Weapon's Waltz

by Strata-Assassin

(Prelude and Fugue in SEED Minor: Book 1) A unique runaway flees her world of peace to enter the chaos of war. Who knew she'd have to kill friends and forever debate what it means to be "human." Original characters in the events of Gundam SEED. ZAFT POV. (Some mature content: language/violence) (Prequel to Sibling's Serenade) (Rewritten as of January 2022)

48. Naturally, Hanging Out

Update: Tweaked/rewritten February 2021.

Naturally, Hanging Out

Date: June 20th

Time: Late

Location: Space

Wow, I'm surprised I even remembered where I put this journal. After the guys gave it to me for my birthday I just kind of threw it in my stuff. I was sure I lost it because of everything that went down at the medical facility, but it looks as if the Commander and DaCosta really are good at what they do. Either that or they happened to know the exact binding and found the same journal (and somehow copied Nicol's penmanship…). At any rate, here I am, writing.

So, I'm sitting here in my room staring at the wall. There really is no such thing as night and day here in space, but everyone else—except the select few on duty—have gone to sleep. I thought that was a nice idea until I began wrapping myself in my bed and realized, I wasn't tired. After everything that's been going on, you'd think I'd be exhausted, but, for some reason, I just can't fall asleep. Hell, I can't even close my eyes. Namarra screams in her sleep and she's in the room right next to mine. On the other side of me is Lathan and even he can hear her, so she has to have some pretty bad night terrors. At least I think they're night terrors. We—my brother and I always seem to get there at the same time—wake her and she just doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. She has no idea. Cagalli used to have the same problem, but that was when she was really, really little. I guess—with everything Namarra most likely went through—it's possible for her to have some variation of.

Aside from Nam's dog-whistle-screams, things have been rather quiet around here. We're still making our way to Mendel—hopefully only ten days away or so—and there's been no trouble, which is good. Stealth is still out of commission, but Lathan and I got the CA up and running this morning. Funny thing is—well, funny to Lathan at least—the first thing it started doing was bitch at me. It got to the point where I had to turn down the volume on the earpiece and Coffee Addict didn't like that at all. It's a good thing the automovement was offline because my suit probably would've attacked me merely because I ignored it. We're heading over to the Archangel in the morning, so we'll be able to do some major remodeling and hopefully get both suits up and running by the time any bounty hunters come chasing after us renegade ships.

Cagalli and I have been practically inseparable the past couple of days. Apparently, Kira fled back to the Archangel almost immediately after she had showed him the picture and she's been avoiding him ever since. It's not like I can blame her. Hell, I've been avoiding that kid since the moment I arrived on Orb soil so I'm not about to tell her otherwise. Namarra's been sticking close to us as well, but I don't think her and Cags get along. They butt heads more than anything, but I think they've grown to have some kind of seething tolerance for one another. Again, fine with me. Cagalli doesn't push me about Kira and I don't push her about Namarra. It's a pretty good arrangement.

What's really interesting though, is where Kira used to be the one always dropping in, Athrun's taken point. Again, I'm not complaining—and it's nice to see him on a regular basis—but Cagalli is very obviously flirting with him, which seems almost too normal for us being in a war and all. There are times I wonder if Athrun's annoyed with it, but he just smiles and we go on as if nothing's changed. I'd ask him about it if I could confidently say I didn't feel any kind of jealousy, but, for some reason, I do get a bit ticked about it. Lathan just laughs at me.

Athrun's been mentioning something about going to see his father. I've tried to talk him out of it, but the conversations have never last long because do I really have a right to do that? I'd prefer he didn't go alone at least, but that guy is stubborn and persistent, he'll probably end up going sooner or later. Maybe he'll let me come with him as backup.

Dearka—when he's not hanging around with Miriallia—and I have been trying to send messages to Yzak over the past couple of days, but for some reason they don't seem to go through. Not even Lathan can figure it out, but, then again, he really didn't try all that hard. He's a bit protective of the Kusanagi, so I guess I can understand him being afraid we'd rat out our position or something, but we just want to let him know we're alive. Can't be easy catching the news and seeing glimpses of our mobile suits here and there and not being sure whether it's us, or someone else piloting something that was ours. I wonder if he feels left behind…

Speaking of being left behind, we've all been keeping close tabs on Orb since headquarters, most of the main Morgenroete facility, and the mass driver were destroyed. So far, my parents have been doing a pretty good job rebuilding the country while making sure the evacuees are being taken care of. The Kingdom of Scandinavia took in most of the people, but some of the orphans—and just some families who didn't want to stay on Earth—have fled to space. I'm not quite sure how they got out here yet, but I have a feeling ZAFT started sticking its slimy fingers into the chaos and snagged some new recruits. The EA might've tried to do the same, but I doubt many people would be willing to fight for the side that nearly obliterated their home.

My parents aren't doing it all alone like I had originally thought. The Seirans seem to have taken front, or at least are sharing power with the remaining, extended Athha family in Orb. I don't remember them very well, but I do recall a Yuna Seiran. I can't remember whether she—or was it a he?—had a knack for the political stuff or not. I know I don't. I think I missed the gene on that one. (He? Gah! I don't remember!)

At any rate, I've been trying to avoid any messages from Orb just in case they happen to find Kisaka's report and decide to make a final judgment. My parents might hesitate to pass judgement, but I have a feeling the Seirans won't.

Eclipse paused, her pen poised over the period after "won't." She had every intention of sitting at the desk in her room, but not wanting to take the effort to keep herself pinned down, she rocked with the ship instead, her knees tucked up to her chest for a tabletop while she floated about the room. She was impressed, actually, with how well she was writing the journal entry. It was a small accomplishment, but she had stayed on topic for the most part. "Meh, the little things in life," she muttered to herself and started chewing on the back end of the pen. She really should have been sleeping, but just couldn't get her brain to stop working. Cagalli hadn't talked about the twin thing in the past couple of days, but the whole ordeal was still in the back of Eclipse's mind, that was for sure. And then there were Namarra's brothers, SIN-ED—

Ah, SIN-ED. They've been uncharacteristically quiet lately. I messaged Heine about it the other day, but have yet to hear back from him. He said he was part of the Hawkins team and getting a mobile suit, but I haven't been able to keep tabs on him. I think I'll have Addict do a check for him tomorrow… I'm sure he's just busy. And a guy like that just can't die. …Right?

"Ugh! Think positive thoughts!" Eclipse shouted at the journal, as if yelling at an inanimate object would make her feel any better. And for a split second, it had. "Heine's fine," she told herself again, closing the book and tucking it between her knees and chest and she hugged her shins and the pen floated off to the side. Things were getting really messed up with Namarra trying to save the three Earth Forces pilots and SIN-ED being eerily silent. All the while, she was cooped up in the Kusanagi with a soap opera unfolding around her. Wow, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I wish I was back on Januarias 4; back when everything made sense. You kill to survive, to get information, and—most of all—to prove something. Stray and FS were all I had to worry about. MR was, she paused as the word hesitated in her head, gone, but we just had to stick together. And—wow. She stopped again, reaching up to her cheek and wiping a tear that had fallen. "I've gotten so soft it's sickening."

"Oh, have you ever."

It wasn't a voice in her head, per se, more like an emotion she felt in the back of her mind. It was a frustrated feeling, as if nothing she ever did would please it and after another discouraged sigh, she knew her other half wasn't excited about the redhead's new emotions either. The Berserker was at the edge of her conscious, a place it often staked out when it wanted to play, but Eclipse didn't feel any hostile need for it to take control. It was merely standing there, judging her. She wanted to open her mouth and ask it a few questions, but somehow that didn't seem right, like it wasn't the proper way to communicate.

It was just a weird moment and Eclipse didn't fully understand what was going on even though it was her own mind. She just felt her frustration growing, so much in fact that she snatched the pen and threw across the room, watching with wry amusement when it hit the wall and broke open. She was about to do the same thing with the journal when she heard some screaming from the next room and realized Namarra was having her night terrors again.

Sighing, Eclipse let go of the book and watched it float there in the room. The Berserker was gone, back to whatever door it normally slept behind while Eclipse tried to live a normal life. Perhaps it was just trying to rile her up, but she had never felt the Berserker act that way. Yes, she had known it to be bored, but never so dormant.

Another scream came from the next room and Eclipse propelled herself to the door, pressing the release. Lathan didn't meet her at the room like usual, but he had been busy lately, so it was only fair she took care of Namarra this time. Besides, she was finally starting to get tired and all the racket was giving her a headache.

---

Eclipse had never been one to care how people viewed her, but somehow the quizzical looks on the verge of glares when some of the Archangel mechanics saw the redhead and Namarra walk into the hangar made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Not in the sense that she was embarrassed, but more like she wanted to fight them all to prove she should be there. Eclipse could tell Namarra felt the same, mainly because she had to hold up her arm and block her before she could get too far in front.

"The captain said we could use the equipment," the redhead remarked, making eye contact with three mechanics who all looked at each other instead of meeting her stare. "I know it's been almost four days, but we couldn't even move our suits until now. We won't get in the way of your duties, we promise." Namarra made some kind of scoffing noise and Eclipse did her best to keep a straight face. It wasn't easy.

