Note: Although this fic can stand alone, it is recommended to read it companion piece, "Hoshikuzu no Senshitachi" beforehand, as some events described in it will be glossed over in the fic below. This is based on Lady Une's image song, "Brightness & Darkness"

AC 196 - Earth Federation

The World is at peace. I only wish my heart was in the same state.

Ann walked into the cemetery, pushing the wheelchair in which Marimeia was seated before her. It was hard to navigate through the grass and the low bushes, the small dirt roads. The redheaded girl hung on to the armrests resolutely as they hit a bump. In doing so, she dropped the bouquet of red roses that they had brought with them. Ann had scrounged for them all morning: after the devastation from the war, red roses were hard to find, and very expensive. But nothing could be more fitting than those flowers, delicate and graceful. Those flowers colored like blood, flowers he had loved so much what seemed such a long time ago. She bent to pick them up and placed them once more in Marimeia's lap. One of the stems had broken, and she picked the flower out of the bouquet, fastening it to her buttonhole. Like that time, another lifetime ago. His voice-his rich, suave voice. "You should be more graceful, Lady Une."
Be more like Ann, the rival that lived within her.

There, a little further, in the knoll, was the place they were going to.

As far as the eye could see, neat lines of white headstones stretched to infinity. The legacy of another useless war. And there, peacefully resting under a tree, was the man she loved. Often, in the months before, she had found Noin nearby, standing silently as if she was waiting for something, for someone. Now she knew she had been waiting for Zechs to come back to her. But no years of silent vigil could ever bring him back. The one she had loved from the very first moment they had met, that day, at the ball.

Treize. Handsome, dashing, noble, Treize Kushrenade.

Tsumetaku tozasareta
Tooki sora no hate de
Setsunai kono ai wo
Towa ni shinjiteru dake

To the ends of the far away space
This painful love
Is the only thing I believe in, forever

The beautifully arranged attire. The carefully crafted expression of mild boredom. The expensive white buttoned gloves. Treize Kushrenade was the perfect representation of nobility, standing tall and blase in a corner of the reception hall.

Ann's grand-father had brought her to this party against her own wishes. She was shy, and felt awkward around nobles, like a dark crow among the swans. He had given her an amber necklace, to match the dress she had picked out at his urging at the local dressmaker's. As he had tied it around her neck, he had explained it had been her grand-mother's, a long time ago, and that she had wished for her to wear it on the night she made her debut.

_ "Make a wish."

A wish. She had been such a foolish girl, touching the amber-stones with soft fingers and whispering, under her breath, "I wish to meet the one I will love.."

She had not mentioned being happy. She had even not thought of wishing for him to love her. She just asked to meet him. And she did. She met the one man that would hold her life in his hands, even now, more than a year after his death.

There were so many painful memories that surfaced each time she came to his grave. She almost drowned in them, gasping for a breath, struggling to break free of the past and return to her dreary life.

But if, no, when, she forgot about the war, about OZ, about the Romefeller Foundation, she could smile as she recalled his face, the first time she had laid eyes on him.

He had grinned like a wolf staring down a lost lamb. And she had done her best to gaze right into his eyes, and still the fluttering of her heart. She could see an iron will behind his blue eyes. And she did not want him to think her weak. She had mentally chided herself for caring about what this man she did not even know thought of her, but stared back purposefully nevertheless.

His eyes followed hers and she smiled. She could see he was evaluating her.

His eyes... his blue eyes that threatened to pull her in. That threatened to drown her.

"Lady Ann..."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the tip of her fingers.

*I adore you.*

In this moment she knew she had gotten her wish.

Her grandfather pulled her away and she followed him, feeling the weight of Treize's gaze on her the whole time. She had never cared for her looks, had never cared whether she was considered plain or beautiful. Many people had given her compliments. And now she hoped with all her heart they had spoken the truth. If she could only be beautiful. To him.

