Lost Memories/ Amnesia Girl Chapter 21
The long awaited chapter…
So I'm going to start making this known which episode each chapter takes place in because I'm trying to follow the story line. This chapter takes place in Episode 21.
"I don't understand how you…you of all people get to go into combat with the Strike!" Yzak hollered at Amarante. She was just about to go the line to the cockpit. With a sigh Amarante cocked her hips and crossed her arms. She was getting really sick of this kid. He had been annoying her for the last two days.
"Your mobile suits weren't created for a high speed chase like the BuCUEs," Amarante replied. She sounded kind of arrogant and cocky but it was needed at the moment. Also she sounded some much like her commander, oh how those words would be repeated to him in a few minutes.
"Yeah but we have more combat experience with that ship and the Strike!" Yzak snapped. True he had a point but this would be the day that the Waltfeld team took down the Strike and that ship.
"We were given our orders. Don't let me remind you that you also lost!" Amarante growled before cooling down. She would need a cool head to take on the brown haired boy. She still liked Kira, and Amarante made the assumption that he was also a first generation coordinator.
"Hmpf…I'll just take it up with your commander," Yzak said storming off.
"Good luck out there Amarante," Dearka assured placing a hand on her shoulder before racing after Yzak. Sorry Amarante but I agree with Yzak…We have more combat experience then your team with the Strike, Dearka thought with a smirk.
"Amarante wait!" Kirkwood called out. He was racing to her at full speed.
"Kirkwood? What are you doing out here?" Amarante asked. He stopped and took in several deep breaths. He choked up a couple of times before opening him mouth.
"I love you," Kirkwood said gasping for breath. He hugged her tightly trying to hold on to her forever. He had only watched the Strike in battle and saw the abilities of the pilot. Thinking that the brown haired boy named Kira was possibly the pilot stunned him. He shook the thoughts away wanting to kiss Amarante but decided against it.
"I love you too Kirkwood. I've gotta go…The commander will be angry if I don't leave," Amarante chuckled. Kirkwood laughed as well trying to hide his uneasiness.
"Good luck sweet princess! I'm on stand-by because of my head injury so I don't think I'll be going out," Kirkwood called out as she went up the line. She nodded before getting into the suit. As the front display came down she noticed a picture attached to it. It was a picture of Amarante, Waltfeld and DaCosta. Amarante was wearing her gown for the Z.A.F.T. ball and the two men were standing behind her. On the picture it said: I'm counting on you to shine out there like how you shine on the dance floor ~ Dad. Amarante smiled gently before starting up her BuCUE. She moved the picture to a different position so it wouldn't be on in the way. Her suit alerted her to a malfunction in the closing mechanism of the hatch. With a sigh Amarante, overrode the control leaving in it's malfunctioning state. With out any worry she made her way to the front taking a deep breath. She'd fix it when she got back.
"Amarante, BuCUE, heading out," Amarante announced. She leaped out of the Lesseps and on to the waiting battlefield. She saw the Legged Ship approaching along with several resistance fighter trucks. The resistance fighters…Sorry that I have to stop you…Even if we did "free" you…The Earth Forces would be just the same Amarante thought. She aimed at the trucks on the side trying to break their formation. The commander also said something about a plane…Where is it? Amarante thought now becoming worried about the bigger fish. Many resistance fighters were stunned at the fact that a BuCUE had beam technology. That girl…It has to be her, Cagalli thought with a growl.
"There it is," Amarante bellowed aiming at the craft that was strafing her. She locked on to it but for some reason couldn't shoot nor could the pilot of the fighter.
"Who is this…It's not Le Creuset," Mu muttered to himself. He shook the thoughts away circling over the BuCUE one last time before leaving. The girl aimed at the fighter again but decided not to fire. Suddenly her alarm system alerted her to an incoming projectile. With the grace and skill that her commander taught her Amarante dodged it. It looks like I finally get to face you Kira…Amarante thought. She circled around the unit kicking up dust with her suit.
"Hello Kira," Amarante muttered to herself. She notice the mobile suit pause for a moment placing up its shield to block her beam attack.
