So, umm, I'm back! It's been... some time since I posted something. I won't make excuses, I was busy and distracted by several things, and my motivation to write wasn't alwasy very high, so yeah. However, I'd like to thank the people who wrote the PMs to me. Don't worry, I won't let this story die, even if it takes me a decade to finish (hopefully not that long). Updates will be slow, but they will come. Someday.

Anyways, ahev fun with the chapter and tell me what you think.

Chapter 4: The Beast of Possibility Part 2

Kira still continued to stare at the discharge papers in his hand. He had enough of fighting, that much was clear to him. But was that really the right choice to make? If his friends would leave, then he would have no reason to stay as well and they could return to a peaceful life without worrying about fighting.

"And yet, why does it feel wrong?", Kira asked himself as he waited for his friends. They planned to first meet in the living quarters before going to the hangar where a shuttle would be waiting to take them to Earth. And while he was waiting, Kira couldn't help but let his thoughts drift. "I wonder what Banagher will do..."

"Kira!"

Said Coordinator turned around at hearing his friend Tolle's voice calling out to him, only to stare in surprise. His friends were wearing their Alliance uniforms and came floating towards him.

"Everyone, what's with the uniforms?"

"Well, we kind of decided to stay on the Archangel", Mirri said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Why?"

"Flay decided to enroll", Sai said, still unnerved about his fiancé going to war. "We can't leave her on her own, you see?"

"And her father was fine with that?", Kira asked, remembering the fuss George Allster made about his daughter.

"He said he could trust the Archangel to get through anything, especially with the Unicorn on board", Tolle recalled.

Kira was slightly hurt, but he knew that Banagher was more skilled than him. And with him returning Lacus Clyne he was sure they had made more than a few enemies. Was it really the right- no! It was the right thing, even if others may say differently.

"Don't take it too hard, Kira", Mirri said, aware of how the teen might feel. "Flay's father is just like that. And we know that you gave your best to protect us, no matter what."

"Thanks, Mirri."

"You don't have to pressure yourself so much. So, go and live in peace. We'll be coming soon after, once we dealt with Flay. I'm sure we can convince her to stop this, but right now we can't convince her. Don't worry about it", Sai explained.

Kira didn't say anything, but the awkward atmosphere was very clear to everyone. Deciding to leave it at that. They knew about his discomfort with battle and were sure that Kira would be better off if he was far away from the war.

And even after his friends left, he took his time before making his way towards the shuttle.

When he arrived, he saw the long line of people waiting to be let on board. All of them went through a lot, and they seemed relieved that they could leave for home. Just as he looked over the people he saw George Allster entering the shuttle.

"Ah, Onii-chan!"

Kira turned around to see a small girl coming up to him. He remembered seeing her sometimes with the other civilians.

"Thank you for always protecting us!", she said as she handed him a paper flower. Unable to utter a reply he silently watched as the girl left with her mother.

Did he really protect them? He had still doubts, and that was his reason for wanting to return home. But as he looked at the flower he noticed something. These people were safe after he fought. Even if he didn't cover them directly, he had still fought to protect them and his friends.

"And, did you come up with an idea?", Mu asked, him and Murrue in her office while preparing for the descend.

"About what?"

"Banagher."

Murrue sighed. She knew that things would become complicated once they reached Alaska and the higher-ups would like to know the truth about the young man and his white mobile suit that could fight back against Rau le Creuset.

"How do you think we should explain him? A young boy with a powerful Mobile Suit from another universe appeared out of nothing and offered his aid? I don't think that would sound very good to them."

"I agree", Mu replied with a sigh. "But what else can we tell them?"

"In the end, we'll have to trust in Banagher for that. We can't really do much more than telling the truth", Murrue said.

"But will he agree?"

"He is aware of his situation, I'm sure. Believing in him is all we can do right now."

The first wave of attacks came suddenly upon the 8th Fleet. They had noticed that some ZAFT ships were waiting outside of their firing range, but they didn't expect an attack this soon.

