Dearka & Miriallia

Author's Note: Everybody sing – Lazy summer days, la la la la la, lazy summer days… Ha, I wish that song had been what I was experiencing during the update delay (I know I have a strange sense of humor). Okay, I know a lot of you have been worried about me and I'm here to say, "I'm fine" – relatively speaking of course. (enter smiley face here) I'm so sorry for no update in such a long time. I hope I didn't worry too many of you. I haven't given up and I missed you guys all so much. Hugs to all of you! Thanks again for the support everyone!

Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)

Chapter 36

Associations

"What is your assessment of the situation?" Lacus asked.

Andrew Waltfeld looked at the monitors to evaluate the current status of the ZAFT forces. His eyes were cold and strict as he caught a glimpse of the Girty Lue in the distance as it stayed out of sight from ZAFT.

"It looks as though ZAFT has taken a pretty big hit," he replied to the pink haired princess.

"That's what I was afraid of," she answered.

"Are we going to move in and help them?" Martin DaCosta asked.

Lacus looked around at the damage before replying.

"No, I think it is best we stay put and not make our presence known. Wouldn't you agree Commander Waltfeld?" she coaxed for his concurrence.

"For now, that seems like the best option. The Minerva is down and so are the Rousseau and Nyiragongo. The Voltaire escaped any major damage but I can imagine it will be getting very far with the hits it did take," Waltfeld reported.

DaCosta sighed in defeat at the orders of both Waltfeld and Miss Clyne. He turned back to his control screen and continued to monitor the communications between the damaged ships for any useful information.

On Aprilius 1, Shelter…

Shiho and Ian were seated in the shelter chairs. It reminded Ian of one of the buses he had ridden on when he was back on Earth. Cadey was sitting on his lap with her arms around his neck. Her head was gently placed on his shoulder making him begin to feel uncomfortable in this awkward position.

"I wonder what's happening up there," Shiho said trying to strike up a conversation.

Annabella had fallen asleep in her arms. As soon as the commotion had ended she had become bored with the surroundings and made herself comfortable with Shiho.

"I don't know," Ian replied shortly.

Shiho glared at him.

"What is wrong with him? Doesn't he think I am just as irritated to not be out there fighting? The least he can do is pretend to be cordial," she thought.

Cadey lifted her head relieving the pressure from Ian's shoulder.

"Thank God," he said softly.

Upon hearing his sarcasm, Cadey's hand pushed down hard on the very shoulder he had been so grateful she had moved from.

"Owww," he cried in pain.

"Serves you right," she replied angrily.

Shiho watched the two acting like children and rolled her eyes. The shelter they were in was beginning to make her a little queasy. As her eyes moved across the crowd, the stuffy air became more apparent to her. She leaned back in her seat carefully not to wake Annabella up and moved one of her hands over her eyes.

"You okay?" Cadey asked almost sounding concerned.

"Do you really care?" Shiho inquired opening her fingers to see Cadey with one eye.

"If you weren't holding Belle, I wouldn't," she said bluntly.

Shiho's fingers closed again over her eyes in an attempt to erase the image of Cadey from her sight.

"You make me sick," Shiho muttered under her breath.

"So says people who are jealous of me," she answered harshly.

Ian gave Cadey a small shake when he heard her response.

"You know, most people hate you because you are vindictive, not because they are jealous of you," Ian said coldly.

"Et tu Ian," Cadey mocked pretending to be wounded by his words.

Ian rolled his eyes realizing he wasn't getting through to her again.

"I don't know why I bother," he said throwing his head back over the seat.

"I don't know why either," she said running her fingers through his hair now to irritate him some more.

Shiho's mind began to wander. She was becoming nervous about the situation above and wished Ian had just spoken to her.

"Yzak, you had better be all right," Shiho thought threateningly.

Annabella stirred in Shiho's arms and she removed her hand from her eyes to make sure the little girl wasn't waking up. When she was satisfied that Annabella had just been repositioning herself, she went back to her previous thoughts.

