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, Marie Hilson, Dana Liam, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.

CT7567Rules: Sorry, that isn't happening in this chapter. And as for Nisha... I have a little surprise in store~ ;3 And yep! :3

Titanic X: Glad you like it. :)

A0930: I love your Haro alarm idea! XD But sadly no. But I do have twists planned that you will like, and it involves Marie's past to an extent... ;3

Just a Crazy Man: I know you love it. :)

KentLinuxStadfelt: Yes, you did mention that. XD

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After Phase: Between the Stars

The Marshall Islands

One and a Half Months after the Second Battle of Jachin Due

Kira sat on the porch of Reverend Malchio's orphanage, staring out at the setting sun. The sounds of children playing filled the air. But another sound began to fill the air. It was the sound of the twin turbine engine of a Heli. Kira looked up. The four-man craft approached the orphanage, landing on the pier.

Kira stood up as Athrun, Chris, and Cagalli climbed out of the aircraft. "Lacus, they're here." Kira called into the orphanage.

"I'll be there in a moment." Lacus replied.

Athrun, Chris and Cagalli reached the porch. Cagalli embraced her brother in a hug. "How have you been Kira?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Kira replied. "How have you three been?"

"Alright. Repairing the damage done to ORB during the war has been long and difficult. But everyone has been working hard to restore ORB to what it was before the war."

"I'm just glad that I can be here to help."


Later That Night

The sounds of talking and eating filled the orphanage as Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Chris, Athrun, Reverend Malchio and the children began to eat their dinner. While the children were talking about stuff that normal children talk about, the five teens were discussing adult matters. "Still, it really is a hard thing to do. ORB was completely ravaged by the war. That's why we can truly understand the foolishness of war and how precious peace is." Cagalli said as they ate. "But there are countries that don't."

"It's those that believe, 'If you don't trust the other person, don't lower you gun.', isn't it?" Lacus asked.

Cagalli nodded. "Yes." she answered. "I can't help but wonder if the PLANTs are having the same problem."

"All of us must lower our guns or else nothing will ever change." Lacus said.

Cagalli sighed. "Even though we should already understand this... It just seems like there are those that just can't, or won't, understand it."

"How are those three pilots doing?" Lacus asked, seeking to change the subject.

Lacus shown a great deal of concern for the three Alliance pilots that they had captured at Jachin Due. Despite the fact that those three were among the most dangerous opponents that they had ever fought and more than once, they had come close to killing them in battle. Of course, given the current state they were in, it's hard to believe that they were the same dangerous pilots that they had fought at ORB, Mendel and Jachin Due. They could barely move their own bodies in the state were currently in, much less pilot a mobile suit with the skill of an ace.

"Those three? Well, the doctors say that they will pull through. But it will still be weeks before they'll able to move on their own, much less care for themselves." Cagalli replied. "Whatever the Alliance did to them, it was pretty severe. But when they do recover, just what will we do with them? I mean, we can't just give them back Alliance, can we?"

"Of course not." Lacus said. "They're as much a victim as anyone else during the war. And sending then back to those that did that to them, will only make things worse for them."

Athrun nodded. "Yes. It's likely that those in the Alliance military that ordered that done to them, will only subject them to more experiments or dispose of them to prevent their existence from becoming public." he said. "But even then, those three are wild and violent. And their bodies and minds have been heavily altered. They may not be able to do anything but fight."

"It just isn't normal for anyone to act like that." Chris replied.

Lacus shook her head. "I don't believe that. They were normal people once before. They can be again."

"But we don't even know who they were." Athrun argued. "They could have been violent criminals before they were experimented on."

"If they are, then we will face that when and if we reach that bridge. Until then, we should make every effort to help them."

Athrun let out a tired sighed as he scratched his head. "Alright. Alright." he said, defeated.


Later

After dinner, Kira had walked out onto the beach, as Lacus, Cagalli and the children cleared the tables, watching debris enter the atmosphere and burn up, leaving trails of light in the night sky.

Even though it had been weeks since Jachin Due, his mind still went back there, to Rau's insane words, and to Nisha's death. Both haunted him. Rau's words seemed to tear at what he believed in and expose the dark side of humanity, while Nisha's death brought him only sorrow and guilt. Countless times since the battle, he couldn't help but wonder if he could have done things differently, if he could have done something that would have spared Nisha his fate.

Athrun walked up to him, pulling him from his train of thoughts. "It's strange, isn't it?" Kira asked. "I can't help but wonder…Why am I still alive? What makes me so special? Why do I still get to be with my loved ones while others can't? Why do I get to be with Lacus and Chris with Flay while Liz and Aki' will never see Nisha again?"

Memories of Nisha pushing him out of the path of the beams and the Z.A.M. Gundam exploding filled his mind.

"We're all thinking that too, Kira." Athrun said. "I can't answer why we survived while others didn't. Maybe we survived to make sure that such tragedies won't happen again."

Elsewhere, Lacus, Chris, and Cagalli stood on the porch, watching Kira and Athrun talk. "You know, I was amazed that you actually went onto the battlefield." Cagalli told the pink haired girl.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But being out there, seemed to suit you."

"I would have to agree." Chris added.

Lacus smiled. "Is that so?" she asked. "I was just trying to bring an end to the fighting the best way I could."

"Even then, you didn't have to go out on to the battlefield."

"How could I not, with Kira, Athrun, Chris, you and everyone else, out there risking their lives to bring peace? I sought to bring about peace, just like the rest of you. So why should I be the one to sat and watch from a safe distance?"

