
It took the Aegis pilot several seconds to reply back to his angered comrade via the Aegis's com-link with disbelief etched in his voice, "The Seraph… he… he killed Nicol in front of my eyes…"
"-Gasp- No… this isn't possible… that guy…!" Dearka gritted his teeth in pent-up fury, before glancing at the Blitz's executioner standing still from nearby. The Sword Strike immediately rushed over to the Seraph's side, with Kira contacting Kenji anxiously via his MS's com-link.
"Kenji! Kenji! Are you alright?" he inquired concerned for his comrade.
Amidst Kira's transmission sounded inside the Seraph's cockpit, Kenji took slow breaths to calm down, while he felt his hands gripping the control sticks tightly and shakily. Swallowing his saliva after and giving an audible gulp, he slowly glanced behind him at an extra passenger slumped unconscious against the cockpit wall and sported a ZAFT red pilot uniform. The small rising of his chest signified his unconscious breathing, while his breaths clouded slightly his pilot helmet's visor, from which revealed the face of Nicol Amalfi.
After running a quick look at the Blitz pilot up and down, Kenji noted no injuries shown on him, and let out a relieved sigh deep down. As he turned his attention back to the battlefield, his ears picked up Kira's transmission sounding aloud, prompting him to reply with the Seraph's com-link.
"Kira, I'm ok here… just shaken up that's all."
"…You were beginning to worry me… when… did you get here by the way?"
"I saw you standing over the Aegis from above a few minutes ago. Then, I noticed the Blitz suddenly popping out of nowhere and charging at you from the side, which forced me to intervene then."
"…Oh… thanks… I guess…"
Kenji then raised his right eyebrow, hearing a hint of shock laced in Kira's transmission, before he ruefully shook his head.
Now he and Athrun probably saw clearly that I killed Nicol before their eyes. Oh no, now also Yzak noticed the Blitz's remains… he'll surely be coming after me now.
"YOU… BASTARD…!" Yzak bellowed angrily as he pressed the triggers of the control sticks like a madman, firing off all of the Duel Assault Shroud's weapons at the Seraph. Following suit was Dearka, who did the same action with the Buster, proceeding to shower the Seraph with a load of beam and rail-gun fire mixed with a barrage of micro missiles.
"Kenji!" Kira exclaimed as he leapt into action bringing the Sword Strike firing off its "Igelstellung" at the missile barrage streaking towards him and Kenji.
-BA-DA-DA-DA-DA- -BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-
Amidst the imminent explosions from the destroyed missiles of the Buster and Duel Assault Shroud, the Seraph sprang into action, leaping back and into the air with a boost of its thrusters. Next, it fired off its beam rifles of both its "Angelus" in retaliation.
-BLI- -BLI- -BLI- -BLI-
Two of the beam shots were deflected by the Duel Assault Shroud's shield, as it fired back with its beam rifle at the Sword Strike and the Seraph.
"…Must we continue to fight?" Kira pleaded to himself, as he concentrated on defense, bringing the Sword Strike to take evasive maneuvers.
As the battle continued, the lumbering form of the Archangel flew overhead, appearing in view. The "Gottfried Mk.71" dual beam cannons attached on top of both its "legs" popped slowly open from their holstered places, then swiveling pointing at the Aegis, Duel Assault Shroud, and Buster Gundams.
-BLII- -BLII-
The beam cannon fire missed their marks, as they promptly boosted back and flew up in the air simultaneously, before they glanced at the Archangel.
"Damn it…!" Yzak cursed, gritting his teeth at the sight of the EA legged-ship then glancing back down at the Seraph and Sword Strike Gundams through his MS's CIS.
"Argh, we're being pushed back… this doesn't look good!" Dearka exclaimed in caution, sharing his best friend's frustration.
Finally regaining his senses with a shake of his head, Athrun turned his attention at the battle in hand before contacting his remaining teammates with the Aegis's com-link.
"We must fall back immediately! Return back to the Cousteau!" he ordered.
With a quick turnaround, the Aegis then transformed into its crab-like MA mode before jettisoning off away from the battlefield with a boost of its thrusters. Seeing no other choice but to retreat, Yzak and Dearka followed after their team leader at once, leaving the battlefield.
Seeing the ZAFT Zala team's retreating forms, the Archangel ceased attack and remained hovering stationary over the Seraph and the Sword Strike.
"Kira Yamato, Kenji Hyne, you're ordered to return to the ship immediately," Natarle contacted the two Gundam pilots via the Archangel's com-link.
"Kenji… let's go," Kira contacted his said comrade via his MS's com-link.
Taking a good look at the Blitz's wreckage one last time, the Seraph turned slowly facing at the Sword Strike. Inside its cockpit, Kenji took off his pilot helmet and laid it aside on the cockpit floor. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to make himself at ease, before opening them again.
"…Understood, Kira…"
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After parking the Sword Strike and the Seraph in the Archangel's hangar bay, both Kira and Kenji were suddenly greeted by loud cheers coming from Murdoch and his mechanic/engineer crew gathered around them as the former exited to the ground via the cockpit wench.
Hearty slaps to the back and pats on the shoulders were then given to Kira by Murdoch's mechanic/engineer crew, as he looked around their overjoyed faces in confusion, as one by one they beamed at him for his hand in the Blitz's downfall.
"You managed to defeat the Blitz! Way to go!"
"You're amazing!"
"Er… I didn't actually defeat the Blitz…" Kira protested, feeling uncomfortable with the congratulations directed at him.
"Huh? How come Kenji isn't going down?" the gruff head mechanic/engineer asked Kira, after noticing Kenji's absence. The Sword Strike pilot gave a blank stare and shrug of his shoulders in reply before looking up at the Seraph's opened cockpit, motioning the other mechanics/engineers to look up as well, expecting the other Gundam pilot to come out.
After waiting a second or two, they were surprised to see Kenji (minus his pilot helmet) carrying someone by the waist as he gingerly prepped his feet on the cockpit wench and not releasing him along the way. As soon as he touched the ground, he quickly carried Nicol bridal-style in one motion. Everyone then gathered around him, eager to fathom out the identity of the extra passenger he was carrying.
"What the…? Who's that you brought along with you? I don't recall seeing anyone else in your machine other than you," Murdoch inquired curiously, scratching his head with his right hand.
"Kenji, who's it you're carrying?" Kira asked, sharing the same feeling as the head mechanic/engineer standing beside him.
Feeling uncomfortable at everyone's gazes bearing down on the extra passenger he was carrying, Kenji decided to speak the truth, lest in creating confusion among the crowd gathered around him. He looked directly first at Kira, getting his attention.
"Kira… this person I'm carrying is the pilot of the Blitz, which I took care of previously."
Amazed and stunned cries sounded from the crowd at the Seraph pilot's reply, while Kira widened his eyes in complete surprise and felt taken aback.
"What… but how…?" he stammered.
After parking both Skygrasper-1 and Skygrasper-2, Mwu and Tolle spotted the gathered crowd nearby and naturally went over there to see what the fuss was about. After pushing their way inside, they were surprised to see Kenji carrying someone bridal-style. Mwu's eyes focused on the ZAFT red pilot uniform first, realizing it was a ZAFT pilot brought onboard the Archangel.
"Woah… is that a ZAFT pilot you're carrying? I somehow recognize the pilot uniform confirming my suspicions," he stated earnestly, earning murmurs and mixed reactions from the crowd.
"Er… Kenji? How did a ZAFT pilot end up inside the ship?" Tolle asked, folding his arms and looking on at his said friend in confusion.
"-Sigh- It's tedious for me to explain, but to make a long story short, I managed to capture this ZAFT pilot before destroying his MS, the Blitz," Kenji replied, then looking earnestly at Murdoch, "Chief Murdoch, I know you'll probably round up security at an instant, seeing I brought an enemy onboard, but let me explain my reasons to Captain Ramius first. Also, I'll bring this ZAFT pilot to the medic bay for treatment, if that's ok with you."
Feeling astounded by the Seraph pilot's remark, Murdoch scratched his head once more with his right hand, eyeing warily at the unconscious Blitz pilot in Kenji's arms and pursing his lips, making his decision. After a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders resignedly and wryly smiled at Kenji.
"Heh… alright, I'll trust you on this one, Kenji. Thanks for clearing this matter first with me. Sure, bring him over to Dr. Reinhardt for treatment. You better talk this over with Captain Ramius as well," the head mechanic/engineer then looked around the crowd and gruffly exclaimed with a waving gesture of both hands, "Alright, show is over, everyone, get back to work!"
With that said the crowd then dispersed, with some mechanics/engineers giving Kira and Kenji last hearty slaps on the back and pats on the shoulders, despite their humble protests. Walking over to Kenji, Mwu shook his head in amazement before giving him a thumbs-up and stepping aside to let him pass.
"I don't know how you do it, but you saved us a whole lot of trouble, Kenji."
Unfazed by the Skygrasper pilot's remark, Kenji simply nodded in reply, before turning to Kira despite the extra weight he was carrying.
"You might want to come with me, for I'll need your testimony on this matter."
"Uh… sure, if that helps you."
With that said, the two Gundam pilots exited the hangar bay via the ship elevator, heading first to the sick bay to drop off the unconscious Blitz pilot under Dr. Reinhardt's watch.
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"I actually thought you… killed him, when you destroyed the Blitz," Kira spoke hesitantly, referring to the unconscious Blitz pilot in Kenji's arms, as he and the Seraph pilot made their way to the Archangel's sick bay after exiting the ship elevator. A pang of guilt struck Kenji's heart upon hearing his comrade's words reminding him of the recent battle with the ZAFT Zala team. Pushing aside the images of the Blitz's destruction in his mind, Kenji shook his head to clear his mind of conflicting thoughts before coming up with a plausible reply.
"…Yeah… that first thought was in my mind when I rammed the Blitz through with one of the Seraph's double-sided beam sabers. I do admit killing isn't exactly my forte, and it brings unpleasant experiences now and then; I'm not proud of it. But, I don't know… something told me to do this unusual attempt, capturing the Blitz's pilot instead."
"…I see. Well, I'm relieved that you managed to do so. You really had me worried back there."
"Sorry about that, but I had my hands full dealing with the other ZAFT squad coordinating with Athrun's, you know, the ones in white GINN High-Maneuver Types? That and the other notable MS, which mirrored the Seraph in terms of looks, style, and everything --- the Spawn. And it's also a Gundam nonetheless."
