It took ten minutes for the Glowsaver to transit from the debris-strewn void where Creuset had fallen to the rallying point of the Three-Ship Alliance. As the familiar silhouettes of the Archangel, the Kusanagi, and the Eternal loomed large against the stars, the crushing weight of the battle finally began to lift.
"Archangel, this is Glowsaver. Axel Almer. I'm coming home."
"Axel! You're safe... Thank God."
Murrue's voice wavered over the comms. On the main viewscreen, Axel could see her leaning back into the captain's chair, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears of pure, unadulterated relief.
"See? What did I tell you?" Lemon's voice broke in, playful but edged with a tired smile as she rested a hand on Murrue's shoulder. "He didn't lead the Shadow Mirror's elite units just for show, you know."
Behind them, Cornelia let out a long, slow breath, her posture finally relaxing. Seeing the three of them together, safe and sound, was the first time Axel truly felt that the war was over.
"Good work, Axel," Lemon continued, her expression turning professional. "I assume you heard the broadcast?"
"Yeah. It sounds like the Clyne faction's coup was a success."
"About that..." Lemon hesitated. "PLANT has effectively declared their intent to cooperate, but the Earth Alliance is still a wildcard. We have Azrael in custody, but as far as the bureaucracy is concerned, he's just the Director of the Atlantic Federation's Blue Cosmos wing. He doesn't hold the official keys to the Alliance's ceasefire."
"We'll need to coordinate with Uzumi," Axel said. "At the end of the day, we're a military force, not a diplomatic one. We'll leave the politics to Orb."
"Right. It's best to let the people of this world decide their own future," Lemon agreed. "By the way, I should brief you on our status."
"What are our losses?"
"As for the Megillots, we have thirteen units remaining. Regarding the main machines, the Strike took moderate damage. Everything else—the Glowsaver, the Weiss Savour, the Rapiecage—only sustained surface scrapes. The Megillots acted as our shield, just as intended."
"I see. That's good news."
Megillots were expendable drones. Once they returned to the White Star, mass-producing replacements would be trivial. They had served their purpose well.
As Axel banked the Glowsaver toward the Archangel, something caught his eye: a cluster of Megillots was using their thrusters to gently tow a crippled ZAFT Ginn toward the remains of Jachin Due.
"...Hey, Lemon. Is it just me, or are the Megillots running search and rescue?"
"Oh, that? Eileen Canaver's broadcast requested all forces to prioritize the rescue of the wounded. I decided we should pitch in. Even if we were shooting at each other ten minutes ago, saving lives is a universal language. It's hard to stay enemies when you're pulling someone out of a burning cockpit together. It builds a sense of solidarity, however forced."
Axel nodded slowly. It was a clever move to mitigate the inevitable resentment of the surrendering ZAFT soldiers. "Was this Lacus's idea?"
"Close. Cagalli suggested it too."
"Cagalli, huh?" Axel was genuinely impressed. For a hot-headed princess who usually preferred charging in headfirst, she was showing a surprising amount of foresight.
"Because of that, the ship is mostly empty," Lemon added. "Everyone's out helping. The only ones left here are us and Mu, since his machine is out of commission."
"How is Mu?"
"Scrapes and bruises. He's fine. In fact—"
"Axel! What happened to him!?"
Mu's voice cut into the channel. He appeared on the sub-monitor, a patch of gauze taped to his forehead. Aside from the bandage, he looked as rowdy as ever.
"You seem energetic," Axel noted.
"Never mind me! What happened to Creuset? Did you finish it!?"
"Yeah. He's dead, Mu."
Mu went quiet. He let out a long, bitter sigh and shook his head. "...I see."
"Sorry I dragged you into my family's mess," Mu muttered after a moment. "But I guess that's it. I'm the last of the Flaga bloodline now. At least no more of this 'clone' nonsense will haunt us."
Axel bit his tongue. This wasn't the time or the place to discuss the revelation of Ray Za Burrel—not over an open channel.
"Lemon, if everyone's helping with the rescue, should I head back out?" Axel asked.
"Don't be ridiculous," Lemon chided. "A leader's job is to stay grounded and command. You have a bad habit of trying to do everything yourself, Axel. Vindel almost never set foot on the front lines, remember?"
...Except I just got back from the front lines, Axel thought dryly.
"Anyway, get back to the Archangel," Lemon ordered. "Between the meetings with PLANT and the coordination with Orb, your schedule is already packed."
"Copy that. ...Mu, I need to talk to you once I'm aboard."
"Talk? About what?"
"About Creuset."
Mu nodded solemnly. "Understood."
The Archangel's hangar was a graveyard of broken parts. Severed Ginn arms and GuAIZ heads floated in the zero-G environment, remnants of the desperate struggle to defend the ship. Axel brought the Glowsaver in for a smooth landing.
"Kid, you're back in one piece," Murdoch called out as the cockpit opened.
