Gundam Seed: Redemption Chapter 28: Angel, a gundam seed fanfic

Sorry for the long wait, School seems to kick up a notch every week and I was stuck on the opening of this chapter for awhile. I could not decide for my life whether or not to open on a battle sequence or not. Well the ending of the chapter is my favorite scene ever.

Phase 27: Angel

"Sailing has been smooth so far," Meyrin said explaining their situation to her crew, "if things remain so we could make it to an ORB outpost here along the coast of Africa within a few days, after that we will be able to speak to Athrun and Cagalli in order to decide the best course of action. Heaven knows they've probably been worried sick about us, I only pray things haven't changed that much." Ceveris nodded at he words and the rest of the crew acknowledged it with releif.

"From what we understood there in Eurasia ORB's only real worry right now is the PLANTs," Ceveris said thinking about the situation that was at hand, "you guys beat ROW bad, Liene will probably lick his wounds and bide his time. In the meantime the PLANTs can catch ORB off guard with full strength, they haven't fought a real battle since Gibraltar and they're fresh." Meyrin understood this well, the ZAFT forces had been sitting on their hands waiting for a chance to fight. A Solider without a war was ridiculous, a solider held back for two long would be fire once he was released. She had experienced this in her time in ZAFT, the soldiers there were more dangerous than any other. ROW was tainted by robotics and naturals, a ZAFT force would be ten times as hard to face as ROW had been at this point and part of her wondered if the PLANTs could have crushed ROW years ago.

"I don't think the PLANTs will make any move this soon after we just attacked ROW," Meyrin replied, "that wouldn't' look good at all and Jayley wants to keep her image up for now, after all she is newly elected." Ceveris scoffed at this sentiment and replied.

"The fact is Jayley has control now," he said stepping forward, "Control of everything in the PLANTs, she no longer needs the public approval and she really never did. She had the media on her side and they are selling her every move to the people. They will see nothing but her greatness as long as she has that, she controls them. The only reason the PLANTs would not move now is if Jayley herself is controlled by Liene as we all suspct she is." Meyrin understood this, if Liene hoped to control the world he wouldn't want to see it destroyed by anti coordinator sentiments. These sentiments would rise if the PLANTs attacked any nation on earth. There were still some tensions about coordinators even after both wars and Lacus as Chairwoman had lessened the tensions by keeping ZAFT away from earth completely. She had worked to keep the relations between the coordinators and the naturals friendly and she had been able to accomplish so much for the PLANTs and for peace.

"Where's the kid?" Ceveris asked looking around noticing that Kiran was not there. Meyrin was a bit uneasy about how Ceveris had seemingly taking Kiran under his wing, she wasn't sure what the man's intentions were but she had no choice but to trust him. Kiran was a smary boy but Meyrin knew he was desperate to get stronger so that he could fight like his father, such a desperation would lead Kiran to trust Ceveris with his life as long as the older man took on the role of a mentor.

"He went out for some air, and I think Alicesia followed," Meyrin responded still feeling a bit uncomfortable about it all.

They were getting closer and closer to being out of danger, yet he still felt as though something bad was getting ready to happen. Meyrin seemed confident that they could make it now that they had Ceveris and he prayed that she was right. Kiran was anxious to know exactly how everyone was, they had been out of contact with his family and he didn't even know if they all had made it out of the crossfire. He prayed that nothing bad had happened to them. He stood on the deck of the Minerva now again lifting his head up to feel the breeze and relishing in the calmness of the water.

"Kiran," he turned to see Alicesia behind him and smiled as she approached. The two had gone through quite a lot together at this point and they were inseperable. He considered her his best friend and she considered him hers.

"I was just thinking about home," he said knowing that she wanted to ask what he was doing out here. He saw it in her eyes now the way she looked at him.

"We might make it out of this uncertainty soon," she replied with a smile putting a hand on his shoulder, "and you'll get to see your family again and I'll get to see my sister. I'm sure they made it all out, they're strong." Kiran knew what she said was most likely true, his family was very strong. The only person he was really worried about now was Yaro, for that was the person who had lost the most. He knew his older brother and he knew that through everything in his heart that Yaro still always loved Meiko and always would. There was something about the two, a connection that Kiran had witnessed, something not even they could really see or understand but it was clearly there. Kiran had been shocked to learn what Meiko was for she had always seemed so small but he realized it was because she was always so broken.

"But what about Yaro?" Kiran asked aloud knowing that Alicesia didn't really have the answers, "I dont' know how he is now. If he did survive I expect that he's broken. Alice, he loved her and she sacrificed everything for us, for people she didn't even know and for him because she thought him as more important than herself. I just can't see him taking that well at all, he's always been one to break under extreme circumstances and what happened is a real tragedy."

"She's a hero," Alicesia replied with conviction in her voice, "her sacrifice will be remembered for ever, for she didn't love her life so much as to shrink from death. What we draw from this and what we must hope Yaro has draw from this is the strength and will to march ahead always remembering what those who have gone before us gave up for our lives. As long as I live I hope never to see another person in the position Meiko was in, but if it came down to you or myself I know which way I would go." Kiran nodded in agreement, she was his best friend and he knew that if the choice was to save her or himself he would save her.

"I know I would do the same thing," Kiran said turning back toward the sea, "I only pray that choice never comes for either of us."

It had heart, it was stirring as it played out into the air. Her heart drove her on and the sorrow around her caused it to take form once again, she had thought it was finished but now she wasn't sure. Everything around her was telling her to give up hope for the future but something within her saw it plain as day. There were no piano's in space that she knew of so now was her last chance to figure it out, what was her heart and what was it that she desired. She was Leyas Yamato, she was the second born child of Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, she was once the princess of the PLANTs and she was still just a little girl. She was quite, she was strong but at the same time she was weak. No one saw the things she went through and she faced the dark alone except for the weapon that would always be by her side, the weapon of song. Today she hammered away at the keys her fingers moving gracefully and swiftly as a tune of sorrow, hope and confusion played out once again. This was the tune that Meiko had given her when their minds had connected for that day that everything changed.

