2023-03-29: Silence Wall

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<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The Tsutsujidai PLANT is nearly at the end of its trip from the Junius 7 area to further down the Orbital Ring near the Frontier fleet. During that time, many of its residents have come and gone, and many more have stayed where they are, exploring their newfound selfhood.
        
        One resident remains enigmatic.
        
        The entity known as the Glow Cloud has long since taken up residence in the empty half of the Tsutsujidai PLANT, and most of the time it keeps to itself. It has gone out to observe battles and descended on Tsutsujidai itself a time or two, but there's little to say about it.
        
        There would be more if one had observed its actions vis-a-vis the Britannian regiment that had been trapped in Tsutsujidai, but for right now, that's another matter.
        
        For now, as the PLANT glides through space, the Glow Cloud glides with it, the colored lights of its diaphonous form shifting and blinking and glimmering over time. The trip itself has been peaceful for the most part, following the arc of the Orbital Ring and its own lights and maglev trains to its destination.
        
        It sure would be a shame if a battle erupted anywhere within a few kilometers.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.

        
        A PLANT glides through space, just one small safe haven of warmth within a hostile universe. Outside of these metallic vessels hurtling and orbiting through the dark, the universe is so cold, so lonely. Spacenoids learn so early within their lives that to even take one step outside of them unprotected is to learn how quickly death comes for you.

        How then did humanity deal with such harsh environs? They created worse ways to consign people to the void.

        BGM Start - Gundam Unicorn OST: Life and Death - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gel9GYiJ7sc

        Like fast approaching and fading comets, crimson beams spear across the darkened void, each surrounded by an azure corona. This way, that way. Children in PLANTs may delight. Mobile suits are fighting! Battleships are fighting! Parents and officials look upon in horror, as they know even a single stray shot could mean their end. Who fired the first shot? Who started this? Such questions are drowned out by an overwhelming sense of fear. In the end, such questions are for those who survive to lay blame for it matters not who is on what side, in a war, civilians in space become collateral damage.

        What's known is that after the fighting started, something awful descended upon the battlefield.

        More beams stab across the black void, and even if it is only nearby, civilians rush towards shelter. It's meant to be orderly, but it never is, the people rush to the fringes of their metallic sarcophagi to even tinier, sealed tombs within the bowels of their home.

        An obsidian mobile suit chases after a white one over the battlefield, as it carves blue trails following it throughout space. As its E-Pac drains, it stows it on its backpack, before targeting prongs rotate forward, it congratulates the Unicorn for its evasiveness with violet fire.

        The beam sluices chaotically across space, melting anything that gets in its way. It whispers its discontent across Banagher's senses, ephemeral fingers touching his skin, as they raise goosepimples as they brush him possessively.

                                        m i n e
                banagher banagher
                        banagherbanagher
        banagher m i n e banagher
                        banagher banagher
                                                banagher
                                        m i n e

        Then abruptly, it seems to lose patience. Even without air to carry sound, a shriek resonates across another layer of existence, throbbing within the souls of all that are involved. An obsidian mobile suit wails death as it grows larger from interlocking plates of armor separating to reveal gleaming psycoframe in orange gold.

        Even in transformation it looks as if it were suffering from the mere act of making its true self known. It's horn splits down the center, crowning it in a spiked V adornment, its eyes gleaming red. And everything becomes louder, more pervasive. This ghastly ethereal glee spreading throughout the psychic plane. Two violet borders open, as twin eyeslits reveal themselves. The throb within your head telling you the horrid truth.

        This was always there. The sheer weight of its hostility revealing more and more by the moment, a wispy, predatory thing shaped vaguely like a ghostly hunting hawk, fingerlike talons overlaying each arm of the mobile suit. The prongs of the smartgun rotate backward, and the mobile suit reaches for a beam saber behind its shoulderblade, it grips it and it erupts into white, as yet another mounted tonfa erupts as well, offering multiple angles from which it can deal death with that one side. Even as the plates of the left hand open into a vibrating claw.

        The Psycoframe of the Unicorn reacts, as those tiny wisps of fingertouches earlier now SEIZE the pilot from all side with smothering psychic fingertips, latching down and filling him full of the full depth of its hostility.

                                
                                JEALOUSY POSSESSIVENESS HATRED
                                  PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY
                                ASHES ASHES WE ALL FALL
                                  PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY
                                    RESENTMENT ANGER

        It becomes a sudden screaming blur as it flies right at the Unicorn, bristling with numerous ways to deal death.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

<"Banshee pilot! Elpeo! We're here to save you! Please!">

Despite the heated battle, despite the psychic terror, despite everything, Banagher still calls out. He hasn't stoppped since the Banshee first appeared. Again and again. Shouting, pleading.

<"You don't have to keep fighting! Whatever hold the Vists have on you -- we can help you! I know you're hurting. I know it must be terrible!">

Trailing starlight, the Unicorn nimbly dodges around her sister's assault. She has yet to pull her own weapon. With the PLANT so close -- they can't risk it. Even a single mistake with the beam magnum would cost thousands of lives.

<"You're not alone, Elpeo! I promise-- nngh!">

Violet light rakes through space, illuminating the inside of the Unicorn in flashes of violence. Banagher shudders. Another shot, this one narrowly missing the Unicorn's shoulder. Gloved hands scratch desperately at the ghosts of fingers.

