Old Friends Anew

Phase-25: Darkness and Light / That Which Blinds More

"This is an A-55 Alert. Repeating. This is an A-55 Alert." An announcement called out over the sound of the heavy rain in the night. "42 and 666, stand by for launch."

Ray started booting up his system. Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module. Legend's green eyes flashed to life as the gray and red color scheme of its phase shift armor coated its body. The docking clamps released, and it began to walk out into the wetness. Shinn on the other hand was in too much shock to budge. "Athrun…." His mind went through all his encounters with the legendary pilot at a blinding speed. "Why is this happening? Ray!" Destiny's eyes awoke as the docking clamps were detached.

"I wish I knew his reasons. But the facts are that he was being chased by security, and he attacked them in order to escape."

"Huh?" Shinn gasped, still not grasping the concept.

"Let's go. Or else he'll escape for sure!" Legend's thrusters warmed up and propelled the mobile suit into the blackness of the sky.

Shinn's mind continued to struggle with the problem. But in the end, he became resolute with a "Keh!" and jammed the throttle to maximum. In midair, the blue and red color scheme of his mobile suit painted the gray armor. It spread its wings of plasma energy and went after Ray with an alarming speed.

In the stormy seas, all ZAFT and EAF battleships were alerted to the presence of the escapees with an alarm. One of the people on a smaller EAF boat was Kisaka-san, and he saw the blue Gouf make a large water trail as it hugged the waves. Legend and Destiny flew overhead in hot pursuit, making the ship rock. He snarled and quickly went to do something.

"A spy has escaped?" Back in the barracks, not a single person slept anymore. "Whoever it was must've been Logos' flunky. Possibly from the new troops?"

As MPs went past them, Vino and Luna looked on with pure worry. "Vino, I think we should go back to the ship. What do you think?"

"Eh? Unh." He nodded, his confusion giving him decisiveness problems.

Dullindal entered a stylish meeting room, which was rushed into an emergency command center. He sat down at the head desk as he heard the others speaking. "He stole a Gouf?"

"Please tell me we've got someone after him!"

"Sir! Elgar squad is prepping for launch!"

Dullindal raised his hand. "There's no need for that. I've put Shinn and Ray on that problem." Among the commotion, no one noticed the door to a side room slide open a crack as Mia peeked inside, her trembling gasps soon manifested themselves as tears once again. "Right now it's more important that this doesn't cause a ruckus by news spreading. If rumors get out, there will be multiple problems with the military units we've gathered. That's something we can't allow to happen at this time."

"Uh, hai." The operations commander stood at attention.

"Commander!" An intelligence officer saluted as he stepped into the room. "We've been able to trace the terminal that got into the host server, but there's a problem. Meyrin Hawke's room, one of the Minerva crew, contained the terminal that hacked the system."

"The Minerva?" Dullindal was shocked as the rest of the people in the room started chattering. "Where is she now?"

"Um, you see…."

As Luna was trying to gather the whole crew that was at the barracks, Gladys walked in with a scowl on her face that would push anyone back that got in her way. Luna noticed her instantly. "Captain!" But she was completely ignored.

A clap of thunder almost obscured Athrun's proximity alarm. Almost. All four gasped as an open channel was broadcast, intended for Ray and Shinn, but intentionally left open for Athrun and Meyrin to hear. "Ray." The Chairman popped up on his screen.

"Hai."

"When pursuing Athrun, did you encounter Meyrin Hawke at all?" Shinn's head shot up to the communication windows above him.

Ray answered without reservation. "Meyrin Hawke is currently inside the same suit as Athrun."

"Eh?" Shinn flinched in shock.

"Athrun?" Dullindal raised an eyebrow as Talia entered the room. "Are you saying she's a hostage?" At those words the woman completely forgot about saluting and gasped.

"Iie, not in the least. He shielded Meyrin, and shot the gun out of my hands. When I went to retrieve it, she also fired shots at me, which thankfully missed. When he was about to mount the Gouf, she took his hand without reservation and joined him. I attempted to stop them both, but my weapon was heavily damaged." Ray's voice was calm and collected. On the other hand, Shinn's breath caught in his throat. "I believe there was a security camera in the area. Please check the recordings."

