A Story of Heroes

by bondfan

My version of how the Gundam SEED saga played out. FINISHED AT LAST. Main romance pairings, MxM, AxC, KxL, DxM, NxOC OCxOC. Please Read and Review.

42. Fire Buster, Fire!

Debris Belt, October 8, C.E. 71, 1030.

A graveyard. A place where the doomed souls of the war had come to rest. Somewhere where the total cost of war was more visible than anywhere else. The evil of the human spirit. The darkness in humanities heart. Those were words that could be used to described the debris belt and the relics it contained. Destroyed hulks of warships and mobile suits lay in pieces, burned black by fires and frozen over again by layers and layers of ice. Scrap metal that had no place in the modern world smashed up against other forgotten materials and created a whole separate path of destruction than the one the war had opened. Remnants of places that had stood tall and proud just months ago were now merely memories of their former selves. The looming hulk that was once the PLANT known as Junius Seven dominated the section of the debris belt close to the L3 Cluster, its hour glass shape encrusted with ice and split open by the force of the nuclear explosion that had consumed it one year previous. Bodies of its inhabitants floated out into the vacuum of space, blood freezing on the bodies as soon as they left the sanctity of Junius Seven's dead structure. However, the floating devastation was not without its share of beauty as well. Small treasures left behind by family members of the victims floated amongst the destruction, providing some sense of tranquility to the terror that this place had seen all those months ago. Origami flowers left behind during the memorial service from the PLANTs earlier in the year, mixing with those that the crew of the Archangel had cast out themselves in honor of the people entombed within Junius Seven, gave the gray outside of the PLANT a more colorful tone, like a gravestone almost, with flowers being left behind by mourners to remember each other.

However, on this day, the Origami flowers were not the only things providing some color to the ice covered PLANT. Rau's white CGUE hung in space, its beam rifle pointed directly at the red, white, and blue colorings of the Freedom and Strike GUNDAMs, Kira and Mwu consumed by awe inside the cockpits. "This place is a symbol...a symbol of the darkness of the human heart. Only through darkness was this terrible act brought about. But of course, you already probably knew that." Rau was smiling inside the cockpit as he told his tale. "That place you call home now...the Mendel colony...your secret base...that place is a forbidden temple. The remnants of the dream of fools who thought they could play God."

"What are you saying?" Kira asked through the radio, the Freedom's rifle pointed straight at the ZAFT mobile suit.

"It should be of great concern to you, Kira," Rau admonished. "Did you ever suspect...that the people you've called mother and father your whole life weren't your real parents?"

"Wha...?" Kira gasped. Not his parents? An image of his parents came into his mind. His mother with her long blue hair and caring face. His strong-willed father with his dark eyes. How could they...?

"You bastard!" Mwu shouted from the Strike's cockpit. "What are you-!" His voice stopped suddenly as Rau fired the CGUE's rifle at the piece of debris that was shielding them. Fragments of the debris flew off into space, creating more food for the debris belt. The shot jarred Kira back to reality and he tightened his grip on the controls, never removing the rifle from the enemy mobile suit. His breath hissed through his clenched teeth and sweat began to trickle down his brow. What is he saying?

"Of course not. If you were aware you wouldn't have turned out the way you did. You wouldn't have turned out so normal." Rau's voice was calm as he spoke. The only emotion he showed was a devilish smile splattered across his face. "Free of any sign of a tainted past."

"It's difficult to perceive. You know it never occurred to me, even when Athrun first brought up your name, you might be that child." His voice seemed to echo through space as the words exited his throat, bouncing off of the debris around them and into the remains of Junius Seven just beyond their reach. "I'd always thought the twins had died. Especially you."

"Twins...?" Kira muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Mwu mumbled, trying to keep the pain out of his voice from the wound in his shoulder, blood still seeping out of it even with his gloved hand covering it.

Kira's eyes darted towards the monitor above him...to the picture that that man had placed there. The one of the woman holding the two children. The twins. His gaze wouldn't avert from the one wrapped in a blue blanket...the one with brown hair...just like his. Twins...is that...? It couldn't be. Me?

"After all together with your real father, Dr. Hibiki," Rau's voice called out to him, "you were the highest priority target of Blue Cosmos." Rau pressed a button and brought a new photo onto the monitor. The one of the man who had created him. Ulen Hibiki.

"What...but...?" A lump had settled inside Kira's throat, causing his voice to suddenly go silent. His hands trembled on the trigger controls. What was this man doing to him?

"But you survived, grew, and threw yourself into the war. And you survived that as well. Why do you think that is?" Kira gritted his teeth and scowled harshly. He restrained himself from pulling the trigger though. "Your story is so unlikely that even I'm starting to become convinced that they were on to something. Maybe their crazy dream had some validity."

"On what!" Kira cried, readjusting the Freedom's aim to point at the CGUE's head. "What the hell are you saying about me?" Mwu groaned as he pulled back the fabric of his pilot suit and exposed the wound as best he could. It wasn't as bad as he feared, but it was still a deep laceration. But nothing could compare with the pain that was rising inside of him. Over what this mad-man was saying to he and his friend. "What are you trying to tell me!"

"You are the dream of humanity...the Ultimate Coordinator!" Rau didn't allow his voice to rise.

"Huh?" Kira gasped, drawing the Freedom's rifle back a bit.

"It was in pursuit of that dream, that Dr. Hibiki created the artificial womb," Rau continued, "and you were the only viable child it ever produced." Rau paused. He knew of that machine all too well. He'd seen it before...what was left of it that is. When ZAFT had inspected the damaged colonies at L4 in the early months of the war. How pathetic it had become...just as it always had been. "For that result...a very large number of your siblings were sacrificed."

A boulder hit Kira straight in the chest. His eyes widened and his body stiffened. He relinquished his control on the Freedom's controls and sank back into his chair. "Kira!" Rau fired the CGUE's rifle at the two mobile suits only to see the Strike take the Freedom by the arm and pull it back behind the debris shield.

"Damn you, Mwu," he swore. "Why must you constantly interfere?"

Mwu turned the Strike around and fired several shots at the CGUE, which retreated behind another piece of debris. Mwu's shoulder cried out in pain and he covered it with his other hand. He turned back towards the immobile Freedom, Kira trembling inside the cockpit. "Get a grip you fool," Mwu called. "You're not taking his nonsense seriously are you?"

Rau smirked. He still doesn't want to believe...you pathetic fool, Mwu. Rau started the CGUE's engines and headed towards another debris piece, this one much closer to Junius Seven. The revelations are only beginning, Mwu.

Archangel, 1030.

"Where's the Dominion?" Murrue demanded to know where the Archangel's sister ship was.

"It's behind the debris at blue seventeen, charlie, ma'am," Sai reported.

"Any movement from those ZAFT ships?"

"Nothing, ma'am," Tonomura said. "Their mobile suits are too busy fighting the Strike Daggers."

The top cannon fired a shot and chased away a Strike Dagger. Frank brought his barrels back and attached them to the Zero's hull. He glanced around him at the debris and lights from other mobile suits engaged in battle. But something was missing. "Hey! Where's Mwu and the kid?"

"They went to check on something," Athrun responded. "They're somewhere out there in the debris." His diagnostic board chimed a warning and he looked up just in time to see a bright green mobile suit descending towards him.

"Gotcha!" Shani shouted, firing his railguns and plasma cannon at the scarlet red Justice. Athrun pulled hard on the controls and dodged the shots. He fired back with his beam rifle, but the Forbidden soared below the shots and returned fire with its Armfeuer machine guns on its forearms.

"Damn," Athrun swore. He pulled out the Justice's double-sided beam saber and charged.

"You're not getting away from me!" Orga shouted, firing every weapon the Calamity had, Schlag cannons, bazooka, ram-cannon, if it could cause damage, he fired it.

Yzak had to react quickly in order to evade, but several shots struck the Duel and damaged his Assault Shroud. "You've gotta be kidding me!" Yzak exclaimed, executing a cork-screw turn in order to dodge more fire. "How much firepower does this guy have!" A shot from the Calamity's bazooka struck his shield square on and Yzak ejected it just before it exploded in a ball of fire. "Oh yeah?" He reached into the Duel's shoulder and pulled out his beam saber. "Let's see how you like this!"

The Duel charged at the Calamity, its beam saber slicing down at Orga, who ceased firing in order to get out of the way. "Oh, that's how you want it, huh?" He fired his Schlag cannons on his shoulders at the Duel, who managed to deflect the shots with his beam saber. "Come on, bitch."

"I'm not going to be defeated by you, you stinking Natural!" Yzak shouted, charging again.

Azrael filed through the doors of the Dominion's bridge and headed towards his designated chair. A harsh scowl was set on his face and his blue eyes burned fiercely with rage. "Distance to target?" Hal asked as Azrael sat down.

"1700, Captain," came the reply. "But the debris' screwing with our readings so we can't get a clear shot."

"Then clear the debris away, Ensign," Sutherland ordered. "The ship has plasma cannons that will melt away anything in their path."

Hal sighed. "Prepare Lohengrin!" he ordered.

The plasma cannons emerged from the base of the Dominion's legs. "We run a huge risk of hitting our own machines, Captain," Yeardley said from the CIC.

"Who cares," Azrael said. Hal and Sutherland turned to him and he added, "They have trans-phase armor you imbecile."

"But, sir-," Rutherford began to say, but Azrael looked at him harshly.

"Our priority target is the ship of traitors, Captain!" he replied. "That is the sole reason why we're out here. How could you have forgotten that fact?"

Rutherford turned slowly back to his console and spoke into the radio. "Calamity. Forbidden."

"Yeah?" Orga responded.

"We're clearing away the debris. You guys may want to move out of the way for now."

"Fine," Shani said. "Just don't blow the crap out of everything, okay. Leave some for us."

"Sure thing," Rutherford responded.

"Fire!" Hal shouted.

Energy beams streaked from the cannons, incinerating pieces of metal and other materials in their path. "Heat source approaching!" Sai called.

