Author Note One

Besides the usual reminder, this chapter is basically the Tales of Ba Sing Se, but Gundam 00 form. My thoughts will be more in detail below.

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Soma/Hallelujah speech"

Feldt and Setsuna (One week into time skip)

Setsuna exited the medical bay in his uniform, having just gone through a regeneration treatment session. Anew followed along with him out of the room, passing by him as she headed back to the bridge to take her post, though he didn't notice, being deep in thought. While it was annoying that it wasn't fixing the wound, it was at least some relief on his arm. It felt better, especially since he hadn't had to use it seriously for a week. Despite the horrific destruction of the orbital elevator, Setsuna had to admit that the chaos had allowed the ship retreating back into space, allowing the crew a respite from fighting. The Ptolemy was currently resting near some debris floating close to a Lagrange point, waiting for a resupply from a Celestial Being support ship.

Anew had also informed him he was allowed to pilot again now that his arm was more functional than before. Sumeragi had informed him she didn't want him piloting till his arm was in a better condition, which frustrated him, but he understood why. He had been impatiently waiting for permission, though Feldt had kept him somewhat distracted. There had been a general air of giddiness from her throughout the week, with the both of them spending a lot of time together in private when she wasn't teaching Saji. Most of the crew assumed it was them bonding as partner pilot and co-pilot. They had kept their new relationship a secret from the crew, wanting to get a handle on it themselves before revealing it to the rest of the crew.

Setsuna saw Feldt in her regular uniform waiting outside in the hallway, looking at him with nervousness. She approached him and in an attempted casual tone, she asked, "Ready to pilot again?"

He nodded and smirked slightly, replying in a happy tone, "Very happy to." He saw her looking at him nervously, her hands behind her back. Curiously, he asked, "Are you ok? You seem nervous."

She took a deep breath and brought a letter out from behind her back, looking at him with trepidation, "Remember five years ago after Lockon died and I left a letter in the Dynames?" Setsuna nodded, remembering his first significant interaction with her. She continued, "Every year I write a letter to my parents, telling them my feelings and what's going on. Normally I just write it and store it, but I wanted to do something special now that I'm a pilot. Normally I do it on my own, but I have a boyfriend now, so I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to take me out with you flying in the 00."

Setsuna looked at her with a thoughtful look. 'Boyfriend? I hadn't thought to call her my girlfriend.' His tone was light, "So I am you boyfriend then?"

Feldt looked down in embarrassment, blushing pink as she realized she had jumped the gun. 'There you go assuming, Feldt. Might as well ask now.' Steeling her nerves, she looked at Setsuna in the eyes, "Well do you want to be my boyfriend?"

He chuckled as he walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead, "I would love to. And of course you can join me in the 00."

A surge of happiness went through Feldt as she wrapped her arms around Setsuna, her voice muffled by her face against his chest, "Thank you!"

"Well then, let's just get changed. I'm sure you are just as impatient to pilot as I am." She nodded at that and the two made their way to their rooms to get changed, meeting up in the hanger in front of the 00. He looked at her with a smile and asked, "You ready?"

She nodded, still a bit nervous, "Yes." She saw him enter the cockpit of the 00 and the machine's eyes lit up. It was an intimidating sight if she had to be honest.

Setsuna called out to her, "Jump in." She pushed off the railing across from the gundam, and stood on top of the hatch, looking down in. She blushed, realizing that it was going to be a tight fit in the cockpit, having never been in there besides repairs, and seeing as it was meant for one person.

She spoke nervously as she looked down at her boyfriend, "Setsuna, where do you want me go? Next to you?" Her blush intensified as he wordlessly gestured to his lap. 'Oh! Well he seems ok with it. Just avoid his bad arm.' She laughed nervously, seeing Setsuna blushing as well, "If you are ok with that…" She descended into the cockpit, resting on Setsuna's lap, putting her weight on his good arm. Her face was steaming, and she glanced behind her, seeing Setsuna with the same level of blushing. 'I didn't realize it was going to be this intimate.'

Setsuna also realized having his attractive girlfriend sitting on his lap might be a bit distracting, but he fought his urges. 'She wanted me to be here with her. I don't want to make her too uncomfortable.' He coughed awkwardly and opened communications with the bridge. Mileina's face popped into view, a happy smile shifting into a smirk when she saw the position of the two pilots. In a scandalized tone, she said, "Doing a test flight?"

Setsuna nodded and Feldt squirmed a bit, knowing Mileina was already making a judgement on what was going on. Setsuna swallowed awkwardly, feeling his girlfriend push into him further in embarrassment. Mileina continued, looking like the cat that caught the canary, "Loading you onto the catapult. Timing controls will be transferred to you." In a quiet voice, she stated, "Have fun on your date!"

Her image disappeared, leaving the two to think about what she just said. Setsuna looked at the pink-haired girl curiously, "Is this a date?"

Feldt looked away from him, still blushing, "Well, no? I mean, yes? Do you want this to be a date?"

Setsuna replied, voice warm, "If you want it to be one, then it is one." Feldt nodded, no able to vocalize her thoughts. 'First I officially have a boyfriend and now we are on a date? Christina would be so overjoyed at this.' She frowned for a second, remembering her best friend, but shook it off knowing she would want Feldt to be happy.

