Sorry it wasn't before my camping trip, but here we go~ The second half to Crimson! Please enjoy, and R&R!

"Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter."

Friedrich Nietzsche

ENTRY FOURTEEN: CRIMSON – PART TWO

Mai gasped, desperate for air and gripping at the sheets as though she was drowning. It took her several minutes to calm down, but once she had the feeling quickly faded away. For a while longer still, she refused to move.

Her body demanded her to jump up, to run for the Ecran and set out with the others. They had to find Cagalli, Kira and Mu could not cover enough ground to find her in time.

No, that was wrong. Her heart slowed once she recalled what had happened the previous day. Kira had found her on an island east of the ship. Cagalli was safe, so was that really why she had been in such a panic? Mai wasn't sure. Something had been bothering her, like someone had placed an important piece of a puzzle right out of her reach.

She looked around. The lights flickered on not to her movement, but to the sound of the small robotic cat jumping from her desk once it realized she was awake. It clung to her arm and rubbed against her cheek, causing the tired girl to giggle. Mai noticed the cat had scattered some pages when it jumped, completely throwing them out of order. They were details from the previous battle. Her Ecran had taken unnecessary damage from the Blitz to keep it from getting too close to the Archangel. On her return, some of the soldiers had questioned why she didn't just 'shoot the enemy out of the sky'. She had lied and told them that there had never been an opening and the damage was unfortunate.

Mai was beginning to wonder if Mu La Flaga had caught on to her. It didn't matter if it was during the fight or after, he was always watching out for her. Worried about her. Always trying to make her laugh when he was near and could feel she was upset. It made Mai so happy, reminding her of the times where her dear Athrun had done the same.

When they were small, Athrun had always been so happy. He was the one to cheer her up if she was sad, or make her smile if she had fallen and hurt herself. With her big brother by her side, she was never lonely.

That had been so long ago, she almost forgot what that felt like.

Mai stretched. Slowly she was remembering what had transpired. Kira and her had been trying to keep the four Zaft pilots from reaching the Archangel, but neither of them were having a lot of luck. The two had been forced to stay on the top of the ship, unable to catch up to the ship if they moved to the water. With their movement restrained they could barely dodge the incoming attacks let alone deflect them. They wouldn't survive for very long unless they figured out a proper way to fight back.

The Archangel was being threatened by the Orb Alliance on one side with Zaft attacking head on the other. There was nowhere to go, and neither teenager had wanted to admit the only way of survival was to knock the enemy pilots out of the sky. It was much too personal for either of them, though they weren't aware of it.

Before their last bit of hope had been chipped away, Cagalli's voice echoed over the comlink.

Mai rubbed her temples, mentally mocking herself for not being able to remember the face of Orbs princess that she had met as a child. When her and Athrun were young, no more than seven, their father had brought them to Orb on a business trip. Mai didn't remember much of the event, except for the picture in their house of her family with the man by the name of Uzumi Nara Athha. It was before he had become the leader of the Orb Union though he was next in line; the two Zala twins in the picture stood on either side of the blonde princess.

Cagalli Yula Athha.

Many of the crew were shocked to found out about her heritage, thinking of her only as a desert girl. She had given herself away by ordering the Orb ships to guide them back, to bring them to safety. They owed the girl their lives, and Mai intended to pay her back anyway that she could.

Mai stood and let the tiny robot cat attach to her arm, stepping outside to search for her friends.

Her whistling echoed throughout the hall, and she loved how it sounded. She wasn't very good with her voice, but she still liked to try. It reminded her of the days she spent in school, singing with her friends late at night or going to karaoke.

She stopped in front of a door, her red odango ponytails bouncing behind her; the feather ornaments in her hair shimmering under the light. Using the wrench in her hand, she went to knock, but the arguing voices inside froze her.

Ritska Monroe knew both of those voices, but only one of them sent shivers down her spine. She could feel it now as she listened to the anger in his voice.

She glanced down at herself, strangely feeling nervous. Ritska straightened the green Zaft jacket of her uniform and fluffed out her skirt. She hated the style they forced upon them, but had managed to customize it without crossing any lines with her superiors. The skirt she wore was black, matching her black stockings and gothic combat boots that went just past her shins. She took pride in her style, wearing belts and trinkets that had never managed to get in her way. The girl was no longer judged only by her look and had shown everyone just how skilled at her job she was.

