On the battlefield between AEUG and Neo Zeon, though AEUG's Mobile Suit numbers were at a disadvantage, the Gundam Team tore through the enemy's defensive lines, steadily tipping the scales of war in AEUG's favor.
Even Haman, who had launched later to reinforce weak points, was suppressed by the combined efforts of the Zeta Gundam and the Hyaku Shiki. Kamille, encountering Funnels for the first time as a Newtype, had initially been flustered. But with Char's support, she quickly regained her rhythm and learned how to counter them within minutes.
Haman faced immense pressure against the combined assault of Kamille and Char. The other Neo Zeon pilots weren't even qualified to join this battle, having already been intercepted by forces led by the Gundam Mk-II.
While Reid lured the Psycho Gundam Mk-II toward the AEUG fleet, Haman remained at a disadvantage—her Qubeley's left shoulder armor had been destroyed by the Zeta Gundam's twin-barreled grenade launcher.
However, Kamille and Char's achievements in this battle ended there, as they soon received news of a crisis in their rear.
When Captain Bright notified the frontlines that the black-and-gold Gundam—confirmed as the true identity of the "Phantom"—had breached the rear fleet alongside Titans' colossal Mobile Suit and urgently required reinforcements, Char immediately told Kamille:
"Kamille, retreat. That Phantom's performance is extremely effective against warships. We must locate it, or no number of ships will be enough to stop it."
Kamille could already guess who was piloting the "Phantom." After all, when Haman had gone to the Argama for negotiations, Kamille, acting as her guide, had seen Reid enter the Mystic Lightning.
So Kamille quickly responded over the internal comms:
"A black-and-gold Mobile Suit? That's Reid Isaac's machine! He's the 'Phantom'?"
Honestly, Char wasn't the least bit surprised to hear Reid was the Phantom. The leader of a covert unit piloting an invisible Mobile Suit made perfect sense.
After firing a shot from his Beam Rifle to push back the Qubeley, Char urgently said:
"If it's Reid Isaac, we must return immediately. His skills are nothing to scoff at—any delay and the fleet will be lost."
Char's judgment was correct. Though Bright had ordered all ships to deploy defensive machine guns, if the Mystic Lightning could be stopped by that level of firepower, Reid might as well scrap the machine and sell it for parts.
In any universe, warship machine gun defenses inevitably have blind spots—such as in front of main cannons, directly above the bridge, or near the rear engines.
Thus, Reid only needed to drift into these blind spots and fire a single Beam Cannon shot to destroy the bridge. Though the beam would briefly reveal his position, Reid would immediately relocate after each shot, leaving the AEUG fleet helpless.
AEUG certainly wouldn't have prepared Shotgun Missiles—weapons specifically designed to counter the Mirage Colloid System and nearly useless against ordinary Mobile Suits.
By the time AEUG's ships redirected their firepower to bombard Reid's last known position, the Mystic Lightning would have long since moved elsewhere.
Moreover, the AEUG fleet was already in chaos due to the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's rampage. Rosamia Badam had gone completely berserk, using the Psycho Gundam's wired Beam Sword to slice through warships and hurl the wreckage like stones at other vessels.
Such brutality, combined with the presence of the Mystic Lightning, placed immense psychological pressure on the surviving crew of AEUG's fleet.
Because this was like encountering a serial killer on the street while knowing there was an invisible assassin lurking nearby—yet having no way to deal with the killer, unable to locate the hidden assassin, and unable to flee. All they could do was watch as the killers came one by one until it was their turn.
By the time AEUG's main Mobile Suit forces returned from the frontlines, nearly half of their fleet had already been lost. And this was only because Reid had held back, choosing not to go all out in order to preserve some of AEUG's strength.
Naturally, the returning AEUG Mobile Suits immediately searched for Reid.
