Author's Note: I would really like to thank reckless-rage for providing the initial plot for this story and for letting me write it! I'm sorry I sat on your idea for so long, but I wanted to do it just right... Anyway, this one's for you. Just think of it as an early birthday present!

Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.

Fantasy Trap

Chapter 01: The Prelude

The blaring music and deafening sounds of dozens of different games mangled together to fill their ears as they entered the arcade. Athrun barely heard the noise, though, as he looked over his three companions anxiously – two dark-haired boys and one pink-haired girl. Among the four of them, an uncomfortable silence lurked, still. He wanted the ice broken. He wanted his friends to get along well. It was nothing that could be forced, of course. Athrun was willing to give it time.

"It feels like ages since I've been to a joint like this!" Kira laughed, standing on tiptoe as if trying to drink in every last detail of the lively atmosphere at once.

Athrun had known that if there was any way to set free the kid inside his childhood friend once more, this would be it. It was good to see Kira's playful side again. To be honest, Athrun had been afraid that the prolonged war had extinguished that part of his best friend's personality for good. At Kira's elbow, Lacus craned her neck gracefully to better observe the delighted expression on her beloved's face. She smiled delicately at his reaction to the hypnotic beckoning of the games with their bright lights.

Athrun had considered inviting Meyrin along too, so Lacus – who did not seem to be here for the gaming experience, at least Athrun could not imagine it – would have some company. The two girls seemed to get along really well – they had hit it off ever since their time together on the Archangel.

But he was not sure she would have come along even if he had asked her. Lunamaria had already promised to come, and, according to Shinn, the Hawke siblings had had a rather fiery quarrel over some or other obscure matter. The exact nature of this matter was unknown, but apparently the two sisters were not on speaking terms as of yet. Shinn said that Lunamaria had dismissed it as "women's business" when he pressed her for details. From his limited experience, Athrun knew that that translated roughly into "none of your business" for guys. Whatever had happened between the two sisters, Athrun reasoned that there was going to be enough awkwardness to go around, so he had wisely decided against inviting her.

"I shall buy the tokens," Lacus offered, a sweet, chirping sound, as she made off with Kira's wallet. She was gone before the startled Kira could say anything.

The three boys were left standing in a casual semicircle, with Shinn staring off into the distance, frowning awkwardly. The younger boy was slouching slightly, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Kira kept eyeing the games, probably too hyper to care for small talk. So much for spontaneous conversation…

"It's a shame Lunamaria couldn't make it," Athrun offered in Shinn's direction.

The raven-haired youth shrugged.

"Suits me," he mumbled absently. "She sucks at video games anyway."

Suppressing a chuckle, Athrun shook his head, then let his eyes travel over the rows and rows of arcade games, old and new, lining the walls.

While Kira was practically hopping up and down with excitement, Athrun found himself facing a wave of apprehension. He knew that he could not expect Kira and Shinn to get on like best buddies right away, but he could not shoo the feeling of stress building up in his middle. An afternoon of fun and games was the best way Athrun could think of to loosen the tension between the two. But he had an all too vivid image of his plan backfiring. Shinn was a very competitive person. The last thing Athrun wanted was his two friends competing at the same thing and Shinn blowing his top. That would just put a sour face on everything. He was not willing to risk it.

So it was with squared shoulders that Athrun strode among the endless aisles of entertainment devices in search of a cooperative game.

--

Lacus was tapping her forefinger to her chin thoughtfully. The token dispenser had to be malfunctioning. Again, she pressed the money into the machine, but the odd contraption just spat it right out again. Sweet-talking it had not helped either. Frowning, she stuffed the crumpled piece of paper back into Kira's wallet and attempted to stare down the blinking little screen that insisted on displaying the words "COINS ONLY" in bright colours. She had never really played video games before, and having no experience with these things at all, she would need all the tokens she could get her hands on in order to catch up with the guys! How on earth was she supposed to buy enough tokens if she could only use coins?

Sighing, she wondered whether it had been a good idea to leave those three boys alone together. She had seen right through Athrun's good-natured scheme to get his two friends to become acquainted with one another. She saw the sense in it… But Athrun was not the most social soul she knew. In truth, his people skills were something awful. And Shinn seemed the type who would take anything the wrong way. By simply choosing the wrong words, Athrun could end up ruining his own plan. Especially if he tried to force things. She prayed he did not get his hopes crushed.

