Hello everyone, R-0 here and welcoming you to the next chapter.

Before we get to the R&A section, I do have a small notice. I am very sorry for the massive delay. Loads of Fanfic ideas popped into my head that I really wanted to write and this final year in my Sixth Form is taking its toll on me. I'm back, though, and willing to write.

Also, I decided to take a massive break to properly plan out this fic as well as my take on Destiny. I realized that certain pieces of canon just wouldn't work at all for what I have planned so I had to spend a bit of time planning it out. All I'll say is that, post Phase 28, shit's going to really start to go in a different direction.

Anyway, onto the R&A section!

Plutone-pilot: I am happy to see that you enjoyed the fight. That was the part of the chapter that I put the most thought into.

Regarding your query, allow me to explain why that wouldn't have worked: Rau, regardless of the mission at hand, is a strategist and always thinks of the long-term effects of a certain action. Losing a few GINN weapons won't hurt them much, but losing one of the G-Weapons, which has massively catapulted the war in their favour, would have been pushing the Archangel Crew's luck. The Aegis is the most advanced and most powerful G-Weapon out of the five and can be considered the final finished product along with the Blitz (The Duel, Buster and Strike are really only data-gathering prototypes) and was designed as a commander unit. In Rau's mind, Incredibly Advanced Mobile SuitLacus Clyne. If the crew had asked for the Aegis, Rau would have thought "Now they've pushed their luck" and simply said "Go ahead, kill her. We ain't giving up a game-changer like the Aegis to just save the life of a pop-star." He would have then said to the Vesalius crew, after the incident, "We found the Silverwind, but all lives were lost, right?" In other words, Rau knew they were bluffing, but allowed them to get away with it because they weren't asking for a lot. However, if they had pushed their luck, he would have called them out. If that had happened, this would be a very short story, wouldn't it?

Fireminer: I think anything's better than the anime's better than the presentation of battles. Not to say that they're not fun to watch, but when you see a piece of recycled cutscene for the millionth time, it starts to lose what little charm it had. I will say, however, that the final battle was a treat to watch as recycled cutscenes were barely ever used throughout the episode.

I think she is an Extremist by herself. Our parents may be anchors for us, but it's still up to us to listen to what they say and decide what's right and what's wrong. Flay, regardless if she's daddy's little princess, should still have moral sense enough to understand that prejudice is wrong and that she shouldn't believe the Blue Cosmos propaganda, regardless of how big her daddy complex is. She even said herself that she agrees with Blue Cosmos' views and it has nothing to do with her father. Ultimately, it was her choice to have the views she does and no amount of excuses (like her being a daddy's girl) will ever change that.

How is my portrayal of Mu better? It's no different and exactly the same as the canon version.

mega1987: To me, Kira really starts to get his act together in the next battle against the Gamow and its Mobile Suits. After that, he definitely became much more competent as a pilot. Before this, he seems to just whine, complain, sulk and doesn't seem to have his head constantly in the battle. That's kinda what I wanted to portray with the latest battle.

edboy4926: The way I see it, if Flay's father hadn't died, the entire point of her character would be lost. Her father's death was what pushed her over the edge and made her become the memorable character we all know and hate. You could also argue that she probably would have died during the Shuttle Incident or even before that. If she had gone onto the Montgomery to stay with her father, she would have died in the skirmish before they reach Earth. And, since she would have a different mindset, she would have probably gone onto the shuttle to go to Earth and we all know how that turned out, don't we? Well, without her corrupted mindset, she would not have wanted to stay on the Archangel and would have been killed by Yzak. Flay is still important to the plot (she kinda incites nuclear war) so having her stay the course with her character is significant.

As I already said, I hate Crossovers and would never willingly do one. However, if I was forced to cross over SEED with something else, it would be Universal Century Gundam. Why? Because a lot of characters in SEED could do with a Bright Slap. It would probably be cool to mix it with the No More Heroes universe just to see Lacus Clyne pull her preachy ass bullshit in a world where killing is an everyday job for people who take pride in it and enjoy it wholeheartedly (By the way I love the Helter Skelter brothers).

Well, it's your story so you can do what you want with it.

They probably wouldn't care. They live in a world predominately ruled by Genetic Engineering so to hear about the Spartan Project probably would surprise them a little, but not as much as one would think.

worldwanderer2.0: Again, that's not a typo. It seems to be an either-all sort of thing as they are also referred to as the Atlantic Federation which take up a part of the Earth Alliance alongside the Eurasian Federation. So it's not a typo, but thanks for pointing it out. But yes, I dream many nights about stomping Type-61 Feddie tanks in a Zaku II.

Please hold onto your patience for a little longer. I already explained why Cagalli couldn't sortie this chapter and save Flay's father in the above R&A. I promise that you don't have to wait another 10 chapters to see it. I just have a perfect moment picked out and am just building up to it. Well, I like Miguel so it would depress me to see him get killed by Gai after fighting each other in GINNs simply because Gai has the superior Mobile Suit (Coincidentally, that's why Miguel died against Kira).

