Gundam SEED: Entropy Rising

By: Shadow Chaser

Previously on Gundam SEED: Entropy Rising…

"Greetings, Princess Cagalli. I did not expect to see you in battle. This would be a boon if you were to die."

"I'm not dying today," she said just as the Justice flew up next to her, hovering protectively. The Claw joined the Liberty on the other side, two against two…

"I know!" he replied loudly, "but what the hell do you want me to do?"

"Sooner or later they're going to find out we're here. We can't just sit here."

The beam rifle's ammo did nothing to even stop the Claw. Athrun was about to activate his other beam saber to throw at the Claw when a blur of blue-gray knocked the Claw far away where it started to tumble to the ground, only activating its thrusters at the last minute from slamming into the ocean again.

"Sorry I took so long. Bit of a mess in the Retribution," Yzak's voice came over the comm., audio only and just as he finished a huge explosion over took one of the Talon's warships that was in the ocean, and Athrun shielded his eyes from the glare.

"Right now, the bulk of their fleet in here, trying to take Panama over. The rest are located at their base, the L4 region, Colony Mendel," Yzak said.

"Mendel, but it was abandoned," Andy Bartfield started, confused.

Yzak nodded, "It was, but Anderson found use for it. He found some of the leftover experiments and tried to recreate those experiments again."

"Experiments?!" Murrue looked horrified as did some of the people around her, like Miri and Sai.

"Genetic experiments that occurred long ago and was abandoned by some explosion. Anderson was trying to create some kind of controlling agent program that he could use to infiltrate the highest levels of any of the governments, in all of PLANT, Earth, and Orb. That was why he was successful when he launched his first campaigns."

"Captain Lya Matato is Fleet Commander of the Talon. She won't give up until Panama falls or everyone's dead. It's a good thing to say that there will be another attack soon."

"Kira Yamato, Freedom, launching!"

The Freedom Gundam launched straight up with help from its vernier packs and flyer booster packs and soared out into the clear blue Orb skies, headed towards Panama where the current battleground was.

Phase Thirteen – Brothers and Sisters in Arms

Cagalli hung her arms over the railing, feeling a prickly sensation as the nerves and blood vessels in her arms were pressed the wrong way – her arms falling asleep on her. She didn't really care, as for some morbid curiosity; she sometimes liked the prickly sensation that came after she let blood flow normally. It gave her something to think about besides watching repair crews work on the ships, rescue crews lift twisted metal and bodies out of the water before depositing them unceremoniously onto a dock.

"You really shouldn't do that. You can get pinched nerves a lot easier," Athrun's voice behind her made her turn her head a little to see him walk up to her, a smile on his face.

"Never proven," she shot back before she lifted her arms up and suddenly the prickly feeling was back in full force. She winced slightly as she felt the "pins and needles" effect race up and down her arms. It felt weird…

"I know that if I tap your arm, you're probably going to hit me afterwards," Athrun teased gently, his fingers barely touching her right arm and she mocked glared at him.

"Try it…" she egged him on before he pulled his hand back and laughed lightly.

Cagalli smiled in return; glad to hear that he was laughing again, after so many days of sadness and pensive worry. She grabbed his hand with her own, lacing her fingers through his. Staring up at him, she saw the love and adoration he had for her in his deep green eyes and decided to surprise him by kissing him deeply and fully on the lips.

They both parted after a few minutes, neither one daring to draw further apart, their noses centimeters away from each other.

"What…was that for," Athrun asked, his voice a bit husky and out of breath.

"For not dying on me, that's why," she replied a bit mischievously, a smile tugging the corners of her mouth.

"I promised I'd protect you, and don't intend on dying," Athrun replied.

"I know," Cagalli nodded, "but that still doesn't mean that I'm not china. I wanted to be with you. I didn't like staying in Orb by myself, knowing that you were fighting the Talon." She suddenly felt Athrun's hand around her before she was pulled closer to him.

"I was angry at first," she leaned her head against his chest to hear the rumble of his voice, "but now…I'm glad that you're here."

Cagalli hmmed an agreement into his jacket, her arms encircling his waist, the pins and needles feeling long gone. She loved how peaceful it was…almost like a calm before the inevitable storm and for more than once since she had started fighting for what she believed in, she wished this moment would last.

"Athrun?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't want this to end…"

"Me neither, Cagalli, me neither."

"I wish somehow, this could last forever…"

Yzak walked the halls of the Babylon, feeling a bit lost. It wasn't that he didn't know his way around the ship, it was the fact that there was nothing he could do now. He had wanted to talk with Dearka, but also wanted to avoid the inevitable questions his good friend would ask him. He still skittered a bit away to avoid the Naturals that were aboard the ship, the prejudices drilled into him at such a young age by his mother and father still sharp and strong.

He knew that such prejudices were to be frowned upon by the others, but he couldn't help it. He had learned a lot more to tolerate the Naturals, but he felt lost without the overwhelming presence of Coordinators he knew that he could trust as brethren.

