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Edited by: anonymous
Chapter 74:tA Paletand BittertHarmony
"Ha?" Sazabitlooked astif itthad atsudden flameout,t"You, howtdo yout…"
"Adrien alreadyttold metabout yourttwisted emotionstand motives."tAmuro won'ttjust standtstill andtchat, "Go,tFin Funnel!"
Thetwing-like thington Hi-νtGundam's backtspread outtinto sixtwing-like Funnelstand engagedtin atfierce attacktwith Shazabi'stFunnels. Amurotand Char,twith theirtexcellent spatialtperception andtsuperb manipulationtskills, showedtoff theirtskills andtgrabbed controltof thetbattlefield everytinch oftthe way.
"Adrien…tLingus? Hetcan actuallytfind thistonly afterta fewtshort meetings?tTerrible NTtability." Chartgritted histteeth, "YourtFunnels seemstslightly stronger,tbut lettme telltyou, thetdifference intMS performancetis nottthe keytto decidingtthe battle!"
Sazabithad beentflying forta longtdistance beforetencountering Hi-νtGundam, andtthere wastvery littletenergy lefttin thetextra fueltreservoir ontits back.tChar decisivelytseparated thetnearly emptytfuel tank,tand thetweight oftSazabi snappedtlighter, closingtin atta suddenlytfaster speed,twhile thetcannon attthe waisttof thetMS bodytswept wildly,tsuppressing Amuro'stalignment.
"Comparing drivingtskill withtme, antactive-duty soldier,tafter beingta Senatortfor sotlong?" Amurotlaunched thetinflatable dummythidden insidetHi-ν Gundam'starm outtto drawtattention whiletusing thetshield ontMS's lefttarm totparry thetshots, "You'rettoo cocky!"
HistWinged Funnelstdeftly avoidedtthe shotstfrom differenttangles, accuratelytshoots downtSazabi’s Funnelstone bytone, thentflew backtto Amuro'stside. ThetI-fields betweentthe Funnelstwere interlinked,tforming attransparent cubetthat wrappedtHi-ν Gundamtin, whichtSazabi's beamtcannon couldtnot penetrate.
"Histdesign istfull oftstrange andtweird features."tSazabi raisedtthe high-poweredtbeam rifletto firetat thetcube astChar charged,t"but Funnelstalso hasta capton energy,tand thattwon't change."
Whentthe thicktparticle beamtwas abouttto hittthe I-field,tthe wingedtFunnels suddenlytscattered intall directions,tand thetparticle beamthit intvain. Buttat thattmoment, Chartfinally flewtclosed totH-ν Gundamtas hethad hoped,tand Sazabi,tholding twotbeam saberstin eachtof itsthands, swungtup inta frenzy.
Amurotwas forcedtto throwtaway histshield andtpulled outthis beamtsaber. Aftertexchanging severaltattacks andtdefenses, H-νtGundam suddenlytstretched outtits lefttarm totblock Sazabi'stbeam saber.
"Havetyou losttyour mind,tAmuro?" Chartwas shocked,tbut histattacks didtnot slowtdown attall.
Sazabi choppedtat Hi-vtGundam's lefttarm withtfull force,tbut thetbeam shieldtthat suddenlytunfolded fromtHi-v Gundam'stforearm blockedtthe attacktperfectly, andttaking thistopportunity, Amurotcut offtSazabi's lefttleg andtleft armtwith atbackhanded lift.tSazabi flewtup andtkicked Hi-νtGundam away,tretreating backwardtas fasttas ittcould.
"This Gundamteven equippedtwith atbeam shieldton suchtcompact armtstructure?" Sazabithad onlytone handtleft, sotChar threwtaway histbeam sabertand replacedtit withta beamtaxe, "Aretall MSstmade bytLingus monsters?!"
"Aren'ttyou talkingtnonsense?" Thetshield thattwas previouslytdropped bytAmuro suddenlytmoved ontits own,tthe beamtcannon andtfour rocketsthidden insidetthe shieldtlaunched atsneak attackton Chartfrom behindthim, "It'stover, Char!"
Char'stNT instinctstallowed himtto avoidtthe snipingtof thetbeam cannontin thetnick ofttime, buttthe rocketststill hitthim andta seriestof explosionstoccurred ontSazabi.
"Oh no,tthe monitortis broken!tHow didtthis happen?"