To their dismay the first attack was a sneak attack by the Blitz, which resulted the Earth Alliance's focus to shift on the single unit while the rest of ZAFT's mobile suits closed in. And while the suits kept the fleet busy, the ZAFT ships closed in to create additional pressure. Three ships of the 8th Fleet were down already, and everyone would break into a panic if not for the quick orders by Admiral Hamilton.

The Archangel began with the descend to Earth while the fleet would cover them. Considering the military strength of ZAFT with the GAT-series on their side the result of such a plan was obvious. Nonetheless the Archangel moved on, releasing the civilian shuttle shortly beforehand.

The greatest problem however was an unidentified ZAFT mobile suit which sped through the battlefield, randomly destroying mobile armors of the Alliance or damage the ships. It was like it was searching for something, tearing down everything in its way. And nothing could stop its rampage.

Banagher was shocked at the destruction. He had seen war, had fought in battle, but he would always dislike this scenery of death. While he kept thinking about how he could put a stop to this, he had already changed into his pilot suit and moved towards the hangar. Even if the Archangel was ordered to just leave, he wouldn't watch such one-sided slaughter if he could help it.

Banagher jumped into the cockpit and into the seat, the hatch closing with a hiss before the monitors turned on.

"I'm moving out! Open the hangar!", he warned as the crew fled out of the hangar. The Unicorn left the holding bay and moved slowly to one of the Linear Catapults.

He stepped inside, however didn't lock onto the guiding path as he stood there ready to take off.

"Banagher, wait a moment!"

The addressed pilot looked to one of the opening screens, showing Miriallia's face. She looked over her console, and at the same time, a hatch to the right side of the Unicorn opened.

"This is from the maintenance crew", Miriallia said as a Beam Rifle moved out of the hatch. "The captain approved of it as a 'thank-you' gift."

"So, the captain is okay with me taking off? And when had they time to build this?", Banagher asked before he had the Unicorn grab the rifle.

"It's one of the Strike's replacement rifles, but modified to fit the Unicorn", she explained. "Lieutenant La Flaga is also getting ready. Good luck out there!"

"Got it. Banagher Links, Unicorn Gundam, taking off!"

"I'm going as well!"

Everyone was surprised when Kira's face suddenly appeared on the screen connected to the Strike. He was already wearing his suit and prepared the Strike to launch. No one had expected to see him there after he was so adamant about not fighting.

"Kira, what are you doing there?", Milli asked, being the first to recover from the surprise. "We thought you left on the shuttle!"

"I won't let my friends fight on their own while I sit back and watch!"

"Okay. Launch approved!", Murrue shouted from her seat. She didn't want to let them off the ship while descending, but considering the fast advance of ZAFT forces, she was rather safe than sorry. And it seemed that even Natarle was aware of that as she didn't say anything about it.

"Thank you! Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!"

And so, he took off after Banagher.

"I'll go as well", said la Flaga. "Can't let the kids do all the work."

"Alright, but be careful! All hands, prepare the re-entry sequence! Keep an eye on the time before we have to recall everyone!", Murrue shouted the orders as everyone began the necessary preparations.

Banagher quickly went ahead to take down two GINN's with the new Beam Rifle he got as they attacked another ship. He easily placed good-aimed shots at their limbs and heads, effectively disarming them.

"It isn't nearly as powerful as the Beam Magnum, but this works well for me, I guess", Banagher said to himself as he continued to disarm three more suits.

It took him some time to find and properly aim at the suits as they were scattered about and some of the mobile armors got in his line of fire, but he still tried to keep losses on both sides to a minimum. He had killed enough people, and dying in battle served no purpose in his eyes but to create more grief and hate towards others.

However, as he continued to fire, a tingling feeling in the back of his head warned him of something and Banagher quickly turned the Unicorn to the side, barely avoiding the attack of another suit. It looked nothing like the other ZAFT suits whose data he had received from Murrue. It actually resembled the Strike in some ways, but still different.

