PHASE FIFTEEN: An Extended Coordinator

C.E 79 Location Unknown – Renegade (Present Day)

Exhaustion. That was the emotion that weighed Athrun down as he felt the momentum of the ship moving to an unknown destination. His green eyes were glazed, and he stared at the ceiling above him, releasing a small sigh. The conversation he had with Yuri Amalfi had taken a lot out of him, and his thoughts constantly went to one particular green-haired Coordinator, who had died trying to protect him during the first war. Back then, he had felt so angry about Nicol's death, enough to drive him to want to kill Kira, merely because he, Athrun Zala, had been responsible for what had happened. If Nicol hadn't run towards him, hadn't found himself taking the thrust of the Strike's swing, then he could possibly still be… alive.

He knew he had said the right thing to Yuri Amalfi. Athrun rejected the belief that Nicol would have supported RENEGADE if he was still alive, right here and right now. Nicol had been one who loved peace, just as much as Athrun did, and Athrun knew that the green-haired Coordinator would fight for the peace of the world and not just the peace for Coordinators. Just like Athrun. Like Cagalli. Like Lacus. Like Yzak and Dearka. Like Kira.

Amalfi was hurting. Athrun knew that. It doesn't take a genius or even a Coordinator to be able to see that the man had never been able to accept the death of his gentle son. As long as that hatred still exists, there would be no chance of them fighting the same battle. No… Athrun thought, shaking his head slightly, It's impossible as long as he allows the hatred to fuel him… That was the more logical explanation. As long as Amalfi allowed his grief and hatred to consume him, he would continue to fight for what he believed was 'right'. Athrun knew the feeling well. He hadn't thought twice of enlisting in ZAFT after his kind, loveable mother had died in Junius Seven. Lenore Zala had never truly believed in the difference between Naturals and Coordinators. To Lenore, Naturals and Coordinators were the same, in the sense that they both shared emotions, feelings, experiences, histories, past and future… No matter what modifications humans had done to Coordinators, they hadn't modified the emotions that could not be explained with a bunch of genes.

To Lenore, that was enough to see Naturals and Coordinators as the same being.

After Junius Seven, Athrun had forgotten that. All he felt at that young age was pure hatred towards the Naturals who had released their nuclear weapons. It only took him a week to enlist in ZAFT's Military Academy, along with Yzak Joule, graduating after seven months of training and then assigned to the Creuset Team. He hadn't thought of the weapons ZAFT had fired, the viruses they presumably had spread, the killings they had committed. In truth, he never fully understood what he had been doing until he met Kira on the battlefield five months after graduation… Meeting Kira, who had been fighting for his friends while still remaining independent from the Earth Alliance. But the hatred still burned, even then, and he pulled the trigger on his best friend.

What truly turned him around had been his meeting with Cagalli shortly after his promotion and formation of the Zala Team. Being stuck on that island, he had attacked Cagalli, mistaking her gender, only to stop short when he realised that she was a girl. Despite his training, despite knowing that he must have killed female pilots beforehand in previous battles, he had been unable to take her life away when she was so defenceless against him. So he released her, and they spent the night together, but he had underestimated her. She wasn't with the Earth Alliance, but she still cared for those on Earth. Despite being such a helpless girl, a powerless Natural, she still took his gun and cried when she tried to justify her actions.

Athrun had no doubt that if she had released the trigger on him, he still might not have been able to kill her with his blade. For the simple reason that she had been crying. He had seen it, so clearly in the depths of her eyes, how much she refused to kill him, but she needed to due to what he was: a ZAFT pilot who had killed too many people. It had shocked him even then, how he had been able to see Kira in her when she cried. Kira's pain, his refusal to fight and become his enemy, had been so glaringly obvious as it had been with Cagalli that night in the cave. After they discovered that Kira and Cagalli were twins, Athrun had thought things over and realised that he wasn't actually surprised with the discovery. But he had still been angry. Angry for his mother, angry for Junius Seven, angry for the war that made him an enemy to Kira and Cagalli. The anger disappeared as soon as he destroyed the Strike, and was made even worse when, for the second time, he had made Cagalli cry. He had made a person who never wanted to be his enemy cry because he had killed someone dear to her. She had had the chance to kill him, but she didn't. Twice. He had had the chance of not killing Kira, but at the time, he didn't take it.

Lacus's betrayal was the final straw. She was his fiancée, a person he truly did love and care for, even now, though back then, he had only began to realise that his affections had changed when he met Cagalli again. He had realised his mistake then, how he had been fuelling the war and was not even a step closer to ending it. He joined Kira, and he felt at peace for what he had fought for.

In his opinion, he probably wouldn't have joined the second war if the Junius Seven incident had never happened. Trapped on the Minerva, Athrun had been determined never again to pilot a mobile suit, but when Junius Seven changed its course to head to Earth, he couldn't stand and do nothing. But he had been truly shocked when he realised that those responsible for the attack were true followers of his late father, Chairman Zala. The reality of what he was doing (or rather, what he hadn't been doing), was almost unbearable at that time. He was Athrun Zala, son of Patrick Zala. After the second war, he had gone into hiding, had been unable to wear his own name in public and was known as Alex Dino. He had constantly been weighed down by what his father did. Yzak and Dearka both returned to ZAFT to make a difference and fight for peace, but what did he do? Nothing. He should have returned to PLANTs. As the son of Patrick Zala, he should have restored peace and do what his father never attempted to do: find a way for Coordinators to throw away their hatred towards the Naturals. But he didn't. And when he discovered that the fighters in Junius Seven were still doing so in honour of his father, he felt the burden of the responsibility he never wanted to take, but should have.

