A/n

Finally! The final Phase before I go into SEED Destiny! I know it took a while for this phase, BUT there are two reasons. The first reason is the full revision that I've been working on for all the Phases before this one. The second… well, I had writer's block as well as I had a hard time deciding what I put in this phase and what can wait for later on. ANYWAYS, I'll go into more detail about those things at the end, the normal disclaimer of me owning nothing from the Gundam Universe still unfortunately stands. Enjoy the Phase!

Phase 26: A Season of Peace

September 27th 71 C.E.

-Neutral pov-

Lagrange 5

The battle to decide the future of the human race had come to a close, yet it had been at the price of lives sacrificed. All three factions felt the effects of the second battle of Jachin Due, both what had brought it and what had ended it. The physical evidence of what came out of the fight was both agonizing and horrifying to view. It was as a glaring example of what blind hatred of differences that existed produced; destruction, ruin and death. That was the field of debris, wreckage and scattered remains of ships, mobile suits and other metal structures in front of the PLANTs around the area that Jachin Due once occupied. The event and the view it made was painful for many, humbling for others and sobering for most.

The Earth Alliance's leadership along with what was left of the Earth Forces' top brass were standing down and asking for peace talks. The comprehension of how close things had come to Earth experiencing a cataclysm the likes of which had never happened before in human history, had shaken the Alliance leaders. Seeing what had befallen the Ptolemaeus Lunar base had been enough to unite them against those from Blue Cosmos, even denouncing Muruta Azrael as the director of the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association.

Meanwhile, the PLANTs there was upheaval as well, for enough of those in the governing body had said enough was enough. Maria Loloths was reinstated after the sixty-day period since her removal from the head of the Justice Department by the Administration and Legislation Committees. Once she was back in the position, Maria got down to work and within hours, those in the Justice Department had documents ready and signed that nullified the orders and authority of Patrick Zala. Most members of the Supreme Council sided with the Justice Department's action and overrode those who did not. Eileen Canaver, as the deputy chair of the Council, took charge and even forced the National Defense Committee to stand down.

During the time that things were being calmed down, the Coalition Fleet was making sure that fighting did not break out. Any differences that had stood between those within the fleet before its formation, were ignored as they worked together. ZAFT mobile suits, Alliance suits and Federation machines worked side by side in the cleanup effort and the ongoing work of preventing further losses. The scene of so many working together brought hope for a bright future for humanity. For the soldiers and mobile suit pilots, their shifts were staggered so that none exhausted themselves. Even with the battle over, there was still much to do for the horrors of the battle to be put into the past for everyone.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Days had gone by, though I couldn't really comprehend the passage of time when it came to the boundaries of days. There were three basic divisions of time for a while, those being; working shifts, off-time and the period one collapsed and 'slept'. When one was on an active duty shift, you went to out and either patrolled, or you helped with the cleanup efforts. On the off-times, the norm was to get a meal, or deal with the grief and sorrow that you had personally. The collapse and sleeping periods, I would think are self-explanatory in how they worked.

At first, when I was on active duty, I borrowed the Athena as Lisa was off most of the time I was on and the Aurora… was not in usable condition. My mobile suit has seen much better days and would need not only a serious overall, but also an amount of reconstruction as well. For the few times that Lisa and I were on at the same time, I asked a favor and got Athrun to let me use the Justice, which has much less damage than the Freedom and the Aurora had taken.

When I was off duty, I normally just ate meals quietly and with the grief that I was dealing with, talking didn't help me much at all. Having to witness Alan sacrifice himself to save my life hurt and the event kept playing over and over in my mind while I was left to my own thoughts. The other scene that repeated in my mind was me shooting and killing Patrick Zala. One of the few times I escaped the memories, was when I slept as I was so exhausted that I didn't remember what I dreamed and that was a mercy for the moment.

The days had become so blurred that I was passed the point of caring much of what others around me were doing. That also included Sakura, and I certainly never thought I'd come to a time that I wouldn't care enough to resist her stalking and showing of affection towards me that she does. It wasn't that I suddenly like what the pink-haired woman did around me, for I still don't appreciate her cuddling and the other things she does, I just don't care enough to do anything about it. Really, the only times that Sakura let me out of her sights, was when one or both of us were on duty or when I went to answer nature's call.

Anyways, back to the aftermath of the Second Battle of Jachin Due. It wasn't all that long after GENESIS misfired and blew itself to kingdom come that the fighting died down. The ZAFT defending forces gave signs of standing down and that they won't resist the coalition fleet. The 'other' Alliance force had been mostly decimated, and what remained was transmitting their message of surrender. The PLANTs and Earth were still standing and were okay, and that's what counted.

