The night sky lit up with lights, beams and explosions. Dagger Ls filed into the sky weaving and dodging and firing at the ZAFT mobile suits. Nicol whirled around and used his shield to block a shot coming from behind. The Dagger L moved back and fired with its beam rifle. "Just quit already. You're defeated." Nicol thought to himself in annoyance as he dove in and fired his high energy beam rifle at the mobile suit, but it was trying to draw him out further into the uncharted waters.

"I don't think so.", he said with a frown as he unknowingly flew after it. He accelerated and moved in, closing the gap between the Dagger L and himself. The pilot was caught by surprise and the Blitz shoved it off balance with his shield. He sliced through the mobile suit's chest right above the cockpit with his beam saber. There was a loud explosion and quickly the Dagger L began to descend. Nicol looked as the flames disappeared into the dark below him. He had allowed himself to be distracted and now found himself separated from his team.

"Nicol, we're done here. We're heading back now." Athrun's voice called. Nicol nodded. "Alright. I'm on my way. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you so don't wait up." He looked out of the cockpit and noticed the dark clouds and fog. Alaska was surrounded by water and a few small islands so it was difficult to navigate and he had to pay careful attention to the map on his screen. Suddenly, the Blitz shook heavily and sent Nicol lurching forward.

"Aagh! What in the -". His screen was indicating over 70 damage to the Blitz's thrusters. Through the fog and the dark night sky, Nicol could see the smoke rapidly emerging from his own mobile suit. He sped up, trying to get as far away from the area as possible. He felt the impact of yet another shot, this time to his right arm and his system had frozen. He couldn't navigate in the dark with his systems offline, and here over Alaska, it was hard to tell what was sky, land or sea. Smoke was seeping into the night, and he could see the small sparks of electricity threatening the cockpit's interior. He realized he was losing altitude quickly now.

"Athrun. I've been hit...Athrun?". He could hear Athrun's voice mixed in with static, but he couldn't make out any clear words. His body was shaking with the force from the Blitz as it hurtled down. He took a deep breath, made sure his helmet was secure and strapped in, and braced himself for impact. There was a loud crash and then there was silence.

The sound of water sloshing against the sand and the birds chirping were all that could be heard on this small, uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. Nicol stirred and opened his eyes. The sun shimmered off the water and slowly he sat up and took in his surroundings. What had happened? One minute he had been in combat with an EAF mobile suit, the next...? He remembered now. His systems had frozen and he had crashed. He moved his hands and legs and checked to see if there were any injuries. He seemed okay, although his head hurt. He removed his helmet and looked at his screen in disappointment. It had exploded and cracked.

In futile attempts, he tried to contact his team. In frustration he ran his hand through his curly olive green hair and made his way out of the cockpit dreading to see the damage the Blitz had acquired from the landing. It lay crumpled like a lifeless doll half submerged in the water and was covered with scratches, dents, and burns. He had assumed there had been a system malfunction, but what he found proved otherwise. There was a large crater behind the Blitz's right arm and an even larger melted crater in its back.

"So I was hit.", he murmured to himself as he his fingers grazed the totaled mobile suit's armor. He stopped suddenly when he heard something move behind him. Instinctively, he drew his handgun and cautiously turned around. "An animal perhaps?", he thought to himself as he crept closer. Suddenly, a hand reached out of the bushes, dragging behind it a helmeted soldier. Nicol immediately recognized the suit as that of an EAF pilot and pointed his gun at the pilot's head.

"So much for stealth, Natural. Don't move or else I will be forced to shoot you." The soldier continued to crawl forward, and Nicol could see the trail of blood that was staining the ground behind him. "Don't move.", he warned, now considering the pilot's safety as well as his own. Gripping a wounded rib, the pilot leaned against a rock trying to sit up. Nicol noticed now that this pilot was a girl. From her helmet, scared green eyes peered at him, and for a moment he lowered his gun.

"I told you not to move.", he repeated but his voice had softened as he felt himself pitying her. As though oblivious to what he had just said, she struggled to remove her helmet and Nicol, fighting against his morals, wasn't sure if he should shoot her or let her be. Finally, the helmet came off. She was panting but he wasn't sure if it came from her wound or from the strain of removing her helmet.

