Hello Everyone, Asher Here. Here;s the new chapter. Sorry, I can't say much as it's getting late here and my eyes are dropping!

I hope you readers all enjoy this story so far, and sorry for those who doesn't seem this story is their cup of tea.

but anyway, enjoy!

I don't own anything except OC

Chp 11: The Decision

Kira sighed as he got off the Strike, Huckmon currently napping in his Digivice after what happened.

"Kira!" came Sai's voice, as he saw his friends running towards him.

"Man, Kira, that was incredible! How'd you do that?" Tolle asked with a big grin.

"How I did...huh?" Kira blinked. Honestly, he remembered most of the fight, but somehow part of it felt fuzzy for some reason.

"How'd you make the Strike use that last attack? It drilled right through the Duel's shield like it was paper!" Kuzzey clarified. He had to admit, it was awesome to see, like something out of an anime.

Kira blinked, remembering parts of that. Of course, he also knew there was no way he could tell them what really happened. So with some difficulty, he lied. "Honestly...I don't know," he said. "I just...I wanted to protect the ship, I didn't want to let anyone gotten hurt and well...I guess it just...happened."

"You're kidding, right?" Mu couldn't help but chime in. He was in the middle of the fight, and he saw what happened. He knew as well as anyone that was something else, even if it was awesome.

"It's true. I really don't know how I did that," Kira lied through his teeth. He knew how he did that. He also knew he'd sound crazier than...crazier than well...Asher, if he told them. As if to confirm his statement…

"Coming through, out of the way," Asher said, walking through the hanger...with a small tower of boxes balanced on his arm. "Anybody who's free, feel free to lend a hand. The supplies always get all messed up after a fight," he added as he walked past them. Nobody bothered to comment or ask why he was carrying so many boxes in one shot.

Seeing a good chance, though… "Sure, I'll help out," Kira quickly said, as he grabbed a few boxes and helped Asher move them.

"Thanks," Asher nodded.

"Anytime," Kira said though inwardly he added, 'I owe you one for the nice timing.'

"...well, I guess we should help too. Kira DID just help save the ship again," Miriallia said, to which they nodded in agreement and joined the two.

Mu watched them go, as Murrue and Natarle came in. "Your thoughts on the matter?" Natarle asked.

"Well...it was something alright. I've never seen anything like it. What about you, chief?" Mu said, before turning to Murdoch.

"Don't know what to say, but whatever the kid did, it actually recharged the Strike's batteries. There's way more energy in here than there normally should be!" he explained.

"That is strange," Murrue nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here, but...do you think the kid might have...activated something? You know, like a hidden function or something in the Strike," Mu suggested.

"...hard to say," Murrue frowned.

"But it sure makes sense!" Murdoch called out. "There's a lot we don't really know about the G-Weapons. Maybe the boys down at Morgenroete installed some hidden functions in the GAT series."

"That's true…" Murrue conceded. "But we still failed an attempt to make further contact with the Omni Gundam due to the way it disappeared without giving us a chance. At this rate, I have no idea how to include it in the report."

"Well, that Mobile Suit is a big mystery. I'm starting to wonder if it was really was made by humans. You know, like aliens?" Mu's remarks made both Murrue and Murdoch sigh as they left the Lieutenant alone.

Eventually, the Archangel was able to link up with the 8th fleet, while the Montgomery and its crew were escorted away to the lunar base for repairs. At the same time, the atmosphere in the Archangel was notably brighter, as the refugees were overjoyed to know that they were able to return back to their homes on earth safely soon. As such, all of them were packing their things, ready to transfer to the Menelaos for the shuttle back to Earth.

"Well, we made it this far I guess," Asher mused as he watched from Cyber Space again. "Question is, what do I do now?" he sighed. It wasn't as if he could 'go home'. He wasn't from this world after all.

"Maybe I'll talk with a few people. Maybe that'll help clear my head."

Jacking out of the system, he took a walk around the Archangel, passing a number of refugees along the way. Many were in high spirits, clearly looking forward to the prospect of getting home. However, as he walked around, he noticed some kids who seemed...uncertain, afraid even. "Something wrong?" he asked as he got close.

The kids seemed a bit surprised at his sudden appearance, but seeing his uniform, they calmed down.

