I do not own Gundam Seed.
Dangerous Pursuit
by : frost2light
Two scientists, two experiments, two boys born through machines, there was supposed to be only one Ultimate Coordinator, now there are two. Who would win the title of the best?
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Prologue
" Damn it! Why won't you admit that your way is wrong? You cannot achieve a living human body using this way, have you not seen through the results that we have getting? How much more valuable chemicals and resources are you about to throw down the drain before you are satisfied that this way just won't work!"
" Shut up! What do you know about this? You are my assistant, you promised that you would not question my experiments, that you would stay by the sidelines just to help! You promised that in the beginning, are you trying to tell me that you are going back on your word now!"
" You do not understand, this is no longer worth the money or your time, we have to be doing something else before they throw us out! They are getting impatient! They want results not some what ifs! Be satisfied by the earlier projects, we have achieved what we started out wanting, please, just make them money and not focus on your needs, not when we still owe them. Don't you remember the consequences? Have you forgotten what they could do!"
" Do not question my decisions, Meng, you have no say here." The older of the two scientists sneered, his expression twisted and ugly, no longer the man Meng knew and respected. This experiment had changed him, mutated him into a monster that no longer cared about anything else except the results at hand. Meng shook his head, unwilling to give up, he owned his friend, no matter what he said, that much.
" Please Patrick, don't do this, look around you, just look dammit! How long more will you keep your eyes closed to this monstrosity! How long more are you willing to create something that cannot be created!" Meng waved both his hands around the laboratory, willing Patrick to look at the monsters that he had created, each floating desolately, lifelessly, in their own respective tubes that contained a bluish liquid that bubbled once in a while. All of them resembled foetuses yet all of them were either missing or had an additional something, a hand, a leg, eyes or nothing at all. They were non living beings, things, that could have been something, human, but all they were now after the experiments that both of them had done, they were nothing more than monsters that nobody wanted, kept in the dark for the shadows to play with.
The room they were in was actually one of the many laboratories that was in the building and they were just two of the many other thousands and hundreds other scientists that was working for the same company, Clyne. It was wide and spacious and filled to the brim with scientific gadgets that churned and pumped and breathed chemicals. Their experiment had started out a dream, a dream to make the world a better place by creating a way to modify normal human genes, to make them better, more superior. They had succeeded in a way that neither of them had imagined, not even in their wildest dreams. Yet, while Meng had been contented with the results that they had achieved by that time, Patrick, his mentor had wanted more, much much more. He wanted to create the Ultimate Coordinator, the best among the best. His motive was simple, to see if he could.
However, Meng was not that easily deceived, he knew that it was more than that. For as long as he knew him, Patrick had never been able to hide much from Meng, not in the past, not now. Meng knew that he had ambitions, he knew that Patrick wanted to rule the world, Patrick had once told him while he had been drunk during that one shocking night. Meng had refused to listen to Patrick talking about things that should never have been brought up in the first place, especially in a world, in the condition that they were currently in. It was a world where they would be shot on the spot if they were thought to be betraying the current ruler, no trial, no warning, just death awaited those who dared to breach that fine line. Meng knew that as a fact personally as he had been through the consequences of crossing that line.
" Mamma!"
Crimson red blood.
Gunshots ringing through the silent night.
Pain.
Meng shuddered at that memory, that starless, moonless night, his parents, both politicians, brother and sister had been killed without a second thought, he had been shot too, twice but it seemed that fate wanted him to survive that day, and he had been saved by none other but Patrick. Patrick had been passing by just by luck, he was just seventeen at that time, a teenager with big dreams while Meng was barely three. Patrick had hid in the alley while he heard the shots before entering the pillaged and plundered house to check for survivors. He had found Meng lying in a pool of blood, barely conscious, bleeding heavily from an abdomen and chest wound, clutching an encyclopaedia tightly in his small fist as the bodies of his family littered around him, mangled beyond recognization, blown apart by the endless bullets that had been emptied into their once warm living room. Patrick had wasted no time in trying to save Meng and the rest was as it is right now. Meng had indeed wanted to go after the people who had done that atrocious act for revenge but Patrick had stopped him, had convinced him that it was not worth it. He had saved Meng's life twice and for that Meng would forever be grateful, that was why he was doing this right now.