Upon arriving inside the medic bay, Kira and Kenji found Dr. Reinhardt currently writing a medical report about a study on Coordinator anatomy, based on his initial findings on the fever Kira suffered during the Archangel's stay in the Libyan Desert. The shipdoctor glanced up at his visitors, seemingly surprised to find Kenji carrying an unconscious person sporting a ZAFT red pilot suit. He placed down the black ball-pen he was using to write his report on his desk.
"I suppose you have an explanation for this?" he inquired calmly, nodding his head towards the unconscious Nicol in the Seraph pilot's arms.
"Well… this person I'm carrying is a ZAFT pilot I managed to capture from his MS during the recent battle. I was hoping to leave him under your watch for his treatment, just in case of significant injuries," Kenji replied earnestly.
"Hmm… alright, just leave him lying down on the bed there… ok, slowly," Kei cautiously remarked as he helped the Seraph pilot to lay down the unconscious Blitz pilot on a provided bed flanked by opened green curtains, "Ok, can you help me strip him of his pilot suit, just to his undergarments? Yes, yes… there we go. Alright, I'll call for security to stand guard outside the medic bay."
"Thanks for the help, doctor," Kenji thanked Kei with a small courteous bow given to him. He turned around to leave the room, motioning Kira to follow suit with his right hand.
Watching the medic bay doors closing after the two Gundam pilots' retreating forms, Kei turned his attention at his new patient, who was now down to a white shirt and boxers. He neatly folded Nicol's ZAFT red pilot suit before setting it aside on his desk along with his pilot helmet and boots. Next, he tucked him in gently, careful not to wake him up. Adjusting his thin-framed specs, Kei pursed his lips as he took a last look at the sleeping Nicol.
I'll run the necessary check-ups as soon as he's awake. I'll let him rest for now.
Walking over to a small intercom posted near the medic bay doors, he used it to start requesting two guards to stand post outside the medic bay.
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Timeline: C.E. 71, April 15; +1515 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands; the Cousteau
Inside the ZAFT Vosgulov-class submarine's locker room, a gloomy atmosphere reign throughout the room as Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak were mourning for their fallen comrade, Nicol. Each was at loss for words as they tried to bear the reality of the Blitz pilot's demise.
Yzak stood looking at Nicol's locker with pursed lips. Beneath them, his teeth were gritted, echoing his mourning. Not wanting to bottle in his emotions any further, he then slammed on Nicol's locker with his right hand, attracting his teammates' attention.
"Damn you, Nicol… you shouldn't have gone through this… why did you have to die?" he asked desperately.
Seeing Yzak beating himself up inwardly for the Blitz pilot's demise, Athrun stood up from the small bench he sat on and instantly grabbed the Duel pilot by the collar of his pilot uniform, slamming him up against Nicol's locker. He stared at his shaken teammate with teary eyes.
"-Hic- You're not the only one at fault here… it's my fault also, because Nicol died trying to protect me!"
"Tch… you're one to talk, taking the blame for Nicol's death!"
As Yzak and Athrun argued, Dearka decided to step in and break the scene, after feeling fed-up watching his teammates bicker with each other and each trying to take the blame for the fallen Blitz pilot.
"Need I remind you that our enemies are the Strike and the Seraph? If you two want to take out your anger and frustration, you can do so by focusing on beating them instead."
Yzak forcefully shrugged off Athrun's hold on him with his left hand, and walked a few steps away from him with his back turned. The images of his previous defeats at the hands of the Strike and the Seraph since the start of the Archangel's pursuit flashed briefly in his mind, angering him dearly. Mastering his temper for a couple of seconds, he glanced back at his remaining teammates with a resolute look in his eyes.
"The Strike and the Seraph… they're the ones who're responsible for this injury," Yzak ran his right hand tracing the obvious scar across his right eye, "And also for Miguel and Nicol's deaths… I intend to destroy them here and now, no matter what!"
With that said, Yzak abruptly left the locker room with Dearka following suit with a dejected face and folded arms, leaving Athrun behind. Not bothering to see their departure, Athrun rummaged inside Nicol's locker, then picking his ZAFT red-coat uniform hanged on a small rack. As he did so, several pieces of piano sheet music fell out from within the uniform, making him remember Nicol's beloved hobby of playing the piano. Unable to bear his grief any longer, Athrun slumped down on his knees, clutching at Nicol's ZAFT red-coat uniform to his chest as tears poured out from his eyes. Some of the tear drops landed on the several pieces of piano sheet music, wetting them.
"-Sob- -Sob- Nicol… you died because… I was too hesitant all this time in killing Kira and also Kenji… -Hic- it was because of them that I let you down…"
Remembering his childhood best friend and the noble stranger who rescued his fiancée, Athrun glanced up at the inside of Nicol's locker with narrowed eyes of anger.
"I swear… I'll kill them both, no matter what. Especially Kenji… he'll pay!"
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Timeline: C.E. 71, April 15; +1520 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands; the Isadora
Parked beside the Cousteau, the ZAFT Vosgulov-class submarine remained dormant for the time being, under orders from Eiji, as he was currently recuperating in the Isadora's medic bay having his right eye bandaged and tended to. In the submarine's locker room, a grieve-stricken atmosphere reigned as the Crusader Squad found themselves mourning for Nicol's demise, as reported by Athrun from the Cousteau earlier. The four teammates were currently at their pilot uniforms, not bothering to change and expected another sortie soon.
A solid right punch on his locker helped little to quell Barry's grief while it attracted everyone's attention on him as well.
"Nicol… it wasn't… your time to go, buddy…" he quietly remarked with a saddened face.
Hearing his remark, Miho instantly broke down into tears and covered her eyes with her hands, as she couldn't bear the thought of her beloved passed away by the enemy. Seated on a small bench next her Lisa sympathized with her crying teammate and did her best to console her by embracing her and letting her cry on her right shoulder instead.
"-Sob- -Sob- Nicol… why did this… -Sob- happened to you?" Miho cried out.
Seeing Miho's crying form, Barry berated himself for telling out the obvious and proceeded to beat his self up inwardly.
Standing face at his locker, Ryu sighed resignedly inwardly before closing his eyes, which were slowly misting with grieved tears for the fallen Blitz pilot.
Damn it… if only the entire squad wouldn't have focused too much on the Seraph and the EA legged-warship, Nicol wouldn't have died…
Sensing it was best not to leave regrets inside him he shook the thought off his mind and remained standing quietly in his position. It was then he remembered to check-up on Eiji's condition in the medic bay. With a reluctant heart, he turned facing his teammates, coughing slightly to get their attention.
"I'll… check up on Eiji and see how he's doing. I'll be back later."
His teammates didn't bother to reply and simply resumed their mourning for the Blitz pilot. Taking their reactions as his cue to leave, he then quietly left the locker room.
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As he stepped inside the medic bay, he saw Eiji (with his pilot uniform half-zipped up to his waist, exposing his upper body) sat up on a provided bunk bed flanked by opened gray curtains all around, along with the Isadora's doctor finalizing last check-ups on him. The Spawn pilot's eye was wrapped with several bandages in a similar fashion to Yzak's.
As he turned around to walk over to the nearby sink to wash his hands, the doctor saw his new visitor inside the room.
"Hello, Captain Katsuragi. You needn't be worried about Commander Shinonome's condition, for he's already patched up," he greeted.
"Thank you, doctor. Any serious injuries he received from the recent battle?"
"Nope… aside from the small injury to his right eye, he seems fit enough to resume active duty. You may have noticed his small injury is patched, so he'll be wearing it for quite some time."
"Ok… can you leave us alone for a while?"
Nodding in reply to Ryu, the doctor patted Eiji's exposed left shoulder with a small smile, receiving one and an assertive nod from him, before he turned around to leave the room. After hearing the medic bay's doors closing, Ryu slowly walked over to the slightly injured Spawn pilot, watching him zip his pilot uniform back up completely with his smile replaced by a scowl. He then kept his eyes to the metal floor.
"How are you feeling?" Ryu inquired, folding his arms.
"Aside from brief pulsating pain from my bandaged right eye, I'm doing fine," Eiji replied without humor from his remark.
"You've heard about Nicol's death from Athrun?"
"…"
"I take it as a 'yes' then. Since you're the leader for this operation in the pursuit of the EA legged-warship, what are your orders?"
"…We'll resume chase and destroy the legged ship once and for all, along with its MS, the Strike and the Seraph, simple as that."
"…I find it funny hearing you saying the operation as simple."
Eiji glanced up, glaring at Ryu with narrowed eyes.
"I'm clearly not in the mood for humor, Ryu, and especially a fight with you, should you continue this banter."
"I'm sorry… the Crusader Squad really took the blow badly upon hearing Nicol's reported death. I just… feel helpless at this situation we're in now."
"-Sigh- I don't blame you for acting unlike your normal self. I… too am saddened and angered by Nicol's loss. And to hear the Seraph inflicting the fatal blow, that… considers Kenji as an enemy fully. Now, do you believe me that he's a traitor to ZAFT? Do you actually think he has good reasons for doing so?"
Feeling the impact of Eiji's remark, Ryu couldn't help but agree with him resignedly.
"I find it hard to believe before… but hearing him killing Nicol now changed my mind."
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Timeline: C.E. 71, April 17; +1700 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands; the Archangel
Inside the EA legged-warship's main bridge, Natarle and Murrue switched shifts, as accordance to their regular duties as the ship's commanders. After taking the captain's seat, Natarle glanced inquisitively at her workmate, while the rest of the bridge crew continued to monitor progress on the ship's course to the EA Alaska Base in their posts.
"Have we contacted Alaska yet?" she asked.
"I'm afraid we haven't. We should be able to contact them once we cross into the Tropic of Cancer, where there's least amount of radio interference," Murrue shook her head in reply.
"You know, I was surprised to hear Kenji managed to capture the Blitz's pilot before destroying his machine by himself. Do you have any say on this?"
"Oh that… well, I share your surprise, Natarle. But, suffice to say, Kenji acted on better judgment to capture the Blitz's pilot. How he did it amazes me."
"Still… I can't help but feel wary now that we have an enemy prisoner stowed onboard."
"I don't think the enemy prisoner might attempt to escape, seeing that the medic bay is securely guarded. According to Dr. Reinhardt, he can be moved to the brig after another day's rest."
"I see. Well, you better take your break now, you'll be needed soon."
Murrue smiled and nodded to Natarle, noticing a slight, pleasant tone from her last remark, before turning to leave the main bridge via the ship elevator. As the ship elevator proceeded to take her down to her destination, which was the mess hall, she thought about the brief, sudden change she noticed in Natarle recently.
Natarle seems to be more… nicer and considerate these past few hours. I wonder what changed her that way.