"Well…" one of them started.

"Are we really gonna be okay?" another said.

"We're already with the 8th fleet," Asher nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll all get to go home real soon."

"But what if ZAFT attacks again?" the first one asked.

Asher...stopped at that. Sad as it sounded, the kid had a point. There really wasn't anything stopping ZAFT from attacking them again. But he had to say something. "Don't worry, we'll protect you," he said...though inwardly the first image he got was Kira with the Strike rather than say...Mu with the Moebius. While he wouldn't say it out loud cause it was just plain rude, it was honestly kind of sad when you realize the Ship's best defender was a teenaged boy who really shouldn't have gotten involved with this in the first place. Especially with whatever he did to the Strike to let it use Digimon moves...however, the heck that was even possible.

"But will we be really safe?"

"We'll be alright!" A girl with long black hair holding a teddy bear spoke up, the other kids and Asher looked at her. "That white knight will definitely protect us, hasn't he protected us until now?"

Asher blinked a bit at that. Sure he'd helped them out of a few tight spots, but he hadn't done that much...right?

"Yeah, you're right. He'll send ZAFT running for sure!" one of the boys nodded in agreement, the kids' moods quickly becoming brighter.

Asher wasn't sure what to say, but he smiled and said, "Well then, you'd better go and get ready to go. Don't want to miss the ship," he said.

"Hey, Kira…can we get something to eat? I'm hungry," Huckmon grumbled, as Kira was busy working on the Moebius Zero for a change.

"We can't yet. Lieutenant La Flaga asked me to work on this even though we're with the 8th fleet already," Kira mumbled as he checked the systems.

"I don't get it," Huckmon said.

"Apparently the 8th Fleet are mostly young pilots. Lieutenant La Flaga wants to be ready just in case," he sighed. But before he could continue…

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to talk to Kira," came Murrue's voice as she floated into the hangar.

"Huh?" Kira blinked, looking at her a little suspiciously.

"Please don't give me that suspicious look," Murrue said. "Though, I don't blame you," she admitted.

Shortly after the two of them were standing in front of the Strike. "I've hardly had any free time so I couldn't find the time to have a good talk with you," Murrue said. "Well, I just wanted to thank you properly."

Kira seemed surprised at that before Murrue continued.

"I put you through a great deal of hardship. I am truly grateful for what you've done," she said, giving him a bow, much to Kira's surprise. "I forced a number of things on you," Murrue continued. "And you gave us your all. I'm truly grateful."

"Hehe, hear that buddy? You're a hero," Huckmon chuckled from his spot.

Kira seemed rather surprised. "Ah...it's alright, captain," he said.

"The others may not say it, but everyone on this ship is grateful for what you've done," she said, getting up from her bow. "Given the situation, I imagine things will continue to be hectic for you even on Earth, but I wish you the best of luck," she said, extending her hand in a handshake, to which he accepted. With her piece done, she left the boy to his thoughts.

"...hey...Huckmon, do you really think it's okay for me to just walk away from all this?" Kira couldn't help but ask once Murrue was far away.

"Hm...that's a tough one. Honestly, I still think it'd be a shame to just leave like this. But in the end, it's your choice. I'll support you no matter what you choose," he said.

"Thanks, Huckmon," Kira nodded with a smile.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Huckmon grinned.

Asher landed gently on Archangel Island, the name he'd decided to give to this Island seeing as it WAS inside of the Archangel. Walking to the 'Primary Village' of this Island, he smiled a bit when he saw the Baby Digimon running around and playing in the fields. He also noticed Elecmon with a blindfold, trying to catch some of them, no doubt as part of a game, much to his amusement.

However, as he walked into the fields, he saw something out of place. Out in the corner, under a tree, was a glum looking Tokomon. Asher was surprised to see a normally cheerful Digimon look so glum, and decided to see what was wrong. "Hello? Is something wrong?" he asked as he got closer.

"Hm? Oh, it's you…" the Tokomon said glumly.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?" Asher asked.

Tokomon looked up at him and asked, "Is it true?"

"Huh?"

"Is it true we're inside some kind of ship, and if that ship gets destroyed, we'd go with it?" Tokomon said.

