The silent valley beyond Neo-Verdia had transformed into a heartbreaking arena, a stage for a duel that tore at the very fabric of friendship. Unit QUEEN, sleek and deadly, stood facing the iconic White Gundam (White Bird). Tasya had made her intentions agonizingly clear: she would fight. There was no turning back, no room for negotiation.
"Maki, disengage from weapon control! Let me and AIRIS take over! We have to disable her now!" Zaki's voice was cold, sharp, and focused, reflecting a grim survival mode that overrode all other emotions. His face was a mask of painful resolve.
"No, Zaki! I can't! I won't! We can't hurt Tasya! She's my best friend!" Maki cried out, her voice a desperate sob. Her hands trembled as she struggled to pull the weapon control levers back to a neutral position, refusing to comply, even as her own tears blurred her vision.
"Did you hear her, Maki?! She's going to fight! This is war! Itsuki has poisoned her mind! Think about her safety! We have to stop her before that Royalty pilot comes back to finish us all!" Zaki roared back, his patience stretched thin by the impossible situation. He deliberately avoided mentioning Felisio's name, not wanting to give the enemy Mobile Suit any further recognition. His focus was solely on the immediate, desperate need to survive and protect.
AIRIS, the White Gundam's advanced AI, cut through their heated argument with chilling efficiency. "Zaki Kimeza's command takes precedence. Aggressive defensive mode activated. Disabling Unit QUEEN is priority to prevent further Neuron Link feedback damage to its pilot." The AI's calm, synthesized voice was a stark contrast to the emotional turmoil in the cockpit.
The White Gundam instantly sprang into action, deftly moving to evade the first beam shot fired from QUEEN. Tasya had made her choice, and she had fired first. The harsh reality of their situation slammed into Maki once more.
Flashback.
Maki closed her eyes, a wave of bittersweet nostalgia washing over her. She remembered her very first day of high school, a day etched into her memory. Without Zaki, her twin brother, by her side, Maki had felt utterly paralyzed. Socializing had never been her strong suit, always preferring the company of machines and intricate designs to the unpredictable complexities of human interaction. She sat alone in the school garden, a small, secluded patch of green amidst the bustling campus, feeling utterly insignificant, lost in a sea of unfamiliar faces.
"Hey! Why are you all alone, acting like a lost kid?"
Maki looked up, startled. Standing before her was a girl with bright blonde hair, styled in the trendy gyaru fashion that was all the rage. It was Tasya Lowe, radiating confidence and an almost magnetic energy. Tasya was everything Maki wasn't – outgoing, fashionable, effortlessly cool.
"I-I... I don't know anyone," Maki stammered, her voice barely a whisper, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Tasya laughed, a clear, melodious sound that instantly put Maki at ease. "Oh my god, that's so lame! I'm alone too! Just transferred from the Mars branch school in Tokyo. Have you heard about the new limited edition Mobile Suit that just came out? The Zonda Unit? I totally love it! Its design is so aesthetic!"
From that single topic about Mobile Suits, a shared, unexpected fascination with mechanics, design, and the intricate world of advanced machinery, their conversation flowed effortlessly. Maki, the reserved and somewhat awkward genius, and Tasya, the free-spirited and vivacious fashionista, became the unlikeliest of best friends. They shared dreams, whispered secrets, and built an unbreakable bond, except for Maki's greatest, most dangerous secret—her identity as a pilot of the legendary White Ghost.
Flashback ends.
"No, Tasya! Stop this! Please, stop!" Maki screamed inside the cockpit, her tears now freely streaming down her face, blurring the images on her screen. The memory of their friendship, of shared laughter and whispered confidences, made the present reality almost unbearable.
Unit QUEEN and the White Gundam exchanged a fierce barrage of beam attacks. Zaki, with grim determination, expertly controlled the White Gundam, focusing entirely on defense and evasion, weaving through the concentrated fire. He retaliated only with non-lethal, disruptive vulcan fire, precise bursts designed to disorient and warn, not to destroy.
