What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter in my reiteration of Stardust Angels. Hope you've enjoyed the last chapter.

I'm feeling good right now. 117Jorn and Knightwolf1875 was a big help last chapter as well.

In any case, if you're still up for a character then please provide the information seen on the trailer and either leave it in the comments or PM it to me.

Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OCs and MS, any of the Gundam series. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!


Gundam SEED: Stardust Angels Reborn


Phase 10: Separate Ways, Separate Paths


Previously…

A GINN was currently assaulting the battered Nelson-class only to avoid a few blasts from the last Moebius's linear gun before dispatching the mobile armor with its recoilless rifle with ease; the mobile armor spiraled out of control before it exploded.

The Vesalius came into range of the lone Montgomery and proceeded to open fire with its dual beam cannons.

"Prepare to fire Lohengrin!" Natarle ordered from the Archangel's bridge. "A GINN's coming! Where's our mobile suits?!"

"Captain!" Mu called out to Murrue through the small communicator on the captain's chair. "It's useless! We gotta get out of here if we don't want to get destroyed!"

"But…" Murrue trailed as she referred to the Gundams.

Said mobile suits were currently in a bind as the ZAFT mobile suits began to get more aggressive. The Buster had Noel pinned. The Stardust and Duel were trying to gain an edge over the other. The Impact and Xuanzang exchanged fierce martial blows that the other would parry away or block. The Cosmic was being attacked by the Blitz. The Angel and the Azazel repeatedly attacked at one another like an actual angel fighting a fallen angel.

The Strike and Aegis clashed once more but the blow sent them back from each other until the crimson G-Weapon transformed into its MA Mode and fired its Scylla Impulse Cannon at the white mobile suit. Kira managed to dodge it but the beam was nearly close to hitting him.

A GINN attacking the Nelson-class managed to get a lucky shot that decimated the battered ship's main beam cannon; the large fixed gun emplacement completely exploding.

"Main turret's been hit!" One of the bridge crewman cried out in terror.

"Engine section damaged!" Another crewman called out in a similar tone of terror. "Sealing bulkheads!"

"What are they doing?!" George exclaimed in a terrified tone. "Why can't they shoot down all of these GINNs?!"

"Vice Minister, proceed to the lifepod!" The captain commanded the vice minister in an urgent tone.

Suddenly, loud music blasted over the communications of everyone on the battlefield. It was AC/DCs Thunderstruck as a shuttle large enough to carry a mobile suit flew into the area. On top of the shuttle stood a mobile suit with cyan to white wings, a light silver body with cyan forearms, and shins with hooves instead of feet. The equine face of the Gundam had a horn above the golden V-crest as its silver eyes glowed. A tail and mane of ruby with gold highlights finished out the details of the machine with red cloth like armor on it. "Time for a flashy entry into this battle!" A female voice said as the Gundam jumped off the shuttle just as it exploded becoming the biggest flash bang anyone had ever seen.

"Catherine Hoffman! Crossbolt Saber is in the house!" Kat yelled throwing the two crates at the Vesalius. "Here's another blinding gift!" Both crates hit the ship before exploding with clouds of electricity and shorted out the main gun's targeting.

"What…" Tsubasa started.

"The…" Haruto added.

"...Hell!" Kyo finished.

"Catherine!?" The three boys exclaimed in both surprise and shock.

"You three I'll deal with after the fight!" Kat shouted at the boys rushing toward the Angel. "But first I think we need to get these losers out of here!" The Crossbolt lashed out with a pair of heat rods from its wrists forcing the Azazel to dodge. "Picking a fight like this while a war is going on is just weakness! Get out and pick a more honorable way."

Glen furrowed his brow. "You interrupted my fight. You're dead." The Azazel charged at the Crossbolt, lashing out with its beam sabers.

Kat dodged the strike slamming the handgun she pulled into the cockpit of her attacker. "Last chance before I let Thorn do the talking. Leave or die." With the other handgun aimed at the Impact's attacker. "Both of you."

The European pilot glared at the Crossbolt Saber then reluctantly backed away, holstering his Gundam's beam sabers. "Fine, consider this our temporary withdrawal. But the next time we meet, you won't get in my way." With those words spoken, the Azazel and Xuanzang left the battlefield all together.

"Now that they're gone. How about we help your friends out?" Kat said nodding to the Angel. "Lead on."

However, just before the Gundams could return to the battle at hand, an unexpected voice spoke out. "Attention OMNI Forces vessel Archangel, this is Jaden Takeo of the Morningstar hereby ordering you and your forces to stand down at once. I repeat: Stand down at once or I will terminate the Montgomery with Vice Minister Allster onboard."

Everyone, friend and foe alike, looked in the direction of the Nelson-class being held at gunpoint by the Comet Gundam, whose mono-eye dared anyone to try and stop it as the barrel of its rifle slowly began to charge, ready to fire at the bridge with the frightened crew aboard it.


Archangel

"Just great, from one problem to another." Murrue mumbled to herself.

Unfortunately, another problem was about to develop on the Archangel as the door slid open to reveal Flay dragging Lacus by the arm. This alerted the whole bridge to the redhead's presence even Murrue and Natarle turned to look at her.

"I promise, I'll kill this girl!" Flay's passionate declaration surprised the crew. "If they keep firing at my dad's ship, I promise I will kill this girl!" She declared as Lacus looked at her with a fearful expression. "Tell them that!"

Sai entered the bridge a little while later. "Come on, Flay!" He called to her in an irritated manner.

"Go ahead!" Flay declared.


Battlefield - Comet Gundam

"Well, now that I have your attention," Jaden began. "We were looking for a ship called the Silverwind, carrying one VIP, Lacus Clyne. Now I know that the Strike Gundam engaged one of our Recon GINN's, and that the Silverwind is missing one lifepod. So I am going to make an accurate guess that Lacus Clyne is currently aboard the Archangel, correct? If so, please put her on the comms."

There was a short pause. "Oh! Hey Jaden!" A familiar voice rang through, causing him to smile. "Nice to see you again! But…isn't this a little extreme?"

"Your father would kill me if anything happened to you, and let's not even get started on what Athrun would do." He said with a chuckle, before he turned serious. "You alright?"

"Very much! Everyone here is pretty nice," Lacus said, "I met the pilots here too. Did you know one of them is a Coordinator?"

Jaden grinned slightly - very glad this was on an open channel. Rau and Patrick wasn't covering this up. "Why yes I have heard," He informed. "So, Archangel, since I know you're listening, here is the deal: a simple trade. You will have Lacus Clyne board the Strike Gundam with its pilot, and you shall take her over to my location where they shall meet me and the Aegis Gundam. You will hand over Lacus, and we shall give you the Vice Minister, as well as all the people aboard the Montgomery."

"How do we know he'll keep his promise?!" A feminine shouted from the background could be heard. Jaden rolled his eyes, fairly certain it was the Vice Minister's brat.

"Because I have no reason to lie," Jaden informed. "Not all Coordinators are racist jackasses like Athrun's father."

"HEY!"

"It's true and you fucking know it," Jaden retorted. "So…how does it sound, Archangel? A whole ship or crewmen, plus Vice Minister Allster, in exchange for one woman? I'll even throw in having the Vesalius power down its engines and weapons so that it will be unable to pursue or engage you."

"You do not have that authority, Takeo!" Rau shouted, and Jaden smirked.

"No, but I don't think you'd want to piss off the Supreme Chairman by endangering his daughter." He said. "This is the best, and most civilized way to do this. What do you say?"

There was a long pause on the comms, everything still across the battlespace. "Give us 24 hours, please." Another woman replied, Jaden assuming it to be Captain Ramius.

"You have twelve." Jaden informed, "For now, recall your mobile suits, and ZAFT shall recall theirs. We shall be waiting." And with that, he cut the comms.


