Chapter 24: Peace?

The dust after the war in the C.E universe was still settling, and many political heads rolled for both the Plants and the Earth Forces.

However, those who participated in the war weren't spared from retribution. Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak were walking free, but were waiting for their trials thanks to their apparent treasonous actions at the end of the war. Because she was a civilian, Lacus was spared any punishment. She had stayed by the still unconscious Kira's side for a week before mysteriously vanishing with the package that Duo retrieved for her.

Blue Cosmos took the fall for the Earth Forces, so Murrue and the crew of the Archangel were spared from facing trials of their own. Surprisingly, the rumours were that they were all to be commended for their part in exposing Blue Cosmos' corruption.

The crew of the Archangel vanished once they were cleared, and the crew of the Eternal vanished just as quickly when they were freed to await their trials for treason and the theft of the Eternal.

The Eternal and Archangel also mysteriously vanished and although the Earth Forces, Orb and the Plants scoured both Earth and space for them, nobody could find the warships. Despite all the turmoil, a sense of relief surrounded the Co-ordinators and the Naturals.

The brutal war was over, and it seemed that peace would be sticking around for a long time to come.

Cagalli sighed in relief as she finally got some time off from her duties. Things had been hectic in the Orb homeland as they worked on rebuilding the areas devastated by the attacks from the Earth Forces.

She walked along a forested section that had been untouched by the battle. She paused and smiled as something caught her eye. "I know you're there Athrun. Please stop hiding, I'm alone."

Athrun jumped down from a tree and frowned worriedly at her. "You shouldn't be alone."

"I'm not now, am I?" Cagalli said with a smile.

Athrun couldn't help but return her smile. "Have you heard anything on Kira?"

Cagalli shook her head. "There's been no change, even though he's been transferred to a facility here in Orb. He's almost fully healed, but he hasn't regained consciousness."

Athrun nodded sadly, wishing his friend would wake up.

"Why don't you stop hiding out here? You could stay with Reverend Malchio and the orphans; they've taken up residence here. I know you intend to face your trial, so why don't you stay in the company of friends until then?" Cagalli asked sternly.

Athrun looked away.

She smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You know what? I have a better idea…" She said before laying out a plan for him to take an alias and become her personal bodyguard, that way they could stay together without having to meet in secret.

Athrun reluctantly agreed, but decided to wait until after his trial before taking on a new persona and the duties of guarding her.

Murrue knelt between the graves that were marked 'Mwu La Flaga' and 'Natarle Badgiruel' at a military cemetery. Fresh flowers adorned the two empty graves.

Neither Natarle's or Mwu's bodies had been recovered, so the assumption was that they were destroyed in the explosions. They were given full military funerals despite that, and now Murrue had finally come to pay her respects to her former comrades.

She felt empty inside as she looked at Mwu's grave. She had loved two mobile armour pilots in her lifetime and both died in combat despite making promises to her that they would come back.

"I figured I'd find you here." Andrew's voice called out to her.

She turned as he approached, carrying something in his arm. "Andrew… it's been a while hasn't it?"

"A while? It's only been a week." He said as he stood behind her.

"I know… it just seems like so much longer considering everything that's happened…" She said quietly.

Andrew knelt in front of Mwu's grave, placing a box on it. "A friend of ours got a hold of these and asked me to bring them here." He explained as he opened the box to reveal several sets of medals. "He was honoured for his brave sacrifice in battle…" He took one of the medals out of the box and passed it to her. "I think he'd want you to have this."

Murrue remained silent, fighting back tears.

"I recently got myself a place in Orb. You're welcome to stay there as long as you like." Andrew offered as Murrue stared at the medal she was holding.

Finally unable to hold back the tears anymore, she leaned on Andrew's shoulder and cried.

Andrew held her as best he could with his only arm. "That's right, Murrue, you'll feel better if you let it out…" He said gently.

After a few moments, Murrue wiped the drying tears from her eyes. "Come on, I'll take you up on that offer…"

Andrew nodded before suddenly remembering something. "Oh yeah, here's yours. All of the members of the Archangel were given them." He said while passing her a box similar to the one he had placed on Mwu's grave as he led her away from the cemetery.

