More, More, More. I've been going through the original plot again and making a few adjustments. I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. This is the largest most plot driven story I've ever written and it's been really hard jumping through everything and remembering everything than needs to be addressed and making it all flow but I think it's all going to work out.

For those of you who may wonder

Mu and Murrue don't really have much of an influence on the plot of the story except that they are military characters and fun to use because we all know who they are and we all have a special place in our hearts for them. I also am going to let you know that they might have a huge dramatic moment in the Sequel that will influence the decisions of a certain character. I am still working on the sequel plot so nothings set.

PHOTOBUCKET! Not yet. Sorry I've been busy.

So school is crazy but I hope to update at least once a month.

Phase 25: Courage

Lacus looked up as she heard a door close loudly. She and Kira were sitting in one of the living rooms of the Attha mansion discussing their next move with the Clyne faction when Yaro walked through the door of the suite that Cagalli had given their family to stay in. Yaro glanced in their direction, his expression blank. He then quickly turned to go to his room saying nothing to them. Lacus looked down feeling a little hurt at his behavior lately but it really couldn't be helped. She had never wanted him or any of her other children to face the world in this way but it happened and though she wished she could turn back time and stop it all she could not.

"I'll talk to him," Kira said reassuringly placing a hand on her arm. She shook her head and turned to her husband.

"No," she replied looking off in the direction Yaro had walked, "I have to talk to him." Kira shook his head and gave her arm a squeeze knowing that she would not let up about this. To Lacus Yaro was very important, she had been the one to push for his adoption before Kira had met him. Lacus rushed to ORB and adopted him then brought him back to the PLANTs to meet Kira. To them both he had become as much their son as Kiran but to Lacus he was very special. They had drifted apart with the recent wars and Kira knew she wanted to make things right so he let her.

She stood up and walked down the hall slowly as old times passed through her mind. The first day she met Yaro, various memories of him growing up. He should have never had to hurt this way. She walked toward the door of his room which was left open and walked in to see him sitting by the window staring out at the sunset.

"It's beautiful here," Lacus said catching him a bit by surprise as he turned his head quickly toward her, "Yaro I need to speak to you."

"About what?" He asked turning back to the window.

"Everything," she replied sitting on the chair by his desk. He was silent, she was silent they both sat their comfortably but she knew she had to get him to open up. "What was she like Yaro?" He turned back to look at her and he saw a sadness in her eyes. He flinched at this, she was his mother, she was someone whom he trusted and loved and he had never wanted to hurt her but he realized now that him closing up had hurt her more than anything else he could have chosen to do.

"I don't really know," Yaro replied feeling the emotions of pain flooding him now, "I mean she was so much. We both seemed to share the same vision about the world. We were friends and maybe more but I don't really know. It was all too much, her being a ROW agent. I couldn't save her." In that moment Lacus felt his pain, their connection working as they sat together. He was her son in spirit even though he wasn't biologically and she hated seeing him like this.

"It wasn't your fault," Lacus said, "she took her own life Yaro, there was nothing you could have done to stop her."

"I know all that," Yaro countered as tears filled his eyes, "see that is why it's so hard. I know there was nothing I could have done but in that moment I wanted so badly for there to be something. I wanted to save her but there was no way. Then I'm reminded of what I did before that moment in space. All the pain I turned to hatred and anger. It was dark, a darkness I have never felt before, it was hard to see anything else but this anger. Mother I couldn't see myself through it all and I still continued with it and when it left I was empty. I have resolved to leave it all in the past but sometimes it still returns to me, it eats away at my soul." Lacus shook her head at him.

"It's not you Yaro," she said clearly standing up and putting a hand on his shoulder, "we all feel angry at things, esspecially things that hurt us and Uzumi's death hurt you. Anger is the easy way out and all of us have taken it at one point or another..."

"But you never have, have you?" Yaro responded, "i've never really seen you angry."

"Let me finish," she said breathing in, "I have been very angry. I fought with all my might in the first bloody valentine war and what started as resolve turned to anger at the death of my father. And in Gibraltar I am the reason it fell, because I was angry. Terrorists attacked and I got myself in danger because I was looking for Kira. I was angry at him, because he left me. My anger cost us a lot and in the end it was as you said. I was empty and alone, and that was when I met you here in ORB. Remember?" His mind turned to his memories it was one he would never forget, and one she would never forget. For her, Yaro had saved her from the dark and for Yaro she had changed his life giving him the home and family he had always wanted.

She sat in the corner of her room at the orphanage. She wished Cagalli hadn't insisted in sending her here but she knew it was right. There was too much press around the Attha mansion trying to snap pictures of the baby Uzumi and trying to find out the political families position on the recent events at the Gibraltar base. She put a hand on her belly feeling the small bulge that was beginning to really grow, her child and Kira's. Her thoughts turned to everything that had happened and the situation they were now in. He had not contacted them, the base had fallen and the people around her said that he was just captured but she knew that they did not want her to know that he might be dead. What about that would help her? The chairman was upset with her now and she had shown her weakest side, Kira. She needed him.

