Nadesico, cafeteria

If I'd known how much studying this would mean, I'd have let the military have me. It was an exaggeration, of course, as he would never have let the Federation get their hands on the girls, but after going through what felt like several exams in succession, Toya thought he'd earned a little leeway.

"Mobile suits, Mechabeasts, Battas, Katonbos, SPTs, Radam, Tekkamen, Hakkeshu, Beast Fighters, Grand Chers, gah," David complained. "I so need a break."

"Tell me about it," Duo said, slumping at one of the smaller tables. "When I first took Deathscythe out I thought it was just gonna be mobile armors and those pipsqueak Leo and Aries models. Never thought I'd be fighting ZAFT and three alien invasions."

Toya snorted. "How do you think I feel?" he retorted. "I didn't expect to get involved at all; now I'm fighting in a superpowered mech that nobody seems to know anything about."

Duo waved that away. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just sayin' this is a lot crazier than what I signed up for."

"Are you saying you want out?" Heero asked from the counter.

"Nah, I'm just blowin' off steam," Duo said.

Toya covered a smile. Heero Yuy, he'd found, was not as emotionless as he usually appeared. His devotion to Relena was undeniable if a bit strange, and he had a very dry sense of humor, though he seldom showed it.

There was a hissing sound as the hatch slid open. "This is where we have our meals. We also have meetings here sometimes, since it's one of the largest areas on the ship."

It was Anna Stephanie, apparently giving Flay Allster a tour. The redhead appeared slightly nervous, but that was likely more due to being in a new environment than anything else, since she already knew most of the Nadesico crew fairly well.

"This place is amazing," Flay said. "I wish I could stay here longer. Oh, hi, Kira. Are you finished yet?"

Kira, if Toya recalled correctly, had been assisting with some maintenance and programming issues in the hangar at Uribatake's request. Since they were supposed to be working together, even Natarle had agreed readily enough, describing it (so Kira had said) as a harmless way to keep Nergal cooperative.

"I wish," Kira said, scrubbing his hands over his face wearily. "It'll take about three more hours; I'm just here to grab a bite to eat." As if summoned, Akito set a steaming bowl in front of him. "Thanks."

"Okay." Flay gave the cook/pilot a brief smile; Akito was one of her favorite Nergal people, probably because of his cooking. "I'll see you later, then."

Toya still wondered why Flay was cozying up to the force's only Coordinator, after some of the things she'd let slip. Granted it kept Kira happy, but it was still odd.

"Oh, Toya, Koji," Anna said. "I've heard the school you guys attended is closing. Captain Misumaru says you can go have a look if you want."

To his surprise, Toya felt almost nothing at the news. Aside from a desire to see Kaname again, he didn't really have any emotional attachment to the school. He honestly wasn't sure he'd have returned to class if it hadn't closed.

"Why not," he said. "Koji, Sayaka?"

"Be a nice chance to stretch our legs," Koji said. "You coming, Duo?"

The God of Death shook his head. "Nah, you guys go on. It was just another stopover for me, no offense."

"None taken," Toya said. "To be honest, I feel the same way. There's a friend I want to see there, but I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours."

Yeah. Day trip to see Kaname, then back to work. Not much else to do right now.

City streets

Kaname Chidori was bored. Really, seriously bored. The increased frequency of Jovian attacks, those freaky alien monsters that turned into plants, and the war with ZAFT had combined with dropping enrollment to finally see her school closed. There was even one of those alien forests just a few kilometers away.

At least Toya finally wrote. Arrgh, if I ever get my hands on those freaks who attacked the school. . . .

"And there's Sosuke again," she complained. "Seriously, don't you have anything better to do?"

Kaname had never been able to figure out why Sosuke Sagara kept following her around. He insisted it was a coincidence, but he was also just about the worst liar in the Earth Sphere. Okay, sure, he hadn't actually done anything to her, but it was creepy as hell.

"Maybe he's just bored," her friend Kyoko suggested. "You can be pretty exciting, Kaname."

"Not like that, I'm not," Kaname countered. "Sosuke's a military maniac; can't for the life of me figure out why he doesn't just sign up."

"I don't know," Kyoko said. "Hey, over there. Isn't that. . .?"

Kaname's eyes widened. A familiar wiry redhead was strolling casually from what she was pretty sure was the direction of the local UEFA base. Crazy Kabuto and his girlfriend were just behind, but Kaname didn't care. This was solid proof that her friend was okay.

"Toya!" she called, waving her hand. "Over here!"

He looked up, a smile crossing his face, and quickened his pace a little. "Hi, Kaname," he said when he was close enough. "It's been a while."

"Hell, yeah," Kaname said. "That last message didn't tell me much. Yeah," she held up a hand, "I know, military secrets and all that. How come those girls aren't with you?"

"Busy," Toya said. "I think Ms Coulange was giving them lessons of some kind."

