"Think you can come and go as you please? Did you get my permission? Funnels!"
"Don't you dare hurt them!"
Accompanied by Luther's mocking laughter over the open channel, the Time Observer released half its Funnels once more, trying to bypass Athrun's Aegis Gundam and finish off the badly damaged Duel Gundam and Yzak.
Now, with the situation growing ever more desperate, Athrun let out an angry shout, and the Aegis Gundam's movements suddenly became much more agile;
Then, as Athrun piloted the Aegis Gundam through rapid transformations and maneuvers, he dodged the Time Observer's Funnels as they tried to intercept him with their shots. He even sliced two Funnels in half before charging straight at Luther's Time Observer.
Though Athrun seemed to have gone into SEED mode, Luther wasn't afraid; he simply became more vigilant.
As for the Time Observer, Luther gave up chasing the badly damaged Yzak and Duel Gundam, and began using the Zaku Machine Gun and his remaining Funnels to stop the Aegis Gundam from closing in with everything he had. His words remained merciless.
"Hmph. With Phase Shift Armor stolen from someone else's mobile suit, it's become quite a hassle to take down you second-generation elites in red. But let's see how much battery power you've got left!"
Under threat from Luther's Zaku Machine Gun and Funnels, Athrun tried to use his speed to force the Time Observer into close-quarters combat, where the Aegis Gundam would have the advantage. Though his far-superior reflexes let him dodge most of the highly dangerous Funnel beam attacks, Luther's precision shooting was better than Athrun's evasive ability, leaving him with little choice but to take the Zaku Machine Gun's fire head-on.
So when Athrun saw the Aegis Gundam's remaining power draining rapidly, just as Luther had said, he had no answer.
Yet Luther's words and the way he piloted his mobile suit left Athrun quite confused.
There was no doubt that his opponent must be with the Earth Alliance. Otherwise, how could he know so much about the capabilities of these G-series mobile suits?
But the enemy's mobile suit had more of a ZAFT style, if anything. And his opponent seemed familiar with both Athrun's companions and Captain Creuset, which suggested that he must know Plant—or even ZAFT—well.
And with those incredibly agile movements and an unfamiliar new weapon, could his opponent also be a Coordinator, like Athrun's friend Kira Yamato?
Athrun had taken some time to prepare the Aegis Gundam before sortieing again, so he hadn't heard Luther's earlier remarks about Newtypes while taunting Yzak and the others.
Still puzzled over why Kira hadn't come with him, Athrun couldn't help asking when faced with a situation that seemed somewhat similar.
"You're so skilled at piloting a mobile suit. You're a Coordinator too, aren't you? Why are you on the Naturals' side?"
"As expected of Patrick Zala's son. You're so quick to divide everyone into one side or the other.
"Unfortunately, you're wrong.
"Coordinators are, when all is said and done, just Naturals with a few specialized traits. They're still Oldtypes, confined to Earth.
"But we Newtypes are the true direction of human evolution. Coordinators don't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath!"
Faced with Luther's words—more 'extreme' than even the most fanatical 'Coordinator-supremacist'—Athrun was utterly unable to understand or believe what he was hearing. But the outcome of the battle before him left him unable to refute it.
He was just about to press for an answer when Captain Creuset's voice came over the squad channel.
"Athrun, Nicol, it's time to retreat!"
Along with the order came cautious covering fire from the Vesalius and the Gamow, whose crews couldn't identify the stolen Gundams as friend or foe. Captain Creuset also provided support with the 76 mm heavy assault machine gun, having launched in a spare Ginn cobbled together from parts aboard the Gamow.
It seemed Creuset's decisive retreat earlier had been intended to give him time to sortie again in a Ginn assembled from the Gamow's spare parts. That had wrung the last of the Creuset Team's combat potential dry.
"Roger!" "Understood!"
With Captain Creuset's clear orders and active support, the two 'good kids,' Athrun and Nicol, naturally obeyed without lingering in the fight. They began to withdraw while returning fire.
Their opponent, Luther, wasn't about to let them go so easily—especially with his number-one target, Creuset, daring to fly around in a Ginn without Phase Shift Armor.
"Perfect timing, Creuset! You don't have to worry about your life as a clone anymore, because you're going to die right here today!"
Athrun and Nicol were confused by what Luther had said over the open channel, but since Captain Creuset hadn't said anything, their first priority was to work together and drive off the enemy.
As for Luther, he'd already shouted his threat. But with the entire Creuset Team focused on retreating, and the Time Observer having already spent a great deal of energy, it was indeed difficult to break through the whole team's firepower alone.
After all, the support fire from the two ZAFT warships was negligible.
There was the threatening High-Energy Beam Rifle fire from Athrun's Aegis Gundam and Nicol's Blitz Gundam as they fought while withdrawing.
There was also Creuset, who had advanced slightly before holding position beneath the warships' covering fire, using the Ginn's 76 mm heavy assault machine gun to provide vigorous support without sparing ammunition.
And after a quick emergency repair, Yzak's Duel Gundam stood on one side of the Vesalius's open launch runway, firing support shots with its arm crudely reinforced. Beside it, Dearka's Buster Gundam had been hastily fitted with an adapter and was barely able to use standard Ginn weapons.
Together, the entire Creuset Team wove a dense, layered curtain of defensive fire, making it difficult for Luther to break through with his Funnels and kill Creuset.
Meanwhile, the Gwameir, positioned at the other end of the wreckage left by Heliopolis's destruction, had only limited firepower from its ship guns. The allied mobile suits rushing around the wreckage of Heliopolis to provide support wouldn't arrive in time to help.
After the Funnels' breakthrough failed, the Vesalius and Gamow linked up with Athrun's Aegis Gundam and Nicol's Blitz Gundam, then rapidly turned to face Luther and fired up their thrusters. In the Time Observer, Luther calmed down from the heat of battle and could only accept that there was nothing he could do. He had no choice but to make the rational assessment above.
"Maybe this is the power of what they call worldline convergence?"
"I've confirmed the energy generated by the changes to the worldline on my end. But because of what you've accumulated in the UC Worldline, you're still a long way from becoming the Fourth Candidate. I'm afraid you'll have to put an end to this war before you can get there."
When A-Qiu responded seriously to his joking remark, Luther shrugged helplessly.
"Wrong answer. I'll have to punish you properly tonight!"
"I'd be happy to, but according to the agreement we made, we have to draw lots to decide the overnight order first.
"I hope you're still in the mood when my turn comes around."
Faced with A-Qiu's response, which was unusually human-like only when it came to matters between men and women, Luther was at a loss for words.
"I'm heading back. Just you wait tonight!"
"I'm looking forward to it, Master Luther."
In any case, after that brief exchange with A-Qiu, Luther felt a little better.
As Luther watched the Creuset Team withdraw from the battlefield at full speed and began heading back to his ship, the other allied mobile suits turned around and returned under the Gwameir's command, abandoning the pursuit as well.
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