Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 46
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam series, nor any of the various series which are used or referenced in my fic, so please point that damned lawsuit cannon at someone else, also, don't read this if you are not of legal age to read such material. The story contains possibly disturbing content and should not be read by close-minded people (i.e., people who are easily offended.) Everything in the story is fictional. I am also not responsible for any actions taken by people who read this story and society's problems. I do, however, own my original character; Hope Yamato.
Kira watched in muted surprise as the Super Yamato suddenly opened fire on one of the Earth Alliance Danilov-class destroyers, the shells punching through the reletively thinly armored hull and detonating within the ship, engulfing it in a fireball. Using the unexpceted attack as a distraction, the Bismarck and Minerva quickly docked within the Excalibur's hanger and the massive, dagger-shaped vessel once again took to the air.
"Okay. That was random." The amethyst-eyed man muttered, even as he fired a full-burst from his weapons, aiming at the Calamity, only for the Forbidden to burst into the line of fire and deflect the beams back at the Divinity. "Two can play that game!" Kira smirked as he deflected the beam blasts back towards the Forbidden, and as Kira deflected the energy bolts he also fired a volley from his hip-mounted rail guns, while simultaniously unleashing his DRAGOON units, both the rail gun shells and the remote weapons hiding behind the beam blasts. The Forbidden once again deflected the searing green energy bolts, only to be thrown backwards an instant later as the rail gun shells and DRAGOON units slammed into it, the force of the impacts sending the green and white machine tumbling.
Before the Forbidden could reorient itself, the Divinity had ignited its thrusters and took off, the angelic machine's DRAGOON units once more docking on the Gundam's back as it sped away.
A squad of Orb Astrays fired on the Earth Alliance's Strike Daggers as they advanced into the city. The Daggers were numerous, but somehow, the defenders had managed to push them back, barely. However, things were about to change, as a solid black mobile suit suddenly landed before the Orb squadron.
"Captain! What is that?" A nervous Orb pilot asked.
"Another new Earth Forces machine." The Captain answered. "Destroy it!"
"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" Duo Maxwell howled from the cockpit of the Deathscthye Gundam, as he fired his beam gatling guns at the Astrays.
The barrage mercilessly tore through many of the Astrays before they managed any kind of defense. The surviving Astrays backed away, moving behind buildings and trying to regroup from the assault. But Maxwell didn't give them a chance to. The Deathscythe's chest plate opened, as did its missile pods and small cannons emerged from the wrists. The remaining Astrays in the area fell quickly fell before this second barrage. Beams tore through buildings and the mobile suits standing behind them. A cluster of missiles impacted a trio of Astrays standing together, destroying them.
Suddenly, the Deathscythe jumped to the left, barely dodging a blue and red energy blast. Maxwell growled as the angelic form of the Divinity Gundam landed in front of him.
"Not bad." Kira commented. "But that's not going to be nearly good enough!"
Maxwell roared, firing all of his gatling guns at the Divinity. Kira pulled the Divinity into the air, evading the Deathscythe's shots and fired his left-hand rifle. The green beam beam pierced the Deathscythe's left twin gatling gun. Maxwell threw the weapon away just before it exploded.
"Damn you!" He shouted, firing back at the Divinity with his remaining gatling guns and the wrist-mounted beam gun
Kira sidestepped behind a row of buildings. The guns tore through the building, only to hit nothing. The Deathscythe's head turned back and forth, searching for the Divinity. Maxwell growled in frustration.
"Damn it!" He growled. "Where are you? Come and fight me coward!"
There was no response.
"Come on! Fight!"
Again, nothing.
"That's it! I'm gonna level this whole damn city!"
At that moment, the Divinity Gundam reappeared, now standing directly in front of the Deathscythe. The angelic machine was now glowing with a blood red light, its faceplate had split, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and the green orb in the center of its chest was illuminated with an eerie green light.
The Divinity's beam rifle was inches from the Deathscythe's chest, while the twin barrels of the Deathscythe's gatling guns were inches from the Divinity's. The two mobile suits stayed there for a moment, locked in that position. Neither seemed willing to risk moving.
"I must admit." Kira said. "You're much better then most pilots, even if you are as wild as they get."
