Author's note: The end of something marks the beginning of another. The end of Gundam Seed marks the start of Gundam Seed Destiny. 17 votes and 6 reviews... I ended up deciding to post the sequel. As usual I own only my OCs and related ideas and the rest is to be credited back to their rightful owners...

A little warning though: during this sequel, I intend to try making a few original chapters (like 2 or 3 or 4, I'll see) I have some ideas at least and I hope I'll be able to pull it off. You'll also notice that I will use parts/ideas from the manga Gundam Seed Destiny The Edge. Sometimes two episodes will be combined into one... There will be various modifications, so updates will certainly be a bit slower at times. All in all, although I WILL follow the original anime, it won't be as closely as I did with Gundam Seed. Don't fear too much though, those modifitations should only affect about 15% of the work. Also there's a possibility some of you might find this sequel a bit more OC-centric... or not. I don't know. I can't judge that sort of things well. And everyone has their own taste too.

In any case, here it is!


Phase-01: Trigger

C.E. 71, June 15.

The Earth Forces attacked Onogoro Island of the Orb Union in order to obtain their technologies and mass driver. This battle was also to serve as a testing ground for the GAT-X131 Calamity, the GAT-X252 Forbidden, and the GAT-X370 Raider, as well as the mass-produced mobile suits of each side, Orb's M1-Astrays, and the Earth Forces' Strike Daggers and Star Blasters. Orb was also defended by the Archangel, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, and the ZGMF-X08A Independence.

However, even though the battle was already raging, the civilians had not yet fully evacuated. There was a small port where many refugees were already waiting to board a ship. Since it was a distance away from any structure, military or not, it was meant to be safe, although the island was small and the fighting was dangerously close. A family was running through the forest, trying to reach that little harbor. The parents were leading the way, the mother was pulling her nine-year-old daughter Mayu by the hand, and the son, Shinn, 14, was closing the line. They were panting. When they stopped to recover their breath, the ground shook. The son and mother worriedly turned to the father who reassured them. The targets were surely the military facilities. They started running again. The M1 Astrays and the artillery defended against another wave of missiles. Shinn looked at them through the gaps between the trees. Strike Daggers started landing. The Independence took some down before being attacked by the Forbidden.

A moment later, the family had to crouch down to avoid being taken down by the Raider as it flew by just above their heads, heedless of their presence, with the Calamity riding on its back. The women screamed. The strong gust of wind died down. They looked up to see the blue/green unit decimating the Orb machines with its bazookas and chest-mounted cannon. The blast from the explosions blew a hot wind full of debris towards them. The civilians huddled together, screaming. The Calamity landed close by and began shooting at the Freedom that retaliated. The Asukas stood up and fled this dangerous area... just as one of the Freedom's beams hit the place the X131 had been only a second ago. Shinn looked back at the light and felt the burning air. His mom was dragging his sister and telling her to hurry when Mayu's cell phone fell off her bag and tumbled far down the slope. She tried to reach out. She wouldn't budge even when her mother pulled her.

"Nevermind that!" The woman yelled urgently.

"Noo!" The petulant little one whined unreasonably as she attempted to loosen her parent's grip on her wrist. Since it was so important to her and there was no time to argue, her onii-chan decided to go get it. He jumped and skidded down the slope to the phone at the base of a tree. But just as he knelt down to pick it up, the Freedom and Calamity fired at each other. There was a huge explosion on the trail. He was blown away, down the incline, and landed on the concrete, the pink phone in hand.

"Send them a signal! That this is a refugee vessel!" A soldier shouted. An officer hurried to the fallen boy who was waking up. Large rocks, earth and trees had tumbled down along with him. There was smoke and fire too. Commander Todaka helped him up and tried to lead him to the ship but suddenly, the teen recalled his family as his muddled mind cleared.

