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.

48. The Final Battle: Part I

-ZAFT Space Fortress Jachin Due, November 1, C.E. 71, 0930

The giant eyeball that was GENESIS vibrated intensely at the gigantic stream of red energy was thrust into the black space beyond it. The bright light illuminated the surrounding area which included the PLANTs, the warships of both the Earth Forces and ZAFT, and the smaller mobile suits of both sides. Soldiers who saw the light streak out across the stars stopped dead in their tracks as they watched in awe. Sutherland, Bradford, and Seymour watched wide-eyed from the Valiant's bridge. Kira, Athrun, Dearka, Mwu, Frank, Cagalli, Lacus, and everyone else in the Orb Fleet saw the red streak expand like an open wound dripping red blood across the black background of space. Yzak watched it on the Duel's monitor and stared wide-eyed and trembling at the terrible force of the weapon.

On the Dominion's bridge, Hal and the crew watched in shock at the sheer force of the GENESIS weapon. Azrael ground his teeth together as he watched it happen, damning the Coordinators and their barbaric weapon. Hal managed to clear his mind enough to ask where the projected target of the shot was. "It's aimed at...the Moon!" came the loud response. "It's probably aimed at the Ptolemaeus Crater!" Hal turned back to the front view port and watched the red light pick up momentum as it neared its target.

Above the barren, deserted surface of the moon, the vessels of the Earth Alliance Navy that had been left behind to guard the Lunar Base suddenly found themselves staring down a monstrous red light that enveloped them in an instant. As the gamma rays surged through the ships, soldiers inside were overcome and their bodies were destroyed by the sheer force of the impact. The warships were destroyed in an instant, exploding in white balls of flame as the blast surged through the formation and pressed on towards the surface. As the shot struck the rocky surface above the Lunar Base, soldiers inside first felt the ground shake and then the gamma rays surged across them and soldiers were blown to pieces at their stations. Machines inside of the base exploded and people were destroyed along with them as the blast began to tear the base apart. In the blink of an eye the red light disappeared and in its place was a giant ball of fire and smoke where the Lunar Base had once been located. The mushroom cloud of nuclear gas rose above the surface as a petrifying marker to the destruction that had just taken place. The Lunar Base was gone...and so was every single person inside of it.

The forces at Jachin Due were mystified by the mushroom cloud as it appeared on their monitors. Shock and terror were the feelings that reigned supreme for that split second as soldiers tried to comprehend what they had just seen. The eyeball had stopped vibrating and was now still while the alignment mirror in front of it was virtually demolished. Inconspicuous because of its dark colors, the Providence was unseen to many soldiers at that moment against the black space in the distance. Inside the cockpit, Rau could feel a sense of excitement rise inside his body at the sight. Today would be the day that humanity got what it so rightfully wanted and deserved after all this time. Rau couldn't help but smile.

"GENESIS has hit its target," came a report inside Jachin Due's command center. Patrick smiled a cocky smile as he watched the mushroom cloud begin to disappear. Behind him, Yuri shut his eyes and tried to get the image out of his head. He knew that many people had just died and it was likely that their blood would be stained on his and the others' hands. Gilbert didn't take his eyes off the sight and said nothing. Ezalia looked away and thought of the people who had just been killed for the safety of the PLANTs. They had all been someone's child...it hurt Ezalia to think about that at this moment when she should be jubilant that they had won another significant victory. She also began to pain about what was to come...for the Naturals were still just beyond their reach...and would no doubt be hungry for blood.

"Silhouettes detected beyond the defensive lines, General," a soldier reported to Yuri. The man turned to his superior and said grimly, "The Orb Forces."

"What's their current position?" Patrick asked calmly.

"Green alpha five-zero, sir," the soldier answered.

Patrick exhaled painfully through his nostrils and grimaced. "Take care of them," he ordered quietly, but sternly.

-Dominion, 0935

At the head of the formation of Earth Forces ships, the Dominion led the charge towards Jachin Due. "What the hell happened?" Azrael demanded an answer from someone, anyone to what had just happened. "What's the report from the Lunar Base!"

"Reports coming in, Captain," Yeardley told Hal officially. Then her voice trembled as she said, "The Lunar Base is gone...and so's everything that was in orbit..."

"It's what!" Azrael shouted. "This cannot be happening!"

"There's only one target left for them now, Captain Omanney," Rutherford reminded Hal quietly.

Hal felt his heart sink and he responded, "The Earth..."

While the Earth Forces and ZAFT continued to attack each other like dogs right out of hell, the third party was just beginning to make its presence known. As the mobile suits streaked towards the battle and left the warships in their wake, the radio was silent as the crews sat in awe. Many wondered how in their wildest dreams could they stop that? The weapon had just annihilated the Lunar Base without any trouble whatsoever. How could they possibly hope to stop it?

Cantarii gathered his still crew and managed to bring them back to reality. He keyed the radio and brought the phone to his ear. "General Waltfeld."

"Sir!" Andy answered from the bridge of the Eternal. "What are your orders, Admiral?"

"You take the Eternal and blow a hole through the ZAFT lines straight at Jachin!" Cantarii commanded. "Have the Vasconi go with you and provide backup. Archangel, you're with the rest of us. It'll be our job to stop the Earth Forces. They're going to be coming with nukes, I'm sure of it now." The old soldier sighed heavily as he caught his breath. "This may be the last time I ever address you fine people and I just want to let you all know...that I'm very proud to have had the honor to fight beside you. Today shall be the day that we bring peace back to the universe! I'm honored to have led every single one of you! Now let's go end the war!"

"Sir!" came the reply over every channel.

Like bees buzzing around a hive filled with honey, the mobile suits of all three sides came together in one great crash of a battle. GINNs destroyed mobile armors and were in turn annihilated by Strike Daggers, who were then attacked by GuAIZs and CGUEs in a never ending cycle that stretched over the entire battlefield. Into this battle soared Mwu, his hands gripping the controls of the Strike as if they were a Christmas turkey and he was a starving homeless man. "Ugh...can't you guys see that you're just being used?" He flipped the Strike on its right side and fired the red Aile rifle at two Strike Daggers, catching them both in the torso and destroying them.

Dearka ducked the Buster underneath a pair of Strike Daggers and blew one of them away with one of his guns. "Dammit," he swore. "We're trying to stop GENESIS too, you idiots!" Another Dagger tried to attack him but Dearka quickly combined his guns and blew it to pieces in a great flash of light. "Man, this sucks!" he said to himself as he headed back into the mass of mobile units.

The Freedom with its METEOR unit raced past the crammed areas of battle and Kira searched for a clear path through the masses. A group of GINNs singled him out and began to attack him. "Damn," he swore, realizing that he would have to deal with them. He opened up the METEORs missile tubes and fired a barrage of missiles at the GINNs, ripping off their heads and tearing their weapons out of their hands. Athrun in the Justice followed suit as he too tried to maneuver around the GINNs, but to no prevail. Reluctantly he activated both of the METEORs giant beam saber and in one great swoop he beheaded at least four of them before meeting back up with Kira. Another swarm of enemies came surging towards them with weapons drawn. Both pilots looked at each other's cockpits and sighed uneasily. They charged straight towards the oncoming lines.

As the battle intensified around him, Azrael raced out of his chair and came beside Flay's console at the rear of the bridge. He forcibly yanked the head-set off of her head and knocked her aside as he patched a channel to the Valiant. "Sutherland!"

Sutherland's image appeared on the console in front of him and he said, "Director Azrael?"

"Send out the nuclear attack force!" Azrael shouted. "We've got to end this now while we still have the upper hand!"

"Mr. Azrael!" Rutherford called to him, but Azrael ignored him.

"Their targets are the PLANTs, Sutherland. Smash those hour glasses into dust and get rid of every last one of those space monsters!" Azrael commanded harshly. "Have the three machines come back and clear you a path! Destroy every last one of those things!"

"Yes, Director Azrael," Sutherland smiled and Azrael's image on the Valiant's view screen disappeared. "Send a message to the Doolittle, Captain McKinley. All vessels of the 7th Orbital Fleet are to turn to thirty-four charlie and attack the PLANTs directly!"

"Sir?" Seymour gasped out loud, drawing a harsh glare from Sutherland in return.

"Do you dare to disobey a superior's order, Captain?" Sutherland demanded.

"Admiral, sir!" Bradford butted in. "If we separate our forces then both of our fleets will be easy prey for those that want to destroy us. Jachin Due and that weapon must take top priority if we are to end the war! The PLANTs will have to be spared if we want to save the Earth!"

