Sibling's Serenade

by Strata-Assassin

(Prelude and Fugue in SEED Minor: Book 2) Coping in peaceful times means something different for everyone. There's opportunity for research, tying up loose ends, starting new relationships, and realizing that the universe was far too interesting to warrant a time skip between Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. OCs in Gundam SEED timeline. (Some mature content: language/violence)

8. Code Red

Code Red

CE 68 Scandinavia

Namarra sat on the edge of the bed. There were drying tears on her cheeks, but she didn't remember why they had fallen in the first place. Her chest and throat ached, as if she had either been sobbing or screaming, but neither episode she could recall.

"They want her back in the simulator in a half hour," one of the doctors was saying, standing in front of her with a clipboard. His white coat was at the edge of her vision, but she was too tired to concentrate on it. Staring at the floor she tried to recall anything that had been happening but everything just came back… blank. It wasn't even a painful experience to try and remember, it just "was" and "wasn't" at the same time.

What's happening to me?

"She's been underperforming and the higher ups aren't happy," a doctor muttered, trying to hide the statement in a whisper.

The other doctor sighed. "We know, that's why we've brought him here."

"What, the brother?"

Namarra's ears perked at the word "brother" and she found the energy to lift her head. The doctors hadn't seen her yet, their backs to her as they continued their conversation. One was flipping nervously through the clipboard in his hand.

"When will he get here?"

"Today, I thought."

Namarra blinked and tried to concentrate. Someone was coming today? Her head started to hurt in that moment, a sharp pain like an icepick behind her eyes. It was a pain that had been coming more and more often—at least she had the feeling it had been. The days were just all blurring together. Either she was in her room, or in a simulation, or there in that strange room with those strange beds. She couldn't remember anything else.

"Speak of the devil," one of the doctors said after a moment and Namarra moved her head sluggishly towards the door after she heard it open. In the doorway stood a teenager a few years older than her. He was wearing a trainee's uniform that looked a little too baggy for his thin frame. He had dark, wavy hair, and amber eyes.

Where are his glasses?

The thought surprised her, and it must have shown on her face because he came over to her without being commanded. The doctors protested, but in the end, they didn't stop his approach. Kneeling down in front of her, his eyes started quivering and his hands shook as they rose to rest on her shoulders.

"Nam?"

She blinked, trying to understand what was happening. Her mind couldn't pick out his face; she didn't know his name. He somehow knew her, and she should have been scared by that, or at least bothered. But her mind was just… blank. There was something else there, however, a tugging at her heart and an urging from her muscle memory to cling onto him, to throw herself in his arms and never let those doctors take her away from him again. Her eyes and face twisted with the feeling, her brain still sluggish.

"Nam, it's Kai."

Her heart sped up then, a giant jolt in her chest upon hearing the name. But why did she recognize it? Who was this? New tears fell down her cheeks and she lifted her hand up to touch them. What was happening?

"Nam—sis, it's me. It's Kai." His voice was wavering, his own face betraying his strength in that moment. His lip trembled and he shook her gently by the shoulders, looking at her so desperately. She actually wanted to remember him then, she realized, for his sake if not for her own. Looking into his eyes and seeing his pain, she knew every part of her wanted to make it go away. So much so, she willed it. She willed herself to remember, as if that would somehow make her brain function.

"Kai?" She said the name out loud and he nodded furiously.

"Yes—yes, it's me. Do you remember?"

She started to give a negative reply, but the pain had returned and her hands went to her head. Closing her eyes, she felt her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Nam, what's wrong?"

It was hot. Her mind felt like it was on fire. It was so intense a part of her knew that she should pass out. Her body should have gone into survival mode and shut down to protect herself, but it didn't. It kept her trapped in its intensity, making her dizzy and nauseous, but not even those bodily functions could quell the pain.

"What's happening?" She heard him ask and if she had the capacity, she would wonder herself. Instead, she was forced the ride each wave of heat and pain as her mind struggled to work.

The moment could have lasted hours, minutes, or seconds—Namarra didn't know. Her fingers were pulling at her hair, tangled against her skull as Kai attempted to soothe her, but as quickly as it began, it was gone.

And then it was all there.

He was there.

Her brain had made the connection and the hysteria her body had been projecting filled her mind as she remembered. "K-Kai?" she said again, his name spurring more memories as she finally fell into his arms and clung there, repeating his name ad nauseum as she remembered, determined to drown in every old memory in an effort to never forget him again.

She clung to him, her body shaking with the experience, knowing, deep down, that she would never feel safer than in that moment. Despite those damn doctors and that damn room. Despite the fact that they were at some place somewhere on some part of the planet, her body just knew. When Kai hadn't been there, she had been alone, she had forgotten everything and had been forgotten. But now he was there, her safe place had returned, and they would never take him away from her again.

She didn't know how long they had been there, desperately clinging to each other on the floor. She just knew that one moment she felt safe, and in another something had penetrated that space. There was a different hand on her shoulder then and she turned feral. Her head whipped around and she bit it hard, tasting the metallic blood slip through her teeth. The man screamed and tried to pull his hand away, but she glared up at him, her pupiless eyes throwing as much anger and hate into that one look that she was happy when he cowered away.

"S-stop! Let go!" he hissed, bringing up the clip board in an attempt to hit her.

"No!" Kai yelled, pulling her away from the doctor and, in the end, causing even more damage to the man's hand. He screamed in pain and it wasn't until Kai begged Namarra to let go that she finally opened her mouth, his words so desperate not even her anger could stand up to them. The doctor fell backwards and cradled his hand to his chest, much the same way as Kai then cradled Namarra, holding her tightly against him.

"Don't—don't! Leave her alone!" he shrieked, turning his back on the doctors in an effort to protect her. She took a deep breath, taking in his scent and feeling her lips curl upwards in a smile. She was at peace.

She felt safe.

Despite Kai's painful cry when a doctor stabbed him with a needle. Despite the painful prick she felt when another doctor stuck her a second later. Despite everything, she knew in that moment that she would never forget her brother again.

And she would kill anyone who made her try.

---

CE 72 April 25, Orb

"Okay, all, we have a Code Red," Namarra started, leaning against the edge of the table. There was a small group of them gathered at the orphanage on that particular sunny afternoon, Namarra and Lexi taking advantage of the fact four of the six people they probably had to tell the information to were in that very room. They would have to catch the remaining two up later.

Cagalli had gotten a chance to get away from some work and she frowned at the terminology, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping an impatient finger against her exposed bicep. She was even able to wear shorts and a tank top that day so the fact she was getting a not-so-pleasant update on something serious was probably something she was not about to enjoy. Kira and Lacus looked just as confused and Athrun was skeptical. Reverend Malchio was outside with the kids so they were the only ones in the room, but knowing how attached those particular children were to these particular individuals, Namarra and Lexi didn't have too much time to explain.

"What happened?" Lacus asked first and the girls shared a look before Lexi sighed. Walking to stand in front of the small group, she bowed at the waist.

"It's my fault."

"No, it's mine," Namarra said right away, joining Lexi and sliding into her own bow.

"I don't care whose fault it is," Cagalli said with a frown. "What's the problem?"

"Our past has caught up with us a bit and we need to make sure you guys are aware," Lexi said, rising slightly to look at each in turn. As she figured, they were very unamused.

"We're gonna need more than that," Athrun said, rubbing a nervous hand across the back of his neck. "Your past is quite vast and isn't always particularly nice."

Lexi frowned, but was in no position to argue. She shrugged. "We've just found out an ex-SIN-ED member is alive and in Orb."

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"Oh…"

"What?" the chorus went, starting with Cagalli and making its way down through Kira to Lacus and, ultimately, Athrun.

Namarra winced. "We think she'll have a bit of a grudge to boot."

Cagalli was watching Athrun who seemed genuinely upset about the news, but she, along with Kira were still in the dark. Lacus, surprisingly, seemed to recognize the name. "Woah, hold on. SIN-ED? What are you talking about?"

"Is this a ZAFT thing?" Kira asked and Lexi shook her head slowly, not sure how much she should share. She didn't want to give them the long story, so she broke it up as much as she could.

"Basically, they were a renegade group of terrorists who were causing a bit of havoc on the outskirts of the Bloody Valentine War. They were made up of both Coordinators and Naturals, primarily military deserters, and definitely not people either the EA or ZAFT wanted roaming around. Namarra and I had been tasked with tracking them down and disposing of them."

"Disposing?" Kira asked, his eyebrow cocked up suspiciously and Namarra shrugged.

"The best term for the job, to be honest."

"Wait, terrorists?" Cagalli leaned forward at the table and pointed at Lexi. "That time your parents—and you…"

The redhead nodded, held her gaze for a bit longer, and then shrugged. "Like we said. It's our fault."

"So, there's one here?" Lacus asked, trying to bring them back to the main topic.

Namarra nodded. "Or so we have just figured out. We don't know when she arrived or where she currently is only that she's very dangerous and might—"

"Probably," Lexi cut in.

"—have it out for Lexi."

"Well, us." Lexi jutted her thumb between the two of them as if it wasn't already obvious.

"What do you want us to do about it?" Athrun asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Namarra replied simply. "We just want you to be aware and take precautions."

"Precautions?" Kira asked. "Why would she come after us?"

"We're not 100 percent sure how stable she is and whether she's fixated on us alone or if she will expand her net, so to speak."

Cagalli's frown dipped further as she listened to Lexi's comment. "Do I need to alert our national defense team or something?"

"That's probably a good idea. If you wanted, you could say you've received an anonymous tip. To be honest, if your people found her before she either finds us or we find her, I'd be okay with that," Lexi said, pulling out her phone and pressing a few buttons to email a photo of Phoebe to Cagalli's phone.

