Chapter Summaries

Kira fought off Yzak, Dearg, and Nicol while the Archangel raced toward the Red Sea. As dawn broke, the Archangel reached the sea and detected ZAFT forces ahead.

• Kira used Strike Gundam to disable the GOUFs, defeat Yzak's close-range attack, and drive Dearg and Nicol back.
• ZAFT's commander ordered Yzak and the others to use Plan B and force the Archangel toward the Red Sea.
• Athrun learned Dawn Desert had defeated the two GOUFs and considered leaving after handing over his duties, though he remained uneasy about the Archangel's situation.
• Yzak believed the Archangel was heading for the Red Sea to escape the Lesseps, while Nicol sensed that something was wrong.
• At sunrise, Murrue pushed the Archangel to full speed toward the horizon, where its sensors detected ZAFT heat signatures in the sea.

The Archangel escaped ZAFT’s trap by reaching the Red Sea, allowing Cagalli and Inori Yuzuriha to launch their Astrays and turn the battle against ZAFT. As the Archangel came under attack from underwater Ginns, Kira left the Strike and plunged into the sea to confront them.

• Murrue ordered the Archangel to push through ZAFT’s ambush, and the ship cleared the African coastline into the Red Sea.
• Cagalli and Inori Yuzuriha launched their Astrays once the restriction on fighting within the African continent no longer applied.
• Inori Yuzuriha’s Blue Astray disabled enemy mobile suits and ships while Cagalli defended the Archangel and Kira fought Yzak’s team in the Strike.
• ZAFT’s underwater Ginns attacked the Archangel with rocket-assisted torpedoes, forcing Murrue to order evasive maneuvers.
• Kira handed the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack to Inori Yuzuriha, then entered the sea in the Strike to fight the Ginns.

Kira fought a Zono underwater while Inori and the Archangel battled ZAFT’s forces above the sea. Mu and Murrue inferred that an enemy Submersible Aircraft Carrier was nearby, and Inori prepared to attack the Le Ciel Royal before heading to its location.

• Kira fought off two Ginn underwater, but a Zono blocked his pursuit and attacked with a Phonon Amplifier Cannon and torpedoes.
• Cagalli shot down a DINN with the Flame Impulse Cannon while the Archangel destroyed another and intercepted incoming missiles.
• Inori’s Blue Astray overwhelmed Yzak, Dearg, and Nicol, leaving Nicol’s Blitz without both hands and removing the GOUF drones from the fight.
• Mu proposed that a Submersible Aircraft Carrier had brought the enemy machines from Australia, and Murrue asked the CIC to locate it from their trajectories.
• Inori locked onto the Le Ciel Royal’s ammunition stores and prepared to disable its turrets and propulsion before heading for the carrier’s location.
• The Archangel’s crew worried about Kira’s underwater fight and asked whether the Gottfried Fire Line Cannon could still fire.

The Archangel escaped ZAFT’s interception after Neumann’s barrel roll let Natall destroy an attacking Ginn, while Kira and Inori disabled the enemy forces pursuing them. After the battered ship reached the Indian Ocean, Athrun prepared to leave the Dawn Desert, whose people were converting captured weapons and considering what to do with the Aegis Gundam.

• Murrue ordered Neumann to barrel-roll the Archangel so Natall could line up a shot at an approaching Ginn.
• The Archangel spun as the Ginn leapt from the sea, and Natall fired the Gottfried at point-blank range, destroying it.
• Kira exploited the Ginn’s destruction to pierce the ZnO’s engine with an Anti-ship Sword and kick it away.
• Inori destroyed the ZAFT Submersible Aircraft Carrier with missiles and cannon fire, and the Archangel escaped the interception force.
• Athrun said goodbye to Seibu and the Dawn Desert, receiving a bicycle and a bouquet from a boy he had helped.
• Seibu told Athrun that the Dawn Desert had converted captured ZAFT weapons into turrets and needed a pilot for the Aegis Gundam.

Athrun discovered that ZAFT was attacking Dawn Desert in overwhelming force and took control of the transformed Aegis to buy time for the wounded and refugees to escape. As Yzak advanced in the Lagowe, Seibu realized ZAFT had made Dawn Desert its target after failing to defeat the Archangel.

• Athrun felt ZAFT’s approach, abandoned his broken bicycle, and hurried back to Dawn Desert to check on the wounded and children.
• A soldier told Athrun that the refugees were being evacuated by truck, but Dawn Desert had no effective front-line defense.
• Athrun climbed into the transformed Aegis and got it moving, telling the soldiers to evacuate while he held off ZAFT.
• Yzak piloted Andrew Waltfeld’s Lagowe as ZAFT’s GOUFs and the Le Ciel Royal overwhelmed Dawn Desert’s defenses.
• Seibu realized ZAFT had brought a mothership and concluded that Dawn Desert had become its target after its failed pursuit of the Archangel.
• Yzak charged toward a cave where a truck carrying wounded soldiers was waiting to leave.

