Preview: Meiko Virea had been resolved to protect Yaro and Uzumi but when Liene threatened to kill Trey she broke. Now John Liene has given his noewfound information to the PLANTs and they have threatened ORB. Cagalli is standing strong to protect the children but many members of the council want to give them up to save their home instead. Athrun has called the Minerva to return as he fears a battle is coming. Yaro is trying to figure out why it is that Meiko is breaking so much while Uzumi is fighting to get stronger to overcome the darkness that he feels. Milady Redemption has launched a plan to get Kira back to Lacus and to protect those who may be entering battle very soon. Lacus Clyne has begun to mobilize the large force of Clyne faction that reside at the moon base as another portion prepares the secondary base in case Liene locates them. Things are heating up as Yaro and Uzumi may be returning to the battlefield soon and Meiko will be forced to stop wavering between two sides.

Survivor18 - I have tried posting the photos on the homepage and that does not work. Is there any photo site you can access like Flickr or Photobucket?

Phase 15 - ROW's Sting

A blast hit the walls, a bigger blast than anything the people of that nation had ever seen. Terror was infinite as everyone ran in panic trying to hide from the warship that had fired into their homeland. It was a dark day as the sky was riddled with ash and the ground was terrorized by fire. Children cried in the streets for their parents and parents searched desperately for their children. One fifteen year old stood on the street that he used to live on crying knowing all his family were dead. His world had just been shattered and nothing could change that.

"Come son," he heard an elderly voice say and turned to see an old man standing there, "It's not safe here." The boy took a step back with tears still flowing from his eyes when the old man asked, "what is you're name?"

"Skye," the boy said crying more as he turned to his home, "my family... Why?" The elderly man looked at him with sadness.

"Because this world is full of strife," the man said, "but you must come with me, for with me you will be safe." Skye was not sure whether or not to trust this man but he had nowhere else to turn.

"I will avenge them!" Skye said turning toward the sky with anger in his eyes, "whoever did this will feel my rath." The old man smiled, the anger in this boy would serve his organization well; ROW had one more solider now because they tore the world apart then they picked up the broken pieces to reconstruct a new world. The world they would create would be perfect.

John Liene watched the nation weep from inside his new warship and he knew their time had come.

"Meiko warned me that something like this could happen," Yaro said as him and Uzumi watched the news. Every station seemed to be reporting about the gridlock between the PLANTs and ORB and it was all his family's fault. It had been a hard few days for Yaro and he was sure that there was more going on in the world than just this.

"She did?" Uzumi questioned. He knew Yaro and Meiko had spoken a couple nights before and that was the last time either of them had seen her. He was concerned for her, she was always broken about something and she was all alone. She seemed to need friends and comfort and he wondered if she was alright wherever she was. It made no sense that she could know that this was going to happen and he wondered if she had picked up on something.

"Yeah," Yaro flipped off the TV, "she said that I should be more careful because she figured it out and more people probably could."

"That is true," Uzumi replied thinking about the war ahead, "but I think I remember when she came because I heard some people talking. Wasn't it the night before the PLANTs threatened ORB?" Yaro nodded and Uzumi continued, "So she warned you right before the PLANTs found out. Do you think she knew somehow what they were planning?" Yaro had thought about it before but everything did not add up in his mind. There was no way the scared little girl could be involved with the entities that were now threatening everything he loved. He just couldn't bring himself to think the worst about her. He had not been allowed to leave the mansion to see her but he thought about her often.

"No I don't think she knew," Yaro replied, "she told me that she was worried that someone would figure it out not that someone had. Besides there is no way she could be involved with the PLANTs." Yaro was sure of what he was saying.

"Well in any case we're in for it," Uzumi said dropping the subject though he still had his suspicions, "Do you think that your mother will let us fight in the machines we had before?"

"Yes," Yaro replied, "I've been thinking a lot about it and your dad did say the Clyne faction is mobilizing. What will the PLANTs do when that happens? They are no match for all of us!"

"The politics of it all is a little bit more complicated than that Yaro," Uzumi responded, "part of the ORB council did know that Cagalii was helping Lacus but the other part is completely in the dark. I am not sure my mother can use the ORB military to fight alongside Lacus Clyne. That is if the PLANTs attack at all, they seem to be playing the game in a very peaceful way." Jayley had withdrawn the threat of attack and had just decided to place political pressure on the nation. This had confused Cagalli and Athrun and they had told Uzumi that they believed ROW had control and was calling the shots at what the PLANTs could do at this point.

