To those who reviewed - thank you so much! I love you all! My O-Levels begin in a few weeks time, so I decided to squeeze a chapter out before things get real busy. I know, I know...this chapter took such a long time, didn't it? Sorry about that!

I want to specifically thank StormyMonday (Stephanie) - for always supporting my stories, and generally - myself as well. I wouldn't have gone so far without your encouragement and honest feedback.

"It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood."
- William Shakespeare

Blood

Pleading. I was actually pleading.

"I'll be seeing you again as soon as this mission is completed, won't I?"

Warm fingers interlaced with mine. "Of course, my dear sister."

Another figure swaggered by, interrupting our silent exchange of affection. "Cut the chat. Just get on with it."

"Go away, Hilling. I don't even know why you dislike me so. Honestly, how could you be my kind, brilliant brother's genetic counterpart?"

Her tone was scathing. "Now now, is that any way to talk to your elders? We're technically sisters, you know."

Hilling exchanged a smirk with brother, and all a sudden I was confused. They wore devious smiles that told me they were sharing a secret - a secret I was clueless about. No - why were they reaching for me? I tried to back away, back away –

"You'll see us soon, sister."

"Very, very soon…"

I choked and thrashed, throwing the covers off myself. A sheen of sweat covered my face, and I realized that the pillows I were sleeping on were thoroughly soaked.

Waking up in the middle of the night was always disorienting for me.

"I'll be seeing y'all very, very soon, huh? I wonder how soon," I muttered. It was yet another clueless, faceless memory. All I could remember were the voices - and - someone named Hilling? Who exactly was that?

The room I was in at the Katharon base was dark and silent, just like how it was before I went to bed. Feldt had asked me to sleep on the Ptolemaios while resupplying and repairs carried on throughout the night, but somehow I chose to be at a different environment instead – even if it meant I had to sleep on a bed that smelled like straw.

It was then when I felt it – a sudden movement from the ground.

An earthquake? I sucked in a deep breath, waiting for the tremors to stop.

Only that they didn't.

Instinct told me that whatever was happening was far worse than an earthquake. I hopped off the bed in a fluid motion, glad that I had gone to sleep in the casuals I was wearing during dinner.

I ran past hallways blindly, realizing that everybody was up and about. People ran about, yelling frantic instructions at each other. Some of them dashed about, holding weaponry of all types and sizes. The screams and wails of frightened children reverberated around the base, eerie and haunting. I saw Marina pulling several of them into a tight hug, determined to calm them down.

Shirin strode past me and barked, "Marina, take the children to the furthest end of the base where battle fire won't reach them! We'll handle the rest up at the front!"

"Shirin!" I yelled, catching up with her. "What's going on?"

She fixed me with a steely gaze, lips pressed into a thin line. "We're under attack from the A-Laws. You should head back to your ship at the hangar."

"B-but…how could they have found out about this base? You said that it was hidden out of sight!"

"That's what I would like to know as well," she said, sounding very tired all of a sudden. "Go to your team mates. You'll be needed there."

"Alright then. Marina," I called out, "Make sure the children are safe."

Marina nodded. The children looked up from their group hug and gazed at me with tears in their eyes.

"Big sister…Eri…it's scary!"

"Are they…going to shoot us?"

"Are you coming with us?"

"Where are you going? Will you be safe?"

It didn't take a genius to know that fear was running wild within them. "Hey, stop crying. Don't worry about it. We won't let them get to you, and everybody will be fine. Wait for me, okay? I'll see you all soon and then we can have fun talking about space stories."

The children nodded, terrified. I smiled weakly in a show of bravery, and proceeded to run in the direction of the hangar.

It was so very unpractical of me to try comforting them.

For one, I was basically useless on the battlefield. I doubted that I was of any use to Celestial Being when it came to combat. What the hell was I thinking, spouting out phrases when I couldn't really do anything substantial? For another, there was no guarantee that everybody would be fine. If this was a battle, there were definitely going to be casualties – and if things went badly, the kids would not be able to survive either.

"You'll see us soon, sister…"

I heard a rumble and ducked to a side just in time to see heavy concrete crashing down.

