The battlefield fractured around them.
Helix units broke formation—not in retreat, but in recalculation. The arrival of the unknown Gundam had disrupted their predictive models just enough to create instability.
For the first time…
Helix hesitated.
---
Leon didn't.
The Aegis surged forward, thrusters screaming as he pushed past safe limits. Warning lights flared across his cockpit, but he ignored them.
The Helix super-weapon's core filled his vision.
**Twenty seconds.**
Behind him, explosions rippled through the battlefield.
The unknown Gundam moved like a phantom.
White armor.
Sharp, angular frame.
A beam rifle that fired with impossible precision—each shot disabling a Helix unit in a single strike.
Then it shifted again.
The machine transformed mid-combat, its structure reconfiguring into a high-speed form that cut through space like a blade.
Leon's mind raced.
*Transforming mobile suit… high mobility… precision shooting…*
There was only one possibility.
---
Across the battlefield, **Flit Asuno** narrowed his eyes inside the cockpit of the AGE Gundam.
"Enemy movement patterns… they're adapting again," he muttered.
The AGE Device glowed faintly beside him, feeding real-time combat data into his systems.
Then—
A new signal registered.
Another Gundam.
Fighting directly toward the enemy's core.
Flit's gaze sharpened.
"…So you're the other one."
No hesitation.
He changed vectors instantly.
---
Variable Two intercepted him.
The Helix elite unit streaked forward, remote weapons deploying in a wide arc.
"Unidentified Gundam," Variable Two transmitted. "You are not in the dataset."
Flit didn't respond.
He fired.
A perfect shot.
One of the remote weapons exploded instantly.
Variable Two twisted, surprised—but recovered immediately, launching a barrage of counterattacks.
Flit dodged with razor precision, movements clean, efficient.
Not instinct.
Calculation.
"Combat style differs from Candidate Prime," Variable Two noted. "You rely on prediction."
Flit's eyes hardened.
"I rely on results."
He transformed again, slipping past the attack pattern and striking directly at Variable Two's flank. Sparks erupted as his beam saber grazed the Helix unit's armor.
Variable Two pulled back.
For the first time—
He was being challenged from a different angle.
---
Meanwhile—
Leon reached the core.
The energy sphere pulsed violently, its light washing over Aegis' cockpit in blinding waves.
**Ten seconds.**
He raised his beam saber—
—and stopped.
The energy field surrounding the core wasn't stable.
If he struck it directly…
It could detonate outward.
And take Hestia Colony with it.
"…Damn it," Leon muttered.
He needed control.
Precision.
Not brute force.
Behind him, the battle intensified.
Flit and Variable Two clashed at blinding speed, their duel spiraling closer to the core.
Flit's voice cut across open comms for the first time.
"Don't hit it."
Leon blinked.
"…You're?"
"No time," Flit snapped. "That core's unstable. If you rupture it, the energy discharge will hit the colony."
Leon's grip tightened.
"You have a better idea?"
A brief pause.
Then—
"Yes."
---
Flit accelerated toward him.
Variable Two followed instantly.
"Both targets converging," the Helix pilot observed. "Optimal."
Leon adjusted his position, keeping distance from the core.
Flit arrived beside him—close enough for their machines to register each other clearly for the first time.
Two Gundams.
Side by side.
For a single moment—
They simply looked at each other.
Different designs.
Different philosophies.
Same purpose.
Flit spoke first.
"I'll destabilize the outer field."
Leon nodded immediately.
"I'll cut the core once it drops."
No introductions.
No hesitation.
Just understanding.
---
Variable Two attacked.
Both Gundams moved at once.
Leon intercepted head-on, beam saber clashing against the Helix unit in a burst of light.
Flit broke past them, targeting the core's outer lattice.
"Interference detected," Variable Two said calmly. "Adjusting priority."
Leon pushed harder.
"Not happening."
Their duel reignited—faster, more intense than before.
But this time—
Leon wasn't alone.
---
Flit fired precise bursts into the energy field, targeting specific nodes.
"Almost there—" he muttered.
The field flickered.
Destabilizing.
Variable Two tried to disengage—
Leon blocked him.
"You're not going anywhere."
Variable Two's voice sharpened slightly.
"You have changed the equation."
"Yeah," Leon said. "Get used to it."
---
The energy field collapsed.
"Now!" Flit shouted.
Leon surged forward.
Full power.
No hesitation.
The beam saber ignited brighter than ever—
And pierced the core.
---
Time froze.
Then—
The energy imploded inward.
Instead of exploding outward, the core collapsed into itself, the unstable charge dissipating in a controlled chain reaction.
The massive Helix super-weapon shuddered.
Systems failed.
Its glow faded.
Silence.
---
Helix forces immediately began withdrawal.
Variable Two disengaged, pulling back into formation.
"Two-variable interference confirmed," he transmitted. "Outcome deviation exceeds threshold."
He paused.
"…This is becoming interesting."
And vanished with the retreating forces.
---
The battlefield went still.
Hestia Colony remained intact.
The unified fleet—what remained of it—held position.
Alive.
---
Leon's breathing finally slowed.
He turned his Gundam slightly.
The other machine hovered nearby.
White armor reflecting the fading light of the battlefield.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then—
"Nice timing," Leon said.
Flit's response was calm.
"You were going to destroy the colony."
Leon smirked faintly.
"Wasn't planning on it."
A pause.
Flit studied him.
"You fight differently than anyone I've seen."
Leon tilted his head slightly.
"Same to you."
Another silence.
Not hostile.
Just… measuring.
Two pilots.
Two paths.
Finally intersecting.
---
On the Argonaut's bridge, Mira leaned forward.
"Leon's not alone…"
Rika's eyes were wide.
"That's another Gundam…"
Rolf crossed his arms.
"…Then the war just changed."
---
Out in space, the two machines remained side by side.
No names exchanged.
Not yet.
But something had begun.
A connection.
A rivalry.
A partnership.
Something that would shape everything that came next.
---
Far away, within Helix space…
The commander observed the battle's outcome.
"Two prime candidates," he said.
Behind him, the massive new weapon platform continued its construction.
"Then the next phase will test them both."
---
Back in the battlefield's fading light—
Leon spoke again.
"Next time," he said, "we should probably talk before the shooting starts."
Flit almost smiled.
"Maybe."
The two Gundams turned—
And flew back toward their respective paths.
For now.