"Not very anonymous if it's clearly from your email," she grumbled and opened the file. The picture was of her facial profile, so not much to go on, but it was the best image they could get. Even Jaeger didn't have anything better. She had some startling characteristics though, her bleached-blonde hair, emerald eyes, and pale skin. The other three had leaned in to look at the picture, but no one made a noise as if they recognized her.

"To be honest," Lexi continued. "How much the force'll be able to do, I'm not sure. We might just be limited to surveillance until we can throw the law at her. We don't have anything at the moment that links her to SIN-ED other than our word and even that's sketchy since both the EA and ZAFT have buried the whole ordeal." Not to mention ZAFT had named her codename deceased by the end of the war and Namarra had been named AWOL soon after the "help" her Berserker had provided rescue teams after Jachin Due. The whole thing was a huge mess, they knew, and based on the looks they were receiving from the four across from them, they knew as much too.

Lexi sighed. "It's complicated..."

"What's her name?" Cagalli asked with an exhausted sigh of her own.

"Her birth name is Phoebe Tait and she's an enhanced Natural, a couple of years older than us—well, you," Namarra explained and they all looked at her at once. "Yes, she's a remnant of the EA's BCPU Program like my brothers. Though she ran away just as the war was heating up."

"Which is also why we're not sure what her mental capacity is like," Lexi continued. "Though I had doubts she was in the program for long."

Namarra nodded. "She didn't seem to be an advanced subject, no, but I do still question her stability. SIN-ED was not kind to her." If the others were disgusted by the way they talked about Phoebe they didn't say anything. They all turned back to her picture and began studying her face again. "The only other name Coffee Addict gave me was Melanie, which would mean she might be living under the name Melanie Tait at the moment."

"You think the surname is the same?" Kira asked and Lexi shared a glance with Namarra, silently agreeing not to bring up the deceased twin.

"Most likely."

"I'll let the team know, and to be cautious. Who else have you told?" Cagalli asked, pocketing her phone.

"We have Waltfeld and Colonel Kisaka on our list to inform, but other than that, we don't want to cause too much alarm and spook her. I'd rather we knew where she was before we did that."

"Seriously, girls?" Athrun said after a moment, shaking his head. "Lathan's gone and now this?"

They shrugged. What else could they do?

"You wanted life to be interesting," Cagalli muttered in his direction and Lacus snorted, turning towards Kira and hiding her amusement when Athrun gave an unamused look at his blonde companion. Kira gave his own smile and the kids started calling them all out to play.

---

CE 72 May 3, Space

"Hey, so I did a thing," Yzak said on the phone, touching the bandage on his face as he looked in the mirror. "Well, I did a couple of things." There was a pause on the other side of the phone and Yzak checked the watch at his wrist. It shouldn't be too early in Orb so she shouldn't be grumpy from the morning wake-up call. "Hey, you there?"

There was a sigh and an audible sip from a mug. "Yeah, I'm here. Just wanted to grab coffee first. I had a late night." He heard some shuffling and then the distinct sound of her sitting down on a sofa. Presumably in the apartment she shared with Namarra. "What 'thing' did you do?"

"It was a bit 'spur of the moment.'"

"You rarely do things spur of the moment." Her voice sounded disappointed as she said it and he tried not to get too offended by the comment. He had asked her out, didn't he? Surely that deserved a spot in the "impulsive" column.

"Okay, a little less 'spur' and more 'been thinking about it for a while and decided to do it' kind of moment."

"Okay… Not giving me much to go on here."

He looked at himself in the mirror again, noting her bobby pin in his hair and touched it absently, making sure it was keeping his hair back and out of the way. Coming as no surprise, he hadn't used one before, but Dearka had suggested it and he found it had worked wonderfully to keep his locks away from the bandage. He touched the spot and winced, the skin still tender.

"Yzak?"

"I got it removed."

There was a pause and an audible sip on the other end of the line. "You'll have to be more specific." She sounded cautious. "Got what removed?"

"The scar." He could only see out of one eye at the moment and he backed away from the mirror, trying to get a better look at his face. He was holding the phone up to his left ear and based on the way his hair was starting to obstruct the view from the other side of his face, he debated putting in a bobby pin for that side.

He had had the conversation with a few people, Lexi included, but Dearka was the only one to purposely push him in the direction to get it removed. Dearka had always understood Yzak's turmoil a bit better than even himself, so he trusted his opinion. Staring at the mirror then, being reminded of the pain he had been through when he had first received the mark, he was starting to second guess himself. The scar had been a testament, almost a reason to keep fighting in the war and destroy the Strike. Well, now the war was ended and he was trying to move on. Right?

"Really?" Lexi's inflection was higher than he anticipated. Either she was genuinely surprised, liked the idea, or just wanted more details. Maybe all three?

"Yeah… Do you mind?"

"Why would I mind?"

Yzak shrugged and brushed his hair to the side again. "It never seemed to bother you."

"Why would it?"

He paused. He wasn't sure if she realized it, but she often said things as if it was the most obvious response in the world. Based on the reactions he had gotten from his colleagues, her thoughts on the scar were definitely in the minority and even he had begun finding it a poor reminder of days past. He sighed and found himself smiling.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

He shook his head with a small laugh. "Nothing."

"Oh, did you check on the guys' apartment?"

"Yeah, no issues there."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." There was a pause as she took another drink and Yzak nodded, shrugging his shoulder to hold up the phone as he grabbed another bobby pin to hold back the other side of his hair. He frowned when he saw the end product in the mirror, but he had to admit it was effective.

"You said you did multiple things, though," Lexi remarked after another moment.

"Oh, well, I took a few weeks off from work."

"Weeks?"

"Yeah."

"A few?"

"Yeah," he said again.

"You?"

He sighed that time and shook his head. "Well, I needed to take a week off to heal anyway and I thought I could…" He trailed off. It had only taken a couple more days after Heine's departure to realize that not only did he not know as much about Lexi as he had let on, but he found himself wanting to actually try. A pretty big leap of faith for him, so he found himself uncharacteristically nervous.

He took a deep breath in and said it. "I thought I could come to Orb."

Lexi paused on the other end and he could tell she was surprised by the remark based on the fact that she wasn't drinking any coffee. Likely, she was going through multiple scenarios in her head and as much as he would like to put her worries to rest, he ultimately wanted to go to see and spend time with her.

Finally she spoke, the tone in her voice declaring she was all business and he cringed a little. "Logistically, how did you think it would work?"

"I'd get a hotel room, play the tourist, nothing spectacular. Obviously, I'd like you to be around."

"Obviously, I'd like to be around," she muttered and he felt himself relax a little bit. "I have to admit you're putting me in a tight spot though. I don't have a lot of free time at the moment and us being seen in public together would blow up the Orb media."

"We'll keep it low key."

"Even low key would blow up the media," she muttered and he heard her bite on the rim of the mug.

"Look—okay—if this is a bad idea—"

"I'd have to let Athrun know."

"Why?"

He could hear the shrug in her voice and his lips flipped into a frown. "High-ranking officer from ZAFT coming to Orb? Someone in security should be aware even if you're only coming for a holiday. Besides," she continued and he felt himself sigh, knowing what she was going to say next. "I assumed you would rather I inform a friend."

"'Friend' is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

He could hear the shrug in her voice again. "He knows his way around the media and can probably make sure we can see each other rather undisturbed. I'd like to think that alone deserves some common courtesy."

His hand habitually went to his head, coursing his fingers through his hair and only realizing after he had messed up the bobby pin that he had stationed there. He frowned and shrugged the phone against his ear again to redo it.

"Fine, do what you need to do on your end. I'll make the other arrangements and tell you the details."

"When are you arriving?"

"Probably after the bandages come off and I have another week for that. Around the 10th, I should think."

"Great, I'll let them know."

He heard her the smile in her voice then and he shook his head slowly, a smile on his own lips. "There's a report I need to hand in before I go, so I should probably get back to that."

"But I thought you were on vacation?" She sighed. "I should have known you'd still be working through your time off."

"That's cute coming from you," he muttered, but there was no malice from either party. They knew full well what their work meant to them and no doubt she was overworking herself trying to find Lathan.

"Fine, but you'd better be in complete relax mode when you get here."

He laughed. "I'll see what I can do."

---

They ended the phone call after a few more moments, Lexi stuttering through the goodbyes. She stared at her phone with a frown once he had gone and Namarra didn't miss the look. The Natural sat on the other end of the couch, her feet curled up under her with a book in her hand. This had been their first quiet morning in a month or so and Namarra had been determined to make the most of it. She had a list taped to her wall labelled "Orga's book recommendations" and she was slowly going through them. At that moment she had barely gotten halfway through the list, but was still trying to enjoy each tale. She still had a few more on Clotho's videogame list to work through and Shani's music playlist was always on repeat before she went to bed. It was her way of keeping their memory alive, especially since Lexi had started spending more and more time with Yzak, it was a way to keep the nightmares and loneliness at bay.

Looking at the redhead then, she closed the book. "I take it he still hasn't repeated the phrase."

Lexi shook her head and leaned forward to set the phone on the coffee table. It wasn't until she sat back against the sofa and put the mug to her lips that she spoke again. "He was probably just trying to stay in character."

"You've been dating, what, a few months?" Lexi nodded. "A bit too early for the L-word, don't you think?" Lexi shrugged and just sipped at her coffee, staring out the window on the opposite wall. "Though, coming to Orb is pretty big." She made a noncommittal noise and Namarra just shrugged. She returned to her book and vaguely noted that the main protagonist's struggles seemed to mimic that of the fair redhead's.

Hopefully, they didn't end as tragically.