Hmm, if I were Athrun… she thought, and for a moment, was amused by her own logic. With a fond smile, she continued along that train of thought. If I were Athrun, I'd try my best to keep Kira and Shinn from competing against each other…

"Hallo!" Pink-chan asserted, as it came rolling across the floor and jumping into her open palms.

"You're absolutely right!" she cooed at the mechanical pet, her smile growing. "If I were Athrun, I would be searching for a game we could play together as a team!"

"Hallo-hallo," her favourite pink toy chirruped in agreement.

It rolled out of her hands and bounced off on a whim. As her eyes followed the energetic little ball, they fell on a sign posted next to a door that stood slightly ajar. A sign that, upon closer inspection, proved to be most interesting…

--

Talisma – Everyone's Epic

Team up with two friends to create your own unique adventures revolving around a party of impeccably detailed characters of your design! Every adventure is a different one, promising an infinity of replay value. Be among the first to test drive the highly advanced virtual reality-creating technology for FREE!

The game and its technology are still in their testing phases. Feedback from testers will be greatly appreciated.

– Tri-Angelsoft Development Team

Athrun eyed the logo of three intersecting haloes at the bottom of the sign Lacus was practically pressing his nose against. He had heard of this company before. They were famous for their engrossing one-player role-playing games – a never-ending series called Last Legacy. Athrun thought that last he heard they were already developing number twelve in the series. It seemed they were out to try something completely new with this one. It was the company's first multi-player game. This game would also be the first one under their development that would not have the name 'Last Legacy' attached to its title. Despite the fact that the game was still undergoing testing, Athrun felt pretty confident about this. After all, the company had a stunning reputation of eleven best-sellers in a row! The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was the perfect game for him, Kira and Shinn. It was so perfect that he started wondering how it could be that Lacus always seemed to know what he was thinking.

"What is it? What is it?" Kira piped up, throwing one arm across Athrun's back and the other around Lacus, trying to get a clearer view of what they were looking at.

"You decided on something to play yet?" Shinn asked in a bored tone, approaching in a much more subdued fashion than Kira.

"It's a role-playing game that relies on a virtual reality system," Athrun explained as he scanned the small print on the sign for further details. "Apparently, the system allows you to see, hear, feel and even taste the virtual world it creates, allowing for more immersive gaming…"

"Coooool!" Kira enthused.

Shinn ran his eyes over the sign. Athrun thought the boy's red pupils lingered on the triple haloed logo a bit before his features contorted into a scowl.

"Bah, sounds corny to me," he remarked, turning away, his hands back in his pockets.

"Now, Shinn—" Athrun began.

"Hey, I'm entitled to an opinion, aren't I?" the ruby-eyed boy countered, cutting off Athrun's reproach.

For a couple of heartbeats, awkward silence followed. Kira scratched at his head. Lacus held her breath.

"Could it be that Shinn Asuka, self-proclaimed Arcade Master, has never played a role-playing game before?" Athrun asked the air. He could see Shinn's shoulders tense at the challenge in his voice. He allowed a breath's pause before speaking again. "Oh, wait… Don't tell me you're scared of a little VR?"

"Shut up!" Shinn grumbled, shoving his nose into the air. "Don't go around assuming stuff about me! I never said I wouldn't play, I just said that it sounds corny – and it does!" With that, he stalked into the room with pounding footsteps that should have shaken up the building. Moments later, his head poked around the doorway again and he growled: "Well!? You guys comin' or what!?"

Athrun and Kira shared a brief look of amusement before following. On his way past Lacus, Athrun caught an expression of admiration and pride showing in the pink-haired girl's eyes. Was she proud of him? He could not think of anything he had done to earn such an approving look from Lacus, but, as long as everyone was happy, things just might work out as he had planned.

--

Grunting in frustration, Shinn violently shoved the odd-looking headset onto his skull. He could not believe he had let Athrun trick him into playing a dumb role-playing game. He had been manipulated into a corner splendidly. For all his so-called innocence, Athrun Zala was a formidable strategist.