"Tch, whatever." Kaname waved a hand. "Just make sure to introduce me sometime. Right now I'm just glad you're in one piece."

Toya tucked his hands in his pockets. "No thanks to the Gradosians, the Radam, ZAFT, you name it, I've fought it," he said ruefully. "Damn near got myself killed more times than I can count, but it was either that or get stuck with the Feddies." He looked off to one side, at a scar-faced teen with dark brown hair. "Somebody new since I left?"

"Oh, him." Kaname sighed in exasperation. "Name's Sosuke Sagara; he's been following me around about since I got your letter. I'd call him a stalker, except he seems almost afraid to touch me. Go figure."

Sosuke was in fact right then staring at Toya, his face unreadable. On the surface, Toya didn't appear to notice, but Kaname had known him for years, and could see a subtle tightening in his shoulders. He was uneasy, not frightened exactly, but certainly uncomfortable.

"Excuse me," Sosuke said abruptly. "There's something I need to take care of."

If it stops you from following me for a bit, fine. "See you later," Kaname said. She shook her head. "Weirdo."

Toya raised an eyebrow. "Anything about him I should know about, besides him following you around?"

"He's a military maniac," Kaname said sourly. "I can't count the number of times he's gotten in trouble for sneaking guns into the school. That, and he's got some kind of weird fixation on giant robots, especially Arm Slaves. You run into any of those?"

"Not yet, but with my luck you can bet I will," Toya said with a grimace.

Apartment

Many would have called Sosuke Sagara paranoid. To a large extent they would even have been right; his upbringing made it nigh-inevitable. What he was not was stupid or unobservant, and as a member of Mithril it was his duty to report what he'd found.

Not that it mattered. "They all check out," Kurz Weber said over the comm link. "Couple of 'em are from the Photon Power Labs; we worked with them at Kaohsiung, remember?"

Sosuke did. Koji Kabuto was on the unhinged side even by Sosuke's standards, but he and his girlfriend Sayaka Yumi had proved effective enough.

"What about Shiun?" he asked.

Kurz laughed. "He's been with Nergal since their school was attacked last year, but he's definitely clean, too. He and the Chidori girl have been friends for a long time; he'd no more threaten her than you would."

Well. That was one less worry, at least. "Roger that," he said.

Leaving his apartment, Sosuke was already planning his next move. Chidori was growing increasingly annoyed at his presence, so he would have to be more discreet. Shiun had seemed uneasy around him, but the Nergal pilot was a combat veteran, which at least meant he had the proper attitude. Probably.

He'd almost reached the school when everything went straight to hell.

Yokosuka Base, near the main gate

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Her father, whom she had not seen since before the Heliopolis incident, had come to Yokosuka Base at last. They were supposed to be having a quiet talk, and then finally gone home; she was reluctant to leave Heero and her other friends, but she was no soldier.

Then it happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, a squad of apparent mercenaries had actually had the audacity to attack the base itself, backed by a trio of Arm Slaves. Though they had been driven back with heavy casualties (even as she watched Tekkaman Blade destroyed the last AS), her father had been shot twice, and now lay in a pool of his own blood.

"Relena." Her father's voice was weak. "Relena, listen."

She immediately shook her head. "Don't talk. The medics will be here soon."

Minister Darlian closed his eyes for a moment. "It . . . doesn't matter. I won't last much longer, and this is something you need to hear." He took a deep, quavering breath. "Relena, you aren't my daughter by blood."

Shock momentarily overrode fear. "What. . .?"

"I was . . . a member of the Sanc Kingdom Parliament, ten years ago," her father said. "When the UEFA . . . attacked our homeland, I rushed to the palace, hoping to do some good. But I was too late." He paused for breath. "I found your parents dead, and you in shock. So I took you, hid you from the Federation."

Relena felt her eyes widen in sudden realization. If her father had found her in the palace, then. . . .

"That's right," Minister Darlian said. "You are the daughter of King Peacecraft, a princess of the lost Sanc Kingdom."

"But . . . I. . . ." Relena swallowed, not knowing what to say.

Pounding footsteps approached them; Zechs Merquise, Heero Yuy, and Noal Vereuse, all with guns drawn. "Minister Darlian!" Zechs said, skidding to a halt. A leftover mercenary, heretofore unnoticed in the chaos, leapt over a damaged fence, but Zechs and Heero shot him before he could do anything.

Relena's father focused on the masked man, and she thought she saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes. "Too late . . . for me," he said. "Please, Lieutenant Merquise, Heero Yuy, honor a foolish man's last request. Please, look after Relena."

Her mind beginning to cloud with grief, Relena wondered distantly why her father would ask such a thing of a Specials mobile suit pilot, but Zechs only nodded. "I will," he said.

"Mission accepted." Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she heard more emotion than usual in Heero's clinical tones.

