Ch 11 – Rapture
Desert Region, Arabia Territory
In the deserts of the Middle East, another fight was waged on between local forces and the Federation's army. Rather, the battle between local forces; Anfs against two special officers of the A-Laws.
The GN Cannon flew overhead of the locals' Anfs and shot them down with its GN Beams with great ease. The Anfs had no chance of even retreating, as the GN Flyer struck them down with a bombardment of its missiles. The attack was continuing with deadly efficiency, until only one Anf was left. The Flyer converted to its Mobile Suit form and slashed the rebel Anf in half, thus ending the entire battle.
"I have a good shot of that final strike," Anya remarked.
"Great, I want that picture," Gino claimed.
Suddenly, another unit flew towards the piles of fallen Anfs. At first, both Mobile Suits prepared for anymore possible aggressors, but they then realised it was just the Ahead Sakigate.
"Oh great Mr Bushido, what brings you here?" Gino cried sarcastically.
"It is Lord V2," Bushido calmly spoke, "he has ordered us to intercept Celestial Being, who may be within the Indian Ocean."
"Boss' orders," Gino said.
"We should leave at once," Anya agreed.
Board Room, ALS Inquisitor, Indian Ocean Airspace
In the Inquisitor, Mannequin was on speaker with Commander Katagiri. Several other captains of her team were there as well.
"…Everyone, we have received Intel that Celestial Being is on the move in the Indian Ocean," he said, "we believe that they are attempting to exit Earth Sphere by gaining the necessary acceleration through flying over the Ocean. You are to intercept them before they reach to space."
"Roger," everyone answered.
"Captains, set out in your squadrons at once," Mannequin declared, "once you locate Celestial Beig or the Gundams, alert the Inquisitor and prepare to stall them at all costs."
St. Cuthbert II, Indian Ocean Airspace
In the Control Room of the St. Cuthbert II, the crew of Celestial Being were making their final preparations for take-off towards space. Lelouch sat comfortably in his seat, but his mind was still focused on the events that had transpired before.
"Sir, we are ready to take-off on your mark," Jeremiah noted.
"Ah yes… get ready to accelerate," Lelouch agreed.
"Roger!" Mileina enthusiastically cried out.
"Roger," Lasse called out.
"'Kay… ro-roger…" Feldt spoke.
At the start of the GN Drives, the entire vessel of St. Cuthbert II took off away into the ocean under the guise of a cloaking system. Despite the cloaking system, the emission of GN Particles would still give them away – a factor that was already considered.
"Jeremiah, get the Meisters ready for potential sortie," Lelouch ordered, "I highly doubt that this flight will go smoothly."
Just as he told his aid of the news, the ship came under attack from its side. The culprits were a couple GN-XIIIs.
"The A-Laws are attacking us!" Lasse cried, "Fire, GN Missiles!"
The GN Missiles launched from several hatches on the side, heading for the two GN-XIIIs. However, they easily dodged and blasted away most of the missiles. Suddenly, one of the GN-XIII was struck down. Flying towards the remaining A-Laws unit, the Gundam Cherudim was there.
"Lockon Stratos, sniping the target," declared Lockon.
The Cherudim fired another blast from its sniper gun and shot through the head and chest of the GN-XIII, thus disabling it. As it fell into the water, the St. Cuthbert II and Gundam left the scene for underwater.
"We must continue to gain speed at all costs," Lelouch declared.
Suddenly, the St. Cuthbert II was hit by a barrage of missiles. These came from a Trilobite, heading towards them. The Cherudim fired out its sniper gun at it, but they were effective in stopping it.
"Get Setsuna out there!" Lelouch cried.
Suddenly, another hatch opened up and the Gabriel Gundam sped through the currents. It quickly made its way inches before the Mobile Armour, and slashed it in half. The whole machine exploded and its remnants floated about in the water.
"Setsuna and Lockon, you are to disable all threats in our way," Lelouch declared, "Lasse, we have to ascend to the surface… We will be stronger there."
"But the bulk of the A-Laws' forces should be above water," Jeremiah warned.
"I understand, but this is the only way!" Lelouch cried.
"Roger," Lasse complied.
Board Room, ALS Inquisitor, Indian Ocean Airspace
In the Control Room of the Inquisitor, the crew there received several abnormalities from its scouts.
"Madame, two GN-XIII scouts are MIA along with a Trilobite," a technician reported.
"And there is a powerful stream of GN Particles discharged over a linear pattern according to our detectors," another technician reported.
