Out of all of their friends, Elle was pretty sure she knew the in's and out's of the Ashta household better than anyone.
(Except Judau and Leina, obvi).
She, personally, blamed Judau for it, since he was the one who had given her a spare key and the request to check in on Leina whenever he was working. Something about being the "only semi-responsible person out of our bunch of loons," he'd said, and when she'd pointed to Iino, Judau had called him a wuss. And Iino, who had been right there, had nonchalantly agreed with a "ye." So, Elle got the key, and the honorary position as third resident of the Ashta home, on occasions.
Which was why, instead of crawling through Judau's open window, like the others suggested, she simply unlocked the door and went the easier way- up the stairs, like a normal person. Not that she had been against climbing through the window, but Leina had very vocally been against that.
That Leina was even with them was a coincidence unto itself - the girl had been out buying milk when the gang had passed her by, Judau apparently still sleeping (Elle couldn't blame him, she'd want to sleep too after yesterday), and Beecha had called out a greeting.
Only, Leina had done nothing but glare at them. Which, fair. Beecha had been about to floor it and leave her behind, but Iino had rightfully raised the point that Judau wouldn't be very happy about that. Which, also fair. Elle knew for a fact that the girl would've chased after them on foot if only to catch Judau before he left, because the Ashta siblings were protective of each other like that.
She… kind of wished she had a sibling that cared about her that much.
But, she digressed.
"Yo, Judau," she called. "Wake up, dude. We gotta get going!"
Instead of waking up, her friend simply rolled over in his sleep. "Mmmmm…. Five more minutes… I can fix her…"
Sometimes, Elle wondered about what went on in that head of his.
Elle stared at the half-asleep boy, spent two seconds debating on the funniest way to wake him up, before deciding on the most effective. Leaning over, she maneuvered her lips to just besides his ear, and whispered.
"Tax returns are this morning, Judau. You're gonna be late~"
That had her friend shooting out of bed, flailing wildly in a panic, and Elle couldn't help but laugh. She only laughed harder when Judau shook the bleariness from his eyes and glared at her. Huh, the siblings' glare looks just about the same. Who woulda thunk.
"So not cool, Elle."
"So very cool," she returned, shit-eating grin refusing to abate. "But alas, I didn't come here just to troll you."
"Really now," he snarked, and Elle shrugged.
"Yeah, duh," she replied, "That's for Sundays. Aaaanyways, we found the Argama! Lets get going before they move again!"
Or, at least, that was what the others were saying outside, but from what she could hear, they were yelling at each other now. Boys.
Grumbling, Judau tossed his blankets back on to his mattress, muttering something about blondes while shambling over to his closet to get changed. "Now go on and get," he shooed, "I wanna get changed. Unless you wanna see me n-"
"Nope." Swiftly turning away from the boy, Elle made for the window before jumping out, grabbing the truck's extended crane on her way down.
Well, yeah, she could've just gone back down the stairs, but that was boring.
It didn't take too long for Judau to get changed and emerge from upstairs, greeting his sister as he did so. And then the Ashtas began what Elle could only describe as their ritual morning bickering even as Judau hefted the milk jug from his sister and ruffled her hair fondly. Leina, for her part, gave him a hug. Neither of them stopped arguing for a moment, even as they disappeared inside their home's kitchen to presumably put the milk away.
The four others shared an exasperated, amused look.
And then Judau came speeding out the door, nabbing her as he went, throwing themselves on the truck with an apologetic grin. "Sorry Leina! I'll bring you a mobile suit as a souvenir!" he called, before turning to Beecha. "Floor it, dude! Lets go!"
Beecha did exactly that, and they were off. Elle sighed, bemused, content to just watch her friends engage in their usual shenanigans (for now, anyways. She'd join said shenanigans herself in a bit) before focusing on Judau, and she grumbled to herself. His hair whipping in the wind looked good on him. So did that grin. Elle couldn't recall the last time she had seen the boy so… excited for something.
A moment later, Judau's eyes caught her, and he shot her a question, one which she snarked back to, all the while ignoring the skip her heart had done.
Jeez… Of all the people to have a crush on…
Stupid, stupid heart.
"Thought you said you found the Argama, Elle."
"I did, though! It was right here, I swear!"
"Where's it at, then?! 'Cause I ain't seeing it!"