"Stop gawkin' guys, geez," an older gentleman said. He pushed through his fellow mechanics to stand in front of the duo, his oil-stained scrubs a welcomed sight of experience and hard work. A toothpick teetered up and down between his lips as he brought his hand up to run through his shaggy brown hair. He couldn't have been much older than Mu, but definitely older than the other mechanics in the hangar.

After taking a moment to size up the two girls, he stuck his hand out to shake. Eclipse took it first. "Chief—uh, that's just Murdoch to ya, I guess."

"Lunar Ecl—uh, Lexi Rymyr, I mean."

Namarra shook his hand next. "Namarra Legund. Unlike you two, I really have no trouble remembering my name." She smiled sweetly while the others just frowned.

"The cap'n told me ya guys would be usin' some of da equipment." Murdoch waved them over to one of the computer modules, patting his hand gently on the top. "I'll let ya use this terminal here. It's a bit menopausal, but ya should be able to get yer work done just fine. These yer suits here?" He pointed up at the Stealth and Decay. The two girls nodded. "Wow, they look like shit. What'd ya do, put 'em through a meat grinder?"

"No, there wasn't one readily available, so we used the next best thing and let some Daggers have their way with them," Namarra retorted.

"You should see the Daggers though," Eclipse continued, offering a shrug as a finish.

Probably not being able to tell whether they were kidding or not, Murdoch just moved on. "We 'ave some scrap metal and spare parts if ya need anything, but we've never fixed a GINN before, so those parts are scarce. And this suit 'ere," he pointed a thumb over to the Decay, "well, I've no idea what that is."

"Pretty much they're both hybrids of some kind; modern chimeras. So, whatever you have should be fine," Eclipse explained, gesturing to the Stealth's missing head and arm. "We can fix most of the major things on the Regean, but we don't have the right terminal to adjust the internal shit."

"Well, computers we can help ya on, if ya wish. Our brains are wired pretty good for that sorta thing."

"We'd actually like to do it ourselves, if you don't mind. My brother wants to install a system into the Decay and we can handle our own adjustments," the redhead continued, reaching up to the CA earpiece. "You might find the system rather interesting, as well." She smirked at his confused look and then turned back to the Stealth. "Coffee Addict, go online."

After a moment, the metallic alto-bass combination spoke into her ear. "Some systems green; most red and non-responsive. Communications working fine, unfortunately."

Eclipse shook her head. She wasn't sure how an emotionless voice could sound pissed off, but somehow the Stealth pulled it off. "Good. Set up file transfer, we're copying you to the Decay since Lathan doesn't have the original file anymore."

"What a douchebag."

Eclipse paused, too startled by the sarcasm to laugh. Actually, she couldn't even remember what she was going to say next.

"Warming up internal systems. File transfer can commence in fifteen minutes."

"Roger that," she replied and her arm fell back to her side.

"Who the hell ya talkin' to?" Murdoch asked, having taken a step back as soon as she had started acting like what he had considered looney.

"The Stealth." As if on cue, the internal computers started whining, the monitors turning blue and lighting up the cockpit. The whole mobile suit seemed to shift, as if it was trying to shake out muscle cramps or achy joints. After all, this had been the first time the suit had been outside the Regean hangar in a few days. They had just finished replacing the monitors and computers in the Decay and the Stealth had just had its thrusters repaired. Eclipse's suit could now move on its own, but the Decay was grounded. Hell, the redhead had to shuttle Namarra and her machine over.

Murdoch took a step forward when he saw the systems light up, but took two steps back when he saw the machine move. "That's messed up—but in a good way."

"I want that," Namarra remarked, propelling herself to the Stealth's cockpit and sticking her head inside. "Does it wipe our ass after you flush too?"

Eclipse hid a smile, seeing the cockpit door slowly start closing. She gave a side glance at Murdoch, but he didn't seem to notice, probably too lost in his thoughts about all the possibilities. Unfortunately, one of the other mechanics shouted and Namarra jumped out of the way, barely managing to grab the catwalk railing before she slammed into the wall.

"Cocky bitch. But I like her," the Stealth said and that time Eclipse laughed. Maybe a personality wasn't bad after all.

---

Lathan came over as promised, and after a couple of hours, finally had the Decay's operating system up and running. He was typing some things down on the lower terminal while Eclipse stood nearby connecting a cord from the Stealth to the Decay so they could transfer the CA data.

"Namarra, you ready?" Lathan asked and he saw her give a thumbs up. "Lexi?" The same response. "Alright, commencing CA transfer now."

Already knowing it was going to take a while, Eclipse grabbed the gloves from her back pocket and snagged the wire cutters as she made her way to the empty space where the Stealth's left arm was supposed to be. That side had yet to be connected to the battery—so there was no need for her to worry about getting electrocuted—but she had to start tearing out and replacing the old wiring in order for her to start connecting the new arm once she found something suitable to put there.

She was about 10 minutes in and five seconds short of a frustrated fit when the cutters slipped from her grasp once more, bouncing off the Stealth and barely missing her shoulder on the rebound. "Damnit!" she shouted, twisting around to grab the tool before it could float across to the other side of the hangar. "Stupid sonofa—" she hissed when she spun back to her machine to see a wire floating away. Cursing again, she grabbed it and made her way back to her sitting position.

She hated rewiring. It probably didn't help that it wasn't a clean cut and everything was in knots after all the transferring at Orb, but there had to be a better way to put a new arm on her suit. Hell, why not just get a new machine?

I hope Namarra's having the same trouble, she thought, not wanting her to be the only one suffering, but when she looked over at her counterpart, she saw her humming. Probably seeing the redhead turn her way, she started singing a little louder. It took a moment, but eventually Eclipse recognized the tune. "Aw shit, not now!"

Namarra just gave a childish smile.

"Kazesasou, kokage ni, utsubusete naiteru.

Mi mo shiranu, watashi wo, watashi ga, miteita.

Yuku hito no, shirabe wo, kanaderu, GITAARA.

Konu hito no, nageki ni, hoshi ha ochite.

"Yukanaide, donna ni sakende mo.

ORENJI no, hanabira, shizuka ni, yureru dake.

Yawarakana, hitai ni nokosareta.

Te no hira no, kioku haruka.

Tokoshie no, sayonara, tsuma hiku."

Eclipse sighed when she heard the melody, knowing it was the same one Namarra had sung on the island. The Natural had brought up the idea of them singing it together and after a few lessons, she seemed to take it seriously, creating an alto part for Eclipse to accompany. The lyrics had been the easy part to memorize and even though she had been doing well on the harmony, Namarra always strove for perfection, so no matter how well Eclipse sung, the Natural wasn't impressed. She had warned Eclipse there might be an impromptu concert and apparently this was the perfect time for it. The "perfect" part was, of course, debatable.

The other mechanics in the hangar stopped to admire the song, welcoming the break as well as the nostalgia. Namarra's voice carried through the entire hangar, the echoing off the metal interior adding an interesting effect to the music.

Like the song, her voice was gorgeous.

Eclipse had noticed the beauty of it early on, but since then, the Natural had refused to sing in front of anyone but herself. Namarra was a real shower singer despite her rock-hard exterior. Eclipse was glad to see she had finally gotten up enough guts to share the song with the others, but the redhead, knowing she had to sing as well, just felt embarrassed. The second verse added the harmony and after a quick break Eclipse would be sharing her musical talent with everyone in the hangar.

She straightened so she could get ready for her entrance. The two of them were singing a capella so they had to make some kind of eye contact before starting the next verse. Namarra smiled and winked while Eclipse shook her head.

"Yasashii te ni sugaru, kodomo no, kokoro wo.

Moesakaru, kuruma ha, furiharai susumu.

Yuku hito no, nageki wo, kanadete GITAARA.

Mune no ito, hageshiku, kakinarashite.

"Aa kanashimi ni, somaranai, shirosa de.

ORENJI no, hanabira, yureteta, natsu no kage ni.

Yawarakana, hitai wo nakushite mo.

Akaku someta suna haruka, koete yuku.

Sayonara, no RIZUMU."

Eclipse was quiet at first, but as the verse went on she gained more confidence. When Athrun, Dearka and some of her other comrades walked in, however, her voice cracked slightly and her cheeks flushed, but she regained her composure quickly after returning to her wiring and not watching them.

Namarra wasn't fazed by any of it, and it didn't even seem to be hindering her work. She continued her own rewiring in the Decay's cockpit, her fingers stopping every once in a while to check what she had just done.

"Omoide wo, yakitsukushite, susumu daichi ni.

Natsukashiku, me fuite yuku, mono ga aru no."

Eclipse looked over at the Natural when the small verse ended, trying to get some sort of eye contact before the last one started. Namarra finished up the interior and stepped out onto the platform. She glanced over at the redhead and smirked slightly before turning around to start taking off one of the outer panels.

"Akatsuki no, kuruma wo, miokutte.

ORENJI no, hanabira, yureteru ima mo dokoka.

Itsuka mita, yasurakana, yoake wo.

Mou ichido, te ni suru made.

Kesanaide, tomoshibi.