"All I know is I am going to fight for peace," Yaro said clenching his fists, "the peace of this twisted world and the peace of my family."

"They aren't moving until we move," a council member yelled, "they want us to mobilize our military so that they are justified in an attack! This whole situation is your fault, Lady Cagalli!" She had expected this when she had arrived at the council this morning. The council was always a strange place for her because it was divided in half with half of the members knowing everything about her, Kira and Lacus and the other half knowing nothing. It had always been hard for her to balance her countries ideals with her own personal emotions. Lacus was her sister in law and standing behind a podium of neutrality was very hard for her. Only half of her council understood and she always faced opposition from the other half. It was a delicate balance that always kept her in check though she knew that the lines were blurring more and more with recent events.

"Neutrality has always been ours," Cagalli said diplomatically pacing in front of the group, "and politically my acceptance of Lacus Clyne's children is a symbol of that neutraility. Since the PLANTs have no other evidence other than the children we can strongly stand behind our beliefs the strongest now being that we will not allow another nation to attack us."

"If they did attack do you have a plan?" Gratsler asked critically, she always wished he was off the council. Of couse she had a plan. It had everything to do withe the Minerva and the Clyne faction being ready to rush to their aid.

"I do," Cagalli said breathing in knowing now was the time to reveal something to the other half, "Me and Lacus Clyne were friend in the past and as her children have put us in this situation I have no doubt that should the PLANTs attack she would offer her full support. I understand that this my conflict with the current world view of Lacus but I know her better than any of you and I know that she was wrongly accused in the PLANTs. Her efforts only ever trended toward peace, I mean how can you all forget Gibralter? She wrote the treaty that we all signed, a treaty to end the mass production of nuclear weapons and to downsize the militarism of different countries. We have endured peace for this long because of what she did. She has always been a friend to the world and I don't believe she was wrong but regardless of what I believe ORB was unable to help her do anything so we just stood by and watched this happen."

"I agree with Lady Cagalli," Duabi said rising and looking toward each of the council members, "there are a lot of things going on in the world right now that do not add up and it is up to us to not just blindly turn aside. True this nation was founded on neutrality but that is not the same as complacency. In this dark hour we can not afford to ignore everything. We don't have to break our beliefs and fight but we do have to make sure we know what every threat is no matter how small they seem. We have to continue to send aid to contries in turmoil and we have to strand strong."

"Thank you Duabi," Lady Cagalli said as he sat down, "It's as he says we will not back down and though we will not enter into war we will not stand by and let our nation fall! ORB will not burn again!" As she said the last statment the council clapped and and suddenly a member of the military burst into the council room out of breath and clearly troubled.

"Lady Cagalli," he said saluting, "we have an urgent message from Lacus Clyne. It seems ROW has attacked three nations in southern Africa this morning. They have totally collapsed and the devestation is massive." Cagalli suddenly cursed surprising the council as she turned to Athrun knowing he was thinking the same thing. They had been completely played by ROW, while the world was focused on the gridlock between ORB and the PLANTs no one would see ROW moving in. The world was in a greater danger than she had foreseen. Everyone on the council felt in and anger began to spread.

"We have to stop them," Cagalli said, "we can not allow them to attack here!"

Athrun sat in his office glancing over everything he had been given one more time, and he was very confused by what he found. Yaro sat in front of him waiting for what news he had discovered and hoping that the mystery of his own past was right in front of him.

"I know how much you wanted to find this information Yaro," Athrun said sighing, "but the truth is I have not found much."
"Well what did you find?" Yaro asked still a little hopeful.

"Your records are very incomplete," Athrun said holding up the files, "I got them from the orphanage. You arrived at the orphanage sixteen years ago, right after the Destiny Plan was taken down. You were brought there by some woman who would not tell the Reverend her name but apparently she knew your mother. She said that your parents were dead and that she was unable to care for you. She would not reveal who they were or explain any more."

"So they don't even know who this woman was?" Yaro asked.

"No," Athrun replied, "only that she had short red hair and that she wore a white mask to hide battle scars. I'm sorry that I couldn't find more for you."
"It's alright," Yaro replied standing up, "at least I know that they wanted me but they were unable to stay alive long enough. I really am grateful to you for trying to find them for me and I am very happy that I was adopted by a good family. I wanted to ask you if it is possible for me to contact my mother, Lacus. I need to ask her something very important."

