A/n

Okay, here is the next Phase, I still don't own anything from the Gundam Universe, as much as I would love to, just my own characters and musings. That's what I got before this Phase begins, so on with the story!

Phase 20: Regaining Standing

March 1st, 71 C.E.

The Archangel

Kira and Lacus had been laying in the Archangel's sickbay for the last few days weak and unable to do much. But during those days their temperatures had lowered to a safer level than it was when they came to the sickbay. Neither of the teens knew how long they had been in the beds as they worked on recovery.

"Birdee! Birdee!"

With a headache like he had, Kira wanted to throttle the little noisemaker that Athrun had made for him. It had been a parting gift for Kira at the last face-to-face meeting before Tyler, Athrun, Kira went their separate ways. As it was, he barely had the energy to force his eyes open, instead turning his head toward the sound as he couldn't see the robot. There was still the familiar curtain around the bed he was in as there had been the times before when he'd woken up. By the sound that Tori was making, it was flitting to different places and likely high ones were Kira to guess. Athrun's creation had always tended to perch in high spots or on Kira's shoulder. "Hey Tori… please shut up," Kira croaked.

Flay who had been in the sickbay by herself at the moment heard Kira speaking to his robot. The green bird-like robot had mystified her even as she had been around it more as of late. Sai had mentioned to her that Kira said he got the robot from a friend as a parting gift of some sort. Apparently, Kira's friend was good at making such robots and also made the pink ball robot that stuck around Lacus. Flay had gotten used to the odd actions of the two robots but they still did things that were weird. Still with Kira awake, she moved over to his bed and pulled the curtain aside.

With the curtain around Kira's bed was suddenly pushed aside, it revealed Flay staring down at him with a concerned expression. However, Kira then began taking note of his surroundings since he saw the rest of the room with the curtain had been opened. The action had also let in the full light of the room they were in and with the light coming in now, forced Kira to squeeze his eyes shut to stop the headache from getting worse. "Kira, you're awake," Flay said quietly.

"Flay," Kira muttered, slowly cracking his eyes open again. Kira still wasn't feeling the best though better than he had before now. He tried to sit up, but the redhead put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down. In his condition, Coordinator or not, even a delicate Natural girl like Flay could easily pin him with just that. "No," she said firmly, "you shouldn't try to sit up so suddenly like that."

The girl turned her attention away from him and reached out to grab a glass of water. There were so many questions Kira had with what he knew right now. The last things that Kira remembered was fighting in the atmosphere to protect the Archangel. The images of the Shadow getting farther away and being caught by the Strike kept appearing in his head. Thoughts of Tyler wouldn't leave his mind, whether he was okay or injured in someway from reentry. Kira wouldn't believe that Tyler was dead, not until there was irrefutable proof was shown to him would he even consider that possibility. "Where am I, Flay," Kira asked.

So much had happened since the descent down to Earth, even Flay had to admit that her head spun when she thought about it. Granted, the Archangel had landed safely, but it had been not where it had intended to come down around. There was still a journey ahead if what she'd heard from some of the crew was anything to go by. "The infirmary," she answered before she reached an arm partially under him to help him lift his head and put the glass of water to his lips. "You and Lacus were found unconscious when others pulled you from your machines once they were brought back onboard, so I guess you might not remember."

Kira figured that he had made it back to the Archangel since he clearly remembered being caught by the Strike. But that brought the question of where was Lacus and what was her condition. Kira had been too weak and out of it to try and find out what happened to Lacus or even Tyler. He assumed that he wouldn't get much on what happened to Tyler as likely few knew with him being separated from the ship. Yet, Lacus would still be with the Archangel and he was worried about her more than himself. "Lacus," Kira uttered after he stopped drinking and Flay laid his head back down, "is she?"

"She's fine," Flay replied with a weak smile before she glanced at the bed opposite Kira's, which still had the curtains pulled around it. It was true that Lacus had been worse off out of the two pilots when they had been brought here. Lacus's temperature had been higher than Kira's and her vitals had been slightly worse than Kira's. Over the last few days both had improved in their condition, but out of the two Kira was still doing better than Lacus was by a margin. Flay had been keeping an eye on Lacus and worried that she woke up less times than Kira had. The doctor had assured her and the other volunteers that the pink-haired girl was on the road to recovery. "She's still resting," Flay stated, "as she was a bit worse off than you are. Lieutenant Falco said it's probably because you're a first-generation Coordinator, so your body's a bit tougher than hers."

Kira thought about what Flay said and the facts sunk in which didn't do much to help his worries. Lacus was here but was still recovering and had farther to go than Kira himself did. And while it was true that first-generation Coordinators were "built" tougher, beyond first-generation weren't that much less so. Yes, the genes tended to be more naturalized by the second-generation and beyond that, but that shouldn't be all that explained why Kira was doing better. If anything, from what Kira understood, then it was that "naturalizing" that made some desired traits stronger which gene manipulation had trouble bringing out. "I see," Kira returned, "so, we must've landed on Earth after all." Kira took a break and got to one of the major questions he wanted answers to, "Then where is the Archangel now?"

Flay hesitated for a moment, recalling not what had been said about their location, but the tone in which it was said. Sai mentioned that the ship officers were worried about how close they were to ZAFT controlled territory. Technically the Archangel was in Alliance territory even if at the edge of it. However, the path to OMNI's JOSH-A base was through non-allied territory which made the journey potentially harder. "We landed in the ocean off the southwestern coast of the Eurasian Federation which was formally called the Middle East by what the bridge crew say." Flay took a breath and continued, "We came down around three days ago, but it's really early morning local time now." A touch of humor showed in her smile, "The shifting biological clock is going to be tough to deal with."

Kira knew the feeling that Flay was describing, he had it a few times and the last being when he first to got Serenity City on the Moon. "I lived on Earth when I was really young," Kira remarked, "and then it was the moon before I came to Heliopolis. But I was living in Orb when on Earth, so the clock hasn't shifted for me in a while."

Flay smiled at that before standing up, "I'll go get Doctor Graham," she said, "Don't try to get up or anything until he's had a chance to look you over." Kira watched as Flay went off, when thoughts of his friend Tyler came back to his mind. He still didn't know what had happened to him and he wanted to know where his friend was and if he was okay. The worries about his friend wouldn't leave Kira's mind as he laid in the bed.

Meanwhile, Mu was still having a hard time sleeping like he was of late. With so many unanswered questions and so little-known information that could answer any of them there was a lot of stress on the crew's shoulders. The ship's landing zone had changed due to the actions to save two out of the three mobile suits. The two pilots that had made it back had been in the ship's sickbay since being extracted from their cockpits. They were recovering slowly, but they wouldn't be able to help if ZAFT attacked the Archangel. And though the ship was moving forward towards Federation territory, that wasn't much of a comfort. Being in Federation territory hadn't stopped ZAFT before and Mu doubted it would prevent an attack now. All they have to do was not get caught attacking in Federation areas, and that just meant avoiding patrols.

