Understanding

Scene from my first story and regular canon happen if they are not contradicted.

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Video call or voice chat"

Marlene

Marlene sat in a healing pod, grimacing as a constant pain travelled through her. Sumeragi was currently scanning her, checking to see how far the GN particles had spread, especially in the aftermath of recent events. She had certainly felt worse than before, more pain than could be ignored not going away.

Distracting herself, the blonde reflected on recent events. After the ship's systems had been restored, they had found a message that just contained coordinates. It was odd, but only someone who knew about them would be able to send them a message, which left a small pool of options. Both Marlene and Sumeragi had been wary of it, but Setsuna had stated they needed to go to it.

Setsuna's gut feelings had proven to be solid in the past, so Sumeragi agreed, but Marlene had stated her worry about ship security, which Feldt just responded they would take the 00 Raiser. Ian had then chimed in over comms, saying they had gear at Lagrange 5 that Linda wanted to give them. With that planned agreed on, Feldt and Setsuna had launched while the ship headed off towards the rendezvous point, which would take time to reach.

The scan ended and the pod opened, and based on the expression on Sumeragi's face, the news probably wasn't good. The brunette grimaced at Marlene, her eyes looking away from both the screen and Marlene. Marlene let out a pained sigh, "How bad is it?"

Sumeragi wordlessly gestured for her to look at the screen and when the Celestial Being commander saw the screen, there was nothing good to see. All across her body was red, brighter than she had ever seen before. Nothing was untouched. She shivered unconsciously, visually seeing just how bad her condition was.

Sumeragi gave her a serious look, worry knitting her brow, "Marlene, you have a month at most left. The hostage situation must have accelerated your degeneration." The tactical forecaster's voice was full of tension, "You really need a break. To go back to sleep so we can try to deal with this."

Marlene began to speak, but as she did, a cough came over her and she covered her mouth. After they finished, she could see the palm of her glove with spots of blood. Wiping the remaining blood from her lips, she spoke weakly, "We are near the final battle, and you want me to quit?" There was a hint of hurt in her voice. Sumeragi's eyes widened, mouth slightly agape.

Marlene looked down, ashamed she spoke like that, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that." She took a deep breath, "I just want to see the end of this fight. I owe it to all the Celestial Being members that died. To this crew. We have bigger things to worry about than trying to fix a condition we know can't be fixed right now."

Sumeragi's voice cracked slightly, "C'mon. We can come up with something. You can't give up now."

Marlene gave her a smirk, "I haven't given up. I hope we can fix it, but I have accepted that I will most likely die." She laughed, "I got to see my daughter become the woman I knew she could be, to follow her dream. I got to see her get married to a good man. Celestial Being rebuilt stronger than ever and are in the position to capture Veda if we find its location. I certainly have regrets, but I think this outweighed all of it."

Marlene then smiled happily at the tactical forecaster, "And I made a good friend in the process. When I first met you, I never would have expected to strike up a friendship with you, but I'm happy that I was wrong. I wouldn't have traded anything or taken anything back."

A tear rolled down Sumeragi's face, the woman giving Marlene a bittersweet smile, "You know complimenting me won't distract me. But I'm honored to have been your friend, regardless of what happens." She clenched her fists in determination, "But we will fix this. I promise you we will solve your condition."

Marlene pulled her into a quick hug, a smile on her warm face, "It's good to know I have friends like you."

Sumeragi just nodded knowingly, crossing her arms over her chest, "You do know that you need to tell Feldt. It's unfair that you continue to hide this from her."

Marlene's lips became a thin line. 'A month. A month is all I have left.' Like Sumeragi said earlier, they could put her back under, but the blonde had been pushing this off more and more. 'I would have gone berserk if my mother or Ruido had hid this from me.' Marlene gave her a resigned look, "I know. It hurt every time I pretended to be ok to Feldt, that I wasn't slowly dying."

"At least you came to that realization on your own. You are a very stubborn woman."

Marlene just nodded, smiling slightly, "That's my charm I suppose. I still question why people like me sometimes."

