The entire battlefield had become chaotic. Setsuna and his companions were cut off from each other, and he found himself besieged by two Gadessas and one Galezo. In close-quarters combat, he was suppressed by the Galezo; if he tried to pull back and fire from a distance, he was either blocked by the Galezo's GN Field or interrupted first by the Gadessas' Beam Vulcans or MEGA Launchers.
"Dammit!"
Setsuna was in a dire situation. For the sake of his awakening, the OO Gundam's two GN Drives had been kept in a parallel connection. The docking with the support fighter had been scrapped in favor of an integrated backpack design. Because Setsuna was only a hair's breadth away from a complete awakening, and because he was someone who had always wanted to "become Gundam," he had successfully activated the Twin Drive system even as a Quasi-Innovator.
However, because he was only a Quasi-Innovator, the operation of the Twin Drive system was extremely unstable. It was essentially stuck at 80%, the lower limit of its operational range, which severely restricted the Mobile Suit's performance.
At the same time, facing three enemies at once while his machine's performance was suppressed, plus the threat of suicide attacks from the Gags, were not even the primary issues.
As a Quasi-Innovator, he could not control his Brain Quantum Waves. Being in an environment with high concentrations of GN Particles, Setsuna was constantly trapped in a "giant chat room." Just like Yang Hui at the very beginning, he couldn't speak to others, but the emotions of others were forced into his mind at every moment.
The battle was fierce. Everyone was on the brink of life and death, and their minds were filled with negative emotions: anxiety, anger, resentment, despair... they all flooded into Setsuna's brain, echoing through his mind.
"These voices..."
"No! Ahhh!!"
"Leon!"
"Captain! I can't hold them back!"
"Misha!"
"Mikazuki! Don't worry about me, go save Sino!"
"Akihiro, Mikazuki, Sino!"
...
Setsuna's mind was not muddled by this countless noise; instead, he could feel with absolute clarity that his companions were in increasing danger. Their lives were slowly fading away.
"This kind of thing... I won't allow it!!"
Under the impact of the tidal wave of negative emotions, fueled by Setsuna's refusal to give up and his concern for his comrades, the key in the lock finally turned. With a "click," the shackles were opened. The flickering iridescent light in his eyes became incomparably brilliant, and a red beam swept across Setsuna's vision.
Trans-AM Burst. A special system hidden within the OO Gundam, equipped only on this unit, saw its seal broken at this moment.
Hummmm—
The rotation speed of the GN Drives grew faster and faster as the OO Gundam activated the Trans-Am system. The infinity symbol formed by GN Particles expanded outward, then surged like a tidal wave. Wave after wave of iridescent tides struck the Gadessas and the Galezo. Though the waves carried no physical force, they forced the enemies back. Even the Gags wandering nearby suddenly had their movements thrown into disarray. Clones that were supposed to be devoid of emotion showed expressions of pain at this moment.
The harmless waves of GN Particles formed rainbows that circled through space, quickly filling the entire battlefield and enveloping everyone, painting a strange and beautiful picture across the cosmos.
...
The Demon Angel Gundam was entangled by a massive transformable MA. High-output Beam Cannons could bend and fold under the influence of GN Particles, GN Fangs surrounded it on all sides, and the Engna Whips on both claws watched like predators. If caught, it would be subjected to high-intensity electrical attacks.
Of course, this wasn't the main reason Allelujah was hesitating and failing to fight back. The primary reason was...
"Marie! You're in there, aren't you? Marie!"
Allelujah could sense Soma Peries' Brain Quantum Waves coming from the massive transformable MA, the Triumphal Form.
"Dammit!"
Allelujah never imagined that Soma Peries—whom Celestial Being's intelligence network had failed to find despite their best efforts—would appear before him like this. No matter how much he called out, the other party remained silent, ignoring him completely.
Allelujah immediately realized that Soma Peries must have been captured and controlled by the Innovators, perhaps even brainwashed. That was why she ignored his calls and kept trying to kill him.
Allelujah wanted to rescue Soma Peries and take her back to the Rainbow Ship for examination and treatment. The Rainbow Ship used medical pods produced by Prometheus Fortress, which could heal any injury or illness.
But he didn't dare to act, fearing he might hurt Soma Peries.
"Don't be so timid, Allelujah!" At that moment, Hallelujah's voice rang out in his mind.
"Hallelujah!"
"Hurry up and save Marie!"
"But..."
"Are you just going to wait to be killed by her? And then let her continue to be controlled by those Innovator bastards!?"
"No... I can't!"
Despite his words, Allelujah still didn't dare to strike. Even when he fired, he only intercepted incoming GN Fangs and missiles, not daring to attack the main body of the Triumphal Form.
"So much chattering! Let me do it!" Hallelujah couldn't take it anymore and tried to take over the body, but Allelujah suppressed him firmly. Hallelujah loved Marie just as much as Allelujah did, but his methods were more aggressive and wild, and Allelujah worried about Marie getting hurt.