Once the fighting stopped, then had begun the messier work that unfortunately needed to be done because of the battle, the cleanup and accounting for the difference of who came into the fight and who made it out. I believe every single pilot, officer and crew member of every surviving ship knew the cleanup wouldn't be pretty, especially figuring out the casualties count and identifying who didn't make it. However, even knowing that, didn't prepare any of us for the magnitude of the lives lost on all sides. It doesn't take an educated person to see that the facts were taking individual tolls on each person, no matter the type of human they were. It was clear to me at least, that there would be many grieving families and friends because of this fight. I know that I wasn't looking forward to going to Alan's family and telling them he had made the ultimate sacrifice.

Nonetheless, for me, there was a different event ahead that came before that task, and that's attending an honoring for Mu La Flaga. The man had protected the Archangel, put his life on the line and in the Second Battle of Jachin Due, he gave his life to accomplish the goal. Men and/or women of such a caliber Mu had shown himself to be is rare, and it's a great loss for him to be gone. Heck I went to Admiral Moses and laid out Mu's case, as I was of the mind that the man deserved recognition that set him apart. That is how much Mu's dedication had changed my view of him since I had first met the Alliance mobile armor pilot.

After an hour-long speech from me, Admiral Moses was convinced of the bravery and valor shown by Mu La Flaga. So impressed was my superior at my defense and respect of Mu, mostly since I don't do or show such a thing often, that Admiral Moses agreed that Mu should be honored. In fact, Admiral Moses did the work while I stood in front of him, for Mu to receive the Federation's Medal of Honor, which is pretty much the highest award that one could get in the Federation Military. I mean, I had come here to insist that Mu is recognized and remembered, but I hadn't been shooting for the Medal of Honor! Although I believe that out of most of those I knew, the man was one of the more deserving of such an award.

When the paperwork was done, I also received the medal itself, which had been fetched while I was waiting. I then began making my way towards the Archangel, and that took some time to reach and I thought about how long it had been since I had been onboard the Archangel for it had been awhile. Upon landing in the Archangel's hanger, I instantly could feel the melancholy mood that was over this ship, not that I don't understand. The Archangel had lost one of the pilots that had been with her from nearly the beginning, that kind of loss is always hard. It was when I reached the mess hall that I encountered some of my friends from Heliopolis. Miriallia rushed forward and hugged me, bursting into tears and I think she was saying something, but I couldn't comprehend what it was with her sobbing like she was.

It took the combined efforts of Tolle and me to calm the girl down enough to have her be coherent and somewhat understandable. "Tye… (sob) I'm s-so glad (sob) and weren't (sob)," cried Miriallia, or at least, that's what I heard and could comprehend.

I looked towards Tolle kind of hoping that he could translate the sobs that I had no clue as to what was being said or implied. Heck, Miriallia could be cursing me for all I know, but I doubt that she is, that isn't like her. Tolle seemed to get my unsaid message, "I believe Mir was saying that she's glad that you're here and okay, not shot down and kill during the fighting Tye, like… Commander La Flaga was."

Ah, so that's what she said, I applaud Tolle for being able to get that out of what Miriallia got out, for I didn't get that message at all. I smiled softly and patted the girl on the head, "Sorry for worrying you all, I don't do it intentionally," I replied.

Next thing any of us knew the door to the room slid open and four more people came in, pretty much the rest of the gang. They came over to the three of us, Lacus moving to be beside Miriallia, the other surrounding us. This showed the camaraderie that those who do or have serve aboard the Archangel have with one another, myself included. We came together at the hard times and stood with each other and losing one of those that a comrade.

Spending less than an hour on the Archangel, a few things became obvious to me. The first, was that Murrue Ramius was taking Mu's death the hardest out of us all. I mean, I was seeing signs that Mu and Murrue were possibly in a relationship, but I'm guessing that it was more than I believe it was. Krystal wasn't taking the blonde man's absence a lot better, yet those two have apparently worked together for a good portion of the war, so I understand the loss of a teammate. There was little than any of us could say to either woman that helped, I kept my mouth shut as elegance with words was not my thing, my mom is better at that.

It was an hour later, that all onboard gathered in the hanger to have a bit of a ceremony to honor Mu La Flaga. For one of the few times that I do it, I had put on the formal Federation uniform as a way to show respect, slipping the medal I had gotten for Mu into a pocket. Upon reaching the hanger, I was a tad surprised to see other Alliance officers that I didn't know and at their head was none other than Natarle Badgiruel. The last time I had faced the former first officer of the Archangel, she was accusing me of being a traitor. Sure, a lot has changed since then, it has been a few months since then after all, but the little interaction we'd had since, wasn't nice.

When everyone was present, Murrue attempted to speak, but nothing came from her. Krystal moved forward and started talking about how good of a man Mu had been, even to the end with giving his life to save the Archangel. The speech she gave was good, I wouldn't doubt that Mu would be modestly beaming at the compliments being awarded to him. Murrue was in tears before the end of Krystal's recognition of Mu and something tells me that what I intend to do will only add to it. When Krystal finished all in the room were silent, until I spoke up, "Pardon me Captain Ramius, if I may, I would like to add something please."