In QUEEN's cockpit, Tasya was panting, her breath ragged. She pushed Unit QUEEN beyond its designated limits, activating the Neural Link's advanced maneuvering capabilities to an extreme degree. A searing pain, the inevitable feedback from the overstressed energy link, began to pierce her head, a sharp, insistent throbbing behind her eyes. "I... I have to defeat them! I have to prove myself! I'm so sorry, Maki!" she gasped, her voice raw.
Tasya then slammed her trembling hand onto the activation button for her special weapons. "Rose Funnel, activate!"
From Unit QUEEN's backpack, six small, intricate funnel units, shaped like delicate rose petals, detached themselves. They immediately shot forward, accelerating with astonishing speed, and began firing a relentless barrage of small, precise beam shots, converging on the White Gundam from multiple, unexpected angles. It was a classic all-range attack, designed to overwhelm the enemy.
"Funnel! Zaki, this is an all-range attack! We can't dodge all of them!" Maki yelled, her voice laced with desperation. The threat was immense, unavoidable.
"AIRIS, prioritize cockpit protection! Zaki, brace yourself for impact!" AIRIS commanded, her synthesized voice cutting through the panic with clinical efficiency.
The White Gundam spun and weaved, executing an impossible dance of evasion, but even its unparalleled agility couldn't escape every shot. Several beams clipped its left shoulder armor, triggering a shower of sparks and a jarring impact that reverberated through the cockpit. The damage, though superficial, was a stark reminder of the danger.
Maki stared at her best friend's Mobile Suit, her mind racing. A chilling realization struck her with the force of a physical blow. If she didn't stop Tasya now, the relentless strain of the Neural Link would either kill Tasya, or Tasya, consumed by its power and Itsuki's influence, would ultimately destroy them. It was an impossible choice, a horrifying bind.
Her tears, which had flowed so freely, suddenly dried. Her gaze hardened, becoming as sharp, as cold, and as resolute as Zaki's. The time for pleading was over. "Enough, Tasya! This has to stop!"
With a newfound, agonizing resolve, Maki pulled the weapon controls to their full extent. "Zaki, AIRIS, I'm so sorry! I have to stop her! I can't let this continue!"
"Maki!" Zaki yelled, surprised by her sudden, decisive action, yet knowing deep down that she was right.
"Vulcan Cannon, target the Funnels! Disrupt their formation!" Maki commanded, her voice ringing with the painful weight of her decision.
BRAT-TA-TA-TA!
The White Gundam's Vulcan Cannons roared to life, unleashing a furious barrage of solid projectiles. The concentrated fire slammed into two of QUEEN's six funnels, tearing through their navigation systems and sending them spiraling, damaged and useless, to the ground below. The immediate threat was lessened, but the emotional cost was immense.
Tasya was stunned. "Maki... you're attacking?! You actually attacked my funnels?!" Her voice was a mixture of shock and betrayal.
"That was the choice you gave me, Tasya! This is the path you chose!" Maki retorted, her voice raw with sorrow, yet firm.
It was at that critical moment that AIRIS took over completely. "Pilot emotional and physical limits reached. Activating Auto-Neuro-Sync Mode."
Instantly, the White Gundam's cockpit was flooded with a brilliant, aggressive blue light. Zaki and Maki felt a powerful wave of energy surge through them, an unprecedented connection linking their minds directly with the Mobile Suit itself. The White Gundam's main camera eyes glowed with an aggressive, vibrant blue, mirroring the newfound surge of power and resolve. It was berserker mode, but controlled, channeled by their combined grief and determination.
The White Gundam, fueled by the raw, desperate emotional and technical synchronization of Zaki and Maki, surged forward with terrifying speed, drawing its glowing beam saber. This was no longer just a Mobile Suit; it was an extension of their combined will, their shared pain, and their unwavering resolve to protect their friend, even if it meant fighting her.
