"The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."
- Shylock
Chapter XV: Garma's Fate
Anges
August 8, GC 379
Damn it to hell! Nigel cursed as another beam slammed into the ground next to him, obliterating that particular set of debris and raining his Guncannon Commander over with the shrapnel. Fortunately no real damage was done, and thus Nigel continued to fight, firing his shoulder cannons into the air above. The offending Zaku fell as a result, forcing Nigel to jet away as its remnants fell over him, only for its two teammates to press the assault in its stead. As such, Nigel threw up his beam shield to deflect the machine gun fire, all the while returning it with his rifle. Outside of blasting the left arm off one of his attackers however, he wasn't able to gain any direct hits, all while the two Zeon suits charged in.
"Lead!" Kayra called out, firing her own cannons in support. Warhound Three had been shot down in the Azure, leaving only Nigel and his opposite wingmate to hold that designated battle area. They had done well to this point, but as the enemy mobile suits came at them, machine guns still blazing, a part of Nigel wondered how much longer they would be able to hold out. Especially when – in spite of the ever present jamming and all he and the rest of the 13th Mobile Assault Group had done to the present – the Zeon retained their greater numbers. As well as the potential to reinforce them at any time, the storm above notwithstanding.
Fortunately Nigel didn't concentrate so much on that thought, especially as he was preoccupied trying to kill the Zeeks coming down on him. Eventually one of the Zakus expired upon taking a beam cannon hit – whether from him or from Kayra he didn't know – while its comrade responded by putting even more thrust into its dive, machine gun still blazing. Glowering, Nigel banked to his left, deflecting the beams he couldn't evade with his shield while firing several rifle shots upward. Kayra did the same from the opposite side, though she also added her vulcans into the mix. Between their crossfire, the third Zaku took a hit on its left flank, the force of which was enough to make it spiral out of its flightpath. It fell to the ground and crashed, allowing Kayra to promptly finish it off with a beam to the cockpit.
That could have been much worse… Nigel thought as he looked over toward Kayra's Trooper. It was as banged up as his suit, but there didn't seem to be any great damage. And he knew his XO was far from out of the fight, given how hard she had just fought. "Think we're making a dent Warhound Two?"
"More like a light tap Warhound Leader," Kayra dryly retorted as she brought her Trooper about, firing her cannons after another wayward Zaku, one that was missing its left arm. "But a tap they're definitely feeling!"
She sneered as the Zaku banked away from her fire, continuing into the sky above, while another pair moved in its place. That sneer deepened when Kayra was forced to maneuver away herself from the return fire – one of the two Zakus being equipped with a bazooka – to which she and Nigel both returned with their cannons and rifles. The Zeon responded to this by simultaneously firing their hip missiles.
Biting back another curse, Nigel flung his Guncannon behind a nearby building, allowing the missiles that were targeting him to slam into it. It wasn't much of a barrier, such that Nigel was momentarily afraid of the remnant falling on top of his mobile suit, but it stood well enough against the oncoming projectiles. After that, he leaned his suit outward and fired several rifle shots at the oncoming Zakus, just as Kayra did the same from her own position. One of the Zakus ended up getting shot in the left leg, but other than that both were able to present their beam shields to deflect the rest of the oncoming fire.
"Flank them!" Nigel commanded, causing both he and Kayra to speed away, firing as they went. As before, one of the Zakus was caught in the side, obliterating from the shock. The second, however, managed to evade both sets of fire, diving directly after Kayra's suit. Drawing its beam axe as it surged in.
"Kayra!" Nigel called out in warning, training his beam rifle. Unfortunately the Zaku was already on his subordinate by the time he drew a bead, its axe coming down against the Trooper's beam shield. Kayra then fired her vulcans in reprisal, but the Zaku responded with a Red Comet styled kick, sending her mobile suit against another piece of rubble, right before brandishing its axe again. Only a timely rifle shot from Nigel kept him from pressing the attack, forcing the Zeon pilot to duck behind his or her shield yet again.
Consequently that was all the opening Kayra Su required. Without a second thought, she leveled her cannons and fired them in a snapshot. Though the Zaku attempted to maneuver, it remained far too close to evade, resulting in both beam shots blasting through its torso. Kayra was just able to raise her own beam shield back up before it blew, deflecting the bulk of the showering remnants. "Overengineered bastards…" she hissed with contempt.
"Heh," Nigel couldn't help but laugh at his subordinate's outburst. Indeed they were both a long way from dying in this frostbitten hellhole. That said however, he wasn't so concentrated on her that he missed his sensors beeping in warning. More Zakus were coming in from above.
Thus turning his Commander around, Nigel let loose his cannons and rifle to the fresh set of targets. Seconds later, Kayra joined him as soon as she got her Trooper to stand again.
Vulcans firing in tandem, Amuro charged after the purple Zaku as it flitted across the sky, alternating between evading the spray and deflecting it with its shield. Once it found an opening, the enemy machine rebrandished its axe and launched at the white Gundam, executing an overhead chop that Amuro just managed to deflect with his beam shield, then parry the follow up with his saber. He fired another spray upon that, but Garma managed to bank away, causing the shots to shoot wide. The Zaku then attempted to slash at Unit Alpha's flank, but Amuro was fast enough to parry that attack as well.
Holding no shortage of derision, Amuro continued to exchange blade for blade with the Zaku, which, in lieu of its pilot's usual banter, glared back with its red mono-eye. It then slashed at the Gundam's head, nearly cutting out one of the eye cameras in the process, but Amuro managed to pull back in time. Unfortunately Garma took that opportunity to press the advantage, charging forward and executing a three slash combo that Amuro strained himself to parry, two with his saber and the last with his shield. The Zaku pressed its blade against the shield for a moment, as though it were trying to actually overpower the Gundam, but was forced to launch back as Amuro stabbed his saber forward, nearly impaling the violet machine through the cockpit. It then counterattacked by firing a missile spray at close-range, such that Amuro, having no time to target with his vulcans, was forced to deflect the projectiles the standard way.
It was strange, Amuro couldn't help but feel. Somehow his opponent was more irritating, as well as more belligerent, even without the usual banter. The Gundam pilot wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because the Zeek knew he had the Ark Royal – and the White Devil with it – effectively forced into a corner. Perhaps it was because, without having to hear the Zeon's voice, their fight was more direct than the last two times, and Amuro was forced to defend himself that much more. Or perhaps it was because Amuro just knew Garma was gleefully reveling in the fight, possibly more than before. The sheer ambiance, for lack of better word, that Amuro sensed from within the Zaku was evident of it enough.
Whatever the case, Amuro retained his focus. As he had sworn to himself before, this would be the last fight between him and Garma. Thus, upon raising his right arm shield to deflect the Zaku's next axe strike, he launched another vulcan burst straight at its head. However, Garma foresaw the attack and banked his machine out of the way in time, to which Amuro seized the opportunity to slash at the Zeon suit's left hip. A timely intersect with the Zaku's beam shield kept the blade back, allowing Garma to kick up the thrust and attempt a shield tackle on Unit Alpha at point-blank range. Only then did Amuro reverse and breakaway – knowing that Garma would not stop with such a simple attack – firing his vulcans again for cover. The Zaku naturally deflected these with its still raised beam shield, but the effect had been accomplished, with Unit Alpha gaining maneuvering room in that brief moment.
Even so, Garma refused to relent, breaking off the shield tackle and simply charging at the white Gundam with his axe raised high. Amuro banked right just as the axe fell, then attempted to slash at the Zaku's left side again, only for Garma to intercept the attack at the right moment. This was again followed by a vulcan burst, only for the Zaku to move its head out of the line of fire, which once more gave Amuro an opening for a follow up slash. Garma repelled this as well, but Amuro didn't stop there, going onto executing a combo attack that forced back the enemy ace, who had great difficulty defending with his shorter blade and singular beam shield. Yet the Zeon prince did just that, repelling each of Amuro's slashes expertly while executing several counterattacks of its own, effectively placing the two ace pilots in another high speed melee. Again with the Gundam and the Zaku flying through the immediate airspace, continuously attack and defending against the other.
All throughout, Amuro kept his power focused on the one he sensed in the Zaku's cockpit. Watching and waiting for his opponent – in spite of his crystal clear zeal and exuberance – to emanate but a flicker of pause or uncertainty. Anything that would grant him the one opening he sought…
Managing to raise her left shield in time, Sayla deflected the red Zaku's axe strike. She then countered with a thrust against its left arm, her intent to disable its own shield, but Char foresaw the attack and moved it aside at the right moment. The Red Comet then attempted to slash at Unit Gamma's head, but Sayla was just as quick in dodging that attack in turn, right before firing back with her vulcans. Char reversed and banked around the fire, retaliating with his own missiles. Naturally they were shot down, but by that point Char had gained a fair amount of distance, to which Sayla had to reenergize her thrusters to charge after. It wasn't difficult for her to overtake the Zaku, but Char intercepted her following attack regardless.
