00 WITCHES

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Humankind was doomed.

Setsuna was fleeing the core of the enemy fleet. He had reached out to the species that had been dubbed the ELS, and tried to fulfil the Dialogues-to-Come. He had used his Gundam's Quantum Burst to talk to them using telepathy. The homeless species had seen all the progress that humanity had made to unify themselves and decided that it wasn't enough; that all the sacrifices made to achieve the world envisioned by Aeolia Schenberg was less than the ELS's desire for a new home.

Setsuna broke through the outer shell of the ELS core and flew into open space, only to be greeted by more bad news. The Earth Federation's army was being annihilated, and were being driven back to their orbital base. At this point, the small terminal on Setsuna's left chimed in.

"Setsuna," said the holographic image of Tieria Erde, "Don't panic."

Outside, the Gundam 00 Qan[T] carved its way through the enemy fleet, back towards its allies. Inside, Setsuna gazed at the terminal in lieu of stating the obvious. Tieria took the hint and clarified,

"I mean that Veda has just sent me its back-up plan."

"What is it?" said Setsuna coolly, "How does it expect us to salvage this mess?"

"We don't. We use 00 Qan[T]'s time-space manipulating FTL features to send us back in time."

Setsuna went silent as he considered the implications.

"Will it work?"

"It's our only option. I've already sent the signal to form up around the Celestial Being space station. Lockon, Allelujah and the escape pods from the Ptolemaios are already within range."

Setsuna was glad to hear his comrades were safe. He tuned the voice of Tieria out as it went on about transferring data to enable the new technique; instead he focused on combat, slicing his way through the enemy Mobile Suits. Soon enough, Setsuna arrived at the position indicated by Veda, for best catchment of allies while avoiding transporting any ELS. This position also transported most of the federation's orbital base – Celestial Being's self-titled former Headquarters.

Setsuna took a moment to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do. Questions about the technique – How accurate was it? Would those caught get scattered? Where would they arrive? - pounded through his head. He inserted Veda's choice of temporal coordinates – 1930 A.D. - and waited a few seconds for the optimal moment. He heard Tieria shout, "Now!"

Setsuna shouted his last hope to whoever was listening,

"Gundam 00 Qan[T]: Quantum Burst!"

Two figures can be seen walking along a dirt road headed for the nearby town of Yokosuka. The first figure was a man who looked to be around in his late fifties. He was wearing a white shirt with a light blue shirt underneath it, white pants and a pair of black shoes. He had black hair, black eyes, and was wearing a pair of glasses. The second figure was a woman who looked to be around her early thirties. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was also wearing a pair of glasses. Her clothes consisted of a red shirt, a metallic light blue skirt that went to the knees, and a pair of brown shoes similar in design to those worn by the first figure. These two people were Ian and Linda Vashti, the two lead engineers of Celestial Being.

The two were currently on a recon mission to scout the new timeline that the 00 Qan[T]'s Quantum Burst had taken them, but they weren't the only ones on the surface; Tieria Erde, the organization's spy master, was in the general area of Germany, Lyle Dylandy and his wife Anew Returner (Anew survived, and Lyle proposed to her just before the final battle with the ELS) were in Great Britain, and Allelujah Haptism and his soon-to-be-wife Marie Parfacy were in the Americas. The Vashti's, minus their daughter who had opted to stay in space, were tasked in scouting Japan.

As the two were walking towards Yokosuka, they passed by what appeared to be a house that had recently burned down, along with metal parts from what appeared to be a plane scattered across the property. Also there were several people who were clearly in the military cleaning up the mess and gathering the metal parts.

"Dear lord, what happened there?" Ian asked his wife.

Linda frowned. "I don't know… but I hope no one was hurt."

"I wouldn't be so sure… look there." Ian pointed to a piece of the wreckage that two men were just now removing from the destroyed building, which they figured was a house. "That's a propeller used on old aircraft before the advent of the jet engine. If the pilot didn't have a parachute, then he most likely didn't survive."

His wife sighed. "You're right… let's keep going." She didn't want to be in a depressing area any more than she had to be.

Ian nodded, knowing what was troubling his wife, and the two continued on towards Yokosuka.

After another hour of walking, the two arrived at the town. To make sure that they didn't look suspicious, the two decided to act like they were tourists from Europe.

As the two were looking around the town and gathering information (i.e. buying maps and learning the names of the countries, researching Japan's [or rather, Fuso's] history, and making small-talk with the locals), the two passed by a building which had a sign above it which said "Yokosuka Orphanage." The two ignored the building and were about to continue when their eyes glowed a golden color for a moment as the two sensed something that they didn't expect; quantum brainwaves coming straight from the orphanage.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Ian muttered under his breath. "Quantum brainwaves, no matter how weak they are, in an orphanage of all places?"

Linda ignored her husband's muttering and walked into the building.

"Good afternoon." The receptionist, a young lady who looked to be in her mid-twenties greeted them as the two walked in. "May I help you with anything?"

"Would it be alright if we looked at a few of the children here?" Linda asked politely, sending a glance towards her husband to play along for now, to which he responded with a short nod.

"Certainly… well, to be quite honest, most of the children here have already been adopted; the only reason they're still here is because their new homes are being renovated to accommodate them." The lady responded.

That got Linda's attention. "Then… what about the rest?"

Here, the lady's face saddened, getting the attention of the Vashti's real quick. "There are… two new residents who have just lost their families just last week."

Ian was starting to see where this was going, and decided to make a guess as he remembered the destroyed house that he and his wife passed on the way to the town. "Let me guess… their families were in that house that we passed by when that plane crashed into it. Is that right?"

The lady nodded. "The only reason those two are even alive is because they were outside at the time of the crash… the younger of the two still has her father, but he can't take care of her; as much as he wants to, his work won't let him."

The two frowned at the information they were told, but then Linda spoke up. "Can I see them?"

Ian looked at his wife in mild surprise, but wasn't against it.

The lady nodded. "Sure. Come this way." She walked out from behind the reception desk and walked towards a door, gesturing for the two to follow.