Asher was surprised...and honestly a little disturbed. That wasn't something a Baby should be thinking, but then...he didn't exactly know how old this one was. In the end, he decided it was best, to be honest.

"Yeah, its true," Asher said...but quickly added, "But don't worry, it'll all be okay," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Tokomon asked.

"Because we've got some strong people protecting that ship. And if push comes to shove...I'll protect this ship too," Asher said with a grin.

"Huh? How?" Tokomon asked

"Hey, Asher! Didn't notice you were here. You could say something at least." Asher turned around and saw Elecmon coming towards him.

"Hey, Elecmon. Sorry about that, didn't want to disturb your babysitting duty just now." Asher grinned.

"Oh? Tokomon, what are you doing here? Aren't you playing with the others?" Elecmon asked as he got closer to Tokomon, Elecmon picking Tokomon up and placing him on his head, though the baby Digimon still looked glum.

"Well, that little one was worrying about this island inside of the Archangel and the worst case scenario if it's destroyed," Asher said as he scratched his temple, not really sure if it was good idea to mention that just now.

"Huh? Why are you thinking about such stupid things? Kids like you shouldn't worry about things like that," Elecmon cut Tokomon off before the Baby Digimon tried to say anything. "Besides, we have someone here who can protect us in our place," Elecmon said as he looked at Asher.

Asher nodded in agreement and even gave the Tokomon a thumbs up. "Leave it to me. ZAFT isn't getting its hands on this ship if I've got anything to say about it," he said with a reassuring grin.

"...I know I said I'd protect the ship, but can I really do that? This is a warship, so…" Asher muttered as he walked through the halls, having jacked out after playing with the kids for a bit. "No, stop thinking like that," he chided himself. Fortunately for his nerves, he got a convenient distraction.

"Hey Asher, are you on break right now?" Kira waved at Asher.

"Hi there, Kira! Yeah, since the stuff has been organized and the repairs are almost done. I'm practically free for now until the old man calls for me. How about you? Heard you helped out with the Lieutenant's Moebius Zero earlier." Asher said

"Oh, I just did some adjustments, the maintenance crew will handle the rest later. Did you have your lunch already? I didn't see you in the mess hall. I wanted to ask if we could eat together, but I couldn't find you anywhere." Kira said although he had fed Huckmon some bread earlier without anyone noticing but both of them heard a loud grumbling noise coming from Asher's stomach.

"Speaking of that, I never had a chance to grab a bite. Hahahahaha! Do you wanna come? You know, have a drink or something. It's been awhile since we hung out together. What do you say?" Asher said.

Kira chuckled at the shorter boy's reaction, "Sure, I don't mind. I have some free time for now."

"Cool! Let's get going, I'm starving already."

Meanwhile, in the Archangel briefing hall, Murrue followed by Natarle and Mu were standing in front of the door which later opened up revealing a middle-aged man with short dark blonde hair and moustache. He had a stern expression on his face befitting his rank of Admiral, as shown by his uniform. The three Archangel's officer saluted the arriving man, and the man saluted them as well.

"Glad you made it, Lieutenant Ramius and Lieutenant La Flaga , as well as Ensign Badgiruel." the man said

"Thank you for picking us up, Admiral Halberton." Murrue thanked,

"At ease all of you, I'm fully aware that it must have been very hard to get here without support." Halberton said as he went over the wooden table and took his seat. "Now then, shall we proceed with your report?"

"Yes, sir!" All three of them saluted.

Asher was currently in the mess hall together with Kira and his friends, except for Flay as she was currently with her father according to Sai. Right now, the group was excited for some reason.

"Guess we've finally linked up to the 8th fleet," Asher mused.

"Yeah, and they said that all our families are accounted for," Kuzzey nodded.

"That's great news," Miriallia smiled.

"Yeah...great…" Asher said half-heartedly. He already knew there was no way they could contact his parents.

"Something wrong Asher?" Kira asked. He couldn't understand why Asher didn't seem happy to hear the news.

"It's...complicated," Asher sighed, wondering how he was supposed to explain that his parents are from a different world. "At any rate, we're not out of the woods yet. Knowing ZAFT, I bet they'll try something before this is over," Asher quickly changed the topic.

