Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Gundam Seed Destiny.


Location: Office of the Chief Representative, ORB Union

Time: Twelve hundred hours

Date: Oct 14th, CE 73

With the lunchtime sun shining through the windows of the room, Cagalli sat at her desk, quietly working at her dark grey laptop while also taking bites at one of her favorite meals, a donair kebab drizzled with some hot chili sauce. She was partially satisfied now, with how the Alliance's treaty had been handled. ORB was a neutral nation, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that did not possess any significant military bases elsewhere on Earth. That ensured that their forces would not be aiding the Alliance in their grabs at Carpentaria or Gibraltar, or any territory on Earth for that matter. Still, as she bit and tore a piece of her kebab off and began to chew it, she knew that her political war was not over, and it's most important battle, in her mind, had yet to begin.

Despite not posing much of a threat during the First Bloody Valentine War, the current ORB Space Fleet was nothing to scoff at. While it may be overshadowed by Zaft and outright dwarfed by the Federations, numerically, its technology was top notch. Even though the transformable MVF-M11C Murasame, ORB's newest mobile suit that was now phasing out the old Astrays, had yet to face combat against the ZGMF-1000 ZAKU, Morganroate did not doubt in its ability. In terms of ships, however, the Lohengrins equipped on the Izumo-class ensured that it would trump either the Nazca or Agamemnon-class vessels in combat. Still, with that in mind, their fleet was relocating back to the Moon, to gather with other Alliance forces.

"The Archangel's repair has finally finished... and it's restock is underway..." Cagalli muttered an email out loud after she finishing swallowing a piece of her kebab. "It took longer to repair than the Minerva, but then again it's a bigger ship." She added before reaching for her meal again, just as an icon appeared on her screen, indicating that she had received a new message. Silently, and with peace of mind, Cagalli bit off another chunk of her kebab as she opened the message and started to read it in her head. At first, she scowled a little, for it bore the seal of the Seiran family as well as the digitized signature of Yanata Ema Seiran. Then, as she proceeded down the page, her chewing started to slow, her breath began to hasten, and her eyelids retracted into her head...

'… we are now calling upon Article 13, Subsection 9; the Preservation of the Bloodline Clause in order to arrange...' Cagalli mentally read the letter to herself, and as soon as she read the next few words of that sentence, her right hand let go of the kebab it was holding, allowing the wrap to fall to its plate and its contents to spill and shake out of it, dirtying a few nearby papers as well as her uniform. Quickly, Cagalli regained her mental strength, narrowed her eyes and chewed down the piece of food that was in her mouth with all haste before shoving her chair back and standing up straight. "Is this even for real? Is this even a thing? Dammit, Yuna Roma Seiran, by Haumae's name I swear I will never marry you!" Cagalli burst with a low roar, her voice contained inside the office as she stomped her foot towards one of the bookshelves lining the room.


The sun broke out of the clouds as the Minerva continued on its journey through the southern Pacific Ocean. Inside the bridge of the ship a calm quietness tried to relax the crew as they vigilantly checked over their readings.

"Has anything been detected on radar, yet?" Talia questioned, leaning forward in a philosophical pose.

"No ma'am." Bart nodded his head.

"What about interference?" Arthur suggested. "Maybe they could be plotting another attack on while we're out in the open and catch us off guard!" Arthur expressed, his tone getting gradually more strained as time went on, and causing the crew to shift uncomfortably in their seats as a result. Meyrin even whimpered out loud.

"Quit it, you're worrying everyone!" Talia sat up straight and gave her Executive Officer a crude look. Arthur just stared back and blushed in embarrassment. "Still, you do have a good point, but your delivery was just off..." She then checked towards Meyrin. "Well, do you think we're suffering from interference?"

"Uh... no ma'am..." The young magenta haired girl checked over her instruments. "Not at this moment... there's just nothing out there now." She reported, and then everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm... continue on our present course, Malik. Our orders are to proceed towards the designated coordinates and wait until further notice." Talia informed in a confident mood as she stood up and motioned towards the elevator. "Arthur, you have the bridge."

"Yes ma'am!" The green haired officer quickly saluted.


Meanwhile, Shinn sat alone in the lounge, on one of the chairs with his feet up and drinking some water at the same time.

'If I go into battle again, and find myself in a similar situation... will my eyes... will my body... transform again?' He pondered to himself, consciously maintaining a calm demeanor which allowed him to be caught off guard as Vino and Yolan entered the room.

"Yo, Shinn!" Yolan called out with enthusiasm.

"SHINN!" Vino did the same, causing the victim of their shouting to jump in his chair and spill some of the water over his shirt. "Oh... oops..." Vino stepped back and lowered his head with a deep sense of guilt.

"Ugh..." Shinn groaned as took one last drink of the bottle and then put it aside. "What?" He questioned with a red face and wet torso. Shinn then completely unzipped his jacket and flapped the sides of it like he was trying to shake off the excess water. "Well, what?" He raised his voice a tad.