Once through the door, the two Vashti's found themselves in a long hallway, with the lady standing next to one of the doors. When the two were next to her, she knocked on the door, saying "Yoshika? Michiko? It's me… I'm coming in, and there's some people who want to see you."

After waiting a few seconds to make sure her message was heard, she slowly opened the door and walked in, allowing the married couple to follow her. Inside the room were two very young girls, and both of them didn't even look to be over the age of two, although one looked slightly older than the other, sitting in a crib, ignoring their presence. The first girl and the younger of the two had short brown hair and hazel nut eyes which were stained with tears. The second girl and the older of the two had dark blue hair and brown eyes which were also stained in tears. Both of them were wearing small white shirts as well as a diaper, indicating that they haven't been potty-trained yet.

Ian turned to look at his wife, only to find that she wasn't there. Confused, he looked at the two toddlers again only to see Linda slowly and gently rubbing her hands on their heads, getting their attention as they looked up at her. That was when they sensed the weak quantum brainwaves again, and they now realized that they were emanating from the younger toddler. Linda, however, didn't pay any mind to this; her strong motherly instincts were working their magic in helping to soothe the two toddlers who were still trying to overcome the loss of their families.

"So… what are their names?" Ian asked; he already knew that their names were Yoshika and Michiko from what the lady had said earlier, but he would like to know which one was which.

"The one with brown hair is Yoshika Miyafuji, and the other one with blue hair is Michiko Yamakawa. The two of them are cousins, just so you know." The lady answered.

Ian nodded at the info, when his wife noticed that the two toddlers that she was now holding were starting to cry. Her motherly instincts flaring to life, she used a trick that almost always calmed Mileina down when she was an infant:

She started singing in a soft voice.

Beneath the veil of starry sky,
As cold as winter's darkest night.
It's there you sleep, silent and deep,
You're all alone.

I sing the prayer's
Soft melody
Across the lonely silent fields
A little light began to shine,
It shines on and on

The soft crying of the two toddlers was gradually reduced to soft sobbing as Linda kept singing.

I watched you as you so peacefully dreamed,
You laughed like a child,
Happy and carefree
It's all familiar and yet so far,
That's the future's promise for you and me.

One day on a green and shiny morn',
One day we will finally make it through
Cause in this sky
So dark with winter,
We still have to believe it's true
Fields of hope.

Linda kept on singing as her voice soothed the sobbing toddlers into calming down.

A gentle touch
A loving brush
Those things I still search for
A prayer in
A melody
It goes on and on

I sing the prayer's
Soft melody
One vanishes, one dies
And all in all
It starts again
A never ending cycle

Now Linda began singing with more passion as the two infants in her arms began falling asleep due to the lullaby.

One day on a green and shining morn'
Through all the long nights we've been fighting for
There lies a place
Far from disgrace
Where we won't have to hide from the world again

Now there lies a deep love within my heart
A yearn to protect you and keep you warm
It's all familiar and yet so far,
It's made for the peace of mind
Fields of hope

Natsukashiku mada tooi
Yakusoku no nohara
Fields of hope
Fields of hope

As Linda concluded her lullaby, she looked down and smiled at the sight of the two sleeping infants.

The lady had tears in her eyes. "I… I've never heard something so beautiful before…"

Ian smiled. "That's my wife for you; she loves children more than just about anything in the world."

As Linda made a move to put the two back in the crib, she felt a tug on her shirt. Confused, she looked down, only to see that their tiny hands were tightly clutching onto her shirt, and if their small whimper was anything to go by, they didn't want her to leave. The blonde engineer of Celestial Being couldn't help herself but to hold the two close to herself as she stood up and slowly walked towards the other two adults in the room.

"I… I would…" Linda started, but the lady held up a hand to stop her.

"I already know what you're going to say… but please… promise me that they'll grow up happy. It's the least I can do for them now. Come with me; I'll need you two to help with the appropriate paperwork."

The only thing Linda did was nod, internally grateful to the lady for letting her adopt them as she and her husband followed the lady back to the front desk.

One hour later, all of the paperwork was finished, and the two toddlers were renamed as Yoshika Miyafuji Vashti and Michiko Yamakawa Vashti, both of whom were wrapped in a blanket and were peacefully sleeping as Linda refused to let go of them, which made signing the paperwork take a little more time than necessary, but the other two adults didn't mind. As the two bid the lady farewell, Ian looked up at the sky and noticed that it was night, with Linda not paying any mind to that as she was still holding onto her two new daughters with a care that only a loving mother could provide. The Vashti's, with Yoshika and Michiko in tow walked out of Yokosuka using the same road that they used to arrive, and after walking for three miles the two decided to take a break next to a tree. Linda was all too happy to oblige; she was exhausted, and her constant checking on her new daughters wasn't helping with the exhaustion.

Ian, meanwhile, decided to contact Setsuna to have his Gundam relay a message to the Celestial Being about their findings.

"Understood." Setsuna replied over the communication line as he received the message that Ian had sent, then sent it towards the Celestial Being. Shortly afterwards, the others on the ground also sent their findings towards him to send back to base.

"Setsuna, get down here and pick the four of us up; we're returning to base." Ian requested.

"Roge-" Setsuna started, but paused; did Ian just say four? "Mind repeating that again?"

The older Vashti sighed. "Just get down here, and we'll explain when we get back to base."

"Roger." The Meister of 00 Qan[T] replied as his Gundam began descending into the atmosphere to pick up the Vashti's; he'd get the answers he wanted soon enough. On his holographic display, he noticed that Gundam Zabanya was making its way towards Germany - or rather Karlsland as it was known to the natives of this apparent alternate Earth – to pick up Tieria Erde, and he saw that Gundam Harute was using Trans-Am in conjunction to its GN Boosters to meet up with Zabanya at the appointed rendezvous point above what they now knew was called Orussia.

After descending through the atmosphere above Fuso, it was a simple matter for Setsuna to make his way towards the beacon that Ian's communication device was broadcasting from. After arriving at his destination, he lowered his machine into a kneeling position and opened the cockpit, lowering the zip-line as he did so.

