2023-08-18: The Curse First Spoken As A Prayer

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<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

The end of the chase. The 'X" on a treasure map. The legacy of the Universal Century come home to roost at last. Whatever the Vist Foundation has kept shrouded for ninety-seven long years, it will be revealed today.

Though still damaged from the vicious fight against the last remnants of the Sleeves, the Unicorn waits just inside the Ra Mari II's hangar. Her excess weaponry has been unloaded. Now, as at the end of this journey, as at the start, she stands as an empty promise. Only one person can give her meaning.

Banagher Links, floating out to his Gundam, one arm gently supporting Audrey Burne. Once he's certain Audrey is safe and secure in the Unicorn's pilot seat, Banagher straps himself in.

<"You really didn't have to come with me, you know."> Banagher says, quietly, both to the girl next to him in the Unicorn, and another within the Banshee. <"Too many people have died over the Box. Whatever's inside..."> His voice grows harsh. <"...it better be worth all this loss of life.">

Hands tremble on the Unicorn's controls. How many Coordinates? How many allies, and enemies, and innocent bystanders?

Slowly, carefully, the Unicorn flies into Magallanica. All is dark and still, until -- with a familiar noise, the La+ program activates, displaying The Lady and the Unicorn, the tapestry Banagher saw in his family estate the day this adventure began.

The titular Lady stands within her tent (or is she walking out of it?), one hand reaching toward a Box. (Is she opening or closing it?)

Banagher watches the illusion grimly. <"To my only desire.">

How those words have changed over this long year. The meaning is clear -- go to the place he saw this tapestry.

<"Captain Rezza, the Vist Mansion. That's where we're heading."> Banagher broadcasts. He shoots Audrey a glance, and continues forward.

As foggy memories return to Banagher's mind, the Unicorn comes to a landing on the manicured lawn of Cardeas Vist's mansion. Alert messages display in the Gundam's cockpit -- the rotation of Magallanica, the Colony Builder, has come to a halt, creating powerful winds in its interior.

<"I have to keep going. Leina, Audrey -- it's up to you if you join me. I don't know what's waiting for us, but don't forget Full Frontal is ahead of us, somewhere.">

With one last check to his Normal Suit, Banagher takes off running across the lawn (as he had so many times before), one hand in Audrey's, the other in Leina's (there's no way they'd let him go alone).

Inside the mansion, things are eerily calm, perfectly isolated from the growing storm outside. A hundred feet up, one lone chandelier provides light to the opulent home, but Banagher pays it no mind. He knows the way. Up the staircase and through the double doors -- quickly, even as his suit displays the atmosphere is safe. Removing his helmet and holding it under one arm, Banagher pushes open the doors.

"To my only desire", reads the tapestry, covering three walls in this new room, its only companion a piano. As soon as Banagher, Leina, and Mineva halt in the center of this room, it begins to shake --

He steps in front of his girls--

And a passageway opens in the floor beneath them. 

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

It's been a long road. So much pain, so much struggle... but they're finally here. The burnt-out hulk that was Industrial 7 looms large before the Ra Mari II. And at its end, the Colony Builder "Magallanica."

Mineva straps herself in beside Banagher in the Unicorn, shaking her head to his remark. "I also have a right to see this through... or rather, I have a duty to." Her face falls, and she looks at him with sympathy as he talks about what it's cost them.

His hands tighten on the controls, and Mineva lays her hand atop his. "Whatever it is... whatever that's about to happen... promise me that once this is over... you'll come back to us."

She can't bear to lose him now... and she knows Leina must feel the same. They join hands, and the La+ System activates.

"That tapestry... the Lady and the Unicorn..." she murmurs.

She looks to him, and back toward the Banshee, with Leina inside, as Banagher decides where they'll go next.


A nod. "I'm seeing this through... we're seeing this through. All three of us." Mineva smiles, following him out of the cockpit into the raging winds created by Magallanica's stop. She clings to his hand, racing across the lawn with him and Leina, nearly falling over in her cumbersome normal suit.

She breaks the seal, and removes her helmet, letting it sit against her back. She's about to begin exploring, about to start moving herself, when the floor opens up. She looks to the other two.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


It is the end of the road, and yet she feels no elation, no sense of triumph. The feelings of Angelo Sauper still stick with her, as indicative of the worst of the Spacenoid plight. It's a difficult thing to process even now.

To what Banagher says however? Unlike Audrey, she was not there at the beginning, she met him along the way, but... she remembers a boy, in over his head, caught with a burden far too heavy to bear, all tied up within a Gundam, a conspiracy, a looming threat of war. Small wonder, that a connection was forged so swiftly.

"<Of course I did.>"

In the end, it was never a question for her, even if it was a choice. It's just-

"<I wouldn't be me, if I didn't.>"

Her identity was never tied up in a box, but it was tied up in walking the path life dealt her, taking responsibility for the people in her life. That is who she is, and who she has always been. However, what he says next. There is, something cynical within her, a weariness perhaps.

"<It won't, Banagher. There's nothing inside that box that will ever balance the scales.>" However, her tone is not one of despair, of falling back into that pit of depression, because... "<But even so.>"

It would be a mistake to think that her life remains unchanged, by his place within it.

Into Magallanica they go, when Banagher sees that flash of the La+ program's final image, she sees it too, despite not being in the cockpit. As he says those words, naming it, her eyes close, lashes fluttering. She takes a deep breath, and then...

Moves the Banshee to follow the Unicorn. It's only fitting that the Black Lion be there too, even if she never became that by choice.

It is still her choice, to be there.

-=-=-

"<... I'm going, and that's final.>" But just because she says that, doesn't mean she's heedless of Full Frontal. The Banshee comes to a rest not far from the Unicorn, and Leina leaves it powered on, giving one last squeeze of Sayla's hand, as she leaves her behind to guard the mobile suits. "I'll be back, I promise." Clicking her helmet on, she opens the hatch, and hops down from its kneeling position, relying on the low gravity.

She runs through a maimed Colony, hand in hand with Mineva and Banagher, feeling upset that the mansion looms in a part that still looks so very livable. She doesn't have to imagine how Banagher and Audrey felt, watching this place become a warzone.

She lived through similar, but Shangri-La still exists with its patchwork of holes like scars. This place? Noone lives here, or rather noone should live here. The three run blindly the destination of a tapestry. A beautiful relic that belongs in a place for all to see.

