After a long month i am back again with chapter twelve. Enjoy :)

It had been two weeks since the wedding. In Aprilius One, the waning sunshine kissed the fair, light blond locks swaying in the evenings wind. Dark, raven eyes squinted slightly as a pale hand cupped over her brows. Gwen Laveiga Joule leant against the railing of her bedroom, just breathing the calm, breezy air. She was glad, for moment, to have nothing on her mind. It was a warm summer night, and she couldn't care for much except the fact that she was alone in Joule mansion and completed deserted by her husband because his dead ex-girlfriend/comrade suddenly somehow got resurrected from the ground.

Well, that makes a lot of sense. Gwen thought to her self as her pale comely features twisted in an ugly grimace. Menace glowed in her black-pearl eyes

Rubbing her diamond wedding ring with an angry force, the woman pushed herself from the railing and went back into the room, her good humour gone. Sweeping a stack of documents on her corner desk as she passed, she quickly scanned over them. The first sheet read that her father had been placed as Chairman of ZAFT and PLANTS Oblivion council. Gwen smiled just a bit as she knew her father finally achieved what he wanted. Flipping through, her interest was drawn toward the progress reports of the battle on Earth. As it would seem, 'Blue Cosmo' is winning.

A gloating sneer appeared on her lips, Blue Cosmo, HA!! Those Naturals were stupider than we thought. Gwen was positively content with the fact that the EA totally bought the "Blue Cosmo revived' foolish joke. It was simply out of those Natural's imagination to actually suspect that the Blue Cosmo force is actuallya secret military the Laveiga family raise over the years. All they needed to do now is act like they are trying to defend Earth from the 'Blue Cosmos', whereas in reality they are merely allowing their own force go on a killing spree and concur Earth while they're at it.Once that's done and EA and OMNI are completely corrupted, their mass enslavement can begin. Running a hand through her hair, Gwen almost laughed. It was well…too easy.

For the longest time, the father and daughter had a very deep and dark desire of taking revenge on the Natural race. In their bones, they never believed for a moment of their wake that Naturals and Coordinators could live together. Wars would be fought, blood would be shed, treaties of compromise would be signed, and peace will be promoted. Yet regardless, the question still lies at how long will it all last before someone cross the line? 2 years? 5 years? A decade? A century? Or not at all. Two forces of equal power can't avoid a war, but with one force weaker and the other stronger, a balance could be achieved. So to spare the needless process of continuing the endless bloodsheds all over again, it made sense to the Laveiga's and their followers that the probable solution was to achieve a society with the dominance of one race over the other. Thus the terribly historical idea of enslavement came to mind.

Gwen almost couldn't contain her bursting smirk. How long has she waited patiently for the right moment of revenge? She almost lost count, but she recalled it to be a stale, dragging period of her life. Silently, she had given her father her unconditional support time and time again. Sometimes her goal almost seemed like a fantastical dream, something so far from her reach, that the chance of her reaching it would be smaller than the surface of an atom. But she did wait, patiently, keenly, and she did this for no one else's sake but her own. Sure her father and she shared the same goal, but that didn't make their reasons of an accordant source. Laveiga had his personal motives, and Gwen had hers. Did you think she was a stupid Daddy's girl and a ridiculous pushover capable of only being pretty? No. Gwen Laveiga was more than that.

I will take my revenge. Supporting her chin in her hand, Gwen scanned through the battle reports. So far, the bombardment on Earth is advancing at an accelerating speed. Gwen's sneer grew wider as she glanced over the areas that her force had taken down. General Tasne wasn't the most talented commanding officer, certainly much less capable than Zack Jeviet, but he is doing pretty great for an average, and Gwen's confidence grew just a tad bit more. As for Zack Jeveit, Gwen scowled as she thought, that bastard betrayed them.

The night of assassination, Zack, by order, was suppose to launch a fatal attack on Earth, but that unworthy little traitor not only slipped their assassination plan to Victoriese Du'Quaine, he also ditched the force altogether and fled into hiding. Their attack was delayed by an hour, and it was only when General Tasne filled his place that the plan was able proceed. Of course, Gwen Laveiga Joule was not about to let Zack Jeveit cross her and get away with it. He was going to have to pay in the worst way possible, and Gwen did not hesitate to take his sister's life.