He gave all of the ships commanders, including those in OMNI, the tactical information he had on the Talon, and now, with no other mission given to him by Lacus, he felt lost. Athrun was somewhere, and even now, he couldn't really talk to the man he had once sworn loyalty to only to break that loyalty. Dearka was probably with his girlfriend and Yzak wanted to avoid her at all costs. It wasn't that he didn't like Miriallia Haw; it was that he still did not feel comfortable in the presence of a Natural or in the concept of a Coordinator-Natural relationship.

He didn't want to bother Lacus as she was probably coordinating efforts in trying to deter the Talon from striking so hard in their next wave…so basically there was nothing to do.

"So how come you didn't tell me that you joined the LF?" Dearka's voice suddenly startled him and he stopped before turning back around to see his friend a few steps down the hall, arms folded across his chest.

Yzak shrugged, "Word would have gotten out. My mother is still embroiled by her own fiasco of the Genesis Program, and I wanted a break from the media."

"That still doesn't explain why you disappeared without a word. I was worried, so was Athrun," Dearka frowned, walking forward before stopping a few steps from him, "we were, no, we are still friends, and friends watch out for each other."

"Are we still friends, Dearka?" Yzak asked, knowing that his comment had to have stung really hard – and Dearka's face showed it.

"What the hell do you mean by that? Of course we're still friends," Dearka shot back, his face showing no emotion, but his voice showing his anger.

"You joined their side, and fight by Naturals and other Coordinators alike. I only joined the LF because I respected Lacus Clyne and what she was trying to do. Though I don't believe in all of her ideas, I still think that peace is a viable opportunity," Yzak replied.

"You think we're different just because you can't accept Naturals as beings with pain like we do. Is that it?" Dearka replied and Yzak raised an eyebrow, "don't you remember what I told you on Mendel? Naturals share the same pain we do. We can co-exist with them-"

"You can," Yzak replied, "I still have a hard time doing it."

"And that's why you disappeared, isn't it? You couldn't see the two evolutions of human beings existing, couldn't you?"

"I see it, but it doesn't mean I can accept it so easily as you do," Yzak replied, startled to find that he was trying to defend himself from the accusations. It was usually he who tried to place blame on someone, not him defending his own actions – a total reversal…

"Then, why didn't you join the Talon?"

"What makes you think I didn't?"

"Yzak…" Dearka drew back sharply, his eyes wide with surprise and shock.

"I considered it…but then when I found out the real plans of what Sven Anderson was going to do to PLANT and the Earth, I had to stop him. I started sending messages out to Lacus Clyne, trying to warn her of this new threat. I had thought Anderson was going to bring about something new and peace for Coordinators, but all he wants is genocidal wars to happen to each other because of his petty sense of revenge." He shook his head, "It was then I realized how fragile the peace was between Earth and PLANT. I realized that peace had to be maintained no matter what. Genesis started that belief, my mother's actions convinced me even further, but Anderson's mass genocidal plan told me I had to act."

"What did he plan to do?"

"He was going to destroy Orb after he killed Princess Cagalli, then pit both ZAFT and OMNI against each other. But since the Princess evaded his assassin, he now is just baiting everyone by sending his fleet against Panama."

"What can he accomplish with just invading Panama?"

"He doesn't have to accomplish anything, Dearka. All he has to do is wear down OMNI and the LF's ships that are here, before he goes after others. He's got spies on the inside and especially in Orb, though they might have been gone by now," Yzak replied.

"Which is why the Babylon is going to Mendel after Panama," a new voice startled the two of them and Yzak turned slightly to see the least likely person he would ever see since he was just a child.

"Ledonil Kisaka, it's been a long time," he greeted in a neutral voice.

"Your ancestor once said that a ghost of the dead cannot sleep if their enemies' spirits are still roaming about. It looks like you've done the same," Kisaka said in a sage voice and Yzak smirked.

"Still the historian as ever, Ledonil," he replied.

"How-" Dearka started before Yzak cut him off.

"My mother, back when I was young, wanted an ancestry search done on our family. She believed that one of my ancestors was the uncrowned prince of a nation that was like Orb in ways, except it was devoted to the ideas of total pacifism and was the basis for the beginnings of Coordinator research. Ledonil had been assigned by Dr. Ulen Hibiki to oversee and gather intelligence to which he did and used, but he had also warned my mother and father that what they were looking up would be dangerous in the future…"

"What does this have to do…"

"Sven Anderson is my mother's cousin and that is where part of his delusions stem from. He believes he can rectify everything by destroying everything that opposed him, including PLANT. He was also privy to the research my parents conducted with Ledonil and it led him on this current path."

"If we survive the next wave of Talon attacks, the Babylon, Archangel, and Eternal will go to high orbit around Earth and meet up with the Kusanagi and decide our attack plan on Colony Mendel," Kisaka explained.