Again and again her mind tells herself that it can't be worth it. She can't trust herself to hope in a vacuum, and so she fills it with their presence. And she runs. Her helmet comes off only inside once behind closed doors, only once her suit tells her that this place has a breathable atmosphere, it hinges backwards on the collar of the Banshee's pilot suit, as she looks upon the tapestry once it looms past the antechamber.

A Mon Seul Desir

A White Unicorn, a Lady, a Black Lion. She tries not to ride that wave of bitterness she feels upon the bittersweet nature of this tapestry. In the end, she doesn't say anything, as the door opens. She looks to the other two, and as Banagher steps forward in front, she grabs his arm, as if to convey something simple.

'We go together.'

<Pose Tracker> Tem Ray Circuit has posed.

Magallanica shifts under the feet of the assembled. A door to possibility opens.

A deep, elderly voice declares, "I've been waiting... so that I could tell you only one thing."


Elsewhere, Syam Vist -- seeing who has entered -- makes a remark for himself alone.


Passing through the offered entrance to Magallanica cues something that might seem strange. For a moment, floating through the abyss, all is dark -- but after a moment... fish begin to swim past. Some small -- some large -- and passing by in an impossibly large spiral.

"It took a billion years for the life that arose from the sea to crawl onto land. Another billion years of countless ups and downs were then required for that life to take human shape." The age hangs heavy off that voice as it narrates. "The presence of beings like the Mycenae suggest that 12,000 years ago, 'humanity' moved forward a billion more years in a geological instant... and even then, change so drastic has never visited the lives of individuals, save by force majeure."

The spiral pulls away, and its true shape becomes clear, as they take millions of years' worth of divergent forms: a winding double helix. DNA.

"That has changed in the Universal Century. Once humanity touched the stars, the human heart began to cry out for the power of change. Something that could be discerned by a human observing a single finite life."

The hologram shifts. The evolutionary creatures then shift form once more, taking on wings and reverting to the shape of a whale. 'Evidence-01' -- humanity's first proof that it shared the stars.

"Was it evidence that we were not alone that made humans so desperate to expand their hearts?" Something plucks some of the winged whales from the helix -- and a moment later, replaces those with a Vahla Ena, the whales reported by the recalled Macross fleets. "George Glenn declared himself 'Coordinator,' and in that moment, the idea that the individual could change drastically in a single generation took root."

The helix scatters. The blackness becomes subtly brighter, but still indistinct. "Zeon Deikun spoke the word 'Newtype,' and gave a new name to that hope just as George Glenn did before him. That name attached itself to the reformation of consciousness just as easily as it did to the reformation of human governance. To those who chose 'Newtype' as their name for 'possibility,' the word represented expansion of cognitive ability."

Another hologram -- the Vitruvian Man... though not quite right, perhaps. A great drafter's pencil begins to rub out limbs, to replace them, to redraw the whole shape larger and larger, all-encompassing in this dark space, and yet the same shape still. "As 'Newtypes' crawled from the sea of human potential, so too did other names for it. 'GUND,' then to 'Gundam...' A human consciousness capable of understanding itself at twenty meters with no less clarity than at two. 'Compoid' -- a lifeform born in the sea of human hearts, capable of awakening even the inhuman to humanity."

The Vitruvian Man shifts -- and seen from the side, it's clear that there are two of him. Then four, then eight, then sixteen --

"Even without accounting for the influence of the integration of the Zentradi, humans went from seeing change over billions of years to dozens of names for distinct new understandings in just years. 'Category F.' 'Boosted Man.' 'Giant of Light.' 'Hyper Agent.' 'Evoluder,' 'Semi-Evoluder,' 'Repli-Compoid,' 'Imaginary Number,' 'Perfect Coordinator,' 'Super Soldier...'" The Vitruvian Men each go their own separate ways. "In many worlds, these names would be spoken as blessings."

As they depart, the scene shifts to something more familiar: Laplace Space Station. Outlining itself, it asserts itself into being, only to be replaced by shots of its interior.

"The final night of the old calendar. The instant the Universal Century began," he continues, as names begin to sign a charter, "that is when it was woven." A large laser mirrors the signatures as engravings. Things are silent for a moment, allowing the assembled to look upon the process.

After a few precious seconds, however, all is engulfed in great, bright fire. The scene fades to a more familiar look upon an Island-3 colony. But below...

... below, there is ground -- and there is the genuine article: that monument, signed almost a century ago.

An extra article reads:

If a new species adapted to a way of life beyond the current course of human events, able and willing to bear the responsibilities and duties of citizenship in the Earth Federation, shall arise or be discovered; then they will be afforded citizenship, with all of the rights thereof, and priority will be given to their equitable representation within the government.

A few more moments pass. The voice's owner is revealed within the darkness, resting with a psycommu headband like the one used by Neo-Japan during the 4th Gundam Fight (though not so ostentatious); to the capsule's side stands a tall, bald man with a goatee. The voice declares, as its owner rests opposite the monument:

"This is Laplace's Box. The curse that turned all those other names into curses. And yet: just like those names, it was first spoken as a prayer."

The man with the goatee speaks, now. "This is Syam Vist. The founder of the Vist Foundation, as well as your great-grandfather, Master Banagher." The two of them exchange only the briefest look, before he adds, "A former financial backer of the international criminal enterprise known as Amalgam."

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

<"But even so."> Banagher murmurs back to Leina, the second half of a prayer to the God that is Possibility.

Despite everything they've been through, Audrey's words bring a glimmer of pleased surprise to Banagher's eyes. He doesn't reply, instead bringing his hand to rest on hers -- then to join with it, even as the La+ Program interrupts their moment.

Leina and Audrey's presence at Banagher's side inspires courage in the young pilot. He always feels like he can be his best self in these moments -- when it's the three of them together against some great obstacle.

I have been waiting...

Banagher startles. Magallanica, at last, comes to a rumbling halt with these words. But Leina grabs his arm, and Audrey looks to him with her steady gaze, and he knows they have no choice but to move forward.

The passageway under the mansion is a long one. Dark, quiet, and nearly without gravity, it's enough to put Banagher on edge. Dim red lines of light along the walls mark the way forward, and Banagher follows them down -- again, holding tightly to Audrey and Leina.

<"Whatever happens, don't let go."> He quietly tells them, squeezing their hands.

Everything is disorienting. Is 'up' still the same direction as when they entered? There are no offshoots or alternate paths. Only forward, only down. Doors seal shut behind them, and Banagher glares back at it -- how will they return?