The suit still hat the head with a mono-eye camera glowing red, however the design of limbs and torso resembled the Duel mostly. The whole suit was colored dark grey, the same as the Strike without the Phase-Shift Armor activated. In its right hand was a Beam Saber glowing in a pink light and in the left hand it held something like a Beam Rifle, however it seemed to have more cables around it, like it wasn't really a finished design. And on it's back were large Boosters, giving the suit a speed that could actually keep up with the Unicorn.

Banagher continued to dodge the enemy suit's attacks, but it proved harder than he expected.

"A new prototype?", Banagher asked, but to his surprise came a reply over an open channel. The face he couldn't see, but the voice, apparently from the pilot, was loud and clear.

"That's right! This little baby was permitted for use just to take you down! Now, let us have some fun while I tear you apart!"

The prototype attacked again, swinging its Beam Saber wildly, and yet precise. However, Banagher avoided each of the slashes and tried to aim for the limbs with his Rifle. He never got to shoot as another swing came at him, forcing him to move away again.

"Stop this! Can't you see that there is no point in this fight?", Banagher tried to reason.

"So, you're the pacifist type, eh? I don't care, I'm just here for a good fight!", came the ecstatic reply. "You're just my prey, so stop whining while I get my fun!"

Athrun had heard the rumors about Jared Ramsey. A maniac, a freak, and many other downright appalling names were used to describe his character. When he had met him on the ship, he seemed more or less normal, though he could tell that Ramsey was out for blood. However, he didn't expect such excitement in the man's voice when he spoke over an open channel to the Unicorn. It actually scared him in a way.

The other surprise though was how young the other pilot sounded. Lacus didn't tell them much about the pilot, probably out of respect, but Athrun didn't expect the person to be so young, probably the same age as him and Kira.

"Move, Athrun!"

On Yzak's warning Athrun dodged another one of Kira's amazingly accurate shots. He was surprised at his friends rather fast improvement, making Kira capable enough to hold his own, even against him and Yzak at the same time.

Athrun transformed his suit into the Mobile Armor-mode, shooting at Kira with his Energy Cannon. At the same time, Yzak closed in on the Strike, who dodged Athrun's attack and pulled out his Beam Saber to guard against the Duel. Athrun made a second run and shot again, forcing Kira's and Yzak's suits apart.

"What are you doing, Athrun?!", Yzak shouted over the intercom.

"Don't get too close! I'll force him into position so you can finish it!"

Athrun regretted that he had to use this excuse, but Yzak wouldn't listen to him otherwise. So, all he could do was follow through with his 'plan' and hope that Kira would make it out somehow so they could capture him. However, they got dangerously close to the pull of the Earth, so he had to be careful. He could tell they were close as some other suits not far away started glowing from the air friction.

He made another run at Kira, aiming not directly at him and shot. Kira dodged again, as predicted, right into the Duel's line of fire. Unfortunately, at just this moment a shuttle passed through between the two, throwing off Yzak's aim and missing both the Strike and the shuttle.

"Damn cowards, trying to run away!", Yzak shouted, aiming at the shuttle again.

Kira's mind became a blank when the Duel prepared to shoot at the shuttle. He saw moments of his involuntary journey in a flash, the battles he fought, his friends and the people he met.

"Thank you for protecting us!", said the little girl with the paper flower.

'Are they going to die? In a place like this?'

He remembered what Banagher told him before. Could he make a difference? Could he save them?

"Even if others tell you that it is some sort of delusion or wishful thinking, you have to keep going. It may sound contradicting, and maybe it is. But even so, you mustn't give up."

"I won't give them up!", Kira shouted as his body started to move on his own.

The Unicorn kept dodging and blocking the prototype's attacks, but Banagher unable to land a decisive blow. While the Unicorn was the better machine, the enemy pilot was almost too good. He was able to actually make up for the lower specs of the machine and kept pushing Banagher back.

"Damn, at this rate-!"

However, another GINN came from behind, throwing the Unicorn off balance and giving Ramsey an opening. Banagher managed to move his shield in time, but he was pushed back into the remains of one of the destroyed ships.