All attention shifted onto me, Murrue nodded slowly, staring at me like everyone else with an expression of curiosity and surprise. I floated forward towards the monument that was made up of a picture of Mu and other things that had been his. I drew out the box that had the medal inside as I went, stopping just in front of the display. I opened the box revealing the Federation medal of honor, which was a made of a gold star with a circular wreath around the edge of the star. Setting down the medal, I took a deep breath, "Commander Mu La Flaga, you have shown courage and valor rare and uncommon. You have gone well above the calling of the duties that you have chosen to bear. For displays such as yours, I am here to award you with the Human Federation's Medal of Honor to recognize your efforts to protect and serve and do so proudly." I move back a bit and then gave a proper salute, "It has been an honor to serve alongside and get to know you Mu La Flaga, I will never forget you."

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

Unknown Location

Muruta Azrael could recall times that his mother said to him there would be hard and bad days in his life and he'd certainly had a number of those recently. Mere weeks ago, Azrael had been at the top, director of the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association, pretty much ran the leadership of the Alliance. Everything had been lined up almost picture perfect, ships and mobile armor had been refitted to carry nuclear missiles and all of them had been on their way to take them to the PLANTs. The finish line had been in sight, within reach… but then snatched away just before the climax! All because those in the Human Federation and its accursed military couldn't mind their own business and stay out of others, nor be obedient and wait their turn to be dealt with! The Federation's insistence of being as some put it, "the good guys", holding to their view of nobility and righteousness was sickening and infuriating to Azrael.

If only his father, Bruno Azrael could see him now, he would either laugh at his failure, telling him that he was a good-for-nothing. Or else, would hit him and say how disappointing he was at coming so close and yet tripping and messing up just before crossing the finish line. For currently, Muruta Azrael was sitting in a holding cell, dressed in a blue jumpsuit. His wrists had cuffs around each with a long loose cord going between the two cuffs. There was also a ankle bracelet around his right leg to trace him, along with two guards outside the door to the cell and more down the corridor. He had been brought here after being apprehended by the Federation's SOLAS team to "await trial" for his crimes. Said trial, would not be fair in Azrael's mind in any way, not with the Federation running it.

However, what was irking Muruta Azrael the most as he sat and fumed in the cell, was that he had come so close to succeeding and yet had been foiled. He had been so close to achieving the main goal of Blue Cosmos, so near it that he had been tasting victory! Nonetheless, due to the actions of a few along with the interference the meddling Federation's Military had made, the PLANTs still stood, all of the horrible hourglass shaped colonies remained. All the effort and work, all the planning and dreams had come to not, due to the actions of the blindest of fools and the dumbest of idiots. To say that Azrael was angry and frustrated was a huge understatement! Azrael was beyond mad and enraged, beyond bitter and resentful at those that had contributed to cheating him of his greatest desire of wiping out all Coordinators.

Even as Azrael dwelled on his hatred, the door to his cell slid open and six armed people came inside. He said nothing to them, no curses as there were none that would be enough, no obscenities, for there were none strong enough to be fitting. Five of the soldiers formed a half circle in front of him and pointed their guns at him, while the other moved forward and made the cord connected to Azrael's wrist shackles retract into part of the restraints and have the cuffs come together. Azrael was then ordered to rise so that he could be escorted to where his trial would be held as the time for it was here.

Muruta Azrael rose and walked forward, standing tall, showing that the treatment he had received hadn't broken his spirit at all. Once outside the cell, three soldiers set themselves in front and the other three took of the rear and the party began moving forward. The journey was not very long, and Azrael still said nothing even as he came into a large room that was clearly to be where the trial would take place. The room was set up as a large courtroom, the setup was not unknown to Muruta Azrael, it was one of the rooms that the Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law took place and was as the historic court rooms from the past. The only real difference, there was no group that decide the verdict, the "jury" who could be influenced, no there was a tribunal that did that instead, along with the prosecution and sentencing.

Azrael was brought to a desk that was in the center of the room and sat down in the chair, then the soldiers backed away fading into the shadows at the edges of the room. Muruta Azrael then, looked up to see and face those who would "judge him", glaring with hatred and rage. There were eight of them, most he didn't know, but there were two that he did. One was a representative from the Federation's Euros Coalition, by the name of Irma Beltorchika, their chief diplomat. Then the other was the wench Ellen Blass herself and he already had a lot of enmity against her, not to wish to see her without horrible things occurring first. The rest of the eight, their clothing was telling of where they were from. The man that was in a white dress shirt, maroon suit jacket and same color dress pants was from the Orb Union, it was the same outfit that country's representative council wore, it wasn't Uzumi Athha though. The other two men were dress to say that one was from the Equatorial Union, while the other was representing the Kingdom of Scandinavia. The remaining three were in the Federation's military's uniform, so likely they were part of that group.

