Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or mechas from the Cosmic Era; I do however own the OC Allenby, and the mysterious assassin sent in time to change history. Although Time Travel is not very common, since they do come with their risks, sometimes some history should change if only to make a better outcome than its initial one.

Gundam Seed Sisters in Time

Kira's Return

By EmperorDraco7

All the troops within ZAFT were now in position for Operation Spitbreak, awaiting authorization from Chairman Zala in order to properly commence it. On the other hand, Athrun felt disappointed in not being part of the operation due to his transfer to the ZAFT Special Forces and being awarded the Order of the Nebula for having managed to successfully destroy the Strike or at least, he thought he managed to destroy the Strike plus his injured arm didn't help matters either.

As he was making his way down the halls of the Carpentaria base, he noticed Yzak waiting by the wall with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face over Athrun's promotion. "Don't worry, my turn will come soon," he remarked to his fellow redcoat, though he had to admit that he was in a way glad Athrun managed to finally do the impossible and avenged not only the deaths of Miguel, Andy, Aisha and Morrassim but Dearka as well yet part of him was still a bit angry since Dearka was his friend. "How could they pick you for the Special Forces?"

Putting his suitcase down, Athrun raised his hand out to the platinum-haired teen he fought alongside up until this very moment. "Sorry about how things turned out," he informed his friend, feeling responsible for what happened to Dearka and how even after having seemingly killed Kira, yet it didn't make him feel better at all over the events that transpired leading up to the death match at the Marshall Islands. "Thanks for all your help."

All Yzak did was glare at the blue-haired male pilot, having some animosity towards him ever since the M1 Astray the Archangel had in their possession destroyed the Buster though after some thought, he placed his hand onto Athrun's in a firm hand-shake since they may be the last time they'll see one another until possibly the end of the war. "Bye" Athrun spoke, picking his suitcase back up and took his leave but not before Yzak said one last thing.

"Next time, I'll be the one in charge!" he declared, something that somewhat surprised Athrun but knew that Yzak may get his chance someday, though hopefully Operation Spitbreak will be enough to bring an end to the war against the Earth Alliance as it's been going on for far too long. "Don't get killed until then… Okay?"

Lowering his head for a brief moment, he was going to miss Yzak and hoped that he doesn't get himself shot down or even perish during Spitbreak. He then turned his attention towards the silver-haired male teen before giving his response. "You got it, Yzak." he gave his reply before walking off and Yzak watched as Athrun headed for where the shuttle taking him back to the PLANTs was waiting.

Allenby really hated this day, right now Mu, Natarle and Flay were to be transferred off the Archangel and it was also clear that she suspected something involving this order from Sutherland yet couldn't put her finger on it. Then again, she did make a promise to the younger red-haired girl and that was a promise she intended to keep one way or another plus the M1 Astray was going to be accompanying Mu to new destination and wondered why the Strike wasn't going to be on the Archangel anymore let alone the Skygraspers. "No, I'm not going! Let go of me!" she heard Flay cry out as she saw Natarle taking the younger girl with her down the halls of the Archangel. "Captain, why is it just me?"

Even Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle and Mir were a bit worried, especially as they too were wondering that themselves. "That is enough!" began Natarle, knowing that the red-haired girl needed to follow the orders given to her like she and Mu were. "These orders are from Headquarters, you have no choice in the matter."

Murrue lowered her head, these were orders that she couldn't change or undo even if she tried. "I'm afraid she's right, because they're direct orders from headquarters, there's nothing I can do about it…" she explained to Flay as much as she hated to tell her though she was worried for the younger female regardless. "The same goes for the Strike, the Astray and the two Skygraspers apparently…. I'm sorry. If you'd like, you can attempt to file an appeal with the Earth Forces personnel office."

"It won't do any good."

"Captain, Lieutenant Badgirule!" snapped Allenby, she wasn't being harsh or angry at Natarle even for saying filing an appeal won't do any good, she didn't like the idea of Flay being forced to transfer off the Archangel even if the orders were given from the higher ups because there was something about Sutherland that rubbed her the wrong way. "May I have a word with you, alone?"

Murrue looked at the time traveler wondering what it was she wanted to say to her knowing that it was important from the look that Allenby had on her face right now. "Okay what is it Allenby?"

"Look I think Flay should stay here, I mean don't you think it's odd that only three people got a transferred. I mean think about it for a moment and the way he was talking about Kira as well." Allenby said with a frown on her face, knowing now that Sutherland was a member of Blue Cosmos.

"And what's that?" Mu asked knowing that Allenby could be onto something as even the Hawk didn't like the way that Sutherland talked about Kira.

Allenby looked around making sure that no one else heard her. "I think that Sutherland could be a member of Blue Cosmos."

The three officers all looked at Allenby when she had said this and gave a frown at this while Flay was also shocked to hear this, and Allenby knew that there was more going on as well. "I mean you have to look at it as well Mu, you're a damn fine pilot so they will want to keep you around. Lieutenant Badgirule you're a good officer and your family is well known so they will want to keep you around as well, and Flay, well you have to remember who your father was."

Flay just looked down at the mention of her father but soon looked at Allenby wondering where she was going with this. "But what does this mean Allenby?"she asked as she still felt confused at what Allenby was saying.

"The point is I think that Sutherland is planning to kill everyone on the Archangel I'm just not sure how or when," Allenby said as she gave a frown at this try she had no idea that was what Sutherland was going to do as it was more of a gut feeling that she was having right now. "But have nothing to prove it right now, but I know for a fact that they will use Flay."

"Why use me what can they do, Allenby?" Flay asked as she looked at her friend she had gotten to know.

Allenby could only frown at this knowing it was not going to be good. "Well say how Kira used and tricked you how he was the one that helped ZAFT all alone I bet." she said as she gave a growl at this and tightened her fists in anger.

