Before you begin: This chapter just has little snipbits that are going to lead into my next story. Keep an eye on the dates and understand that most of these happen before the ending of the last chapter; before the girls leave for space. Just to put things into perspective, the ceasefire happened on C.E. 71 September 27. We know the Three Ship Alliance was in space for just under a month before it touched back down in Orb. So, hopefully that gives you an idea of the timeline.

Where Are They Now?

(Orb. C.E. 71 October 24)

Lexi put down the coffee cup, the liquid still swishing on her tongue. She swallowed.

"They what?"

Athrun shrugged, flipping the license on the table. Kisaka had just given it to him not an hour ago and based on the look he had on his face, he was still getting used to the idea. Kira and Lacus's new found idea to run an orphanage didn't help his adjustment to Orb society.

A fake name didn't help much either.

"Kira said his mother's on board, but—unfortunately—since all the drama involving the twins, Kira's dad's vanished."

"I hadn't heard that," Lexi admitted, her shock wisping away enough for her to take another drink. "That explains his isolation the past couple of weeks."

Athrun tapped the license on the table before reaching for his tea cup. Lifting it, he frowned and put the empty china back down. "There's a lot more going on in his head than he lets on."

"Huh," was her only response. Namarra had finally filled her in on what her Berserker half had said to the poor pilot, but Lexi was in no position—nor did she have the desire—to help him get over his psycho drama. That was reserved for closer friends and family. Her and Kira might be on some manner of civil terms, but for reasons she didn't even understand sometimes, she didn't care to be buddy-buddy with the kid.

The server came around and refilled her coffee cup. After stirring in some sugar and cream, she pulled the spoon out of her mouth and pointed it at the plastic annoyance in Athrun's hand. "So, Cagalli talked you into it?"

"It was actually my idea. She just had the means."

"You too embarrassed to be you?"

"There's a lot of heat with the Zala name right now. Besides, can someone like you really lecture me on an identity crisis?"

She took a drink. "No, not really, but despite my past, I sort of feel better being Lexi Rymyr." She shrugged as if it didn't matter, even if her epiphany would have made any psychiatrist proud. "So, who are you anyway?"

"Alex Dino."

Wiping off her hand on her jeans, she reached across the table to shake his. "Nice to meet you." At first she didn't think he would take it, but despite the exhausted sigh, he grabbed her hand.

"Feeling's mutual."

"So," Lexi continued, "how're you going to manage this peacekeepers idea, being Cagalli's bodyguard, and helping the others man the munchkins?"

"I'll be at the orphanage only once and a while and with Cags when she leaves Orb. Most of her security here is manned by Kisaka and I handle anything outside the border."

"I bet you handle it," she muttered into her glass, feeling her teeth grind into the porcelain. It was just the strangest feeling knowing the girl she always considered a sister was in a relationship with one of her best friends. She shivered just thinking about it.

So, she drank more coffee.

"Speaking of the peacekeepers, I have somewhere you and Nam—"

"Nuh-uh." Lexi shook her head. "Not today. It's still too soon."

Athrun looked confused at first, but slowly that confusion slipped away. "Ah, her brothers."

"Yeah."

"We'll save that for another time then." Athrun sighed, finally leaning back in his chair and pocketing the ID. "You have anywhere to be?"

Lexi shrugged. "Not really."

"Good." He flagged down a waitress before speaking again. "What d'ya say we have a late lunch or something? I'm not needed anywhere really. Alex Dino's first day isn't until tomorrow."

"A lunch date, huh? I thought you had a girlfriend?"

He shrugged, seemingly meaning nothing more than a shoulder raise. "Technically, but Alex Dino is single so this should look innocent."

She paused, studying him. Despite their close relationship, she knew that whole phrase was a mindless flirt and found herself shaking her head.

"Whatever, as long as you're paying."

(Orb. C.E. 71 October 24)

Namarra thanked the driver before stepping out onto the pavement. She had asked to be a dropped off about a mile away from the orphanage. Mainly because she didn't want to show up at the orphanage in a fancy limo—she felt the little kids might look at her differently—but also because she needed to think. Erika had been right, Kisaka's past was almost as tragic as her own. "Almost" because her pain felt so much more real than his.

Call it being a teenager.