"Where's dad? And mom? Where's Mayu?" Shinn took a few wobbly steps in their direction but when he looked up, everything had been blown away, leaving a large, deep, and scorching scar in the earth. He looked down and spotted his sister's arm. The teen yelled her name and rushed... only to see that it was only her arm that had been torn off from her body. Her bag was lying not far... and a little further away, beyond the flames, was the rest of her mutilated remains. Then his reddish brown eyes fell on the dislocated corpse of his mother in a puddle of blood... and on the body of his father, crushed between a tree and a boulder, his blood flowing down the rock. He gripped his sister's memento. He had lost everyone. He was all alone. It hurt so much he couldn't breathe. Shinn sank on his knees and reached out to Mayu's severed arm but didn't have the strength to touch it and withdrew his hand he curled into a fist. Shaking, moaning, sobbing uncontrollably, overcome with grief and despair, he couldn't even move, he couldn't do anything but cry. But he couldn't stay there mourning forever. Todaka tried to call out to him when again, the Calamity and Raider passed over them in a strong gust of wind.

Shinn turned to them. With hateful eyes thirsting for vengeance, he glared at the Freedom, the Independence, the Forbidden, the Calamity and the Raider fighting in the sky. It was their fault... because they were fighting, they had involved innocent people... And he howled at the sky full of rage and agony.


C.E. 72. The war between the Earth and the PLANTs that lasted for one and a half years finally came to an end following the battle of Jachin Due. On March 10th, the two sides drew up a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven, a place of unprecedented tragedy. The treaty outlined the intentions of both sides to gain a greater understanding of the other, and promised every effort to maintain peace. As such, the world was on a path back to stability. The main points were:

The restoration of all national boundaries on Earth to how they were before the war... both the Orb Union and the United States of South America, which were seized by the Alliance, regained their independence. Also ZAFT had to leave the areas conquered during the war but were allowed to still run the Gibraltar and the Carpentaria Base on Earth.

Orb was forbidden to transfer any military technology either in weapon shipments or aid to either the Alliance or ZAFT.

Nuclear technologies were prohibited from military use.

The use of Mirage Colloid was banned.

The Lindemann Plan (proposed by Foreign Minister Lindemann of the Kingdom of Scandinavia) whose purpose was to place strict limits on the number of battleships, mobile suits, and mobile armors that could be owned by either nation. The armament limits imposed on each nation by the Lindemann Plan being proportional to national resources, such as population and economic output, placed the PLANTs at a substantial military disadvantage.


C.E 73, October 2nd

A civilian ship entered the port of a newly established PLANT at L4, Armory One. Inside, among the many passengers, were Cagalli Yula Athha, Seren Elvira Ledford, and Athrun Zala, or rather, Alex Dino. Considering former Chairman Zala's son's very delicate situation at the end of the war, a conclusion had been reached that it would be better for him to use a pseudonym. This way, he could enjoy a relatively peaceful time without having to face people's questions, expectations or reproaches. The military facilities were bustling... as expected since the next day would see the launching ceremony of the first new model battleship built since the Junius Seven Treaty had been signed. Some GINNs were to be equipped with ceremonial attachments in certain hangars, others would be used as guards, other models had to be moved...

Vino Dupre, a sixteen-year-old boy with blue eyes, brown hair with an orange patch at the front and wearing the green outfit of the engineers was driving a jeep between the buildings and mobile suits. On the passenger seat was a girl one year older than him, with short red-violet hair and indigo eyes. She was dressed in a customized version of the Red Coat of the elites. The jacket only reached down the hips, and a pink mini-skirt had replaced the red pants. She wore the standard white boots and thigh-high black socks. Their jeep almost crashed against the foot of a walking GINN though. However, Vino was a skilled driver and he zigzagged between the robot's feet. Lunamaria Hawke complained it was all one big mess. Her younger friend said it couldn't be helped as it had been a while since something like this had happened, and it was a first for many guys like them. But with this, the Minerva was finally going to launch. He wondered whether they were going to be assigned to lunar orbit as rumored.

A helicopter landed before six officers. A man with long wavy black hair disembarked. All the people present saluted. A teenage boy in the red elite uniform with blue eyes and blonde hair down to his shoulders rushed in and stopped between a tank and a jeep to see that person walking down the aisle.