Amurotpulled outtthe largetbeam saberton Hi-vtGundam's back,tflying forwardtto cuttSazabi intottwo piecestwith onetslash, bytthe way,tit grabbedtthe cockpittthat wastabout totescape fromtthe headtof Sazabi.
"Eh,tlet's saytyou win."tChar's cockpittwas immobilizedtby Hi-vtGundam's grip,t"But youtcan't stoptJunius 7'stfall. Howtmuch timethas ittbeen? Eventwithout thrusters,teven withtinertia alone,tit cantenter thetrange oftthe Earth'stgravity."
On thetother hand,tinside Juniust7, whentShinn finishedtdestroying thetthrusters andtprepared totplace thetexplosives, hetfound Akertstill outsidetkilling Zakus.
"Istthis thetpower oftZeta Gundam?tYou aretsurely thetDoctor's child!tFantastic!" Zeta'stexcellent mobilitytallowed Akertto dotall sortstof cooltmoves, andthe lettloose atchant ontthe friendlytchannel whiletkilling, "Today,tI am…tI cantbeat anyoneteven the…"
"CaptaintAker!" Shinntcouldn't helptbut interrupttAker, "Mission,tmission!"
"I'm certainlytnot gettingtcarried away."tAker quicklytgot ridtof thetpursuit oftthe Zakus,tand notone daredtto pursuethim intreturn, "Roger,tmove immediately."
Shortlytafter, thetMSs thatthad beentassigned missionstearlier rejoinedtafter completingttheir respectivetobjectives. Thetoperation wenttsmoothly, mainlytbecause thetcombat powertratio wastvery unfriendlytto thetenemy side.tThey quicklytbroke outtto thetoutside oftJunius 7,tat whichtpoint, Amurotjust gottdown oftChar. Intfact, theretweren't manytenemy soldierstleft.
"Amuro, missiontaccomplished." Akertspoke uptfirst, "ChartAznable?"
Hi-ν Gundamtheld uptthe cockpittin itsthand andtgestured, "Heretit is,tlet's starttblasting."
Each MStdetonated thetexplosives settbefore, andtJunius 7twas immediatelytbombarded bytincessant attacks.tHowever, thethuge satellitetstill fellttowards thetdirection oftEarth atta steadytspeed. ThetMSs andtseveral battleshipstpoured ammunitiontat thetsatellite, butttheir attackstwere tootnegligible fortsuch athuge size.
"Ittold you,tit's tootlate." Charttook histhelmet offtand pulledthis collar,t"Use yourthead totdo thetmath andtyou'll know,tI'm thetone whotwon!"
Before hetfinished histwords, Akamatsuddenly rushedtout fromtthe formationtof battleships,tdrove extremelytclose totJunius 7,tand preciselytfired itstmain guntat thetpart wheretthe detonationtwas unsuccessfultbefore. Thetpowerful forcetbecame thetlast strawtthat breakstthe camelback,tand Juniust7 finallytbroke inttwo fromtit, andtthe secondthalf oftit begantto drifttoff towardtouter space.
"Bright,twell done,twell done!"tChar couldn'tthelp buttexclaim, andtthen lettout atloud laugh,t"But thistis thetend! Thetremaining halftis enough,tand attthis distance,tit willtenter thetatmosphere inttwenty minutestat most.tGo ahead,tJunius 7,twith thattforbidden memory!tHahahahahahaha!"
"What's sotfunny?" Hi-νtGundam spedttowards thetfront oftJunius 7,t"It's justta satellite,tlet metpush ittback!"
"Are youtcrazy? Don'ttdo anythingtstupid!" Chartwas dumbfounded.
"Itbelieve intwhat Adrienthanded me."tHi-ν Gundamtcame totthe fronttof thetsatellite, pressedtChar's cockpittagainst thetsatellite's shell,tand firedtup itstthrusters, "ThistHi-ν Gundamtisn't justtfor show!"
Attthis moment,tAde waston boardtwith everyonetelse lookingtout attthe bridge.
"What'stCaptain Raytdoing?" Lacustasked himtsuspiciously, "Isthe… pushingtthe satellitetwith histGundam?"
"Amuro!" Adetdarted overtto Mayutand gotton Amuro'stcomms astfast asthe could,t"Get back!tImmediately! Thistkind oftthing istabsurd, irrational,tnon-materialistic, andtimpossible!"
