"If you think that I will help you, then you are mistaken. I would rather kill myself." Setsuna already knew where Marcus was going.
"Is that so?" The Emperor grinned like a demon for a second.
"I have a better solution." All of a sudden, Setsuna felt a bit of dread.
"I will let you see my world. You can live there, explore it, talk with people, and I will even fund your trip.
If you like what you see, you will join my Gundam Force and fight for the Empire.
And IF you hate what you see, I will fix your Exia, upgrade it with the latest Imperial Technology and let you have it, and you can continue to wage your armed interventions."
Setsuna looked at him with wide eyes.
"...You are that confident…" The guy was speechless at this proposal.
"Of course I am. I am Conqueror, not a Tyrant." He rolled his eyes at him.
"..." Setsuna deadpanned at him for such a proclamation.
"If you don't believe, then you will see for yourself. Do you agree?"
"Very well, I hope you can keep your side of the bargain." The Exia pilot walked towards the bars as he looked at Marcus.
"I can say the same thing, I hope you like military clothes and cloaks." Marcus grinned with confidence.
"..."
"Let him out, and prepare a temporary room until the portal opens."
The guards nodded as they unlocked Setsuna's cell.
"Now it leaves you guys."
Marcus looked at the remaining three Meisters.
"...I don't mind joining you," Lockon said with a smile as he had something in mind.
"I can sense a 'but'."
"Yeah, there is a certain Mercenary that you can help me find." Lockon hinted at someone Marcus already knew well.
"You want the ex-leader of Setsuna's old group?"
"Yeah, so you know. I want him dead. Arrange that, and you will have the best sniper in the world." The Dynames pilot smirked at Marcus.
"You want me to end him, or you want to end him yourself?"
That question got Lockon moving; he was no longer 'chilling', he got motivated.
"If you can let me do it, then I will be very grateful."
"Consider it done, Lockon Stratos. I can easily arrange that."
"You do know that Marcus Anaheim most likely hired this mercenary in the first place." Tieria Erde said, joined the conversation.
"Does it matter who hired whom? It's what he did years ago." Lockon got annoyed while saying that.
"We became terrorists ourselves; trying to pretend that we are good guys is pointless."
"..."
"..."
The remaining Gundam Meisters ended up silent after that outburst.
"I hired him because I needed to push my agenda forward. But if it means that I will get you to join my Empire, then I don't mind dropping that man under the bridge.
Hell, you can even have his Gundam if you want." Marcus shrugged while saying that. He still hasn't seen Nemesis Gundam in use. Poor machine has been gathering dust in the hangar.
"If I can get Dynames, I would prefer that," Lockon replied with a frown.
"Attached aren't you? Well, I know that feeling." Marcus smirked a bit. He knew that feeling well; he loved his Tiranis just as much as any other Gundam lover.
"Don't worry, Dynames will be repaired and upgraded before moved to the G-Force."
"...G-Force?"
"My knights, the Elite Gundam Force, you had the pleasure of meeting them." The Emperor smirked for a second, making him experience a flashback.
"...so them…"
"Indeed, elites among the elites, with an unlimited budget kind of thing."
"That alone sounds intriguing." Lockon slowly nodded. Unlimited budget sounds enticing.
"...Yeah, I thought Celestial Being got it nice, but if you have that…" Another voice said from the side. It was Kyrios Pilot, Allelujah Haptism.
"Indeed. Now let me arrange a meeting for you, Lockon." Marcus nodded before summoning his console and sending a message to his men to capture Ali al-Saachez. While the Mercenary was a good pawn, that guy was no longer needed.
"Then… can I get out of this place?" Lockon asked, wanting to leave the cell and finally explore. He was very curious about this place.
Marcus motioned for the guards to let him out.
"One of them will show where you can stay."
"Nice." With that said, Lockon was out. One of the guards took him away, leaving only Tieria and Allelujah.
"If you think that I will follow you like those two, then you are mistaken." The Innovade said with a frown.
"I don't expect Veda's Innovade to follow me. Veda designed you to assist in Aeolia Schenberg's plan.
Not help me in my world domination." Marcus shrugged as he looked past him and looked at Allelujah.
"...I won't be that easily persuaded." The Kyrios pilot tried to pass as a tough nut to crack.
"Not really, buddy. You are the easiest here." Marcus grinned as he showed a finger at him. "All I need to do is say a single name, and you will join me."
"...Oh? What kind of name?" The Super Soldier got curious; he is certain that no name could move him!
"Marie Parfacy."
"!!!"
Allelujah Haptism scrambled from his bed and went to the bars.
"Y-You know where she is?" All of a sudden, the Super Soldier became desperate, leaving Tieria speechless. That was terrifying, how quickly Marcus Anaheim got the fellow Gundam Meister… motivated.
"More than that. She was piloting that Red and Black Gundam in the last battle. She was part of my UN Forces.
Just tell me, and I can arrange a meeting, and you can get your long-lost friend back. While the Super Soldier institute gave her a second personality, my Empire is more than capable of assisting her in regaining her previous memories." Marcus explained that he could see Allelujah already in his palm.
"..."
The Kyrios pilot sighed as he looked at Tieria Erde.
"I'm sorry, Tieria, but I suppose I will have to leave you as well." He said with a strained smile. This was something he couldn't pass by.
