On the Archangel, the crew scrambled to find some trace of their missing fighter. The sky grasper's signal had been an hour before, and Murrue worried for the young pilot.

"Shall I list her as MIA? Captain?" Natarle asked.

Mazer's face popped up on the main screen at that moment. "Just saw the shuttle disappear from screens. What's the verdict?"

"The ensign just suggested we list her as MIA," Murrue said. "I would like to send Kira to search, but-"

"Do it."

She looked up in surprise.

"I'll send Anesti out to look, as well."

"Couldn't you send anyone else?" Murrue wondered aloud.

Mazer grimaced. "We don't have that many units to spare, if you forgot. Raptor's gone, damn it, Blade's still being repaired, Judgment's too sluggish and slow, and Hellshadow needs to recharge."

Murrue sighed. "I understand."

"I'll keep you posted if we find anything."

"Thank you," Murrue said. Mazer's image disappeared, and Miriallia looked up at her. "What's MIA?" She asked quietly.

"It's the classification used when a soldier is presumed dead," Tonomura replied sadly.

"It's too early for that assumption," Murrue said. "Send Kira out once the Strike has been repaired."

Natarle frowned. "We're in ZAFT territory, captain. I'm not sure it's wise to-"

"I won't leave Cagalli out there on her own," Murrue replied coldly. "Zero is out there, as well. We owe it to him and Alex to find him."

Cagalli crouched and picked up the pistol the ZAFT trooper had left behind. Behind her, Athrun stayed hidden, waiting. Now! He thought, and rushed out. Cagalli heard the shuffling, and whirled just in time to get her gun kicked out of her hand. Cagalli threw a punch, but Athrun caught it and twisted, and she fell to the ground. Athrun pulled his knife, and Cagalli screamed. Athrun stared in surprise. "You're…a girl?"

Before she could answer, a dark blur slammed into him from behind, startling both of them. Athrun groaned and stood up, seeing nothing in front of him. "Wha-"

"Don't move," the voice behind him whispered, and Athrun felt a blade touch to his neck. "Swordfights get messy at this range."

Athrun gulped, and stood up slowly. The sword moved, and Athrun finally saw his captor. The figure wore some form of body armor that Athrun hadn't even heard of. It was black, and the helmet had no visor to speak of.

"You okay, Cagalli?" The figure asked.

Cagalli looked at him in surprise. "Alex met you, and I stopped you from hitting him, remember?"

"So, you know Alex, too?" Athrun asked quietly.

"Indeed I do, Mr. Zala," Zero said, and Cagalli gasped.

"You-you're related to-"

"Yes, ma'am. Meet Athrun Zala, son of Patrick Zala," Zero said. Cagalli suddenly lunged at Athrun, and he fell back in fear, but Zero caught her and pushed her to the ground. Before Athrun could even get up, the tip of Zero's sword touched his throat. "Don't."

Cagalli looked at Zero. "Do you have a way to get out?"

"Shuttle's busted. It'll take a while to get it moving," Zero replied. He then noticed Athrun's arm. "Patch him up," he said, walking away.

Cagalli sat down next to him and started bandaging his arm. "Were you one of the men who raided Heliopolis?"

Athrun looked at her in surprise.

"I was there when it happened."

"You have two hours to search the islands," Natarle told Kira over the radio.

"Okay."

Anesti shook his head and strapped in. "Two lousy hours. And we're lookin' for a needle in a haystack, too. Ready, buddy?"

"Let's go."

Linear launched, its trademark weapon attached to its back at an angle. "Hey, Kira. Keep your phase shift off for now. Never know when we'll need it."

"Okay."

The two X-units flew side by side, searching.

Athrun cursed and stepped out of the Aegis. He'd been trying to send a distress signal out for a while, but radio interference had made it impossible. Zero had been reluctant to let him into the Aegis, but his own communications systems, including the ones within the armor he wore, had temporarily short-circuited. Probably from the electrical jolt I felt when I crashed, he thought. When his sky grasper hit land, the front had caught fire, and a spark had caused a chain reaction that effectively turned the shuttle into a living tazer. If Zero hadn't had his armor on, he would have received a massive electrical jolt that would have left him a smoking corpse.

Zero helped Cagalli up, who had apparently tried to follow Athrun, but slipped and fell into a pond. "Anything?"

Athrun dropped down, and walked towards them. "Nothing."

Zero turned his back for a second, and Athrun took a chance. He tackled Zero to the ground, pulling his sword away from him. Zero got up slowly and craned his neck. "Ah. I was expecting you to try something, but I thought you'd try something with a little more…finesse."

