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)

59. Coping Beyond Repair

Update: Tweaked/rewritten January 2022.

Coping Beyond Repair

Eclipse woke up in a panic; a painful panic that started from her toes and wove up through her body until it reached the kink in her neck. She tried to sit up, but there was a weight there, one that she couldn't move even if she had not been bedridden. To make it even more interesting, she was lying in zero gravity. How could there be that much pressure?

"Mornin', darling."

She had to blink twice to make sure she was seeing right. Namarra was the weight, her butt sitting in the squishy area between her ribs and her hip bones and to make things worse, her genetic comrade was pushing up on the shelf above their heads, forcing every ounce of pressure onto the redhead. Eclipse's injuries tripled the pain, but nothing could measure up to the disappointment she felt when she saw Namarra's Berserker eyes.

The lights in the infirmary were dim, the most colorful hues and loudest sounds coming from the medical panel to the right near Eclipse's bed. There were two others in the infirmary as well as she was, but the crewmembers were turned on their sides, away from Eclipse and she couldn't help but think that was a blessing. The doctor was no where in sight, but the redhead didn't want him to run into Namarra as she was now, especially since every muscle in Eclipse's body was complaining, and the likelihood of her helping in a tussle was small.

"What have you been up to?" Eclipse asked slowly.

"Oh, don't sound so suspicious," Namarra said, letting go of the shelf and beginning to pick at her nails as the pressure began to lighten. She had changed out of her pilot suit and was sitting comfortably in some black pants and a green T-shirt, which meant she had been freely roaming the halls and Eclipse cursed inwardly. "I just had a lovely time in space."

"Space?"

"Yes, helping the EA and ZAFT rescue teams."

"Rescue teams?"

"Is there an echo?" the Natural asked, looking around comically before continuing her response. "Yes, I went out in a transport to help the rescue teams."

Eclipse paused, her face contorting into something resembling a confused expression. The only difference being her eyebrows shifted inward, showing more displeasure than intrigue. "And they let you help?"

"What's that supposed to mean? It was out of the goodness of my heart, wasn't it?"

"You went out like that." She pointed to her Berserker eyes and sighed. "Somehow I doubt your intentions were less than honorable."

"Oh, c'mon. This coming from the Berserker who went rogue for days and was playing house with a corpse? Oh, did I ever mention how impressive that was?" She did a bow from where she was, making it look surprisingly elegant despite the awkward positioning. "If only I had the means to repeat such an artwork. Alas, I had to get a little more creative."

Eclipse swallowed. "Tell me, how many times did your gracious heart save humanity this time?"

"I've been out there five times already."

Her heart monitor sped up. How long have I been out? she thought, her inner voice screeching with panic. What happened with Athrun, Kira, and Cagalli? What about the others? She swallowed again. How could no one have realized Namarra was—

"I can be very convincing," the Berserker said, going back to picking at her nails. Crossing her legs, she glanced sideways at the redhead. "And most of the EA thought I was still a member of the military. Not only that, but they praised me for being a survivor of the Dominion," she chortled, an ugly thing starting from the back of her throat before it ended with a hiss. "How embarrassing."

Eclipse really didn't know what to say, finding the whole thing embarrassing as well. Apparently, the Earth Alliance really had little to no tabs on Azrael and what he had been doing in the war. If they had had some kind of indication, they would have known Namarra was estranged from the rest of the group. But, then again, would Azrael even want that to be made public? Not only that, but would she have even been on the registry to begin with?

"Y'know," Namarra continued, Eclipse jolting out of her thoughts to see the Berserker's face dangerously close to her own. "You're not as scary when you're not berserk."

The redhead narrowed her eyes. "I take that as a compliment, actually."

"Nah, it was a diss," the Berserker mocked, rocking back to a more comfortable distance. "Despite being a Natural, I'm proud to say Namarra has a bit of a bite to her and a stomach approaching steel. For example, while she may not have done the same thing in such a manner, I'm proud to say she may have been able to stomach putting most of those soldiers out of their misery."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Pfft, what kind of rescuer did you think I was? The one with teddy bear Band-Aids?"

"So you—" The redhead paused, realization dawning. Namarra had gone out to relieve her bloodlust onto the war survivors. Of course, she should have been thankful the Berserker didn't take her warmongering out on the Three Ship Alliance, but the thought of what she might have done made her face grow sour. "You're insane."

The Berserker blinked once, looking the closest to innocent Eclipse would have ever thought possible. "Why, yes, I am. I didn't know that was debatable. Deary, has your brain overheated or something?" Namarra's hand went to Eclipse's forehead, but the redhead wiggled her arm out from under the blanket to pushed it away.

"You joined the search party to kill people?"

"Oh, don't sound so patronizing," Namarra scoffed. "Most were more cookoo than we are. Being stranded in space with no hope of survival can do that to a person. As I recall," she continued slowly, leaning in close once more. "Something like that happened to you."

Eclipse swallowed hard, not able to sink the back of her head far enough into the pillow to keep those eyes away from her. "So, you killed them," she said quietly.

"Naturally." She shrugged and sat up again, having to steady herself on the shelf above them. "I had to get my kicks out somewhere, yes?"

"But I vaguely remember you saying it's no fun to kill someone who isn't afraid of you."

"Who said they weren't afraid of me? Lexi, Lexi, Lexi, you make it sound as if I made it a clean death."

Just what Eclipse had figured and she released a breath slowly. "All of that, just to get you kicks, huh?"

The Berserker hummed that time, acknowledging the phrase as fact. "I don't get why you're so upset. How is this any different from what you do?"

"I at least have a reason to kill someone."

"Hah, reason? Wow, God Complex, much?"

"You know what I mean."

She hummed again, head tipping to the side as her fingers moved to her chin, stroking it in thought. "Perhaps there's something we can learn from this. You, my dear genetic sister, and I are not that alike after all. Despite what that little human mind of yours may think, we both kill for shallow—almost nonexistent—reasons, but while you enjoy the finesse of the display, I enjoy the deterioration from the inside." Namarra's finger moved from her chin to land on Eclipse's nose and she wiggled it back and forth. "Sure, I do love my bit of carnage once and a while, but there are other ways to kill a human being. In fact, couldn't you see it?" The wiggling increased until Eclipse had had enough, shaking her head and shooing the finger away. "Couldn't you just imagine the fun we could have together?"

"Maybe I'm just too hopped up on pain drugs, but at the moment, no," Eclipse replied, eyes moving away from her crazed counterpart to find the call button near her bed so she could get some help. She had guessed a while ago that Namarra's grief had finally pushed her over the edge, but unlike past situations, she didn't have anything of use readily on hand. Nothing short of violence could snap her out of it and she was bedridden in the closest thing to a crib she'd been in since she was a child.

Or maybe not?

The pain medicine machine chimed next to her head, indicating the next dosage was being pumped into her system. If she really wanted to get Namarra back to normal, she would have to do it while the medication wasn't clouding her actions.

Looking around, she didn't see anything like a crash cart, but they were both sitting back against a wall; a wall with power outlets and wires. While they weren't the best options, they were something and with Namarra all comfy hanging above her midriff, something was better than the alternative.

"Well, maybe I can do a little visualizing for you." Her hand was back to her chin and her feet started kicking, giving Eclipse the illusion of an excited toddler. "See, we'd have our own place, with our own little posse. Just imagine us, the dictators over a bunch of the most sadistic people this generation could cough up." She spread her arms out wide and Eclipse had to hide the grin. It sounded good to her Berserker and she shook her head, shutting that door in her mind. "It's a shame both Le Creuset and Azrael are gone because they would have been my prime choices. Creepiness is a plus."

Eclipse started wiggling an arm free, saying, "Sorry, my more human self finds it so creepy it's shivering a bit," when Namarra glared down at her. That seemed suffice enough because the Berserker continued her rambling.

"We could have parties every night with booze, drugs, sex, dancing, singing—oh, just whatever our sadistic minds could concoct!"

"Fascinating," Eclipse mumbled, and started reaching behind Namarra's back towards the outlets. One wire was meant to stay plugged in, a direct line to the ship's power for that particular medical bed. It would have to do.

"We'd be the talk of the century."

"Uh-huh." Her hand was gripped around the wire near the machine it was connected to.

"And, of course, we'd do the most awful stuff of the century too."

Pulling hard, she managed to get it free and was close enough to Namarra that the backlash should have just sent the cord into her side, but the Berserker moved, snagging Eclipse's arm before the wire hit.

"C'mon, I'm not that stupid," she groaned, rolling her eyes. Her feet were close to the floor, her body facing the bed completely and Eclipse was impressed. She had pushed off the shelf and righted herself just in time to grab the redhead's wrist. "I'm the one who figured out shocking was the only thing to bring you back, remember?"

They struggled for a little bit—if struggling meant Eclipse's failing strength trying to hold off Namarra's Berserker strength until the redhead finally gave up, her heart monitor beeping so loudly it woke up a couple of the others in the room. She couldn't help the grin on her face.

"Oh, poo, that must be my cue." Reaching down with her free hand, she tweaked Eclipse's nose. "Well played, my dear cripple."

And she was gone.

The doctor came in soon after, making some comment about the unplugged wire and trying to calm down the others in the room, but no amount of shushing was going to calm Eclipse.

Grasping the doctor's sleeve, she shook it hard to get his attention. "I need to talk to Commander Waltfeld. Now."

"Currently, he's in a meeting with the Kusanagi."

"I don't care about currently; he'll understand, trust me. Please just get me in contact with him."

The doctor eyed her suspiciously but didn't argue a second time. Walking across the room, he pressed a couple buttons on the monitor there and spoke to someone on the bridge before Waltfeld's face showed on the screen and even at that distance she could tell he wasn't pleased about being interrupted.

"Sir, Miss Rymyr would—"

"Commander, Namarra's running amok on the Eternal and I'm sure you can guess she's a bit berserk," she sputtered, the words coming out in a rush as she nearly tumbled out of her bed.

His annoyance shifted quickly to understanding and he sighed, the only thing he uttered being, "I'll handle it," then he was gone.

Confused, the doctor looked from Eclipse to the screen, but she had little else to say other than, "You're gonna need to ready another bed, doc."