Darlian sighed in evident relief. "At least . . . I was able to do that much." His voice was rapidly fading. "Relena, beware of Blue Cosmos."

She blinked at the apparent non sequitur. "The anti-Coordinator group? Father, what are you–"

"They have a great deal of influence in the UEFA . . . especially the military." Darlian coughed. "Admiral Misumaru can be trusted, and I think . . . the Archangel is clear, but the rest. . . ." His eyes closed again. "Relena . . . I loved you as my own daughter. . . ." He let out one last breath, and was still.

"Father. . . ." Relena bowed her head, tears leaking out despite her best efforts. "Father, no. . . ."

Zechs knelt beside the body. "Rest in peace, Minister Darlian," he said, barely audible. "Forgive me for failing again." He stood, gently pulling Relena to her feet. "We can't stay here now. Please, return to your quarters. Others will see to the body for now."

There was a note of urgency in his voice, enough to penetrate the shroud of grief. "What. . . ."

Zechs's mouth was set in a grim line. "This wasn't the only attack. A number of students and at least one teacher from a nearby school were abducted. Captain Misumaru is already consulting with . . . a certain organization about a rescue mission."

Relena moved without thinking. "It's that bad?"

"It was a combined force of Arm Slaves and Mechabeasts, which suggests Doctor Hell was involved," Zechs said. "Toya, Koji, and Sayaka were among those taken."

Fear welled up again, warring with her grief. "Are they–"

"We don't think anyone was killed there," Zechs said, a flash of self-reproach in his tone. "Nevertheless, we need to move quickly. Doctor Hell is not one for random kidnapings." He handed her off to a guard in Specials green. "We'll talk later."

She was starting to have difficulty thinking, but there was one other thing she had to say. "Zechs, please, save them." Even to her own ears it sounded inane.

Zechs didn't appear to think so. "I will. No matter what."

Unknown location

Toya had never felt so helpless. A day trip to his old school had turned into an absolute nightmare. Captured along with the remaining students and faculty (including, he was dismayed to see, his former homeroom teacher), all he could do was sit, wondering what was coming next and hoping his comrades would mount some kind of rescue op.

One of his captors was someone he didn't recognize, a large man, Asian in appearance, with a perpetual, decidedly unnerving grin. The other he'd never seen in person, but he knew by reputation, a truly freakish lieutenant of Doctor Hell's, a being made of a male and female corpse sewn together and somehow reanimated.

Baron Ashura. Koji had told him about the freak, and since joining the Nadesico long term Toya had read up on him (or was it her?). Little was known, save that his(?) loyalty to Doctor Hell bordered on outright fanaticism.

"Damn you, Baron Ashura!" Koji snarled, his face a mask of impotent rage. "Of all the stupid, insane things. . . ."

The twisted freak laughed. "I've waited a long time for this day, Koji Kabuto! I intend to enjoy every last moment." He looked at the large man. "You don't mind, do you, Gauron?"

Gauron snorted, his grin undiminished. "You wanna have some fun, it's no skin off mine." He slowly looked over the assembled captives.

Ms Kagurazaka stood up. "What is the meaning of this!?" she demanded. "What possible benefit is it to you to abduct children!?"

Toya winced. Bad move. Even he knew that a smart hostage kept his head down.

"Hahaha, what's it to you?" Gauron said. "'Sides, not all of 'em are just kids. Got a couple of Photon Power Labs mech pilots, not to mention. . . ." He trailed off, leering. "That girl, the one with blue hair. She's coming with me."

Kaname! Toya was too far away to see or hear exactly what went down after that, but he was pretty sure Ms Kagurazaka and that Sosuke Sagara guy were up to their necks in it. Whatever it was, when the dust cleared, the teacher was unconscious, and Kaname gone.

Toya closed his eyes, wondering what was going to happen next, worried sick about his friend. Katia and the others, he knew, would be worried sick about him in turn, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

All we can do is sit and wait for a rescue mission, he thought grimly. Dammit! Kaname. . . .

Sosuke had no more idea than Toya what their captors' motives might be, though he'd heard of Baron Ashura. Unlike Toya, however, he did know Gauron all too well, and knew his singling out of Kaname Chidori was a very bad sign. It could have been random, but that was highly unlikely.

One thing at a time. They weren't being watched very closely, so he could at least move about undisturbed. First, he needed an ally; much as it pained him to admit it, this wasn't something he could do solo.

Kabuto and Yumi are too far away. That leaves Shiun; as a friend of Chidori, he should be easy to persuade. He may be a civilian, but he must be able to remain calm under pressure, or he wouldn't have survived the Mars trip.

Finding him was a simple matter; Sosuke was highly trained, and he never forgot a face.

"Toya Shiun," he said in a low voice. "You're an employee of Nergal, and a mech pilot off the Nadesico, correct?"

