Shinn's Betrayal
A/N: Alright, this is the rewrite version of chapter 1, hopefully with better style. When I checked through chapter 1 and 2 again, it's a total havoc to read. Forgive me, I haven't written anything when I first write this thing. Yeah, I uploaded this thing really late... I've got myself hooked to FMA for the mean time... maybe even for more, later. Relax though; I don't think that I'll leave this section.
Oh, right. Might just as well tell you guys now. I am currently stuck in my crazy-nuts mood, so forgive me when I write this and I had something else in mind, I could unconsciously type some of the scene also, and brought some sort of strange-ness. Anyway, still same content, with some added new ones. Beware of some OOC, and I hope you enjoy!
- Chapter 1: Escape to the Archangel -
The sky was currently pitch black, with nothing in it except for a few things. A blue Gouf could be seen flying hurriedly, followed not-so-closely by two more Gundams. The grey one, Legend, suddenly picked up its pace, leaving the Destiny behind it. It raised its beam rifle, and started giving a volley of green beams to the fleeing Gouf. But to the awesome ability or luck the Gouf's pilot may have, none of the beams hit it.
Quite the opposite, the left behind Destiny just floated there, doing nothing as if watching the beginning of the match between the Gouf and Legend.
"Shinn, what are you waiting for? Shoot them down!" Rey called, "Shinn!"
The sudden call seems to surprise the pilot of Destiny, jerking his head to the source of the voice that had startled him. Had he been in the Minerva or the base, without any superiors, Shinn'd probably snap back at the owner. His mind flew back to his current situation. He thought for several moments, and spoke up again, before Rey could yell at him. The blond could be a nuisance in situations like this, he guess. He opened a comm. line to the Gouf, and spoke up, "come on Athrun, return back to ZAFT! Don't betray us again!"
Dodging the beams Rey kept firing at him, Athrun still had the time to reply Shinn's demand. "I'm not coming back to ZAFT, Shinn, it was already wrong for me to return there at the first place."
The Destiny remained still, watching the hit-and-run game between the Gouf and the Legend. Shinn didn't really know what to do, while some part of him telling him to just help Rey and took Athrun down, some part of him was preventing him to do such action. Rey, patience line decreasing every second passed, yelled towards Shinn. "Shinn!" Rey called-more like yelled, "our mission is to shoot and take him down!"
Rey's yell did little to wake Shinn from the thinking he's been doing for some time now, but it seemed enough to make Shinn asked the older man to surrender once again. "Please Athrun, I don't want to shoot you down!" Shinn asked, and then almost snarled, "just what is your damn reason that made you betray us?!"
The Gouf dodged the beams from the Legend's DRAGOON system, though not as easy as before. Athrun was having a pretty hard time controlling the damaged Gouf, especially when Shinn gave him more and more questions, and he had to explain so Shinn'd understand. The reply came a bit slower and calmer than he'd intended though. "I've... finally seen the truth behind the Chairman's words... Yes, I admit it's very true, that he had promised to stop the war and bring peace back again quickly... but with that, he's going to eliminate all the people that stood in his way."
Shinn was, truth be told, downright baffled. Those things Athrun just said was totally different from what the Chairman had told him. Not finding anything to reply back, Shinn stuttered what came first into his mind. "Wha... do you... do you really mean that?"
Rey quickly tried to stop those words to enter Shinn's min any further, so he yelled again, "Shinn! Don't be fooled by that traitor!" And he fired the DRAGOONs back to Athrun, who was busy keeping up with the pace of the match.
Athrun, feeling somehow pent up with all of this, finally snapped, but strictly to Rey only. "Say all you want, Rey, whatever the hell do you want to say! I am NOT going back, and nor am I going to let you do as you want and kill me!" Feelings of anger and betrayed flowing into his head, he fired his beam rifle towards the Legend, scraping only the outer grey paint.
Shinn, still in his bewildered state, tried protecting Athrun once more. He turned the Destiny to face the Legend, and a tint of plead could be heard in his voice. "Rey, why don't you give him a last chance?" Shinn asked slowly to Rey.
Rey was angry as well, that Athrun had betrayed Gil, and now; Shinn was trying to defend him also? Can people not see what Gil have in plan? He was trying to save the humanity! "Never! He's a traitor already, Shinn, and I thought I've made it clear to you that we are supposed to take him down, not trying to stop him and take him back! We are supposed to kill him!"