"Evade!" Murrue yelled. The Archangel turned hard to starboard, but part of the beams struck the ship in the rear port wing, blowing the Valient cannon there all to hell. The ship shook violently and Murrue held tight to the arm rests of her chair. "Damn."

The ships vibrating escalated further into the ship. Inside the engine room, red lights blaring down at him, Stevy stumbled against the computer and banged his shoulder into it. Richards stepped backwards and held onto the railing behind him in order to keep his footing. Next to him, the shaking caused a can of gasoline to slip off of its shelf and spill onto the railing, some of the flammable liquid tumbling down into one of the power turbines. Yellow flames sprouted into the air as they caught fire, creating a bright monster of fire behind them. Richards shook his hand in order to remove some of the fuel that had stained his arms, but never took the gun away from the computer in front of him.

Stevy regained his composure and his eyes once again focused on the picture frame down on the floor below his feet. His teeth still clattered in his jaw and his head began to throb in pain. "It's been a while son," Richards said. "Doesn't your old man deserve a hug?"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Stevy shouted in anguish. He shut his eyes and screamed inside his brain. He couldn't get the picture out of his mind. The one of his mother holding he and Niada when they were infants. And beside her...was Richards...smiling. It couldn't be. It just couldn't!

"You can't deny it, Steven," Richards pressed on. "I'm your father whether you like it or not. You can't hide from the truth, son."

"Shut your mouth!" Stevy cried. "There's no way you could be my father! My father died in a car accident when I was seven...along with my mother..." he added, his voice trembling.

Richards began to laugh hysterically behind him. "Is that the lie they told you! Your mother's family was even more pathetic than I thought!" He stopped laughing abruptly. "There's so much you don't know Steven...about you...about me...about our family."

"What do you mean?" Stevy asked. His eyes darted around the blazing hot engine room. His gun was dangerously close to the edge of the floor, dangling over one of the turbines below. If he went for it, Richards would kill him. And if he tried to sneak away, he would end up being killed anyway, for all the exits were in his point of vision and he could easily just put a bullet in his head quickly.

"I guess I should start with what is true about what they told you," Richards said, his voice taking on a menacing tone as he spoke. "Your mother did die when you were seven. Though not in the manner you seem to think. For you see...your mother...Henrietta...was murdered."

Stevy's eyes shot up and his mouth dropped. "She was shot by Blue Cosmos terrorists who were hunting her. Do you know why she was killed, Steven?" Stevy didn't respond. "Because of you and your brother...she was killed!" Richards proclaimed.

A small exhale escaped from Stevy's mouth at those words. "That's crazy!" he shouted. "We...we were only kids...how could we have been at fault!"

"Do you remember what your mother did for a living, Steven?" Richards asked.

For a living...? Stevy tried to retract any images of his mother that he could remember. That's it! He remembered as a toddler...watching his mom move a small silver circle across a person's chest, plugs covering her ears. She was wearing a white coat. Her black hair was tied back in a pony-tail. She was talking to the person, telling them that their heart-rate was normal. "She was a doctor..." Stevy blurted out.

"So you do have a brain in there after all," Richards said harshly. "Yes, your mother was a doctor. But not just any doctor. You see...Henrietta was a doctor who administered medicine to Coordinators. She was one of the most well-known Coordinator physicians of her time. She saved many lives Steven...and that's why Blue Cosmos targeted her...and killed her."

"If Blue Cosmos killed her, then why do you blame us!" Stevy shouted.

"Because it was you two that got her killed!" Richards thundered, firing his pistol into the computer, sparks flying from it and zipping past Stevy's head by mere inches. Stevy got down on his haunches and covered his head, sparks stinging his injured hand. Me...? How could I have killed her?

"When I married your mother...I never wanted children...I was content that it would only be us...but your mother wouldn't listen to me. She wanted children more than anything in the world...and I couldn't do a thing about it...even when she got pregnant with you and Niada...I still told her that we shouldn't do this...she wouldn't listen."

Stevy breathed hard behind the computer as he listened. Scattered images of his mother came from his memory...of the caring woman who had scooped his cowering form up in her arms after falling down the stairs...of the strong woman who could cure a seemingly dying individual and bring them back healthier than they'd ever been. How could she have fallen for this...psycho? "It was because of you two that we ended up at that place. That playground on that day eighteen years ago," Richards continued. "Without you two...we would never have been there...and Henrietta would still be alive!"

"Shut up!" Stevy shouted. "You're insane!"

"Insane? Hah!" Richards yelled back. "You're only saying that because you deny the truth. That you're the reason why your mother is dead! You remember that day don't you Steven...you can't have shut it away completely!"

Suddenly, an image appeared in Stevy's mind. An image he'd never...no wait...he had seen this before. He could see the stormy sky above him...feeling scared because of the lighting flickering in the distance. He could feel someone shaking beside him...Niada was huddled up next to him underneath a slide. Stevy saw someone a little ways away. It was his mother...and...Richards. No! Damn it, no! Stevy scolded himself. Stop it! Don't listen to him!

"Yes...you remember don't you?" Richards called, grinning.

As the image played out, Stevy began remembering. He heard the sharp sound ring out and he grabbed hold of Niada tightly, Niada doing the same to him. He saw his mother get pulled behind a bench by Richards, he refused to call him father. He heard someone shouting. "Die Coordinator lover! For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"

"Steven! Niada!" he heard his mother's voice shout to them. She started to get out from behind the bench and come towards them. Stevy wanted to get up and tell her to stay down...not to worry about them...but he couldn't find his voice. He saw himself cowering beneath the slide as more bullets rang out all around him. He remembered being so frightened...wondering what was going on...he saw himself as a child...and wanted to help himself...but he couldn't.

"Henrietta, no!" he heard Richards say, trying to pull his mother back behind the bench, but she slapped away his arm.

"Mom, no!" Stevy shouted out in real life. In his mind, he saw her emerge from behind the bench and start to run towards them. Just then, something struck her...red liquid spilling out of her side as she fell. "Mommy!" Stevy heard his younger self call out. His mother fell to the ground, still alive, but writhing in pain from the bullet wound to her stomach. Stevy felt his eyes water up and tears begin to streak down his cheek. He remembered...he remembered it...what had happened...

"Coordinator lover!" A man approached his mother's body, a gun in his hand. "DIE!" He raised the gun to point at her head and fired.

"MOM!" Stevy's voice rang through the engine room, bouncing off of the walls and coming right back to his slumped form. He felt the tears stinging his face as they came, running down his face like waterfalls. He remembered it all. How could he have forgotten? Had he been so naive? He sobbed endlessly as he pressed his back against the computer.

"So now you know," Richards said, not taking the gun away from his son's trembling form behind the computer. "It was your fault. You had to be born and cause your mother to try and come to your rescue. It was that reason why she died. That was the reason why you two deserved to die!"

"That's bull-shit," Stevy sobbed.

"You know it's true, Steven. There's nothing you can do about it. Blue Cosmos killed your mother, but it was your fault that they were able to get to her." Richards shouted, "That's why Niada had to die! That's why you have to die as well!"

Stevy opened his eyes. His fists clenched. His body trembled. "That's why? That's the reason all this has happened? That's why you tried to kill every last one of us at Cuba and here!"

"Not exactly. For you see, it's not just you that must die Steven. It's all the people aboard this ship. All the Coordinators on Earth and in the PLANTs. Every individual one of them must die! There's no other way!"

"To get what you bastard!" Stevy thundered. "To satisfy your own twisted logic?"

"You know it's the truth, Steven. The Coordinators are the reason Blue Cosmos targeted your mother and killed her. If Coordinators didn't exist...if you didn't exist, she would still be alive today! I'm going to make sure that what happened to her never happens to anyone else again! I'm going to make sure every last Coordinators burns in the pit of hell they created! That everyone who sympathizes with them is impaled on the pikes of their stupid thinking!" Richards laughed. "That's why! That's why you're going to die!"

"You're insane!" Stevy called.

"John Namora...Hugh Swanson...all the Coordinators I've killed. They were so pathetic. They all deserved to die!" Richards laughed harder now. "John had been my friend for years. Then he got soft and started sympathizing with the Coordinators! Anyone who sympathizes with them causes more of them to exist. More Coordinators causes people to attack other people who sympathize with them! More attacks cause people like your mother to die!"

Stevy played images of the friends this bastard had taken away from him. Hugh, the tall blonde haired man who had been his friend for years...the swordsman who had always been there to cheer everyone up...the only person on the Cuba mission who had a family. John, his teacher...the only father figure he'd ever had in his life...the one who made him what he was today...the person who had taught him to be considerate of others...the one who had tried to save them all and had been killed for it. Niada, his twin brother...the one who had always been with him for his entire life...the one who was always there for him...the one who had been shot in cold blood by this man...who was driven by his own insane thinking. Rage began to build in his mind. It was his fault! It was his fault they were gone! No you idiot! his mind shouted at him. You're turning into him! Stevy tried to calm his rage, but it kept expanding. Rage over his dead friends. The people this bastard had hurt. And this man was his...father!

"I'm going to make sure it never happens again...that people like your mother never have to die again! That's the reason why you must die Steven! That's the reason the Coordinators must die! That's the reason-!"

Richards stopped abruptly as something whizzed past his ear and struck the wall directly next to his head. His eyes widened and his body stiffened. The object bounded up and down next to him. His eyes slowly focused on the object and identified it. A sword. He was about to smile when his eyes saw it. The handle. It gleamed violet and gold in the red lights of the engine room, fires burning below him casting yellow and orange blazes onto it. His eyes widened even further and his mouth went aghast. There was writing on the handle. It spelled out a name. A name he never thought he'd see again. H Swanson. No. It couldn't be. Richards' eyes darted from one direction to another, looking for the source, fear rising in his chest. Stevy peered around the corner of the computer to see what was the matter and he saw it. The blade sticking out of the wall next to Richards. The writing on the handle. Hugh! But how!