Talia slammed her palms on Dullindal's desk as he looked into his computer screen. "Meyrin did what?"

"So she is not to be considered a hostage?" The black haired man returned.

"Correct. She has not been taken against her will."

"Kgh!" Athrun flinched at his words.

Lightning illuminated the darkness once again, and in an almost symbolic way, Shinn spoke finally, even though it was slightly jumbled. "Athrun…why'd he…?"

"Chairman, Meyrin is an expert in the field of intelligence. Though I don't know what led to her betrayal, but if she is allowed to escape, numerous ZAFT secrets may be leaked." Ray continued his conversation.

"But Meyrin too? Why her?" Shinn was in total conflict.

"It is of my opinion that we end their escape attempt immediately. I ask for permission to use deadly force."

"Ray!" Shinn's eyes went wide.

"Ray! Hold on a second!" Gladys spoke from above the console.

The Chairman paid no mind. "That so? Understood. Your judgement is trusted. Deadly force authorized."

"Gichou!" Talia protested loudly. He shot her a look that caused her to back away in shock and fear.

"Arigato gozaimasu." Ray finished his transmission.

"Ray! That's too much!" Shinn shot a stressed cry at him.

"You heard it too, Shinn. That's how things are going to go."

"But in that suit…."

Legend broke formation and banked to the right. "I'll close in from the right. You're faster, so circle in front of them!"

"Kgh. Ung. Ray!" Shinn could hardly speak. In fact, the stress was so much he began to sweat.

Knowing Shinn wasn't an easy sell, Ray dangled the bait. "If the Chairman's ideals, and those who believe in him, are destroyed because of them, what will you do then?" Shinn's eyes shot open. "In this tense time, traitorous actions can't go unpunished! Come to your senses, Shinn! We have to prevent that from happening!" Still reluctant, Shinn accelerated.

Legend pulled out its doublewide beam rifle and fired at the Gouf. Athrun dodged to one side as the beam hit the water just inches beside them. Meyrin squeaked in fear as the cockpit shook. "Kuso! Is Ray in that thing?" From above, the blonde shot his blaster at the two traitors, but Athrun's expert dodging abilities kept any shot from connecting. Over his left shoulder, Shinn came within firing range. Athrun quickly rolled out of the way as the shot came even closer than those Legend fired.

"Tch!" Shinn snarled as he pursued the escaping suit, extending the rifle with one hand and firing it rapidly.

"Shinn!" Athrun cried.

"Why did this come about? Why did you turn her against us?" Shinn's anger boiled over.

It was evident that Athrun was not going to be able to escape by just dodging, so he turned the Gouf on its back and fired the gatling gun on its arm. Destiny pulled back and spread the reflector shield equipped on its regular shield. "Shinn, knock it off!" Athrun said as they hovered, watching each other's movements. "We've been manipulated by him from the start! You as well!" Shinn just grunted in response.

"As if that will fool us?" Ray came in from the right. "You've disgraced us all, Athrun!"

"Ray!" Legend pointed six of its backpack cannons at the mobile suit, and shot them simultaneously at it. With expert timing, Athrun rolled out of the way and returned gatling fire. Ray spread the beam shield on the back of his hand and blocked the shots, looking down at them with a superior smile on his normally blank face. "Kgh!"

"Stop running!" Shinn closed his eyes for a moment, before begging his request. "Just surrender!" Destiny overtook the suit, trying to grab it, but Athrun throttled back as fast as possible. "Don't become a traitor! Go back to base!" He fired again and again at the suit.

Meyrin had her eyes tightly shut as she hung on to the chair. Athrun clicked his teeth together. "Shinn!" He did an about face and tossed out the electro-whip housed in the arm. Its red-hot metal wrapped around the rifle and the charge raced through, overloading the weapon and blowing up just a split second after Shinn put up his shield. The explosion pushed him back. "Enough of this! I'm not going to go down like this! And I won't let Meyrin either! Shinn, please listen! I know that Ray and the Chairman sound like their way is the right one…."

"Silence, Athrun!" Ray fired his rifle between the two suits. Both backed away, making a hole for Legend, who fired again.