In truth, the whole conversation was very enlightening. While she didn't learn any new coping methods, she did learn that it would get easier. Cliché, maybe, but truthful. According to Kisaka, he was still getting over his own tragedies. What she respected the most was his honesty. While he never really went into details, she found herself nodding, thinking he really did understand her pain.

It was interesting too how she never felt bad during the entire lunch, but as soon as she was alone again, everything hit her hard. She had just enough time to wave to the limo driver before she had to put her hands on the railing just to keep herself from shaking too bad. It had been a while since she had an episode, but she was determined to keep her streak going. Luckily, she had been thinking ahead that morning and pulled a stone out of her pocket. It worked as a sort of stress reliever even if it seemed so ordinary. To anyone else, it would have looked like nothing, but Namarra had been carrying it around since her brother had died and seeing as she was nothing but a child back then, a stone meant more to her than any kind of jewel.

Namarra stared at the smooth surface. It wasn't much—hell, it wasn't even engraved—but it rarely left her side. It fit in the palm of her hand, but was large enough to fit at least six names. Her parents, her brother, her brothers from Blue Cosmos and the most recent add, Mu. Sighing, she folded her hand around the stone and leaned against the railing. A car honked as it passed behind her, but she didn't even care enough to be obscene. She was standing in the same spot she had met that boy and despite the stressful day, she found her thoughts drifting back to that moment.

Another car drove by and she looked back down at the stone. Swallowing back her panic, she rubbed her fingers over one name and date.

"Kai Legund: 7-13."

The marker was fading again and the name barely readable, but she couldn't bear to rewrite it. Her young self had written out each letter, her handwriting sloppy with panic and grief. A couple more rubs and she knew it wouldn't be there, but she had the memory by that point, knowing exactly how the rock felt in her hand as her thumb passed over the name.

"I really miss you, Kai."

Swallowing, she felt a tear that time.

And really hoped it would get easier.

(Orb. C.E. 71 November 11)

"…happy ending."

All the kids were asleep by then, Lexi and Namarra being the only two "kids" still mobile. Somehow Lexi figured the coffee had something to do with it.

"I still can't believe we were the only two who offered to do this all night lock-in thing," Namarra said, bringing the coffee cup to her lips and frowning when nothing but a drop dribbled onto her tongue.

"Well, we're the only two who are neither old nor employed," Lexi responded. She shifted her sleep-tingling hip, trying not to wake the four-year-old leaning against her.

"Oh yeah."

They watched the credits scroll, hypnotized by the memory of it all. Namarra began humming the song she had written, the melody audible over the ending music. Lexi had not heard it in a while and found herself smiling and joining in when her part came up. The Natural had appropriately named the song "Akatsuki no Kuruma" but the redhead had the feeling she would never hear the real reason why she had even written it.

"Y'know," Lexi began when the melody faded. "Instead of sitting around while Athrun sets up his peacekeeping idea, we could do a little project of our own."

"Like what?"

"I had a dream about Melanie last night, my first one in over three months or so. It got me thinking. If Dearka was able to find something so obscure as that Berserker Bible-thing by accident, maybe we should start looking for information on purpose."

"A Berserker research project?" Namarra asked, her teeth now nibbling on the end of the mug. Lexi had never pried into the Natural's personal experience when fully berserk, but she never really needed to either. The haunted look on her face whenever the topic was brought up seemed like a big enough reminder.

"We're not going to stick with the 'ignorance is bliss' motto, huh?"

Lexi shook her head. "Supposedly, I'm going to insane at any moment so the least we can do is get a little prior research and know what signs to look for."

"We already know the severity of the Berserker gene is linked to age, but I guess any other material would be helpful."

"I have no idea where we could begin," Lexi muttered, starting to bite nervously on her own cup. "I guess we could always go back to Mendel since we already had evidence found there."

"Lacus says there's been talk of restoring the satellite. If that's the case, maybe we should search before people start poking around."

Lexi nodded. "They won't start anything until after the holidays. Maybe we should at least stay until after Christmas."

Namarra agreed, but slouched down further into the couch. "Are we going to keep bouncing back and forth like this? We just docked a month ago and already we're leaving again?"

"Yeah, it kinda sucks, but I have a feeling we're going to be skipping around a lot, especially with us being the main employees for Athrun's project."

