Author Note: You know the drill. Fucking chapter today was 6k words. If I didn't separate these chapters last one was going to be 16 or 17k if we count the author notes. I am exhausted, sick, and hopefully I can get Season 1 completed before I start school back again in August. That would be quite the treat. Remember to follow, favorite, and review. I know I haven't been commenting just been extremely busy and after writing such much, especially these over 6k chapters, it is really difficult to write and type of a response sometimes. These next chapters, hopefully 1 - 3 is going to wrap up the season that we've been on Winter, with a special Christmas, and New Years chapter along with tightening up some plot threads before we conclude the season. Pretty wholesome shit before the craziness happens again. Still thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

PS: For season 2 do you guys think I should keep on just updating this fic? Or split Season 2 to a different fic. Let me know your thoughts?

Chapter 50 - Shaddiq Duel (Part II)

Aiden

Aiden was falling, the fabric around the mobile suit torn away. His black hair flayed along his face, revealing blue eyes—one real, the other artificial. One eye locked into the past, the other into the future, never truly in the present. Even now, in the midst of this descent into darkness, he was haunted by the dreams of a girl. Norea, falling into the abyss alongside him.

Why was he special? Far less than human, yet somehow more. Partly robotic, partly magic. Was his magic real, or just commands turned into power, capable of inflicting harm at the right frequency? In these fleeting moments of connection, teetering on the edge of death, his mind flashed through his memories. His body was poised to shatter on the cold, unyielding floor below. Thoughts of Jack Cooper, his mother, and Suletta swirled within him—moments of warmth, love, and lust blending together in a kaleidoscope of amethyst and fiery orange. From the greenhouse to the way Suletta had taken him into her mouth, he felt a purity in the absolution of death.

But there was more he needed to do. He saw the mobile suit slicing through the air beside him, and on impulse, he seized the hardpoint. The suit was armed and ready. He maneuvered down it as it plummeted, throwing himself into the cockpit and slamming it shut. He strapped in, his fingers deftly flicking switches and pressing buttons.

"Come on, work!" he shouted, slamming down on the power button. The engines roared to life, blue and bronze lights igniting, reflecting the cosmos' glow. The suit's thrusters blazed orange, propelling him forward in zero gravity. He shot through the darkness, past Suletta, the sensation of wind against his skin even in space.

A memory surfaced—his childhood dream. "I want to be a pilot, Mom, just like Dad. I'll join the military and do what he did."

His mother's face, so like his own, filled his mind. "Ah, Aiden, I'll be lonely. I love your father, but he's not around anymore. I love you, Aidy. Don't go running off. You can help people by becoming an actual pilot."

Her words echoed in his mind. "Fly high, Henryk. That's what your father always said."

"And I'll fly high," he murmured, extending his hands towards the controls. He blazed through the cosmos, faster than them all, like a plane, like a bird. His titans had chained them to the Earth, but now they could be free, unbounded by gravity.

"What is that?" Laude's voice crackled through the comms as Aiden zipped and dashed through the great building where Martin had been blown upon.

The mobile suit whirled higher, darting, dashing in circles before blasting straight up. "So, this is the power of a true Zaku!" Aiden shouted. His hands tingled, his head warmed with that familiar strange sensation. This was the doctrine of a Druid of Harmony, a warrior, a soldier—a NewType Warrior. He was on the precipice of it, unchained, experiencing the true potential of a mobile suit.

"Brother!" Laude shouted as Aiden Winters descended like a blazing comet, the blue flames of his thrusters leaving streaks in the sky. His Zaku had a backpack equipped with four stub arms, which whirred and maneuvered, drawing out his machine gun and handing it to him seamlessly.

"I thought those mechs couldn't support beams!" Guel yelled, launching himself forward on his thrusters.

Aiden leveled the 360mm Giant Bazooka in a stub arm on his left shoulder. "Brother!" Laude's voice echoed through the comms, and Guel winced as they both shot forward, their thrusters screaming. Explosive rounds from Aiden's bazooka ripped through the air, tearing apart the cityscape with every impact, sending debris flying.

Guel zigzagged, trying to avoid the relentless barrage from Aiden's machine gun. He attempted to use his beam glaive, but the onslaught forced him to take cover. "He's too quick, he's too quick!" Guel shouted in frustration.

