I don't own anything except Kevin Walker, his clones, and Max

There was complete silence in the darkened room for several moments; Mu clutching his wounds, Kira staring hard at Le Creuset, gun leveled; and Kevin Walker, simply standing silently.

"This place is a forbidden temple," Le Creuset went on after a moment. "A monument to mankind's twisted dreams, their desire to always push the envelope one step further... until they reached the point where it could be stretched no more." He laughed. "I suppose it's not a surprise that you don't remember this place, Kira. But you, Cain... you've been here before, since the day you were created. You came here that day Oracle made his deal with the devil in his desire for war, and again on the day you returned to see for yourself where you were born."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Snake said in a soft, dangerous voice. "I was born in Orb, Le Creuset; the only time I came here was to destroy it."

"Not so, Cain; at one time, you knew full well how you came into being, if not all the details." Rau smirked. "Perhaps the two of you would like to know how you came into being." He looked first over his shoulder at Snake, then back at Kira. "Tell me, did either of you ever wonder if those who raised you were actually your real parents?"

Kevin might have been made of stone; Kira was less stolid. "What?"

"No, of course you didn't," Le Creuset continued. "If you had, you wouldn't have turned out as you did, you wouldn't have turned out so normal. Although," he added after some consideration, "I suppose the one they called the Guardian was never exactly normal, now was he?"

That elicited a reaction from the super-soldier. "You shouldn't know that codename," he whispered. "Only a handful of living people know that name."

"Oh, it's all here, Cain, I assure you... though Guardian was an utter fabrication."

Kira had had enough. "What are you trying to say about us? Just what are you trying to tell us?"

Rau laughed again. "You two are the culmination of mankind's mad dreams, the ultimate Coordinators!" He shook his head. "I never expected the twins to survive, especially not the boy; since after your real father, Doctor Hibiki, you were the highest-priority target of Blue Cosmos. Yet survive you did; and you not only survived, but grew and thrived, and then threw yourself into the war and survived even that. Yet not until this very day did I realize exactly who you two were; even when Athrun brought up your name, I had no idea you were that child." He glanced back at Kevin. "As for you, it has taken me until today to determine just which of you you were."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Snake said harshly.

"Doctor Hibiki's project produced only two viable results," Rau explained obliquely. "The two of you. Yes, I'm sure you believe there were three, with your brother another product, but in truth Michael Carnehan was not your brother; he was but your first clone." He didn't wait for the next question. "Listen close, Cain, for your origins are far different from what you have been led to believe; for there are few now living who know the true tale. You, as part of Baron Onishi's mad project, were engineered beyond what even Doctor Hibiki attempted; the experiment could have resulted in horrific failure, and should have, so your brilliant father, a genius at genetic engineering in his own right, cloned you, in case you failed. In the end, however, Carnehan was required merely as another test case, a less extreme example of your own mutations." He chuckled. "This may not come as a complete surprise to you; after all, it would be very easy for you to mistake a clone for an identical twin, since in either case the DNA would be identical. But I doubt you realize you are not, in fact, the son of Baron Onishi." Another brief laugh. "And for that result, a large number of your siblings -in a sense, siblings of you both- were sacrificed."

"Don't listen to this psycho," Mu croaked, when Kira stiffened in shock. "He's just trying to confuse you-" He shut up when a bullet from the ZAFT commander's pistol went over his head. Curse you, Rau Le Creuset!

N-no... Kira thought in horror; Kevin barely twitched.

"On the contrary, Mu, what I'm telling your young comrade is quite accurate. You know it is, don't you, Cain?" Rau directed his gaze at the statue-like pilot. "You know the truth, in your heart, don't you? That you were raised, not by your parents, but by your aunt and uncle?"

"Impossible," Snake said flatly. "Baron Onishi had no siblings, and his wife had only her brother, Siegel. Unless you're suggesting..."

"Precisely," Le Creuset confirmed. "Lacus Clyne is not your cousin; she is in fact your sister. Exactly how Baron Onishi and Doctor Hibiki obtained genetic samples from Siegel Clyne and his wife is a mystery that will probably never be solved. I'm certain the Clynes were completely unaware of it, and for that matter Doctor Hibiki himself likely had little knowledge of the extent of the Baron's private experiments. But the fact remains that you are the full-blooded brother of Lacus Clyne, and product of one of mankind's most insane experiments. But you've both survived; even I'm becoming convinced they were onto something." He ruefully shook his head. "But for the longest time, I couldn't figure out if it was you or Carnehan that was the clone; by the time I learned you had survived, your abilities had been so radically changed by cybernetic enhancement that it was nearly impossible to tell which had originally been the stronger. But now, with the things you have done, there can be no doubt. Only the real child was engineered as a zoanthrope, and only the real child was such a powerful empath."

"My father knew nothing of my powers," Snake replied, but with less conviction.

"On the contrary, your uncle" he stressed the word, as if to emphasize once again that Kevin Walker was not who he thought he was "specifically designed them into you in the first place. Don't bother trying to deny what you are, Cain; those who know what they are looking for can detect the gift, and I felt the touch of your mind. You are without doubt the unknown son of Siegel Clyne, not the clone whom you killed. Which means Doctor Hibiki and Baron Onishi were on the right track all along, doesn't it?" Le Creuset laughed. "Of course, Oracle's experimentation certainly helped, didn't it, Cain? But did you ever wonder just who came up with the project in the first place? Who was responsible for the madness that resulted from it?"

"It was Oracle," Kevin said cautiously. "He came up with the technological basis, and went to Patrick Zala for approval."

Le Creuset shook his head, smiling pityingly. "Oh, no, Cain, that's not how it was at all. You see, Oracle was, in the beginning, merely a mad scientist, content to perform his experiments on those few subjects he could obtain on his own, without official recognition or assistance; he had only the slightest thought of cloning technology. But one man saw the potential of his creations... One man saw that they could be ZAFT's ultimate weapon for victory." He grinned widely, looking more than a little insane. "It was I who saw the way, Cain! I was but a fool then, not even realizing how pathetic humanity was, not yet seeing the only path that made sense; yet even after I understood the truth, I saw how useful you could be! I saw that you could help me in my quest, I saw that the Destroyers could truly be as they were called! And when I offered Oracle the opportunity to expand his experiments, he jumped at it."

"No... it can't be... Rachel... Erica... Mike... they all died for that?" The super-soldier's fists clenched. "It was you that made me -made us- what we were?"

"I had no idea how far Oracle would go," Rau admitted. "Had I understood the tactics he would use in creating you -the ultimate Destroyer- I might have stepped in, used gentler means. After all, you were of little use to me so embittered against ZAFT... wouldn't you say, Cain?"