"Save the Earth?" Sutherland inquired. "That's precisely what we're doing at this time, General. Once we destroy the PLANTs, the war will end." He glared at his fellow commander and asked, "Would you rather have the Earth be destroyed and leave the people who are responsible alive?"

Bradford paused and glared back at Sutherland. He could hear the buzzing over the radio as the vessels in Sutherland's fleet began to form up behind the Dominion and turn towards the PLANTs. He glanced at the crew in front of him and saw them staring intently back at him. Seymour's eyes bore into Bradford's soul as he waited for his answer. "No..." Bradford answered quietly.

"Good. Now concentrate on doing your job for once and stop questioning orders. I am the Commander in Chief, not you," Sutherland said brutally. "Captain McKinley?"

"Yes, sir," Seymour replied uneasily. As he watched the ships beside him turn away towards the hour glass shaped PLANTs, Seymour locked eyes with the giant eyeball that was staring back into his eyes. Would destroying the PLANTs really mean that the war would end...even with that thing still operating? Seymour clenched his fist and shut his eyes tightly. Of course it wouldn't! ZAFT would be so filled with vengeance and rage that they would probably destroy the Earth in return for them destroying the PLANTs. It would be a never ending cycle...all because of racists like Sutherland and Azrael running the show. And Seymour couldn't do a damn thing about it because it was already starting right in front of his eyes. All he could do was hope that they somehow managed to destroy GENESIS before it could fire on Earth. But how they would do that...Seymour hadn't the faintest idea.

As the Dominion and about seven other vessels turned slowly at the PLANTs, the Peacemaker Force of mobile armors and Justification Force of K-bombers began to roar out of the open hatches of their Agamemnon-class mother ships, nuclear missiles strapped to their underbellies. The scene on the bridge of the second Archangel-class ships was eerily similar to that on board the Valiant. "Director Azrael!" Hal said as Azrael threw the head-set back into Flay's face and caused her to whimper in pain.

"What is it now, Omanney?" Azrael demanded angrily, his blue eyes boiling with rage.

"Attacking the PLANTs won't eliminate the threat to Earth!" Hal told him loudly. "Even a person such as yourself must see that we have to stop that weapon if we want to save the Earth!"

Azrael shut his eyes and hissed through his clenched teeth. "That's it." Azrael reached into his jacket and touched the object that he had been hiding inside it. "I've had just about enough of your damn pissing and moaning you little bastard!" Hal suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a gun that was pointed directly at himself. The gun was horizontally aimed directly across Flay's face as she watched in fear as the weapon was frighteningly close to her face.

At the same time, the nuclear attack forces rendezvoused with one another and plotted a straight course towards the PLANTs, their pilots eager to end the war with one final strike.

Rutherford craned his neck and nearly turned it half way around as he stared in shock at his boss with the pistol in his hand. He hadn't seen Azrael bring that aboard with him. Yet again Azrael had lied. "What are you thinking?" Hal asked quietly but determined. "Are you actually planning on using that thing? Are you trying to take control of this ship?"

"Take control? Ha! I've been in charge of this ship from the beginning you dim-wit," Azrael chuckled. "It's been you who's been questioning every order I give and that's the reason why we've lost so many times up to this point!"

"You can't possibly think that's true," Hal said calmly. "You're even more insane than I thought."

"I'm insane? I think you're the one who's insane, Captain," Azrael retorted. "The way to win a war is to attack the enemy where he resides and do as much damage as you can to him, regardless of how many losses your own side takes. That's how this war will end when we destroy the PLANTs."

"That's crazy!" Hal answered, his voice rising. "You don't even care if we lose the entire strike force and all the brave people fighting for their home. Just so long as you can wipe out the Coordinators."

"What's the difference?" Azrael asked. "Both of our goals are the same, Omanney. We both want to preserve the Earth and keep the standard of life as it is! So why are you questioning my orders when they benefit you!" Hal exhaled angrily through his nose as he and Azrael stared harshly at one another for a long period of time, neither one bothering to even break eye contact. You could have cut the tension on the bridge with a knife.

Meanwhile out in the middle of the battle, the three pilots from the Dominion were having a field day. "Alright! There are even more targets than yesterday!" Clotho cried happily. He fired his hammer out of its socket and caught a CGUE in the torso, blowing it to pieces. He then turned to his right and fired his Zorn mouth cannon at a pair of GINNs and wiped them out.

Orga skimmed the black space like an ice skater as he pushed the Calamity through the carnage. "Hey, hey, hey!" he laughed. "Who wants to die today!" He fired his Schlag cannons and ripped a massive hole into the side of a blue Nazca with one blow, metal and weapons exploding in bright balls of fire. Orga leaned back in the cockpit chair and relaxed as he fired his chest cannon and blew even more enemies to dust. "I could do this all day," he said happily to himself.

The Forbidden sliced downwards with its scythe and cut a GuAIZ square in half, not giving the pilot a chance to react before the mobile suit exploded. "Too easy," Shani told himself as he searched for more enemies. He brought his backpack up close to the Forbidden's head and fired his plasma cannon, tearing another hole into the ship that Orga had just damaged. With just a few more shots that connected, the ship was nothing more than a bright ball of fire. Shani smiled devilishly as he watched the destruction unfolding all around him. It had been quite a while since he'd had this much fun.

Just then, a chiming sound jarred Shani out of his cheerful mood. He sighed frustratingly as he watched the message scroll across the screen in front of him. "Orga, Clotho, we've got to change locations," he said angrily.

"They don't have us guarding those stupid mobile armors again, do they?" Orga asked, his anger rising.

"What else have they been having us do lately, dumb-ass?" Clotho responded.

"Shut your mouth Clotho!" Orga shouted. "You're the dumb-ass!"

"Who do you think you are!"

"Shut up!" Shani shouted to both of them as the trio raced towards their new assignment which was rapidly approaching the PLANT homelands with their payloads.

-Archangel, 0945

"Captain, the Earth Forces are changing position!" Chandra reported from his post.

Murrue turned her chair to face the CIC just and heard Natarle say, "Where are they heading?"

"Turning to mark charlie thirty-eight, delta blue, ma'am," Chandra answered, typing in several commands on his keyboard. His eyes widened behind his spectacles. "Straight at the PLANTs, ma'am!"

"Confirmed launch of nuclear attack force as well, Captain!" Miriallia put in.

Murrue scowled. The people she had sacrificed so much for were still trying to quench their thirst for annihilation even in the face of that terrifying weapon that had just been used against them for a second time. Why did people have to be so stubborn and weak-minded?

"Captain Ramius."

"Admiral?" Murrue asked, seeing Cantarii's image on the small screen on her chair.

"Our ships are too far at the present time to catch up to them, we'll have to leave it to the mobile suits to stop them," Cantarii told her. "In the meantime we're planning to engage the Earth Forces vessels that have separated from the fleet. It's likely that they're the ones that are carrying the excess nuclear weapons. Peleuia and Capricorn will cover the flanks. Our two ships will have to head straight for the heart of the formation. Can you take care of the Dominion? Kusanagi can handle the Agamemnon's by herself."

"Yes, sir," Murrue answered. She glanced out the front view port and caught sight of the dark gray Archangel-class and narrowed her eyes. "We'll deal with the Dominion. Crewman Haw, send word to the Freedom and the others that the nuclear forces are heading for the PLANTs!"

"Kira!" Miriallia called out to him through the radio.

Inside the Freedom's cockpit Kira stopped what he was doing and punched the radio. Miriallia told him what was happening and he barely managed to get sight of the mobile armors and K-bombers rapidly racing towards the PLANTs. He could also see the large missiles they were carrying, each with enough destructive power to decimate every one of the hour glasses. "Athrun!" Kira warned his friend who was just a short distance away.

Athrun tossed a beam boomerang at a Strike Daggers and cut both of its legs out from underneath it, sending it floating away in at least two pieces. He too spotted the nuclear attack force and heard Kira's warning. "Right! Dearka, let's go!"

"Be right there," Dearka replied. He flipped the Buster completely upside down and fired both of his guns at a group of mobile armors, blowing away two and heavily damaging a third. Dearka then pushed his thrusters for all they were worth as he and his friends sped towards the attack force that was directly ahead of them.

From the opposite side of the Freedom, Justice, and Buster, the Duel led its squadron of GuAIZ mobile suits towards the now clearly visible nuclear attack force. Yzak cursed inside the Duel's cockpit. "Spread out and stop those missiles before they hit the PLANTs!" he ordered his units who quickly separated and streaked towards the approaching enemy. You won't get away from me today, Naturals! he mentally shouted at the enemies as he sped towards them.