But the caress of his eyes was nothing next to the gift of his touch. He had asked her to dance, gracefully bending at the waist as he bowed in front of her. How could she have ever refused. He had taken her hand and twirled her once, her skirts spreading like the petals of a daffodil, then pulled her close to him. She bit her lip as she felt his warmth as something almost tangible.

A hand on her waist and he pulled her closer.

She followed his steps, waltzing in perfect unison, as if she had danced with him thus her whole life. He was tall. She had not realized his real height before standing so close. He smiled, a dashing, predatory smile, and she smiled back, her head held high, lowering her eyes for an instant in polite demureness. His nearness was overpowering. She could feel his breath on her face. She could smell the light fragrance of his aftershave. She was aware of every shifting of his body next to hers.

When the waltz ended, she knew she was lost. She was his.

No matter the pain she felt, trapped in this love that could never be, she could not find the strength to separate herself from him. Her brush with death on Balgi had only made her more aware of how every second of her life was a blessing, and how every second that she could spend with him would be treasured in her heart forever, like so many pearls.

She could not have stayed away from him, from her destiny.

That is why she came back to find him. He, who was disgraced and hiding in his mansion.

She found him in his study, as the ground shook slowly with the weight of the patrolling mobile suits. She saw the strong lines of his back. He always maintained a regal bearing fit for a King, even when no one was looking. He was the consummate soldier, the perfect decorum, but tonight he was slumped in his chair like a simple man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The weight of the worlds. The Earth. The Colonies. His own ideals.

Biting her lip, she reached for him, lightly resting her hand on his shoulder. She felt him straighten under her touch, felt the spirit returning to him. Maybe her heart had not deceived her. Maybe he needed her as much as she needed him.

_ "Ann..."

His voice was so low, so broken. She wanted to hold him tight, to smooth his brow and take his worries away. But she knew he would not approve. He always wanted to appear strong, and looked lost each time he showed a weakness in front of her. He never understood she could be strong for the both of them.

Ann let herself go and softy ran her hand on his shoulder. Touching him made it all seem real.

_ "Why have you come back, Ann."

The question puzzled her. How could she have not? He must have known, after all she did for him, that she admired him. That she would always be loyal to him. Even against the world. He must have known... that she loved him.

_ "For you, your Grace, I will always come back for you..."

She felt him shiver under her touch. He knew, but she had never been so open about her feelings. There was a difference between knowing, and the magic of hearing it said, those three words she wished she could scream at the top of her lungs, she could whisper in his ear in the middle of the night... He was her superior officer, he was noble, and he needed her strength, her guidance. He did not need her to muddle and cloud his thoughts with admissions of feelings so strong she did not comprehend them herself.

_ "Ann, will you... remember me?"

Oh, the pain. She knew he would die before she did. She remembered, once, when she was young, her mother had told her about Heero Yui, the colony's emissary of peace. How the ones who shine too brightly were always the first that God calls back to him. And, to her, Treize Kushrenade had always shone brightest of all.

Ann tried to swallow back her tears, but she could not. They had taken an existence of their own, and she could not stop them any more than she could stop rain from pouring from the heavens. She could feel them run down her cheeks. She was breathless and could not answer him. It took all the strength she had not to sob openly.

She saw him push his chair back and get to his feet. His once perfectly-ironed uniform was rumpled, his white cravat untied and the top buttons of his vest undone. But he looked beautiful to her, even in his present state. He looked like a lost child. On his face, she saw everything he had kept hidden all these years, his fears, his insecurities, his faded dreams... Ann had to fight down the urge to go to him and hold him tight. If she did, she did not think she could ever let go.

He brought a hand to her face, as he had so often done in her dreams, smoothing her tears away with his thumb, and smiled at her, a warm, true, smile.

The gesture was so deliberate, so intimate, it hung like an unspoken promise between them. Once, just once, she would have wanted to close her eyes and feel his lips on hers. But it would never be. In that instant, she felt that he had given her his heart. What was a mere kiss when she had his soul?

_ "Remember me..."

Ann cried. Cried like a child denied happiness. Denied love.