"Brother!" Laude charged with his beam saber raised for an overhead strike. Aiden's Zaku whirled upwards, its metal fist slamming into Laude's mech. The impact disconnected Laude's head unit, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Laude! You bastard, Aiden Winters!" Guel roared, fury blazing in his voice. He dove towards Aiden with his glaive, but Aiden's beam saber ignited, the two weapons clashing with a shower of sparks. Each hit reverberated through their machines, a violent dance of metal and light.

Aiden elegantly slashed off Laude's command antenna. The G-forces clenched his teeth as he spun on his thrusters, instinct—or perhaps something deeper—guiding his movements. He arched in a graceful strike, Guel's laser glaive barely managing to block his attack.

Meanwhile, Suletta slammed into the cockpit of Maisie's mech, sending the girl reeling. Her Gund Bits shot out, six hovering around her, as Maisie desperately scrambled for safety. Maisie ejected her beam saber, but before her mech's fingers could grasp it, they were severed by precise laser blasts.

Maisie's screams echoed as the blasts tore through her mech, slicing off limbs in vibrant flashes of light. Suletta made sure to leave the command antenna for last, her teeth gritted in determination. She glanced around the battlefield, searching for Aiden.

In the distance, the sound of gunfire reached her ears. "Aiden!" she shouted, blasting off towards the sound of the fight. She had been silent, battling her own jitters, but now she pushed forward with renewed resolve. Maisie had been a tough opponent, but she had to find Aiden.

"Deacon, are you doing okay?" shouted Suletta into her radio, her voice strained with concern. But Deacon's response was a cacophony of screams and gunfire, echoing through the comms.

His Gouf's machine gun rattled in both hands, riddling Ireesha with bullet after bullet. Yet, her shield absorbed most of the damage. She held the weapon steady in front of herself, the barrage barely making a dent.

"Ireesha, it's time," Shaddiq's voice cut through the chaos. "From what I'm reading, Sabina and Maisie's antennas have been broken."

"Not Maisie," Ireesha pouted, glancing to the side before igniting her thrusters and leaping from building to building.

"We're going to get Suletta Mercury in that trap and cut off the head of the snake as quickly as possible," Shaddiq radioed back, his tone calculated.

"Renee, you there?" Shaddiq's voice crackled through the radio.

"Roger," Renee responded, the sound of her loading another magazine into her laser rifle punctuating the transmission.

"Good to see that you're still here," Shaddiq replied. A distant explosion rumbled through the air. "How are the brothers holding up?"

Renee scoffed. "More like how they're surviving against Winters, more like it," she muttered. She tilted her mech's head, catching sight of the rising Suletta Mercury in the distance. "Get in position, and then we'll activate the device. This EMP should only mess with Gundams, and we just need a bit to..."

"…and I'll be the one to get that killing shot," Renee added, dark laughter trailing her words.

Meanwhile, Aiden Winters and Guel were locked in beam combat. Aiden zipped through the air, dodging Guel's attacks with agile precision. "Freaking coward!" Guel shouted, giving chase and thrusting with his glaive. The energy blade bit into Aiden's shield shoulder armor.

Aiden spun away, casting an orange haze, then hit the brakes suddenly. "Huh?" Guel exclaimed as his cockpit crunched. His head slammed into his console, and he felt a tooth loosen. Aiden flicked his knee upwards, kicking Guel into the side of a building.

Guel's head slammed against his board again. "W-why are you so quick!" he shouted, frustration and confusion in his voice.

Aiden stared back at him, a mixture of determination and cold resolve etched into his features.

"You've always just been too slow," Aiden spat back, slamming his hand down on Guel's command antenna.

"Like hell you are!" Guel shouted, his free hand connecting with Aiden's mech. Thrusters roaring, they both tumbled down the side of the building. "I'll take you with me and snap your mech's goddamn head and antenna with it!" Guel pivoted his mech, taking on great damage, but his eyes darted to Laude on the side.

Sabina, Laude… that meant there were only a few of them left. The whole plan had gone haywire. That damn Shaddiq, he had damned them all with this. And for what? Guel thought, his gaze wandering to the Earth House girl. Shaddiq. Guel was silently disgusted with himself for even working with him. Just some Earthian girl who had it hard enough, and Shaddiq was despicable enough to blackmail her?

