I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. Nor do I own Martin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.

CT7567Rules: That is what NASA is there for. They are the balance between the two bigoted sides. As for the Astray girls, I may have one survive, but we'll see. :)

Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)

A0930: Is this character Shinn? I would love to hear which character it is, even if it isn't Shinn himself. :) As for Marie, no, she will not be assassinated because she is well-guarded and has training from her time as a soldier. XD And as for Chris, he has reached the evolved form of the SEED, the STAR Factor. But there more to the SEED than you know... ;3

Just a Crazy Man: I'm fine and thanks. :)

Bvh - Inconsistent Guest: PLEASE use a CONSISTENT user name, as in the same user name as last time! Geez...

Note to all readers: I am going to ask those with an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you are a guest without an account, PLEASE put THE SAME guest name over and over again so it is easier for me to respond to you. Thanks!


Phase Thirty-Six: The Final Light

GENESIS fired once more. It's massive beam streaking past the forces fighting at Jachin Due, heading for the Alliance's Ptolemaeus Crater Base. But in its path were the reinforcements for the Earth Alliance fleet currently fighting at Jachin Due. Just like before, there was no defense against such a weapon. Much of the fleet was annihilated in a matter of seconds. While the beam continued on its path, reaching the Ptolemaeus Crater Base. Even at that distance, the beam was just as destructive, destroying the entire base in an explosion to rival any nuclear blast.

But even then, it didn't stop the intense, brutal fighting between the ZAFT forces and the Alliance forces. The Earth pilots knew that GENESIS could be fired at the Earth, wiping out everything and everyone on the planet. Just as the ZAFT pilots knew that the Alliance still had nuclear weapons that could be used against the PLANTs, destroying them and killing millions. While some pilots still fought to wipe the other race out, most fought on for one simple reason: to ensure the survival of their homes and loved ones.


The Dominion

"Ma'am! Message from the reinforcement fleet." Flay reported as the message came in. "Half of the fleet has been wiped out!"

Natarle could only grit her teeth in frustration. With Ptolemaeus gone and half of their reinforcements gone, things were not looking good for them. Their only hope now was to punch a hole in the ZAFT lines for the Peacemaker Force to destroy GENESIS.

Suddenly, Azrael bolted out of his seat, heading for Flay's station. He tore off her headset and opened a channel to the Doolittle. "Captain Sutherland! Ready the Peacemaker Force!" he frantically ordered. "Our target is the PLANTs!"

Natarle was stunned. The PLANTs? They needed to destroy GENESIS before it could be fired at Earth. "Director Azreal-"

"We'll destroy every last one of those goddamn hourglasses!" Azrael shouted. "Recall the Calamity, the Forbidden, the Massacre, and the Raider so they can clear a path!

Sutherland nodded. "Roger."

"But Director Azrael, that won't eliminate the threat to Earth." Naratle argued. "Our focus must be used to destroy that weapon!"

"Give me a break." he said in an annoyed tone as he reached into his coat. "Why must you always be such a bitch?"

He drew a pistol from his coat and pointed it at Natarle. Natarle's eyes widened in surprise while Flay stared at the gun less than a foot from her face in terror.


Clotho fired his beam cannon at CGUE, piercing its cockpit. "This is too easy." he commented.

"Yeah. Where the hell are those strong opponents?" Martin pouted, mowing down a trio of GINNs.

At that moment, messages appeared on their consoles.

Urgent.

Priority One.

Return to the Dominion to escort Peacemaker Force immediately.

"Aw...More babysitting." Clotho whined. "That's barely any fun."

"Shut up dumbass." Orga said, heading, alongside the Forbidden, for the Dominion. "You want to get in trouble?"

Clotho growled, but followed them. Martin, on the other hand, was tired of doing what Azrael wanted. He wanted to find those three and finally break free from the man. Azrael would punish him for that later. But he didn't care. He wanted to fight those three machines that had constantly escaped destruction.

So, instead of following his teammates, he went in the opposite direction. Searching for someone worth fighting.


The Dominion

"What do you plan on doing with that thing?" Natarle defiantly asked. "Are you trying to take over this ship?"

"Take over? You really don't get it, do you? I've been in charge here from the beginning!" Azrael replied. "Your job is to follow my orders! Yet all you do is question every single order I give!"

"Message from the Doolittle." a bridge officer said. "Peacemaker Force is ready for take-off."

"Then have them launch! What about the Raider, the Calamity, the Massacre and the Forbidden?" Azrael demanded.

"The Raider, Calamity and Forbidden are returning."

"What about the Massacre?"

"It appears to be ignoring orders."

"What? Gah! Dammit!" Azrael cursed for moment before regaining a fracture of the composure he had a moment before. "It doesn't matter! Once the PLANTs are gone, this war will be over!" he ranted. "All Coordinators are a threat to Earth! So long as even one draws breath, Earth will be in danger! And our purpose here is to get rid of them all!"

"But that's-" Natarle started to say.

"Contain casualties to our own forces to a minimum while incurring maximum damage to the enemy." Azrael said, cutting her off. "That's how a war is supposed to be fought."

