2022-09-30: At the Bottom of the Gravity Well: Two Unicorns
- Log: 2022-09-30: At the Bottom of the Gravity Well: Two Unicorns
- Cast: Armor of the Week, Banagher Links, Lilith Aiden, Lily Jung, Leina Ashta, Lina Lombardi, Alma Stirner, Yuliana Dispersal, Lark Straye, Yurika Misumaru, Ennil El, Sayla Mass, Tetsuya Tsurugi, Arriety Hearn, Kamille Bidan, Mineva Lao Zabi, Rau Le Creuset, BC-001 Minae, Sayaka Yumi, Michiru Tenjou, Shelby Korts, Eight York, Amuro Ray, Judau Ashta, Rena Lancaster, Lucine Azul, Puru Two, Anita Rosetta, Sophia Mayhew Castellan, Roux Louka
- Where: Torrington Base, Australia
- OOC - IC Date: September 30, 0096
- Summary: The Federation's Torrington base was attack by a joint Sleeves/ZAFT attack force. It all went wrong.
<Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
Thin yellow beams slice through the sky, carving apart Torrington City in a haphazard, indiscriminate manner. Buildings collapse, cut apart by the thin lasers.
At the centre of the spiraling bombardment: A vermillion-red, 70-metre long Mobile Armour of curved plates, particle launchers on its shoulders scattering beams skyward, where an encircling cloud of psycommu-operated drones project reflector fields that bounce these beams down and around the weapon at unpredictable angles. The pointed head, mounted on a long, articulated neck, makes the unit resemble some kind of dragon.
This is certainly the Zeon Remnant weapon detailed in the intelligence report recently distributed to Federation forces.
It was accompanied, at first, by an assault team of barely-operational, One Year War-era Zeon mobile suits. While the element of surprise and the presence of this Mobile Armour lead the Remnant assault to gain several inroads against the Federation defense, the defenders swiftly rallied and pushed back the attack, accompanied by a heavily-customised Byarlant single-handedly destroying a swathe of the old mobile suits before retreating to shore up the defenses of the base proper. Now, one of the few remaining Zeon units is a VTOL transport containing a Zaku II armed with a beam sniper rifle still trying to lay down fire to protect the Mobile Armor, piloted by the leader of the assault, known Zeon officer Yonem Kirks
At this point, if not for the Mobile Armor designated the AMA-X7 Shamblo, Federation reinforcements would simply be mopping up. As it stands... There's still a very important problem posing an immediate threat to civilian life.
In the cockpit, the Shamblo's pilot, a dark-skinned teenager with deep blue hair, stares blankly into her control screen, red light rippling behind her as the cockpit's psycommu system runs rampant, tapping into her grief and rage to wreak havoc on her behalf.
Above the battlefield, out of range of anti-air bombardment, an unarmed freighter shaped like a curved trapezoid in olive green hovers, pulling away from the battlefield. On the bridge, Suberoa Zinnerman and the Garencieres crew watch the battlefield grimly, but the captain's eyes in particular are fixed on a descending white mobile suit:
The Unicorn Gundam.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
"I'm not the key to some box." Banagher murmurs, to the Unicorn. His voice is soft and beseeching, almost a prayer. Leina, in the cockpit beside him, might notice the slight tremble in his hands. "I'm human. And you're a machine, built to amplify human abilities. That's what you were built for. For those of us who can sense what's in other people's hearts. Other people's sadness. So please. Don't let anger take control."
The Unicorn soars downward. It isn't truly flying, gravity's call too strong for that. All the same, the pair feels a giddy sense of exhiliration. Loni is still down there, and she needs help! Banagher is certain he can reach her, that he can stop all this! No one else needs to get hurt. Pulling out the Unicorn's beam magnum, Banagher fires twice into the ground just before the Shamblo. Violet and magenta light burst, sending the debris of the road in all directions. It's a dazzling display of power -- the Beast of Possibility coming into its own.
Hopefully, it's enough to make Loni pause her attack. Banagher lands just before the Shamblo, gun put away, arms outstretched. "I'm gonna break the Box's seal!" Banagher calls through the comms. "You'd better all fall back!"
It's a desperate gamble. Anything to stop the slaughter. All around the Unicorn, Zeon suits are being torn to shreds -- surely this won't escape Loni's notice. But when she doesn't move to begin retreating, Banagher grows anxious. "Stop it! Why are you doing this? All the dead you're responsible for here today? Their families will be filled with hatred for your people! It won't end!"
Force won't solve anything... Banagher looks to Leina. This is dangerous. He doesn't mind risking his own life, but with Leina here... "...this isn't her. She's being enslaved. I know can do it -- I can stop her." He says, gently. "Please put your faith in me."
"Miss Loni. Is this what you really want?" Banagher asks, broadcasting to the Shamblo again. "It's too sad to live only for hatred and anger!" His heartbeat pounds in his ears. A few taps of his controls, and the Unicorn's cockpit opens. Banagher steps out, leaving himself -- and Leina -- completely defenseless. Brown hair blows in the wind as the young man takes his helmet off.
The Shamblo stops. Banagher's heart soars -- he knew he could do this! Slowly, Loni emerges from her own machine, and the two lock eyes. For a moment, it feels like everything's going to be okay.
Before Banagher can say anything else, pain lances through his heart. He's felt this a few times before, always on the battlefield. The meaning is clear, even if Banagher doesn't know who, or why... Death. Loni crumples, then starts screaming. "Miss Loni!" Banagher calls. The Shamblo is already closing. Banagher desperately reaches out, but -- the Unicorn closes as well. For a moment, all Banagher can do is huddle into himself. Someone fires on the Shamblo, and he jolts back to reality. "Leina, I'm sorry. I -- must do what I can to stop her! I have to stop her!"
<Pose Tracker> ??? has posed.
Time and space twists and rends the air, momentarily forming a bridge between this moment and that. As the distortion of time and place goes, this one is relatively small and curtailed; though to say that is to undermine how momentous and impossible the bridge is in spite of that smallness. Moments so distant are not things that are so briefly bridged, and the earnest wishes that distorted the world on the other side of the bridge would never have demanded it be distorted in this specific fashion.
What slips through the distortion first is a flash of orange; a long blade-like object that turns in on itself and takes to flight, its shape collapsing forward into a 'U' shape. The orange fin funnel maneuvers through the air, twists, and plants a particle beam through the Zaku II harassing the battlefield from afar. It is not a grand or glorious moment; it is a knife in the dark thrust up through the left armpit. The victim may have a moment to recognize that they're a victim of an abrupt, dire turn-- but only a moment.
The RX-93 Nu Gundam itself, gleaming a brilliant orange, is precipitated by a psychic emanation that permeates all but the most empathically numb, and does not go away, lingering in the air like radiation. It is more complex than a mere feeling though, those who are not valid receivers for such a thing find themselves merely chilled, as if they were immersed in frigid water. The emanation itself is simple but nauseating in its finality, a damning judgment of all that has been up until now and all that could come of what "all" has become up to this moment:
It all went wrong.
It isn't a thought that is cognizant of alternate paths. The problem is terminal; perhaps it has always been terminal. The miracle hadn't worked, in the end, and the price of it was so unimaginably steep that it couldn't conceivably be worth the bill. The only thing left to do is put the chairs up on the tables, turn the lights off, and lock up on the way out the door for ever.
The lone funnel that had slipped through and taken a life is joined in the air by five others, propelling smoothly from their rack and scattering across the battlefield. The feeling of "threat" is absent; the emotional weight of pulling the trigger is muddled and different, present but needing to be interpreted differently to be recognized. It is less like a man squaring up to murder someone, and more like the one pulling the trigger is depressing the plunger on a lethal dose of morphine on behalf of somebody who will die one way or another.
There is a melancholy kindness to the hail of funnel fire, accompanied by a weariness that goes beyond bone deep. The necessity of the act is not in question: It all went wrong. Even so, it takes its toll.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Leaping backwards, the Unicorn holds up the beam magnum. For the sake of everyone here..! For Leina! Tears sting his eyes, but Banagher lines up the shot, ready to destroy the Shamblo. Hands trembling, he hovers just over the button to fire. "I -- I can't --"
Reality twists. Banagher is spared from killing the teenager in front of him by the appearance of a flash of orange. "Is... that..? Leina! Leina, are you seeing this?!"
Nothing in all the universe could prevent him from recognizing that mobile suit. It was flown by his hero, when he saved everyone! Golden eyes shine, wide with awe. "Amur -- nnh!" The psychic assault hits him hard, slicing through the young man's open heart, leaving him clutching at his chest. "W--what is..."
The Unicorn, of its own volition, slowly turns its head.
It's looking at the same thing as its pilot, but all the wonder and joy of Banagher's gaze is replaced with cold malice. Psychoframe. Newtype. And worst of all, a danger to its pilot.
Immediately, the NT-D drops down. Banagher's chair slides back. "No!" He shouts, fighting to keep its influence away. The Unicorn shudders and twitches, straining to transform. Scarlet light emits across the battlefield in frantic bursts. "He needs help! We can't--!"% Desperate eyes turn to Leina, wide with fear and pain.
The young man is no match for the NT-D, not after that emotional blow. He chokes in pain as injectors pierce his back and shoulders, metal arms reaching out to clutch his forehead. On the outside, the Gundam completes its trasnformation. An echoing scream can be heard by all -- heard mentally, terrifying and fierce. Menacing red light shines in a solid beacon, now, as the Unicorn's horn splits in two.
Unicorn's aura grows and grows, colliding with the Shamblo's, sending a wave of destructive energy across the entirety of the battlefield. Violet-magenta power glows around the beam magnum as it charges. Firing indiscriminately, the berserk Gundam aims for every threat it can reach. Unicorn has overtaken its pilot, and it will put an end to this battle.
"N--ngh.." Banagher's fingers twitch. His eyes stare blindly ahead. Is anything capable of overcoming the terrible power of the NT-D?
KTS: Amuro Ray has deployed in RX-93-000 Conqueror King Nu Gundam. KTS: Banagher_Links has deployed as a Boss for 4 opponents. KTS: Banagher Links has placed a bucket with capacity 4! KTS: Lilith Aiden has joined Banagher Links's bucket! Rena Lancaster has moved to Depths
KTS: Rena Lancaster arrives loaded onto Eight York's combat deck! KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn has joined Banagher Links's bucket! KTS: Amuro Ray has placed a bucket with capacity 5! KTS: Amuro_Ray has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents. KTS: Lark Straye has joined Amuro Ray's bucket! KTS: Lina Lombardi has joined Amuro Ray's bucket! KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru Two with Beam Magnum Double Shot! KTS: Sayaka Yumi has joined Amuro Ray's bucket! KTS: Sayla Mass has joined Amuro Ray's bucket! KTS: Banagher Links targets Lilith Aiden with Beam Magnum Double Shot! KTS: Banagher Links targets Judau Ashta with Beam Magnum Double Shot! <Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
On the winds of psychic sensitivity, Yonem Kirks' final wish is felt:
'Loni... Don't end up like the rest of us...'
Loni takes this sensation... poorly. Falling back into the cockpit and clutching her head, the machine almost seems to embrace her, the psycoframe behind her glowing fiercely as the hatch closes up. The Shamblo's head arcs back and its armour plates open up as she screams - revealing a large-calibre Mega Particle Launcher, glowing ominously.
"DIE! DIE! ALL OF YOU! DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
The Shamblo fires.
KTS: Puru Two has joined Banagher Links's bucket! KTS: Banagher Links targets Arriety Hearn with Beam Magnum Double Shot! KTS: Judau Ashta has joined Banagher Links's bucket! KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Lilith Aiden successfully Evades Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Double Shot KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn fails to evade Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Double Shot, taking 5490 damage! KTS: Amuro Ray: Will Barrier Activates. KTS: Amuro Ray targets Lark Straye, Lina Lombardi, Sayaka Yumi, and Sayla Mass with Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage. CHANSYS: No channel with that name or alias found.
KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Sayla Mass, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Sayla Mass blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 4836 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's ??? activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 9464 KTS: Armor_of_the_Week has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents. KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Lark Straye, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Lark Straye fails to Evade Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 4836 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Alma Stirner, Yuliana Dispersal, Lucine Azul, Yurika Misumaru, and Shelby Korts with Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm. KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Sayaka Yumi, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Sayaka Yumi blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 4836 damage! Tetsuya Tsurugi teleports in.
KTS: Yurika Misumaru partially guards Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm, taking 2835 damage! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal fails to evade Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm, taking 5040 damage! KTS: Alma Stirner successfully evades Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Puru Two KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two successfully evades Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Double Shot KTS: Shelby Korts partially guards Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Reflector Bit Storm, taking 6615 damage! <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
The Irish-class Gwennangorn, spearhead of the operation, has been giving support - firing at enemies with turrets and belting out orders to those pilots who need them. This is bad. Torrington is the home to nuclear missiles - if it gets compromised...
Lilith Aiden sits in the captain's chair. Part of her wants to be in the field of battle, but she knows she can't. She has to be the captain, tonight.
"What is that white mac- GODDAMN IT! It's him! Banagher Links!"
She's about to call an order, when - she recognizes that shape. How could she not? She's been following his exploits ever since she fought in the One Year War. But he's supposed to be dead.
"SHIT! Open comms to all Federation units, now!"
Once she's on the line, she calls out the order. "We have three major opponents, Federation. I'm not going to sugarcoat jack shit, this is the worst fucking case scenario. Subdue or eliminate the Zeon pilot, capture the Unicorn alive - and FIRE WHATEVER YOU GOT at the corrupted Nu Gundam! If that's him - he can fucking take it!" She cuts the line.
As Banagher begins firing, and the Unicorn Gundam's Beam Magnum prepares to fire, she's commanding evasisve maneuvers. They barely manage to avoid an actual damaging shot, glancing off the hull, as she grimaces.
"Links, I swear to god..." She mutters. "Feed telemetry on the Unicorn to our pilots!"
The Gwenanngorn scans the Unicorn feeding data to anyone fighting Banagher so that they can get better accuracy!
KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has deployed in Great Mazinger. KTS: Amuro Ray targets Tetsuya Tsurugi with Conqueror King Funnel Array Focus Formation! <Pose Tracker> Lily Jung has posed.
EARLIER
When the call came through from ZAFT that an operation was about to commence, Lily Jung was strangely not too shocked or unprepared for the matter at hand. In fact, for the last few hours, her machine has already been getting loaded out with the help of her father's repair company.
As the battleship approaches orbit, the girl is putting on her helmet and floating towards the pink looking EWAC Zack. The thrusters getting one last go-over by the team assigned to her machine, as she comfortably floats through the hangar. Touching a hand to the metal, as a few mechanics move out of the way, she easily gets into her pilot seat.
She's gotten so used to deployments by now. It's been well over half a year now, but she's had plenty of deployments since. With one hand, she deposits her fluffy looking Haro into their support slot to the right side, while putting on her helmet, and managing her braid so it doesn't get in the way.
"Operation British." She whispers to herself. Something that had happened years ago now. Well before she'd been adult enough to even understand war. "What a sad place to fight at." But she knows its history. She knows what lies just a small distance from that place. The corpse of an empty colony.
As she taps her helmet, and it closes, she wonders out loud; "Destroying their nuclear stockpiles... is that really enough?" Right as a video-screen pops up, showing a somewhat chubby old man. "Daddy!" She exclaims excitedly, always happy to see her father.
"Hey sweetheart. Don't forget to congratulate your mother on her birthday - it's coming up in a few days." Pause.
"By the way, I wanted to talk about your machine... it has a history..."
NOW
There's a sickening feeling in the pit of her tummy as the dropship descends down faster and faster. Ahead of her, an atmospheric distance meter is lit up, warning her of the next stage. She's fully strapped in within her cockpit, doing last second checks on the Zack. The straps feel tight against her chest. "I have to take better care of my diet." She mumbles a bit, as the Psyco system starts revving up.
A pulse of pink pulses near her on the screen, and she can feel them immediately. The Longblade rifles. The locks engaging against the back of her machine as they move a bit. No doubt Rau could feel it. The intense presence of the machine starting to activate. The last time he'd felt Lily Jung, it'd been from much further away. But that bright heart of hers streams outwards without a mote of control. This sunny warmth starting to spill over into the entire droppod, making it almost seem light the sunlight is seeping in from outside.
The girl licks her lips, then sticks her tongue out a bit as she makes a few final more precise adjustments. "Take out the nuclear stockpiles." She whispers to herself, going over the map of Torrington base one last time. Before looking up and whispering; "I hope they'll be okay."
Right before the gate before her opens, and light comes streaming in. The monitors within her machine automatically remain dark, and then slowly start rising in brightness so that the girl can be eased into the brightness. The wind immediately grabs at her machine, and the feeling of Gravity quickly taking a hold increases by the moment. Right before the EWAC Zack is released, and pushes out of the Drop Pod over the ocean waters near Torrington.
From here, she can see the massive remnants of the Colony.
The girl swallows, and a tinge of sadness overtakes her otherwise happy mood. The colony had been empty when dropped. But the that lived around here...
And now they're about to ruin lives again. Such is the natural flow of War. The innocent always suffer the most. But until the Federation comes back to the negotation table, this is how it must be.
Her gaze shifts to the combat readings quickly. Things are already happening. The Zeon Remnants are suffering major losses out there. But then she suddenly pushes her screen to the side to get a better look when she recognizes a machine coming down.
"That machine..." And then, there, within the red. That intense anger. "Loni..." She whispers in sorrow.
Beyond, another NewType machine moves.
"That can't be..." The machine that was at the center of Axis Shock. That's...
Her hands both on the screen of her machine, pulling it closer. "Gundam."
Only for things to get heavier. A sudden surge. The Psycommu System within her machine rising in attention as emotions push accross the distance and reach her. At the distance, it's lessened. But the impact is still there. The shockwaves occuring on the ground growing stronger. The light radiating against eachother.
<"Loni..."> This time, concerned. Trying to establish an actual connection to the pilot itself. But more importantly... that light. Her heart grows heavy, as hope grows within her heart.
It's... another one.
There it is.
There is what we need... but how?
How do we...
How do I?
Grasp it?
"Lily, enemy! Lily, enemy!"
She's forced back to her own assault alongside Rau and Michiru. As hope grows where devils reign. Spreading the light of hope and levity across her allies. The EWAC Zack continueing its descent towards the waters below.
KTS: Lily Jung targets Rau Le Creuset and Michiru Tenjou with Awe. KTS: Lily Jung has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Lily Jung has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Lilith Aiden targets Banagher Links with Designate L1! KTS: Lilith Aiden designates Banagher Links, making him easier to target and opening him to indirect fire. KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Puru Two KTS: Lily Jung inspires awe, increasing Rau Le Creuset's Morale! KTS: Lily Jung inspires awe, increasing Michiru Tenjou's Morale! KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Arriety Hearn, Puru Two, and Lilith Aiden with Awe. KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Arriety Hearn's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
And that same moment that his hands start trembling, he'd feel an hand encased by a normal suit over the back of his. It's unobtrusive, it doesn't demand his attention. He's piloting after all, it is just there, like she is.
"Please. Don't let your protective instinct run wild Unicorn." Leina murmurs quietly, speaking to it in her own plea, that follows Banaghers earnest words to the machine that she knows now has a will of its own, "I know you desperately want to shield him from harm but share the burden with me, today."
There is exhilaration, but all the same, with her other hand, unnoticed to Banagher's eyes she grips the armrest of the passenger seat tensely, encased in the thin armor of a normal suit with her helmet on. She is along for the ride today, to support him, to try and support him in trying to keep the wild nature of the unicorn in check.
The situation below was already grim while she waited for him in the Unicorn on the Garencieres. Its now much worse. The pilot has lost control, slaughtering civilians en masse as she loses herself within the systems of its mobile suit, her feelings of anger, her desire for revenge running wild...
Stop! Stop! Please stop! Puru please!
... it is different than a childs tantrum, yet she can't stop comparing the two situations, when one loses control in machines that can kill with but a thought.
Despite herself, she closes her eyes as he fires the beam magnum twice, the violet flare of light showing even through her closed eyelids. The unicorn lands, arms outstretched, and she opens her eyes to the terrible sight of the Shamblo in front of her.
He puts forth his desperate gamble. And then he reaches out to Loni. Leina can simply feel the roar of hatred. The sad situation of her being enslaved to a will that's not her own. "Is this your legacy Haman? Passing down your hatred to those left behind?" She murmurs to herself. She does not call out to Loni, nor does she scold her.
She is a stranger, she has no connection to her. Her words would fall on deaf ears before that roar of hatred. Only Banagher stands a chance. All she does is whisper, "Is this really what you want? This, and not a kinder world?"
Banagher asks for her faith.
"Banagher, while I've never supported this plan." Despite how she feels right now, she smiles, "Ive never lost faith in you." Thats immediately tested when he opens the cockpit, and she sits there defenseless. While he reaches out to her...
... and there's a welling hope in her, that she might respond. Which is immediately dashed as she feels the lance of pain second hand. The cockpit closes. He apologizes.
And after a moment of her processing the rapid changing tide of events, of regaining her composure to this stressful situation that touches upon some of the worst moments of her life...
...He feels her hand, encased by her suit upon her shoulder. As if to tell him he need not apologize. It is hypocrisy and lies that Leina Ashta hates, never an earnest heart. Her words are as somber as her expression. "Please. Stop her. ...This has to end."
Her heart surges as she feels the presence of so many others she's connected with over the psychic roar, relief floods her for just an instant... maybe this will turn out well. "Judau...! Sayla...! Callisto...!"
And that is when it all falls apart, reality twists, and Banagher can see that she's seeing this, as something in her becomes tremulous... "No. Oh God no." She feels it acutely, her eyes going wide. She never met the man, all she ever felt of him was second hand, and most of that guarded. Yet... "Not here. Not now. Please. Don't do this to her." ... even his mere existence in this way... she holds her head under the psychic onslaught.
However, she snaps out of it the moment she feels the presence of others, others she's far too intimately connected with, "Banagher. Banagher. You have to stay calm! If it activates to protect you here-"
And then Leina yelps, as the NT-D not only transforms, but she feels an injector needle slide into her back, the harsh sting of an injection. She's not used to this, she reels under it for a time, as she all but screams out in the radio, "<JUDAU! CALLISTO! Banagher can't stop the Unicorn! It's Newtype Destroyer systems are active! It's going to be coming for both of you!>"
Before she reaches out with a hand, trying to shake him as gently as possible, "Banagher! Banagher! That's Judau! That's Callisto! Have it stop firing! Please don't let it hurt them!"
KTS: Leina Ashta targets Banagher Links with Shock! KTS: Leina Ashta shocks Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: Judau Ashta has deployed in SZ-010S Enhanced ZZ Gundam <Mobile Suit>. KTS: Judau Ashta fails to evade Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Double Shot, taking 5200 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuP24HABZlc
"Torrington Base in eastern Australia has acted as the Federation's nuclear stockpile since the One Year War. However, with the waning relevance of nuclear warfare, both the base's strategic import and defensive garrison have been reduced."
Lina leans back in the cockpit of her Valkyrie, listening to the briefing over her radio. She hadn't expected to be back in the field THIS quickly, but winning the race up at Side 4 was just enough to soothe her bruised ego and get her back out into the fray.
"Federation communication has received a distress signal from the base. Multiple Sleeves and Earth Zeon forces have begun an offensive on the base. We can't let them breach the base. Juno 1, your objective is simple: Provide air support and help rout out the Zeon forces, driving them away from Torrington Base. Mousetrap will be providing AWACS support."
"As always, Juno 1. Try not to get too shot up out there this time, huh? I even gave your Nightmare a present to help you with that."
Lina scoffs at her AWACS' sudden sass, but she probably deserved it. "10-4, loud and clear. Juno 1, engaged and approaching the combat zone!" Her fingers grip onto her flight stick and rockets to the base.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o_XGQ3EcrI
Juno 1 arrived on the scene just in time for everything to go to
"Shit. Mousetrap, field report!"
"Looks like this Gundam-type mobile suit just came out of nowhere! It's firing on everyone and not responding to IFF! There's also a Zeon mobile armor fighting against it! Wait...what's that...Juno 1, evade!"
Lina's figher veered out of the way as...the space in front of her tore open. As the tearer emerged and revealed itself, she found herself slack-jawed. She may not have been a proper soldier three years ago, but even she knew what this was. The White Shooting Star himself.
"Amuro Ray?!"
As if to answer her, a stream of funnel fire came her way, necessitating more evasive actions. She transforms into her Battroid mode, hovering in the air as she stares down the Gundam.
"Juno 1, objectives updated: Neutralize that Gundam!"
"Easy for you to say!" The Nightmare raises its Mauler Beam Cannon and fires a warning shot at the Nu Gundam, testing for any barriers.
KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Amuro Ray with Mauler Beam Cannons Shot! <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma has been told to be ready to deploy at a moment's notice -- which means she's seated in the Amabilis, inside the Gwennangorn. All day, though, she's had this horrid feeling in the pit of her stomach -- she couldn't articulate why, but she feels like everything is accelerating into infinity and nothing all at once and it's just...
... well, it's horrible. There's no dressing it up, no way to be pointlessly florid about it; she feels bad.
When the Gwennangorn arrives on the battlefield, things are already starting to get bad; she deploys and instantly has to evade, her approach angle fouled up by a heavy mega particle shot. And beyond that...
It all went wrong.
That's a feeling Alma's had to grapple with time and time again -- though not so directly as now. She'd never met the pilot of the Nu Gundam, even when they were on the same battlefield so long ago; she'd been on the Ra Chutter, not the Ra Cailum. (Then the Gwennangorn, of course, after the Ra Chutter met its end.) Still -- to feel that presence again...
... she wants to finally say something -- but the situation demands her elsewhere. She streaks toward the Shamblo -- and the maelstrom of hostile intent that comes from Newtype mobile armors each and every time.
Her first order of business is to close with the Shamblo. She fires a quick shot from the Amabilis's shoulder-mounted bazookas at its legs, then takes her machine into a full-speed sprint toward it while she's got the initiative. On a mobile suit, this would be stagger-and-close; here, it's just creating any kind of opening to get in at all.
"What is this feeling? I'm... shaking with loneliness..." Alma murmurs to herself. It's difficult to keep her spirits up at a time like this -- but she has to try.
KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner targets Armor of the Week with Twin Shoulder Bazooka Curtailing Shot! Sakia Davila teleports in. POT: Sakia Davila is now set observer. <Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
"Pham, get that thing of yours out there!" A voice from the other end of a phone line.
The man receiving it, Pham Van Vinh, slams his free hand to his desk. "Think about what you're saying! For OCU territory?! I couldn't achieve half of what I'm doing if we were so blatant on the world stage --"
"We assigned you this project so you wouldn't embarrass us a second time," the thread of control, weaving up, weaving through. "It's an order, Major! If your asset can't sabotage this thing, it's your head, do you understand?"
Major Pham's fingers tighten around his phone, but only for a moment. "Understood."
"Just get it done. I don't care how."
Click.
...---...
Yuliana doesn't bother sitting down when she's called into the Major's office. "Torrington, right?" She issues him -- remembers to salute.
"That's right. Proceed to the insertion point and sabotage the mobile armor there."
"Fine. I'll take my team and --"
"You'll go alone," the Major interjects, firm.
Yuliana pauses, eyes narrowing. "Sir?"
"You are uniquely situated to respond to the weapons employed by Spacenoids, Captain. Your team have no such advantages."
"In other words, you're cutting your losses in advance," Yuliana summarises, fingers fanning through the bangs across her face.
"I am merely executing the orders I was given." It's not a 'no.' "Let's say I have to remind Command of certain... limitations to this project."
Yuliana -- the project -- frowns. "You mean my limitations, of course." All that mortal blood running through her veins, she's sure. "How comforting that the Republic values me so."
"It's precisely due to your value that it has to be this way. Don't die out there, Captain," Pham doesn't answer her so directly. "That's an order. Take what opportunities you are given... unfortunately, you can consider this an indiscreet mission. You have leave to demonstrate your capabilities, but the less we reveal, the better."
"... yes, sir," Yuliana agrees, through thin lips. They lift to a sneer, as she glares. "Though you may find your cunning strategy backfiring. I need no one by my side to crush a Newtype to nothing!"
"By all means, feel free to impress me instead," Pham tells her, cool. "Regardless, you have your orders. Dismissed."
"Sir!" Yuliana salutes, and leaves.
...---...
"Rrrgh... it's all well and good to say that, but..." Yuliana mutters, to herself, on the ground. The Shamblo is 70 metres long; her Tiandong 3 is over six times smaller. David to Goliath, she moves around it, tries to find the right angle.
She is a psychic void on this battlefield of hearts, a yawning empathic sinkhole in her wanzer's grasp, a thing which denies and annuls. No wonder, then, she yells -- through radio channels and no other -- when Banagher makes his bold move: "What is that idiot boy doing?!"
The Shamblo closes. Yuliana has no insight to why, but it isn't difficult to guess.
And then -- the lack.
Yuliana's wanzer turns its cameras to that twist in space, just the same. She does not know its heart -- she knows that she knows nothing; the empty space where it should go yawning, spreading, CONSUMING. "You--!" She barks, all venom, and her radio is still open.
That Gundam... is one of the most loathsome things in this world.
But how the Unicorn responds --
Yuliana's eyes narrow, as she witnesses the NT-D activate. The grimace across her lips splits, upwards, to a horrific grin.
"Copy that, Gwennangorn," she responds, to Lilith's direction.
In one way, they're entirely on the same page.
And the Unicorn is in danger.
She is interrupted, summarily, by death. Loni bids them to die and it is a CONVINCING wish -- the Mega Particle Launcher blasts out, and the fraction of a movement is what keeps the Annihilation at its edges instead of the middle of its path. Its name was -- very almost -- prophetic.
"UGH!" Yuliana yelps, as she's thrown forward by the force in her cockpit. The steel harness keeping her in place stops her from any grievous injuries -- blood scatters from a cut on her lip. "You damn kid! Haven't you Zeon Devils killed enough people here already?!"
She shifts her clutch forward, and her wanzer grasps its Grappler Axe, slinging it upwards to try and hook up onto the upper reaches of Shamblo -- so that Yuliana can swing up onto it.
"You have no RIGHT to ask me to die!" Annihilation's pilot screams, over an open channel.
KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Lina Lombardi, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Lina Lombardi blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 4836 damage! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal targets Armor of the Week with MULS-P Grappler Axe Acrobatics! <Pose Tracker> Lark Straye has posed.
BEFORE
Lark's deployment was not smooth.
She'd fought so far, for Londo Bell, against Angels, against kaiju, against nonhumans. Never people. Never a chaotic battlefield like she was being sent out to right now. The last one of those she was present for was Axis.
After everything... she didn't know if she could do it.
(But she had to. It's what she would expect from her. She'd made a promise.)
On the Gwennangorn, in front of other people she didn't show it. With her mask, it was hard to read her expression, and she had good control over her body language. Lark couldn't let them know what she felt. She said nothing, looked stern, and that was all.
It was only once she'd gotten into her cockpit that she'd let herself shake a little before the MSA-0120 launched, an ugly green and blue machine with violently pink accents, all weird curves and sweeping plates instead of straight lines and angles.
NOW
It was, just as she'd predicted, chaos.
The Neo-Zeon remnants (and Lark *really* wasn't sure what she thought of them right now - push that aside, deal with it later) are in disarray, except for the big red one, which has gone berserk. The unit Lilith has indicated is the Unicorn has gone berserk right back.
And all of that is bad enough, but there's a third. Lark *knows* that unit... because once upon a time, she'd run away from it. It's just like that day. That day, when Axis fell. The day when everything changed. The day when she got her name.
"...!"
Lark *does* freeze up in her cockpit. It isn't Amuro's emotional resonance that does it; he has the faintest sensation of a connection before her wounded mind pulls away, withdrawing sharply, refusing to listen. It's nothing but memory.
(I can't do this. I couldn't do it then and I can't do it now.)
(But if not you, who?)
Pulling sharply on the controls, the descending MSA-0120 stalls briefly, swerving to the side so hard that Lark feels a dull ache in her shoulders where the straps bite in. It isn't enough; the beams from the funnels still lance into it, sending up sparks and clouds from the vapourizing armour as it does its job and attempts to protect her from the blast.
The MSA-0120 can't truly fly, but its thrusters are enough to keep it in the air for several additional long seconds as Lark takes aim with the cut-down Jegan beam rifle in her short, ugly MS' hand, firing a series of machine-gun-like shots before the MSA-0120 continues the rest of the way to the ground.
KTS: Lark Straye targets Amuro Ray with Modified Jegan Beam Rifle Shot! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
A storm brews at Torrington - a city laid siege by a roaring mechanical monstrosity, fueled by grief, vengeance, and rage. Countless hands convene on this ailing city in the midst of disaster. The sight of the Shamblo is demoralizing enough - what of the sudden emergence of one of Earth's most legendary heroes, whose presence is cold - haunting and disquieting?
The Earth cries, in hours like this.
And then - the clouds break. From high Earth orbit refuelling at the Orbital Ring colonies, a brilliant white, four-'legged' ship descends like an angel. But it's not the White Base, as much as the emergence of the Nu Gundam may make one think. No - it's Nergal's Nadesico, immediately flagging to the forces defending against the Shamblo as a rallying point.
-<"V! We're sorry to have kept you waiting!~">-
The cheery call of Captain Yurika Misumaru brightly declares, her smile unfailing to those who have her on video call. It may seem carefree enough to make many assume this is some foolhardy reinforcement failing to grasp the gravity of the situation...but make no mistake, this beacon of light is exactly -because- of how dire this attack is.
<"Nergal's pride and joy, the one and only Nadesico, is here for your support!">, Yurika beams positively.
<"Anyone who's been injured or left unable to keep fighting, please retreat to our hangars for repairs and medical treatment,">, CO Megumi Reynard chimes in.
<"All forces still able to fight, we're sending you updated coordinates and trajectories of that terrible Mobile Armor. Please fight safely and responsibly!"> Helmswoman Minato Haruka assesses.
<"And don't think too hard about that Gundam up there! Or the other Gundam down there! Other flanks have it handled, got it?"> First Officer Jun Aoi barges in on the line for just a little bit.
The colossal battlecruiser eases its way downwards within the Shamblo's 2 mile radius, directly in sight like an opposing fortress - attracting as much attention as possible away from civilian targets. Slowly, the Distortion Field dissipates to mitigate collateral damage...and to prepare for redirecting it to the Gravity Blast in the imminent future...
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
This assignment had been uncomfortable enough when it was just a matter of moving from snowy Fort Severn to what remained of Australia in its warm season for the sake of her new rendezvous. Ennil had sighed and sweltered in her tank-top as the local Zeon forces launched this ill-fated and unlikely attack, knowing that she had probably been assigned here to get caught up in all this. So be it; the Jenice Kai was ready to go on a moment's notice, because Ennil El didn't go anywhere unarmed or unprepared. The battle had turned, and she had wisely slipped to the shadows, allowing the mobile armor to wreak its havoc. A bit of sympathy for the Shamblo's utterly miserable pilot would not be enough to put Ennil El's life on the line. The only hope for a girl like Loni, like her... "No one is coming to rescue you, Loni Garvey. So fight. Become someone they can't kill." A whisper, that will never be heard.
Then... the glow. The descending hero, and... That suit. Shimmering orange or not, the monster of Axis Shock was back. And what buried love and a moment's sympathy couldn't draw from Ennil, rage and regret would manage all too easily. The Jenice Kai roars once more to life, Ennil's features hardening. "You get it now, don't you. You can't just... force your phony miracles on the rest of us! You never changed anything!" A true Vulture, Ennil El begins to circle the battlefield, seeking out vulnerability and a chance for blood to satisfy the roiling in her heart...
KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Lucine Azul, Shelby Korts, and Alma Stirner with Awe. KTS: Yurika Misumaru inspires awe, increasing Lucine Azul's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The Saint Lance is speeding in, it's rushed repairs getting it far enough. She's hoping, desperately, that what she felt wasn't true. The Bawoo shaped mobile suit and it's nutter are blazing toward Torrington Base. She doesn't give a damn about airspace or who she's upsetting at the moment. The problem is what she feels as she gets closer.
It all went wrong. "No...!" It's him. She wants to deny it but it's him. Right there, in front of her. Shooting at her, she starts evasivve maneuvers only for something else to hit her-
"LEINA!" She turns her head to look at her, and that lets the Nu's orange funnels score and destroy the Saint Lance's stabilizing wing. She screams, and Leina can feel it. Sayla's normally strong mental walls are collapsing. She activates the recombination mechanism just in time to crash roughly to the ground. She pulls herself up, aiming the shield's Mega Particle Cannons at the Nu Gundam. She doesn't want to shoot. She really doesn't, but...
That can't really be him. It is though. A part of her wants to fumble for that GGG pager. She can't bring him back without Guy or Mamoru. Triple Zero is their fight.
But she can't let this happen. The mega particle beams fire.
"Amuro... Why you? Why!?" And the newtypes on the field can feel it rolling off her. Despair, and heartbreak.
KTS: Sayla Mass targets Amuro Ray with Saint Lance Mega-Particle Shield Beam Cannon!
<Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety's had a pretty miserable week already, unable to get over the hump and finish her basic training; that's bled out to everything else around her, which has resulted in a rather disastrous domino-effect to her other pursuits as well. And then...
And then... there's this -- the distress call coming from Torrington Base north of what was once called Sydney, something she really didn't want to respond to... but she's still a member of Londo Bell, so she should play the part, after all. And...
She knows everyone else will, anyway. They always will. That's... their nature.
The Myrmekes Zeta flutters into sight, aloft on gossamer insect wings on its binders where the red flaps that normally would hold it stable in Waverider mode; its irisoid eyes glimmer, Myrme's eyes flitting back and forth underneath the Gundam's pentagonal eyes.
Everything's a mess already...
The enormous red Zeon mobile suit is immediately a problem, as are the old One Year War machines marching in on the city -- but then the Unicorn rounds into sight, and suddenly--
The universe is the shadows of her face, as she senses familiar presences.
"... Leina?"
Arriety feels her presence before Banagher's, though his filters in a moment later. "Banagher? ..." A pause, as she suddenly listens to him. He's got his gun put away.. is he trying to entreat her? She doesn't disagree... can she leave this up to him?
Suddenly, everything goes terribly wrong as a different presence in a flash of orange comes to light -- and there's a machine that she first thinks looks like Rena's old unit, but... the sensation is unmistakable, cutting through her from a different angle.
It all went wrong...
Suddenly, Banagher cries in pain -- "Banagher?! What's wrong--" Suddenly, he hears him cry, and the Gundam begins to transform in front of her, and she's pierced by the emotional scream slashing through, as the Unicorn's horn splits in two.
What happens next is something she completely doesn't expect -- and Banagher... no, the Unicorn Gundam opens fire upon her, and that low, threatening noise is accompanied by a violet wave of rippling force that threatens to shred the Zeta, leaving a clear line of gushed shoulder armour in a single blow. Small internal explosions rock the machine underneath, and alarms immediately ring on Arriety's cockpit.
"B-Banagher! Stop! Weren't you going to save that girl?! This isn't you! Leina! What's going on?!"
Leina gives her answer on the radio soon enough -- it's out of control...? There's a 'Newtype Destroyer' onboard... ...
"I--I can't shoot... Leina's in there... Banagher's in there..."
Arriety's face contorts for a moment, and she breathes in haphazardly. She remembers what Banagher told her -- how he's also locked into his machine, and can't get away with it, just like her... is this both their fate? Her being here today, right now, unable to get away from all the fighting... and having to face two important people in her life...
"Callie-sis... Callie-sis..."
It all went wrong.
Lilith instructs them to capture the Unicorn alive, through the Gwennangorn's comms. At the very least, they haven't given up on him immediately, which means she shouldn't either...
"Banagher, Leina... these Gundams... these despicable machines... right now, even though you've got something really important to do right now... you two and I... our hearts are just trapped in these machines, aren't they?!"
There's tears flowing down her eyes already.
The Zeta's Beam Rifle comes into sight as she manouevres into sight, grimacing. "Minae, help me figure out a solution that doesn't target the cockpit," she requests, as she actually physically interfaces with the targeting reticle alongside the Bio-Sensor.
She locks on, waits for a firing solution, and... several lancing beams of pink energy erupt from the rifle with a mysterious slide-whistle-y sound.
KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Banagher Links with Beam Rifle Focus Shot! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi targets Amuro Ray with Scramble Cutter! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Focus Formation, taking 1500 damage! <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
"...It's all wrong." It is impossible for Kamille not to tremble at the fate of the Newtype in the mobile armor, Loni, biting out a curse as he feels her psychic pain. And it's impossible not to recognize the Nu Gundam, THAT Nu Gundam, and the psychic presence of the pilot inside of it. The gentle sorrow, the overwhelming compassion, the weariness...but it's wrong, feels wrong, tainted with wrongness that overwhelms even the horrors of the poor Newtype in the mobile armor. Amuro doing something he never would, another sharp ripple of death. And the Unicorn pilot-Banagher, the Banagher Leina told him about-is in panic, and it's wrong. And the battlefield is screaming, and it's WRONG, and...
Kamille stops holding his head and breathes in and out. The psychic stew of the battlefield, he's...he's not used to this anymore. No. Stop. Follow orders.
"Amuro, how...?" he whispers to himself as he maneuvers a ReZEL, darting about only to recognize that sickly orange glow. No. No, no, that's unfair, that's not fair...
(And in the back of his mind, a question. If Amuro, is it possible that...?)
"NO!" he shouts aloud to no one in particular, as no one can hear him in his cockpit. "Everything is wrong! It's all wrong!" A hurricane of confusion and anger swirls around the otherwise ordinary ReZEL as it tears for an opponent, any opponent. And poor Ennil is right there, Sleeves, part of WHAT IS WRONG in the mind of someone who is not in the greatest mental focus right now.
He aims his rifle and fires at Ennil, to try to pick off the distractions.
KTS: Kamille Bidan targets Ennil El with ReZEL Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Alma Stirner anchors Armor of the Week, forcing it into close range. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Alma Stirner's Twin Shoulder Bazooka Curtailing Shot, taking 2100 damage! KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal anchors Armor of the Week, forcing it into close range. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Yuliana Dispersal's MULS-P Grappler Axe Acrobatics, taking 2400 damage! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal begins a Formation attack! KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Lilith Aiden's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
Technically speaking, a Zeon-successor-adjacent attack on a Federation base falls more within Londo Bell's remit than NERV's. The Sleeves do not register as 'alien,' after all. They're still human, even if they're mostly living in space. And technically speaking, this is why few units from NERV are actually present the moment Torrington Base comes under attack. However...
That changes. That changes very quickly. The dimensional walls shudder, triggering prototype sensors being developed by GGG specifically to measure exactly these kinds of things. Few things of late have ripped holes through the world-wall outside of those who serve one force and one purpose in particular-- and it is for this force which the alert signalling a reverberation of the dimensional boundary has been named...
Pattern Gold
Pattern Orange, sadly, was already taken. Nevertheless, the warning goes out, but of NERV's forces there are few that can respond quickly. Orbit Base begins to mobilize, but not quickly enough. There is one. Only, for now, one.
It appears in the north, screaming on silver, hypersonic wings. A jet black body, navy blue limbs and silvery joints. Crimson and gold highlight what remains.
It isn't the aura of dawn that first chills Tetsuya Tsurugi's blood. It's who it belongs to. Great Mazinger's sensors pick up the image of its source in the distance-- a machine that he would recognize anywhere, anytime. One he fought so closely alongside all those years ago.
"...Amuro," Tetsuya whispers as miles become yards. "Has your heart fallen, too...?" His hands squeeze tight around his controls as the Great Booster disengages and red wings replace silver. With a roar that's lost in the splitting sonic boom, Great Mazinger launches itself, bodily, towards the corrupted Nu Gundam. Beams dyed in the colors of daybreak carve towards the arriving Majin, twisting and flooding across layers of Super Alloy Z armor. Where normal beam weapons might only score the ultra-material, the power of dawn leaves lines of smoldering char in its wake. Still, they do not arrest Great Mazinger's momentum, nor do they bring pause to its pilot's will. "Amuro Ray! I cannot allow you to prosecute the Will of Dawn! All combatants, hear me! That Nu Gundam is a carrier of the Miracle Energy known as Triple Zero! Treat it as a Class S threat, hold nothing back!"
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
The wayward Princess of Zeon sits aboard the Gwennanganorn, confined to quarters for the operation; a sensible move, given her ties to the Sleeves. A single guard is posted outside the door, and Mineva Lao Zabi is alone with her thoughts, laying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The dread of the battlefield sinks into the pit of her stomach, a vague, deathly cold feeling, stained blood-red... but dull, and muffled.
Until...
Something familiar pierces the din.
Banagher...?
She sits slowly upright, staring toward the wall, to where--
Pressure. Massive, pounding pressure... 'it all went wrong.'
"No!!"
She hasn't had time to dwell on it--barely enough time to even adjust--when she feels Banagher shift. It's something she's felt before... when he...
Mineva leaps out of bed, slamming her palm into the open button for her door and bolting past the guard. "SORRY! I NEED TO GET TO THE BRIDGE!!" she calls back, rushing at top speed.
She's stopped at the bridge doors, panting, with two soldiers staring at her. "Please... I need to get to the bridge! The Unicorn, it... I need to talk to Captain Aiden!"
She's calling out all the while. Trying to reach Banagher.
Banagher... if you can hear me, fight back! Please... I know you don't want to do this. I know you don't want to hurt people...!
KTS: Ennil El successfully evades Kamille Bidan's ReZEL Beam Rifle Shot
KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
Torrington Base.
There hadn't been a lot of warning, word of the Sleeves moving on it for some reason. But there was enough time for ZAFT to organize a small team to take advantage. Their intelligence indicated the base was one of the Federation's nuclear stockpiles. And still feeling the pain of the Bloody Valentine, ZAFT did not want to pass up the opportunity to do whatever damage they could to deprive the Federation of its horrible weapons.
When the order to lead the team was given to Rau, he smiled. He would be happy to do so...
Now, the ZAFT drop pod, released from orbit, plummets through the skies. Strapped into the seat of his white custom AMF-101 DINN, he frowns at the things he is starting to sense. There's a lot of weight... Pain... Despair... This is no ordinary battle for sure...
Good. The more chaotic this is, the better.
Having finished its re-entry and slowed to a safe speed for deployment, explosive bolts detonate, breaking the drop pod apart. Light fills Rau's screens as his machine is released into the air as a result. The large wings on the DINN's back swing out, separating into six distinct surfaces to catch the air. The machine's descent slows quickly as it catches the air, thrusters on its back firing to provide additional acceleration and control.
The battle ahead plays out across Rau's screens. It's a huge mess. He needs to make sure this goes as plans... He opens a radio to Michiru and Lily, <"Remember. Our objective here is the stockpile. All other targets are secondary. And try to avoid the center of the fighting. I suspect there are a few units in that mess that we're no match for."> One in particular is rather surprising... And could be a problem. Thankfully there are plenty of other targets here to distract it though.
In the back of his mind, Rau can feel the light spreading from Lily's machine. He grips his controls a little tighter... But then relaxes as he reminds himself about his reason here. Not long now... Things are finally starting to come together.
KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Lina Lombardi's Mauler Beam Cannons Shot, taking 1600 damage! KTS: Banagher Links blocks Arriety Hearn's Beam Rifle Focus Shot, taking 5500 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Lark Straye's Modified Jegan Beam Rifle Shot, taking 1150 damage! KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Evade Sayla Mass's Saint Lance Mega-Particle Shield Beam Cannon, taking 3090 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 59. KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Tetsuya Tsurugi's Scramble Cutter, taking 960 damage! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has engaged Amuro Ray! KTS: Yurika Misumaru inspires awe, increasing Shelby Korts's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
&tEnnil's mind flickers. Not Newtype awareness, but the edginess of a wounded predator. The ReZEL is breaking, drifting from its formation... it pounces, but she's prepared, slipping the beam entirely and gunning for the machine, aggression boiling off her as the Jenice's bazooka snaps up. She squeezes off a few shots, covering her approach, but she won't be satisfied just yet. There's something about this pilot that's familiar, though she's certain she doesn't know him. The machine is shaking. Not the inelegant maneuvers of a first-day rookie, but a rattled pro. Too quick, too eager for the trigger.
"Guys like you die all the time out here! I hope you don't think you're special, ReZEL pilot!"
KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
Minae is an accomplished logistical officer who's gotten a lot of experience under her belt lately. It isn't exactly an intended career path - when it comes down to it, she still considers herself the Ra Mari nurse and counsellor. But when you also happen to be a robot specifically designed to coordinate and assist with relief efforts, some things just come naturally. When you can network the navigational computers of several mobile suits together and act as one big ambulatory router, it comes very naturally.
Still, the robot takes one look at the monitor rapidly lighting up with pips and contacts, and finds herself sucking in a breath she doesn't even need. Nervousness isn't something that really comes that easily to her and she's functionally immune to the clashing mixture of pressures that threatens to swallow Arriety and the others - but that doesn't mean she can't recognize their presence from the way the pilots react. In response she spurs herself forwards, hands flying across the console to begin tying everything she can together.
And then everything goes wrong. And worse, it goes wrong in ways that the robot can't even understand; she doesn't have the sort of senses necessary to pick up on a lot of the underlying feelings that are happening around her. From her point of view, the Unicorn shudders and then transforms into a sickly sort of light - one that is abruptly levelled at the Myrmekes in a way that leaves her scrambling to catch up.
"T-this is Minae on board the Myrmekes! Starting link!" she reports urgently as the navigational screens of the two Federation units alongside the Zeta light up of their own volition. Code scrolls across them for a moment before they blink into action, and a small green-haired figure pops into existence at the bottom corner of the monitor. "Judau, please grant me access!" It's right at that moment that the Gwenanngorn delivers its own payload of telemetry data, and Minae catches it to quickly disseminate around the loop she's set up.
It's only once the payload has gone out that she gives herself a moment to actually pause and look at the screen in front of her, registering the situation of the battle in a more personal way rather than treating it as a packet of data to be processed as Leina yells a warning. She's met Banagher; it's hard to imagine him being at the helm of an out-of-control Gundam, let alone one with a system called the 'Newtype Destroyer'.
She's never been quite sure what Arriety actually counts as; it's a question that they've purposefully kept at arms length all this time, because she's quite aware that both of them would like the answer to that question to just stay as 'Arriety' for as long as possible. Still... a protective impulse makes her lean forwards and reach for the other girl, resting a hand on her shoulder in a light grip, in what she hopes is something of an anchor. "Okay. Let's do our best to help him," she promises, true to her word as behind her the navigational computer resolves down the list of potential trajectories and firing lines.
It's difficult to follow and map quite so many units and funnels and projectiles - but with a determined frown she redoubles herself.
KTS: Ennil El targets Kamille Bidan with Giant Bazooka Curtailing Shot! KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El rattles Kamille Bidan, making his next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Kamille Bidan blocks Ennil El's Giant Bazooka Curtailing Shot, taking 1470 damage! <Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
At this stage, it's no secret that Sayaka has unretired from piloting. Even still, she was a bit surprised when the Photon Power League received a distress call to deploy from the Federation. But as the Prime Minister's daughter, she can move around the OCU easier than most, and she supposes she can't turn down their request. It was short-enough notice that Koji was out and couldn't deploy after all...
As Aphrodite Areia is still receiving its finishing touches, and is not ready for actual combat, Sayaka instead selects an Ichinana from the Power Labs' hangars, and prepares to be escorted to the damp Australian battlefield.
There is absolutely no sugar-coating; the situation is beyond terrible. Nuclear power is hardly Sayaka's specialty, and indeed, she somewhat dislikes it due to its relative dangers compared to Photon Power. But it's all the more reason for her to ensure no bad actors can mess with it.
That's not the worst of it, though: that would be the unit tearing through the battlefield: the Nu Gundam... Amuro's Nu Gundam. "A-Amuro, is that...? It can't be." Amuro is dead. Whoever that is: it's only pretending to be him, right?
But even in the chaos of the battlefield, she sees someone else... oh God, that's Sayla's Saint Lance. No matter if that's Amuro or not, there's no way she's taking it well.
Also among the forces fighting the Nu Gundam is Tetsuya Tsurugi and the Great Mazinger, a familiar and welcome face even if Koji couldn't make it. He mentions Triple Zero over the comms... isn't that the phenomenon Guy and 3G are fighting?
Turning on her own comms, she quickly introduces herself to the Federation Forces. "Sayaka Yumi, Photon Power League. I was asked to back you military-types up."
Before she can ask Tetsuya what the hell is going on, or try to reassure Sayla, the Nu Gundam greets the newly arrived Ichinana itself with a barrage of fin funnels, which the Ichinana attempts to block with the Mazinger Blade, but nonetheless its sensors are jammed by the funnels' interference.
"Not bad, Nu Gundam," she grimaces.
"Take this... BURNING FIRE!" Calling out your attacks should still be a requirement, even with the Ichinana, Sayaka thinks. The Ichinana poses, chest forward, unleashing a volley of flame towards the Triple Zero-powered Nu Gundam.
<Pose Tracker> Michiru Tenjou has posed.
Earlier in the day
"I'm giving Galaxia this mission off. Something about that last one... she's been a bit strange since then. Can you please give her a once-over, Hime-hime?" Surely one simple assault won't be a problem. She can test out that aquatic unit ZAFT is working on. They've been wanting to see how it operates under live fire conditions, so now's as good a time as any. What could go wrong?
In the present
Michiru is just staring at the readouts as the drop pods descend. She's prepped for a deep water exit. The total freedom of the environment she truly calls home. Not space, the ocean of stars... no, only beneath the waves does Europa's Miracle(Europa's Curse, if you were to ask the people living in the Jupiter area.) shine brightest. And their cause is one she supports fully. Dismantling that nuclear stockpile. Those cursed, monstrous weapons. She'll be HAPPY to leave them devastated.
Rau reminds them of their mission. Yes... stay on task. No matter what comes up, focus the prime target. Let the people here fight amongst themselves... no matter how much she's pulled by impulse to intervene. An impulse that grows as she gathers more readings. Watching that... orange monster rip free from the sky, casting death in every direction. Her hands shake as she pushes down the protective urge... Thanks to Lily's influence washing over her, she's able to reign it in fully.
She's learned what history the Officer's Academy taught, and what she directly needed for integration. But... the Axis Event was not on that list. The full significance of this, is a bit lost upon her, for now. She'll study up when they get back to base later.
KTS: Sayaka Yumi targets Amuro Ray with Burning Fire! <Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.
A streak of pink and black is on Sayla's tail among units speeding toward Torrington Base; a Zeon mobile suit but definitely not one bearing the signature markings -- nor transmitting IFFs-- associated with the Sleeves. A flight unit keeps it aloft in-atmosphere; the mono-eye shifting within the helmet to keep a sweeping track of things on the battlefield.
Reaching up to flick down her helmet's visor, Shelby Korts sucks in a deep breath as she physically flinches in pain; waves of thought, of energy and emotion, of ... something shockingly familiar. Was this that -- no, this energy. The feeling, the familiarity to it. How much psychoframe is on the field right now?
"H-Heart-2, you have to be--"
The megaparticle cannon's beam slices the air with a dull buzz. Though she reacts somewhat quickly, the Jagd Doga's left arm hooking around in front of her, the blast is massive and strong. The flight unit pops and partially detonates as the machine goes into a near-spin, the thrusters and verniers scattered around the mobile suit firing off to get it upright -- but does little to cushion the landing, as it slams heels-first into the asphalt and slides backwards with only the high-back thrust units keeping it upright.
"Damn it--" Shelby says, the airbag retracting back into her console. Warning klaxons blasting, she shifts her attention to the controls, purging the slagged, smoking add-on from the machine's back. She shifts, twisting the machine around to slide between nearby buildings until she bursts out into play; a familiar sight to someone like Yuliana after efforts in Africa. Fortunately for her, updated combat data from Yurika comes streaming in; she takes it gladly before attempting to slide to the Shamblo's flank -- the Zeon machine not fighting *with* the remanants, but instead *opening fire* on it with that heavy gatling rifle!
"Joining the formation," Shelby says, her voice somewhat scratchy in the transmission. "That mobile armor needs to be stopped!"
KTS: Shelby Korts has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Shelby Korts targets Armor of the Week with Beam Gatling Gun Sustained Fire! KTS: Armor of the Week's Beam Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Shelby Korts's Beam Gatling Gun Sustained Fire, taking 540 damage! KTS: [Lucky] Alma Stirner's Queen Cutter activates, and luck goes her way! KTS: Alma Stirner successfully accepts Yurika Misumaru's Awe <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
Kamille whips up his mobile suit's shield, reflexes still fast even in his rattled state, and it takes the brunt of Ennil's blast.
"What do you know about the battlefield?! No one's special here! No matter who we are, we're all sent here to cause pain to each other!" Even Amuro, now. Even poor Banagher...
And none of this is Ennil's fault. He doesn't even know who she is. But he's going to lash out and she's going to get the brunt of it, it seems.
"What's going on with that mobile armor? What do you know about it?!" He fires off several beam shots in a row at Ennil, the precise and confident work of a seasoned combatant.
KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Sayaka Yumi's Burning Fire, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan targets Ennil El with ReZEL Beam Rifle Rapid Fire! KTS: Ennil El fails to evade Kamille Bidan's ReZEL Beam Rifle Rapid Fire, taking 3660 damage! <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
A weapon like that, loosed on a city. From high above, Eight York watches the displays on her bridge and regards the devastation, as the Ra Mari moves in. She can't do much about it from here--can't do much from her ship--but she's on guard duty regardless. A they work in the city, she scans for other threats...
But things go wrong.
That psychic chill stops Captain York short, making her pause in place and bring a hand up to her heart. "What?" It's cold. It's so cold. It is a judgement. it is final. it is--
"No..."
It all went wrong. It's over. For a moment all the worries she'd discussed with Rena come back to her; it's too late to fix this world. To late to--
"NO!"
"Captain!?" Eight throws out her hand, "Deploy mobile suit wing!"
She sees the Unicorn out there, seemingly berseker, as does the huge Shamblo. But Arriety is over there...
They get their orders. Eight nods sharply to Lilith on the screen. "You all heard the woman. We're already at battle stations--let's make use of them! Get those missiles ready to cover our mobile suits--"
But the plan isn't that easy, in the end. "--Incoming! ZAFT signatures coming! Maybe to take advantage of the chaos..."
"Regardless, we can't let them get into this battle and make it worse," Eight says, and over the radio to her pilots, "Get out there and intercept them. We'll have to count on Callisto and Arriety..."
She looks to them, across the battlefield, and hopes that they know how she feels.
"...Sending battle data now," she says. "Ready!"
KTS: Eight York targets Rena Lancaster and Anita Rosetta with All-Out. KTS: Eight York orders an all-out attack, raising Anita Rosetta's Skill!
<Pose Tracker> Amuro Ray has posed.
The golden light around the Nu Gundam shines brighter at the moment of contact from Nightmare's beam cannon shot, and it mitigates the oncoming damage even further by catching it against its shield quickly. This is a strategy that it employs repeatedly in the next several seconds; it moves steadily across the ground rather than rapidly, not slow but not shifting to a hasty exit or approach. The pilot evidently anticipates that this is not a battle he can win by all-or-nothing approaches.
There is a moment of recognition that flows towards Lark when she recognizes him. Amuro isn't reaching out, exactly; the feeling that emanates from him, from the Nu Gundam is something that is simply happening. A process that is running in the background, an expression of what is or has happened to him since Axis Shock and now.
There are places to escape the chill.
The more deliberate and directed feeling is harder to avoid, and it descends on both Lina and Lark at the same time as the funnels rocket about and re-target each of them, beginning a steady campaign of rotating harassment that oscillates in intensity between them. It's not hard to survive; but it would be easy to die with a single lapse in thought-- no... a single lapse in knowing whether or not one wishes to live or die. An invitation to be done, and rest.
Sayla gets a stronger reaction. It's like... stepping on a limb that has gone sleepy and numb the first time. A jolt of fuzzy unpleasantness spreading through a limb that can't even properly process what it is experiencing. If there was the slightest doubt of who it was, it must be dispelled when he reacts to her intent more decisively than those of the others, attempting to get out of the way of the particle cannon's blast. It scores across Nu Gundam's shoulder, scorching off the pad and leaving the joint exposed. His understanding of her was not enough... or perhaps that momentary numbness did him no favors.
It all went wrong.
The feeling that emanates outwards as Nu Gundam raises its rifle and fires back is some dire attempt at reassurance. It'll be ok. Lie down. I won't be long.
Amuro doesn't make the same defensive mistake twice. When Tetsuya comes at Nu Gundam it charges forward and meets Great Mazinger with its shield, catching its mighty blow against it and then firing its boosters to push past at an angle, circling around the back of it and bringing its funnels about above it an angle that rains fire down from above-- at its back, if it should try to turn and keep pace with the Gundam.
It pushes backward against the ground in reaction to Sayaka's Ichinana, raising its shield to face the flames that roll over and envelop it as that flickering orange light shines around it more brightly. It responds before the flames have even finished scorching its chassis, raising its rifle over the edge of its shield and firing it towards the Ichinana.
KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Amuro Ray targets Lark Straye with Conqueror King Funnel Array Assault Formation! KTS: Amuro Ray targets Lina Lombardi with Conqueror King Funnel Array Assault Formation! KTS: Amuro Ray targets Sayla Mass with Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Amuro Ray targets Sayaka Yumi with Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Piercing Shot! KTS: Amuro Ray targets Tetsuya Tsurugi with Conqueror King Funnel Array Ambush Formation! Roux Louka teleports in.
KTS: Lark Straye's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Lark Straye blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Assault Formation, taking 2730 damage! KTS: Amuro Ray begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
/// B e f o r e
Judau Ashta has spent years away from active combat. There was the occasional guard duty for the Jupiter Energy Fleet; guard duty that, on rare occasions, required him to actually -use- his mobile suit in combat. But not war.
Far away from the Earth Sphere, Judau Ashta had known a world without war for close to a decade, and he told himself he was happier for it... even if something gnawed at the back of his mind. A little voice, whispering sentiments of dissatisfaction.
'Shouldn't you be doing more?'
Eventually, that whisper grew loud enough that he returned to the Earth Sphere that gave him so many scars. And even then, he refused to deploy. He avoided taking jobs from the Federation; after everything, he just couldn't. Nor could he bring himself to put himself behind the efforts of ZAFT and the Sleeves, not when he saw the specter of Zeon, of Haman, still looming large behind their actions.
And still that whispering grew louder.
Maybe it's fate. Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's that whisper, subtly pushing for its answer. Whatever the case...
Judau!
It cannot be simply coincidence that Judau Ashta is doing maintenance on the ZZ Gundam when he hears a familiar sentiment, from the person most important to him in this world.
"... Leina?"
It doesn't matter how large the gulf is between them. It doesn't matter the distance.
The second that Judau feels that familiar twinge, it's only a matter of minutes before the ZZ Gundam is shooting off towards Torrington, transforming into its G-Fortress mode as it goes.
N o w ///
'Shouldn't you have done more?'
It's the whisper writ large that overrides everything on Judau Ashta's mind the second he takes in the carnage that is enveloping the city. Zeon Remnants, on Earth. Their allies from space, coming to support them. The Federation, fanning the flames until they inevitably reach a fever pitch --
He knows this tableau. He knows it all too well.
Except for...
"What the hell...?"
Judau only knows Amuro by reputation; he certainly doesn't know what a Nu Gundam is (and odds are high he would think they were calling it a New Gundam and take issue with that, in other circumstances). But he knows how Amuro feels. He felt the presence of him, among a host of others, almost a decade ago. He knows the feeling of this suit, too. But it's warped. Wrong. Orange, like a calamitous, purging flame.
Despite himself, Judau winces. His teeth grit together. It's not the only anomaly here. There's also...
Sea green eyes tilt. They refocus, on that white figure beyond, its horn split into the more distinctive V fin of a Gundam. Is that... the Unicorn?
Judau Ashta's Newtype presence is like a solar flare as the full form of the ZZ Gundam is revealed, landing on the battlefield its pilot thought - hoped - he would never return to again. The double barrels of the ZZ's rifle gleam as the Unicorn trains its magnum on it. Something about this is wrong. Something about this is--
'JUDAU!'
"Leina?!"
She's in the--
It's a brief distraction; but it's all the Unicorn needs to square off a single, crackling shot at the ZZ. Judau attempts to juke his Gundam towards the left -- but ultimately, it's a second too late. Beam scorches and melts through anti-beam plating, ripping chunks of armor from the ZZ Gundam's torso and briefly cooking the inside of the cockpit with the sheer heat of its output. Within, Judau rocks backwards violently. But he doesn't focus on it. The Unicorn is out of control. It's going to be targeting them. But that's fine with Judau. Because--
<"Then I'm getting you BOTH the HELL outta that thing!!">
Judau knows the Unicorn is supposed to be important. Tied to some grand secret that everyone yearns for, everyone would kill for. He doesn't really think about that. He just aims his double barreled rifle for the Gundam's legs, and -fires-. He doesn't care if he damages it. He even, frankly, doesn't give a damn if it's completely unusable at the end of all this.
He lost Leina once. Whether he should be doing more -- he's at least not letting that happen again.
KTS: Roux Louka has deployed in ReZ II - <MS Mode>. KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Judau Ashta targets Banagher Links with Double Beam Rifle - Focused Beaming! <Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena had been talking to Anita...
...but wailing alarms interrupted that conversation. She feels a mixture of frustration and regret, with a tinge of embarrassment, as she settles into the cockpit of the YF-25 Prophecy. The Battroid-mode comes to life; the visor flashes, as the head turns -- and the head turret rotates up and down, left and right, as the automatic tracking turns on. The reports are coming over her radio: old, One Year War-era Zeon Mobile Suits; an unidentified Mobile Armor; the Unicorn Gundam, too.
And something else. Somehow, an RX-93 Nu Gundam. Rena stares at it, disbelieving, for a moment, until the impact of its psychoframe fixes that.
"That--that's not possible," she whispers. Then, she shakes her head. "This is Lieutenant Rena Lancaster... YF-25A Prophecy, launching! We can't let them get through!"
Does 'them' include Amuro Ray? And--and what is happening to Banagher?
She stares for a moment, as she flies out of the Ra Mari's hangar. The YF-25A lands on its flight deck. She sends a transmission to the Unicorn: "Banagher! It's me, Rena! Please--just, get ahold of things, okay? It's going to be fine--"
Her eyes widen. "L-Leina!?"
She can call out, but she can't quite get to them. She spots a pink flash from Lily's EWAC Zack first. Then, she spots the ZAFT drop pod screaming down, and the white DINN that breaks from it. Her eyes widen as she looks up at Rau's machine, then sucks a breath in. "Opportunists, huh..."
She can get through to Banagher, she hopes. Prays. Battle data comes across her screen; so does Eight's orders. She nods her head, and then she lifts up her Prophecy's gunpod, taking aim. The white DINN enters her crosshairs -- and the gunpod bursts to life, gatling barrels sending a burst of rounds up at it.
"Annie!" she calls out. "You with me?"
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Rau Le Creuset with GU-17A Gatling Gun Pod! <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
There's something in the way that the AMA-X7 Shamblo lays waste to the city below that makes Lucine's stomach drop. "It's almost like..." No, she needs to focus.
As the small Dianthus drops from the majestic Nadesico, Lucine is soon assaulted with a melange of emotion. Shelby once told her to 'ride the wave', but this is a tidal wave, crashing over her and making every separate part as hard to discern as a drop of water in the ocean. As teardrops, even. And speaking of...
<"Shelby...?"> There's a strange mix of emotion as Lucine's voice comes over Shelby's own com. <".... .... The waves are very rough, this time of year, are they not?"> Lucine is making a joke. Please accept this joke. <"... But, you feel it too, right? Something about this unit... its pilot...>"
The launchers glow, and the Dianthus twists around, slipping to the side of the blast like a fish through water.
And not a second too soon, as a second wave of anger, fear, and pathos draws Lucine from the terrible anger of the Shambloo to the arrival of the pilot in dawn orange. If the Shamblo was like a siren of ongoing danger, this one is a klaxon. <".... That glow... I think I know it. It's the Triple Zero glow... Captain Yurika, is there anyway to relay this message? That pilot with the orange glow is being controlled... or, it's better to say corrupted.... the pilot seems have an immense power as well. I imagine there's other pilots who recongize it as well, but you need to get the message out! That pilot...">
Lucine may be a Martian, but she knows her history. She would know that was Amuro Ray, except... there is no way.
But then, it's as if there was a blackout.
The source, that voice... that's... Yuliana.
<"Anybody who is... uh, feeling really, really bad right now."> This message sent straight to the coms of Alma and Shelby, or anyone Lucine can see, targetting the Shamblo. <".... Stay close to the Tiandong 3 Annihilation. It will not make things any better, but it will keep things very quiet. If you are not feeling, ah, bad in a specific way, please disregard this message."> Is that being too obvious? She knows Shelby's a more powerful Newtype than she is, and Alma... she can't remember right now, or sense, for that matter! <"Captain Dispersal, my apologies, but a wise man once told me that the terrain is a pilot's best weapon."> She may have not forgiven Yuliana for her treatment of Ranka, but that was on the field of hearts. This is the field of battle. She will be cordial as she would to any ally.
".... Sorry, Ranka..." Lucine says, this time to herself.
<".... Lucine Azul, of the Nadesico. Here to provide assistance."> Her voice is oddly calm, but not coldly so. <"That barrier... if I can get a readout on it...">
Landing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, the Dianthus's arbalest is drawn, energy lines forming the drawn string and the arrow, almost half as large as the Dianthus itself. <"..... Remain clear. Firing in 3.... 2.... 1-->" The white beam slices through the air, aimed towards the Shamblo.
<"Orion shot!">
KTS: Sayaka Yumi fails to Evade Amuro Ray's Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Piercing Shot, taking 5610 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Attune Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Ostensibly, the pilots of Londo Bell are here to lend support for the local garrisons and probably fight off the mobile armor assault. In reality, there's this annoying klaxon going off and orders to pull back to a more defensible position. Something about defend in depth.
"I'm launching." Puru Two cuts off the Warrant Officer explaining why this is a bad idea, as the phosphor-glow of beam weapons dances through the sky. She isn't even pretending to act like (recently-promoted) 2nd Lieutenant Callisto Diana anymore. She can feel something strange, something rotten. Like an anxiety you can see coming, miles off.
A few technicians start preparing to clear the deck in front of a mica-white Mass Production Nu Gundam, which the stern redhead stalks past wordlessly. She tried. She failed. The mantle, the name of Gundam can't be worn by just anyone. It belongs to certain types, certain heroes... of which she isn't one.
"No, not in that. In this."
Gloved hands grab hold of a grey tarp and rip it free. It billows as it falls free of something cruel, something avian, black and predatory in shape. One of Neo Zeon's calling cards for its long history of crimes: the AMX-004G Qubeley.