"This court is called to order," said the woman in the middle who was Matilda Ajan.

Matilda Ajan was the second person that led the Federation Military's Admiralty with Ben Moses. She was forty-nine, almost fifty. Possessing an average figure and height for a female, Matilda was a Coordinator that hailed from the Kingdom of Scandinavia. With Ben Moses overseeing the cleanup with the mess that the Second battle of Jachin Due had made, the trial of this particular man felt to her. Muruta Azrael had been able to avoid capture for close to four years, and there was no way that a criminal of his caliber would be allowed to worm out of facing justice for his action!

Matilda focused on Azrael, "Muruta Azrael, former leader of the anti-Coordinator organization Blue Cosmos, former director of the Earth Alliance's National Defense Industry Association. You have been brought here to this Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law to stand and be judged for the crimes that you are accused of."

The barreled-chested man named Kaises Buyer, who was to Matilda's right picked up where she left off. "Rest assured Muruta Azrael, the list of the crimes and wrongs that you are held responsible for and/or were involved in is not short."

Buyer took up the collection of papers in front of him, which was evidence that stated just what Azrael had done. It had been compiled by many within the Federation's Intelligence Agency branch, which Buyer was one of the two that was the head over. Buyer began reading the list of crimes, and for those there to do the business of judging and sentencing Muruta Azrael, hearing the list was terrible. The wrongs that Azrael had done that the public suspected of him were bad, but there were more events that Azrael had a part in that the general accusers had little to no clue about. The most condemning 'achievement' that Azrael had made, was his involvement in the planning and carrying out the Bloody Valentine Incident. It was that and the attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs which made Muruta Azrael a "war criminal".

Azrael said nothing as the "list of 'his' crimes" was read, not like he was given an opportunity to do so anyways. He regretted none of his actions that were being said and implied were "crimes". To Azrael, he was ridding the world of the scourge that Coordinators are, since few apparently saw them for the monsters they were. Azrael had been doing what he saw as necessary, plain and simple, he had been cleansing the world of what didn't belong. So, this "accounting" as it was being titled, was a waste of time to him and was boring. Azrael would rather have these fools give their verdict and their decision on what punishment he would be forced to face and get this over with. However, that is not how this event was going, Azrael was being treated to hearing drivel of the monster loving idiots.

All in the room, listened for close to an hour to Azrael's efforts to end as many Coordinator as he possibly could. It had been going on for close to a decade with Muruta Azrael and it had built to the nuclear strike on Junius Seven in year 66 of the Cosmic Era. The trail of blood that he had left in his wake even before becoming an active member of Blue Cosmos, was not only vast, but much of it had been buried and hidden from the public. Nonetheless, none on the judge bar saw or noted any reaction or form of regret from Muruta Azrael as his accomplishments were repeated and moderate detail supplied. So, it was more procedure that upon the wrapping up the reading of the crimes, that Azrael was given the chance to give a defense for himself. "Now that your actions have been revealed and iterated, is there anything you wish to add, whether in your defense or any other reason," posed Matilda.

Muruta Azrael stood up at the question and every other sound in the room faded as he did. All attention focused on the man that was here to face the consequences of his actions. "I do not deny any of the events that have been stated, nor take back any of it that I helped along," stated Azrael evenly and with little to no emotion. He then took a breath and continued, "You claim what I have done is wrong, when I'm just assisting natural selection do what it's done since history began. The human race has survived up to now because of survival of the fittest without any other interference from science, religion or any other idea anyone cares to mention. So, why should that be thrown away for the unnatural choices that 'science' brings simply because it can and gain money for it?"

Azrael looked directly at his accusers, "What has genetic manipulation and alteration that science has made possible, brought the human race as a whole?" he asked. The reaction from some looking at me said that his question was unexpected, so he continued. "How is choosing the exact appearance and qualities of one's child, doing what's best for them? Isn't it more the dreams and greed of the parents that drive them to getting their child's genes 'designed'? That greed and those dreams are what has brought about the 'evil' you speak of." He kept going as none were stopping him, "It feeds the chaos that exists in the world and space today. Coordinators look down on Naturals, because they have been 'engineered to be better than everyone else naturally born'. How long will you blind yourselves into thinking that no Coordinator would do the exact the same things that you state are crimes?! If the nuclear strike hadn't been made on Junius Seven, then it would have been done somewhere on Earth! Done by Coordinators who believed themselves above the rest of the human race and where would any of us be if that was what happened instead?!"

Some of the soldiers came out of the shadows, in order to restrain him as his voice had been rising in volume. "If anything, I am a hero, for I'm working to bring back the system that has proven to work just fine before now, saving other people from foolish lies and machinations told to them by mad men that think science makes them as gods! And along with doing that, I would bring peace for the human species!" he screeched as the soldiers reached him and grabbed him.

