Mecha: Return of the Pioneers

Chapter 2015 Final Program, Initiated!

"What a moving battle! The past and future selves meet in this chaotic space-time and fight for their respective ideals."

As the battle between the two Chars and Amuro intensifies, the Iron Mask, who has been integrated into the final program by MR.T, finally awakens and is moved by the battle between the two Chars.

"If I could also encounter my past self like the Commander-in-Chief, perhaps..."

After a pause, Iron Mask chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"No. Even if I could meet my past self from this era, the Iron Mask at this moment—no, Carozo Begenzon—is just a child under 10 years old. What could I possibly do if I knew the future?"

A low laugh gradually rose from beneath the iron mask, and the armored mask suddenly mustered its strength, calling with all its might for the final program to awaken.

"Yes! So what if we know the future? Now, in this chaotic era, we, who come from the future and know the future, will personally judge this chaotic era and let it be reborn, creating a brand new world for the new humanity!"

The voice of the armored mask was like a murmur, a chant, and even more like the whisper of a demon, pushing the already chilling atmosphere that sent shivers down the spines of everyone on the battlefield to its extreme.

At the moment when this chilling feeling reached its peak, many people immediately felt physically unwell.

This applies to the Federation Forces, Neo Zeon, and the Death Vanguard.

Under He Ming's control, the twelve floating shields controlled by Banshee Gundam once again became firefighters, quickly providing cover for friendly pilots who were feeling unwell, allowing them to retreat back to the mothership for treatment.

As more and more people began to feel unwell, a very strange situation seemed to emerge on the fierce battlefield.

The two sides, who were originally engaged in fierce fighting, began to cover the retreat of their own personnel who were feeling unwell, so that they could return to the mothership for treatment, and the entire battlefield gradually came to a standstill.

This situation was unexpected, yet it is also worrying.

"General, the number of our pilots who have retreated due to physical discomfort has reached over a hundred. According to the diagnosis, it seems to be due to some kind of psychological influence."

The adjutant, looking hurried, found Rebil with the diagnostic report from the medical department.

"Captain Brad, Captain Henken, Colonel Basque Om, how about you over there?"

The three people whose names were called nodded in unison.

“We’ve had similar cases here too. I’m afraid those people are behind this.”

Brad's words plunged Henken into a deep frown, and left Basque Om puzzled, yet unable to ask.

This scene already reveals the degree of closeness or distance between the three men and Rebil.

"Equip everyone with headbands as much as possible! Pilots without headbands, temporarily evacuate the battlefield! Also, how long will it take for the Prism System to fire its second round of shots?"

"Yes!"

Brad and Henken responded decisively.

But Basque Om looked conflicted.

Because the Titans' space fleet was not equipped with headbands, the only mobile suit unit equipped with headbands had already landed on Earth with Sirocco.

Therefore, in this situation, it is equivalent to the Titans' MS forces completely withdrawing from the battle.

"Damn it! What's going on? Who are those people General Rebil was talking about?" But no matter how unwilling Basque Om was, the situation of MS pilots on the front lines becoming unwell or even losing their combat capabilities could not be reversed.

After all, this was not an anomaly unilaterally caused by the Earth Federation Forces, but rather an indiscriminate attack on the entire battlefield—an attack on the mind.

"Boom!"

Just as both sides maintained an eerie calm while evacuating their wounded, the fragments of Axis wreckage, which had been destroyed by repeated bombardments, suddenly changed. As if drawn by some force, they swarmed from all directions toward the largest remaining piece of rubble, the one in which the Iron Face had disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, both sides, who were evacuating the wounded, had no time to dodge and were hit by the originally harmless rubble and debris, exploding on the spot.

"Stop those rubble!"

The quickest to react were still He Ming and his Banshee Gundam.

He Ming, who was controlling the floating shields to assist the wounded in their evacuation, noticed something was wrong immediately. He decisively smashed all the rubble and debris that swept past, saving several MS pilots in time.

Coincidentally, there was also a mobile suit pilot from Neo Zeon among them.

Sitting in Kira Doga's cockpit, the Neo Zeon pilot who had survived the attack subconsciously swallowed, but after a moment of struggle, he gritted his teeth and piloted his mobile suit toward the direction that Banshee Gundam couldn't reach, to help the Federation mobile suits there defend against the suddenly agitated debris and rubble flying everywhere.

"This is to cover friendly forces!!"

Seeing a Neo Zeon MS pilot he recognized being rescued by other Earth Federation MS pilots ahead, the Neo Zeon pilot thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the unusual movement of the rubble and debris also interrupted the fierce battle between the three.

"Char! Are you Neo Zeon so indifferent to the safety of your own people? This is indiscriminate slaughter!"

When Amuro saw that the mobile suits of the Earth Federation Forces, Neo Zeon, and Death Vanguard were all going berserk and turning into fireballs amidst the flying debris, he immediately and without hesitation piloted the F91 Gundam to turn around and rescue his allies.

The same applies to the Hyakushiki piloted by Char (Yuya).

However, unlike Amuro, he didn't utter any harsh words. Instead, he gave Nightingale a cold look and then controlled the Hundred Shiki to fly towards Lala Shin's location, leaving Char (Neo Zeon) with a slightly gloomy expression to watch as the increasingly frenzied rubble and debris streaked across the void like meteors, passing through the battlefield between the two sides, and finally crashing into the huge rubble and debris where the armored face had disappeared.

"I'm sorry, Commander-in-Chief. These were necessary casualties!"

Ironface's voice came through Nightingale's communication channel.

"No. I understand! Let's continue! This is the necessary price to pay."

Watching the Neo Zeon MS subtly join forces with the surrounding Federation MS to rescue its own pilot, Char (Neo Zeon) did not intend to reprimand them. Instead, he silently piloted Nightingale back a distance to avoid being hit by the frenzied debris.

"Let's begin! The final procedure to lead this world into the future!"

"Boom!!!"

The moment the rubble struck the Axis remnant located on the armored surface like a meteor, countless specks of dust flew up, engulfing the entire Axis remnant like a sandstorm.

Then, a pulsating sound, as if life were being revived, startled everyone.

Amidst the turbulent sandstorm, a ferocious and enormous figure appeared and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)