New Phase 29

Everyone on the Archangel then tried to piece together what had happened to the Strike. Following the explosion, communication with the Gundam had ceased. In addition, they had lost contact with Skygrasper 2.

"Kira, Tolle!" Miriallia cried into the comlink, hoping for an answer. "Come on, please respond!"

Natarle then stepped over to the console and pressed a switch, cutting off the channel. "There's no point." She told Miriallia. She then turned to Murrue. "Captain, what are the damages to the ship?"

Murrue switched channels. "Chief Murdoch?"

"The damage's not as serious as we feared." He replied, "We ought to be able to fly after repairs are finished on the Force Blanket."

At that moment, sensors lit up and an alarm rang. Everyone's eyes went to their consoles, seeing what the danger was.

"Captain, I've got four DINNs approaching quickly! They'll be on us in less than fifteen minutes!"

"Captain, we must escape immeadatily!" Natarle shouted, "In our current condition, we wouldn't stand a chance against four DINNs!"

"But what about Kira and Tolle?" Miriallia asked. "We can't leave them."

"Both Ensign Yamato and Crewman Koenig are now listed as MIA." Natarle told her.

Miriallia remembered that term when Cagalli went missing. We also recalled that it also meant that they most likely dead, what if the lack of communications. "But that can't be."

"I'm afraid it is." Natarle mundanely replied, "If we dwell on it, then we'll only put ourselves in harm's way."

Miriallia shook her head. She couldn't accept Tolle was MIA. There just couldn't be any way that was true. Overcome with a flurry of emotions, she leapt out of her seat and dashed off the bridge.

Murrue looked to Tonomura. "Do we have the last known locations of the Strike and Skygrasper 2?"

"They were near an island seven o'clock to our current position."

"We can't possibly conduct a search now." Natarle said.

"I know that, that's why we'll send a message to Orb." Murrue told her.

Natarle was surprised. Even after the secret repairs that Orb carried out on the Archangel, she didn't trust the nation. "We can't rely on…"

"They'll be asked to save lives, so I'm sure they won't object!" Murrue interrupted, "If you have a problem with that, then put it in your report!"

Natarle shut her mouth.

In the hanger, Mu stared at the newly recaptured Buster and Panzer. Both units had taken extensive damage during the battle and had been ordered to be brought on board the ship. It really wasn't a bad idea since at least they'd deny ZAFT the chance to use them again. He then heard the engines roaring to life and felt the ship moving. He rushed over to a communications station. "Captain, what's going on?"

"ZAFT reinforcements are approaching, we have to retreat before they arrive!" Murrue answered.

"You mean we're not even going to look for them?"

"Commander, I don't like it either, but we have no other choice. Understand?"

Mu nodded. He hoped that both were still alive out there and could hold out until help arrived. Now the question was when it would, or even if. Just then, he looked back to find Miriallia standing next to the simulator that Tolle had spent so much time in. He slowly went over to her, hearing quiet whimpers. "Hey, miss…"

Miriallia turned to the older man. "Where's Tolle?" she asked, tearing coming down her eyes.

Mu clenched his fists. It stung to see this young woman in this state. He'd seen that face on those who'd been the loved ones of soldiers killed.

Back on the island, the battered Strike lay motionless, its dull grey and burnt armor being pelted with rain. Suddenly, the hatch was jettisoned, exposing the cockpit. Kira mustered all his strength to pull himself out. Losing his balance, he tumbled out moments before a fire spread through the cockpit. He got to his feet and tried to find his bearings. He removed his ruined helmet and tossed it away. He was losing his strength quickly, and felt himself collapsing. But he didn't hit the ground. Someone had caught him and lowered him down.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" the stranger asked.

Kira tried to look at the face of the person, but his vision was fading. "Who…are…you?" He got out before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Lowe Gear hoisted Kira's body onto his back. He promised himself that he'd get find the kid some help. Malchio's home wasn't too far away, so that'd be the place. He took a last glanced at the mobile suit. "I'll make sure your little buddy gets some help." He told the machine, "As for you, I'll see to it that you get repaired back at Orb." With that, he left to take Kira to safety.

On the Cousteau, Yzak had found out that he'd been the only member of the team to safely return to the submarine and went to find out what had happened. "What do you mean that Athrun, Dearka, and Cade are MIA?"

"Exactly as it sounds." Monroe told him. "We lost the signals for the Buster and Panzer almost at the same time. After that, we detected a massive explosion and that's when we lost the signal for the Aegis."