And her answer echoed in her soul.

*Forever*

She would never forget him. Not for the rest of her life.

Anata no negau risou
No tame ni nara
Subete wo kowashitemo
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

Even if, for the sake of the ideals
You long for
I have to destroy everything
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU.

She had given everything for him. When she had first met him, she had shed all that she was, and embraced his dreams, tried to become the perfect woman. For him, all for him.

She had embraced his ideals as she knew she could never embrace him.

Nothing would stand in the way of his dreams, she would make sure of that. She killed for him. Civilians and soldiers alike. Peaceful doves like Foreign Minister Darlian, hypocrites and cowards like General Septim, dutiful soldiers and revolutionaries. She made no differences where Treize was concerned. Lady Une was ruthless. There was nothing but him and his ideals; she would betray anyone, anything, damning her soul to hell to bring upon the peace he wished for. Lady Ann cried inside, but she was irrelevant. Lady Ann remembered all those deaths with sadness-Une just neatly categorized them as necessities of war and promptly forgot them. Lady Ann had learned to love Nature and appreciate Her beauty, Treize had taught her that; but Une could not care about those things.

She would destroy the colonies, the Earth, Space if it would please His Grace.
Anything for him.

The Gundams threatened Treize's plans, his cherished ideals. So she would destroy them at all costs.

_ "What would you like to do about the Gundam at New Edwards, Lord Treize?"
_ "I'll leave them up to you."
_ "Yes."

A chance to show her devotion, her love.
He trusted her. He trusted her with his ideals, the thing that was most precious to him. She could not help but feel pride at that, and she smiled. He had begun to trust Une as he had trusted Lady Ann. She would not fail him.

The screech of static. A communication from Oz's forces.

_ "We have gained complete control here. Please give us permission to station our troops at New Edwards Base."
_ "Permission?"

She had her answer there. She needed to destroy the Gundams. For Treize's safety. For his dreams. She knew of the strength of those mobile suits. The Oz force there would not be enough to contain them. Sooner or later, the Gundams would discover they had been used, and would come back for Treize. She had to prevent that.
The missiles. If they all detonated at once, they could destroy even the Gundams. There was no time for them to fly to safety either. Of course, that would also mean the death of the Oz troops stationed there. But in war, as in all else, there was a price to be paid for victory. And she was ready to pay it.

_ "Stationing troops is not necessary. All you have to do is activate the switch for the missile self-destruct system at the base."
_ "Missile self-destruct system?"
_ "You can remotely activate the system from here."
_ "Yes, ma'am."
_ "Then do it!"

The blast would destroy everything in a radius of 180 miles, men and mobile suits alike. It would destroy the Nature Treize and Lady Ann loved so much. But some sacrifices were necessary. Even the sacrifice of her own life.

Gundam 05. Destroying the fleet. Only she could stop him. Lady Une catapulted her Leo against the Gundam, and took out her beam saber.

_ "Listen to me, Gundam. I will not let you go any further!"

The pilot had snarled back at her.

_ "No one can stop me!"

She would. Lady Une parried him stroke for stroke. All she needed to do was live long enough to buy time for Treize's boat to leave the formation and get far enough away so that this Gundam with no flight capabilities could not catch up with him. Anything for him to live on.

_ "No one has ever annoyed me that much! Die!"

Gundam 05 broke the arm of her Leo as if it was only a toy. Her mobile suit was no match for his. She knew she could not win, and she could not escape. He would destroy her, and destroy her ship. But she had always been ready for the ultimate sacrifice. For you, Treize...

_ "Go away! Don't you get it! You can't beat me!"
_ "I had no idea that the Gundam was so powerful. Damn you!"

She strained against Gundam 05. The fight was lost. Yes, damn him, damn him and his desire to hurt Treize. She could always self-destruct and take him to hell with her. Goodbye, my...

The horn of Treize's ship's horn sounded as in an invitation.

_ "Lord Treize..."
_ "Your superior seems to want to fight with me. It is decided. I will accept his invitation."

