Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Other Oath

Chapter 1: Beginning

2301 A.D: Republic of Krugis

"In this world, there is no God."

Those were the thoughts of young Soran Ibrahim as he ran for his life through the ravaged city. He moved frantically, watching out for anything that may attack him. There was nothing but destruction surrounding him. The sounds of battle rang through the air unrelenting. Dust and the smell of blood permeated the battlefield. Soran had lost track of how long he had been fighting. His body ached and his lungs were desperate for air. The only thing that kept him moving was sheer adrenaline.

Soran heard gunfire behind him and ran faster. Before he could even register that the gunfire stopped, an explosion sent him flying through the air. He landed hard enough for the wind to be knocked out of him. As he became aware of his surroundings, he noticed a wetness on his hand. Raising his head, he looked at what he was touching.

Blood and from what he could tell it was fresh. Soran's eyes followed the trail and he was already aware of what he would see. Two bodies splayed out without so much as a twitch of movement. Soran could only stare in shock. Two more friends who had died for their cause. A cause that he no longer believed in.

How long had he been fighting? What had he been fighting for? Why had he been fighting? He could hear an Anf approaching. Knowing that he had no means of defeating it, let alone win the battle, Soran closed his eyes in resignation. The battle was over and they had lost. Now he could only wait for the inevitable and this life of battle would finally end.

"Just let it be over."

As Soran waited for the end, a strange sound rang through the air. It was unlike anything he had heard before. It was different from the sounds of bullets and missiles, but was followed by explosions. The sounds continued, sometimes farther or closer. Soran stayed where he was, frozen with fear. He had been ready for bullets or grenades. But whatever was happening now was unlike anything he had experienced.

And then it stopped. No explosions or gunfire. Just complete silence.

Soran didn't move from where he was for several minutes. Once he gathered enough courage, Soran hesitantly rose. He crept against the wall and leaned out. From where he was, he could see the wreckage of the Anf that had nearly killed him. Cautiously, he went out into the streets. He stood out in the open and nothing happened. He looked up and saw an empty sky.

In ruins of the destroyed city, a single truck drove through. The driver, Ali-al Saachez, was not only unfazed by the destruction that surrounded him, he basked in it and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. This destruction was the proof of battle. Whether it was through watching or participating, he loved war. The explosions, the building tension, the clash of bone and sinew, the sheer drive to live and the thrill of taking a life. He loved all of it, he reveled it. It made his life all so enjoyable.

This small town in Krugis was too peaceful when he had arrived. Despite the mounting tensions between Azadistan and Krugis, this place seemed far off from the coming conflict. There were whispers about what may or may not come, but no one seemed to want to take part in the fighting. In the two days he spent observing, there was no one who had made any effort to prepare for war. He decided to change that.

It was all so easy. The children here were young and gravitated towards him. He brainwashed him and molded them into his own personal group of child soldiers. They killed who he told them to kill and some had even died for him on suicide missions in other countries. For a time, commanding them had kept him occupied. But as Azadistan began becoming more aggressive, Ali decided that he was better tying off loose ends. He had sent those child soldiers on their final mission. Ali highly doubted that those kids had a chance of survival.

Ali continued to drive through and admire his work. Normally, he wouldn't have come close to this town, but Azadistan forces weren't anywhere to be seen in the surrounding area. Since the city was clear, he had decided to scavenge anything useful that might have been left. As he looked around, Ali couldn't help but note how both forces seemed to have been destroyed. He hadn't expected the children to make it through the battle, but for them to have been able to wipe out the Azadistan forces was until he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

There on the side of the street stood one of the child soldiers holding a rifle in his hands. From what Ali could see, he didn't seem to suffer anything worse than a few cuts and scrapes. The fact that his limbs were intact was a fair clue. Ali stopped the truck. Stepping out, he approached the child soldier, the last member of the KPSA. Those kids had been useful, but he had been prepared to have them wiped out. Now that he saw that there was a survivor, Ali wasn't sure what he should do with him.

