Title: Trust

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Mild violence, non-canon compliance

Genre: General

Word Count:

Main Characters: Slaine, Inaho, Yuki, Inko, Asseylum, Count Saazbaum

Pairings: None

Summary: If Slaine had taken a different path instead. One shot.

Disclaimer: Aldnoah Zero is copyright to Urobuchi Gen, Olympus Knights and A1 Pictures.

AN: The best thing about the finale was the various directions it could have gone. Even after S2 aired, there are still possibilities. This is one of those takes I would love to see it go but alas, I am not the writer of the show.

Do you trust me?

No.

You're the enemy.

Slaine's hand never wavered or trembled as he pointed the gun at Orange. He saw nothing of the bleeding and injured boy before him. Only the pilot of the orange Kataphract that had downed four of the Martian knights and had single-handedly led the attack on this castle. He saw the person who had the princess at his side all this time and had denied Slaine the chance to catch even a glimpse of her face. He saw him as the person who had caused the princess's death.

Even as his rage grew and bubbled over, Slaine knew that he was being irrational. He was overwhelmed by his anger, his grief and his pain. Princess Asseylum lay in a pool of her own blood, hair fanned out behind her as red stained the blond locks and her body. He had only seen the second fatal shot that took her down by Saazbaum. Red had filled his vision then along with the tears as he fired off several rounds into the man's torso and yet the man had refused to die, even going as far as to mock and sneer at him.

It was Orange's movements that filled him a coldness that he'd never felt before. How dare he come this close to Asseylum and how dare he lay a hand on her. How dare he. HOW DARE HE.

"Don't," he said, in a steely voice. "Don't come any closer to Her Highness. Orange."

A mirthless chuckle escaped from Orange, turning into a cough.

"Bat," said Orange, his voice without any inflection or humor. There was a rustling sound and then Slaine found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. His eyes lifted up to see Orange's face for the first time.

Orange looked awful. There was blood running down his face, one eye had swelled shut. He was slightly hunched over, most probably due to some internal injuries or cracked ribs. He was also a boy close to Slaine's age. It was hard to believe that this was the person who'd taken out the more experienced and battle hardened knights. How the deceased would roll over in their graves, if there were bodies to be found.

"Do you trust me?" Slaine found himself questioning. The sounds of the battle continued on outside, hardly muffled by the chamber. Someone coughed nearby, and Slaine resolutely ignored the sound.

Bat's mouth quirked up into a wry smile. "No. You're still the enemy."

Slaine tasted something sour in his mouth at the reply. His finger twitched. He saw the way Orange stared at him. Something held him back from pulling the trigger. "Can I trust you?" he said, instead.

Orange's visible eye widened ever so slightly. A beat passed then another, and just as Slaine thought to just shoot, Orange wetted his mouth and replied. Slaine pressed his lips into a thin line then fired.

The sound was loud like thunder, echoing in the chamber, followed by the thump of a body. The smell of gunpowder and blood filled his senses. He'd longed learned to not let such smells bother him. He reloaded the gun, striding over to where Count Saazbaum was still leaning against the blood-smeared wall. The man was pale, eyes bloodshot and he attempted to sneer at Slaine.

"How much do you want to survive?" Slaine asked, crouching down out of arm's reach. The man may be injured but he wasn't taking any chances. "The way I see it, I pull the trigger and your brain matter decorate the wall or I let you go away free under one condition. You don't come after Princess Asseylum."

"And pray tell, why should I follow what you say?" Count Saazbaum said. Blood dribbled down his chin.

"You're bleeding out. Every second counts for your survival. I can let you live so you can still fulfill your dream and plan. Or I put an end to it all. I hold the gun in my hand right now. It's up to you to decide whether you want to die here or live."

Count Saazbaum looked at him for a long moment before giving a jerky nod.

Slaine slammed the butt of his gun against the Count's temple, rendering him unconscious. He then hurried back to where Orange and Asseylum are. Orange was bending over the princess, one hand pressing on her chest where the gunshot wound was.

"You fired a shot to make it like you killed me. Clever." There was no inflection in Orange's tone so Slaine wasn't sure if it was sarcasm or a compliment. He shoved at the other boy roughly to kneel next to him, causing him to hiss in pain.

"I still don't really trust you," said Slaine. "Just so you know. I think you're the type of person who will stab me in the back as soon as I turn it to you." He carefully moved the princess's head, sucking in a breath when he saw the bullet wound. It was above her right eyebrow. There was no exit wound so it was still lodged inside. The biggest concern was the chest wound which was bleeding.

Princess Asseylum was still alive but barely. Her pulse was weak, fluttering against his fingers like a fragile baby bird. Her lips were turning blue. The fastest way out was using the Tharsis but he didn't want to risk jarring her further. He had no qualms in doing so to Orange.