"That may be true, but at what cost?" Ensign Lockhart asked, making the man look at her. "That is the ideal way of fighting a war, but is it really worth it?"

Azrael just looked at her like she was nuts. "What are you getting at?"

"You are from the business world. What makes you think that you know how a war is fought?" the ensign asked. "If you know so much, then why are things continuing to go all wrong for you?"

Azrael just growled at her response.


The Archangel

"Captain! The Dominion and several other ships are breaking off and heading for the PLANTs!" Sai said.

"They must have the nukes... Tell the Eternal and the Kusanagi that we'll deal with the Dominion." Murrue ordered. "Move us to intercept the Dominion and the other ships!"

The Archangel quickly caught up with her sister ship and the other ships. "Fire anti-beam depth charges! Load Sledgehammers!" Samuel ordered. "Aim Valiants and Gottfrieds! Target the Agamemnon-class!"


The Dominion

"Archangel approaching. They're targeting the Doolittle!" an operator reported.

"What are you waiting for?" Azrael demanded. "Move us out front! We can't let them sink the Doolittle!"

Natarle just stood there defiantly. That didn't please Azrael. "If you won't do it, I'll shoot you!"

Natarle had no real choice. If she refused, he would shoot her and no doubt get everyone else on board killed. She sat back down. She'd fight to protect the ship and crew on board at least. "Maximum thrust! Turn bow twenty!" she ordered. "Fire anti-beam depth charges! Aim Gottfrieds!"

"FIRE!" both Murrue and Natarle yelled.


"Alright. Everyone, spread out." Yzak ordered as his team moved to intercept the nukes. "We can't let a single warhead get through!"

His team and the other teams with him spread out, casting a wide net that would hopefully catch the nukes. But at the head of the Peacemaker, were the Raider, the Calamity, and the Forbidden.

"Hmm...More pests." Shani said as the ZAFT machines approached.

"Hey! Where the hell did Martin go?" Orga asked, looking around for their fourth teammate.

"Who cares? Just means more for us." Clotho replied, firing on the ZAFT mobile suits with his railguns, gunning down three.

Yzak and his team surged forward, trying to overwhelm the three Earth machines. But the GINNs and GuAIZs just weren't a match for the power of those three machines. Many ZAFT pilots were cut down by the trio before they could reach them and the Peacemaker Force.

Yzak scowled. Most of his team was just a bunch of kids. Seeing them getting killed like that infuriated him. "Come on, you bastards!" Yzak shouted, firing on the Raider. "Why don't you try fighting me?"

The Raider transformed and nimbly dodged his shots and fired back with his railgun and machineguns. "You're gonna have to try harder than that!"

Yzak pulled up his shield, blocking the railgun rounds as the bullets impacted the Duel's armor. But Clotho wasn't the only one that wanted a piece of Yzak and the Duel.

The Forbidden lunged at the Duel with its scythe raised. Suddenly, a pair of arrestors shot out at the green mobile suit. But Shani saw them in the corner of his eye. The Forbidden spun and sliced through the arrestors' cables. "I got your back Yzak!" Saya called out, firing at the Forbidden with her beam rifle.

However, her attack was useless as Shani pulled down his beam deflection shields, sparing his mobile suit from any damage. "Another weak one?" Shani said. "Then die like the rest!"

The Forbidden's cannon fired. Saya dodged the first beam with ease. She then narrowly avoided the second beam. But she ended up flying into the third. The beam blew off her shield and tore off the GuAIZ's left arm at the elbow. Saya swore as she fired back. But her shots either missed entirely or were harmlessly deflected.

But she did distract the Forbidden, allowing Yzak move in behind the machine, a beam saber drawn. Yzak roared as he moved in to attack. But it wasn't meant to be.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Orga, firing at the Duel, forcing Yzak to pull back.

"Dammit." he swore. "Saya! Get out of here. You're no match for these guys in a GuAIZ."

"Don't worry about me sir. I can handle myself." she replied, still desperately trying to get around the Forbidden's shields.

But she was so caught up in trying to get past those shields that she didn't notice the Raider approaching her from behind until the machine was practically right on top of her. She spun around. But it was already too late.

"Get out of the way pest!" Clotho roared, firing his hammer at the GuAIZ.

The heavy metal ball slammed into Saya's machine, sending her flying back. Saya fought to try to stop her machine. But it was too late. Orga took aim at her with his energy bazooka and fired. The shot hit its mark, piecing the GuAIZ's upper torso and going through the back of its head. A second later, the GuAIZ exploded.

"Saya!" Yzak shouted in horror.

A smug grin formed on Orga's face. "Bullseye."

This only served to enrage Yzak further. "You bastards!" he roared, firing his railgun at the Calamity.

The Calamity easily avoided the shots and fired back with his bazooka. Yzak blocked the shot with his shield, but the force of the impact knocked the shield out of the Duel's hand. Yzak silently cursed to himself. There was no way he could beat these three by himself.

"Guess this one isn't that tough." Shani said, his pack moving into position to fire his cannon.

Suddenly, a barrage of beams streaked towards the Forbidden. Shani barely managed to move his shields in time. "Gah! Who the hell took a shot at me?" Shani growled as everyone turned to the source of the shots.

