"We will change.

"We won't be suited for the future if we don't change."

It could have been the way he was standing, or the timbre in his voice, or the way his eyes gazed forward and unwavering that reminded me so much of the man we had lost.

But Setsuna wasn't Lockon. No, he was Setsuna, and those were his words.

He looked different now – taller, more commanding, his influence filling the room.

As I looked at him, I wondered, when was it that we had grown up? When was the exact moment we had stopped being children, and accepted the roles of adults? When did we change?

The mission was about to start.

I wanted to see Setsuna. There were only moments to spare, and Sumeragi blinked in surprise when I asked to be excused for a while, but even I couldn't explain this urgent need to see him. To explain to him. To thank him, for giving us this direction, this future.

I was already waiting as he was heading up the hall towards his Gundam. I knew I wouldn't have the time or the words to explain it properly, but I still wanted him to understand.

My heart was beating so fast.

He accepted the little yellow flower Linda had given me without much word, his expression betraying nothing. A brief thought flashed through my mind – what if he misunderstood?

"I wonder if Lady Marina would mind this …" I bit my lip, upset by the thought.

Setsuna looked at me, straightforward, and he almost seemed comforting. "She and I don't have that sort of relationship."

I looked up and saw his eyes, and briefly, I thought I saw a smile flash through them, but the moment was over in an instant.

"I'm going to my Gundam now."

The sound of thunder was loud in my ears, and I could almost feel the sensation of rain sliding down my skin, could almost see lightning tear across the heavens. The storm which had been so far away was enveloping me now, and I felt breathless.

Panic rose in my body. I was afraid. I wondered if this was the last time I would see him – if the last few remnants I got from him was this image of his retreating back, instead of a small, metallic voice repeating his name. I almost wanted to reach out and stop him, but I knew that was out of the question.

"Setsuna –" I called, the words slipping from my mouth, every emotion I had felt up until that moment compressed into two words: "Don't die!"

He turned. Even before he spoke, I knew he had understood. I was able to reach him. And somehow, just like I could understand how a storm I could barely see could be raging so many miles away, I knew we both wanted the same future.

He wouldn't die. He wouldn't leave us.

The relief was overwhelming.