Shortly after Roz had sortied in the Sinanju, a communication from him sent the Nahel Argama into a frenzy once more.
"What's happened? Is the Federation attacking?"
Lunamaria piloted the Infinite Justice, rising from the elevator onto the deck and initiating a radar scan.
"Apparently, he's bringing Char back. Regardless, it's best to prepare defensive measures first."
Nearby, Shinn also leaped from the other side of the deck in the Destiny.
Green light particles, enveloped in blue flames, erupted outward, propelling the Destiny to hover above the Nahel Argama.
With a ripple like a water wave, the Nahel Argama, which had been maintaining its Mirage Colloid state, manifested on the sea's surface.
The quadruple Gottfried cannons and Igelstellung anti-air arrays rapidly completed preheating, while protective armor covered the bridge.
One could say the Nahel Argama was fully prepared for battle at any moment.
After all, Roz was bringing Char over, and it seemed this Char had a favor to ask of him. Still, not a single safety precaution could be omitted.
At that moment in the sky, two red machines were approaching the Nahel Argama at extreme speeds. Among them, the Sinanju trailed a wake composed of green light particles.
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"It's a beautiful battleship."
Carefully scrutinizing the vessel belonging to "Amuro," Char ignored the frantic alarms of his machine being locked onto by a massive array of armaments—he even went as far as switching the alarms off.
Fortunately, that new Federation MS had been blasted away, and at this high altitude, they were temporarily unable to track him and "Amuro." They were likely busy salvaging that new MS right about now.
Char even felt he might have time for lunch on Roz's ship before leaving; after all, he hadn't eaten breakfast when he evacuated the Moon, and he was hungry now after such high-intensity piloting.
'Speaking of which, the pilot of that new MS that got blown away... he was a young man, wasn't he?'
One could only hope that young man wouldn't fall into an obsession because of this; after all, from his psychological waves, he seemed to be carrying quite a heavy grudge.
Under the lock-on of numerous ship armaments and the watchful eyes of the Destiny and Infinite Justice, Char piloted the Zorin Soul, following Roz's Sinanju to land on one of the cleared decks.
Char wasn't worried about being attacked; he could roughly sense that the other party was merely cautious, but lacked actual killing intent.
"Let's talk here," Roz's voice rang out from the Sinanju's speakers.
"I have a better suggestion—how about we both step out of our machines?"
As Char spoke, he disconnected the link between his pilot seat and the device on the back of his pilot suit. "Doing so would show more sincerity on my part, wouldn't it?"
Char was certain that "Amuro" would definitely leave the MS to meet him, and he had no intention of carrying a pistol or anything of the sort.
Listening to Char's words, Roz fell into silence.
"Roz, don't agree to that!"
Having smoothly re-established communication with the Nahel Argama, Murrue's voice rang out through the headset built into Roz's helmet.
"What if he's carrying a pistol?!"
At that moment, Murrue was sitting on the bridge, staring at the Zorin Soul standing on the deck.
Her right index finger was resting on a button on her chair; the moment the Zorin Soul or Char made any aggressive move, she would fire immediately.
"Fine... let's meet on the deck."
Sensing Char's brainwaves and understanding his general emotions and thoughts, Roz responded through the speakers.
Then, Roz turned off the speakers and looked at the screen, where a serious-faced Murrue was visible in the communication window.
"Rest assured, I'll handle this."
After saying that, Roz closed the communication channel and looked at the translucent phantom of Kara, who was sitting at the right-side control console. "I'll leave things to you in a moment, alright?"
"Don't worry, I'll do it just like AllMind."
Kara glanced at the opened cockpit of the Zorin Soul before refocusing her attention on Roz.
By now, Roz had unlinked his pilot seat from his suit and opened the cockpit.
The lift cables of both machines descended toward the deck, each carrying a blond pilot clad in a red pilot suit.
However, upon seeing Roz's current appearance, Char—who had thought he had already come to terms with everything—found it incredibly difficult to keep a straight face.
But... no, he couldn't laugh; otherwise, the more powerful machine he had envisioned might vanish into thin air.
Char did his best to suppress his amusement as he stepped onto the deck of the Nahel Argama.
The sensation of being pulled by gravity and having his feet on solid ground made Char feel momentarily dazed. He shifted his body slightly to show he wasn't carrying any weapons.
Still, Char keenly sensed that even without anyone piloting it, the Sinanju in its standby state was still moving its mono-eye monitor, zooming and focusing on him.