"Let's go, Qubeley." Puru Two's voice is subdued. Monotone. She hops onto a lowered hand, fastening an intricate mechanical tiara on her head. In response, the hand lifts her to the waiting cockpit. "Before the tragedies multiply any further."
***
The escalation has been rapid. It's like the Neo-Zeon War all over again. The Qubeley snakes through a tight squeeze of buildings in Torrington City, its pilot squinting briefly as a sun-coloured beam rakes through a nearby parking lot turns the whole thing to evaporating dust.
JUDAU! CALLISTO! Banagher can't stop the Unicorn!
"Leina...? Is that Leina's voice?" Puru Two does not pause, nor hesitate. The amount of information flying around is taxing even for a mind trained for such tasks. "Tch." she furrows her brow and tries to follow the voice to its source. A thread, ephemeral, two souls linked by a bond of found-family...
The Qubeley slips from the city and hauls towards the panicking Unicorn, despite the distance between them. Even when the magnum flares blindingly, her advance does not falter. "I'm coming, hold on." she mutters aloud.
What happens next staggers her from her stoic countenance.
Puru Two's senses are briefly thrown into the past as space and time warp and twist horridly, unveiling something which should no longer be. The Nu Gundam with the unicorn emblem. The man who wished for--and achieved--a miracle. Returned. Here. In the present.
Not to spend too much time on it, but the redhead's expression turns to one of confused horror. Even if she wasn't close enough to touch Axis--
(... the asteroid begins to vanish, crowned with a shimmering veil of magical light, visible even from hundreds of thousands of kilometres away ...)
--she can remember what she saw on that day.
But let's be mindful that what happens here, and now, is equally as important. Puru Two snaps back into the moment with a gurgling gasp, jerking back into her seat. Focus, girl!
Undulating waves of ruby coruscates from the Unicorn, so aptly named, a display panel on the panoramic monitor starts coming up red. The quantum wave sigal is disrupted. Funnels 1-18 don't even bother to spool their engines, unable to hear a lick of sense from their usual master. The pilot gives a guttural growl as her sixth sense fills with static.
The Qubeley twirls laconically in the air and then comes to an abrupt halt, firing all verniers with a shuddering roar. It changes direction with a sickening lurch, evacuating the space soon occupied by a blinding burst of power from the Unicorn's beam magnum. The searing blast lances past the Qubeley's side, and even then, the armor begins to soften and glow from the terrible heat.
"Leina, hold still!" Puru Two roars across the open channels. As if Leina is the one at the controls, anyway. "Judau and Arriety are here, we'll get you out of there!"
Ignoring all the warning alarms blaring in her ear, Puru Two urges the Qubeley forwards. On the flank, soaring towards the Unicorn while the Myrmekes Zeta lays down a barrage of fire to pin it in place. There's the familiar snap-hiss of a beam saber igniting, and the Qubeley comes in with a well-practiced lunge. "I can't feel anyone, what is this wretched thing!?" she yells in equal parts distress, alarm, and fury. "You're like that damned woman!"
(She refers, of course, to one Yuliana Dispersal, her #1 vile and most evil nemesis.)
But does her voice carry, when her soul is stifled silent by the terrifying NT-D...?
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Armor of the Week with Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot! KTS: Lina Lombardi fails to evade Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Assault Formation, taking 5390 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Amuro Ray: Will Barrier Activates. KTS: Amuro Ray begins a Formation attack! KTS: Puru Two has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two targets Banagher Links with Beam Sabers Twin Cut! KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Rau Le Creuset has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Rau Le Creuset has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Sayla Mass partially guards Amuro Ray's Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot, taking 5280 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at 4184 KTS: Rau Le Creuset fails to Evade Rena Lancaster's GU-17A Gatling Gun Pod, taking 2310 damage! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi charges into the attack! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi partially guards Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Ambush Formation, taking 2790 damage! KTS: Banagher Links charges into the attack! KTS: Banagher Links successfully avoids Judau Ashta's Double Beam Rifle - Focused Beaming <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
Ennil grits her teeth, the Jenice rattling as it rolls through the ReZEL's fire, heart in her ears. She's sinking, little by little, but as long as her blood's still pumping, as long as she's still alive... Ennil lets out a howl and the Jenice blasts forward, beam saber flashing to life.
"And what do you care?! She's your enemy, isn't she? We... she, watched the battlefield hurt and kill people just fighting to live, and she's had enough!"
There's no subtlety, no grace, in Ennil's charge, but it's not sloppy. It's just... raw. She intends to carve this machine to pieces. To smash and cut until there's nothing left.
"That sanctimonious attitude... our pain didn't start on the battlefield! We carried it here, thanks to people like you! If you get hurt now, it's just what you deserve!"
KTS: Banagher Links blocks Puru Two's Beam Sabers Twin Cut, taking 1350 damage! KTS: Puru Two has engaged Banagher Links! KTS: Ennil El has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Kamille Bidan KTS: Ennil El targets Kamille Bidan with Beam Saber Strike! KTS: Armor of the Week successfully evades Lucine Azul's Argen-21 Beam Arbalest Orion Shot KTS: Lucine Azul completes the Formation attack! KTS: Ennil El has activated the Valor Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
Lina grunts as she attempts to dive out of the way of Amuro's attack, but the funnels are faster than she is, and she's blasted back several meters from the blast. Her helmet smacks back against her seat and she takes a minute to just...look at it. That thing...that...orange god of destruction...this is no regular mobile suit...
"...It's really a Gundam..."
"Juno 1, status!"
"Not looking good. Systems at 31%. It's mulching everyone that comes up against it..."
"If you need to fall back, feel free."
"I think I got one more good go left in me!" The Nightmare's missile pods open up, and Lina engages the targeting system, several reticules appearing on her visual display, slowly lining up together with a tone to indicate a lock. The pilot jams her thumb on the launch button by her stick, firing off her Micro-Missiles towards the Gundam.
KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Amuro Ray with Micro-Missile Array Lock! <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita had been having a pleasant chat with Rena when the sirens began to blare. That feels like an eternity ago, now - now, she sits in the cockpit of the VF-25 Messiah Rosetta, leaning back with her eyes shut.
It's just down to waiting, now - now, even as chaos swirls below the Ra Mari. Waiting for the call to go out. And finally, it does.
"Anita Rosetta, taking flight!" The Messiah Rosetta launches. Once it clears the runway, it unfolds into GERWALK mode. It gives her an opportunity to look out over everything - the chaos and destruction...
She's left speechless and overwhelmed for a moment. And then, two things happen - she hears Eight warning about incoming ZAFT signatures, telling them to intercept them, and then she hears Rena, calling out to her.
Anita exhales, clearing her mind. Right. Focus on the now.
"Right here, Rena." Anita replies. Her machine draws its gatling gun pod, and with a flourish, unleashes a sweep of gatling fire over Lily and Michiru! Her goal seems to be just to drive them back, her shots aimed away from vital sections.
And then, with a few presses of a button...
"Hey, this is really a bad time... You guys mind coming back later? ...Or, not at all?" Anita requests. Of course, there's probably no chance they'll say 'yes'. Still. Her tone is casual, but she's still a little on edge.
KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Lily Jung and Michiru Tenjou with Gatling Sweep. <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
Rage and pain. The Unicorn is heedless of if its attacks land or not, glowing all the more brightly. No matter how fervent the cries of those connected to the children in the cockpit, the machine easily shifts into its next attack. It moves with a grace and ferocity most pilots are incapable of -- especially one as untrained as Banagher Links. Judau's blast misses the Unicorn by a hair, and the mobile suit charges him, drawing a beam saber as it leaps.
But those cries aren't for nothing. They reach Banagher, lost in the fog of the Psychoframes' anger. Leina, so near to him, someone he loves so dearly -- he could never deny her. Sweat drips from Banagher's face as he fights, drowning in crimson darkness. "Please don't let it hurt them!", Leina begs, and her words echo around his shadowy prison. He can remember the warmth of her energy. But where -- Leina was right there, a moment ago, right? Banagher's thoughts are clouded. Leina... Where are you?
Hairline cracks form in the scarlet prison holding Banagher's mind. Achingly familiar... Cool and soft, gentle despite its pressure... There's only one person in the Earthsphere who feels this way. Bangaher's soul cries out in response. Joy. Relief. It was her! It was her, after so long! "Aud...rey..." He manages, in the waking world. Following the cool energy comes a warmth, joyful and bright. For a moment, despite everything, he feels safe. Suspended between two sources of gravity, between the sun and the moon. Radiance washes over him, giving him just enough strength...
The Unicorn comes to an abrupt halt before Judau. It shudders, straining, trying to bring its beam saber down on the man's mobile suit. But Leina begged Banagher not to hurt him. And Banagher could never deny her. Turning away from Judau's machine at the last moment, it instead rockets toward the Shamblo. That killing intent still had to go somewhere, and the Unicorn picks whoever is nearest, and most threatening. With no flourish, the beam saber is plunged into the red machine, left there as the Unicorn leaps away, looking for its next target.
That target comes to it, in the end. Despite its time spent aboard the Gwennangorn, the Unicorn doesn't hold back. It doesn't appreciate being scanned -- turning on the ship with an enraged glare. Stowing the beam magnum, the Gundam draws a second beam saber and charges, holding the sword out directly before it. It tries to strike anything that looks vital -- a wing, a hull, anything at all. Red light glints off the rigid face of the Gundam, illuminating it from below. How dare the ship threaten its pilot? How dare it exist here, now, amidst so many enemies?
Arriety fires on the berserk Gundam, the Unicorn lifting a shield to take most of the damage. The sheer force of the attack forces it back a few yards, scoring a deep line in the pavement beneath its feet. The damage is still significant -- the white armor of the shield cracks, somehow letting out more scarlet light. The fire from Arriety's beam rifle pulls the Unicorn's attention from the Gwennangorn, and it races to her, beam saber still drawn. Despite its haphazard charge, the Unicorn's actual strikes are precise, almost beautiful. But... somehow it doesn't go for a killing blow. It swipes for the arms of Arriety's mobile suit.
Unicorn's cracked shield catches another attack, this time from Callisto. There's a hesitation again -- Leina begged for Callisto's safety too -- but the Unicorn twitches, shudders, and rears up. It leaps to Callisto, slashing out at the young woman with that awful red energy. Somewhere deep down, Banagher wails in distress, just concious enough to feel Leina's fear and pain. "No -- no!" He slams his fists against the crimson shadows holding him fast. "Stop it!"
Leaving Callisto after its slash, the Gundam switches off the beam saber. It takes a central position between all its enemies, ready to lash out at the next one to make an aggressive move. Is this hesitation Banagher's doing? The wild machine surely would've continued it's attack, otherwise, giving its target no mercy.
KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Lina Lombardi's Micro-Missile Array Lock, taking 1020 damage! KTS: Lily Jung fails to evade Anita Rosetta's Gatling Sweep, taking 3600 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links targets Arriety Hearn with Beam Saber Slash! KTS: Kamille Bidan fails to rush. KTS: Kamille Bidan partially guards Ennil El's Beam Saber Strike, taking 4800 damage! KTS: Ennil El has engaged Kamille Bidan! KTS: Banagher Links targets Lilith Aiden with Beam Saber Slash! KTS: Arriety Hearn blocks Banagher Links's Beam Saber Slash, taking 3300 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Arriety Hearn! KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru Two with Beam Saber Slash! KTS: Banagher Links targets Armor of the Week with Beam Saber Slash! KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Puru Two KTS: Lilith Aiden fails to react to Banagher Links's Beam Saber Slash, taking 5280 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Lilith Aiden! KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Armor of the Week's Beam Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Banagher Links's Beam Saber Slash, taking 1050 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Michiru Tenjou fails to charge. KTS: Michiru Tenjou partially guards Anita Rosetta's Gatling Sweep, taking 3280 damage! KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Puru Two's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
Rau doesn't have to see the chaotic furball mess that is taking place to be able to know just how intense it is. He can feel it all washing over him. It's only his own breadth of experience and willpower that allows him to keep himself from being overwhelmed by it. That and the sheer determination to see that everything plays out as he wants it to.
Beeping draws Rau's attention to one of his other screens. A Federation warship on a course to intercept the ZAFT team, with a couple of units on its deck. No doubt intent on keeping them away from the Federation's precious horde of weapons of death.
Very well. He'll just have to break through them.
Rau signals the other two ZAFT pilots, <"We have incoming. Lily, Michiru, focus on the units. I'll go after the warship.">
The DINN banks to the side, starting to charge the incoming Ra Mari. Gatling fire starts to fill his screen, coming from a VF standing on the vessel. The DINN rolls to the side to avoid the rapid fire shots, many of them missing. But a few manage to dig along the side of the DINN's frame.
Rau doesn't respond to the attack, letting his allies handle it while he dives down through the air, trying to escape the firing line of Rena's Prophecy while also gaining one of his own against the Ra Mari's engines.
KTS: Rau Le Creuset targets Eight York with MMI-M7S Improved Machine Gun Maneuver Shot! KTS: Lily Jung has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
Kamille is fighting against the emotions of the battlefield itself, bleeding into his mind. Banagher's desperation, the Newtype pilot's despair, the rage and heartbreak swirling like a toxic sludge, it's been so long since he's been immersed like this. Not since...well, the last time, and this cannot end like the last time.
He jolts forward to try to dodge the beam saber, instead only blocking it partially with his shield. "Ugh," he mutters to himself. "I have to focus. They need me to focus..."
And he's fighting someone with just as much fury, just as much desire to tear into someone or something in hopes the universe would make sense. He guesses, anyway. It should give him more empathy for Ennil, in another situation, but here her words only inflame his rage.
"She was suffering! She's suffering now! Can't you feel her? Can't you feel them all?!" He raises his shield and plows it right at Ennil's mobile suit like a battering ram.
KTS: Eight York blocks Rau Le Creuset's MMI-M7S Improved Machine Gun Maneuver Shot, taking 2760 damage! KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan targets Ennil El with ReZEL Shield Ram! KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
The mood on the Garencieres bridge is frozen, everyone staring in horror at the terrible orange star descending on the battlefield, that unmistakable asymmetrical wing with its funnels performing a dance of death.
Zinnerman says it first, a whispered, dreaded epithet:
"The White Devil."
With a sound in the air, the spell is broken. Zinnerman gestures to Gilboa. "Get us out of here."
"Captain - "
"Whatever the hell's wrong with him, Amuro Ray will kill us all if we stick around."
"What about the kid? Unicorn's activated, he's only got, what, five minutes?"
"... We'll have to trust him to get out alive." A funnel turns on them, dawnstar-orange beam scoring a deep line into the freighter's armour, effectively ending any argument the crew might have in their Captain's favour.
As the Garencieres turns and accelerates towards the horizon, Zinnerman remains fixed on their displays of the battle.
'Time to live up to what you said you wanted to be, Banagher. Don't you go dying on me.'
If Banagher survives, the Laplace program will yield its next clue, and the psycometer placed in the mobile suit's cockpit will allow the Sleeves to keep track of it. Full Frontal will be pleased.
Something about that knowledge makes Zinnerman feel ill.
KTS: Ennil El has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El successfully avoids Kamille Bidan's ReZEL Shield Ram KTS: Armor of the Week targets Banagher Links with Large Iron Nail Smash! KTS: Armor_of_the_Week Changes attack to Shelby Korts and Lucine Azul with Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce. KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links blocks Armor of the Week's Large Iron Nail Smash, taking 4560 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week repulses Banagher Links, forcing him to disengage. KTS: Armor_of_the_Week Changes attack to Yuliana Dispersal and Alma Stirner with Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Sweep. <Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
It'll be ok. Lie down. I won't be long.
Sayla feels something rise in her throat and chest. It's complete and utter fear. A sensation from a nightmare she can't remember becomes claustrophobic. And from here, she can feel the otherside. Where the Unicorn seeks to destroy. The Newtype Destroyer and Cosmic Law in one place, and the nightmarish feelings from the Shamblo. It's all too much, too much.
And over there is-
The beam rifle blast sends the Saint Lance flying, taking it's shield arm off entirely. The laser comms system opens a channel. "Amuro... You can't- This isn't you! Just stop! We can get Guy and Mamoru and they can fix this! You don't have to do this, please!" She knows it's futile. She can't change the mind of someone under Triple Zero's will. But she still has to try. She has to try to reach him.
Like she couldn't, all those years ago.
A large house, near Cheyenne on the Britannian New Continent. It's too much. She can't take it anymore... The walls between them, Amuro's continued work for the federation, the dreams where he and Lalah speak, and she can only watch. "...I'm sorry. We've both been through too much. I have to leave, for both our sakes. Goodbye, Amuro."
She sees the ZZ on her camera. Leina's still there, still trapped. The laser opens a line. What Sayla intends in a determined message. But she's not in that state. Instead, fear and tears flood her voice. "Judau! Judau, Leina's in there! Please, I'm begging you, get her out of there safely! I can't lose her!" Shit, shit...
The Saint Lance wobbles to it's feet, pointing the rifle at Amuro. "Amuro! I *will* stop you! I won't let you turn into him!"
And then the missile binder on the remaining wing opens, and fires a large missile at the Nu Gundam. This may be the last shot she gets. She can't waste it. "STOP IT, AMURO!"
<Pose Tracker> Lark Straye has posed.
Lark fights back her growing fear as she engages Amuro in combat. She isn't good enough for this; she's not talented enough to keep up with one of the great aces of the era. But more than that. She doesn't *understand*.
"Why," Lark says, speaking for the first time. She uses her radio, and there's pain in her voice. "Why? I thought you - you of all people - believed in that miracle!" The asteroid, shimmering in the distance, as Lark pulls away, holding in her Geara Doga's arms the ruined fragments of another, barely able to see through the tears, the miracle for other people but not for her -
(I don't know if I believe. But Amuro... if he doesn't, is the whole thing a lie? Did everybody die for a lie - on both sides, Amuro and Char together...?)
Funnels lash out toward Lark. She can't give up, even the way she is now. (She told me to live... ) The MSA-0120's shield is the same oddly curved material as the frame, but she doesn't simply hunker behind it; she holds it in front of herself, sending the MSA-0120 through a spinning leap to catch as many as the blasts as she can manage.
It's not all of them, but it's enough for her to get closer. Close enough to draw the beam sword-axe, salvage from a Zeonic suit; it's almost too big for the short MSA-0120 but she's adjusted the grip just enough, and she activates it, forming the axe.
No: a pick, the angles of the blade pointing inward to a point instead of outward to make the arc of a blade. Lark leaps, swinging it at the leg of Amuro's strangely glowing machine, trying to drive it in and twist before dropping back away from the Nu Gundam.
Lark touches down again, and then the MSA-0120's computer lets out a soft beep. It's picked out something she told it to watch for, and she hears a voice she recognizes: similar to but not identical to her own, but only because she's trained hers lower, further alto.
The MSA-0120, for an instant, loses sight of Amuro - because she's looking across the battlefield at a Qubeley. But only for a moment.
KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Sayla Mass targets Amuro Ray with High-Explosive Psycommu Guided Missile! KTS: Lark Straye targets Amuro Ray with Sword-Axe Penetration Mode! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner retreats from the attack! KTS: Alma Stirner successfully evades Armor of the Week's Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Sweep KTS: Armor of the Week roots its unit, coming to a standstill and leaving it vulnerable. KTS: Yuliana Dispersal fails to rush. KTS: Yuliana Dispersal partially guards Armor of the Week's Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Sweep, taking 9490 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week roots its unit, coming to a standstill and leaving it vulnerable. KTS: Puru Two has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two parries Banagher Links's Beam Saber Slash, taking 1320 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Puru Two!
<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
As Mineva comes through the halls, pushing past, she makes it to the door. Lilith hears her voice - no, actually, she *feels* her emotional tenor. "Let her in!" She shouts, as the doors to the bridge slide open and allow Mineva past the guards. At this time, the ship shakes - the beam saber slashes into one of the wings, though it doesn't disable it. "Damage output to my terminal! Zabi..."
Lilith has never called Mineva 'Zabi'. She calls her Mineva, an attempt to be nice. There's a clear emotional tenor that Lilith is having a Bad Time and defaulting to sheer professionalism.
"We're going to make sure he survives the night. But we're at a disadvantage - can't use the megaparticle cannons without risking the cockpit block, have to focus on turret fire and scanners. We *have* to fight him to save his ass. If you're fine with that, speak your piece."
From a distance, Lilith tries to reach out to Alma, check in. They're both doing bad, but maybe they can stabilize the other...
"Burst of the AA lasers at the Unicorn! Do not aim for the cockpit! I repeat, we're taking that him alive!" She commands the Gwennangorn, as a rapid-fire pulse of lasers blasts from the side of the ship closest to the Unicorn, trying to do damage!
[OOC] Lilith Aiden blu-ray - use the second one
KTS: Shelby Korts's Beam Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Shelby Korts blocks Armor of the Week's Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce, taking 4400 damage! KTS: Lilith Aiden has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilith Aiden has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilith Aiden targets Banagher Links with Gwennangorn Anti-Air Laser Turrets Burst! KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links blocks Lilith Aiden's Gwennangorn Anti-Air Laser Turrets Burst, taking 2880 damage! KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Evade Sayla Mass's High-Explosive Psycommu Guided Missile, taking 4125 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 61. <Pose Tracker> Lily Jung has posed.
> Remember. Our objective here is the stockpile. All other targets are secondary. And try to avoid the center of the fighting. I suspect there are a few units in that mess that we're no match for.
Lily glances towards where the Unicorn Gundam is. Even if she wanted to interfere, she knows very well that in that state, she cannot even dare approach it. Where that machine... Shamblo, is managing to push it away. Where it manages to keep its remote weapons under control, she could not do that.
She's already experienced it once. The Unicorn ripping control from her. Lily is not wanting the punishment of experiencing that again. Yet at the same time, Loni...
Loni is one of those who helped teach her alongside Marida about her ability to control her 'NewType' weapons. The girl bites her lip a bit, but remains on target.
The only way I am going to find out is to get out of here alive. Zinnermann... I hope you'll have answers.
"Lily, enemy! Lily, enemy!"
Right as the VF-25's gatling bullets rattle across the machine's armor. The machine lifting one hand to avoid some of the blows. Lacking a proper shield, it then quickly tries to push to the side in order to avoid taking a heavier amount of bullets straight to its body, but ends up in a partial spin for a moment.
<"Negative, Federation pilot. We're here to take care of something important that should have been dealt with a long time ago."> Lily answers Anita with a firmness to her voice. Before adding a very polite; <"So please get out of our way.">
As the machine shifts aside and adjusts its angle and brings about one of its weapons. It undocks from the back of the machine and quickly moves into its right hand, then gets leveled with the left. Adjusting its angle as Rena goes for Rau. Rau is wanting to go for the ship, so she will provide covering fire.
Her Haro chiming in as she targets Rena. Focusing on the shot. Extending her very presence out towards Rena Lancaster. Reaching, almost like a hand starting to reach out towards the Battroid pilot... before a lance of purple light zips across the deck of Eight York's vessel. And while the deck is armored enough to handle the thin beam weapon, a Valkyrie might not have that luck as the beam follows in a searing S-Shape, zig-zagging quickly towards the position of Rena Lancaster's unit in order to tear through its very core!
KTS: Lily Jung targets Rena Lancaster with Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - Sniper Shot! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Evade Lark Straye's Sword-Axe Penetration Mode, taking 3600 damage! KTS: Lark Straye has engaged Amuro Ray! KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Armor of the Week's Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce KTS: Eight York orders an all-out attack, raising Rena Lancaster's Skill! KTS: Rena Lancaster's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Rena Lancaster blocks Lily Jung's Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - Sniper Shot, taking 2280 damage! <Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
It's absolute chaos out there psychically, she finds herself reeling with every passing moment as she tries to focus in on Banagher's situation, and what she can do. She can't do anything about the Shamblo, or Amuro... but she can do something about this.
She feels another presence even as there's a call and... "<Renalle! Stay safe! I'll find a way to stop this!>" 'Our hearts are just trapped in these machines aren't they.' Leina's breath hitches, something pained in her expression at her words. "Arriety..." As she feels second hand her sorrow, her grief.
And feels second hand the attempt of someone to reach out to him, "Who... it couldn't be..." Suddenly she feels like everything she knew about that day was turned on its head, but she can't even process that right now.
Judau can feel it so keenly, how freaked Leina is, how scared she is. The moment the shot from the Beam Magnum hits his anti-beam armor, her emotions burble out like a scream that never rises to her lips.
Whereas Callisto homes right in on them, and Callisto might suddenly feel her panic grow to new heights. Why though? Didn't she evade that shot? "<I can't keep him still! The Unicorn is- Judau! Callisto! Be careful! The Unicorn may target the two of you more than anyone else! That's how the NT-D system is designed!>"
She senses the shift a split second before it happens, and she calls out - <JUDAU HE'S COMING STRAIGHT AT YOU!> However, she feels infinite relief as the blow doesn't fall, "Thank you Banagher - thank-"
However the Unicorn does not stop even if it did not strike him, she feels the G-Forces pull against her, the medication being pumped into her the only thing keeping her from blacking out, as encompassed by the Psychoframe she feels its intent even before it shifts her way... "<Callisto! Leaping from your left!>"
Doing her best to calm herself, she tries to speak clearly, succinctly, as calmly as possible.
"<Arriety. Callisto. Judau. Listen to me carefully. The Unicorn has a will of its own, but that doesn't mean Banagher has no control. It's gone wild trying to protect him. If you want to stay safe, keep close to your hearts the images of your loved ones who would lose you if you were shot down. This will help him snap out of it. He does not want to hurt you, or anybody. I will do what I can to help him calm the Unicorn.>"
Again she reaches out to him...
And he feels it, the feeling of sisterly love, as she's swung around by her older brother. Reunited after being parted for so long.
And again, that feeling as an apartment door seeing someone for the first time in eight years. Immediate awkwardness dispelled by an embrace.
That feeling of waking up, up after a long sleep. Barely conscious, unable to move, vision blurry there's a strange sensation down your throat. It's just about the only thing one feels until there's a numb pressure in your hand. Your eyes struggle to focus in on what it is. However your ears distinctly hear the warm words of greeting as you truly meet someone for the first time: 'Welcome back.'
The Unicorn advances on the Shamblo, and the claw backhands them, causing some whiplash as it's batted around, which causes her in a daze to see the Saint Lance on the cockpit screen...
A red mobile suit, accented with yellow flies in like a comet.
Damnit Puru! You overdid it with the Psycommu didn't you?
It's hands feel so large, like it's advancing on her, and immediately she knows, she's not going to be rescued after all.
There is no comment with words, but even she can't stop this from leaking out. Even now, in this moment, knowing how awful this is for her, she's not disciplined enough, her walls are shattered.
Realizing what just happened, she feels guilt, she doesn't want to burden her more, not now, but she did... recovering from the impact, she homes back in on Banagher, "You can do this Banagher." She whispers, like a prayer, a plea. Even now she hasn't lost faith in him. "Calm it down. Take it nice and slow. Let it know you don't need to be protected from them."
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
The Jenice spins, dust spraying and buying distance for Ennil to slip another thrust by the desperate Feddie pilot. And then he says the words that confirm her suspicions, and her heart throbs and hardens to stone. The rage sinks back, simmers under black ice.
"Of course I hear them. But I can't save her. ...could you, Newtype? Can you really make miracles?"
The beam saber hisses, both mobile suits trapped in a moment of stillness, Ennil's voice tearing as she lifts the Jenice's arm in a moment stretched to eternity. The air thrums around her, her rage blanketed in the promise of that hovering golden monster, that in the end, she'd been right -
"If you really think you can, prove it! Save yourself! Just like you always have! All those miracles you promised never meant anything to the rest of us! Or are you a liar too?! How many people did you promise to save before they died anyway?!"
The saber hammers down, seeking every moment of vulnerability. "If you're really nothing more than another soldier, go ahead and die!"
KTS: Leina Ashta targets Judau Ashta, Puru Two, and Arriety Hearn with Awe. KTS: Ennil El has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El targets Kamille Bidan with Beam Saber Combo! KTS: Leina Ashta inspires awe, increasing Judau Ashta's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Lucine's heartfelt request strikes a pang in Yurika's heart, pursing her lips together. The valor of her allies is to be commended...but when you're in the position to stop and think, the hollow resignation billowing from Amuro is too much to bear.
<"Lucine...we're all doing our best to hail him. But, ah, that's sort of the problem, with the whole...Code Orange situation. They kind of don't listen. If we can get through, though, we will...!">
The Shamblo's exceptionally powerful anti-beam coating catches the Nadesico crew's attention, and Minato plays a brief department store-esque PA chime, calmly notifying everyone, <"All anti-Mobile Armor forces, please be aware that I-Field-centered weaponry won't work very well. We advise physical munitions, or a good old punch to the face. Oh, and don't be alarmed, the Nadesico's primary weapon is...ah, something else entirely, so we'll be giving plenty of fire support.">
"...Aaaah, if you all don't mind, I need to take just a second. Bathroom break, you understand," Yurika blurts out post-announcement, and quickly hurries herself to the hall restroom. (it's very close by - that's an important utility!)
Once the door zips behind her, Yurika's quick to collapse to her knees on the floor, overcome by nausea that she was holding back. It's not just the raw psychic pessimism fuming from the Nu Gundam and the searing rage from the Shamblo. That's there, but it's not as strong as just...the fact that the glimmering hero of the Axis Shock is like this. Is it really Amuro Ray giving this off?
...is he in the wrong? After the miracle he enabled...has the world changed one bit? Or is humanity doomed to repeat th-
"WE...DEFINITELY...AREN'T...!" Yurika screams as loudly as she can - as though if the Federation can't get ahold of Amuro by communications, she's just going to tell it to him with her own lungs. "We're doing our best! I know we gave so much - YOU gave so much for a miracle that'd save the world...I can only imagine how much it's hurt...but...if you can hear me at all...there's still hope. We'll all keep holding onto hope!! I've never forgotten what I saw that day, and I'll fight like crazy to keep making the future you made possible!"
About a minute after, Yurika steps right back onto the bridge, clapping her cheeks twice, and interrupting any 'are you okay's with: <"The world's been cruel to you out there - I won't try to say we can possibly make it right. But you - you're taking everything from countless people with this rampage, Mobile Armor pilot girl!"> She's maybe mitigated the impact calling her that. <"Alright, it's time we punch a hole through this wall. How's the status on the Gravity Blast?">
"Energy reserves are at about 43%, Captain," Technical Officer Ruri Hoshino states in that usual matter of fact way.
<"Give it 25, just to test if this thing somehow has a weird anti-gravity field! Let's gooo!!"> From the belly of the Nadesico, a hatch opens wide, the entire ship rising up to get a less collateral damage-risking firing angle - and a crackling, lightbending beam of thunder booms forth in a short, scarce burst directly at the Shamblo...!
KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Armor of the Week with Gravity Blast - Atmospheric Wide Spread! KTS: Leina Ashta inspires awe, increasing Puru Two's Morale! KTS: Leina Ashta inspires awe, increasing Arriety Hearn's Morale! KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Yurika Misumaru's Gravity Blast - Atmospheric Wide Spread, taking 3500 damage! KTS: Yurika Misumaru roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
There is at times a benefit to being essentially a bog standard oldtype. Sure, it means that one's soul is irrevocably weighed down by gravity, never to truly feel the dance of the quanta or hear the impassioned pleas of the souls of all mankind, but it also means that... That there's a sort of focus that one can fall into. A singularity of purpose that can drown out the anguish of the battlefield.
Tetsuya Tsurugi does not realize it, but he should be thankful that, right now, his brain is about as basic as a slice of buttered white bread in the bakery of human consciousness. He recognizes the presence of Sayla Mass, driven here by some quirk of fate-- and of Sayaka Yumi, of all people. But otherwise, he is focused solely on his opponent.
The man he once called friend.
He hears the impassioned pleas, reaching out for the one wearing the name Amuro Ray. "Triple Zero will not let him hear you," Tetsuya says, grimly. "There is only one purpose in his heart, now. Until we can tear that energy out of him, negotiation will not get us anywhere."
Amuro absorbs his charge. Tetsuya turns as the funnels fire, absorbing their onslaught on a set of whirling, bladed forearms instead of Great's-- somewhat-- more delicate wings. "Don't worry, Amuro. We just need to tear that armor off of you. After that, we can make you better again. This is just a sickness. That power is nothing but a pathogen."
"DRILL PRESSURE PUNCH!" Great Mazinger's thrusters roar, throwing it forward at the corrupted Nu Gundam with renewed speed. Its charred arms spin up, carving vortices in the air as photonic rocket engines ignite in an attempt to land a double point-blank shot with drill-boosted limbs!!
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
The Nadesico's presence on the battlefield is reassuring to Alma -- it's faced a lot of the worst the Universal Century has to offer, some of which Alma's even been there for! She focuses up, and --
-- spots Yuliana's Tiandong too. It's not that she's unhappy to see her by any stretch, of course -- but she decides to give her a wide berth. Even if she's fine enough to talk to, she's... a little harrowing to get too close to. Lucine suggests it, but... "... I'll be fine," Alma says -- and ironically, it's those moments near two decades ago, feeling the maelstrom of Lilith's anger, that make her certain that she can handle what she's facing now.
Seeing the Shamblo's body utterly ignore beam shots makes Alma rethink her plan on closing; she'll need to eventually, but... it might be time to use the electro-picks rather than the sabers. While they're holdout weapons, it's -- well: holdout weapons are for a situation your main weapon can't handle and this qualifies.
Alma feels Lilith reach out to her, and her gut tells her to retreat -- so she does. They're safest if they take care of each other a little bit -- respond to each other's pain. The worry presages an attack from the Shamblo, and Alma retreats from it rather than close, throwing off the firing solution on her.
She's had to cede a lot of ground... but she has a solution for that.
Alma closes her eyes -- and even if she's someone who does her best to live in the 'now,' something throws her into the past. The pilot -- no, the armor itself.
Amid this maelstrom of hatred, then --
"Zeon pilot!" Alma shouts over broad band. "I don't know who you are -- but sixteen years ago, I could have been you!" She washed out -- but if Nakamoto's work had taken just a little better, if the drugs had been just a little more effective --
Alma fires two more blasts from the bazooka, returning to closing; during that split second of stagger, Alma guns it, driving each pick -- deactivated, so no electricity -- into the Shamblo's legs as the Amabilis's legs start to wake up, flaring slightly in much the same way the Unicorn's have. "You don't have to walk this path -- when I fell off of it, I learned that if we're kind to each other, we can pick ourselves up from any tragedy!"
She takes the machine, now hovering, into a controlled whirl -- circling around the Shamblo. "Even if you still want to fight for Zeon -- this war doesn't need to be an endless, pointless cycle of escalation!" Two more bazooka blasts fly out -- and then one of the picks flies for the center of that waiting maw. "Please! Turning away from that anger saved me -- saved Lilith -- saved both of us!" She does finish with the saber, even though it's risky to incorporate a weapon like that at all against an I-field of this strength, driving it into the 'base' of the mobile armor. "I don't know who you are -- we might never meet again, but please -- return from the other side of that sadness...!"
KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Amuro Ray KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi targets Amuro Ray with Drill Pressure Punch! KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner targets Armor of the Week with Queen Cutter! KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Alma Stirner's Queen Cutter, taking 7590 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alma Stirner's Guard Shift activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Alma Stirner roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. <Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
"Oh?" the Tiandong 3 responds, rising-tone, to the Dianthus's suggestion. Lucine is quite right, after all -- the area immediately around Yuliana's wanzer is a psychic dead zone, consuming all the emotions around it. But the way its pilot laughs, a little too high, a little too sharp, may paint another picture: "Hahaha... oh, yes... come to me. Come to me, damned children..!"