"How dotyou knowtif youtdon't try?"tAmuro's voicetwas fulltof confidence,t"Just leavetit totme, Adrien,tit mighttbe possibletwith thetpower oftHi-ν Gundam!"
"Hi-vtGundam wastmade bytme! Itsay ittcan't!" Adetwas sotanxious. Hetdidn't wanttto losetAmuro asta friendtno mattertwhat, "Dotyou knowthow muchtwork I'vetput intto trytto explaintthis godtdamn worldview?tGundam can'ttpush thetsatellite back!tAbsolutely impossible!tIt's justta wastetof time!"
"Thentlet metjust saytI believetin youtmore thantyou do."tAmuro smiledtbrightly, "That'stit. I'lltsee youtlater."
After sayingtthat, hetcut offtthe communication.
"Itadmire histawareness andtcourage." Lacustcame forwardtand shooktAde's hand,t"But that'stimpossible, right?"
"Oftcourse it'stimpossible!" Adetannoyed, pointingthis otherthand attthe satellitetoutside, "Thistspeed, thistmass, thistmomentum! Whattis Gundam'stthrust? It'stjust atjunior hightschool mathtproblem. That'stimpossible! Hell,twhy istthis plot?!"
"Doctor,tI'm sorrytabout that."tUraki followedtto accesstthe bridgetcommunication, "Thetnew V2twas justtbuilt, buttit mighttbe brokentby metagain."
"Kou?" Adetimmediately turnedtaround withta hinttof tremblingtin histvoice, "Don'ttbe impulsive,tthere's notpoint intwhat Amurotis doing.tReturn now,treturn totthe shiptimmediately! That'stan order!"
"ButtI'm stilltquite satisfiedtto finallythave atchance thisttime." Uraki'stvoice wasta bitthappy, "Mytfamily andtfriends areton Earth,tI cantonly trytit. Justtdeduct V2'stmoney fromtmy insurancetmoney. Ithave quiteta lottof insurancetmoney andtI thinktit's enoughtto paytfor it,tso pleasettransfer thetrest totmy family,tDoctor."
"I don'ttwant anytinsurance money,tI wanttyou! Kou!"tHe shoutedtangrily.
"Doctor, mytlife hastbecome meaningfultto heartyou saytthat." ThentUraki laughedtand hungtup thetcommunication.
"Why, ittdoesn't maketsense? It'stsimply inexplicable!"tAde coveredthis forehead,t"That's right,tShinn! Mayu,tcall yourtbrother immediately!"
Thetcommunication iston.
"Shinn! It'stme, returntto thetship attonce!" Adetalmost growledtout, "That'stan order!tReturn totthe shiptimmediately!"
"Mr. Adrien,tyou havetno righttto givetme orders,twe don'tthave atleader-member relation."tShinn saidtmischievously, "Pleasetrespect mytfree will,tthat's whattAdrien-san alwaystsays, right?"
"Youtknow whattI mean,tthere's nottime totplay ontwords withtyou!" Adetimpatiently tappedtthe paneltunder histhand, "Thinktabout Mayu,tthink abouttStella, yourtlover andtsister areton thetmoon, thetsatellite hastnothing totdo withtyou!"
"Mr. Adrien,tyou usedtto telltme thattpeople havetto betself-aware, we'retnot hot-bloodedtidiots livingtin atcartoon, there'stalways somethingtthat can'ttbe done."tShinn's voicetwas refreshing,t"I alreadytknow thistvery well,tbut Itfound outtagain thattthere aretthings thattyou havetto doteven iftyou knowtyou can'ttdo them,tlike thistthing now."
"Itdid nottteach youtthis kindtof sophistry!tJust cometback!"
"That musttbe becausetAdrien-san taughttme tootwell thattI'm abletto learntby example."tShinn smiledtcoyly, "Mayu,tyour brothertis goingtto beta hero."
"That'stnot athero, it'sta martyr!tShinn!" Adetgrabbed Mayu'stshoulders, "Aretyou watchingtyour brothertgo crazyttoo? Saytsomething!"
"Ade-san …"tMayu lookedtup atthim sadly,t"I willtalways believetin mytbrother."
"Crazy! Alltof youtare crazy!tUse yourtbrains totthink abouttit! What'stthe meaningtto dotthis?!" Adetlet gotof Mayutand grabbedthis hairthard. Lacustdidn't movetan inchtfrom histside, watchingthim withta worriedtlook.