Guel snorted, and Aiden fought within his grip, slamming another knee into his cockpit. "Like hell I'm going to let you decide that!" Aiden shouted and screamed, and everything came together like a spark of electricity along his frontal lobe. Time seemed to slow.

Guel watched in astonished slow-motion disbelief as Aiden executed a slash with his MS-06R-2 Zaku II High Mobility Type, pushing it far past its limit. In a series of movements, Aiden's blade bisected through the left shoulder of Guel's mech, severing it down to the elbow on the right. They drifted apart, but the blade had slashed dangerously close to Guel's cockpit. He breathed heavily through a bruised face.

"I… I am too slow," Guel muttered, sniffing. His dad was going to be so pissed. He had failed his friends again and allowed his brother to get hurt. Now, Shaddiq would reap the glory. The world seemed to darken against the backdrop of the rising sun. Guel's mech collapsed as Aiden's thrusters brought him back to the ground.

Aiden walked slowly. "You never learn, Guel Jetturk."

Guel struggled to see through a bloodied eye. Aiden's footsteps, no, he hovered. Guel had never seen anything like it before. While his father and grandfather had made military mechs, these were far different. Mass-produced, deadly, simple… but unique. He looked at Guel's Gouf, Oscar's sniper type, and this heavily advanced model… they had been using antiques months ago, and now this was what he had to contend with.

Guel snorted hard. "You… if you knew what I had to deal with out there in space," he darkly snickered. "I was ready to risk it all. If I had been allowed to use a true mobile suit, you wouldn't have been able to beat me. You never would have!" he shouted.

…and Aiden was silent for a beat. "But who's the one that's engaged to Miorine?"

A smile darkened Aiden's features. "You son of a bitch!" Guel roared, lunging with all his strength. Aiden's mech slammed forward, and Guel's couldn't handle the force, careening into another building. The impact made Guel see stars.

"You can't beat me," Aiden said, slashing downward. Guel's antenna came off in a clean slice.

"No, no, no!" Guel shouted, but Aiden had already turned off the radio.

Aiden took a moment, letting the victory sink in, before igniting his thrusters towards the artificial sky. In the distance, he saw Oscar and Chu Chu. He turned on his radio.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

"Jesus Christ, Aiden, where the hell have you been?" Oscar shouted. "We've been trying to reach you this whole time and—"

"Well, I was busy clawing my way out of that fight for my life. Oscar, I don't even know how that was possible!" Aiden's voice was tinged with a mix of disbelief and exhilaration. "Everything just slowed down, and I felt like I had this, like everything was connected and—"

"That's real beautiful, but we've got problems. The last couple of mechs are going after Suletta as we speak!" Chu Chu shouted.

Aiden's eyes widened. "Which ones are still alive?"

Oscar's voice crackled. "Ireesha, Shaddiq, and Renee!"

"Oh brother, who the hell let Renee get to Suletta?" Aiden shouted.

Chu Chu yelled back, "Well, next time, how about you defend your girlfriend!"

"Oh, bite me!" Aiden retorted.

"Enough! Enough, enough... nice flying, Aiden, but get to Suletta before they do. You're far more mobile!" Oscar ordered.

A great blast echoed through the city. A massive laser beam tore through the complexes, knocking Aiden off course as buildings crumbled into ash and rubble. "Oh, s-shit!" he shouted, maneuvering to avoid the falling debris. His gaze darted toward the crumbling cityscape and the figures of Guel and his brother amidst the chaos.

It was like an earthquake, and Guel, with his open cockpit, could see the rubble coming.

"I-I am sorry, Dad… I thought we could win and…" Aiden's Zaku hand gripped the torn corpse of Guel's Dilenza as Guel was thrown around. As the rubble rained down, he blasted off, his leg thrusters firing like roller skates along the rapidly deteriorating floor.

Martin was screaming, "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I can't die here!" as he rolled the massive truck off the entrance of the arena, narrowly averting death. He leaped away and practically kissed the ground.

Aiden whirled his other hand and seized Laude's mangled Dilenza as well, gripping both young men as they blasted forward. A great skyscraper was coming down in fives toward them.

"D-damn, I'd rather die than be saved by the likes of you, mutant filth," shouted Laude through his radio.

Aiden didn't have the luxury to respond. His mind was sharp, a powerful zap electrifying his thoughts. The building was falling inward, waves of debris cascading down. He whirled his thrusters to the right.

