Kira's head whipped around to look at Yuuna. Droplets of water flew from his long brown hair. Surely this wasn't happening … it couldn't be! Kira was supposed to be with Lacus at the orphanage with Murrue, Andy and Reverend Malchio, so why was he here now?

Yuuna swung at Kira, who quickly ducked and delivered a powerful blow to the older man's stomach. He collapsed to his knees, his breathing coming in wheezing sounds. Cagalli's twin turned to face her.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked quietly.

Cagalli couldn't form words at the moment, she was too happy that someone had come to save her, and even happier that it was Kira. Which she considered odd, since Kira was her brother and Athrun was her boyfriend … oh well, the fact remained that she didn't have to go through with the marriage.

Yuuna managed to stand and took another swing at Kira's backside. His coordinator reflexes allowed the brunette to twist to avoid the blow, grab the extended arm by the wrist and throw Yuuna by applying massive force against the shoulder joint of the extended arm.

As the mullet-man flew, everyone in the room heard the distinctive popping noise of a joint being dislocated, but that was quickly overshadowed as the young Seiran crashed into the altar, destroying it completely. Kira stared at the mess with no remorse or regret.

For a minute, no one moved, or even dared to breath. All that could be heard was the wind and rain, still pouring in through the broken skylight. Then Kira grabbed his sister and started to drag her away from the altar, taking her down the red carpet. Carden gave a small nod and smile to Kira and Cagalli as they passed by him.

Kira decided that Cagalli wasn't keeping up enough so he quickly swept her off her high-heeled feet and carried her out in a bridal carry. On her part, she was so surprised that she clung to his neck on the slim chance that he might somehow accidentally drop her.

Fearing that her dress might be ruined by the rain, Cagalli started to speak, her ability to form words slowly coming back. "Wait … Kira … the rain …"

"Don't worry about it." He replied softly. Outside waiting for them was Lacus and Andy, the latter holding a large umbrella in his good arm. Seeing the twins come out of the chapel, the two of them made their way to the entrance to shield the princess from the rain.

"You can put me down now Kira … I can walk you know." She whispered.

Kira finally noticed exactly how he was carrying her and awkwardly set her on her feet, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. After giving Kira a hug, Lacus quickly draped a blanket over Cagalli to help shield her from the wind. The group got in the car and Murrue, who was at the wheel, sped off before any law enforcements could arrive on the scene.

As the chapel grew smaller in the background, Cagalli could have sworn that she heard a noise akin to a dying giraffe coming from the inside.

In the three days that passed since Kira's rescue attempt, two notable items appeared on the news, be it morning, noon or night. The first was obviously a slanted view of what happened on Saturday, with the Seiran family calling it an "abduction of their treasured princess". The second probably should have had more of an impact on Orb, but didn't due to the whole wedding fiasco, was the treaty between the United Emirates of Orb and the Earth Alliance being signed.

Sitting aboard the Archangel, Cagalli wondered just how they got the funds to repair and modify the great battleship, as well as rebuild the Freedom and even reequip it with another N-Jammer Canceller. Kira and Andy both agreed that such things were better left unsaid, just in case.

Rather than pressing that point, Cagalli moved onto other matters. "What on earth compelled you all to kidnap me from my own wedding!" she demanded, anger evident in her voice.

Kira stepped forward. "We got your letter Cagalli." He stated.

"Then why didn't you listen? This marriage was supposed to be for the good of Orb, to unite them!" she continued, saying the words that she worked to hard to try and convince herself were true.

"Sometimes the needs of one outweighs the needs of many, dear sister. Since Athrun couldn't make it, I took his place. Though I'm sure he'll be disappointed that I didn't hit Yuuna more." Kira smiled lightly at his last comment.

"That is not for you to decide Kira! This is my life; I can choose how to live it myself!" Cagalli countered, nearly yelling the words out.