Content to let Beecha and Elle bicker about the location of the Argama - or the lack thereof, really (as far as they knew, anyways- Judau knew where it was. Well, where-abouts it probably was. It was a minor detail, sue him, he couldn't remember everything about ZZ.) - Judau found himself moving down the hill as contemplating the coming days, as he'd found himself doing more often. (And also because this was the way he was supposed to go intercept Marshmallow Man.)
Every hour that passed by was one more step closer to Haman, to Axis and the power to change the Earth Sphere for the better. And, despite the fact that he had waited a good decade and a half to meet her, the boy found that he could hardly wait.
Axis…
If the Argama was the physical embodiment of the AEUG's condition, then Axis was the embodiment of Zeon's - no, not just Zeon. Of Spacenoids. Cast into the dark wilderness without choice, a people shunned and left to fend for themselves, Axis had gone from a cold place on the edge of the Earth Sphere to a powerhouse unto itself, a marvel of production and engineering. They had left the Earth Sphere broken and defeated, and had returned as triumphant conquerors, poised to defeat the Earth Federation and liberate Side 3 once and for all, set to do what the Principality at it's height never could.
He had yet to see anyone else manage to put engines on a colony-sized asteroid, and Axis had managed to do that with not even a fraction of the Principality's manufacturing.
…he digressed. But, seeing all those people down there, crewmembers of the Endra… it was something. There doesn't look like there's anyone over the age of 20. I really need to read up on the Student Soldier Mobilization Plan.
Where he was going with that thought, Judau would never know, for Elle (lightly) smacked his shoulder. The boy blinked. "Oh, you followed me."
"'Course I did, stupid," Elle scoffed. "Someone has to keep you from wandering into a moving truck." Then she paused, and squinted, looking ahead of them. "...Who's that guy?"
Blinking, Judau turned to follow her gaze just in time to register that Mashymre was clambering up the back of the truck where his Gallus-J was hiding in that… rather costly disguise beneath all those bottle-boxes of alcohol.
The boy winced as said bottles impacted the ground, the sound of shattering glass grating. I feel sorry for the person who has to clean this. Welp, time to get moving.
And with that self-declaration, Judau stood up and motioned for Elle. "Go nab the others!"
The tomboy raised an eyebrow at him. "And what about you?"
The boy looked at the truck, sighed, and pulled out a grappling hook. "I'm gonna do something dumb. Again."
And before Elle could even think of dissuading him, although the exasperated groan he heard made it clear on what she thought about that Judau was sliding down the hill and off after the mobile suit, whirling his grappling hook with malicious climbing intent. Maaan, and I just told myself I'd stop doing stuff like this…
Stupid, stupid cockpit hatch. Surely the Endra's mechanic's aren't that bad?
Mashmyre pressed the button again. The cockpit hatch went down, again. Then it came up. Again. Aah, it's jamming now. Wonderful.
Truly, if anyone else but Lady Haman had given him this mission, Mashmyre would have been most upset. He longed for Axis. Had he been there, the mechanics would've had the Galluss' problems fixed before the hour was out. Axis engineering is the greatest in the Earth Sphere, after all!
A gust of wind buffeted him in the face, and the Axis native grimaced. …if Axis engineering is the greatest, then there had to be a manual in here, right? Mashymre reached to the side, feeling around for a bit before the manual pleasantly surprised him by actually being there. With it in his grasp, he settled back into his seat just in time to see the rear cameras had noted something. And his ears caught the faint sound of someone…
Screaming in excretion? But, there isn't anyone around…
Then the rear cameras chimed again, and Mashmyre groaned. "And trouble with the cameras now, as well," he sighed, deciding to cede the point and check them and to give engineering a stern talking-to when he returned. Then he blinked in surprise, because…
Well, there was a child loosely hanging off the back of his mobile suit. Said child was, judging by the loud words coming from his mouth (though it didn't sound like English. Japanese, perhaps? His studies had shown that Shangri-la culture had Asian roots in its foundation, after all), was also the source of the-
Mashymre's eyes narrowed in concentration. "Wait, I've heard that voice before…" he murmured, before shaking his head and activating the external speakers. "Hey kid! Get off my suit, you'll hurt yourself!" That, and Mashymre had places to be, gosh darn it! He couldn't have some kid slowing him down!
"Nuh uh!" the kid yelled back. "Sunk-cost fallacy! I didn't climb all this way just to back out now! Also, I'll break my legs!"
"Maybe that'll teach you to not try to steal mobile suits!" the man growled, exasperated. "Enough with this tomfoolery!"
His legs decided to cap that comment off by nearly slipping out of his mobile suit. Wonderful. He didn't, but still. Now he was getting mad. "This isn't funny, you know!"