The Red Comet then threw the saber blade aside and moved to behead Unit Gamma, only for Sayla to deflect his attack in turn with her shield. She then counterattacked with her own slash at the Zaku's mono-eye, but Char brought his own shield back up and intercepted it. That didn't stop the Valkyrie of Riah, however, he flanked the Zeon ace and moved to slash at his back, only for Char to again engage his beam shield to defend. He then, in traditional manner, executed a high kick that would have smashed against his opponent's head, but Sayla, recalling her brother's preference for that technique, easily blocked it. She then thrust her saber toward the Zaku's torso, but Char was able to perform a backflip and evade the energy blade, then jetting away again. Sayla gave chase, firing her vulcans in pursuit, only for Char to bank around them as before.
Once more however, her Gundam's superior speed came into play, allowing her to overtake the Zeon machine. Char, of course, anticipated this and banked his Zaku away from the initial saber attack, then brought its beam shield up to deflect the following vulcan burst. He then counterattacked by slashing at the opposing red suit's waist, only for Sayla to again intercept his axe blade with her saber. An intense exchange then commenced, as both mobile suits slashed and parried, stabbed and evaded, trying to overcome the other's defense while maintaining their own. All culminating in the two again locking blades, their respective camera eyes glaring over the flickering energies toward one another.
Through the glare of their respective blades, the son and daughter of Zorin Tor Daikun glowered against the other, bringing about the full force of their wills. Even now, neither of them wanted this fight; such that, despite either of their best efforts, both could feel the turmoil within the other's being. It shouldn't have been like this; they should have been turning their swords on their hated enemy, not against one another. Especially when that enemy was right before them, only a short distance away, fighting against an opponent that by all facts and logic shouldn't have been involved in their struggle. None of it was right.
And yet, as they also knew, it was what it was. Like it or not, he was now Char Aznable, Zeon's Red Comet, and she was now Sayla Mass, the Federation's Valkyrie. They had both chosen their side of the line – their means toward attaining vengeance – and neither of them could afford to turn away. Not until that vengeance was complete, and their father's soul was finally avenged.
Thus as turmoil gave way to renewed determination, the two adversaries broke away. Sayla fired her vulcans while Char countered with his missiles. Neither could hope to strike the other with such attacks – the missiles easily swatted down while Char evaded the oncoming beam fire – yet it bought either pilot enough room to circle the other. Circle and charge forward yet again, bringing their axe and saber together in another thunderous clash, the neon yellow and magenta energy cackling between either blade as the two suits moved against the other. All while the battle, and the apparent theme music, continued to play out around them.
Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Anges
They were nearing the endgame, Bright knew all too well as he continued watch over the battle. No he hadn't spontaneously generated Newtype powers. Rather, it was his war honed instincts that well telling that the Battle of Anges, as it were, was about to reach its conclusion. Such that he could almost physically feel its approach, alongside its finalized victory or defeat.
For the moment, it seemed that the former was shifted toward the Ark Royal and its beleaguered mobile suit force, something Bright did well to appreciate yet remain wary of. The jamming remained in effect, and a fair portion of the Zeeks had been decimated to this point. And though neither Lieutenants Ray nor Mass had made any significant progress against their opponents, both Aznable and Garma remained effectively locked away from the fight, allowing Sleggar and the remaining Guncannons to proceed virtually unopposed. In fact, Bright surmised that if they could hold out for just a few more minutes, the Zeon assault force would wiped out, thereby causing Garma to call in a retreat or leave his fleet open for a counteroffensive. Either way, the Ark Royal would live to see another day at the present rate.
And yet, despite all those facts and logic, Bright remained apprehensive. If anything, he felt the operation was going too smoothly, and that anything could happen in the next few minutes. Namely the Zeeks either figuring out how they were being jammed, or worse, one of the Zakus stumbling onto the Ark Royal's shelter. The Commander involuntarily shivered toward both thoughts; either outcome would spell disaster, and he had no backup plan in place should they occur. And though the Ark Royal remained well away from the action, the transceiver that was generating the jamming wave wasn't. A stray bazooka shot from one of the Zakus emphasized that much, even though it thankfully missed the "ruin" in question.
I'm going to need a serious drink when this is all over, Bright mused as his heart started beating again. It galled him that his ship's entire lifeline was based around a single physical point, which could easily be destroyed. Assuming we do, in fact, survive this. "Signal status."
"Signal remains in effect," Oscar reported dutifully, though he sounded as though he were still catching his breath. Bright had a feeling that he, and possibly everyone else on the bridge, was doing just that after that last near miss. "Now playing Ash Like Snow by the 00s."
Mirai stifled an uncharacteristic chuckle. "Well, if nothing else, this will make one interesting addition to the history texts. The first battle won through 'the power of Rock and Roll.'"
"Assuming we do in fact win," Bright reminded her, quite reluctantly repeating his earlier thought. Once more, he just couldn't help but feel that anything could go wrong now, especially now that they were on the cusp of victory. Not that he didn't hope against hope that his worst fears turned out to be unfounded of course.
Mirai seemed to be aware of this and so nodded in acknowledgment and said nothing more. Like it or not, the battle was still waging on – evidenced by another Zaku being blasted out of the sky by a Guncannon's shoulder guns – and though they were close, the good guys still had yet to pull off a win. Thus, she would have been quite foolish to dare believe it was all but over now, especially with Garma and Aznable still out there.
Even so, much like her captain, Mirai also understood that the battle was fast reaching its end. It just remained a question of whether that end would be triumphant toward herself and her crew, or the Zeeks.
Sleggar gunned Unit Beta's thrusters, sending it barreling after another bazooka toting Zaku. The Zaku immediately turned to aim its oversized weapon, but Sleggar was much faster on the draw, blasting it to pieces with another well-placed rifle shot. The resultant explosion took out the Zaku's left arm and mounted beam shield generator, to which the Zeon mobile suit retaliated by firing its hip missiles. However, Sleggar banked around these as well, then placing another shot into the Zaku's cockpit area. One more for the tally as far as Sleggar was concerned, especially as its two teammates soon came after him.
Spiraling past the dual machine gun bursts, Sleggar responded with his vulcans, forcing the Zeek pair to break formation. He drew on one of them, firing another rifle shot, but the enemy suit managed to engage its beam shield in time to intercept it. Sneering at this, Sleggar jetted away again, just as its comrade fired its machine gun to defend. That one he managed to catch off guard, firing a shot that beheaded the Zaku and threw it back momentarily, and then promptly finishing it off with another cockpit shot. Naturally that only infuriated his original target, which drew its beam axe and launched after him, poised to strike. Sleggar was just able to engage his own shield in time, knock the blade away, then fire a quick shot into the Zaku's reactor and then flit away, right before it detonated. That made two more.
This is taking way too long, Sleggar thought as he scanned the sky for additional targets. Unfortunately there remained a fair number of those, which the Guncannons were still only having limited success against despite the ever present jamming. He should have expected that to happen; even with their sensors effectively locked out, the Zaku's performance wasn't anything to sneeze at, and Garma had brought down a virtual legion to sniff out the Ark Royal and her mobile suit force. There were just too many for them to handle, especially with little more than twenty mobile suits of their own.
Even so, that didn't change the fact that the longer the battle took place, the greater chances that the Zeeks would find the transceiver. Sleggar had thus hoped the Zeeks would be decimated in ranks by now, thus necessitating a retreat, but he could see that wasn't going to happen. At least, not just yet, when they still retained much of their numbers, despite all the Eagle of Arcturus and his subordinates had destroyed to this point. They need only shoot down that much more of the highborn bastards before the day – such as it was on Anges – was over.
Assuming we last that much longer… Sleggar continued to think grimly while his next set of targets made themselves known, causing him to frown. If there was one thing he found particularly irritating, it's that he still only had Zakus to kill. Not that he wanted the Zeeks to roll out bigger and badder mobile suits – which was probably inevitable anyway – but he wouldn't have minded shooting down things like Denan Zons or Zoloats for a change. Hell, maybe next time they could fight the Aeolian League and its Stalins. Sleggar certainly wouldn't have minded adding some neo-commie types to his kill list.