Unfortunately, Reid, seeing that AEUG's frontline forces were about to return, swiftly retreated into the small asteroid belt AEUG had deployed around their fleet. After all, both Kamille and Char could sense his presence from a certain distance—the Mirage Colloid System was useless against them, and Reid's very existence would expose his location.
He chose this asteroid belt because AEUG had densely packed it with decoy balloons disguised as asteroids to prevent enemy flanking attacks. Mobile Suits entering this area would find their targeting systems malfunctioning, often leading to accidental collisions with real asteroids.
But this wasn't a problem for Reid. Finding a real asteroid, he positioned the Mystic Lightning—still cloaked by the Mirage Colloid System—just enough to peek out and observe the battlefield where AEUG was engaged.
Ironically, AEUG's decoy balloons now served as Reid's cover. Since this area was already considered outside the fleet's perimeter and at a considerable distance, no Mobile Suits would risk venturing here to search for him.
Thus, after repeatedly failing to locate Reid, the Gundam Team had no choice but to turn their attention to the Psycho Gundam Mk-II.
AEUG's Reams stood no chance against the Psycho Gundam Mk-II—it was practically a slaughter. In the time the Gundam Team had spent searching for Reid, over a dozen Mobile Suits had already been obliterated by the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's firepower.
However, as Kamille approached the Psycho Gundam Mk-II, she immediately sensed who was inside.
Unwilling to fight Rosamia Badam, she instinctively projected her psychic energy, shouting into Rosamia's mind:
"Rosamia, stop!! It's me, Kamille! Stop this now!!"
Kamille's psychic power was immense, and her voice pierced directly into Rosamia's mind. The suppressed memories of Rosamia's past began resurfacing. Inside the cockpit, she broke down—sobbing, murmuring tenderly one moment, then screaming in agony the next, like a late-stage schizophrenic.
"Kamille? Brother!... Ahhh!! Brother is dead!!... I must take revenge!! But Kamille is also brother??? AAAAAHHHH!!!"
Rosamia's anguish radiated outward, affecting everyone nearby with even the slightest psychic sensitivity.
Combined with Kamille's earlier shout—which she hadn't bothered to mute over the team comms—no one knew what to do next.
Fortunately, as Rosamia writhed in torment, the Psycho Gundam Mk-II ceased all movement, so the rest of the Gundam Team held their fire.
Seeing that her plea had worked, Kamille immediately contacted the Argama:
"Captain, please don't attack Rosamia. Give me some time—I can convince her to come out."
Rosamia had stayed on the Argama for some time, so Bright Noa recognized her. Knowing Kamille's kind-hearted nature, Bright understood that killing Rosamia now might add another scar to her war-torn, fractured psyche. Thus, he replied:
"Alright, Kamille. But if that giant MS shows any further signs of attack, we'll have to shoot it down."
Kamille immediately agreed and flew toward the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's head (the cockpit was located there—she knew this from having fought the previous Psycho Gundam). Pressing the Zeta Gundam's hand against the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's head to ensure her voice reached the cockpit, she called out:
"Yes, Rosamia, it's me, Kamille. I'm your brother. Come out of that machine. Don't stay in there any longer."
Kamille intended to coax Rosamia out, but her actions only pushed the already confused Rosamia over the edge.
Rosamia's mind was in turmoil. She couldn't comprehend why, despite having only one brother in her memories, she now recalled both a living brother and a dead one.
Having been brainwashed for so long, Rosamia's mentality was childlike. Faced with overwhelming pain and confusion, her first instinct was to flee.
So, her response to Kamille's call was:
"Kamille... Brother!! ...Ah! Stay away from me!!!"
With that, the Psycho Gundam Mk-II reactivated and began firing its MEGA Particle Cannon wildly in all directions, warning others to keep their distance. Then, with its thrusters at full power, it charged blindly in a random direction. For Rosamia, all that mattered now was escaping the Zeta Gundam, which had caused her so much pain.
Rosamia's actions startled the AEUG forces, but before they could counterattack, the Psycho Gundam Mk-II plunged headlong into a small asteroid belt.