This new space is bereft of even the red guidelines. Taking in a breath, he looks to the dark silhouettes that are Leina and Audrey, about to ask what they should do -- but the darkness only lasts a moment more. Blue light illuminates this strange passageway, transforming into... fish. The elderly voice speaks again, and Banagher wraps an arm around Audrey, pulling her close. With the other, he holds tight to Leina's hand.

Fish school into a double helix, which shifts into a winged whale, and then scatters. Watching the distant, cool glow, Banagher feels as though they are descending through a starfield, all the while the unknown voice narrates their passage.

The voice speaks of Newtypes and Coordinators, as the hologram represents many, many more groups. More than Banagher could truly put name to. It isn't until the hologram grows in color and scope, displaying the interior of the LaPlace Space Station, that he truly reacts.

Powerful men sign the charter and warmly shake hands. Banagher wonders what their true intentions were, nearly 100 years ago.

"Wait a minute..." Banagher speaks, as the narration pauses. "That's the Universal Century Charter monument."

But it isn't the monument he saw in school. An extra article -- golden eyes blink widely, looking to Leina, then Audrey -- until fire consumes the image. Banagher tries to pull himself and the girls away from the simulated explosion in a useless effort. The light is all around them, blindingly white and brilliant. All he can do is shield his face until it fades.

Long moments pass... and the darkness returns. Golden eyes carefully open, readjusting to the low-light, and he eases his tight hold on Audrey and Leina. They're safe. The starlight returns, with the rest of the projection becoming a singular spotlight cascading down...

Haloing the Universal Century Charter monument. Here, somehow, in the depths of Magallanica. Banagher knows this is the end of their journey. As they slowly reach the ground, he approaches the stone monument.

"Newtypes..." Banagher breathes, reading the extra article. "And... so much more."

All those groups the voice mentioned earlier, they have promised representation in the Federation? "What does this..." Banagher starts, before the voice speaks again, from just behind them.

Whirling, he again puts himself between Audrey and Leina and the voice, all-but snarling. But there is no monster awaiting them here, in the depths of the Box, merely an old, old man and his attendant.

Lowering his head, a shadow falls across the Key's face, as he looks on the prone man. His psycommu headband looks almost like a crown upon his brow. Even as the elderly man speaks, Banagher doesn't move, almost-glaring at both the old man and the other.

Syam Vist, he is introduced. As Banagher looks more closely at his great-grandfather, he sees his own golden eyes looking back at him. A chill runs down his spine.

"You've been watching us?" Banagher steps forward, passing out of the spotlight and into the shadow surrounding Syam. Anger sparks from the young man's heart. "Everything that's happened? You saw it all?"

Banagher's voice breaks, and his glare becomes fiercer. Almost at Syam's bedside, now, his hands bunch into fists at his side. "And you didn't do anything?!" 

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


Through a door to possibility, a man speaks. And so the three float in the dark. A hand around Banagher's back, a glance across at Audrey.

"I won't."

When their view vanishes, to be replaced by fish, there is momentary alarm, her hand squeezing more tightly, but then the fish swim around her, and there's a brief sense of wonder. She'd always loved the water on Earth, as if it were a substitute for the weightlessness of space. Yet she doesn't relax, as the narration begins. As the fish twist into that wondrous spiral, that double helix, as if representative of those building blocks of life.

Still, she says nothing, only holding tight to both of them during this, as the evidence is shown, as her space is filled with the winged whale. As he speaks of the Coordinator, and the revolution of the individual that took place within the Universal Century.

It is only with 'Zeon Deikun' that her eyes slowly close, because once upon a time, Zeon Deikun's hope meant so much more to her - to the child recovering from the scars of war. Now it has an entirely different, far more personal meaning. Now hearing this she thinks of Sayla's sorrow, the memories of blood and death. The hope that he represented upon Side 3 being dashed by an oppression of a distant blue dot, by growing authoritarianism and Newtype supremacy that the Zabis represented in the One Year War.

And how their legacy brought untold hurt to her, but... more than that. And with an opening of her eyes towards Mineva, she knows that their legacy brought far more than just pain to her. Happiness, hope. Sometimes feelings can be messy and complicated.

When she looks again, it's at the Vitruvian man, as if representative of the ability to modify humanity, to redraw it's potential, to modify it, to expand it, to show its lack of limits even as a collective. She listens, to so many representations of it, as if to say so many had a similar root in the end. The implications are... staggering to her, and yet also not entirely surprising?

Her eyes are then overtaken by the sight of the Laplace station, on the final night of the old calendar. She doesn't spot it at first, after all, she's focused on the people, a man that looks exactly like Ronan Marcenas - Ricardo she knows from her history books.

However, then she looks up at Banagher's prompting, and her eyes grow a little wider, as it looks at the clause.

"This is..."

Her mind whirls at the implications, from the beginning. What it meant covering this up. What must have been done to maintain the cover up. What it would mean now for this to come to light.

"Predating even Zeon Zum Deikun." She murmurs, still feeling strangely taken aback by the idea that she's a part of his family, "Such kind sentiments, to be transformed into a curse." She says, quietly, of the clause. Indeed, it takes her off guard in how unexpected it is, but- her words from before seem to hold true as she assesses the implications of it.

Her eyes shift, as if attempting to find the source of the voice. They have learned something of curses along the way, on this journey together. They have learned what it takes to break them. And her seagreen eyes look upon the man, so much implied with the simplicity of that headband.

In the end, she is wary of him, the Vist patriarch and his aide. And she ought to be, given what his family did to her. The word Amalgam only emphasizes once again that this is the nature of this family and has been for a long time. Banagher's anger is palpable. She certainly feels it herself, yet- despite her coming into being a mobile suit pilot and the violence that comes accustomed to it, violence was never her chosen way to solve her problems.

She steps forward beside Banagher, catching his hand, squeezing it tightly as if to try and calm him down. This man wanted to teach the person - or people on this journey a lesson, and she intends to figure out what that is.

Even if she never asked for it, she's been a part of this.

"Why? From the start, you've incentivized us all to search for the box because of the 'possibility' it represents. The idea that it could overturn the way things are."

Leina's eyes move to the Psycommu headband, almost pointedly. Perhaps she is thinking about how Banagher told them Cardeas had said that if one intended to restore Neo-Zeon, they would never find the box. This implies a lot to her perhaps on the motive.

"But as the founder of Vist, one could say this is the world you helped create."