He had fought, under Gilbert Durandal, once again believing that he was doing what was right. He had reprimanded soldiers who fought fuelled with hatred, like Shinn had been back then, but he was only staining his hands once again. But at that time, Athrun, without his knowledge, had been used. He had fought believing that it was the right path to achieve peace, to take the responsibility and burden of being Patrick Zala's son, but he had been wrong. He was used, and he turned back to Kira after the discovery. He realised at that time that he could no longer afford to stay invisible, not if he wanted change. He fought until the end of the second war, and much to the surprise of the ZAFT soldiers, had joined Orb's military to truly show his stand – that Athrun Zala, son of Patrick Zala, fought for neutrality and peace between Naturals and Coordinators and nothing else.

Now, he was fighting again. In the memory of his mother, with the strength and determination of his father, he was fighting for the true path for the safety and peace of Coordinators.

Athrun had been through too much to know that Amalfi's plan would never work. Hatred would never give way to peace.

He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. His wrists were sore, as was his whole body, after struggling against the straps for so long. He wouldn't allow himself to be defeated like this. Never. Not when he finally knew how to fight for what he wanted. He would have his chance to escape, and he would take it.

He opened his eyes, his gaze immediately on the door of the Renegade's sickbay as it slid open. A young woman stepped inside and looked around, her eyes meeting his. A small intake of breath escaped Athrun's lips as his eyes met the pink-ish violet ones of the newcomer. This girl..! Athrun thought, his eyes wide. She had been on the Minerva during the previous war. An Earth Alliance Extended… He remembered now. Shinn had rescued her, and from a strange twist of fate, had discovered that she was the pilot of the Gaia Gundam, later the pilot of the Destroy. What was her name..? "Stellar," Athrun said quietly, remembering now.

Unsurprisingly, she had matured a lot since the last war. She was prettier, her face more angular than round, and her light blonde hair was longer, a little past her shoulders. She stopped in her tracks, an eyebrow arched curiously. Understanding came into her eyes and she relaxed. "You're Athrun Zala," she said easily. "You were aboard the Minerva. I'm not Stellar. My name is Liesel," she said, her voice cool but not angered. "Where's Sensei?"

Athrun shook his head, a sign that he had no idea. He stared at the girl, his eyes searching her curiously. No matter how he looked at her, she was the same pilot, even if she did have a different name. But Stellar had died… And Shinn, Athrun knew, had grieved terribly over her death. I see... So that was what had happened...

"You're an Extended," the conclusion came to him instantly, and he clenched his teeth with anger upon the realisation. "So the Earth Alliance are still developing those," Athrun said, disgusted with himself at how he seemed to be portraying her as something other than human.

Liesel shrugged and walked over to the other side of the sickbay, sitting down near the Sensei's chair. "I'm a third-stage Extended. Stellar was second-stage. I was developed from her," she informed.

"Then why are you with RENEGADE?" Athrun asked curiously. "What do you gain from all this fighting?"

"I gain nothing. I'm a weapon designed to kill, it's as simple as that."

"You have the right to choose," Athrun amended quietly.

Liesel stared at him. "I think you still don't get it. I'm a weapon. I'm not human. I was assigned to the RENEGADE, and so, here I am. I am no different to that Gundam you pilot."

The blue-haired Coordinator shook his head. "A Gundam is useless when it's not powered. Are you saying that you are too, should this war end?"

"Yes." He shook his head, incredulous. Liesel huffed angrily. "I have a conscience. I follow orders. We were ordered not to attack you, and we obey. It's like you putting commands to your Gundam to kill. I don't feel, neither do I care," she hissed. Liesel wasn't happy. She had come to the sickbay to have a check on her wounds as well as to restore her back to full fighting potential, but she was faced with this silly Coordinator instead.

His next and final words before turning away and closing his eyes surprised her: "I guess you're not Stellar after all."

C.E 79 Heliopolis – Aurora (Present Day)

"Really! It's so tiring!" A female voice sighed loudly in the Aurora's cafeteria, her body slumping forward to rest against the table, now cleared after they had finished eating. Yolan Kent and Vino Dupre, both technicians under the Yamato squadron, exchanged glances with each other before turning their eyes on the pale-haired greencoat in front of them. "It's a good thing I can run away and eat for a while. The General asks me to know everything! Even Commander Yamato gives orders from Earth!" Meyrin complained, burying her face into the surface of the table.

Vino laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Cheer up, Meyrin. Pretty soon, he's bound to give you a new uniform for all this hard work!" he said enthusiastically.

Meyrin raised her head, her eyes glaring daggers at the other Coordinator. "We're not even a part of ZAFT!" she pointed out, pouting. "Maybe we'll never be ZAFT soldiers again. I'll never catch up to Sis at this rate," she moaned.

"Well, technically, that also means you don't need to take orders from General Joule and Commander Yamato," Yolan said pointedly.

Meyrin considered that, realised it was useless, and dropped her head to the table again, sighing loudly. "I wish Sis is here," she said, missing Lunamaria dearly.

"You have us!" Vino interjected.

"But you can't come to the Bridge, and I'm always alone doing work. It's no fun," Meyrin grumbled.

Vino couldn't help but laugh. Meyrin, when in a bad mood, seemed as if nothing at all was possible to lighten her spirits. But the young technician wasn't worried. He was particularly close to Meyrin and knew that the pale-haired Coordinator wouldn't be depressed for long. It was no secret that Meyrin loved computers, and Vino was sure that somewhere, deep in the depths of her heart beyond all the complaints, Meyrin was actually enjoying hacking into the world's secrets. Just to humour her, Vino patted her on the head sympathetically and a small chuckle joined them, surprising all three in the cafeteria.

Standing by the door of the cafeteria was the Aurora's Captain, Laniel Ghens, dressed in the formal black ZAFT uniform. His eyes were twinkling, always so light-hearted, and he raised an eyebrow as his three subordinates stood and saluted him in respect. He saluted and waved them off before moving to join them at the table. As the commanding officers of the Aurora, neither Laniel nor Kira had ever regarded or treated themselves as the Commander and Captain of the Aurora crew. If anything, they regarded their subordinates as comrades of the same position, though at times of need, they would lead them to the right path as those in charge of the ship.

