A/N: Don't own GS/GSD or Clover, as this story is based somewhat on Clover with a few changes to fit in the GS characters, so yes, there are some spoilers.

I've only read volumes 2-4 of Clover, anyway, along with information obtained by web sites. I don't know if there are going to be any more volumes other than volume 4, so I've had to come up with my own interpretations.

Let me know if anyone seems OOC in a mature and respectful manner, but remember they haven't lost anyone yet like SEED. Please keep that in mind. Also, I'm still trying to get the hang of Stellar's speech.

I realize the first chapter is going to sound like X-men, but really, it's not based on that. It's basically Clover, Gundam Seed Destiny-style. A special thanks goes to my beta reader, Caorann fridh Bronach.

01: Humane or Inhumane?

"So this is where you're working?" Nicol Amarfi asked his friend as they paused before the crosswalk leading to the other side of the street.

"Yep." Athrun gestured towards the vast, colossal department buildings, home to scientific projects and experiments for the government. "They transferred me to here. Said they needed my technological expertise for…something." Athrun hesitated, wondering if he should tell Nicol that the project was at the top of the priority list for the government (at least that's what they told him). Stuff like that, he knew, probably existed with the aim of being top-secret, so Athrun decided not to. No sense in getting fired the first day.

"Something, huh?" Nicol's gaze drifted from the block letters on the side of the main building to the domes behind. "I wonder what those are for." He could dimly make out black bars on the inside, reaching towards the top center point. "Almost looks like a cage of some sort."

Athrun shrugged. "Guess I'll find out when I get in there." He lifted his arm to inspect the watch on his wrist. "Well, I'd better head over there, now. Did you want to meet for lunch?"

"Sure." Nicol pressed the button on the side of the traffic light post, awaiting the signal to walk across to the building where he gave piano lessons. "How about at the Pirate Palace?"

Chuckling at the absurdity of the name, Athrun agreed. "Yeah. I'll meet you there. I'll fill you in on those domes."

"Hope you don't get experimented on," Nicol said, giving a wave before he crossed the street. "Catch you later!"

"Right." Athrun waved back and then turned his eyes towards unfamiliar territory. Adjusting the collar of his white shirt and zipping his dark jacket up even further, Athrun began the long trek to the main office across a pathway surrounded by what appeared to be a mini-forest. The small trees and bushes were planted and placed in a way to hide the lower areas of the facility. "How strange."

The twenty-one-year-old checked his watch again, relieved that he wasn't late. Every day he was to report in at approximately nine in the morning and work through to four in the afternoon.

After sliding in his new security card, the system granted Athrun entrance and he immediately went through another identification sequence where they asked him a question, and he had to give the answer they had given him over the phone. Once that was over, a silver door slid open and Athrun went inside. Raising his eyebrows, he took in the futuristic sight of the place: arch beams, clean, white walls, tiled floors, computers and wires everywhere; definitely hi-tech.

A swoosh from nearby doors alerted Athrun of another presence. "Hello, you must be Athrun Zala." The presence was revealed as tall, blonde, blue-eyed man with a grin mirroring an obvious easy-going demeanor. "The name's Mwu La Fllaga," Mwu said and held out his hand. "Welcome to the 'Facility.'"

"Uh, thank you, sir," Athrun said, shaking the twenty-six-year-old's hand.

Mwu chuckled. "No need for the formalities, kid. Just call me Mwu."

Nodding quickly, Athrun forced a smile and dished out a question. "I'm looking for Muruta Azrael-"

"Say no more." Mwu began walking back in the direction from whence he came. "Azrael sent me down to get you. I'll take you to your new office, which is right next to mine. We'll be working together on this little project of his," Mwu said, motioning for Athrun to follow. "You'll be doing all the hard stuff – research and design -- and I'll be putting the thing together."

Athrun, struggling to keep up with his now co-worker's pace, asked, "What kind of project am I, er, we working on?"