"I don't think we can contact her but I do plan on trying," Athrun replied, "what is it you want to ask her?"

"If I can pilot the Visage again," he said with authority.

Uzumi walked through the halls of the apartment complex with the knowledge that something was going on with the girl he was going to see. She had cut off her phone, quit school and had not been in communication with anyone since the day ORB was threatened by the PLANTs. Uzumi had never been suspicious of her for anything but he knew she had visited Yaro the night before the event warning him about something. The pieces fit very loosely and Uzumi began to wonder if there was much more the Meiko Virea then any of them realized. She was an amazing mobile suit pilot after all and her fighting style did remind him of someone. This puzzled him as the only real battles he had been in were the ones against ROW agents. The idea that Meiko could be a part of ROW was bothering him because if that was true she was decieving both him and Yaro.

He was unsure of what he would find out here but he knew he had to see her. He had to know if she was lying to them all along or if she really was scared of everything; if she was really overcome by the darkness he now felt. He stood in front of her door scared that he would not like what he found but knowing that he could either face the truth or walk away and forget about her forever. The latter would be to hard for there was something about her that just connected with him. So he did the only thing he could do. He knocked on the door.

The door opened slowly revealing Meiko standing before him in the defeated posture he had seen her wear quite a few times. Her hair was a mess and her eyes looked like she had been crying. She looked shocked to see him there but quickly motioned for him to come in. He was surprised to find the usually neat apartment was a huge mess. It looked like someone had torn it up and looking at how she looked now he wondered if it was her. What was happening to this girl? He knew she was breaking from something but he did not know what.

"What happened?" he asked, she sat on the couch and buried her face in her hands. She then looked up toward him and spoke.

"I've lost who I am and I can't understand what is happening around me," her eyes were pleading with him not to blame her for anything, "and I'm torn. Uzumi, I don't know what to do! I don't know who I am! I don't understand why this all had to happen to me." Sobs wracked through her as she found herself unable to contain them. She did not deserve his comfort.

"I don't understand," he said just standing there staring at the girl he thought he was beginning to know, "who are you really?" She looked up toward him.

"I just said I don't know," she closed her eyes holding out her hands and he saw for the first time callouses like none he had ever seen. He had never before noticed how her hands were raw and rough, "but I know that I am not this. Uzumi I've been living the worst sort of life and every time I've tried to get out I have found myself unable to do anything but stand there and watch as everything I love is torn from me. That's the consequence of my doubt. I've tried to keep from caring about anything but I have never been able to be indifferent to things. I just don't know what I am going to do." Uzumi knelt down beside her and closed her open hands then looked into her dark eyes.

"Why?" he asked simply and she understood that he knew everything. He had made all the connections and he had come to the right conclusion.

"Have you ever pointed a gun at someone and watched the life leave them?" she asked and he shook his head no, "the only thing that is worse is watching a gun get pointed at someone you care about and being forced to choose between two things you want to protect. I've been everywhere in this damned world and I've felt the hurts of so many. I've caused those hurts and I've tried to run from it all but every time I am brought to a choice someone dies and I will not let anyone die this time because it's always my damn fault it happens." Uzumi knew now that his suspicions were correct. She was in ROW but she did not want the life they had forced her into. He began to understand now that ROW was more than an organization it was a monster that held people like Meiko captive through threats and death. She was his enemy and his friend at the same time and he was not sure what to do about it but he knew he had grown to care about her. He was angry at what he had just discovered but a huge part of him felt compassion for her and he knew that he could not just turn his back on her.

"Come with me now," he said giving her a slight smile, "leave it all behind, break free from this cycle of pain. Meiko I believe that you are still a good person, you warned Yaro and I believe that you can be freed from all this. Please Meiko come with me." Her eyes darkened more with sadness.

"I can't," she said looking down.

"Why not?" Uzumi asked, "I know you don't want this! You can't just let your life be ruled by them. Meiko you have to fight or else they win again and you will never be able to taste freedom."

"No," Meiko said desperately, "you don't understand! They have Trey, my friend and if I leave he will die! I can't let that happen again! I have lost everyone and if I leave they will kill him and I will be responsible for the death of someone else and my life will be more of a hell than it is already." Uzumi was shocked at this, ROW was forcing this girl to choose between her friends, "Now you see what I have gone through my entire life."

