Chapter 2: "The Blazing Horizon"

During the time when the shot had happened, Thanatos was in the bridge watching the transpiring events.
When the shot was fired, Thanatos ran out of the room. When he was in the hall he did not show any signs of anger or frustration with Magnussons commands. In fact, be began to laugh hysterically. Magnusson had just signed his very own death warrant, this was the sign that Thanatos was looking for, the sign letting him know "he has to die now!"

He began to stalk the corridors of the ship with a maniacs grin. When he exited the ship, everyone behind him in a state of panic merely stared at him like some kind of demon.

When he saw Alexander fire the warning shot his mind raced to the thoughts "NO! Not here! Here is mine to kill and by MY rules!"
He crept up behind Alexander and restrained him.
He whispered to him: Listen to me. If you arrest him his former Titan allies will pardon him and if you kill him you'll be branded a criminal and given a court Marshall. I know he needs to die, if not for this then for his career as a Titan that is stained with blood. If you want to end him, you will need to do as I say so we can kill him without arousing suspicion. Now, give me the gun...

Shoreline....

"Understood Empyrean", was Luciano's response to his new orders. The Captain had been informed of the situation, had supplied her orders and now he had to do what Londo Bell was meant to do: play peacekeeper. The ReZEL Commander lower towards the ground a little more keeping its Mega Beam Launcher steady on the GM Sniper II at all times, don't need that thing going off attacking the city again. His Shield Beam Gun was also ready to activate if the enemy should evade him or he needed a second weapon in case the MBL was destroyed or damage.

His MS turned to look at the two EFF personnel that wanted to shoot Magnusson, well one that wanted to shoot him and the other who wanted to arrest him. The Captain's orders were clear though: Captain Magnusson could not die here. He flicked the external speakers on once again, "You two of the Federal Forces, do not kill Captain Magnusson. Killing him here will do no one any good. Stand down", he spoke more in a suggestive tone. He could not order the two to stand down, not exactly, and he hated having to use the ReZEL as a deterrent. He only hoped that Lieutenant Grant would not get here anytime soon.

Arc had been blown off his feet by the attack "Damn them!" He screamed as he ran for the hills where his ms was. As he ran he saw an abandoned motorcycle and rode it up to the area the suits were hidden as fast as possible

Moving much quicker with the motor cycle then he could run he soon reached where the suits were hidden. As he jumped from the Motor Bike he saw Javier talking to some girl. "What the hell are you doing, Who IS she, And most importantly Did you even realize that someone just blew up the city hall. Now get on the comm call every one back, and then tell me what the Hell!! is going on in the city. MOVE IT MOVE IT." Arc yelled at Javier, he was angry at this horrid tactic and was taking it out on the unfortunate pilot but what could he expect Javier had this girl near where the mobile suits were hidden.

Then turning to the girl Arc tried to calm down as he waited for Javier to get him that info and said "Who are you and what are you doing up here?" He asked the girl he didn't know what she might have seen or what Javier had told her but then again it didn't really matter at this point.

Zamboanga, shore…
Near the Empyrean.


Unfortunately for Lt. Raines, Grant had just made it to the edge of the beach and saw Del Tierro fire at Magnusson and Erikson whisper something in his ear. When he heard the ReZel pilot tell HIS men to stand down he was livid. He would not have his authority circumvented by some peace-loving fool who couldn't understand that some sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. You can't save everyone and by killing the people here, they were able to have a fight in a less populated region as opposed to somewhere like New York City or London. Some people just don't understand strategy.

Making his way as silently as he could, he went over to his Striker Custom and got inside the cockpit. Closing the hatch, he turned on the external speakers.

"You two will stand down now, Warrant Officers. I don't give a rats ass what you think you're doing, he is your superior officer and I will not have a mutiny on my watch. Now drop the gun and put your hands where I can see them." By this time he had turned on his vulcans and had his beam saber in hand. "I will not say it again, Warrant Officers." Luckily for Grant, he had had no idea that the attack would take place so any action taken against Magnusson could not in turn take place against him; although, that being said, if he had the only difference would be that he would have been sitting in his mobile suit with a cocktail watching the fireworks.