The Surge, the Neo Blitz and the Buster were approaching. "Looks like you could use some help Yzak." Dearka said as the three of them fired on the Calamity, the Forbidden, and Raider, forcing them to back away from the Duel.

Yzak grunted. "What you guys doing here? I thought you weren't fighting for ZAFT anymore."

"That doesn't mean that we can't help a friend." replied Nicol.

"Yeah. And that's kinda rude to say that to the people helping you out." Saul added.

"Bastards! Eat this!" Orga shouted, firing at the four of them.

The Surge, the Duel and the Buster dodged his shots while Nicol used his Trikeros II shield to deflect the beams aimed at him.

"We can talk later." Dearka said, returning fire with his beam cannon and gun launcher. "Now's the time to kick some ass."

But at that moment, the mobile armors fired their lethal payload. And the four of them weren't in any position to stop them with the Forbidden, the Calamity, and the Raider engaging them.

The nukes streaked towards the PLANTs unopposed, when suddenly the Freedom, Wing Zero, the Justice and the Strike Rouge appeared.

"Dammit! Don't you guys care about all the lives you're trying to wipe out!" Kira shouted as a seed shattered in his mind.

The Freedom and its METEOR fired every weapon they had. The beams and missile hit their targets, destroying a huge chuck of missiles in a couple of seconds.

Athrun took aim at the remaining missiles as his own seed shattered. Athrun let loose his own overwhelming barrage of fire, destroying the rest of the nuclear warheads. But it wasn't over yet. There was still a handful of mobile armors that yet to release their payload until that moment.

Athrun and Kira both moved to intercept the few remaining missiles when a wave of curving beams streaked towards them, forcing them to stop and take evasive maneuvers. "You're not stopping the lights this time!" Shani roared as continued to fire at them.

Cagalli, seeing all the others too distracted with their own battles to safely intercept the nukes, headed for the warheads. She fired her rifle. The first three shots missed their mark, but her fourth hit the lead missile. It exploded, taking all of the other missiles with it.

Heero also sped in to take out the rest of the nuclear missiles. He aimed the Twin Buster Rifle at the missiles before firing at full power. The massive golden beam sped out of the barrels and hit the missiles with no trouble at all. The massive group exploded into many smaller balls of light and energy within the golden beam of light.


The 11th Fleet tore through the ZAFT defense lines, fighting like men possessed. Lucius gunned down a CGUE and two GINNs with precision of a surgeon. A ZAFT GuAIZ fired its arrestors at Ajay's GuAIZ. But before they could reach him, he ignited his beam claws and sliced the cables in an instant. Before the GuAIZ pilot could react, Ajay fired his own arrestors at him. The arrestors grabbed onto the GuAIZ and Ajay charged at him, slashing through the GuAIZ. A Nazca-class and Laurasia-class moved to block the warships of the 11th Fleet, but Basque and his heavy weapons team attacked the ships, targeting their engines and weapons. "You're not stopping us!" yelled Basque as he fired open the Nazca-class's main cannons.

His heavy particle cannon made quick work of the Nazca-class's cannons.

But the 11th Fleet was incurring their own losses. A light blue GuAIZ gunned down another GuAIZ, only to be shot in the back by a pair of GINNs. A trio of GuAIZ overwhelmed white and red GuAIZ, bringing it down with a large barrage of beams.

John, atop the edge of the Odin's catapult, was taking out taking out ZAFT mobile suits with his sniper rifle. Every shot he took, removed at least one ZAFT machine from the battle.

But even then, their advance was slowing. More ZAFT mobile suits and warships were moving to intercept them. They were starting to get overwhelmed by the numbers.

A GuAIZ and three GINNs rose up in front of the Odin, firing at the Farsight. John swore as he jump back to avoid their fire. He quickly pulled up his rifle and pistol. But before he could fire, a barrage of beams tore through them.

"Nothing but worms." Martin grumbled as he looked around the area. "Where are those two? Where is the white one and the red one?"

"Dammit. Not one of those guys." John said, taking aim the Massacre. "We can't deal with these guys now."

He fired. And the shot would have hit if two GINNs and a GuAIZ hadn't tried attacking the Massacre. "Worms!" Martin cheered as he dodged all of the shots. "Take a shot at me and I'll tear out your throats!"

The Massacre fired back, destroying the ZAFT machines with ease. However, during that, Martin noticed the Farsight atop the Odin. "YOU!" he howled. "Where are they, coward?"

John's response was simple. He jumped out the Odin and took off, heading for the Massacre, firing at the crimson machine as he flew. The Massacre sidestepped his shots and fired back with missiles and Gatling guns. John pulled to the right, firing at the missiles as he moved to dodge the beams. "Diana, take command and keep on going. I'll handle this punk and catch up with you." ordered John.

Martin laughed. "You think that a coward like you can defeat me? Let me show you just how wrong you are!"

The Massacre suddenly charged forward at the Farsight as John fired on him. Though the Massacre dove and sidestepped John's fire, it didn't return fire with its own weapons or draw a beam saber, catching John off guard. The Massacre slammed into the Farsight, tossing it back. "DIE!" Martin cheered, raising the Massacre's Gatling guns and opening its chest plate.