So, to distract himself from the stress, Mu fell back on his habit to work on something while others slept. It made it so they would be less likely to disturb him and it took his mind off of the issues that kept running through. This night, he'd been down in the hangar looking over information on the new aircraft the Archangel had received from the fleet, the Skygrasper. He wasn't alone in the task as Chief Murdoch and Sophia were there for company. "I went through the manual last night," Mu commented as he looked at the Skygrasper he would be using. "This thing sure looks like a lot of fun and at least give Krystal and I a means to help." Something else came to mind though, and he turned to look at Sophia as she had been helping the mechanics out due to the limited crew. "The manual stated this craft can mount Striker Packs, is that true?"

Sophia nodded, "Yes, they can have any of the Striker Packs before launching out," she stated, "Each pack can give a boost in some fashion."

While the aircraft could use the Strike's equipment was nice in Mu's mind, it also felt like he was some sort of a delivery currier. Granted, each pack could give the Skygrasper opinions like with the Aile Pack would give better thrust and agility. Or there was the Sword striker which the rocket anchor would be usable, and the Launcher Pack gave the cannon to work with. The Skygrasper's arsenal was made up of a turret-mounted beam cannon, two medium caliber cannons, a couple of machine guns, along with a missile bay. Mu would work with that collection, but against ZAFT mobile suits it wouldn't be all that effective. "That is great and all," Mu began, "but what does that make me now? Some sort of delivery boy?!"

"Well, that's the intended primary function intended for the Skygrasper," Sophia replied, "but even so, only when the ensign needs it, otherwise you can feel free to use the weaponry as much as you like. Trust me, it can make a difference, I would know as I helped design these things before being assigned to the Eighth Fleet. They might not be able to match mobile suits or Federation fighters, but they do better than mobile armors do up in space."

Murdoch chuckled as he could see that Sophia's remark hadn't helped Mu not feel like a delivery boy of sorts. "She's right lieutenant," he said, "But when the time comes, in your hands, all deliveries are guaranteed whether near or far."

Mu walked over and looked the Skygrasper over more thoroughly, "The vote of confidence is nice and all, but little good it does right now with both of the kids unable to pilot." Mu thought about the Shadow being separated from the Archangel while in orbit. While Mu hadn't forgotten what Hoffman had said, he still trusted Tyler had been helping the Archangel. That kid had put his life on the line, that showed he was willing to go through with what he believed. Whether Tyler had been defending the Archangel itself or some of those on the ship, to Mu that wasn't the point. So, he sighed, "And then, there's our third mobile suit pilot we had, and there is no word on where he ended out yet."

There was a moment of silence at Mu's mention of Tyler with Murdoch as that kid had earned respect from the mechanics Murdoch included. "Well, the students are all regular military now," Murdoch said changing the subject. "I mean, the kids are even ensigns already! Ah well, they are pilots after all so they deserve it. And if what McGregor said is correct, then he's a commander in the Federation's military." Although truthfully, he was somewhat miffed that Kira and Lacus were barely more than half his age, yet still now his superiors in the chain of command.

Sophia looked at the two men, somewhat confused by what they had said. She herself, had hear a few things about this 'Tyler McGregor', supposedly a teen like the volunteers, but a year or two older than the rest. It was supposed to be a heck of a pilot and during some mock battles hadn't been beaten or something like that. However, this was the first time Sophia had heard mention of the said teen was a part of the Federation's military AND a high-ranking member at that. "I beg you pardon from both of you," Sophia spoke up, gaining the attention from both men. "But did you just say this Tyler McGregor is not only part of the Federation's military, yet a commander as well all before he enters his twenties?!"

Chief Murdoch put a hand to the back of his head understanding the consternation Sophia was feeling. When he had found out that Tyler was a member of the Federation's military, it had been a slight shock, but over time it made sense. But that he was a commander and still in his late teens, that point Murdoch couldn't figure out. "Yeah, hard to believe when you first meet the kid, know the feeling myself. Yet, he's proven that he's no joke and knows how to pilot mobile weapons, whether it's a mobile suit, mobile armor, or a Federation fighter."

Memories of when Mu had gone against Tyler in the mock battles came back to him along with the fear that had been felt. The realization that Tyler's skills made him a unique pilot was one thing, to know that he could outdo you in multiple ways had been another. "I'd have to second that, Tyler has skills that terrify the hell out of me were I have to go against them. But he has a good heart as far as I've seen, heck who know, if this war wasn't going on, Tyler might not even have enlisted," Mu added. "And besides Kira and Lacus, the rest of the volunteers are crewmen, second-class, man oh man."

"Heh, they'll develop into great soldiers before you know it," Murdoch replied. Sophia's eyes turned away, though primarily an engineer that was a thought she could do without having on her mind. The volunteers and their friends had all appeared to be good kids and yet, they were roped into this war and it had been going much longer than any had expected. The war had been estimated to go a year maybe two if it was bad, that was the consensus at the beginning. Yet now the war was in its fifth year and there was no sigh of an end in sight for either faction involved thus far. "By the way, how are the kids' fevers," she asked changing the subject.

"I hear they finally dropped to acceptable levels earlier this morning," Mu returned as he climbed up and looked into the fighter's cockpit. He had checked on the kids before coming down here hours ago and neither had been awake. "Seriously, I don't know whose construction is more impressive: the Strike and the Asuka's frames, or their pilots, and the same I wouldn't doubt can be said about the Shadow and its pilot, wherever they are. Just feel kind of useless not being able to be out there fighting next to them, perhaps in future…"

"Asuka," Sophia questioned, "Wasn't that what Yamato call his machine that before the launch in orbit?"

"Yeah, it's the designation and sort of its nickname when he found it," Murdoch remarked. "From what he said, its official name is Asuka Astray Frame, the prototype in a series most likely."

The mention of nicknames got Mu to thinking about something that Kira and Lacus had talked about. The two of them had called the mobile suits "gundams" which had got Mu and even Krystal to wonder where they had come up with the word. It was an odd thing to call mobile suits, so it had both armor pilots curious. "And speaking of nicknames," Mu said, looking back at Murdoch, "do you have any idea why Kira and Lacus keep referring to these mobile suits as 'Gundams'?"

Mu's question peaked Sophia's interest, and she walked over to them curiously. She hadn't heard anything about this from any of the crew and the word was such an odd one. "Oh that, it appears on the activation screen of the suits when their operating systems come up," Murdoch answered. "Uh, General Unilateral Neuro – link… something or other, can't remember what the rest is at the moment. Anyway, take the first letter of each word and that's what you get, it's better than the military simply calling them G-weapons if you ask me."