There was outrage and indignation at the last few lines that came from Muruta Azrael from all of those who were to judge him. It took some time to restore order in the room, while Azrael was forced back into the chair he had been put in to the start of this by the soldiers. The six stayed around him to keep him in check as needed. Matilda, along with the other two members of the Federation's military did manage to regain order, before they all faced Muruta Azrael. "I am sorry you see things in such a way, Muruta Azrael. I pity you for closing your eyes to the progress that you infer hasn't been made. However, by the definition that is in the United Nations Charter, which is still completely valid, you have committed two counts of war crimes. The consequences of performing such actions are clearly stated to be decided by a council, which we are representative of," said Matilda.

Azrael was kept in the chair as the eight above him left the room to 'discussed' what they said should be done with him. He returned to brooding as he was forced to wait for the verdict, he didn't expect it to be nice in anyway really. So, when the eight reentered the room Azrael had become nearly absolutely despondent. "Muruta Azrael," said Matilda. "Your sentence has been decided by unanimous vote. You will be taken to the Federation Tartarus Containment Facility located on Mars and there you will remain for the rest of your days."

Muruta Azrael was brought out of his despondency, stunned at the sentence handed to him. Granted, he didn't entertain any hope that he would have any real freedom going forward, but to never return to Earth again was out of the blue! Then, for there to be colonies on mars… it proved that the rumors of such were correct. Still, imprisonment for life was what Azrael had suspected he would receive from the Federation, it didn't mean that he liked the outcome though.

-Line Break-

Serenity City, Sea of Tranquility on the Moon

Close to six months went by since the Second Battle of Jachin Due and the cease-fire that ended the battle and bringing the war to a standstill. Then on March 10th of year 72, a peace convention was held at the neutral lunar city, Serenity City. The lunar city was the other major city on the moon other than Copernicus City and is also a neutral even if it was built by the Human Federation. The city was built at the historical site that in the past, the first landing that humans made on the moon. And due to the reputation that the city had for neutrality, the decision to host a peace conference was see as best.

Representatives from the Earth Alliance, the PLANTs, ZAFT and the Federation were in attendance of this convention. Both some from the Alliance's leadership and the Earth Forces' top brass represented the Alliance. For the PLANTs and ZAFT, Eileen Canaver, Lanus Treize and Maria Loloths were chosen for them. Meanwhile, the Human Federation had Uzumi Nara Athha, Foreign Minister Lindermann from the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Euros Coalition's chief diplomat. There was also two individuals present that acted as mediators between the three factions, those being Siegel Clyne and Reverend all participants were there, the convention started with an overview of the damage that the Alliance-PLANT war had done to Earth, the Moon and the colonies. When that was done, the treaty that had been drafted up known as the Junius, involving five separate points that applied to all three factions.

The first point was that all faction boundaries were returned to restored to status quo ante bellum or what they were before the war officially started. This then meant that the areas the Alliance gained were returned to their previous owners. The same was true for ZAFT, with the two exceptions of their Gibraltar base and their Carpentaria base. While the Federation's territory pretty much stayed the same with not much gain or loss. The second major point, was the banning of the sharing of military related technologies between factions. However, this did not apply to scientific development that could assist in medical or quality of life of people. This was hopefully, going to help with the differences between the quality of living between the factions' citizens.

The two main points that would force changes to happen which were included were ones that there was some argument about. The first was nuclear technologies were to be prohibited from military use for all sides. This included N-Jammers and N-Jammer Cancellers, or any device that performed the same functions as either the jammer or its canceller. The intention behind the point, was to not give the opportunity to build nuclear weapons that could be used against one another. The second main part of the treaty, was a ruling written up by a group of diplomats had agreed upon. That being placing strict limits on the military forces of each faction and their nations, referring to ships, mobile armors and mobile suits specifically. The plan, named the Lindemann Plan, after the Kingdom of Scandinavia's Foreign Minister, are to be imposed proportional to the resources, population and economic output of the nations that made up each faction overall. With this plan, there wouldn't be one faction that would have a large advantage over the others, as the Oceania Union and the North African Community were included with the PLANTs which equaled out the nations that were with the Federation and the Alliance.

The final thing that was added by a majority vote was the use and management of Stealth technology. The use of Mirage Colloid was banned outright, much to the disappointment of some, but they were overruled. Nonetheless, the Federation's military's use and employment of stealth tech was also demanded to change. There were specific areas and places that stealth was to be never used, and jamming was also banned in the same places for all factions. These places were on Earth and in space as well, though they were clearly defined so that no mistake as to where was being referred to was.