At that range, there was no dodging. John was dead...

Suddenly, beams tore through the small area between them, forcing Martin to back away on reflex. Martin turned to the source of the beams, only to come face to face with a pair of purple arrestors. Martin pulled his left Gatling gun in front of him like a shield. One arrestor grabbed one of the gun's barrels while the other grabbed the base of the weapon. "Now, sir!" Diana shouted as she held the Massacre in place.

John discarded his rifle and drew one of his sabers. He lunged at the Massacre as Martin fought with Diana to break free of her grasp. But as John brought his saber down, Martin detached the Gatling gun and lept back, avoiding the beam blade entirely.

"I thought I told you to take command and keep going." John said.

"Sorry sir. But I felt that you could use the assistance." Diana replied. "Was I mistaken?"

John sighed. "No. You're right of course. Let's deal with this guy quickly and head back to the fleet."


"I'll give you credit. You are strong but no match for me." Chris said.

Their duel had intensified. But Zane was struggling to keep up. The Retribution had already lost its left foot while the Exia had been untouched since they had started their saber duel.

"Dammit! RAAAGH!" Zane roared as swung his sabers at the Exia. Again, it dodged his attack. "Impossible! How can you keep avoiding every move I make?!"

"Well, I could ask how you've become so slow and predictable." Chris replied. "I can see your movements quite easily. You might as well surrender. You can't beat me now."

"Impossible...You've become like them? The SEED evolution users…?" Zane paused for a moment, gritting his teeth in frustration. "No matter! I'll defeat you regardless of that!"

"If you mean becoming a Newtype, then you're wrong. I am not one of them. I can just see the patterns you make much more easily." Chris replied.

Zane lunged at the Exia, swing his sabers wildly. But Chris dodged, blocked or countered every swing he took. "DAMN YOU!" he screamed, his attacks becoming more wild and desperate. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU EVER AGAIN!"

Every time the two had battled, the best Zane could ever achieve was a stalemate. But every draw, every defeat, every battle, had pushed him forward, driven him to become stronger, to become stronger for this battle. He would not allow himself to lose here!

Suddenly, something snapped within Zane. Both pilots paused. Chris stopped when he felt something emerge from the Retribution, a feeling that caused a shudder to crawl up his spine. Zane, on the other hand, felt the entire world...no the entire universe becoming clearer before him. It was like he had, up until this point, seen everything through a fog, but now the fog had lifted from his eyes.

Not taking a chance, Chris rushed at the Retribution, intending to end the duel right there and then. He swung his sabers down on the Retribution. Only to have the blades perfectly blocked but the Retribution's blades.

Zane started laughing. "I saw it! I saw that attack!" he said, a grin on his face. "Everything has become so much clearer now! Ha ha ha ha ha! It's funny! Creuset always looked down me because I lacked what he had! I was always second to her! Because I didn't have what she had! Her! Creuset's failure! And yet I was always second to her! Even after she rejected him and his quest! But not anymore! That doesn't matter anymore! Nor does your new ability! Because now, we are equal! I am a Newtype!"

"Indeed we are." was Chris's only response. "Indeed we are. But I am far from a Newtype. I might lack the awareness that you might have now gained, but I have something more, something that only I can use now!"


The Doolittle

"Have all units target those two mobile suits!" Sutherland ordered. "How many nukes do we have left?"

"Eight mobile armors have yet to be deployed."

"Then launch them!"

"Sir!" the radar operator shouted. "Incoming mobile suit!"

"Shoot it down!" screamed Sutherland.

But it was already too late.

"For Junius Seven!" Liz roared, firing at the Doolittle.

The Dynames's beams hit the Doolittle's bridge tower, destroying the bridge and creating a chain reaction that consumed the entire ship, obliterating it.

"One down, three more to go." Liz said, heading for the next Agamemnon-class.


"Possibly, humans can exist without actually having to fight. But, many of us have chosen to fight. For what reason?"


Raider, in its mobile armor mode, strafed the Justice, hitting it with railgun rounds and bullets. Knocking Athrun back a bit, but did little else. Athrun fired off a number of missiles as the Raider flew past. Clotho quickly spun around, transforming the Raider back, and firing several shots at the missiles, destroying them. But Athrun didn't let up, swinging the METEOR's large beam sabers at the Raider.

"What's the deal with you two anyway? Why are you fighting so desperately?" Clotho asked, a desperate tone in his voice, as he evaded more of Athrun's swings.

"I want to ask you the same thing. What do you guys think you're fighting for?" Athrun replied.

"Don't ask me, I don't really know." Clotho paused. "...I hate losing. That's my only reason!"

"What?"

"Not that I would ever lose!" Clotho yelled as he spun around and fired at the Justice.

"Die!" Shani roared, firing his plasma cannon at the Surge.

Saul nimbly dodged and sidestepped the curving beams, firing his beam rifle as he did. "It's gonna take more than wild shots to get me."

Saul fired his claw at the Forbidden. To his surprise, Shani pulled up his pack and grabbed the claw's cable with one hand. "Aw shit..." Saul said just before Shani pulled on the cable.