"Tell you that later, kid." Mwu flashed his security card for admittance, and stepped through the sliding doors into yet another long hallway. "Right now, I'll give you your 'work clothes' and show you where you can change." They passed by a door marked "44144."

Athrun glanced briefly at the numbers and then returned his attention to the front of him until he passed a window overlooking what appeared to be one of the domes. His pace slowed a fraction, catching a glimpse of what looked like a jungle and a giant bird perched on a rail…no, that was a human! Athrun stopped abruptly.

Mwu, not hearing the footsteps of the younger male, also stopped, looking back to see what the delay was. "Hey, kid. You coming or what?"

"T-There's a girl in there!" Athrun said, flabbergasted. "With…wings?" He pointed at the window, wondering what kind of inhumane experiment was being done. "What's going on in there?"

Mwu's normally cheerful expression turned grim. "That winged girl in there is part of your project."

"What?" Athrun frowned, looking back at Mwu. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." Mwu faced forward. "Come on, we've got a lot to do."

"But--"

Mwu suddenly stalked towards Athrun and grabbed the younger man's arm. "Listen, I don't like the idea of that girl being in there any more than you do," Mwu hissed, looking around to make sure no one was listening in. "But we can't do anything about it. We're not in control of this crazy government experiment, got that?"

Intimidated by the blaze in Mwu's bright blue eyes, Athrun swallowed hard and nodded. "I…I understand." Athrun looked away. Evidently, Mwu had some sort of issue regarding the girl.

Temporarily satisfied, Mwu let go of Athrun's arm and took the lead again with a reluctant smile on his face. "Come on. You have to meet your boss."

"There are a few things you must know," Azrael, a man almost reflecting Mwu in appearance, began with an air of self-importance. "Wash your own uniform."

Athrun briefly looked down at his black and gold "work" outfit. "Yes, sir."

"Don't delay in designing our protective shield."

"No, sir."

"And lastly – and this is of utmost importance – anything you see or hear stays in here," Azrael finished by leaning forward with a bang of fists on his neatly arranged desk – an effect that worked well in making things he said absolutely clear. "Understood?"

Athrun, who had flinched at the sound, nodded briskly. "Understood."

"Good." Azrael lowered himself into the leather, reclining chair with a satisfied grin. "We don't need unnecessary busybodies or prowlers sticking their noses where they aren't wanted. Isn't that right, Mr. La Fllaga?"

Without missing a beat, Mwu replied coolly, "Yes, Mr. Azrael, sir."

Raising his eyebrow at the sudden drop of temperature in the room – and he didn't mean in degrees – Athrun shifted uncomfortably, debating whether he ought to ask about the winged girl. After a few moments of arguing with himself, the government service worker initiated the coming conversation with an: "Uh--"

"Oh, yes, you must be wondering what the purpose is of the Shield." Azrael reached for a file sitting on the left side of his desk. "Here. In there you'll find a map of the resources located in this Facility that you will need to use to create the Shield."

Athrun took the folder, catching Azrael's gaze with his own. "Sir, Mr. Azrael, sir, I am…curious as to what the Shield is supposed to protect."

Mwu grimaced inwardly, knowing exactly where this supposedly harmless question was going to lead.

However, Azrael didn't seem offended or suspicious at all. "Ah, yes, any type of safeguard implies that someone or something is being protected, does it not?" Azrael stared at Athrun with such intensity that the younger man had to look away, feeling a bit unnerved. "And I bet I know what you're thinking: who or what is being protected? Mr. Zala, you'll be happy to know in producing the Shield, you will be protecting vulnerable people from the evil doings of the world," he said with a flourish of his hand.

Mwu had to utilize every bit of his willpower and strength to refrain from scoffing or rolling his eyes at this remark. Athrun, though, continued to listen, resisting the urge to blurt out a query about the girl with wings.

"Since you'll be working with La Fllaga here, I suppose it's only fair to tell you about the clovers." Azrael gave a dramatic sigh. "La Fllaga probably won't be able to keep it a secret from you, anyway."