"Oh, well... we we're gonna..." Vino backed off a little in a nimble fashion while Yolan put his hand around his shoulders and blocked him.

"Eh, no. It looks like the almighty Shinn wants an answer..." Yolan quipped with a smile as Shinn growled at his uniform, and then at them.

"Haha, very funny... almighty Shinn, I wish..."

"Well you kinda deserved it considering what you pulled off during the last battle..." Yolan stated pleasantly.

"Which is exactly why we came here to see you! After all, as soon as you got out of your machine you talked to Lunamaria and ran off... didn't even come out of your room unless you had to eat or watch the treaty signing... with us..." Vino added, his words causing Shinn to smile, although just a little.

"Why exactly did you run away?" Yolan questioned with curiosity, and now, Shinn frowned. "Hey, I'm just asking... was it because you went after all of those Alliance ships... there must have been a lot of people...?"

"No!" Shinn cut him off, speaking with a raised tone of anger. "That had nothing to do with it at all! Killing enemy soldiers isn't something I lose sleep over, especially after they ambushed us without any warning!" He then took his wet jacket completely off, folded it and hung it over his left hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to visit my room..."

"Wow... cold shoulder much..." Yolan whispered to his friend as Shinn left the room.

"Then again we gave him a... ice day..." Vino looked to Yolan with a crooked smile, although his friend just sighed.


"Rey..." Shinn looked at the blonde who stood just outside the room with his back to the wall and his arms crossed. "Here to tell me how wrong I am for hurting their feelings?" He snarled as the blonde stood up and followed him, side by side.

"No, they didn't know how to mind their own business..." Rey answered in an appeasing manner, causing Shinn to raise his eyebrows in agreement. "I know you better than that, though, Shinn. Yes, you did just fight the battle of your life... I saw every moment of it myself, but they were trying to compliment you."

"And... so... what?" Shinn puffed his breath in annoyance.

"It's not like you faced some really difficult challenges in the Academy either, although none of them match what happened yesterday. Still, one way or another, you were never one to turn away from or downplay an accomplishment of your's..."

'That's because my skills... make up for my attitude...' Shinn thought to himself.

"... so I'd say any other time, you would have stood in the hanger bay, answering their questions and soaking in their praise."

'It just confirms... that I was right to become a pilot...' Shinn continued to ponder before facing is friend directly. "That's true, but this time... there was something more to it."

"Remember, Shinn, I saw everything myself... I saw how you fought before that machine grabbed you and then just before you destroyed it. That and Lunamaria told me that you really did look different after coming back..." Rey stated as Shinn growled, and Rey put his arm on his shoulder. "I'm not going to ask you what happened out there, and for all I know, Lunamaria's eyes might have been playing tricks on her, after all it was just after a fierce battle, but I am going to suggest you go see the doctor."

"The doctor?" Shinn questioned, his anger retreating from his face just a little as he felt the weight of Rey's arm on him, and the gaze of his cold blue eyes. He felt like shoving the arm off, turning away and telling the blonde that he had other, more important things to do. Still, he couldn't deny that this was something he had on his mind since yesterday, so Rey had a point, as he always did. "Fine then. I'll take care of my jacket and then I'll ask him to give me a checkup or something..." He admitted as Rey silently nodded and pulled his arm back, signaling to Shinn that he was letting him go.


With her rear on the carpeted floor and her legs bent together, Cagalli leaned over and scanned the same large book she had used days ago to come up with her counter to the treaty. She flipped through the pages, several at a time, until she reached a certain area near the back of the book, where the clause she was searching for resided.

"Father once told me that all the nonsense back here is seldom, if ever, brought up. It's a collection of laws which rarely need to be used..." The blonde growled quietly as she parsed through the pages. "He said that when the founders of ORB laid the country's blueprints, they left several... rather unique policy's in place, to ensure the continuation of their power in the future, or rather, the continuation of their children's power... the checks and balances used by the Royals, against the Royals, to ensure a certain status amongst the Royals..." Cagalli rolled her eyes like she was responding to an immature child. "Then again it's the children who are entrusted with their parent's dreams and pay their debts..." She admitted before her finger stopped completely and her face shifted to a look of accomplishment. "Ah... here it is... Article 13, Subsection 9, the Preservation of the Bloodline Clause..." She looked at the size of the clause once, which made her despair even more. Then, she took a deep breath, gathered her confidence, and read the full statement:

In accordance with their duties as the Sovereigns of the State, and for the good of the nation, the Five Royal Families have an obligation to extend their lineage into future generations. Therefore, should the Chief Representative be of age and lack an heir to take their place or an appropriate next of kin and a significant other who they intend to engage with later in life, then it will fall to a Council of Ministers, directed by the Prime Minister, to assign a suitable partner for the Chief Representative to wed and produce proper heirs with it is seen as necessary.