Other demands and exchanges were also discussed at the convention, aside from the Treaty of Junius Seven. Yet the treaty itself was carved into a black marble monument that would be placed among the ruins of Junius Seven. This was done for two reasons; first as a way to help keep a remembrance of the new peace and pledge to uphold it, and second, to honor those who had lost their lives in the colony's collapse

The other major subjects that came up were the energy crisis on Earth and the punishments for those that were accused of war crimes they committed during the war. For the energy crisis, nuclear power plants on Earth were fitted with N-Jammer Cancellers so that they could resume energy production to fill the needs of the severely crippled economies of Earth, which helped in the short-term. To assist in the long-term, groups were assigned to begin the process of removing the N-Jammers, which would be a long and costly endeavor. As for those who were accused of war crimes, either proof of the crime was to be provided and then the criminal was to undergo a trail, or the claim would be dismissed. A number of the soldiers accused, would have to face a trial and the following sentence, but it would come at a later date.

After the convention came to a close, the marble monument was escorted to the place that it would be set and the official end of the "First Alliance-PLANT War" was acknowledged. Things settled down from where they had been during the war between the Alliance, the Federation and the PLANTs. The trials of those classified as war criminals came and went without much fuss. Each factions' military handled the conduct of their other soldiers that had done wrong during the fighting. Of note, Athrun Zala and Dearka Elsman were charged with desertion and where Dearka took a rank demotion, Athrun took an official discharge, though it was recorded as an honorable discharge due to the defense others provided. Those who used "unnecessary force" were punished according to the judgment of the leaders of ZAFT.

-Line Break-

-Tyler's pov-

Onogoro Island, Orb Union

I sat in one of the lounges at the landing facility that was next to Kaguya for large shuttles to land at after descending to Earth, waiting for Athrun. My friend had faced the consequences for his actions during the war, even with the good he had done. Technically, Athrun had deserted ZAFT to fight to end the war, though it was in my view the best choice in a hard situation, but I'm not the one that had judged him. Pretty much those who had been under the command of the Rat had been given a choice by what I understand from what Athrun told me a few days ago. Their punishments varied somewhat, but overall, they either were to take a rank demotion along with the other consequences or be discharged. Athrun had chosen the discharge option, while the others of Creuset's team took the rank demotion.

Athrun had decided to come to Earth once free of military duties, not that I blame him. Being around the PLANTs probably is reminding him of his father, in both good and bad ways and he wants to get away from that at least for a time. And that's why I'm here in Orb, to meet Athrun, there are a few things I want to make clear and show him before he starts whatever he intends to. Two of the facts I intend to tell my friend are ones that I only recently found out about, both curtesy of my mother. Plus, I had stopped by the place Kira had taken up residence in that is on Orb's main island, but out of the way. Kira and Lacus had kind of "gone into hiding" in a fashion, which with how famous Lacus is, completely can agree for the need of privacy and time away from others hounding you. Interestingly, Siegel had done much the same thing, even though he was offered the position of PLANTs Supreme Council Chairman again, he turned that down. He's now living within the Republic, kind of like how Graham had for a time, how long the man will be around home, I haven't the faintest.

The announcement of the shuttle that Athrun was on finally came after close to an hour of waiting, which got me to rise from the chair I had been sitting in. I walked forward and saw the shuttle moving into the spot it would be unloaded. It had been months since I last saw my blue-haired friend as he was required to return to the PLANTs for a while. It was close to ten minutes before the shuttle passengers began departing from the shuttle and entering the port facilities. I spotted Athrun quickly enough and made my way over to him, "Athrun, glad to see you made it my friend," I greeted.

Athrun faced me and gained a small smile, "Hey Tyler, you didn't need to come and meet me you know," he replied.

I took one of the pieces of luggage that he had and put an arm around Athrun, "What are you talking about man, I wouldn't feel right or consider myself your friend if I wasn't willing to come and meet you. Friends do the little things more than the huge things just because they can Athrun, even when it can be a tad inconvenient sometime," I reasoned.

Athrun and I walked to the vehicle I had rented for the time I would be in Orb and loaded in Athrun's things in. We stayed in Orb for the rest of the day, Athrun was tired after his leaving and trip from the PLANTs. However, the topic of Athrun coming by the Republic before he went his way to start fresh after the effects of the war, did come up between us. I managed to get Athrun to agree to at least stop by Shira, since my mom was making the time to see him and that isn't something she does without a good reason.

The next day, Athrun and I boarded an aircraft and we traveled to Shira, it took us a couple of hours to reach the city. We shortly met up with my mother, before the three of us started traveling to a place that was out of the way, but there was a reason for our destination to be what it was. During the car ride, Athrun was told one of the two facts that had taken me by surprise when I learned them. That fact was that my mom had pretty much been providing what Athrun had needed, wether it had been money or other things for the last six to seven years, especially for his education. It should have been his father Patrick Zala, but he had not been doing so and hadn't cared enough to look into who it was providing for his son's needs.

Athrun was taken aback at hearing and comprehending that it had been my mother that had been making sure that he was able to get an education while training in the ZAFT military. Apparently, Athrun had suspected that there was a possibility that someone else had been contributing to help with his education, but he hadn't thought it might be my mother. Not that I blame him, I was shocked at learning that my mother was doing that, I'd seen no sign or hint to her doing it.

