Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 100

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.

"This is the worst shortcut ever!" Aoi wailed, and to underscore her point, her angry voice echoed off the walls of the disused warehousing district of Copernicus.

At her side, Talia rolled her eyes, Allister frowned in what looked like agreement he did not want to vocalize, and Hope glanced over with annoyance at Talia. "All because you didn't want to wait in traffic."

"You saw how bad it was backed up! It would be Cosmic Era 2000 by the time we got back!" Talia exclaimed. "And besides, that's all because this little runt." She brought down her hand on Aoi's head just hard enough to elicit a startled squeak. "Insisted on missing our bus so she could eat an ice cream sundae the size of her head." She smirked triumphantly at Hope. "Which you bought for her."

"I can't believe you actually ate it all." Allister said quietly.

Hope shrugged. "I promised her I would do something cool for her."

"And that was the coolest ice cream sundae ever!" Aoi added with a grin.

"But then we missed our bus." Talia went on. "And so, here we are."

"Using the shortcut that you said was going to work." Allister pointed out, and then shut his mouth when Talia glared back at him.

"Shut up. We can get back into the docking bay through here." She pointed up ahead, towards a gate where a long row of docking bays in the crater wall could be seen through the thick transparent ceiling high above. "See? Now quit bitching."

Together they rounded a corner and Hope listened with half an ear as Aoi triumphantly defended her ice cream consumption prowess. She glanced over at Allister and caught his gaze, and returned it with a small smile that instantly made him blush. There was one upside to this relationship, whatever it was; she could make him blush on a whim, and that was cute and funny.

The others, at least, had had a good time, and that made Hope feel better. The positive energy helped push away her own problems, if only for a moment.

She froze in her tracks, catching her companions' attention. "What is it, Hope?" Allister started, his hand falling to his belt, where a handgun was hidden inside one of the pouches.

Hope blinked in disbelief, at the feeling of nearly a dozen people, how had she missed that? How had they gotten this close to her without be noticed?

"I see your senses are as sharp as we predicted, Hope." A new voice spoke, a voice she knew all too well.

She turned around and her blood turned to ice in her veins. Aoi hid behind her; Allister backed away protectively in front of her; Talia gasped in disbelief. The man before them, the hawkish nose, the goatee, the burning, baneful eyes,

Hope took a terrified step back. "F-Father...?"

Standing before them, hands behind his back, accompanied by a dozen well-armed men, Ulen Hibiki bared his teeth in a smile.

"It's been a long time, my little angel of death."

The armed men pressed forward with submachineguns leveled off. Standing in front of her trapped friends, Hope stared in fear at the man before her.

Ulen Hibiki was exactly as she had remembered. A chiseled, scowling face; dark gold eyes, a trim goatee that hid his mouth and framed his face so frighteningly. The world swayed around her and her memories took her back to that cold metal bed, with his face looming above her, triumphant in her agony.

Shinn and Athrun quickly stepped in front of their friend with a furious look, and Ulen seemed slightly surprised at their somewhat sudden appearance.

"Stand aside." Ulen ordered. "You're not the ones I'm interested in."

"Like hell we will." Shinn and Athrun responded in unison.

Ulen frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "In that case."

Before he could finish, Allister had lunged out from behind Athrun and slammed a flash grenade down on the ground at his feet. Ulen and the soldiers jumped back and turned away as light flooded out and a wall of sound slammed them head-on, and when Ulen could see and hear again he looked up, only to watch as a dark grey Porsche Panamera Turbo quickly sped away from him, the sleek vehicle heading towards one of the empty warehouses. The soldiers instantly opened fire on the car, only for the bullets to ricochet off the vehicle's MCPS armor, some of the rebounding bullets hitting soldiers and sending them to the ground. Ulen growled as he turned and walked towards one of the warehouses behind him.

"Athrun!" Talia yelled, even as the grey Porsche Panamera Turbo slammed into and straight through a solid steel door which had been preventing entrance into one of the warehouses. Less than ten seconds later, the Panamera barreled through the wall at the other end of the warehouse, the vehicle's MCPS armor easily absorbing the impact and sparing the sleek car from any damage.

