The corridor outside the briefing room grew quiet after Tomoya left.
Inside, Char Aznable remained still, arms folded, eyes half-closed in thought.
Tomoya's question lingered in his mind.
A first battle… and no nausea, no shaking, no hesitation.
Char had seen many rookie pilots. Most vomited the moment the cockpit opened. Others froze during combat and never fired another shot.
Tomoya had done neither.
He fought well.
Too well.
Char frowned slightly.
Either he has an unusually strong mind…
Or something in him had already shut off.
Char exhaled slowly. Digging further right now would only make things worse. If Tomoya began questioning himself too deeply, he might break.
And a broken pilot was useless.
For now, Tomoya Aki was an effective soldier.
Whether that efficiency came from courage—or from becoming something colder—was a question for another day.
Char pushed himself away from the console and left the room.
He eventually reached the command chamber where Lelouch Von Zehrtfeld stood reviewing reports from the Earth theater.
Data scrolled across multiple holographic displays: destroyed bases in Asia, Union Flag sightings, Zeon advance routes.
Lelouch glanced up as Char entered.
"What happened in space?" he asked calmly.
Char removed his gloves.
"It's under control. We pushed the Federation forces back."
He paused before adding with mild irritation,
"Unfortunately my Great Zeong is still under repair from the Luna II engagement."
Lelouch nodded.
"Everything has a price. At least you survived."
He gestured toward another report.
"Griveous is still repairing his Elmeth as well. Once both of you are operational again, you'll hold the Federation space fleet."
Char raised an eyebrow.
"And Earth?"
Lelouch switched the map.
Two names appeared on the display.
Anavel Gato.
Shin Matsunaga.
"They will lead the remaining ground assault forces."
Char studied the screen, unimpressed.
"You sound very confident in this plan," he said slowly. "But you still haven't explained how we leave once the Federation regroups."
Lelouch looked at him with calm certainty.
"I never planned to escape with an army this large."
Char fell silent.
For a moment he simply stared at Lelouch, trying to decipher the meaning behind those words.
Then Lelouch closed the tactical display and turned toward the exit.
Char spoke again.
"Where are you going?"
Lelouch didn't even slow his pace.
"To find our next hiding place."
The door slid open and shut behind him.
Char remained in the room, eyes narrowing slightly.
If Lelouch didn't intend to escape with the army…
Then the real question was obvious.
Who exactly did Lelouch intend to leave behind?
The cafeteria was unusually quiet.
Most pilots were either in maintenance briefings or resting after the recent engagements. The low hum of the ship's engines filled the silence as Char Aznable stepped inside.
He ordered nothing. He simply wanted a moment to think.
Lelouch's words echoed in his mind.
I never planned to escape with an army this large.
Char knew strategies. He understood sacrifice, feints, and layered operations. But Lelouch's thinking always seemed to operate two or three levels deeper than most commanders.
So what piece of the board is he planning to discard?
As he walked past the tables, his eyes stopped on a familiar figure.
A young girl with bright red hair sat alone, casually eating as if she were in a school cafeteria instead of a warship in orbit.
Char recognized her immediately.
The pilot everyone called Machu.
Her real name… he wasn't entirely sure. Even the records were vague. But everyone aboard knew one thing: she piloted a Gundam unlike any Zeon machine.
Char approached her table.
"Hello there, Machu."
She looked up, mid-bite, chewing a piece of meat. Recognition lit her face.
"Ahh—Char."
She finished chewing quickly and swallowed.
"How are you?" she asked casually. "And aren't you supposed to be watching the space front?"
Char gave a faint smile.
"Even soldiers need rest."
He leaned slightly against the table.
"I actually wanted to ask you something."
Machu tilted her head.
"What?"
"Your Gundam," Char said. "Did you design it yourself?"
For a brief moment, Machu's expression shifted—just slightly.
Then she shrugged.
"It's a Zeon secret project," she said quickly. "Based on Gundam technology."
Char immediately knew it was a lie.
The hesitation had been too obvious.
But he didn't press further.
Instead, Machu wiped her hands and looked back at him.
"By the way," she said, "how's Lalah doing?"
Char blinked.
"…Who?"
Machu stared at him.
The look on her face said clearly: you're joking, right?
"You mean you don't know?" she asked.
Char shook his head.
"No. Should I?"
The confusion on Machu's face deepened.
"You really don't know her?"
"I'm afraid not."
For a few seconds, Machu simply looked at him as if trying to solve a puzzle that suddenly made no sense.
Then she abruptly stood up.
"I… uh… need to go."
Without another word, she hurried out of the cafeteria.
Char remained where he was.
Confused.
"Lalah…" he muttered quietly.
The name meant nothing to him.
And yet…
For some reason, hearing it left behind a strange feeling.
Like remembering something important that had never actually happened.
Char frowned slightly.
"…Why does it feel like I've forgotten someone I've never met?"
Just outside the cafeteria, the door slid shut behind Machu with a soft metallic click.
She slowed her steps.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Why doesn't Char know Lalah?"
She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to sort the thoughts rushing through her head.
In every version of the story she remembered—every timeline, every retelling—Char and Lalah were inseparable once they met. Their connection was very deep from memory she watch from Shuji memory.
Yet the Char she had just spoken to looked genuinely confused.
Not pretending.
Not hiding it.
He truly didn't know the name.
Machu rubbed her forehead.
"Did I end up in a timeline where Char never met her…?"
Then another thought hit her.
Her eyes widened.
"Rose of Sharon".
Zeon still had Rose of Sharon or the Elmeth mobile armor. She had seen it in the hangar herself.
But the pilot…
A chill ran down her spine.
"The pilot wasn't Lalah."
Instead of the quiet, mysterious girl Machu remembered from the world she met. the cockpit had contained something else entirely.
A strange pilot—almost mechanical in presence. Cold. Expressionless. More like an android than a human being.
Machu had ignored the detail earlier because the war had been moving too fast.
Now the realization hit her all at once.
"Wait… that means…"
She slowly straightened.
"If Elmeth exists but Lalah doesn't…"
Her head started to hurt.
"This isn't just a slightly different timeline."
Zeon and the Federation weren't following the history she know at all.
"This world is completely different…"
For a moment Machu stared down the hallway, trying to steady herself.
"Is this a timeline where Zeon and the Federation actually reach a draw…?"
The thought made her even more uneasy.
If the future was different, then none of the events she knew were guaranteed anymore.
Her headache grew worse.
"Great… now the i even don't know what Will happen the knowledge itself is no use."
But one thing still bothered her.
If Lalah wasn't the Elmeth pilot, then who chose the replacement?
And why?
Only one person on this ship might know the answer.
Griveous.
He was the current Elmeth pilot.
If anyone knew why Zeon selected him instead of Lalah, it would be him.
Machu pushed herself off the wall and started walking down the corridor again.
"I need answers."
Because if this world really had erased Lalah…
Then the future of the war—and of Char Aznable—had already changed far more than anyone realized.