Sai, Kuzzey, and Miriallia decided to try and finish up school as best they could. Miriallia had decided to venture into photography so she could become a freelance photographer. The other two decided to lead 'less exciting' lives after what they had experienced.

They were walking towards their new school, wearing uniforms that were very different from the ones they had been wearing only a week before.

"Has there been any word on Kira?" Sai asked Miriallia, who had been keeping in touch with the Archangel crew.

She shook her head. "No… Cagalli said she'd keep me posted though."

Kuzzey sighed. "It's been such a tough year… I really hope we've seen the last of war."

"If we don't though, you can be certain I'm not going to be involved. Too many of our friends died because of it." Sai said with a shake of his head.

Miriallia nodded in agreement. "I won't be directly a part of the fighting, but I do intend to cover what happens, to make sure people have an unbiased view of what's happening." She said sternly.

Kuzzey stared at her. "You certainly are brave, Miriallia. I wouldn't even be able to do that."

Miriallia made a dismissive wave. "It's not bravery. After all that we saw, it's only logical that others should be allowed to see what the soldiers are forced to see. That way, hopefully, people will be less willing to start wars if they see what it puts people through."

Sai nodded and was about to speak before the bells of their school chimed. "Crap! We're going to be late!" Sai yelled, running towards the building with Miriallia and Kuzzey right behind him.

Dearka and Yzak stood before Nichol's grave as they paid their respects to their late comrade. A car sat waiting for them on the roadway as they stood in silence for a few moments.

Finally, Yzak broke it. "Have you heard from Athrun since we got our summons?"

Dearka shook his head. "No… it's like he vanished with the rest of them."

"Humph. He'll be there the day of his trial though." Yzak said dismissively.

Dearka chuckled. "Of course he will. He's got a pretty high sense of duty, just like the rest of us."

"Ironic considering we're all staring down death because of treason…" Yzak said cynically.

"Do you think we stand a chance against those charges?" Dearka asked grimly.

Yzak could only shrug as he straightened up some yellowing sheet music paper that had been placed there by somebody who had visited the grave earlier.

"So I've been hearing some rumours about you and that Natural girl from the Archangel." Yzak said as they began making their way back to the car.

Dearka stumbled slightly as he looked at his friend. "What kind of rumours? There's nothing going on between Miriallia and me! She tried to kill me!" He said nervously.

Yzak chuckled as he threw his friend off balance. "Never mind… what do you plan to do if you beat the charges?"

"Rejoin ZAFT, of course. I don't have anything better to do…"

Yzak nodded in agreement. "I will too, if they'll have us."

"We're the remainder of the Le Creuset team, formerly the best team of ZAFT; they'll take us back in a heartbeat because of that. Besides, everyone realizes that Patrick Zala went overboard, so they may forgive us."

Yzak sighed. "I hope you're right… for all of our sakes…" He said grimly.

Both of the former soldiers could almost feel the nooses around their necks as they climbed in the car, which drove away as soon as they climbed in.

Kira finally awoke to the strange sounds of the hospital.

After a few moments of being in a confused daze, Kira wandered out into the hallway, looking for a friendly face to catch him up on what happened after he saw Cagalli and Athrun coming to retrieve him.

Lacus appeared from a nearby elevator and saw him come out. "Kira!" She said before running over to him.

"Lacus… can you tell me what's happened?" He asked as she stopped him from getting too far from his room.

She shook her head. "I will in time, but you need your rest. You've been unconscious for a week and everyone's been worried about you."

"A week?" Kira couldn't hide the shock from his voice.

Lacus put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It is fine. Your wounds have almost completely healed. I'm sure the doctors will want to check on you now that you are awake."

Kira sighed; disappointed that he hadn't been able to see his friends one last time before the end of the war.

Lacus seemed to sense this disappointment. "I promise, I will arrange a reunion with everyone, so you can say your goodbyes to them. Everyone has gone their separate ways now that they are not bound by combat."

Kira smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Lacus."

She returned her smile before she noticed a few nurses running to get doctors. "You may wish to return to your room. I do not wish to see you get into trouble with the doctors."