Guel snorted. "You're wrong about this, Winters, and we're all going to be crushed."

Aiden snorted back, pushing the throttle down as hard as he could. They zipped through the collapsing structure, bouncing toward the sky. Aiden's Zaku whirled around in a spin, its pink monocular eye trailing in multiple distinct directions.

Meanwhile, Chu Chu shouted, "What the hell is that?"

Oscar saw the wave of debris coming toward them. Without a word, he slammed the bulky frame of his modified Zaku 1 into Chu Chu, tackling her as the world around them began to rain rock.

Aiden could see Suletta standing in the middle of the arena. Through his viewport, he watched as Oscar pushed the rubble off his back and helped Chu Chu up within the damaged arena.

Suletta was in the center, her beam rifle completely blasted off. Ireesha's, Maisie's, and Shaddiq's mechs were reduced to rubble. Suletta was shaking in the cockpit.

"A-Aerial, why did you use that much force?" Suletta questioned, her hands trembling as she stared at the blue-lit console. "T-they… I didn't…" She was staring at their charred mech suits. All that power, the Aerial's arm gone… she had pushed it to its limit in combat potential. It was clear now: the secret of the Aerial was confirmed. It was far from being just any mobile suit.

Miorine stared, and there was a ghastly quality about the Aerial's hollowed eyes now, a reflection of the overwhelming power it held and the destruction it had wrought.

Suletta (Five Minutes Prior)

Suletta was barreling through the ruined cityscape. "A-Aiden!" she shouted into the radio, but it merely crackled. "Aiden, can you hear me?" she yelled again, her voice tinged with desperation. That blue mobile suit had to be him, it just had to be.

Her fingers curled along the controls, eyes narrowed as she glared through the viewport. "Deacon, you there?" she called out.

"Deacon, you there!" Suletta repeated, slamming her hand hard against the console in frustration. "D-Damn it!" she cursed, her voice trembling with anger and fear.

The Aerial's cockpit started to blip and sputter, a cool blue light settling over the console as Suletta let out a heavy sigh. "I-I know I shouldn't be cursing, but Aiden and the guys do it so much when they're frustrated and…and…"

The Aerial continued with rapid beeps, the console lighting up erratically. "I-I know I have to stay calm, but you saw what happened to Aiden!" Suletta shouted, her voice breaking. "They hurt Martin really bad, and Aiden nearly died again, and for what?" Her frustration was rising, boiling over.

Her fingers tightened around the controls, eyes locked ahead. Ever since she had set foot on this campus, she had been striving for a normal school life. She had befriended the Sons of Harmony, found a best friend in Miorine, and had a boyfriend in Aiden. But now, she was being tossed around, called a witch, Miorine's agency was at risk, and Aiden had nearly died again—for the third time this year!

The Aerial's beeps grew more erratic, more frantic. Suletta, from all the years she had known the Aerial, realized what it was trying to tell her. "Relax, calm down, he's fine, they're fine. There are bigger things to worry about."

Deep down, Suletta knew it, but all that logic flew out the window as she picked up a signal. "S-Suletta!" It came through scrambled and frantic—Deacon's voice.

"Deacon, what's wrong?" shouted Suletta.

She heard Deacon's heavy chuckling, a sound that sent chills down her spine. "W-What a b-unch of p-ilots," his voice came through, scrambled and choked, the sizzling sound of his command antenna being undone. Then, Renee's voice flooded Suletta's comms.

"Your friends are falling, Suletta," Renee's voice taunted. "One by one. Do you think you can save them all?"

Suletta's heart pounded in her chest. "Renee, what did you do to him?" she demanded, her voice trembling with rage.

A sinister laugh echoed through the comms. "Oh, nothing he didn't deserve. And Aiden? He's next."

Renee's mech stood solitary in the park of the ruined city. Broken trees, their skeletal branches reaching skyward like dead hands, littered the landscape. The once vibrant park now seemed like a graveyard, with dead leaves clinging to their branches in a futile grasp at life. A large well in the center struggled to spew black muck, a dark, lifeless pool at its heart. Ruins of stone pathways, abandoned restaurants, and shattered dining areas framed the scene, a testament to the city's fall.