" Please Patrick, listen to me just once, just this once, give it up. It's for the best! You saved my life once, I owe you my life and I will do anything to repay you, please trust me." Meng tried convincing his mentor while he left the most important part unsaid.
Let me save you this time, not from any enemies but from you.
" I see."
Meng looked hopefully at Patrick whose expression was inscrutable, slightly surprised but relieved nonetheless that he was willing to listen to reason. " Tha.."
" I think we should just go our own ways, I see that you have become the coward."
" What!" Meng spluttered, eyes widening in surprise and hurt. " Patrick you can't be joking with me, what do you mean by that!"
" It seems that we have different opinions about what we are doing right now, I want to be more that what I am right now and I'm willing to sacrifice anything and everything to achieve that one elusive dream, I know that I'm near, I can feel that success just beyond my grasp, a little more and I'll be there, I had hoped that you would be by my side when I succeed but it seems that I had chosen a chicken as my assistant, all you can think of is the fear of those above us, you are like a dog howling for the world to hear about your pain, yet doing nothing to be better than the people who have us under their feet right now. Well, if that is the case, I might as well cut off any ties that I have with you and we'll just go our own ways, do what we want. I do not see any point for the both of us to continue working together." Patrick said as his eyes stared at the dumbstruck Meng coldly, haughtily, with no warmth in trace.
" I see, this is what we had become after twenty years of being partners, of being more than friends." Meng said bitterly, his blue eyes staring hard at the man he had idolized for so long, disappointment filling his heart at his mentor's sudden announcement caused by the urge, the need for power and fame. The two things Patrick had warned Meng never to be influenced by. Meng's mouth quirked up into a mirthless smile, before nodding once and turning around to walk out of the laboratory, he had tried and failed, yet, he had not yet given up this fight, there was still hope, he would make Patrick see, one way or another, but, his footsteps were halted by Patrick's voice calling his name once.
" Meng."
" Have…" Meng's voice broke off, the smile on his face as he thought that Patrick had come to his senses beginning and freezing as he fell backwards, hands stretching out to a friend that no longer was the person he knew, a pattern of red blossoming across his white lab coat, spreading wider and wider as the pain burst through his senses, setting them on fire. The last thing he heard and saw before the darkness consumed him was Patrick holding a smoking silenced gun, smiling gently at the falling boy he had saved in the past.
" You are right, your life is mine."
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Cagalli Yula Athha, current representative of Orb, hated meetings, hated the responsibility that she was forced to bear at her current age and most of all she hated the people she had to associate with, grimaced as she felt her vision waver and dim, cursing her bad luck as she fought hard against the urge to empty her stomach, swallowing the bile that was rising at the back of her throat and which was currently threatening to embarrass her in front of the whole Orb council. She forced herself to smile at the people who sat in front of her looking at her quizzically while her hands gripped the arm rest on her chair. Hard.
Focus, damn it, focus!
" Representative, are you all right?" One of the twelve members asked tentatively, her brown eyes concerned. Her name is Taylor Madison, a strategist, quiet and unassuming with mousy brown hair and large rounded spectacles that covered half her face yet one of the smartest person on the Orb council. Her judgement and decisions were rarely out of place and she did not care much about politics, about power, all she wanted was for Orb is to be a prosperous country and whoever who could achieve that aim, she would be behind that person all the way. She was loyal in that sense.
" I'm all right Taylor, where were we just now?" Cagalli said as she tried her best to work her facial muscles into something that resembled a smile, she could not afford to show her vulnerability at this moment. It was bad enough that she had just been inaugurated and most of the members on the council doubted her ability, but the recent blackout episodes and the nightmares that haunted her sleep was scaring her witless. Cagalli did not believe in past karma, refused to bend that low to believe in destiny, but the dreams that followed her was trying to convince her otherwise.
"Help me"
Violet eyes.
Destruction.