---

CE 72 May 8, Orb (Evening)

"Any news on Phoebe?" Namarra asked, fitting the earring into her right ear as she reached for the next one. They were standing in front of the mirror in their apartment, Namarra leaning down as Lexi attempted to peer over her, both adjusting their jewelry for the evening. They were going out for an early birthday party for twins and Cagalli had originally wanted to make a big dinner out of it on the town, but reality quickly set in and her ambitions were dashed. No matter how much she might have wanted to, her current love interest was living under a fake name as her personal guard, her twin brother—that little detail unknown to most—was trying to keep out of the spotlight and was dating an ex-celebrity from the PLANTs, and—to add insult to injury—she had had a rather unconventional outburst during some governmental proceedings earlier that week that the press was still salivating over. So, it had downgraded into a fancy dinner at the main estate where she had managed to invite everyone. Still fancy, but far more people and far less public.

Lexi shook her head and moved the necklace clasp to the back of her neck. "Your update is as recent as mine. She doesn't seem to have moved, but I don't like how quiet she's being. Either she's figured out we have eyes on her, or her intentions aren't hostile."

Namarra snorted, pulling her hair back from behind her ear once the earring was in. "You and I know which is the more likely of those two."

Phoebe had been traced down by Orb authorities first and actually pulled in for questioning. Of course, the matter had turned out as they had expected because no one had anything on her. She was stable, from what the report had said, so no alarm bells had gone off, and—according to her statement—was visiting relatives in Orb. The whole thing still smelled foul, however, which is why they were arming themselves for that evening and their CAs were on alert.

"Should we make the first move?" Namarra asked.

"Normally I would say yes, but we're neither in a war nor part of any military anymore with orders to dispose of SIN-ED stragglers. I think our hands are tied unless we want the law on our asses."

Namarra sighed and shimmied away from the sink as Lexi leaned in to take her spot. "More surveillance, huh?"

"All we can do right now."

"I really don't like the fact that others have been seen at her place as well. I'm rather partial to the idea of it being two on one, not more even of odds."

"Most of them have been one-night stands, it seems, but I hear ya. The possibility of more than one antagonist in Orb makes me nervous."

Namarra nodded, centering the pendent around her neck. "The second she moves, we do. I don't like her so close to home."

"Me neither," Lexi replied with a sigh, fixing the pin in her hair. They both straightened their formal wear and nodded.

"Right, let's get this over with," Namarra said and Lexi laughed.

Yes, it was going to be a strange evening.

---

CE 72 May 13, Orb (Evening)

Lexi had been spending a lot of time between Morgenroete and Yzak, trying to alternate between the two without letting down either party. If she was being honest, it was a bit exhausting, but she was enjoying it at the same time. Yzak had offered a few suggestions on how to look for Lathan and was able to recognize many of the coded words that had been floating around his initial disappearance in the PLANTs. He had helped them narrow down possible locations and she was so grateful for his help that she found herself wishing he wouldn't leave Orb.

A thought that surprised her.

She did need a little time with her girlfriends though, and found herself on that particularly cool evening hanging out with Namarra, Lacus, and Cagalli at the orphanage. The last time the four of them had been together was at the birthday for the twins, and that ended up being as awkward as they had feared. While the night had gone by just fine for the most part, they were still all getting used to the idea of them being twins, perhaps Lexi most of all. A well-intentioned dinner had still left the girls giving a sigh of relief when they had walked through their door at the end of the night.

At that time, however, it was just the four girls. Reverend Malchio was away on personal business and Kira was accompanying him, leaving the young Pink Princess and some other volunteer helpers to keep an eye on the kids for the few days they were gone. Her three friends had offered to help that evening, pushing Lacus and her pink Haro out into the large, main common room to spend some play time with the kids while the other three cleaned up after dinner. Cagalli abandoned Lexi and Namarra a moment later, however, when she heard the fair singer get rather overwhelmed by her smaller counterparts and the remaining girls shared a laugh.

"This was nice. I'm glad you suggested it," Lexi said, washing off one of the plates before moving to the next one. They had all been dressed for the cooler evening, the only odd one out being Lacus who was wearing a simple violet dress. "It has sleeves," Lacus had joked when Namarra brought up her concern, leaving the remaining to just shrug in their combinations of long sleeves, light shirts and sweaters, and jeans. Perhaps they would never understand.

Namarra brought over the remaining dishes from the table and stuck a washcloth in the soapy water to wipe down the countertop. "There's only so much we can do for Lathan right now and you can go see Yzak later," she said simply.

"Fair enough. Hey, were you still going to go out with us tomorrow?"

Namarra shrugged and walked back to the sink, pushing up the sleeves of her green button-up shirt before dropping in the washcloth. "Still planning on it, if you want me there."

"Of course we want you there," Lexi replied, handing the drying towel to Namarra before the newly rinsed plate.

"Are we going as Piper and Coda or Lexi and Namarra?"

"P and C," she said without hesitating, catching the sleeve of her maroon sweater with soapy fingers before it slipped too far down her arm. She looked sidelong at her Namarra and frowned when she did. "Don't. Life's complicated, okay?"

"You might be making it a bit too complicated."

Lexi shrugged, not really having a better reply than that. She agreed, if she was being honest. "I appreciate you being a good sport about it."

"You'll pay me back someday," Namarra replied with a chuckle.

They finished up in the kitchen and joined everyone out in the common room. The tables had been pushed to the side, the kids sitting in front of Lacus and Cagalli in the middle of the floor, as Lacus began to sing. Namarra was across from Lexi near the kitchen doorway and the redhead had taken up position near the open front door, the cooler night air adding a refreshing fragrance of ocean water and damp grass.

It was relaxing, Lexi realized and laughed when one of the younger girls came over to sit on her crossed legs, her pointing finger following the pink Haro as it jumped soundlessly up near the Songstress. She had blonde hair and her head came up to about her chest, the straggling hair coming up to tickle Lexi's nose as she leaned forward to sing a verse quietly in her ear as Lacus sang. The girl giggled and she smiled. Yes, she needed a bit of time with this group.

How… naïve.

She felt it before she heard it, the rush of the pistol's barrel as it retracted near her left ear. Her eyes widened as every other sound in the room seemed to vanish, nothing other than the deafening pounding of her pulse in her ears. Lacus's singing had stopped, the words caught in her throat as she fell to the floor.

Shot.

Lacus had been shot.

The girl screamed in her lap, but it wasn't until Lexi saw movement to her right and the glint of light against the arching blade that she registered the severity of her situation.

The enemy was behind her.

Lexi's left hand pulled the girl off her lap by her shirt as her right hand went up to block the stab. The girl fell safely off to the side, but Lexi's block had come too late. The blade slipped through the palm of her right hand, the metal coming out the other end as her elbow bent in and the knife continued its course towards her neck. It missed anything vital, but only barely, the attempted block having pushed the knife slightly off target. The tip of the blade bit across the left side of Lexi's lower neck as her fingers crashed against her chin, the blade straining as it tried to continue its path to slit her throat. Her arm tensed, the bones in her hand keeping the blade in place as she tried to keep the knife away. Her breathing was harsh as she gritted her teeth, looking out of the corner of her right eye to follow the pale arm of the knife wielder up to the bleached blonde hair draping down near emerald eyes.

"Hello, Lunar Eclipse," her voice purred and Lexi's voice caught.

Phoebe.

Lust was here.

"Lacus!" Cagalli shrieked when Lacus fell, instantly running to her side and taking off her sweater to put pressure on the wound. The kids around them screamed and their fear sent them running to the other side of the room, gathering behind Namarra who was crouched with her gun in her hand and aiming at Phoebe behind Lexi. Her eyes were trained on her shot, the only sign of her worry was her chest as her breathing sped and her face as it paled.

"Nuh-uh," Phoebe said, the gun in her left hand aiming now over at Namarra. Lexi could feel her breath on the right side of her neck, Phoebe crouched behind the redhead and using her body as a shield, if Namarra's reluctance to fire was any indication. "You move, I shoot the other one." Lexi winced as Phoebe's body jerked with the gun, the barrel of the pistol now on Cagalli. The Orb Princess's eyes grew wide and she put herself between Lacus and the gun, leaning down to cover the injured girl's body with her own. Her lips curled into a feral growl. The blood around Lacus was forming around her upper torso, Lexi hoping she had taken a bullet through the shoulder and not up through her upper chest cavity. If it was through the shoulder, she would probably live.

"This one's mine," Phoebe continued, twisting her right hand and the blade that was wedged in Lexi's palm. A small cry escaped Lexi's lips, the blade taking a chink out of the side of her neck as she felt the blood begin to stain the front of her shirt and around her left shoulder.

"Nam—" she started, but the blade twisted again and her hand shook with the pressure of keeping it from sliding across her skin. The two of them locked eyes and Namarra's narrowed in acknowledgement.

They needed to draw Phoebe away. They needed to get her in the open.

She didn't have a shot.

The kids whimpered behind Namarra, a clustered mass of bodies as the older children tried to huddle over the younger ones. Other than their soft cries and Lexi's harsh breathing, the room was silent, no one making a move. Lacus was down and needed help, there were children in the line of fire no matter how well Namarra was trying to position herself in front of them, and Lexi was at the mercy of the knife at her throat, her hand beginning to visually shake with the effort. "F-fine," she managed, knowing the stalemate needed to end. "I'm yours." She swallowed and a fresh stream of blood soaked down from the knife at her throat and into the collar of her shirt. She saw Phoebe smirk. "You have me. Just leave them alone."

The pressure on the knife eased a bit at the surrender and Lexi heard Phoebe shift, her shoes dragging across the wooden floor. "Good choice," she breathed into her ear, repeating the phrase once more before the gun to Lexi's left disappeared from view. She felt the slick movement as her own weapon was pulled out of her waistband and heard it fall harmlessly out the open door behind them.

"Tell your dog to stand down," Phoebe continued, her breath hot against the back of the redhead's neck. "Then you and I can just walk out of here."