LTJG. Kirkland went as fast as the vehicle would take him while dodging panicked citizens on the road at the same time. While he was driving, he heard from the Captain that Magnusson was somehow responsible. ("Magnusson did this? I never thought he'd go this far...") They got back to the ship in what seemed like a matter of minutes. He slammed on the brakes and skid sideways as they slowly came to a stop. He got out of the jeep and looked at Captain Romanova. "Captain, I'm going to launch! If the Zeon Remnants are in this area then they'll surely react to the situation! Lt. Raines and myself will scan the area for any other activity!" With that, he ran back onto the Empyrean and to his quarters, where he changed into his Londo Bell pilot suit. He ran into the hangar and climbed up the platform into the ReZELs cockpit. The mobile suit walked over to the launch pad and got into launching position. "James Kirkland, ReZEL, launching!" The ReZEL zipped across the launch pad and into the air. From there he looked around, finding the ReZEL-CT next to a tall platform with a GM Sniper Custom II sitting on top of it. He flew in next to Lt. Raines, landing firmly on the ground. He looked up at the Lieutenant and said through the comms "Lt. Raines, we should scan the area for any Zeon activity! The others can handle the situation from here on out." He looked down at Captain Magnusson, sneering at him. ("How could anyone be so horrible as to kill so many innocent people? and for what......?")

Hayase sighed as he watched Risa take off into the woods. He started after her but quickly lost sight of her due to the pace at which she was moving. Hayase entered a small clearing with a view of the city below. Hayase’s jaw dropped at the sight of a large smoke cloud raising from the city. “What the hell happened down there?” he said and he quickly turned and continued on in the direction he last saw Risa was headed in. After a few minuted he heard off in the distance

Mnemosyne16 wrote:

"HAYASEEEEEEE!"

Hayase picked up his pace toward the sound of Risa’s voice. As he got closer he could heard other voices speaking. One of them yelling at the other to move it. Hayase slowly exited the tree line to see a man with fire red hair talking to Risa.

bOZZ wrote:

"Who are you and what are you doing up here?"

Hayase continued to walk forward as he began to address the man. ”She is Risa Fontaine and I am Hayase Kazahara. We are just up here taking in the scenery.” Hayase said with a slight smile on his face.

Lazra had been walking the streets, when he was suddenly thrown to the ground from the force of the explosion. When he looked up at the spot where the city hall building had been, he was horrified at what he saw. The building that had been there a few seonds earlier, was nothing but a pile of rubble now. He slowly got up, his eyes glued to the site infront of him. Snapping out of his daze, he looked arond and saw Lt. Arc talking to Javier and a girl he had on his bike. Making his way over to them, Lazra stopped next to the Leiutenant and soluted. "Sir... what shall we do about this? It has to have been the actions of the EFF or Londo Bell..." he stated, pulling out his phone and handing it to the Lt. He then waited for further instructions, all the while his eyes drifted back to the pile of rubble.

Dust angrily followed James and suited up, getting his Jesta suited up and ready to launch just as James left. He did a final check of his systems and then open up his comm, "Ensign Dust Shikai, Jesta, LAUNCHING!!" He pushed his thruster controls forward and the suit quickly set off from the Empyrean.

He checked his scanners and picked up on the 2 other Londo Bell pilots out, once he was in the area he located what appeared to be the offending GM Sniper II and an active Striker. Other than that were the 2 Rezels and a stand off with 2 EFF soldiers. One of which was trying to Kill Magnusson who also had a gun in his hands.

Dust smirked, he knew that Magnusson was behind this atrocity. He shot forward in his Jesta and kicked down the GM Sniper II, placing the foot of his mobile suit over the hatch for the cockpit so noone could get in. He was so pissed off at what Magnusson had done. It wouldn't have been as bad if it truly had a beneficial point or saved lives, but this what just the workings of a Madman

Quote :

"Lt. Raines, we should scan the area for any Zeon activity! The others can handle the situation from here on out."

"LT. Raines can make these decisions on his own, personally I think this takes highest priority, he just killed innocents for no reason. He claims he is trying to use this to make the Zeeks attack, but if I were them I would be using this time to sneak away in the chaos. " He pointed his Beam carbine at the Striker and his Beam Rifle towards Magnusson who was right in front of his foot. "As for you, who I can only assume is Grant, seeing as it isn't Magnusson or the Warrant officers down there. I think you should stand down. Londo Bell is handling this now, and unfortunatly for you we are a task force seperate and above the EFF. Just like the Titans I am sure Magnusson is a fan of, that puts us in charge."

Zamboanga, shore…
Near the Empyrean.