The former FAITH officer deflected it with his shield and returned fire. "But when the smoke clears, they'll be the ones that destroyed the earth!" Shinn twitched, and Meyrin turned to Athrun in shock. "I can't let that happen!" Shinn couldn't say anything from his open mouth.

Lightning struck again as Ray jumped in. "Shinn, ignore him!" From its hip, Legend pulled out a long beam saber and throttled towards the enemy suit. Athrun quickly prepared for hand to hand combat and removed the extendable Tempest saber from the shield, and accelerated to meet him. With the spiked shield, the Gouf blocked Legend's arm from finishing the swing. "Athrun's already been deemed mentally unstable!" He pulled back a moment before Athrun took his swing.

"Huh?" Shinn raised his head.

"Quit spewing bullshit!" Athrun yelled. "Shinn, I know what I'm talking about! Dullindal's been using all of us as pawns!"

"Shinn, please stop!" Meyrin begged.

"Don't get tangled in his web of lies, Shinn!" Ray retorted.

"Shinn, if you're going to shoot me, then at least take Meyrin! She's got nothing to do with this!"

"She's been guilty since she hacked the computers. Also, ever since she was returned from the Archangel, we've suspected she had gone through some type of brainwashing and has been kept under watch! She's already condemned to death, like you."

"Ray!" Athrun snarled.

"Ray!" Shinn echoed in a begging tone.

Meyrin jumped in front of Athrun's camera. "Then go ahead and kill me, but let Athrun go! I won't let him…."

"No! Meyrin, I said I wasn't going to let you die because of me and I mean it!" He tried to push her back.

"Shinn, if Adam were here, what would he want you to do?"

"Leave him out of this!" Shinn snarled. "He's been gone ever since Falcon blew up, and now you're using him as an excuse?"

"You're wrong, Shinn! He was with me! He was aboard the Archangel! He saved me! He was on that ship when it was shot down! The Minerva killed him!"

Shinn's color palate inverted as he became paralyzed in shock. "Adam was… alive?"

"Have you become unstable too, Meyrin?" Ray said as he took another shot. Athrun finally moved the girl out of the way and cranked his controls to one side to dodge. "He was KIA at Kurata."

"You're lying! The captain made a deal with the Archangel to return us both in return for their escape, but they sank her anyway! The one who betrayed was you!"

"No way… it can't be…." Shinn's hands twitched at his controls.

"Shinn, they're the enemy! They'd say anything to get away! Don't listen to them!" Ray retorted. The lightning flashed around the motionless suit. "They betrayed the Chairman, betrayed us! They're trying to crush the hopes and dreams of those who want peace! And you're just going to hover there?" Shinn's head moved left and right, as if arguing within himself with every turn of his face. "You said so yourself. You'd go against any enemy to protect those wishes?" The boy was shivering now.

"Shinn!" Athrun begged. "Look at yourself! They're turning you into a puppet! They're only using you!"

"Shinn! Dullindal's been lying to us from the beginning! He's been fooling us from the start of the war, maybe even from before! I know Adam wouldn't want this to happen! Please, please listen!" Meyrin looked into his eyes.

Everything became too much for the red eyed pilot. To his eyes, everything turned black around his cockpit. His heart was pounding. He was sweating terribly. He was panting heavily. His mind was in a total dilemma. Something was bound to break. "The Chairman's words really touched me. I know he said it would be hard, but he also said he'd stand by us and not give up. That's because this is the only way to end this war." The boy's hands crushed the can there unknowingly. "If that's the way it is, then even I…I'll fight against whichever enemies I have to!"

"Once this war is over, it's my goal to create such a world. If I can create a place where everyone is filled with happiness, then war will never exist again. I know it sound's only like a dream, but I'll make it happen if it kills me." Athrun had long before gone silent, realizing he could not win this battle. "And since we need help for that day, I want you both to give it your all."

"CHIKSHOU!" Shinn screamed, his rage flowing freely now. Something indeed had broken, and it was his seed. From Destiny's back, Shinn pulled out the anti-ship beam sword and activated it.

"Shinn!" Meyrin and Athrun both gasped, realizing the now futility of reasoning with him.