"Activate Igelstellungs!" Natarle ordered from the Archangel's CIC. "Aim Valients and load Korinthos into aft missile tubes! Captain, permission to use the Lohengrin?"

"Granted," Murrue answered calmly. "Just watch your timing with them. We can't afford to hit our own machines!"

"Yes, ma'am," Natarle replied quickly.

"Aim Gottfrieds one and two!" Jackson commanded to the crew of the Kusanagi. "Boost engines and turn to starboard as soon as we fire!"

"Target the Agamemnon-class ships behind the Dominion," Manchisco added. "They're sitting ducks at the moment with their mobile suits busy elsewhere."

Out of the front claws of the Orb warship came the massive Gottfried cannons, each one turning to point directly at the Earth Forces ships just beyond their reach. Just to her right, the Archangel's front legs retracted at the bases and the mighty plasma cannons emerged from inside. These things were clearly visible from the Dominion's bridge, just a short distance away.

"The Archangel and Kusanagi are approaching! Distance 9400!" a crewman warned Hal, who was still glaring angrily at Azrael who was still pointing the pistol at him.

"Well then, now that we understand each other it's time for you to get to work, Omanney," Azrael told him as a smirk came across his face. "Stop those two before they do any damage to us. No change that. I want you to destroy both of them!" Hal said nothing and did nothing. Azrael raised an eyebrow. "Or would you rather sacrifice your crew so that you wouldn't have to do it?"

Hal hissed barely through his open mouth. He turned back to the front view port of the ship and saw the two ships approaching, their guns seeming to be trained directly upon his form. "They're still closing! Distance 8300! Captain?" the report came again. Hal glanced around the bridge at his crew, their eyes all trained on him searching for guidance as to what they should do. Hal looked to Rutherford for his expression and found the other man thinning his lips and sighing sadly through his nose. Hal could see Yeardley staring up at him from the CIC with a concerned look on her face. But what pissed him off the most was the terrified expression on the girl named Flay's face behind him, Azrael's gun still projected across her pale white face. It made Hal sick to think what he was about to do, but he had no choice. His job was to protect his crew and tell them what to do. He wasn't going to sacrifice any of them in vain.

Reluctantly, Hal sat back down in his chair and took a deep breath. "Captain Rutherford, message the Doolittle and tell her to move behind us. Change our course to mark twenty-two beta and aim the Valients! Prepare the Lohengrin as well! Target the first ship of the Archangel-class...the Archangel!"

Flay was so relieved when the blonde man moved the gun away from her face and she could finally breath easily again. That man terrified her, how his eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets whenever he spoke, it was disgusting, as was the high-pitched whine of his voice whenever he opened his mouth to speak. Flay would have not minded if the Captain had just gone and beaten the man to death if he had wanted. Anything was better than taking orders from that man, Flay told herself. She was just glad that there was at least one person on this ship she could trust. She could hear his calm voice as he issued commands from the chair just in front of her. At least she could trust that voice...trust that it wouldn't allow her to put herself in danger...

At the front of the Earth Forces formation, the Dominion changed course just slightly to its right which put its cannons directly in front of the rapidly approaching Archangel. "Lohengrin, fire!" Hal shouted.

"Lohengrin two, fire!" Natarle commanded. Red streams of energy crossed paths with one another as they cascaded from the cannons on either warships and met in a gigantic explosion between the two warships, causing both warships to shake violently. Hal held tightly to the arm rests of his chair as the Dominion shook and he had a scowl on his face, still wondering why it was that they had to do this. Murrue ground her teeth together as she watched the explosion die out in front of her. Now it had turned into a fight between two warships who were exactly the same. The victor would be decided on which crew could outperform the other. And Murrue was damned if she was going to allow someone else to destroy her ship after all that had happened to her in the past few months.

The Strike Dagger exploded from the direct hit to its torso and Mwu gained a slight window of rest in the conflict for the first time. He breathed deeply as his eyes darted in every direction, searching for any enemy that may try to attack him at this time. He glanced at the diagnostic board in the Strike's cockpit and saw that he still had an abundance of power left in the Aile pack, which made him feel at least a tiny bit better. It didn't last. At that very instant, Mwu sensed it. The feeling that hit him right in the brain, that painful feeling that had tormented him for many months during the war, that sickening feeling that meant that that bastard was nearby. Mwu frowned inside his helmet and narrowed his eyes. "le Creuset," he said quietly. "Today's the day, bastard. The day I finally take you and your foolish ideals down!" He isolated the feeling and turned the Strike in that direction, pushing its engines for all they were worth, his hands gripping the controls more tightly than he ever had before.

An instant later, the Peacemakers and Justifications got within range of the PLANT homelands. The hour glass shaped satellites were just big targets with nothing standing between them and the nuclear weapons that the Earth Forces pilots carried beneath them. "Today's the day space monsters," one pilot whispered quietly as his hand hovered over the firing trigger on the controls of his K-bombers. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

The Duel plunged through space at top speed as Yzak rushed towards the oncoming enemies. As he watched from the cockpit, Yzak saw the first white streaks of energy begin to erupt as the nukes were deployed at his home. "Damn," Yzak swore to himself as he attempted to put any extra energy into the Duel's engines that would get him there faster. He brought his targeting computer over his eyes and tried to get a target lock, but the enemies were still at too great a distance. Yzak was also running out of time as more of the missiles began to streak towards the PLANTs.

Given the speed that the Duel was flying at, Yzak had to pull back on the controls with all his might in order to dodge the shots that came from the green mobile suit that had appeared out of nowhere. The Forbidden fired its railguns at the Duel and Yzak had to cut his speed in order to save himself. The shots just barely missed, but Yzak soon found himself dodging every which way in order to stave off the blows that Shani directed at him with the Forbidden's massive scythe. "Not a chance Coordinator," Shani said quietly to himself. "I wanna see some fireworks today." He fired the Forbidden's plasma cannon and Yzak scowled to himself as the shot nicked the Duel in the right shoulder, throwing him off balance. As Yzak regained control of his machine, his teeth ground together as he saw the missiles which were merely a few meters away from the homelands.

Behind Shani, Orga and Clotho blew apart any mobile suit that even so much as tried to get close to the missiles that were just a few seconds away from reaching their targets. Both of them weren't surprised to see two streaks of white closing in on them. The two mobile suits they had fought against so many times in the past, the Freedom and Justice. "Let's get 'em!" Orga shouted as he fired his chest cannon at the incoming machines.

Kira pulled on the control stick and sent the Freedom and its METEOR soaring above the shots. Kira rolled the METEOR onto its side and fired two of its cannons at the mobile suits in front of him. None of them connected. Kira knew he had no chance of beating the two of them now, but the nukes were just in front of him and he had to stop them. Kira also knew that he was running out of time and that the nukes were only a few seconds away from hitting the PLANTs. He tightened his grip on the controls and cleared his mind so that he could focus on the decision his mind had made in that instant. The Freedom barrel rolled upside down over and over again as Kira increased his speed directly at the two mobile suits in front of him. Orga and Clotho were just barely able to move the Calamity and Raider out of the way before the Freedom collided with them and Kira soared past them towards the nukes. For the split second that they were distracted, Orga and Clotho didn't see Athrun coming right in Kira's wake until he was right in front of them. Athrun swung the Justice in a wide arc and used one of the long beam sabers on the end of the METEOR as a battering ram in order to send the Raider flying away after the blow had connected with the black mobile suit. Orga regained his composure and fired his Schlag cannons at the Justice. Athrun had to execute a series of quick turns and speed alterations in order to avoid the shots. Athrun swore to himself. It would be up to Kira to stop the nukes, but Athrun had all the faith in his friend's abilities at the controls of the Freedom. Athrun had more important things to worry about now. Orga was all over him with the Calamity, all of his weapons firing at the Justice as Athrun desperately maneuvered this way and that to dodge the attacks. Although the METEOR was incredibly fast flying in a straight line, the added weight to the Justice made maneuvering in close combat a hassle. Orga yelled out as he fired his chest cannon at the scarlet red mobile suit. The shot missed and Athrun activated both of the METEORs beam sabers and charged at the blue mobile suit.

The instant he was clear, Kira brought the Freedom's targeting computer to bear and red circles encompassed the missiles directly in front of him. They were just inches away from the PLANTs when Kira leaned back in the cockpit and fired all of the Freedom and the METEOR's weapons simultaneously. Bright colored devastation rained down on the missiles and they exploded in a great flash of white light just before they struck the PLANTs. The hour glasses were illuminated in dark blue against the white lights as the missiles exploded prematurely. Kira pushed the Freedom above the lights and gasped for air as he watched the lights expand, not a single missile surviving his attack. His eyes darted in every direction and found every PLANT still floating. He shut his eyes and breathed a thankful sigh of relief.