<"I -- I --"> His voice fails him, broken by fear.

The Banshee has never called his name before. What changed? And why? At the psychic scream, the Unicorn seizes. The presence of the Banshee's NT-D draws out the Unicorn's own transformation. Brilliant verdant light bursts into existence, like the birth of a star. Awakened, the Unicorn brushes against her pilot's soul, strengthening him.

<"I'm NOT GIVING UP ON YOU! ELPEO!">

The Unicorn roars in harmony with her pilot. Radiant and pure, green light shines. In defiance? In hope? Maybe they're one and the same this time. Even with the terror turning his blood to ice, even with the endless hands threatening to choke the life from him. The Unicorn draws her own saber, raising her shield to receive her sister.

<"I won't let things end this way for you! I won't let this be the world we live in!">

Banagher's barely breathing. Gasps echo through the radio. He can't escape. The Banshee will find him. No matter where he goes, even in his dreams, the Beast is always at his shoulder. Gold light and green light refuse to merge together, each seeking to outshine the other. Hands grasp the young pilot tighter.

<"I won't... give up...">

Lungs unable to expand -- or so it feels -- Banagher watches dark spots dance in his vision. Green light shines all the more brightly, the Unicorn taking the burden of the battle as Banagher simply fights to stay conscious. Choking on the Banshee's poisonous wrath, sinking...

Resentment... Anger... 

KTS: Puru-1 has deployed in RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee <Destroy Mode>.
KTS: Puru-1 has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
KTS: Banagher Links has deployed in RX-0 Unicorn Gundam <Destroy Mode> Awakened.
KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman has deployed as a Sub Pilot for Banagher Links!

<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.

The battle started far too close to the moving PLANT for the Garencieres Team's comfort. Taking to one of the Ra Mari II's unused conference rooms, they quickly set up their equipment salvaged from their long-since-scuttled freighter.

"Blowing her up didn't keep them busy for long enough," Flaste Schole grumbles. "We're going to have to take another look at the data, figure out how they're tracking him."

"It's not the psycomonitor," Tomura points out. "Even our own people barely understand that thing and it came direct from the Colonel himself."

Gilboa grunts. "I'd just got that helm seat worn in how I liked it, too. How can they still be set on hounding him after that bastard made that broadcast?"

"The Vists have their own refuge planned out," Zinnerman says darkly. "The fate of Earth and Palau's people doesn't matter to Carbine, just maintaining her own control over whatever the bargaining chip in Laplace's Box is."

"Captain," Alec wonders, nervously, "Shouldn't we be trying to get our families out?"

"We need to keep Banagher alive, too," the shipless captain points out, "and keep these colonies protected. Kwani and Ivan are working on an infiltration plan for Palau. Tomura, status."

"I have a line, Captain. I don't know how well it'll hold once the Minovsky saturation worsens, but - "

"It'll do." Zinnerman taps some keys, opening a channel to the Unicorn. "Banagher. Above all else: Stay alive. If you die here, the Vists win, and they get to keep her for whatever they please." 

KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman targets Banagher Links with Caution.
KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.

        A sighting of the infamous Unicorn Gundam had been reported. A wanted fugitive.

        Normally you don't send the Second Prince of Britannia and his forces to hunt a fugitive. However, Schneizel had been returning from a trip and his vessel was the closest to the location of the reported sighting.

        Plus, the Prince himself had insisted on going.

        Cut to now. The form of Britannia's newest model of battleship, the Avalon, glides through space almost as easily as it would the air. Floating in the void around it are several teams of Knightmares. Colony-type Gloucesters, already launched and providing covering fire for the royal flagship.

        On the vessel's bridge, the Prince himself sits calmly, leaning to the side with a hand to his chin as he watches the battle playing out between the Banshee and the Unicorn. There's an interested look in his eyes as he remarks to no one in particular, "So that's the Unicorn... And its dark foe. Such secrets they hold. Perhaps more than we realize."

        One of the Britannian soldiers manning the bridge controls reports, "Your highness. The Unicorn and Banshee are moving into grid three five two."

        Schneizel hmmms thoughtfully, "It would be best if the battle doesn't grow any closer to the colony... Send Hazel's team to grid five eight four. Perhaps it'll discourage the Unicorn's pilot."

        "Yes, my lord." One of the groups of Knightmares near the Avalon break off, heading deeper towards the running battle as they move to assist in the chase.

KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has deployed in BBAF-1001 Avalon.
KTS: EN Barrier activated!
KTS: Suberoa Zinnerman suggests caution, raising Banagher Links's Intuition!
KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets Puru-1 with All-Out!
KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Schneizel el Britannia orders an all-out attack, raising Puru-1's Skill!

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Ever since Akane's gambit that brought GaoFighGar back to life, 3G's teams on the Wadatsumi have been scrambling to make sense of this miracle.

Alouette is actually in Tsutsujidai on such business, as the maintenance team raised an inquiry regarding the Final Fusion system, of which the intricate and delicate code was written by, and can only be understood, by her.

It's all straightforward - she expected to be back on Orbit Base in like, 30 minutes tops.

That is, if a squadron of mobile weapons didn't decide to make the immediate victinity their battlefield. Alouette tsks, immediately switching desks to the Branch Order Room's operator console. The Banshee, she notes. She takes a good couple scans of that... intelligence is going to want to see that, and so will Akane.

