AN: Sorry it took so long to make this, I had a lot of writer's blocks, and there was some formatting issue on my Beta's part, along with some RL stuff.

"Speech"

'Thought'

[System Message]

«"Friendly/Neutral comm"»

«"Enemy KMF Open comm"»

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.

[-St. Petersburg, Knights of St. Michael's HQ…-]

"Kuzan, how is Master Ashley doing?" A mountain of a man with a short crop of light brown hair on his head asked as he approached his comrade, who was standing across from a double-sided door.

"Still shaken up by the deaths of Lord Shaing and Johanne, I'm afraid." the rather effeminate-looking bald man replied, before looking down somberly. The other man was more…"volatile" with how he handled his grief, punching the stone wall with all his might.

"Damn those Ghosts of Hannibal!" the man roared, frustrated by not only his inability to take out even one of the human-piloted machines, but also by how he hadn't been able to save the second youngest of their squad.

"Calm down Franz, breaking your hand won't bring poor Johanne back, bless his soul…" Kuzan sighed, wondering if this situation could get any worse. Not only had they lost a teammate, but their leader had also locked himself to his chambers, screaming his lungs out, if the noise he had heard was any indication. Not to mention the new Military Advisor that had arrived on the Emperor's personal train, and if what he had heard through the grapevine was accurate, they wouldn't even get the chance to avenge the losses of Johanne, Lord Shin and Lady Jean.

"Kuzan, Franz, is Lord Ashley awake?" Turning towards the source of the voice, the two knights were able to see a young man with fair features, including black wavy hair and purple eyes, and if Kuzan was to be perfectly frank, Simon would look quite stunning in a dress, although he did look like quite the dashing knight in his uniform.

Saving his mental observations for later, Kuzan answered Simon's question. "Yes, but I'm afraid he's still…" the trio flinched as they heard a chair being thrown and shot six times, each shot accompanied by a ferocious roar of "DAMMIT!". "Quite "sore", although I thought he had already trashed the chair." Although, on second thought, that might've been a footstool.

Well, then again, Lord Ashley's personal chambers were due for a re-design, so at least he wasn't destroying something that was going to be missed.

"Well, try to get him to calm down, Lord Shin's mother and sister are requesting an audience with him." Simon reported, the faces of his brothers in arms paling slightly, an audible "Gulp" coming from Franz, while Kuzan's eyes widened to the sizes of oranges, before he took in a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Try to slow them down, Franz, fetch the bullet-proo-" Kuzan stopped as the two thick wooden doors were swung wide open, a young man with an untamed man of orange hair, dressed in a fine white and gold-accented red jacket and black pants slowly shambling through the doorway, before his head slowly turned towards the three Knights who kept quiet with baited breath, as the orange-haired man's red eyes, carrying in them not a glint of confidence or anger, but the shadows of regret and despair locked onto them.

"…I'll meet 'em in the main chamber. No matter, do NOT interfere." Was all Ashley said, before walking off with heavy, but resolute steps, leaving Kuzan, Franz and Simon standing there.

[Warsaw, Military Airport, Landing area...]

'Y'know, it's time like these that I hope that I had gotten a smaller mech.' Edgar thought as he parked the Gouf inside the aircraft carrier lent to the W-0 to carry their units, the Gouf situated at the very end of the cargo hold, sitting on the cold metal floor, leaning the machine slightly forward.

Exiting the cockpit, Edgar, now dressed in the same sharp EU dress uniform, consisting of a gold and red-accented navy blue single-breasted jacket over a white dress shirt, pants of the same color tucked into black boots that stop just short of the knees, his tie tied in a rather sloppy and inexperienced manner, walked out of the cargo hold, letting the regular soldiers do their job, strapping the Gouf in tight, and loading in the containers that held the mostly intact Alexander units, called Type 0-2s, if he remembered it right.