In any case, he banked his Gundam around the oncoming fire, forgoing his rifle for his beam saber. His next victim fell quickly, its machine gun cut in two and then the arm itself before it could draw its axe, followed by a vulcan burst into the torso. No sooner than it detonated did he flit away, deflecting an axe strike from another Zaku with his right beam shield. A responding slash at the waistline ended that Zeon, allowing Sleggar to move onto the third and final unit. This one was also armed with a bazooka, and so desperately fired as the blue Gundam closed in. Rather than attack straight on however, Sleggar brought his left gauntlet out and slammed it into the bazooka, detonating it. Only after did he dispatch that Zaku as well, impaling its cockpit with the saber blade.
Sensors beeping in warning again, Sleggar withdrew his saber and kicked the stricken Zaku away, just as several more of its kind came after him. Switching back to his rifle, he returned their fire, striking that many more down. Yet all the same, the Eagle of Arcturus knew that, despite his making an obvious dent, it would only take more and more.
The White Devil launched after him, forcing Garma to employ his beam shield and deflect its saber strike. It was difficult as the Feddie suit – whose name he still didn't know – remained far more powerful than his Zaku, but the prince kept it back before throwing its blade off and counterattacking with an axe slash. Amuro jumped back as a result, retaliating with his vulcans and forcing Garma to again duck behind his shield as he maneuvered to the right. He then attempted to slash at the Devil's right side and cleave off its saber arm, but again Amuro managed to evade at the right moment. Much to Garma's ever growing frustration.
Biting that irritation, the Zeon ace dodged the responding vulcan fire. He banked around it and then moved to strike at the white suit's backpack, but again Amuro maneuvered away, right before executing a spin slash that would have cleaved the Zaku in halves. Only a timely leap over the saber blade prevented that, to which Garma brought his axe down to strike at the enemy suit's head, but was deflected by its beam shield.
Retracting his axe, Garma swung his left leg about and kicked the white suit's shield arm aside. Yet again his opponent responded with a vulcan burst, but Garma had anticipated that, banking to his right and slashing his adversary at the hip. It wasn't a deep cut, but it still did damage, throwing the enemy suit back somewhat and catching its pilot well off guard. Smirking at the cut, Garma then struck at the white suit's chest, attempting to cut into the apollo reactor there, but Amuro managed to jet back in time, inflicting another relatively deep gash into the Federation's suits torso but otherwise missing the target. A following counterattack was easily parried by Garma's axe, to which the purple Zaku charged after the now retreating white mobile suit.
Looming over the Federation suit, Garma chopped at its head again, only for the strike to be deflected by its shield. It then attempted to stab at the Zaku's head, but the Zeon easily moved it out of the way, causing the saber blade to strike wide. Even so, Amuro managed to retract it quickly enough, then proceed with a follow up cut at the Zaku's torso and forcing Garma to redeploy his own shield. To that, Garma again used his shield to knock the blade aside and respond with his own attack, nearly beheading the white suit this time around.
Another vulcan burst followed, forcing Garma back momentarily. Amuro easily took that opportunity and launched after him, but again the Zeon ace was prepared, intercepting the saber blade with his axe. From which the Zeon prince glared into the mobile suit's articulate faceplate, imagining the pilot within. The very Devil he had long resolved to exorcise from this universe. Whose defeat would herald another step in Zeon's complete conquest.
"Indeed, I may lose the Ark Royal again," Garma murmured to himself as he stared into the golden camera eyes through the flickering blades. "And Char may yet fail to strike down the Valkyrie…"
His opponent then attempted to break the hold through his suit's sheer power, but Garma held in place. If only a little longer. "But not you!" he declared. "Whatever happens, you die here and now, Amuro Ray!"
Only then did Garma break the hold and slash back at the faceplate, managing to strike another hit. One that left a deep gash across its surface, as well as shattering the left camera eye. Grinning vindictively at this, the Zeon charged onward, axe held high as his opponent remained firmly on the defensive.
This is not quite how I wanted it to go, Char thought grimly as he deflected his sister's beam saber, momentarily shifting his attention away from his fight toward the one happening much further away. He had known Amuro Ray would have some difficulty fighting Garma, even at this stage of the game, but he didn't think it would be to such an extent. In fact, he had been counting on Garma forcing the White Devil to employ his special power – the one he had used at Juno – but that didn't appear to be the case. As much tension as Char could detect from the white mobile suit's cockpit, it seemingly wasn't enough to trigger the machine's Newtype systems. Or perhaps Amuro Ray had to be driven to the breaking point first in order for that to happen.
At any rate, Garma was gradually dominating that battle, and for obvious reasons, Char couldn't have that. The whole point of this operation – at least from his end – was to send another Zabi family member into oblivion. And though he wouldn't have minded doing the job himself, such action on his part would have blown his cover in Zeon, to say the very, very least. And if he could afford it, he would rather not have Artesia involved there, which was part of the reason why he was fighting her now. Not that his dear sister needed to know that.
As he threw aside his opponent's saber blade and made a counterstroke against its head, thus eliciting a responding vulcan burst that he was forced to defend against, Char felt his options dwindling by the second. If he left young Amuro Ray to his devices, he had little doubt Garma would triumph. This would be a major setback; beside the fact it meant Garma would go on living, Char had specifically intended for the White Devil to be a major bane against Gihren's Zeon. For him to die here and now would waste that potential, as well as the time and effort Char had invested in it. To say nothing of his sparing young Amuro in the very beginning.
Besides, Char mused as he maneuvered away from the opposite red suit's saber, and then countered once more with his axe. You wouldn't appreciate it either, would you Artesia?
That wasn't "transmitted" to his sister for her to answer, but Char knew what that answer would have been regardless. And though, like many other things regarding his sibling, he wasn't sure what he thought of it, he did know he didn't want to cause Artesia further anguish. Something that the death of Amuro Ray, for whatever their relationship really was, would do.
Still, what could he do this late in the fight? It was clear he had to intervene somehow, but Char couldn't find an opening to do so in. Not without tipping Garma and the rest of Zeon to his real intentions. And it didn't help that he was still locked in combat with the Valkyrie of Riah. Which, as far as everyone else was concerned, remained his primary objective in this battle.
Yet, even as he deflected another sword strike from Artesia, Char remained alert for that opening all the same. Somehow, and through some means, he couldn't – wouldn't – let it end like this. Not even as Garma delivered another solid cut against the White Devil's suit, causing even further damage.
"Damn it!" Amuro cursed as his damage indicators lit up. That last cut had nearly grazed the Apollo Reactor, though thankfully it hadn't been deep enough. Not that he had much time to think about it as Garma came at him again, forcing Amuro to raise his left beam shield back up. He deflected the initial attack, as well as the follow up, only for Garma to evade his counterattack and then bank around him, obviously attempting to destroy his backpack. Fortunately Unit Alpha remained the faster suit, and Amuro was able to spin around and deflect the axe with his saber blade. He then stabbed it at the purple Zaku's torso, but Garma reversed at the right second and the saber struck nothing but air.
What is this? Amuro thought as he continued to fight against the Zaku, which came back at him and executed a three slash combo that the young Newtype just barely defended against. As he intercepted the last one, holding his blade up against the Zaku's axe, Amuro gazed deeply into the red mono-eye. Feeling a strange pressure from within, which was somehow different from anything he had picked upon before…
That was when another flash of lightning ran through his mind, causing Amuro to glance over. Much to his horror, he picked upon a missile – obviously a stray shot from one of the other Zakus – launching aimlessly toward the transceiver. Immediately realizing the implications of it hitting, Amuro forced away Garma's axe blade and launched Unit Alpha after the projectile. Hoping against hope that he would make it in time.
He did as it turned out. Just managing to place Unit Alpha in front of the antenna, Amuro raised both of his shields and deflected the missile before it could hit. The velocity of the warhead combined with the explosion knocked the Gundam back somewhat, but Amuro was fast on the recovery. Which was fortunate as the damned purple Zaku was soon on him again, forcing Amuro to reignite his saber and deflect its axe attack.
It was then, however, that Amuro picked up a different set of emotions from the Zaku's pilot. Not just focus and determination now, but also dawning realization. A sensation that caused Amuro to recoil in renewed horror, as he himself realized what Garma Zabi had just learned.
"So that's it," Garma exclaimed as he fixed his Zaku's mono-eye past the opposing white mobile suit onto the antenna. He should have guessed it. The Feddies would have needed something like that for their little trick to work. Even if it would have been nothing short of a miracle to get it operating again, but then, the Ark Royal's crew had already proven to be particularly inventive. What was one more act of desperation among so many?