"I understand their position on this. But Blue Cosmos is a principle rather than a true organization, right?" The official spoke before he spotted the blonde Rey Za Burrel, who was saluting, and nodded to him with a small smile. "We can work on stricter enforcement of the Treaty but it won't eliminate terrorists." The Red Coat returned to his duties with a grave expression. As the black-haired man entered the building, he was hailed by another officer.

"Chairman, the Orb princess and ambassadress have arrived." He notified the new Chairman of the PLANTs Supreme Council, Gilbert Durandal, who frowned slightly before a resigned smile curved his lips.

"Oh boy, they're awfully busy people..."

Cagalli, Seren and Athrun were floating in a shaft, along with the other passengers who had disembarked. The princess was dressed in the standard purple suit of the Orb Representatives. Ledford was wearing an open light beige blazer jacket over an asymmetrical crossover black top, beige pants, and simple beige pumps with low block heels. Chacha, her robotic flying squirrel, climbed from her pocket of her jacket up onto her shoulder. Athrun had black pants, a green turtleneck sweater, and a short black jacket with white cuffs and a white high collar. He also sported sunglasses. He looked at the time and questioned the girls' attire. They had at least brought dresses, right?

"It doesn't matter what I wear. This'll do, won't it?" Orb's head of state grumbled.

"Of course it'll be fine. You dressed according to your function and it's also easier to move around. And this is an unofficial visit. It's not like we're going to a party or something." Her female aide, bodyguard and proxy agreed. The boy sighed. Even though their new office as leader and ambassadress had forced them to grow more mindful of them, those two's dislike of image and decorum was as strong as ever and they took advantage of the slightest opportunity to bypass them. It was always his role to chide them when they were going too far and remind them of their position and what was expected of them... although it was often difficult as he was in minority, Seren usually ended up listening to reason and folded after a time and they would both convince Cagalli.

"It's important to do a little acting at times. You understand, don't you? There's no use to put on airs like idiots, but at the same time, you don't want to be taken too lightly. Although this is an unofficial visit, you two are still the current leader of Orb and that nation's ambassadress." He scolded them in a low voice. The women kept quiet but looked irritated. They knew that already. Because of their youth, their lack of charisma and experience in politics, their idealism, their straightforwardness and rigidity, their interlocutors, regarding them as naïve children, tended to either humor or ignore them, and often attempted to intimidate and manipulate them.

Then they heard the civilians talking about that new ship. A little child wondered whether it was a warship or a carrier. A woman believed it was necessary after all. A man agreed they had to show it off to those damn Naturals. Two years after the end of the war, there was still so much resentment. The scars were deep after all. Athrun and Seren spotted three youngsters about their age, maybe a bit younger in the waiting area: two boys, one with blue hair and one with light green hair, and a girl with chin-length blonde hair and a blue dress. She turned towards them and their eyes met. The two Coordinators kept looking back at her for a time.

Cagalli was sitting in the elevator, Seren was standing next to her and Alex a little farther away, his arms behind his back. The princess addressed their two escorts, high ranked officers in purple uniforms.

"Tomorrow's ceremony marks the launching of the first ship of a new model since the war ended. You're well aware of what we're here to talk about so it baffles me as to why they'd have a ceremony on such a day and in such a location." She spoke with a note of reproof. The officers glanced at each other, disconcerted.

"Representative Athha, we're the ones who requested to see them on such short notice. I believe the Chairman suggested meeting here rather than the PLANTs homeland so that we could keep a low profile, and the Chairman is also very busy as Blue Cosmos has been acting up again." Ledford reminded her.

Some time later, they arrived at an office where the Chairman was waiting for them. The three officials greeted each other and shook hands. Chacha had been placed again in a pocket. Then Durandal and Athrun nodded at each other and the PLANT's leader offered the women a seat. The Chairman inquired about the situation in Orb. He understood that many problems had been resolved since the princess took over. As an ally he was glad that things went well on her side and claimed to be envious of her achievements.