Something stirred. Richards turned quickly to his left...and stopped in his tracks. He could see a shadow. A shadow of a person. His face was masked by the darkness of the engine room, but Richards didn't need to see his face. The blonde hair. The tall stature. The Earth Alliance uniform. The heat blazing in the eyes. "No..." Richards blurted out. "It can't be...it's not possible...you're dead...I know your plane crashed in Cuba. You...you can't be alive...not you! You're dead! You're dead, dammit!"

"Hugh...?" Stevy whispered, seeing the individual in the shadows.

The shadow took a step forward. "Oh, I'm very much alive," it said. Richards was thrown backwards as something struck his shoulder. The sharp sound echoed through the engine room followed by the clanking as Richards stumbled over the railing, managing to barely grab onto the slippers surface with his hands. He dangled helplessly above the churning turbine below him, blasting fire all around. His face began to sweat. He held on for dear life. "I'm alive enough to kill you." The shadow had been removed. He could see the man's face. The dark complection was a surprise, but all in all, it wasn't that surprising. After all...he was a Coordinator.

"Help me!" Richards demanded. "You don't want to kill me."

"You're right," Dearka said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I bet he does."

Richards snapped his head to his right. Stevy was now against the railing, his expression pained and angered. "Son...please...help me!" Richards called out to him.

Stevy extended his hand towards the railing and seemed to be reaching down to help Richards. His spirits began to lift and Richards began to smile. But then, Stevy stopped his hand just above the railing and looked at Richards in the eyes. He slowly shook his head. Richards' stomach began to sink and his mouth trembled. "Say hi to John for me...dad," Stevy said hoarsely.

Richards looked at his hand. Something was gleaming in it. A small, silvery object that had its top flipped open. John's lighter. Richards began to scream as the flame erupted from the silver box, igniting the gasoline strewn on the railing. The gas led the fire straight towards him, touching his still damp arms and setting them ablaze. Richards screamed out as the fire spread all over his body. His hands released the railing and he plummeted downwards, his body disappearing into the yellow flames of the turbine below, which gave out a long, slow moan as it consumed him. Yellow and orange flames spurted into the air to eye level with Stevy. He felt no emotion. No sympathy. No anger. He just stared long and hard at the churning turbine below him.

A white spray of smoke brought him back to reality. Dearka moved the nozzle of the fire extinguisher back and forth in order to put out the blaze. When that was done, Stevy rested his elbow on the railing and turned to him. "Well, well," he said casually. "I see you guys can do things we can't. You can come back from the dead."

"Nah," Dearka responded, waving his hand. "I just stayed alive in order to get back and save you guys' asses. I can see you guys've had it tough without me though. Maybe I should've just stayed back here and remained a POW?" Then he got serious and added, "Was he really your father?"

"...Yeah..." Stevy added quietly. "He loved my mother, I'll tell you that. Loved her too much probably."

"I can see you guys have missed me," Dearka said. "This place is even more boring than when I left."

Stevy chuckled. "Nice, kid. Real nice, Elsman."

Mendel, 1030.

Green energy beams mixed with red and yellow beams. White trails of light spread from the wakes of missiles as they raced across the blackness of space. Mobile suits and mobile armors soared in every direction, giving everything they had in order to defeat the enemy. GINNs and GuAIZs fought against Strike Daggers and Moebieus' who in turn fought against M1 Astrays and vice versa. One GINN took a direct hit from a missile and exploded in a ball of flame. Another M1 back flipped and came over a Strike Dagger before sticking its beam saber into the torso, causing the mobile suit to disintegrate in mid-air. Inside her cockpit, Asagi panted heavily as sweat beaded down her forehead. She didn't have much time to rest however, as a GINN came straight for her and she barely managed to evade its shots.

Jessie banked her Strike Dagger on its port side and turned eighty degrees towards a GINN, which fired at her with its rifle. Jessie groaned in pain as her mobile suit was struck in the shoulder by enemy fire, but she still managed to get in close enough to slice off the GINNs right arm with her beam saber, also causing it to lose its weapon in the process. As she soared above the GINN, a beam of light streaked right through the cockpit and blowing the mobile suit to pieces. "Thanks Keryuoko," Jessie admonished between breaths.

"You okay, Lieutenant?" the other pilot asked.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Jessie responded. "Come on, there's still more coming." She turned her Dagger around and headed towards another flock of enemies, her wingmate flying beside her.

The Valiant turned on her starboard side and its Igelstellungs intercepted missiles that were targeting her. "Aim starboard cannons and Valients!" Seymour commanded. Behind him, Bradford sat motionless in his chair, his face a neutral expression despite the circumstances. "Fire!" Yellow and green energy beams streaked towards the Kusanagi.

"Evade!" Jackson shouted. "Lower bow pitch angle twenty!"

The ship turned hard to port and took only a slight hit to her starboard side, which started more fires. "Aim Gottfrieds!" Manchisco commanded. "Fire!"

"Evade, to port!" Seymour shouted. The energy beams struck a portion of the Valiant's rear quadrant, annihilating the ship's one remaining Valient cannon. "Damn. Where's the Intrepid?"

"Green alpha, five-two, Captain," Lester responded.

"Captain Norris, start engaging the enemy if you see the opportunity," Bradford ordered. "But don't get too careless and wander too far out. You're already damaged and we can't afford to lose you now."

"Yes, sir!" Norris answered.

"We've sealed off bulkheads thirty-six through forty-three, Admiral," a member of the Kusanagi's bridge crew reported. "We've lost 15 percent of our sensors as well."

"What's the status of the others?" Cantarii demanded. "Have they begun to engage the Nazcas?"

"They're almost there, Admiral. They should be within range soon."

"Admiral, sir," another voice came. "Message from the Vasconi. They're ready to sortie."

"Tell them to wait a little while longer," Cantarii ordered. "If Code-14's been initiated we'll need them to remain there for the time being. We'll take care of these guys, just tell them to hurry up with the preparations."

"Incoming missiles!"

"Evade!" Jackson shouted. As the ship moved, Cantarii said nothing. He watched the Valiant from the monitor on his chair and thought, Woodrow...why will you not let us leave?

Fernando...Bradford thought to himself on the bridge of the Valiant. Why must I fight against you...my friend...?

Inside Mendel, the colony shook as its exterior took another hit, this one striking just above the main dock entrance and blowing pieces of metal off into the black vortex beyond. Cagalli stammered on her feet as she struggled to regain her footing. She looked to her father and found him staring endlessly towards the monitors above him, his face emotionless, his tall form unmoving. How can he be so calm at a time like this? Cagalli wondered. He knows we're going to lose, so why...?

"Lord Uzumi." Father and daughter turned their heads to see the base's commander waltz in, his officers cap tucked under his arm. "The preparations are complete sir. We're forwarding the word to Admiral Cantarii as we speak."

"Have all other personnel been evacuated, Commander?" Uzumi asked.

"Yes, sir. Everyone except for us," the Commander responded. "And the Vasconi is waiting, sir."

"Tell them to prepare for takeoff," Uzumi ordered. "Have all remaining personnel board her at once. Tell Kisaka to be ready. Alert Admiral Cantarii that he is to regroup his forces and begin took initiate the withdrawal. We're abandoning Mendel!" he shouted.

"Yes, Lord," the Commander said, bowing his head.

As Uzumi turned back towards the monitors, personnel began removing themselves from the control room and heading towards the docks, their head-sets floating in the weightless state. Cagalli waited for her father to start to take his leave as well, but he instead walked closer to the monitors and looked up at the images playing back into his large eyes. Cagalli came up beside him and watched. She saw a mobile armor go up in flames as a GINN peppered its hull with cannon fire. The ZAFT ships were putting up a firestorm against the Peleuia and the Capricorn who were charging them with their guns blazing. Kusanagi was maneuvering fiercely in order to dodge fire coming from the Earth Forces ships. War was upon this place. After being left alone for so many months of the war, Mendel had finally been consumed by it.

"Father...?" Cagalli whispered. "Let's go."

Uzumi lowered his head and shut his eyes. "You get going, Cagalli. I must remain here."

Cagalli's eyes widened. "W-what?" she stammered. She balled her fist and leaned towards her father and added, "What do you mean your staying? I can't leave without you father."

"I have my own duties to attend to Cagalli," Uzumi responded quietly. "As do you as the heiress of Orb." Cagalli stood back and frowned. "We must press onward from here. Mendel is already lost and we must survive in order for the light we have kindled to burn. For that, I must remain here."

"Father please," Cagalli maintained, her expression becoming more and more fearful. "We'll escape together. I can't leave without you."

Uzumi ignored her and pressed the button for the radio. "Admiral Cantarii."

"Lord Uzumi?" came the thick accented reply.

"The Vasconi's heading out with our remaining personnel. Code-14 is in progress. Begin recalling your forces and rendezvous with the ship as it exits the colony." Uzumi's eyes became larger as he spoke and his expression changed from emotionless to a somewhat hopeful stare. "May fortunes smile upon you all."

"Sir!" Cantarii answered, saluting.

His image disappeared. "Father please!" Cagalli cried. "There's still time!"

"What are you still doing here, Cagalli?" Uzumi asked, quietly. Her body froze instantly, her blonde hair falling against her temples and her eyes beginning to mist. "You must leave now. As I said, I must remain here."

"But...but...aah!" Cagalli stumbled across the deck as Uzumi grabbed a hold of her arm and dragged her towards the door.

"I must attain to my duties, just as you must attain to yours," her father instructed, his voice rising as he guided her through the corridor.

Cagalli tried to plant her feet on the deck and stop him, but he dragged her up into the air as he pulled her so she couldn't stop him. "No please!" Cagalli cried, tears flinging out of the corners of her brown eyes.

Uzumi turned to his daughter with a scowl on his face and he shouted, "We're finished, if there is no one to carry on our hopes! Why can't you understand that!" Uzumi dragged her struggling form through the corridor and towards the docks.

