Author's note: *coughs* Ok, this chapter only took me...ummm...a year or two to write? -_- My apologies to those people who actually liked this fic and wanted me to finish it. I kind of got writer blocked and diverted my attention to a series of other fics under a different pen name. One of the main reasons I stopped writing Past Returns is because I was disappointed by how it came out. It is such an amateurish piece of writing that I didn't think people would want to finish reading it. Thanks to those people who e-mailed me and encouraged me, you know who you are ^_^. There's going to be another chapter after this one which should (hopefully) be done soon. Anyways, I am rambling. On with the fic...

Zechs quickly took control of the situation. "Alright everyone. General Treize has good reasons for leaving. There is no need to panic. I'm sure he is fine. Me and Lady Une will be in charge here. I think we should leave a handful of troops in the command room and send out the rest to capture any remaining enemy soldiers. "

He looked at Anne who nodded in agreement. "I'll lead the group outside while our commander will stay here to oversee the operation."

There was a chorus of "Yes sir!" Before everyone gathered up their equipment. Noin pulled Zechs aside. "You have no idea where Treize went."

Zechs grinned. "You can read me like a book."

"It's important to show strength and confidence in front of the troops, but I admit that I am more than a bit worried about him." Murmured Anne as she walked over to join them. "Ordinary people don't disappear from rooms like this."

"Trieze and Seize are everything except ordinary." Zechs pointed out.

"That is not very reassuring."

"Don't worry," said Zechs soothingly, "Treize can take care of himself. He has good judgement so he won't get into anything dangerous."

"He also has a code of honor that he would never break. Seize does not."

Zechs sighed. "There is nothing we can do about it right now. You'll have to put off searching for him until after we secure the base."

Anne agreed reluctantly. Duty before your personal feelings. Treize has told her that many times before. "You may proceed with your mission, Preventer Wind."

Treize stepped cautiously into the storage room. "Ah, there you are. I would have thought you were smart enough to run further."

Seize jumped lightly down from the stack of boxes he was sitting on. "As the old saying goes, you can't run forever. I have run from you all my life, well no longer. You can take away my victory, but you can't take away my revenge." Seize slowly traced the blade of his sword with one finger. A movement of his arm and an identical sword thrusted itself at Treize's feet. "I have awaited this day for a long long time. Treize Kushrenada, I challenge you to a duel, to the death. I am unarmed except for this sword. You can easily shoot me as I stand."

Treize dropped his gun to the ground and picked up the sword. "You knew I would accept or you wouldn't have made the challenge. I always act with honor, even towards those who don't deserve it."

Seize smiled viciously. "Fool."

"If I were the fool, I wouldn't be the one with the title, the money, and the family today."

"Enough." Seize snarled. He raised his sword level with his eyes. "Are you only capable of ordering others to sacrifice themselves for you? YOU are the coward, hiding behind your armies and mobile suits." He smirked cruelly. "Poor Turner, if he been smart enough to follow the right master, he would not be lying in a pool of his own blood."

"I assure you Turner did not die in vain. I'll honor every soldier sacrificed today on the battlefield with your blood."

"Be careful, it might be your blood that is spilled on their graves." Seize leaped forward with out warning, his downward slash met with a harsh ring of metal upon metal. Both Kushrenadas fought the skills of a expert swordsman, letting no muscles betray their next move, giving no ground, and moving like greased lightning.

"You are pathetic! Put more strength into it!" Seize snarled as he brushed Treize's thrust aside. "Is that all you got?" Treize did not waste his breath to reply, his face set in stone. His muscles coiled and sprung again, forcing Seize to block, this time hitting his hard enough to make him take a step back. Their swords slid to lock at the hilt, both straining to force the other down. "I'll make you suffer Treize, like I have suffered. A quick death is too good for you." Seize shoved him away, breaking the deadlock. They were both panting from exertion, sweat dripping from their brows. Seize attacked ferociously, using his superior strength to his advantage. But Treize was surprisingly quick on his feet, avoiding his strikes rather than meeting them directly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you aren't lonely in hell. I'll be sure to send Zechs Marquise with you. Maybe those Gundam boys too." Seize whipped around quickly, his sword bouncing off Treize's blade to score a deep gash in his cheek. Treize barely flinched, his sword flicking forward to deliver a long cut down his opponents left arm. Seize swore viciously, swinging his blade in a wide arc, forcing Treize to jump aside. "If I die, I'll make sure to take you with me. After all, you deserve to die as much as I do." His sword screeched against the steel wall as Treize ducked away. They broke apart and circled each other warily. "You are the same as me. You are as ruthless as I am, I know you will be willing to sacrifice everything, everything to get what you want. Isn't your so called noble ideals just a way to justify your own struggle for power? Perhaps it eases your guilty conscious. The world won't know the difference between Seize Kushrenada and Treize Kushrenada, we are all the same to them. Nobility is wasted on the mindless mob. The world will give you nothing in return Treize. In fact they might hate you and take away what is most precious to you. They are ungrateful, like a bunch of children."