'I just hope that they'll get better upgrades.' Adjusting his glasses, Edgar entered the passenger area, where he saw his… well, comrades strapping in. Ryu, Yukiya and Ayano, who was certainly making the military uniform look damn good, situated in the front row seats, Yukiya and Ryo sitting on the left side of the cabin, with Ayano on the right, Leila and Akito in the two seats behind Ayano.

"The Gouf and Type 0-2s are loaded in, Commander." he reported, saluting her, this time with a bit more professionalism, if only to sell the loyal soldier image, which would be a necessary pain in the arse to deal with.

"That's good." Leila nodded, Edgar nodding in response as he moved to the row of seats behind Ryo and Yukiya, and sat down in the seat closest to the window, setting his duffel bag at his feet.

«"This is your Pilot, Gaston Polnareff. We're about to take off, so fasten your seat belts until we give the A-OK."»

'…What?' Edgar blinked as he heard the pilot's name, and thicc French accent, but ignored it as he followed the instructions and strapped in. He just hoped that their co-pilot's last name wasn't Joestar, Kujo or anything even close to that family.

He'd rather not deal with a plane crash.

[-St. Petersburg, Knights of St. Michael's HQ…-]

"Lord Ashley will see you now, miladies" The sturdy oak doors were opened, allowing the young girl wearing a dark red dress, her blond hair set in twin tails to pass, her mother, wearing a pale blue dress, following right behind her, their heels clacking in rhythm against the red carpet covering the stone floor.

'So then, this is Big Brother's subordinate...' the young lady, Alice Shaing thought as she looked at the figure sitting at the throne at the end, his head hung low, shoulders shaking, and hands clasped together, as if in prayer, or anxiousness.

"Sir Ashley, is it true that my son was _ by the European pilot known as "The Ghost of Hannibal"?" Alice's mother, Maria stepped forward,

"…I …I'm afraid I cannot say for certain milady." Ashely answered. While that damn Angel of Death controlling that red-faced Knightmare certainly had the skills to match Lord Shin, his machine had been dismembered, and the rest of his squad had taken out the other Knightmares, after they just mysteriously stopped their well-coordinated rampage.

But then again, was the machine he faced piloted by the so-called "Ghost of Hannibal", or someone else?

Both Shaing women narrowed their eyes at Ashley's answer. Maria pressed on this issue. "What do you mean you're not certain? Weren't the G-1's censors active?" While she wasn't as knowledgeable with the functions and limits of military technology as her dear friend Manfredi or her son, she did know that the G-1 had long-range sensors, meant to keep track of friendly and enemy units, using some hardware that she wasn't aware of.

"I don't know what caused it, but for some reason, the G-1 lost all signals in and around Slonim, and they weren't able to contact me until the Europeans had already taken the city." Ashley explained, mentally beating himself up for not checking his bloody radar. Perhaps if he had done so, then maybe he could've turned back and tried saving them.

Alice's eyes snapped wide as she stepped forward. "So you just left my brother there to die!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Ashley, who made no visible reaction to the accusation, his face still lowered in shame.

"Alice!" Maria said with a scolding tone, knowing that the orange-haired Knight wouldn't have done such a treacherous thing. The way the young Knight had acted around her adopted son reminded her of a young puppy following behind its loving master, similar to how her late husband had acted with Manfredi.

"No, Lady Maria, s-she is right." Ashley responded, his voice wavering as he rose from his throne. "I should have stayed by his side, ensured that he made it back to us." he continued, walking up to Lady Alice. "Should've hanged his orders to retreat, backed him and Jean up, instead of leaving them both behind!" he shouted, fists clenched and tears bubbling up at the corners of his eyes as he poured out his heart.

However, before either of the nobles could respond, the orange-haired Knight dried his eyes, and dropped down to a knee before he drew his weapon, but surprisingly, he turned it around in his hand, offering the handle towards the young lady as he looked at her, his face showing nothing but conviction, while his eyes showed grief and regret.

"And so, Lady Alice, I offer my life and loyalty as reparations for failing to protect Lord Shin."

[EU Military Cargo plane...]

