Roz's offensive came like a localized storm. By the time the ZAFT unit had barely managed to stabilize its posture, the Destroy Mk-II had already been reduced to scrap.
"Such swift and decisive strikes... as expected of you, Amuro!"
Watching the Dendrobium finish off the Destroy Mk-II before him, Creuset's smile grew increasingly radiant.
Yes, Amuro. At this moment, the stronger you are, the better.
Though the first half of his life had been spent in a constant struggle with Mu—like the intertwining strands of a DNA double helix—perhaps it was the selfishness born of his impending death, but now, he desired more to fight you: the person who had triggered the "Miracle of the Aurora" several times over.
"I truly want to know... since you are a transcendent being who has left Naturals far behind and even surpassed Coordinators—just what is it that makes you fight for them?"
Creuset laughed, feeling a faint, subtle sensation in his mind.
It was an emotion emanating from the Dendrobium's position—calm, gentle, yet suppressing a deep inner rage. Creuset instinctively recognized it: that was Amuro's "feeling."
To reach the threshold Amuro crossed only as I face death? My life truly is a joke.
Creuset pressed two buttons, and the four arms stored behind the ZAFT unit extended, revealing beam cannons at their fingertips.
As GENESIS and Gryps entered their cooldown phases, both sides once again dispatched massive reinforcements into this meat grinder. Because of this, many Earth Alliance wetware MS and warships had already set their sights on the ZAFT unit.
However, for Creuset, this was not a major issue.
"So you've set your sights on me... then let me show you the performance of the ZAFT unit..."
As Creuset pulled the trigger, the fingers on all six of the ZAFT unit's hands fired simultaneously, completely clearing the surrounding sector of space. Ten of those fingers swiveled to surround the Dendrobium.
Roz could only deploy the "Shield of Artemis" in front of him to block a portion of the beams. However, because the Dendrobium was simply too large, several beams still swept across the main thrusters, triggering an explosion.
A violent vibration shook the cockpit, causing Roz to instinctively check the unit's status monitors.
Due to the beam hits, parts of the Dendrobium had been destroyed, and its mobility was now somewhat reduced.
As Roz considered his next move, a ZAFT Nazca-class destroyer suddenly appeared ahead, its main guns aiming directly at the Dendrobium.
Almost instinctively, Roz maneuvered the Dendrobium to extend its beam ship-cutting sword, sweeping rapidly over the Nazca-class. The blade sliced the entire destroyer in two, turning it into a cloud of drifting debris.
Though the missile containers were spent, the two beam cannons and the remaining ship-cutting swords on the Dendrobium still posed a massive threat to the enemy.
Just as Roz prepared to loop around and resume his attack on the ZAFT unit, a frantic alarm blared within the panoramic cockpit—far more urgent than the one triggered by the Nazca-class earlier.
Densely packed missile icons appeared on the left side of the display. Roz frowned slightly; he didn't turn the Dendrobium, but maintained his forward heading. The twin machine guns on the weapon container rapidly locked onto the incoming missiles, and tracer rounds drew a dazzling chain of fire through space.
The machine gun shells accurately intercepted the thick swarm of missiles, creating a series of small blossoms of fire in the void. Roz caught a glimpse of the culprit behind the launch.
The panoramic cockpit zoomed in on the image: it was a white machine decorated with gold accents, standing atop a drone support ship that resembled a flight sub-lifter, which was continuously firing missiles.
Though Roz didn't know the name of that white machine, it clearly had ties to those Black Knights. After all, that head monitor design, which shared the same lineage as the Black Knight units, was far too distinct.
"A machine from the Kingdom of Foundation... mixed in with the Earth Alliance? No, it's ZAFT."
Roz took another look and spotted the unmistakable ZAFT styling on the warship trailing the white machine.
"Even facing such an onslaught, you still have the luxury of being distracted? Amuro!"
Creuset glanced at the missiles chasing the Dendrobium and naturally had no intention of letting the opportunity slip by.
He pressed a button on his control stick, and the five fingers of one arm suddenly launched their tips. They expanded into claw-like objects, trailing blue thruster flames and cables as they flew toward the Dendrobium.
This was an armament developed by Durandal and Creuset after seeing how the Unicorn seized control of Dragoons—a weapon meant to hijack enemy Dragoons or even the machines themselves.
Roz noticed the new markers on his screen, but currently being pursued by a multitude of missiles, he had no time to turn and deal with the newly appeared wire-guided weapons.
However, he soon realized what those wire-guided units were.
