2023-08-18: Over the Rainbow

• Cast: Banagher Links, Leina Ashta, Mineva Lao Zabi, Trevor Teach, Eight York, Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta, Guy Shishioh, Naoko Suzuki, Casval rem Deikun, Ruri Hoshino, Lucine Azul, Judau Ashta, Angelo Sauper, Alouette Pommier, Sayla Mass, Roux Louka
• Where: Side 5: Magallanica
• Date: U.C. 0097 08 18
• Summary: Upon returning safely from the End of Time, Banagher Links and his companions find themselves targeted by Gryps II, the Colony Laser. Unable to evacuate, they place their faith in Possibility -- no one moreso than Banagher himself.

---

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

BGM Start - 7thMob.:2014051 (Stop at 3:16) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIMsfmykRCI

<"Captain York!"> Banagher calls, fumbling on his radio. <"You need to evacuate the Ra Mari II and the Nadesico from this sector right away! Take everyone with you!">

The Unicorn turns, facing a distant danger. Perhaps others in tune with their senses will feel the ominous shadow falling upon them.

Banagher looks back to Magallanica. Audrey, and Syam -- there's no way they can get out in time. Can the ships even make it far enough? Banagher takes in a breath, brings a hand to his heart, and lets it out.

<"I'll put up a Psychofield in front of Magallanica. I know all of you will want to stay and help me, but please, think. You all have people back waiting for you. People relying on you. We have no idea what Psychofields are capable of -- this might not even work. Please think this through, and evacuate.">

With that, the Unicorn propels herself between the faraway enemy and Magallanica. Her shields orbit around her. Banagher takes slow breaths, contrasting the terrified beating of his heart. "I'm sorry, Audrey. I'm going to break my promise." He murmurs. The last time he tried to do anything so Miraculous with the Unicorn, he felt himself slipping. If he does this now, logically, there's no coming back.

Even so. In his soul echoes the same few words, over and over, bearing the same promise Banagher can feel with his own heart.

Something is targeting you.

<"Audrey! You can hear me too, right? Take Syam with you and evacuate to Industrial 7 right away!">

As he reaches out with a hand, propelling the Unicorn's three shields in front of him, Banagher feels Leina's refusal. Of course, she would be by his side now, after everything they've been through. Banagher didn't expect anything else, though his heart twists in fear to think of Leina in the crosshairs of a Colony Laser.

<"Alright."> He relents, once the Banshee reaches the Unicorn. Her hand turns, softly accepting the Banshee;s grasp. Gentle acceptance and love echoes from the Unicorn's pilot, overcoming his fear. <"Thank you, Leina."> He pauses, then goes on, quietly. <"If my father had just told me all of this from the beginning, it would've changed everything. It's sad, isn't it?">

Nothing has ever been able to stop both of us before. There's no way a Colony Laser will be any different.

Others join Leina, refusing to abandon Banagher. Alouette lays out the reality of their situation -- there isn't time to do anything but make a desperate last stand. Banagher's heart hammers in his chest, caught between belief in his friends and terror at risking all of their lives. Most people here don't have a Psychoframe-enabled machine -- but Miracles aren't limited to Psychoframe alone. There are as many defensive systems as there are robots and ships in the Earthsphere, and even those who can't offer a way to fight back against the Colony Laser itself can support the others.

Banagher takes a breath.

<"We can do this."> There isn't time for doubt. <"I've seen my own belief in Possibility work Miracles again and again. It's saved me, and the people I love. Belief in Possibility... We all saw it cause the Axis Shock. Most of you were there when everyone's hearts came together to save the Garencieres and the Ra Mari II. It lifted them from gravity's hold and brought us all home safely.">

Twinkling in the near distance, radiant light shines from the Unicorn's shields, interlocked to form the first barrier. Banagher's hands clench into fists.

<"Hold the one thing you desire so tightly you can't see anything else! Stay between the Unicorn and Industrial 7! No matter what happens, dont give up!">

---

0030.00

0029.00

0028.00

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

~Not Long Ago~

Full Frontal issues his challenge, as the Three Ship's Alliance rises to meet him. A Psychofield forms, aglow shimmering in prismatic light. And two figures watch. Syam Vist, resting upon his bier, hands crossed over his chest in repose. His face awash in the cynicism of his age as he speaks to the other with him.

"I wonder what sort of future will all this give rise to? It's possible that nothing at all will change. Words are nothing more than words. Even laws are interpreted in whatever manner best suits people's interests. Naturally if the Box is opened, there will be some commotion for a while. There might be a movement to enforce that article in the name of Spacenoid Independence. But they will ask, 'do Newtypes actually exist in the first place'? After all the debate and investigation, a definitive conclusion will never be reached."

The other, Mineva Lao Zabi, in her normal suit turns to face him, while keeping one eye upon the screen watching events unfold.

"Even so. Banagher and Leina will do what they believe is right, as will everyone else who have been there by their side this whole time. Just like the people who etched their sincere goodwill into this monument a century ago. Just as you have done protecting this monument, so that their kindness could be made known to us now."

Syam's face breaks into a rare, transient thing, a smile, before his eyes close. "He has found himself good partners. ... Princess Mineva, I would like the world to hear the truth from your lips. Tell the people living in the Universal Century our only desire, in your own words."

His headband shimmers. The bowels of Magallanica come to life, consoles etch as it traces paths, and makes connections between the Earthsphere entirety, and beyond.

~Now~

On the Ra Mari II, several call out to Banagher, Takuya Irei for example, "<You two! This is crazy! The properties of a Psychofield are unknown! We can't rely on it for something like this!>" Whereas Micott Bartsch, tearful, holding Banagher's Haro says, "<Don't you dare die Banagher! Too many people have died already!>" The Haro flaps, lit up, as it echoes, "<Banagher, don't die! Banagher, don't die!>" And Takuya tries to reach out again, in a sort of desperation, acceptance, "<Banagher, let's go back to school together, you hear? No matter what it takes, you've gotta finish high school!>"

The appeal seems almost absurd at this moment, but perhaps that kind of absurdity is what the moment needs. Meanwhile, on Magallanica, Banagher receives a calm reply, from a quite composed Audrey, "<Banagher...? We will stay here. You're both confident aren't you? Then go prove it. And make sure you both come back! Breaking your word to me won't be tolerated!>"

The Banshee's fingertips briefly touch the Unicorn's, "<Thank me by not breaking the promise you made to the two of us.>" She tells him, with a certain raw sincerity in the moment. After all, he's not the only one putting everything on the line. So many of them are, she herself is, for her loved ones here - one of whom is in the cockpit. However, she seems to understand intrinsically that Banagher will be so quick to push himself further for everyone here.

Still, she cant help but think of Audrey, risking it all for this. She doesnt try to sway her of course, her mind is made up, she can tell. Its just, Leina finds herself ruminating upon what shes risking it all for.

<"It is, sad.>" She echoes Banagher, <"I admit, growing up through all I did, it's hard for me to be charitable to them. Does knowing they intended a glimmer of hope unto future generations really make the act of deporting all those people better better? ... I guess that's the benefit of hindsight, to be able to pass judgment on the actions of the past generations, to think we would do better, know better.>"

Syam Vist after all was a teenager when he came into the hands of the Charter. And Leina remembers what it was like being a child in Dakar, amongst all those adults. Did he have similar feelings to all of them back then? Was he making similar decisions, as the world slowly hollowed him out?

"<The reason Im here is for all of you. Its hard to think that anything we do here today could actually change the world. But... even so. Maybe the opportunity to change one more curse of the Universal Century into possibility? That feels like something worth striving for.>"

Without a word, she reaches across to Sayla, and grasps her hand. "<Even with whats coming, I refuse to say goodbye to any of you. Instead - thank you. Thank you all for being a part of my life.>"

And despite the prior cynicism, there are warm feelings there, offered to all. It is not simply Sayla's hand she is touching, even if she's the only one she can physically. It feels like all of them. Judau, Roux, Renalle, Banagher, Mineva, Eight and so many others here... it's as if she's holding the thing she desires as Banagher had said, a future with all of them, that a distant countdown would deny.

"<You're the truest miracles of my existence. So I'll believe in you here, too. Let's all go home together.>"

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

"Do you think I'd be able to abandon you here, now?"

Isadore has been mangled by its run-in with the Neo Zeong, this is undeniable fact. But in its hand is Full Frontal's cockpit, and in its exposed heart is a Space Pirate who has come too far and seen far too much to back down at the last.

And so it is here. It is /here./ Isadore takes a position along the Banshee and Unicorn's flanks, shattered form unlikely to be of much use here as a physical blockade-- but that was never what this was about.

Full Frontal showed them so much. The two of them, Trevor and Isadore, followed a twisted, tortured path through history, just like all the rest of them. But the first memory they'd seen was that of Axis' fall, and the one thing that stuck out about the first advent of the Miracle Light--

Was that it was /never/ just Amuro Ray's miracle. Never Char Aznable's. How many people had put their lives on the line then, to push Axis back out into orbit? All to protect the home that they all loved.

Well.

Magallanica and Industrial 7 were never Trevor's home, but it's sure home to some other people. Other spacenoids. Other people who grew up on what is functionally underneath the table of the Earth Federation, eating the scraps tossed to them by Anaheim and everybody else. Just like him. It's Banagher's home, too. And... Right now, they're all here. In the path of that terrible light approaching from not so far away.

And there's only one thing that'll possibly save all those millions of lives.

A miracle.

"I made a promise to Rita. That I'd be here to fight where she can't. Well, Isadore's no Psychoframe Goddess like the Phenex or her sisters, but I reckon a couple more newtypes might just tip the scales in our favor." Trevor laughs, there's just a hint of sarcasm in it. "'Sides, I-- /we/ finally found the Box! How am I gonna go home to the Cap'n and brag about helping to bring down the whole damn Federation if I die here and the thing gets blown to smithereens?"

"I'm ride or die with you, Banagher. You too, Leina. It's all or nothing, so let's make a good show of it, eh?"

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Eight York gives an order.

...It isn't to leave. It's to move to reinforce Banagher, and to angle the ship towards him.

"<Even if I were inclined to leave>," Eight says, "<There's no time to gather my pilots. I won't abandon them. Or you.>"

Around the bridge, Eight looks around. Enba Rezza, always thoughtful, meets her gaze with a solemn nod. They keep most of their feelings on what's happened to themself--the talk of the Box, of the Universal Century...

Eight happens on Licia Chovan, who looks to Eight in turn, and nods. "Our engines aren't getting us out of here that fast anyway, Captain." She says it as if it can't be helped. But really, "<Banagher. Bring your heroic ass right back to this ship when you finish there. I won't accept anything less than you and Leina both.>"

Tempo Astelian is nervous. He can't help but feel anxiety at what's coming. Nevertheless, "We're with you, Captain." Pause. "<Everyone... Do what you can. Belief helps things like a Psychofield, right? If it does.. then I'll believe hard enough for three of us!>"

Gidon Kall nods, working up the necessary calculations for his work on the computer screen. "<Rerouting power towards deflection fields... Might buy you guys another few moments. But make them count!>"

Finally, Itsuki Kazama breathes in, and out. "...We're professionals, Captain. We will do what is necessary." A pause. "<Banagher... We're not friends. But maybe one day we can be. We believe in you--all of us. So get out there and show that monstrosity how it's done!>"

Eight nods to her crew. "I'm glad we all agree," she says, lowering a hand over her belly. She has to have faith that it will work. "<No... I've /chosen/ to have faith," she finishes her thought. "The Federation... Whether or not we believe that what they did was right or wrong, all those years ago--and I believe it was wrong--we have a chance, now, to show our resolve. Let's do it!>"

Finally, over the radio, a boisterous male voice chimes in, "<Banagher! Leina!>" Lavnadim Orlodhari speaks from Main Engineering in the Ra Mari II. "< I am diverting a power flow towards your Pscyhoframes! The system is not very designed for this, so we cannot run both the engines and this flow. However, as we have chosen to stay, and believe in you...>"

"< I put my faith in you, my friends. For all those we love here. For my new family. We will weather this together, yes?>"

Eight on the bridge smiles, faintly. "...We're on the same page, then."

Also over the ship's intercoms, "<Attention all crew. We are in great danger. The only solution is to trust in ourseles and in our bonds. You've seen what the Unicorn can do before... Now, it's going to need more even than you've seen. Please continue to execute your duties to the best of your abilities... and believe in the path that we've chosen.>"

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"Banagher!" Rena cries out. "Leina!"

She feels herself hitting a panic. It's almost like she isn't in her own body, then; like she's seeing it outside of herself. (Her therapist would have something to say about that.) She sputters, for a moment, as she looks down at her screen.

And Eight gives the order. She smiles a little.

"I'm on my way, Captain!" she answers Eight. "Come on, Annie, Nova... Banagher, Leina, just wait for us!"

The Gaia Gear Alpha's Psychoframe flares to life; green motes of light flicker out from it, swirling all around, as the white Mobile Suit rushes to the two Unicorns.

"Mister Teach--" She can be unfailingly polite. "Save some of that determination for us!"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

The firing of the Colony Laser looms ahead of them. Evacuation has been suggested... but it was made immediately clear that there's no time. Anita drums her fingers against the console for a moment.

...What can they do?

Anita listens as Banagher speaks. They can do this, he says.

Well... if the only thing she can do is believe, then she'll believe as hard as she can.

"...Rena!" Anita calls out. The Svipul accelerates through space toward her Gaia Gear, one hand reaching out to grasp it hold on tight, to fly alongside her as she rushes toward Banagher and Leina. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it together, right?"

She can hear Eight and the crew of the Ra Mari II express their belief... So many of her friends are gathered here.

"Everyone... we're makin' it out of this. Nova, you ready to make another miracle?" She says. She says it with her usual casual confidence. ...It's a bit of a front, right now - even she can't remain completely calm in a situation like this. But she trusts everyone.

She's not a Newtype, can't interact with Psychoframe... but there is /one/ thing she can do. Anita reactivates manual control over her Pinpoint Barrier, her fingers sailing across the console.

"I don't know how much it'll help... but I'm gonna direct every bit of my Pinpoint Barrier forward and stretch it out as far as I can go. If I can buy us even a second, that's good enough for me." Anita announces. The barrier flickers to life around the Svipul - and then is projected outward, forward, in the expected direction the Colony Laser will come from.

The XVF-25I Svipul is the product of everyone who's brought them this far. It bears contributions from the engineering prowess of the Ra Mari II, the Nadesico, and the Eternal, and even the engineers of Orb. Right now, she'll put her trust in all of them that it'll hold out.

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy comes back to the present, the world forming back into the world as he knows it. But...

He sees them before Banagher speaks, GaoGaiGar's sensors easily zooming in even that far. Standing on Magallanica's ruined struts - a young man and a young woman, red hair and brown, both in green, their faces despondent with worry. "It's not over yet," Guy says, tension shooting through his body. "Something's still coming."

Alouette's screens show the zoom-in, but do not show the people.

Alouette gets the word from Orbit Base, so obviously, so does he. "Colony laser," he hisses. "We'd need a massive Eraserhead for that! Choryujin's out, so's Tenryujin...what's the status of Seiryujin!?"

Hana replies from Orbit base, fret entering her voice, "She went to support the operation at Cheyenne Mountain!"

Guy flexes his left wrist, thinking of the Protect Left Arm of Protection. "It'd overwhelm a Protect Wall in seconds," he mutters. ..."But that doesn't mean we're out of it! I'll move us into position! Alouette! Signal for *two* Gatling Drivers! And then we're gonna need to do some calculations!"

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Following the battle with Full Frontal, Naoko's machine was left in a poor state, Sukeban's armor partially melted and both of its arms severely damaged. Eight had made the sensible suggestion for her to retreat, which she had been intending to do, though she lingered a moment longer, unable to get herself to fully withdraw without being absolutely sure of their victory.
Her relief upon that victory and the return to normal space was short-lived, however, with the news of an imminent attack from a Colony Laser. Her initial reaction was disbelief. How could this be happening? Why was this happening? Then she realized that this wasn't the time for questions like that. Everyone's lives were in danger.

Banagher made the sensible suggestion for the Ra Mari II and Nadesico to evacuate the area, but... there is so little time. A Colony Laser is a superweapon capable of wiping out entire fleets! What are the odds of everybody getting clear in time?

In her estimation, the better odds would be to rely on a miracle happening. No. To /make/ a miracle happen. Even if she has no idea how she personally can help with that... she has to be there, where the miracle will happen. She simply has to.

As the situation changes, so does the order. Without any hesitation, the Sukeban engages its still functional thrusters, and follows after Rena's Gaia Gear. As for Banagher's wish for them to evacuate, to think of the people waiting for you, relying on you... even without Eight's order to support him, Naoko's answer to that is clear. "No one is waiting for me... no one who isn't right here! So... so this is where I have to be! I have to, because..."

She looks to the Gaia Gear and Svipul next to her Arm Slave, a smile in her voice regardless of the dire circumstances. "Because... you were kind to me. Because you helped me when I needed it most. And I still haven't repaid that debt!"

But even so, having said that... even being encourged to work a miracle by Anita... what exactly can she do? She's here, where the miracle must happen, but... her machine isn't capable of generating anything like a Psychofield. She can't help but look at the Unicorn and Banshee before her, and the Gaia Gear beside her, with envious eyes. Desperately wanting what they have, to make the kind of difference they can.

"The will... to protect life," she muses. Why can't that be enough? She finds her frustration rapidly building. "But I... I have that will too, don't I? So why? Why can't I do anything to protect those I care about? Why don't I have this power? Why can't I be the one to create this kind of miracle?!"

If I can't do this much, then why was I even born...?

In her desperation, she reaches a breaking point, heralded by a sudden surge of mental activity from the Sukeban.

"I can't... I can't accept it. I'm here. I'm right here! And you're telling me there's nothing I can do to help?! I can't accept it! I /won't/ accept it! I won't! I... I...!"

Naoko's mind opens fully - a cry for help. There are no words, thought nor spoken, but the emotionally expressed wish is clear enough without them.

'Someone, anyone, tell me what I can do.'

Her plea does not go unanswered.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ym5-Wlk8zY

Short, shallow breaths. Pupils glaze over, then widen. Time appears to slow, then ceases to hold any meaning.

Naoko would recognize the signs of what's about to happen, if she had any memory of the instances in her life where this happened before. There are, however, others with her that do.

>"Oh crap, not now! Ariel, we're losing her! We have to snap her out of it!"<

>"Uriel, wait. I think... I think this is what needs to happen right now. Probably."<

>"Probably?! This is a hell of a time to start betting on the long odds!"<

>"Hehe... I guess you two have been rubbing off on me a bit. I just... I want to believe in this miracle, too."<

>"You idiots are going to be the death of me. ...Heh. What the hell. If that's what you've decided, then count me in."<

Short, shallow breaths. Then, suddenly... Naoko /lurches/ forward in her seat. Her fingers fly across the touchscreen in front of her, executing precise operations with perfect accuracy at impossible speed. Though her gaze seems focused on the rapidly scrolling text in front of her, she's not seeing any of it. She doesn't need to, all that is in her mind fluidly translating to the actions of her body. Simultaneously, she mentally transmits instructions for what is about to transpire.

>"Uriel, keep me tethered. Ariel, send Uriel a disconnect signal once the danger has passed."<

No more is necessary. They know what to do, and so does she. In this moment, it all feels so simple. After all, the prep work is already done. Her own machine contains the necessary functionality. She's has the opportunity to study the Gaia Gear's OS in great detail. And she has the method to inject arbitrary code into it right here, still present after the last time she used it.

All she needs to do now is insert the relevant parts of her own OS into that of the Gaia Gear's on the fly. What could be easier, using the tools she installed the Sukeban with?

This is when Rena will notice that something is happening to her Mobile Suit, in the most alarming way possible: a forced shutdown. All of a sudden, her instruments instantly die, rendering the Gaia Gear completely immobile, without any way to even radio for help. For an agonizing few seconds, there is only darkness inside the cockpit, the realization of being dead in space.

Then, one by one, screens spring back to life once more, quickly filling with raw code, inexorably scrolling by. Popup windows with the futile warning 'hacking attempt in progress' close as quickly as they open. It cannot be stopped. All agency has been stripped from the pilot. She is at the mercy of whoever is doing this - though she may have an inkling of who that might be. Especially considering that person is very close by, and considerably 'louder' on a mental level than she usually is. Moreover, it's not the first time she's done this, and this time it's many times more invasive still. So much for that promise to not do it again.

The process completes without any fanfare, all systems coming back online without incident. Except for one: propulsion. The AMBAC remains offline - the Gaia Gear absolutely cannot move from this spot. The reason for that is simple. Even with these modifications, the plan won't work without one more element. Physical contact. Luckily, despite the severe damage to Sukeban's arms, she can still use them. Not without damaging them further, but that hardly matters as this point. She'll only need one strike.

Without warning, the Sukeban whirls towards the Gear Gear, its right hand flattened with its palm up, glowing red. And in the next instant... it is driven directly inside the side of Rena's Mobile Suit, with all the penetrating power of a Heat Saber.