The gundam launched out of the ship, entering the openness of space. Feldt looked out into space, finally getting to experience the wonder of flying through space with no worries about enemies or other distractions. It was a sensation that she had never gotten the chance to really focus on. She had worked on the cockpits when fixing them, but this was an entirely separate experience. 'I can't believe I could have missed out on this. Is this what it was like for my parents? For Setsuna?' She was awestruck by the experience, a wonder-filled expression on her face.

Setsuna looked at her expression, smiling at her wonder at the joys of piloting. 'It seems like this is making her happy. Maybe I am doing this right.' He let her gaze in wonder for a bit before reluctantly asking, "What is your plan with the letter?"

Feldt was pulled out of her own world, turning her head to look at the raven-haired pilot. She saw he had a relaxed smile, enjoying being there with her. She returned the smile, speaking up, "Oh, um I was going to leave it up in space. My parents were from space, and it feels appropriate." Despite the short time they had been together, something inside her told her that she could trust him and open up fully to him.

Setsuna began to slow down the 00 as he replied in curious voice, "You've never told me about your parents. Who were they?" He had been curious for a while now how Feldt had joined Celestial Being and now seemed like an appropriate time to ask.

Feldt gave him a pensive look before starting to speak, "They were the gundam meisters before you guys. They died when I was young, so I never really got to know them, but I remember they were kind, caring and loved me." Some tears welled up, blurry memories of her parents coming to her mind. She took a breath, taking a few seconds trying to get her emotions in check.

Setsuna's heart clenched in sympathy. He knew exactly what it meant to lose a parent at a young age. He noticed her fighting tears and spoke in a soft tone, "You don't have to continue if you don't want to. If it brings up sad memories-"

He was interrupted by Feldt squeezing one of his arms with her hand, smile on her face, "It's alright. It's nice to talk to someone about it." She took another deep breath, "My parents died in an early intervention, though I was never told the details. All they said it was about stopping terrorists." A tear rolled down her cheek, yet the smile stayed on her face, pride in her voice, "I fight in their memory. They were brave enough to face the world despite the odds and as their daughter, I need to as well. Anything less wouldn't be living up to them." She pulled herself closer to Setsuna, him unconsciously wrapping an arm around her waist.

Setsuna took in what she just said, the pride in her voice inspiring. 'So that is where her determination comes from, her drive to keep fighting.' He spoke up, pride in his own voice, "Your parents would be proud of what you've done. You survived despite all the threats thrown against you and everyone else in Celestial Being. And you willingly flew into a dangerous battlefield, despite knowing the risks. You keep fighting. I don't think you would ever disappoint them."

Feldt could feel the tears she tried to resist start to flow out at a heavy rate, but all she could feel was happiness. 'If it wasn't for the helmet, I would kiss you!' Setsuna could feel the gundam stop, so he wrapped his other arm around her, ignoring the wincing pain in his arm. He just held her as the pink-haired girl cried tears of happiness, fogging up her helmet visor. She curled into his arms, enjoying his comforting presence. After a few minutes she stopped crying, though her eyes swollen by tears. She quietly said into his neck, "Thank you." She looked into Setsuna's eyes, voice full of happiness, "They would have liked you, at least I hoped they would."

Setsuna blushed at that compliment, not used to this, "I would have liked to meet them. If they were anything like you, they must have been good people." 'It would have been great to meet the people that gave Feldt her determination. The old me would have been interested to meet the previous generation of meisters.' He internally chuckled at that.

She nodded her head, words not coming to her mind. She then noticed that they had come to a stop. She looked at Setsuna, reluctance in her tone, "I'll be back in a second. Can you…open the hatch?" He nodded. She pulled out of his arms and floated to the opening hatch, letter in hand. She pushed her upper body out of the hatch, holding out the letter for a minute before letting it float into space. 'I hope you get this, wherever you guys are. So many things have changed.' She floated there for several seconds, praying that her parents got her message.

While Feldt was praying, Setsuna's mind was buzzing with thought. 'There must be something I can do besides comforting her. Think!' He felt like he owed her for his happiness. Nothing came to mind. 'I know I'm new at this but there has to be something.' His brow furrowed in thought, focusing on any idea that could help. Just then, his train of thought was interrupted by her arriving back and looking at him curiously, "Is there something wrong?"

He looked away quickly, "It's nothing."

She looked at him slightly worried, seeing something was bothering him, "Are you sure?"

"I was just thinking about something is all."

She settled back into his lap, his hands back on the controls, though not moving the gundam yet. They both watched an asteroid pass by them as she asked with a curious tone, "What about your parents? Would they be proud of you?"

Memories of Setsuna shooting his own parents came rushing back, shame flooding through him. He looked away from her, grimacing as he sounded lost, "They…I don't know." He let go of one of the controls, his fist clenching, "My parents are…" It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He absolutely trusted her. He didn't want to lay his burdens on her. 'This is my issue to deal with. When I sort out my past, I'll tell her.'