Shiun jumped. "Who the–"

"Quiet," Sosuke said, alert for any threats. "My name is Sosuke Sagara, a sergeant with Mithril."

"Mithril?" Shiun repeated. "You mean like Shinobu and the others in the CBF?"

Sosuke nodded. "They're a different squad, but I know them well enough. My squad participated in a joint operation with the Nadesico at Kaohsiung Spaceport. You weren't with them at the time."

"Yeah," Shiun said, just a bit shakily; under the circumstances, Sosuke didn't blame him. "Prospector had me on the Archangel for a while. What do you want with me?"

"I need you to make contact with your friends Kabuto and Yumi. I'll cooperate." Sosuke held up a hand, forestalling protest. "I realize this isn't your area, but you still have plenty of real battle experience. That alone will be an enormous help."

Shiun forced himself upright. "It's better than sitting here. I'm in. What's up first?"

Sosuke gestured for the Nergal pilot to follow. "As I said, Kabuto and Yumi first. Then I have to contact my own superiors, and find Chidori. It's unlikely she was singled out by chance."

Once on the move, Shiun proved quite adaptable. He couldn't fight on foot, granted, but he stayed calm, and had little trouble moving in silence. Quite a relief, actually, as it made Sosuke's job that much easier; it took only minutes to reach Kabuto and Yumi.

Finding Chidori was more difficult. Neither Gauron nor Baron Ashura were stupid; the place was practically crawling with guards, forcing them to take several detours.

There were two guards outside the chamber where Chidori was being held. With no other option, Sosuke took one himself, while Kabuto disposed of the other. They looked at each other, nodded, and kicked the door in.

Nadesico, bridge

"Damn it!" Duo slammed his fist into a railing. "Two hundred-plus hostages, including three of our own people, and we're just sitting here twiddling our thumbs. Just what the hell is goin' on, anyway!?'

"Calm down, Duo," Heero said. "Captain Misumaru won't leave them; you know that even better than I do."Arms folded, he watched the Nadesico captain arguing with a few UEFA officers, notably Natarle Badgiruel. "We can't go in unprepared, and she knows it."

Duo wanted to his something again, but he knew Heero was right. It would only waste energy, and wouldn't bring their friends back one minute sooner. He was just so damned frustrated.

"Will the top brass authorize a rescue?" he muttered. "That attack killed a high-ranking At-Fed official; it has to have spooked them."

Heero snorted faintly. "Frankly, I don't think Captain Misumaru will care. Besides, we're not a defensive force; that's up to base security, and one thing General Colbert isn't is stupid."

Grunting in reluctant agreement, Duo refocused on Yurika. She'd just said something that made Natarle look like she'd bitten into a lemon (Yurika had that effect on the officious UEFA officer at least once per day, so it wasn't particularly noteworthy). Zechs seemed to be taking her part, which given his reaction to the Lacus Clyne fiasco wasn't really a surprise.

Murrue, to her credit, also seemed inclined to agree with Yurika. More humanistic than her XO, a hostage rescue op drew her instinctive support.

"Crazy, isn't it," the girl next to him murmured. Duo and Hilde had hit it off quite well, despite their very different backgrounds.

"Yeah," Duo murmured back. "I just want to do something."

Yurika cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Okay, people, here's what we're going to do. An outside group is going to handle the actual rescue, while we act as a decoy." Natarle grimaced at that, but the ditzy captain ignored it. "Our job is to draw out Doctor Hell's Mechabeast force, and keep them distracted long enough for the rescue team to do their thing."

Sounds simple enough. Duo had no problem with the role, as long as someone got those hostages out. If it meant he got to slice Mechabeasts up, so much the better.

Hime raised a hand. "Are we expecting anything besides Mechabeasts?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Ruri said. "There are reports of a ZAFT mobile suit team in the area. Fighting them should be sufficient to get Baron Ashura's attention."

Duo winced at that. He didn't exactly trust ZAFT, to be sure, but he wanted the colonies free as much as they did. Not to mention the fact that one of their own had a longstanding friendship with a prominent ZAFT pilot. With their luck, that pilot was part of the team they were about to face.

If Kira was thinking about that, however, he gave no sign. Duo couldn't decide if that was good or bad. On the one hand, the fewer distractions the Coordinator had, the better. On the other, he shouldn't have had to fight his best friend in the first place.

"Everyone, to your posts," Yurika said. "We leave as soon as we're ready."

Unknown location

"Kaname! Thank God." Toya felt a mixture of relief and fury, relief at seeing his friend unharmed, fury at whatever it was her captors had been attempting. Though mostly untrained, he was holding a female tech type at gunpoint, and the way he was feeling would not hesitate to pull the trigger if needed.

Kaname drew Sosuke's uniform jacket around herself, giving the Mithril operative a brief smile of thanks. "Glad you're in one piece, Toya." She glared at the helpless tech. "This bitch was putting me through some kind of freaky test."

