Guess who's back! I apologize for the long wait…I know I haven't updated since, ah, September…oops. But I started this story during the summer, before school started. And let's just say…sophomore year hurts. Fanfiction is a hobby, and unfortunately, only to be indulged in when I have time. Which I have seemed to be sadly lacking in.

But enough rambling! I just want to reassure everyone that once I start a story, I finish it. And of course, I want to thank everyone who's been so great and reviewing this story!

Angel of Dreams: Thanks! I'm glad you think I'm portraying their relationship well! I spend so much time finding every scene they're in, every line they say, that I'm glad it's paying off. And as for the flashback, yes, most of this story will be a flashback (with some extra "off-screen" parts of course, ehehe…)

Zeta Gundam: Glad to see I'm a source of inspiration! And speaking of which…how about you? I can't wait to see the next chapter of your story!

Doctor Kiba and KS and TJ: Thanks for the review! I like Cagalli and Athrun too, though I have to say my personal favorite is Dearka and Milly (as if that weren't obvious enough, haha). I hope you enjoy this next part!

Miriallia Elthman: Ooh, a second review. Thanks so much! I hope I don't disappoint you with this next chapter!

Aishiterudean: Thanks for the compliment! It gets difficult writing off-screen parts that still match the on-screen parts, but it's still so much fun. Thanks for the encouragement; I'm glad to see people like them!

Charice: I know, I hate cliffhangers too sweatdrop But…it gets readers to come back…right? Right? I hope you still read this, and I hope you like it! Thanks for the review!

Saying FG: Thanks for the review! I'm glad I'm still able to portray the characters faithfully in regards to the anime. I'm pretty picky about staying as true to the series as possible; after all, I'm trying to show that this relationship, in my opinion, definitely could've been there during the show. Thanks again!

Lilykt7: Thank you! I hope you like this next part!

Xiaoj: I've continued! Hope you haven't been disappointed!

ShinigamiZero16: Thank you for the review! Please enjoy this next part!

XxravenwingxX: I'm glad to hear you like my style! I know first person isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'm glad to see you appreciate it. Thanks!

Cho: Sorry for the delay! I'll try to get the next chapters done quicker; this was a particularly difficult part to write. Don't worry, I will never lose interest in this story. Thanks for your review!

Dearka

I stared helplessly at her retreating back, still not completely sure of what had just happened. When she finally disappeared from view, I finally realized exactly what kind of situation I was in:

I had just been kicked out of a ship that was about to go into a fight it was sure to lose, wearing nothing but flimsy, and frankly, smelly prison clothes. I reached up to scratch my head and winced. Ugh. A shower was definitely in order. Too bad there wasn't any time for it.

I sighed. What could I do? The most important thing right now for me to do was save my albeit smelly skin and get myself off the ship. After some wandering, I found a small crowd of people in civilian clothes that I figured were all disembarking. I went up to someone who looked close to my age and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me-" I began.

The guy turned around, stared at me, and jumped. Backing a little away from me, he stammered, "You…you…you're that captured ZAFT pilot!" he squeaked.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, they're letting me go, really!" I added indignantly as he gave me a skeptical glance.

"Anyway," I continued impatiently, "are you guys all disembarking?" He nodded. I sighed in relief. "Good, I'm in the right place."

"Uh…yeah," the guy muttered, turning a little away from me. We stood in awkward silence for a few more moments, then the guy ventured, "Um, hey…that's what you're wearing?"

Well excuse me! I glared at him, causing him to back away from me again. "If you don't mind, up until a few minutes ago, I WAS a prisoner of war. YOUR prisoner of war, I may add. Of course this is what I'm stuck wearing!" I snapped irritably.

"S-Sorry," the guy stammered. Taking a deep breath, he said, "If…if you want, I know where you can get some civilian clothes. And take a quick shower. Not that I mean anything by that!" he added quickly, nervously.

