The next several weeks went by and their camp turned into more of a base. Alex was doing much better and took over most of the hard work and fishing.

Meyrin cooked and built the fire for each night on the island.

They had made better beds out of the clothes and used dresses to keep the runoff from getting them wet during the rain storms.

Despite how much better Alex was feeling, his memory didn't return.

Alex pulled something out of his pocket. It was a cell phone that he had discovered in his jacket pocket, that he wore during the crash. It had no battery life left so he couldn't use it for anything, but maybe it would provide some answers when he got off this island.

"I wonder where we are. I mean… we were shot down while entering the atmosphere... so we could be…"

"Anywhere." Alex answered. "We are probably in the middle of an extremely large body of water."

"Someone has to be looking for us, right?"

"I don't know. We have been lost for awhile now. It is likely they gave up on us." Alex took Meyrin's hand and guided her to the beach. "We may spend the rest of our lives here… At some point we will have to accept that."

"But this isn't living. It's surviving." She complained.

"Then, let's find a way to live." Alex suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you like to do for fun?" Alex asked.

Meyrin looked around. "I like music and dancing."

Alex took her other hand and started to swing her around. "Why don't you sing for me?"

"I'm not very good." Meyrin admitted sheepishly.

"Why don't you try. It can't be worse than silence." Silence after some time can be deafening.

Meyrin started to sing her favorite song and Alex danced around with her. That made her giggle.

"See. We can choose to make the most of things."

Meyrin smiled warmly and leaned in, kissing him on the lips.

Alex was shocked at first but then he welcomed the affection.

Suddenly a rush of wind blew past them, nearly blowing them over.

Alex braced Meyrin as he tried to see what that was.

Two mobile suits were fighting. One was a DINN and the other was unfamiliar.

Alex saw a beam strike the ground near them. They could kill them and never know it. They weren't here to rescue anyone and if Alex waited around they would probably get killed. He pulled Meyrin away from the fighting, looking for some cover and he found them a cave on the other side of the island.

Alex shielded her from the strong winds pulling at them and the explosions.

Another DINN hit a mobile suit with its laser and it came crashing down on the island.

Meyrin looked up to see the wrecked mobile suit falling near the cave opening. "ALEX!"

After he saw it for himself, he jumped on top of her to avoid getting hit by the explosions.

The whole cave was blasting apart.

Some of the remaining rock crumbled. It wouldn't be long before it collapsed on them or blocked their way out. He pulled Meyrin out of the cave but that left them exposed.

A DINN detected them there and changed course for the island. "Hey!" He spoke over the intercom.

Alex wasn't sure if they were friend or foe but they were coming for them.

A blast hit the DINN as it was focusing on the stranded survivors. The DINN came crashing down towards them.

Alex grabbed Meyrin and jumped out of the way. This DINN didn't blow up. Alex rushed over to the mobile suit and opened the hatch. The man inside was unconscious and battered. "Sorry for this." He pushed the man over to the side and helped Meyrin get in. "This might be our only chance."

Unfortunately, the battle wasn't ovr and he just got their attention. Alex dodged each blast but he wasn't sure if he had ever been in a real fight before. It felt familiar somehow.

The mobile suit fired some powerful beams and Alex could only dodge them. He fired his gun at the mobile suit and then two more equally unique mobile suits showed up. Their fighting was completely unformulated. There was no method to their madness. Alex took out his saber and struck the one that was coming at him. The black machine that looked like a plane with talons came in for a strike and it hit the DINN hard.

The Dinn spun out of control, while Alex tried to steady it.

The seafoam green machine with a scythe came in to slash them in half but Alex quickly dodged it.

The dark teal machine landed on the island and fired its two cannons.

Alex was forced to dodge and keep dodging. This was no use. He had to get as far away from the battlefield as he could. That had to be his strategy now.

The machines followed for a while but once they strayed too far from the battlefield they were called back.

Alex studied the navigation system. "There is no way to make it to the mainland before this DINN loses power."

Meyrin watched him with concern. "What will happen to us?"

"I'm not sure." Alex watched closely. "There is an island on the map. It's a large distance but it is closer than the mainland. From there we may get passage to Orb."

"I really hope we make it."

The soldier who was unconscious until now, woke up abruptly. "Hey! What are you doing?!" He tried to take back control of his own machine.

"All I want is to get to civilization." Alex growled. "I saved your life. Why don't you try being grateful?"

The man calmed down a little after seeing the fight was over. "Here I was going to save you and you saved me. I am grateful for that. But I need to return to my ship."

"Not going to happen." Alex pointed to the power gauge. "We will be lucky if we get to that island."

"At least let me fly my own machine."

"Are you sure you are able to fly in your condition?"

He held his head. "Maybe not… Who are you people?"

"My name is Alex Dino. I am a Zaft pilot." It was a pilot uniform in his briefcase and since he knew that, it made sense.

"I'm Meyrin Hawke. Zaft intelligence officer." Meyrin introduced herself.