Back to Natarle, as she started her shift, she couldn't help but think of Kenji and his recent involvement regarding the Blitz's destruction.
You're truly amazing, Kenji, for having taken out one of the stolen prototype Gundams that's been pestering the Archangel for quite a long time.
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Elsewhere in one of the ship's hallways, Fllay found herself walking by the mess hall as she searched for her boyfriend's whereabouts. Feeling a bit curious, she decided to peep inside to find Miriallia and Tolle having an afternoon meal, served courtesy of Chef Carte, and seated nearby for her to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"You should have seen it, Mir, piloting the Skygrasper was just like in the simulation! It was great piloting it and having to help out Kira, Kenji, and Lieutenant La Flaga out there in the battlefield," Tolle started after he chewed a portion of his meal.
Miriallia couldn't help but be worried for her boyfriend's safety, realizing he was actually fighting in the battlefield. She feared for the worse, worrying he might crash or get shot down by the enemy or friendly fire.
"You're too reckless out there… you need to be more careful in your flying, Tolle. What if you get shot down by the enemy or friendly fire?" she warned with a worried look on her face.
"Mir, relax, I'm ok piloting the Skygrasper. If it wasn't for Kenji encouraging me to help out… oh shoot…" Tolle stumbled, widening his eyes upon letting out an unneeded revelation.
"What…! So it was him that was your reason for piloting in the first place?!" Miriallia fumed, standing up from her seat and placing her hands on her hips as she stared defiantly at her boyfriend, who suddenly cringed and cowered a bit under her gaze.
"Mir, c'mon, it wasn't like him to be blamed for this!" Tolle reasoned meekly, trying hard to quell his girlfriend's wrath.
"Oh… Kenji will definitely have to avoid running into Miriallia in the near future," Fllay quietly remarked to herself, feeling sorry for Tolle and deciding she eavesdropped enough. She quietly went on her way resuming her search for her boyfriend's whereabouts, leaving the mess hall.
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In the ship's observation room, Kenji (docked in his EA uniform) stood quietly alone watching at the outside ocean blankly as he leant against the railing between him and the large windows of the room. Flashbacks of the Blitz's destruction ran through his mind, making him remember the recent battle. Sensing he had enough of reminiscing, he shook his head trying to clear his mind before he sounded out a tired sigh.
As he started looking at his reflection on the window before him, he felt a firm hand placed on his left shoulder, prompting him to turn around and find his uncle standing before him, decked in his usual researcher attire, as he retracted his right hand he'd placed on his nephew's left shoulder just now.
"I figured you might be moping about in this place. What's with the gloomy mood?" Peter quipped, trying to lighten up his nephew's quiet behavior.
"Uncle… it's nothing. I just wanted to be alone, that's all," Kenji replied, turning his attention back at his reflection.
"Hmm… I've heard you managed to destroy the Blitz. Congrats! What's surprising was that you also spared its pilot and captured him instead."
"…Yeah, well… he was about to attack Kira in that recent battle, so I had to intervene."
"You should be in a cheery mood rather than this! It's quite a feat to take out one of the 5 prototype Gundams that was designed by Professor Kato."
"…I guess you're right. But that recent battle, it was different. Destroying the Blitz just brought back…unwanted memories."
Peter rubbed his chin slowly with his left hand, while pocketing his other hand in his lab coat before joining in watching his own reflection shown on the window before him.
"I see where you're getting at. -Sigh- I may not be knowledgeable in war, but I do know the saying, "survival of the fittest". That fits the theme of this war between the EA and ZAFT. Was it nature's way of showing the grim reality of conflict in man?"
Kenji closed his eyes briefly, as his right hand reached for the crucifix necklace worn around his neck and clutched it, as he remembered a certain remark from his first love.
"Promise me… that you'll live the rest of your life without regrets. I want you to enjoy what your life offers to you. To me, I can see there's more to life than just the military."
Luna... I'm trying hard to follow your advice. But it seems I can't get away from military life right now.
He then opened his eyes staring back at his reflection before he spoke up.
"For as long as there's man, there'll always be wars. But as long as there's hope, wars can always be extinguished, and set aside for peace."
Peter glanced inquisitively at his nephew, interested upon hearing the remark. Kenji stared at him with a knowing smile.
"One of my mentors during my days in ZAFT used to say to me that until my graduation. I can see now what he's instilling in that statement."
"Well… judging from that statement, he must have quite a philosophy to teach you, eh?"
"…Yeah, he sure did."
And so the Hynes continued with their gazing.
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In the Archangel's hangar bay, a lone Kira dressed in his EA uniform stood in front of the parked Strike, looking up at it from below. Images of the recent battle flashed briefly in his mind, making him remember his latest triumph over his childhood best friend piloting the Aegis.
Athrun… I guess I can't convince you then…
Next flashback to follow was the Blitz's sudden demise by the Seraph, prompting Kira to shudder upon remembering it in his mind. Seeing it destroyed before Athrun's eyes made him feel sorry for having involved the Blitz in the recent battle in the first place.
The Blitz was taken out by Kenji… but right in front of Athrun as well. It must be hard for him to witness a comrade's demise… if only he knew that his comrade is alive and well in the ship.
It must be tough for Kenji to bear the weight of taking out the Blitz. He'll surely be targeted first if that ZAFT unit attacks again.
Kira then remembered a particular conversation with the late 'Desert Tiger' he faced back in Africa.
"No! Stop! The battle is over! What's the use of prolonging this?"
"As long as we're enemies, I'll continue fighting!"
Hearing that reminder made the Strike pilot ponder on the fragile friendship he and Athrun were currently having.
Athrun… am I really your enemy?
Meanwhile in the background, his pet robotic bird Torii flew by inside the hangar bay and started flying around the large area.
"Birdie!" it chirped monotonously.
The quiet sound of the hangar bay doors then opened, allowing Fllay to step inside and find her boyfriend now seated gazing upwards at his MS from below.
"Kira!" she called out to her boyfriend as she approached him.
"Huh? Fllay…?" Kira glanced up to find his girlfriend already standing beside him with a worried look on her face.
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0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Timeline: C.E. 71, April 17; +1745 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands; the Isadora
Inside the ZAFT Vosgulov-class submarine's bridge, several radar operators picked up incoming movement of the Archangel in their posts. One of them hastened to report his findings to Eiji and the vice-commander, who stood waiting at the center of the room and were conversing on battle strategies to ensnare the Archangel.
"Commander, the sensors are picking movement from north of us… it's the EA legged-warship!" he reported, glancing back at his superiors from his post.
"Well, it's time we leap into action. Contact the Cousteau and notify them to launch its MS team at once to intercept the EA legged-warship! We'll launch our MS team as well. Initiate battle-stations at once!" Eiji then turned to the vice-commander, "I leave you in charge for the time being while I'm gone."
"Sir!" the vice-commander replied with a salute and nod, watching his superior running off to the locker room to suit up before he assumed command of the submarine.
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Within several minutes, both the Isadora and the Cousteau launched their MS teams respectively, namely the ZAFT Zala and Shinonome teams (comprising of the Aegis, Buster, and Duel with 4 GINN High-Maneuver Types and the Spawn). The 7 MS launched were once again retrofitted with Guuls for better atmospheric flight, as they all headed straight towards the incoming Archangel which approached in view from artillery range.
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Timeline: C.E. 71, April 17; +1750 hours
Location: Earth --- Marshall Islands; the Archangel
Inside the EA legged-warship's main bridge, its CIC crew spotted incoming MS on their posts, after analyzing their findings on their radar.
"8 bogeys detected by the sensors… running ID scans on them from the ship's database… they're ZAFT MS!" Sai reported from his post.
"…They're apparently the Aegis, the Buster, the Duel, 4 GINN High-Maneuver Types, and an unknown one which reportedly resembles the Seraph!" Dalida confirmed the incoming enemy MS from his post.
"All hands, level-two battle stations!" Murrue ordered from her seat, preparing for another battle.
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The blaring sounds of battle alert rang loudly throughout the ship, prompting the rest of the ship's crew to spring into action and preparing for a battle. In the ship's hangar bay, Kira immediately stood up in attention and turned to his girlfriend, placing his right forefinger on her lips to silence her before she spoke.
"I'm sorry Fllay, but I don't have time to talk with you now. You'll have to wait until I come back," he apologized to his girlfriend.
Before she could protest, Kira ran past her, heading for the men's locker room to suit up. Looking at her boyfriend's retreating form, Fllay pouted in disappointment.
"Oh… just when I was about to spend some quality time with Kira, this has to happen!" she exclaimed disappointedly.
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Upon entering hurriedly inside the men's locker room, Kira found Kenji zipping up his EA pilot suit, which was colored in a semi-black and blue, in contrast to Kira's blue-green and white ones.
"Get yourself zipped up, we're needed now," the Seraph pilot stated with a straight face, taking out his pilot helmet from his locker before closing it.
An affirmative nod from the Strike pilot was given in reply, as he rushed over to his locker and took out his EA pilot suit before zipping up himself in it. Closing his locker after taking out his pilot helmet, Kira pursed his lips to ask a personal question to his waiting friend standing before him.
"Kenji…? Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm…? Well, make it quick."
"…Were you affected deeply when you destroyed the Blitz? I mean, you destroyed it before Athrun's eyes..."
"…Well… frankly speaking, yeah, I was, but not much. It just reminded me of… some unwanted memories."
"…I see. Sorry for asking such a question."
Patting the apologizing Strike pilot's right shoulder with his right hand, Kenji simply smiled slightly in reply.
"Hey, it's no problem. C'mon, we have to sortie immediately."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Back inside the Archangel's hangar bay, Murdoch's crew started up the necessary launch procedures for Skygrasper-1, and the Strike and Seraph Gundams. First to go was Skygrasper-1.
Seated inside Skygrasper-1 and suited up, Mwu started up his assigned aircraft fighter's systems as it was being automatically ferried to the second linear catapult by robotic arms. Next, Skygrasper-1 was retrofitted by the same robotic arms with the Launcher parts of the Strike. After the catapult's inner door closed after Skygrasper-1, the launch sequence window appeared from above. Having finished the necessary checks in his aircraft fighter, Mwu closed his pilot helmet's glass visor with a press of a button on the helmet's right side.
Before he continued on with his launch, Mwu contacted Kenji via com-link, assuming he was already suited up and inside the Seraph. Seeing his image docked in his EA pilot suit confirmed his belief after a few seconds.