Shani fired the Forbidden's plasma cannon again and this time the shot hit the Duel square in the chest. Alarms began blaring inside Yzak's cockpit as he strained himself to maintain control over his mobile suit. The phase shift armor had held up, but several of his weapons had been knocked out. Behind him, Shani saw the white lights which meant that the missiles had exploded. To his dismay and anger however, he also saw the PLANTs still standing. Anger swept through him at the realization that he would not get to see fireworks today. Shani raised his scythe above the Forbidden's head as he charged at the immobile Duel, Yzak's eyes widening in shock and horror as he watched the silver blade come straight towards him. "Say goodbye!" Shani shouted as he sliced at the Duel's cockpit. BANG! Shani was suddenly thrown forward against his restraints as something strong hit the Forbidden from behind, knocking him past the Duel. Yzak was shocked when the blow didn't connect with his cockpit and he saw the Forbidden soar past him. His eyes searched for what had happened and when he found it...he smiled. Sitting there in front of him, its guns pointed at the exact position the enemy machine had just been, was the Buster.

"Yzak!" Dearka called out to his friend in the Duel.

"Dearka!" Yzak replied back. A shot whizzed overhead as Yzak spoke the words and he immediately saw a black bird shape roaring towards him, shots firing wildly from its claws. Clotho screamed as he fired his mouth cannon at the two mobile suits in front of him, but Yzak and Dearka both raced upwards and dodged the attacks. "Dearka..." Yzak began again.

"You okay?" Dearka demanded, firing both of the Buster's guns at the Raider which was turning back towards them from below. "Yzak, behind you!" Yzak was able to pull hard to his right and miss the shot Shani had fired at him. The Forbidden was racing towards him, but Yzak turned back to face the Buster...to face Dearka. Neither pilot spoke in that short amount of time when silence reigned supreme. Shots were coming at them from both the Raider and the Forbidden, both rapidly approaching from either direction. Both pilots looked out at the enemies coming towards them and then back at each other. "You ready?" Dearka asked, a smile breaking out on his face.

Yzak grinned. "Let's kick ass!" he hissed as he turned the Duel around and fired his rifle at the Forbidden. The shots were deflected by Shani's quick move of his backpack, but now he had the green one firing back at him. Dearka combined his guns and fired another round at Shani, but again the shots were deflected. Yzak roared behind Dearka and waited until Clotho came close, allowing some shots to nick the Duel before he quickly drew his beam saber and chopped at the Raider, slicing off its right claw, much to Clotho's dismay. "It's on now, you bastards!" Yzak shouted as he charged at the Raider with beam saber in hand.

With the eyeball dead ahead of them, Eternal and Vasconi began to attack the ZAFT lines that were guarding it. "We'll break through the right flank!" Andy commanded through the radio. "Vasconi! Concentrate your fire on that Nazca!"

"Aim main cannon! Fire!" Captain Steele ordered at the top of her lungs.

The main cannon on the top of the pink ship blazed yellow energy which was complimented by the small guns on the Intelligence vessel beside her. The first two shots from the main cannon blow holes into the starboard claw of the Nazca and the third shattered the bridge. The ship disappeared into a massive ball of fire shortly thereafter. Lacus silently said a prayer for those who they had just killed as she watched the devastation being played out all around her. It was at that time that she noticed something happening to GENESIS. "General Waltfeld!" she warned. Andy turned his chair to her and Lacus pointed out the front view port. "ZAFT appears to be exchanging the alignment mirror."

Andy noticed this too. "They're preparing to fire it again. And there's only one target left..."

"We must press on," Lacus said. "We cannot allow them to fire it again."

Meanwhile at the head of the main Earth Forces formation, Seymour noticed the activity from the bridge of the Valiant at the same time. "If they're moving the mirror they're going to fire it again. We've got to stop them. Tomer!"

"Yes, sir?" Tomer answered from his console.

"Where's that Orb warship? The pink one," Seymour asked.

"Dead ahead, Captain," Lester put in.

Seymour saw the pink mass a short distance away, blowing its way through the ZAFT lines on a direct course for Jachin Due and the eyeball. This may be the opportunity they needed. "Helm. Put us in the wake of those warships and we'll follow them through the holes. It may get us close enough to take out that weapon!"

"Belay that helm," Sutherland interrupted. "Captain McKinley concentrate your fire on the pink warship. They have their backs to us and they're sitting ducks at the moment. So destroy them!"

"Sir?" Seymour stuttered. "W-why should I, sir?"

"Because they are the enemy!" Sutherland said loudly. "Your job is to destroy the enemy before they can destroy the Earth! That has been your job from the beginning and yet you dare to disobey orders again!"

"They're doing the same thing we are, Admiral," Bradford put in. "Captain McKinley was merely attempting to play off of the momentum that warship has already begun."

"Peh," Sutherland spat. "Don't tell me you're going soft as well, General. Our attack on the PLANTs has already failed and yet you actually want to help the people that stopped our attack in the first place! They are our enemy! We must destroy all of them before they fire that weapon at Earth!"

Seymour paused. "Yes, sir..." he answered quietly.

Ahead of the warships, the Strike Daggers and mobile armors that were left behind to protect them were having a hell of a fight with the ZAFT mobile suits engaging them. A Strike Dagger was blown apart by a GINNs cannon, but the GINN was in turn destroyed by another Strike Dagger. With the Valiant and the Intrepid at the front, the formation pushed onwards, gradually getting closer and closer to Jachin Due. They were now well within the defensive lines and it was only a question of whether they could hold together long enough to take out that weapon. With Sutherland's ships gone and under heavy attack, the Earth Forces fleet was now prime targets for the ZAFT forces given how spread out they were. Without Sutherland's ships, the main formation was greatly reduced in numbers, which made it less likely that they would even make it to Jachin Due.

Just a short distance from the Valiant, Jessie breathed hard as she put her Strike Dagger through a series of quick jukes and turns to avoid fire from two GINNs who were hot on her tail. Jessie was finally able to get a good, stationary position and return fire, blowing the head off of one of the GINNs, stopping it dead in its tracks. With its partner crippled, Jessie was able to take the other GINN on one on one. After managed to avoid being chopped to pieces by the GINNs sword, Jessie stuck her beam saber through the mobile suit's torso and it exploded right in front of her, jarring her cockpit with a series of jolts and jitters. Another GINN dove in after her, but Jessie dove out of the way just in time. She fired her beam rifle at the green mobile suit and destroyed its weapon. Another Strike Dagger joined her immediately after that and together they blew the GINN apart with their respective rifles. Jessie's eyes darted all around her to take in the current situation. She had seen the attempted nuclear attack on the PLANTs end in failure and she still cursed the Generals for even deciding to do that. It not only had divided their forces in half, but it had also made the ZAFT forces even madder. Now they came at them with a vengeance, which made it twice as hard to survive. The Valiant was still alright, which made Jessie feel a little better, but not by much. More enemies were coming at her at that moment. With a great sigh, Jessie stormed back into the fight.

Right in the middle of the second big battle area that included the Dominion, Archangel, and Kusanagi, Cagalli put the Strike Rouge in a tight starboard loop to avoid the fire being directed at her from a CGUE. "Take this!" Cagalli shouted as she took aim and fired her beam rifle at the CGUE, destroying its weapon and causing it to retreat. Cagalli turned her machine around and headed back towards the Kusanagi just in time to see a formation of Strike Daggers move in to attack it and the M1s around it.

One M1 was blown apart by a shot from one of the Daggers. Inside her machine, Asagi pulled hard on the control stick to avoid being hit herself and she cried out when one of the enemies got close and prepared to stab its beam saber through her cockpit. Suddenly, the Dagger exploded right in front of her. "Asagi!" Cagalli called out to her as she fired her rifle again and again, taking out three more of the Strike Daggers before placing herself in front of the other girl. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Asagi managed. "Watch out!" Asagi fired her rifle, the shot just barely passing over the Strike Rouge's head and blowing a mobile armor to pieces.

"Thanks!" Cagalli told her.

"No problem!" Asagi answered quicky.

