Penelope wove between the skyscrapers, performing an elegant roll in mid-air.
Roz Links raised the ReZEL beam rifle in his hand, once again aiming at a floor near the top of a skyscraper marked with a triangular icon.
This was the troublesome part of this medium-sized terrorist cell embedded in the Tokyo area: their three strongholds were located on different floors of different buildings.
If one failed to jam communications and execute a "decapitation" strike within a short window, at least one of the three teams would escape and eventually reorganize the branch.
However, just as Roz prepared to fire, he noticed something else.
"Civilians? Not running away, but approaching me?"
Looking at the magnified screen showing a man and a woman standing on the rooftop of a building opposite his target, holding a video camera, Roz instinctively frowned. "Do they have a death wish?!"
He guessed they were two journalists trying to get footage of a Gundam, but to be this close... should he call them brave or foolish?
At that moment, Roz saw five men with shoulder-mounted rocket launchers appear at the windows of the target building.
Although communications in the Tokyo area were completely jammed, the members of this terrorist cell had organized their own armed resistance as they prepared to evacuate. They hadn't expected Penelope to arrive so quickly.
Staring at the Penelope just a stone's throw away, they pulled the triggers on their launchers.
Roz couldn't afford to hesitate anymore. He squeezed the trigger of the ReZEL beam rifle toward the target floor.
Both sides fired almost simultaneously, but Mega Particle beams were clearly faster than rockets. Just as the rockets left their tubes, two consecutive beams sliced through the floor like a heat hawk through butter, instantly vaporizing the people and equipment inside.
As the ammunition stored at this branch was ignited by the heat of the Mega Particles, a series of violent explosions followed. Chunks of concrete were blasted outward, rainng down toward the ground.
On the streets below, people screamed and fled, dodging the shattered concrete that smashed into the pavement amidst the roar of the Minovsky Flight System and the thunder of explosions.
Seeing the five rockets flying out from the building in various directions, Roz frowned slightly and depressed the foot pedals.
As if defying gravity, Penelope's flight path formed a sharp angle as it surged upward.
The head vulcan cannons fired in rhythmic bursts. Tracer rounds traced beautiful arcs, intercepting two rockets headed in other directions. The spent casings from the cannons were ejected, clattering onto the ground—a sound that sent those who hadn't yet evacuated the street into further fits of screaming.
As the two rockets were detonated, turning into fireworks in the sky, the resulting shockwaves shattered the windows of the surrounding buildings.
The remaining three rockets struck Penelope directly. Blocked by the PS Armor, they erupted into sparks and blossoms of fire, surrounding the machine in thick smoke.
The searing heatwave from the explosions forced the two people on the nearby rooftop to stumble back several steps.
"How can this be... there was an armed organization right next to the company?"
The woman with short brown hair shielded her face with her hand to keep the wind out of her eyes, looking with surprise at the back of the Penelope standing before them.
"And that movement... was it protecting us?"
This was completely different from the somewhat cold behavioral logic she associated with Celestial Being.
But even if they were safe, they now faced another problem.
"Kinue-senpai! The camera is malfunctioning!"
At this moment, the male partner of the short-haired woman named Kinue was anxiously adjusting the camera in his hands.
But no matter how he adjusted it, under the influence of the Minovsky particles, the footage captured of Penelope was reduced to nothing but a mass of blurred, flickering error screens.
"How can this be?!"
Kinue grabbed the camera from her colleague's hands, refusing to believe it. She aimed it at Penelope once more, but no matter how she fiddled with the settings, she got the same result.
In a final stroke of bad luck, under the influence of combat-concentration Minovsky particles, the camera screen suddenly went black. No matter what Kinue did, she couldn't wake it up.
"The camera is dead..."
Staring at the ruined equipment, Kinue looked back at the Penelope.
It left no image behind, cut off all external communication, and left nothing in its wake but that eerie, echoing shriek...
"This machine... it's like a monster..."
Just as Kinue was staring at Penelope, Roz maneuvered the machine to turn around.
Even though Penelope possessed a very rigid, standard Gundam face—and its twin-eye sensors didn't move left or right like a mono-eye type—Kinue felt an inexplicable sensation that the machine was looking directly at her.
Inside the cockpit, Roz glanced at the man and woman standing dazed on the rooftop with their broken camera, then manipulated the controls to fly toward the final location.
AllMind, however, lingered for a moment, looking at the two front-line journalists with a hint of curiosity.
Roz piloted Penelope around a nearby skyscraper. At this distance, he could even see the terrified expressions of office workers who were still working overtime.
"Last location. Once this is done, I can start withdr—"
"Roz, someone's coming."
Just as Roz headed for the final point, AllMind spoke up.