Feldt rested her hand on his clenched fist, voice gentle, "It's alright. I'm always here if you need to talk." She knew Setsuna had been a child soldier, so something must have happened to them. There must be more to this story, but she could wait. Setsuna's fist loosened up at Feldt's touch and he became less tense, relaxing into the pilot seat. Just then an idea came rushing through his mind after thinking about what she said about her parents, which caused him to chuckle. 'That's what I'll do for her.'

Setsuna expression changed from a grimace to a slight smirk. Feldt looked at him curiously, wondering what had caused this quick change in emotion. In a confident tone, Setsuna asked her, "How would you feel about piloting the 00?"

Her eyes widened, taken by surprise by what he said. 'He would let me pilot his gundam?' She spoke haltingly, "You would…let me pilot the 00?" He nodded at that. "Are you sure?" Another nod. 'I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.' She spoke with a growing excitement, "I would love to. But I think I might need some help. I've only done a simulation or two on the 0 Raiser."

Setsuna chuckles at that, guiding her hands to the controls and leaving his over the top of hers, "I'll help you out, then once you are comfortable I'll let you take control." She nodded at that, repositioning herself on his lap to get more comfortable, inadvertently forcing him to have to control himself. Comfortable, she knew she had to show how happy she was with Setsuna after they got back. 'Just have to be patient.'

For the next couple minutes, Setsuna told her the basic functions of piloting a gundam and making sure she knew what she was doing. They started moving and while she initially was slow and careful, she eventually got a better grasp of the controls, pulling sharp turns and banks around the asteroids. She seemed to have a decent grasp on the basics. 'I should probably teach her more in the future.' While she was still new and it was not smooth piloting, Setsuna could see the child-like wonder in her getting to pilot, like she was a kid learning to ride a bike. He let of the controls himself, giving her full control. She was initially surprised, but stayed focused on piloting, knowing she wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to do this outside of combat. 'Mom, Dad, I'm doing what you did. Did you guys enjoy it as much as this?'

They did this for a while before she brought the machine to a stop, looking at the raven-haired meister excitedly, "That was amazing! Thank you so much!" She still exuded child-like energy, almost vibrating. A surge of pride went through Setsuna seeing how excited and energized she was. 'Maybe I can do this.'

Smiling at her, he stated, "I'm glad you liked it. Maybe in the future I can help you train with piloting more."

She nodded at that, grin on her face, "I would love that." She looked up and saw a message on the display telling them to return, "Setsuna, we need to get back."

Setsuna sighed, not wanting this moment to end, but he grabbed the controls again and began to fly the 00 back to the Ptolemy. The ride back was in comfortable silence, the two of them just enjoying each other's company. In Feldt's mind, she knew she had to do something for Setsuna to show him how much she appreciated his words and letting her fly the 00. How much she cared about him.

She zoned out from the emotions flowing through her and hadn't realized they had landed until she felt the 00 being pulled back into the hanger. It was now or never. After they got out of the 00, they would have to deal with the rest of the world. In here, they were in their own world.

Still full of energy and excitement, she saw Setsuna take off his helmet in her peripheral vision. In an awkward motion, she pulled off her own helmet and rotated to straddle him, his eyes widening in surprise at her action. 'What is she doing?'

In a flirty tone, she said, "Thank you so much Setsuna."

He looked up at her, bewildered by her previous action and having never heard her speak like this. His voice caught in his throat looking up at the beautiful woman sitting on his lap, letting out, "You're-"

She brought her lips down on his, interrupting him. Setsuna was initially caught by surprise, but he got caught up in the raw passion of the kiss, closing his eyes as he eagerly kissed her back, pouring as much passion as he could into it. Feldt poured all her affection into the kiss, wanting him to know how much he meant to her and how much she liked being with him. For Setsuna, he wanted her to know much he didn't regret choosing her and how far into it she had gotten. They were both lost in their own world, no A-Laws, Innovators or even other crew members to interrupt them. It was just the two of them. Setsuna felt a feeling of admiration in the back of his head, but he was too caught up in the kiss to think about it. After a minute, the kiss broke, the two bright red and out of breath.

Setsuna looked at his girlfriend, a bit out of sorts, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

Her eyes shone as she replied, "For all you just did for me. For being with me. For everything." Coming out of her stupor, she also realized her position, her face and neck bright red. A thought came unbidden into her mind about wonder what his thoughts were when he saw her naked. 'Now that we are together, it's a good time to ask.' Her warm smile faltered a little, looking nervous, "Setsuna, when we were in that weird space, when you saw me…what did you think?"

Setsuna's blush increased hearing this question. 'Out of all of the things I expected to hear, that was not one of them.' He swallowed, throat dry. In a slightly shaky voice but resolute voice, he replied, "You are beautiful."

Feldt looked down, her face feeling like its steaming. 'Oh. That's good.' She had been a bit self-conscious about what he would say or think, but had quietly hoped that he found her attractive. She replied in a quiet voice, looking back up at him, "Well I think you are handsome." They moved in for another kiss but were interrupted when Ian's face appeared on the display. The mechanic spoke with an exasperated tone, "Hey lovebirds, I need to work on the 00."

The two both looked away from Ian, responding with a "Okay." They both realized that their secret might not be a secret for much longer, though Feldt knew Ian wouldn't tell if she talked to him. Ian dropped the communication and the two made their way out of the machine and back to the locker room to get into their uniforms. The two made small talk as they left the locker room and when they opened the door, they saw Mileina standing there, a smirk on her face. Feldt's face went white, knowing that Mileina was going to confront them.