A few minutes later, the sleek grey Porsche slipped onto the freeway leading towards Copernicus's upper-class commercial sector. It had been Allister's idea to make a beeline towards the most inhabited and frequented region of the city and make their way back to the ship through there, in hopes that the crowds and traffic would hide them from Ulen and his minions.

Finally, the Porsche pulled off the freeway, and onto the surface streets before eventually pulling into an alley and coming to a stop. Beyond the vehicle were the bright lights and sizable crowds of Copernicus's glitzy business district.

Hope's instincts suddenly shot to life and she whirled around, just in time to see a black Hummer H6 smash through a pile of wooden crates and screech to a halt in front of the Panamera. Athrun quickly threw the car into reverse and backed away, but even before the car had moved five feet, more of those heavily armed men swarmed into the alley, and Hope shrieked in surprise as rough hands opened her door and seized her, before then yanking her out of the car, and throwing her at someone's feet.

She looked up in fear at the sound of her father's laugh.

"Quite a workout you gave us, Hope." He chuckled, and nodded to the men. "Put her in. We're leaving."

Hope screamed in terror as the soldiers bound her arms and flung her into the backseat of the Hummer. One of the soldiers gestured towards the still idling Porsche Panamera Turbo, or more accurately, towards Athrun, Shinn, Talia, Allister, and Aoi. "What about them?" He asked.

"Kill them." Ulen said with a waveof his hand, and hopped into the truck.

The hum of the engine roared in Hope's brain, sending her thoughts scattering in a cloud of sickening fear. She struggled to push down the panic; her father sat in a seat across from her, staring coldly at her, sitting next to a man in an olive drab uniform; the rest of the cab was filled with men in combat fatigues and flak jackets, all with guns, all pointed at her. She looked away from her father, as the helplessness of her childhood bubbled up from her throat and the words he'd spoken seared her mind.

"I'll admit, I'm a bit relieved." Ulen finally spoke into the silence, even as he sat back and comfortably draped one leg over the other. "When we had you in incubation, I was afraid you weren't going to meet all of our standards. But I've been pleasantly surprised. We'll have you back to work for me in no time." He grinned. "And then all my plans will be back on schedule."

The uniformed man blinked and looked over at Ulen. "There's a lot here you haven't told me about her."

"There's a lot here you're paid not to know about her, Schroeder." Ulen said. "But my daughter is an extraordinary little girl. My angel of death."

Hope held back a sob. "I'm not your angel of death, you asshole."

"I thought we'd had that conversation already." Ulen responded with a laugh. "You've always been a tool, Hope, and for the past few years the wrong people have been using you, but no longer." He grinned over at Schroeder. "You should be more excited, really. The Earth Alliance's best, the cream of the Phantom Pain's crop, have fallen in battle before her, and yet it is you, Franz Schroeder, who brings her to heel. What an addition to your résumé."

Schroeder looked thoughtfully out the truck's windows, and Hope shivered under her father's icy gaze. "You killed my mother, you stupid fuck." She hissed at last. Hope wasn't about to let this madman know that she was immortal, and as a result, she was subduing all of her more divine abilities, although she was still in constant mental contact with her friends and family.

"Hope." Ulen scoffed. "You're still on that, are you?" He shrugged before the now questioning eyes of Schroeder and his men. "No, I didn't kill your mother. She was frail and sick and died of an internal hemorrhage that bled her to death before the doctors could open her up and repair the damage. Quite a tragedy, really, but there was no helping it. I don't know why you blame me for it."

"Because you made my mother give birth to me." Hope snarled, not knowing exactly why she felt this had to be brought up, and knowing that the men in the truck were squirming in discomfort at it. She lowered her head and fought back the tears. "Because...because of us."

"Oh, is that what the trouble is?" Ulen chuckled. "Such a silly child. Lots of talent, but much to learn." He turned towards Schroeder. "How far out are we?"

"Another twenty minutes, probably. Traffic is heavy."

"Fine. I have a ship lined up to let us escape, and once we're clear of Copernicus, you, Mr. Schroeder, will be richly rewarded."