Flay was also doing the same as well she, and while in her heart she believed that Kira was still alive she hated what Sutherland and the other higher up might try to do. "But he didn't!" she cried out knowing that Kira was a kind soul.

"They don't care you saw how they tried to pin all the blame on him after all didn't you, Flay?" Allenby asked as she looked at the young red head and saw her nod her head.

The others all looked at Allenby and each one had no idea just what they were going to do now that they knew of this and if it was even true, all they could do right now was just plan it out and they hoped that Allenby had a plan.

Meanwhile, Kira had once again woken up as he looked around and saw that Lacus was not here he wondered what was going on as well and knew that he needed to get back to earth and soon, he did feel a lot better as well. "I wonder if everyone on the Archangel is alright."

Kira soon removed the covers that covered his body, yet once he had done this he looked down in shock at what he was seeing his arm was missing and he noticed the scars that he now had on his body from when the Strike had gone off on him.

It was also then that Lacus came back as well and saw what was going on and was worried how Kira would have reacted to seeing this. "Oh no Kira please calm down!" She cried out rushing to his side as she saw that Kira was in a panic at his missing arm.

Kira however was still frantic over what had happened to him as he soon saw Lacus and looked at her with a still frightful look on his face. "Lacus what happened, what happened?" He asked with a panic in his voice as he soon passed out from the shock over what he had seen.

Lacus however gave a sigh at this as she covered Kira up and knew this was hard for him and wondered how he can cope with what had happened to him right now she wished she knew what to do in order to help him out. "Poor Kira I wish I knew what I could do for you."

Back on Earth, Flay was in her room and gave a sigh, she was happy that Allenby had stopped her being transferred off the ship and hoped that she would stay on the ship. Birdy blankly looked at the red-haired girl yet gave a small chirp in hopes that she's feeling okay ever since the orders for her, Mu and Natarle to be transferred off the Archangel made the female time traveler they befriended with suspect something just wasn't right. "Flay, is everything alright?" Mir asked as she came into the room and looked at her worried for her long time friend.

Flay looked at Mir as she sat down next to her. "No I'm worried what if Allenby plan does not work I don't want them to use me, Mir… they already said Orb is just full of idiots."

Miriallia however just smiled and knew that Allenby would work something out. "I'm sure she will come up with a plan you know she is smart after all." Mir said with a smile as she was worried as well right now.

"Well, I guess all we can do right now Mir is really wait for Allenby then and her plan." Flay said with a sad sigh hating all of this right now.

Just as they said this Allenby came walking in with a frown. "Well you two I have some good news but some bad news as well I think I remember what will happen this day only a little."

The two girls just looked at Allenby wondering what she was talking about but seeing the look she had on her face they knew that it was bad. "What wrong Allenby?" Mir asked as she looked at the older red head.

"ZAFT 's going to attack, I'm not sure on what happens but all that I know is that a lot of lives were lost when it happens," Allenby said and looked at the two as she wished that she knew more but the files that she read on before she came back to the past were all sealed away with what happened here. "But this means we can use this as well, for when they attack. Flay, I will bring you back to the ship as this is my plan." Allenby said as she told the two what she was going to happen once the attacked started, she just wished she knew when it was.

Mir and Flay remained silent, both girls had never expected ZAFT to be launching an attack on JOSH-A though what didn't make sense was the fact there was already confirmation that their assault was going to be on Panama and yet this news made them wonder if the initial thoughts were proven false and that Alaska might actually be their true target. "Without Kira, there might not be a chance we'll survive this…" began the brunette with a frown forming on her face, plus there was a chance Tolle might get himself killed since he was new to using the Skygrasper.

"I know that, Mir but I have installed the Natural-OS he developed for Morengroete into the Strike after we reached this place though you do have a good point there" said the female time traveler, hopefully the plan she had in mind would benefit in not only getting Flay back to the Archangel but also in keeping the Strike with the EA warship since the Top Brass had plans for it. "However, chances are the assassin from Orb might show up as well."

"Great, you had to bring that up…"

The two younger girls frowned, remembering the assassin who tried to kill Kira, Flay and Cagalli as they hadn't seen her since her attempt failed but that didn't mean she won't try again sooner or later. In fact, if she was able to sneak into a neutral nation like Orb from under their radar, chances were she might do the same thing at JOSH-A. "Let's hope she doesn't show up, we already have enough problems with having learned ZAFT will be attacking here" commented Mir with a hint of concern.

"We don't know for certain, though we need to be ready just in case it does happen" responded Allenby, knowing Orb would beef up security in case the assassin were to return to the nation, making it harder for her to strike there again but she suspects that her former friend would have a few tricks up her sleeve since she has knowledge of things to come like the red-headed time traveller did. "If I know her, she'll make plans for events that occurred in our time to make changes which could mean disastrous consequences if she succeeds so we need to be ready for that as well."

Kira leaned against the railing overlooking the PLANT's huge lake, pensive. He'd been here for over two weeks now, recuperating at the Clyne Residence, and now his wounds were essentially gone. But that wasn't much of a load off his mind... for now he had to make a choice.

Lacus had helped him once he had woken up and told him what happened and how he had in fact really lost his arm, something that Kira was still shocked by but knew that there was nothing he could do now to undo this. "What can I do now I have just one arm?" he thought to himself as he looked at the missing arm. "Maybe this is for all the people that I have killed in this war."

"You shouldn't think like that Kira." Lacus said as she looked at Kira with a frown as she had arrived with some food for him. "You look sad, Kira," she remarked quietly wanting to change the subject. "Are you all right?"

He stared out at the water. "I'm... just thinking," he said slowly while still looking at the water. "About everything I've done so far... about the things I might have to do again..."

"You've only done what you had to do," she told him gently. "None of this is your fault, you know; you were only protecting those close to you."

