The hospital room aboard the Voltaire was typical of medical facilities on military vessels. Two rows of medical beds with curtains drawn around them. The nurse aboard the vessel explained to Yzak all of his injuries. During the battle, Yzak suffered from whiplash, soft tissue injuries, a few lacerations and bruising, left shoulder injury along with arm being crushed, leaving him in a sling; some internal injuries on the left side, and a head injury above his left eye. Yzak was bandaged up. He was released to do limited work.

He received helped to get dressed. Yzak's white uniform was draped over his shoulders. He felt like he was younger again, immature and embarrassed. Nostalgic and a bit of déjà vu. He floated out of the medical room after they explained to him about his medication, some were for pain and some were for antibiotics. He had to take a dose before leaving.

It was a range of emotions floating around the vessel, watching the crew work. Mobile armors missing limbs. He stopped in front of his GOUF Ignited. The crumbled-up machine that had originally lost to the ZAKU series. Yet due to its high performance when mobile suits were being developed, it proved a worthy adversary. It became a mobile armor mostly piloted by aces, elites, and commanders allowing them to paint it in custom colors.

The standard colors were hues of blue with dark grey and a little bit of white and orange accents. Heine was gifted one of the first ones. He had it in his custom colors of oranges with black and white accents.

Yzak didn't know if he was influenced by the Duel Gundam. His color scheme seemed to center around it. His Slash ZAKU Phantom was had a similar blue grey upon blue coloring. The GOUF Ignited had similar grey coloring but it was softer grey with similar hues. He continued to stare at it. A crumbled mess that kept him safe until the very end. He felt the nostalgia of being angered to the point of seeking revenge, as if he was in front of the damaged Duel once again.

He was informed that the machine was too damaged to repair back to original. They had been through a lot together. It was bittersweet that it was beyond repair. He wondered what machine he would use once he was back to pilot once again. He felt a bit guilty thinking of the future when he hasn't properly placed his machine to rest.

A technician floated over to him with a tablet. "Sir," he called out. Yzak barely glanced at him. "The computer partially fried." He motioned to the tablet. "However, thanks to your coding about sending backup information to the vessel, we could reupload this information into a new model." Yzak was interested in that. He took the tablet from him. The technician left to continue on working on other machines.

Yzak thumbed through with his right hand as his left hand held it. Yzak softened. It wasn't thanks to his coding; it was thanks to Selena's. She was the one who created a coding to help him cut down on seconds for fighting. He wondered how much of that actually helped him. He floated away with the tablet in hand. He spotted Dearka handling the affairs he couldn't get to at the moment.

Yzak went back to his quarters. He stared at the map by the lounge. A sweet dream that turned into a nightmare. Maybe it was a foretelling of things to happen. The Joule Team's sweet voyage with this nightmarish skirmish. He headed over to his desk to view the last battle from the coding.

He reviewed the codes line by line. He had nothing better to do. When he was getting drowsy, he could see in the distance, Selena in the red pilot outfit near the map. He glanced over to it. There was nothing there. He did remember the drugs may cause hallucinations. Yzak went back to viewing the codes. There were some shortcuts that did affect his fighting skills. A few seconds had been shaved off during battle. Coding of stored memory of certain code actions in a key bank to be referred to ease maneuvering.

Red drops floated around him, Selena in her red suit scuffed and bloody, her hand on the map, pointing to a location. Yzak looked away from his computer. Nothing by the lounge or the map. Yzak stared off into the distance, he hoped things were not going to be like this. He looked back to the screen.

He read more into the coding and only looked at the coding. He kept his focus on it for almost an hour. He got the sense of someone watching him. He tried to ignore it. It was just the pain pills, he reminded himself. He should be resting but he's doing the bare minimum. It was going to be like this. He kept looking through the codes. That eerie feeling kept itching at him. His eyes wanted to dart off the screen but he managed to keep them on. The eerie feeling kept growing. Almost sensing something was coming closer.

Just ignore it, Yzak ordered himself. He shook his head a bit and scrolled through the coding.

The curiosity got the better of him as his eyes were drooping and drowsiness was setting in. He leaned back in his chair, finally turning his eyes away from the screen to be face to face with a bloody and bruised Selena in the red pilot suit. She was standing on the other side of the desk. She leaned over the desk, blood started to pour out of her mouth.

