Here, I hope this is a pleasant surprise for you all. Consider this a token of appreciation for the struggle in getting chapter 88 posted.

One chapter will remain after this. My full thoughts on completing the fic will be attached to that post.


Chapter Eighty-Nine: Something Different

Eileen Canaver was fairly displeased as she walked down the tunnel.

"I don't understand why I'm needed here," she said as she eyed the fairly dim lights in the tunnel. Something told her that there weren't adequate resources being diverted to the lighting in the whole entire building. There was a noir feel to it that made everything feel gloomy and haunting, and she wasn't sure whether to be nervous or merely apprehensive.

"You are, because you are the new Chairman of the Supreme Council," said Yuri Amalfi. He was a beleaguered man at the moment, which made Eileen distrustful of him. He had worked on the N-Jammer Canceller used in the Justice and Freedom, and had not participated in the coup against Patrick Zala. However, his son had, but unlike many of the Coordinators who had taken the side of the 'Orb Alliance' as it became known, Nicol Amalfi had yet to report back to his post.

The result was that both Zala loyalists and Canaver's revolutionaries were against him, and his days of being a man of power were numbered.

"That doesn't answer my question," Eileen replied. How long did this tunnel go down, anyway? She felt the end should had arrived at least a couple of minutes ago.

"This is classified beyond measure, and you do have a need to know, especially considering what occurred in the last battle," Yuri replied.

Eileen knew what he meant. What had happened was public knowledge, but what caused it to happen had remained in the dark. "The 'Turn X' that caused so much damage," she said.

"Yes. And this relates to it."

Eileen's heart nearly skipped a beat. As it was, she felt her body completely tensing up. Oh no. Don't tell me…

But the lights turned on in the main room, and she saw the truth.

Oh my God.

There wasn't just another Turn X. Or even two.

"We have three more of them?" Eileen cried as she stared upon the sight of the ancient, stupidly powerful GUNDAM machines.

"When the PLANTs went into being, we sent out secret expeditions to see if we could uncover more of the machines," Yuri replied. "Asta Joule went out there mistakenly believing she had the only one. In truth, she has the only one that was completely operational. The others have issues to varying degrees."

Yuri pointed at the one in the center. "That one is the machine George Glenn found. However, it's imperfect. It has the sufficient amount of energy to engage the Moonlight Butterfly that Asta used in the battle. However, it is missing both the nanomachines and the program to use it, and, before you ask, we have no idea how to restore both functions to the Moonlight Butterfly attack."

Eileen bit her lip. I don't know whether I should feel better that it can't use the Moonlight Butterfly, or even worse.

"The others have similar issues?" she asked.

"Yes," Yuri said.

"So they're essentially paper tigers if they were to be unveiled. Bluffs."

Yuri shook his head. "As Asta demonstrated, they can still cause a rather significant amount of damage even without the Moonlight Butterfly. Were it not for her declining health… physically and mentally, she could have severely crippled the Orb Alliance if not completely annihilated it on her own. If she had succeeded in shooting the Freedom down, odds are we would not be having this conversation now."

"Yes, somehow I doubt anyone would be having a meaningful conversation at all," Eileen sighed.

She eyed those machines. They seemed to stare back at her, soullessly, blankly. Like the proverbial abyss after one had stared into it for far too long.

They hadn't fully figured out Asta's complete mental breakdown while flying the Turn X, which she wasn't supposed to know about anyway. She had not participated in the battle on the ZAFT main battle channel, so the amount of quotations from her was scarce, and most of them hinted at an absurd hatred for the pilot of the Freedom. Perhaps realizing the significance of the Turn X was enough to drive one mad on its own.

The only one with any elaboration was Ezalia Joule, Asta's mother, who had noted Asta had returned from a sortie at L4 remarkably distant, and she had remained quiet for the weeks up until the final battle. Something had happened in L4, but Eileen doubted she would know. Orb owned that space colony now, and they weren't going to be inclined to share L4's secrets with anyone.

She understood what had driven so many people to keep these machines. But considering how close they had come to catastrophe, how could she…

At the same time, there could be other Turn Xs out there. Sure, the one George Glenn had found was stolen and brought to the PLANTs, but who said that Earth didn't have a Turn X or two anyway? Mutually assured destruction was a tactic all on its own, and especially considering how things had escalated in the war.

I shouldn't have to compromise like this so early into my administration. Not over something like this.

"I want whatever security measures you have on the Turn X machines tripled. I don't want anyone able to access these without my explicit permission. I don't want anyone else in my administration knowing about these other than me and my defense minister. And my defense minister can't authorize these weapons to be used."