"So uhh… what're you drawing?" Ayano asked, attempting to break the ice with the Britannian she'd be working with. Admittedly, she didn't remember what life was like in Japan, but she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't pissed off at the Britannians that had caused her family to leave Japan and be placed in the dirty ghettos, so she was a bit uncertain about the new guy.

But hey, he had also saved Akito, and them from that Knightmare that tore Akito's Knightmare apart, so he couldn't be all that bad, right?

"Weapons for Knightmare Frames." Edgar replied absentmindedly, his glasses having slipped down his nose. The E-Brits had the superior Grunt mech, as the blithering numpties refused to use the more advanced Alexanders, so the E.U military would need better weapons, at least until they finally took their heads out of their own asses and rolled out a Knightmare that wasn't just a mobile turret.

"Oh, so you're an engineer?" Ayano guessed.

"Not exactly." Edgar answered, brushing off the eraser dust that had accumulated.

"Well, while I'm not an engineer, schematic and blueprints-wise, I do have a knack for making weapon designs." he explained, retracting the mechanical pen's tip, as he'd rather not have the lead staining the pocket of his uniform.

"This is what I call a "Beam Katana"." Edgar said, showing a sketch of what seemed like a wakizashi to Ayano, albeit completely straight, with a big gap within its blade, along with other sketches, detailing the blade folding into the handle, or extending to a bigger length.

"Essentially, it's a single-edged version of my Gouf's Tempest Beam Sword, one that the Alexander's Yggdrasil Drive should be able to handle." he explained, figuring that if a 5th Generation Gloucester could use a Blaze Luminous shield, after flying with the gluttonous Float System, the next-gen Alexander should be able to handle a weapon that doesn't need to use some sci-fi mumbo-jumbo to constrain the solid energy, just emit it in a straight line to a receiver.

Rising from his seat, he reached over towards Leila. "How quickly do you think your tech team can adapt Gouf's tech?" he asked, handing the notebook over. Considering how their tech-bunnies had managed to add a freakin' Blaze Luminous shield onto the Alexander Liberte, which in itself was a last-minute upgrade, Edgar had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't take them long, but still, better to ask than assume.

Accepting the notebook, Leila looked over the sketches, noting how Edgar had designed a weapon for not only Ayano, but the rest of the squad, although the weapons designed to replace the "Judgement" Linear Rifles, and Yukiya's sniper rifle would take a long while to create, well, depending on how quickly Anna and her team managed to reverse-engineer the Gouf's.

"While I appreciate this, is there a particular reason why you've proposed weapons of this sort?" Leila asked with a level face and a firm tone, handing the notebook back.

"Well Commander, the fact is, not only is the E.U as whole going to need better Knightmares, but we're also going to need better weapons." Edgar stated bluntly as he sat back down. Oh sure, the Alexander might be the superior Knightmare to Sutherlands and Gloucesters, but just like the CB-Gundams, throwing enough forces would be enough to overwhelm the Alexanders, especially if-no, when a 7th-gen KMF was sent out, and if the Vercingetorix was able to just flat-out curb-stomp Akito's Alexander, not to mention the problems the Alexander Valiants had against the Ahuramazda, then the W-0 units need much more advanced weaponry to stand a chance.

And hell, that was without Lelouch directing the E-Brit forces.

"Especially since the Euro-Brits got themselves a new Military Advisor, one Julius Kingsley." Edgar added.

"Julius Kingsley? What do you know about him?" Leila asked

"Well, basically think of him as Zero, if he were the Emperor's lapdog." Edgar began his explanation, pushing his glasses up, hiding his eyes from view as he leaned onto his seat. "He's a slimy bastard, and well, while I can't say I ever talked to the git, his plan for taking down the EU will most likely be stirring the citizens into a frenzy, using terror tactics."

"For example, he could cause a black-out, possibly by utilizing a small group of soldiers that had been pre-planted into EU territory, possibly moles in the military," A certain drunk W-0 officer came to Edgar's mind. "and after everyone realizes that it ain't a regular black-out, he'd release a video explaining his goals, possibly framing it as a message from a so-called "anti-nobility" group, including a faked video of bombing a main power plant." he explained, drawing on what he saw in the OVA.