OK, he really wanted to punch the living daylights out of the arrogant, pompous louse! Mwu's hands clenched into fists as he dared to interrupt the terribly, exhausting speech Muruta Azrael was delivering. "Azrael, you--"

"I'm not finished speaking, yet." Azrael frowned at the man. "Anyway, before we were rudely interrupted, I was talking about the clovers."

Athrun decided now was the time to intervene with his question. "Yes, I was wondering about that because…I…saw a girl in one of the domes."

For a minute, Athrun sincerely believed he was going to be fired and thrown out on his overly inquisitive butt. An unidentified emotion flickered in Azrael's ice blue eyes for an instant, followed by nail-biting silence. At last: "A girl, you say? We've only one female clover stationed here."

"What are clovers?"

"My, you're quite the curious one, aren't you? So blunt, too. Well, clovers are children with special powers. They were all abandoned or handed over to us by people who couldn't care less about these--" Azrael paused, searching for the right word, "unfortunate beings. Or, those people couldn't handle the children on their own. We house these clovers and keep them under special surveillance, taking note of their physical conditions until we can figure out how to cure them."

"Cure?" Now Athrun was really confused.

"Cure," Azrael repeated for the younger male's benefit. "If the clovers were set loose, they wouldn't be able to function in our society. They would be shunned and treated like aliens…which they could very well be."

And now this conversation was crossing over to the realm of science fiction. Then again, they did live in a pretty hi-tech world. "But what if they can't be cured?" Athrun watched Azrael's eyes again for any sign of an ulterior motive. He knew how easily men were seduced by the mere thought of having power and lots of it. His own father, Patrick Zala, had clearly demonstrated that several years ago when he became a CEO. Athrun hadn't spoken with his father for quite some time.

Azrael shrugged. "We keep them here until they die."

"Here?" Athrun echoed with a deep frown. "Do they even have a chance to live a normal life in this place? Isn't keeping them in those domes inhumane?"

"My thoughts precisely," Mwu said, clamping a hand down on Athrun's right shoulder.

Azrael released a vexed sigh. "Humane normally suggests 'human.' These clovers are not real humans, Athrun: therefore it is not considered inhumane for them to be here. They're different from us." Azrael then glared at both men. "Gentleman, I think we've wasted enough time already. How about you two get to work?"

"I really hate that scum-bucket," Mwu grumbled as he and Athrun worked on the Shield in a laboratory.

Athrun said nothing, focusing on the computer screen in front of them, while also thinking about what could possibly be the reason for Mwu to work under a boss he obviously detested.

"All that lazy idiot cares about is money. And the clovers."

Now that spawned another interesting question. "Mwu," Athrun said, typing away. "What kind of powers do these clovers have?"

All became quiet as Mwu's frown dissolved into a thoughtful expression, until he turned with a secretive smile. "How about I show you?"

After about ten minutes of walking and about three flights of stairs, Mwu led Athrun into a second rotunda (with a door showing the numbers "33133") that showcased a beautiful artificial setting consisting of a waterfall, tall bushes, and a stone pathway surrounded by healthy green grass. Light came from the sun shining through the white dome walls, at least until night arrived and then electrical lights would beam. Still, despite the man-made beauty, Athrun felt a little disappointed that they weren't visiting the girl.

"The clovers are divided into ranks," Mwu said as they rounded the first curve, like a garden maze. "One-leaf, two-leaf, three-leaf, and four-leaf. This kid I'm about to introduce you to is a three-leaf."

Absorbing this information and filing it away in his brain's cabinet, Athrun followed Mwu until they came to a clearing with a scientifically size-reduced oak tree in the center. Sitting at the base of the tree was a young clone of Mwu.

Well, maybe not an actual clone. "Athrun, meet Rey." At the sound of Mwu's voice, Rey looked up, his long hair still cascading around his face and shoulders, but with eyes that showed he was happy that Mwu had come to visit him. "Rey, this is Athrun, a friend of mine."