AllMind's ethereal figure pointed in a specific direction. On the panoramic display, six transport planes suddenly appeared, instantly highlighted by the system.
"The UNION's reaction speed is this fast?"
Roz raised an eyebrow as he watched the transport planes deploy several black machines—units identified as Flags, similar to the ones the ReZEL squad had fought previously.
"Then let's make this quick, AllMind."
Roz pressed down slightly on the pedals. The hum of the Minovsky Flight System grew louder, and Penelope's speed picked up.
"A fight with them is inevitable. I need to clear out the last stronghold immediately and then get away from the urban area."
"...That is so like you."
AllMind smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I think I'm starting to understand why those who aren't Machine Spirits like us find themselves drawn to you."
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"I didn't expect that just rotating to the Okinawa base for environmental testing would lead to catching such a big fish..."
Inside the cockpit of a black, clearly custom-modified Flag, Graham Aker watched the blurred silhouette of the Penelope flying between the buildings and subconsciously licked his lips.
"I've finally caught up to you, Raven!"
As expected, he had a fate with Gundams. This time, he had finally encountered the real deal: the "Raven."
The sound of the Penelope's flight could already be faintly heard within his cockpit. It was truly music to his ears...
"Captain, the Raven is currently in the city. What's our move?"
At this moment, seeing the Penelope weaving through the urban landscape, a pilot operating a machine similar to Graham's current Flag asked with some concern.
"The city is directly beneath him... if possible, launch attacks from his sides or from below," Graham instantly snapped out of his personal excitement upon hearing his subordinate's question, calmly providing his tactical judgment. "Of course, it would be best to drive him toward the outskirts where he won't affect the city as much."
"FLAGFIGHTERS! Move out!"
The six black machines, formed into two squads, flew in an orderly fashion toward Tokyo below.
Graham wasn't entirely certain if he could defeat the Penelope, but now, piloting this "Union Flag Custom" tailored specifically for him, he felt he could at least bite a chunk of meat off the Penelope.
Moreover, his teammates were piloting "Over Flags," which were on par with his own and also crafted by Dr. Ralph Eifman. Even against the Penelope, Graham believed they had a fighting chance.
However, as the six machines gradually approached the Tokyo area, the previously blurred image of the Penelope began to flicker constantly on their cockpit displays, as if their cameras were being jammed.
"Tch... target visual is being interfered with. Report status." Graham frowned slightly at the sight.
"Static... over here... like... influence..."
The previously smooth communication was suddenly hit by violent interference.
The six Flags quickly transformed into mobile suit mode in mid-air, skillfully performing several tactical hand signals before flying toward the Penelope from two different directions.
Even if the Penelope had used some kind of weapon to scramble their visuals, they had already grown accustomed to using hand signals or contact-comms during their training sessions analyzed after facing Celestial Being's Gundams.
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Roz Links maneuvered the Penelope to the target location: the seventh floor of a skyscraper, a relatively low level.
Naturally, due to the two prior explosions, people inside the building were fleeing in a continuous stream, terrified that they would be the next targets.
"Big Haro, is the target group still inside the building?"
Roz looked at the building before him and questioned Big Haro on the control console.
AllMind was capable of commanding the machine and analyzing combat conditions, but asking her to hack into a building's private network was a bit much; it was better to turn to the more experienced Big Haro.
"The targets haven't evacuated yet. The building's cameras don't show the people from the database leaving, and that pile of explosives they stashed in the basement storage is still sitting there quietly."
Although Big Haro was a bit withdrawn due to its previous error in judgment—which had led to the emergence of a new Machine Spirit—it set aside its inner emotions during the operation.
"That's good then..."
Looking at the 3D structural diagram of the building sent by Big Haro, which highlighted the load-bearing pillars and stairwells, Roz took a quick aim and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The terrorists, who were still in the middle of destroying documents, were vaporized by the purple beam before they could even react. The floor tiles and concrete were shaved down to a thin layer by the intense heat.
It was another surgical strike. The building's structural integrity remained untouched, but anyone entering that floor now would behold a scene resembling hell itself.
Roz did not stop there. Instead, he raised the Penelope's left arm. A blue beam saber extended from the multi-function shield, swinging around to block a Flag that had appeared behind him at some unknown moment. He parried the plasma blade emitting from the Flag's high-frequency sonic blade.
"Yo... it's been a while, Raven."
At that moment, a voice from the ReZEL squad's combat records boomed over the public broadcast channel.
"Don't think we're just going to sit back and watch while you raid Tokyo!"
Looking at the machine before him, Graham Aker felt as if his blood were catching fire.
In contrast to Graham's euphoria, Roz frowned. He watched as the beam saber and plasma blade clashed, sending scattered particle bursts flying in all directions.