"There are still a lot more that needs to be done."

"And under those circumstances, what could be so urgent that you'd come here unannounced and so suddenly?" The black-haired man probed. "Your ambassadress told me that you wish to discuss quite a complex issue..." He nodded at Seren before turning back to Cagalli. Seren kept quiet. She understood his position, but she had also warned him that if he kept refusing to make it clearer, he would this time receive the visit of her superior. And that was exactly what had happened.

"I don't see it as something that complicated. However, so far I have yet to receive a clear response from your nation regarding this issue... which begs the question: is it truly complex? Our nation has requested again and again that you stop putting to military use the technology and human resources that have come your way since the Orb battle. So why haven't we received a response to our request until now?" The female Head of state questioned accusingly. She needed firmness and strength to prove she meant business and was not to be taken lightly, but many were taken aback by the aggressiveness in her voice although none said anything.

The two boys and the girl from the spaceport were now walking in town but then the girl stopped before a clothes shop, taken by her own reflection in the glass. She twirled once and stared at the skirt of her dress as it settled. Her blue-haired companion wondered what she was doing. The older one guessed she was just acting like a fool in a merry mood and advised him to behave like an idiot too. The boys walked away, leaving her alone. The blonde miss continued staring at her reflection before smiling and giggling and twirling around, dancing with the expression of a happy, innocent child. She didn't remark the boy coming out of a corner and bumped into him. He dropped his bag, caught her so she wouldn't fall and asked if she was alright... failing to notice that he had actually grabbed her breasts. She turned, wondering who it was, and saw a stranger. It was Shinn. The girl fiercely glared at him, shoved him and ran away angrily.

"You grabbed her chest, didn't you?" Shinn's dark-skinned, dark-haired and blue-eyed friend teased him, making him blush in embarrassment.

"Eh?" Asuka exclaimed, all panicky, looking at his guilty hands and finally realizing what he had done, and turning back to his comrade.

"You lucky pervert." 16-year-old mechanic Yolan Kent, currently in civilian clothes, walked away, grinning.

"That's not it- hey! Come on! Yolan!" Shinn desperately called and ran after him after having picked his bag. He didn't want to be misunderstood like this. His sister's pink cell phone was in a pocket of his top.

The PLANTs' Supreme Council Chairman had taken his guests on a visit on the facilities. They were walking between the hangars and mobile suits on maintenance. He complimented the courageous princess who had fought on the frontlines as a mobile suit pilot. She was also the successor of Lord Uzumi Nara Athha, Orb's leader who refused to succumb to pressure and stayed true to his belief in an ideal nation. But then, he questioned how they should act given the current state of the world. Surely, she knew the answer to that very well... Athrun and Seren sensed a trick question but remained quiet. They all stopped before a hangar.

"We will protect and maintain the ideals of our nation. That's all." The Orb leader replied.

"'We will not invade another nation, will not allow another nation to invade us, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations.'"

"That's right."

"Of course, we believe the same as well. If that were possible, it would be best. However, without power, that just isn't possible. Without power, we can't protect what we must protect. I'm sure, Princess, that you would also-, no, that you're the one who has a better understanding of that fact." Durandal pointed out, reminding Cagalli how Orb had helped develop those six GAT units, the Strike, the Blast, the Aegis, the Duel, the Buster, and the Blitz to gain data and feedback, allowing the country to mass produce the M1 Astrays in order to protect itself against attackers... and yet, because the nation still lacked power, it had been invaded by the Earth Alliance in that battle that saw the death of her own father... as well as Seren's father... Seren looked down and Athrun glanced at her. Right, in that very battle too, she had told him the same... "I can't protect them if I don't fight." And to fight, you needed power... greater than that of the other side. "That's why Orb also maintains full military facilities, am I right?"

"Will you stop calling me 'princess'?" Athha requested. From her tone and pause before answering, that blow had clearly upset her and she was trying to hide it. And it was the same for Seren, although only Athrun could see it as he was always carefully watching her, and he knew her well. He observed the women's reactions to that person's words and listened to their debate of convictions. Durandal was right. They could not deny it. But also, they could not completely approve. So Cagalli had slightly changed the subject. She was not a sheltered and genteel lady, a 'princess' to be humored with a 'king' above her... but a Head of State, the same as him.