Treize was going to fight with the mobile suit pilot... This was crazy... She was ready to die. He should not put himself in danger like this. He was more important than she was... He was...

_ "Lord Treize, it is too dangerous... Please evacuate!"

Static appeared on her screen, then it was replaced by a peaceful view of a green meadow. Something that he could have stared at for hours with Lady Ann.
She had lost her fight.

_ "Lady Une. I will take care of this."
_ "Your Grace..."

The pain... the fear. Treize... I would have died for you.

Atsuku moeagaru ai koete
Yami ni hikisakareta kokoro ni
Ima, chikau!
Inochi kagayaku sekai
Sore ga anata heno ai no akashi

This love burns passionately.
This heart that was pulled down in darkness,
Now, I pledge to you!
Protecting this world in which life shines bright,
This is the proof of my love for you.

The Preventers. She had created the Preventers for him, like she had molded every aspect of her life for him after they met. He had loved mankind, and he had loved peace most of all. She would fight to protect the world he would have dreamt of. This world of peace, of possibilities, this world were the future was a bright, open sky. For the Gundam pilots, for the heir to the Peacecraft family... but not for her. Never for her.

And now the peace she tried to uphold for him, this messenger of peace she had become for him, all of that was threatened once again.

She wished she could fight with Noin and Sally. She wished she could put her life on the line once more, feel the thrill of survival. Feel the blood pounding in her ears. And forget. But she was needed here. Where all she could do was wait and receive news through the line. Alone in her stark office. Lifeless. An office like so many impersonal executive offices. She spent more time lobbying for funding than upholding peace. Here, in her prison of glass and mortar.

Ann shivered. It was starting to get cold, now that Christmas was here. Another Christmas spent alone, watching from the outside as others shared the warmth, and the laughter. Her smile throughout the whole Christmas function she had been forced to attend had bordered on the edge of tears, but she had been strong, for Noin. She would not show weakness in front of that woman. So she had tried to remember what it was like to be Une. What it was like to be strong. Une had never been this strong. Because Une had never felt this pain.

Ann was the one that grieved. The one who had lost Treize.

Snowflakes fluttered outside her window, white confetti like those thrown at weddings. She had once dreamed, against all odds, against conventions, that she would marry him one day. He could have flaunted custom for her, and she would have worn a beautiful white dress, and she would have laughed as she ran to their car under a rain of rice and confetti, the small pieces of paper clinging to her hair and face. And he would have smiled at her, just at her... just for her.

Ann let her fingers trail on the cold glass. She had to think of the present. She was the one on whose shoulders the whole burden of the operation was going to lie. She had to take action.

But she could not deny herself one last weakness.
She looked to the heavens.

_ "Oh, Treize... What should I do..."

*Treize. I wish you were here.*

To help her in her task. To watch the mesmerizing beauty of the snowflakes.To love her.

Shizuka ni nagaredasu
Namida kakushinagara
Kono ai dakishimete Inoritsuzukeru toki
Kokoro ni ukabu sugata wa anata dake

While those tears I hide
Fall slowly,
In times I hold this love close and pray,
In my heart, only your face rises to the surface.

That day when he called her "Lady Ann", she put it all behind her. Her past, her dreams, her hopes. He became all of that. He embodied all that she had ever wanted. Ann had not been raised a noble, as her father was a commoner and her mother disowned for rebelling against her family's wishes, she had not even been raised in such opulent society. She had lived a simple life until then, and felt so innocent of the ways of the world.

So she learned. A man like Treize Kushrenade, a man steeped in culture and knowledge and good breeding would never stay interested in a schoolgirl like her. She would become the Lady he had seen in her. And maybe then would he want her by his side. She wanted nothing more than to stay by his side forever.

She had become that Lady. Soft and demure, but full of spirit and wit. A consummate politician and a compassionate confidante. She had earned his friendship and his trust. Everywhere he went she followed.