The Wadatsumi of course, is permanently grounded, and so 3G's options for an orderly evacuation are much more limited. But not zero. "Usshi!" Alouette calls. "Prepare the mirror catapult. I'm going on standby -get the Gatling Driver ready!" She affirms, practically already climbing into Guardienne Avaire's cockpit.

Guardienne Aviaire emerges from her mirror coat, standing tall to defend the city... yet currently unarmed. Uushi, not used to having to do the operator terminal part of this, SLAMS the kit button for the Gatling Driver. "Kit Number Five: EMISSION! Mirror catapult, fire!" 

KTS: Alouette Pommier has deployed in Guardienne Aviaire.
KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Alouette Pommier has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Alouette Pommier's Pass, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        No matter where humanity goes, it can never truly remain an island. Tsutsujidai has now become a real city, with real people, with the capacity for joy and freedom to direct their lives as they see fit.

        Those same lives can be cut short, when trouble rears its head.

        < "Banagher! Is everything alright?" >

        What might get through may just be static, at this point, but the familiar sight of the Dianthus is cutting in through the void, the same craft that declares itself a guardian of the much larger and more capable Phenex a few weeks ago.

        Even if Lucine didn't know the Banshee would be there already when she caught up, the terrible glee echoing throughout the sphere of the mind might as well be its calling card, foretelling more barely remembered nightmares in the nights to come.

        The subconscious memory of those are likely what stalls Lucine from getting too close; no matter how she tries to remember her reasons for coming here, cold fear prickles in her chest the very moment she gets close enough. ".... I just... need to breathe..." Why is she so scared?

        The Banshee charges at the Unicorn, and all Lucine wants to do is retreat. It's not the same fear that plagued her whenever she's reminded of Mars, but... she's faced the Banshee before-- survived, even, despite devising that risky plan to get away!

        It doesn't matter.

        Fear has its claws on her heart. 

KTS: Lucine Azul targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Banagher Links: Will Barrier Activates.
KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Lucine Azul's Pass, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Banagher Links's Pass, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        A freighter has been making trips back and forth between Tsutsujidai and the orbital ring for weeks, now. Standard supply runs, mostly--ensuring the colony has the food, parts, and chemicals it needs to survive as an isolated pocket of life in the void. If the freighter's crew sympathizes, in secret, with the Three Ships Alliance, and has been helping some of its allies move about covertly... well. That's not something they'd make common knowledge, now, is it?

        The freighter's latest trip brought Liam to Tsutsujidai for the very important task of reconnecting with 3G in the wake of a truly chilling announcement. Alouette, of course, is his main point of contact there. She'd know what 3G had planned. They have to have a plan. They have to. Right?

        Unfortunately, another of the Universal Century's horrors reappeared before the two could get the chance to talk.

        "<ETA on Gatling Driver deployment?>" Liam transmits, to the Guardienne. He grabbed one of the Wadatsumi's Ichinanas, and it stands at Alouette's flank. He's not sure what he could do to help. "<Don't think they're coming this way, but-->" A new beacon lights up Liam's screen. He recognizes it instantly. "...Lucine?" He feels like someone just reached into him and started twisting his guts with both hands. Watching Banagher fight for his life is bad enough, but--

KTS: Liam 7-020 has deployed in MPMZ-17 Ichinana.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 fails to react to Liam 7-020's Pass, taking 0 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        Beams of scarlet light and energy slice through the void, sometimes striking an enemy, sometimes petering out after hitting nothing, sometimes coming dangerously close to the PLANT and the Orbital Ring this battle is growing dangerously close to. It's not just weapons fire from mobile suits, though; there is also a caustic psychic energy, radiating out in all directions for all to feel.
        
        Those on the Orbital Ring rush to evacuate. Those in the PLANT don't. Where is there to evacuate to? Tsutsujidai never had shelters or evacuation procedures. Even if such things exist now, the PLANT in which it exists is much bigger than it is.
        
        And although the other resident of that PLANT is not a human and does not have human sensibilities, there is a presence that's familiar to it. And it does at least understand the concept of 'friend' vs. 'foe.'
        
        The Banshee splits her horn into the iconic V of the Gundam and charges relentlessly at the Unicorn. The Unicorn raises her sword and shield, her NT-D activating in kind. Those within each Gundam express their emotions in their own ways, screaming into the infinite dark. Space-ready Knightmares deploy to join in on the battle as those aboard the Ra Mari II transmit support to Banagher, but have no units of their own deplayed to support him. Only the Dianthus stands for him, and it remains frozen in cold space.
        
        The clash between sisters seems inevitable--
        
        Until both of them strike a transparent barrier, iridescent at the edges. It splits at the center and divides outwards, pushing the two Gundams gently but firmly back.
        
        There had been visuals confirmed back in Tsutsujidai, but without the judgment of the MAGI, NERV couldn't have been sure. It just isn't in character for an Angel to stop a fight, and certainly not to leave humans alive and unharmed. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that it looked like an A.T. Field? But as this barrier materializes, nearby space begins to distort. In a reversal of the typical escape that the entity known as the Glow Cloud has made in the past, it unfolds itself outwards like crumpled paper being pulled apart, if such could be pulled apart into three-dimensional space with a multi-colored haze run through with lightning-like tendrils.
        