Yzak couldn't believe it. All three had gone down? If so, that meant that he was possibly the last one alive. At the thought of being the sole survivor, he understood now what Cade had once said. But he had to make sure. "We need to head back! I'll go look for them myself!"

"I'm sorry, but that can't be done." Monroe informed him, "We've been ordered to return to Carpentaria. Besides, we're dangerously close to enemy territory so a search would be too risky."

Yzak felt so frustrated, but he knew that Monroe was right. All he could do now was hope that all three weren't dead, but that hope was fading fast.

At Orb the next morning, news of the Archangel's request quickly spread. A search party was swiftly assembled, with Kisaka placed in charged. As the Orb aircraft slowly began to take off, Michael, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri watched from a monitor.

"I sure hope they find those guys." Michael sighed.

The girls nodded in agreement. They all sat and watched the aircraft soar into the sky.

Cagalli sat silently as the plane rose into the air. When she heard about Kira, she had to accompany the search party. Now all she hoped was that Kira would be found. After several seeming slow passing hours, they reached the island where the Archangel said the Strike and Skygrasper were last located. The search party went straight to work, combing through the debris. Cagalli stood by Kisaka, watching the work take place. Dozens of dull grey fragments littered the beach and she recognized the head of what was once the Aegis.

"It looks like the Aegis self-destructed." Kisaka muttered.

Cagalli suddenly felt sick to her stomach. If that was what had happened, did Athrun kill himself? At that moment, she twisted her head to see a pair of technicians looking over the remains of the Strike. She gasped when she saw the state it was in and rushed over to it. She heard Kisaka call to her, but she ignored him. Shoving her way in between the techs, she peered into the ruined cockpit. The interior was a mess of burned, twisted, and warped material. But there was one thing missing. She hoped down back to the sandy beach.

"Cagalli." Kisaka whispered.

"It's empty." She muttered.

"What?"

"The cockpit's empty. That has to mean that he could have gotten out somehow."

"Colonel Kisaka!" a voice called out, "We've found someone!"

Both Cagalli and Kisaka dashed over to where a small crowd was gathering. She pushed her way through and reached the front. "Kira!" she cried, but she saw that it wasn't him. But she quickly recognized the telltale red flightsuit and the face behind the shattered faceplate. "Athrun."

Hours later, Athrun began to stir. He opened his eyes, only to briefly close them again when a ray of direct light shone into them. He found his arm was in a sling. He leaned up to discover that he wasn't on the island anymore. Rather he was now inside of what appeared to be an infirmary. But who had found him?

"You're on board an Orb aircraft." A voice he knew said, answering his question before he asked it. "We found you on the beach and treated your wounds."

Athrun looked to find Cagalli standing across from him, a gun in her hand. "Oh, and what would a neutral nation like Orb want to do with me?" he asked, "Or has it joined the Earth Forces?"

Cagalli was angered by the question, but retained her composure. "There's something I need to ask you. Were you the one who destroyed the Strike?"

Athrun stiffened and waited to answer. "Yes, I was."

"What about the pilot? Was he able to escape like you did?"

Athrun shook his head. "No, I made sure there was no way he could." He grimly answered, "I grabbed the Strike with my Aegis and hit the self-destruct. And I killed him."

Cagalli shook in anger, not at Athrun's confession, but at the nonchalant attitude he had. She grabbed him by the collar and pressed her gun to his neck.

"It was the only thing I could do." He went on, "It was the only way that I could finally defeat him."

Cagalli couldn't find the words to express with anger, but then she saw something she never expected. Athrun's eyes were tearing up. "You bastard!" she shouted, shoving him down. She then slammed her fist into the wall, ignoring the stinging pain.

Athrun sat back up. "But why am I still alive?"

"Shut up!" Cagalli spun back and raised her gun again. "You may not know it, but Kira always took too many risks, didn't always know what he was doing, and cried easily. But he was kind. He was a great guy!"

Athrun smiled. "Yeah, I know. I guess he hadn't changed a bit at all. He was like that always."

Cagalli was dumbfounded. "Wait, are you saying that you actually knew Kira?"

"Yeah, since we were just kids. He is, I mean, was my best friend."

"But then why the hell did you kill him if he was suppose to be your best friend?" she demanded.

"I don't know!" he shouted, "The last we saw each other, we were friends, but the next time, we met as enemies. I tried to convince him to join with me over and over, but it was useless."