Curious about when he had been upped to the friend position, Athrun stepped forward with a warm smile. "H…Hello there." How did one greet a person with mysterious powers that could probably freeze him literally on the spot? Athrun shook away such mindless thoughts; this was reality.

Rey calmly greeted him with "Hello" and then went back to the object in his hands.

Athrun glanced at Mwu, waiting for a next move. Mwu took the cue and sauntered on over to the three-leaf. "What do you have there, Rey?"

As though Athrun wasn't there, Rey answered quietly, "It is a recording of a…piano."

"Music?" Mwu stretched out a hand and Rey handed over the object to him. The older male gave the object a close inspection before proclaiming with a laugh, "So you figured out how to do it, eh? That's great."

Unable to contain himself, Athrun blurted out, "What is?"

Mwu handed the recorder back to Rey before responding. "Rey here can manipulate anything virtual or electronic and it seems he managed to record someone playing a piano."

Rey turned a knob on the device and a familiar song played. Athrun recognized the song right away. "My friend, Nicol," he said, "played that last week. I don't understand how…?" Wait! The place where Nicol gave piano lessons and performed was directly across from the facility. Maybe he ought to introduce Nicol to Rey.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Mwu said, peering at Athrun from the side of his eyes. "He likes listening to music, preferably a piano."

Truthfully, Athrun was speechless.

"How did you do it?" Mwu asked Rey, giving him an encouraging smile.

Rey replied, "It's very complicated to explain." The seventeen-year-old glanced at Athrun dubiously.

Sensing the three-leaf's uncertainty, Mwu gestured towards Athrun. "It's OK. He doesn't like Azrael, either."

As Mwu kept Rey entertained by talking about random things and bad-mouthing Azrael, Athrun noticed a small black mark on Rey's wrist. Upon squinting his emerald green eyes, Athrun saw a three-leafed clover with several numbers underneath. So they're marked…like cattle. Athrun closed his eyes, suddenly sad. Just another inhumane way of showing that he's different from me.

"Rey's the only three-leaf here," Mwu said to Athrun. "There are other clovers around the world and Rey can sense all of the ones of lower rank. In fact, I think he and that girl are the only higher ranked clovers."

So the girl was a three-leaf, too? Or…a four-leaf? Athrun turned to Rey. "Are there any more clovers in this city?"

Rey was silent for a moment, and then he said, "There is one more."

Time passed and Mwu and Athrun found themselves back in their offices. "He's very quiet," Athrun remarked, referring to Rey.

"Yeah." Mwu scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "He can be shy, too, when he wants to, at least with my wife, Murrue. Speaking of Murrue, you should come on over to my place sometime and meet her. She's a good cook."

Athrun smiled. "Thanks."

"How about tomorrow evening? Have dinner with us."

"Sure."

"I'm hoping to bring Rey…"

Athrun's typing halted. "You can do that?"

"Well…no," Mwu admitted. "It's against the rules for the clovers to leave their domes, but Rey deserves some time away from that lonely place," he finished with a soft voice, indicating his fondness for the clover.

"What about that…girl?"

"I've only met her once because I caught her off guard," Mwu responded, scratching his chin. "Most of the time she hides whenever I go into her dome."

"I see." And Athrun wondered why.

The clock in the right hand corner told Athrun that the time had come to leave for lunch. "We get a lunch break, right?"

Mwu stretched his arms, yawning. "Yeah. For 45 minutes. Where are you off to?"

"I'm meeting Nicol for lunch," Athrun answered. "You know, the one Rey listens to."

"Mm."

"What are you doing?"

"Calling Murrue and then eating in the cafeteria. Then, I'm going to go visit Rey again and try to visit Stellar."

"Stellar?"

"That's the winged girl's name."

"Oh."