The Surge flew forward, towards the Forbidden, which had lowered its scythe. It's spiked tip ready to impale the Surge. Saul quickly drew one of his swords and sliced through the cable. The Surge stopped. "Okay. Now I'm mad." Saul said, drawing his other sword.

Elsewhere, Cagalli and a pair of Astray pilots were battling a group of Strike Daggers. Cagalli fired at a pair of Daggers, shooting one down and severing the leg of the other. "Ha! You guys aren't so tough!" Cagalli gloated.

"Lady Cagalli! Behind you!" one of the pilots shouted.

Cagalli spun around. A Dagger, with a beam saber, lunged at her. Suddenly, one of the Astray pilots dove in between the Strike Rouge and the Dagger, firing her rifle as the Dagger's saber cut through the Astray. Both exploded.

"Lady Cagalli!" the other Astray pilot said, approaching her. "Are you-"

He never got a chance to finish his sentence. A Strike Dagger shot him from behind. "Damn you bastards!" Cagalli screamed, a seed exploding in her mind.

She quickly fired, destroying that Dagger, before taking down three more in rapid succession.

"I've taken care of the ships carrying the nukes." Liz's voice said, suddenly coming over the comm. "We don't have to worry about anymore nukes being fired."

"You heard her, Athrun." Nicol said, evading the Calamity's shots. "Go on and stop GENESIS. The four of us will deal with these guys."

Athrun nodded. "Alright. We'll stop GENESIS. But you guys better not get yourselves killed." he said as he, Heero, Kira, and Cagalli took off for GENESIS.

"Just go already!" Yzak shouted. "We'll take these punks down!"


"To protect something? Protect what? Ourselves? The future? If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future then what sort of future is it and what will we have become?"


"Le Creuset!" Mu roared as he fired on his longtime rival and enemy.

Rau smirked as he dodged the Strike's fire ease and fired back. Rau had hoped that he would have a chance to see Mu again before it all ended.

Mu dodged his beams with the same ease. "Is this what you were hoping for, you bastard?"

"You shouldn't blame me!" Rau yelled, releasing his DRAGOONs. "This is mankind's dream, mankind's desire, mankind's destiny!" he ranted as Mu struggled to dodge the numerous beams coming from multiple directions. "To be the strongest, to go the farthest, to climb the highest!"

A beam destroyed Mu's rifle, but otherwise, Mu had managed to evade his shots. "You're pathetic!" Mu shot back, drawing a beam saber and lunging at Rau.

Rau activated his shield mounted beam saber, blocking his attack. "To compete, to envy, to hate each other, and to devour one another!"

"I won't let your twisted logic make things worse!" Mu said, backing off for another attack.

"But you're too late, Mu. You see... I am the product of all of this! That's how I know!" Rau said, firing from his DRAGOONs again. "I know that humanity will be swallowed by the darkness it's created!"

This time, the beams blew off the Strike's right arm and left leg, sending the mobile flying like a rag doll.


"There is no future for those who have died. And what of those who did the killing? Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood stained hands?" Lacus said, her pupils dilated. "Is that the truth?"


Two pink beam sabers met and clashed with four crimson beam sabers. Both the Exia and the Retribution looked like they had been through hell. There were dents and gashes on both mobile suits. But still they fought on. Both machines groaned as they fought to overpower the other. Normal pilots would have retreated from the battle by now. But neither of these pilots was willing to back down. Even had their mobile suits collapsed under the strain of their battle, they would have kept on fighting.

"I've got you now!" Zane said, pulling the sabers in the Retribution's sub arms back.

His plan was clear and obvious. With the Exia's sabers blocking the Retribution's other two sabers, those two would cut through the Exia's chest. The sub arms swung down. "That's not going to work!" Chris shouted.

The Exia's turbine on its back revved, releasing green particles that jammed the sensors for the sub-arms as they dropped. The Exia's blades sliced through the forearms of the sub arms. The energy blades of the two sabers instantly died, sparing the Exia any damage.

"See. If you had done that during our encounter yesterday, that probably would have worked." Chris said as he broke away from the Retribution. "But now...Now that won't work on me!"

Zane scowled. "Don't think you've beaten me. These two sabers will be more than enough for you."

"That a look at your machine. It's got what, another two attacks left in before it completely falls apart?" Chris replied.

"Then take a look at your own machine." Zane shot back. "I doubt you have anything beyond two attacks left. In fact, I doubt you have all that much power left your battery, whereas I am in no danger of running out of power."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Regardless, this battle is about to end. This will be our final attacks. And as for your statement earlier, I do not have a battery in this new machine of mine."

"Yes it is. And I've already seen the outcome: your machine in pieces!" Zane roared, charging at the Exia.

"I don't think so. I happen to see something very different!" Chris shouted, charging the Retribution.

The two machines struck. The Exia's left saber stabbed into the joint between the Retribution's right shoulder and body as the Retribution's right saber cut into the Exia's left shoulder, damaging it. Meanwhile, the Exia's right saber sliced through the Retribution's left forearm, severing it.