She played on as her own doubts rose. ROW had beaten them back, ROW had killed her cousin and ROW was now there in the distance waiting for the opportunity to strike at them. Amidst it all she had no way of ever really being safe because of her blood, because of who she was. Something she had no control over. Something she hated, she would never have a choice but to be this person. She would never have a choice but to be the daughter of two people whose lives were in constant danger. She felt so much pain over that simple fact, so much sorrow, so much regret and in the end anger. No one out there really knew what this meant, she was significant in a way that she would never be able to change. She had never minded it before because it handed her a stage to sing but she realized now that every time she sang she was compared to her mother and that as well could not be changed.

Her thoughts then turned to the war as she continued through the song. They had lost so much to a series of battles in space, so much that they would never be able to regain. She had witnessed so much sorrow, so much death, and the innocence that she had held before it all was now gone. She was scared by the things she had seen. Leyas Yamato was the song that she played, she was scarred, she was pained, and she had so much doubt within her, so many questions. This was the song that Meiko had given her, and she felt now what it was that Meiko had always felt, she felt trapped and cornered. ROW sought the death of all she held dear and there was no way for her to change it, no way for her to correct it and no way for her to bring peace through her own strength. She couldn't even fight in a mobile suit the way Yaro and Uzumi had, she just sat in a position that anyone could operation, in the position of communications. She longed to fight back the darkness that descended on the world but she had no way to do so and this is what trapped her. She needed to break out of the feelings that she felt now and she knew she had a great advantage on Meiko, no one was forcing her into anything and she had people around her who were there to support her through whatever it was she chose to do. It was still all too much and in that moment her piece stopped before reaching an ending and she was overwhelmed by tears. She tried to wipe them away at first but soon she buried her face in her hands and wept.

She sat there crying uncontrollably when she heard a crash in the back of the auditorium and looked up quickly to see Trey was standing there, he had accidentally knocked over a couple chairs and he looked a little embarrassed at this moment.

"I was just leaving," he said trying to explain himself, "I heard you playing and I thought it was beautiful." He nodded then and was about to turn and leave when she stopped him.

"Wait," she said and her sweet voice echoed through the auditorium and he stopped and turned back to her waiting for whatever she asked now. He saw that she was broken and something was bothering her, who was he to turn down anything she desired now, "will you come closer and listen?" She asked this simply of him motioning to the extra space on the piano bench. He nodded and walked up the stage and sat down beside her. She wiped more tears from her eyes and begun. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before, she sweet melody of a life. Her fingers moved beautifully in patterns unlike anything he had ever seen before. She knew this instrument very well indeed. He had heard of Leyas Yamato before, that she could play and sing better than anyone in the world. Her skill was unmatched and he saw that skill on the piano now. When the song ended he knew that he had just witnessed something truely beautiful.

"That was amazing," he said and she wiped more tears from her eyes as her hands moved away from the ivory keys to rest in on the bench of the piano on both sides of her. She looked at him and he saw something within her eyes that he had seen countless times before, something about her so much like someone he knew yet so different at the same time. It confused him but he knew that he wanted to understand more about her.

"That song," she said in such a small voice it was like a whisper, "is Meiko's. For I wrote it when she was there, she was inside my head and I was inside hers. I don't know what it was. Something connected us for that moment and out of it came this. Out of it came a song that mirrored my life but mostly one that expressed her life. I've tried countless times to write it, to understand it but every time I play it it comes out a little different, as if it is constantly changing and sifting. It's my own heart that is changing and I don't know what to do about everything. The only thing I have is this here, I have music." She didn't know what made her open up to him, but she knew she felt safe with him there.

"I heard it Leyas," he replied, "I heard everything." More tears streamed from her eyes as he wished that he could make it so she didn't have to feel this way but he knew very little of what to say or how to change this for her. He had failed with Meiko and he would not allow himself to fail to understand someone again.

"What was she like?" Leyas asked him, "Why is it that we can't forget her even though she's gone? What is it about her that makes everyone around her feel so much?" It was a question he had asked himself so many times, a question he could never answer.

"She cared Leyas," he replied remembering the face of the girl of which they both spoke, "she cared so much. She never wanted anyone to feel what she did yet at the same time it was as if she couldn't help but showing them who she was. Her eyes shined with a hope that was astounding in her hopeless situation. She was so pure and many tried to protect her from everything that was against her yet in that final moment there was nothing we could do. There was no way to stop her destiny."

"But this was her destiny," Leyas replied her hands hovering over the ivory keys once again, "The song does not end in death, but rather in hope." Leyas played out the ending again and he listened once again astounded. There was something about this girl that was amazing to him. She had a prescence that was unmistakable but in that moment of hearing the ending of the song and hearing the hope that Meiko portrayed he knew exactly what it was that this meant.

"Because Meiko left the world with hope," Trey said, "so much hope. Leyas there is nothing to be afraid of. We will continue to fight on for the truth of what is coming." This was something she did not expect, he saw her fear. More tears came to her eyes and this time he did embrace her allowing her to cry and knowing that she was one of the most precious things left in the world. She was Leyas Yamato, she was the daughter of Kira and Lacus and she was still a little girl. Her violet eyes were clear and through them he saw everything that she felt now and he longed to protect her from the darkness that was coming. For though he spoke words of hope he knew that there was no way to escape the storm that would once again rage around them.

He walked the shoreline slowly as in his mind he saw what it may become. ORB was in an uneasy peace; the Clyne faction was leaving them for now and the PLANTs were still applying pressure on them for their involvement with his mother and today Yaro felt as though he couldn't focus on all that. Something else was calling him now, what it was he knew not but he felt it on the wind. He had fought with those he loved most in the past few days and he knew his choices were hurting them but he also knew that he had no way of expressing what it was he felt to them. He did not understand how to explain himself he only knew that his actions were being determined by a much greater force than the will of those whom he loved.

What hurt him worst now was that his father did not understand him, Kira was usually supportive of Yaro's decisions and yet now he treated Yaro like he was still that unruly child that the family had adopted. Yaro was known as a sweet boy as a child but there was a part of him that was always a trouble maker. He could not resist the urge of playing a good joke on one of his siblings or doing crazy things when he was in school. He was a great student and a great athlete but he had an interesting reputation, when the family left the PLANTs everything was so serious that he left all that behind and he grew up. The gravity of the situation confused everyone around him. He was very different now as if something had surfaced within him leading him on into the darkness without fear of what might happen. He had experienced anger and hatred on levels he never thought possible and he had broken out of it. He had faced death and made it out alive and he had lost two people that were most dear to him and he did not let it beat him. This strength he himself did not understand and he doubted it came from those who had raised him, for it couldn't be taught it was engrafted into every fiber of his being.

