The official rewrite of Ark's Flight. I do not own gundam.

Heliopolis, January 25, CE 71

"I'm within two kilometers of Kaohsiung, where the fighting has continued on for several days now," the reporter said into the camera, wearing a flak jacket. Behind him, a ZAFT ZGMF-1017 GINN walked through the city, firing at the ground. "ZAFT forces began their attack five days ago, and by now, have taken the spaceport."

The teenage boy watching the screen turned the speakers up as a small mechanical bird chirped into his ear. He brushed the machine away, the bird now hovering.

"Torii!" It cried.

"Another example of mechanical abuse," an amused voice said from behind him.

Kira turned his head and smiled. "Guess I should consider myself lucky that it's not a crime I can go to jail for, Alex."

The slightly older teen grinned and nodded. "Touché, bracie," he said, sitting down. He wore beige jeans and a deep blue shirt, as always. Aleksander Kolodziej was on of Kira's closest friends. Although his emerald eyes and blue hair brought back memories of Kira's youth, reminding him of the other friend who was no longer around.

"Hey, guys!"

The two looked up, noticing their friends. Tolle Koenig smirked, and Alex squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was planning. Miriallia Haww, standing next to him, leaned forward, her light aqua blue eyes shining.

"Professor Kato needs to see you guys again," Tolle said.

Alex groaned and slumped into his seat, his hands covering his face. Kira looked dismayed. "Again?"

"Yeesh, the prof is really horrible at his job if he needs us every single day," Alex said, rubbing his eyes.

"Alex is right, we haven't even finished the last batch of work he handed down to us," Kira explained, shaking his head.

"Well, anyway, he still needs to see you," Miriallia said, offering a sympathetic shrug.

"Guess we'll have to suffer this injustice," Alex said, closing up the laptop. "Again."

Kira stood up and joined Tolle and Miriallia as they started walking. He looked back at Alex. "You coming?"

Alex waved him on. "You get going. I'll take my time. Might as well make the professor wait a bit, you know? Teach him some patience."

Kira laughed at that. "Whatever, Alex. It's you head." He walked off with the others.

Alex grabbed his sports bag and opened the side pocket. He sighed as he saw the familiar ZAFT issue knife, along with a Colt .45 ACP, and a neatly folded ZAFT elite red uniform. Right on the uniform, a small picture was gently planted. A picture of himself, his arm slung around the shoulder of another young man, with similar blue hair and green eyes.

Athrun, what are you doing right now? Alex thought, closing the pocket. Then he opened the bag entirely, opening the laptop inside and powering it up. After a few moments, it was booted up.

"You up and running?" He asked.

"Yes," the deep voice replied.

"Okay, C. I need you to double check everything. We're almost ready, and I don't want any problems," Alex said.

"Understood."

Alex closed the bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He ran after his friends quickly, weaving through the crowds with relative ease, even with the backpack. He finally reached them, gently bumping into Miriallia.

"Hey, get your own girl," Tolle complained, pulling her away. Miriallia was already red in the face. Alex smirked.

"Hey, she's your girl, Tolle, no denying that," Alex said, hands raised in defeat. "Then again, she'd have to be, right?" He asked, shrugging.

"What's that mean?" Tolle asked.

Alex looked at him, and Kira slowed down so he could watch. "It means that the only reason you aren't falling asleep in class is because she smacks you on the head," Alex rebutted, grinning again.

"Why, you-"

Alex dodged to the side as Tolle tried to hit him.

Miriallia finally broke her silence. "Kaohsiung got hit," she said, stopping Tolle and Alex's bantering. "Will we be alright?"

Alex nudged her gently. "Don't worry about it, Mir," he said. "Orb's neutral. And they're stubborn about it, what's more. ZAFT won't attack it. They're not that stupid."

As they reached the main street, Alex turned the corner. Kira grabbed him by the shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

Alex thought about it, then smirked. "Nowhere."

Kira chuckled and Alex looked up ahead, noticing a red haired girl talking with her friends. Flay Allster. So that's who you're interested in, huh? Too bad she doesn't notice you.

He and Kira made way as a dark haired woman with shades walked past, followed by two men. Something clicked in Alex's mind, but he let it go. Soon, he found himself in the university, shaking his head as Tolle pestered Kira about something.

"C'mon, Kira, just ask!" Tolle said to him.

"Stop, Tolle. I'm not asking," Kira replied, an annoyed expression on his face as a door slid open, revealing another classmate, Sai Argyle.

Sai smiled, his unruly light brown hair thrown to the side, earning a grimace from Alex. "Heard of a comb, Sai? Wonderful gadgets," he told him.