Renee's mech stood in the open, a stark figure against the desolate backdrop. Suletta could picture her now—smug-faced, twin tails bobbing, hands confidently in her pockets. Renee believed herself superior, but Suletta knew the truth. Beneath the pride, it was clear who the better pilot was.

"Aerial, that's her, that's the girl, the bully!" Suletta shouted, her voice quivering with rage as she pointed at the console. Her fingertips tightened on the controls, and anger, like lightning, flashed across her mind. She was beelining towards Renee, every muscle taut with fury.

Quick, anxious blips appeared across the screen as Suletta charged, her red hair whipping wildly across her face from the downward arc of the G-force. The Aerial spoke in code, trying to calm her. "Relax, Suletta. What bully…" Suletta could read between the lines.

Suletta felt the anger boiling within her. Back on Mercury, there were elders who gave her and her mom trouble. But this was different. This was mean-spirited, personal. This was someone from Aiden's past, someone who had hurt her friend. The words, the venom—Suletta wanted to hurt back.

Renee stood, smiling as the mech approached. "Come closer, a bit closer," she murmured to herself, anticipation dripping from her voice.

Shaddiq grinned beneath his helmet, perched with Ireesha on either side of the park. They were hidden within the complexes of apartments or what could have been company buildings. Their mechs slouched, the special EMP primed and ready.

"Prepare yourself, Renee," Ireesha calmly muttered. "That one got Maisie. She's going to hit you like a truck."

For the first time in a long while, the smug look on Renee's face was dented by an anxious smile. "I know, I know," she whispered, a grim determination settling over her. The charging Gundam—or not Gundam—was barreling towards her, a force of nature.

Renee's breathing deepened, her ears echoing with her own heartbeat. In a flourish, she chucked her destroyed beam saber aside. The blue mobile suit lay defeated on its back, but Deacon inside could hear how Renee picked up his Heat Saber, the weapon glowing orange within her hands.

"Come at me, witch!" Renee screamed, adrenaline flooding her veins. She powered on her thrusters as Suletta's battle cry echoed through the comms, flooding into Renee's mech and then into her very bones. At that moment, as the two forces collided, Renee realized just how truly screwed she was.

Renee and Suletta clashed in mid-air, their mechs moving with a deadly grace. Renee lifted Deacon's heat saber above her head, preparing to strike down, but Suletta was faster. She drew her beam saber with a swift, fluid motion.

"You're too slow!" Suletta shouted, her voice cutting through the comms with a harsh edge. "You think you're better than everyone? I'll show you!" Her anger boiled over, giving her a fierce determination.

Suletta wanted this fight to be personal. She didn't even deploy her Gund-Bits; she needed to feel every blow. Renee yelped as Suletta's beam saber cleaved through the air, severing the wrist of Renee's mech. The heat saber slipped from Renee's grasp, becoming nothing more than a useless hunk of metal.

"You bitch!" Renee screamed, but Suletta was relentless. The Aerial's knee drove into the chest of Renee's mech, sending Renee's head slamming against her console. The glass cracked, a shard biting into her skin, drawing blood perilously close to her eye.

"W-wait, just stop and—" Renee's plea was cut off as the Aerial's knee dug deeper into her mech's chest. With a powerful flick, Suletta sent Renee's mech hurtling skyward.

The Aerial shot forward, seizing Renee's mech mid-fall and hurling it into the side of a building with a thunderous crash. The impact echoed through the cityscape, a testament to Suletta's unyielding force.

"Suletta, what are you doing?" Miorine's voice crackled over the comms, filled with shock. She had never seen this side of Suletta before. Was it the call that had sparked this fury?

Renee's thrusters sputtered, spent from the impact. Desperately, she tried to escape, her mech limping away. "You can't use crazy force in a duel, dumbass!" Renee shouted, her voice tinged with panic. She yanked off her helmet, feeling the sting of glass around her eye, knowing the cut would scar. But Suletta wasn't listening.

"W-who do you think you are!" Suletta's voice was raw with emotion, tears streaking down her face. "You think you can just show up in Aiden's life, in our life, and act all jealous?" The Aerial's beam Vulcans spat fire, tearing into the right leg of Renee's mech. Explosions erupted from the rockets, and Renee's mech, now a crippled wreck, slammed into a building. It dragged along the facade, trying in vain to stop its descent.

