piers | 02. most love like hunters

[ 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? ]

Yes.

[There's no doubt in his mind, and no hesitation in his answer. He can. He will. Because he does have something stronger than a plan.

He has a Gundam.

His faith in his future is certain, its the present that leaves him unsettled.

Being an Innovator still makes him feel grossly uncomfortable in his own skin. He feels what others can't, senses things he can't begin to put into words. He often feels isolated in a way he never had before, and its something he's fundamentally ill-equipped to deal with. In that way, Amuro is the answer to his loneliness.]

For the dialogues that are to come.

[ And that was the answer he was looking for. Though if asked, he might not have known he was waiting for one at all. ]

You'll find your way. [ Through the now. The indefinite. ] That's the meaning of Gundam.

[Someone who understands, which is all anyone is really searching for. But Setsuna will find his way. If he can't... if all humanity takes with them to the stars are the wars that were born on earth, then they won't have a future.

The thought makes him turn the Nu to look at the earth, a planet that looks remarkably different without any orbital rings. Downright foreign, really, only a reminder of their shared circumstance.

...]

Red Haro... [The rest of his thoughts are said out loud, but instructions are given to the little robot using his quantum brainwaves, sent over the residual GN particles in the area. Within seconds, several holographic screens start to pop up, one after another. The orbital elevators and solar power generation system in one grouping, basic schematics for the 00 and its direct predecessors in another (though nothing about the other meister's units or the 00 Qan-[T]), basic theory behind the GN drives and GN Tau drives in another cluster, and smattered between them are mission reports, maps, a bio on Aeolia Schenberg, and other miscellaneous pieces of data.]

I'll start repairs on the Nu. You can bring in the 00 when you're done reading.

[ Amuro finds himself silenced by wonder as the full weight of what's happening dawns on him. Even at a glance, the cascade of images that flows along the 00's monitor are so significant--an unfamiliar Earth, system files and platforms from which the suit he resides in was derived from, battle data, condensed histories, the intelligent stare of a man who he instinctively knows is at the heart of it all. The one who dared to have a plan.

It's like the final puzzle piece. Understanding the world that had made Setsuna who he was--and the means he had with which to change it.

There's little in the world that can make his burden any less. Amuro knows better than anyone, tangled and twisted as his own future is. But if in some small way he can prove to him that he doesn't have to continue to go it alone, well. ]

...Setsuna. [ He could still ask if he's sure, but he knows that he wouldn't be looking at any of this if he wasn't. So he settles for the next best answer. ] Thank you.

[Setsuna doesn't say anything in return, but simply looks at the 00 for a moment. There's a lot that he's entrusting Amuro with, but there are no second thoughts, no threats, or even an acknowledgment of how important this is.

He's placing his faith in you, bro. Deal with it.

So the only sound is just the PWONG™ as the Nu's eyes light up, then the roar of the thrusters as Setsuna heads off. Amuro can read until his heart is content (and there is plenty of water and rations if he decides to stay awhile), and when he gets back, he'll find Setsuna hard at work on the Nu (and probably pissing off the other techs with that way of his).]

02. most love like hunters

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