Well, the next portion is going to be fairly similar to the original canon so you don't have to worry about Kira returning Lacus going tits up.

I am sorry that the slow KiraXCagalli disappoints you, but I'm just like that. I have come to appreciate fanfics that slow into a pairing rather than just put it on us immediately. I promise more is going to come (It will tie into Cagalli's first sortie) and she will become MUCH more prominent after this.

Anyway, onto your specific questions:

First: My answer is simple: Do they appear in the original canon (By the way, that's rhetoric)?

Second: Lemons are not a problem for me. As I answered in my previous R&A, I simply do not know if I am going to put Lemons in or not. If I would, I would still post it on this site.

Third: Again, I have already answered this in the previous A/N. They are on hiatus for an indefinite period of time. I feel dissatisfied with them and intend to go back and rewrite them fully one day. That's not for a long time though.

Azure: Glad to see that you're not too upset over it.

It physically makes me ill to imagine that… Please don't put such an abomination in my head… On a more serious note, it would make me hate Kira as no character should be that broken EVER!

Zombyra: I am happy to see that you approve of that little plot-point.

Yeah, Gundam Origin… I eagerly await that also. It sucks that the only source of the original Gundam Series is the original series (That has NOT aged well at all) and the Movie Compilation which doesn't really provide the full experience. It really needs to come soon so that the newer Gundam audience can properly appreciate its roots a bit more.

thedarkpokemaster: She's less stupid and more oblivious to everything that goes on around her to the point it isn't even funny. It would have been an interesting plot-point had it not been immediately cast aside to make her the "Goddess of Victory" which completely contradicts that aspect of her character.

RandyKaguyaofthewasteland: I think you're overthinking it a little bit if you think that such a thing is going to happen, which it isn't. His knack for pissing people off is more likeable than Kira and Lacus' tendency to make everybody their best friend. Activating the SEED, you do realise what's coming up after this chapter, don't you?

Don 77: I ain't gonna get involved in no Naruto shipping wars as I am not really interested in Naruto outside of the fact that there is a ridiculous amount of Naruto Fanfiction. From what I have seen with Naruto (I have a friend who makes me watch Naruto DVDs when I see him), I would probably prefer Hinata over Sakura as her type of character is more appealing to me as opposed to Sakura. But this is me we're talking about. A guy who loves crack pairings to death. As you can imagine, I don't search for NaruHina and NaruSaku stories and just look up whatever random female I find on the Wiki page.

Unfortunately, I think the Doctor is a Mary Sue in himself. He does have a few Mary Sue Clichés: Tragic Past, insanely smart, Women fall to his feet, seemingly able to get along with everybody (even antagonists), unable to die (Believe me, they'll find some way to get past his Regeneration Limit). Not to say I don't like the Doctor because I do. He's a rare breed of Mary Sue that are likeable and intentionally made that way because he's made fun of for those reasons.

Lacus Clyne would ruin anything she would be a part of. I think I don't need to say any more.

Narusaku fan 100: Well, I'll take your word for it.

HubrisP: I appreciate the interest that you have taken in my story. I regret to inform you that OCs and ideas are out of the question. I already have this all planned out in my head and I simply don't have the luxury of accommodating other ideas for the story as I would have to make changes. Also, I don't like having a litter of OCs when they are not needed. I appreciate the thought, but I am not taking suggestions or ideas.

Freefan1412: The pairing is not going to change. All I can say is that I have it planned that it will be handled in a way where it is much less inappropriate that one might think. Besides, I'd rather be caught dead than reverting it to AsuCaga. Also, I think trying to handle it like AsuCaga is wrong as well as Cagalli had to become submissive to make it work. That isn't right and she should always be the dominant one.

I know about my mixing up the tenses. It's gotten better as I do go back and check that I've put it the right way. Regarding canon scenes, all I have to say is that you only have to put up with them for a few more chapters before things really start to diverge.

mfmxxx: I feel the need to address your points properly:

Firstly, how did Cagalli become as bad as Lacus?! She became the exact opposite of Lacus in Destiny! No one respected her. No one listened to her and she lost all of her badassery and became a submissive pussy. With Lacus, however, EVERYONE listened to her and they worshipped the very ground she walked on. The only similarity I can garner is their hard-headedness over their views on things. Cagalli, however, is at least open-minded enough to accept other's views like what happened with Athrun. Lacus, however, automatically decrees that a view she doesn't agree with is the wrong view.

Secondly, it's because he was passive that Destiny Kira sucked. He spent all his time trying to talk to his enemies and not enough time fighting them and, when he did fight them, he never targeted cockpits which is retarded as all hell. The moments that were supposed to be badass (Like him disabling the Minerva's Tannhauser) made him look like a nuisance who only made things worse.

Thirdly: Ultimate Coordinators were explained well enough in SEED. It would have been tedious if they had to go back and re-explain everything we already knew save for a few extra bits. The Cosmic Era already has enough re-caps. Why should it focus on Kira again and the relationships of characters we saw all the way through SEED? It should be about Shinn now and developing his relationships. The only time that I think they would ever do that is in Destiny where they scrap the pointless Meer finale episodes and go into depth about Mu's survival and perhaps develop the new cast some more.