It was at this moment that the iridescent waves surged over, covering both the Demon Angel Gundam and the Triumphal Form.
"What's happening? That's... Setsuna!" Looking toward the core of the bursting radiance, Allelujah saw an angel spreading wings like a celestial being, shedding light upon the world.
"Don't get distracted, Allelujah!"
"Hallelujah!"
"Just keep your eyes on Marie!"
"Right! Marie... Marie!" Reminded by Hallelujah, Allelujah shifted his gaze back to the Triumphal Form and found that it had stopped all attacks. Even the GN Fangs were scattered around, motionless, while the Mobile Suit itself was twitching violently.
"Alle... lujah... Al... lelujah..."
"Marie!" Broken cries of pain reached his mind. Allelujah could tell it was Marie's voice. He immediately flew over and forcibly pried open the cockpit door of the Triumphal Form. Inside, he saw A01 clutching her head in agony. Without suspecting a trap, Allelujah immediately removed her mask, revealing Soma Peries' pretty face. It was distorted by pain, and she held her head as if it were about to split open. In her eyes, iridescent light swirled, exactly like an Innovator.
"Marie! Are you alright? Marie!"
"Stop dawdling! Get Marie back for treatment!" Hallelujah was equally worried, urging him frantically.
"Yeah, I'm taking her back now. Marie, hang on!" Allelujah quickly picked up Soma Peries and sat back in the Demon Angel Gundam, then transformed into flight mode. Evading the stray Gags along the way, he returned to the Rainbow Ship.
...
"This light! Setsuna has awakened!" Seeing this, Tieria was first surprised, then revealed a gratified smile. "Such pure GN Particles... as expected of the hope Yang Hui chose."
In truth, Tieria had always felt a lingering dissatisfaction. He could also use the Twin Drive system freely, and he was an Innovator; why couldn't he shoulder the heavy responsibility regarding the ELS?
Even if he couldn't do it, what about Yang Hui? Yang Hui was the first Pure Innovator awakened from a normal human. Why did Yang Hui feel he couldn't compare to Setsuna?
Now... he understood. It was precisely because of Setsuna's pure thoughts. Only he was qualified to represent humanity in dialogue with an extraterrestrial civilization. Only his purity could achieve mutual understanding between two civilizations.
At this moment, Tieria also understood the true meaning of his own birth: "An existence that promotes and guides Innovators... I am... an Innovator-Promoter! Setsuna has awakened. To prepare for the coming dialogue—Innovators, GN Drives—only the last of the three major elements remains!"
Taking advantage of the enemies' disorientation, the twin claws on the back of the Raphael detached, seizing two Gadessas and crushing them. Then, the Beam Cannons erupted, clearing a path—a path leading to VEDA.
...
"Ugh~ my Brain Quantum Waves are being interfered with!" Healing Care, who had been surrounding the OO Gundam, clutched his head in pain. He wasn't the only one; every Innovator on the field was the same.
"It's that Gundam! If we have that Gundam, we can also..." Revive Revival attributed everything to the OO Gundam itself, remaining arrogant.
"It's more than just that."
At that moment, a voice familiar to all Innovators, yet one that should not have appeared again, rang out in their minds.
"Regene Regetta!?"
"A Pure Innovator's Brain Quantum Waves paired with the Twin Drive system... the refined GN Particles will expand people's consciousness. Still so pure, an existence that exists entirely for 'dialogue.' You have completely finished your evolution, Setsuna F Seiei! You are... the true Innovator!"
"Regene Regetta? How is this possible!? How could you..." The same words were naturally heard by Ribbons, who was in front of the VEDA mainframes preparing to complete the final step. He wasn't surprised that Regene was alive, but rather that Regene had reached the realm he desired before him.
"I told you, Ribbons. You understand nothing, so your goal could never be achieved," Regene Regetta said to Ribbons once more, his voice filled with sarcasm and contempt.
"What did you say!?"
"You've always wanted to connect your consciousness to VEDA, to merge yourself completely with it so you could achieve eternal life by constantly switching biological terminals. But you could never do it. Haven't you ever wondered why? Was it your status as an Artificial Innovator? Was it the GN Particles? Was it the Original Solar Furnaces? Was it the Twin Drive system? It was none of those. It's because... the control of VEDA was never truly in your hands."
"That's impossible! Aeolia Schenberg is dead! Besides me having Level 7 clearance, who else could control VEDA!?"
"Of course there is someone, Ribbons. It's just that your arrogance made you unwilling to remember. Isn't that right, Father?"
"Father...!?" Hearing this, Ribbons' pupils constricted as the connection between VEDA's mainframes and him was completely severed. The figure he had once chased, and who was also his nightmare, appeared before him. "Aeolia... Schenberg!"
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