Scars in the Sky

Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed Destiny, the plot, or characters attributed to Mobile Suit Gundam. I DO own the OC Michele Zivera and the particular plotline of the following fanfiction, as well as the plotline of the former fanfiction that this replaces, so no stealing!

Alright, this is the totally re-vamped version of Scars in the Sky, because the old version was…to be blunt…really bad, and some of the reviewers said so (thanks…I think). Also, to be honest, when I wrote that I had only read episode summaries, so wasn't really as familiar with this series as I should have been, but thankfully I now own the DVD collection (for both SEED and DESTINY), and so can get my facts straight, hehehe. Please disregard everything from the first version of this fanfic, I deleted it from the site because it was un-fixable in its current state, and so everything will be starting fresh, for the things that remain the same, I'll let you figure out as it progresses (wink).

As before, this fanfiction is dedicated to my own cousin, Cody James Hebert, in Loving Memory 12/4/1982—10/27/2005. May you finally be at Peace as you watch her grow from the Skies.

"It's time."

"I see."

"You know your mission?"

"Yes."

"Make your last preparations while in the PLANTs and then see Chairman Durandal, he'll give you your official assignment to the Minerva and you'll be taken to ORB— that should align you properly. You must hurry though; the situation with the Atlantic Federation is pressing ORB to join the Earth Alliance. We need you to gather what you can before they give in, so you'll have a strong footing during the aftermath."

"And you're sure they'll give in? What about Cagalli?"

"Representative Attha is powerless, but you can help where she cannot. You have our permission to ally yourself with your 'friends' in order to complete this mission. Remember who we are and what we stand for, this isn't about who wins and who's side you're on: this is about peace and ending the war in any way possible. Do you understand, Agent Z?"

"Yes, I will do whatever it takes to end this war and bring about peace. You know how to contact me; I'll be back when this is over." Agent Z replied.

"Make sure you are, although I hope we won't need you again for something like this. You'll receive your Guiding Light in PLANT, by ZAFT. That will be your ultimate cover since you have…binding ties." The hesitation present symbolized an emotion necessary to the conversation; the reason was the fuel for the agent's fire that would light the path the world must take in order to ensure peace.

"That will be fine, I wouldn't want ORB as my main cover anyway, not with the situation they're in." The response indicated the agent understood and agreed.

"Here are the files of your targets and objective, use your best judgment as this war progresses. As of right now, these things won't change, but if they do we'll let you know."

The agent looked at the bundle in somewhat awe, as if to question the magnitude of the undertaking. Up until now, there were no other details than to bring about peace through any means necessary, using both ZAFT and ORB in the goal of ending the war.

"This is a very special mission. Failure is not an option, as you know the result, so act as you see fit. Remember, the objective need only be achieved if it is necessary in order to ensure that the mission reaches completion, if you do not have to meet the objective for success, then disregard it." The tone was slightly amused but grave, giving a sense of wonder that the agent couldn't help but to question.

"I…don't have to meet the criteria of the objective or handle the targets?"

"Unless it is necessary. You are a Guide, a Light; you must push whatever you need to accomplish your goals. We are not known and must remain so, or else we would become the targets out of sheer ignorance, therefore we must take on that ignorance as a mask and use it for our purposes, however difficult things may seem."

The agent smiled fondly. "Right, of course, I understand now. Thank you."

A nod and friendly smile was received in return and the agent saluted before leaving.

"You want us to what?" Yzak yelled after receiving the orders.

"Yzak, calm down." Dearka replied.

"Why not? Yzak, it's Athrun, when was the last time you were all together?" the woman beside Yzak asked.

His expression softened as he looked at her, from her dark red hair to her bright blue eyes. "You're right, we might as well go. It'll give us a chance to drag him back for good this time."

"That's the spirit!" she replied cheerfully with a wide grin.

"Where do you get your energy, Michele? Honestly I'd be exhausted if I were in a relationship with him." Dearka said jokingly.

Yzak cut him a glare but he was ignored by both.

"Well it's not easy, but then again you're his friend so you should understand." She teased back.

Yzak growled but was only grinned at by his companions as they departed.

"Athrun! It's been too long!" Michele squealed as she raced forward and hugged him. Yzak kept a wary eye but Dearka smiled at their old comrade.

"It has! Michele, is that really you?" Athrun replied fondly, surprised. "And Yzak, Dearka? They sent you two to escort me?"

"Yeah, and you better not want to go shopping." Yzak growled.

"Where to, Alex Dino? Oops, I mean Athrun Zala." Michele said and giggled.

"You heard about that?" he asked.

"Of course, Cagalli and I do keep in touch. But really, what's on the agenda?" She answered.

"I…wanted to see Nicol's grave."

The answer created a silence among the individuals as they remembered their fallen friend.