        At its center, there is a red sphere, usually barely visible behind the many cloud-like veils. Those veils part like petals, not wholly revealing the sphere, but showing enough of it to give the impression of it focusing in on this battle blossoming so close to its home. It looms over the two Unicorns, tendrils curling in towards them from its considerable size--somewhere between 100 and 150 meters; it's hard to tell for sure with its borders so wispy--and its colors flow dark and hot, muddy reds and viscous oranges with a few blazing azures.
        
        It doesn't outright attack. But as Liam prepares to launch, Alouette and their compatriots aboard the Wadatsumi will be able to gather this newfound data on the so-called Glow Cloud and run it through NERV's various databases... including the MAGI down on Earth.
Shiho Hahnenfuss teleports in. 

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.


        Alouette as she prepares for disaster relief by emerging in the Guardienne Aviaire. And she receives this sense of tinnitus as if in the aftermath of a bomb, the tickle of something within her ear, feelings steeped in resentment ESCAPE HIDE but also futility, inevitability THEY WILL FIND YOU.

        Lucine, frozen as she is in the Dianthus, in the midst of panic receives a horrid feeling, smothering, like the pound of a rapid heartbeat within her ears. BREATHE BREATHE BREATHE offering wicked, mocking laughter. With a singular pass, the vibrating claw of the Armed Armor VN makes an almost playful swipe at the Dianthus, like a feline playing with a mouse as if to shear part of it right off. And yet, it purposefully misses, as if it were only toying with her.

        Liam, standing in defense of the Colony, will merely be forced to watch. Perhaps that is far worse, than anything that can be done to him psychically, to know that Lucine is panicking out there, and is at the tender mercy of a thing from her nightmares.

        And even from far away in a conference room, Zinnerman feels something like tinnitus in his ear, subtle at first, but growing stronger with every passing moment. A childlike giggle, bereft of innocence and full of malice. H E R S It does not feel like a question, more a declaration of fact. In the next moment, it changes into something that feels like a promise M I N E

        Mysteriously, the Banshee does not attack the Second Prince of Britannia, nor does any of its shots go anywhere near a Knightmare Frame in Britannia's service. Not a one. What's more telling perhaps is that when the Gloucesters are deployed, the Banshee responds by subtly trying to herd the Unicorn away from where the Second Prince desires it to be, as if fully understanding his intent, or simply knowing its orders. Having Britannian support, its as if the Banshee fights with even greater reckless abandon.

        Banagher pleads. Banagher promises. Banagher declares. The pilot of the Banshee responds by offering more violence for all of his effort. Sabers clash and spark, each time blue trails criss-crossing over space, as laughter erupts inside of Banagher's head, louder and louder until it feels like a sob before fading away to crackling static.

FRUSTRATION RAGE SORROW EMPTINESS
        GIVE UP GIVE UP GIVE UP GIVE UP
M I N E M I N E
                B A N A G H E R
                        M I N E M I N E
        GIVE UP GIVE UP GIVE UP GIVE UP
DESOLATION HOSTILITY ANGUISH RANCOR

        Each time it clashes, each time those blue thrusters force a break of the lock, as the Banshee speeds up faster, and faster, the static just growing louder and louder, the fingers clinging tighter and tighter. And then there's a sudden burst of energy running up across the Tonfa and Saber, as it slices a savage strike right into it.

        It is in that moment, that there is a flash burst of energy as, the Banshee's Sabers just strike a barrier. And for a moment, even it seems surprised. As it tries to dig it straight in, to push into that iridescent barrier. Finding it made of sterner stuff, it switches hands, as the vibrating claw makes contact, trying to bore right through.

        It does not take this denial well. Like a toddler that was denied one of its favorite toys.

        The Banshee screams across the Psychic plane like a child throwing a tantrum, as its claw rakes again and again and again against the iridescent barrier, trying to push its way through

      RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE
         OUT OUT
             LET ME
         OUT THROUGH OUT
             LET ME
                THROUGH THROUGH
        DESPAIR DESPAIR DESPAIR DESPAIR

        Faster and faster the claw moves, like it is going well and truly berserk from the presence of this entity, shrieking balefully across the psychic plane at it looms above them in its petal like severity.

        Then it begins to slow. Slower, and slower, and slower. It does not stop. That vibrating nail keeps trying, and trying, and trying, but there is no fervor in it any longer. It becomes one pervasive feeling.

                                S O R R O W

        A feeling of inevitability settles in. The understanding that this could have been over right now. Well and truly over. And instead, it continues. It continues. And that knowledge is
agony.

        

        
         

KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Alouette Pommier
KTS: Puru-1 targets Banagher Links with Pass!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Alouette Pommier with Pass!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Liam 7-020 with Pass!
KTS: Puru-1 targets Lucine Azul with Pass!
KTS: Puru-1 has completed their actions for the round.
KTS: Puru-1 has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Liam 7-020

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

With the Banshee transformed, the Unicorn struggles all the more. Her armor shatters under the force of her sister's violence. Despite all his training, all his devotion to saving Elpeo, Banagher is outmatched. He can't stand against the Banshee.

Give up, give up, Banagher, give up, give up.

Horrible laughter echoes in his head, overwhelming Banagher until he screams, "STOP IT!"