He looked back at Hope with a chilling smile and said. "This is your destiny, Hope Yamato. To be an angel of death."

A faint smile crossed Hope's lips as she repeated. "My destiny?"

"Yes." Ulen answered, only for his jaw to drop in disbelief as a pair of blood red wings suddenly appeared on his daughter's back, the wings looking exactly like the ones on the ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam.

"Destiny is a funny thing, isn't it, Father?" Hope grinned as the thick ropes restraining her ankles and wrists suddenly snapped and fell away, even as what appeared to be a human spine, but was in reality a superheated whip, slid out of her right wrist. "Destiny is connected to fate, and fate is what guides us to our destiny." She continued, no longer surpressing her abilities. Hope was now utilizing some of her more god-like powers to keep the occupants of the vehicle calm, and to make sure that the vehicle didn't lose control and cause an accident.

"W-what are you?" Ulen stammered. Hope had allowed Ulen to retain full control of his emotions and voice, although he was otherwise unable to move.

"How could you not recognize me, Father?" Hope asked as she sat up, feigning offense. "I'm your daughter, your own flesh and blood."

"Could you please try not to drive in a way that will get the Copernicus Police Department all over our asses?" Talia asked, as Allister finished bandaging her shoulder.

"Gods don't have to follow traffic laws." Athrun answered, as the Panamera's convertible hard-top opened up, the roof folding to stow itself underneath the vehicle's trunk lid. "Shinn, where are they?"

"Up on the freeway, northbound." Shinn said quietly, eyes squeezed shut and sweat beading on his brow. Athrun swerved up the onramp and wove his way into traffic. "She's not too far away..." He opened his eyes and scanned the vehicles ahead. "That brown combat truck up there. That one."

"And now that we're here." Allister spoke up. "How are we going to handle this? You want to pit them or something?"

"Not with all this traffic." Athrun answered. "Fold down the back seat and open the hatch behind it. You can reach into the trunk that way; I have some weapons in there."

Aoi did as instructed, and she, Allister, and Talia gaped inside the trunk of Athrun's car, at the dozen or so machineguns, assault rifles, grenades, and RPG shells inside.

"Athrun, why the hell do you carry a fucking RPG in the trunk of your car?" Talia asked.

Athrun shrugged. "Always be prepared."

"But how are we going to get her back?" Aoi sputtered. "We're not far from the docks, you know!"

Instead, Talia reached into the trunk and pulled out one of the smoke grenades. "I've got a better idea." She said, and looked back at Allister. "Hey kid, want to be an action movie star?"

Allister frowned. "I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"Drive up close to them so that Action Hero here can jump over." Talia said. "You, take this and throw it inside the car. Pull Hope out and jump back here with her." She looked over Athrun's shoulder. "Hero Boy, you can make it work, right?"

"If they start shooting at me, no." Athrun said. "It would be better to stop them."

"Shit, watch out!" Shinn yelled, and seized the wheel and yanked it to the side. The Starchaser squealed to the right as somebody leaned out the truck's window and opened fire with an assault rifle, hitting three other cars instead. Traffic came to a screeching halt with a vicious series of crashes that Shinn and Athrun immediately threw from their minds; Athrun slammed down the accelerator and pulled alongside the truck.

"Allister, now!"

Without sparing a thought, Allister seized the smoke grenade from Talia and vaulted off the car's trunk onto the truck's roof. With a grunt, he flung his legs up onto the roof, pulled himself up, pegged the grenade down through the machinegun turret's open hatch on top, and then stood back as thick white smoke billowed out.

"Jesus, the things I'll do for my family and friends." He grumbled, and then hooked his legs under the railing on the truck's roof and swung himself down into the cab. Fighting back tears, he found Hope stumbling to her feet with tears of her own; without another moment to lose, he grabbed her by the elbow with both his hands and hauled her up through the roof with more strength than he realized he possessed. "There you are!" He yelled. "Jesus Christ, is the driver still going?"

Hope coughed for a moment. "The cab's separate from the driver's seat." She said, and looked over to the right, where a sleek sports car with several familiar faces was waiting. "Um, how are we getting off?"