"We will stop you, Tasya! We will not let you destroy yourself!" Zaki roared, his voice amplified by the White Gundam's external speakers.
The White Gundam landed with devastating force directly in front of QUEEN, its beam saber sweeping in a blinding arc, moving with a speed that Tasya's already overstressed and exhausted Neural Link could not possibly anticipate. The White Gundam's beam saber struck precisely at Unit QUEEN's right shoulder, cleanly severing the arm and crippling its primary thruster system in a shower of sparks and a screech of metal. It was immediately followed by a powerful, bone-jarring kick from the White Gundam, shattering QUEEN's front protective armor and forcing all its systems into a sudden, shuddering shutdown.
Inside QUEEN's now dark, smoke-filled cockpit, Tasya Lowe screamed in pain. The overwhelming feedback from the overloaded Neural Link, combined with the brutal impact from the White Gundam, instantly overwhelmed and incapacitated her. The world went black, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
"AIRIS, scan the pilot!" Zaki commanded, his voice urgent, stripped of all emotion except concern for Tasya.
"QUEEN pilot injured but stable. Life support fully functional. Unit QUEEN critically damaged and fully disabled," AIRIS reported, her synthesized voice unnervingly calm.
"Maki, get out, now! We have to get her! Hurry!"
Maki, still crying but now moving with a frantic urgency, nodded. She and Zaki quickly opened the White Gundam's cockpit hatch and rushed towards the crippled Unit QUEEN, their hearts pounding. They carefully, gently, extracted their unconscious friend from the Mobile Suit that had become her temporary prison.
While the emotional duel between the White Bird and QUEEN had concluded in the mountains, the brutal battle between TORTOISE and the Royalty Gundam in Neo-Verdia had also reached a stalemate.
Dr. Lena had fought with cunning and relentless strategy, skillfully using TORTOISE's immense defensive capabilities to block every single one of Felisio's increasingly desperate attacks. However, both Mobile Suits were running critically low on beam ammunition, and their funnels, though present, were proving ineffective against each other's hardened defenses. The Royalty Gundam pilot, enraged by the White Gundam's disappearance and growing impatient with the stalemated fight, finally decided to withdraw.
"We're pulling back! I won't waste any more time on this trash! We'll find that White Ghost somewhere else! And when I do, I'll tear it apart!" the unknown pilot's voice snarled, dripping with barely contained fury. The Royalty Gundam then accelerated away from the city, vanishing into the smoke-filled horizon.
Dr. Lena gasped for breath in her cockpit, her body aching, her mind reeling from the intensity of the prolonged combat. She tried desperately to contact Tasya.
"Tasya! Answer me, my daughter! QUEEN, report! Tasya!"
All she heard was static, a deafening, terrifying silence from QUEEN's comm link. Her heart plummeted into her stomach, a cold dread seizing her.
"No... It can't be... Itsuki... The White Ghost... they killed my daughter! They destroyed QUEEN!" Dr. Lena roared, a primal scream of rage and grief echoing in the confines of the TORTOISE cockpit. Her worst fears, fueled by Itsuki's rhetoric, had seemingly come true.
Dr. Lena, utterly shattered and convinced that her daughter was dead, furiously piloted TORTOISE back to base to make her devastating report to Itsuki. The White Ghost was no longer just a rival; it was now her sworn, personal enemy, the murderer of her only child. Her grief would fuel a vengeful crusade.
In the hidden valley, Zaki carried Tasya's unconscious body in his left arm, her limp form a heavy, tragic weight. Maki walked silently beside him, her tears having dried, leaving tracks of sorrow on her cheeks. They carried their wounded friend, now officially both a hostage and their direct responsibility, back to the Kimeza Alliance base for immediate medical treatment. They knew, with a chilling certainty, that this devastating personal confrontation was merely the beginning. The war had just truly begun, and its first, most painful casualty was the bond of friendship itself.
To be continued....