Yay! I finally got chapter 10 up :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Seed Destiny

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Athrun slipped the windbreaker over his arms.

"You're going to go pick him up yourself?" Cagali asked.

"Yzak is hard to convince, and he doesn't trust people easily." he said, "We'll get him to trust us more if I pick him up personally. What will you do while I'm gone?"

"I have a few meetings today, and Kisaka has some other things lined up that I need to do." she said, "I'll probably see if I can help track down the Eternal."

Athrun chuckled, "Captain DaCoasta really hid it well. Not even Lacus can find it. Who would have ever thought that he would have outsmarted all of us."

Cagali laughed herself, "Well, he's got a few permotions waiting for him."

"Oh, I just remembered-" Athrun turned to her, "Shinn or Lunamaria may call today. If they do, tell them that their help would be appreciated."

"Shinn?" Cagali caulked an eyebrow at him, "You think I can even HAVE a civil conversation with Shinn?"

Athrun smirked, shaking his head. He kissed her cheek, slipping the headset over his dark hair.

"I'll be back."

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Dearka drove down the countryside in the old jeep. He had a better car then the one he was currently driving, but in the country he did not want to attract attention with his sleek, black convertable. Seeing the old farmhouse over the edge of the wheat fields, Dearka parked the jeep at the end of the drive way and walked up to the house.

He knocked on the door, and it opened. The old man smiled at him,

"Major Elthman."

"Good afternoon, Bill." he said, "I just came to check over my old friend."

"We were expecting you." he said, "I'll walk you there."

Strolling towards the large barn at the end of the wheat farm, Dearka found that he could easily clear his mind in the fresh air.

"How is the little lady?"

"She's well." Dearka smiled, "Working hard."

"That poor girl works harder then any woman I've known."

"How is May?"

The old man smiled at him, "Working."

Dearka chuckled as Bill opened the lock to the barn, and opened the door. There was a high pile of hay that filled the entire barn. It was an old building, easily 25 feet from the ground to the ceiling. In one edge of the building, there was a thick pile of hay that reached from the floor almost all the way to the ceiling.

Climbing up the big bail, Darka dug through the hay to find the lock for the cockpit door. It opened slowly, and he slipped inside.

The GINN was left over from a previous battle. When Dearka had first come to the town, he had helped with the reconstruction of the area, and discovered it abandoned in the woods. Finding that it only needed a few repairs, he was able to fix it himself.

The Millers were from the old regime in ZAFT. They had settled on earth after Patrick Zala took over the council because they disagreed with his views. Living on earth for over 30 years, they had both quickly noticed Dearka's skills and abilites that clearly identified him as ZAFT military. It was then that they had volunteered their barn to hide the GINN.

He flipped on the controls of the suit, pulling out the stack of papers he had left on the console.

"How does she look?" Bill called.

"It's doing alright." Dearka said, his hands were flying over the keyboard, "Just a few adjustments-"

He stopped a moment, and frowned.

Upon checking the communication system, the GINN had picked up a strange signal that was being broadcast on a universal line.

"Something wrong?" the old man called.

Dearka ignored him, pulling a headset on his head and tapping into the signal. It was an old code.

From Orb.

A smile crept across his face as he opened a channel to the sender.

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Yzak stood on the street, shaking hands with Hultz.

"Thanks you." Yzak said, "For everything you've done for us."

"No, thank you, Captain." he said, "You and Major Hahnenfuss will always be welcome here."

Yzak smiled, and he shook hands with Othniel. Turning his head, he noticed that Gideon Aoi walked up to Shiho, who was saying good-bye to some of the other ladies she had once worked with.

"Shiho."

She looked up at him. He smiled sadly,

"I could make you happy."

Shiho glanced at Yzak, who was looking at her, the wind blowing gently through his hair. Turning back to Gideon, she smiled,

"I don't think I could possibly be happier then I already am, Gideon." she said, "Thank you, though, for helping me."

She shook his hand, and he gathered her up in his arms, kissing her head.

"Careful, Aoi-" Deborah smiled, "-Yzak might punch you again."

He chuckled, turning to the ZAFT captain.

"I've given up on her for her sake, Jule. Don't make me regret that deicision."

"I won't."

Shiho went to return to Yzak's side, they could hear the helicopter in the distance.