Gwen knew she should feel disgusted with herself, but for someone who had come so far as her, that was a very hard thing to do. Her conscience had been too worn down to activate now, and Gwen decided it was for the best. Honestly, a guilty conscience can corrupt some of even the most ambitious human beings.

"Veronica!!" Gwen hollered for her secretary. Seconds later a young girl burst into the room, stumbling over her steps and then quickly flushing with embarrassment.

"Mrs. Joule." The lass bobbed a curtsey. "Do you wish for anything?"

Growling, the lady waved her hand dismissively, "get me a demitasse."

"Yes, ma'am," The secretary spun on her heel and basically sprinted out the room, slammed the door shut and fled.

Gwen leant back into her seat and crossed her arm over her chest. Shifting her gaze to a photo frame across the desk, she stared at the 18 year old her and the thirteen year old child whom she hugged. Her grinning young face was sprinkled lightly with faint sun kissed freckles. Her blazing manes glowed as vivid as fire and her dazzling silvery eyes shone like moonlight. A heart-warming feeling overcame Gwen. Sighing, she closed her eyes and stood up. When she opened them again, her decision was made.

--

In Paris, France night had settled well into its position. The moon was high, and the stars were waking up to watch the retiring human done below. But that doesn't mean anyone's sleeping.

There were a lot of things Shinn could imagine himself to be doing right about the minute: watching t.v, taking a shower, playing video games with Kira from Victoriese's extensive collection (yes, he still had a obsession with it even though he's 21), playing pool with Athrun, playing poker with Dearka and Cagalli, or maybe if he had absolutely nothing better to do, he'd read a book from Victoriese's massive library. And even if none of that was available, at least he could go to sleep. Growling to himself, Shinn wished desperately to just curl up in his bed and get some decent slumber, since at the rate of the battles escalating on Earth, he'd never know when it'd be his last.

But no, out of all of the gazillion choices, Shinn found himself walking down the alien roads of suburban Paris, with no map, no compass, no GPS. He wore his baggy black shorts, and a plain white shirt with some random abstract design. In his hands, he held a long kitchen knife and a flashlight. Walking quickly in the dead of the night, Shinn thanks whatever gods for not sending a police car in his way. Not to mention that Zaft was out on a man hunt looking for him, it certainly wouldn't make him look too good if he was caught snooping around 2 o'clock in the morning with a potentially dangerous weapon. Sighing, Shinn decided it was indeed about the oddest thing he ever thought he'd be doing.

In his head, he replayed his friends' words.

"So you're saying that you guys have decided that I have to go out there and follow Victoriese Du'Quaine too see whatever she's doing?" Shinn grabbed the dark figure of Kira and hissed in annoyance.

Kira laughed sheepishly at, "Ha-ha…yeah about that….Shinn…thanks."

Shinn threw his hand into the air, "Why do I have to follow her?!"

Cagalli shut her amber eyes and sighed. Her feeble patience was clearly wearing thin. "Because, don't you think it's very suspicious that Victoriese suddenly sneaked out at 2 o'clock in the morning, without telling any of us? First, she totally didn't tell any of us she's French. Second, she's got this gigantic mansion the size of UFO. Third, this Jordan guy just suddenly appeared to help us, with no warning or a reason. We would be stupid not to be suspicious."

"Why pick me though?" Shinn challenged, definitely pissed off.

"Because Mir has to watch the kids and the four of us will search the mansion while you're gone. We knocked out Jordan and tied him up so you don't have to worry about him." Cagalli gestured at her brother, Athrun, Dearka and herself. "Shinn, please, you have to do this. We're in Natural territory, inside the house of someone who could potentially kill all of us. We need your help."

The face of this young coordinator turned as red as his ruby eyes.

Dearka said in his smooth, oily tone, "You're a seed coordinator, a soldier. You'll do fine. Besides, you'll be taking a weapon."