Kuruma ha, mawaru yo." (***)

At first everyone was silent. Whether it was because none of them knew the song was over, or they were still stunned to hear someone other than Lacus had an amazing singing voice neither of them could tell. The audience looked at each other, as if deciding whether or not to break out in applause, but Namarra's statement decided for them. "Not bad Lexi, but," she paused, "you still suck. We'll have to work a little more."

Eclipse frowned and was more than happy to hear Lathan's announcement of the file transfer. Both girls kicked off their suits to meet him next to the terminal.

Lathan blinked and looked at each of them individually when they arrived. "I didn't know you had talents."

"I do, she doesn't," Namarra replied. "It wasn't horrible, but it sure as Hell wasn't good."

"Whatever, I've had—what—three lessons?" Eclipse retaliated, holding up her fingers for effect. She seemed to stress the middle one more so than the other two.

"Alright, I'll cut you some slack. It wasn't half bad and I threw you to the sharks—"

"Another fish analogy?" the redhead grumbled, but Namarra kept talking.

"—but don't worry, I think Athrun's tone deaf."

Lathan burst out laughing and instead of blushing, Eclipse went right to the fist fight. She reached out to grab the other female—who had started sticking out her tongue and snickering—but only managed to pull out a couple of her long strands.

"Ow!" she hissed and Eclipse readied for another attack.

"Oh, break it up," Lathan said—apparently having stopped his laughing—as he pushed the two apart. They each caught themselves on the corner of the terminal. "Namarra, here, put this in here." He handed her the small funnel-like earpiece as he pointed to his ear.

She just stared, turning it around in her fingers. "Put this where?"

"I said your ear."

"No, technically you pointed. For a female you have to specify, bro," Eclipse muttered.

"Oh hell, Lexi, turn off the bitch switch. And you." He turned back to Namarra. "Just put it in an ear and shut up. You do want this system, right?"

"The CA, he means," Eclipse explained, withholding a sadistic smile. Namarra's pain was going to be terribly amusing.

"Which ear?"

"Doesn't matter," both Rymyr siblings said at the same time. Lathan surprised Eclipse then, turning to the redhead and winking. They were both getting their own personal revenge it seemed.

"Will I regret this?"

"No," they both said again and the Natural shrugged. Reaching up to her left ear, she slipped the device inside, even pushing it down for good measure.

"Now wha—holy shit! What the—oh damn it!" Namarra cursed as she let go of the terminal and clutched the left side of her face. "This is—fuck! I'm gonna kill you!"

The siblings just shared a high five.

---

There was another scare on the radar and since Eclipse's suit was still less than battle-worthy, she was stuck inside while Athrun, Kira, and Mu went to go investigate. Either the Stealth or the Decay would have been the most ideal for the mission—given their Mirage Colloid capabilities—but neither were ready even after the four days straight of work. But that made Eclipse even more nervous.

It was a long 45 minutes, but eventually the guys gave the all clear. She let out a sigh of relief after hearing the news, fearing the worse, but glad nothing had been waiting for them. Releasing the Stealth's controls, she stared at her feet and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure why she had been so nervous, but she just had the distant feeling something was out there and—for better or for worse—it was going to get them. Morbid, maybe, but still not a feeling she could ignore.

It took a couple more moments, but eventually she took off her helmet and headed back to the Regean's locker room. Stuffing her gear into one of the lockers, she put back on her khaki pants and orange Orb jacket before venturing into the hallways. The Stealth was still undergoing repairs, so she had been travelling back and forth between the Archangel and the Kusanagi, depending on who had the right equipment and spare parts at the time. The Decay was still in rough shape, but mainly because the internal operating system had been shot to pieces for the most part. It was a frustrating business trying to fit that back together and Eclipse was a little irritated she had been doing most of the work, but Namarra wasn't as knowledgeable in the computer area as the redhead was. So, they just shared the work on both machines.

Eclipse had been paying such close attention to the repairs she had forgotten about another matter she had wanted to discuss with an old family friend, Erika Simmons. The redhead wasn't sure when the last time she had had a long conversation with the woman, but she and Eclipse's parents were rather close, even though Erika worked for the Orb military. Erika was a bit younger than Eclipse's parents, but they had met on many occasions and despite the technician's youth, they seemed to share some kind of mutual respect with one another. Perhaps that was the reason she was so nervous as she turned the final hallway to stand in front of the technician's room.

Bringing back her hand, she had every intention of knocking, but ended up uncurling her fingers after a couple seconds of hesitance. Sighing, the hand fell back to her side and she was about to spin back to her own quarters when Erika turned the corner and started heading her way. The redhead probably could have just fled saying she hadn't seen the older woman, but they would have to talk to each other eventually. Besides, they had always seemed to miss one another back in Orb, so one time they had to at least say hello.

"Lexi, wow, this is a surprise." The technician stopped herself at the door and pressed in the sequence to unlock it. "You coming to see me?" Eclipse nodded and smiled, figuring ducking out of the offer now would just be cowardly. "Come on in then."

The room was about the same size as hers back on the Regean with little more than a cot for a bed, a desk, and a side bathroom. There was also a computer running in the room for Erika's personal use and knowing her role as chief technician, it only made sense she would have her own terminal.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. I know there isn't much room," Erika began, grabbing the back of the computer chair, but Eclipse had already plopped down on the cot. Shrugging, the older woman sat down near the desk. "I don't mean to skip past all the pleasantries, but you seem troubled by something. Can I help?"

Sighing, Eclipse figured she might as well start explaining. "Has Cagalli told you guys the news her father passed onto her as she left Orb?"

Erika thought about it for a second, but she soon shook her head. It was a slow shake, almost as if she was waiting for Eclipse to share the secret before she verified if she knew about it or not.

"Something about her and Kira Yamato being twins? Does this make any sense to you?"

"Ah, that," the technician said, chuckling a bit as if she was trying to get rid of some nervousness. Eclipse really wished she could read her better. "I don't know why he had chosen to tell her in that way, but I have known about Cagalli's adoption for a while. We were just never allowed to make it public knowledge."

"A-adopted?" Erika nodded. "You knew about this before her father handed her the picture?"

Erika nodded again. "I can understand why you would be interested, but I don't get why you seem so upset."

"You know Cagalli's been like a sister to me and this," she paused, looking for the right word, "ordeal has really thrown her off. I'm sure you notice her wandering aimlessly nowadays? And even avoiding Kira?"

"Yes, I've noticed, but I never really thought anything of it until you told me she knew."

"Well, I don't think she knows she adopted, but she does know about Kira. Or maybe she suspects? I don't know." Eclipse trailed off, her eyes dropping to her hands.

"A lot of things happened back then, Lexi, and I know it doesn't make much sense right now, but it did work out for the better." The way she put it made it obvious there was more to the story and the redhead looked back up at her, only to see the older woman looking thoughtfully off towards the corner of the room.

"Okay, can you tell me this at least? Why is Kira a Coordinator and Cagalli a Natural then if they're twins? Don't they tamper with the genes before the egg would split off to make the two babies?"

Erika cocked an eyebrow and brought her right hand up to rest thoughtfully on her chin. "You've done some research?"

The redhead shrugged. "Been quite interested in this sort of thing recently…" she admitted and trailed off, turning her gaze away for a second and hoping it didn't share more than she particularly wanted to in that moment. "I just thought you were the best one to ask. Cagalli's been avoiding the subject, to put it plainly, and maybe talking to you will help put some things into perspective?"

"I don't know a lot about what happened back then, but I do know that when the twins—Cagalli and Kira—came to Orb they were given to separate families. The boy was given to the Naturals, the Yamatos, and Cagalli was raised by Lord Uzumi and his wife."

"So, they're both adopted?"

"Technically, but officially they're each the children of their respective parents. As for their genetics," she continued with a small shrug, "I wasn't given the liberty to look into it. I was still in school back then and the only reason I even know about what had happened is your mother. At one point—I think when you were around four or something—she started getting worried about Cagalli's origin and her potential title. If they didn't get in front of the story and it was leaked, the scandal could be crippling. The general idea was to fully embrace Cagalli into the family as if blood. I think that was why you two were often seen together even if you and Lathan were, technically, on the fringes of the family already. Though, all of this is just my speculation."

Eclipse sighed and shook her head. Eclipse's mother and Cagalli's mother had been good friends for decades even before Lord Uzumi pursued politics, but the redhead distinctly remembered her younger years because Cagalli was practically inseparable from it. If her playdates with Cagalli had more to do with her mother having been worried about potential scandals than any genuine desire for her daughter to have a good relationship with her best friend's daughter, those years when she was a child were quickly starting to blacken. Perhaps Eclipse never really was anything else other than a bargaining chip.

"Don't look down on your mother though," Erika added after a moment. "Many of us were nervous about what was happening. Even though at the time the twins were found we had no idea Lord Uzumi would grow to be such a great politician, we couldn't help but see the events unfolding as some kind of bad omen. What if Cagalli did succeed her father and her past caught up with her?" The technician shrugged and let Eclipse think on it from there.

The redhead understood the reasoning, and was starting to realize that was probably why Lord Uzumi had given the picture to Cagalli before she left Orb. Obviously, she had the right to know—and hearing it from her father was the best thing—but it was about time for her to face her future as well as her past.