"Celestial Being, perhaps?" wondered Mannequin, "Dispatch all our forces to corner them."
Meeting Room, Schwarze Ritter Mobile Base, Indian Ocean
In the southern parts of the Indian Ocean, the Schwarze Ritters had since relocated themselves to exile in the seas. Inside its Control Room, top members of the group were making their plans. Most of them were glued to a screen, where a man was speaking to them.
"The Emir of Suille has vowed to help us in countering Federation activities in the Middle East," the man said, "so far the Federation is gaining strong ground on the former Saudi lands. The situation is getting dire."
"Mahal, do inform His Excellency that we will help him in any way possible," Bismarck said.
The screen turned off and the other members began their discussion.
"Suille is a vital ally to our cause," Milly said, "its engagement in information technology and mineral trade has kept it remarkably strong in the Middle East."
"However, the Federation do have the upper hand," Sulu Suluzu remarked, "at this rate, they can easily dominate the Middle East as well."
"We cannot allow them to advance," Klaus declared, "that is why we had focused our alliance with independent countries."
"However, the Federation's tactics to isolate free nations are quite effective," remarked Rivalz, "only the Middle East is left before so-called world domination."
Suddenly, a soldier rushed into the Meeting Room.
"Sir, A-Laws vessels are discovered in Indian Ocean territory," he reported.
"We must flee the region immediately!" Milly exclaimed.
"Hmm…" Bismarck wondered, "No, stay here for now. But do send out scouts and have them report back."
Indian Ocean Airspace
The gentle waves of the ocean were greatly disrupted by the sudden high-speed thrust as the St. Cuthbert II surged its way towards the planned journey. Similarly, the Gabriel and Cherudim were trailing close behind to take down any threats.
Suddenly, legions of GN-XIIIs and Aheads were charging behind the St. Cuthbert II and firing their arsenal upon them. Both Gundams quickly went out to defend their ship. While the Cherudim stood guard near the ship to fire on the enemies, the Gabriel rushed in to attack some of the GN-XIIIs.
One Ahead charged in from the rest, and clashed with the Gundam. This one was unique as it held a GN Lance instead.
"Gundam, you won't escape this time!" Cornelia cried, "Guildford, Claudio, close in on him!"
At once, two more GN-XIIIs followed Cornelia into the frontline and fought with the Gabriel. While Cornelia and Guildford were holding off the Gabriel, Claudio went in to attack from behind.
"This is…" Claudio cried.
However, his sneak attack was foiled completely with a barrage of beam blasts from the Cherudim. This only caused the majority of the A-Laws pursuers to head towards the St. Cuthbert II.
"Send out Allelujah and me as well!" commanded Lelouch, quickly leaving his seat, "Jeremiah, you will take over from here!"
As the GN-XIIIs rush in on the St. Cuthbert II, the Cherudim was getting overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. As two GN-XIIIs tried to drive their weapons into the hull of the ship, they were quickly vapourised by another beam blast. The Appolyon had come out, redirecting the blast to destroy some of the other A-Laws units.
Not only the Apollyon, but the Arios also appeared and launched missiles against the A-Laws forces. Among the GN-XIIIs there, one of them stood out to attack the Arios directly.
"You will not run away this way…" Andrei thought.
The Arios switched into its Mobile Suit Mode, and drew out a Beam Sabre to counter the strikes from Andrei. However, Andrei pulled out a Beam Sabre to overpower the Gundam. The dogfight was getting more one-sided, until Andrei disarmed the Fighter Gundam of its Beam Sabre. The Arios fell back and went into its Fighter Mode, fleeing from the GN-XIII.
Though safely in the St. Cuthbert II, Marie looked at a screen that showed Allelujah's status in the battle. From his cockpit, Allelujah stared at his hands. They were trembling, and he felt something… could it be fear?
"Since Hallelujah left me… I become like this…" he thought, "what am I without him…"
"Allelujah…" muttered Marie, "...please be safe…"
Meanwhile, the Apollyon was clearing the massive invasion waves of GN-XIIIs. However, an Ahead went out to attack the bulky Gundam with Beam Sabre combat.
"Gundam, this ends today!" Barack Zinin, one of the pilots attacking the Appolyon, declared.
The fighting was so intense that no one noticed that it was being observed by an external party. Only a light trail left by a Hellion was seen fading away in the sky.
Control Room, Schwarze Ritter Mobile Base
In the Control Room for the Schwarze Ritters' base, Bismarck and Klaus stood by as a scout made his report via voice message.