Sophia shook her head, smiling slightly as she looked up at the Strike and the Asuka, "Yeah," she said drawing the attention of the two men. "Gundam," Sophia said trying out the word, "it really does sound better than G-weapon, don't you think?"

The more that Mu thought about, the more he had to agree about the name the teens had started using. "Heh," Mu chuckled, "that it does."

At the same time, even with it being as late at night as it was, Miriallia and Tolle had gotten off duty were heading towards the mess hall to get a meal. They planned to stop by the infirmary to check on Kira and Lacus as their friends did. Along the way, they bumped into Sai and Kuzzey, and they asked about their friends as they all moved towards the mess hall. "Wait, what," Miriallia questioned. "You're saying Kira's regained consciousness already?"

"Yeah, it happened just a little while ago by what Flay mentioned," Kuzzey replied.

"Doctor Graham said that Kira's doing well enough now," Sai continued, "That he's been transferred back to his quarters. Flay went over there to take his meal to him."

The four reached the mess and got 'dinner' and sat down and kept the conversation going shifting to asking about Lacus's condition. Shortly after this began, the doors of the mess hall opened, and Flay herself stepped through, drawing the attention of the four off-duty cadets. "Hello Flay," Miriallia greeted.

It was rare for the volunteers to be together with how the shifts tended to be set, so Flay assumed they were between shifts currently. "On a shift change," Flay asked absentmindedly as she carried the empty tray to the counter.

"So, how's Kira doing," Miriallia inquired.

"He really seems to be alright," Flay returned, "He's got a healthy appetite anyway. Lacus also woke up while he was eating. She will be transferred out of the infirmary soon, so I was going to grab a meal for her before she leaves. Anyway, it's as if the last two days never happened for them though the doctor advised them to stay in bed for the day." Flay stopped momentarily. "Their bodies, well I always knew what they could do was really different… but it's never been driven home quite like this."

Flay continued to walk as Tolle and Miriallia gasped softly at the words worried that Flay's anti-Coordinator feelings might be reignited. "I see," Miriallia commented deciding to brush it off for now, "But I'm just so relieved that both Kira and Lacus are starting to feel better."

Flay had been in the sickbay a lot lately as Sai thought about it, more than any of them had. And it wasn't that he believed she had any bad intention, it was that she seemed to be doing that while ignoring her own basic needs. So, Sai rose and closed the distance between Flay and himself, "You must be exhausted," he said with concern. "You've been by their side for a while now, don't you think you should get some rest yourself?"

"I'm doing just fine," Flay replied as she filled up two glasses of water. "Really, I just finished eating with Kira. And it's not like I actually have a job on this ship yet, not like the rest of you."

"Flay," Sai muttered. It sounded like Flay was feeling like she was contributing around the Archangel like he and others were. That view wasn't true, and Sai hadn't been the only one to tell Flay in some form that her presence was appreciated. Yet, before Sai could say more Flay cut over him, "It's vital that they get better as soon as possible," she stated firmly to which Sai looked at her curiously. "We're in not in allied or even friendly territory after all, so I'm still a little worried, so I'm going back to their quarters."

Now Sai was really getting worried for Flay was acting more and more out of character for her. Even though Sai was almost as certain of Kira's and Lacus's feelings for each other as everyone else, he also knew that Kira used to have a crush on Flay. He was fearful that she might be returning the affection when it would be better to not happen. "Flay," said Sai standing up, and striding over to grab her shoulder, "hold on for a moment."

"What is it Sai," Flay asked looking back at him with some concern.

"Well," Sai he began, now feeling silly for worrying about her recent actions. "As nice as it is of you to worry and help Kira and Lacus, there is also the need to give them space to do things themselves." He paused for a moment, "Plus, you need to take care of your own health as well."

Flay sighed and looked away, "Listen Sai," she said softly, "if you want, we can talk more later when Kira and Lacus are fully recovered. For now, it's best to make sure they're in as good of condition as possible, and we don't want you guys exhausting yourselves either. The ship barely has enough crew to function, so those with duties need to be as capable for them as possible since there are no substitutes. So, I just happen to be ideal for this sort of thing."

Slowly, Sai nodded understanding the logic Flay was going with, "Okay," he said. "Just don't drive yourself to the point of exhaustion, that would just worry Kira and Lacus."

"Yeah, I know," Flay replied.

Back in Shira, Tyler had been sleeping soundly as he was still tired due to the effects of reentry. He had set the rules for his "housemates" that he would be hosting for days or maybe a week or two. Tyler didn't think the rules would help a great deal with Sakura but he figured he could then use her breaking those to get her to perhaps back off. He had gotten to his bed and locked the door behind him feeling safe from his stalker for the time being. Yet, Tyler had woken up a few times during the night from odd and/or weird dreams. He couldn't remember much from the dreams that made much if any sense.

It was still dark as Tyler didn't see or feel light falling on his face which meant is was still early morning. As Tyler had no pressing engagements for today or really much until he found where the Archangel was, he intended to roll over and go back to sleep. Tyler was worried about those on the Archangel, but he hadn't found anything yet about where they came down. Plus, the bed was so warm and comfortable that Tyler wanted to say in it and wait to face the day. However, as Tyler's brain realized the bed was so warm, it set off an alarm in his head. His bed tended not to be so warm, something was definitely off and that brought Tyler to a somewhat wakeful state. The next point that added to the oddity that was keeping Tyler from going back to sleep was there felt like more of the bed was displaced than he alone would make.

Tyler cracked an eye opened slowly trying to comprehend what was the source of the oddity. He really wanted to go back to sleep and speed along his recovery as to be ready for when his friends would need him. And whatever it was that kept him up would be removed so that he could get back to the coveted sleep. The room was dark though his eyes were adjusting to moonlight that came from the window. Tyler scanned around taking in his surroundings to try and explain what was keeping up. To his left was nothing out of the ordinary that would be seen as the cause of his sleep being taken from him. Tyler then looked right and what he saw got him to wake up further and had him blinking to clear his vision. There right next to Tyler was none other than Sakura Clyne fast asleep.

Tyler had suspected that Sakura may try to sneak into his bed at some point, and he thought he had prepared enough to prevent that. His door should be locked and that would keep most out of the room, but apparently not Tyler's stalker. He had specifically told Sakura to stay out of his room to her face, but here she was not having listened nor heeded. Tyler would be tempted to get a restraining order for her but he doubted that would do anything to stop her efforts. But her being in his bed got Tyler to come to full wakefulness and with it came a felling with displeasure.