(Cue Raise Your Flag by MAN WITH A MISSION)

(Instrumental) The screen opens to a black and white scene of a pile of Mobile Suit parts scattered around a battle-scarred field while a puddle of blood flows on the ground

(Raise your flag) Cuts to a boot stepping on the puddle, resulting in a big splash

(Koe no kagiri) Cuts toTsubasa, Kyo, and Haruto side by side with each other

(Koe no kagiri) Cuts toreveal the Archangel crew gathered around the Angel, Stardust, and Cosmic

(Koe no kagiri sakende) Shifts tothe title in Japanese kanji appearing in front of the three Gundams

(Kitto itsuka) Cuts tothe Aile Strike landing on the ground, raising its beam rifle to aim at the camera

(Itsuka dokoka) Cuts to the Moebius Zero releasing its Gun Pods while firing its Linear Rifle in space

(Yume o mitsuzuke samayou) Cuts back to the kneeling Angel, Stardust, and Cosmic as they raise their heads then their eyes flash to life

(Under pressure you are waiting for direction) Cuts to a scene in a city with Tsubasa leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets, Kyo lying on a roof with a bored look, and Haruto sitting on a flight of stairs with a small grin on his face

(Going on the road without your mind) Cuts to Kira and his friends hanging out in Heliopolis with smiles plastered on their expressions

(All misleads they give ignoring our decisions) Cuts to the ZAFT G-Weapon pilots messing around in their barracks while Athrun sits on his bunk reading a book

(Killing yourself your soul we have inside) Cuts to Tsubasa, Kyo, Haruto, and Kira back to back while four lights begin to grow within their chests

(Agaki tsuzuke taore kujike) Cuts to Tsubasa walking towards the Archangel crew and the Gundam pilots

(Hai agatte hashiri tsuzukete) Cuts to Kyo tinkering with the Stardust while Kira helps before shifting to Haruto sleeping on Murrue's lap as she strokes his hair with a nostalgic grin on her face

(Owarinaki) Cuts to Flay as she draws her knees closer to her chest while tears spill down her cheeks

(Yume no ma to ma) Shifts to a two-way image of Cagalli leaning against a piece of rubble with an assault rifle in her hands and Lacus floating in a small bedroom with her pink Haro as she sings a song

(We can struggle and muzzle the world before it fades away) Cuts back to Tsubasa looking up at the sky before the scene cuts to a black-haired figure with their back turned to the camera as an outline of a Gundam appears in their general direction with a pair of blue eyes glowing in the darkness

(Instruments) Cuts to several pilots performing startup sequences in their Mobile Suits

(Raise your flag) The scene cuts to the Angel landing on the ground

(Koe no kagiri) The Angel raises its GN Blade Bit and slashes at the camera

(Koe no kagiri) The Blade Bit cuts through a GINN, slicing it in half

(Koe no kagiri sakende) The Angel slashes at another GINN, removing its head

(Kitto itsuka) Cuts to the Stardust and Cosmic flying in space

(Itsuka dokoka) The Stardust raises its GN Sword Blaster II Kai and fires at the Azazel which avoids the beam shot then fires its beam sniper rifle

(Tadoritsuku to shinjite) The Cosmic activates its NT-D then clashes with the Comet Gundam

(Come on and raise your flag) Cuts to the Aile Strike fighting the Aegis

(So just raise your flag) The stolen G-Weapons attacking the Archangel which retaliates

(Nando kujike mayoedo) Cuts to Catherine winking at the camera before cutting to the Crossbolt Saber firing its Chest Buster Cannons

(Iki no kagiri) Cuts to Tsubasa standing up from the ground

(Tsuzuku kagiri) Cuts to Kyo and Haruto standing up from the ground as well

(Yume o mitsuzuke samayou) Shows the three Gundam pilots bumping their fists together before looking at the blue sky as three streams of light shot through the clouds

(Instruments) The scene cuts to a freeze frame of the Archangel crew, the Heliopolis gang, and the Gundam pilots gazing at the rising sun with the Angel, Stardust, Cosmic, and Strike shadowed by the sunlight

(End of Opening)


Morningstar

"I'm sorry, what happened?!" Canard asked.

"One of the new EA machines shot down the EA battleship," Jaden informed over the comms. "The pilots claimed something involving their machines getting jacked wirelessly. No idea how but I retrieved an escape pod though, so the exchange is still a go. Fingers crossed it has who I hope is inside this thing."

"You're really going through with this?"

"It's Lacus Clyne, I'd do anything to keep her safe." Jaden informed, "Its a simple exchange. Once I return, regroup with the Gamow so you can engage them again before they meet up with the 8th Fleet. I'll meet up with you when I can…though we're gonna do an investigation on those Gundams and how they got jacked."

"You believe they're telling the truth?" Canard asked.

"I do, call it a…sixth sense," Jaden informed, "Plus they have no reason to shoot down one of their own ships…well I say their own, but they technically don't serve the EA officially - but you get my point."

Canard shook his head "Just don't get yourself killed."

"Don't plan on it," Jaden smirked, before the comm winked off.


Archangel

After the Archangel recovered all the mobile suits, the engineers quickly went to work on repairing the Gundams and the Moebius Zero.

Meanwhile, the Heliopolis crew was crowding around the newest addition to the Legged Ship. The ruby red-gold haired girl known as Catherine Hoffman.

"So how do you know Tsubasa, Kyo, and Haruto?" Tolle asked out of the blue.

"I met them three months ago for a little research project that lead to our Gundams." Kat said grinning at the three boys who were sporting ice packs. "However after taking off without a word and leaving me all alone, I joined the Junk Guild to hide my machine. This led me to working on a few other projects, like the electric bombs, and the shuttle as a flash bang." She sighed looking a little sad before going on. "When I heard about Heliopolis going down, and reports of other mobile suits like ours, I had to look into it."

"Why did you have to hit us though!?" Kyo exclaimed before wincing when his aching cheek came up. "Ow."

Kat glared at Kyo. "You guys didn't even look for me after the test happened." She growled, baring her teeth and showing a pair of long fangs. "You know how worried I was about you three?! Heck, I was scared for all of us at one point!"

The three boys shrinked back in fear; comically holding each other.

"Just don't run off like that again please." Kat said calming down before looking toward the others. She blinked seeing them stepping back away from her. "What, is it the fangs? Don't worry I don't bite." Kat facepalmed. "That was the wrong thing to say. Sorry, I scared you guys."

"N-no problem." Makoto stuttered.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Look I was born this way down to the slight glow in my eyes. I'm a human and not some fantasy beast." She grinned softly, keeping her teeth hidden. "Also, I'm not a Coordinator either before anyone asks. Surprised by that, guys?" The silver eyed girl asked taking a drink of hot tea.

"Nobody cares!" Kyo shouted with sharp teeth. "Seriously! You talk too much!"

"I'm derailing their worries about me is all." Kat said calmly pinching Kyo's ear. "Besides, it took a DNA test with the Junk Guild to make them stop asking me if I was a Coordinator. I don't want to go through with another test, or someone trying to bump me off. You'd be surprised where Blue Cosmos hides these days."

"Ms. Hoffman, we get the picture. You can stop pulling his ear." Kuzzey interjected.

"Just Kat will do." She said letting go of Kyo's ear. "I do side with you Kyo on the fact we're all humans. Some people are just too stupid to see past something they can't even see." Kat sighed.

"That's not even what the hell I was talking about…" The golden-eyed boy muttered.

Tsubasa remained silent along with Haruto.

Noel seemed confused on one matter however. "Why is your mobile suit shaped like a horse?"

That got a grin from Kat. "An alicorn, and it just felt right when I made her. It was like seeing, I guess the real me when I was building her."

"What's an alicorn?" Miriallia asked with a raise of her brow.

"An alicorn is a winged unicorn with great magical power. Myth said they could make the earth itself and the weather obey its very will." Kat explained. "WIth magical power that even the greatest mages could only dream of using. At least the story passed down in my family made it sound like that."

"What?" The Heliopolis gang looked even more confused.

"It's a fictional animal from some stupid girly TV show." Kyo deadpanned.

"That too, but I'm not joking about the family story part." Kat said rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to bore anyone with it right now anyway."