"I know, but... it even forced me to fight against Athrun. He's my best friend; how could I do that...?"

"Fate put you on two different sides of this conflict," Lacus said slowly. "There was nothing else either of you could've done. But now... there's no reason for you two to fight anymore."

Kira sighed. "Maybe now there isn't... but if I do go back to the battlefield, I may have to face him again. I don't know... if I can bring myself to fight him again."

She touched his shoulder. "That's not something you should be worrying about right now, Kira. You're here, well away from the war; now you can rest, for as long as you like."

"Maybe so... but still, I can't help but think that this isn't over..." He met her eyes. "If I have the power to make a difference, I should put it to good use, shouldn't I?"

Lacus started to answer then stopped, making herself think about it. "Maybe... he has a point," she thought, beginning to understand him -and why he fought- better than she ever had before. "We should all be doing our parts, shouldn't we? Kira's been out there, fighting for what he believes in... and what have we been doing? My father and I, we've been trying to use words to overcome Chairman Zala's intentions... yet sometimes words aren't enough. Zala himself has said that if you must fight to protect something, then you have no choice but to fight... and while we have been, we haven't been using every resource we have."

That was something that merited much thought; but for now, she only had a few words for Kira. "That's something you can only decide for yourself, Kira," Lacus told him. "If you believe that you have the power to make a difference and if you have the will..."

Kira nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you're right... but you're also right that I shouldn't worry about it right now." He frowned, turning inward. "Though... I really should return to Earth soon, even if I don't go into battle again. There's... there's someone waiting for me. I promised her I'd come back, so..." Kira said as he knew that Flay was waiting for him to come back to him and he just hoped that she was alright.

Lacus smiled in understanding. "Then we'd better make sure you can return, shouldn't we? And that means, Kira that you can't let yourself stand out here and waste away. Come on; it's about time for lunch."

"Okay."

What neither Kira nor Lacus realized, the ZAFT forces on Earth and in space were already prepared for Operation Spitbreak and were awaiting Chairman Zala's word to properly begin the assault on JOSH-A, the main base of the Earth Alliance, believing their success would bring an end to the war once and for all.

At JOSH-A, the EA Top Brass was making the final preparations for the trap set in place and wanted to make sure they were on schedule. "How's it coming?" asked one of the higher ups, wanting information on their current progress.

"Everything's on track." answered Sutherland, an evil grin forming on his face as it won't be long now especially with the possibility of the Strike and the Skygraspers helping the Earth Alliance in their cause once the time come. "I'm certain everything will begin as we planned and finish as we planned."

As this was going on, a majority of the Archangel's crew were at the bridge with two Atlantic Federation officers wanting to give them their new orders coming directly from Sutherland himself since it would be best for him to make the final preparations. "This is only temporary but as of today, the Archangel of Eighth Fleet is assigned to the Alaska Defense Forces' Fifth Escort Group, by order of Captain William Sutherland" one of them explained to them, more so making Murrue even more suspicious since not only were none of the crew members allowed to disembark for rest but there was no word on what they're going to do with the young teen who had previously stolen the Blitz back at Heliopolis.

"Yes sir!" Murrue replied, briefly saluting alongside Neumann and Tonomoura, yet she couldn't help but take into account what Allenby revealed concerning the fact Sutherland might indeed be a member of Blue Cosmos and the male officer wasn't done yet with the new information revealed to the crew.

"As per these instructions, the resupplying of your ship will commence at 1400 hours. That is all."

With that finished, the two men were about to take their leave when Murrue decided to get some answers right here and now. "But, sir… what about our request for crew members take time off and others to be discharged?" she asked, hoping they'll be willing to accept their request since they believed the crew deserved a rest after having made it to the main EA Headquarters on Earth. "Not to mention that we still have a prisoner onboard."

"Look, we got a lot on our hands with the threat to Panama right now" explained the officer before he and his fellow officer took their leave from the bridge which caused Murrue to frown at hearing this news. "Try to let the captain know."

Even the others in the bridge were confused as to why the Archangel was being assigned to the Fifth Escort Group since it was a spaceship after all, yet Sai, Kuzzey and Tolle were having a bad feeling right now and couldn't put their finger on it ever since the revelation Allenby revealed concerning Sutherland. Hopefully, whatever Allenby had planned would help them big time before things turned ugly.

Back in Aprilus One, it looked like it was starting to rain and Kira was having tea with Lacus and Malchio, despite him being grateful to Lacus having tended to his injuries during his time in the PLANTs, it's still new being in the Homeland that his best friend and his family lived prior to the start of the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. "Do you like the rain, Kira?" he heard Lacus ask him, getting his attention as he saw the songstress catching her beloved Haro in her hand.

The brown-haired young man wasn't sure what to say at this moment, especially as he's still trying to get used to being in the PLANTs though part of him hoped the others would be okay and especially Flay since Allenby was the reason why the two even stayed together in the first place even before departing from Orb. "I was thinking about how strange this all is" he started speaking, once again having his glance towards the window as the rain continued. "I was thinking…what am I doing here?"

"You're still thinking about the others from the Archangel aren't you?" she asked Kira, somewhat worried since he already lost his arm and he did mention someone waiting for him yet didn't know who it was at the time though she thought about something that could cheer him up for now. "If you had your choice, where would you want to be?"

"I really don't know…"

"Do you… dislike it here Kira?" she asked, starting to become even more worried because she had hoped he'd one day pay the PLANTs a visit but didn't expect Malchio to bring him to her in a badly injured state and part of her hoped he wasn't displeased with being at her home.