" Our financial status and the plans for the next year, Representative." Yet another member drawled, his voice irritating Cagalli as she tried to hide her distaste and frown that came naturally when she was forced endure his presence.
Montage Dirge. One of the uncountable who had craved the position of Representative, bragged long and loud about that becoming a fact sooner rather than later and definitely one of the staunch supporters of his own campaign. His arrogant attitude had caused many problems in the past and created much of the tension that still floated above the Orb council like a dark rain cloud. His brash attitude and irresponsible nature insulted many and the people on the Orb council did not take gladly to men like Montage who revelled in their own greatness and refuses to cooperate with the rest of them.
" And what do you suggest we do?" Cagalli asked him, knowing that much as a fact that asking so would be stepping on a land mine that would blow up in her face, but surprisingly, Montage kept his mouth shut and barely shrugged.
" I'll just do what you think is right." He said as he looked at her, his fake smile still plastered on his face, irritating Cagalli to no end.
But, no sooner did Cagalli open her mouth, a knock on the door stopped her from saying what she wanted before she frowned at the recent disturbance, wondering what her secretary was doing, or if she had forgotten that Cagalli had asked her not to let anybody disturb their current proceedings.
" Come in." Cagalli called out impatiently, but slightly thankful for the distraction, she needed time to compose herself as she was feeling incredibly uncomfortable right now, the bile that she had forcefully swallowed making it's way through once again up her trachea. However her day seemed to be taking an unexpected turn for the worse when the door opened to reveal who it was.
" You…"
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Kira Yamato stared hard at the screen that flickered in front of him, willing it to steady itself so that he could use it in order to finish up his assignments from his college, but instead of doing so, the whole screen went blank. Kira's violet eyes stared disbelievingly at his laptop and groaned at his misfortune. His laptop had officially announced it's retirement from the harsh world that it had been brought into without second thought, leaving Kira stranded with three unfinished assignments that were due tomorrow and five lab reports that was due today.
" Crap!" He cursed out loud, as he pushed a slim hand through his brown hair while his violet eyes scanned his bare surroundings for something that he could hit or kick. None registered except the empty bare space and he flopped dejectedly onto the floor, his eyes staring up into the mouldy ceiling of his apartment.
He was eighteen years old with no parents or siblings, leaving in a dump apartment for 500 per month, studying electronics as his major and now officially doomed for expulsion from his college, not from crap results but from being dirt poor. His life was turning out way way out of what he had imagined it being. Kira sighed heavily before closing his eyes trying to figure out a way to get himself out of the situation that he was currently in, but coming up with absolutely nothing. He sighed once again, before propping himself up with one arm and staring blankly at his laptop screen cursing his bad luck.
Suddenly, his vision dimmed and white spots started dancing in front of his eyes as his vision of the room started wavering, creating blurred images, and all this while unknown images started flashing across his mind.
A blonde girl.
A room full of people.
A girl with pink hair..
Kira's breath started coming out in gasps as the pain as if being flayed alive ate at him and he tried hard not to collapse onto the floor. He struggled up onto his knees, hands splayed out to steady himself, hissing in pain as the movement caused the pain to intensify, pushing with all his might for him to stand up and to stumble as if drunk towards the wooden cupboard in his bedroom, willing himself not to fall. His hands trembled violently as he fumbled with the cupboard doors, pulling it aside to reach for that one thing that could make all these go away. An image of a green haired boy and the words that he said in the past flashed through his jumbled mind.
" Remember only when you need it, I can't always provide the magical cure."
" I think this proves as a need, Nicol." Kira mumbled, amazed at his ability to still think coherently.
His fingers grasped at one of the white bottles and he pulled at it, dropping the cap onto the floor in his haste, ignoring the ringing that it made when it hit the floor and concentrating all his might at completing the task at hand. Kira poured the contents of the white bottle into his mouth, gulping at the liquid hungrily, he was sweating profusely and he could feel the cold sweat dribbling down his body, soaking the shirt he was currently wearing, making it stick uncomfortably onto his back. The effect was immediate as he could feel the pain receding back into the cave where it belonged as he slumped tiredly onto the cool cement floor. He laid his head against the coldness and worked hard at getting back his bearings, slowly calming his breath and racing heart. This was not the first time that it had happened, he was used to it actually, but it was the first time that he was getting images of things that he had never experienced before. His lips quirked up into a tired grin and he whispered to no one in particular.
