Gundam SEED: Arbiter Forces
By: Shadow Chaser
An Alternate Universe to Entropy Rising
Timeframe:
In the events of Phase Nineteen, Kira appeared at the last moment to kill Sven Anderson along with Athrun who killed Griever, Kira's clone-brother. However, during the clean-up process, it is where things take a nasty twist.
Story:
Previously on Gundam SEED: Entropy Rising…
Kira stayed in the shadows, propped up against the door frame. His leg felt like it was on fire and the pain that radiated from his wound sent spasms each time he put weight on it. He was glad that Mendel was near-zero-g, but any movement from his leg still gave off fiery pains of protest. He held his gun steady at Sven Anderson, knowing that Griever was still in the room, but Anderson was the real target for now.
"Kira, so glad you can join us!" Anderson's booming voice made him narrow his eyes, "I trust that you're feeling well?"
He didn't answer as he knew that Anderson was baiting him, whether to give away his position to Griever, or for something else, he didn't care. All he cared about was getting rid of Anderson and getting rid of Griever. The pain in his head had become very acute and it was like stabbing millions of knives into his head all at once and repeating the process over and over again.
"Oh wait…you can't be feeling well, it's the pain isn't it? It's clawing at you…I know because it is the fate of two almost clones, meeting one another. They can't exist at the same time…that was why that 'accidental' death of Anton Ariga LaFlaga was no accident. Surely you must have heard it from Rau, didn't you?"
Kira didn't answer, but he was listening carefully.
"Ah, I sense your hesitation," Anderson said in an oily voice, "Rau never told you did he? I'm sure he told you of your circumstantial birth…after all, he could have never kept such a secret to himself. No…Rau knew for a fact that you were the only successful test trial only because the brothers that came after you would have experienced an acute pain that eventually could kill both you and your siblings.
"When he was first 'born' I guess you can say, he began to experience pangs of pain and he realized that it was because he was a clone of Ariga. He realized that only one of them could exist and thereby made sure his predecessor was eliminated. However, sadly he wasn't able to contain the gene that made him have those deadly headaches and eventually succumbed to his own madness. However, I have perfected that gene so that when you die, my dear Nikolai would not suffer the same fate as Rau Le Creuset. After all, how could something so perfect be the one to die?
"But what to do about Princess Cagalli? She too is sibling… She too could suffer the same fate. The objective then is to eliminate the one that has caused all of this too. She was the one, if that bitch Katherine had not given birth to her, wouldn't have gotten into this whole mess!
"Weapons…weapons are what we need. Not some stupid birthing process in comparison. There are no weapons that exist right now. The improvement of clones is what needs to be done!"
Kira stared as he realized that Anderson had started to babble, and began to pace around. The man was mad…making speeches one minute, the next pacing like a mad scientist with plans for world domination. He narrowed his eyes… "You forgot one thing, Anderson
"What?!" the man snapped, angry at being interrupted in his musings. Kira noticed that his father and Kingfisher were edging out, ready to shoot both Griever and Anderson while his mother and Ledonil were edging towards cover behind a group of control panels.
"Dr. Ulen Hibiki may have created me, but I'll always be human. I've come to accept that," he gave a quick look towards his mother and father before staring back at Anderson and took a step forward from the shadows. His eyes crystallized into seed-mode and he raised his gun up, "my sister is not the cause of all this, but she helped create a weapon. Me."
"….Your…eyes…" this time Anderson looked completely shocked and Kira fired.
Kanoko dove behind a control panel as Kira fired his handgun, but she heard the other barrage of fire coming from her husband and Kingfisher. She didn't care as she covered her head with her arms and closed her eyes tightly. She didn't want to see anymore blood…no more violence…
Soon the firing stopped and she unwrapped her arms and looked up. Her son hadn't been the only one firing… She still couldn't believe the words Kira had said…they were haunting and chilled her to the bones. It was as if all of the pressures he had faced turned into something else and he had wielded it with dangerous fury. She wondered what had changed in Kira to make him like this…
"Kira?" she whispered his name as he saw him standing still as a statue, staring at the fallen form of Anderson. His gun was lowered, but his eyes were still cold, still in that crystallized state that scared her so much…what had Dr. Hibiki create? No…he didn't create anything, Kira wasn't created; he was her son…
"I…I…" he stared at the gun in his hand and Kanoko watched as his eyes returned to their normal soulful state…but tears had started to bunch in the corners and she gasped as he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
She started to rush over, but someone she had never expected to see beat her to it. Athrun was instantly by Kira's side, prying the gun from his hand and kneeling next to him, a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"It's all right, Kira…its over. You don't have to do this anymore," she heard his whisper as Kira started to cry.