"I should be." Maxwell replied, sounding momentarily calm. "That's what made me the Hero of the Bloody Valentine."
'The Hero of the Bloody Valentine?' Kira thought, his amethyst eyes widening in surprise, before then narrowing in rage.
"You son of a bitch!" He roared. "You're dead!"
"No, you are!" Maxwell shouted back.
The Deathscythe pushed the Divinity back before Kira could pull the trigger and swung its saber down. However, the Divinity was a much faster machine than its opponent, even without utilizing Trans-Am. Kira casually sidestepped the blow, leaving the Deathscythe's saber to slice through mere afterimages.
"Too slow!" He said, swinging his own saber down.
But the Deathscythe managed to raise its saber back up, blocking the blow. Maxwell then followed up with a kick to the Divinity's chest, sending the mobile suit stumbling back. The mass-murderer raised the Deathscythe's galting gun, aiming directly at the Divinity's cockpit.
But just before Maxwell could squeeze the trigger, one of the Divinity's DRAGOON units detached from the machine's back and fired a searing green beam blast that lanced through the air, piercing the twin gatling gun. The Deathscythe dropped the weapon as both machines leapt backwards and the twin gatling exploded.
Unbeknownst to fighters at large, a tragedy was about to happen. A family of four ran through the woods, trying to reach the boats that were evacuating the civilians of Orb. Shinn Asuka looked up at the mobile suits fighting above them. The two white mobile suits, one with blue wings, and the other with angelic white wings seemed to be struggling against the other four. Shinn really wasn't sure which ones were fighting for Orb and which ones were with the Earth Forces.
Suddenly, the black one, which had transformed into a bird-like mode, raced dangerously close overhead, forcing Shinn and his family to brace themselves as a strong gust of wind slammed into them.
"My phone!" Mayu cried out as her phone flew out of her pocket and fell down the side of the hit.
Mayu headed for her cell phone, but their mother grabbed her arm. "Forget about it. We have to go Mayu."
"But my phone!"
"Don't worry. I'll get it." Shinn said, running down the side of the hill.
The Calamity landed on the ground, targeting the Freedom. The Freedom entered HiMAT mode as it aimed at the Calamity.
Out of the corner of his eye, Orga spotted the family, and, grinning sadistically, shifted his machine's leg slightly to aim one missile at them.
Kira fired an instant before Orga, the hyper-velocity rounds of the rail guns slamming into the Calamity and knocking it slightly off-target, most of its missiles going wide.
Shinn had found Mayu's phone and picked it up when he felt the massive wave of heat and air slam into him, tossing him down the rest of the hill. By some small miracle, the only injuries he sustained were some scrapes and bruises, and having the wind knocked out of him. He slowly got to his feet, still clutching Mayu's cell phone.
"Mom! Dad! Where are you? Mayu!" Shinn called out as he started to search for his family. "Mom! Dad! Ma–"
It didn't take him long to find them. The path they had been running across had collapsed. And lying there, among the rubble, was Mayu. She was lying on her back, maybe eight feet from him. Mayu looked like she could have been sleeping, if it wasn't for the fact that there were a number of cuts and bruises on her skin. Including a nasty cut on her forehead. Lying a few feet from Mayu was his mother, lying in a pool of her own blood and her body twisted at an unnatural angle. Then he noticed his father, crushed between a boulder and a fallen tree.
Shinn screamed to the heavens as he fell to his knees, his cry a mixture of pain and sorrow. Tears began to pour down his face. Why had they been killed? They weren't soldiers. They didn't deserve to be murdered like that! So then why? Why had this happened?
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed him. "Come on! There's nothing you can do for them." A voice said as the hands lifted Shinn to his feet.
The voice belonged to an Orb officer. But Shinn didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. He just wanted to lay down and die alongside his family. Seeing the state he was in, the Orb officer shook him, trying to shake him out of his stupor.
"Your family would have wanted you to survive. Come on. The boat will be leaving soon." He said, half dragging Shinn to the boat.
As they left for the boat, neither of them noticed as Mayu's hand twitched.