"Does that mean you will join me, Allelujah Haptism?" Marcus asked with a curious look. He needed to hear that from him.
"...Yes, if I can get to see Marie… then yes," Allelujah said with a small nod.
"Don't worry, that can be arranged." Once again, Marcus pressed a couple of things on his hologram console. He already had things prepared beforehand.
Just like that, it was only Tiera Erde in the cell. Marcus buchered the Celestial Being like it was a birthday cake that could be cut apart.
With Allelujah Haptism gone, it was only the Innovade.
"If you truly think that you can control the world. Then you are mistaken."
"You spoke as if people care about things like ideology or who is ruling the world. Dictators fell because they steal from their people, like a leech. Empires fell because they stopped moving forward. Unlike most of you retards, I keep my history close to me at all times to learn from my ancestors, not to repeat the same mistakes they made.
You will watch from your cell how I am crowned the Emperor of this World, that's my destiny, Tieria Erde, good luck with your brooding."
With that said, Marcus got up from the foldable chair and gave it to the guards as he left the brig, leaving the Innovade to his thoughts.
~~~
*Whistle*
Lockon looked at his new room. It was spacious and luxurious, like a manor!
"Damn…"
The man explored the rooms. He had a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom with a huge bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a bathtub that looked like a jacuzzi…
"Is this how everyone gets treated in the Empire?" He asked the guard.
"Yes, this is a regular suite for a pilot. His Majesty is ensuring that those who serve him receive the best possible treatment.
From salary to accommodations, we get the best, but in turn we must give our best."
At that moment, Lockon recalled how motivated the Gundam pilots were.
"...Doesn't it put strain on the economy if soldiers have such lavish lives?"
"No, there is only one economy; resource distribution is in green even when we are building super projects."
"...Damn. I guess that's what it looks like when there is only a single country in the whole world." The Sniper looked around as he thought about this.
'No wonder Aeolia Schenberg wanted to unite the whole world. He most likely predicted this.'
Regardless, before he can enjoy this new adventure, he needs to do something.
"Any news about my request?"
"Give us a few hours. Enjoy a meal or take a shower. We will get back to you, Lockon Stratos, when he is captured." With that said, the soldier left the Gundam Meister.
"That's a good suggestion." The Gundam pilot looked at the kitchen; he might as well get a snack or two.
The Gundam Meister looked at himself. He was dressed in his pilot suit.
With a change of clothes in mind, he walked to the bedroom where he found a classic wooden wardrobe.
When he opened it, he found black and purple military uniforms.
"Damn… the material… is it silk of some sort?" The pilot was surprised by how old-school this empire was. By this point, shouldn't they have some version of carbon mixed with plastic for durability?
Though he doesn't mind when the material feels good on the skin.
As Lockon was already enjoying the new life, Setsuna, on the other hand, was in the hangar looking at Gundams. Most importantly, at Tiranis.
"Aren't you people afraid that I could try to steal one of these?" The pilot was a bit confused. He asked the guard if he could take him to the hangar to see the mechs, and sure enough, he was allowed!
For one, he was a bit horrified that some Gundams didn't get deployed! They were holding some of them back!
"You can't, Soran."
Setsuna snapped to the side as a brown-haired man walked over. He was dressed in a black-and-purple uniform with a cloak. From the looks of it, this guy looked like a knight.
"It's Setsuna F. Seiei, that name… it has no meaning anymore." Exia pilot clarified why one should not call him by that name.
"Hah, you are like our esteemed Emperor. He dropped his name twice until settling on this one." He explained as he walked over and looked at the parked Tiranis.
"..."
"Interested in God of Sky, aren't you?"
"...God? You call your Gundams Gods?"
"Not far from you, Celestial Being. You called your Mobile Suits after Angels." He smirked at Setsuna a bit.
"..."
"What you are looking at is AGT-01 Gundam Throne Tiranis, the personal machine of the Emperor himself. It was one of the first combat-functional machines. Even back in the 2nd generation, when we waged the Independence War against Britannia.
This was the first-ever machine to transform into a plane and carry a beam rifle. Ever since then, the technology significantly improved, and a new 3rd-generation Tiranis was made."
"...Hn… the way it moves… how does it do it?"
"Gravity Particle, we have our own technology. You have your green particle, we have our blue particle."
"... I see…"
'I suppose we had no chance against the entire Empire; we were not built for this.'
Setsuna only now realised how bad it was… especially when he is standing in just one hangar… There is another one full of even more machines.
"What will happen to Exia?"
"Your machine?" The brown-haired knight needed to confirm.
"Yes."
"It will most likely go to G-Force headquarters, where it will be scanned and fixed before shipped to the Emperor's personal collection."
"...Collection…" The guy was speechless! His Gundam… house ornament!?
"Indeed, that's what already happened to your Celestial Being's second group, Fereshte; their Gundams were already shipped to the Empire.
"...Second…group?"
"...You didn't know?" The Knight looked confused before he shook his head.
"All this secrecy, it really did bite back at you guys. They were using 2nd-generation Celestial Being machines. And they had one solar reactor. Now we have all five of them.
The Empire can start making them en masse. It won't be long until we use two types of particles." The Knight was a bit smug that it went so well.