There is an evenness to her tone, however despite the matter of fact statement, she does not break into recriminations, instead first focusing on the point of this, "If this journey was a lesson for Banagher, for all of us on the nature of this curse and how it has poisoned the Universal Century..."

A pause, a glance to the other two, before she looks forward again at him and Gael.

"...then it sounds as if you already have a desired outcome in mind, for what is being offered."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

Mineva nods to Banagher as he tells her not to let go--though there's no way she would. It's disorienting. All she has is the lights along the tunnel, and the beacons of her partners' minds... but even the lights disappear soon enough.

There's a soft gasp from her as the space lights up in fish... in a lesson. Narrating human progress to them... she doesn't know all of it. But she understands enough. That everything changed a century ago, when humanity truly stepped into space. Human progress became human evolution.

At the sight of the Charter, she gasps--she knows it well enough that she spots the difference almost immediately. "Banagher, Leina... it's different from the charter we know. There's an extra article."

She's not able to read the full text before it's consumed into flames. But as the real thing is revealed, and she plants her feet on stable ground once more, she's able to look more closely... and her eyes go wide. Reaching out, she nearly touches it before relenting... she reads it aloud.

"A new species...?" she questions aloud. She nods to Banagher's confirmation. Turning toward the source of the voice. Syam explains--that he's the found of the Vist Foundation. Banagher's ancestor. Once a financier of Amalgam. Anger builds in her, the way it does in Banagher--but as he lashes out, she reaches for him. There's a small nod, as if to say 'I feel the same way, but...'

Leina asks why, and she listens... then a question forms. Suspicion builds, and she speaks for herself. "Syam Vist... you've been extorting the Federation with this secret for nearly a century. You've surely exerted immense control over the Federation's course... as a benefactor, as an extortionist... and as an enemy, through your no-doubt sizable funding to Amalgam."

She cants her head, just slightly. "So why would you give all that up so suddenly?"

<Pose Tracker> Tem Ray Circuit has posed.

Banagher's tone becomes accusatory. Syam remains in his calm repose; his chamber shifts to a more standing-like position, facing Banagher more directly. In another world, he might have let this anger go uncommented-on. Here, now...

"I have spent many years as the Box's guardian, staying too long in this body. There was a time when I was party to many interventions." His brow furrows -- almost imperceptibly, but it's there. "In this era, I would rather entrust the future of the world to those who will live to inhabit it. The choice to see that as an old man abdicating his responsibilities or a gift of possibility is yours."

The apparatus turns slightly, facing Leina, now. Leina, who has borne the weight of so many of the Vist Foundation's most violent actions. Even if those choices came with consequences, Banagher has always had the option to make them; Leina has never made any choice but to love, and has been punished for it time and again.

"It is, yes," he concedes. "I made a choice, once. I have stayed long enough in this world to know that the age of men from my era making choices has since passed." Yet choosing to pass on the Box, rather than let it fade into obscurity -- this, too, is a choice. Is he aware of the contradiction, or does he truly believe that?

The chamber pivots slightly, now addressing Mineva and Leina both. "The Federation is at a crossroads. The Zodiac Alliance chose conflict, and has since folded back into the Federation. Operation Meteor and Celestial Being threaten to shatter that consensus or make it stronger still. By UC 0100, the limited autonomy of the Republic of Zeon -- no, of all Federation space holdings currently designated as semi-autonomous regions and refugee clusters -- will be rescinded. Humanity, in this moment, is making choices about which 'possibilities' are 'real.' All those curses and prayers -- including those of Laplace's Box -- will be forgotten."

He remains as calm as ever, amid the maelstrom of emotions. His apparatus tilts slightly toward Leina again. "You are right," he affirms, a little more. "I have had but one desire. If that 'true Newtype' existed -- someone who could embrace the limitless possibility of the human heart -- I wished to entrust the Box to such a person. That one desire, too, gave rise to more prayers and curses than you yet know. If technology could perceive the soul, I wished to know if someone existed who could truly give rise to such infinite possibility."

Trailing off for a moment, Syam stops -- and then begins again. "But that is my desire. There are as many 'my only desires' as there are human beings... no, as there are entities in this world." Here, he turns at last to Banagher. "You could leave the Box unopened. You could destroy it, if you wished. If that alone would not satisfy you, you are even welcome to strike this old fool dead."

"What is your desire? What do you wish for in your heart?" 

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Leina's emotions echo in the darkness, and Banagher holds her all the more tightly for it. Her sorrow, her shock, her wariness of Syam -- Banagher's heart takes them all in and creates a warm, loving sanctuary for them to exist, sheltered from even his own anger.

Until, that is, Leina grabs his hand, and interrupts his growing anger. Coming to a halt immediately, Banagher allows her feelings to overtake his own, taking a soft breath in the silence of Syam's observation chamber.

Audrey mirrors Leina's actions, and Banagher calms. He meets her eyes, trying to reassure her, even in this strange place. She remains in control of the situation, as ever.

Both Leina and Mineva have more reason to speak here than he does. Banagher is quiet, as they do so, keeping his gaze on his great-grandfather. Should their words not be heard, Banagher will certainly intervene. But Syam's familiar golden eyes are even and measured as the girls speak.

Banagher's gaze softens as Syam speaks, understanding in spite of the anger in his heart. How many times has Banagher himself tried to intervene only for things to turn out worse than before? A choice is offered on how to view Syam Vist, and Banagher is quiet, considering.

Let Leina and Audrey's questions be answered first.

As Syam's resting place adjusts to face them, Banagher is on-edge again, but his glare has far less fire. He speaks of the near future, just three years away, and Banagher turns to Audrey. If anyone understands the upcoming political shifts, it would be her.

Leina, in turn, is addressed by Banagher's great-grandfather. Banagher makes a little half-motion, as if to keep himself between her and Syam -- but she deserves to have her say. A true Newtype, someone who believes in Possibility. Again, Banagher shifts his gaze, watching Leina react to these words. Can she still believe in these concepts after -- everything?

Finally, it's Banagher's turn. A decision must be made. The consequences are staggering, more than he could ever be able to predict. All this time, he's searched for the answer, and he's never found it.

But even so...

"My only desire..." Banagher starts, half-turning to look back at the true Universal Charter monument. "I -- don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I wanted to use the Box to help everyone. This isn't what I was expecting, but it doesn't change the way I feel."