Main cannons at the front of the twin Izumo-class ships' claws blazed through space towards the trio of ZAFT ships. "Evade!" the Captain of the Relentless ordered. The blue ship swung quickly to starboard but a beam got through and struck the port claw of the Nazca, causing an explosion that shook the ship. Slythr held tightly to the back of the Captain's chair and he scowled. This battle was turning on his forces just as quickly as it had started. The Orb forces had abandoned fighting against the Earth Forces and had concentrated their energies on him. Now his forces were in great danger as the two enemy ships approached.

Sirens blared throughout the ship as crews struggled to put the fires out. "Plasma surge is climbing past 300!" a crewman shouted.

"We've lost contact with Gold Three and Six, Commander!" came another cry.

"Hold on!" Slythr ordered. "We're not done yet." He was not going to go down in defeat now. Not after all that had transpired.

Kusanagi maneuvered away from the Valiant and turned back towards Mendel. "Signal flares!" Jackson commanded. Multi-colored flares rocketed out of the depth charge tubes at the base of the bridge and detonated in a flash of blue, green, and violet just beyond the ship's reach.

M1's stopped their battles suddenly and stared at the brilliant colors illuminating the black space all around them. "Withdrawal?" Mitch asked.

"Looks like it. Come on!" Orel commanded, turning his M1 back towards his ship, the remaining forces of his team following in his wake.

"Girls, let's move it!" Wayne ordered, waving the four M1s of his team past him. Asagi, Juri, and Mayura rushed past in their red and white mobile suits, sweat pouring down their foreheads and sticking to their visors. Wayne waited until they were all clear before heading back himself.

On the Valiant, Seymour watched as the flares died out in front of him. "They're falling back?" he wondered out loud.

"Their mobile suits are retreating, General," Tomer reported from in front of them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jessie asked through the radio.

"All forces, fall back and regroup," Bradford ordered. "Intrepid, rendezvous with us at mark twenty-seven charlie. We don't know what's going on here for certain, so we'll be careful. Reorganize our remaining forces and wait for further instructions. Captain McKinley?"

"Recall our mobile suits and mobile armors!" Seymour shouted. "Fire anti-beam depth charges!"

"They're calling us back, Jessie!" Keryuoko told her.

"All remaining forces!" Jessie commanded. "Regroup and return to your mother ships!" She turned her Strike Dagger back towards the Valiant and opened up the visor of her helmet. She shook her head from side to side and let the sweat fly off her face and the scattered strands of her dark blonde hair which were uncovered by her helmet. She was more tired than she originally thought. This battle had really taken it out of her. But she couldn't be relieved for long. She'd lost two of her mobile armor pilots and another was heavily damaged. A good half of her forces had been defeated and knowing the way the Earth Alliance command operated, she hoped she wouldn't be severely punished for her failure.

"Jessie, you okay?" She recognized Seymour's voice through the radio.

"Yes, I'm fine, Captain," Jessie responded. "Returning to the ship now." She pushed the Daggers thrusters to maximum and headed back towards her ship.

Inside Mendel, Uzumi stalked past the doors to the dock as he dragged Cagalli's still struggling form behind him. He stepped onto the gangway that led to the open hatch of the Vasconi where he saw Kisaka waiting. "Lord Uzumi! Cagalli!" Kisaka called to them as they approached.

Uzumi stopped suddenly and flung Cagalli's body towards Kisaka who caught her against his chest. "Go Kisaka!" Uzumi commanded loudly. "And take my foolish daughter with you!"

"Sir..." Kisaka responded.

Cagalli managed to turn her head enough to see her father's face and she shouted, "Father, no! Please!" Tears spilled out of her eyes like waterfalls and she didn't dare stop them. He couldn't do this! He couldn't...

Uzumi stepped forward and came right in front of his daughter. His strong hand reached towards her and laid itself upon her blonde hair, moving it slightly in his palm. He smiled down at her. "Stop giving me that look, Cagalli," he said quietly. "It doesn't suit a child."

"Father..." Cagalli cried.

"Don't worry, Cagalli," Uzumi said, removing his hand from her head and reaching it into the pocket of his jacket. "You're leaving your father, but you will not be alone." She saw him withdraw something and he extended it towards her form. Cagalli cleared her eyes of the tears and focused on the object. It was small and square. A photo. It contained the image of a woman. A woman with long, brown hair that Cagalli couldn't identify. She held two infants in her arms, a blonde haired one wrapped in a pink blanket, and a brown haired one wrapped in a blue blanket. A boy and a girl. "You'll be with your brother," Uzumi finished.

Cagalli's heart skipped a beat. Brother...! Her hand trembled as she reached for the photo and took it in her hand. She stared at the woman and the babies for several seconds and then turned the photo around. Her eyes widened and she gasped. There was writing on the back. It read, Kira...Cagalli. Cagalli gasped again as she looked to her father's face. He nodded his head, his long, brown hair swaying behind him.

She couldn't feel it, but Kisaka was walking her back into the ship, not turning her away from her father's form. Uzumi smiled at her. "I feel very fortunate to have been your father," he said. Then the door closed between them, syphoning him off from her. Cagalli cried out as the door separated them and she jumped free of Kisaka's grasp and banged her fists against the door, watching her father's form head away from her as the gangway retreated back towards the door of the dock. "N-no!" Cagalli cried, more tears coming from her eyes, her fists banging against the metal of the door, her heart breaking as she watched him leave.

"Fly Kisaka!" Uzumi shouted. "I'm counting on you!"

As his form disappeared, the Vasconi's engines activated and the restraints released the ship from the dock. "May the blessings of Haumai be with you," came a voice over the intercom. She ship lurched forward from the dock and soared towards the exit, zooming out into space like an eagle taking its first flight.

Cagalli cried as she watched Mendel grow smaller and smaller in her vision. "Father!" she cried quietly.

Kusanagi came up beside the ship as they pressed on towards their fellow ships who were busting a hole open for them to pass through. Peleuia and Capricorn fired their main cannons again, blowing apart a GINN and two GuAIZs before striking the Relentless on either claw, ripping massive holes into the blue hull.

Lights spilled through the bridge as alarms blared and sirens wailed. "Plasma surge rising past 600!" came a frightened cry. "We can't control it!" Slythr growled as the ships came up beside the crippled Nazca.

"Order the Hellderton and the Hoisingert to break away from us!" Slythr commanded.

"But-!" the Captain began to speak, but Slythr's harsh glare cut him off.

"We're finished, Captain," Slythr hissed. "Order abandon ship."

Peleuia and Capricorn soared through the opened hole as the dying Nazca slumped downwards in space, her sister ships moving away from her as the enemies passed. Traveling at high speed behind them, the Vasconi, escorted by the Kusanagi approached. "Prepare Lohengrin!" Jackson ordered. "We'll bust the hole wide open!"

"Positron bank at maximum," a crewman reported.

"Muzzle choke potential stabilized," a woman's voice added. "Target locked on."

The Intrepid came beside the Valiant as the Strike Daggers returned. "Damn," Seymour swore quietly. "We let them get away."

"General Bradford?" Captain Norris' voice came over the radio.

"Begin retreat, Brock," Bradford ordered solemnly. "There's no point in fighting on anymore."

The mighty plasma cannon on the side of the Kusanagi blared red as it prepared to unleash its fury. Small escape craft flooded out of the Relentless as Slythr stood emotionless on the bridge and watched the enemy approach. "Lohengrin," Jackson shouted, "Fire!" The cannon fired and the shot came right for Slythr's form and incinerated the bridge in seconds, turning it into a mass of flame and debris, sealing the coffin that was the ship's resting place.

Bradford watched the destruction unfold in front of him and he sighed. He watched the Orb ships flow through the opening between the ZAFT ships and head for open space. Fernando...he thought, sadly almost. "Members of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT." Bradford snapped his head towards the view screen at the front of the bridge where the voice had come from. On it was the wise face of Representative Uzumi Nara Athha of the Orb Union, his long, brown hair and beard easily recognizable.

Inside Mendel, the base commander inserted a key into its intended slot on the control board in front of him and Uzumi inserted his as well. They turned their keys simultaneously and a large, red button appeared from beneath the console. "Before we depart ways," Uzumi continued, "I must ask each and every one of you...to reach inside your soul and heart...and truly realize...what you're really fighting for." His voice echoed through space, the words entering the ears and minds of every individual in either force.

Uzumi shut his eyes and nodded to the commander beside him. He then reached forward and pushed down on the red button. Explosions blossomed across Mendel's bright surface as the self-destruct sequence activated. The explosions made a track all across the colony's exterior, reaching the dock and blowing apart apparatuses and steel girders. Debris swelled out of the exploding colony and into space. Uzumi stared at space for the longest time until the explosions consumed his body. The colony gave a great sigh, seemingly of great relief, and exploded in one gigantic ball of white flame.

A little ways away, the Relentless gave its final cry of battle and was consumed by fire as it too exploded. Cagalli watched the scene play out behind her and felt the tears sting her cheek as the Vasconi headed further and further away from what had been Mendel. She shut her eyes and thinned her lips as she trembled. "Father!" Her cry echoed through space as the Orb forces left Mendel behind forever.

Debris belt, 1040.

Silence reigned supreme at this time. Mwu and Kira huddled behind a piece of a destroyed spacecraft and waited. They both knew that Rau was still out there and based on what he'd been saying, they could tell that this wasn't going to end well. Mwu kept his hands firmly on the controls, even though his injured shoulder still cringed in pain whenever he moved it. "Today my secret shall be revealed!" he heard Rau call out to him. On the other side of the spacecraft, Rau stopped his CGUE when his sensors indicated that he'd discovered the Strike and the Freedom. "I did not come into this world through natural birth!"

Mwu exhaled painfully through his teeth. "Damn it," he mumbled. "Hey Kira!" He turned to make sure the younger man was okay, but Kira didn't respond. Inside the Freedom's cockpit, Kira faced the front viewport with his eyes wide and his mouth open, though no words came forth from his throat. Siblings...sacrificed...twins...what is he telling me...? What does this all mean? Kira thought hopelessly to himself.