Unfortunately for them however, now that Garma knew how it worked, he was not about to let them win. Thus, jetting back from the white mobile suit, he fired a barrage of missiles from his hip launchers, forcing his opponent to employ his vulcans to intercept. As the White Devil did this, he put all power into his Zaku's thrusters and launched directly at the antenna, aiming for top most segment of it. It would be a "scalping" cut – to borrow from Feddie parlance – but it would be enough to disrupt to the broadcast. Or so Garma assumed.
Realizing his intent, Amuro Ray, upon striking down the last missile, gave chase, but by then it was much too late. As fast as his mobile suit was, Garma was well ahead of him and closing in on his target. All while focusing that much more power into his axe blade.
"And thus begins the finale!" Garma declared as he slashed his axe along the transceiver antenna, cutting through it as though it were little more than pre-space parchment. The effect was immediate as the pointed top of the antenna fell to the ground below. All at once, the music was dispelled, and Garma's instruments all lit up in renewed activity, as did those of the other Zeon mobile suits with him.
All of which, in near universal action, looked upon the opponents with clear imagery. And – as best projected by their flared mono-eyes – equally renewed vehemence.
Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Anges
"No!" Oscar exclaimed horrifically as the data flowed into his station. Feeling the blood drain from his skin, he somehow managed to report to the rest of the bridge. "They just hit the transceiver! Signal terminated!"
No! Bright and Mirai both repeated in synonymous horror. The worst possible outcome had just occurred. "Is there any way to rebroadcast!?" Mirai demanded, somehow managing to keep her newfound panic out of her voice.
"Negative, the main antenna was damaged," Oscar shook his head hopelessly. "We're completely uncovered ma'am!"
"Damn it," Bright cursed under his breath as he gazed back toward the main monitor. Now completely unhindered, the remaining Zeeks – whose numbers were still abundant – rallied into a rejuvenated offensive force. One that descended upon Sleggar's mobile suits with utmost abandon.
"Ah shit!" Karen just managed to bellow as two bazooka armed Zakus dove at her, both letting loose their weapons as one. Flinging her Hellfire out of the way, she retaliated with a missile spray, but the Zakus, with their sensors in full operation, were able to predict and dodge her counterattack. They were soon followed in by another, this armed with a machine gun, which let loose a spray of its own upon entering range. Fortunately Karen was able to throw up her beam shield in time, but through the process the previous two bazooka units came around, both leveling their heavier, more powerful hand weapons once more.
"Karen!" Eledore called out as he and Job both fire their shoulder cannons in defense. Again the Zakus were forced to evade, especially as the two Troopers added their own rifles into the mix, but it was only a delaying action at best. The Zeeks were coming in hot and heavy now, best emphasized as another Zaku team swooped in on the Guncannons with their machine guns and missiles blazing. The three Federation suits all brought up their beam shields and deflected the bulk of the fire, though one of the missiles managed to break through and blow off the shoulder of Job's suit. He retaliated with several rifle and vulcan shots, but failed to strike anything significant.
I knew it was too good to last. Goddamnit! Karen cursed again while firing several more missiles after the Zeeks, managing to take out at least one with a lucky shot to the torso. Unfortunately one more dead Zaku was hardly a drop in the bucket at this point, especially as its surviving contemporaries turned toward her, focusing their fire. Again Karen raised her shield against the beams and projectile shots, all the while reversing and evading as many as she possibly could, but it was just too much. The Zeon were coordinating their fire far more effectively than before, and her Hellfire was taking abundant damage as a result. Up to and including her left missile pod being blown away by a bazooka blast.
Shit! Karen thought again as her suit recoiled from the explosion. There hadn't been much ammo left in that pod, but the effect remained the same. Even worse, the explosion had hit her suit's head as well, severely damaging her main camera and causing her monitor flicker wildly. And through the static, she could only watch in mute horror as a Zaku dove upon her, its axe brandished to strike. Followed by another Guncannon moving in front of her a second later.
"Eledore!" Karen called out, already knowing which of her teammates had come to her aid. It didn't matter as the Zaku chopped downward, cutting deeply into the Trooper – along the cockpit block – before knocking the now bifurcated mobile suit away to renew its charge. Only out of reflex did Karen manage to raise her beam shield in time, and then fire back into the Zaku's head with her vulcans. A supporting rifle shot from Job finished the Zaku once and for all, but the damage was very much done.
"Shrike Seven to Shrike Eight, come in!" Karen called out in desperation, now firing her rifle up at several more oncoming Zakus. No response came from the halved remains of the Trooper in question. "Shrike Eight, come in damn it!"
"Gah!" Job cried out as his right torso was blown off, the shock causing his own Guncannon to lose balance and topple over. Quickly realizing the Trooper was not going to get up again, Karen could only insert herself between her stricken comrade – biting back her fears of the worst in the process – and the oncoming Zeeks. The latter now moving upon the single standing Hellfire quite savagely, their weapons blazing away.
"Bastards!" Kiki roared as she fired her shoulder cannons, nearly hitting one of the oncoming Zakus. Unfortunately the Zeek managed to duck under the twin blasts and retaliate with his machine gun, forcing Kiki to duck behind her shield. Unfortunately that left her open at the flank, allowing the Zaku move around her and, faster than she could reorient her shield, riddle her across with continuous beam fire. Kiki cried as her mobile suit was blasted apart – losing its left arm and leg, among other components – just barely managing to turn her rifle around and fire a single shot at the Zaku before she fell. The Zaku simply brought up its own shield to deflect the shot, but this too left it open to another attack.
"Kiki!" Shiro called out as he fired his gatling cannons, shredding the offending Zaku to bits. As soon as the Zeek was dispatched he rushed his Stormer over to the downed Trooper. "Are you alright!?"
"Yes…somehow…" Kiki exclaimed dazedly. Her head was light, though her eyes could just see the whited out cockpit monitor through her shattered helmet visor. While her mouth tasted the trickle of blood coming down her face. "Can't…move right…now…"
"Stay down! There's nothing more you can do!" Shiro commanded as he fired off his beam rifle at several more of the oncoming Zakus, Michel moving his own Trooper into support. As relieved as he was to know his subordinate was still alive, Shiro didn't know how much longer that would last, for any of them. Without the jamming to hold them back, the Zeon tasted blood and were not about to relent. Not when they were so close to killing the thirteenth Trojan Horse and her mobile suits.
"Damn it!" Michel exclaimed as he raised his beam shield, only for another one of those damned bazooka equipped units to blow it off at the elbow. He retaliated with his shoulder cannons again, but the Zaku easily evaded this, moving up and over for another shot. Fortunately Michel's beam rifle was still intact, allowing him to dissuade the Zeon mobile suit from further attack with several shots. "We'll never last Shrike Four!"
"I know Six!" Shiro called out as his gatling cannons blazed, obliterating another Zaku before it could mount its own attack. Two more soon took its place, forcing Shiro to engage his own shield while maneuvering his faster than average Stormer away. "So we'll take as many of them with us as we can!"
Grunting in response, Michel maintained his fire as yet another Zaku came barreling after him. One that brandished its axe, blade flashing in vicious yellow, as it approached.
The Buster's mega beam cannon roared, sweeping the resultant beam across the sky and scoring two Zakus in the process. Sanders frowned at this; two enemy mobile suits hardly amounted to much, especially as the rest rallied upon him, firing down at his Guncannon en masse. Gritting his teeth in response, Sanders immediately engaged his beam shield while counterfiring with his rifle, but he barely managed to blow the right leg off one of the Zeon through his maneuvering. "Still with me boys!?" he called out to Kai and Hayato amidst the fire.
"Yeah, somehow," Kai shouted back as he fired his own rifle, blowing the head off another Zaku. Unfortunately that did little in hindering the suit as it responded with its machine gun, forcing Kai to duck behind a set of debris to absorb the beam shots. He then counterfired, managing to blow off the Zaku's left arm next, and then finally strike the torso, obliterating it wholesale. Naturally this just caused other Zakus to move into its place, forcing him to abandon his cover while utilizing his own shield. "I liked it a lot better when they were blind, deaf and dumb!"
"Tell me about it," Hayato grunted in turn, firing his cannons and managing to obliterate another Zaku straight on. His sensors then beeped as another Zaku came at him from the right, to which he turned his Trooper about and fired his rifle. Unfortunately this Zaku – notably possessing a command fin – had anticipated his attack and banked away from the rifle shots, then responding with a machine gun spray of its own. Hayato naturally deflected the fire while counterattacking with his vulcans, only for another Zaku to strike him in the back with a pair of missiles. "Aaaah!"