"Hey, Kenji, you doing alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm doing ok, Lieutenant La Flaga, so don't worry about me," Kenji casually replied inside the Seraph's cockpit, as he was finalizing last checks on his MS's systems in time for launch. Deep down, he was getting tired of being asked that question for the umpteenth time.
The catapult's outer door then opened for launch.
LINEAR CATAPULT LAUNCH SYSTEM
FX-550 SKYGRASPER-1
…3
…2
…1
LAUNCH!
"Mwu La Flaga… Skygrasper-1, launching!" he exclaimed, as his aircraft fighter was shot off to the outside ocean background.
The second linear catapult outer door then closed after, with the first linear catapult opening next, allowing for the launch of the Strike and Seraph Gundams. The Strike was outfitted with its Aile parts after being set ready on the catapult for launch. It was next in line for launch.
LINEAR CATAPULT LAUNCH SYSTEM
GAT-X105 AILE STRIKE GUNDAM
…3
…2
…1
LAUNCH!
"Kira Yamato… Aile Strike, launch!" Kira exclaimed as his MS was shot off to the outside ocean background, along with its PS armor kicking in.
Last but not the least was the Seraph, as it was perched next on the catapult. Inside is cockpit, Kenji was all set to launch when a sudden transmission from the Archangel's main bridge was received, revealing the face of Natarle, who had contacted him. The initial look on her face was one mixed with worry before being replaced by the serious one mirroring her dedication to duty.
"Kenji Hyne, please be careful out there. We're not sure what that ZAFT unit is capable of, seeing it managed to spot us and give chase again," she stated, careful not to show her concern for her newfound love interest in the CIC area of the main bridge, lest fearing the bridge crew and even Murrue to find out.
"I'll do that as always, ma'am. Don't worry, I'll come back alive," Kenji stated with a soft smile, earning a slight blush from Natarle, who quickly smiled back in reply and retained her serious face. He found her sudden change of expression funny and decided to hold back a chuckle.
"You better… promise me that, ok? No buts."
With that said, she ended her transmission, not giving Kenji time to reply. He ruefully shook his head at her response before assuming an earnest face focused on battle.
LINEAR CATAPULT LAUNCH SYSTEM
GAT-XP01 SERAPH GUNDAM
…3
…2
…1
LAUNCH!
"Kenji Hyne… Seraph, launching!" Kenji exclaimed as his MS was shot off into the outside ocean background. It extended its two-fold wings while its PS armor kicked in. Flying over the Archangel, the Seraph saw the Aile Strike standing outside on the ship's deck with its shield and beam rifle in hand. It gave a right thumbs-up at the Aile Strike, which returned it with its own, before it cloaked itself invisible with its "Mirage Colloid".
Meanwhile, Skygrasper-1 flew ahead of the Archangel, stumbling upon the incoming ZAFT Zala and Shinonome teams in their MS and on their Guuls. Seeing them in sight, Mwu gave a cry of satisfaction.
"This time, I'll shoot everyone down, starting with this guy here!" he vowed, prompting his aircraft fighter firing off its beam cannons at the Buster as it zoomed past the ZAFT Zala and Shinonome teams.
-BLI- -BLI- -BLI-
"Eh… that guy again... he doesn't know when to quit! I'll show him!" Dearka grumbled annoyingly, moving the Buster around to intercept Skygrasper-1.
"Hey, wait up!" Barry exclaimed, moving Crusader-02 to catch up after the Buster.
"Here's the plan. Athrun, take your team to focus on the Strike! Ryu, take your team to focus first on the EA legged-warship! By the time I find the Seraph, your team then rejoins with me to attack it instead, copy?" Eiji confirmed, contacting the rest of his teammates via the Spawn's com-link.
"Roger, I understand clearly. Yzak, follow me!" Athrun exclaimed, motioning his remaining teammate to follow after him. The Aegis and the Duel then descended towards the Aile Strike like buzzards to their prey.
"Ok… Lisa, Miho, we'll attack the legged-warship first! Follow me!" Ryu exclaimed, motioning his remaining teammates to follow suit. Crusader-01, 03, and 04 then flew off, heading towards the Archangel for an attack run, leaving behind the Spawn.
"Kenji… you've truly crossed the line this time. You're mine!" Eiji bellowed then jolting the control sticks hard forward to move the Spawn heading towards the Archangel.
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Nearby the battlefield, the lone CGUE DEEP Arms w Booster Pack piloted by Vann descended onto a small, tropical island that had an underground shelter nestled safely from radar detection, after making its successful atmospheric re-entry in Earth several hours ago.
Slowly landing on a patch of land below, the ZAFT MS hardly had time to set its feet on the ground when the entire floor beneath it suddenly sunk, which revealed to be a secret elevator. As the ZAFT MS descended deep underground, the elevator's natural camouflaged doors closed above it. It took several minutes for the elevator to finally land to a stop, bringing the CGUE DEEP Arms w Booster Pack in front of a MS hangar bay of the underground shelter.
The ZAFT MS proceeded to park itself inside the MS hangar bay before it was deactivated by its pilot, who climbed out of its cockpit and exited to the ground via the cockpit wench. Taking off his pilot helmet, Vann quickened his pace entering inside the shelter, which was securely built complete with facilities such as a swimming pool, a garden, a park, and a hidden dock. The shelter was large enough to house a family, while sporting amenities spicing up its nice décor (similar to the ones in the houses of the nobility in Orb).
Entering the shelter's guest hall, he was greeted by an amicable, beautiful woman in her mid-30s sporting short, black hair, emerald eyes, and pleasing lips, while dressed in a modest, navy-blue blouse, skirt, and strapped sandals. He then took her left hand, kissing it, making her feel slightly embarrassed.
"Vann, really, you needn't kiss my left hand everything time we meet. You're making me blush with embarrassment," the woman spoke with a smile.
The masked ZAFT commander bowed courteously to her with a smile in return.
"It can't be helped, being in the presence of a lovely woman before me here."
With the greetings out of the way, the woman led Vann to the dining room, pouring two glasses of iced tea for themselves as they took their seats.
"I rushed as soon as I received your call, my lady. Is something amiss?" Vann started, after drinking a quarter of his iced tea.
"Well… lately there've been signs of movement happening near here. I checked the radar on the control room as you instructed me before, and it confirmed my suspicions. I thought I'd best let you know about it and figure out the problem," the woman replied with a worried face.
"Is that so…? Hmm, it might be that the mysterious pursuers are onto you yet again, but that can't be possible… sure, they're a persistent bunch, but having to track you here this far? No… I don't think it's them, my lady, it's something else. What else have you noticed recently from that reported activity?"
"…About around two hours ago…"
The woman's remark was cut off by a sudden rumble shaking the entire shelter, forcing her and Vann off-balance and hold onto the dining table they were seated behind on for dear life.
"Good heavens!" she exclaimed in fright.
"What on earth? Those vibrations… could it be an approaching battle?" Vann glanced up at the shelter ceiling in wonder before turning to the woman with seriousness, "My lady, please stay here and activate all the security locks until I get back. I'll check out what's happening outside."
The woman nodded affirmatively, then watching the masked ZAFT commander running off to his MS parked in the MS hangar bay. Placing the unfinished glasses of iced tea in the kitchen sink, she then headed for the control room to comply with Vann's instructions.
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Back to the battlefield, the Aile Strike glanced up to see the charging Duel swooping down at it like a hawk. With a boost from its backpack thrusters, it leapt into the air and neared contact with its foe, which took out and readied its right beam saber, prompting the Aile Strike to do the same action.
-KA-TINK-
After a few seconds, the beam saber deadlock was instantly broken. The Aile Strike leapt up and flipped backwards, then dashing back to avoid several beam shots from the Duel.
-BLI- -BLI- -BLI- -BLI-
"You… I won't forgive you for helping the Seraph pilot kill Nicol!" Yzak retorted inside the Duel's cockpit.
As the Duel proceeded to go for another round of close combat, the Aile Strike feint an approaching charge, dashing back and taking a quick aim at the Duel's right leg with its beam rifle in hand after holstering its right beam saber in place.
-BLI-
-BLAM-
As Kira expected, the Duel's right leg was instantly blown off by his MS's beam shot, knocking it off-balance and off its Guul.
"YOU FUCKING STRIKE PILOT! I'M NOT DONE YET!" Yzak bellowed frustratingly, as the Duel plunged down to the ocean water below. However, in the midst of its fall, he took a small window of opportunity to fire off a last shot of the Duel's beam rifle, which sliced through the Aile Strike's beam rifle, forcing it to discard immediately before its evident explosion. Meanwhile the Duel's Guul plummeted down into the ocean water, joining its owner.
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Meanwhile Mwu was in a tight bind as he had his hands full dealing with the Buster and Crusader-02 at the same time, as they double-teamed Skygrasper-1 with mid-range fire. Skygrasper-1 ducked and weaved amidst the crossing enemy fire, before executing a barrel roll followed by a feint drop and loop back around to retaliate with its beam cannons and the "Agni" of the Launcher parts it was retrofitted with.
-BLI- -BLI- -PHOOSH-
"Argh… damn, at this rate, I won't be able to attack them much!" Mwu exclaimed exasperated.
"Jeez… this guy's really good. But, he's going down here and now! Barry, hit him from behind while I distract him!" Dearka contacted his said comrade via the Buster's com-link.
"Alright, hotshot, it's your call!" Barry replied excitedly via Crusader-02's com-link.
Surrounding Skygrasper-1 again, this time Crusader-02 flew off from sight, startling Mwu, while the Buster fired off its missile barrage at the same time.
"Shit! He was a decoy!" Mwu cursed, bringing both his hands jerking the control stick to take Skygrasper-1 into a sudden barrel roll while going for another dive and loop maneuver to lead the missiles into hitting each other than their primary target.
"Ha…! Got you! Now, Barry!" Dearka exclaimed triumphantly to his said comrade via the Buster's com-link.
As Skygrasper-1 evaded the first set of missiles from its dive and loop maneuver, a round of machine gun fire rained down on it from above, with some of the shots nicking Skygrasper-1's right wing, eliciting a small explosion of damage. Then suddenly, the Buster boosted fast as it could before strafing Skygrasper-1 and joining its gun-launcher and beam rifle together to form its anti-armor shotgun.
"EAT THIS!" Dearka cried out.
-BLAM-
A torrent of scattered shotgun blast trailed through Skygrasper-1, with some of the shots nicking both its wings this time, inflicting more damage.
"Ugh…! Damn, I'm hit!" Mwu exclaimed with gritted teeth as he lurched about inside Skygrasper-1's cockpit amidst the sudden explosions from the damage his aircraft fighter incurred. With both its wings damaged, Skygrasper-1 was quickly losing stability, forcing its pilot to withdraw from the battlefield.