---

Namarra checked around every corner as she passed through the Eternal's halls. Visiting Eclipse had been worth the risk mainly because she had wanted to plant the little seed of doubt in her mind and, as far as she could tell, had succeeded. What was the fun in being a Berserker if she couldn't scramble a few minds in the process?

Heading towards the hangar, the Decay, and her eventual freedom, she was forced to pause when two crew members laughing near the kitchen door blocked her path. Ironically enough, it was a bit odd to see so many people just having a good time and the scowl was on her lips quickly. Sure, the war was finally over and it had been a couple of days since the last battle, but there were still major losses in their little alliance. So many, in fact, there were now under 10 mobile suit pilots still living when there had used to be almost 30.

She couldn't make out their whole conversation, but just enough to realize they were heading back to the bridge to start their shift. That meant they were going to pass by Namarra's position and her scowl deepened. Backtracking a couple of steps, she kept her head low and passed near the door. She timed it just right, the crew members too involved in their conversation to see the Berserker slip by and she smirked, continuing on to the hangar.

Her Decay was just beyond the next door, but since she was getting blocked in the hallway by another redhead, it seemed as if she wasn't going to make the quiet escape that she had originally planned.

"Since Lexi is asleep, I really didn't want to make too big of a ruckus and wake her up," the Berserker explained, but DaCosta didn't seem to believe her excuse.

Standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, the greencoat took a deep breath. "The Commander asks that you stay for a little while. He would like to speak to you."

"Moi?" Namarra asked, both hands going to her chest as an innocent grin accompanied her batting eyelashes. "And why would the commander be interested in someone like me?"

"He's on his way over now."

"Come now, DaCosta," the Berserker slurred, sliding a few feet forward. "You don't have to be so rude. And here I thought we were friends." Curving off towards the wall, she leaned on her elbow and looked at him from the side.

"I'm friends with Namarra, not you," he responded, calmer than the Berserker had thought he would be. In fact, that kind of attitude was what had pissed her off in the first place. The Berserkers hadn't been given their full appreciation in months, ever since the Three Ship Alliance started this little crusade, and rather than seeing it as a gutsy move by her allies, the Berserker saw as nothing more than suicidal.

Reaching out, she grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the opposite wall, putting her forearm against his throat once he had begun to regain some composure. His head slammed back against the wall as she hit and she put a knee into his gut for good measure, though the hold was subpar in anti-gravity. Still the couple of blows had taken him off guard and he cursed.

"Y'know," she spat, "all of this cockiness is pissing me off. Either you all have not heard of what we Berserkers can do, or have never had the chance to see us in action." He didn't respond, one eye parting open to look down into hers. "Then again, I heard you were the one to help free Lexi from her medical debacle, or however that went down. Tell me, how did she look then?" She leaned down and grabbed his hand, putting a finger between her thumb and pointer. The Berserker grinned. "What was it, this one?"

"Namarra, enough," Waltfeld ordered, having come down the corridor the same way she had come previously. His entrance had paused her as planned and she backed off slightly, the older commander grabbing the hand ready to snap DaCosta's finger.

First, her eyes glared at the hand keeping hers captive then up to the commander, expression twisting back into the innocent girl's she had pretended to be earlier. "Ah, hello there. I heard you needed to speak to me."

"Sort of," the commander went on, trying to pull her off DaCosta who had his other hand up ready to push himself free. "Would you care to join me for a walk?"

"Sure, what the hell." She kicked off the wall and away from DaCosta, slipping both hands behind her back. Cocking her head to the side, she batted her eyelids once more.

Waltfeld and DaCosta shared a look and the Berserker giggled. How she enjoyed the dumbfounded expressions on people. She would rather have had it be fear, but DaCosta had let down enough of his guard for her to savor.

"Where to?" she chirped, but Waltfeld ignored the question and just passed right by her, leading towards the hangar, but turned at the corner instead of going through the door.

"Y'know, Commander, you're the only one who looks damaged by this past war," Namarra began and he hummed in acknowledgement. "Well, you seem happy-go-lucky compared to Murrue right now, but you really understand the losses that were made, don't'cha?" She thought she saw him tense, flinch—anything, but she didn't know for sure and snorted, eager to get a rise out of him. "I'm sure a lot of it has to do with losing Aisha, am I right?" There was a subtle movement then as she grinned as they turned another corner.

"Did you wanna hear a funny story? Of course you do," the Berserker answered for him. "Before that battle, I had actually talked to Lexi and we decided to test ourselves; play a little game, you see. And in that game, we couldn't go berserk. Thinking back now, wouldn't that have made a big difference?" Namarra continued. "During such a high-stakes battle, I'm surprised Lexi didn't indulge herself and all because of a game we were playing. You'd think she would have had more camaraderie than that. Well," the Berserker chimed with a shrug, "needless to say, Kira destroyed your suit, killing Aisha, maiming you and the whole time, Lexi probably could have saved your life."

There was a pause before the older man finally said something, Namarra trailing close behind his blue jacket as they turned once again. "I know all of that," Waltfeld said slowly. "Lexi admitted it to me a couple months ago."

"Pah, you're lying. Lexi would never admit to that."

"Why not? She felt guilty and I told her it wasn't her fault. There were many factors that went into that battle and laying all the blame on Lexi would be pathetic, not to mention unrealistic." They stopped back at an intersection, Waltfeld motioning for Namarra to turn right.

She hesitated, for the first time feeling a niggling of doubt that she might not get him angry after all. "And you don't blame Kira Yamato either?"

"Like I said, many factors went into that duel and if anyone's to blame, it would be me." He pointed up to his scarred, left eye as if that answered the question, but Namarra's eyebrow rose, unsure. "After all," he continued, pausing his trek down the hall and squaring up to her, the Berserker reaching out to steady herself on the wall. "Don't you feel the same way about letting your brothers die? Or Mu? Namarra wouldn't be hiding behind you if that wasn't the case."

It was an interesting look on the Berserker's face, something only Waltfeld had gotten to see, but not even he really knew what it meant. It didn't matter, however, DaCosta yelling, "Clear!" before the greencoat pressed both defibrillator paddles against the Berserker's back.

---

Eclipse knew why it started, just didn't remember the precise moment it had. Based on her own memories of her Berserker moments, she knew it was as if she was on a high and nothing else mattered other than the initial fight. And when that was over, the next fight, and so on. The strong feelings that made her snap in the first place didn't matter; they only fed her rampage and that feeling was glorious.

But the high always had to end, and Namarra was currently in the middle of it. She had been brought to the infirmary after the shock and had been out for only 10 minutes or so. DaCosta followed to make sure he hadn't killed her and Waltfeld stayed around like the father figure he was, but the doctor was quick to confirm she had no lasting injuries from the shock. Injuries in general, however, was another matter because another part of the Berserker high was the complete lack of self-awareness, able to plow through any ache as if it was a tickle and that had, apparently, been what Namarra had been doing for days.

Eventually, Waltfeld, DaCosta, and the doctor had all left with little fanfare, leaving Eclipse lying on her side and staring at the Natural on the bed across from her just waiting for the crash to begin. And it began with a vengeance.

Namarra's eyes were glossy at first, Eclipse having been watching her sit up in a daze on her bed, but soon that gloss shifted into clarity and then utter despair.

"They're gone."

"Nam—"

"Dead and I did nothing!" she screeched, her voice waking the other two in the room, but Eclipse cared little about them compared to Namarra, so she took off her covers, ready to comfort if needed. The Natural sniffed loudly then hugged her elbows as her shoulders rose in both withheld sobs and shakes, her legs still braced underneath the blanket. "No one's left now. I-I'm all alone again."

"Nam, you're not alone." Eclipse tried to sound convincing, but there was nothing that could explain away her pain and Namarra's body crumped forward.

She cried; a gut-wrenching solo that silenced even the sleep-deprived injured in the room. It was the cry of someone who had lost everything and one patient covered his head with a pillow, trying to drown out the sound, but there was no getting away from it. Even Eclipse had to hold back her own tears as she kicked off and joined Namarra on her bed, pulling the girl into an embrace.

Eclipse thought of soothing words she could share, but knew none of them would help, only fill the silence between sobs, so, she said nothing and rubbed Namarra's back and stroked her hair as the Natural's head rested against her right shoulder. Her arms were clasped behind Eclipse's back, nails digging bruises into the redhead's back, but physical pain was nothing compared to Namarra's despair and Eclipse wasn't going to let her weep alone. Her three brothers—what was left of anything she considered family—were gone and so was Mu, someone who had stepped up and become what Waltfeld had been for Eclipse. Perhaps if the redhead had been a merciful friend, she would have let Namarra stay berserk; give her a couple more days of bliss.

But she also knew the horrors of that kind of bliss.

So, the only way to get through the grief was to relive it and hope to never go through it alone.

Namarra cried for close to an hour. Her grief was on and off, but Eclipse knew the last time she went quiet, her body would force her to sleep. Whether or not the girl would start crying once she awoke had yet to be determined, but the redhead knew her comrade was done for the time being.

Unlatching Namarra's hands, she tucked the Natural into her bed and pushed off to slide into her own. Turning to the wall, Eclipse curled into a ball and willed herself to sleep.

---

Namarra and Eclipse stayed bunk buddies for nearly a week. Eclipse's recovery was going slow and since Namarra had been shocked back into being her old self, new injuries were popping up daily. Thanks to the Berserker adrenaline rush, she didn't know she had three broken ribs, a sprained wrist and a cracked collarbone.

They were visited often since they couldn't leave and were frequently updated on the local gossip thanks to Erika and Lathan who visited often now that they also had time to recover. Athrun and Cagalli were common visitors as well, but ever since the battle, they had been in their own little world, coping with the war as they saw fit. Funny thing was, Athrun had mentioned one time when he was talking to Eclipse alone, the two lovebirds rarely talked about anything concerning the war tragedies themselves.

"I can tell she wants to sometimes," Athrun had admitted, "but we never get past the simple, 'my father would say this,' or 'what would my father think about this?'"

"Well, have you opened up at all?"

"She has so much on her plate now with Orb that I don't want to distract her."

Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Athrun, you're in a relationship now. I may not know much about the boyfriend girlfriend thing, but you kinda gotta talk in order for it to go anywhere."

"Yeah, I know. It's still new for the both of us, I think. Once we finally decide when we're heading back to Orb, who's going, etcetera, we'll have more time to sit down and talk."

