Athrun Zala (アスラン・ザラ Asuran Zara?) is the deuteragonist of both Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, and the protagonist in the special edition of the latter series and the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge. Originally a close friend of Kira Yamato, he later became Kira's rival during the First Alliance-PLANT War, where he participated in the Gundam extortion plan at Heliopolis. He became the pilot of the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam and waged a fierce fight against Kira.[1] In the later stages of the war, they would return to being friends, as well as being comrades opposed to both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT.[2]