The conversation had come to a close by the time we arrived at our destination, which was a grove outside Shira and closed off from outside influence. Athrun was looking around curiously as we entered the grove on foot. I on the other hand, knew what this place was, I had been here some time ago after a visit to the ruins of Junius Seven. In the grove, there were four stone markers, which did kind of surprise me as there were only three the last time I had been here. They were grave stones, one belonged to my dad Lance Blass, the one to the left of his was Lana's. The stone to dad's right was for Lenore Zala, it had been my mom's idea to have a marker made for her. The fourth grave stone, when I glanced at it, read that it was for Patrick Zala, right next to his wife.

Athrun had stopped a short distance from the four stones and stared at them, his voice not working as he saw whom they were commemorating. "It may be more a tradition, but I believe it was right that your father be next to his wife Lenore, even if there is not bodies in some of the graves. It is remembering them for what they worked for that counts going forward. I hope that in this way, you might be able to have a talk with your parents, before going forward with your life Athrun," my mom said.

Athrun was having a hard time, I could see that with how his body was shaking, but my friend finally found use of his voice. "The man tried to kill every Natural-type human, destroy the ancestral home that all human beings share, how can I remember him with anything but shame?"

"Athrun, do not focus on the negative," said the voice of Siegel Clyne.

Upon turning, the man was coming up behind us, accompanied by another. It wasn't the other man's appearance that gave away who he was, it was the air of command that he was putting off that got my attention. The man with Siegel could be none other than Lanus Treize, the unofficial leader of ZAFT. My mother inclined her head to the two men, "Siegel, nice to see you, and Mr. Treize, it is nice to meet you in person at long last, I assume that you are here to honor Patrick?"

Siegel nodded, "I would not be able to call myself his friend if I did not do that at least," he replied.

Lanus Treize inclined his head as well, "Patrick was a dear friend for a long time, it is best he be sent off in this way, than during a battle."

Siegel turned to Athrun, "It is true that Patrick did things that were regrettable, but that is not who Patrick really was. Pain soured him to what he became, that was not the man to be remembered."

"His legacy is his efforts to obtain peace between Natural-types and Coordinators, to show that living in harmony was well within the realm of possibility. That is the man that is your father, that is Patrick Zala that the world should remember. Not for what he did while he became lost, from the pain of losing Lenore," reasoned Treize.

What the two men who defended Patrick Zala had said, had hit Athrun in the heart. But, to hear about the kind of man that had been your parent from those that were their friends, it brought a different perspective that one couldn't see otherwise. After we did what we saw as honoring those whose graves were in the grove, Athrun and I headed back to the airfield. Athrun was determined to go and start fresh with his life as it was, and that's fine, but I did have a few things to tell Athrun before he "disappeared" for a time. So, before Athrun went to board the aircraft that he would leave on, I stopped him. "Hey Athrun, before you go I want to say some things to you, call them parting words of a friend if you want, but still, I think it is better the words be said," I stated.

Athrun gave me his attention and so, I continued, "First, don't go vanishing completely, do keep in touch every now and then. It will keep Kira and me from worrying about what's going on with you and where I can understand the need for time, we both know Kira has a harder time with that."

Athrun nodded, "Okay, that's reasonable."

"Lastly, know that you will always have family here in the Republic with my mom and me, and Kira would tell the same thing in his own way. So, should you ever be in need for good company, you know where to find some. Other than that, all I can think to say, is good luck and I wish you well my friend," I said, thrust out a hand to Athrun.

He took my hand firmly and we shook, "I'll keep all of that in mind Tye, I wish you the same," returned Athrun.

Athrun then boarded the aircraft and went to wherever he planned to go, he hadn't said the places he planned to go. However, I'm confident that Athrun will be okay and will find the path he can tread without regret.

-Line Break-

-Neutral pov-

As time went by since the signing and enacting of the Treaty of Junius Seven, peace was maintained. Even after a year, there was no fighting between the Federation, the Alliance or the PLANTs, arguing and disagreements yes, but that was expected. The standing with the three separate sides did change somewhat, the PLANTs and ZAFT became closer and on much better terms with the Human Federation. The leaders of the member nations of the Federation and its military, as well as ZAFT and the newly instated Supreme Council Chairman, Gilbert Durandal, encouraged the improvement in relations. However, the relationship between both ZAFT and the Federation with the Earth Alliance didn't seem to be able to improve. If anything, the strain with the Alliance seemed to become worse mostly with the Earth Forces, than with the politics.