"Linda, you first honey." Ian said to his wife.

Linda nodded and, after making sure that her grip on the two infants was secure, grabbed the zip-line and held on tightly as she was hoisted up to the cockpit.

Setsuna took one glance at the two sleeping toddlers and gave Linda a look that said 'Explain. Now.'

"Later." The blonde Vashti responded to the look as she carefully climbed into the cockpit before settling herself in the area to the right of Setsuna. Several minutes later, Ian climbed into the cockpit as well, seating himself to the left of the pilot's seat as Setsuna retracted the zip-line, closed the hatch and rose his Gundam off the ground. With a burst of green GN particles, he accelerated towards the designated rendezvous point, estimating that it would take five hours to get there.

After arriving at the rendezvous point, Setsuna was greeted by Lockon's voice. "You finally made it. I was getting worried about you."

"I'm alright," Setsuna reassured his comrade "But Linda had picked up something… extra."

"What do you mean by 'extra'?" Allelujah asked.

"See for yourself." With that, he adjusted the view of the internal cockpit camera so that it was focused on a now sleeping Linda still holding onto the two sleeping toddlers who were clutching onto her tightly.

"… Mind giving me an explanation?" Tieria asked.

"They're adorable…" Anew gushed quietly so as to not wake them up.

Marie Parfacy, along with her other personality Some Peries, internally agreed as they also found the sleeping infants adorable.

"Like I told Setsuna; I'll explain things when we get back to base." Ian sighed.

Setsuna didn't see any problems with it; being in close proximity to them, he could sense the weak quantum brainwaves coming from one of them. Activating his Gundam's Quantum System, he set the coordinates to within one kilometer of their base and watched as the GN Sword Bits came off the shield mounted on the left shoulder and form up in a circular formation, creating a portal consisting of GN particles as they did so. Zabanya was the first to enter the portal and was quickly followed by Harute, after which was followed by the 00 Qan[T] and its Sword Bits, causing the portal to close before anyone else could look at it. Exiting the portal, Setsuna was greeted by the infinite expanse of space as he recalled his Sword Bits and met up with Zabanya and Harute, then looked at their base.

The deep space ship Celestial Being, and the former space headquarters for the ESF, floating in orbit around Jupiter.

It has been six months since they arrived to this alternate universe after escaping from the ELS War, and what remained of the ESF that had been transported with them had joined Celestial Being, but only out of necessity; they didn't have much of a choice in leaving due to their current location above Jupiter. Although relations are slightly tense, there hasn't been any in-fighting as of yet, which is probably because of a side-effect of the Quantum Burst: Due to the large amount of purified GN particles, the consciousness of every person who was transported along with the Quantum Burst was expanded, resulting in them evolving into Purebred Innovators, the next step in human evolution.

The three Gundams made their way into one of the hangar doors and docked to their respective berthing's as the entrance sealed shut behind them. As the Meisters exited their Gundams, being quickly followed by Tieria, Anew, Ian, and Linda along with her two new daughters, who were now wide awake and looking around their new surroundings. Their gaze turned to their new mother, who smiled and said four words.

"Welcome to Celestial Being."

Time-skip, 13.5 Years Later

Yoshika's POV

It's been several hours since I've destroyed the core of the Neuroified Akagi, and the Strike Witches were celebrating their achievement of liberating Gallia with a party. I, on the other hand, was internally gauging what I knew about them to see if they met the necessary qualifications that I am looking for... while still having fun, of course.

As I walked around, I decided to talk with some of the friends that I made during my time here, starting with Minna. Seeing the red-haired Wing Commander over at the bar, I decided to have a small chat with her.

"This seat taken?" I asked her as I pulled out one of the stools.

Minna looked at me and smiled. "No. Go ahead."

I gave her my thanks and sat down.

'Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke. She's the Wing Commander of the 501st, and has a good sense of responsibility, as well as a level head most of the time. However, her mandate of the Witches not being allowed to interact with men outside of absolute necessity kept her from being a prime candidate; Celestial Being doesn't need someone who's mental trauma will make her anti-social to almost everyone on the base, and I'd rather not have another Setsuna F. Seiei if I can help it. And even then, she may not fight for the Aeolia Principles. What puts the final nail in the coffin is that, well, she's the Wing Commander of the 501st, and someone like her just can't disappear off the face of the Earth without attracting any attention, so she's off the list.' I thought to myself as Minna began speaking.

"Yoshika, I would like to know how you met your adoptive parents, Ian and Linda." She told me.

Is that so? I guess I can tell her most of the truth, although I would have to omit some things.

"My mother and grandmother died when a plane crashed into my home, along with Micchi's family, and the only reason Micchi and I survived was because we were outside playing at the time. A week after that, we were in an orphanage when Ian and Linda came in and decided to adopt the two of us. We've been travelling with them ever since." Alright, I'm lying about the travelling part, but there's no need for her to know that.

Minna looked shocked before her face saddened. "I'm sorry... I probably shouldn't have brought it up..."

I grabbed a bottle of water and opened it, taking a few sips as I did so. "It's alright. You wouldn't have known without someone telling you."

"Actually, I heard about it from Mio, but I wanted to confirm it with you..." Well, that's a surprise, but I should have expected it; Mio would have most likely told her superior officer about everything she knew about me. Good thing they don't know about Celestial Being just yet.

"I see... well, I guess I'll go and chat with the others. See you later, Minna." With that, I left the bar, acknowledging her "Take care." with a nod and a wave, I searched for someone else to make small talk with.

"Oi, Miyafuji!"

Well, I guess somebody else wanted to take the initiative instead.

Turning my head towards the source, although I already knew who it was by just the way her voice sounded, I was greeted with the sight of Mio waving me over to her.