" Great. Just great. This certainly certifies that I'm nuts."
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Dearkka Elsman grinned at his opponent and sparring partner as he lunged at him with a punch, enjoying the thrill of the fight. It had been so long since he had the chance to against somebody he had no confidence of actually winning.
" Don't hold back, Yzak!" He shouted over the din of the cheering crowd as he watched the silver haired teenager sneer back at him, his handsome face arrogant and cold.
" Even if I did, would you still be able to defeat me?" He said, smirking as he blocked the punch and followed up with a kick to Dearkka's midsection, he too was enjoying the exercise very much.
They were both nineteen, young, wild and proud, living on the streets with the worst with no more than the clothes on their backs. They had always been together since the day both of them had met under the bridge during that one rainy Sunday afternoon. They had spoken nothing over the sounds of the water rushing by, sitting far away yet near enough to let the other notice their presence, they had kept silent the whole time, thinking thoughts only they knew, but a friendship had started from that day, nobody knew the reason but it just happened so naturally. Dearkka Elsman, with blood streaking his blonde unruly hair and bruises that covered his whole body had grinned and Yzak Joule, his silver hair cropped close to his pale face had responded with the universal sign – his middle finger. That was the beginning of their new lives together.
" It's time to end this." Yzak said as he flipped Dearkka neatly onto his back, straddling him immediately after the throw to prevent him from getting up, all the while grinning like a cat with a canary in it's mouth, satisfied and gleeful.
" You lose, Dearkka." He taunted while their makeshift referee counted from one to ten before announcing Yzak as the winner.
The crowd that was watching the fight both roared and moaned at the decision, half of them had been betting on the silver haired boy while the others for the blonde, creating echoes in the dark alleyway. Dearkka laid on his back pretending to be winded, relaxing to the sounds of people talking above the ruckus as he eyed the silver haired teenager who was still gloating at his win, sitting above him. Dearkka smiled inwardly understanding that tonight was one night that would be hell for him but it did not matter, he was used to it. They were friends and if this was how friends showed each other that they cared about the other, he would gladly accept what he had in store. He had been alone for too long, now that he had tasted comradeship, nothing would stand in his way to revel in it.
His train of thoughts were broken by yet another teenager shouting, but this time it was a girl dressed in cargo pants and a tight plain black shirt that accentuated her curves and slight build, her brown eyes determined to not let any of the people who had betted go as she went about her role in their little group of three. " Hey you! Pay up!"
Dearkka smiled as her voice continued to float into his ears. Miriallia Haww, an orphan with brown hair streaked with pink and warm brown eyes. She was the sister both Yzak and him had never had, fierce, protective of her territory and the things that comes with it yet the kindest girl that he have ever known. They were a family, an odd one yes, with all kinds of personality and looks but a family nonetheless. Everything they did they do together and nothing could separate them.
The backstreet that they were in continued to empty as time passed by and soon all that was left were the three of them and the walls that separated the rich and the poor. Dearkka got up slowly from the cold tar road that was littered with cigarette butts, beer cans and dirty muddy water before dusting his clothes and grinned at his other two companions.
" What's today's collection?" He rubbed his hand against each other as he asked Miri whom was counting the crumpled bills that were in her hand carefully, forehead scrunched up in concentration.
" This would be enough to last us a few weeks." She concluded, her dirt streaked face relaxing it's stern expression earlier and breaking into a smile that lit up her surroundings.
" A few weeks! That's it? No extra?" Yzak said disbelievingly, his face bunching up into a frown. " Are you sure!"
" Cool it Yzak, we'll think of other things when we get to it. Why? Do you need money?" Miri asked, her eyes curious. " I think we have enough to spare, how much is it that you need?"