"Sheesh!" I yelled, more irritated than fearful. "Talk about bad timing! Having dreams is one thing, but hearing voices now just proves that I'm on the brink of insanity!"

The hangar came into view and I witnessed yet another flurry of activity. The Celestial Being crew moved around with efficiency, remaining calm despite the urgency of the situation.

"Sumeragi! What happens now?"

She whipped to me, auburn locks spilling across her shoulders. "We improvise."

I turned to look at Ian and the other technicians, who were quickly finishing up the repairs on the Ptolemaios. "Improvise? Are you telling me that we're just going to leave?"

"Earlier on, Katharon requested us for our assistance in overthrowing the Federation government, and we rejected them," Sumeragi explained.

I ended up yelling, which was probably the worst thing to do now. "No way! This has nothing to do with overthrowing the government! People's lives are at stake here! I saw the base – Katharon isn't up to the A-Laws at all!"

"They're not," Lockon said to me casually, as if we were discussing about the weather. "But we are."

I looked up for a moment, confused. "Wait, do you mean…?"

"While Celestial Being's current objective is not to overthrow the government or to assist Katharon, it is our mission to annihilate the A-Laws." Tieria strode by stiffly, unfazed by the commotion. If he said that, then it would mean...

Sumeragi smiled and patted my shoulder. "Like I said, we improvise."

I watched with fascination as I saw Lockon, Setsuna and Allelujah head out into the desert with their Gundams powered up, weapons and firepower clashing against that of the A-Laws. Sparks erupted, flames sparked, and more steel structures collapsed.

The fighting had begun.

Tieria was the last one to head out. Before leaving, he turned to me and said quietly, "There are other Innovades around. Stay put on the ship unless you have a death wish."

"Sumeragi!" Feldt called, poking her head out of the Ptolemaios. "We're good to go! Eri, get on!"

Sumeragi hurried back to the ship. I, however, had made a decision.

"You all go ahead! I'll be staying here for a bit."

Feldt's eyes widened. "Eri, you can't stay here! There's no guarantee what will happen to this base. It might be destroyed from the battle, taking you along with it!"

"I know, Feldt, but it's my decision. There's something I have to find out."

She tried again, but Sumeragi stopped her. "Does this have anything to do with your…memories?"

I gaped, surprised at how quickly she caught on. She smiled good-naturedly. "It might be some time before we can contact you again. Will that be all right?"

Sumeragi understood. She trusted me. I was a mere girl who had never proven anything - including my loyalty - to Celestial Being, and she actually trusted me, allowing me to run off just like that.

I grinned. "It'll do. Help me pass on a message - tell Tieria that I'm off to get some important life answers! Ask him to be patient, and tell him that he has the liberty of giving me all the death threats he wants after I return!"

With that, I ran off, hearing Sumeragi and Feldt's shaky laughter from behind.

Shirin stared at me, a shell-shocked look on her face. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go back to your teammates?"

I felt smug. "Well, I improvised. Besides, there's something I need to – woah, what – ?"

Shirin had quickly pulled me behind a wall before I could even finish my sentence. A flurry of bullets whizzed past, striking the area where the two of us were standing at seconds ago. Another shower of bullets flew, striking others down. Bright red arterial blood sprayed, staining the floor a brilliant crimson.

She hissed. "Those bastards! They've dispatched the automatons!"

I clapped a hand across my mouth, feeling my stomach heave. The smell of blood apparently didn't appeal to me that much. "Automatons?"

"Automatons are mindless killing machines that kill anybody they see, be it friend or foe. They fire without any hesitation, and are one of the deadliest weapons around used for search-and-destroy missions," Shirin explained softly.

A grim smile tugged at my mouth. "Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant. Any ideas on how to get away before it spots us here?"

"I have a flash grenade here. It'll buy us a few seconds to dash past that door," she said, motioning to the door a few metres away.

"Fair enough."

"Before that, though, you should hold onto this." Shirin muttered, sliding a pistol into my fingers. "It's a regular Desert Eagle model. Of course it won't be of much help in this kind of situation, but you being totally unarmed just isn't an option."

I bit my lip and brushed my fingers along the pistol's smooth curve, secretly hoping that I wouldn't have to use it. "Right. Got it. Thanks."