But she had secretly dreaded the time when he would find himself a lover. She cried herself to sleep some night when a particularly beautiful young woman, with a title one could not pronounce in one breath, would talk to him in low tones and captivate him completely. She prayed for him to look her way. To return her love. Not turn to another.

She knew that day would come. That day came too fast.

After years of friendship. After all the times she had thought she had managed to touch the soul hidden behind the suave exterior... After that he had found another. Ann had fled to her estates, she had fled from him. She needed time to think, time to find herself once more. But all she did was wait for an opportunity to go back to him. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She could not fight it. So she forgave him.

And when she found that opportunity, he had called her useless. She had felt it like a blow, like the ultimate betrayal. Her whole being was focussed towards being useful for him, towards being wanted by him and he had shunned her.

As she ran down the corridor, trying to separate herself as much as possible from him, she hit her knee on a wooden bench. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she sat down, taking out her handkerchief and kneading it in her closed fists. She stared hard at her lap. What was left now that she had lost him?

She was alone in the world, utterly alone. She had no family, no friends. He had been her only friend.
Alone... One... Une..

She was now... Lady Une...

Donna ni tsurakutemo
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

No matter the pain,
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

_ "I am Mariemaeia Barton. Treize Kushrenade's daughter."

Mariemaia Barton. That girl had said those words, as she declared war on Earth, that her father was Treize. Treize Kushrenade. Ann had cut the transmission, shaking, then reached for her phone. It took her two tries to lift the receiver and contact her information operatives.

She had used all of her resources to find out the truth.

The truth glared at her from the screen of her monitor.

Mariemaia Barton. Born AC 190. Daughter of Leia Barton and Treize Kushrenade.

What she learned, she wished she had not. That girl was Treize's daughter. From her date of birth, she was conceived before she joined Oz. When she had been on her estates, running away from him. Hiding from him. It hurt her that he had given to some other woman what she would have dreamt of having.

She was no innocent. She knew Treize had had many lovers over the years. She would not have expected him to live as a monk in the time they had been apart. But it still hurt to know that some other woman had carried his child, while she, who loved him so much, who had given up so much, had to be content with loving him from afar. That woman had carried a part of him. And she was alone, alone with the gaping hole he had left in her life.
A hole that could never be filled.

Ann lowered herself to lay her hands flat on her table, and bowed her head, closing her eyes. Treize had a daughter, and that daughter was trying to conquer the Earth. She was only a small child-there was no way she could be the mastermind behind this operation.

Only a small child, with her father's blue eyes.

They were using her. She would not let someone use Treize's daughter.

Treize loved mankind, loved peace. She would not let his daughter disgrace his ideals. Denigrate his sacrifice. Render useless his contribution to history.

Ann smiled ruefully.

_ "So, Treize, you still need me... even now..."

Her eyes threatened to fill with tears and she swallowed, listening to her own slow breathing, phasing out the world, her feelings.

_ "I won't let anyone hurt her, Treize, I promise."

She would get to fight, after all. First, she had to go see Zechs, Preventer Wind, as he landed on Earth, and give him his mission objective. Give him back to Noin. She had waited so long for him to come back. And then, only then, she would leave her cushy office. And face her destiny once more. She had become a fighter for him. One could not breed the fighter out. She opened a drawer and rummaged to find a gun. She stumbled upon a pair of broken, wire-rimmed glasses and stuffed them in her pocket.

*Look at me, Treize. Once more, I am fighting for you.*

Sakebe!
Mune ni himeta omoi wo
Yami wo kirisaku hodo hageshiku

And I scream!
The feelings I hid in my heart
Are so painful I am torn by sadness.

The Mobile Suits around Mariemeia's Brussels stronghold made the ground shake. Mobile Suits. Just like that day...

So many Mobile Suits... Fighting against one another. And that Gundam had appeared. Gundam 05. That metal devil had defied Treize. Treize who had accepted, because it was the only path left to him. The only path he could see. She could have seen another, but he would not have it. Cursed men and their cursed pride had railed Ann.