The madness consumed the young pilot as he pointed the sword straight at the Gouf, spreading the sparkling wings of plasma to their fullest extent. He said nothing as he stared at them with solid red eyes. "Just why are you doing this? Do you want to start another war?"

"Hi, you've reached Mayu's cell. I'm not here right now, so leave a message after the beep…."

"Way to go you lucky sonofabitch!"

"Hey, what the…cut that out!"

"Shinn… you came to see me?"

"Therefore, I hereby declare that ZAFTs goal in this war is to rid the world of its true enemy, the ones that try to counteract the ones who fight for peace!"

Shinn's voice was barely a whisper when he finally spoke. "This is all your fault. Because of you… because of you…!" His voice got louder with every phrase. "BECAUSE YOU'VE BECOME A TRAITOR TO US ALL!" He lifted the blade over his shoulder and thrust forward. "HRREEEEAAAAAHHHH!"

"Shinn, no!" Athrun yelled as he turned his thrusters to over the normal maximum, breaking away from his shield and sword battle with Ray right as the massive blade sliced between them. He was close enough to use his electrowhip, and he did so, but Destiny slid out of the way so fast, it left an after image. Within less than a second, he grabbed onto the rope with his free hand and it blew up. The attack took Athrun off guard, and then he saw what caused the explosion. A beam cannon built into Destiny's palms.

Ray decided to watch the show and backed away. "Hggrrrhhh!" Shinn snarled as he pulled back and raised the saber over his head. His speed made it sound like he was unzipping the sky as afterimages coated it. It was too fast for Athrun to counter, as the shield quickly got sliced off, along with one hand. Meyrin and Athrun tried to back up as fast as possible, but Shinn kept driving forward. "GGRREEEEHHH!" Another slice took off the opposite arm. The Gouf was completely defenseless. "I will… I will never again be... tricked by people like you!" He put the sword directly in front of him.

In a last plead, Athrun cried out. "SHINN!"

"Agh!" Meyrin choked on her breath.

"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!" The blade went straight through the left side of the torso and out the other side. Shinn let the sword go, and as the plasma storm lit up the sky, the silhouette of the damaged Gouf fell into the sea, where it exploded soon after.

Ray looked on with absolutely no emotion. Shinn panted heavily, his hands gripped tightly around his controls. He closed his eyes and tried to return to normal, but all he saw on the back of his eyelids were pieces of blue armor sinking to the bottom of the ocean. When his imagination showed the stream of blood clouding the already dark water, his eyes snapped open. His seed was gone, now replaced with tears. "Shinn." Ray hovered next to him. The boy slowly raised his head to the screen. "Good job." He looked away in disgust at himself. "This mission is complete."

"Mission? That's what you call this?" He asked, eyes quivering.

"Ah."

"Ath…run…. Mey…rin…."

"They were traitors and enemies. And we took them out." Ray said with a smile. Shinn looked up again, with tears streaming down his face. "We did what was necessary. So let's go back."

"Ray…. Why do I keep losing people?" He whispered. The boy on the other end of the transmission only frowned and turned off his screen. They turned back towards Gibraltar, the unforgiving rains pounding on their armors, as if to force them into the sea and drown them for what they had done. After observing them leaving the scene, a certain ORB citizen in an EAF uniform began a secretive search in a small tugboat that went unnoticed in the battle.

Dullindal sighed as he looked at the footage from the hangar, Talia and the other officers of Gibraltar standing silent on the other side of the desk. Mia had long since given up looking through the crack in the door, and hung her head. Even her Haro was silent, as it flapped its arms, futilely trying to cheer her up by looking cute. The silence was broken. "Report incoming. Gouf has been taken down." The entire room let out a collective sigh, except for Talia. Her gasp was louder than all the others. "Destiny, Legend, now returning to base." Mia picked up her head and trembled in shock.

"That so? Arigato." Dullindal said with a straight face. Talia had enough. She was furious to say the least as she approached the desk. "Klyver, make sure the report on this is VERY short. The allied Alliance will start asking questions soon."

"Hai." The black coat said.

"Also include the circumstances that led to this, especially the girl's time aboard the Archangel. Request that the crime scene be sealed off, and send out an investigation team."