Eclipse may not have liked how the conversation ended, but she was in no position to poke her nose into their relationship. Both had confided in her about what they had been going through emotionally and to each she had prompted to tell the other, but there was no way Eclipse could convince either stubborn individual, so she just kept on listening.

Besides, the thought of Eclipse giving accurate relationship advice was rather amusing.

Murrue had come by towards the end of that week to see Namarra. It had been an emotional time for the two of them, the conversation consisting of more tears than actual words, but Eclipse had to commend the young captain. According to Erika, Murrue had locked herself in her room for three days and had only come out of it the fourth day because her body finally admitted it was hungry. The other crew members had been trying to comfort her since then, but it was obvious she was still shocked. Seeing and talking to Namarra might have put a couple of her demons to rest, but there wasn't much a person could do to patch up a hole blown open twice in the same war.

Lacus was a daily visitor since they were still aboard the Eternal. Namarra had admitted to Eclipse what she had said to Kira and despite her daily visits, Lacus never brought it up. The girls assumed Kira had just kept his fears to himself and shared some uneasy looks each time that conclusion came to light. It made a lot of sense since, according to Cagalli and Athrun, Kira hadn't been taking his post-war guilt very well, but the idea that Namarra's Berserker might have had a hand in his distress didn't sit well the with Natural.

"He's only told me bits and pieces so far," Lacus admitted finally one morning, staring at Eclipse and Namarra with a nervous grin. She was sitting eloquently in the one chair in the infirmary, the doctor having turned on the gravity for the room that day in order to go through some rehab with couple of the other patients. They were doing exercises in the back, away from listening ears while Lacus sat between the girls' beds. "It has something to do with his parents—his real ones. The picture that Cagalli had gotten from her father has a lot to do with it too, but I have only gathered that they are twins. Anything beyond that is inside his own mind."

"And opening up isn't helping at all?" Namarra asked, remembering he had been spending some extra time with Erika and Lathan in the lab.

"I don't think he's finding what he's looking for," Lacus said. "And it's starting to weigh on his consciousness. Mr. Murdoch had asked him to Archangel hangar the other day to figure out what he wanted to do with the Freedom and Kira outright refused. He didn't even want to see the suit, let alone touch it."

Another glance passed between Eclipse and Namarra, the redhead eventually sighing and reaching out to put a hand on Lacus's. "Don't worry. People cope in different ways. Just try to keep him social, at least. I mean, he still has a lot of friends here."

She nodded, this time with a soft smile. "Many of us make sure as many people as possible try to get together at least once a day to do something fun. It keeps our minds off the war and on other things during this lull period."

"Speaking of the lull period," Namarra said brightly, keen to change the subject no doubt and she shifted forward to sit on the edge of her bed. "Do we have any idea where we're going next?"

Lacus shook her head. "There's no permanent decision on the matter as of this morning, but Orb is definitely the biggest contender. With Colonel Kisaka and Miss Cagalli's help we should get into the country without any fuss."

"Speak for yourself," Eclipse muttered, but it wasn't loud enough for the other two to hear. While she knew Kisaka and Cagalli had great influence within the Orb government, she couldn't help thinking her exile couldn't be changed within mere hours. With her luck, she would have to spend a day or two in a jail cell before finally being able to sleep in a comfy bed. If a medical ward was her next choice she would go with the jail cell, no questions needed.

"Any idea when we're gonna be on the move again?" Namarra asked, but the Pink Princess shrugged again.

"Colonel Kisaka still has yet to come back from the peace talks and despite how eager both sides were to initiate a ceasefire, neither side is as accommodating when it comes to making decisions on a treaty. We could be out here for a couple more weeks."

"And we wouldn't want to leave prematurely. Could you imagine if we just took off and the Naturals and Coordinators decided to start beating the shit out of each other again?" Namarra said.

"We're getting supplied at least," Eclipse noted. She couldn't have known for sure since she had yet to leave the infirmary, but she had noticed new boxes of medicines coming in and out to be used on the other injured soldiers.

"The PLANTs have been very gracious, yes. There has even been a conversation started about getting a psychologist or two to come aboard. With emotions so sporadic, a professional voice might not be a bad idea. There have even been some people sleeping in the hangar mainly because their roommates have been having nightmares." She smiled wryly, not something normally found on the face of fair Lacus Clyne. "Most of those people are having nightmares as well, so they ended up feeding off each other. In the end," she sighed, "it's all just a snowballing effect. Most of the new medications the PLANTs have been supplying are sleeping pills and I hear most of that is thanks to a young Commander Joule." Her bright smile came back instantly and she nodded to Eclipse. "His mother was on the Supreme Council and he's good friends with you guys, if I'm right."

Eclipse nodded. "He was with Dearka, Athrun, and I for most of the war."

"Nice to have friends in high places." Namarra cocked her eyebrow at the redhead and Eclipse frowned, not liking the insinuation.

"Is anyone leaning towards staying in the PLANTs?" Eclipse asked, trying to curve the conversation away from her fortunate associates. "Is that even an option at this point?"

"As of right now, the PLANTs are saying anyone is allowed access, but a permanent stay is still waiting to be decided upon. With the rush of ZAFT soldiers—not to mention trying to identify the severely wounded—the whole system is backlogged. If anyone from our alliance wants to stay, the Provisional Council has assured us there would be no problems. I just can't guarantee anyone would be an 'official' citizen—or whatever the title you were previously."

"How much property was damaged?" Namarra asked, Lacus seemingly not overwhelmed with the questions.

"As far as I could tell, the PLANTs were pretty much avoided throughout the whole war. Aside from the nuke threats and some radical demonstrations, nothing has been severely damaged to any of the life and rotational systems. Of course, I can't say the same thing for the Earth."

Eclipse nodded grimly, expecting that figure to be much more serious than in space. While ZAFT has a lot of cleaning up to do with GENESIS—not to mention a bit of help concerning the Lunar Base—and the debris surrounding Jachin Due, the Earth had nuclear concerns as well as clean up issues. People had a tendency to think wars were ugly, but many fail to factor in the aftermath and what that all entails. Sure, it was nice to be able to rebuild and not worry about some missiles flying towards the town, but while that cleanup takes place, anger has a tendency to flare its lovely head again and again. Who doesn't get angry picking up the pieces of a life and not feeling bitter towards the people who had sent their home there in the first place?

Eclipse sighed at the thought. Even if things went well with the treaty, there was no guarantee the peace would last long if the two genetic "races" stayed separate from each other. A possible solution was to make societies like Orb and the Kingdom of Scandinavia throughout the Earth and Space.

But that sounded unlikely.

"The armies, including us, are mostly focused on the dead: recovering bodies, contacting families…" She trailed off and hung her head, the remaining two doing the same. "We have a gathering planned in a couple of days to honor our dead, but while nice, it doesn't heal all wounds."

The trio remained solemn, the names and faces crossing each person's mind's eye and Eclipse heard Namarra swallow before her hand reached out to rest on Lacus's arm. "Please, let's move the topic to lighter things."

The Pink Princess put her hand over Namarra's smiling softly. "So then what do you suggest? Another drinking adventure?"

"Nah, these pain killers are spectacular for now, so I think I'll shy away from that," she replied brightly, pointing to the sling over her left arm and then her wrapped wrist. "Besides, at my age, if I start making a habit of it now, I'll end up dying at 30." Everyone smiled at that, knowing she was bound to have the same fate since she was probably going to strike up the habit once they had returned to Earth. "I was thinking of having a game of laser tag through the Eternal."

Lacus frowned, but Eclipse's eyes brightened at the suggestion. The two of them had been bed-ridden for nearly a week and restless didn't begin to describe the horrors they were experiencing. "Oh please," Eclipse begged, startling Lacus when she turned to the redhead and saw her with her hands folded in front of her. "We're so damn bored."

"Now, now," the Pink Princess began, her face contorting to hold in a laugh. "I don't know if a gun fight is really what—" She trailed off, the girls' lips frowning into a pout they had perfected back when they were five.

But unlike back then, it worked.

"Fine, when the two of you can move around on your own, safely. And," she added quickly, both beginning to get to their feet and prove how much they had healed, "can breathe with no pain I will rally up some people and we will kick out the adults."

Now that was incentive to heal faster.

---

Eclipse stretched, wincing when she had gone too far, but that was the beauty of rehab, extending the limits of the muscles even if the person couldn't bend that way before the injuries. Namarra made much the same face, but she was more excited about moving around. She still had a club for a left wrist, but at least her collarbone had been healing well and she didn't need a sling anymore. That was a blessing in and of itself.

"Now, Lexi, go ride the bike for a half hour. I'll check on you every 10 minutes to see how your breathing's going," the doctor said, writing something down on his clipboard. After all the time spent in the Eternal infirmary as of late, they had gotten pretty close to the medical staff there. The doctor, going by the name of Cayden, was in his late 30s with a wife and five kids in the PLANTs. Namarra had forgotten which PLANT, but despite his shy nature, when Cayden actually sat down and talked to someone, he disclosed a lot of information. Not only had he been a rugby player, but he also ran his own clinic before he was shipped out to war.

"And Namarra," Cayden continued despite the Natural's internal monologue.

"I can run a mile?"

"Uh, no, not yet."

"Weight lift?"

"You recently cracked a collarbone and just got the sling off. No."

"Oh, I know, you're gonna let me start hand-to-hand combat training today."

"Geez, let me check your drug dosage," Cayden mumbled, going over to the machine and checking her IV output. "Nope, it's just your head." Eclipse laughed.

The side of Namarra's mouth twitched, but she didn't give a complete grin. "So, I'm what, still stuck on bed rest?"

"Yup, I was going to say, 'take a nap and we'll do more rehab in the afternoon.'"

Pouting, the Natural trudged back to her bed and pulled herself down under the covers. Grumbling, she turned towards the wall, but Eclipse doubted she would even be able to doze.

"See, I think this is where I say, 'Don't worry, she's harmless,' but we both know the real answer." Despite Eclipse's grin, Cayden shivered and she let out another laugh before leading the way into the other room to hop on the bike.