Three Strike Daggers approached an unidentified mobile suit, their weapons blazing. Before any of the pilots knew what had happened, their machines had been obliterated and were exploding all around them. The ghastly looking machine reattached the funnels of its DRAGOON system and its ghostly white eyes gleamed in the darkness that surrounded it. Inside the cockpit, Rau chuckled as he watched the destruction being wrought all around him. It was finally happening. Mankind was finally getting what it so rightfully deserved! Their total and complete annihilation! Rau then sensed something. A pain nagging at the back of his mind. He knew that feeling. He smiled. He saw the blue and white mobile suit approaching him at a rapid pace. He could feel Mwu inside the cockpit, ready to fight him. Rau was ready to oblige his willingness to fight.

"le Creuset!" Mwu shouted as he finally located Rau inside the Providence. Mwu fired his beam rifle at the Providence, but Rau soared above the shots and released his funnels, sending them in all directions around the Strike. Mwu was caught off guard and tried to shoot down the first few, but there were too many and they came from seemingly every direction imaginable. The first three funnels missed, but the next two destroyed the Strike's rifle in an instant. Mwu backed off and watched as Rau retracted his funnels back onto the Providence's back. Rau laughed inside the cockpit at Mwu's futile attempt to take him down.

As Rau fired the Providence's large cannon in its right arm, Mwu shouted, "Is this what you were hoping for, you bastard!" Mwu managed to evade Rau's fire, but then Rau deployed his funnels again, surrounding Mwu and cutting off any chance he had to attack.

"Not me!" Rau answered, his voice somewhat hurt. "This is mankind's desire...mankind's destiny!"

"You're pathetic!" Mwu shouted as he withdrew his beam saber from the Aile backpack. He charged at the gray mobile suit and Rau brought his own beam saber to bear just in time to intercept Mwu's blow. Their weapons connected in a shower of sparks and bright lights.

"Mankind's insatiable desires, Mwu..." Rau told him as their weapons dislodged from one another. "To be the strongest...to go the farthest...to climb the highest...!"

The Providence deployed its funnels yet again and sent Mwu scrambling into evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit. Several shots connected however and the cockpit shook violently. "To compete...to envy...to hate each other...and devour one another...!" he heard Rau's voice beckon.

"Bastard!" Mwu shouted, charging at Rau once again with his beam saber swinging a mighty blow. Rau blocked his attack with his own beam saber and smiled inside his cockpit. "I won't allow your twisted logic to make things worse, le Creuset!" Mwu said, his voice strained against the force of the attack.

"Twisted logic?" Rau asked. "Don't deny the truth, Mwu. You've seen it yourself...humanity's insatiable desires. You've lost many friends to those desires. Yes...remember your friends, Mwu?"

Mwu scowled. He thought of Hugh and John, both killed by those bastards in the Earth Alliance who had betrayed them all and tried to kill them. "Cut the crap, jack-ass!" he shouted in anguish.

"You remember, don't you Mwu? I too have experienced humanity's insatiable desires...for you see, I am the product of all this...that's how I know!" Rau shouted. Their weapons dislodged once again and both of them pulled back. In the distance, more lights flared signaling the deaths of more and more soldiers on the blood stained battlefield. "Is it not because of that, that this battle is even taking place, Mwu? What would happen if humanity were to exterminate itself? Nothing like this would ever happen again! Never!"

"Bastard!" Mwu shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged at Rau again, his rage building up inside of his head. Rau too charged at Mwu, the Providence and Strike racing at top speed towards one another, anger and hatred flooding the scene.

-Archangel, 1000

Archangel and Kusanagi continued to pour fire at the Earth Forces ships in front of them as the two sides edged closer and closer to one another. One missile got through the barrage of Igelstellung fire and struck the bridge tower, causing it to shake. "Bulkheads forty-five through fifty-one have been sealed," Pal reported. "Damage surpassing fifteen percent."

"The levitator's been knocked out," Tonomura put in.

"Use auxiliary power and switch to the backup manipulator," Natarle commanded. "What's the status of the enemies in front of us?" she asked.

"Nine warships. The Dominion, two Agamemnons, three 250s, and three 130s, ma'am," Tonomura told her.

"Sensors indicate that the nuclear attack has been stopped, Captain," Miriallia told Murrue. "The Buster's on its way back here as well." Miriallia saw something else pop up on her screen. "There's another one right behind it ma'am."

"Which one?" Murrue asked.

Miriallia hesitated. "X-102...Duel. It's being marked as a friendly, ma'am." Murrue gasped in confusion, as did most everyone else on the bridge. The Duel a friendly? Murrue never thought she'd hear those words used in the same sentence.

As they soared past the Archangel and the scattered few M1s around her, Dearka spotted the Earth Forces formation just ahead. "I count nine, Yzak. What about you?"

"Nine, plus whatever the hell they've got in mobile suits," Yzak confirmed. "Take the lead one head on and take it out?" he suggested.

"That's going to mean a lot of risk," Dearka reminded his friend. "Let's get past that one and rip the ships behind it shreds, how bout?"

"Good enough for me. Let's go!" The two machines soared past the Archangel and directly towards the Dominion. Hal saw the two machines coming straight for the bridge and it appeared as though they were going to crash into it. He and the others on the bridge ducked their heads down to protect themselves, but at the last minute the Buster and Duel soared above the bridge and behind the Dominion.

"Get ready!" Dearka shouted as he combined the Buster's guns together and fired three consecutive shots at a 130-class, the first two ripping holes into the starboard side and the third penetrating deep in the ship, setting off more explosions from within. Immediately behind Dearka, Yzak drew his beam saber and cut a portion of the hull off of the damaged ship before firing his rifle into the exposed insides, detonating several of the ship's boilers and causing a gigantic explosion which consumed the ship in a matter of seconds.

Joining in the attack on the Earth Forces formation were the three K-bombers from the Archangel. After flying on reconnaissance for the first part of the conflict the crews were now ready to put their heavily armed planes into action. Stevy and Mike put their plane straight through the groups of Strike Daggers and mobile armors that stood in their way. Sai and Coop got off bursts with their respective guns and destroyed two mobile armors. Their plane was hit lightly on the left wing from a scattered gun shot, but they pressed on towards the 250-class that was in their sights. At just the right moment, Stevy pressed the firing mechanism and sent two of his four missiles racing towards the green ship. White streaks cascaded from the missiles and his two were soon joined by four more from the other planes flying beside him. The first two missiles missed astern, but the other four scored direct hits on the starboard side of the ship, causing fires to break out and incinerate soldiers inside of it.

Inside her M1, Mayura watched the fighting with keen interest. Suddenly her diagnostic board began chiming intensely. She turned her M1 around just in time to see the black Raider coming straight at her. Clotho was screaming his head off as he fired the guns in his machine's single remaining claw at the smaller machine. Mayura tried to jump out of the way, but one of the shots struck her mobile suit in the right arm, severing it below the elbow. As the Raider soared past her, Mayura had no chance to see the Forbidden come up behind her suddenly. Shani raced at top speed towards her machine. Mayura barely had time to scream as the Forbidden cut her machine in half with its scythe, the M1 exploding in a bright flash of flame. "Get out of the way," Shani told the fireball. He had more important things to worry about. Like the two bastards who had attacked him earlier. He and Clotho rushed back towards the Dominion and the Earth Forces ships.

Orel fired his M1's beam rifle at an approaching Dagger and scored a hit on the mobile suit's torso, causing it to explode. Orel looked around him and saw his wingmate still beside him. "Mitch, you okay?" Orel asked.

"Fine," Mitch gasped hoarsely into the radio. "But we're not going to get very far like this, Orel. Our machine's don't have the firepower to deal with guys like those."

"Mitch. You're a genius," Orel smiled. "Switch it up!"

Mitch smiled inside his cockpit as well. Both pilots quickly dislodged their shields from their machines and tossed them into space. Orel tossed his beam rifle over to Mitch who in turn handed Orel his M1's beam saber. They each pulled out their respective weapons. Now Orel had two beam sabers and Mitch held two beam rifles. "This will do," Orel told his wingmate. Without another word, the two M1s soared back into battle.

Kusanagi fired its main cannons at one of the Agamemnon's behind the Dominion while its Igelstellungs intercepted missiles that were fired at them by the mobile armors that were swarming around her in great numbers. The ship shook slightly from a few near misses on its port side and Cantarii scowled. "What's going on up forward?" he demanded, glancing at the explosions coming from within the Earth Forces fleet.

"Buster and a few others got past the Dominion and they're hitting the ships behind it," a crewman reported.

"Captain Jackson, direct your fire at the ships near them. We'll support them from here-!" Cantarii's order was cut off as the Kusanagi shook violently all of a sudden. The old soldier held tight to the arm rests of his chair as his body surged forward. He was barely able to keep himself in his chair as the shaking ceased.