Lexi's left hand was still down and bracing her body at her side, the young blonde that was in her lap having fled behind Namarra with the other children. It was her best bet to try and reverse the advantage before she would be forced to split up from Namarra. Her eyes shifted around the room to take in the stakes of such a gamble and they landed on Cagalli. They shared a look, her feral scowl having dipped into a combination of worry and concentrated panic. They were all in the war, Lexi knew, so her instincts must have taken over, but based on her swallow, Cagalli knew the severity of the situation. Lexi blinked slowly at her, not sure what message she was trying to relay, but they all needed to remain calm. Lacus released a sound then below Cagalli and she looked down, breathing her name.

It was a good sign.

"Tell her to stand down!" Phoebe repeated, Lexi wincing with the screech near her ear as her sight moved back to Namarra. It was either this, or Lexi would have to take on Phoebe by herself and being a sacrifice rarely put anyone at an advantage in that fight. Namarra wouldn't let her down, she knew.

"Nam—" she began, but never finished, the signal given. Lexi pushed the knife out to the left and up, collapsing down into her left side and leaving Phoebe's body behind her wide open for Namarra's shot. The redhead's arm strained with the effort to keep the blade up high, her palm pushing against the hilt of the blade, and even saw Phoebe's eyes widen briefly, but Lexi knew they had her.

She heard the shot, but Phoebe hadn't gone down, merely jerked back slightly as the bullet sliced through the shirt near her shoulder.

She was still alive.

Lexi felt her breath catch.

Namarra never misses.

She felt Phoebe fall down with her, but it seemed intentional, that move alone possibly throwing off Namarra's shot. The next thing Lexi saw, however, was Phoebe pulling the knife from her hand and bringing her gun up to aim once more. Her pulse quickened as the barrel shifted not towards Namarra, but at the other two women on the floor.

"No!" she shrieked, pushing her bloodied hand up against the butt of the gun as she sat back up. The gun fired. Cagalli screeched.

Namarra fired again and Lexi saw the shot again that time, the wood cracking as the bullet buried itself in the door frame. Her sudden movement had thrown off Namarra's aim. She didn't have time to curse, however, Phoebe's right hand and the knife swinging at her struggling arm again. It sliced through her forearm that time, sliding between the bones in her right arm and continuing its descent down into the wooden floor, Lexi's arm crumpling with it.

"Shoot again I start killing the kids!" Phoebe hissed, aiming at Namarra once more.

They were once more at a stalemate, Lexi's right arm pulsing and pinned down against the floorboards as she breathed through the pain and thought of the next move. She was angled to the right and couldn't see anyone else on the other side of the room, only Phoebe crouched down in her ragged white shirt, bloodstained right shoulder, and blacken trousers leaning into the blood gathering on the floor near her knees. Had Cagalli been hit? Her cry suggested she had, and she heard nothing from that side of the room.

"She's mine, bitch," Phoebe spat, her face contorting into something ugly and possessive. She pulled out the knife and switched her grip, grabbing Lexi's bloodied arm as the redhead could do nothing, her body sliding roughly against the floor towards the door.

She could see the room then, see Namarra's gun still trained on Phoebe's but it was faltering and the Natural's eyes were wide. Lexi almost called out to her, but stopped, noticing Cagalli's form huddled over Lacus's with a growing bloodstain on her back. "Cagalli!" she shrieked, kicking and struggling against Phoebe's hold to try and get some form of advantage, but Phoebe was having none of it.

Lust didn't care how many she went through.

"I will shoot again, bitch," Phoebe hissed, sliding Lexi back closer to her to peer her crazed eyes into her own. "You are mine."

Lexi's breath hitched, her emotional trauma trumping her physical pain. What could she do? What should she do? There were kids in the room, Lacus and Cagalli were down… She swallowed, narrowing her eyes.

She would be a sacrifice after all.

"Namarra, stand down."

"Le—!"

"Stand down!" she hissed, her eyes never leaving Phoebe's; never leaving that grin.

Her Berserker stirred.

"Follow me, you monster."

---

Namarra cursed loudly, her right hand still shaking as Lexi and Phoebe disappeared out the doorway and into the night. She knew Lexi needed backup, but there were too many other pressing matters. The kids were crying hysterically behind her and Lacus and Cagalli were still down.

Lexi would have to hold on.

She whirled on the kids first, browsing quickly to make sure they were all unharmed, as she put the gun back into the waistband of her jeans. "Go to the kitchen and lock the door. Now!" she ordered, pointing back down the hallway. The older kids nodded and took control, pulling the younger ones after them.

She didn't wait to make sure they had made it, running to Cagalli and Lacus, her panic subsiding slightly when she saw Cagalli beginning to sit up. Lacus was still down, but she did see that she had her eyes open.

"Lacus," Namarra breathed, dropping on the floor next to them and moving Cagalli's sweater slightly to see the damage. The bullet had gone up and through Lacus's shoulder at an angle that should have guaranteed her death, but the bullet's entrance must have skewed the exit, the bullet coming out to graze the back of her neck instead of bury itself into it. Or was that not the reason? Namarra thought, noticing her pink Haro motionless on the floor nearby. The scene had been so hectic she had forgotten about the mechanical companion. Based on the chips of painted metal scattered near its form, it must have been damaged during the fight, and, perhaps ironically, it might have actually saved Lacus's life.

Either way the singer was lucky, Namarra knew, and so was Cagalli who had protected her from the second shot. Cagalli's back was a harrowing sight, but when Namarra looked closer, the bullet had only grazed her and she explained as much. There was a long line across both shoulder blades, stretching from one side to the other, Phoebe's bullet no doubt buried somewhere near the ceiling on the opposite side of the room. Lexi had diverted the shot in time.

"Go get M-miss Lexi," Lacus stammered from the floor, her face wincing as she breathed through the pain and shock. The fact that she was talking at all was a testament to the girl's strength, but Namarra shook her head. They were still top priority. She helped move Lacus into a sitting position, and shed her shirt, tying the sleeves high on Lacus's shoulder to try and restrict the bleeding. The Pink Princess groaned slightly at the treatment, but she leaned back wearily against the wall, Namarra moving her hair to the side to check the graze at her neck next.

"Lexi can hold on a bit longer. I need to make sure—"

"We'll call in backup," Cagalli interrupted, her phone already in her shaking fingers and dialling.

She glanced briefly at Cagalli before she leaned forward to check Cagalli's back and make sure her initial assessment had been correct. Both girls had to be in a fair amount of pain, but they were breathing through it, faces pale.

"Lexi'll make her move soon," Namarra explained. "I need to—"

"Go!" both girls shrieked, their panic accented with the two gunshots outside. Namarra hadn't panicked with them, however, leaning back from Cagalli's wound and her eyes narrowing as she looked at each in turn. Namarra knew the situation was serious, but she also knew at least two things the other girls didn't. One, Lexi's goal was primarily to stall for backup and—if she had the opportunity—kill Phoebe. She had more than enough skills to do that even at a disadvantage.

Two, there might be more than one attacker.

"I don't know if Phoebe's alone, and I can't leave you in this state. We have to trust Lexi," she said simply and removed the gun from her waistband as she heard Athrun's voice on the other end of the call. Namarra checked the magazine, her hands starting to shake again and she cursed. Part of it was fear, Namarra knew, the guilt of being the reason behind this chaotic night, and the other part was rage. They had been told Phoebe had left Orb. Their intelligence had been wrong and this was where their trust had led them. Lacus had been shot, Cagalli had been injured, the poor kids traumatized yet again by a conflict they had no part of yet were dragged into by some careless adults—and all of it was on them.

The Berserker snarled.

Cagalli was explaining the situation to Athrun on the phone, the Berserker too lost in her thoughts to realize what she had been doing. Her hands were moving in a mindless rhythm, removing the magazine from her gun and shoving it back in, the threatening sound bouncing off the silence of the room. The Berserker was itching to move. Was itching to finally kill Phoebe.

To do to her what Lexi's Berserker had done to Melanie.

She didn't know how long she was like that, removing and replacing her magazine restlessly—eagerly. She didn't know how long the images of Phoebe's demise raced across the Berserker's mind's eye as she waited for either Lexi to make her move or for another enemy to appear. The next thing she registered was Lacus's hand on her forearm and the Berserker's eyes slowly followed the arm up to lock gazes with her. Lacus's hand twitched, but stayed and she matched the Berserker's glare with a calm one of her own. There was something different in that moment and Namarra felt the Berserker waver, slipping back behind the sheet in her mind as Lacus mouthed, "Go," and squeezed her arm.

Namarra hesitated, not sure to make of the Berserker's retreat, but she regained her bearings quickly, knowing the situation was still dire. She was shaking her head to say, "No," when Cagalli's hand fell out and in front of Lacus, her palm up.

"Give it to me," she mouthed, Athrun explaining something on the other end of the phone.

They all heard three more gunshots outside and Namarra finally nodded, putting the gun in Cagalli's hand, pivoting, and running out the door, grabbing Lexi's tossed pistol on the way down towards the water.

---

Lexi panted, sitting in the sand with her back against the jagged, grassy out piece jutting over the beach. Her right arm was weak and useless at her side, Phoebe's gun gripped in her left, but a quick look at the magazine ripped a growl from her throat.

Empty.

Despite her needing to get out of Phoebe's clutches, the struggle had been more of a gamble than Lexi had bargained for. While Phoebe did now have a bullet in her left bicep and through her left hand, the redhead also had a fresh knife wound across her left side and belly, her sweater looking to be in tatters by that point. The other bullets in their squabble had gone wide and despite her managing to bail onto the beach, she hadn't seen where Phoebe had gone.

It was a new moon that night, so visibility was low and even if that hadn't been the case, she had lost enough blood that she was getting lightheaded. She knew Namarra was on her way, she just had to hold out until then, but her fear over Cagalli and Lacus were adding to her predicament. She hadn't seen the extent of their wounds, but if it wasn't for the fact that Phoebe had wanted her, she knew there would be a far higher body count than they possibly had now. She cursed inwardly and abandoned the gun at her side. How had Phoebe found them? How did she know about the orphanage and they would be so vulnerable?