She slumps forward, against the restraints and bonds of her harness, and grins too, too wide.
Yuliana, who can't feel any of the myriad messages bouncing about this battlefield, can still hear the radio -- and she laughs, again, hearing the Qubeley's protests. "Very, very interesting...!" She affirms, to herself. Certainly, she doesn't expect Callisto to respond.
Kamille demands to know whether his enemy can't feel everyone here, and Yuliana laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
In all these jagged edges, the places where something once went, are hidden scraps of the truth. The truth... Yuliana can see it...!
"Hahahahaha..!!!"
Her response to Loni's pain -- is laughter.
She hears her loss, and she laughs, raw and torn and ripped from its hinges.
"WHO THE HELL CARES?!" She transmits, once she's done laughing in her face. "Homes, family, existences! That's war, baby! You should have thought of that before you damn devils dropped hell from the sky!" Face all carved in a consuming grin, she throws her head forward, she barks: "I'D KILL THEM AGAIN, JUST FOR YOU, SWEETHEART!"
Yuliana is...
Here. She's here, certainly. Physically present.
And when that draconic maw lifts, Yuliana doesn't cut her line, doesn't escape the Minovsky particles which bellow out in retributive inferno.
Why would she? She's Minovsky's woman.
No: Yuliana swings forward, into the burning path, and her other hand grips fast to the Shamblo's upper jaw. One hand over another, the wanzer -- and that wanzer is still operational, if barely, two dozen warning lights and klaxons sounding to call for her retreat -- Annihilation CLIMBS, clambers up to Shamblo's skull.
She wrenches her axe from its hull, and lays in.
Atop the Shamblo, Yuliana's axe comes down once -- again -- again -- digging down through the metal, a nail pressing in. The metal sparks with metal, clashing, tearing. So does her voice. "YOU PEOPLE think you can DO AS YOU LIKE! No wonder that FALSE PROPHET --" Amuro Ray, to wit, "has come to your aid, all joined trapped together! You're all the same--! Hahaha... you fools! You've played your hand, all laid out here together..!!"
But if she feels anything about it -- she's a black box, unheard, unseen, unknown. No emotions escape the void around her.
Loni might have trouble, too.
Because the Annihilation reaches down to WRENCH a layer of metal back, and Yuliana is reaching to the Shamblo's pilot with her own hideous aura, the absolute silence of the isolation tank. It is deeply unsettling, unseating -- a thing which makes it difficult to concentrate, and even its memory is a horror.
And she transmits another message -- a private one, this time -- as she strikes:
"Rusalka... the Annihilation can't take much more of this."
A message to Alma, as Yuliana smiles, vicious, about her bleeding lip.
"If I'm toast, you know what you have to do."
One more twist of the knife:
"Surely you realise how happy it would make me if this girl died here today."
KTS: Yuliana Dispersal targets Armor of the Week with Nullify! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal nullifies Armor of the Week's defensive abilities. <Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Gh--too fast!" Rena shouts, as the DINN shoots by her, and towards the Ra Mari. The Prophecy's gunpod slows to a stop; instead, the machine unfolds. Nose flips out; the wings unfold, and then the foot-mounted thrusters fire, as the orange-and-white Variable Fighter shifts into GERWALK mode. Her head spins, as she feels the sheer presence of the NT-D from the Unicorn.
It is a distraction, to say the least.
"Leina! Just--just hang on, I'll try to help soon!" she says. "Just... talk to him, as best you can, okay...?" She sees a gleam of light from Lily's Zack -- and a purple blast of energy slams into the forearm shield on the GERWALK, denting and ablating the armor plating -- but also dispersing over the pinpoint barriers that swarm over it. Then, Rena blitzes off, shooting after the white DINN.
The GERWALK speeds up -- and then breaks the sound barrier, leaving a parabola of compressed air in its wake. It does a sharp banking motion around the DINN, and fires the gunpod again, pouring gatling rounds into it.
"Hang on, Ra Mari," she says. "I'm coming!"
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Rau Le Creuset with Variable Sequence! Rena Lancaster transforms to YF-25A Prophecy A-type (GERWALK)
KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray retreats from the attack! KTS: Amuro Ray successfully evades Tetsuya Tsurugi's Drill Pressure Punch <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
Above the fray and far away besides, a G-Hound gunship - really more of an escort, hovering far out - has parked itself at the very far edges of the fray. On the short run of runway at its top, more for Mobile Suits to idle on than truly meant for takeoffs, a Union Flag is perched, plugged into a series of excess powerpacks designed to charge the massive Linear Cannon it's holding, sighted up in imitation of a true shooter. "This is Castellan!" the pilot barks - Captain Castellan standing on the deck of her own ship's escort, drawing a bead into the melee. "Command, I ask again, are you SURE this is the shot you want?"
Why? With the chaos going on in there, with the horrid chill penetrating her bones, why would they want her to shoot at the *other* Unicorn?
"Command to Castellan," the comms officer replies, with all the emotional investment of a person reviewing their stocks. "Confirmed. Your targe is RX-0 Unicorn. Fire."
"Easy for you to say," Sophia bites out, as the entire sky fills with laser fire, whirling funnels, and chaos of every hue. "Understood." She cuts comms. And then, she Looks.
The combination of bonds that define a person are unique in all the universe. Sophia's certainly never seen the same twice. But untangling it is a difficult, complex process that requires knowledge of herself and her enemies. Some are easier - ties to country, to kin, to organization, pillars of one's identity. And the immediate rush of emotion on the battlefield forms and tears bonds apart faster than anything else. If she's having trouble with the swirling data of her computer, then maybe...
The crest appears in her eye. She sees, and is blinded by light. A spear of a thing firing blinding beams in all directions, like looking at the sun. And like the sun, it's not that they're going in all directions that's the problem - it's that they're ALL coming at HER.
Her mouth goes dry. Shock in her heart. Her fingers squeeze in shock.
A 700% overcharge series of rifle shots burst down toward the Unicorn with enough force to punch entirely through any buildings that remain.
And each one does exactly that - slamming into and through a bank, shattering an office building's 7th through 3rd floors...and hitting not a single Unicorn.
"Castellan, what kind of shot was THAT!?"
"Shut your coward mouth or make the shot yourself!" Sophia snaps, and disconnects the Linear Cannon's completely melted barrel to grab a replacement.
KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has deployed in SVM-01 Union Flag Sophia Custom. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has changed loadout. <Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
The Nu Gundam aims its beam rifle towards Sayaka's Ichinana, after partially blocking its Burning Fire. One thing's for sure, this pilot in the Nu Gundam is certainly as good of a shot as Amuro was... it's unmistakable, and it's too fast for a machine like the Ichinana to avoid.
One thing is certain; Sayaka had no idea this is how her first deployment after her unretirement would be, and if anything, it only solidifies that she and Koji made the correct decision.
"Amuro! If it's really you in there, you have a lot to answer for." The Ichinana readies the Mazinger Blade from its mount, swinging it left to right and preparing to charge.
"But if it isn't you, and you're using his likeness to hurt people I care for, you'll pay for it." The power of Triple Zero is similarly infinite to that of Photon Power, as Koji put it. Maybe it isn't beyond it to bring back the likeness of the dead, from past timelines. But does that still make it the same person Amuro was? It's hard to answer philosophical questions like this on the battlefield.
Tetsuya says that Amuro won't be able to hear them, while under the thrall of Triple Zero... so there's only one thing to do. "Mazinger... BLADEEEEE!" Sayaka shouts as the Ichinana flies above the towering Nu Gundam, attempting a downwards strike cleanly away from the cockpit... a strike designed for incapacitation, rather than killing power. Whoever's in there, they're still leaving this battle alive; hopefully Guy and the rest aren't too late for the purification process.
KTS: Sayaka Yumi targets Amuro Ray with Mazinger Blade Topple Strike! KTS: Kamille Bidan blocks Ennil El's Beam Saber Combo, taking 5500 damage! KTS: Ennil El has engaged Kamille Bidan! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Sayaka Yumi rattles Amuro Ray, making his next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Sayaka Yumi's Mazinger Blade Topple Strike, taking 1850 damage! KTS: Sayaka Yumi has engaged Amuro Ray! <Pose Tracker> Michiru Tenjou has posed.
An intercept course. Only a pair of units and their ship? To safeguard the stockpile? Maybe they don't care that much... No. She'd guess it's rather, that they simply think this little of those on the colonies and PLANTs. Those who live and die in the ocean of stars... Of course, aren't evil empires like that ALWAYS just so overconfident? And that will be their downfall.
A single green fin breaches the surface of the seas, the ominous and ever-famous sign of an aquatic predator. A barrage of shots ring out, sweeping over the water... The fin dips back below, as shots impact the ZnO's hull. It's far less durable than Galaxia. What would have been mere paint scratches, wind up carving deep grooves into the smaller aquatic menace. They'll pay for that.
Rau and Lily both veer off, picking up targets. Michiru isn't far behind, shifting the ZnO to its combat mode and leaping up from the water. She's going for a bit of surprise. To grab the Variable Fighter with a lunge from the depths, and shred the underside to make it pull away. Maybe not so surprisingly, the one attacking Anita shouts out at her, despite not being the one to demand they withdraw. "Until the tyrants of the Earth Federation are brought to justice, there will be no backing down. Understand, the cause you fight for today is oppression and genocide!"
She's very... loud, and something about her accenting and enunciation is weird, even for somebody from the PLANTs. But there's no questioning her dedication or what she believes.
KTS: Michiru Tenjou targets Anita Rosetta with Close-Quarters Combat Claw Strike! KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Michiru Tenjou's Close-Quarters Combat Claw Strike, taking 2040 damage! KTS: Michiru Tenjou has engaged Anita Rosetta! KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Lilith Aiden, Puru Two, and Judau Ashta with Awe. KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn KTS: Rau Le Creuset successfully avoids Rena Lancaster's Variable Sequence KTS: Rena Lancaster roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Judau Ashta's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
So, Roux, why DID you come back?
Was it a mistake?
Roux Louka clicks through her preflight checklist with terrified vigor, pausing for critical heart-breaking moments as she can feel chaos and hear screams and terror and horror just outside of the flight line for something so pedestrian that it would be hilarious in hindsight: for SOFTWARE to initialize. The sorrows of mankind are as nothing compared to a boot up configuration.
It gives her time to experience *terror*.
Horrible things are occurring outside. Chaos. Distortion. Someone's calling out. Banagher? Someone else. There's another presence out there. The gods are called up; the war has surged out in the skies over Torrington.
Roux has felt something not quite unlike this before, but this time it feels, somehow, bigger.
I spent so much time worrying about useless things, Roux thinks.
The thought wiggles in the back of her mind - maybe it was all useless - but there are too many things to touch and to manipulate in front of her, and so the monkey-mind proves why it became so durable for a moment.
Was it wise to leave?
Was it wise to return?
Would it have been wise to stay here?
Would it have been wise to stay there?
Ifs, ands, and buts aplenty. Roux hears people she cares for scream in the back of her mind even as she says aloud, with an effort of will, "Finally on line! Re-ZII, launching!" The familiar electrical-linear feeling, and then out into the dirty Australian sky.
"Judau!! Everyone!! Hold on," Roux says, as she feels the muscles in the small of her back quiver. The entire world seems to be erupting into more and more insinuating lights and sounds and terrors. Soon enough hers will come, but --
Something seems to be changing. It's like the world's shifting.
For a moment, Roux thinks: That's why I kept worrying about the future.
Because -- (The feeling is wordless. A sensation of paradoxical hope. Yearning. Not so much a place or an action but a feeling; a polarity. A hand reaching upwards, relative to the body. To where? But does it matter? Is what matters the ends, the means, or somewhere in between them?)
-- but there's someone out there. A legend. An origin. Amuro Ray. Something small in the back of Roux's head - think of it as the operator of the workshop of the telescopes - indicates something else. Amuro Ray is terror, but Amuro Ray is not her problem.
Reach. Yearn. Roux turns her head. The ReZ-II's head inclines slightly. The barrage towards the Unicorn -- the second one is going to --
No!
Roux slams the throttle forwards. That moment of total clarity dissipates, somewhat; but what is left behind is Roux Louka, with her fears in momentary abeyance. The Clay Bazooka is levered out from its mount rack as the ReZ-II pivots, taking aim as Roux feels a momentary heartbeat, a resonation with the star on her chest.
"Oh no you don't!!" Roux shouts, before the Clay Bazooka fires -- and what comes out of it in a wreath of smoke is surprisingly nonlethal. Or at least, less lethal, given the chaos around them: for it is an enormous payload of atmosphere-sensitive adhesive, aiming to gunk up the Flag and link it to its gunship in a way tighter than *even the bonds between hearts*.
"Get lost!!"
KTS: Roux Louka has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Roux Louka targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Clay Bazooka - Adhesive Round! <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
'Can you really make miracles?' 'How many people did you promise to save before they died anyway?!'
Kamille shoves the shield up to take the brunt of the saber, but Ennil's strike still hits hard, and he jolts his machine back. Her words hit harder, too targeted, gnawing at wounds that never really healed over so much as scabbed and faded to a dull, constant pain.
The ghosts are always there, but he can't feel them. He can't hear them. He knows they're there. Are they holding back out of judgment? Do they, too, know he failed them?
"You..." his voice is harsher now, starting out cool and cold. "What would you...what would you know about that?! Who cares about miracles?! Newtypes were never meant to bring about miracles on the battlefield for the sake of war! We fight because we're forced to fight, and we just...they just...we just! KEEP! DYING!"
He aims the mega beam launcher as he rants, charges it, charges it, and with his last word fires it off right at Ennil.
KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Strike Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva rushes out onto the bridge just as the Unicorn goes in on the attack, grabbing onto a railing to keep herself steady. She's thrown off-guard by Lilith's form of address, but... after a moment, she gives a firm and resolute nod. "I understand, Captain. Just... please. Keep him safe."
Ugh. It's so hard to think right now... but... she has to help him. She has to reach out to the Unicorn, to Banagher...
Banagher... it's me. It's Mi... it's Audrey. Even amid the chaos, even under attack...
She's just so happy he's alive.
I'm on board the Gwennangorn! Please... *please*... The Gwennangorn--all of these people--we aren't the enemy! They don't want to fight you... the Unicorn... you need to make it understand! We're going to try to disable it, but... I don't know if they can--
She stops mid-thought as the source of that psychic pressure comes into her view. She knows that machine. She's never seen it for herself, but... she knows it.
She looks at Lilith. "... that's why it activated. That's Amuro Ray," she says, conclusively. "The NT-D is an automatic system... but I think he can take control. I'm going to try and help him fight it." She steels her expression. "... but shoot carefully..."
KTS: Kamille Bidan targets Ennil El with ReZEL Mega Beam Launcher Critical Shot! BBSYS: Post 272, '+spirit costs incorrect' has been published to Bug Reports by Rei Ayanami.
KTS: Ennil El has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El partially guards Kamille Bidan's ReZEL Mega Beam Launcher Critical Shot, taking 5056 damage! BBSYS: Post 273, '+spirit costs incorrect' has been published to Bug Reports by Rei Ayanami. <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight isn't eager to fight ZAFT at the moment, but this is the job she agreed to today--to handle people coming from afar, since the Ra Mari's guns are of little help unless they want to reduce the city to more slag.
What brings ZAFT here? She can't say. She has guesses, of course. But it isn't something they'll just be able to talk out...
"That one's coming at us," Eight says. "Activate the beam shields--cover the engines!"
And indeed, while Rau's fire slams into the ship, it doesn't destroy the engines, most of it dispersing along the shields. Not all, but most.
"...That mobile suit is too close. Target it."
Rau's mobile suit gets a bunch of battleship-scale lasers shooting out straight for it!
KTS: Eight York targets Rau Le Creuset with Twin-Barrel Hyper Mega-Particle Cannons Blast! <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Minae's working her magic, on the communications level, to coordinate better between them; she'd heard Judau's name before, but somehow, it just registers to her that it's the Judau she's met in Roux's apartment before -- the one who she screamed at and ran away from before; Leina's brother...
The solar flare of his Newtype sensation is unmistakable. He's powerful, and she can cleanly feel his presence even from here... so that's the Double Zeta. A machine that came after the Zeta, of which she's got one... a whole lineage of Gundams.
A whole lineage of despicable machines...
"Okay, Minae," Arriety whispers, a little dully. She bites her lip, looking at the Ra Mari, and its two Valkyries in the distance. "Everyone... Eight, Rena, Annie..."
Callisto comes in on a sharp angle in the Quebeley, with the beam saber; suddenly she's even more distressed at hitting another important person to her. Why is everyone she cares about here...?! Where did it all...
Where did it all go so wrong...?
But Lilith's words remind her of what's at stake -- "... thanks, Miss Lilith. That... that's what I want to do! I can't lose Leina and Banagher here!"
Banagher isn't really responding, though she can hear his distress -- did the machine literally take him over? The Unicorn isn't stopping, though -- there's a grimace from Arriety as the white Gundam comes after her, with swift, fast, and precise strikes--
At her arms.
Arriety barely brings the chitinous shell that was once the Zeta's shield mounted on her arm up, which rips with a bright yellow line in its wake; the Unicorn's beam sabers are precise and powerful indeed.
"Banagher--!!"
--and the Zeta awakens in turn. Another flare of Newtype energy, and suddenly the Gundam is wreathed in psychic fire--
--and then something unexpected happens.
Minae can first identify it -- the systems around the Bio-Sensor are guttering out, and Arriety's looking around confused even as her pupils shrink until they're little more than dots. "W-what's happening?"
The psychic fire goes out, wicked away as if blown like fragile flames on a candle; the Zeta's eyes gutter out in turn, and the mobile suit's lift shifts as Myrmekes screeches, its maw opening.
"That thing's got a hold of me, Arriety...! I'm scaaared!"
What's going on? Nothing like this has happened before... is this what they call the Newtype Destroyer, the NT-D? She can't rely on a direct link with the machine anymore...
It's Leina who calms her down. "Trying to protect him..." She grimaces harder. "But I... I have to..." Keep close the images of her loved ones. Everyone. Rena, Eight, Minae, Anita, Callie-sis...
At that moment, sound and fury ceases in her mind as the crimson seed alights upon a shallow pool of water and shatters as her Mind's Eye awakens.
"... even if I don't have the Bio-Sensor... then I'm going to do it... with my own power!"
With Minae's power compensating-- no, supporting her, and reducing the lag-time from the missing Bio-Sensor, Arriety is on the move again.
"Judau, Callie-sis, I'm going to set an opportunity for you two!"
Her movements are suddenly fluid and swift, as she fires off the grenades from her arm Grenade Launchers --
"There!"
--but that's a feint, as she raises her beam rifle to prematurely detonate them and create a smokescreen for her follow-up shots, aimed for the Unicorn's arms in turn.
KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Banagher Links with SEED Coordinated Assault! KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Rau Le Creuset successfully avoids Eight York's Twin-Barrel Hyper Mega-Particle Cannons Blast KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links blocks Arriety Hearn's SEED Coordinated Assault, taking 5640 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Insight L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Arriety Hearn's SEED activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: Roux Louka anchors Sophia Mayhew Castellan, forcing her into close range. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan fails to evade Roux Louka's Clay Bazooka - Adhesive Round, taking 3500 damage! KTS: Roux Louka has engaged Sophia Mayhew Castellan! [OOC] Michiru Tenjou says, "blu-ray from my last pose, remove 'despite not being the one to demand they withdraw'"
KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Puru Two's Morale! <Pose Tracker> Lily Jung has posed.
"Tssk, they're ignoring me." The old EWAC Zack no doubt doesn't read as dangerously as Rau's machine. Especially with the damage it's already sustained. The girl looks to her Haro, then to her controls.
"Alright. Then let's make sure we get their attention." Lily whispers and spreads her hands onto her controls, and shifts her position up. Behind her, the screen measuring the Psyco-reaction quickly starts to brighten.
"Friends..." She whispers.
Don't treat them as weapons, but as friends.
As family.
Trust them.
Trust in these weapons...
She is far enough away from the Unicorn that she believes she can do this. But still, even now, she can feel the eb and flow of what is going on there. Yet, just like at Axis Shock, she was naught but an observer. Someone seeing what is happening from afar.
As the second Longblade releases from its bay, and moves to the left of the unit. The two weapons being lifted by thruster units capable of maneuvering in Atmosphere. Adjusting their positions, then connecting against the backs of the EWAC Zack's arms, connecting to power ports.
"Haro." The girl quickly remarks, as the machine begins to aim for both Anita and Rena at the same time. Leaving Haro to adjust the targetting, as the EWAC Zack begins to track. Transfering targetting paths over to Rau and Michiru just in case. Purple light whining and coming to life at the tips of each weapon. Ramping up quickly in energy output...
"FIRE!"
Followed by a sudden SPEW of light from both weapons. Searing and following after Anita and Rena both at the same time. The heated purple light chasing them, widening with Megaparticle energy bearing down on their positions. "Let's see what those pinpoint defenses can do against this."
KTS: Lily Jung targets Rena Lancaster and Anita Rosetta with Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - High Emission Burst. KTS: Rena Lancaster's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Rena Lancaster blocks Lily Jung's Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - High Emission Burst, taking 3300 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Lily Jung's Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - High Emission Burst, taking 3430 damage!
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
Maybe she was wrong, Minae thinks as she watches the way the Unicorn shifts and twists, the space around it almost indistinct in the way it flares with light. She'd thought she had no context for what happened to the Unicorn with the inability to sense things on a metaphysical level - but the more she watches it, the more that she gets her own creeping feeling of uncertainty.
Because even on the mechanical level, she can tell that there's something deeply unusual about the craft they're facing; it moves in odd ways, has parts that surely shouldn't be able to coexist in that sort of configuration without breaking apart. It's like it's tied together by raw power, like someone lopped off the arms and legs and then connected them back on with string.
Would it fall apart without its pilot? she wonders out of the blue, and then wishes they'd be that lucky.
Judau is on the attack, but it's Callisto's yell of warning that really grabs the robot's attention, particularly when she makes a direct reference to Yuliana's capabilities. The feeling of the Biosensor around her, the contradictory blaze she both can and cannot sense, is almost comforting in its familiarity. Even if she knows she probably shouldn't think of it that way, Minae finds herself likening it to the fighting spirit of Arriety and Mryme combined-- and it suddenly gutters and wicks away in the face of the Unicorn, something freezing inside the robot's chest as it does so.
The robot had been about to send her telemetry data out to the wider Federation fleet - but she immediately thinks better of it, moving to focus on quantity over quality. If the others flying alongside her are about to be blinded on one level, then the best she can do is provide as complete a picture of the stuation on her side as she can manage.
"I'm providing complete coverage for you both; try not to focus on what you can't feel, and focus on what you can. It's a matter of working with what you've got," she says urgently, both to the other person in the cockpit with her and over the radio to Callisto and Judau. The little figure in the corner of their screens wags a finger at the same time as if delivering a well-meant lecture, which is pretty much what's happening anyway.
They're big words, especially when she's struggling to keep up herself. The Unicorn keeps doing things that don't make any sense to her - twisting on a dime, moving erratically, sometimes stopping dead as if some external force were acting on it when it should normally be pressing the attack. It keeps throwing off her predictions, and while she's not the sort to get frustrated she is forced into more recalculations than she'd like. When she leans forwards against Arriety's seat and closes her eyes, it's not just to offer her presence - if she doesn't have to worry about moving her body, she can think a little faster and get Arriety the opening she needs.
"I've got your back," she voices, and "You can do this. I promise." She could have used the Myrmekes cockpit speakers to do it, but she thinks better of that; even if she's trying to preserve processing power, it's still worth the words coming from 'her'.
<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.
She had a feeling the second she saw the Nadesico -- the sound of the voice that clips up onto her HUD in a side window, transmitting to her. She was afraid this would eventually happen -- she felt it. She felt *her*. <"Lucine..."> Shelby says, frowning slightly. She's different now: Clipped, controlled, and trying her best to remain calm amidst the storm. <"Don't use my name on an open line.">
<"You can do this, Lucine.">
The weapons fire starts to reflect; caught and spun and returned right back toward her and the Nadesico pilot. Shelby does her best to bring the large round shield -- no longer bearing the emblem of Char's Zeon -- to defend herself from the shots, but alas, the weapons fire that rains down on her is too precise, too surgical, and she's already taken too much directed damage from this thing. Armor shreds, holes are torn in the shoulder and arm and leg, and Shelby again is put on the backstep.
Yuliana's on the move, and Shelby *knows* it's that woman again; the enroaching darkness, the stillness and the fury and the raw, aggressive, roaring *noise* of an accretion disk swirling around the psychic black hole. Weapons fire streaks across the sky; the thoughts of Amuro and Kamille and -- is that -- that woman is here, too, now? Judau, Roux -- there's just *so much noise*. The Unicorn, raging, and all that psychoframe running wild...
Drawing in a breath, she stops, and thinks about it for a moment: Maybe she should ask to have the psychoframe re-enabled. Could they do it remotely? Un-shutter it on the spot? How did it even ... there's so much swimming slowly around her head and it *hurts*. And, that damn woman-- Yuliana-- she's ...
Pushing off into a leap, shrapnel and bits of the flight unit she arrived with still popping off the chassis, the shoulder units of Shelby's mobile suit pivot and swing open, letting loose with a barrage of missiles from one shoulder -- then the other -- and wheeling around in the other direction to release even more from side to side again in a constant rain of more conventional weapons fire on the Shamblo!
KTS: Shelby Korts has activated the Valor Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
Rau is busy trying to deal with the Ra Mari when an alert brings his attention to the screen showing his rear view. The VF is giving chase. It seems to be fixated on him and Lily's fire isn't drawing it away. Very well. If that's how its pilot wants to be.
The gunpod fire rips through the air towards the white DINN. But at the last moment the flying mobile suit's wings fold shut, rapidly reducing its aerodynamics and causing it to begin plumetting, bringing it under the aim of Rena's barrage.
From the other side, the Ra Mari's cannons turn to aim at the DINN. They fire, beams of light lancing out towards it. Moments before, the DINN's wings spread again, thrusters firing as it rapidly accelerates and climbs once more. The beams pass through the air beneath.
Under assault from two sides, Rau calmly maneuvers his way around the attacks. He then rapidly brings his machine around, bringing the Prophecy into his sights. He pushes the thrusters hard as he rapidly tries to close the distance to the VF. Highlighted paths start to appear on his screen, signally Lily's further attacks against it. He starts to weave through them, even as a targetting lock appears over the VF.
Ports in the DINN's chest open, a barrage of six missiles rushing out to rapidly close in on the Valkyrie even as the DINN pulls away to avoid getting caught in their explosions.
KTS: Shelby Korts targets Armor of the Week with Missile Barrage! KTS: Rau Le Creuset targets Rena Lancaster with 6-Tube Multipurpose Launcher Barrage! KTS: Rau Le Creuset has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Rena Lancaster KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Shelby Korts's Missile Barrage, taking 2100 damage! <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"That so, huh...? Well, alright then. Fair enough." Anita replies with a sigh, and then a shake of her head. "...Sorry, I've got things I have to do, too."
She considers the situation for a moment, when suddenly, something leaps out from the waters beneath her! Claws reach out to scrape, but Anita's reactions are quick - her Valkyrie reorients itself, shield backed by the pinpoint barrier system coming out to intercept the attack - what's more, it's immediately fired up by a rifle shot from the pink mobile suit, forcing Anita to immediately defend against that one, too.
"Careful - some of them are hiding out in the water, too." Anita asides to Rena and Eight before addressing the matter at hand.
"...First off, you don't know me, so I'm gonna have to ask you nicely not to make any claims about what causes I'm supporting and I'll do the same for you, okay?" Anita asks. "Secondly... have you seen what's happening? Torrington City is getting massacred, and the people trying to defend it are fighting for 'oppression and genocide'? Now's, uh, really not the best time for this."
Close range combat isn't ideal for her, but for now she's stuck here until she can find an opportunity to disengage. So, the beam cannon emerges over her left shoulder, taking aim at Michiru's ZnO and unleashing a blast of energy!
KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Michiru Tenjou with Targeted Beam Cannon Blast! <Pose Tracker> Amuro Ray has posed.
Slow and steady will do it-- and so Amuro Ray leans into that. He pivots about as micromissiles lock onto him with a steady beep in the cockpit that is entirely redundant with his intrinsic understanding that this person is going to shoot at him. They impact with a series of explosions, rattling and scorching the mobile suit along its shield side but drastically mitigating their overall impact. That one is on their last legs-- or they think they are, anyway. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen.
The Nu Gundam tests the theory by turning its head and peppering the Nightmare with head gatling fire before swiveling its attention towards the Saint Lance. Some things are just too raw; no, Sayla can't stop Amuro by talking to him. But she can shake him up-- and she does. There's a faint jarring in the emanations, not a weakening of resolve but certainly a wavering, like an image in heat haze. He forgets to keep up his slow-and-steady pace, tries to dodge -- again -- both the Saint Lance's missile and the MSA-0120's charge and swing. Neither are adequate; the missile hits just barely off center-mass, and through the smoke and debris the axe connects, albeit with a flicker of a shield.
There is no verbal response from Nu Gundam's comm line. All communication continues through vague psychic impressions which Lark is too closed to to receive. But Sayla is there, nearby-- and Sayla can interpret it, if she so chooses. There is Axis, in his mind. The effort to avert the devastation it would cause, and the miracle that it resulted in but--
But immediately his thoughts turn to here, and now. This battle. The Unicorn.
That opening emanation repeats: It all went wrong.
The sentiment is horrible, and painful, and sad. To this Amuro Ray, Axis Shock isn't a miracle anymore-- or rather, it is a waste of one. A single moment in which an opportunity was had to fix things, to craft them beyond all hope... and the only thing that happened was that humanity fumbled the ball on committing suicide.
It wasn't a miracle of hopeful intentions to this Amuro Ray. It was just an instant in which survival instinct overtook all else. How could it be anything more? Look. Look at this.
It all went wrong.
The gatlings on the Nu Gundam have barely spun down when he turns them on the MSA-0120, Amuro's attention simultaneously zeroing in on Tetsuya. They have him on the back foot and Tetsuya won't miss the opportunity; he knows this, and he knows what that machine can do at this range. It's not just him, though... Sayla is... she's throwing him off. He's making mistakes. Isn't he?
I'm not worried, he wants to say. It's a lie, but not about what Tetsuya is speaking of-- and there is the moment. The Nu Gundam fires its thrusters all at once, leaping backwards and pulling itself out of the path of Great Mazinger's mighty attack. It's a close thing-- it misses by inches.
Calm down. Deal with the next one efficiently--
Nu Gundam catches the blade of the descending Ichinana on its shield, deflecting it into a glancing blow that nevertheless jars the entire machine violently as its boosters sputter offline for a moment. Too much speed-- need to get re-oriented. It crashes to the ground from its extended hop, still too close to the Ichinana.
Instantly it brings its funnels in all at once, sweeping in a protective pattern intended to harass the Ichinana, Great Mazinger, MSA-0120, and Nightmare more thoroughly than he had attempted to with his previous vulcan fire. Once he is satisfied that they are sufficiently distracted--
They ALL point in the same direction: Squarely towards the Saint Lance.
It all went wrong.
The comforting reassurance that had radiated instead of hostility during ALL of Amuro's attacks redoubles when he pulls the trigger and his funnel array fires as one towards Sayla's machine. It might be tinged with bitterness.
KTS: Amuro Ray targets Sayla Mass with Conqueror King Funnel Array Focus Formation! KTS: Amuro_Ray Changes attack to Tetsuya Tsurugi, Sayaka Yumi, Lina Lombardi, and Lark Straye with Conqueror King Funnel Array Oath Shield. <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
The pressure is overwhelming. Not just the vibrant pink glow of the particle cannon, too big to escape this close - but the feeling of Kamille's mind washing out, joining the chorus. A dozen different screams, overpowering desires. All of it... does it mean anything? Is anything going to change? The Jenice buckles, non-essential systems slagged together by the particle blast, but Ennil doesn't. The sky bleeds red and then orange, and Ennil sighs in comfort. No. None of it matters. There's just... this. Just the living, and the ghosts haunting them. All she has to do is live. All she has to do is win. The beam saber sputters, circuits fried by the barrage, but the Jenice is still standing, still squarely locked on the enemy, still baring its fangs.
"That's right. People die. They die and everything they wanted, everything they loved, dies with them... All they can do is haunt the living they left behind. That's why I have to live, Federation soldier. There's no one left to care once I'm gone."
There's a rumbling deep in the chest of the machine, a whirring, some sputtering pops as overstressed ammunition cooks off and blasts more shrapnel loose from the overworked ancient machine.
"Run away, Newtype. You can save yourself, but you won't save this machine. You won't save your friends. Not today."
KTS: Ennil El has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El targets Kamille Bidan with Machine Cannon Barrage! KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Lark Straye fails to Parry Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Oath Shield, taking 3600 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Amuro Ray repulses Lark Straye, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi successfully evades Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Oath Shield KTS: Sayla Mass has activated the Wall Spirit Command.
KTS: Sayla Mass fails to Evade Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Focus Formation, taking 6500 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Your unit's HP stands at -2316 KTS: Sayla Mass has been defeated! KTS: You're out of the fight. Consider using +eject to leave the battlefield. KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Michiru Tenjou rushes into the attack! KTS: Michiru Tenjou partially guards Anita Rosetta's Targeted Beam Cannon Blast, taking 3500 damage! KTS: Sayaka Yumi fails to react to Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Oath Shield, taking 3000 damage! KTS: Amuro Ray repulses Sayaka Yumi, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi blocks Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Oath Shield, taking 3300 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Amuro Ray repulses Tetsuya Tsurugi, forcing him to disengage. KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Rena Lancaster fails to evade Rau Le Creuset's 6-Tube Multipurpose Launcher Barrage, taking 3840 damage! <Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
"Dammit!" is Judau Ashta's curse to the war-heated air of Torrington as that beam shot just barely misses, bursting across the street in a rain of slagged asphalt. They need to be careful here. This isn't space. It isn't even the deserts he was forced to fight so often in. This is a base -- a city.
And like hell he's going to let Banagher grapple with helping bring ruin to a place like this if he can help it.
So, the double beam rifle powers down for now. And just as it does, the Unicorn SPRINGS for the ZZ in a flurry of white, a-glow motion. Its beam saber is at the ready; the ZZ rips forth one of its own from their cannon-mounts, igniting in a broad beam of crackling crimson. Judau readies for the parry --
--But the blow never comes. Instead, the eldest Ashta is left blinking as the Unicorn seems to pause as if frozen in time and straining against some sort of invisible restraint. The saber arm shudders.
NT-D or not, Judau knows the sentiment behind that hesitation and its retreat immediately.
It means the situation isn't completely hopeless. Far from it.
As the Unicorn leaps away towards the rampaging Shamblo in the distance, and Judau can -feel- the hatred and pain that burns inside of the person piloting it. As much as he might want to reach out to her, he has to have faith in (some of) the others (because the only thing Judau is certain of in situations like this is that there's always some jerk who just wants to stir the pot); his focus remains on the Unicorn as he thinks, recognizing other, familiar impressions along the way. Puru Two -- Callisto. Arriety. Minae. He feels - he hears - Roux on the approach. And a distantly familiar presence, whose impact on Judau's life has outsized the simple fact that they never once exchanged words.
"Kamille--?"