Shirin and I were separated amidst the chaos. It wasn't that I hadn't expected it, but things were definitely less comforting when you were facing the possibility of meeting an enemy here alone.

A faint trill of female laughter sounded at the back of my mind. I narrowed my eyes. That was definitely not my imagination. Someone had somehow managed to enter my head.

"Oh, you really have no idea what's going on, dear girl?"

The sing-song voice, the hearty chortle - it was such an annoyance.

"Where are you? Come out and talk to me. I have questions for you."

"I'm in your head, don't-cha-knowww? Hah! The clueless you just gets more amusing by the second! Do you even recognize me?"

I was walking further away from the battlefield where the Meisters were engaging combat in. The sound of battle had faded away, and all that was left was an eerie silence. I swung out my gun for several sweeps every time I passed a corner, not wanting to take any chances of being attacked by hidden enemies.

"I recognize you, though not fully. You're somehow – related to me, I think. Along with…some others."

The voice chuckled darkly. "Aww. And I wanted to have the pleasure of slowly breaking the full truth to you. It thrills me to think about how you'd suffer when you finally find out."

I ignored her, scrutinizing my surroundings. This was probably an old storage area, for the next corner led me to a tall, olive green mobile suit. It was just an outdated one that seemed to be left there – what was it called again - the AEU Enact?

I gave a cautious glance. There didn't seem to be anyone here. That female voice, whoever it was, would have to wait.

One heartbeat. Another.

To hell with it. I slid into the cockpit, ignoring the obvious fact that it seemed as if the mobile suit had been placed there on purpose for my discovery. The danger signs didn't mean much. My hands were too busy roving the buttons in front of me, exploring, testing, shifting. Linear rifles, sonic blades, defence rods…this was this, and that was that. Perhaps I could try operating it.

That didn't make sense. I shouldn't be able to know how to.

And yet all these seemed familiar, all too familiar -

When the machinegun began its fire, I hadn't been able to dodge quickly enough. It blasted through the arm of the Enact, sending a cloud of smoke and melted metal into the cockpit.

"Bloody hell!" I yelled, mobile suit stumbling backwards. My fingers clumsily fumbled at the controls, and soon enough I realized I had stepped into a one-on-one battle against an A-Laws mobile suit – the Ahead.

The voice purred in my head. "Silly girl! You fell for it hook, line and sinker. I placed an intact mobile suit there, knowing you'd definitely jump into it. This is great! You sure saved me the bother of having to personally search every corner for you."

Alright, lesson learnt. Next time, Eri, do not touch the candy.

Soon, the other arm of the Enact was gone, and so was a leg. It was no match for the Ahead, and that wasn't good at all. Damn it. I should have just gone onto the Ptolemaios with the rest of them when I had the chance. Tieria was definitely going to kill me now.

"Are you sure you should be thinking about sweet, little Tieria now? You just might be able to catch a glimpse of him - at his funeral, that is!"

Despite the dangerous situation, I rolled my eyes. "Oh, go ahead. He's been annoying me for weeks. Put him to death - if you actually have the ability to do so."

The voice snickered. "How mean of you. By the way, don't you realize that I'm going easy on you, and it's getting boring?"

It was true. Whoever this person was, she could have finished me off in a blow if she wanted to. Those GN Beam Sabers she were holding couldn't be just for show. For some odd reason, she was dragging this out.

I snarled. "Then put an end to it, you coward! What are you waiting for?"

Perhaps challenging her wasn't exactly the best idea. The Ahead vanished, swiftly re-appearing in front of me.

"You touched a nerve, sister dear."

Blinding white filled my vision, and then…there was nothing but an endless darkness.

And from the hollow pitched-black of nothingness, Tieria's voice – filled with anger and desperation – rang out in my mind.

"ERI!"

My chapters for this story are getting longer and longer. Uh...I don't know what to make out of it. Things seem to be spinning out of control in this chapter. Please excuse the slight OOC-ness of certain characters, and excuse me for the lack of appearance of the other Meisters. Something's happening to Eri too. I'm sure you all can see that. :D

Please, read and review. I'd appreciate all your honest comments!

- Anne