Grant smirked, "Your organization might be separate from ours, that doesn't mean you don't have the same superiors. Bright answers to the same people we do, if you recall. And Magnusson is a bit higher up in rank than you so stand down. You are in no position to make any demands of me or the Captain. And seeing as I have been given no orders to obey Londo Bell, and Bright isn't here, nor Captain Romanova, you are in over your head. If you think that I will allow you kill the Captain then you must be out of your mind! This isn't some school-yard brawl where the higher grades get more power than the lower. Grow up! Emotions have no place here! If you thought you could leave the military without staining your hands then you are delusional. Collateral damage happens all the time when you fight near populated areas. This isn't pretend. Is that why you're upset? Your little fantasy world got shattered? Boo-hoo! No one cares! Get over yourself and buck up."

He placed his mobile suit between Magnusson and the ReZels, seeing as the Jesta was too close for him to do anything other than point his sabers hilt at the cockpit of the Jesta and drawing his other saber. "If you think I will allow you to kill a superior officer without any repercussions than you are out of your mind! If you want him you have to go through me!"

"Thank you Lazra" Arc said as he took the phone. "Wait right here why I talk with these two." Arc said as he turned to the two people in civilians looking at them quizzically. "Nice to meet you two but you two choose the wrong area to be in usually I would warn you of the dangers and nicely chase you away but you two chose the wrong time to be playing Dora the explorer and her friend Boots. You see someone just fired on the city out there. Blew up the city hall and everything. So I am sorry to say until I have a better understanding of what is going on you two aren't going anywhere." Arc said trying to hide his annoyance at there presence. If they weren't here he could act more freely. But he couldnt let them leave he had no clue who they were or what they had seen. It didnt matter now but the more time it took for the feds to find there exact cordinates the better there chances of using this chaos to escape.

And that was another issue bugging him. A large part of him wanted to rush into the city ands attack make them pay for what they had done. But the more reasonable side told him that it would be worse for the citizens if they revealed themselves. "Lazra watch these two while I try and get the others on the phone. Javier I want that status report on what the scanners are picking up when I get back." Arc told the two as he walked off a bit and using the phone he sent out a priority text to all pilots telling them to return to there suits but to not engage until ordered to. With the text sent he called Boss Chief Directly. "Sir Are you alright I'm with the suits I have Lazra and Javier with me. And I Sent a priority text recalling all our pilots to there suits. But I told them not to engage until we have a full understanding of the situation. So everything is under control here and we are waiting for your further orders." Arc said as he awaited further instructions.

Walking out of the strip club she had just patroned Elliot was thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion. Terrorists? No that didn't make any snse the Phillipines were a haven for terrorists of various sorts, bombing one's own refuge just didn't make any sense. She ducked into a secluded alley and opened up a secure channel to the rest of the pilots. "This is Sergeant Nash, I just felt an explosion all the way out in downtown Zamboanga, What the hell's happening?! Is it a Federation attack?" Pushing her way through the growing crowds of fleeing civillians Elliot made her way to the run down mobile suit mueseum where she had stored her precious Zaku.

The place, as always, was deserted save for a few mecha geeks and elders looking to get out of the humid tropical heat. She tossed a wad of bills the curator's way, and clambored up the chainlink ladder that suddenly spilled down from the tan machine's cockpit. Exhaust poured forth from the vents covering the ancient Zaku's armor and the titanium giant's body shook as raw energy rushed through the mobile suits frame and electronics.

"Ok, I'm all suited up and ready. Awaiting your orders Boss Chief and Lt. Durant!" She had no idea what the hell was going on, and maybe she had one too many drinks at the strip club, but she was as ready to put her life on the line for Zeon as she would ever be.

"Pommy bastards... What is it this time." Wesley said to himself, unaware of the current events that had transcribed. When the code sounded, he quickly made his way to the mobile suit hangar and there he awaited for further instructions.

Wesley asked around and found out that there's a situation in the city. From what he gathered, Magnusson was trying to flush out the zekes by attacking the city.

"What a dipstick. Well so much for the element of surprise. *sigh... but there's no point crying over spilled milk. Its time to prepare for battle."

Zamboanga, shore…
near the Empyrean...

Tatiana took out her own gun, and pointed it at Magnusson. "Captain Brando, your days of tyranny are up! These officers are right. You ruined the good name of the Federation by committing heinous crimes against the innocent. Contrary to your belief, it is the public whom we must protect! Haven't you learned that in your days as a soldier?!" she demanded an answer from the bald man.

With a nod of her head, Tatiana nudged the Londo Bell security guards to move closer. "Arrest this man. In fact, he is the one committing mutiny... against me! This ship, and entire mission is under me. I'll be in charge from now on, Captain Magnusson. No longer shall your bullying be tolerated. Take him, and put him in a cell. Along with his pig!"