Suletta's eyes blazed with a fiery intensity, her heart pounding in her chest. Every thought of her mother, the Aerial, the school, and everyone else faded to the background. This was about Renee, her bully, and Suletta would not be found wanting.

"J-just enough, enough!" Renee's voice rang out, thick with desperation. "You won, you won! Just take off my command antenna and—"

Suletta's grip tightened on the controls, her knuckles white. The Aerial responded, wrapping its other hand around the beam saber. With an elegant, two-handed slash, she bisected Renee's mech from the waist down.

Renee cried out, her mech crashing to the ground, upper body still functional as the wriggling lower half sparked and twitched. "Shaddiq, do the trap, do the trap…!" Renee screamed, her voice frantic. She lurched forward, slamming her face against the console, blood streaming from her nose, tears glistening in her eyes.

Suletta was crying too, angry tears mingling with snot dribbling down her lips. She stared wide-eyed at the bisected mech, the Aerial's beam saber hovering ominously over Renee's cockpit. "N-now you're mine!" Suletta shouted, a maniacal laugh escaping her lips, the laugh of a victim turned tormentor. Part of her relished this moment, but another part of her was disgusted.

"Now!" Shaddiq's voice cut through the comms.

Suletta's eyes widened as the Aerial began to wane. She glanced at the power levels on her console, watching them deplete rapidly. Renee was laughing, a cruel, mocking sound. "Got you, r-retard!" Renee taunted, mimicking Suletta's stutter.

Suletta's focus locked onto the draining power levels. She lurched away just as Shaddiq and Ireesha arrived, their mechs forming an ethereal bridge of light between them. The power in her suit continued to drain.

"A-Aerial, we need to get out of here!" Suletta's voice was frantic. Her eyes widened as Shaddiq leveled his beam rifle and fired.

She raised her shield, struggling to control her Gund-Bits, managing to form a makeshift barrier. The laser blast struck, sending tremors through her mech. The Aerial's systems screamed warnings as the combined force of Shaddiq and Ireesha's attack pushed her back.

The beam saber's heat seared through her defenses, and the Aerial's power levels dropped even faster. "No, no, no…" Suletta muttered, fighting to maintain control. The scarlet beams forced her onto an unsteady axis, her mech swaying under the relentless assault.

Yet another stray blast hit her, and Suletta found herself careening out of control. She fought desperately with the controls, shouting, "What is this?" Her eyes widened as she realized the entire park was now an entrapment. Shaddiq, Renee, and Ireesha were the architects, their light emanating like a prison.

Suletta's breath fogged up the inside of her helmet. Shaddiq leveled his rifle and released another blast. It streaked through the sky, a beam of doom. But then, the Aerial jerked to the side, dodging the blast with an almost human-like agility. Shaddiq, Ireesha, and even Renee were wide-eyed in shock. Suletta's hands were frozen on the controls.

"I-I didn't move," Suletta whispered, her gaze drifting down to the console, which blazed with blue light. "That was you, Aerial?" she questioned, her voice trembling.

Around her, the neon blue lights of the cockpit dimmed, morphing into a darker, crimson hue. Suletta had known the Aerial since she could walk. It was a machine, but it was family. Now, she felt a strange new emotion emanating from it—hate.

The Aerial leveled its beam rifle, aiming it with a precision that seemed impossible. It almost felt like the machine could sense where Shaddiq and Ireesha were. "Ireesha!" Shaddiq's voice cracked as he realized the danger. The gund bits around the Aerial began to disconnect. They should have been shut down by the EMP, but the will of the machine was stronger.

"Ireesha, get out of there!" Shaddiq burst through the side of a building, urgency in every movement. The gund bits wormed their way toward Ireesha, blasting through the structure just as she escaped. Laser fire chewed through the area, the beams slicing the air in fives.

"Aerial, relax, enough!" Suletta pleaded, but the Aerial had its own will now. She desperately clawed for the controls, but the Aerial was acting out, angry. Deep down, Suletta understood what was happening. The Aerial hated being trapped, hated the cage. The threat of losing Gund-Arm, the bullying from Renee—it was all too much.

The Aerial was acting like an older sibling, protecting its own. Reality had settled upon them, far beyond these petty duels. Renee watched in horror as the Aerial moved. It was too human-like, the way it bent and dodged, the way it craned its neck and saw in all directions, as if it wasn't dependent on Suletta's piloting at all.