Sumeragi rolled her eyes, a smile in her eyes, "I do too. But you do have some good in there." Sumeragi looked Marlene in the eyes, "When do you plan on telling Feldt?"

"After they get back from the colony. God knows that it's going to be rough. I entirely expect her to be mad at me. Maybe not even talk to you."

Sumeragi shook her head, "She won't do that. She might yell at you, but she would never get mad or hate you. You are her mother, and she loves you with all her heart. Just be honest with her and don't make up any excuses."

Marlene looked down at the ground, "I will certainly try."

Setsuna

Setsuna made his way through the dark, bare metallic corridors of the abandoned colony, gun in hand. He found it strange there was atmosphere inside, but at the moment, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. There were small flood lights along the hallway, so he wasn't completely blind, but a sense of unease came through him as he traversed through the colony. 'Who sent us the message? If they are in here, it could take days to find them. They might even have left.' If that was true, then this entire mission was pointless. 'No, my gut was sure there was something here for us.'

He spotted movement out of the corner of his eye at a T-Junction, catching a hint of purple before it went out of sight. 'What was that?' He stealthily approached, ready to fire if this was an enemy. Turning the corner, he saw a woman in a purple space suit, with small neon lights on it. The woman turned around and he was surprised to see Wang Liu Mei, her eyes wide with fear and a shaky gun in her hand, her other hand putting pressure on a wound on her side.

She spoke to him with relief in her voice, recovering some of her usual confidence, "Setsuna F. Seiei, you made it."

Setsuna resisted narrowing his eyes. Marlene had informed the crew that Wang Liu Mei had betrayed them and had worked with the innovators, though the true extent was not known. She had asked for anyone who got word from her or saw her to try to bring her in. 'And here she now is.' Taking a deep breath, he spoke evenly, "What happened here? Why are you here?"

"It's not important. What's important is this." Lowering her gun, she handed him a small slip of paper, which he took cautiously. Opening up the folded paper, he saw what looked like a set of coordinates. He looked at her, confused, which she quickly clarified, "These are the coordinates of Veda. You need to move fast before they realize you guys know this."

Setsuna's eyes widened. 'The location of Veda? We can finally deal a finishing blow!' Setsuna nodded at her, "Thank you. But I need you to come with me. You aren't safe out here."

Wang Liu Mei shook her head, her voice soft, "It's fine. I'll be alright."

Setsuna shook his head, his voice taking on a harder edge, "I wasn't asking."

She floated back, resting against the wall in the hallway they were in, "Setsuna, what are you…" Shock was readily apparent in her voice.

He aimed a gun at her, not feeling very much like being nice, "Wang Liu Mei, you are wanted for betraying us to the innovators. We know Anew is an innovator and that you knew her true nature, among other things." Setsuna agreed with Marlene on disliking traitors, though not nearly as strong as her or Feldt.

Wang Liu Mei's eyes took on a paranoid and wild look, "You don't understand! I did what I had to! I want to see my new bright future!" She took a shallow breath, wincing from her previous injury, "I did all I could to help you! All my life I tried to change the world, to make it so that I could have a better life! And now I get punished for it! You must understand that I tried!"

Setsuna could feel selfishness flowing off of her. She didn't care for any of them or anyone else. 'She was willing to let the innovators win if she could have a better future. Her motivation makes sense, but she's almost as bad as them.'

Setsuna shook his head, "I do, but what you were doing got innocent people killed, all to make it so you could have a better life. That is not what Celestial Being fights for. We fight for all humanity, not for a select few."

Wang Liu Mei pulled her gun back out, hands shaking as she aimed at the raven-haired meister, "First Nena! Then you! No one will stand in my way!" Eyes still wide, a gunshot came echoing out of her pistol and Setsuna reacted by throwing himself against the wall, the bullet missing him by inches. His instincts came flaring up, taking aim and nailing Wang Liu Mei in the chest twice, puncturing through her space suit, her eyes going wide as blood began to seep out of the wound.