It may feel like a miracle that this act misses any critical systems, but it was an entirely calculated maneuver. In this moment, Naoko knew exactly where to strike, and how deep she could go - how deep she'd have to go, in order to achieve what was necessary. Just enough to expose the Psychoframe, without causing any damage to it. All it takes from there is a slight wriggle of the hand, extend its index finger just a little bit further... and make contact. Her eyes close...

...and when they open again, everything has changed. She's floating in space. She can see so far -- /feel/ so far. And for the first time in her life, she feels truly powerful. Unbound by the constraints of her small, weak body. Yet it's something she can only afford to get a small taste of, right now. This connection is improvised, not carefully or reliably constructed, tenuous at best. It should suffice a short time, and even then, only if she keeps her focus fully on the task at hand.

Had Naoko been in her normal frame of mind, she may have been overwhelmed by the rush, of reaching further than she's ever reached before. Mentally communicating with a machine is one thing. Being mentally linked to one is quite another. However, as she is right now, it's little more than a data point. To feel so closely connected to the Gaia Gear as if she were the machine itself is on the extremer side of her calculations, but the situation remains within tolerable levels. There are dangers, of course, hence why she's employed the help of her AI companions. One to keep the connection stable, one to terminate it immediately just as soon as her assistance is no longer necessary. Until then, she cannot abandon this course, no matter what happens. This is what's necessary right now, for the sake of the miracle.

With this, she's done all she can. She shouldn't take any unnecessary actions, keep her mind fully on the task at hand. The task of serving as a conduit. An amplifier, to increase the reach and scope of a signal. All she needs now is for someone to send that signal. To add their wish for a miracle to her own.

Rena will hear the request coming from her own machine, in the form of a distorted mental 'voice' that barely still sounds like Naoko. Simultaneously, those same words appear on the main screen in front of her in bold colored lettering.

          GUIDE OUR WILL

The rest is up to Rena, now in possession of a mobile suit that, even without a complete machine-wide Psychoframe on the level of the RX-series, has become capable of matching them in regards to the power and magnitude of the Psychofield it is capable of generating.<poem>

<Pose Tracker> Casval rem Deikun has posed.

Char watches, as the Unicorn and the Banshee race to interpose themselves between Magallanica and Gryps II.

It's futile, a voice whispers inside his head. They're all going to die.

I'll be alone again.

The battered Nemo's head turns to observe GaoGaiGar as it moves to join them.

Even the King of Braves cannot withstand this power. By all appreciable metrics... we're doomed.

But...

He suddenly realizes he's been steering the Nemo forward in the Super Mechanoid's wake.

Neither he nor Amuro understood, back then, why so may pilots from both sides flocked to support the Nu Gundam as it pushed back Axis, despite the fact that their machines could not measure up to the sheer forces of heat and gravity at play in that apocalyptic scenario.

Now he has a closer grasp of it... Perhaps they would rather have spent their lives trying to fruitlessly avert a catastrophe than live with the regret of hanging back and watching it happen.

Artesia is there. She's part of this hopeless last stand.

... If he doesn't join her, then he's left her behind for good this time.

This way, at least, he can try and keep a promise.

The Nemo accelerates. It cannot project a psycofield like the RX-0 machines. It has no access to the tremendous space-bending abilities of GaoGaiGar's Left Arm of Protection.

He can, at least, position the mobile suit behind the Unicorn and Banshee, one arm on each mobile suit's shoulders in a bracing position, as he opens the velocity-optimised suit's thrusters to maximum. "The force of blocking the laser is likely to crash us into Magallanica... I can at least help push back." It's absurd, on the face of it. All of this is absurd.

Amuro believed.

Artesia believes.

He can at least try.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        The Nadesico does not retreat -- no doubt due to some impassioned speech of its Captain, within. No: The shining sword of the Three Ships Alliance moves /forward,/ to take a defensive stance.

        It's sure not to be too /close/ to anyone.

        "Now calibrating Distortion Field," Ruri Hoshino reports, all too mildly. "Expanding output. 100%, 200%, 300%... all allied units, please stand clear."

        The Nadesico's Distortion Field, powered by its strange Phase Transition Engines, has the power to deflect all manner of blasts -- and it's a destructive, crushing force in of /itself./ It could almost be called the Nadesico's third weapon, and as they are now, it's their /only/ weapon: Ruri has cycled all available power to their Distortion Field output.

        They have no hope of firing the Gravity Blast Cannon, as they are, now.

        "Banagher," Minato Haruka says, looking up to the screens. "We're putting our hopes in you..."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        "Rita... you once told me technology like this was too dangerous for humanity..."

        Lucine absorbs that lone moment of silence after that intense battle with Full Frontal, speaking alone to her cockpit, her radio turned off. Rita may be far away due to the presence of two of her sisters, but Lucine speaks aloud all the same. ".... It might likely still be, but if this all goes right... I may have evidence of what it can be capable of. If we fail... please tell my mom about all the things we did... she's a Newtype too, so... she'd likely be able to hear you." The thought of her mom being alone grips Lucine as she realizes her own mortality.

        "This is a world where flowers bloom." She closes her eyes, as she says the mantra, accepting it. Death, and life, are both possible.

        All there is is now.

        < "Banagher, Leina. I'll do whatever I can to help." >

        Situating herself behind the two Psychoframes, it's not as if the Dianthus can contribute to a shield of any kind. The Dianthus was meant to strike and flee. Its speed could be outclassed by something dedicated strictly to flight, but as a fighting model, it's designed well for its purpose.

        No ship could outfly a laser, though. The Dianthus is no exception.
        
        < "..... There's nothing wrong with trying." > That's Lucine's encouragement to Casval, a man she'd realize, a second later, is the Char from her history modules.

        The realization hits her, and Lucine is glad no one can see the bewildered expression on her face. .... Well, no one except the Nadesico, through the magic of *windows*, but there's quite a few things more important right now.

        Which Lucine also realizes, seeing the Nadesico's signature still on her display, refusing to move. < ".... You guys..." > Her gaze softens in the window screen. < ".... The Nadesicrew really is something special. If spirit is what's needed.... the Nadesico has no limit to it." >

        She smiles, and focuses ahead.

        < ".... A person can have more than one home in their heart... and these places, the colonies, Earth, and the Nadesico... are my home!!" >

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

Something's coming.

Even after all of this - perhaps BECAUSE of all of this - Judau can still feel that knot in his gut that always tells him something bad is on the horizon as the wrecked form of the Double Zeta exits that space beyond space, that time beyond time. Backup power is enough for the eldest Ashta and his purple-haired partner-in-crime to hear the conversations taking place over the radio within the all-encompassing shroud of the cockpit's gunmetal walls.

There's blood working its way down his forehead from head trauma incurred during the fight with the Neo-Zeong; the pain is a far distant thing as he pulls off his helmet, wide eyes squeezing out a blink as he listens.

Something's coming.

It's a pulse in his senses. An undeniable pressure at the back of his mind.

And as he listens to the assessment from the Nadesico, those wide, seagreen eyes just widen further.

The Colony Laser.

"Shit," he utters, his words lost to all save Roux. "Shit!"

The Colony Laser. Of course the Federation would wait until the last moment to swoop in and sweep the unseemly remainders of this little mess under the rug, now that most of the work's been done for them. Of -course- they would. It's practically the Federation's favorite pastime. Judau grimaces inside the ZZ's cockpit.

"Every time. Every damn time. God dammit. Is it really going to keep ending up this way...?"

Maybe he won't have to worry about it for long. He refuses to go down without a fight, but what can he or Roux do, with the ZZ in this sort of state? The young man pounds a gloved fist into a wall denser and tougher than steel.

... and then he hears Banagher. Hears his plan. Intuitively, Judau understands what Banagher is trying to do -- and what he's going to give up in the process. More importantly...

I know all of you will want to stay and help me, but please, think. You all have people back waiting for you. People relying on you...

Seagreen eyes narrow.

<"You dumbass!">

It's the first two words Judau has to say over public communications about the entire situation, coming through with the struggling spout of static as the waning power of the ZZ struggles to keep these basic systems afloat. Thankfully -- Judau can be as loud as he needs to get his point across.

<"Think? Like hell I'm gonna do that! -You- got people waitin' for you! People relyin' on you! -Both- of you! If you're gonna run off and be idiots about this -- then so are we!">

Judau closes his eyes. His hands clench the controls of the Double Zeta, as he draws in a breath. "Come on, partner. Come on. We can do this. One more time!" And in that breath... he draws in all that will to persevere despite all logic, too, as those eyes snap open wide in defiance.

"LET'S GO, DOUBLE ZETA!"

Floating in space, the deadened optics of the Double Zeta flare with pink-red life.

                                ~^~

There is still life in Magallanica. The obvious, of course. But also...

Near the abandoned colony of Industrial 7, a pure white Geara Zulu waits upon the wings. The Geara Zulu belongs to Zechst Ade -- but the second lieutenant of the Sleeves' Royal Guard is once more aboard the Rewloola, sent back with the damaged Rozen Zulu upon his superior's request.

The one borrowing Ade's mobile suit makes no moves. There's nothing he can do here, at this moment. They lost.

... They lost. And he only wishes he could feel surprised about that.

Now, all he can do is wait for the Colony Laser's oblivion to come. But it's not acceptance of the end that made him stay. No -- his gaze, his attention, is focused squarely on the cockpit in the Isadore's grasp, even as people foolishly try to defy the same end all these sad stories play out to.

"..."

He might have nothing else left anymore.

But Angelo Sauper is not leaving this place without the one thing that matters to him.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette had already outlined the facts of their situation: there was absolutely nothing left to do but risk their lives for this. Alouette's hands shake in her seat in StealthGao II. How could they not be? Seeing that light from the Colony Laser build up to wipe them all out in less than a minute is nothing short of terrifying.

But no matter how scared she is, she holds courage in her heart. As Banagher might put it, she places her last remaining faith in possibility.

Alouette is uncertain of the science behind a Psychofield... but they can at least support it with everything they've got. No matter how limited their options may be...

"/Two/ Gatling Drivers..." She nods, gravely. The situation certainly calls for it. "Hana, if you'd please! Two Gatling Drivers, both Kit Number Five!" She calls, desperately. Thankfully, the moment they received Akane's transmission, Orbit Base deployed their fastest division ship, the Mizuha - GaoGaiGar receives both drivers before it's too late.

Alouette pulls out a tablet she absolutely had the entire time, tapping furiously, the light dancing across her eyes. "Do you intend to reverse the effects of the gravity lens to deflect the laser? It's a long shot, you know... that much energy is much more likely to shatter the Gatling Core and GaoGaiGar with it." She gives the bad news first, of course, before a smile forms on her face.

"But that doesn't mean it's impossible... with so many other forms of defense being attempted, we have a sliver of a shot! And we're going to take it, right?" Guy's Evoludal power means it's easy to transmit her calculations to Guy in moments, granting him the most accurate angle to bind the Colony Laser fire with the gravity lens!

"Banagher, Leina... everyone else, the rest is up to you. We /will/ all make it home. And I'm holding that to you both!" After all, her own greatest desire has yet to be fulfilled.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Moments ago, Leina and Sayla had come to the same conclusion.

        Not so long ago, she would have been ordering everyone to flee. To try and get out of the path of the beam. She would have hardened her heart to losing people here.

        But today, that's unacceptable. Leina reaches across to take her hand, and Sayla responds in kind. "I'm with you. No matter what "

        Leina refuses to say goodbye to anyone. "<We have one shot at this. One chance to stop this. We've had to fight hard already. But I ask you to make one more push. Please, give everything you have left. We have no choice but to stop this. Believe in Banagher, believe in Leina. Believe in yourselves.>"

        Recently, talking to Sousuke, she wondered how to help him focus the Lambda Driver. A weapon that was unpredictable, powered by one's will. But you cannot just order people to perform a miracle.

        "<All of you have people and places to go back to. Believe that you will survive this. That you will go back to them. No one sacrifices themselves, no one disappears. We all survive this, and we all return safe.>"

        Belief. That's how you perform a miracle, isn't it?

        In the corner of her eye, she sees the Nemo come up to brace them. Char doesn't have any psychoframe in that machine... but he's staying.

        "Casval..." It had been so long since the Deikun siblings had stood together. But today, they had fought alongside each other. Seen the moments where their lives diverged. "Thank you."

        She touches her other hand to the psychoframe fragment underneath her suit. Every little bit helps, right. "Leina, Banagher. I believe in you both." The touch comms let her send a more personal message. "You can get us through this. Together."

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.

An evacuation order. Something is casting a shadow on them now. Something huge and silencing; seeking to quiet whatever is hidden away here, at the end of all this struggling.

SOMETHING is coming.

And soon it will be here.

Roux feels her heartbeat quicken. The strain of battle, already chaotic and disabling. She lets her head dip downwards at what Judau protests, and her eyes shut. For a quiet moment she simply falls down into that opening.

All of it. A waste of effort.

The best you can do is scrape out a better seat in this system.

Maybe some day it will end, but not by your hands.

And maybe it won't end. Maybe this is the peak; the plateau; the long road into the future, with chaos and death and horror on those who rise above their place. Silence enforced by -

-

somewhere in the back of her mind she remembers a red sparkling light.

Is she alone?

She isn't. Banagher didn't give up. Mineva's out there. Rena, too. The thousands of people on the Ra Mari II, on the Nadesico. She can feel other people. Something ironic and paradoxical though she can't put her hand on what that feeling is. Banagher is pleading with them and the front of Roux's head, the part of her head that's always told her it's not worth throwing a fist into someone's face, thinks he's right.

And even so...

Roux clasps her hands together, and for maybe the first time in a life of no particular religious background, she prays. It's silent. She is imploring, perhaps, more than anything. However, she is a practical girl at heart, and so she does not ask God or Heaven for help:

'Come on,' Roux thinks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_tYbqXFN9c

'One last time. Please. We don't even have to shoot the weapons. I don't understand what he did to the High Mega Cannon but the lights and the transmitter are still on in here and that means it can't be that badly ruined.'

'You hear that, can't you? All of them are crying out, but he loves you. He needs you. So please. Come on, Double Zeta. Please --'

An intuition twinkles in the back of her mind. Roux blinks and pulls out the power monitor console, which has remained on - the paperthin screen in its supporting frame unfolding upwards to reveal...

"Core Base is still on...? Hold on hold on --"

Route to Core Top... hold... FLASH -- fusion recommencing - link to the Core Base then, double plasma feed in, magnetic compression come on come on and then it's a clumsy THWOM sort of sound but it steadies out and Roux exhales hard enough to throw fog on the front of her Normal Suit's faceplate, turning her head afterwards. Towards Judau; his eyes are easy to see, even through polarized glass.

"Let's go," Roux says.

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

BGM Continue - 7thMob.:2014051 (3:16 onward) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIMsfmykRCI&t=196s

Banagher can't help but smile at the voices of Takuya and Micott and Haro. <"You guys..."> His vision misty, the young pilot clears his throat. <"No matter what, please keep Haro safe, okay?">

Audrey resolutely rejects Banagher's despair, addressing him as the true Princess she's come to be along their journey. Shaking his head, he clears the tears from his vision. <"We'll be back before you know it, Audrey! Please believe in us!">

Despite everything, Leina's fingers meet Banagher's, just as the Banshee's meet the Unicorn's. How can she still have such grace and love inside her, after everything she's been through because of LaPlace's Box? It's a Miracle... /she/ is a Miracle.

<"No promises will be broken today."> Banagher vows to Leina, softly. <"We'll turn this curse into a blessing, just as we have for all the others. <"I love you. Besides, I still owe you the best date ever. There's no way I can go anywhere yet.">

Despite the Isadore's terrible condition, Trevor lines up next to the Unicorn and Banshee. Banagher clicks his radio on, almost asking Trevor to leave, terrified for his newfound brother -- but. Even if the Isadore is broken apart, Trevor has just as much right to try and protect them as everyone else. After a moment of silence, Banagher speaks. <"Thank you, Trevor. This will be a story they'll never get tired of hearing, I'm sure of it!">

Captain York, Banagher's steadfast ally through tragedy and triumph, meets his call for evacuation with an order of her own: belief in Banagher. Belief in her crew. <"Captain..."> He starts, before messages from the rest of the crew of the Ra Mari II begin to flood his communications. Banagher sits, stunned, at the sheer belief in him they express.

<"Yes ma'am!"> He replies to Licia, a smile on his face. Tempo Astelian, despite his fear, stands bravely with his comrades. <"Yes, belief can change everything! Possibility is open before us, we just have to find the right path!"> Gidon Kall's efforts earn a fresh wave of emotion from the young pilot, as Banagher manages a soft: <"Thank you. Everything -- anything will make a difference now.">

Itsuki Kazama, who Banagher has not met, still lends her voice to the chorus. <"If you're here with us now... We're friends. I couldn't ask for anything more. And I know we can do this!">

In a flash of insight, Banagher remembers Eight's child. A fresh wave of fear echoes from him -- it's not just his friends Banagher has to protect, but an innocent baby as well. Just before fear turns to panic, Eight and Lavhi speak to him, and the young pilot relaxes. If the baby's parents believe in him, then Banagher can do no less. Power, transmitted across space to the Unicorn, thrums through Banagher's own veins.

<"Captain York! Lavhi! I won't let you down! The Miracle you showed me -- it's worth fighting for! It's worth everything! I won't let you down!">

Rena pilots the Gaia Gear Alpha into the defensive line, calling out to Banagher and Leina. Before the young pilot can reply, another machine -- this one belongs to Nova, Banagher remembers -- lodges itself /inside/ the Gaia Gear Alpha. In shock, Banagher almost breaks formation to try and help Rena, but... It seems to be alright.

<"We'll need your strength, Rena. The Gaia Gear Alpha's perfect for this moment, but -- so are you. You and Nova both. Both of you believe in Possibility as much as I do, and that's what we need!"> Banagher takes a breath. <"It's going to be enough! All of us together!">

Anita shows off her technical prowess again, unveiling her Pinpoint Barrier. Banagher feels a fraction of the weight on his shoulders ease as the shield projects outward. <"Thank you, Anita. Everything counts, especially a shield that strong. I knew you'd be here with us. You always have been.">

The hands of the Nemo land on the Unicorn and Banshee. It's hardly surprising. Banagher feels like he can understand Char -- Casval, now, after what he saw on their shared journey through Time. Of course he would stay. Of course they could depend on him. <"I'm glad we have someone with experience,"> Banagher jokes, lightly. <"I believe in you, Casval.">

Lucine calls out, not to Banagher, at first, but Rita. In the corner of her eye, Lucine may see the shimmering silhouette of a bird in flight. She has been heard. The Heart of the Phenex, though she may not be present, has her eyes on the ones she loves. Lucine's mantra, her belief in flowers to come, echoes in her mind as Rita repeats it back to Lucine.

A voice calls from the Nadesico -- not one Banagher knows, but their faith echoes loud and clear. It crosses the space between the battleship and the Unicorn to strengthen the Beast of Possibility and her Key. <"Thank you -- thank you for staying, and protecting everyone. I know you're giving all you have, and -- I promise, I will too.">"

Banagher, making last-second adjustments to the Unicorn's system, is startled out of his focus by Judau's shout. He didn't think the ZZ was even capable of radio contact anymore -- but here it is, Judau and Roux inside, resolutely staying to try and protect everyone.

<"J--Judau!"> Banagher laughs, shaking his head. <"You and Roux have always believed in me, even when I didn't deserve it... Thank you. Thank you, I --"> His laughter turns to tears, and Banagher switches off his radio, taking a moment to get his emotions back under control. <"We can do this. Together.">

Alouette, along with Guy, make their own preparations. <"What was it you told me about bravery and victory?"> Banagher murmurs. <"I think that's about to be put to the test. Take care of each other in there, okay?">

Sayla's belief echoes from the Banshee to Banagher's heart, bringing warmth and reassurance with it. If Sayla can believe in Miracles, after everything she's seen and been through, they /can/ do this. There's no doubt. <"I won't give up until I've brought Leina home safe. I promise.">

---

0005.00

0004.00

0003.00

---

With a glimmer of light, dire awareness flashes across Banagher's mind. <"NOW!">

Arms spread wide, the Unicorn illuminates with impossible verdant glory, the radiance spreading further and further against the inky expanse of space. Her Psychofield is easily as wide as twice the Nadesico's length, though terribly thin. Banagher is using all his strength to stop the reach of the Colony Laser, counting on the strength of his allies to hold back its force.

A heartbeat later, the Unicorn's interlocked shields radiate the same radiant strength. Praying his friends are ready, Banagher allows himself to intertwine once more with the Unicorn.

I'll do whatever it takes to save them. Please, lend me your power one last time.

---

0000.00

---

A world away, Gryps-II, large as a Colony (and consuming as much energy as one), reaches the peak of its strength. Blue light climbs up the spectrum, as the weapon fires, until the beam that comes scorching forward is blinding white.

As the laser passes by the Earth, it curves away slightly, desperate to avoid gravity. Heedless of fear it must be inspiring on the planet below, the weapon continues firing, straightening out again once it escapes the Earth and streaking toward Industrial 7. Unfortunate ships or mobile suits caught in its path don't even have time to realize what has happened to them before they're turned to slag, leaving nothing behind in the Laser's wake.