"That's not the command unit…No it has to be Amarante or Kirkwood," Kira muttered inside his cockpit. Inside the Lesseps Commander Waltfeld waited for Amarante to engage the enemy.
"Commander, Amarante has engaged the Strike," DaCosta alerted Waltfeld. He had been given control of the Lesseps while Commander Waltfeld went out to instruct his soldiers.
"How is she doing?" he asked in a serious manner. Aisha was just putting in her final touch to the machine. She recalibrated the targeting system to her desire as Waltfeld watched her.
"We can't get a visual, she created a dust storm," DaCosta answered. Waltfeld nodded disconnecting with the Lesseps. He was in his commander mode not showing any signs of emotions.
"Isn't that one Amarante's signature moves?" Aisha chipped in. She looked back at him to see his serious face but his eyes were different. They were worried and sickened by the fact that Amarante is out facing the enemy that they had lost several soldiers against.
"Yeah. I wonder what she's doing?" Andy said aloud. Only the people that were close to him could hear the uneasiness in his voice. Aisha turned back around as they prepared to leave the Lesseps.
"You're really worried about her…aren't you Andy?" Aisha asked. She couldn't hide the fear in her voice as well as her Andy.
"I only want her to be safe," Andy answered seriously. Elsewhere on the battle field Amarante and Kira engaged in a duel. She looked for the frequency to speak to the Strike pilot.
"Kira!" Amarante called out stopping in front of the machine. Kira was surprised to hear Amarante's voice coming through his machine. The boy stopped, Amarante then smiled slightly. It was bittersweet, Amarante was glad that she knew that he was the pilot but she wasn't happy that she had to fight him.
"We don't have to fight each other!" Kira called back. She grimaced at the thought before dodging an attack from the resistance fighters. She fired her main cannon at them blowing the trucks up. They lit up in flames and all resistance had stopped in that area. Kira flinched before muttering to himself that he couldn't save them. He was also surprised at her brutality, how could she kill those men with no emotions…period.
"We were both given orders weren't we Kira. To annihilate each other as soldiers! We're on different sides of the chess board. Pawns of the higher ups to control as they please. Even your ship's commander and Commander Waltfeld are pawns. Isn't that right Kira?" Amarante answered aiming her cannons at the Strike. She wanted to intimidate him into backing out of this fight. He froze for a moment realizing the truth in her statement.
"If you're trying to tell me to join Z.A.F.T. I'm not going to!" Kira hollered back charging her. She went into the dust causing Kira to stop and look for her. He knew that he was fighting on her turf. She continued with her dust storm trying to keep him from finding her. He was surprised to see that his infrared sensors weren't working. The day was a scorcher but he should be able to find her somewhere. Well Kira you didn't expect to see this did you? This is a new type of paint…It helps hide me against infrared scanners…hopefully all BuCUEs, ZuOOTs and other ground units will incorporate this type of technology. Doesn't it make me appear like a mirage? Amarante thought with a smirk.
"I'm not saying that at all. We're all pawns in this game Kira…In the end it doesn't matter who's fighting who. I even have mixed feelings about fighting the Naturals. I'm a first generation coordinator…I even have a cousin in the Earth Forces. Here I'm not worried about killing him…but, if I get transferred…can I really fire at the enemy?" Amarante posed coming out of the dust cloud. She was surprised to see Kira come out in front of her as well. He was a really good pilot…possibly better than Commander Waltfeld. Amarante aimed her beam cannon at Kira barely missing his head. Amarante growled as Kira returned fire, using his beam rifle he destroyed the beam cannon. Her one and only special defense against that deadly weapon. I didn't need it anyways…thank you Amarante thought. All her comrades were almost dead. From the explosion a few of the internal panels began to erupt in smoke. She let out a quick scream as she saw the electricity radiate through the suit. Kira hesitated to fire again not wanting to kill a friend so much like him. He was surprised to hear that she was also a first generation coordinator. What was her motivation for joining?