Again, as I said before, what bonding for Mu and Kira in canon shall stay and I don't know beyond that.

Adrift At Sea: Well, I am happy that you are interested in my story.

Character death is one of SEED (especially Destiny)'s biggest shortcomings. Just when I think they grow some balls and kill off a character, they magically survive which kills any of the tension and drama.

I wouldn't say serious, but more "Afraid to try and implement into canon." Most KiraXCagalli are AUs that usually beat you over the head with the whole "INCEST R BAD1!1" message rather than just trying to treat it as a normal pairing. People didn't have problems with the pairing until the big reveal. What's hilarious is that KiraXCagalli is the pairing that probably has the most chemistry and development in the series…

ThePizziaMan: Thank you.

I'm the Doctor: I ain't going to dive too much into what you have said so I'll keep this brief:

People seem to have this hilarious misconception that Flay was a victim of writer's bias much like Cagalli was. This is incorrect. Flay was always intended to be a cruel, racist, manipulative whore who got her redemption at the end. It was an interesting and unique character trait that made for some good drama and character development. They kinda krunked it with her dying as it kinda rendered it all redundant, but she still should have died as it did have meaning.

They also have this misconception that she was written that way by accident and it could have been avoided. This is also incorrect. In the end, she still behaved like a racist bitch towards Lacus (Not that I blame her) and a two-faced bitch even before ZAFT started screwing up her life. Her father's death simply aggravated what feelings she already had in her heart.

I never said that ZAFT were angels, just a damn sight better than the Alliance. In the end, the Earth Forces made the first move with them murdering Coordinators in the street, forcing them to migrate to space which caused them to get nuked. Of course they would resort to extreme measures and let anger and hate overtake them. In the end, the Earth Forces started the war leading to ZAFT to fight back, but they got carried away and became aggressors in their own right (Much like Zeon).

inuyasha112: Well, I'm updating now, aren't I?

major wallace: Thank you.

MonkeyFish997: Well, I am happy that my story appeals to you. I don't really have a schedule and really only update when I can and whichever fic I am in the mood for updating.

littlemsstrawberry: I feel like you were going to say something else as your second message is not connected to the first.

I have already addressed this before so I guess I have to repeat myself. Athrun will have no bearing on the pairing whatsoever. While I am not in the business of spoilers, I will simply say that the events of this canon mean that Athrun being remotely involved will be make no sense at all.

Kirausui: I am happy that are enjoying it. I don't think there is anything spectacular about my writing. I just write as coherently as possible while not trying to make it look like I'm writing with a Thesaurus at my side.

Anyway, let's begin!

Chapter 10: Hostage Release

It's a grim site as the remains of the two Drake Classes (Bernard & Law), the Nelson-Class (Montgomery) and what's left of the Moebius Mobile Armours all drift in space from the recent battle. There's a tense atmosphere on the battlefield as the two GINNs and Miguel's GINN (All forced to leave their weapons) all retreat from the battlefield, leaving the Archangel, the Moebius Zero and Strike alone.

The Aegis is yet to retreat as its pilot, Athrun Zala, wishes to impart a few words on the fairly damaged Strike's pilot, Kira. This gives Miguel pause as he hovers a distance away and waits patiently for his comrade.

"Using a civilian as a hostage…" Athrun grinds through his teeth in anger. "Can your righteousness fight alongside these cowards, Kira?!"

"Athrun…" Kira trails.

"I'm going to save her!" Athrun declares with conviction. "You can count on it!"

With that, Athrun leaves, flying past Miguel's GINN as the latter flies alongside him. The ZAFT Green regards the Mobile Suit, his own's mooneye tilted the Aegis.

"We'll get her back, Athrun." Miguel assures his angered junior.

"I know we will, Miguel." Athrun responds. "We have to…"

As they both fly towards the Vesalius, Kira lets out a sigh of relief that he may live to see another day.

"That was close…" Kira mutters. "I need to get better if I'm gonna protect anyone!"

Archangel Bridge…

"Although we were able to avoid immediate danger…" Murrue begins as Natarle breathes a sigh of relief. "It doesn't change our current situation one bit."

"We can regroup during this time." Natarle declares. "I believe that to be the most important thing now."

"Yes, I know." Murrue agrees. "In any case, Miriallia, please have Kira grab the GINN weapons and ammo on the way back. We need to salvage something out of this tragedy…"

Sometime later. Archangel Hangar…

Kira has just exited the Strike after placing the Mobile Suit back in his birth. As ordered, he brought in the two Recoiless Rifles, the Custom Machine Gun, the three Heavy Swords and their assorted ammos. All of the weapons and ammo were placed in a container until they could find a more permanent home. With this, aside from all of the Strike's weapons, their extra armaments comprise of a standard GINN Machine Gun, a Sniper Rifle, a Custom Machine Gun, two Recoiless Rifles, three Heavy Swords and assorted ammo. While these collected armaments should bring a smile to the crew's face, they are still unsettled by the loss of the Advance Fleet and how hopeless the battle was. Some are even more unsettled by the actions they undertook to not be another piece of space debris.