"You aren't." Another voice added. Hope and Allister turned and saw Ulen standing in front of the roof hatch, pistol in hand, leveled off at Allister's head.

"Talia, catch!" Allister yelled, and promptly shoved Hope off the truck's roof. Athrun took his cue and rushed in to let Hope fall straight into the Panamera's rear seat. Ulen's eyes flashed in fury and he moved to fire, but Allister ducked, rushed forward, and knocked the gun from his hands. He reared back for a punch at the older man's face, but Ulen deflected it with surprising form and the two men found themselves locked in a flurry of blocked and traded punches.

"Allister, move!" Aoi shouted, and sprang up in the Panamera's back seat. Ulen threw himself onto the truck's roof as she opened fire with a submachinegun, and Allister took his opportunity to jump back into the Panamera. Athrun peeled away with a squeal of tires, zigzagged his way through frantically retreating traffic, and roared down a nearby off ramp.

Ulen got back to his feet with a scowl and watched them go, as Schroeder poked his head out the roof hatch and his men aired out the truck with open windows. "What the hell was that?" He exclaimed.

"Schroeder, get all your men on them at once." Gerhardt growled. "I can't believe you let them get that close. Send everyone. Alpha and Bravo teams included."

Schroeder blinked in disbelief. "Alpha and Bravo teams?"

"Don't question me!" Gerhardt snapped. "Do you want to get paid or not?"

For a moment, Schroeder stared questioningly at Gerhardt, but then threw a switch on his radio. "Alpha and Bravo teams, move in."

"So, Hope." Allister panted, as the Porsche sped down a different freeway. "I'm not sure I like your father."

Hope sat with her head in her hands as Talia tried to consolingly rub her shoulder with her mechanical hand. "Don't worry." She said. "I don't either."

"Shit, looks like they're not done yet." Athrun muttered. "In the back, get some guns out. Keep the RPG ready but out of sight."

"Wha, why?" Aoi started, and turned around. "Oh. That's not cool."

Hope glanced over her shoulder and felt her heart sink as she saw three more combat trucks like the one she had just escaped, rushing down the street after them. Allister quietly assembled the RPG inside the trunk, and all of them ducked down as someone leaned out the window and opened fire with a submachinegun.

"Okay, that's not good." Talia grunted.

Shinn leapt to his feet in the passenger's seat with an assault rifle in hand, a grenade launcher slung underneath, and with a crash, he slammed the grenade through the truck's windshield, and ducked back down as the whole thing exploded in a flash of fire. Athrun seized the chance to duck down a side street, weaving in and out of traffic and ignoring the angry shouts and hysterical screams, but another truck followed, bullets flying.

"Jesus, only with you guys does ice cream turn into gunfights in moving cars." Shinn growled. "How is this going to work out?"

"Motherfuckers need to just leave us alone!" Talia shouted, and with that, she seized another rifle with her left hand and fired it into the truck's windshield, killing its driver and sending it careening out of control into a wall. Athrun veered back onto the main road at the next opportunity and went back to work through the traffic.

"Oh, no fair." Allister breathed.

Athrun hissed a curse and yanked the wheel to the side, screeching towards the side of the road, as a helicopter hovered into view overhead and let loose a burst of machinegun fire that ripped up the pavement and sent cars veering in all directions.

"That's fucking cheating!" Aoi screamed.

"My father." Hope whimpered, and squeezed her eyes shut in terror. "He's not going to give up..."

"He will if I have anything to fucking say about it." Talia growled.

"Allister, get the RPG ready." Athrun instructed. "I won't have a choice..."

The Panamera roared off onto the freeway, weaving its way through traffic, with a green attack helicopter rushing after it.

"What the hell is going on in there?" Arthur cried, whirling around from the auxiliary screen. Up by the mapping console, Meyrin stared in disbelief at the news reports, of the gun-wielding men in combat trucks and the helicopter currently chasing down six people in a sleek, powerful sports car.

"I thought they had all this under control." Meyrin grumbled, and turned towards Luna at the communications station. "Luna, get Andy out there in the Gaia. Tell him that Shinn and the others need help. Whoever is behind all this nonsense probably can't match the Gaia Gundam with Andy at the controls."