"And that's just one proof that you're his son, you'll defend him even if he's dead wrong!" Athrun snapped back at him, Meyrin looking wary behind him. She stayed silent for most of the time, knowing that she won't stand a chance between both verbal and physical match between men. The next sentence came to quite a shock for Shinn though. "I fight for my own beliefs! Didn't you say that you'll fight for your own beliefs, and hated war, Shinn? So why did you follow the Chairman then? The war is devastating to all people experiencing it, and I know it also, Shinn." Athrun finished with a calmer tone.
The statement took Shinn aback, his eyes widened a bit. His body trembled a bit because of the shock, but Rey's yell stopped the trembling. "Don't trust him Shinn! Remember, the Chairman trusted us!" Rey told Shinn again.
Athrun, tired and somehow bored of the convince-or-not match, sighed a long sigh, before inhaling a breath. "Shinn, I'm not going to tell you again as to what to do. I'm not the kind of person who likes to force other people, so it's really up to you whether you're just going to stay idle there, or come here and shoot me down. But if you decided to come down here and shoot me, your enemy I shall be. But if you really wanted to kill me that badly, at least take Meyrin back. I'm the one responsible of her presence here and now, so I'm the one you must after."
"No Shinn! She's a traitor also, she helped him escape, remember? We have to take him down!" Rey yelled again, beads of sweat rolling down his face. He fired another combination of his beam rifle and DRAGOON lasers, but Athrun blocked them all with the shoulder shield. He shook his head and almost growled in frustration, but he kept them in control. Letting emotions flow out and control you in battles are not good, especially in battles you can't afford to lose.
Inside the cockpit, Athrun was severely tired, his wet strands of hair flapping forth and backward every time he had to dodge Rey's shots. He could see that Shinn is still on its position, staying neutral for most of the time. After dodging the green beams, Athrun yelled again, "say all you want Rey, I'm the one who's guilty here! She's not as guilty as I am, and she is one of your most important crews! She even has a sister back in the base, and you're killing her?" Athrun resisted the urge to smirk and adding, I thought the Chairman was better than that.
As the battle rages on in the middle of the dark sky, Shinn was having an inner conflict inside him. The conflict inside him caused him even more pain for the current time being. Both of his hands were clutching his head, or more like the helmet, trying to stop both fighting pilots' statements from eating him up alive. His eyes were closed, and his body shook a bit, not helping at all to return him into his calmer state.
... but with that, he's going to eliminate all the people that stood in his way. Shinn shook his head.
Shinn! Don't be fooled by that traitor! He held back the urge to scream and yell like there was nothing else in the world.
Say all you want, Rey, whatever the hell do you want to say! I am NOT going back, and nor am I going to let you do as you want and kill me! The thought of the war, his family and all that are precious to him added even more weight to his over-loaded mind.
Never! He's a traitor already, Shinn, and I thought I've made it clear to you that we are supposed to take him down, not trying to stop him and take him back! We are supposed to kill him! Killing, huh? He's done a lot of it in the war, but he doesn't even know how much had Athrun kill up to this very moment.
And that's just one proof that you're his son, you'll defend him even if he's dead wrong! The Chairman… wrong? At first he'd thought that the Chairman was the correct one, not that bastard Djibril and Orb's Athha. I fight for my own beliefs! Didn't you say that you'll fight for your own beliefs, and hated war, Shinn? So why did you follow the Chairman then?
Don't trust him Shinn! Remember, the Chairman trusted us! Trust… does such thing even exist in a world full of war like this? Betrayal… that sounded more like the thing to exist in a situation like this.
But if you really wanted to kill me that badly, at least take Meyrin back. I'm the one responsible of her presence here and now, so I'm the one you must after. Meyrin…? Luna… she was back in the base… she'd not be happy to see that her sister was killed at the very least, especially when the killer's either Rey or him. Somewhere in the back part of his mind, something's telling him that Athrun wouldn't even lay a hand on her, much less kill her.
No Shinn! She's a traitor also, she helped him escape, remember? We have to take him down! Heh… right, how he wished he could easily take them both down now. Nobody even know how hard is it to kill the one you… somehow, respected for. Well yeah, he hated the older man with passion sometimes… but he does have a sense of respect for the older man deep inside him alright.
I'm the one who's guilty here! She's not as guilty as I am, and she is one of your most important crews! She even has a sister back in the base, and you're killing her? …so that's one more reason for Athrun not to kill her.
Shinn watched in silence as the fight continues. Athrun's electro-whip had been destroyed, and the Gouf didn't really have anything to defend nor attack anymore. He stared blandly to the scene before him, not sure how to feel because of the dozens of emotions washing him in and out.