Suddenly, startlingly, Snake lost his temper. "Shut up!" His 10mm raised once again, he fired off a quick pair of shots, trying to "double-tap" Le Creuset in the head, then dashed to a nearby stairway.

With Rau ducking for cover, Mu tackled Kira out of harm's way and quickly led him off in Kevin's wake. "Get a grip, you fool! You're not taking his nonsense seriously, are you?"

"It's not nonsense, Mu," Snake said heavily. "At least not all of it. This... this place is where I was born; and my primary objective, when I came here as a Destroyer."

"You're sure?" The three ducked behind a table in what seemed to be an old, abandoned laboratory. "I mean," Mu went on, "I thought your memory was still pretty messed up." If it is true... ouch.

"It is," Kevin acknowledged. "But the fact remains, I was here. And he's right, I came here while on the run, too; I can't remember why, but I'm reluctantly inclined to believe his explanation."

Rau's voice came down the stairs toward them. "'Today my secret shall be revealed'," he quoted. "'I did not come into this world through natural birth...'"

Snake banged his head against the table. "Give me a break," he groaned, recognizing the words. Why on Earth is he quoting George Glenn at a time like this?

"Doesn't that guy ever shut up?" Mu whispered, equally irritated.

"'My genes were altered early in the embryonic stage of my development'," Le Creuset continued. "George Glenn was the first Coordinator that humanity knew. Do you know how much darkness has spread across this world because of the chaos he unleashed?" Lights went on as he pressed switches on the wall.

"So how does ZAFT intend to solve it, Le Creuset?" Snake questioned. "You think wiping out all Naturals will end it?" He snorted. "That's not the answer, Rau. Genocide never is."

"There's far more to it than that, Cain. You of all people should know that. You know the lengths to which madmen will take their dreams!" Rau laughed. "Is that why they did it? Because people dreamed, and then demanded that their dreams come true? After all, no one ever wants to see their dreams shattered."

"He's losing it," Kevin muttered. A sudden thought struck him, and he triggered his radio implant. "Dearka? Dearka, if you can hear me..."

Outside, Dearka was still facing off with Yzak, who held a gun on him. "Commander Waltfeld joined Lacus Clyne?" the ZAFT pilot said incredulously. "And Athrun too? But why, Dearka? Why?"

"Maybe because they've got more sense than we did," Dearka retorted. "Can you honestly say that ZAFT is doing the right thing?" He tilted his head. "The Freedom's pilot is the same guy who used to pilot the Strike, and he's a Coordinator, too." Dearka half-smiled. "Kira, Athrun, and Snake... they've been friends since they were just kids."

Yzak blinked. "What?" He glared suddenly. "Just what is going on here, Dearka? Answer me!"

"I'm not as devoted to the cause as those three are," Dearka began, "but I've seen some things." He paused, remembering Mir's words when she tried to assassinate him. "I've watched them, fought with them, and after Alaska, Panama, and Orb, I've realized that I can't go back to ZAFT and just attack whoever they tell me to."

"Dearka, stop!"

Dearka, however, was not the next to speak. To the surprise of both, the ex-ZAFT pilot's flight suit started talking. "Dearka? Dearka, if you can hear me, listen carefully; and make sure your buddy Yzak can hear it, too."

Dearka raised a microphone to his lips. "What is it, Snake?"

"Your friend's boss is losing it, that's what. I figure he should hear it."

"Roger that." He looked back at Yzak. "You might want to pay attention, Yzak; even you should know that Kevin Walker isn't in the habit of lying, even to his enemies."

"They thirsted for knowledge," Le Creuset was saying, beginning to sound as if ranting, "and they sought for that knowledge, and in the process they forgot why they were doing it. Even as they proclaimed their reverence for human life, they began toying with it, and then they began to destroy it!"

"Shut up!" Mu shouted. He burst from cover, firing his weapon, and succeeded in putting a bullet through Rau's hair as he reached the protection of a wall. "Just what gives you the right to sound so superior?"

"I am the only one who has earned that right!" Rau replied, voice beginning to take on an edge of madness. "In all the universe, I alone have the right to judge all of humanity!"

"Try playing god, Rau," Snake murmured, checking his Delta Elite, "and I'll ventilate your brainpan."

"I'm surprised that you don't remember, Mu," Le Creuset added. "We've met once before, you and I, long, long ago, before we ever met on the battlefield."

"What?" Mu frowned, trying to remember where he might have previously encountered Rau Le Creuset.

Rau quickly solved the problem for him. "I am he, that arrogant fool, who thought he could thwart death itself with his money!" He smiled broadly, the expression of someone whose marbles were not all present and accounted for. "Your father, Al Da Flaga," he said, as if introducing himself. "But I am merely that man's defective clone!"

Kevin heard Dearka and Yzak both gasp over the radio, but his reaction was more on the order of amused irony. "Huh. So I'm not the only one with clone problems."

"My dad's clone?" Mu sounded stunned, and as if he was attempting to convince himself it couldn't be true. "You think anyone will believe that fairy tale?"

"I don't want to believe it either," Rau informed him, more than a hint of madness in his voice now. "But unfortunately, it's true!"

Snake ejected the current magazine of his pistol, replaced it, and swapped it for his plasma rifle. "So Carter's not the only clone to have his genetic code go awry. No wonder Rau's off his rocker."

Le Creuset had begun to fire aimlessly, shattering screens and containers with wild bullets. "The final door is about to open," he announced, "and I'm the one opening it!" He laughed insanely. "No matter what happens, no matter how many are destroyed, nothing ever changes! People are amazing that way!" An errant shot released a substance that billowed like smoke on contact with the air. "If that's how they feel, then why don't they just exterminate each other?"

Snake popped up from cover. "You're as insane as Carter, Rau! Listen to yourself, why don't you!" Raising his heavy rifle, he sent a bolt of plasma streaking across the room, narrowly missing the mad ZAFT clone; it instead bored a hole into the wall.

"The world we know will soon come to an end, and the pathetic fools who struggle within it will finally have their wish come true!"

Through all Rau's ranting, Kira had begun to recover his equilibrium; and now he moved. "No!" he shouted; leaping from cover, he snatched up a jagged piece of metal and began running at Le Creuset. "It won't happen! I won't let you!"

"No, Kira!" Mu shouted. He brought his gun up and opened fire at the same time Rau did. They both missed, though Rau succeeded in ripping Kira's flight suit and knocking him off-balance... but not before he threw the shard.

Le Creuset cried out and stumbled back as the jagged metal caught his mask and ripped it off. "Ahh!" And finally Rau Le Creuset's face was revealed.

Even Kevin Walker froze at the sight, uncannily similar to Mu's face and undeniably that of the man from the photos... and with the clear, wide eyes of the Berserker. "What?" Mu gasped.