Laniel placed a small hand on Meyrin's shoulder, smiling pleasantly at her. "I'm sorry you needed to work so hard, Meyrin. Even I can't ask General Joule to give you a break. Unfortunately, I need to follow his orders," he said lightly, though there was the obvious sympathy in his eyes.

Meyrin blushed furiously. "N-Not at all, Captain! But… Why is General Joule so worried about everything?"

The Captain shook his head. "He's been in more battles than us, so I presume he has his suspicions on what might happen next. It's actually a rather good thing that he seems to be so cautious about everything. I think his visit to PLANTs had revealed something to him… though what that thing is, I cannot say for sure. In any case, I am sorry that you're being pushed to do so much work. You'll definitely be rewarded if we get the chance to join ZAFT again," he promised.

The red-haired Coordinator pursed her lips slightly. "Actually, I don't think I want to join ZAFT again after this war," she said quietly. She'd forever be a greencoat, what was the point?

Laniel raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure? Why not?"

"I don't know," Meyrin shrugged. "I don't like battles, and I don't like war. I love the Aurora… I'm glad you and Commander Yamato are our commanding officers," Meyrin said truthfully, the colour of her cheeks almost the same as her hair by now. "But I think I want to do something else after this, apart from being a soldier. I want to do something with computers."

The corners of Laniel's mouth twitched and he shook his head, managing a small smile. "I guess it can't be helped, but it would be a real loss to ZAFT if they lose you, Meyrin. And to both of you as well," he said, nodding to Vino and Yolan. "But even so, it's not as if we're real die-hard ZAFT soldiers as it is," he pointed out. "I serve those who can attain peace, and it just so happens that right now, Lacus-sama is that person. I still have faith in her and I'll keep on fighting under her, as a member of the Clyne Faction. All of you are welcome to join us after this war should you want to serve if this happens again," he said sincerely.

"I'd join," Vino said immediately. Meyrin arched an eyebrow and his cheeks turned red. "N-n-not because it's Lacus-sama, of course," he pressed, though it was obvious that his words did not match his intentions. Meyrin rolled her eyes with a small sigh. Even now, Lacus still has many fans and loyal followers. Meyrin herself had become rather close friends with Lacus since the previous war and had always enjoyed the company of the soft-spoken Coordinator. But what she had to admit was that she missed her singing. Since the end of the first war, since the death of Siegel Clyne and being labelled as a traitor to ZAFT and PLANTs, Lacus had stopped singing in public. Meyrin truly missed hearing her voice on the radio, to watch her singing on television and to see her posters around PLANTs. She wondered if Lacus would sing again one day.

Commander Yamato did contact me a few days ago with a request… I wonder what it was for, Meyrin thought, shaking her head. "I'll definitely join the Clyne Faction," she said determinedly. "Even if it means fighting again, I'll do it for peace."

"Then I'm truly proud to have all of you as my subordinates," Laniel answered, standing up. "Come on, Meyrin. As much as I wish for you to have a longer break, we don't really want the General's temper to snap, do we?" he asked humorously, his lips twitching as he stopped himself from chuckling.

Meyrin unwillingly rose to her feet, along with Vino and Yolan who saluted Laniel. "I guess you're right," she sighed, trying to hide her disappointment. She did not mind the work itself – she just felt very lonely on the Aurora's bridge. She missed her sister, she missed Shinn. She missed Kira.

Reservedly, Meyrin followed Laniel back to the Aurora's bridge. It was empty, save for the enemy search and detection station and the communications operator. The greencoats stood and saluted the Captain before returning to their stations. Laniel took his seat on the Aurora and Meyrin sat down on her seat, manning the communications controller station. She put on her headpiece and began to type, reading over the reports and data that told her that once again, she had failed in hacking into ZAFT's GENESIS ZERO database. Meyrin pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing and she flexed her fingers, a new sort of determination coming to her. Just wait, they wouldn't be able to hold her off for much longer! She'd show ZAFT what she was capable of, and they'd probably regret that they never made her a redcoat like Lunamaria and Shinn.

Meyrin had joined ZAFT at the same time as her sister, though she had never wanted to become a pilot. Her passion had always been with computers, and thus had entered a different sort of training to what her sister had. Instead of having the ability to pilot a mobile suit, Meyrin was capable of handling numerous stations on ZAFT battleships, bases and military stations. Her talents shone where she could handle different types of stations, but it was nowhere as impressive as being able to pilot a mobile suit. Lunamaria had always loved MS technology and was always curious in learning about the new weapons and technology installed on new mobile suits. Her curiosity and her eagerness to learn, as well as her talent and abilities, was what gave her ZAFT's red uniform.

Since she had joined the Aurora, Meyrin had begun to love her job, especially when Kira discovered her talent in computers and programming. Together, they had worked together in numerous assignments, and she had learned a lot from the kind Coordinator. Quite a lot of the Aurora's developments, among them improving the speed to match the Eternal, had been conducted by Meyrin and Kira, and Meyrin knew that ZAFT's Enigma units had been designed by Kira as well. She had worked in terminating any remaining evidence of Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan as well as to tighten the security in ZAFT's systems, and was sure that she had contributed a lot to both Kira and Lacus. She had refused Kira's offer in transferring to development and programming work on a permanent basis. Putting her love for computers aside, Meyrin loved the Aurora, and she wished to stay, especially under Kira as her Commander. She was glad she did – she was glad she had remained, and had therefore been able to fight alongside Lacus once again. But she had made her decision – after this war, she would leave ZAFT and put her loyalties to Lacus totally, trusting their decisions to fight.

A small flicker on the bottom right of her third computer caught her eye and her brows pulled together as she read over the information, her right hand pressed against her headpiece. A small gasp escaped her lips and she stood, her eyes on Laniel. "ZAFT is launching an attack the Lunar Base!" Meyrin cried out. Laniel's head snapped up, his eyes on her. "The ships will be deployed in seventy-two hours!"

"Any sign of activity from the Earth Alliance?"

"None."

