"It's the Golden Reaper! The Golden Reaper has joined the battle!"
The moment Yang Hui entered the fray, Captain Addis received the report. Whether it was the visible golden meteor streaking across space, leaving trails of explosions in its wake, or the rapid disappearance of allied markers on the tactical map, everything confirmed this was no joke.
"Launch signal flares! Withdraw from the current sector!" Addis made the decisive call immediately, ordering a retreat. The White Tiger had already demonstrated terrifying combat capabilities, and Orb's MS units were equally formidable. Even excluding the three assaulting Astray Gundams, the M1 Astray units alone had achieved a 1:5 kill ratio, standing like an impenetrable iron wall before them.
The battle had already reached a stalemate, and now the enemy's aces had all returned.
Yes, all of them—not just the Dawn Gundam, but also the Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue. Even ZAFT's latest elite ace MS—the Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, Rebirth Gundam, and Covenant Gundam—had appeared on the opposing side. If they didn't retreat now, annihilation was certain.
"But Captain..."
"Still no contact with the Captain?" Addis asked urgently.
"No. The electromagnetic interference inside the Colony is too severe. We can't establish communication."
"Begin the fleet's withdrawal. Keep sending messages to Captain Creuset with our coordinates. The Captain will understand." Addis respected Creuset, but he wouldn't sacrifice the entire fleet for his orders.
"Yes, sir!"
The adjutant didn't dare hesitate any longer. The allied MS markers on the tactical map were dwindling rapidly. If they delayed further, once the MS units were wiped out, they would be next.
Red, green, and blue signal flares bloomed in space, offering a glimmer of hope to the ZAFT MS forces, who had been pushed to the brink of despair by the Dawn Gundam and other ace pilots. Desperately, they reached for this lifeline.
Fortunately, seeing ZAFT's retreat, Sumeragi immediately ordered all forces to cease pursuit. Their mission wasn't to annihilate ZAFT's fleet, and they had suffered losses in this battle—three M1 Astrays destroyed, two heavily damaged, six moderately damaged, and the rest with minor damage. The White Tiger and Eternal had sustained light damage, while the Archangel reported only minor issues.
"Yang Hui, status report," Sumeragi requested as Yang Hui guarded the White Tiger, wary of a sudden counterattack by ZAFT or the Dominion.
"Three M1 Astrays lost, two heavily damaged, six moderately damaged, and the rest with minor damage. The White Tiger and Eternal have light damage. The Archangel reports no major issues."
"Return to port immediately for repairs. Prioritize repairs for moderately and lightly damaged MS units to maintain combat readiness. Relocate as soon as the ships are operational."
"Understood. One more thing—there are ZAFT infiltration forces inside the Colony."
"Inside the Colony?"
"Yes. Major Flaga mentioned it, but there's no concrete evidence..."
"Uncle Mu said that!? Where is he now?" Yang Hui knew that Creuset was a clone of Mu's father. There had always been a special psychic connection between them—if Mu sensed Creuset nearby, then Creuset was definitely there.
Right now, Kira was by his side, and without anyone to help him, Mu would surely die if he faced Creuset alone.
"He's inside the Colony. Dearka is with him."
"...Continue executing the orders. I'll head into the Colony to find them. If we don't return within an hour, you all proceed to the designated coordinates."
"Understood." Sumeragi's trust in Yang Hui was absolute, so she didn't even register his remark about them possibly not returning.
After issuing his instructions, the Dawn Gundam advanced toward the interior of the Colony, with the Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, and Covenant Gundam following closely behind.
"Yang Hui, we're coming with you," Kira said.
"ZAFT and the Dominion haven't confirmed their retreat yet. You stay here," Yang Hui replied. Though realistically, neither the ZAFT Forces nor the Dominion could launch another attack so soon, he didn't want Kira and Athrun to follow him. The interior of the Colony was not only Kira's birthplace but also Creuset's—and the location of Dr. Ulen Hibiki's research facility, Kira's biological father.
(Note: Some adjustments were made here for plot progression, but it's not critical—just to avoid unnecessary debates from purists. Thanks for understanding!)
He didn't want Kira to learn the full truth of his origins. Even though Kira now knew he and Cagalli were twins, the harsh reality of being the "Ultimate Coordinator" was something Yang Hui preferred to keep hidden if possible.
And if Athrun found out… Cagalli would inevitably know, and if Cagalli knew, how could Kira remain unaware?
"But—"
"No buts. Nicol will come with me. Kira and Athrun, return to standby."
"...Understood."
Kira and Athrun sensed that Yang Hui was deliberately keeping something from them, but they also understood that some things might not be meant for their ears. Besides, with Nicol accompanying him, they could rest a little easier.