After exiting the Mobile Suit, Kira is reunited with Cagalli.

"How you doing?" She asks with a clear tone of concern. "I heard you got roughed up by your old friend and that GINN Ace pretty badly."

"I'm doing ok." Kira assures her. "I'm more bothered by how that fight ended."

"I know." Cagalli nods. "Me too."

And with that, they both adopt solemn expressions before hearing the familiar jovial sound of Mu's voice as he talks with Murdoch about repairs to his Moebius Zero. Again, sharing a look of anger, they float over to the talking adults.

"What the hell was that?" Kira asks with an aggressive tone. Mu simply stares at them for a few seconds before moving to answer.

"There's not much to explain." Mu responds. "You heard for yourself what happened. That's all there is to it."

"Taking that girl from a hostage and threatening them?" Kira continues heatedly. "The Earth Forces, do they typically run from enemies like this?"

"Kira…" Cagalli cuts in. "While I don't agree with what they did, either, believe me, what was the alternative? You were about ready to be gunned down, La Flaga was drifting in space and those GINNs were closing in on the Archangel with nothing to stop them. No matter how bad it was, it meant that we are all still alive."

"She's right, Kid." Mu agrees. "We're fighting a losing war so we do have to sometimes resort to extreme measures. You know Murrue and you know that she wouldn't have gone along with it with a grinning face."

"But…" Kira trails. While he wants to continue his rant, deep inside, a part of him understands what they are saying and agrees with them.

Nazca-Class Vesalius…

Currently, the Nazca-Class is trailing after the Legged Ship while maintaining a safe distance lest they aggravate an already explosive situation.

On the bridge, Miguel Aiman, Athrun Zala and Fredrik Ades are all stood around the View-Screen while Rau is perched in chair a few yards away, a pensive expression clear on his face.

"While we can follow them, we can't do anything while they have Lacus." Ades summarises.

"And their next move is likely to join the Lunar Fleet." Rau remarks.

"Do we have no choice but to let them take Lacus to the Fleet before our eyes?" Ades asks in worry.

"What's the Gamow's position?" Rau queries. "How soon can it get here?"

"Sir." Miguel addresses Rau. "Do you hope that Yzak, Dearka and Nicol can head them off or something?" He asks which Rau nods.

"It's current position is six mark 509 Epsilon, zero comma three." Ades responds, regarding the view-screen for the afore-mentioned Laurasia-Class. "It'll take them seven hours to get here."

"They'll be joining the Fleet before then…" Rau trails. "This is a tough one."

"Even if they could reach them, they wouldn't be able to do anything because of Lacus." Miguel adds.

At this news, Athrun adopts a worried and concerned expression.

Archangel… Crew Quarters…

After the traumatic events that have unfolded, Flay entered a coma for a short period of time while Sai decided to stay at her side.

At this moment, Flay decides to finally awake from her coma. Momentarily dazed, the girl's eyes widen when she recalls the destruction of the Montgomery and death of her father, her eyes widen as she does so. She sits up in her bed and places her hands on her head, screaming at the top of her voice in terror as she does so, waking Sai as a result.

"Flay." Sai says calmly as he walks to her bedside to comfort her. She retracts her hands away to regard the boy with a fairly crazed look.

"Papa..." Flay starts, alerting Sai. "Papa… Where's Papa?!" Sai stays silent, turning away slightly in guilt before she grabs him and forces him to look at her. "Where's Papa's ship?" She asks. "Where's papa's ship?!"

"Flay!" Sai tries to calm her.

"What happened to it?!" She presses.

"Flay!" Sai repeats, struggling to form a solution.

"Answer me! No!" She cries.

At that moment, the door opens to reveal Miriallia stood there grasping three drink rations. The site of the distressed girl alerts her as she drops the drinks.

"Papa!" She cries again.

Due to the door being open, her cries are heard down the corridor. Coincidentally, Kira and Cagalli were sharing a conversation while walking down the corridor. As a result, they heard her cries and immediately sprinted to Flay's quarters.

"This isn't real! This isn't happening!" Flay continues to ramble. "It can't be!"

"Kira, Cagalli." Miriallia whispers to the duo, clearly aware that Kira is probably the worst person who could be here right now. Cagalli also had a nervous look due to the chance that this could turn murderous.

"Flay…" Kira addresses the girl, who goes silent for a second.

"Liar!" She yells at the boy, breaking from Sai's embrace to regard him, causing Kira to gasp worringly. "You said it was gonna be alright! You said so, because you'd be there!" At that, Kira looks away with a guilty expression. "Why didn't you protect Papa's ship?! Why didn't you kill them?!"

"Flay! Kira did his best!" Miriallia tries to admonish her.

"Because you're a Coordinator, too, you didn't fight seriously, did you?!" Flay accuses him.