"There's no way that some fake video would cause a panic. How the hell do you even fake a bombing?" Ryo questioned. Sure, from what he had seen, the Europeans weren't exactly the brightest bunch, but how god-damn stupid would they have to be in order for them to be fooled by a video?

"You'd be surprised what can be faked with good enough 3D animation." Edgar countered, admittedly a bit amused by the fact that despite all the military might of the Holy Britannian Empire had at their disposal, it was an expertly made and rendered CGI explosion that caused the biggest amount of known damage, causing civilians to riot in the streets, calling for the blood of the nobles to be spilled, in blind fear that if they did rise up against their government, bringing back the head-chopping from the "Reign of Terror" era, they'd be saved, spared from what would've in those times been called "The Wrath of God" by everyone, the local priests no doubt detaching little Timmy from their crotches to beg for mercy and forgiveness from their so-called "God".

"Besides, he's not the only problem we might have on our hands…" he added, adjusting his glasses.

This time, it was Yukiya who reacted. "Oh great, there's more." the bomber commented in a bored tone.

Edgar sighed in response. "Aye, it ain't going ta be fun." Well, it could be fun, if he had the right weapons. "See, the Emperor saw fit to sick his newest pet mutt, Suzaku Kururugi to Kingsley. And the traitorous mutt brought his Lancelot with him." Edgar explained. Granted, he doubted that Spinny-boy would leave his charge's side, in case the two personalities started clashing, like they did when Shin asked his little ques-oh hohohohoo, that could be quite useful actually…

"Psh, how much trouble could one Knightmare cause, especially with that Goof of yours." Ryo commented.

"First off, it's Gouf." Edgar corrected his fellow Warrant Officer, slightly ticked off by the blatant disrespect towards the Mobile Suit-turned-Knightmare.

"And secondly, it's not really the machine that's the problem," After all, the Gouf could stay in the air for longer periods of time than the Lancelot, and there weren't skyscrapers to use for wall-jumping. "the real issue is the wanker controlling it." Oh sure, Spinny-boy's main plan was to recklessly charge into battle, which by itself could be handled with a well-made trap, but combine that with the specs of the Lancelot and Lelouch's hasty "Live" Geass command made him a very big problem to deal with.

If the little shit were to be confronted with a situation where his death was all but guaranteed, the bullshit command would take effect, forcing him to take the course of action that'd let him survive, any so-called morals or emotions be damned. But like all Geass commands, it wasn't an all-powerful get-out-jail-free card, as that bastard would still be killed if it was physically impossible, like crushing him under the heel of a multi-ton Knightmare, or blasting him into a charred corpse with beam weaponry.

"So yeah, we need better weapons if we want to deal with Asplund's brainchild, which mind you, is also equipped with energy weapons." Edgar summarized, deigning to leave out the eccentric scientist's equally eccentric title.

It was at this moment that Leila interjected. "While that is true, we also have the Knightly orders to handle." She knew that the Euro-Britannians wouldn't simply sit on their laurels, not after the flagship unit of one of their Knightly orders was captured.

"Aye, and with Kingsley at the helm, you can throw out any shred of honor." Edgar nodded in agreement, his left knee shaking from the sheer nervousness he felt at the thought of each one of those Grand Masters possessing a 7th Generation Knightmare of their own. Sure, at this point, the only Britannian 7th Gen machines should be the Bradford, Zetland , Lancelot and its variants, but with all the other butterflies flying about, he should expect the worst, and prepare for a field of pain, carnage, death and the loss of innocence, a true field of war, where it wouldn't be some romanticized duel of honor, but just killers struggling to survive, putting their very souls on the line as death neared ever closer, the cold steel of the Grimm Reaper's blade caressing their necks, waiting for either one of them to slip up.