"Please excuse-me, Representative Athha." The Chairman bowed a little and they started walking again. "However, I have to wonder... what are you so afraid of? Pressure from the Atlantic Federation? Perhaps they'd accuse Orb of providing us with military aid in breach of the Treaty Agreement?" He suggested. And again Cagalli reacted, gasping almost inaudibly, and turning to him. Seren clenched her fists. That man was truly exceptionally sharp and perceptive. She recalled having attended a meeting between Cagalli and other Orb officials and executives of the Atlantic Federation... and whose content had just been correctly guessed by the PLANTs' leader. "But of course, there's no evidence to back that up. Although it is a fact that after Orb's defensive battle, we warmly welcomed refugees from Orb as fellow countrymen, and I should think that it can't be helped if these people took advantage of their technical skills to make a living here."

Right... it could not be helped... Seren could understand that, those people were now citizens of the PLANTs, they had to work like everyone... She also understood that Coordinators could start to feel that the only place that could ever truly accept them was the PLANTs... because the Earth Forces kept cornering them wherever they went... She had tried to reason the same way before the Earth Alliance executives, but they had not listened. It was a fact that those refugees came from Orb, and that for a number of them, their skills were put to military use. After all, the possibility also existed that aid was sent to the PLANTs under the disguise of being refugees... Actions that could lead to misunderstandings had to be avoided. But again, she didn't meet any success. Those who refuse to understand, those who just cannot understand, those who understand but still cannot accept or do something, those who fail to properly convey their words and feelings... The strength required to overcome that was completely different from the strength required to fight on the frontline. It was a strength that she still lacked... But in order to stop future battles, in order to prevent more blood from being shed...

A military jeep had picked the three teenagers a little outside the city and brought them a hangar. The children and two soldiers opened the door and entered stealthily. They took weapons from a bag, automatic rifles, plus a combat knife for the girl. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she looked at the blade.

"However! Too much power will lead to another conflict!" Cagalli argued vehemently, with a note of despair, stepping forth and blocking her senior's path. They had experienced that first hand too. Craving for a stronger power, Orb had helped create those six GAT units and the Archangel, because those existed, Heliopolis had been destroyed. They saw the weapons growing more and more powerful on both sides, until even something like GENESIS came to be. The scars left by everything they had lost then had become a conviction etched into their hearts: that vicious cycle they had finally managed to break after so much pain and so many sacrifices must be never be allowed to regenerate and start spinning again. That was the conclusion they had come to. She was so intense though that the soldiers guarding the Chairman put a hand on their guns.

"No, princess. Power is necessary because there will always be conflict." Chairman Durandal calmly asserted.

"Those are the words of one who has given up on change and people. Aren't you the one who's afraid and lacks the courage to believe?" Seren remarked.

"However, you should be aware of how deep fear and resentment run. The mistrust born from that cannot be ignored, right? The vast majority of people are neither brave nor strong. That is why they betray each other."

"Of course, I'm not speaking about blind trust. We must not avert our eyes from reality. But we should be aware that betrayal is not the end. Even if you're betrayed, if you keep believing something in the other might change. You may regard us as naïve idealists, but we want to believe. That said, it's true that our power alone cannot do much. We're still in the learning stages. That's why we hoped you could lend us your strength and wisdom... in order to turn that ideal into reality. Because will alone is not enough, and neither is strength alone." Seren looked straight at the Chairman.

The three youths came out of their hiding place and started shooting, dispatching all the surprised soldiers in an instant. The blue-haired one demonstrated his dual-wielding. The girl howled as she landed in the middle of an enemy group, fired, avoided the bullets, and slashed. And among the people they shot down, there were also two pilots in red suits. The last guy, more attentive, warned Auel of the enemies above him. The boy with blue hair shot behind him, upward, and without even looking, effectively killed the two soldiers. Auel Neider was particularly skilled with firearms. The older teen threw a hand grenade, finishing what remained of the opposition. Then they discarded their weapons, and each jumped onto a machine and hopped down into the cockpit. They activated their units. Sting Oakley asked his comrades how it was on their side. They were all good too. The information had been accurate.