I stared at him, then shrugged my shoulders. A bit on the socially inept side, but I guess he was just trying to be nice. "That'd actually be great, thanks," I said a little grudgingly, following him as he started off somewhere.

We didn't go far. The guy led the way to the men's showers and said, "You don't have much time, but go ahead and take a quick shower. I'll go get you some clothes…you look like you're just a little bigger than Kira," he finished, muttering as he headed out.

I quickly stripped off my clothes and stepped into the first shower I'd had in weeks. Pretty soon, the guy came back with a pile of clothes. "Here," he said, setting the pile down. "There wasn't much, but hopefully these'll fit. Oh, and I got you a bag for your flight suit."

"Thanks," I called over the sound of the water. Turning off the water, I stepped out and dressed quickly, eyeing myself momentarily. Khaki jacket, green shirt; guess I matched well enough. Stuffing my flight suit into my newly acquired bag, I glanced up at the guy. "Hey, thanks," I said. "What's your name?"

"Kuzzey Buskirk. I'm friends with Kira and Ssigh and Miriallia."

I blinked. "Eh? Only…she's staying?" I stammered. I had no idea who "Kira" or "Ssigh" were, but I assumed they were leaving too.

Kuzzey lowered his head. "Actually…I'm the only one leaving," he said ashamedly. "I never asked for this job," he said pleadingly. Looking up at me, he continued, "You know, we were all students. But then we saw something we shouldn't have seen, and we were taken aboard this ship. Eventually we all enlisted, but…" and he trailed off.

I reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. "No...I can see why you're leaving," I said quietly.

"I…I just wanted to help end this war," Kuzzey said. I nodded. "I know how you feel," I replied. "But you know…there're other ways too. Ways that don't involve fighting."

I must've said the right thing, because his face brightened. Nodding, he said, "Yeah, Ssigh told me that too. But thanks. I'm just glad I'm not some failure," he finished as we left the showers and disembarked the ship. Once we got off, he pointed to some ships. "I'm supposed to go on those. All citizens of Orb are being evacuated. But…what about yourself?" as he gave me a sidelong glance.

I shrugged helplessly. "Honestly…I don't know. I guess I'll have to find some means of getting to Carpentaria."

Kuzzey started, then gave me a small smile. "Oh…right," he said quietly. "You're going back to ZAFT…"

Something twisted in my stomach as he said that. Ignoring it, I put on a tight smile and nodded. "Yeah, gotta get back to ZAFT and do my duty. I'd be deserting otherwise, you know."

He nodded a little sadly. "Yeah…guess so. Well, good luck," he said, putting out his hand. I shook it and watched as he boarded the ship. Finally, I turned and headed away from the beach. It was going to be a bit of a walk, but maybe I could find someplace with a phone or something before the fighting started…

I didn't get far. I knew I should be heading as far inland as possible, away from the beach. Instead, I found myself climbing higher and higher...and closer to the shore. I could hear the sounds of the battle over at the ocean, and yet, I still found myself coming out on a cliff overlooking the ocean, giving me a clear view of the fight. Over the water, I saw the Archangel fending off the Naturals-

But she's a Natural too. And yet…

"I'm Archangel's CIC!"

A strange mobile suit fell out of the sky and landed near me, startling me. I watched as Strike began to fight it. Under the command of the infamous legged ship, the Archangel, as well as the pride of the Naturals, it was the same Strike that had been such a thorn in our side. That Strike was now fighting against its own side, its own kind-

Side? Kind? Was that what this war was all about? Fighting against the other who was different? Was that all? If it was, then what it was doing made no sense. What the Archangel was doing made no sense.

What she was doing made no sense. Unless…

"And…Orb is my country."

"ARG!"

I shook my head vigorously, turned, and ran inland. But I wasn't trying to get away. Not anymore. No, what I had just found was too important to run away from. Something was wrong, very wrong with this whole war. And I was going to do something about it.

I was going to protect her. And see an end to this insanity.