Shinn seemed a bit relieved for a second, "You found a gun?"

Dearka grunted unpleasantly, "Gun? Hell no! I meant a kitchen knife. Sorry, kid, but this Du'Quaine seem to not keep any available weapon lying around except for that gun she always keeps at her side. So this is the best we can do." Dearka seemed sincerely regretful as he handed his friend a long knife.

Shinn's jaw dropped. A kitchen knife. You've got to be kidding me. "But-"

"No buts- Out! Now! Before you lose her." Athrun gave Shinn a commanding glare and shoved the young man lightly and pushed him out despite Shinn's futile resistance, "Thanks Shinn, we own you." Smiling encouragingly, Athrun shut the front door in his face, "Oh and good luck."

"Stupid, ridiculous idiots," Shinn grumbled to himself as he continued walking. Several hundred feet in front of him, Victoriese's slender figure was only a silhouette under the bleak street lights. Rubbing his eyes, Shinn suppressed a yawn as he quickened his pace. Regardless of his unwillingness, Shinn knew what Cagalli told him to do was utmost necessary, and really he was the only one fit to do the job. Kira and Athrun, despite being better veterans than he, still had to recover from their injuries. Cagalli, although could walk now, is in no position to show her face on public ground, even if it's 2 in the morning. Dearka's dark skin against fresh blond hair stood out too much in a Natural city, so that left Shinn to be only possible spy.

Crap, I wish Mom and Dad gave me green hair and orange eyes. Growling lowly, Shinn cursed his bad luck. Walking quicker, he realized that he had followed Victoriese to a classy coffee shop. Was she meeting someone? A millions guess popped into his mind. From the dim outline of the store and the inviting light pouring from the large glass windows, Shinn only saw a few lonely figures seating by themselves in the shop. It was no wonder really. Any sane person would be sleeping right now…which probably should include himself. Stooping down so he slid against a large bush, he approached imminent coffee shop on his stomach. Making sure he was completely hidden in the shadows, Shinn observed in silence.

Victoriese walked up the concrete stairs. She paused for a moment, just standing there. Her hands clutched at the skirt of her crisp, clean white summer dress. She rocked back and forth on her high-heel shoes lightly, as if in deep thoughts. Head bowed, Victoriese crossed her hands at her chest. He pale lips seemed to move, but there was no one around to hear whatever she was saying. In the dark, Shinn raised an eyebrow.

What is she doing?

Finally taking a breath, her hand found its way around her neck and she pulled her flame red hair to one side. Exhaling rapidly, she reached out to pull the door open and went inside. Scrambling out from under the bushes, Shinn dove for the shadowy hideout under the window edges. Looking up, he watched attentively as Victoriese made her way towards another woman with long silvery blond hair. The woman's back was to him, so he wasn't able to get a look at her face. As Victoriese drew nearer, the woman looked up from her magazine and immediately went to embrace her. A wide grin was across the young Frenchwoman's usual calm, nonchalant features. Shinn was genuinely surprised.

So she is capable of smiling. Wow, I am impressed.

After sitting down, the blond woman and Victoriese engaged straight into a conversation. Victoriese said something and the woman threw her head back and laughed. Her uncontrolled movement presented Shinn the liberty of seeing her face.

Instantly his heart stopped beating. Shinn felt the colour drain from his face as all warmth seemed to escape from his body. His ruby eyes wide, the young man leaped. Kicking his heels against the pavement walkway, turned and never looked back. Shinn couldn't think. All he knew was he's scared shitless, and he needed to run.

--

The air was stifling, and the atmosphere ominous and eerie. As her bare feet padded against the icy marble tiles, a needling chill vibrated from the sole of her feet to the tip of their scull. Though she didn't spoke, a misty breeze could be felt blowing across her exposed ankles. Darkness was like a rolling tide, swallowed her deeper as she ventured deeper down hallway, sucking her into the black nothingness.

Goosebumps crawled under her skin, Cagalli reached for the first door on the fourth floor.

Locked.