Athrun held the sword ready, both hands gripping the handle.

"You're not a swordsman," Zero said, walking towards him. "You have no experience with blades, other than a combat knife."

Athrun blinked in surprise.

"I hacked ZAFT personnel files and got your data. A simple matter, honestly. But, if you really want to try, feel free," Zero said, standing calmly, hands behind his back. The rain continued to pour, and Athrun stared at him, trying to think of something. After a few seconds, he rushed forward, the sword shooting straight at Zero's chest. Zero calmly stepped aside and tripped Athrun.

"Careful," Zero warned. "That blade is special. I don't need a rookie's blood spilled on it."

Athrun got up and tried an overhead strike. Zero quickly jumped aside onto a boulder and kicked Athrun squarely in the face. The sword dropped silently onto the sand as Athrun tried to get an advantage over Zero. However, Zero was not about to let that happen. Athrun pulled out a knife and lunged again. Zero effortlessly caught his arm and once again threw him to the ground.

"I'm impressed. Not many people wield knives that way. They usually have the blade facing the ground and attempt to do an overhead stab," Zero said. "You're well trained for a teenager. However-"

Zero's hands moved in a flurry, turning aside the blade each time it came towards him. He rolled to the side suddenly and grabbed a short branch that had fallen of a nearby tree. He quickly struck Athrun's arm several times with it, and smacked the blade out of his hands. Before Athrun could do anything else, he felt Zero's hands close around his neck. He gasped as he tried to breathe.

"Okay, let's review," Zero said, looking down at his enemy. "I have the advantage. Review's over."

Cagalli finally walked over, completely drenched. "You all done trying to kill each other?"

Zero's head turned towards Athrun, and he shrugged. "If he wants to go again, he can try. There's a cave not far from here."

Athrun groaned as Zero pulled him up by the collar. "Don't try anything," Zero said, tying Athrun's hands behind his back. "Cagalli, just go straight behind you. Cave's back there."

Cagalli sat by the fire, wrapped in a blanket. Her clothes lay on the ground near the flame, the heat drying them. Athrun sat across from her, hands tied behind him. Zero was shuffling through his backpack and pulled out something. "Hey, good news."

Athrun tried to turn around, but fell on his side. Zero calmly stepped over him. "Don't get up. Here," he informed Athrun, tossing a package to Cagalli. "Rations. Eat up. I can't get a signal out because of the radio interference," he continued.

"It's ZAFT's fault for that," Cagalli spat out.

"The Alliance started this war, not us," Athrun answered, frowning. "And those neutron jammers are the only thing stopping you from launching another nuclear attack!"

"Oh, shut up," Zero said, sheathing his sword. "You don't honestly think we'd that, do you?"

Both Cagalli and Athrun looked at him. "A lesson I learned a few years ago from a wise man I met. Nobody wins a nuclear war. He has a point, Cagalli. The jammers did their work well. However-" he cut off, looking at Athrun. "The same jammers that shut the nukes down also caused massive energy restrictions on the people down here."

"And Heliopolis?"

Athrun looked at her. "No one expected the situation to go that far."

"Bull."

That came from Zero. "You knew it was a neutral colony. And yet you sent in several GINNs with class-D equipment, Mr. Zala. Class-D. Into a non-combative zone, what's more!"

"We just wanted the prototypes," Athrun said quietly.

Zero leaned down next to Athrun. "But you never thought about long-term ramifications, did you? No, of course not. You're just a little boy, trying to avenge mommy's death. Grow up. All you did was delay the inevitable." He sat back up, twisting his head side to side.

"What? How?"

"You think the Earth forces need the prototypes to continue the research?"

Athrun stayed quiet for a few seconds, then looked at Cagalli. "Orb built those units for the Alliance, despite being neutral."

"You're a lot stupider than your father. And Alex, for that matter," Zero said. Athrun looked at him, surprised. "Yes, Alex. Alexander Kolodziej. ZAFT redcoat for all of two months. A damn good soldier. Nicknamed the Blue Blaze after the fall of the blockade," Zero explained, getting up. "You think our units are Earth forces prototypes? Alex met me right after he left, because he knew something was wrong. I did, too. And I had already stolen some mobile suit plans beforehand, even had some built. Alex and I then met our ship's captain, a man who has reason to hate both ZAFT and the Earth Forces."

"What?" Cagalli asked.