How had she screwed up that bad?

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" Phoebe's sing-songy voice accenting the sound of the waves as they lapped against the shore. It sounded a few feet behind her position, Phoebe apparently having a better idea of where Lexi had been. Either that, or the redhead's harsh breathing had given her away. "You remember, right Eclipse? You remember what you did to Melanie?"

Lexi didn't respond and tensed, the statement sounding closer that time. There was nothing between her position and the water other than the beach and at the moment, Phoebe had both the high ground and the only weapon, but instead of seeing it as a disadvantage, the Berserker was there then and found it amusing.

It liked the odds.

"What should I do with you?" Phoebe continued, footsteps closer now. "Oh, I know."

The blade swung down near her head again, but the Berserker was quicker that time, dodging the strike as the knife dug into the mound and burying itself up to the hilt. Lexi reached up with her left hand and grabbed the front of Phoebe's shirt, pulling her forward and down off the ground onto the sand.

The Berserker leapt on top of her, knees straddling Phoebe's side as her left hand went immediately to her throat, the fingers digging deep into the sides. Phoebe gargled a scream once and the Berserker smirked.

"Looks like I got both Lust twins," she cooed, a coarse laugh escaping. "So much for revenge."

Phoebe struggled against the hold, but, like Lexi, she had only one good arm. Her right hand grabbed the sand at their side and she pulled it across her body to shove it into the Berserker's smirk and nose, pushing back with the palm of her hand until the grip loosened enough to turn the advantage again. Rolling, the Berserker fell to her right and the two tumbled down the beach further.

"This is for Melanie," Phoebe spat, sitting on top of the Berserker as she used the same hold. She sunk her fingers into its neck and slammed its head into the wet sand, not even the satisfying thud as Lexi's head hit the matted surface able to chase away the mania the Berserker saw in her eyes. The hit wasn't hard, but Phoebe's fingers were in the knife wound on Lexi's neck and the grip was pushing the breath from her lungs.

Not even the Berserker was completely immune to pain.

"You deserve to be dead!" Phoebe shrieked, pulling the Berserker back again and slamming her head once more and even its control flickered, Lexi returning to red-hot pain. She brought her left hand around to dig her nails into the hand at her throat, but the hold was good.

Phoebe had her.

Her vision was starting to go white and she could only hope she had stalled long enough for Namarra—long enough for her to find them.

She's open, Lexi thought, bracing herself as her head slammed against the sand again.

Thankfully, Namarra never missed a shot twice.

There were three loud bursts that hit Phoebe in her left side, the emerald eyes widening and then fading all within the time it took her to fall to Lexi's left.

The redhead gasped, heard her name, and even turned to see Namarra running towards her before she blacked out.

---

Namarra had watched Lexi slip into unconsciousness and she felt her heart jump to her throat. She could hear the sirens coming along the road at the top of the hill, but they were too far down by that point, too far out of eyesight on such a dark night. Crouching down, she checked Lexi's wounds, knowing she was in rough shape. There was a gash in her right side and belly, but not bleeding enough to make her think it was life-threatening. Her right forearm and hand were still bleeding into the sand and the wound at her neck was pulsing its own stream of red. Sand was everywhere and she cursed, knowing it didn't mix well with open wounds.

The sirens stopped as she heard car doors open and voices shouting up near the orphanage. Lacus and Cagalli would be tended to first, she knew, and took solace in that. They would probably all live, but it had been close. She cursed loudly. What had happened? How had Phoebe found them?

How had she missed?

When was the last time she hadn't executed a shot like that? Phoebe was open and all she had to do was put a bullet into her upper chest. But she missed. Not even Phoebe's dodge should have caused the bullet to miss by that much.

She fucking missed.

Had she gotten sloppy? Careless? How had Phoebe snuck up on them like that? How had she almost won? She swallowed, looking over at Phoebe's body and watching the waves lap at her blonde hair. Lust had nearly gotten her revenge, Namarra knew, and the price had been high.

She felt herself start to shake and she peered down at her hands, her gun rattling in her grip. Phoebe had survived because she had let her go at Mendel—she had failed to kill her. Phoebe had nearly gotten Lacus, Cagalli, Lexi, and the kids.

She was the only one unscathed.

But why? What was different between then and now? Had she missed the shot because she overcompensated too much to not hit Lexi? Was that it? Back at Mendel, Namarra had known it was either going to be her or Phoebe and Namarra's well-being wasn't something she often cared about back then. But was that the difference? Was that it?

Namarra now had more to lose?

"No!" she spat, willing her hands to stop shaking as she put the gun back into her waistband. She needed to get Lexi into the open.

She needed to make sure everyone was safe before she panicked.

Reaching down, she hooked her arms under Lexi's armpits and pulled her back towards the main beach, seeing some flashlights against the hillside. She tried to put her left hand over the wound at Lexi's neck, quietly cursing that she hadn't put on more layers that evening. "Over here!" she shouted, biting down on her trembling lip as she recognized Kisaka running towards her. He took a brief look at Lexi before returning to Namarra.

"Anyone else?" he asked, his voice holding a level of calm Namarra didn't think she could even mimic.

She nodded over to Phoebe's body and she saw him tense. "That's the attacker; she's dead," Namarra explained. "There's no one else down here, but I don't know if she brought backup." Kisaka shook his head, calming her fears about the possibility of there being more hostiles and she released a breath. "Good…"

Reaching down, he grabbed Lexi's legs to help Namarra get closer to the medics and they shared a nod.

"Thanks, Namarra," he said and her breath caught. A thank you. He had thought she saved them, and she couldn't help the shaky breath that time.

No, it had all been her fault.

---

Athrun was organizing the scene when Namarra arrived, having followed Lexi's stretcher and the medics back to the orphanage. Three Orb police officers were calming the children down inside as two others were marking off the areas where Lacus, Cagalli, and Lexi has all been, their blood obvious stains on the wooden floor.

Cagalli was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance near Athrun, her shirt pulled over her head and gathered to her front as a medic assessed her wound. Another ambulance had just closed its doors and the siren sounded as it took off, Namarra assuming Lacus had been on board.

The medics carrying Lexi headed towards the ambulance where Cagalli was sitting, her eyes widening when she saw the redhead and Namarra hurried over to try and comfort her. "S-she'll be fine," she stammered, holding out her left hand to add to the calming message, but her shaking fingers and drying blood from carrying Lexi did about as much as her wavering voice. Cagalli didn't look to have believed her, turning away and wincing when the doctor fitted a temporary bandage across her back before helping her slip her shirt back over her head.

Athrun must have heard her then, his hand grabbing Namarra firmly by her left bicep and pulling her off to the side. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head. He seemed relieved at that, but she spoke before he could.

"How's Lacus?"

"She'll be fine," he said after a sigh, Namarra only noticing the small tremble in his own hand when he looked back at Cagalli and the medics who were lifting Lexi into the open ambulance. Lexi's eyes seemed to be open, the medics lifting her head briefly to fit an oxygen mask over her mouth. Cagalli gave a relieved smile and Namarra and Athrun both released a breath. "You'll all be fine, I think." Cagalli stepped in the ambulance a second later, sharing a nod with Athrun before the door shut and the siren began.

They both watched the lights speed down the road before Athrun was speaking to Namarra again, his anger unmasked that time. He had been holding it back for Cagalli, it seemed.

"What the fuck happened?"

She cursed, realizing she couldn't look him in the eye. She could feel his accusations and was too angry at herself to stand up to the full weight of them. "Phoebe showed up."

"That much I got, Nam. How?"

"I don't know!" she hissed, pulling her arm from his grip and squaring up to him. "We had been tracking her, but there was nothing we could do. The last we saw she had left Orb. Obviously, that wasn't the case. I can't explain it any more than that, I'm sorry." He cursed and his fists shook at his side, Namarra feeling the familiar bubble of panic in her stomach.

"I thought you had it under control."

Her muscles tensed. "Just say it, Dino," she spat, turning to face him. "Just say it's our fault."

He gave a frustrated sigh. "That's not—I know it's not that simple—"

"Just say it!"

Namarra wasn't sure why he didn't. It could have been because Phoebe's body had passed near them, the white sheet billowing over the body as the medics placed it down on the ground to wait for the next ambulance. It could have been because Kisaka had come up and ordered them both to go with a police officer to the hospital. Or it could have been because Namarra was visibly starting to lose her battle with her panic.

In the end, they did as they were told, crawling into the back of a police car, heading to the hospital with the sirens loud above their heads and Athrun being left with the responsibility of calling Yzak.

---

They were both stuck in the waiting room. Athrun was Alex Dino in Orb and while he might be "dating" Lexi, it wasn't enough get them an update. Family only. To make matters worse, Cagalli was the one he really wanted to see and outside of their circle of friends, Alex didn't have a strong enough connection to her either.

Namarra could see the frustration on his face and she felt a little bad for him. Their lives had definitely coursed into the realm of "complicated" and they were all forced to navigate it in their own way. While Athrun tended to handle it all pretty well, his emotions were on full display that evening and that was adding to Namarra's worries.

Because Cagalli's involvement had turned the matter into a high-profile case, they were sitting off in a separate waiting room away from the press and any prying eyes. They agreed Waltfeld should be put on duty to monitor and contain the media and Namarra was tasked with relaying that news while Athrun talked to Kira. The conversation, actually, was much calmer than she had expected, and while Waltfeld's assurances about her involvement in the unfortunate events of the evening had made her feel a bit better, her panic bubbled again when the older soldier told her to "be on her guard" when Yzak arrived.

"Why?" she asked, and he sighed.

"I don't know how he's going to react and I'm sure Athrun's pissed too."

She glanced over at Athrun again. "Everyone's pissed," she said simply.

"Just take a breath, kiddo. A lot of guilt circling tonight."