On the rear camera, the kid's face contorted also in exasperation. "You think I'm doing this for fun?! I'm, like, twenty feet off the ground, ya gonk!"
"WHY, then?!" Were all Shangri-lan children so presumptuous?!
The kid stopped attempting to clamber up the mobile suit, visibly thinking on the question, before shrugging. "Secret," he replied, before pausing and shrugging again. "Also, I wanna take this thing apart and sell it."
"Wha-" The urge to drag his hands down his face was all encompassing. "Are you serious?!"
"Yup!" the boy grinned, and Mashymre grumbled. Not on my watch! "Fine, then! Don't blame me when you get hurt!"
So, the captain of the Endra did the only thing that made sense to get rid of the child.
He made the Galluss dance.
Ungracefully, of course- it was little more than making the thing shake from side to side. But, whatever worked. Duly, Mashymre noted the truck speeding towards him, before dismissing it for the task at hand. Nothing that truck had would be able to impede him, after all.
"Come on, get off!" he growled. "Every moment I dawdle, Lady Haman's prize slips further away! The Argama must be captured, for Zeon's success! I-"
"BOTTLE OF POCKET SAND GO!"
Mashmyre had all of about five seconds to register the projectice flying towards his open cockpit- and thus, him (from the truck that he had ignored, because of course it was) before instinct kicked in, and his head jerked away with a yipe. Said projectice collided with his seat before exploding in a cloud of dust.
Nay, even worse, sand.
Aaand it was in his eyes now. Great.
"You cowardly little brats!" he howled, because it was irritating, damn it!
"Hey now," a familiar voice said, alarmingly close. "We ain't cowards. We just fight by street rules. Them's the breaks, dude."
Mashymre glared at the young interloper as he clambered into the cockpit, the knight's earlier attempt to dislodge him evident having failed - though, the kid did look a little green. The two stared at each over for a single moment, before the kid cleared his throat and aimed a declaring finger at him.
"I CLAIM THIS GALLUSS IN THE NAME OF THE SHANGRI-LA YOUTH'S WORKERS UNION! HAVE AT THEE!"
And then Mashymre found himself beset upon by a child.
Under normal circumstances (though under what circumstances he would be bombarded with sand and attacked by a teenager, Mashymre did not know nor wished to find out), the knight would have been chivalrous, and been lenient. This was a child, after all, raised under the boot of the Federation - they couldn't be expected to respect their elders.
However, there was sand in his eyes, and on his clothes. And under them. And it stung, damn it! Truly, he hated sand. It was coarse and rough and…
Oh, right. The brat attacking him. Had he not been pocket sand'ed, he might've gone easier on him - but pocket sand was a dishonorable display, tantamount to breaking the Antarctic Treaty! (probably). Thus-
Then I am left with no choice, he concluded. Fire must meet fire!
"IN THE NAME OF AXIS, FOR LADY HAMAN," he declared back, "FOR YOUR COWARDLY TACTICS, I SHALL DISCIPLINE YOU! HAVE IT THEE!"
And, as he began to throw hands a child, Mashmyre made the mental note to have the Galluss' internal recordings wiped when he got back to the Endra.
"You, um," Elle hesitated for a moment, before poking a prone Judau's shoulder. "You okay, dude?"
"Hrrrrggggg."
"See?" Beecha shrugged. "He's fiiiiine."
The girl raised an eyebrow at that, before looking back at Judau. It wasn't every day that one got to witness two people fighting inside a mobile suit (let alone outside one, hanging on for dear life), if a battle like that had even ever happened before. But, Judau lost. Handily. Probably because of that kick to the balls.
Everyone in the gang - even Elle, who could only imagine how painful that had to be - had winced at that. Hell, even that weird purple-haired man had paused to apologize, not that Judau probably even heard, with all the Japanese expletives he'd been hurling.
Then Judau had, predictably, fallen, only being spared some broken legs by a timely save from Iino. Not even Beecha had found it in himself to dunk on Judau for that, merely deigning to give a pitying pat on the boy's shoulder after Iino had managed to catch him. Then the ginger had headed back up front to tell Mondo to make for the Argama's location, after Judau had managed to groan it out. Apparently, the weird purple-haired guy hadn't been too careful with his words.
And now, she grinned, payday's close. The Argama, it seemed, had found refuge in one of the trash mountains that beguiled this part of Shangri-la. Sucked for them, since all of them knew those mountains like the backs of their hands!