The guards approached Magnusson steadily, their semi-automatic rifles ready to fire at him if he makes a crazy move.

Zamboanga, Philippines
Forest...

Risa was surprised when a person came to rescue her from that pit. To her surprise, it was a young man, more or less her age. He looked gentle, but there was something rather "untamed" in his eyes, like the eyes of a warrior. But it was all a vague idea to her, and she couldn't exactly pinpoint what Javier is. All she knew was, he was a ruggedly handsome fellow. Risa blushed as Javier extended his hand to her. Reluctantly, she shook hands with him.

Another person arrived, a fiery redheaded man on a motorbike. He seemed to be reprimanding Javier about something, and then he said something about the City Hall blowing up. Hayase came, and introduced Risa to these two men. Now she was confused.

"Wait, what's going on? The city hall, attacked? Wait by what!?" she asked, rather forcibly. "Hayase, what's going on?! Say something!"

Zamboanga, Philippines...
Downtown, abandoned warehouse...
A few minutes after the noon-time massacre...


Gundam Unicorn OST | Track 14 | Bring On A War

Smoke was rising in the sky, and it didn't look good to Boss Chief. He peeked outside the warehouse, and saw people fleeing from some unseen terror. He grabbed a passerby and asked him what was going on.

"You better run for your life! Mobile suits are attacking us from the distance! I saw it! It was a beam weapon!!" said the pedestrian, breaking free from the Chief and escaping with the other panicked citizens of Zamboanga.

"This is not good, Beldi. Return to where you hid your suit. They've found us, and there's no use hiding. I suppose you know what my flare signal means..." he told Leon. Boss Chief climbed the Zssa and activated it. The Zssa broke out of the warehouse and walked in the middle of the street.



Boss Chief opened his cockpit, and fired his flare gun. A large flare burned brightly in the sky, followed by a second shot. It was the signal he taught Zeon, that when they see this flare, all of them should get into their mobile suits and rendezvous with him.

He radioed Arc, and told him to come to the town with the Chief's mobile suit. "Arc, this is Boss Chief. Bring my Marasai at coordinates DG-KL. Don't bother with your Zaku Mariner. I'll give you a Zssa!"

Quote :

Bozz, bring the Marasai to where I am and I'll give you the Zssa.

Quote :

"Arc, this is Boss Chief. Bring my Marasai at coordinates DG-KL. Don't bother with your Zaku Mariner. I'll give you a Zssa!"

Hearing Boss tell him this he smiled despite himself. "Yes sir I will be right there" Then closing the phone he handed it back to Lazra. addressing Lazra and Javier he said "Both of you the flares been sent suit up and get ready we are moving out from this position." Then he turned to the two strangers. "I don't have time to deal with you two right now. Get out of here and avoid the city now GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!"

Without a second glance he turned from them and quickly walked over to the Boss's Marasai and climbed inside. Once inside the cockpit he quickly made it stand fully up and begin walking back into the city towards the burning flare.

In a totally unexpected maneuver, Magnusson dropped his gun and raised his hands. The guards took away Magnusson's gun, seized him and placed handcuffs on him. As he was being led away to the cell in the Empyrean, he looked at the Striker Custom, and shook his head.

"You're in command now, Captain Romanova. You may detain me here if you like, but soon you'll see the folly of your actions. Go, my soldiers are yours to manipulate. We're not so different, you and I. Hahahahahahahaha!" were his final words before he was whisked into the ship.

Zamboanga, Philippines
Forest...

With one quick movement, Javier quickly scooped Risa in his arms. "Sir Larza, Sir Arc, we shouldn't leave these guys behind! We must bring them to a safe place, we'll never know if they encounter a mishap along the way! I'm taking them to the shelters, where they will be safe!" Javier said. He carried the girl in his arms, and then ran to the Galluss-J which was lying down, covered in a camo-net.

"You're Risa, right? I heard your friend call you Risa..." he said, dropping her gently into the cockpit. He slid into the mobile suit, which soon rose up from a lying down position. Thinking that there was no more space for Hayase, he opened the speakers and addressed him.

"Hey you, go with the others! We will drop you off at the shelters, before we fight!" Javier told Hayase.

Zamboanga, Forest,
Inside the Galluss Cockpit...