Laniel sprang up, his hands immediately on the receiver of the Aurora. "So they're resuming the fight again now. We are very far from the Moon… but I'm sure the General wouldn't want to stay here and do nothing, especially not when we have the time to interfere," he said gravely, placing the receiver to his ear. "This is Captain Laniel Ghens of the Aurora. Eternal, do you copy? We need General Joule and Captain Elsman here immediately."

C.E 79 Location Unknown - Renegade (Present Day)

The sound of a gun firing, followed by mechanical beeps signalling a direct hit-on-target echoed around the Minerva-class ship's training facilities as Genei reloaded his gun and fired the rounds again, taking no more than a few seconds to finish his ammunition. He was angry, throwing the empty clips away before reloading his gun with new ones. He turned to the screen beside him, increasing the speed of the moving targets and the loud bangs echoed around him once again, followed by another, and then another. He wanted to fight. He was pissed with the Freedom, whom he knew was not even trying to fight to its fullest potential by refusing to kill. What sort of soldier was that? Never aiming for the cockpits, merely disabling and fighting again when reinforcements came... What the hell was all that about?

BANG BANG BANG

He wanted the Freedom to fight a fair battle with him, not to toy around like some sort of saint he believed he was. He wanted that pilot to be angry, angrier than he had ever been before this, and he wanted a fight to the death. Taking the Advocate down without taking his life would be an insult to Genei. He preferred to go down with the Advocate in a battle where he knew the pilot had been truly fighting to kill. But how could he do it?

BANG BANG BANG

How many times had his Advocate been forced to return to the Renegade, able to move, but unable to fight? How many more times would that damn pilot play around with him? That pilot wasn't the only one. The Justice's pilot, that Athrun Zala, had also fought in the same manner. No, cross that. The whole Archangel had been fighting like that. Just what the hell was that all about? Did they want to fight, or didn't they? Weilding a weapon that was used to kill, how could they be so naive to believe that there was a weapon that could protect? Genei increased the speed further, his eyes fiery as he continued to fire his rounds.

BANG BANG BANG

Genei was an Extended. Not just an Extended, but a third-stage Extended. He was a conscious human weapon. He fought knowing that he had been designed and created to do so. Fighting for the sake of fighting sent thrills into his bloodstream, the sight of blood was delicious, the screams and cries of dying pilots were music. He killed knowing that he needed to kill. He killed because he wanted to kill. He killed because he was made to kill. But there was this one fighter who was trying to show the world that fighting does not amount to killing, and Genei despised that pilot.

The Freedom. The Ultimate Freedom.

Toying around with him, that Freedom pilot made his existence seem unnecessary. Genei couldn't allow that to happen. He had more strength than the fiercest Extendeds created before, the first-stage Extendeds. He had more willpower and understanding of what he was compared to the second-stage Extendeds. He had undergone rough training, killed those who had grown with him with his weapons and fists, and he had been developed and enhanced further to pure perfection. A fully functioning human weapon. He would not allow himself to be degraded like this.

The sound of sirens wailing and red lights flashing snapped him from his thoughts and he looked up, surprised. The firing chamber was performing an emergency shut-down and when Genei looked at the screen beside him, he realised that he had increased the speed far too much, causing the system to overload, though his shots had hit the targets perfectly. A low growl escaped his throat and he screamed angrily, throwing the empty gun at the screen, shattering it.

"Dissatisfied?" A voice asked and Genei turned, glaring at the masked Commander who was watching him with his head tilted slightly. "You know, doing that would probably only mean a longer wait before you can fire again," he said coolly. The angry pilot remained silent. Daisuke sighed. "I know you're angry. While our special guest is still planning out his next actions, there is nothing we can do."

"The Freedom is still alive," Genei spat.

"I know."

"Then let me defeat it."

"Unlikely," Daisuke answered, crossing his arms. "For starters, Liesel needs to be looked over further. Ryuu Apene has called for the three of you to be treated. Maybe enhanced further. We'll rendezvous with the fleet soon enough, so I suggest you to prepare yourself," he said, turning and walking away.

Genei stared at the retreating figure. Orders were orders, and he knew Liesel definitely needed to be restored to full fighting potential again. The battle with the Freedom would have to wait. Besides, Genei thought, a smile forming on his lips, he had a good enough way to spark the pilot's anger. All he needed was to mention that Zala's name.

C.E 79 Earth Alliance JOSH-A base, Washington (Battle of the Lunar Base)

There was a loud bang in the room as someone slammed their fist against the table, eyes burning with pure anger. Ryuu was not a happy man. The resistance groups on the Moon were tough for him to deal with, but he had no intention whatsoever of actually attacking those groups and taking the base down – not on the Moon, not when the Moon clearly and rightfully belonged to Earth. Damn it, if the Coordinators wanted separation, the Moon would never be theirs! He wouldn't allow it! Yet, there was ZAFT, launching an attack on the lunar base of Ptolemaius, and he couldn't even contact the Renegade to demand an explanation.

So… is this what that Yuri Amalfi was planning for? Deliberately refusing to help with the attack on the Mahamul base so the attack on the Moon seemed justified?

"He's smarter than I thought," Ryuu said aloud to himself, his eyes gleaming with hatred as he watched the snatches of battles currently taking place outside their atmosphere. He couldn't even send back-up forces to the Moon, not if he wishes to make an enemy out of PLANTs.

With the silly Eurasian Federation still open for attack, it was impossible for him to do more than just sit still and watch the battle commence.

He would play along, for now. He was determined to win this war, to continue Muruta Azrael's legacy and find peace for the Naturals of this world. Aoki seijou naru sekai no tame ni! For the preservation of a blue and pure world! He would not allow his emotions to consume him and allow himself to be manipulated as Djibril had been during the last war. No, he would be the smartest Blue Cosmos leader that would end this war, once and for all. He just needed to be patient.