Athrun arrived in the Ball Aegis and fought Yzak and the ZAFT forces while trucks carrying soldiers fled the cave. After Yzak struck the truck drivers, Athrun’s Seed activated and he disabled the pursuing GOUFs and the commander’s unit, leaving the battle over.

• Athrun rammed Yzak’s LaGUE with the Ball Aegis and drew fire from the GOUFs surrounding him.
• Seibu ordered the wounded evacuated as trucks carrying soldiers and rocket launchers escaped from the cave.
• Yzak blocked a truck and crushed its occupants with the LaGUE, while Athrun was held back by Nicol and Dearg.
• Athrun’s Seed activated, and he broke through the GOUFs to damage and impale Yzak’s LaGUE.
• Athrun disabled Nicol’s and Dearg’s GOUFs, then broke through the remaining ZAFT forces and destroyed the commander’s unit with the Ball Aegis.

Athrun left Dawn Desert after helping its fighters defeat ZAFT, while Seibu chose to spare the captured pilots and keep resisting oppression. Meanwhile, Inori Yuzuriha’s popularity climbed as Archangel reached the Indian Ocean with dangerously low supplies and damage that threatened both the ship and Strike.

• Athrun watched Seibu refuse to kill the captured ZAFT pilots and declare that Dawn Desert would continue fighting oppression.
• Athrun declined the fighters’ pleas to stay, entrusted the ZAFT pilots to Seibu, and set off to pursue his own fight.
• Inori Yuzuriha saw her Popularity Points reach eight million and considered how to influence the story without overpowering its events.
• Madoc told Murrue that Archangel lacked ammunition and had extensive damage, while its beam weapons and emergency repairs could only keep it going temporarily.
• Madoc warned that Strike’s frame was nearing its limit, and Kira heard that the mobile suit might only manage another battle or two.

Inori showed the audience Harbaton trapped at Alaska and watched a creator’s video analyzing Kira and Inori’s identities and roles. The video left its argument about SEED’s ideals and anti-war themes unfinished.

• Inori used a Camera Card to show Harbaton realizing that he was stranded at Alaska and that the Archangel might be walking into a trap.
• Viewers reacted to the possible danger at Alaska and noticed that the creator called big shot had posted a new video about Kira.
• Big shot speculated that Inori was an artificial human whose true body was the Black Secret Coffin, and that the mysterious Mana had appeared in an old music video.
• Big shot argued that Kira’s childhood differences might explain her low self-esteem and suggested that she could be gender-fluid or a true Newtype.
• Inori praised big shot’s analysis and tipped him as he portrayed Kira as humanity’s future and Inori as an extension of Kira’s will.
• Big shot connected Kira’s story to exploring space and farsightedism, then began discussing how SEED’s ideals departed from traditional anti-war themes.

The Archangel sailed toward Orb without encountering ZAFT, while Patrick Zala and Cruze shifted their focus to broader military goals and Yzak remained a prisoner in the Dawn Desert. As the story entered its turning point, Cagalli prepared to leave with Orb’s refugees, but Kira stayed aboard the Archangel until it reached its destination.

• The video ended after discussing the meaning of Inori’s quoted passage, and viewers debated its interpretation while Inori received Popularity Points from figure preorders and news that her Budokan concert was being scheduled.
• Murrue and Mu noted the Archangel’s unusually quiet journey toward Malacca, while viewers joked that the ship brought disaster wherever it went.
• Cruze told Patrick Zala that the Archangel-class ship’s pilots were its real strength, and they agreed to focus on taking Alaska and Panama as a gift for the new chairman.
• Yzak woke up wounded and shackled in the Dawn Desert, where Seibu called ZAFT an invading force and Yzak insisted his actions had been necessary sacrifices.
• Inori decided the story was ready to enter its turning phase and said she would speed things up.
• After the Archangel reached the waters outside Orb, Cagalli said she would leave with Orb’s refugees, but Kira chose to stay until the ship reached its destination.

Sai chose to stay with the Archangel because he was worried about Kira and Frey, while Tolle and the others prepared to leave. As Kira promised to escort the Archangel to Alaska, Inori proposed forming an idol band with Kira, Cagalli, and Lacus, and Frey began wondering whether she could pilot a Gundam.

• Sai told Tolle he had decided to stay, but urged his friends to choose their own paths; Tolle agreed to leave and asked Sai to look after Kira and Frey.
• Cagalli, Mu, and Murrue agreed that the Astrays should leave with the others to avoid giving the Earth Alliance evidence against Orb.
• Inori suggested that Kira and Cagalli join her in a band with Lacus, but Kira and Cagalli both resisted the idea.
• Cagalli asked Kira to consider joining Orb's defense ministry when he returned, and Murrue suggested trading P.A.R.A. suit data to negotiate over Orb's Astrays.
• Inori revealed that Naturals already had the technology to pilot mobile suits, and Frey overheard her and wondered if she could pilot a Gundam herself.

