piers | 02. most love like hunters

[ Amuro recovers quickly and races the 00 just outside of Setsuna's line of fire, shooting off Vulcan rounds to keep from being pinned down. The Gundam thunders at his back, finally--almost sentient--his awareness transcending beyond the sensors as he pitches the suit upwards. The light of its twin swords curve violently through the darkness as Amuro draws and dives down at the Nu.

The downward progress feels slower than it is, his mind crashing through the waves of Setsuna's consciousness to get to the machine beneath. ]

[Close. Whatever connection they have between them, its become so visceral that he almost feels like he can grab hold of it, yank it and pull it. Almost. But the Nu can do more, and so can the 00.

One of the swords is blocked by the Nu's shield, the other takes out the beam rifle, though Setsuna quickly discards it, and latches on the 00's forearm to prevent further damage.]

Ike funnel!

[~~shut up, its tradition~~

The four fin funnels launch off the back of the Nu, each taking up position to launch an attack at the 00 Raiser.]

[ Each funnel that cascades into position is like a splinter of psyche, and Amuro strains the 00 against the iron grip of the Nu, eventually having to lash out and viciously bash its cockpit with a knee to break free.

Focus. He has to focus in the hail of light to discern which of the funnels was moving, which Setsuna was preparing to open fire on him. ]

I can see it. [ There. ] Setsuna! [ Amuro drops out of the closest funnel's blast range and emerges behind it instead to cleave it in two.

Three left. ]

[There's the tiniest lull in the action, a short half-second pause that occurs when the knee connects to the cockpit, and Setsuna found his face slammed into a pile of airbags.

In a Gundam.

...hn.

But he's snapped out of that lull once one of the fin funnels is gone. It sends a bit of a sting to his brain, like someone yanking hard on his hair. The other three funnels focus on the 00, though more to pin Amuro down and cut off any escape path as Setsuna comes at him with a beam saber.]

[ Should have looked at the schematics a little longer, broski.

The fact that Amuro is effectively destroying parts of his own Gundam is so far removed at this stage that he's just trying to calculate the time and acceleration it'll take to individually pinpoint each funnel and take it out. Manually.

Though it all comes down to wasted energy when he realizes that Setsuna has him completely surrounded, fin funnel blasts illuminating the cockpit from all sides and the other pilot at the front and center, psycoframe flaring, ready to gouge him from the body of the suit. ]

He'll get me...! [ Whether by grace or dumb luck, Amuro draws a sequence down the 00's program screen and receives the following system for his effort:

Trans-Am.

The following volley of light that explodes from the 00 Raiser makes Amuro feel as though he's barreled straight through him, when in actually, it'd made the Gundam seemingly wink out of existence. ]

[When the beam saber makes contact with nothing, he understands what that flash of light was and what it meant.

Gundam.

Its more of a feeling than an actual coherent thought, something deep in his bones. His hands squeezed tighter on the controls to the Nu as he brought the machine about, scanning the night sky for the shooting star that was the 00. The Nu doesn't have trans am, but whatever it does have, Setsuna is going to need it if they're going to make it out in one piece.]

[ The strength of the psycoframe's reaction to whatever thoughtwaves an Innovator like Setsuna has is so acute in Amuro's consciousness that even as the 00 streaks once across the emptiness of space, the Nu is at the core of his awareness. Holding him at bay.

Or drawing him in.

Amuro knows in some rational part of his head the Gs he's pulling shouldn't even be possible, but his wonder stays checked as he rockets straight towards Setsuna and the Nu, swords at the ready. Prepared to end it as he bypasses the defense of the funnels. ]

[GN Drives are built off quantum, rational was never part of the equation to begin with. And when it comes to Setsuna F. Seiei, rational isn't part of his decision making process.]

Tell me.

[Because he wants to know. He wants answers. Its why he doesn't try to dodge; instead, he moves the Nu to meet the 00 head on.]

[ Immovable object, meet unstoppable force. ]

What happens if I don't have your answers? What then?

[ Amuro takes the challenge for everything that it is and sends the 00's sword careening for the Nu with a force that would seem completely reckless to the untrained eye. But it's not, not for him. A sharp swing takes the Nu's saber hand clean off, even when the strength of his thoughts persist otherwise. ]

Do you continue like this?