"Lotta blame too…"

Waltfeld sighed. "From what I know, it could have been a hell of a lot worse, Nam. Both Cagalli and Lacus will probably be walking out of the hospital tonight and Lexi probably won't be far behind. You did good, kid."

I didn't do anything, she thought bitterly, her face contorting into a snarl, but she held her anger and panic back long enough to finish the conversation. She pocketed her phone and put her elbows on her knees, dropping her forehead in her hands as Athrun finished speaking to Kira.

"They're grabbing the first flight out tomorrow," Athrun explained, taking a seat near her, but not next to her. It was a move she noticed, but couldn't tell if there was any meaning behind it. "I told him everyone will be fine, but it's not exactly something you believe until you see it yourself."

Namarra nodded, her head still in her hands. Until you see it yourself… The medic on the scene had confirmed the kids were healthy physically, but their mental state was another issue. Kids separated from families, families killed, friends killed—all of those orphans had been through something and this evening had only compounded on that. She couldn't get their eyes out of her mind and vaguely remembered her own time at such a place. How could she let her own involvement in their lives make everything worse?

"We should have hunted her down," Namarra said quietly, the sharp tone in the admission most likely making Athrun pause. It was a threatening statement and not one typically heard in Orb, the Land of Peace. "We should have killed her first."

"Enough, Nam," he said simply, the Natural not sure if the bite in his tone was because he was still angry about the situation or her words. "It's done now."

Yzak had shown up during the exchange, a mixture of confusion and worry on his face. Athrun stood to go talk to him, but Waltfeld's concerns had been well placed, unfortunately.

"What the fuck, Zala!"

"Don't you dare pin this on me!"

"Wasn't enough to lose Lathan you had to get Lexi hurt too?"

That comment stung as much as Yzak had intended, but for the wrong person. Namarra had stood to intervene, but felt the panic at his words, unable to hold it off any longer. No, all of that had been her fault. She had lost Lathan. She had let Phoebe go.

She had let them all get hurt.

"It's my fault!" she shrieked, the two males whirling on her at her tone. Their anger seemed gone with that one line, but her panic remained. "I didn't finish her off on Mendel before. I missed the open shot today—it's my fault! I-I let them down. She got them all because of me!"

"Nam, surely it's not—" Yzak started, his surprise slipping into guilt.

"I-I lost Lathan," she continued, her hysteria shifting to grief the longer she talked. That must have been it. She had gotten too comfortable—sloppy. The same thing had happened with her brothers in the military. Slowly they had started to change and she hadn't caught on until it was too late. The same thing had happened with Lacie Marie. Namarra hadn't even noticed what she had planned on doing until she was found dead on the riverbank. The same thing had happened to Kai. She hadn't taken his anger seriously…

"Nam, everyone's going to be fine," Athrun assured her, but her eyes were already at the floor. She couldn't look at either of them—couldn't be in the same room as them. So, she left, walking briskly down the hallway Yzak had come, ignoring their protests, and finding the first bathroom she came upon. She opened the stall quickly and bent down, retching into the toilet.

The Berserker smirked in the back of her mind.

---

CE 72 May 14, Orb (Late morning)

Lexi's mind recognized the sounds before her eyes opened. The heart monitor was somewhere to her left, the IV sticking numbly in her left wrist and another one in her right arm. Her brain was foggy and she felt like she was swimming. The pain at her side was dull, but her mind had already begun its manic piecing together of the situation.

She was in a hospital bed.

Again.

Her breath quickened and the heart monitor went off. She felt the moist air against her face as the oxygen mask recycled her air back to her. Someone in the corner of the room set something down on a table and she vaguely registered someone say her name. Was someone holding her hand?

Other voices sounded from the doorway and then near her bed. Someone opened her eyes individually and she had flashes of a bright light, but her eyes were still too tired to open on their own.

"Where am I?" The words were sluggish and slurred between her lips, her throat so dry that she coughed. Given the circumstances, she was sure the words weren't audible, but an answer came anyway. Perhaps someone had anticipated her question.

"Orb," was the immediate response followed closely by, "You're safe."

"We need to give her a sedative otherwise she'll just hurt herself again," a voice said to her right and she felt pressure on her left bicep.

And she panicked.

"No—no—please," she stammered, but the strength in her body was too weak for her fight response. She turned her head to the side in an effort to get away, but the needle went in anyway.

"Lexi, you're safe," the voice repeated to her left. It was probably the same person holding her hand, but she couldn't concentrate on anything other than how much she wanted to be out of there.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please—don't…" her voice faded as her breathing began to slow. She was floating again and then there was nothing.

---

Yzak sighed and let go of her hand, realizing for a split second how clammy they both were. Nervous. He was nervous and helpless in that moment and he had been tempted to give into the sweet comfort of anger, but he realized quickly that he was too emotionally exhausted by the recent events. Stepping back, he fell into the chair and sighed again, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked up after a moment to see Lexi, but caught the eye on the nurse instead, and her look wasn't friendly.

"Thank you for your help," he said, deciding that being cordial was the best plan of attack in that particular situation.

"Seems like PTSD to me. Has she been getting help?" the nurse asked.

"Something like that, yes," was his vague reply, answering both questions and neither at the same time.

"If there's something about Miss Rymyr's mental health I need to be aware of, Mr. Joule, I strongly advise you share."

What could he say? "If something comes to light, you'll be the first one I tell."

The nurse sighed and gave Lexi's shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room. Athrun met her in the doorway, sidestepping her exit and walking in, kicking the door closed for privacy. The two of them shared a look for a long moment, neither male making a move. Athrun broke the look first, sighing and stepping forward, offering a coffee as a peace offering.

"How is she?"

"As you would expect her to be in a hospital," Yzak replied curtly, but muttered a thanks for the coffee. He had to admit, it was a good idea after being up all night.

Athrun sighed and nodded knowingly at the comment, falling back to sit in the seat in the other corner of the room. "I can keep an eye on her if you want to go get some rest or shower. Cagalli's giving a statement to the press, but she'll be up in a little bit too."

Yzak shrugged and Athrun didn't nag.

"What's the story then? What are you telling the media?"

Athrun took a deep breath. "We're admitting as much as we can. Claiming it was an assassination attempt on Lexi, which isn't too far from the truth."

"Is that a good idea? She'll get some pretty big coverage for that, I'd imagine." He shrugged and Yzak realized the reaction had annoyed him. Lexi was going to have to be the one to put up with the press, not him. "Are you a tactician or not, Zala? For fuck's sake…" The remark received a sharp look and Yzak's annoyance fled, following Athrun's gaze to the door before returning to his.

"I'm Alex Dino here. I don't use Athrun Zala."

"You don't?" Was all he said, genuinely surprised. "Dino?" he confirmed and Athrun nodded. "Man, everyone gets cool, new names and I'm still just me."

Athrun gave a wry chuckle, leaning back in the chair. "I'm not sure you could be anyone else." They sat quietly for a few more moments, Lexi's heart monitor the only sound cutting through the silence.

Similar to Banadiya, it had taken a lot to knock her out for a comfortable examination and the surgery on her hand. While the doctors had taken more care to not overload her system, and had used more local anesthetics at the time, the surgery itself had been a long and grueling process of making sure she couldn't feel any pain before continuing. They had managed to find a combination that worked, and she had been kept sedated throughout the night for her own benefit as she fought off a minor infection. She had naturally awoken once during the night, but she had panicked much like the episode before and they had re-sedated her, not liking her vital signs at the time. Based on the look the nurse had given him, Yzak was starting to think the medical staff were catching onto the fact that she might not wake up without some panic, and were starting to take precautions. He didn't disagree with the assessment, but going into why she was so panicked was a topic he didn't think he would ever breech.

She had to wake up sometime, though, and not even Yzak was sure what that would be like. He quietly wished Namarra would come back because if there was anyone who understood what was going on in Lexi's head, it was her. He ran a hand through his hair at that thought, thinking back on the events of the evening and cursing quietly. While he had apologized to Namarra already, there was at least one other person on that list.

"I'm sorry about before," he admitted after taking another moment to build up the nerve. His tone was genuine, however, and he did find himself slightly surprised by that fact alone. "For whatever reason, you've always been my verbal scapegoat."

"I didn't help," Athrun replied. "But thank you for saying as much. It might be about time you and I started getting along."

"Why?" Yzak asked with a snort. "You think us meeting like this will be a common occurrence?"

"God, I hope not," Athrun replied with a smirk. "But while I'd like to think our argument wasn't what sent Nam into a panic, it wasn't particularly helpful." His face darkened a bit and Yzak felt his do the same. They hadn't seen Namarra for nearly an hour after she had run off. It was a long hour, too, as they waited, the two of them the only ones in the room as they watched the clock tick into the late hours for news on anyone. Neither of them were family and that made for the most frustrating experience of all. The one to finally track Namarra down had been Cagalli once the doctors had released her and the look she had given the former teammates was not a pretty one.

"Fair enough," Yzak replied, taking another drink as he thought back on the encounter. "I was just so… mad."

"Scared, I think. We both were. I'm assuming you're as used to sitting on the sidelines as I am."

"Well, Lexi's no stranger to the hospital, but I didn't expect something like this to happen nowadays, no."

Athrun nodded slowly and then gave a sigh, his right hand running through his hair. "Damnit, they were all so lucky, I still can't believe it. If any of their wounds had been just a little bit deeper or a little bit to the left or right, they'd be dead. It's almost surreal."

"I'm definitely not complaining," Yzak muttered, taking a drink of his coffee. "Though, I still haven't gotten a straight answer on how much function Lexi will have of her right hand. I've only gotten glares during the night and no information."

"I think that has more to do with Cagalli pulling rank and getting you to stay. Though your stubbornness probably didn't help matters."