After reading the clause, Cagalli slammed the book, so much that the sound produced shook a picture of Lord Uzumi that was hanging on the wall. She stood up with the book, and then gently slid it back onto the shelf where it belonged; she owed the Founders of ORB that much, to treat their book with respect.

"I'm to marry Yuna Roma Seiran... and have his children?" She spoke with a husked, angered, strained voice, for she was disgusted at the very thought; it made her sick to her core. "There's no doubt that Yanata will impose this on me now of all times... but... still... Kira?" Her anger lifted somewhat at the sound of her brother's voice, but at the same time she let her guard down, and was taken by surprise as the door opened without her consent.

"Cagalli, have you heard the good news?" Yuna questioned, his tone that of a snake oil salesman and his purple ponytail swaying with his steps.

"What. Good. News?" She turned around and faced him, noticing how pleased and blissful he appeared, while she presented a look like she had fallen out of the wrong side of the bed, onto a cold, concrete floor.

"Ooh... what's that?" Yuna questioned sarcastically as he pointed towards a small sauce stain on Cagalli's vest. "Not too good with the dining etiquette I see..."

"Your reason for being here?" Cagalli snapped, batting his hand away.

"Sloppy and not keeping up to date... slouchy and unfitting on your part..." He waved his right finger in front of her face in a high handed fashion. "But, I'll be sure to teach you punctuality once we're married."

"What is this all about, Yuna..." Cagalli struck forward, like a snake lunging at its prey, and grabbed onto his extended arm with her left hand. "... why now of all times, when you know full well that neither of us are ready, nor willing to make such a commitment to each other." She growled lightly.

"Well I don't know about you, little girl, but I'm both ready and willing... I've been for a long time..." He shook his head proudly. "The burden is on you, Cagalli, can't you see how good this would be for our people? The Seiran and Attha families unified at last, giving strength, resolve and hope to the people of ORB in the wake of another conflict between the PLANTs and the Earth Alliance..." He then leaned in closer, getting in her face. "... which I may remind you... we are now a part of, ever since yesterday..."

"Yuna..." Cagalli froze temporarily, and as she did Yuna loosened her hand off his arm, and then gently captured her left hand with both of his.

"It was wise of you to end that nonsensical relationship you had with him... the son of the man whose words were responsible for the Junius Seven fall." Yuna explained, his voice laced with contempt for the blue haired coordinator. "He was a coordinator... he lives in a different world..."

"Excuse me!" Cagalli tore her hand away. "How many of our citizens are coordinators, Yuna? Do you not realize you're excluding a large portion of the population when you say that? Athrun Zala being a coordinator had nothing to do with it... and in case you haven't forgotten, my brother is a coordinator too!"

"Ah, yes... that brother of your's..." Yuna snickered out loud, but at the same time, so did Cagalli.

"Yes, my brother, he has a name, and it's Kira!" Cagalli widened her feet a little more, as if she was taking a defensive stance. "Yuna, I'm not ignorant; I read that damnable clause, and I noticed a snag in it that pulls your whole plan apart."

"Oh, and what would that be, Princess Cagalli?" Yuna chuckled.

"That policy was made on the off chance that the Chief Representative dies and is the only living member of their family... it exists to ensure something like that doesn't happen. However, you should realize that your little game won't work, because I have a next of kin, my brother." Cagalli explained, her voice fierce and primed with fire.

"Kira... would drive this great nation into the ground before he knew what hit him." Yuna growled back, his voice strong and resolved. "Besides, he doesn't count."

"And why not?"

"Simple: You may call him your brother, and while your servants, close friends, and some of the citizens may know him as their Prince, he's not. Lord Uzumi never had any children. He adopted you when you were a child, but he didn't ever do the same to Kira. He may be your brother biologically, but he's not royalty in the truest sense." Yuna declared, while Cagalli quickly rose up so that she was standing on her toes in reaction.

"I AM NOT GOING TO MARRY YOU, YUNA ROMA SEIRAN!" Cagalli roared as she allowed the feelings inside of her to be released and launched at his pretty little face.

"You don't have a choice! My first act will be to do something about that foul attitude of your's!" Yuna then stood up too, expressing the significant height advantage he had over her. Cagalli still just stared at him with angry eyes and clenched fists. Yes, he was taller than her, taller than Kira or Athrun, but that never stopped her from confronting those two, and it wouldn't stop her from confronting him. As Yuna realized this, he backed down to normal again and loosened his eyebrows so they were pleasant. "Yelling at me isn't going to solve any problems. Accept your responsibilities, Cagalli... signing a treaty and then spitting in the face of your new allies isn't any way to rule. We'll fix that after the wedding..." Yuna informed before walking towards and through the door. Yet as he closed it, he stopped, and looked her in the eye one last time. "Oh, and the weddings scheduled for the seventeenth." He then shut the door with a very audible slam.