[ A single arc brings the second sword back around to strike at the Nu's body. ]

[Despite the fact that Amuro was three times faster, to Setsuna, the pace of the battle seemed to be getting slower. It was as if the vacuum of space was becoming a viscous gel that they were slogging through. He could see how cleanly the Nu's hand came off, and it seemed to be taking its time as it floated away from the two of them.]

Its the only way-- [The thought develops so slowly, its almost as if he can feel the individual strands of thought being knit together. Even though in the time it takes to form that fragment, the 00's second strike is met by the Nu's shield, though the blade manages to carve it in half with little in the way of effort.]

--I know how to live.

[And if that's how he has to die, so be it. But as long as he's alive, he has something to reach for, and he's not going to stop. Even now, when he can see the end coming, the 00 readying a third strike, he still reaches. Still calls out with his head and his heart for the one thing he's strived to be ever since that day.]

Together,

[The Nu starts reaching too, reaching out towards the other Gundam. Maybe its reaching for that ideal too. Or maybe...]

with my Gundam.

[Maybe its reaching out to show that it is that ideal, as when the blade of the 00 strikes against the Nu's open palm, the Nu emits a bright light that somehow protects it from harm, allowing it to catch the sword full stop..]

[ The blast of light that thunders from the cockpit of the Nu is enough to completely hold the 00 at bay, and Amuro can feel it flood through him as the machines clash on a completely new level. The Nu's psycoframe resonance and the 00's Trans-Am burst thrash from their collision, make Setsuna's words echo in his head with alarming clarity.

The whole cockpit illuminates and Amuro's consciousness torrents out in response, diffused in a fan of GN particles. Like warmth and water, like time stops to let their words hang tangibly in the emptiness of space. Like he could reach out and grasp the ideals that lay between them.

With the 00's quantum energy heightening his senses beyond anything he's ever felt, Amuro realizes that Setsuna's will meshes so finely with the power of the Nu that it's nearly impossible for him to distinguish between them. ]

You're the same!

[ And that realization plunges him into the light. ]

[Its only as the light envelops them both that Setsuna realizes just how different the two of them are. Quantum brainwaves and Newtype brainwaves don't quite resonate harmoniously, creating a sort of static between the two. And its this static that Setsuna fights through, claws through as he keeps reaching, until he finally connects to the soul underneath.]

Amuro Ray.

[Welcome to glitterspace, bro.]

[ A vague sense of apprehension mingles with the strange oneness of the situation. Amuro has seen this before--or at least his own version of it. But this is different from the unforgiving half-dreams that visit his cagey head when tensions run high. Even when the layers of interference lift and morph into something that's nearly tranquil, there is very little about the space that actually feels stationary. Especially not when he can physically see the other pilot.

And still sense the incredible power of the machines at the core of the phenomenon. ]

It reacted to you, Setsuna. The Nu Gundam.

[From the outside, he can only imagine with anyone else must be seeing right now. But that's irrelevant between them at the moment. Not when they can see each other as clearly as they can right now.]

Its a Gundam. So am I.

[There's a slight change in the atmosphere. They're still very much connected, but rather than reaching, Setsuna seems to be pulling at Amuro. He just wants an answer to one question.]

Are you?

[ There's a single answer that emerges in kind. Maybe not the one he was looking for, but one that's resolute, and unafraid of whatever future lays on the horizon. ]

We're not the same. But we're going to do what we can to understand. My Gundam and I. That's why we exist.

[ That's why we'll end the fighting once and for all. ]

[He doesn't really listen to the words, not when he can feel the emotion behind them so clearly. But somewhere between the two he finds the answer he's looking for.

You are Gundam. So, here, have a sparkly flower, bro.]

[ A flower isn't quite what he expected from Setsuna's psyche, but Amuro still reaches for it. Understanding what it is that's being offered to him without having to be told. Something like the beat of wings resounds, ghosts through him, but Amuro holds it at bay.

A thought rises in the back of his mind instead, uninhibited by human constraints: a world without misconceptions could be a reality.

Once his fingers make contact with the flower, Amuro senses the violent shudder of the Gundams' light show about ready to unhinge. The Trans-Am had hit its time limit. ]

That's it!

[Hey, flowers are manly.

As trans am reaches its end, so too does the resonance from the Nu Gundam. The light around them fades, and they're both brought back down to reality. For his part, Setsuna remained still in the cockpit; it was unnecessary to continue his fight with Amuro when he got what he was looking for. He stared at the 00 on the screen, contemplating what just happened until a thought popped into his head that he had to voice.]