…………………

Miriallia

It was madness. Complete and total madness, what we were doing. Go up against the Earth Alliance? The chances of us winning just one battle were already small; winning the entire fight was nearly hopeless. If the Earth Alliance won, we'd better hope we were already dead, because once they were through with us…

Oh, screw it.

Kira was right. This was probably the most hopeless path to take, but it was the only path we could take. We were all tired of siding with one or the other in this misguided war. It was a war that pitted best friends against each other. I thought of Kira and his friend Athrun, both Coordinators. I wasn't sure why Athrun fought for ZAFT, but I knew Kira had only joined the Earth Alliance because he wanted to protect people. Not Naturals, not Coordinators, people. And that made him try to kill his best friend.

The ship shuddered as we took another blow. I gripped the sides of my chair, gritting my teeth. I thought back to Alaska, when we were all certain we were going to die.

Where we had been ordered to die.

I shook my head resolutely, sitting back up. I had been scared then. Terrified, in fact. It had seemed so unfair, that being soldiers made it okay for us to die. So long as we took a lot of Coordinators with us.

When had this war become so twisted?

But that didn't matter anymore. What was important was that we were finally fighting the true enemy: Those that cared only to exterminate all those that were different, all those that they didn't understand. And if we died in the process…so be it.

We're still soldiers. And we'll choose the manner in which we die.

Earth fighter jets swooped overhead, dropping missiles on us and bringing me back to reality. "Helldarts, fire!" the captain ordered.

Too late. The ship shook as we took yet another hit. I braced myself for more blasts…and saw a streak of green out of the corner of my eye shooting down the missiles. We all stared in shock.

"…Buster!"

The voice had been Ssigh's. I gasped, and then quickly turned to look. Sure enough, there was Buster, standing in the shallow water. It fired again, blowing the jets out of the sky.

"Get away from there, Archangel!"

The entire bridge went silent with shock at the voice. It was…him. But why? What was he doing? "Why is he…" I whispered softly, not understanding. He'd had the chance to get away from this mess, and yet-

"Private Haww!"

I snapped to attention. The captain had turned to look at me. "Establish contact with the pilot!" she ordered. I nodded, shakily keying in commands. His face popped up on the screen. "What are you doing?" I demanded, confused.

"What am I doing? What are YOU guys doing! The Archangel's a sitting duck!" he shot back, eyes shifting away as he shot down something else.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" I snapped, momentarily forgetting the situation we were in. This was absurd! "I, er, we let you go! Aren't you supposed to be back at Carpentaria or wherever your ZAFT base is!"

"Yeah, well, I got a little distracted."

"A LITTLE distracted!" I cried shrilly. "What kind of an excuse is that! Why are you helping us? What are you doing?" I demanded suspiciously.

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I thought I saw his face redden. "I, uh-" he began to stammer.

But before he could continue, another blast rocked the ship. I squeezed my eyes shut and gave a little shriek as I was flung forward. "Why you!" I heard him snarl angrily. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes to look back at the monitor. A ferocious expression was on his face. I cringed a little, even though I knew the look wasn't for me. "Take that!" he growled, taking aim and firing more missiles. I stared at him in wonderment, not understanding…

"Private Haww! Private Haww!"

I blinked. Lieutenant Flaga's face had appeared on the monitor. "Private Haww, who IS that? Is that the captured-"

"Yeah yeah, it's me. 'Captured-ZAFT-pilot-that-you-guys-let-go'…can't you call me something else?" the former prisoner in question muttered, then turned suddenly as one of his sensors began to blink. "Holy sh-" he gasped, staring. "What the hell is THAT?"

At the same time, I heard Ssigh call over, "Captain! A new mobile suit has appeared!"

"Can you identify it?" she asked.

"Negative! Though it appears to be of similar make as Freedom."

The Captain sucked in her breath. "Same as Freedom…" she murmured. Everyone knew what she was talking about.

