As for Lacus, besides accompanying Cagalli, she too had a new companion. Athrun decided to make a Haro for his fiancee. Lacus had seemed a little sad ever since her "kidnapping", and Athrun wanted to cheer her up. When he presented the toy to her, her brilliant smile told the teen that he had hit the jackpot.
But away from Mendel, things were also moving at a quickening pace. After the failed assault on Orb, Azrael wanted to attack the country again. But the destruction of the mass driver convinced him that it would be unwise to waste more troops just to avenge his humiliation. The EAF decided to take Victoria...
Over at the PLANTs, Siegel's gamble had paid off. Patrick was now Chairman in name only, although Rau Le Creuset had been given free rein over ZAFT policies. The Clyne faction realised that the weakened Chairman still had considerable authority. The battles would be fought during the crucial meetings, thought Siegel.
When Eileen Canaver brought news that the EAF troops were slaughtering their forces in Victoria, Siegel's worries increased. If they were not careful, the whole war might become one of extermination. It was then that he was grateful for Athrun's and his daughter's sacrifices. Now that the moderates had a slight advantage over Rau Le Creuset, they would not allow him to blow the whole thing out of proportion.
The Mendel colony was a sanctuary for the Three Ship Alliance, but their luck did not hold for long. Both the EAF and ZAFT managed to lock on to the colony as their hidng grounds and launched their offensives. Both sides were in for a little surprise...
Muruta Azrael was now in the Dominion, the EA's second Archangel-class battleship. The Calamity, the Forbidden and the Raider were also repaired and on board. Azrael's aim was simple: to crush those responsible for his humiliation in Orb, although he wouldn't mind having the "troublemaking" MSes in the EAF. Their performance in the battle of Orb had aroused Azrael's suspicions that they may be nuclear-powered. The thought of using nukes against the PLANTs was an interesting one to him.
ZAFT too wanted the Justice and the Freedom. As Athrun's MS, the Justice was now a "shoot-on-sight" target for the troops. As for the Eternal, on Siegel Clyne's wishes, it would be given a choice to surrender. Otherwise, it would be destroyed. The same applied to the Freedom as well.
As they prepared for their launch, the Le Creuset team had mixed feelings about hunting down Athrun. Sure, Dearka and Yzak had never liked him much but they still couldn't believe that he had the audacity to kidnap his future wife and hijack a ship. (They didn't think he would have the guts to do it.) As for Nicol, there was a hundred and one questions he wanted to ask Athrun if he met the older teen... After meeting with the masked Le Crueset, Kira was breathless from all the information. He was an Ultimate Coordinator, and his sister was Cagalli? But he hadn't have much time to think. The EAF and ZAFT had commenced their attack. In fact, Athrun had already began his engagement with the EAF troops. ZAFT had already hailed the Eternal. Of course, the Desert Tiger had refused to give the ship up. When reminded of the consequences, he merely finished his cup of coffee before ordering the crew to be on full battle alert. Wisely, he assigned the Justice to deal with the EAF rather than ZAFT; still, there was the chance that the redcoats would be able to track Athrun down.
As Kira piloted the Freedom, ZAFT too issued their warning. After a negative response, he was greeted by an onslaught of GINNS. On top of that, the Duel, the Buster and the Blitz had been looking for a fight which wouldn't bore them. Once Yzak realised who the pilot was, he nearly went berserk. (Knowing that the Freedom would outmatch the three MSes, Kira had actually asked them to stay away from him.)
Although his friend wasn't in any danger, Athrun went over to the Freedom. He needed to talk to his former team mates.
"Kira! Let me handle this!" Knowing that the Justice would be able to take care of itself, the Freedom went off.
"Well, well, if it isn't the traitor." Athrun had to smile when he heard the voice. It seemed that Dearka's penchant for sarcastic remarks had remained unchanged.
"Athrun! What does it always have to be you? First, you couldn't kill that friend of yours. Now, you even gave him ZAFT's latest MS?" Yzak was outraged by Athrun's actions.
"Listen to me! Rau Le Creuset was the one who leaked the details of Spitbreak to the EAF! Besides my father and myself, he's the only one who knew that ZAFT was attacking JOSH-A!"