She weakly began to aim her gun at him despite her injury, trying to shoot him again. He took one last shot, not happy it came to this, but the woman was still a threat, so the bullet pierced through her helmet before she could react, blood splattering inside the formerly airtight space. Her body fell limp, hitting the wall.

Setsuna approached the floating corpse of their former supporter. Her expression was one of fear and frenzy, now forever frozen on her face. 'Another person I had to kill. Another unnecessary death.' Taking off the helmet of her suit, he closed her wide eyes. 'She deserves some respect in death.' This whole event left a bad taste in his mouth. If she had just surrendered, none of this would have happened. He was used to killing, so it wasn't like it affected him that bad, but unlike Ali al Saachez, he didn't get enjoyment killing people.

'I'll have to apologize to Marlene about this.' With the coordinates of Veda on him, he made his way out of the colony, content that at least something good came out of that.

As Setsuna clashed blades with the Susanowo, he grunted due to the power of the enemy suit. After he had left the colony with Veda's coordinates, he had found the 00 Raiser and Susanowo facing each other, each of them with their weapons down. As he got close, he saw the familiar figure of Graham Aker standing on top of his cockpit, arms crossed over his chest. He had challenged Setsuna to a duel, which after Feldt said she was reluctantly ok with, saying he hadn't attacked the suit on sight, he had entered the 00 Raiser and the duel had commenced.

Both suits were using trans-am and Setsuna couldn't get an edge on this man. Their blades clashed over and over again, but he could not move this man and vice versa. Graham had devoted himself to fighting and he could see it from the way he fought, as well as the feelings radiating from him. But at the same time, there was a desperation, not like Wang Liu Mei, but almost a sense of death seeking, like he had nothing left. 'If Feldt and I could go to the quantum realm, then maybe I could do it with Graham.' The word quantum realm made sense now that he understood they used quantum brainwaves to connect and use their powers. Closing his eyes, he could sense the bond between him and Feldt, and she immediately understood what he wanted to do. The world became filled with light and the space around them disappeared.

Setsuna found himself standing on a familiar rock face and a familiar hand holding his. This was where he had met Graham when he was studying the missile strike in Azadistan, where he realized Ali was the one behind the missile attack on power plant. He could see Feldt to his left, in her usual uniform and below him was Graham, in an old Union uniform. What surprised Setsuna was the fact he himself was wearing an adult sized white button down and black pants, though the scarf was still green. 'I expected to be in my uniform.' Feldt gave him a smile, squeezing their linked hands, her love flowing into him as he returned the gesture.

"So what trick is this young man? Where did our mobile suits go!?" Anger and offense leaked off of him, a glare easily detectable on the blonde man's scarred face. But below that anger, Setsuna could sense desperation and loneliness, a lack of purpose in his life.

He looked at Feldt, who smiled at him sadly. 'So she sees it too.' Setsuna responded evenly, "I brought us to the quantum realm. Where people can connect and try to understand each other."

Feldt added onto that, "Where feelings are laid bare for all to see."

Graham scowled at the two, "What nonsense is this?! Why are we here? And why am I wearing my old uniform?"

Setsuna spoke calmly, "This is where we first met each other in person, whether you knew it or not. It is important to you."

Graham raised a fist at the couple, "Of course it's important! Because of you Gundams, I lost everything. My honor as a Flag fighter, my squadmates. All I have left is the will to fight." An immense sense of loss became more apparent from him, causing Feldt to frown.

She spoke, kindness radiating from her, "Is that why you fight?"

Graham gave an unhinged grin, "Wanting to fight kept me sane! From falling to despair! It didn't matter what happened to the world. All that mattered was finding a worthy opponent." He balled his fist, focusing on Setsuna, "When I heard that Celestial Being was back, I had hoped that meant you were too. And when I saw the double-powered suit, I knew you were piloting it. I have felt more alive than ever!"

Setsuna shook his head at that. He could feel that Graham was trying to justify his own existence. 'A life devoted to fighting for fighting's sake is no life.' Setsuna's spoke in an exasperated tone, "What about other things? What will you do when there is nothing to fight? No great opponent to fight? Is there no one you care about or love?"