"My genes were altered artificially, early in the embryonic stage of my development," Rau continued. Mwu turned his head towards where the voice was coming from and saw the CGUE peek out from behind the debris. Mwu pointed the rifle at him and saw Rau do the same to him. "George Glenn was the first Coordinator whom humanity knew. Do you have any idea how much darkness spread across the world because of the chaos he unleashed?" Rau smiled. "I wonder if anyone truly comprehends the full extent of what that man set into motion."

Kira finally raised his head and looked back up at the monitor in front of him. That photo was still there, staring him back in the face, the boy with brown hair seemingly staring through the photo back at him. "You should know this very well, Kira. When George Glenn confessed the fact that his genes had been altered at birth and transmitted the manual for the technology back to Earth, it transformed the way people think about having children. Because of this many people wanted to genetically engineered their babies...in order to fulfill their dream of having the perfect family. The costs of these genetic enhancements were astronomical, but they didn't care. Just as long as the children turned out perfect! They disregarded all their morale values in exchange for this dream and when it didn't come true...we know what that leads to."

Mwu's eyes narrowed and his vision bored into the CGUE staring back at him. "People paid a great price for this dream," Rau proclaimed, "so of course they wanted it to come true. No one ever wants to see their dreams shattered. But many people discovered that their children did not come out as they had dreamed. Those people later learned that the greatest obstacle in embryonic development was the mother's body. Dr. Hibiki realized this sooner than most did, Kira. It was because of this that he built the artificial womb...but it was not designed for others...for you see...Dr. Hibiki had something more diabolical in mind...which turned out to be you!"

"Huh?" Kira gasped. Diabolical? "What do you mean?" he said weakly.

"Is that what drove them onward? Because people demanded that their hopes and dreams come true no matter what?" Kira shut his eyes tightly and shook his head violently. However, when he opened them, he was not where he had been. Instead, he discovered he was floating...floating in air...in some place...he didn't...no wait! He did recognize this place. Mendel! And below him...he could see...

"Damn! Increase the power to the filtration system!" Kira snapped his head to his right and caught a glimpse of two people standing over what appeared to be...the artificial womb? A man and a woman. Kira recognized the woman. The one in the photo... Sirens were blaring all through the room and people were running about frantically.

"Please stop it!" he heard the woman beg. "That's a human life in there! Not just a thing!"

"I know that!" the man retorted. "That's exactly why I have to see this through to the end!"

Kira's body trembled inside the Freedom. His eyes began to mist. His throat dried up. He couldn't speak. "And what did people gain from this!" Rau screamed. "What did they get! What was the result of their dreams!"

"You liar!" Kira opened his eyes again. He was somewhere else. He could see the man and the woman below him... "Give him back! Give my other child back to me!"

"He's my son!" the man shouted back at her. "I'll use the finest technology to create the Ultimate Coordinator!"

Kira's mind raced. His blood pulsed through his body. Ultimate Coordinator! That phrase again. The one Rau had used earlier. No...it can't be...! Kira told himself weakly, even though every second that passed brought him closer and closer to accepting it as fact. Just then, he saw another vision. The man was below him...talking to some others who were clapping all around him. And above them...her belly swollen...was the woman...sitting by herself...crying. Kira himself felt like crying at that moment as well.

"They thirsted for knowledge...they sought to fulfill their desires!" Rau's voice echoed through space. "And ultimately, they forgot why they were doing it!"

"Kira!" Mwu called out to him, trying to snap him out of it, but it was no use. Kira was totally out of it.

"Even as they began proclaiming their preference for human life, they began toying with it...and then they began destroying it!"

"Shut up!" Mwu shouted, firing the Strike's rifle at that bastard's mobile suit. His shots missed though and Rau fired back, hitting the debris shield with his own fire. The force shook the debris and caused Mwu to pull back. Kira shook inside the Freedom's cockpit. His eyes had seen it. What Rau was telling him. But still...Kira didn't want to believe it. Couldn't believe it!

"No matter what we learn...no matter what we manage to obtain...nothing ever changes!" Rau shouted. Then he laughed. "People are amazing that way! They become envious...hate each other...and destroy each other! If that's what they truly desire, why don't they simply exterminate each other!"

"What gives you the right to sound so superior!" Mwu thundered back. He fired the rifle again, but the shot missed.

Rau frowned and returned fire, hitting the Strike in the leg, shearing it off below the knee. Mwu held tight to the controls as the mobile suit shook. Rau smiled. "I am the only one who's earned that right! In the entire universe...I alone have the right to judge all of humanity!"

"You're insane!" Mwu shouted. "Cut the crap you jack-ass!"

Rau chuckled. "I'm surprised you don't remember...we've met once before Mwu...long before we ever met on the battlefield!"

Mwu's eyes widened. "We did what!"

"Of course you don't remember, Mwu...you're old man...I am he...that arrogant fool...who thought he could thwart death itself with his money! Al da Flaga...your father, but I am merely that man's defective clone!"

"What! My dad's clone! You expect anyone to believe that fairy tale, you bastard!"

"I don't want to believe it either," Rau responded, "but unfortunately, it's true!" Rau smiled. "The final door is about to open...and I'm the one opening it! Then the world we know will come to an end...this world of insatiable desires will end!" Kira's eyes snapped open and his hands gripped the Freedom's controls tightly. "Then the conceded fools who reside within it will finally have their wish come true!"

"You bastard!" Mwu shouted. "There's no way that will happen. That's not possible!"

"You still don't believe me, Mwu!" Rau shouted. "Well then I'll make you believe!" Rau quickly reached up to his face and tore away his mask. Mwu saw him through the Strike's monitor and his heart sank. He was staring at...his father. His eyes...his blue eyes. His father's face. It...it couldn't be...! "Now do you believe! This world is coming to an end and there's nothing anyone can do about it!"

"Mwu!" The Strike was suddenly thrown backwards as Kira put the Freedom in front of it. He fired his beam rifle constantly and then fired all of his guns at once, annihilating debris all around them. "It won't happen...I won't let you do this you son of a bitch!"

Rau scowled inside the CGUE and quickly made his way away from the fight. His work was done...well, almost done. "Mwu, come on!" Kira called to his friend, taking the Strike under his arm and hauling it back out of the debris towards safety.

Archangel, 1045.

The Dominion hid itself behind a cluster of debris in order to conceal itself while it fired its guns at the rapidly swerving Archangel. "Anything from any of our forces, Ensign Pal?" Murrue asked.

"Nothing, ma'am. The radio's are still being jammed."

"Incoming missiles!" Tonomura shouted.

"Evade!"

The ship turned hard to port and the people in the hangar tried viciously to hold onto something in order to keep their balance. Murdoch and Jay managed to secure themselves to a sturdy piece of railing at the base of the deck and kept themselves upright. "What the hell is going on up there?" Jay wondered out loud.

"We're screwed unless we do something quick," Murdoch put in. "If we could figure out what's up with those bombs they put around the bombers we may be able to eke our way out of here."

"What explosives?" They turned their heads just in time to see Stevy float up beside them.

"Stevy!" Jay beamed. "What happened to Richards?"

"He went out in a blaze of glory," Stevy quipped. "Now, what's wrong with the bombers?"

"They wired some kind of explosives to 'em and we didn't want to touch them in case they went off," Murdoch responded. "Until we figure 'em out there's not much we can do so..."

"Did they touch the Buster?"

"No they didn't, we-." Murdoch's words caught in his mouth when he turned to see who had spoken to him. Dearka grinned slyly at his reaction. "Duh...k-kid...I...I thought..."

"She's okay right?" Dearka said, moving closer towards the Buster sitting against the starboard wall of the hangar.

"Uh...yeah...she's fine..." Murdoch stammered.

"Good. Hold this." Dearka stretched the blade towards Murdoch who took it gingerly in his hands. "Do not lose that!" Dearka ordered. He kicked off the deck and floated into the weightless state of the hangar, leaving a stunned Murdoch in his wake. He punched the button to open the cockpit and swung his form inside of it. He plopped down inside the seat and moved around in it, discovering that it felt just as it had when he had last been inside it. As he took in his settings, he noticed that the targeting computer that had usually moved over his eyes to give him his readings was gone. Then he noticed the circular bracket at the head of his diagnostic board and powered it up. Waves spread across the circle as the Buster's systems came online. "This is new," Dearka said to himself, brushing a lock of blonde hair away from his eyes. "Hey Chief!" he said into the radio. "Open the hatch for me, will ya? Gotta take this old girl out for a spin."

The Archangel turned hard to port as its one remaining Valient cannon lit up the black space with yellow energy beams. The Dominion barrel rolled on its top and fired its Gottfried cannons, the shots just barely missing the bridge. "Damn," Murrue swore. "Where's the Strike and the Freedom?"

"I can't get a reading on them, ma'am," Miriallia reported. "The debris' messing with the signals." Murrue sighed long and quiet, hoping that Mwu was alright.

"Look at the hatch!" Neumann shouted suddenly. Murrue turned back towards the front of the ship and saw the starboard hatch swing open and outwards as if it was going to launch something into the fray.

"Who is that?" Miriallia said into the radio. "What are you doing?"

"How else am I supposed to launch Buster?" Her eyes widened. She knew that voice! But it couldn't be. It was. Just then, his image came up onto the console screen in front of her eyes. His blonde hair sparkled in the dim lighting of the Buster's cockpit and his cocky smile was the same as she remembered it. Though there appeared to be something different about him. Something more older and mature, as if he had grown up all of a sudden. "D-d-Dearka..." she breathed quietly. "How...how did you...?"

"Are you gonna let me go out and save the rest of those idiots' asses or what?" he said. "Those bastards in the Earth Alliance are still out there."

"Uh...okay...roger that...you're clear to launch Buster..."

"Is it really...Dearka...?" Sai asked quietly from beside her.

