Phase 3: Kira Yamato

Cagalli found it strange how she kept meeting ZAFT soldiers face to face and how she always seemed to be their prisoner. Not to mention they kept showing her more mercy than she thought them capable of. She began remembering the time that her and Kira made a trip into the one desert town.

Cagalli was living in the desert at the time. Kira and the Archangel had mistakenly landed in the desert during their descent to Earth. Which was when Kira and Cagalli met again for the first time since Heliopolis. This time getting properly acquainted, after Kira first receiving a slap from Cagalli for joining the Earth Forces.

Cagalli was helping buy some toiletries and supplies for the crew of the Archangel, as she knew the desert towns better than they did. Kira was to be her bodyguard, as the town had been taken over by ZAFT. Through an unexpected blue cosmos attack in the city, they ended up in the home of the Desert Tiger, the Commander of the ZAFT Desert Forces. Kira had saved his life, not knowing who he was. The Desert Tiger then invited the teenagers back to his house as a thanks and to have Cagalli cleaned up, as she got covered in food and tea.

The ZAFT Commander's girlfriend, Aisha, had Cagalli showered and dressed up before returning her to the awaiting men. Cagalli stumbled a bit as the coordinator woman shoved her into the room where Kira and Commander Waltfeld were sitting. She just stood there embarrassed as they studied her strapless green dress with its matching green shoes and gold jewelry.

"You're a... a girl," Kira said shocked.

Cagalli's blush quickly turned to anger, "Argh, what you think?"

"No," Kira put his hands up in the defensive position. "I was just saying that this reminds me again that you're a girl."

"That amounts to the same thing jackass!"

The Desert Tiger and his girlfriend just laughed at the exchange.

After the commotion had calmed down, Cagalli and Kira took their seats across from the Desert Tiger; drinking the coffee he had made for them.

"That dress looks very flattering on you," The tanned ZAFT coordinator commented. "From the looks of it, it would seem that your quite accustomed to dressing up in fine clothing like that."

"Say what you want," Cagalli hissed as she sipped her coffee.

"The perfect little lady 'til you speak," the ZAFT Commander stated honestly.

"Argh," Cagalli grunted half shocked. The statement left a bad taste in her mouth as Yuna had said something similar to her once. "Well it's just as hard for me to believe you're actually the Desert Tiger. Why spend your valuable time dressing people up? Is this another way for you to get your kicks Waltfeld?"

"Well Aisha was the one that selected that ensemble. What do you mean by getting my kicks?"

"Taking a trip into the city while wearing some disguise," Cagalli referred to earlier in the day when her and Kira met the man at a restaurant in civilian attire, and hat and glasses. Not knowing he was when they spoke to him. "Or having residents evacuate their town before burning it," she thought of the little town Tasol that she had been living in the past few months. She had been helping the resistance fighters from the desert towns fight against the ZAFT Forces that were trying to take over their towns. "That's what I mean."

"You've got a lovely pair of eyes, something sincere about them," Commander Waltfeld commented as he stared into Cagalli's eyes. "Very lovely eyes."

"Don't toy with me," Cagalli said heated as she got up and slammed her hands on the table in front of her.

"Hey, Cagalli," Kira called to her to calm down.

With that, the ZAFT Commander's face went from friendly to serious. "Are you another one of those people that would rather be dead?" The man asked Cagalli. "What about you then?" The coordinator now turned his attention to Kira. "What do you think about all this? What do think needs to be done in order for this war to finally end? Give me your opinion as a mobile suit pilot!"

"Hey, how would you know about that?" Cagalli asked shocked.

Andrew laughed and stood up. "Being too sincere can also be a liability," he stated as he walked over to his desk.

Kira grabbed Cagalli's hand and took her to the opposite side of the room. He blocked her body with his, while still facing the man. Cagalli was now holding onto Kira's shoulders and peering over to see what the man would do next.

"Unlike in sports, the game of war has no set time limit and no points are awarded. So how do you determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it?"

"At what point?" Kira whispered.

"When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed?" The Desert Tiger asked as he pointed a gun at them. "Perhaps then."

There was silence in the room as Cagalli noticed Kira's eyes scanning their surroundings.

"I'd advise you not to try anything stupid," the Commander warned Kira. "Even if you have berserker capabilities, you still wouldn't be able to force your way out of here with any degree of success." The mans finger on the trigger now tightened.

"Did you say berserker?" Kira asked.

"Everyone of us here is a coordinator like you. There's no way you can over power us all."