"W-what the hell is this thing?" Renee muttered, her confidence shattered. The Aerial was relentless, its gund bits slicing through the air with deadly precision, each blast closer to hitting its mark. Suletta's heart pounded in her chest. She had to regain control, had to stop this before it went too far.

"Please, Aerial, listen to me," Suletta whispered, tears streaming down her face. "We don't need to hurt them like this."

But the Aerial was beyond listening. It was a force of its own now, driven by a fierce protectiveness and a deep-seated rage.

She watched as Ireesha surged forward, her laser rifle blazing and beam saber slashing. The Aerial zipped around her, thrusters flaring. Before Ireesha could react, the Aerial was behind her, a fully charged shot ready to fire.

The blast tore through the command antenna and head of Ireesha's mech. Shaddiq watched, stunned. "What a monster," he muttered, glaring at the orange, alight eyes now fixed on him. "What sort of things are you involved in now, Miorine?" He chuckled darkly. "To have a demon of a mobile suit like that."

The Aerial emitted a growl, a guttural sound as its servos moved forward. Shaddiq braced himself, the Aerial rising into the air, ignoring Suletta's desperate pleas.

"Aerial, it's enough!" Suletta shouted, her voice trembling. "They've learned their lesson. It's over, just end it!" Rapid beeps echoed in the cockpit, dark tones ensnaring Suletta as a harsh cold settled over her. "Whatever happened, happened. Aiden is fine and we're going to win…you don't need to…" Her voice trailed off as the Aerial ignited its thrusters, streaking into the sky in a line of blue.

For a moment, as Shaddiq watched, the eyes of the Aerial seemed to morph within those rapid lines of light. They looked disturbingly human—silent, observing, loathing. The Aerial hovered in the air, leveling its beam rifle as if targeting something far away. The Gund Bits floated around, aligning ominously.

"D-do you hear that, Shaddiq?" Renee's terrified voice crackled over the comms.

"What, Renee?" Shaddiq asked, his voice strained. For the first time in a very long while, he felt the blood drain from his legs, a cold fear gripping him.

"I hear children laughing," Renee whispered, her voice filled with dread. It was the shock of someone staring into the dark of an open closet, realizing there was something to fear all along.

In that moment, Shaddiq realized the depth of his folly. Everything slowed, his thoughts racing. He was confronted by memories—faces, events, emotions. He had always been the observer, dealing with his issues with Guel, his love for Miorine, and the complex relationship with his adoptive father. Deep down, Shaddiq knew he should have gone against his father's wishes, confessed his love openly. His father would have supported him. But Shaddiq preferred working in the shadows, manipulating events from behind the scenes.

Now, as he faced the Aerial, he realized how blind he had been. The machine was more than just a mobile suit; it was a force of nature, driven by emotions he had underestimated. And in that realization, Shaddiq felt true fear for the first time.

He had heard of House Harmony when they had first arrived, even attended a few of their parties. He knew Jack, the dark-skinned one, from an economics class. Renee had gone to one of Jack's parties, and it didn't take long for her to start dating Aiden Winters. They argued a lot—Shaddiq could hear her ranting about how annoying Aiden was—but that didn't stop her from sleeping over at Winter's mansion every night. Though Renee had kissed many boys, gone on many dates, and could have had any guy she chose, she had given Aiden Winters her virginity, and in a twisted way, her love.

Things ended badly one day, like the strike of a match. A guy asked Renee out. Renee, angry at Aiden and believing this was her way to 'set a fire underneath him' so he would focus on his studies and quit his music, agreed. She told the young suitor she would leave Aiden and break up with him if he won a duel. The suitor readily agreed. Shaddiq remembered the blazing anger that Aiden had walked into that day—not anger at the suitor, but at Renee. Aiden believed that if she actually cared about him, such a duel, with these terms, was laughable and disgusting. He beat the suitor in a one-sided fight with his titan and publicly broke up with Renee, spelling the end of their saga.

Renee had been crying, depressed, angry, drinking. But she hid it well. Months passed, and then Suletta arrived. Maybe it was the foolishness of it all that bothered Shaddiq the most. Guel had an excuse; he didn't know Aiden Winters. Shaddiq did. He had hoped the Gund-Format EMP would work, and while it did impair the machine's capabilities to that of a standard mobile suit, something else was driving the machine forward. Was it Suletta, or something more?