'Mio Sakamoto. If she were to be picked, then she would be a reserve Meister due to the fact that she specializes in close-range combat, and is quite skilled at it, mind you, but I'm already the Meister of the new close-range type Gundam. However, there are too many things that keep her from being a good candidate; first, there's the fact that she's just about constantly thinking about training and fighting. Now if it was just training, then it wouldn't matter so much, but since she also keeps thinking about fighting the Neuroi, it puts her near the bottom of the list of potential recruits. She's also deadly loyal to her country, and would most likely try to steal some of our tech to give to Fuso, and even though I may have also been born in Fuso, my true home will always be with Celestial Being. What truly keeps her from being a candidate for being recruited at all is that her opinion towards the Neuroi is that they are nothing but monsters that only deserve to die, and that her attitude can be somewhat likened to that of a warmonger, so it is very unlikely that she will fight for the Aeolia Principles. She is a major disappointment as a candidate; she should know that there is more than one way to win a war, and one such way is through dialogue. I attempted to initiate the Dialogues-to-Come with the Neuroi twice, and the first attempt was interrupted by Sakamoto herself while the second, in which I was literally only a single centimeter away from succeeding in, was interrupted by a pathetic rip-off of a Mobile Suit powered by a captured Neuroi fragment made by General Trevor Maloney; a die-hard warmonger and Witch-hater in my opinion. If it wasn't for that plasma barrier it had, even an AEU-05/05 AEU Hellion could take it out with ridiculous ease. But in short, I wouldn't be able to recommend Mio Sakamoto as a candidate. End of story.' I ran through my analysis of Mio mentally, before I walked over to her. "Yes, what is it, Mio?"

"I'd just like to say that you came a long way from when we first met." She said with a smile on her face. "Although I still find it a bit hard to believe that that you knew so little about magic back then."

Ah... she was reminiscing back when we first met, eh? Thinking about it, I also remembered when we first met several months ago.

Flashback

Yoshika's POV

My family and I were walking down a road towards mine and Michiko's home town, seeking out a teacher who would help me learn how to control the magic that was confirmed by the others of Celestial Being that I possess. Although I still have some doubt about the decision to find me a teacher, there was no mistaking that we needed all the data that we could get about this power that I possess.

As we were walking towards the town, we passed by what appeared to be a house that that was in ruins... but there was something familiar about it. Me and Michiko stopped to look at the ruins, something that almost instantly got the attention of their adoptive parents.

Ian and Linda took one glance in the direction we were looking and instantly recognized where they were. "This place..." Linda muttered to herself.

Michiko and I heard her though. "You know what this place is...?" My cousin asked.

Our parents nodded. "We believe that this... used to be your home, Yoshika." Ian answered.

I froze, looking at my parents momentarily, then back to the ruins. "...This used to be... my home...?"

"Yes... and this is where the accident that took the lives of your families happened.." Linda looked down in sadness, remembering when she first saw the scene all those years ago.

So... this is where it happened. The two of us were told what happened to our true families; we just never expected that we'd actually see the place where it happened.

The four of us remained silent for around ten minutes, before I spoke. "...Let's keep going; I'd rather not stay here any longer than necessary."

The other three nodded, before we left the ruins behind and resumed walking towards Yokosuka.

Unknown to us, though, we were being watched by two figures who were in a jeep on a hill above us... and one of the occupants, a woman who looked to be around 20 years of age, was looking at me in interest.

When we arrived at the town, it was bustling with activity. Michiko and I were actually overwhelmed at the sight, but this was the first time we've been outside of the deep space colony ship Celestial Being in over 13 years; as such, we were eager to see what a town on Earth was like, especially if it's our hometown.

We were looking around at the sights, occasionally stopping by a restaurant to get a quick bite to eat. But as the day dragged on, we couldn't find someone who could teach me how to control my magic. We were about to call it quits when we were approached from behind.

"Excuse me, but you appear to be looking for something. Might I ask what it may be?" the voice of a young woman rang out from behind us.

The four of us turned around to see a young woman who was wearing a white military uniform as well as a white eye-patch that had a diagonal blue stripe running through the middle of it... and she wasn't wearing any pants, leaving the bottom portion of what appeared to be swimmers fully visible.

The four of us were deeply disturbed about that last fact, but Linda managed to control her shock and answered her. "Yes. We are looking for someone who can help Yoshika here control her magic."

The young woman blinked, before she let out what could be considered to be a trademark laugh. "If I had known that sooner, I would have offered to teach her; I'm an experienced Witch myself!" She then looked at me right in the eye. "Yes... I sense a lot of magical power from you, but most of it is still dormant... tell me, what is your name? And before I forget, mine is Mio Sakamoto, a Major in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing."

"Y... Yoshika Miyafuji Vashti... ma'am." I replied after hesitating momentarily; I wasn't expecting someone from the military to take an interest in me.

Mio's facial expression suddenly went from happy to shocked. "...Miyafuji...? You're Yoshika Miyafuji?"

I nodded.

Ian stepped forward. "So what if she's Yoshika Miyafuji? Do you happen to know her?"

The Major was silent for a few moments before she got over her shock. "No... but I did know her father... well, her real father that is."

My eyes widened in shock. "Y-You know my real father?!"

"Yes... I knew him well..." She looked like she was reminiscing... hold on a minute...

"You said 'knew'... so does that mean...?"

"Yes... he supposedly died in a laboratory accident several years ago. Not even I know what happened." I couldn't believe it; I was internally hoping to meet him someday, and he dies before that could happen. "But I would like to know how you met these three people." Here, she gestured towards my family.

"Well, Michiko is my cousin, and sister by adoption. And these two are Ian and Linda Vashti, our adoptive parents." I introduced them to the Major.

"Nice to meet you." Ian said, holding his hand out for Mio to shake, who did so a second later.

Linda and Michiko gave a similar greeting.

Mio gave all of us a smile. "So... mind telling me what you've all been doing for the last... decade or so?"

Flashback End

I sighed, smiling at the memory. "Yeah... back then, I didn't have a clue on how to use my magic."

"And look at yourself now; you've come so far, and it's only been about six months. You're real family, if they were still alive, would have been proud of you Miyafuji. I'm certain of it."

Upon hearing this, my eyes widened in shock. "Y...You really think so...?"

The Major let out her trademark laugh and gave me a big smile. "Absolutely! I'm proud to call you my star student!"