He would wait. The resistance groups were annoying anyway, and ZAFT would be doing him a favour by wiping them out. Then, they would move to battling those in the Eurasian Federation. Whether the Coordinators would leave them alone after that or not, Ryuu couldn't really care less. Once the Eurasian Federation falls, the Atlantic Federation would hold the highest power over the Naturals, and he would be the most powerful person in the world. The thought made him feel giddy. A small sacrifice for what would be final triumph for the Naturals. Naturals had once lived without the talent of Coordinators, and they would be able to do so once again.

There was only one thing that bothered Ryuu, and that was the Archangel. Even now, they have yet to bring that ship down, but he was sure that PLANTs would want that ship taken down as well. A group of rogues would just be a hassle to keep – better to wipe them out completely and take out anyone else who might dare challenge his position. He had a way of taking out the Archangel, of course, if they still couldn't bring the ship down by the time they the attacks on the Eurasian Federation were over. Ryuu had left Heliopolis alone for a reason. It was the only neutral colony left, and he had no doubt whatsoever that the Archangel would return there eventually. And once they did, he had the perfect weapon to kill both birds with one single, powerful, deadly stone.

A small smile formed at his lips and he leaned back, his eyes on the screen of his computer. The Earth Alliance had a very deadly weapon indeed. If they were talented enough to create Coordinators, why couldn't they be talented and capable in other things as well? The time would come for them to show the Coordinators that they, too, were superior and always have been.

C.E 79 Ptolemaius, Moon – Aurora (Present Day)

The battle had already begun by the time the Aurora approached the Ptolemaius base on the Moon. Yzak Joule, clad in his purple ZAFT uniform, clenched his teeth together as they approached the battle that took place on the surface of the moon. A total of seven Nazca-class battleships surrounded the base, deploying forces consisting of GOUFs and Enigmas as well as a large number of ZAKUs that battled against the Daggers and Windams from the Earth Alliance resistance groups - with more back-up forces to come, according to Meyrin. The Aurora, being the fastest ship among those in Heliopolis, had arrived well before the rest. They would engage in battle first while waiting for the Heliopolia back-up forces to arrive.

As soon as they came within communication range, Yzak picked up the receiver of the Aurora, his icy-blue eyes on the ZAFT battleships that continued to deploy their missiles. "ZAFT forces, this is General Yzak Joule speaking from the Aurora. I command that you step down from this fight and retreat. This is also the will of Chairwoman Clyne. I repeat – stand down," he said, his voice hard.

"Aurora?" one of the battleships, most likely the commanding ship, answered in surprise. "The Aurora is no longer part of ZAFT, and we do not take orders from Lacus Clyne. Our new Chairman is Yuri Amalfi. Should the Aurora decide to interfere, we will take you down!"

"Damn, knew it wouldn't work," Dearka's voice reached Yzak as he spoke from his Enigma Buster. Yzak tsch-ed, his icy eyes glaring at the carefree Coordinator displayed on the Meyrin's screen.

"Shut up," he hissed, clenching his fists. "The Aurora will engage. Have Dearka, Hahnenfuss and Sierra launch. I'm going as well," he said, turning to Laniel. "Our main enemy is ZAFT, do you understand?" he asked.

Laniel gave his thumb's up from his chair. "No problem," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "It's about time we do a little bit of fighting. Don't worry, the Aurora is in good hands," he said.

"Then I'll leave it to you," Yzak answered, turning to exit the bridge. "You better not die!" he called over his shoulder, quickly making his way to the hangar of the Nazca-class ship. Quickly dressing himself in his white pilot suit, Yzak exited the changing room just in time to see Dearka's unit move towards the catapult system of the ship – the last unit to do so, excluding Yzak.

"Your mobile suit is ready, General!" Vino called as soon as Yzak approached.

Yzak nodded once and ran towards his Hyper Duel, climbing into the cockpit and immediately strapping himself in, activating the system as he did so.

GENERATION UNRESTRICTED NETWORK DRIVE ASSAULT MODULE

G.U.N.D.A.M ZAFT

As the Duel began its move towards the catapult, Yzak brought up the bridge and came face-to-face with Meyrin. "Aurora, don't get too close to the battlefield. It'll probably be two hours before the Heliopolis forces join us," he commanded.

"Understood," Meyrin responded instantly. She hesitated. "Captain Ghens asked you to take care," she said.

Kisama. How dare that newbie Captain talk down on him like that! "Duel, please launch!"

"Yzak Joule. Duel. Launching!"

Yzak felt the usual powerful momentum of the thrust as he was catapulted out of the battleship and he tightened his grip on the controls, increasing the thrust of his mobile suit as he caught up to Dearka, Shiho and Sierra. They had already been informed of what to do in the battle, and who their enemies were.

Taking out both his beam rifles, Yzak clenched his teeth as he aimed them at a GOUF that was quickly approaching the base. That's a Coordinator piloting that GOUF, Yzak thought, his icy blue eyes hard as he glared at the battle in front of him.

What had happened? Since when had he learned to point his weapon at fellow Coordinators to protect Naturals? He had enlisted in ZAFT to protect Coordinators. He had become a soldier because he hated Naturals. Why was he fighting against them now? Those pilots… They could possibly be his juniors. Maybe comrades from the Academy. They could be his friends, or Rusty's friends, or Miguel's friends, or Nicol's friends, or Athrun's friends… And he was pointing his rifle at them? But what other choice did he have? Turn against the Aurora and fight to protect the Coordinators? Once upon a time, Yzak would have done that without a second thought. He wouldn't have hesitated at all. What had changed? When did it change? How did it change?

Perhaps it was the number of lives lost. Perhaps it was the suffering he had seen and realised he had caused. Perhaps it was that escape shuttle full of Natural civilians that he had shot down, believing that they were cowardly soldiers.

But these soldiers that he was trying to protect, these Earth Alliance fighters… Most likely, they, or at least a part of them, were the ones responsible for the death of his squadron. The soldiers that he was pointing his rifle to, the ZAFT soldiers, were loyal soldiers who were fighting with his mother, with Nicol's father… What was he doing?

