Update: Tweaked/rewritten December 2020.

Preferably Alive

Eclipse had been ordered to stay away from Kira for the rest of the day. Yes, ordered. After all the confidence and self worth she had gained from following her own commands, there she was nodding silently in response to Lathan's lecture. What could she say? No, and then go over and start beating the shit out of Kira even more?

Wouldn't that have been nice?

"Lexi—Lexi, are you listening?" Lathan asked, pushing her shoulder to break her out of the trance. She just nodded and he sighed. "Honestly, sis—"

"I'm sorry, Lathan, but I refuse to play nice with that pilot."

"Well, isn't that a little juvenile?" He snorted and leaned back against the Stealth's lift. Lathan had found her about 20 minutes ago standing next to her beloved suit. She didn't know when he had started his search, but after a couple of minutes of swallowing her anger, Eclipse had wandered around and found her suit. Basically, she had been happy to see it again. At least until Lathan had joined her and started his lecture.

"Lexi, you coming home is a huge step," he explained. "I remember how it was when you were shipped off to basic training and, at that time, I was just praying no one from Orb found us. Your anger was still a pain in the ass back then and I was so sick of the dinosaur-sized shit hittin' the fan that— Would you just listen to me?"

Despite what he was probably thinking, Eclipse was listening. She had turned away a couple words into the conversation and towards the Stealth. As usual, her older brother was right. The only problem about the whole encounter, however, was he had failed to understand her anger didn't just come in spurts anymore. In fact, it lasted much longer and trying to lecture a seething soldier with Berserker genetics was wishing for a long and painful death.

Lathan sighed and walked around in front of her to block her hypnotized stare at the Stealth. Watching him cross his arms, Eclipse listened as his sigh turned to a frustrated growl. "Because your soul searching seems to be sending you backwards down your psychological mountain," he began, "I took the liberty in calling Mom and Dad for you."

That got her attention.

"They'll be here in roughly a half hour so wipe that 'as pissed off as the burn unit in Hell' look off your face and start practicing your 'obedient daughter' smile. I refuse to play happy peacekeeper this time so you'd better get your act together or that fan's gonna be blowin' the shit backwards into your open mouth."

"Why the hell did you call them?" she asked, the question twisting into more of a sharp-edged accusation than a genuine inquiry. "And why now?"

"Sis, I may not be entirely sure why you came back, but I do know Mom and Dad had something to do with it. You wanna start making peace? Begin with the toughest ones on your list and the others'll start looking like a slice of cheesecake."

"And what if I don't like cheesecake?"

"Put in your own form of sugar and calorie-riddled dessert and you still end up at the same finish line."

She wanted to babble, wanted to argue, but as far as she got was a snort and a frown. When in doubt, just keep the lips shut, but that was beginning to be much harder than she had thought. It would be so easy to throw a tantrum and then head back into outer space, but her pride was keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

"Now, I'm assuming you'll need some time to psychologically prepare, so meet at my office in a half hour." Waving, he turned away, but soon stopped, his body lurching forward and his shoulders shrugging upwards. Spinning on the balls of his feet, he pointed over at her. "You'll be okay by yourself? No more bitch slapping?"

Exhausted, she rolled her eyes. "Lathan…"

"And you can't go in the Stealth. If I hear you'd been in there," he warned, "I'll put a CA transmitter in both your ears."

"Sadist."

"Masochist!" he yelled back and practically ran out of the building. Maybe he was smarter than she had anticipated.

Two minutes, she thought, watching the digital seven change to eight and the side seconds restart their count to sixty. I'll leave in two minutes. Sighing, she fell back onto the floor and stared up at the Stealth. Heeding Lathan's warning, she didn't go into the suit, but she did sit on the cockpit door for a while, slowly making her way back down to the floor as the time ticked closer. And there she ended up, sitting on the cold cement floor wishing there was someone she could call and talk to. Seeing only men flash across her mind's eye she laughed. Yeah, like any of them would listen. Cagalli appeared then, but Eclipse shook her head. Too close to the family. Namarra came up and she just laughed again. Lacus ended the emotional support slideshow, but again Eclipse shook her head. The Clyne Faction was in too delicate of a position for her to be asking, "Lacus, are you there?" through radio frequencies. She sighed.

One more minute.

Thankfully, no one had come in to disturb her during her emotional meditation for the past half hour. Two soldiers had opened the door, but left quickly afterwards, probably seeing her legs swinging back and forth out of the cockpit.

Get up, Eclipse, she thought, trying to order herself to sit. Get up and get it over with. She still didn't move.

"Mom—Dad—stop!" she heard Lathan stutter after the echo of the clanging door faded. The noise itself hadn't startled her, but her brother's panicked voice was frightening, and he rarely raised his voice.

"No, if she wants to be late, it can be for her own engagement," their mother explained, her heels clicking dangerously on the ground. "I refuse to be stood up by—" She stopped talking when Eclipse scrambled to her feet, her heels slowing down for a split second as if she was surprised.

Her father, however, kept walking and only stopped when he was centimeters from Eclipse's body. "You have a lot of explaining to do." The venom in his voice was so thick she thought he would keel over from too much poison exposure.

Too close to him, she had to take a step back to look him in the face. Eclipse was practically his mirroredimage, from the red hair to the grey eyes. She didn't get his height—Lathan was blessed with that—so all her life he had towered over her, crushing her to the ground by the sheer intensity of his stare. His fists shook at his sides and if it wasn't for their no violence ideology, she might have been afraid he would hit her. Then again, parental discipline wasn't listed under their form of violence.