"There has to be some other way," Uzumi said.

"You can turn me in but they will still kill him if I am gone," she replied, "so if you want to help me you'll stay away from me because if they get you too then I don't know what I'll do." He saw that there was no way out of this situation. He could not ignore the fact that his friend was a ROW spy but he also could not ignore everything he now understood about her. Her life was a lie that she was forced into by threats that her friends would be killed. He was unable to solve her problems, unable to save her and he found himself unable to turn her in.

"I can't turn you in," he said standing up, "but you need to decide who's side you are on Meiko for there is so much more to life than this."

"You've never killed anyone have you?" Meiko asked knowing what his answer was, "My hands are stained with the blood of many and I don't think that I could find redemption even if I chose to walk out now. I am unsaveable and you would be much safer if you had never known me."

"Make sure we have a resupply of everything on the whole fleet," Lacus said. She was now standing in the largest hangar in the Clyne faction factory. She had been issuing orders for the past three hours and she constantly had commanders asking her more questions. Andrew Waltfeld stood beside her now as they had watched the base come to life with the orders of a coming mobilization.

"I think we are prepared for anything now Lacus," Waltfeld said.

"Don't let anything make you complacent," she said holding out a file for him to see, "it seems our spy's have discovered what it was that caused devastation in three countries at the same time." He opened the folder and was shocked at what he saw, it was something like a ship but much larger than any he had ever seen. On one side of the ship there was a giant cannon and on the other side was a huge hangar.

"The Sting," Watlfeld said reading the title on the photo and absorbing the features of this massive weapon, "How could anyone build something like this without someone finding out? How could the world just turn a blind eye to this kinda power?"

"Because everyone has already sacrificed so much," Lacus said with determination, "No one wants to believe that this world is going down again when we earned peace all those years ago. So many of us still remember the pain of the battlefield and it is something we have wanted to forget for years."
"Well if ROW attacks us with that then we will need to be ready," Waltfeld said, "ready to face death again."

Milady sat observing all the data that she had discovered on the recent ROW movements and the launch of the Sting. It was as she had suspected, the cannon on the warship was powered by a certain crystal that ROW had been mining on Mars. This calmed her fears as she realized that ROW had too many design flaws to make this weapon as threatening as the Genesis or the Requiem. She only worried about what else they might have planned for surely Liene wouldn't only count on one inefficient cannon to win him the battlefield.

Three of her commanding officers all sat in the same room with her looking over the data. One of her ROW spies has successfully sent her a layout of the battle ship but she knew finding it's weaknesses would be a tricky thing.

"We have heard reports that the Clyne faction is mobilizing and that the Minerva was sighted in Africa moving toward ORB," one of the officers said informing her of things she already suspected.

"Lacus Clyne is no fool," Milady said flipping through some of the files she saw, "if I know her she will mobilize full force and she probably knows about the Sting. All she needs now is Kira to ensure that she will be victorious. With ROW still wavering between ORB and Lacus we don't know where they will strike first."
"Do you think this Sting can fire from the atmosphere?" Yzak asked.

"I don't doubt that it can," Milady replied, "for that would be the easiest way to attack ORB and Liene has always hated ORB."

"But if your correct Meiko is in ORB now," Yzak replied, "and John Liene would never just blast his finest warrior off the face of the earth. As long as she is there they are safe."

"But how much longer will she be there?" Another officer asked.

"Enough," Milady said standing up, "I have explained to you all what we are doing and why we can not completely mobilize and follow Lacus now. We still are not strong enough to be of any help to them. The Redemption and the Dreamer are still not finished and until they are and until their pilots are ready we are weak. Now take the orders I gave you and follow them, I have other business to attend to." With that she turned and walked out of the room.

There was one person who did not know everything that was going on and as most of it concerned his family he deserved to know it all. Kira Yamato had been silent since Yzak spoke to him but she knew he hated being cut off from the world and from news of his family. She walked down to the medical bay where he was still kept and stepped through the door. She received a salute from the Doctor and she nodded back and signaled him to leave. Kira stood up as she entered.

"Do you have news of my family?" he asked quickly. She held up her hand for him to sit down and he did.