It was cold and empty now as she sat broken and alone. She was cast out from everything that she had known because of her own mistakes. Nothing made sense to her, this was never meant to happen so why did it? Why did this all have to take place? Everything had been so perfect in the PLANTs, and her life was about to become something more, she was meant to help the world as the PLANTs chairwoman but she now felt that she might never make it to that position. How could she? Her people did not know the truth about everything and the media always sought to tear down public figures. If she returned she would be ripped apart but if she stayed here she would remain nothing.

A small sound broke her from her thoughts as she turned to see a ball roll into her room and hit a nearby light stand. Following it was a small boy who looked no older than three. His dark hair was a mess sticking up in all directions as he chased after the toy that had eluded his capture. She watched with a blank expression as the boy grabbed the toy and saw that he was barley able to hold it as the large ball was almost as big as him. He turned toward her with a small innocent smile and she saw that his eyes were a deep aqua color that she had never seen before in anyone.

"I'm sor-ry," he said taking a step back, "they said no disturb the nice lady but I needed to get my toy." She looked at him confused, "dinner is down tairs!" He said with a bright smile, "I tink they are oming to get you soon." She smiled at his broken words.

"I'm not hungry," she said turning back to the window.

"But you did not eat any ting," he replied dropping his toy in shock, "how can you not be hungry? You need to eat or Cadrid say you no grow up and then you stay small then you die!" She giggled a little at his expression turning again to see him standing there with a confused look on his face. She looked back with a similar look feeling that there was something strangely different about this boy. She had met many orphans but never felt anything like this.

"I'm already grown up," she responded with a bit of reassurance, "and I'm not dead, I'm just sad."

"Sad?" the little boy questioned, "well my name is Yaro, sad is a very trange name."

"My name is not sad," Lacus responded with a small laugh, "my name is Lacus, and I meant that I'm not feeling up to eating right now." Yaro then suddenly sat down on the floor in front of her with a determined look on his face.

"Sad," he repeated and Lacus looked at him quizzically, "then I guess we have to cheer you up, yes we do."

Yaro had reached out to her. She had never met a child like him in her life.

"You remember," Lacus said now as she felt his own confusion growing, "I was empty, I was all alone. You reached out to me even though you were a just a small child who could barley pronounce your words. It was one of the reasons I made it through, because I let you in, because I opened up to the people around me. You see, we may not always understand why things turn out the way we do but we have to face life even when it all falls apart and the best way to do it is with the people that you love and that love you in return because they will always hold you up even when it seems like you are in an endless night and that the sun will never shine."

It was something he needed to hear, no matter what they would always be there. It was something he knew yet something that he never thought about when he made his decisions and now his decisions were leading him away from the path that was laid out for him by those who cared for him. It would be hard for them all but he knew he needed to do this, to see the world from a different light and to fight for his own sake. It was time for him to grow up and thought it would mean leaving everyone else behind he knew that they would always he there when he needed them just as he would always be there for them.

Kiran leaned back on his bunk, he was finally off duty for about an hour. It seemed Meyrin was beginning to depend on him since the rest of the crew was completely unnerved by their situation. He was surprisingly calm, it wasn't like they were about to be attacked or like they were near death. That had discovered they were in southern Eurasia very close to ROW territory but not exactly in it, so the chances they would make it back to ORB at this point were very high. Meyrin was having the technicians work night and day fixing the ship after it's crash landing in hopes of launching into space using the booster system that Cagalli had ordered installed. If they could get back to space they could coast toward landing over ORB and it would be much easier than fighting their way through Eurasia and the rest of the world. This wasn't a time to be put back again, not when they didn't know what the situation in ORB was.

Kiran closed his eyes as he felt his own exhaustion taking over. It had been a long hard day and things weren't going to let up until they were out of Eurasia. He sighed and just as he was about to fall asleep an alert sounded.

"ALL Hands Level 1 battle stations! We are being attacked! All hands level 1 battle stations!" He groaned as he jumped up and zippered the jacket of his uniform then ran out toward the bridge. He was moving so quickly that he ran right into Alicesia who was also on her way to the bridge. The two toppled over and hit the floor hard.

"Sorry, I didn't see you," Alicesia said standing up quickly.

"No need," Kiran replied, "I ran into you. Do you know what's going on?" Alicesia motioned for them to continue to run and they went down the halls faster seeing other crew members rushing about as well.

"I don't know," she said quickly as her breathing increased, "but we don't have any pilots! Kiran what if they have mobile suits." Suddenly Kiran stopped and Alicesia looked at him confused as he turned his head back down the hall and as the old stories began to fill his mind. They were bedtime stories that his fathers friends used to tell him of the time when the Archangel was escaping from ZAFT, how his father had saved them time and time again with no mobile suit experience. He was his fathers son. Resolve filled him and he turned to Alicesia.

"Keep going," he said assuring her, "I forgot something."