"A ZAFT suit," I heard Lieutenant Flaga mutter ominously. He hesitated for a moment, then yelled over, "Hey, kid!"

"'Kid!' You…you talking to me?" the ZAFT pilot sputtered.

"Yes you! Do you have any idea what that thing is?"

"Don't ask me, I'm the one who's been locked onboard your ship for-"

"Wait…wait a minute! Captain! Look!" Ssigh interrupted the argument. "Look at what that suit's doing!"

We all turned to stare. One of the Earth Alliance's suits had taken a shot at Freedom's unprotected back, only to have the shot blocked by the new suit. "It's…helping us?" the Captain said incredulously, staring in shock.

We weren't the only ones surprised. I heard Lieutenant Flaga yell out in surprise as the suit he had been fighting took off to support its allies in the skies. "You aren't getting away that easily!" I heard him growl, only to be cut off by a swear as Strike Daggers began to flood the shore. "Why you…!" he snarled.

"Their numbers don't matter!"

At the sound of his voice, I looked once again at the ZAFT pilot's face on the screen. It was strange, observing how he looked in the midst of a fight. I had never seen anything like it: His entire body was tense, his eyes intense and focused. He was targeting enemy suits and attacking with lightning speed, and defending with equally quick reaction times. I couldn't help but stare as he went to help the lieutenant, the two of them dispatching the Strike Daggers with deadly accuracy. It was fascinating, mesmerizing…and I couldn't understand why. I couldn't understand why I couldn't stop staring at him as he and the lieutenant called over to each other, strategizing, attacking, and defending. I couldn't understand why I couldn't take my eyes off of his face, with his glittering eyes alight with grim determination to do…to do what?

A sudden realization hit me…just as I heard Ssigh announce that the enemy was retreating. I finally tore my gaze away from the monitor to watch the Earth Alliances suits fly away…as well as see the two suits confront each other. Freedom was facing the mystery suit, and I could guess that Kira was communicating with the other suit's pilot. The question was…who was he? We could only watch in tense silence.

Eventually, however, an agreement seemed to have been reached, and the two suits descended to land on the beach. "Bring the Archangel to shore," the Captain ordered.

"We're going ashore," I said wearily to the two pilots on the screen. "Roger that," the Lieutenant said briskly, cutting off the connection. I glanced towards the other face. "You…you okay?" I asked quietly.

He was slumped over in his cockpit, breathing heavily. At the sound of my voice, he lifted his head. "Yeah…" he said quietly, then suddenly cut the connection.

I blinked. "Hey!" I shouted, frustrated. "You can't just…just…ARG!" I muttered angrily…then realized the entire bridge had gone quiet. I looked up.

Everyone was staring at me. Great.

"S-sorry," I muttered, staring at my lap in embarrassment. The silence continued, until Ssigh finally whispered over, "Milly…just what did you SAY to him?"

I glared at him indignantly. "Say…say what? What do you mean by that?" I demanded. I could already feel my cheeks flaming.

Ssigh pressed on. "You know…to get him to help us? I mean, you were the one who let him go, right?"

"I didn't say a word! Nothing!" I snapped, tossing my head and stoically ignoring the silence. But despite that, I knew Ssigh had struck a nerve.

Just why had he stayed? It made no sense.

Unless…

…………………

Dearka

I had to cut her off. I knew if I hadn't, she'd ask questions. And I knew exactly what she would've asked.

Why had I stayed behind to help?

I slumped over further, groaning. I didn't want to deal with that, not now. I was exhausted, and confused enough as it was. I didn't need to deal with rejection as well.

What the hell. May as well be honest with myself: I, Dearka Elthman, had the tracings of a tiny, insignificant, high-schooled aged…crush.

…Except it was insignificant enough for me to defect from ZAFT, help out our worst enemy, and risk my head for it. Right.

Insignificant my foot.

And not only that, there was no possible way it could work. If the whole genetic thing and my-kind-and-your-kind-are-trying-to-kill-each-other war weren't enough, she was suffering from the world's nastiest heartbreak: The death of her boyfriend.