Watching Skygrasper-1's damaged form retreating in the Buster's CIS, Dearka turned his attention at the Archangel.
"Barry, forget that guy! We're going to take out the legged-ship once and for all!" he contacted his said comrade via the Buster's com-link.
"…Tch… alright, I was going to finish him off, but he looks too beaten up. Alright, hotshot, let's go then!" Barry replied back via Crusader-02's com-link.
The Buster and Crusader-02 then turned around, heading towards their new target, the Archangel.
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Inside the Archangel's main bridge, the bridge crew braced another rumble of explosion from enemy fire, holding onto their seats for dear life.
"Ready "Wombats" and "Korinthos"… targets are the enemy MS! Now fire!" Natarle exclaimed to her CIC crew from her seat in the CIC area.
Upon her command, the Archangel unleashed a multitude of missile barrage at the incoming Buster and Crusader-02, with both of them evading and taking out several of the missiles trailing towards them with their weapons.
-BLAM- -BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-
-KA-BOOM- -KA-BOOM-
"It's no good, the enemy MS are just simply taking out the missiles!" Sai reported his findings from his post.
"Have the "Igelstellungs" continue driving off any incoming enemy MS! Aim both "Gottfried Mk.71" at the enemy MS! Now fire!" Natarle ordered her CIC crew.
The dual beam cannons uncovered themselves on top of the Archangel's two "legs", swiveling aimed at the incoming Buster and Crusader-02, before they could fire however, a hail of machine-gun fire rained down on them from above, promptly destroying them and knocking the Archangel awry again.
"Not this time…!" Ryu exclaimed inside Crusader-01's cockpit, raising a right fist triumphantly upon seeing the damage he, Lisa, and Miho produced together.
"Serves you right for getting slow, legged ship…!" Lisa shared the same feeling with a wicked smile.
"That's still… not enough!" Miho screamed adamantly, as she floored Crusader-04's thrusters to the max, going for another attack run.
"Heh, heh… I didn't know she had it in her. Wait up!" Lisa exclaimed, flooring Crusader-03's thrusters to catch up after Crusader-04.
While hovering high in the air, Crusader-01 turned its head around, looking for a new target before setting its sights on the Aile Strike which was entangled in another skirmish with the Aegis. Ryu narrowed his eyes angrily at his new foe displayed in Crusader-01's CIS.
"You… you helped the Seraph destroy Nicol… then I'll avenge his death by taking you out as well!"
He then floored his MS's thrusters to the max, heading towards the Aile Strike and the Aegis.
Meanwhile, Crusader-02 swooped down starting a strafing run at the Archangel's right port-side, gunning down its "Igelstellungs" posted in the way, while the Buster broke off and rejoined its gun-launcher and beam rifle again to form its hyper-impulse long range sniper rifle and immediately charged it up for a shot.
"HAVE SOME OF THIS!" Dearka shouted fiercely, pressing the triggers of the control sticks as he had the Archangel lined up in his sights.
-PHOOSH-
The charged, streaking projectile ripped through the Archangel's "legs" like a hot knife through butter, inflicting major damage to the engines inside. Smoke wisped from the incurred damage as the EA legged-warship was starting to lose altitude.
"Damage report…!" Murrue exclaimed from her seat in the ship's main bridge.
"Both engines 1 and 2 have blown up from the damage! Fires are spreading through decks 1, 2, 3, and 6! Bulkheads on those decks are immediately closing tight to prevent the fires from spreading further!" Romero reported the damage analysis from his post.
"We're losing altitude! I can't get the ship back up any longer!" Arnold cried out from his post as he tried to pull the steering wheel up to continue the ship's ascent.
Inside the Archangel's hangar bay, Tolle rushed for Skygrasper-2 decked in his EA pilot suit and helmet, running past Murdoch and several mechanics/engineers and getting the former's attention. As he hurried inside Skygrasper-2's cockpit and started activating its controls, Murdoch hurried to him with an alarmed look on his face.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!" he exclaimed, raising both his arms to wave in front of Skygrasper-2 to block off its path.
"I've got to do something and help out the others in the battlefield!" Tolle exclaimed back before Skygrasper-2's glass cockpit hatch closed above him.
Seeing no use to protest any further, Murdoch belted out a frustrated sigh before quickly stepping out of the way, allowing Skygrasper-2 to taxi itself inside the first linear catapult, with its inner doors closing after.
"Argh… get the Strike's Sword parts attached to Skygrasper-2 immediately before it launches!" the gruff head mechanic/engineer yelled out to several of his crew, who quickly complied to accomplish his order.
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On another island nearby the battlefield, a medium-sized house was perched, which also served as an orphanage as several children curiously stepped outside through the front door and glanced up at the sky, which was slowly brewing into a thunderstorm. The loud crackling of thunder soon echoed, instantly frightening the children into stepping back to the house's front perch.
"Now, now, children, you all shouldn't be outside. There's a storm going on," a gentle voice spoke, belonging to a middle-aged man dressed in modest, priestly attire as he stepped outside and beckoned the children to gather around him with a tap of his gray walking staff held in his right hand. Afflicted with natural blindness, he turned his head from left to right, making sure of the children's presence with his other senses instead.
"We're scared of the lightning, Father…" one child remarked with fright, hugging the man's ankles. Another child followed his action, after seeing him doing it, prompting the blind man to slightly bend down and ruffle the hugging children's heads affectionately.
"There's no need to be afraid once we all enter inside the house, ok?" he spoke with a small smile. As he motioned the rest of the children to step back inside the house, another crack of thunder sounded fiercely, invoking a distressful feeling from the blind man as he glanced back up at the sky.
This thunderstorm… I fear something is amiss…
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0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
While the Archangel was constantly attacked by the Buster, Crusader-02, Crusader-03, and Crusader-04, the Aile Strike found itself attacked by the Aegis, as it charged towards it in full speed with its Guul. Expecting another close combat from its foe, the Aile Strike prepared to fire its beam rifle at the Aegis's Guul to destroy it; but instead, the Aegis suddenly leapt up from its Guul and right kicked it hard, sending it sprawling towards the Aile Strike instead.
-BOOM-
Knocked aback from the Guul's explosion, the Aile Strike lost its beam rifle while it plunged down on a nearby island. Before nearing contact with the ground however, the Aile Strike floored its backpack thrusters to cushion its fall, before dashing back and drawing out its right beam saber to parry incoming beam slashes from the Aegis, which pressed on its attack.
"KIRA…!" Athrun angrily screamed inside the Aegis's cockpit.
"ATHRUN…!" Kira exclaimed back in the Aile Strike's cockpit. Warning sirens suddenly buzzed loudly, alerting him of another incoming enemy in his radar, which was Crusader-01.
"YOU… YOU'VE BEEN A THORN QUITE ENOUGH!" Ryu exclaimed angrily inside his MS's cockpit as he floored his MS's thrusters to the max.
Parrying several beam slashes from the Aegis, the Aile Strike hardly had time to push it back with its shield when it brought its right beam saber to slash horizontally at the approaching Crusader-01, which dashed back at the split second before taking out its heavy sword and slashing back.
-KA-TINK-
Parrying Crusader-01's sword slash with its shield, the Aile Strike delivered a left kick to its chest, knocking it away before blocking a hard left beam thrust from the Aegis with its shield, which was then pierced through and forcefully flung aside, rendering no suitable defense for the Aile Strike. A right, backhand beam slash came next from the Aegis, attempting to lop off the Aile Strike's head; but, it was a second late as it narrowly stepped back, avoiding the attack, before countering with its right beam saber, forcing the Aegis on defense.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Ryu exclaimed, as he brought back Crusader-01 to fire off the remaining clip of its experimental armor assault rifle with one hand before charging with its heavy sword with the other.
"Tch…! This guy's stubborn!" Kira annoyingly remarked, as he was forced back into defense with the Aegis and Crusader-01 harassing him from both sides again.
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High up in the air, an intense dogfight rumbled between the Seraph and the Spawn, as they circled each other in mixed close, mid, and long range attacks with all their weapons deployed.
"KENJI…!" Eiji screamed angrily as he brought the Spawn to fire off its "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor at the Seraph, which also deployed its rocket anchor at its counterpart as well. The two projectiles instantly cancelled each other, as they were retracted back to their owners in a second or two.
"EIJI…!" Kenji bellowed as he brought the Seraph to deploy its "Gunbarrel pods" and fire off both beam rifles of its "Angelus" at the same time.
-SPLIT- -PHI- -PHI- -PHI- -PHI-
-BLI- -BLI- -BLI- -BLI-
Amidst the streaking beam shots, the Spawn brought up its left "Angelus" deflecting some of them nailing their mark before it dashed back and deployed its "Gunbarrel pods" in retaliation and firing off the beam rifle of its right "Angelus" at the same time.
-SPLIT- -PHI- -PHI- -PHI- -PHI-
-BLI- -BLI- -BLI- -BLI-
As the dogfight prolonged between the Seraph and the Spawn, they unknowingly found themselves fighting above the Archangel, which lost all altitude and crashed into another nearby island. Smoke seeped out from its damaged "legs" while small bits of exposed body chassis surfaced in view.
"Damn it, the Archangel crashed! It's taking a beating," Kenji remarked alarmingly to himself as he saw the Archangel through the Seraph's CIS while keeping attention to his battle with Eiji.
"Stand still and die!" Eiji yelled as he jerked the control sticks forward, bringing the Spawn to take out its "Swallow Edge" of both its "Angelus". The double-sided beam sabers whirled to activation before being expertly twirled and slashed repetitively at the Seraph, which narrowly dodged them in succession and dashed back.
"I've never felt this much pressure since the Grimaldi Front… if I don't do something quick, the Archangel will be finished!" Kenji commented to himself with gritted teeth.
The Seraph ejected its "Swallow Edge" of both its "Angelus", meeting face-to-face with its counterpart after activating them. Breaking off from another beam saber deadlock, the Seraph then made a quick turnaround, heading for the damaged Archangel.
"You can't hide from me, Kenji!" Eiji cried out resolutely, before giving chase.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As the Buster, Crusader-02, Crusader-03, and Crusader-04 continued their relentless attack on the downed Archangel, incoming beam fire trailed towards them from above, forcing them to break off separately. They glanced up to find a swooping Skygrasper-1 firing off the "Agni" of its retrofitted Launcher parts.
"ARGH----------H…!" Mwu cried out with narrowed eyes of determination as he pressed the trigger of the control stick, having lined up his chosen target.