"KIRAN!" she yelled as he ran down the halls and turned toward the mobile suit bay.

Meyrin gritted her teeth as the Minerva narrowly dodged another attack and shot down a few more missiles. She wished she had Shinn and Lunamaria now, it was a lot harder battling without them. The enemy ships had launched three mobile suits that looked like stolen units, probably ROW but she wasn't sure.

"Where is the enemy ship!" she yelled as some of the crew members just arrived on the bridge.

"We can't seem to locate them, blasts are coming from two directions," a crew member declared as Alicesia sat at her post and glanced nervously at Kiran's empty seat, she wondered what he was doing and what was taking him so long. He wouldn't just desert his post if he didn't have some specific reason, this behavior wasn't like him at all. Meyrin seemed to notice he was missing quickly as she kept glancing back at his position and seeing a very nervous Alicesia sitting there like something was wrong. Where could he be?

"Where's Kiran?" Meyrin asked urgently as another blast hit the ship causing it to rock violently. Alicesia looked on the monitors and saw two mobile suits coming toward the ship. Part of her wanted to freeze up in fear but she knew what was important now, staying at the top of her game.

"He said he had something to do..." she was cut off by another crew member

"The crew said that the Courage just broke through the hatch!" Everyone turned to the crew member in shock.

"Who's piloting it!" Meyrin demanded to know when suddenly a realization dawned on Alicesia, Kiran looked determined and he was never the type to sit by and wait for orders. The boy had no sense when he got an idea in his head, he just ran with it and didn't listen to anyone. Of course he knew that she would try to talk him out of it, they had spent enough time together for him to pick that up. How had she not seen right through him?

"It's Kiran," Alicesia declared as all the color drained from her face and Kiran's face appeared on the screen.

"Just focus on the battle ahead don't worry about me," Kiran said as they saw the courage blast out. He was moving it well but the quesiton was could he really fight in it?

"No," Alicesia said as tears formed in her eyes. They had seen to much desperation in the battles they had fought, and all that desperation had led to unthinkable things happening, now it seemed that everything around her was beginning to fall apart again. Kiran was not trained to fight like the others had in space, he wasn't supposed to do it but he had told himself that there was no other way and now it was too late for her to stop him. She just stood there staring out at the monitors knowing that the battle ahead would be long and hard.

"Alicesia return to your post," Meyrin demanded turning back to the battle ahead. Kiran Yamato was the enough like his father that Meyrin knew he was the only thing they could rely on in this situation. If things got really bad she wasn't sure what she could do at this point. She turned back to the girl who was still frozen staring at the screen at her friend whom she had relied on so many times during the battles in space. Kiran Yamato was a light to them all, and if Alicesia broke down Meyrin was not sure what she could do to calm the crew. She turned back to the situation at hand, if she lost Kiran Yamato now the effects on everyone would be devastating. Uzumi was gone, she could not allow the same thing to happen to Kiran. She looked around the bridge and bit her lip, now was the time to cave on an old promise she vowed to never use. But they were there, in southern Eurasia, to let the Minerva fall over her pride would be too foolish and to let Kiran die would destroy Kira and Lacus.

Kiran blasted into the battlefield at blinding speeds not bother to look back. This mobile suit's controls were easy to use but he was not used to fighting in machines like this. What he kept from them all was that he had secretly used the simulator in the Attha house a few times, he had familiarized himself with how to fight inside this machine because he knew he needed to be prepared for anything. The basics that he knew had to carry him, he was confident he would perform better than Yaro had, after all he had broken out of the Minerva before anyone really knew what was happening.

He quickly assessed the situation, there were two mobile suits heading for the minerva but it seemed one had seen him and was no flying toward him firing it's main gun. Kiran quickly grabbed the controls and doged the shots gritting his teeth together and fighting to stay balanced, this was a battle that would lead to his death if he wasn't careful.

"Kiran try to locate the enemy ship," He saw the face of a crew member on his screen and he was surprised it wasn't Alicesia, but knowing her she was probably freaking out right now. He really thought that everyone needed to chill he could handle himself out here. As he thought that he realized that he had barely dodged that last shot and he quickly whirled out his beam saber with one hand and using his right arm's built in cannons to fire back at the machine before him. He caught a shot from the other machine with his beam saber and quickly slammed his engins forward in attempt to engage in close combat. It seemed that the machine before him was not ready for this as it jumped back and and seemed to falter at the idea of close combat.

"Did you hear us Kiran! Find that enemy ship!" the cremember demanded this time.

"Shut up! I'm busy!" Kiran yelled a little more forcefully than he wanted to but the machine in front of him was really beginning to bug him. He fought on trying to get to close combat but he was unable to so he kept firing his side gun.

"They've launched two more mobile suits! Be careful!" He saw Alicesia's face on his screen, finally. His heart was pounding as he finally got close enough to swipe at the unit with his beam saber.