"The Alliance..." Cagalli grumbled as she rolled her eyes and exhaled as if she was about to breath fire. "That's what this is all about... a power grab..." She then walked over to the window behind her desk and looked outside, basking in the sun's bright light as if it was natural for her. Cagalli sighed with a deep, conceited sense of defeat before placing her left hand on the window and letting friction hold it there. Then, she looked at her ring finger, and for just a second, imagined the engagement ring Athrun had presented just a few days ago on it. "No... there's no going back from that, I made myself clear." She shook her head before turning around, sitting back at her desk and picking up the phone.

"Hello? Milady, what can I get for you?" The secretary on the other end questioned.

"Prepare my car and inform Lieutenant Commander Yamato of my immediate arrival... I'm taking the rest of the day off."

"Yes ma'am, right away!" She responded before hanging up the phone.

'I'm not going to just sit down and take this... something needs to be done before it's too late.' Cagalli thought to herself as she packed up her personal belongings.


Shinn now sat silently, with a fresh uniform coat laying on the side of the main operating table that was in the back of the Minerva's sick bay. His right hand was flat on the bed while the doctor next to him, a man in his thirties with short, dark black hair and chocolate eyes prepared a needle.

"You we're lucky you found me when you did, the nurse and I are meant to swap out for lunch breaks in a couple minutes..." The doctor spoke silently as he stared upon the needle end of a syringe.

"Yes, Doctor Kazou..." Shinn silently whispered as some light from the needle reflected into his eyes for a second. "Are you sure you can't actually just tell me something based on that sketch I drew for you?" He questioned, nodding towards a single piece of paper on the doctor's desk with a very rough drawing of a SEED mode eye on it in black pen.

"Well, I think I have seen something like that before..."

"You have?" Shinn questioned a little as Doctor Kazou grabbed his upper right arm and held it steady while inserting the needle. "Way to sneak up on me like that!" He complained as some of the dark red liquid known as human blood filled the syringe's container.

"You were far too finicky..." Kazou muttered as he extracted the needle, set it aside, and then prepared a simple bandage for Shinn's arm. "Still, yes, I do remember seeing something like that before, although I can't completely recall. Once I look at these blood and DNA samples for some abnormalities, it'll probably jog my memory." He then picked up a simple cotton swab and raised it to Shinn's mouth. "Now, the difficult part, for some people, is over. Open your mouth..." He commanded as Shinn simply separated his lips, closed his eyes and felt as the doctor rubbed the inside of his mouth with the padded stick.

"Abnormalities?" Shinn questioned with concern as Doctor Kazou put away the swab. "Why didn't you just give me a normal checkup?"

"Because I don't have the time right now and from what I can tell... whatever happened to your eyes is no longer there." Kazou stood up, with his equipment before walking it over to his desk. "This is far more effective and quicker anyway..."

"Fine then, and if you do find anything..." Shinn growled a little.

"Then I will report it to the Captain, as I'm required to." He stared Shinn in the eyes. "What, we're you expecting Doctor-Patient confidentiality on a military vessel?!"

"No..." Shinn grumbled as he put his jacket back on. "I'm just concerned over what the hell it actually is... and how it will affect me..." He shook his head with unease.

"Don't worry, it probably won't. Now, off you go, until I've done my tests." The Doctor ordered as Shinn left the room. After the door shut, he looked down upon the sketch Shinn had drawn and narrowed his eyes with great, mystified intrigue.


Attha Mansion, later that day:

From the position of the sun as it was seen out of the window in Kira's room, it was the middle of the afternoon. Kira himself, dressed in casual attire, stood next to the window with his arms crossed in an ever patient manner.

"You're going to start digging a hole in the floor if you keep that up, you know." Kira commented with a small chuckle as he watched Cagalli anxiously pace back and forth through the middle of the room. The blonde just turned and gave him an angry look which dulled his smile. "I'm sorry, Cagalli, I shouldn't be joking about such things at a time like this..." He admitted before walking forward and towards her. "So, let me get this straight: You're supposed to marry Yuna several days right now? That's not right... marriage isn't something to be rushed, especially when it's someone you don't even love."

"Pfft... tell that to the Seirans... and ORB's founders..." Cagalli snarled with dislike at she stared at Kira, and realized that even now, despite his previous statements, he was very clearly agitated at this development.

"I'm guessing this is one of the reasons you wanted Athrun to stick around, right? If he was still here, they wouldn't be able to do this." Kira questioned, but Cagalli took an audible inhale.

"Pretty much, Kira... then again, if I had a partner, they wouldn't have brought up this ridiculous clause in the first place." Cagalli replied, walked over to Kira's bed and sat on the edge of it. "Even if Athrun were here, things still wouldn't play out as I hoped."