"Starting quantum catalysis, power flow satisfactory."

"All armor active, all weapons accessible."

"System operating on - combat status -."

The three machines rose. The cables disconnected. The boys were grinning. They finished reprogramming the OS of their mobile suits and the phase shift armor activated. However, a soldier had survived. He raised himself and slammed his fist on the alarm button as the stolen units headed out. The warning siren rang in the base, shocking everyone. It came from hangar six! Beams blasted the door of the said hangar from the inside... as well as the GINNs standing before the opposite hangar, and a number of cars... and people. Four soldiers protected the Chairman when the wind and smoke reached them. Athrun and Seren pushed Cagalli behind a vehicle and covered her.

"Chaos! Gaia! Abyss!" A mechanic exclaimed, stunned, while everyone else was scurrying around.

"First, destroy the hangars! Or mobile suits will come out!" The leader of the thieves ordered. Auel told Stella to go left. They separated. The black ZGMF-88S Gaia gundam piloted by Stella transformed into a mobile armor very similar to the four-legged BuCUE. It clearly specialized in ground combat and was made to perform on difficult and irregular terrain. Its custom high energy beam rifle, normally stored on the skirt, had moved to the flank of the 'animal' and was firing away. Auel's blue ZGMF-X31S Abyss used the M68 dual cannons located on the lower end of the shoulder-mounted binders. Given the long stream-lined shape of these binders, that MS could certainly transform into a MA designed for underwater combat. The green ZGMF-X24S Chaos was sniping enemies with his own custom rifle. Pilots hurried into their units to face those three new models that had been taken over.

Durandal, Cagalli and their followers stood up. The Chairman was shocked. But what had caught the two girls' attention was 'new models'. Then, amidst the smoke and knocked vehicles, they saw the Abyss shooting into a hangar with its chest-mounted "Callidus" multi-phase beam cannon. That was... a gundam! The Chaos bombed more buildings with the "Firefly" guided missiles from his mobile weapon pods. Lunamaria and Rey dashed to the hangar where their ZAKUs were kept but stopped and got down when a missile hit the GINN at the entrance and the blast knocked back the units inside and buried them under the debris. Rey, who had covered his female comrade, was first to sit up and glare at the wrecked hangar. The Chairman ordered one of his soldiers to take the princess to a shelter. The military man placed a hand on her shoulder and asked the Orb party to follow him. However, Cagalli was still absorbed by the gundams and her friends had to grab her and pull her away. Seren understood her feelings but her topmost priority was to put her sister and head of state to safety.

"We've gotta stop them no matter what! Contact the Minerva and ask for their assistance!" The Chairman commanded. The female captain of the Minerva - the new model battleship that was to be launched at the ceremony - put down the phone and urgently asked her vice-captain, Arthur Trine, about that guy's whereabouts.

As they were escaping, the three Orb envoys and their escort stumbled upon the Chaos that stabbed a GINN. As it fell down, the teens rushed into a hangar and were safe from the explosion. However, their guard had reacted a second too late and was killed in the blast as he tried to reach the other side. Athrun, Seren and Cagalli took advantage of ZAFT's counterattack to run in another direction, but this time, they were blocked by the Gaia. The Coordinators looked up and saw a DINN firing at it. They hid and crouched down behind a vehicle as beams hit a building near them and debris crashed down dangerously close. Seren was hugging and covering her sibling; and Athrun was protecting them both. They cursed. At this rate, they were going to get killed by an explosion or crushed by rubble, caught in the crossfire as they were!

"Why? Why is this happening?" Cagalli lamented. Even though they were desperately trying to preserve the fragile peace they had fought so hard to obtain... why was something like this happening?! Her dark-haired sister gritted her teeth and squeezed her tighter. Another explosion destroyed a wall and a green ZAKU fell down on its back nearby.