Mileina spoke in her usual happy tone, "So are you two lovers?"

Both blushed at that comment, not knowing how to respond to a blunt question like that.

The teenage girl, seeing their blushes, then shouted excitedly, looking at Feldt, "I knew it! I told you that you would find a good boyfriend!"

The pink-haired girl made a shushing motion, looking visibly embarrassed, "Keep it down! We wanted to keep it secret."

Mileina harumphed at that, "Well you two aren't very good at that, are you?" Setsuna just shrugged his shoulders, Feldt looked at the ground embarrassed. Mileina continued more quietly, "Setsuna, do you mind if I borrow Feldt? She owes me girl talk." He looked at his girlfriend, who just hung her head in defeat. Seeing that, Mileina squeed and grabbed Feldt's hand, beginning to pull her out of the room, stopping at the open door. Feldt tried to resist, but the small girl was stronger than she looked. Mileina then looked between the two of them and with genuine curiosity, asked, "So when you guys have kids, can I be their godmother?"

Feldt, who was already out of sorts, blushed intensely, voice raising a bit, "Mileina, that's too soon! It's only been a week!" She looked over at Setsuna, wondering what he was thinking and was surprised to see him look more thoughtful than embarrassed, despite his face being red. 'Has he been thinking about this?' She didn't have much time to think about it or ask him before she was dragged out by the brown-haired girl, losing sight of her boyfriend.

In Setsuna's mind, he was wondering about children. 'I never thought about having kids. But does Feldt want them? Can I be a good father?' He shook his head at his thoughts. It was too soon to think about kids, especially in their current situation. In the future they could discuss it, but for now, the stakes for the world were too high.

As Mileina dragged Feldt along, the pink-haired girl called out, "Mileina, I'll follow you. Just let go of my arm!"

Mileina let go, smile on her face. She turned to face Feldt and asked curiously, "So what is it like to have a boyfriend? Have you kissed him? When did you start liking him? Why?"

Feldt responded in an exasperated voice, "Mileina, let's head to my room and I'll answer all your questions. Just give me a second to recover." Mileina let go of the pink-haired pilot, the woman steadying herself. Feldt chuckled after she recovered, a thought going through her mind, "You know, you and Chris would have gotten along with each other. She would be grilling me about this as well, probably would have played matchmaker."

Mileina tilted her head, voice curious, "Are you talking about the operator on the bridge before me?" Feldt nodded at that. Mileina continued, "It sounds like you were close. Can you tell me about her? I only know her by name."

"Of course, Mileina. I would love to tell you." The two girls made their way to Feldt's room, where Feldt proceeded to answer Mileina's questions as best she could and well as tell her all about her relationship with Christina. Feldt did make Mileina promise to keep hers and Setsuna's relationship secret till they told the crew, which she agreed to. By the end, the two were laughing and feeling more relaxed than they had in a long time.

Lyle and Anew (Two weeks into timeskip)

Lyle sat in the cafeteria, enjoying the peace that they had been granted. The most recent two weeks had had no attacks from the innovators or A-Laws, which made him suspicious, since they seemed to always know where they were. 'I'll take what I can get. Though some people have taken advantage of the peace more than others.'

Sitting across the room, Feldt and Setsuna sat at a table, also eating. Currently, the pink-haired girl was talking excitedly about some technical thing, Setsuna listening intently. Lyle shook his head at that. It had just come to light a day or two before that the two of them were together. It was less of a shock to him, who suspected something was going on, but it was a big shock to most of the crew. Both of them seemed happier, so the crew was pretty accepting of it. 'It's also good to know she took my words to heart.'

He heard a chair pull out from his table and saw Anew sit down, a tray in her hand. She looked at him, smile on her face and asked, "Can I join you?"

Lyle gave her a casual smile and a shrug, "Sure."

She sat down, asking curiously, "What were you looking at right before I joined you?" Lyle unconsciously looked at the couple on the other side of the room, Anew following where he looked. She smirked seeing where he looked, voice teasing, "Feeling jealous of Setsuna? I thought you liked me."

Lyle chuckled at that, "No, not jealous at all. Well maybe a little that he has a girlfriend, but I had my shot and blew it with Feldt. It's just strange to see the guy like that, smiling and everything."

Anew continued teasing Lyle, "I see I'm not the first girl you flirted with. Should I ask Sumeragi what you said to her?"

Lyle rolled his eyes, "It was only her. And let's just say that what happened is a bit more complex than simple flirting. We both moved on, so it's fine." Lyle's tone shifted to curious, "So how is the kid's wound? Getting any better?"

Anew sighed, sounding frustrated, "Regeneration is keeping it from getting worse, but I still can't find the origin of why the injury isn't spreading as much. There is something changing about him, but the scanners can't find anything."

"I'm surprised that Celestial Beings' resources can't find anything."

She looked at him, shaking her head, "Most of the stuff Setsuna uses is experimental, especially the 00. We still have no idea what the upper limits of its power are with the 0 Raiser. Aeolia designed something beyond what we could imagine or even predict."

