Don’t Take Unit 6 from Me

 

Nate climbed into his Shrike and assumed command of the Defense Force.

The unit formed around the Shrikes now represented L451 Defense Dome’s greatest strength.

Fran, piloting Unit 6, joined the mobile assault team. Her mission: to employ guerrilla tactics against the troublesome Aberration Arms.

「She’s… changed the way she fights.」

Fran’s movements now bore no resemblance to the recklessness she once displayed before Nisos arrived. Where she once made desperate, self-destructive charges, she now fought with a calm awareness of her surroundings.

—It’s my fault she started fighting like she had a death wish.

Nate muttered to himself. The one who’d driven her to that edge was none other than him.

Everything began with some thoughtless words from Nate.

With each passing day, Greisen’s power grew, and L451 Dome was stretched thinner and thinner.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her—his best friend’s little sister, whom he’d raised like his own daughter.

Unit 6 was already operating beyond its allowable continuous runtime. It wouldn’t be long before even emergency repairs would become impossible.

Nate voiced a thought that had struck him as he watched Fran—who’d fought tirelessly to protect the Defense Dome where she was born and raised—gazing at her Silhouette with one knee on the ground, the pain written on her face.

Fran wouldn’t want anyone else piloting Unit 6. In that case—

He approached her and gently spoke.

「Fran. Maybe it’s time to stop pushing Unit 6. Instead of forcing it to fight until it breaks, why don’t you stop being a pilot and evacuate to another Defense Dome? You could go with the children and help protect them, maybe—」

Fran’s body froze, then she stood. She didn’t show her face. Nate panicked, fearing she was crying.

「…Why?」

「This guy’s repairs take money and time. You don’t want to pilot anything else, right? It’s done more than enough. We could let it rest in the hangar—」

「Is that what this is about? Money and time?」

He never finished the thought. A chill ran down Nate’s spine.

Fran stood like a revenant, her crimson hair flaring up like living flame.

Her pupils had dilated to their limit. Her eyes bore into him, utterly emotionless.

「I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. We’ve got limited resources, and the other Silhouettes also need maintenance, we can’t devote all our funds and time to just one…」

He couldn’t falter—not as their leader. He pressed on.

「So?」

「So…?」

「Then go prioritize someone else. I don’t care. But know this—if I’m ever separated from Unit 6, it’ll be because I’m dead. If we die together, repairs and time won’t be needed, will they?」

—Damn it!

Nate realized, far too late, how devastating his words had been.

Fran wasn’t yelling. Her tone was cold, calm. As though something deep inside her had snapped.

「Don’t you dare take Unit 6 from me.」

Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

「Don’t say that again. If you do—I’ll walk.」

It was likely true. What she really wanted to say was: I’ll kill you. But after a brief hesitation, she’d changed it to “I’ll walk away from the Defense Force.”

Fran’s enemy was no longer the Stones. It was anyone who tried to take Unit 6 away from her.

And as if responding to her words, Unit 6’s protective visor shimmered with light.

—Let me fight with Fran. Don’t disturb us.

Nate could feel the Silhouette’s will. It wasn’t just his imagination. He could even feel its glare.

The pair of them—girl and machine—sent a chill through his body.

Fran turned on her heel to leave, but paused for a moment.

Without looking back, she spoke.

「You, of all people, shouldn’t have said that. I thought you understood what Unit 6 and I are worth. I was wrong.」

She walked off, her voice tinged with loneliness.

And only then did Nate truly understand the depth of his mistake. Fran wasn’t angry—she was crushed. Crushed by a disappointment far deeper than fury. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. But from that day on, the girl stopped smiling altogether.

He should have been her greatest ally—hers and Unit 6’s.

To tell her to abandon Unit 6… it was more than a taboo. It was a sin against the most fragile part of her identity.

He had killed that bond—her soul, even—with nothing more than talk of money and time.

She had fought harder than anyone for the front lines. And he had invalidated it all with a careless phrase.

There are things that, once spoken, end everything. And Nate hadn’t seen it coming. He loathed his own immaturity.