"Where should I begin?" Despite the fact that she had changed into an Orb uniform, the news of her alliance had no doubt made its rounds. Since he didn't ask for a "Why" and, instead, going straight to the meat of the tale, she assumed he knew about how she had arrived and what she had arrived in. Watching his eyes slowly trace the line up the Stealth behind her, there probably wasn't too much of a secret left to hide.

"Well?" she asked again and still he said nothing, leaning back slowly and crossing his arms only when his wife slowed and stopped off to his left. They were both wearing dark blue suits, their business attire a stark contrast to Lathan's mechanic's scrubs, and with the heels, even her mother had a height advantage. She had long strawberry blonde hair that was thrown up into a bun that day, a couple of strands streaking down her cheeks in what was either a jostled mistake or intentional. They looked almost alien in the mobile suit hangar, but the looks on their faces were something she had been at the butt end of for as long as she could remember.

Eclipse scowled, her hands balling into fists when neither of them spoke. She hated the fact that they stood there expecting her to know what they wanted from her. Judging her. Waiting for her to explain her actions and then, no matter what reasons she might give, reprimand her. She was a soldier of ZAFT and in their little world of endless happiness and no violence she was the ultimate evil. If they had actually been in the war, they probably would have backed away from that ideal, knowing it to be foolish. But there they were, glaring down at her and attempting to make her crumble under their disappointment. She saw her father's right hand move at his side, but it never reached out to strike her.

It didn't reach out to comfort her either.

She wished they would speak, yell, scream—something. Even abuse she could handle, but the unspoken threats were just suffocating. "Say something."

"Dad—" Lathan started, but their father cut him off.

"Tell me why."

"'Why' is a very vague question."

"Then why you wear a ZAFT uniform? I heard you flew to Orb in this mobile suit, but the next words out of your mouth better be that it's not yours." His chin jutted towards the Stealth behind her.

Eclipse paused and searched his face for some kind of forgiveness for what she was about to say, but she saw nothing but cold rejection. She could only answer his question one way and he was not going to like it.

"Speak."

More orders. "I won't tell you a why, but I'll tell you who I am. I am ZAFT elite, Lunar Eclipse." She saluted despite the rage mangling his face. "Soldier number 8704298 registered with the Le Creuset Team currently assigned to the Zala Team." Her thumb flicked behind. "Pilot of the MW-979ca STEALTH."

"Enough."

"Kill count, unknown."

"I said—"

"Ordered to seek and destroy—"

"—stop."

"—the special organization, SIN-ED. Can use any means necessary to eliminate the target."

Silence followed the explanation, the final "et" of "target" echoing softly off the walls. Eclipse dropped the salute and looked at her family. Lathan shifted nervously and her father's eyes held disgust now instead of anger. Swallowing, his face contorted in a nauseated grimace like he was just forced to drink a cup of bile. She stared at her mother the longest, the older woman's eyes surprisingly dry through the whole conversation. In fact, they seemed empty as if seeing her youngest child meant nothing.

"I'm proud of myself," Eclipse said, breaking the silence, but not the eye contact with her mother. Her eyes widened briefly before they settled back to their empty stare.

"I don't believe you," her father said, but she didn't take her eyes away from her mother.

"I've become stronger, Father."

"For what?" he asked, but what his wife said proved to be the scarier of the two questions.

"And what have you done with all that power? Do your accomplishments outweigh your failures?"

"Mother—" Lathan had stepped towards her, but she held up a hand and he stopped.

Memories bounced around in Eclipse's mind then. Januarias 4 when she had killed MR and tortured civilians only to get false information and execute innocent people. To the Vesalius when she had laughed at Miguel's death. To the time she had killed Greed.

Her Berserker half.

"Has your violence done any good?" her mother continued and even Eclipse swallowed under her gaze.

She remembered Banadiya when her reckless fighting rendered her helpless to save Commander Waltfeld and Aisha. When she could only sit back and watch Nicol die. And watch Athrun self-destruct. And when she couldn't find Dearka.

When she watched FS and Stray go insane.

Eclipse's eyes faltered and shifted down slowly to the ground. Her mom scoffed. "In the end, violence is nothing but a primal impulse teasing the weak minded to think they can create a peaceful security."

"Disgusting," she heard her father whisper and felt the air shift when he whipped around to leave.

She couldn't just let them go, not after that. She wasn't useless. There had to be a reason she chose war instead of peace. But she couldn't think, only dwell on all the lives she failed to save and all the people she had felt deserved death. Standing there in front of her parents, she did feel disgusting.

"Mom—Dad—" Lathan said, his shuffling feet probably trying to keep them from leaving on such bad terms. "You can't just—"

"Move, Lathan," her father spat. "Don't make your situation any worse."

That's right, Eclipse thought, lifting her head to see him pushing Lathan aside. They would've been just as upset with him. His fighting involved keeping the pilot of a machine safe, but it was still— She stopped. "To protect." They all turned to her. "I learned to fight to protect everyone. Just like a parent punishes a child, I fight so that—"

"We know of a parent's duties, but you don't fight to teach, you fight to kill," her father said, his face going as blank as his wife's. Eclipse opened her mouth to continue the argument, but her mother cut her off.

"You may be blind to it, but the blood on your hands stains so deep it mixes and taints your own. Our blood no longer runs through you." And they left, her mother's last statement echoing through Eclipse's mind. She watched them, saw them clasp their hands together and walk through the door; saw them show complete love and devotion to one another, but not the gentle forgiveness to their children. She fell to her knees.

"Lexi—" Lathan began, but the words choked in the back of his throat, a squeak exiting his mouth instead of comfort.

Rushing to the side of the Stealth's leg, Eclipse braced her hands on the cool metal and leaned off to the side. She retched.