Athrun and Mwu went their separate ways in the hallway; Mwu with his office in mind, and Athrun with the winged girl in mind. He had made up his mind. He was going to go see her: Stellar.

The halls seem eerily quiet as Athrun went back in the direction from where he had first arrived and he vaguely mused over why he didn't see too many people around. Perhaps they were all sitting in their offices in leather chairs with black coffee stains on important documents – like Mwu. Athrun smiled at that thought, glad to have met the older, easy-going man.

Within several minutes, Athrun found the door marked "44144" and finally understood what the numbers meant. Rey's door symbol and tattoo had centered on the number 3 and Rey was a three-leaf. The number 4 must certainly mean four-leaf so Stellar had to be a four-leaf.

Twisting the knob carefully, Athrun took tentative steps inside the dome as he met with warm humid air, a stark contrast to the cold bleak air inside the Facility. Breathing in the smell of the artificial jungle, Athrun descended down the stairs, every step's sound bouncing off the dome walls. As he walked, he took care to inspect the domes more closely. As Nicol had stated before, the dome did look like a giant birdcage.

He reached the bottom, stopping just before a beaten dirt path. Wiping the sweat off his brow, the navy-haired young male stepped onto the path. The air clung to him like he had grown another layer of skin. "Too hot in here," Athrun mumbled, stepping over an ingrown root.

At long last, he found a long pole stretching skyward and discovered that no one was sitting atop the small platform. If she's not up there, then she's… Athrun sighed, knowing she was probably hiding. Might as well go back, he thought, believing the whole trip had been a complete waste of time. However, there was one thing he hadn't tried. "Stellar?" he called out hesitantly, careful not to sound too loud as his voice echoed across the dome.

Silence answered him.

He tried again. "Stellar?"

Still no answer.

One more tactic: "I'm not with Azrael."

Athrun's heart leapt into his throat at the rustling bushes next to him. She was coming! Suddenly feeling like he was meeting a blind date, Athrun straightened out his posture and smoothed the creases in his uniform. Then…she appeared. Dressed in a strapless white dress, hemmed just below the knees, Stellar held her hand close to her chest, staring at Athrun with curiosity and fright.

Noticing she didn't have any wings, Athrun nodded, offering a gentle smile. "Hello. My name is Athrun." He wondered what kind of powers she had.

Seeing his smile comforted her slightly. Stellar cocked her head, quietly observing him. Athrun appeared to be nothing like Azrael. She didn't have visitors often, except for that man, but she always assumed that man was spying for Azrael. "Athrun come to see Stellar?" she said, suddenly excited.

He had, hadn't he? Amused at her speech, Athrun responded, "Yes. I came to visit you, actually." If Rey had someone to visit every day, why not her? Plus, Rey might even have the chance to meet his piano-playing idol, Nicol…oh, shoot! "I'm sorry, Stellar…I have to go."

The next sight almost tore his heart apart. Stellar looked at him with the hurtful gaze of a puppy. "Athrun is leaving Stellar?"

Did he ever feel terrible... "I'll be back," he reassured her. "I promise."

"Athrun will come back to see Stellar?

"Sure."

Stellar beamed at him.

Outside, at the street corner, Athrun watched the traffic go by. Pirate Palace stood only a couple of blocks away. "What a morning," he said softly, awaiting the signal to cross. How much money do I have with me, anyway? Athrun pulled out his wallet from his back pocket (he was still in his uniform) and pulled it open, counting mentally. Then the wallet was snatched from his hands. "Huh?" He looked up to see a boy with sky-blue hair running away. "Hey!" Athrun forgot about waiting to cross; he simply took off in hot pursuit of the thief.

Auel Neider glanced behind him. "Dang it, he's following me." Auel increased his speed while reaching onto his shoulder to scratch an itch that lay above a clover symbol.

A/N: Hope you read the author's notes to avoid asking questions already answered.

There is going to be slight Athrun x Stellar as some people requested I write another fan fiction with this pairing.