Everyone returned from the mission with success, but to them the mission was a flop. They were able to take down Neo ZAFT, but at what cost? All of the Eagle pilots who joined them on the mission were killed and Leon and Rhapsody lost someone important to them. Chairman Landon was outside of the landing area of Atlas to meet with the remaining four pilots.
“We’ll hold a memorial service for the pilots who lost their lives today. Just get some rest for now.” said the Chairman.
“Yes sir.” Vale replied.
“Will you two be alright?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine. I just need some time by myself.” Leon replied.
“Leon, I know what you’re doing. You’re bottling up all your emotions…you’re just going to end up--” said Rhapsody.
“I said I need to be alone!” Leon yelled as he walked towards his room. Rhapsody fell to the ground and started to cry.
“Leon…”
“Damn it, if only the situation was different…then I wouldn’t have had to kill Commander Vaulken…it’s all my fault.” Leon thought to himself.
-------------------
The next morning, Rhapsody returned to her painting spot, trying to focus on finishing her painting. She wanted to forget what had happened, but all her thoughts were on Leon and her former commander. Not being able to work on her painting, she threw her paintbrush on the ground in frustration.
“Everything alright?” Alex asked.
Rhapsody let out a sigh. “I’m just frustrated, is all.”
“Have you seen Leon?”
“No. He wasn’t in our room last night and he wasn’t there this morning.”
“Just give him some time. He’s just going through a rough patch like you are.”
“I hope he’s okay.”
“Ah, there you guys are. I know it’s only been a day, but we have a new mission. Come to the mission briefing room right now.” said Vale.
-------------------
Rhapsody and Alex arrived at the mission briefing room and found Leon sitting there with his headphones on. He had an expressionless look on his face, as if he was deep in thought.
“Our mission today is a rescue mission. We’ve just received an S.O.S. from a city in North America. Blue Cosmos has been destroying random cities, trying to chase out the Coordinators. We need to stop Blue Cosmos before they harm all of the innocent citizens in the area.” said Chairman Landon. “We’ve only had a couple of hours to recover from the last mission, so you’ll be a bit short on Eagle pilots this time. But your mobile suits have been repaired. I wish the best of luck to all of you.”
“Thank you, sir. We’ll do our best.” said Vale.
Leon stood up from his chair and left the room, not saying a word to anyone. Rhapsody, Alex, and Vale followed him and went to the port with their transport ship.
-------------------
The transport ship landed in the city where the S.O.S. signal had been sent. The team arrived too late though. Buildings and homes were left in ruin and the citizens lied dead on the floor. Leon’s eyes filled with anger as he saw all of the innocent lives that were taken. Everyone left the cockpits of their mobile suits and observed the area.
“This is horrible…” Rhapsody commented.
“Search the area for any survivors. Bring them aboard the ship and we’ll escort them to Atlas.” Vale commanded. He went back into his Shrike and contacted Chairman Landon. “Sir, Blue Cosmos has left the area. We’re now searching for survivors and we’re bringing back whoever we find. I’ll need to have the medical team on stand-by.”
“Understood.” Landon replied.
“Commander, we found a survivor!” yelled an Eagle pilot. Everyone ran towards her.
“Miss, you’ll be alright. We’re from Atlas and we’re going to take you to a shelter where you’ll be treated for your wounds. We have to ask you a few questions, is that alright?” Alex asked.
“Yes.” replied the survivor.
“Are there any other survivors?”
“No, none that I know of. When Blue Cosmos came, I hid in an underground shelter. I was in there until you guys came.”
“I guess that answers my next question.”
“Hm?”
“Oh, I was going to ask if you knew where Blue Cosmos went, but you were in that shelter the whole time.”
“I have a good idea where they went. I found some mobile suit footprints that were headed in that direction.” said Leon. “Vale, take this girl back to Atlas. Rhapsody, Alex, and I will go after Blue Cosmos.”
Vale hesitated a little. “Are you sure that you 3 will be fine?”
“You worry too much.”
“Alright, I trust you guys. Good luck.”
Vale and the Eagle pilots went back to the transport ship while Leon, Rhapsody, and Alex flew their Murasames south.
“Heh…fools…” the survivor thought to herself.
-------------------
“Leon, are you sure you’re right about where Blue Cosmos went?” Alex asked. His Murasame’s sensors beeped and detected 15 mobile suit signatures. “Goddamnit, I should just shut up and stop asking questions.”
