My second attempt at Gundam SEED fic, this baby was brought to life for a number of reasons. Mostly, I just wanted to read a good disability fic, something I have not been able to find. So, I'm writing one instead.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam. All affiliated characters, settings, and ideas are the property of Bandai and Sunrise Studios. No copyright infringement is intended; no profit is being made.
Amethyst
Amethyst: Noun. A semiprecious form of purple quartz. Soldiers carried them onto the battlefield in the belief they protected the bearer from harm and enhanced healing.
"Kira! Where's Kira? Meyrin!"
"His last co-ordinates had him heading towards Messiah. I lost his signal when he got too close. I think there's interference."
"I'm going to look. Let the Archangel know."
"I will. Be careful, Athrun."
"You too. And Meyrin? I'm sending you a set of co-ordinates. You'll...find Luna and Shinn there."
"Luna? Is she okay?"
"She should be. I'll be back soon."
The Justice landed heavily alongside the blessedly mostly-undamaged Freedom. Launching himself from the cockpit, Athrun pushed himself towards the floor and allowed the minimal gravity to pull him down. His feet touched the floor lightly, and Athrun winced slightly as an explosion rocked the base, sending down a shower of rubble not far from him. Left hand over his mouth, shielding it from the dust, he drew his gun with the right and sprinted off down the hall on silent feet.
Numerous hallways split off from the main one he was on, but Athrun didn't waver from his path. If Kira was here, which he was, he would be here for the chairman. Athrun had never been to this base before, but Durandal had always liked extravagant appearances, and the wide path all but screamed at him as leading to something important.
He was not wrong.
The pathway opened up into a large room, broken computers scattered about the floor and walls. Another shudder sent a monitor crashing down not far from where...Durandal stood, pointing a gun at Kira. Directly in front of Athrun, Captain Gladys had a gun at Kira's back. Hefting his own gun, Athrun was just opening his mouth, intent on making his presence known, when a gun went off.
He jumped, a sharp intake of breath the only sound to escape him as he watched the chairman of the PLANTs crumble to the floor, a bullet through his chest. Athrun's gaze immediately swept to the source of the sound, and what he saw left him speechless.
"Rey..."
"...I..."
"Kira!"
"Athrun?"
Grabbing his friend's arm, Athrun tugged at it. "This base is going down. We have to get out of here. Captain, Rey, you have to come, too!"
"My place is here, Athrun, watching over his soul." Brows furrowed, Athrun watched as she knelt beside her fallen leader, cradling his head in her lap. "Though I have no right, I do have a favour to ask. I have...a son. Please, ask Captain Ramius...to visit him sometime."
Athrun stared, brow furrowed. He honestly had not known that. That detail was hardly important now, however. What was more important was...
"I wi-"
"No!" he interjected harshly. "Listen to yourself! You're going to leave your son to live without his mother, and for what? To die with...!" He trailed off, words escaping him. Thankfully, Kira was there. Kira, who always seemed to know what to say. Sometimes a frustrating trait, but right now, he was glad.
"Athrun's right. Think about what you're doing. Do you want your son to grow up without a mother? Does he deserve that solely so you can—what? So you can die here? Is that really what you think is best?"
"I..."
"Captain Gladys," Athrun chimed in again, "don't put him through that. It's not fair, not to you and less so to him."
"T-Talia...go."
They all looked surprised by Durandal's interjection, but after a moment, Kira nodded. His friend's face was unreadable, but Athrun had a decent idea what he was thinking. For the moment, he simply motioned. "Come on. We have to go. Rey, you come too."
"I-I...shouldn't..."
"Remember what we talked about?" Athrun was surprised, but he did not say anything, leaving the matter of the shaken young man to Kira. "How you came into the world doesn't matter; you aren't defined by your genes. You're defined by who you are. Is this really how you want to go out?"
"Rey...come on."
"Gil..."
"Rey. Go. Keep...our d-dream..." Durandal had to know Rey was not thinking along those lines any longer, but, much to Athrun's relief, nobody said anything in response to his words.
"Gilbert..."
"Go, Ta...lia. Take...my love..."
Taking a few steps forward, Athrun grasped her arm, just as another, bigger, quake rocked the base. Grip tightening, he tugged her along. Kira took Rey's arm, and with one look back, they all ran. Behind them, a crash sounded, and Gladys looked back; a choked sob escaped her. Athrun did not allow himself to look, because they had more important matters to attend to.
He tightened his grip and sped up.
"You shouldn't have come after me."
"You're too reckless, Kira. Some has to watch your back."
"Look who's talking."
Despite the situation, they shared a quick, if grim, smile. Talia and Rey were silent, save the odd sob escaping Rey, and the enormity of the situation quickly settled back in. Athrun's face fell, and he sped along in silence.