Edgar was snapped out of his thoughts as the plane hit turbulence, rattling the cabin, loose objects sent flying, although that included only jackets that had been taken off, and Styrofoam cups.

«"Sorry about that, we're getting a bit of a turbulence, so please, strap in, and maybe get some sleep. Polnareff out."»

[St. Petersburg, Caesar's Palace…]

"Gentlemen, this, is truly a dark day…" A man of nobility, with finely combed brown hair, a ponytail snaking around the high collar of his white and cold accented robes, laying on the blue and gold sash attached to said robes, spoke as he addressed the three men before him.

"Not only has my dear friend, Michele Manfredi, the Grand Master of St. Michael's Knights left us, but his successor, Shin Hyuga Shaing has been killed in combat against European forces." A large man with beastly features, dressed in black and dark green robes silently scoffed at the notion, but kept his silence before his Lord.

"And with the fate of his second-in-command, Jean Rowe left uncertain, the Knights of St. Michael are left without a proper leader." While yes, there were the three Swordmasters of the Order, and the young Leader of the Ashura Strike force, they were best-suited for leading small groups, fighting on the frontlines, right beside their men, not for leading large armies, away from the frontlines.

"And so, we have assembled here today to decide who shall take over for the Knights of St-Michael."

"Leave those Ghosts of Hannibal to me, my Knights of St. Gabriel will hunt them down!" The beastly man boldly declared, rising from his seat. St. Michael's Knights had their runs, and in so, they had lost not only their Leader, but their Flagship Knightmare, so now it was time for them to step back before they dragged the names of Euro-Britannia and Grand Duke Augusta Henry Velaines through the mud any longer!

"The Knightly Order of St. Michael's are the brothers of my St. Raphael's, so this is a matter of honor to us, so I ask that you let me handle these Ghosts who've besmirched Manfredi's Knights." Andrea said, glaring at the hulking man, who only scoffed in response.

"And what kind of honor does one who'd take his own life even deserve?" The massive man snarled before turning to face his fellow Grand Master. "And besides, didn't you run away with your tail between your legs after a single unit tore through your battalion?"

The well-groomed blonde sneered, meeting the gaze of the mad hunter who dared call himself a Knight. "And I suppose you would send your men out to kill a pack of wolves with nothing but their bare hands?" He had retreated only because staying there would've done nothing but get his men unnecessarily killed.

"Tch, I guess you're too soft to get your hands dirty, instead following that fool Manfredi everywhere like a love-struck dame." the last insult was what broke the camel's back, as the blonde Grand Master jolted up from his seat, his hand reaching for his sword, a hungry smile spreading onto Gaudefroy's lips as he reached for his own.

"Gentlemen, please, this is not the time to fight amongst yourselves!" Duke Velaines stated, his booming voice freezing the two men in their place. "Andrea, I understand your desire to restore the honor of the St. Michael's Knights, but you shouldn't let yourself be possessed by this desire." he admonished before turning to address the larger man in green. "And Gaudefroy, while I do love your enthusiasm for facing the enemies of our Empire, that is no reason to badmouth your fellow Knights." He understood Gaudefroy's desire to protect his name from any slander that might come from the Noblemen and the homeland, he couldn't let him slander his fellow Grand Masters, especially when it was a matter of honor.

While the Noblemen and officers from the homeland might've forgotten the chivalric origins of their nation, HE would not let such dishonesty and corruption invade his Euro-Britannia, even if it would cost him his life.

"Now, there will be no further in-fighting, is that understood?"

"Yes, my Lord." the two men said, before sitting down, the expression on Gaudefroy's face looking like he had just eaten a ball of pure, concentrated bitterness.

Augusta nodded. "However, we still need to decide who will take over for the Knights of St. Michael… Raymond, perhaps you'd be up for it?" the Grand Duke asked, addressing the auburn-eyed old man who was dressed in flowing orange and white robes, a golden circlet around his head.