A low growl escaped Yzak's lips as he gripped his controls tighter, furious now. He had turned his hatred into strength too many times in the past. He had fought, believing that his fists held all the power in the world when the problems could have been resolved through spoken words that were never understood by both sides. He would shoot, yes, but not for what had been lost in the past. He would shoot for the future.

"Commander?" Shiho's voice reached his ears and a small, angry smile appeared on his lips.

"Let's go! Make sure you don't aim at their cockpits!" Yzak commanded, his finger immediately releasing the trigger, successfully dismembering the head of the GOUF he had been aiming at. Pushing his speed to the maximum, shooting and disabling as he did so, he immediately switched to his Edin double-beam saber, clashing instantly against a white Enigma that intercepted him with his Gigas beam sword.

"Traitor! You're a traitor to ZAFT! To Coordinators!" the pilot shouted, his voice amazingly familiar… but then again, Yzak knew most Commanders, and it would not surprise him if he personally knew the pilot to this unit.

Yzak snickered darkly. Once upon a time, he had said the exact same words. "Kisama! You're the one betraying the Coordinators right now!" he shouted, bringing down his beam saber at full thrust. The Enigma swerved, his right hand catching the impact and exploding. Yzak slammed his foot against the mobile suit's back, taking out one of its thrusters. The pilot cried out in surprise, then screamed angrily, its cannons locking onto the Duel.

"What are you talking about? Those good-for-nothing Naturals have always killed our kind!"

"Do you truly believe that the Coordinators can continue to survive without the resources on Earth? Without the Naturals?" Yzak shot back, the Duel flipping backwards as it avoided the cannons, simultaneously switching the beam saber for its beam boomerangs. The boomerangs were released, lodging spinning fiercely as they cut through the cannons, causing a huge explosion. With one swift move, both legs were cut off and Yzak stored the beam sabers, retrieving his boomerangs. "The day you believe that fighting and killing could not be helped is the day hope is lost forever for Coordinators," Yzak hissed angrily. He took out his beam rifle, and shot the headpiece off. The external cameras went out, the communications jammed, and the pilot inside could only breathe deeply, shocked and surprised with what had just happened.

C.E 79 Location Unknown – Renegade (Present Day)

Failures. How could a failure be alive?

Captain Sethe Tienn, a man with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, leaned back against his seat in the Renegade's bridge, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as the ship sailed across the surface of the water, heading… who knows where. The Commander had been busy ever since that Yuri Amalfi came aboard, which did not trouble Sethe the slightest. He had received orders just moments beforehand from the silver-haired Coordinator, telling him to rendezvous with an Earth Alliance fleet that would take the three Extendeds to their base for a performance enhancement test, as well as to check Liesel for her damages. He had been asked whether he would join them or not, but once Sethe discovered that Ryuu would be with the Extendeds, he declined. He was much more curious about where this ship was really going to head to.

As a… 'being'… Sethe had many thoughts on the world in general. He did not have a sense of belonging, but it wasn't as if he had wanted to belong in the first place. He was a failure who would perish very soon, just as how all humans would live and die, and to him, that was the ending point.

Unconsciously, Sethe reached into the pocket of his coat, fingering the transparent plastic container where, inside, he knew he would find blue pills mocking him.

Created in Cosmic Era 55, Sethe was younger than Rau Le Creuset who was created in Cosmic Era 46, but older than Rey Za Burrel. He never cared to use the name given to him, Ren, for he knew that he, like Rey, like Rau, were all the same: a clone of Al Da Flaga. Ren Da Flaga. According to Rau, the Mendel Colony had been attacked the year he was created, rumoured to be the work of Blue Cosmos. Rau was ten, though he looked and acted much older than his age and Sethe wondered if Rau was actually involved in the attack in Mendel. Thirteen years later, Rau joined ZAFT, despite being a Natural clone, and he took Rey in with him but had commanded Sethe to join the Earth Alliance. Sethe disagreed even though he could quite easily pass the exams in making him an Earth Alliance soldier. Instead, he signed up to join Blue Cosmos, where he later got involved in the biohazard outbreak in Mendel in C.E 68. Two clones working on both sides of the battlefield.

He knew what had happened in the Neo-GENESIS in the Battle of Messiah five years ago. He knew what Rey had done – he knew that Rey had saved Kira Yamato. The thought disgusted him, but Sethe was also grateful, in a way, for it meant the end of Durandal's Destiny Plan. What he didn't know at the time was the true identity of Neo Roanoke, whom he had never crossed paths with during the second war, but whom he had, in a way, been working closely with. Sethe had been deeply involved in the development of the Extendeds, and learning the truth about Mu La Flaga later truly surprised him.

He did not bear the hatred Rau had towards humanity. If there was anyone whom Sethe truly hated, it was the scientists that had created him and the other clones of Al Da Flaga, just so they could obtain the funds necessary to create Kira Yamato. The Ultimate Coordinator. It was sickening that Kira Yamato, in a way, needed to thank him for his existence.

Sethe had purposefully joined the RENEGADE. After Blue Cosmos had failed twice in eliminating humankind, he decided that he would step up in his role instead of merely playing in the shadows. He bore no feelings of loyalty to either the Naturals or the Coordinators. The way the Earth Alliance kept on demanding new upgrades of Extendeds, leading to the creation of Genei, Tierra and Liesel, sickened him. Even now, they were battling outside the atmosphere, at Ptolemaius. If anything, it just made him more certain that humankind was determined to destroy itself, and he would allow them to do so. He just wanted to stay for the ride. Most importantly, he wanted to meet this Kira Yamato who had taken Rau Le Creuset's life, who Rey Za Burrel had saved.

"Captain, there are Des-Moines battleships up ahead," Carnell reported, a close-up visual coming up on the screen.

"It's them," Sethe confirmed as he glanced over the coordinates, reaching for the receiver of the ship. "The Renegade will rendezvous with the Earth Alliance fleet shortly – pilots Genei Alens, Tierra Hito and Liesel Asien, please make your way to the pilot briefing room," he announced, coming to his feet. "Schellen, find a channel so we can connect to them," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the CIC responded.