A breath. "Audrey, Leina. I'd like to hear what you think before I decide."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


Mineva perhaps asks far more directly, and in the end, Leina finds herself guessing at a surprising answer. Perhaps it lay in the headband at his brow, or his age, or his methods - seemingly contradictory to the life he lived. To a child who once upon a time saw the hollowness of the hearts of the adults that held the reins, that possess the power of the Federation...

... she looks upon an old man, who fully understands his heart is hollow. And wants to offer better to the world than what he himself is capable of giving. The irony causes her fingertips to cross her face, and there is a bitterness to her expression, of this deathbed conversion to this faith in humanity, to Newtypes - to the cause of the people he hurt, people he denied.

How very human, this internalized phobia of one's true nature, and acceptance only far too late.

And so she listens, she listens to this old man answer Banagher, of the line between abdicating responsibility and taking responsibility. As he addresses her and Mineva. As Banagher gets between the two of them in this moment, "It's the only way you know how to live." Leina offers, to the tension between the two ideas, "If this was a test of worthiness, then you are still playing games with people's lives - no, with the destiny of the Earthsphere itself, to offer this gift to the future."

A hollow heart cannot offer better than what it knows. He can only play the games of old men, as the last of his generation to have survived this long.

"And if Banagher had died - you would simply have allowed it to fade to obscurity, along with yourself."

He addresses the state of the Federation, in this moment of solidarity between her and Mineva, all of these groups, all of these crossroads. Her mind whirls around the possibilities, and in the end, there is this realization perhaps.

The box is so small. So insignificant. So much is at stake, that it feels like the box cannot even hope to affect. It's mythology so much bigger than a charter with such a clause that the Federation would never in a million years honor.

This is the world she wanted to change, but in the end, this is the world she is being given. Can it be changed? And if so, how? By what means? It feels like nothing can possibly alter the course of so many crossroads, to steer it in the correct way.

But even so.

"A Mon Seul Desir." She echoes, as he tells her, that he has only one desire. A true Newtype. Yet, it is not only Syam's desire here, he offers a choice to Banagher, and so Leina takes a deep breath, at this moment of decision, squeezing his hand, as her eyes close. As she feels what he doesn't want, and what he wants.

From the beginning, from the start, even when he had no idea what the box might contain, he's always wanted to help people. Right now, she knows she isn't the right person to make this decision of how best to use the box to fulfill that desire. She's hardly recovered enough to even think she's in her right mind.

The fear is strong, the sentiments she is feeling could be coming from the wrong place, but if this moment is Banagher's decision - and he wants to know what she thinks? Then she will answer his feelings as best as she can.

"What I think, Banagher?" She echoes, momentarily troubled, "It's... difficult to trust myself right now. It feels like my voice still isn't my own. That it was taken from me, and I've had to struggle to get any part of it back."

And indeed her eyes level upon Syam Vist, with vague bitterness, as if his way of life - created people that did this to her. To Newtypes in general. "But I'll try, I have to try-" She looks towards Syam Vist, as if to assert one thing, because even if he hasn't said it, hasn't implied it. She knows perhaps, that it is what he is thinking. The curses of family run so strong in Vist's way of thinking, she saw it in Alberto and in Martha.

"-and not just because I'm Artesia Som Deikun's daughter."

She's been many things in her young life. A little sister. A prisoner. A Lady of Neo-Zeon. A victim. A survivor. A student. A volunteer. A theater kid. A swimmer. A mobile suit pilot. A lover. If she survives the day, she'll assuredly take on more before her life ends. It's the first time perhaps she's considered the odd idea she's Zeon's granddaughter too. What a strange world she lives in, that she be given any part of that legacy.

"Zeon Zum Deikun got it wrong. It's understandable that he did, he was simply a philosopher that wanted to believe that humanity's future lie in space, and imagined what human 'possibility' might look like. But Newtypes aren't the future of humanity, anymore than anyone else." And so her eyes sweep across the pair, and move back to Syam, as if indicative of his belonging to this group as well, "We're just people. People who are a little better at connecting to other people, at making certain types of technology work. Trying to find a 'true Newtype' to guide us all into a better future, to separate us from the rest of humanity, to hold us up as an ideal, is as wrong-headed as attempting to dehumanize people who are different from us."

They are perhaps words that need to be said, given how complicit Syam has been in the dehumanization of so many, in a sense, herself included."

"Two sides of the same coin, so swiftly flipped, and it comes with the same results. The ideology of Zeon Zum Deikun coopted by men like Degwin and Gihren Zabi, to form plans of a master race." She does not look apologetically at Audrey, after all, she knows that Leina does not associate her with her family, just as she doesn't Banagher with his. "The possibility that Coordinators represented resulting in the PLANTS, mass deportation - both Blue Cosmos and Patrick Zala. Endless war, disenfranchisement - the prayer becoming a curse for billions."

Again, and again, she thinks of Angelo. A man so much incredulous of the idea he has a voice, that he devoted himself, heart and soul into something inhuman - as a voice for the dispossessed.

"The fears of the Earth elite that we represented an end to life as they knew it took our voice away before we even knew we had a right to one. The justification of any number of atrocities. It's..." A shake of her head as if momentarily overwhelmed, but despite it all, she does not back down, "... if I had to advise you on what choice to make... Banagher?"

She thinks of all of them, of Judau and her just trying to get by on Shangri-La, of the gang that became the crew of the Argama. Of Roux, of Elpeo, and Callisto and Rena. Of Sayla - her mother - and Koji, Sayaka and Shiro, of Renais, and Akane, and Rikka. Tessa, and Alouette. Sousuke and AL. Marida and Zinnerman. Of Eight. All the people she met of Shuffle and the Three Ship's Alliance.

What kind of world would they want to live in? What kind of world can she gift to them, in this moment? Even if she can't change anything, what example can she help set?

"Then I feel that even the original prayer of Laplace must come to an end." She eventually ends upon, decisively, after that pregnant pause. "As kind as those sentiments were, we cannot move forward setting ourselves apart from other people. Trying to break that curse by declaring we are 'True Newtypes' and demanding we are given what we are owed, will only result in the rise of something like another Zeon or Neo-Zeon, its ideals so easily coopted and twisted."

And now, she smiles at the other two, standing here with her.

"Instead, it must become a new prayer for equity within humanity, for a better future - where we all move forward together, hand in hand."

Perhaps the future she desires is impossible, but even if the box itself is so small in the scheme of possibility, right now it feels like the possibility she desires could exist. Not from a box and what's inside it, but from something so simple as human warmth, and human effort.