It's too fast. It's too strong. The Unicorn's shield splinters into pieces, and she only blocks a third of the blows with her drawn saber.

<"Captain, I--"> Banagher wheezes, desperate for support. His eyes flicker a little more open at the sound of Zinnerman's voice. <"I will..!">

The young pilot's voice drips with fear and understated anger. He can't seem to resist the Banshee's infectious negativity, it pierces through his psychic defenses as though they didn't even exist. Paralyzing, terrifying -- Banagher is being suffocated.

Choking for a moment, Banagher raises his eyes to answer Lucine. <"P--please, Lucine, be careful-- Can't breathe. Get away from -- it!">

The Banshee is too dangerous. With how sensitive Lucine is, Banagher is certain she'll be smothered. Jerkily, the Unicorn gestures back to the nearby PLANT. The message is clear. Get away. Protect the city.

Breathless pants echo in the Unicorn's cockpit. The Banshee is almost upon them. Shield raised, the Unicorn braces herself--!

Until something miraculous happens. Both the Banshee's vicious weaponry and the Unicorn's glittering sword strike are turned away. Golden eyes widen. This isn't the color of a Gundam's Miracle, but in the back of his mind, Banagher remembers this sensation.

In what feels like another life, this entity observed another battle. Banagher tried to communicate with it, unsuccessfully. He knows almost nothing about Angels and their like, but he knows this is something unearthly.

With all the fervor of a drowning man, Banagher's spirit desperately reaches for the Cloud, but his pleas aren't for his own sake.

Help her. Please. Save her.

Though he doesn't know what the mysterious entity is capable of, this is the most Banagher can offer, one desperate gasp from his spirit before he's pulled under again. Hands cling and cling, dragging him down, crushing him.

Golden eyes flutter.

Another scream echoes from the Unicorn, helpless to protect her pilot. In her wrath, mirrors her sister. Four sabers ignite, and she violently slashes at the barrier between her and her target. Banagher won't be safe until the Banshee is destroyed, she knows. With unearthly grace, the Unicorn rages ever bit as much as the Banshee -- the inherent differences between them easy to see.

Banagher groans at the wail of the Banshee, sluggishly bringing his hands up to grasp his head. He can hear the rage of the Black Unicorn, he can feel his own Gundam lashing out, and he feebly pulls at the controls, trying to stop it.

Magenta light swirls with green, motes of vibrancy somehow so incompatible with the light of the Cloud. Devotion drives the Beast of Possibility forward, even as she knows this is hopeless.

Sorrow...

"Sorrow?" Banagher breathes, feeling unexpected wetness on his cheeks. "Why..? Do you hate me so much?"

<"P--please, Elpeo, stop. I'm here, I'll do whatever you ask, just come with me. I don't want you to hurt anymore.">

<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.

Zinnerman removes his headset to rub at one ear - and then realises this is not a physical sensation. His frown deepens. This... hunger. It is unsettling.

        Marida... If that really is your sister in there... God, what's been done to her?

Anguished rage spikes - but Banagher needs him. He grits his teeth and focuses, putting his headset back on - just in time to see the two sister mobile suits be forced apart by an indescribable iridescent barrier, and the manifestation of a formless entity full of light over the battlefield.

"Captain..." Gilboa breathes in wonder. "Are you seeing this?"

Zinnerman grunts, tapping a few buttons on his communications console. "Get me as much data on that thing as you can. It's stopped the fighting, but..."

'But what next' - the unspoken question on every member of the Garencieres Team's minds.

"Tomura. Crack the enemy comms and try to break into the Banshee's. We need to monitor all sides here." Britannia's encryption patterns are well-known to the team after their regular infiltrations of Area 11, but the Vist Foundation's are still a mystery. With the Foundation's ace in the hole prevented from fighting, this is an opportunity for them to make some headway in counter-espionage.

The team mechanic nods as Flaste and Gilboa take up positions in the sensor and electronic countermeasures stations of their salvaged equipment. Zinnerman activates a third observation monitor, watching the Glow Cloud, and reopens his line to the Unicorn while watching the two RX-0 mobile suits rage at the barrier between them on his other monitors.

"Try to stay calm, Banagher. Let it push you two apart, and lead the Banshee away from the colonies if you can." 

KTS: Banagher Links targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Banagher Links has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Schneizel el Britannia has posed.

        Reports filter in to the Second Prince of other units in the area. For the most part though they don't seem to be directly interfering, so he makes mental note of them but otherwise ignores them. They're of no importance.

        Of more interest is the behaviour of the Unicorn and Banshee. Two machines that almost seem to be alive in their movements. Or is it their pilots? Or both? While Schneizel is aware of certain groups who would want to get their hands on one, or both of the unique machines. Silently, he admits he would certainly like the opportunity himself.

        Such opportunity may very well be off the table though as a sudden barrier appears to hold the Banshee's attacks back. This is quickly joined by the appearance of the mysterious Glow Cloud. There had been reports... But to see it first hand.

        Schneizel stands from his chair, walking across the upper deck of the bridge towards the large screen showing the creature, "Incredible." He turns his head, watching as both the Banshee and the Unicorn fail to break through the projected barrier. Is it protecting one of them? Both of them? Or is there more to it?