The oldest man in the room shook his head. "No, I'm quite afraid that my Order has no part in getting involved in this debate… however, perhaps a duel would be appropriate to decide this argument? Of course, if Sir Kingsley doesn't have a better idea?" The old Knight asked, addressing the young man sitting on the throne of his student and Lord, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Raymond had spent his fair time around militia men and noblemen, and during those times, he had developed a knack for being able to tell the nature of men by their mannerisms and mere presence alone, and yet, the young Military Advisor sent from the Homeland was…"intriguing" to say the least.

The young man in question, dressed in fine gold-accented black robes, his left eye covered by a silver-accented eyepatch that covered a majority of his face's left side, shook his head.

"No, a duel is quite appropriate, Sir Saint-Gilles." the young Military Advisor said, palming the symbol of his power granted to him by His Majesty, a golden scepter.

"The strongest shall get the honor and privilege of hunting down these Europeans, and the weak shall be tossed aside." he chuckled, even as a small voice locked away in the depths of the black-haired man's mind shouted out in denial, only for the voice to go unheard, and the red ring around his lone visible eye, a rich purple color go unnoticed.

AN: That's all folks! Also, DISCLAIMER: THERE WILL BE NO JOJO ELEMENTS IN THIS STORY, THE PILOT BEING NAMED POLNAREFF WAS JUST A GAG!

Alright. now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and once again, sorry it was late, but stuff happens.

Now then, to compensate, here's an omake that might get turned into a story...at some point in the timeline...

Milliardo Peacecraft, or as he was known among the United Earth Sphere Alliance's military, Zechs Merquise, the "Lightning Count" was rather suspicious when his friend, Treize Khushrenada said that he'd find the footage he had to show "Interesting".

"Well Treize, let us see how "interesting" this footage is…" the masked blonde said, as the footage started playing, on three different monitors, each one from a different Aries Mobile Suit.

[Over the skies of Canada…]

«"Man, it's boring, nothing but snow, hail and more snow."» a young soldier commented as he and two of his fellow soldiers, each piloting a grayish blue humanoid machine with thruster attached to the shoulders and hips of the machines, those thrusters keeping the multi-ton machine flying through the air, the wings of these machines, the OZ-07AMS Aries, sheared the cold winter air of Canada, out on standard patrol.

«"Ey man, don't knock it. At least boring means we'-"» The Second Aries pilot's words were cut off as static noise assaulted the ears of all three pilots.

«"What'd you-what the hell's that?!"» One of the Aries pilots exclaimed, pointing at the machine that had appeared from over a passing cloud.

It was completely different from the other Mobile Suits that had been attacking UESA bases around the globe, with a lance attached to its right shoulder and four large protrusions from its main body forming an "x" , yellowish green particles emanating from the cone-like protrusion on its back, most likely an engine of some sorts, and yet, it seemed to be the only thing giving it propulsion, as the lone thruster beneath it couldn't be enough to keep such a machine flying through air as so fluidly that if it were not for the clouds and the dark blue sky, Zechs would have thought the footage to be from space.

It was then that the Aries pilots engaged the mysterious Mobile Suit, which had failed to respond to their calls, two of the trio armed with chain-rifles opening fire. If they were lucky and managed to hit a joint, they might be able to pre-emptively take out this Mobile Suit.

'Interesting' the masked Peacecraft thought as the lone machine danced around the bullets before flying up into the clouds with little to no effort, as if it wasn't affected by gravity or wind resistance.

The OZ pilots chased after their prey, breaking through the cloud layer rather easily, but their quarry was nowhere to be seen. «"Where did he-GUARGH!"» The left-most Aries was shot down with a burst of reddish-pink beams, the beams chewing through the Aries' armor like the titanium alloy was little more than wet cardboard.

«"SHIT! SCRAMBLE! How the hell did this thing get behind us?!"» despite the Pilot's rather crass way of putting it, it was a valid question, as the Aries had given chase only a little over a second after the dark machine had disappeared into the clouds.

The Aries equipped with a missile pod circled around, opening fire as soon as his targeting system locked onto his target. However, the missiles were completely off-target, sailing past the machine as it charged towards the now panicking Aries, who was unloading his missiles with manual aiming, the dark-machine dancing around them, seemingly for no other reason than to show off, a trail of particles following behind it.