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you Yzak. When will they let us out of here so I can make sure both you and Dearka are safe?" she thought again remembering Dearka's promise that they would be careful.

On the Minerva…

Athrun's Savior moved closer to the destroyed hull of the Minerva. As he assessed the damage, he switched on his communicator.

"Minerva, this is Athrun Zala returning from Aprilius 1. Do you copy?" he stated approaching the mobile weapon hatch.

"Copy that Savior, you are cleared for your return," Meyrin replied.

Athrun moved the Savior into the Minerva's docks as instructed by the ground crew. When he was positioned in the holder, he turned all the systems off above him. He unhooked the straps of his belt and hit the switch to open the hatch. As he glided down the elevator rope he saw Lunamaria and Shin waiting for him at the bottom.

"What's up?" he asked seeing the looks on both Shin and Lunamaria's faces.

"What do you mean what's up?" Shin asked agitated.

Athrun looked at him with a bit of confusion.

"What's he so worked up about now?" Athrun wondered to himself.

"Where should we begin? What about the fact that the Minerva is seriously damaged, both the Core Splendor and Zaku Gunners are damaged or that fact that we are being ordered back to Earth?" Lunamaria said in a much more calm tone than Shin had used.

Athrun looked down at the floor. He seemed a little depressed at the mere mention of returning to Earth again.

"When did those orders arrive?" Athrun asked with curiosity.

"After the shelter pod with the Supreme Council Members was released. The order came from Dullindal himself," Shin answered.

"So I guess we head back to Earth then," Athrun stated as he walked past the two younger pilots.

Lunamaria ran to catch up with him.

"You mean you aren't going to stay with that friend of yours you were fighting alongside?" Lunamaria asked as she hurried to keep up with his pace.

Athrun looked at her with some concern in the words she had chosen to use.

"Yzak isn't my friend. We are acquaintances from the previous war," Athrun denied her accusation.

"Seemed like you were pretty close to me. It was almost like bickering brothers. Or was it just guys day out during the battle?" Lunamaria scoffed.

Shin followed with the scowl never leaving his face.

"I don't trust you Athrun Zala. And you aren't as powerful as people made you out to be," Shin thought without taking his eyes off of Athrun.

"Your machine was damaged Lunamaria. You were of no help to us anymore," Athrun stated coldly.

"That's not true," she defended.

Athrun looked away from her as they all entered the elevator to the next level.

"It is true. Your machine was damaged and you were just getting in the way. The situation was a little more sensitive than you realized," Athrun replied giving her a hint to why she was sent away.

"I could have done something to help you out," Lunamaria reiterated.

Shin stood in the elevator with them still not speaking.

"What could you have done? Shot at me again?" Athrun asked sarcastically.

It was quite out of character for him to speak up in such a tone, but for once in his life, he didn't care if he was being rude or obnoxious.

"It was an accident!" Lunamaria exclaimed.

"Accident or not, you could have hurt someone," he replied.

"I'm wondering whom you were more worried about, yourself or the pilot of the Valor," Lunamaria said noticing his defensiveness.

Athrun gasped at her remark with widening eyes. After all, it was none of her business why he chose to do what he did. The elevator reached the second level and Athrun waited patiently for the doors to open. As they did an all too familiar face was staring back at him.

"Captain," he said saluting, as did his comrades.

"At ease," she replied.

They all lowered their hands and exited the elevator. When they floated back to the ground, the Captain looked at them all.

"I was just coming to see if everyone was okay," she replied with a smile on her face.

"Uh, yes, we're fine," Athrun answered with a small stutter.

"Good. As you should all know by now, we will be returning to Earth for another mission. I will have your mobile suits ready before we enter Earth's atmosphere," she stated before entering the elevator herself.

"Are you going down to the hanger Captain?" Lunamaria asked curiously.

"What better way to get something done quickly than to have the Captain standing over you? Adds a nice bit of pressure to move the process along," she said smiling as her hands went behind her back.

The three pilots stared at the Captain as she disappeared from view with the closing of the elevator doors.