It was then that she noticed that Griever was no longer standing, but had collapsed in a heap where he was…unmoving. She wondered if he was dead, but ignored it as she didn't want to see the face that looked almost exactly like Kira's…dead…
She got up slowly and walked over to where Athrun and Kira were before kneeling down next to her son. Catching Athrun's eye he nodded then backed off slightly as she wrapped her arms around Kira and let him cry onto her shoulder. "There, there…" she soothed him gently, rubbing circles in his back as tears poured from his eyes.
She looked up and saw her husband walking over to help a young girl up. She looked lost and confused, but a broken gold charm bracelet was in her hand and blood was seeping down her arm where someone had shot her. He caught her gaze and nodded before she turned to see Ledonil checking to make sure Sven Anderson was truly dead while Kingfisher was checking to make sure Nikolai Mercus was dead…
Was it over? Kanoko hoped so as she held her son in her arms.
Phase One – Betrayed
Athrun heaved a quiet sigh of relief as he kicked around some rubble that had fallen. He dared not disturb the quiet moment between Kira and his mother, knowing that his best friend was suffering from so much in these past weeks. He saw Kingfisher, also known as Quinn Misali, checking over Griever's dead body. It was creepy in an odd sort of way, seeing Kira's exact face except marred by a scar, lying on the ground, shot through with his own gun.
He shivered slightly as he hoped not to repeat that action again. It was too disconcerting to shoot someone who looked a lot like Kira.
Kingfisher had finished his examination and stood up, a grim look on his face. Tilting his head, Athrun watched as the man walked over to Kanoko and Kira before crouching down beside them. There was something about the man that Athrun didn't trust…something he couldn't really pinpoint.
He decided to ignore it for now and went over to help Kira's father, Keiji who was finishing making makeshift patches for DaCosta's wounds.
"You all right?" he asked the red-haired man who had been Andrew Bartfield's second-in-command when he was the Desert Tiger and had faithfully followed his commander when they defected to the Clyne Faction. He was the one who had helped him escape PLANT in the Eternal, after his father had gone mad.
"Yeah," DaCosta winced as Keiji put on the final dressing, "being shot up isn't fun, is it?"
"No it isn't," Keiji's voice rumbled with a hint of laughter in it. "That'll teach you young ones not to get shot in the near future."
"Yes sir," DaCosta smiled a bit painfully before he attempted to sit up. Athrun reached out and helped the young man, only a few years older than he was, and both he and Keiji rescue-carried the man who had been code-named Desert during the infiltration mission.
As they lifted him up, a sudden scream split the air and Athrun's eyes shot up to where Kira was; what he saw shocked him and he froze in place, knowing that anything he did was going to be bad.
"Quinn?" Keiji whispered next to him, anguish in his voice as they stared at the Kingfisher who was had apparently knocked down Kanoko and had taken Kira hostage. For Athrun, it wasn't the fact that Kingfisher had betrayed them all and had pointed a gun at all of them while holding onto Kira, it was that Kira had such a blank look in his eyes, like he wasn't even noticing that he was being held hostage.
It was such a dramatic change from just a few minutes ago when Athrun saw that his best friend was being comforted for what he had to do. What had happened in that span of time? What made Kira so…dead to the world when he was so full of life just minutes ago?
"What the hell?!" Kisaka had drawn his gun out and was pointing it straight at Kingfisher, unwavering.
"I wouldn't if I were you Ledonil Kisaka," Quinn's tone had gone frosty and was icy cold. "Shoot me and Kira dies," he continued and Athrun frowned as Quinn turned his gaze to him. "And don't think about going into Seed-mode Athrun Zala. I know you have the ability to and do anything rash your friend gets it."
"Quinn-"
"Shut up Dr. Kamiya," Quinn addressed Kanoko who was trying to pick herself up painfully from the ground.
"Explain yourself, Quinn," it was Keiji's voice that brought any sign of life or any hint that this was truly the Kingfisher that they had known back into the man who was holding Kira hostage.
"Orders are orders Akuma," Quinn's voice was sad, but Athrun narrowed his eyes trying to figure out a way to get Kira away from the Kingfisher without getting either of them shot.
"What the hell does that mean? Are you working for Sven Anderson?! Did you betray us just to do this?!"
"Akuma, how the hell did you come up with the idea that I'm working for Anderson? He's dead after all, so if he was, there is no reason to take Kira hostage, am I correct?" he shook Kira's limp form in his hands and Athrun wondered even if his best friend was somewhere within that blank gaze. Had Kingfisher said something to Kira to make him look like that? Or was it that Kira had been overwhelmed so much by all that had happened in the past few weeks that he simply overloaded and shut down to all outside sources?