Lyle shrugged, "Well it has won us several battles, so I'm not complaining. I couldn't begin to wrap my head around the technical stuff. You guys are the smart ones, I just shoot mobile suits."

She smirked at him, "Some of us aren't there for thinking."

Lyle pouted at that, "That's not fair. I was a spy and that required thinking."

"If I remember right, you were pretty obvious about giving info to Katharon."

Lyle sighed in defeat, "Yeah yeah, I know. It seemed like everyone was aware of that. Still helped us get the ship supplied, so it worked out." The two ate for a minute or two in silence before Lyle piped up again, "I'm curious how you came to join Celestial Being. How did you meet Wang Liu Mei?"

Anew finished swallowing her food, replying evenly, "I was actually working in the colonies for the last couple of years after getting my mechanical engineering and Mobile Suit development degrees. I had effectively been exiled to the colonies as I was a bit…outspoken about some of the things the Federation was doing. At that time, I had no idea the full scale of what the A-Laws were doing, but people working in space spoke in whispers about the A-Laws being fishy. You guys had just become active at Proud, and Wang Liu Mei saw my resume and decided to recruit me."

Lyle leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, "You got recruited before me it seems. What did you do before you worked in space?"

"I actually lived in the colonies for most of my life. I was raised by an uncle after my parents died." She sighed, remembering the cold indifference of her teenage years, "My uncle was a…cold man. He expected the best from me, since he had no kids of his own. He pushed me to focus on my academics over everything else, saying that it was for my future. By the time I got into college, I tried to push boundaries with him, though not enough to have me disowned. He died in my freshman year at college, which I admit was a relief. I didn't exactly have warm feelings about him." Purple eyes flashed in her mind as she talked about her uncle.

Lyle put one of his hands on hers, leaning forward in his seat, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

She gave him a warm smile, "Thank you. I made some friends in college, so I got to open up. No one close by any means, but enough to get me out of my shell."

Lyle gave her a smirk, "Any boyfriends?"

Anew smirked back, "One or two non-serious ones. I mostly focused on my degrees, which pushed me away from any serious relationships." Her smirk went away, a friendly smile replacing it, "After I graduated, which was around the time the original gundams were operating, I became an engineer on the orbital ring till they mentioned complaints against the government and now I'm here. How did you get here?"

Lyle replied in a casual tone, "Honestly not too much of a story. I used to work in finances but found myself disagreeing with the government, so I joined Katharon as a spy, as well as an occasional pilot. Then one day Setsuna called me up and told me my brother was a former gundam meister and I should take his place. I was suspicious of him at first but after some intel he gave me was correct, I decided it was a good idea to join. Also was a good opportunity to get intel for Katharon."

She gave him a surprised look, "You know out of all the jobs I expected you to have, to work in the finance industry wasn't one of them."

Lyle shrugged, "It made money and wasn't too bad, so I stuck with it."

Anew spoke questioningly, "What about your family?" 'Did he leave that out on purpose?'

Lyle sighed heavily, flashes of the mall being destroyed going through his head, "They died when I was a kid, leaving only my brother and I left. It's not a happy memory."

Anew gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't know." 'I'll leave that alone for now.'

Lyle gave her a sad smile, "It's alright. You didn't know." He chuckled, "It seems everyone here has a bad past, with maybe Mileina as the exception."

Anew chuckled at that as well, knowing it seemed to be a common thread among the people that she met in Celestial Being. As she got up to put away her tray, Lyle piped up, "You free now?"

She tilted her head in curiosity, "Yes. Why?" 'What was his game?'

He smirked at her, "Well if you wanted to do something fun, I have somewhere we can go."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "If you want to sleep with me, it will take a little more than a conversation."

He laughed, "That isn't what I meant. What I mean is do you want to join me at the target range. My trigger finger has been itchy."

She gave him a flirty smile, "Well I certainly have better things to do, but I could put those aside for now."

"That's good to hear. Let's go!" He stood up and both of them left the cafeteria, dropping off their trays. They made their way to the ships small gun range, making small talk along the way. They entered the range, her laughing at a comment from Lyle. The gun range was a relatively small room. He then asked, curious, "Used your gun a lot?"

She blushed, embarrassed, "Not really. Just enough for Celestial Being standards."

He smirked at her, "Well then, this should be easy for me."

She looked at him confused, "What should be easy?" She was curious why he chose regular weapons instead of something related to his gundam, but she wanted to see where this was going.

"Just a little friendly competition. You up for it?"

She narrowed her eyes, smile on her face, "Bring it on." 'I'm not going down easy.'

The two put on the ear protection and the competition began as they grabbed the pistols in the room. Anew shot first, hitting the paper target near the center mass. She then looked at him with a slight smirk. Lyle looked on in surprise. 'She's only shot a little? That shot seems like more than someone who only shot a few times. I was going to go easy on her, but not anymore.' The two then began to shoot in earnest, Lyle edging her out narrowly in terms of accuracy. The energy in the room was fun and competitive, both of them trying their best. They went through four targets before deciding that the fifth would be the final target for each of them.