Two unlucky warships were caught in the crossfire of the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's MEGA Particle Cannon. Though they didn't explode immediately, they began smoking and were on the verge of sinking.
As Kamille watched the Psycho Gundam Mk-II retreat, she suddenly hallucinated the spirit of GGF-001 Phoenix—her first love, the pilot of the original Psycho Gundam, who had died returning Kamille to space—appearing atop the Mk-II.
Kamille murmured, "Phoenix..." and without hesitation, transformed the Zeta Gundam into its Waverider mode, chasing after the Psycho Gundam Mk-II.
She ignored both Char and Bright's calls for her to return.
Bright sighed in exasperation. Having raised Amuro and Kamille from scratch, he was somewhat accustomed to Newtype pilots disobeying orders and acting on their own. He could only close the comms and mutter:
"Honestly, why are they all like this?!"
But after venting, Bright still had to fulfill his duties as battlefield commander. He ordered the MS unit:
"Hana, retrieve Kamille. Everyone else, sweep the fleet again. I have a feeling the ghost hasn't left yet."
Meanwhile, Reid, who had been enjoying the spectacle, found himself unexpectedly blessed by fortune.
Reid had already given up on retrieving the Psycho Gundam Mk-II. After all, this thing was only good for clearing out grunts—against true experts, it was just a target.
Moreover, piloting this Mobile Suit required mental capabilities far beyond those of an ordinary person. Essentially, only enhanced humans or Newtypes could operate it. Even Coordinators from the Cosmic Era were no exception—their slightly higher mental aptitude compared to Naturals was still nowhere near enough to control the Psycho Gundam Mk-II.
So, Reid figured it was fine to abandon this machine. His tactical objective had already been achieved anyway.
But then, the Psycho Gundam Mk-II inexplicably charged straight toward his position.
And Rosamia clearly hadn't noticed Reid. Her Mobile Suit slammed directly into the opposite side of the asteroid where Reid was hiding. The violent impact seemed to have caused a malfunction—after barely flipping over on the asteroid's surface, the machine stopped moving.
Then, Reid saw the Zeta Gundam rushing in as well.
Now, Reid could no longer hide. The moment the Zeta Gundam approached the asteroid, its pilot sensed his presence. But by then, Reid had already lost contact with the fleet due to the high-density Minovsky Particles.
Knowing he couldn't conceal himself from Kamille, Reid deactivated the Mirage Colloid System and emerged from behind the asteroid, confronting the Zeta Gundam head-on.
However, the moment Reid revealed himself, Rosamia—whose mind had barely stabilized after the crash—went berserk again. Inside the cockpit, she screamed:
"Ah! The machine that killed my brother! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
But the Psycho Gundam Mk-II was already at its limit. No matter how hard Rosamia pulled the controls, the Mobile Suit wouldn't budge.
That said, its MEGA Particle Cannon was still functional. In her frenzy, Rosamia randomly fired indiscriminately at both the Mystic Lightning and the Zeta Gundam.
Unfortunately, attacks like these had no chance of taking Reid down.
Seeing that the Psycho Gundam Mk-II still had operational weapons, Reid frowned slightly and decided to eliminate Rosamia first—to end her suffering in this life.
After dodging the MEGA Particle Cannon, he lunged straight for the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's head and drove his Thermal Blade downward.
Kamille, witnessing this, roared:
"Don't hurt Four!!"
She hurled the Zeta Gundam toward the descending blade of the Immortal Blitz. At the last moment, her Beam Saber deflected Reid's strike. However, the Mobile Suit's momentum sent it crashing face-first into the asteroid.
Kamille's desperate effort only spared Rosamia from instant death—the Thermal Blade still cleaved off a third of the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's head, exposing the spherical cockpit inside.