Graham gave him a thoughtful look, before reverting to anger, though his voice wavered, "There will always be something to fight! Some great war to engage in! Friends to avenge! Attach…" Graham could feel Setsuna's happiness talking about love, "Attachment and love are a weakness!"

Feldt spoke in a pleading tone, "Please, you must have loved your friends! They wouldn't want you to be like this! To throw away your life for a fight. I don't want to have to fight you!"

Graham wavered for a second, his willpower dulling. But after a few seconds, he shook his head vigorously, "Neither of you understand! Howard and Daryl would have joined me in this. Once I beat you, I will have avenged them and proven I can beat the Gundams!" Once again, he sensed a lie, but not to them, but to Graham himself. He was deep in denial and nothing they could say would work. He nodded at Feldt, who nodded back in agreement. The world began to turn back to white and the earth and rocks disappeared.

Setsuna opened his eyes and saw the viewscreen of the 00. Feldt's voice sprung up in his cockpit, "What do you have planned?" He could hear the sadness in her voice and could sense the deep sympathy she had for Graham. He could also sense that bond between him and Feldt, once hidden, now flaring with energy, the feelings and senses between them flowing freely. 'So this is what Marie and Allelujah must feel like all the time. I should ask how they can control it now that I can feel it.'

"I need to show him that power doesn't come from violence alone. It needs to come with understanding." Feldt smiled at his words and Graham charged them once again, but instead of fighting back, Setsuna just let the swords clash against his own, blocking and dodging. Graham's attacks became sloppier, even as they had more power behind them. Eventually the attacks stopped, the Susanowo floating harmlessly in front of the 00 Raiser.

Graham's voice was desperate and empty as he spoke, "If I can't fight, then what am I?"

Setsuna put away his swords and replied sympathetically, "I know how you feel. I can't tell you who you are. Only you can do that. Only you can choose your own future. Find a cause, a friend, or even love. But I can't tell you how do that. You have to decide on your own. But most of all you need to live." He then turned around and began to leave the airspace.

As the Gundam left, Feldt smiled sadly at Setsuna, "I wish we could do more for him."

Setsuna nodded, "I do too, but he has to learn the lesson himself. We can only help him so much." He hoped the man would learn and get better, but right now they had to get these coordinates back to the Ptolemy. It was now time to strike back against the innovators.

Feldt

As the 00 Raiser arrived back on the Ptolemy, Feldt couldn't help but blush a little. After scanning the coordinates that Setsuna got, she determined something was strange, but realized they would need the ship to fully analyze it. So in the meantime, she and Setsuna had spent some quality time together, which had certainly been fun. 'Ian would yell at us if he knew what we did in the Gundam.' They didn't have any protection, but they could deal with that later. 'Not that I regret a single second of it. Thank god there is no evidence for mom to find.'

As she exited the 0 Raiser and headed to the elevator to the main deck, Setsuna met her, smiling teasingly at her. Her cheeks felt warm as she blushed, matching her hair. She kissed him on the lips softly, savoring the taste as she closed her eyes. As she and her husband kissed for several seconds, She heard a cough and broke the kiss to see her mother giving them a smile.

Marlene just shook her head, "Sorry to intrude on your moment, but I wanted to see that you guys are ok and to ask if you found anything. Did you find out who sent the message?"

Setsuna took a deep breath, "We did. It turned out it was Wang Liu Mei, who was hiding out in the colony, being hunted by Nena Trinity." Feldt could hear the downturned tone in his voice, knowing he had to reluctantly kill Wang Liu Mei. She was less worried about it, knowing Wang Liu Mei killed her fellow Celestial Being members as well as letting Anew infiltrate them. 'She got what she deserved.' Setsuna continued, "She gave me the coordinates of Veda or at least what she claimed was them. When I tried to take her back with me, I was forced to defend myself and kill her."

Feldt nodded at that, resting a hand on Setsuna's arm, "I checked the coordinates as we travelled back. There was something odd up with the info, which convinced me she wasn't lying, despite her previous actions."