---

It would be one more week until the girls would be able to start running, but even that was a bear. Despite their fast-healing DNA—Berserkers were good for one thing at least—the general fatigue and stress put their bodies through more, unseen trauma. Namarra still had night terrors and despite the added medication, there was nothing that could be done. There were some nights DaCosta even came busting in thinking one of them had gone rogue and was slaughtering the medical staff. While he always felt stupid for it afterwards, the girls had to admit his fears were justified.

Eclipse often put on a tough face, but since her time berserk on Mendel her nightmares had become more frequent and had a realism to them she found haunting. She didn't often remember them, but the emotions after were always strong, any meaning she had for them being because her Berserker half was bored, but no matter how many nights she woke up with her scream echoing in her head, she couldn't bring herself to be honest with the psychiatrist at her sessions. Perhaps she feared the straight jacket and padded room and based on her past experiences, she couldn't find any reason for her not to be locked away. The psychiatrist was an observant one, however—Eclipse noting how some of the questions shared more information than she was comfortable with—but full disclosure would take a lot more than an hour talk every other day.

On the eleventh day after their little talk with Lacus, the girls found a letter taped to the door of their shared room. At first, they couldn't even begin to guess what it was about because the envelope was pink and their names written in red lipstick. Not something normally found on the door despite it being the Eternal. Eclipse could just hear Cagalli cackling in the background because this had to be one of her creative ideas.

Opening the envelope—and trying not to wipe the red lipstick onto anything valuable—they saw a written invitation to a formal dinner in the cafeteria followed promptly by a team battle of laser tag. From what they could tell, the dinner had been arranged to copy some kind of spy film, the skimpy dresses, formal tuxedos, and thigh holsters included. Miriallia and Sai had offered to be the rich family held hostage by the evil Mafia—to be disclosed at a later time—while Erika, Lathan, and couple others offered to be the wait staff and entertainment for the evening.

"Ew, Lathan singing?" Namarra said, shivering after the audio image.

"He used to play the violin very well, actually," Eclipse said idly and Namarra eyed her strangely. "What? We were a prestige family in Orb. What did you expect we'd do?"

"Alright then, what special talent did you have?"

"I used to knit off and on."

Namarra snorted. "Knit?"

"Yup, my first knitted present was a violin cover for Lathan." Eclipse couldn't hold in her own laughter after Namarra let loose a string of chuckles. "And it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen."

"What did Lathan think of it?"

"He said it fell into the campfire when he and some of his friends went camping during the summer. He knew I wouldn't believe him, but at least it was something to tell our parents."

"So, you think he'll play the violin? Even in his condition?"

"Dunno. It's been a while since he's played, so he might be too nervous to pick up the instrument again."

"I get that," Namarra said quietly, but didn't say anything more even when Eclipse prodded. "I think it'll be good for him to pick up something old but new again," Eclipse continued, putting the letter back into the envelope. "I talked to him yesterday and he's having trouble trying to come up with a system to help him stay blind, yet fully function as if he had his sight."

"Still bent on keeping the disability, huh?"

Eclipse nodded. "I think he has both of our CA's occupied at this moment." She pointed to her ear. Thankfully, Coffee Addict had transferred all its data into Namarra's suit, joining itself with Chicabo as some kind of self-preservation method and it had worked beautifully, even if the redhead's mechanical ally had, essentially, abandoned her to die in space. There were some connection issues at first, but after the initial kinks, the transfer seemed to have been successful and now her annoying conscious was back, whispering in her ear on a 24-hour basis mainly because the system never failed to mention how upset it was that Eclipse didn't take good care of the Stealth. The fact that she had gotten terribly hurt didn't matter as much.

"Chicabo's been complaining non-stop about it," Namarra admitted, folding the piece of paper after taking note of the time and place. The dinner would take place in two more days, probably giving the girls ample time for a couple more days of rehab and allowing the Eternal to get its things in order.

"I think those systems are nothing but spoiled brats."

Coffee Addict made a comment at that, but Eclipse ignored it.

"They do a lot for us," Namarra admitted with a shrug. "And what else do they have to do? I'd rather have them occupied than bored. We're in peacetime now," she continued with a wink. "What else is a system like the CAs supposed to do?"

The systems screeched, causing both girls to slap a hand against their respective ears, but if the machines had said anything amid the high-pitched static, they couldn't be sure. Giving a curse and an eye roll, they opened the door to their quarters to fit in some relaxation of their own. Cayden wasn't against them sleeping there at night now, as long as they came back to the infirmary every day to continue rehab and they weren't about to skip a single day. Not only was Cayden getting them back into working shape, but both Namarra and Eclipse also knew who aboard the Eternal he would complain to if his orders were disregarded. Besides, they liked visiting Cayden and he said they kept him busy. There were two other soldiers still left in the medical ward, but other than them, the girls were the only ones who came around.

"Hey, Namarra, can I talk to you for a second?" a soft male voice sounded down to their right, the door to their quarters still open and the Natural stuck her head back out into the hall before it could close. The source of the voice was Neumann, the main driver of the Archangel, no doubt on the Eternal for his weekly game of poker with some of the other crewmembers from the Three Ship Alliance.

Eclipse said a brief greeting before retreating into the room, Namarra handing off her envelope and letting the door finally close as soon as stepped out into the hall to meet him.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to bother you, but I was asked to track you down," he began, resting a hand on the wall to stop his momentum. He was one of the few who still wore his Atlantic Federation uniform daily, most of the other crew members opting to wear either the personal items they had brought from home or some of the clothing offered by the PLANTs in a showing of goodwill.

"Track me down?" Namarra echoed, being one of those people who preferred comfy formal rather than uniforms.

"Murrue's not in a good place and the moment and Erika was wondering if you could meet her at the captain's quarters."

"Me?" Namarra asked, trying not to sound as surprised as she felt. Since Erika was one of the few older woman on the ship—not like either of them were "old" by any means—they had bonded over the past weeks. Erika had been helping with Murrue's grief as well, spending as much time with her as needed and even relaying a lot of mechanical knowledge that Murrue seemed to have taken an interest in to keep her mind busy. The Archangel captain had been one of the few to immediately agree to settle down in Orb and with Morgenroete needing to be rebuilt, her talents were definitely welcomed.

"Erika thinks another friendly face will help," Neumann explained. "Even though you and Murrue can't relate on certain levels, you were still close to the commander and that means a lot."

"Okay," Namarra began slowly, not convinced she could do any better than the next person, but she did want to help Murrue and that trumped her anxiety. "I'll head over there now."

---

Namarra knocked twice on the captain's cabin, palm flat against the metal as she straightened her sweatshirt across her shoulders. It had taken her all of two minutes to realize her attire probably wasn't the best for that particular gathering and threw a sweatshirt over the top she had worn for rehab, a fraying red one she had borrowed from Miriallia and had yet to return. A quick change into cleaner trousers had made her presentable and she had redone her hair into a braid during her trek from the Eternal, the tail tucked into the hood at her back. She was still nervous and wished she wasn't, but the Natural couldn't shake the feeling that someone as damaged as she was by loss was in no condition to be trying to comfort anyone. If Murrue—one of the strongest people Namarra knew—couldn't handle her grief every once in a while, how was Namarra supposed to be able to help? If she wasn't having daily, pockets of despair, she was dreaming about it and the Natural swallowed, knocking once more when no one answered.

"Miss Murrue? Mrs. Simmons? It's Namarra."

There was still no response, but she didn't get the chance to try again. She had stepped close enough to the door that it slid open and the movement startled her, her right hand catching herself on the doorframe before she could fall inside unannounced.

"It's just Namarra," she called, her voice feeble despite having been invited, but she took a further moment before gathering enough nerve to go through the door and let it shut behind her.

The front room looked tossed, as if someone was either looking for something or just throwing everything around for the sake of—well—chaos. Three outfits were scattered across the room, all of them male and that realization made her frown. Clothing ranging from boxers to dress ties and button-up shirts were found floating in the anti-gravity, a mixture of the formal and informal Namarra found vaguely disturbing. Not only was she fairly confident those were Mu's belongings, but the fact that Murrue had chosen to throw those about was sad. Hell, the fact that anything was out of place disturbed the young Natural.

Three alcohol glasses were floating around as well, one broken while the other two still dripped of red wine and whiskey respectively. The chaos even included books, some of Murrue's clothing, and loose papers that looked like personal letters. The thing that made her heart really twist, however, was the pendent Murrue always wore around her neck—the one of a silver coffin with a rose—lay broken in two at the locket's hinge. The chain had come unlinked as well, several strands joining the rest of the debris.

The Natural released a long breath, digesting the scene and slowly become aware to the sounds of the room. Apart from the soft humming of the Archangel engine, there were quiet mutterings of voices behind the door to her left. If they were in the rooms beyond, it would make sense why no one had opened the door for her and Namarra kicked off in that direction slowly.

Reaching out a hand, she was about to open the door when it opened itself, the tall blonde mechanic appearing in the threshold with a startled expression on her face. Namarra opened her mouth to speak, but Erika put a finger to her lips and shook her head moving the finger from her lips to point behind her. Risking a peek, Namarra saw Murrue asleep in her bed, hair tussled and cheeks rosy from more than tears. She was resting at least and the Natural nodded, sliding to the side so Erika could enter the front room.

The older woman was holding two more wine glasses in her hands, Namarra's nose catching on quickly that Erika had been joining in the drinking and she steadied herself against the floor, wondering why Erika had asked that she come over if she already had it under control.

"I take it Neumann found you?" she asked and Namarra nodded, her gaze shifting down to the alcohol glasses again. Erika noticed the stare and smiled, shifting them out of sight and into a bag that she procured from a drawer near the desk. "Sorry, I thought it might have taken her longer to go down, but she was so exhausted and needed a safe place to vent. I know nothing better than red wine to help with both."

"So, she's doing okay then? No need to panic?"

Erika hooked the bag around the room, scooping up the shards from the broken glass before tying it shut and placing it near the front door. Giving a slow nod and a weak smile, she started grabbing the clothes as she continued. "For a couple of days there, the answer would have been a definite yes. Despite the fact that she had lost two lovers within the span of one war, killed a fellow female comrade…" She paused to sigh, a pained expression on her face as her mind probably replayed Murrue's sorrows. "Considering all that, she had been holding up very well. I've known some people to have relapses, but this came hard and fast. She wouldn't get into the details even after a couple of drinks, but something had to have triggered the fit."