"Not like we can," Yuri said. "Not at their full capability. Doctor Hibiki's work was continued after his death, but only to a limited, and brief, extent, and we don't know whether any of the children still live."

Eileen knew about the attempts to continue Hibiki's work, and what they had wrought. "None of them were complete successes, but… I believe the Asuka children might have come the closest?"

"The Asuka children were taken to Orb by their parents after the gravity of what they had done hit them," Yuri Amalfi says. "And Orb was invaded by the Earth Alliance. They're not alive barring a miracle."

Eileen Canaver hid a smile. She actually knew the truth about the Asuka children, but there was no way she was going to put either one of them into the Turn X. Especially since the older one was apparently missing an arm.

You won't get to find out whether the Asuka children will be able to fly these machines, for the good of the PLANTs, and the world.

She nodded to the bodyguard on her left. The bodyguard immediately pulled his gun and shot Yuri Amalfi in the head, dropping him to the ground.

"That'll hopefully be the only execution we'll have to do," Eileen said. "Please give Romina the coordinates to L4 and to Orb, she will have permission to leave to be with her son if she chooses to."

"Yes, ma'am," the bodyguard said.

"No one puts the Asuka children into any Turn X without my explicit orders," Eileen said. "They have only just arrived in the colony, and I will not have any of our Turn X machines used unless it's an absolute last resort. We will let them choose the path they walk here in the PLANTs."

"As for the Turn X themselves…" Eileen gazed back at the pale white machines. How they seemed to be ghouls of a long-ago, more advanced time.

"I want them buried and forgotten. No one gets in here without my orders. Anyone breaks in, they will be shot. That order stands until further notice."

"Yes ma'am," said the official in charge of actually guarding these machines, since Eileen had thoroughly sacked the previous officer after what Asta had pulled.

"Good." Eileen took a deep breath. Hopefully this was the last of the ugly things she would have to do while she was in charge.

A chill went down her spine telling her she was wrong. She tried to ignore it to no avail.

All I want is to do things better than before. For the Clyne family's sake, as well as the PLANTs. Why does it have to be such a battle?

Such seemed to be the fate of the world, one governed by the GUNDAM machines.

And Eileen knew she was going to have to make some more.


"It's beautiful!" the angel cried, as he saw his vision coming closer and closer to reality in front of his eyes.

"It is only half-complete, Lord Djibril," said the woman. She had aged gracefully over the years, still with the violet eyes and brown hair that the angel knew quite well. Only a little bit of crow's feet around her eyes belied her true age. "Still have a way to go here."

"It doesn't matter. We have made rapid progress over the last two weeks," the angel replied. "We could have this complete by the end of the year!"

"We still need the two things that which we do not have," the woman replied. "We have the program due to copying it off of the Turn X before the Coordinators stole it years ago. However, we do not have the energy or nanomachines to trigger this GUNDAM's version of the Moonlight Butterfly. And we will need that weapon in order to destroy the PLANTs swiftly, do we not?"

The angel chuckled. "We need three things, I'm afraid."

"Three?" the woman's violet eyes widened. She knew, and didn't want to say it aloud. It annoyed the angel, but he understood to an extent. After all…

"We need a pilot, Via. And the only one left who can pilot the 'For All' project is your daughter."

The woman froze up, just for a moment. Even though the girl was a Coordinator, the Ultimate one, rather, there was still love there, the angel saw. He had hoped not to have to do anything about it, Via Hibiki had been a much-needed gear in the LOGOS machine since she had joined them.

"Can't we use an Extended?" Via asked, only a slight quivering in her voice betraying her emotions. "Surely one of them could do the job."

"The Extended have been greatly reduced in number and they are not reliable as what happened to Azrael's darlings," the angel replied coldly. "The best option is to bring your daughter in."

Via looked down. "Please, Lord Djibril. We need only look at what happened in the Indian Ocean to see why that would be a bad idea."

The angel shook his head. "I know exactly how to convince her to fly this machine, Via."

She stared at him, her violet eyes wide.

"You will need to find your daughter and help manipulate things so she will have no choice but to fly the 'For All' project. Ideally, you will be able to do it so she will pilot out of her free will, not under coercion or brainwashing. After all, you are her biological mother."

"She… she may not trust me. We know she was in the Orb Alliance, we know they were based out of L4. If… If she's found out enough..."

"I have already taken care of that. I have ordered my best people to scrub away all traces of you being at Blue Cosmos. You will have a new past, completely free of what you have done for us… until the time is right, of course."

The angel then pulled out a tranquilizer and stabbed it into Via Hibiki's shoulder, and the woman cried out in surprise and pain. "This also means suppressing your memories, of course."

"Why… why would you…" She said no more as she collapsed at his feet, a limp body.