"Athrun, you're alright?" Seren asked. He reassured her. They stood up. The Gaia, back in MS mode, dispatched two ZAFT machines and fired at every hangar as it walked down the lane. The Orb leader watched on, entranced. Seren looked around for a path to take, or possible help or new danger, or anything that could let them escape from their predicament. Athrun called her. They would use the fallen ZAKU! In the Minerva, a boy in a red pilot suit climbed into the YFX-M56S Core Splendor.

"Sword Module, selected. Opening Silhouette hangar two. Silhouette Flyer, standby for take off. Platform setup complete. Central catapult online. Opening airtight shutters. Emergency crew, standby for take off plan. Raise central catapult to launch position. Core Splendor, all systems, online." A girl's voice echoed as the boy activated his module. The Core Splendor launched, followed by the Silhouette Flyer, the Chest Flyer, and the Leg Flyer.

The two Coordinators from Orb helped their Chief Representative climb the mobile suit and they jumped down into the cockpit. Athrun took the pilot seat and activated the machine. He wasn't about to let them die in a place like this! The girls huddled in the cramped place around the seat. And again, Seren was covering and tightly holding onto Cagalli so her precious sister and leader wouldn't be tossed around and get hurt due to the ZAKU's movements. The giant rose amidst the smoke and flames... and was spotted by the Gaia. The Orb civilians gasped when they saw it turn to them. The black machine aimed and fired. Athrun dodged, surprising Stella. The ZAFT Armed Keeper of Unity rammed into the enemy with its spiked shoulder shield, knocking it away and forcing it to let go of its rifle. The Gaia took its beam saber and lunged. Zala seized the beam tomahawk stored inside the shield and parried, but was knocked back. He jumped back, evading the following slashes. However, the Chaos landed behind and charged. They were in a pincer attack!

The Chaos severed the ZAKU Warrior's left arm but it was attacked from behind by the Core Splendor. The module transformed into docking mode and in mid-air, affixed itself to the Leg Flyer, the Chest Flyer, and the Sword Flyer. They combined into the ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam. The Core Splendor was actually the cockpit of that suit, although it could also serve as an escape system or a support fighter with its two nose-mounted machine guns and wing-mounted missiles (that would detach and return to the Minerva during docking operations with other modules). The Phase Shift activated. The Impulse's shoulders, cockpit, and calves turned red. The pilot, Shinn Asuka, took out his two back-stored "Excalibur" Anti-ship laser swords and swung down at the Chaos that avoided. Then he combined the two swords at the hilts and twirled the long sword above his head before taking his battle stance. Watching that battle on a monitor from a vehicle, Chairman Durandal smirked at the arrival of the Impulse.

"Why did you do that? Do you guys wanna start another war?!" Shinn yelled out angrily as he attacked.

"Power is necessary because there will always be conflict." Despite their best efforts to protect this peace, they were still attacked... there were people who wished for war... and surely, there will still be in the future... that was why power was necessary... like that gundam that had saved them... The three Orb youths were made painfully aware of that fact. But... had those new gundams not been there, there would have been nothing to steal, and probably, those things wouldn't have happened... A battleship of a new model... new model mobile suits stolen by an enemy that rampaged inside the colony... her being forced into a mobile suit so she wouldn't be killed, Cagalli's and Athrun's presence... and now that mobile suit that reminded her so much of the Strike... That situation was so disturbingly familiar it would make Ledford laugh if it didn't make her sick already. Couldn't people learn from their mistakes?

"Now that's really a bad joke." A bitter, cynical smile appeared on Seren's lips.


Unaware of its value, we were constantly living in a peaceful world that somebody else had won for us. Now that it's our turn, we are grateful for even one more day of peace. But memories of conflict stirred up the sorrow flickering in the distance. Wars brought forth untold sorrow and regrets, and at times, transformed the souls of those left behind into a hell fire of carnage. Their fates, which ought to have been meager, warped.