Nevertheless, the fitting nuclear power plants with neutron jammer cancellers was done and the quick results of the returning availability of energy, became apparent. Economies did bounce back to how they had been, but they improved an amount within weeks and kept going up from there at steady rates. The work of removing N-Jammers from underground was ongoing even if it was slowly progressing. Yet, it was going at an okay pace as the Federation's Intelligence Agency provided the exact location of each of them. Then, with all political power and territories taken by the Earth Alliance during the war, like the United States of South America, was to be returned to the respective government of the countries, humanity began moving forward on its chosen path once again.

Be that as it may, the hatred that had brought on the war didn't disappear completely. Organizations that were against a type of humanity, were watched and observed, but overall little else could be done to them as a whole. Individuals that committed acts of terror were promptly arrested, tried and punished without exception or pity at all. But the groups themselves continued their views and work, simply changing their methods to not be so easily found out.

The care was taken by them because during the peace convention, the agreement was made that there were to be no boundaries, no loopholes, political or otherwise that could protect those that committed acts of terror any longer.

Still, with the limitations set by the Treaties of Junius Seven, buildup of the factions' military was slow, but not stagnant. For ZAFT, they replaced much of what they had lost during the war, though there were somethings that it wasn't possible to replace, such as Boaz or Jachin Due. The other major point that ZAFT and the PLANTs did, was to build a colony within the Lagrange 4 colony cluster, which they named Armory One. The colony itself was a PLANT-type colony and was geared towards military development, and yet still had the conveniences for its inhabitance. There were other changes that were done within ZAFT that the public eye and ear never knew, which happened after Lanus Treize retired and disappeared.

The Earth Forces increased itself in secret mostly, adding to the strain that the Earth Alliance was experiencing with the Human Federation and the PLANTs. This came in two different ways; Blue Cosmos reestablishing its influence within the Earth Alliance and the OMNI Enforcer and another group that was part of Blue Cosmos to an extent making things worse as well. Even though Muruta Azrael had been taken by the Federation and was never seen again, another had taken the vacant position he left, by the name of Lord Djibril. The man was a part of an industrial business organization simply known as LOGOS, which made profits from militaries and wars and was the funder of Blue Cosmos. Then, within the OMNI Enforcer, after about a year of the Treaty of Junius Seven, there were enough in the top brass that saw fit to ignore the banning the use of nuclear technology and Mirage Colloid. Also, a new unit was created called the 81st Independent Mobile Battalion, nicknamed "Phantom Pain". The best were handpicked to be in the unit and they were given the best and newest supplies and equipment.

Meanwhile, the Federation military also built up their forces to replace what losses had been incurred. Although, they were the faction military that kept the closest to the limitations placed by the Treaty of Junius Seven out of the three. Instead, the Federation relied more on scientific developments and advancements to improve their military forces, rather than building lots more equipment and ships and going well over the limitations set by the treaty. The other major difference from ZAFT and the Earth Forces that the Federation made, was the studies into alternative technologies to replace nuclear dependency that could eventually be shared with all the human race.

And yet, tension between the three factions slowly but surely grew as time passed by. The more time that separated the ending of the First Alliance-PLANT War, the further events seemed to be setting themselves to repeat history.

Phase End

A/n

Okay, lots to say and probably running out of attention from you readers, so here I go. First point, the revision I've been working on. Phase 1 through 25 has gone through work of writing, fluffing up and in some cases making changes in places. The storyline overall hasn't changed, but there are some events that have been rewritten, the last scene in Phase 25 is an example. So, for those who want to see the changes, feel free to go back and read this story again from the beginning. The revision has been done according to me references that I've redone and further detailed, so I streamlined the non-cannon ideas to not have me contradicting myself.

Point number two, the writer's block and decision on what to include with this chapter. Unfortunately, writers block happens to the best of us authors and writers, we don't like it any more than the readers do, but it's a fact of life. Now the subject matter for this Phase was a challenging thing for me to decide, there was so much I could have done. However, I'm also trying to cover a period of around two years in this one Phase so I can start into SEED Destiny timeframe. There are facts I know I didn't address in this Phase, which I intend to go into later, so I apologize but, it's my story and I sticking to it.

Duked

Glad you liked the Phase, as for a sequel, to say there will be one implies that this story is at its end and I can say that it is not! I don't see a reason to separate SEED and SEED Destiny, they are going to be all in the same story. … And yes, I'll spoil the point and for those who don't what to have anything spoiled, stop reading this review reply! Anyways, as I was say, Neo Roanoke will be making an appearance, in the next phase in fact, I won't say more than that.

KakeruPB

I hope you enjoyed the change in the fight with Le Creuset, for you brought up a good point, though I would say that as an author I do have the ability to stretch things a bit, but the thing I don't say, is Phase shift plus the metallic alloy of the Aurora did enough to block the explosion, if you're wondering in the revision. So, as I said in the other review reply, Mu didn't die exactly, I think that Neo Roanoke does play an important part in the early parts of Destiny. I hoped that you enjoyed the transition Phase into Destiny, I had a time with it both good and bad, so lots of work put into it.