And as the Aries finally ran out of missiles and the dark machine closed the distance between the two, the Lightning Count could now see the machine's face. The four glowing purple optics staring down at the Aries served to give it an inhuman and menacing look, the fin on top of its head like a crown of a king, or the horn of a devil.

From the footage of the remaining Aries, Zechs could see that the dark machine, or "Zero-X" as he now referred to it hadn't used any beam weaponry to pierce the cockpit, using only the sharp claws on its manipulators, no doubt a horrifying experience for the young pilot of the Aries.

Seeing how his two comrades had been dispatched with ease, the lone remaining Aries decided to retreat, pushing his thrusters to their limits as the Mobile Suit dived beneath the clouds, trying to contact home base.

«"What?, Why isn't anyo-"» however, he didn't get far as he was shot down by the Zero-X, the screen turning black as the feed was cut.

«"So, what do you think?"» Asked a well-groomed man in blue aristocratic clothes, his voice carrying a sophisticated and gentlemanly tone.

"It's certainly interesting, definitely on par with the other units." Zechs answered. While he had only fought with Zero One, from the reports he had read about the other Mobile Suits that had been attacking the other bases indicated that three Aries would've been dealt with similar ease.

«"Indeed. However, this suit seems to be of a different species from them."» Zechs had to agree with Treize's assessment. Even ignoring the difference in sheer aesthetic design, the Zero-X's weaponry, or what little of it the Mobile Suit had revealed so far seemed more advanced, yet mundane than what the other units had, the Zero-X's confirmed weapons being a beam rifle, a lance of some sorts, and its claws.

In fact, the whole machine seemed more less flashy than the five other units. No beam scythe, no overwhelming firepower spewing out of guns, no dragon for an arm, no secondary form to transform into. Zechs was honestly rather disappointed by it, to be honest.

«"And then there are its other features, like its invisibility on our radars, and how communication around it was cut completely."» Treize said as comm data appeared on the screen, detailing how the Aries had sent out SOS signals, and yet no satellites or nearby bases had picked it up.

"You think it's employing an advanced version of Zero Two's stealth system?" Zechs questioned as he looked at the data, also taking note that the Aries' targeting system had been working, but it seemingly had lost the Zero-X for a moment, instead locking onto where it had first locked onto, instead of tracking where the dark Mobile Suit went.

«"Possibly. Although that is merely a hypothesis that we can't prove without obtaining both machines."» The Lightning Count's friend answered, before he smiled at the masked blonde. «"So, what do you say? Think you're up for a little hunt?"» he asked, albeit just for confirmation.

After a solid minute of silence, the masked man finally said;

"…I can hardly wait." A smile was on his face as he looked at the hunched-over form of the still-incomplete white Mobile suit.

[-Somewhere over the North Atlantic Ocean…-]

"Haaaaaaagh, Jesus fuckin' Christ that was insane." The pilot of the "Zero-X" sighed as he slouched in the cockpit seat. He could literally hear his heart beating in his chest as he fought against the inferior Aries. Oh sure, the mass-production MS' were definitely inferior to the Advanced GN-X, but didn't mean shit when the pilots were far more advanced, and the only reasons he won was because the A-GN-X was SO much better than them, armament and defense-wise.

Hell, he was damn sure that even the Original GN-X's would've made short work of the Aries, even with a GN Drive Tau, but an Advanced one equipped with a proper GN Drive? Talk about overkill…

'No, don't get too cocky, even a giant can be felled with enough troops.' the young man thought to himself as his A-GN-X flew through the moonlit sky. He'd need allies, and since joining up with OZ was a big no-no, his only option were the Gundam Pilots. Although that left the question of which one of them he should approach first and how? Approaching either Heero or Trowa would be troublesome, as the assassin would no doubt consider him and his A-GN-X a threat to be eliminated, while the clown was constantly on the move.