He attempted to roll away to make space from Sakura, it was best in Tyler's mind to not be close to the woman. However, as he started rolling, Sakura's arms circled around Tyler's torso and pulled back against her front. Yet, Sakura didn't wake up just moaned softly before her breathing returned to being shallow as it was in sleep. Tyler wasn't happy about the position, even if it put him a young guy against a beautiful woman. He instead worked his body and managed to turn himself in the embrace which remained unbroken. Tyler then got his hands on Sakura's shoulders and began to shake the woman to get her up before he got an explanation. "Sakura, wake up, get up right now as you have explaining to do," Tyler said in a firm voice.

The sound of her beloved's voice dragged her from the dream she'd been having. Sakura had been dreaming of having uninterrupted time with Tyler and enjoying every moment of it. Yet, as the dream faded, Sakura opened her eyes and blinked tiredly trying to figure out what was going on. Something was up against her by what was vaguely registering and it was warm and also felt nice. She had originally gotten into the room in the dead of night after making sure Tyler was asleep. Once inside, Sakura had slipped into his bed and hugged him to her before she'd fallen asleep herself. Sakura rubbed her eyes and as she did so, the nice warmth disappeared from Sakura's front. Tyler had taken the chance of Sakura's arms moving to put some distance between the woman and himself. Tyler had gotten to the other side of the bed waiting for Sakura to wake up before he said anything else. "Tyler, why are you awake this early," Sakura asked.

Tyler wasn't in the mood to be all that nice as he was being kept up by his stalker and that was an unwanted new development. He crossed his arms and frowned a bit, "You tell me why you're in my bed, and I'll tell you why I'm up this early," Tyler returned in a flat tone. "Now, sit up and give me an explanation of why you did the opposite of what I set as a ground rule last night."

Sakura did what her beloved's voice said without much if any thought, he wouldn't ask anything she wouldn't do. Tyler on the other hand, instantly regretted his order to Sakura as it brought about a new issue. He had been concerned with some of the clothes that Sakura had purchased which he had been shown. Now he was shocked into the inability to speak with seeing what his stalker was sporting currently. The woman was wearing light salmon colored one-piece nightgown which was more than just "short" with the bottom ended at few inches below her hips. The gown was held on Sakura's body by two thin spaghetti straps, one over each shoulder, which attached on the front and back of the rest of the gown. The gown itself appeared to be made of silk and it hugged her body and appeared to be pretty thin. It clearly showed off her well-defined womanly curves and brought attention to her flawless cream-colored skin.

It wasn't that what Sakura was wearing as it wasn't completely revealing, but it wasn't covering enough in Tyler's mind. His thoughts were running through places he didn't like or want to entertain. With parts of this nightgown that cover her chest for instance, it was somewhat see-through. True, Sakura had underwear on, but it was clear to Tyler that the underwear wasn't something you find in a 'normal' store. That also created the question of just what kind of stores that Lisa and Sakura visited to Tyler's mind. Her appearance caused Tyler's mouth to fall open and he couldn't tear his gaze on the woman. Words failed Tyler as a good amount of his logic and intelligence followed suit as he kept staring.

Sakura was waking up more fully and found she was still in Tyler's bed and her beloved was on the other side of the bed. And after a moment, she realized that Tyler was staring at her mouth open as he was looking. Tyler staring at her was something Sakura wanted, and he was the only one that she would allow to gaze at her like she was now. Her beloved was seeing her as a woman at long last as she had wanted. And Sakura was confident about her appearance, which brought a smirk to her face, "Like what you see Tyler," Sakura asked with a slightly seductive tone of voice. "I don't mind since it's you, go right ahead," she continued as thoughts of going further with Tyler, "or perhaps you would be interested in something more?"

His stalker's words didn't help Tyler getting his hormones under control, more the opposite. Tyler's teenage brain was in serious conflict with his intelligence going against his hormones which had gone ignored for a time. Said conflict stripped him to muttering incoherently at both questions and had Tyler unable to moved or react. Sakura was very pleased to see her beauty had Tyler in such awe that he was unable to speak. To her, it was the best compliment that he could have given her saying he liked what he saw. So, with her beloved cheated of his voice, Sakura crawled forward on her hands and knees slowly towards him. She kept staring at Tyler with a confident yet seductive smile as she had Tyler where she had wanted him.

When Tyler understood Sakura was closing the distance between them, he moved back to keep the space. However, he quickly came to the edge of his bed leaving the choice of falling to the floor, go a different direction, or face Sakura. As Tyler shifted to the right Sakura followed him, keeping her gaze on her man. She would have him answer her flirting and desires, even if he escaped now. She wouldn't be making that easy should he manage to evade her, Sakura wanted to embrace him and show that she loved him.

And she ended out cornering him against the backboard of the bed with only about two feet between them. Tyler could see that Sakura had trapped him, cut off any escape route that he could have used. In Tyler's view, the pink-haired woman looked like a cat about to pounce on its prey, all Sakura needed were ears and a tail and it would be picture perfect. Tyler tensed preparing to throw himself either left or right depending on how Sakura pounced on him. The woman launched herself at Tyler which freaked him out and he bolted right. Sakura caught the movement and countered him and got her arms around Tyler's neck. She used the rest of her body to press and pin her beloved down to the bed. Sakura wasted no more time and pressed her lips to Tyler and kissed him for all she had.

Tyler's mind was being torn in two by his current situation, on the one side his brain was shouting that this was dangerous and to get away immediately. The other side of this in was being influenced by the incoming sensory input Tyler was getting telling his to let this happen. Tyler didn't know where Sakura had learned the art of kissing, but he had to admit that she was good at it. Sakura was kneading Tyler's lips with her own, she would do what she could to convince him she was going to have him. And it wasn't just Sakura's kissing that had Tyler finding hard to fight the woman on top of him, it was also her scent. Not like a perfume, the smell Tyler got when Sakura was around him, it's a fragrance that he couldn't breakdown exactly. There was a hint of a rosy smell and a few other things, but that was the best Tyler could come up with to explain it.

Nor did Tyler miss that Sakura was using her body to pin him to his own bed. With Sakura pressing herself against him, Tyler felt two soft somethings pressing against his chest. Tyler knew what was pressing against his chest, he knew enough about female anatomy to give a very educated guess. It was the first experience Tyler had of a woman intentionally pressing themselves to him. If he was truthful, Tyler had to say that Sakura's breasts were softer than he would have imagined. The thought tangent kept running through Tyler's mind as he recalled what exactly Sakura was wearing currently. All that separated the skin of their bodies was just one layer of thin silk fabric and the cotton t-shirt and a pair of shorts he had on.