And is that not worth striving for?

She gives her own advice, her own answer, but then falls silent, for she knows that she is not the only one here who must advise Banagher on what to do with Laplace's Box. Her perspective, most important of all, after all, Audrey has been there since the beginning.

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

Mineva presses her lips together as she hears Syam's explanations, and she nods slightly. "So you saw a pivotal point... possibly the last time that this charter will be able to effect change..." A sense of cynicism boils up as she continues, "And decided that instead of simply letting it go to waste, its power spent... to seek us out. The 'new species' the charter posits, forty years before Zeon Zum Deikun. The 'True' Newtypes you seem to put so much faith in. So that we could decide what to do with it."

Her feelings on the matter are profoundly mixed.

Banagher asks for their opinions on the matter. Her first instinct is to reject the offer of opinion, but... he values his partners' opinions. They're here to see this through, just as much as he is. She listens as Leina speaks, and... in the end, gives her a small smile.

"If I've guessed the intent correctly, Syam Vist, that you searched for a True Newtype to decide in part because this curse was visited on us... I do appreciate the spirit behind that. Though the game that's resulted has led to the loss of far too many lives," she adds with an undercurrent of venom.

She takes in a deep breath, and exhales. "But she's right. We're hardly any more enlightened." She looks aside a moment, thinking. "Zeon Zum Deikun posited Newtypes as the future of humanity, as the evolutionary result of humanity's expansion into space. But... we're not better, we're not 'more evolved'. Simply... different, and no more or less human than you, Mr. Vist."

Mineva's quiet again, for a long moment, before looking to Leina. "I told you when I escaped that protecting a system which exists only to stifle humanity might be committing a crime on the level of my father and grandfather." There's a long look aside, toward the new article on the plaque. "If it were up to me... I think I would reveal the truth. Not to urge these 'new species of humanity' to rise up, but to let them know what we could have had. What we might still have. Because... while these ideals were suppressed, they made it here. They were set into this stone. Every man and woman whose signature is etched into this plaque ratified this ideal."

The smile returns to her face. "That's reason enough to hope, isn't it?" 

<Pose Tracker> Tem Ray Circuit has posed.

Even now, he defers to the others. Perhaps that is what a 'true Newtype' is, Syam thinks as he watches Banagher. "... Of course."

It's at this point that the goateed man intercedes. "The La+ Program is a system designed to identify true Newtypes. The quantum brainwaves of a true Newtype, unlike those of Cyber-Newtypes, are beyond measurement. That in turn leads a true Newtype -- whoever it may be -- to the Box. This was all planned by Cardeas Vist. He never considered putting you in that machine, even in his dreams. I'm certain, however, that he would have approved."

Syam himself, meanwhile, looks to Leina and Mineva. It's the sort of answer he might have hoped to hear, and his face softens slightly.

Magallanica begins to rumble, slightly. Syam seems unperturbed. "There is no cause for concern," he affirms. "Magallanica was built in anticipation of this day."

A hologram appears -- showing every communications satellite and tower and repeater in the Earth Sphere. How they could connect to one another. "You are able to broadcast from here to anywhere in the Earth Sphere. Every communications and broadcast system is available to you. Even with all the power of the Foundation, this was no small feat..." They seem to be circling around a choice -- and they, as the generation that will have to live with it, are entitled to that choice.

"The Federation will do everything in its power to stop you. So, too, will countless other organizations. Anyone who finds this status quo comfortable will be your enemy." His voice begins to strain; this is more talking than he may have done in years. "Now, hurry --"

<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Boots click against green tile, gradually coming into focus under the spotlight of the monument.

"This is actually an act of locking possibility away. You should keep the contents of the Box a secret, and use it as leverage to bargain with the Federation. That is what will lead Spacenoids to true prosperity." He looks to Banagher, then to Mineva, and then finally to Leina -- his lips turning up slightly, but his expression still remains inscrutable behind that ruby-eyed mask.

The eyes glint in the light, a thin psychoframe trace ringing them.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Leina presents the hypothetical of Banagher's death, and he shivers. Was he really only here because of the time of his birth? The last chance of an old, guilt-ridden man? If Cardeas had never taken Anna Links as his lover, would Syam have let it all fade to obscurity, as Leina offers?

It's too much to worry about in the face of such an enormous decision. Bangaher shakes his head slightly, refocusing, as Leina speaks. Golden eyes dart her way as she squeezes his hand, and he manages a little smile. Even now, she's thinking of others first.

"I know." He murmurs, in reply. "I'm so sorry to ask now, but I don't think we'll get another chance."

Accompanying these words is a cold look toward Syam. He bears some responsibility for what was done to Leina. Pride swells in Banagher's heart as Leina asserts her identity, her true self, and he carefully listens to her.

Feeling her memories echo through their bond, Banagher turns to look at Leina as she speaks his name, offering both his hands to her. Their friends and allies, everyone they love, all of their needs... It's a heavy burden, especially for Leina, who has suffered more than anyone for the sake of this Box. Banagher hears her words with a smile, grateful and loving.

Audrey's turn is next, and while still keeping one of Leina's hands in his own, Banagher shifts to listen to her. Another smile, as he takes Audrey's hands. The three of them together -- Vist, Deikun, and Zabi. Families that have shaped the Universal Century. Is it fate that their scions are the ones making this decision?

"Leina and Audrey are right. We're no better than anyone else just because we're Newtypes. Just because we communicate differently -- it doesn't mean we're some kind of super people." Banagher shakes his head. "A true Newtype, I don't think something like that exists. Anyone can become a Newtype. Anyone can create a Miracle. The Light of Possibility -- it exists in all of us. No matter if someone's a human, or a Repli-Compoid, or whatever." Golden eyes warm, shimmering with the dim light of LaPlace's Box. "That's what I believe."

The man with a goatee speaks up, and Banagher looks at him warily. "A Newtype can't be determined by something like brainwaves! It's about how open someone's heart is, how much they're capable of connecting..."

Cardeas Vist's name is spoken. Banagher goes quiet. "My father... If he didn't plan this for me, then why --" He cuts himself off, eyes misting at the secondhand praise. "...thank you. I -- hope you're right."

Banagher looks down, eyes faraway. In his memory, embers of a desert fire swirl into the sky. The faces of those he's lost flicker before him in the blaze. Wira. Permanence. Cardeas. Without thinking, he reaches out, as if he could bring them back.