Eyes widen -- but there's someone else. The ping of a laser opens a direct line to Judau's cockpit as he tries to wait for an opening on the Unicorn. Another, unmistakable presence--
'Judau! Judau, Leina's in there!'
"Ms. Sayla?!"
'Please, I'm begging you, get her out of there safely! I can't lose her!'
Judau's eyes narrow. Against the backdrop of this war and the NT-D's oppressive presence, the seismic aura that is Judau Ashta's psychic imprint flares with roaring life.
"We're not losin' Leina. We're not losin' Banagher."
The ZZ begins to brace as Leina issues her warning.
"We're not losin' -anything-!"
And as Arriety provides her opening -- the Double Zeta SPRINGS.
"That's a goddamn promise!!"
And, ground shuddering beneath it, the Gundam of the First Neo-Zeon War -sprints- through the smokescreen Arriety's skilled shooting creates.
<"Callisto! Arriety! I got a plan! I'm pretty sure it's like 75%% a good one!!">
There are a flash of memories.
Iino desperately trying to convince him that maybe Beecha's scheme to really show it to the super rich of Shangri-La by goomba stomping cars in the Petite Mobile Suit -isn't- a slam dunk of an idea.
Elle, helping him flee the Argama for the dozenth time by unleashing the dread chicken upon Bright.
Subsequently fleeing the dread chicken.
Roux, casually kicking him in the gut for reasons probably 90%% justified.
Elpeo, demanding he eat a twelfth parfait in one go as his stomach rebels.
And Leina... arguing with Leina. Running from Leina before she can drag him to school.
Laughing with him. Sharing dinner with him. Reminding him of everything that's truly important in life.
The Double Zeta bursts from the smoke a second later, a corona of pink light encompassing it that comes not from the Biosensor, but from -Judau-, as he pushes down on the controls of his mobile suit --
-- and -slam- both of its arm-mounted wing shields into the frame of the Unicorn. It won't damage it, much. It might rattle those inside. But it -will- dig and lock those wings in place, to keep them grappled together.
Because Judau needs to be close, for what he's planning on doing next.
<"Hey, kid! Is this where you want to be?!">
he'll have an existential crisis over calling someone 'kid' later
KTS: Judau Ashta targets Banagher Links with Wing Shields - Sheer Recklessness!! <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"Gh!" Her shot misses, and Lucine is forced to spring the Dianthus away nanoseconds before the the top of the building is pulverized by her own fire. <"... I wasn't expecting that...">
Shelby tells her about using her name. <".... Right. I won't. This is private channel only, but I'm going to switch to public from on out to avoid confusion."> Shelby voices her encouragement, and Lucine smiles. <".... Thank you. I know we will. All of us.">
... Including... Yuliana, who responds with an alarming brand of enthusiasm, but Lucine is far too absorbed into the flow of battle, as well as the quiet Yuliana's 'shield' provides. <"...."> The comm is silent, but it carries Lucine's quiet disapproval. Then.
<"Watch out. The Unicorn is coming this way..."> Lucine's only experience with it was during the battle with the Vajra and ZAFT. Last time, it was Banagher who was piloting it. He couldn't be piloting it now, if it's acting like this, but it's not as if Lucine would be able to fully tell, even if Yuliana was far away.
<"... Ah, no, sorry, Captain Misumaru---"> But Yurika is leaving for a break, and Lucine gives a small, sad smile at this. She waits a moment, then telegraphs to the Yurika-less bridge. <"....It's not to hail him, but the others. They're... not taking things well. They may not know."> Just like Lucine doesn't know exactly why the pilot on Orange commanded such attention. Because it couldn't be THAT Amuro Ray. <".... Their morale may be...>"
... even lower, if they can hear Yuliana's words. <"...... Captain Dispersal."> Her voice is flat. <"... Your comm is still on.>" She knows it was intentional. That, or Yuliana *does not care*.
Lucine's hands grip on her controls. ".... To have to fight alongside this woman... why would I put up with this...."
Then Yurika is back with the same force Lucine saw that dark day she flew into the Nadesico's hanger like a bat out of hell. The waves of sudden death, Lucine's own physical and emotional fatigue, the way she stumbled towards the bathrooms where Yurika was, wanting to scream at her...
.... and how the captain's own nausea stopped Lucine in her tracks.
<"Captain Misumaru."> Lucine smiles, softly, to herself. <".... Welcome back."> She breathes a sigh, closes her eyes, then opening them. "<.... I'm going in. I think it's still recovering from its last attack.">
Once a bat, now she's like a bullet, her Dianthus drawing its glaive with one hand. <"Haaaaaa!"> There's a spot, she's sure of it. If she can just pinpoint it, she will be the scalpel to the Shamblo's defeat.
KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan successfully evades Ennil El's Machine Cannon Barrage KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Armor of the Week with CL0-V3 Glaive Ram! <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
What was that. "What was that!?" Sophia demands. She activates her Geass again, and it's the same. The tethers between people - she's not immune from them by any means. At first, they were all that could see, those tying out from herself. But this is another scale, another thing altogether. "Who...is that," she breathes.
It's Desmond who brings her back, Captain of the Helios noting placidly, "Captain, incoming enemy craft."
Sophia's so rattled that she doesn't really process even that much until her machine is rattling from the Clay Bazooka locking her down to the surface of the ship. She finally gets her senses back around her, tugging at the binding. "Damnation," she mutters. "Desmond!"
"Counteragent is coming but will take a moment. She'll be upon you shortly. Captain."
"WHAT!?" Sophia shrills, entirely thrown into disarray.
"Focus, Captain. We cannot discuss what you saw if this woman destroys you. You are qualified to be a King, are you not!?"
Sophia seethes, but still sweeps out her Sonic Knife, lashing out with it as Roux draws near. "Very well!" she barks toward her. "I'd rather deal with someone who comes to me, anyway!"
KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Roux Louka with Sonic Blade Slash! KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Trick Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
Getting a message through on the battlefield is a dice roll at the best of times. But now? The air is awash with high-energy emissions, there's no time to aim a communications laser... even that miraculous, spiritual layer is fiercely contested. It's a minor miracle that Leina Ashta's words can reach this Puru's soul.
<Callisto! Leaping from your left!> there's no time to debate what medium carried this sound, only that Puru Two can hear it. She cannot feel the NT-D's fighting intent, no, only her physical senses and instincts can carry her here. And with this warning, she has time--
( ... Callisto, Callie, Callie-sis...)
( ... but do you hear anyone calling for -you-?)
--to throw the Qubeley backwards on plumes of azure fire, as the rocket boosters lend it the momentum needed to twist, turn, and face the Unicorn anew. The avian mobile suit feints backwards, catching the Unicorn's own saber with a perpendicular parry. The fusing of two mega-particle streams risks blinding any unshielded onlookers, but thankfully, everyone is in a robot.
Quoth Leina: <It's gone wild trying to protect him. If you want to stay safe, keep close to your hearts the images of your loved ones who would lose you if you were shot down.>
"A will of its own..." Puru Two scowls bleakly. What has her own will brought her, thus far? Allies, friends and family... how touching, but can you claim them as your own? Or do they belong to a false someone named 'Callisto Diana' after all...?
Arriety's pitched voice slices through her reverie. The moment of panic grasps her by the shoulders, hauls her from the pit of self-loathing. Quit being daft, girl, and fight! A name is just a name!
Puru Two takes a deep breath and the Qubeley retreats from its clash with the Unicorn, breaking the sparking duel between high-energy blades. Her head hangs for a moment. "I don't know if you can hear me, [:red]Unicorn, but if you can... my name is Puru Two, and I know there's a good guy inside of you who doesn't want to fight it out."
She lifts her gaze and steel wraps around her tone. "I'd do the same for my family!" and for some reason, the ominous form of an MSA-0120 draws her attention despite being so far in the distance on her monitor. Maybe the finger-waggling Minae is pointing it out to her? But that doesn't explain this feeling... like someone just said your name, or stepped on your grave, what is that...?
A rowdy voice snaps her back to reality. (Oops, there goes gravity.)
<"Callisto! Arriety! I got a plan! I'm pretty sure it's like 75% a good one!!"> hollers Judau Ashta.
Identity crisis aside, her reaction is immediate. "That's better than the coinflip I'd expect out of you." the quip is spoken before she can even think about it. Frankly? That's how you know the power of family heals all wounds.
As the Qubeley retreats further from the blaze of the NT-D, the world comes into colour again for its pilot. It turns with arms folded, shoulder-binders cocked like the feathers of some great, predatory bird. "Arriety, Judau, Minae! Let's go!"
The Gwennangorn erupts into a brilliant flower of blossoming, coruscating laser-light. Smoke grenades pop around the Unicorn. The stage for the concert is set. It's kind of rude that Puru Two doesn't yell for Lilith to join in, so please bop her with a newspaper later.
"Funnel!"
Magenta flames of will swirl from the Qubeley's glowing eye, mimicing the unfurling spiral of remote-flying weapons that launch from the robot's tail. This far from the interference, and with this much strength of will behind her...!
The funnels are much less poetic, due to being flying laser guns. They array themselves around the Qubeley tightly, like spritely points along imaginary wings, and erupt into a great fusillade of searing light that barrels towards the Unicorn.
But more than that, if you can look beyond the interference of the NT-D, if you can see what's going on in her mind and her soul, you could sense there's not so much of a will to slay behind these attacks. No, instead, envision a pair of hands spread wide. Inviting, as if to say, let us put down our weapons and be rid of this sadness...
KTS: Puru Two has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Puru Two has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Roux Louka fails to parry Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Sonic Blade Slash, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has engaged Roux Louka! KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Puru Two <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Of course, the Ra Mari is a very big ship, and the DINN is by contrast not at all big. Hitting it from here was something of a long shot. But the shot dd its job, and the Dinn maneuvers around. Eight watches the display, her pilots against their pilots, her expression serious.
"...Get me al the data we have on those three. Project their probable courses."
"Then..."
Eight calls over the comms to the others, "Here, and here! Strike!"
But as she sees, there's a flash of insight--and she recognizes that unit. "But be careful," she says. "That paint job for ZAFT... You've heard of Rau le Crueset. That's no ordinary pilot."
But she does what she can, while keeping an eye out for reinforcements.
KTS: Eight York has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Rena Lancaster KTS: Eight York has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Anita Rosetta KTS: Eight York targets Rau Le Creuset, Lily Jung, and Michiru Tenjou with Designate L1. <Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
As the Nu Gundam turns to Lina and opens fire, the world stops. Pure desperation and adrenaline course through her veins, and her brain runs on autopilot.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die "I'M NOT GONNA DIE HEEEEEERE!"
The Nightmare quickly transforms into fighter mode and does a barrel roll to the side, turning back into Battroid mode as the Gundam's fire misses. In an instant, the world resumes again. Lina Lombardi catches her breath, drenched in sweat as she pulls her Mauler cannon back up. Energy gathers at the barrel as she stares that Gundam...
That Devil,
straight in the eye. This was her last stand. She wasn't going to get a second chance. In her mind, she's won by evading that attack. But she won't be able to go home truly proud unless she manages a good scratch on that piece of crap.
"Juno 1, fall back!"
"Just a minute!"
The cannons finish charging and Lina gives it everything she's got, multiple massive beam shots hammering into a single spot, hoping to break through that barrier!
KTS: Puru Two has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lina Lombardi targets Amuro Ray with Mauler Beam Cannons Sequential Fire! KTS: Puru Two targets Banagher Links with Qubeley MK-II Funnels - Pneuma Formation! KTS: Eight York designates Rau Le Creuset, making him easier to target and opening him to indirect fire. KTS: Eight York designates Lily Jung, making her easier to target and opening her to indirect fire. KTS: BC-001 Minae inspires awe, increasing Lilith Aiden's Morale! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Lina Lombardi's Mauler Beam Cannons Sequential Fire, taking 2650 damage! KTS: Lily Jung has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
Kamille's machine is screaming warnings at him, low on energy, ragged from the fight. But he does not heed Ennil's warning. He does not run away.
A flash flickers in his mind and he jets away from the shrapnel fire. The most rudimentary Newtype ability, that of being able to predict movement. If only it were something less battle-worthy. If only Amuro Ray had been able to live a normal life. If only Char Aznable had been able to...
<< "Judau!? >>
Judau's presence feels like it did so long ago, a bright star blazing in a sea of despair. It's just a flicker, just a sort of ping from one mind to another. He hasn't seen Judau since...well, he hasn't seen Judau, not really, not without the cloud of a lost mind.
Now those clouds are clearing again, and he finds it a little easier to focus on his opponent, to aim at Ennil.
"How awful, to think that no one will remember you," he says, without any of the disdain in his voice before. "I hope you find someone to haunt one day. But even so, I have to live too...!"
He rushes at Ennil and forms the beam rifle into its beam saber mode, attempting one quick, harsh, powerful slash.
KTS: Kamille Bidan has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Kamille Bidan targets Ennil El with ReZEL Beam Rifle Long Beam Saber! KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Ram, taking 1050 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Banagher Links rushes into the attack! KTS: Judau Ashta anchors Banagher Links, forcing him into close range. KTS: Banagher Links partially guards Judau Ashta's Wing Shields - Sheer Recklessness!, taking 3325 damage! KTS: Judau Ashta has engaged Banagher Links! KTS: Banagher Links fails to react to Puru Two's Qubeley MK-II Funnels - Pneuma Formation, taking 7000 damage! <Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Damnit... DAMNIT! It shouldn't be like this. This isn't how it should be! What can she do though? She has no option but to fight him. To drive him off. With J's ES windows, the amount of damage that Triple Zero could DO with what's at Torrington is a mess... But Guy would have told them if a Goldion Crusher key was there, wouldn't he? So why?
And then she sees too late what Amuro is planning, and her eyes go wide. He tries to comfort her, in his own twisted way. She ejects the Nutter from the Saint Lance, in an attempt to evade, but Amuro's control of funnels is too much- especially with one wing and one arm gone. She can see it coming in a moment. "Damnit, Amuro..." Why'd it have to go like this.
Why couldn't they get back to where they started?
Leina... I'm so sorry. Please make it through this.
The main body of the Saint Lance is blasted from all sides, and crashes to the ground roughly. The comms array is destroyed, there are holes all through it's armour. The cockpit door seems fused shut. The engines are somehow intact- but there's no response from inside. The Saint Lance is totally silent.
KTS: Ennil El parries Kamille Bidan's ReZEL Beam Rifle Long Beam Saber, taking 1380 damage! KTS: Kamille Bidan has engaged Ennil El! <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
If the Unicorn could understand Lilith's intentions not to hurt Banagher, would things be better? Would the Gundam slow its attack, or move to another enemy? All the enraged machine can see is the incoming attack. But it does know Mineva is aboard the Gwennangorn, and it knows Banagher wants to protect the princess more than he cares about his own life. All the same, it knows Leina is within its cockpit, next to its precious pilot. Banagher would die before allowing harm to come to Leina. So the threat must be eliminated -- So the ship must be spared --
Seizing under the conflicting desires, the Unicorn lets out another scream, a pulse of energy from its psychoframe aura destroying more of the surrounding area. In the end, it simply raises a splintering shield, absorbing the brunt of the Gwennangorn's laser turret attack.
Leina's memories filter in through the cracking walls of Banagher's mental prison. Unfamiliar feelings for someone without a sibling -- they're powerful in their novelty. He can hear, feel, Leina's thrilled laughter as Judau spins her around, as they embrace. Tears well up in his eyes when someone is there, waiting. Someone who wanted Leina back, who loved her desperately. Hope and love soften Banagher's heart, lowering his guard. He sinks to his knees in his mindscape.
The Unicorn is sent flying by the Shamblo's claw, but Banagher doesn't feel it, trapped inside himself. A heartbeat later, Leina's terrifying memories reach him, making him cry out. Motionless in the pilot seat, a line of tears streams down Banagher's cheeks. He hunches in on himself in the NT-D's mental hold, curling up as though to protect himself from -- 'Glemy', from -- 'Zeon'. From 'lessons', 'nobility'-- so much fear and pain, for someone so small-- it isn't fair!
Banagher's awoken fear only amplifies the NT-D's ferocity. Mineva's grace protects the Gwennangorn, this time -- but the other combatants aren't so lucky. Unicorn's gaze turns on Judau, first. "Why didn't you save her?!" Banagher yells, voice breaking, awareness lost between himself and the Unicorn. "How could you let this happen?!"
Once again, Unicorn charges Judau, beam saber ready. There's no hesitation. The beam saber is plunged into the ZZ's shoulder as the Unicorn leans in close to the other machine's face, reaching out with one hand to try and crush it. It's not a movement that will do any real damage, it's only an expression of wrath and echoed suffering. Before too much damage can be done, the Unicorn freezes, its gaze locked onto Arriety.
With one hand still pushing the beam saber into Judau's machine's shoulder, the other reaches out, grasping at something intangible. That psychic fire drew the Gundam's attention. It doesn't like it. And it won't suffer such a thing to exist near its pilot. That outreached hand tightens into a fist, and Arriety's Bio-Sensor flickers away. As though it can feel the enemy's fear, the Unicorn shoves the ZZ away, catching yet another attack with one shield. It's in tatters, now -- the Unicorn dropping it and pulling out the beam magnum instead. Magenta-violet fire flares around the gun, as though stolen from Arriety's Zeta, and it fires, sending the Unicorn back slightly with the power of the recoil.
Banagher, tearing at his hair in the scarlet prison, screams. Leina's screaming -- something is happening to Ms. Mass. Leina loves her. Ms. Mass healed Leina, saved her -- Banagher won't let that be for nothing! The Unicorn echoes this, turning the beam magnum on the orange monstrosity of a Gundam. It fires, again and again, seemingly endlessly. It only stops when the gun is empty. Simply opening a hand, it lets the beam magnum fall to the ground, retrieving a third and fourth beam saber. There was no need to worry about defense anymore, not with its rage reaching such a fevered pitch.
Before it can move to attack anyone else, Arriety's smokescreen makes the Unicorn hesitate. This was confusing -- sensors blocked, readings corrupted. It makes the machine hesitate just enough for Judau to launch his memories at Banagher. They aren't as powerful as Leina's, but... they reach the young man, causing him to stop trying to destroy himself. The chicken catches his attention in particular, and out loud, he mumbles "... not until the fifth date..." The Unicorn is lost in Banagher's emotions, this time -- and totally open to the sunlit Newtype grappling it. It shrieks in rage, struggling, but held in place for now. "I don't -- want --"
Callisto calls out, not to Banagher, but the Unicorn itself. Its head seems to tilt, in its struggling. That voice, that soul -- it was familiar. Didn't it fight for someone just like this? Wasn't its pilot willing to die for someone like this? Banagher sees those hands reaching out to him, and stands again. "Miss.. Marida..?" He murmurs, reaching out in turn. Magenta light roars around the Unicorn, terribly precise not to damage the ZZ, scoring deep into the white Gundam's armor. Psychoframes crack and go dim under their attack, and it's enough to rouse the machine from its reverie. Shrieking, it trembles, activating its thrusters to try and pull itself away from Judau frantically.
KTS: Banagher Links targets Judau Ashta with Mounted Saber Slash! KTS: Banagher Links targets Amuro Ray with Beam Magnum Barrage! KTS: Banagher Links targets Arriety Hearn with Beam Magnum Shot! KTS: Banagher Links targets Lilith Aiden with Pass! <Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
So many people, in their myriad forms, are out there. Striving. Arietty is a glimmering flare. There's another one, a star circling around some galactic void -- oh, Roux thinks in that little spot in her that's actually thinking, the constrained minima of intellection, it's that weird chick from DHZ --
She's getting too close.
The ReZ-II throws the clay bazooka into the air! This will be important later. r
But even as she's closing, the Gundam is bringing out a beam saber which erupts into a coruscant pillar of magenta as the sonic knife comes towards her. The intense beam contends with the hypersonic frequency of the blade as Roux's teeth grit for a moment --
Judau has a plan. At least seventy-five percent of one.
Roux laughs for a moment, which Sophia gets to hear. For a moment that same telescope-workshop-occupant voice wonders: I bet I was the only one who laughed, here. Because it was an honest, real laugh.
Roux continues in the clash, "Ghh-- you're strong-- ahh, this knife-- what--"
The beam saber fails.
"Kiyaahhh!!" (GOD DAMMIT I FORGOT IT'S AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL OBJECT, thinks Roux, as the blade comes down out of the clash and embeds itself with a big messy wedge into the shoulder plate that had been decorated by a single arcane glyph -- or rather, the hiragana for 'ru')
But the rest of Roux is following on instinct. And what is Roux's instinct, as an adult? Simplicity itself:
To lie; the beam saber is twisted around and *reactivated to slash at the upper torso of the Flag*!
KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Evade Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Barrage, taking 6030 damage! KTS: Roux Louka targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Beam Saber - Feigned Failure! KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn fails to evade Banagher Links's Beam Magnum Shot, taking 5580 damage! KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Lilith Aiden KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Lilith Aiden <Pose Tracker> Lark Straye has posed.
Wrenching her attention away from the Qubeley, Lark focuses back on Amuro, fortunately before he takes the opportunity to kill her. (I can't let myself get distracted like that! Lark's fear is still there, but it's starting to fall behind another emotion. One she didn't expect to feel tonight.
Anger.
(A miracle for him and not for her. A miracle he doesn't even care about.)
"Don't ignore me!" Lark raises her voice; too closed to receive the impressions, all she feels is a faint pulse that she pulls away from without even consciously recognizing she's doing it. "You - you...!"
Tetsuya says he won't listen. Lark bristles - enough that she responds to him. "Since when does he ever? He's always done exactly what he wanted! Every time anyone talks about him, that's what comes through! It always works out for him, doesn't it?"
She really doesn't know Amuro, personally. She only knows the legend, or she'd never say something like that.
Dropping to the ground again. Lark pulls out the MSA-0120's own gun, a solid-looking rifle. She brings it up as it begins to charge, a helix of energy and compressed air drawing in to the barrel. Not really meant for use in an atmosphere, at least she has experience firing it this time after Sandalphon. She brings it up, letting it charge. The rifle slowly begins to vibrate as pressure builds in the barrel, the Minovsky system compressing further and further.
The Gwennangorn wants Nu shot? This ought to do it. She raises it further to a firing position...
(Someone's fallen. Don't let her die too! Too many people, because you couldn't...!)
"Damn!" The rifle is humming now, a sensation that vibrates the arms of the -0120 as it approaches what is the nominal maximum. She could let it charge further - she's pretty sure it wouldn't explode - but there's no time. Never any time. She fires.
The High Impact Gun blasts a deafening bass *THOOM*, the air ripped asunder by the hyperaccelerated slug it's just fired directly at the Nu Gundam. The kickback knocks the MSA-0120 backwards, feet leaving furrows behind from where Lark braced. At least at its current angle it's likely to hit nothing but the sky, and air resistance will stop it from going on forever, but if it hits, it's with enough force to pulverize a small asteroid or shatter a ship, let alone a mobile suit.
Unlocking the MSA-0120's legs, Lark begins to move toward the fallen Sayla. She didn't come in with her - she's not Federation, she's possibly just as dangerous - but she can't. If she let someone die who she could save, once they were down, she'd never forgive herself.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Lilith Aiden KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lark Straye targets Amuro Ray with High Impact Gun Full Charge! KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Charge. KTS: Amuro Ray partially guards Lark Straye's High Impact Gun Full Charge, taking 7800 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lark Straye's Scars of the War activates, causing Sparkle! <Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
The Gravity Blast falls upon the Shamblo, which draws into itself to try and block, but its tremendous weight is one of its few weaknesses; doubly so, with a weapon like the Nadesico's directed at it. Warheads are drawn into the blast, pushed into the armour as it begins to slowly crack under the bombardment as Yuliana starts to tear other plates away in an attempt to shatter its I-Field, and Alma and Lucine join her at close quarters!
The Annihilation Custom, at point-blank range, gets the majority of Loni/the Shamblo's attention. One colossal claw snakes up towards the dwarfed Wanzer. Yuliana's loud, broadcast invective is the first thing to cut through the psychic haze around Loni.
A voice telling her she deserves this pain, that her losses should be doubled just to hurt her some more.
The scream this time is wordless and furious. Where before the Shamblo slapped the Unicorn away as irrelevant - just as its other arm swings up to bat the Jagd Doga and the Dianthus aside - now that dread claw lunges towards the Wanzer, eager to grab and squeeze. The girl in the cockpit has no idea what words have passed between Minovsky's Woman and the Fairy - but all her hatred is pointed at that wanzer, right now, even as the Shamblo's dragon's-head turret pivots to target the Nergal battleship with a concentrated blast from its maw beam and its shoulder-mounted beam arrays fire into the sky, reflector bits catching the barrage to point a searing cascade of particle fire in Alma's direction!
KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan fails to parry Roux Louka's Beam Saber - Feigned Failure, taking 5170 damage! KTS: Roux Louka has engaged Sophia Mayhew Castellan! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Yuliana Dispersal with Large Iron Nail Crushing Snare! KTS: Armor_of_the_Week Changes attack to Shelby Korts and Lucine Azul with Large Iron Nail Smash. KTS: Armor of the Week targets Yurika Misumaru with Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Direct Blast! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Alma Stirner with Scattering Mega Particle Gun Bombardment! KTS: Yurika Misumaru partially guards Armor of the Week's Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Direct Blast, taking 9360 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week roots its unit, coming to a standstill and leaving it vulnerable. KTS: Alma Stirner fails to evade Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Bombardment, taking 5325 damage! <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Fine, then. If you die, don't expect me to care!"
It's pure reflex, but Ennil receives a mundane little miracle of her own - the last gasp of the Jenice's beam saber flares to life, battering away Kamille's attack in a shower of sparks. She winces a bit, hearing it from him. No one to remember her...
Yeah. That's right. It was for the best, remember? You could never...
Nada El's darling daughter would never hurt someone like that.
The Jenice was never meant to fight on this level, in this day and age, but it's been with her so long. It won't let her down. The beam rifle snaps up. The sensors are hazy, the battlefield in full chaos, but it doesn't matter. Just fight, Ennil. Just win. You get to go home today, but only if you live. She takes a deep breath, gives silent thanks that no one can see you cry in a cockpit, and pulls the trigger.
KTS: Michiru Tenjou has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Ennil El targets Kamille Bidan with Beam Rifle Aimed Shot! KTS: Kamille Bidan fails to react to Ennil El's Beam Rifle Aimed Shot, taking 4300 damage! KTS: Kamille Bidan has been defeated! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Armor of the Week KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Armor of the Week KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Judau Ashta <Pose Tracker> Michiru Tenjou has posed.
Chaos is burnng in every direction she looks. The city is being torn apart, and nobody is really... It hurts Michiru. Her chest aches... "This isn't... this isn't how it's supposed to be..." She mumbles to herself, though maybe Anita can hear it, barely. Michiru may have forgotten to switch off communication for a moment. It should have been an easy mission, to slip in and do her job. And then... She's got to get ahold of herself. Are doubts like these the way of Gekiganger? Would Ken give in, in this kind of situation? Would any of them?
She pulls back her hands, taken off the controls momentarily to grab a bottle of water and dump it on her own head. Her distraction cost her though. It was too late to take evasive action, so instead she throws the ZnO into the oncoming, close-range burst, making the right claw take the brunt of the damage. Half the extending claw melts away, leaving it looking like some misshapen hook.
She can't just take that lying down though, so she'll just have to ready something else. She crosses the torpedos off the list, those won't help here, too mobile, and Variable Fighters have enough ways to shoot them down anyway. She's learned that from experience. So instead, she extends the two arms, both at least intact enough to begin glowing as a deep, sonic vibration pulses out from them. "Soundwave EXPLOSION!" Calling out her attack is ABSOLUTELY mandatory here. Even if she's not piloting Galaxia, there are just some things you have to do.
She'd feel bad leaving it at that though. So, to ease the pain in her heart she calls out again. "Look... I can admit that you're right. Now isn't the time. So why don't you go protect the people over there? Then once the stockpile is gone, I'll turn my hands to rescuing those in need! Everything I can possibly do!" Would she really be allowed to do that? ...Strictly speaking, probably not. Certainly not attacking the Shamblo. Probably not the Unicorn or that orange monster either. But how much can the boss complain, if she completes her mission beforehand? And just goes to evacuate some people, and save civilians? "...And I'm sorry for assuming. You're right, I don't know you. I shouldn't be judging you."
KTS: Yuliana Dispersal rushes into the attack! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal partially guards Armor of the Week's Large Iron Nail Crushing Snare, taking 5760 damage! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has been defeated! KTS: Armor of the Week has engaged Yuliana Dispersal! KTS: Michiru Tenjou targets Anita Rosetta with Phonon Maser High Energy Cannon Shot! <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
"I knew it," Lilith responds about Amuro to Mineva, gritting her teeth. "Fucker had to come back to life." She breaks her professionalism with a hint of disdain, as she nods. "Alright...he's not firing on us. I think it's because of you. You must be that special to him, huh..." Lilith says, using it as a distraction.
She, however, takes her opportunity to fire back.
"Surgical strike with the missiles! Use the blasts to damage limbs!" Arriety's having a hard time, so...
"Send all useful data to Hearn! Give her a chance to conserve her energy and make a big shot!"
As the analysts do that, the missile pods open, trying to detonate away from the cockpits to blast into the Unicorn's arms and do massive damage to the main attack vectors.
KTS: Lilith Aiden targets Banagher Links with Gwennangorn Missile Pods Surgical Strike! KTS: Lilith Aiden has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn KTS: Lilith Aiden has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Lilith Aiden has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links successfully avoids Lilith Aiden's Gwennangorn Missile Pods Surgical Strike <Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
The Fin Funnels scrape by the Ichinana, but that isn't exactly the concern: instead, the Saint Lance.. presumably with Sayla inside it takes a heavy barrage, causing it to collapse.
Sayla may be keeping her role a secret, but Sayaka panics... "Sayla... NO! Amuro, what are you doing? It's Sayla in there..." The Ichinana dashes as fast as it can to the silent, grounded Saint Lance. "Tetsuya! Let's do it! We need to make sure she can escape!"
The Ichinana recoils itself, preparing to unleash its full array of purging flames, likely its last attack before the reliable, but wholly outmatched machine gives out. "DOUBLE BURNING FIRE!"
KTS: Sayaka Yumi targets Amuro Ray with Ichinana Breast Fire! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Sayaka Yumi's Ichinana Breast Fire, taking 4840 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Michiru Tenjou's Phonon Maser High Energy Cannon Shot, taking 4070 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Michiru Tenjou's Villainy Will Never Succeed! activates, causing Sparkle! <Pose Tracker> Kamille Bidan has posed.
Kamille tries for one more dodge, to buy himself a little more time, but the ReZEL can only take so much. It really wasn't meant to be used by a...by a Kamille, not for this long, anyway.
Alarms sound as Ennil's shots hit, and Kamille radios Eight. << "I'm in rough shape. Kamille Bidan, retreating...!" >> He hopes none of the exhaustion and panic show in his voice as he takes off back for the Ra Mari, hoping the machine holds out for long enough.
He thinks of that mysterious, lonely opponent of his, of the Newtype in the mobile weapon, of Banagher, of Amuro. "I'm sorry," he whispers, almost involuntarily, even though they won't hear him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
When he gets to the hanger, he'll be sick.
KTS: Kamille Bidan's RGZ-95 ReZEL <MS Mode> has been disabled. KTS: Lucine Azul rushes into the attack! KTS: Lucine Azul partially guards Armor of the Week's Large Iron Nail Smash, taking 3990 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week repulses Lucine Azul, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Judau Ashta parries Banagher Links's Mounted Saber Slash, taking 1710 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Judau Ashta! KTS: Shelby Korts has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Shelby Korts's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Shelby Korts blocks Armor of the Week's Large Iron Nail Smash, taking 3360 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week repulses Shelby Korts, forcing her to disengage. KTS: BC-001 Minae has activated the Prospect Spirit Command targeting Arriety Hearn KTS: BC-001 Minae targets Banagher Links with Shock! KTS: BC-001 Minae shocks Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Banagher Links's Determination activates, and his spirit endures. <Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
Why, indeed, is Amuro Ray here? There's no specific reason he should be. But then, if destruction of humanity is the goal, then there's no reason why the Goldion Crusher should be the only means of achieving it. Humanity has come up with all kinds of tools it can use to kill itself with. Nuclear weapons, for example.
But ultimately, the why of it is secondary. The fact that he's here, now, is the critical problem.
Sayla Mass goes down amidst a barrage of funnel fire. More of that dreadful orange light scalds and carves at Great Mazinger's armor. But Tetsuya and Great are, for better or for worse, not linked in a way that can communicate pain. Their hearts are one in the way that a swordsman and his blade are united. Weapon. Partner. A soul wielding armor as an extension of itself. And right now that soul is bidding its extension to do one thing and one thing alone.
"Sayla--" Tetsuya grunts, pulling Great Mazinger into a sudden reversal. Its misplaced arms tear through the flood of beam fire, twisting a deadly bombardment into a shower of pinprick, jaundiced light. "Damn. Broadcasting evacuation request. We have a unit down!" And it's unresponsive. Against someone like Amuro Ray, with weapons like those Funnels, an unmoving cockpit is a sitting duck.
He cannot let her die. He cannot allow Amuro to kill her.
Great Mazinger lands, its body becoming a shield for the fallen Saint Lance, eyes blazing gold as if to declare its protective intent. "Not today, Amuro," Tetsuya snarls, "You've been gone for too long. You haven't seen how we've suffered after your 'miracle.' Not you, nor any other, has any right to tear our lives away now." The photon power furnace deep within Great Mazinger's heart ignites. Its primary heat vent begins glowing like a torch. That can only mean...! "Sayaka!" Tetsuya roars, "I hear you! I'll leave the second vector to you! DOUBLE!"
Arms are thrown wide. The Majin lifts its chest toward the sky, toward that nest of buzzing, orange hornets and their queen. "BUUUUURNING!"
"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!" A flood of heat and light erupts like magma from the mouth of a volcano. Torrington Base is bathed by another light-- not the sickly, cosmogone glare of Triple Zero, but the blaze of the rising sun, the sweltering radiance of a roaring flame! Even if it misses the Nu Gundam, those funnels it's wielding in atmosphere... It would be lucky if they can survive the raw thermal energy...!
KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi targets Amuro Ray with Breast Burn! KTS: Eight York designates Michiru Tenjou, making her easier to target and opening her to indirect fire. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Amuro Ray fails to Evade Tetsuya Tsurugi's Breast Burn, taking 5500 damage! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable. <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Yuliana tells Alma something very important. Alma's expression turns instantly to horror -- why would she even say such a thing? "Yuliana -- that's horrible!" Alma says, feeling something lurch in her stomach. "I -- I'm ashamed of y --"
Her eyes snap wide open and she realizes instantly that something's wrong. Maybe it's just the maelstrom of the battlefield playing havoc with her, but one hand takes her into a hard spin-out to remain any kind of moving while the other comes up to her helmet and frantically tap-tap-taps at --
It's a little too late for that, unfortunately. Alma's spin-out isn't enough to get her out of the path of the mega particle cannon, and the Amabilis hits the ground; at the same time, Alma's whole body spasms, and she throws up into the glass of her helmet. She gets it open midway through, but by that point, she's already...
... less than great, we'll say.
As she pries the Amabilis off the ground and re-centers herself, Alma says, "If it comes to that -- I just won't let you be 'toast' --"
... and then she sees that Yuliana's at the mercy of the Shamblo's heavy iron nails. Impulses compete in her head -- and she doesn't have time to sort them out. No sooner has her machine righted itself than does she slam straight forward toward the Shamblo again, fumbling for a weapon that will actually matter against the massive mobile armor.