For the next couple of weeks, Eclipse rarely left the Stealth's side. A lot of things had happened in the world since her heartfelt conversation with her folks. There was a large-scale battle at Panama where the Earth Alliance introduced their new mobile suits and Eclipse distinctly remembered seeing the Duel amid that particular chaos. From what the redhead could tell, the EA's new models were cheap knockoffs of the Strike, but it was the best they could get on such short notice. And because they were so cheap, they were easy to mass produce, so perhaps the numbers were better than the quality after all. That had yet to be proven entirely, but watching the reports while upgrading the Stealth had become a common pastime and Eclipse found herself impressed with how many those appropriately named Strike Daggers the Earth Alliance could put in the field. In the end, the mass driver in Panama was destroyed, leaving the Earth Alliance with only one more option if they wanted to get into outer space and take the war to ZAFT's doorstep.

Orb.

Cagalli had been hanging around and watching the reports with Eclipse as much as she could, but she was often at the main estate or defense headquarters, trying to get updates on the situation from the political end of things. For the most part, only rumors and speculations were running around, but they were still true and scary. If the Earth Alliance came to Orb, things were bound to get ugly.

The crewmembers on the Archangel thought so as well, often talking in groups about the matter. Eclipse had seen them discussing the Panama incident, but never ventured over to join the conversation. A part of her didn't want to bring up the Kira ordeal and—even though she was trying to erase her bad feelings—she still held a small grudge against that ship and its crew. The captain seemed nice enough, but Eclipse wasn't willing to engage in anything more than a hello and a weak smile whenever she came in to ask Lathan something about repairs. The Archangel captain, Murrue Ramius by name, had tried bringing up the Stealth in a conversation, but Eclipse just gave small answers, sharing some information, but not enough to keep the conversation going. Murrue had given up after a while, but excused herself with a smile, putting a hand on Eclipse's shoulder and walking away to join an older blond pilot, Mu La Flaga. Eclipse was happy for the interaction, but was still hesitant when it came to talking freely to them, especially the captain.

Lathan had been silent about the parental discussion, apparently just as distraught as she had been with what had happened. Their parents had actually called to see Eclipse once more—and about four more times for Lathan—but she had refused. They didn't press the matter. Eclipse felt she had to come up with a better argument before she spoke to them face-to-face again. Besides, if they wanted to apologize, they could come and visit her on her own terms, not call and ask her to meet them at the house.

Right after the incident, however, Lathan's guilt had made him productive to the point where he locked himself in his office and programmed two more earpieces like he had promised. He said it was the only way he could get the matter off his mind, but she knew it had more to do with him feeling guilty about setting it up on his terms instead of either of either hers or their parents'. She was never going to call him out on it. After all, he was only thinking of her wellbeing so she couldn't really blame him too much. Besides, he even agreed to help her upgrade the Stealth in between his other duties to make it up to her and that meant the repairs were going to go a bit faster thanks to an extra set of hands, but he was often exhausted. There were some nights she found him asleep and drooling on the console. At least he had finished the earpieces and even made a few adjustments—blending into her ear a bit more being one of them. The transmitter was in her right ear right then, syncing with the computer on the Stealth and taking a bit longer than she had expected. The other ear was listening to Cagalli and welcoming the mundane conversation.

"So, I decided to follow your example," she explained, playing with the flathead screwdriver in her hands. "I may not have been as helpful to Kisaka's hometown as I wanted to be, but I saw the world like my father suggested."

Eclipse looked up, searching the blonde's face before she started talking again. She didn't want to offend her cousin, but she might have been exaggerating a little bit. "You do know that going to one tribe and in one desert doesn't really amount to seeing the world, right?"

Cagalli sighed. "I know, but the culture was totally different and the area poor—"

Eclipse held up a hand as she turned the outside dial on the CA earpiece. "I didn't mean to make it sound like it wasn't worth while, just that you should be careful before you go around saying you've travelled the world." Cagalli nodded and stared at the screwdriver in her hands. Eclipse smiled weakly. "Sorry, that was harsh. I can tell you've learned a lot, Cags, so—even though some may not be as understanding," she saw the blonde rub her cheek, "I think you did the right thing." That brightened her mood a little and Eclipse smiled, glad she could ease a troubling matter on her cousin's mind.

"Initiating command code sequence," the Stealth said through her earpiece. "When ready, type VCOMM onto the screen and state sequence."

"Hold on," she said to Cagalli and twisted her torso to reach over and grab the keyboard, punching VCOMM as directed. "Coffee Addict," she said, and began opening and closing her mouth at awkward angles to make sure the earpiece was snug. There was a sharp pain behind her eye when she moved one way, but it went away quickly.

"Command code accepted. Initiating ending sequences. You might feel—"

"Holy shit—" she screeched.

"—some discomfort."

"Lexi?" Cagalli asked, grabbing her shoulders before she fell sideways off the lift.

"Damn you, Lathan!" she cursed, snatching the screwdriver from her cousin's hands and throwing it down at her brother on the hangar floor. Sidestepping the falling tool, he flicked her off and went back to fiddling with his computer.

"Lexi, are you alright?" Cagalli asked, waiting for Eclipse to nod before taking her hands off her shoulders. "Damn, I didn't think it'd be that intense to be linked up with your suit."

"It's pretty neat later on, but the initial process sucks balls!" She yelled the last two words to her brother.

"Whatever you do with your sex life is your problem, sis!" he responded, flashing a toothy grin. Eclipse debated spitting on him, but after seeing some stragglers in the hangar turn her way, she decided to let him win that round.