Sakura was grinding her body against Tyler to encourage him to respond to her similarly. She continued kissing Tyler, she couldn't get enough of the feeling of his lips pressed to hers. Sakura didn't miss the feeling of the hem of her night gown moving higher on her legs, not that she minded. Being with Tyler was all she needed right now, if that led to more, Sakura wouldn't complain. The two were tangled together for several minutes before Sakura pulled back for a bit. That allowed Tyler to take great gulps of air trying to calm his nerves even if only a little bit.

Tyler got back a bit of his logical mind but his head was still swimming an amount from Sakura's actions. Then with her body still on his keeping him down on the bed, Tyler's situation wasn't getting any easier to manage. As he opened his eyes which had been closed, he found he was looking at Sakura's face. And it was clear to Tyler that Sakura wasn't going to let him out of this mess any time soon by her own choice. Tyler knew that drastic measures would be the only way he could potentially save himself. However, the idea that was coming to mind for him was not just hard to do, but would be beyond embarrassing, even humiliating. It was as Sakura was about to resume kissing Tyler that he made his choice and made his move. "HELP, I'M ABOUT TO BE RAPED," Tyler screamed as loud as he could in blood curdling tones.

Tyler figured that if his scream hadn't woken up the other two staying at my house, then he was in more trouble than he had guessed. His scream could have likely woken the dead, so Athrun and Lisa would have to be deaf or completely drugged beyond coherent thought. If they were drugged, then Tyler had seriously underestimated the lengths to which his stalker would go to get him. Were that the case, Tyler's situation was much worse than he had understood. Meanwhile Sakura ignored Tyler's cry finding it cute that he still wanted to play hard to get with her. She hugged her beloved giggling as she cuddled with Tyler, happy with how things were.

Tyler's scream snapped Lisa and Athrun out of their sleep getting them to sit up in their beds. Lisa had heard Tyler's tone and knew that her friend wasn't joking or fooling around with his "cry for help". Athrun also could tell the tone in Tyler's voice was serious even if he didn't understand what his friend had said completely. Both were out of their beds and racing down the hall making their way towards Tyler's room. Lisa threw open the door before she and Athrun rushed in and found a scene most unexpected.

Athrun blinked and rubbed his eyes as he couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him, he couldn't accept it was real. Before him was Tyler on his bed and top of his was none other than Commander Clyne. The Commander was dressed in a silk night gown and seemed to be pinning his friend down. Tyler was struggling against Commander Clyne's hold while the woman looked to be enjoying herself. None of the scene made any sense to Athrun in the slightest, not with the Commander involved. Lisa on the other hand, instantly saw that Tyler was fighting against Sakura who was not letting him go. What Tyler had said was coming to Lisa's mind and now why he yelled made sense. He was trapped and feared that the woman pinning him down would go beyond assaulting him and take something from him.

Tyler had heard the door to his room burst open with a forceful bang and he hoped that meant he was about to get help. The view of Athrun and Lisa in the room inspired Tyler to struggle harder against Sakura. He hoped that the sight of him fighting would get the point across that they needed to get Sakura off him. However, Tyler's efforts also encouraged Sakura to continue forward was her intentions and have her way. As Sakura pressed her lips to Tyler's again, Lisa moved forward grabbing the shoulders of the pink-haired woman and pulled hard. Sakura clung to her beloved as something or someone started to pull her back. Athrun shook his head and also moved forward as his friend needed help right now.

It took a couple of minutes for Lisa and Athrun to get Sakura off Tyler since she fought them and clung to him as much as she could. Yet, in the end, Lisa and Athrun prevailed and managed to pry the woman away. Tyler felt intense relief the moment Sakura's hold was broken and she was dragged off his bed. He took a moment to make sure all of his clothes were still where they were supposed to be and found they were. Tyler took deep breathes calming and assuring himself that he was okay and nothing had been taken from him. While Tyler was calming down, Lisa proceeded to drag Sakura out of the room fulling intending to take her back to the room assigned to her. Sakura didn't go quietly as she was taken out of the room, she complained and whined the whole way. She had been so close to showing her beloved Tyler how much she liked him and giving him her affections. If she had been given a little more time Sakura was sure that Tyler would start to understand her interests. Even as she was dragged down the hallway towards the other side of the house, Sakura whined.

Tyler heard Lacus's older sister throw her tantrum as Lisa "took" her to the room that she'd been assigned. It was odd to hear the most feared commander of ZAFT complaining as expected of a child. But then, the woman had never acted as her reputation suggested around Tyler himself and she'd proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. In the end, Tyler let out a sigh and shook his head with what he had just gone through. Athrun was just trying to process what he had just witnessed as none of it made sense, "Tye, what was that about," he asked still not sure he'd seen correctly.

Tyler's attention shifted to his blue-haired friend and the expression was one that Tyler blamed Athrun for having. Yes, he had told his friends what Sakura was like around him, but none had believed what he'd said. Not that Tyler blamed them, Sakura was beyond odd when around him and Tyler wouldn't deny that. "No, you weren't seeing things Athrun," Tyler stated, "that was Sakura Clyne, the infamous Black Zephyr of ZAFT. As I've said to you and Kira a couple of times, she acts quite differently when she's around me. You have now seen first-hand what that can entail, even if in a more extreme way that even I didn't see coming. I'm still not used to the vast difference between the two," he replied, then Tyler put a hand to his temple, "But I didn't think she would go this far already," Tyler got off his bed and walked over to Athrun and put a hand on his shoulder, "thanks for the save my friend."

Athrun nodded slowly acknowledging his friend's gratitude, no sure what else to do. The scene that Athrun had just seen still made no sense to him in any sane way. The things that Tyler had mentioned had just been so outlandish, they had been hard to believe. And yet, Commander Clyne's actions did give credence to what Tyler had said before. And as far as Athrun could recall, Lacus had said her older sister wasn't one to show a great deal of emotion in the passing years since the war began. He wondered what Lacus would think if she knew her sister did tonight for if he hadn't seen it, then he wouldn't have believed it.

After Athrun left the room, Tyler glanced at the clock and noted it was early morning but only an hour or so before he had planned to wake up at. Thus, it wasn't worth it in Tyler's mind to go back to sleep and to dream land he had been in before Sakura had ripped him from it. And while Lisa had drug Sakura back to her room, there was no guarantee she would stay there. So, Tyler didn't go back to his bed and caught a shower before getting dressed and started his day. He had made arrangements yesterday to have a meeting with his mother since today was her day off for the week. One of the reasons that Tyler wanted the meeting was to hopefully have the procedures done for Athrun and Sakura being in the Republic.