"What do you mean?" Kira raised an eyebrow as he leaned sideways against one of the walls. He looked down to see her sorrow-filled, golden eyes as they were protected by her bright locks. Such a sight caused his own purple irises to dim with sadness. "Are you saying this because you wouldn't want to marry either of them in the first place?"

"Yuna? Not in a million years. Athrun? If we had managed to sort things and understand each other more, maybe… maybe someday." Cagalli sighed and allowed herself to fall backwards onto the side of the bed, so that her hair spread around her head like a group of solar flares around the Sun. "I just didn't realize it, Kira... I was being given the choice between a man who wants me just for my political power, and one who wanted me to abandon my duties for him... and now I don't have any choice..." Cagalli explained before sitting up again, feeling that her short-lived moment of comfort on the blanket was over. "You do realize that if Yuna, who is already royalty, marries me, then he'll have power equal to my own in the government, right? More than anything else... more than my own wellbeing, I fear for ORB's citizens if that happens..."

"I'm sorry, Cagalli..." Kira said with tight eyes and clenched fists. "I know that you don't want to go through with this... but you're being forced to, by the same people who wanted ORB to become part of the Alliance... and seeing this makes me just want to-"Kira expressed, his voice strained and harsh when suddenly it was interrupted by a few knocks of the door.

"Master Kira... is the young lady in there with you?" The distorted voice of Manna called out from the other side of the wall.

"Yes, I'm here, come in, Manna..." Cagalli called out, making sure her voice was heard clearly on the other side, and using the foot of Kira's bed as leverage to stand up quickly. The door then opened and the portly brunette women with small eyes stepped in, allowing both twins to gaze upon her stressed and surprised being. "Apologies, but I had to talk with my brother after coming home, before anything else."

"Oh no, it's not me, milady, it's the Seirans..." Manna began, but all Kira and Cagalli could do was let off a light growl of anger. "Because the wedding is happening so soon, they need your help to get the preparations done..."

"My help?" Cagalli asked with attitude.

"At least they're asking for your opinion, on anything..." Kira commented.

"Yes, until the wedding takes place, you're to live at the Seiran Estate. Please, milady, a limousine is already waiting outside." Manna stated as she moved away from the door, although it was clear she didn't want to. Still, Cagalli kept her feet firmly planted on the ground and shook her head.

"This is too soon... tell them I'll be staying here for the rest of the day... and I'll go there myself tomorrow." Cagalli expressed firmly, showing her resolve.

"No, please, milady..." Manna repeated, but Cagalli remained as she was.

"Manna, this is not something that's up for discussion... this is my house, and I'll be staying here overnight. In fact, you don't even need to tell them no thanks, I'll go out and inform the driver myself." Cagalli decreed before walking past her servant and rushing out the doorway.

"Ah... Lady Cagalli, if only your father was still around..." Manna sighed to herself as Kira approached her with a calm stare.

"Something tells me this arrangement isn't something that's just being made now, right?" Kira questioned as Manna turned towards him and gave off an affirmative nod.

"It hasn't come up till now... but, you see... she's known since she was only a small thing that she was going to wed Master Yuna later in life."

"Did Lord Uzumi want it this way?" Kira questioned with deep, yet baneful curiosity.

"It was an agreement between Lord Uzumi and Lord Yanata from long ago, but yes... he definitely had a hand in arranging their union, Master Kira." Manna stated calmly as she looked up into Kira's eyes, which were facing the door and shaped as if they were ready for action.

"And if Lord Uzumi was still alive now... if he was to see how they're treating Cagalli, would he still approve of this?" Kira looked down upon the humble servant, yet she was silent and didn't even let off a simple whimper. "I see then, thank you, Manna."

"Master Kira..."

"We all want to do something to help, but sometimes, none of us are sure if our ways are the best way or not, but we can't just give up now, can we? Cagalli taught me that..." Kira said softly as he stepped forward and left the room, leaving Manna all alone to sigh to herself.

"Oh, those two certainly are twins..." Manna lowered her head down. After seeing the twins leave like that she felt disappointed in them, but she also felt proud at the same time.

'Cagalli taught me that, and it's time I paid her back...' Kira thought to himself as he navigated through the halls of the Attha Manor, eventually rushing down the grand stairway. 'Lord Uzumi is dead, but Cagalli's going to be the one suffering for his past decisions... and I don't thinks fair at all...'


Location: Aprilius One

Time: Nineteen hundred hours

Date: Oct 14th, CE 73

Athrun Zala and Lacus Clyne were sitting together in a corner booth of one of the most expensive restaurants in the PLANTs. Although the Songstress of the PLANTs was very well received among her people, right now she didn't feel like gaining much attention, as indicated by the unpowered pink haro sitting next to her. Still, the two quietly and peacefully chatted to each other, with Athrun laying back in his seat and Lacus sitting forward with cupped hands holding her face.