"Right, we still have a hostage exchange to do." Tsubasa added. "That Red Comet guy rubs me the wrong way though."

"It does seem like he's got an axe to grind with someone." Kat stated looking to Kira. "You sure you're okay with the trade without backup?"

The Coordinator boy nodded. "I have to. Someone like Lacus doesn't deserve to be caught anywhere near a battlefield. So I have to do this even if it feels wrong to others." He stated.

Haruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's your choice. Just know we've got your back, pal."

"Thanks everyone." Kira smiled softly.

Kat got up from the table. "What are friends for, Kira? Just watch your back out there." She stretched before looking around the group. "Right guys?"

Every one of Kira's friends voiced or nodded their agreements.

The Strike pilot felt happy outside but inside he still felt bad. He had promised Flay that her father would be okay but it was anything but okay. The Vice Minister was now being held hostage by ZAFT and the only way to get him back is if they trade him for Lacus. It sounded like a reasonable deal but during times of war, the enemy tended to trick their opponent.

Kira thought back to when Flay collapsed after her father was taken as a hostage by ZAFT. She was brought to the infirmary soon after and placed in a bed but every once in a while she would struggle in her sleep like she was having a nightmare.

He didn't blame her if she hated him. He knew he should've tried harder. He shouldn't have hesitated to...kill his best friend. But it still hurt him inside. Kira wasn't a killer, he was just a student forced into this stupid needless war. Why him? What did he do to deserve this?

"I'm going to the hangar to check on Saber." Kat said heading for the door. "Anyone want to have a look inside the cockpit?"

"Sorry, but we've got to get back to work." Sai spoke earning nods from Kuzzey, Tolle, and Miriallia.

"I'm grabbing some shuteye." Haruto stated.

"My Stardust is gonna need a tune up after what happened last time." Kyo crossed his arms across his chest.

"Kira and I are gonna check up on Ms. Clyne. See how she's doing." Tsubasa replied.

"Okay. Say hello to Lacus for me guys." Kat said heading out and toward the hangar. She just about ran into Mu on the way. "Woah! Sorry, about that."

"Nah, it's all good." The blonde man waved it off with a grin. "I probably should've been watching myself."

Kat chuckled. "Somehow I don't think you'd see past the mirror if you did that. Jokes aside I'm heading for the hangar. Unless you wanted to ask me something that is?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm kind of surprised you all didn't talk to me yet."

"Well, we've all been rather busy. You know, hostage exchange and all that?" Mu joked.

"True. I'm glad you brought that up." Kat said getting serious. "I've got a feeling we need a backup plan in case something goes wrong. Want to help me come up with something?"

"Sorry, you're on your own for now." The Hawk of Endymion shook his head. "The captain needs me on the bridge." He took off, leaving the girl by herself.

"Alright then." The ruby red head said. "I'll just go to standby after checking my Gundam." She heads for the hangar again working on ideas in case things go bad fast. Once there she floats over to her mobile suit and starts up a system check.

"Now to see how we got jacked and what to do to stop it." Kat muttered as Saber started the system check. "I'm worried that the other mobile suits could be just as at risk as we are."

"I feel so bad about what happened out there." Saber stated as the engineers worked on her body. "It was like I was knocked out or something."

"Let's hope we can get an answer soon, or this whole thing could get worse." Kat said looking though the records of the last battle hoping to find something. She was so deep in thought she didn't noticed anything else around her.

"Oi!" A voice broke her concentration.

"Yes?" Kat asked looking up to see who it was and saw Kyo. "What's up, Kyo?"

"You've been staring off into space for the past minute." The dark-haired boy remarked. "Is this about what happened earlier?"

She went back to checking the records. "Yeah. It shouldn't be that easy to get into an mobile suit's system like that. How did it happen, who could even do that in the middle of a battle?" Kat stopped the video seeing something was off. "Kyo, do you see this rift here?" She points to a small purple light behind their machines. "How could we have missed that?"

The golden-eyed boy focused his vision on the rift. "Weird…" He muttered then noticed a sort of spectral hand touch the Stardust, Cosmic, and Crossbolt. "Whoa!"

"That's not a part of the normal SEED universe at all." The silver-eyed girl said frowning. "I'm not going to say it's a ghost, but it sure wanted to make us look like the bad guys. What do you think it was, Kyo?"

"How the hell should I know?" He replied irritably.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Your best guess would work for this. It took control of our machines like they were toys! That kind of power is really god level scary shit." She let the video play again keeping it on the rift and the three Gundams. "Did anything else happen that was odd before I joined you guys? Like another machine acting on its own, or anything like that?"

"No! Geez, stop coming up with all these stupid theories." Kyo grumbled.

"I'm trying to see if we're being followed by this thing." Kat growled getting a link to the Archangel's computers to look over their past battles. Saber stopped the video on when the Cosmic changed formers. "The hell happened to the Cosmic? Look the rift is there again, Kyo." She points near the machine on the screen.

"I wouldn't know. I was unconscious." The boy deadpanned.

"Still, we have proof someone messed with us twice." Kat pointed thinking for a moment. "We should talk with the others before we take any of this to Murrue, or Mu. I don't think anyone else would be open minded about this." She sighed rubbing her forehead. "Maybe we need to see if they have anything from trying to talk to Hotaru. I hope he wasn't being controlled during that."

"Stop."

"Sorry. I'm just kind of freaked out." Kat said saving the files for late research. "We get pulled into this world and now this? We're just missing the Twilight Zone theme."

"You worry too much." Kyo deadpanned. (And that's a fucking understatement)


Vesalius

Currently, the Nazca-class was trailing after the Legged Ship while maintaining a safe distance in case it aggravated an already explosive situation.

On the bridge, Athrun Zala, Fredrik Ades, and a recently arrived Haman Karn all stood around a view-screen while Rau Le Creuset sat perched in a chair a few yards away from them, a pensive expression clear on his face.

"While we can follow them, we can't do anything while they have Lacus." Ades summarized.

"And their next move is likely to join the Lunar Fleet." Rau remarked.

"Do we have no choice but to let them take Lacus to the Fleet before our eyes?" Ades asked in worry.

"What's the Gamow's position?" Rau queried. "How soon can it get here?"

"Its current position is six mark 509 Epsilon, zero comma three." Ades responded, regarding to the view-screen which had changed to show an image of the Laurasia-class. "It'll take them seven hours to head them off."

"They'll be joining the Fleet before then…" Rau trailed. "This is a tough one."

"Even if they could reach them, they wouldn't be able to do anything because of Miss Lacus." Haman added.

At this new, Athrun adopted a worried and concerned expression.

"Still, we can safely assume that the Red Comet at least has a plan if the Earth Forces try anything...unsavory." Rau remarked, glancing at Athrun. "You had better get moving, Athrun. It's almost time."

"Yes sir."


Comet Gundam

Jaden remained in the Comet's cockpit, holding the escape pod within his machine's grasp. "Ain't no grave…can hold my body down," He sang, "There ain't no grave…can hold my body down…"

He sat, waiting patiently for the exchange to take place. He hooked into the Pod's readings, so he knew the life pod had several days worth of O2, so he had some time until he had to return back to the Rewloola. But knowing the crew of the Archangel - or more specifically their pilots - he wouldn't need to wait long.

His thoughts however drifted back to what had transpired earlier…their machines were jacked, destroying the Montgomery. How was that possible? Something like that had never happened for as long as he's been in this universe. But then again, he has no idea how he came here to begin with aside from how the Plavsky Particles screwed him and his crew over.

That day changed a lot of things, really. It was him, his team, and their respective machines - and the Rewloola of course. They fought simply to survive within this chaotic world…but slowly, it became much more about survival. It became about change. Changing the future of the Cosmic Era, into something better - something where people that had died, didn't need to die again.

But over the years, that concept, that idea continued to shift, and change. It was difficult to hold sympathy for the EA as they continued to spew out hatred for Coordinators, and those who supported them. Sure he knew ZAFT wasn't clean by any means - the April Fool's crisis being an event he greatly detested. Tactically it made sense - forcing the EA into an energy crisis, but it came at far too heavy of a cost. It solidified the people of Earth's opinions on Coordinators and those who live in space with them: nothing but space monsters who cared nothing about the plight the people of Earth suffered.