But Une followed his orders. She would die for his ideals. Just as he would.

Lady Ann... Now Lady Ann was not that strong...

Vulcan shots everywhere. Missiles. The whine of beam sabers...

*Treize? What..*

Treize's Mobile Suit seemed to teeter for a second. Then, in a flash of light, it exploded.

*TREIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZE!*

Lady Ann's world was ending. She pulled her glasses off and crushed them in her fist.

On her monitor, Une watched peacefully as the Mobile Suit attain the radiance of a small sun. It was so achingly beautiful, shining bright for an instant to mourn the life that had flared, then disappeared in its metal bowels.
Each piece of shrapnel was like a tear.

But Lady Ann did not see any of that.

*NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*

Lady Ann had lost him. She had known he would die, Une had known he would die, but had followed his orders to the letter nevertheless. Une was such a good soldier. Such an obedient soldier.

Lady Ann felt a pain in her chest, and found she could not breathe. He was gone. Gone. She had nothing left. She had lost all she loved. All she cared for. The only thing she would bother protect. That pain. Une never felt that pain. Une was strong. Une was strong...

Lady Ann sobbed.
Her throat felt raw, she could not scream anymore.

Lady Ann sobbed.
Curled up in a corner of her mind and sobbed.

But those feelings never reached the surface.

Une just stood there. Stoic. The crew was waiting for orders. She had a responsibility to her crew. Her feelings came second. They always had. She had to stay calm, for her crew.

_ "Captain Une, your orders?"
_ "Inform White Fang of the Earth Nations' surrender."
_ "Captain!"
_ "Don't make me repeat those disgraceful words again. Hurry and compose the message!"

Lady Ann still wept inside her and was silenced.

_ "You were glorious, Treize-sama..."

Une's last words. She had lost her purpose. She was now as useless as Lady Ann had been, as there was no one left to protect.

There was no Une. There was no Lady Ann. There was only her.

It was so easy to pretend to be Une, to pretend to be strong. But Une was not strong. Une had run away from the truth, from the reality of Treize's death. Lady Ann was so soft, so fragile, she had shrunk in a corner of her mind, unable to face what she had seen. All that was left was herself. She had loved him so much, Lady Ann and Une had both loved him so much. But there was nowhere to hide now.

Ann shook her head.
This was the past. For now, she had to find Mariemeia. He would have wanted it that way. And what he wanted had always been more important to her than what she did.

Which is why she had decided to live.

He would have wanted her to live.

She would live, and in living, build the ideals that he had cherished so.

He had thought they were useless, in the end. She would prove him otherwise.

She would live. For the people he loved so much. For peace. For him.

And now, for this lost little girl.

Ima todoke yume ni neru anata he
Towa ni kawaranai ai no akashi

Now, I deliver the dreams that you believed in
This is my proof of my eternally unchanging love for you.

She had not killed herself that day. On the contrary, she had found a new strength within her.

_ "Destroy all the remaining suits with the ones we retrieve! We must not leave a single weapon in the entire Earth Sphere. This was what his excellency Treize would have wanted."

She had given the order. His will would be done. Peace was at hand.

Sally had entered the room, with Howard and Relena. Relena... she had killed her adoptive father. She had taken from her the only thing she had. And now that she had felt the bitter taste of loss, she knew what she had made her endure. It was enough to break many people. But that slight girl had found a way to go on.

She had blood on her hands. She could not be Treize's messenger of peace.

_ "Welcome, My Queen"
_ "Please, do not call me like that."
_ "As you can see, I am nothing but a shadow of my former self."
She was not Lady Ann, or Une, anymore. She was this unfamiliar creature that grieved for all the ones she had killed, that grieved for a love lost, but that could still somehow go on. Like that girl had. But maybe she had a chance to atone for her sins, now. A way to end her life without betraying Treize. She had taken the oath to live for peace and for him, but now she felt how ill-suited she was for such a task.
_ "Please feel free to take your revenge for your father."
_ "Let's end this... the revenge and the fighting..."
The girl had refused to kill her. It was like a blessing. A sacrament. A chance to be born again as something new. She felt her eyes filling with tears. Even now Treize would not allow her to die. Her voice caught in her throat but she managed to murmur a subdued "Yes".