"But why-?"

"He was a Coordinator!" Athrun interrupted, "He was on the wrong side, fighting for the Naturals! Time and time again, he fought against us! He killed many of his fellow Coordinators! And then he killed Nicol!"

"That's the reason you killed Kira?"

"I had no other choice but to kill him! He was my enemy!"

Cagalli grew more furious. "You idiot! How could you come with that kind of conclusion? What kind of reason is that to kill your friend?"

"He killed Nicol, that's why! Nicol was only fifteen, he loved to play music, and he only fought to protect the PLANTs!"

"Kira fought to protect others, too!" Cagalli countered, "But that doesn't explain why he had to die and by the hands of a friend!" Suddenly, something her father recently told her came to her mind. "Someone kills because another is killed, then gets killed because he kills! How the hell can that twisted justification bring peace? It won't solve anything!"

Athrun couldn't stand it anymore and began to cry openly He knew that she was right and he also realized that he had lost not one, but two close friends. Cagalli ran out of the infirmary, sobbing.

Outside, the Orb personnel hurried to load the recovered Strike. The Aegis couldn't be salvaged due to its destruction and it was decided to simply leave the fragments were the lay.

During the night, the Archangel neared friendly territory and was at last joined by allied aircraft. It should've been a time of relief and joy, but that wasn't the case. Everyone from the technicians to the bridge crew was saddened by the loss of Kira and Tolle. All anyone could do was sit around and sulk.

At dawn, the escort departed, leaving the ship alone once more. However, the crew was safe now that they were inside JOSH-A's airspace.

"Excuse me, Captain." Kuzzey said, "But a Radar Station 18 is trying to I.D. this ship."

"Of course, this is our first time at Alaska." Murrue replied, "Please send them our data and there shouldn't be a problem." As an afterthought she added, "We'll go to half watch since we're now in friendly territory."

That was a relief for the crew since they'd all been on edge for the past couple of days.

"I'm amazed how fast those DINNs retreated once we entered Alaskan airspace." Sai said, flexing his sore neck.

"Well, it wouldn't have been wise for them to continue pursuit with such a small number of mobile suits." Tonomura replied, "They've wouldn't have had a chance against JOSH-A's defense forces."

"So JOSH-A is that powerful?" Sai asked.

"It has to be. After all, it is the general HQ of the Earth Alliance. A lot of high ranking officers from both the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations are stationed there."

Murrue listened and was disappointed. She kept thinking to herself that if the ship had been able to put some extra distance between them and the enemy, JOSH-A's air corps could've possibly come to the aid in the last battle.

"Captain," Pal suddenly spoke up, "I've received a message from Orb."

Everyone looked up in hope and anticipation. The search team must've found the Strike and Skygrasper 2 if they made contact this early.

"It reads, 'We've conducted our search of the area and located the Strike.'"

There were whispers of excitement.

"'However, it was heavily damaged and we weren't able to find any sign of the Skygrasper 2.'" Pal grimly read, "We were unable to find either Ensign Kira Yamato or Crewman Tolle Koenig. We found no evidence of possible survival.' The message ends there."

Murrue hung her head and there was a collective sigh of disappointment and grief. Whatever shred of hope was now dashed.

An hour later, Sai was off duty and he checked on Miriallia and how she was doing. He found her sitting alone in the dark of the room she and Tolle shared. "Mir?"

She looked up. "Any word on Tolle?"

Sai looked at her and hesitated. He couldn't bear to tell her the truth right now. "I'm afraid not." He lied, "But I'm sure there'll be news on him soon. After all, Orb sent a team to find him and Kira."

Miriallia smiled slightly. "I guess you're right." She muttered, "Tolle just has to be okay."

Sai hated to see her in such a state. "Come on, how about we go to the mess hall?" he offered, "You shouldn't be sitting here all by yourself." He put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Murrue sat with Natarle in her cabin to discuss their recently captured prisoners.

"We pulled these off the prisoners." Natarle then said, handing over a pair of ID tags. "And one was carrying this photo."

Murrue examined them. "Dearka Elsman and Cade Fenix." She muttered. She then glanced at the photo, recognizing the one pilot, but not the others. "Have them placed in the infirmary under close observation until it's been cleared by the medics that they can be safety placed in the cells."