He hoped that could change once he's finished with his plans.

The sensors went off, as he glanced to the side as he saw the Aegis approach. "Athrun." He said, "Almost time for the exchange - just hold your ground, and wait for your friend to show up."

"Yes, I-" He began, before he blinked "Wait, my friend?!"

"Yes, Kira Yamato - your friend from Copernicus," Jaden replied, "Yes I know about it all, so don't worry about keeping it a secret from me. He seems like a nice kid."

"Yes…he is," Athrun admitted, after a minute of silence. "Misguided though…"

"And how's that?" Jaden asked.

"He's working with the EA!" Athrun exclaimed, "He doesn't realize he's being used by them!"

"Is he being used by them?" Jaden asked, "Or is he just protecting the people he cares about? Intel reports from Artemis show there are Orb civilians onboard, odds are at least some of them are his friends."

"It doesn't change the fact the EA's using him to pilot their mobile suit!"

"It also doesn't change the fact that it was ZAFT who attacked his home, and destroyed his colony."

"Shut up…" Athrun spoke lowly, frowning.

"Just saying, it doesn't help your case when in his eyes, you're the bad guy." Jaden said, "You attacked his home, you continue to attack the ship he and his friends are on, your not exactly making your case…hell as far as you know, ZAFT may have actually killed some of his friends and family at Heliopolis. How does that make you any better than the EA?"

"We are NOT the EA!" Athrun snapped. "We do this only to protect ourselves!"

"Oh really?" Jaden asked, "So…what does dropping N-Jammer Cancellers across the world, plunging the entire planet into a massive energy crisis accomplish in protecting the PLANT's? Hospitals losing power needed to keep people on life support, to keep lights on during surgery, not to mention the suffering the everyday people go through just to make it through to the next day since their governments tax them so much now to compensate for the loss of nuclear power plants, but also to support the war effort against ZAFT. You guys probably killed scores more civilians than the EA did during the Bloody Valentine."

"We are BETTER than the EA!" Athrun shouted. "We have to stop the naturals! Keep them from hurting us again!"

"Oh, so you want extinction then?" Jaden asked, causing Athrun to freeze.

"What? N-no I-"

"Really? Because that's what it sounds like," He said, rolling his eyes. "Naturals can't be trusted, Naturals only care for themselves; listen to your father's speeches, Athrun. He wants this war to end with the extinction of every Natural on Earth, to support Coordinators that he views to be the 'Master Race' like the good little Nazi he is - blinded by rage from losing his wife, your mother. Do the entire Earth Sphere a favor Athrun, and don't follow in his footsteps. Otherwise you're just going to live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

"Pardon me for saying this but I'm a soldier first and foremost. Not some mercenary with foolish ideals." With nothing else to say, Athrun shuts off his radio to keep from hearing any more of Jaden's speeches.

Jaden rolled his eyes 'You'll learn soon enough.' he thought, sighing as he leaned back in his seat, and waited.


Archangel – Crew Quarters

As Tsubasa and Kira were sharing a conversation while walking down a corridor, they heard the cries of Flay. "Daddy!"

This caused the two to sprint to Flay's quarters where they come across Sai holding Flay as she shook in horror while Miriallia stood there and on the floor were three ration drinks.

Miriallia noticed the two boys and whispered to the duo. "Kira, Tsubasa," Clearly aware that Kira was probably the wrong person who could be here right now. The white-haired teen amongst looked ready to intervene just in case.

"Flay…" Kira addressed the redhead, who went silent for a second.

"You're a liar!" Flay yelled at the brunette boy, breaking from Sai's grasp to regard him, causing Kira to gasp worryingly. "You said it was gonna be alright! You said it was gonna be alright because you'd be there!" Kira looked away with a guilty expression. "Why didn't you protect my dad's ship like you said you would?! Why couldn't you use your abilities to defeat them!?"

"Flay! Kira did try his best!" Miriallia tried to admonish the redhead. "The others tried their hardest too!"

Flay glared harshly at Kira. "You didn't make any serious attempt to fight, did you?" Then came her declaration. "It's because you're a Coordinator too!"

The brown-haired boy flinched in surprise as the redhead buried herself into Sai's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Kira couldn't handle it anymore. He ran past Tsubasa and fled the room entirely.

"Kira, wait!" Miriallia called out before a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Tsubasa shake his head.

"This is something he needs to deal with on his own." The pilot of the Angel stated.

Reluctantly, the girl stopped as her expression turned somber, feeling sorry for the Coordinator boy.

With Kira, the boy took the elevator to one of the higher levels as he made his way to the observation platform, passing Kuzzey on the way. Once there, Kira leaned on the bar then slammed his fists on the window that viewed the engines as he screamed while the unshed tears he held back came flowing out and drifting into the weightless air.

He hated this… He hated it so damn much! Why does everyone expect him to fight all the time? He's not a soldier! He's not a killer! He's not some hero! He's not…

Kira's mind trailed off, berating himself silently until a familiar voice broke the silence. "What seems to be the problem?"

The boy looked to his left and found himself staring into the lovely grey eyes of the pink-haired songstress, Lacus Clyne. The girl smiling softly at him while her robot pet floated by.

"Damn it!" Mr. Pink chanted.

Kira blinked in surprise as he and the daughter of Siegel Clyne stared at each other; a bit too intently as well.


Vesalius

Rau Le Creuset had just finished with a well-needed washing, a towel obscuring his face as his mask lied on a desk next to a bottle of water and a small box of pills. He was clad in a dressing gown as he continued to dry off his face. He was broken out of his relaxation when the communicator on his desk beeped and he moved to answer it.

"What is it?" Rau asked.

"A message from Chairman Zala of the National Defense Committee." The messenger responded. "Shall I forward it?"

"No," Rau answered. "I'll listen to it on the bridge."

He ended the call and grabs the small box of pills.

"My, my…" The blonde man trailed as he swallowed a single pill, placing the container back down as he did so. "What a big fuss over a single girl's life." He remarked as he took a small gulp from the water. He then glanced as his slightly shaking hand before clenching it into a fist as the memory of Jaden Takeo's defiant orders cost them the chance to eliminate the Archangel.

"Damn that foolish man." Rau growled lowly. "I'll make him pay for this one day."


Archangel

Lacus noticed the tear tracks on the boy's face and tried to wipe them away but Kira blocked her with his arm, fiercely rubbing away any signs of crying as he looked at her.

"I can't believe you're out here again!" The Strike pilot said in confusion. "What're you doing?"

The girl merely smiled at him then pushed off the window, drifting back. "I was taking a stroll then I heard a loud cry coming from this direction and I was concerned."

Kira's cheeks burned red with embarrassment. She actually heard him? Talk about a blow to his manhood. "Well, you shouldn't be walking out on your own like this." He stated. "They'll accuse you of being a spy."

Lacus pondered as she floated over to him. "Is that right?" Kira took hold of her hand to steady her as the girl looked at the flapping Haro. "But Mr. Pink…"

"Haro!" Said ball chanted.

"He loves to take walks." Lacus explained. "In fact, it doesn't matter if a door is locked. He always seems to open it and go out." She continued, adopting a pensive expression as she does so.

"I don't wanna!" Mr. Pink added.

"I see," Kira spoke. "You have to return to your room. Come with me." He held his hand out to her but Lacus merely giggled and floated away.

"The fightings come to an end, I see." The songstress remarked.

"Well, yes, and it's all thanks to you." The Coordinator boy added.

"Please," Lacus smiled shaking her head, "I just spoke on the comms, if anyone should be thanked it should be Jaden. I don't condone the whole hostage situation, but it did end the fighting."

"You mean the guy who attacked Artemis and us as well? The same guy who threatened a ship full of Earth Forces crewmen?" Kira countered. "You can trust him but as far as I see it, I won't trust him unless proven otherwise."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as Mr. Pink continued drifting through space as well.