"You sure? I mean, we're with the 8th fleet right now," Tolle said.

"Somehow I don't think that'll stop them," Asher sighed.

"What makes you say that?" Kuzzey asked

"Think about it, Kuzzey. They have 4 stolen G-weapons and a good number of mobile suits at their disposal, while the 8th fleet only has several battleships, the Moebius Zero and the Strike, the only Mobile suit. If I was ZAFT's commanding officer, this is the perfect opportunity to wipe us out." Asher replied. "No offence to the 8th fleet, but other than the Strike and Lt. La Flaga's Moebius Zero, the 8th fleet doesn't have any means of intercepting those GINN and G-weapons ZAFT will throw at us later. The difference of firepower between us with the 8th Fleet and ZAFT is pretty huge," Asher continued. "Worse come to worse, the Archangel might survive the assault later as there's a high probability that the Archangel will be placed at the rear, being the newest weapon for the Earth Alliance. I'm sure the higher-ups or the Admiral of this fleet won't risk it in the front lines where it could get destroyed. The ZAFT forces might consider this kind of possibility and take the chance to wipe out the 8th fleet for their future plan." Asher said in a detective-like thinking gesture.

"But if the 8th fleet has no means of winning, why didn't ZAFT attack them in the first place?" Sai asked.

"Think about it, Sai." Asher said as he removed his gesture while looking as Sai. "The ZAFT's military strength in space so far only consists of the GINN and CGUE. While they may have mobile suits, their numbers are small compared to the Earth Alliance, and ZAFT isn't stupid enough to waste manpower knowing the probability that they will suffer some losses on their side as well is pretty high. Not to mention the fact that Naturals outnumber Coordinators, so there's that too," Asher replied

"So, they waited until…" Miriallia gasped later realising something, Asher nodded at her.

"Correct, the G-weapons at Heliopolis. The G-weapons are the main key for ZAFT's assault forces. For example the Artemis destruction, which is why all this time ZAFT activity in space has been mostly silent until they managed to sniff out about the Earth Alliance's new advance Mobile suits in Heliopolis and steal the G-weapons. A G-weapon can be considered the equivalent of 10 GINN in terms of ability and/or firepower for easy math since the technology and performance are beyond ZAFT's current technology," Asher explained.

"I-I can't believe this," Kira said, while in his Digivice Huckmon was speechless as well.

"If it's true, why would they place The Archangel in the rear? I mean, we can handle them right?" Tolle asked

"I'm getting to that, Tolle," Asher said as he turned towards the group. " Aside from the stolen G-weapon's overall combat abilities, ZAFT will place them on the front line every single time to get more battle data so that they can develop even higher performance mobile suits than the Strike as their trump card to overthrow the Earth Alliance. When that happens, unless the Earth Alliance manages to build their own mobile suits that Naturals can actually pilot, the EA won't stand a chance. Which is why the Archangel's survival, and the Strike for that matter, is very crucial for the Earth Alliance as its their last means of developing a countermeasure." Asher said as he crossed his arms, letting his words sink in. When he saw the horrified looks in their eyes, he nodded. "That's right, we're literally sitting in Earth's last hope, something ZAFT is VERY keen on snuffing out." Asher finished.

The group was speechless after hearing what Asher told them, they never thought that the there was something bigger happening.

"Asher, how did you figure this all out?" Kira asked, even he, a Coordinator, hadn't thought things out that deeply. Heck, he didn't even think there was some kind of hidden agenda behind all this.

"Hm? Oh, just a simple deduction based on what happened before, gathering enough information, comparing facts, and think all of the possibilities based on all the facts and information. It's pretty normal stuff for a detective, like solving a jigsaw puzzle," Asher said, thinking about his own investigation on the matter that he conducted in secret

"You're a detective?" Tolle asked in surprised

"Nah, my mom works as one. I'm always around or eavesdropping whenever a client arrives at her office and sometimes I even sneaked out and followed her around when I was a little kid until now, so I learned a thing or two." Asher shrugged.

The slack-jawed looks on their faces were almost comical after he finished explaining. 'Seriously, what kind of lifestyle has this guy been living all this time?'

