Chapter 241 – The Child Abandoned by His Father
Kamille had been inside this warehouse before and was familiar with its layout.
In short, he had successfully made his way into the core area of the warehouse.
Kamille stood silently, staring at the Gundam lying flat on the trailer.
The MK-II Unit 0—his father's magnum opus, into which he had poured all his energy.
But now, his father had shifted his focus to Units 1, 2, and 3. As a result, this Unit 0 was left here in quiet neglect.
Perhaps that was why Kamille had been able to walk in so smoothly, without any resistance.
"Looks like you've been abandoned by Father too, just like me."
Kamille paused, gazing at the MK-II that sat motionless and alone.
He shook his head, casting away the thoughts crowding his mind.
Beltorchika was still in danger—he didn't have the time to stand here drowning in sentimentality.
Kamille broke into a jog, heading straight for the trailer. Gripping the railing with both hands, he prepared to leap up the stairs and board the Gundam.
"Kamille!"
Suddenly, a man's angry shout froze Kamille in his tracks.
He didn't even need to turn around—he already knew who it was.
"Father…"
"Why are you here?! Do you have any idea how much trouble your presence here could cause me?!"
Franklin Bidan, Kamille's father, was frowning deeply at his son.
Just moments ago, Franklin had been in the Unit 1 hangar when he suddenly felt the urge to come here.
And what he found upon entering was Kamille about to board the Gundam.
"Kamille, this is not the time for childish tantrums! Do you realize how much chaos you could cause if you act on your own?!"
With every word, Franklin stepped closer, to the point that Kamille could almost feel his suffocating pressure like tendrils wrapping around him.
"Your mother practically bent over backwards to get the Titans to leave you alone. If you keep doing this, we won't be able to help you next time—and it could even affect our standing within the Titans!"
At that, Franklin seemed to realize he was pushing too hard. He stopped advancing and softened his tone.
"You have to understand the tough choices we've made as your parents, Kamille. Please, step away from there."
"…So it's not concern for your child, but worry about your own position being threatened?"
Kamille murmured under his breath.
"What was that?"
Franklin didn't quite catch the words, but seeing Kamille speak, he thought his persuasion had worked.
"It's fine as long as you've got your mistress, right?! It's fine as long as you can keep sucking up to the Titans for your own benefit, right?!"
Kamille's sudden outburst startled Franklin so much he staggered back a few steps—even he hadn't expected such a strong reaction from his son.
That resolve in his eyes—
Franklin felt a rising panic. If Kamille really kept pushing forward like this, he could end up dragging him down too.
"Kamille! I'm ordering you to get down from there now!"
Franklin abruptly drew a handgun from the back of his waist and aimed it at Kamille.
"This isn't a joke! As my son, you shouldn't be defying me!"
Kamille finally turned around, staring at his father with a look of disbelief.
But that disbelief quickly hardened into something more resolute.
"Kamille!"
Bang!
Franklin, agitated by that gaze, unexpectedly pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck the railing beside Kamille, scattering a burst of sparks.
But Kamille didn't flinch from the gunshot. On the contrary, he used it like a starting signal, sprinting toward the chest of the MK-II in just a few bounding strides.
Relying on the data he'd seen before in his father's room, Kamille grabbed the external latch nearby, yanked it outward, and opened the MK-II's cockpit.
"Kamille! I was wrong, come back! If this goes on, we're both going to be in trouble!"
Franklin called out desperately, hoping to stop Kamille.
But Kamille only gave his father a final glance—then leapt into the MK-II, sat in the pilot's seat, and shut the cockpit.
Father didn't realize he was wrong—he was just scared of losing his position.
Kamille closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
Yes, there are mutual responsibilities between parent and child.
But even so—
"Father, it was you who abandoned Mom and me first."
Kamille opened his eyes and gripped the control sticks.
Just like the specs in the documents—everything matched. It was ready to move.
Without any kind of dramatic rallying cry, Kamille simply stepped on the pedal and pushed the control stick forward.
From the outside, the MK-II's eyes lit up, and its upper body slowly rose.
Then, its left leg broke free from the trailer's restraint, stepping down onto the floor of the hangar.
"Tch—"
Franklin gave one last glance at the now-useless MK-II Unit 0, then turned and stormed off. On his way out, he slammed a fist into a control panel, triggering the warehouse's alarm system.
Amid the blaring sirens, the MK-II stood tall beneath the hangar's overhead lights. The Titans' dark paint on its body seemed to fade under the glare.
Whoooosh—
The sound of thrusters warming up echoed loudly. The MK-II crouched slightly, then the light from its backpack boosters flared, propelling the mobile suit up through the hangar ceiling and into the open air above the base!
"…It really is beautiful, isn't it."
Inside the panoramic cockpit, Kamille gazed at the curved earth below him and the cloud-filled space surrounding him.
This was a colony—the place where all spacenoids, like him, lived and survived.
But when he looked down again, what he saw were tendrils stretching up from Earth.
Just like the grasping hands of his father, addicted to power—these were the tendrils of the Earth-bound, weighed down by gravity, reaching toward them.
Thanks to the MK-II's powerful data collection systems, all targets below were instantly marked and identified.
However, as a prototype that had already completed its role, Unit 0 was not equipped with any weapons. Even the fact it had fuel for maneuvering was sheer luck on Kamille's part.
"There!"
Locking on to his target, Kamille adjusted the unit's posture and dove.
Just before hitting the ground, he extended both legs downward. The leg and backpack thrusters fired in reverse, slowing the descent, and allowed the mobile suit to land solidly on the ground.
"Let go of Beltorchika!"
Kamille shouted through the external speakers, aiming his voice at the jeep below that had been forced to stop.
At the same time, the MK-II's head-mounted Vulcan cannons clicked as they primed to fire.
The three Titans soldiers were clearly caught off guard—the idea of a Gundam, branded with the Titans' emblem, turning on them was unthinkable. They froze.
Beltorchika took full advantage of their shock. She drove her elbow hard into the soldier beside her, doubling him over in pain.
Then she snatched his pistol, shot the other two soldiers, and pressed the barrel to the head of the one still clutching his side, signaling for him to unlock her handcuffs.
After knocking him out, Beltorchika rubbed her reddened wrists and looked up at the Gundam now crouching in front of her, reaching out a hand.
"…He's just like a reincarnated Amuro."
She murmured to herself.