"He could've easily destroyed the ship," Lacus said. "Jaden is known for being…blunt. If he attacked Artemis, he probably did it to get the lightwave barrier tech for the PLANTs and he easily could've destroyed the ship, and kill everyone aboard, but he took what, in his eyes, was the more peaceful solution. I don't condone it, but…" she sighed a bit with a smile. "That's the way his mind works; whatever it takes to save the most people."

"So you know him?" Kira asked.

"He's like an older brother to me," She informed, smiling nostalgically as she glanced out the window. "He and his group have always helped keep me and the PLANT's safe when they can…"

"And now he's threatening the Vice Minister for you." A voice spoke up, drawing the two teenagers' attention to Tsubasa who had been listening to the conversation. "He's just like Char Aznable. The damn snake." He glanced at Lacus. "I can understand your trust but if he tries anything…" The young man narrows his eyes. "He dies."

Lacus just shook her head "Jaden isn't one to 'try' anything unless people's lives are at risk." She said. "If you had time to know him, you'd understand…"

"Well, I don't. Frankly, Miss Lacus, you're too naive when it comes to war. We don't enjoy it but we'll do anything it takes to survive just like how the Red Comet is using a hostage to trade for your life." Tsubasa stated.

Lacus gave Tsubasa a glare that almost looked…unfitting of her, "I'm not naive about war, Mr. Tsubasa." She stated, "I know it's a terrible thing, something that should always be avoided but sometimes, there is no avoiding it. Mr. Zala is correct in the sense that we must be able to defend ourselves but we as human beings need to know when enough is enough."

The Angel pilot nodded. "Well spoken, Ms. Clyne, keep that optimism up and eventually, the day peace between the PLANTs and Earth will come true. But know this, everyone fights for a reason," He turns on his heel to leave but stops to glance back at the boy and girl. "Can you say the same?"

Lacus simply nodded, however Kira remained silent, glancing down in uncertainty as Tsubasa walked away. The Songstress looked back at the young Coordinator, noticing his expression "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Well, the truth is…" Kira began, "I really don't want to fight." Lacus remained silent, letting Kira tell his story. "I'm also a Coordinator and Athrun was a very close friend of mine."

"Athrun?" Lacus asked.

"Athrun Zala," He confirmed, glancing out the window. "Who would've dreamed he'd become the pilot of the Aegis…"

"Is that so?" Lacus asked, smiling as she floated forward, holding Kira's hands. "You, Athrun and Jaden are very good people. It's a sad reality that you have to fight them like this."

Kira blinked "Wait, you know Athrun?" He asked.

"I should," Lacus said with a giggle, "He's my fiance." Kira recoiled slightly in surprise of the revelation. "He's a kind person, but very quiet…" She glanced at Mr. Pink as he floated around, grabbing it as she showed it to Kira. "He's also the one who made me this Haro, and plenty more!"

"Haro Haro!"

"I told him how much I loved Mr. Pink, and he gave me lots more of them!" She added, giggling slightly.

Kira paused as he thought of Athrun building Lacus a Haro…and then imagining dozens upon dozens of more Haros swarming around him. The thought alone caused him to smile a bit. "I see; so Athrun hasn't changed one bit…" he whispered. "My Birdy; he made that for me too."

"Oh, is that so?" Lacus asked surprised.

"Dammit!" Mr. Pink cursed.

"But…"

"It would be nice if you two wouldn't have to fight each other…" Lacus mused. "Hopefully this war will end sooner rather than later so you can be friends again."

"Yeah," Kira muttered, smiling slightly. "I hope so too…"


Hangar Bay

Tsubasa looked up at the Angel Gundam. His ocean blue eyes tracking every detail on the armor.

He came down here to get answers but all it did was lead him to his mobile suit.

...Why?

"What reason do I have for even being in this universe?" He muttered to himself.

Tsubasa reached into his pocket to retrieve the GP Base he uses to activate his Gundam. What sort of future was laid out for him, Kyo, Haruto, and everyone else not a part of the Cosmic Era?

He shook his head. That's not important at the moment. Right now, he needed to do something…

The young man drifted up to the cockpit of the Angel and entered inside, engaging the startup system by placing the GP Base on the activation stand. The holographic controls appeared in front of him. Tsubasa worked his fingers on the hardlight keyboard, running system check after system check and occasionally switching out different circuits to link them to more important wiring. If Jaden Takeo really is the 'Red Comet' of this universe then he needed to be faster and what better way than to improve the thruster velocity of the GN Verniers.

It wouldn't be long. The meeting between Kira and Athrun will begin soon. Lacus trusts Jaden but as far as Tsubasa is concerned, he's still an enemy along with his forces.

If his words proved to be false then...he will have no choice but to kill him. It's not like he was a stranger to killing anyways; he slew dozens of enemy pilots even if he didn't want to. It was better to harden one's heart during a battle then to be foolish and think of it as a game.


Meanwhile - Mess Hall

After Flay had cried herself to sleep, the rest of the Heliopolis gang were in the mess chatting about recent events.

Miriallia, Kuzzey, Sai, and Tolle thought back to the current situation at hand. Makoto and Noel had left to get some much needed sleep; Kyo was busy tuning up his Stardust and Haruto was being medically checked by the ship's doctor. Catherine had taken this time to take her meal into her assigned room.

"Well, I do understand how Flay feels," The brunette girl started, a bit hesitant. "But this time, I thought she went too far."

"Because he's also a Coordinator, he didn't make any serious effort in fighting?" Sai repeated what his fiancee said, feeling confused at what the redhead meant.

"There's no way that's true." Tolle interjected. "The whole time Kira's out there fighting the best he can."

Kuzzey, having grabbed a cup of water, heard what Tolle mentioned and found that to be a bit suspicious.

"Yeah," Miriallia agreed.

Sai brought his own opinion on the matter. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not really doubting that at all. On the bridge, we've seen first hand the ferocious battles he's fought in a mobile suit. And we can appreciate how tough it is."

"Are you guys really so sure?" Kuzzey brought his voice into the fray, getting the attention of the other three teens.

"What's with you, Kuzzey?" Tolle questioned.

The black-haired teen looked at his friends. "That stolen mobile suit, the Aegis, I hear the person piloting that thing just happens to be an old friend of Kira's."

Tolle and Miriallia looked at Kuzzey surprised while Sai didn't seem all that convinced.

"I overheard him talking with that Coordinator girl a moment ago." Kuzzey confirmed what he heard. "That's what he said. The pilot was a close friend."

Silence seemed to take over the entirety of the mess at this new revelation.


Morningstar Corp. Rewloola

"So, any idea who she is?"

The doctor of the Rewloola looked at the unconscious woman brought in a few hours earlier. "Not really, she had no ID on her, and facial recognition turned up negative." She told Canard.

"Nothing?" Canard asked with a raised brow. "Shouldn't there be something on her?"

"Don't know what to say, its like she just…doesn't exist," The doctor said shrugging.

"What about that robot?" Canard asked. "That big Haro thing?"

"Dunno, the Commander took the thing into his quarters," The doctor replied, "Probably to look over it himself. Probably thinks there's something important in it somewhere."

Canard hummed in thought, "You think he knows her?" He asked.

"Possibly," The doctor replied, "Doesn't matter either way. He gave us orders to ensure her health, and we have. She'll wake up naturally soon enough."

The black-haired Coordinator boy suspected that the Red Comet knew something. Jaden didn't know it but Canard had managed to catch onto the look of surprise and shock in his eyes. That meant that he either knew about the woman, the mobile suit, or both at once. "Then I'll leave you to your work, doctor." He spoke, turning on his heel to leave.

Once he left, he stopped outside of the automatic door. There was something about Jaden that told him to be suspicious. Actually, more like he should be suspicious of the entirety of the crew. Were they holding something back from him or are they keeping a secret that they don't want Canard to know about?