"Take this!" he yelled as he sliced through the units arm. The small explosion sent the unit flying off balance but his mobile suit was suddenly lurched forward by a blast and he saw two more mobile suits making a headway for him. "COME ON!" he yelled.

"We've got the enemy ship," a crew member yelled, "It's north of us hidden behind that rocky area."

"Mobile suits on the port side," Alicesia declared, "missiles starboard!"

"Intercept!" Meyrin yelled jumping up, "fire up the engines, we have to fight off the mother ship! How is Kiran doing?"

"He's been attacked by two mobile suits at once," someone said, "he's being pinned down, but he disabled one earlier." Meyrin's fists were curled up, this battle was getting tense quickly and she didn't know the enemy's full fighting strength so proceeding was going to be very messy.

"How did those codes go through the transmitters?" she asked.

"They went through," Alicesia declared. Meyrin looked back toward the window hoping Kiran could hang on for just a little longer. They would be out of this soon.

Kiran was beginning to feel a little afraid as he fought to keep up with both the veteran fighters, he kept his head through it all using logic to keep them at bay as he tired to move closer to them. His heart was pounding as adrenaline flowed through him and he felt strength pouring into him at the thought of why he was fighting. He was out here to protect his friends aboard the Minerva, and with that purpose he would continue to fight on.

He pulled out his second beam saber as something exploded in the back on his mind and he maneuvered around the two mobile suits seeking to split them up, he would take them out one at a time. He succeeded in putting distance between the two slashing his beam sabers through the air and using his engines to fight off one. He was surprised when this one pulled out a beam saber but he was unphased as he attacked it at full force. Suddenly an alert sounded on his monitors and the second mobile suit was bearing toward him. He began searching for a way out and he knew he would not be able to jump back in time if the other unit had a beam saber. Suddenly another alert sounded and he saw a third mobile suit coming in fast, this was looking bad. Anger began to fill him when suddenly the third mobile suit slammed into the one that was coming toward him.

He was confused but he kept on fighting the one he had been fighting. He quickly disarmed the unit as his seed blazed in his mind giving him heightened awareness. He turned and saw that the unit that had attacked his second enemy had headed toward the Minerva and was fighting off the enemy units at the ship. It seemed that he had brought back up as well as two other mobile suits shot past Kiran heading toward a rocky range.

"What's going on?" he questioned Alicesia over his radio.

"I don't know, but they are friends," Alicesia declared with shock evident on her face, "some old friends of Meyrin's."

"Meyrin Hawke," a man's face appeared on the screen of the Minerva, he looked to be around Meyrin's age and his deep orange eyes marked him as a coordinator immediately. The color was just not natural. He laughed as it was evident he was fighting and talking at the same time. Alicesia turned to see that Meyrin looked a little annoyed by the man on the screen.

"Who is he?" a crew member asked by Meyrin offered no answer.

"Call Kiran back, this battle is as good as won," Meyrin declared standing up, "Minerva fire positron cannon toward that ship! Blast them to kingdom come."

"Kiran, return to the ship!" Alicesia ordered, "this battle is won." Kiran looked at her confused when he saw the Minerva fire a large blast toward the rocky expanse in the distance. The explosion was huge as rocks were sent flying into the air and the enemy was on the run. Kiran smiled the day had been won.

Meyrin did not ever want to see him again, she had told him so when but it seemed that she had no choice this time. He stood before her wearing a smug smile. Her officers stood behind her as well as Kiran and Alicesia as they stood before the leaders of this rogue group that had come to their aid. Kiran was wondering who they were and Alicesia was just grateful that they had all made it. Kiran had an arm wrapped around her as she had jumped at him and told him not to scare her like that again. They had been through the battles in space together and they were used to fighting together by now, their friendship was natural and comfortable. Kiran didn't want anyone to hurt her and he understood how she felt the same. Their attention turned to the man as he looked like he was finally about to speak.

"I told you that someday you would need my hep Mey," he said speaking directly to Meyrin with a smug look, "and you said you'd never call upon me, but I knew you would." Meyrin looked at him clearly annoyed with his words and spoke up.

"I didn't call you for a personal favor Ceveris," she said spitefully, "you know why I disapprove of your methods and why I decided to cut off contact with you but my ship and the son of Kira Yamato were both in the balance here. I had no choice but to contact you. Now I hate to say this but I am in need of your assistance." So Meyrin knew this man, something of a history. Kiran wasn't surprised, she had been a part of Cagalli's secret military since Lacus had become Chairwoman and in that military it was rumored she had become involved with a mobile suit pirate or something like that.

"Well as long as we are working together again," the man said tilting his head, "so you say you have the son of Kira Yamato with you? We heard about the battles in space, and about the aftermath. I can only conclude that you got off track in re-entry, just like you Mey, always making small errors. I heard you were late to ORB as well and that cost them dearly." Kiran stepped forward frustrated with the man's cocky attitude, he was the only one allowed to act like that.

"Many lives were lost in the battles in space," Kiran declared, "you have no place in questioning our captain!"