"Yeah..." Miriallia whispered back. "It is him." For some reason, it seemed as though a two ton boulder had suddenly been lifted out of her chest and she was breathing easier than she had in months. What's wrong with me? she asked herself as she watched the Buster head onto the catapult.

Dearka reached forward and pressed the button to activate the Buster's phase shift armor, turning the mobile suit from grey to shades of light and dark green. The huge guns grasped in the mobile suit's arms powered to life for the first time in a long time. Dearka rested back against the cushion of the chair and watched as the board above him began to change from red to all green, which would give him permission to launch. He smiled. "Let's see if I remember how to do this." The board went all green and the Buster surged down the catapult and rocketed into space.

A seed exploded before Athrun's eyes. He switched the Justice into HiMAT mode and fired the guns on the scarlet red mobile suit's backpack at the Forbidden. Shani pulled the green backpack around him and deflected the beams. Athrun cursed silently and kept firing at the Forbidden with his beam rifle. "This isn't working...we're running out of time." Just then his diagnostic board began beeping. He turned his head to it and saw that something was approaching. The computer identified it. His eyes widened and his mind began racing. "Hey! Who pulled the Buster out?" he shouted into the radio.

"I did!" came the response. Athrun gasped and looked out of the cockpit just in time to see the Buster combine its two long, sleek, black guns and fire a burst of energy at the Forbidden, knocking it backwards and away from the Justice. A face appeared on the monitor above Athrun and his mouth dropped. "Long time no see, Athrun," Dearka said to his friend. "You're really something in that thing, you know."

"Dearka..." Athrun breathed. "I thought...I thought..."

"That I was dead? Heh. You should know that it takes more than some Naturals little explosives to kill me." Athrun slowly let a smile creep across his face and his energy suddenly became fresh anew. "Let's show them what happens when you trifle with us," Dearka suggested.

"Right!" Athrun pushed hard on the controls and sent the Justice soaring back into the fight, his energy and will reborn.

The Vesalius loomed large in front of him as Rau piloted the CGUE back toward his command ship. His head was stinging in pain and his throat was burning. He struggled to get his mask back onto his face as he keyed the radio. "Ades..." he said weakly.

"Commander!" Ades responded. "Is everything alright?"

"Release the pod now!" Rau choked. "Hurry up and fire the signal flares and get our machines back!" Rau wheezed through his mouth trying to get some sort of oxygen into his dry lungs. He coughed several times before he finally caught his breath. As he came close, he saw the Vesalius' side hatch swing open and an object came tumbling out. The green escape pod. Rau smiled. The key was on its way to the final door. Now all that remained was that his esteemed adversary retrieve it.

Inside the pod, Flay cried out as she clung to the edges of her cramped quarters. She clutched the disk in her palm as she held on for dear life. From inside it, she could see lights in the distance, meaning that a battle was nearby. She shrieked out in fear as a debris piece nearly clipped the pod. She frantically searched for the radio key to signal the Archangel and have her friends come and rescue her. "Archangel help!" she cried. "Please Archangel!" It was no use. The radio wouldn't work!

Yzak roared a battle cry as he chopped at the Calamity with his beam saber, the weapon slicing off a portion of Orga's bazooka. Orga flung the weapon away just before it exploded and fired back with his Schlag cannons. "You'll pay for that!"

"Damn it!" Yzak swore, maneuvering the Duel in an awkward path in order to dodge the shots. "Who the...huh?" Yzak stopped suddenly. Another mobile suit was approaching. It was green and had guns attached to both of its arms. He knew it well. "The Buster...?" he said quietly. He thought of the person who he had grown used to seeing inside of it. His friend Dearka. The one who had gone missing after the failed attempt to destroy the legged ship before Spitbreak. What was it...? Yzak's teeth ground together. "You bastard!" he shouted, firing the cannon on his shoulder and releasing a barrage of missiles at the Buster. "How dare you use Dearka's machine!"

Dearka cried out as he jumped up in order to dodge the incoming shots. "Yzak..." he whispered, recognizing the Duel. "Damn it."

Athrun flung a beam boomerang at the Forbidden. Shani moved aside and aimed his plasma cannon at the Justice. But just as he fired, the boomerang came back and chopped through the green mobile suit's left knee, shearing the limb off. Shani still got the shot off though and it struck the Justice square in the head, blowing it to pieces. Athrun grasped the controls firmly as he struggled to maintain control of the Justice. Shani fired his rail guns but just then a shot from the Zero's top cannon struck him in the torso. Frank set his barrels to stutter fire and put up a barrage all around the Forbidden, cutting the Justice off from it. "Kid, get back to the Archangel and help her get out of here!" he shouted. Athrun groaned as he turned the Justice away from the fight and headed back towards the Archangel.

The Archangel maneuvered around a destroyed hulk and was within range of escaping the debris belt. "Maintain this heading Ensign Neumann!" Murrue ordered. "Get us out of here!"

"Blue fourteen delta!" Sai shouted. "The Dominion's right on top of us!"

"What!" Murrue gasped.

"Aim Gottfrieds!" Hal commanded. "Fire!" Twin laces of green energy shot out from the Dominion's main cannons downward towards the Archangel, annihilating one of its Gottfrieds in the process. "Increase speed and prepare Lohengrin-!" Hal's command was cut off as something powerful struck the Dominion, jarring it heavily.

"Impact on starboard side! Igelstellungs four and five have been hit!"

"Valient two is inoperable!"

"What the hell was that!" Sutherland demanded. "You didn't run into anything did you!"

"Contact at charlie omega thirteen, Admiral," one of the crew shouted. "It's another warship!"

"Archangel!" Lacus shouted from the Eternal's bridge. The main cannon fired shot after shot after shot. Another shot struck the debris all around the Dominion, blinding its sensors and blocking the ship's view of the other enemies in the area. "Are you alright?" Lacus asked.

"We're fine!" Murrue responded. "We need to get out of here, fast!"

Colors lit up the black space then. Signal flares, fired from the Vesalius and the Ziegler. Yzak turned his head towards the colored flares and cursed to himself. "They're recalling us already!"

As Yzak watched, Clotho snuck behind him and fired the Raider's mouth cannon at the Duel's back, striking it square on. Yzak cried out as his machine surged forward from the impact. He brought the Assault Shroud's cannon to bear just in time to blow apart a steel debris piece before he smashed into it. "Gotcha!" Clotho shouted.

"Yzak!" The Raider surged forward, something striking it from behind. Clotho banged his chest against the controls as he was knocked forward by the impact. The Buster emerged from behind the Raider, its guns trained on the red and black mobile suit. Dearka fired his guns again at the Raider, but Clotho transformed into flight mode and soared under the shots and headed back away from the fight.

Dearka watched the enemy mobile suit fly away and turned his attention back towards the Duel, which had turned to face him as well. Yzak sat wide-eyed in the cockpit, his mind racing over what he'd just heard. He knew that voice. The voice that had just called out to him. But...how could it be? Dearka? What the hell was he doing with the legged ship! More signal flares exploded in the distance and snapped Yzak out of his thoughts. He shook his head and pushed the Duel's thrusters to their limits, soaring away from the Buster and back towards his ship. Dearka watched the Duel leave. "Yzak..." he murmured, watching his friend leave.

Debris belt, 1050.

Through the massive amounts of rapidly twisting debris flew the Freedom, the Strike strung beneath its arm. Sweat poured down Kira's brow as he frantically searched for the Archangel. Sweat that had come from what Rau had just told him. About who he was. Kira opened up his visor and shook his head, the droplets of sweat spewing out onto the front canopy. Just then, he spotted the Archangel just a little ways ahead of him. Mwu saw it too. She looked okay. He smiled inside his helmet, a trail of blood trickling down from the cut on his lower lip. "That a girl," he whispered. "She's still hanging in there."

"Captain! It's the Freedom!" Miriallia called from the Archangel's bridge.

"Mwu's been wounded!" Kira radioed.

Murrue gasped. Mwu! "Tell them to hurry back here! Fire signal flares and recall all of our mobile units!"

"Fire main cannon!" Andy ordered on the Eternal. "Cover them!"

"Hang on Mwu," Kira said to his friend as he headed towards the Archangel, which was now firing signal flares out of its rear missile tubes in order to recall the rest of the mobile units. Frank and Athrun saw these flares and quickly abandoned the fights they were currently in and headed back.

Just as Kira came close to the Archangel, suddenly there came a frightened shriek. "Archangel!" Kira's eyes snapped wide open and his body went stiff. His hands relaxed off of the controls and the Freedom slowed. "Archangel! It's me, Flay! Flay Allster!"

All at once the battle stopped. The Dominion's bridge went silent as everyone was shocked to hear the high-pitched cry for help all of a sudden. Azrael and Sutherland each looked out the front viewport with perplexed expressions on their faces. Hal turned towards the CIC where a crewman said, "It's coming from a ZAFT escape pod, Captain. Green alpha, two-zero."

"Escape pod?" Azrael said. "What is this? What's this all about?"

"Allster..." Sutherland murmured. "I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere before...but where?"

Flay screamed, "Archangel...I'm here! Please...help me!"

"What...?" Murrue gasped quietly, hearing the young girl's voice after all this time.

"Flay..." Sai murmured. Dearka, Athrun, and Frank each stopped what they were doing and froze inside their cockpits.

"I...I have something...a key...a key that's supposed to end this war...so help me!"

"Flay..." Kira said quietly. He recognized her voice. The voice of the girl he'd been close to and attracted to for all those days in the past. The girl he'd promised he'd come back to and speak to...but never did. How did she get out here? Where had she been all this time?

"Kira!" Mwu shouted. He pushed the Freedom under the arm with the Strike's thrusters at maximum just in the nick of time to dodge incoming fire from the Calamity and Forbidden. "Kira! Snap out of it!" Kira couldn't hear him. His mind was too clogged with thoughts of Flay...and what danger she must be in. She was in danger...he had promised to protect her...and yet he couldn't...

"Damn it!" Dearka swore. He combined the Buster's guns and fired several shots at the approaching enemy mobile suits which scattered in order to evade the shots. "We've gotta get out of here now!"