"Shiho." someone pulled gently on her sleeve. Shiho turned around to see Deborah.

"Yes?"

"Take care of Yzak." she said, smiling, "Good luck"

Shiho nodded, "You too."

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Athrun looked over the small town. It was an uncharacteristic place to find Yzak in. This was the same Yzak that enjoyed dinner parties, fine wine, political conversations, and fast cars. For some reason Athrun had a difficult time seeing Yzak in this place.

Landing on the edge of the town, out of sight from any possible aircrafts overhead, he spotted the crowd of people waiting for him. His eyes fell on the tall, pale-faced young man.

"Yzak." Athrun said.

"Zala, you bastard." Yzak said, "This better be good for you to come all the way out here."

"What are you doing here, Yzak?" Athrun smirked, "For some reason, I didn't think you were the rural type."

"Don't knock it till you've tried it." he said, "This is Major Shiho Hahnenfuss. Hahnenfuss, this is Athrun Zala."

"Major." Athrun nodded to her.

"It's on honor, sir. I've heard stories." she shook his hand.

"Well, we'd better not hang around here too long. We'll pick up unfriendlies." Yzak said.

They headed towards the chopper. Turning a backwards look, Yzak smiled and turned back towards the aircraft. Sitting next to Shiho as the helicopter began to lift off, he noticed that she angrily brushed a tear off her cheek. He reached to the side and thread his fingers through hers.

Yes, Yzak, I'll marry you...

Shiho looked at him. He did not need to say what was on his mind, she knew what he was thinking.

It'll be okay.

Giving him a shaky smile, she turned to watch out the window.

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Michael Rhinner sat at the bar, taking a drink of the vodka that was sitting in front of him. He unbuttoned the top of his collar, and dragged his hands through his hair.

"What's on your mind, kid?"

Michael looked up at the bartender, and let out a sigh.

"You know what I had to do today?"

"No. Enlighten me."

"I had to stand on a bridge and order my own people to attack my own home." Michael took a drink, "I work for a sick bastard."

"Don't we all."

Taking another sip of his drink, he set it back on the counter, "When I went into ZAFT, I never believed I would be working for..."

He stopped a moment, downed the rest of his drink, and paid the bartender. Walking down the hallway, he retreated to his quarters and sat on the edge of his bed, and stared at the floor. He was a failure.

An utter...failure.

Raising a hand, he pulled open the drower and lifted a picture frame out of it. Staring at the picture of him and his mother, a tear fell over his eyes and onto the glass. Setting it back in the nightstand, he slammed it loudly, and fell down backwards onto the bed. Staring at the ceiling, he knew in the back of his mind that he was going to be damned for whatever he was doing, working for a madman that was killing his own-

Mother, father, brother...

I'm sorry.

He laid a hand on his face, feeling a headache comming through his eyes.

"Rough night?" a voice murmured from the shadows.

His eyes shot open, and he sat up. Fuck, the pistol was on the other side of the-

All the thoughts left his mind as something whacked him hard in the back of the head. He passed out onto the floor.

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Great. He had a headache again.

AGAIN.

Wait a minute, what am I thinking? My whole fucking life is one huge headache.

Opening his eyes, he stared at the dark cell around him. He was sitting in a wooden chair, his hands cuffed to the chair, his uniform jacket had been upzipped when his captures had checked him for firearms and other weapons. His head was leaning back, and his eyes were focusing on the overhead ceiling fan that was slowly turning.

Stereotypical. It's like some sort of mafia movie.

The door unlocked, and he moved his head slowly. A young girl walked in, carrying a tray of food and a small box with her. She was short, probably a little over 5 feet, with waist-length hair that was partially braided. The rest was bound at the base of her neck. She was wearing a simple blue t-shirt and a dark blue skirt.

"You're awake." she said, "I'm sorry they hit you so hard."

She had a kind aura around her, Michael did not feel threatened by her at all. Setting the tray on the table in the corner, she unlocked his cuffs.

"Are you sure you should unlock them?" he murmured, "I might be dangerous."

The girl smiled at him, "No, I don't think you are."

"What gives you that idea? You people just clubbed me over the head and kidnapped me."

"I'm sorry for that." she looked at him sympathetically.

He rubbed his wrists as she took off the cuffs. Opening the box, she took out a roll of gauze and a bottle of hydrongen peroxide.