"Forcefeed the mission objectives into her brain," The angel ordered his men as they picked up Via Hibiki's body. "Along with her new memories. She won't have any idea about Blue Cosmos, and any suspicion will vanish with her new past on the public record."

"Yes, Lord Djibril," one of the men said, before they carried Via away.

The angel smiled. Perfect. She will bring Cagalli Yamato to me, and she won't be the wiser.

He looked at the 'For All' project. It would be delayed a bit without Via's versatile expertise, but he would still have it done in time when Via was finished with her mission. Still, though, he needed a name for the GUNDAM that would put an end to the Coordinators for good.

Well, this is supposed to be more powerful than all GUNDAMs, past or present, by using pieces of every Mobile Suit that's ever existed. Like all items in a set, so…

"The Turn A Gundam," the angel said softly. "That will be the perfect name for you. The perfect war machine…"

That would be in operation soon enough.


Mayu held her brother's remaining hand as they stood in the spaceport.

Neither of them had any idea where they were going with their lives. All they knew was that they didn't want to stay in Orb. They were going to go back to where their parents had come from, and try to build new lives away from the tragedy.

"Shinn," Mayu said softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Fine as one can be for only having one arm." There was a guilty expression on his face. Mayu was stuck with all of the bags besides a backpack due to Shinn's disability and Mayu's assistance that they kept holding hands until they left the spaceport.

"I will be as strong for you as I possibly can," Mayu said. "I have two good arms. I will make them better. I will become strong enough to carry the whole world if I have to, Shinn."

She took a deep breath and exhaled. It was hard, suppressing the anger she felt over what had happened. And she could only blame herself.

It was her insistence on material possessions that had cost their parents their lives and Shinn his arm. Well, no more reliance on material possessions other than what she needed to live and be presentable. Especially not a cell phone. She had smashed it a couple of weeks ago, which was even before they decided to head to the PLANTs.

She knew the quickest and easiest path to obtaining living quarters as well. She was to volunteer for the pilot's academy, and Shinn would volunteer for officer's. There would be high demand and low submissions for both due to the viciousness of the war. The military would be desperate for anyone who at least had started puberty to join their ranks. And then they would rise and graduate together, ideally.

And maybe they would give Shinn an artificial arm so he would no longer physically bear the consequences of… of…

Her remaining hand gripped the suitcase so hard she nearly broke the handle.

I'll make them pay. Both of them, for what they did. It was my fault why they got killed, but it wouldn't have happened in the first place if they hadn't fought right in front of us!

She fought the hot tears she had cried so many times since that day. I will hunt them down and kill them both, if they're not already dead. I'll track them to the end of the universe if I have to.

No more tears. She needed to be strong. She would be strong.

What happened to them would never happen again, to them or to anyone else out there.

She turned to Shinn, and forced a warm smile to comfort him. "Shinn, let's go. I'll walk in front."

"Mayu, I'm not even sure-"

"I insist."

He gave her an embarrassed smile. "Okay."

He probably thought she was just being overprotective, and maybe she was, but until she knew they were safe, that was how things were going to be.

"I love you," she said softly, so softly it sounded more like air from her mouth than her actual voice.

"Hmm?" Shinn asked.

"Nothing. Just follow me."

Mayu led Shinn out of the spaceport then, and towards their new lives, whatever they would be.

PART 4: REALIZE FINIS


Music theme list for Part 4:

"Find The Way" is a song by Mika Nakashima, and is the final ending theme for Gundam SEED.

"Ghost Riders in the Sky" is a song written by Stan Jones, most famously performed by Johnny Cash.

"Chariots of Dawn" is the common translation for "Akatsuki no Kuruma", which is a song by FictionJunction YUUKA.

"Apologize" is a song by OneRepublic.

"Lost Friend" is a song by Dolce Triade for the anime Last Exile.

"Get Ready For It" is a song by Take That.

"Relating to a Psychopath" is a song by Macy Gray.

"What Lies Beneath" is a song by Breaking Benjamin.

"Torn" is a song by Ednaswap, but more famously performed by Natalie Imbruglia.

"Nutshell" is a song by Alice in Chains.

"Sweet Disposition" is a song by The Temper Trap.

"Plans" is an album by Death Cab For Cutie.

"The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" is a song by Brand New.

"Fade Away" is a song by Breaking Benjamin.

"Youth Authority" is an album by Good Charlotte.

"The Final Countdown" is a song by Europe (but I'm sure you all knew that).

"Give Me A Sign" is a song by Breaking Benjamin.

"The Razor's Edge" is a song and album by AC/DC.

"The Unforgiven", "The Unforgiven II", and "The Unforgiven III" are all songs by Metallica.

And "Something Different" is a song by Godsmack.