"Hayato!" Kai called out as he turned and fired his rifle at that particular Zaku, which simply brought its shield up to deflect. Another one of its comrades soon appeared, swooping in and slashing Kai's rifle apart at the barrel. Cursing, Kai threw the remnants at his attacker and then followed up with his own vulcans, but the Zeon remained undeterred, maneuvering around the fire and moving to strike at the Earth suit's cockpit.
Only a timely beam shield intercept from Lieutenant Sanders kept it away. All the while Hayato, now deprived of his backpack and both of his cannons with it, fired a single shot through the Zaku's back, finishing it for good.
"Don't let up!" Sanders called out to both his wingmates – as well as himself – as he again fired his mega beam cannon. This time he only managed to strike down one more Zaku, much to his irritation. Especially as three more came at him in apparent response. "We can at least give the assholes a real fight!"
Both Hayato and Kai nodded grimly toward this as they turned their remaining weapons – Hayato's rifle and Kai's shoulder cannons – onto the oncoming Zaku wave as well. And though they managed to strike down a few more of the mono-eyed bastards, they could do little in holding back the onslaught.
The best laid plans… Sleggar darkly thought as he deflected another collection of beam fire while maneuvering Unit Beta. He counterfired at the earliest opportunity, striking down two more Zakus with precise hits, and then taking down a third that got too close with his vulcans. Naturally there were more where that came from, and soon Sleggar was buffeted by focused machine gun and bazooka fire, forced to turn back to evasion. At the very least they were having a hell of a time trying to hit him, but at the present rate, the Commander knew that wouldn't last very long.
Another Zaku soon came charging in with its axe raised, to which Sleggar reignited his right beam shield and knocked the overhead chop aside. He then countered with his vulcans again, but the Zaku managed to reverse and employ its own shield, while two of its buddies moved in with their machine guns on full auto. Frowning, Sleggar brought his rifle back about and managed to take out one of them, but the remaining two both fired their missiles a moment later. Biting back a curse, he maneuvered away himself, alternating between his vulcans and his shields to keep the missiles from doing damage.
He then moved to shoot down his attackers, but his threat indicator went off again. Biting back another curse, Sleggar ascended as another Zaku, which had moved behind him, fired a bazooka shot. He then twisted around, firing a vulcan spray into the cumbersome weapon. Unfortunately the Zeek was fast enough to ditch it before the explosion took his arm off, firing its own hip mounted missiles as it attempted to retreat. Sleggar didn't let get far, corkscrewing around the missiles and then planting another rifle shot through the Zaku's torso, killing it as well. Through that explosion, two more of its comrades came flying in, their machine guns firing.
"Damn it!" Sleggar barely mouthed as he ducked behind his shields again. Not only had their accuracy gotten markedly better, but their coordination as well. The latter was emphasized when another bazooka unit added its fire in, nearly blasting into Unit Beta from above. Dodging the blast, Sleggar took that one out first with another kill shot, and then blasted one of the machine gunners with a shot through the reactor. He had intended the resultant explosion to take out the third as well, but unfortunately it "merely" blew off the Zaku's left arm. Even so, the force disoriented it long enough for Sleggar to kill that one as well, this time with a "traditional" cockpit blast.
"You're not getting me that easily!" Sleggar declared as he continued firing his rifle, striking down more and more enemy mobile suits with each shot. Yet, for every Zaku that he took down, there always seemed to be another to take its place, and Unit Beta was only one mobile suit to deal with them. A feeling that was not helped when Sleggar's sensors beeped in warning again, the readout causing his eyes to widen in cold, foreboding alarm.
Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Anges
"Enemy reinforcements moving in from above!" Omar reported as soon as the new wave of Zakus descended into the atmosphere, approaching the battlefield rapidly. "Over thirty mobile suits detected and counting!"
"Damn it," Mirai hissed under her breath, just barely keeping herself from pounding her fist into her chair arm. Her mind raced to come up with a counterstrategy to this, yet she could not for the life of her come up with a plan. Everything they had was already out there, and though their own mobile suits were holding their own to the last, at the present rate…
"Katz," Bright suddenly called out, his voice eerily calm. So much so that it easily punctured the tension, causing all heads along the bridge to look up. "Do we still have engine power?"
Though unsure of what his captain meant, the helmsman nonetheless answered. "Affirmative. Engine power now at sixty-two percent," he reported grimly. "Warp drive remains offline."
Bright nodded at this, his expression one of solemn resolution. "Standby to take the ship out," he commanded. "We'll make our last run on Garma and any other Zeon we can get."
Hearing that, Katz and the rest of the crew felt their uncertainty replaced with a similar resolution. It was all they could do now. "Yes sir," Katz replied, keying in his station. "Helm is at your command."
Nodding, Bright then glanced over to Mirai, who nodded as well. Both then brought up a pair of holographic windows, which held a thirty second timer. It was presently inactive, but with the appropriate codes entered in and safelocks disengaged, it would take but a single command from either the captain or the XO to engage it. Something that both Bright Noa and Mirai Yashima set themselves to see through.
Once the last of their mobile suits fell…
"Damn," Char muttered out loud as he detected the oncoming reinforcements with both his Newtype powers and his Zaku's sensors. This was it now, the final push. And neither the Ark Royal nor her mobile suits were in any condition to hold out against it. At least, not for too much longer.
Fortunately he had, in the last few minutes, come up with a contingency for exactly this kind of event. It wasn't his best plan – again he had only come up with it just now to fit the present conditions – but it was all that he had. If it somehow succeeded, all of his objectives, as well as the Feddies' would be met. However, that didn't make it any less risky than Char would have appreciated.
Thus, as he again deflected his sister's sword with his axe, Char focused his eyes from behind his mask. My apologies Artesia, he communicated to his sister. But I'm afraid we are now firmly out of time.
Blinking at her brother's words, it didn't take Sayla much to understand, especially when Char "forwarded" his intentions to her. Like the Zeon pilot, she too had detected Garma's oncoming reinforcements, which were now breaking through the cloud cover aboard. And though she imagined she and Commander Law could hold them off indefinitely, it wouldn't be of much help to her comrades on the ground, who were very much on their last legs. Nor, for that matter, would it have helped Amuro, who was barely holding out against Garma as it was.
Thus letting out a small sigh, Sayla resigned herself to her fate. I understand, she replied simply, assuring her brother that she wouldn't hold it against him. Closing her eyes, she disengaged her saber and readied her Gundam for the inevitable.
We will meet again, Sayla then asked earnestly, taking a final note of her elder sibling's spiritual presence. Unsure when, or if, she would ever feel it again. Won't we, brother?
Despite the uncertainty of that question, Char nodded with complete assurance of his own. Indeed we will, dear sister, he answered back, telepathically stroking her cheek as one final act of comfort. And likely all too soon…
With that answer given, the Red Comet then put all power into his thrusters. In a sudden burst of motion, he shoulder tackled his sister's mobile suit and launched across the sky with it, until finally slamming into one of the nearby ruined buildings. After breaking through several walls and corridors, the two mobile suits at last came to a stop, with Sayla's crumpled against the side wall, its camera eyes slowly dimming inactive.
Though very much battered and unconscious from the impact, Sayla remained alive and breathing within Unit Gamma's cockpit. Taking some solace in that, Char gazed silently over the disabled mobile suit – and its pilot – for just a little while longer. Then, without another word, he turned away and launched his Zaku back into the open air. All the while readying himself for what was to come.
"Bastard!" Amuro roared as he slashed after the purple Zaku, only for it to side dash away from his overhead slash. The Zeon mobile suit then surged back and moved to behead the Gundam, but Amuro knocked its attack away with a quick beam shield insertion, and then parried its following attacks. Another vulcan spray was his retaliation, but by now his opponent was well used to that tactic, and so threw his Zaku's beam shield up to deflect. "Even if we fall here, I promise I'm going personally to take you with us! Whole or in pieces!"
"Hah, I'm sure you'll try," Garma retorted as he then dashed to the left, firing another barrage of missiles as he moved, thus forcing the White Devil to turn his vulcans on them. He then charged in from overhead, swinging his axe down to split the enemy mobile suit's head open, but Amuro managed to reverse in time. Garma was then forced to maneuver away as well, just as his opponent thrust his saber forward, nearly impaling him in turn. "Unfortunately, it seems you've since run out of luck. And I highly doubt you're regain it, or the initiative, any time soon."
Garma then slashed at the Gundam's head once more – taking off a piece of its V-fin in the process – before following on with an attack across its torso. Again Amuro raised his shield and deflected, right before countering with a slash that nearly repaid Garma in kind with his own command fin, but the Admiral managed to duck at the right moment. He then proceeded to spike shoulder barge his adversary, sending him flying a fair distance before a following slash forced him to dodge at the last possible moment. To this, Garma raised his axe back overhead, this time to strike at the white suit's reactor, only for Amuro to intercept that attack as well with his saber. Both blades remained in place as their respective owners glowered into the other's camera eyes.