If this continued, the 8th Fleet would be wiped out, and Banagher had to rely on the Admiral to survive. He needed to end this battle as fast as possible. And that was when he noticed one of the ZAFT ships floating towards the Menelaos

However, Ramsey was already charging at him.

"I got you now!"

The next thing Ramsey saw was a green light. The armor of the Unicorn started to glow in said green light before starting to separate, revealing a brightly glowing armor all over the suit. The legs and backpack revealed additional boosters, and two beam sabers on the backpack folded towards the shoulders. On the shoulders appeared two sensor units and the shield spread out as well, revealing additional parts glowing green as well. The white horn on the head split in two, revealing a golden v-shaped antenna and the face guard slipped down, revealing a face similar to that of the G-series. The pilot seat leaned back while the controls disappeared, leaving Banagher to rest his hands on the seat. The screens folded away as well and a holographic screen appeared around the head area of the seat.

And before Ramsey could hit the Unicorn, the suit disappeared with a trail of green light.

"What the-!?"

He tried to follow, but the Unicorn left him behind quickly while speeding towards the ship of Admiral Halberton.

"I can't let him die here", Banagher said to no one and stopped between the Menelaos and the approaching Gamow. He wanted to call out to stop them, but Banagher could tell. They wouldn't stop, even with their ship close to exploding. They were ready to die for their cause, no matter their cost. And he couldn't wait for long, as Ramsey was approaching in his prototype MS.

Again, Banagher felt helpless, because he couldn't stop lives from being lost. Therefore, he decided to save as many as he could right now, even if he had to do what he hated most. Taking another life.

"DAMN IT!"

And with his shout he unfolded one of the beam tonfas and activated it. He pulled back and charged at the ship, increasing the energy output of the energy beam. The saber increased in size immensely cut right through the ship. Immediately he turned in a loop and rammed against the exploding ship, pushing the remains off course before they could hit the Menelaos.

However, he had no time to rest as Ramsey, followed by several GINNs. He quickly dodged the incoming attacks, a combination of beam shots and swords of those that somehow managed to get somewhat close to the Unicorn.

Banagher noticed that the Archangel was about to enter the atmosphere, so he didn't have much time. He quickly took down two more GINN before exchanging a few blows with the prototype. The Menelaos retreated and Banagher continued take out a few other GINN's while keeping Ramsey busy.

"Dammit, why won't you go down! Even I'm getting pissed now!", Ramsey shouted obviously aware that Banagher wasn't fighting with all he got.

However, Banagher had no time to relax as he had to keep an eye on the Menelaos and the Archangel while fighting.

And when he noticed, that the ZAFT ships wouldn't follow the Admiral, Kira made a break for the Archangel.

Before anyone knew what had happened, the Strike suddenly charged at the Duel and pushed him back. With a quick attack, he cut off the Duel's right arm.

Athrun was to slow to react, and before he could help Yzak, a nearby wreckage exploded, pushing the Aegis further away. The Duel however tumbled further into the atmosphere, along with the Strike.

"Athrun!", came Nicole's voice over the comm.

"Nicole, what wrong?"

"Dearka is caught in the Gravity Well!", he said.

"Damn, Yzak as well. Nicole, were pulling back, else well fall as well!"

"What about Dearka and Yzak?"

"We'll have to trust in them", Athrun replied, dissatisfied with his own answer. It was no consolation, but there was nothing they could do.

Banagher had almost reached the Archangel. The Zero was firmly anchored to the ship, however they were turning towards the Strike who seemed unresponsive.

"They'll be off course", Banagher noted, and he tried to move closer to their course.

However, he was caught by surprise when suddenly a missile made its way to him. He quickly turned around and dispatched it with his Vulcans, but the blast threw him even further off course. And Banagher was sure he saw the ZAFT prototype aiming a missile launcher at him before he fell into the atmosphere.

Another chapter done. It feels a bit weird, considering I wrote this from time to time. I think I jump too much between perspectives. Tell me what you think and if I should focus more on some side characters. Thanks and till next time (which may take a while).