... she has to trust someone else to do the heavy lifting here -- but she can apply pressure. Drawing yet more electro-picks, this time she does activate them; she begins tossing them one after another like the kunai of an Efreet. (She never got a crack at one of those, actually -- but the simulators taught her a lot.)
It's been a long time since Alma felt this unsure, this helpless -- and she hates it. ... She has to keep going, though.
Being grown up is to be able to survive so many sorrows.
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Armor of the Week with Wild Hunt! <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
Sophia doesn't know what's so funny but the sound of it is like someone running fingers along her rawest nerves. Sophia screams as she shoves the knife through that beam of light, gouging out a length of the ReZ-II's torso. She's finally able to rip her legs free of the ship's surface, but the last of the adhesive is still dissolving, leaving her stuck with Roux a moment longer. Sophia sees the saber arm coming and guesses well the intent; she swings her Sonic Blade up to counter, and unfortunately this time it's her that falls afoul of the differences between the two weapons. It might be designed to withstand a beam, but the difference in interactions makes it possible for the thing to just not interact with the knife, cutting out a deep ravine in the Flag's armor. Sophia's machine is forced back.
Sophia's eye flares, her Geass seeing truths about the pilot rather than the machine. Intentionalities, thin tethers of thought that form and break from second to second. The tether between a killer and victim is a kind of bond, after all. Seeing a moment she believes she has an opening, she moves - surging toward the ReZ-II with knife forward, DRIVING it into the torso to try and gouge out critical circuitry. "And what is so funny, then!?" she demands.
KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Roux Louka with Sonic Blade Drive! KTS: Alma Stirner rattles Armor of the Week, making its next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Alma Stirner's Wild Hunt, taking 4185 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alma Stirner's Guard Shift activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Armor of the Week! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Yuliana's. . . 'outburst', let's call it, is pretty well front and center on the Nadesco's screens, and, boy! Boy. There's some Looks among the crew. Megumi's actively recoiling and covering her mouth - Jun's taking a step forward with clenched fists, and Goat Hory is there to put a firm hand on his shoulder in calm restraint. (He's seen some sickos in his day.) Even the cool and collected Minato gets shaky hands at her terminal, lips curled in a tight frown. "...Captain, if we wind up with that woman as collateral damage, I'll make sure to get a word with-"
"The enemy mobile armor's defenses seem to have been mitigated," Ruri interrupts, and Yurika, fingers buried against her temples to drown out the second hit to the psyche, steps forward and claps her hips against the bridge's railing.
<"Attention, all forces and Nadesico bridge crew. We will be taking measures to drastically shorten the extent of this operation so we can fire the Gravity Blast at full charge. Please be careful - the Distortion Field is going down for juuuust a few minutes, so if there's a huge boom, that means the enemy's taken advantage of that window. It's gonna be okay!">
"...Are you sure? That monster's not gonna let up while we charge up-"
"It's going to be alright! When there's multiple threats you can't just let them wear you down, that way if any of them have a surprise, you can focus all hands on that. If you ask me, I think it's pretty likely that Amuro Ray miraculously back from the dead and putting everyone's brain on a light frappe has some tricks we might not expect!" Yurika blurts over Megumi's concerns, as the Nadesico begins charging up...
...and Yurika's warning comes exactly true, as the Shamblo's high powered mega beam sears a smoldering crater right into the right thruster of the Nadesico. But the captain assures everyone to hold fast to the plan, and pulls out a can of matcha tea to take a deep sip. To Lucine, she privately opens up a little window to her right, giving that cutely furrowed and grumbly sigh, before lightening up with as casual a smile as she can muster.
"When it comes to keeping spirits up, it's about making oneself clear and focused. Everyone has different ways they're broken up - I couldn't possibly address all of them, especially when we know so little. Some here might hate him. Some might've followed him. Many idolize him. But right here and now...we need to drive him away from this city, and make the operation's goals plain and clear. Don't worry, Lucine! I'm not letting any of you go it alone here!"
KTS: Roux Louka has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Armor of the Week with Gravity Blast - Charging...! KTS: Roux Louka retreats from the attack! KTS: Roux Louka fails to react to Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Sonic Blade Drive, taking 3600 damage! <Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
"<I know you can do this Arriety.>" Leina tells her with the full certainty of faith before. "<Rena! It's okay! They've got this! You have to focus! Please, stay safe for their sakes.>"
Some part of Leina shakes even now, knowing what Sayla is facing, she can feel it. It all went wrong. It all feels like it's still going wrong in every possible way.
Despite herself, her eyes water as Judau makes that promise. On not losing her, Banagher, or -anything- and she catches those swatches of memory. And suddenly she smiles, even as those green eyes sparkle. Everything is going wrong, but- "<Seventy five percent? This isn't the classroom so I'll take it. I know you can make this right... Judau.>"
The Unicorn isn't finished, as it goes flying towards them all, and Banagher starts to speak erratically and again, she puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to keep her presence soothing, "Banagher! You're being swept away in our feelings. Calm. You have to calm the Unicorn." 'Why didn't you save her?!' "Please don't blame him for that! Banag- JUDAU! Lunging with the Saber!"
And Sayla... Oh Sayla, even in the midst her desperate situation, reaching out to her. Leina resists the urge to be selfish here. There is a firm tone in how she reaches out to her psychically.
Sayla. Focus. You can't divide your attention here. Have faith that they'll get us out of this.
The Qubeley brings back so many bad memories, but she is trying not to focus on that, she tamps down on that as hard as she can amidst the torrent of emotions on the battlefield. However she suddenly feels her identify herself as Puru Two. And her eyes go wide at that psychic resonance. Then softens.
"Banagher. You felt that right? Please, let me introduce you to her properly after this is over."
There's a wince however as he identifies her as Marida in his haze, however after a moment's pause, "Banagher. I need you to concentrate on my voice. Anchor yourself onto it. You don't want to hurt someone precious to Marida. I know you don't. Let the Unicorn know, you don't need to be protected from them. You can do this."
KTS: Leina Ashta has activated the Attune Spirit Command targeting Sayla Mass KTS: Leina Ashta targets Judau Ashta with Prospect! KTS: Armor of the Week fails to react to Yurika Misumaru's Gravity Blast - Charging..., taking 0 damage! KTS: Yurika Misumaru begins a Formation attack! KTS: Leina Ashta assesses Judau Ashta's prospects, increasing his SP! <Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
The answer is the pinpoint barriers prove able; the forearm shield rises at Rena's command, the two beams from Lily's Zack slamming into them. The armor on the shield burns bright red, holes beginning to form, but the pinpoint barriers hold back the worst of it. Without them, the arm would have been lost. The GERWALK-mode machine jerks to one side, then, and twists about.
The DINN fires, though -- and the missiles hurtle out, slamming into the GERWALK. The explosions throw the Prophecy back into the air, rattling Rena mightily in the cockpit. She hisses, sharply; she gets tossed back in her pilot seat. "Rau le Creuset!? That's--he's a ZAFT ace." Rena's eyes widen. "This is bad--"
She makes the GERWALK-mode fighter shift again. The legs unfold, the rest of the way. Feet swing down; thrusters fire to control the descent, as the head comes out, and the nose cone folds down. The pinpoint barriers swivel around, onto the fists of the Battroid, as it swings up -- and then slams in for the Zack at high speed.
The pinpoint barrier-armed fists slam, one two three. Each leaves a faint green afterglow, as she tries to slam them repeatedly against the EWAC Zack.
She takes a deep breath. "I'll be okay," she sends back to Leina, by tightbeam. "Don't worry. Just--try to hold on. Callie, Arriety, and the others are there."
Then, she looks back at Lily's EWAC -- and swings up the Prophecy's foot in a final kick, firing the thruster, and trying to smash it away. "Just... get back! Pick another day, damn it, I have other things I need to do!"
Rena Lancaster transforms to YF-25A Prophecy A-type (Battroid)
KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Rena Lancaster targets Lily Jung with Pinpoint Blitz! <Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
Mineva gives Lilith a slightly confused look, but nods a little as the Unicorn breaks away. "... I think I am," she says quietly, a small smile on her lips. But the Unicorn's scream makes her wince, makes her clutch her head. But... she just... thinks about him. The person she wants to save. The Unicorn must be 'listening' for threats, for cues... she reaches out to it, and to Banagher and Leina by proxy.
She thinks about... tells it about how he saved her. How she fell from the colony's artificial sun, but... a boy she didn't know, a boy she'd never met, leapt out in a mobile worker and saved her. How he protected her when she was running from Marida and Zinnerman's crew. How he protected her...
So please... don't put him in danger. Don't risk yourself... don't risk him.
She doesn't know if it'll work. She doesn't know if it will listen... if it CAN listen, like this... but... if it can... she prays it'll help him get out of this alive.
KTS: Lily Jung fails to rush. KTS: Lily Jung partially guards Rena Lancaster's Pinpoint Blitz, taking 3190 damage! KTS: Rena Lancaster has engaged Lily Jung! <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
Ennil watches the Federation suit retreat. It's over, then. The Jenice bleakly offers more warnings as the chaos surrounding the Shamblo increases. Loni Garvey... will she leave anyone behind, when she's gone?
For a brief moment, the Jenice Kai turns towards that chaotic battlefield, but Ennil looks up at that orange light again, and remembers.
You have to live.
Even if she could save Loni... Even if she had the power... It's all, already, too wrong. It's not a lack of sympathy that leads Ennil El to ultimately fall back from the battlefield and signal the Garencieres. Just the opposite. This is Loni's chance to be free.
No one should live the way she did.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
A Gravity Blast from the Nadesico's cannons would be enough for any normal person to get out of melee range of the Shamblo.
Yuliana is, it may be evident, not a normal woman, an ill neighbour to Lucine and Shelby, anathema.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Yuliana switches back to general comms, to taunt Loni, to twist that knife instead. "Doesn't it ache?! Cry and wail! I'll NEVER forgive you for destroying this --"
Her sentence never ends, but it does stop.
So does the Annihilation, all trapped in a bird-cage of claws, physically wrested from its attempt to TEAR down into the Shamblo's cockpit. Her Grappler Axe falls to the hull of the Shamblo, a chain dangling from between those hulking fingers. "Haah..?" Yuliana asks, laughter shuddering to a question, as those iron bars close down. "N...no way..."
Thinking quickly, she grabs her flamethrower, jabs the bayonet into the fingers of the Shamblo --
But it keeps squeezing.
The fuel pack at the back of the Annihilation DETONATES under pressure -- an explosion which rocks Yuliana more than the massive thing grasping her, and it's not just the Shamblo, screaming, now. "AAAAHHH--!" Yuliana screams, as she shoves her clutch forward, only for it to stall and stick against the sheer force pressing in. "Damn it! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU! Shit! Shit! SHIT!"
Are there any controls she can even lay hands on to do anything, any more? Everything's jammed, everything's stuck, everything's pushing in on itself, pushing in on
her.
And in all her despair and her shock and her horror, Yuliana is alone.
Her feelings, in this field of empathy, may as well be nonexistent.
She can't feel Alma's, on the other side of that iron curtain, either.
KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi targets Banagher Links with Shock. KTS: Mineva Lao Zabi shocks Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Banagher Links's Determination activates, and his spirit endures. KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Valor Spirit Command. Rau Le Creuset has moved to Shallows
KTS: Rau Le Creuset has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Arriety Hearn has activated the Valor Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Even if Arriety understands Minae can't access the psychic layer, she understands that her Super AI partner can sense the strangeness -- the wrongness -- of the Unicorn on the machine level; in a way, the Unicorn is an embodiment of what Super AI fear they could be used for. ...
Not if she has anything to say about it.
"I couldn't keep relying on the Bio-Sensor forever," Arriety agrees with Minae. "Maybe I needed it to walk... but now we can run. We can fly. This is... the result of Miss Roux's training!"
She can sense Roux out there. Hopefully, she'll see her.
Minae drapes forward onto her body, but she knows instinctively it's not because she's powered down -- it's because Minae needs to be more than just her body at present.
Judau's roar is inspiring -- they're not losing anything today, and that's a promise. And he's got a plan with... well, that's as good enough of a chance of success. She scans the ZZ as it trails through the smoke, the corona of pink light hitting her senses as he grapples the Unicorn. That's going to make disabling it harder, but... maybe that's what they need right now...!!
The NT-D, unlike Yuliana, doesn't really suppress her senses, just her equipment, so she can feel the worry coming from her sister. Of her struggles between being 'Callisto' and 'Puru Two', and...
Then she's found herself again.
Banagher suddenly roars about not saving someone -- who? -- but she can't even be certain who it is at the moment; was it the Unicorn... or the thick and awful presence of battle within them?
The Unicorn, however, keeps her in constant check; the Beam Magnum is out again, and she's overextended. At that time, she senses Kamille out of the blue, and the danger he's in--
"Ah--"
Sound disappears again, save for that horrible negative vacuum of a sound the Magnum makes. Magenta-violet fire roars, and suddenly--
The Myrmekes Zeta's forearm and the beam rifle are both GONE, with a circular trail of thin flecks of debris in its wake.
"Aaagh!!"
Arriety's entire world is red, the cockpit alarms flaring as the Zeta spins out of control; Myrmekes' screeching makes it worse, as she whines:
"MY AAAAAARM! AH-RIIIIIII!" A pause. "Oh... it doesn't actually hurt as much as I thought."
"Stop shouting in my ear, then!" Arriety protests.
Fortunately, Lilith's a godsend for her -- data starts filtering in, and she delegates to Minae to let process as the Gwennangorn buys her time to pool energy from the sub-reserves. But there's a problem:
She doesn't currently have a weapon. The Beam Saber and the Grenades were all stored in the arm...!
"Nn..." A pause. Then she flips towards the Ra Mari's radio bands. "Eight! I'm-- I'm going to do something a bit reckless! Please tell Lavhi and the hangar crew to watch out! And open the hangar door for me, please!"
Then she hunkers down, gripping her hands tightly on the controls, and--
IN THE RA MARI, NOT FAR AWAY
The Hyper Mega Launcher currently stashed on the weapons rack suddenly gleams with a sheen of fiery pink light, and begins to FLOAT from the sheer will of Arriety's power... and launches out of the hangar, towards the Zeta in the distance.
HERE
Arriety's never done such a trick before -- remotely commanding weaponry to come to her from such a distance -- and she knows that the Unicorn would stop her just like it stopped the Bio-Sensor before. But Judau's currently got it tangled up, so she's banking on that chance that it's too distracted to take control of it!
"Minae! Firing solution, please! Linking up in 3... 2..."
She wipes some blood off her nose -- the mental strain is immense, and she's unpracticed, operating on sheer instinctive will; still, she forcefully jockeys the Zeta to charge towards the flying rifle, linking up with it as transforms into a mountable mode on its torso.
"We're bringing you back... the both of you..."
Arriety's pupils tighten further as the one-armed Zeta focuses its charge upon the Hyper Mega Launcher. Wisps of bright pink energy gathers within the barrel of the beam cannon, and trusting everything she has to Minae's calculations...
"We must!!"
The Zeta fires -- the Hyper Mega Launcher has a higher firing output than the regular Beam Rifle, but she's focused the beam to effectively create a thin, sweeping lance from a seemingly impossible angle to clip through the centre-mass of the Unicorn's thrusters on its back.
KTS: Arriety Hearn targets Banagher Links with SEED Full Burst! KTS: Rau Le Creuset has activated the Assail Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
This is delaying them too much. If it takes too long for them to get to their objective, they might just find themselves facing overwhelming Federation numbers. Or worse, those monsters. Rau considers for a moment... Letting this opportunity slip by would be unfortunate and he would prefer that to not happen.
There's no choice.
<"Michiru, Lily. I'm going to make a run for the base and the stockpiles. Keep them busy.">
The DINN turns away from the battle in the skies, thrusters firing as it starts to quickly rush down towards the ocean's surface and the shores edge that the base sits on. Rau wouldn't be surprised if one or more try to follow, though glancing at his rear screen it seems that the VF has switched its focus to Lily. Good, that buys him some time.
The DINN quickly reaches the shores, diving down close to ground level before its wings fold back and it turns upright to land on its feet. The partially ruined buildings around it shake as the mobile suit lands near them. It turns briefly, raising its machine gun up in the direction of the Ra Mari in the distance and fires off some rounds, trying to ward the large ship off and keep it from trying to follow.
The DINN then turns, starting to trudge towards the target structure in the distance.
KTS: Rau Le Creuset targets Eight York with MMI-M7S Improved Machine Gun Suppressing Fire! <Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.
She feels -- hears -- Roux, for a split-second, but more than that, there's someone further out, a voice that sounds wholly unfamiliar to her. 'Who ... is that...'
Shelby's brow creases, twisting her mobile suit around in an attempt to keep moving, staying out of the path of the Shamblo's arm -- but the claw rakes across the Jagd Doga's legs and skirt armor, chunks of knockout pink and light-soaking black metal spinning out and splitting away from the machine... but kept from tearing through her cockpit through the use of both her shield and her gatling rifle crossed as a means to soak the impact.
The legs of the machine swing out and back and forth, the machine spinning int he air as it descends back to the ground with a heavy crash of feet on land. Shelby breathes heavy and hard as she can almost *feel* the machine's damage and weight shift and hang and feel more sluggish the more things go on. She doesn't have much more room to act--
"FUNNELS!!"
The six pods erupt from the shields on the shoulders of the Jagd Doga, canister-shape drones that immediately scatter around the immediate area. It's tough enough keeping focus on the units through the psycommu system; the Unicorn's presence and Yuliana's actions and all of the things happening -- all the voices, all the thoughts, and memories, and people *being* --
'What is so *funny*, then!?'
'Ride the wave, Shelby.'
Shelby's grip on the control sticks tighten. Her feet stomp down hard, digging her heels in before pulling back and practically standing up in her seat. The Jagd Doga leaps into the air again at full speed, the machine struggling with the damage dealt to it; the beam gatling taken into both hands again and it starts to fire in the Shamblo's direction -- not to directly attack *it*, but to try to draw the attention of the reflector drones as she maneuvers the Funnels around in swirling, high-speed formations. They burst open, fins wide and emitters visible, making swift and immediate strafing runs on the mobile armor in an attempt to sear and rip through it's armor while she still has some operational time!
KTS: Shelby Korts has activated the Strike Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Amuro Ray has posed.
There is no reason to rush. Slow and steady.
The Nightmare changes and sensors as much as flashes of intent tell Amuro what is going to happen. Nu Gundam turns to face the machine head-on. It plants itself on the ground and readies its shield-- and when the weapons fire bears down on it it brings its shield to bear and moves in the subtlest of ways. It is not enough to dodge entirely, but it wasn't trying to go for that. All it does... is vary the angle it is taking the attack at just so that it cannot bear down on a single point and pierce through. In the aftermath the whole frame of the Nu Gundam is scorched, but that gleaming orange light intensifies for a moment afterwards and it straightens up, firing back with a simple and clean angling of its beam rifle.
Suddenly-- a shot from the blue comes at him from nearby, the abominable machine of possibilities planting the blast across its hip. That segment of the machine is reduced to glowing slag, which then gleams that characteristic bright orange that seems to correspond with the infection that Amuro has contracted.
Even when it takes decisive blows, the Power is holding it together.
Another such shot comes in from the MSA-0120, and the Nu Gundam fires its thrusters, taking a different tack and attempting to enter close range-- it fails, though it does manage to take the hit along the previously-undamaged shoulder. The arm should've fallen off from that, shield and all, but it doesn't-- the beam rifle is discarded as it detonates however, and the Nu Gundam leaves its hand empty.
It meets the Ichinana's breast fire much as it had the Nightmare's, bracing itself for a moment and then carefully bringing its tattered shield to bear to distribute the damage to his preference.
The fin funnels that it had distributed across the battlefield withdraw back to their rack, temporarily. The Nu Gundam faces Great Mazinger, while Amuro Ray faces the collective will of these people to save Sayla Mass's life-- not just this bunch, but the pilot of the Unicorn as well. That one will have to wait, at this rate. The orange gleam intensifies tenfold as Great Mazinger pours its own fire and light into the Nu Gundam-- it might, in that moment, have served as the collective will of those raising a shield on behalf of Sayla Mass.
It all went wrong.
Like a guttering candle the light of the Nu Gundam flickers and glows beneath the heat of Mazinger's attack... and in the sizzling, seething aftermath, smoke pouring from its surface, v-fin melting... the light of Triple Zero re-ignites.
The Conqueror King Nu Gundam moves. It raises its head towards Great Mazinger.
It all went wrong.
Its funnels re-deploy from their rack, sliding out of storage form and back into their u-shaped flight form.
It all went wrong.
They fire in unison on Great Mazinger in three great volleys before fanning out across the battlefield once more.
It all went wrong.
They resume the aggressive harassment with which they began the battle, turning the surroundings into a hellish hail of particle beams that seem to go on without end. The same sentiment that he had directed towards Sayla herself washes over them all-- or perhaps washes over her again, and they happen only to be in the vicinity.
It'll be ok. Lie down. I won't be long.
KTS: Shelby Korts targets Armor of the Week with Jagd Doga Funnels Follow-Up Formation! KTS: Amuro Ray targets Lina Lombardi with Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot! KTS: Amuro_Ray Changes attack to Sayaka Yumi and Lark Straye with Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage. KTS: Amuro Ray has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Amuro Ray targets Tetsuya Tsurugi with Conqueror King Funnel Array Omega Formation! KTS: Sayaka Yumi has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has gained proficiency bonus. KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Sayaka Yumi, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Sayaka Yumi fails to react to Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 5208 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Sayaka Yumi has been defeated! KTS: Lark Straye has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links successfully evades Arriety Hearn's SEED Full Burst KTS: Arriety Hearn roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi fails to charge. KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi partially guards Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Omega Formation, taking 8880 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Tetsuya Tsurugi has been defeated! KTS: Eight York blocks Rau Le Creuset's MMI-M7S Improved Machine Gun Suppressing Fire, taking 6000 damage! KTS: Lina Lombardi blocks Amuro Ray's Nu Gundam Beam Rifle Shot, taking 5610 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Amuro Ray's Something I Can Never Take Back activates, causing Nullify! KTS: Lina Lombardi has been defeated! KTS: Amuro Ray rattles Lark Straye, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Lark Straye fails to Evade Amuro Ray's Conqueror King Funnel Array Over Barrage, taking 5208 damage! KTS: Lark Straye has been defeated! <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Fortunately, Anita isn't alone in this. She has Rena and Eight with her here, too, and everyone on the Ra Mari. And she knows Arriety, Minae, and Callisto are over there in the distance - too far to reach out to, but she knows they're fighting hard all the same.
The ZAFT mobile suits light up on her console as Eight provides a helpful stream of data.
"You're a lifesaver, Ra Mari." Anita chimes in appreciatively. "I'll put this to good use."
Her attention turns back to the fight at hand. She hears a voice, faintly, over communications. 'This isn't how it's supposed to be...?' Anita 'hm's for a moment - but she can't dwell on that for long, as the ZnO extends its hands. Some kind of attack...? This is confirmed when the pilot calls out an attack that comes soon after comes barreling toward her machine, the impact enough to send the Valkyrie spiraling through the air for a moment before Anita manages to halt her momentum.
And then the pilot speaks again and Anita frowns.
"So you're after some kind of stockpile...?" She says. Her confusion is legitimate - she's not exactly in the best position to be informed of what's what, given her low rank. She scratches the side of her head, or would have if she hadn't forgotten that her helmet is in the way.
"...I don't know what the deal is, but that isn't really my call to make. And also... I've got friends that I can't abandon, either. You get it, right?" Anita replies, and then pauses for a moment. "...Still, thanks."
She moves in quickly, the VF's combat knife drawn. She strikes out with an acrobatic flourish - a spinning attack to keep her opponent guessing.
KTS: Anita Rosetta targets Michiru Tenjou with Acrobatic Sweep! KTS: Anita Rosetta rattles Michiru Tenjou, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Michiru Tenjou partially guards Anita Rosetta's Acrobatic Sweep, taking 1710 damage! KTS: Anita Rosetta has engaged Michiru Tenjou! <Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
There's something wrong with Puru Two. There's something wrong with -many- people here. It's a maelstrom of conflicting emotions and Judau, unable or unwilling to block them out, can't help but be an open receiver to every sentiment that swirls through this battlefield. From those present...
... to the ghosts of the past.
All he can do, right now, is focus on the most immediate issue in front of him. Focus on the people who matter.
'That's better than the coinflip I'd expect out of you.'
<"Uhhhh, well, if I'm bein' honest, I mighta massaged the numbers there a little bit, a ha ha haa--">
Focus on family.
So, he falls back into familiar habits with Puru, if nothing else to provide her something to anchor herself in (even if maybe the contents of his words aren't exactly what some would define as 'reassuring' by the 'actual' 'definition' of the 'word'). He focuses on the retreating Kamille and Sayla, too people he barely knows and yet to whom he owes so much. He focuses on Roux, offering a laser ping and a direct comm of "Kick their ass, Roux! I got this!" to offer some semblance of confidence in his complete reckless insanity. He focuses on Leina, trying to be emotional bedrock for his sister as she herself tries to drag Banagher out of the NT-D's morass.
He focuses on Banagher, providing memories and impressions of the things and people -Judau- cares about in life, to try to center him. Because he's important to Leina. And Leina is the world to him.
And Judau would do anything for the people important to him.
To whit: as the battlefield becomes more and more decimated, Ashta focuses wholly on Links and the Unicorn that now exerts control. That beam saber comes, but Judau times his assault perfectly with Leina's preemptive warning; the thrust of his right wing shield tilts, -parrying- the screaming edge of that beam saber off its heavily armored, flat surface as it leans in, the immense forehead cannon just barely out of reach of the Unicorn's grasping hand. It ends up leaving an angry, orange glow of a gash along the Gundam's forearm, but otherwise helps avoid a direct blow.
<"Banagher, listen! Find out what you want -- what -you- really want! This thing of yours is just gonna keep lashin' at anything until you do, because it's YOU that matters here!">
Soon after, the Double Zeta is launching its own assault through the cover of that smokescreen. Wing shields -slam- down against the Unicorn's chassis, effectively locking it in place.
"Okay, step one complete," Judau mutters to himself... and swiftly pops open the seat belts of his cockpit.
"Alright. Okay. Yeah. You can do this. It's a good plan. You got this."
The Unicorn's thrusters ignite, trying to escape the Double Zeta's grapple. And as it does --
The cockpit hatch of the ZZ Gundam hisses open, right in the middle of the battle.
"You're not gettin' away that easy! I don't care if you're a unicorn or a peacock" does Judau think peacocks are mythical creatures?? maybe he just has a learned fear of fowls "an' I don't care if you're trying to protect Banagher!"
The words are lost to the wind. But the sentiment isn't, as it flares with defiant life from deep within Judau.
"You -- have got--"
The Double Zeta's left arm rises.
"--to GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"
And then, it looks to SLAP itself down on the very top of the Unicorn's torso, palm down in such a way that the wing shield will CRACK into that pristine white surface in a way that makes it look--
--almost like an off ramp--
wait
"I'M COMIN', LEINA!"
And that is precisely when Judau just leaps whole-ass out of the Double Zeta and -onto its arm-; he will hit the side of it with a painful sound that he's -pretty sure- means one of his ribs might have cracked; he will ignore it, climb -up- that arm...
... and then sprint down it at full speed, until he reaches the wing shield's makeshift ramp.
Whereupon he has every intention of leaping onto the Unicorn proper as beam and missile and bulletfire rains out all around him.
It's a good plan.
He's got this.
KTS: Armor of the Week's Beam Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Shelby Korts's Jagd Doga Funnels Follow-Up Formation, taking 2040 damage! KTS: Shelby Korts completes the Formation attack! KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Judau Ashta has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Judau Ashta targets Banagher Links with Wing Shields - Wing SLAP!! <Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
"I'm not 100% sure I should really approve of a 75% chance, especially not when I'm around to increase that." Minae's voice is carrying a clear pout over the radio as it accompanies her increased efforts to provide full map coverage, along with as many trajectories as she can handle. She's given up on looking for one true suggestion; her patterns are like spiderwebs of possibilities based on the way the Unicorn has been lurching around. In a flash of insight, most of the ones involving the Unicorn pressing a given attack on a weak spot or a cockpit have been filtered out; they're becoming less common as the fight wears on.
Callisto's funnels are a new addition to her trigonometry; she mentally squints at them, considers them in relation to her greater model of the battle in progress, then carefully sets them aside. She trusts the other pilot to handle them as best she can, and she's already juggling enough on her own plate that leaving something up to someone else is a welcome relief from trying to handle everything else.
"--it's just-- folding in on itself in uncertainty. It doesn't know what to do," the robot finds herself saying out loud. She's not entirely certain where that thought is coming from, but it feels right, and she's slowly learning to trust those gut impulses when they rear their head. Part of her wonders if this battle needs her more as a navigation officer, or maybe just as a robot counsellor. She regrets that thought a moment later when the Unicorn rounds on the Myrmekes with astonishing speed; she's not exactly caught off guard, but the abrupt nature of the machine's starts and stops are still messing with her.
It's not exactly the sort of situation where she can invite the Unicorn to lie down on a couch and have a leisurely chat.
... is it?
Before that thought can get any further, their whole world turns red. The heart that Minae is just about aware she has suddenly leaps into her throat, and she's bolted back to her body to perk up in alarm and warning, ready to pull Arriety from her seat and get her out of the cockpit-- before every version of Minae deflates in unison at Myrme's reaction, including the one on other people's screens.
"Got it! You can do this!" she breaks out of her slump as Arriety calls her to action; there's a spike of pride that makes her pat the other girl's shoulders, and the resolve in the pilot's voice buoys her upwards, the collection of possibilities dissolving and filtering down into a single firing line for the Zeta to take.
In the spare half-second before the beam fires, her mind loops right back to the idea that's lodged itself in her head. And if her partner can try something new, can reach within herself, then so can she.
"--attempting to connect to the Unicorn, as well!" she reports immediately afterwards. There's no guile to it, nor any real plan outside of it being something that only she can do. It's just a simple attempt to connect to the Unicorn's systems and deliver a message of non-aggression; little more than a hello, and an implied reassurance that someone out there is listening, even if it's to the Gundam rather than the pilots. It might be rather rich, given she's simultaneously watching the Hyper Mega Launcher spit a solid beam of light and fire - but they can only try.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Sophia's eye gleams and reaches out.
Roux says, "It's -- you"
The vision ripples outwards.
A slightly criminal man.
A handful of junky-looking teenagers.
Bright Noa. That's absolutely Bright Noa.
A gorgeous man.
An earnest young blond man, with whiffs of tragedy -- Glemy Toto?
Outwards, further. The people become more spread out and sprawling.
Koji Kabuto shows up.
A handful more.
Some of them are here NOW. There's one, though she was smaller then. And another (?? it's complicated)
Haman Karn??
More people. A dizzying number. Nearly seventy, many of whom towards the end have Jovian-style high-hairline styles-- something distinctive, at least.
More recently. It loops back into the time and place of now.
The girl over there - in the Myrmekes Zeta!
A dozen or more others--
Others -
"wouldn't get it," Roux says, even as the Sonic Knife slashes forwards. But the ReZ-II is not confined the way the Flag is, even if that damned advantage is fading with the breaking of the adhesive bonds. Can loss of bonds bring the same power the bonds themselves bring? A question for right now.
"but I'm not going to let you kill that boy!"
The ReZ-II floats backwards, one hand raised in the air. Is she just... being haughty towards the Flag, secure in the remnants of the adhesive round? "I can tell there's doubt in your heart. I mean it! Get the hell out of here, and I won't follow! We've got to save everyone and I don't have time to mess with you! I'm begging you!"
rThe Clay Bazooka falls out of the sky.
This would be a lot cooler if it had landed right *in* the ReZ-II's hand. Instead there is a moment of bobbling, one last toss to get it oriented correctly. "And I'm not gonna beg for long!" Roux's next statement can best be defined as a *deadly rocket* as she fires the Mega Bazooka at the Flag.
"I know," she answers Judau, soft and warm, at about the point when she's firing the rocket at the G-Hound unit.
"Arriety--!! You're flying so high! Take care of 'em for me!!" Roux concludes, wreathed in rocket backblast exhaust.
KTS: Roux Louka targets Sophia Mayhew Castellan with Clay Bazooka - 300mm Explosive! <Pose Tracker> Lily Jung has posed.
Lily stares from above at the battlefield. Something is prickling at the back of her mind as the Psycommu System starts to rise in more and more activity. Pink light is starting to subtly stream out of the verniers at the back of the machine. Her senses growing further, and it makes her...
It makes her nauseous.
Normally, she enjoys that feeling. That presence of everyone around her. The presence of all those people, their wills. Their way of life. Their emotions as they fight. But down there...
It's all wrong.
Banagher, that boy who was so apologetic. His kind heart being warped by that devilish Gundam once again. Swallowed by the machine. How hurt will his heart be this time? What if he makes a mistake once again? As that machine brings those shockwaves to bear. More light pouring through the area. More of that rainbow-like light.
The pilot of that Nu Gundam. An alien passionate sorrow. It beats against her heart harder the further she can sense. The further that the EWAC Zack allows her to sense.
She isn't even aware of the connections that a certain blue-haired youth - Kamille - might have to the parts that are stuck within this very machine she pilots - Psyco Gundam. Though who knows. Could he feel it... the presence within this re-used technology?
Passionate song of hearts spill over the battlefield. So far away. Some of them so very close. Powerful NewTypes. People like her... people who would understand her. Unlike those she fights besides - the Coordinators.
Loni. Has she already passed? Thanks to the presence of Yuliana Dispersal being so mighty, she cannot even sense her from here. But... it's still moving. How's that possible? Could someone be silencing Loni's true voice?
Voices continue to spill from the battlefield. Their hearts, and their words. But through the Minovsky interference, it is the heart that speaks the loudest. That includes Rena's. The Longblade Rifle on the right side shifts quickly, moving from the back of its arm to its hand. Grabbed, right as the beam weapon activates.
Light spews forth from the first hit of Rena's machine, as the EWAC Zack tries to remain close! The blade swinging in the way of some of her strikes. Each time, the Pinpoint Barrier sparking with the beam blade on the Longblade Rifle.
However, Rena can tell - the blade cannot catch up fast enough. The pilot of that machine isn't anywhere as good as her at CQC. And before Lily knows it, those fist strikes break through. Slamming into metal, warping some of the chest mounted verniers. Punching into metal, and eventually kicking against it - sending the EWAC Zack into one hell of a tumble downwards!
It's only at the last moment, before hitting the water, that Lily gets control again. Tumbling, a bit dizzy. A flood of pink light from its thrusters as they engage. With Rau going after the Stockpile, she has to keep that pilot busy! So she chases right after Rena, sending one of the Longblade Rifles forward.
It sails towards the Valkyrie like a rocket chasing her. With Lily trying to keep pace, firing from closer up. Trying to slow her by firing in front of her position - and allow the cutting Longblade to catch up, in the hopes that it'd cut at her wing!
<"GO! BLADE!"> Reaching out with one hand, as if she could catch up to Rena. As if she could grab that machine... spreading her fingers. Reaching to the horizon!