He lowered his head, once again unsure of how to answer the question, he did like being in Aprilius One but he wished that he could see the others again with hopes that Allenby and Mu are doing what they can to keep them safe in his absence… then there's Tolle and Flay, both were operating Skygraspers yet they were still new in being pilots unlike Mu and Allenby plus if the Strike had survived, it was now left without someone to operate it unless the Natural OS he developed could be installed into the machine. "It's not that, it's just…" he started to speak, feeling as if he once again broke a promise he made. "Is it okay for me, to even be here?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yes! Of course it's okay…" she replied, giving a light smile at Kira only to see that he wasn't returning the gesture one bit and caused her cheerful expression to fade, feeling sad for her friend for feeling this way but didn't know what else to say right now. "Kira…"

"The time will come when you realize where you should be going" the two teens heard Malchio speak, just as the reverend was taking a sip of the tea he had in his hand and despite being blind, he could tell by the tone Kira had that he was not only uncertain over the fact he's even at the PLANTs but also hoped this word of advice will make the brown-haired young man in making a proper decision when the time came. "And then you'll know what you should be doing. For that is what it means to be the bearer… of the SEED."

Lacus found herself smiling again, praying that Malchio's words would help make Kira feel a little better and at the same time, she too hoped the Archangel was doing well because she looked a bit sad in parting ways with Kira's friends after two of them helped the brown-haired young man in returning her to Athrun following the Advanced Fleet being wiped out in a previous battle in space.

The ZAFT space forces were all fathering in position alongside a small group of Laurasia-class and Nazca-class ships, determined to officially start Operation Spitbreak. "The operation will commence on schedule, you are all reminded to finish this job as quickly as possible!" came the announcement to all participating ZAFT pilots who were getting ready to head for Earth via pods that will be deployed down to JOSH-A's location.

Everyone in the control room, including Chairman Zala himself all watched as the final preparations were going smoothly without any interference of Earth Alliance space forces, which in turn gave them the element of surprise or so they thought. "Landing teams are in position. Operation area, all green. Commence final check of laser communication lines." began one of ZAFT members announcing the progress all.

The ZAFT transport planes on Earth were departing from Carpentaria alongside DINN escorts and Vosgulov-class submarines so that the ZAFT forces there could aid their allies from space for the upcoming assault on the enemy's main base. Even Yzak was making modifications to the Duel's OS, looking forward to bringing down their foe once and for all while Rau looked at the watch on his arm. "As we embark on this operation, it is my strongest wish that it'll bring the war to a swift conclusion!" announced Chairman Zala from within the control room. "Inspiring and helping us all that it will lead to true Freedom and Justice, let Operation Spitbreak now commence!"

"Message from central command! Target of Operation Codenamed Spitbreak is… JOSH-A, Alaska!"

Everyone within the control room was shocked at the revelation as they thought the target was Panama, where the final Mass-Driver belonging to the Earth Alliance was located not JOSH-A. They weren't the only ones to take notice of the turn of events as the space forces were just as shocked as they were at the news. "Did he say JOSH-A?" asked Yzak, taken aback by the fact it wasn't going to be Panama they're going to attack.

"Earth Alliance Headquarters?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be Panama?"

Rau silently grinned as now that Operation Spitbreak's true target was revealed, it's only a matter of time before the assault begins and he suspects that the Alliance might have something up their sleeve in case they lose the base to ZAFT in the end. The quickest way to slay the beast is to chop off its head… he thought to himself, knowing that even the Archangel wouldn't last against the mass MS forces on ZAFT's side.

"That's a creative move… I see Chairman Zala wasn't put in charge for nothing" commented Yzak, he had to admit that Chairman Zala was pretty smart for making both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT think their target was Panama when it's actually JOSH-A the entire time, that way it'll make the main base easier to take down with a majority of enemy forces transferred to Panama. "I'm kinda impressed."

The technician was a bit confused on what Yzak meant and decided to ask the pilot of the Duel right away. "Yeah and why's that?" the question got the silver-haired pilot's attention, knowing it might give him the chance needed to avenge Dearka's death as well as Olor and Matthew's since those three fell not to the Strike but to the Archangel itself back at Heliopolis or in the case of the ill-fated Buster pilot, at the hands of the new Mobile Suit the enemy warship acquired following its departure from Orb.

"Because they've concentrated all their forces at Panama, where they expected us to attack" he answered the technician, a confident expression formed on his face as it'll give ZAFT the advantage and capture the EA's main base in one swift strike. "This is our opportunity."

Hearing this, the technician was surprised and didn't know what to say as Yzak continued from where he left off. "Their time has come, this will finish the Naturals!" he declared, determined to ensure Operation Spitbreak was successful.

Meanwhile, Former Chairman Siegel Clyne returned to his home and while he knew that his time as Chairman had passed… he could only hope his friend Chairman Zala wouldn't do anything too rash in his new position, especially when it came to bringing an end to the war with the Earth Alliance. Unfortunately, he was concerned for Tad Elsman as his only son had been killed in battle on Earth at the hands of a new MS belonging to the Archangel while Yuri and Romina Amalfi's own son had gone missing during that same battle. "It's just not possible, not even if you wanted to use the Reverend's Shuttle… Flights for Earth simply aren't being allowed to take off" he spoke, though he would be interrupted as someone called the Clyne Residence.

"A call for Mr. Clyne from Ms. Eileen Canaver."

Curious on why he was being contacted, Clyne turned his attention towards the screen and Eileen Canaver's image appeared with a stern expression on her face as she wanted to inform him of what was recently revealed. "Clyne here," he said, hoping the female member of the PLANTs Supreme Council's Moderate faction had a good reason to calling him at this time.

"I have bad news, Clyne… it appears that Zala deceived us," she reported, somewhat angered over the fact Chairman Zala hid Spitbreak's real target from under their noses until the official start of the operation itself. However, it hadn't gone unnoticed from Kira, Malchio and Lacus as they turned their attention to the screen just before Eileen continued revealing the revelation. "Panama isn't Operation Spitbreak's target… It's Alaska!"