Namarra began helping, gathering up what garments were nearby and also started putting the roaming books back behind the glass door on the shelves. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Erika press a couple fingers to her burn scars, wincing at the pain a little as she brushed past the tenderest spots. The bandages had come off a few days before, and—as far as Namarra could tell—the skin was healing well. She doubted the psyche was as confident though because she had yet to see Erika not looking into some kind of replacement surgery. It wasn't that she thought Erika a vain person to be looking at her options, but it was interesting to see the two different responses to that one particular event. Lathan reveled in his circumstances. Erika seemed to prefer forgetting it.

"I just don't want any of the crew to see her like this," Erika said, pulling Namarra out of her observations. "I respect Murrue and her strength a lot, and I know I'm not alone. I mean, to just take up captaincy of this ship with only a couple years of military training under her belt and to bring it all the way through the war, making it the beacon of hope for too many instances to count…" Erika trailed off again, her voice choking as she began getting emotional and a couple tears trickled out of her eyes that she quickly brushed away. Namarra pretended not to notice. "And after all that, is still reduced to a human being after the major traumas that happened in her personal life. She doesn't deserve to look weak."

"I highly doubt anyone would look at her differently for what she's going through," the young Natural began. "I've seen more people cry within the past couple of weeks than I've seen in my entire life." Erika gave her a look and Namarra shrugged. "It's the truth. And, believe it or not, I don't feel any less respect for them."

"Oh?" her voice chimed, a motherly grin replacing her sadness from before. "Aw, my dear Namarra must be growing up."

"If you're joking, that's cruel, but if you're being sarcastic that's even worse," she grumbled, quoting one of Clotho's old video game sayings and despite the pang of guilt it brought, her grumbling quickly shifted into a sad grin.

Erika laughed after the comment and shook her head. "I'm being serious. I wonder if you even know how much you've grown up here."

Namarra snorted. "Since when did this conversation turn to be about me?"

"Sorry, I just wanted you to know how much I noticed." The older woman smiled and grabbed the final garment, folding it and placing it with the others between her hands. Staring at the pile in her own hands, Namarra could tell she didn't know what to do with it. Putting it back where they had been stored might only cause more problems later on, but then again Murrue might think differently about them when she woke up.

"I guess I shouldn't put Mu's stuff far away," Erika said, her logic probably running along the same stream as Namarra's.

"Good plan. Here's another thought, what do we do now? Once we head back to Orb she might come around, but until then, she's still stuck in this room replaying his whole life over and over again."

"I'd advise against moving her," Erika responded quickly, shaking her head. "I'll stay here with her for a while, make sure she's not in this room alone for long periods of time or at least until we're back in Orb. Murrue's strong, I'm sure it's just a matter of time."

"I'm glad you're so confident," Namarra replied quietly, handing Erika the stack of clothes in her hand. "I think my naïveté might be slipping in again because broken hearts can hurt like a bitch."

"Now you're just fishing for ways to prove you're still young." The older woman smiled, packing clothing away into a chest near the far wall. "How are you doing, Namarra?" she continued and Namarra frowned.

"I wasn't kidding, it hurts like a bitch."

"Lexi tells me your night terrors are worse than ever."

"She has been known to be a blabber mouth."

"Now, that's not fair," Erika scolded, slipping from the friend role back into the motherly one. "Clearly you have to start on other coping methods if you're going to get over those."

"Coping methods? What coping methods?" Namarra had meant it for a sort of joke, but after seeing Erika's face droop in concern she realized the older woman had been serious. She sighed. "Y'know, the nice thing about Murrue, is she has people she can talk to who knew Mu and understand. Me? No one even knew my brothers but me and some psycho who's dead. How can I talk to anyone if all they are to people are the 'three pilots who deserved to die'?"

"Then focus in on circumstance. Find someone who has gone through much the same grief and see how he got through it."

"He? Sounds like you already have someone in mind."

She nodded. "Colonel Kisaka lost two brothers and sisters in a raid on his town when he was a couple years older than you. You'll have to wait until all this peace stuff is decided, but I think you should go talk to him. Maybe you'll learn something."

Namarra's frown deepened, but that was instinctual. She was actually grateful to hear there might be someone she could talk to and took that story to memory. "You have such confidence."

"Yes, and if I could transfer some of it to you, I would, but we all need to find our own strength." The older woman gave another sad smile and gathered up the pieces of the pendant, looking down at it in her hands for a moment before she shook her head and returned to Namarra. "Now, scoot. Murrue needs rest and I'll be sure to let you know if anything more happens."

She could only nod. While Namarra was glad Neumann had told her about Murrue, she could see Erika had it all under control. Besides, she may have known a thing or two about death and grieving, but comfort wasn't a strong suit of hers. When Murrue wanted to reminisce about the good times, however, she would be the first one available.

And she had a whole repertoire lined up about the life of a magnificent individual.

---

The box of clothes arrived at the girls' quarters a couple hours before the "event." There was no red lipstick this time, but there was nail polish. Another Cagalli joke, the girls figured.

"What?" Eclipse asked, holding the cover off to the side.

"Nu-uh." Namarra shook her hands frantically. "Not with these hairy legs."

"That's the problem?"

"Oh, c'mon, you understand," the Natural said, her face looking exhausted. "You've worn more of these during covert ops than necessary already."

"Yeah, but not by choice," Eclipse grumbled, but either Namarra didn't hear her or she didn't care because she merely shrugged, made a little exclamation, and leaned in to grab something from the box.

"Quick fix," she said quickly, bobbing up with a dangling pair of brown stockings in her grip. "Nylons."

"Fantastic."

It didn't take them long to get into the dresses, the longest excursion being the relationship between Namarra and the nylons. Eclipse's date with her flat shoes—long laces traveling up her leg—was almost as time consuming, but after the Natural put up her hair and straightened her sleek black dress they were all set for laser tag. Well, it looked a little less glamorous with the bulky, sensor-laden vests over the dresses, but it did keep out some of the chill.

Lathan wasn't playing the violin as suspected, but there was some fancy music playing in the background of the cafeteria. He was sitting at his laptop in the corner, muttering to Chicabo and apparently being DJ of the night. Erika was dressed like a server and was already putting food down onto some of the tables when the two walked in. The tables were covered with white tablecloths and with the gravity on, the cafeteria looked almost fancy. The silverware might have needed a bit of polishing, but it was a pretty good set, nonetheless.

Murdoch met them before they could go much further, dressed in a black button-up shirt and a white apron that covered his trousers from the waist down. It was such a chic and odd look that the girls could barely hold back their grins, but they did nod a greeting to him when he approached.

"Good evening, madams," he said, even bowing to add effect. "Your table is this way." Following the burly host all of six steps, they were seated at the end of the table closest to the door and snorted through a thanks, the older man even winking his own humor into the ruse. Eclipse sat next to Dearka and Namarra next to Athrun.

"Huh," the Natural said once she sat down, reaching in front of her to grab a folded white piece of paper. "What's this?"

"Don't open that yet!" Cagalli shrieked, on the other side of Athrun and reaching across his body to snatch the paper away from her curious hands before putting it back into its place. "That's your role in the game. We can't open it until after dinner."

"Uh, okay," Namarra said, Eclipse admiring the amount of discipline it must have taken for her to resist rolling her eyes. If they were all just going to sit down and enjoy a fancy dinner, the redhead wasn't about to complain. Besides, aside from everyone in what she would call their wedding-ready attire, it was nice to be back in the social circle. Holding up her glass of water—Cayden had restricted their drinking diets unfortunately and not even the adults would trust the kids with a little alcohol and laser guns—she toasted with Dearka and the others.

Things had been going to plan quite nicely, actually, Eclipse happy she could have a happy memory in a fancy dress for once instead of being worried that her tablemates might want to kill her. Well, the danger was figurative this time and she took it in stride. The redhead had never told anyone about her dinners with SIN-ED and those who had witnessed her final one didn't seem to have shared it. Dearka did nudge her lightly with his elbow when she sat down, but she shook her head, taking his compliment on her dress with a genuine smile and passing on the sentiment to him in his black suit.

It was all so normal that everyone had fun, the chatter genuine and loud, the group almost wishing there wasn't more to the evening than just social, but that was it: almost. Even with the war barely behind them, everyone's fingers twitched with anticipation throughout the meal, eager to get back into some sort of combat role even if only for play.

The skit began promptly as soon as all the dinner plates were removed, the group full, but excited for what little they already knew about the storyline and it started off well, but soon turned stale, unfortunately, about halfway into the kidnapping scene. Yes, kidnapping. The little piece of paper in front of each person at the table had shown their role in the whole game.

Sai and Miriallia had been chosen as the rich couple being kidnapped by the "Bad Guys." That team consisted of Eclipse, Kira, Neumann, and Lacus. The "Good Guys" was a little stacked in Eclipse's opinion, but she held her tongue. Cagalli, Athrun, Dearka, and Namarra were all on the same side and if something in the plot didn't change quick, Eclipse was going to lose and fast. The event might not have been anything professional, but any script that began with, "On a dark and stormy night," needed some major tweaking.

Hence, the improvising.

Eclipse did it. If the plotline was going to start sounding like a cheesy "who dunnit?" then she was going to admit to killing both hostages, Miriallia and Sai, with the laser gun, in the cafeteria. Yes, they were already their captives and if their team had wanted any invisible ransom money, she would have just let them be, but that plotline was getting boring. So, she switched it up a bit, turning the motive away from rescuing the captives to issuing revenge on their killers.

"You just killed me," Miriallia said, disbelief thick on her tongue as she stared at the vest over her navy-blue dress, its red light blinking where Eclipse had aimed her gun. Eclipse was halfway through a shrug when she fired again at the brunette for effect, the cheap laser gun whirling to and out of existence amid the soft ballroom music.

Cagalli, mid-sentence, was about to make a comment of her own when Athrun aimed at Neumann standing next to Eclipse in his suit and "killed" him.

"Athrun!" she shrieked, but he was already shrugging.

"What? They killed our friends."

So, the chase was on.

Since they didn't have white cards with their roles taped to their vests, the teams were separated by their laser colors. The "Good Guys" were blue, and the "Bad Guys" were red, just to be creative. The red team was now down one member, Neumann having his role finished within the first eight seconds of the fight thanks to Athrun. So, that left the other three to handle the big responsibility of being evil.