Toya felt a spike of fury. "What kind of test?" he asked tightly.

"Got me. Bunch of technical stuff; hell if I know what it's about." Kaname shrugged irritably. "I just want out of here."

"That's the tricky part," Koji put in. "We've managed to make contact, sort of, but we don't know how it's all gonna go down." He grimaced. "I can tell you I know Baron Ashura, though. We want to get as far away from that bastard as possible."

Kaname shuddered. "No argument here."

Toya kept his eyes trained on the tech. She practically oozed malevolence, to the point that Toya almost hoped she'd give him an excuse to shoot her. He forced it back; he was a mech pilot, not a ground soldier. This kind of thing wasn't his job.

Come on, guys, hurry!

Coastal waters, Sea of Japan

Kira barely noticed the kick of the Archangel's linear catapult. His eyes were searching the sea and sky for the expected ZAFT mobile suits, and his mind was on what –and who– he was likely to face. It wasn't a comforting thought.

Athrun, will you be out there today? Will I have to fight you?

"Kira." Cagalli's Skygrasper came up beside him. "You're thinking about your ZAFT friend, right?"

He blinked. For all that he tended to be open, emotionally speaking, there weren't many who could read him quite that well. More surprising was that it was Cagalli, someone he had known for perhaps three months.

"I just wanted to remind you that you're not alone," Cagalli said. "If you have any trouble, we can pick up the slack. Which machine does your friend pilot?"

"The Aegis," Kira said, slightly puzzled at her interest. "Red machine, variable frame, like Heero's Wing Gundam."

She nodded. "Gotcha."

"Listen to the little lady, kid," Mu said, chuckling at Cagalli's reaction. "We've got your back, so focus on the mission. Lots of people counting on us this time."

Kira straightened in his seat. "Roger that."

His threat receiver chimed, and his mouth tightened. An entire squad of DINNs up ahead; little threat to most of their own machines, but enough to be irritating. GhOONs and ZnOs down below, just barely visible from his altitude. A single orange GINN on one of the islands dotting the area, and with it. . . .

His heart sank. I knew it.

"Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis confirmed," Ruri said.

Kira drew his beam saber and aimed for a closing DINN, hoping to at least delay facing the Aegis. The ZAFT machine was no challenge at all, falling with two quick slashes. He ignored a maser shot a ZnO sent his way; its accuracy was pathetic at that range.

Focus on the mission. Force ZAFT to fall back, then deal with the Mechabeasts.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed intent on disrupting that focus, as his comm beeped. "Kira, is that you in that thing?"

He'd known it was coming. "I'm here, Athrun," he said, hacking another DINN apart.

The Aegis leapt onto a Guul, launched from a nearby submarine. "Why!?" Athrun demanded. "Why are you still fighting for them!? Didn't you say you wanted off that ship!?"

Kira gritted his teeth. "I did, and I still do. But," he took a stray beam shot from the Duel on his shield, "it's not that simple! My friends are still on the Archangel, and it's not like ZAFT is our only enemy!" He slammed a DINN out of the way, ignoring its frantic return fire. "I can just sit things out when we've got a bunch of alien invasions!"

Athrun hissed in frustration. "Kira, you're such an idiot."

That's my line, Kira thought. There was still some distance, so he focused on the regular mobile suits while keeping a wary eye on the four Gundams. It would be either the Aegis or the Duel, he was certain; the Blitz was tied up fighting Gundam Maxter, and Zechs was driving the Buster's pilot insane with the speed demon that was Tallgeese.

"Sit still, dammit!" Dearka snarled, missing yet again.

Zechs smirked. "You're good, but you won't catch Tallgeese in that mobile suit."

The Strike's threat receiver chimed again. Kira looked, and swore; that orange GINN was lining up on him with an ion cannon, and with at least three DINNs surrounding him he didn't have room to block or dodge. Dammit, not now!

Before Miguel Aiman could fire, something erupted out of the sea, performing some kind of twisting midair somersault and peppering the GINN from above with a hail of beam fire. Even as the GINN exploded, immolating Miguel in an instant, the new machine landed neatly beside Gundam Sandrock.

Another Gundam, red-orange and white in color. Equipped with a beam Gatling on its left arm, a blade in its right, and numerous machine guns and missile launchers.

"Colony Gundam 03, Heavyarms, confirmed," Ruri said.

Obviously not an enemy, after it had saved Kira's life. "This is Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel," Murrue said. "Judging by your entrance, I presume you're here to aid us."

"That's right," the Gundam pilot said, Gatling coming up to perforate a surfacing GhOON. "You can call me Trowa, Trowa Barton."

Kira couldn't help thinking it was all a giant cliche. Everything had seemed to come to a stop since Trowa's appearance; even the Buster had stopped shooting at Zechs. Everyone stared either at the remains of Miguel Aiman's GINN, or the Gundam that had destroyed it.