"You stupid fuck!" Shinn and Mayu roared in unison, as the Eclipse and Destiny Impulse, both leaving clouds of afterimages in their wake, rapidly decended upon the Calamity. The Eclipse reached the Calamity first, delivering a ruthless punch to the blue machine's face and sending it falling backwards.
"Kira." Shinn seethed from the cockpit of the Eclipse Gundam. "Mayu and I will take care of this jackass."
Kira simply nodded and flew away, leaving the Calamity at the mercy of the Eclipse and Destiny Impulse.
All across Orb, the battles raged. The Buster, Cherudim, Seravee, Wing Zero and the Excalibur let loose a furious barrage on the advancing invaders, cutting down dozens of mobile suits and fighters. The 00-Raiser, Aile Strike, Chimera, Duel, Epyon and Justice tore apart Strike Daggers in the close-quarters of the city blocks, using superior abilities, skills, battle experience and technology to overwhelm the Daggers.
"Whoa!" Cagalli yelled within the cockpit of the Akatsuki Gundam, as the trio of Strike Daggers that had been charging at her suddenly dissolved into ZAKUs. "That was somewhat unexpected." The blonde sighed, even as she unleashed her DRAGOON units and opened fire, spearing the weapons and main cameras of the still approaching machines with beam blasts, completely disabling them.
Elsewhere, the Forbidden fired its rail guns at the Freedom, scoring a direct hit and the blue-winged mobile suit was sent tumbling through the air, directly into line of fire for the Raider's mouth-mounted cannon. As the Freedom righted itself, the Raider descended on it.
"Game over." Clotho smirked.
The Raider's cannon fired at the Freedom.
But the battle was far from over.
A red Gundam suddenly descended in front of the Freedom, blocking the blast with its shield, then returning fire with its beam rifle, the Raider barely dodging.
The battle between the mobile suits stopped as everyone stared at the newcomer, unsure of what to make of it. There was a unique, majestic presence to them, the same presence held by the Freedom.
Eyes stared at the crimson mobile suit that had saved the Freedom. Ir was reminiscent of the Aegis, but it had a cannon, like that of the Calamity, visible in the chest, its main body was less bulky and instead attached a large backpack that was currently horizontal with the body, making the red Gundam look, in essence, like the Aegis with a Guul attached to its back.
"Damn it! Who the hell are you?" Clotho shouted, transforming the Raider and charging the crimson machine.
"Wow...another one of these...funny looking mobile suits." Shani commented, before shifting the Forbidden to close-combat mode and following the Raider.
"How dare you interfere?" Maxwell roared, pushing the Deathscythe's thrusters well past their maximum limits, following the Raider and Forbidden, even as the Calamity aimed its cannons.
All four Earth Forces machines fired, and the Akatsuki, Blitz, Chimera, Destiny, Divinity, Eclipse, Freedom, Justice, Impulse, Infinite Justice and Twilight broke apart to dodge the attack.
"Kira, are you okay?" Athrun Zala's younger-self asked from the cockpit of the Justice Gundam, still worried about his friend.
"Athrun?" Kira's younger-self gasped as the Freedom ignited a beam saber. "What are you doing here? Has ZAFT decided to stick its nose into this battle!"
Suddenly, the Calamity fired into the group, this time much more precisely, the beams coming perilously close to the Freedom, Justice, Raider and Blitz.
"Orga!" Clotho shouted, clearly enraged.
"You're bugging me!" Orga shouted back, the Calamity once again leaping into the air and firing at the group. Specifically the Raider and Deathscythe.
Suddenly, he turned to the Forbidden and fired at it just as it separated from the Blitz. "The same goes for you, Shani!"
Shani deflected the beams with his shields, the beams flying between the pairs of the Freedom and Justice and the Akatsuki and Impulse.
"These guys don't give a damn about each other!" Athrun's younger-self exclaimed from the cockpit of the Justice, clearly stunned.
"This is no team." Nicol said from the cockpit of the Blitz. "What kind of idiot puts people like these in mobile suits of this caliber?"
"The answer to that should be obvious, Nicol." Athrun's older-self answered from the cockpit of the Infinite Justice. "The idiot known as Muruta Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos."
A few days later, Uzumi turned to his daughter for the last time and smiled. "I feel very fortunate to have been your father."