“There those bastards are…” Leon said as he flew ahead of Rhapsody and Alex.
“Leon, wait! Don’t rush in like that!” Alex yelled.
“Too late.” Rhapsody said.
Leon transformed his Murasame and threw both beam boomerangs at the Ghost units, slicing 2 of them in half.
“Who the hell was that?!” yelled a Ghost pilot.
“Damn it, it’s those Atlas units Commander Arcadia told us about. Contact him and tell him that they’re here.” replied the lead Ghost pilot.
The pilot opened a communication link with Fahren. “Sir, those mobile suits from Atlas are here.”
“Excellent. I’ll be there shortly.” Fahren replied, closing the link.
“You bastards are going to pay for shedding the blood of defenseless people!!!” Leon yelled as he took out his Murasame’s beam lance and sliced into one of the Ghost unit’s cockpit.
Rhapsody fired her Murasame’s beam cannon on one Ghost, causing it to explode and destroy the 2 near it. Alex’s Murasame fired all 48 of its micro missiles, taking out 5 Ghosts. The remaining 4 Ghosts fought back, firing their rail cannons and beam rifles at the three Murasames, only to miss every shot. Rhapsody fired a grapple stinger at one Ghost, bringing it over to her and slicing it with a beam saber. Alex fired his beam rifle and disabled 2 more Ghosts.
“These freaks are too strong! I’m getting the hell out of here!” yelled the remaining Ghost pilot. Leon chased after him and shot its thrusters off with his shotgun, causing the Ghost to crash onto the ground. Leon’s Murasame walked over to the fallen Ghost. “P…p…please have mercy me! I don’t want to die!” the pilot pleaded.
That statement only angered Leon even more. “Did you show any of those innocent villagers any mercy?! Don’t you think they wanted to live?! Why the fuck should I spare you?! Cowardly, racist pieces of shit like you don’t deserve to live!!!” Leon’s Murasame punched the Ghost’s cockpit. The pilot yelled out in anguish. The pain was too great but he still lived. Leon punched the cockpit again and the pilot died that time. Leon still kept punching the cockpit in anger while blood and oil gushed out of the Ghost. “I FUCKING HATE ALL OF YOU GODDAMN EXTREMISTS!!!” All of the anger that Leon contained was released. He was about to lose his mind again. Rhapsody and Alex grabbed Leon and tried to calm him down.
“Leon, stop it! He’s already dead…please stop…” Rhapsody pleaded. Leon began to pant and sweat heavily.
“…sorry.”
“You idiot…why do you always make me worry about you…”
“Hahaha…I see you almost lost your mind again, Leon Sieghart.” commented Fahren, who was descending from the sky in his Phantom unit. 8 large, heavily armed mobile suits joined him.
“Fahren…you’re the one who planned all of this huh?!” yelled Leon.
“You should blame yourself for this. This was the only way I could attract your attention.”
“You son of a…”
“What the hell is your problem?! Why are you doing all of this?!” yelled Rhapsody.
“I shouldn’t have to explain my motives to you.” Fahren replied as he tackled Leon onto the ground and aimed his beam cannons at him. “Burn…”
“Shit…I won’t be able to dodge this…” Leon thought to himself.
“Leon!” Alex yelled as he dashed in front of Fahren to take the beam cannon blasts.
“Alex!”
Fahren let out a chuckle and blasted Alex with his Phantom’s beam cannons. His Murasame was pushed back due to the sheer force of the attack and all its limbs were blown apart. The remains of the Murasame crashed into a large tree and collapsed onto the floor. Alex was knocked unconscious.
“Kill them all.” Fahren commanded the 8 Specter units. The Specters’ eyes lit up and prepared to fire their beam cannons at the Murasames.
“A.I. units…” said Leon.
-------------------
Vale’s ship landed back at the Atlas base and the pilots escorted the survivor to the medical room. The doctors took one look at her wounds and noticed that they were fake.
“What’s the meaning of this?” commented one of the doctors.
The survivor let out a sly smile and yelled, “Appear now, my children!” 35 Ghosts, 25 Phantoms, and 20 Specters deactivated their mirage colloids and surrounded the base.
“Oh shit, she’s from Blue Cosmos!” yelled Vale.
“See you later, morons! For the preservation of our blue and pure world!” yelled the Blue Cosmos soldier as she threw a flash grenade, temporarily blinding everyone in the medical room. She took the opportunity to escape and boarded her Specter unit. “Commander Fahren, we’re ready to commence with the operation.”