Risa was rendered speechless, when Javier picked her up and placed her inside his mobile suit. She was shocked. This strapping young lad just carried her like a princess, something which Hayase had never done before. When the hatch closed, that was the time that Risa snapped back to her senses.

"Hey, you're leaving my boyfriend behind!" she complained, trying to pry the door open but to no avail. When Javier started his broadcast to Hayase, she listened intently. She wanted to interrupt, but a strange feeling made her feel at ease. She felt like she could trust Javier's words.

"You're gonna bring us to the shelters? Alright, Mr. Javier, I'll hold you to that. Wait, can't you pick up my boyfriend? I... I'm not sure if your friends will take him, they look aloof and... scary..." she whimpered...

Zamboanga, shore…
near the Empyrean...

He scowled, but Grant didn't put away his sabers, but he DID take it away from the Jesta's cockpit. He only hoped Captain Magnusson knew what he was doing. The enemy was right there, and if his gut was right, they weren't going to be alone for long. Magnusson had stirred a hornets nest, but that didn't mean that they were unprepared, far from it. He only hoped the others brought their bug-spray.

Fools, they will regret this, and, when he is set free, they will wish they hadn't pulled this stunt. After all, it was better to strike now while Zeon was unprepared then to let them have the element of surprise, wasn't it? Apparently not. But that wouldn't deter the Lieutenant, not one bit. If Zeon appeared, he would give them the benefit of catching him off guard.

He turned his suit around with his beam sabers back in their slots. But, with a press of a few buttons, he activated the Burst Knuckles.

He wasn't going to take any chances. His gut had saved him countless times during his stay with the Titans and he wasn't going to doubt it now. Especially since he KNEW that the enemy was out there. He really hoped no one was stupid enough to get caught by the Zekes, that would be embarrassing.

the last thing Arc saw before he left was Javier pulling Risa into the cockpit of the suit. Enraged Arc yelled into the radio. "What the hell do you think you are doing we were ordered to report to Boss we dont have time for you galvanting around joy riding with some girl in the cockpit. Either get her out now or fight with her in the cockpit but I am tired of your thinking you ms is a personal toy. You are a fucking soldier now start acting like one or just get out of that suit and go hide in the shelters with the rest of the children. Lazra since he can't seem to follow orders you make sure he makes no detours on his way to the battlefield." Arc yelled at Javier and Lazra as he Continued moving towards Boss's location muttering about kids wanting to play soldier..

As Javier ran towards the Gallus-J, Lazra's eyes narrowed, and he headed towards the forest to get his Marasai. When he found it, he climbed on to the hand, and made his way up the arm of the suit, and jumped into the cockpit. Upon activating the suit, he forced the suit into a standing position, and headed towards the Gallus. "Javier, think goddammit!" Lazra said angrily, pulling out the Feyadeen Rifle, and pointing it at the Gallus. "Weren't you just mourning over Loni dying!? And now your stupid enough to take a civilian into your suit, when you could be attacked at anytime!?" he asked, his anger slowing growing stronger. He normally wouldn't be like this, but the fact that Javier was careless enough to put a civilian in the cockpit had thrown him over the edge.

"Behold the revival of Zeon!"

Stunning the museum's visitors with a booming declaration the Ancient Zaku clambered out of its display with plodding tile shattering steps. Careful not to step on any panicking civillians Elliot steered the Zaku through the main display room to the building's loading bay. As it exited the mobile suit's crimson mono-eye swerved and focused on a pair of bright flares in the distant sky. "Finally! I'm going to prove myself! I know they don't think of me as their equal, but with this fight I'm going to prove my worth to them!"........or die trying right? A whisper, an almost non-existent whisper possessing a voice that was so much like her own interrupted her bravado for just a split second. Elliot whipped her head side to side to make sure no one else had gotten into the mobile suit's cockpit. No, nobody else was there in that metal coffin just a lone pilot of Zeon and her doubts.

Hands shaking Elliot clasped the controls of the Desert Zaku urging it on as it steadily made its way through a series of back alleys and abandonned roadways towards the rendevous point. Yeah, I should definately cut back on the drinking

Arthor was already running back to camp after the first shot was fired when he notice the single. Looking up at the single Arthor let out a sigh. Talking to himself as he finally reached the camp, "Man, that didn't last long." When Arthor reached his ms and stopped to catch his breath. Looking around he realized everyone was already ready for combat. Taking the camouflage netting off, Arthor jumped into the cockpit. Getting settled in he activated his ms and closed his cockpit. Standing the ms up Arthor headed to the city. "Does anyone know how many there are?"