I blushed in embarrassment; was I really that good?

After a few more minutes of idle chatter, I started looking for someone else to talk to when my eyes rested on a figure with brown hair tied into two small pig-tails and was wearing a Karlsland military outfit. This person I was able to instantly identify as Gertrud Barkhorn.

'Gertrud Barkhorn, aka "Trudy". Like Sakamoto, there are plenty of faults with her; for instance, they would both love nothing more than to eliminate the Neuroi from existence without any consideration of coexistence, she takes things too seriously and easily snaps under pressure as I have seen on several occasions, she most likely won't fight for the Aeolia Principles, and she's even more strict than Sakamoto if that was ever possible. Ironically enough, she's also a siscon, if anything Erica told me about her was true that is. The true deciding factor is that she's already a firm soldier of a cause she believes in. Case in point, she isn't someone I would recommend as a recruit.' "Hey, Trude." I greeted her after I completed my evaluation of her, getting her attention.

The "Perfect Soldier of Karlsland" looked over in my direction. "Oh, Miyafuji. Is there something you needed?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I just wanted to chat."

"Is that so? Well, what do you want to talk about?" she asked me.

I thought about it for a few seconds before I remembered something. "Hey, don't you have a little sister? How is she doing?"

Trude looked a bit surprised that I would ask her about that, but she shook it off quickly and smiled. "She's doing great, actually. Thanks to the help of some healing Witches at the hospital, she's recovering quickly and should be out by the end of next month."

I smiled as well. "Perhaps I'll get to meet her someday."

"You might... you just might." She answered, before she adopted a thoughtful expression. "But I'm still curious about one thing... that trump card of yours, how did you pull it off?"

I stiffened, my mind quickly flashing back towards the day around two and a half months ago when I was forced to reveal my trump card... as well as figuring out first-hand the price for using such a power.

"I'd... rather not talk about it." I answered while shifting uncomfortably.

Thankfully, Barkhorn noticed my discomfort. "I apologize if I disturbed you."

I waved it off, knowing that she didn't mean any ill-will. "It's alright. But I'd appreciate it if you don't bring that back up again."

"Bring what back up again?" a voice asked, getting our attention.

The two of us turned to the speaker, who I recognized was Erica Hartmann.

'Erica Hartmann. Her skill in combat is extraordinary, and that alone would make me consider recruiting her if it wasn't for the fact that she's so irresponsible that it's downright ridiculous; if she was given a Mobile Suit, then she'd most likely trash it on the first day and cause massive amounts of collateral damage at the same time. Add to the fact that she's so lazy that she might even sleep through an enemy attack if given the opportunity, as well as the fact that she's never cleaned her room even once, and she's also off the list. Now, if she could learn some responsibility, then I'd be willing to put her on the B-list; but until then, that isn't happening.' My mind ran through my assessment before I heard Trude answer her question.

"Miyafuji asked me to not talk about her trump card again... for some reason it disturbs her."

"Really?" Erica looked at me. "Well, you sure scared me when you went into that coma of yours."

I shuddered at the memory, not wanting to remember it.

"Hartmann! Can't you see that she doesn't want to talk about it?!" Trude snapped at her in my defense, to which I was grateful for.

"Eh? What do you-... oh." She began to ask before she saw my grimace as I remembered it again. "Sorry, Miyafuji."

I sighed. "Please... just drop it already." With that, I left the two to their own agendas. Taking another few sips from my water bottle, I noticed a flash of blonde in my peripheral vision. Glancing in the direction in which I saw it, I was greeted by the sight of Perrine in her usual idolizing of Sakamoto.

'Perrine H. Clostermann. I'm not even going to start on her; that arrogance and "holier-than-thou" attitude towards everybody except Sakamoto, who I am positive that she's in love with, keeps her from even being a consideration. If she can grow out of those then I might consider her, but until then she's off the list... and honestly, what's with her treating Mio like that? It's like she's worshipping an idol or something!'

Choosing to ignore the Gallian noble (yeah, a noble pain in the ass if you ask me), I took another look around the room and spotted two figures who were sleeping on the couch. I identified them as Eila and Sanya, and I wasn't surprised in the least that they were asleep; since the two of them usually have night patrol together, they tend to sleep during the day.

'Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen. From what I can get out of her through observation, she's mischievous, likes playing pranks, has little sense of the importance of teamwork due to her Foresight magic ability, which has also made her arrogant, and is overprotective of Sanya. Her lack of teamwork skills, along with her arrogance that I just mentioned, are enough to keep her off the list.' I concluded my assessment of Eila and gazed at Sanya. 'Sanya V. Litvyak. She's a quiet girl who is responsible for night patrol, and is quite good at it. Her Magic Antenna ability allows her to listen in on distant radio broadcasts, even to those that are beyond the horizon. Now, as far as she goes with being a candidate, I'm not really sure about her just yet; I've only been able to meet her a few times during my entire time in the 501st, so I can't draw any conclusions yet. I'll need more time to contemplate a conclusion before I can decide.'

I decided to let the two of them sleep in peace and left to look for someone else to talk to.

"Miyafuji! Over here, girl!"

Again, it seems as though someone decided to take the initiative. Looking in the direction of the voice, I was greeted to the sight of Shirley waving me over.

'Charlotte E. Yeager, often called Shirley for short. To be blunt, she's a speed demon, and she shows it off every time she goes into combat. Despite that, she's skilled enough in high-speed aerial combat to be considered a top candidate for any of the Gundams in the Kyrios line... well, amongst the 501st anyway. She is as free as the wind and refuses to take most things seriously, a mechanic that wouldn't be careful when trying to learn quantum physics and most certainly lead to multiple failures that we won't have the time to deal with, and since she lacks the two qualities that I'm looking for, she's also off the list.' Finished with my mental assessment, I walked over to the free-spirited Liberion and cracked a smile. "So, what do you want, Speedo?"

As expected, Shirley laughed when I called her by the nickname I've given her several months ago. "Not much. Just wanted to know what you'd be doing once this is all over."