"Maybe we should start looking for a permanent Orb address." Namarra shrugged. "If anything, we need a place to store our gear. Leaving weaponry—even locked—with the kids around sounds like a bad idea. Even if none of them manage to hurt themselves, the weapons would bring back many painful memories for these poor kids."

"Agreed. You can work on that tomorrow when I meet with Cags."

After nodding, the two grew silent again, the credits having scrolled through to the end. The show turned itself off after a while, leaving the girls with only quiet snoring and breathing to ease the silence.

"So, now what?" Lexi asked, but saw Namarra had already closed her eyes. Smiling, Lexi closed her own. "Kids."

(Orb. C.E. 71 November 12)

It was a little different meeting Cagalli than Athrun. The main difference being? Security. Kisaka sat at the table next to them, his nose in the daily paper. The rest of his team, consisting of six operatives, were seated at the other tables surrounding them. At first Lexi really didn't understand the need for the extra protection and was even more surprised to hear the security was mainly for her. Cagalli's reputation had been on a rise since they landed and nothing short of suicide would change that. Lexi's reputation was the iffy one.

Since arriving back at Orb, she had let Lathan handle all the public relations concerning their parents. He had even been offered a book deal, promising to relate both their parents' and his lives as best he could. That invitation had been extended to Lexi, but he declined before she had the chance to. The press assumed it was because of the shame he felt for his sister concerning Lexi's recent exile, but it was primarily because Lathan didn't want to share anything about the Berserker. Of course he couldn't share that reason so he didn't give one leaving Lexi's reputation to shift daily from, "we love her" to "she should remain in exile and is probably the reason her parents are dead."

Apparently, that day was the latter.

"Man, I definitely don't miss these camera-blinding days," Lexi muttered, frowning at an eager reporter being pushed away by one of her bodyguards. "At least back then I was cute and stupid so I enjoyed the attention."

"I didn't know you were any different now," Cagalli joked, but after a sheepish smile she pointed to a sandwich on the menu, the server jotted it down, Lexi ordered and then the blonde shrugged. "Unfortunately, you get used to it."

"I'm just sorry we have to met on a 'hate Lexi' day," Lexi continued. "Hopefully, this doesn't hurt your rep too bad."

"Oh, please. I should be able to talk to you in public despite their allegations."

"Or maybe I should be thanking you?" Turning, she managed to put on a smile for one observer's camera. Hopefully, it didn't look as bitter as she felt. "My proximity to you is probably bleaching my reputation as we speak."

"Oh, stop worrying about stuff like that. I haven't seen you in almost a month. What's new?"

"Well," Lexi began, thanking the waiter for the coffee. "I applied for a job at a weapon's bar and wasn't hired because I was both too young and too inexperienced."

"You're joking. Most kids our age were in the war."

"Yeah, I think he knew that, but we have to remember who I am now. All my military connection with ZAFT has been erased. I'm a rich orphan now."

"Why were you applying for a mundane job anyway? Use some connections," her voice slurred as she jabbed a thumb at a chest, "to get you a real occupation."

Lexi hid a smile in her mug. Technically, she had a real job, but the money wouldn't be coming in for another month or so. And that job at the weapon's bar was to just scope out merchandise. Kisaka and her locked eyes for a second before they returned to what they were doing before. He was also in on Athrun's idea.

"Alright, what did you have in mind then? Oh, subtle 'important' connection of mine."

"Erika and Murrue need help at Morgenroete."

"I thought Erika was out for her surgery?"

"She is, but still can't help doing a little work on the side."

Lexi smiled knowingly. "I can't stay there full time though, no matter how much they need me."

"I know, but any time you and Namarra could stop in they'd appreciate."

"You roped Namarra into this too?"

"They just need some feedback from pilots."

Lexi frowned. "And?" she egged.

Cagalli sighed, putting on a sheepish smile. "The CAs would be a huge help as well."

"Figured. Just another thing to boost their egos."

"Their?"

"The CAs."

"Huh? Do I want to ask?"

Lexi shook her head. "Nevermind." She paused, leaning back in her chair to make room for her sandwich. "I can't promise I'll be around all that often, but I'll stop in as much as I can."

"And Namarra?"

"I'll mention it, but there's definitely no guarantees with that one."