...airbags.

[No, seriously, why would you put airbags in a Gundam?]

[ Amuro knew there'd be nothing to fear once the light receded and all he was left with was the 00, now at a drastically reduced performance rate. It's still odd in the aftermath, to look at the form of his own mobile suit on the monitor, now beat to hell. They'd both get a railing once they got back.

He huffs a partial laugh at what Setsuna has to say for himself over the comm line.

Standard feature.

Hm.

[Seems kind of weird to take up console space with an airbag, but if that's how he rolls, so be it.

The 00 Raiser doesn't seem too worse for wear, at least not as bad as the Nu is. Though he has to wonder if that's the difference in their machines, or the difference between them. But that's something he can contemplate later. There's something else he wants to say.]

You're the first one I've met. Like me.

[Similar enough. Alike in all the ways that matter, different enough that understanding each other will make them better.]

There aren't any others.

[Not yet, anyway.]

[ Pilots have always been in short supply. Having one dash his brains against his console is a risk they couldn't even theoretically take.

Amuro eases the 00 from the Nu with a precision that is nearly gentle. ...So many words, Setsuna. ]

So you're the first Innovator. [ Amuro doesn't really enjoy talking about Newtypes, because they couldn't be broken down into the kind of mechanics that come easily to him. But a sense of empathy for the other pilot compels him. ] Before I knew anything about Newtypes, there was a theory someone once proposed about them. A reason for their existence.

[ The 00 banks to a slow stop, drifting quietly. ]

But it doesn't sound like that's the case, for you. Is it?

[Setsuna was quiet for a moment, the Nu remaining still as it drifted aimlessly. Somewhere in his minds eye, he can still see the 0 Gundam, clear as day, bright and beautiful, turning around the face him. Even if he now knows who was in that machine that day, and what their motives were, its still no less important to him.

Even with both machines largely powered down, he vaguely wonders if Amuro can still sense what's going on.]

He had a plan, Aeolia Schenberg. Celestial Being, the orbital elevators, GN Drives, the solar power generation system. The Gundams. Innovators.

[The head of the Nu turns to face the 00, then the body of the suit turns to face it fully.]

What was the reason?

[ To say that Amuro doesn't really understand what Setsuna's talking about with no explanation on his part would be true, but he manages to glean significance from his answer regardless. A meaning that weighs heavily on his heart.

Amuro looks at the 00's cockpit as Setsuna speaks. Juxtaposing one with the other. ]

And you believed in that plan. Enough to change.

[ To lead, to trailblaze. Which was more than he could say for himself at some points. He takes a breath and recalls the words he wouldn't be so quick to admit he'd memorized. ]

"As humanity moves into space, all latent abilities will blossom in order to adapt to that great void."

[ The 00 looks straight up. ]

"And then mankind will be able to understand each other without misconceptions."

That's the original Newtype Theory.

[ Ironic that it was his rival's father who'd proposed such a theory. ]

[Setsuna mulls over all of that, though its the first part he thinks the most on. He believed in what Celestial Being was doing, wholeheartedly, but was that why he changed, or was there some other reason?

I Couldn't, so you have to do it for me.]

Lockon...

[...]

The theory's not wrong. [But it's... off, a little. At least how he understands it.]

I didn't change because of the plan. [Especially since said plan went completely off the rails towards the end there ~~fucking Ribbons~~.] I want a future, and humanity won't have one unless it changes, so I started by changing myself. [In to. An Innovator, though he's not sure what that really means for him. Since...]

There is no plan for what comes next. [Well, there's a thing that's supposed to happen, but no actual plan for that.]

[ Another presence. Now he sees. ]

The problem is that theories give nothing for plans to eventually grasp. They're open to interpretation. They can be manipulated by people to fit their idea of the future. Corporations, warmongers, politicians, idealists. [ Surprisingly, it's the last word on that list that earns his ire. ] The concepts their creators had in mind can be twisted so terribly that they no longer resemble their original purposes.

[ That's why "Newtype" eventually became synonymous with "ace pilot". Why sending children to war became "interesting". ]

If you're willing to walk that path towards the future you want, you'll need something stronger than a plan.

[ He asks, even when he knows he doesn't need to: ]

Can you do it?

[ Will you? ]

02. most love like hunters

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