The jungle burned with every exchange. Explosions shook the ground, black smoke curling into the air as the Apsalus unleashed another thunderous blast. The earth itself cracked, rivers boiling under the cannon's heat. The Federation attack force had already been shattered. Their ranks were scattered, command structure crippled, yet still they fought, clinging to the hope that the Gundam might turn the tide.
Amuro Ray felt that weight pressing on his shoulders with every motion of the controls. His Gundam moved like an extension of his body, the machine's white frame gleaming amid the smoke. He cut through Zaku after Zaku, beam saber swinging with clinical precision. His heart hammered in his chest, yet his mind was strangely calm, clarity shining through the storm.
"Amuro!" Bright's voice pierced through the comms, urgent and strained. "We can't hold this line if that weapon keeps firing. Stop the Apsalus at all costs!"
"I'll try!" Amuro shouted back, even as his eyes narrowed. There was no straight path forward. Too many enemies. Too much fire. And somewhere in the chaos, a presence pressed against his senses — sharp, fierce, unyielding.
Then she came. Tanya von Zehrtfeld descended from above, the Flight-Type Gouf shrieking through the air like a predator. Her heat rod lashed down at impossible speed. Amuro barely caught it with his saber, sparks screaming across the night sky.
Their eyes locked for the first time through glowing screens and crackling comms.
"So," Tanya said, her voice low and venomous. "The Federation's ace."
Amuro's reply was cold, steady. "If you're standing between me and that thing, I'll cut you down."
The Gouf lunged, sword slashing with furious precision. The Gundam blocked, their weapons meeting in a shower of sparks. Tanya pressed harder, her voice rising with anger. "You think this is just another fight? You don't know the price of war, boy!"
Amuro grunted, twisting his controls to deflect her next strike. "I know enough to see what you're doing. That machine—your Apsalus—it's killing everyone, even your own!"
"He's… not my Apsalus," Tanya spat, rage boiling in her throat. "But it doesn't matter. Zeon's dream is worth more than your judgment."
The battle raged between them. Tanya darted on her thrusters, circling fast, her heat rod snapping from unpredictable angles. Amuro countered each strike with uncanny timing, the Gundam's saber flashing arcs of green light. Something deep inside guided his hands, a rhythm he barely understood, as though he could sense where her blade would come before it moved.
"Damn you!" Tanya hissed, sparks flying as her sword clanged off his shield. "What are you? No one reacts like this!"
"I'm just a pilot who doesn't want to die," Amuro said, though even as the words left his lips, he wasn't sure they were true. His vision blurred for an instant, lines of motion painting themselves across his awareness, showing him every strike before it landed.
The Gouf's whip lashed again. Amuro swung upward, severing it in one clean stroke. The weapon fell smoking into the jungle below. Tanya snarled, surging forward with her heat sword. The Gundam's saber intercepted the blow, driving her back.
In the distance, the Apsalus fired. Its beam tore through the earth like the wrath of a god, vaporizing tanks and mobile suits alike. The shockwave rocked the duel, both pilots straining to keep control. Tanya cursed aloud, "That lunatic! He'll kill us all before the Federation even falls."
"Then why fight for him?" Amuro demanded, pressing forward. His saber carved into her shoulder armor, slagging it into molten ruin.
"Because I don't have a choice!" she roared. Her Gouf whirled, the blade slamming into the Gundam's shield, cleaving deep grooves into its surface. "Because retreat isn't in my blood!"
Amuro exhaled sharply, pressing harder. The Gundam's movements were relentless, each strike faster, more precise, as if guided by something beyond human reflex. Tanya's machine staggered back under the pressure. Her thrusters flared desperately, trying to keep pace.
Her breath came ragged, sweat streaking down her face beneath the helmet. But her pride refused to break. "Zeon doesn't yield! And neither will I!"
Amuro's saber lashed upward, cutting clean through the Gouf's right arm. The heat sword tumbled away, glowing orange as it melted into the jungle floor. Tanya's cockpit rattled violently, alarms blaring in her ears.
Still she screamed at him, spitting defiance. "I won't eject! You'll have to kill me to stop me!"
Amuro's grip tightened on his saber. His breathing grew shallow, his heart racing. For a fleeting second, he hesitated. Her voice was not empty. It was the roar of someone who had lost too much to surrender.
The battlefield groaned around them, fire and smoke choking the sky. The Apsalus charged another shot, its cannon glowing ominously as it targeted White Base. Amuro's eyes flicked to the monster, then back to Tanya's crippled Gouf.
The clash paused. Both aces stared across the ruined jungle, their machines battered, weapons ready but uncertain. Tanya's machine limped, smoke trailing from shattered thrusters. Amuro's Gundam stood tall, but its shield was cracked, its pilot drained.
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then Tanya growled into the comms, "You'll never understand what it means to fight for survival."
Amuro's reply was softer, almost tired. "Maybe not. But I understand what it means to fight to protect."
The Gundam raised its saber once more, but his hand trembled. Something inside him recoiled from cutting her down. Something told him the battle wasn't just about survival anymore — it was about understanding, about something he couldn't yet name.
The ground quaked. The Apsalus fired again, a beam tearing through the Federation's rear lines, reducing tanks and men to glowing ash. The blast lit the night in violent brilliance. White Base groaned as its hull was seared, alarms wailing.
Both Tanya and Amuro turned their heads in unison, caught in the glare of the apocalypse. For that instant, they weren't enemies, just two souls witnessing madness too great to comprehend.
The silence broke as another Zaku squad surged in, screaming their loyalty to Zeon. Federation GMs countered, firing wildly in disarray. The battlefield swallowed them both back into chaos.
Amuro steadied his breath, focusing once more. Tanya's voice cut through, ragged but fierce. "I'll fight you until this Gouf burns down to the frame!"
"Then I'll stop you before that happens," Amuro said, determination hardening his voice.
The Gundam lunged forward. The Gouf staggered to meet it.
And the Southeast Asian jungle became their arena, a clash of pride and survival, even as the world around them collapsed under the fury of the Apsalus.