Natarle nodded, "Understood, Captain." She saluted, though she wondered why Murrue was being so courteous towards the ZAFT pilots. She came out of the room, giving both of the ZAFT pilots a hard, cold glare before moving on. The guards then forcibly prodded Dearka and Cade to follow her.

At the same time, Sai and Miriallia met up with Mu and Neumann just in time to see the prisoners being escorted down the hall.

"Hey, watch it." The blond male complained, "We're injured, remember?"

"Shut up." One of the guards retorted, jabbing him in the back with the muzzle of his rifle.

"We've going to remember this." The pilot muttered.

"Those are the pilots of the Buster and the Panzer." Neumann murmured.

Mu was shocked to see both pilots were barely over the age of Kira and the other youths. As they were brought past, he stepped forward and faced the ZAFT pilot who wore glasses. "So you two were members from the Le Creuset Team, weren't you?"

Cade locked gazes with him. "Yeah, that's right, asshole." He spat, "So who are you?"

Though neither of them realized it, the two pilots had crossed path early in the war. It had been Mu who damaged Cade's GINN at Endymion.

Dearka rolled his eyes at the display. Naturals are only tough when they have us tied up. He thought to himself. He then spotted Miriallia."I'm amazed there are even girls on this ship." He smirked, "But what's with the tears? If anybody ought to be crying, we should be us." He then was led away along with Cade.

Sai clenched his fists and looked ready to take a swing.

Mu put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "No, Sai, violence against POWs is prohibited."

"But that loudmouth-"

"I know, but that's no excuse." Mu replied, "They'll be dealt with when we finally reach Alaska."

That was true enough, but Natarle would've preferred it if they didn't have to worry about their prisoners. Part of her deeply wished that they hadn't of surrendered, that way they could've finished them off back on the island. Then there'd be two less ZAFT soldiers to worry about.

Miriallia leered bitterly at the pair of ZAFT pilots. Why was it that Kira and Tolle were missing, maybe dead, but these guys were safe?

Elsewhere, many miles away, the Orb aircraft came to a stop and now waited. The reason was that they claimed they couldn't allow a ZAFT soldier into Orb territory. But they did secretly worry that if they did and he found out about the recent aid they gave the Archangel and its crew, it would spell trouble for the nation. They had sent out a message to all nearby ZAFT vessels about Athrun and once a reply had come, they waited for a vehicle to arrive and pick him up. The wait was too long and a VTOL craft arrived and landed next to the Orb craft. Cagalli took it upon herself to inform Athrun and went to the infirmary.

"A ZAFT vessel is here to take you back." she said, not looking his way. "You can go whenever you're ready."

Athrun got to his feet. "Thank you." He then walked past, but was stopped.

"Wait a minute." She took a necklace from her neck and placed it on Athrun. "It's a Haumea pendant. It'll protect you from the dangerous life you've chosen."

Athrun couldn't understand why she was doing this. "But I killed Kira."

She turned away from him. "It's just…I don't want to see anyone else die, that's all." She then left.

Athrun then headed out and reached the tiny boat that would be used to ferry him the short distance to the ZAFT VTOL craft. As he was carried over, he saw the familiar face of Yzak waiting for him.

"Well, look you decided to show up." Yzak said as Athrun stepped on board.

"I destroyed the Strike just as I promised." Athrun replied, irritated at Yzak's complaining and retorts.

Yzak had to smile. While he was envious that Athrun completed what he swore by the scar on his face, he was proud of his comrade's accomplishment.

"So where's Dearka and Cade?" Athrun then asked, "Did they choose not to be here?"

Yzak frowned. "We…we don't know where they are." He explained, "We lost the signals for the Buster and Panzer during the last battle and there have been no S.O.S. or other distress signals from them." He paused. "A team of DINNs searched the area, but they didn't find either mobile suit. We fear they're dead."

Athrun said nothing and sat. The ZAFT vehicle soon took off to return to Carpentaria.

In outer space, inside Aprilius One, Lacus played with her numerous Haros. The tiny robots hopped all around her, chattering away as they went. Then her pink Haro decided to bound away and towards the glass covered gazebo.

"Pink, come back here!" Lacus called, giving chase.

Pink didn't listen and continued on. Once inside, it leapt onto the bed placed inside and rolled about. Lacus stepped inside and scooped the tiny robot in her hands. The person in bed began to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes.

She giggled and smiled. "Good morning, sleepy head."

Kira couldn't believe who he was seeing and wondered if it was a dream. "Lacus?"