"Nice to see you, too, Alex," Sai replied, shaking his head as he pushed his glasses up. "I'm glad you finally made it, Kira."

Alex tuned Sai out, looking intently at the figure propped up against the wall. The brown coat and hat hid the features quite well. Alex could only make out a patch of blonde hair and a set of amber eyes.

"Who's that?" Tolle whispered to Kuzzey Buskirk, another friend of Kira's.

Kuzzey scratched his head, his black hair swaying. "All I know is she's a guest of the professor's."

Tolle looked at the visitor, trying to come up with something.

Alex cautiously booted up the laptop, glancing at the visitor every once in a while. Why are you here? He wondered. The screen came up, and Alex focused on the task at hand. When he finished, he sent a quick message to his friends.

Then the ground shook, and alarms went off.

Alex quickly booted up the laptop again, earning a glance from Kira. He followed Alex as the young man tried to quietly leave. "Where are you going?"

Alex stopped and sighed. "Kira…you sure know when to show up."

Kira gasped as Alex's Colt suddenly flew into his face, the barrel pointed right at his left eye. "Wh-what are you doing, Alex?"

"What I have to," he said, dropping the bag onto the ground and opening it, the gun still pointed at Kira. Kira's eyes widened as he saw the ZAFT uniform.

"You're-"

"No," Alex said quickly. "Former. I was trying to help some friends with something, and now it looks like ZAFT is here."

"What friends?" Kira asked.

As people began hurrying out, Alex quickly holstered the pistol and grabbed Kira. He groaned as Alex tightened his grip on Kira's shoulder before pushing him into the wall. "I know what ZAFT's after. But it's not just that I'm worried about."

Kira's eyes shot to the side as the person waiting for Professor Kato rushed past them.

"Alex, who is she?" He asked suddenly.

Alex gazed at her quickly. "Dunno. I'm going to let go now. Please don't try anything."

Kira took a step back as Tolle and Miriallia bumped into them. "What are you guys doing here?" Miriallia asked. "Hurry up!"

"Wanna find out?" Alex asked him.

Kira eyed him warily. One of his closest friends, a member of ZAFT. "Are you going to kill me?"

Alex laughed. "Kira, I could have killed you back in the tech room. No, I just wanted to clarify. Now come on, and I'll explain as we go along."

Kira, against every instinct he had, followed as Alex ran down the corridors. Kira ran ahead, noticing the stranger from earlier.

"Kira, grab him!" Alex yelled.

Kira did as he was told without thinking, and reached out. The person struggled, and Alex was already itching to use his gun.

"What are you doing?" Kira asked. "There's no point heading that way."

Just as he said that, an explosion caused the corridor ahead to collapse. Kira and Alex ducked and covered their faces as the dust hit. Kira shook his head and looked up. His eyes widened as he realized something.

"You're-a girl," he said softly.

"Yes, Kira, she's a girl, and I'm the Blue Blaze," Alex said dryly.

The young woman suddenly glared at him, her eyes burning with hate. "You're the Blue Blaze?"

Alex took a step back, his gun ready again. "Yes," he said slowly. Kira grabbed the girl as she lunged forward.

Alex jumped to the side. "Why does everyone react to me that way?" he asked. "I never asked for the name!"

"So you two are with ZAFT, then!" The girl yelled.

Alex eyes narrowed and he shook his head side to side slowly. "Not really. Well, I was. Him, not at all," he said, motioning to Kira. "Now, let's get outside. And don't even thing about attacking me," he warned the both of them. He rushed ahead, checking both sides before leaving the corridor.

As Kira and the girl rushed outside, Alex cursed. Kira stared below, stunned by the three dull gray machines lying side by side. The girl suddenly dropped to her knees, tears in her eyes. "I knew it," she said. "The Earth Forces new machines. Father, I knew you betrayed us all!" She yelled, drawing the attention of an Earth Forces officer from below.

"Down!" Alex yelled, pulling both teens back just as bullets struck the railing. Brilliant. Wanna alert anyone else of our location?" He groaned, the three getting up and running to the end of the walkway. "Kira, get her into the shelter. I have something I have to finish."

"What are you gonna do?" Kira asked, worried for his friend.

"Relax. I'll catch up. I just have to do one more thing," Alex answered, jumping onto the edge of the walkway, then dropping straight towards the ground. Kira pulled himself up off the ground, determined to do what his friend said.

"Get up," he told the girl.

"But…he's ZAFT's Blue Blaze!" She replied. "He probably set the whole thing up!"

"Not him," Kira replied. "He didn't have time."