Eclipse wasn't sure whether or not Lacus even knew how to hold a gun let alone fire it, but she proved to still be the surprising one. Not only did she know how to use a gun, she could at least hit a body part if it came to that. A kill shot? Probably not likely, but she wasn't useless. Kira, on the other hand, still seemed in a zone and not the battle zone. While he would never vocally admit he didn't agree with the game, Eclipse had the inkling he was going to just jump out in front of a shot and get "killed" as soon as possible. She wasn't sure if any of it had to do with his psyche or his morals, but either way she feared for her team.

Did good always have to win?

Sure, it was probably not the best idea to have floating around in her mind, but she couldn't help feeling a bit remorseful. Then again, isn't any team Lacus on designated "Good" on mere principle alone? Didn't that mean it was just "Good" against "Good"?

Usually, her head would have been spinning, but watching Lacus being trigger happy no more than six feet from her position made her believe the "Bad" guys were the only thing her ragtag group could be called. Was it even legally allowed for Lacus Clyne to be that excited to be pulling a trigger?

"Lexi, pay attention!" the Pink Princess hissed, catching her attention as Dearka and Cagalli started firing off a couple rounds. They had made it out into the hallway and were currently in a faceoff, the Eternal interior dark except for the emergency lighting lining the bottom of the walls. Sure, there was long and an open hallway behind them, but somehow Lacus didn't seem to care so much about tactics as just firing the gun. Eclipse was back behind the bend in the wall and Lacus had already started walking forward, hurrying in heels across a much bigger expanse than I think she realized to the next bend in the hallway. Eclipse had already gone through every phrase of curses she knew and was starting her second round when she decided to help give suppression fire, risking staying out and around the cover for longer periods of time than she normally would in a real shootout.

It seemed to have worked, however, Lacus jumping into the next hallway and hiding behind the wall just as Eclipse flattened against the wall to reload. "My goodness, you would think you have never done this before," Lacus grumbled from her position further up, but the redhead had heard it and barked a laugh before curving around the corner and aiming her shots down at the blondes behind their own corners at the furthest end of the hall.

Eclipse took a similar route as Lacus to get to the middle corridor, hurrying faster than the Pink Princess had and zig-zagging a bit more to throw off the shots from the sharpshooters at the other end, Lacus spinning around cover to help protect her approach and she made sure to thank her as soon as she slipped around the wall next to her.

"See? That wasn't so hard," she muttered and Eclipse arched her eyebrow again.

Flipping the gun back, Lacus pushed in the small button by the handle and reloaded it, the closest thing the plastic replica could get to real reloading. She began her assault once more, bending around the wall and ducking a couple times to avoid the shots coming her way. Really, there was no way for her to visibly see the laser beam, but she had fallen into the role of Bond Diva nicely. Wearing a fitted red evening gown, she looked rather stunning. It was a good thing her hair didn't have any sensors on it because Eclipse was pretty sure the high bun was rarely in cover.

"Can't you snipe them while I distract them?" she asked, looking down at the redhead crouched near her knees in an effort to not cross fire with Lacus. "Isn't that the point of me shooting so wildly?"

"Oh, you had a strategy to your trigger happiness?" Eclipse asked, her voice flittering up in humor. "To be perfectly honest, I can't see any targets. Either you've been shooting at air for the last five minutes or your shooting has them so scared they're just hiding out."

"You think so?" she asked, looking down at the gun in her hand before making an exclamation about a tear in her dress. The gravity idea had been a good one since that meant they could all move faster and no one could just float on the ceiling and ambush anyone, but the other drawback to gravity was the unfamiliarity. Namarra and Eclipse typically had training in gravity, but it had been a while even for them. So, everyone was tripping over their fancy garments, Lacus included.

"Man," she hissed, "we paid good money for these rentals."

"They're rentals?"

Some footsteps sounded in the darkened hall back the way they had come, Eclipse throwing up a hand to silence the young songstress as she flattened against the opposite wall, waving Lacus to the side in order to get her out of the line of fire. The redhead made a quick look down the hall to where Cagalli and Dearka had been, but they looked to have fled and she gave a brief nod. The footsteps, however, had gotten closer, the occupant clearly not bothering to mask his—or her—approach. Lacus hadn't followed Eclipse's directions, however, leaning against the wall behind her with her left shoulder against the metal, already pointing the gun about chest high.

Step.

Step.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Truthfully, it was three well-placed shots to the chest and might have looked impressive to any military commander, but hearing the chest pad announce the person's demise was more frustrating than exciting.

"Oops," Lacus said, "sorry, hunny."

Kira sighed, his face unreadable in the dark, but his vest blinked purple and red, indicating he was part of his team and, apparently, not currently a member of the living. He looked at Eclipse, but she had nothing to say either. The guns didn't differentiate between enemy and friendly fire, so there was nothing she could do. Standing there in his black tails he looked rather elegant, but that disappointed frown on his face said he was disappointed with how the fight had turned out.

"Are you dead?" Lacus asked and both hissed the obviously reply.

"Yes!"

"Well, sorry!" she responded, a bit more frustration in that response than Eclipse thought necessary. "Isn't there some kind of rejuvenation potion?"

"Wrong game," Eclipse groaned and turned back to Kira. "Well, you're supposed to just head back to the cafeteria for dessert, but could you tell us where the enemy is first?"

He seemed to think about it for a second, looking to his left and down the hall towards Cagalli and Dearka's last position before finally shrugging. "Ironically enough, the other team had their own version of friendly fire. Athrun's gun malfunctioned and a shot hit both his suit and Namarra's."

"So, it's two on two?"

Kira nodded then waved, walking back the way he had come making his way back to the cafeteria. It was a shame, actually, that Lacus had to be a little jumpy. Kira looked into it only after he got shot. Sure, he had had a few good duck and rolls through the corridors, but he didn't seem as crisp as usual, if that was even the word for it. But if he had the fighting instinct now, that sucked.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lexi," Lacus said, her face showing too much remorse for a game of laser tag. "Believe it or not, I've never done anything like this before."

Eclipse believed her.

"And with everything going on, Miss Cagalli and I thought it would be a nice way for us to blow off some steam."

"Oh relax," Eclipse said, patting her arm. "You didn't ruin anything, just made us into a tag team instead of a trio. I'm used to only working with one other person."

That at least put a small smile on her lips.

"C'mon, I have an idea where they might have gone."

The only two people left on the other team were Cagalli and Dearka. Cagalli was less of a novice with a handgun than Lacus was, but neither girl had had any official training in area tactics. That being said, the person they most had to worry about was Dearka. Game or no, he had a good shot.

Eclipse picked up the hem of her dress, and sneaked down the corridor, heading towards the hangar observation room. With Dearka at the helm, she figured they planned on sniping the two through the window. He knew Eclipse well, because she originally had thought of going to the hangar—big space, more room to maneuver—but let her brain do a little thinking instead of her instincts.

Lacus slinked along beside her, making Eclipse smile the way she pointed her gun around each corner, just like the dames in the action movies they frequently watched. Based on her aim with Kira, Eclipse knew Lacus had pretty good luck at point blank, but the two of them couldn't split up. After all, Lacus would fire at anything that moved, including her.

With the corridors clear, the two reached the observation room and paused at the door. Eclipse put her hand up to stop Lacus and did a little circular motion with her hand to make Lacus turn around and watch their backs as she punched on the keypad. Nodding, the Pink Princess spun and let out a yelp. Eclipse stopped putting in the password and turned, pulling Lacus down to the ground as she did so.

Cagalli had come from one of the broom closets, her own white rental dress filthy at the bottom from the cleaning solutions. She had fired two shots at Lacus, but the first missed and Eclipse had pulled her down fast enough for the other to go high. Reaching over Lacus's left shoulder, Eclipse fired three shots, one at the weapon, the other at Cagalli's knee and the other for the low chest shot. Since laser tag meant no one felt anything, the bullet didn't hit her hand and force her to drop the weapon, the knee shot didn't make her buckle, and that meant the last shot hit her crotch instead of her abdomen.

That meant Cagalli was able to get away and back inside her hiding spot to reload.

Lacus had regained her composure by then, kneeling with a knee down and the other foot propped up to steady herself. She aimed at the closet as Eclipse was forced to whirl when she heard the sound of the observation room door sliding open. Aiming higher this time, she fired two shots at the opening slot in the door, but Dearka was being smart. Her gun clicked empty after another shot at his shadow and she did the next best thing. Shoving her heel through the opening, she connected with Dearka's ankle and he lost balance, sending him forward onto the hallway floor. He tried shooting on the way down, but all his shots went wide, even wide enough to miss Lacus behind Eclipse.

Reloading, Eclipse aimed down at him on the ground just as he aimed at her. Lacus said something like, "Put down the weapon!" and the redhead figured the other two were in much the same stalemate.

The lights turned on.

"Sorry to spoil your fun, but I have an official announcement to make," DaCosta said over the intercom. "The peace talks have just finished and the world seems to be heading in the right direction. Congratulations, everyone. We're going home." Cheers sounded on the other side of the transmission, but they weren't as loud as Lacus's triumphant yell after she "killed" Cagalli.

"Hey, that's cheap!" the blonde yelled, but the Pink Princess's snippy reply was more amusing.

"Better cheap than dead, Miss Cagalli."

Eclipse and Dearka shook their heads through a laugh, her former teammate throwing his hands up in defeat.

It looked as if the bad guys had won that time.

---

The original plan was to have some old ZAFT soldiers take the Eternal back to the PLANTs, but that idea fell through when not enough people wanted to return to their old homeland. The ones who had families to return to took transports back to the PLANTs and Cayden was among that group, the girls giving him their last goodbyes before he squeezed in with some of the others. He gave them some post-rehab orders, but didn't put a lot of force behind them, knowing the girls had their own version of "rehab." Sure, the Kusanagi doctor was going to take over their care, but no one could force them to take it easy when all they wanted to do was get their bodies back into the pristine shape they were in before.

It took two more days to get back to Orb, but despite the desire to put their feet back on land or sleep on a fluffy bed once more, many of the crewmembers were nervous. Namarra and Eclipse were part of that group, not entirely sure what they were going to do once they touched down.