"Here, let me look at it."

Michael stared at her, and then tipped his head to the side. There was a small cut on the back of his head. Soaking a little of the cloth, she dabbed it gently to the back of his head.

"I'm Michael." he said, "Michael Rhinner."

He did not know why he was telling her this, she just seemed receptive.

"Meyrin." she smiled, "Meyrin Hawke."

"Hawke." he murmured, "That name is familiar. Were you in ZAFT at one point?"

She smiled sadly, "In a past life." she said, "Hold that there."

He reached his hand back and pressed the white gauze to the back of his head. It stung a little, but not enough to bother him. She walked around towards the back, setting the bottle back in the box.

"I brought you some dinner." she said, "It's just around 8 pm. You should eat something, you've been out for over 5 hours."

"What?" he gaspd, "5 hours...once the administration knows I'm gone they'll-"

"Don't worry about that, Mr. Rhinner." she smiled, "We'll take care of it."

"Miss Hawke-"

"Don't worry."

Meyrin turned and knocked on the door, it opened. Michael stared in shock, and quickly stood up at the person that stood behind the door.

"Thank you, Meyrin." the woman said, "You are needed in the control room."

"Of course. Call me if you need anything." she glanced back and bowed once more, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rhinner."

With that comment she left, leaving Michael alone with the middle-aged lady that had just entered his cell.

"You were a very difficult person to find, Mr. Rhinner."

"I make it that way." he replied, "Ezaria-san."

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Kira stood on the beachside, watching the sunset. It was the end of another long day. Slipping his hands in his pockets, he heaved a heavy sigh. His ears picked up the scuffle of sand and a baby's gurgling not to far away. Lacus was sitting on the deck playing with Akira. Somewhere on the edge of his mind, he heard a car go by, then a seagull cry over head, the rush of the waves...

Part of him wished he could be there forever.

Someone was walking towards him, he could hear it.

The person came to a stop next to him, taking a drink of the can of soda in his hand.

"Staring blankly at things will make people think you're mentally flipped, Yamato." the voice said, "At least blink or something."

"I was wondering when I would get to meet you, Yzak Jule." Kira looked at the tall, blue-eyed man next to him, "For someone that I've fought dozens of times, this is the first time I've met you face to face."

"Interesting, hm?"

A moment of silence past around them, and then Yzak shrugged.

"You should stare at the ocean sometimes, Jule." Kira replied before Yzak left, "It's good practice for the mind."

"How so?"

"It teaches you that life is never controlled, never the same."

Yzak stared at him, "On second thought, I find staring at the ocean very alarming."

Kira chuckled, "So do I."

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Ezaria pulled up a chair and sat neatly across from him. If he had never met her, it would not have been hard to tell that she was raised into nobelity. She was ladylike, stern, and very honest about her opinions in the right situations.

"What do you want with me?" he asked. Michael slowly sat, not wanting to seem overconfident. All he wanted was to report back so Djibril could not find another reason to attach his people.

"Tell me something, Mr. Rhinner, why do you work from Djibril?" she asked, "Do you actually believe in exterminating Coordiantors, or do you have another reason? Considering that you yourself is a Coordinator, I don't think there is a possibility of the first choice."

"It's my business."

"Now it's mine."

Michael contemplated telling Ezaria Jule to screw off.

"You seem awfully sure of yourself." he said.

"I want you to help me, Michael."

"What makes you think I will?"

"Because you want to."

Michael glared at her, and then adverted his eyes to the floor. He did want to, that was not a lie. But he was already too deep into the darkness, and he was not sure if he could get out.

"I was a personal friend of your family. You're mother and I-"

"Don't talk about my mother!" he snapped, "You don't know shit about me or why I do what I do!"

Ezaria glared at him, saying nothing and waiting for him to calm down.

"I need your help, Michael. I know that you want to, and you know that you want to."

He stood out of his chair and walked nervously around the room, wracking his hand through his hair.

"Let me out of here."

"No."

He glanced at her, and turned back to the wall.

"Okay." he said, "I'll help you. Tell me what I need to do."

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The next chapter will be up after I get caught up with my other stories, I just wanted to post this one to get it out of the way. Send a review and tell me what you think :D

Arigato

Lilith