Five wire-guided units, their four-petaled arc-shaped claws expanded, utilized the ZAFT unit's massive power supply to intercept the Dendrobium at high speed. They latched onto one of the Dendrobium's weapon containers and the beam cannon in its right hand.
Seeing the hacking alerts for these two armaments flash in the panoramic cockpit, Roz's expression turned grim.
Without hesitation, he detached the links to the beam cannon and the weapon container being hacked, jettisoning both armaments.
As the Dendrobium spun, its thick beam ship-cutting sword sliced through the two discarded weapons—along with the ZAFT unit's claws that were gripping them—destroying everything in one go.
But due to the deceleration caused by this maneuver, the Dendrobium was overtaken by the swarm of missiles from behind.
The missiles detonated against the Dendrobium, and amidst the fire, dense clouds of smoke erupted, burying the machine within.
"Is he finished..."
Looking at the result, Ingrid Tradoll—who was piloting the drone support ship beneath them—breathed a slight sigh of relief from within the two-person cockpit of the white machine.
"No, not yet."
Orphee Lam Tro, sitting in the same cockpit, gripped the control sticks and stared intently at the thick cloud of smoke.
Beside their white machine, Shura sat in his specialized "Destroy" unit and looked up.
"...He's coming out."
-----------------------------------
Because it was not equipped with PS Armor and had been subjected to continuous missile bombardment, the heavily damaged Dendrobium flew out from the thick smoke trailing fire and exhaust, charging toward the ZAFT unit.
"You've reached your limit... Dendrobium."
Roz Links glanced at the data displayed in the panoramic cockpit and pursed his lips. Although he had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of the Dendrobium being destroyed, a surge of unnameable emotion welled up in his heart now that the moment had arrived.
"Thank you for your hard work... Please hold on just a bit longer to complete this final mission."
Roz looked toward the ZAFT unit not far away. "Please fly just a little bit faster. I'm counting on you."
As if responding to Roz's expectations, the battered Dendrobium underwent a final burst of strength. It erupted with speed that surpassed its limits, charging toward the ZAFT unit like a giant missile.
Perhaps the Machine Spirit of this Dendrobium knew that this mission would inevitably end in its destruction, yet it still answered Roz's call. The thick beam ship-cutting sword lifted without Roz even touching the controls, transforming into a sharp piercing spear.
"It is time to go, Roz."
"Yeah. It's our turn to launch, Unicorn."
Hearing the gentle voice of the Machine Spirit Girl in his ear, Roz gripped the control sticks tight.
"Everyone is working so hard; we cannot slack off either..."
The Machine Spirit Girl's voice rang out again. She suddenly appeared to Roz's front right, extending her hand toward him as if inviting him to a dance at a ball.
"The people residing within the psycho-frame told me of a dance... it was called a Waltz, wasn't it? I want to dance it with you here. Is that alright, Roz?"
Though she spoke of something that seemed worlds away from a battlefield, Roz understood exactly what she meant and the emotions she was expressing. This was an invitation—an invitation Roz would never refuse.
"Of course."
Roz raised his right hand, encased in his pilot suit, and lifted the hand of the Machine Spirit Girl. "You know I would never say no to you."
Following Roz's response, the Unicorn lifted its head slightly, and the psycho-frame beneath its armor glowed with a blue light.
On the wrecked Dendrobium, two small containers within the armed base were ejected forward, revealing the Unicorn's equipment housed within. As the Unicorn disengaged its locks from the Dendrobium, it broke away at a speed far exceeding its mother unit. The holy machine reappeared in this sector of space, trailing blue light.
The psycho-frame resonated, generating a blue radiance. Various armaments from the weapon containers, enveloped in blue light, detached from their racks and danced through the air around the Unicorn.
As if it had witnessed the sight it desired most, the Dendrobium—now devoid of the Unicorn's control—adjusted its heading slightly and charged relentlessly toward the ZAFT unit.
Finally, the Unicorn's armaments stopped circling. Under the wide-eyed gazes of everyone watching, these weapons, which clearly lacked thrusters yet continued to fly, automatically moved to their designated positions and completed their docking with the Unicorn.
Once the docking was finished, the Unicorn lifted its head, revealing emerald green eyes beneath its visor. A blue light pulsed from the gaps between the armaments and the machine's armor.
The Unicorn currently manifesting in this sector of space, glowing with the blue light produced by the fusion of Roz and the Machine Spirit Girl, truly deserved the title of "Full Armor Unicorn."
...................