"Kiran step back," Meyrin demanded and Kiran stepped back into place.

"No it's alright, I understand what you are saying boy," the man said, "but the facts are that's war, lives are always lost no matter what you do to prevent them from being so. It would be better for us all if wars didn't exist but such is not the world we are living in. I presume you are the pilot of that mobile suit I saw earlier, I can tell from your eyes, you move that thing with emotion but your skills are lacking." Kiran rolled his eyes at this man, he didn't want to hear it.

"Ceveris!" Meyrin said annoyed with him still.

"Oh yes Mey," he turned back to her, "what was it you needed me for? I'm sure you didn't just expect me to fight off those enemies then return to the caves and rest until you're in distress again." He watched her reaction to his words and smiled again, he had missed seeing her annoyed at his cocky attitude. They had a sort of history together in the distant past. She had been on a mission for Cagalli and she had met him and his rouge group out here in southern Eurasia, the middle of nowhere. Since she left ROW had become a driving force in the area and he had been forced to draw back his small resistance force for the past few months knowing that they couldn't just fight off the ROW agents, that they had to wait until the time was opportune for them to get out of this area, and the arrival of the Minerva had been such a time.

"I need you to help me," she declared though it was humbling for her, she had left in her pride claiming that she would be strong enough to never need his help, "It is imperative that I get the Minerva back to ORB, so much has been lost already! I ask you to join us in going in that direction and I plead with you to offer out ship your protection."

"Aw Mey you don't have to beg," he spoke this time with a more respectful tone, "we've actually been waiting to get out of this place, most of our force was taken out months ago. There are only 4 of us left."

"I'm sorry," she said bowing her head in condolence.

"No need it's been awhile," he responded turning to her crew, "I guess it's time for me to really introduce myself, I am Ceveris Matthews, leader of the Mighty 16, an unoriginal name but it didn't take us long to come up with it. I am the pilot of the Iron Fist, that silver mobile suit there. These are my men." The three men behind him bowed, they all looked more serious than their leader.

"And you boy must be Kira Yamato's son," he said looking toward Kiran, "your eyes look like Lacus's but your piloting suggests you might have more of your father in you and the potential to be great." Kiran nodded.

"I am Kiran Yamato," he replied, "I don't like you." Alicesia giggled at Kiran's frankness knowing that there was certain to be a lot of sparring matches between these two, both were cocky to a fault.

"A lot of people don't like me kid," Ceveris replied more sternly now, "but I am going with your ship as your protection so whether or not you like me is irrelevant, we are going to be fighting together in the future for sure. Meyrin here doesn't like me but she recognizes that I am a valuable ally in this instance." Alicesia smirked, Ceveris had chosen the wrong word to use when he said kid.

"I'm not a kid," Kiran spoke now with a hint of anger, "I am 14, no longer a kid! Why does everyone always call me kid." The group laughed at this and Meyrin sighed. The voyage ahead was sure to be a long one.

He had not spent very much time in this house in the past few years, in truth he hadn't spent very much time on earth or in ORB. There was just so much he had not been there for, watching his sister grow into her own as representative in ORB had been a lot to see for him and it had inspired strength within him. Kira and Cagalli were very odd as siblings because they had not grown up together like most, yet they were closer than most. He now walked into her office to speak with her again, as they had often in the past, for they understood each other perfectly and they knew what to do about many situations. Now he had to tell her something that was very important for them all. Things were getting tense once again as there was silence from the PLANTs and ROW had retreated. War wasn't over and would not be perhaps until John Liene was dead and Jayley Lired was out of the PLANTs.

"Cagalli," he said as he walked in and she stood up and gave him a hug, glad to finally have her big brother there with her. She had missed having him around in the past years but she knew it was they way things were. They both had very different lives not and they had accepted that. It was they way things were.

"I'm glad that we've made it through," Cagalli said, "for now, we've made it through." Kira sensed the pain in her words and he understood, it was hardest on her.

"For now," he repeated motioning for her to sit down, he took a seat as well, "but our presence here is putting your nation in danger Cagalli. Which is why I am here, I am sorry I haven't been there with you and Athrun through everything and I'm sorry that I can't continue on here." Cagalli looked at him confused. "Lacus and I have discussed it, the Freedom is a wreck, the Clyne faction is weak from all the fighting. Cagalli there are two more outposts of our force in space, down here we won't be much help to you, in fact we are the opposite. We are giving the PLANTs a reason to target you."

"And we will fight them off like we did ROW!" Cagalli declared now, "we won't let them take Lacus, I promise."

"It's not about you Cagalli it's about our home," Kira replied, "We are weakened down here, we need to regroup so that we can fight better. Lacus commissioned a new machine for me, it's being designed in space but they need me up there to run tests. Lacus needs to get out of here. We can't just sit back and wait for the PLANTs to attack ORB. I am sure the council is getting nervous about us being here as well."

"I understand," she replied with a downcast look, "I just don't like it Kira."