        Schneizel orders, "Have La Croix's team fire on that target in their vicinity." He doesn't know what that machine in particular is, nor who's piloting it. Only that it's not a friendly, which is enough for him.

        A team of Gloucesters floating in space turn, thrusters firing and beginning to push them closer towards the Dianthus. Raising their rifles, they begin to unload a hail of bullets in the direction of Lucine's unit.

KTS: Schneizel el Britannia targets Lucine Azul with Pass!
KTS: Schneizel el Britannia has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Liam, in an Ichinana appears to support Tsutsujidai in turn. "It's better to be safe, right? This city won't just fix itself anymore. ETA? Any second now!" She reports, as the silvery mirror coating of a giant screwdriver head whooshes past the Ichinana. "Docking: OK!" OK is a stretch... the driver is massive compared to Guardienne Aviaire's hands, but it's still triumphantly held up in the holy arm of protection. "GAAAAAAAAATLING-"

The arm abruptly snaps down, as Alouette jerks forward a little in her cockpit - a sensation, a deeply unpleasant one takes form. "Hhhhhh - HHHHH-" She breathes out. Psychic attack, she realizes. It's little reassurance, even as she begins to steadily regain her composure. Who's they... BioNet? Gimlet dead, he couldn't... But he was hardly the only to invest in her.

The Glow Cloud offers another stimulus, a respite from overthinking the psychic attack to the point of anguish. The brings an end to the battle, warping space to erect barriers between the Banshee and the Unicorn. Even if she couldn't put up the Gatling Driver to protect underprepared Tsutsujidai, she's okay with letting this strange, benevolent being do the heavy lifting.

Guardienne Aviaire flies back to the Wadatsumi, movements sluggish and hardly befitting the grace of such a beautiful machine. After a psychic attack, Alouette isn't close to up to piloting... but operations should be okay.

Communications are opened with the MAGI and NERV's Geofront. NERV had their suspicions back in Tsutsujidai, but they weren't able to confirm it until now. Blood-pattern blue: a warning that would send a chill down any NERV agent's spine.

"Liam, do you read?" She opens, her voice still slightly weaker than usual. "The Glow Cloud is... It's an Angel. It's not hostile, and we have no EVA pilots on standby, so we're disengaging. Understood?" All the NERV agents on the other end seem dumbfounded by this strange Angel's behavior. But in her current state, Alouette will simply leave this one to the MAGI. 

KTS: Alouette Pommier targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Alouette Pommier has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam is no Newtype, but he's come to dread the Banshee's presence almost as much as Lucine. The psychic pressure--the wrongness of whatever presence is inside it, Elpeo Puru or otherwise--starts hammering at his skull. The Ichinana stands poised in front of the main docking airlock, still and silent.

        "<I'm here, Alouette,>" he says, as that same sense of wrongness seems to hit Alouette right between the eyes. "<Breathe. Focus on what you feel-->"

        And then, something miraculous happens. "<The Glow Cloud,>" Liam breathes, as the Angel(?) decides, again, that it will have no more of this. "<I read. It's--same thing it did when the Britannians-->" Speaking of. Liam's lips twist in a snarl. "<Lucine! Banagher!>" A tightband breaks through to link the four of them together. "<Try and breathe!>" Banagher's panicking. Lucine can't be that much better off. Could the Banshee somehow break through an AT Field with its Psychoframe? That's... a possibility Liam doesn't want to entertain.

KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        It was unbearable, that fear gripping her heart like a hawk clutching onto a field mouse. She can still breathe, that's for certain, unlike Banagher. Whatever she is going through, the 'clay skull' dampens all, only sometimes letting something through like a wet finger through a paper wall.

        Then, the Banshee notices Lucine like a kitten spotting a stray toy it can swat at on the way to the treat ball.

        BREATHEBREATHEBREATHEBREATHE

        Lucine clutches her head, barely making out Banagher's warning to her, as well as Liam's calls for her to breathe.

        She screams out in frustration, hands slamming down against the controls in stubborn, blind, stressed refusal. The petals on the back of the Dianthus fold out and attempt to deliver a howling attack.

        It dissipates against a display of rainbows, like the brilliant film of oil on a puddle. "...!" Was this the Unicorn's powers, or something more?

        She looks up, and up, and up--

        ".... It's you." Lucine's eyes widen in wonder. "That was.... you, wasn't it?" Tears-- another sort than what mark poor Banagher's cheeks, since entangled with the Banshee from afar-- settle in the corners of her eyelids. Her fingers reach up and press against the display as if it were a window, reaching towards the Glow Cloud. ".... you're protecting them" she murmurs, trying to reach her mind out; unlike Banagher, Lucine's reach is far more feeble, though it has grown since their first contact.

        But not much since their second, when she tried to reach out, but then ran away when she realized she could lose Liam.

        From the outside, the Dianthus is frozen after that petaled attack, but the sudden threat of bullets from the La Croix's team, courtesy of Schneizel, rip her away from further contact. "...!" These will be stopped too, she reasons with herself, but her instincts are already kicked into gear. The Dianthus reacts as if it was going to be shot, either way, propelling backwards. < ".... Liam?" > Her voice sounds guilty, over the tightband. < ".... I really need to stop trying to protect units much larger than I am...." > At least she's of a mind to point out the humor of the situation. 