With his mask gone, and the hidden truth of his extraordinary abilities revealed, Rau seemed even less stable. "Do you think you can change what's going to happen? Nobody can do anything about it! For the world full of hatred, is engulfing the universe!"

He suddenly raced from the room, leaving confusion in his wake. "Wait!" Mu called, then slumped against the wall as blood loss had its way with him, weakening him.

Snake fired one last burst of plasma, then shook his head with a curse. "He got away, blast it." He turned to Kira and Mu. "Guys, I think things are about to get busy again. We should go." And I have to find a way to fight someone who has the SEED... something I haven't had to do since the last time Athrun and I tangled.

Kira nodded. "Can you stand up?"

Mu was silent for long moments. "Yeah," he said finally; and with the help of his fellow pilots, he got to his feet and began heading back the way they'd come.

"How do things look out there, Snake?" Kira asked on the way up.

Kevin understood what his friend was asking, and stretched out with his empathic senses. "All clear," he reported. "Carter's left somehow; it's just Dearka and a less-familiar presence I assume to be Yzak. We'll be fine."

"Speaking of Carter," Mu put in as they climbed, "do you have any idea what he was doing here? Or, for that matter, how he got this far in a short-range mobile suit?"

Snake snorted. "Should be obvious what he was here for, Mu; he was trying to kill me again. The idiot got overconfident, though; thought he was better in a suit than he actually was. As for how he got here... Well, I suspect he's managed to commandeer a ZAFT cap ship of some kind, a Nazca or maybe a Laurasia."

"Makes sense," Kira agreed. "He's a sociopath, but if he's got anything like your leadership ability, Carter wouldn't have much trouble getting a crew to follow him." His own mind was on other things, however.

"Spare my blushes," the super-soldier said dryly. "I'm no leader, tovarisch; I know how to make ships work in combat, but at best I'm a small-unit tactician."

They were soon emerging out into the colony proper. "That's not what Commander Waltfeld says," Mu retorted. "He says you took to tactics and strategy like a fish to water."

"Think Andy would say otherwise? It makes him look good."

Kira noticed his friend seemed preoccupied. "Something wrong, Kevin? I mean, besides what Le Creuset said?"

Stormhawk's pilot ruefully nodded. "We got ourselves a little problem," he admitted. "Carter, as you may recall, has a certain fondness for taunting his enemies; something he probably got from me. Anyway, if he's to be believed, he's used the copious blood he caused to leak from me in our last encounter to clone me. Many times."

The Hawk groaned. "Oh, that's just not what we needed to hear, Snake. Having just one of you trying to kill us is bad enough. But fifty?"

"Two hundred," Snake corrected grimly. "In various stages of accelerated growth; that maniac's set up a genetics lab somewhere. Even under those conditions, without enhancement they can only mature so fast, but there are already around a dozen clones maturing, or so he says. From what I know of the process -which isn't much, since until recently I had no idea it could even be done- we've got about two years, give or take, until we start having major problems."

The conversation was interrupted for a time as they reached the Freedom, Stormhawk, and crippled Strike.

Not far away, Yzak and Dearka were still watching one another when the first signs that all was no longer well outside the colony began to reach them.

It began with a shaking, and then Le Creuset's voice spoke from Yzak's wrist. "Yzak, can you hear me? We're leaving!"

Dearka took that opportunity to walk back toward his own machine; but he glanced back, noting the gun still pointed at him. "If you think leaving ZAFT makes me your enemy then shoot me," he said curtly.

"You're being deceived!" Yzak protested.

Dearka slowly shook his head. "I wonder which one of us is really being deceived?" He didn't have to remind his former comrade of the conversation Snake had relayed to them. "There's nothing else to say. I'm going." Dearka stepped into the rig to lift himself back to his cockpit. "I'd rather not fight you if I have the choice!"

Yzak lowered the pistol, his hair blowing around as the Buster took off. Dearka... Just what in the world is going on?

At about the same time, Kira was climbing into the Freedom, taking Mu with him; the Hawk was in no condition to be flying.

The powerful suit came to life and grabbed the Strike, while Snake's Stormhawk likewise activated. "If I never see this place again, it'll be too soon," he muttered. "May those madmen rot along with Oracle!"

"You think he was telling the truth, Snake?" Kira asked him. "About your father really being your uncle, and Lacus being your sister?"

"Yeah," his friend said grimly. "Yeah, I think he was; besides, he no doubt knows about my eye by now, so he knows perfectly well I can check it... which is exactly what I'm gonna do once we can relax for a little while."

"First we need to chase off the Dominion," Dearka put in, joining them. "So has Commander Le Creuset really gone as nuts as he sounded?"

"Yeah, I think that's safe to say," Mu replied. "You... heard all of it, huh?"

Dearka's image appeared on one of the Freedom's screens. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "Snake relayed it. Man, I knew there was something strange about the guy, but I never suspected this." Should have, though...

"Neither did I," Kira agreed. He was troubled, having learned of his true origins; but he somehow suspected Kevin was even worse off. The super-soldier had just heard a tale very different from the one he'd learned from Baron Onishi's surviving records, or for that matter Lord Uzumi Nara Athha. That meant that he'd been lied to all his life, that his very birth had been a cold, calculating maneuver, and that had to be eating at him.

Better have Cagalli talk to him when we get back, Kira thought. Snake finally stops thinking that ZAFT made him a monster, only to learn what really happened to him at his birth. He grimaced. Yeah, Cagalli's probably the only one who can straighten him out.

On the Archangel's Bridge, things were tense. The Dominion had returned for round two, and four of the Three Ships Alliance's machines were still missing. That left the Archangel, Eternal, and Kusanagi to deal with at least the Dominion and possibly the three Nazcas, as well; and just the Justice and the Astrays against the Calamity, Forbidden, Raider, and maybe GINNs, too.

This isn't good, Murrue thought. Have we come all this way, only to fail here? "Aim Gottfrieds at the Dominion," she ordered. "Fire!"

The 225 millimeter duel high-energy beam cannons fired, prompting a quick response on Natarle's part, on her own Bridge. "Evade! Lower bow, pitch angle twenty!"

The battle had been raging like this for several minutes now, and even Athrun's awakened Berserker capabilities were having a hard time keeping up with the onslaught. But finally there came a piece of good news, as Mir examined her sensor readings. "Captain! I have the Freedom, Strike, Buster, and Stormhawk on scanners!" Her throat tightened. "Ma'am, the Strike is badly damaged."

"We're here," Kira called. "But Mu's been wounded."

Murrue felt her heart skip a beat. "How is he?"

"I'll be okay," Mu himself replied. "Just... took a couple hits, that's all. Nothing serious."