There was silence as the three ZAFT pilots tried to take in what Athrun had said. Yzak didn't believe it at all.
"Don't be deceived by his lies!"
"Which one of us is really being deceived, Yzak," asked Athrun in a soft voice. Yzak didn't know what to say to that.
"Athrun, was everything you said the truth?" Nicol wanted to believe his friend, but the thought of his commander betraying ZAFT was a little too much for him.
"Every word, Nicol, I swear."
"Well then, before we get our facts straight, let's go find some other fish to fry." Dearka knew that Athrun was telling the truth; he needed some sort of excuse to convince Yzak to drop the argument for now. Nicol agreed to his suggestion. Reluctantly, Yzak retreated with his teammates.
By this time, the Freedom had began its engagement with the EAF suits. On his own, Kira was beginning to have some problems dealing with the three. Just then, Flay's voice came on the intercom. Le Creuset had put her in an escape pod, along with a disk containing the specs to N-Jammer Cancelller technology. He was sure that the Earth Alliance would be able to pick up the girl, and the special gift he had prepared for them. But he hadn't count on the lady's attempts to communicate with the Archangel, thus alerting the whole battlefield of her presence.
"Flay, is that you," asked Kira. The girl was in tears when she heard Kira's words.
"Yes."
From where he was, Athrun could see the Freedom heading towards the pod... with the Raider and the Forbidden on its heels. He shouted into the intercom.
"Kira! Don't lose your head at a time like this!"
His warning reminded Kira that he was still in combat. The Freedom managed to duck just as the Forbidden tried to take its head off. The Justice quickly went to its aid...
But for Flay, it was too late; the Dominion had seized her pod. Although she had heard Kira's voice again, the thought of being separated from him again was hard on her. She was still in tears when the guards escorted her to Azrael...
The battle was a success to the alliance. Not only did they repel both sides, they also destroyed Le Creuset's command ship while losing only a few of their Astrays. But for Kira, it was a disaster, for he had let Flay slip away from him. There were other concerns too. He needed to talk to Cagalli and Athrun. If not, he felt that he might burst from the secrets which he had bottled up inside him. He held on tight to the photograph which Le Creuset had given to him.
On board the Eternal, her captain, Athrun, Lacus and Cagalli were gathered in the captain's quarters. They were a little curious about this particular meeting; it was unlike Kira to want to meet them in "private". There was a knock on the door.
Kira took a few deep breaths before entering the room. He started by telling the others about Rau Le Creuset's true identity. Even Andrew was shocked to learn that the masked commander was an actual clone. Athrun and Lacus had never had a good opinion of him after Spitbreak, but this development was unexpected. The former ZAFT ace feared for his father; he couldn't imagine what Le Creuset had in store for the Chairman and ZAFT. As he pondered over this disturbing news, Athrun noticed his best friend's discomfort. Something else was coming up, he thought.
The teen then took out the well-framed photograph and showed it to Cagalli. Realising that her brother knew about their relationship, Cagalli took out her photograph as well. As the siblings compared the photographs, there was no longer any doubt that Le Creuset and Uzumi had told the truth. Athrun and Lacus looked at the photographs; they had no idea what was going on except for their observations that the two babies looked a lot like Cagalli and Kira. After viewing the photos, Andrew had a thin smile.
"I know the two of you were more than just friends." The four teens looked at the Tiger.
"That day at my place, the way you protected Cagalli. It felt like a brother protecting his sister, rather than a boy looking out for his girl," observed Andrew.
Athrun and Lacus were happy for the siblings. After the evil news of Le Creuset, this reunion was something worth celebrating, but the two wanted Andrew, Athrun and Lacus to keep it a secret. When the trio remembered who Cagalli was, they agreed. No one could predict what would happen if this news spreaded.
"Well, at least you're no longer alone now," said Athrun. He patted his friend on the shoulder.
Kira wanted to cry but he blinked back his tears. Now, if he could get Flay back, it would be perfect...
For Cagalli, she was enormously relieved that she no longer needed to keep the secret from Kira. On another front, the construction of her Strike Rouge was underway. Although she knew that she might die out here, the plucky girl couldn't imagine herself anywhere else. Perhaps that was why her father allowed her to leave Orb. The country may be neutral, but from the sidelines, she would help in whatever she could.
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!