Anew lined up her shot on the final target, hitting near the exact center of the torso. Lyle sweated at that, knowing that was a close shot. He took careful aim, the world around him fading away. Just as he was about to fire, he felt something press into his side and a kiss on his cheek. His shot went way off target, not even hitting the target. He turned his head to see what happened and saw Anew standing there, blushing and smirking at him, "I win."

He gave her a playful glare as he took off his ear protection, "You cheated."

She replied in a sing song voice, "You didn't say I couldn't."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled warmly at her, "Did you have fun?"

She smiled back at him, "That was more fun than I expected. Didn't think I was that good." She approached him, him looking at her curiously. She stood in front of him, and said flirtatiously, "I can make it up to you."

"Make it up how?"

He saw a mischievous look in her eyes as she raised herself on her toes and pecked him on the lips. 'Oh, I wasn't expecting that. Yet I was expecting more at the same time.' He was about to reply when he saw the looked in her eye. 'Those are definitely bedroom eyes.' He could feel his heart race at the realization.

She spoke in a lustful tone, "We can speak more in my room, if you want to." He watched her begin to walk away, some extra sway in her hips. He recovered quickly, following her. 'She did mention that I felt jealous at not having a girlfriend.'

Allelujah and Soma (1 Month into timeskip)

Allelujah floated through the ship, downcast. It had been a month since the pillar collapse and when Soma had taken control of his girlfriend's body. They had also come under attack several times from the innovators and A-Laws, somehow always finding them. She had been consumed by vengeance, ignoring everything but wanting to kill Andrei. She mostly kept to herself, avoiding the company of other peoples besides when she went out in the Gun Archer to fight the occasional attack from the innovators and A-Laws, always on the lookout for Andrei's mobile suit. It felt like there was a hole in his heart. He didn't know if Marie would come out for a long time, and he couldn't even talk to her through brainwaves. He had tried to ask Soma when Marie was coming back, but that only seemed to make her angrier. Whatever what was going on between the two, it hadn't changed and didn't look like it was getting better.

He moved through the hallways, passing by Saji and Mileina, who was chatting the ear off of the Japanese man. The two spotted him and called out to him, but he didn't hear it, continuing to head to his room. The pair shrugged at that and headed to the bridge, knowing that Allelujah was going through a lot. Reaching his room, he splayed out on his bed, sighing in frustration. He heard Hallelujah's voice voice speak to him in an annoyed tone, "Still moping? It's getting old."

Allelujah frowned at that, "It's not like I don't have a reason to. The woman I love is trapped inside her own body again."

Hallelujah sighed, "Have you ever thought to talk to Soma? She's being a bitch, but you aren't helping."

Allelujah found it strange that Hallelujah was being so…thoughtful. Normally he was blunter and self-serving, but here he was telling him to talk to Soma. He asked curiously, "What happened to you? I've never seen you act so unselfishly."

Hallelujah spoke with frustration, "Annoyingly, it seems some of your morality has grown on me. And yet despite that I'm more selfish than you, I can see you are ignoring Soma's feelings. You are aware she is a part of your girlfriend like I am of you, right?"

Hallelujah's words hit Allelujah like a truck. He was so focused on not having Marie around, that he didn't realize Soma was suffering. How she acted was unhealthy, but she had a reason for acting that way. 'I would probably be the same if someone killed Marie.' He had never really tried to understand her or what was going on in her head. And thinking back even further, he was even resistant to Soma piloting because he was so worried about Marie getting hurt, despite her assistance being a boon in recent battles against the A-Laws and Innovators. He spoke to Hallelujah, "I've been an idiot, haven't I?"

Hallelujah replied bluntly, "Yes, you have. But Soma didn't exactly make it easy to approach her in general, so I don't blame you completely. How Marie gets along with her, I'll never know."

Allelujah chuckled bitterly, "I think you didn't make a good impression on her five years ago."

The other personality responded incredulously, "I wanted to survive. I wasn't exactly thinking of sparing her comrades to make her happy!"

"It seems that both of us aren't exactly her favorite people, though we definitely aren't her most hated people." Hallelujah chuckled at that, happy to not be on the top of that list. Regardless of the truce they had, he wouldn't want to be the target of her wrath. The last time that happened, he was put in a coma.

They both were caught by surprise when the heard the door to Allelujah's room open and saw Soma standing there, looking stiff and with a grimace on her face. She spoke in a tense voice, "Marie said I should talk to you. And I have some things I want to get off my chest." She looked at the heterochromatic super soldier, "I haven't talked to you because one of my frustrations is how you still don't want me to pilot, to protect this ship. You agreed that it would be ok before, but even then you didn't seem happy about that. You don't seem to want me to ever switch places with her again. I felt useless, like I couldn't do what I was good at!" Her tone picked up in anger, "And despite me watching my father die, you keep asking about Marie! You haven't asked me how I feel! How I'm doing! Did Hallelujah tell you to ignore my feelings?!"

Allelujah felt the indignation from Hallelujah at that comment, him asking to take over. The super soldier sighed, knowing he would complain if he didn't let him get his say. He let Hallelujah take over, hoping this wasn't a mistake. The other personality responded to Soma, voice full of offense, "Of course you think it's me. Like I'm always the bad guy. I was the one that just told this mopey bastard to listen to you!