Cagalli looked relieved. "Good. So, what else is new with life?"

"So glad that took second place to the CAs and Morgenroete," Lexi muttered, but when Cagalli's lips flipped from pleasant company to exhausted annoyance she apologized. "My life is always moving, I'll put it that way. Ever since Lathan left he's been planning my visits. It doesn't seem too bad, but there's a lot of back and forth travelling. The soonest I'd be leaving is after Christmas."

"Really? Where to? And for how long?"

"Nam and I have a little research to do. Not sure when we'll be back though." Cagalli looked confused for a moment, but when Lexi pointed to her eyes she understood.

"New leads?"

"Old ones, but maybe more news."

"Well, if you need anything from me just let me know." Lexi nodded. "We're thinking of hosting a Christmas party at the orphanage so promise you two will stop over before you leave. I think Namarra's gotten pretty attached to the younger ones."

"Sure, we'll be sure to make note of it. Namarra spent most of her young life in an orphanage so she has a soft spot for the children. Besides, they give her a reason to mature." The redhead took a bit of her sandwich to hide her snicker. "And how're you doing?" she asked once she swallowed.

"You-know-who is still snooping around."

"Ah," Lexi replied. The Seirans had been excited to have Cagalli back, but their excitement didn't include leaving state affairs in her hands. Based on their reputation, Cagalli couldn't just dismiss them, but their meddling had become tiresome. Whispers have even been circling about a potential engagement between Yuna and Cagalli. Lexi had nearly choked on her pizza after hearing that the other day.

"Do they suspect anything about Alex?" Lexi kept her head down and chewed as she asked, not wanting to be overheard or her lips read.

Cagalli heard just fine. "If they do they're keeping it to themselves. Ath—I mean, Alex is very careful about these things."

"As he should be. Just don't do anything stupid."

"Besides, Alex Dino has a girlfriend, apparently." Cagalli must have seen a reporter or something since she had said his name a bit too loud. Lexi made a look, but she continued. "They have been seen at a café a couple of times."

Lexi cleared her throat, knowing that girl she was talking about was her. There was no way Cagalli couldn't know about that. The redhead narrowed her eyes. "Don't."

"In fact," she continued despite the threat, "I heard she looks an awful lot like—"

"Yes, yes, we all have seen the tabloids." Lexi kicked Cagalli under the table. "Be careful though, cousin, your concern almost makes me think you're jealous."

That shut her up and even made her cheeks grow a nice pink. Lexi hoped no one had seen the blush because the whole point of those public outings was to curve suspicion away from Athrun and Cagalli's relationship. If she had known Cagalli's misplaced jealousy would cause this much trouble, they never would have done it in the first place. She needed to play along with the ruse too, especially with Lexi needing a reason to be contacting Athrun in the future. He needed to give her assignments.

Lexi thought the blush was the end of the subject when Cagalli kept going, her embarrassment now illuminating her face like the red light on a traffic signal. "Why would I be jealous? I was just concerned because he's new in town and—"

Lexi could just feel the camera rising to take a picture so she did the only thing she could think of.

She spilled coffee all over her lap.

A sort of controlled chaos had erupted after that to get her cleaned up, but at least the crisis was averted. And maybe Lexi's reputation would climb again for her clumsiness.

(Space. C.E. 71 November 13)

Click. Refresh.

DaCosta yawned, resting his chin on an upraised hand.

Click. Refresh.

Blinking, he suppressed another yawn and stared at the computer screen. Not long ago, dried out eyeballs were related to long nights on duty in the Eternal, but at that moment, the long hours of staring at the online auction had caused his eyes to dry quicker than he thought possible. Perhaps it was the white website staring back at him, but he was sure it had to do more with the boredom of what he was trying to accomplish.

Well, more like what he was trying to do for Waltfeld.

Click. Refresh.

"Seriously, sir, no one else is going to be bidding on these rare coffee beans."

Click. Refresh.

He yawned again and checked the timer above the lot. It read one minute remaining. Stretching, he sat up in his chair and took a couple of moments to enjoy the little pleasure a full body stretch could do. Suddenly, he understood what it must have felt like for a cat.

Click. Refresh.

Someone else bid.

"W-what?" he stammered and placed a higher bid.