Archangel

Kira sat in his quarters silent. The only sound which broke the silence itself was the sound of the AC of the ship, and the occasional flapping of Birdy's wings as it looked up at him curiously. The silence gave him time to think…something he really hasn't been able to do since this whole roller coaster ride started at Heliopolis. Thinking about losing his home, meeting Athrun again, fighting him…and now Lacus.

...This was wrong, holding her…sure they didn't issue out an ultimatum like Jaden did, but they didn't plan on taking her hostage…but would the EA personnel have stooped to that low? Just to survive?

He closed his eyes for a moment, before they opened them. Screw the timetable.

This was happening now.


Archangel - Lacus's Quarters

The pink-haired songstress, having dressed in a spare t-shirt and a pair of sports shorts, was asleep on her bunk with Mr. Pink on the desk before the door to her room suddenly opened. The sound startled Haro as it flapped its ears and spoke in its tiny voice.

"Shh, Haro!" Kira quietly reprimanded the small robot. However, he noticed the girl resting in the bunk began to awaken.

Lacus groaned softly, rubbing her right eye to remove the slight traces of sleep. "Yes, Haro, what is it?" She started until she recognized the form of Kira Yamato trying to keep her pet and friend quiet.

Once the pink ball had stopped speaking and bouncing excitedly, the Strike pilot looked into the grey eyes of his fellow Coordinator.

"Hmm? Mr. Yamato?" She sat up, rubbing her other eye. It was a cute gesture too to Kira. "Hope there isn't a problem, is there?"

The boy quickly shushed her. "Please don't say a word and come with me." He whispered. "Quietly."

Lacus stared at the boy, half tired and half confused.


Locker Room - Later

Tsubasa sat patiently on one of the benches, clad in his pilot suit with his helmet resting beside his lap. His eyes were closed as he awaited two certain individuals to come inside to get normal suits.

Kyo was impatiently pacing back and forth, tapping his fingers against his arms while his helmet sat lonesomely on a chair.

"Relax, they'll be here." Tsubasa assured his friend.

"They better. I'm getting antsy." The black-haired boy leaned against one of the lockers while repeatedly tapping his foot on the floor.

On cue, the door slid open, revealing the two Coordinators staring at the Gundam pilots.

"Tsubasa, Kyo?!" Kira exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to help." Tsubasa replied. "We figured you'd try something like this."

"So it's suitable for us to help you get Lacus back to the PLANTs." Kyo explained. "We can't exactly waste our time carrying the Chairman's little princess." He glances at the pinkette. "No offense."

"Oh, none taken. I'm used to being called that by Jaden." Lacus giggled.

The three boys shared a laugh until Tsubasa presents two normal suits: one being Kira's pilot suit and the other being a standard normal suit. "Well, suit up. It's time we take the dear princess back to her father." He commented.

A few minutes later, the group of four stepped outside with Sai and Miriallia waiting for them. After explaining their situation to them, the two Heliopolis survivors nodded in thanks to the two Gundam pilots.

We find the group in the hangar bay. Miriallia and Sai working to try and get the linear catapult doors opened while Kira takes Lacus into the Strike with Tsubasa and Kyo entering the Angel and Stardust.

The three Gundam pilots ran a systems check to get their machines online. The three mobile suits look up slightly before their eyes flash their respective lens colors.


Meanwhile...

Jaden whistled as he awaited for their arrival. However he didn't need to wait long, before the sensors of the Comet Gundam lit up, detecting three machines launching from the Archangel. "Show time." He grinned. "Alright Athrun, here they come. Keep your weapons offline, and let them come to us."

"Roger," The blue-haired boy responded.

In less than a minute, the Aile Strike, Angel, and Stardust stop their thrusters and remain motionless in front of the Aegis and Comet.

"Glad to see you've made it." Jaden spoke on the comms. "Now, let's get this over with…whichever machine is currently holding Lacus, please open your cockpit now, and allow her to speak so we may confirm her identity."

In the span of a second, the Strike's cockpit hatch opened up, revealing a familiar blue-white garbed Coordinator and a pink-haired girl in a white normal suit with a...pregnant belly!?

The Stardust and the Angel kept a distinctive watch on the Red Comet. The former daring him to try anything while the latter didn't trust him whatsoever.

"Hello, Athrun! Its nice to see you!" Lacus said, her hand waving. "You too Jaden!"

"Good to see you too, Lacus." Jaden smiled. "Alright lover-boy, prepare to receive her."

Jaden simply sat back, as Athrun opened the cockpit as Lacus was lightly pushed off of the Strike, and floated over towards the Aegis where Athrun awaited.

"And as promised..." He said, as he lightly pushed the escape pod towards the Stardust Gundam, which grabbed it. "Life support is still functioning, whoever is in there should still be alive with no air leaks."

Kyo recovered the pod while Tsubasa kept watch. Kira was about to close his cockpit until...

Jaden glanced up, just as a mobile suit launched from the Vesalius. "Fuck'n Creuset..." He muttered, pulling out his rifle. "Oi! EA Pilots! Best fall back! We've got an uninvited white-masked guest!"

However, Rau Le Creuset wasn't the only one who wanted to defeat the Gundams. A white GINN Assault with pink accents and a white-blue Genoace O-Custom with a light blue phoenix painted on the chest.

"The hell…?" Kyo muttered before dodging when a shot from the Genoace's DODS Rifle fired at him. "You fucking liar!"

The Angel aimed its Eclipse beam cannons at the Comet. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Tsubasa growled then fired the hip-mounted weapons at the red Gundam.

"Whoa-Hey! I didn't know he brought fucking help!" Jaden shouted, raising his shield up to bear. "I didn't think anyone else from home would be here either!"

"Shut up!" Tsubasa yelled, bringing out his Gundam's beam saber as he attacked Jaden relentlessly while Kyo dealt with the white GINN and the O-Custom with his GN Katana. "I have heard enough of your philosophical bullshit! I will crush you here and now, Red Comet!"

As the two Gundams battled each other, the Stardust was forced to fight off the advances of both Haman's GINN Assault and Daniel's Genoace Blazer. His Stardust had the vice minister's escape pod in its left hand while the GN Katana was gripped tightly in the black-gold MS's right hand.

"Daniel, disable the G-Weapon!" Haman ordered as she fired the gatling gun shield arm at the Gundam which raised its sword arm to defend against the bullets. In the cockpit, she is revealed to be dressed in a customized white and pink ZAFT pilot suit.

"Got it!" The Latin American replied to his girlfriend from within the cockpit of his own machine. He is dressed in a blue version of the ZAFT Red pilot suit with a dark blue phoenix stitched on the chest of the suit. He moved his mobile suit's hand to grip a handle on the back of its waist which unfolded to ignite into a blazing pink axe blade. His beam axe clashed with the GN-condensed blade of the MS-sized katana.

"Whoever you are, sorry but I have to do this. Hamen's the only one that's actually given me a chance so I have to stop you." Daniel spoke in his mind, a bit impressed with the pilot of the black-gold Gundam. Even with its other hand full with the escape pod, it was still holding its own against two opponents. That meant the pilot of the machine had to be an expert in close quarters combat. "In that case…" He muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, the shoulders of the Genoace Blazer moved to reveal a pair of High Mega Cannons aimed directly at the face of the Stardust. Kyo's eyes widen for a glimmer of a second as he placed his Gundam's foot on the chest of the blue mobile suit then kicked it back while leaning away to avoid the blast of violet-pink energy that could have consumed the upper body of the Stardust.

The black-haired boy growled. "Now I'm mad." He sheaths the GN Katana then activates the GN Boot Knives and GN Claws in his Gundam's right hand. Golden energy claws emerge from the fingertips of the black-gold machine as the golden GN condensed blades revealed themselves beneath the MS's feet.

"FOR! FUCK'S! SAKE!" Jaden shouted as he blocked Tsubasa's strikes with his shield blow for blow. "I! AM! TRYING! TO! HELP!"

"Spare me your crap!" The snow-haired boy yelled, the fist of the Angel glowing red hot as it threw a punch forward, slamming directly into the shield of the Comet. "You said you wanted to come out on your own but that's nothing but bullshit!"

