Happy New Year, everyone!

We're in this until the fic concludes! I hope you enjoy the ride!


Chapter Sixty-Nine: Ghost Riders in the Sky

When I went back to where Athrun and his fellow ZAFT defectors/refugees/whatever they were now, they were already getting into action. They must have gotten their orders at the same time I was.

Athrun looked over at me as I approached them. "I assume you got the same orders we did?"

"I did," I replied. I wasn't going to go over what else Uzumi Nara Athha had said to me. It wasn't the right time, or place . . . or right anything, really. There was too much that needed to get done, and done quickly, to talk with Athrun over what had just happened.

It was a revelation I had managed to cope with anyway. I didn't need to discuss it anymore. Kira was my brother, and he was going to be coming with me. Or, rather, I was coming with him considering what the Prime Minister of Orb had assigned me to do.

"What did the Prime Minister tell you?" Athrun asked.

"It's private. You'll find out once we get back into space," I replied. "That's how the Prime Minister would prefer it anyway."

I had dealt with a lot in one day already. Confiding in Athrun wasn't something I had time to do.

Still, looking at him, I knew I couldn't just brush him off. Not again. I had hurt his feelings multiple times that day already. A few more times and Athrun would be completely alienated. It wasn't fair to him to keep criticizing him and pushing him away. I was the one being the problem, not him.

Especially since Athrun was always there for me. I knew, in my heart, that he loved me, and while I wasn't sure I felt the same for him, I knew that he was a close friend, someone I could trust, and I wanted him to be safe. I wanted him to stay my friend.

"Anyway, you and I are the ones with the tough job," I said. "Your buddies get to ride it out in theKusanagi."

"Oh yeah?" Dearka yelled from near the Buster. "We're the ones who have to sit and worry that you two don't get killed!"

"We won't get killed," Athrun replied. "I can tell you that much."

"The way I figure it," Hilda said, "Is that the Freedom and the Justice are the only GUNDAMs capable of keeping up with the Kusanagi during the launch sequence. That's why the rest of us aren't launching with the two of you."

"That's what I inferred too," Athrun said. "Of course, we can only keep up for so long. Eventually theKusanagi will just be too fast."

"I'm sure there's some sort of algorithm that would tell us when it's too late," I replied. "I don't know how to make one though. Programming isn't my strong suit."

"Then how were you always having better adjustments then the rest of us?" Athrun asked.

"I had help," I replied. "Prince Kira himself. He always made sure the Strike was optimally primed for any condition."

"Aw come on!" Dearka cried. "That's cheating!"

Athrun smiled at that. "No, that's just good strategy . . . and luck. Having a better technician than the rest of us can be the ultimate intangible in a fight, Dearka."

"It shouldn't be the one intangible that kept us from kicking her ass!" Dearka replied.

"Maybe I'm just a better pilot than you!" I shot back.

"Is that so?" Before Dearka could respond with a likely obscene gesture, Nicol grabbed him and pulled him aside.

Athrun just sighed. "Dearka isn't exactly thrilled about being here. He was friends with Yzak. Fighting with you isn't something he agrees with."

"I heard him when he said he's in this to save his own skin," I replied.

"That's not entirely true," Athrun said. A small smile crept across his face. "Even though we don't always agree, Dearka, Nicol, and I are comrades. Dearka's here because we're here."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Hilda asked with a sigh.

An explosion that didn't sound far away ended the snarky discussion right then and there. "That sounded pretty close," Athrun said.

The only reason why there wasn't a lot of screaming and panic was because most of the civilians had already been evacuated. I was sure whoever was left wasn't taking it all that well, though. War was almost here, on top of them.

"We need to launch," I said. "I am sure it's the Archangel launching first. That'll take the enemy by surprise."

"Yeah, but when the Kusanagi launches, they'll have caught on," Athrun says.

"Then we have to get in the air right away and hitch a ride," I said. "I'll see you on the Kusanagi."

I ran off towards the Freedom then.

For once, I was ready for war.


I blasted out of the hangar and shot off towards the Mass Driver, and immediately turned on my communications. "Athrun, any sign of the enemy yet?"