Snake's snort was clearly audible. "Don't listen to him, Murrue; if you do, the idiot might talk you into letting him sortie soon. Look, it's nothing life-threatening, but don't let him con you into thinking it's 'just a scratch'." His gaze flickered over to Kira. "Tovarisch, you'd better land real quick and offload Mu; I'll handle things out here till you get back."

"Roger that."

The Freedom, still carrying the Strike, maneuvered for a landing, while Kevin's Stormhawk headed out to the main battle, already rearming his weapons. This time, he didn't bother to go stealth; he was in a bad mood and not at all inclined toward subtlety.

Cagalli had noticed their return with vast relief. "About time you got back, Kevin. I was starting to worry a little."

Kevin's visor depolarized for a second, revealing his half-smile. "You should know better than that, tovarisch. We just had a few delays, that's all. He visibly hesitated for a moment, trying to decide whether to say anything more. "Cagalli..." he began at last. "If I don't make it back -which isn't terribly unlikely just now- I just want you to know... I love you."

Kevin Walker's image winked out before the very startled Cagalli could think of anything to say.

Did... did he really just say that? she thought in shock. Behind her, unheard by all (fortunately for his continued existence), the assassin called Invictus snickered quietly.

I told you so, the clone thought. Not that I intend to say that to his face.

On the Dominion's Bridge, things were beginning to look grim again, especially when another report came in. "We have incoming, Captain! Three Nazcas are moving to intercept!"

"Well, there's one silver lining," Natarle muttered to Azrael as an aside. "Now the Archangel and her companions have something else to worry about; and we won't be the only ones shooting at ZAFT, either."

The Director didn't get a chance to reply, as the communications officer spoke up. "We're receiving a transmission from the Vesalius, Ma'am."

She frowned. "Put it on."

Le Creuset's voice issued from the speakers. "Attention, the Archangel-class Earth Forces vessel! Before we commence battle, I'd like to return a captive to you."

The transmission cut off, leaving Natarle and Azrael to look at each other in confusion.

Kevin Walker was also monitoring the signal, and he frowned in confusion. Captive? Who's he talking about? Those ZAFT ships haven't so much as moved until now; how could they have captured someone from the Dominion?

He shrugged and pushed it from his mind. He had more important things to worry about; and now that he had said the words that should have been said long ago, Kevin's heart was lighter. Even if he did not return from this battle, nothing was left undone. Of course, he didn't seriously expect to die here.

Maneuvering his powerful machine toward Athrun's beleaguered Justice, Snake keyed his radio. "Mir, this is Snake. Can you give me a sitrep, tovarisch?"

"Glad to hear from you, Snake," Mir replied. "Opposition consists of the Dominion, Calamity, Forbidden, Raider, and an undetermined number of Strike Daggers; in addition, we have the Vesalius and two other Nazcas closing. They've deployed twelve GINNs, a CGUE, and the Duel. It's not going to be easy, Snake."

"It never is," he said grimly. "That CGUE will be Le Creuset, I'm sure; Kira dismembered his GuAIZ. Hey, tell Mu I'm gonna try to end this, will ya? He'll understand why."

"Roger that, Snake," Mir agreed. "If he's awake, anyway."

Snake nodded, disconnected, and returned his attention to the battle. "Come on, bastards. Before this day is done, you'll all be space-dust coffins."

Athrun was then very busy; all three of the Dominion's Gundams were attacking him at once. This isn't good, he thought grimly, flinging his machine to the side. As he lined up for a shot from his beam cannons, the Calamity was coming up from behind, readying all its weapons at once.

The threat was suddenly postponed when Snake's Stormhawk kicked it in the head, knocking it for a loop. "Let's dance," the super-soldier called, using his trademark battle cry... or perhaps statement was more appropriate, with his soft-spoken nature.

"About time you showed up," Athrun told him. "Where have you been?" The Justice spun around, snapping off a shot at the Forbidden.

"Visiting a cursed place that I wish had never existed," his friend told him. "And getting a feel for just how crazy Rau Le Creuset really is. Hold on a sec," he added. A Strike Dagger had snuck around behind, trying for a shot at Stormhawk's wings, but Snake had other ideas. Stowing his buster rifles, he snatched the beam sabers from their shoulder sheaths and spun around, neatly cutting the cannon-fodder mobile suit into three even pieces.

"Been busy?" Athrun fired again at the Forbidden, only to have it deflected, as anticipated, by the machine's shields. "And you know, I'm really getting tired of these guys."

"So are we, Athrun," Kira agreed, joining the fight. "Will they evergive up?"

While the mobile suits fought, the three capital ships fought their own deadly dance, with the Three Ships Alliance caught between three ZAFT Nazcas and one Earth Forces Archangel. They needed to break through, but it wasn't going to be easy.

On the Eternal's Bridge, Andy Waltfeld's famed tactical genius was hard at work. "Captain Ramius!" he called.

"Captain Waltfeld?"

"The Eternal and the Kusanagi will deal with the Nazcas," Waltfeld told Murrue. "You take care of the Dominion."

"Roger that," she agreed. "We'll get through them."

"Actually," Kisaka interrupted, "if we can just manage to survive this battle, I believe Mr. Tyler may have a better idea."

"Fill us in later," the Desert Tiger said. "That's after we survive this battle."

On the Dominion, there was a different tactical dilemma unfolding. "The Vesalius had deployed a lifepod, Ma'am," the fire-control officer reported. "It's floating through the debris now."

Natarle clenched a fist. "How can they deploy a lifepod into the middle of this without even waiting for a response from us?"

"Good question," Azrael agreed. "Well, what do you want to do, Ms. Captain? Think they want us to pull it in, or destroy it?" He stroked his chin. "If this is a trap, it's a strange one. Is there really a captive aboard it?"

That question was soon answered to Natarle's satisfaction, as a familiar voice came over the speakers; the transmission was an omnidirectional broadcast, but it was evident who the intended recipient was. "Somebody, help me! Archangel, anyone, please! It's me! Please, help me!"

Natarle's eyes widened. "What...?"

"It's me!" the voice repeated. "Flay, Flay Allster! Archangel, please rescue me!"

The Dominion's captain instantly reached a decision. "Calamity! Ensign Sabnak, retrieve that pod at once!"

The biological CPU's surprise was evident. "What?"

Azrael glanced at her. "Are you sure about that, Captain? It could still be a trap."

"That was Flay Allster," Natarle told him. "The daughter of the late Vice Foreign Minister of the Atlantic Federation. As you may know, she used to be aboard the Archangel; evidently, sometime after her transfer she was captured by ZAFT."

Flay was continuing to transmit. "Please, help! I... I have something with me! It's a key! The key that's supposed to end the war!"

Across the kilometers of space the battle encompassed, more than one head turned at those words, especially the name... particularly Kira Yamato.