With a soundless crash, the Colony Laser impacts the first line of defense -- the Unicorn's triple shields. Despite their Psychoframe echoing the Unicorn's unlimited potential, they are unable to hold it back. Malevolent light passes through the first barrier effortlessly. The shields vanish without so much as an explosion to mark their destruction.

For those trapped watching the attack play out, it will be a terrifying, blinding vision. Almost like the universe's most powerful strobe light, the Colony Laser relentlessly fires. Unfeeling, unmoved by the desperate stand of the heroes before it, it simply continues.

Forward.

Forward.

Forward.

Banagher flinches at the loss of the Unicorn's shields, feeling as if a part of him has been shorn away -- but there's no time to linger on it. The Unicorn and the Banshee are the next line of defense. Bathed in the white-hot laser, the Beast of Possibility shudders, her battle-worn armor cracking under the strain. Though the Unicorn and Banshee hold back a portion of the laser's might, more still forces its way past them.

Everyone's spirits unite against the deadly threat before them. The Nadesico's Distortion Field shines, perhaps brighter than it ever has, single-handedly holding the Colony Laser back for long moments. This buys time for the Guy to raise his own powerful protections -- his calculations complete, and successful.

Belief translates into strength, from all those who have protection to offer, and those who must solely place their faith in their friends.

Even so.

It isn't going to be enough. Despite everyone's hearts aligned for this one, single desire -- it's not enough. Gryps 2 is too powerful, bearing down on Industrial 7 with the strength of the sun. Defensive systems falter, red lights flashing and warnings blaring across all those present to stop the attack. They've given all they have.

Will it all be meaningless, in the face of the cruelty born from the Universal Century?

This realization comes to Banagher all at once, another flash that leaves sharp clarity in its wake. What else can he give? What more can be done for the ones he loves? Is there something he's been holding back? In these precious few moments his friends' efforts have bought him, he searches for the answer.

Yes.

If his only, true desire is for this to stop, he has to let go of everything else. All his hope to return, all his fear for his friends, all his belief in Possibility. The Unicorn's (Banagher's) fists clench, and then relax open.

Banagher lets his golden eyes close, feeling his connection to his body start to fade away. Everything that's brought him to this moment was possible because of the Beast of Possibility. It's time to give it back to her, all this power he's borrowed.

It's happened once before, hasn't it?

When he saved Leina.

That pure sense of purpose.

His only desire.

It was enough to take the Beast of Possibility to new heights.

Why would now be any different?

Now, as before, crystalline structures burst from the Unicorn's Psychoframe. Interior becoming exterior, as within so without. Arcing through space in graceful lines, like something from a circuit board, they reach out, drawing in strength from the hearts of those who love her pilot. As soon as they have appeared, they're gone again, leaving behind beautiful expanses of crystal. They grow across the Unicorn, heralding the wondrous excess of power in the machine -- more than could be physically held. She must adapt to accommodate it all.

I've waited such a long time to speak with you.

Banagher's spirit gazes up. Someone is here, waiting for him -- and perhaps she always has been. Clad in a simple white dress, with golden hair cascading around her shoulders, she looks down on him with sweet, proud kindness.

There are things you haven't been able to see, but here, we can both see them. Even time seems to glow.

He knows her. The one Leina has spoken of. Heart of the Phenex. Sister. As if sensing his recognition, the smile on the spirit's face grows all the sweeter, and she descends to softly caress his cheek.

No matter how deep the despair is, hope always rises out of it. You are light, Banagher. You can even use sadness as fuel to illuminate the path.

Rita Bernal. She presses her forehead against his, and Banagher's mind fills with knowledge, joyful and bright. Everything beyond this existence, the light waiting for humanity, just on the other side --

We're all standing at the threshold now. Maybe, humanity is ready to cross it while still in their physical bodies.

Rita laughs, the sound echoing between them as the concept of bliss and hope itself. Perhaps this is a future she never saw coming. Perhaps not. Does it matter, here, in this place without strife?

When they're ready, their path will lead here. Over the rainbow. Take my hand, Banagher.

Their fingers intertwine, green and gold, and Banagher shares in Rita's fervent belief. The Unicorn, beneath them, crowned in her crystalline glory, begins to change. Rita's fingers release Banagher's hand, and her spirit steps back. The entirety of who Banagher is returns to the Unicorn.

He isn't a singular being anymore.

They are not Banagher anymore.

Time stretches out before them in its shimmering expanse, and they find they can understand all of it.

As the crystals grow across their body, the light the Unicorn exudes changes from green to a brilliant spectrum of color.

A rainbow.

With unearthly grace, it passes over the ships and mobile suits present, imparting a beautiful, lingering glow. With it comes a fragment of the euphoric peace echoing from the Unicorn. The rainbow shines forward into the glare of the laser...

...and Gryps-2 goes dark.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

"I know." She smiles at her after a moment, still sounding apologetic, "Thanks for believing in me, Mom." Enough to tell it to the world, even when all of them are facing down certain death.

And as Banagher tells her that he owes her a date, "<Double date actually.>" Leina indicates to him, giving Sayla a knowing look, "<We owe that much to someone.>"

Judau calls Banagher a dumbass, and Leina cannot refute this incontrovertible fact. However, the moment she hears him say 'Think? Like hell I'm gonna do that!' she gets immediate second hand embarrassment, and exasperated basically immediately is called to defend everything she just said, "<Judau you and the Double Zeta are all beaten to hell!>" She replies, as if trying to tell him maybe he /should/ think. "<You don't have to be the idiot /THIS/ time! This time->"

-I'm going to protect you.

A repeat of the past, history rhyming. The words almost spill out of her mouth without thought, not so long after she said she'd believe in them all. But it's different to her, when it's her brother. So many years of their sibling dynamic, their brand of affection baked in, nearly turned her into a hypocrite.

Seeing the Double Zeta right now, she still remembers the Double Zeta nearly split in half by her Beam Magnum shot. It takes a second as if she were recalibrating her entire reality for her older brother, then- "<Fine! Get out here! If you're gonna be a dumbass I guess NOW is the right time for it!>"

It takes her a moment to come down from her urge to bicker with everything Judau says, as she feels Roux out there. A presence? A presence she's reaching out to, the Double Zeta? Leina blinks her eyes, as if trying to parse this, then finds herself calmed by it, "<Roux I know I don't need to say this, but watch out for him.>" A beat, "<Make sure he doesn't do anything I wouldn't do out here.>"

Which is perhaps, funny, as Judau is being exactly the kind of dumbass that Leina is right now, just perhaps a little moreso given the state of the Double Zeta that Roux is hastily reaching out to.

"<A good show?>" Leina smiles within her cockpit at Trevor's words. "<We're less than five minutes to curtain call and /now/ you're telling me to break a leg?>" A note of fondness, before she offers, "<... Thank you.>"

Eight tells them she won't abandon them, that there's no time to gather her people. She almost counters that. Instead she sounds low key exasperated. "<God, you're such dummies. Especially you Captain York! You know we'd cover for you-!>" Leina replies to the crew, even as Lavhi offers to help empower the Psychoframe, "<But it's why I've always thought the crew of the Ra Mari was something special.>" And in this moment, Rena feels something calming coming from Leina, "< I'll always wait for you, Renalle. Come on, get behind me. The Gaia Gear is a Psychomachine too right? We'll need everything you've got for this one.>"

Anita suggests using the pinpoint barrier, stretching it to its limit, and Guy offers the same with the protect Wall. "<Annie! Guy! Try to form another line of defense! The two of you together! Banagher and me will reinforce you as best as we can!>" Alouette tells her she'll hold her to it, and Leina has this tiny smile, "<You'd better, hold me to it. I'd expect nothing less.>"

What exactly is Nova doing to the Gaia Gear? Something extremely anime, apparently. Leina can feel something unusual, but she can't divert her attention much. When it shuts off, she briefly calls up a viewscreen of it, alarmed as she could feel that, but then it comes to life again, different. "What did she do?" She whispers, even as she feels the Nemo come up behind them.

After the things they had learned from his past, one would have to be a fool to trust their backs to Casval Rem Deikun, fortunately, Leina is an Ashta. Foolishness is perhaps the family tradition, no matter how much she tries to deny it. For a long moment she is silent, stunned.

Then...

"<... I'm glad you're here with us.>" Leina says, the tension not present in her voice any longer. She doesn't forgive him, but unlike before, she no longer desires for him to disappear from this world. "<We'll keep her safe, together.>"

The Nadesico brings its distortion field to bear, at higher output than could be imagined. For a time, Leina wonders. The distortion field feels like it can deflect anything but, something like this? And then she releases those worries, into focus, "<Thank you... for believing in him.>"

"I will." She tells Sayla to that final moment of encouragement, feeling that extra Psychoframe she brought with her. "I will, because I have to. /We/ have to." Before she then replies to Banagher's assertion he'll bring her home safe, "<Just remember to come home safe yourself! You just said no broken promises!>" Despite the exasperation, her tone shifts immediately to something sweet, one last thing she has to say in this moment.

"< I love you, Banagher Links.>"

A bolt of intuition crosses the senses. Death is coming. Certain death is coming. Her intuition offers only one possibility, of people melting into pools of light, struck by the light of avarice and clawing grandiosity. It happens just as Banagher shouts 'now'.

Motes of yellow begin to float off the Banshee Norn, like fireflies they rise up around it surrounding it in a shimmering cascade of drifting light. The protective feelings translate into the Norn spreading its arms wide. It's not a feeling unknown to Leina. Once upon a time she stood in front of Judau with her arms spread wide, facing down the barrel of a gun.

There is a strange symmetry to it happening here with a mobile suit, against a far larger gun. However, it's different. Then she was armored only in a red party dress, and her protective feelings towards an older brother that had sacrificed so much to try and save her.

Now she knows very well that feelings have power, and now so many are standing alongside her, even if there is someone precious she is protecting behind her. The light of the Norn erupts forth, into a field of yellow fractalline patterns that then spreads out into a living light joining with the green light of the Unicorn before dividing into several layers of barriers each taking on a more amorphous flickering composition. Multiple lines of defense, to turn an end of possibility into something else.

And then that light comes. Leina feels it crash against the erected defenses, and tries to push back, but it feels like a stone pushing against a tidal wave. That was what she had once said to Audrey, about the inevitability of the status quo. And now she is the stone, pushing against it.

Her face spasms as lines of defense are lost, one after another. There's a notable struggle within her, to maintain it. She tries to anchor herself in the feelings of the others, only to feel their own struggle.

And soon enough she's awash in the light itself, the Norn itself somehow holds fast, as if suspended in space, but the occupants within, Leina's head slams backwards against a seat as the red visor of her helmet shatters, the armoring around the Norn chipping away like pieces of mortar against the constant onslaught of the Colony Laser's hateful light.

Again she refocuses on these feelings. Her instinct is as always to protect, but protection for her was so often an independent action. Instead she focuses on reliance, as she lets go of that feeling, refocusing on that love she holds for Judau, for Sayla, for Banagher, for Mineva, for so many here.

Sometimes to protect, is to let go, to rely upon others. Her only desire here is them. All of them remain a part of her life. That is her happiness.

The Banshee Norn begins to change, its yellow light undergoing a metamorphosis, as its yellow light changes into a vivid, vibrant green, as the Psychofield is reinforced by it. It is not enough, and in between the ticks of the second in the relentlessly onslaught, she feels another presence here. And Leina speaks through a daze, perhaps concussed, though still focused.

"... Rita...?"

Sayla alone will hear the words pass through her lips, as if Leina were not altogether here in this moment.

"... what are you doing...?"

It is not a conversation however, that she is privy to, it is merely that she feels her here, touching upon Banagher. The light changes into rainbow, even as she can feel - something happening to the Unicorn, to him.

And then abruptly, the onslaught ends. And what is left behind. Leina can see the rainbow, the brilliant crystalline shine. Speechless as the Banshee Norn begins to float closer to the Unicorn. A feeling of confusion, that feels already ready to give way to grief.

"<... Banagher?>"

Her daze gives way to new feelings, as tears well up in her eyes. What she feels is not wonder or awe, because she knows - she knows what this is, and what it means.

-=-=-

"Overkill." Captain Maseki Danbaef utters, from out of range, disturbed - angry. "Using a cannon to swat a fly." The General Revil had been sent to avenge itself or acquit itself after its earlier failure, but even the Captain wasnt informed that was going to happen. Only to be told to standby so very close to the line of fire...

A hand slams down on the arm of his Captain's chair, "What the hell is Vist Carbine trying to pull, using something like that so close to MY ship that she singed our damned nose hairs?"

His communications officer relayed to him right away, "Electromagnetic interference is still too strong to confirm any visuals Captain. Orders?"

Indeed he takes a deep breath, then regathers his composure. "Send out a wing of Jegans on sleds. It's possible that some survived that, if they pulled far enough out of firing range. We're on clean up duty people, mop up everything thats left standing."

Indeed, he finds he's still upset after he wanted a rematch, but there's no glory in this. Just mindless slaughter. He expects no significant resistance of course.

-=-=-

The moment that the electromagnetic interference starts to clear even a little, that the spots in their eyes fade, the Ra Mari II and Nadesico will pick it up on their sensors. An entire mobile suit wing, and the Dogosse-Giar class flagship of the Federation behind it.

Theyre still relatively long distance but closing in fast. And after being weakened by this marathon of fights, and their mobile suits tested to the limit by the Colony Laser. Can they win this? Is it a fight they can even hope to come out on the other side alive?

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Rena, too, has a Psychoframe. Besides... "< If I were going to leave anyone,>" Eight says to Rena, over a private channel and through her heart, "< It wouldn't be you. No, not Annie either.>"

Seeing what Naoko does to Rena's machine is--well. It's /alarming/ frankly, as Eight hears Tempo report an abnormality in the Gaia Gear Alpha. But Eight has a feeling--

"<Hang in there, Naoko. We'll all make this one together.>" ...She's helping. She's helping /Rena/. And Eight, for all that she cares for Naoko in and of herself too, will remember that.

"Rosetta's Pinpoint Barrier is at maximum width, Captain!" declares Kall, "Particle field dispersing--holding strong!" Kall indicates. "But the GGG folks out there are doing--/something/--!"

Licia and Enba look to each other, across the bridge, as the moment comes. They share a moment--Enba Rezza has never been a demonstrative person in the way that some others are, but perhaps it means something that they choose what could be a final moment to look at Licia Chovan, in particular.

She looks back, steadily. Maybe that says something too.

Kall focuses on his work with the particle field, reinforcing the leaking energies around the place where the Nadesico's Distortion Field might not reach. Astelian tries to keep coordinating as best he can. And Kazama answer Banagher, "<Then... Fight on, friend!>"

Banagher assures that they won't let them down, Eight and Lavhi both, and Lavhi in engineering taps away at his console to try to keep directing fuel and power out towards the Psychoframes, Rena's included. And Eight sits on the bridge, cradling her belly protectively as if her hands might do anything to stop what's coming. Her eyes, though--her will--are on the viewscreen, on the Colony Laser approaching.

The particle field might buy some fractions of a second, but there's too /much/ laser for it to deflect. The laser is coming...

'Rena, I...'

Eight can do nothing else, as the Colony Laser comes. She can only hope. There is an element of doubt, there...

But as Astelia, Kazama, and Kall look to her, she can't show it. She straightens her shoulders, puts her hands on the armrests of her chair. "Hang on tight," she recommends. And she does the same.

Deep in the bowels of the ship, Lavhi sees the spikes in power on all the displays. He grits his teeth. "Not like this!" He roars, and rushes to the main reactor not far away, tapping away at something--

Kazama closes her eyes. Kall stares into the coming death. And Astelian says, "Captain, I--"

But the light comes. It is not one color alone, as the three Psychoframes and more come together. The rainbow light...

Eight feels it wash over her, just as her doubt wells up in her mind. The entire ship resonates with it, a Presence within boosting and carrying along the signal throughout the entire ship, one spirit whose home will not fall today.

"Captain, we--" Kall looks at the readings on his console, "Hot DAMN, they did it! We're alive! The interference is too much to detect anything outside the blast, but damn it, we're--"

"Enemies on approach," Kazama cuts in quickly. "The General Revvil is here, with a full mobile suit wing."

"What!?" Astelian gasps, and Eight's eyes open, a sigh not quite escaping her lips. "...Just like that memory we saw," she reflects. "...Well.."

"Your orders?" Enba Rezza asks. Then, Eight says, "...Bring us about, Miss Chovan. Give our pilots--and our miracle workers--some cover to finish the job. We'll engage the General Revil. Mister Orlodhari--" Over the intercom, "How long until we have engine control again?"

"I need thirty seconds, Captain! The reactor is realigning!" Lavhi calls in alarm, "We'll be ducks that are sitting until then!"

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"Yeah," Rena tells Annie. "I know. Together. We're both going home, right?"

She flashes her a smile over the video screen, before she looks ahead, and she takes a deep breath. Rena sits up straighter, then, and tenses as the report comes from GGG. "A Colony Laser... I hope the Lieutenant's with us, Chief Guy."

She wants to say she can feel Bailiwick Ultrasound with them, but she isn't so sure.

Then, she cracks a smile when Nova speaks. Her eyes shift sideways -- to look at the Sukenban. She smiles -- and then her eyes widen.

"Nova, what are you doi--"

The Gaia Gear's eyes turn cold; the 360 degree cockpit turns off, and Rena hears the brief click of the life support switching to emergency power. The Mobile Suit keeps flying -- and then it all comes back online, though it doesn't respond to her inputs. She sucks a breath in, seeing the Sukeban come forward, and puts a hand on the Gaia Gear Alpha.

The Psychoframe flares to life again; tis time, there's motes of green light raining down inside her cockpit, too. "N-Nova... what did you do!?" she asks. "This--"

She sees those letters, and she forces out a laugh. "This is something else..."

Banagher speaks to her -- letting her know it isn't just the Gaia Gear Alpha that they need -- and she smiles. Then, she nods. "Th-thanks, Banagher... I won't let you down." Then, she looks at Leina.

She grins. "Y-Yeah. I know. Nothing's pulling us apart again."

She inhales, then exhales. "Let's show 'em a thing or two, right?"

She looks to the distance -- to the distant glow of the Colony Laser, which suddenly isn't so distant. Rena's eyes widen -- and then her mind and the heightened Psychoframe connect.

And it's not enough, as she throws her mind at the Unicorn's shields.

There is a tremendous flash of light; there's a warm, golden sense of light.

It's familiar.

And it's enough. /They're/ enough. Then, her head turns -- and she smiles. 'I know, Octo. We'll be okay.'

And then sits up straighter, as the orders come.

"Look alive, everyone!" she says. "We're going to engage them. Can't let them stop us now!"

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

"Just remember, I want to give this one a happy ending," he transmits toward Banagher. "You're one of our cornerstones, you and Leina. So neither of you better go dying in the middle of all of this, okay? Falling through Beyond Time Itself counts, so don't even think of cheating!"

They'll all make it out of this alive. He believes, he has to.

"If the King of Braves is to believed, there's plenty of courage and determination to go around for us all to share, Miss Lancaster~" Trevor smirks despite himself. The light of Gryps-2 is already bearing down upon them. Exposed as he is, it isn't long before his helmet's anti-flash and anti-shock countermeasures activate, shrouding his visor in a dark, reflective coating. He can't see too well out of it, but that's fine.

He can't see out of one eye most of the time anyway, so what's one more?

"Well, /someone/ has to," he harrumphs at Leina's incredulity. Somehow you can just tell he's still smiling. "After all, I don't exactly have any more legs to break." It's true, Isadore doesn't. It has most of its head, one arm and the thrusters on its back, and that's about it. But somehow that's enough. Just barely enough. "And the only thing we can do is to put on a good show. If we don't, how ever will the audience want to call us out for an encore?"

This isn't over. He has to believe that. He has to, because this is all that they've got.

Others move into position. The King of Braves, a miracle engine all on his own, takes up arms and stands with them. Trevor feels just a little more sure of his survival. Ruri and the Nadesico ramp the Distortion Field as hard as it'll go. "I'm sorry you and Omoikane need to go this far, Ruri," Trevor says quietly. Isadore-- also has a message. But it's something that is more 'felt' than 'heard.' A link is opened between them and the Nadesico to exchange information and share calculation load. Isadore may not have as big of a brain as Omoikane, but they will do as much as they can.

Others. The Gaia Gear. The Sukeban. So many others. The thousands of lives aboard the Ra Mari II, his new-found family in the Earth Sphere. "Captain York, everyone..." He can't let them down now. /They/ can't let them down now.

And--

One more.

Trevor pauses. He can hardly see, but he can feel that presence coming. Angelo Sauper is coming--

As the blinding light of Gryps-2 smashes into the Unicorn's shield, Trevor turns. He can feel the heat on his face, and for a moment turns away. He has someone to find. Somewhere... Somewhere...

There.

"You're coming for the Colonel, aren't you?" Trevor asks, knowing he likely won't get an answer. But...

"...Alright, Angelo." Isadore's fingers loosen and they extend the capsule containing Angelo's precious Colonel out towards him. "I sure as hell don't need the distraction right now. You take him."