Kira was the first to snap out of it. "So, what do we do now?" he sighed.

"The same thing we've always been doing up till now," Asher shrugged. "Don't tell this to the captain or Lt. La Flaga, this is just my own deduction and I don't want to add unnecessary pressure on them."

"But why?" Miriallia asked

"They're soldiers, I'm sure they already thought these possibilities through. If not the Archangel would have been sunk a long time ago." Asher said as he got up, "Now then, I had better get back to the hangar and see if there's anything to do. Later folks!" Asher waved his hand and float away back to the hangar, leaving the group alone.

"What do you guys think?" Miriallia spoke up first.

"I'm not sure, I mean...damn, I thought Asher was just a normal teenagers like us, never thought he'd be able to think like an adult to that extent. Kinda surprised me there." Tolle said

"Yeah, I mean we always see his...errr...crazy sides all the time. This is the first I see him this serious aside from when we were packing supplies like we did before at the debris belt." Kuzzey said

"Kira, what would you do?" Sai asked

"I don't know, but I think it's best to keep this amongst us. Sai, could you keep this from Flay as well?" Kira asked

"Sure, it's best for her not to add any more worries while her father just barely survived. Like that guy said, it's only his deduction. Although, I won't deny the things he said actually made sense." Sai said.

"I guess so," Kira said. With that, the group were dispersed away leaving Kira alone, his mind is in deep thought about what Asher said early as he mindlessly wandering in Archangel without knowing where he should go.

"Something bothering you bud?" Huckmon asked from the Digivice in Kira's pocket. Kira searched through his pocket and took out his Digivice with Huckmon's image displayed on the screen. "It's about what Asher said earlier, about how the G-weapons will provide battle data for ZAFT to develop higher performance mobile suits." Kira sigh

"So you're wondering if it's a good idea to keep disabling them or if it'd be better to just shoot them down to prevent that, right?" Huckmon asked and it seems that he guessed correct after seeing his partner expression turned grim.

"But if I do that-"

"If you shoot them down, it makes you no different than those soldiers? Or you don't want to hurt your childhood friend?" Huckmon beat him to it.

"Huckmon, what should I do?" Kira asked, his expression near anguished as both options were not appealing in the slightest.

"I can't answer that for you, but it's best if you find out for yourself, Kira. Try to think back the first reason you pilot the mobile suit and think through all these, I'm sure it will show some light to you." Huckmon said

Kira nodded although deep down he was still having second thoughts about all this fighting. Was it a good thing for him to keep fighting like how he always did? Or would he be able to bring himself to take another life? As it was, he still had nightmares of the battle of Heliopolis, of how he cleaved a GINN in two at the cockpit. Even now, the phantom images of the pilot's death as it probably happened still plagued his dreams at times.

"Hey, no worries. Take it slow, bud. No matter what you choose, know that I'll always be by your side. That's what partners are for after all." Huckmon grinned reassuringly.

Kira blinked, before smiling slightly. "Thanks, Huckmon," he nodded appreciatively.

Inside of The Archangel's hangar, Asher was currently re-checking supplies since he had nothing else to do. He wondered if it had been a good idea to tell them his deduction based on the info he'd gathered in secret so far like that. Of course, even if it was a mistake, it was too late now. All he could do was hope that none of Kira's group mentioned anything about it, as right now he didn't want to deal with unnecessary issues and preferred to keep a low profile.

'Still, what am I supposed to do? Part of me wants to get on the shuttle and find a way home, but even if I went to Earth, I have nowhere else to go. Besides, if my deduction is true, transforming into Omni Gundam might be a big risk in facing new weapons, and when that time comes will I still able to protect Archangel and the Digimon? I doubt I can upgrade my Gundam in my current situation. Not to mention that was more Itsuki's speciality...' Asher deeply frown in his thoughts.

Sighing a little, Asher glanced at the shuttle where the refugees are grouping together, eager to board. He shook his head knowing that even if he boarded that shuttle, it won't solve his problem and he would feel bad leaving the Digimon alone after he said he would protect the ship.

Sighing again, he decided that the only real option he had at the moment was to stay at Archangel, but if he did he needed to come up with a valid reason for staying. Telling them that he was the Omni Gundam and the Digimon was out of a question for now.