Oh, is that all? Well, I can't tell her the truth for obvious reasons. But... I guess I can tell her a cover story in case this ever happened.

"I... guess I'll travel around Britannia for a few months, then stay at London with my family for a while." I answered her.

"Oh? They're staying at London?" Shirley asked.

I was about to answer her when my senses detected someone right behind me. Reacting swiftly, I spun around to the left, dodging a pair of grabby hands that were trying to grope me. I took one look at the offender and wasn't surprised at who it was.

'Francesca Lucchini. She's mischievous like Eila, is even lazier than Erica to the point that she'll sleep just about anywhere, loves to grope the breasts of others, and often skips out on training. From what I can tell by observation, she seems to look up to Shirley as a mother-figure. In the air… she's amazing, even by the standards of a Witch. She seems to have a deep understanding about the principles of aerial combat, and she flies with a passion that I've never seen from a Witch before. Her skill and understanding of aerial combat alone are good enough to put her on the A-list, but since she's a child, her sleeping habits, her... "hobby", her laziness, and the fact that she also lacks the two crucial traits that I'm looking for are what keep me from considering her as a recruit.' Complete with my mental evaluation, I gave Lucchini a sharp glare. "How many times must I tell you to stop trying to grope me?!"

As usual, Lucchini grinned. "Just admit it; you don't want me to know how flat you really are~!" She exclaimed in a sing-song tone of voice.

"Fla-" I started to yell before I reigned myself in; it wouldn't do any good to lose control of my anger. Instead, I thought of what I knew about her for a few seconds before I smirked, coming up with a plan. "Oh, really? So says the one who's so flat she makes a board look sexy." Oh yes, I am definitely getting payback from all the times she tried to grope me and teased me about not letting her do so... And judging from the way her cheerful mood did a sudden 180, I'm pretty sure that it was working. "And honestly; what's with your obsession with boobs, anyway? I know you want to fill out some more, but feeling up others isn't exactly the way you should go about doing it!"

Lucchini nuzzled her head into Shirley's bust and stuck her tongue out at me. "You can't tell me what to do; I'm a genius!"

I decided that trying to tease her wasn't worth the effort; I had forgotten about that enormous ego of hers, and to show her up with my knowledge of Quantum Physics would instantly place me under suspicion, and might compromise Celestial Being and its secrets. What would truly make that a nightmare... is the fact that I know everything about the GN Drive; down to its tiniest components and how to manufacture them and the Drives themselves.

I let go of the subject and bid the two farewell, walking away as I did so. Taking another few sips from my water bottle, I looked around the room for the one person I have yet to talk to; the first friend I have made while I was in the 501st, and one of the best friends I've ever made... Lynette Bishop.

'Lynette Bishop. A shy girl who serves as the sharpshooter for the squadron and also has the ability to somewhat alter the flight path of the bullets she fires, in addition to being able to enhance their penetration power by charging her magic into them. Also, she's gifted with extraordinary eyesight, allowing her to see and snipe enemies from a significantly larger distance than any normal person can ever hope to achieve without the use of a scope… and Lynette has never used a scope, period. On top of that, she was the only one who supported me when I tried to tell the others that the Humanoid Neuroi was trying to tell me something, and she even went as far as to come with me when I made a second attempt at the Dialogues-to-Come, and… and…'

That was when I realized something.

'She's perfect… She's perfect!' I internally cheered; Lynette had most of, if not all of the qualities I was looking for.

I had just found a Gundam Meister.

Now the only problem is to somehow convince her to join Celestial Being… but I didn't know that the solution to that would be practically handed to me on a silver platter, so to speak.

Several hours after the party, I was busy packing my bag when Lynette walked into my room, carrying her own bag that was already packed.

"Yoshika…?" Lynette's voice caught my attention, and I looked up to see her standing at the doorway.

"Ah, Lynne… Is there something that you needed?" I asked my first true friend in the 501st.

"Well…" Lynette poked her fingers together shyly now, and I found it quite cute. "I-If you have the time… then would you like me to show you around Britannia?"

She wanted to take me on a tour of Britannia? Well, that was thoughtful of her; I wasn't able to when Mio took me to one of her meetings.

"Thanks, Lynne! I'd be happy to!" I answered honestly. "Just let me get finished packing first."

For some reason, Lynette looked relieved at my answer. Was she afraid that I'd turn her down or something? She nodded, then stepped out of my room to wait for me to finish.

Not wanting to keep her waiting, I quickly finished packing my bag before picking up a photo. Looking at it, my eyes softened as a small smile graced my lips.

It was a photo of mine and Sanya's birthday party.

'Who would've thought that our birthdays were on the exact same day?' I thought to myself as I put the photo in my bag as well. Looking around to make sure I packed everything, I gave a satisfied nod and picked up my bag, walking out of the room as I did so.

Lynette was waiting for me, as I had thought she would. "Ready to go?" She asked. Was it just me, or was she really excited about showing me around her homeland?

I nodded, and the two of us started towards the front entrance of the base.

It's been three days since the 501st JFW was disbanded, and Lynette and I were currently in London as the two of us looked around the city. When I asked her to give me a tour of said city, she only blushed in embarrassment and said that she's never been to London before.

Currently, we were sitting in a café eating some Britannian cuisine when I caught something in my peripheral vision. Turning my head to get a better view of it, I found out that it was some kind of large clock tower.

"Hey, Lynne? What's that building over there?" I asked my friend while pointing at the tower.

Lynette took one look at the tower before her eyes lit up. "That's Big Ben! It's one of London's most famous historical landmarks!" she exclaimed in excitement, something that caused me to giggle internally at her interest in history.

'It's just like I am when it comes to the Gundams…' I thought to myself in amusement as I listened to her change the topic to Britannia's history.

We talked about various things for over an hour before I paid the bill for our food and the two of us left the café, and now we were currently on a train headed deeper into Britannia.

"Oh… wow…" I muttered in amazement at the beautiful countryside that was passing by the window as the train steamed along at a brisk pace; being raised in the far reaches of space (in Jupiter's orbit, to be exact), one learns to really appreciate the scenery that Earth has to offer. "I wish the others could see this!" By 'others', I was referring to my comrades in Celestial Being.