"Huh, but wait... you... you mean you're a...?" Cagalli whispered to Kira shocked.

Cagalli lost concentration on what they were saying for a second as she was trying to wrap her head around this new information.

Cagalli forced herself to pay attention again as she heard the older man still speaking. "Consider the amazing job you did getting us out of that jam earlier. I have no idea what your reasons are for deciding to fight against your own people; but as long as you remain the pilot of that Earth Forces mobile suit, you and I are destined to be sworn enemies. Even if we are both coordinators."

All of a sudden the man started smiling and pulled his gun back. "It actually makes you wonder if there's no other option, but for one of us to be destroyed."

Kira and Cagalli felt relieved and confused all at the same time. "Huh?" they said simultaneously.

"Well; the fact is you saved my life today, and this time we aren't meeting on the battlefield." The man put his gun back in his drawer and pressed a buzzer. The woman from before then opened the door to the office.

"You have permission to leave. I sure have enjoyed talking with you, although I can't tell whether or not it was beneficial."

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It was now evening on the island and it had finally stopped raining. Athrun was once again in the Aegis trying to contact someone from his team. He sat back in his seat feeling defeated.

Athrun then started thinking about how he was forced to be enemies with people that he would much rather not fight. He didn't know this girl that was his captive, but he couldn't think of any one good reason why he should want to fight or kill her. Then there was Kira... his child hood best friend. He looked up at the sky and remembered all his encounters with Kira since their reunion at Heliopolis.

This was the first time that Athrun was facing Kira as an enemy.

"Kira, Kira Yamato? So it is you, isn't it Kira!" Athrun asked trying to confirm what he had seen earlier that day.

"Athrun, Athrun Zala?! What is this? Why are you here?"

"You should talk, what do you think you're doing in that thing?"

Their conversation was cut short when Heliopolis began imploding from the battle that was going on.

Their next and first battle in space, then came into Athrun's thoughts.

"Kira"

"Athrun"

"Stop this; please put away your sword, Kira. We are not enemies. Am I right? Why do we have to fight each other? You're a coordinator just like us, why would you want to fight against your own kind?"

Kira ignored Athrun's questions and began flying back to the Archangel, as it was under attack by Athrun's teammates.

"Kira enough," Athrun sternly stated as he went to block the Strike's path.

"Athrun."

"What are you doing with the Earth Forces? Why are you siding with the naturals? Tell me!"

"I am not part of the Earth Forces, but people I know are on that ship. They're all good friends of mine. Besides, what are you doing with ZAFT? Why'd you get involved in the war? You used to tell me that you hated the whole idea of war. So why did you attack Heliopolis?!"

"Because that's where the naturals built these things, they turned it into a target."

"But Heliopolis is neutral and so am I. Yet you..."

Yzak, in the Duel, then came and interrupted them. Shortly after; Dearka, in the Buster and Nicol, in the Blitz then came to join them. The Strike was now surrounded. Yzak was about to kill Kira; when Athrun panicked and captured the Strike with the Aegis, as to block the Duel's attack and save Kira's life.

"Athrun, what are you up to?" Kira yelled.

"I'm taking you to the Gamow."

"Get serious! I'm not gonna set foot on any ZAFT ship."

"You are a coordinator; you're one of us, Kira."

"No, I won't join ZAFT."

"That's enough Kira, quiet! Just let me take you, otherwise... otherwise I'll have no choice but to shoot you." Athrun had explained his situation with his former friend to Commander Le Creuset and promised to get him to come around to their way of thinking. He also promised that if Kira wouldn't listen to him, that he would shoot Kira down himself. "I already lost my mom in the Bloody Valentine." Athrun told Kira before he was attacked by the Earth Forces mobile armour, ensuring Kira's escape.

Athrun closed his eyes at the haunting memories, but his thoughts would not stop as they trailed back to the time when Kira returned Lacus to him.

Lacus and Athrun were now standing on the door of the Aegis' cockpit.

"Kira you come along with us too. There isn't any reason why you should remain with the Earth Forces."

"Believe me the last thing I wanna do is fight against you, but aboard that ship are people who I feel obligated to protect. My friends are on that ship!"

Athrun was hurt, it was almost as if his friendship with Kira wasn't as important to Kira as with his other friends. "Then I've got no choice, Kira. The next time we meet in battle, I will show you no mercy."

"Same goes for me," Kira closed the Strike's cockpit and backed away from the Aegis.

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