At that moment, the Calamity had just blown off the Freedom's left wing, but now that Orga had other orders, Kira was free to act. "Flay!" He charged off in pursuit of the Earth Alliance machine, with Athrun's Justice trying to catch up. I can't let her down... not again...

"Idiot," Kevin muttered. But he, too, turned and boosted away on Orga's heels. "Hang on, Flay," he told himself. "We're coming. Just hang on..." Though we're crazy to even be attempting this...

"Kira, wait!" Athrun shouted. "Just wait a minute-"

Kira ignored all else as he neared the Calamity and the lifepod... including the two machines coming up behind him. He didn't even bother to dodge when the Forbidden's plasma cannon erupted, literally melting half the Freedom's head off. And to add insult to injury, the Raider's Mjollnir knocked what was left clean off the nuclear-powered machine's shoulders.

"Kira!" The Justice neatly slid into the path of the next plasma burst, taking the energy fire on his own shield. "Kira, your machine's in no condition to take them on!"

Kira ignored his friend, instead adjusting his radio. "Flay!" Frustrated, he tweaked the frequency slightly. "Flay!"

Flay heard his call. "Kira?" she whispered. Tears filled her eyes, hearing a voice she thought lost forever; her old hatred of him, for having failed to save her father, was all gone now. "Kira, is it really you?" Kira's... alive?

"Flay..." How his ex-girlfriend had ended up in a ZAFT lifepod, Kira didn't know; but it was good to hear her voice again, especially after how they'd parted.

But it was a short-lived pleasure; Orga had already snatched up the pod and was heading back to the barn, faithfully following his orders (however little he might have liked or understood them).

On the Dominion, Natarle Badgiruel sat bolt upright. "That voice..." she whispered. "Kira Yamato... he's still alive!" She had thought him dead at the same time as Snake; killed when the Aegis self-destructed.

Athrun anticipated Kira's next move, and didn't allow the Freedom to move. "No, Kira," he said softly. "There's nothing you can do."

"She's someone I hurt," Kira said, voice strange, even to his own ears. "I... I have to protect her."

While the Buster covered the retreat, Snake floated in place, watching the Calamity go. No... Not after all this. He slammed his left fist into his control panel. You see! he raged at himself. You can't protect anyone! Not even yourself!

Kevin felt even worse than Kira; for while he and Flay had parted on a sour note, when Kevin had last spoken to her, it had been a death threat. He'd told her he knew what she'd been doing with Kira, how she'd been manipulating him, and told her that if she tried it on him, he'd shoot her dead.

I misjudged you, Flay. I'm sorry.

"Hey, Snake!" Dearka called, interrupting his thoughts. "We've got the Forbidden and Raider closing. Mind lending us a hand?"

Kevin stirred. "Roger that."

"Take this!" Clotho shouted, tossing out his Mjollnir again. If it connected, the Freedom would lose something more vital then its head... but it did not connect.

The Stormhawk's shoulder-mounted machine cannons deflected the weapon's course, and then the twin buster rifle came into play. Firing at half power, narrow beam, the powerful shot would have vaporized a lesser machine; as it was, the Raider was blasted backwards, toward the Dominion, with its pilot feeling the heat.

Then came the Forbidden's turn. "Take this!" Shani said gleefully, swinging his scythe.

Two things happened at once: Snake's beam sabers swung out, lopping off the Forbidden's deflectors, and Tolle's Wraith decloaked, using the moment of surprise to swing his own beam scythe. "My scythe's better than yours!" Tolle shouted again, once again destroying Shani's main weapon.

"And don't come back, either!" Max concurred.

With Flay's lifepod in their clutches, and the mysterious "key", the Dominion retreated from battle. That left just the ZAFT forces blocking the way.

Lacus Clyne had hit upon a plan, though. "Captain Waltfeld," she began.

Waltfeld glanced back at her. "Hm?"

"Target all weapons on the Vesalius," she requested. "If we can blast through her, we'll have a clear path to safer territory."

"But if we charge right at them," DaCosta protested, "all three of them will target us directly! We wouldn't stand a chance!"

Lacus shook her head. "If we concentrate fire from both the Eternal and the Kusanagi, she'll go down fast; and once she's gone, we'll have a clear path."

Waltfeld considered this, then smiled. "You're right." He looked down at his sensor officer. "What about the Archangel? Are they in range to assist?"

"Negative, sir, not yet."

"Hmm. Well, we'll manage. Prepare main cannon and both METEOR units." He tapped a radio key. "Racher, can you lend us a shot or two?"

"Neg," the super-solider responded. "We're still inbound; and Kira still needs cover."

"Understood. We'll get it done without you." The two ships could certainly blow away a single Nazca on their own; but the Stormhawk's beam cannon would have been nice.

"We're locked on, Captain!"

"So are we," Kisaka said from his Bridge.

"Then it's time."

On the Bridges of the Eternal, Kusanagi, and Vesalius, the same command rang out. "Fire!"

Five ships fired simultaneously; and this time, it was not the force with superior numbers that won. The Nazcas had more ships, but their opposition had more powerful guns... and they were all trained on the same target.

On the Vesalius, Captain Fredrik Ades gritted his teeth as the damage reports came in. "We can't control the plasma surge! Ship temperature is rising too fast to control!"

Ades slowly stood. He knew he was a dead man; the instant those ships had chosen to single out his, his luck had run out. It was a good war, he thought. At least I die in good company. Ades raised his hand in a salute to those who had destroyed his ship, and died with his honor intact.

Watching the Vesalius be consumed by fire and explosion, three pilots with the Three Ships Alliance saluted: Athrun, Dearka, and of all people Kevin Walker. He, too, had once been a soldier of ZAFT, however unwillingly, and he had once had the honor of meeting Fredrik Ades. "Farewell, Captain," he whispered. "You did as duty and honor demanded. Rest in peace."

"We're retreating," Rau Le Creuset told his pilots and remaining ships. "It won't do any good for us to fight the Earth Forces now."

Unmolested, the Archangel, Eternal, and Kusanagi sailed onward in their long journey.

For the first time in what felt like weeks but could only have been a few hours, the weary crews and pilots had a chance to rest. They had lost their base, but succeeded in escaping the forces arrayed against them... even if they had lost a comrade to the enemy.

Kira and Athrun had both landed on the Eternal, and they now began to unwind in the pilot's locker room, overlooking the hanger. "You okay, Kira?" Athrun asked.

The brown-haired pilot managed a tired smile. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"At least we survived it," his friend pointed out. "Any battle you live through can be counted as a small victory." He smiled. "At least, that's what Kevin would probably say."

The compartment's hatch opened, and Lacus drifted in. "Kira? Are you all right?"

Kira's head turned, and his eyes widened in recognition; but he was not seeing Lacus Clyne. Instead, he saw Flay Allster, and she was calling to him. "Kira!"