"It's all messed up," Eclipse said after a long moment, sighing.

Erika laughed. "I agree, but I want you to promise me you won't tell Cagalli any of this."

"Huh? The whole reason I came here was to—"

"I know you're trying to watch out for her, but she has to come to understand this on her own terms. If she wants to come see me—or even talk to Kisaka—she will. You're a loyal friend to be doing this, Lexi, but I think it's about time you stopped babying the girl and just let her learn on her own."

It was Eclipse's turn to offer a small chuckle. "Building character, huh? Seeing if she'll fold or actually take on the role everyone believes she deserves?"

"She deserves it, I don't doubt that, but you're right, she has to start believing it herself."

"Yeah. Fine, I'll keep quiet then."

"There was one more thing I'd like to talk to you about before you leave, if you still have some time." Eclipse shrugged and Erika gave a faint smile. "I'm not sure how much you know about my research, but for the past couple of years I have been finding scientific evidence on the existence of SEEDs—or Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor, if you want to use its formal title."

"What's that?"

"To put it simply, it's a form of advanced consciousness developed in a select few, whether they are Natural or Coordinator. They are said to be the ones to bring us—people in general—to a better existence, or something along those lines."

"And you have proof of this?"

Erika nodded. "I have very little concrete proof at the moment, but I have witnessed many things that have led me to believe SEEDs really do exist."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

Erika's smile faltered then and she leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she folded her hands. Eclipse found herself leaning back, not quite sure what to make of the close proximity and the look in her eyes. Pity? "I know very little of your exploits in the ZAFT military, but I have seen the data from the experiments done on you."

Ah, she understood it now.

Eclipse could feel her face droop into a blank stare and Erika looked down and to the side. "An old classmate of mine was a member of the research team conducting the experiments and she knew of my area of research so she was sharing as much as she safely could, knowing it was all a scientific breakthrough—or at least had the potential to be. Now, I did not know it was you they were doing the research on and I cannot apologize enough for what you went through." Eclipse turned her gaze away when Erika's focus returned, biting her lip. "No matter what angle you looked at, it was inhumane and if I was a member, I probably would have quit the team for the sake of my own conscience." Sighing, the older woman reached forward and grabbed Eclipse's hand, putting it warmly between hers. "I hope—for your sanity's sake—you recall very little?"

Nodding slowly, she took her hand from the woman's grip, not wanting to be comforted in that moment. In fact, she didn't want to have to remember it at all, but perhaps that stain was going to last.

Erika sighed and recoiled her hands, sitting back straighter in her seat. "Good and I pray you never remember." She trailed off and the room grew quiet.

Eclipse's memories were still jumbled from that time and even if someone was to help her recall, her mind just seemed too tired to retain the knowledge. She still remembered the moment it looked as if someone had taken an icepick to her vision and her sight had cracked, the only metaphor the redhead could equate it to being the shattering of glass. Eclipse shivered. Could she just not retain the facts anymore? Trauma maybe? She didn't know, but she was damn sure she didn't want to sit there and be told it was all worth it.

"Despite all that," Erika began again softly. "And please don't take this as me being callous—the little research they did gather was practically world breaking and the scientific community went nuts. The last time that kind of extensive testing had been done on an individual believed to have the Berserker gene, the scientists were killed and the research lost. There had been rumors Blue Cosmos stole the information and had the scientists assassinated, but no one could ever confirm it so the matter just passed."

Eclipse tensed and felt her eyes narrow that time, her lip curling up in a snarl. "So, you're happy I was a lab rat?"

"Please, Lexi, don't look at it like that," Erika replied calmly, reaching out to put a maternal hand on Eclipse's again. "As I mentioned, I didn't approve of the methods those researchers used, but I can't deny the fact that the data they acquired was monumental. Once everything went south—when you escaped—my old friend risked a lot to send me even more of the research. I have yet to read all of it," she admitted, "mainly because the first page listed your real name. I knew the file was 'Top Secret' at the very least when I saw you listed as Lexi Rymyr instead of Berserker Candidate and immediately saved it to a separate disk before wiping my computer clean."

That was a surprise and Eclipse's lips softened. "And you still have the file?"

Erika nodded. "I wanted to ask your permission to look at it and compare notes. There are a lot of similarities between Berserkers and SEEDs, but something tells me there is one major difference hidden in that data."

"And judging by past experiences, it can't be a positive difference."

"I'm not going to jump to conclusions, but I'm sure we'll both get a lot of questions answered."

Eclipse took a moment to think it over. Out of all the people looking into her genetic obscurities, Erika might be the best choice. Studying the older woman's face, the redhead didn't see the same hunger in her eyes that she had seen on so many other scientists, but it was still there—an eagerness that she knew resided in every researcher. The thrill of looking for an answer to a tough question. Eclipse needed someone like that on her side of the battlefield, but the worry was still in the pit of her stomach. Was it answers about the Berserker Erika was searching for? Or something to boost her own SEED research? Did Eclipse care?

Eventually, the redhead sighed. "I'll need to talk to someone else before I can give you a solid answer."

"Of course, take all the time you need."

Eclipse nodded and said a small goodbye before leaving the room. She probably should have given her authorization right away, but at the very least Namarra deserved to know what was going on and thinking on it a little more couldn't hurt too much. After all, letting Erika look into the research meant they would all have a bit more clarity.

But she could tell it was going to be one terrifying experience.

---

"What's their location?" FS asked, peeking over Stray's shoulder. The chef actually jumped at the touch, but his friend didn't seem to notice.

"Their shuttle is still in space heading towards Aprilias 1. Probably be there within the next eight hours. They must've really begged if they were able to get and audience with a Supreme Council member."

"It's just one of the smaller, less influential ones," Melanie muttered, crossing her arms and legs in one of the back seats of the shuttle.

"Tad Elsman isn't that insignificant, sis, but he is a Natural hater, so this might be worth it," Phoebe replied calmly, fastening the leather bracelets on her wrists to cover up her healing cuts. They were from a failed suicide—or maybe homicide was a better way to put it—and would probably forever haunt her. FS had wanted to see how far she would go. The cuts were shallow—and Melanie had arrived just in time—but for someone who had just watched his entire organization crumble, FS seemed to be eager to lose another member.

"Yes, his son's a friend of Lexi's. If killing her parents isn't enough to impress the Berserker, adding guilt to the mix definitely will do something."

"And what do you hope to do when you do impress the Berserker, huh?" Melanie asked, sounding snotty even to Stray. The chef cringed, feeling FS push off the back of his chair to meet the Lust girl. Phoebe yelled FS's name and Stray turned around just in time to see her grab the Sin's arm before he could reach the back of the shuttle.

"Enough. Please."

The two of them locked stares until FS smiled and brought his free hand up to Phoebe's cheek. Patting it lightly he said, "You'll see," then propelled back to the co-captain seat. "Everyone, buckle up. We'll be in port soon." Melanie grumbled, but obeyed and Phoebe clicked her seatbelt soon after her sister.

FS leaned over a moment later, putting a hand on Stray's shoulder. "Keep an eye on Mel," he said, flicking his chin backwards.

Stray just stared as he watched his friend's face shift from serious to that sadistic happiness he seemed to be possessed with lately and nodded obediently. Stray still followed FS's every command, but "keeping an eye" on someone usually amounted to murder. Even Stray refused to kill Melanie. FS patted the chef's shoulder twice then leaned back into his own seat. Stray inhaled, realizing he didn't know he had stopped breathing.

---

"Wow, since when do you have a tattoo?" Eclipse asked, ducking under Namarra's roundhouse kick. She caught a glimpse of the design "7-13" on the inside of the Natural's left wrist. It was a little more ornate than the simple numbers, but there wasn't enough time for her to fully digest it.

"What'd ya mean?" she asked, catching her balance again after the attack just in time to jump over Eclipse's attempt at a trip. "I've always had it. Your observation skills just suck."

"Fuck off. You've always worn gloves until now." She rolled backwards to avoid Namarra's next kick. "Is it a date?"

"Yes," she said, giving them both some room and readying herself for her next move. "It's the day my brother died."

The redhead wasn't sure what to say, awkwardly opening and closing her mouth in an attempt to utter something comforting, but the only thing she could think of at the time was, "Oh."

"Oh? Wow, another thing you suck at." The Natural took a step forward and shifted her weight to her left, swinging her right foot in for another kick aimed at Eclipse's side.

Eclipse pushed Namarra's attack downwards with her hands and spun into an elbow jab. The Natural crouched down to avoid the attack and grabbed the back of the redhead's right knee, flipping her onto the ground. Still holding her leg, Namarra grabbed Eclipse's ankle in her other hand and twisted.

Eclipse hissed and rolled with the attack, kicking out with her left foot as it spun in Namarra's direction and making some connection with the Natural's side. Relieved, Eclipse felt her grip loosen and wiggled out of the hold. Kicking again, she hit only air as Namarra back rolled out of the way.

Taking the opportunity to get back to her feet, Eclipse put an arm on her bed and hoisted herself up, ready for another go. "No, I only suck certain things, but you're not my type."