…Or, at least, that's what they would say whenever tourists asked to be guided around town. That was to say, never, because who the heck decided to take a vacation in Shangri-la? Londenion was right there, after all, a hop-and-skip away.
"You got whooped, dude," Iino sighed. "Happens to the best of us." The boy paused, for a moment, before patting Judau's head. "At least nobody was recording!"
Judau grumbled something about dishonoring his family's name, and both Iino and Elle snickered before moving to help him up. "Come on, big guy. We're here." She jabbed a thumb towards the just slightly out-of-place mound of metal and miscellaneous trash just ahead. "Let's go get us a payday!"
And, who woulda thunk, that had Judau rolling out of the truck good as new. Elle snickered again.
Truly, the prospect of payday was mighty indeed.
On one hand, Judau acknowledged that losing a fight to an adult was the expected outcome. For all that he was, he liked to think, decently well-off in terms of physique, he was still only 14. Mashymre, if he recalled correctly, had five years on him, plus military training.
On the other hand, he lost to Mashymre.
Could be worse, Judau told himself, I could've lost to Rakan. Gotta remember to cut vertically, when I meet him.
Eh, but that was a few months away, at least. Judau wouldn't have to worry about that specific war-criminal until the tail-end of his time in the AEUG. Killing him wasn't an actual requirement to his plan, yes… but, asides from the fact that Rakan Dahkaran was set to become a Totoist and commit a whole bunch of warcrimes against the people of Ireland (is Rakan of British descent?) in the future, killing him would make Judau feel better about his defection.
Might make Haman a bit upset, but the woman had already done her best to emotionally distance herself from her subordinates to the point that she probably wouldn't care, if he gave her something good in return.
And oh boy did Judau have a wonderful consolation prize for her…
But, that wouldn't be important for a few months, at least.
"Ha! What'd I tell you, guys?! A mobile suit hanger, here for the taking!"
"I dunno, man," Mondo grimaced. "Feels like a trap." It was a trap, but Judau didn't say so. Did it have to be? Probably not, he admitted inwardly. He was sure he'd be able to find a way to keep canon on track if he deviated this day a little.
But letting the trap happen would be funny, though.
"Relaaaax," Beecha pshaw'd. "Adults are dumb. No way they could trap us!"
The gang was silent for a moment as every other member glared at their leader, before Elle took out an empty juice box from her pocket and chucked it at Beecha's head. "Thanks for jinxing us, stupid."
And, because the universe was funny like that, the lights came flooding on at that very moment.
Biting back a grin, Judau beat everyone else to the punch and yelled. "IT'S THE FEDS! SCRAM!"
He'd always wanted to say that. And now that the Titans were gone, he could it in a fun way and not in the "oh fuck the Federation is coming to kill our men and rape our women and children" way.
(Unbidden, a memory rose to the forefront of his mind and the boy grimaced. Judau remembered vividly, seeing some of the few pictures that had come out of Globe in '82. His mother had done her best to keep him away from them, but he'd always been too curious for his own good.
Zinnerman… had good reason to hate the Federation like he did.)
Morose thoughts aside, Judau dodged a flying tackle from one of the Argama's crewmembers as he booked it for the lift to the upper flight-deck. Up there was his prize, once again, looking no worse for wear since the last he had seen it. Which wasn't saying much, since the scars of Gryps still dotted it, but...
Judau was glad. He owed Kamille as much, to keep his Zeta in decent condition for as long as he could.
For now, anyways. The Zeta was destined to get wrecked by the Hamma-Hamma and have its head replaced for a while. Judau shivered as an image of the heretical "Zeta Zaku" came to mind, the unholy abomination of Feddie and Zeke. But, it would be a necessary evil, he knew, seeing as that particular day was supposed to be when…
When…
…
Huh. Why… can't I remember what's supposed to happen, then? Weird.
Something tickled his consciousness, from the back of his mind, and the boy frowned. But, before Judau could begin to ponder on that oddly specific gap in his memory of ZZ, he had to dodge another attempted grapple (from Bright, this time), and set the thought aside for the time being.
Ignoring the cheering from Beecha and the others as they urged him to make like a bandit and dip, Judau maneuvered the Zeta Gundam out of the hanger, and out into the Shangri-la air. "Well, that's done and dusted," he muttered. Now, what was supposed to come ne- Oh, hey, is that…
There was a Galluss-J standing menacingly on the next hill over, finger-guns raised.
Aww poop. I hate it when holes are blown in my colony.