He looked away. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and his eyes closed.

"Kira!"

"He's okay," a wall speaker said. "Snake says he just fainted. He'll be fine in a little bit; he just needs a little rest. Or so says the great super-soldier, anyway."

Athrun turned. "How can he tell, Max? Oh, of course." He'd forgotten about the psychic link that connected the two, the barely-understood phenomenon that allowed them to operate like one in the thick of battle.

"We'd better get him to the Infirmary, just the same," Lacus said, worried. "He doesn't seem to be doing very well."

Upon hearing of Kira's collapse, Cagalli immediately took a shuttle over to the Eternal, piloted by Juri Wu Nien and accompanied by Kevin's Stormhawk; the two had not met face-to-face since his last, startling transmission.

While they were en route, Murrue was visiting Mu in the Archangel's Infirmary. She, too, had heard what happened to Kira, and was speaking to the Eternal's Bridge. "What?" She listened for a time. "I see. Thank you. Please take good care of him." Murrue hung up, and turned to the sickbed. "Kira fainted," she told Mu; she picked up the photo album that rested on a stool next to the bunk, sat, and opened it. "But they tell me he wasn't wounded in battle."

Mu sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised," he said quietly. He, too, remembered how close Kira had once been to Flay; his failure to rescue her, coming on the heels of learning his true origins, must have hit him hard.

"I'm told he'll be fine, though." She idly sifted through the pictures; they had been brought back from GARM by Kira, for reasons perhaps he himself did not know.

"My father..." Mu began quietly, "was an... arrogant, and tyrannical man. He thought he could solve every problem, even death, with his money; and he didn't really care about anyone else. Especially his own son." He paused for breath; he still wasn't exactly in great shape. "He died when I was little, and that's really all I can remember about him." The Hawk managed a quiet laugh. "But I never expected this. And a defective product, at that. Snake could probably tell you more about the details -he's got more clones than you can shake a stick at- but the basic thing is, he ages too quickly; shortened telomeres. He doesn't regenerate the way others do."

Something occurred to Murrue. "That's what happened to Kevin isn't it? It wasn't the cybernetics..."

"No," Mu concurred. "He's the opposite of Le Creuset: he ages far slower than normal, thanks to the genetic engineering; he'll be going strong when we've been gone for decades, maybe centuries. No wonder he's still a soldier; he probably doesn't want to live on after his friends are all gone. But Le Creuset... I suspect Doctor Hibiki did this to him deliberately, out of revulsion for what my father had him create. But it means he has no past, no future... maybe not even an identity." He shook his head. "How could this happen?"

"None of this is your fault," she said soothingly. "Oh, Mu..."

"I won't let him get away with this," he hissed, clenching his fist. "I won't let him fulfill his crazy dream!"

"You may have to take a number," Murrue said dryly. "I think Kevin would be delighted to do the job himself." She frowned. "Which reminds me... Invictus has an interesting scheme in mind for him. If they can pull it off, it would be very helpful..."

On the Eternal, Kevin and Cagalli had arrived at Kira's room, where they found Athrun and Lacus already keeping watch.

Snake, curiously, had not said a word since coming aboard; he seemed to be brooding again, which surprised Cagalli almost as much as his statement during the battle. He hadn't looked that depressed in months.

Her attention was quickly diverted to the picture at Kira's bedside; it, too, had been brought back from GARM... and Cagalli recognized it. "What...?"

Athrun glanced at her, puzzled, and then his eyes widened as well, when she brought out her copy of the photograph. They were identical...

Attention refocused on Kira as he finally stirred. "Kira?" Lacus said softly, looking down at him.

Once again, his eyes saw someone else, and he looked away quickly, shying from Flay's face. "No..."

"Kira?" she said again, now quite concerned.

(C'mon, Kira, snap out of it,) Snake told him. (That's Lacus, idiot, not Flay.) He had sensed through their link what Kira had been seeing.

The silent words finally brought Kira back to his senses, and looked up at Lacus. "Sorry," he said, sounding slightly sheepish. "Thanks."

"Kira..." Cagalli broke in. When he looked at her, she lifted the two photos; and to her surprise, her brother turned away, as if ashamed. "Kira...?"

Athrun exchanged glances with Kevin and, ignoring her protests, pulled Cagalli from the room, leaving Kira alone with Lacus.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" she snapped once in the corridor.

"Now's... not the best time to ask him about it," Athrun said with a slight smile.

"Yeah," Snake agreed, voice quiet. "Better to let my sister handle things for now."

There was dead silence as Athrun and Cagalli stared at him incredulously. Then they spoke simultaneously. "Your what?"

Kevin laughed humorlessly. "I'm not who I thought I was, tovarisch. All my life, I've been lied to, by everybody. There's no such person as Kevin Onishi. There never was!"

"What are you babbling about?" Athrun demanded. If you've decided now's a good time to lose your mind, Kevin, I'll shoot you...

"Baron John Tyler Onishi was not my father," Kevin said precisely. "He was my uncle, and I wish the bastard was still alive just so that I could have the pleasure of killing him myself." His fists clenched, unconsciously extending the lethal claws from both hands (for his cybernetic replacement had included those, as well). "Baron Onishi, using genetic samples from his brother-in-law, Siegel Clyne, and his wife, had me created artificially, and then cloned me, producing the embryo that would later be known as Michael Carnehan." He laughed again, then abruptly slammed his left fist into the bulkhead. "Orb's secret weapon? The Guardian? What a crock! I'm nothing but the test bed for the most radical mutations ever designed into a human being! I'm just an experiment, one which was fully expected to fail!"

Cagalli blinked. "What? Kevin, you can't mean..."

"My 'father' never expected me to survive," Kevin went on bitterly. "That's why Carnehan -my first clone, not my brother- was created, so that the data from my failure could be used for a successful attempt. But then I exceeded all expectations by surviving to be born, and even thriving! So the good Baron, that madman of a scientist and politician, formally adopted me, told Lord Uzumi some nonsense about Orb's 'last resort', and tried to keep me as far away from the military as possible. He buried what he'd done, hid the atrocities he'd committed, and kept from me the truth: that I was garbage from the day I was born!"

As Cagalli considered how best to knock some sense into the man she loved, Athrun shook his head in stunned amusement. "So I was nearly Kevin Walker's brother-in-law," he said to himself. "The world is a strange place." He looked up then, eyes narrow. "Now snap out of it, Kevin," he snapped. "You've got no business saying something like that." He snorted irritably. "'Garbage'? Is that it? Then how come you've nearly killed me a dozen times?"

About then, before the super-soldier could respond, Cagalli came to a decision. She grabbed Kevin's shoulder, looked him straight in the eye, and decked him.

More startled than injured, he collided with the bulkhead, for once looking as surprised as he felt. "Wha...?"