The truth Shinn would never tell anyone, though, was that he actually liked role-playing games… Used to like them. How long ago had it been since his little sister had first nagged him to help her play Last Legacy VII?

Mayu had been struggling with a particularly difficult boss, the kind that required every magic spell in the book, and her party of three characters were hopelessly underdeveloped in terms of levels and experience. Those were things you always had to take into consideration when playing an RPG, especially as the monsters grew tougher, the dungeons deeper. But, typically, his sister had been so absorbed in the game's complex storyline that she had neglected the battle system, thus failing to let her characters learn new spells and abilities.

So, in the end, she came running to her big brother for help, crying that she would never see what happened next in the story if she could not defeat the infamous Pie King. Shinn remembered rolling his eyes. The stupid thing did not even have a tough-sounding name. The programmers seemed to have had a twisted sense of humour, though, for it had taken all of Shinn's tactical skills – and not to mention the hour spent reading the manual from cover to cover – to beat the Pie King. After the demise of the misnamed misfit, Mayu had somehow managed to turn the occasion into a ritual. Every time she came up against a boss or some other particularly difficult battle, she called Shinn to take over without even trying. Before he knew it, her big brother had ended up playing the game for her. He fought the battles, she made the decisions that affected the game's storyline. Since then, the two of them had turned one-player role-playing games into cooperative adventures.

Being reminded of the long hours he and his little sister had spent playing RPGs together made Shinn's temper flare up. Not the best reaction, he supposed, but better than collapsing into a heap and crying.

So it was with unnecessary force that he plunked himself into one of the three seats lining the darkened room at the heart of the arcade. A vengeful smirk slid onto his face. They wanted him to participate believing that he had never played a game like this before. Well, they were dead wrong. Shinn Asuka was the world's greatest RPG expert, and the two ace pilots would have no choice but to acknowledge this when he led them to victory! Without hesitation, Shinn elected himself as the party leader while the two older boys were still taking their places. Let them think they would lead him by the nose. He would make them think again!

There was a long list of character classes to choose from. He chose a tough-looking one at random – a soldier wearing thick layers of armour and a hefty broad sword strapped to his back.

Instantly, he found himself in a small, circular room with only one piece of furniture in it: a tall, standing mirror. The walls were draped with blood red curtains so there seemed to be no exit. There probably was none.

Looking into the mirror, he found that he could adjust his character's design simply by imagining the changes. To his disappointment, he noted that he could not change his face. So he changed everything else. He turned the colour of his garments to jet black and added a flaring red cape for that heroic flourish. Twin serpents, the same dark red to match his cape, snaked up the backs of his gauntlets. With a grim smile, he added a long scar to his character design – a vicious thing that stretched from above his left eye, down his cheek and all the way to his chin. On a whim, he chose an eye patch to cover the eye where the scar was. He completed the picture with a skull-shaped chain adorning his right ear.

He studied the image he had created for himself. He looked decidedly ferocious – like some kind of feral incarnation of Shinn Asuka. He liked it. His approval seemed to trigger the game's opening story sequence. As he watched it, he actually felt glad that he had agreed to try this game. He caught snatches of Athrun and Kira's characters as the sequence progressed, but not enough to remember exactly what they looked like.

Then he was thrust into the story himself, dashing up the smouldering stairs of a tower that was on fire. He could smell the smoke and hear the crackling of burning ceiling beams. He could feel the heat of the flames on his cheeks. Sweat collected under his armour, almost making him wish that he had not chosen quite such heavy equipment. Adrenaline pulsed through his body as he raced the flames to his destination. He had no idea why the tower was on fire, or what he would find at the top, but he expected all would be revealed in due time, in true role-playing game fashion. No RPG bared its storyline to the players right from the start.

This is kinda cool! he thought. Not that he would admit it aloud.

But when he reached the top of the spiralling stairwell, his heart froze over despite the heat. A young girl wearing a pure white robe was waiting for him to rescue her. Her chocolate brown hair was tied in a single braid, not her usual style, but that did not prevent him from recognizing her. She stood with arms open, her warm brown eyes glowing expectantly.

"Mayu!?" he gasped.

How could they? How dare they! HOW DARE THEY!!