Full Frontal may be the only thing in the world Angelo Sauper loves, after all. The only light in his life. And in this moment of miracles, they need all the light they can get.

"I won't ask you to stay and help, but-- maybe, if you want to talk to him again, to properly see him again, maybe you'll at least find it in you to keep the faith."

Another of the Unicorn's shields breaks. Trevor winces as he feels it wash across his consciousness. "Go. Protect him." He doesn't need to say it. He knows Angelo will do it, no matter what.

The last shield breaks.

How long will the Distortion Field hold out? The Ra Mari's particle shield? Gaogaigar's twinned gatling field? Seconds, maybe. Less?

He sighs.

Sorry Izzy. Looks like I really blew the whole 'keep myself alive' thing, huh?

...

...

It's fine, Captain. You've grown so much. Perhaps a life well lived... is 'enough.' But... we have not died yet.

Lucidity. Cruelly imparted in the last moments, perhaps by chance or providence. And yet...

I know. Until the end, we'll put our trust in them.

Trevor smiles and leans back in his seat, expanding his senses, reaching out to the Psychoframe machines in the distance. To join his will with theirs, but then--

A sensation.

"Rita?" He asks, looking to the Unicorn-- to where a miracle is taking shape. The Unicorn blooms, expanding into a prismatic tangle of crystal. It swallows the beam, pushes back, and--

And--

Trevor stares, breathless.

A miracle.

"...We're not done yet," he growls, focusing his mind. It's a hard trick, honestly he was never sure how other Newtypes really /did/ it until he came to Earth. Ironic, entering Earth's gravity well actually did more to expand his mind and tune his resonance than remaining out in the depths of space. He's still unpracticed, clumsy, but--

He is not alone.

And as two minds reach out to Banagher, Leina and their machines, neither are they. Though with all these people here, were they ever really?

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Definitely." Anita replies with a confident nod in response to Rena. Home, together. She won't let it happen any other way.

Naoko does... /something/ to the Gaia Gear. From her position on its other side, she has a good view of it.

She doesn't stop her, though, or ask what she's doing. She trusts her, and doesn't want to interrupt her - instead, she whistles.

"I dunno what you're cooking over there, Nova, but don't stop." Anita insists. And judging from what Rena says, it's something special for sure.

Leina as she calls out to her, recommending she join forces with Guy.

"You got it!" She responds, and then, to Guy - "Right there with you, big guy!"

If he does throw up a Protect Wall while 3G puts the plan into motion, she'll supplement it with her Pinpoint Barrier.

She grins, then, as Banagher thanks her.

"No problem. Gotta stick together, right?" She replies.

And then, she braces herself. The Colony Laser comes. The Pinpoint Barrier sputters and sparks. Gritting her teeth, Anita tightens her grip.

"Come on, Svipul...! Hold out a little longer. 'Fate can be changed', right...?" Anita insists. That's why she chose the name, after all - and not just because it was amusingly fitting. She wanted to believe that, too.

...But ultimately, despite everything...

...The Pinpoint Barrier sputters and dies, and the Svipul goes dark - its energy spent. It feels like the Valkyrie is going to shake itself apart... but that's the worst of her worries. Anita collapses in her seat.

They're all consumed by light...

...But it isn't the light of the Colony Laser. In the wondrous, brilliant light emitted by the Unicorn, that rainbow... they make it through.

Anita opens her eyes.

"...Holy hell, we're still here..." Anita mutters in surprise. She exhales in relief. "Everyone alright?"

...But unfortunately, that isn't the last problem they'll face today. The General Revil and an entire mobile suit wing...

Anita leans forward again, once more grasping the controls.

"...I think I can squeeze a little more juice out of the Svipul, but it's gonna be cutting it close. ...Still, I'm right there with you Rena, Nova!" Anita says, as Rena asks them all to look alive. For now, the Svipul lets go of the Gaia Gear. "Captain Eight, everyone, we're with you!"

Anita turns the Svipul around, readying herself. Whatever happens - she's not going to let them have survived only to be wiped out like this...! She'll fight tooth and nail to the last drop if she has to.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Calibrating," Ruri reports, stoic. "Attuning Distortion Field harmonics to beam output. Redistributing force. Now draining power from weapons... helm... communications... heat..."

        "Brrrrrr!!!", someone can be heard complaining, in the background. Ruri doesn't blink.

        "... gravity... all non-critical systems suspended. All critical systems at sustenance minimum."

        And, well, /most/ of the crew on the bridge thought to put their seatbelts on. If the Captain floats, that's her own business.

        "All power to forward Distortion Field," Ruri says, and her voice doesn't shift, and it doesn't waver. "Ten seconds to compromise. Nine. Eight. Seven..."

        "Look!" Megumi cries, pointing at one of the images remaining on screen. "It's GaoGaiGar!"

        "It's coming," Goat Hoary rumbles, from his station behind where the Captain /ought/ to stand.

        "... five. Four. Three..."

        "If you have a plan, /Captain,/ now's the time!" Erina Kinjo Won issues, sharply.

        "It's all right," Minato smiles, looking up to the upper level of the Bridge where she's strapped in. "That cute little guy's going to come through for us. Right, Banagher-chan?" She winks, smiling to the camera.

        "One."

        Ruri never stopped counting down, that whole time.

        And just as she promised, just as she predicted, this is the moment when the Nadesico's Distortion Field -- everything given to its Distortion Field -- cracks, and crumbles inwards.

        As the light of the laser crashes in towards the ship, with only an eyeblink to consider their lives --

        The rainbow meets them.

        A rainbow washes through them, and Omoikane laughs, joyously, a dozen cheerful messages lifting throughout the ship -- throughout all their ships, Banagher's and Leina's and Trevor's and Rena's and Eight's and Anita's and Naoko's and --

                        < GOOD JOB ! >
                        < CONGRATULATIONS >
                        < ALL SYSTEMS OK ! >
                        < BIG SUCCESS >

        ... and another window, specifically for Isadore and Trevor, in the wake of that joy.

                        < FOR THESE PEOPLE >
                        < FOR MY FRIENDS >
                        < WE GET TO BURNING >
                        < WE ARE NADESICO >

        "Laser light neutralised," Ruri reports, her voice unwavering, even as woops of relief and celebration roar out through the bridge. "Returning power to systems..." And a /thud,/ as anyone who /didn't/ put their seatbelts on hits the floor when the gravity is initialised on the Nadesico again.

        "Guys!" Megumi yelps, as her /own/ console leaps back to life. "We've got a big problem! The General Revil -- it's /HERE!/"

        They have to meet it. With all their pilots so beaten.

        "I'm bringing the Nadesico around," Minato reports, from the helm. "Ruri-ruri, how long until our weapons systems are back online?"

        "Fifty seconds to basic input," Ruri reports. "Eighty-five seconds to phase transition realignment."

        "And you think you can just scare them off by staring them down?" Erina scowls, glaring down at her team.

        "It's a difficult situation," Ruri agrees. "But we're not alone, either. Ra Mari II," she addresses their sister-ship directly, "we're moving in to assist."

<Pose Tracker> Casval rem Deikun has posed.

To say that the Nemo 'shakes' at the torrent of energy spewed forth from the mouth of Gryps II would be like saying that a bullet fired from a gun travels 'quickly' - a woefully inadequate word. We should probably instead say that it's like a stuffed toy in the maw of an angry dog - and, indeed, much like that toy, pieces and plates of armour fly off the mobile suit to be atomised in the megaparticle ray. Its weapons abandoned to be consumed, its maneuvering vanes splinter and melt away to nothing... even its legs are reduced to useless nubs. Only the torso and arms, in the lee cast by the RX-0 mobile suits, survive, and even then barely.

Char can do nothing but close his eyes at the glare and push back as hard as he can, even though it's not enough. Subject to this much energy, not even touch communications from such an old mobile suit will transmit successfully, but he doesn't need them to be heard.

"... To the end, Artesia," he chokes out, hands white-knuckled on the suit's controls as his cockpit flares red with all sorts of alerts, sirens already shut off - there's nothing they can tell him he doesn't already know.

The light stays bright. It's filtering in even past his screwed-shut eyelids.

... This is it, then.

... A better way to go than he ever thought he'd get.

...

... ...

... ... ...

... If he were dead, he wouldn't still be aching, would he?

Char opens his eyes.

Gryps II has ceased firing.

They're alive?

Part of him rejects the evidence of his senses, and he has to fight the urge to give in to madness... his eyes are drawn to the Unicorn and the strange feelings he's getting from it.

... No, there's still threat out there. The Nemo's head turns judderingly to 'look' - its cameras have fried in the barrage, but Char Aznable can feel them out there - towards the approaching wing of Jegans.

Ah. A temporary reprieve from the Reaper's scythe. The Gaia Gear and that custom VF - the Svipul? - move to engage while the Ra Mari II and Nadesico recalibrate for combat, and...

The Nemo unhooks a single beam saber from a somehow-miraculously-undamaged mount in a shaking left arm, its right melted and jammed in the bracing position. He has some torso thruster power still - some fuel left. If this is to be a doomed last stand... He might as well try and bring a handful more foolish souls to that bitter edge, before it claims its due from him at last.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla shakes her head at Leina's apologetic look. There's nothing here to apologize for. "Always."

        Banagher's oath to not give up without bringing Leina home... "No. Don't give up until you're all home safe. You, Leina and Mineva. All of you together."

        "I'll hold you to that." She replies to Casval. "Because that won't be today. You've still got a lot to make up for."

        For a second, it feels like all that they throw at it is not enough. As though they won't make it-

        But she hears Leina utter a name. A name that came up when the Tausendfussler fought her.

        "Leina, are you still with me? What's happening?"

        Something about this... it feels wrong.

        But the transmission indicates more trouble. As dazed as Leina is seeming- Sayla tightly squeezes her arm. "Leina, it's not over yet! We have incoming foes!" She hits the touch comms. "Casval, cover us-"

        Her brother is already moving to fight. That means she can focus on Leina, as she tries to shake her out of the newtype trance- even as the crystals grow over the Unicorn. She saw this before, when they rescued Leina. But...

        "<Banagher? Banagher, can you hear me?>" She tries to get any response. "Leina... It's not safe yet, please!"

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

It's just in time, as GaoGaiGar's sensors tell him that the moment is close. "Let's show him we're fine, then," Guy offers back to Rena, and then the Ul-Tech Engines on StealthGao II flare. "DOUBLE HEAD DRIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEER!" Guy screams, and surges forward to thrust BOTH Gatling Drivers forward. Each grips onto space itself and /twists/ , creating a pair of nested concave lenses, each working to diverge and diminish the power that goes through them. They're spatial constructs rather than an active fold, so they should endure even this awesome amount of power - and hopefully, greatly reduce the forces that hit everyone else's defenses. He focuses his entire will into it, screaming as the G-Stone's light shines on. He's got to maintain them for as long as he can!! But it's not...!

"HHhhng! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Guy screams, deep in his belly, defiant even of the light.

The Gatling Drivers will redline soon. What if he releases for a Protect Wall...maybe... With this much support...!

"ALOUETTE!" he roars, a lion's thunder. All determination and fire. "WALL RING!!"

He throws the left arm aside, disengaging the Driver on it, and--!!

Like miscounting the steps on a stairwell, he goes full force at nothing and feels a lurch in his gut. The beam just...stopped.

He huffs heavy, in his cockpit. "Status," he pants at Alouette. GaoGaiGar's sensor fin activates, searching the surroundings deeply. He shakes his head, feeling something lapping at him in the waves of intention called the Limpid Channel. "Something's happened."

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Naoko wasn't thinking about how her actions would be interpreted. There is no explanation she could have offered, then or now. She simply did what needed to be done, prepared to accept whatever consequences after. There had to be an 'after' for any of that to matter.

To sense that her actions are /supported/ by those she's giving her all to protect... that means more than she could ever express. Even now, with actions that must seem irrational, certainly inexplicable, they believe in her resolve to make a miracle happen. As she is, she can't express her appreciation, but now there truly is no need for doubt. They'll make it out together, for certain.

The deadly glow becomes visible in the distance. Mere seconds remain until impact. Naoko can't exactly brace herself. She can only have faith in her preparations. This should work. This will work.

It's bigger than I imagined, is her last rational thought before the Colony Laser strikes. The combined Psychofields intercept, and she can /feel/ the strain on the Gaia Gear. It /hurts/, in an indescribable way, neither physically nor quite mentally. She's never felt a pain that pervades her entire being before.

But she has to endure it. She cannot break the connection early, or the Psychofield could falter. ...It'll be alright. It's only pain. Damage to the machine won't translate to damage to her body. Such are the things she would like to remind herself of, but the agony is far too great for that. It seems to go on forever.

Until, abruptly, it all stops. The pain doesn't fade gradually, it's just not there anymore, from one moment to the next, once the Colony Laser's light has faded. Leaving naught but a beautiful rainbow. A fitting monument to a miracle.

In her state of heightened focus, it's impossible not to sense what's happening to Banagher. It's not dissimilar to what she's done herself, but he's taken it too far. The important distinction is that her method is based in logic rather than emotion. With failsafes in place, designed to cut the connection before she loses herself or otherwise gets stuck like that. If the world beyond this life is something she can reach, she is in absolutely no hurry to get there. As alluring as a world of miracles might sound in theory, the appeal of miracles lies in how, well, miraculous they are. Even miracles can get boring - if everything is miraculous, nothing is.

Then suddenly, everything goes dark. The Gaia Gear's systems briefly flicker, an oddly subdued sign of Naoko's presence being forcibly removed. With the immediate danger past, the connection is terminated, abruptly returning her to who she was before. A panicked mental 'voice' immediately speaks up.

>"Mumu! Nova! Uriel! Say something, please!"<

>"Ughhh... that was the worst thing we've ever done. Let's never do that again."<

>"Uriel! Nova's not answering! Is she...?"<

>"Don't be stupid, she's fine. She's just gonna be out cold for a bit and not remember any of this. Same as always."<

Naoko's eyes fly open. "What do you mean, 'as always'?"

>"You're awake!?"<
>"You're awake!?"<

Naoko sits up straight, feeling groggy, tired... and strangely small. What on earth did she just do...?

>"Nova... are you sure you're okay...?"<

Naoko waves away Ariel's concern with a quick, "Why wouldn't I be?" There's no time to think about this right now. Enemies are on approach. Without thinking, she makes the Sukeban turn...

...and the arm still embedded in the Gaia Gear breaks off, leaving only half of it attached to the Arm Slave. "Ah, damn it! Rena, Anita, I'm sorry, I can't fight like this! I'll try to back you up with data analysis, if I can!"

Despite the danger not being over yet, she finds herself smiling. Wider still, when she gets a congratulatory message from Omoikane. She did good, didn't she? ...She'll have to collect her thoughts on what exactly she just did later.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"This is no different from any other time..." Alouette replies to Banagher, pushing her processing power to the limit. "So we'll do exactly that! Protect each other just like we always have." She says softly, as the Gatling Driver prepares to fire.

She can't help but slightly smile back when Leina says she'd expect nothing less. "I expected no less of a response from you, either~ then let's do this, Leina!"

She realizes, that for many people standing strong here, the sight of GaoGaiGar and its triumphant golden lion is a symbol of hope, for Trevor, for Megumi on the Nadesico, the crew of the Ra Mari II, and many more. Alouette may not be able to cast miracles with her own hands, but she sure can make sure that those hopes are fulfilled. For all their combined calculations, the Gatling Driver may be successful in deflecting the Colony Laser for a short time, but... she realizes it too, Guy's body can't handle defense of this scale on his own. "Roger!" She roars, pushing her lever to her left, and lowers her visor over her eyes. "WALL RING PLUS!"

As GaoGaiGar raises his left arm, the Protect Wall emerges in full force, bright defiance of Martha Vist's greed and corruption. She can't die here and she won't die here: she still wants to see Mikoto and the rest, she's still been promised a future that she wants to /live out/.

Her eyes snap shut. When they open again, that light is replaced with a rainbow, and GaoGaiGar is still intact. "No damage sustained, Guy. We made it. Rita told us about a rainbow, didn't she? I guess Banagher... he must have really done it." She breathes out as she watches the Miracle he created. It's beautiful, and yet...

It all happens so fast... the Federation is relentless and ensures they can't even celebrate their victory, or worry that the bearers of the miracle lost himself in the same way Amuro and Char both did.

"Hold on!" She jolts in her seat, sensors picking up something from the distance. "Mobile suits on the approach... they seem hostile. We should prepare to engage...""

Tapping her finger a few times, she tsks. "Ridiculous," Alouette comments, as the IFF of the approaching Mobile Suits marks them as from the General Revil. "Their own ship was practically metres from being wiped out just the same as us, and they still have the nerve to pick a fight with us?" She shakes her head.

"The Mizuha is on the approach, and Chief Akamatsu assures us our entire crew is willing to do exactly as the Gutsy Galaxy Guard did." She explains, in better news. And although most of the Mobile Unit was sent to Cheyenne... "In other words, we can show them as much GaoGaiGar power as we'd like." And surely... even the Federation's entire contingent of Mobile Suits is no match for the King of Braves.

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.

As they maneuver, Roux's eyes flick round even if she isn't in the console. The curse of the backseat driver. Many of them, but many of them are warm feelings, good feelings, but not close feelings... those concentrate (with an outlier of Rena, as well as the glowing radiance of Banagher) at the Ra Mari II.

With one notable exception... who is addressing them. In the Double Zeta's cockpit, Roux's lips pull to the side.

"Leina," she answers, with a sort of ghost or amusing afterecho of her common acerbity. "Both of you would do literally anything ever at any time, and you'd just do it backwards and in heels to throw us off the trail!"

She exhales a laugh. "I'll watch out for him," she finishes.

Because perhaps that's the secret.

Everything's an abstraction. Boxes; secrets; legends. But in the end they all come down to people. Quantum brain waves might be a key to it, and perhaps Roux is producing her share. Do you produce such things, or do you simply tune into them, like all pervading hydrogen frequency lines in the psychosphere of the cosmos? Subtle secrets you can only hear when you live in the void?

Her hand's holding Judau's, even if it isn't.

As the Double Zeta accelerates, Roux speaks quietly. "I don't know what your plan is, but I want to save you some time. If you have to shoot any weapons..."

A meaningful pause as the Double Zeta moves into its positions. "You can't," she says. "It's that simple. Everything's broke. I can show you the chart, but nope:" she even blows a little raspberry. "Nothin'. You're going to have to run or break the Core Fighter off if anything comes at us."

It's pretty stupid, huh?

Roux smiles as she gazes backwards. "Yeah," she says. "But nobody's tried it before, right? Maybe it's the secret weak spot."

Roux takes a deep breath. This feeling doesn't come from her subtle depths or her sensations or anything cosmic like that. Her jaw twitches a little and her head turns away, to look at the far side of the cockpit of the Double Zeta. Her gaze rests on a panel that's glitched out to show a generic faint placeholder Anaheim Electronics logo.

She gazes at it even as the distant star of Gryps-2 shines, an artificial sun to burn away myriad futures.

"... So, I guess... this isn't the way these things usually go," Roux says, "because I know you've seen all the movies and shows I have, because I was there for half of them... but if this is going to happen, and - just in case, you know, I didn't want to leave anything on the table. Live without regrets, right! That's something you'd say. So I was thinking," Roux continues, taking a deep chest swelling breath and turning her head, "that -- I want to ask--"

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

It's fair enough, what Leina says; the Double Zeta bears the marks of the Neo Zeong's strange power, functionally useless beyond support systems. The High Mega Cannon is a smoldering wreck. The ZZ itself, lifelessly drifting through space.

But let it not be said that Judau Ashta is not a man capable of moving mountains through sheer, thick-headed refusal to quit. He provides the spark -- the briefest tingle of life that replaces the ZZ's reactor, bringing optics and cockpit back to life. But this time - THIS time -

So please. Come on, Double Zeta. Please --

He's not alone.

Systems roll back online one after the other. Roux's efforts bring the spark of fusion back to the reactor -- and Judau's will combining with hers turns that spark into a furnace. Minovsky fusion reactions and quantum brain waves combine as the ZZ Gundam lurches back upwards with life in a brief, shimmering haze of red. Judau blinks --

Let's go, Roux says. And Judau grins.

"Hell yeah!"

Thrusters ignite. And as Leina protests, only to catch herself,

You don't have to be the idiot /THIS/ time! This time-

<"We both can!!">

--Judau fills in the blanks.

Protect each other. Be idiots.

In the end, it's tomayto tomahto, really.

Off the damaged Double Zeta jets; it's a shell of itself right now, and yet it looks somehow that much stronger for it as it pushes past any conceivable point of rationality to put itself directly into the path of a Colony Laser alongside the Unicorn, the Banshee -- the Gaia Gear, the Nemo and the Svipul and Isadore and Nadesico and -everyone- else who chooses rebellion over reason.

<"You don't gotta tell me twice!"> Judau shouts back at Leina, as the ZZ settles in close by the sleek, black and gold form of the Banshee, damaged and psychically-welded arms fanning out. Even by his standards, this is... suicidal. He can feel the pressure of the Colony Laser, the sheer destructive power of it, a growing glimmer in the distance. He knows full well how devastating that weapon is. For a moment, he too is reminded of Haman -- of how she withstood the Double Zeta's final attack, through nothing more than sheer, belligerent conviction. Can they do the same? ... They have to.