"None. They probably don't know what they're up to yet," Athrun replied.

"The Prime Minister is attempting to stall the Earth Alliance with surrender talks,," said a new, but familiar, voice.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," I said.

"Captain Badgiruel, actually," she said. My screen turned on and I saw her face. Surprisingly, she was still wearing her Earth Alliance uniform. I wondered what her reason was behind that.

"We'll be launching in a moment. However, once we launch, the Earth Alliance will know what we're doing and they'll likely try to intervene. The Archangel should be able to break atmosphere before enemy forces arrive but it's likely the Kusanagi will be intercepted. Please defend the Kusanagi until you hit the point of no return. I'm having that point transferred to your navigation systems."

They thought about everything regarding this plan, didn't they? "Thank you, Lieute-er, I mean CaptainBadgiruel," I said.

"No problem. Pleasure to work with you again, Cagalli. I will meet with you once we're in space." Badgiruel killed the communications, leaving just Athrun and I here.

"So, that was the captain of the Archangel, huh?" Athrun asked.

Him saying that just reminded me of Murrue. "Not for most of it. We had a different captain for most of it. Murrue Ramius."

"Oh." Judging by his tone of voice Athrun had already guessed the reason behind that. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. You had nothing to do with her death."

Suddenly, the Archangel blasted off, shooting past us at a speed I could barely count.

"Time for us to go, Athrun! Maximum speed!"

I hit the acceleration and shot off after the Archangel. As fast as the Freedom could go, however, theArchangel was quickly vanishing from sight, turning into a dot by the second. The Mass Driver definitely lived up to its reputation. The acceleration it put into shooting objects into space couldn't be matched.

"Orb won't wait long before they launch the Kusanagi, Cagalli," Athrun said. "The Earth Alliance probably already knows what we're up to."

"If they figured it out that quickly, they're more competent than I thought," I replied.

Suddenly, my censors beeped. Four Mobile Suits, with Earth Alliance codes, were heading right for us from our right flank.

"Or maybe they were anticipating this from the start," Athrun said softly.

That scared me. Muruta Azrael was the man behind Blue Cosmos, according to Hilda. A genius like him would see right through Uzumi Nara Athha and prepare for something cute and sneaky like this.

He was going to make sure none of us were going to be able to get away. And I had a strong feeling about who he sent to get the job done.

"They'll be on us in thirty seconds, Athrun!" I yelled as we continued shooting down the Mass Driver's path.

"You think they're after us or the Kusanagi?" Athrun replied.

"If this is Muruta Azrael behind this, and if he's as greedy as Hilda implied he was, I wouldn't be shocked if he was after everything!"

Suddenly, my censors beeped. "Athrun, the Kusanagi is launching behind us!"

Looked like the Prime Minister had noticed the same thing and had launched the Kusanagi early. It did not look like Athrun and I were far enough along to provide effective cover before the Kusanagi would catch us.

"Athrun, I think we're gonna need to hitch a ride and shoot from the Kusanagi itself!" I shouted.

"I was thinking the same thing. You cover the left of the ship, I cover the right, when the Kusanagi catches us!"

I didn't like that plan. That meant Athrun would have to deal with the majority of the fighting. He was trying to protect me. At the same time, this wasn't the right time to argue this out. He would have to realize that we'd have to take care of each other, not try to shelter me entirely from the fighting. Just because we didn't have ZAFT's resources or numbers anymore didn't mean that I needed to be sheltered.

I reluctantly obeyed Athrun's instructions and took up position. I aimed at the four incoming Mobile Suits and shot at them. I knew full well that my shots would miss, we were too great of a distance and they'd be able to react in time. However, they reacted the way I wanted to, which was to scatter.

Hopefully, by scattering, that would slow them down and buy us enough time to achieve escape velocity on the Kusanagi.

"That you, Cagalli?" Joan's voice.

"It is, Joan. Do yourself a favor and turn around. We're getting out of here and you're not stopping us."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You leave me no choice but to come right for you."

I sensed regret in Joan's tone, and somehow that pissed me off more than if she had sounded hostile. "Bring it, then! I don't have all day!"

