Before going back to Earth, I decided to spend my time here in the PLANTs to the fullest. I went to the cemetery. Most of the graves were empty, since most of those who died did so in space. Even now, I can still see the events of the war clearly in my mind.

I was told that all three of them died together inside the Messiah when it exploded. Lunamaria and I were taken to the Archangel, for the treatment of our injuries, with Athrun supervising the whole incident. As I was being patched up in the infirmary, I remember hearing distinct voices outside, talking. One of them, I recognized as Athrun's and the other was a soft-spoken male, which I now realize belonged to Kira's.

Even now, his words still rang clear in my mind.

"The blond kid…he shot the Chairman… Then he chose to stay…"

I stopped in front of three of those empty graves.

Gilbert Dullindal

Talia Gladys

Rey Za Burrel

Even after all that's happened, I still consider him as a friend – my best friend. I looked at his grave and felt tears sting my eyes.

"…He chose to stay and die."

-

Chapter Four - Verdict

-

When he fetched Rey that afternoon, the child had been silent. And even now, during the ride home, he wasn't staring out of the window to watch the scenes roll by. He just sat there, clutching the box of blue and white pills and looking deep in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Rau asked, breaking the unnerving silence.

Rey didn't answer and Rau was beginning to suspect that he was going to be ignored all throughout the ride home when a small voice spoke up. "Rau? what's a te-lo-mere?"

Rau's grip on the steering wheel tightened. His eyes became a cold blue and when he spoke up, his voice was emotionless. "How should I know? I'm a soldier, not a scientist."

Rey was silent again. After a minute, he sighed. He held up his hand with the box of pills for Rau to see. "Is this the same as yours?"

Rau kept his eyes on the road. "I don't know. Didn't Gilbert tell you?" But he knew the answer to that. Of course, Gilbert didn't. 'Gilbert didn't because he didn't want to scare you… didn't want for you to lose hope.'

Rey shook his head and leaned back into the passenger seat. "Rau? If I grow taller would my te-lo-meres grow longer?"

Rau briefly recalled how he reacted when he learned of his true nature. He had been ignorant then too, thinking that he was someone special, superior, above others. He remembered the lies that he had been told, that he had seen, that he had heard. If he hadn't woken up on that precise moment that La Flaga was talking to one of the scientists, would he have known? If he hadn't felt the pain then, would he have known? If he hadn't noticed how fast he grew up compared to that idiot Mwu, would he have known?

To hell with Gilbert and his false hopes. Gilbert was just as human as all the others. Maybe it had been too much for him to handle. After all, they didn't know what it was like for him. For Rey.

He shifted gears and then accelerated the car.

"No."

-

It was the first time, after two weeks, that they've seen each other again. He stood there as he watched her approach him… with another man by her side. She stopped when she saw him and whispered something to the man. Afterwards, the man shot him a look, and then retreated into a corner.

He watched her walk towards him, ever so slowly. The scene was different from what he had dreamt of for so long. He had imagined her wearing a white, flowing dress not her office clothes. He had imagined her holding a bouquet of roses, not a handbag. He had imagined her with a huge smile on her face, not tears in her eyes.

They stared at each other for a long while. Their eyes the only ones holding conversation. It was her who broke eye contact first.

"Is this it?"

"It can't be helped," she answered, her voice breaking with emotion. "I've already decided; I want to have children. That's why I will follow the rules of PLANT… And that's why I can't be with you anymore."

Only two words escaped his lips. "I see."

She looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears and so full of emotion. He met her gaze fully. The things that he wasn't able to say – the things he couldn't say – were clearly written on his face.

Gilbert Dullindal offered his hand for a handshake.

And Talia Gladys took it.

-

It had become a sort of daily routine for Rau to drop off Rey at Gilbert's house or at his office. With the tensions increasing between Earth and the PLANTs, Rau was almost always away, doing work for the ZAFT military. There were times when Rey would stay at Gilbert's house for days at a time, waiting for Rau to fetch him.

It had always been the same. Gilbert, and Talia, if they were at Gilbert's house, would meet them and then exchange a few words with Rau, afterwards, Rau would kneel before him and tousle his hair and walk away. But today was different.