Marlene looked at the two of them, contemplating for a second before responding, "While I would have loved to shoot her myself, I can at least be satisfied one rat is dead." Feldt could hear the satisfaction in her voice at that. 'I suppose I inherited that from her as well.' The blonde woman continued, "And for the data, I can bring it to the bridge and we can have it looked at. You two can take a break till the inevitable crew gathering." She then looked at them curious, "You two seem…different, like there is an aura around you. Did something happen?"

Setsuna just nodded, "Feldt and I have been…changing over the last several months. We were confused at first, but after our most recent battle, both of us understand what changed." Feldt could see Setsuna's eyes glowing a dull gold before disappearing.

Marlene looked at the couple nervously, and Feldt could feel her worry spike. 'The glowing eyes probably didn't help.' Mentally chiding Setsuna, the redhead spoke to her mom gently, "It's alright mom. We are still the same as before. Just…more. We are not innovators like Anew."

"Well that's good." Marlene quickly straightened herself out, "While those eyes give me the creeps, that would partially explain why you both have become such good pilots. But what can you do?"

Feldt spoke after Setsuna nodded at her, "We can help connect people and help them communicate mentally, on top of battlefield skills like being able to predict enemy actions, similar to Allelujah and Soma."

"Connect people and communicate mentally?" Marlene spoke evenly, pursing her lips, "It all sounds like magic to me, but if it helps us, I won't complain. More super soldier level skills will definitely help." Feldt could hear and sense her mother's burning curiosity, though that was being tempered by a pressing need in the back of her mind.

Feldt smiled at that, but could see her mom hesitating, her right hand rubbing her left arm nervously, "Mom, are you ok?"

Marlene took a breath, "No, not exactly." She brought her arms to her sides, "I have been…hiding something from you, Feldt. And I hope you don't hate me for what I hid."

Feldt's eyes widened with worry, "What do you mean? Why would I hate you for it?" A wave of comfort and support came through her as Setsuna slid his hand into hers. She glanced at him, silently thanking him.

"I'm dying." Marlene sighed, "I have been dying for the last couple years." Feldt looked at her mom, shocked as intense fear and hurt roared through her. Her mom, the strongest woman she knew, was dying? And had kept it hidden?

"How long have you known?" Her voice was overwhelmed with worry.

"Almost five years or so."

Setsuna gave Marlene an intense looking, clearly feeling Feldt's distress, "So ever since you woke up?"

The blonde nodded, "About then, yes. You know how I mentioned in the mission where my teammates died that I was hit by raw GN particles?" Both of the Seiei's nodded and she grimaced, "It turns out I was infected with GN particles poisoning, which is basically like cancer. Something about GN particles slowly causing my body to weaken. They kept me in a medical regeneration coma to stave it off, but since I have been active, my time has been getting shorter and shorter. Regeneration treatments slowed it down, but that only helped so much."

Feldt's voice was choked by tears, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You should have said it before."

Marlene looked down at the ground in shame, "Back then, I didn't want to tell you I was dying, especially immediately after I came back. How could I tell you I dying when you were so happy I was back? So I hid it and overtime it became easier to bury it. I wanted to be strong for you and everyone in Celestial Being. I didn't want to distract anyone, especially you."

Setsuna spoke calmly, trying to calm Feldt's tumultuous mind at the same time, "Did you think about what would have happened if one of us had found out?"

Marlene frowned, "There was a reason that data was classified. Only a few people knew on the crew."

Feldt's voice picked up some anger, "Who knew?" The storm in her mind made it hard to think rationally. This all sounded likes excuses to her, but she could sense her mom was ashamed by this, heavily tinted with regret.

"Sumeragi, Ian, Linda and apparently Anew. All people who had clearance or I trusted wouldn't be less worried about me. Though Anew wasn't supposed to know."

"And I was just supposed to be in the dark!? Not know my mom was dying!?" The outburst came from Feldt without warning, and she began to sob, Setsuna pulling her into his chest. She could feel him surrounding her, physically and emotionally, telling her she was there for him. She glanced over at her mom and saw she was leaning heavily against the wall, like a blow had been stuck.