So he doesn't budge the Double Zeta an inch. Instead, he draws in a slow breath, and as the countdown reaches towards the inevitable, he turns to Roux.

"This is PRETTY stupid, huh." It's a rare confession, and one that comes delivered on the back of equally rare, wry amusement. "Like. Gotta be in the top ten, right?"

The seconds dwindle down towards zero.

"... Hey," he begins. "I was kinda thinkin'. Like. After all of this, y'know? Uh. If we're still alive. ... Obviously I'm gonna be thinkin' then, but I'm thinkin' -now-, like in the future tense, or whatever -- whatever! What I'm sayin' is, you an' me, we've been through a lot... an'..."

        I want to ask--

"I want to ask--"

Light becomes a blinding, searing pulse that drowns out everything in the panoramic cockpit. It doesn't stop Judau in the slightest, even as he feels the colony laser of Gryps-2 HAMMER into the burgeoning Psycho Field. It just means he has to shout louder.

                "DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED, DAMMIT!" "DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED!"

A second passes, as Roux and Judau's words join in unison. The two blink in mutual shock at what the other asks.

                        "WHAT!" "WHAT!"

And in the drowning light that would rob them of their futures, the two break into smiles in spite of it.

                                "YES!" "YES!"

In the heart of the ZZ Gundam, its Biosensor shines with the light of not one heart, but two.

                                ~^~

The shields of the Unicorn shatter. The ZZ Gundam has no weapons left to its name right now. Certainly nothing that could fend off a Colony Laser, let alone the encroach of the Federation forces.

The bright, red-pink light that blooms from it in thick, ribboning streams is no weapon, though.

It's defiance.

It's certainty in the future.

It's belief that tomorrow can be better.

It's love.

It's two people, joining their their wills and hearts as one as the Double Zeta's Biosensor reaches outward, its power like an emboldening beacon in the depths of all those mustered defenses, threading into Psychoframe, into Distortion Fields, into the defiant sentiment of everyone here and beyond to make them that much stronger.

To help turn tragedy into a miracle.

Within the maelstrom, Judau Ashta feels a presence he has never felt before. As yellow turns towards green, as green turns towards the entire prism of light and sentiment, though...

He doesn't worry about it.

He just believes in all of them. In Banagher, in his sister...

... and in the answer he has, and the fact that he'll still have it tomorrow.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Rita's presence fills Lucine up with confidence, which lasts even as the blinding light of the laser hits the combined strength of the Banshee and the Norn. < "... We're all behind you." > Lucine's small nugget of encouragement, no matter how useful it might possibly be, is burned away as she realizes that it's rather literal.

        But they're here because they've placed their faith in Banagher's bond with Leina, and vice versa, as well as the strings of fate that tie them all together. It's not an accidental play on words; they're all here for and because of these bonds. Surely, if it all comes together...!

        For a split second, Lucine has the wits to thank Koji again for getting the Dianthus tuned up, even if she wishes the repairs on the chassis had a chance to keep their shine a little longer before it got dented.

        The Dianthus still isn't meant to take a hit. For a long, frightening moment, it feels more like Lucine simply gave herself a front seat to her own destruction for the sake of providing moral support.

        "..... This is a world...."
        She breathes. Her words come out as a shudder. ".... where flowers...!"
        She doesn't dare finish it, afraid her next second will be her last.
        But this is a world--
        .....

        Nadesico's gardener pilot gazes upon a growing bud of crystal, blooming from the Unicorn. Something has changed, she senses not Banagher but... something that feels like the progression of Banagher, like seeing the ripe color of a fruit and knowing the shape of the seed it was before.

        ".... Is this...?"

        -- Fifty seconds to basic input, Ruri says. Eighty-five seconds to phase transition realignment. < ".... The Dianthus can still attack." >

        The Dianthus moves positions, stopping at the invisible 'edge' of the grouping of spirited fighters. < ".... They probably don't know what happened. If those vultures are looking for an easy fight, we'll show them what it's like to have to work for their next meal..." > A part of Lucine is almost ecstatic to draw away from that peace, drawing more towards a space where her actions can count.

        She transmits widely now, unfurling the petal-like segments from the Dianthus's back and lighting them like a signal, a glowing flower in the dark of space. < "..... A Miracle has occured. Please turn back. You'll find no-- did... wait, was that a confession, earlier?! Oh my gosh, are you two getting married? Ahhhhhhhh...!" >

        It took Lucine a few seconds to realize, and even longer to realize she was still talking to the invading enemy units. Hopefully that just came as static.

        < ".... Ah... ... yes. To the invading forces.... Please turn away. We will fight you if you intend on crashing this." >

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

BGM Change - Tears of Falling Stars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_gWm1S0jfE

We are between moments. The Colony Laser has finished its firing, and the fate of the pilot of the Unicorn is uncertain. The General Revil is coming, and some are making ready to engage.

And in the midst of it all, two people perfect for each other, pop the question simultaneously.

What future will result from this? The god that is possibility presides over all.

The trigger Syam pulled earlier finally finishes its work. It runs like a chill along the Earth Sphere's communication backbone, spreading along the tangled web of transmitters and repeaters, usurping the entire public communications network. Indeed, it goes beyond that, it usurps the very laws of physics through the medium of the Psychofield.

It matters not distance, Minovsky density, none of what science ordinarily would believe about communications matters. Everything from the humblest livestream, to the most distant mobile suit comms pick it up. All eyes and ears are turned ultimately toward the unassuming colony-builder, listening, watching for the broadcast it now transmits.

At first, it's little more than digital noise, but as more of the Earth Sphere's communications capabilities are turned toward its purpose, things resolve into clarity. Those with video see a young, light-haired woman standing at a podium, clad in full military regalia as the Zabi Princess. In green with the wings of the eagle across her breast, an elaborate red cape with gold trim, and black cuffs with the same gold wings. To her, it is an expression of responsibility, rather than a declaration of shared sentiment. Her expression is firm, but neutral.

Behind her is a monument. A hexagonal, inscribed tablet, surrounded by four empty, hexagonal frames. Most might know this, at least in passing, as the Universal Century Charter, currently housed in the Federation's capital in Dakar.

Through the fading static, she speaks. "Greetings, people of Earth, space, and all those who dwell in the Earth Sphere. I am Mineva Lao Zabi. I ask your forgiveness for addressing you all in this manner, but I had no other choice."

"I am the heir to the Zabi bloodline, and it is true that my family once led the Principality of Zeon. However, the matter I must discuss has nothing to do with my bloodline. I have learned of a secret, today, that affects the very foundation of the Earth Federation's government. I am here to share this secret with you, not as a Zabi, but merely as a fellow inhabitant of this world."

Even as she speaks, she keeps her eyes upon something that noone can see but her a screen showing the Unicorn, floating in space, shining with the bright green crystals that have sprouted organically all over it. At the Banshee nearby, dimmer, as it floats over to the Unicorn, arms slowly encircling it. To the Three Ship's Alliance, as if she were looking to them all in this moment for inspiration, as the people she is doing this for, even if it is for everyone...

She understands how much she needs them all, and how much all of them have sacrificed for this moment.

"The Universal Century Charter was ratified ninety seven years ago, at the dawn of the Universal Century. As many of you surely know, the charter is foundational to the Federation's government, and is the keystone of its policy-making. The tablet it was carved into was enshrined aboard the colony Laplace, but it went missing soon after, believed to be destroyed in a terrorist attack upon the Prime Minister's residence."

She looks up at a viewscreen watching the broadcast cannot see, viewing the Unicorn outside, covered in outgrowths of psychoframe and crystals shed never seen before. The tortured form of the Banshee Norn flies up to it as she watches, its arms wrapping around it as if in embrace. "A replica was created, of course, which is on display in the Federation Assembly building in Dakar. However, the real thing--the original tablet--was merely hidden away."

Mineva looks down, closing her eyes briefly. She steps to one side, allowing the camera a clear view of the monument behind her. "Please look closely. What you're looking at, right now, is the original Universal Century Charter, ratified at the dawning of the century and enshrined in Laplace."

After a brief examination, it's clear to anyone familiar with the Charter that this is materially different from the one the Federation acknowledges.

There's another article, one that's missing from the 'official' charter.

She's silent for several moments, then steps back behind the podium.

"Many of you must have spotted it, just the same as I did. The original Universal Century Charter contained an extra provision, one that was unknown to any of us."

"Chapter VII, 'Future', Article 15, Provision 2: 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."

-=-=-

In another room, Syam Vist watches, his eyes growing more and more tired every moment. He watches, glad he could see this moment, before the light leaves his eyes. The room dims, and Magallanica's movement stops, before restarting again, shifting as great cylindrical engines shift outwards from its surface.

The world does not always change as we anticipate it, as we desire it to, but it is always changing. As the old generation leaves us, we are always granted what they left behind, both their curses and their prayers.

-=-=-

Inside the cockpit of the Banshee Norn, Leina's shoulders shudder and shake, as her eyes close, as if it were all she could do to hold back tears, as if in silent grief, or rather the anticipation of grief as Mineva's speech floods the comms

In an airport, people stop and listen as Mineva's voice floods the broadcast. On a Colony distant from this, a couple riding in a linear car get into an argument, an orange haired man playing keepaway from a blonde haired woman while keeping one hand upon the wheel. Then hearing what's on the radio, Beecha Oleg swerves abruptly, nearly running off the road. As Elle Viano shouts at him, he shouts back, pointing at the radio. In a Fujinomiya home Fraw and Letz Kobayashi sit on the couch, watching their TV, Letz's posture leaning forward.

Ramo Marusa sits in an alley behind the Yumi Foundation offices in Tsutsujidai, having just parked her butt on a trash can. One of the full-time employees peeks a head out, gesturing her back into the office. The mood feels uncertain... but Marusan nods to herself, once she gets her head around what's happening.

An old man in a diner continues cleaning glasses as he moves to watch the broadcast on his laptop. On Side 3 Dimara Kadun, elder of Zeon, sits in her parlor as the news comes. Her eyes narrow in anger and grief. Back on Earth, Mirai Noa and her daughter Cheimin pause in dinner preparations, eyes glued to a screen. Anxiety and wonder warring against each other.

Shinji Kazama is by the sidelines, towel around his neck. He knows AS operators need physical training for the Millympics, but who brought these Ashford muscle heads into it? He looked up, seeing fellow Hero Kyoko Tokiwa approaching for a picture. Except ...she has her phone out, not a camera.

In the council Assembly Chamber of Azadistan, strong words are being exchanged between the Conservative and Reformist senators. Standing at ease behind the Princess Ascendant, agent Nasrin's ear bud murmured to life. She glanced, confused, to her partner Bahar. His lips weren't moving. No one else should be on this encrypted shortband?

-=-=-

"Of course, this isn't referring to Newtypes. Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory, which posited that humanity's forays into space would cause an expansion of the senses and consciousness, facilitating true understanding, wouldn't be developed for another forty years. I believe this provision, buried by the Laplace Incident, was a hopeful prayer, an offering to the possibilities of our future."

-=-=-

From a hospital bed, Kai Shiden watches from TV, his usual cynical smile fading into a more genuine one as he picks up his cell phone and makes a call. In Tsutsujidai's Junk Shop Aya the television behind the counter, which up to this point had just been on for white noise, has drawn attention. The present customers gather in front of the counter to watch and listen - and at one of their requests, Orie Takarada grabs the remote and turns up the volume. As her customers begin to chat amongst themselves about the ongoing speech... Orie regards all of this with a smile, and listens intently herself.

In an undisclosed location, Hephaestus stares at his tablet, his heart twisting in his chest. He can't look away, even as his jaw tightens, his teeth grit, and his hand grips the tablet casing so hard it starts to crack.

In the Nyan-Nyan Chinese Restaurant aboard Island 1 of the Frontier Fleet, Nanase Matsuura is busy carrying orders out to the patrons when the TV usually playing the chain's advertisements changes broadcasts. At first she's too busy to notice, but as all the patrons stop and begin watching, she too stops, holding a tray of chow mein while she stares.

In the pilot's lounge of the Macross Quarter, Ozma Lee sits at the bar, nursing a drink. His eyebrow twitches a little while the Quarter's flamboyant helmsman beside him, Bobby Margot, excitedly talks his ear off. Ozma throws back a swig from his drink, then becomes actually grateful as the bar's TV switches transmission and draws Bobby's attention. But then he too starts watching and frowns.

-=-=-

"But that coincidence turned our forebears' prayers and hopes into a curse. George Glenn and the invocation of Coordinator was already fresh on their minds when Newtype theory entered the public consciousness. Those that knew the secret of the original charter became uneasy, for Humanity was changing far too quickly in their judgment. They asked the question among themselves: what would happen if someone made that connection and linked it to Newtype theory, fanning the flames of independence among those deported to space? Originally, this monument would have done nothing but reveal the truth behind the Laplace Incident... but this prospect made it an object of fear, something which could bring rapid change to the Federation government. Facing what it saw as an existential threat, the government colluded with the Vist Foundation, which had come into possession of the monument, to keep it sealed away. Thus was born 'Laplace's Box'."

-=-=-

Back on Cheyenne in the Britannian Union, the speech is broadcast through the base's speakers, Martha Vist Carbine takes on a dismissive self-confidence despite being currently in GGG custody, "Fools! What do they think this will accomplish? How many people in the world can even comprehend the truth of this broadcast? It will stir up the activists for a while but nothing more. This will be taken care of, the government will announce that this is fabricated nonsense and--"

"It's time to let it go, Aunt Martha." Alberto, speaks to her with an exhaustion from the emotional highs and lows of this day, "The Box's magic has been lost." Martha looks at him, taken aback by this simple truth as he tells her again, "It's over. Let's make a fresh start."

Martha's facade just cracks in that moment, eyes closed, she looks tired, emotional. Then when she opens, she gives her Nephew a look of fondness and pride that she rarely ever shown him, saying nothing. Then she begins to walk along, as she's directed by Urchin Prickle, not as the Empress of the Moon, but as a woman who knows she's been beaten.

<Pose Tracker> Singularity 1 has posed.

The Unicorn is silent. Still exuding rainbow light, still wreathed in crystal, they float in the exact place Gryps II was stopped. Their aurora bathes space in radiance, far larger than the Psychoframe they summoned.

But just as true as the Unicorn's emanation of hope, a message of violence still echoes across space. This isn't over.

The General Revil, flagship of the Federation, approaches, flanked by dozens of mobile suits. The Three Ships Alliance and their allies, still unrecovered after battling Full Frontal at the end of time, and weathering the Colony Laser, would surely fall before its assault.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Possibility is an endless, sacred light, twined and braided through the visible motions of time itself. How easy it would be to change things. All it would take is reaching out their hand.

Engines, burning fuel long exhausted, roar, as the new being leaps forward. Their veil of iridescent grace flows with them, leaving ripples in their wake of kaleidoscopic wonder. Faster, faster, an effortless gallop away from Magallanica. No living pilot should be able to sustain such impossible speed. No mobile suit, even a Gundam, should be able to handle such sudden movement.

But they are no longer a pilot.

But they are no longer a Gundam.

There, before them now. The Federation machines. Though it would be far easier to simply vanish them all into the Light of Possibility they wield, something within them doesn't wish for lives to be lost. So be it.

Once, long ago, they studied these machines. Their pieces and workings. How they come together. That knowledge blooms in the vastness of their soul, enhanced and perfected by the Light.

They stretch out their hand.

A single pulse of light flows across space. As one, the wing of Jeagans lose hold of their sleds as their machines stop. Time is unwoven for the Jeagans, for the General Revil, unmaking their engines, their weapons, their thrusters. Screws unthread from their casing. Wires untwist from their circuitry. Life support systems are left unchanged, but that is the only thing.

The entirety of the Federations fleet comes to a perfect halt. Unmoving.

And they, this new entity, soar onward. Their hearts in such perfect, intimate harmony, where there is no end, no beginning to their union. There is only joy, and wonder, and the freedom of flying together.

That's what they always loved most, soaring through space as a single being. Why should it ever have to end?

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

It's perhaps a fortunate thing that Leina could hear neither Roux nor Judau in the cockpit, even if she'd have been overjoyed to hear it. Sayla asks if she's still with her, and Sayla can feel as she squeezes her arm that, Leina is on the verge of sobbing, but hasn't crossed over to it yet.

She reports incoming foes, that it's not safe, but it's like she doesn't hear her. Not because she doesn't register it, but because she will feel that she has other priorities, as her shoulders shake, as she almost breaks down on the spot. Sayla might feel to her horror, that the feeling like Leina - it's almost like she's grieving the deceased.

"<Let's- Let's go back to the Ruh-Ra Mari, Banagher.>" Leina tells him over the comms, barely keeping her emotions under control, but all of them can hear her voice cracking. "<You-You've done enough, it's time- tuh-time for you to rest.>"

She feels the Unicorn thrum to life, to suddenly break its grip as if it were not existent, for it to trail auroral light off as it moves onwards towards the General Revil. Astounded for a moment, tear-streaked eyes look upon it. And then her visage cracks into a look thats profoundly upset, emotional. And yet another emotion surges to the surface, white hot.

ANGER

All sense of resignation to grief fades, under a singular idea. 'Not to this.' She will not bow to the idea that this is fate, destiny. And certainly not to Ritas idea that this is Ascension rather than what it is.

Him being taken away from her.

"<You always do this. You shoulder too much, push yourself beyond what /anyone/ should have to carry. Then rush right into carrying even more!>" She can feel him slipping further and further away, with each passing moment, to a place where she can only barely touch. "< I don't accept this. I won't /allow/ this. You made a promise to the two of us.>"

A certain resolve erupts out of her, formed from the bitter idea that she might have to live on without him, "<You don't get to tell me to live on in this world - ONLY FOR YOU TO IMMEDIATELY TRY TO LEAVE IT!>" It has the same tone and depth of 'You're in trouble, Mister.' that only Leina can deliver, "<You think I won't just drag you back here!? BANSHEE!>"

There is a sudden psychic hum from it, as the Banshee shifts back, its yellow light now a brilliant green. It's thrusters fire brighter than ever before, a brilliant blue cut by the auroral light of a comet's contrail as it suddenly moves in hot pursuit flying in a wide parabola arc. It's moving faster than any specifications should allow, fast enough that it's nearly on the Unicorn's tail immediately.

She watches as a pulse of light flows across space, dismantling the machines, distantly she understands Banagher would know how to dismantle those things, but it is not her focus, not beyond the anger, the resolve. As such she blasts right by them without engaging, like she doesn't need to.

But the Unicorn isn't moving as fast as it can certainly, its pace feeling languid as compared to what it is capable of. It suddenly moves faster than the Banshee can keep up with. And Leina pushes it harder, caught within that light, the physical realm is suddenly a blur, as if chasing after him were putting him in a liminal space.

If she were alone this would be a hopeless endeavor.

<Help me!> She begs them all with a sense of desperation over the comms, < If he stays like this much longer, he wont come back, I know it.>

Call out to him. Remind him. That this world of miracles is worth living in, rather than apart.

Leina never used to believe in miracles because of the cost, the collateral damage, the price, but right now, she does. Because right now the people in her life might be the only chance she has of bringing him back. It still won't stop her from being /furious/ at him, but that's who she is.

Audrey. Keep going. But I'm going to need your help soon.

The specifics perhaps elude them, she can't communicate them over the comms to her while she's giving that speech. However, in the end, her intent is enough. And she has faith in her ability to multitask.

Even if this one is one helluva ask.

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Rena knows. In a moment of anxiety, Rena is there for Eight, and Eight feels relief not just at the outcome--but at Rena's reassurance. They'll be okay... and that's enough for her to keep leading the others to ensure it.

She won't make the woman she loves into a liar.

Besides. They don't have time anymore to worry. One way or another, this happens now. Astelian's quicker on the draw, the 'voice' of the Ra Mari II, when Ruri communictes to them. "Right, Nadesico!" he answers. "We'll be counting on your firepower!" He beams down at Omoikane's messages cascading about the screens. Even Eight manages a small smile. "...Thanks," she says, and taps one of those windows like it's a high-five. But they /will/ be counting on the Nadesico's firepower.

After all... the Ra Mari II's main cannon isn't firing again anytime soon.

The broadcast begins. It runs on part of the Ra Mari II's main viewscreen. Without prompting, Tempo Astelian works the switch to broadcast it to the entire ship, over the intercom. And they listen. They listen, to those hopes...

And watch, as the fleet comes to a stop.

"Captain...?" Kazama says. "Should we fire?"

"...No," Eight says. "This is enough. This says what we need to say."

And yet--

"Banagher!" Eight calls suddenly, in alarm. 'Banagher!'

Leina asks for help. And Licia looks sharply to Eight, "We have to--"

"RIght!" Eight says. She reaches out to him--her intent. Her hopes.

"'Banagher... come back to us. Remmeber those 'everyday miracles we talked about--there's so many more of them ahead of you! So many more you can see!'"

"'If you don't come back... you'll never meet my children. I'm having twins, did you know? Come on. Come back. You'll see.'"