KTS: Lucine Azul targets Puru-1 with Pass!
KTS: Lucine Azul has completed their actions for the round.

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        The iridescent barrier lights, breaking off the battle between the Banshee and the Unicorn. Or so it would seem, as both Gundams SLAM themselves against the barrier separating them from the other, screaming violence and hatred as they attempt to break through.
        
        Banagher tries to reach out to the Glow Cloud, to express a feeling, a wish for it to save Elpeo. Lucine screams, but then reaches out, trying perhaps to convey her gratitude. What each gets in response is the equivalent of floating, glimmering eldritch runes jittering in their mind, and a strange, fathomless silence. Whether his wish or her wonder get through or not is hard to tell, but as the Gundams refuse to give up the fight--as the Knightmares close in on the Dianthus and open fire--the Glow Cloud flushes a bright, searing, electric blue.
        
        The MAGI confirm this entity to be an Angel--hitherto designated the Tenth Angel, Duma--and for a moment, all NERV agents can do is hold their breaths, knowing that there are no Evangelion units present to deploy.
        
        Those who were present at the battle in Tsutsujidai against the Black Knights and the Britannian Union forces, or at least those who received reports of it, will recognize what happens next. The once-flat barrier spread out between the two Gundams arcs and curves, bubbling over the two sister units. Similar transparent spheres form over the Knightmares. In an instant, they burst inwards, imploding and vanishing from space--and then reappearing a considerable distance apart.
        
        The Unicorn, to the south relative to the Orbital Ring; the Banshee, to the north; and the Knightmares scattered in all directions in between. The units and their pilots are safe and unharmed... but they've gone a long way away from the battlefield.
        
        The Dianthus, the Wadatsumi, the Ra Mari II, and the Avalon are untouched. What they have in common is that they were not making any open attempts to fight, even if the Gloucesters had launched from the Avalon. Nonetheless, it will take some time for each of them to regroup. Time enough, perhaps, for the Unicorn and the Ra Mari II to get away from the area. If the Gundams wish to resume their fight...
        
        Well, probably best they do it somewhere away from here, as the Glow Cloud... as the Tenth Angel, Duma... partially rests inward on itself, colors now fading to dark violets and deep indigos, points of red blinking like distant radio lights within.
        
        It will lurk where it is for a time. Then, eventually, it will fold in on itself and vanish, leaving behind only a four-pointed star (a cross) of light that too soon fades.

<Pose Tracker> Puru-1 has posed.


        All Banagher asks is that she be saved, the pilot within of the glow cloud. And Banagher makes an offer. Whatever she asks. Just come with him.

        For a while it seems that caged, the Banshee is calming down, that it has given way to sorrow. And then something rises within it again. With a gleam of red eyes, the predatory avian force seems to grow around it, swelling with the extreme hostility it now shows. It's claw suddenly refolds, as it grabs another Beam Saber off its back. It's second Beam Tonfa ignites.

        And everyone with even the slightest sliver of awakening will hear its response bolting across senses that some may not even realize they have.

        G I V E U P

        It makes its demand of Banagher right as it drives all four of those Beam Weapons right into the iridescent barriers in front of it, each one swelling with greater charge, as the Banshee drives all of them to higher output.

        G I V E U P G I V E U P

        Then with all of its Psycoframe imbued might, it keeps PUSHING, as its demand throbs through his head. Banagher knows just how much strength these things can put out when determined, he knows. How determined is it to reengage this fight right now?

GIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUPGIVEUP

        Tomura tries his best to crack the comms, security protocol after security protocol is met. Every attempt to establish a laser link is met with failure. Yet the deeper Tomura goes, the stronger the impression. It's like Vist doesn't WANT the Banshee's pilot to even have the opportunity to utilize its comms. Like they desire no outside contact with its pilot whatsoever.

        Trying Britannia's security protocols finds no purchase, for the simple fact that even Britannia isn't allowed direct contact. Their commands are sent to a handler, that they sends to the Banshee.

        The entire time the Banshee tries to drive through its AT Field, it does not break contact with the Unicorn, as if both were simply large representations of humanity.

        A humanity at war without end. For it matters not if Banagher doesn't want this fight, because the other party absolutely does, and will not back down.

        And then all of a sudden, the assault ends, because a sphere forms around it. It has time enough to shriek a simple psychic denial.

                                   N O

        And it is gone. From an area of high Minovsky density to much lower in an instant, with a different overlooking view entirely of that blue sphere. The Unicorn's psycoframe plating suddenly disappears, as it folds back into the obsidian armor, the horn folding back into place.

        And within, the pilot slumps forward and just breathes, no less full of s o r r o w than she was when she was first denied access to her quarry.

        The comms come on, and the familiar voice of one Doctor Murasame states, "Puru-1. The clock strikes twelve, and the dance is done." The pilot's eyes snap to attention, as her hands grasp the controls anew, "Understood, Master."

        The Banshee fires up again, blue thrusters flaring as it streaks towards a clandestine Vist Foundation hangar on the Orbital Ring.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

<"Captain, the -- cloud, I think we're safe."> He pants. <"Even the Banshee can't break through.">

It's still impossible to breathe. Whether that's a physical sensation or a purely spiritual one doesn't matter -- the result is the same. Banagher gasps for breath, even as Liam calls to him.