Guilt immediately seeped into her mind, her anger fleeing. Her mom had clearly worried for her and Feldt could not truly muster any long-term anger at her mom. She had been suffering quietly and no one could tell she was dying that entire time. 'It must have taken a lot of energy and willpower to ignore all the pain she was suffering.' Feldt winced at her insensitivity as Setsuna ran a hand down her back. He looked at her, his eyes asking if he should say anything. Her sobbing died down as she shook her head.

The raven-haired meister gently let her out of his arms as she floated to her mom, who had been silently crying. Feldt smiled at her, which Marlene was shocked at, "I thought you would hate me for that. It's not like I don't deserve it."

Feldt held her mom's hand, tears still in her eyes, "Younger me would have. But now, I can see you went through your own suffering from the cancer and hiding it from me." Feldt chuckled bitterly, "You and I are both stubborn, so I'm not completely surprised. I wish you did tell me, but what can we do about that now?"

Marlene cried more tears, though the redhead they could tell these were happier, "Knowing me, I probably wouldn't have changed my mind in the past. I'm just happy I didn't lose my daughter to me being stubborn and stupid."

Feldt linked her and her mom's hands and squeezed them, "How long do you have?"

Marlene let out a deep sigh, "A month or so." Feldt'e eyes widened, which Marlene gave her confident smile, "But don't worry. After we deal with the innovators, I promise to go back into a coma, to give you guys time to solve this issue. I don't plan on dying just yet."

Feldt nodded, putting on a confident face, "We'll fix you. I want you to be there for years to come. I want you to see your grandkids, to be able to be there for them."

"I would like that too." Marlene smiled warmly, "I'm so proud of you. You have become the woman I hoped you would become. Someone your father would be proud of. No matter what happens, I want you to know I love you and will never be disappointed about who you are or will become."

Feldt pulled her mom into a hug, holding her as tightly as she could. She rested her forehead against her mom's, trying to connect with her as much as possible. It was a different but equally as good feeling warmth compared to her husband holding her. As the hug went on for a few seconds, she heard Marlene's voice call out, "Setsuna, you are part of the family. Join us." Feldt giggled at that, knowing Setsuna was probably floating there awkwardly.

Another pair of arms wrapped around them, and she smiled even more. The three of them were family and they would make it through this. 'I'll find a way to fix this. There has to be a way.'

The hug broke and Marlene nodded at the pair, "Get some rest. If these coordinates are correct, then we are near the final battle. Mileina and Saji can analyze the data." The married couple nodded, handing her a flash drive with the data on it and watched her head down the hallway.

Feldt looked at Setsuna worriedly, "What do we do about her condition? Why didn't we spot it earlier?"

Setsuna pulled her close, "Like she said earlier, she was good at hiding it. You can't blame yourself." He kissed her forehead, "But we will fix this. If me changing stopped the particles spreading in my body, we can stop it in hers." Feldt looked down at the ground. 'Would that stop what's happening to her? Could we change her?'

She laid her forehead on his chest, some of her hope restored, "I hope you are right. I don't know what I would do if she were to…" She trailed off, not wanting to say it. No matter what was said, her mind was still a storm of emotions, though much calmer than when her mother initially told her. 'Maybe she had a point about this distracting me.'

Taking a deep breath, she focused on her thoughts. The enemy was right in sight, and she couldn't afford to be off her game. 'We need to defeat the innovators, for the future of humanity. Then I can deal with all these emotions swirling in me.' A calming influence surged through her, and she looked up at Setsuna, "Thank you."

"Like it was your job to be there for me, it's my job to be there for you."

She looked up at him, curious, "How are you feeling about all this? You never said."

Setsuna looked down, "I don't want her to die either, but her holding on for so long without anyone noticing is inspiring. This is the human spirit the innovators don't get." He laughed, "She's an impressive woman."

Feldt nodded, a proud smile on her face, "A impressive and determined woman."

Author Note

And that's chapter 18! We are nearing the end. Only three more chapters to go. Just the final battle left! I hope you liked it and please comment and review, depending on what site you are on!