"I don't either," he replied, "you're my little sister, and you've gone through more than any mother should have to. I wish I could just stay and protect you but there is so much going on around us, we need to stop this war and soon."

"She would have given anything to have another option out there," Trey said walking into the room where Yaro stood watching the sunset, "you do know that right?" Yaro didn't even turn around as he spoke, Trey took this as Yaro trying to ignore him. Ever since the destruction in space Yaro had become very resolved, like he had just burried everything when Trey knew it would probably be better for him to have some time to grief the loss. Trey himself felt like part of him had been ripped out, the girl he had sworn to protect at all costs was gone and there was nothing he could have done to stop it from happening.

"What happened has passed," Yaro said in a dry tone that carried no hint of emotions, "it was hard for all of us but crying about it isn't going to change anything. I still feel it like you do, she somehow became a part of me and I'll never loose that." Yaro then turned around and Trey saw that he was holding something, a small silver chain was hanging from his hand and Trey assumed it was the necklace Meiko had given to him when she said goodbye in the hangar. He still had not forgiven himself for letting Liene fire that shot, he should have been paying more attention. Just like he should have been out there fighting with her but he wasn't, the only person who made it even close was Kira and she sent him away before he could do anything.

"She left something else for you," Trey spoke now reaching into his pocket and holding out a sheet of paper, "a letter for you she gave it to me along with a letter for myself just before we left the Prejudice." Yaro reached out and took the paper not sure what it would contain.

"Thanks," Yaro responded. Trey then nodded his head and took his leave as Yaro opened the sheet of paper to see what it could contain.

Dear Yaro,

I have very little time for anything now, and I don't know what is going to happen out there on the battlefield that is ahead. I am trying to destroy the STING and I know it's so risky so I might have no other chance to tell you this except in this letter now. I am so sorry for everything that I did and everything that I caused in the past, for all the hurt that you now blame yourself for and for all the darkness that surrounds us. I was always too weak to decided who I was and where I stood which is why I just stayed in ROW saying that I was trapped because without that excuse I would have to make a choice and I didn't know what to do. I had nowhere to run until I met you and Uzumi then I was so confused I didn't know what to do. I just want you to know that if I am gone now that you saved my life. It was the moment I met you that I began to awaken, they day my eyes met yours the darkness in my heart was disrupted and everything around me began to change. Liene couldn't stop it, no matter what he did, you awakened who I really am. And now I know who I am because you showed me hope and what it is to feel loved. You showed me the world in a light that I had never seen before and there is no way I could ever really express that to you.

Though you may be broken over everything I know the light inside of you, and I know that you have the strength and courage to be the best of us. I want you to be strong through whatever comes and I know you will be. Thank you so much for everything, because of you I am free.

Meiko Virea

"Thank you Meiko," he whispered as he felt sorrow in his heart still. By grace he was still standing strong, by her grace because she had made her choice for him. He could see the world before him now because of her, because he wasn't going to let this beat him. No darkness, no fear and no more pain anymore. Yaro Yamato was stronger than he had ever been before and his enemies would fear him. No one would get by him this time, no more darkness would be allowed to plague the light that he had found.

"The freedom is rubble." Lacus declared as she stood next to Andrew Waltfeld watching technicians still trying to figure out what to do with the wreckage that sat inside the hangar of the Eternal, "what about our machines in space?" She had been waiting on reports from what was going on in space for too long. They had troops up there that were developing strength for the whole faction. Her forces here on earth were tired, they were broken and everything they were forced to go through was beginning to wear on them. ORB was nervous with them there and she knew that there wasn't much of a choice for her but to bring them all back to space and to switch them out for fresh troops. They would be greatful to be resting in space rather than fighting here in ORB for awhile.

"No good," Andrew Waltfeld responded, "they took on two much with trying to make scientific advancements to the system and the weaponry the way they did, are you sure that you don't want to try and rebuild the freedom the way it was?" She shook her head.

"There isn't enough time for that," she replied, "Kira is recovering, but ORB is not, I need you to please bear with me when I say this now. Kira and I have discussed it, there is no advantage to us staying down here on earth, we need to get back to base and we need to regroup."

"I understand," he replied, "should I assemble everyone?"

"Just make sure we are ready to leave soon," she said, "make sure we have all the supplies we need."

"Will do," he affirmed as they walked on through the hangar.

"The NEA" Athrun repeated as Cagalli wrapped her arms around him, she had just shared with him all the information Murrue had told her, "and you are sure this is the best course of action? Remember what the EA was before, Cagalli we can't just ally with them. If they ally with us against the PLANTs it will be just like all the times before."

"But it's not like all the other times before Athrun," she replied, "It's here and now. ROW is the enemy of all of us and if they have a foothold in the PLANTs, they the PLANTs are our enemy as well. We are not trying to start a war here we are trying to prevent ROW from tearing apart the foundation of the world in which we live. You have to understand I am nervous about this course of action as well, but if what Kira says is true the Clyne faction is preparing to depart to space and if we are to contact them we should contact them as soon as possible for I want Lacus to be by my side when I speak to them. I want them to know exactly where I stand now, no more lies." Athrun held on to her knowing that she was beginning to come back to them all as he was. They were both beginning to return to their strength, though the darkness had dealt them a harsh blow strength was once again returning.