He walked now slower following where this invisible force was leading him, up the cliffs from where he came and deeper into ORB. His mind turned to Kiran, his little brother and him had never been very close. The relationships between him and his family were pretty normal, he was protective over his two sisters and when Kiran antagonized them he usually sided with them. He developed a close relationship with Leyas as her big brother and the two had often schemed together, she was so fragile sometimes and it was hard for him to see her cry the other day but she didn't see what he was trying to tell her.

Leyas was so much like Kira, so very sensitive. He believed that she would never be able to handle fighting inside a mobile suit and he prayed that she would never try. In a do or die situation she would never be able to pull the trigger against anyone. She was a musician and her voice was her weapon but she did not posses the authority of her mother. She hated politics and no one could ever see her taking the route of her mother. Yaro often wondered what it was she wanted out of life, she used to tell him so many things about what she was planning, he was her big brother and she was his baby sister but now she and him had grown apart. Her appeal to him was unexpected, and he wasn't sure what to say to her so he told her the truth and she felt it as a hurt against her. He fragile heart begged him to protect them but he refused and in that refusal he had broken his role as her older brother.

Now Kiran was gone, Leyas and Kiran weren't as close as Leyas and Yaro but there was a sort of twin bond between them. They worked together better than most and though they fought often as children everyone always knew that it was because they would hate it of they were separated from the other. Then there was Kayla, she was protected by all in the family yet she was the most distant from the three older siblings. Something about her was just different to them all, as if she was wiser than the rest yet she was the baby. Yaro remembered teaching her the ABC's and now she was teaching them all how to behave. She always understood more of what was going on than any of them yet she was not arrogant in any way, just innocent and voiced what she felt. No one knew exactly how she understood so much, it just sufficed that she did. Yaro remembered what had happened to her in space, how she had spoken to the PLANT advanced fleet with as much authority as his mother, authority no one in their family had picked up on. Kayla was the only one who could follow in her mothers footsteps, the one with the light inside of her that could unite the whole world in light. When all was said and done if they succeeded Yaro could see Kayla as the future, a girl so selfless and pure, so wise that no one could ever find anything bad to say about her. No one could stop her light. It was clear to everyone that Kayla was the future if they could succeed in winning the upcoming battles she would grow up in the grace she possessed now.

As the feeling inside Yaro led him on these feelings so familiar possessed him as he reflected on everything he was, everything he could be and everything his family was. He had a brother, he had two sisters and he had once had two cousins. Uzumi was gone, the cousin that was most like him. They had become close as children when Uzumi was three and Yaro was six. Both possessed the same talent for getting away with playing pranks on those close to them and together they were unstoppable. After that they had spent every summer alternation between the PLANTs and ORB, together running around as wild children and as they grew up Uzumi became the calmest of them both. He had been effected by a lot that had happened in ORB. When Uzumi was twelve he had witnessed an uprising in a country he had visited with his mother and ever since that day he began to take life more seriously. Unlike Yaro, Uzumi had grown up with a full fledged solider for his father.

The differences between Athrun and Kira were shown in their children. Athrun joined the military at a young age and in that position he had become much harder. He was better at handling the death around him. He coped with it so much better than his friend. Kira on the other hand was no solider, he was a very gifted child and a student who was forced to fight when a situation got desperate. He didn't want his children to face war ever and Lacus agreed with him. They had raised their kids as if the peace would never end, focusing on the education and opportunities, leaving out the skills of survival on a battlefield. Athrun had not done this, both Uzumi and Jeffery had been trained as soldiers from the age six on up. Athrun had trained them himself, teaching them how to fight in a mobile suit and how to act on the battlefield.

Uzumi was ready for a fight at all times and by age twelve after six years of that training he had changed so much. Him and Yaro were still close but something about him was always different. Yaro never knew what it was but he had heard Uzumi once describe darkness and now that he looked back Yaro saw that Uzumi always knew that he was fated to die. Someone it was inside Uzumi's mind, some feeling had told the boy for three years that he did not have much time left in the world. The darkness he had fought, that he had tried to hide from everyone was a warning of fate telling him to hurry up and live because he was soon to die. That was why Uzumi was so filled with light, because he knew that he didn't have much time.

How he lived life with this burden was hard for Yaro to understand but now he stood before Uzumi's grave, the place his feelings had led him to. The place where the nation had stood after his death, a place that Yaro knew held the body of a fallen hero.

"Uzumi," he said the boys name as the wind around him picked up speed. What would Uzumi have done in his position now? What path would Uzumi had chosen if it had been Yaro to die? Would Uzumi have fought to kill Meiko or would he have taken a different path? And what path would he have taken if he had seen Meiko's sacrifice. Yaro could still see her face so clearly in his mind, her violet eyes so filled with depth, so open and bare as windows. She had let him see into her soul and he had betrayed her in it all but she never blamed him for one moment and by grace she had saved him. He had made peace with his memory of her on that day for he knew that if he dwelled on it that it would destroy him and the people around him would suffer from it.

Now he stood on the edge of his life, knowing that things were so very different than they had been before and now he was at peace. He did not know how to tell his family the truth of how he had changed so much but he knew that as time went on they would understand. They were his family. He was Kira and Lacus's son and though he was adopted he knew that loved him as if he was their own, and that love that they had as his family would allow them to see the truth of his life soon enough. Darkness could not stand in the light of the love that his family possessed, all they needed was time.

"I see," he heard a small voice behind him and turned around to see Kayla, her short pink hair floating around her with the wind and her lime green eyes burning into his soul. He had not expected to see her out here, the family never usually let her wander alone and he didn't see anyone else in sight.

"Kayla!" Yaro said in surprise, "what are you doing out here all alone." She smiled at him innocently as if she had done nothing wrong.