*Yes. I will live. Yes. I will make up for all I have done. Yes. I will carry on his Excellency's ideals.*
*Yes. No matter what, I will love you forever, Treize.*

Kanarazu yume wa kanau to shinjiteru

I believe that, without fail, your dreams will come true

The world needed to see this fight in the heavens. The world needed to understand the price of war. And then the fighting would end, like Treize would have wanted it.

She had always thought that a strong ruler that would unite Earth and the colonies through war had to be the one to bring forth peace. But she was wrong. What the world needed was not one central government. What the world needed was not a dictator. What it needed was understanding. An understanding between Space and the Earth. If only she could make them see...

Noin could feed the images to her. If only she would perceive her as something other than a despised enemy. As something other than the OZ officer she always argued with. As something other than the blood-thirsty monster she had thought Une was. But Une was not like that. Had never been like that. She had been ready for the losses necessary for Treize's vision to take wing, even the loss of her own life. She had never killed for pleasure.

If only Noin could understand...

_ "I'm no longer a member of OZ. I can't be ordered."
_ "It's not an order, it's a request. From someone who also wishes for peace."
Please, Noin, understand. Treize's vision... is... your vision...
_ "Acknowledged."

_ "Transmit to the entire Earth Sphere."
_ "Yes, Lady Une."

_ "This battle holds no meaning to those of the colonies or the Earth. But this is a battle that must be fought. Because this is a battle by both to protect the colonies. After Colony, 195. The curtain attempts to close on the history of war. But these two must fight or peace will never come. Can you feel it? The sorrow of this fight? Can you see it? The peace that lies beyond this? This is a question of peace that must be addressed by everyone."

And their answer had come.

_ "We of the colonies, for many reasons, strongly desire to co-exist with the Nations of the Earth. We declare a cessation of hostilities and hope the Nations of Earth can follow suit."

Peace. Her entreaty had brought peace. But not lasting peace. Once more, she had not understood what Treize had tried to tell her.

This had not been enough. L3 and Mariemeia had brought war once more to the Earth, to Space.

Now she knew. Relena had made her see. Treize had loved the people. Loved the people who wished for peace and who died for it. Peace was not something the leaders gave to the people. Peace was something the people needed to grasp for themselves.

_ "People, you must not be afraid of what you see. Peace is not something that someone gives to you... It is something.."

Something you must give yourself. Treize's vision. The people choosing their fate.
*Battles are not fought by soldiers.*

_ "Treize loved the people with the will and determination to fight", she had explained to Marimeia, as she finally understood, "Even in bad times. It's not the victor that moves the people."

This had ended the death, the sufferings, the wars.

She had made his dreams come true, as hers could never be. But knowing that, in some way, she had brought upon his ideals, even if her contribution was so small, maybe, for now, that was enough.

Inochi wa ateru made
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

Until my life ends,
IN LOVE WITH YOU
DO ANYTHING FOR YOU

Marimeia had said that history was an endless waltz. A dance to the three beats of war, peace, and revolution. Such grand words from such a small girl.

Treize had always sought to end this cycle and create a lasting peace. In order to live on, she had to believe he was right.

One thing she knew was that her life was an endless waltz. Until her death, she would go on frozen in time, at this reception where she had met him. Forever she would dance the steps as she matched his, Treize, her partner in their endless waltz.

Ann was jerked from her thoughts as she heard a sound like a low sniffle. Marimeia was crying. Ann felt such affection for the child, who was as alone as she was. She dropped to her knees on the grass, and the little girl fell in her arms. Ann held her tight, caressing her soft red hair.

_ "Mommy..."

Ann's breath caught in her throat.

Treize's daughter. Her daughter now.
And, if she closed her eyes and stopped thinking, just felt... their daughter.