"I trust you Cagalli," Athrun said, "I trust and support whatever decision you make."

Kira stood there with a stern look on his face, he never thought he would have to have this discussion with any of his children. He had always thought that they would always automatically revert to fighting under him rather than under another nation, it didn't matter that the nation was run by his sister; Yaro was his son and now his son stood before him defiantly as if he didn't care what his father expected from him. Lacus sat no the couch nearby with her head in her hands. The information had come to them through Athrun whom had gone through the recruitment list and had been shocked to come across Yaro's name. The boy was fighting for ORB, in that instance Kira and Lacus would have to leave him behind.

"What were you thinking?" Kira said completely ignorant of what was going through Yaro's mind, "no one is telling you that you can't fight, in fact we were planning on giving you another machine Yaro. Don't you understand what this means?" Yaro rolled his eyes, he didn't understand why it was his father was so angry, he had taken initiative in joining because he wanted to branch off on his own, this was his chance.

"I'm fighting for ORB not for ROW," Yaro protested not giving in, "there is nothing wrong with that."

"Yaro you are our son," Lacus whined at him, "we want you with us!"

"And you're allied with ORB, so I really see no difference except that I won't be fighting under your banner," Yaro replied, "and what's it to you anyway, you're abandoning ORB when you know this nation needs you!"

"Yaro we are leaving for more reasons than you understand," Kira said angrily, "now you are old enough to make your own decisions so I won't stop you there, though Athrun offered to discharge you himself. But I want you to tell me why I would be upset about this, just think about it for a little bit. What is ORB to us?" Yaro looked at him with his eyes narrowing not exactly sure what his father wanted him to say but he knew what he had to say.

"ORB is my home," Yaro replied, "you adopted me from ORB so I decided that I wanted to fight for them. I don't know why you would be upset about this, you fight alongside this country and Aunt Cagalli rules it so it's almost the same as me fighting for you."

"So you should have joined the PLANT military when we were up there then," Kira responded knowing that Yaro didn't understand him, "you should have just joined it because after all it was ruled by your mother right. Let's see what about that logic is unsound..." Yaro looked at him confused, "the fact that rulers are elected in these two nations and you just signed away your life to whoever is ruling over ORB whether it remain Cagalli or if it changed to Gratsler tomorrow. This nation does not belong to your family Yaro and you were not born here but rather brought here. I understand you want to do more but now you're stuck with your decisions."

"Well Aunt Cagalli's not going to be voted out any time soon!" Yaro yelled this time.

"With war on the horizon people are sure to get restless," Kira declared, "nothing is certain! You're mother was voted out based on lies, Yaro don't be foolish."

"I'm not being foolish," Yaro replied, "you are because you are abandoning all of us. And what about Kiran? Are you just going to space to leave him here on earth not even knowing where he is or what is happening with him?" Lacus gasped at Yaro's accusation, it was killing her inside that her young son was not here with her, and it was even more unnerving that she had to bear the thought of leaving earth without him. Hearing it just made it all the more worse and tears sprung to her eyes as she started crying, this made Kira angrier but he reigned himself in.

"Just know that you are stuck with the consequences of whatever you have chosen to do," Kira replied, "and we can not take you with us now."

"I'm staying to wait for Kiran," Yaro replied.

"You're staying to be rebellious," Kira said, "you're staying because you feel that fighting for ORB is the only way to get stronger and right now I don't know that I disagree with you anymore." At that Yaro stormed out of the room leaving Kira to comfort Lacus who was still crying uncontrollably. Kira was tried of dealing with Yaro, the boy was a mess and he wasn't sure what to do with him now, perhaps a stay in the ORB military was just what he needed to grow up.

It was bold, it was beautiful. Yaro stood there upon a rock in the middle of the sea staring up at the sky for he saw something so very beautiful there; the glow of a light that was not the sun. He was enchanted by it wondering what it was he saw now here in the world of his dreams. He reached out and called to the light as it began to move toward him. He squinted through his eyes unable to stare into it for too long.

Suddenly the light made the sound, like the beautiful song of a bird as it moved faster toward him, as if it was as eager to see him as he was to see it. As it drew closer he began to see it's shape, the shape of a beautiful bird and as his eyes adjusted to the light he saw that it was a bird. The bird was filed with light as if it was on fire, flying before him in glistening splendor and staring down at him as if seeing something inside of him that it recognized. The bird then flew around him in circles quickly evaporating the sea around him and showing him a staircase into a valley. He walked down following the direction of the flaming bird and found himself standing in front of the wreckage of two machines, one ship and a gundam. It appeared as if the gundam pilot had destroyed the ship but had been destroyed in the process. The bird rested upon these two items staring back at Yaro as if beckoning for him to see something but he didn't understand. He felt a peace at the sight before him though it looked grim, this peace surrounded him and enveloped him.