He saluted. "Very well, sir." He took his leave.

To another black coat, he spoke again. "Meyrin Hawke had an older sister if my recollection is correct. Please summon her. We'll need to interview her for the investigation, and inform her of what has come to pass. Can I count on you for that one?"

"Sir!" Another man saluted and left.

Now to the person that he wanted to avoid speaking to at that moment. "We'll also probably have to search their quarters on Minerva. Captain Gladys, will you grant that?"

"Eh, of course. But I wish to have a word with you before that." Her tone was filled with venom.

Dullindal only smiled at her. "There's no need to give me that look, Talia. I planned on discussing this with you the moment this hell started. Besides, I have a few questions of my own for you." She looked at him with slight confusion. "I was the one that reinstated him with the promotion to FAITH. I never thought that it would wind up like this. It's quite a shock to me too." Though he said it, his face didn't display it at all, and it was something that the woman picked up instantly.

"Chairman." A green coat saluted.

The tall man held him off with a raised hand as he continued. "This has been troublesome for you too. I'm sorry this has happened." As he went to talk with the man, he turned towards Gladys one last time. "Please calm yourself for now, and I'll talk with you when I have more time." Talia was anything but calm as she bit the corner of her lip.

Outside, Ray and Shinn landed at the hangar they launched from. Legend started moving in first, but Destiny stood in the rain, immobile. "Shinn, what's up?"

"Uh? No." He ended the transmission with a downcast face. "How can you ask me that?" They both went into docking position.

"Ma'am." A man in warm clothes, and melting snow on his shoulders came in to a large computer lounge, where the girl with red hair was typing away.

"What is it? I'm busy looking up information on that boy's girl."

"It's about that, ma'am. We've received a transmission from one of our operatives in Gibraltar. Here's the contents." He handed a disk to her.

"Thank you." She inserted the data and accessed it. She gasped at what she saw. "This is...!"

"Ah." The man looked away.

She stood up and whirled around, staring the man in the face. "He must never get wind of this, do you understand me? This information does not leave this room! Delete any backups, and make sure the logs reflect that this was never accessed!"

"M…ma'am, but why? Doesn't he have the right to…."

"Don't talk to me about rights! If he finds out, then his soul will be crushed! I can't let that happen to him!"

"But…."

"No objections! You know of my past! Don't you think I know what I'm talking about? I can't… let another go through… the same hell as me." A tear ran down her cheek, and then another, and another. "Do as I ordered, damnit!" She rushed out of the room. The man sighed and went to the task.

"So, what is all this about?" Lunamaria took a very uncomfortable seat as a bright light illuminated an aluminum table in front of her. "Does this have anything to do with that mass chaos from before?"

"I'm afraid it does, Miss Hawke." One of two men said on the other end of the table. "You have a younger sister, correct?"

"Yes." She said hesitantly.

"Have you noticed anything strange about her behavior as of late?"

"Her boyfriend had died just over a week ago. It really hit her hard. What does this have to do with anything?"

"We will answer your questions in due time Miss Hawke. Please refrain from making unnecessary comments. Did this grief cause her to do anything odd or suspicious?"

"She wanted to leave ZAFT because of it. Something about not wanting to be a part of it anymore, but she was talked out of it by Athrun-san." With that, the two men started whispering to each other. "Look, what the hell is this all about?"

"How often after this incident did those two converse?" The interrogators asked, ignoring her.

She crossed her arms. "Lunamaria Hawke, Zaku Warrior Pilot, Serial Number 385675."

"Please answer the question."

"Lunamaria Hawke, Zaku Warrior Pilot, Serial Number 385675."

"You're being uncooperative."

"That's because you haven't told me what I SHOULD be cooperating with!"

"What was Meyrin Hawke's relationship pertaining to Athrun Zala after her lover's death?"

"Lunamaria Hawke, Zaku Warrior Pilot, Serial Number 385675."

The interrogator sighed. "Show her." The second man opened up a folder on the desk and spread out in front of her a computer access log and some still camera photos from the Mobile Suit hangar. "Meyrin Hawke had illegally accessed the host server of Gibraltar from her room terminal, setting off a fake alarm at the port. She did this to throw the trail off the manhunt for the traitor, Athrun Zala, who attacked our security personnel. With her assistance, as you can see with these photographs, she assisted him in getting a mobile suit to escape in, turned a weapon on one of her own crewmates, and took off with the betrayer."