Namarra gave an abrupt laugh before rolling onto the balls of her feet, nearly missing the corner of the desk as she rose. "Damn, it's cramped in here."

"Only two of the living quarters have gravity options. Lathan said that's all he could rig up."

"But how're we supposed to get some decent training in if we're running into things like a toilet?"

"I thought you enjoyed fighting in bathrooms?" Eclipse mused, reaching down to put some pressure on her right ankle. Leave it to Namarra to get in a cheap shot by going for Eclipse's injury.

"Yes, fighting in different environments builds character, but if we can help it—"

"We can't, Nam, not until we get to Mendel. So, just stop complaining and let's keep training. We have to build ourselves up again somehow."

"Whatever," she responded and opened the desk drawer. Inside was Eclipse's journal. Smirking, the Natural picked it up and was about to toss it at the redhead as a distraction when she looked up to see Eclipse already charging her.

Eclipse swung at Namarra's face and the Natural brought up the journal to block. The punch hit with a "thwap" on the leather surface and Namarra reached around to grab Eclipse's wrist before she could swing again. With her right arm caught for the moment, the redhead started swinging with her left.

Namarra blocked each attack with the journal, trying to throw Eclipse's punches down and away in order to get in a good counter. Her left hand struggled with Eclipse's right, throwing her a little off balance, but she was confident an opening would come soon.

And Eclipse let it.

The redhead's arm went limp and—just as she had anticipated—Namarra noticed. The Natural blocked Eclipse's attack down and to the side, putting all her force behind the punch in her left hand still holding the redhead's arm. Curling her fingers over Eclipse's wrist, Namarra swung, using the redhead's arm as additional force in a perfect "You're hitting yourself" moment. Eclipse tensed at the last second and spun, bringing her left elbow up to connect with the back of Namarra's head. Her right arm twisted awkwardly in the exchange, but it wasn't a serious injury. At least until Namarra continued tugging on it.

The Natural lost her balance and started tumbling towards the door, but she never let go of Eclipse's wrist. The redhead staggered after her, trying to grab onto something to steady herself and get some footing, but there wasn't much near the door to hang onto.

Namarra hit the door first and Eclipse struggled, but managed to hit the wall right next to her. Smirking—and having recovered first—Namarra pulled the redhead towards her for a headbutt and was about to make contact when the door opened behind her. The gravity was less forceful when it opened, but still enough to startle her. Eclipse crashed into her and they both fell into the gravity-less hallway and back against the wall.

"Oops," Lathan said as they passed by in front of him. "I knocked three times, but no one answered." The two of them groaned as they turned, frowning in response to his small smile. "Did I interrupt something? I mean, don't worry about me and feel free to continue if—"

"Get your mind out of your ass, Lathan," Eclipse retorted, snatching her journal still in Namarra's hands. She pointed the book at the Natural. "And leave my stuff alone."

"The whole room's fair game," Namarra responded, rubbing the back of her head. "I wouldn't complain if you used anything in my room next session."

"You don't have anything, dumbass."

"Alright, alright break it up." Lathan sighed. It was amazing how often those two bickered, but—at the same time—they showed the most amazing sense of loyalty to one another. "Namarra, I came to tell you the initial set up on the OS is complete. You have to trek over to the Archangel again to finish up the heavy stuff though."

The Natural sighed. "Fine. Chicibo App, status on running equipment."

Eclipse and Lathan exchanged amused smirks as they watched Namarra use her new CA system. They both knew where the name had come from—Eclipse had filled Lathan in—but it was always entertaining to hear.

"Roger that. Prepare for transport to the Archangel."

"Oh," Lathan began, turning and flicking his sister on the shoulder. "I was looking through our inventory and I think there's enough scrap to make a new arm. Might be easier than attaching an Astray's and having more headaches than a migraine-ist at a metal concert."

"Migraine-ist?"

"Go with it."

"Alright, I'll look into it," Eclipse replied, heading back into her room and walking over to the side panel. She turned off the gravity then slipped her journal back into its drawer before meeting the other two in the hallway.

"Y'know," Lathan started, tapping a finger against his cheek, "I think I'll start working on a new cockpit system for you two, especially since you're way better at the hand-to-hand stuff than the mobile suit crap."

"What was that?" they both said at the same time.

Lathan threw his hands up in an unarmed position. "Or so I've heard." Namarra rolled her eyes and Eclipse sighed, both heading down to the hangar. "Hm, and spandex. Yeah, spandex'll do it."

"Excuse me?" Namarra spat.

"Can you not say that when you're trailing us?"

"Pervert," Namarra added.

"No, I—ugh, c'mon! You guys are so sensitive."

"How can you not be offended by that?" Eclipse asked as they all turned the corner. "Just keep your daydreams to yourself."

"Amen to that."

Lathan sighed and pressed the button near his room door to change and get ready for transport. "You won't be saying that when the system turns out to be the coolest thing you've ever seen!"

"Ask for gratitude then!" Eclipse shouted as her and Namarra veered off into the locker room to change into their pilot suits. They were about halfway through changing when Eclipse turned to her right to look at the Natural as she was finishing up the final clips on her suit near her neck.

"Hey, Namarra, I just remembered something."

Eclipse heard a loud click and then Namarra's head popped around her own open locker door. "Hm?"

"I spoke with Erika Simmons, one of the main technicians aboard the Kusanagi, and she mentioned the research ZAFT did on me in the PLANTs. Apparently, she has most of the files and wants to do some comparing with her own data. What'cha think?"

"Research? ZAFT? On you?" Eclipse nodded. "Was it on what I think it's on?" The redhead nodded again and Namarra sighed, her eyes curving away back to the inside of her locker. They had yet to share everything about their respective experiences with the scientific community and perhaps that was the push they needed to do just that. It wasn't going to be an easy topic by any means and watching the thoughtfulness on the Natural's face made Eclipse wonder what they were going to learn.

"Do you think she could help me with some research on my brothers before she starts on us?" Namarra began slowly, turning back to the redhead. "I feel like they have less time than we do."

"Ah," Eclipse started, nodding slowly. It was a good point. "I'll go talk to her as soon as we get back. We might want to start tapping into the Earth Forces database soon too then. How far are you on your initial preparations?"

"I'm still acknowledged in the database so I can view all of my original information. I'm just debating whether or not to create a whole 'nother user in order to not be targeted so quickly."

"We could have three accounts—one for you, one for me, and another for Lathan if he's in—then have a ghost hacker to distract them while we find what we need."

The Natural nodded. "That might be the easiest thing to do. Just give me a little more time to see how far I can get into the system and find where we need to hack."

"Alright."

Namarra gave her a small wave and grabbed her helmet, leaving to head into the hangar. Eclipse did the same, grabbing her helmet and shutting her locker before following the Natural. Reaching the Stealth, she sat back in the seat and switched on the monitors, surprised to see a message blinking on the side of her screen. She opened it and started reading.

Nothing on SIN-ED, sorry. I was just transferred to the Hawkins team. The Chairman's been acting strange lately and Lathan tells me you're fine. Oh, and since when do you sing?

Heine Westenfluss

Eclipse sighed and shook her head. Leave it to her brother to have immediately told the other singer in her life about her semi-talent. Leaning back in her seat, she closed her eyes and smiled. Heine was alive; that was good. The part about SIN-ED still worried her, but right then, things were turning out to be better than she had thought.

---

They had gotten through port security easily enough which was a surprise given Phoebe had the suspicious marks on her wrists. In fact, a security officer had pulled her aside for questioning, but FS—a bit too eagerly—explained the failed suicide and ushered her away. If anything, his acting skills had improved because they weren't stopped again after that.

"Phoebe and I are going to speak with our contact. I want you two," FS pointed at the remaining Lust twin and Stray, "to track our prey. Report in every half hour."

"Roger that," Stray said and Melanie nodded. FS made eye contact with the chef and did a little head flick that could have been either a nod or a twitch. Stray didn't gesture back, but he knew what he wanted.

"C'mon," Melanie said after they had parted ways, grabbing Stray's arm and pulling him through the crowd. Her hurried steps lead the way, her ability to weave through the wave of people no doubt easier when she didn't have Stray trailing after her, but she didn't seem to mind, the chef offering more than one audible apology and grunt whenever he either cut someone off or physically hit them.

"Mel—please." He tore his arm from her grasp when she finally started to slow, taking the first chance to catch his breath when she turned them towards a side alley. "Stop, we're going in the wrong direction. They're meeting there." He pointed across the street to one of the taller buildings in the distance. It sprouted higher than the shops and knowing it was at least a 10- to 15-minute walk from their location, it was a building that towered over most of the others around it. It was an office building of some kind, but was also frequently used for international relations, a safe place for the diplomats who would rather speak outside of the often formal setting of an embassy.

"This is our chance to get out of here!"

"You'd leave Phoebe with him?" he hissed in return, taking a step towards her. "You know he'd take it all out on her. Can you live with that?"

"Phoebe's his. She hasn't been my sister in a long time," Melanie spat, taking a step towards him at the same time. "She even thanked him at the airport for getting her away from that security guard. Thanked him, Gluttony, even though he was the one that forced her to—to—" She didn't finish, turning her head away and spitting on the ground instead.