Eight feels dizzy with it. Already, she strats to waver. Enba moves from their console, immediately rising towards her--

But Eight's hopes don't waver.

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

Angelo Sauper does not come to help.

He doesn't believe in miracles. What have miracles ever done for him? What did Axis Shock ever do for him?

Miracles have never made things better.

More often, they've simply made things worse.

This... isn't for him. If the light of Gryps-2 consumes him, then let it; it'd be a more merciful end than he'd have if the Federation took him alive.

But if this is the end...

Violet eyes focus on that cockpit bloc. Tension rolls through him. He's prepared to do what he has to. He has no desire to join them... but even the will to stop them has long since guttered out in him, if they try to get in his way...

You're coming for the Colonel, aren't you?

The Sleeves lieutenant blinks as he hears that familiar voice crackle over the communication lines. Instantly Angelo tenses, defensive.

As Trevor expects, there is only silence to greet him. The Geara Zulu's hands remain near the hilt of its beam tomahawk. And yet...

        ... Alright, Angelo. You take him.

And for the second time, Angelo Sauper blinks in confusion as that cockpit capsule is released, drifting across the gulf of space until it finds itself in the reflexively lifting hands of the Zulu.

<"... Why?">

He can't wrap his head around it. He can't understand it. He tries to look for the angle of a traitor, relinquishing such an important target into the hands of his enemy. The game that must be at play here, even as that colony laser bears down. And yet...

"..."

It's perhaps not surprising, the fact that the borrowed Geara Zulu begins to turn rather than help. And yet -- as what seems like inevitable oblivion comes, the thrusters stall for a brief second.

<"...... Thank you.">

And then, the Zulu is gone.

                                ~^~

It doesn't get far. The Rewloola is still too far away to reach, and even it is in the path of the colony laser's projected trajectory. THere is no escape. Not now.

No. Past the curve of Industrial 7, as the light of destruction grows blinding in the distance...

The Geara Zulu rests, its cockpit opened as its pilot drifts across space towards the capsule it holds in its hand. The doors hiss open as Angelo twists the manual lock. It's a tentative motion, that carries him from space's cold embrace to the inside of that cockpit, the only thing that remains of the Neo Zeong.

Hand on the edge of the doors, he looks inside. He looks at the prone form within. His eyes widen in uncertainty...

... and then they clench, squeezing away the tears that well at the corners of his eyes and drift lazily across the interior of his helmet. His lips tremble upwards.

"Colonel..."

Slowly, tremblingly, he reaches out. Arms wrap around shoulders. And Angelo Sauper just leans into the cockpit seat of the Sinanju, his sobs a quiet, shallow thing.

The end might be averted by miracle. But Angelo does not reach out towards the fleeing Banagher - the Singularity that he has become. There is just the sense of him as he waits it out here, oblivious to the speech of Mineva Lao Zabi, to shimmering rainbow of possibility gone far too far beyond, to what Banagher has become, to the dismantling of the Federation, and even the approach of the Rewloola in the distance announcing their intent to retrieve his Geara Zulu...

There is only the sense of him, a little, rare glimmer of happiness in a life that has known so little of it, as the man once known as the Red Comet's Ghost breathes shallow breaths.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

"Fall back if it looks like the Svipul can't take more, okay?" Rena tells Anita. "It's already done a lot today."

She can only imagine what a drain on the power that would be. And that sort of use of the pinpoint barrier is something that, she thinks, only Anita could really do.

Omoikane's words scroll across her screen -- and Rena smiles, sitting up straighter. She nods, once. "Thanks, Omoikane. Nadesico, we're all counting on you!"

Then, she hears Judau propose to Roux. And Roux poposes to Judau. With a shout. Rena's suddenly conscious of the fact her ears feel hot, and she looks to the side, mouth hanging open. "O-oh, um--" She stammers. "C-Congratulations, both of you! I'm so happy for you!"

She looks at the advancing Federation forces. Rena readies herself; but it's already too tall an order. The Gaia Gear Alpha protests the very idea with warnings: about reactor levels, about ammunition loads, about damage readouts. This is more than a severely depleted Mobile Suit detachment can do.

She sits up straighter, keeping a brace face on.

And her eyes widen, as the Mobile Suit detachment all comes to a stop.

And they begin to come apart. The Gaia Gear slows, just slightly. "B-Banagher...?"

She asks it over the broadcast from Mineva. Rena hears it, in the background. And then, Leina asks for help. She looks at the Unicorn, as Eight reaches out.

"Banagher!" she calls out, but her mind reaches out too. "Please! Don't get lost in that! You promised you'd come back! We've got to go find a new plushie for Leina... you have to come see Annie's Haros! And meet Eight's kids, and see how life on the Ra Mari II is when the world isn't falling apart."

Rena sucks a breath in. Her breaks a little. "It's home, now. And it won't be home if you're not there with us!"

<Pose Tracker> Casval rem Deikun has posed.

Hearing Leina appeal to everyone there, as the Unicorn blazes away on that prismatic column of light...

Char swallows and closes his eyes, reaching out to the spirit there.

         Banagher Links. Unicorn Gundam.

         Be wary.

         You both are on a precipice of a terrible destiny. You stand where Amuro and I stood, only four short years ago.

         You know what became of us - where we tumbled, lost beyond time itself.

         Would you risk taking that destiny upon yourself? To have this transcendent beauty lost to the fire of the Oath Over Omega? To have your love for humanity's possibilities twisted up into an all-consuming, endless campaign of destruction?

         ... Besides... you both are still young. These sights... these feelings... they are not meant for you, just yet. Once, I thought I would do anything to experience what you are now. ... And yet... With every hour that passes, I find I want to live more and more.

         Don't be in such a hurry to write your future into stone - because if you go too much further, there may be no coming back.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "The enemy is deconstructed," Ruri reports, stoic.

        "Um..." Megumi starts, far more unsure than the girl beside her.

        "All enemy units have been dismantled down to basic life support infrastructure." Ruri pauses, and translates, droll: "They're helpless, Captain."

        More happy whoops resonate, through the bridge of the Nadesico. Until --

        'Help me!', Leina cries.

        "Ahh, that cutie..." Minato sighs, leaning a hand on her console. "She's right, isn't she? He's pushed himself so hard. And with a romantic backing like this... ne, how long did it take for those two to spit it out?" She smiles, warmly, thinking of Judau and Roux. She knows the type.

        Strangely, /Minato's/ voice is the first from the Nadesico which might reach /Banagher,/ deep in his singularity.

        "Hey, hey... you're gonna make a cute girl cry, if you don't come back now. You're far too much of a gentleman for that, right?" Her laughter is audible, through hearts and minds, giggling veiled by her lips.

        Ruri reports, focused on her mission: "The Unicorn Gundam and the Banshee Gundam are continuing to accelerate." She has always been focused on the mission. And she does not speak to human hearts. She closed herself from them long, long ago, and Eight knows the fear she feels on human intrusion.

        But she can tell the Unicorn, itself, a story.

        Hello, Unicorn, she says, in the base code the Gundam uses. (It's surely not English; let us translate, here.) I have to agree with the Banshee, today. Let it grasp you, now. Because its pilot told me a story, once. She didn't mean to tell me. But I was afraid that your pilot was dead, the way I thought the Banshee's pilot was dead, the way the Phenex's pilot really is dead. She was angry because she was afraid. She insisted it wouldn't happen to him. Really, it was frightening. ... but now, I think you're doing that to him. He can't come with you without making that girl sad and angry, Unicorn. So I hope you'll let him go. Thank you for your consideration.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Don't worry. Same goes for you, right?" Anita replies to Rena with a smile. "Still... for right now, I've got you back."

A congratulations from the Nadesico... The situation is tense, but the sight of it puts a grin on Anita's face. It makes things just a little bit brighter.

"It's alright, Nova! Just do what you can. Any backup at all would be great." Anita assures.

...And, a marriage proposal?? Anita blinks.

"...What, here? Well... geez, congrats, you two!" Anita says. Yet another thing to pick the mood up - to make their situation seem that much more workable. The foe might be insurmountable... but with such great backing, how can she not meet them with a smile! The Svipul gives the Nemo a nod as it moves to join them. She doesn't know him (not /really/, anyway), but if he's right here beside them... well, that's all that matters to her.

But, one after the other, things begin to happen.

On one screen, Mineva appears. Anita listens with interest. She heard some of this as their meeting in the colony was broadcasted to the 3SA... but it's another to hear how she words it for the people.

And then, the Unicorn, still emitting rainbow light. The Federation force is...

...dismantled. Anita's eyes open wide.

"...Captain, what're your orders?" Anita asks. ...Well, she's fine letting them stew in their pods for now, because Banagher... he's flying away. He's more important to her than them.

"Hey, Banagher, don't you have somewhere you need to be right now? Someone you need to be /with/?" Anita asks. "She's gonna be sad when she finishes up what she's doing in there and you're not here."

Anita massages the back of her neck - or she would, if her helmet and her EX-Gear weren't in the way.

"And then there's Haro - yours /and/ mine I guess - and everyone on your forum, and your pals on the Ra Mari II... are you gonna leave them all behind without an explanation, too? You've got a lotta fans out there, you know." She shakes her head. "What I'm sayin' is... you mean the world to everyone here. Don't leave us behind just yet, yeah?"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        The speech echoes in the cockpit of the Banshee, as Mineva says her piece to the world. As Laplace's Box is cast open unto the world. In another moment, Sayla would be paying more attention to it, as the Universal Century is faced with a truth that could maybe force change- or it could try to ignore.

        But there's something more important than the fate of the Universal Century right in front of her.

        Horror passes over her face. She can feel that pain, that grief radiating off of Leina. "He didn't..."

        As Leina tries to reach him over the comms, Sayla moves to take her hand-

        And then the Unicorn moves, and the anger flares out with a strength Sayla couldn't have imagined. A blindingly bright, hot flare of emotion that it's hard not to get overwhelmed by. She moves her hand to let Leina take the controls, and places her hand on her shoulder. A silent motion of support. If Leina has the courage, the anger, the fear to do what she couldn't four years ago...

        Banagher! You told me once that you don't want to do anything to hurt Leina and Audrey! You told me you wouldn't disappear on Leina! Some of Leina's anger flows into Sayla, but she tamps it down. The first time we met, I was terrified you'd break her heart. You'd abandon her. That she would lose you like I lost Amuro and Casval. That first meeting, where Sayla was so angry, so vicious. So unfair to him.

        Was that a lie, Banagher? Are you just going to disappear? Go beyond like they did? Her own anger and pain are brought to the surface- tempered by the fact that the miracles that occurred in the last year brought them back to her. Banagher Links, don't you dare leave her behind! If you break Leina's heart like this, if you shatter her heart that way, I'll never forgive you! You made her a promise- don't you *dare* break it! Show me that I was wrong about you that day!

        "Bring him back, Leina. Kicking and screaming if you have to. Don't give up until he's back here and he can apologize to you himself!" Sayla's hand is firm on her daughter's shoulder, once again.

        One more feeling reaches out, more widely, less conscious then the rest. Don't make her hurt the way I did. Please.

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

What is in the mind of a traitor as he relinquishes one who could be the most dangerous man to have lived in the past decade into Angelo's hands?

...

Honestly, just... The wish that something good could come out of all of this. And the knowledge that enough pain had been inflicted in this world. Paranoia, spite, certitude, everything melted away before the blazing light of Gryps-2. All that was left, was--

The hope that someone he only sort of knew could find the happiness that had eluded him for so long.

...

"Ideally, we won't be burning at all, Omoikane. I'd like to live my life without ever knowing what it's like to be set on fire." Trevor chuckles weakly as his senses return, visor clearing. "...We understand, though. It's the fire inside the heart that counts, right? Doesn't matter if it's meat or metal. As long as it burns..."

We will protect all that we love.

But-- that resolve is tested all too soon. Martha Vist is nothing if not thorough. How cynical does someone have to be to /plan/ for a miracle to occur just so she can thwart it anyway? "The General Revil? Ugh... I'm not exactly in fighting shape, here. Not sure if one arm and a prayer will be of much help--"

Banagher--

Races forward, dismantling the Federation advance as he goes. No. Not Banagher. Something else. Something that Banagher is quickly being swallowed by. Trevor's eyes widen as he realizes what that 'something' is. "It's just like what happened to Rita... No, 'more complete' than that--!" Princess Zabi is saying something on the radio, but Trevor can't spare it even so much as a thought.

Faced with a fleet of disappearing enemies, running on fumes and held together by scrap and a dream, Isadore gives chase.

"Banagher!" Trevor shouts, as loud as his voice can-- as loud as his /mind/ can. It's a strange sensation, he's barely even really accessed the 'willful' aspects of his powers until a few months ago, and now he's trying to scream with them at the top of his lungs. Or, at the top of his brain. "Didn't I just say that you weren't allowed to give this story a last minute downer ending!? How am I supposed to tell it when the hero turns into a /space ghost/ at the end?!"

"All of us put up to back you up, and you're just going to disappear on us? Become some kind of god!? Leave Leina and the Garancieres behind?! You're not that selfish, are you? So get back here--!"

Blood drips from his nose. His consciousness expands, further, further. Sparks crackle across Isadore's controls as a psychic phenomenon pushes beyond safe limits. An interlock is moments from engaging-- but is arrested before it can.

Isadore-- also does not want to lose Banagher here.

And if that means Trevor gives himself a minor hemorrhage trying to psychically anchor Banagher to 'here and now' by adding to the telepathic beacon shining from the assembly, then that's just what's going to have to happen.

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Of all the ways this could have played out, it was impossible to predict that 'the fleet just stops' would be the way it does. Certainly a relief to Naoko, out there in a machine whose only useable weaponry at this point are vulcans, capable of stopping precisely nothing of what was approaching them.

A lingering awareness of sensing something otherworldly prompts the correct guess that it must be Banagher who is somehow responsible. Meanwhile, Mineva's speech informs the world of the truths that were discovered here today. It's safe to say that the miracles of this day have not come to an end yet. There are even some that she wasn't privy to due to what she was doing at the time, such as a marriage proposal in the heat of the moment.

Whatever the case may be, it's cause for celebration, from where she's sitting. Though this does leave her a moment to consider what just happened. Unlike what her friends seemed to think, she remembers. Not how she did it, just that it happened. That powerful feeling of possessing a giant steel body. It's been virtually no time at all, and she already misses it. In this moment, she may understand like no other being unwilling to give up the capability of performing miracles on such a grand scale.

And also, why it's something nobody should strive for. You can't remove yourself from your humanity that far. Not without removing yourself from all of humanity. And if Leina wants her to tell him that, then she will. In her own way.

>"Hey, Unicorn Boy. You went too far, dummy. If you stay there, you can cause miracles, but you won't be able to enjoy what you've accomplished. What would be the point of that? Besides... if you go now, what did you save Leina for? Just to leave her behind, and make her sad? Even I know that's no way to treat the people you love. You get a failing grade. Get back here, and I'll teach you how to be a proper Miracle Worker."<

<Pose Tracker> Judau Ashta has posed.

As the last vestiges of the colony laser gutter out, the hazy, pink-red corona around the Double Zeta lingers like the twining tendrils of a solar flare.

In the cockpit of the damaged yet impossibly-functioning machine, Judau Ashta blinks as Rena offers her stammering congratulations, followed shortly by Anita. He scratches the back of his head and laughs despite the situation -- or perhaps, because of it all.

"Uh, yeah! Thanks! We accept cash for gifts--" Judau's shameless opportunism may know no bounds nor boundaries of good taste, but his endurance does; the (other) Man From Jupiter slumps backwards as dizziness overtakes him. He parts with the longest, most exhausted, most bewildered sigh.

Five seconds pass onward into a single, declarative statement:

"I'm not havin' an underwater wedding so don't even suggest it."

--

as if that was the most immediate concern on judau's mind right now

But... Judau is keenly aware of the fact that it is -not- the most pressing thing going on right now. Like he said: the Federation if nothing else, love to come brush things aside after the fact. He doesn't even have to look to see the approaching forces; doesn't even have to look to know the ZZ has no way to help fend against them. Even the Biosensor is reaching its limit in simply keeping the ZZ powered -on-.

And more to the point, he feels something. Something like Banagher, but...

The sensation is soon joined by the sight of the too-perfect union between machine and pilot as what was once the Unicorn blazes past. Prismatic particles pulse through space, and within seconds the sum whole of the Federation's forces are dismantled. Judau blinks, as he feels the intention of it ripple at the fringes of his senses. And he sees what was once Banagher and the Unicorn, seeking to soar out into the limitlessness of space, far beyond the petty problems of people.

Judau Ashta blinks. He hears - feels - his sister's plea as she brings the Banshee in blistering pursuit of that prismatic aurora seeking possibilities beyond stars and space and time.

And for now, all else is forgotten as the Double Zeta turns towards that prismatic sign beyond. Judau draws in a slow breath...

                                "... Banagher..."

                          You deserve to see tomorrow.

And the twin anger of the Ashta Siblings unite as Judau seeks to reach out to Banagher - not physically, not when Banagher is like -that- and the Double Zeta is like -this-, even Judau isn't that unreasonable - but with pure, broiling will, as the Biosensor burgeons to catch his and Roux's intent both and broadcast it straight into the heart and soul of that newborn singularity.

"Where the hell d'you think you're goin', Banagher?! What, you think this is the end? That there's nothin' here for you anymore? Pull yourself back an' look around you! All these people needed you here, an' they still need you now! This isn't the end -- it's the beginning! It could be worth everything you put into makin' it happen... but it's worth nothin' if you just leave it all behind!" Judau rears up, eyes flaring, an aura flaring around him as he reaches a fever pitch.

"And I swear to god, or space god, or space satan, or who-the-hell ever -- if you ditch my little sister, I'm gonna track you down and BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA YOU UNTIL YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU EVER DECIDED TO BECOME SOME KINDA CRAZY ROBOT GOD! I DON'T CARE IF YOU RUN OFF TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE, I GOT A PIPE AND ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!!"

His righteousness is vast. But perhaps more important, is the other sentiment that bubbles up warm like a beam of sunlight breaking past the cloud coverage of those words:

                                Banagher,
                You should get to enjoy what comes next too.

"... So come back."

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy hangs in his cockpit, panting heavily as his own information starts to fill in what Alouette's saying. Just like the Gutsy Galaxy Guard did. But...but they...

"You guys can't abandon Orbit Base," Guy says. "That's..." His fist clenches, GaoGaiGar discarding the other Gatling Driver. "...Earth still needs Braves," he says. "Our friends need someone to come home to. Don't let yourselves get washed away by this...pettiness."

He says, but he still adopts a fighting stance. "...thank you, Alouette," he says. "COME ON, THEN!"

The engines flare at his call, but before GaoGaiGar can charge off to punch a thousand men, the Unicorn does. Something?

"They stopped?"

Something else calls to him, though, a panel appearing in the white space of Fusion. "Leina!?" He's--

"Fusion..." Guy recognizes. It's not, quite, the same, but the differences are more technical than matters at the moment. "Ordinary people can't do it. It's..."

He flexes his hand, and presents it forward, a mystic sign of the Trinary Solar System. GaoGaiGar makes the same motion, the fighting King of Braves miming a sign that Earth knows as a call for peace.

Guy's whole body wreathes in green light, his own Purification Mode erupting around him, turning inside of Galeon's mouth on GaogaiGar's chest green. A faint cruciform burns on his brow - the sign of Limpid Channel transmission. He can't often do it. But the world allows for many things, when the moment is high. "That's enough," he 'speaks', sending words as thoughts like he's seen the Bettermen do and not realizing how remarkable a feat it is. "It's over. You don't need to give everything for that power. ...there are still plenty of things you can do without."

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.

Roux's eyes well up for a moment -- and then her face flushes as she hears Lucine. But maybe that place of hope, delight, and laughter is the perfect place to be as the light rises from yellow into green into the rainbow...

And then there is a message.

And words.

Mineva!

Roux says to her *fiance*, quietly, "Remember when we tried to kidnap her?" The tone is warm, nostalgiac even, but it's a memory, like so much is.

The revelation... that's what it was. But it seems like such a small thing. Why hide it away in the first place? Mineva is outlining a reason, but as a wise man once said, Even so...

And... Leina is calling for their help? Roux blinks once, as Leina implores them. To give a reason for him to come back to them - to turn away from... from wherever-it-is that he's turning. Roux's stomach tightens and she feels small again, acutely aware that she is a small and complex thing within a badly damaged larger thing among a black immensity of empty, cold space.

But...

And Roux is there, too, for a moment; her arms splayed out, as if she's diving into an ocena. Perhaps she's only skimming, borne on the propulsion of the Biosensor, caught in the wake of Judau, but that's where she's glad to be.

'You've got a lot of nerve to do this to my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, you know' Roux tells him. 'You're going to come to the wedding if I have to drag you there myself! ... But you have people here who miss you, who care about you. Haven't you been calling out to them all this time...?'

Roux laughs, again.

'This is the kind of thing they do in old stories. To make it so that there's a neat ending. But we don't want an ending. Maybe one will come, but let it come on its own, okay?'

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine's alarm over Banagher's transformation was delayed out of ignorance.