Second door- locked.

Third door- locked again.

Fourth door- ooh open- no, locked.

Fifth door- as expected- locked.

"Ugh, Athrun, why are all these doors on the fourth floor-"

"Locked? I know." Across the hallway, Athrun seemed to be facing similar issues. "Just keep trying."

Taking a deep breath, Cagalli moved on to the next door. Looking down the deserted corridor, she started depressingly at the row of endless doors. In her mind, she wondered why there were so many rooms to begin with anyway. I mean, sure Victoriese certainly made her point of showing the world that she was stinking rich, but there was only 11 people in her house including her servants, she obviously didn't need one thousand spare rooms for display! Curiosity getting the better of her, Cagalli flashed her light at the bigger door in front of her. To her utter surprise there were golden engravings on them.

A.L- and the rest appeared as some gibberish that she couldn't understand.

Grimacing at the foreign language, the princess decided she was wasting her time trying to decode French by. Turning the delicate bronze knob, she anticipated the brusque resistance of the bolt, but instead, there was a crisp clicking noise and the handle twisted easily under her grip. Dazzled, Cagalli laid her hand against the cool wood, as if almost afraid to touch it. Pushing slightly, she watched as the wooden door swayed open with a shrill, eerie creak. In the absolute silence, its echo was the loudest thing Cagalli has ever heard. Instantly, a chill shot down her spin. The room before her was drowned in obscurity. There was not a single shimmer of light, not even the faintest moonlight fading through the window, nothing but a thick, suffocating darkness. It was a terrible feeling. Cagalli stood there, her breath short. Her mind was blank except for one question: what is in there?

Taking a small step forward, the blonde was compelled to move, as if the mystery lurking inside the chamber drew her by an imaginary string. Her flashlight lay useless in her left hand, limping at her side, completely forgotten. Something in her guts told her this room was where she should be. There was something in there that she needed to know. Breathing again, Cagalli took her right foot from the ground, ready to merge herself into the darkness.

A hand shot around her waist from behind and pulled her hastily against a warm, hard chest. Cagalli gasped.

"Don't." Athrun whispered quietly in her ear. His warm breathe tickled her skin. There was apparent alarm in his tone, and loads of worry. "Don't go anywhere without me. You don't know what's in there."

Cagalli's cheek grew warm as Athrun snaked another arm around her waist, embracing her even more. Taking her free hand and resting it on his, she gave him a reassuring squeeze, "I'm fine, Athrun. Really."

"Let's go in, okay?"

"Uhm," Cagalli nodded.

Slowly, they made their way into the room. Waving their lights around, they located the curtain. Pulling the curtains open, Cagalli took in the calming moonlight. It wasn't as satisfying as sunlight, but it will have to do. Groping her way around, she found the light switch. Flipping it, the room exploded into light.

"Wow." Athrun voice exclaimed from behind her. "This is…"

"…absolutely gorgeous…" Cagalli finished for her beloved. She had never seen anything quite like this in her life.

Out of all the things, Cagalli found herself standing in the middle of a large art studio. Half a dozen easels stood in the center of the room, supporting unfinished artworks. Every inch of the floor is covered in blank white cloth speckled with dried colours. Around the studio, painting of various sizes were either hung on the wall or propped by the wall. Some were as large as a surface of the dinning table, while others were as small as a book. Oil paintings, tempera paintings, acrylics paintings, water colour, charcoal sketches, pencil sketches, pastel and oil pastel drawings…any type of visual art people can think of, Cagalli believed she could find them in this room. The artworks were of various subjects, some depicted beautiful sceneries, and some were detailed portraits. There was a section of the western wall were everything was abstract and contemporary modern art, while another section was completely realistic classic paintings. A part of the southern wall was mainly focused on animal sketches, while beside was a collection of landscape illustrations. Even framed photographs were found depicted somewhere on the walls.

"This person must be an art genius!" Cagalli exclaimed, too shocked to say anything else. "She has a whole book case for all kinds of art books." The blonde ran a hand across the smooth glass incasing the books. Taking out a thick design magazine, she flipped to the first page of the inner cover. "A.L"

"What did you find Cagalli?" Athrun came from behind her and looked at the book, "It's signed A.L."