"Kisaka and Cagalli assured me you would get some kind of pardon," Lathan said, stretching a little in his chair, the three of them strapped together in the Kusanagi as the ship entered the atmosphere. Even after they finished their descent, they were still a couple hours away from the island nation, but the time only added to their nerves, not eased them. "Cagalli was talking her way through the official papers when I left the bridge."

Eclipse nodded slowly, still not convinced even if she and her comrades were coming back as war heroes. "With the Kusanagi docking first, I'm worried I might have to jump back to the Eternal and make sure I come in a couple hours later just to give her more time to press out the details." The three ships had agreed to come in separately, and an hour apart. Orb was giving them vague details on the state of their docks, but Kisaka was confident they would be able to accommodate all three ships.

"Just relax," Namarra grumbled, adjusting herself in her seat. While they had gotten through the worst of their decent, seatbelts were still a requirement and she pulled at the strap up high on her shoulder. "Geez, I'm not even exiled and you're making me nervous. Hell, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do once I get there. Find a job?"

Both siblings laughed.

"Can you imagine Namarra as a cashier?" Lathan said.

"Or a waitress?" Eclipse added.

Lathan raised his voice a few octaves to sound like the Natural. "What kind of a tip is this? Twenty percent, my ass!"

"Oo, oo, a saleswoman. And if you sign up now, you'll win a free vacuum cleaner!"

They continued their laughter, but somehow the younger Natural still wasn't amused. "Haha, aren't we the clowns today."

"Is she even old enough to work?" Lathan asked, ignoring the bitter remark.

"I'm sure we could find her something to do."

They laughed again.

"Maybe I'll just squat at your house; be the visitor who never leaves," Namarra suggested and that stopped the laughter at least, bringing up some other personal realizations.

"Oh yeah, Mom and Dad's." Lathan's smile drooped and Eclipse's followed soon after.

"Shit."

The Rymyr family estate was in the Orb capitol, Olofat, in the same complex as the main Athha family estate. The family as a whole was kept together for various reasons, but even as the young Rymyrs were growing up, they had a feeling it was more like they were all trying to keep tabs on each other. One giant family in one giant complex meant bickering was common, but, overall, the area was nice. The issue, however, had nothing to do with the location and everything to do with the fact that the estate was now their responsibility and that also meant their parents' affairs were also their problem. They had to contact the family lawyer, get the wills, tie up loose ends—any and everything that needed to be done to allow their parents a restful death, but that was the problem.

It didn't sound restful at all.

"They already had a memorial, but we were going to do the official ceremony once we got back."

"If we got back, you mean," Eclipse stressed. "I don't know about you, but it was a bit sketchy for a while there."

Lathan shrugged. "In any case, we have to start arrangements for that as soon as we land."

Eclipse complied glumly, listening to the announcements being made over the intercom. They were roughly three hours away from Orb and were already highly anticipated. Kisaka never said outright there was going to be some kind of celebration, but "highly anticipated" was usually code for, "brace yourselves."

Getting the "A-Okay" to move about the ship once more, the three got up to stretch. There was always a moment in descent where the body can feel gravity kicking in again. It wasn't always a pleasant experience, but it was still a sign to those who live on Earth that they were finally home. For many of the Coordinators who decided to stay and live in Orb, it was probably more of a sign their lives were changing in a drastic way. Not only was the world heading towards peace, they were getting to see the unpredictability of Earth's weather, enjoy the seasons, and even get used to the often drastic temperature changes.

Some might call it Heaven.

Cagalli flagged them down in the hallway, running in their direction already dressed in her white pants and decorated jacket. She was a princess once again. "Lexi, Lexi! I did it!" she breathed, stopping in front of them. Putting her hands on her knees, Eclipse let her take a moment to catch her breath. Gravity wasn't the only thing they had to get used to again.

"You're free to enter Orb," she finished.

"Really? But what's the catch?" Eclipse asked, skeptical.

"You can enter the country, but of course you're going to have a permanent mark on your record about the incident."

"That's it? That's… not so bad." Eclipse shrugged; she had anticipated much worse. In fact, she was waiting for the handcuffs and jail cell, but if all she got was a mention of the incident in her record then that was fine. Was it good? No, but after a war such as this there was bound to be plenty of incidents marked on other people's records; people who were most likely much better at being a good human being than Eclipse could ever hope to be.

Cagalli reached over and put a hand on Eclipse's shoulder, her lips curving into a smile. "Welcome back to Orb, Lexi."

For the first time in a long time, she felt relieved.

---

Namarra would readily admit she felt awkward. Not only did the welcome ceremony have nothing to do with her return—or at least she was bent on believing that—but after seeing so many families reunite, she had the sudden and deep feeling of longing. She had been putting on a brave face for the past weeks, but, in the end, it still came down to the fact that her entire family had been taken in the war. Were there other people like her? Sure, she wasn't naïve enough to think she was the only one in the world not suffering, but she did feel like she was the only one of her friends who felt that way. Athrun had lost both parents to the war yet he looked as connected to people as he had before. Even Lacus didn't seem as downhearted.

She must be missing something.

Eclipse and Lathan and been ushered off to their family's estate to have an initial walkthrough and get the "show on the road" as Eclipse had put it. They had extended the invitation to Namarra, but the Natural had refused. Perhaps it was about time she got used to the idea of being alone. After all, what was she supposed to do here? Namarra had been in the military longer than she had been a normal citizen anywhere.

A car honked at her as she walked along the side of the road, either offering some kind of encouragement or yelling at her to move. She really couldn't tell and just kept walking. She wasn't quite sure how long she had been about or how far she had gotten, but did it really matter? Turning around, she could tell the dock was still within sight, but going uphill had a tendency to make everything look like a hop and a skip away, so she shrugged, turning back to the way she had been walking and her head roamed upward to see a turnaround spot just off the road. The section was a combination of pavement and grass, seeming to be just as much of a lookout point as a place to park a car and she veered off towards it. There was a rail around the edge of the grass, protecting anyone from falling down the slope and out towards the ocean, or at least that was its purpose. Based on it only coming up to the waist, no doubt someone could go over if it came to that and she felt herself tense, seeing a person leaning against it.

Standing there against the railing was a teenager probably no older than herself. He wore common clothes—jeans, grey jacket, and a hat that fell over his ears. His black hair shifted unkempt from under the material, giving him a ragged look, but his fashion sense wasn't what made her tense. He was leaning close to the railing, his thighs pressed against the metal, fingers clenched on the top with an eagerness she wasn't sure what to make of. It looked as if he was either going to run or go over the railing and she sped her steps towards him, curious.

"I'm not here to stop you if you want to jump," Namarra remarked, stepping from the pavement onto the grass and slowing as she neared.

Startled, the teen whirled on her. His red eyes caught her for a second and the intensity made her pause, but she regained her composure quickly and leaned her elbows on the railing a comfortable distance from him.

"I wasn't going to jump," he said, adding a little more spite than Namarra thought necessary but she didn't know his situation and brushed off the heat.

"Alright, fine then. I was just making an observation." Edging her chin to the left, she looked down at the dock and blue water beneath them. The sky was cloudy, but still bright, the sun finding ways to pierce the gloom and with the ocean in front of them, the expanse was picturesque. Gulls flew nearby and the breeze was light, but even though they were standing in the equivalent of paradise, Namarra couldn't help but heave a long sigh. She had hoped to wander further away, but she actually hadn't gotten that far after all and picked up her braid to throw it over her shoulder when the wind lifted it.

To add to the splendor, the celebration below had begun anew, the Archangel coming into port to loud cheers and streamers. The famed white ship was still beaten up, the scars from its recent battles in space marring it armor, but somehow that made it look even more elegant. She was as damaged as the rest of its crew, but still holding together and deserving any praise that was being sung in her direction. And they were singing, Namarra realized, the music and voices wafting up to their outlook and while her mouth twitched in a smile, the teen scoffed.

"Doesn't that make you sick?" She turned to him and he nodded at the ceremony. "Orb's practically bankrupt and yet they have enough time and resources to put something like that together." He snorted and kicked at the grass, Namarra watching him carefully as he continued. "You go two miles outside of the capitol and you'll see the destruction. Homes and buildings are flattened, most still lying under debris and machinery from the battle. Our energy supply is a mess and our water supply similarly in jeopardy and yet what does our government pay attention to? That." His lip curled over his upper lip as his finger pointed at the Archangel roughly.

In truth, Namarra couldn't blame him for his reasoning and despite her grief so near the surface at the moment, she understood and missed the benefit of having friends around to help forget the pain—be a reminder of better times and that those would return again. Namarra might feel alone in her loss, but she also knew she would have moments of elation and that's what she clung to, shrugging at the teen's insinuations. "If we don't celebrate the good things while we can, we're going to end up some gloomy people."

He gave a "Hmpf," and turned to look the other way.

"But, I'm gonna be honest, I think it's a bit much too," the Natural said slowly. "But that's coming from someone who likes to suffer in silence, not try to bury it under fake amusement." She shrugged. "At least not today."

"Orb is just weak and will grovel to anyone, including that ship."

"They're thankful, I think," Namarra countered. "Nothing wrong with being thankful."

"Being thankful doesn't save anyone," he responded curtly and they matched stares that time, her two-toned green ones bearing into his and while her strange eyes often took people off guard, he was resolute, eyebrows sinking into a stern glare as he continued. "Strength is the only real thing that can do anything in this world."

"Strength?" Namarra echoed. "What is strength then, I wonder." She thought back on the war; back on the people she fought beside and knowing each had their own version of strength, but none of them completely the same. Lacus was as strong as Athrun, and Erika as strong as Murrue. All of them strong in their own right and yet none of them were strong enough to do everything.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to find it and I'm going to use it."

"Use it? How?"

He shrugged and her face softened when his did. No, Namarra wasn't the only one to suffer from the war, recognizing the look on his face instantly. She had been seeing that look reflected in the eyes of everyone in the Three Ship Alliance and she knew it was reflected in her own. For as much hate as this teen had for the Archangel, it was amazing he didn't realize how alike the two of them might be.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts and Namarra's eyes wandered back down to the port, watching each ship of the Three Ship Alliance finally finish docking procedures and their engines died down, the constant hum in the air finally stilling. Everyone could rest now. A gull flew close by and Namarra had to catch her hair again as it was lifted high in a breeze, her right hand touching the side of her head just as the teenager started talking once more.