Michele sighed. "This is why you're my best friend, Athrun. Let's go see my cousin, shall we? This is definitely better than shopping."

Athrun smiled at her; glad her sadness had ceased and was replaced with acceptance. He wasn't sure if he would reach that state, but she gave him hope that it was at least possible.

They stood in front of the gravestone for a moment in silence as they reflected over the past war.

Michele was still in training at the ZAFT Academy while her cousin, Nicol Amarfi, was fighting the war. Her parents had urged her to wait when her relative had joined, hoping the war would be over in a year or so, but when there was still no end in sight they realized they could no longer hold her back. She visited her cousin and his comrades whenever possible, and became very well acquainted with the Rau le Creuset Team over the course of the war and her training.

During that time, a budding romance grew between her and Athrun, but since he was engaged to Lacus, neither pursued the venture. However, there was yet another romance with Yzak Joule, the feisty Elite that she admired because she shared in his passion and determination. The group was as close as they could be, with Nicol, Michele, and Athrun the closest to each other.

When Kira killed Nicol, not only was Athrun devastated, but Michele as well. She didn't know what had happened until she was contacted by Rau himself who delivered the news, not only of his death, but of Athrun's fate as well. Thinking both her relative and friend had just died, she swore vengeance. It wasn't until she graduated right before the Battle of Jachin Due that she realized these feelings of revenge would get her nowhere, because what would that do?

When she heard about Athrun, about his survival, about his efforts, she knew that was the path she wanted to be on. She knew they were doing the right thing and wanted to learn from them. After the battle that subsequently ended the war, she thought that she had wasted her efforts in vain and felt useless. She met up with Athrun and was introduced to Kira Yamato, Athrun's childhood best friend who was responsible for Nicol's death, but she knew better than to blame him or hate him. Nicol wasn't killed out of anger or malice, so she could forgive him, especially after hearing his story.

She developed a small crush on him, but he was taken by Lacus Clyne while Athrun was enamored with Cagalli Ula Attha. While the boys were at war Lacus and Michele had spent a lot of time together and had developed a deep friendship—not to mention they enjoyed performing duets together. She soon found herself a friend of Cagalli's as well, their matching personalities clicking naturally, so she sought to learn what they had painfully come to realize during the war, in case another one threatened their livelihoods once again.

And so a connection was formed, one that would be the key to ending this second war.

"I'm glad you decided to do this, Athrun, I'm glad you're all together again." she said softly, tears forming in her eyes.

"You mean we're all together again, you're a part of this too, Michele." Dearka told her.

"Just a bit late." She said forlornly.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Yzak replied and they shared a look.

"You're right. Which brings us to you, Athrun." She said and turned to him. "What are you planning to do, now that you're back in the PLANTs?"

He hesitated and Michele nudged Yzak.

"Come back to us, Athrun. You need to put your power to good use."

Athrun's eyes widened but he knew this was serious. Dearka nodded in assent. "Yeah, don't just sit around and do nothing. Take responsibility and help us end this war before what happened last time comes back to haunt us."

They all stared at Nicol's gravestone once again. "Besides, you'll need to back me up anyway, in case these guys can't handle it." Michele teased lightly.

"What do you mean?" Athrun asked, shocked.

She looked to him and smiled. "I graduated, remember? I'm one of you guys now, finally. That means I'm fighting too. So you better have my back, Zala." She mock-warned with a smirk.

He looked bewildered and then smiled. "Of course, Zivera. In case Yzak can't protect you, I have to make sure he won't come after me for letting you get hurt."

"I'm sure they'll keep her here at the PLANTs, so don't worry about having to protect her." Yzak sneered and crossed his arms against his chest.

The other three laughed as he scowled at them, and they were reminded of the days when all of this seemed like a dream, before they received the wakeup call that this war only resulted in destruction. Times were happier then, for everyone.

"The situation in ORB is starting to turn for the worst, now is the time to make your move."

"I understand. I will commence with Operation: Guardian immediately. You sure Durandal has my Light?"

"Yes, we made sure he would entrust it only to you. It was built specifically for you and this mission after all, even he knows that, although for different reasons."

"I won't be a FAITH operative since I have no battle experience, so I'll need to prove myself worthy."

"Do whatever it takes."

"Right, whatever it takes."

Whatever it takes to end this war and ensure peace, the ultimate mission, has now begun.

-Author's Note: Prologue Complete, now for the rest of this fic. I'm not sure how in-depth I'll go with the details of the main story, or how many times I'll revise, stop, or neglect this undertaking, but hopefully I can get through this and bring about this fanfic to fruition. In other words, hold on, 'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Please review and tell me what you think, hopefully this is much better than the first version I put out (although that one gives me laughs, I'm not sure if it's the humor or poor writing). Any questions, comments, ideas and critiques are welcome, and if I mess up my facts feel free to correct me. Peace-