"We'll survive. There's no way I'm dying right now," Dearka said in a confident manner and Yzak nodded. He knew that the next wave would be a lot faster and more decisive than the first one. Captain Matato wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Each person aboard their respective ships had their own personal moments, whether it was with loved ones or alone every thought was still the same. Survive. Defeat the enemies who want to kill you or have your loved one killed. It was the calm before the storm, and a violent storm was brewing.

For Captain Murrue Ramius, she spent the moments before the storm lying in bed, a rare moment of peace for her, clutching two objects she would cherish for the rest of her life. One was a necklace watch, reminiscent of one she had seen in the old photographs of her ancestors, but this was had been given to her by her first love who died shortly after. The other was the dog tags of Mu LaFlaga. Before the start of the battle to destroy Genesis, he had taken them off and given it to her, telling her that it was probably one of the few things he had cherished for a long time, the rest of his things destroyed aboard the ship he had been assigned to in the 7th Fleet.

She clutched both items, her eyes staring at the ceiling, memories coming up to her unseen eyes, unbidden as tears started to flow down her cheeks. Mu…I wish you were here…

For Captain Andy Bartfield of the Eternal, he was sitting in his own office, sipping a smoothly blended cup of Jamaican coffee, staring at the picture of Aisha. He wished she was still alive…but she had died in his arms… Her guidance was what steadied him, and he knew that if he didn't stop whoever was trying to break this peace, then her sacrifice would be in vain.

For Miriallia Haw, she sat alone in her bed compartment, the curtains drawn around her to give her some peace. Staring at the picture of Tolle, she felt a tear roll down her cheek and wiped it away. She knew by the end of this conflict, she and Dearka would have to have a serious talk…

Sai Argyle, in the bed compartment next to Miri's, was jotting down some notes in a journal he had decided to keep. In the first page of the journal, he kept a few pictures of people, one of Flay, another of all of his friends in a group shot, but most of all, one of Kira, smiling in the days before the war turned his life and their lives upside down. He always kept the Kira picture next to Flay's as he knew that somehow, Flay's spirit was looking down upon Kira with a gentle smile, and perhaps upon him.

Yzak Joule was sitting in the cockpit of the Duel, fiddling with the controls. His family was traditional and if one stepped out of the bounds, then they were considered a traitor and had to be eliminated. He wasn't entirely truthful to Dearka…he had contacted his mother and received her blessings to kill Sven Anderson if he could… Once a traitor, always a traitor…

Dearka Elsman sat in the mess hall aboard the Babylon, lost in deep thought. Yzak's words had disturbed him, and the seriousness of what it meant for Coordinators and Naturals had firmed up his resolve. The LF couldn't falter here…and if people like Sven Anderson existed, then the LF was needed for a long time.

Ledonil Kisaka was overseeing the preparations for battle, checking up on the Strike Rouge personally. He stared up at Strike Rouge, the memories of what happened all those years ago flitting across his mind. If he ever got his hands on Sven Anderson, he would kill him personally…the man was a loose cannon, someone that would be able to leak to the media and destroy whatever peace Cagalli and her twin brother Kira knew. He had a mission that he was assigned with Kanoko Yamato. Preserve the children, save them from being used as pawns.

Meanwhile, in a quiet section of the Babylon, Keiji and Kanoko Yamato were sitting across a table, their hands clasped together in worry. No words were spoken by the two adults who had long seen so many horrors come their way. None were needed as they knew what they had to do. Keiji would always support her, Kanoko knew that, and she would finish what her dearest friend Katherine Hibiki had told her the day they had escaped from Mendel.

No words were also spoken as two people huddled together in silent comfort in one of the compartment quarters aboard the Babylon. Athrun's eyes were open, but they were as hard as ice as he stared into the darkness of the room. His arms were wrapped around Cagalli who had fallen asleep, using his jacket and shoulder as a pillow of sorts. He unconsciously tightened his arms around her as he thought about the previous battle. Griever was the one who had tried to kill Cagalli…he was still there and he knew that during the next battle, he would have to have no hesitation and just kill Griever before anymore harm could come to him or Cagalli.

Throughout all of this, Lacus Clyne stood on the outside deck of the Eternal, singing the song of peace. Though no one could hear her, she sang it to help ease her own fears.

Some fifty miles away, the task force lead by the Brimstone readied its weapons for its second foray into Panama. Captain Lya Matato had a grim smile on her face. "Status report?"

"All ships report combat-readiness ma'am," one of her officers replied.

"Good. Tell the ships to launch their mobile suits. All ships ahead full," she ordered.

The battle for Panama had begun again.

Author's Notes:

Yzak – He's a hard character to write for…sorry if he sounds a bit OOC.

Miri – Tara, the webmistress of Yzak.nu, has convinced me that Miri/Tolle works a lot better than Miri/Dearka (even though Tolle is dead). I might be getting to weaning off the Miri/Dearka thing…

Short chapters – Yes, yes…they're short, but there is a major battle chapter coming up!

Thanks – Thank you to all the readers and reviewers of this fic. There will be a major thank-you to all at the end!