"Miguel!" The Aegis's thrusters lit, propelling the red machine forward. Its beam rifle flashed, forcing Heavyarms and Sandrock to separate.

"Damn you!" Yzak ground out. He fired off a couple of rifle shots, then drew a beam, saber, intent on taking Heavyarms up close. "You'll pay for that!"

Inside the heavily armed Gundam, Trowa merely shook his head. "Don't think so."

As the Duel got in close, Heavyarms sidestepped, the last-minute maneuver forcing the ZAFT machine off balance. Trowa followed up with his arm blade; it wasn't enough to damage the Duel, of course, since its PSA was still active, but it did knock Yzak's machine sprawling.

"You damned traitor!" Yzak struggled to bring the Duel upright.

Heavyarms was already moving again. A burst of machine gun fire from a DINN bounced harmlessly off its Gundanium armor. The DINN wasn't so lucky, as it and a companion machine were shredded by Trowa's counterattack.

Kira saw all this only in the corner of his eye. Sideslipping around another DINN, he brought his saber up just in time to parry a slash from the Aegis. Grunting in exertion, he forced the yellow blade aside, only to have a second blade almost take the Strike's head off.

"Just back off!" he said, dodging another slash. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Then why are you still in that thing!?" Athrun demanded again. "You made the decision to fight us, Kira, to fight against your own people."

A white blur forced him back; Tallgeese, again airborne. "It isn't that simple, Athrun Zala," Zechs said. "You're blinded by your own emotions."

"Shut up!" Athrun drew his rifle again and fired, narrowly missing the old machine. "You don't have a clue how I feel!"

To Kira's surprise, Zechs didn't retaliate. "You're wrong," he said quietly. "I understand all too well."

Huh?

Whatever the reason, it was enough to make Athrun hesitate. Hating himself even as he moved, Kira took the opening, using his shield as a sort of battering ram, with the Aile pack's thrusters on full burn to add force. Caught by surprise, Athrun was forced off his Guul, which Kira destroyed with a quick saber stab.

"Fall back, Athrun!" he snapped. "There's no point in continuing this."

Athrun wanted very much to argue the point, but he could see his estranged friend was right. Most of their mobile suit force had been destroyed; the underwater suits in particular had difficulty coping with the small but powerful Antibodies.

"Dammit." Athrun turned away, making for his team's submarine in a series of thruster-assisted hops. "Kira, listen closely. Next time, those two ships are going down, and we'll avenge Miguel's death. Remember that."

Kira watched the submarine dive with a feeling of deep, profound sadness. I'll remember, Athrun. I just hope that day never comes.

That, of course, was only half the battle. Though Athrun hadn't known it, the Archangel and Nadesico had confronted him as a diversion, intended to draw a third party out. If all went well, they would soon have a horde of Mechabeasts to scrap. After the day he'd had, Kira was almost looking forward to it.

Toya, Koji, Sayaka, hold on. You'll be out of there soon.

"More incoming," Ruri said. "Numerous Mechabeasts, and one submarine, closing fast."

"Understood," Murrue said. "All units, continue to draw them away. Do not fire unless you have to; we can't afford to give it away too soon."

That was the real hard part. Every instinct screamed to unleash a hail of particle beams on the mechanized abominations, but he held his fire. Just a few minutes, that should be all it takes. He slowly backed the Strike off, perversely amused at the sound of Ryoko complaining.

It was his first time facing Mechabeasts directly, and in his opinion they were even uglier than they looked on TV. Doctor Hell, a corner of his mind thought, had no sense of aesthetics. Give me a mobile suit or Arm Slave any day.

"Message from the Toy Box," Ruri said. "Mission accomplished."

"Hear that, everyone?" Yurika said. "Feel free to bust up those junkheaps!"

Kira was only too happy to comply. He shoved his throttle all the way to max, opening up on the nearest Mechabeast. By the time it exploded he was already past, locking on to a second one and melting it, easily dodging the return fire.

"You will scatter before me like leaves in the wind," George said. "Rose Screamer!"

For all that the attack looked pretentious, it was undeniably effective. Three Mechabeasts unfortunate enough to be within range were reduced to scrap metal. Chibodee was soon in among the survivors, his brutal punches crushing Mechabeasts as if they were made of aluminum.

"I'll send all of you to your graves! Contortion Field, full power!" Izumi, being her usual odd self as she dove into the fray.

Kira bashed a Mechabeast aside with his shield, then impaled it with a beam saber. It was, a part of him realized, cathartic, battling an enemy he could strike down without the issues he had fighting ZAFT. Mindless machines he could carve up in a frenzy of destruction.

"Kira, break right!" He complied without thinking, allowing Akito to slip past. "Take this, freaks! GEKIGAN FLARE!"