"More or less," Axel replied, climbing down.
"I was worried when Commander Flaga's Strike came back missing its right arm, but your machine looks like it barely broke a sweat."
Axel glanced around the hangar. The Strike sat in its cradle, its shoulder a mangled mess of wires. Nearby, the Weiss Savour and Rapiecage stood tall. Even though they had fought in the thickest part of the battle at Jachin Due, they were virtually pristine—a testament to Lemon and Cornelia's skill.
The Duel and Buster were missing, likely out on rescue duty as Lemon had said. Knowing Yzak and Dearka, they were probably working double-time to save their fellow Coordinators.
"What about the mass-produced Gespenst Mk-IIs?" Axel asked.
"Out on rescue too," Murdoch said, though he scowled slightly. For the people of this world, the idea of the "Mass-Produced W" androids was still a bit unsettling.
"Well, I'd better head to the bridge," Axel said. "If I keep them waiting, I'll never hear the end of it."
"Pah. Listen to Mr. Harem over here," Murdoch grumbled, though there was no real heat in it. "Keeping a ship full of beauties like that... even managed to snag the Captain. Must be nice."
Axel blinked. It seemed his relationship with Murrue was no longer a "secret" to the engineering crew. He supposed it was inevitable.
"Oh, hey, kid." Murdoch stopped him as he headed for the exit.
"Yeah?"
"Once the dust settles... do you think you could take me to this 'White Star' place? I want to see the tech you guys are hiding. Not just the mobile suits, but the core of it. I'm a grease monkey—I can't stand not knowing how my own machines work."
Axel paused. The phrase 'Don't mix, it's dangerous' flashed through his mind as he imagined Murdoch and the Shadow Mirror tech team in the same room. But he pushed it aside.
"Sure. I don't see why not. You'd probably get along well with our engineers."
"Heh, I'm holding you to that. I can't maintain your machines properly if I don't understand the 'logic' behind 'em."
Axel gave a small, appreciative smile. The Shadow Mirror units were built on technology entirely foreign to this world—T-LINK systems, E-Fields, and black-box reactors. Up until now, Murdoch had been limited to basic refueling and minor repairs, while the "W" units handled the complex internal systems. For a man of Murdoch's pride, it must have been frustrating.
Maybe he'll end up moving to the White Star after the war, Axel mused.
"So, what's this about?"
Mu was already waiting in the pilot's lounge, still in his flight suit. He looked weary, the adrenaline of the battle finally fading to leave only exhaustion.
Axel sat down across from him. "As you know, I killed Creuset."
"Yeah. You said."
"Before he died, he gave me a name. He said there was another one like him in the PLANTs."
Mu froze. The color drained from his face as the implication sank in. "Another... clone of my old man? You're telling me there's a third one?"
"Half-right. He is a clone of the Flaga line, yes. But technically, he isn't a clone of Al Da Flaga. He's a clone of Rau Le Creuset."
"…Go on."
"A clone of a clone. Which means he has the same telomere issues. Rau's last wish was for me to save him."
"Save him? Can you even do that?"
"In theory? Yes. But it's a job for the White Star. We can't just hand over Shadow Mirror medical tech to the public. If we treat him, he'd have to join us. He'd be under our protection—and our surveillance—for a long time. The real question is whether his guardian will agree to it."
"Guardian?"
"Gilbert Durandal," Axel said. "He's an expert in genetic sciences. He was the one providing Creuset with the medication to suppress his cellular decay."
"Wait a minute!" Mu stood up, his voice rising. "If this Durandal guy was helping Rau, didn't he know Rau was trying to blow up the world!?"
Axel leaned back. In the original timeline, Durandal's motivations were complex, tied to his love for Talia and his obsession with the Destiny Plan. But in this world, Axel had already shattered the foundations of that future.
"I don't know for sure," Axel admitted. "But I doubt it. Let's just say... I have a feeling he's more interested in the future than the end of the world."
"…Fine. I'll take your word for it for now," Mu said, though his eyes were hard. "But when you meet this guy, I'm coming with you. I need to see him for myself. If he was in on Rau's plan..."
Mu didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't have to. Axel understood.
"That's fine. I'll arrange a meeting through Lacus and Eileen Canaver once the ceasefire is stabilized. I'll let you know when."
Mu nodded and walked out of the lounge, clearly needing time to process the fact that his "family" was even more complicated than he had feared.
Axel stood up, checking his watch. He had taken too long. The bridge—and the women waiting for him—wouldn't wait forever.
Pilot Data: Axel Almer
Level: 38 | Kills: 374
Stats: Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
Spirit Commands: Accel (4), Effort (8), Focus (16), Direct Hit (30), Zeal (32), Love (48)
Abilities: T-LINK System Lv.10, Attacker, Gunfight Lv.9, Infight Lv.9, Morale Limit Break, Geass (Grey), SP Boost.
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