"So one of you actually made it. I'm almost impressed," Ali said as he stood in front of the child soldier. The brat whispered something, but Ali couldn't quite pick it up.

Ali leaned closer. "You say something?"

"There is no God in this world. We fought for nothing," the brat said, giving Ali a venomous glare and shaking with anger.

"Cry me a river, kid. I really don't care about God or religion. That was just something I said to get you all to fight. But you kids just ate it up. I didn't force you to do what you did."

"It was all a lie? You mean everything we did was for a lie?" the boy snarled, clutching his rifle against his body. Ali snorted and began walking away.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" the boy shouted. Ali turned his head to look at the boy, still keeping his back to him. Sure enough, the little punk had his rifle aimed directly at his back. The image only made him smile.

"Can you do it, Krugis punk? Go ahead and pull the trigger. You've done it before," Ali said as he prepared, never keeping his eye off the boy.

Even out in the open, Ali could practically hear the pulling of the trigger. The moment the boy fired, Ali leapt toward the boy's side, dodging the bullet and closing the distance between the two. Once he landed, he kicked the rifle out of the boy's hands and moved to stand between him and the weapon. The Krugis punk retreated a short distance and pulled out knife.

Ali raised his eyebrow in amusement. The little punk was either determined or an idiot. The smart move would have been to run when he could. He then remembered having sparred with the boy before, back when he had gathered the child soldiers. Letting out a chuckle, he responded by pulling out his own knife. It seemed the boy thought that he was good enough to beat him in close combat. There wasn't a chance in hell that Ali could lose, but he decided he might as well humor the punk.

The boy crept closer, ready to attack or defend. Suddenly, he launched himself at Ali, going in to pierce him with his knife. Ali effortlessly sidestepped the attack, to which the boy swung wildly outwards. Unfortunately for him, Ali had been able to lean back just enough for the swing to hit only air. He attempted to slash again, but Ali dashed forward and hit the boy's head with the hilt of his knife with enough strength for him to stumble backwards. The boy bared his teeth in anger and charged again. The boy's exhaustion was obvious from his movements. Every action was desperate and pathetically readable. His anger was the only thing that kept him going. The child soldier kept on the offensive and Ali danced around his moves. For a horizontal swing, he would easily step back. For a thrust, he would shift to the side. At no point was Ali feeling challenged.

Every failed attempt only infuriated the Krugis punk. When he lunged again, Ali sidestepped the attack and tripped the him. The boy landed on the ground hard. Ali heard the boy growl in frustration and the punk grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at him. Ali had reacted quickly and shielded his face.

Ali decided he had enough fun. As the boy lunged at him once again, Ali did a small jump back. The moment his foot returned to the ground, he leapt towards the boy and swung his blade at him. What he hadn't expected was for the kid to lean enough to his left and dodge. In that instant, the boy swung his knife and cut Ali's arm. His eyes widened in surprise. For that split second, he stared intently at the small wound. Then he refocused on the fight.

When the boy went in for another attack, Ali delivered a kick that sent him flying. The boy landed and groaned in pain, Ali took a good look at his arm. The little punk actually managed to cut him. It was small, but a cut none the less. There was even a trickle of blood. Even if he was just playing with the kid, Ali was slightly impressed. Maybe he had some potential after all.

"What's your name?" Ali asked as he sheathed his knife. The boy slowly rose and retrieved his knife. He raised it again and crept slowly to Ali. The boy was breathing heavily, but the fire in his eyes hadn't died. The punk wanted another shot.

"Soran Ibrahim."

"We sparred before, haven't we? You've gotten better."

"I'll beat you and then I'll kill you," the boy hissed.

"And then what? Where would you go?" Ali asked. Soran stumbled in his tracks. The questions seemed to have an effect on the boy. His hand shook and he lowered the knife slightly, giving Ali an opening.

"Well, better luck next time, Soran Ibrahim," In an instant, Ali closed the distance between them. The boy only had enough time to widen his eyes in shock before Ali planted a sharp blow on him. Soran crumbled instantly, knocked out cold. Ali dusted himself and walked away.