The door to the bridge slid open and Amalfi stepped in, his hands clenched tight. "What is an Earth Alliance fleet doing here?" he demanded angrily. The half-masked Commander stepped after him, calm and emotionless as ever.

"Some pilots from the Earth Alliance are called to report to the base on the Archangel's battle status, as well as the Freedom," the lie came smoothly.

"They will not engage us in battle," the silver-haired Commander added. "Captain, please ensure that our pilots are taken safely," he said, turning his covered eyes onto Sethe.

Sethe saluted. "As you wish," he said, glad as ever to leave the two Coordinators behind.

C.E 79 ZAFT Mahamul Base – Archangel (Present Day)

"Murrue-san!" Kira's voice made everyone turn as the door slid open, revealing the brown-haired Coordinator and an older man dressed in Orb's military uniform. They stepped into the Archangel Bridge, Kira's eyes darting onto the large screen of the Bridge where the battle on the lunar base was already being shown. Mu, Murrue and Waltfeld gave small nods of greeting while Lacus moved to Kira's side instantly, like a magnet.

Cagalli raised her eyebrows at the newcomer. "Kisaka-san… Is everything alright?" she asked.

The Orb Admiral nodded once, "The Harutsuki is fine. But the Orb forces wishes to head to Heliopolis," he informed, surprising those in the bridge.

"Heliopolis?" Murrue echoed.

"There's nothing more that the Harutsuki can do here. Those onboard wishes to head to Heliopolis. I will go as well."

Cagalli clenched her fists, her eyes hard. It was something that she had considered, of course. Ever since the attacks had began to spread in Eurasia, the Harutsuki and the two ZAFT submarines had been waiting by the sidelines idly, unable to join the mobile suit forces in battle. Even Cagalli now found herself rather useless, no longer giving orders from the ship. She wanted to fight – she needed to guide Orb's men, especially now with Athrun missing.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up as Mu smiled knowingly at her. "It's high time I return the Akatsuki back to you," he said lightly.

"W-What? But the Akatsuki -"

"It's finally time, eh?" Waltfeld sighed , moving to the group. "The Eternal has waited long enough up there. I would like to see that Gaia back in one piece," he said, clapping a hand on Mu's shoulder.

"No problem with that!"

"We're still developing a mobile armour for you," Kisaka said, addressing Mu. "The records of your battle status on the Akatsuki are consistently transmitted to Morganroete, and Erica promised that it's suitably designed," he said. Mu let out a low whistle.

"HEY!" Cagalli interjected hotly.

"Then, I guess that's settled," Waltfeld agreed. "Maybe we should hijack a shuttle," he said, eyeing Lacus who merely smiled at the memory. "The real battle will blow out soon. I don't think Blue Cosmos would be amused when they realised they've been used by ZAFT like this."

"We're probably be walking right into their plans if we return to Heliopolis," Kisaka warned.

Waltfeld shrugged. "We've walked into their traps often enough," he dismissed.

"Please don't worry, Cagalli," Kisaka said, turning to the frustrated golden-haired girl. "You still need to stay here and fight," he said pointedly.

"I know!" Cagalli snapped, huffing slightly. Her eyes were fiery, though she could see that there were no words that she could say. Her shoulders relaxed and she sighed. "I'll come with you to the Harutsuki," she said, her voice quieter now. She wanted to meet her soldiers before they depart.

C.E 79 Location Unknown – ZAFT Secret Phaedra's Base (Present Day)

Genetically modified humans were known as Coordinators. Chemically modified humans were known as Extendeds. Amalfi wondered what chemically modified Coordinators would amount to.

The project of designing what Amalfi now call as FIGHTERs had begun soon after the end of the first war, though at the time, he had been working more or less alone. Commander Aiten, of course, had been of great help, but they had started small in an abandoned laboratory at the base of the ocean, presumably left decades ago and Amalfi suspected he knew why. Back then, mobility was extremely difficult with the design of the extremely large and bulky atmospheric suits and research on the Earth's tectonic plates had not been conducted fully in order to understand the conditions of the ocean. Even the sheer amount of pressure at the base of the ocean was terrifying – without the right suit and reinforcements, the gases in the human body would well implode with such high pressure. But it was these harsh conditions that made Amalfi certain that this was the best location for the creation and development of FIGHTERs. Earth, after all, was made up of seventy-percent water. The 'land' that they could use in the ocean was undeniably larger than they could on actual land.

The Renegade docked at the base and Amalfi inhaled slowly. He could just feel the heavy tonnes of pressure above them – it unnerved him to be at the bottom of the ocean, truthfully, especially when he had been so accustomed to light pressure in the conditions of space. He turned, nodding once to the silver-haired Commander, signalling for him to follow – they would exit the ship first.

Amalfi moved easily through the corridors, knowing the place well enough by now. Exiting the ship, they were greeted by the head of the facility, Rita Ash. She was a first-generation Coordinator, with deep blue eyes and her hair a paler shade of blue. She was holding a clipboard – Amalfi couldn't recall if he had ever seen her without one. "Hello," she said, never one for formalities. "This is a rather surprising visit. Are you going to tell me that you want them out?"

The other Coordinator shook his head. "You know as well as I do that it's impossible, even if the mobile suits have already been designed. Any luck with the new specimens?"

Rita sighed. "Most cannot withstand the pain. Some who do cannot withstand the mental effects. Unfortunately, the Naturals are much more advanced in this field than we are. The survival rate increased when we weakened the effects slightly, but there is still no real guarantee that the specimen could bring the Freedom down," she said, hesitating slightly. "They're very... unpredictable."

"The Extendeds the Naturals have developed are quite... impressive," Amalfi said, choosing his words carefully.

"But they are not human," Rita pointed out. "Sooner or later, when you stop administering whatever it is they are taking, they'll probably shut down. We wish to prevent that. Growing them from birth seems rather impossible. The failure rate for that is higher than if we take a developed Coordinator and enhancing it. The womb just cannot support such things, and there is no artificial womb that we can use without killing the foetus. The best thing to do is how the Naturals do it – take the infant as soon as it can live without the mother's womb, and develop from there using high-compressed chambers where we can administer the drugs and monitor the changes. But the wait is too long."