The door to his office opened as he let out a gasp of horror and shock.

"Yzak!" Dearka floated over to him. "Are you alright?"

Yzak blinked a bit, staring at the spot he believed he saw Selena at. Dearka waved a hand in front of him.

"Hey!" Dearka was worried. "Are you okay?"

Yzak turned to him. His heart pounding at the scene. Dearka could see the shocked look. "I think, I think I am hallucinating."

"Huh?" Dearka placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I keep thinking I am seeing Selena," Yzak explained. Dearka listened to him. "Before this last battle, I saw her at the map, focused in." Yzak gazed over to that area. "In a dream. She was wearing a red pilot suit holding a helmet. And then." He paused, frowning a bit. "The blissful dream turned into a nightmare. She became scuffed and bloody as if she was in a battle of her own. Red petals that floated around her were actually blood. She pointed at the map before blood started to pour out of her mouth." Dearka reacted with disgust. "Just now, while reading the codes she helped with on my machine, I kept seeing her and then now, on the other side of my desk, the same state, beaten and bloodied with blood pouring out of her mouth."

"Yzak," Dearka tried to sooth him. "I know she's alright. She wouldn't get herself hurt. You are under a lot of stress. That incident at Mendel Colony and now this. You have to rest!"

"I know," Yzak nodded. "The stress has been getting to me. It was a miracle for our paths to cross once again. Stress and these medications, having been giving light to the fears deep in my subconscious."

Dearka glanced over to the computer. He frowned a bit. "You've been doing work, haven't you?"

Yzak looked glanced to the screen. "Just seeing if I really did have an easier battle sequence." Dearka crossed his arms. "I did." His voice was lowered and he glanced away. Dearka tried not to smirk. "Is Commander Yamato still escorting the vessels back to Armory One?"

"Yes," Dearka nodded. "A few other pilots have accompanied him to make sure nothing further has happened but he only docks with us to replenish before going out again."

A few days later, the Joule Team had made it to Amory One finally. They were met with technicians ready to repair their vessels and mobile armors. Dearka and Shiho picked up the work while Yzak followed his battered mobile armor that was being hoisted towards the recycling bay. He stood on a bridge watching his machine in the distance. The bittersweet moment has arrived. He heard the footsteps of someone approaching him. They stood next to him, watching the crew put the battle beaten machine in one of the bays.

"We don't always appreciate the tools we have," a familiar voice spoke. Yzak glanced to see it was Kira. Kira glanced at him. "It was a good machine. Held up to the very end."

"I'm surprised you took the Strike Freedom," Yzak kept his voice low. "Aren't you worried about the repercussions?"

"After working on the fleet here," Kira explained. "There wasn't a machine I could pilot that would get to everyone in time."

Yzak raised his eyebrows then smirked. "Oh, so you had to take it."

Kira chuckled. "It's completely hidden again. Thanks to Lacus and Terminal, people are led to believe that the Strike Freedom came out to help ZAFT, nothing about who the pilot was or that the pilot is dating the Supreme Council Chairwoman. Just someone helping out others in time of need." There was a brief moment of silence before Kira asked a question. He glanced at Yzak before asking. "Do you really think that the black chess set is undefeatable?"

"Hm?" Yzak looked over to him. Kira was staring at him with concern. "For now, it seems that way but there is always that small percentage where they are unable to win. I haven't given up on trying to beat it, so don't bother on giving up against that enemy either." Yzak stared back the recycling bay.

Kira stared at him some more before nodding. He turned his head back to stare at the machine being put on metal rods to keep upright. "We won't. We have to win. Everyone who wanted this peace we finally have, are depending on us. We can't jeopardize it over an enemy who is playing chess." The two continued watching the machine in silence.

At the Kingdom, Ezalia had gotten a report of what had happened in space. She headed over to the mansion trying to find Luka. She could not get a hold of Selena and Anita. She needed Luka. Inside the mansion she looked around the kitchen and dining area.

"Luka!" She called out. She was frantic as her son was nearly killed in space. She needed answers to help ease her anxiety. "Luka!" She called out again searching all the rooms downstairs. "Lukyan!" She called out his full name. She was met with silence. She started walking up the stairs. "Lukasha!" She called out his nickname that only people he was close with used.