"I know you've been through a lot over the past week or so, but I've got to say, Athrun, that it's really nice to sit down and talk with an old friend. Yeah, we did meet before you talked to the Chairman, but those were just simple hellos." Lacus happily commented.

"Indeed..." Athrun whispered as one of the kitchen doors opened. He looked across the room to see if their first course was here yet, but judging by the size of the tray the waiter was holding, it was too soon. Then, as he moved his head back to face her, he saw her side, and gazed upon the design of her outfight. It was a simple dress, which went down to her knees, and consisted of very dark purple fabrics with light pink outlines that would be completely symmetrical of not for the thick, knotted pink belt around her waist. Athrun looked upon it once, and something clicked in him, telling him that it was good. "I must say though... I think that's one of the best outfits I've seen on you yet, Lacus."

"Really, you think so?" Lacus questioned with a hint of awe.

"Yes, I'd say it makes you more mature... it shows how you've grown."

"I had similar thoughts when I first put it on though, Athrun." She smiled. "Still, some of my attendants believe otherwise..." The pinkette then reached into her purse and pulled out a single picture, which she then handed to Athrun. "They picked this out for me, although I don't necessarily agree with it."

"Hmm..." Athrun hummed as he analyzed the picture. It showed Lacus wearing a white and purple set of shirt and skirt with golden outlines. The upper half of the outfit was alright, although it didn't have sleeves and featured even fringes above her chest. The lower half was a different story, for the skirt displayed much of her lower legs and hung down low and wide. "Yeah, I'm not a huge fan. Sure, it's in your colors but you've never been one to wear something like this on stage." He grumbled a little before handing the picture back to Lacus. "Speaking of what you do, Lacus..." He began as the girl finished putting away the photo and then granted him her full attention. "Chairman Durandal said he needed your strengths, for the sake of the PLANTs, but is that it?" He questioned with skepticism.

"Yes, very much so!" Her eyes grew, while his shrunk. "Athrun, you know as well as I do that the citizens of a country play just as critical of a role in war as the soldiers do... without them there is nothing to protect in the first place, right? And when the people look upon the world and see no way out, no escape, and death coming their way, it doesn't help the defending efforts, or their integrity." Lacus commented in a stronger tone, while Athrun silently moaned and looked to the side.

'It's natural for her to refer to the previous war, and it's natural for her to be right about it all... after public opinion changed, my father became the Chairman and led the PLANTs and Zaft down a darker path than Siegel ever could.' Athrun pondered to himself before facing her again with readied ears.

"... after all, I'm Lacus Clyne. I'm strong, beautiful, and kind... those are traits that will be needed by everyone, always..." Lacus continued as Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Then again, those aren't my words, they're words I hear all the time, from my many fans!" Then, as she finished, Athrun hushed a breath or relief.

"Well, that's good to hear, Lacus... even after all these years people haven't forgot about you... even though they've decided to forget the lessons of the past." Athrun stated in a somber voice as Lacus picked up a glass of water and took a sip from it. "Still, even though tensions are rising, we haven't been attacked yet, and that's something to be thankful for." He said while noting the pinkette, who gently placed her glass down before quietly and politely swallowing her mouthful of water.

"That's not true anymore, Athrun." Lacus whispered as she made one final gulp. "I don't think you heard about what happened to that new warship yesterday... I forget its name..."

"The Minerva." Athrun corrected before leaning in closer. "What happened to it, I thought it was still in ORB?"

"No, they left yesterday, and were attacked by the Alliance on their way out of ORB Territory. At least, that's what the news reports, and they got their information directly from Zaft."

'I was with Yzak and Dearka all day yesterday...' Athrun scuffed with disappointment. "From the sound of it... they made it. Still, how did ORB respond?" Athrun asked with a deepened sense of determination; he wanted to know the factional details of what happened during the battle.

"ORB..." Lacus turned away and sighed with disapproval. "Decided to defend their waters, it just made things harder for the Minerva in the end." She then turned back and faced his green eyes with a renewed smile. "You're right though, they made it through. I've heard that in a day or so, the PLANT Supreme Council will be making a public announcement, responding to the reparation demands by the Atlantic Federation, as well as the Minerva's ambush and the blockade outside Carpentaria. Oh, just the thought of it makes my stomach uneasy, Athrun..." She breathed discomfort.

"Mine too, but since they struck first, all we can do is stay strong and in one piece..." Athrun growled for a second, allowing his mind to run circles around itself. "To me it just seems... that all we accomplished in the past... all the innocent lives we saved..."

"Might be for nothing? Maybe... Athrun... even if there is another war, who can say it'll be as bad as the first? The different sides have different leaders now, right?" She informed in a wise voice, trying to ease him.

"Yes... different leaders with different ideas... you're right though, as always, Lacus..." Athun said as he looked into a glass that was on his end of the table, and staring at the morphed reflection in it, which despite its transformations, was still his reflection, and his alone.