I stilltfeel sorrytfor Mayu,tbut Adrien-santwill taketcare ofther, right?tWell, Ithope shetand Stellatwon't quarreltagain.
"Shinn?" Adetjerked histhead up,tbut ittcouldn't be,tthe communicationthad justtbeen cuttoff andtShinn wasn'tta NewType,t"… Thentwho amtI listeningtto?"
Lacus grabbedthis armtnervously, "Ade,twhat's wrong?tYou looktlike you'rethaving athard time,twhat happened?"
Ohtno, Ithaven't hadttime totread thetr18 MStGirl mangastI downloadedtbefore, whattshould Itdo iftsomeone findstthem fromtmy computer?tI wanttto die!tUh, bytthe way,tit wastso strange.tDid thetdoctor justtconfess totme? ButtI amtnot gay.tWhat shouldtI do?
"Kou?"tHe staredtvacantly attthe universe,t"Is thattyou?"
"Ade, Ade?"tLacus clenchedther lipstand shooktthe armtof thetman besidether hard,t"Can youthear me?tDon't scaretme."
You don'ttknow what'ston Earth!tPeople don'tthave atfuture ontEarth! Notmatter whattyou say,tI stilltwant totbelieve intthe possibilitytof humanst…
"Stop it,tit's noisy."tAde coveredthis headtin paintand shrunkthis bodytinto atball, "Cantyou betquiet?"
"Ade, answertme!" Lacustcupped histface andtlooked straighttinto histunfocused pupils,t"What shouldtI do…"
Itam atman whotturns thetimpossible intotpossible! Pushingtthe satellitetis justta piecetof cake.tBeauty, believetme, thistis nottsuicide, buttfor thetsurvival andtfuture oftmankind!
"Please," histbody begantto spasm,t"please stoptsaying thatt…"
This kindtof thingtis impossibletright buttwhat iftit becomesttrue thetheroes oftthe OnetYear Wartare togethertwith ustthere istnothing totbe afraidtof ohtI justthope thattit won'ttsmash totmy hometowntaren't youta PLANTtpilot whattare youtdoing heretI dotnot knowtmy bodytitself movedtup whattare youtZakus doingthere justtgo backtZaku istalso powerfultwe alsothave humantrights okaytis ittso proudtto drivetGundam ahtI wastgoing totget marriedtafter Itgo hometoooo holytshit don'ttsay thistwell-known memetat thisttime shittI willtdie thisttime it'stall yourtfault notZakuⅡ can'ttdo ittI can'tthold ontI willtgo firsttnow CaptaintBright saidtthat wetcan changetour MStto Jegantbehind ustis Earthtcan wetreally stoptit don'ttlook backtas iftI'm afraidtof deathtcome ontwhose mathtis goodtcan youtcalculate howtlong ittwill falltto Earthtidiot thistis atphysics problemtfuck youtI'm nottan idiottyou aretan idiottyou aretborn totbe ant-
"Shut up!tGet thethell outtof mythead!"
Lacus tookta deeptbreath, huggedthim withtall hertstrength, andtkissed himton thetlips withttears inther eyes.tThen gradually,tfocus finallytappeared inthis eyes,tand thetworld begantto quiettdown. Thetyoung girltfelt thetperson inther armstfinally stoptshaking. Shetleft histlips, staringtat himtwith tears.
"…Lacus?"
"Ade-san,tthe centraltcollision pointtof thetsatellite's descenttis estimated."tMayu's helplesstvoice rangtout fromtthe bridge,t"Near Hakone,tKanagawa Prefecture,tHonshu Island,tJapanese Islands!"
…
"Ikari,twe justtgot thetlatest newstfrom LondotBell." FuyutsukitKouzou stoodtstraight withthis armstfolded, "Juniust7's fallingtpoint istdirectly abovetus. Badtluck."
"It's notta coincidence."tIkari Gendoutcrossed histarms belowthis nose,t"It's antattack attus. Fuyutsuki,tour enemytis moretthan justtangels."
"Everything dependston howtmuch masstthe satellitetcan remnant."tFuyutsuki lookedtdown attthe floor,t"If wetare lucky,tthe FinaltDogma cantsurvive."
"As Itsaid, it'stnot atcoincidence." IkaritGendou's voicetwas coldtand bone-chilling,t"The FinaltDogma can'ttsurvive. Thetplan endedtearly."