Cagalli stuck around for most of the afternoon, the two of them laughing on the Stealth's lift as if nothing had happened between them, or she hadn't joined ZAFT, or she hadn't punched Kira. Eclipse laughed as if her parents didn't hate her. "And then the commander walked in and by that time the glue was stuck on his—" Eclipse stopped, the message alert on the Stealth going off. Cagalli's imagination had already taken over by then and she hugged her stomach in laughter, Eclipse hoping her fit wouldn't send her completely over the side. Crawling into the seat, she pressed two buttons on the side and stared at the monitor.

Hey B-Bud, I have a riddle for you: How long does it take for two Berserkers to destroy an island? Wanna find out? You're in Orb. I'll be there in two hours.

Bob

P.S. No mobile suit required.

Eclipse read the message two more times before falling back into the seat. She didn't even know she had been sitting up.

"Lexi, you okay? Is something wrong?" Cagalli asked, sticking her head through the open cockpit. "You look pale."

"I feel pale," she admitted, shutting off the screen before the blonde could see the message. "S'cuse me," she muttered, pushing past Cagalli. "Lathan! How soon 'til she flies?"

Her brother looked up from his welding. Flipping up his mask, he turned off the blow torch. "What?"

"What's the ETA on completion? When can she fly?"

He paused for a second, using his left hand to check off his invisible list of duties. "Roughly 10 hours."

Eclipse cursed. "Until she can leave the ground?"

"That's until total upgrade completion. About two hours if I book it until she can fly."

"And if I help?"

"That is if you were helping." He paused, putting one hand on his right hip as his torch swayed in the other near his side. Even from a the distance between her cockpit and the hangar floor she felt his glare. "Why do you ask?"

"I have—" She hesitated, not sure how to explain to him what was going on. If Cagalli wasn't there she might had said it outright, but since she could feel the blonde's eyes on the back of her head, she bit her bottom lip. "I have some personal business to attend to."

"In a mobile suit?" her brother pressed.

Eclipse sighed and made eye contact with him, hoping she wouldn't have to say something they would both regret. As far as Cagalli knew, she was just in the ZAFT military, not chasing after some secret organization. He was her brother so he should understand. Yes, he wanted to look out for her well-being but he should know by now it wasn't that easy to keep her locked up. "Lathan," she said, his name coming out slow and crisp. Hopefully, that would be enough.

He stared her down for a couple more seconds before turning away. "Fine, but you have to get permission. I refuse to be your whipping boy."

"If I helped would you be able to finish quicker?" Cagalli asked, leaning down and looking at Lathan too. It seemed like an obvious question, but the two siblings couldn't help staring at her dumbfounded. "Since the other mechanics are monopolized at the moment," she explained, blushing a little. "And even if I'm not as good as you guys, I'm sure I can't screw it up too bad."

"I'm game," Lathan replied after a moment of consideration, but Eclipse was a little more hesitant. Not that she didn't mind Cagalli helping, she was just skeptical about her knowledge. But if Lathan was okay with it, she should be too, right?

"I dunno."

"Stop worrying, sis. C'mon, Cags, let's make a molehill out of this mountain."

"Wow." Lathan whistled, propping his feet up on the console and staring at his watch. "Getting permission took approximately, one hour, forty-nine minutes and fifteen—nope sixteen seconds."

"Shut up," Eclipse grumbled, slipping her red helmet under her arm.

"I take it Father wasn't too keen on the idea," Cagalli said, a small smirk on her lips. She leaned next to Lathan's feet, a huge grease trail extending from her chin up to her forehead.

Eclipse didn't respond, not wanting to explain how hard it was for her to get permission to leave the island so she could go meet her assassin partner and destroy an island. Just saying she wanted to meet a friend wasn't going to cut it for the Orb Representative and having such a vague report during war times could get Lord Uzumi into more trouble than he was willing to get in. "Laugh if you want. I got the permission now tell me you upheld your end of the deal. Can she fly?"

"What deal? We did all the work. You owe us something then."

"Lathan—"

"Yes, yes, she's ready to go," he replied, waving his hand in annoyance. "If you want to take her, then go."

"Thank you," she grumbled and stepped up on the lift.

Cagalli put a hand on the railing before Eclipse could grab the lever. "Mind telling me what's going on? Lathan seems okay with it, but I'm not. Why do you have to leave again? And why like this?"

"I'll be back."

"That's not what I mean." Her face grew soft and stern at the same time; a look she must have learned from her father. "Lexi, what's going on?"

Eclipse sighed. "I can't really tell you, Cags."

"But you can tell me about pranks in the guy's locker room?"

"Cags," she sighed, her name alone causing the blonde's face to go straight to nervous worry. Eclipse braced herself for the lecture, knowing Cagalli had a tendency to start yelling as soon as someone started doing something she didn't agree with. Then again, she wasn't that shallow. Looking at her face, Eclipse figured her lecture was prompted by concern and not whether or not she agreed with Eclipse's thinking.

The blonde's mouth opened and then closed before any words could come out. Frowning, she turned away and crossed her arms over her chest instead of blowing up at Eclipse and probably putting a jagged knife through their reunion. Maybe she has grown up, Eclipse thought, smiling and putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Squeezing it once, she pushed the lever on the lift and started upwards.

"The HiMat system's been updated so there shouldn't be any more huge cockroaches to worry about," Lathan explained, rocking out of his chair and looking up at her. "Working on the Freedom was beneficial after all. I never would have expected the suit to end up here of all places though."

Eclipse just nodded, knowing all the details from the other side of the battle line, but still not wanting to get into that conversation, especially since she was about to see Namarra. She might not have been so nervous if she knew what her fellow Berserker wanted—the message was a bit vague and unusual for the Natural—but since there was virtually no information in that note, she could only sit there and let her imagination run wild.