"What happened?" Jackson asked loudly.

"Agamemnon got us!" Manchisco told him from the CIC. "The thing's gotten a lot closer to us."

"Pull back, Captain," Cantarii ordered quickly. He could see the Agamemnon-class warship looming larger in the front view port and he cursed. "We're too close to it. We'll hit it again from a distance."

"We've lost our port missile tubes to that impact, sir," another crewman reported grimly.

"Turn about forty degrees and use the starboard tubes!" Jackson ordered. "Target those Strike Daggers and give the mobile suits some cover fire!"

A short distance away, a mobile armor pilot strained against the controls of his machine as it took several hits from the Kusanagi's Igelstellungs. The hits sheared away the missiles the craft had been carrying and knocked out the rudder, sending the mobile armor out of control, it's pilot crying out in anguish at his impending doom.

On the bridge, a crewman saw the flaming mobile armor heading straight for them. "Captain!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Jackson and Cantarii turned their heads to their right and stiffened in their chairs as they saw it. An instant later, the damaged mobile armor plowed into the Kusanagi's bridge and vanished in a great explosion that consumed much of the bridge and the people inside of it.

Directly beside it, the Archangel continued to engage the Dominion as the twin ships fired constantly at one another. Two missiles got past the Igelstellungs and detonated against the ship's port Valient cannon, tearing it off of its axis and rendering it useless. Murrue groaned angrily as she tried to figure out how to take that ship down. "Kusanagi's been hit!" Murrue gasped suddenly and she quickly craned her neck to her right and saw the bridge of the Orb ship aflame. Her eyes widened in shock.

Inside the burning Kusanagi, crews in the hangar and engine room worked frantically to save their ship. "Close those hatches! Seal the doors!" Nathan shouted to his men down there. "Put those fires out!" The crews sealed doors shut and rushed to douse fires that had erupted when the ship had been hit. Fires began to spread across the hangar, detonating ammunition stockpiles and killing crews who couldn't find cover in time.

"Admiral! Admiral!" Miriallia shouted into the radio. "Captain Jackson! Lieutenant Manchisco!" Suddenly, all the radio frequencies were taken over by static. Miriallia tried every frequency, but all she got was static. "Radio's are down, Captain!"

"You can't get anything?" Murrue asked.

"N-Jammer exploded!" Collin reported. "Within Jachin Due's defensive network. It's blocking out everything around Jachin!"

"Radar's out too, Captain!" Chandra said.

"Mr. Crue, move the Archangel over to cover the Kusanagi!" Murrue commanded. "Don't let anyone touch it while it's still floating. There may still be people alive there!"

Josef and Neumann pushed their helm controls to their right and moved the Archangel in front of the Agamemnon's fire path to the burning Kusanagi. "Aim Gottfrieds and fire!" Natarle shouted. Both of the ship's main cannons blazed twin laces of green energy at the Agamemnon, blowing apart that ship's main cannons in a spectacular explosion. "Damage control, seal the bulkheads to the port side Valient!" she added.

"Incoming missiles!" Tonomura shouted.

"Intercept!" Murrue commanded. Igelstellung fire destroyed three of the birds, but two more got through and ripped holes into the ship's port side. Murrue groaned to herself as she desperately tried to find a way to get through this. Protect the Kusanagi and themselves at the same time.

Orga screamed as he fired his Schlag cannons at the Justice. Athrun flipped the METEOR onto its back and fired its cannons at the Calamity, Orga evading quickly to port. "Who the hell are you anyway!" Orga demanded. He zoomed towards Athrun and fired his chest cannon. Athrun dodged the shot and unleashed a barrage of missiles at Orga. He pulled back hard on the stick and managed to intercept the missiles with his Schlags before they could reach him. "Why are you fighting so desperately, for Christ sake!"

Athrun soared in a wide arc to avoid more fire from Orga's cannons. "I want to ask you...same thing..." his voice said through the static filled radio. "What do you think you're fighting for...!"

Orga fired the Calamity's bazooka and Schlags at the quickly moving Justice, barely managing to score any hits. "How the hell should I know?" Orga answered. "All I know is that I'm going to be damned if I ever lose to you!" He fired his chest cannon again, blazing another streak of red light at the Justice.

"Damn," Athrun swore to himself inside the cockpit. This guy was more insane than he originally thought. Athrun had to defeat him. Now if he could only find a way to get past all the firepower this guy's mobile suit had!

Kira watched the battle unfolding all around him as he took the Freedom above most of the action. His radio had gone out just a matter of seconds ago and he played with and jimmied the transmitter switch with his hands again and again. "Archangel! Can you hear me? Archangel?" No response. Static was the only thing Kira heard. Kira let go of the switch and looked around quickly trying to find anyone that was on his side. All he saw was ZAFT and Earth Forces logos, plus a mass of pink. Pink! Kira suddenly spotted the Eternal just a short distance away. He could see mobile suits swarming around the ship as it pushed its way through the defensive lines ZAFT had established around Jachin Due and GENESIS. Kira pushed the thrusters to their limits and soared towards his ship.

"Are you sure you can't get anything?" Lacus' voice was concerned. The radio's had gone out just a moment ago and now they were virtually cut off from contact with everyone else in their force.

"Nothing, Miss Lacus, it's completely jammed," DaCosta answered quickly. "N-Jammer must've exploded. Feedback from the explosion probably jammed all the radio signals for the time being."

"Three bogeys at four o'clock!" came a warning. The four Strike Daggers came in with their weapons blazing. Eternal took several hits before Andy ordered a hard turn to port. As the ship turned, Kira soared through the void it had left and used the METEOR's beam sabers to disable all four of the Daggers, decapitating two and sheering the arms off of the others. Kira then leaned back in his seat and fired all of the Freedom's weapons at once, taking out a vast number of mobile suits in the area, giving the Eternal a much needed breather. "Lacus!" Kira called.

"We're okay, Kira. The radio's are all out, though," Lacus told him.

"Yeah, I know, mine's dead too," Kira answered quickly. "We're running out of time as well. They're moving the mirror block back in front of GENESIS and I don't know if Ms. Murrue and the others will be able to stop the rest of the Earth Forces by themselves."

"Where's Athrun?" Lacus asked.

"He's fighting with one of those new Earth Forces machines, the one's we've been fighting a lot recently," Kira said. "Dearka went back to help the others and I don't know where Mwu is." Lacus sighed uneasily. "I'll stay here with you guys and help out here if you want, Lacus," Kira suggested.

"No, Kira, they need your help back there more than we do," Lacus answered confidently. "Go back and help the others with the Earth Forces. They need you more than we do now."

"Alright..." Kira answered quietly. "Take of yourselves you guys."

"Be careful, kid," Andy told him as Kira turned the Freedom around and headed away from the Eternal. Lacus watched him go and for some reason she felt a pain rise in her chest. It was as if she were watching him go for the final time...

-Archangel, 1010

"Mr. Crue, left roll thirty degrees, port fifteen!" Murrue commanded. "Main cannons, target the Dominion!"

"Left roll thirty degrees, port fifteen, got it!" Josef answered.

"Turn about forty degrees and prepare main cannons!" Hal ordered. "Target the Archangel. Got that?"

"Yes, sir!"

Both ships made their respective maneuvers and ended up virtually facing each other once again. "Gottfrieds, now! Fire!" Natarle shouted.

"Main cannons, fire!" Yeardley commanded.

At exactly the same time green laces of destruction seethed out from the main cannons on both vessels. The Archangel took a hit on the starboard side, four of its Igelstellungs knocked out in an explosion. The bridge was jarred by the impact and the crew tried frantically to right their ship. Meanwhile the Dominion was hit at the top of its port leg, the Gottfried cannon there exploding in a ball of fire. That ship too shook violently from the impacts and the crew worked feverishly. Azrael was growing impatient with the situation. The ships behind him were under heavy attack and yet this stupid crew couldn't destroy one single ship! "What are you doing, Omanney?" Azrael said, breaking the silence. "Hurry and destroy that thing, already!"

"It's not that easy," Hal said quietly.

"What!" Azrael thundered.

"Nothing, sir," Hal hissed.