"Even so. Not just as a Newtype, but as a human being, I believe in the future." Banagher looks to Audrey, then Leina, and finally back to Syam. "The people, and the Possibility that we all possess. LaPlace's Box began as a good thing. A prayer for equality and acceptance. But it belongs in the past now. If we truly believe in what's to come, and our ability to change things."

Banagher's hands shake in Leina and Audrey's grasp.

"We have to trust in ourselves to build a better world. That's my decision. Show the world the truth, and together--"

A flash of familiarity blurs the young man's awareness. He feels him, the color of burning amber, a moment before Full Frontal steps into view. Banagher puts an arm out in front of Audrey, stepping forward toward the Ghost of Char.

"Full Frontal." Banagher doesn't meet the older man's smile. It infuriates him. "Lieutenant Angelo called out for you until the very end! Did you even care when you sent him and the rest of your people to try and stop us?!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


Leina doesn't say anything to Banagher as he apologizes for asking, but in her eyes is this simple idea. 'I chose to be here, for both of you. Don't apologize for the asking.'

Mineva's cynicism is one she feels extraordinarily deeply, indeed she is mired in cynicism within her own brain at the moment. She must turn to the others in her life for hope right now. When she points out the contradiction, she thinks again of those old men in that room.

The hands.

Again she must turn to them both to ground herself. And to Mineva's smile, she looks back at her, in her agreement. But agreement is not only what Mineva offers, her own perspective as not the Zabi heir, or a Newtype - but as herself.

She gives her a chagrined look as she points out what she said to her before she leapt, but Leina doesn't seem too embarrassed at least, seeming to instead take pride in her perspective of why she had to leap. And why she must do, what she is doing right now.

To reveal the truth.

And so the three stand then, hand in hand, in accord. As people.

When the goateed man speaks, Leina looks to him with a sort of surprise and- suspicion, and perhaps disappointment at the idea. She hates the thought of this sort of inequality between even Newtypes and Cyber Newtypes in this man's ideals. It's not that she doesn't know that some Newtypes are stronger than others.

It's just that she understands how quickly such talk can be used to justify dehumanizing Cyber Newtypes.

Banagher protests, Leina's expression looks like it could suddenly curdle milk from her displeasure alone, as she instead says something else in response to what was knowledge gained from Newtype experimentation.

"I'll thank you then if we can let knowledge of this facet of the program simply die here today."

Perhaps that is the answer, not simply to do away with it, but to take it as a lesson to create a new prayer. Her seagreen eyes soften, and she nods, "It is." And she wraps her hand more strongly around Banagher's as his father is invoked. She listens to him too, as he draws his own conclusions, as she holds his hand so tightly it feels as if it might steady the tremors from the grip alone.

The rumbling concerns her, even as Syam indicates it's nothing worth being concerned about, and an offer made. A broadcast that can-

He's not kidding, that's no small feat, even for a group like that. All it would normally take is a small amount of Minovsky interference between here and the Earthsphere, and yet...

"Together-

It is an opportunity. An uncomfortable one. Who does this? Who reveals themselves to the world? In the end, there is an answer, but she hates what the answer must be.

But all of their sentiments are interrupted.

"Full Frontal." Leina says quietly, as he instead outlines what they should do with the box And indeed, she feels the rage Banagher has for him over Angelo Sauper, she feels it too. "Is that the decision you think we should make?" She asks him in a cold tone before answering tersely, voice pregnant with the irony of the situation...

"I'll thank you not to ask me to dance for you."

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

Mineva can't help smiling at Banagher's convictions. The idea that a Newtype isn't measured by quantum brainwaves, but by the openness of the heart... it's a very pure idea, one that reminds her of why she loves him. She squeezes his hand tightly.

She watches as the hologram charts out the network for a pirate broadcast that can reach every receiver in the Earth Sphere. There's a smile, a faint one, on her lips, a mix of admiration and deep distaste crossing her mind. A man who's done such awful things... but here and now, he's given them the tools to hopefully make things right.

"Together," she echoes the other two. Her own ruminations, on the sort of world they'll wake up to a day from now, a year from now, are interrupted by the arrival of Char Aznable's ghost.

"Leave us, Full Frontal. You're nothing--just made in Char's image. A ghost of a man who hasn't died... A world of constant war, a status quo which will continue to kill billions." Mineva straightens out, facing him fully beside Banagher. "And who's to say that this isn't playing into the hands of the Earthnoid elites? Your creation was thanks to the efforts of a high-ranking Federation official, after all. Have you never wondered whether this movement you've spearheaded wasn't simply a play into the Federation's hands?" 

<Pose Tracker> Full Frontal has posed.

Full Frontal allows the trio a moment to speak -- and addresses Leina first, lip quirking up slightly. "If you were still set to dance on strings, I imagine you wouldn't be here," he says, before agreeing, "Yes, I do."

Banagher's indignant anger doesn't give him any pause, either. "Such actions were, and are, the inevitable movements of this era, Banagher Links," he answers, direct and to the point. That answer in turn leads him inexorably into answering Mineva, in turn.

"Perhaps. That may have been the case at first, but since his return, I have ceased to be such a ghost." The latter comment gives him pause, but he ultimately shakes his head. "As long as humanity exists, these forces will push and pull it along. To serve the Federation, an existence like mine would have to have come about in some other era."

After only a momentary pause, he affirms, "... I am no longer empty." He strides toward the monument, saying, "It is not I who desired to come here and see the true contents of the Box." Placing his hand on it, he wonders aloud, "Whose desire was it...? Whose thoughts are in this vessel?"

"I, too, would like to know the answer to such a question. But alas, I do not." He disengages his helmet, pulling it off -- and a moment later, the mask, too. Turning to Syam, he says, "Syam Vist, patriarch of the Vist family. As leader of Neo Zeon, and as the one who speaks for all spacenoids, I'd like you to place Laplace's Box in my care. To be clear: this is not something that is up for negotiation. I ask that you do not interfere as you did during the key's handover."

"There very well may be truth in what you have said," Syam answers him. "It may be that the Box should remain unopened so humanity may continue to go on living in the reality they have always known."

"Then why?"

"Let me explain. The contents of Laplace's Box do not belong in the hands of any individual who would only utilize its unveiling as a bargaining chip. Men such as you -- and I." He remains in repose. "Men such as you and I. Listen to me, ghost of Char... vessel of the Universal Century's resentment. The Universal Century will reach the 100-year mark soon. It's clear that this is no longer our time. Is it so unthinkable that the time has come for us to turn over the reins to the children?"