"I have a lot to say so don't interrupt me," she said looking down, "your children were sent to ORB after your wife was forced to flee the PLANTs to them. At the time everyone knew that this was a liability but that did not keep them from doing it..."

"Because we trust the people in ORB," Kira said interrupting, "and Lacus would want the kids away from the battlefield."

"Yes," she replied, "I know all that very well. What your sister did not count on when she authorized this is that ROW would send a spy into ORB to try and find anything to link ORB to Lacus. The spy was a young girl name Meiko Virea and she found everything she was looking for because she found your children..."

"Are they still safe?" he asked quickly.

"Yes," she replied sighing in annoyance, "just listen. ORB has received a threat from the PLANTs but that is not our biggest concern at the present. Redemption spies have picked up information on ROW and it seems they are mobilizing and that they have launched a new super ship. We are monitoring the situation and it also seems that the Clyne faction is mobilizing. There will be a battle but it can not be won without you."

"So are you taking me back to them?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, "though Redemption can not help them now you can." Milady then left and Kira was left to ponder what she had said,

His family was in danger but luckily it would not be too long before he would see them again. His thoughts turned to his children and Lacus. They were the most important things in the world to him and he would fight thousands to make sure that they were safe from harm. It was vow he had made the day that Leyas and Kiran were born and now he would fight for a peaceful world for their future.

He had known for awhile that she was breaking yet he had not wanted to admit it to himself. He had failed to create Meiko into the perfect solider and instead he was stuck with the knowledge that he should have worked harder to keep her from the world. She had grown to love to many things and she had learned that there was another way she could live her life. This tore her in two and all he could do was keep her afraid, and he knew that she would not be afraid forever. Already she had tried to stand up to him, she had failed but what mattered is that she tried. He knew he had to speak to her like he had when she was a child. He had to tell her of the 'peace' and restoration that he sought and how that goal is the reason why he raised her. He knew he had to speak to her for if she became any more bold he might loose her.

Mike now stood with him on the bridge of one of his finest and fastest ships a few miles outside of ORB, the Mirage. Mike Shustre had helped him train Meiko from the time she was a little girl and Liene knew his gentleness and easiness was part of the reason why Meiko was so soft. Still Liene was greatful to Mike for all he had done and he remained a close ally to Liene. They had fought together for a long time and in that time Liene had began to see that part of Mike sought to waver from the path ROW had dictated but he fought that half for the sake of the organization. Though many officers railed against him Liene decided that he was one of the best they had.

"Why would Meiko lie to me?" Liene asked him knowing that Mike had an answer. Mike clearly understood Meiko very well and he knew her motives.

"The answer is right in front of you," Mike began breathing in, "You sent her into ORB to befriend Uzumi Zala, a boy known to make friends easily. It is obvious to me that he showed her a kindness she had never known before and they really became friends. I also believe that she and the Yamato children might have become friend and then there is the matter of Yaro Yamato."

"The adopted child?" Liene asked suprised that Mike would single him out.

"Yes," Mike said, "He is her same age and his first time on the battlefield was impressive for having no experience. There is something about him that I am just not sure about though, I just don't know."

Liene began to think about that child. Yaro Yamato had always been an interesting boy. He was adopted from an orphanage in ORB, the one that Lacus and Kira had stayed at for two years after the first bloody valentine war. Lacus had apparently met Yaro when she was hiding from John Liene's threats during the Gibralter incident. Yaro Yamato had been known in the PLANTs as a very sweet and gifted boy with a big heart for the world. Other than that his past was a complete mystery to all.

"Well we have to get Meiko back here as soon as possible," Liene said looking out toward the sea, "for if those two boys have had any effect on her it has to stop. Go back to ORB and bring her here. Leave nothing behind."

Meiko heard a knock on the door, it seemed that people were coming to visit her more and more now. She was still shaken from her meeting with Uzumi but she concluded that he had not turned her in as no one had come for her, until now. Her heart started beating very quickly as she rose up to answer the door. Her apartment was almost completely packed away as she knew that Liene would be coming for her very soon. Now that her mission was complete she was a liability if she continued to stay in ORB and though she did not look forward to it she knew the battlefield was coming very soon.

She stepped toward the door and opened it to reveal Yaro standing in front of her. Her heart nearly stopped seeing him and remembering how she had betrayed him and his family. It was all her fault that he was in trouble now and she could not shake the feeling of guilt that plagued her so. He now stood in front of her expecting nothing from her but an explanation and she knew it was time to give it.