Tyler did make breakfast for his guests hoping that may move things along so that they could get going. He knew that even though it was his mother's day off, she used days like that to catch up and manage minor issues. Tyler wanted to catch her before she got too far into that work so that he could have her attention. In the end, it took an hour and a half to get his guest and himself together and in order, it was longer than Tyler thought it should have taken. Athrun and Tyler were dressed and had eaten breakfast and were ready to go in around forty-five minutes upon them waking up. On the other hand, Lisa and Sakura took twice that, and Tyler didn't think he would ever understand why women need so much time to get themselves ready for things.

Once all were ready, Tyler and his companions piled into Tyler's car and he drove them to the minister's residence. Lisa was wondering just what Tyler was doing bringing them here, all he had mentioned was he had arranged something to help get through the process for Sakura and Athrun to be able to stay without issue. True, Tyler had said something along the lines that his "mother" worked in a governmental function. However, it made Lisa question how that might translate into him knowing someone that likely worked for the Republic's Prime Minister. Lisa didn't doubt that Tyler had his reasons for not specifying what his mother did, and she respected that, but she couldn't help but wonder.

Sakura had seen the building that they were driving up to in pictures, it was the Republic's minister's residence. She had heard about the Republic's leader, mostly from her father Siegel, she was supposed to be nice but firm in her views. But meeting with politics had never been a nice experience for Sakura. Politics with the PLANTs weren't all that different than how they are on Earth from what Sakura understood. There were those that have their own agendas and see nothing wrong with doing deals with others to get what they want, which described many in the Alliance. Sakura's experience came from her having to talk to those from the National Defense Committee and those on it were usually asking her to do things.

Athrun remembered Tyler had mentioned he had made some sort of arrangement, but he didn't expect it involved his mother. He also wondered if their female companions knew that Tyler's mother was the Republic's leader. He knew that Tyler put forth the effort to not have his actions connected to her in any way. Athrun could understand having a parent as a political leader, his father was the chair of the National Defense Committee on the PLANT Supreme Council. Plus, Athrun knew Tyler's mother personally and respected her for the job she did. He knew that Ellen wasn't a person that was hard to approach, more the opposite, in fact, she was nice to most people.

The four were let inside by the staff, all but Tyler were glancing around, the two females never having been here. Tyler saw not much had changed within the last year when he had been around here besides yesterday. Although Tyler's thoughts were more returning to the point that his two female companions were about to meet his mother. With the work he'd done to separate his actions and what went with them from his mother and her reputation, it was almost second nature to not talk about who his mother was. Tyler foresaw no issue with Lisa, she would understand why he had said what he had about his mother. Sakura on the other hand, Tyler had no idea what would happen with her and that didn't sit well with him. Granted, Sakura was the daughter of the current PLANT Supreme Council Chairman, so she would understand her actions could reflect on her father. But then again, Sakura had made a name for herself in the war and so most if not all already separated her work from Siegel's.

Tyler's group was brought to his mother's office where she was at her desk looking over documents. It reiterated to Tyler where he got his stubborn work ethic, even on "days off" you still did something of value. Of course, Tyler wasn't surprised that his mom was at her desk working even when she was supposed to be taking time from her duties. Yet, Tyler did spot the expression on her face didn't speak well of whatever she was going over making Tyler curious about what she was reading. The expression was especially defined which told Tyler that whatever his mother was going over was very unpleasant. Tyler decided to announce their presence by clearing his throat, "Morning, hope you don't mind us being a tad early."

Ellen had been reading over the message that had come in from the Alliance late last night. She expected that whatever it was about would be tedious, it was becoming what came from them as of late. But before she even got through the first page, she had been disgusted at the content of the document. Granted, the Alliance politics had been pushing for the Federation to join them in their war against ZAFT, but it had been picking up as of late. However, the message that Ellen read was a borderline violation of the Ordea Treaty which had stood since just before the war began. Ellen suspected that the message was more likely from the Atlantic Federation, it fit more their leadership's views. The suggestions that followed the first page only disgusted Ellen further as it blatantly belittled Coordinators and more. Nevertheless, Ellen had been brought out of her thoughts when Tyler spoke and when she looked up, she saw her son with three others accompanying him. Ellen ended out sighing softly, "No, it's alright, I need a moment from this document anyways, so you coming early is fine."

Tyler shrugged at his mother's reply clearly could tell she was not in the best mood. "As I recall, you always did insist that punctuality is an important quality to cultivate." Tyler paused for a moment trying to remember how his mother so often lectured him about being on time. "Oh, how did you put it so often," Tyler snapped a finger, "oh yeah, I quote, 'if you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late and should be ashamed of yourself. If you're late, then things started without you and it's your fault and loss,' end quote. At least, that's how I remember you saying the idea most of the time."

Ellen exhaled at her son's almost casual answer upon one of the lessons she had attempted to teach him. It hadn't helped much that Lance had not been the best example with punctuality, he often lost track of time. So, Ellen put a hand to her temple though a small smile did come to her face. "I suppose I should at least be glad that some of the ideas I tried to teach you did stick in your memory and that you apply the lessons intended." Ellen chucked a bit, "It means that you did listen to your father and me on occasion, even on the lessons that he was less helpful with."

As Tyler chuckled at his mother's remark, Sakura was looking between the two trying to figure out how they could know each other. Sakura wasn't happy that Tyler was acting so relaxed with this woman as feelings of jealousy were coming to her. Tyler was going to be hers, Sakura would do pretty much anything to make sure of that outcome. She was patient, but she wouldn't allow another woman to steal her beloved from her. Sakura would come down on them and make them understand through whatever means that she was the only one good enough for Tyler. Sakura glared at the woman behind the desk, "You two clearly know each other so, what's the relationship?"

Tyler stiffened a bit at hearing Sakura ask her question and with tones of jealousy laced in her voice. It also reminded Tyler that he had three others with him and so it wasn't just him and his mom. Tyler twisted around and gazed sternly at Sakura, "Excuse me Sakura," Tyler started, "tone it down and draw your claws back in would you? You embarrass me more than enough out of the public eye, don't do it here." Tyler sighed heavily and faced forward, "Everyone, meet the current Prime Minister of the Republic of East Asia, Ellen Blass," Tyler continued to the group at large, "She also happens is also my mother." He spun around to face his mother, "Mom, you remember my friend Athrun Zala I would hope."

Ellen nodded as she certainly hadn't forgotten Lenore's son, his mother had been a close and cherished friend. In fact, she had been making sure that Athrun paid no money for his education even if she did so anonymously. It had been appalling as well as disturbing to find out Athrun's father had been doing little to provide for his son over the years. All the messages that she had sent to Patrick asking about the point had gone unanswered by the man. So, Ellen had just started providing the funds to make sure Athrun could pursue the path he chose. Tyler kept going in his introductions, "This is Lisa Malto, a more recently made friend." He pointed to the black-haired young woman, which Ellen glanced at for a moment. Ellen still worried about her son and his future which he hadn't been putting much work into that she'd seen and he didn't listen to her much. A lady friend gave her hope that he could be looking forward as she had telling him to do.