"Argh! This is frustrating!" Asher scrambled his hair in annoyance.

"What are you doing being noisy around here?" Asher slightly jumped his shoulder and he glanced behind saw Murdoch holding a piece of paper.

"N-Nothing! Just thinking of something!" Asher quickly answered. Hopefully, the Chief Engineer won't pry on it.

Murdoch just shrugged. "Well, here you go," Murdoch said as he handed over the piece of paper, Asher took it. "What is this?"

"Discharge papers," Murdoch said. "The other kids got their Discharge Papers earlier, seeing as it's technically a crime for civilians to take part in combat or military activities," he explained. "So basically we've had you all recognized as volunteer soldiers to avoid any issues," he sighed.

Asher just silently looked at the discharge papers, before wordlessly taking them. "Thanks," he said softly, though he was still looking at the papers intently.

"Well, at least you can go back home safely. It's kinda late for me to say this but thanks a lot for helping out all this time. When the war is over maybe I can pay you a visit someday hahaha!" Murdoch said as he playfully messing with Asher's head making his hair fairly messy.

"Yeah...maybe…" Ashe sighed as Murdoch walked away. As if Murdoch would ever be able to find his home as he thought sadly. Asher left the hangar and decided to go to the mess hall to think this through after he arrived he sat at the corner staring at the window, showing endless void of scenery.

'What should I do? Tell the truth, I really don't want to involve in this stupid war any longer than necessary…but I made a promise to Tokomon and Elecmon I'll be protecting them, I can't just leave them alone, can I?' Asher turned his gaze on his table, looking down while thinking through his experience in this world, how did he escapHeliopolisis, how he turned into his Gundam and all of it until now.

'Never leave something you started half finished. Unless you are willing to see something through to the end, you will only be able to do it half-heartedly, my son.' Asher suddenly remembered his father's words a long time ago.

[flashback, 6 years ago]

Asher as a little boy sat on a couch impatiently beside a customer service counter in the building where his father worked. He swung his legs in boredom while waiting because he couldn't wait until business hours ended as tonight his parents were going to celebrate his 10th birthday and he was really looking forward to it, especially with his father as he always came home late and couldn't spend much time with him.

After waited for a while he saw his father's white hair and suit walking in the hall talking with someone. Feeling happy to see his father, the little boy jumped off from his couch and quickly headed to his father.

"Dad!"

"Hm? Asher? What are you doing here?" Alex asked in surprise as he received a hug from his son. The man beside him seemed confused, not sure if he wanted to call for security or not.

"I was waiting for you! So we can go home together, hehehe." Asher grinned happily, unaware that his father gulped slightly when he realized he'd been a little TOO caught up in his work.

"What's wrong dad?" Asher innocently ask his father as he tilt his head.

"Eh erm, sorry son. I have a meeting in a moment, I...don't think I can come home early tonight." Alex said as he scratched the back of his hair. However it did not escape him to see that his son was quivering with his head down that no doubt he had upset him.

Alex sighed in defeat, and turned toward his colleague besides him. "Sorry, please tell them that the meeting will be continued tomorrow and I'll apologise for the inconvenience at this hour."

"B-But Director! No offence, but it will give them the impression that you're irresponsible-"

"Then they will say it in front of me during tomorrow's meeting, and tell them those idiots called Gunpla Mafia won't last much longer. If they have anything to complain about, save it for tomorrow, am I clear?" Alex said, his colleague just nodded his head, Alex patted his shoulder, "With this, you can spend some time with your wife and your son, right Takeshi?" Alex smiled.

The man called Takeshi Iori blinked several times and he sighed as well, "Y-Yes sir! Thank you very much, I will inform the branch leader about this. Oh and have a good night, sir!" with that, Takeshi ran off.

Alex turned towards his son with a genuine smile on his face, "Now then, shall we go home, Asher?"

"B-But dad, is it really ok to ditch your work like that? It sound so important." Asher said, he didn't want to cause his father anymore trouble as it is. Suddenly he was lifted up by his father until he was sitting on his shoulder, giving him a good view.

"Hm, well daddy might be in trouble tomorrow. Hahahaha!" Alex said as he went heading towards car park area for his car.