"I'm not alone," she responded with a slight smile, "I'm with you silly, I told daddy you were taking me for a walk and I followed you here. You see you're my biggest brother and I felt like you needed some company. When left alone to our thoughts we can find ourselves in dangerous places. You know what I mean Yaro, you've spoken things in your mind that you regret now." How was it that someone so young could understand that? This was the mystery that was Kayla.

"Everyone else does not understand," Yaro found himself saying, not knowing why he was opening up to her. She was the youngest, the one who was the least likely to understand.

"They love and care about you Yaro and they don't want anything bad to happen to you," Kayla responded looking back toward Uzumi's grave, "they are worried about you just as I am. That's why I followed you. We all know how much Uzumi and Meiko both meant to you, and we know that it can't possibly be easy for you to carry on without them. Your decisions seem irrational to all because we expect you to do something then you do the exact opposite. I heard you and Leyas arguing the other day and I decided that I didn't really understand so I decided to try." Yaro wasn't sure how the little girl had made this conclusion but everything she said was true.

"It's a driving force inside my mind," Yaro spoke telling his young sister everything he felt, "I can't see it but I can feel it. It's leading me now Kayla, I can't explain it but I feel as though there is a part of me that is missing and that my mind is leading me to it. I want to know who I am Kayla, and I know now that someone out there knows. My past, my real family, the information of who I was born to be has to be there somewhere."

"What if you find what you are looking for and you don't like what you find?" Kayla asked him, it was a question he hadn't yet heard from anyone. He never imagined that he would find anything terrible once he went searching. He could only think about what his adoptive family was, it was the only vision he had of family.

"I don't think…" she interrupted him with authority.

"I told you I see," Kayla said a determination in her eyes, "I see more than most. I see your heart Yaro and I've dreamt dreams of the past. It's darkness Yaro, there is only darkness. I fear if you follow this feeling inside of you that everything you know now will change and everything that is will be revealed and when that happens everything that was will be destroyed. You do not know the forces you play with, fate rescued you and brought you to peace for a reason, if you stumble backwards what gain is there in everything you've been given? Heed this warning Yaro, I saw a dream of you and I think I understand it. You must not search for the past, you must realize that the future is all that's important."

"How can I just ignore the truth of who I am?" Yaro asked, "if there is a chance for me to discover it…" She interrupted again.

"If there is a chance it will come from one who dwells in the darkness," Kayla protested and her authority caused him to take a step back, "and if that happens you will slip away from us all. You will abandon us all and fade away into an identity of someone else." He did not understand what she was saying now, he only knew that she was speaking from her heart and from the things that she had seen. Somehow this little girl knew something about the future and he knew that she would persist in this.

"Then I should forget it all?" he asked, "I should forget the past."

"You have no memory of the past," Kayla replied, "so that shouldn't be too hard for you." His emotions were all over the place but at the moment he identified one as fear. If everything Kayla said was true his past was not something he wanted to discover. If everything she had seen was true then he would loose all that he was. Could he really forget it all? She was asking him to. She was commanding him to.

"Then I swear to you Kayla," he spoke now out of his fear for what she had said, "I will not search for the past anymore."

"That's not what I need Yaro, for you may find that no matter how hard you try to avoid things they will come to pass if fate wills it," Kayla responded holding out her hands as if to show him something, "I need you Yaro to swear to Uzumi's grave that no matter what happens, no matter if the past finds you or not that you will not let the darkness beat you. I need you to swear that you won't let anyone lie to you, that you won't let anyone tell you that you are anything else than what you are Yaro. Swear to me and to Uzumi that you will never let your light go out. Swear it Yaro!" It seemed simple enough.

"I swear on Uzumi's grave no matter what happens, no matter what comes my way," he began, "I will never let my light go out." She listened to his words and prayed in her heart for him for she knew it would be easier said than done.

"So now you see why I just don't know what to do about him," Kira stood with Athrun on a balcony of the Attha mansion staring out toward the ocean. Kira had just described his situation with Yaro to Athrun, explaining to his best friend how the boy had been acting. Athrun Zala thought about it all, Yaro had been hard to predict for all of them his entire life. As he was adopted Athrun believed he probably took after his biological parents more than any of them realized, because of this he wasn't sure that they would ever be able to really understand everything about Yaro.

"Are you sure you can't just reason with him some more?" Athrun asked thinking about Yaro's odd behavior while in ORB, "perhaps he's just trying to get attention. He lost a lot and I wouldn't expect him to be this strong yet." Kira wished that was just it, if Yaro only wanted attention he would he able to deal with it but Yaro was determined to break away from the control of his family. He was determined to be rebellious about the issue and it was getting worse as time went on. He seemed to blame his family for everything, he often spoke his disagreement with their plans to head to space and he skipped family dinners more and more often. They had a hard time keeping track of him as he seemed to be all over the place. Kira had tried talking to him again but he had avoided a deep discussion. There was a certain coldness in the boy's eyes that Kira did not like seeing. It was as if Yaro thought that Kira did not understand a thing he was talking about, as if the boy didn't want to even try and explain himself anymore. Lacus had been successful at speaking to him and she had told Kira that Yaro believed that they just did not understand why he had to fight for ORB; she said he believed that he would have a chance to find himself if he learned who he was outside of their family.

"I can't reason with him," Kira sighed looking out at the nature of the land before him, "I've been through a lot but I've never had a father really there for me that understood it all. I can't relate to his situation at all and maybe I am being unfair in trying to take him off the path he thinks is best. I never wanted him to repeat my mistakes, but now I see that he will make different one's than I did. I just don't know." Athrun understood Kira's sentiments, he had never wanted his sons to make his mistakes either. He had held on to both of his boy's and raised them the best he could but in the end he was unable to keep Uzumi from death. There was nothing he could do now but watch over Jeffery and hold onto the only child he had left. He wanted to help Kira with his situation now but he had never had a word of rebellion from Uzumi and Jeffery was still to young to want to break away. His thoughts turned to Yaro's past.

"He asked me to find his real parents," Athrun said surprising Kira, it had not entered his mind that Yaro might want to know that information, he had always been a happy child and he had never questioned it before. "I searched records, I spoke to Reverend Malchio and the only lead I got was that a woman named Rayla Frost was the one to drop him off at the orphanage. The reverend did not know where she was, but he knew she wasn't the boy's mother." The name shocked Kira as memories of Mars flashed through his mind and everything Yzak had said. Everything seemed to be haunted by her.