"Yeah…I wonder who? The door also had this initial on it."

"Whoever this room belongs to has a name starting with these two letters."

"But this mansion belongs to the Du'Quaine Family. Why would anyone's last name be staring with 'L'?"

"Yeah…that's what I'm thinking too." Athrun frowned. "Victoriese is hiding more than we thought she is."

"Uhm…I know…" Cagalli closed her eyes. She didn't want to think of Vic as an enemy. Victoriese had been her friend.

"What's that?" Athrun pointed towards a locked box at the bottom level of the book case. The box was fairly the size of a regular piece of paper. Taking out a pocket knife, Athrun unclenched the lock open easily.

Cagalli glanced at Athrun with a surprised grin, "Where did you learn how to do that?"

Athrun smiled back, a bit proud of himself, "You pick up a lot of interesting tricks when you're at the Academy, for survival basically. Hey, you never know. Some people just might still use these locks rather than the electronic ones."

Cagalli's smile plummeted slightly, "Victoriese look like one of those people to you?"

"Honestly…" Athrun looked up for a moment to consider, "I have no clue. She never ceases to scare me."

Cagalli laughed, "You know what? Same here."

"Let's see…." Athrun took out the content of the box and went over it. There was a child's sketch book smudged with charcoal and paint and crayon marks. Flipping through it with great care, the young couple went over the drawing. Despite the exterior appearance, the inside sketches were all powerfully and wonderfully done in charcoals or pencils. Some pages were coloured a bit with paint or crayons. From the inconsistency of the material used to draw, Athrun guessed the artist that this sketch belonged to drew with whatever they had in hand. It was a booklet of ideas, but strangely enough, it was all machine parts. Examining close, the blue-haired man realized that they were all components mobile suites. In fact, they weren't just any mobile suits, they were…

"Oh my gosh, that's my Buster!!" A voice behind them exclaimed. Cagalli jumped. Athrun stiffened.

"Dearka!" Kira shushed his friend as he made his way towards them. Raising his eyebrow curiously, he asked, "What did you find? Come sit." Kira brushed aside the supplies on the ground and they sat down on the floor.

"Did you guys find anything?" Cagalli asked her brother anxiously, only to be slightly disappointed by his shaking head.

"No, sorry. All the doors were locked. Don't know why this one is open though." Kira replied, "Okay, show us what you've got."

Athrun didn't reply. Instead, his eyes were locked on the pages as he flipped madly. The corners around his lips were hard, and Cagalli knew he was tense. His perfect brows were locked firmly in a frown. In his deep forest-green eyes, there was astonishment and a glint of fear. Kira leant over and tilted the sketch book slightly so he could look at it too. As recognition settled it, he gasped, "Are those Gundams?"

"Wait! Wait, what?" Cagalli looked around frantically at her brother, her boyfriend and Dearka, whose faces suddenly changed colours. Athrun looked possible green, and Kira was slightly blue. It might've been Cagalli's imagination, but Dearka seemed…well, oddly pale! "I don't understand! What the heck are you people talking about?"

Athrun's eye meet Cagalli's with a hollow stare, "This whole booklet is about the first five Gundams that the Earth Forces created at Heliopolis. It really might not look like it, but they are bits and pieces of the Gundams. As a matter of fact, it looks like a whole book of brainstorm for first-stage modeling of the five Gundams. Look here; there is even jolt-notes on the machines special techs." Athrun flipped the page and held it for the blond princess to see, "Excellent transfiguration. Standard colour: rouge. Name: not decided yet. That sounds awfully similar to Aegis" Athrun read from the messy page. His voice was tight. Flipping past it, he read another line "Could be invisible. Colour: not decided. Name: Blitz. Nicol's Gundam was the Blitz."

Cagalli's eyes were saucer wide. She felt terrible sick, "But that can't be!! This book is like a child's scrape book. Maybe a child just drew it for fun!! The Gundams were made by engineers using scientific theory and calculations. It's not fantasy-thinking!!"

