Wow! I actually forgot I hadn't posted this...Eheh...Sorry about that! -bow- Anyway, this is the last chapter.

Chapter 5 - The Decision

The crew of the Freedom was buzzing 3 days later. There was a spark of happiness for the first time in a long while.

Athrun looked out his window in wonder at all the noise from the docks as the ship got supplied and ready to sail. Then his head went back to the book before him. He flipped his pen in his hand before he wrote a bit more.

Closing the book, he stood up and carried it with him as he went to see what all the commotion was.

When he stepped on to the ship, it seemed that everything had just stopped. Everyone was staring at him...Then Yzak glared at them and gave him a look that was almost...pleading...

"Is that your book?" he asked, pointing to the red bound book under Athrun's arm.

"Yea." he answered, seeing that everyone had gone back to doing what they were supposed to do. "It's finished. I just need a way to end it, without sounding stupid."

"How about 'And so the torch is passed to me.'?" a female voice called out.

Athrun turned and looked at Cagalli in surprise. She wore her 1st Mate outfit and held the captain's outfit, Kira's, in her arms. She was smiling broadly, standing on the edge of the ship and looking down upon him.

"Cagalli?" he asked, and then he realized what she'd said. "What are you talking about?" he turned to look at Yzak, who wore the same smirk as Cagalli.

She hopped down next to him and draped the Captain's cloak around his shoulders.

"I made the decision while at the funeral, and I've been thinking about it ever since. So, now that everything's ready, it's time to tell you." she said vaguely.

Athrun was messing with the cloak. He took it off and looked at it intently. Yep, this was a captain's cloak. Kira's cloak/jacket thingy.

"But this is-" he stopped his sentence when he realized what Cagalli was telling him.

On the back, instead of saying 'Yamato,' it read 'Zala.'

"Cagalli?" he asked, looking up at her. She smiled a strange smile at him and he turned his head away, towards the captain's room.

Under the plaque that read 'Yamato Hibiki' was another one that had 'Zala' on it too...

"I'd be honored. We'd all be honored. If you would be our captain." Cagalli bowed, followed by Yzak.

"I'm gonna think I fall short." Athrun said softly. Then he remembered the day of the funeral, he'd seen Kira. "And I'll never be able to take Kira's place, or fill his shoes."

To Athrun, everything beyond the three of them had become eerily quiet, but he didn't care. They were looking at him sadly, Cagalli and Yzak. Athrun looked at the jacket for a long while before he spoke again.

"It wouldn't be you-" he said, looking at the two. "-but me, who'd be honored to be your captain." he smiled.

Suddenly, the whole ship was full of cheers and Athrun realized it hadn't been his imagination. Everything had gone quiet again!

Cagallli cheered loudly and jumped him, knocking them both to the ground.

"I don't know what I would've done if you'd said no..." she whispered in his ear.

"Um...become Captain yourself?" he offered, earning him a playful punch from the blonde.

-

"I was told of a great way to end a book. But I believe this is the beginning of another story.

'And so the torch is passed to me,' the new captain of the pirate ship Freedom. We have all inherited the powers of the Prince of the Sea, his friends and I.

This book, once more, contains all that I have ever learned of the Prince of the Sea. It also records the history of the Freedom's second and third mate. There are many stories left to learn, many mysterious left to solve. But part of the fun in life is not knowing. Part of the joy is the ability to learn.

Athrun Zala"

Athrun closed the book carefully and placed the red bound book in the drawer of his new desk.

"The Freedom. The Stories and Legends of the Prince of the Sea." he muttered softly before pulling out a new book and smiling at the blank pages. "A new story."

The Freedom

Life After Death

Athrun Zala

He opened to the first page and began to write.

"This volume of The Freedom will be different from the other two of it's kind. I, Athrun Zala, will be recording my adventures as captain of the Freedom. Whether or not anyone delights in knowing what goes on daily on a pirate ship is unknown. But my books are for those with a curious mind.

November 2, Day 1

Today is my first true day as Captain Zala. We have moved out to sea now. This morning I sat at thehelm and watched as Heliopolis shrank into the distance. I still can not believe that Kira is truly gone from our lives.

It is cold on the ship, with winter setting in, but we'll weather it just fine. And life will go on from here. Kira Yamato Hibiki will never fade from the memory of those who have met him, or those who have read my books, hopefully. In this way he will live on forever and I won't be sad.

I just pray that I don't let this ship, it's crew, or it's former captain down. And I dream that the next Prince of the Sea, when all of us with Kira's leftover power have gone, is as nice as the one we've just lost. But for now I live with what I've been through, and I go on, as captain of the Freedom.

Day 1 End."

-

Fin! Well? I feel Athrun may have rambled in his log, but oh well.