As Archangel neared Alaska, Kira struggled with her desire for power and Inori encouraged her to look beyond familiar ways of thinking. A coded warning revealed that Alaska was not safe, and Murrue and Mu realized Blue Cosmos was behind the approaching Earth Alliance mobile suits and that Admiral Halberton had been sidelined.

• Cagalli watched Archangel sail away and urged Kira to come to Orb when he returned.
• Kira told Inori she was unsure how to use power without killing, and Inori encouraged her to seek answers from a different perspective.
• Archangel detected an unknown contact, then received an Earth Alliance transmission directing it toward Omega Three.
• A soldier on a nearby ship secretly flashed Archangel the warning, “ANGEL... NOT... HOME...” before throwing away his laser flashlight.
• Mu recognized the warning and Murrue ordered Archangel to battle stations while requesting a direct report to Admiral Halberton.
• Murrue identified the approaching mobile suits as Blue Cosmos’s work, and Mu realized Halberton’s promotion had been used to sideline him.

Murrue realized the Earth Alliance was treating the Archangel as a prisoner, while Harbaton was murdered as part of a plan involving the Cyclops System in Alaska. Kira and Inori launched in the Strike toward Orb, but the three new Earth Alliance Gundams moved to attack them.

• Murrue told the Alliance that Frey had joined the Archangel and claimed the Strike could not remove its new pack, but the Alliance replied that it did not matter.
• Military police burst into Harbaton's office, accused him of being slated for sacrifice in Alaska, and shot him dead.
• Murrue ordered Kira to launch, and Kira and Inori took off in the Strike equipped with the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack.
• Mu reasoned that the Alliance would spare him and Frey but might target Kira, while Murrue determined the Strike could reach Orb from the Pacific.
• Forbidden, Calamity, and Raider accelerated toward the Strike, and Calamity locked its long-range beam cannons onto Kira.

Kira and Inori Yuzuriha fought Calamity Gundam, Forbidden Gundam, and Buster Gundam while Archangel stayed out of the battle. Strike’s frame began to fail, and Kira and Inori realized Archangel was being kept alive as bait for Alaska.

• Kira and Inori Yuzuriha used Strike to evade and counter the three Gundams, damaging Forbidden Gundam’s shoulder while protecting Archangel from joining the fight.
• Murrue tried to stop the attackers and then urged Kira to flee to Orb, but Kira warned that Archangel would die if it entered the battle.
• Kira drew the three Gundams toward a volcanic island and used the terrain to ambush Buster Gundam, damaging its transformation mechanism.
• Forbidden Gundam damaged Strike’s shield as Calamity Gundam attacked, and Inori Yuzuriha reported that Strike’s frame was reaching its limit.
• Kira and Inori Yuzuriha concluded that Blue Cosmos had kept Archangel alive to use it as bait in Alaska.

Kira sacrificed the Strike to save Inori and escaped the blast, while Athrun spotted the distant explosion on his flight to Orb and learned about Master Malchio and Akatsuki Island. The chapter left Kira and Inori’s fate uncertain and Athrun nearing Orb.

• Kira drove off the Forbidden by sacrificing the Strike’s damaged limbs, then used it to shield itself from missiles and disable the Raider and Calamity.
• Kira entered the Strike’s self-destruct code, rescued Inori, and jumped clear before the Strike exploded.
• Athrun saw the explosion from his plane to Orb and spoke with a passenger about the conflict, Coordinators, and Orb.
• Athrun said he planned to visit Master Malchio, and the passenger told him Malchio lived on Akatsuki Island.
• Athrun learned the passenger worked at the Akatsuki Foundation’s base beneath the island as the plane began descending.

Athrun found Kira injured beside Inori Yuzuriha on Dawn Island during a storm, while the Archangel reached Alaska and learned it would receive only limited support. Kira woke in a garden before a pink-haired girl who looked like Inori but was not her.

• Athrun traveled to Dawn Island seeking answers from Master Malchio and found Kira badly wounded beside Inori Yuzuriha on the shore.
• Mu told Murrue he believed Kira had survived the Strike's self-destruction, while the Archangel's crew remained confined aboard the damaged ship.
• An Earth Alliance officer told Murrue the Archangel would receive repairs and supplies but would soon be transferred, then warned her about the Atlantic Federation's unexplained evacuation.
• Mu and Murrue found a report about a new DSSD deep-space industrial base in East Asia but did not grasp its significance.
• Kira woke in a garden and mistook a pink-haired girl for Inori Yuzuriha before realizing she was someone else.