Kira sighed, "The facts tell us otherwise. This person labeled dates for every page. January 17th, C.E 67…January 25th, C.E 67…March 7th, C.7 65- these were done 10 years ago, four years before the Gundams were first used. That makes no sense!!"

Dearka breathed, "Okay, I'm not sure about you people, but I'm starting to freak out."

Athrun ignored him, too distraught to say anything. He handed the book to Kira, who looked through it himself, as if trying to find an explanation that will calm his raging nerves. Athrun looked beside him, and his eyes led him back to the box, where he found other unexpected things, "If those were the rough drafts, I think I just found the final copy." Taking out a thin envelope, he cleared the content inside. This time, they were individual sheets. The first one was a certificate with silver and gold trims. There were many different languages written on it, but Athrun found the English one.

"The International Visual Arts Design Contest of C.E 67- First Place Winner Angelique Leroy. Age: 9. Nationality: French." Athrun said numbly to the air. "Well, that would explain the A.L on the door."

Shifting the papers, he looked at each individual sheet. These papers were finely laminated with plastic, and on every sheet there was a golden imprint of first place. There were six drawing to be exact. The first five was the Strike, the Aegis, the Buster, the Duel, and the Blitz, drawing and coloured to perfection, accompanied by their given name and a short descriptive paragraph on there abilities. There weren't any calculations shown, or any specific facts, just a simple drawing. As a matter of fact, the Gundam's serial code names, which the military knew them by, did not exist neither. Athrun suspected that those were added by the EA later on.

Beside him, Kira stared at the sketch book in his hand and choked, "Athrun-"

His best friend never had a chance to speak, for Athrun had already turned the page over to see the very last sheet. If his heart did not stop when he saw the Gundams, well, it did now as his vision focused on the sixth drawing. It wasn't like the rest of the drawings. It was very different. The seven bold letters screamed at him like a million nuclear bombs exploding at once.

G.E.N.E.S.I.S

The genocide machine created by Zaft under the orders of Patrick Zala which obliterated the Lunar Base and nearly destroyed the Earth. Yes, it brought back unwanted memories.

Cagalli's hand his and gave him a little squeeze. "Athrun…"

The paper slipped from his shaking hands. His muscles could no longer function. With a desperate sigh, Athrun turned and leant his throbbing forehead on Cagalli's shoulder. She let him rest against her and run her hand soothingly down his back, mentally thanking the gods that Kira was too shocked to say anything. Softly, Cagalli implied, "I don't understand…weapons of mass destruction…the Gundams, the GENESIS…. was made by a 9 year-old-girl. How did they end up in the hands of Zaft and Omni?"

"I remember Father introducing me to Nadeyia Ashley, a councilwoman and the most famous engineer in Zaft who supposed led the group of scientists who designed and structured the Genesis." Athrun said miserably. His gorgeous features warped into an ugly scowl and he put a hand to his aching head.

"Doesn't explain who Angelique Leroy is," Dearka shrugged.

"Leroy…Leroy. That name sound familiar to you Cagalli?" Kira twisted his mouth to one side.

"Yeah. There used to be a Top Marshal in Orb called…something Leroy. I can't remember exactly his name. But Leroy is a very common French last name. It's like Smith or Johnson or Miller. There must be hundreds of Leroy families."

"But only one with incredible military influence," Kira answered back.

"Only Victoriese can answer that question." Athrun said.

Cagalli opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off. Shinn burst through the studio doors, "She's a traitor!!"

"Shinn!!" The princess exclaimed in surprise. "What-"

"I just saw her having coffee with Gwen Laveiga." Shinn panted and collapsed onto his bottom. His head felt light with the lack of oxygen from his running. His vision swayed. "If you people don't do something fast, we'll never last to sunrise."

A/N: I kind of rushed on this chapter. Lol. The last few chapter was a bit slow, but things are going to speed up now. I'm not really sure where things is going to go, so i'm just kind of writing as i go along. Thank you for reading and please review.