"I will."

The Strike Alter suddenly poured on the speed like it was shot out of a cannon, but immediately Athrun opened fire with a volley from his own Lupus rifle. Joan attempted to dodge but got clipped during her evasive maneuvers, which knocked her off course. She wasn't going to make it to us in time, not with her trying to regain control over her Mobile Suit.

But that left her goon squad heading our way.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

I was beginning to despise that voice, and that saying.

"Eat this!" I locked onto all three of them and let loose a barrage, which forced them to scatter again. Athrun shot at them as well, which made them have to use evasive maneuvers.

Then it became clear that the Kusanagi was going to run us over.

"Enough fighting, Athrun! Hitch a ride, hurry!"

I poured on the acceleration and shot down the Mass Driver's path again. The Kusanagi was going to overtake us in seconds and I could not afford to miss my docking attempt. "Athrun!"

"I'm coming, Cagalli!"

A force rocked the Freedom then. My controls shook and I was forced to turn the GUNDAM around. The Raider had shot me.

"I think it's about time I had-"

I wasn't going to hear it. I opened fire.

"Damn it!" The Raider barely got out of the way of my shots in time.

The Kusanagi was about five seconds away. I spun the Freedom back around and hit the acceleration to go as fast as possible. I didn't know where Athrun was and right now I couldn't be concerned about that. I saw where I needed to dock and I had to execute the maneuver now.

I reached out and grabbed onto the Kusanagi, and settled the Freedom down in the external pod they had for carrying Mobile Suits in a defensive strategy. I had made it.

The Raider was still on my tail. Clotho was laughing. "You just made yourself a sitting duck-"

The Raider suddenly went aflame and spiraled out of control, Clotho screaming in shock.

Athrun.

He was tailing the Kusanagi now. Barely keeping up. Taking the time to blast Clotho out of the sky was going to cost him.

"Dammit, Athrun! I told you to get on!"

"If I hadn't done that you would've been shot!"

"I would've been fine! Now hit it! Hit it with everything you got! I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Cagalli-"

"You are not doing the 'Cagalli' crap with me! If you don't make it, I'm staying behind too! I'm not losing you too, dammit!"

I couldn't believe what I was saying in the heat of the moment. But it was coming out of my mouth. What I was beginning to feel for Athrun was finally coming out, and it was not merely words of friendship.

"Come on!" I screamed.

I reached out the Freedom's hand, no longer caring about the pursuing Forbidden and Calamity. At the speed we were going those two GUNDAMs weren't going to catch us anyway. But Athrun was barely hanging on in terms of speed. If he didn't hook up in a few seconds, the Kusanagi was going to leave him behind.

"Athrun, I don't know what you're thinking in there, but you're not staying behind! You're finding your answers in space, with me right beside you! Now step on it!"

A shot from the Forbidden barely missed me. The Forbidden and the Calamity were taking potshots at us now.

"Athrun!" I yelled. "Get the hell onboard so I can shoot those bastards! Don't make me say it again!"

Edging closer. Edging closer.

Suddenly the Justice extended its own free hand towards mine.

He was going to try. He was listening to me. He was not going to sacrifice himself.

"Come on, Athrun!" I held onto the Kusanagi for dear life as I reached for the Justice.

My heart was slamming against my chest. Athrun was pushing the Justice to its limit, its arm outreached, just trying to reach me.

I knew what I felt then, and it felt warm, and it felt like I was never going to sleep at night ever again if Athrun didn't make it here.

Every part of me was consumed with worry for Athrun as the Justice's fingers came closer to the Freedom's.

We touched.

The hands interlocked.

"I gotcha, Athrun!"

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the Justice.

Athrun screamed.

The scream pierced me to my heart.

Involuntary tears appeared in my eyes.

The Justice was smoking. It had taken significant damage.

"Athrun?"

I pulled the Justice into the bay, and, much to my relief, Athrun responded by bracing the Justice against theKusanagi. "Athrun! Athrun! Are you all right?"

"You talk way too much, Cagalli."