Kira woke up at Lacus’s mansion on PLANT, where Lacus explained that Athrun had brought her there after she was injured. Meanwhile, Athrun accompanied Inori to DSSD’s Apogee Space Station, where she revealed that she was the organization’s new director, Lacia Higgins.

• Kira woke up at Lacus’s mansion and panicked about Inori, but Lacus and Master Malchio reassured her that Inori was safe with Athrun.
• Lacus explained that Athrun had brought the unconscious Kira to Master Malchio, then she took over caring for her because Athrun had returned to ZAFT.
• Athrun returned to ZAFT, reported a cover story about surviving Aegis’s destruction, and learned that his actions in battle had made him famous and earned him a promotion.
• Athrun accompanied Inori, now using the name Lacia Higgins, to DSSD’s Apogee Space Station.
• Lacia introduced herself to Serena MacGreev and the researchers as DSSD’s new director, leaving Athrun stunned.

Inori explained DSSD’s plans for deep-space development and used its partnership with East Asia to secure funding and keep the damaged Archangel. She showed Athrun Kira’s upgraded combat suit, leaving him wondering whether other people could use it.

• Inori outlined DSSD’s goals, including developing the Stargazer, the Star Breaker, Super AI, and colonization satellites with East Asia.
• Athrun learned that Inori was working under the identity of the renowned scientist Lacia Higgins and questioned how she had obtained ZAFT technology.
• Inori explained that the Star Breaker was a space-debris clearance system and that the Archangel was part of the Earth Alliance’s collateral for forced liquidation.
• Inori described plans to build colonization satellites at the L4 apogee Space Station and admitted that East Asia’s funding would help advance the project.
• Inori showed Athrun Kira’s upgraded combat suit, which used PS Armor and could connect to external equipment.
• Athrun asked whether other people, such as ZAFT soldiers, could use the new combat suit.

Inori settled the rewards for her latest project, upgraded her studio, and outfitted Kira with a better protective suit while Athrun returned to PLANT and caught up on the news. They met Andrew Waltfeld, who warned them that Chairman Sarala planned to have Inori killed, and Inori said she would visit him and carry out a forced liquidation.

• Athrun rejected Inori’s discounted offer because the equipment was still too expensive, then decided to return to ZAFT and meet Andrew Waltfeld.
• Inori received a Character Card Upgrade Voucher and a Studio Upgrade Voucher, raised her level, and upgraded the studio to make and modify performance outfits and props.
• Inori used the studio to create a three-star MUV Protective Suit for Kira, which increased Attention and provided extensive environmental protection.
• Athrun and Inori arrived in PLANT and met Andrew Waltfeld, who lived there with Aisha under surveillance.
• Andrew warned Inori that the soon-to-be-appointed chairman planned to have her killed, and Inori said she would visit Chairman Sarala and conduct an asset valuation followed by forced liquidation.

Inori visited Andrew and asked him to captain her future ship, then met Patrick Zala as DSSD director Lacia and offered technologies for Coordinator reproduction and life in space. Patrick eagerly promised funding, and Inori left by raising her paper on Factory Ships.

• Inori asked Andrew to captain her ship, though he did not commit to the offer.
• Patrick Zala prepared to take office after winning the election, while Athrun returned to PLANT after holding off an enemy fleet.
• Inori visited Patrick under the identity Lacia, and Patrick welcomed her because he believed her biological research could help Coordinators reproduce.
• Inori described plans for space-adapted Coordinators, and Patrick promised DSSD additional funding.
• Inori asked Patrick whether he had read her recent paper on Factory Ships.

Inori Yuzuriha persuaded Patrick Zala to consider building an automated Factory Ship, while Athrun learned more about the contrasting histories and beliefs of Patrick Zala and Siegel Klein. The chapter left Athrun questioning which side’s ideals were right and whether Siegel’s peaceful stance would change if Coordinators regained their ability to reproduce.

• Inori Yuzuriha presented Patrick Zala with Factory Ship plans, and he agreed to have the PLANT Council consider building a prototype and to keep producing the model if it worked.
• Patrick Zala assigned Athrun to guard Inori Yuzuriha while she stayed in PLANT, and Athrun wondered whether the Factory Ship could really be built.
• Inori Yuzuriha explained that Siegel Klein had once been a radical who advocated easing relations with Naturals because Coordinators were becoming less able to reproduce, while Patrick Zala had been more conservative.
• Inori Yuzuriha revealed that Lacus had undergone genetic adjustment before birth and described Siegel’s current stance as a surrender rather than a compromise.
• Inori Yuzuriha asked Athrun whether Siegel’s ideals would change if Coordinators regained their reproductive ability, and Athrun questioned whether his father’s views were therefore correct.