Kira fished around in his pocket for a second and then produced a ring. Not just any ring, it was the ring Athrun had given to her before he left. Either Kira or Lacus had evidently polished it, the ring shone with such intensity it was as if Athrun was in the room.

Suddenly Cagalli was overwhelmed with emotions. Taking a very shaky step forward, her left hand slowly made its way towards the ring. But she was trembling too much and ended up collapsing, crying as the dam broke. Kira knelt down on one knee and comforted her.

"There there, everything will be fine now … it's okay." He said soothingly.

Cagalli managed to stand up, and Kira gently placed the ring back on her finger, still kneeling. To the outside viewer, it looked as if Kira was proposing to Cagalli, who was crying tears of joy.

The bridge crew knew better than that, it was simply differing reaction times between the siblings …. Right?

Kira sat on the bed with Cagalli in her stateroom. The room was normally reserved for VIPs but technically Cagalli counted as that anyways. Lacus was on duty on the bridge and Andy was tinkering with his Murasame on the hangar deck.

"So what is the plan now? I mean, we can't just fly over Orb and drop me off and apologize." Cagalli wondered.

"Yuuna and his father must be removed from the picture. From the sounds of it and the reports that have been trickling in, those two are behind a lot of things, including the recent alliance that was forged." Kira replied.

"With Orb's advanced technology and decent army size, the Earth Alliance might wipe the floor with ZAFT at Carpentaria. If we can take them down and declare that the alliance was created by people who didn't have any power, then we might be able to save a great deal of trouble." He continued.

"But it's going to be hard to get back into Orb or any country in the alliance. Doubtlessly they've posted warrants for you and anyone associated with you by now Kira. It's too dangerous." She protested.

"These are the things we do, the things we must do. Yuuna and Unato must be dealt with."

Cagalli stared into Kira's eyes, seeing the steely resolve behind the passionate fire. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me." She whispered.

He leaned in close. "Trust me." He whispered back.

Their faces drew closer, mere inches apart, their lips … longing for the sensation that has been missing for far too long. Cagalli closed her eyes …

"All hands, level two battle stations!" Murrue ordered.

Cagalli jumped and Kira sighed in disappointment. Despite what didn't just happen, something was created, a spark, a bond that drew them closer than being siblings ever did or ever would.

Emerging onto the bridge were Cagalli, Kira and Andy. "What's the situation?" Andy asked as he took his seat at the secondary helm position.

"ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces spotted less than 50 klicks away. Moderate forces so far and we're still undetected." Lacus reported.

"It's probably over a manufacturing plant; there are a ton around this area. We'll continue to lay low, but have Freedom stand by just in case." Murrue contemplated.

Kira nodded and entered the lift. Cagalli quickly followed him. "Uh … Cagalli?" he asked, confused at her actions.

She remained silent the entire ride down, and waited outside the locker room as he changed into his flight suit. Even as he sat in Freedom, she didn't say a word, and it was starting to creep him out.

Once again interrupted, Murrue's voice came over the intercom. "Level one battle stations! Freedom, prepare to launch!"

"Be safe." Cagalli told him before leaving the cockpit so he could close it.

"I will." He replied, even though she didn't hear him. Lacus' face appeared on a small screen.

"Both sides are moving rapidly towards our position. We're going to seal the bay and you're to float out. Try to keep your emissions at a minimum, we're going to try and move away from the battlefield."

"Understood. Kira Yamato, Freedom, launching!"

A set of doors closed behind him, sealing off the bay and only allowing the launch tube to be filled with water. He was given a go, so Kira slowly moved out from the Archangel and ducked beneath the ship to shield his few electronic emissions from any overhead observers.

Arnold slowly increased the throttle, maneuvering to escape the unwanted battle. It seemed as if luck was with them, they had just slipped outside the detection range when they spotted a ZAFT submarine dead ahead.


Another cliffhanger. This story will by no means be long, but it will be packed. Thank you for the reviews so far. And once again, please drop by my site, leave an entry, and perhaps even bookmark it.
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