Soma looked at him in confusion, anger leaving her voice, "Why would you do that?"

Hallelujah rolled his eyes, "Because I'm like you, whether you like it or not. This guy ignored me in the past, so I thought maybe I'd help you out. But after that, I'm not sure if I should have."

Soma looked down awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. 'I'm so used to him being combative, that I thought it was him encouraging him to not let me pilot. Maybe he's softer than I thought.' In a somewhat reluctant tone, she spoke up, "Well if you did, then thank you. Doesn't mean I like you though."

Hallelujah smirked at her, "Didn't expect you to like me, just not blindly accuse me of things. Besides, Allelujah wouldn't treat you that way because I told him to." He felt Allelujah asking if he could take over again. His expression evened out, "Well I think the other guy wants to talk with you, so have fun."

Allelujah felt control return to him as Hallelujah retreated back. He looked at Soma regretfully, "I'm sorry if ignored your feelings. I was so focused on Marie that I didn't think about how you were feeling. You are just as much a part of her as Hallelujah is of me. I just didn't want to put Marie in danger, and I see I might have gone a bit far with that. As long as you are careful and not reckless, I will fully support you fighting besides me and the other gundam meisters in battle with no complaints."

Soma thought for a second, then sighed, conflict apparent on her face, "I can work with that. Just don't get in my way if I see Andrei. He's mine!"

Allelujah sighed at her need for vengeance, knowing he had to take it one step at a time with Soma, "I can understand that. Just don't put yourself too out there when fighting him. You might kill Andrei, but you could get killed too"

Soma's frustrations lessened slightly, knowing at least someone would listen to her besides Marie. After so long, Allelujah was trying to understand her. 'Better late than never.' She was still angry and grieving, but at least she could trust the other super soldier to have her back. Marie called out to Soma, "Can I talk with him? Please?"

Soma replied suspiciously, "Is that so you can take over?"

Marie responded desperately, "I just want to talk with him. I promise I'll let you take control once I'm done." Reluctantly, Soma let her take over, trusting Marie would keep her word.

Allelujah noticed immediately that Soma's eyes softened, realizing that Marie was in charge. He pulled her close, desperate to see her and hold her. She responded eagerly, resting her head in his chest and wrapping her arms around him. They both sent brainwaves to each other, showing their happiness to see each other again. Allelujah finally felt content after a month of not being able to see her. They stood there for a minute in an embrace, just enjoying each other presence. They pulled back slightly from each other, looking in each other's eyes. Marie spoke first, voice quiet and soft, "It's been so long. I'm so sorry about what happened. I should have stayed on the ship."

Allelujah shook his head, a tear rolling down his cheek, "You couldn't have known that would have happened. None of us knew Colonel Smirnov was there."

Marie sighed, knowing her time was short as she could feel Soma's impatience, and wanting to stay in his embrace forever, "Allelujah, I don't have much time here before she takes over again. Right now she is a mess of anger, grief and sorrow. I'm trying to help her, but I need time. She so fixated on revenge that she won't let me take over, no matter how much I promise. I need to you to stay by her side in combat and keep her safe. I'll be back once all her negative emotions leave her system."

He sighed heavily, unhappy about having to separate again, but knew they needed to, "I'll keep her safe." Marie smiled warmly at him, sending all of her love for him over their connection. He felt the depths of her feelings, happiness rising in his chest. He pulled her in for a kiss, her eagerly pulling him closer and she responded with all the passion and love she had for him. He could viscerally feel them, him making sure she could feel how much devotion he had for her. They both knew their time was short, adding a sense of bitterness from both of them.

They kissed a few more times before they broke apart, smiling sadly at each other. They didn't want this moment to end, but Marie could feel Soma pulling on their connection. She spoke for one last time before Soma took over again, "It's time. I love you Allelujah."

His voice was warm and quiet, "I love you too." She smiled, tears in her eyes. With heavy reluctance, she pulled back, allowing Soma to take over. Allelujah could see her eyes harden again, knowing he would be lonely for a while. Soma walked towards the door, wiping the tears away. Turning around to Allelujah, eyes softening slightly, "Thank you." She then turned around again, leaving Allelujah alone with Hallelujah and his own thoughts. 'Stay strong. I have to trust her.'

Sumeragi and Tieria (4 month into timeskip)

Tieria approached Sumeragi's room, a plan forming in his mind. They had recently been attacked and it seemed Setsuna was healed enough to be fully functional in a fight. 'It's been long enough.' Tieria was curious why Setsuna was healing despite the pseudo GN particles and had a few ideas. There was something that was changing about him, beyond him opening up more. 'Was this part of Aeolia's plan? The 00 must have been part of it, seeing as he sent it to us. Did he predict something would happen with it?'

But whatever was happening with Setsuna was secondary. He wanted to discuss his ideas with their tactical forecaster and see what she thought. 'We've been waiting long enough.' Opening the door, he saw Sumeragi leaning back in her chair, half empty bottle of whiskey in her hand. He sighed, hoping he would be talking with a sober Sumeragi, but his luck was not that good.

She looked over at him and with a wide grin, she said, "Hey there Tieria! What brings you here?"

In an even tone, he replied, "I was hoping to discuss a plan with you, but it seems you are enjoying yourself."