His mind raged. He should have approached Aiden and Deacon when their relationship with Miorine was still new and offered money for them to lose a duel. He should have aligned with them instead of making a proper enemy of them. Any chance of working with them had been dashed since the Parker incident. And thirdly, his mind raged on why he even challenged the duel to begin with. Why did he let all this with Guel slide? Was it truly because he was afraid of what Aiden Winters was doing and the circumstances surrounding him? Did he truly want to be Holder? Did he want to prove something to himself or to his father…or was it, Miorine?

…and Shaddiq sneered, his thoughts clouded with an image of Miorine, but now that image included Aiden Winters too. Aiden, always there, being scolded, ridiculed, annoying. Yet, as Aiden smiled, Miorine's face, streaked with red, floated into his mind.

Shaddiq slammed his hand down on the console, his fury boiling over. The bastard already had his own girl, and here he was, willing to throw away the gift of Miorine for some common country bumpkin. The insanity of it!

His thoughts were abruptly shattered. The Gundbits connected to the Aerial's beam rifle, and he watched in horror as it took aim at Renee. Electric volts coursed along the barrel, which began to glow, fracture, and melt as a deep green hue formed at its core.

"Renee… get out of there!" Shaddiq shouted.

Renee saw the light, her eyes widening as she frantically slammed her console. Her thrusters refused to buckle or move, pinning her mech to the ground as the whirling of electricity grew louder above her.

"Aerial, enough, enough!" Suletta screamed, her eyes wide as she scrambled over the controls. But the machine had a will of its own. "It's over, it's over!" she shouted, but the Aerial only tightened its grip on the trigger.

A great blast erupted, melting and scorching the Gundbits and armor. The prongs shot away from the blast, the unstable explosion engulfing the Aerial's thighs and kneecaps in a roaring green fireball that descended like a comet.

Suletta watched in awe-filled shock, guilt, and wide-eyed desperation, her rapid breathing echoing in her ears, her heart pounding. She heard a soft, mature, and gentle voice, older and reassuring.

"I'll always protect you, Suletta. You're my little sister, after all. And I know just how cruel this world is."

As quickly as the voice appeared, it was gone. But the blast remained. Renee, staring through a blood-clotted eye, saw her life flash before her. Shaddiq ignited his thrusters and slammed into Renee's mech, dragging her up into the sky, but it was too late.

The force of the shockwave and debris traveled forth for miles, slamming into the spot where Renee had once been. The damage radiated underground, within the dueling arena.

And the shockwave erupted in a green blast, spewing acidic, bitter flames from sewers and pipelines. The fiery green torrent raged like a dragon through the concrete jungle, devouring everything in its path. Ireesha and Deacon's mechs, along with their pilots, were hurled upwards, lost within the city's gravitational field. Though spared from the main quake, the floating debris became the real threat, the dust clouds threatening to consume them all.

"Hold onto something," Deacon's voice crackled through the radio. He tightened his seatbelt, eyes fixed on Ireesha's mech, rising from the swirling dust and wind. "This is going to be a rough ride."

Debris rained down around Shaddiq and Renee, whirling in a chaotic dance as Shaddiq pushed his thrusters to the limit. A rogue chunk of debris, a sizable electrical pylon, slammed into Renee's mech.

"Renee!" Shaddiq shouted, his mech's hands clawing desperately for her. He lost her in the dust, the curtain swallowing her whole. He heard the rhythmic clink of her antenna being ripped away and slamming into something. "R-Renee!" he shouted again, but then the wires of the pylon wrapped around him, grounding his thrusters.

"Come on, come on!" he grunted, thrashing against the wires. Panic surged through him; the arena was in shambles, and he didn't want to be swallowed by the chaos. But it was futile. Shaddiq was thrown downwards, gray and blackness closing in. His final sight was the Aerial's orange eyes gleaming down at him before he slammed into his console, his head spinning from the impact.

The last thing he heard was the electrical hiss of his command antenna snapping, followed by the triumphant sound signaling the end of the duel. Shadows consumed him, and he already knew they had lost the moment his trap had sprung.

"You really know how to pick them, Miorine," Shaddiq muttered as he closed his eyes.