As Ellen had said nothing, Tyler took that as a signal for him to finish up, to which he gestured at Sakura. "And Sakura Clyne." Ellen's eye brows rose slightly at hearing the name Clyne, it was a rarer one after all. She glanced at the woman Tyler had gestured to and it had been the same one that had asked about her relationship with her son. It took a moment for Ellen, but the pink-haired girl did bear resemblance to Siegel's late wife Tasara, who Ellen had met a few times. From what Ellen knew, Siegel did have two daughters, one a soldier and the other an idol signer around the PLANTs. She assumed the one before her was the soldier daughter that Siegel had.

Both Lisa and Sakura had been stunned into silence when Tyler had called the Republic's Prime Minister "mom". For Lisa, that fact-filled in Tyler's reasoning as to why he only talked about his mother in vague terms. With her being one of the major political leaders in the Federation, things he did could be linked and she take the blame for it. Hence, Tyler had made sure what he did couldn't be traced back through him to his mother. Sakura was processing that her beloved could have a direct connection to one of the Federation's leaders. There had been no hint or clue he could know let alone be related to one of them that Sakura had been able to dig up. It told of how good either Tyler or others were at hiding information from being found by those looking for something. "Wait, you're the son of the Prime Minister of the Republic," Sakura asked, somewhat surprised.

Tyler gave a bit of a deadpanned look to his stalker, "Like you're the eldest daughter of the Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, yep," he replied. "I wouldn't doubt you can understand not wanting to be simply seen as someone's child."

Ellen was watching the interaction between Tyler and Sakura wondering a number of things. Yes, with them both serving in military organizations, there was a chance they could meet, but those chances were low. Then Tyler seemed to be annoyed by Siegel's daughter while the woman was almost possessive from what Ellen could tell. Ellen shook her head and rose from her desk coming around and bowed to those with Tyler. "It is nice to meet the two of you," she greeted talking to Lisa and Sakura. Then Ellen turned to face Athrun and once again was amazed at how much he looked like his mother. "It is good to see you again Athrun, you look even more like your mother than when you were younger."

It was a compliment to Athrun to be compared to his mother, he had so many fond memories of her. And that was why losing her had been so hard, she had been a pillar in the family. The distance that had come after Bloody Valentine had only grown wider over the years of the war. The only thing that his father seemed to do was fund his education and suggests enlisting in ZAFT. That in mind, Athrun rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Thank you ma'am, that's very kind of you to say that," he returned.

While the conversation was nice, Tyler's curiosity was bugging him as to what had been irritating his mother. Ellen had thick skin, Tyler had seen that many times and so it took more than it did for most to get a reaction from her. "So mom, what were you looking over that has you in an irritated mood," Tyler questioned.

Ellen sighed while putting a hand to her forehead, acknowledging her son's observation, "You noticed Tyler?"

Tyler gave an affirmative nod as he'd picked up the skill over the years and developed it the best he could. It had been his father Lance that had started him with it, telling Tyler it would be invaluable. Ellen walked back over to the desk and picked up the first page that she had been reading. She then came over to Tyler and held out the said page knowing it would be better for him to just read it himself. Tyler took the paper and scanned it over, mouthing some of the phrases that stood out to him.

To the government of the Republic of East Asia

The Republic, a neutral nation that allies itself with the Human Federation, is not taking into consideration the current state of world affairs as they have become. It is urged to review current events and consider its lack of action and what such shows to the rest of the world. As a nation on and of Earth, there is a responsibility to protect the world, its best interests and not to only seek to preserve its own domestic peace. The Republic has received repeated requests for cooperation in efforts to make the whole world safe and not just part of it. On behalf of all participating member states of the United Earth Alliance ask and urge the Republic to assist in this conflict that involves the Earth standing against those who threaten it. We await your reply and hope that you make the right decision.

Sincerely,

The President and Members of the Leadership of the Atlantic Federation, along with the other member states of the Earth Alliance

Tyler didn't get through the whole page before he fully understood why his mother was irritated like she was. He had read some horrid documents, but the page was definitely towards the top of the list of disgusting reads. Tyler strode to his mother's desk and glanced over the other pages there and his irritation and disgust increased. The other pages went on with the drivel that the senders were saying the government of the Republic should do. He stopped scanning the 'suggestions' after the first three as each made him angry and fed a desire to break something.

It was obvious to Tyler by the wording and the suggestions whom the senders likely were as it fit their views. The Atlantic Federation, the senders were basically saying to leave the Human Federation, throw away their values, both moral and political to become 'members' of the Earth Alliance, and do what they said going forward. Tyler knew what the words meant were different than what was inferred and implied, like night and day in his opinion. While he was aware the Alliance wasn't doing well against ZAFT from what the Information Network said, Tyler didn't think they were this desperate. Although the leaders of the Alliance won't admit that they're losing right now which Tyler had seen, they were stooping to treaty violation. They were putting pressure on those who were a part of the Federation to work for them which went against the Ordea Treaty. Plus, Tyler assumed they were even more desperate to get their hands on Federation tech as they always had.

Tyler handed the page back to his mom gritting his teeth to release some of his frustration. "I understand why you're irritated mother," Tyler said in a controlled voice. "What's on the page is not only a load of stinking crap, but complete malarkey." He paused for a moment to take a breath, "I'm really not surprised it's being put the way it is since we know it is coming from the leadership of the Atlantic Federation. Those at their head never have cared about anyone or anything other than themselves, their views, and vendettas."

Lisa had been curious as to what could be on the page that Tyler had been handed, and the negative expression that had come to him only increased that. Yet, with what Tyler said, she was concerned as he had mentioned the Atlantic Federation. That member state of the Earth Alliance had always been the most aggressive in what they did, whether it was on territory or policy. If they were pushing harder against the Federation member nations, then that didn't bode well at all. "What are you talking about Tyler," Lisa inquired.

"A," Ellen began, trying to think of the proper word to describe what the message was, "request, from the Atlantic Federation, supposedly on behalf of the Earth Alliance by what the document says." Ellen exhaled, the feelings that had come with reading the message coming back to her strongly. "Urging those of us who are the political leaders of the Republic to reconsider our current standing within the Federation."