"Archangel, get the hell out of here!" Athrun ordered. "We'll cover you!" He switched into HiMAT mode and fired the Justice's guns at the scattered mobile suits, catching two Strike Daggers square in the head, crippling them.

"Boost engines!" Murrue ordered. "Get us out of here!" White fire cascaded from the ship's engines as they rocketed it away from the debris belt. Eternal followed suit, keeping close to the Archangel in case there were any more enemies in the area that were waiting to surprise them.

Kira finally located where Flay was. He saw the escape pod, glowing green against the grey mesh of the debris. "Flay," he called. His hand made its way to the radio control and he jerked it back and forth several times, trying to get a signal. "Flay!" he screamed again.

Inside the pod, Flay's body stiffened when she heard his voice. "What...?" she whispered to herself. "Kira...?" Was it him? Was he alive?

"Flay..." Kira murmured into the radio, his voice trembling.

"Kira, is it...is it you...?" Flay responded, tears beginning to streak down her beautiful face.

"Kira, come on!" Athrun shouted, coming beside the Freedom and Strike. "Stop it already! You'll kill yourself!"

"Get them out of here, Athrun!" Dearka shouted. He opened both shoulder sockets on the Buster and released as many missiles into the debris around the Dominion as he could, creating a barrier of explosions in order to shield them from enemy attacks. Debris blew apart as the missiles struck it, causing even more meteors of death to fly across space, obliterating mobile suits that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the line of fire.

"Kid, let's go," Mwu said weakly, his shoulder still throbbing in pain from the wound he'd gotten. "We've got to get out of here while we still can...!"

"Listen to him, Kira," Athrun added. "It's too late for you to do anything else. You're in no condition to put up a fight now!"

"She's...she's someone I hurt..." Kira blurted. "I...I promised...I promised I'd protect her..." Kira could see tears beginning to dot the visor of his helmet and he realized he was crying. Crying over his friend. The one he'd failed to protect and come back to. The one who he had brought so close to his heart. Why couldn't he protect her? Why was she the one all the bad stuff happened to? Kira sobbed endlessly as he headed back towards the retreating ships.

"Come on Dearka, let's move!" Frank commanded.

"Got it!" Dearka turned the Buster around and boosted his thrusters. He left the debris belt behind him a mess with destroyed enemy craft and damaged pieces of machinery. His breath came in shallow heaves as he operated the Buster's controls. It had been a while since he'd done this. And he was dead tired right now. Hopefully...my bed's...still waiting...for me... he thought tiredly to himself as he followed the rest of the group out of the debris and back into open space to safety.

Dominion, 1105.

The bridge felt awkwardly tense. The crew still went about their duties as they would at any average time, not speaking much except to report the status of repairs and other matters since the enemy forces had left the area. The fires that had started had been brought under control quickly and repairs were proceeding at a rapid pace. Out of the Dominion's ten Strike Daggers, only five returned. The Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider all returned intact, their pilots a little worse for wear after the harsh battle they had just fought. Before he returned, Orga had been ordered to bring in the ZAFT escape pod that contained the so called key that would end the war, plus Flay Allster as an added bonus. That was who Azrael, Sutherland, and Hal were waiting for on the bridge at that time. "Well it appears that you were correct in your analysis, Captain Omanney," Sutherland admonished his subordinate. "The pod wasn't a trap after all. All that the people in the hangar found inside was the girl. Who did you say she was again?"

"She's the daughter of the late George Allster," Hal repeated. "The former Vice Minister of the Atlantic Federation. Plus she's just a civilian, so we can't just leave her out here floating among the debris."

"I see your point," Azrael put in. "But what I find interesting about this situation is the phrase she used. 'The key that's supposed to end this war.' What did she mean by that?"

"She'll be here shortly, sir," Sutherland said. "We'll have our answers then. The fleet's going to be leaving the debris and heading back to the lunar base in a few hours as soon as repairs are complete. Even though our mission was practically a failure because we allowed the ship of traitors to escape."

"We'll worry about that later, Admiral," Azrael cautioned him. "It won't be reported as a total loss. Namora's dead, so that's one less thorn in our side we'll have to worry about. The rest of those traitors will fall in due time. Besides...we have more pressing matters to attend to right now."

"Director Azrael," Rutherford said beside him. "If I may ask sir...what are you planning on doing with the girl...the one in the escape pod?"

"Let's see what she has to offer us," Azrael answered, standing up from his chair as the bridge doors opened behind him. "If it's just a false pretense, then we'll deal with her as we do all traitors to the Earth Alliance." Rutherford exhaled quietly enough so that Azrael couldn't hear him. He glanced behind him at Hal and found him glancing back at him in much the same manner.

A soldier motioned the way to the bridge and a reluctant Flay floated in, clutching the disk to her green uniform. Her eyes didn't meet any others on the bridge as she entered, her head down and her mouth closed tightly. Her mind was still racing after hearing his voice just a few moments ago. Kira...she thought sadly. He's...alive...

"Ah, so you're the girl," Azrael remarked, floating up to meet her. Flay looked slowly up at his face and saw the fire burning in his eyes. "So...do you have it...this key?" Flay produced the disk in her hand and held it out to him. Azrael smiled as he took the small device in his hand and brought it to his face. "Well it looks as if you were telling the truth. Who gave this to you...?" he asked slyly.

Flay averted her gaze to avoid staring into his almost horrifying face. "Commander...le Creuset..." she answered quietly. "He...wears a mask..."

"Uh-huh..." Azrael hummed in response. "Admiral please come with me. We'll analyze this key and see if it's worth anything to us." Sutherland pushed himself out of his chair and followed Azrael's form out of the bridge as the doors closed behind them.

Flay held her gaze towards the deck, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone at this time. However, when she did finally raise her head, she was shocked at what she saw. She saw a man...sitting in the captain's chair...turned around to look at her. He had brown hair combed back away from his face...which looked startlingly familiar. His eyes appearedwere familiar to heras well. Sowere his nose and mouth. Flay's heart raced and her eyes began to mist. She knew that face. She thought she'd never see it again. Daddy...?

Hal saw the terrified look in the girl's eyes and felt so sad for her. He gingerly pushed himself out of his chair and stood up to face her. "Ms. Allster..." he began. Before he could approach the girl to speak with her, she had thrown herself at him and smashed her face into his shoulder, sobbing loudly. Her voice cried as the tears drained from her eyes and her body pushed Hal back into the back of his chair. The expression on his face could not even compare with the surprise and confusion inside of him. What was she doing? She cried continuously into his shoulder, her sobs becoming louder and louder. The crew looked to their Captain in search of answers, but Hal had none. How could he? With little choice in the matter, he brought one of his hands up to the girl's back and held her there, letting her cry on his shoulder. Yeardley came out of the CIC and stood near him. "Get a room prepared for her," Hal told his first mate, as he rubbed the sobbing girl's back with the palm of his hand. "She's had a long day. She needs a rest after all that's happened."

Inside Sutherland's office, Azrael inserted the disk into the computer on his comrade's desk. "I can't imagine what's on that disk that would end the war, Mr. Azrael," Sutherland said from behind him. "She's only a little girl after all."

"le Creuset gave her this, Admiral," Azrael responded firmly. "Everything he's provided me with so far has been completely useful in the destruction of those space monsters." He managed a slight smile as the first images from the disk splayed out onto the computer screen. "And this appears to be no different. This disk contains the specs for those two mobile suits I was interested in."

Sutherland watched the green outlines of the mobile suits flash on the screen. "Still that doesn't solve the question, Mr. Azrael, of what that girl meant by the key to end...the war..." His hand, which had been resting against his forehead dropped down to his side. His eyes widened and his pulse quickened. Azrael's eyes widened as well and his jaw dropped ever so slightly. Then a devilish smile came onto his face. A result of what had just come onto the screen. It was a white flash of data with many numbers and words accompanying it. But it was the words at the top, in dark red letters, that caused Azrael's heart to skip a beat and his body to churn with excitement. The words read; N-Jammer Canceller. Solemn laughter escaped from Azrael's throat as he took in what had just happened. What he now had in his possession. The means to destroy the Coordinators! The means to end this war and eliminate all of those bastards once and for all! His laughter increased to a maniacal climax and he clutched his head with both of his hands. "Yessss!" he cried out, his voice echoing all across the vastness of space.

Archangel, 1300.

"Compound 56? What exactly is that stuff, Stevy?" Murdoch asked.

"To put it simple Chief, it's a combination of jelly, gasoline, and a whole shit load of other flammable chemicals," Stevy responded, holding up a container of the mixture he'd siphoned out of one of the explosives planted on the bombers. "Which means that this stuff is worse than napalm when it comes to explosions. What's interesting is that this stuff comes from only one place. The PLANTs."

"But then how does the Earth Alliance have this then?" Murdoch put in.

"Beats me," Stevy responded. "But unless we found out how, we may find ourselves in a load of trouble real soon."

The door to the infirmary slid open gently and silently to allow Murrue to see what was happening inside. The white setting on the walls, beds, and deck were bright to her eyes and she squinted at first. She saw him, lying sprawled out on one of the beds, his chest heavily bandaged. It made her heart hurt to see him like this. Red stains marked the position of his wounds on his shoulder and his lip was still split. His eyes were closed to make it seem peaceful in there, but Murrue knew that it probably wasn't. Cautiously, she took a step inside. As she came closer to him, his eyes opened up little by little. He managed a slight smile when she came beside his bed and sat down on the stool next to it. Her beauty made his pain go away almost immediately and when she smiled back at him his heart lifted up into the heavens. "Hi," he managed softly.

"Hi," Murrue whispered back.

Mwu closed his eyes and said, "Sorry. Sorry I came back like this."

Murrue reached towards him and touched his cheek. "It's not your fault. We broke free of the debris belt and we're heading back."

"Everyone else okay?" he asked softly. "The kid, I mean."