"Kid, stop stalling. If you're going to fire, fire!" Mu told him. Oh how he didn't know that the person Kira was fighting would be someone he cared about deeply. Kira grimaced at the thought as Amarante broadsided him. She chipped part of the arm but there was no major damage. There was no way that she could get the armor to go down on her own. Taking a chance she activated the BuCUE's beam sabers. Turning around she charged Kira. They were both getting frustrated with this battle.
"Amarante stop this!" Kira called out. He watched her approach anticipating her to broadside him again.
"I already told you…Our orders as soldiers is to annihilate each other!" Amarante cried out. More smoke was entering the cockpit. She knew that when she entered battle that this was a suicide mission. Wrong move…Amarante thought trying to push down the Strike. It held onto the BuCUE pushing the beam sabers away with its shield. The two machines fell into the sands and using her thrusters Amarante continued to push the Gundam into the sand. Amarante and Kira could hear the machines creaking in the struggle. With the beam rifle Kira aimed at the back of BuCUE. He fired hitting the back leg of her machine. It was scarred but it hadn't been destroyed yet. With her front paw she used the treads to blind the mobile suit before escaping it's grip.
"I don't want to fight you!" Kira called out.
"Don't make this harder on yourself," Amarante muttered charging him again. Kira looked into his scope locking on to the mobile suit he gulped as he fired upon the BuCUE. Amarante jumped into the air to knock down the suit once more. She gasped seeing the beam approaching her. Amarante tried to avoid it but it still hit the suit. As the electricity surged through the cockpit she placed her hands up in defense as Kira kneed the cockpit area. It sent the machine back as the back leg caught on hire. There were several explosions inside Amarante cockpit as the BuCUE hit the ground. I'm not done yet Amarante thought looking through the cracked monitor. For a few seconds Amarante blacked out. Waking up her head continued to bleed and the glass inside her helmet was cracked and in her face. Amarante could barely as sweat, blood and glass were near her eyes and face. She used the thrusters to try to stand up only causing the already overheated and overused objects to burst into flames. She wanted to destroy him by self-detonating but it wasn't going to work now. Her controls were malfunctioning as more smoke entered the cockpit and electricity began to surge even more rapidly. A chain reaction of explosions Amarante once again placed an arm up in defense as the cockpit finally exploded. Inside the Lesseps one of the soldiers alerted DaCosta that they had lost Amarante on the screen. DaCosta in return alerted the commander through a written message. He looked down thinking of the sweet girl that would sometimes follow him around in her loving and playful manner.
"Amarante failed," Aisha muttered in shock. She never failed…how did that happen? She was beginning to feel some anger but Amarante was a soldier, and life is lost in a matter of seconds.
"What was that?" Andy asked. He didn't need an answer seeing Amarante's former mobile suit up in flames. Hopefully this dreadful battle would be over with soon now that their other ship was in place. The Strike was about to retreat which Aisha wouldn't allow. Using the beam cannon they stopped the Strike from it's retreat. The battle continued causing the Commander to develop a plan. Many of their pilots were already dead and he didn't need anymore. He regretted that he couldn't save Amarante's life. He could come up with a list of "if onlys" but Amarante would have probably left anyways.
"DaCosta," Waltfeld said over the com system. Aisha listened intently to the words coming out of his mouth as they continued their engagement.
"Yes sir?" DaCosta replied. He was surprised to hear his commander's voicw so late in the battle.
"Send out orders to retreat,"Waltfeld answered. DaCosta just sat there blinking almost confused at his words. Several soldiers on the bridge look back at DaCosta to hear his next commands.
"But Sir!" DaCosta countered.
"We have to cut our loses. Gather the remaining troops and regroup at Banadiya. Then notify Gibraltar," Waltfeld ordered. At the time Waltfeld thought that this would be the last time he would be giving orders.
"Comman-" DaCosta tried to say before Waltfeld cut the system.
"You too Aisha…Get outta here," Waltfeld said calmly. He had already lost Amarante and he wasn't going to lose another person close to him. Aisha looked back at him with a smile.
She replied happily, "I'd sooner lay down my life. Not a chance" She looked forward again still with her happy grin. If he was going to die…so would she. Besides, she wouldn't mind being with Amarante. They were a family weren't they?
Andy chuckled softly, "So we're both idiots."