The Minerva's Doctor Kazou was still busy late into the night, burning the midnight oil as he scanned over the samples of Shinn's DNA and blood. Everyone else, bar the night crew, were usually in bed at this time, but not the doctor, who had found an enigma in Shinn's samples.

"There's no abnormalities in his blood, and his DNA hasn't changed at all... so what could it be..." Kazou pondered before leaning back in his chair and staring up at the monitors in front of him, a couple of which were displaying the unraveled, double helix structure of Shinn's DNA in sequence. "Of all the genes we know of... there's nothing out of the ordinary here... whether it actually serves a purpose or not..." He mentioned, mesmerized on the monitors as he thought. "There have never really been reports of this... eye transformation he's talking about, in the PLANTs at least..."

Then, Kazou's eye widened with attention as he turned his head towards the eye sketch Shinn had made, which was sitting on the top of a stack of paper. He grasped it, and looked at its iris and pupil shape, noting the size and shading. "No reports... in the PLANTs at least..." He then slammed the paper down on the desk and stood up with a deep sigh. "Son of a bitch... could this be... it? From years ago?" The Doctor questioned out loud before walking towards one of the supply cabinets, unlocking it and looking inside. After moving around various vials and substances, Kazou reached for a small, hard to see, grey book in the back of the cabinet and took it out. "At the time, only ORB had discovered this... and before I left..." He hummed to himself while flipping through several pages of the book, which looked more like a laboratory notebook combined with a diary more than anything else. "The SEED Factor... I never saw it for myself, but I guess... if Shinn Asuka has it, I will... have to report this... as best I can..."


Location: Attha Mansion

Time: Three hundred hours

Date: Oct 15th, CE 73

For the third time, Kira was confronted, taken hold of, and tortured by the visions of his own mind; by a nightmare of sorts. This vision, like the last two, focused on a single scene that played over and over again, in his mind. Also like the previous two nightmares he suffered from, this one was slightly different.

Now, his view was shifted, as if he was standing on the ground, on the beaches of Ono'goro Island on the day of the final Alliance attack during the previous war. Before him, he saw a large crowd of trees and several small hills, and above that, in the distance, the battle between the most powerful mobile suits that either side could bring to bear.

Unlike before though, this nightmare was completely silent. No sound traveled through the imaginary air of Kira's mind except for the thoughts his consciousness itself created as it analyzed the situation. In addition to this, the entire scene was blurred and very hard to see, and as such, fine details were lost due to the lack of crispness.

Some of these details pertained to the battle above. Kira could vaguely make out the Freedom, which was closest to him, as well as the Raider and Forbidden which were across the field from it, and even the Justice's silhouette as it recovered in the distance. 'That's right... their third machine was on the ground, it's behind all those trees and I can't see it...' Kira assessed with a low voice, when suddenly the Freedom, Raider and Forbidden started to circle around a single invisible point in the air. As these three gundams crossed paths, they ascended and descended, such that a line could be drawn between Kira's location, the Freedom's, and the Forbidden and Raider, the three gundam's figures overlapped in such a way that none of them could be told apart from the other two. At that specific moment of uncertainty a pair of powerful, bright yellow weapons fire shot down from the point which all three gundams were circling around and blitzed towards the surface.

'Those people... the four of them... don't tell me they're...' Kira's voice filled the environment as the pair of shots struck the ground and knocked several objects about. From the impact sight, he could see the blurred figures of three people, one of which was a younger child, get knocked aside have their bodies 'shatter' before falling to the ground. Then, off to his left, he could see the expected forth figure, kneeling on the ground as it recovered.

"There were people there, and they died that day, I know that... but what are you trying to tell me?" Kira's body called out in a loud, aggravated voice as it struggled in bed. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME!" He yelled at the top of his lungs in frustrations as his head leaned back and forth and his eyes remained clenched shut.

"Kira? KIRA?" The familiar voice of Cagalli questioned from the other side of the door before fiddling with the knob and eventually swinging the entire door open. Cagalli, still in her daytime attire, then turned the lights on and scanned Kira's bed, noticing how he was still in his bedtime attire of a sweat shirt and undergarments and how his blankets had been shoved away and aside while he writhed back and forth. "This again... Kira... dammit!" Cagalli growled in frustration before noticing a small, half empty glass of water on his night table. "I'm not going to have you suffer like this and wake up the entire house in the process!" She stormed over to the table, picked up the glass and then quickly poured its watery contents on top of his face, making several splashing noises in the process.

"Uh... hrr... brrrr..." Kira spat and coughed as his head rose upwards and he seemed to snap out of it. Amber eyes observed his wet being while he propped himself up on his hands and slowly flickered his eyes open, only to turn and look at her after adjusting to the bright lights of the room.

"Ca... Ca-Cagalli?" Kira stuttered as he managed a glimpse of her before shutting his eyelids and allowing himself to adjust.