Cagalli nodded. "I see your point. Perhaps one day, no one will ever have to set foot on a battlefield."

"I hope so too." Chris replied, his hand going to his dog tag.


Flay leaned on the railing of a balcony in her family's mansion in Orb. By pure chance, it had escaped the invasion of ORB with little damage, unlike many other houses on Onogoro. Flay was wearing a simple blue dress that did little to hide the signs of her pregnancy and around her neck hung Chris's dog tag.

She had lost much in war: her home on Heliopolis, and her father. But there were two things and only thing she had gained from the war: Her child, Chris's child, and Chris himself, who was off visiting Kira and Lacus.

Flay hadn't had any DNA test done to confirm who her child's father was, but she knew it was Chris's. Something deep within her, told her so.

"The tea's ready." Murrue called out from inside the mansion.

Flay turned around and entered the house. After she had returned to her family's mansion, she had offered it to any of the Archangel's crew that needed a place to stay. It was too large for her to live in by herself. Murrue, John and Andy had taken her up on that offer.

Flay sat down on chair as Murrue entered the living room with a tray. The older woman set the tray on the coffee table and sat down on the love seat across from her. Murrue poured them both a cup of tea. They silently drank their tea. They were both still grieving for the losses of the men they loved.

"This is good." Flay said, breaking the silence.

"Thank you." Murrue said before pausing to think of something to say to keep the silence from returning. "Ah...I have you chosen a name yet?"

Flay gently stroked the bulge on her abdomen. "No. Not yet. I honestly don't know where to begin with picking names. Course, I don't even don't even know if it's a boy or a girl."

"Well, you're better off picking on your own." Murrue said. "I had a friend from before the war, who was pregnant and asked her friends and family for advice. It was a big mistake. Everyone was bugging her with suggestions on her child's name for a week before she became fed up and told them all to shut up."

Both women laughed. Flay smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."


Yzak, followed by Dearka and Shiho, entered the ZAFT Government building. Through his face didn't show it, Yzak was nervous. Though he had fought plenty of battles, but the field of politics was something completely different. Something he wasn't sure that he was ready for.

"Ah! You're here Mr Joule." the newly elected National Defense Committee Chairman, Ian Kessel, called out as he approached the trio. "I was starting to wonder if you had gotten cold feet."

Yzak and Ian shook hands. "No sir. I'm sorry for being late." Yzak replied. "Ah...Sir, I was wondering, why was I asked to fill my mother's position on the Council? Surely there are more experienced people that can fill her role than me."

"True. But you have something they don't have. You fought in this war. And while it was caused by politicians, it was the younger generation that fought and died in the war. It is only fair that they have a voice during the peace talks. That's why I asked for you to fill your mother's position temporarily."

Ian patted Yzak on back. "Well Mr Joule, you're about to enter a battlefield more perilous and treacherous than any you've experienced before. Politics." Ian said, leading him to the Council chambers. "A word of advice, don't trust anyone in the field of politics, because while we may be your friend one day, the next day, we could very likely stab you in back. So stay on your guard at all times."


John Alaric, Elizabeth and Johanna Dante entered a Morgenroete hanger. As soon as he entered, John's eyes were drawn to a large object sitting in the middle of the hanger. "So this is the project we're working on. For a while there, I thought we'd be working on that new Murasame Project." he said, sipping a cup of coffee.

Johanna nodded as they walked forward. "Nope. We're working on this. It's a special request. Not a regular project for ORB."

"That doesn't surprise me. So is this a rebuild or a complete redesign?"

"Well...We could rebuild it." Liz said. "But it doesn't seem quite to just rebuild it."

"Indeed it doesn't." Samuel said as he and Andy entered the hanger.

Andy whistled. "Well now. I didn't think I'd be seeing this guy again."

"Yeah. The body was destroyed, but the head managed to survive. We've been asked to restore the head and have it placed on a mobile suit. We're trying to decide if we should rebuild as it was before, or create a new mobile suit for it." Johanna explained as the group gathered around the damaged head of the NAS-X117-A Z.A.M. Gundam.

Samuel placed his hand on the Z.A.M. Gundam's faceplate. "It doesn't matter either. The Z.A.M. Gundam will fly again." he said. "We'll see to that."


Aki' stood in his new room in New Juneau. His eye was now healed, but he would have a lasting scar there. His gaze drifted over to the picture of his cousin Nisha. The frame was sitting on the desk, the photo smiling back at him. Nisha's father had recently moved to New Juneau to escape the pain of his loss, but even then it was still there.

The blue coat sighed. The wound was still raw, but it would heal, just like everything else did with time. He looked over at where his things had been placed.

Time to unpack…


President Hilson looked over the stack of papers that awaited her. She groaned. Even after that mission was a success, she still had to deal with the bane of her existence. Paperwork.


A form was lying on a table with an oxygen mask over its mouth. Bandages covered the majority of the form's body, except for the blood-matted light blue hair and one brown eye.

"So, this is the one recovered from that machine eh? Well, he'll certainly be useful, although he would do better as an EA officer rather than an Extended. We will have to dye that hair a different color too, so he does not stick out as much." A doctor sneered as he looked away.


Defense Secretary Keller looked over the missile installment progress, and saw that the project was close to completion.

'Good. Very good. Soon, we will have our power back, and no one will dare to threaten us or the PLANTs ever again.'


The battles are over, and people try to move on with their lives. Now the divisions formed have to be healed, but it will not be so easy. What new alliances will form from this new future, and what new enemies and divisions will form? Time is moving again, but is it in a better direction, or is it just delaying the inevitable? How will the world heal from this? 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! ^^