"Ezalia?" He called out from another room, sounding like he was upstairs somewhere close.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Ezalia clutched her chest. She had ventured in several rooms with only taking in glances. "Where are you?"

"Upstairs!" His voice boomed back. "In the portrait room!"

"Portrait room?" Ezalia reached the top of the stairs. Her voice was nearly inaudible. She looked around to see a light emitting from a hallway. She headed over to see a door opened with marble floors and elaborate décor. She headed over to Luka when she got into the room. She ignored her surroundings as her stride got to him in a few seconds. "Did you hear what happened?! I can't get ahold of either princess! Are they doing anything!? Our son almost died!"

Luka had been staring at the portraits. He turned when Ezalia entered, striding towards him in a rush. He knew what had happened and heard that Yzak had survived. He also knew that Ezalia only got the report later because he allowed it. Luka made sure to keep updated daily on Yzak's recovery. He placed both hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Yes. I know."

"Are they going to do anything?" Ezalia stared straight into his eyes.

"They may have already done something," Luka was vague.

Ezalia frowned while gauging his reaction. "You. Knew!" She narrowed his eyes at him. "You should be frantic like me, but you knew right when it happened!" She shrugged off his hold on her. Luka let out a sigh and nodded. He could not always lie to his wife. She moved away from him. "You knew and you didn't get them to do anything?!" She was thousand of miles of away from her son but she was still worried about him. She turned away from him a bit disappointed and disgusted but logic brought her back to glance back at him. He was in the same boat as she was, as it was her decision that brought about all of this. She looked at him, who was patiently waiting for her as always, only to see one of the portraits behind him. "Huh?" She glanced around to see several portraits in all the same styles with similar frames. "What is all this?"

"Like I said, the portrait room," Luka explained as he watched Ezalia stare in wonder. "This side is my family line." He waved his hand over to portraits that had royal sashes. Ezalia slowly stepped towards it. She let out a gasp before jerking her head back to him in surprise and confusion. He nodded. "Yes. I did not receive High Chancellor just because I came to this side, but also because of my background. Allow me to introduce myself fully." Luka took her hand as he bowed his head. "Greetings, I am Grand Duke Lukyan Olegevich Ivanov." He pressed his lips on the back of her hand. She became bashful about his gesture.

"So-so that means?" Ezalia kept her hand in his. He nodded to her in earnest. "The-then, Yzak also?" Luka nodded. Thoughts started to race. "Then were we headhunted beforehand? Did we fall into their trap? Was this all planned out?"

Luka squeezed her hand to bring her back to the present. "Let's not think about that right now. Yzak is fine. He is exemplary commander and an ace pilot. Kira came just in time to save a lot of the ZAFT space fleets. Even if Kira didn't come, something would have been done, don't worry."

Ezalia nodded. He was right. Her worry over Yzak could only go so far. She glanced around him to view the room, only to see some walls had different sizes of portraits. Her hand slipped out of his to view them closer. The pictures showed Luka growing up in different stages. A toddler wearing a sailor suit. A child wearing royal attire. A baby in a little suit.

Luka came around to her side, watching her intently as she looked at each picture with curiosity. She stopped abruptly, making Luca bump into her. She tapped his chest with the back of her hand as she could not look away. "We never had that taken, right?" She was focused on a painting of the two of them.

In the painting, Luka was standing behind her, who was sitting. Luka was dressed in his royal attire. It was a white brocade with a black lining and gold embroidery. There was a light blue sash across his chest. Ezalia wore an off-shoulder gown with black brocade with a white inlay and gold embroidery. She had the same blue sash draped off the shoulder across the chest. She had a high collar necklace draping down. On her head was a cloth crown shaping into the point at the top. It was black with same color embroidery.

"We have never taken it," Luka stared at it. "Most of these are made from piecing images together. Though this is all hand painted. Before you worry, the artists are from the royal painters group. So, no one really knows." The two moved on to look at a similar picture except the colors of their outfits were different. It was silver and dark blue with a light blue sash and silver embroidery. In Ezalia's arms was an infant Yzak, wrapped up in a light blue blanket. Ezalia's eyes started to water. She walked on to see a toddler Yzak in the same pose as Luka in a sailor outfit. Next to it was a large painting of them on a blanket in a grassy area. Ezalia was in a dress while Luka was in a simple button down and pants. A little Yzak was trying to walk with the help of Luka holding him up. This was an actual photo of them that Luka turned into a painting.