Zane's eyes widened surprise as the Retribution's limbs flew off. Before he could react, the Exia kicked the Retribution, slamming it into a large chuck of debris. Zane attempted to pull the Retribution off the debris, but the crash had caused shrapnel to become lodged in the Retribution's main thrusters, damaging them and immobilizing the machine. He looked up. The Exia was hovering over him. "Well? What are you waiting for? End it."

Chris shook his head. "No."

"What? Are you insane?" Zane shouted. "If you don't kill me now, I'll keep on coming after you! And I won't stop until one of us has been destroyed! You know that!"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." he replied. "You and I were friends once. And I hope that you and I can be friends again one day. Perhaps this act of mercy will show you that there is still some good in humanity."

And with that, the Exia took off, leaving the stranded Retribution. "Coward! Come back! Come back and finish this!" screamed Zane. "If you don't, I'll hunt you down! I swear it! I'll destroy you!"


The Archangel

The battle between the Archangel and the Dominion had reached a standstill. Both ships were in rough shape. Their hulls were pitted with holes and gouges from their weapons. Both ships had lost one of their Gottfrieds. The Archangel had lost its Valiants while the Dominion had lost its right radar array.

"We've sealed off weapons bank eight." Murdoch reported.

"The Strike is returning. It's been damaged." Miri said.

Murrue gasped. "Open a channel."

Mu appeared on the main screen. "Damn that new machine of Creuset's." Mu cursed. "I'll get him next time."

"You can report on that later." Murrue said, pulling up her phone. "Ground crew, set up the emergency landing net! Medical staff on standby!"

One of the Archangel's catapults opened for the approaching Strike.


The Dominion

Azrael watched as the Archangel's catapult opened for that damaged mobile suit. "Now's our chance! Fire the Loengrin!" he shouted. "Sink that ship!"

Natarle could only grit her teeth. There was nothing she could do to stop him.

But Flay, on the other hand, could do something to warn them. "Archangel! Get out of there!" Flay yelled over the comm. "Archangel-"

Azrael grabbed her and pulled her from her seat. "How dare you! Bitch!" he screamed, slapping Flay and sending her flying in the low gravity. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He drew his pistol and pointed it at her. Suddenly, Natarle tackled Azrael, reaching for his gun. The gun fired several times, hitting the deck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Natarle shouted at the man.

"I know what I'm doing! To you!" Azrael yelled back, grabbing her collar as the two wrestled for the gun.

"All hands, abandon ship!" Natarle yelled to the rest of the crew.

Most of the bridge crew didn't need to be told twice and fled the bridge for the escape boats. But Flay didn't. Natarle pushed her and Azrael to the front of the bridge. "Go!" she shouted to Flay. "Get to the Archangel!"

Flay knew she had no other choice. But still, she didn't want to leave Natarle with the man. In the end, she reluctantly followed the rest of the bridge crew out of the bridge, all except one.

"Damn you, bitch!" Azrael screamed as they fled.

"If you are the commander... If you are in the position to give orders-"

BANG!

Natarle gasped. The gun had gone off. A bullet pierced her side. Azrael pushed her off, slamming her into a console. Azrael headed for the door, pausing a moment to glare at her. "I hope you realize what's going to happen to you for treating me like this!"

Natarle managed to pull herself to her chair and push a button, sealing the bridge just before Azrael reached the door. "You're a monster who deserves to die...right here with me..."

A bullet tore through her right shoulder, sending her to the ground. "Damn you! Open that door!"

Natarle simply smirked.

BANG!

Another bullet. This time, it hit her left shin. Azrael glanced over his shoulder. The Archangel was still the position to finish them off. "Dammit! I can't die here!" he said, heading for the weapon control console.

He had one last option, one last way to win this. "I can still win this." he chuckled, typing away at the console. "That's right. I was always win."

Natarle tried to get up to stop him, but she was too late. One of the Dominion's Lohengrins fired, the beam streaking towards the Archangel.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted as the beam grew closer and closer.

"It's too late!" Arnold yelled back, frantically trying to move the Archangel in time.

Suddenly, the Strike appeared in front of the bridge, its shield out. The beam hit the Strike's shield. But it couldn't hold the beam for long. Its body began to fall apart under the strain. If Mu didn't move soon, the Strike would be destroyed. But if he did, the Archangel would be destroyed.

"Ha! Didn't I tell you...I'm the one who makes the impossible...possible..." Mu yelled.

The Strike exploded, sparing the Archangel any damage. Everyone was stunned. Everyone was silent. Save for Murrue, who screamed out Mu's name as her tears floated from her eyes.

"Impossible..." Azrael whispered.

Natarle let out a quiet, strained laugh. "Looks like you lose..."

Azrael was on her in an instant. "How dare you mock me?"

He slammed her into her chair. "I won't die here! I refuse to!" he ranted, grabbing the ship's helm.

"Well, you will." A female voice said. Azrael turned in rage, only to see Ensign Lockhart standing before him, a gun aimed directly between his eyes.

"What?! I though you left! How dare you!" he screamed at her.

Ensign Lockhart just laughed. "You honestly think that I am an Earth Alliance officer? Well, I have some news for you. You have just been duped. If you think about it, only one person could have sent me to kill you, and she humiliated you back on Earth."

Azrael's eyes grew wide in surprise and shock. "You're sent by the President?!"