<"Liam--"> Banagher chokes, writhing in his pilot's seat for a moment. Even without a spiritual bond between the two young men, Liam will be able to feel Banagher's despair and panic.

The Banshee's relentless psychic assault drags Banagher's spirit down further and further. He claws at his throat, thrashing against his safety restraints. Light extinguishes in his vision, leaving him blind.

Banagher slumps in his seat. The Unicorn grows ever more frenzied, shrieking in desperation to save her pilot.

If the Unicorn pulled two ships to space, what might the Banshee be capable of? Is there a word for a bad Miracle?

Alas, today Banagher's prayer goes unheard by the Angel before him. Vaguely, hope kindles in his heart as the Glow Cloud begins to do something, even though the Unicorn rages all the more ferociously as she's encompassed by the bubbling sphere.

NO screams the Banshee. Banagher reaches a hand out toward the sister Gundam -- still blind, only able to tell where it is from it's horrible aura.

Please! No!

...

The Unicorn is freed from her bubble. She lurches forward, but quickly comes to a halt. Weapons are extinguished. Her Psychoframe goes dim, and her V-fin snaps into a singular horn once more.

Banagher gasps in a clear breath of air, light returning to his eyes. His soul surfaces from the mire it was dragged into, and Banagher wraps his arms around himself. Vaguely, the Banshee's distant sorrow reaches him, growing more distant every moment.

"I'm sorry." Banagher murmurs to himself. "I won't give up, I promise."

What was... any of this? Why did the Cloud interfere? Banagher shakes his head, turning to guide the Unicorn back to the Ra Mari II. Thankfully, it's a short flight.

Once he arrives, he makes a beeline for the crew of the Garencieres. Still in his normal suit, Banagher simply... Stays in the company of the other men. It's grounding. It feels safe.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"...I'm okay," Alouette manages back to Liam, and she does as he advises, breathing out. "...Thanks, Liam." There's no time to focus on how she feels (seen, maybe) after the Glow Cloud makes their appearance.

"Right." Alouette agrees, as Liam compares the situation to what happened to the Britannians. "If they don't stop fighting, then they'll probably..."

She trails off as the Glow Cloud, or as NERV is now designating, the Tenth Angel Duma, emits a brilliant light that transmits the combatants far, far away from each other.

The Banshee too, and its monstrous psychic presence, are gone. Gone this time, but the taunt that she won't run forever remains in memory. She'd like to think there's no need to run, as long as she has her courage and bonds.

NERV will have their hands full dealing with the appearance of a new Angel on top of Char Aznable's declaration... it's still not going to stop Alouette from spending some time in the blissful Orbit Base spa as soon as she gets back. 

KTS: Alouette Pommier's Guardienne Aviaire has been disabled.

<Pose Tracker> Suberoa Zinnerman has posed.

Tomura thumps the console. "Damn it! Every time I break a layer, there's another underneath it and by the time I break through the system's reconfigured two of the broken ones! I've never seen this kind of counter-intrusion encryption before!"

"Keep trying," Zinnerman orders. "The more we learn about that program - "

"Sir." Flaste warns. "Something's happening."

A flash of light and the Banshee and Unicorn disappear, separated by the gulf of the void. "Re-establish communication with the Unicorn!" Zinnerman barks, tapping more buttons on his console.

Banagher's already en route. Zinnerman relaxes, a little, turning his thoughts to the feelings radiating from the Banshee.

"Captain." His oldest friend, Flaste, is watching his face. "I know what you're thinking."

"We have to get her out of there," Zinnerman says, and the other former prisoner nods. "For Marida," they agree.

Banagher stumbles into the conference room, still in his normal suit and visibly shaken. Zinnerman turns in his seat, hanging up his headset, and raises an arm to the young man, inviting him close.

"It'll be okay," he reassures the Unicorn's pilot.

He's grown very attached to the young man. He shouldn't have. The mission is certainly compromised by now.

But even so. 

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        The lights of the newly found Angel dance languidly like an underwater carousel. < ".... I see.... symbols..." > Lucine's voice comes over the tightband with all the strain of a rope suddenly drawn taut.

        The shrieks of despair from the Banshee, the equally pained but fierce cries of Banagher, all a chorus just as discordant.

        But then, like a conductor drawing the noisy orchestra to a close, the chaotic instruments disappear like bubbles to the surface, and the Dianthus is left there.

        Lucine's helmeted head falls back against her cockpit chair. Her eyes are closed.

        < "..... headache...." > Lucine then sullenly reports. Compared to Banagher, it's a less severe penalty for jumping in unbidden as she did; it could have been so much worse. < ".... Going back to Ra Mari II..." >

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam watches, barely breathing, as the Banshee keeps up its frenzied resistance. A bright pain flashes behind his eyes, an intensification of the throbbing headache he usually gets in the Gundam's presence. It--it says something. Liam clenches his jaw and tries to somehow will his response back.

        "No," Liam chokes out, backing the word up with as much of himself as he can manage. Then, over the comm: "<Banagher, stand down--!>" He doesn't want him to test its patience. But with the way the Unicorn's reacting...

        The Angel separates the combatants. Liam doesn't calm until he sees Banagher's signal reappear. "<I'm all right,>" Liam says, over the tightbeam. "<Lucine, are you-->"

        Going back. Right. He wants to follow. He can't.

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