"I'm going up to the PLANTs—to join ZAFT."

"ZAFT?" she asked, her surprise unmasked as she turned to him. "You do know the world's just signed a peace treaty, right?"

He had moved, his right hand on the railing as he was turned towards her, but no closer in distance. "Yes, I'm aware of that, but I can't stay in Orb any longer and there's really no where else for me to go."

"Okay," she began, trailing off as she straightened as well, fingers light on the railing. "So, why ZAFT then? Why not go to the Kingdom of Scandinavia or one of the other neutral countries?"

"That would be the most logical thing to do, wouldn't it?" he agreed, but still matched her look with a firm one of his own. "But I have so much anger for this country and—I guess—the Earth. I just... can't stay."

"And what do you hope to find in ZAFT? Strength?"

"Something like that. Purpose mostly though, I think. Purpose and ability to protect others rather than just..." He trailed off and his eyes went vacant again, the sight making her frown. It was the same look as before and she had a feeling he was a kindred spirit, but his anger was just so raw that she didn't think even she could change his mind.

"No one can protect everyone," Namarra said quietly, her fingers tightening on the railing. "No matter how much they want to."

"Well that won't be me," he declared and his confidence was admirable, surprising the Natural so much her body flinched at the words. In a way, she envied him. She had had that desire at one point and she had fallen short. What if she had held onto that conviction like this teen seemed to? What would have been different if... Her mind trailed off, but instead of feeding off his determination, she released a slow breath.

"You would leave your family then for this power," she asked. "Is that fair to them?"

"Because of that ship, I don't have any family here. It's the reason my family was killed," was his quick reply, Namarra not even having to follow his pointing finger to know he was accusing the Archangel.

"My question still stands," she clarified slowly. "Your family and your memories are here. The world is heading towards peace. What strength do you think ZAFT can give you that your memories here cannot?"

"You wouldn't understand," he hissed, the conviction in his words before turning against her and she felt the fight bubble up in her stomach. How dare he assume she didn't understand—wasn't going through some pain of her own. Namarra knew very well the pain he was going through and she rubbed her first fingers against her thumb, the memory of the rock in her hand helping her calm down. He didn't have a follow-up statement, however, the teen dipping his head into a brief farewell before he walked past her, heading back the way the both of them had come.

She could have left it like that. The teen was a nameless tragedy among many and she would never see him again, but her fight won out in the end, whirling on his retreating back and her fists balled at her sides. "I think you're gonna be surprised to see who really does understand," she spat and he stopped, turning back to her briefly. "Just don't make the mistake of thinking only you've been hurt." He took her words in stride but didn't seem to have a response for her, the two matching a brief stare before he turned again and walked away, Namarra staring after him until his form was too far down the hill to see.

---

It had been three months since they had returned to Orb. Dearka had stayed for only a week or so before heading back to the PLANTs to see his mother. He had yet to return, but had promised Miriallia he would, so no one doubted he would keep that promise.

Murrue was starting to get along a little better and was blending into Orb society well. After shadowing Erika for the first month or so, she stepped in to monitor her department at Morgenroete while Erika was gone getting her face reconstructed. The former Archangel captain fit in quite well with the other mechanics and with Murdoch there the transition was smooth. She had a new pendent made for Mu; one she wore around her neck much like she had the previous one. The old pendent was now in her jewelry box as a reminder, but never a burden.

Andrew Waltfeld had been looking for the perfect place to set roots, but had been too picky and didn't like anything Orb had to offer. Cagalli was getting the most frustrated because she had promised to help pay the rent, but with his pickiness she was about ready to just have him live on the Eternal the rest of his life. Waltfeld actually joked to Eclipse a couple days before how it was all a game and it was even funnier to him because he was about to take the Eternal back to space to store with some allies. He decided he would return and settle in Orb after the delivery was over, but until that happened, he was stringing the blonde around, calling it "building character," or something to that degree. Eclipse just decided to let the two duke it out themselves.

DaCosta returned to the PLANTs with some other former ZAFT soldiers. Orb life wasn't as accommodating as they had anticipated and being so young, they weren't as eager for the quiet life many of the others were willing to accept. That had been a hard day for Eclipse, but she knew she would be back up in the PLANTs again soon. It took all of a month for the afterglow of Orbian life to wear thin, but she didn't want to leave Cagalli and the others. Perhaps she would planet hop and decided to stick with that idea for now.

Lathan still didn't want any surgery, but Heine talked him into renting a place with him in the PLANTs so the two could at least watch out for each other and Heine could slowly force the ideas into his head. Eclipse had a feeling Heine was going to make his life a living Hell until her brother gave in, but she was still on the border of the whole thing so she couldn't say anything really. With Heine's new position in the military, he wasn't as mobile as he used to be, but his connections had grown and he wasn't about to give up.

Lathan was similar to Eclipse in that regard, choosing to planet hop as much as his time and funds would allow, though the Rymyr estate had no shortage of money. Until he decided to settle down, Eclipse was going to be there for him, so if that meant jumping on a shuttle with him back and forth from space, she was going to do it gladly.

"Ready?" Namarra called, waving at her from the top of the hill. Lacus was standing next to her along with Murrue and Waltfeld. They were all down near the beach next to a local orphanage run by Reverend Malchio—a good friend to Lacus and, apparently, Kira's true savior back when the Strike had been destroyed. It had become the new hangout place, as it were, Lacus taking a liking to the children and they to her. It was peaceful and while not always quiet, it was a happy reprieve from the bad dreams and chaos of the city.

"So, you really are leaving?" Athrun asked, kicking the sand a little as he watched the water. Eclipse and Namarra were about to head up to the PLANTs to catch up with Lathan regarding a job and despite them probably coming back within a couple of weeks, it had been the first time the girls had been parted from the ragtag group. The whole gang had come out to the orphanage for a farewell dinner, even if the "farewell" was more of a "see you in a bit."

"You and Lathan came up with this peacekeeping idea, so don't be hounding on me," Eclipse continued, crossing her arms and looking over at Cagalli who was playing with a couple of the kids in the water, her trousers folded up over her knees and laughing a getting splashed despite the cold temperature of the water. "You need operatives and you know just as well as I do that Namarra and I can't keep ourselves sitting still in one spot without blowing up the furniture."

He gave a soft laugh. "True, but I guess I just thought you would help me run it from here instead of space."

"You have Kira and Lacus here for that, not to mention the Commander—uh—Waltfeld promised to add in some expertise." It was hard to remember not to call him "commander" after so long. If anything, it was a form of respect for her and she didn't want to stop, but he wanted to keep a low profile and she could respect that.

Cagalli said something to them and they waved back as a response. "Does she know?" Eclipse asked, indicating Cagalli.

"About the peacekeeping group?" She nodded and he shook his head. "No. We have to establish ourselves a little more before we can use it to help her get re-elected."

Eclipse hummed an acknowledgement, secretly wondering how long that would last. She was very aware of Athrun's intimate relationship with her cousin and that often didn't leave room for secrets. Still, she wished him luck and while her and Namarra were more like floating, operatives on his payroll they were keen to help him make the organization a success.

"Fair enough," she said with a nod. "We still need an official title too, you know."

"I know," he replied lightly, but the familiar shout from behind them interrupted any further thoughts on the matter.

"Lexi, Lathan just called. You have two minutes! Geez, it's not like we're leaving for good!" Eclipse turned and waved Namarra's comment away, returning to the kids in the water when the Natural gave her a middle finger as an acknowledgement.

"Oh, I noticed you put yourself as Lexi Rymyr in our paperwork." Athrun cocked his eyebrow. "Making it official, huh? I mean, that is going to be on your check stubs."

"Yeah, yeah," Eclipse muttered, trying to play it down, but she ended up smiling. "I guess it's time I got back to being who I've always been. Besides, Lunar Eclipse is pronounced dead in space. I probably shouldn't be wandering around as a ghost."

"Lexi!" Namarra yelled and the redhead made some obscene comment back, which made the whole beach pause. The kids turned slowly in her direction and Eclipse smiled sheepishly at their cross expressions, even wincing when she saw how disappointed Cagalli was.

"At least you don't have to watch your mouth in space," Athrun muttered as the blonde finally abandoned the kids and rushed to give one final, tearful goodbye.

Lexi laughed.

---

A/N: It's the second to last chapter, everyone! Can you believe it? Well, since this has taken me way too many years then, yes, I'm sure all of you can believe it. I'm pretty excited to be putting the "Complete" status on Weapon's Waltz here when the next chapter goes up. Funny thing about the next chapter is I have to write it all from scratch. Seeing as I've been editing everything back from NaNoWriMo still I'm glad I can start putting a large amount of new stuff into the story and not just adding bits and pieces here and there. I think you guys are going to like the next chapter. It's rather humorous so far and I've always had a soft spot for epilogues. Just makes everything come together and even if they're not always happy, well, they're worth the read in my opinion. And it's an achievement by the author. You got there!

Oh, can anyone name the quote, "If you're joking, that's cruel, but if you're being sarcastic that's even worse!" Namarra says it to Erika when they're in Murrue's cabin. Let's see how good you people are. :P (Hint: It's not from a video game like Namarra says. It's from an Anime.)

What else… Hm, it's funny. I spend so much time editing a chapter that I think I just get sorta sick of it, so I don't have much to say about it. Let's see. I'm excited for the next story, mostly. I mean Lathan and Heine roommates? That is going to be a hoot! I've come up with a name for the "peacekeeping force" (and I know one called Terminal was helping Lacus at some point) but have to flesh it out a bit more. So, I guess I'm in the same spot Athrun is right now.

Special thanks to my betas, CSSStravag, Death-Scimitar and Maderfole for all their hard work over the last infinity of time. I can't imagine how long it feels for your guys. :P

---

Corrections to the Narrative:

At this point, there isn't too much I changed mainly because the original series of SEED didn't have an ending, per se. I know there was one done with all of them on the beach by the orphanage so I tried to portray that at the end.

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Questions/Gripes:

Again, not much material/reviews to work with, but for those of you who reviewed, thank you! I always appreciate the feedback and knowing there are still readers out there makes me happy. :D

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I'll see you all in the next and final chapter of Weapon's Waltz!

Strata