"Rayla Frost!" he declared confusing Athrun, he didn't understand how Kira could know the name that he could find no records of.

"Do you know her?" Athrun asked quickly as Kira's breathing seemed to increase and he turned to Athrun with a look of complete shock. This was something he had not expected, Kira only saw her as the leader of Redemption but it seemed she was more involved with his life than he ever thought possible.

"When I was captured by ROW, Redemption rescued me and I did not understand them," Kira begun trying to reason it all out in his mind, "and as I told you Yzak is with them and he tried to explain them to me the best he could. He told me that the leader of the organization, Milady Redemption was once a ROW agent named Rayla Frost, and that she was John Liene's right hand before she realized what he was! Somehow Yaro is connected to her, somehow he is connected to them!" Athrun was shocked now, Yaro connected to Redemption and possible to ROW.

"Then if that's true..." Athrun began but Kira cut him off.

"Then we need to find Redemption and we have the answer," Kira declared, "the answer to everything. She knows more than she ever let on about ROW and she knows about Yaro's past! The key to defeating ROW has to lie with them, Yzak seemed to be skipping around some information."

"We can't get ahead of ourselves," Athrun replied as the last rays of the sun began to fade away, "there is still a chance that ROW will attack before we have a chance to get to Redemption. No matter what it is Rayla Frost knows, we need to secure her military alliance before asking questions." Kira understood what Athrun was saying now but he was feeling desperate. The world around him was chancing rapidly. He was leaving for space in the morning now but he couldn't think about that. His mind was focuse on the organization that had rescued him and the information they might hold. What he did not know is that there were some things that would be better if they were kept in the darkness, secrets of the past that could make or break a soul. So much more than any of them knew now.

Liene stood before space looking out toward the glow of light's reflection of earth. Ever since the battle against ORB it was as if a hardness and darkness loomed as a shadow above his head; he had witnessed something he always hoped he could avoid, the turning of Meiko and the destruction of a large part of one of his fleets by her. He had raised and trained her for so much more than this, yet her true origins had beat his rough training; she possesed the same spirit that drove her parents to their ruin. She wass filled with their light and as such she could not be stopped once she made up her mind. He had thought that he could beat it but it seemed he had been bested by fate. He could see Redemption laughing at him now, he had tried to tame the beast and had lost. If Meiko had lived and stayed in ROW he knew she would have gone mad and he craved what that would have unleased upon the world; power beyond their reckoning but now he had to content himself with the fact that she had died and would no longer be there to cause him any more problems.

"Liene," he turned to Gilligan Manchester enter, like his other commanders Gilligan had been shocked by everything that had taken place. It was beyond their calculations that Meiko's training would backfire so much on them, they lost the STING because of it. "I was wondering what out next course of action is, because so far all we've done is regroup with our forces. Are we launching any attacks? Are we going to use the PLANTs to get to ORB?"

"No," Liene said his voice showing now hint of emotion, "no attacks except the ones in the plan. Our militaristic advancements must continue through Eurasia if we are to take on the NEA soon. As for the PLANTs it would cause too much anti-coordiantor emnity at this time to use them to attack anywhere on earth. We are not trying to start another Valentine war, we don't want to pit coordinators and naturals against each other again and if the PLANTs were to attack earth there would be retaliations. I have sent Mike to ensure that Jayley doesn't make any moves, her anti ORB sentiments could be our undoing if we aren't careful."

"I don't trust her," Gilligan responded to that. He had always disliked Jayley, she had been too cocky through training and she was so full of herself it was sickening. Gilligan had argued against placing her in the PLANTs but she had more supporters than enemies. She had worked her way through the organization in a couple of years unlike the rest of them who had been there since the beginning, it was unnerving to him.

"Whether or not you trust her is irrelevant," Liene responded, "she was the most qualified for her position and she ascended to it with grace. Lacus Clyne had no way to fight her off and she now has complete control of ZAFT." Gilligan still didn't like it, no matter what Liene said.

"Meiko was strong to," Gilligan replied, "she was the best we had and what happened to her? She was the most qualified to go undercover in ORB and it changed her more than it should have. She learned how to feel more than she ever had because you said she would be perfect on that mission. We can't make the same mistake with anyone else Liene. We can't afford to have another agent turn the tables on us, first Rayla the Meiko; one more could send us over the edge." Liene understood what Gilligan was saying but he also knew that Gilligan missed the whole picture of it all. ROW expansion was powerful and even with the PLANT military Jayley really couldn't destroy him. There were things she didn't even know about.

"I made a lot of mistakes with Rayla," Liene said thinking about the girl that now opposed him, "I guess mistakes tend to repeat themselves in not entirely unexpected ways. I should have been able to see Meiko's hatred for me before letting her fight out that last battle. I should have been able to save my father, my wife, my sons. There are so many things that should have happened but they didn't. I believe that fate is on my side though for Meiko did not live to cause any more damage as Rayla did. Together they would have broken us."

Kira Yamato stood beside Lacus at the head of the group that was preparing to depart. Several of the Clyne faction ships had already been launched into space and were awaiting the Eternal before departure to the Clyne faction's back up base. There they would be met by Terminal who had agreed to assist Lacus and Kira with the design of a new mobile suit that the Clyne faction had been so far unable to finish. The ORB council was there was well wishing them a safe journey into space. There was a great deal of tension about with the developments and there were those in the group who believed that the Clyne faction should remain in ORB but they had made their plans and they were executing them.

As they stood there Kira looked toward Yaro who stood beside his aunt and uncle wearing a blank expression. Kira had tried reasoning with him again and gotten no response from the boy, he tried to understand everything but now he left his son in the hands of his best friend and his sister. He knew Yaro would be safe but he still desired to understand what it was that drove him on. Perhaps it would always be a mystery.

"We wish you a safe journey, and know that whatever lies ahead we are allies," Cagalli said stepping forward as representative for her country.