Stray frowned at the display. "Do you honestly believe she's not your sister anymore?"

"Yes."

He turned away from her, not wanting to see the sureness in her eyes and realizing that he knew she was probably right. Ever since that cutting incident a week ago, the two had been inseparable. Stray wasn't sure what was running through Phoebe's mind, but there was definitely something broken there. At first the chef had thought it was the drug withdrawal, but it wasn't sudden like the uprising, so he crossed that idea out. It was rather interesting because Melanie didn't seem affected either. They had said once they hadn't been in the program long, so that might explain it, but that still didn't make Phoebe's loyalty any more understandable.

Or my own, he realized with a sigh. "I won't leave him either," he admitted and resisted the cringe when she spat again and cursed loudly in his direction.

"But why? Why do you stay?"

"Where else can I go?" He held his arms out to his sides, looking down at his chest and then up at her again. "Where can any of us go?"

"So, you'll just follow his every move like some lapdog?" He shrugged and started hearing whispers back on the street behind them. People were beginning to notice and he walked forward, grabbing her arm that time and pulling them further down the alley away from curious onlookers.

"He doesn't give a damn about you!" she continued, struggling to keep up with his pace that time.

"That's a lie!" he hissed, pulling her in front of him and letting her go in a toss. She struggled forward a few steps, but didn't fall, Stray's lips curling over his teeth. "Revelin and I trust each other with our lives."

"Hah!" was her response, Melanie throwing her hands up exasperated and walked around in a circle. Her shoes slapped against the concrete, her lips moving in a mindless mutter that started making him nervous. If she bolted, he would have to chase her and there was no happy ending at the end of that scenario.

"If we both don't report in, you know what's going to happen," he warned. "Can you really leave Phoebe to suffer like that? She's your twin!"

Melanie kept pacing, throwing her arms up and down in her own personal battle. It was self-preservation verses loyalty and something Stray recognized very well, the chef feeling his fingers scroll up to bite into his palms.

"We all have to make shitty choices, Mel." When she didn't respond, he cursed and reached forward, snagging her arm again and pulling her back to the entrance of the alleyway. "Let's just get this over with then we will see what happens."

"But they're Lexi's parents. Gluttony, can you handle that?"

He stopped just before they met the busy sidewalk once more, whirling on her, but instead of anger, he realized he was tired. His face softened and she looked just as surprised by the reaction, even more so when his shoulders bobbed in a shrug.

"It's not Lexi; I think I can handle it."

"You're sure?" He nodded, realizing he was. She sighed. "Fine, afterwards we'll talk."

---

It started as one of Mu's bad ideas, but thanks to an unusual alliance between Cagalli and Namarra, it ended up being an interesting night for the younger crewmembers of the alliance.

There were seven of them: Eclipse, Cagalli, Namarra, Athrun, Kira, Dearka, and Miriallia. They all sat in a circle while Namarra and Eclipse shuffled three decks together between the two of them.

"So, what are you doing?" one of the Archangel teens asked. He wore thin glasses and had darker blonde hair. Apparently, his name was Sai, Eclipse had just never been properly introduced.

Cagalli slapped her hand down on the floor and a couple of people jumped. "The game's Strip Go Fish!"

"But no free peeps, so if you're not playing, get out. Only the people with enough balls to take it off can get in on this action," Eclipse announced, handing her shuffled deck to Namarra so she could combine all the cards.

"But that's my deck," Sai said, pointing at the cards.

"And mine," Miriallia added.

"And mine," Cagalli said right after.

"But you have to work in fifteen minutes." Eclipse pointed at Sai then shifted her finger to the door. "Sorry, pal." Sai shook his head, but left without another word, muttering something about how he wouldn't have played anyway.

Namarra passed out the cards as he left, but couldn't help smiling when Miriallia leaned over to whisper to Kira. "Why Go Fish and not Poker?"

"Poker's overrated," the Natural responded, dropping a card near her foot. "Besides, Go Fish is a game of skill and—"

"—there's more chances for you to strip," Cagalli finished, startling them all with her enthusiasm. She must really need to get her mind off of things if she was suggesting games like this one.

"Exactly, everyone got their cards?" Eclipse asked and they all nodded.

"Good, I'll go first. Lexi, any 9s?" Namarra asked.

"Go strip," the redhead replied with a smirk.

"Hm, sock or bra?" the Natural asked, looking at all the rather uncomfortable males in the room.

"Bra."

"Thought so."

And so it went. They were down to the last turn with two cards left in the pile. Pretty much whoever guessed right, was the winner. Miriallia was out first wearing her bra, shorts and one sock. She had gotten a bit risky about halfway through—picking to take off her shirt instead of the other sock—and she probably would have gone all the way if she hadn't gotten the next six cards right. Athrun had been second with nothing but his shorts and boxers then Kira in socks and boxers. Cagalli after them with a bra and underwear then Eclipse wearing only her underwear. She sat Indian style with her hands clenching her ankles and her arms conveniently covering most of her breasts while she watched the last two. Namarra was down to just her underwear and Dearka had only his boxers. The two had one card each and it was Dearka's turn to ask.

"Namarra, please tell me that's a Queen."

Eclipse wasn't sure which was better, the smirk on the Natural's face when she told him to "Go strip," or how pale Dearka got when he heard the words. At first, Eclipse didn't think he'd do it, but he gained a bit of confidence and danced the shorts all the way down. Everyone but Miriallia cheered him on and only when he bent over to flip up the cards on the ground and claim his defeat did his confident smirk fade into a glare.

Two fours were lying face up.

"Wow, you are naturally tan," Namarra said, adding a whistle as she turned the card to reveal the other queen between her fingers.

"But not naturally blond. Go figure," Cagalli added with a girlish giggle.

"Care to do that for us again in Round Two?" Eclipse asked and couldn't hold it in after that, falling over in laughter while Miriallia next to her covered her face in embarrassment. A couple of the others followed Eclipse's hysteria, but most of them grabbed their clothes and watched in anticipation to see if Dearka was going to attack Namarra for cheating. The blond held back and grumbled as he snatched his boxers.

"Oh, stop pouting. Here, I'll make it fair," Namarra said, getting to her feet and put her fingers under the waistband of her underwear. She started sliding them down when the door opened behind her, the Archangel pilot, Neumann, looking in just in time to see the show.

Definitely priceless.

---

The meeting was supposed to be private and in an enclosed room, but with everything going on in the PLANTs it was given a lesser priority and stuck in one of the outer rooms. A shade across a window wasn't enough to block Phoebe's trained sniper eye, however. Besides, a rocket launcher didn't need much aiming anyway. The plan was simple, fire the rocket into the room then ignite the dynamite and C4 positioned near the weak spots of the structure to cover up the prime target. It had taken longer than expected to place all the explosives, but they were lucky the meeting had taken longer than originally calculated.

"Gluttony in position."

"L1, ready when you are."

"L2, target locked on," Phoebe said.

FS smiled next to her, bringing the radio up to his lips. "Firing."

---

Eclipse watched the argument with interest. It had been a long time since she had seen Lathan so worked up and flailing his arms around like some flightless bird eager to touch a cloud. He was talking with Athrun, but that still didn't explain all the yelling.

"What's going on?" Cagalli asked, looking up into the council room as well. There was a large glass window overlooking the hangar and the two men had gained quite the audience.

"I have no idea. They've been like this for the past five minutes."

"Odd," the blonde remarked.

"'Stop it—it's obvious what you're doing,'" Eclipse said, squinting so she could read Lathan's lips. They had finally turned so she could see their mouths. "'I don't know what you're so upset about.'" Eclipse laughed. "That's obvious, Athrun."

"You can read what they're saying?"

The redhead nodded and tried concentrating on their argument once more but was only able to make out two words before Lathan threw up his arms and left the room. Cagalli, she thought and covered a smirk as she looked at the blonde out of the corner of her eye. He didn't…

"So, what was it all about?" Cagalli asked, laughing as she tried to pull her hand away. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't get it all," she lied and they both looked back up at the room just in time to see Athrun staring down at them. And he blushed.

Athrun actually blushed.

"Did he just—" Cagalli began.

"Yeah," Eclipse finished.

"What do you think—"

"I dunno."

"I'm gonna ask him."

"Which one?"

Cagalli seemed to think about it for a second then replied rather intelligently, "I'll talk to Lathan."

"Good decision.

She ran off after that and Eclipse let her go. For the past couple of days—even after the Strip Go Fish—the redhead could tell the stress was still getting to her fair cousin. She hadn't been able to concentrate, getting too restless and often running back and forth from the bridge, to the hangar, and then back to the Regean. The big circle had made Eclipse dizzy just thinking about it so she couldn't imagine how the blonde was feeling. She sighed.

"Ugh, I know that look," Namarra said, coming up behind the redhead. "Depressed again?"

"Just family stuff."

"Yeah, not getting involved. C'mon, there's only a few more hours before the Decay's computers are officially up and running. Let's have a little fun."

"What did you have in mind?"

Namarra winked. "Ever wanted to play a prank on that Kira guy?"

"Only every day."