The moment Kira heard that Alaska was Spitbreak's target, he dropped the cup of tea in shock and it shattered all over the table as memories of his friends from the Archangel flashed before his very eyes since Alaska was the place where the ship had been headed toward. "Alaska?" muttered Clyne in disbelief, now having a lot more on his mind than just the flights to Earth not being allowed to depart.

Nodding her head, Eileen knew it wasn't a joke because Zala had plans to end the war with a single stroke though never imaged he'd resort to deception in order to bring them into motion. "He's planning to destroy the Earth Alliance with one fell swoop," she spoke again her expression remained hardened while keeping her gaze towards the former Chairman. "The council didn't approve anything of this nature!"

"I believe that once Kira is better he may be leaving." Clyne said with a worried after all the young man had lost an arm and now the younger man was horrified that his friends were now in grave danger upon having learned Spitbreak's real target.

"I know that you're worried sir, but I think there is a way we can help with that." She said with a smile hoping it would work for Kira.

The small building's door slid aside, and Lacus stepped in. "Kira...?" she called softly. "Are you all right?"

Kira turned to face her, and she was startled to see tears in his eyes, as though he'd just made a momentous, irrevocable decision... "But what?" Lacus wondered.

"It's time I left here," he told her simply. "I... I can't stay here any longer."

Somehow she wasn't surprised; this was something she'd seen coming ever since he started acting restless... ever since he mentioned there was someone waiting for him. "I see. But... where were you thinking of going?"

"I have to return to Earth. I..." Kira paused, gathering his thoughts. "I still have things I need to do."

"But why?" Lacus asked. "Even if you go, what can you do? You're all alone..." Lacus said as she was worried for his safety. "I mean you lost your arm."

"No, I don't think so," he said slowly. "But even if I am... Well, think about it. If everyone decided not to act, because they thought it wouldn't do any good, then nothing would be done. Then nothing would change... and nothing would end. I can't let it go on like this..."

"I understand, Kira," she said at last, and smiled. "Maybe... we can help you. But... who will you be fighting Kira? The Earth Forces, or ZAFT?"

Kira was still not sure on that but the one thing that his did know was that right now his friends needed him after all and he knew that something bad was going to happen. "I just hope I can still help keep my friends safe with just one arm."

"Well I think I know just how I can help with that my friend." A voice said as Kira and Lacus looked over to see Lacus father.

"What do you mean, father?" Lacus asked as she tilted her head at what he was saying to them.

Even Kira was wondering this as he looked at Lacus's father hoping that this was not some kind of sick joke. "How is that then sir?"

All he did was smile as he began to tell Kira how so and showed Kira the new robotic arm he was going to be getting, "I know that it will be hard but trust me once it's done it will be like you never lost your arm."

PLANTs, Maius Six, ZAFT Experimental Mobile Weapons' Hangar

With Kira properly outfitted in a ZAFT top gun red uniform, the same one worn by elite pilots within the military, it was a surprisingly simple matter to gain access to the required facility. Lacus Clyne's fame, gained them quick access to the interior.

"This feels... strange," Kira confided, when they were out of earshot of others. "This uniform... and sneaking into a place like this..."

"What about the new arm Kira?" Lacus asked as she looked at Kira and the new robotic arm that he has as she hoped that it was working alright.

Kira just looked at it as he moved the robotic fingers and gave lacus a smile. "Well its working well that's for sure, got to thank your father again for the new arm Lacus."

"It's nothing Kira I mean after what happened to you and how you helped me it was the least that we could do," Lacus said as she gave him another smile and looked on a head seeing that they had arrived. "Well we're here Kira."

The small group saluted another pair of ZAFT soldiers along the way, and then a hatch ahead of them slid open, granting access into a large, dimly-lit chamber. Only two of them knew what lay within... but the third would recognize it swiftly enough.

"Here it is," Lacus said, as they drifted out onto a catwalk, she then touched a control, and light blossomed in the chamber.

Kira gasped. "A Gundam," he whispered.

Indeed, it bore lines remarkably similar to the Strike; but where the Strike had hard edges, this mobile suit was well-rounded, making the Strike look crude in comparison. Where the Strike had a blue torso, with red trim, this beauty had black and red, and where the Strike had the six wings of the Aile Striker, this had ten folded wings.

Lacus smiled. "Actually, 'Gundam' isn't what it's called; but that does sound more powerful, doesn't it?"

"It's the ZGMF-X10A Freedom," Lacus informed the young pilot. "Most of the technology used in its construction is based either on the original five G-weapons."

Kira glanced from one renegade to the other. "But why... are you letting me...?"

"Because I feel that you'll need this power," Lacus answered. "In the coming struggle, neither will alone, nor strength alone, will be enough. That's why."

"Thank you," Kira said sincerely. "Will you be all right, after this?"

Lacus smiled. "I'll be just fine, Kira."

Kira remained silent, turning his glance back towards the Freedom, thinking back about what Lacus said earlier. "Neither will alone… nor strength alone," he muttered, taking in those words, especially since he will need to be prepared for when he gets back to Earth in order to protect his friends more than ever before.

"How's the evacuation coming?"

The Atlantic Federation personnel were still at work transferring their allies out of JOSH-A, knowing it would be best to leave Alaska before the possible attack by the ZAFT forces and Sutherland knew it was a matter of time till they unleash their own surprise for the enemy when they least expect it. "I'd say another three more vessels" he explained to the officer present in the transport submarine with him.

"Does that give us enough time?" the rear admiral questioned, suspecting there was a chance ZAFT might catch wind of this if they don't finish the transfer soon and Sutherland gave a stern expression since they're all ahead of schedule so it'll give them plenty of time to get out of the blast radius.