"Kira's back on the Eternal now. I'm told he wasn't wounded in battle. Everyone else made it back alright, but..."

Mwu could see some sort of reluctance in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he said.

She struggled to find the right words and finally said, "There was another battle...at Mendel. The colony was destroyed. Lord Uzumi didn't make it out alive."

Mwu sighed sadly. "This day was bad alright. I wouldn't be surprised that something like this would happen to us. After all that's happened before, like JOSH-A and Cuba. Especially with le Creuset involved..."

"Mwu..." Murrue reached down and took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "We'll be fine. le Creuset can't do anything to hurt you while you're with us. There's nothing wrong with your being able to sense him." He'd told her that a few months before when they'd started confessing their secrets to one another. "He's..."

"He's a clone of my father." Murrue's eyes widened as she looked into his face. His eyes were big and hollow when she looked into them. There wasn't any denial in them.

"Mwu...can you be sure...?"

Mwu turned his head on the pillow to look away from her. His mind replayed the image of the photo of his father he'd seen on the Strike's monitor. Then he saw what Rau looked like beneath his mask. An exact replica of his father's face. His blue eyes. His large nose. "Yeah..." he said hoarsely. "I...didn't want to believe it either...but...ugh...this is unbelievable. How could this...happen? The guy's a failed product nonetheless. A shortened telometer and his aging process is accelerated. What...does this all mean though...?"

"It's not your fault, Mwu," Murrue repeated, stroking his hand with her gentle fingers. "None of this is."

"I've got to stop him. He'll destroy us all if I don't..." He looked back up into Murrue's face and added, "le Creuset...he wants to judge all of humanity based on what they've done in the past. Make them pay for what he feels are the wrong things in the world...before he ends up wasting away into the darkness that he is..."

Murrue sighed uneasily. "So he wants to bring the whole world down with him?"

Mwu paused. "Yeah..." he said reluctantly. "It's going to be tough to stop him now, though. John's...gone. So...we don't...have a...leader..." Murrue could see a tear welling up in the corner of his eye. She felt so badly for him now. To have learned all this. To have lost the only father figure he'd had in his life. To have learned about what devious acts his real father had done to him. It was all so horrible. And to have had all of this thrust upon him in a span of less than three hours. It was terrible.

For a good half an hour, Murrue sat by his bedside, holding his hand while he stirred occasionally, talking to him softly, encouraging him should he begin to doubt himself. At some point, she saw that his eyes were closed and realized he had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful now. Like a child almost. She smiled as he heart melted inside of her. "Sweet dreams, my love," she whispered as she leaned over the bed and kissed him lightly on the lips. She felt him respond back slightly to her kiss and she reluctantly took her leave.

Black space stared back at Frank as he stood in the ship's observation room at the rear of the bridge tower. The stars winked back at him from a distance. His mind was trying to get things in order at this time. All that had happened today. His heart was feeling more bruised than it had in years. The father figure of his life for the past ten years was gone. So was one of his good friends. Another had been hurt badly. His sister had barely escaped from death. And the woman he...cared about...had been hurt as well. Everyone in his life had been hurt in front of his eyes today and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. It stung his heart like a jagged razor. He kept wondering what he could've done differently to prevent this. Prevent people from dying and being hurt. Wetness developed in the corner of his eye. Why did this always happen to him? What had he done wrong? His father had been killed before his eyes. His mother had...never mind. Why was there so much death associated with him? Why...why...?

"Commander...?" Frank turned his head to his left and saw someone standing in the doorway.

"Lieutenant?" he said softly. Natarle skipped off the deck and floated into the room. "Are you...okay...?"

"Yes," Natarle answered, stopping beside him. "I'm fine. The doctor said it was only a bump on the head, so..."

Frank smiled. "Good. The bastard did his job."

Natarle smiled a bit at that remark. "Are you okay...Frank?"

"Yeah..." he responded quickly, averting his gaze and returning to face the stars. "Just fine..." His head shook as he said this.

"What's wrong?" Natarle asked thoughtfully. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying," Frank responded, rubbing at his eye with the sleeve of his shirt. "Something in my eye...stupid thing won't come out..." His body was shaking as his did this and Natarle could hear quiet sobs coming from his nose. Her body began to hurt inside, feeling his pain. All that he'd lost today. She felt so sorry for him and so sad for him. After all he'd been through today, he'd still taken the time to make sure she would be okay. No one had ever done that for her before. Frank stood still again and continued staring out into space, watching the stars wink back at him. Then, he felt something warm and soft on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly and saw Natarle next to him, her hand laid gently on his shoulder. "I thought that qualified as sexual harassment in your book, Natarle?"

"There's a time for duty," Natarle responded quietly. She moved her face close to his and added, "And there's a time for helping your friends." He saw her smile. He'd been afraid he'd never see it again. He smiled himself and laid the palm of his hand on hers and squeezed it. She did nothing to stop him. More tears spilled from his eyes, but Frank didn't bother to stop them. He was sick of holding it in anymore. Natarle pressed her side against his and gently laid her hand against his back while he cried. Their temples touched ever so slightly as she held him, the stars winking happily at them in the distance.

His legs felt weak as he walked down the corridor. Dearka was more tired than he realized. His eyes drooped and felt heavier than they ever had before. He came to an intersection of corridors and paused against the wall to get his breath. He banged his hand against his chest in order to get his breathing going again. Dearka still couldn't believe it. He'd actually fought against his friend in a mobile suit. "Yzak..." he mumbled to himself. He stood up straight again. He heard running footsteps coming down the adjacent corridor as he stepped out into it.

"Watch out!" Before Dearka knew what hit him, someone had crashed into his body and thrown him down on the deck, his head facing the ceiling. He heard the figure gasp. His eyes opened. He stared into Miriallia's startled face as she was on top of him. Her blue eyes were wide with shock and surprise and her slender figure was rigid as she straddled his body with her own. Dearka began shaking a bit as well, in fear almost. "Dearka..." Miriallia breathed. "What's wrong?"

"D'uh..." Dearka stammered. "Well...the last time you jumped on me...you had a knife in your hand, honey," he managed.

Miriallia sighed and then managed a smile. "I'm not trying to kill you this time. I'm only happy to see you alive that is. You're not scared of me anymore...are you?"

"Actually I kind of like this position," Dearka responded.

"Get up." Miriallia stood back on her feet and lent him a hand to get back on his. "Someone hit their growth spurt I see."

"Yeah, I did," Dearka said, now a full head's length taller than the girl. "Earth Alliance service will do that to you?"

"You were with the Earth Forces?" Miriallia gasped. "But you're a Coordinator. How did you evade detection? How did you survive? How did you-?"

"Hey, hey, hey," he interrupted. "Come on Mir. That's too much for now. I'm starving as it is and I can't tell that huge of a story on an empty stomach, you know."

Miriallia chuckled and she smiled. "Okay, then Dearka. Let's go fill your belly and then you're going to tell the rest of us all about your grand adventures."

"No problem," Dearka responded happily. "So, d'you miss me?"

"Um..." She didn't know how to respond. She sort of wanted to shout out yes and jump into his arms and hug him for dear life, but she couldn't do that. They were friends. That was it. "Yes...I did Dearka...I missed you greatly." The two friends headed off towards the mess hall.

Eternal, 1330.

Athrun leaned against the bulkhead of the hallway outside Kira's quarters. His friend was inside, the lights off and nobody around. He'd asked for it to be that way for some reason. For what reason, Athrun had no clue. He took this opportunity to catch his breath however, after the ferocious battle he'd just been in. He'd actually fought against his old ship the Vesalius...and his friend Yzak. How did he possibly get to this point? Athrun shut his eyes and retreated back into his thoughts, in order to bring himself some calm and peace at this important time.

"Athrun!" His eyes opened just in time to see Lacus come up to him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Athrun responded. "You?"

"Just fine," Lacus said. "Where's Kira?" she asked, looking around.

"In there. Though I don't think he's in the mood for visitors now. Something's up with him right now."

Lacus sighed sadly and turned towards the door. She thought of what must be going through Kira's head right about now. What he must be feeling. What he must be thinking. She floated across the hallway and punched the door opening mechanism. The door sighed open quietly and she peered her pink-haired head inside. "Kira...?" she said quietly. She peered around inside the darkened room that had no lights on. She saw a figure huddled against the back of a bed, its knees pulled up to its chest, its body quivering. Lacus immediately felt the sorrow that had filled this room all of a sudden and it hit her square in the heart. She turned and nodded to Athrun who nodded in return. Lacus entered the room. "Kira?" she repeated, coming up to the bed where his body was curled up.

Kira did not cry. He promised himself he wouldn't. No matter what. Even if he'd just learned that his parents weren't his real parents. Even if he'd just learned that he was the Ultimate Coordinator. Even if he'd just learned who his real father was and what he did for a living. Even if he'd just realized what that bastard le Christ was planning. Even if...he'd learned that Flay was alive! Even if... "Kira." Lacus sat herself on the edge of the bed and laid her hand upon his knee. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kira didn't respond. He didn't want to at this time. There was too much raw emotion running through his head at this moment. About who he was. About what was going to happen unless something changed. "I'll...be okay..." he managed softly. "Because I promised myself I'd never cry again."

Lacus looked long and hard at the small, trembling body. The body of her dear friend Kira. What sadness he must be feeling at this time. And to have promised himself to not cry. "You know," she said softly, coming up beside him. "It's okay to cry." Kira slowly brought his head up to face hers. Their eyes made contact and she smiled back at him. "You should cry. While we're still able to." Kira's violet eyes never left Lacus' blue ones for a second. They were so pure. So beautiful. So soothing. He couldn't stop it. Mist began developing in his eyes which turned to tears, which cascaded down his face in great sobs as he began to cry for the first time in months. He cried his hardest. Never before had he cried so much. Lacus took his trembling body and laid his head in her lap to comfort him. "It's okay, Kira," she soothed him. "Everything will be okay." Kira cried into her lap for a good hour before he cried himself into a deep sleep.