The Final Home

By chance, Noer spotted the Impulse Gundam, now turned iron gray, amid the wreckage.

From afar, through the open hatch, Noer saw two figures locked tightly in each other's embrace.

Against this scene of utter devastation, they looked so small and helpless.

Even so, they were the buds of the future.

The battered Archangel and Eternal were drawing near.

Lacus's clear voice rang out:

"This is the Eternal. I am Lacus Clyne. Attention, current Supreme Commander of ZAFT: We believe that the battle in this sector no longer holds any meaning, nor do we wish to continue it. We respectfully request that both forces agree to an immediate ceasefire..."

After a brief silence.

The surviving warships began firing flares one after another.

They were signals to return, and they looked like brilliant fireworks.

—Come back!

Against the pitch-black cosmos, those multicolored lights seemed to say just that.

—Come back...

That silent auditory illusion, reaching deep into his soul, stirred his memories.

Noer thought of the people at Spark Orphanage, of Asya, of Sister Aya, of Anna, of Kachyu Town, of the Earth of old, and of his parents' faces from long ago—

Yes, home—

But did he have a home—

At this moment, his heart felt unbearably alone.

Go back, go home—

But where could he return to—

"Noer, welcome back—"

Lacus's voice sounded by Noer's ear.

On the communication screen, Lacus's face was so clear, yet so blurred. Her blue-violet eyes, wrapped in glistening tears, looked dreamlike.

Without realizing it, the Eternal had arrived behind the Eternal Covenant and slowly opened its docking passage.

"Noel Cassia, X22A Eternal Covenant, returning—"

Under Lacus's gaze, Noer took one last look at the falling Messiah before piloting the Eternal Covenant toward the Eternal.

Where the heart found peace was home—

Perhaps that