"Good, I'm sure we can come up with some pretty spicy ideas to cheer you up."

---

It was immature. No matter how a person looked at it, it was a stupid prank and definitely inappropriate in such a delicate situation.

But, damn, it was worth it.

Namarra and Eclipse didn't know when they had gotten so lucky, but many of the mechanics seemed to be in the hangar when Kira was about to start his shift outside the ships. Athrun was just coming in and his Justice was walking over to its gate. The girls were over by their computer terminal, leaning on the console and looking over their shoulders at the Freedom pilot as he grabbed his helmet.

"Well, I'll check it out, whatever it is," he said and kicked off towards the open cockpit.

Athrun stepped out just as Kira reached the Freedom, shaking his head as he took off his helmet. "Things look all clear from what I could tell."

"Sai said he saw something on the radar. I'm gonna go check it out…" He trailed off as he put on his helmet, a mixture of red and grey goop sliding down the front visor. It looked like dyed shaving cream, the thick substance crawling down the plastic in a sluggish ripple.

The two females covered up laughs.

Kira—once he figured out what was happening—took the helmet off before it fell into his mouth. "Wha—" The headgear slipped off nicely, but the loud sucking noise could be heard from the hangar floor. Eclipse and Namarra nearly lost it then.

"K-Kira, wha—" Athrun began, but when his friend dropped the helmet and tried wiping the cream from his eyes, he nearly started laughing as well. "A-are you okay?" he stuttered, probably not sure what else to say.

"Did you do this?" Kira asked, turning to Athrun and accidently throwing a clump of cream his way when he pointed.

"Me?"

The Freedom started a high-pitched beeping behind him and the pilot spun around to check it out. There was a flash then, "click!"

"What was that?" Athrun asked, but the laughter from the hangar floor must have drawn his attention. Kira's shaving creamed face was posted on every terminal.

"Hah! Hey, kid, that stuff might be useful if ya were even old enough ta grow whiskers!" Murdoch yelled and everyone laughed again.

Eclipse and Namarra joined in then, knowing they were safe. Chuckling, they gave a secret high five and pressed "Save" on the computer.

Oh yeah, definitely worth it.

Lathan had to spoil the fun. Kira passed the other Rymyr sibling on his way to the locker room, but Lathan didn't even seem to notice the shaving creamed individual. "Lexi—Lexi, get over here." The panic in his voice stopped the laughter from both girls.

Eclipse started getting nervous just watching him. "Lathan—"

"No, not here. Bridge. Now." He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the hangar, Namarra trailing behind.

"Lathan—what?"

He didn't say anything as they wove through the Archangel's corridors, making her even more nervous. She couldn't remember ever seeing him so panicked.

Tossing them into the elevator shaft—when the Archangel's in space, it was faster to store the elevator in the furthest end of the shaft—he pushed their feet and sent them up to the bridge door. The girls glanced at each other as they neared the top, growing suspicious. Lathan joined them and pulled them through the door as soon as it opened, throwing Eclipse so hard she had to stabilize herself on the chair in the back otherwise she would have flown all the way into the front screen.

"Turn it on!" he shouted.

"Lathan—" Cagalli began.

"Damn it, do it!"

Cagalli turned to Murrue who was already telling Miriallia to turn the broadcast onto the side screen. Eclipse caught sight of Dearka in the lower part of the room, one hand tracing back and forth on his arm. He looked pale and definitely shaken. Mu was standing nearby, keeping an eye on him it seemed.

What now?

"—no new leads," the man said on the broadcast and Eclipse turned back to the screen. Lathan's hand shook against her arm as his grip grew tighter. "You can see some of the damage behind me." The camera zoomed in on the giant cloud of black smoke with large flames licking up the sides. A good, half dozen water streams from fire hoses were trying to calm the inferno. "The authorities still aren't letting us get any closer until they get everything under control. Woah!" An explosion erupted behind them and the reporter ducked in fright. Some people ran screaming past the camera and Eclipse could hear a woman yelling for a medic in the background. "There was just another explosion and authorities still can't find the source or even the reasoning behind such an attack. People remember hearing a series of explosions and the building falling to the ground, but we have no leads on who might have done this and why. The whole PLANT's in an uproar. We have no confirmation if any internal systems were damaged, but we'll let you know immediately if anything is wrong."

"What is this?" Eclipse asked, turning to look at her brother and feeling the panic begin to rise in her chest. "Lathan, why are you so pale?"

"Just wait," Lathan whispered and the redhead focused back on the screen.

"I know many people are anxious to know, but we have yet to get the victim list. The only confirmations we have are of military commanders, Aged Jullian, Simon Prius, Walsh Edgar Sr., and Sprear Ginile. Commander Jackson Asther is hospitalized and in critical condition. Other victims include secretaries Margaret Hayes, Phillip Will, and Pam Collineal. And probably the most shocking is Supreme Council member Tad Elsman—"

Eclipse immediately looked down at her comrade then felt her own blood drain from her face.

"—and Orb liaisons Bryce and Emilia Rymyr."

The broadcast continued with more names, but she had stopped listening, the shock numbing her to the other sounds from the bridge. Did she hear that right? Her parents?

…Dead?

Athrun came on the bridge and started saying something, but her brain couldn't process the words, the blood pulsing in her ears. She heard Dearka shout something next and Mu somewhere nearby, but it was all distant, the redhead feeling as if she was drifting backwards in her mind. It wasn't as if she was terribly close with her parents, but they were still a part of her past and part of her, for that matter. Her last conversation with them had given her a little hope; some hope their relationship could be patched up somehow. But now, that wasn't possible.

Her last words to them would always be their argument.

"Just in," the broadcast began, the sound penetrating Eclipse's shock that time. "The word 'Sinful' followed directly after by the letters 'BALRM' were etched into the lawn near the southern edge of the building. We have no idea what they could mean."

"What?" Eclipse hissed, her anger there instantly. She propelled closer to the screen, Lathan's hand on her arm loosening as she pulled further away. "What did he say?"

The broadcast displayed the letters on the bottom of the screen, even going as far as to present the photographed image taken from a helicopter helping put out the flames. She had heard them correctly. The letters were a large, almost like a festering wound as clumps of dirt littered the charring grass in front of the scene and that act alone solidified who the guilty party was. The first three letters of "sinful" were capitalized, the phrase looking like "SINful Balrm." Her parents were dead, yes, but even more than that.

They were murdered.

By FS and Stray.

It had to be them. They were the only other people—well, besides Heine—in that ballroom on Mendel way back when they first started their whole masquerade. It was the first time she had truly thought they had gone insane, but because of some deep sense of duty or something, she had wanted nothing more than to save them. Now they killed her parents and took Dearka's father with them.

"Namarra," she hissed, whirling and making eye contact with her counterpart standing behind Lathan and Athrun.

The Natural narrowed her eyes. "You're sure?" Eclipse nodded. "Fuck."

"What?" Mu asked, standing with his arms crossed over his chest and still down near the front of the bridge by Dearka. The girls didn't reply. "Is this one of your agendas?"

"Nam, we're going."

"Way ahead of you."

FS and Stray were playing with the Devil that time, Eclipse knew, feeling herself falling again in her mind. The void enveloped her and she welcomed it, hearing a door creak open and then close in front of her.

"Wait," Murrue began, but when Eclipse turned back to her, the captain nearly stopped breathing. Too scared to say anything more, she just stared.

The Berserker.

"What?" Eclipse spat. "They killed my parents and Dearka's father. Why the fuck should we wait?"

"Because you're not thinking," Mu continued, trying to stick up for his captain, but not even he could suppress the shiver for locking eyes with a Berserker for the first time.

"Not thinking?" Mu's arms even fell to his sides as if he was bracing himself for a fight. "Wanna say that again?"

"Lexi," Namarra said, her named echoed by Lathan, the combination getting enough of her attention to stop her from advancing on Mu. Eclipse didn't even notice she was moving, let alone that Athrun had been the one close enough to put a hand on her elbow to pull her back. She glared down at his hold and she started to turn to him when Dearka's words pulled her attention back towards the front of the ship.

"You know who they are, right?" he asked and, surprisingly, the blond could match her gaze. "Are you gonna kill them?"

"Dearka," Miriallia said, but he shook his head, as if physically brushing off the name.

"Oh yeah, you're on this pacifistic side of the war now," Eclipse scoffed, making more than a couple of the people there shift uncomfortably. Cagalli tried reaching out to her, but Eclipse was already pulling her arm from Athrun's grip and away from their attempt at comforting her. "Yes, I'm going to kill them. They should've been killed a long time ago."

"But their circumstances aren't their fault," Athrun said, sounding quite calm behind her. "You know what they went through. I mean, you did the same thing. Can you really blame them for something ZAFT organized and executed?" Lathan, Namarra, and Dearka were the only other people who really understood what he was talking about, but the words still affected Eclipse nonetheless. She turned to him then, a sluggish movement that seemed to cripple his composure.

Narrowing her eyes, she responded slowly. "And because of ZAFT I have to clean up this mess. You may think you understand because you read a fuckin' report, but I've been watching them slip downward towards insanity for the past two years or so. And this," the Berserker pointed at the screen to her left, "is what my hesitance has been rewarded with. If not them, who do I blame? The Council?" A chortle slipped between her lips and Eclipse felt the grin even before he saw him pale. "Your father, perhaps?"