She rolled her eyes, her voice teasing as she put the whiskey down, "You sound like the old Tieria right now." She chuckled seeing Tieria blush at that comment, "I'm just relaxing after the battle, so I'm entitled to a drink or two in celebration of Setsuna being back fully."

Tieria nodded and smiled, "If I drank, I would agree. Anything else you are celebrating?"

She gave him a one-sided smile, "Besides the attacks, everything has been going relatively well. Soma has calmed down a little and Allelujah is happier. Soma is even willing to follow my battleplans. Setsuna and Feldt have become a well-oiled machine, on and off the battlefield. And I've never seen her so happy and confident or Setsuna so open. It's still kind of strange to see those two being so affectionate." Tieria heard pride in her voice talking about the two.

The purple-haired man smirked at her, "You sound like a proud mom. And I agree it's nice to see Setsuna so open. We should thank Feldt for that."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "You know it's not just her. You have gotten closer to him, so you can take some of that credit." She laughed, her eyes shining with happiness, "Our little family is well functioning. Do you disagree?"

He shook his head, "No. Despite the constant attacks, morale has been good. Even Saji has found his place on the bridge. Lasse and Mileina seem to enjoy his company and he does his job well." 'It is a nice feeling to have everyone so happy.' His voice became more serious, though sounding regretful "But no matter how much morale is up, all we have done is play defensive and hide from the enemy, which is seemingly impossible. We need a plan to deal with the A-Laws and innovators." They had been attacked around twenty times since their retreat into space and they had been unable to figure out why. Tieria looked at her with some regret. "I'm sorry to bring this up, but this is something that needs to be discussed."

Sumeragi sighed, the good mood of earlier deflating. The tactical forecaster had been hoping to put off this conversation, but Tieria, for good or for ill, reminded her this needed to be dealt with. She had thought about how they could know where they were at all times so many times it drove her crazy. They had scanned for any trackers a dozen times and found nothing. The only thing that made sense was a spy. But they had seen no messages been sent out, digital or physical. 'How could they know? Is there something the innovators have that we don't know about?' Her tone was subdued as she responded to Tieria, "You are right. The issue we are facing is we don't know where the innovators are based out of. We both know they probably have the Celestial Being mothership, but we can't seem to find it."

Tieria nodded at that, voice even, "We actually had a tracker on the location of the base during the final battle five years ago, but by the time we recovered, the signal was gone. I'm guessing Ribbons managed to disable the tracker when he manipulated Veda."

"So then how would we find out where the base it? We have no real leads."

Tieria gave her a smile, "I actually have been thinking about this. And while it's risky, I have an idea."

She nodded her head, "Go ahead."

He brought up his mini terminal, showing combat footage of an innovator suit being destroyed, "Whenever we defeat one of their suits, they manage to escape, along with their GN drives, through an escape pod-like system. If we can defeat one of them again and manage to capture one of them alive, we may be able to locate their base, if we can get information out of them."

Sumeragi looked at him thoughtfully, "But what if we can't get the information out of them? Then we are still in the same place."

Tieria gave her a determined look, "We have no other options. We can sit here and wait for the perfect opportunity, but that means the A-Laws and innovators increase their grasp even further. And even if they don't give us the info, we have one of their pilots taken out of commission."

The brown-haired woman gave him an appreciative smile, "I don't know what we would do without you. It's funny to think that five years ago, you would have turned your nose at a plan like this."

He laughed quietly, half smiling, "You are probably right. But we all have changed since then. Even you."

Sumeragi blushed slightly at that, "I suppose so. Well, it appears that I have to get working on a plan." She picked up the bottle and took a sip, offering the bottle to him, "Want a sip?"

He shook his head, "Thank you, but no thanks. I think I will leave you to it."

She grimaced for a second, knowing that this plan had a lot of risks. She gave Tieria another appreciative smile, "Thank you for kicking me into gear."

He smirked at her, "Someone had to." He walked out of her room, the door sliding opened and closed behind him. She looked at her terminal, her mind beginning to form a plan. Taking one last sip of her drink, she put it down and started up her terminal. 'Let's hope this plan works.'

Author's Note Two

So many of these scenes were character building/interaction ideas that I had when I realized I could do something with the time skip. The Feldt and Setsuna part was actually the second place when they were supposed to get together, but that was before she became a pilot. I still liked the idea, so I changed minor bits around, but otherwise it was structurally the same.

The super soldier one was basically there because the show never really explored Soma's feelings in detail as well as have Allelujah realize that he was being controlling and overprotective. Understandably so, but he was basically ignoring Soma's feelings. Also just to have another Hallelujah and Soma interaction.

The Lyle and Anew one was just to give them a little more development as well as give Anew a cover backstory, which makes more sense based on her role in the story. An interesting note on the last story was the tracker idea was something my editor and I discussed about how the crew had no way to find the base despite being given info from Aeolia. So not exactly a plot hole, but something to help fill in a minor gap.

I actually commissioned a scene from this story. Here is the link

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Yes, I do have a Tumblr. If you have any questions about my story, feel free to ask on their.

There is one more part to the time skip stories, so be prepared for more. I hope you guys like it and I'll see you guys next time!