As Ali was about to climb back into his truck, a thought occurred to him. It was a miracle for the kid to have lived through the battle. And the fact that both forces had been obliterated was more than a little suspicious. The kid was the only one who could know what had happened. And to leave behind a child soldier would be such a waste.

Ali went back to retrieve the unconscious boy. Throwing Soran over his shoulder, Ali carried the boy to his vehicle. If he could brainwash the kid once, who's to say that he couldn't do it again?

2305 A.D: Asteroid Satellite

Sumeragi Lee Noriega tapped her finger against the counter as she read data off the screen in front of her. A bottle of wine and two glasses were placed on the side. The final meister had arrived and was getting settled in. She had been caught up with reviewing data that time had gone and hadn't been there when he arrived but Christina had taken care of him. With him, their team would be complete. If training went well, then they would make their first move within two or three years. Then they would eliminate war.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. She closed off the screen and turned to face the door. "Enter."

The door slid open and the person entered the room. The man looked exactly as he did in the photo. The white and grey outfit he had was, in her opinion, slightly tacky, but his fashion sense was a moot point.

The man spoke first. "Sumeragi Lee Noriega, I presume?"

She attempted to give him a warm smile. "I apologize for not greeting you when you arrived. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The man smiled. "Think nothing of it. I'm sure you have more pressing matters to tend to than greeting me."

"In any case, we have much to prepare for. Until we are given our first mission, you will undergo training for the 001. Are you ready?" Sumeragi asked.

"I am quite ready to dedicate myself to Celestial Being," he answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Well, in any case, you were chosen by Veda. I see that you submitted your own codename."

"I don't believe that will be a problem. Unless of course you have any objections, Sumeragi Lee Noriega," the man replied. Sumeragi tried to detect any sort of sarcasm or ulterior meaning in the tone of his voice. However, the man seemed surprisingly sincere. The almost innocent looking grin on his face never faltered.

"Well, I suppose that's alright. Congratulations, you are now a Gundam Meister of Celestial Being. Care for a celebratory drink?" Sumeragi asked as she poured one for herself.

The new meister shook his head. "I don't much care for alcohol. Although a cup of tea would be pleasant."

"Sorry, but I don't seem to have any on hand at the moment," Sumeragi said as she took a sip from her glass. "The other meisters are waiting for us in the hangar. We should go and introduce you to them."

The two headed out of the room and towards the hangar. While the short trip was silent, it wasn't awkwardly so. The new meister was quite strange she had to say. He wasn't as jovial as Lockon, nor as introverted as Allelujah. He was certainly not abrasive like Tieria. The new meister seemed almost innocent. With the way he composed himself and the look in his eyes, it was almost as if he was a blank slate, as odd as that may sound. Then again, Sumeragi had only met him. There may be more of his personality that wasn't present on the surface. Sumeragi wondered just why he would have been recruited as a Gundam Meister. Then again, they all had their skeletons in the closet and she wasn't one to judge. Veda chose him and that was all that needed to be said in the matter.

They entered the hangar. The three meisters were there, waiting patiently and not at each other's throats. Quite a feat considering Tieria's personality. Four mobile suits were docked, shining under the light in all their glory. The machines that would change the world, the Gundams.

The other meisters turned towards them. Lockon, leaning against the railing, was his usually laid back self and gave the two a playful wave. Allelujah nodded his head somewhat sheepishly towards them. Tieria folded his arms across his chest and glared at the new meister, doing nothing to hide his contempt. The four of them would make quite a team.

Sumeragi cleared her throat and gestured towards their new ally. "Allow me to introduce our newest Gundam Meister. His codename is Ribbons Almark. He'll be piloting the GN-001."

Author's Note: Well, this idea was floating in my head for a while and I have an idea of where it will go. For this story, you'll need to have seen the series because I'm not going to write canon scenes word for word. No promises on how fast this will update. I will say one thing though. There will be another big change in the second chapter. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story.