Just as Reid prepared to deliver a finishing blow—and perhaps seize the opportunity to take down the Zeta Gundam—
Hana arrived in her MSA-005 Methuss. Without hesitation, she opened fire on the Mystic Lightning with the Methuss' forearm-mounted Beam Rifles.
Forced to evade, Reid dodged. Though the Methuss' twin "pea shooters" were notoriously weak, they were still Beam Weapons. Reid had no intention of letting the Mystic Lightning's first damage come from a Methuss. And if a lucky shot hit a critical spot, causing him to crash, that would be downright embarrassing.
That said, Reid wasn't one to take hits without retaliation. And when it came to enemies, he didn't care if they were the story's heroine or not.
The Mystic Lightning spun around and lunged at the Methuss, Thermal Blade aimed straight for the cockpit.
Fortunately, Kamille sensed Reid's killing intent toward Hana. As if possessed by divine power, she swiftly maneuvered the Zeta Gundam's wrist, bending the arm almost backward to fire at the Mystic Lightning's rear.
Reid naturally detected Kamille's murderous intent immediately, dodging the attack with a spinning sidestep as if he had eyes on his back.
Though this prevented him from striking the Methuss's cockpit, Reid felt his hair stand on end as he saw the Zeta Gundam's body begin glowing red.
Quickly seizing the opportunity, he maneuvered the Mystic Lightning behind the Methuss and sliced it into a limbless suit with two swift strikes.
The Methuss's torso landed squarely beside the Psycho Gundam Mk-II. Reid positioned the Mystic Lightning with its left arm's blade pointed at the Methuss's cockpit and its right arm's twin beam rifle aimed at the exposed cockpit of the Psycho Gundam Mk-II.
Watching the Zeta Gundam slowly rise with its completely unscientific accumulation of soul energy, Reid transmitted via laser communication:
"Kamille, are you sure you still want to fight me now?"
Seeing the hostages in Reid's hands—both her wife and "ex-wife" (she had completely conflated Rosamia and Phoenix by now)—Kamille realized continuing the fight was pointless.
Yet she wasn't naive enough to lower her weapon. Instead, she aimed the FXA-03M2 High Mega Particle Cannon at the Mystic Lightning and responded:
"Mr. Reid, what do you want?"
Observing the red-glowing Zeta Gundam, Reid had no desire to face Kamille in this state alone. He proposed:
"Simple—you take the people, I keep the mobile suits."
Kamille found this reasonable. Two damaged mobile suits were nowhere near as important as human lives. Moreover, just as Reid could see the Lambda Driver's radiance, Kamille now perceived the Mystic Lightning surrounded by colorful light—clearly not an easy opponent. She immediately agreed:
"Deal. Mr. Reid, you lower your weapon first."
Reid merely laughed in response:
"Kamille, you're overthinking. You should disarm first—I hold the advantage here."
Gritting her teeth, Kamille dropped the Zeta Gundam's FXA-03M2 High Mega Particle Cannon to the ground.
Reid decided against deception this time. Even unarmed, Kamille in this state could ram the Zeta Gundam into him—far too risky. Better to let Paptimus Scirocco experience that trick. He retracted his heat saber accordingly.
Seeing Reid honor the agreement, Kamille's killing intent diminished significantly, and the red glow enveloping the Zeta Gundam gradually faded.
Reid then piloted his mobile suit to the Psycho Gundam Mk-II's head, using the Lambda Driver to extract the cockpit—ignoring Rosamia's furious screams inside—and handed it to the Zeta Gundam:
"Kamille, take the cockpit back directly. The woman inside is mentally unstable—I recommend sedating her first."
True to her kind nature, Kamille politely thanked Reid as she accepted the cockpit:
"Thank you, Mr. Reid. I'll take my leave now."
With that, she flew off the asteroid, clutching the cockpit in one hand and the Methuss's torso in the other.
Once the Zeta Gundam departed, Reid had the system recover the Psycho Gundam Mk-II and promptly detoured back to Neo Zeon forces.
(End of Chapter)