Amalfi dug his nails into his palms, his eyes hard. "And what of a fully-grown Coordinator?"

Rita arched her eyebrow. "Is there a specimen you have in particular? We have tried the changes on full Coordinators, but they cannot withstand the pain. Grown bodies are clearly less prone to accepting changes. The aftermath is rather gruesome," she said, her face changing slightly at the memory of it.

There was no turning back. Nicol was gone, and he needed to put the world right again. Athrun would continue Nicol's fight, just as how he wanted to, and Amalfi would make sure of it. "There is one onboard the ship – I have very high expectations for him, and would like him ready in a month, latest. Two weeks if possible," he said, putting a hand up as Rita began to protest, her face indignant. "He's special… He was with my son. If possible, I want his memories removed – modified if needed," he said quietly.

A fully functioning FIGHTER in two weeks! The man had clearly lost his marbles! Rita huffed indignantly. "I would advise to allow him to keep his memories for as long as possible, perhaps just before sending him into battle if he could even survive this," she said, trying hard not to lose her temper at his impossible request. "If he's as human as we are, then he would have feelings. Deep feelings. Maybe someone he wants to meet, maybe someone he needs to protect – those thoughts are extremely powerful, and the stronger the attachment, the stronger the will to survive the effects of the drug," she said, crossing her arms. "The problem we always have is that we kept on trying the drug on anonymous people, and this project is still taking baby steps. This might kill him," she pressed, wondering if this specimen meant anything important to Amalfi.

The older man hesitated, then shook his head. "I doubt he'll die. As said, I find him to be rather special," he killed Nicol's killer, "and I would like you to try your best."

"We will," Rita sighed. Can I take a look at him?"

Amalfi turned to the silent masked Commander. Daisuke nodded, extending his arm, a signal to wheel the Coordinator out. "We have him drugged, just in case. I advise you to take precautions," he said gravely.

The other Coordinator snorted, shaking her head. She had dealt with too many criminals on death penalty, too many wild soldiers who wanted to escape to return to their families, but none could even function once they were injected with the enhancing drug. Besides, where would they run to? "There is no need for worry," she said coolly, well too proud of the facility.

Receiving the signal, Ken wheeled the stretcher out, the Captain by his right side and the mobile armour pilot, Takeru, on his left. The Captain was quiet, and Ken wondered if the light-haired man knew what this place really was. His eyes darted to Athrun's face, knowing without a doubt that the Coordinator was still struggling under the influence of drugs, especially when he had been the one to administer it. Ken wondered what Daisuke had in mind, coming to this place, with this ship to top it off. Had he seen it coming? He could only be grateful that the Earth Alliance fleet had met them earlier, transferring the three Extendeds to head to their own base for check-up. No doubt, Daisuke had arranged that – it would be very troubling if this base discovered three real Extendeds on board. They would probably have a field day with dissections.

The person in charge, a woman, walked towards them and stopped dead in her tracks as soon as her eyes recognised the figure lying on the stretcher. "Is that… Athrun Zala?" she cried out, clearly shocked.

"It is," Amalfi answered. The woman turned, and Amalfi immediately held his hand up to silence her. "We have a deal. No questions – I give you the specimen, you enhance him."

She shook her head. "No, no, of course I'll do it. It's just… I've always wanted to meet the son of Patrick Zala, but not in this way," she said, sighing to herself. "A shame he couldn't share his father's views, isn't it?"

"Very much," Amalfi agreed.

Author's Note: I seem to have quite a few people asking me about Kira and why he hasn't been able to defeat the Gundams yet – a fair question, judging by how infinitely powerful GSD portrayed him to be, so I guess I can try and explain my reasons. The thing is, why shouldn't he have enemies that can fight as well as he can? We see Kira as being very powerful in GSD because the Extendeds in GSD are actually weaker than those in GS. Factually so. Having said that, however, I do realise that my battle scenes haven't exactly done any one of our favourite pilots real justice in terms of the display of power. I'll try my best from here onwards!

Once again, forgive me for any technical mistakes (which I believe amount to quite a few). I don't have a really good judge of distance, and being in Cosmic Era 79, it's hard for me to estimate how fast a ship and mobile suit can travel without it being unrealistic. With fuel reserves used up and the world being powered by nuclear reactors, I'm sure that ships and maybe mobile suits will travel a heck of a lot faster than our current rockets. Still, I appreciate some pointers if you have any, and I'll take them into consideration for future chapters and for when (if) I revise this fic. Next chapter should be up around 7th October!

A big shout-out to Maderfole who has advertised this fic in the 66th chapter of his fic, The Golden Age: Reclamation War. I've only just began to read his fics (still on the first book, way far behind), but I've been viewing his technical files for a long time now, which eventually made me want to write this fic. Honestly, if you're bored or in need of reading material, check his work out. Just reading the reviews could guarantee that you won't be disappointed, as he goes very much in-depth and has a world of his own. With a million words per book, I bet it'd be months before I need to hunt for something else to read.

Thank you so much to PrincessOfDestiny14, AngelicFox12, AWESOME, Atlantislux, Maderfole, Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius, IgNighted, DarrenrEal and Ninja Stars for the reviews. I'll be replying to your reviews via PM from here onwards, except to anonymous reviewers who will be replied to in the fic. My thanks also to those who alert-ed and favourite-d. I hope you enjoyed this chapter – as usual, please let me know. :D

AWESOME: You're not the only one who wishes that, seriously. I myself am beginning to realise that I've been downplaying Kira's abilities, but then again, action of this type is a completely new thing for me. With the next battle involving the Freedom, I hope to write to your expectations, and I'd appreciate a few pointers when the time comes to let me know if I've succeeded. I guess I'm probably just building up the tension for the final battle.