The mobile suits quickly came into view, and Athrun grasped the wire he had sent down behind him when leaving the suit. To his right, Kira was doing the same, urging the distraught Rey on.
Wrapping his arms around the captain, Athrun cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh...sorry. We just..."
"I understand, Athrun. There's nothing else to be done. We need to hurry." He was relieved at her understanding, and that she seemed to be composing herself.
They had ascended nearly half way when another crash rocked the base, this one sending down a veritable shower of rocks and rubble. A scream sounded to the right, followed by a massive, almost deafening, crash. Athrun's eyes flew to the Freedom.
A cloud of dust blocked most of his line of sight, but Athrun did not wait for it to settle. He wasted no time in releasing the wire and jumping off, back to the floor.
"Athrun!"
He ignored the cry. Unhooking his helmet from his belt, he pulled it on, letting the oxygen in the suit supplement him as he ran into the dust cloud. "Kira? Rey? Kira!
The sight that met his eyes nearly stopped his heart. Stopping dead, dumbfounded, he could only stare.
The rocking had been hard enough to unbalance the Freedom. Kira had left the suit on one knee, as he often did, and the disruption had pushed a shower of rubble down onto the suit, hitting it back. It had bent at the waist, sending the chest forward onto the propped-up leg.
Rey and Kira had been ascending to the chest.
As his vision cleared, he became painfully aware of a stream of blood pouring down the Freedom's leg. He could barely register it, however, as his eyes were glued to the prone figure lying in a pool of blood and rubble not three metres from him. This figure wore an Orb flight suit.
"Kira? Kira!" he shrieked, running over. His friend was lying face down, his right arm contorted at an unnatural angle behind his back. Blood pooled around his face, and Athrun felt a lump rise in his throat at even the thought of what he might find. He didn't hesitate, regardless. Dropping to one knee, he cautiously checked Kira over for any major sources of bleeding. A few scrapes, tears in his suit that leaked blood, both nothing quite so bad as the pool he was laying in.
Sucking in a deep breath, Athrun cautiously turned him over. His heart leapt into his throat. The visor on Kira's flight suit had smashed, driving the glass into his face. In the dim lighting, it was hard to assess the damage, but...it did not look good. In fact, it was downright nauseating to look at.
"Is he breathing?"
"I think—yes," he confirmed, trying to hide his surprise at Gladys' sudden presence behind him. There was mist forming on the cracked glass still covering his mouth.
"Good, where's Rey?"
That gave him pause. His mind finally registered the other half of the scene, and with a wince, he looked towards the Freedom. Her gaze followed his, and she gasped sharply, hand flying up to cover her mouth.
"Rey..."
"Dammit," Athrun hissed, crushing his grief and fear. Scooping Kira up, he cradled his friend awkwardly. "We have to go. Now!"
"Athrun..."
"Get to the Justice! Hurry!" It looked like the hatch on the Freedom had been crushed, so they would all have to squeeze into the machine together. It would be tight, but he refused to leave anyone behind.
"Take a moment."
"We don't have—!"
"You're panicking. Take a deep breath and calm down. He's alive. Collect yourself, then follow me up."
They had been walking while they talked, stopping only when they reached the Justice's feet. Captain Gladys quickly mounted the wire, ascending while Athrun tried to calm himself. He had not even realised how shaken he was until this moment. He had thought—! For an instant, he had thought Kira was dead. Dammit, he might still die! Shifting his grip, he closed his eyes and prayed.
It was only minutes later, though it felt like years, that they were flying away from the crumbling base. Gladys had Kira cradled against her, awkwardly kneeling behind his seat as Athrun flew them back to the fleet. Behind him, he towed the Freedom, the machine banged up and...well, Athrun did not want to think about the rest.
He swore. How could they screw up this badly? Rey was gone, Kira was...
"—stice. Come in, Athrun!"
"Meyrin!"
The feed popped up, and he both heard and saw her gasp, eyes widening. "Cap—Kira! Is he okay? Athrun!"
"Tell the medics on the Archangel to stand by, Meyrin. That's where I'm taking him. And tell...tell Lacus to meet us there. I don't know..."
He trailed off, ending the feed before he found himself forced to face Lacus. He did not think he was collected enough for that right now. Right now, he needed all of his focus for the task at hand.
It was not to last. Within minutes, a second feed popped up, this one from the Archangel.
"Athrun, where's Kira? What happened?" Miriallia demanded, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the scene in his cockpit.
"We're rusty on the specifics, but as far as we can tell, he was knocked down when ascending to the hatch on his mobile suit. He fell and his visor was crushed. That seems to be the worst of his injuries."
Athrun glanced over his shoulder, opening his mouth to thank Gladys. Before he could say a word, she met his gaze.
"Just fly. I have him."
Athrun did.