"Yes," Zero replied, "you heard right. I won't go into details, but Alex did this for several reasons. He wanted to find his own solutions to this war. So that if the Earth prototypes were used against the PLANTS, Alex could protect them his way. Your friend, though-the Strike pilot? Definitely not in the plan," Zero explained, shaking his head.

"You're-"

"Shut up," Zero told Cagalli before she could anything else.

"My mother was on Junius Seven," Athrun whispered.

"Yippee," Zero replied. "You think Alex wasn't torn up? He was. But he sucked it up and came up with his own plan. I've seen the publicity your father does. Trust me, pretty soon, that excuse will wear thin."

Athrun looked down at the ground, and felt himself drifting off. "Yes, sleep," Zero said, sitting down. "This talk really drained me."

"You're not gonna fall asleep either, are you?" Cagalli asked.

A red beam of light suddenly shot across the center of Zero's helmet, startling Cagalli. "Don't be an idiot. I'm taking a nap. My sensors will wake me if anything happens."

"What kind of systems do you have in that thing?"

"All kinds," Zero replied quietly. "Now shush."

A few hours later, Cagalli stood over Athrun, thinking. "We should take the unit back," she said to herself. Zero's visor suddenly shut off, and he sat up. "Not a good idea."

"What? Why?"

"He won't have an easy time back home if that happens," Zero explained. "His father has quite a bit of power, and at this stage, son or not, the kid won't be in a good position. Alex would pitch a fit and fly straight to the PLANTs if that happened."

Before Cagalli could reply, Athrun turned on his side and tripped her. Cagalli cried out as she felt a blade touch her neck.

"Nice, kid," Zero said, sword out, pointed at them. "Didn't check you for additional weapons, and you didn't make a sound, either."

Athrun backed away, holding Cagalli in front of her. "I don't want to do this, but you can't have that unit."

"Did you not hear me just a second ago?" Zero asked, walking towards them calmly. "I told her it'd be a bad idea. Not my fault she didn't listen." He raised the blade. "But it is your fault you threatened her, Mr. Zala."

Athrun threw Cagalli down and Zero swung his sword. Cagalli sat up just in time to hear a cry of surprise and pain. Athrun was kneeling on one knee, clutching his side, Zero behind him, his blade dripping. "You're lucky I knew you were gonna do that. I gave you a scratch. You wanna be a soldier? Toughen up," Zero said, sheathing his blade. Cagalli started bandaging Athrun, and he looked at Zero. "How's Alex?" He asked softly after a few minutes of silence.

Zero turned to face him. "Alive. Frustrated. But determined to stick with the ships."

"Why?"

Zero shrugged. "He probably thinks the crews he's with are worth something."

"Why are you with him? Athrun asked, and Cagalli looked at Zero. She wanted to know, as well.

"Alex gave me a reason to live again. That's all," Zero said. Athrun just continued to look at him. "You wanted more? Sorry. Not happening."

The two watched in silence as he walked off into the night.

In the morning, Zero pulled Athrun along as they followed Cagalli. Once they were out in the open, Zero turned and untied Athrun. "Alex would kill me if something happened to you," he explained. "The ensign of the Earth Forces ship is a real by-the-book type. If she got her hands on you, she'd no doubt try to use you as a bargaining chip."

"They'll do the same to Kira-"

"She knows better than that," Zero interrupted. "The stunt with Miss Clyne? I had my blade pointed at her throat. Alex flat out hit her in the face. Believe me, she's the only one who's like that. The captain knows your friend is a civilian and a coordinator. She openly allows him to fight as he sees fit. She doesn't order him to kill you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Athrun asked.

"So that maybe you could get it through that thick skull of yours that not all Naturals are the enemies. Some, yes, but not all. Now get going."

Athrun looked out at the beach. "I can't just walk back like this. They'll ask questions."

"I already gave you a souvenir," Zero said, pointing at his patched up uniform. "You want more?"

"Hit me or something. That won't do much," Athrun explained.

Zero shook his head and turned around, then spun, planting his fist firmly in Athrun's face. Athrun fell, coughing.

"Good enough?" Zero asked, pulling him up. "Walk."

Athrun slowly started walking, and a while later, far down, he turned around and yelled to Cagalli, "What's your name?"

Three seconds passed, and her voice reached Athrun. "Cagalli!" Athrun started walking again, and Cagalli and Zero faced the sea just in time to see the Strike surface from the water.

AUHTOR'S NOTE: Earlier than expected, but I had the chapter in my head, and I wrote it out before I lost it. I think this one went better than the last. Who agrees? Be honest. Hellshadow