KTS: Lily Jung targets Rena Lancaster with Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - Blade and Beam - Combo! KTS: Judau Ashta rattles Banagher Links, making his next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Banagher Links fails to react to Judau Ashta's Wing Shields - Wing SLAP!, taking 3360 damage! KTS: Judau Ashta has engaged Banagher Links! KTS: Rena Lancaster successfully evades Lily Jung's Twin Longblade Rifle - Psyco Model - Blade and Beam - Combo KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan blocks Roux Louka's Clay Bazooka - 300mm Explosive, taking 1890 damage! <Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"You got it, Ah-ri," Eight answers. "Whatever we can do to support you over there!" Then, switching channels, "Open the hangar bay doors! --Don't ask why, just do it! And DUCK!"
It was delaying ZAFT's forces a great deal--Unfortunately, the suppressive fire the DINN lays gets far too close to something vital, and the ship rocks. "Full power to shields!" Eight calls. "Damn--track that--"
It's too late. Rau's ace suit is past them, and...
"Ra Mari to base. A mobile suit's coming your way. My wing is fighting out here and I don't have anybody to send in after him. ...He's probably after the stockpile."
She could fire her missiles anyway. All it would cost is whatever lives aren't already lost to the Shamblo, if her missiles miss. It would just require treating that stockpile as more important than their lives...
It's what a good officer would do.
So Eight instead says, "Rena, Anita. Get ready. Things are going pretty badly in the interior. They might need a rescue... And civilian casualties take priority over military assets."
She doesn't bother hiding this transmission; it's possible ZAFT will hear it, too. Or her superiors. But it's the right thing to do.
"..." She considers. "...Get some missiles out there. I want to dissuade these ZAFT pilots from getting any closer. Make sure they don't follow their friend."
The Ra Mari starts to descend, firing huge spreads from its beam cannons out into the ocean--towards Lily and Michiru's units.
She still feels that oppressive pressure...
"Captain," Eight transmits to Lilith. "Things don't look good in there. Further orders?"
KTS: Eight York targets Lily Jung and Michiru Tenjou with Twin-Barrel Hyper Mega-Particle Cannons Barrage Spread. KTS: Lily Jung fails to evade Eight York's Twin-Barrel Hyper Mega-Particle Cannons Barrage Spread, taking 3600 damage! KTS: Lily Jung has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Rau Le Creuset
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
This is it. She's done all she can do. The Nightmare holds up its shield to weather the rifle shot, but there's just too much power behind it.
As every alarm possible goes off in her cockpit, Lina transforms back into fighter mode and braces herself, finding a clear place to make a crash landing. Managing to drift a few meters out from the city, the jet touches down and drags along the ground before friction brings it to a stop.
Once the Nightmare is fully out of commission, Lina pulls off her helmet, her hair matted with sweat and clinging to her face. She takes a moment to hold her head in her hands, letting out a few shuddered breaths, full of leftover adrenaline, full of anxiety, full of pride, full of shame.
She had gone up against a bonafide war hero and lived to tell the tale. Even got a few good hits in on him. But it still stung. It always stings. As her heartbeat slows, she feels a sharp pain in her arm. Must have hurt herself in the crash. She winces and grabs at it, taking in a sharp breath.
"Juno 1, I've got your landing position. We'll be sending a retrieval team out as soon as the area is safe."
"Don't worry, take your time. I got a good view of the brawl from over here."
"Juno 1...Lina. You did pretty good out there, huh?"
"Probably not many people who can say they went up against two Gundams in a week and lived to tell the tale. Bet the Lieutenant Commander won't even be able to find a reason to yell at me about it. Nnngh! Damn..."
"Are you injured?"
"Arm hurts like a son of a bitch. Hopefully I didn't break it in the crash."
"I'll have a medic come with the team. For now, try to rest."
"Yeah..." Lina leans back in her seat, nursing her wounds and her pride.
KTS: Lina Lombardi's VF-171 Nightmare Plus <Battroid Mode> has been disabled. KTS: Lilith Aiden fails to react to Banagher Links's Pass, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
<"Miss Stirner, do you need cover?"> Lucine doesn't know Alma enough to understand the full extent of Yuliana's pull on the other pilot. <"I'm going to give you, the Nadesico, and..."> Shelby never gave her something to call her by. <"The other pilot in the field some data.">
Yuliana's words make Lucine want to fall out of her 'range', even if it means adding the chaos of the outside on top of what she already knows. It's like choosing to be in the spider's web to avoid falling into a fire. If she hadn't had the memory of that meeting with Shinji, Kaworu, and Liam, would she be this calm?
Or is it just being in the Dianthus? A comforting suit of armor, where no one can touch her...
Except when something does. The Shamblo's arm clips the Dianthus, Lucine seeing the Jagd Doga spiral away to land as she herself has to manage stabbing the Dianthus's slender feet into the concrete like daggers.
Recollecting herself from the side of the cockpit, Lucine manages a shakey, <"... Ah, roger, Nadesico. Please be safe...">
Then, it's Yurika. Lucine flinches back in surprise, then lets out a sigh on the private line. <".... You're right, Captain. We'll have to place our trust in them to understand what the Orange glow means. Though... ah... could you.... tell me who the pilot is? I'd point my sensors at them, but... I don't want to risk tearing my focus from the Shamblo. But... it's like Amuro Ray himself stepped on the field with how everyone's been acting..."> 'With how everyone's been acting' is a terrible way to mask just *how* Lucine knows anything at all. But she can trust Yurika, right?
She can, and she will.
Concrete rips out as the Dianthus tears the sky anew, spiraling around to place orbs of glowing light across the field around the Shamblo. <"Now!">
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Yurika Misumaru KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Alma Stirner KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Shelby Korts KTS: Lucine Azul targets Armor of the Week with Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies! KTS: Armor of the Week's Beam Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Armor of the Week blocks Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies, taking 750 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul begins a Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
The disabled Annihilation is discarded like so much scrap metal.
But it is not over. Loni's rage is too anguished, too uncontrollable - and yet at the same time, too focused.
A large volume of beam fire cascades into the Shamblo, and its reflector bits protect it again, wreathing it in another aura of beam fire before spreading it out back towards Shelby and Lucine! In another moment, the bits reposition to catch beam fire from its shoulder launchers, directing that particle assault at Alma! Seeming to ignore all of this, the Shamblo clasps its twin claws together, turning to stand over the wreckage of Yuliana's Tiandong. Those long arms are raised high, blocking out the sun when it might peek through the clouds of smoke.
"You die first," the presence in the Shamblo's cockpit hisses through Loni's lips. Not that that distinction is something Yuliana can even grasp, let alone care about appreciating.
The clenched fists come smashing down.
Examining the ruined wreckage of its victim, the Shamblo's head turns, tracking the orange star burning in the sky.
"... Gundam." The psycoframe whispers, and a full-power barrage sears the sky towards the Nu Gundam.
KTS: Armor of the Week targets Yuliana Dispersal with Large Iron Nail Two-Fisted Smash! KTS: Armor_of_the_Week Changes attack to Shelby Korts and Lucine Azul with Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce. KTS: Armor of the Week targets Alma Stirner with Scattering Mega Particle Gun Bombardment! KTS: Armor of the Week targets Amuro Ray with Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Direct Blast! KTS: Amuro Ray's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Amuro Ray blocks Armor of the Week's Large Caliber Mega Particle Gun - Direct Blast, taking 8160 damage! KTS: Armor of the Week roots its unit, coming to a standstill and leaving it vulnerable. KTS: Yuliana Dispersal fails to react to Armor of the Week's Large Iron Nail Two-Fisted Smash, taking 6600 damage! KTS: Yuliana Dispersal has been defeated! KTS: Armor of the Week has engaged Yuliana Dispersal! KTS: Armor of the Week roots its unit, coming to a standstill and leaving it vulnerable. KTS: [Mirage] Lucine Azul's Glimmer Engine activates, and she slips into a mirage. KTS: Lucine Azul fails to evade Armor of the Week's Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce, taking 0 damage! KTS: Alma Stirner retreats from the attack! KTS: Alma Stirner successfully evades Armor of the Week's Scattering Mega Particle Gun Bombardment KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shelby Korts has activated the Focus Spirit Command. BBSYS: Post 274, 'Miracle Engine' has been published to Daily Spotlight by Lucine Azul.
KTS: Shelby Korts successfully evades Armor of the Week's Reflector Bits Perfect Bounce <Pose Tracker> Puru Two has posed.
<"Miss.. Marida..?">
No... sorry, I'm not her.
The Qubeley's funnels are practically tethered to its pilot by chains of wispy scarlet, a black pillar from which a powerful will struggles and strains against the overwhelming pressure of the NT-D and the terrifying, abyssal presence from the Nu Gundam in the distance.
Puru Two clasps her hands together in the cockpit, eyes shut in concentration, attuned via her internal psycommu headset and nothing else. No hands on the controls. On the material layer, at least.
But if you look beyond the physical, there stands the ghost of a young woman cradling a gentle candle-flame between her hands. Shielding it against the entropic pull from the Conquerer King. You nursed that spark of hope within yourself, girl, don't let it go out now! Don't be swallowed whole!
But even if I'm a stranger...
Each strike is more like an admonishing little push than a savage blow. As if the physical reality of the firefight is sculpted, moulded by the impossible wishes of the two pilots.
I can still care about you.
Puru Two's fingers curl into claws, gloves straining as she grinds her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut so tightly she can see infinitely tessellating patterns in the darkness. "Judau...! Now!" she yells, knowing instinctively what he is about to do.
Funnels dart and whirl, faltering as they fly further from the Qubeley, but carrying just enough signal to flank the Unicorn from multiple angles. The hailstorm of beam-fire is blinding, a torrential rain of luminiscence, unending.
She wants to throw this damn fight away and link hands with Arriety, Leina, Banagher, Judau. Seek catharsis. Give another the chance that was given to her.
Banagher Links!
Back in reality. A warning appears the Qubeley's panoramic monitor:
HEAT: [....:::::|||||||]
The hailstorm of funnel-fire stops just as the Double Zeta disgorges its passenger, and the bits overheat. It's time to bet it all on this one wish. The Qubeley unfolds its arms as its funnels race home to roost, and lunges for the Myrmeketes Zeta as if expecting the worst to happen at any second. Like the threat level in this place is getting too high, and they need to escape.
KTS: Michiru Tenjou partially guards Eight York's Twin-Barrel Hyper Mega-Particle Cannons Barrage Spread, taking 4200 damage! KTS: Puru Two has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Puru Two targets Banagher Links with Qubeley MK-II Funnels - Astrapi Formation! KTS: [Spirit Defense] Banagher Links's Determination activates, and his spirit endures. KTS: Puru Two enervates Banagher Links, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: Banagher Links fails to evade Puru Two's Qubeley MK-II Funnels - Astrapi Formation, taking 5580 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru Two's Pressure of Aggression activates, causing Deject! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Puru Two's Pressure of Aggression activates, causing Control Bonus! <Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
The Unicorn does not like being restrained. It writhes, almost flailing, surely knocking its passengers around something terrible. Judau's hold on it is strong, but the Beast can move just enough to avoid precision attacks. They glance off its armor, or narrowly miss -- luck seems to be with the Gundam. This means nothing to the Unicorn. It only thinks of protecting Banagher, though even that simple command grows more complicated by the moment. Banagher's desire to protect is quickly expanding to many of the combatants attacking Unicorn. Leina's love for Judau and Callisto echoes through the Psychoframe. Mineva's plea directly to the Unicorn itself. This girl it was awoken to protect -- it's too much. Banagher and Unicorn cry out in unison, tormented by the entertwined feelings of rage and love.
The cracks in the mental prison of the psychoframe shatter further. Banagher feels the combination of warmth and cooling safety once more, the twin gravities orbiting his soul. One beam saber is dropped, still active, falling into the ground tip-first. Leina's words reach Banagher fully. The Unicorn shudders again, bits of red light winking out. He wants to meet Callisto. He wants to go toward those open arms. Latching onto Leina's voice as though it was a raft in a stormy sea, Banagher struggles against the psychoframe with all his might. The light seems to get closer, brighter -- more voices reach him. Judau's precious memories. Everyone's faith and care -- he can't let it be for nothing!
Judau is on the Unicorn, somehow. The Beast doesn't seem to recognize this, stunned as Banagher wrestles with the NT-D for control. Awareness returns to Banagher in slow stages, just enough for his hand to twitch toward the controls needed to open the cockpit. Leina takes advantage of this, letting the Unicorn open so Judau can clamber in. It's even more dangerous now than it was when he faced Loni, but -- Judau -- Leina loves Judau! The Gundam is defenseless and still only for a moment, slamming shut again as quick as it can. Now that the ZZ isn't holding it back, it breaks free from the grapple.
Realizing that it's about to lose control, the Unicorn picks up the fallen beam saber and launches into the air. It has to take out everyone it can -- in the short time it has left! It manages to reach the Gwennangorn. Twin sabers are raised, and with a horrible noise of shrieking metal, it vicously lashes out at the ship. The grace from its earlier movements is gone. Bangaher wants no part of this, the NT-D is fully hijacking the Unicorn to lash out. Red light tears into the Gwennangorn again and again.
With a shriek of "AUDREY!" Banagher's horror at putting his love in danger is strong enough to force the Unicorn away. Is it enough to save the ship? Lost in agony and fear, the young man's body seizes in his pilot's chair, unable to handle the conflicting desires of his own heart and the NT-D. The Unicorn crumples, falling to one knee, still holding both weapons. The other Newtypes -- and communications in the less spiritual arena -- swirl around Banagher and Unicorn both. It's a cacophany, in this moment, overwhelming and terrifying. Even the messages of love and support wind together into pure noise, and Banagher audibly screams, hands coming up to hold his head. The Unicorn straightens. It has to stop the source of Banagher's pain. Furious red eyes lock on the Shamblo once more. It started this. Destroy it would end everything -- at least to the machine's mind.
Thrusters scorch the ground, the Unicorn coming at the red beast with just as much ferocity as it attacked the Gwennangorn. Beam sabers flash, igniting and screaming, tearing and destroying.
KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Banagher Links targets Lilith Aiden with Life & Death! KTS: Banagher Links targets Armor of the Week with Life & Death! KTS: Banagher Links targets Judau Ashta with Pass! KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru Two with Pass! KTS: Lilith Aiden fails to react to Banagher Links's Life & Death, taking 6080 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Lilith Aiden! KTS: Banagher Links roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable. <Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
The heavy footstops of Rau's machine shakes the street and surrounding buildings as he walks past them. Bits crumble and fall off, windows already blown out by weapons fire striking nearby. Though right now, this particular area is quiet and free from any defenders. No doubt drawn off to fight a ghost. Rau is certainly curious as to whether that Nu Gundam is the real thing or not.
Whether the one flying it is the real thing or not.
But right now he has other business to attend to. Besides, if he had any actual desire to try and go up against that thing, he suspects he'd need something a little stronger than a DINN. Though, watching the Nu Gundam's funnels wreak havoc on those fighting it does bring a bit of a smile to Rau's face.
It's almost ready...
Turning his focus back to the mission at hand, Rau stops in front of the doors of a bunker. Raising the shotgun in the left hand of his machine, he fires blast after blast until finally the heavy doors give way enough for him to force them open.
Walking inside, Rau follows the mecha-sized cooridor down into the underground storage area. Forcing his way through another heavy door, he opens them to reveal the main storage room itself. Spotlights in the DINN's chest activate, sweeping out across the contents of the room. Containers. Many of them. All bearing the familiar radioactive symbol that is a outrage to so many Coordinators.
Rau himself is far more impassive on the existance of the nuclear weapons. But he's here for a reason.
The DINN reaches back to a equipment compartment attached to the back of its waist. The compartment opens, revealing numerous mecha-sized explosives. Completely with comically oversized timer display and keypad. Rau begins to place the explosives around the storage room, activating them before turning to leave. There are a few more stockpiles in the area he needs to similarly handle before they can leave.
KTS: Armor of the Week's Beam Wall L3 activates, negating 3000 base damage. KTS: Armor of the Week fails to react to Banagher Links's Life & Death, taking 6360 damage! KTS: Banagher Links has engaged Armor of the Week! KTS: Banagher Links roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable. KTS: Banagher Links completes the Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
Sayaka and Tetsuya's Double Burning Fire is quite the impressive display, and it succeeds in its aim to stop any further Fin Funnels from reaching the Saint Lance.
As for the Nu Gundam, however, it shrugs off the damage from the intensely burning flame, seemingly countering it with an orange glow of its own.
Launching its counterattack just as quickly, its fin funnels seem to wipe out any nearby unit, indiscriminately. The Ichinana can't withstand the damage any longer, and it too, collapses to the ground.
"You did everything you could, Ichinana, thank you. Pilder off!" The detachable Mazinger-style cockpit soars off from its body, relatively undamaged due to the protection offered by the Ichinana's armor. As the director, she of course, does not need to clear the destroyed unit with anyone.
Flying the Pilder to relatively safe location, as far as you can call anywhere near a battlefield "safe", Sayaka still can't make any sort of contact with the Saint Lance's pilot... with Sayla. Too much encryption, and Sayaka is hardly a hacker. No word from the Gutsy Global Guard, either... what could be taking them so long?
<Pose Tracker> Michiru Tenjou has posed.
Rau wants the pilots kept busy. If they would go to defend people, that would be easier. Maybe... No, that won't work. "Understood sir! We'll keep these two well in hand." The sonic weapon is surprisingly effective... maybe something Hime could look into for something another time. Even if the ZnO isn't suited to Michiru's fighting style, any true warrior of Gekigan can adapt. And it's paying off so far, despite the damage the mobile suit has taken.
"Lily, if you need any help, just shout. I'll back you up too." Her allies are the most important thing right now. The two here. Everyone on the ship. Her team.
She smiles for a moment. Her blue eyes almost seem to shine as she rolls the ZnO with Anita's movements. It looks less like how a mobile suit moves in the moment, and more like something being controlled by the pilot's bodily motion. Impossible of course. The ZnO has no such system on it. The knife connects, sliding up the ZnO's arm to gouge out a lengthy trail. Ripping away wires and plates. "I understand. I can't abandon my friends either. No hard feelings, whichever way this spins out."
The ZnO, sparking from various injuries raises the damaged arm, held now against its chest. The aquatic suit dips low, twirling and spinning off from the impact. "Destiny! Absolute! PIERCE!" For once, Michiru isn't using a technique that looks tailor made for the PPL to file a lawsuit. No, the way her mobile suit dips, crouches, then springs forward... It's closer to the stance of a swordswoman. Light glints off the lone claw as it shoots forward, like a fencing blade, aimed to lance through a segment of the Variable Fighter. She's looking to decisively disable, or send it retreating. Not to blow it up.
As she pushes forward, the battleship opens fire on her. She's in no position to evade, especially as she's committing to her offense here. The best she can do is defend herself with the mobile suit's less damaged arm. An arm that will soon enough melt off right at the shoulder from sustained particle fire, sinking below the waves.
KTS: Puru Two fails to react to Banagher Links's Pass, taking 0 damage! KTS: Michiru Tenjou has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Michiru Tenjou has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Michiru Tenjou has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Michiru Tenjou has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Lily Jung KTS: Michiru Tenjou targets Anita Rosetta with Close-Quarters Combat Claw Core Strike! <Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
It takes a few moments to parse all that information. Some of them she knows at once - it's not hard to meet people who know Bright Noa at least medium-well, and she knows the feel of that connection quickly. Others are just people, firing off into the metaphorical darkness at the edges of her perception. Vanishing over the mental horizon. This one...has a rare history.
Sophia doesn't particularly want to be allowed to kill the boy so this suits her just fine, honestly. Sometimes in G-Hound one finds oneself finding ways to creatively 'obey' orders. "Fine!" Sophia thunders. Her head hurts, her thoughts in a jumble. She's distracted, badly. What is that light. What is that connection staring her dead in the face? She's never seen one like it. But, conversely, she's not so distracted to be able to do much but yell the question at her own thoughts over and over, rather than turn it over and process its possibilities. Roux makes her impassioned plea, and Sophia doesn't reply until the rocket comes out.
The Flag's defense rod - a computer-controlled forearm-mounted stick that rotates rapidly to deflect projectiles - spins up, and just as advertised it manages to clang the oncoming rocket such that it crashes not quite into her, but - most inconveniently - into her Linear Cannon's supercharger.
As for the rest of her answer: She charges forward, suddenly, and.../grabs for the ReZ-II's wrist!!
And then kills comms, so only the sound passing through their joined robots reaches across. "As it happens, I'm also not a fan of murdering boys I don't know, particularly not when the Sleeves have a damnable dragon afoot. I have other business in that area...but I can't trivially ignore orders, either. So let's get in each others' way just a little more."
And then she releases, Roux's hand, charges at and leaps off the side of the ship, and the Flag transforms. "Desmond! I'll get closer for another shot!" she calls on comms.
Desmond, who didn't hear that exchange but knows his captain, says, "Of course you will, Captain."
The Flag's flight mode curves in a sharp roll to fire a pair of missiles at the ReZ-II from its underslung racks, and then boosts away toward the melee.
Toward the light only she can see.
Sophia Mayhew Castellan transforms to SVM-01 Union Flag Sophia Custom - Flight Mode
KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan has changed loadout. KTS: Sophia Mayhew Castellan targets Roux Louka with Onboard Missile Rack Double Fire! KTS: Anita Rosetta has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Anita Rosetta's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Anita Rosetta blocks Michiru Tenjou's Close-Quarters Combat Claw Core Strike, taking 6600 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Michiru Tenjou's Villainy Will Never Succeed! activates, causing Sparkle! KTS: Anita Rosetta has been defeated! KTS: Michiru Tenjou has engaged Anita Rosetta! KTS: Roux Louka fails to evade Sophia Mayhew Castellan's Onboard Missile Rack Double Fire, taking 4400 damage! <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Yurika's on the edge of her bridge-balcony, fingers gripping tightly enough into the railing to threaten to leave imprints of her fist in them. Watching the Shamblo's every move - how it just about crushes the Annihilator, how it re-orients its target towards the Nu Gundam in its clear blind rampage against anything and everything.
"89%..."
"94%..."
"98%..."
Yurika reels backwards, hand sweeping forward decisively. "Widen the divergence angle from linear to spherical! All operating engines, full thrust! We're giving that thing our biggest shot! Fire the Gravity Blast at 100% as soon as we're within 200 meters! Any operatives still in range of the Shamblo, evacuate immediately!!!" The captain is breathless - tunnel-visioned on stopping this thing, sweat dripping down her forehead, which she elegantly taps at with a handkerchief whenever it gets too much.
The brilliant white ark, an orb of air-quaking thunder rumbling between its prows, grows and grows, as it hurtles at an almost alarming speed at the Shamblo. It's less firing that premier weapon as a beam...and more dropping it like a -bomb-, if anything.
"Gravity Blast, full power...gooooo!!!!!!"
KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Armor of the Week KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Detonate Spirit Command, reducing the ND-001 Nadesico to 1 HP! KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Yurika Misumaru targets Armor of the Week with Gravity Blast - Full Power! <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
The beam saber comes forth. There's no reprieve from a Unicorn after all. Lilith grabs her station as the beam saber slices into the hull, and starts destroying things. At this rate, it's going to pierce vital parts...
But Torrington is a nuclear stockpile. Can they...?
It's pilots or civilians. Pilots or civilians. She knows what the brass would want her to call, what Alma would want her to call, what the other pilots would want her to call. To keep fighting for a chance to save everyone.
"Captain York, I'm ordering a retreat and an evacuation of the area. Get all your personnel out of here, ASAP!"
Lilith grabs the comms, and to Mineva - her aura is bitter. "All Federation forces, retreat! I repeat, retreat as soon as you are safely capable! I'm sorry." Comms cut...
And Lilith takes this second to order fire on the Unicorn. It can easily dodge at this range - that's fine.
The benefit is pushing it back long enough to pull the Gwennangorn back, send down a shuttle to grab Alma and Yuliana with her, and any other pilots who need an out.
Nobody gets left behind.
KTS: Lilith Aiden targets Banagher Links with Pass! <Pose Tracker> Lark Straye has posed.
Lark plants herself nearish Sayla's downed unit. She can't really cover it - if nothing else, the -0120 is something like two thirds the size of the Saint Lance - but she can at least be present; it gives her a place to work around.
(Everybody dies when I try to protect them. Maybe I shouldn't - but I can't just do NOTHING.)
(She'd never forgive me.)
Having fired the High Impact Gun in an atmosphere, Lark knows better than to try it again - the barrel is easy to damage from the overpressure wave, something she typically doesn't have to worry about quite the same way in space. Maybe one day they'll tune it better, but for now it's one and done, at least at high power.
Which means she has to change weapons. Back to the Jegan beam rifle, where Lark begins to fire in bursts, trying to keep Amuro back. But no matter what she does it just doesn't *stop* him, he keeps *moving* -
The funnels come back, and Lark's first instinct is to depend upon her shield. But the vapourizing armour has already taken as much as it can - they peel through the shield, into the MSA-0120, tearing at its strangely curved plates and revealing a much straighter underlayer, which it also cuts deeply into.
There is a sudden flash and burst of smoke from the side of the MSA-0120 as the shield arm is completely severed. It's all Lark can do to avoid the beams that peeled it away from cutting further into the torso, and to do that she has to evade *into* another one, cutting deeply into one of the legs. "Damn! Dammit...!"
(But despite everything, I'm still not good enough... I'm so weak, I can't protect anyone. Not like I want to. ...But I won't call out for help. They'd come, but I've had enough of being rescued. I'll never let someone get hurt for me again...!)
"<Hey!>" Lark turns on her radio again, Lilith's voice sounding in her ears. "<I can't keep fighting anyway... but there's a unit here. I can't pick it up!>" The MSA-0120 being small combined with missing one arm means there's no way she can possibly bail Sayla out - she can't lift another MS, even briefly. The most she could do is die for her.
Lark fires a flare to attract Federation attention near the Saint Lance - the NERV pilots at least seemed to know it - then lifts off, thrusters firing. It can't fly forever but it can get airborne enough to move toward the Gwennangorn, feeling sick the whole way.
KTS: Armor of the Week fails to react to Yurika Misumaru's Gravity Blast - Full Power, taking 8580 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Yurika Misumaru's I've Got a Plan! activates, causing Control Bonus! KTS: Banagher Links fails to react to Lilith Aiden's Pass, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Thud. The Annihilation hits the ground; Yuliana can't exactly rock forward, the way the cockpit is, now. That constricting harness is all that's saved her, in the end -- the cage inside preserving her from the cage outside. She can't move one hand much, from where it's pinned between metal pushed inwards, though she can at least still wriggle her fingers; her other is free, though there's precious little of her console and sticks which still work, after all that pressure.
It trembles, as she flicks switches, tunes toggles. "C...come on, come on..."
There -- one of her auxiliary cameras can be rebooted. There -- she can open her radio up.
It's too bad, really.
Knowing what's next is the worst part.
Lucine pointed out that her radio was open, before; it's a tragic habit of Yuliana that she does tend not to pay close attention to hers. She doesn't really have any choice now, though -- it's stuck on a wide band, transmitting freely.
"... a-ah... all used up..."
There are tears in her eyes and in her voice, as she watches those clenched fists descend. There's no way for her move -- no way for her to escape.
Who would save someone like her...?
...
...
... it's okay.
Elisa accounted for this.
And the Gwennangorn won't let Alma die.
(Yuliana doesn't think about the rest.)
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Hgnhblh," Alma helpfully answers Lucine, as she gets a second little 'blorf' in her gut -- though after a moment, she manages an, "I'm fine! Thanks for the support, Nadesico pilot," trying her best.
Two impulses go to war in her mind. The major 'threats' -- such as they are -- have started infighting, and Alma has good targeting data. She could get Yuliana out -- but the discarded Tiandong might... no longer have a pilot, anyway.
Alma reaches out for Lilith -- trying to be sure of where she is, what she's feeling, whether she's safe. In the same moment, though, she moves for the Tiandong -- getting ready to scrape it off the battlefield and go. Her movements take her away from the Shamblo, keeping her safe as the bombardment intensifies.
... when she most needs her -- when she needs the clarity of not just Lilith's orders but her feelings --
She can't reach Lilith.
When the retreat order comes, she's alone, standing above the Tiandong. The recovery shuttle comes, and Alma announces, "I'll board last -- I have to buy everyone time...!" It's just like the evacuation in North America, all those years ago.
Alma remains standing above the Tiandong, gripping both bazookas by the optional handgrips rather than simply leaving them shoulder-mounted; she bombards the Shamblo, trying to remain steady in her new spot, with her new firing solution. If she buys time for everyone else -- or if she can... suppress, the Shamblo, then -- !!
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Armor of the Week with Twin Shoulder Bazooka Bombardment! KTS: Armor of the Week fails to react to Alma Stirner's Twin Shoulder Bazooka Bombardment, taking 4800 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Indirectly she feels it, Mineva's feelings, those images of that time Banagher and her met. And it becomes too hard for her not to think about it...
I -- know it's not reasonable to fall in love at first sight, but I don't know what else our connection could be. Like we were -- soul mates, or something.
She can't pay attention to everywhere at once in this psychic frenzy, that immense pressure, however...
... she can note that it's not just no answer, but that it didn't reach its destination, and now feeling out, she can tell that familiar pressure is gone.
"Sayla?"
Calm down. Calm down. You didn't feel her die. Even if she's downed... there are people out there protecting her...
... she intends to be one of them. She just needs to help Banagher get it together.
She tries to calm down. She doesn't get there. Even as Arriety fires in an attempt to bring them both back. Calm down. Judau is here and he has a plan. She can feel those memories even as he calls out to her. However, she's still freaking out. Even as Judau asks Banagher what he wants. She feels the momentum of the Unicorn halt as Callisto and Judau's plan comes to fruition and... 'I'M COMIN' LEINA!'
And Leina looks up to see Judau outside of the ZZ Gundam and she freezes. She has many memories of Judau opening that cockpit, to reach out to other people. To try and save her. However, there's one key difference! "THIS was your plan!? JUDAU! HANG ON!"
Oh God, Oh God. Now she's freaking out about Banagher, Judau and Sayla all at once. The Unicorn isn't moving though, and hurriedly she gets up and unbuckles her seatbelt, and clinches her teeth as she tears the injector needle out of her back, biting down so that she won't cry out. Then runs to open the hatch to the cockpit, and is greeted by the sight of Leina at the door, just radiating relief that he's there even to get inside.
"Quick! Help me pull him out of-" The hatch slams down unexpectedly as the Unicorn's intent screams into her head. "-HANG ONTO SOMET-" That thought is cut off by the Unicorn lurching and sending her feet clumsily scrambling as she's sent to the floor, then sent sliding towards the pilot seat as she grasps ahold of it, curling her body over it with a desperate grip. 'AUDREY!'
Judau's question, his approach on needing Banagher to 'get his shit straight together' sticks in her head. And she realizes in this moment...
... before the Unicorn, Banagher hasn't had anyone that's wanted to protect him in a long time.
While struggling to hang onto the chair, she starts to speak. "Banagher. It's comforting isn't it, standing behind someone who wants to protect you?" Leina in this moment thinks of all the times that Judau protected her, and tried to protect her, just countless situations. Dozens of times.
"But it that what you really want? To be protected all the time?"
And in that moment, he sees it, that one time when it was the opposite, because she wanted to change things, to create a more equal relationship...
Arms outspread, a ten year old in a party dress faces down a gun from a violet haired woman. Her brother behind her. There's a struggle, the loud roar of the pistol going off...
"Do you want to be protected from the world? Or do you want to face it for all of its sadness, all of its cruelty - and change that?"
<Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
Rau's DINN moves to leave the storage room of the final stockpile, explosive devices placed and armed with menacingly flashing lights...
Though there is also a noticeable and ominous space in one of the rows of otherwise neatly stacked and aligned containers. Was it always there?
The DINN exists the bunker, wings unfolding once more. Legs bend and thrusters fire, propelling the flying mobile suit into the air once more. Rau waits a good thirty seconds until he's sure he's clear of the radius of the conventional explosives. Thankfully they're not powerful enough to triger the nuclear chain reaction that makes the weapons so devestating. But it will destroy them, meaning they won't be used any time soon.
Unfortunate, perhaps. But Rau does have a reputation to maintain. Besides, he has what he wants.
Several explosions rock the base as the storage bunkers go up. Rau's DINN can be seen flying away, heading back in the direction of the battle that his ZAFT allies continue to fight. He radios them, <"Lily, Michiru. Mission complete. Prepare to retreat.">
KTS: Sayaka Yumi's MPMZ-17 Ichinana has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Amuro Ray has posed.
Amuro Ray exhales slowly as Conquerer King Nu Gundam's funnels return to their racks. Just as soon as he has the notion to breathe easy -- why would he, though? -- the Mobile Armor that had been fighting nearby fires on him. It's not unexpected in the strictest sense of things, but his attention was focused... elsewhere. Even now, Sayla Mass is distracting him-- though she is sealed in what may as well be a coffin for every purpose that matters.
The Nu Gundam is taking a beam saber from its rack when Shamblo's full volley closes in on it. It whirls as best it can as to get the ruins of its shield between it and the brunt of the blow-- but this time it isn't enough, the shield turns to vapor, the whole suit is engulfed and... and yet, it survives. What stands afterwards barely resembles Nu Gundam; it has the silhouette of a Gundam toy that has been subjected to great heat and melted. All the parts, the ideas, are there but it can't rightly be called a mobile suit anymore.
But its eyes glimmer to life. The orange glow washes over it in waves, and like a sculptor snipping away excessive chunks of clay it restores the Nu Gundam to something resembling itself. Mass lost -- rather a lot -- but more functional.
For a moment Amuro Ray considers firing back at the Shamblo. But... no. It isn't the objective. It isn't capable of what he needs to stop. Eventually, yes, that person will need to be done, as will they all. But she can keep on going, for now. She can keep on reaching for whatever passes for peace to her.
Revenge, he supposes.
Nu Gundam ignites the beam saber in its hand and stalks forward, towards its real prey: The Unicorn Gundam, occupied by -- of all things -- the one that had spitefully reached out to smite him with all her fury. He supposes there's a decent chance she'll try it again if they're both in her line of fire.
Doesn't matter. The miracles have to end. It all went wrong.
Nu Gundam's beam saber crashes towards the Unicorn Gundam's back, angled towards the reactor.
It'll be ok. Lie down. Close your eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
Despite reaching out to him, she can no longer rely on that being the end. She can't pull him out at this angle, she doesn't have the leverage. Fumbling for the arm rest, she shifts her grip, and tries to nudge her body sideways pushing her weight against the seat, then sliding her foot around until she can catch ahold of his shoulders.
And so she pulls herself around, muscles straining as grabs him by both of his shoulders as she puts one of her feet against the seat for added stability as the Unicorn starts to accelerate again, "Banagher... I'm sorry. I'll make this quick."
Right before she would painfully, torturously tear him away from the injectors- she feels him wake up, and his answer, fills her with pride. Keeping ahold of him, she smiles reassuringly. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. Judau and me? We're getting you out of this chair."
Stolen away a moment later, as she feels that immense psychic presence- 'It'll be ok. Lie down. Close your eyes.' -and looks towards the screen of the cockpit right at that moment to see that Beam Saber from the man Sayla thought she would once marry...
... aimed to kill them all. Fully believing they're all dead, her hand reaches out towards Judau's. In that space, in that fraction of a second. There's no time for words even.
There's not even time for her hand to reach his; only to move in that direction as those green eyes of hers turn start to look towards him. Only time for feelings, for thought towards the brother who's made that cold universe so much warmer by his mere existence...
... even now at the end.
I'm sorry everyone. Please don't blame yourselves.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
In the cockpit of the Saint Lance, Sayla slowly awakens. She can feel blood trickling down her face- and blocking the inside of her helmet. She pulls it off. There's so much pain here... So much hurt... what can she do, though. She wasn't enough to-
And then there's a flash.