"It's not armed—at least not entirely. You still have the EARP Daggers, only a hundred bullets in your CIWS guns, the two blades under the arms and on the feet, and one of the two beam rifles." Eclipse looked at him then, cocking an eyebrow. She shouldn't have been so suspicious or angry at him, especially since she had suggested the upgrades and then rushed them as soon as the message came from Namarra, but she couldn't help it. Namarra had said there was no need for a mobile suit, but that statement only caused more wary curiosity than relief. "Sorry, sis, but I was in the middle of upgrading your weaponry when you wanted me to switch to the flight systems." He held up his arms in a helpless defense. "You're out both beam sabers and the Scylla, but I did manage to refill the Colloid." He paused. "Oh, and your extra battery's still kaput, so don't do anything too reckless."

"Why does everybody keep telling me that?" Eclipse asked, nodding at the same time and stepping onto the cockpit hatch. Holding onto the frame, she turned and—mostly out of the habit—saluted the two of them. "I'm not sure how long this'll take."

"Keep us updated?" Cagalli asked, still standing with her arms crossed.

She nodded and headed into the suit, issuing a relieved sigh once she was safely buckled in the seat. She hadn't expected her departure to be so tense. Maybe she just wasn't used to actual goodbyes. For the most part, every time she had gone somewhere, a couple of waves had been involved but nothing more. Now she had two relatives glaring up at her and she didn't even think the reinforced armor could protect her.

There was no meeting spot assigned in the message, and no further information from Namarra to specify exactly where they were supposed to kill each other. All she mentioned was Orb, so the only thing Eclipse could do was leave the main island and hope to catch her on one of the outer islands. It seemed like a good idea at first, but when fifteen minutes turned into a half hour and even on to forty-five minutes, Eclipse began getting antsy. Another thing she couldn't figure out was how the Natural was even going to get into the Orb airspace without being spotted. That question was answered a second later when the Stealth picked up a distress signal. It wasn't exactly like a distress signal she had seen before, more like an acute variation. The Stealth picked up the waves anyway, listing them as "Unspecified Idiocy." Apparently, Heine hadn't told Lathan about the personality her suit had gained thanks to his new system.

Either that or he had enjoyed the dry humor of it all.

The signal came from an island roughly five miles outside Orb's official border. The government often kept an eye on the island for any suspicious movements but somehow Namarra had managed the get there unnoticed. Judging by the size of the signal, she might even have a mobile suit.

"Coffee Addict, scan the island."

"No mobile suit detected, but another signal received. It is the letters B-O-B in Morse code."

Eclipse shook her head and laughed, pushing the levers forward to land the Stealth roughly a half of a mile from the shore. Turning off the suit, she stared at the cameras before opening the hatch just to make sure her fellow Berserker didn't plan on ambushing her. Seeing nothing in particular, she opened the cockpit. "Namarra—hey, I know you're out here," she yelled, putting one hand on the top frame and a foot on the hatch. "You wanted me here so stop playing Hide and Seek and come out." No response. She didn't really expect one, but common courtesy said Namarra should at least whistle. Knowing the Natural wasn't one to read the manners' manual—let alone follow it—Eclipse just sighed. "I'm gonna leave if you don't—"

Ping.

It was an interesting sound. She really didn't have much time to appreciate the musical tone and how the bullet ricocheted off the left arm of the Stealth because another shot followed closely after the first. Since neither bullet hit her, the shooter either had bad aim or didn't want to kill her. She hoped for the latter. "Namarra?"

"Why don't we play a little game; just the two of us. I'll stay out of my mobile suit and you stay out of yours."

She didn't sound too far away, but she was hidden very well if Eclipse couldn't spot her. Not that she expected anything less, though. The most interesting thing about her proposition, however, was not the game—Namarra had always seemed inept at having fun during life-threatening situations—but the mention of a mobile suit. If she had one too then why couldn't the Stealth find it? Sure, the Earth Forces had the technology to build them, but even though they had the schematics, could anyone pilot them? Out of all the Naturals, Namarra seemed the best bet, but it was a scary gamble. If Namarra was being used the same way Eclipse was supposed to be used, there were a lot of dead people.

"So, what's your answer? I can kill you right now if you'd rather we do it the easy way."

Eclipse was about to ask about why Namarra had to kill her, but as soon as she opened her mouth another bullet ricocheted just above her left hand on the frame. "Fine, are there any rules to this game? First to spill blood gets the other as a prisoner?"

"Wow, for a Berserker you think like a weakling. This is to the death, honey."

Ignoring the endearment, Eclipse took a breath. She finally gained enough freedom to think on her own again and the second thing she had to decide? Get killed by Namarra or kill her.

Yes, a very ego-friendly decision.

Putting a foot into the zipcord, she rode it down to the ground before she gave a response. "And why do we have to kill each other?" Another gunshot bounced off the Stealth. "I don't have anything against you." Yet another shot. "We've kept each other alive in the past. Why the sudden change of heart?" That bullet grazed past her ear. "You retrieved your sniper rifle, I see." In the dirt between her feet. "Would you stop shooting already!"

"Aw, I was hoping you'd dance for me."

"Sorry, I'm not as jumpy as your other targets."

"A pity." She walked out of the woods after a few moments, leaning the rifle up against a tree and grinning. Of course she was smiling; she was having fun after all. Sporting a camouflage bikini top and jean shorts, she looked ready for the beach more than for an assassination. Fixing her ponytail, she tossed a duffle bag a couple of feet in front of her. It clattered on the dirt, making Eclipse sigh when she guessed what was in it.

Guns and ammunition.

"What is this, Baywatch mixed with Die Hard?"

"This is just to make things interesting. No extra clothing—little defense—and no holsters, you grab what you can easily run with."

"You've been planning this."