"Lexi, enough," Lathan ordered, pulling Athrun behind him as he stepped in front of her. "If you know who they are, we'll tell the authorities—"

"What, have them find SIN-ED before they strike again? Who do you think they would put on the case, huh? Heine?" It was Lathan's turn to pale and the Berserker laughed again. "No, they want us—me. Nam and I were charged with cleaning up these pathetic armies' dirty laundry, and that's what we plan on doing."

"Lexi—"

"Don't," the Berserker hissed, putting her hand on Lathan's left shoulder and pushing off him towards the elevator. "Nam, come on."

The Natural was already a step in front of her, her hand braced against the elevator shaft and holding the door open for her counterpart. "Waiting on you," she said, keeping a close eye on the Berserker. Her body was tense and ready to lunge if need be. Namarra really didn't want it to come to that though.

Making a mock salute, Eclipse turned back to the bridge and winked. "Don't wait up." The door closed behind them and she just started laughing.

"You're an ass," Namarra muttered, propelling herself to the bottom of the shaft.

The Berserker swept her arms out wide as if in a bow. "Just 'cause you're jealous doesn't mean you can get all pissy with me."

"Did you have to make a scene?"

Eclipse could feel her face shift from amused to pissed and even after all the times Namarra and her had fought each other—seen each other at her absolute worse—the Berserker had never seen her counterpart scared. Given, she hid it very well, but nothing could get past Eclipse then. Once she met her at the bottom, Eclipse slammed both fists against the wall on either side of Namarra's head. "Try asking your other half before accusing me of anything. What? Never been on the other side of this before?" Eclipse pointed to her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Hah," the Berserker put a hand on Namarra's chin, lifting it up slightly, "you're a pretty good liar, but remember, we're exactly the same." The bottom door opened and Eclipse shoved her hand to the side, slapping the Natural as she kicked herself outside. Stabilizing herself on the wall, she turned back to Namarra just as the Natural was recuperating. "Stop trying to prove yourself to me because I really don't give a damn. If you'd just snap as well, we wouldn't be having this dick contest."

"I doubt they'd be able to handle us both."

"Heh." The Berserker smiled again. "I doubt anyone could handle that." She shivered, more from excitement than anything. "I can't wait for that day."

Namarra watched Eclipse lead the way and shook her head. Her human half was nervous, but her Berserker half danced along with the same waltz.

The two Berserkers on the same team creating their chaotic harmony.

---

FS stretched on the couch, falling sideways and lying down across the cushions. Yawning, he put his hands behind his head and smiled. The television glitched off to his right, but he had already seen all the footage he needed to see. The news channel displayed the picture again for the fifth time and that meant the Berserker would be there soon.

"Pride, L1 and L2 have a visual of two figures coming from the port," Phoebe announced through the radio. "Preparing to engage."

"Roger that. You know your chances?"

"Slim."

FS smirked, hearing no hesitation in her voice. "It was fun."

"Only for you," Phoebe replied and the radio went dead. Stray frowned from the chair nearby.

FS just laughed.

---

(***)

Song: "Akatsuki no Kuruma" (Wheels of Dawn)

Singer/Writer: FictionJunction YUUKA

Personal Notes: I take no credit for this song whatsoever. I do not own it, nor do I own any part of it. It is an insert song for Gundam SEED and as such I felt it okay to put in the story. Since music is a main theme for this story, having the songs from the series worked well for both the plot and characterization. There will be more songs in the future for those same reasons.

Sincerely,

Strata-Assassin

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(This is the reason no one else gets the CA System.)

"Lathan's an idiot," Eclipse said, staring at the Stealth and Decay with one hand on her hip and her other holding a thermos of coffee. "How can you just lose the original data for the CA?"

Namarra took a sip from her own thermos. "He said something about destroying it before it could be confiscated by ZAFT."

"Well, that was a smart thing to do until the system became bitchy enough to make its own decisions."

"Damn it, CA! I made you!" Lathan shouted, struggling between the Stealth's fingers. "You go where I want you to go."

Eclipse put a hand up to her ear. "Coffee Addict says, 'Fuck you.'"

"Chicibo says, 'Go to Hell.'"

Lathan screamed in frustration and kicked his feet.

"Y'know, if they both get destroyed, his 'genius' would be lost forever," Namarra observed, taking another sip.

"Well, that'll be their problem." She pointed to the two suits, sighing when Lathan let loose a string of curses and banged his fists against the Stealth's fingers. Reaching up to her ear again, she turned down the volume on the transmitter, tired of hearing it say, "Won't copy," and "Shut up," repetitively amid laughter.

Namarra took another gulp of the coffee and nodded, humming quietly to herself. "Y'know, I think I've gotten used to this motor oil."

"I told you. And you never believe anything I say."

"So, you're addicted to the stuff?"

"Have you never heard the name of my CA?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought you said that was some kind of tribute."

Eclipse shrugged. "A bit of both, I guess." Lathan screamed again in the background and the redhead took a sip as she turned to see his still struggling form. The Stealth's headless body seemed to move closer to him, as if it was looking at him with its nonexistent eyes. It was a bit eerie, actually.

"Oh, just to warn you," Namarra began, putting her hand up to her ear. "Chicibo said it's gonna shoot at Lathan. Needs target practice, or something."

"CIWS?"

Namarra nodded.

"Is it loaded?"

She shrugged.

"Well," Eclipse took another sip and smiled, liking the taste, "we'll find out. Either way, he'll probably shit his pants."

Namarra agreed and finished off her coffee.

---

A/N: Hey guys, just another little short for you and please note the information on the song I used. I really enjoyed the music in the series, so I thought it would be cool to keep incorporating it, especially with so many characters having some form of musical talent. Anyway, I couldn't resist having my own two characters put in their two cents and—despite Namarra's strive for perfection—it actually did sound pretty good. She just downplayed it because she can be a snot at times. O.o (Sorry, just stating the truth.)

As for the chapter itself I'd like to mention that this is a pretty pivotal moment in my story. As all you avid fans know, the series is winding down—well, the ending is in sight at least—so the epic battle between the Berserkers and the Lust twins has to be relatively soon, right? And the battle against FS and Stray? Guess what, they'll most likely be in the next chapter. I haven't decided if I want them to fight FS and Stray as well as the Lust girls, but there's definitely going to be one major bitch fight near the beginning of the next chapter. Just what you guys wanted to hear, huh? We'll have to see how it ends up and see if Lexi can shake the Berserker. O.o

This installment was a bit lighthearted in places and I figured it was about time. Yes, there is a lot of major stuff going on at this point in the series, but sometimes people just need something to get their mind off all the big stuff and focus on the small things like Strip Go Fish and pranks on the "almighty" Kira Yamato. I couldn't resist and I hope you guys enjoyed it, even if you do like Kira. (It was harmless, don't worry.) So, I'm still looking for other little ideas if anyone wants to offer suggestions. Even if I can't put them into the series, I'll do a little one-shot in my author's note—like the one I have this time—on how it would probably go down. If anyone's interested, either drop an idea in a review or message me.

It looks as if they might be finding a little more information about Berserkers in contrast with SEEDs within the next couple of chapters. They really don't have that much information on the subject, but they can come up with some comparisons and maybe some effects to watch out for at least. We'll have to see how it all turns out.

Special thanks to my betas, Death-Scimitar, Maderfole, and CSS Stravag for putting up with me this chapter and all of my spelling mistakes. (I had quite a few this time.) As well as taking the time to put all the effort in to reading it. Always appreciated!

An awesome shoutout to all of you avid fans as well. I try to reply to all my reviews—and if I missed you this time around I am so sorry! It's been a hectic month—so please feel free to write one. Criticism is as appreciated as praise, so a special thank you for all the people out there putting in the effort to give me some feedback.

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Corrections to the Narrative:

For the most part, I played with the timeline a little bit. I kept true to the dates, but I pushed up when Cagalli showed the picture to Kira mainly because I wanted her to be concerned about it throughout this chapter. That lack of confidence and her trying to find herself again was a good gateway for some of the little inserts. Besides, she's still young and needs a little time to soak it in, so I didn't really like how in the series she was just thrown into one thing after another.

To make a long rant short, I had her show the picture to Kira, but Athrun doesn't leave to confront his father until the next chapter, while the girls are gone. That way, I can kind of skip ahead in the SEED timeline while my OCs are off doing their own thing. I won't bore you guys with rewriting the canon and can have a little fun without too many restraints.

See? Everyone wins!

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Questions/Gripes:

There were a lot of people who were happy Lexi got into a lot of trouble for talking to the three Druggies and I guess I was surprised you guys were surprised. I guess I was just too stuck on the idea of, "She'd so get screwed for doing this," that I didn't even realize how many main characters just get a slap on the wrist. I'm really glad she got into trouble too because she needed to be. No short changing that one.

P.S. I still love Ghost Adventures. Not sure if anyone can turn me away from it now. XD

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Thanks again for all the support and I'll see you next chapter.

Strata