At that moment, the hull door leading into the Kusanagi was sealed shut, separating them, and the catwalk pulled away.
"Fly, Kisaka!" Uzumi called. "I'm counting on you!"
The Kusanagi's bridge crew performed the final systems check, as did those in the mass driver control room. Everything was ready to go.
"Departure of all personnel except those in Division C is confirmed."
"All systems are a go."
"Launch the Kusanagi." Uzumi ordered as he reached the control room.
"May the blessings of Haumea be with you," Uzumi said softly, watching the screens displaying the Kusanagi and the Destiny. "And may the Goddess watch over you."
The mass driver activated as the Kusanagi's engines ignited. The vessel started to slide across the driver ramp, slow at first, but steadily gaining speed as it went.
"What do we have here?" Orga questioned smugly as the four Extended pilots caught sight of the Kusanagi moving along the mass driver.
The Divinity let loose a massive barrage with all of its weapons, driving the Deathscythe back. The angelic machine spun around, aiming to intercept the Kusanagi. He reached out as the ship began to shoot past him, grabbing hold of its side, then turned around to face his companions.
The Calamity, the Deathscythe, the Forbidden and the Raider were all now chasing after the Freedom and Justice, but the high-speeds and distance made a hit virtually impossible. As the Freedom approached the Kusanagi and reached out, the Divinity's hand shot out, grabbing the Freedom's and pulling the white mobile suit in. Kira turned around to face Athrun, who was struggling to reach the ship. Kira extended the Freedom's hand to the Justice, the two barely managing to grab hold, and Kira pulled the Justice forward onto the Kusanagi.
"Hope!" Mayu called. The Destiny was still viciously engaging the Forbidden.
'I can't die here!' Hope thought as she broke away from the Forbidden. "I can't die here!"
The Destiny's wings spread to their full breadth, and the pulses of wings of light it emitted were far larger than ever before.
Then, the Destiny surged forward at impossible speeds, blindingly bright afterimages trailing in its wake.
In what seemed only an instant, the Destiny was in front of the Kusanagi, and landed on it just ahead of the Divinity, its wings powering down.
Within the Destiny, Hope coughed blood, and a small trickle of blood ran down her face. But the amethyst-eyed woman ignored all this, taking a single quick glance at her friends' mobile suits.
With a slight nod between them, the pilots all readied their next action.
The Freedom's plasma beam cannons flipped out of the wings and mounted over the shoulders as its rail gun unfolded from the hips.
The Infinite Justice's Fatum-01 backpack rose up, putting the beam cannons into attack position over the shoulders, the original Justice mimicing the movement.
The Destiny's own rail guns unfolded from the hips, taking aim, as the machine aimed its hyper-impulse cannon.
The Divinity's plasma beam cannons flipped out of the wings and mounted over the shoulders as its rail guns unfolded from the hips, and its chest-mounted beam cannons took aim.
All at once, the five mobile suits let loose a massive barrage on the water, creating an enormous geyser in the path of their enemies, stopping them momentarily.
At that moment, the Kusanagi cleared the ramp, rocketing into the heavens.
Lord Uzumi and most of Orb's government were gathered, watching the Kusanagi fly into space with the Freedom, Justice, Divinity and Destiny.
"The seed has flown. We've succeeded," Uzumi said as his hand reached for a single, large red button on the console, his expression hardening. "We can't leave Orb, or this world, in the hands of those bastards."
His finger pushed the button.
The bombs that had been planted went off. A massive fireball consumed Morgenroete as explosions traveled along Orb's Mass Diver, destroying both and robbing the Alliance of its sole reasons for invading Orb. Aboard the Powell, Azrael watched in horror as everything they had worked for went up in flames. Those damn biological CPUs had completely failed him! He'd make sure the doctors held off giving them their medicine for half a day at least, as punishment for their failure. He slammed his fists into the armrests of his chair.
"Damn you Uzumi Nara Athha!" He screamed.
At that instant, under the angry command of Azrael, the Earth Forces fleet fired a massive barrage that finished off the five Eurasian vessels.
Aboard the Kusanagi, Cagalli's younger-self cried out for her father as the fireball consumed the entire mass driver facility.