Athrun, now even nearer to the line of death and life, finally opt for the last choice… he didn't really want to use it though, he doesn't really know what'll Shinn's reaction be. "Shinn." He called, knowing that even a single word could catch his attention in a time like this… that goes for his hunter too. He took a deep breath, Meyrin watching from behind him. "This is something I've kept for myself, Shinn, and I know that what am I about to say will surprise you, at the very least."
Both ZAFT pilots turned their heads into the source of the voice, waiting for the next sentences to come out.
"Shinn, however much that you'd hate me after this, I'm just going to tell you… I know, pretty well, that you're in love with that pilot of the Gaia, and the Destroy… let me just get it straight, however much you hated the pilot of Freedom, he never intended to kill her! Even if he didn't kill her, the Chairman will absolutely kill her!" Athrun finished, the last part going a bit louder than he'd intended. Ah well, whatever, at least he managed to say that thing to Shinn.
Rey certainly wasn't expecting that, even more for Shinn. Those words of Athrun's certainly stopped his inner conflict and it felt like something just stabbed his wounded heart, adding even more weight than before. Stellar… his defences went down, and he snapped his eyes shut to stop those images that have started to come to him. When he first met Stellar, when he brought her back to be saved… and when she was… killed, all came back to him. Not finding anything to say, Shinn just said what came first to his mind after the assault. "Is… that true, Rey? Athrun's words...?" Shinn called slowly and carefully.
Rey said nothing and remained silent, for one of those rare times in his life, he was speechless. He couldn't speak for some seconds, before admitting in his heart that yes, what Athrun just said was true. He wanted to say something to at least deny Athrun's statement, but found it was useless, since Athrun said something else first.
"You never knew that, right Shinn?" Athrun said slowly, as if punctuating every word and trying to give more effect, which he was not. He waited for Shinn to reply, but even after some time the reply never came. Shinn kept his mouth shut, but deep inside his mind screamed yes all the time. He wanted to tell his mind to shut up; to deny everything about her death, to just bam his head to the cockpit and screaming hell no! to the world. But he knew that nothing could ever be done to repair the failures in the past, so, however painful and crazy his path shall be, he must keep walking forward... even if it hurts like hell to keep walking.
With what Athrun had said, Shinn's inner conflict added one more member to attack his mind. however much you hated the pilot of Freedom, he never intended to kill her! Even if he didn't kill her, the Chairman will absolutely kill her! Is that the truth...? Considering who said what and the fact that Rey didn't even budge to move or say anything after the statement... then yes, it's true. One more voice made up Shinn's mind, whether he should help Athrun or Rey.
You promised me that you'll protect me, Shinn!
Shinn shook his head, first slowly, gradually turning faster, all the time while muttering no, no... which also got louder as time passed. His inner conflict slowed into a halt, and when his mind became clearer, he made up his mind. A red seed-like thing fell across the black universe, before touching an invisible wall and shattered into a million pieces. His eyes were washed out into a dull red color in the process, and he flicked his thrusters into maximum, directing himself towards the Legend, flares of blue sparks trailing behind the Destiny. He drew out his anti-ship sword immediately when he closed the range between himself and Rey and clashed the sword with the Legend's Citadel-shield projector, which caused the Legend to stumble backwards because of the amount of force Shinn put in it. Shinn snarled and pushed even more, to the point where the Legend finally broke free of the contact and was flung back a bit.
"Shinn!" the three participants in the current battle yelled, with Athrun and Rey the loudest... even Meyrin joined in the yell. Athrun also blinked his eyes a few times, not believing that Shinn chose him over Rey. After the blinks, Athrun struggled even more to keep his eyes open, because the damage his Gouf has suffered was more than enough to knock normal pilots out. Blood started to seep from his small cuts because of the glass' shards, reddening his ZAFT uniform even more.
"Shinn!" Rey yelled again, trying to recover from the shock and dizziness from the moment before. Because of it, he didn't have the time to dodge Shinn's enraged attack, which he lost one right forearm for the cost of it. The Legend flew backwards even more, to take the time to prepare itself again. Finding himself almost useless in melee match now, Rey dispatched his DRAGOON systems again around him.
Shinn paid no heed to the DRAGOON systems surrounding the Legend, as he drew out his beam rifle and almost screamed, "I thought of you almost like my best friend, Rey, yet you've never told me anything about it! Then his words are true, right? Tell me Rey, tell me!" Shinn roared in pent-up anger and frustration, firing his beam rifle and hitting two of the Legend's DRAGOON systems. Rey seemed to be surprised of his actions, and Shinn took advantage of the time interval to throw one of his beam boomerangs, slicing the Legend's left knee.