"Then why?" Kira's father's voice cracked from the shock of betrayal and Athrun had a feeling that the friendship between Keiji Yamato and Quinn Misali was probably similar to his and Kira's…
"My orders were the same as yours, Keiji," Anderson looked forlorn, but that was instantly replaced with a mask of impassivity. "Bring in the experiment Codenamed Kira at all costs."
"But…that was years ago. Those orders don't stand anymore! Patrick Zala is dead!" Keiji's exclamation made Athrun flinch at the mention of his father's name. He still couldn't believe that his father had done such atrocious acts and kept them all secret…and he still couldn't believe the nice man of his childhood was the same one that had ordered Genesis built and fired upon the military forces of the Naturals.
"They still stand Keiji, whether you're in a different military or not. You should know that assassins like us never retire. We're always roped back into doing our jobs. As you should have done yours, I'm doing mine now…" Kingfisher said as he slowly moved towards the door.
"Yeah, but Zala is-"
It suddenly hit Athrun as Keiji froze mid-sentence to what he was saying. It couldn't be…his father…alive…but…he had seen him shot by one of his own men. He had held his body as his father tried to make his last wishes known; to have his son fire Genesis on the Earth… He had mourned his father and gave him the only burial that was fit for him…
It was two years since that and now Kingfisher was implying that Patrick Zala was still alive?! But that was just impossible. There was no way…no possible way…
"H-How…" he asked into the quiet, his mind still numb with disbelief.
"Cloning, Athrun," Kingfisher seemed saddened at the prospect, but if Athrun saw any hint of it, it was immediately replaced by a mask of impassivity. "Patrick Zala is very much alive and if any of you get in my way, I will shoot you…"
"Kingfisher…why do this? You…knew that those orders were insane…you know at least some of my son's history…" Keiji pleaded with Quinn who frowned.
"It's just a job," was his reply before he started to move out of the room.
It's just a job…just…a…something inside of Athrun suddenly snapped and his eyes flashed with anger. A part of him that was still clinging onto the crumbling form of sanity told him that what he was doing was utterly foolish, but he had enough. He had seen too many of his friends fall, too many of his family suffer and die…enough was enough.
There was no way Kingfisher would ever accomplish what he was going to do. He was going to stop the madman. He was going to save Kira. He charged at Kingfisher, his mind focused on the goal of separating Kira from the man's grip. He didn't care about anything except to save Kira… Kira was what was important. Kira was his brother, his best friend; an innocent in this war.
He vaguely heard the shout of his name, nor the sudden discharge of a gun being fired, but what he did feel was a sudden radiating pain that pierced him and spread from his chest. It was as if everything was slowing down… He saw his world tip head-over-heels around him as he fell back from the gunshot wound to his chest. It was then that everyone began to get foggy around the edges.
I've been shot…he mused mostly to himself, as the pain spread all around him. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and the face of Keiji appeared overhead but Athrun didn't really hear him as he realized that he had failed in trying to get Kira away from Kingfisher…
Kira…come back to us, was his last thought as blackness overtook him and he passed out.
Quinn Misali, the Kingfisher, immediately took advantage of the confusion when he shot Athrun. He knew that he had seriously wounded the young man, but also knew that his shot was surgical and that the boy would survive – albeit in much pain for the moment – but survive nonetheless. However, he hadn't counted on his hostage Kira Yamato to suddenly snap to life after seeing Athrun shot.
Now as he quickly made his way to the hanger bay where Haruka Satou had left her shuttle, all part of the grand plan concocted by Patrick Zala, Kira was just a light unconscious burden. He had to stop the young man from flailing and escaping his clutches by putting pressure on his leg wound which had made him cry out in pain and pass out.
A part of him felt guilty for betraying everyone like that, but he knew that he had a job to do. He was a soldier after all and soldiers never disobeyed orders, only if they were unethical. He didn't what plans Patrick had for the young man, but he didn't want to think about it. A soldier's job was to follow orders and never to question what the morality of those orders were. That was what made OMNI so different from the loose militia of ZAFT.
That was also why OMNI prevailed for a majority of the time in the battles. They were soldiers and they knew what to do whereas ZAFT was so loose that it almost seemed disorganized. At least Patrick had the right idea to turn ZAFT into an effective fighting force by virtually telling them that OMNI was going to destroy them if they didn't get their act together. It made for a more worthy opponent in Quinn's opinion.
"Sir, where are you going? I heard gun shots," Wolf's sudden voice talking on his comm. made him stumble a bit, but he regained his footing and tapped the comm. He had forgotten that Yu-Ling Chan was still in her sniper position.