"Rank's gotta be good for something." He shrugged. Lexi had been the only one to stay in the hospital that night and while Namarra had claimed there was probably no one else after Lexi or herself, no one was particularly convinced, himself included. The others were too ragged to stay and he wasn't about to just bail back to his hotel room without saying something, so he had gotten his wish. Namarra had engaged in her own version of stubbornness and had lasted until early that morning, actually being the only person he had ever seen be able to curl up in a lounge chair and sleep.

He had asked her about what she had meant about the Mendel comment she had said earlier and, while not everything, Namarra had told him enough to understand her guilt. He frowned thinking about it. He had, at least, been briefed on the Phoebe situation when he had originally arrived in Orb, Lexi telling him there was a possibility she would turn up at one point or another. Even he hadn't given it a second thought at the time, but that might have been the way she had approached the subject. She didn't seem that worried, so why should he? How was he supposed to know Phoebe had been so dangerous? The main reason Lexi had taken the brunt of the damage was because Phoebe only wanted her and she had offered to be the lamb in that particular sacrifice. The other holes Namarra had filled in about the encounter only made his blood boil.

"Did you know Phoebe was that much of a threat?"

"Yes and no. Based on the group she had been a part of, I had a sense it could get ugly, but I had also assumed the encounter—if there was one—would be more personal and involve less civilians. Lexi and Namarra never seemed to drag anyone else into their personal drama, so I guess I just expected this to end up the same way." He put the coffee to his lips and took a drink. "Definitely naïve in retrospect."

"It's easier to let your guard down in peaceful times, I guess," Yzak remarked simply. "Maybe even Lexi has lost her edge a little bit."

"Careful," Athrun said, the cup still at his lips. "For the sake of your happy relationship I advise you don't say that to her face."

Yzak smirked and crossed his left leg over his right, taking a drink of his coffee. No, he definitely wasn't stupid enough to say it to her face and, frankly, he didn't believe it. She would be dead if that had been the case.

"How're the others doing?"

"Lacus is in pretty rough shape and we're still trying to see how much mobility she's going to have in her right shoulder. Cagalli should be fine after a few weeks. It was just a graze though a very long and painful one." He paused and Yzak watched his face slip into a frown.

Yes, being on the sidelines was, indeed, difficult.

"They're in good spirits though, which is comforting. How was Nam?"

It was Yzak's turn to frown. "She slept most of the night, but she definitely feels guilty. She filled me in on a lot of the details, and I'm beginning to think we should be a lot more relieved than we are." He paused and took another breath, his hand rubbing a nervous path across the back of his neck. "Still, I don't think I've ever seen her that panicked before."

"She puts a lot on her shoulders for someone younger than us, that's for sure." He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, coffee still between his hands. "I actually came with good news that I think might ease her guilt a bit. Was hoping to tell her and Lexi, but looks like I've missed both."

"Am I allowed to hear this good news? Not gonna lie, it would be a nice change of pace."

Athrun smirked. "We found Lathan; at least we're 60 percent sure we have. I found out just before I got the call from Cags about—well—all this."

"High percentage in your line of work?"

Athrun chuckled, and shrugged, not offering much of an answer other than confirming the irony of it all. "If Nam's up for it, her and I should be heading out in a couple of days."

"Is he unharmed?"

"Seems to be."

Yzak nodded, satisfied with the answer. "I'm sorry I can't help."

Athrun shrugged. "We all play different roles."

"I suppose…" His voice trailed off. His finger absently went to trace where his scar used to be, the mark gone, but the habit hadn't left his system just yet. He was still getting used to it being gone and even before Phoebe had shown up, his holiday in Orb was littered with strange moments of him looking at himself in any shiny surface he passed. He was glad it was gone, however, no matter how much Lexi hadn't minded it. It was a poor memory and he was quickly realizing he was glad to be rid of it.

"Made the decision to remove it, huh?" Athrun said, gesturing to his movement.

"Physically, I guess," was his response.

"Fair enough. We're all a bit damaged, aren't we?"

As if hearing the conversation, Lexi's heart monitor began speeding up and the guys looked at her. The nurse came into the room rather quickly that time, opening the door and taking a moment to acknowledge the two in the room. Yzak stood and Athrun scooched to the end of his chair, but the nurse held up her hand a shook her head. "She's still sedated. Probably just a nightmare." She did another side glance at Yzak, who chose to ignore the look and move back to sit down as she was leaving.

They waited until Lexi calmed back down before speaking again.

"Do you think it gets easier?" Athrun asked, rubbing the coffee cup in between his fingers. "Do we ever just… forget?"

Yzak looked from Lexi to Athrun. There was an interesting contrast between how each of them coped with the war they had gone through. Yzak often threw himself into work. Lexi's response was similar except she had far more nightmares than Yzak had, and—clearly—had deadlier baggage than him too. Athrun seemed a bit more in tune with his emotional response, but where the other two chose to hide their pain most of the time, Athrun was wearing it on his sleeve. His depression and guilt were clear. For, perhaps, the first time, Yzak felt bad for him. Athrun was being forced to live in a black shadow his father had created.

Yzak sighed. "Forget? Probably not, but—damn—I really hope it gets easier."

Athrun didn't respond and another moment of silence passed between them. Surprisingly, it wasn't as awkward as Yzak had anticipated meaning he was either too tired to care or they were just growing up. As he stifled a yawn, he figured it was the former.

"As soon as Lexi can get out of here, I'm making sure she gets a proper vacation," he announced once the yawn had subsided. "This is me putting in her notice. Do I need to fill out paperwork or something?"

Athrun was surprised for a moment and the look on his face almost made Yzak feel foolish. He stuck behind his words, however, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Don't you give them sick days or vacation days?"

"I honestly didn't think about it," he said after a moment and turned away, looking at Lexi thoughtfully. "You're making me feel like a bad employer."

Yzak frowned. "You are a bad employer."

Athrun muttered something in response and Yzak failed to hide his yawn that time, rubbing his eyes when they started to dry out as well.

"Go on—get out of here and get some rest. At least a couple of hours," he heard Athrun say, the palm of his hands still over his eyes.

"Give her the time off first."

Athrun sighed. "Of course. I'm sure she'll be off her feet for a while anyway and with Lathan—hopefully—home by then, she might even be able to relax."

"Good." He paused, rubbing his eyes again. "You'll call—"

"The second anything happens. Promise."

Yzak sighed again and looked up. He made eye contact with Athrun who, comically, crossed his finger over his heart and then held up his hand. That deserved a wry chuckle and he stood. "Fine. You win this time, Dino."

"I'll take it."

"How do I get out of here without alerting the press?"

Athrun put his coffee down on the table as Yzak gathered his own. "Follow me."

Yzak took one last look at Lexi and sighed, walking over to her and bending down to kiss her forehead. He had to give Athrun some credit then, he didn't even attempt to make fun of the gesture.

Maybe they were growing up after all.

---

CE 72 May 14, Orb (Early evening)

"Just let him sleep if he's been here all night," Lexi said, her face grey as she sat propped up against the headboard. The redhead had finally awoken less than a half hour earlier, having caught Athrun dozing in the corner with a book on his lap. She, surprisingly, hadn't awoken in a fit of panic though her stats had been high and she was still trying to breathe away the tightness in her chest that was, most likely, caused by her current location. Even her ambulance ride had been fairly uneventful, which was a sign of hope as far as Lexi was concerned, but only time could really be the judge.

Yzak had left only a couple hours prior and Cagalli just after him, the press conference having run long and only having the time to stop in for a moment. Namarra was already on her way and Athrun both updated Lexi on everyone's conditions and shared the good news about Lathan only moments before. She was overjoyed to hear about Lacus, Cagalli, and Lathan, but even she struggled to muster much enthusiasm given the circumstances.

Athrun looked up from the phone in his hand, Yzak's number already selected on his screen. He was over by the window and he seemed tense despite the surprise and delight she had witnessed when her shuffling had awoken him earlier. They stared at each other for a long, silent moment and Lexi sighed, looking down at her casted arm instead of meeting his gaze.

"I'll call him myself. I just… haven't figured out how to apologize to him yet. Or to all of you, for that matter."

"Not gonna lie, the past 12 hours or so haven't been easy."

"I'm sure…" was all she could say, scratching a nail across her cast. The doctor said he would come in within the hour to give her a full update on her condition, but even she already knew she would be out for a while. She tried flexing her hand and flinched, not even able to handle the simplest of movements. She was vaguely reminded of when she had received a similar wound during her training on Januarias 4 and her attention moved to her other injuries in an attempt to forget. Her head and neck throbbed, but despite all of her pain, she felt as if she should be hurting more.

"Is that the last of them?" He asked quietly, having put away the phone and crossed his arms, not looking at her but out the window. "Or do we have to worry about more?"

"I think that's all, but I'm going to look further into it," she admitted, wishing she had a better answer for him. She should have looked into it a long time ago, but somehow "life" had gotten in the way and she sighed, realizing that was beginning to sound more like an excuse than a reason. "Namarra and I have already been in contact with Jaeger. He's the one that tipped us off about Phoebe, actually."

"Jaeger? I recognize that name."

She looked up and nodded, catching his eye as he turned back to her. "Chef. The one I spared."

Athrun nodded then, remembering the moment. "Is he harmless?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'harmless.'"

"Lexi…"

"If you mean, is he going to come after us? I don't think so. I'd like to believe he likes us more as friends than enemies."

He sighed and returned to the window, biting on his bottom lip and lost in thought. She watched him for a moment and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He was, perhaps, the one she owed the biggest apology to. They had just had a conversation about how she had wanted him to trust her and he had. Unfortunately, this was the outcome of that trust and she felt her mouth grow sour.