"We have confirmed that the A-Laws are pursuing Celestial Being," the scout reported, "They are currently engaged in combat with the Gundams."
"My Lord, what is our course of action?" asked Klaus.
"I know what to do at this point," Bismarck said.
Indian Ocean Airspace
Above the Indian Ocean, both Celestial Being and the A-Laws dragged on their deadly battle. While Allelujah was hounded by Andrei, Setsuna was busy with Cornelia, Guildford and Claudio. Cherudim was guarding the St. Cuthbert II from being assaulted, and the Apollyon was locked in combat with Barack's Ahead.
With both hands armed with a Beam Sabre, they clashed with the Ahead to a standstill. A GN-XIII rushed in for an ambush, but the Apollyon's cannons fired at it and shot it down. Then, the shoulder cannons switched into MS Arms to cut off both arms of the Ahead. As Barack made his retreat, several GN-XIIIs covered it up as a distraction.
Suddenly, another Mobile Suit came in and tackled the Apollyon head-on. It was the infamous Ahead Sakigate, with both GN Flyer and Cannon joining him. It drew out its Beam Sabre immediately.
"Now I shall not let you do harm!" Bushido cried, clashing with the Apollyon.
"Hmm… where's the red Gundam?" Gino wondered, "I was hoping to spar with the pilot there."
Meanwhile, the Arios was forced to fly around the hordes of GN-XIIIs as it tried to flee from the rampage of Andrei's unit. Soon, the GN-XIII caught up with the Arios and blasted off the tip of its wings. Before the GN-XIII's Beam Sabre made contact, a barrage of blasts kept it away from the Gundam.
Over the horizon, several Sepoys, Hellions and Enacts were flying towards the A-Laws forces. Their jet black colouring quickly denoted them as part of the Schwarze Ritters. Several of the A-Laws forces there turned their attention towards the incoming Ritters, quickly eradicating them. However, this gave time for escape as all Gundams retreated into the St. Cuthbert II safely.
"The Ritters… are they here to help us?" thought Zero.
"These poor things, they can't realistically hope to even match up with us," Anya remarked.
"So why they still fight us so directly…" Gino wondered, "Unless…"
"Unless it is to allow Celestial Being to…" Bushido cried.
"All Gundams are docked with St. Cuthbert II," Mileina declared.
"Good, inform all Meisters save Zero and Setsuna to engage Trans-Am," Jeremiah said, "Lasse, prepare for upwards thrust."
Hangar, St. Cuthbert II
Within the Hangar, the five Gundams stood there like monoliths. Among them, the Cherudim and Arios glowed in red as they entered Trans-Am. This spread out to the rest of the Hangar and throughout the ship itself.
On the outside, even the hull gave off this distinct glow and it sped up even more. In the blink of an eye, it shot up the sky and vanished like a blur to all onlookers.
Control Room, ALS Inquisitor, Indian Ocean Airspace
The progress of the escaping Celestial Being was made known to even the crew of the Inquisitor.
"Madame, a fast-moving object is leaving the atmosphere at high speeds," the technician reported.
"So Celestial Being has exploited the Ritters' intervention to escape… but are they allied?" Mannequin pondered, "But no matter, the Commander has foreseen this. Inform Colonel Li Zhejiang of the Hyperion to get ready."
Control Room, Schwarze Ritter Mobile Base
In the Ritters' base, there was an evacuation planned underway since their appearance in front of the A-Laws. Leading the evacuation, it was both Bismarck and Klaus.
"
Innovator HQ, Unknown Location
In the Innovators' lair, V2 was observing a shot of the St. Cuthbert II speeding up in a Trans-Am that expanded to affect the entire ship.
"So they attempt to exploit Trans-Am for more purposes other than mere combat," V2 remarked, "Bravo bravo…"
"Lord V2, so this means they will be entering space," Hilling added, "can we go?"
"Patience, we will have to give the A-Laws a chance," V2 said, "although I suspect they will fail in the end."
Space (Just above the Atmosphere)
Due to Trans-Am, the flight to space was made much quickly. Once they exited the Earth Sphere and influence of gravity, the Trans-Am promptly halted and the regular GN Condensers took over in driving the ship onwards.
One would assume that they had managed to evade the A-Laws, but they had prepared for it. The ALS Hyperion was stationed up in space to confront Celestial Being for this operation, led by the former ICF's Colonel Li Zhejiang. From the ship, several GN-XIIIs flew out to swarm over the unexpected vessel.