"Face it Feddie, it will soon be over!" Garma called out triumphantly to his opponent, who could only seethe with hate at this point. "The only question that remains, at least between us, is how much more of a fight you'll put up!"
"We'll see about that Zeek!" the White Devil bellowed in fury as he forced the Zaku back, and then proceeded to slash at its mono-eye. Garma simply knocked the saber aside, and then counterattacked with his own assault upon the white suit's remaining camera. Another timely vulcan spray forced him into the distance before his attack could connect, but it didn't really matter. As he had just said, Amuro Ray was simply fighting for time now. And no matter how he did so, he wouldn't gain much of it; only that much more compared to his fellows on the ground below.
Once they're dealt with, Garma mused as he deflected another saber slash from the Devil, as well as the follow up, before attacking in turn. The Ark Royal will undoubtedly emerge, likely for its own "last stand." And it will be just as piecemeal to finish.
His grin enlarged as he dodged another one of the Devil's lateral swings. If nothing else Amuro Ray was indeed putting up a good fight until the end.
Not that that particular prize compares to you, my friend, Garma vindictively thought as he at last landed another slash upon the white suit. This time upon the stylized red 'A' on its left shoulder, which appeared to be cleaved in two. If Garma didn't know any better, he could have sworn the enemy mobile suit recoiled in response, as if the wound had physically affected its pilot as well.
Camera eye flaring golden, the white suit attempted to surge forward, but was forced to evade yet again as a swarm of missiles launched in from the side. His own suit's mono-eye shifting toward the direction of the missiles, Garma was surprised to see Char's Zaku enter in, axe brandished and ready to strike. Amuro fired his vulcans after the red mobile suit, but Char easily deflected this with his shield, in turn allowing Garma to slash at the white suit's left arm. And though he didn't quite manage to slice it off, the cut was a deep one.
"Good of you to join us Rote One," Garma comm. as he reversed, allowing Char to attack the Devil as well. In response to the Red Comet's own assault, the enemy mobile suit drew its second saber and crossed them to hold back Char's axe blade. "I trust this means the Valkyrie has been suitably dealt with."
"Incapacitated, but alive as requested," Char proudly replied as he went exchanged blade work with the Devil, expertly keeping from being overwhelmed by its two sabers. Not that Amuro was skilled enough to use them that effectively. "You will exact vengeance for your brother yet Dopp One."
"Excellent!" Garma sounded as he swept his axe about with flourish. He then launched to join his friend in the attack. "And am I to assume her mobile suit is intact as well?"
"For the most part," Char answered as he dashed away from another vulcan spray. One that was wildly aimed compared to the previous. "I'm sure Zeonic or Zimmad will appreciate such a gift, as will the Emperor."
"Indeed," Garma acknowledged as the White Devil again slashed at his Zaku, only for him to again knock its sword blade away.
He again gazed into the enemy suit's single functioning eye, imagining the desperation its pilot was now feeling. Even if the White Devil hadn't heard Char's exclamations, the fact he now had two enemy aces to fight certainly had pushed him over the edge. As strained and broken as his form had become.
Indeed, the prince repeated to himself as he drove in his next attack. How much longer will you last now, Amuro Ray?
It can't be! Amuro thought in horror as he evaded the two Zakus, just managing to parry both of their axe attacks. If Char was fighting him now, that could only mean one conclusion. No matter how much Amuro refused to believe it, outright fearing it.
No, he soon found himself realizing, as well as gaining some much needed relief. Sayla wasn't dead; he could still feel her presence, though obviously it was incapacitated. However, that in itself bothered Amuro, as he could not believe someone like her could be defeated, not even by the Red Comet himself. Not that it really mattered now, given what else he was picking up across the battlefield, beyond the two Zeon he was now fighting against.
All throughout he picked up the "final" thoughts and feelings of his comrades, who were fighting a determined but ultimately futile last stand against the Zeeks. By now the second wave was well upon the field, and though the Guncannons continued holding out, even as they were struck piece by piece, even Amuro could tell that they would all be dead soon enough. And though Sleggar was still fighting it out in Unit Beta, he too was being buffeted by the Zeon's numbers and coordination. In fact, he was now trying to fight his way to Amuro's position to provide much needed support, but the Zakus were holding him back, and the Commander was severely straining himself in fighting them. All while the Ark Royal prepared for her own final stand, in which she would move upon Garma's position with her self-destruct system engaged.
The collective despair and resolution was almost palpable, such that Amuro could almost feel it against his skin. They all knew they were going to die, so they were doing their best to take as many Zeon with them as they could. An objective that was being well accomplished, as more than one Guncannon went out having taken down at least one Zaku. Their pilots moving beyond the realm with satisfaction in fighting to the last.
And yet, as he continued fighting the two ace piloted Zakus, Amuro couldn't bring himself to that. He didn't want to simply go down fighting, he wanted to survive and win to fight another day! Especially if it meant he could do it with Sayla, Fraw and the others; the men and women aboard the Ark Royal he had, despite himself, grown close to over time. He wanted them all to live on, damn it! Regardless of how many Zeon had to kill along the way!
A worthwhile objective to be sure, a voice suddenly entered Amuro's mind, piercing through his thoughts like a beam saber. And well within your power to see through.
What? Amuro let out, just as the red Zaku came charging at him once more, bringing axe against his right saber blade.
It's just as I said Lieutenant Ray. You, and only you, have the power to change all this, Char communicated as he executed a slash combo, which Amuro deflected with both his swords and his shields. Just as you had done before.
Though his physical eyes remained fixed on the flickering blades, Amuro's mind suddenly became filled with specific imagery. That of Juno.
What…? he repeated, utterly shocked as he comprehended what the Red Comet was alluding to. Why?
Char physically shrugged. Let's just say you will be serving my interests at the same time, he said, just as Garma came surging in to support, forcing Amuro to deflect the opposite axe with his left saber. The Federation pilot easily felt that Garma was unaware of the present exchange. However, that is unimportant. What matters, White Devil, is that you now bring about your full strength…
I can't! Amuro resounded in newfound horror, actually catching Char off guard by its intensity. If…If I do that again…!
Char attempted to inquire, but he soon found he didn't have to. The responding memories and emotions told him enough: the screams of Juno's dead, followed by the sheer fury that erupted from within Amuro's soul as he laid waste to enemy after enemy – no, victim after victim. All culminating in an overlapping fear that punctured the boy's soul. The fear of his becoming something other than human; something other than he knew himself to be.
It was also through those memories that Char saw what ultimately saved him. That precise moment in which Amuro pressed the beam pistol under his chin, only for Artesia to…
I see, Char thought, feeling the vestiges of sympathy begin to emerge inside him. However, he forced it all back. He couldn't afford such emotions now, especially as he felt additional "enemy" presences vanish around him. The time was now, as it were. Then I will make it easier for you.
Mono-eye flaring, the red Zaku smashed its axe blade against the white mobile suit's hastily reignited shield. However, Char didn't end the attack then, instead hammering against the shield over and over, until he finally knocked it away. At that, he moved to slash at the enemy mobile suit's cockpit block, just as his opponent, now acting out of pure reflex, brought his left saber about, the magenta blade set to impale.
It was then, in but the barest amount of time, Char did two things. First, he reangled the axe blade so that it just barely grazed over the enemy suit's cockpit, leaving only a light, lateral scar across the midrift. And second, he marginally turned his Zaku to its left. Only just enough so…
"NO!" Garma cried out as he watched the saber pierce through the red Zaku's torso, precisely around the cockpit. By some miracle it didn't explode – the saber had pierced just short of the Apollo Reactor. But that hardly mattered, as Garma could only watch in terror as the White Devil then ripped its sword free of the now pilotless Zaku, which fell to the ground below. Landing in a set of debris and kicking up a dust cloud.
That was it. Up to this point, Garma was content to let it all play out, believing that victory would be his regardless. Now however, while victory remained within his grasp, it had come at a great cost. One that he had never wanted to pay.
Thus, banishing all other thoughts and feelings from his head, the prince concentrated on his wrath. He stated that, no matter what, he would not leave Anges without vanquishing the White Devil once and for all. It was now time to fulfill that creed, and with immediate retribution.
It hit Amuro all at once. No sooner than when Char's Zaku fall did Garma launch after him again, axe raised to strike. This time however, Amuro didn't just feel the heaviness of the axe blade landing against Unit Alpha's beam saber, nor the strain as he fought to deflect the following attacks, which were coming much viciously than before. No, this time, he felt but a single sensation – one of the most distinct human emotions – emanating from its cockpit: wrath. Pure, unrelenting wrath.