Apparently, Lynette thought I was talking about the Witches of the 501st, as she became depressed. "Yeah… but they were disbanded because of us…"

I sighed, and decided to drop the first hint about the organization I work for. "Even if the 501st wasn't disbanded, my assignment to them would have only been temporary."

Lynette, as expected, looked at me in surprise. "…What do you mean by 'temporary'?"

"I'll… tell you another time." I answered.

My best friend's eyes narrowed in suspicion, a reaction that I was hoping to see.

Over the next month as we travelled around Britannia, I would occasionally drop a hint or two about Celestial Being, over time building up Lynette's suspicion and curiosity.

We were now in a small town located at the base of the Grampian Mountains, staying at a motel for a night before continuing on our travels. The motel may not be much, but it offered a great view of the Grampian Mountains.

I was looking out the window at the mountains that were illuminated by the setting sun, still taking in their beauty so that I can remember them when I went back to space, when Lynette walked out of the bathroom wearing her pajamas. Turning around, I was greeted with the sight of my best friend looking at me like she wanted answers.

I smiled internally. 'It's time.'

"Listen, Yoshika…" she started. "Over the last month, you've been telling me things that don't make a lot of sense. 'My assignment to the 501st would have only been temporary', 'Seeking peace through the Dialogues-to-Come', 'Guide humanity through Reformation'. And just last week, you told me that you were actually infiltrating the 501st to seek someone who had the capabilities to change the world! Just… who are you, really?"

I sighed; I knew this moment would come, but I was still slightly nervous. "Lynne… Like I said; even if the 501st wasn't disbanded, I would have had to leave eventually. And about the Dialogues-to-Come, you've already seen an almost successful attempt a month ago."

Lynette was confused about that, and started thinking about what I meant. After a few seconds, her eyes widened. "You mean… when you nearly made contact with the Neuroi?"

I nodded, glad that she figured it out in a relatively short amount of time. "Exactly. Now about guiding humanity through Reformation, I can't exactly tell you that right at this moment." Here, she looked slightly mad, so I decided to give her another answer. "Now… as for me infiltrating the 501st, and I assure you that it's all in goodwill, it's exactly as I said; I'm seeking those who have the capabilities to change the world. And I believe I found the person who I've been looking for."

I can see that Lynette was confused again. "So… why are you still here with me then? Shouldn't you be with that person then?"

I blinked at her question, before I started laughing, much to her shock.

"W-What's so funny?!" my best friend shouted at me.

After a few minutes, I managed to calm myself down. "L-Lynne… to be perfectly honest, it's you."

It took several seconds for Lynette to process what I just said, but when it clicked, she panicked. "E-EEHHH?! M-M-Me?! B-But what about the others; they're more skilled than I am!"

I chuckled at her reaction. "I've been looking for certain traits, ones that you have in spades that the others lack… traits that those I work for take top priority in."

"What kind of traits do I have…?" she asked hesitantly.

I internally smiled. 'Looks like she's already half-tempted… I guess she likes being useful for those who have good intentions.' "Those two traits are kindness, and a desire to seek a peaceful end to conflicts."

Lynette's eyes widened as she thought about what I had said. "… Will I really be able to help out that much…?"

I nodded and gave her a sincere smile.

She looked like she was hesitating for a few minutes, before she finally said the words I've been waiting to hear. "Can I… join you?"

My smile broadened at her question. "I'd be more than happy if you joined." I stretched out my hand to her, and she replied by stretching out her hand as well, and grasped mine.

"So… how do we get to the ones that you work for?" Lynette asked.

"Get some rest, Lynne; tomorrow, we're going on a hike."

It was mid-afternoon the next day, and the two of us were hiking up one of the mountains in the Grampian mountain range.

"Why do we have to climb one of these mountains again?" Lynette asked.

I sighed, but answered her nonetheless. "The organization I work for possesses highly advanced technology, and I'd rather not tip off anyone else that we exist just yet; the reason we're climbing a mountain is so that one of our Meisters can pick us up without alerting any of the locals."

Lynette nodded at the answer when apparently she realized something. "Wait. 'Meister' means 'master' in Karlslandian. Does that mean…?"

I cut her off. "No; the organization I work for is not based in Karlsland. You could say… that they're out of this world."

Lynette gave me a confused look, but she decided to not question it.

Several hours later, we found a cave on the opposite side of the mountain and were currently resting there as the two of us were drenched in sweat, panting in exhaustion.

I really needed a shower once I finally returned home.

"Lynne… are you alright…?" I asked, still panting from exhaustion.

"Y-Yeah… just tired… is all…" she replied.

"G-Good… I need to… make a call…"

Lynette, even though she was exhausted, looked at me incredulously. "How are you… going to do that when… we're in the middle of a mountain?!"

I gave an exhausted smirk, and pulled out a communication device that I had kept within a hidden pocket in my bag. "With this." I pressed a button and a holographic screen popped into existence, getting a shocked look from Lynette. "Yoshika to home base. Can you hear me?"

"Reading you five-by-five. What is it that you need?" the voice of an older woman asked as her face appeared in the screen.

"Requesting pickup of myself and a potential Meister. General location is with the Grampian Mountains. Exact location will be provided by QBW."

"Roger that. Setsuna will pick you up within a few hours." With that said, the link was cut and the holographic screen flickered away.

I put away the comm device and turned to Lynette, fully expecting the shocked look she was giving me.

"W…What was that thing?" she asked.

"That was a Wireless Holographic Communicator, a solar-powered variant for use on Earth." I answered. "They're pretty much standard issue."

Her eyes widened even more when I told her that it was standard issue, but she then adopted a confused expression when she remembered something. "What's… QBW?"

"Oh, that? It's an acronym that stands for…" here, my eyes started glowing a golden color as I sent the rest of the answer directly into her mind. "… Quantum Brainwaves."

It was now nightfall, and the two of us were standing near the mouth of the cave holding onto our bags. I glanced at Lynette; her expression alone told me that she was nervous, but I was glad that she had finally gotten over her shock over everything I had told her, including me being a Purebred Innovator.