Kira chuckled weakly as he noticed the nurses out of the corner of his eye. "I guess so… but before I go, could you tell me anything about that package you had Duo retrieve for you? I overheard him grumbling about being shot at while fighting Rau."

Lacus shook her head. "I am sorry Kira, but I can tell you that its part of a contingency plan I have in case this peace is disrupted. I just hope I do not need to put it into effect." She said worriedly.

It was Kira's turn to put a reassuring hand on Lacus' shoulder. "I'm sure things will be fine, but even if they aren't, we'll face them head on together."

Lacus smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you, Kira…" She noticed the doctors coming towards them. "Now please return to your room."

Kira chuckled and nodded, retreating into his room just as the doctors arrived.

Lacus giggled as the doctors began to fuss over Kira before saying a quick goodbye and leaving.

Once Kira was out of the hospital, Lacus made good on her promise and a meeting was arranged for everyone to get together one last time.

Kira and Lacus were the first to arrive at a new memorial site that was being set up on the Orb homeland. Kira sighed as he helped Lacus unfold a large blanket. "I hope the others will be able to make it."

Lacus smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure they will. You can always trust them."

Kira nodded as a car pulled up and Cagalli jumped from the car and ran down the stairs. He barely had time to brace himself as she flung her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" She said happily.

Kira returned her hug. "Same here…"

Athrun stood beside Lacus. "It's been a strange road, hasn't it?" He asked.

Lacus simply nodded as another car appeared.

Murrue and Andrew approached to cheerful hails from their younger friends.

The last of the arrivals came quickly as Dearka, Yzak, Miriallia, Sai and Kuzzey came in the same car with the suspiciously convenient explanation that they had met up at the airport.

The reunion was filled with laughter and amusement as everyone spoke of their plans for the future and what they hoped to become when they were older.

However, that amusement quickly faded as their thoughts turned to the friends that should have been there to celebrate the war's end with them.

"It's only been two weeks, but I miss them already…" Miriallia admitted.

Murrue nodded in agreement. "That war took too many friends from us…"

"We should have a few moments of silence for them…" Lacus said and nobody argued as they bowed their heads and closed their eyes to honour their lost friends.

After a few moments, they began to stand to leave, deciding it'd be too painful to continue the reunion now that the grimmer parts of the war had surfaced and ruined the mood.

"Wait! We can't really leave on such depressing terms…" Miriallia said as she nervously held a camera that she had been hiding in her bag.

"Mir's right. Despite losing some friends, we made a lot of new ones…" Kira said with a smile.

The others nodded as they looked at people they would have never met as friends if it weren't for the war's darkest turns.

"Set up the camera, Miriallia." Murrue's request almost sounded like an order, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

Miriallia laughed. "Yes ma'am!" She said as she found a rock to set her camera up on.

Everyone scrambled to get into a good position as the camera's timer was set. However, just as the picture was about to be taken, Miriallia slapped Dearka and the camera caught everyone's amused reactions instead of a perfect group photo.

Miriallia sighed as she ignored curious questions about the slap and decided that the light wouldn't be good enough for another shot as she gathered up her camera quickly and ran to the car, promising the others that she would send their copies of the photo as soon as it was developed.

Dearka ignored the questions as well as he let Sai sit between him and Miriallia in their car.

Kira chuckled as he, Lacus, Athrun and Cagalli cleaned up. "That certainly ended the reunion on an interesting note, hm?"

The others nodded in amused agreement as they walked to their cars and said goodbye, promising that they would keep in touch with each other.

Kira and Lacus stood side by side as they watched the other cars drive away. "Let's hope it stays as peaceful as this…"

Lacus nodded in agreement as he slipped an arm around her waist and led her to their car, which was waiting patiently for them.

Gundam Wing & Gundam Seed

"Winged Destiny"

The End

Part 1 of 3

Author's Note: Tadaa. It's done! Whoo! Just like I promised, here's the link to "Is There No Escape From War?"
fanfiction . net /s/6646996/1/Is_There_No_Escape_From_War (remove the spaces)

Hope you enjoy the sequel!