"Please don't...don't shoot.", she said weakly. "How did you get here?", he demanded. His usually soft and gentle voice was reluctantly cold and unwelcomingly. His gun still in hand, but now he was growing concerned. He could see tears well up in her eyes and was taken aback. "Please, don't cry. I mean... it's not like you've never seen a gun before.", he said slightly embarrassed for having almost made her cry. He returned his gun to its holster, using it as an excuse to look away. When he looked back at her, her eyes were closed and her breathing sounded more shallow. Nicol watched her for a moment. He watched the rise and fall of her chest and the pained expression on her face. She had lost a lot of blood and if he left her, she would surely die. But she was a natural, his enemy in this war.

"You should have just stayed where you were and died; it would have saved me the trouble.", he said sadly as he reached down and took out his dagger.

Commander Le Creuset sat in his chair aboard the Vesalius. His fingers were interlaced under his chin, and his emotions were hidden by his white mask and unrevealing lips. Captain Ades looked at him briefly and turned back to his crew. "..Nicol..", he thought to himself. While he had been awaiting his team's return, one of the technical agents had reported that they had lost contact with the Blitz. Disappointed, he had simply sighed and ordered that they scan the area.

"Remain on alert for any responses from the Blitz. Our enemies are not coming after us at this rate, but we have to keep on the move.", had been his command. Personally, to lose the Blitz and a loyal pilot like Nicol would be a loss, but it wasn't of any real concern to him. He had been a commander for years. This loss was no different than any others, but he was yet to lose a member of this team. Besides, wasn't this always the outcome of war?

"Commander Le Creuset. We have a message from the PLANTS. Connecting to main screen...". Disinterested, and somewhat grateful that his mask hid his lack of concern, he turned his attention to the large screen. PLANT supreme council member Yuri Almalfi's face was stoic, but fear and anxiety was wearing through his mask as he appeared on the screen. He saluted, and the commander saluted back.

"Commander Le Creuset, any word from the Blitz?", he asked calmly.

"None sir, we have the pilot and his mobile suit listed as MIA..." There was loud crash and one could clearly hear the sound of china shattering as it hit the floor. The sound of muffled sobs could be heard in the background, and Le Creuset knew Nicol's mother had been listening. He almost felt sorry for her.

"Forgive that...interruption on my part.", Council member Amalfi said. He was obviously distraught, and in a rush to comfort his wife.

"Supreme Council Member Amalfi, I assure you, we will find your son.", Le Creuset started after an awkward silence. "I know...and thank you commander.", the man replied regaining his composure.

"Do not fret. We will make sure you are notified as soon as possible. We would not want you or your wife to worry unnecessarily." The council member nodded and murmured his thanks before the screen went blank.

"Commander, we have spotted many enemy aircrafts surveying the area.", alerted one of the soldiers. "Hmm, so they're keeping watch. If we went to search for the Blitz right away, they would sense something was amiss and probably find him before we do. Nor would we want to gamble losing anymore of our men.", he thought aloud. They were in enemy territory and would easily be outnumbered. He was silent for a moment and finally spoke.

"How very unfortunate.", he mused. "Send out a single search party. We'll resume a more thorough search when things calm down."

Dearka removed his helmet. His blond hair stuck upright despite the fact that there was no gravity on Earth. He tucked his helmet under his arm as he walked over to Yzak who had been fuming. They had not yet changed from their red ZAFT suits after hearing about Nicol's disappearance. Athrun sat silently on the couch, his hand gripping a water bottle. "Damn it all! How did we manage to lose him!", Yzak yelled.. Dearka wasn't sure if Yzak was genuinely concerned about Nicol's safety, the reputation of the team, or the position his disappearance had put them all in. Yzak directed his anger at Athrun. "Aren't you his babysitter? You're always taking his side, so how did you let him get lost!" "Calm down Yzak. They've sent out a search party. And afterward, we'll go out and look for him." The room was silent for a moment and Dearka looked from Athrun's face to Yzak's. Yzak's teeth were clenched as if he were actually holding his tongue. Dearka smiled' Athrun's simple logic was always enough to shut up his boisterous friend. He looked to Athrun and noticed his eyes had taken an opaque calculating look. "Those search parties are well organized, but we can't count on them to be discreet...", Athrun said suddenly. Yzak, Dearka, Nicol and Athrun were ace pilots, the best of the best, and if those searching for Nicol were found, they could very well give away the position of the Vesalius. "Are you suggesting that we look for him ourselves...?", Yzak asked. Athrun looked up at him from his seat. "I'm saying that it's our best bet."