Judging by the sudden consternation in the Mechabeast ranks, some kind of central coordinating mechanism had been damaged. No mystery as to how; the Brain Powerd squad and Eiji's friends had ganged up on Baron Ashura's submarine.

A handful of Mechabeasts were caught in one of Zeorymer's space-warping attacks, and then the survivors began pulling back. Baron Ashura must have given it up as a bad deal; from what Koji had said about Doctor Hell, Ashura was likely in for a rough time.

"All units, return," Natarle said. "We're finished here.

Countryside, near the coast

There was nothing worse, Toya mused darkly, than missing the transport home. While he and Sosuke had been concentrating on getting Kaname out, the rescue operation had come and gone without them. Thus leaving them at the mercy of any search teams that came along.

"Dammit, I can't believe we missed the flight," Koji grumbled.

"Stop complaining," Toya said, perversely amused by the reversal of roles. "Whatever Badgiruel might want, there's no way the Captain would just leave us behind."

His main worry was Kaname. She was just an ordinary girl, without the kind of experience that allowed Toya and his companions to put their situation in perspective. At least she had good stamina, after playing a lot of baseball in gym class.

"If we can reach the coast, we should at least be able to get a signal through." Sosuke, as usual, was all business. "My own superiors have likely left the area by now, but I concur with Shiun's assessment of Captain Misumaru. She won't hesitate to risk her entire ship for a handful."

You say that like it's a bad thing, Toya thought. Mithril or no, Sosuke came across as something of a monomaniac where military operations were concerned. Toya suspected he would get along well with Natarle Badgiruel.

A small building complex came into view ahead of them, some kind of mech hangar by the look of it. Probably for Arm Slaves, Toya decided; it was too small to accommodate mobile suits or the kind of esoteric units the Photon Power Labs employed.

Naturally, it was guarded. "Four, no, five Shadows," Sosuke said.

A Eurasian Arm Slave design, if Toya remembered the database right. On the clunky side, at least compared to something like a mobile suit, but effective enough. More than enough, considering they were all on foot.

"The hangar is open," Sosuke murmured. "Careless of them. . . . There's still an Arm Slave inside, a Savage. I'll start it up; that should at least buy us some time."

"Huh?" Kaname looked at him incredulously. "Come on, Sosuke, I know you're a military maniac, but this is too much! What's an amateur like you going to be able to pull off?"

He looked back at her, puzzled. "Amateur? No, Chidori, I'm a specialist."

There he goes. Cursing his own lack of ability on foot, Toya ducked behind a stack of crates. The sound of the Savage starting up was deafening in the enclosed space; hopefully it would at least distract the Shadows outside.

"Seriously, what is up with him?" Kaname wondered. "You guys are all robot pilots; couldn't you have taken that thing out?"

Toya shook his head. "An AS is different from the Photon Power Labs units, and mine is beyond even that. Hell, I don't understand it, and I'm the one piloting it."

"What's that supposed to mean? Forget it," Kaname said before Toya could reply. "I know, it would take too long to explain."

Further conversation was impossible anyway in the noise that erupted. Sosuke was able to get behind the first Shadow, reducing it to a smoldering wreck before the pilot knew anything was amiss. The remaining four turned on him quickly enough, but despite the numerical odds Sosuke never paused.

Koji whistled. "Five AS in under a minute. Just as professional as at Kaohsiung."

Toya nodded silently, marveling at the Mithril sergeant's prowess. He knew a couple of others who could have pulled it off with the right machine (Zechs, Heero, and Kira came to mind), but it was still amazing and just a bit frightening to watch.

"Follow me," Sosuke said. "We're clear for now; we need to get moving before reinforcements arrive."

Hope, Toya found, did wonders for one's energy levels. They made good time after that, encountering only a couple of Mechabeasts that Sosuke easily disposed of. It looked like they were going to make it.

Someday, he promised himself later, he would learn not to tempt fate.

The first thing they saw on emerging into a clearing was the remains of an Arm Slave. "It's what's left of my M9," Sosuke said. "It must have been left–" He broke off, jumping back barely in time to avoid a burst of cannon fire.

Standing across a nearby stream was another Arm Slave. Toya didn't recognize the design, but its blood-red coloring did not bode well for their survival, even if it hadn't already attacked them.

"Not bad," the enemy pilot said. "You dodged with just a second's warning. Haven't lost your touch, Kashim."

"Gauron," Sosuke hissed.

Gauron laughed harshly. "To bad it's not gonna be enough." He opened fire again, this time striking the commandeered Savage just below the cockpit. It stumbled and fell to the ground, Sosuke leaping clear just before it exploded.

"Sosuke!" Toya and Koji helped him stand. "You okay!?"

Sosuke glared at the red AS, clutching his bleeding arm. "Damn you, Gauron."