Ensign Lockhart just narrowed her eyes. "Indeed I am. And this is for the crew of the Churchill, the very ship that you abandoned in its time of need." With that, she fired, hitting the man between the eyes in an execution style killing.

Aboard the Archangel, Murrue brushed the tears from her eyes, glaring at the Dominion. "Aim Lohengrin!" she ordered.

One of the Archangel's Lohengrins unfolded and began charging.

"Murrue Ramius...STOP!" Natarle shouted.

This got Murrue to look up in shock. "What?!"

Natarle opened up the com-line. "Azrael…has been…killed…"

"By who?"

"By me." A female voice replied. Murrue could hardly believe it was someone else.

Before her, on the screen, was an EA ensign, but she had a different air about her. "I was on a mission that took me undercover as an Earth Alliance officer. And that mission, was to kill Director Azrael. The name's Ensign Dana Liam. I was sent on this mission by the President of the United States herself."

Murrue couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Mu had been avenged, and by the President of the United States no less.

"Thank you…"

"I'm sorry about your loss. If anything, I know what it is like to lose someone so close to you." The ensign replied.

"I assume you will be taking the Dominion then?" General Dante asked.

"Yes, we will. As of right now, this ship is now NASA property." Ensign Lockheed replied.

"…"

"I really am sorry about the loss of the Strike and your lover. If anything, I just wish that I could have stopped it sooner." It was clear that the ensign was upset at her own failure to stop the attack.

"I know…but there was no way that you could have stopped it. It was just too close a shot to avoid…" Murrue replied.

"Yeah…"


Nisha flew around, firing on the enemy machines as he did so. Several Daggers were taken out in flashes of heat and energy.

Firing the Z.A.M. Gundam's missiles, he wound up taking out a cluster of Daggers that had been targeting Aki'. His cousin whirled around and fired, taking out a group of Daggers that had been targeting him in turn.

"Thanks, Aki'." Nisha said as he faced the Wing.

"No problem." Aki' replied over the com-line.

The two then went into combat once more, taking out Daggers with their beam sabers as one unit. Pink flashed with gold, the two colors overlapping at times as well. Then, in the aftermath, the Daggers blew up in a column behind them.


Tao went crazy with a stolen beam saber she had taken from a Dagger she has destroyed earlier. Several Daggers tried to take out the Diver from behind, but she whirled around and slashed off the limbs of the incoming machines. The damaged machines drifted away from her, unable to move as a result of the damage she had done.

Looking back, Tao could see the other members of her unit as well as the Clyne Faction fighting to try and save the Earth. It was pure chaos on the battlefield. She frowned, but did not divert from her mission. She then went back to her own combat, taking out a GINN that tried to shoot her down.


Liz fired on several GINNs, taking out their heads with a decent amount of accuracy. For every shot that hit, one or two missed by a decent margin. John was impressed from what he could see.

Targeting with the Dynames's scope system once more, Liz fired again, only to hit a Dagger in the chest. The machine blew up, taking the pilot with it.

"Damn it!" she swore. She had not been aiming to shoot at the cockpit at all.

Still, she could not do anything about it, that much she knew.

Targeting once more, Liz went back to taking out GINNs that were after the Archangel and the other ships of the Clyne Faction. It was not easy, but she had to do her job.


Dominion

Azrael drifted in the bridge, dead from his bullet wound to the head. Natarle was barely alive now, and she was losing blood fast. Ensign Lockheed had treated her the best she could, but there was nothing more that could have been done for her. Even the ensign knew when wounds were fatal.

"Why…"

Ensign Lockheed looked back at the wounded woman. "What?"

"Why… Why did…you…save me…?"

"I had a mission to do. That's all. I had no intention of saving anyone, to be honest. But when I saw what he did to you, I just could not sit back and let him get away with it." The young woman replied.

Natarle smirked beneath blood-caked lips. "He…deserved it…the…bastard…"

"Yeah. He did. Not to mention he was crazy in trying to wipe out the PLANTs." Ensign Lockheed growled. "Not even NASA would have been able to stop the attack. We just don't have enough ICMBs, or Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles, to carry that out."

Natarle coughed again, making the ensign frown. "Hey! You shouldn't be talking anyway! You need to save your energy for when New Juneau forces come for us."

The other woman just smiled weakly. "I won't…make it…until…then…and you…know it…"

"Yes, but you never know…"

Natarle just sighed. "You might have saved me, yes…but…the damage has already been done…"

"Damn it!" Ensign Lockheed swore as she hit the console of the bridge. "Why does Azrael always have to win in the end?!"

"He didn't…"

The young woman looked back. "How so?"

"The PLANTs…aren't they safe?"

"Yes but-"

"Then he lost…and NASA won…"

Ensign Lockheed could hardly believe what she was hearing. "NASA won? How?"

"By…killing him…in his…moment…of triumph…"

It then hit home on what Natarle was saying. By killing Azrael when he was at his near triumph, he had been denied the ability to see his success come about. And his ship had been seized as a result too.

"I see now…"

"Yes…so…use this…ship well…and prevent…another…near massacre…of all humans…" With that last sentence, Lt. Commander Natarle Badgiruel, Captain of the Dominion, died.