"Well, that was different," Shin replied sounding a little more collected than he had been earlier.

He began to walk away toward the Rec. Room. Lunamaria turned when she felt his presence disappear.

"Hey, where are you going?" she called to the retreating form.

"To see how Rey is doing," he answered nonchalantly.

Lunamaria took a deep breath and turned to Athrun noticing something. He was no longer there. She saw him heading down the corridor in the opposite direction of Shin.

"Wait up," she cried while pushing off the ground and floating after him.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" Athrun asked.

Lunamaria stopped in mid flight as her legs came swooping back under her from the force. Her face was full of shock and a little disappointment was showing through as well. She shook the look off her face and pushed off the floor again in another attempt to catch up to Athrun.

"Damn, she's still following me. How am I supposed to contact Archangel if I can't get rid of her?" he thought with some irritation.

"I can't just leave you alone. You have to tell me what was going on back there. I don't understand and I think as one of your comrade in arms, I deserve to know," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I would have to disagree with you on that Lunamaria," Athrun said turning to face her.

Again she came to a screeching halt and landed in front of him.

"Was that pilot a friend of yours also?" she asked prying.

Athrun turned away from her again and continued toward his room.

"I guess I will just have to find the Archangel later," he thought.

Lunamaria continued to chase after the withdrawing Athrun.

On the Girty Lue…

Miriallia landed on the platform and moved the Valor to its' lockdown location. She opened the cockpit and floated down to the floor. When her foot touched, toe first, she heard a person clapping at her.

"Very good first run Miriallia. I am quite impressed with your abilities," Neo said.

Miriallia huffed and turned to walk away.

"Although, it is sad that you were unable to finish off the Supreme Council Members as ordered," he scolded.

Miriallia stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to face Neo.

"If it wasn't for your interference, I would have finished them off," she said coldly.

Her eyes were no longer the bright blue glistening gems they used to be. They were now full of darkness and sorrow. She felt alone and threatened.

"So true, but I don't think it was just me who interfered with you. It seemed there was someone you may have remembered from your past?" he coaxed.

"I…don't…know," she said slowly.

Neo had a devilish look about him. He knew she would never agree to willingly go to see the technicians, but if he could make her feel the need to use them, he would have a chance of erasing those pesky memories that kept peaking through.

"Now I just need to spin this around on her," he thought.

"Whomever it was made you extremely upset. Are you sure you don't know?" he asked.

She looked up from the floor and squinted her eyes at him.

"I'm sure," she said angrily.

"That's too bad," he said with a small tsk.

Her hardened eyes opened a more with curiosity.

"It seems like you know how I can find out more about that person. Maybe even remember him," she said shrewdly.

"Perhaps," he said.

He turned to walk to the exit and stopped when he heard her call for him.

"Neo, please wait," she said with a softer tone.

"Bingo," he thought.

He twisted back around with a questioning look.

"How can I find out? If my memory is coming back to me, how can I move the process along faster?" she asked.

"I would think our technicians could help you," he answered.

She looked at him and took a deep breath. It had been a while since she had gone near the technicians. She allowed them to do checkups on her for the sake of her child, but would no longer undergo any treatments. This little set back seemed to be something that was now causing problems for Neo's plans.

"How can they help me?" she asked.

"Well, as I had told you before, they have been working to help restore your memories and the treatments may have been working. In fact, you may have remembered more when meeting that pilot on the battlefield had you continued with them," he said deceiving her.

She turned her head to look away, fists clenched at her sides. As she began to walk away from Neo, he asked her something.

"Where are you off to now Miriallia?" he asked.

"To find those technicians. First I'm going to be checked out and then I'm going to start the treatments again. I have to know who I am," she replied more clearheaded than any of his previous Extendeds.

"I have to know how you came to be," she thought holding her belly.

On Aprilius 1…

Dearka and Yzak made it to the entrance of the shelters before realizing one important fact.

"How are we supposed to know which one they're in? I don't have my communicator, do you?" Dearka asked solemnly.