"You believe that these three are true Newtypes, then." Full Frontal sounds... disappointed, in this result.


"It is of little consequence. They followed the path that led to the Box and they have made their decision. I intend to abide by whatever their decision is."

Full Frontal stands between everyone and the monument, bringing his mask back up to his face. "As you wish. I do not care to engage in any further acts of war. However -- if you will not accept my request, I will have no choice but to take the Universal Century Charter by force." He draws his weapon; in the next instant, a grid of lasers cuts him off from the other assembled parties.

Syam draws forward slightly, no longer in repose, and the headband across his head flares with the light of psychoframe. Portable drones equipped with laser weaponry discourage Full Frontal from moving further; rather than press, he absconds.

Sinking back into his bed, Syam affirms, "He truly is a ghost."

The goateed man reports to Syam Vist again, having departed the scene during Full Frontal's monologue. "Gael," Syam says, acknowledging the transmission. "Guard the communications module with your life. If that is destroyed, we will be unable to broadcast the truth to the whole Earth Sphere." He waits a moment, then responds, "Never mind me. You are up against Full Frontal. Do not let your guard down."

In the next instant, the exit above them opens.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

<poem> Taking a sharp, angry breath as Full Frontal addresses Leina, Banagher restrains himself from snapping at the Ghost. Leina deserves to have her say.

"You don't get to absolve yourself from what happened! Just saying it's the way of the time we live in?" Banagher thinks of those final moments with Angelo, the way the other man called out for Full Frontal with his whole heart. "You coward! He's given you everything, and you can't even take responsibility!"

Golden eyes watch the Ghost of Char reach out to the monument. Banagher doesn't react as Full Frontal touches it, instead glancing back to Syam. Was this, too, part of his plan? How much of a hand did his great-grandfather have in creating this man who calls himself a vessel?

Staying quiet as Syam and Full Frontal discuss the Box, Banagher squeezes Leina's hand, giving her an intense look. There's no way this will stay peaceful. Full Frontal is backed into a corner, and they all know it. If anything happens, Leina has to get Audrey out of here. Banagher will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

True Newtypes -- the concept breaks through Banagher's thoughts, as does Syam's answer. It gives him pause, and he looks again to his great-grandfather, wonder in his eyes. After all this time, Syam can still believe in possibility...

A gun is drawn. Banagher puts his arms in front of Audrey and Leina. "Full Frontal--!" He hisses, ready to throw himself at the man if he has to, but--%r%r

It seems Syam was prepared, at least, for this much. As the lasers drive the ghost away, Banagher looks to Audrey, then Leina, checking on both of them. They've all survived unharmed.

As Syam speaks to his attendant, Banagher turns his gaze to Audrey. They've come all this way together. Starting and ending, here in Magallanica. No words need to be said between them. Just as Banagher has been prepared on this journey to defend Possibility, Audrey has been prepared to share it with the world.

Letting his hand slip out of Audrey's, he looks to Leina. Softly, he presses their foreheads together. "Please, stay by my side, one last time." He whispers. "I won't ask for anything ever again."

With that, hand in hand with Leina, Banagher propels himself up toward the exit. Looking down, he manages a confident smile. "We'll come back, Audrey. I promise!"

Once they reach the Vist mansion, and outside it, the ground erupts with destruction. In a blur of deep red, the Neo Zeong rises before Banagher and Leina, the high winds kicked up by Magallanica's stillness threatening to blow both of them off their feet.

Syam's attendant -- Gael, Banagher thinks -- meets the Neo Zeong with his own machine, buying them time. But a normal mobile suit versus that Monster... The only thing Gael can do is buy them time. Banagher grits his teeth, resolutely holding to Leina as they both run.

Explosions rock the ground as Gael's machine crashes into the Vist mansion. Banagher doesn't stop, pulling Leina, his breath coming in gasps.The Neo Zeong raises one of its many, many hands, glowing with malevolent strength.

Gael's voice comes through Banagher and Leina's helmets. "What brought you here was your own free will, not a curse. Do not waver."

Banagher turns, unable to stop himself, taking in the Neo Zeong towering over his childhood home and Gael's downed machine. Full Frontal fires.

You are... your father's...

Gael's final words pierce through the young pilot's heart, tearing through the fragile calm he's managed to surround himself with since they entered Magallanica. Death, sharp and agonizing, surrounds Banagher in a momentary haze. How many is this, now? How many have died for him, or because of him, on this journey?

Emotion wells up inside him, overflowing, radiating from Banagher like the light of a star. Shaking his head back and forth, unable to handle the spiritual agony rocking him, he opens his mouth and screams:

"UNICORN!"

The Neo Zeong turns from the ruins of the Vist mansion, facing Banagher and Leina, radiating Full Frontal's cold aggression. He turns his beam weapon toward the pair, scorching across the ruined manor lawn -- but only for a moment. Green light bursts against the Monster's hull in a relentless fire pattern. It causes very little damage, but it's enough to pull Full Frontal's attention away.

"Hurry!" Banagher shouts to Leina, kicking off the ground. The Unicorn and the Banshee should be just above them, now!

Three shields, glowing as verdant as the distant cosmos, circle around the Neo Zeong. Their machine guns whir with activity, bullets pockmarking crimson armor.

Their distraction only lasts a moment. Full Frontal turns away from the glimmering shields to fire on Banagher and Leina, helpless in the air -- only for all three shields to form into a defensive wall between the pair and the Monster, turning away his attack.

And then, through the wall of the Colony Builder, the Unicorn emerges. With no light of her own, she charges to Banagher and Leina, leaving debris in her wake. With miraculous gentleness, she comes to a halt before her beloved pilot, cockpit opening.

"I'll protect you." Banagher says to Leina. "Get to the Banshee!"

The second he touches the Gundam, it illuminates from within. Armor smoothly slides apart as Banagher straps himself in, until the Unicorn's horn splits in two. Another burst of fire from the Neo Zeong -- and again, the shields catch it, rotating before the Unicorn.

Thank you, Banagher expresses, to his machine.

She will understand in her own way.

As Full Frontal begins to destroy the remains of Magallanica, Banagher stares him down, the Unicorn's shields reacting to protect both him and Leina. The Neo Zeong escapes to the outside, and the Unicorn pursues, driving the red beast before her.

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