Shinn's body fought the restraints around his arms that was supposed to hold him safely in his seat while playing the game. With a cry of rage, he fumbled for the reset button and pounded it as hard as he could. The image of his late sister was replaced by placid static, but that did not erase it from his memory. He tore off the headset and threw it down on the ground so hard that it bounced. He was so angry that the edges of his vision actually blurred. Ignoring the complaints and protests of his disappointed team mates around him, he stalked out of the room. Let them think what they wanted. He was through with this stupid game!

--

"Shinn!" Athrun shouted as he untangled himself from the seatbelts of the gaming contraption.

He took a few determined strides after the hot-headed little punk. He was not sure just how he would go about setting the other boy straight, but Shinn had some explaining to do. After all the trouble Athrun had gone to getting his character design just right, the impulsive kid went and pressed the reset button! That was not all this was about, of course – he could always redesign his character – but what Shinn had done was rude and unnecessary! He was startled to find a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Athrun," Kira said softly, and shook his head. "Leave him be. Arguing with him won't make him enjoy the game. You two will just end up butting heads again."

Again… Athrun sighed and just barely caught the grimace before it formed on his face. Kira did not have to make it sound like all he and Shinn ever did was disagree. They managed to get along sometimes. Better than before, at any rate. Well, Kira was right, he supposed. After his dramatic exit, no amount of reasoning would make Shinn play the game again, much less enjoy it. Maybe it was best to leave him to cool his jets for a while.

"Yeah, you're right," he said, nodding reluctantly.

"It's too bad, though," Kira commented, stretching his arms above his head, "I really wanted to try out that game!"

Athrun nodded again. In keeping with the tradition of every Last Legacy instalment on the market, this game had a strict three player limit – no more, no less. He and Kira would not be able to play the game alone, no matter what they tried. They needed another player. The developers had asked for feedback, and Athrun knew what his first piece of critique towards this game would be – the lack of adding a computer-controlled player. Now it really seemed a shame that Lunamaria had not been able to join them. She loved playing all kinds of games, though apparently she was no good at any of them.

"Well, then…" he replied, heading for the door. He kept his back turned on his best friend in an effort to hide his disappointment. "No use hanging around here, right? How about we go see if they still have Battloid Raiders, or—"

"Lacus!?" Kira squawked so suddenly that Athrun whirled around to see what was happening.

"I would like to try," she said in that serene tone of hers that was somehow gentle, yet brooked no nonsense at the same time. She held the headset Shinn had flung off, cradling it to her chest the way she would comfort an insecure orphan. She looked so serious. The expression in her lake blue eyes were unreadable. Like so many times in the past, Athrun caught himself wishing he knew what she was thinking. Slowly, she cocked her head to one side. "You do not want me to?"

"I-It's not that!" Kira defended quickly, palms upraised. "I just didn't think you'd like…" He let the rest of the sentence trail off, realizing it was a lame response. "I was surprised, that's all."

A part of Athrun still wanted to go after Shinn and haul him back by the scruff of his neck to make him apologize. But the growing enthusiasm in his childhood friend's voice as he explained to the pink-haired girl the basic concepts of a role-playing game was enough to draw him in. It had been such a long time since they had just relaxed and had some good old fun, with no greater goal to worry about. Before he knew it, he was back in his seat and refastening the restraints and headset.

"This time, I will be the party leader," he announced, making the appropriate choices hastily in order to beat Kira to it.

"Eh!? No fair!" Kira nagged. "But why?"

"So nobody can suddenly end the game and wipe out other people's character designs without my consent," was Athrun's stony reply as he adjusted the in-game settings to suit his statement.

Sure, he could always redesign his character, but once was bad enough! He could not remember which character class he had chosen before, so he just picked whichever seemed to suit him best. When he stood in the small changing room draped with grass green curtains, he realized with a sigh that he would have to completely remake his character from scratch – for some reason, his previous outfit was not compatible with the new character class. He frowned at his reflection in the standing mirror and set himself to his task.

He was so absorbed in his quest for the perfect character design that he failed to notice the curtains rustle behind him, where a shadowed shape, disrupted here and there by wisps of static interference, lurked…

Watching…

Waiting…

To be continued…