I could already see there was no way for this to have a happy ending.

These same thoughts continued to run through my head as I watched the Archangel pull in ashore. I probably would've stood and stared like an idiot even longer if it weren't for a shout.

"Kid!"

I looked down. Strike's pilot had already climbed out of his suit. He was sitting on the ground, looking exhausted. Looking up at me, he waved his hand. "Come down!" he called.

I hesitated, then shrugged. Why not. Worst they could do was throw me back in jail, and I'd already been once. Besides, I'd just helped them, so I doubted that would happen. Not if the crew of the Archangel was like what they seemed to be.

I lowered myself to the ground and walked over to him. By this time, he'd already stood up. "Thanks for the help," he said, somewhat warily.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well…I was still fighting Naturals, right?" I said listlessly. The words just didn't sound right.

He didn't say anything, just kept on observing me critically. It was unnerving, so I turned and stared right back. Suddenly, he started to laugh. "Don't get so wound up now," he chuckled, patting me on the shoulder. "Listen, I'm grateful for your help. Especially since I was the one who shot you down and all," he joked, punching me on the arm lightly.

I blinked. "But…a mobile armor shot me down." I turned to look up at the Strike mobile suit. "Then who used to-"

He cut me off with a wave. "That kid," he said softly, gesturing towards the beach. I turned to see where he was pointing. The two suits I had seen fighting together in the sky had both landed, and the pilots were walking towards each other.

My eyes narrowed. "Can't be…" I muttered, running forward for a closer look. The other pilot followed me as we ran towards them. We were joined by a handful of soldiers, who I guessed were all from Orb, as well as a young blonde girl. I could also see the Archangel's crew members coming. Suddenly, a woman in a captain's suit stopped, extending her arm and stopping her crew members as well. We noticed and stopped as well. Even I could tell this was going to be a tense meeting…because I had recognized the pilot of the second suit.

Athrun Zala. But what was he doing here? And what did he have anything to do with that other pilot?

The soldiers from Orb recognized the red ZAFT flight suit and aimed their guns at him. I tensed. Athrun was my comrade, and if they threatened him-

"He's not the enemy," the other pilot suddenly called out, raising his hand as they continued to walk towards each other.

Huh?

"Athrun?"

I blinked. Had I just said something out loud? No, it was the blonde girl who had spoke, and she was staring at the two with an expression of fear, hope, and anticipation. I stared at her Orb commander's uniform, and then went back to stare at the scene in front of me. How did she know him?

The two stopped a few feet away from each other. Everyone held their breath. Suddenly, a (strangely familiar looking) robot bird flew in and landed on the other pilot's shoulder, and I heard the pilot say softly, "Hello, Athrun."

Him too! How in the world did he-

"Kira…" Athrun stammered out.

Okay. NOW I'm confused.

But before I could become any more confused, the blonde girl suddenly ran towards them. Flinging her arms around both of them, she sobbed, "You idiots!"

That seemed to do it. Both Athrun and…Kira smiled at each other, and everyone else around me relaxed. I, on the other hand, still stared at the scene in shock and confusion. "Athrun…?" I said quietly. What was he doing here? I watched as the three laughed and started conversing with each other like…like…

"Old friends," said a voice. I turned to look at Strike's pilot. "Those two…are old friends," he said quietly, observing the scene with a smile. He turned to look at me. "Been best friends since they were little, and yet, they were forced to fight against each other. War's a scary thing, isn't it?"

I nodded, staring at my feet. A thought hit me, and I turned back to him, "But Athrun's a Coordinator! How did they-?"

Strike's pilot cleared his throat. Looking at me straight in the face, he said, "Kira's a Coordinator too."

I was stunned. "This…entire…time," I whispered dazedly. Things were changing much too quickly for me to grasp. "Strike's pilot…has been a Coordinator? But…why?"