"There's no way they'll get to the deepest levels that quickly" he replied back, especially as on schedule, the enemy forces were mounting their attack on the base, unknowing that there was nobody in the control room at this very moment and the alarms went off within the entire base, getting the attention of the forces still at JOSH-A, including the Archangel crew.

Once at their destination, the ZAFT troops deployed from the Vosgulov-class submarines and Transport Planes their GINNs, CGUEs, DINNs, BuCUEs, ZuOOTs, GOOhNs and ZnOs in the impending attack on JOSH-A and also joining the fray was the GAT-X102 Duel as Yzak was ready to assist his allies in bringing an end to the war one way or another. The Anti-Air Guns were activated, opening fire on the approaching enemy Mobile Suits. "Impending message from Captain Sutherland!" came the announcement to all EA forces within the base.

Sutherland's face came up on the main screen of the Archangel, his expression showed slight disbelief at the fact they were deceived by the ZAFT forces. "Captain Sutherland, what's going on?" asked Murrue, wanting answers on the sudden announcement made concerning the detection of a mass attack force headed their way.

"All defence forces are to launch at once! Commence interception!" began Sutherland, wanting the troops that remained behind to engage the enemy as soon as possible which shocked everyone onboard the Archangel, yet he was hiding the fact this was all a rouse to unleash their secret weapon at the right moment. "They tricked us! At the last minute, they switched their target here to JOSH-A!"

As powerful as the Anti-MS weapons were, they weren't a match for the superior numbers that the ZAFT forces amassed for the operation and it made Allenby scowl as since the defenders were not going to stand a chance against the enemy. "Fighting under these overwhelming conditions is suicidal…" muttered Murrue, silently cursing at the situation they've been placed into and felt that Allenby might be right about Sutherland though it was too soon to tell. "But we can't afford to lose headquarters."

"Captain!" began Neumann, turning his chair towards Murrue, knowing there was a chance they wouldn't be surviving the battle.

"All hands proceed to Level-One Battle Stations! We've been given our orders and the Archangel is taking off!"

"I'm taking the Skygrasper!" announced Tolle, getting everyone's attention as he was out of his mind at this point since they wouldn't stand a chance without Kira's help though he suspected that whatever Allenby had planned could keep the Strike and the Skygraspers onboard the Archangel since they'll need all the help they can get from this point on. "We'll be dead if we don't do something!"

Without another word, Tolle made his way out of the bridge before the others could attempt to stop him. "Tolle…" muttered Mir, becoming worried for her boyfriend as Allenby managed to prevent the brown-haired male Natural from throwing his life away meaninglessly though this time, he wouldn't be so lucky.

Back at the PLANTs, Kira was now donning a red pilot suit and was entering the Freedom's cockpit as he needed hurry if he was to make it back to Earth on time. "Are you sure?" he asked, hoping she'll be fine with giving him the newly developed MS in his new mission and she just smiled brightly at the former Strike pilot. "Giving me this Mobile Suit, I mean."

"Yes, I too will be singing… the great song of peace…" she answered, causing him to smile back at the pink-haired songstress with hopes that she'll be fine.

"Be careful."

"I will…you too, Kira! My strength goes with you!" she replied back, planting a small kiss on his cheek which caused him to flush a light shade of pink and he smiled again, appreciating the gesture. "And now, you should be on your way."

Not saying anything else, Lacus floated from the scene and watched as he floated into the Freedom's cockpit and closed the hatch, upon activating the machine; something on the screen caught his eye. Not only did the Freedom have a different way of spelling Gundam than the G-Project Machines, with the words standing for 'GENERATION UNSUBEDED NUCLEAR DRIVE ASSAULT MODULE COMPLEX' but he also saw something else that caught his eye. "N-Jammer Canceller?" he asked himself in amazement, finding out that his machine has a different power source than other Mobile Suits. "Amazing! It has over four times the power of the Strike!"

The Freedom's eyes glowed brightly and Kira activated the Gundam's PS Armor, while they were similar to the Strike, there were differences as well. Neither will alone… he thought, bringing his new Gundam to life and preparing it to launch from the hanger it rested in, even though he knew he'll be a target for the ZAFT forces still in space. Nor strength alone…

As Lacus waved goodbye to Kira moments before the door to the hanger closed, the rest of the ZAFT members in the area were shocked at the fact the Freedom was being activated without authorization. "What the?! What's going on?" exclaimed a male member in disbelief.

"The Freedom! It's moving out!"

They immediately made contact with reinforcements as they needed to stop the Freedom before it was too late and soon enough, they hailed the Gundam along with whomever it was operating it. "Identify yourself! Shut it down!" Instead of giving a verbal response, Kira launched into space then headed straight for Earth, passing by two ZGMF-1017 GINNs that were nearby and it shocked the pilots at seeing a Mobile Suit they've never witnessed before.

"Whoa!"

"What kind of Mobile Suit was that?!"

The GINNs soon gave pursuit, firing their machine guns at the Freedom, which managed to easily evade them with little to no effort. "Back off, just let me go!" Kira declared, only to pick up the two GINNs having managed to get ahead of him and continued to try and shoot him down but he didn't have time to waste as he mounted the beam rifle onto the Freedom's backskirt before drawing one of the hip-mounted beam sabers to slice one of the machine guns in half.

"This guy is…"

"… fast!"

Both pilots were at a loss of words, knowing that Chairman Zala was not going to be happy at the fact there was an unidentified machine that managed to get past them. Meanwhile, a ZAFT shuttle was making its way towards the PLANTs and it contained none other than Zala's only son Athrun, who noticed the Freedom passing by and he was surprised the moment he bore witness to it as it continued in its path to Earth.

Allenby meanwhile was also making sure that Flay was alright as she had followed her and Mu and smiled once the attack had started. "Well it seems that ZAFT are attacking." She said with a smile as she looked at Flay. "Okay Flay no matter what I need you to stick to me no matter what alright.