Sakura stayed silent as it wasn't all that surprising that a number within the Alliance were lowering their standards. She had seen the idea often enough, it seemed to happen whenever OMNI had a consistently bad losing spell which they had lately. And to say they were "lowering" their standards was better stated as them "changing their standards to fit their purposes". Sakura didn't expect and of the Federation's member nations to fold, not with Federation standing being as consistent as it had been for years. Athrun on the other hand, didn't stay silent, "But why would any part of the Alliance's leadership even ask any of the Federation's member nations to join them? And to do that to one of the two founding ones, the Alliance should know that it's so unlikely that it is akin to a lost cause. It doesn't make sense, more so with the treaty between the Alliance and the Federation," he said.

What Athrun said made logical sense to most people that possessed common sense, Ellen knew. Unfortunately, common sense was in extremely short supply within the Alliance these days that one couldn't assume it was there. Granted, the direction the war was going had made this clearer in the last year, but that was not really an excuse. Ellen gained a pitying expression, "To most people, especially those who possess common sense, it doesn't make logical sense at all Athrun." Ellen shook her head, "However, something you must understand is that from behind the scenes, there is a growing group in the leadership of the Earth Alliance. The said group have extremely differing views than the Human Federation as well as most in the PLANTs." Ellen sighed, "Yet, due to their skewed views and greed, they want the power that the Federation has to protect its citizens and interests to fulfill their ambitions."

Tyler knew his mother was right about some within the Alliance's leadership were greed idiots. With some of the assignments that Tyler had to do being in SOLAS, he had seen proof that some of those that led the Alliance were horrible individuals. Some of those images wouldn't leave Tyler and haunted him sometime when he slept. So Tyler snorted, "In other words, they're so focused on their hatred of Coordinators that they don't care who gets hurt or killed for them to get what they want. For the Republic specifically, the reason the Alliance wants this nation at their beckon and call is for our mass driver the 'Shen Lóng', along with the Teswa Research & Development complex."

Ellen applauded Tyler's intelligence and his ability to see what was really going on beyond what the public saw. And what he stated was correct, the Alliance wanted the Republic's mass driver and Federation technology. There had been attempts to acquire both by the Alliance before this, the current attempt was just the closest to being upfront about it. "Yes, they certainly want those things," Ellen admitted. "But add to that, they are nonverbally slapping and discounting the values we hold here, both the moral and non-moral by telling us to essentially throw them away." Ellen picked up the second page, "For instance, in the document, one of the suggestions given is that we exile or deport all the Coordinators that live within our nation. And the only hint as to why is that such are 'suspicious' and so shouldn't be trusted. Or the other form of the idea suggested as a separate item would be in my personal view worse registering and 'tag' Coordinators and use them for our own benefit without treating them as people."

Ellen set the page down and took a few deep breaths, "Either way is a type of abuse that is unacceptable to be done to anyone. It should not matter whether one is a Natural-type, a Coordinator, or any other type of human. They are all human beings when all is said and done regardless what others may claim. What matters is what a person does with what they have, that is the most important, that is how a person should be judged by," she stated.

Tyler couldn't agree more with what his mother said, it was one of his biggest beefs with a number in the Earth Alliance. He nodded strongly to show his agreement, "Right you are mom! Honestly, the 'leadership' of the Atlantic Federation can go screw themselves for all I care. My only request is to have someone record it so there is something to show how idiotic they are. That they would try to force their ridiculous views and hatred of those that are different onto others, it's just plain wrong," Tyler snapped. "They're using the 'crime of existence' to justify what they do and that's not right."

Athrun was thrown for a loop at Tyler's last sentence, specifically the "crime of existence" part. He'd heard of how some in the Alliance were similar to those in organizations like Blue Cosmos, but that was about it. That some within the Alliance were trying to pull from the Federation was concerning as if it was in some way successful that would make issues for ZAFT. But Athrun wasn't as worried about the Alliance working with the Federation, it was too unlikely. "Crime of existence," Athrun questioned in slight confusion, "What are you talking about Tye?"

It was Ellen that answered the question as it was a very philosophical one in its subject matter. "The 'crime of existence' is a philosophical argument that has been debated for an unknown length of time. It was around even before the beginning of the Cosmic Era as historical records have noted but not how much longer before that. The argument has been used for many things, though today it is used on a rather pointed subject."

Tyler sighed as he knew exactly what "subject" his mother was referring to. It was Natural verses Coordinator and everything that had come from it. As a Coordinator himself, Tyler had seen and experienced the hatred and disdain that a portion of Naturals felt. Tyler had even had some try to beat or harm him for the sole reason he was a Coordinator. True, Tyler defended himself and tended to do more to them than they did to him, but that wasn't the point. "You're referring to the idea of Natural verses Coordinator mom, are you not," Tyler posed.

Ellen nodded knowing her son wasn't fond of the subject any more than she was herself. It was a foolish argument really and reflected many ethnic and racial bias that existed historically. "Indeed, the idea of Natural verses Coordinator falls under the age-old argument much like different ethnicity did long ago," she stated. "The easiest way to explain this is to use an allegory. Let us say that a man and a woman have a child, to some this child represents a danger of some sort. Then there's a group that reasons, if the child had not been born, then the world would be a safer place as there would be no danger from them."

Athrun had heard some of the debate of Natural verses Coordinator, the majority was dumb in his opinion. But the allegory that Tyler's mother was putting forth to help explain the point made no sense to him. A child could no more knowingly do harm than a new born animal so the view of others didn't matter really. He was about to interrupt Ellen, yet she held up a hand to stop him, "Whether that view is true or not is irrelevant to this allegory," Ellen stated before she continued, "The two who brought the child into the world are blamed for the possible danger as well. However, they are not cursed as much as the child who the hatred is aimed at from those who fear them. Nonetheless, the child has done nothing wrong at all, and only wishes to live their life in peace." Ellen paused for a moment, "Do you see the glaring contradiction within the example the allegory displays?"

Athrun considered for a moment what Ellen said, but he still felt that the child in the story shouldn't be facing anything that they received. Tyler noticed Athrun was missing the point being made though he attributed that to Athrun's good heart. Tyler knew Kira would be scratching his head asking why thanks to his naiveté. So, Tyler cleared his throat, "Simply put Athrun, the child's crime from the group's point of view is simply being born. The accusation itself isn't in any way fair. A child can no more be held responsible for coming into life as they are than someone can stop the movement of the plants of the solar system around the sun. Hence, the conundrum in this argument and why it makes no logical sense that so many don't acknowledge. You can't truly and honestly blame someone for an event they had absolutely no control over or choice in."

Phase End

A/n

That's where I'll stop for this Phase. I know this is a bit of a filler chapter and I could have combined it with the next phase as it was to an extend original, but I decided against that. So there isn't a great deal that changed other than more embellishing with what was there before. As I say at pretty much each chapter, please some of you write a review, long or short, doesn't matter to me, just tell me what you think or ask questions. Until the next Phase which will be a little while as my life is going to be busy for the next week or two, peace out all!