"Alex… Dino? You are a legendary ace pilot of the special forces." He mused. "That's funny… I thought you were a girl."

Alex's eyes widened in disbelief. "Where would you get that idea?"

He shook off the shock. "My mistake. My name is Miguel Aiman. I'm a DINN pilot of the Zaft forces." He leaned back against the frame. "How do I know you are really Alex Dino? Can you prove it?"

Alex pulled out the wing clip in his pocket. "Is that proof enough?"

Miguel chuckled. "That will work."

Meyrin locked eyes with Miguel. "Why would you doubt us?"

"I never thought I would find a legendary ace pilot on a stranded island."

Alex understood that. "Our shuttle was shot down. We were the only survivors."

"Right. I heard about that. Everyone thinks you're dead."

"That's true for most of them."

The DINN started losing altitude. "Come on. We can make it…" Alex pushed the machine as far as it would go. The island wasn't that far away now.

Meyrin squealed. "I don't think we are going to make it!"

Alex typed as fast as he could, recirculating everything to provide one last push. His fingers were moving so fast that even Miguel was impressed. "We have to." He gritted his teeth.

The machine cut out just short of the island.

The DINn plunged into the ocean, but they were very fortunate to catch the attention of some Ashtrays on a board ship from Orb. They would have definitely drowned otherwise.

The guard forces surrounded the vessel and they opened the cockpit. This was the procedure when foreign mobile suits boarded their vessels. The ship returned to base with the survivors. They were escorted through the harbour once in port.

The commanding officer came forward. "Who are you? Are you two civilians?"

Alex and Meyrin were both wearing normal clothing but Miguel was obviously a Zaft pilot.

Alex stepped forward. "I am Alex Dino. This is Meyrin Hawke. We were survivors from the downed shuttle. We are also from the Zaft forces."

"I see. Then you will be escorted to Onogoro immediately."

Miguel was shocked too. "Why?"

"There is a great interest in that shuttle."

"No way." Miguel's mouth dropped.

"Have Miss Hawke and Mr. Dino escorted immediately." He ordered his subordinate.

Alex and Meyrin were put into another shuttle and carried towards the main island.

"At least we got off the island." Alex relaxed a little. The hard part was next… returning to active duty without his memory.

Meyrin seemed to know what was on his mind. "I'll look out for you-When we get back."

Alex smiled warmly. "Thank you, but I am sure it will all come back to me."

"I will still be by your side." Meyrin answered.

"Meyrin…" Alex realized what she meant. "Okay then."

Alex and Meyrin were brought before Colonel Kisaka. They were in a small office of the shipyard, where he had waited for them.

"Excuse me. I have Alex Dino and Meyrin Hawke here." The subordinate announced before leaving.

"Alex Dino?" Lusaka seemed confused.

"Sir." Alex answered.

"You are survivors from the downed shuttle?"

"Yes." They answered.

"What became of the other passengers?"

"They died…" Alex couldn't get those images out of his head.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes." Alex remained firm. "What is this about, if you don't mind me asking? I thought a single downed shuttle wouldn't be such a high priority for your nation. Especially since it was a Zaft shuttle."

"Zaft shuttle or not, the Chairwoman's son was on that shuttle. He was the plants' ambassador for Orb." Colonel Kisaka clarified.

"Sounds like he was really important." Alex responded.

Kisaka looked deep into Alex's emerald eyes. "You really have no idea?"

"Sir?" Now Alex was confused.

"You will stay in Orb until we settle this." Colonel Kisaka ordered.

Can he do that? Alex is a Zaft pilot, he can't be ordered around by the Orb military. But fighting Orb wasn't a good idea either. "I am a Zaft pilot, Sir. I need to return to active duty."

"It is in your best interest to stay here." Kisaka ordered again.

What could they possibly want with him? "As you wish." Alex reluctantly submitted.

Alex and Meyrin were given a room in the base appts on site at Morgenrate. It was cozy enough.

Alex sat on the bed, looking out at the sea through the double glass patio door. "I don't get it. Why would they want me to stay here?"

Meyrin sat on the bed next to him. "I'm not sure. They must be really worried about their ambassador."

"Well he is dead, so what good would it be to keep me around?" Alex leaned his head on his palm. "Now we're stuck here."

"At least we can order food rather than catch it." Meyrin smiled.

Alex chuckled. "You're right about that."

"Do you see what I mean, Lord Uzumi? That is Athrun Zala. It has to be. But he is convinced he is this Alex Dino person." Kisaka explained as they watched them from a screen at headquarters.

"I see that. He was in a downed spacecraft. Could he have simply forgotten himself?" Lord Uzumi observed. "Through a serious head injury?"

"What should we do with him?"

"We will observe him a bit longer and run some tests. If he doesn't figure it out on his own, then I will need to inform his wife of his condition."

"And Chairwoman Zala?" Kisaka pressed.

"I'm sure it won't come to that. Cagalli will remind him if all else fails."