        But hearing Leina's voice, and feeling that anger and desperation, as well as the memory of an ache of a similar pain and fear inside her in response, Lucine redirects her attention, as the invading forces seemingly disintegrate to their base parts, no pilots harmed.

         < "..... Banagher..." >

        Lucine stretches her mind out like flexing a muscle in her hand, something that should have been sore and hard to move, but gets easier and easier to flex and reach further, and further towards the shore. However, in comparison to Banagher right now, or what was Banagher, Lucine is the first clumsy fumblings of an aquatic ancestor on wet soil during low tide.

        And soon enough, she's straining at the point Trevor finds himself. No drops of blood from her nose, but the headaches will likely limit her to a dark room with a cool cloth over her face.

        But at least, now, she can make her stand.

         There was a time not too long ago where I had to deal with the possibility of losing Liam to the Crucible, all over again... I almost did, if not for my friends.

         When I watched Liam be taken away, a part of me screamed. To be left behind, to realize that someone so important to you could be gone... And now, I'm watching you leave Leina behind. Can't you see her, trying to follow you? You're going someplace she can't get to. You're leaving her standing there on the steps, Banagher...

         You've seen it, haven't you? The ballroom, the floating, clapping hands, the fake smiles... That place will always wait for her when she's alone. Don't leave her standing alone and cold in that ballroom, Banagher... Take her hand, and begin the dance of the rest of your lives together.

         .... Eternity can wait; the now can only be now. Banagher. Come back. Please. Don't make me scream.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

"It's okay," Alouette assures Guy. "I don't think anyone's planning on never making it home... they were simply inspired by your courage in challenging the Federation in spite of it." She's certainly looking forward to getting back to Orbit Base's hot spa...

But when Alouette sees what she is seeing on her monitor, she almost doesn't believe it at first, the readings simply not making sense to her genius mind.

"...Yes." Alouette confirms, that the entire fleet has stopped in place. "I don't understand how, but it seems like we're safe. Although..."

As Leina desperately points out, one person possibly won't - at least, they won't leave the same being they arrived as. "Oh gosh... Banagher!" Alouette covers her mouth as she begins to piece together what that immense psychic presence that stopped the Jagens really is. "Don't worry, Leina." Alouette assures her. "I'm going to give him a stern talking to."

And so she does exactly that, reaching out to the singularity: "Banagher, if there's any intelligent bone left in that body of yours, you should remember what I told you on the Garuda. That I would never accept a solution that involved leaving you behind."

"If you did... then I'm sure your girlfriends would never forgive you in the infinite number of years you get to live on, and there's definitely nothing miraculous about that." She says, with a completely straight face.

"Besides that... if you're going to change the world like this, I think the least you can do is have the courage to watch it change." In a way, it's why she's fighting the Ruin Apostles, even beyond them being family. And Banagher... as Char points out, he's at risk of becoming one.

"So please... just think your decision through. This doesn't need to be a tragedy!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Magallanica continues shifting, its strange rotation having ceased, new protrusions are forming off of it, as it grows, expands, and also narrows in places - elongating outwards.

Just as it was the first time Banagher and Mineva saw it in action, that day in Industrial 7, their world is expanding, changing all the time.

And Magallanica is changing to, to rise to the challenge of this ever growing, far more complicated world.

-=-=-

"While this may have been a crime, morally... It was a decision made in order to maintain peace and stability. However, the meaning and intention, the context of the Box's sealing, were soon lost. Institutional inertia gave rise to a status quo which suppressed the very possibility of Newtypes, as well as a deep distrust of the Spacenoid populations which might give rise to them. The horrors of the Zentradi and One Year War brought about an identity crisis for humanity, within which that status quo entrenched itself into the Federation's now-unbending will."

-=-=-

In Rhymes Square, one of the central hubs of Neo-America, every one of the myriad video screens adorning the surrounding buildings has flashed away from the constant stream of advertisements and now shows Mineva's face, staring at the pedestrians of the square from every angle as she delivers her address. And down Broadway, on top of the building that houses the Little Lip Theater, Michael Sunnyside watches the square from his rooftop office/zen garden, hand in his chin.

Sabine waited patiently at his side for some signal to act, but he didn't give it. The rest of the organization would be fussing, but Mr. Silver simply walked away from his desk, out onto the veranda overlooking the sea, and pulled out his phone. Mr. Gold had bet him 20 G and an entire wanzer platoon that all this would never see the light of day, after all.

In a nest of computers which shouldn't /logically/ have power, a man with a wild mane of orange hair grins. Parminder Chaudhri laughs to himself as he leans back to watch the broadcast, calling Wen Yuan in to see it, too.

On the Bebop, Spike and Jet's eyes are directed towards their television screen. It flickers with static from the background level of Minovsky influence. Jet watches with a drawn expression, though his eyes widen as the realization sets in. It pulls on the metal plating underneath his right eye. And, then, a hint of a smile.

Spike's expression is neutral -- no, not neutral, but empty. Spike's eyes, subtly mismatched, are distant -- imperceptible -- unblinking. Then, he closes them. And while his lips turn up, it isn't a smile. It's resignation.

-=-=-

"In a few short years, the nation of Zeon will disappear, and the myth of the Newtype will be buried with it in the shadows of history, but that is not why I am here today. I do not intend to pursue the matter of this lost article with the Federation, nor do I desire a resurgence of Zeon. If anyone should corrupt my words to take up arms for the cause of the 'Newtype' or 'Neo-Zeon' then know that I shall oppose you myself, with a desire only for peace within my heart. I am here to reveal the truth of 'Laplace's Box' not for such causes, but only to demonstrate that within even the curses of humanity's dark history, it began with humanity's kindness, and the possibility that expanding into space represented. To those who have suffered, you might resent the deceit inherent in this conspiracy, in concealing this hope before it could be gifted to you at all. Facing a rapidly changing humanity, they chose what they believed was the best way forward, not understanding how it would shape the fears of the subsequent generation. However even if the magnitude differs, each and every day we are faced with similar choices as people."

-=-=-

In a certain municipal school in Tokyo-3, a lesson has collapsed, and even the teacher has abandoned explaining the oceanographic results of Second Impact to join around one student's computer. Kensuke Aida leans back in his seat, adjusting his glasses with a poke of his fingers as students look on in wonder and confusion. The class representative's hand brushes against the hand of a tall student, still in his athletic jacket.

A pink haired young woman had been preparing a few new sketches for her next meeting with Dr. Panerose when her white noise stopped being noise. She watched, half consciously bringing her hand to her mouth to chew at her nails. Anxiousness. The world is moving again..

Alma Stirner lies in a bed at the Photon Power Labs. She's been convalescing for a few weeks now, and her wounded heart still hasn't put itself quite right. She groans a little, leaving her room for the first time at the sound of the television. When she sees what's transpiring, a hand rests over her heart.

A cat stalks the streets of Tokyo. He's caught the train between Nouvelle and the original a few times. Following a middle schooler into a small electronics store, the cat darts from shelf, to shelf, to a television display, curling up on it.

By chance, this'll be the young man's first and most formative political memory. Every encounter is one in a billion.

In a mostly empty townhouse within the Frontier Fleet's main city, a small, green furry creature is playfully attacking a TV remote in the home's living room. It unintentionally turns the TV on, the sudden light and sound drawing its attention. Its black beady eyes stare at the transmission in fascination, its head tilting a little in a complete lack of understanding.

-=-=-

Placing a hand over her heart, Mineva takes on an almost conciliatory tone, "As we came to possess this knowledge, myself and my allies were faced with a similar decision. Shall we keep the Box? Shall we seal it? Shall we use it to create change? I believe these struggles are similar to the ones they faced so long ago when they faced the question of what to do with the original Charter. And while we might be quick to condemn their judgment, we must keep in mind that should we seek to prosecute it as Earthnoid oppression against the Spacenoid - we will only deepen the divides they created. Instead, we should remind ourselves of their inherent shared humanity. While it will not undo the harm these decisions inflicted, we can make the choice as people to hold the good will inherent in the original Charter in our hearts as we continue to make choices that shape humanity moving into the second Universal Century."

-=-=-

In the hangar of the Macross Quarter, Luca Angelloni is next to one of his Ghost drones, typing rapidly on a laptop as he updates the AI. Nearby, the small, micronized Klan Klang has the taller Michael Blanc in a headlock, playfully berating him for something he did. A window pops up on Luca's laptop and his typing quickly slows. He waves the other two over.

On the bridge of the Macross Quarter, operators Ram Hoa and Mina Roshan are casually chatting to each other while watching over the quiet operations of the docked ship. However, alerts quickly begin appearing on their screens and they investigate, bringing up the unusual transmission. The two give each other knowing looks before starting to type on their consoles.

In the Captain's Office of the Macross Quarter, the grizzled veteran captain, Jeffery Wilder, sits at his desk reading through reports. His aide and chief operator, Monica Lang, stands off to the side, occasionally giving him affectionate looks. However, this quickly changes as they receive a notice from the bridge and the Captain turns the broadcast on. The two both watch in concern.

Yoshitaka Yonezawa looks out the window, toward the far edge of the Tsutsujidai PLANT. He then turns his attention back to the music club room's television as he pins up a few decorations congratulating them on their upcoming funding boost.

For an instant, he feels like he remembers a life where he loved, and failed, and did his best to move forward regardless.

Before he even realizes how urgent it feels, he sits down and begins to draw a girl with slicked-back brown hair, grown out to a length just a little past her chin. Maybe, whoever she is, she'd live in a world of miracles.

-=-=-

"I believe that the humanity of the past and present have like desires. The desire to improve one's self and to better this world we live in for ourselves, and our children. Moving forward together, we will have to continue to make choices about humanity and the world we live in. Shall we place the idea of human 'possibility' in a box and hide it away? Shall we accept a changing humanity? Attempt to place the brake on them for the sake of stability? What will the world we live in a hundred years from now look like? Whatever challenges we face in answering these questions, I believe that we are up to the challenge, because I believe the answer to what makes one human is 'kindness', no matter what form humanity takes in our future. The god called possibility may at times be outrageous, or transgressive, and will certainly be abused by those with ill intentions resulting in new anxieties and fears to foment among us, but we must face the decisions we make even then with human kindness in our heart... lest we be doomed to make similar mistakes as those that sealed possibility within Laplaces Box."

-=-=-

In a dimly lit room, inside a Zentran monitor grounded onto Vesta's surface, a hodgepodge of vagrants and vagabonds sit around an old communications terminal. Some smile, some weep, some shrug and go on with their work of survival; the aged Zentraedi towering over them all looks to a distant blue dot and wonders at the whims of fate, while wondering about the fate of a dear grandchild, traveling far afield.

Everything glows in this space, but little light is shed; but even though their consciousnesses have been consumed by Cosmic Law, GGG's lost comrades listen intently to the broadcast in both surprise and intense interest. The time to move is upon them. Was this as good a signal as any...?

Dr. Yuka Inoue exits an operating theater after a twelve hour fight to save a life and double-takes as she stares at a nearby TV screen. Ippei Baba glances up from the latest build of Tarabaman Generations, tired but fulfilled eyes widen with shock as a simulcast video swallows up his computer screen; he hopes that he remembered to save his work. The sun beats down around Naoto Sho as he watches the shore like a hawk, vigilant for any sign of a swimmer in distress, only to almost jump out of his seat when an unfamiliar transmission breaks through on his radio.

Jun Tsurugi nee Hono bounces her year-old baby on her shoulder as Venus Ace is reassembled in the hangar outside the window. She wonders if the news will give her child a greater chance for peace, or only promises new conflict. In that moment, as she has dozens of times in the past, she resolves to do everything in the name of peace. Gai Tsurugi sucks on his thumb, unaware of his mother's worry, or the turning of the era.

On a passenger flight somewhere, Grace O'Connor leans back in the comfortable first class seat. She appears to be asleep. However, in the virtual world of her cyborg mind, she is actively monitoring the situation as it plays out, mostly out of mild interest. But as the transmission begins, a playful smile appears on her 'sleeping' face.

Within the offices of the Frontier Fleet's government, Chief of Staff Leon Mishima sits at his desk. As the transmission begins, he spins his chair around to stare out the window over the city. As he listens, his hands come together, finger-tips touching.

In the same building, Howard Glass, Federation Councilor in Charge of Recalled Colonization Fleets and elected President of the Frontier Fleet is busy signing forms. His daughter Catherine Glass, former beauty queen and current Lieutenant in the Frontier's defense fleet, stands beside him as she assists. She receives a call, before quickly informing her father who turns on the TV. As they begin watching, President Glass's face shows great concern, while his daughter starts issuing orders back to the person on the phone.

-=-=-

"Ninety seven years ago, Ricardo Marcenas said: 'There is no need to worry about the script others write. Just look at the future that is about to begin with the god of possibilities in your heart.' To all hearing this broadcast, please see the truth with your own eyes. And then just as the people did a century ago, Id like to usher in the next century with that goodwill within your hearts."

"Please, believe in the god called 'possibility' that sleeps within us all."

-=-=-

And as if to mark the conclusion of her speech, Magallanica finishes its transformation. Roux and Judau will recognize its new shape right away, as will others who fought in Gryps or are familiar with the Jupiter Energy Fleet. A Jupitris class vessel, combined with the Magallanica Colony Builder. A ship that builds Colonies. One might wonder what possibility Syam Vist was considering when he designed such a thing.

What futures didnt come to pass?

And yet what is more important is this is the future they have created, and it is theirs to deal with the consequences of, for better or for worse, just as a young boy once did when he came into possession of an errant charter.

<Pose Tracker> Singularity 1 has posed.

Many, many voices call out to the person they used to be. It's enough to bring discord to their union, tearing a space between their intertwined heart. Their flight slows, perhaps allowing their allies to catch them.

But they do not come to a halt until a familiar face appears before them. Their creator, twice over, who died before them once, long ago.

Father.

Cardeas Vist opens his arms, and they split apart.

Suddenly, the words of the people who love Banagher reach him, as the euphoric fervor of becoming one with the Unicorn slips from his grasp. Infinity passes in an endless moment.

If you don't come back... you'll never meet my children. I'm having twins, did you know? Come on. Come back. You'll see.

Twins..?

It's a slow realization, as Banagher struggles to remember how time used to have meaning to him. Will happen, happening, happened -- all at once, swirl through his mind and spirit. Twins... Captain York's children. A small Miracle, he remembers, as if the memory of his talk that evening with Eight floats before him. Banagher could simply look ahead to see the children, but that isn't the same, is it? That's not what Eight is asking of him.

It's home, now. And it won't be home if you're not there with us!

Why does everyone think he's getting lost? This is the most beautiful experience of Banagher's life. Why does it have to end? But Rena's words linger, tugging at his heart, pulling him back. If he's like this... Leina won't get the plushie he promised her. And the Haros... Banagher wants to see the Haros. Briefly, he wonders if he could bring his own Haro with him to this radiant place...

Don't be in such a hurry to write your future into stone - because if you go too much further, there may be no coming back.

The voice alone is enough for Banagher to shiver, spiritually feeling as if his hands were pressed against something frozen. Char Aznable? Time whirls, and Banagher sees the Red Comet before him in all his various incarnations. Each of them speaks with one voice, promising vivid Dawnfire if Banagher continues this way.

I don't want that.

Banagher's spiritual "voice" is vague, more an echo of a concept than actual words.

Hey, hey... you're gonna make a cute girl cry, if you don't come back now. You're far too much of a gentleman for that, right?

Someone is crying? Banagher looks around him, seeing only the aurora-like mists of Possibility. Who? Who is crying? A girl? In this state, connected to the very heart of the Universal Century, Banagher feels so many emotions. Many people are crying. Who does -- that voice, from the Nadesico -- mean?

What I'm sayin' is... you mean the world to everyone here. Don't leave us behind just yet, yeah?

...we can't go together?

Banagher's voice grows a bit more clear. Concepts take shape, blurring down to form words. Again, he remembers. Home. Family. All things contained in the concept of "Haro".

If we gave him some Psychoframe, he could come too.

The idea takes shape, blooming between Anita and Banagher's hearts. A Psychoframe-enhanced Haro -- appearing in the form of engineering blueprints. It's so vivid, as if the plans are right before Anita's eyes. Perhaps it could work. Possibility is endless.

But he knows that isn't what Anita is asking of him.

Don't make her hurt the way I did. Please.

The radiance swims before Banagher's vision. It's as if he can see the Unicorn's cockpit with one eye, and the brilliant realm of Possibility with the other. It's -- distracting. Confusing. Forcing a singular perspective on an entity that has expanded to encompass all of them. But, something in his spirit begins to scream.

I won't ever--!

In so many visions before him, Leina is right there by his side. The Unicorn and the Banshee, together, soaring through the radiant expanse of time. Is she not here..? Is she not...

All of us put up to back you up, and you're just going to disappear on us? Become some kind of god!? Leave Leina and the Garancieres behind?! You're not that selfish, are you? So get back here--!

Leina. Leina?

That's Trevor's voice. Become a god? Banagher, pausing, looks down at the brilliant verdant shapes that are his hands. No, he was never interested in becoming anything like that. All he wanted was to do the right thing for the people he loved.

No, I wanted to be a Symbol of Hope...

Isn't this the way? Won't everyone see his Rainbow, like Amuro's so many years ago?

You get a failing grade. Get back here, and I'll teach you how to be a proper Miracle Worker.

Even in his spiritual form, Banagher jumps at the concept of a "failing grade". No, he's worked so hard! He can't fail here! He doesn't have anywhere to go!

...no, that's not right. That was before--

everything.

Now, he has a wealth of homes. The Garencieres -- didn't someone just mention the Garencieres? Before Banagher, he sees the freighter being built, flying, fighting, exploding -- being built again--

---

The Unicorn waits. Waits for her Key to make up his mind and return to her. Who could she love more than him? Even if the world of the living calls to him, she was here first. Her claim cannot be dissolved. This is what's best, she has decided.

Hello, Unicorn.

Someone reaches out to /her/. The Beast of Possibility has heard this voice before. Speaking in her native language, without need for her to feed the concepts presented to her through her Psychoframe. She startles.

...but I was afraid that your pilot was dead...

Ruri receives back a jumble of code -- the Unicorn trying to translate a concept back through the base language she speaks. It's near incomprehensible -- and perhaps would be impossible to understand for anyone but Ruri.

No.NOnoNonononononononononononononononononononononononoNO

She isn't the Phenex. She will not allow the death of her Key. She is the eldest, she has higher standards than that. If this will destroy her pilot--

The Unicorn's message fuzzes out into junk code.

---

Take her hand, and begin the dance of the rest of your lives together.

Another beckoning voice. Gaps begin to appear between the mist of this place. Banagher can see the stars -- not the ones swirling into existing, falling into darkness, rewinding into infancy -- rushing by, surrounding the crystalline Unicorn's flight. Eternity can wait, he thinks, somewhat baffled. And just behind the Unicorn, in pursuit...

Before he can focus his temporal gaze further, something /LOUD/ breaks through Banagher's concentration, nearly sending him stumbling back, even as he floats in the resonant plane. Starlit green eyes blink widely. There's no mistaking that voice, in this life, the next, or any other that may exist.

Judau?!

Banagher, you should get to enjoy what comes next too.

Judau.

...so come back.

Banagher raises his gaze, his eyes as incandescent as any star the Unicorn passes by. Come back... It's a difficult thing to wrap his mind around. Limiting himself back down to linear time, to singular Possibility feels as impossible as carving off his own limbs.

I want to...

His words are becoming more clear.

That's enough. It's over. You don't need to give everything for that power. ...there are still plenty of things you can do without.

Oh.

Hearing someone he can respect and trust... It's over? It's over. The concept begins to find a home in Banagher's heart. The idea of a "limited" existence slowly builds itself up again, however impossibly far away it might be, it /exists/.

This doesn't need to be a tragedy!

Alouette? Banagher isn't sure if he projects her name forward or not. She sounds so stern. She sounds so serious. It's different? It's different.

Tragedy. He wanted to avoid. There's been too much. Staying in this place will be another? Then there's no way this can be right. And all he ever wanted was the next right thing.

You've got a lot of nerve to do this to my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, you know.

Roux's voice. It's getting easier to tell them apart. Wait, sister-in-law? Soon to be? Banagher's vision leaps ahead of him in causality, and a thousand different weddings play out before his awareness.

(One, at least, is underwater).

But he wants to see that. He wants to see... Twins, Haros, and a wedding. Those things can't exist in this place of peace and safety. Despite the unlimited Possibility of the Light around him...

It really is a limited space.

And if they can't go together?

Banagher's spirit begins to diminish. The stars fade from his eyes. There's a sort of... descension. He hasn't returned to his body, but he exists, soundly, as Banagher Links once again. The verdant green glow of his consciousness forms back into a human shape, and linear time slots back into place.

You think I won't just drag you back here!? BANSHEE!

The words of his loved ones repeat, now that he can properly hear them, falling into their proper chronological order. Banagher gasps, still blind to everything but the swirling rainbow about him. He isn't quite what he should be, not yet. He exists without form, entirely untethered.

But she's caught up. She's found him.

And...

<Pose Tracker> Banagher Links has posed.

Banagher finds himself.