Such was its power that Amuro actually beheld it manifest around the Zaku as it pursued him. Initially projecting the form of a medieval knight, adorned in ornate violet armor, but then morphing and twisting as the mobile suit continued its attacks. Eventually manifesting into something dark and malevolent. Something whose only purpose was to destroy Amuro Ray and all that he fought for, cared for.
Still deflecting the frantic axe attacks, while his sound system filled with Garma's anguished cries for vengeance, Amuro just barely held back from recoiling in his horror. He had fought many enemies to this point, yet through all the emotions they projected to their deaths, he had never felt anything like this. At least, not from outside himself.
"He's…!" Amuro felt himself murmur, somehow through the fighting, as he just barely deflected the Zaku's axe attacks. Even Garma's fighting style had changed, exchanging his former grace for sheer ferociousness. Such that Amuro found himself just barely able to keep up with him, and with both sabers against his axe. "He's going to kill me…!"
Yes, he will, Char's voice called out to him again. Though his presence was flickering in and out of his consciousness – through which Amuro could sense copious amounts of pain – the Red Comet's voice remained with him regardless. He will destroy you, and then your remaining comrades, and then Ark Royal herself. He will stop at nothing until you are all dead.
Even through it all, Amuro could sense the smile touch his former opponent's lips. And you are the only one who can prevent all of it.
Shut up! Amuro snarled back, momentarily knocking Garma's axe aside. However, the Zeon was much quicker on the recovery now, and Amuro was forced back into the defensive thereafter. I won't repeat that mistake! I won't!
"Mistake?" Char repeated, now holding bemusement through his increasingly fading consciousness. I suppose it could be, but that hardly matters now.
The Zaku soon slashed across the Gundam's left chest, cutting deeply into its torso. Once more by some miracle the Apollo Reactor remained unaffected, but Amuro more than felt the increasing damage to his mobile suit.
No matter how you see it, or define it, it is what it is, Char continued on as Amuro fought for his life. It is you, White Devil.
No! Amuro shouted back in denial while simultaneously crossing his swords to deflect.
Yes, and you know it is, Char pressed further. You've known all along, and no matter how much you deny it, you will only remain.
Garma again struck, this time severing the Gundam's left arm entirely. Alongside the saber still in its grasp.
Whether you live or die here, Amuro Ray, you cannot deny what you are. The power that you hold, Char called out, his urgency now clear. Only that power will simply be wasted. You will die, and those around you will follow you soon after.
Amuro glowered as he watched Garma move back and circle around, then charge at his vulnerable left side. All throughout he felt himself tremble, refusing to give way. No matter what happened, no matter how bad he got. No matter how close to death he came, he couldn't…
Including her, Char declared, Amuro's eyes to widen in realization.
Again, Amuro felt something of a smile from the other side. And, at least momentarily, something else behind it, but he wasn't able to discern it.
Only I think she will join you much, much later. Char added on for effect. When Garma and his minions are through with her…
Realizing those implications, Amuro could only hold his remaining saber out laterally, deflecting Garma's next overhead attack. Again the blades locked, with the Zaku's mono-eye flaring against the Gundam's remaining camera.
So what will you do? Char pressed even further. Will you spend your last breath fighting in this wasteland? In which you, and the rest of your ship and comrades, are doomed to perish?
Blades flickering once more, Amuro did not respond. For the briefest of moments, he could only remain there, breathing heavily. Feeling something terrible – far more terrible than he felt in front of him – emerging from within…
Or…? Char finished at long last, putting as much emphasis on that single word as he could manage. Such that it seemed to remain within Amuro's conscious for that much longer.
Until, at long last, something broke through.
Letting out a deafening, almost inhuman roar, Amuro let it loose. The power that he had held in place since Juno. Chained no longer, and erupting from the Newtype's soul with a fury that quelled even his opponent's.
The power, and fury, of the White Devil.
"What?" Garma mouthed, unable to credit what he had just witnessed. No sooner than he heard Amuro Ray's cry did the white mobile suit, energy lines ripping across its ruined armor, knock his axe away and then, without so much as touching it, sent his Zaku flying. It took but a moment for Garma reorient his machine, but he hardly noticed his own actions. For he could not tear his gaze – once wrathful, now evoking near terror – from what was in front of him.
There, hovering in his midst, was the monster he had seen from the Juno records. The Earth Federation's White Devil, in all of its hellish glory. Cloaked in a luminous white aura, energy lines continuing to pulsate across its exterior. Its single golden eye emitting a malevolence that he had never before seen on a machine, much less a man. A malevolence that was focused solely on him.
Slashing its saber about, the White Devil charged at him once more, moving faster than Garma ever thought possible. He immediately brought his beam shield to deflect the stroke, only to watch his suit's left arm upon impact, as though it were made of the finest glass. The ace then attempted to parry the saber blade, but the sheer force behind it was enough to knock his entire mobile suit – and him with it – to the side. By the time he recovered, it was upon him again, saber swinging downward. Garma attempted to jet away, only to watch the sword cleaved his own left arm, and a fair portion of his suit's left torso with it. Including the hip mounted missile launchers there.
In desperation Garma fired from his remaining right launchers, but it made little difference. The Devil didn't even raise its shield to deflect the warheads; the aura around it was more than enough, obliterating the missiles before they could ever hope to strike. Then it surged after him again, slashing another sizeable gash into his mobile suit. While Garma's following attempts to defend, no matter how well executed, were similarly overwhelmed, his damage indicators screaming each time he was struck.
"Your Highness!" Garma heard from the side. Through his flickering monitor, he saw several more Zakus move into defend, firing their weapons upon approach.
No sooner than when he opened his mouth to order them to stay back did the Devil turn and launch after them instead. From there, Garma watched in horror as it ravaged the Zakus en masse, going through them as though they were but plastic figurines. It didn't matter how they attempted to defend themselves – in fact, Garma could barely comprehend them doing so – they were sundered by the Devil's sword all the same. And though several more attempted to support – abandoning their attacks on the blue mobile suit and the Guncannons in the process – Amuro Ray struck them down all the same. All with the juggernaut force he had displayed before Delaz; the same force Garma had only seen after the fact.
But Garma refused to give into his terror, not when the men and women who had served him loyally were being exterminated. Rebrandishing his axe yet again, he put all remaining power into his Zaku's thrusters and lanced out. Moving to slash at the white mobile suit's exposed back.
All too easily was his axe repelled, never so much as breaking through the Devil's aura. And then the Devil turned to face him again, and the next thing Garma felt was both of his Zaku's legs being cut from under him. Then came a piercing attack through his mono-eye, which resulted in the entire head being swept off from his suit's shoulders when the Devil withdrew its blade. A following lateral slash would have then cleaved his cockpit, but Garma was able to evade that, "only" losing his Zaku's lower waistline in the process. He jetted away – his drive systems were still operational – and the Devil gave chase. Slashing down any other Zaku that attempted to stand between it and its quarry.
This can't be…! Garma exclaimed as he watched more and more of his fellow Zeon die without so much as slowing the Devil. If anything it only seemed to be moving faster and faster, such that Garma was pushing his suit – what was left of it – to the breaking point just to stay way. All while the terror he had initially felt overwhelmed him, broke him. As did the knowledge that his death was imminent…
Hey Garma, a distant voice suddenly broke into his head. An all too familiar voice. Can you hear me?
Garma could not even fathom how it – any of it – was possible. He only felt himself respond. Char?
Through the pain and anguish, and his flickering consciousness, Char managed to smile. The right part of his body was badly burned – part of it, including his right arm, had been vaporized from the beam saber's excess heat – while his left had been torn and battered through the resultant explosions. All of it fixable through modern Zeon medicine – even his arm could be regenerated – but until he was back aboard the Ralmel, the pain would remain with him.
And yet through that agony, and the various near blackouts, Char had remained alive and alert. All so that, in this one moment, he could look onto his "friend" – his all too soon to be late friend – and smile. You can blame this on the misfortune of your birth.
What? he heard Garma exclaim back in confusion. "Misfortune?"
Char's smile only increased at Garma's incredulousness. That's right.
Garma's eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. Char… You don't mean…!
Don't take it personally, Char interrupted. You were indeed a very good friend, and in some ways I will miss you.
Garma attempted to reply to this as well, but Char simply continued. But unfortunately, your brother's crimes against both Zeon and the true Imperial line are just too great, he spoke none-too-hintingly, all the while projecting specific imagery to emphasize. You can thank him for your fate.