The Natural smirked. "Also, inside is an identical top for you and some shorts. I'd hate to be at a disadvantage."

"Of course you would," Eclipse muttered, still making no move towards the bag. "I need a reason why, Namarra."

"The playground is this island. We'll hide our suits at a spot in the middle of the forest so we don't get any unwanted attention. The trackers will be disengaged and the radios locked down."

"Namarra."

"I guess you can call this full contact Tag. The person who's 'It' get two hours to kill the other person. If she doesn't succeed, the other person gets a chance. I've set my mobile suit to send out a high-pitched frequency every time we have to switch. We should be able to hear it, but the waves are so fine no one else should pick it up."

Eclipse just sighed, knowing Namarra wasn't going to give her a straight answer. There had to have been some reason why the Natural was playing this "game." Looking at her then, she seemed hesitant, almost unwilling to be explaining the rules she had come up with. "Fine, I'll play along. So, what does the person who's not 'It' do?"

"Run."

"She can't fight back?"

"Only if the fighting is in close quarters, otherwise she just has to survive."

Eclipse stared hard at her counterpart, wondering what was going through that head of hers. This seemed like a lot of work if she was just trying to kill her. If that was the case, why give her a chance to kill the Natural as well? Eclipse hadn't gotten any assassination orders, so what was with the "I'm giving you some hope" scenario? "Namarra—"

Twirling one of the guns in her hand, she aimed it at Eclipse and fired, the empty click muffled by the rustling leaves. "Hm, didn't even flinch." She smirked. "This is definitely gonna be fun!"

"How can I be sure you're going to follow these rules? I'm a bit skeptical about what's going on."

"Skeptical? Of me?"

Eclipse's eyes narrowed, not amused. "Promise me you won't just blow my head off when I'm 'It' because you thought it would be fun to go dancing in the rain." Namarra just smiled and Eclipse frowned. "Alright, we'll do it your way. I have my mobile suit's CIWS guns pointed precisely at your position right now. Give me your word."

After a second of hesitation, the Natural took a large step forward, putting the two roughly two feet from one another. "Y'know, it looks as if your machine has been worked on recently and based on that poor welding job on the left leg, I'll say the mechanic was a newbie. Tell me, did you adjust the calibration for those guns? Or did you let the mechanic do it? And do you trust that the mechanic did it correctly? You could be aiming at me, but end up hitting everything else around me in a three feet radius instead. And," she continued, the smile growing more and more devilish as she spoke, "now you could be hit merely because I closed the distance between us. Still wanna fire?"

Eclipse frowned, realizing the embarrassment she had walked into only after she made the threat. Of course Namarra wouldn't be intimated so easily and leave it to her to notice the quick work Lathan and Cagalli did on the Stealth. "At least give me a reason for why the hell we should run around half naked shooting at each other."

"Call it girl bonding."

"What?"

"Just humor me, Lexi." Her face was serious then, something about the way the side of her mouth twitched gave Eclipse the feeling she didn't want to be there. Eclipse was about to call her on it when she raised her gun into the air and exclaimed, "Now, let the games begin!"

It was going to be an interesting afternoon.

FS wasn't sure what had started the whole thing, only that he was pissed it did start. His big welcome party to space was basically a handshake with a grenade attached and an exclamation so fake he could just hear Wrath's phony smile curling up his face through the transmission. Next thing he knew, a machine gun sounded in the auditorium and the alarm went off saying the oxygen in the satellite would be gone in roughly four hours. Hell, they were lucky the gravity was still working. Sometimes having an overly intelligent team could have its drawbacks.

Or maybe just a team who didn't give a damn.

A civil war between the SIN-ED members seemed foolish and only a bit impulsive. Sure, most of the members were unstable, but weren't the "stable" people keeping them under control? Perhaps sending Wrath and Stray together was a bad idea. Originally, he had thought Kross and Miato could keep things running without incident, but as he was weaving around the bodies littering the hallways with the Lust twins he couldn't help but think he had a little too much faith in his organization.

"Uh, Pride—" Melanie began, but FS held up his hand. A younger teen—about twelve—rounded the corner in front of them, instinctively aiming the gun in his hand. Panicking, the boy shot. The bullet went wide, missing Phoebe's left arm, but still pissing her off nonetheless. Recovering from the attack, she swung her right arm up and pulled the trigger. The shot ricocheted off the when the kid ducked for cover.

"This is ridiculous," Phoebe grumbled, backing up to hide behind another wall.

"Even the kids are fighting," Melanie said, crouching behind her sister to refill her magazine.

"Damn it, I wish Wrath had been a little more gracious with information over the radio than 'We're fucked.'"

"What do you expect, Pride? He's probably enjoying himself," Melanie said, watching her sister curl around the wall and fire another shot. There was a small thunk and then the sickening sound of dead weight falling to the floor.

"C'mon." Phoebe motioned for them to follow her down the hall.

They knew they had to get back to the shuttle dock, but the satellite was littered with people killing any and everyone. From what FS could tell, they were all spooked. After so much the SIN-ED members had been through—all from some sort of human experimental programs—he couldn't figure out why they were running around so scared. Had someone messed with the medication?

"Pride, down!" Melanie shouted, putting a firm hand on his shoulder and pushing it hard to the ground. FS dropped to a squat and brought up his gun. A bullet passed over his head and kept going on down the hallway, probably hoping to put a hole in either a wall or a fresh body. Still crouching, he and the Lust twins brought up their handguns at the same time. His finger tightened against the trigger, but he stopped at the last second, hearing his comrades' guns go off together. If he could save bullets, it would be good for all of them in the long run. The shooter at the end of the hall collapsed with the two bullets in his body, one in his chest and the other penetrating just above his left hip.