"As expected, they think we are caught unaware," Zero said, "Setsuna, eliminate the targets!"
Suddenly, two hatches opened from the St. Cuthbert II and both Gabriel and Apollyon flew out. The Gabriel charged in head-on and slashed apart most of the GN-XIIIs opposing them. The Apollyon fired out its shoulder and knee cannons, depleting the remainder of the GN-XIIIs there. One last GN-XIII tried to pierce into the Apollyon, but a GN Field blocked out the attack. Instead, the Gabriel threw its GN Blades at its torso to destroy it. The GN Field charged up with energy and all cannons aimed straight at the Hyperion. It fired out a powerful concentrated blast that shot through the vessel, killing her crew.
Hegemon's Office, Brussels
In the Hegemon's Office, Schneizal and Kanon saw a live feed where in the Hyperion was easily wiped out with a single blow from the Gundam Apollyon. Needless to say, it was both frustrating to them.
"Such power…" Schneizal said, "While one could be frightened by it, it pales in comparison to that project we've been working on."
"Celestial Being, they are still an issue," Kanon noted.
Innovator HQ, Unknown Location
Even the Innovators saw the feed where in the Hyperion was utterly destroyed by the Apollyon. V2 seemed less than pleased with the sight.
"That power… I should be the one to behold it," he yelled, "Revive, Hilling, show Celestial Being some of our development."
St. Cuthbert II, Space
Among the debris of the destroyed Hyperion, Celestial Being was continuing to make their escape deeper into space. Both Gudnams Gabriel and Apollyon stood close to the ship, waiting for anymore ambushes from the A-Laws or the Federation Army.
"Okay, everything seems to be fine now," Jeremiah said, "it seems that that was the last one the A-Laws had for us."
Sudden, a long stream of beam shot its way towards Celestial Being. However, it missed the ship by a wide margin. Closing in on them, there were two entities. Their humanoid forms gave them away as Mobile Suits, but they were nothing ever seen before. Their legs were not truly legs, more likened to engine propellers. One was in green and the other in violet, with the green Suit armed with an arm-held cannon.
"The A-Laws again?" exclaimed Zero.
The Apollyon fired out all its cannons on the strange Mobile Suits, but the two split up to fight the Gundams individually. The green one fired out rapid beams on the Apollyon, only blocked out by the Apollyon's GN Field.
Meanwhile, the Gabriel tried to slash apart the violet Suit. Suddenly, the Suit reached out its right hand and five long streams of red flashed out to counter the Gabriel's attacks.
"Beam Sabres… from the hands!" exclaimed Setsuna.
The violet Suit tried to attack the Gabriel again, but it was blocked out by its GN Blade. Slowly, the five Beam Sabres came in closer till they merge to form a single Beam Sabre. The GN Blade of Gabriel quickly snapped in half.
The green Suit sped towards the Apollyon, still guarded by its GN Field. At close range, it elbowed the barrier and the GN Field was punctured and broke apart.
"That technique?" exclaimed Rolo, who was watching the surveillance from the ship.
"The same one as Rolo's Ahead Prototype…" thought Zero.
The Apollyon was in range for a blank-point attack, but the green Suit just stopped its advances and flew off. The violet Suit was prepared to continue its attacks, but it also fled with its comrade instead.
"What was that?" wondered Jeremiah.
"Their aim was not to take us, but to show us of their prowess," Zero thought, "they are neither Federation nor A-Laws, rather they're the power behind them… the Innovators…"
Innovator HQ, Unknown Location
In the Innovators' lair, V2 looked amusingly at the clips of the battles just now. C2 stood beside him and smiled to those scenes as well. Another two more screens opened, showing both Revive and Hilling in pilot suits.
"The Gadessa's GN Mega Launcher works perfectly fine," Revive said, "and the GN Cutter is as it should be; no defence can defeat it."
"The Beam Claw thing from my Garazzo is great and all," Hilling remarked, "it even defeated the solid-state GN Blade."
"From the data we have collected from Veda, these Suits were made," C2 said, "Celestial Being's Gundams, however, possess their own little secrets."
"Nonetheless, that secret will be unravelled," V2 added.
He raised his palm again, and one of the screens switched to another scene. It was showing the remnants of Gundam Kyrios, caught five years ago. It appeared battered up, and with a Tieren arm replacing its right arm. Another Tau Drive was being installed in the old Mobile Suit.