No one questioned her rank of lead mechanic aboard the Vesalius, chosen and commanded by Rau Le Creuset himself. She had been sent to Earth to follow the members of his team, told to follow the orders of a replacement leader. The angry voice told her who he had chosen, and she filled with excitement to see his face like that.

Ritska took a breath and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

The door opened, and when she stepped inside her face held no emotions. She heard the blond in the corner curse at the sight of her, and watched as two lower ranked soldiers saluted her.

"Yeah yeah, at ease," she mumbled. Ritska turned towards her victim and accusingly pointed her wrench at him. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to my Buster."

Her cousin swallowed hard, not keeping his eyes away from her weapon. He knew that the small girl could send a grown man flying without breaking a sweat.

Dearka had known the second the Ecran had damaged the Busters' arm he was screwed. "Hey hey; it's not my fault! They had me cornered!"

Nicol, who had been sitting beside him, laughed and ignored the tense atmosphere behind them. "That's not true; Dearka got ahead of himself and he went to close to them."

She watched Dearka spit out excuses as she closed in on him.

"Hey wait, since when was the Buster yours?"

"It's been mine from the day you brought it to me to fix it!"

After they had finished arguing, Ritska took her place beside her cousin. She could feel the tension resurface, but was glad she had managed to break it for as long as she did.

As long as Yzak had been looking at her, she was always content.

"Back to the subject at hand," Athrun gained back the attention of everyone in the room.

Mai took a sip of her tea, feeling the warmth flood her body as she sat in the cafeteria with her friends.

"I never thought this is how we'd end up in ORB…" Tolle mumbled, Miriallia sitting beside him and rubbing his back.

She could feel Sai fidget beside her. He hadn't left her side since he had noticed her leaving her room. When Sai had first started to follow her around, she had felt a little awkward about the situation, especially when Kira saw them together. Eventually though, between him and Miriallia, she was glad to have the company. They eased the clenching of her heart.

Kuzzey was also nervous, pacing beside their table. "Hey… what…" he bit his lower lip, trying to raise his voice higher than a mumble. "What exactly happens in this situation? Do you think they'll let us… disembark from the ship?" He shook his head, avoiding the question from his friends. "Or at least some time off?"

Mai smiled at him, trying to calm him down. "It's because of this situation that they might at least give you some time off. The ship has taken a lot of damage from the last encounter, so I won't be surprised if we have to stay here for a while."

The idea seemed to lighten him up a little. "Yeah, that's right!"

Arnold Neumann stood behind them, taking a sip of his own drink. "Though this whole thing is still really complicated; this is a difficult nation, the fact that they even let us into their territory like this is still pretty hard to believe."

Without even having to look up from her glass, Mai could sense the sudden tension in the room. Not only had Neumann's words lower Kuzzey's hopes again, but Kira had suddenly walked into the cafeteria. Sai's body had gone straight at his arrival, and he had moved closer to Mai out of instinct. She could feel him holding his breath.

Neumann continued. "In other words, everything is up to ORB. We won't really know what's happening until the Captain and the others return."

Mai knew that the Captain, along with Mu La Flaga and Natarle Badgiruel, had gone to meet the Chief Representative himself. She was glad Kira and her weren't forced to go, afraid that once the man had seen her he would recognize her face.

Miriallia frowned. "But our parents are here… doesn't that matter?"

Remembering the story they had told Mai about how they had gotten aboard the ship, she wasn't surprised how badly all of them wanted to see their families. Mai herself wanted so much to hold her brother in her arms.

"You want to see them?" Neumann questioned. "Well, I hope you get the chance."

Mai heard the sound of Kira's footsteps as he headed back towards the door. She took the chance to glance at him, noticing the two cups on the tray he carried. Regret stung at her eyes, tying a knot in her throat.

The feeling hadn't left later that evening, when both Kira and Mai were told to walk their mobile suits to a different location. They followed their instructions together well, but Mai had avoided looking at him while they were being briefed. She could feel him watching her, and that only made it worse.

The Ecran stopped at the entrance of the giant doorway, Mai's hands shaking too much for her to focus. The feeling passed quickly, but lingered in her blood as she continued to step forward. Despite what her instincts told her, her mind refused to believe it. There was no way that could happen, and yet at the same time she felt like it was true.

Athrun Zala was near.

It's complicated to explain, the relationship between a pair of twins. I've always been amazed by the two of them, how it did not matter if they were apart, since there was a sparkle in their eyes that would show their connection still remained.
What did not make sense to me, however, was how Athrun could not see what I could in his eyes.

Lacus Clyne