Dawning realization once more came to Garma. Not from Char's words, nor the horrid images – a transport ship exploding just over Zeon, Gihren's coronation as the new Emperor, armed and armored assassins storming Zumberg Palace, two children fleeing into a waiting starship while the steward defended them to the last – that accompanied them. In fact, Garma didn't know where the realization came from, only that it was now upon him. The undeniable truth behind everything.
You're…! Garma could only stammer back. Casval Rem Daikun…!
Yes, Char answered in an executioner's tone. And you and your family are traitors to the Throne. The rightful Throne.
No response came to this, so Char continued. But do not worry Garma. You and Sasro will not be want for company. For I will see to it that your remaining siblings join you soon enough.
His smile returned, though it was very much strained. This I vow on my father's soul.
At last, the truth was out. Only now, at the end of his life, did Garma comprehend it, understand it. Everything – everything – had been meant for this very moment, this one segment of time. The friendship he had long cherished, the battles that they had fought together, the ingratiating into his family. All of it was for this. To see Garma Zabi dead alongside his brother and his father.
And yet, as Garma watched in seeming slow motion as the White Devil moved to finish him, he felt something from within he did not expect to be there. Not despair to his coming death, nor sorrow for his apparent betrayal. Nor even a lasting anger for the one who had sent him here.
Rather, he felt the same things that the Feddies below him had felt to this point. Resolution and acceptance. To know that they would die, and that nothing they would do would prevent it. And yet they would not die without claiming their own dues of blood and iron.
This is...my fate? Garma thought as he watched the saber swing downward, in which it would split his mobile suit into halves. Despite everything, and with a strength of will that he did not know he had until now, he did something even Char would not have expected of him.
He smiled. So be it.
Throwing up his axe with his suit's remaining strength, Garma managed to parry the saber strike, though it ended up shattering his blade. That mattered little to him, however, as Garma then overdrove his remaining thrusters and launched his Zaku directly at the Devil. It took no shortage of effort to break through its aura, especially before it could attack him again, but in the end Garma succeeded and reached the main body within. Which he grasped onto with his Zaku's remaining arm.
"I am a scion of the Zabi family, and I will go down in glory!" Garma declared as he tapped his console, engaging his mobile suit's self-destruct. "You have not defeated me!"
Though overcome with wrath and the will toward destruction, Amuro did not fail to notice Garma's intent. Nor, for that matter, did he fail to detect the command that his opponent entered into his console. Alongside the rapid overload of the Zaku's Apollo Reactor.
At that, Amuro had Unit Alpha reach up and attempt to rip the Zaku away, but through a strength he never thought possible, it remained in place. All the Gundam managed to do was rip off another large swathe of its ruined left side and fling it away. By the time it completed the action and moved its arm back up, it was too late.
From there, Amuro, through whatever consciousness he retained through his rage, could only watch as a white light emerged from within the Zeon mobile suit.
It was a strange feeling Garma held in those last few moments. Even as he watched the flickering display, which showed his reactor about to breach, complimented by an ever increasing white light, he still did not feel any anger or despair toward his coming death. Rather, he was actually at peace with it. As though his merely understanding that he could not avert it was enough for him to pass beyond this realm to the next.
Granted he had a fair number of regrets. Chief among them he would not be able to see Icelina again for a long, long time (at least if he had it his way). Nor would he ever meet his son for the same reasons. And he would certainly miss his brothers and sisters. For whatever crimes Gihren and the others might have committed, they were still his family, and he still loved them. Even Dozle's overcompensating banter was something he wished he could hear one last time.
And then there was Char. Despite all that he had come to realize, Garma did not hate him, nor did he see him as anything but his dear friend. Misguided perhaps, and not the least well-meaning, but a friend Char Aznable – no, Casval Rem Daikun – remained. And would remain so, when the time came for him to move on as well.
If anything, Garma actually pitied him. Only now, much more so than but a few moments ago, did he understand. Somewhere down the line, Prince Casval had become a man consumed by his rage and lust for vengeance. Such that he was willing to do anything and everything to obtain it, even at the cost of his soul. As well as those who had come to care for him.
Yes, that was Garma's chief regret, he knew now. If only he had known then, he could have at least tried to save his friend. Could have helped him regain what he had lost upon Emperor Zorin's death and all that had occurred thereafter. Alas, he could do nothing now. However, that didn't mean that his friend was beyond all hope, or another's reach.
Galina, I don't know if you can hear me, but I pray to any God that is out there that you will do what I could not, Garma thought as the light grew more and more intense. I pray that you will save him.
That was enough, much to his satisfaction. Though he did not know if that prayer would come to pass, at least Garma had been able to make it. And whether she actually heard him or not, he somehow knew his dear sister – perhaps the one true innocent in their lineage – would not fail him. In regards to Char, and perhaps toward their family and their nation as well.
But that was no longer Garma's concern. The light had since enveloped him, and, somehow gradually, he began to slip away. Thus, with the very last of his strength, he called out with all of his being. Right to the very end.
"GLORY TO THE EMPIRE OF ZEON!"
For but a few seconds' time, the whole of the universe turned pure, unrelenting white. With its reactor safeguards disengaged and all of its remaining power focused into that single point, the ruined Zaku detonated, eclipsing the whole field in overwhelming light and heat. Ice instantly vaporized, shrapnel and debris were thrown about and entire buildings toppled and tumbled over. The perpetual storm clouds overhead dispersed, generating a hole in their front – for perhaps the first time in years – and revealing the planet surface and those upon it to the stars above.
All while the few remaining active mobile suits – to say nothing of the crew of the Ark Royal – could witness in horror. As could the Zeon ships that remained in orbit, whose crews watched on in utter stillness.
Right until the white at last dispersed. Leaving only fire and ruin within its wake.
Federation Lexington-class fleetcarrier Ark Royal
Anges
"Damage report!" Bright demanded as he reoriented himself from the shockwave. Though it had hit the Ark Royal head on, his ship was still undercover, and so he didn't expect any serious damage. Even so, he dared not take any chances now.
"Checking all systems Captain," Oscar acknowledged as he forced himself back to his station. Away from the fire and dying light that was now firmly placed upon the main monitor.
Somehow remembering to breath, Mirai continued to gaze toward the outlying field. Already she felt her worst fears reemerge as she imagined how many of their own had been caught in the blast. "Mobile suit status!?" she demanded.
"Ark Royal to all surviving units, check in," Kikka called out over the comm. Only to be greeted by static. "Repeat, Alpha Romeo to all surviving mobile suits, check in!"
"Sweet mother of God…!" Letz suddenly let out from the navigator station. As he and Katz were seated directly before the monitor, he and the helmsman had the clearest view of the battlefield. Knowing this, the rest of the bridge turned back, looking toward whatever he had seen.
It didn't take them long to find it.
"No way…!" Ryu exclaimed with utmost shock. An expression that was shared across the whole of the bridge, up to and including Bright and Mirai themselves.
There, hovering in the middle of the sky, remained Gundam Unit Alpha. Beaten, battered and broken in several places, but still intact and functional otherwise.
Still cloaked in its white, luminescent aura, that single golden camera eye swept over the battlefield. Instilling both awe and dread in all who beheld it.
His consciousness slipping away more and more, Amuro nonetheless held himself in place. Through it all, his cockpit monitor had been rendered into an indescribable mess of black and white, but that didn't matter to him. For his Newtype power remained, despite the heavy toll he had just received.
Through it, he felt that all eyes were looking upon him now. From those back on the Ark Royal to the surviving pilots around him, both his comrades and his enemies, all beheld the White Devil. All in a myriad of emotion, from that of abject terror from the Zeon – who were beginning to turn away and flee back to space – to exuberance and triumph, if somewhat belated, from his surviving comrades. Even Sleggar, who remained alive within the equally battered and one armed Unit Beta, looked upon him with clear elation.
Yet, upon turning back to the retreating Zeon again, there was one that stood out. His ruined Zaku having been picked up by two others, who were now bringing it back into space with them, Amuro could just comprehend a barely active Char Aznable gazing upon him and smiling. Like him, the Red Comet was fading – in fact, it was obvious that he had suffered worse physically than Amuro had – but remained conscious for a little longer. Just so that he could turn his eyes – his ethereally blue eyes – upon the White Devil. And laugh.
It was that laughter that Amuro continued to hear as his vision blackened. It continued on in maddening form, even as he lost control of Unit Alpha, allowing his Gundam to fall from the sky and crater the ground below. Even as Amuro felt his eyes drift close and his body relax from the strain.
Even when there was not but darkness.