Cagalli, who has been silently becoming more infuriated by the grieving girl's ramblings, has had enough. She grabs Kira by the arm and drags him out of the room. She takes him to one of the elevators and ascends to one of the higher levels. They now travel down the corridors, passing Kuzzey on the way and enter the observation platform. Once here, she essentially slams him into the window and looks at him with a stern expression.

"Don't let what she said get to you!" She scolds him sternly.

"Cagalli-" Kira starts in shock.

"She doesn't have a damn idea what it's like to sit in a cockpit and stare down an enemy who wants to kill you. Not like you and I do!" Cagalli continues, clearly referencing the event in the Mistral. "I saw the state of the Strike and you were lucky to save yourself, let alone anyone else!"

"But I couldn't save her Father…" Kira trails.

"But did you do your best out there? Did you fight like your life depended on it?" Cagalli asks. The boy doesn't answer so she grabs him by the colour and pins him against the glass. "Did you?!"

"Y-yes… But-"

"But nothing!" Cagalli cuts him off, "You're not a God, Kira! You can only do your best out there and, today, your best was keeping yourself alive! If there's something you're guilty of, it's making that stupid promise in the first place!"

"I…" Kira trails, seemingly understanding. All of a sudden, he's pulled into a hug by Cagalli, causing him to gasp a little

"PLEASE don't let what she said get to you. I know you did your best and you should be proud of that." Cagalli speaks in a comforting tone. "We can't ask for anything more…"

"O-Ok…" Kira answers, returning the hug.

"Oh my, am I interrupting something?" A voice calls from near them. They both break away from each other sporting embarrassed blushes to see Lacus Clyne stood near them, along with her Haro.

"Get a room! Get a room!" The robot sings.

Nazca-Class… Vesalius…

At the same moment, Rau Le Creuset has just finished with a well-needed washing, a towel obscuring his face as his mask lies on the desk next to a bottle of water and small box of pills. He's clad in a dressing gown. Broken out of his relaxation, the communicator on his desk beeps and he moves to answer it.

"What is it?" Rau asks.

"A message from Chairman Zala of the National Defence Committee." The messenger responds. "Shall I forward it?"

"No." Rau answers. "I'll listen to it on the bridge."

He ends the call and grabs the small box of pills.

"My, my." Rau trails as he swallows a single pill, placing the container back down as he does so. "What a big fuss over a single girl's life." He remarks as he takes a small gulp from the water. He then glances at his slightly shaking head before clenching his fist and walking away.

Archangel…

"How did you get here?" Kira asks with a confused tone.

"I was taking a stroll when I heard shouting coming from this direction." Lacus explains as Cagalli adopts a slightly embarrassed face.

"You shouldn't be walking on your own like this." Kira scolds her.

"You could get into trouble again and be locked in the brig." Cagalli adds. "They'd think you're trying to steal secrets or something."

"Oh?" Lacus asks as she floats over to them. "But Mr Pink here…"

"Haro." The Robot clarifies.

"… Loves to take walks." Lacus explains. "Or, in fact, if a door's locked, he will find some way to open it and go out." She explains, adopting a pensive expression as she does so.

"I won't accept that!" Haro adds.

"Regardless, you do KINDA need to go back to your Quarters." Cagalli explains. "Things are kinda tense now and everyone's a bit jumpy."

Lacus merely giggles at that and jumps away from them again.

"The fighting has come to an end, I see." Lacus remarks. Kira gasps a little before looking outside.

"Yes…" Kira trails. "Thanks to yo-" He starts to say before Cagalli nudges him in the ribs. He glances at her as she gives him a stern shake of the head.

"Yet you have a sad expression." Lacus remarks.

"I don't want to fight…" Kira trails.

"This guy's a Coordinator and one of those pilots he's been fighting is an old friend." Cagalli explains.

"Oh really? Which one?" Lacus asks with intrigue.

"Athrun… Athrun Zala…" Kira responds. "Who would've dreamed that he would have become the pilot of that Mobile Suit, the Aegis?"

At that moment, a hidden Kuzzey gasps from behind the corridor arch and sneaks away with this new information.

"Is that so?" Lacus asks as she approaches the duo again. "Both Athrun and you two are good people."

"Do you know Athrun?" Kira queries with intrigue.

"Athrun is the person I will eventually marry." Lacus declares, shocking the duo slightly. "He's a kind person, but very quiet." She explains as the small robot floats to her side to which she grabs it. "But he gave me this Haro."

"Haro, Haro!" The robot responds.

"I told him how much I enjoyed Haro and he gave me lots of them." Lacus explains with a gleeful tone.

"Sounds like a matched made in heaven." Cagalli remarks.

"I like to think so, too." Lacus responds.

"He hasn't changed a bit." Kira adds. "He made me Birdy, as well."

"Oh, is that so?" Lacus asks with a happy tone.

"Dammit!" The small machine mutters with irritation.

"But…" Kira trails, adopting a solemn expression which the two girls notice.

"It would be so nice if you two would no longer have to fight against each other." Lacus remarks.

"I think we would be happy if the fighting would stop completely." Cagalli interjects.