Ensign Lockheed could only stare in shock before she let out a cry of sorrow. The one woman she had managed to save had died despite her best efforts.

It always seemed that Blue Cosmos managed to take away those who NASA either saved or happened to be close to. Hanging her head down, her hair covered her eyes as tears fell away from her face.

It was always the same, and it never seemed to change, nor would it change any time soon…


Washington D.C.

President Hilson looked up at the sky, wondering if the mission had been a success. Without communications, there was no way to really tell until the agent reached New Juneau.

And with the way things were at the moment, that would not be for quite some time he knew.

Sighing, the NASA leader walked away from the screens that showed the outside of the bunker where she was stationed just like the rest of the NASA populace.

She smacked her fist against the wall of the bunker, wishing that she could be outside where she could see what was going on. But, with that massive cannon that was aiming at the EA bases up in orbit, that was not likely to happen anytime soon.

President Hilson hated the fact that the PLANTs had developed such a weapon and were now using it against the Earth Forces in order to wipe out all Naturals, even those Coordinators on Earth! What was that crazy man Hong Fa Wu hoping to accomplish?!

The answer was plainly obvious, but the president hated the very obvious fact. "That man is a nutjob…" she murmured as he looked back up at the screen which showed the sky aboveground.


NASA missile silos

Techs were now stationed in the underground missile silos, where it was safest. Many were wishing that they could use the nuclear warheads, but they also knew that the cannon would wipe out the missiles with little to no trouble.

The silos doors were closed, so the people inside were safe from any nuclear fallout aftermaths. And yet they could not do anything to prevent such an outcome because of the outcome.

All they could do was wait and hope that the nuclear fallout they all feared would never come about, even if it was just a fanciful dream.


New Juneau

The NAZAFT officers working on installing the ICBM launchers on the colony's exterior and interior could only watch the cannon, GENESIS, fire again, wiping out another Earth Alliance fleet. Their missiles were armed and ready to use should they be targeted as well, but even then it was like sticks against a sword.

Their missiles would be able to do maybe a little bit of damage, but in the end, the GENESIS cannon would do the most damage. It was a situation that they wished to avoid at all costs, even at the cost of abandoning the colony.

The NAZAFT commander could only observe the battles between the three forces; the Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and the newly termed Clyne Faction. It was a three way fight, which meant that there could be any winner. But if anyone had the chance to come out the winner, it was the Clyne Faction.

'They have Omega One, or as Tao said, Wing Zero, on their side, which, if that display of power at JOSH-A was anything to go by, increases their chances of coming out the victors by a drastic amount.' She noted as she recalled that display of power she had seen quite some time ago.

Even with the famed 7th Fleet and the feared 11th Fleet on their side, it would have to fall to Wing Zero's pilot to wipe out GENESIS if all else failed.

The Archangel and the rest of the ships seemed to have several surprises in store, maybe even some that had not yet been unleashed.

Wing Zero's power was one wild card that the faction had not yet played, so that meant they could play it at any time.

"Wing Zero…please find a way to defeat this threat…" she murmured. Deep down, she felt foolish for putting all of her hopes for victory on one machine and pilot, but given what she had seen, it was not entirely foolish to do so.

But it was not just the pilot's power. It was the team work that would be needed to take out the GENESIS that was the important factor. It was also the unknown factor that worried her. She was worried about whether the different factions that made up the Clyne Faction could work together to pull off such a feat.

She could only hope that they could find the ability to work together to overcome the GENESIS cannon. Otherwise, all would be lost, and all of humanity would be wiped out forever…


NASA

People were all underground, with only wildlife and vegetation thriving on the surface, unaware of the threat above it.

Bunkers were sealed off from the outside world, with both Naturals and Coordinators inside them for the time being. While many were concerned about the structural integrity of the bunkers and whether they could withstand such a powerful blast, others were worried about the aftermath. Would everything still be there, or would the surface be uninhabitable? They just did not know.

While the majority of the population was underground, a few fanatics crazy about the end of days had remained on the surface, awaiting the firing of the GENESIS.

They had been denied entry into the bunkers, and for a very good reason. If any of them carried weapons into the bunkers and the bunkers were sealed like they were now, there would have been no way for the others inside to escape being killed.

That was why the authorities had banned all weapons of any kind from being brought into the bunkers.

Still, others inside the bunkers were hoping, praying, pleading, that everything would turn out alright.

They did not want to lose their homes, or their lives that they had built from the ground up. Naturals hoped that their history and past achievements would still be there while Coordinators hoped that the home they had come to love would still be around.

But what most hoped for was for the nation and its founding documents to still be around. If the nation that they all called home was gone, then they would have to rebuild it from the ground up once more.

And that they wanted to avoid.

The population hoped that NASA-no, the United States-would still be there, because it was the only nation that most of them had ever known as home. If they lost it, then where would they live if there was radiation all over the country?

Most had no answer. All they could do was look up at the sky and pray for the GENESIS cannon to be wiped out…


The final battle is nearing the end. Enemy combatants are tired, and others have yet to finish their fights. What awaits now? Read on to find out! :3 Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, will be deleted AND/OR reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, read and review! ^^