"No way… this can't…." Luna's hands were trembling as she held up the photos.

"They were pursued by the Legend and Destiny, piloted by Ray za Burrel and Shinn Asuka respectively. To prevent the escape, lethal force was necessary. Shinn Asuka made the final blow. Meyrin Hawke has been declared deceased. I am truly sorry for your loss, but I must ask you to cooperate with our investigation. If possible, we would like to clear her name."

"Meyrin was…. Meyrin couldn't do…. This is just another prank of hers, right?" She looked at the men with trembling eyes. "She's gonna pop out here any moment and say 'I fooled ya,' ne?" The men looked away and stayed silent as the tears started to flow. "This isn't real! She couldn't have done that! That girl would never do… and Athrun wouldn't either! This is all a big mistake! She's smarter than that! She wouldn't do something that stupid!" She slammed her fists into the table and placed her head in them. "How could this happen? I can't lose her twice! I can't handle it!"

The interrogator sighed and put away the materials that he brought with him. "There's nothing more we can get from her today. Get her a counselor, and have a medical team stand by just in case." He left the room just as Luna began to wail. Even though he wasn't a part of the mess, his heart couldn't help but ache for her.

Adam sat up in his bed, eating the breakfast in his lap with a fork. The door slid open and the young woman entered again. "Oh, hey Miss Annonymous." He said with a partially full mouth.

"Hello to you too, and good morning. I see they finally gave you a way to eat."

"Oh yeah. Thanks for getting them to release me from that, at least partially." He swallowed the mouthful he had. "This stuff is top notch. Give my compliments to the chef."

"I wasn't hungry this morning. What's on the menu?"

"Mmm, salmon with poached eggs and a white cream sauce over toasted biscuits. It's delicious! Never got this stuff on Minerva!" He stuck another forkful in his mouth.

"Sorry I missed it."

"So, cutting to the chase, I'm guessing you found something out about Meyrin. Else you wouldn't be here." He pointed a fork.

The girl paused for a long time, the downcast look she constantly wore deepened. It was almost enough to make Adam lose his appetite. She shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you. I haven't heard anything. I just came to see how you were doing."

"Really?" Adam put his fork down and stared at her.

"Really."

There was a long pause. "Fine, whatever." Adam said before he plugged his lips with another forkful.

"I am trying."

"I know you are." He said after he swallowed again. "It's just that I can't help but be suspicious when I'm chained to a bed." He tugged his legs and rattled the cuffs as an illustration. "Speaking of which, I'm gonna get muscle atrophy if you don't let me move around. Believe me, I should know."

"I doubt you'll get your way on that one."

"Oh come on. If you haven't noticed, I'm still pretty banged up, so its not like I can hurt you. And aside from the chains, you have been taking care of me, especially this 4 star cuisine." He looked into her stern and saddened face. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll stay in this room and you can post an armed guard outside or inside, I don't care, but at least get me out of the shackles!"

"I'll think about it. Anything else you need before I go and attend to other business?"

"Your name would be nice."

"Still on that, eh? Sorry. Not happening." She left without another word.

Shinn and Ray went into Dullindal's office and saluted. "Good morning, sir." They said in unison.

"Ohayo." He returned. Once they lowered their arms, Dullindal spoke again. "I really should apologize for yesterday. That was a very sudden and difficult mission."

"No, sir." Ray said humbly, but the near deadpan Shinn said nothing.

"But both of you did a good job. Arigato."

"Shinn is the one that finished them off." Ray gave credit where credit was due, but it was a very unwanted credit for him.

"Really?"

"Uh? Unh." The boy whispered with downcast eyes.

"Are you feeling okay?" The chairman intertwined his fingers as he leaned forward on his desk.

"I am completely fine… sir." He said slowly and meticulously. Not letting his feelings get out of hand. "But… Athrun and Meyrin, why would they do something like that?"