All three share a nod…

Archangel Mess Hall…

Tolle, Miriallia and Sai are all assembled in the Mess Hall reflecting on the latest incident surrounding Flay. At this moment, Kuzzey decides to enter.

"I understand how Flay feels," Miriallia agrees. "But that was going too far."

"Because you're a Coordinator, too, you didn't fight seriously, did you?" Sai recites Flay's words with a sombre tone.

"There's no way that's true! Kira's fighting the best he can all the time!" Tolle denies the statement heatedly.

"Yes." Miriallia agrees.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting that!" Sai assures them. "Those of us on the bridge see how hard it is to battle in a Mobile Suit. Especially last battle. He barely survived…"

"You really think so…?" Kuzzey asks sceptically, alerting the trio.

"What's the matter, Kuzzey?" Tolle asks.

"That Mobile Suit that was taken, the Aegis." Kuzzey begins to explain. "I hear the person piloting that thing is an old friend of Kira's."

"What?" Tolle responds with confusion, gasps can be heard from Sai and Miriallia.

"I overheard him talking to Cagalli and that Coordinator Girl." Kuzzey explains. "He says the pilot was a close friend."

Some time later… Kira's quarters…

Kira is sat quietly on his bed, reminiscing about the day's events. Birdy is perched on his shoulder.

"Birdy, birdy, birdy?" The small robot asks with a concerned tone, leaning in closer. Kira grabs the robot by his finger and regards it, recalling Lacus telling him about her relation to Athrun.

"This just plain isn't right!" Kira mutters before pulling himself out of bed and heading towards the door, the robotic bird taking flight as a result.

A few minutes later, Lacus is sleeping peacefully in her bed until the door opens.

"Haro, no problem, no problem." The small robot addresses the intruder, flapping its winds joyfully.

"Shh, Haro…" the intruder assures the robot. Unfortunately, the singing robot wakes the sleeping girl.

"What is it, Haro?" Lacus asks while she rubs her eyes.

"Dammit!" The robot remarks at their failed attempt to keep quiet.

"Huh, Mr Kira?" Lacus asks with confusion. "What's the matter?"

Kira adopts a "Shush" emote at the young girl.

"Please don't say anything and come with me." Kira commands. "Be very quiet."

After getting changed, he guides the girl down the corridor towards the Mobile Suit hangar trying his darndest not to awake anyone which would be very troublesome. Soon enough, however, he reaches a road block as he notices his friends, Miriallia and Sai, leaving someone's quarters. Rather hastily, he hides the songstress behind one of the arches and places himself in front of her, adopting a nervous smile.

"Kira?" Sai notices him.

Unfortunately, his ruse fails as Lacus, herself, leans out in complete display for them with a confused expression.

"No problem!" Haro cries. Both friends regard the scene with confused expressions. They walk towards the trio with confusion. "Let's do this!" The robot cries, causing Kira to frown at the duo's stupidity.

"What are you doing, Kira?" Sai asks with a cautious tone.

"Please pretend you didn't see anything." Kira begs. "I don't want to involve you guys. But I can't stand this situation!"

There's a tense silence for a few seconds before Sai answers.

"Well, keeping a girl hostage is something that bad guys do." Sai remarks. "I'll help!"

"Sai!"

A few minutes later… Archangel Hangar…

After an awkward moment in the Locker Room, Kira manages to slip into his Normal Suit along with Lacus and the group make their way down to the Hangar and to the Strike. After seeing the coast being clear, Kira and Lacus make a break for the Strike's hatch. Kira moves to open it, but a voice stops them.

"And what do we have here?" A familiar female calls out. They all turn to see Cagalli stood on the catwalk out of seeming nowhere. How did they not notice her.

"Cagalli…" Kira mutters in worry.

"Looks to me like you're mounting an escape for our resident celebrity." She mutters, tapping her foot with her arms crossed.

"Please don't stop me." Kira asks with a pleading tone.

"Stop you?" Cagalli repeats. "Stop you doing what? I don't see anything, but the pilot running a diagnostic on his Mobile Suit."

Kira breathes a sigh of relief before smiling at Cagalli and clambering inside the Mobile Suit, Lacus following suit.

"Thank you." She says.

"Don't mention it." Cagalli responds before moving out of the way.

"Kira…" Sai begins. "You'll be returning, right?" Sai asks worriedly. Before he can get an answer, however, the lower entrance opens and Murdock steps through.

"Oi, what are you all doing?" Murdock yells at the group.

"You will come back here, back to us, won't you?" Sai asks with a concerned tone.

"Of course I will." Kira answers before closing the hatch. The three then float away to avoid the Mobile Suit's movement.

"You best do!" Sai reiterates.

"Please move away!" Kira commands over the Intercom. "I'm opening the hatch!"

"I believe you will!" Sai cries.

"Of course he will!" Cagalli assures him. "You'll never find a guy more loyal to his friends than Kira!"

"That's what I'm worried about…"

The alarms ring out on the bridge as Murrue regards her communication officers.

"What's going on?" She queries.

The hatch opens and the Linear Catapult is deployed.

"Strike!" Natarle commands over the communicator. "What are you doing, Kira Yamato?!" She gets her answer when Mu La Flaga appears on-screen.