With that, the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam halted, watching as the Dawn Gundam and Covenant Gundam disappeared into the Colony.
Once the two mobile suits entered, they immediately spotted an ongoing battle—the Strike Gundam and Rebirth Gundam, along with a white Gells and the Duel Gundam.
"Duel! Yzak!" Nicol gasped, his expression twisting with complicated emotions. Of their original five-man squad, Rusty had perished in Heliopolis. The remaining four had endured multiple life-and-death separations, and now they were forced to fight each other.
"Go. Help Dearka subdue the Duel," Yang Hui told Nicol. It was clear Dearka didn't want to fight Yzak—the Rebirth Gundam was only dodging and defending, never counterattacking, while the Duel Gundam pressed the assault.
With the Covenant Gundam joining the fray, they could help the Rebirth Gundam safely restrain the Duel Gundam. Only then would Dearka and Nicol have a chance to talk to Yzak.
The tsundere little white-haired guy was actually wavering about his current actions, just like Dearka and Nicol. If Yzak hadn't been the only one left behind, but instead received a new Mobile Suit alongside Nicol and Dearka to carry out secret missions, he might have ended up the same way as them.
Of course, there was also the possibility that his tsundere nature would make him continue fighting for ZAFT's orders, or that he'd obediently follow Nicol and Dearka in helping Orb while stubbornly refusing to admit it.
In any case, throughout the entire SEED storyline, Yzak maintained his identity as a ZAFT soldier, yet his actions consistently aided the Three Ships Alliance—like when he rescued Strike Rouge from Forbidden Gundam and turned the tables on both Forbidden and Raider Gundams, or when he warned Eternal to evade Genesis' bombardment.
So if Yzak could be persuaded, it was worth trying. Aside from being tsundere, he was a decent person.
"Understood." Nicol nodded, piloting Covenant Gundam toward the battlefield where Duel Gundam and Rebirth Gundam were engaged. Meanwhile, Yang Hui's gaze shifted to Strike Gundam and [Gells].
"Oh no!"
Seeing Strike Gundam draw its legendary knife and charge at [Gells], Yang Hui knew trouble was coming. Legendary weapons had spirits—they weren't legendary in just anyone's hands.
...
Duel Gundam launched fierce attacks against Rebirth Gundam, but Rebirth kept evading. Facing Yzak's accusations, Dearka felt terrible—he didn't want to fight his former friend.
"Stop! Yzak! Dearka!"
At that moment, Covenant Gundam intervened between them, briefly pausing the one-sided battle.
"Covenant... Nicol, have you betrayed us too?" Yzak gritted his teeth as he questioned Nicol.
"I... haven't betrayed anyone." Nicol answered with a complicated expression. Had he betrayed them? Objectively, yes—he'd betrayed ZAFT, the uniform he wore. He'd abandoned his superior's orders to help Orb, who might become enemies.
But in Nicol's heart, he didn't feel like a traitor. He wanted to stop the war. Both sides had gone mad, and ZAFT was destroying itself. He wanted to prevent that, to restore peace to PLANT.
Dearka felt the same. He was tired of meaningless battles, of being a mindless war machine that blindly followed orders.
So, hovering in midair, Rebirth Gundam opened its hatch as Dearka stepped out voluntarily. "Let's put down our weapons and talk," he said to Yzak.
Yzak halted too. He wanted to hear what Dearka and Nicol had to say.
The three Gundams slowly descended. When they reached the ground, the three faced each other—Dearka and Nicol completely unguarded, while Yzak aimed his pistol at them.
"Yzak..."
"You think I'd believe an enemy's nonsense? I'm not that naive!" Of course, Yzak was just being tsundere. If he truly didn't want to listen, he wouldn't have come down to talk face-to-face at all.
"Am I your enemy?" Dearka said with a bitter smile. These words sounded particularly inappropriate coming from Nicol, given the existing tensions between Yzak and Nicol. Only Dearka, as Yzak's closest friend, could truly reach his heart.
"You chose to make an enemy of me yourself," Yzak gritted his teeth.
"I never wanted to be your enemy. Neither did Nicol, nor Athrun."
"Shut up! You three traitors!"
Hearing this, Dearka and Nicol exchanged glances and sighed. "We never betrayed PLANT."
"What did you say!?"
"But when it comes to the relationship between Naturals and Coordinators... I just can't blindly follow military orders anymore, fighting solely to exterminate all Naturals!"
"That's right, Yzak. We don't want to be used as tools for killing. We... just want to end this insane war," Nicol added.
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