…Hm, that gave Judau an idea. And a not stupid one, for once! Ah, Leina would be so proud of him.
So, before Mashymre could think to start bombarding the Argama, Judau flicked on the comms and hailed him. "Hey, hey, time out! I got a proposition!
The Galluss-J stopped, Mashymre evidently musing. "...What do you propose, then?" he asked warily, and Judau grinned.
"A duel, of course!" he responded. "Like knights of old, we shall duel for honor! If I disarm you, you take your mobile suit and go back to your ship."
"And then what?!"
Judau shrugged. "Then we fight again tomorrow, duh. Or whatever."
There was a pause, no doubt as Mashymre considered his proposal. After a short while, a response finally came through. "And why would I bet my victory on a duel?" he asked, and Judau grinned.
"Besides the fact that you'd probably win?" the boy shrugged. "You also kicked me in the deez, man. You owe me this."
Judau was dead-serious about that, too. Even in a fight, there had to be certain restraints, certain honor lines a man did not cross. And yeah, he knew it was an accident, and Mashymre had apologized after (at least, Judau was pretty sure he did- the boy had been too busy throwing expletives at the man to really register them), but still.
Atop the hill, the Galluss' head raised upwards, as if sighing. "...You're right, I suppose," came Mashymre's reply, followed by a more sheepish, "I am sorry about that, though. It was shameful of me." Across the gap, Judau could almost see the Axis native's eyes narrowing. "...but, also, you threw sand in my eyes."
Judau opened his mouth to refute the point, before pausing. "...Fair," he acceded. "Sorry about that!"
"Apology accepted. Now, EN GARDE!"
"TOTSUGEKI!"
And, with apologies out of the way and battle-cries given, the Zeta hopped off the Argama and slid down the slope, igniting a beam saber as it did. The Galluss, from its hilltop, moved to do the same.
Canon-me really missed out, not asking Kamille to learn these controls, the Ashta grinned. It was almost like skiing, moving the Zeta down the hill and avoiding any debris and junk in the way. That asides, the Zeta was a maneuverable mobile suit - Judau intended to enjoy it while he could, because no way in hell the ZZ would move the same.
Then, he made landfall.
On the ground between the hills, the two mobile suits took but a moment to right themselves - then they were moving to close the distance, weapons at the ready. Judau mentally began the countdown of steps it'd take to engage in combat, an idea forming in his head. It was ballsy, but if he played this right…
Well, it'd be real funny.
Five steps, the boy counted. He kinda hoped his would work. For all that he was at least decent piloting this thing now, Mashymre had the benefit of actual training, and four years over him. Judau wasn't sure he could win this fight, and the way the battle had gone in canon, which had resulted in an (albiet, out of the way and easily fixable) hole in his colony was not something he particularly wanted.
Four steps. Three. Two.
On the other end of the line, Mashymre's victorious voice shone through. "Prepare yourself, knave! You may have won our last bout, but in this, I shall have thee! For Lady Haman-!
One.
You'd better be as scary as people kept portraying you to be, Amuro.
The two mobile suits swung.
Only, instead of bringing his beam-saber clashing against the Zeon knight's, Judau jerked the controls and the Zeta stumble back, looking upwards.
"IT'S THE WHITE DEVIL!"
"WHAT WHERE?!
Three things happened, upon Judau's screaming of Amuro's moniker. The first, was that the Galluss-J's immediate was to instantly turn away from the Zeta in the direction it was looking. The second was Mashymre's simultaneously yelp of fear at the mere mention of the Grandpa Gundam… which Judau couldn't really blame him for.
(Amuro was terrifying in a mobile suit, which just made him feel better about the Gundam pilot not being around the events of ZZ. Where that was still eluded him, but so long as it wasn't near Axis it didn't matter.)
The third was that, while Mashymre distracted, Judau had the Zeta Gundam promptly and unceremoniously reach forward and pluck the opposing beam-saber right out of the Galluss-J's hands.
"I win."
It took a moment for the Galluss to realize the theft done against it, and Mashymre's panicked flails stoped. Then the mobile suit turned and fixed Judau's with the most deadpan stare he had ever seen from a machine.
"...There was no White Devil, was there?" Mashymre grumbled, and it took all the boy's willpower not to giggle.
"Nope!" he admitted. "But I disarmed you, right? So, I win!"
The burst of disgruntled grumbles from the other end told him how much the Endra's commander thought of that, but Judau had been very specific with his words. He didn't need to defeat the Marshmallow Man, only disarm him - which meant either stealing a beam saber or cutting one of the suit's arms off.