Behind the Dominion the Zero barrel rolled several times to avoid being hit by shots directed at it from the 250-class in front of it. Frank dislodged his top and bottom barrels and set them to stutter fire. The barrels opened and rained fire down upon the green warship, striking it several times in the side. Frank added the heavy cannon at the bottom of the Zero's main frame to the punishment and caused more damage. As the ship shuddered, Frank passed over it and looked back to see the Skygrasper follow him in almost the same pattern. Kisaka pressed the firing trigger and fired several shots from the Agni strapped to his craft's wings and added the Skygrasper's own heavy cannon to the mix. Before long the whole starboard side of the ship was in flames and it was listing badly. Cagalli soon joined the fray and used the Strike Rouge's quickness to get the better of a group of Strike Daggers that dared to attack her. As the last one vanished into a ball of flame, Cagalli paused inside the cockpit to catch her breath. This wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be. She was more tired than she had anticipated, but she wasn't alone. Both Frank and Kisaka had sweat beading down their foreheads inside their helmets from the constant action they were seeing. With the Kusanagi out of commission at this moment, they had had to cover the ship because there was still a chance, albeit a slim one, that some of the crew had survived the impact of the mobile armor crashing into the bridge. They'd lost about half of their support M1s, plus the K-bombers were taking a hell of a beating from all the forces swarming around them. Still though, they'd managed to destroy two of the Earth Alliance ships in their vicinity and had disabled at least three more. But there was still the threat out there that demanded their constant attention. GENESIS was still active and they needed to keep the Earth Forces as far from the PLANT homelands as they possibly could. Taking one last deep breath, Cagalli headed back out into battle.

Mwu strained against the controls of the Strike as he fired his Vulcan guns on the side of the Strike's head at the rising Providence. Rau smirked inside the cockpit and shouted, "I know that humanity will be swallowed by the darkness it's created. It is their destiny!" All eleven funnels on the Providence's back released and zoomed towards Mwu. They began firing at him from all directions, their green destructive beams effectively trapping Mwu in a cage. He pulled at the controls and tried to find a way out, but to no avail. Two funnels scored direct hits and destroyed the Strike's right arm, causing Mwu to lose his beam saber. Three more hits knocked out the Vulcans and ripped apart the Strike's shield and Aile backpack. Mwu felt the impacts from the beams inside the cockpit and it jarred him against the controls. His chest ached in pain as he turned the Strike around and reluctantly began his retreat. He had no chance of stopping Rau now with all his weapons out of commission. He had no choice but to retreat and leave this for another day. Rau retracted his funnels and smiled as he saw the Strike retreating. "You see, Mwu. There is nothing you can do to stop it now!" his voice echoed across space and although his radio was jammed, Mwu heard his voice loud and clear inside the now smoke filled cockpit of the Strike as he limped back towards his ship.

Ships and mobile suits exploded on the monitors inside Jachin Due's command center, the lights glowing against the eyes that watched them intently. Nobody said a single word as they watched the battle. Not Gilbert. Not Yuri. Not Ezalia. Not even Patrick. They watched in awe at the sacrifice that they saw before them, lives disappearing forever in a flash without any remorse whatsoever. It was breathtaking and deeply moving at the same time. Patrick clenched his fist beside him as he watched. The Naturals were still fighting back. The PLANTs had just been spared by mere inches it seemed and yet they still fought on, trying to destroy them all. If it's destruction you want Naturals, Patrick thought angrily to himself, then I'll give you destruction. "Dullindal!" Patrick said, breaking the silence.

"Sir!" Gilbert said after a slight pause.

"The mirror's being replaced as we speak, correct?" Gilbert nodded. "Give the order. Have GENESIS prepared to fire again."

Gilbert's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. Yuri and Ezalia glanced at each other to see what the other's expression was and found themselves both astounded and shocked. "But, sir..." Gilbert said briefly.

"It's only precautionary, Dullindal," Patrick said annoyed. "It doesn't mean that we'll really fire it, it's just to stir the Naturals a bit more and hopefully get them to surrender. That's all." Inside his mind though, Patrick thought, Not likely...

Buster raced through the gap between the enemy mobile suits that the Skygrasper had blazed for him just moments before, the Agamemnon-class Doolittle directly in front of him. Dearka pressed a button and then combined both of his guns into one gigantic weapon. He fired three shots from the cannon and then opened the missile canisters on the Buster's shoulders, sending two volleys into the side of the giant warship. Massive holes were ripped into the ship's hull and fires escaped outwards. With its main cannons gone, the warship had no chance to defend itself when Yzak raced up the bow and stopped right in front of the bridge. Through the viewing window on his targeting computer, Yzak watched as the projectile he launched from his rifle struck the bridge tower and detonated, causing a massive explosion that destroyed the tower. He barely managed to escape upwards as the bow of the ship exploded, the gun powder magazines exploding in a hellish fireball. The stern of the dying ship drifted for a few seconds before it too exploded, completing the destruction.

Azrael watched helplessly from the Dominion as more and more of the units in the formation went down to enemy fire. They'd already lost five vessels including the Doolittle now and the remaining ones were under heavy attack. "This can't be..." Azrael hissed. "I can't lose like this..." Another flash of light marked the grave of the second Agamemnon-class ship behind the Dominion, a victim of multiple hits from the Buster, Duel, various M1s, and the three K-bombers. Rutherford watched with a heavy heart as the fleet disintegrated before his eyes. Hal felt terrible at this moment, watching his comrades die all around him. He could almost hear their cries as their lives were ended in a split second. The carnage created a mass of debris all around the Dominion, remnants of the warships that had been behind the ship, along with the destroyed mobile suits and mobile armors added to the devastation. And through it all, he could see the Archangel still staring him directly in the face, seeming to look into his very soul at that moment. The rumor seemed to be coming true. That ship was indestructible.

From his flag on board the Valiant, Sutherland clenched his fist as he saw the final 250-class in his fleet explode on the monitor at the front of the bridge. The plan had failed...the PLANTs were still there and they had precious few nukes left. Sutherland's plans were exploding right before his eyes. He couldn't do a thing about it holed up within the main force which was engaged in a heavy combat with the ZAFT defensive lines around it. McKinley and Bradford both barked out commands one after another, the ship turning this way and that trying desperately to avoid being struck by enemy fire. Every once in a while a stray shot would get through and jolt the ship, but she held together. Jachin Due was only a few meters away. And behind that lay the eyeball that could bring about the end of them all. Sutherland still was not about to let that happen. He still had some nukes left and those precious ones could still destroy the Coordinators once and for all. Sutherland was damned if he was going to let the Coordinators win, even if it meant sacrificing his fleet to do it, it didn't matter. As long as the Coordinators were gone, it was all worth it. His rage building inside of him, the Valiant pressed on further into Jachin's defensive network.

-Eternal, 1025

Lacus sat silently as the Eternal continued to batter its way through the ZAFT defenses on its way towards Jachin Due. From her chair at the rear of the bridge, Lacus had a clear view of the eyeball that was GENESIS directly in front of her. She also had a bird's eyes view when a damaged GINN exploded just next to the bridge and cascaded brilliant lights upon her fair face. Lacus' heart ached as she thought of the pilot who was just lost. Who was he? What had he done in the past before the war? Would he have chosen this path if the war hadn't happened? Possibly... she thought sadly to herself, ...we humans...can exist without actually having to fight. She remembered Junius Seven shattering from the impact of the nuclear warhead. The images of young men and women going off to battle in order to protect their homes on both sides. But many of us...have chosen to fight... She thought of Kira...Athrun...Cagalli...and even herself. Individuals who had willingly chose to fight at some point and had been consumed by the brutality of the war. For what reason?

"Aboard that ship are people who I feel obligated to protect." She heard Kira's voice from inside the cockpit of his mobile suit after he'd returned her to Athrun. "My friends are on that ship!"

"I can't exactly win a war with a big smile on my face," Athrun's voice hummed quietly when she had seen him on the Vesalius some time later.

"There's no point in having a war unless one can end it in victory." The quote that Patrick Zala had made famous ever since he had risen to power.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" The anthem that Blue Cosmos supports sang whenever they got the chance.

For what reason...? Lacus asked herself again. To protect something? Protect what? All around her people were dying so that they could protect something that they held dear to them. Athrun having almost killed Kira to avenge the loss of his friend Nicol. Then Kira almost killing Athrun to avenge the loss of his friend. Ourselves...the future...?

Athrun swung both of the METEOR's beam sabers in a double attack at Orga, who ducked beneath them and shot back at the Justice with his chest cannon. The shot seared the METEOR and knocked out several of Athrun's missile launchers. Both pilots scowled inside their cockpits as they continued their duel just beyond the reach of the PLANT homelands.

If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future...then what sort of future is it...? Lacus thought. All around her, mobile suits were exploding like fireworks on a summer holiday and warships were going up in flames almost every minute. And what will we have become...?