"I'm headed towards the shuttle to alert the fleet that everything's over. Go help Akuma and the others. There are wounded in the main control room," he said in a steady voice.
"Yes sir," Wolf replied before a double click of her comm. told him that she had gone to follow his orders.
A soldier's ability to blindly follow orders was also a weakness within OMNI's ranks – he knew that when he was in the Black Ops with Keiji and taking extra classes with Murrue. That was one weakness he knew that OMNI would have to rectify soon or else they would fall into disarray.
He continued along, finally reaching the shuttle and keyed open the door. Stepping in, he immediately placed Kira on the emergency medical bed, quickly hooking up a couple of IVs and shifting him to a more comfortable position and sedating him before heading towards the cockpit.
He activated the controls and engine and let them do their warm up procedures all the while, a small knot of apprehension forming in his stomach. He knew that communication to the other ships of the LF fleet was all but impossible as Sven Anderson had encrypted everything, but even if Dr. Kanoko Kamiya, or Yamato as she was married to Keiji, was able to decrypt Anderson's passwords, he doubted that she would do it right now. She was too distraught, he knew that, from seeing the loss of her son, the betrayal…it was Quinn's forte – the human psyche and psychology.
He didn't try to understand people; he just knew how people usually reacted. It was his gift as a soldier and sometimes a curse he reflected as he cruised out of the hanger bay and set a navigation course to the PLANTs. Firing up the thrusters, he sped towards the victorious LF fleet, a grim smile on his face. He knew that Murrue Ramius was one of the best commanders in the OMNI fleet – it was a pity that those higher her never realized her full potential and demeaned her so much to force her to break away from OMNI. They had lost such a great commander…but one could always be persuaded…
As he neared the fleet, he wondered what was taking Keiji so long to establish a connection to the fleet to warn them of what had transpired in Mendel. He knew that his former best friend would let the soldier inside of him dictate his actions in an effort to save his son…
Suddenly a beep of an incoming call made him turn on the comm. and he saw Murrue's angry face along with Keiji's, the screen splitting in two to show both faces.
"Quinn what the hell is going on?!" Murrue asked her voice calm and controlled, but he could hear the undercurrent of anger running through it.
"Nothing that concerns you, Captain Ramius," Quinn replied, keeping a steady grip on the controls towards PLANT, "if you want Kira Yamato to live, then you will let me through."
A proximity warning beeped and he saw that the Buster, Duel, and Strike Rouge were pointing their weapons on him. The Eternal, Babylon, Archangel, and his old command the Kusanagi were also pointing their guns at him though he could tell that his second-in-command was very reluctant to point its guns at the shuttle.
"Surrender, Captain Misali. Don't make us destroy you," Ramius' voice wavered and Quinn smiled sadly before shaking his head.
"I'm afraid I can't do that Captain. See, even if you were to shoot me, you would have the stained conscience that you killed one of your former good friends, and Kira, to whom I know you and the rest of the crew doted on during the war," he said in a simple voice, "the others wouldn't shoot namely because Miss Clyne is in charge of the Babylon and I think she wouldn't like to see her lover die, Kusanagi is my old command and majority of my soldiers are loyal enough not to shoot me, the Eternal is commanded by Captain Bartfield who has respected Kira as an opponent. The pilots of the Duel and Buster know that Kira is a worthy opponent and they know that he is Athrun's best friend, the Strike Rouge…sadly Princess Cagalli, you shouldn't have joined this battle just for your twin brother…"
"How do you…" Keiji looked shocked.
"Know all of this information? Keiji, Akuma, you are no assassin until you find out at least some information to blackmail others and complete your job. That is why you failed at your mission and I will succeed in mine," Quinn turned slightly to face Murrue whose face had drained of all color. He knew that he had hit all of the marks that were dear to the woman.
"You will let me pass," he said before he terminated the link and gunned the throttle, shooting forward. As he passed by the LF fleet, he saluted them one last time, a former LF who was now ZAFT. He knew the next time he met them, they would be enemies…
And they did not stop him.
Author's Notes:
I do not own Gundam SEED or any of its characters. This was created with the intent and purpose of fan pleasure. No Gundam SEED: Destiny characters will be featured as the whole thing has not been finished on Japanese TV as of this chapter publishing (only up to Ep. 4), and therefore I don't know the characters that well from SEED: Destiny. This is an AU to Entropy Rising and not a sequel. The sequel is called Destiny Falling. Hope you guys like it! Thank you to those who reviewed both ER and this new fic! Since it's not a summer project, updates will be slow because I have other fics I work on during the year.