"If you need us send for us," Lacus replied diplomatically, "for our faction will remain friends with your nation through what lies ahead." With that the group boarded, Kira looked back as he walked up the ramp toward Yaro who had turned to walk away. Today Kira was leaving behind his son to whatever lay ahead. These moments would define who Yaro would become and the choices that he would make as time continued. For everything was uncertain now and life had a way of changing everything.

Milady stood erect as Yzak and her top technicians began the final tests and stages. It had been a long process, it had been an impossible seeming one, but they had come out once again and it now was before her glistening on the screens and in all it's glory. Glowing gold and green, the final piece in her ultimate plan. It's system was perfected, it's weaponry advanced beyond anything out there and it's design flawless. The system was the real gem within it's design, all that it required was someone strong enough to handle it's operation and she knew the very person who would be able to use this machine for ultimate good and right. It was a day she always prayed to see but one she was not sure was possible, but now that it was here she felt a peace and strength inside her heart and she knew that she had been right to pursue the creation of this machine.

"It's so beautiful," Milady said expressing her admiration for the work. Yzak took in the sight as well as the technitions stood proud of their work. The hardships that had gone into this had paid off in a more amazing way than any of them had expected.

"It's everything that we ever hoped for," the lead technician repiled opening up documents containing details on the system of the new glistening machine before them, "five long years in the making, every moment of it worth the ending we got from this. She is truely magnificent is she not? My only concern is that we don't have a pilot than can opperate the backup system. Liene used the S System in diabolical ways, our version is called the SM Escape and it is much tamer than what he installed. In fact it is completely operated by the user instead of an outside force, the power emitted is too high for any natural and perhaps for any coordinator." Milady did expect this, she knew it would be powerful when the information was stolen for ROW. Liene had used an advanced theory about the super seed to try and control Meiko's movements using it with the robotics technology. Her own technicians had used the same advaned theory to create a deadly weapon which could be used in extreme cases. She wondered how anyone could handle it but she knew of one person who for sure could.

"It's name will be Redemption," Milady expressed, "and we will find someone to operate it, someone stronger than most. Like a Phoenix it will rise out of ashes. This machine will herald the Redemption of the world and with it at our lead we will be able to win every battle we enter. Liene has no way of stopping us now." Yzak looked at her confidence with a bit of worry, they had succeeded where Liene had failed but he wasn't convinced that it was over yet because of this machine. There were still some factors that would have to be worked out.

"Don't get to sure he doesn't have any backup plans," Yzak replied catching Milady off guard, "for he knows we got this information. I have a feeling that there are still forces at work in the world that may turn things around on us. We must stay wary and not get ahead of ourselves."

"Of course Yzak," she responded looking back toward the marvelous machine, "we will continue to be wary but for now here on earth in this base we may rest easy, for the light is beginning to shine around us."

Yaro walked along the halls of the military outpost. The ORB military had moved him in as soon as his family had taken off, he had gotten a room to himself for now but he knew once he was assigned to a ship he would be given a room mate. Of course the past few days with his family had been full of tension from Kira and Leyas, Kayla seemed to take his decision with grace while Lacus tried to act as peacemaker between the two parties. It seemed that Kira thought he could change Yaro's mind by bringing up the subject every chance he could; Yaro in resort had asked Kayla to talk to him but she seemed content to let everyone do whatever pleased them. There was something turely strange about her.

Now Yaro breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally here, in the military and beginning this new journey on his own, he saw this as a huge opportunity to learn and grow and he knew that this would define his life. He walked on through the halls trying to find the number that he was supposed to go to in order to meet with his superiors. It seemed he would be getting assigned sooner than he had thought. Apparently the military estimated that something huge was going to happen soon and they wanted to make sure they had every solider ready for that time.

"I heard you had joined but I wasn't sure everyone was right," he turned to see Jacob Gladys standing down the other end of the hall. Yaro and Jacob had met before, multiple times but the two were not much more than acquaintances. Jacob was two years older than Yaro. Apparently after the second bloody valentine Jacob's mother had been killed and has asked Murrue Ramius to look in on her son. Murrue was planning on making sure the boy had a suitable home but after spending time with him she decided to adopt him. He had grown up with Mu and Murrue as his parents and he had been a member of the ORB military now for a few years.

"Yeah I joined," Yaro replied, "I wanted a change." Jacbo nodded at this, he understood what it was like to want to get out on his own. He had joined the ORB military years before and had been assigned under an ORB captain that was not his mother, after a few years on his own he transfered to the Archangel. He had gotten his fill of life on his own and calmed down. It was a natural thing for a boy to want to break free at eighteen, esspecially if he's been codeled since he was adopted and Yaro had Lacus as a mother.

"I know what it's like," Jacob said walking forward, "but you'll find the military is not all it's cracked up to be. I heard you were given the machine that was meant for Uzumi, I saw them designing it, it's really impressive."

"It really is amazing," Yaro replied, "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it."

"Well mobile suit advancements now are incredible," Jacob responded, "I heard some factions are even experimenting with short ranged teleportation in hopes to instal it into a mobile suit. It's a slim chance they will ever be able to move obejcts from one location to another, the theory is very flawed and unrealistic."

"Yeah I don't think that will ever pick up," Yaro said thinking about the idea of it, "I mean they can't even successfully install two nuclear drives onto one mobile suit with out the output being impossible to operate. Something that moves fast enough to mimic teleportation could maybe be made but the human body wouldn't be able to handle it. Speed can be very dangerous, especially in battle." Jacob nodded at this when he saw the paper in Yaro's hand.

"Were you trying to get somewhere?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah I have a meeting with some officers in a few minutes," Yaro replied, "no big deal."

"You're in the military now," Jacob responded with disbelief, "you were summoned, you must be there on time. This isn't like high school, there are punishments for disregarding orders. Get going!" Yaro straightened up at this, he hadn't really thought about it that way, without saying anything he hurried down the hall, time to get his orders.