"How did you know that this was going to happen?" he asked looking deeply into her eyes. She saw something there she had never seen before and she wasn't sure what it was but she knew that it made her feel almost happy. Something about him had changed and she knew that it had also changed in her. She had almost found her courage because she wanted to protect him yet she had allowed herself to fail and because of that she could not face what she had become.

"Come inside," she said opening the door wider and the wiping the tears from her eyes, "for I owe it to you to tell you everything." He walked in thinking about how he had just snuck out of the mansion because he had to see her now that he was here he wasn't so sure he wanted to know. She was so very important to him now for she had become an irreplaceable part of his life and he couldn't imagine that she could do anything that would make him love her less.

"Meiko," he said reaching for her closed hand, unsure of herself she opened it and let his hand rest in hers, "you don't have to tell me anything." Right there hand in hand he felt the callouses that were so prominent on her hand. She looked at him with tears in her eyes being unable to explain what was going on inside of her.

"It will change everything," Meiko said taking a step closer to him not knowing what force drove her, "everything you feel now will be gone once you hear what I have to say."

"Then don't say it," he said wanting to wrap his arms around her but resisting, "I don't need to know. I want us to stay like this, and I promise you nothing that you could ever do could change anything I feel for you." In this moment there was no reason in her mind, she did not understand what it was that was going on but she found herself unable to think clearly and unable to deny what she felt. He moved closer to her and she followed. He took her other hand in his.

There was no sound as their eyes locked stuck in each other's gaze they both moved together. Their lips touched as they met each other with all the emotion that they had been feeling for the past few days. Unsure of themselves they quickly broke apart but he took the initiative and quickly caught her lips. Her arms wrapped around his head and his wrapped around her waist. She had never felt this way in her entire life, as if nothing else mattered but him and she forgot all that she had done. Their hearts both beat wildly as their kiss intensified.

You don't deserve him.

Her head suddenly broke from the reigns of her heart and she quickly pulled away from him. He looked at her shocked at what had just taken place. Her heart raced with fear and guilt for everything she had done in the past.

"This isn't right," she said taking a step back and letting tears fall from her eyes, "you have to stay away from me."

"But Meiko," he said reaching a hand out toward her, she quickly backed away, "I can't stay away from you. I love you." Tears flowed from her eyes as she gazed on something she could never have standing before her.

"You love me?" she asked feeling her heart shatter as she remembered that she believed herself incapable of love, "you can't love me. I'm nothing like you, It's all my fault..." Her voice broke as she sobbed right there in front of him.

"Meiko," he said taking her in his arms and holding onto her tightly. She let him hold her for a moment but she quickly pushed away.

"I'm an agent of ROW," she heard herself say and she knew she would not be able to hide it from him anymore, "and everything you are going through right now is my fault. Because I was to weak to stand up to him and because I am the worst sort of person there is." She was unable to expand upon that because of how she found it hard to breath at this moment.

"No," Yaro said as he tried to fight the anger in him, "you can't be!"

"I was given to ROW when I was a baby," she responded yelling, "I never had a choice! I was theirs and they have my best friend and they will kill him if I leave! They threatened to kill him before and I know they will do it!" Yaro looked at her shocked, all this time and she had been bound to his enemies.

"But you don't want them do you?" Yaro responded unable to hide some of his anger, "you don't want them to control you any more do you?"

"I have only ever desired to be free of them," Meiko replied, "but I have nowhere to go and I have no way of saving Trey if I just leave. I don't know what to do Yaro you have to understand me. I never wanted to hurt you, I tried to lie to Liene but he saw right through me. You and Uzumi are the best people I have ever met and when I found out that I had to hurt you I lost everything. I am an empty hollow shell of a human being and I have hurt so many though my inability to stand up to them."

"So you are just giving up again?" Yaro said, "I can't believe that there is no way to save you! You have to fight them!"

"I have!" Meiko yelled this time, she hated telling Uzumi that she was impossible to save and now she found herself having to tell Yaro as well, "I have tried to resist them and every time I do they kill someone I care about. They have me backed against a wall Yaro, I either continue with them or face the fact that I have caused more death. I don't want this but I can't escape it."