Rau had pulled over the driveway, just like always, and they rang the doorbell. But this time, it was Gilbert who answered it. Rey looked behind him curiously, obviously searching for Talia, but kept his silence. Gilbert led them to the living room and Rey noticed that the man was smiling less than usual.

He stuck close to Rau and the two adults seemed oblivious of the child's presence as they talked.

"I tried, really, to find something that would make our relationship work," Gilbert explained, his tone a little strained. "I worked on it, researched on it, so that we would be able to have children. But it was all futile."

Rau sneered. "A woman is only fertile for a short period of time, Gilbert. Did you expect her to stick around while you tinkered around in your laboratory?" He scoffed. "Things like that take years and she could already be infertile by the time you discover it."

Gilbert shook his head sadly. "But she could've waited for me, to at least set things straight – given me time to think. I didn't even know that she had already reached a decision." He clenched his fists, his anger showing. "It makes me want to curse my fate. Here I am, a Coordinator, a supposedly superior individual, and yet, I can't even be together with someone I love!"

"I don't know anything about such things," Rau replied. He knelt down in front of Rey and stroked the child's hair. The child smiled and ran towards the piano, climbed on the chair and began playing it. "All I can know are the things about myself." He straightened up and smirked at Gilbert.

"But if I already know who I am and what I want, why can't I still find the answers to my questions?" Gilbert countered. "What was she thinking when she decided that we can't be together anymore? There were plenty of ways to remedy the situation."

"It's the same as finding your way out of a labyrinth," Rau answered confidently. "There will always be several paths before us. All we can do is to choose one and follow it." His eyes hardened and the expression on his face turned callous. "All of you follow it, believing the things you wish for lie beyond that path. But I follow it in order to verify that there is nothing there, as I expect.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other.

Finally, Gilbert's lips curled into a rueful smile. "So, you're saying that there's nothing that I can do. Maybe you're right… The decision has been made."

Rau approached Rey and smiled at him, indicating that he was leaving. Immediately, Rey stopped playing the piano and clambered down the chair. Rey seemed to want to walk him until the front door but Rau shook his head.

Before he went to the foyer, he looked back at Gilbert and asked, in a meaningful voice, "Oh? Who made the decision? And what was it?" Then, he began walking towards the front door, the sound of his footsteps getting farther and farther until it was cut off by the soft closing of a door.

-

As soon as he got on the car, Rau felt his hands shaking. There it was again. He yanked the glove compartment open and extracted the box of pills. He took out three of the blue and white pills and popped it into his mouth, forcefully swallowing it without water.

He leaned his back on the driver's seat and sat there for a moment, trying to regain his breath, all the while thinking about the previous events.

So, Gilbert had finally experienced what it was like, not having a say with the goings-on in one's life – finally felt what it was like not being given a choice. His reaction was fairly predictable, thinking it unfair and inequitable. But what happened to Gilbert was fairly small compared to his situation. Gilbert was wrong; he always had a choice. And by not saying anything that night, he just wasted it.

That was the difference between them. No matter what path Gilbert chose, there will always be something different waiting for him at the end. But for Rau Le Creuset, it would always be death.

Rau saw his reflection on the side-view mirror and his eyes softened. He just wished that it would be different for Rey.

In a way, he was being selfish, because he was also Rey. He just wanted Rey, or himself, to have the normal life that was taken away from him. He had been given a chance to change his fate, through Rey, but it seemed as if he was going to fail.

But in reality, did fate really give him a chance? Or was it just to spite him – to make him realize just how useless and hopeless he really was?

Those choices that one has to make… they are a privilege. No matter what choice they make, there will always be something waiting for them, a fallback, something to look forward to in the future.

And that's what made their life all the more valuable.

-

Even after Rau had gone, Gilbert just stood there, fists clenched, staring – no, glaring – at the chess set lying innocently on top of the coffee table. So that was really it. He was nothing but a pawn in the game of life. Sure, he was allowed to move freely and make a few choices, but in the end, fate will always interfere.

And how ironic.

Yes, it had been decided.

It had been decided the moment he walked in Patrick Zala's office and presented the results of his research about the recent decline in the third generation population of Coordinators. It was him. It was him who found the source of the problem. It was him who presented the solution to the problem.

Why did he have to meet her, if they weren't going to end up together?