"Woah…! Incoming fighter craft!" Barry cautioned his involved teammates via Crusader-02's com-link.
"This will finish you off here and now!" Dearka annoyingly exclaimed inside the Buster's cockpit, having his attack interrupted by the same enemy bothering him since space. Lining up his target, he then pressed the triggers of the control sticks at once, moving the Buster to bring up its hyper-impulse long range sniper rifle aimed at Skygrasper-1. Within a few seconds, it charged a shot.
-PHOOSH-
-PHOOSH-
Both projectiles trailed towards their targets, landing their marks simultaneously. Skygrasper-1's damaged left wing was fully shot off, before being sent crashing into the ocean water below, while the Buster's right arm was shot off, forcing it to drop its hyper-impulse long range sniper rifle held by its remaining hand and being knocked down to its butt to a nearby forested hill.
"Dearka, no…!" Barry exclaimed with widen eyes upon witnessing the Buster knocked down through Crusader-02's CIS. He moved his MS glancing menacingly at the damaged Archangel, "…Tch… that's it! I'm sick and tired of losing!"
With a surge of its thrusters, Crusader-02 charged straight towards the Archangel's bridge, readying its heavy sword and discarding its experimental armor assault rifle along the way. Behind its controls Barry was suddenly maddened to the point of sheer determination.
"I'll regain the Crusader Squad's honor by destroying the legged ship by any means necessary!" he reminded himself.
"No, Barry! You idiot! You're in the legged ship's line of fire!" Lisa interjected, moving Crusader-03 to give chase after her charging comrade. Crusader-03 glanced to its side finding Crusader-04 zooming by fast, heading after Crusader-02.
"…FOR THE CRUSADER SQUAD! FOR THE CAPTAIN…! FOR NICOL…!" Miho yelled with teary eyes of laced with anger, sadness, resolution, and confidence while she pushed hard forward the control sticks and floored her MS's thrusters to the max. The image of her late beloved flashed briefly in her mind.
"Miho, not you too…! STOP IT!" Lisa pleaded loudly to her comrades via Crusader-03's com-link, as she tried hard to catch up after her remaining teammates.
Inside the Archangel's main bridge, the bridge crew was racing to clarify the ship's current status and situation.
"Two incoming MS are heading fast towards us! They're GINN High-Maneuver Types!" Sai reported the radar findings on his terminal in the CIC area.
"What the…? What's the enemy trying to do?" Murrue wondered as she looked at the main screen showing Crusader-02 and Crusader-04 charging hard.
"Direct the remaining "Igelstellungs" at those incoming enemy MS! Fire off both "Gottfried Mk.71" and remaining missiles! I don't care if we have to exhaust our entire ammo supply to destroy them!" Natarle bellowed to her CIC crew, slamming a clenched right fist on the right armrest of her seat.
The other bridge crew members widened their eyes slowly realizing a suicide run heading towards the Archangel's bridge, before sounding out their worried and frantic reactions.
"Ah…! They're coming fast!" Kuzzey wailed frighteningly in his post, feeling his entire body shaking with fear of death soon to be apparent.
"-Gasp- Holy mother of God… they're still at us despite their damages!" Jackie shared the same feeling in his post.
Despite a torrent of beam, machine-gun, and missile fire aimed at them, Crusader-02 and Crusader-04 continued their frenzied charge. A second or two later, Crusader-02's left arm was blown off; despite that, it shrugged off the damage like it was nothing, before its right leg was also destroyed by several missiles. Followed next was a small hit to the cockpit, which briefly exploded. But amazingly, Barry still hanged on, but with a bloodied wound on his stomach (which had a piece of shrapnel embedded from the explosion). He pushed on with gritted teeth, which betrayed pain from his newfound injury.
"Almost there… heh… -Cough- Almost there… -Cough- ha, ha, ha…!"
As the heavily damaged Crusader-02 neared the Archangel's bridge, with its heavy sword poised for the decisive strike, the EA legged-warship's bridge crew braced their selves for the inevitable.
-SHZOOM- -PIERCE-
Suddenly, one of the Seraph's "Swallow Edge" was hurled, nailing Crusader-02 from its right chest side and pushing it off slightly away from the Archangel's bridge, before the Seraph instantly appeared out of nowhere with a hard left shoulder tackle.
-WHAM-
Then, it fired off its "Panzer Eisen" wrapped around Crusader-02's remaining lower arm, catching it on the spot while it quickly readied its "Agni" at the same time aimed at the GINN High-Maneuver Type. Looking at the Seraph's image through his MS's CIS, Barry allowed a resigned chuckle escape his lips, while feeling his sight dimming slowly as the cockpit inside was swarmed with cackling electricity from his MS's damaged chest.
"Ha, ha, ha… this -Cough-… just isn't… -Cough- my luck. I'm sorry everyone --- captain… Lisa… Miho… Dearka… Yzak… Athrun… Nicol… and… Commander Shinonome," he weakly spoke, picturing the faces of his said comrades in his mind.
-PHOOSH-
A cannon shot from the Seraph's "Agni" blasted Crusader-02 into half, with their pieces falling into the ocean water below.
-KABOOM-
The ocean water barely contained the Crusader-02's explosion after, with its liquid form erupting like a geyser before receding to its swaying, violent waves after several seconds.
Crusader-03 managed to grab Crusader-04 from behind just in time, as they flew to a stop and watched their fallen comrade's demise. Both their pilots' faces etched shocked expressions and teary eyes.
"-Gasp- Oh my god… -Gasp- Barry… BARRY----------Y…!" Miho shrieked.
"…-Gasp- Barry… no…" Lisa stammered.
The Seraph hardly had time to turn to its next remaining enemies when a cannon shot streaked from above, narrowly missing it within inches. It glanced up to find the Spawn swooping down hard and fast with both its "Swallow Edge" ready in hand.
"Officer Walters…! -Hic- -Sob- You MURDEROUS TRAITOR…!" Eiji bellowed furiously, after witnessing Barry's demise several seconds ago. Cold fury instantly crept through him as his hands tighten their grip around the control sticks inside the Spawn's cockpit. Then, within his mind, he saw an image of a jewel-like blue seed dropping from above and exploding in a shower of light just above his uninjured left eye, with its pupil shrunk and iris enlarged.
The Seraph barely had room to outmaneuver its counterpart, dashing back quickly with constant boosts from its thrusters. Nevertheless, the Spawn neared contact with a full right shoulder tackle and went into overdrive slashing wildly with both its "Swallow Edge", forcing its counterpart to cross both its "Angelus" taking the charge.
-WHAM-
After pushing its counterpart greatly away from the Archangel's bridge, the Spawn then dashed back and fired off its "Panzer Eisen", forcing the Seraph to cancel the attack with its own "Panzer Eisen". However, it proved to be a trick. As both the Gundams' rocket anchors were sent retracted back to their owners, the Seraph suddenly found its right "Angelus" wrapped around by the Spawn's "Hell fang" heat rod. Electricity soon cackled through, nailing the Seraph with a burst of electric shock.
"…Argh…!" Kenji exclaimed in pain as he felt several electric shocks running wildly inside his MS's cockpit.
Within several seconds, the Seraph's right "Angelus" turned into molten orange, indicating the rising heat applied to it by the Spawn's "Hell fang" before it then exploded instantly, destroying the Seraph's right "Angelus" completely, leaving the right arm still intact. At the same time, the Spawn retracted its heat rod and delivered a hard dropkick to its counterpart's chest, knocking it back further into a nearby island with a smoking, scarred right arm. Despite the blow, the Seraph took a small chance firing off a shot from its remaining beam rifle of the left "Angelus".
-BLI-
The beam shot however, merely grazed the Spawn's right cheek, inflicting minor damage to the cameras installed inside.
"KENJI…! ARGH----------H…!" Eiji yelled angrily before gritting his teeth, flooring his MS's thrusters hard and jolting the control sticks forward to continue his relentless attack on the Seraph.
Meanwhile back to the damaged Buster, Dearka cursed his own bad luck for having been shot down by Skygrasper-1. He checked up on the Buster's systems, flipping switches and pressing buttons inside his MS's cockpit, trying to get back to battle.
"Damn it… this is a first for me having been shot down. The hydraulics aren't responding even with the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) activated. If I don't get a move on," he glanced at the Buster's CIS showing the Archangel swiveling all of its remaining guns pointed at him, leaving him no choice but to admit defeat, "…Tch…I've got no other choice now…"
Pressing several buttons, he opened the Buster's cockpit, stepping out in view with both his hands up in the air. From a distance, Lisa and Miho could only watch helplessly at Dearka's forced surrender.
"No, Dearka, you can't!" Miho protested while trying Crusader-04 to break free from Crusader-03's grasp held from behind.
"Miho, stop it! It's pointless to struggle after him! We… can do no more, or we might startle the crew of the legged-warship into firing at Dearka!" Lisa interjected, trying to reason with her distressed teammate, who already was in tears.
"-Hic- Nicol… Barry… -Hic- and now Dearka…! Have we lost so much? -Sob- -Sob- Why…?"
"…Miho… we must pull back and retreat to the Isadora…"
"But… what about the captain and Commander Shinonome…?"
"…I don't think we can be of much help to them at our current state… we can only hope that they're faring better than us…"
Miho nodded her head in solemn resignation, before reluctantly releasing the control sticks in her MS's cockpit. She then covered her eyes, unable to stop more tears of distress from pouring out.
Seeing Crusader-04 dropping its arms limp, Lisa released Crusader-03's grip and had her MS hold Crusader-04 around the shoulders for support, before making a slow turnaround and jettisoning off to the Isadora, leaving the battlefield along with Crusader-04.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
For the Aile Strike, its skirmish with the Aegis and Crusader-01 continued as they engaged in another round of close combat. Parrying a beam slash by the Aegis from behind with its right beam saber, the Aile Strike took the brunt of a tackle by Crusader-01 from the front using its shield. With a surge of strength and from its thrusters, it forcefully overpowered their pressure applied from both sides, catching its foes off-guard momentarily. At the same time, it did a quick spin, knocking the Aegis awry with its shield while slicing off Crusader-01's right arm (which held its heavy sword) and left kneed its chest hard, knocking it back.
"Argh…!" Ryu exclaimed in surprise as he lurched from the impact inside Crusader-01's cockpit.
Wasting no time, the Aile Strike then charged towards the falling Crusader-01 with a quick flip and beam slash, lopping off Crusader-01's experimental armor assault rifle into two and kicked the GINN High-Maneuver Type hard on the body, which sent the ZAFT MS plummeting into a small alcove of forest in a nearby island below.