"Leina!!" She has nothing left in the Saint Lance except the engines. They'll have to be enough, a ballistic arc is all she has. She blasts them full power, and the unbalanced Saint Lance Attacker flies uneasily in a path between the Beam Saber and the Unicorn's Reactor. She has little control, it has to be enough.
She doesn't have comms, but she has a loudspeaker. "Get away from her!"
The Beam Saber impacts the Saint Lance Attacker's reactor, and there is a tiny explosion and then a big one as the unit is engulfed in the explosion, just far enough away from the Unicorn to save it.
At least this time, Amuro doesn't hear the screams.
<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.
The Unicorn's assault on the Shamblo is stopped by the Gwennangorn's fire. It's too far, not doing any damage -- but it still has to jump back to dodge. Seeing the ship retreat sends a flare of satisfaction through the Psychoframe. One enemy down. One threat eliminated.
Leina and Judau together shine like twin suns, radiant and warm. Love overtakes Banagher's despair and pain, and the Unicorn leaps away from the Shamblo, then goes still. The Psychoframe isn't built to hold the feelings of three powerful Newtypes. Especially when they're not in harmony.
"It's comforting, isn't it?"
An echoed gunshot. Leina reaching out, both energetically and physically, soothing the agony in his heart. Banagher claws his way to the sunlight, letting her gravity pull him from despair.
"Leina," he gasps, eyes still a little unfocused. "Leina." The NT-D still clings to him, but the Unicorn is frozen. It drops both beam sabers, and they extinguish. Banagher leans forward, straining against the metal arms restraining him. "I -- want to face it. I want to change everyth--" The NT-D pulses, trying to pull him back in, and Banagher winces in pain. "I can't -- please, help --" He looks at Judau and Leina both, only strong enough to reach out toward them.
Once he's safely out of the pilot seat, Banagher lays his head against the chair, exhausted. "Please. We're okay. Please stop." He murmurs, begging the Gundam to understand. "I don't want you to hurt anyone anymore. We're going to be safe, now."
Banagher is immediately proved to be a liar. The Nu Gundam stalks toward them, and the Unicorn's pilot only sees its movements at the last moment. He shouts in horror, unable to stand, to do anything to save himself or his precious passengers. The Unicorn shudders to life one last time, crossing its arms over its cockpit to try and provide any shield for its pilot, but --!
There's no pain. They're all alive, and unharmed. Banagher freezes for a moment, and can only gasp, trying to breathe. "Ms. Mass.. No..." How could this happen? How could his hero -- Banagher grits his teeth. Dragging himself by his arms, he slides back into the pilot chair, letting the NT-D flow through his conciousness once more. The Unicorn lurches forward at top speed. Banagher can't find the strength for any grace in his movements, and every lunging step is pain. His passengers -- he can't think about that right now. Ms. Mass... The Unicorn grabs the cockpit of the Saint Lance -- all that's left -- pulling it away from Amuro, and holding it close to its chest. It will do nothing to protect either of them, but it's all Banagher can do.
"No more." Banagher whispers, agonized. "Please."
Conciousness slips away from the young pilot, and he slumps in his seat. The NT-D shuts down, and the Unicorn slowly folds back into itself. The scarlet glow is extinguished.
<Pose Tracker> Amuro Ray has posed.
It all went wrong.
Amuro was right to finish Sayla. He just didn't finish her thoroughly enough-- and because of that, the sure thing in front of him, the accomplishment of a considerable portion of what he needs to do, is snatched away in an instant. The beam saber passes through a machine that is already done, already destroyed and collides with its reactor.
The Nu Gundam is functional, but it doesn't have protracted fighting in it. It steps back-- one pace, and then another. It looks down towards the cockpit that the Unicorn takes into its hand-- and it doesn't follow up. The emanations change, the grand chill giving way to something more like the on-again-off-again chilly heat of a fever. It may be that he's committed as any Triple Zero infectee, but that doesn't mean Amuro Ray isn't still a Newtype.
The weight of this is no less terrible than any dread task that had been set before him previously. Most would have called it more terrible, but this distinction wasn't something Amuro had the energy left to process and consider.
In the moment, terrible demands of circumstance aren't all that much different from one another. Especially the kind that have punctuated his life.
Tired...
Conqueror King Nu Gundam retreats and vanishes into the water, following the trail of a whisper that brushes against the back of Amuro's mind.
<Pose Tracker> Armor of the Week has posed.
Loni is panting, mind fuzzy, as the Shamblo suffers barrage after barrage, but an explosion in the base proper catches her attention.
Mission complete.
As the psycoframe behind her dies down to a dull red, she turns the ponderous Mobile Armour back towards the shore line, and pushes it forward, slumping on the controls, the psychic pressure of this dreadful battle finally starting to overwhelm her.
Grimly, she murmurs, "alone..." on an open comm, slumping into unconsciousness as the Shamblo enters the water, its buckled, scored armour shifting into its amphibious configuration, and vanishing slowly beneath the waves.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
It's then that several things happen all at once.
The first thing is that the evacuation sirens for the base start blaring. "All hands, evacuate immediately. All hands, evacuate immediately." They found the sabotage. Unfortunately they found it too early to do anything about. Alerts to nearby towns to go to their shelters are sent via landline.
At the same time, a ship that looks for all the world like it might have once been a Neo-Russian prison ship- reoutfitted for piracy- cuts a path for the battlefield. And atop it stands the Bolt Gundam of the Shuffle Alliance, which jumps down, smashing into the ground and creating a wall off earth for those not aligned- or not aligned enough- with the federation to use as cover as the ship lands.
"You there," shouts a woman's voice, imperious and harsh, comes from the ship towards those who had been fighting- the Shuffles in particular. "Gran the white suit and get everyone you can out of there! Hurry, you damned idiots! We've got minutes to get out of here! Load the suits on however you can!"
Fortunately, this is a pirate ship. It's good for loading up for quick escapes.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Jung has posed.
She can't catch up. The Longblade Rifle rapidly falling back, as Gravity keeps pulling upon her. The hearts of people around her, calling out. Shouting. Yet, she cannot do anything to interfere.
That battle is beyond her.
Beyond her reach.
Her own emotions cannot reach them. She cannot protect their hearts.
They're too far away.
Not when she cannot even protect herself. Falling behind once again, the Lucky Rabbit's Foot has survived so many battles now. But soon, light comes...
As Eight York provides suppressive fire, the flood of light bears over the EWAC Zack, as Lily is being overwhelmed with all those emotions. All that sorrow. At the last moment, she hears Michiru calling out about needing help, right as that light bears across the entire unit.
Sparks flying, as the twin Longblade Rifles trying to hold back the Battleship level Megaparticle reaction. Metal tearing, melting. As the unit is pushed towards the waters. The water itself detonating as it superheats, before the Zack finally rips itself to the side. Its body seared, boiling. Parts of it ripped apart.
Within, Lily is breathing quickly, rapidly. Alarms whining all around her.
Her friends cannot reach the enemy. But they could reach her. Beyond, she watches as Rau passes far beyond the horizon into that base. As Michiru takes down her enemy.
They're all so far away.
So far...
So far beyond her reach.
What will it take to go beyond? To go over the rainbow, and arrive where she needs to be?
"Psycho... frame." That's the word her daddy had used.
-- "There's something I need to tell you, about that machine. About its history, Lily. About the Psycommu System. Let me tell you about Hong Kong..."
The light beyond her reach. Gundam Unicorn's light. That Zeon machine's light. The light that is creating that rainbow even now.
-- "... Those bastards at Anaheim furthered technology. Regardless of the unknowns. Until they produced Nu Gundam..."
Her gaze shifts over towards the battle. Towards Nu Gundam. Unicorn. Shamblo. A white devil, a virgin myth, and a red demon.
As the Nu Gundam cuts towards the Unicorn. As that machine suddenly jumps in the way. And it all happens in a flash. As an eruption springs. And sorrow grows once more. Followed by the strange Nu Gundam departing into the waters.
> Lily, Michiru. Mission complete. Prepare to retreat.
Lily pauses for a moment, considering all before her, and answers;
<"Rau... I'd like a moment to talk after this.">
A decision that may very well change her very life.
As the EWAC Zack moves to retreat.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena feels a rush of surprise -- she expected the pink suit's pilot to be a little better -- but she gets herself under control after a moment. She sees the longblade flying in, but then hits the throttle. The Prophecy's thrusters fire and she leaps over it, leaving the blade slashing through the air. The Prophecy lifts upward, as Rena hears Eight's words.
"Roger that," she says. "We'll make sure we get them out of there." They were after the stockpile? Rena blinks. What stockpile could that even be?
(Lieutenants don't know where the nuclear weapons are kept.)
She registers that one got past them. Rena scowls -- then her eyes turn towards Michiru. She tenses -- but then she catches it from the corner of her eye, but then with a flood of awareness; the movement of the Nu Gundam, wreathed in orange, for the Unicorn Gundam. The terrifying flash of a beam saber. Rena sits up, straight, in her chair, and slams on the throttle. Like so many pilots here, probably.
Like so many pilots, she'll never make it in time. She knows that. "LEINA!" she screams, voice raw. "No, no, no--"
It's a different explosion that she sees, though. The Saint Lance's reactor is stabbed through. The two explosions are blinding; Rena's thruster-powered leap has to be aborted, and the YF-25A crashes ugly into the ground, stumbling when it impacts. She sucks in a sharp breath when it hits.
When the flames and smoke clear, the Unicorn is holding the cockpit of the Saint Lance against it. Rena's shoulders sag, as she tracks the Shamblo and Nu Gundam alike for a moment.
Until a submarine surfaces. "Damn--Captain York, are you okay? Is the Ra Mari ready to pull back? Annie, are you...?"
She hesitates. "Leina? Banagher?"
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
As the Shamblo retreats, Alma... slumps over in the cockpit. She'd told Yuliana no -- told her she was horrible -- denied her her happiness. She still feels absolutely miserable; her heart feels like it's going to explode. The Amabilis, all told, is fine? It's banged up and beaten from repeated grazes from mega particle shots, but well within tolerances for normal battle wear.
... it's the most essential part of the machine that gives out. Alma's eyes screw shut -- her vision swims -- and she slumps over in the cockpit. The Amabilis lists to one side, falling over -- still protecting the Annihilation.
The Gwennangorn's recovery crew is free to pull her back in, of course.
KTS: Lily Jung's RMS-119 EWAC Zack - Pink Psyco Test Type has been disabled. <Pose Tracker> Arriety Hearn has posed.
Arriety's attack fails to find purchase, but something shifts in the battle -- the Unicorn breaks free of the grapple, and launches itself towards the Gwennangorn. "Miss Lilith!" she calls out in horror, as it gores itself into the ship.
The ship seems to hold, though, at the last moment; she senses, more than she knows, that something has shifted inside the Unicorn. It crumples, and...
Lilith calls for a retreat. "W-what about you? What about--"
The Gwennangorn is pulling back. The Ra Mari's probably going to pull back too. But... but what about Leina?
Judau's doing something reckless -- and Arriety's blood freezes as well; she grimaces and tries to push the Zeta onward, but it's barely responding after that. The blood is still dripping from her nose after that reckless stunt. "Nngg-- Minae, Myrme, help me fly--"
But suddenly, the Nu Gundam emerges, beam saber in hand, and Arriety's eyes widen harder. She suddenly struggles with the controls, rattling them forward-- "Come on! Come on, you useless-- LEINA!"
Myrme whines from inside of her shell and says, "B-but it's no use, we're just too battered..."
Arriety's eyes widen, her mouth falls and suddenly, her world is the universe once more -- no, rather, it is the cold chill of outer space, the utter lack of warmth as she senses a finality within Leina's heart, from far away.
And then-- the Saint Lance Attacker throws itself in the way of the beam saber, and in that moment the wounded heart is finally, brutally honest as Arriety's expression flashes into one of pure anger. The pain of the universe prickling in from all sides against her, of someone she knew little of save that one time in the bar, but more directly as Leina's guardian...
"What USE are you to me, if you can't even do this much?!"
In this moment, who the kaiju is between the two of them has been made clear, her fully-shrunk eyes burning bright.
In the wake of the Neo-Russian prison-pirate ship and the Bolt Gundam erupting onto the battlefield, the Zeta, at this point, drifts on autopilot (and perhaps Minae's power), back towards the Ra Mari.
<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Civilian casualties take priority over military assets. That's the way it should be - she's proud of Eight, for making that call.
She still has an opponent to deal with, too, though.
"...Yeah. Same here." Anita replies. But, she knows how this is probably going to play out - she's a sharpshooter, not a melee fighter. Michiru springs forward in a swordswoman stance, and strikes forward with a claw. Anita raises her shield, but the attack manages to find its way through it - cutting into both the Messiah Rosetta's shield arm and a part of the wing. The damage to the arm proves too much - it falls, the machinery damaged to the point of inoperability. The damage to the wing, too, makes staying upright in air a difficult task.
If she were determined, if fighting were the only thing on her mind, she could maybe keep going... but, it isn't. They have bigger priorities now, judging from everything that's been happening. From here, she can only guess at how bad it's been.
"Ah... dang, you're good. Well. That's that, then. I can't stop you like this. Do what you need to do. But... if you're serious about helping people evacuate... I'd appreciate it." Anita says to Michiru, and turns. Rena asks after her.
"I'm a little beat up, but otherwise okay. The Messiah Rosetta is in bad shape, though... I'm returning to the Ra Mari." Anita says. With that, she turns. Her Valkrie folds into fighter mode - as well as it can, with an arm that refuses to move - and she accelerates quickly to return to the battleship. She's needed there more than anything...
...And besides, it sounds like things are about to get a lot worse.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
'Captain York, I'm ordering a retreat and an evacuation of the area. Get all your personnel out of here, ASAP!'
"Acknowledged, Captain."
"All mobile suits, return to the ship." Rena asks if she's okay; Eight is able to answer, "We're fine, just banged up. The engineers'll have fun with this one." She doesn't explain what the stockpile is. Yet. Not at the moment. But in that moment, as so many things happen...
What gets across to Eight most of all is not that constant pressure, but Arriety's sudden anger. "Ah-ri," she murmurs on the bridge. "...Come back to us..."
When the Zeta is back with them--when they're all back--The Ra Mari, its shields still at full power with all the explosions rocking the area, will slowly lumber off towards space.
"..." Eight looks down at the display by her hand, noting the numerous messages indicated waiting for her in her office.
"...We'll sort th8ings out when you're all home."
<Pose Tracker> Rau Le Creuset has posed.
Rau is only vaguely aware of what's happening in the distance, focusing one of his screens to zoom in on the events as they play out. The Unicorn Gundam he is of course familiar with, though never actually interacting with its pilot personally. The key to a secret that could shake the future of all humanity... It doesn't matter to him.
Neither do the rest. He turns his attention away, nothing but a smirk slowly forming on his face at the feelings of despair rolling out from that general area. If only they knew...
Reinforcements for the Federation are arriving in the form of another warship and a Gundam. Yes, now is definitely a good time to leave.
Rau's DINN continues flying out to sea, away from the base. It'll take a while, but ZAFT has a submarine in the area that'll be able to retrieve them.
Along the way, Lily sends him a comm, requesting to talk later. A few possibilities flash through Rau's mind, but ultimately he remains calm as he replies, <"Very well. We'll speak once we've been recovered.">
Then to both Lily and Michiru, Rau radios, <"Good work, both of you. We've been able to accomplish a great feat here, one which will no doubt bring relief to many within ZAFT and the PLANTs. I will be putting you both up for medals for your efforts today.">
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
The Shamblo's deflection of Lucine's fire phases through an illusion, the Dianthus's Glimmer Engine reacting like an octopus spewing ink to get away.
Lucine needs to get away from the blast range. She'll trust everyone is out of there; they heard the Nadesico's announcement.
Getting just far enough out of range of Yuliana, for a brief moment, Lucine grasps her head. Banagher's struggle with the Unicorn, the despair from Amuro Ray, the calls and cries to one another, the rage of the Shamblo's pilot, just as smoldering as it had been when she first came.
This is... a person, a pilot, in there. As trapped as Banagher is, inside the Unicorn.
A battle she is continually losing, with the cityscape serving as the consequence. How do people reach out? If Lucine can feel things from people, why can't she project things out? Is that all she can do, passively recieve? Then again, if she can't even say what she feels aloud, or be a willful person without a suit of armor, what would be the use...?
89%...
Yuliana isn't the only one who has her comm left on. <".... I'm sorry...."> The words shudder and shake, now that Lucine's calm is gone. Her tears drop onto the cockpit's display, as she stares down with a bird's eye view of the Shamblo.
Lucine draws the Arbalest, pointing it downwards and drawing the string back.
94%...
The gravity blast fires at full power. Lucine's beam joins with it.
and--
The Dianthus comes to a kneeling position on one of the few remaining rooftops.
<"....... what..... happened....">
<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.
She thought they were all dead.
However a shape speeds in and intercepts in that fraction of a second between life and death, and Leina screams- "SAYLA!
In the shock of the moment, unable to comprehend how they were saved from death - she actually stands up from where she is. Stepping forward towards that cockpit screen as it becomes an almost gibbering panic... "No-no-no!"
The Unicorn lurches forward at top speed, and she's sent falling backwards across the floor of the cockpit with a yelp, the impact stunning her.
Dazed in that moment, her eyes fall upon the wreckage of the Saint Lance that Banagher had the Gundam wrench free.
Recovering from the impact, she realizes the peril of her position, and stretches out her hand desperately towards Judau again- "Judau-" The NT-D powers down at that moment, and the Unicorn Gundam brakes abruptly...
... Leina does not. The currently unrestrained Leina is sent flying. The side of the cockpit rising to meet her with a sickening crack on impact, gravity asserting itself as she slides down, and lies still.
<Pose Tracker> Michiru Tenjou has posed.
The ZnO is battered and beaten, but still standing in the end. And Rau's call to them makes it clear. The job's finished. Her machine, unlike the others, doesn't immediately exit to the sea. She's going to slink away in a slightly different direction. "I'll join up with you all soon. I'll need to take a more roundabout route, shouldn't be too long though."
Strictly speaking, not necessary. But it's something she can pass off, given the ZnO's visible and obvious damage. It might make cruising mode a bit difficult to use safely. Neither of them need to know she's going to clear out some of the wreckage. And do some checking for survivors. Help a bit with evac. She'll steer way clear of the Feds, and stow the ZnO out of the way, for whatever needs an on-foot touch. She'll probably only be an hour or so behind... Given she'll use that cruising mode for some of the trip, to make up time and distance.
Hopefully nobody hears about this later. She just... she won't feel like this was a successful mission, if she doesn't do SOMETHING about the damage. She'd be disgracing everything she stands for. She CERTAINLY won't have earned any awards or promotions, if she just leaves everything annihilated and suffering this way. No matter how noble ridding them of their nukes was.
Soon... she'll get to find out just how horrible it all really is.
<Pose Tracker> BC-001 Minae has posed.
Minae is slow to catch up on the events that are unfolding outside - from Judau's wild plot to the Unicorn's response to it, and then everything after that. She's seeing it happen in terms of maps and pinpoints and contacts, too much of her attention spent on trying to chart the course of the battle and help pilot the Zeta for her to be able to pause and understand it from a more human perspective. As much as she's supporting Arriety's attack, the impulse to protect her instead is stronger than she'd like.
Her heart sinks as Arriety's shot goes wide, as their efforts are in vain, and as the worst very nearly happens and still might. It's a lament that the chaotic mess of a fight they're in had to end up happening in the first place, but also a sympathetic impulse towards the effort that the pilot put in. She's proud of Arriety, recognizing that it can't have been easy to push past the fears and doubts when the Unicorn shut down the Biosensor. To have it fail at the last moment is-- maybe 'unfair' isn't the right word, she wonders, but it is certainly a shame.
She doesn't need extrasensory perception to feel the wave of emotions in the cockpit, and it suddenly becomes entirely apparent that this isn't the time to be a ghost in the machine. She blinks back to her physical body just in time for Arriety to scream in anger; she nearly bolts up from her seat in response, and it's only the seatbelt that stops her from shooting across the cockpit instantly.
She's there a few seconds later instead, and regardless of the rage inside the girl's shrunken pupils she's lifted her arms to envelop the pilot in a hug. She doesn't risk saying anything yet; all she can hope is that she can provide some measure of insulation from everything else around them, and a chance to let her calm down. "You did everything you could. Everyone's safe, okay..." she starts to mutter, not sure whether to continue or if silence might be better.
Sometimes, she regrets being a robot. Because at the same time, sheer force of habit makes a less panicked Minae call through to the Ra Mari. "Myrmekes Zeta, returning to base." The fact she can so easily put up that front needles at her, right at this moment.
<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.
Her shots redirecting once again, Shelby finds herself ready for it this time; the weight of the knockout pink and blackest-black Jagd Doga's weight drops almost entirely on cue to avoid the reflector bits sending the shot back at her. Her legs swing out and wide, the Zeon machine making a far more graceful landing given the circumstances.
And then everything -- just -- goes wrong.
Twisting, the Jagd Doga's priorities seem to shift immediately. "Sayla!!" Shelby calls out while getting into the mix of things, while sabers swing and the Unicorn nearly finds itself annihilated on the tarmac. The pressure is absolutely mind-numbing; the strength of the noise in her head reaching a crescendo... and then the Unicorn folds right up.
Her comms tweak to private lines. It doesn't take a Newtype to hear the struggle in her voice, the weight of the pressure in her head almost palpable. <"Lucine, regroup with your ship. Be careful out there.">
The Jagd Doga twists on cue, sprinting to catch up with the Bolt Gundam and the Unicorn. She tries her best to help out with efforts to load up the mobile suit despite the damages, waiting on the deck at the edge of the deck with her beam gatling held tight on guard. "I'm ready to go!"
<Pose Tracker> Lina Lombardi has posed.
As the fighting seems to settle, Lina has opened the cockpit of her fighter to get some fresh air while she waits for a pickup. Hopefully they don't forget her out here in the evac order.
"Ally?"
"Yeah, Lina?"
"I think the two of us need to take a vacation after this."
"...That'd be nice. Get your arm looked at first before you book the tickets."
"No fun."
Mineva Lao Zabi says, "+big"
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
Roux wavers, and flutters. She sees the Flag slide forwards, throws the bazooka aside in favor of the beam saber, but --
--
It didn't seem hostile.
The ReZ-II's wrist is grabbed.
"?" Roux says.
Her brow knits.
"??"
Sophia suggests that they not fight. "??!"
Then she lets go. "What the ****!" Roux says to herself, before snapping off the Beam Saber and twisting round to face the Flag. Out comes the Mega Beam Rifle, which is raised up to shoulder height to sight but-- it doesn't quite fire, for several reasons.
The first is that grasping clasp, the one that didn't have that hostility from a moment ago.
And the second is the missiles, which smash towards the Gundam, detonating against it. "Gh!!"
But as the smoke clears, the Mega Beam Rifle is not brought to bear. Roux doesn't feel like laughing but there's a certain rueful look on her face, as the parameters of what just happened became clear to her - whether it's a confidence trick or some nuance she didn't know... A possibility she'd only sort of seen is fading, flying off into the distance. Roux feels something nearer to ordinary. Paradoxical as it might seem, in this context of horror and chaos. Because she has a firm anchor --
-- who is -- "What is he doing," Roux says, thinking of Judau, but then there's that ominous Nu Gundam and it's--
It all happens terribly fast. The Nu Gundam moves towards the Unicorn. Roux feels the world distort into a fisheye lens. Through the panoramic feed she sees--
-- the Saint Lance shove its way forwards and into the same deadly arc, putting itself towards the coup-de-grace in its devastated, 'legs but no weapons' state. Roux finds herself breathing. The world seems to fill it. The Unicorn throbs like a bloody and broken limb and part of the Saint Lance is torn out even as --
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The Nu Gundam steps backwards. It's pouring off of it, Roux thinks, like that feeling you get when you pull out something that had been in a shadow zone for a long time in through the air lock and you go to slap it with your bare hand and you find yourself pulling away skin and --
In.
Out.
-- The lens-effect resolves in Roux's attention and she finds herself staring at the optical pane for the Mega Beam Rifle.
Should I have -- Roux thinks, before she is hit by a sudden wave of nausea and briefly incapacitated. Fortunately, the ReZ-II keeps station without active intervention, and she recovers soon enough, if cold, shaking and miserable.
She swallows, and she says, "Arriety. You did great." Swallow again. "Tell the Captain sorry for me, alright?" into the comm, before steering the controls forwards. "You were a great student. I hope we'll meet again!" With that note of slightly false cheer, she types something on a screen, glancing towards Arriety's escort. The message:
> SEE YOU SPACE COWGIRL. IF YOU NEED TO, USE THE HOUSE
> SPARE KEY IN THE AGAVES. LOOK FOR PINK ROCK NEAR THE MIDDLE AGAVE
The ReZ-II drifts nearer to the fallen machines. Even as a voice Roux thinks she's heard before calls out for - "Oh, you know her?" Roux answers Shelby kind of indifferently. She steers nearer to the ZZ.
Roux doesn't signal, as such. Her stomach's churning. There doesn't seem to be a lot to say, right now.
<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.
It was all over in an orange flash. There are limits to the amount of heat that a human body can take, even insulated though it is inside a bubble of super alloy z-reinforced glass. The onslaught of cosmogone light hadn't penetrated Great Mazinger's armor, but it had welded the super robot's joints to the point that they could hardly move without grinding into itself. And besides that, the pilot himself...
Well, between the blast of thermal energy from the limitless photonic reactor only a few meters below and the bath of triple zero-fueled beam energy pouring down from above, it's a genuine wonder he's not a liquefied puddle of goo right now. But that's the miracle of Kabuto Science for you. Kenzo Kabuto does not build his robots, or his living weapons, to quit before something like a little overheating. A minute after the corrupted Nu Gundam moves on, an electric shock races through Tetsuya Tsurugi's limbs, jolting him back to consciousness. He grunts as his mind swims, but instinct takes over, hands fishing out a STORAGE rifle modified with a photon power core from beneath his console. The Brain Condor's canopy opens with a hiss, but by the time Tetsuya forces himself out to line up a shot with the Nu Gundam...
It's already gone. Too late to stop it. Tetsuya is silent for a moment longer before whispering a curse and falling back into his cockpit to wait for extraction.
Well.
This is going to be a mess and a half to explain to everyone back home.
At least next time, he can try to arrange for Ryoma and Koji to be on call to help beat some sense back into Amuro. Where do they get off leaving him to take care of the job...?
SCENESYS: Yurika Misumaru has posted scene #177, 'Maybe We Can 'Repair' It', at 17:00 ET on 10/04.
<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.
It's amazing what can happen in a single moment.
It's horrifying what can happen in a single moment.
To know how much even a single second can remind you of how little control you have in the events of your life, if the stars align just the right way.
If choices are made, just the wrong way.
The hatch of the Unicorn opens; Judau, hair whipping in the wild winds of the battlefield, hops in with the help of Leina and Banagher, seconds before the hatch slams shut. When he arrives, though...
Judau is surprisingly quiet, in those moments. In a show of how far he's come, the normally boisterous young man doesn't physically accost Banagher; he doesn't shout; he doesn't even utter any nonsense. Instead --
--instead, he falls silent, acting as an empathic bedrock for Leina to say what she needs to say. For Banagher, too, if he wants to reach out and rely on that sheer strength of will that Judau Ashta exudes. But he meant what he said. What Leina puts into her own words, tailored for Banagher:
This decision has to be Banagher's. It has to be what Banagher wants.
Or else he'll always just be the controlled, not the one in control.
There's a small, proud smile on Judau's lips as he watches Leina try to reach out to Banagher, but it isn't until it's clear that the young pilot of the Unicorn needs that extra help that Judau makes his way forward, reaching out to take hold of him alongside Leina.
"C'mon, Banagher," he offers. "Let's get you outta this--"
p r e s s u r e .
"--thing--"
A single moment. A single moment, Judau feels the tainted pressure of Amuro Ray and sees the form of the Nu Gundam, and knows the shape of what's coming.
A single second, and his bright, sea green eyes, widened with realization and horror, turn towards Leina. He reaches out, as if, if he could take her hand, he could somehow keep her safe from the sheer devastation a reactor going critical wreaks in a battlefield like this.
He reaches out.
His hand never reaches, before he catches a familiar psychic impression intervening.
"Sayla--"
No time for formalities. No time for anything. It all happens in an instant. Salvation, coming in the form of something horrifying. The stunned shock. And then...
the lurch
of a mobile suit preparing for acceleration. He knows that feeling. He knows it well.
"Hey-- Banagher, WAIT--"
A moment. Acceleration. Judau stumbles forward, gripping onto the cockpit's chair. He sees Leina there like a moment suspended in amber, reaching towards him.
%the sees a fireball engulf the place he believed in his heart leina would be safest from the carnage
"LEI--"
The Unicorn stops. And the Ashtas are sent hurtling forward.
Judau hears a CRACK,
and then
...
Gradually, sea green eyes open up to a nauseating swirl of incoherent color that tries to make sense of the world as it settles into a more coherent tableau. Judau blinks once. Twice.
The smudges realign. The dizzying kaleidoscope stops.
And he sees Leina, sprawled still on the ground.
"Leina...?"
Banagher is forgotten; everything is forgotten. Blood from a head wound dyes and dampens the young Newtype's hair and spills down his face as he scrambles towards the prone form of his sister, grabbing hold of her, checking for some sign of life. He barely notices her shallow breath. But why is she -- why is she--
"LEINA!"
<Pose Tracker> Sayaka Yumi has posed.
So much is happening, but through it all, at least Sayaka gets the confirmation that Sayla is alive, as she viscerally picks up her voice over the loudspeaker from nearby. And she's protecting Leina... why is Leina on the battlefield?
Sayaka believes she made the right choice, to return to piloting to help people, but this whole battle has left such a bitter taste in her mouth...
The evacuation alarm sounds, and a ship rushes onto the scene, seemingly signaling for her to board. It looks somewhat suspicious to her, though, really... the pirate aesthetic certainly doesn't scream Federation.
The Pilder zooming across to the deck of the ship, Sayaka lands, revealing herself as a woman in a rather cute pink pilot suit, heavily contrasting her tone. "Sayaka Yumi, Photon Power Institute Director... Wholly independent from the Federation, as you likely know."
Removing her helmet, she nods to the captain. "This is the escape ship, then? Rather interesting design... I wouldn't guess you're all from the Federation either."
<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.
It's over. The terror as she watched Amuro Ray nearly destroy the Unicorn... to a conflicted, sad sort of relief as Sayla Mass tries to sacrifice herself for its occupants. It's all... overwhelming to her, all of this. She's struggling to make sense of it all.
She watches with resignation as the mysterious ship recovers the Unicorn, along with several of the combatants... but he's still alive.
She doesn't know anything else, right now. The base is lost, the Sleeves have won...
Everything's in chaos.
But they're alive.
Lina Lombardi teleports out.
<Pose Tracker> Sophia Mayhew Castellan has posed.
Sophia's nearly outright cheeky little stunt on Roux is swiftly rendered moot: Orders to evacuate.
Followed swiftly by bedlam. "No, no, NO, NO!" Sophia screams at the cockpit. Her Geass shows her the world of hearts, shows her the blazing sun at the center of the universe. What is it, it's HERE, WHO IS IT!
She transforms the Flag back, seeing Roux go off in her own direction. Uses its hovering jets to scan about. Who is it. Who is this soul!?
A glimpse. One eye in one world and one in another, her computer identifies a unit, highlights it on the screen as it flies, a pink Jagd Doga moving toward the arriving vessel of Gulsky's little pirate crew.
In the eyes of her Geass, it shines like gold.
She grinds her teeth until her jaw hurts. A comms operator calls to remind her to evacuate.
"Desmond," she spits. "Get me everything on that unit. Return to Hyperion."
The Flag switches back to Flight Mode, and banks sharply to fly away from Torringtonat speed.
Her geass burns in her eye the entire time, watching that distant sun dwindle beyond the horizon of her sight.
<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.
"Judau...?"
Roux hears those screams. She can feel them. And -- There's an angle into the open cockpit -- blood, positioning --
Roux sucks in a deep breath as she feels her spine tighten. The ReZ-II tilts forwards and Roux stands upwards, steering fine maneuvering controls with one hand while reaching up and, with a grimace, putting her Normal Suit helmet back on so she can say -- "Throw a cable on the ReZ-II! There's wounded in the white suit."
Roux opens the hatch and steps forwards into the howling breeze, kneeling to throw out the pilot drop line. Descending downwards, she continues, "I'm transferring to the Double Zeta. It can carry the --" Roux is briefly hornswoggled to see the open cockpit hatch, but it's to be expected. Letting go, she lands in a balletic squat with her arms out stretched and takes the few steps to get into the cockpit, turning around and calling ahead, "Take care of her!"
Into the old familiar seat Roux sits; and the cockpit hatch closes up; and it's almost like the last seven years didn't happen for a moment, until the panoramics come on and she can see the world just as it was (except for a helpful outline of a fuel tank exploding). From here it is a matter of delicate, well timed maneuvers.
But the Double Zeta was always a strong fellow. It was enough to carry them through a war, and to another one, too!
Roux adds, "Cover me" to Shelby, just to add to her own burden in this moment - but hopefully it won't come to that.
<Pose Tracker> Shelby Korts has posed.
The closer the ReZ-II drifts in, the more apparent that the young woman inside the Zeon machine is dealing with ... a lot. A raging storm, a lot of feeling and emotion and things she's having a hard time handling as the noise... well, it does *seem* to start dying down, though one of the largest factors -- the Unicorn Gundam -- being inert seems to be a large part of that.
Her gaze follows the path the Shamblo had taken. That thing, the pilot... it ...
Shelby turns up her visor, the intensity of the battle leaving a little fog on the edges of her sports goggle glasses. "You...? A-Ah, y-yeah-- got it!" It's asked in the same way one asks the question 'why?' but ... right now.
The Zeon unit drops to one knee on the deck, shouldering the beam gatling as it takes a careful position keeping Roux -- and helping keep their escape -- covered. "Got you!" she calls back one more time, frowning as she realizes there's a slick of blood dripping from her nose.
As Shelby wipes it away, her attention turns to the Flag that comes in ... then seems to stop and take a moment. The mono-eye of the Zeonic machine pivots to take in the flying machine more closely, as if waiting for a response ... but then it takes flight and jets away at all speed.
"Who... was that...?" she asks no one in particular, as the pirate craft escapes.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
In the chaos, ZAFT sabotages the Federation's offensive nuclear capacity a second time -- with good reason, perhaps.
That'll be cold comfort to those stationed at Torrington Base, however. While the assembled pilots have bought themselves enough time to get away (and have a great reason to do so due to the senseless drubbing they received), and there's no chain reaction with the nuclear material, what is also at Torrington is:
* A lot of rocket fuel
* A lot of mobile suit reactors in varying states of repair process and deployment
* A statistically significant amount of other high-energy material, including sakuradite and Japanium
The conflagration -- and the subsequent chain reaction among mobile suits, though not nuclear bombs -- is enough to fully engulf Torrington Base in hellfire... and heavily damage the Federation's capacity to react to further attacks from the Sleeves or ZAFT with nuclear weaponry. It might be a welcome reprieve, and the sort of action that keeps the war from spilling over -- or the sort of action that redoubles desperation in certain circles and pushes the conflict onward to more senseless tragedies.
The flames dye the sky in madder.