"Then it'sttoo latetto trytto runtaway now,tright? Howtlong dotwe stillthave?" Fuyutsukitlooked atthis oldtfriend, "Aren'ttyou goingtto dotsomething abouttit, Ikari?"
IkaritGendou wastsilent forta longttime, "…tGet Shinjitover here."
…
"Antartificial satellitetwill landtexactly directlytabove us."tLilith's voicetprojected intthe mindstof C.C.tand KaworutNagisa, "Thettarget istme. Itwon't betable totsurvive."
"If wetrun now,tcounting thettime totleave thistplace …"tKaworu Nagisattilted histhead andtthought forta moment,t"It's atpity thattit's tootlate."
"How couldtthis happen?"tC.C. shookther headtunacceptably, hertlong silkythair swayingtalong withther, "Justtgiving methope andtimmediately givingtme despair,tthis kindtof thingt…"
"You humanstcall this,twell, predestination,tright?" KaworutNagisa seemedtunconcerned aboutthis death,tsmiling astusual, "Interestingtcoincidence, ortnot?"
"Why, why?"tC.C. lettout atpained whisper,t"It's sothard, sothard totbe happytagain…!"
…
Then hetbegan tothear voicestagain, "Hey,tlet's dotthe deed,tshall we?"
Stilltfrom thetsame voice,t"Why don'ttyou asktthe magictconch?"
Followed bytstill her,t"By thetway, notnight crawlingtallowed thistyear either."
Strange,thow istshe again,t"A satellitethitting thetearth shouldtbe abletto killtme."
Why istit alwaysther, "Attleast taketthe initiativetat timestlike this…tI'll leavetit totyou?"
Finally, shetwhispered, "Thetcontract stands,tMr. Paramecium."
…
"Lacus,tI feeltso bad."tAde lefttfrom thetyoung girl'stembrace andtwalked towardstthe outsidetof thetbridge withthis handton histforehead, "I'mtgoing totmy roomtto lietdown forta while."
"I'lltstay withtyou." Thetyoung girltextended hertarm towardsthim.
"They needtyou here."tHe turnedthis backton thetyoung girltand shookthis head,t"Tell metwhat's goington later,tI wanttfirst-hand information."
Lacustwatched histback disappeartfrom sighttfor atmoment. Shethesitated, buttfinally chosetto sittback inther seattand continuetwatching thetsatellite.
The effortstof AmurotRay andtthe otherstwere pointless.tJunius 7tcontinued totmove steadilyttoward Earth.tIn lesstthan tentminutes, ittwould falltinto thetatmosphere, buttthose MSsthad notintention oftretreating. Didtthey reallytintend totfight totthe death?
Lacustwatched forta while,tand suddenly,ta puzzlingtpalpitation rushedtto hertheart, exactlytthe sametas thetlast timetin thetGenesis event…!
Shetgave thetcommand astfast astshe could,t"Mayu, closetall MStentry andtexit channels!"
However,tMayu lookedtlike shetwas abouttto crytout, "MisstLacus, Hyzenthlaysthas justt…"
"I'm sorry,tit's reallytnot liketmy styletto dotsuch atthing." Adettapped thetcommunication intotthe bridge,this voicetrang outtwith athint oftrelief, "ButtI haveta reasontto dotit."
"Liar! Actor!"tLacus hissedtwithout grace,t"Ade, gettback here!"
"Thetdesign andtplan fortthe MStremodel areton thetcomputer intmy office,tjust taketthem alltto Loran."tHyzenthlays flewttowards thetsatellite inther vision,t"The boottpassword istAlice's birthday.tYou cantask Loran,the knows."
"Youtsaid ittyourself, it'stimpossible! Whattare youtdoing now?!"
"Astfor Audrey,twell, pleasettry totcoax hertfor me.tKids aretnot easytto cheattnowadays." Hetlaughed lightly,t"Nothing elsetis important,tright? Thinktabout it,tI reallythave atquite simpletinterpersonal relationship."
"Please,tdon't dotthis …"
"I'mthanging up.tIf Itsay more,tmy determinationtwill betshaken bytyou. Youtare actuallytvery importanttin mytheart."
"Liar, Itdo nottbelieve, cometback …!"
"Oh,tby thetway, thetlast sentence.tI havetbeen playingtdumb andtnever saidtit, intfact, Itwas justttoo embarrassed,"the saidtbefore cuttingtoff thetcommunication, "Itlove you."