What happened next was based off of honed instincts, too many years listening to the smallest of sounds and praying none of them were there to kill. It wasn't just the quiet brush of a footstep, but the squishing sound of a shoe sole soaked in too much liquid. Quiet, yes, but still unmistakable. FS twisted around and aimed high, figuring his opponent would be walking instead of crouched low based on the amount of pressure the squishing gave off. No matter how silent someone could walk, blood-soaked shoes were very noticeable. One of the drugged Naturals rounded the corner, holding two SMGs waist high.

"Lust!" FS yelled, knowing that would get both of their attentions quicker than saying their names separately. Melanie was the only one to turn and look, hooking an arm around her sister's and pulling her off to the left side of the hallway and into a smaller inlet. They squeezed in as best they could but they couldn't cover their bodies completely. Bullets grazed their fronts, forming deep red streaks across their arms and upper chest.

FS had run down the hallway, sticking close to the wall and then diving around a corner. One bullet grazed across the top of his shoe, the Sin feeling the laces loosen and his right foot nearly slipping out. Another shot, however, hit his calf. He could feel the bullet after it went through, the slug going so fast his brain didn't register the pain until it was already stuck in the wall. Gulping, he tried to slow his breathing and not think about the blood soaking through into his trousers. Leaning back, he waited for some kind of break to turn around and start his own barrage. Shit, he thought over and over again, trying to drown out Lust's painful screams.

Taking a breath to shove his own injury from his head, he closed his eyes. The bullets were fading towards the other side of the hallway, the shooter most likely finding the Lust twins to be the easier target of the two. Given their little cover and closer distance, FS understood his choice, but he wasn't about to let it be so easy. Opening his eyes again, he focused on where the shots were landing and waited until he could have enough room to turn and fire.

Tensing, he was going to curl around the wall and start shooting, but the barrage stopped, a dying scream echoing through the thick silence left by the Natural and his trigger-happy fingers. Lust had stopped screaming, but FS could tell they hadn't moved. Their rapid gasping was enough to give away their position and he could see them clutching their arms in the inlet, so that meant there had to be someone else in the hallway who killed the assailant.

Fearing the new shooter would get to the girls, he rolled out into the open and aimed. Not getting a good look at the person until he was already pulling the trigger, he tried veering the shot to the left into the open wall and away from any potential victims. The new shooter did the same, his bullet barely grazing the hair on FS's head.

Silence followed again, but it wasn't as tense as it had been moments before. In fact, the Lust twins were so relieved they both collapsed to their knees, their hands falling forward and slapping onto the tile floor. "Gluttony, thank goodness," Phoebe breathed. Stray looked just as pleased to see them, running over to the girls and seeing how badly they were injured. They had a lot of cuts and grazes—and most deep enough to cause some bleeding and discomfort—but nothing the twins hadn't handled before. Helping them stand, he led them over to FS.

"Jaeger," FS said, accepting his hand. Now on his feet, he tried putting pressure on his injured leg and ended up hobbling to lean back against the bullet-ridden wall. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

The Sin gave a weak smile. "I guess I do, don't I?"

"But not here," Phoebe said, pulling her sister's arm up and over her shoulders as Melanie put some pressure on a deep gauge just above her right knee. It wouldn't take long to heal, but right then it made her a bit immobile. "I hear more people coming this way." Stray nodded and put FS's arm across his shoulders, handing him the gun. Phoebe grabbed and cocked her gun before the four of them shuffled forward as two more bloodied bodies slammed against the wall at the farthest end of the hall.

Stray led them down a tiled corridor, once the hall leading to the cafeteria but now nothing more than a morgue. Bodies lined both walls, some recognizable and some with only bone splinters and brain matter to call a face. The floor was slippery as they walked on, the four of them reducing their quick steps to slow skating across the tile. Melanie gulped loudly behind FS. "Oh God, it's soaking through my shoes," she whispered, her sloshing feet and blunt remark alerting FS to the warm liquid squishing between his own toes.

"We're almost there," Phoebe soothed, but her next question proved she wasn't as confident as her voice portrayed. "Right, Gluttony?"

"I'm hoping there aren't enough SIN-ED members left alive to have grabbed all the shuttles. We'll head to Hangar 6." It was meant to be a comforting statement, but not to FS. His organization was literally falling apart in chunks around him. The blaring alarm and body parts were only constant reminders.

Phoebe yelped and the guys turned, watching helplessly as Melanie tripped over an arm and pulled them both to the ground. Their hands hit the tile first, one of Phoebe's palms splashing hard into a blood puddle thanks to her quick reflexes. The blood jumped up and onto both of their faces, Phoebe catching it in the eye and Melanie in the mouth. They did well to silence their pain, but Melanie couldn't help the sudden rush of bile leaving her stomach after the metallic taste.

After everything he had seen those two do, FS was surprised by their reaction to so much bloodshed. He had always thought they lived for that kind of violence, but watching them struggle on the slippery floor, his outlook on them reversed. Perhaps it was different when they were the ones on the wrong side of the gun barrel. Most of the people in the hallway were probably individuals they had been in the laboratory with. While FS and Stray didn't connect with any of their fellow soldiers on Januarias 4, that didn't mean the Naturals were just as detached. Then again, maybe Lust's mortality was just coming into perspective. They could put up a brave face when they were in control of what was going on, but as soon as their hands were wiped clean and no longer involved, they got a little nervous.

The two men offered hands, but the Lust twins got to their feet easily enough, bare knees stained up to the ruffles of their skirts in red blood. "Gluttony, you have to tell us what went wrong. Why are there so many—" Phoebe hesitated, looking down at one of the bodies sitting up against the wall with her face turned awkwardly to the side. "Why are there so many Naturals?"