Wu-Fei had a similar problem, but he was also, arguably, the smartest of the five, as he caught onto Treize's scheme before the others did. The self-proclaimed "God of Death" would also be a tricky, potentially fatal choice, considering how he seemed to have no quarrels about turning the Gundam of his fellow pilot into spare parts.

No, ultimately, his best choice would be Quatre, as not only was the boy more of a pacifist, unlikely to attack him if their Mobile Suits met, but he also had resources, ones he could exploit. Although, there was also a chance of the boy's personal army considering him and his MS to be a threat to be eliminated.

However, the pilot was snapped out of his thoughts as the A-GN-X's radar picked up on a fast-moving projectile heading straight for him. Cursing, the pilot fired up the enlarged GN Verniers to dash above the projectile's flight path, while turning his suit around, beam rifle swinging around to meet the attacker.

"Shit." the pilot frowned as he saw exactly who had attacked him. Speak of death's messenger boy, and he shall be a nuisance.

«"Oh, you're good, aren't ya. Then again, ya wouldn't be a target if ya were taken out that easily."» the annoyingly grating voice of Duo Maxwell came from the equally unmistakable edgelord of Gundams, XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe, Endless Waltz version, igniting its beam scythe before it charged at him.

«"So, then, Professor G has deemed me a target to be eliminated?"» the young man questioned as he backed away from the advancing Gundam, beam rifle forcing the scythe-wielder to slow his charge to dodge the beams. While killing the boy wasn't his intention, he wasn't going to roll over and die like some filthy dog, he'd disable the Deathscythe, shoot out its legs and leave it in the sea for Howard and his Sweeper Group to pick up… or at least try that, as there was no guarantee that the Gundam wouldn't blow up.

Regardless, he'd need to do this fast, lest the other Gundam pilots appeared with the orders to kill him, or rather, to destroy his machine. Deathscythe he could probably handle, but all five Gundams? Hell no.

«"None of ya business!"» Duo replied, the darkly-colored Gundam flying around like pinball as it danced around the GN beams, slowly closing the distance between him and the weird-looking machine he had been given orders to capture.

«"I'm afraid it IS my business, you little shit!"» the young man shouted back, his eyes struggling to keep up with the Gundam as it moved around, as A-GN-X's sensors weren't of much help due to the reaper-like mobile suits stealth systems, just barely able to keep track of it.

'Alright Roy, think dammit! This game of cat and mouse won't last forever, he'll eventually catch me.' Roy thought to himself, trying to think of a way to escape this deadlock. The Deathscythe was an infiltration Mobile Suit with shitty ranged weapons, its main weapon being its beam scythe, but due to its stealth systems, he couldn't lock onto it, and Duo was too experienced to be shot down by his slightly below average marksmanship.

«"Where the heck did ya even get that Mobile Suit? It's got shit for aiming!"» Duo taunted, only for a stray beam to graze the rousette wings on the Deathscythe's back.

«"…You were saying something?" Roy asked, a smug smile on his face as he switched out his beam rifle for his GN Lance, charging towards the Gundam.

«"S-Shut up ya bastard!"» Duo shouted, charging to meet the charging mobile suit.

However, as the suits neared one another, Roy smirked within his cockpit. "Gotcha." he said, as the GN Lance fired, blowing out Deathscythe's right arm, the Gundam's namesake weapon plummeting into the ocean along with it.

«"Now then, about my previous question…"» Roy trailed off, jabbing the very tip of his GN Lance into the cockpit hatch of the Gundam, the Gundanium offering little resistance as the threat was made clear.

Alright, and now to cut things short, here are the questions of the chapter:

Q1: How do you think the war between Euro-Britannia and EU will go, now that Shin isn't alive to pull his coup, and the Europeans have a proper Knightmare to copy from?

Q2: Out of the two Knightly Orders who expressed a desire to fight against the W-O squad, which one do you want to get the honor of doing so? [DISCLAIMER: The results of this Question will not affect the outcome of the duel.]