"Ask him yourself sometime…if you stick around for that long," he said dismissively, turning and walking away from me. "What are you still standing there for?" he asked. "Come on, I'm taking a shower. No time to waste now, Earth Alliance will be attacking any moment now."

"I…can come?" I stammered stupidly. Okay, not throwing me back in jail was one thing, but welcoming me with open arms? Something altogether different.

"If you wish," a new voice said.

I stared at the woman in front of me. She was relatively young, a few years older than me like Strike's pilot, but still younger than most Captains I had seen. She and Strike's pilot smiled at each other, and turned back to me. Extending her hand, she said, "My name is Murrue Ramius. I am the captain of the Archangel, and on behalf of everyone on my ship, I'd like to thank you for your help."

Strike's pilot nodded. "Mwu La Flaga, lieutenant" he said, also shaking my hand. "Though you might know me better as the Hawk of Endymion. I used to pilot a mobile armor until Kira," and he jerked his thumb, "brought THAT thing back with him. Now I get his leftovers," he chuckled.

I shook both their hands. "Dearka Elthman," I said, introducing myself. Scratching my head in embarrassment, I said, "I'm a Coordinator who was shot down by a Natural," I chuckled weakly. The captain gave out a delicate laugh and the lieutenant winked at me. I smiled and added, "And I actually know him. Athrun," I clarified. "We're in the same team, the Le Klueze Team."

The captain glanced at lieutenant, who for some reason didn't seem too happy to hear my commander's name. "Oh…right," I muttered, embarrassed. "You two are the heroes of the battle at Yggdrasil for ZAFT and the Earth Alliance."

"Oh. Right. That," he muttered dismissively, lost in thought. He seemed to want to say more, then clammed shut. Shaking his head, he waved back towards the Archangel. "Anyway! Feel free to shower and rest. Orb will see to it that Buster is taken care of." He and the captain saluted me, and then turned and headed back to the ship. I followed.

"Hey."

I stiffened. Her.

She was standing a little off to the side by herself, staring at the sand. The rest of her crewmates had already dissipated, and I could see one of them with Athrun, Kira, and that blonde girl from Orb. I waited for her to say more.

Silence.

I cleared my throat. "So…what's up?" I said with mock cheerfulness, my voice cracking. I winced. Damn. That hadn't happened since I was twelve.

"What do you mean, 'what's up?'" she demanded, glaring at me.

I winced. Talk about being harsh when I least needed it. "I…I need to shower," I finally muttered, turning to leave. I was tired, sore, confused, sweaty, in love, and now, I was being yelled at. Not what I needed.

"W-wait!"

I groaned. She tells me to stop, yells at me when I try to talk, then tells me to stop again. Why did this treatment feel so familiar? I turned to tell her that I was that I was tired…and stopped.

Hmm. Once again, a familiar feeling.

She was staring at me, those big blue eyes of hers silently pleading with me to…to what? "Look…I…I…" she stammered, then finally blurted out, "Why are you here?"

Oh no. Not that. Anything but that.

I closed my eyes briefly to shut out those eyes, then opened them again once I'd cleared my head. "I…I don't know," I whispered, staring at my feet.

More awkward silence. I could tell this wasn't going to get anywhere. I tried a different tactic. "Hey…I'm going to shower and change, okay? But…we can talk later, right?" I asked.

"…Later?" she whispered. Why did she suddenly look so scared?

"Later as in…fifteen minutes later?" I said hopefully. Smiling at her, I said, "Hey, I'm a guy! This'll be quick!"

She blinked. "Oh…right," she said haltingly, uncertainly. "So…fifteen minutes. At Morgenroete?" she asked, pointing to a distant building. "Where Buster will be," she clarified.

I nodded. "Sure, fifteen minutes," I said in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. She glanced at up me, nodded, then turned and quickly walked away, rejoining her comrades who were still talking on the beach. I watched her go, then turned and headed back on board the Archangel for my shower.

This was going to be one painful fifteen minutes.