If he'd only known the future – what it held for him…

But, if he'd had known from the beginning that they were not meant for each other, would he have still approached her that day and introduced himself?

Then, a small, tentative voice broke into his thoughts. "Gil?"

Gilbert relaxed slightly and arranged his face into an amiable expression. "Yes, Rey?"

Rey's cheeks turned pink and he diverted his gaze onto the floor. "I-I don't want to impose or anything but…" he stammered.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, now fully amused. A child his age hardly used the word 'impose'… but then again, how old was Rey, really? He sat on the couch and waited for him to continue. He stared directly at the child, to show that he had the man's full attention.

Rey took a deep breath and sighed. "I just want to know if you'll finally tell me what a telomere is," he finished in a small voice. He no longer had a hard time saying the word, as he had pondered on it for such a long time, but the meaning still remained foreign.

Gilbert stared at the child standing before him. He mentally noted how much he had grown for the past two months since the first time he laid eyes on him. He was much taller now, albeit, he still hasn't reached farther up to Rau's waist. His hair had grown longer, but still the same shade of golden blond. His face, although still childlike, had grown much leaner. He no longer stuttered when saying his name, but still called him Gil out of habit, perhaps. Sometimes, he seemed more mature for his age but that childlike innocence in him still remained.

Rau's words echoed louder in his mind. "All I can know are the things about myself…"

If he'd only known the future – what it held for him…

Gilbert stood up and went towards one of the shelves lining the east wall. He could feel Rey's curious gaze following him as he skimmed through the spines of the books, searching for something. After browsing through it for several seconds, he came up with a book - a plain-looking, black-covered, hard bound book with the title printed in precise letters.

He handed it to Rey, who wordlessly took it. The child stared curiously at the somewhat heavy book in his arms and, after reading the title, turned to open it when Gilbert stopped him.

"Not now, Rey…wait until you get home."

An almost unnoticeable frown appeared in the child's forehead, but he complied nonetheless. He placed the book on the coffee table and, with a nod of approval from Gilbert, went back to playing the piano.

They say that an artist's emotions show through his works of art; it is the same for musicians.

There was something different with the music that filled the house that day.

It sounded frustrated, anxious…frightened.

-

The plain-looking, black-covered, hard bound book contained all of Gilbert Dullindal's diagnoses regarding Rau Le Creuset's unusual case. He started keeping it as a journal and, at the same time, as storage for Rau's medical records.

In there, was the meaning of the word that he was so desperately seeking for…

…and more. It included the most comprehensive data and information acquired through the time-grueling research and experiments done by Gilbert to fully comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of the genetically-enhanced clone.

Rey's eyes widened, as he progressed from page to page – finally understanding the weight of Gilbert's words. He had only read up to the fifth page when he stopped, unable to continue.

The pain that he felt, the pills that he had to take, the reason why he continued to grow taller… they were all there.

He had the same condition as Rau.

But…

If he continued to age, what would eventually happen?

Rey took a deep breath and reached for the book again; when suddenly, a hand shot up and snatched the book from his hands. A dry, emotionless voice spoke up after that.

"I think that's enough for now, Rey."

Rey looked up and was startled to see nothing but emptiness in that familiar blue gaze.

-

-

Author's Notes: And so, Gilbert begins to turn into Destiny-Gilbert. I took the dialogue from the Haro-Haro & Tori-Tori fan-sub. It's from episode 29, if you're wondering. After watching it for the nth time, I started thinking, those conversations actually happened. So I'll be fleshing them out and giving situations wherein Rau actually said them.

I actually see the whole Gil-Talia break-up as the thing that made Gilbert snap. You can see it in his choice of words and Talia's guilt. Why else would she die along with him? Sure she loved – loves – him, but the thing of it is, she broke up with him in the first place because she wanted a son then suddenly she goes out of her way to die with him? The way I see it, she feels she was partly to blame for Gilbert's actions. Guilt is a strong feeling, I tell you.

Does Rau seem nice to you? Want to share your sentiments about the matter? Want to contradict what I just stated? Got a few choice words about the ending of Destiny? Then, review and tell me all about it.

Thank you to the following people who reviewed: koyuki-hime, Yzak-Freak, yuugiri, Centurious, elven-girl10 and MidnightReverie.

And also to my wonderful bestfriend/critic/beta-reader:Lia lostsmile.