Treize could not hold his silence any longer. "If that is what you believe, you could never rule the world. To rule is to understand the will of the people. Ideals must exists for humans to survive, because if there is a vision there is hope, even in this war torn world."

Seize laughed harshly.

"You are so foolish Treize. It's so ironic that I've traveled the world only to find my greatest adversary is made from the same flesh and blood." His tone was almost sad. "We could have been so great together." He mused wistfully.

With astounding quickness, he lunged again, Treize was prepared and sidestepped his strike. The deadly dance begun again. In a sword fight, the true competence of the fighters are determined not at the beginning, but at the end. A weaker fighter will begin to tire and make more and more mistakes while an experienced one will fight steadily advancing slowly until his opponent makes the one fatal mistake. The brother's skills are close, very close, but as time dragged on, Treize noticeably had the upperhand. Seize's earlier strength was abandoning him, partly due to the open gash on his arm that bled sluggishly. He started to make small, but dangerous mistakes. Treize's sword was flexible like a snake, darting forward to inflicting small, painful cuts on his opponent before quickly withdrawing again. The floor became slippery with Seize's blood. Treize was relentless, circling tighter and tighter like a panther cornering it's prey. But he was still uneasy, Seize appeared far too relaxed, a faint grin sometimes etching it self upon his lips.

"Tell me, "He gasped as they clashed again, sparks flying from twin blades. "The truth my brother, why are you fighting? A man won't only fight for the world, he must also fight for himself."

Treize was still suspicious, but even his agile mind can not discover Seize's plan. "For Mareimeia, for my friend Zechs, for my lady."

Seize's grin grew wider. "I thought so. You are a fool, to the very end."

Treize drew back, the premonition of disaster looming in his mind. "What are you talking about?" He said quietly, his voice lined with steel.

"I've lured you down here for a reason. I know you are smart and I didn't want to take any chance you might discover my plans before they are carried out." He smiled in triumph. "This base is set to self-destruct in 20 min. In that time, everything on this base will be eradicated. Including your friends. You might have won Treize, but the last laugh will still be mine."

Treize's eyes burned with rage as a hard cold knot twisted in his stomach. Red spread across his vision as he let anger, not reason take control. With a roar, he lunged forward. Seize smiled as the clash of swords sent shock waves through his body, his free arm moved through the opening in Treize had left carelessly in his defense. Pain lanced through Treize's chest, suddenly, his legs refused to support him. "You....you...."

Seize shook his head disapprovingly, dropping the bloodstained knife blade he had concealed in his sleeve. "You just fell for the oldest trick in the book."

"You lied." Crimson blossomed across the front of his jacket, as he crumpled to the floor.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I'm not noble enough to blow myself up with the base. But I didn't lie about the last laugh being mine." He kicked his sword out of his reach and removed the seal ring from his finger. Holding it up to the light, he admired beautiful engraving. "By now, my men should have kidnapped Mariemeia from Brussels. With you dead, she and I will become the last of the Kushrenada family. I will, being her closest living relative become her legal guardian. Then who will dare challenge my authority? A mobile suit pilot that once tried to destroy the earth? The former Colonel of OZ? An old man who had given himself the title of president?" He laughed scornfully. "There is nothing more beautiful in this world than power."

Treize ignored him, using what's left of his strength to drag himself to the far wall, a trail of blood coating the floor in his wake. Seize watched, his lips curled in an amused smile. "What are you up to now? Running away?"

Treize grimaced with pain, as he pulled himself upright. His fingers skirted around the wall until he found what he was looking for. "Not quite." With a flick of his wrist, he opened the switch box revealing rows of wires.

Seize frowned, "What are you-" He rushed forward as Treize gripped the wires firmly and yanked. The lights went out plunging the room into total darkness. Seize cursed, but remained calm. He isn't going to get anywhere very quickly. If he tried to open the door, light will give him away. He heard a rustle of cloth, and took a step in that direction, but decided against it. Instead, he felt very carefully against the walls until he found the switch box again. It took a few tries, but he touched the right wires together and the lights came back on. Treize sat by the door, but strangely, he had made no move to try and open it.

"Enough your tricks. Evidently, you don't die easily." Seize strode forward until he stood directly before the sitting man, his sword hefted in his hands. Treize remained still. "Goodbye Treize."

Treize lifted his head his eyes glittering with emotion. "Goodbye Seize." His hand came from behind his back and Seize only caught the gleam of dark metal before the sound of the gunshot exploded in his ears and something struck him hard in the chest. "Never understand your opponent, even in the moment of victory. It shall be your downfall. You gave me the time I needed to retrieve my weapon and you've paid for it with your life."

Seize stumbled and fell, the ice blue eyes that mirrored Treize's own glazing over in death.

Treize looked at his fallen foe, a mixture of pity and sadness stamped upon his face. "Rest in peace, Seize Kushrenada."