"HAVE YOU NOT FUCKING SEEN GUNDAM SEED?!" Jaden shouted, as he pushed his thrusters to the max, shoving the Angel back. "Rau comes out to shoot the Strike, then Lacus speaks out telling him to stop! What I didn't fucking expect was Haman-fucking-Karn to show up!"

"Of course I seen the damn series!" Tsubasa yelled back, igniting the GN Verniers to push back against the red Gundam then brought up its beam saber for an overhead slash. "What I don't get is why someone like you is here!"

"Oh for the love of- I EXPLAINED this already!" Jaden shouted, snapping out a beam saber from its wrists to catch the Angel's slash. "I ended up here just like you did! And I am trying to fucking save lives! But you and your 'Shoot-first ask questions fucking never' attitude is getting on my nerves!" He then shoved the Angel away. "Have you ever thought of listening first?!"

"Of course I have! You can't expect me not to! However, in this world, you can't trust anyone especially when they possess Gundams. That's why I find it hard to listen to someone like you. You're talking about Sei Iori, a character from an anime like you know him. Tell me now! Who are you really!" Tsubasa shouted, backflip kicking the Comet in the chin. "Are you from an alternate Earth or are you from my Earth!"

"YOUR EARTH YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Jaden shouted, the Comet firing off its head vulcans at the Gundam to disorient the pilot. "I asked 'How's Sei doing' to see if you were from my earth too! Only someone from our world would fucking know who Sei Iori was! And that's fucking hypocritical coming from a guy PILOTING A FUCKING GUNDAM HIMSELF! And WORKING WITH OTHER GUNDAM PILOTS! You're telling me you don't trust them either? What the fuck dude?!"

Tsubasa had never felt so irritated in his life. This man was getting on his last nerves and now…

SNAP!

A mental chain in his psyche shattered to pieces as the boy's blue eyes glowed. His pupils slowly bleeding into the letter X.

The next thing Jaden knew, the Angel moved at speeds even greater than his own. He had barely enough time to block a fierce knee that had threatened to crush the inside of his cockpit. The Comet's shield held albeit with a really large dent in the metal.

"Oh for the love of- FUNNELS!" Jaden shouted, as the Comet's assortment of twelve Funnels launched, and began to fire on the Angel, forcing the mobile suit backing off as it began to dodge and weave through his strikes.

As he focused on the Angel, Jaden let out a mental groan. Dealing with this Tsubasa character was beginning to get… spiritually taxing for him. He ignores his advice, he somehow has it in his mind he's the villain, despite doing everything in his power to not be one, and was resorting to brute force immediately as opposed to using his head and using common core logic. 'I NEED a fucking vacation...' He thought. 'What the hell is taking Lacus-'

"Commander Le Creuset! Haman Karn!" Lacus's voice suddenly shouted across all comm channels, as Jaden sighed in relief. "Stop this at once! Are you trying to turn this location into a battlefield when there is a representative of the memorial commission here? I will not allow it! Stop your combat operation at once! Can you not hear me?"

Jaden let out a sigh of relief. "I fucking love that girl..." he muttered, recalling his funnels.

Haman and Daniel stopped their attack on the Stardust, who had managed to avoid another of the Genoace Blazer's High Mega Cannon blasts.

Kyo breathed a sigh of relief.

Tsubasa had momentarily stopped. That nagging bloodlust had left his system thanks to Lacus. For good reason too. He had no idea why he got so angry but it felt as if...someone was whispering in his head.

Kill him…

That voice…

Kill him now…

Who the hell was talking to him?

He mocks you. He believes you below him in battle. He called you a fool.

Yeah...he did…

Yes, kill him! Kill the pilot of the red mobile suit! Kill! Kill! KILL!

A bluish aura started to surround the frame of the Angel Gundam. It's yellow eyes turning a shade of violet as the 'mask' began to 'open' into a fang-like mouth similar to the Heat Vent of the Crossbone Gundam-type mobile suits. It reared back and released a vicious roar that echoed throughout the entirety of space.

"Oh man, not again…" The pilot of the Stardust gulped.

"...Son of a bitch..." Jaden muttered, not even bothering to wonder how in the fuck the MS roared since there is no air in space, there is no sound in space. Preparing his shield and beam saber. He switched briefly back to ZAFT Comms. "Athrun… I'd run back to the ship with Lacus now…"

"Wait, what are you-"

"This guy ain't listening to reason no more." Jaden said. "I don't want Lacus to get caught in the-" Suddenly the Angel bursts forward. "-SHIT!" he barely had the time to raise the shield to deflect the machine's flurry of punches which slowly dented the Gundanium alloy shield, as he was slowly beaten back by the berserking Gundam.

"I gotta help that guy!" Kyo growled, momentarily leaving the vice minister's pod alone as the Stardust took off in a burst of speed towards the two combatting Gundams but was forced to step back when the Angel's Agios Funnels started to attack him, Haman, Daniel, Athrun, and even Kira. "FUCK!"

"Crap!" Kira cursed as he brought the Strike's shield up to defend against the beams but all that did was melt it into scrap. "Tsubasa! Please come to your senses!"

However, his pleas were left to nothing as the white-haired pilot roared, the X-shaped pupils of his eyes spun slowly. The Angel brought up its palm then charged up a ball of burning energy from the Xenon Phase built into the MS and thrusts it towards the Comet. The increased heat burned Jaden's shield into a molten pile, forcing the Red Comet to purge his only defense.

"What the heck is wrong with this guy? He's attacking everyone in sight!" Daniel gritted his teeth as he commanded his mobile suit to weave through a barrage of beams.

Athrun, despite being a ZAFT Red, was starting to get nervous and exhausted. The mobile beam turrets were wearing him down and wouldn't stop following him even when he tried to retaliate by shooting at the contraptions with the Aegis's beam rifle. A lucky shot destroyed the left shoulder armor of his G-Weapon. Lacus cried out in surprise from the resulting shockwave.

"Athrun! What-"

"I am trying to help them Lacus!" Athrun muttered, "That…thing might start attacking us!"

"This is several different degrees of BULLSHIT!" Jaden shouted, firing his beam rifle in one hand, and holding a beam saber in the second as he continued to back off from the Angel, as it began to fight not just him but also the Strike, Stardust and pretty much any other mobile suit that got too close to him.

The winged Gundam roars once more, firing its GN Eclipse beam cannons with wild abandon, blasting everything around it.

"GN Field: Maximum output!" Kyo declared as an orb of GN particles surrounded the Stardust, protecting it from the deadly beams.

Kira fires the thrusters to send the Aile Strike above the range of the beams.

Daniel and Haman ducked and weaved around the particle beams, avoiding disintegration from the raging Angel Gundam.

Jaden continued to weave away from the Gundam, as he keyed back into the EA MS comm frequencies. "So, you guys have a plan to knock this guy out?" He asked in a hurry, "Asshole he may be, I'd rather not kill him if it can be avoided!"

"This happened before with the Cosmic. The pilot suddenly went into some sort of berserk-like state." Kyo explained. "I have no idea what the hell is doing this right now but we need to get him to calm down. If we don't then he'll kill us all eventually."

"That's bad…" Kira frowned.

Malevolent violet eyes flash as the white-blue Gundam roared loudly as the Agios Funnels circled around it protectively then fired at the other mobile suits.

"No shit Yamato!" Jaden shouted, flying in circles to avoid being hit by the volley of beams as did the other mobile suits. "So how do you suggest calming him down?"

"We need to find some way for him to snap out of whatever sort of haze is clouding his mind." Kyo theorized. His golden eyes trailed over to the Aegis. "That's it!"

Daniel blocked a vicious swipe from the burning hands of the Angel but grunted when he was kicked directly in the face, shattering the protective visor and revealing the blue lens eyes behind it. "GAH!"

"Daniel!" Haman cried out then glared furiously at the berserk mobile suit. "You bastard!" She fired the shield mounted gatling gun at the Gundam but the bullets pinged off the armor.

In a burst of speed, the winged MS appeared in front of Haman's GINN and quite literally punched off her head. Sparks and electrical currents flew from the headless body of the white-pink ZAFT machine.