"And why should I believe you?" The girl demanded.

Kira sighed in frustration. "Because if you don't, you'll die here."

Cagalli seethed, but stood up.

Alex was already on the ground, running amidst the chaos. A transport truck exploded, nearly knocking him off his feet. As he veered to the side, he caught sight of several ZAFT soldiers. He unzipped the bag and dropped it after pulling out the knife within.

"Hey!" He yelled, firing his gun at them. As the troops fired back, Alex dove to the ground and rolled, exchanging shots. They rushed at him, reloading. Alex ran forward, the blade twirling between his fingers. The knife flashed as it tore through vest and skin. Without even a second glance, he rushed up to a set of crates and began climbing them.

Kira had finally gotten the girl to the shelter. "Could you let us in!" He yelled into the comm.

"We're already full! You'll have to go somewhere else! Try the left block. There are 37 shelters there!"

Kira looked out past the wreckage. The way there was long and open, and any stragglers would be picked off too easily. "Could you at least take one of us? A girl?"

"All right, but hurry!"

Before she could say anything, he grabbed her and pushed her in. The girl punched the glass door, shaking her head as she tried to get out. The elevator went down, and Kira rushed off quickly. As he ran, he saw a ZAFT soldier up above aiming at one of the engineers near the mobile suits. "Above you!"

The woman quickly ducked and turned around, emptying the clip into the enemy troop. "Hey!"

"I'm going to the shelters, so don't worry about me!" Kira yelled.

"There's nothing but a door there!" The woman informed him just as the entryway to the next block exploded. Kira groaned and then jumped over the railing, landing on one of the machines' shoulders.

The woman cried out as one of her comrades was gunned down. She turned the gun on the ZAFT soldier in the red uniform, only to get shot in the shoulder. The recruit threw the gun away and pulled out a knife, rushing forward as Kira helped the woman up. He looked at the soldier, and his eyes widened.

"Athrun?" He asked.

The helmeted recruit stopped, surprised. "Kira?"

Alex landed behind the ZAFT redcoat, a gun in his hands, the knife pressed against the handle, blade pointed down. "Drop it, soldier!"

The enemy turned around, surprised. "Alex?"

Alex's hold faltered. "Athrun?" He whispered.

The wounded mechanic raised her gun, and Alex jumped to the side as Athrun leapt away from them. The woman pushed Kira into the unit, then jumped in after him.

"Oh, that's not good," Alex muttered, jumping off, just as the massive leg moved. He ran towards the third unit, noticing Athrun as he got into the second. An unfortunate ZAFT soldier happened to wander in Alex's way. Alex simply jumped up, his foot smashing into his face, using the footing to leap onto the frame of the remaining Suit. He ran up, opening the hatch and jumping in just as an explosion sent smoke and rubble flying into the air.

Alex strapped himself in while watching the OS boot up.

General

Unilateral

Neurolink

Dispersive

Autonomic

Maneuver

Synthesis System

Huh. Leave it to the Naturals to give a machine its own scientific name, instead of just slapping on a code nu-oh, there it is.

The second part of the program booted, displaying diagnostics and weapons readouts.

"GAT X-106 Blade, eh?" He muttered to himself. "Wonderful, it's designed for the kind of fighting I love. Personal."

He then noticed something else.

"Phase shift armor? Oh, this'll be fun."

He reached into the backpack again, pulling out the laptop. He ripped open a side panel within the mobile suit and hooked it up, putting the small computer between the front view screen and the left one.

"Okay, CABAL, work your magic," Alex said. "What's that name mean again?"

"I am the Computer Assisted Biologically Augmented Lifeform," the AI said. The system had a deep, ominous voice. "Systems online. Ready for startup."

He activated the unit and the dull gray Suit's optical sensors were filled with blood red light, the armor itself shifting into almost a silver color.

He hoped the others had gotten their assignments finished, because they were out of time. Next to him, another Suit stood up, blue and white in color, its body and head similar to his, but sharper and more angular.

"X-105 Strike," he muttered again. "Hope you're ready, because what happened here was child's play compared to what'll happen now. Lock and load, CABAL."

The two Suits stood side by side, and Alex knew his life was no longer the same.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know it's been a while. I realized that Ark's Flight had a lot of problems, but I'm going to change that. Due to this fact, Legacy of the Blaze will be on hold, pending a rewrite as well. I will be rewriting this story, using the old chapters and reviews as guidelines and hints. So hopefully, all the little errors I made, like confusing characters and spelling errors will be fixed. Also, I hope to make Alex a bit cooler. Until the next chapter, Hellshadow, signing off.