"We still have no answer to that, and we haven't found the cockpit in our searches, so I doubt that answer will ever be found. On the other hand, it appears our data pertaining to Ragnarok has been hacked into." It was a bald faced lie, but Shinn didn't know that.

"Ragnarok, sir?"

"That's the code name for our attack on Heaven's Base. It's a bit exaggerated, don't you think? Even so, there is info on Destiny and Legend in that folder. The infiltration wouldn't have been so simple, but if someone that knew a lot about the information…."

"Meyrin fits that description, correct?" Ray smiled.

Dullindal nodded, and Shinn looked down again. "He even tried to bring Lacus with him. But Lacus refused, and that's how we learned where things stood. Why did he do it? Where would he go? I know he was angry about the order to shoot down Archangel and Freedom, but then again…."

"Do you think it could be because he lost his support?" Ray interrupted.

"We have no way of knowing." Dullindal sighed. "But we need to find out where he was heading, so we can at least fit that part of the puzzle."

"If it's the Ragnarok data that was hacked, then there's only one place for it to go and be useful."

"Uh? Logos?" Shinn asked quickly.

"When war broke out, Athrun came to me and literally begged me to find a way out of it." Dullindal informed them of that private session. "That's why I returned him to the military in the first place. But then why was he so annoyed with the tactic of destroying Logos?"

"Chairman…."

"I sympathize sir, but there's no more reason to dwell on it." Ray answered. "We will support you, Chairman."

"Ray." Shinn whispered in semi-admiration.

"However tough it may be, you've chosen the correct path to peace, and we will be here for you."

"Ray…." Dullindal said in mock honor.

Shinn nodded his allegiance as well before the blonde continued again. "We'll stand ready for your next order." They both saluted.

"Arigato."

Lunamaria was escorted back to the ship by armed guards, to keep all unnecessary questions away from her. She had no energy left in her body. Her movement was almost robotic. And the look on her face was of a pure heartbreak.

In the Minerva's hangar, two new mobile suits were moved into docking position. Youlan looked up at them. "So those are…."

"Destiny. Legend." Vino finished for him as Destiny's cockpit opened and Shinn stepped onto the elevator platform.

"Shinn and Ray are going to be piloting those now, then?" Youlan whispered.

"But Meyrin…." Vino clenched his fist.

"Hey, stop it!" Youlan hushed him.

The orange tufted mechanic watched Shinn walk away in silence. "I almost want to kill him for what he did to her, but…."

"Forget about it! Don't mention it again, ever!" His tanned co-worker whispered back, just to hear the younger boy choke on his breath.

"You've been doing a lot of work lately, Captain." Arthur spoke to her in her chambers.

"How is everything, aboard ship? Everyone's heard the news of what happened from HQ, I'm sure."

"Hai. It was a big shock to everyone. I'd say everyone's a little disturbed about it."

"Isn't that the truth." Talia sighed.

"Captain…."

"Sorry, but do you think I could let you continue to command for a while? Right now I don't feel up to taking command."

"H…hai!"

"Don't worry. I'll be there soon. Just… not right now."

"Sir!" Arthur saluted.

Shinn and Ray walked the halls side by side. Shinn didn't really even know where he was heading. It was like his feet were moving on their own. His weren't the only feet doing that, because a certain girl with purplish-red hair was walking towards them in the opposite direction. Once seeing her, Shinn stopped, and Ray soon after. Luna let out a small gasp as well once she halted. There was an extremely painful silence in the gap between them. It was a moment neither of them wanted to face, and yet, it did. Shinn clutched his hand into a fist and walked forward. His red eyes couldn't meet hers. Her blue eyes couldn't meet his. He just walked. As he took his first step past her, he whispered one word. "Gomen."

Luna went rigid and turned around, to see that Shinn had stopped only a few steps away, his back towards her, feeling lower than dirt. It brought tears to Luna's eyes once again. What happened next was completely unexpected to Shinn. He thought there would be some yelling, some slaps, punches, and other such violent vents. Never did he think that she would grab his jacket and press her face into his back and let all the tears flow. As he looked back at her, he began to lose control of himself as well. He turned around, and slowly clasped his hands around her thin arms. They didn't stay there for long, as he brought her into a tight embrace that they both needed. Her wails became to much, and Shinn also started to whimper.