He bore too much. Balancing the Defense Force’s finances and schedule left him little room to breathe. Many would sympathize with his position. But even so, those words should never have passed his lips.

Nate berated himself for days. He even went so far as to send a direct appeal to TAKABA, seeking help with Unit 6’s repairs. But Fran never returned to who she had been.

The relationship of trust Fran had with him was gone. His words could no longer reach her.

Since that day, Fran embraced reckless tactics. She no longer valued her own life.

She would stay with Unit 6 until the very end—with no one left who truly understood her, carrying her sorrow and fury alone.

「I should be grateful to Outis. He released Fran from the curse I put on her with my own foolishness.」

Now, Fran fought to protect others, not endanger herself. She even silently covered for Nate. Something the old Fran would never have done.

More than weapons or resources, Nate was grateful to Kou for that change in her.

「Now’s the time to hold the line. Fran’s no longer in a rush to die—if we lose now, it’s all for nothing!」

Nate’s Shrike too fought with the fury of a demon.

◆　　◆　　◆　　◆　　◆

「The assistance of the Familias is keeping us in the fight—Their help is a blessing Kou and Asia brought to us, too. Unit 6 said it: We were entrusted with this. That meaning, those words. They’re heavy—but still!」

Fran monitored her allied unit’s comms from within her cockpit.

Here and there, she caught fragments of chatter. They spoke of Outis, and of Asia’s blessings.

He’s the messiah, sent by my brother and Asia. It’s obvious. He even feels kind of like my brother sometimes.

It was just a feeling—but Fran had no room to notice the resemblance consciously.

「At long last, I’ve found someone who understands me. The pilot of Unit 5. A man who entrusted me with what could be called a sacred tool. If his will is for me to live—then I’ll live. My brother must’ve sent him to me for that very reason, right?」

Kou—and Unit 5—were becoming divine figures in Fran’s mind.

She was overidealizing him, yes, but she had understood Kou’s intentions. Even if the way she idealized him was a little… skewed.

「Unit 6 will never be like Unit 5. But he understood that. ‘You and Unit 6 walk your own path. Unit 6 will answer you’. That’s what he told me. And no one else could ever grasp how much that meant. Ah… my liberator. I shall obey your will—Outis.」

She couldn’t do the same things as Kou. And Unit 6 wasn’t the same as Unit 5.

But Kou had recognized that, and chosen his words carefully when he called to her.

「I shouldn’t call him Outis. He probably hates it. Asia doesn’t like being called a goddess either. True heroes are always humble.」

Fran now strove to understand Kou as best she could. She’d heard parts of his unexpected past from Asia.

He must have worked tirelessly, just to stay with Unit 5.

That’s all the current Assault Flight model was—the result of his effort. She understood that it wasn’t a special unit, just one that allowed him to continue fighting together. He had done everything within his reach to maintain combat sustainability.

Now, Kou was her guiding star. It wasn’t the form or the power of Unit 5, but his way of life, always searching for a way to live together with his Silhouette.

「And now he’s even willing to go to war with the Argo Army for us. Right now we’re just a burden—we can’t even drive the enemy out of our own Defense Dome. It’s not about taking down as many enemies as possible anymore. It’s about protecting as many allies as we can. That’s my top priority.」

She glanced around. More vehicles piloted by Familia had arrived. Nate was still holding strong on the front lines.

「Nate! You’re still so reckless. You need to be more aware of your surroundings.」

To Nate, of course, Fran was the reckless one. But her ambush tactics had become second nature. In terms of battlefield awareness and timing, she had the edge.

She even felt a bit frantic, wanting to cover for him. If that could improve everyone’s chances of survival—then that’s what she would do.

「Let’s grow stronger together, Unit 6. One day, we’ll be able to report back to him with a smile—I know we will.」

What could she do to make Kou happy? That was the conclusion she’d reached.

And though she hadn’t noticed yet, her thoughts had evolved—and Unit 6 was already answering her.

Somewhere, listening to Fran’s quiet words, Asia smiled softly. A smile full of relief, as if watching over her.