Timer: 45 seconds.

Click. Refresh.

Another bid.

"You've gotta be—" he began, but didn't finish his thought, his fingers racing across the keys to place another bid.

Timer: 38 seconds.

"Why does this 'YoureGonnaLose666' want the coffee—what?" He put a higher bid.

Timer: 22 seconds.

Eighteen seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Ten seconds.

Five seconds.

Click. Refresh.

He was out bid with four seconds to go.

"No!" he screeched, gripping the armrests. It wasn't possible. Waltfeld had left him with one thing to do; a simple task: buy the coffee. And he had been beaten. "Oh, God."

The phone rang.

DaCosta jumped.

It wasn't hard to figure out who was calling seeing as that particular coffee addict was most likely staring at the atomic clock and no matter what the time difference, he was always going to be on the ball when it came to coffee.

The phone rang again and still DaCosta didn't move. Sure, he should eventually—and knowing how bad his life could be if he didn't—but he was frozen to the chair. Finally, it stopped ringing and he sighed.

At least until it started ringing again.

"Hello?" he asked, picking up the receiver. Even the phone smelled like coffee, but that could have had more to do with fear than actual fact.

"Did you get it?"

"Why hello, Commander. Yes, I'm fine thanks for asking."

"DaCosta, did you get it?"

"Actually—"

"What do you mean, 'actually'?"

"You see, my internet was slow—"

"You're in the PLANTs. There's no such thing."

"—and someone—"

"Be careful what you say next, DaCosta."

"—out bid me."

There was a pause. Then another one. And yet another on until he finally spoke. "Okay."

"Okay?" That was the scariest thing he could have ever said, especially since it was obvious he was forcing the words through his pursed lips. "What do you mean, okay? That's it?"

"Well, I was going to demote you—"

"Yes, please and thank you."

"—but I knew you'd enjoy it too much so, okay."

DaCosta paused that time. "Okay then."

"Okay."

"Yes, okay."

(Orb. C.E. 71 November 13)

"Lexi, I got it!" Namarra called, waving her arms in the air as she rocked back and forth on the couch. Pulling her knees to her chest she laughed, the noise oozing with victory. "Well, we finally got his Christmas present."

Lexi poked her head around the corner, drying a wet plate. "Really? Alright!"

"Yeah, I timed it perfectly at the last second. It didn't set us back much either."

"Who'd you beat?" Lexi asked, walking over to stare at the computer screen. Leaning on the back of the couch, she continued drying the plastic dish as Namarra pointed at a name.

"Some person named MfromDaCoast. I don't think she—he?—has much auction experience."

"Well, good. Have it shipped here to the orphanage and we'll give it to Waltfeld at the party."

Namarra nodded. "I'll let Lacus know."

"Great, now we need to start on that new tiger mug that you broke last month."

The Natural winced and clicked onto another page. "Found it on the same site and look!" She pointed at the screen again. "That MfromDaCoast is bidding on this one too."

"Pff, three minutes left. He doesn't have a chance."

Lexi went back to the kitchen and Namarra stretched, cracking her knuckles before settling back into a comfortable position. She bid. "Noob."

(Space. C.E. 71 November 13)

There was an anguish cry.

And the phone rang.

"It's not okay."

(Orb. C.E. 71 December 24)

"Hey guys!" Lathan yelled, his hand waving on the other side of the video screen. It had only been a month or so since they had all seen each other, but already Lathan's eyes had shifted to a spooky white. Since he had opted to embrace his blindness, the girls knew his eyes would fade sooner or later, but the different space environment must have forced the change.

"Hey, Lathan. What's with the frantic need to talk?" Namarra asked, scooching her computer chair closer.

"Heine and I have come up with a perfect name for our team."

"Heine's joined too?" Lexi asked, looking skeptical. "I thought he was the professional bitch of some high-ranking officer. How does he have time for our little project?"

"He's gonna be our informant for ZAFT," Lathan explained, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Sometimes Lexi found herself worried for him—some of his mannerisms not exactly displaying a healthy conscious—but when he got back to business, she could tell her brother was coping with his new circumstances as well as everyone else.

In his own way.

"So, even a bitch gets some free time," Namarra muttered.

"He was in intelligence," Lexi added. "I'm sure he's still in contact with many of his informants."