The Legend staggered backwards, and almost stumbled in the process had it not been the pilot's extreme effort to bring the Legend up to its feet again. Rey knew very well that when Shinn's fighting like this, he'd have almost zero chance to even hit the Destiny. So he chose the best and only option available, that is to return to the base, leaving Athrun, Shinn and Meyrin, which meant that he's failed a mission given by the Chairman. He grimaced at the thought, and thought of returning and engages Shinn in battle again, but that his Gundam is severely damaged, and Shinn's Destiny was untouchable. He wouldn't even be able to lay a hit on the Destiny now, so he decided, for the best of himself, to make full use of his thrusters and go back to the base.
Shinn huffed and puffed, trails of sweat now visible on his facial features. His grip on the control tightened even more, trying to control himself back again. After the Legend was nowhere to be seen, he returned to his normal state, breaths and heartbeat now slowing into normal pace.
Athrun's controls on the Gouf were loosening even more now, and sleep seemed to be heaven to him right now. His vision had started to blur, and his whole body trembled even more now. He could barely hear Meyrin calling for him behind the seat, and finally gave in to his body's aching desire to shut his eyes. The red eye of the Gouf faded away, its thrusters stopped working, and fell freely into the deep black ocean which seemed ready to swallow anything right now.
Shinn noticed the Gouf falling freely from the corner of his eye, and flared his thrusters back to maximum once again as he raced again the time to catch Athrun first. "Athrun!" Shinn called as he caught the hand of the wrecked blue Gouf, "oi, Athrun, don't go dying on me when I ran through a lot of troubles to save you!"
His body and mind seemed to let him escape from the immense pain he was currently having, and he opened his eyes once more. "Shinn…?" he called, "so you chose me over Rey, huh? You'll see the real and true intentions of the Chairman when we're on Arch… angel…" Athrun trailed off, immense pain hitting him like a tidal wave once again, before closing his eyes.
Expression of worry now printed itself upon Shinn's face, his brows furrowed in concern mode. "Athrun? Hey Athrun!" Shinn called in almost a yell-like tone, "oi! Wake up!" He shook his head again, while typing codes on the keyboard, green radars coming into life. After a brief moment, his eyes flashed with happiness, as he located the Archangel. "Got it! Hang on there, Athrun!" he prayed, then immediately bolted into the coordinates he had found.
Meanwhile, back in the base's office, Chairman Dullindal watched with some amusement as Shinn brought the Destiny towards a place he doesn't know. But he knitted his brows in a thought, where was Rey? If Shinn ever kill him… he shook his head at the thought. Losing Rau was pretty bad, he wouldn't want to lose Rey again now. But his brows found its normal place again, after the Legend had appeared, even with the severe damages. He then chuckled, "I never thought that my best soldier would be able to betray me…" But frowned again, "which means that I'll have to use 2 more of my best soldiers, which is pretty bad…"
A voice made itself known from the black and dark part of the office. "Then it must be our turn to appear, hm?"
The Chairman smirked, although hidden by the darkness, so that the owner of the voice wouldn't know. "Yes, you'll be onboard soon, as soon as the Minerva is ready to go out, Ryo, Ryan," he chuckled quietly, "you may go out now."
"Whatever you say, Chairman sir," the taller of the two that had just appeared, Ryan, replied. His shorter companion, Ryo, stepped out with a mask of unreadable emotions.
A/N: Is it just me or it seems that this rewrite is almost twice as long as the original one? Ekh, not like I minded… just surprised, but nonetheless, pretty much happy. You might go and yell at me to tell me that this is at least what should I be writing on the first place… I know I'm wrong, so there.
Well, this is for you that noticed maybe some OOC-ness in Shinn's part. I am trying very hard to put him in-character, because my mind is persistent in telling my hands to type things that will put Shinn very OOC, mind that, so tell me, was I able to keep Shinn in-character? And, well, I don't really think that this is such a hard task to perform, but do you mind, grand readers who've put this story into alert, to review? I just wanna know what made you put this story into your alerts, if that isn't really hard for you to tell me in a single sentence or two. What should I improve more, just tell me, I won't be angry and go there and do whatsnuts to you… even if I am crazy sometimes. Maybe improvements for the fighting part, conversation part, grammar, who knows, maybe you guys are far better than me? Every writer needs at least something to be happy of, and which in my case, reviews. A 'Nice!' will do for me, even though I prefer the type of review I've put before, for once… or maybe several times later.
I guess that's it for rewrite of Chapter 1… rewrite of Chapter 2 should be coming at least one more month after this… I am also working on my new FMA fanfic in my LJ and next chapter of GS: Infinite Dreams and also this one. Well then, I'll see you guys later!