He was alive. He sounded like he was in pain, but he was alive. That's what counted. All of the pain I had felt when the Justice had been shot left my body as if it was never there at all, and I almost wanted to laugh. Athrun probably had no idea how happy hearing his voice had made me.

"I'm sorry," I said. I took my attention to the Forbidden and the Calamity, still trying to chase us.

Now I was pissed.

"This is for shooting Athrun, assholes!"

The Forbidden had to dodge my shots. I clipped the Calamity and sent it spiraling towards the ocean.

The Forbidden gave up then. It was the only one with any shot of keeping up the pursuit, and now it was outnumbered.

We were going to escape.

I knew Athrun was in pain. I could hear it. His breathing was audible and he was groaning. "Athrun?"

"I-I'm fine. Just got knocked around a little. Nothing serious."

"Is the Justice leaking radiation?" I asked. That was the bigger concern. If the Justice had taken a shot to the engines, we were all in serious trouble.

"I shut down the reactor the moment I got hit," Athrun said. "Then turned it back on when you pulled me onboard. There's no sign of radiation leaking."

We were angling upwards now. We were about to blast off towards outer space. We had made it. We were going to be okay.

I felt relieved. Even though we were leaving my country behind, at least we were okay. We had our lives. That's what mattered.

But when I turned back towards Onogoro Island, I was almost blinded by a huge light.

A fireball, erupting all over Onogoro.

The fire was chasing the Kusanagi along the Mass Driver. For a second, I dared to think it might somehow catch us, but it was clear that it wasn't. It was already petering out when I had noticed it.

It took me a moment to realize what the explosion meant.

When it did, I lost the ability to breathe for a second. All I could do was turn my attention back to Onogoro, and look at the fireball continue to expand into the sky, gradually turning into dust, ash, and smoke.

This had to have been Uzumi Nara Athha's plan. He knew there was no way the Earth Alliance wasn't going to come after the Mass Driver or Onogoro. So he had done the only thing he could do to prevent the Earth Alliance from using Orb's technology for mass destruction and genocide.

He had blown everything up, immolating himself in the process.

The Prime Minister of Orb was dead.

Along with anyone else who was defending that island to the last man.

Orb had made its final stand.

And everyone on the Archangel and the Kusanagi were the only ones left to fight for Orb and its ideals.

We were a remnant of a dead country.

And Kira . . . my poor brother Kira . . .

He had no family left at all. Other than me.

I gripped my controls harder as I thought about Kira. He was going to need me. And I was going to need him. We had been partners on the Archangel. We were going to need to be that way again, and more.

"I can't believe he just did that," Athrun said softly as he gazed at the smoke.

We were airborne now, taking off into space. Onogoro, what was left of it, seemed so small.

"He did the only thing he could do," I said. "What's left of Orb will have to surrender. But there'll be nothing to be gained anymore. Everything valuable Orb had for war was at Onogoro."

"Scorched earth," Athrun said.

"Yes."

I couldn't look at Onogoro anymore. It was only beginning to hit me that I no longer had a country. Or a free country, anyway. It was occupied territory now. Without the Prime Minister, and without its weapons of war, Orb was ripe for the taking. There'd be nothing left.

The thought of my parents living in some sort of camp . . . and Stellar . . . and Elle . . .

Stellar they'd try to turn into that crazy soldier again. My parents would likely die for sheltering a girl like her. And Elle . . .

That poor girl . . .

I hoped they had found someplace safe and secluded to be. Otherwise . . .

"Athrun, we're all that's left, all right? We have to stick together. All of us."

"It's like you said. We're in this together, Cagalli. I'm not leaving you."

The thought of Athrun doing this with me, for a cause we both believed in, made me want to cry. Finally, we could just be together. It was almost worth having to fight for humanity's survival.

"I'm not leaving you either. I . . ."

I couldn't quite say it. It didn't feel like the right time to say it.

"I'm with you," I finally said. "I'm with you, for the rest of this."

"So am I."

As he said that, we left the sky.

We had returned into space, the ghosts of a dead country and its ideals . . . and the Earth Alliance and ZAFT were going to receive a serious haunting indeed.

One they would never forget.