"Moron!" Cagalli glared at him, shaking her aching fist (punching someone in the jaw tended to be painful enough; when said person's jaw was half metal and half alloy-reinforced bone, it was extremely unpleasant). "I thought you knew better than that by now! You are what you choose to be, not what your uncle or ZAFT or anyone else tried to make you! And what you are is not some kind of failed experiment!"

Kevin shook his head, trying to clear it. "Then what am I?" he whispered. "If I was never who I thought I was, then who am I now?"

"You're Kevin Walker," she told him in a softer tone. "You're the soldier who came back from the dead to complete his mission, the pilot who tried to and nearly succeeded in saving Orb. And you're the young man who cared enough to fly beyond the point of no return in a mobile armor to rescue me on a deserted island." At this, Athrun chuckled; he had, after all, been the one whom Snake had rescued her from that day.

He rubbed his aching jaw, a rare vulnerable look in his eyes; a look only seen when he doubted himself. "So what's left for me? What's left for someone whose only identity is the one he created for himself?"

"Your mission," Cagalli said softly, floating over to him. "Your friends." She hugged him tight. "And me." Neither noticed Athrun's discrete exit.

"Thanks..." Kevin whispered, returning the embrace (carefully; he could crush a grizzly bear to death). "I..."

"I know..." She pulled back, just enough to look him in the eye. "But why didn't you tell me? After all these years..."

He looked significantly at his right arm. "I'm bad luck," he said softly. "Too many people I care for have died around me... some by my own hand."

Had Cagalli been less worried about his emotional state just then, she would have slapped him. "Kevin, when are you going to realize people make their own decisions, to risk themselves or not?"

"I know that," Kevin replied, pained. "If I didn't before, I would have after Athrun read me the riot act on the Kusanagi, the day we returned to space. But... I've lost too much..."

"You're not going to lose me," she said flatly. "I can take care of myself, and besides... you're always there to look after me, right?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I am... though I should mention I was also more than a little nervous your father would try to have me assassinated again."

Cagalli snorted. "No way. Not after our... discussion... after I heard what happened. If tones were corrosive, he'd have melted on the spot."

"Well, that sort of explains things..." Kevin murmured, remembering Lord Uzumi's parting words to him. "You know..." he said slowly, "I never told you everything Lord Uzumi said to me that day..."

She tilted her head. "That's right, you didn't. I thought you were hiding something though. So spit it out," she ordered.

"He said... that if anything happened between us... we had his blessing..."

Cagalli blinked back sudden tears, or tried; finally, she gave up and buried her face in Kevin's shoulder, crying softly.

He held her close. It's about time... he thought. Though the 'I told you so' comments are gonna get real old, real fast... unless I threaten to open the ship to space... yeah, that might do it... But it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we're together, like we always should have been... Of course, if Max says a word, I'll scramble her programming. 'Leave nothing undone' indeed! Yeah, Max, that's exactly what you wanna tell a guy who's gonna live for two centuries and can't seem to stay dead. Mm-hm... Ah, forget it; that blasted computer ain't here, and Cagalli is, so... nothing else matters.

The two drifted there for a time, alone, neither saying a word... until another voice, like Kevin's but with a touch of Australian in his accent, spoke up. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, mates," Invictus drawled, a slight grin on his face, "but the captains would like to see you, Snake. Seems we've got a little mission for you."

The pair pulled apart, sharing an exasperated look, and Kevin turned his head to look at his clone. "Always something, isn't it? I'll- excuse me, we'll be right there... and if you ever have that bad timing again, or say 'I told you so', I'm going to burn you to ashes."

Glossary of Extra-series and Unique Terms

Zoanthrope:

Human being, Natural or Coordinator, capable of "unleashing the beast within". Those with the gene, speculated to have begun as a mutation, are capable of transforming their bodies into a hybrid of human and animal, with strength and abilities comparable to the fusion (i.e. avian and bat-like zoanthropes can fly, while chameleons change color to match their environment, etc).

While most zoanthropes come by their powers through heredity and various random genetic factors, some are created via embryonic-stage genetic engineering, either deliberately or accidentally (usually during creation of first-generation Coordinators). It also possible, through gene therapy, to "modify" mature or semi-mature normal humans into zoanthropes. However, this method usually results in the "man-made" zoanthrope becoming physically unstable, requiring a specially-synthesized hormone to survive (though there is one substitute: the insect zoanthrope Stun, formerly Doctor Steven Goldberg, survived by becoming a vampiric vigilante: he sucked the blood of criminals, thus sustaining his gradually-deteriorating body while ridding the world of the scum of the Earth). Others, such as the aforementioned Stun, begin to lose their memories.

Still others, such as a yet-to-be-revealed man-made zoanthrope, fall somewhere in between: stable bodies, but without full control over their powers.

At this time, the most famous living zoanthrope is Kevin Walker, who is perhaps unique among his kind: the Crimson Tiger's empathic abilities -which all zoanthropes possess, in some measure- are extremely powerful, allowing him to sense the emotions of others, as well as being the root cause of a telepathic link between him and his friend Kira Yamato (despite this link, however, there is as yet no indication Kevin Walker is a functional telepath, and all research indicates full telepathy is impossible even for him).

Project ABADDON:

ZAFT super-soldier project, proposed by Commander Rau Le Creuset, authorized by Committee Chairman Patrick Zala, and led by the scientist known by the codename Oracle. Twelve of the best and brightest Coordinators that could be found were cybernetically augmented and trained via experimental chemical learning techniques, thus producing the strongest soldiers in the history of mankind. Had they ever been deployed, these twelve "Destroyers" could have, completely unarmed, wiped out an entire battalion of normal soldiers, Natural or Coordinator. Armed with weapons commensurate with their freakish strength, they could have annihilated a regiment; but the unit was never sent into the field. Before they could be activated, their brainwashed leader, none other than Kevin Walker, overcame his conditioning and destroyed everything in the lab, including himself; the exact cause of his survival would never be known to anyone except a long-dead scientist called Oracle. (For a full explanation of ABADDON, see Chapter 10: The Truth in the Scars.)

Nanotechnology:

Theorized for some years, and experimented with for some time, the first practical application of nanotechnology -nanites- was in the augmentation package of Kevin Walker, codename Hydra, of the Destroyers (he was the only member of the unit to receive the full package, and thus the only one with nanites). The primary purpose of these nanites was to repair injuries sustained by their host, but they also served to maintain his built-in electronic and mechanical systems, as well as providing the basis of his fifteen-centimeter claws, hidden within his hands.

Unbeknownst to anyone but the dead project leader Oracle, the nanites had a secondary purpose, one which was unaffected by Jack Carter's assault on Kevin Walker...