"I'm fine with that," Aisha countered as the site came back in front of her face. At that moment Waltfeld began his final desperate attack on the Strike.
"Scavenge the battlefield and find any and all survivors! Also gather the bodies for burial!" DaCosta ordered. Even he was out on the former battlefield trying to find anyone that could be alive. Kirkwood was still numb at the thought of Amarante dying in battle. Many people were still surprised to see the death of their commander as well.
"Come on! Get up!" Yzak barked at Kirkwood. The boy only looked up at Yzak before standing up. Yzak was about to drag the boy to his feet but he was surprised to see him stand up. Kirkwood only looked at him through sad eyes.
"What's the point…The commander is dead…and Amarante is dead…Aisha is also dead…so is Hadat…Maylam has been dead…Jason as well…and Jackson…Lex…Brad…they're all gone," Kirkwood answered. Hearing the words coming out of Kirkwood's mouth only caused Yzak to become even more angered. He wanted to punch him but for Amarante's sake and in her memory he wouldn't.
"Come on are you serious? You guys are useless," Yzak said pushing past the boy. Dearka was elsewhere on the battlefield helping with all of the Waltfeld teams efforts.
"DaCosta! I think we have a survivor," a soldier called out approaching them. He was out of breath when he finally reached his former commander's right hand man.
"Get the medical and mechanic teams ready!" DaCosta called out following the soldier. He made a beeline for Amarante's suit. DaCosta wiped away the sweat on his brow not believing his eyes. It would take a miracle if she somehow survived those explosions DaCosta thought. Looking in the direction of the running men Kirkwood followed in his dazed state. Approaching the mobile suit it was obvious that the cockpit needed to be pried open. Yet there was a slight buckle in the former door allowing anyone to peer inside.
"I'm almost positive that I heard something from the inside," the soldier answered.
"Go ahead and get that cockpit open," DaCosta ordered. As the jaws of life began to pry open Amarante's suit another soldier approached DaCosta. He was surprised too see the happy look on his face. At first DaCosta thought that he had gone mad.
"Sir I think the Commander may be alive!" he said enthusiastically. DaCosta froze for a moment. How was this possible? No one had ever lived to tell the tales of their encounter against the Strike. Unless they had the same type of machines.
"Get another crew to the Commander's machine," DaCosta ordered. The mechanics were able to pry open the machine causing DaCosta to signal the medical team to go in and take the girl out. Carefully they extracted the girl from the crushed cockpit. Her entire suit was almost blood red. Even the black parts. At that moment it was obvious that her left elbow was probably broken.
"Yes, she's still breathing," one of the doctors announced. Curious about her condition DaCosta peered over the shoulders of the doctors. Her helmet had shattered and she had several burns. Parts of her flight suit had been burned off. She probably had ashes and soot in her lungs. He scrunched his face at her condition as the doctors tried to do everything to save her life. Kirkwood finally arrived seeing the girl laying on the ground.
"Amarante!" he gasped trying to push through the doctors. DaCosta grabbed the boy holding him back from the injured girl. Sometimes this boy didn't think, DaCosta was able to pull him away and calm him down.
"Kirkwood…I have a special mission for you. Amarante will probably have to be transferred to Gibraltar. I want you to go with them as an escort," DaCosta said placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Ye-Yes sir," Kirkwood answered. He couldn't stop thinking about Amarante. Would she ever regain consciousness? Would she actually survive this? She had been in there for several minutes. Then again so had the commander.
"Commander Waltfeld and Aisha are also clinging on to life. The commander is also conscious," the soldier from before called out, scrambling to DaCosta. Several soldiers in the area sighed with relief hearing that their commander was alive. Helping one of the soldiers that had been shot down, even Dearka was glad to hear the news.
"I may be injured but I'm still your commander," Waltfeld growled in a hoarse voice. He had bandages all over and even though he was heavily medicated he was still in a lot of pain.
"Sir, we've stopped the bleeding but we still need to operate now if you want to save your arm," the doctor replied. The two men were going toe to toe with each other and Waltfeld didn't want to argue anymore.