Flay just looked at Allenby and nodded knowing that she was not going to leave her friends side no matter what yet she also saw that Allenby looked over to Mu. "Something about this doesn't seem right Mu."

Mu nodded at this as he knew Allenby and talked to him about this. "Okay then let's go see what's up then," My said and looked at Flay and smiled. "Just stay close okay."

Flay nodded once again as all three headed off, to where none of them was sure but one for that Mu and Allenby knew was that they needed to do some digging in what was going on. Yet Allenby still had a bad feeling she was just not sure what it was.

Flay was also worried as she looked to Allenby and Mu. "What about the Archangel and everyone on it?" She asked as she was worried for all of her friends that were on there and that they could be killed.

"Look Flay don't worry as soon as we find out what is going on we shall both head back out there to help them." Allenby said as she gave Flay a reassuring smile.

Flay just smiled again she was just thankful Misha and Jessica were never dragged into this war and were back in Orb, she just hopped that Orb would remain that was as well. "I hope so Allenby."

Yet little did anyone know was that Kira was also heading towards them, but also a darker threat as well one which they shall discover all too soon what the Earth Alliance is planning to do. "Dammit!" the Hawk cursed, noticing that there wasn't anyone present within the base and wondered on what the reason was for this. "What the hell's going on here? This place is empty!"

"I noticed, plus the fact ZAFT is attacking here instead of Panama isn't helping matters at all…" added Allenby, worried since Tolle was planning to head out there on his own to aid the defenders against the opposing ZAFT forces though even that wasn't going to be enough to make a difference. "Just hope Tolle doesn't do anything reckless, he's still new to operating the Skygrasper."

Mu and Flay remained silent, they too were concerned for Tolle and the only backup was the Spearheads, fighters that lacked beam weapons though they could hoped he'd be smart enough to have the Launcher Striker mounted on Skygrasper 2 since he'll need the heavy firepower in the Hawk's place. "Huh?" he wondered, realizing he had just sensed a familiar presence and he grimaced at the fact his long time enemy was nearby. "That feeling… Is Rau Le Creuset here?"

"Great…" muttered Allenby, soon enough… her watch picked up something within the area, making her realize that Rau wasn't the only one who had managed to enter JOSH-A and it being all but empty just made things easier to infiltrate the base. "She's here too!"

"What?!" exclaimed Flay in shock, noticing the expression on the older red-headed female's face changing just as she picked up something nearby which meant only one thing. "You don't mean…"

Giving a small frown, Allenby slowly nodded her head as it was indeed that assassin from Orb having come to make things more difficult for them. "Yeah, and I had a feeling she is gonna come after us since she knows we're here" she said, mentally cursing at the bad luck they've been getting and she handed the younger girl a gun in case they've crossed paths with her or Rau. "Here, take this."

Not knowing what to say, Flay took the gun in her hand and Allenby continued. "I know that you just became a soldier, still you need to be careful…" she had another gun to keep with her, especially to keep the female Natural safe cause the assassin would do whatever it takes to see Kira suffer not just physically but also mentally. "Stay with me and you should be okay."

All Flay did was nod her head, knowing she'd have to be crazy to wander off on her own and it probably would've been the case had the time traveller she befriended with never joined the Archangel in getting to JOSH-A. At another part of the base, the assassin had an evil smile on her face as she picked up Allenby's presence. "So, you're here as well…" she said to herself, having hoped to run into her again but never thought it be this soon and was determined to settle the score with her before going through with her intended mission.

"Don't worry; I have no intention of killing you just yet… I want to make certain you suffer slowly but surely. And Allenby, I can think of no what better way than to take away what you hold most dear my old friend."

Flay looked at Allenby and she was worried that this confrontation was going to be bad but she knew she would stick by her friend no matter what. "I hope we just don't run into her."

Little did Flay know that the assassin was heading towards Allenby intending not to end her but make her suffer, and give Rau all the time he needed for the plans that he was making not that they mattered to her she still had to kill Kira after all. "Then I will deal with Cagalli then nothing will stop my master and his plans."

A cruel smile just formed on her lips knowing that once gone and she would end Allenby once and for all. Soon she began to head in the direction that she could feel that Allenby was in and with a smile still on her face she knew this was going to be good making her suffer.

Allenby however could feel that the assassin was getting closer and it worried her a great deal as she looked around with a worried look that was on her face and Flay saw this as well and she knew that something troubled Allenby. "Allenby…?" Flay began but Allenby placed a finger on her lips.

The young red head did as she was told as she looked at Allenby waiting for her to say what was going on and to do as well. "Flay stay very close to me okay…" Allenby said in a whisper as she looked to Flay who gave a simple node of her head.

"Well, well I'm happy that I found you my old friend." The assassin said with a large grin on her face as she looked at Allenby and smiled as she saw that she was not alone either. "And I see that you brought her as well this is good was just thinking about how I could make you suffer."

Flay was taken aback by this as she knew that she and Allenby were friend but how would she make Allenby suffer. 'What is she talking about?' Flay thought, soon a confused look soon crossed Flay's face one that didn't go unnoticed by the assassin.

This soon caused her to laugh at this as she was sure never to take her eyes off either Flay or Allenby. "Oh this is good, I mean very good you never told any of them who you even are?"

The only response that Allenby gave was a growl to her former friend which simple served to amuse her even more. "That's none of your business!" Allenby snapped at her as Flay looked to Allenby with a part of her wanting to know what it was that Allenby was not telling them.

"What is she talking about Allenby"? Flay asked she was a lot more concerned not that she thought it was going to be something bad something that she may not like to know, but she also knew that she needed to know as well.

"Oh I think she should know don't you think Allenby after all she is family after all." She said with a grin and looked to where Flay was and saw she was not sure as what to make of this. "Oh you really have no idea do you girl, well say hello to your sister."