Mike Shustre had been told to stay here in the PLANTs until further orders from Liene. He would have been more comfortable with that if it weren't for Jayley, while she hadn't talked to him any more about her own plans every time he saw her it was as if she was expecting him to bring it up. He had lived his whole life based on the whims of those around him and now he was stuck between three different paths, a path with ROW, a path with Jayley and a path outside of it all, living life on his own. In the back of his mind he had all the reasons why he should ignore Jayley's request of alliegence, he did not know what she wanted and he had no way of knowing if her intentions were honorable or not. On the other side his mind could not deny that everything she had said was true. It seemed that all events were converging to a height and that at this rate the world would be destroyed by a war between ROW, ORB, the Clyne faction, Redemption and the other factions in the world. Jayley alluded to the destruction of the main factions, taking out ROW, the Clyne faction and Redemption. If they were destroyed the war would end, for there would be no ROW to pollute the governments of the world and there would be no Clyne faction trying to keep the world in their definition of peace.

His thoughts turned to Redemption, he had helped Rayla escape and she had created this organization, now he felt responsible for the things the organization had done. Redemption did not appear to be helping the situation in the world at all in his mind, they caused confusion with the different factions of the world and confusion within his own heart. Rayla had abandoned him and yet he had protected Meiko for her, he had stayed in ROW for her and in the end she gave him nothing in return. He had been used not only by her but by everyone else. It would serve them right if he backed Jayley and destroyed them all forever but something else held him back, it was her.

Meiko Virea held him back now, because even though she was gone he still remembered everything very clearly, everything she had done. She had found the strength to forgive herself for the past, she had found the strength to forgive Yaro for trying to kill her and misunderstanding everything and she had found the strength to be the best of everyone and to sacrifice herself for people she barely knew. She had even had the chance to shoot Liene, she was good enough with a gun that when she had gone for the Pain she could have been the end of him, but she chose to let him watch as his plans shattered before his eyes. She chose to let him live to see her die, and she had become a martyr for everyone that had seen it. He could not decide what to do now because he didn't know how to be as strong as she had become. He now understood why she had been so long with ROW, because the decision of where to go next was never easy. Even now he felt that Meiko's legacy would last forever because of that one act.

He saw her face in his mind as she looked back from the Pain one last time before launching out, there was resolve there then there was nothing. It was as if she knew what was coming, that her life was somehow about to be snuffed out because there was no other choice before her. There was writing on the wall of her life that alluded to everything that she had done. She hadn't even wavered in her decision once it had been made for she had no fear of what lay beyond life; to her it couldn't be worse than the hell she had been forced to endure from birth. She deserved to have her name exalted from the heights of the world yet now people spoke it in whispers of amazement, sharing her deeds in the quietest way.

Nothing made any more real sense to him now. There were so many options of who to be and where to go but in the end he wasn't sure what he was going to do about it all. Who was he going to live for now? Now that Rayla had abandoned him and Meiko was dead.

"I'm Valeri Mayir," the girl in front of him said with a bouncy joyful expression, "and this is Tripp Giswig, we have all been assigned to the same unit! Isn't that so great! What's your name?" Yaro was a bit scarred now, he hadn't expected to be in the same unit as anyone who reminded him of a little girls sitcom character, there was no way this girl was a solider. The guy behind her seemed to wear a cool expression, not giving off the same odd energy as came from the crazy girl in front of him. He now was in the main hall of the military base where he had been told he would be assigned his unit, he just hadn't expected two other people near his age to be there.

"I'm Yaro," he responded to the girls question, wishing he could shut his ears to the reply that came afterward.

"Yaro! Great name! I'm so excited to be posted on a real ship! Have you ever been in a battle? Do you fight in a mobile suit to?" It was official he wanted to run for his life right about now, how he wished he had been assigned somewhere else...

"Knock it off Valeri," Tripp said in an annoyed tone finally speaking up, "you don't want to frighten him off."

"Tripp you're no fun!" she pouted, "i'm just getting acquainted. Oh look Mersha!" Valeri then ran off to greet another girl that had just entered the room and Yaro breathed a sigh of relief that the girl was gone. Tripp seemed to breathe one to as he turned to Yaro also a little glad that Valeri had been distracted at this time. He had heard from his father that Kira Yamato's adopted son would be joining this unit but he hadn't believed it until he saw Yaro enter. Tripp's father was George Giswig, the new captain of the Tranquility and a new special forces unit that would be assisting in the protection of ORB from the next enemy whom they believed was the PLANTs. It seemed the council wanted to take extreme defensive measures building up their military at an alarming pace because of everything that had happened in space. They had lost their prince and ROW had paid for that, now they would make sure the PLANTs didn't take advantage of them at this time.

"I'm sorry about Valeri, she can be quite a bit eccentric," Tripp said holding out a hand to Yaro, "it's nice to finally meet you, we've heard of your participation in the battle against ROW. That is me and my father have heard, he is the commander of this unit." Yaro accepted the boy's hand.

"Really?" Yaro said with a bit of surprise, "well do you know what our mission is now?"

"Not really," Tripp responded, "I'm still just another mobile suit pilot to them, they usually keep us in the dark until right before the mission takes place. I do know that we are being assigned to the Tranquility and that your mobile suit has caused quite a stir among the current crew members as it has been loaded onto the ship. Apparently it's one of the best things ORB's ever made." Yaro thought about the Dreamer, he knew it was just that. It had been made for Uzumi and it was clear by the beauty of the mobile suit design, he felt unworthy of it but he knew it would be a valuable tool to fight of the enemies of ORB in the future so he had accepted it.

"The Dreamer," Yaro said looking around the room at the other people who had been assembled here, "with that machine I will fight, for everything I believe in."

She awakened in the cold and as her eyes opened she knew that this place was something out of a dream, for she had never been here and it made no sense that she would be here. Somehow her mind had been taking her through her past and now she settled her in a strange place.

It was a dark forest, she could see the trees and a slight mist reflecting the moonlight above her that weaved it's way through the trees. She walked aimlessly confused and looked down and saw that she was wearing a golden dress that was long and flowed around her in a cloud of soft fabric with a few pieces of red details. Her long red hair hung around her shoulders in soft tousles. This place was filled with mystery as she stepped slowly through the trees toward the clearing where the moonlight was at it's height.