“Excellent work, Estelle. Be sure to keep Vale and Landon alive. You can have fun with everyone else.” said Fahren.
“Oh, I will sir.” She commanded all of the mobile suits to unleash their beam weapons on the base. “Let them burn! Show them your power!”
-------------------
A Specter unit fired its beam machine gun at Leon, who was forced to block the attack with his shield. He had to stay and protect Alex.
“Leon, I’ll try to lead some of these units away from you. Take Alex and run back to Atlas. I’ll catch up with you later.” said Rhapsody.
“You sure about this?” asked Leon.
“Yeah, it’s my turn to do a crazy strategy.” Rhapsody transformed her Murasame into its mobile armor mode and flew into the sky. Leon deactivated his Murasame temporarily, causing the A.I. units to assume that it was destroyed. The Specters activated their thrusters and chased after Rhapsody. Leon grabbed Alex’s Murasame and ran. 4 of the Specters noticed Leon’s Murasame coming back online and began chasing him.
Rhapsody still flew away, dodging beam cannon blasts from the Specters. Their movements were unpredictable and Rhapsody was unable to read any of it, due to the A.I. units. 2 of the Specters fired a volley of missiles at her, causing her to dodge left, which led her to a beam assault from the other 2 Specters. Her wing was hit by a beam and she started spinning out of control. Her Murasame crashed into a nearby lake.
“RHAP!!!” yelled Leon. He was too distracted by Rhapsody’s crash to notice the Specter charging at him with a beam saber. It was too late for him to dodge it so his Murasame’s leg was sliced off, causing both Leon and Alex to collapse onto the ground. Blue Cosmos soldiers were commanded to capture Leon and Alex by Fahren. Ghost units began to land near the fallen Murasames. “I’ve only got one choice left…” Leon activated his Murasame’s self destruct sequence, grabbed Alex, and ran from the mobile suits. The Blue Cosmos soldiers didn’t notice Leon jumping out of the cockpit and walked to an empty cockpit.
“What the hell?” one Blue Cosmos soldier wondered.
“3…2…1…” Leon’s Murasame exploded, taking all the Ghost and Specter units with it.
“That crafty bastard…search the area! He couldn’t have gotten far!” commanded Fahren.
Leon took out the handgun he brought with him and hid in the brush of the forest. Alex regained consciousness but wasn’t able to get up due to all of the wounds he acquired. His arms wouldn’t spot bleeding despite the bandages Leon wrapped around the wounds.
“Leon, just leave me and save yourself. I’m just going to be a burden for you…” said Alex.
“I’m not leaving you here to die.” Leon replied. “Come on, we can’t stay here. We have to keep running.”
“I can’t feel any of my limbs…”
Leon picked up Alex and carried him on his back. Blue Cosmos soldiers began chasing after them with assault rifles. Leon took cover behind a rock and shot 2 of the soldiers in the legs. Alex started breathing heavily and coughed out blood.
“Damn it, I need to get you to a safer area.” Leon picked up Alex again and ran. The soldiers still chased after them, but Leon was ahead of them a good distance. He grabbed some bamboo shoots, created 2 makeshift snorkels, and hid himself and Alex in a slow-moving river. The soldiers ran past the river and realized that the two were nowhere to be seen.
“Sir, I’m sorry to say that we lost them.” said a Blue Cosmos soldier.
“That’s alright. Rhapsody should be sufficient enough for my experiment.” replied Fahren. “Come back to the ship, our task is done.”
The sun began to set and Leon walked towards the Atlas base with Alex on his back.
“Leon…I’m so sorry. Rhapsody got captured because of me…” said Alex.
“Quit apologizing, Alex. We’ll find a way to rescue her. We need to worry about treating your wounds now.” Leon replied. A couple of hours passed and there was silence—only Leon’s footsteps crunching the dried leaves and the chirp of crickets could be heard. Alex was exhausted and fell asleep. Leon continued to talk to break the silence. “I remember when we were kids, and how we always used to play in the lake near our houses. Our parents would laugh as we splashed water on each other, haha. I miss those days. Hey Alex, wake up. I think I found a good spot for us to rest.” There was no reply. Leon gave Alex a little nudge—still no reply. “Come on Alex, this ain’t the time to joke around. Get up. Alex? Alex? ALEX!!!”