"T-Then you should head back! I-I-"

"Don't worry, son. Whatever happens tomorrow it will be my responsibility," Alex tried to assure his son, but Asher wasn't completely convinced.

"But, dad said before that we must be responsible of what we're doing, isn't it?" Asher asked.

"Hm…...I guess I did say something like... 'Never leave something you started half finished. Unless you are willing to see something through to the end, you will only be able to do it half-heartedly, my son.' Isn't it?" Alex asked while the reply he got is vigorous nodded cutely after he put him down to unlock his car.

"Even so, I won't abandon my responsibilities as a father to make my son happy. A parent making their own children upset is worse than being fired from job." Alex said, "So then, let's head home. I had a surprise present ready for your birthday." Alex said as both him and his son got in the car.

"Really?!" Asher asked with eyes sparkling

"Yes, is your friend Itsuki-kun coming too?" Alex asked

"Nu-uh, he said he doesn't want to disturb our family time even though I asked him." Asher pouted.

"Hahaha, don't worry. Next year tell him we can celebrate together. The more the merrier." Ales said as he started his car and sped off to their home.

[Present time]

"Heh, and that was when I got my cat Pete. Yeah, I'm not gonna leave things I've started half assed, dad. I'm going to see this through the end and I'll promise to return home." Asher said as he raised both of his arms and squeezed this fist. "I swear on these glove." with that Asher left the mess hall only to bump into someone, after he saw who had he bumped into, his face instantly pale.

Meanwhile, outside out the 8th fleet's firing range, several ZAFT destroyer class space warships had gathered near Rau's Vesallius.

"Commander Creuset, the Ziegler and Gamow have joined us." One of the Vesallius' crew members reported in.

"The 8th fleet haven't found us yet, have they?" Rau asked

"Not yet, since most of the fleet has descended to quiet a low point. It's doubtful that they'll be able to find us," the captain of the ship replied.

"I see, still I thought that the legged ship would be going to the lunar headquarters…" Rau said as he floated away to the briefing table together with the ship captain. "But it looks like they're landing it on Earth."

"The legged ship's destination appears to be Alaska." The captain said

Rau cupped his own chin, " I'll would like to sink the legged ship while it's still out here in our backyard. What do you think, Captain?"

"I also thought the same, Commander." The captain nodded, "The Ziegler has six GINNs at their disposal, while we have 5 machines including the Aegis and the Gamow can send out the Buster and Blitz." The captain said

"What is the condition of the Duel and Yzak?" Rau asked

"Yes, sir! The Duel has just finished repairs and new upgrades, but the pilot is still not in and condition to sortie yet." Captain replied

"I see." Rau turned his gaze back to the briefing table, "I'd say it's about time...for the famous admiral to retire from the scene." Rau made a small smirk. Rau had straighten himself 'Too bad, we missed the chance to test out the puppet. Guess it's still too early. Well, the proper curtain has not been raised yet'

Meanwhile, back at the 8th fleet, Halberton sighed as he sat down on his seat, his forces ready for battle at a moment's notice. Despite that he couldn't help but find himself thinking back on the conversations he had with the two volunteers. For the first one, Kira Yamato, he admired the boy for his reason of fighting. He merely wanted to protect those he cared for, which was why he hoped the boy could eventually return to a normal life. As for the other one…

He frowned when he remembered his conversation with that boy, Asher Valentine. He didn't know why, but he felt something was...off about the boy. What it was though...he couldn't say.

[Flashback]

"I-I apologised for bumping into you, sir!" Asher quickly saluted, not in a mood to deal with any problems right now.

"At easy, young one. No one is getting hurt here. How about you?" Admiral Halberton asked.

"Eh-ah, yes I'm fine." Asher nodded, while the Admiral did the same.

"You must be one of the young volunteers I've been heard, yes?" Admiral Halberton asked.

"Y-Yes sir! Names Asher Valentine! Sir!" Asher said, maintaining his salute.

"Hahaha, at ease young man. No need for formalities here." Admiral Halberton said as he looked around, "Are you alone here? Not with your friends?"

"Oh, I….kinda need some time alone but I'm fine now!" Asher said as he fist pumped, which earned a slightly surprised look from the admiral, but he quickly regained his composure. Asher realised what he had done and quickly stood properly.