Banagher finds himself a child, rushing into his father's arms, laughing with joy as he embraces the man's neck. Understanding passes between them perfectly, and Banagher can't help but laugh, again. Banagher was always loved, he was always wanted. It wasn't meant to be this way, but even so, his father is proud beyond belief.

A brilliant, carefree smile crosses the little boy's face. Time unravels, losing meaning, until all the time the father and son spent apart carries pain no longer. But Cardeas' smile turns ever-so-slightly sad, and he points, down toward the distant Magallanica. Banagher's gaze follows the gesture, seeing through the shifting, brilliant aurora still veiling them all.

Voices are calling. Hands are reaching.

Audrey, and Leina, shimmering spirits in their own right, beckon to him. Banagher finds...

He looks at his father uncertainly, as if asking permission.

Cardeas Vist nods, opening his arms.

Banagher finds he wants to join them.

With one last kiss to his father's cheek, Banagher leaves Cardeas' arms, reaching out to the ones waiting for him. He meets them, taking Audrey and Leina's hands, their three hearts glowing in this light, deepening their Bond past anything it has been before.

Are you sure?

A soft, breathy voice asks. She stands to the side, realizing she is but an observer here.

This life isn't all there is, Banagher. If you return to the Earthsphere now, you will never be the same. This world is not meant for people like us. It will be painful, and scary, now that you have experienced such deep understanding.

In contrast to the many, many hands reaching to Banagher from the realm of the living, Rita offers her own, a path to the world beyond.

Your path has finally come to an end. If you're ready to leave, Banagher, I can show you the way. But.

Her smile, perfect as ever, takes on just a hint of sadness. She must offer him what she was never given.

You get to make the choice.

Banagher, his spirit prismatically overbright, looks from Rita's outstretched palm to the fingers knit between his own hands. This state is unsustainable, he realizes, if he's not bonded to the Unicorn. He cannot hesitate, or the decision will be made for him. Brilliant-green eyes look to the Heart of the Phenex.

Rita Bernal. Thank you. Thank you for watching over me all this time.

He pulls his hand away from Audrey's, just for a moment, and takes Rita's hand. Banagher, and Leina, and Rita, joined together, pilots of the Unicorns. It cannot last. But for this one, shimmering point in time, they are together, three human beings who share something no other could understand.

I have to go back. I'm sorry.

Rita smiles, shaking her head. She knew this would be his answer. It's okay. As she starts to release her hold on Banagher and Leina's hands, Banagher clings to Rita, looking at her with earnest belief. In this state, he is the same as Rita, with his awareness and vision passing through time and Possibility. Perhaps, Banagher's belief in limitless change has shown him a different future than the one the Phenex has sought.

This doesn't have to be the way /your/ path ends, Rita.

Pure surprise crosses Rita's face, and she can't help but sweetly laugh. She brings Leina and Banagher's hands close to her heart, then lets them both go. With one last smile, she vanishes into the Light surrounding them.

Banagher takes Audrey's hand again, joy like starlight in his eyes. Reality begins to pull at his soul, with his decision made, and Banagher accepts it with a sigh. Once more, he looks to the young women he loves so dearly. To everyone who has joined him on this chase.

Let's go home.

The mystic veil of Possibility fades in until it surrounds only the crystalline Unicorn. Banagher's spirit flickers out of view, and within the Unicorn...

A finger twitches on the controls. Golden eyes slowly open.

"Leina... Audrey..."

Crystals snap from the Unicorn's frame as she transforms back into her single-horned form. This new material, this natural Psychoframe it must not be left behind, but such a task, perhaps, can be passed on to others. As the miraculous Light vanishes entirely, back to the place beyond human understanding, the Unicorn accepts her Key's choice.

The magic of LaPlace's Box has ended. The Unicorn has been tamed. Humanity has been offered a new Possibility.

With a smile, Banagher closes his eyes, here, at the end of the rainbow.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina's face is a mask of anger, determination. It has not yet fully given way to grief. And indeed as she feels Sayla's squeeze upon her shoulder. The Banshee picks up pace.

They are moving at speeds beyond what people should be able to tolerate, and yet in the cockpit, Sayla does not even feel the inertia. Fundamental forces of the universe are being arrested as a part of the chase, because perhaps something even more fundamental underlies.

The Psychoframe of the Banshee Norn is not as well suited towards taking in the positive emotions of all, it was not so long ago that it held yet another curse of the Universal Century. Yet their efforts turned it into another prayer. And so it it connects these feelings, these prayers, these curses, sending them forward to the one she pursues.

These feelings of wonder, anticipation, of possibility. It is the ideal for which Psychoframe was created after all. An aperture and right now it is a door to each of them reaching into the unknowable beyond. A realm where each of them can touch, but they must not step through it, remaining at the threshold.

... Eight's feelings towards a future with her twins, and Banagher being a part of their lives ...
... Rena's feelings towards the many things they have left to do, her feelings of home being incomplete without him ...
... Casval's warning of what his future might hold if he pushes forward, how his future might be twisted and corrupted ...
... Trevor's feelings about how Banagher leaves the story unsatisfying, with a downer conclusion if he leaves them behind ...
... Minato's admonishment for how he's not much of a gentleman for making a girl cry. Ruri's story passed on, of Leina's fears ...
... Nova's rebuke about how his actions will lead to regrets, sorrow, and an offer to teach him how it's truly done ...
... Roux's reprimand of Banagher doing this to her future Sister-In-Law and offering of the kind of wisdom only she can give on not forcing things ...
... Judau's sibling fury over the thought of Banagher ditching her, the heartfelt desire for him to enjoy what comes next ...
... Anita's conveyance of the meaning Banagher holds for everyone here, including his Haro's ...
... Sayla holding his feet to the fire over all of his promises, demanding he prove her wrong ...
... Guy sending those feelings, the idea that it's over. That he shouldn't give in to this power he found...
... Lucine's heartfelt feelings, communicating the sorrow and grief of being left behind by someone she loves ...
... Alouette upbraiding him on the idea of how they wouldn't leave them behind, of the courage of living in this world ...

Each offering their own form of the god that is 'possibility' that sleeps within them all to coax him back.

The Banshee moves faster and faster on a rainbow of their feelings, alit in that green light, it chases the Unicorn as if to warn of his death. Yet is it any surprise that she cannot outrun a Unicorn? At the same time, she can feel the edge of reality tearing away.

If she pushed herself much further, it wouldnt just be him that wouldnt be coming back. So she relies on the others to reach him, to make him hesitate, to look back. And at the moment she feels it's strong enough, she calls out to another person, for today is the day she forces herself to abide by what they each taught to her. She is not alone, and she does not have to do this alone. It is all of them in this moment.

She can feel him, speaking back, hesitating, doubting. His desires more clearly than ever.

So then get back here dummy! If that's how you feel, then don't you dare hesitate! AUDREY!

A connection made, established, as if to offer her the exact moment to act. To offer a relay point through their own connection using the Norn, to help send her to him, wherever that is while also tethering her to this world.

To Audrey it will feel as if a single hand were placed upon her, to keep ahold of her, no matter what.

Gentle, but firm, as she holds her at the threshold, as all of them hold her while she reaches beyond. Their feelings form a chain, with which to bring him back through.

Leina refuses to lose any of them here today, especially not two of them.

And with that, she thrusts Audrey through the door. Rita can see the reflection of Leina's soul at the threshold, half in this realm, half not. Resolve. Determination. Anger.

And rejection, of the path she is offering him.

In the end, Audrey takes his hands, offering only a moment before their feelings all guide her - and him back through. And the Norn stops, it's glow fading...

BGM Change - Star Ring Child - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmXW3qfhT60

Leina sits in her seat, as it shifts back, panting, eyes glassy and wet. "... Welcome home." It was Audrey who guided him out of that realm, and the Norn crosses the distance to the Unicorn languidly, it's arms enfolding around it, in the sea of crystalline tears and possibility surrounding him.

Relief floods her, but- "You're still getting an earful when you wake up." She whispers, cracking the smallest smile, as she begins to fly the Unicorn back to the Ra Mari.

<Pose Tracker> Mineva Lao Zabi has posed.

The light on the camera goes dark. She's said her piece, as a miracle occurs around her. In some sense, it occurs for her.

But the miracle is threatening to take someone from her, the way it took what was left of Char at Axis. She wasn't strong enough, then.

But now... she won't allow it.

Her eyes close. She feels Banagher, but... even across the link between Newtypes, he feels distant. Far too distant to reach... until she feels that hand. "Leina..." she murmurs. She can feel, now, that the miracle pulling Banagher away from her is building a link, too--a link borne upon the wings of all those who hear Leina's cry. A rope.

she rides the slipstream formed of their defenders' thoughts, their beckoning for his return. The psychic strain is... difficult. She begins to feel stretched out, pulled too far, but she clings to Leina, using her as a compass and an anchor, until she finds something to hold onto. The Banshee Norn's Psychoframe.

She can't help but feel a shudder. The association is still strong, even if the phantom that once occupied the Banshee is gone. But from there, she can push off. Flying forward, her projection pierces through into the crystal-clad Unicorn.

To the consciousness that lies within.

Her arms are outstretched as she appears to the Unicorn.

Banagher... Unicorn. She smiles, very softly, Look at you. You've done so much. You've done the impossible again.

She embraces her partner. She clings tightly to him, her head pressed against his chest. The call to go beyond... I can't imagine how hard it is to resist. But even so... you can't leave now. You promised you'd come back. We have so much left to do! So much that Leina and I can't do without you... I love you.

I won't let you go.

She looks to Rita, holding Banagher's hand... and as Banagher makes his decision, to return home... she nods, still smiling softly.

I'll be waiting for you, she whispers, her heart closer to his and Leina's than ever, as her projection fades into shimmering aurorae in the timeless space.

On Magallanica, she finds herself propped against the podium, waking as if from a daze. She looks to the sky projected on the chamber's walls, to the distant, barely-visible dots of the Unicorn and Banshee.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.

Rena's cheeks are still red and her ears are still hot after the mid-battle proposal. Which means she answers Anita with a very collected, very smooth, "Uhm bwuhhh ah hunhh uhm?"

She tried.

Though she laughs -- then she blinks -- and she shakes her head. "I, um, send me your registry? And n-no, it can't be underwater, that's not right for a wedding! Oh, but we're from a resort colony so if you want somewhere for the honeymoon--"

She doesn't quite finish that.

She can feel -- hear -- much of the conversation. She can't see Rita, but she can hear her words. It's Banagher's choice. She watches -- and waits -- and then breaks into a smile when the Unicorn and the Banshee, together, make their way back.

Then, Rena cheers in her cockpit.

"C-Come on, everyone," she says, her voice shaking. "Let's head home."

<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.

Home, Rena calls it, and Eight hears. How could it be otherwise? Eight dimly realizes in all the excitement she didn't congratulate Roux or Judau, either of them--and she smles. But she is so focused on reaching out, on reaching Banagher in this moment--

"Rita," Eight breathes, "Don't--"

Banagher comes back. Dimly, too, Eight sees the Magallanica. But only dimly. With the return of the boy they worried so much for, she smiles.

"I... told you..>" Everything feels so heavy. Her eyelids, her arms. Eight starts to shift--and then starts to tumble down against her seat's restraints--

Enba Rezza catches the Captain, unbuckling her restraints before they dig in and hurt her and holding onto her in their arms. "Captain," they say gently, and Eight slumps against them.

"!?" The crew look toward the Captains--and Rezza, green-haired and androgynous, says, "She's breathing fine. I recognize exhaustion when I see it."

Kall stands up and comes over, and he's strong enough to lift her outright. "I'll take her to the medical bay," he says, "...Hoo. I'm not going to forget all this anytime soon..."

Enba Rezza takes a seat in the Captain's chair. "This is Acting Captain Rezza. Captain York is getting some rest. All pilots; return to ship, and bring your friends with you. ...Along with those crystals." They narrow their eyes at the viewscreen, tapping the console to show a close-up of some of the crystals snapping away from the Unicorn's frame. "...Don't leave them to fall into the wrong hands."

Licia breathes a sigh of relief. "The Captain had me worried," she says, "Not to mention /Banagher/. I'm going to..." She considers. "Nah. Leina can do better than I could."

Tempo Astelian looks over the controls, and then to the viewscreen. "And that. A colony-building ship... How incredible."

Itsuki Kazama is still watchnig the General Revil for any signs of hostility. But as she does, she finds none. So instead she says, "Better update the Nadesico on what happened, Astelian."

"Oh--right!"

Tempo opens a channel to Ruri's console, "The Captain fainted, but Rezza's sure she'll be OK. We'll be handling things from here." A pause. "Waiting for instructions from Captain Rezza..."

Rezza nods. "Recover all pilots. We'll keep a lookout from here, in case the Federation tries anything else. Then... Well, we'll see."

"For now..."

They can all decide what's next for themselves. But 'home' will be waiting for the pilots of the Ra Mari II.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina's about halfway back to the Ra Mari II and Magallanica when a thought crosses her mind... one which makes her cross-eyed. She actually turns long enough to confirm to Sayla...

"Wait just a second... did Roux say Sister-in-Law?"

<Pose Tracker> Casval rem Deikun has posed.

Char's presence lingers a little in that space he's visited once before, face-to-face with the Heart of the Phenex before - the one who broke his will at Palau, gave rise to a desperation he never thought he would experience again.

Her mantra - 'this life isn't all there is' - was terrifying to him then, as a Ruin Apostle seeking the one thing The Oath would never permit of him.

Now... it is strange. Lalah might have believed something like this... but all she wanted was to be with those she loved.

"I find," he says to Rita Bernal, "That I'd rather live the one I have now, first - whatever may come."

He bows his head to her, and withdraws to the Nemo.

He opens his eyes, testing his comms - nope. Antenna fried. He waves the Nemo's left arm awkwardly, and carefully sets an automatic course to the Ra Mari II's retrieval team before leaning back in his seat.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita reaches out to Banagher - and he reaches back. An idea blooms between them a Psychoframe Haro - she can see it, even. But as interesting as the idea may be...

"...Sure, but..." Anita starts. She doesn't finish it. She knows that he knows that's not what she meant.

But they reach... and eventually, he makes a decision.

He comes back to them.

Anita exhales in relief, sinking into her seat. The emotions of the day catch up to her, and it's almost enough to make her tear up - until she hears Rena's /incredibly/ Smooth response, which turns tears of joy into full on laughter.

"Such a way with words, Rena~." Anita says light-heartedly. She says that - but it /has/ earned her a smooch when they get back, even beyond just the relief from getting out of this alive, so who's the real winner her?

But, then there's the word from the Ra Mari II - and Anita exhales in relief, when it turns out that Eight's just getting some rest.

"...Good. She deserves it." Anita says with a nod. "Gotcha, Acting Captain Rezza. We're heading home - all of us."

She says, and turns to head back - though not before stopping by to help collect the crystals, as collected.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "The Banshee has retrieved the Unicorn." Ruri's assessment is objective, and leaves much to be desired, but it's all factually /true./ "All life signs stable."

        "So... they're okay?" Megumi sighs, her shoulders sinking from the tension they were holding. "What a relief..."

        The Nadesico's orders surely mirror the Ra Mari II's, and Ruri transmits: "All Nadesico pilots and associates, please return to base. If you are disabled, we will assist." The process of getting their pilots back to the Nadesico is one they've well-practiced, by now.

        And...

        "This is the Systems Operator," Ruri confirms, to the Ra Mari II's hails. "Acknowledging transfer of power. Captain Rezza has the Ra Mari II's bridge." No hopes that Eight will be okay; she's working, right now, and has no room for sentimentality.

        Let it be carried in the little crease of her brow, instead.

        (The rest of the Nadesico's bridge, of course, is /far/ more emotive -- and far more joyous at the fortune they've found, today.)

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

With things ending, and Banagher retrieved, even Guy's phenomenal reserves of courage and strength start to flag. "Good news, Alouette," he laughs, lightly. "We don't have to show them any party tricks today. Let's get back to the Mizuha. Sounds like /our/ day isn't over yet."

GaoGaiGar, the King of Braves, determines that the matter is in hand, and so with a final well-meaning salute, it turns and sets its Ul-Tech engines to speed, cruising rapidly away from the field.

...The Gatling Drivers lay there. They'll pick them up later.

<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.

That voice...

There, in the haze, he can see them. He can see her.

Rita...

Trevor hesitates, hovering just at the very edge of connection. This place... is not as if he were in a dream. There's something more substantial to it, somehow. More substantial to her. So close, and yet--

He can't. It's not his place. Not his time. Banagher has to make his decision.

And Rita... Has to go back to where she belongs, too. The miracle has to end.

Rita... He's right, this isn't how you have to end up. If your soul's still here, then-- isn't there a chance? A chance for you to come back? We could watch a snowfall together, or take a dive beneath the sea. There's so many beautiful things I want to show you, not just a memory or a dream--

He feels himself reaching out, though he knows it's hopeless, some part of him is too selfish not to try, but--

It's not to be.

Trevor awakens in his cockpit, droplets of blood floating by his eyes. He lets his hand drop and sighs slowly. "This was... a long day. Izzy, take us home?"

The mobile weapon's cracked visor glows ever so slightly brighter. It turns and drifts towards the Ra Mari and Nadesico. It's time, finally to rest.

...But the ember of a dream burns in the back of his mind. If he were given the choice, what would he have picked...? Would it be selfish, to drag someone else back from that place...?

Would it even be possible?

All fleeting dreams and helpless desires. Well.

For now, what he really needs... is to get somewhere with atmosphere so he can avoid drowning in his own blood. That'd be good.

...In Isadore's hand, there is a chunk of psychoframe-- of miracle material, condensed from that miraculous space. A memento, maybe.

Every piratical adventure's got to have its booty, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette stops to take a deep breath when her feelings reach Banagher by way of the Banshee's Psychoframe. Were her emotions really so harsh? She's found she's never been one to mince feelings in such situations, but...

Now, she's mostly glad to see Banagher descend back down along with the Unicorn, with the support of Leina, Audrey, and everyone else.

"Welcome back, Banagher Links." She transmits to the Unicorn, with a much clearer smile on her face, so very contrary to the way she just chided him. "Even if it couldn't be up there..." She looks at /Rita/'s spirit for some reason when she says this, "Now that the Box is open and your journey is over, I hope you get to finally live the happy and peaceful life you wanted. It's better with friends, after all."

Having said her piece, she turns off comms and feels content to make her quiet exit along with Guy. "It sounds like they caught Martha Vist-Carbine while we were out..." Alouette comments, as they speed away. "I think I'll be able to sleep soundly tonight."

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Moment ago, when it felt as if she were freely floating in space, Naoko saw further than she'd ever seen before. And yet now, it feels like she's seeing further still, into a realm where it feels as if her senses need to adjust the picture simply to present it in a way that makes sense. Is she even seeing this with her eyes...? When she sees Banagher there, and Rita as well, she realizes - this must be 'The Realm of Miracles'. There is an indescribable allure to it - but she's made up her mind. This is not a place anyone should strive to reach. As infinitely expansive as it seems... it seems incredibly narrow at the same time. Rita all but confirms it - it can hardly be called a world of endless possibility, when it closes off so many possibilities in the world of the living.

And that's... sad. Banagher seems to have found his way, reuniting with his loved ones in the end, but... what of Rita? She seems so resigned that there isn't any other way for her.

It's not right. What about your choice?

It happened without meaning to, the psychic equivalent of a slip of the tongue. Then she sharply pulls away, pulling her mind back. She was too close. She cannot be that close.

Wordlessly, she obeys Rezza's orders, following that experience. Return home, indeed. She certainly considers it such. And she'll definitely be bringing a few of those crystals back home with her.

...no one will notice if she keeps one as a souvenir, will they...?

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine's reached her limit. There is a wide expanse of 'space'(?) between where Banagher, Leina, Audrey and Rita are, (or is that just her brain measuring it in those terms? Is that what is actually happening?), but Lucine can still see them.

        She smiles at them, having already said what she meant to say; another word, and she might be tempted to spend longer at this limit. Besides, there's a million more words they'll need to have with each other, now, on the way back, and the finite time afterwards.

        But again, Lucine looks towards the one who can't come along. She smiles.

         Thank you... for bring me here in your group. But... don't fade away, just yet. Listen to everyone, especially Banagher.

        Her yellow eyes glitter with tears. I'd like to find more evidence, for you, you know... psychoframes.... no, that *you* can have a place here. And... You want to see Judau and Roux get married, don't you? They just confessed...

        The connection breaks, and a rainbow places Lucine back where she started.

        ......

        .... Now back in her body and regretting every second of it thanks to her head feeling like a snare drum in a parade, Lucine still slowly manages to lift her phone. "..... Phone... um... text Liam... tell him I'm heading back to the Nadesico. Will be lying down in a dark room with a dark towel on my face. Don't trip on me if you come over to the greenhouse..."

        The phone confirms her command, and Lucine's head falls against the padded headrest of her seat. ".... Dianthus... chart course to launch point.... ah... um, and return to launch point, too..."

        A beep, and the Dianthus behinds a rudimentary charted path back. ".... Thank you..."

        She can't remember when that function got added, but it's very nice when her command is simple enough for it to work.