She felt strange as she stepped from behind the trees. That is when she saw it, illuminated bt the moonlight was a graveyard with rows and rows of headstones, hundreds of dead. Suddenly she felt stabbing pain in her mind as the names on the stones all jumped out at her, some she recognized from her missions and others she didn't. She gripped her head and cried out in pain as she realized that this was a grave yard for all those who had died by her hand. The names moved faster and faster as she collapsed to the ground steadying herself with her arms and trying to fight it but it had a power over her. The names wouldn't leave her sight, she couldn't look away but now she could barely read them as they flashed in front of her at blinding speed then suddenly they stopped on one last one. Uzumi Zala. The pain left her head as the mist formed the name in front of her. She found herself with strength to stand up once again and she desired to run but she was held in place.

Softly she felt a presence behind her as a hand was placed on her shoulder and then two arms wrapped around her moving her, turning her away from the graveyard and her past back toward the forest.

"Don't look back," a soft voice said and she suddenly felt safe as the arms unrapped and placed a hand on her shoulder moving her foward and leading her on from behind. The dark forest got darker and colder but she wasn't afraid anymore as she knew the person with her would not let any danger befall her. She wanted to look back but she was unable to and he had told her not to so she pressed foward. The life of the forest was becoming less and less as they walked and now they walked through what seemed like a burned forest toward a dark cave. She wondered where he was leading her but she trusted him.

"You have faced your past," the voice said as they stepped into the cave, "now it's time to leave it where it belongs. You were never the person they made you to be so everything they ever told you about yourself was nothing more than a lie." That was when his hands left her and he walked in front of her. It was as she had though, Uzumi Zala stood before her now, though he was glowing like an angelic being, no longer mortal, no longer the fragile boy who faced darkness alone. She had so much she wished to speak but no words would come out and in a blinding flash they were no longer in a dark cave but a cold field of flowers that seemed made out of paper and clouds that were whispy and beautiful.

"Where am I?" she was finally able to speak and he put a finger to his lips as a rain began to fall and a wind blew around them. She lifted her face up toward the rain letting the drops fall onto her and not hiding from the cold wind that blew, the rain washed over her, washing away the past and renewing her soul, her spirit and her mind. She felt in that moment as if a weight was lifting off of her, as if her heart was finally bring freed from it's prison.

"You will awaken, Meiko Virea," he said taking her hands and looking into her eyes, "you will awaken as I did not. In death I have seen many things Meiko and I have seen you as so much more than anything this world has ever seen, you were born for so much more." She didn't understand what he was saying. Didn't she die as well? Couldn't she stay here safe forever?

"But I died, I chose to leave that path when I destructed the Pain ending my own life," she said looking at him confused.

"No," Uzumi responded, "you are sleeping, your body is healing itself now for you have been drawn from the door of death and pulled back into life by the power that rests inside of you. You can see me now because your mind has expanded though it's only for a brief time longer, as your strength returns the power inside you will return to it's rest awaiting another time. Meiko you need to understand now that there is no turning back, no looking behind at the past. You are a changed person, one who will has the will and strength to endure and you are redeemed." The word sounded around her again filling her soul, it was what she had desired her entire life, a redemption.

"I'll have my redemption in life," Meiko said looking down as tears filled in her eyes, "but you won't be there. Uzumi, it's my fault." He put a finger to her lips this time stopping her from saying it.

"The past is gone," he said, "you did nothing, you are made new. Accept it Meiko and let yourself be filled with light, for you are so much more than they told you, you were."

"But I don't want to go back to life," she said crying more, "I don't want to be alone anymore."

"No matter what they told you, you were never alone," he replied, his voice filling her ears, "and you never will be again. Things will be clear soon that the reason you never fell to the darkness of the life you were forced to live will be hard for you to bear but it will be revealed to you in time. I wish I could tell you everything but it's forbidden." He suddenly embraced her as if he needed comfort so she held him.

"It's hard being torn away from everyone," he said as tears flowed from his eyes as well, "it's hard not being able to tell them it's going to be okay when I can see their sufferings. Being unable to do anything." She held onto him and he held onto her both knowing they didn't have much time, the two good friends who had a strange connection. Something he knew now and something she didn't understand. Here in the field of paper flowers standing in the healing rain and waiting for the time when they must say goodbye.

"It's hard not having you there, it was hard deciding what to do," Meiko said as they let go of each other, "I was so unsure for so long that when It came down to life or death I had to make a choice and I know I made the right choice."

"You did," he said, "and now you will continue to make the right choices. Just trust yourself Meiko, for there is so much more out there that you will face."

"Why can't you just tell me," she whined at him now and he smiled at her.

"I'm just happy I can tell you anything at all," he said with a small laugh, "for the time will come again where we will be unable to speak but I won't leave you, I promise. For you have no idea how connected we really are." She rolled her eyes at him again, he was jumping around a large piece of information she desperately wanted to know but he was unable to tell her. He looked into her eyes as he thought of all he knew now, and everything that he wanted to say and every warning he had to give. She saw something change within him and a desperation filled his eyes, his time was running out.

"The past is in the past," she spoke knowing that was the reason he had come to speak to her now, "the future is all that matters. I am free of it all now."

"Then go," Uzumi said nodding his head in assurance, "for you are free to live anew. Remember I will always be here as long as you keep me in your memory, and tell my story for I fought for you till the end. And if you are ever afraid I am by your side, just remember. Wake up now, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself in a dark room illuminated by very small lights coming from the machines around her. She was unable to move for even breathing caused her pain. She felt that something was different, her right hand was very cold. There was someone in the distance yet she could barely see with the lighting. Where was she? What had happened? How did she get here? Who was taking care of her? Was she really safe or was this the beginning of another desperate atempt to escape? All the questions raced through her mind as she lay there quietly. A rythmic beating sounded in her ears as her breath grew shallow once again and her body retreated back into unconsciousness.

"The future, Uzumi," she whispered as she faded away again. Milady was awakened by this and stood up quickly to find that Meiko was once again unconcious.

So you see what I mean about the ending scene.

Again sorry about the longer waits, schools been beating me back along with my new job and I was attempting to take on a second job but I don't know how I can handle everything.

But there is so much more ahead and I know you have a lot of different questions about the character and I promise that I will tie up some of the loose ends soon, there is a lot more story left to look forward to so enjoy the ride. Thanks for being good readers.

And I appologize for this in advance:

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