Many struck the street below, melting fire hydrants and setting trees ablaze. He even saw several stray bursts nearly hit a civilian who was fleeing the area.
Roz manipulated the Penelope to pull the blades slightly toward his own direction, bringing the Flag's weapon closer to his own chassis.
As a result, a large amount of the stray particles struck the Penelope. Thanks to its inherent armor strength reinforced by PS Armor, these scattered particles had zero effect on the Penelope.
"Hm?"
Though Graham seemed like a hothead, he realized something the moment he saw the Penelope intentionally draw the blades toward itself.
Looking at the surrounding area—riddled with damage from the stray beams—and the civilians who had yet to finish evacuating, Graham understood Roz's intent.
"Blocking the stray attacks for the civilians..."
Even though he had turned off the public broadcast, Graham laughed, feeling a surge of admiration for the "opponent" or "strong enemy" before him.
"That guy over there is so weird."
Sensing the mix of excitement and admiration in the other pilot's brainwaves, Roz was somewhat confused, but that didn't stop him from his next move.
The Penelope suddenly raised its right leg and kicked the Union Flag Custom squarely in the chest, sending the machine hurtling into the sky.
"Ugh..."
The massive, familiar impact made Graham grunt involuntarily. However, having been kicked by a ReZEL before, he had developed some resistance and was able to quickly stabilize the machine's posture.
Seeing the five other Flags closing in to surround him, Roz stepped on the pedals. The Penelope soared directly into the sky, leaving the ground below to the Flags.
The Penelope turned mid-air, its head vulcans firing rhythmic bursts. Almost mockingly, it tapped each Flag once. The armor of each unit let out a crisp clink as the rounds connected—including Graham, who had just regained control.
Then, as if leading the Flags on a chase, the Penelope maintained a speed that seemed reachable yet kept a constant distance, drawing the squad toward the outskirts.
"Leaving the urban environment where he should have the advantage, and instead leading us away to the suburbs..."
Watching the Penelope lure them away, Graham Aker understood Roz's train of thought. "I see. It's a decapitation strike, but he wants to avoid civilian casualties..."
"Raven, your sense of honor—I, Graham Aker, acknowledge it!"
Over the Flag's public broadcast channel, Graham's voice rang out. "If we had met under normal circumstances, a man of your character and I could have been friends. But this is a battlefield!"
"Different identities bring different stances. My duty demands that I take you down here!"
With that, Graham gritted his teeth and shoved the throttle forward again.
The Union Flag Custom erupted with even greater speed. The unique linear rifle in its hand fired continuously, its blue-glowing rounds striking the Penelope, only to be neutralized by the PS Armor.
If it were a light machine, the impact of these shells would be enough to knock it back, but the Penelope weighed over a hundred tons; it wasn't pushed so easily.
Seeing his attacks fail, Graham didn't give up. Instead, he docked the linear rifle onto the leg of the Custom Flag, drew his high-frequency vibration blade with his left hand, and extended the plasma edge.
The Penelope's ReZEL beam rifle also extended a blue beam blade from its muzzle. Roz banked the machine, holding the blade horizontally to precisely parry the plasma edge.
"That Graham guy on the other side... he's a very pure person," Roz remarked, his interest piqued as the cockpit was illuminated by the energy clash between the two blades.
"But we agreed to make this quick. Murrue and the others are waiting for you," AllMind said, knowing Roz's thoughts and asking a question to which she already knew the answer. "Are you really going to keep fighting them here?"
"Yeah. Precisely because I've encountered such a pure opponent, even I feel my heart racing a bit." Roz began to laugh. "I can't help but want to get a little more serious."
"Alright, alright. Who told you to be my beloved Pilot?"
Though her words sounded reluctant, AllMind's expression said otherwise. The familiar red UI interface reappeared in the cockpit, and the seat beneath him began to shift its configuration.
Under Graham's astonished gaze, the gray "seam lines" on the Penelope's body suddenly flared with a brilliant red light.
Then, the Penelope's empty left arm suddenly swung the multi-function shield on its forearm. With a standard shield thrust, it knocked Graham's Flag off balance.
A shield bash followed—a move long unused but engraved in Roz's instincts—sending the Union Flag Custom tumbling through the air.
"Ugh...!"
The violent impact forced a cry of pain from Graham, but as the Union ace, he quickly stabilized the machine's posture.
Only then did he get a direct look at the Penelope's current form. The glowing red lines across its frame made the already monstrous machine look even more menacing and eerie.
Through the glow of those lines, Graham finally caught a clear glimpse of the Penelope's face—beneath that beast-like exterior lay a perfectly "proper" Gundam face.
..................