"What I don't have a sister?" Flay asked she was not angry she was just confused at what this assassin was talking about she was an only child as far as she knew. "If I did I would remember her."

"Oh that is where you are wrong my dear child very wrong, remember she is from the future after all, so how about you say hello to your baby sister." The assassin said with a wicked smirk now on her face as she was going to make sure Allenby suffered like she had promised.

Hearing this Flay just looked to Allenby more shocked then before, as she soon tried to find the words to say to her. And at first she thought that the assassin was lying trying to trick her but she could see the look that Allenby had on her face and knew that this was no lie, it was all true Allenby was her baby sister. "Allenby is what she saying true are you my sister?"

Allenby remained silent, more so as she wasn't sure what to say right now… even more so due to the assassin revealing the truth right in front of Flay. "I'm sorry, Flay… everything she's saying, it is all true…" she spoke, causing the younger girl to be shocked at hearing the revelation revealed before her very eyes and the assassin just grinned since it was too good for her to pass up on. "Look, I know I never told you this but…"

"Oh that look on your face, truly priceless" the assassin interrupted, then turned her attention back towards Flay before continuing. "That's right, apparently she was born of the Allster Family moments before the death of your mother and when your own father found out she was a Coordinator, he just abandoned her like she was unwanted garbage and not worth raising."

"What…?!"

Flay didn't know what to say, turning her attention towards Allenby, who was shaking with anger as memories of the day she grew up all alone and no one to take care of her flashed before her very eyes. "I'm sorry, did I hit a sore spot there?" the assassin mocked her former friend with amusement on her face.

"Damn you!" she lashed out, firing her gun at her ex-friend and the enemy time traveller hide behind a corridor to protect herself before countering back with her own gun…. only her target wasn't going to be Allenby but Flay. Causing the older female to be shocked at this and managed to knock her sister down just as her opponent fired a single shot, unfortunately it to go through her shoulder.

"Allenby!" Flay cried out, horrified the moment she saw her sister injured protecting her and she remembered the gun that was placed into her possession then aimed at the one responsible for the wound. Her only response was a small laugh. "What so funny?"

"You are, protecting a Coordinator… something you despised since you were younger, what would your own father think of this?" commented the assassin, believing that if George Allster was still alive, he'd be really disappointed in his daughter for even defending a Coordinator and then she turned to fatally wound a soldier that tried to come in on the fray much to the dismay of the younger red-haired female. "Don't be so surprised, he was going to die eventually; the same will happen to you sooner or later."

Allenby and Flay remained silent; they didn't need to be reminded of what came to the latter in the timeline the former and the assassin originated from… Even more so as they still hadn't a clue on what their foe had in store, hopefully Mu would finish dealing with Rau so they can take their leave as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Mu was not going to have it any easier as Rau was in the control room examining something that caught his eye. "Well…" he spoke with slight interest, Mu being right outside with a gun in his hand in hopes of catching the masked commander by surprise but it wasn't meant to be as Rau could sense his rival behind him and turned to shoot at the Hawk before running off, causing him to try and pursue while avoiding bullets fired in his direction.

As Mu hid at a safe distance, he kept his gun with him while wondering what Rau was up to right now. "It's been a while, Mu La Flaga… I don't have time for fooling around. Though we only just met again, I apologize for leaving so soon" he spoke to the Hawk with a grin, certain that there would be a chance to face one another properly another time if Mu survived. "But if you're still hanging around here, your usefulness to the Earth Forces must be nearly at an end. Oh Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen."

After firing his gun at Mu again and missed, Rau decided it was time for him to make before the EA officer could even attempt to retaliate. "Damn…" he cursed, and then glanced at the screen Rau was examining earlier with an expression of shock filling his entire body upon recognizing the data on what was resting under the base. "Ah… dammit…"

Outside, the defenders were finding themselves being pinned down by the attacking ZAFT forces, both sides being unaware of the threat looming from within the base. The Archangel was preparing to deploy Skygrasper 2 and mounted the Launcher Striker onto it due to Mu previously upgrading to the M1 Astray before their departure from Orb. "Just be careful out there, this is a battle you'll need to handle on your own until the others return." reminded Mir, having immediately contacted the fighter with a hint of concern forming in her voice.

"I'll be just fine!" responded Tolle, launching from the Archangel and deep down, he hoped he can handle the extra weight of protecting everyone on the warship by himself for the time being, sure he had done a lot of simulation runs during his spare time but never in his entire life will he be involved in a major battle like this.

Once the Launcher Grasper departed from the Archangel, Murrue had the crew activate the main weapons in order to provide support fire. "Wombats! Valiants! Fire!" she ordered with the Archangel firing its Valiants and Wombats in the direction of the ZAFT Mobile Suits approaching the base, managing to destroy a nearby DINN that came their way.

Tolle saw this and knew that this was going to be bad but he knew that Mir was on the ship and he was not going to let any harm come to her or the others on the ship, not after what happened to Kira.

Murrue just hoped that Mu was doing alright and knew that Allenby was still somewhere on the base but she had yet to be contacted by her. "I just hope she is okay." she said to herself, also aware that Flay was with her as well and began to wonder what was going on.

Up above Kira was still approaching the battle that was going on, he started to pick up the fighting that was going on and he knew that he also needed to hurry up as well. "I better hurry up before it's too late."

Kira had no idea at what was going on Earth nor did he know that the assassin that wanted him dead was right now with Flay or what Flay had learned either, but the thing is none of them knew what the Earth Alliance was planning however only one person there knew what was going on, only the assassin knew this.

To Be Continued….

A/Ns: I hate to do this but I'm going to have to stop the chapter right here but don't worry there will be the epic moment you've been waiting for soon enough as we all know what that is. Hopefully the continuation will be ready as soon as possible despite my busy schedule and all.