But if she thought the surprises were over, then she had another thing coming.

"Umm… Yoshika? Where is this Setsuna person?" she asked me.

I gave her a reassuring smile as I spotted a glint of green light far up into the sky. "He's coming… he'll be here within ten minutes." I answered her as my eyes glowed a golden color again as I sent out my quantum brainwaves in a manner similar to that of a beacon, and was pleased to get a response from Setsuna's QBW. Several minutes later, I could see the light flying closer to our location.

Apparently Lynette finally looked in the direction I was and took notice of the light that was approaching, even as the distinct sound of the GN Drives reached our ears. I smiled at the familiar sound and sight.

"What is that…?" Lynette asked.

"That…" I answered. "Is the GNT-0000…"

As I said this, the form of Setsuna's Gundam became fully visible as it began lowering to the ground in front of us.

"… Gundam 00 Qan[T]."

As if responding to my statement, the eyes of the Gundam flashed their electric blue color as it touched down onto the ground.

I looked at Lynette, and saw that was looking at the Gundam in shock, awe, and wonder at the exact same time.

A hatch opened on the torso of the Qan[T] and a zip-line was lowered to the ground.

I walked over to where the zip-line was hanging off the ground and looked over at Lynette. "Well? Are you coming?"

Lynette looked at me in shock for a few seconds, before steeling herself and walking over to me. I wrapped one around her waist while grabbing the zip-line with the other while putting my foot into the stirrup. "Hold onto me tightly, Lynne."

She nodded and did so, and as soon as she did the zip-line was winched up to the cockpit. When we reached the cockpit, I saw Setsuna giving Lynette a curious yet critical look. It was a good thing I had given her a long skirt to wear to spare her any humiliation, and I was wearing one as well.

Lynette started to look uncomfortable from the look Setsuna was giving her, so I gently nudged her to go inside. She reluctantly did so, apparently still having a hard time believing that she was actually entering the cockpit of something as advanced as the 00 Qan[T]. Once she was inside, I climbed inside as well, and the two of us settled ourselves in the left and right areas of the now-cramped area as the hatch closed and sealed itself. With that done, Setsuna rose the Gundam off the ground and flew it up so that it was approximately 100 meters off the ground. After that, he activated the Quantum System, and the GN Sword Bits came off of the left shoulder-mounted shield and arranged themselves in a large circle, creating a Quantum Gate as they did so. Lynette looked at the GN portal in awe, but wasn't given a lot of time to do so when the Gundam suddenly went through it, shortly followed by the Sword Bits, which had the effect of closing the portal.

When the 00 Qan[T] exited the portal, Setsuna recalled his Sword Bits as Lynette was looking at the view screen in shock.

Apparently, she didn't expect to be in deep space… or rather, in Jupiter's orbit as she was now openly gaping at the gas giant.

I gave a soft chuckle in amusement, and even Setsuna had a faint smirk on his face before it was replaced with his usual stoic expression. I guess being sociable still wasn't Setsuna's strong point.

Anyway, Setsuna proceeded to fly the Gundam towards our base, and after a few minutes of flight, "We've arrived."

Lynette looked around, but didn't see anything at all. That is, until what looked to be a large hatch opened up out of nowhere like a set of double doors that slid into the wall, much to her shock. Setsuna eased the 00 Qan[T] through the corridor designed for Mobile Suits as the hatch closed behind him and eventually entered through another hatch, only to be greeted by yet another hatch. He stopped his Gundam in between the two hatches as the one behind him closed and sealed itself shut, after which the hatch in front of him opened to reveal a small hangar that held the three other Gundams that were used by the current generation of Gundam Meisters.

The first machine was colored white and deep green, and had what looked like boxes (but were in reality GN Holster Bits, which each stored a single GN Pistol Bit/Rifle Bit II) that were arranged as wings on its back, as well as four more Holster Bits that were mounted on its shoulders. In addition, it had integrated GN Missile Pods all over its body, but these were currently folded away. On its head, legs and shoulders were were targeting sensors that assisted the unit when engaging multiple enemies at once, but these were also folded away. This machine is the GN-010 Gundam Zabanya.

The second machine was colored white and orange, and unlike the other two machines that it was next to, it actually looked like a fighter. On either side of the red-glass "cockpit" (which in reality, was a sensor array) were two huge GN Cannons that were capable of firing large beams with only a small time lag in between shots. on top of the fuselage were two white hatches that each stored five GN Scissor Bits. There was a pair of armored GN Boosters at the rear of the craft, which each held five more GN Scissor Bits, giving the unit access to a total of twenty Scissor Bits. In between the boosters was a Tail Unit that stored numerous GN Missiles. Its wings were actually GN Sword Rifles, which were currently folded so as to not take up so much space. This machine is the GN-011 Gundam Harute in it's Fighter Mode.

The third machine had mostly bulky white armor, but some purple could be seen in the gap that was in the middle of the chest. In its right hand, it was holding onto a GN Bazooka of a similar make to the one used by the GN-005 Gundam Virtue, but there were some slight design changes, one of which was that the bazooka itself now had its own GN Drive to power it. On top of the machine were two more bazookas, which were of a similar type used by the GN-008RE Seravee Gundam II. In addition, there are several particle vents mounted throughout its armor which allows the unit to produce a GN Field. This machine is the CB-002/GD Raphael Gundam Dominions.

Lynette was looking at the three other Gundams in awe as Setsuna smoothly guided the 00 Qan[T] into its designated berthing, and I smiled at Lynette as the cockpit's hatch opened and Setsuna allowed us to get out first.

I said four words to her… the same four words that I was told that Linda said to me and Michiko when we first arrived. "Welcome to Celestial Being."

A.N.: I would like to thank P4Nd0RaS for helping me with the editing and the suggestions. This never would have been written without his guidance, so I would like to say thank you again for all of the help you've given me!

And to those who have been waiting for the rewrite, wait no more! I think I've found my muse again and I've already got plans laid out for the next chapter!