"You were having a nightmare... again. First on the Archangel, then Manna tells me something happened the morning after the banquet and then now... that's three times already. Geez, what's wrong with you, Kira?" Cagalli questioned with distraught.

"I... don't know... these things... just keep happening and I don't know why..." Kira struggled as he rubbed his eyes, clearly in the process of recovering from the pain, and realizing how wet he was now.

"Well... whatever it is... we've driven it off..." Cagalli sighed before looking down and noticing how soaked his shirt and underpants were. "Oh... let me get you a towel... then we can talk downstairs for a few minutes, okay..." She stated with a red face before turning and leaving the room.

"Thanks, Cagalli..." Kira grumbled as he got off the bed.


Minutes later, downstairs:

The two of them sat alone under the light of a diner table near a wall of clear windows and doors displaying the darkness outside. Cagalli remained in the same clothes as before while Kira had put on a long sleeved shirt and shorts, white and black respectively.

"So I must be lucky... to have you find me like that..." Kira commented as Cagalli laid with her arms on the table. "Hey, why are you still up anyway? It's not like you to be awake at this hour."

"I have things to take care of before I go tomorrow... and I will be going tomorrow..."

"Unfortunately..." Kira sighed lightly. "... although part of me thinks you're doing this just so that you'll be very cranky with the Seirans tomorrow."

"You may be right." Cagalli commented before looking into Kira's tired, dark eyes. "What's wrong with you, Kira? Why are you getting these nightmares so often?"

"It's not like I didn't have any after the war ended..." Kira shivered as an image or Rau Le Crueset flashed through his mind. "... but you're right, I haven't had any nightmares in a while... but these ones... it's like they're trying to tell me something."

"I'm listening..." Cagalli settled in her chair. "I'm here for you Kira, don't forget that..."

'Not for long though, it seems...' Kira thought. "It has something to do with the battle of ORB years ago. I see the Freedom, as well as several Alliance mobile suits, and then some people dying on the ground from a stray shot."

"Hmm..." Cagalli analyzed as she noted Kira's depressed look. "Well, didn't those terrorists at Junius Seven give you a hard time, Kira?"

"Myself... Athrun, and that boy Shinn, yeah, they were above average to say the least..." Kira grunted.

"Well then it might be symbolic or something like that, for all we know..." Cagalli started in a stronger tone as Kira raised an eyebrow in interest. "You fought the Alliance machines, which gave you a hard time as those terrorists did, while Junius Seven fell from the sky to the ground, like those stray shots... and they both killed innocent people in the process." She finished, expressing those last few words in a regretful tone. "I'm no psychologist by any stretch, but..."

"Maybe it's just my mind making connections between past, present and future events. Yeah, it can do that sometimes..." Kira stated as he looked outside the glass windows into the darkened lawn outside as well as the black tree line and starlit sky. "Either way, it's done... you pulled me out of there... thanks, Cagalli..." He complimented before turning to face her, and noticing how her head was down and her face was red with sadness.

"But I won't be able to anymore..." She turned up to him, showing tears that were held back in her eyes. "... for once I'm really having a hard time sleeping, Kira... I don't want to go to the Seirans tomorrow, and I especially do not want to marry that arsehole Yuna!"

"I know, Cagalli, you told me before, I'm still mad over it... it's unforgivable in my eyes, forcing you to marry him, or anyone for that matter!" Kira growled and grit his teeth while Cagalli wiped the tears from her eyes. Despite his silence, the blonde knew her brother had more to tell. "But, there's some things in life we have no control over, and others which we have complete control over." He said before facing her, eye to eye. "This is one thing you just have to go through with, Cagalli... its one thing you just have to accept for now..."

"But how can you say that, Kira!" Cagalli, outraged, rose to her feet and planted her hands on the table. "How could you tell me to just give up? Do the people of ORB deserve a leader who just gives up on a whim?"

"NO! Cagalli..." Kira shook his head before rising to his feet as well. "That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Just accept this for now, Cagalli!" Kira growled with rage as they both silenced themselves, his voice stretching out across the room. "This may look bad, this may look like the end of the world, but there's a light at the end of this tunnel too, Cagalli... I promise you... there's a light at the end of this tunnel..." He turned to the floor while her facial expression softened and she slowly walked around the table to him. "You may have to live at their house... but don't forget your friends and family back here. Miss Murrue, Mr. Waltfeld, Kisaka, Manna, Miss Erica... the Archangel crew, we'll be here for you, Cagalli, no matter what. The Seirans won't keep us apart... I promise..."

"Oh, Kira..." Cagalli sighed calmly before closing in and hugging her brother, and allowing him to embrace her too. The twins let a silence blanket them as they both felt their anger and sadness repel away due to the happiness and comfort they were able to bring each other. "Then make sure you keep your promise... I'm counting on you..." Cagalli softly whispered into his ear as he rested his head on her shoulders.