Project Serpent's Head:

An abortive attempt to create an army of super-soldiers, based on Kevin Walker's DNA and RNA. The Project was terminated after only twenty-three copies -one of them unauthorized- by the destruction of the ABADDON lab; all but one of the authorized clones were systematically hunted down and terminated by Rau Le Creuset's private assassin, Invictus, who later turned out to be the unauthorized clone.

At this juncture, only the first Serpent's Head, Jack Carter, survives.

Destroyer/s:

Term used to describe members of Project ABADDON; the usage comes from the English translation of the Project's Hebrew codename. (Abaddon is a creature mentioned in the Book of Revelation.)

Often described, like their collective name, as monsters, the individual Destroyers were also given codenames from mythical monsters; for example, their leader, Commander Kevin Walker, was known as Hydra, while his second in command, Rachel Carver, had the alias of Medusa. Also among their ranks was Hydra's clone, Michael Carnehan, codename Kraken; Erica Hawke, codename Scylla; Charlie Evans, codename Talos; Simon Priest, codename Cerberus; Tom Aldrich, codename Manticore; Tanya Coleson, alias Harpy; Alec King, codename Basilisk; Mark DeVries, codename Chimera; Alan Clark, codename Minotaur; and Tessa Dortmund, codename Gorgon.

Author's note: The truth of Kevin Walker's origins has finally been revealed, as well as those of Kira Yamato and Rau Le Creuset; to what Fate are they destined?
Jack Carter has disappeared, but he will not stay in the shadows forever. One day, Kevin Walker will have to settle accounts with his sociopathic clone…

Okay, I'm not sure how many of you are actually surprised by this chapter's twists; if you've read RVD's fic, you probably already knew. Still, I trust I caught at least some of you by surprise.

Next chapter: Who Dares, Wins. The long-promised major plot twist is about to arrive; I think I can safely say it'll be a complete surprise.

One question I'd like to pose before I get to the responses: does anyone know if tracks like Invoke are on any of the Gundam SEED OST CDs? I know only a few words of Japanese, and none of the written form, so track lists are fairly useless to me.

Arekuruu-inabikari-no-She, as you may have noticed from this chapter's events, Carter most certainly will be back; with a vengeance, like I said.

Yes, Kevin will get the Wing Zero Custom in the sequel; it's part of a very ambitious plan I have in mind, and tied in with several other plans, some of which will be revealed in this story, some which will be hinted at in the series of one-shots. Suffice it to say that while my knowledge of Destiny is still quite incomplete, I know enough to make surprisingly detailed plans with regard to events I am certain of.

Ominae, I'm… not sure what exactly you're talking about, but in any case, there will be more Murrue/Kevin interaction in the next chapter.

RVD, I know you weren't surprised by the events of this chapter; but next chapter should surprise even you. As always, I have kept at least something very secret. I have no intention of spoiling this one.

Shinji Ikari, the thing with Chapter 19, it would appear, is that I misremembered your review; I'll make the requisite modifications soon enough.

The bit with George Glenn's brain… ugh. That's actually just a little bit creepy; glad I'm not too squeamish. For myself, I think I might prefer death to such an existence. In any case, the information may be useful to me, in some manner or another.

Now, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on the matter of world peace. You say we have fewer wars than we did in centuries past.

I say: have you heard anything about London lately? Or Israel? Or Iraq?

My point is that while declared wars are declining, the bloodshed really isn't. It's just that instead of uniformed soldiers going out on clearly-defined fields of battle to fight for clearly-defined goals, we have terrorists going out to blow up civilians, thus necessitating our sending out troops to hunt them down. Just because the wars aren't declared doesn't mean they aren't being fought; and remember what Saddam Hussein did to the Kurds back in the 80s, just for example. It's my opinion that war is part of human nature, and highly unlike to change.

I agree completely with Kevin Walker: world peace is a myth.

Now that I've said my daily quota of societal ranting, I'll get to less controversial topics.

With regard to Kevin turning up behind Le Creuset, I didn't mean to suggest he actually snuck up on him. Obviously Rau would no he was there; but he wouldn't necessarily be able to do anything about it. After all, Kevin's the fastest human being in existence, and Le Creuset has two other targets to worry about, to boot.

Yes, the explanation of Kevin's survival will also apply to when he was assassinated; but I must admit it was a little tricky to figure out all the details. For example, in order to properly pull off a highly dramatic scene near the end (and probably in the sequel, as well), it becomes necessary to explain for the benefit of the reader, yet still leave Kevin himself completely in the dark. However, I think I've got it all worked out, as you'll see.

I hope I handled Le Creuset's mannerisms as well as I did in the last chapter; if there's anything that seems out of place, let me know (though I expect you would anyway).

Given your aversion to spoilers, even if you've read RVD's story I expect you heeded the spoiler warning about Kevin's past, so I imagine this chapter's revelations were at least a little surprising; though I'll be interested to see just how close to the mark your theory was.

About Carter's GuAIZ… well, think about it: Carter, being a ground-pounder just like Kevin was, at the start, wouldn't really know much about mobile suit combat; and a GuAIZ, unless you've got someone like Rau Le Creuset in the cockpit, just isn't a real threat to a G-unit. I didn't see much point in including a battle that would take about two moves; all that really needed to be said was that it was no contest. (I had an even better explanation all thought out, but I forgot it; if I can remember it, I'll include in next chapter's notes.)

To pull off the originality in the battle, I used the simple of expedient of not watching the actual episode for awhile. In other words, if I can't remember the canon, I can't use it.

As for lack of humorous lines… Hmm. I thought Kevin's repartee to Orga ("Because your breath stinks") wasn't bad, but maybe that's just me…

When it comes to Athrun not passing on Kevin's message to Yzak… well, I confess I quite simply forgot about it. I may have to insert something in the next chapter; believe me, there'll be opportunity…

I'm not quite sure how Yzak's actions during Kevin's brief chase of Carter worked out the way it did; it kind of wrote itself, if you know what I mean. Of course, if he and Dearka had gotten involved, they probably would have been slaughtered. Carter doesn't have the full augmentation package, but he's still very dangerous.

Carter might have played a larger role in the events here, but like I said last chapter, this isn't his time to shine. As of Brothers in Arms, he's only just getting his own operation set up; assuming he has the brains of the original -which he certainly ought to- he wouldn't want to risk going after the Three Ships Alliance at that point. After being unexpectedly trounced by Kevin, his first priority would be to get the blazes out of there and regroup.

Rest assured, though, that this isn't the last that will be seen of Jack Carter. He may not appear again here, but he'll be around to cause Kevin Walker problems in the future.

Of course, Kevin also knows that, and will doubtless be prepared for his clone's return…

Thirteen hundred words and one hour of author's notes; typical. Well, that about covers things; let me know how surprising this chapter was (if at all). -Solid Shark