He then watched as a mist rose around the area and he heard a voice singing somewhere in the distance but he was unable to look away from the great bird that was before him.

"And she will rise again," the bird suddenly said with the voice of an angel, "through ashes left behind, and death in her wake, as the flames fade she will rise again." Yaro looked at the bird puzzled, not understanding what it was that she was trying to convey to him. It was then that he awakened.

Looking around he found himself in his room. His mind turned to the dream unsure of what it was that he had just seen, but he could still hear the echo of the voice of the flaming bird and he couldn't help but feel anxious about it all. Something was coming, something was changing, and he wanted so badly to understand but nothing came. He couldn't understand what had just been said and he wasn't sure what to think of it all so he lay back.

"It was just a dream," he told himself when something within him was stirred by his words and he realized the parallels the dream had to a certain red head who destroyed a ship sacrificing herself to do so.

So this may be a little crazy because this is just a written story and not an anime (if I could fly out to Japan and direct an animation team I would!) but I have compiled a list of openings and endings for each arch so I am going to let you in on the first two archs and the third to sort of introduce whats coming because I think all these songs fit. Thanks to Fenikkusumaru for sending me the name of the song redemption by Gack, because it gave me the extra push to compile all these

(Phases 1 -12)

Opening 1: Redemption by Gack - this song just really fits the story in that it is about a soul searching for redemption and fighting in revenge. After reading the English lyrics I have confirmed it as a great first opening.

Ending 1: My Heart Draws A Dream by L'Arc~en~Ciel - When I was looking for a first ending I wanted one that was more hopeful and I thought that this song fit well with Yaro and Uzumi's dreams as well as Meiko's beginning hope.

(Phases 13-24)

Opening 2: Marionette by Ayumi Hamasaki - Probably my favorite song of all the ones I found. This song is just so Meiko, I read the english lyrics about memories and about past and pains, I just felt since the second arch really breaks into Meiko's story more it was a perfect opening for those chapters.

Ending 2: Kouya Ruten by Fiction Junction Yuuka - "The era of destruction and ressurection begins" that was one of the translated english lyrics. After reading through the translation I felt that this fit the second arch section of the story which contained the death of Uzumi and the "suicide" of Meiko in search for redemption and a new direction for the world. It is a really deep and soul searching song plus its by Fiction Junction Yuuka whose songs were used in Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny.

Now for the songs that shape our section of the next part of the story

(Phases 25-35)

Opening 3: Boarding by TM Revolution - I felt like when looking for songs one of them had to be by TM Revolution, the first opening you ever hear from Seed is by them. So I searched for a good song and I felt that this one fit because to me it fits the next stage of Yaro's journey.

Ending 3: Promise by Nami Tamaki - Nami Tamaki is another one of those artists who I associate with Gundam Seed. I heard this song and fell in love with it's beauty. I read the english translation and it is a very hopeful song kinda signifying this section of the story.

So I am a little obsessed... Openings/Endings, drawings, a score, sequels, prequels, I actually had to stop myself from writing a plot that goes beyond the planned sequel to this story because I would be writing for Gundam Seed for the rest of my life! I do have a fourth opening and ending chosen but I am not going to reveal them until the fourth arch comes.

Ok so this is a really long authors not but I have a few more things to say since this is likely to be my last chapter for another few weeks. There are two authors writing stories based on Gundam Seed Redemption. The first is a rewrite of my story from the point of Uzumi's death where the author, Joker Oak is continuing the story while keeping Uzumi alive. For those of you who miss Uzumi this is a way to see where the story might have gone if he lived. The link to the story is here www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/6162227/1/Gundam_SEED_Redemption_Rewrite_Phase_18_Up. The other story is a Gundam Seed redemption side story/prequal about called the Four Winds of ORB by Capt Freedom about a group of four body gaurd gaurding the Zala family. The link is here www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/6235418/1/Gundam_Seed_Redemption_The_Four_Winds_of_Orb. So for those of you who really love the setting and world I have built this is a way to immerse yourselves in it more.

Now that this is all covered. I spent a lot of time working out the details of this chapter and in the end I had to split it in two again because there was too much being covered in one chapter. So the next chapter will be sorter as the remains of this chapter. There is much more ahead but this is the official halfway point as it is phase 25.

Next chapters

Phase 26: Things We Leave

Phase 27: Angel

Phase 28: Winds of War

Phase 29: Her Eyes Shine My Past

Phase 30: We Can Face the Dark Together

Phase 31: You Wished For Redemption

Phase 32: Phoenix

So REVIEW

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For those of you who REVIEW every time keep REVIEWING!
For those of you who don't REVIEW it's never too late to start!
I am serious.
REVIEWs are the reason this story still exists without you guys I would have abandoned it altogether and gone back to writing uninspired cliche narnia fanfiction. So push that button and submit a REVIEW!

-WinterChill