"Precisely," Lathan continued, holding up an index finger. "The EA wasn't as difficult to approach with our operation—a bit more cleaning up to do than ZAFT. With Heine's help, however, we have our in."

"Bringing the world together one assassination at a time," Namarra mused. "Maybe that should be our catchphrase."

Lexi smiled at the comment prompting and receiving a high five from her comrade. "Did you get Athrun's news too?"

"About funding?" Lexi nodded and Lathan did the same. "Yup. I met with the head of Terminal, actually, to hash out a couple concepts. Let's just say we'll be in contact with them for a while."

"Term—Oh!" Namarra snapped her fingers. "They were part of the Clyne Faction or something, right?"

"Something like that, yes. The bottom line is, we're ready to go as soon as we finalize a couple more details. Athrun and I will be working on that throughout the week. If our luck holds, you two won't be stagnant for much longer."

"Score!" the girls said together.

"And that brings me back to the name." Clearing his throat, Lathan drummed his hands against the table before announcing, "Hermes."

"Messenger to the gods, how appropriate," Namarra responded.

"And backstabbing thief to boot."

"I'm hoping to avoid that part, sis." He frowned and Lexi smiled. "Anyway, I'm pitching the name tonight."

"Make it in a couple days. For goodness sakes, Lathan, it's Christmas Eve."

"Wait, what? Holy shit, it is!" he exclaimed, his hand going to his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. With everything going on—shoot, just wish everyone a happy holiday for me, okay? Damn, I was hoping to be down there, but I guess I'll manage up here."

"Namarra and I are still planning to leave the 26th so we'll see you then. But for now, Merry Christmas, bro."

"Merry Christmas, Lathan," Namarra said at the same time as Lexi.

After he signed off, the Natural stretched, her body contorting into something Lexi found herself jealous of. Either that or scared of because there was no way that particular move was good for her spine. "We'll sign the lease at the beginning of January and move into our new apartment when we get back to Orb. We'll have a base of operations for Earth at least."

"When we go up to see Lathan again we'll look for apartments too. We probably shouldn't bunk with the guys because I really don't want to get Heine in trouble again."

"Good thinking. So, did you wrap the presents?"

"No, you said you would."

Sighing, the girls just shrugged. "We'll buy gift bags on the way to the party."

(Space. C.E. 72 January 3)

It had been a long day. Even though the world was heading towards peace, security from Earth to space was a bitch. With the interrogations she received leaving the ground, her past association with the war now raising red flags despite her family's reputation—well, she was getting sick of it. Orb's opinion of her was still up in the air, bouncing back and forth much like one of those rubber balls the kids liked to play with at the orphanage. Because of that, she sometimes got through with no problems and other times she was stopped at every moment.

That happened to be one of those times.

"I need coffee," she grumbled as she walked to the sidewalk. Her and Namarra had been scavenging through Mendel for the past couple of days, but have come up dry every time. When Lathan called and asked her to meet a potential supplier in the PLANTs she jumped at the idea. Lathan had given Namarra a Hermes mission to do as well, so despite their need to find out some information on Berserkers, the only way to truly go about it was to take some time. Besides, Lexi told herself. I have to get Namarra's birthday present too. Hopefully this contact will let me pick out some kind of "good will" gift. The meeting sounded easy enough and since both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance knew about Hermes, it wasn't going to be as covert as originally thought.

It was a crowded afternoon for a Sunday, but the weather was nice for New Years. She was used to warmer temperatures thanks to the months in Orb, but even in a winter setting a fall jacket did more than enough. Smiling, she sidestepped a child pushing his umbrella stroller wildly in front of his parents. The dad managed to correct the boy before he could go too far and he smiled an apology. Lexi shrugged in understanding and curved her neck to watch the family continue walking.

It's been a while since I've seen that, she thought, not looking where she was going. Years of paranoia had kept her from getting taken off guard completely, but she did get distracted. A guy was standing at a window looking at the shoes on display. She clipped his ass if anything, noticing her airheaded-ness at the last second. He turned, a younger man with darker hair and fair face. Based on his smooth hands—he had turned to try and catch her if he needed—he probably hadn't been in the field. Given his age, he would have been in the military, but there were so many positions she was convinced he had been in the war.