"Right." Luna said as she reached for her headset. "And may I suggest that we never send any of those guys out for pizza ever again?"

Meyrin scratched her head and watched the smoke rising up in Copernicus. What was going on in there?

The ground shook and the air crackled with bullets as Athrun Zala navigated the densely packed, frantic streets of Copernicus with an attack helicopter in pursuit. He glanced up at the rear-view mirror, still there, and nothing up ahead to ward it off or snag it.

"Allister, that RPG." He said quickly. "I'm going to duck around a building coming up; you get the RPG out and as soon as you've got a clear shot, fire. Don't give them a chance to retaliate."

"Right."

Athrun gritted his teeth and glanced over his shoulder; still there. He pushed Talia's concern and Hope's churning vortex of emotions out of his mind and focused on the path in front of him, his instincts, coordinator and natural, guiding his hands.

With a start, he jerked the wheel to the side and sent the Panamera into a smoking, screeching turn, whipping the car around the corner. Allister sprang to his feet with the RPG shouldered; a second went by, the helicopter followed.

A flash of smoke and a thundering crash later, the RPG shell slammed headfirst into the helicopter's canopy and blew it apart.

"Alright!" Aoi shouted, pumping her fist in the air. "Sweet!"

With a sigh, Athrun pulled back onto the main road.

Instead, Shinn seized the wheel again and pulled the car aside as a green, pulsing beam slammed into the road and sent up a wall of fire. The Panamera skidded to a halt and then the world trembled as four Strike Daggers, painted in black, gray, and orange, landed on the road around them.

"Okay." Athrun groaned. "Now what?"

"This is the second time in my life I've been chased by mobile suits in a motor vehicle." Shinn grumbled. "Athrun, we're more maneuverable. Floor it."

Athrun did as instructed and the Panamera lurched ahead, but he slammed on the brakes just as quickly as one of the Daggers vaulted over him and came down with a crash, beam rifle leveled off.

"Shit, shit, now what?" Talia yelled.

A moment later, the Dagger up ahead seemed to be lifted up into the air, and with an earth-shattering shriek of torn metal, the Gaia Gundam vaulted into the sky and slammed its beam saber through the Dagger's cockpit.

Shinn looked over at Athrun. "Now! Go!"

The Panamera screamed off back down the street and the Gaia came down with a slam, beam saber blazing, glowering down the street at the three remaining Strike Daggers. In the cockpit of the Gaia Gundam, Andrew Waltfeld watched with relief as Athrun's car made its escape, and turned his eyes towards the Daggers with a scowl. "You'll pay for this unprovoked attack."

"Oh shit!" Athrun yelled, desprately swerving to the left as one of the disabled Strike Daggers suddenly came crashing down upon the speeding super car, a gernade in its right hand..

"What do you mean, smoke?" Ikari muttered and peered on the Nova's bridge at the auxiliary screen, where the maximum magnification displayed puffs of smoke and fire underneath the dome that covered Copernicus's glamorous, or, rather, formerly glamorous, upper-class commercial sector. "What the hell is happening in there?"

"I don't know." Akira said with his arms crossed. "But this actually bodes well for us, commander. Whatever is happening, it will distract Copernicus's defense force long enough for the landing party to reach its objectives."

Ikari stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I suppose. And even if they did come out to fight, if Intel is right, all they've got to rely on are Strike Daggers sold as surplus by the Alliance military."

"Best not to take chances." Akira added. "Shall we begin?"

Ikari threw a switch on his chair's armrest. "Adolf, do you see smoke underneath Copernicus's dome?"

The green-haired man on the Seraphim nodded his agreement. "Are you thinking we should begin?"

"As Mr. Yamato suggested, the defense force is probably distracted now." Ikari said. "What do you think?"

Adolf grinned. "Let's go for it."

"Very well." Ikari said, even as Fuyutsuki threw the switch again. "All ships of Task Force Nihilo, this is Commander Fuyutsuki speaking. Begin the descent."

The guns of his fleet took aim and opened fire, blasting apart the upper levels of the industrial sector and moving downward, and Ikari sat back with a quiet sigh.