FS looked at his friend then too, watching the different emotions wave across his face. Stray had always been the one to keep his human-like emotions, not locking them away like so many others. That was why he had seemed so animated, sometimes over exaggerating what was going through his head, but FS had seen through that ruse a long time ago. Sometimes the reactions on his face didn't match how he felt, proving he had mastered his emotions rather than putting them behind closed doors.

Finally, Stray sighed. "That's because it's the Naturals' faults—or at least Miato for not telling us the drug supply had run thin."

"Miato?" FS asked.

Stray nodded and started their walk to the hangar once more. "Reports stared coming in soon after Wrath and I arrived about some Naturals losing their short-term memory and snapping at the littlest of things. They complained of severe body aches and migraines that would keep them incapacitated for hours at a time with no relief. Miato looked into it and said he found nothing out of the ordinary. He gave those individuals extra doses of Gamma Glipheptin—the drug neutralizer—and it seemed to be working fine until more and more Naturals started complaining."

"You ran out then?" FS asked, guessing what might have been going on.

Stray nodded sadly. "We were slowly gaining ground with Blue Cosmos and a relationship was building, but they still refused to give us access to their medical supplies. We were running out of time, so we had no choice but to steal them. Wrath and I took 10 others with us, but we were barely two hours away when Kross called us in a panic and told us to get back ASAP."

"So, you returned to this?" Phoebe asked.

"There were two representatives from the Earth Alliance docking today," FS cut in. "We were supposed to speak to them about the N-Jammer technology. Do you know if they got away?"

"If they weren't in the hangar when their shuttle exploded, they might be okay, but judging by the look of things in here," Stray waved his arm out in front of him, "they'd be lucky to walk out of here with any recruits let alone a good head on their shoulders."

FS cursed.

"What I don't get," Melanie continued, leaving FS to his anger, "is why the Naturals suddenly went berserk."

Stray shrugged. "Miato thought they were either off the drugs too long and the neutralizer was having no effect, or, as they aged, the drugs started affecting their brains at a faster rate, like a worm digging a hole in the dirt and curling up when it got tired, just to start doing the same thing the next morning. He also hinted at sabotage and seeing as you Naturals aren't affected," he nodded to the twins, "and Wrath seemed his normal self, I think he was right."

"Wait, 'thought' and 'hinted?'" FS asked, noticing the past tense when he referred to Miato.

Stray's face grew bleak before he spoke, almost as if he was searching for the right words to say. It wasn't a comforting look. "Wrath and I found Miato first, dead as a piece of bread torn apart by birds and looking just as digested." FS cursed again and the twins cringed. "Kross was apparently the one greeting the EA representatives in the hangar. I doubt there's anything left of him now."

"Wrath?" Melanie asked. "We talked to him on the radio as soon as we arrived, but've heard nothing since."

"I lost him as soon as we left our shuttle. He was laughing and running around like a madman, a shotgun in his hand and an SMG strapped to his back. If he survives, he's one badass moron."

More gunfire ahead of them stopped the brief moment of information gathering, the sound coming from the next adjoining hallway. FS brought up his gun and so did Melanie, the four comrades deciding to swap stories and intelligence as soon as they got out of there.

Preferably alive.

A/N: Hey guys, it's so much fun to be able to update so quickly from now on! Gotta love too how a chapter originally supposed to be 7k ended up to be over 9k. O.o Anyway, I'm getting to the parts in my story I've been waiting so long to do so I'm hoping my next update will be even faster. After all, an all-out duel between two Berserkers is going to be the best thing this side of the century! Well, we'll see if they even go all out, but I have a feeling it'll be a lot of fun. I'll be sure to spend a lot of time on it and really drag it out. There hasn't been much action lately.

I have a feeling some of you are asking, "What about Dearka?" Yes, I know he is rotting on the Archangel right now, but she's kinda avoiding them. Funny too how no one's mentioned a specific redcoat from ZAFT, but we'll get to that later. O.o I'm hoping no one will call me out on it, but since I still think there are people out there who refuse to read these author's notes, I'm prepared. (AKA: hate mail.) Anyway, I definitely appreciate the readers who take the time to at least skim these things. I'd send money or candy or something, alas, I am poor and have no way of doing that. How about cyber kudos?

At this point-and every for that matter-I'm really looking at the suggestions you guys make. As you all know, I have a pretty thin line to walk with the canon and all, but if you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know. I probably don't have to remind you, but there's a one to two month period in outer space where they're basically sitting on their asses either staring at computer screens upgrading mobile suits or playing card games three hours straight. (Uno anyone?) I could throw in some character interaction if you guys want me to, or just move on with the story. Let me know because I don't want to bore you, but I don't want to let you down either.

Special thanks to my Betas. New year, new chapters, old badasses. (Don't ask, I'm running out of shoutout ideas. O.o) And thanks to all the readers and reviewers out there!

* Corrections to the Narrative:

(This is probably the last time I'll mention this, but I really hope you all read these author notes. I'll probably be making more corrections as I write the later chapters, so this part might be pretty busy.)

Questions/Gripes:

OrangeP47: I had a feeling that transition was a bit of a jump, but, like you hinted at, there was really no other place for me to start. I debated using all the technical mumbo-jumbo, but then I realized, I suck at that. So, I went with the less mumbo and the pretty standard jumbo. So, that's what happened and I'm sorry it felt off to you, but thank you for pointing it out.

Death-Scimitar: I'm sorry you feel hurt, but it's hard to respond to awesomely-addictive crack. We'll leave it at that. (Sitting right behind me on the bed)

Thanks for reading the chapter and be ready for some semi-fanservice in the next chapter. Berserker vs. Berserker is bound to be...interesting.

Strata