Ray left without another word. He didn't need to be there for this. So he would leave them be.

"I lost her twice! Shinn, I lost her twice!" Luna continued to bury herself in his chest.

"I know! Damn it, I know! Why do I keep losing the people I care most about? Mayu, Adam, Stellar, Athrun, and…. When will it end? God, when will it end?"

How long they stayed there was anyone's guess. But their tears had been emptied by the time they stopped. That was for certain.

"Varnass, St. Augustine, cleared for departure. Wharf 4's Bjelica and Wharf 9's Ilyas are projected to depart in 10 minutes. 15th Task Fleet, you're clear on Course C."

"Chairman." The man's assistant called for him.

"Ah. I understand. This must be done. We've all come here for that express purpose."

"Bajima team, launch! Shiryou team, hashin standby."

"Course clear. BB01, Flagship Minerva, cleared for departure."

Two days later, the entire ZAFT and Allied fleets left Gibraltar. Meyrin's replacement was on the bridge, and she was trying to do her job well, but everyone still felt uneasy with her. Arthur was the one in charge for a little bit longer. "This is BB01, Minerva. All troops are to form up on our ship."

On the bridge, the Chairman and his tacticians sat in front of the map table, next to the captain. "Send out an ultimatum to Heaven's Base. 'Lord Djibril is to be handed over as well as those members identified as part of Logos that currently reside in your base.'"

"Hai!"

"It would be the best case scenario if we can talk it out."

On an ORB plane hidden in an atoll, Kisaka-san sat in the co-pilot's chair and checked the video monitor on the two patients in the medical bay, one with dark blue hair, and one with pinkish-red hair. The plane took off soon after.

The wounded Archangel backed into its original residence, deep underground in a secret ORB facility underneath the island. "Entry clearance: 311. Mooring team, prepare to dock. Radiation team, get in place on paddock A."

"Yosh!" Amagi said into his headset. "Begin the repairs immediately, and start the resupply proceedings as well! Move it!"

Miriallia was tense. "The troops from Gibraltar are on the move! They're sending an ultimatum to Heaven's Base!"

"Uh?" Kira turned to the monitor.

"' We of the joint ZAFT and EAF forces demand the following. 1. The immediate removal of all Logos members and transport of them to our ships. 2. The immediate abandonment and disarmament of all weapons and facilities.'"

Murrue whispered, realizing what it meant. "This is…."

"Murrue-san, please put me through to Lacus." Kira asked her quickly. "Is that possible? We need to get moving now…."

In space, Lacus finished off his thought. "Or else we'll never make it in time."

Watfeld was confused by her statement. "But things are already on the move."

"If Heaven's Base falls, ORB will be next. I'm sure of it."

"Eh?" DaCosta flinched.

"If that happens, then no one will be able to oppose him."

"Things are picking up faster than we expected." The girl twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she read the ultimatum. "Has the prototype been completed yet?"

"Just finished, but only thanks to an old acquaintance of yours." The girl's second in command said.

"An old acquaintance?" She repeated.

"I believe he means me." A teen with curly red hair waltzed into the room, hopped over a sofa and sat in it with his legs crossed all in one motion. "Yo."

The girl smiled sadly. "It's good to see you again, Alan Sherridan."

"Anything for my best customer. Hey, you got any hot cocoa? I'm just dying for some right now."

Shinn walked in the door of his now shared room with Ray, as it was originally. His movements were sluggish, and he said absolutely nothing as he flopped onto his bed. He pulled Mayu's phone out of his pocket. 'I'll end this war… for sure… this time." Shinn closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and gripped his phone tighter.

As the plane began its descent, Athrun's eyebrows twitched.

Chapter 26 Preview: Tears. Liquid drops of sorrow. So many have been shed. Too many have been shed. And yet an infinite amount more may yet be over the horizon. Where is the comfort? Where is the relief? As time slowly ticks down, the ultimate forces of EAF and ZAFT are revealed as the world watches. The outcome will decide the fate of many, and to whom the tears must come from. Next time on Old Friends Anew: The Waving Banner. Burst through the atrocities and assault the gates of hell, Destiny!