"Lacus, you need to sing! Sing a song to quell Tsubasa's anger!" Kyo told the songstress as he brought up his Gundam's GN Spear to block an attack from the blade of an Agios Funnel.

"Oh please tell me you're joking..." Jaden muttered

"Huh?" Lacus asked in confusion.

"We're out of options, and I'm willing to try anything!" Kyo shouted. "Please Lacus!"

"Oh! Uhhh, okay!" Lacus said. "Athrun?"

The ZAFT pilot sighed "This is crazy..." He muttered even as he activated the wide comms.

Jaden also groaned "Well, if it works for Macross..." He muttered to himself.


Meanwhile…

"Hmm, it seems my pawn is working out exponentially. The other pilots won't be able to stop his growing Xccelerator abilities. But to think that a third would awaken this soon…"

"..."

"Yes, I know. It's time to stop playing around."

"..."

"Oh be quiet. I know how to control someone like this. Now my puppet," Glowing red eyes flash as X-shaped pupils spun rapidly. "Kill them all!"


Back on the Battlefield

Tsubasa held his head in utter agony as he roared ferociously then charged at both the Comet and the Stardust while the Aile Strike tried to keep the Angel at a distance with its beam rifle but the emerald shots reflected off the Protect Bits.

"The nighttime fills the sky,"

"Stars alive, go floating by."

Tsubasa paused. That singing…where was it…

"So still the evening air,"

"So warm and soft,"

"Peace everywhere,"

The glow in the boy's eyes started to dim. That voice...so pure and beautiful…

"I see a world, in harmony."

"A world of peace, and humanity."

A warmth flowed into Tsubasa's heart. His previous rage and anger gave way to joy and sadness. A trickle of water built up in the corner of his left eye.

"Where people walk free, like water in a stream,"

"Flowing on, forever more..."

The 'mouth' sealed to form the mask of the Angel's face. The vicious violet lens melting into a soft gentle yellow. The Funnels returned to their place in the wings as the Gundam lowered its head as if listening to the peaceful song that the songstress sung.

Outside, Jaden blinked in disbelief. "Wow…go power of music." He muttered, before he sighed, glancing at Haman and Daniel's machines. "I highly suggest leaving before he goes berserk again…" His eyes narrowed, "And you two are gonna have a looooong talk with Chairman Clyne for endangering his daughter…"

"Piss off, merc." Daniel spat, his MS holding Haman's own. "You don't really have any jurisdiction over Haman nor does the Chairman. She answers only to Patrick Zala."

"Daniel, that's enough. Let's go. I've had enough of being on the battlefield." The pink-haired woman ordered her subordinate/lover.

The Latin American sighed then had his Genoace Blazer fly back to the Vesalius with Haman's GINN in tow.

Kyo, having realized that the temporary alliance was over, raised his GN Katana in Jaden's direction. "Now that that's over. Leave now. You have your prize. Return to your ship and do not follow us. Regardless if you are from our Earth, you're still an enemy to the Archangel. Fight us again and you will die along with any of your subordinates. This is not a threat but a warning. Do you understand?"

"I'll be leaving…you need to take care of him." Jaden said, pointing to Tsubasa. "He needs to learn to reign in his rage, you're not going to have a songstress like Lacus to calm him down again. He's a danger not to me, but to you, your friends and the Archangel crew…I need you all alive after all if we're going to stop mask-face..." He then sighed as his machine began to turn. "Either way…take care…and good luck, you're gonna need it." And with that statement, the Comet Gundam turned around as its thrusters lit up, speeding away from the battlespace.

The pilot of the Stardust narrowed his eyes at the red Gundam then turned back to the motionless Angel. Regardless of what happened, something inside Tsubasa had snapped. He was never an angry person. He is usually the calm and collected one. Did this Jaden Takeo really bug him that much?

With a sigh, he collected the Gundam and the vice minister's pod then returned back to the Archangel.

Kira, on the other hand, was looking back at the Aegis, which in turn looked back at the Strike.

"Athrun…" He mumbled.

"Kira…" Athrun muttered while Lacus looked at her fiance in concern.

The two G-Weapons looked at each other for a few more seconds before breaking away and returning to their respective vessels.


Meanwhile…

The shadowy figure who had been watching the current events crushed their wine glass. "Damn witch! She ruined everything!"

"..."

"I should've had the boy kill her first! That Jaden Takeo punk is starting to ruin my scenario. In that case, I might as well send one of my new pets to eliminate him."

"..."

"Correct, no human, Coordinator or otherwise, will be able to stand against my army."

In a separate corridor, a faint growl echoed in the chamber then a set of acid green eyes shined in the shadows.


(Cue Amazing World by SCREEN mode)

(Go fight!)

(Go fight!)

(Ready!)

(Go fight!)

(Go fight!)

(Let you go!)

(Instruments)

(Sae nai menshita one day)

(Nankou furaku no this way)

(Eda wakare no shikou)

(Jimon jitou shite)

(Kocchi de atteru no question)

(Deta toko shoubu no motion)

(Yoromeite susumu naki sora no shita)

(Stereo Repair nante)

(Kim tsukenai de Drop kikku suru ze)

('Te' wo toriatte tobidasu n da)

("Fly away!" "Higher!")

(Sora no kanata)

(Amazing the world!)

(Issho nara mitsukari sousa)

("Go together")

(Onsoku no HAISUPIIDO de)

(Mune ni hikaru 'ten' to 'ten' wo tsunagi awase)

("Like a rainbow")

(Yuruginai kizuna de find out!)

(Instruments)

(Hikari sasu hougaku e Dive!)

(Instruments)

(Go fight!)

(Go fight!)

(Let you go!)

(End of Ending)


Preview:

With the trade off complete, the Archangel and her crew continues its path to Earth. Reveals Kira, Tsubasa, and Kyo standing before a makeshift tribunal with Murrue, Natarle, and Mu looking at them

The civilians are eager to rendezvous with another EF fleet however Flay holds sinister goals. Shows Flay holding a little girl's hand before a dark grin appears on her face

Meanwhile, Tsubasa questions his place as a Gundam pilot after his recent episode in attacking his own teammates. Reveals the white-haired boy sitting on his bunk with his GP Base in hand

Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol launch a devastating attack against the Archangel, forcing Kira and his fellow pilots to fight. Cuts to the Duel, Buster, and Blitz combatting the Strike, Stardust, Cosmic, Bolverk, Impact, and Crossbolt Saber

Next Time: Awakening Sword! Doubts and Convictions

Will you fall to your own pity, Gundam? Reveals the Angel clad in dark grey armor with the horn of the Cosmic planted on its forehead and its wings spreading at a wider length


A/N: That's it for the chapter. Special thanks to 117Jorn and Knightwolf1875 for assisting in this chapter. Please note, some of this has lines from the old version of Stardust Angels.

Daniel Vivas and his MS belong to Firem78910. Special thanks to him for his commission.

Anyway, please review and comment on this chapter but no flames or hateful criticisms. I will not tolerate those anymore.

If you ignore this warning then I warned you and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Thank you my loyal readers and followers. Your loyalty is what keeps me going.

Peace out, everyone!


Mobile Suit Serial Number: RGE-B893COB Genoace Blazer

Namesake: Blazer

Unit Type: Custom General-Purpose Mobile Suit

Power Plant: Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor

Special Equipment: 360 degree Cockpit, Phase Shift Armor

Armament: DODS Beam Rifle, I-Field shield, Beam axe

Optional Armament: Shoulder mounted High Mega Cannon x 2, AQM/E-A4E1 Jet Striker Pack

Pilot: Daniel Vivas

Appearance: based on the RGE-B893CO Genoace O-Custom

Colors: the white parts on the armor are a dark blue except on the chest while the blue parts of the armor are black and the chest has a light blue phoenix on it

Info: A MS built for long engagements be it for Space,air or Land combat or be used to destroy high priority targets with the High Mega cannons or do hit and run tactics with the jet striker pack