"I'm so sorry, Athrun," she admitted at last, risking using his real name to prove her sincerity. He turned slowly and she continued, looking down at her hands again. "You trusted me, and I blew it. It was all my fault Phoebe was around in the first place and then I let my guard down. We had been tracking her, but we were led to believe she had left Orb about three days ago. We should've followed up on the information, I know, but—but—ah, hell, I don't know why." She grimaced when she tensed and her wounds throbbed. Perhaps she deserved this. "For fuck's sake, it's so obvious now. I should have looked harder—I should have paid more attention." She cursed again and the door opened, Namarra casting a look down at her in the bed and then over at Athrun near the window. Lexi continued despite the interruption, hearing the door close.

"Damnit, I was so careless."

"Hey, you're not the only one to blame," Namarra said simply, setting down one take-away cup of coffee and a water bottle before walking towards the bed. "I missed the shot, Lexi. You couldn't have given me a better opening and I completely overcompensated and then she shot—" She stopped, her teeth grinding into a growl. "I let her get away in the first place and then—then this happened."

"Don't you dare blame yourself for Mendel," Lexi hissed, even surprising the Natural with her tone. "It was all because of what I did to Melanie."

They stared at each other hard, as if fighting over who was most guilty. They had both gotten confident, Lexi knew. In the past they would have gone after Phoebe when they had the chance. They wouldn't have just believed the intelligence, but followed up and finished the job. Instead, Yzak had come to Orb, they had been searching for Lathan, birthday parties—they had been so caught up in their lives that they had gotten careless.

They had gotten used to peace.

Athrun sighed loudly from the other side of the room, forcing the air through puffed cheeks. "Look," he began. "It's all done and, in the end, everyone's alive and will be fine after a bit of time. I'm sure it doesn't feel like it, but it's still a win." He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "And the fact of the matter is, you're now out of commission, Lexi, and we still have a very missing Lathan. Let's focus on that."

Lexi and Namarra shared a look. It was sad and still riddled with guilt, but it would have to do for now. The Natural patted her leg and walked over to the drinks, tossing Athrun the water with a spite that Lexi didn't miss. There was tension between the two, but for what, she wasn't entirely sure. Namarra grabbed the seat across from the bed and took a sip of her coffee.

"Nam, Dino said that he found him," Lexi started, jealous and feeling a bit pouty watching her drink the dark liquid.

"Yes, he caught me up a couple hours ago. We think he's in Japan at Sora BIO," Namarra said. "Noah hacked a camera, apparently, and we have a partial match for facial recognition."

"Partial?"

"About 60 percent sure," Athrun finished, taking the other seat in the room. "Namarra and I are heading out in a couple of days after we make preparations."

"How are you going to get him back? I assume this place is operated much like Morgenroete."

Namarra nodded. "It is. Going to be the age-old stakeout and information gathering, we think." The two of them shared a look at that and took a sip of their respective drinks at the same time.

"You two," Lexi began, moving a finger between them. "Are going to be gathering intel together?" They shrugged. Lexi could feel her gut sink, knowing Athrun was leaving Cagalli after what she had just put her through the night before. He was going to be gone for who knew how long cleaning up one of her messes as she was sitting around recuperating from an entirely different fuck up. "Cags—I can't let you—"

He looked guilty for a moment and he turned away, glancing out the window. "Her and I have already talked about it, yes. She'll be monitoring some reconstruction projects anyway." He sighed and turned back to her after a short pause, his eyes stern. "Not like it's any of your business."

The statement stung, but she forced reason to prevail and sighed. "Sorry." He seemed to accept that, but Lexi was determined to make it the last time.

The last time he would choose helping her over his relationship with Cagalli.

"Look, Lexi, we have no better ideas and we all feel responsible for what happened," Namarra continued, bringing them back to the conversation. "This is the closest we've gotten in over a month."

"But, Nam, isn't Blue Cosmos—"

The Natural shrugged. "There's no proof they're working together and it could be Lathan; I have to risk it."

She was about to argue again, but shut her mouth, the room slipping into a tense silence. Phoebe's appearance and Lexi's injuries really came at a poor time. She had debated trying to convince them to wait until she was mobile again and then maybe she could take one of their spots, but she ran out of steam, knowing time wasn't particularly on their side and despite how much she didn't want Namarra near Blue Cosmos or Athrun to leave Cagalli in a delicate state for her family drama, she was going to have to accept their help.

She was benched.

Sighing she looked out the window, noting that the sky was starting to paint its masterpiece of colors as the sun set. "I just don't get it," she began, feeling the others turn to look at her. "Lathan isn't just no one, so why did they grab him? And why hasn't he been able to make contact?" Lexi bit her lower lip. "Why is Sora risking so much on this? Is there a rogue movement in the company?"

"Lots of good questions, but, unfortunately, your guess is as good as mine." Athrun heaved a sigh and shifted in his seat, looking troubled. "We're going to try and confirm he's at the company and then make contact as soon as we do—see if Namarra and I can get a meeting," he explained. "Though, if we can't get a meeting… I haven't really thought of step 3 yet."

"Are we sure they won't do anything to Lathan as soon as you contact them?"

Namarra sighed and shook her head, answering Lexi's question with a simple, "No." The redhead opened her mouth to argue again, but Namarra held up a hand to continue. "Noah and Sean have a way to access their system so we have eyes on him… kinda. We're hoping they'll let us know if anything suspicious happens."

"And then—what, raid the facility?" Athrun and Namarra shrugged at the same time and Lexi frowned.

"Like I said, still working on step 3," Athrun said honestly.

"Wait," Namarra began, shifting to turn and look at him. "Has Lathan's disappearance been made public?"

He shook his head. "No, we've been keeping it out of the papers for now."

"That might make them sweat," Lexi added, catching onto Namarra's line of thinking.

"Yeah, but that could mean they would dispose of Lathan before anything could be traced back to them," Athrun explained. "He's as good as dead if we do that."

"We have enough evidence to connect him with Sora," Namarra continued. "As soon as we show that connection, they'll be a lot more hesitant to do anything because all eyes are on them."

Athrun was already shaking his head. "We don't have enough evidence to lay the blame on Sora, that's the thing. Sixty percent match—"

"Last ones to speak to Lathan before he disappeared," Namarra cut in.

"Circumstantial. They are seen talking to Djibril moments after. No one would risk their reputation or risk a manhunt on forcing a connection like this, not even Orb authorities."

"Then, what if it's gossip?" The other two turned to Lexi who was biting her left thumbnail in thought. "They might react differently if it was pitched as a rumor and mess up, giving you guys an in."

Athrun thought about it for a moment and slowly started to nod, though she could tell he was still hesitant. "We could only take that leap once we confirm he's there. If we do it too early, we could lose everything." The girls nodded.

"Leave that bit to me. Just give me the word and we'll fabricate things over here."

"You have someone already in mind?" Athrun asked and Lexi nodded, a smirk on her lips.

"I know the perfect gossip columnist for the job."

---

A/N: Happy Halloween! I thought I would accent the holiday with a rather bloody chapter... Another long one though... Sorry guys. I'll try to keep my note brief. No one seems to be complaining though so... maybe long is a good thing?

Things are progressing on the Namarra past front and we're going to get to know a bit more about her time in the EA along with Kai. It's one of those things. We want to know, but we're probably not going to enjoy the adventure... (sigh)

So, Phoebe returned with a vengeance. I had actually written that scene about... 6 times? Plus or minus... I just couldn't find something that worked. This version works well for my purposes, I think, though I had debated making the wound count even higher. Still, I'm bound by Destiny so this might have been the furthest I could stretch the danger meter. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Based on how Phoebe left in Waltz, her return was never going to be a happy catch up, but some of you might have expected more fireworks. And, truth be told, I was considering it...

Still getting back into the swing of things with fight scenes, so they're all coming out rather shorter than some of my previous work. I'm slowly getting some of it back, but longer fights are still eluding me. If things don't make sense, just let me know.

Well, we'll get more answers on Lathan in the next chapter and, hopefully, we'll get to see Lexi's older brother again soon...

Shoutout to my Beta Death-Scimitar without whom I'm sure brainstorming sessions about whether or not SEEDs can be transferred would be relatively normal. With whom, however, the session is just plain... enlightening.

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Corrections to the Narrative:

I don't think there were any this chapter other than some character progression that probably won't match up well with Destiny. But I'll worry about that later...

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Questions/Gripes:

Nothing it seems. Been a bit quiet on the review question/griping front. ;)

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Shameless Recommendations:

Still shamelessly recommending some other reads. If you have an extra moment or two, be sure to check them out:

1. Anything by Death-Scimitar – Yes, a Beta of mine, but if you're lucky enough to have a Beta who is also a kick-ass writer, I'd say you struck gold. Nothing in SEED, per se, but she does have a crossover in the works that involves 5 famous pilots from Gundam Wing and some lucky (or unfortunate?) individuals who run a host club. Check it out if you're interested and know that you will not be disappointed.

2. Anything by Maderfole – He's the writer of the epic Golden Age Trilogy which is, arguably, one of the best Gundam fics on this site (and, yes, I'm probably a bit bias). The series is currently on book 3 and while it hasn't been updated in a bit, you still have at least 3.5 million words to get through and I'd like to think he'll pick it up again soon. Sounds long, yes, but well worth the effort and you won't be disappointed.

3. Anything by Asmus – Another one for the SEED stories who is definitely one of the better writers on this site (again, I might be bias) and I highly recommend anything he's done. He just started a new story, actually, that takes place in Maderfole's universe. You don't have to be terribly acquainted with the Golden Age Trilogy to read it, so I recommend you check it out. I have a feeling things will heat up soon.

4. Anything by asuxcaga – I stumbled upon this writer on AO3 and was delighted to see the same stories here on FF. Another good writer who has written some AthrunxCags one shots and also has an ongoing story at the moment called The Undoing. I haven't had enough time in the day to read it as much as I would like, but I hope to catch up soon. For those of you who know anything about me, you'd know I'm a shameless Athrun and Cagalli fan, so an immersion in someone else's version of their cuteness is often warranted after writing their drama day after day.

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Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you all in the next chapter. Cheers.

Strata