"Ryu…!" Athrun yelled out in dismay upon seeing Crusader-01 taken a beating and crashed into the ground below through the Aegis's CIS. Narrowing his eyes at the Aile Strike, he promptly floored the Aegis's thrusters to the max, readying all four of its beam sabers for a swoop at the Aile Strike, which turned around and noticed its attack. The two Gundams made a mad dash for each other once again, parrying their beam saber melee upon contact as they passed by each other and turned around for another go.
Unknowingly to Athrun and Kira, Eiji and Kenji abruptly stumbled in the battle scene, with the Spawn forcing the Seraph back with a relentless offense. Blocking a beam shot from the Spawn with its left "Angelus", the Seraph was then socked with a punch-kick combo, seemingly turning its remaining "Angelus" into a punching bag and heavily damaging it.
-POW- -WHAM- -POW- -WHAM-
Taking the last kick from the Spawn, the Seraph parried a beam slash from it with its remaining "Swallow Edge" ejected from its left "Angelus". However, it slowly couldn't keep up with the Spawn's simultaneous beam saber fury, which resulted in a split-second delay. The next instant, its left "Angelus" was completely sliced off from its left arm. The Spawn then cross-slashed at its counterpart's cockpit, cutting it open, which revealed a pressured Kenji seated inside, staring grimly at it.
Before it could go for another beam slash, the Seraph fired off its "Igelstellung" at the Spawn's head, stunning its foe a second or two momentarily, and cut into the Spawn's cockpit with its "Swallow Edge", revealing a SEED-induced Eiji seated inside. The next second the Seraph locked beam sabers with the Spawn before breaking the deadlock within another few seconds and delivering a left kick to its cut-opened cockpit, knocking it to the ground below. With a surge of its thrusters however, the Spawn cushioned its fall and charged again before finding multiple beam shots coming from the Seraph's 'Gunbarrel pods' with declining accuracy.
Breaking another beam saber deadlock with the Aegis, the Aile Strike dashed back, taking a quick glance to find the Seraph and the Spawn at each other's throats.
"Kenji…!" Kira exclaimed surprised, aghast at seeing his friend taking a serious beating for the first time through the Aile Strike's CIS. He hardly had time to continue watching as he brought the Aile Strike to parry another beam saber flurry from the Aegis, who also noticed the Seraph and the Spawn's presence before.
"The Seraph," Athrun stated, then remembering the image of the Blitz's explosion in the previous battle. He decided to direct his remaining anger at the Seraph instead, "YOU'LL PAY FOR NICOL'S DEATH!"
Catching the Aile Strike off-guard by knocking away both its beam sabers after some tricky feint attacks, the Aegis delivered another beam saber flurry to the Aile Strike's chest area, forcing it to block with its shield. It then leapt back, transforming into its MA crab-like mode, and charged ahead capturing the Aile Strike with a strong grip, and proceeded ramming it into a nearby small mountain, knocking it awry. Inside its cockpit, Kira lurched back and forth during the impact.
After crashing the Aile Strike, the Aegis suddenly released it, dashing back and changing direction towards the Seraph instead.
"YEARG----------H…!" Athrun hollered with fierce determination as he floored his MS's thrusters to the max and jolted the control sticks hard forward.
Taking several seconds to get itself off the mountain it was slammed on, the Aile Strike collected its dropped beam sabers nearby, and proceeded to chase after the Aegis. With a surge of its backpack thrusters, it began its pursuit, but not after being suddenly latched on in a bear-hug by Crusader-01, who appeared out of nowhere, stopping it in its tracks.
"What the…!" Kira exclaimed surprised, gritting his teeth upon seeing Crusader-01 through the Aile Strike's CIS.
"…I'll take you down with me!" Ryu shouted inside Crusader-01's cockpit, pressing a button on the cockpit seat's right armrest, which revealed a small keypad. Keying the self-destruct sequence, he then reached for a small jetpack stowed behind the cockpit seat and quickly wore it before opening Crusader-01's cockpit.
Kira was alarmed to find the enemy pilot suddenly bailing out from his MS, flying off, and quickly realized the entire picture.
That MS will self-destruct!
With a surge of strength, the Aile Strike grabbed the latched Crusader-01's remaining arm with its left hand and right kicked its chest hard, knocking the ZAFT MS away before leaping back. Within the next few seconds, the ZAFT MS instantly exploded into oblivion, attracting the remaining combatants' attention.
"An explosion…? No… Ryu…!" Athrun exclaimed in disbelief, transforming the Aegis back into its MS mode before halting its tracks.
"Crusader-01…! Fuck, no…!" Eiji shared the same feeling as the Aegis pilot, before feeling his bandaged right eye pulsating with pain, prompting him to clutch it with both hands, "Ugh… my eye…!"
Staggering to its feet, the Seraph could only glance at the explosion.
"Ryu…" Kenji stated with alarmed, widen eyes.
Kira assumed a distressed look on his face after witnessing the explosion, before he resumed controls of the Aile Strike and charged forth to Kenji's aid. The Seraph, the Spawn, and the Aegis turned to find the Aile Strike rushing towards them, making all the pilots realize they were currently in battle.
Before the Aegis could reach out to grab the Seraph from behind, it was instantly knocked away by the Aile Strike, who rushed in at the nick of time. Cushioning its fall after a few seconds by quickly transforming back into its MS mode, the Aegis readied all its beam sabers again before engaging with the Aile Strike for another round.
Twirling both its "Swallow Edge" in hand, the Spawn proceeded delivering another flurry of beam slashes at the Seraph, which barely stood up to its feet and sluggishly blocked the beam slashes with its remaining "Angelus", while ejecting the "Swallow Edge" stored inside and readying it. Blocking another beam slash from its counterpart, the Seraph countered with a thrust to the chest area, but was deflected immediately, breaking its guard momentarily. Next, the Spawn brought down both its beam sabers hard, going for an overhead slash.
-SLICE- -SHWAK-
The Seraph managed to block the attack, but for the last time, as its right "Angelus" was cleanly sliced off from its right arm. With no additional protection worn, it was exposed defenseless.
"DIE, KENJI!" Eiji screamed, moving the Spawn to rush in for another beam saber charge. Before he could connect his attack however…
-ZOOM- -BOOM-
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a missile nailed the Spawn's torso dead-on, delaying its attack within seconds. Of course with the Spawn's PS Armor on, the attack was merely a scratch. Regaining its balance after, the Spawn glanced up at the sky, trying to find where the missile came from.
"Tch… who the hell…!" Eiji exclaimed angrily.
"! From above…?" Kenji uttered, moving the Seraph to glance up at the sky, joining its counterpart's gazing.
"What…!" Athrun exclaimed after breaking another beam saber deadlock with the Aile Strike. He moved the Aegis to look up at the sky as well, making Kira momentarily cease his attack and joining in his best friend's gazing also.
"Who fired that missile…?" he wondered. His eyes immediately widened in shock upon seeing the source displayed in the Aile Strike's CIS, which turned out to be Skygrasper-2 joining in the scene from above.
"Kira, Kenji…!" Tolle exclaimed, preparing to help out his allies all he could. Pressing the trigger of the control stick twice and after, he had Skygrasper-2 fire off two more missiles directed at the Aegis and the Spawn separately, after locking onto them previously.
"Interruptions… I won't have any of this!" Eiji exclaimed with gritted teeth, focusing his attention on Skygrasper-2. Athrun merely narrowed his eyes annoyingly at the new enemy, before giving him a piece of his mind.
In the next instant, the Aegis and the Spawn fired off their "Igelstellungs" at the trailing missiles, destroying them, before they leapt up to the air. Next, the Spawn hurled one of its beam sabers slicing off Skygrasper-2's left wing, as it shakily tried to avoid a direct hit to the cockpit instead, while the Aegis tossed its shield like a winding boomerang, going for the kill.
Seeing the Aegis's shield heading straight towards him, Tolle could only grimaced in horror as he tried to swerve Skygrasper-2 out of the way to avoid the fatal hit. At that split second, his ears picked up an immediate transmission from Kenji sounding aloud from the com-link.
"Tolle, EJECT, EJECT, EJECT!" the Seraph pilot bellowed furiously as he contacted the ailing Skygrasper pilot, upon seeing the Aegis and the Spawn directing its focus on Skygrasper-2 instead.
As Tolle quickly complied with Kenji's transmission and reached down under the cockpit seat for the ejection lever, he once again looked up to find the Aegis's shield right in front of him.
"Ah…!" he screamed.
The next few seconds, Skygrasper-2's cockpit was smashed by the incoming projectile, before it crumbled into two. The next instant, it immediately exploded like a great ball of fire.
Kira and Kenji could only sit in their MS with shock, dismayed to witness Tolle's demise. The former could only hope that his transmission reached the Skygrasper-2 pilot in time.
"TOLLE----------E…!" Kira shouted helplessly. His face quickly darkened as the grief of his fallen friend went through him. Then, within his mind, he saw an image of a jewel-like amethyst seed dropping from above and exploding in a shower of light just above his eyes, with their pupils shrunk and irises enlarged.
"…Eiji… you…" Kenji muttered menacingly, feeling his face darkened with anger. The next instant his eyes' pupils shrunk and irises enlarged as he triggered his SEED mode.
Both the Aile Strike and the Seraph turned their attention at the Aegis and the Spawn with their eyes glimmering yellow menacingly. With a sudden boost from their thrusters, they each charged at their respective foes in the air.
Deflecting two beam slashes from the Aegis with its shield, the Aile Strike instantly lopped off the Aegis's right arm with its beam saber.
"Athrun… I'LL… KILL YOU!" Kira yelled enraged.
Not bothering to retort back to his best friend, Athrun felt a sense of increased mental control as he went into SEED mode, feeling the resolve to kill his childhood best friend swell in him as he pictured an image of Nicol in his mind. The Aegis quickly attacked back with its beam sabers ready, as it and the Aile Strike engaged in a deadly beam saber melee.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile, the Seraph and the Spawn engaged each other to another nearby island, as the latter found itself being forcefully pushed back by the former, who was slowly gaining the upper hand. Parrying three beam saber attacks from its counterpart with its left "Angelus", the Spawn barely had time to counter with its remaining beam saber before the Seraph quickly leapt and grabbed its counterpart's right "Angelus", stopping it in its tracks. At the same time, it delivered a somersault right kick (while letting its let arm release its grip) and delivered a punch-kick combo ending with an inverted beam slash from below.
-SLICE-
The Spawn suddenly found its left "Angelus" sliced off. It then crossed its arms, bringing its remaining "Angelus" bearing out for defense while it deployed its "Gunbarrel pods" for a counter-attack.