Ezalia kept walking to take in a portrait of Yzak as ballerina and the next one beside it, just the same size of him as a red uniform in ZAFT. Next to it was another ZAFT portrait but of Yzak in his white uniform. Another side of the wall had the three but Yzak at a different age.

"You had all of these made?" Ezalia couldn't believe the room. She glanced around to take in all the pictures.

"Yes," Luka looked with her. "It may seem weird, but as the decision became to light, and I chose to be here, this helped me through the pain of being separated from you two. This shows the family side I had always wanted, even if it didn't turn out to be that. A side I had once before it being taken away from me." Ezalia had tears rolling down her cheeks. She really didn't know much about him now that she thought about it. He never spoke about his family or his past. She didn't really ask.

"What happened to your family?" Ezalia looked up at him.

"My family was held in disgrace for birthing a Coordinator," Luka explained. "However, it only came to light when I was young. From there, I had escaped with a few others, leaving everything behind. I was the only one who made it to the PLANTs, unfortunately. I thought it was safer than other places, it was to a point, but if I never made it there, I would not have gotten to meet you."

"And your parents?" Ezalia couldn't bear to ask the rest of the question.

Luka shook his head. "They died right before me. My siblings pushed me away while trying to save me. That is why I am, Grand Duke. I was a Prince, at one point in time." He gave her a gentle smile. "It's something I live with. I know you want to apologize but it was not your fault." He wiped away the tears. "You being here, is comforting already."

Her smile grew while quivering. Luka was a strong man in her eyes, even if he performed ballet. Hearing this story, made her realize how harsh she had been on him and how tough it must have been to try to survive all alone. "If I stayed, then would Yzak have been raised a prince?"

"Yes, but it's nice that he didn't," Luka spoke truthfully. Ezalia was confused. "I love our son but the PLANT arrogance had a hold on him. He would have become a typical royal snob." Ezalia let out a sigh before chuckling. He was right. Yzak would have been one of those snobby princes. "We would have raised him the best we could but as Naturals had always been against us, he would be a snobby prince with an atrocious temper if we stayed in the PLANTs." He bopped her nose once. This made her smile.

"That is our son," Ezalia agreed. "He has matured and learned a great deal. He would be surprised and honored to take on the title now." Luka nodded. Ezalia asked more about the paintings and certain portraits.

In a white room with white furniture and furnishings, standing in the middle was a man with a long blonde hair and a white suit with no tie. The top buttons were open. He wore a white mask.

"You have finally arrived," he called out to her.

Selena looked down to see she was wearing her white nightgown. A dream. She looked back up to Rau in the dream. "No chess set?"

"Not this time," Rau walked over to her. The sense of warmth she usually received from him was gone. "Unfortunately, this is, hopefully not, our last time together." He brushed the wisps of hair out of her face. "You will no longer be the Selena I adore." He peered around her before looking back at her. His voice lowered. "I don't like that Selena." She tried to turn to see behind her but his fingers led her chin back to him. "Don't look. I'm afraid that you will become her too soon. I want to keep you like this as long as I can."

"Are you saying I am afraid?" Selena raised her eyebrows. "I am not afraid."

"You're conditioned not to be afraid," Rau corrected. "Oh Selena, I'll miss this version of you the most. I do like imagining you as the soft and delicate version that had no problems. Still into ballet and drawing. A dainty little princess but I like the frosty pink rose you are now." He gave her a kiss. When they parted, Selena could no longer see him but heard his fading voice. "Goodbye."

On the other side of the room was herself but their back was facing her. Selena's heart started to race. She watched as they slowly turned. The color in the room started to change colors as that version of her turned. As that version was fully facing her, the color of the room was tinged in the new color, seeping out to white around her, slowly staining. Selena stood her ground watching herself watch her.

"I'm afraid," a soft voice spoke behind her. Selena glanced to see a young version of her in a yellow tutu. The young Selena looked to her, scared and worried. "What if we don't change back?"

"We may never change back," another voice spoke on the other voice. The two of them looked to see a teen version. "That's always been a possibility. We will be her for the rest of our lives."

"I don't want to be her," the youngest Selena shook her head with tears in her eyes. "I don't want to be her! I want to be ME!" She started to sob.