Twin laces of green fire shot towards the Archangel, striking the ship at the base of the port leg, its Lohengrin gun blowing to pieces from the impact. "Aim Helldarts, fire!" Natarle commanded.

"Evade!" The Dominion turned hard to port and dodged the shots. During its turn, the ship managed to reach an area that was concealed by the debris from the destroyed warships that had once been behind it, effectively shielding it from view.

There is no future for those who have died... With one great sigh, the last warship behind the Dominion was gone in a brilliant explosion. Inside their cockpits, Dearka, Yzak, Frank, Kisaka, Cagalli, Stevy, and Mike all breathed shallowly and heavily as they tried to catch their breath. And what of those who did the killing...?

Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood stained hands? Behind Jachin Due, the third alignment mirror block was maneuvered into position in front of the eyeball. Patrick watched with growing anticipation as the fighting outside continued.

Lacus opened her eyes and stared out at the vastness of space. Is that the truth? she asked.

With the Dominion out of sight, the Archangel suddenly found itself alone. "Bulkheads to Valient number two have been sealed," Chandra reported.

"Pressure in number four engine is rising past three hundred, ma'am," Neumann put in.

"Shut it down to minimum, Ensign Neumann!" Natarle ordered. "We'll use the other three and reroute the spare power supplies."

"The Strike's on its way back, Captain," Miriallia reported, seeing the mobile suit on her monitor. "It's damaged!"

Murrue gasped quietly and quickly. Mwu! Just then his image appeared on the view screen at the front of the bridge, encompassed by smoke that was pouring through the cockpit. Mwu coughed and then managed, "Damn that new machine of le Creuset's...I'll get him next time..."

"You can report on that later!" Murrue told him quicky. She grabbed the phone in her chair and ordered, "Mechanics, set up the emergency landing nets! Medical crew stand by!"

"Open the hatch!" Natarle commanded.

From inside the cockpit, Mwu saw the Archangel slow to almost a complete stop and the starboard hatch swing open to space. He sighed greatly and said quietly, "Thanks."

Just beyond the ship's reach, another mobile suit was approaching. A ghostly looking one. Rau smirked inside the cockpit. What a disappointment, Mwu. Running back to your friends and allowing me to escape. I should've known better.

Something sharp and painful hit Kira in the mind. The pain quickly dulled away, but he couldn't figure out what it was. The only thing he could feel was that it had come in the direction of the Archangel. What is that...? Kira wondered. He added more power to the METEOR's engines and surged towards them.

All Mwu could see as he came closer to the Archangel was a green mobile suit fighting against another one. The Duel he identified it as. What was he doing here...and what was he doing protecting the Archangel? Mwu's diagnostic board sounded a warning and at that second he spotted the Raider closing in fast on him. "I'll get you!" Clotho shouted as he fired his Zorn mouth cannon at the Strike. Small aches of pain surged through Mwu's body as he moved the Strike out of the way. Clotho was instantly at the spot where the Strike had just been. He cursed and turned back to face the Strike. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an M1 Astray with two beam sabers appeared next to the Raider. Orel shouted a battle cry as he chopped downwards with one beam saber and cut Clotho's hammer in half before he could pull back. "Bastard!" Clotho cried as he quickly brought his forearm up and fired the machine guns mounted there. At that moment, the Raider was rocked by another impact. Behind it was another M1, this one with two rifles. Mitch executed a series of quick turns and jukes to avoid Clotho's attempts to fight back and scored several hits, one even taking out the guns on the Raider's forearms. Clotho screamed as his frustration exploded inside of him and he tried to fight back. He brought the Raider's head up and prepared to fire his mouth cannon again at the M1s. With his concentration on them, Clotho had no chance to see Dearka rush up in the Buster to within a few meters of the Raider. Dearka combined his guns and said, "Not a chance!" The instant Clotho fired his mouth cannon, the shot from the Buster's combined guns pierced the Raider's cockpit and Clotho at the same time. Clotho's body fell forward on the controls and pushed the Raider soaring upwards into space before it exploded in a great ball of flame and debris.

The lights from the explosion lit up the bridge of the Archangel and the crew watched in awe. As it died out, Natarle asked, "Where's the Dominion? Can you locate it?"

"Not in this shape, ma'am," Miriallia told her. "There's too much debris and we've lost our radar, heat, and thermal detectors from when that N-Jammer exploded."

"Why are there still N-Jammers?" Neumann asked Josef curiously. "I thought with the N-Jammer Canceller..."

"ZAFT likely still has many of them in this area," Josef said grimly. "With the PLANTs being this close it's only logical that they'd have many N-Jammers surrounding them as well for protection. Lucky shot must've gotten through and pierced one of 'em. When an N-Jammer blows up it spreads all the jamming energy across its area for a short time and works as if it's still there. That's why we don't have radio or radar at the moment."

A short distance away, hidden behind the shells of their destroyed comrades, the Dominion sat silently among the debris. Hal watched closely as the Archangel seemed to stop completely for some reason. The hatch was open and he saw several mobile suits out there. But why had they stopped? Didn't they know that the Dominion was still out there? "It stopped!" Azrael's voice called out, breaking the silence. "Omanney, now's our chance. Destroy that thing!" Hal paused and looked back out at the Archangel...just sitting there...not even attempting to fight back. "Omanney!" Azrael's voice came again, angrier this time.

Hal shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. The Archangel wasn't fighting back. If he shot now... "Aim Lohengrin..." he said at last, his breath leaving him. "Target...Archangel."

The powerful plasma cannon emerged from its hiding spot and began to glow red as it prepared to fire at the sitting duck. Flay wailed quietly inside her throat as she tried to work the radio to alert her friends, but the radio wasn't working! Flay stopped and looked back out at the Archangel, sending warnings to her friends with her mind, but she knew they couldn't hear her. She shut her eyes and began screaming inside of her mind.

Inside the Strike, Mwu took deep and cleansing breaths to get the air flowing through his body again. He was just a short distance from the open hatch and safety. He was thinking about what he should do when he got back. Should he go straight to the infirmary, or try to help out elsewhere? As he went over his options, something caught his eye. Something among the debris, or behind the debris more or less. He squinted at the object and then his eyes widened in shock. There was the Dominion, clearly visible just a short distance away. The Archangel was stopped...Mwu saw the red glow coming from the Dominion's leg...the Archangel wouldn't be able to get out of the way! Images came into Mwu's mind. Neumann, Murdoch, Natarle...Murrue! NO!

With a terrible roar, the plasma cannon unleashed its fury, the shot heading directly for the Archangel's bridge. A siren began wailing on the bridge. "Captain!" Pal shouted.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted, the red light coming ever closer. Natarle leaned back in her chair and her eyes widened in fear as she watched in horror.

"It's too late," Josef murmured. "We can't!" he called out, shielding his eyes from the light.

The Strike surged forward towards the light, engines going as fast as they could possibly go in it's current state. Inside the cockpit, Mwu set his controls for the right coordinates and then ripped off his restraints. I won't let you! he shouted at the light. He grabbed at the visor on his helmet and sealed it. As he reached for the red button on the side of his seat, he thought, Not after that's happened! The side of the cockpit suddenly broke away, revealing the black space beyond. Mwu bolted out of the opening and jumped into the dark space just as the Strike came in front of the Archangel's bridge and was struck by the red light.

In the blink of an eye, the Strike put itself in the way of the light. From her chair, Murrue felt her heart began to snap inside of her as her eyes widened and her open mouth trembled. Natarle gasped quietly as she watched from the CIC. Everyone on the bridge watched wide eyed and shocked. Inside his cockpit, Frank's eyes widened in horror and his body trembled as he saw his friend's mobile suit take the shot. Dearka and Yzak stopped in their tracks and watched in horror. Cagalli froze inside her cockpit, her hands becoming limp on the controls. Rau's eyes widened as he saw the Strike move and his mind was suddenly perplexed. A good distance away, Kira saw it too and his breaths were coming in quiet cries.

After about five seconds of agony, the Strike's head disappeared into nothing as the red light consumed the mobile suit. In a great explosion, the Strike absorbed the shot and vanished into a fireball. The shockwaves spread across space. In the black space, the shockwaves reached Mwu as he tried to get away and they swept his body up in their fury, tossing him around and around, over and over. Mwu felt his breath leaving him as the shockwaves continued. His only thought was one thing. Murrue...I'm sorry... Then everything went black. As black as the darkness that space was.

AN: To those who asked questions.

lithiumflower56: To you and basically everyone who asked, I'm planning on this story of heroes going for 51 chapters, plus an epilogue.