"Well, I'm just here to say thank you for your hard work for helping the Archangel and the crew. I heard that you're in charge of managing supplies. It's rare to see someone as young as you doing chores like that." Admiral Halberton said

"Yes, well...it's just one of my...personal problems when it comes to messy things." Asher said as he look away.

"Does it involve how you accidentally opened the air-lock?" After the Admiral said that he saw Asher sweat a lot. "No worries, after all it was an accident. I assume you've never worked with this kind of machinery until now, correct?"

Asher seemed surprised, but quickly nodded. Halberton nodded as well as a moment of silence descended, but the whole time he'd been keeping an eye on the boy. Truth be told, he'd looked into the volunteers, and when he came across Asher...he'd found something odd. Namely he didn't find anything. No records, no information whatsoever on the boy. It was as if he didn't exist. This of course led to two possibilities. The first was that for some reason his data had been hidden for some reason. The other was that he wasn't who he appeared to be. However, as it was, there was literally nothing to imply that he was anything other than he claimed...more or less…

A moment passed, and Halberton decided he'd try something else. "If you don't mind, what do you think about all this? About this war in general?" he asked.

"Eh? Er...I'm not sure if I should-"

"I insist, feel free to express it. I would like to hear your honest opinion."

Asher was silent for a moment, before he spoke after taking a deep breath. "With all due respect sir, this is not a war. It's true war is a state of armed conflict between societies, either for lack of resource or lands or eliminating the potential threat of their neighbouring country or colonisation. But this so called war, what would either side gain? Complete annihilation of either Naturals or Coordinators? What for? Revenge for Junius Seven? For a 'pure and blue earth'? For me, this is not war, it's just global scale genocide where both side don't agree with each other because of genetics! No offence, sir. But I'll say whoever instigated this kind of propaganda is very immature. No, scratch that, they're worse! This whole thing is practically nothing more than a child's tantrum!"

Despite himself, Halberton couldn't stop the look of surprise that came across his face at the boy's response. This is the first time he heard from someone's view about this conflict as….bold as this boy had. Even though what he said was true, but before he could ask further he was contacted by his ship, informing him that he was needed back, thus forcing him to cut the conversation short.

[flashback end]

He sighed again at the memory, but for all it was worth, it seemed whoever Asher was, he didn't seem to be in-league with any of the factions of the war. He highly doubted any Blue Cosmos members would have spoken like that, and anyone who thought he might have been a ZAFT agent...couldn't deny the fact that the blood tests made it clear that he was a Natural. "Could he be an Orb agent? No, that boy is way too blunt for it."

The Admiral stood up from his seat, glancing at the space from his window. "Whoever he is, I wish I could keep an eye on him." After that he went back to his seat, and saw on his table were the picture of Asher and Omni Gundam stacking together. "Report said that he was found unconscious in the Archangel after the disappearance of the unknown mobile suit, the 'Omni Gundam' as the pilot called it. And no one saw how he got in the Archangel in the first place. That mobile suits is unknown to us and it doesn't seem like it allies itself with ZAFT, while I doubt Orb would be able to produce this Mobile Suit in secret as the G-weapons are their first project."

Admiral Halberton picked up those photo's, "My gut's been telling me that they're related somehow. If so, how could he manage to hide his Mobile Suit inside the Archangel? Who is he align with? Or are we dealing something completely unknown from our understanding in this era?"

"Admiral! Several ZAFT destroyer class ships have been detected ahead, they're entering our range!" a voice coming from his comm said.

"I'm on my way." Admiral said as he pressed the button and replied. "Well, it was only a matter of time before ZAFT would come to attack. If I survive, I hope I can solve the mystery of that boy and the Omni Gundam." Admiral said as he quickly exited leaving the photo's of Asher and the Omni Gundam floating in the air.

And...there we go.

I'm pretty sure everyone can guess what's next but...I have a little surprise in next chapter (well probably some may notice), let's just say something will spice up better than the original canon thats for sure :3

Thank you again for your time to continue reading this story, I wish everyone had a wonderful day. If it's your birthday, happy birthday to you and I'll see you all next month.

Cheers!