"Flay, are you scared?"
"Not at all, I have you with me, brother."
"And Athrun and Aunt Lenore are here too~"
Facing Flay's smile, Fred placed his hand on the girl's head and gently patted it.
Going to PLANT was an unavoidable decision, one that made Fred feel guilty toward his sister.
Although Patrick had given him assurances that his family would receive the same level of protection as Athrun and Lenore, Patrick ultimately acted only for the benefit of Coordinators or his own family.
For now, their interests aligned, so Patrick naturally made concessions for him.
But what about the future?
If Coordinators and Naturals truly went to war, or if he couldn't control the radical factions within PLANT?
What if he decided to eliminate what he couldn't control?
What if Lenore still died?
He needed to prepare additional contingencies.
The Clyne Faction was one option, which was why he had secured Patrick's promise not to interfere with his contact with them.
Fortunately, Patrick and Siegel, as co-founders of the Zodiac Alliance, remained close allies and friends, so Patrick hadn't refused.
Of course, if Patrick had refused, Fred wouldn't have joined him either—he could always wait a few more years, biding his time while making careful arrangements.
He had more options than just Patrick.
Halberton, faking his death and joining the Junk Guild after years of preparation, or directly joining Actaeon.
As his value increased, more olive branches would come his way.
For now, his path was largely set.
By leveraging the influence of both the Clyne and Zala Factions, he would protect Lenore, bridge the divide between the factions, stabilize PLANT, and increase the Clyne Faction's influence.
Simultaneously, he would strengthen his own capabilities, preparing to eliminate Blue Cosmos and any potential radical factions within PLANT, including all antagonistic elements.
That was the extent of what he could accomplish.
As for the future beyond that, it would be up to the main characters.
True world peace was impossible; claiming to fight for it was unrealistic.
When the time came, he would retire and live in seclusion.
After all, Lacus and Kira would still be around.
He needed to nurture them properly.
Though Lacus probably didn't need his guidance.
Fred mused to himself.
Just then, Flay's voice chimed in.
"Brother... what about Kira?"
After a brief hesitation, Flay looked up and asked again.
"He really won't be coming to PLANT with us?"
"...Probably not."
"Sorry."
As he spoke, Fred's gaze toward his sister grew even more peculiar.
Why was Flay asking about Kira? Did she really have feelings for him?
But if Kira ended up becoming his brother-in-law...
Well, it didn't seem like a problem.
After all, Kira probably wouldn't suddenly turn against his own brother-in-law.
However, according to his plans, Kira would likely end up on the front lines maintaining peace, just like in the original timeline.
Wouldn't that mean he was setting his sister up for hardship?
And he'd be letting Lacus down too—where would he even find another partner for her?
"It's alright..."
Though Flay said this, a trace of melancholy flickered in her eyes.
Perhaps Fred couldn't read the thoughts in Flay's eyes, but it wasn't hard to understand her feelings from the way his little sister hung her head.
Seeing this situation, Fred clicked his tongue softly in his heart.
He felt somewhat annoyed.
"Then should I go find him and bring him back for you later?"
The irritated Fred muttered quietly.
It wasn't that he didn't know where Kira had probably gone - ORB, of course. He planned to go there himself in the future anyway.
When the time came, it wouldn't be impossible to bring Kira back with him.
This was originally part of his plan, but after Flay's words, he couldn't help feeling like he was helping his sister steal someone's sweetheart.
Was he the villain here?
Of course, there were still several years before he could actually abduct the innocent young man and make the Ultimate Coordinator his sister's captive boyfriend.
Perhaps in a few years Flay would have forgotten about Kira and found someone else. Sai seemed quite suitable, after all.
Though he might be lacking in ability, that wasn't a problem with Fred around - he could just take him along when the time came.
...Though that sounded like matchmaking by force again.
"Really?!"
Unaware that her brother had already mentally arranged her marriage, Flay's eyes sparkled brightly.
At just eight years old, she was clearly looking forward to reuniting with Kira.
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?"
"You told me when I was little that watermelons would grow in my stomach if I swallowed the seeds, and that I wouldn't grow tall if I opened umbrells indoors, and that my eyes would turn into squares if I watched too much TV..."
"Alright, alright."
Listening to Flay's recitation, Fred interrupted his sister's expose of his past misdeeds with feigned anger.
"You and your good memory."
"Hehe~ I'm much smarter than you, brother!"
"Not even close, little fool."
"No, I'm not!"
"Why are you biting me? Are you still a child? You little dog!"
"I am a child! You're the dog!"
"Even children shouldn't bite people randomly!"
...
While the siblings were playfully bickering, chaos reigned at the Blue Cosmos headquarters in the Atlantic.
"What do you mean he's gone?"
Trouble never comes alone, yet the Leader of Blue Cosmos remained as composed as ever.
Meanwhile, the still young Muruta covered his mouth nearby, afraid that making any sound would earn him another beating from the old man.
"Well..."
The reporting agent wore a crisp and expensive suit.
The work ID on his chest indicated he served in the Atlantic intelligence department.
But this agent's face showed no cool professionalism - only fear.
"I want to see him alive or his body dead."
"And keep this information suppressed."
The Child of the Atlantic, whom they had worked so hard to promote, absolutely could not be allowed to die like this.
The idea of finding a replacement quickly crossed the old man's mind.
But he dismissed it just as quickly.
With Fred's status still unknown, acting recklessly would create too many loopholes that PLANT might exploit for counter-propaganda. The situation required careful handling.
If a replacement truly became the Child of the Atlantic, and the real Fred later reappeared, most Blue Cosmos members would likely experience a crisis of faith.
Moreover, where would he find a replacement as remarkable as Fred? It would require endless cover-ups.
After all, most Naturals of Fred's generation were complete idiots compared to him.
Thinking this, the old man cast a disdainful glance at Muruta and continued asking, "Any news from the hospital?"
"Yes, but Fred never left any complete genomic information from childhood to adulthood."
"Hmm..."
Without illness or pain, there would be no reason for those deep examinations. The blood samples from previous physical checkups had long been routinely destroyed.
And anucleated blood was utterly useless anyway.
No one had anticipated back then that Fred would become a hero.
They had originally planned to have him undergo a comprehensive physical examination in a few days under some pretext, which would have allowed them to obtain Fred's complete genome undetected.
Whether they would use it or not, it would always remain a weapon.
But now the man was dead, and they said all biological tissues were gone.
The chances of successful cloning were practically nonexistent.
Before the war, Clyne and Zala had been comrades fighting together, so their relationship shouldn't have been that strained. Before Zala's wife died, he probably wasn't too radical either. Pre-war Zala was likely similar to Halberton—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to align with Clyne, and their children wouldn't have had a marriage arrangement. If Zala had been as extreme as the PLANT version of Blue Cosmos even before the war, Clyne would never have agreed to marry his daughter into that family.