Until he smiled.

"Hey, you alright?" The smile was too genuine; too innocent. Either he was a really good faker or he hadn't seen anything grizzly.

"Yeah, fine. Sorry." Lexi smiled back, but more for courtesy's sake. He seemed to think it was fate, but Lexi saw something else far more ironic. Past the man, even back as far as the young family walked none other than Yzak Joule. He wore civilian clothes, but there was no mistaking that gait.

Slipping past the young man, she walked back the way she came, towards Yzak. He hadn't noticed her yet, but she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say anyway. The last time she had had any contact with him, he had saved her life.

He paused at a window, but not for long. Something near her must have caught his attention because he turned and then saw her. It was one of those funny facial moments: recognition, questioning if that was really the person, looking harder, then making an appropriate reaction because it really was the person.

"Lexi?"

"Hey, I thought that was you. Day off?" She motioned to his attire.

"Mandatory day off. Anyone on the front line's been given holiday leave for the past couple months."

"Makes sense."

"What're you doing here? Dearka told me you were staying in Orb."

Where could she begin? "Here on business, you could say."

"And I've learned not to prod about that." They both smiled.

Yzak wears maturity well, Lexi thought, even if only one moment meant about as much as eating only one potato chip.

"Well, does this business allow any free time?"

"I have a couple hours to kill."

"Great! Wanna grab a coffee?"

"Oh, thank God." He cocked an eyebrow and she grinned. "I've been craving one all day."

"You do know it's not even noon yet, right? That's hardly all day."

"Damn, it feels like a day."

"Well, for the sake of everyone involved—mainly me—let's get you some black caffeine before you go berserk."

Lexi paused for a second, trying to figure out what he meant by that statement. She was pleasantly surprised, however, noting the smile trying to twitch up his lips. It had been a joke. The redhead was sure only her and Namarra could make fun of her malevolent self since it was practically a taboo topic among the others.

Definitely a nice change of pace.

A/N: Wow, this is the last one For Weapon's Waltz, can you believe it? I actually finished a story on FanFiction. It was a good feeling to change the status to "Complete." Ah, I feel like a weight's lifted or something. Since I've written this over the past infinity of years, I'm not happy with some of the quality, but there are still moments I love.

Anyway, I'm gonna do a little stat update. The most viewed chapter (other than chapter one) is: Chapter 42 "Leaving Home to Go Home." I'm surprised that one was so popular, actually. Mainly because Lexi bashes Kira pretty bad and I got a little heat from it. Hm, maybe you guys would have a better answer for me.

Chapter with the most words: Chapter 57 "The New Mankind and Everyone Else." Okay, I know why that one was so long. MS battles...

Chapter(s) with the most reviews: Chapter 1 "Prologue and Lunar Eclipse" and Chapter 40 "The Dumb Luck of No Longer Existing" were tied at 13.

My favorite chapter title (going just by the title and not the content): It's a tie between, Chapter 47 "One Nuke Short of a Massacre" and Chapter 49 "Giving a Lot of Damn About Not Giving a Damn."

Favorite moments to write: Hand-to-hand combat (of course!) and the Berserkers (of course!). Oh, and Waltfeld was a blast!

Most frustrating moments: MS battles and all the mechanical mumbo-jumbo. I also hated watching all the SEED episodes merely for research purposes (copying dialogue, etc.). I can finally watch them for fun again!

There might be a couple more things I can do stats on, but I think I'll just continue on with the author's note and finish Waltz.

What did you guys think? Sure, the beginning chapters need to be rewritten (badly) but is anyone out there gonna read my next installment? I have some of it written already (thanks to NaNoWriMo) and just have to put the first couple of chapters together. It'll be called Sibling's Serenade so look for it!

Special thanks for my Betas who've stuck with me through this whole ordeal. I'm not sure what I would have done without their knowledge and useful comments. Not forgetting to mention their constant support on the review end. Hopefully, they'll stay with me for the long run, but since I have no idea how long that's actually going to be, I can't blame them for wanting to play a smaller role. :P Anyway, Death-Scimitar, CSSStravag, and Maderfole deserve additional praise.

So, I guess I'll see some of you on my next story and if not, thank you for all your support. If I made any of your days a bit brighter then mission accomplished.

Strata