-SPLIT-
-PHI- -PHI- -PHI- -PHI-
-SHWAK- -SHWAK-
Amidst two beam slashes delivered shortly by the Seraph, two of its counterpart's "Gunbarrel pods" was destroyed, forcing it to retract its remaining "Gunbarrel pods" in place.
"-Chuckle- Ah… how long has it been since I last you fight in earnest? I guess taking down your friend's annoying aircraft fighter did the trick," Eiji contacted his best friend via the Spawn's com-link with an amused smile.
"…If it amuses you so much, I guess I'll just take you down here and now!" Kenji replied angrily.
"…Fool… now you know how it feels to lose comrades! I'll put you down like the traitor you are, and for Luna's memory!"
"…You're the real idiot on this matter!"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Back to the Aegis and the Aile Strike, they were pushed back by another beam saber deadlock. As they neared each other for another go, the Aile Strike suddenly tossed its shield, forcing the Aegis to halt another beam saber attack. At the same time the shield covered between the Aile Strike and the Aegis, the former then jabbed its beam saber through, nailing the latter's head and destroying its shield at the time.
Despite its head sliced off, the Aegis managed to slice off the Aile Strike's left arm with its attached left leg beam saber, and cut into the Aile Strike's cockpit with its attached right leg beam saber, revealing a SEED-induced Kira seated inside staring grimly at it. Next, it transformed into its MA mode and latched onto the Aile Strike with a hard grip, sending each other plummeting down to the island ground below. However, a few seconds after its "Scylla" cannon was charged to fire at point blank range, the Aegis's PS armor suddenly deactivated, with its entire armor colored a dull gray.
"What…! Out of power already…!" Athrun cursed, clicking his tongue in dismay upon seeing the Aegis's remaining power level empty. Seeing one last option presented to him, he pressed a button on the cockpit seat's left armrest, which revealed a small keypad. Keying the self-destruct sequence, he then reached for a small jetpack stowed behind the cockpit seat and quickly wore it before opening the Aegis's cockpit and flying off.
AEGIS GUNDAM
SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE – Initiated!
…30
…25
…20
…15
Kira stared confusingly at seeing Athrun exiting the Aegis with a small jetpack worn, before flying away suddenly. Remembering Crusader-01's explosion previously, he cursed himself for having just realize the similar situation he was in. Before he could react however…
…10
…5
…0
-KABOOM-
Within seconds, both the Aile Strike and the Aegis was suddenly engulfed in a massive explosion. Just inches away from the explosion, Athrun was suddenly knocked back hard by its impact, despite the full speed of his jetpack, before he tumbled down to the island beach shore. The fall also damaged his jetpack, rendering it useless upon impact.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The destruction of the Aile Strike and the Aegis hardly deterred the Seraph and the Spawn from continuously attacking each other with their remaining beam sabers. Pushing each other back by another beam saber deadlock, they each extended their two-fold wings before lunging at each other once again.
The weather in the battleground turned worse, echoing the inevitable battle-scars both Eiji and Kenji were aggressively showing to each other, as it slowly brewed a dark thunderstorm.
-CACKLE-
A flash of thunder boomed in, momentarily lightening up the battleground the Seraph and the Spawn were in. Crossing their beam sabers aggressively, the Seraph then managed to suddenly cut off its counterpart's left arm completely, before having its head sliced off in return. Unfazed by the attack, the Seraph deflected another beam swipe before delivering a dropkick to the Spawn's chest, then using it as leverage to leap back away and give itself time to ready its "Agni" held by left hand instead and fire off a quick shot.
-PHOOSH-
The Spawn narrowly dodged the cannon shot sideways, before flying around it and fast approaching the Seraph.
-SHWAK-
The Seraph's "Agni" was sliced in half, forcing it to discard it aside before being tackled and knocked down to the island ground below by a right roundhouse kick from the Spawn. Twirling its remaining beam saber, the Spawn then jettisoned below, poised to deliver the finishing blow.
"I got you now, traitor!" Eiji exclaimed triumphantly, ignoring the pulsating pain of his bandaged right eye.
Cushioning its fall with its thrusters, the Seraph glanced up to find its counterpart fast approaching dead-on with its beam saber in hand.
-STAB- -STAB-
Amazingly at the same time, both the Seraph and the Spawn had their beam sabers jammed through each other's chest area, cutting open greatly the cockpits inside, which were stabbed in the left portion of their torsos. The beam sabers, however, were just a few inches near the pilots' left sides, exposing the cockpits' interiors partly. The Spawn was on top of its counterpart, which sat down on its behind and trapped below. Electricity cackled from both Gundams' damaged chest areas, as their pilots inside tried slowly regaining their composure.
"Stalemate…? Unbelievable!" Eiji roared frustratingly as he tried regaining controls of the Spawn to get off from its counterpart.
"-Cough- Tch… you're not getting away -Cough- from me easily!" Kenji stammered painfully, before shakily resuming controls of the Seraph.
Before the Spawn could try pulling away, it was held tightly by the waist and remaining arm by the Seraph.
"What... Kenji, you…!" Eiji cursed, realizing his considered foe's intentions, while he vainly floored the thrusters and pulled back the control sticks in an effort for the Spawn to break free. After several seconds however, it didn't work, so he decided the only way for his MS to break free was to pummel the Seraph trapped beneath instead.
Before the Spawn could proceed to pry off its counterpart's grip with its remaining arm, the Seraph fired off its "Igelstellung" in a desperate attempt to keep hold of its grip. The machine-gun fire ricocheted from the Spawn's PS armor, hardly making a dent.
"How the hell do I pry myself out of your annoying grip? Unless," Eiji wondered to himself before widening his eyes as a wicked idea flashed before him, "Not a most subtle way to take you out, Kenji, but you leave me no choice!"
At that instant, he proceeded to floor the Spawn's thrusters to the max, and constantly carried itself and the Seraph up to the air, despite their entwined grip. He then pressed a button on the cockpit seat's left armrest, which revealed a small keypad. Keying the self-destruct sequence, he then set ready the keyboard interface, typing a specific command. Within several seconds, the cockpit seat shifted about deep inside, taking Eiji inside the Spawn's docked AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker. Frantically starting up the support aircraft fighter's ignition, he was then carried out from the Spawn and inside the Gunbarrel Striker instead, which detached itself from the Spawn with two of its "Gunbarrel pods" (which also served as part of its thrusters) undamaged. He gave a mock salute at the Seraph, before taking the controls and flying off.
SPAWN GUNDAM
SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE – Initiated!
…30
"Eiji, you…!" Kenji cried out with alarmed eyes after witnessing in the Seraph's CIS his best friend barely able to escape from his MS and fly off in the Spawn's Gunbarrel Striker. He hadn't the time to admire Eiji's ingenuity in utilizing his escape plan as warning sirens buzzed aloud inside the Seraph's cockpit, alerting him of impending danger detected from radar. Bringing up the radar, a swelling heat source was generated from within the Spawn, making him realize an unforeseen scenario.
…25
What the… Eiji's rigged the Spawn to self-destruct, but along with its nuclear engine as well! If that happens, a nuclear meltdown will occur, with its blast radius that could reach the Archangel and tamper with the surrounding environment here!
…20
An image of Natarle briefly flashed in Kenji's mind, making him close his eyes briefly with a sad smile as he remembered her last words mentioned to him before his launch previously.
"You better… promise me that, ok? No buts."
Natarle… I'm sorry… some promises are made to be broken.
…15
Utilizing the Spawn's generated boost from its thrusters, Kenji floored the Seraph's thrusters to the max to propel both MS as high to the sky as possible. The Seraph then reached out with its right arm and pulled out its beam saber lodged deep inside the Spawn's left chest area, before stabbing repeatedly at other certain body areas with it where the Spawn's installed powerplant was found, in an attempt to disable the nuclear reactor manually, while its left arm held around the Spawn close to it, not daring to let go.
"Come on… almost there…" Kenji anxiously muttered to himself as sweat was slowly drenching his pilot helmet's visor. He then set ready the keyboard interface, typing a specific command to board in the Seraph's docked AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker.
…10
Within several seconds, the cockpit seat shifted about deep inside, taking Kenji inside the docked Seraph's AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker.
…5
The Spawn and the Seraph were now high up in the skies and flying amongst the ever-stretching fluffy clouds, with the latter ceasing stabbing with its beam saber.
…0
-KABOOM-
A brief heat flashed brightly from within the Spawn, before a massive explosion instantly erupted, blowing the Spawn and the Seraph up into smithereens. Even from down below the Marshall Islands, the explosion could be heard from miles away, with its impact echoing within a certain blast radius stretching first from the Marshall Islands and all the way to the Orb Union.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"What on earth?" Vann stammered to himself in disbelief inside his CGUE DEEP Arms w Booster Pack's cockpit, as he felt a brief rumbling echoing from high above the skies. The CGUE DEEP Arms w Booster Pack glanced upwards from its hiding spot, which was in another small island adjacent to the one where the Aile Strike and the Aegis had last squared off.
After witnessing the outcome of the heated battle between the Aile Strike and the Aegis, the masked ZAFT commander decided to continue his search in the battle occurring near the underground safehouse his female guest was currently residing in before his MS's radar detected a huge explosion from high above the skies.
"…An explosion of such large magnitude… that's impossible!" he stated to himself in a reminder. He rubbed his smooth chin with his right hand, pondering for a plausible reason behind the discovered explosion his radar had just detected, "Unless… it'd be about the two nuclear-powered MS Professor Asimalov had told me about… oh no."
Shaking his head in doubt, he decided to leave the scene, heading back to the underground safehouse to check up on his assigned female guest.
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"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…!" Eiji was laughing in glee upon seeing his Gunbarrel Striker's radar picking a high trace of heat activity detected from high above the skies, as he descended down to the Marshall Islands and look for his other comrades, the ZAFT Zala team and the Crusader Squad. His gleeful laughter then turned sour as small tears of grief poured out from his eyes.
"Why… am I crying? I should be glad… that I managed to bring down Kenji… for your sake, Luna," he stated unsurely to himself.
Suddenly, his bandaged right eye pulsated with pain once again, while a wave of fatigue overwhelmed him, making his limited vision hazy. Despite exerting some willpower to struggle piloting his Gunbarrel Striker to land, he found both his hands trembling as they gripped the control stick.
"Tch… what's… happening… to me? I…"
He then slumped unconscious, rendering control of his Gunbarrel Striker free, as it began spiraling out of control, plunging down to the Marshall Islands below.