"Please just let me help you," Yaro said as pain filled his eyes, she drew in a sharp breath seeing it. Her mobile suit was the Pain and she inflicted it wherever she went. She knew she stood at a crossroads in life as she had so many times in the past but she found herself unable to choose a path. She seemed to be forever sitting at the crossroads never becoming passionate about anything except her own pain. Now she realized that every choice she seemd to make was selfish and this realization was driving her mad. There was always something in her life holding her back from becoming completely evil but she did not know how to take hold of it. She wanted so much more but she couldn't take it. She couldn't take the pressure she now faced.

"You can help me by staying safe," she replied, "and praying that there is some way for my soul to be redeemed and that this world will find peace." She said this as she opened the door for him and he realized she wanted him to leave. He wanted to take her with him, to hold her close and say that he was going to save her but instead he just walked out feeling pain growing in his heart. She was on a path that would lead to her own destruction and there seemed to be no way to save her.

"We have a lot ahead of us," Lunamaria said. She had floated into the hangar to find Shinn going over his mobile suit's condition for the fourth time, he seemed to be nervous about whatever was coming next. The Minerva now moved quickly toward ORB but Lunamaria was sure they would not make it in time for the battle. They had been set back a few hours earlier by a small ROW attack which had surprised them. Things seemed to be rough throughout the rest of the coutries they had to go through and she was sure they would continue to be attacked.

"Spare me your ice today Luna," Shinn said with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "I have to much to deal with right now so just save it." She frowned at his words and her first instinct would be to lash back but she knew he was justified in what he had just said. They were all going through a lot and her fued with him was beginning to wear on them both. They had been able to work together without hurting each other but now that she had thought about the gravity of the situation they were in she no longer felt a resentment toward her. She had began to realize that in the battles ahead she could not be entirely certain that anyone would come back alive and that had changed her quite a bit. Now was the time to establish friendship not to expand upon a rift between two people.

"I have no ice today," she said looking down, "I have been thinking a lot about the second valentine war and the destiny plan and everything we went through back then. I mean we were so much and I began to realize that my resentment of you is not entirely fair. I mean I never did let you explain what happened that day." He looked up at her a little surprised and half expected her to retract what she had just said.

"I was called to be a part of the Gibrlatar treaty and I forgot about our date," he replied, "I was wrong, I should have called you and explained."

"Well I was wrong about not letting you explain," she replied feeling a little happier about the situation, "I mean the Gibraltar treaty was huge, it singlehandlely ended the distribution and creation of nuclear weapons in the world. I would have jumped at that opportunity."

"I am just glad we are finally speaking about this," Shinn replied with a smile, "I've been very focused on trying to keep my head in this war that I have let our relationship continue to be rocky at the expense of those around us. So can we be friends now?" She smiled at him and held out her hand.

"Truce?" she said.

"Truce," he responded taking her hand. The battles ahead would be hard but they were glad to be side by side together ready to face the world.

"One of our scout troops was shot down," a Technician on the bridge of the Eternal declared. Lacus Clyne had boarded to see that preparations were going smooth and now she was glad that she had.

"No," she said looking toward Andrew Waltfeld, "they have found us! Start the emergency evacuation procedures immediately! Open the tunnel and get everyone out of here." The technicians quickly scrambled to type in the coded sequence which would alert the entire base and soon the alarms were going off everywhere. Everyone scrambled to load everything they could on the ships as fast as possible and they all prepared the lineup for the factories biggest secret. A tunnel through the moon that was invisible to anyone above that would shoot them out ten miles from the site. If ROW had come they were ready.

As soon as the exit started a large blast rocked the base taking three ships with it and Lacus Clyne saw it on the screen for the first time. The Sting was there but it had used one blast and it was now sending swarms of mobile suit teams, a model that she had never seen before.

"Order the defense troops to attack full force! We need to hold them off until the evacuation is complete!" she yelled. Everyone rushed to obey her orders and she prayed that they would all make it out alive.

So I think this is a little shorter than the last few but I really wanted to get it done tonight because I knew I wouldn't have any more time later. My summer has gotten a little crazy but I still plan on trying to update very week.

So hold on tight and REVIEW! I think I got the most amount of reviews I have ever gotten for one chapter right after the chapter came out last week! I was so excited, I seriously read them over and over again! You are all so great and you really are what keep me writing this! Thanks for being so great and keep Reviewing!

-WintersChill