"You can trust me but I don't know if I can trust you," said Orange. "You fired first."

Slaine stared at him in disbelief. Before he could open his mouth to retort or even strangle the other boy, a shout of "Nao-kun!" rang in the chamber, followed by two people in similar uniform as Orange's. One was a short-haired brunette, the other was a woman older by a few years. They stopped short and stared. Slaine and Orange stared back.

It was the woman who broke the staring contest by pulling out a gun, aiming it at Slaine. He was sick of having guns pointed at his face.

"Nao-kun, are you all right?" the woman asked, coming closer, her hands steady.

"Seylum-san!" the younger girl shrieked.

"Yuki-nee, I need you and Inko to take Seylum back to the Deucalion," said Orange. "Bat and I will follow you both."

"Are you crazy?" It was the woman's turn to shriek. "He's the enemy!"

"Reinforcements are coming!" Slaine snapped. "We can argue about this until we're blue in the face or we get out of here now. The princess needs urgent medical treatment and so does he. He probably has internal bleeding."

The woman, Yuki, protested, even as she hefted Asseylum in her arms and got out of the chamber with the girl acting as the guard. Slaine huffed out a breath, holding out a hand to Orange who stared at it before taking it. Together, they made their way to the white Kataphract.

The battle at UEF headquarters ended in bloodshed and death. Both sides sustained great casualties and damages. Bodies and pieces of debris littered the snow-covered ground as far as the eyes can see. Here and there were dark red splashes on the snow and ground. The Knight of the landing castle had fled during the chaos. There had been no sign of him anywhere.

On board the Deucalion was chaotic. There were many who were injured from the kamikaze attack on the landing castle earlier and more injured in the battle. The ship's power was down and it was going nowhere, leaving many of its crew in despair. They startled the bridge crew when they all burst in.

"Is she-?" The woman was a captain, judging from her demeanor and uniform.

"Who are you?" snapped the other woman in the bob cut. Most probably the captain's XO.

Slaine wondered if they had attempted to use the princess to power up the Aldnoah drive only to have nothing happen. He pulled off his glove, reached for the drive to see if it would power up and much to his surprise, it did. The engines hummed to life and lights flickered. Slaine withdrew his hand, staring at it in wonder.

There was an exclamation of "Martian!" from the still conscious crew and sounds of weapons being drawn but nobody made any moves towards him. They only stared at him with wariness. Slaine stared back at them with Orange still held up at his side. Orange's head lolled at his shoulder, good eye blinking at them without any change in expression.

"You're like a robot," Slaine murmured.

Orange gave him a side-eyed look but the corner of his mouth curved up.

"He's with Nao-kun," said Yuki in a way of explanation. "Someone get Dr. Yagarai in here! The princess needs medical treatment!"

The XO looked as if she was debating whether to have Slaine arrested or not when the Captain barked out an order to get back to base, there were injured people on board who needed treatment. The ship took off with a shuddering groan as it pulled out and away from the landing castle.

The mess hall was a place of cacophony. There was chatter and laughter. The air had a general relieved after battle feel to it. Slaine pushed his food around on his plate with his fork. He sat at the furthest corner, away from everyone. His blue Versian uniform with its red collar made him stood out like a sore thumb. Most of the people had kept away from him. There were a lot of whispers and heated looks directed at him. He'd been shoved into walls and tripped along the way, and had derogatory words spat in his face. He didn't blame them. He kept his head low and out of sight as he wont to do when at Vers.

The princess was kept in a stasis to help her recovery. The surgery had gone well but she was still in a critical condition. There was no word on when she will ever wake up. Slaine mushed his peas, thinking of how much more advanced the technology on Mars is. She would probably have recovered faster if she was there but then again, hindsight was twenty-twenty. She would probably have been killed the moment they saw her body.

"What have the peas ever done to you?" a voice broke into his thoughts. It was droll, and he was familiar enough with its tone that he knew who it was without looking.

"Orange," he said.

"Inaho. Inaho Kaizuka." Orange- No, it's Inaho, he still looked awful. The bruises stood out in against his pale pallor. Bandages were wound around his head and over his left eye. His arm was in a sling.

"You should be in bed," Slaine said. It had been few weeks after the battle and after they left Novosibirsk. Many of those wounded were recovering or had recovered.

Inaho shrugged. "The doctor cleared me."

Slaine had a feeling it was a lie but he didn't call the other out on it. He pushed his plate aside, watching as Inaho fiddled with the tablet. The silence between them was somewhat comfortable.

"Slaine," he finally said, causing Inaho to look up at him. "My name is Slaine Troyard."

Inaho's visible eye gleamed and there was the barely there smile on his face.

"Welcome to the team, Slaine Troyard."

Can I trust you?

Yes.

Fin.