That just drew more laughter. "So you thought you were actually gonna get away? Too bad, so sad. You're gonna die, too bad for that girl."

"What the hell do you want with me!?" Kaname demanded. "I'm just an ordinary girl!"

"You really think so?" Gauron snickered. "Eh, no skin off mine. Soon as I settle things here, we'll get all the secrets locked up in your pretty little head." His Gatling gun came up. "Ready for hell, Kashim?"

Toya clenched his fists. He hadn't felt so helpless since the Jovian attack on his school over a year before, and then the girls had at least come through. Now he was trapped on the ground, with no rescue in sight. If someone had asked him before how he would feel, he would have said he was terrified. Now, however, he felt a spike of impotent rage.

"See you in hell!"

Archangel, Relena's quarters

What am I supposed to do now? What do I tell Mother? Relena had never felt so lost, so alone. Father, what am I supposed to do?

It had only been a couple of hours since the rescue mission. Kira was almost as bad off emotionally as she was, probably something to do with his ZAFT friend. Zechs she'd only seen briefly, long enough to learn that a few of the hostages had been left behind. He'd promised a fuller explanation after the mission debriefing.

As if on cue, there was a knock on her door. "Come in."

The hatch slid aside, admitting Zechs Merquise. "How are you feeling?"

Relena shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I'm still in shock. I'm sure it'll hit me hard later, but right now I just don't know." She sighed. "Right now I'm worried about Toya, Koji, and Sayaka."

"We won't leave them behind," Zechs said. "Ensign Badgiruel won't like it, but I'm sure Captain Misumaru will insist." He sat on the edge of her bunk. "I suppose you have questions for me."

Relena took a deep breath. "My father . . . he said I wasn't his child by blood, that I'm actually of the Sanc Kingdom's royal family." She swallowed, forcing herself to meet that masked gaze. "Do you . . . know something about it? Father . . . Father seemed almost to recognize you."

"Yes, I noticed." Zechs smiled sadly. "He undoubtedly did; Lord Uzumi realized it when we met with him." He reached up, and lifted his mask off.

He was younger than she'd thought. A chiseled face, with piercing crystal-blue eyes. Long, platinum-blond hair. Something about that visage triggered a reaction deep within her, a feeling so long buried that she'd forgotten about it.

"It'll be all right. Your brother's here for you."

Relena squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus on the memory. Something from her past, something she knew was important. The face was younger, but still recognizable, and while the voice had changed, the underlying tone was the same. At last, a name came to her.

"Mill . . . iardo?" Her eyes opened. "Milliardo?"

Some of the sadness faded from the Specials pilot's face. "So you do remember. Yes, my name was Milliardo Peacecraft. Crown Prince of the Sanc Kingdom and," his smile turned slightly wry, "your brother."

It was coming back to her now, a flood of memories she'd long suppressed. "Milliardo, why? It's been ten years; after what happened to our parents. . . ."

"To be blunt, I thought you were dead," her brother said. "After General Colbert shot Father –yes, he personally led the attack– I went to look for you, but found nothing. Minister Darlian must have already taken you." He shook his head. "That day, I swore revenge on the UEFA and Colbert. I took the name Zechs Merquise, and with Treize's help ingratiated myself within the UEFA. It wasn't until Heliopolis that I learned you were still alive, and found something to live for besides revenge."

Relena nodded. Suddenly it all made sense, how Zechs had always been watching her since she came aboard the Archangel. "You say Lord Uzumi and Colonel Khushrenada know about you. Does anyone else?"

"Noin has been in on it from the beginning," Zechs said. "She knows me better than anyone. I suspect Master Asia may have deduced something, but I doubt he would have any reason to reveal it."

Not to mention the so-called Undefeated of the East was insane enough that most people would dismiss any such revelation out of hand.

"What will you do now?"

"I will keep my promise to Minister Darlian," Zechs said. "It may be hard, but I think the safest place for you at present is with this task group." He stood, retrieving his mask. "We'll have to keep this secret for the time being. If General Colbert got wind of things it could mean both our lives, and I don't trust Nagare Akatsuki, either."

Relena nodded. "I understand." Her head was abuzz, but at least now she knew she wasn't alone. "Thank you, Milliardo."

He set his mask in place. "I have no right to be called by that name," he said quietly. "My hands are too stained with blood. I am Zechs Merquise."

"Whatever name you use, you're still my brother," Relena said firmly. "That much will never change."

Zechs paused at the hatch. "Thank you."

She would probably cry herself to sleep, she knew. Probably for the next several nights. But she would overcome her grief in time, and be stronger for it.

Father, thank you for everything. I'll always be your daughter.

Author's note: Yes, another late one. Life threw me a few more curve balls. If this chapter seems at all awkward, it's largely because I've always hated the "Whispered" levels, however much I may like the Full Metal Panic! cast. Pain in the neck.