Is it remote operation? Char wasn't sure, but he knew Roz wasn't going to kill him.
The two began to approach each other, coming to a halt at a set distance.
As if by prior agreement, both Roz and Char removed their helmets. Roz took the opportunity to remove his wig and mask as well.
"...It's been a long time, Amuro. I am Char Aznable."
Seeing Roz take off the golden wig and mask to reveal a face identical to Amuro's, along with black hair, Char narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I am not Amuro Ray."
Roz had no intention of being evasive and spoke bluntly. "My name is Roz Links."
"I can tell. As I thought... you aren't him."
Char scrutinized Roz carefully, sensing his brainwaves as if he had indeed discerned something. "But you certainly are him as well."
The man before him... Roz, although looking almost identical to Amuro, possessed a state that was both similar and yet distinct, forged by a different life.
"But having said that..."
Char felt that if he didn't ask this question now, he would make himself sick with suppressed curiosity. "Who told you to dress like this?"
"The future you."
"?"
Faced with such a blunt and fantastical answer from Roz, Char was stunned for a moment.
But soon, he accepted it. After all, if he could travel to the future himself, it was entirely possible that Roz had traveled to the future and met him. Furthermore, such a move was indeed exactly the kind of thing he would do.
A silence fell over the scene, to the point where the atmosphere on the deck became somewhat uncanny.
"Speak then. What do you intend to do by following me?"
After a moment of silence, Roz initiated the topic.
"I would like to ask you to modify—or even completely reforge—this Zorin Soul for me."
Hearing those words, Char snapped back to his senses and voiced his thoughts.
"And why should I agree to that?"
"Because you won't just sit here and watch me die."
Char smiled and spread his hands. "I don't know what I have that is worth your plotting, but clearly, you don't want me dead."
"Besides, to decide victory in a fair and square duel on equal footing—surely you are the same as me in that regard."
Char continued, "We are both such headstrong men."
This was indeed something Roz truly wanted to do: to settle things with Char in a state of absolute equality.
After all, if every other Amuro could defeat Char, there was no reason he couldn't.
It seemed he really was, as Char said, a similarly headstrong fellow.
"The second point is that I already promised Lalah... in the spiritual world."
Seeing Roz fall into silence, Char sighed and began to pour out his inner thoughts. "Whether for Newtypes or ordinary humans, within this desperate and futile Mobius loop, I want to find a way out."
"It may be rebellious, the path may be arduous, or it may be entirely impossible to achieve, but I want to try."
"Whether it is for those who have died, or for those still living in this world—like Artesia."
At this moment, Char removed his sunglasses. His sapphire-like eyes looked at Roz with absolute seriousness and sincerity.
These were indeed his true feelings.
Having witnessed the Federation's oppression of civilians—especially the space emigrants—and its corrupt core, the desire to change everything had grown increasingly intense for Char after seeing Lalah in the psycho-space.
"Earth's gravity is too great; all unrealistic fantasies will be pulled to the ground and shattered to pieces."
Looking at Char's earnest expression, Roz sighed. "Are you prepared?"
"It won't get any worse than it is now."
Sensing a faint, blurred emotion of "agreement" coming from Roz's side, Char laughed. "I am ready. But what about you? Are you ready?"
"...I've been ready for a long time."
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"Are you really going to agree to help him modify his machine?"
Watching Char depart on a speedboat with a few sandwiches on the tablet screen, Christina turned to look at Roz, who was standing before the Zorin Soul, scribbling away on his own tablet.
"Yeah, that's right. I gave him my word."
Roz looked up, stretching his slightly stiff neck as he gazed at the Zorin Soul before him.
"...Since you've already made your decision, I won't press you further."
Christina closed the surveillance feed on her tablet and walked over to Roz's side, looking up at the red-and-white machine. "But time is tight, isn't it? Can you really finish the design blueprints that quickly?"
"I should have them drawn by tonight. I've thought of a machine that suits him perfectly."
Roz looked down at the tablet in his hands, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"At the very least, it's far more suited to him than this Zorin Soul."
"This machine... can it even be used in Earth's environment?"
Seeing the machine on the screen, which was clearly designed for space combat, Christina furrowed her brows slightly. "This doesn't even look like an MS anymore; it looks more like some kind of MA."
On Roz's tablet, a rough sketch appeared—a massive machine featuring numerous curved lines and a pair of "wings," all rendered in a deep crimson hue.
........................