"The kid's taking the girl out!" Mu explains to the enraged Combat Officer. "It's too late! The airlock's already been opened!"

"W-what?!" Natarle exclaims as the assembled bridge crew gasps in confusion.

At that moment, the Aile Pack is mounted onto the Strike as it prepares to launch.

"We're going, please hold on tight!" Kira commands Lacus.

"You too!" Haro responds.

The Strike then takes off from the Catapult, detaching its power cable, folding its wings out and activating its Phase Shift as it goes.

Elsewhere… Vesalius…

"We've confirmed a Mobile Suit launching from the Legged Ship!" The Communication Officer explains to Ades and Rau, causing the former to gasp with confusion and the latter to look on with intrigue.

At this alert, there is pandemonium in the hangar as the pilots hurriedly mount their Mobile Suits while the mechanics hurriedly arm them.

Miguel and Athrun, unsurprisingly, were the first to reach their Mobile Suits in preparation to sortie.

The Strike continues to fly towards the Vesalius as it sends a communication towards the battleship.

"This is the Mobile Suit Strike of the Alliance Ship Archangel!" Kira announces himself. "I am bringing Lacus Clyne to you!" His words cease the preparations of Miguel and Athrun and surprise the Captain. "In exchange, I demand that the Nazca-Class halt! I will hand her over on the condition that we are met by the pilot of the Aegis alone!" At that moment, there is just as much a tense atmosphere on-board the Archangel as Mu embarks his Moebius Zero to follow after the youth. "Should this condition be breached, I cannot guarantee her safety!" Lacus gasps a little at the final statement.

"What's the legged ship up to?" Fredrik asks with confusion.

"Commander!" Athrun suddenly addresses Rau over the Communicator. "Allow me to go!"

"We still don't know what the enemy's intentions are!" Fredrik counters. "We don't even know if he really has Lacus in there."

"Commander!"

There's a tense silence on the bridge for a few seconds before Rau smirks.

"All right." Rau confirms. "I authorize it."

"Thank you, sir!" Athrun says before cutting communications.

"Are you sure about this?" Fredrik asks with caution.

"This can also be seen as a chance for us." Rau explains with a confident smirk. "I imagine that that pilot is very young…" Rau trails, confusing Ades. "Stop the ship and prepare my CGUE for takeoff, Ades. Also, keep Miguel on standby and ready to launch." He commands before moving to the ship elevator.

At that moment, the Aegis takes off from the Nazca-Class.

"Captain! He's done that on his own and without authorization!" Natarle explains to Murrue as they both watch tensely from the Archangel bridge. "We should attack!"

"If we did that, the Strike would attack us this time!" Mu counters, causing Natarle to gasp. "Probably." He adds before winking, causing Murrue to smile slightly.

"The Nazca-Class has cut its engines!" Romero informs Murrue. "Braking Jets!"

"Aegis approaching!" Jackie also informs Murrue.

Kira is also aware of this as the Aegis is now visible on his view-screen, causing Kira to make a nervous grunt.

Soon enough, the Aegis is close enough as it uses its side skirt thrusters to manoeuvre to a halt. In response, the Strike raises its Beam Rifle in warning at the Mobile Suit. There's a drawn silence that lasts for a considerable time before Kira finally asks the begging question over the communicator:

"Athrun… Zala…?" He asks.

"That's right." He answers sternly.

"Open your cockpit!" Kira demands. He does so and the Aegis hatch folds open to reveal the ZAFT Red and Kira responds in kind. "Say something!" Kira tells Lacus which confuses her. "He can't see your face. He needs to know that it's you." He explains.

"Oh, I understand." Lacus confirms which surprises Athrun slightly at the familiar voice. "Hello, Athrun, it's nice to see you." Lacus addresses her fiancé, waving as she does so.

"Confirmed." Athrun responds with a relieved smile.

"Then take her with you!" Kira commands. Athrun follows suit by unfastening his harness and stepping out onto the hatch's small platform. "Now go." Kira tells Lacus as he gently pushes her out of his own cockpit towards Athrun. As she makes her way to Athrun, Kira adopts his own relieved smile. Soon enough she reaches him and he pulls her onto the platform, he momentarily regards the large bump in her Normal Suit with worry.

"Thank you for everything, Kira." She addresses the other pilot. "And you too, Athrun." He bows a little before they both look towards the youth sitting in the Enemy Mobile Suit, its Rifle still pointed at them, Kira still smiling in relief.

"Kira! You come too!" Athrun addresses his old friend with an urgent tone, causing Kira to gasp. "There's no reason why you should stay with the Earth Forces.

"Believe me, I don't want to fight you." Kira assures him with a sorrowful tone as the image of all of his friends flashes across his mind. "But aboard that ship are people I want to protect. My friends are on that ship!" He declares as the Strike slowly starts to drift away.

Athrun stays silent for a few seconds before a sorrowful expression adorns his own features as they simply stare knowingly at one another.

"Then I have no choice." Athrun begins to say, shaking slightly. "The next time we fight, I will beat you!"