"I already know Aisha's dead…but Amarante is here and alive…I know the extent of her injuries as well. She may have brain damage. Aren't you worry about that?" Waltfeld continued. He was still worried about her. She was in a near-by gurney still unconscious from her injuries. They were still unsuccessful in waking her up.
"Yes there is a chance…and if so it's probably irreversible. Commander…your life is more valuable then some soldiers," the doctor replied. The doctor flinched hearing the words that came out of his mouth. He wasn't trying to be that cynical.
"So you'd let other soldiers die to save my life? How many must die to save one life? Answer that for me! How can you call yourself a doctor," Waltfeld replied. His anger was rising to the point where he could feel it sizzle in his veins.
"The commander has a point," DaCosta replied from the door. He walked in standing on the other side of his commander.
"I'd risk my arm and my life for any of my soldiers. I want you to do anything and everything you can to heal Amarante," Waltfeld groaned. He was tired of arguing and now he just wanted to rest. Waltfeld strained his neck trying to peer at Amarante but pain surged up his neck which caused him to stop.
"Yes sir," the doctor replied reluctantly leaving the room to prepare Amarante for anything that needed to be done.
"DaCosta," Waltfeld croaked, he could feel himself getting ready to black out.
"Yes sir?" DaCosta asked coming closer to his bed side. He was shocked to feel his commander grab him by the wrist.
"I'm not saying that you have to follow her where ever she goes…but I want you to keep a watchful eye over Amarante. You don't have to be visible, I just want to make sure that she's alright in the rest of her career. As your commander I want you to watch her until she dies, you die or one of you guys resign. As your friend I want you to guide her in the right direction," Waltfeld managed to say.
"Yes sir," DaCosta replied with a gentle smile.
"Please keep her safe," Waltfeld moaned.
"I'll try sir," DaCosta answered hoping to keep his word. DaCosta noticed his commander's eyes shut as fatigue began to take over him. DaCosta then left his commander's side to stroke Amarante hair gently before leaving a note in her hand. He then left the two to take over the command as their Commander rested.
"I can't believe the famed Desert Tiger went down so easily," Dearka muttered looking at the chaos around them. Yzak stayed quiet leaning against a wall near Dearka. "Hey you okay? You haven't said a word to me since we got back from the battle," Dearka reasoned. It didn't set Yzak off causing Dearka to stare at his friend. He seemed to be deep in thought but it odd for Yzak not to snap at his friend for interrupting him.
"It's nothing. There's so much chaos going on here. I heard that we're being transferred back to Gibraltar," Yzak answered in his normal tone. Dearka sighed with relief knowing that his friend was alright. Yzak shot a glare trying to show his disdain for his friend's dramatic sigh of relief.
"Well if we help out, we can probably hurry things along," Dearka suggested. Yzak snorted getting off the wall and crossing his arms.
"Fine," Yzak grumbled causing his friend to smirk. Good old Yzak…he's back to normal again. They left their observation area to help with the plans of leaving Gibraltar.
For all you Cagalli Lovers…I know I didn't add her in because the battle was already confusing to write for me. As some of you know…I normally don't write action. Will I go back later on and possibly add more to this battle? There's a chance. I also don't want you guys to be more confused by the battle that's already taking place. Besides…you can watch Cagalli online, dvds, and for some on TV. :] Bye bye ~
Update…Okay…I added a little Cagalli line in there but still!
In the polls today (As of August 5, 2010)…
Nicol x Amarante: 7 votes
DaCosta x Amarante: 4 votes
Waltfeld x Aisha: 4 votes
Waltfeld x Amarante: 3 votes
Aisha x Amarante: 3 votes
Mu x Amarante: 3 votes
Kirkwood x Amarante: 2 votes
Yzak x Amarante: 1 vote
Maylam x Amarante: 0 votes
Dearka x Amarante: 0 votes
Nicol will appear next chapter for everyone voting Nicol x Amarante.
Don't see your favorite couple winning? Go to my profile and vote! You can choose up to five choices/couples.
See ya in about 5 days, but I'd like to say. If I don't update in 5 days then I'll be on vacation and all stories will be placed on hiatus!