He could see the frustration on Yzak's face.

"Damn it, I don't have my communicator either. I lost it in the shuffle," he said with irritation.

Dearka looked around as he heard the warning sirens erupt that the shelters were about to be raised to ground level again.

"I guess we could just wait here and hope one of us spots them," Dearka stated.

Yzak looked over at his friend and could see the pain in his eyes.

"You really love that girl, don't you?" he asked trying to be more supportive.

Dearka looked up at him.

"If you are trying to bait me right now, I'm not in the mood," Dearka warned.

Yzak shook his head sincerely.

"I'm not baiting you and I'm not going to say anything that would upset you. I just really wanted to know from your own mouth, if it was true," he stated.

Dearka stood in thought for a few moments as the shelters began to open.

"Dearka?" Yzak persuaded.

Dearka looked back up at him.

"I can't believe you would ask me that," he said angrily.

Yzak was taken aback by Dearka's reaction. It was more his style to snap at people than it was Dearka's.

"I just…" he started.

"You read the note too, didn't you? What kind of man do you think I am?" he asked now yelling at Yzak.

For once in Yzak's life, he couldn't respond. He had promised to be easy on him from his talk with Athrun and as much as he hated listening to orders from Athrun, he had a point. But for Dearka to get so worked up over such a simple question now threw him for a loop.

"I thought…" Yzak started again.

"I know what you thought," Dearka shot back.

Before Yzak could get another word out, he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.

"Justin," Yzak recognized.

"Hey, just came to see if the two of you needed any help," he winked.

Dearka glared at Justin.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"I know why you're here," Dearka replied.

"I think he has finally snapped," Yzak thought.

Yzak looked back at Dearka in shock over his attitude toward their friend.

"Why is he getting so worked up? It's only Justin," Yzak thought.

Dearka hadn't told Yzak how in a panic he cried out the fact that the pilot of the Valor was Miriallia and the mother of his children. As far as Yzak knew, he, Shiho, Ian, Athrun and Cadey were the only ones who knew that fact. And, only he and Athrun knew Miriallia was the pilot of the Valor.

"Yzak!" Shiho screamed as she spotted him when exiting the shelter.

Yzak turned giving up on the situation of Dearka and Justin to see Shiho moving toward him.

"Thank God you are safe," she cried out.

When she reached them she walked over to Dearka.

"Thank you for making sure he stayed out of trouble," she winked.

"I should be thanking you for keeping Belle safe," he said as she relinquished the hold on the baby girl.

Annabella began to stir when she felt her father's strong arms embrace her. Although she is still too young to know who he was, she had become comfortable with him.

"Let's just call it even," she said teasing him.

She walked over to Yzak and caught him off guard with a sweet hug. For a moment, he didn't know how to react. Yzak never showed his affection toward anyone in public except maybe to his parents.

"Uh," he said before seeing the serene look on her face as she leaned against his chest.

Softly he wrapped his arms around her as well for a second before pushing her away.

"You aren't hurt right?" he asked trying to make it seem as though he wasn't brushing her off.

"No, I'm fine. And you?" she asked looking him up and down.

"I'm okay too," he replied.

"And Dearka?" she asked softly looking over at his depressed face.

"I'll tell you later. He's not physically hurt, but emotionally he's been devastated," Yzak replied gently.

"Why?" she asked.

"It really is better if I tell you later," he restated as they stood waiting for Ian and Cadey to finally join the group.

End

Author's Preview: I'm going to start moving people back to some positions for Destiny (but not follow the timeline completely). Again, I apologize for such a large delay in my posting. I am hoping that I have enough energy in the next week and a half to get some more up. Please read and review for me so I can continue on my happy way.

Reviewer Response: Hello to all my wonderful reviewers. Thank you so much for all your support and reviews on all my chapters thus far. I love you all so much! Unfortunately due to possible changes in TOS (which is still unconfirmed) all responses are now located on my personal website. Please click on my profile page to link to the website. Thank you.