"I don't want to be here either, but we don't have a choice," the teen Selena explained. She looked to the current Selena. "Do you want to be her?" The youngest Selena looked to the current Selena too.

"I made peace with myself that the things I want I can no longer have," Selena stared at the version of her in the corner. The whole room had now changed colors along with the furnishings. "There was a time I could have it, but the opportunity slipped by, showing me that it wasn't meant to be. I was not meant to have it, so I made peace with it. This, her, us." The other two stared at the Selena in the corner, who now started to walk towards them. "In order to live our lives, the way we want, its better to finish this out." The younger versions stared at her. "We never had a choice, but we have a choice on how long it takes to finish it, so let's not half ass it." Selena started to walk to the other version. "Let's finish this so we never have to have this dream again." The two Selena's met in the middle.

In the secret compound on Earth, a group was bringing the double boxed sleeping Selena to similar room that was on the Aesculapius. They placed the box down in the room. Unlocking the box, to reveal the second box. It took a team effort to lift the second box out while moving the first box out of the room. The group set the second box down. A part of the group left the room, moving the first box out of the way while the other group stayed inside to make sure she was still asleep. They set the box down gently.

The box was built to come apart. The small group took away the three sides. Leaving the last part with her still sleeping on it. The group had set the box down on a certain part of the floor that connected to the bottom of the second box. It started to raise up, becoming a bed. The group started to leave except of one. They noticed he was lingering behind.

"What are you doing?" One of them whispered to him. "We place her in here and leave. That's our orders."

"I know, I know," the one lingering behind still looking at the sleeping Selena. "I just want to get one last look, without anything in the way." A few of them sighed.

"Hurry it up," another ordered. "If we do anything to her, he won't like it. Trust me. We don't want to wrong him."

"I get it," the guy stepped closer. He eyed her from head to toe. "Even if she is a bit scuffed up, she's still gorgeous."

The door then shut on all of them. The group jerked their head towards the door.

"Oh no!" One of them went to the door. The group looked back over to Selena, but she was still asleep. They let out a sigh of relief. "Open the door, she's still asleep." There was silence. "Hey! Open the door!"

The guy went back to staring at her again while the others tried to pound on the door but not loud enough to let the outside know. He glanced to see if they were working on a way to get out. Some even turned to the cameras that were hidden in the ceiling behind the mesh metal. He started to reach out to Selena.

"Open up!" The voice jolted him. He glanced back to them before glancing back to the sleeping Selena. His fingertips near her mouth. He went back to trying to touch her. "Please! Hurry!" He closed his eyes trying to keep his concentration. He felt a slight pinch at his fingers. He opened his eyes up to see a few fingers were missing, blood was fountaining out, hitting the sleeping Selena.

"Ahh!" He grabbed his hand. He stubbled backwards.

"What happened?" The group came around him. One of them pressed a cloth over his hand.

"She's still asleep," one of them looked over.

Another left the group to try for the door again. "She's dead asleep, we can make as much noise for now." He pounded on the door. "Open up! We have someone who is injured!"

The group looked towards the door; nothing was happening. Two of them felt like they were hit with something. They looked around. Selena was still asleep. They looked down to see his fingers rolling on the ground. The group looked at one another in fear. They looked back to Selena. She was still asleep. The group backed away slowly to the door.

"Hurry it up," another called out.

The one kept banging on the door but it wouldn't budge. It started to feel eerie being in there with her. A mist started to spray inside the room, creating a fog. The group started to cough.

"It's not us," some called out. "We aren't doing it."

"Get us out of here!" Another called.

One tried to keep their eyes on where Selena was at but the fog was making it hard.

"Ahhhh!" Someone screamed before they disappeared into the fog. The group heard a large thud. The rest kept pounding on the door until another was dragged away into the fog. Another large thud. One by one, they were picked off until no one was by the door.

Ra was watching in his lab. He saw everything that happened. On the screen showed her vitals. "My, my, I have woken the dark side, and what a glorious sight it is." He pressed a button next to him. "When her vitals are back to being stable and she's asleep again, clean the mess up. Also, check his medical record, he should be clean but I worry she could catch something since she bit his fingers clean off. We may have to extend out her antibiotics."

"Yes sir!" An assistant accepted the order.