"Judau Ashta, was it?" came the question, and when the Zeta nodded, the Galluss pointed at it. "I'll honor my word, and withdraw. But, one day, we shall duel properly, you and I! Prepare yourself for that day, my rival!"
…Rival?
Before Judau could even think to ask for clarification on that, the Galluss ignited its verniers and flew off in the port's direction, and the boy sighed. Well, that's that episode done. Oof, I'm tired. What time is-
A quick side-eye to a monitor told the boy that it was 9:30, still in the morning. Judau blinked blearily.
"...I haven't even had breakfast yet."
Any such thoughts of relieving his stomach of that burden were temporarily set to the side when the radio came to life, fuzzy static giving way to a familiar voice. "Judau Ashta."
Said boy blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Heeeey, Captain Bright. I'd say sorry if I was sorry?"
Yet more grumbling. People really didn't like him today, huh? "That asides," came the reply, "you have my thanks for fending off the enemy. Now, if you'd be so kind as to return one of our only two methods of defense?"
"I dunno…" Judau faux-mused, "I went through a lot to get the Zeta today."
The sound of a scuffle emerged through the comes, before Mondo's voice burst over. "Don't do it, man! Make like a bandit and go!"
"Yeah!" Elle and Beecha, this time, before Iino hopped on. "Just sell it and come back! Then we can-"
"I can give you and your friends free breakfast."
The silence from Judau's friends lasted for all of five seconds, he estimated, before all four of them, in unison, changed their minds, muttering about the benefits of free food. Not that he blamed them.
Free breakfast was free breakfast. And food always tasted better when you didn't have to cook it.
So Judau shrugged, and grinned. "I like your funny words, magic man," he replied, before turning the Zeta around. Back up we go!
And who said Captain Bright didn't have a way with words?
Bested by a mere child…
The thought was a morose one he pondered, as Mashymre flew back towards the Endra. Yet, it was the truth, in a manner of speaking. That boy had defeated him, disarmed him. Through trickery, yes, but defeat was defeat. That asides, the knight wouldn't sully his word, so here he was.
I suppose this might be a blessing in disguise, he mused thoughtfully. The day was still young. The mechanics would have time to go over the Gallus-J and get it up to actual operating standards, and Mashymre would get the time to look over the new mobile suits being assembled.
And now that the Argama's location was known to them, it was only a matter of time. But not today. And, on that note…
Mashymre flicked on the comms, selected the right frequency, and spoke. "Gotten!"
"Master Mashymre!" came the reply. Ah, Gotten was as loud as usual. Or maybe the volume setting was too high? "Everything's ready, sir! All you need to do is give the word-"
Mashymre sighed, before replying. He really did feel bad about this, losing asides, but… "Remove them, Gotten."
"...Master Mashymre?"
"I've been bested for today," the young man reluctantly admitted. "We're retreating for now. Until tomorrow, anyways."
Til tomorrow indeed… He may have been bested today, but the Argama would fall to him! "This I swear," he promised, fondling Lady Haman's gift, "by this rose I swear! I, Mashymre Cello…!"
He nodded to himself, resolve steady in his heart as he gently caressed the rose above it. He would bring down the Argama, and return to Axis victorious. And from there, he would bring about Lady Haman's dream, and make it reality.
And maybe then, one day, he would be able to have his long-awaited rematch with her.
For Lady Haman… the Argama will fall!
Brace yourself, Judau Ashta!
A/N: Yes, Mashymre canonically has thrown hands with a child. Also, you can tell I'm having waaaay too much fun writing Mashy, it's almost a shame I'll have to throw him on a bus in a few chapters.
Anyways, the plot thickens! Seeds have been sown for later plotlines (anyone care to guess?), Judau's thoughts on Axis are explored a bit more, as well as one of my favorite parts of writing this fic - getting weave events in UC together that happened chronologically before the First Neo Zeon War, but were released after ZZ Gundam. The Globe Incident was first mention in Unicorn, I think, and it was a not-so-subarashii time for the citizens there.
It also means I get to have people talk about the Delaz Conflict in-universe, something which I'm very eager to write about.
In other news, I think we're at the halfway point of the Shangri-la arc. As much as I'd like to just get the gang into space, the episodes spent in Shangri-la are just too good an oppurtunity to establish the characters in here for me to skip em. Buut, if all goes well, we'll be in space in two or three chapters!
Probably.
Until next time!