"The same goes for me!" Kira responds with a sad tone as he closes the hatch and drifts further away, still pointing the Rifle at the Aegis. Eventually, he drifts far enough to lower his rifle.

Nazca-Class…

"The Mobile Suit has started to move away!" Ades informs his compatriot, Rau, who waits patiently in his CGUE.

"Start engines, Ades!" Rau commands as the Linear Catapult beeps into life, sending his CGUE out of the Nazca-Class and onto the battlefield. Soon enough, Miguel's GINN follows suit.

"Can't believe we had to wait for all this mushy stuff to end." Miguel mutters.

"Mobile Suits launching from the Nazca-Class!" Jackie relays, causing Natarle to grunt in surprise.

"The Nazca-Class started its engines." Romero confirms.

"I knew this would happen!" Mu grinds through his teeth as his Moebius launches.

Both Mobile Suits and the Mobile Armour approach the idle X-Numbers from either side of the battlefield.

"Commander, Miguel?" Athrun asks with shock and confusion.

"Athrun, return to the ship with Miss Lacus!" Rau commands his subordinate.

"The deal's been made, so let's get back to normal business!" Miguel adds.

"Lieutenant La Flaga?" Kira asks with equal shock and confusion.

"Did you really believe they'd just sit back and watch?" Mu asks rhetorically.

At these words, both Kira and Athrun grunt in annoyance at the developing situation. Soon enough, Miguel's GINN and the CGUE race past the Aegis, alerting Lacus who leans towards the Communicator.

"Lacus, you could hurt yourself!" Athrun tries to dissuade her, but she reaches for the communicator and presses it before sitting back up.

"Commander Rau Le Creuset!" She addresses the CGUE pilot. "Please stop this at once! Stop it at once! Are you trying to turn this location into a battlefield when there is a representative of the memorial delegation here?"

"Why at a time like this?!" Rau thinks to himself while grunting in annoyance.

"I will not allow it!" She commands. "Stop your combat operations at once! Can you not hear me!"

"What a troublesome young lady." Rau mutters under his breath. "Roger that, Lacus Clyne!"

"Captain!" Miguel addresses his leader in annoyance. "Why should we obey her? She doesn't have even have rank, for Christ's sake!"

"Did you forgot who her father is?" Rau counters, stunning Miguel. "Or would you prefer that she runs to dear daddy, tells on us like a schoolchild and we're landed in a spot of bother possibly leading to demotion or Court Martial?"

"No, sir…" Miguel agrees.

"Then retreat from the battlefield." He repeats. "I don't find it particularly pleasant to take orders from an over-privileged girl like her, either."

"Yes, sir!"

And with that, both GINN and CGUE turn around and fly alongside the retreating Aegis. Miguel watches the Mobile Suit with a look of frustration and annoyance while Athrun stares at Lacus in awe while she simply smiles.

On the other side, Kira simply hovers there in wonder as Mu stops alongside him.

"I don't really know what just happened." Mu agrees. "But we're retreating as well."

"Right…" Kira responds as they both turn around and head back towards the Archangel. On his view-screen, Kira watches the enemy trio leave.

"What's the matter?" Mu asks at Kira's silence.

"Nothing…" Kira trails as tears begin to fall from his eyes.

Elsewhere, within the depths of the Archangel, a certain red-head sits straight up in her bed, a hollow look within her eyes.

"I won't let things remain like this…"

God, I hated writing this chapter due to the copious amount of Lacus and Flay and how little I can actually manipulate. Sorry that I had to come back with such an underwhelming chapter.

On a brighter note, hope you appreciate the little dig at Lacus and her stupidity when Miguel and Rau are speaking at the end. I just couldn't resist throwing that in!

Anyway, I hope that this chapter satisfied you!

R-0 o-

Oh wait, my Christmas gift to my readers. Some of you have been complaining about Cagalli's lack of doing anything up to this point so here's a little teaser as a Christmas Gift. If the writing is a little shoddy, do not worry as it will be better when this eventually comes whenever it does (My only clue is that it is within 10 episodes). If you don't want to have spoilers, then you don't need to read it, but those who do, please enjoy and don't blatantly say it in the comments if you figure it out as it may ruin the surprise for others!

R-0 out!

"He's not doing anything!" Miriallia cries. "The Strike refuses to move! It's just taking every attack!"

"Get Kira on the line!" Murrue commands, trying to salvage the situation.

"I've been trying, but nothing's working! The communicator's open, but he's not responding!"

"Dammit!" Natarle grunts in annoyance.

"Why did I let him go?! Why did I let him go?!" Cagalli screams in the recesses of her mind as she hovers in the hangar as news of the Strike's lack of action is causing panic. "I could have stopped this! What do I do?!" She clenches her chest in worry. "I don't want him to die…!"

Suddenly, she feels the solid object underneath her tank top still wrapped around her neck. She pulls it out and regards the small device. Suddenly, a look of clarity passes her features as her face becomes steely and she looks towards the only remaining Mobile Suit in the Hangar before taking off in a sprint…