" It's none of your business." Yzak huffed before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking out of the cold dark alley, ignoring both of his companion's concerned glances. Dearkka shrugged once before nodding towards Yzak's receding back and following the other boy's footsteps, leaving Miri behind once again to look at both boys' backs. She sighed as she knelt down to tie her shoelaces that had come undone earlier in the evening before setting off after the two older boys.
" Hey, you guys, wait up!"
Miri caught up with the two laughing boys and found that Yzak was no longer in a foul mood. She sighed as she had long before accepted the fact that Yzak mood could swing from one extreme to the other and it was a constant running joke between the three of them. She soon joined in the laughter and words as they walked back to where they had their hideout as the sun set, throwing it's last yellow rays before finally resting for the day. Neither one of them noticed the pair of eyes that followed the three nor the young teenager that stepped out of the shadows long after they were gone, his face expressionless with his eyes shielded by the dark glasses that he was currently sporting.
" Found them." He said under his breath before vanishing once again into the dark shadows.
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It was dark, with barely a light bulb in sight and the only one that was working was giving off weak glows, threatening to flicker out any moment soon. There were two people in the room, one sitting the other kneeling, the man who was sitting was playing with a pen, twirling it around and around his fingers, as if deep in thought. None of them said anything as minutes ticked past slowly. Suddenly, the man felt himself lose control of his pen and as he watched it fall, the figure that was kneeling disappeared and within moments, he had his pen back.
Eighteen years had passed by since that last failure and he had hit the jackpot, maybe the act of trying to murder his assistant was the turning point. The man smiled as the memory of that day replayed itself in his brain.
"Meng."
A gunshot.
He had no qualms of killing, he had murdered more than once, the experiments that he had created, the live beings that he had used before trying to recreate them, those were all lives and yet he had no illusions about him caring about any of them. His heart did not bother, did not bleed at the mothers who had cried when he had told them that their kids were no longer living, that the operation had not been successful, they had wailed and screamed at him, beating with their fists against his body but all that, none of it affected him, he knew that their kids were alive, it was just a scam to get more lab rats. It was their fault that they wanted their child to be perfect. The day that he had pulled the trigger on Meng, he had moved out from the building, taking his notes, his results and fled to the other side of the world to escape detection. His journey, the money needed had been paid off by those foolish parents who had been greedy and who had wanted their child to be the best. When he was in a good mood, he made his operations succeed, when he wanted others to feel the pain he was going through his failures, he deliberately lied and took their child, leaving their bodies in a dump before taking off to yet another part of the world to continue his research.
And everything had paid off.
The man looked proudly at his prized experiment as he resumed his kneeling position right before him with his head bowed down low as a sign of respect and submission before asking, " Did it go well?"
" Yes, sir, it did. I found the people that we had been looking for, they are no more than street urchins, nobody would suspect that they are gone, nobody would miss them, I have been following them for quite some time and they are in all fact nobody important." The teenager with blue black hair responded monotonously.
" You cannot say that Athrun Zala, they are after all your siblings, even though they are not connected through blood, they did come before you. I have to say that their experiments failed and they did not produce the results that I have been looking for as you did, but, they are still your brothers."
" Yes sir. But there is something else that I have to report."
" Do continue, enlighten me."
" They are with a girl and she seems to be their important friend."
" Girl? Friend? Hmm…"
" Do you want me to dispose of her to make things easier to be done in the future?"
" No, she might prove to be useful, maybe as a trigger. Let's just observe them for this moment, ne?"
" As you wish sir, but when would you like me to bring my 'brothers' back?"
" Yare, yare, are you in such a haste to have company with you? Don't you like being alone with me?" The man asked his features still hidden by the dark as he got up from the chair he had been sitting in, but Athrun could feel him smiling as his hand caressed his face, body before leaning in to kiss him on his lips, nipping and biting playfully while Athrun stayed there unmoving, used to the treatment.
Soon, the man straightened himself and started to speak again, " Do not worry, I shall tell you when the time comes. You shall lead them all on to the path of glory, you as the Ultimate Coordinator and your brothers as your left and right arm. Your knights in shining armour. All three of you shall rule the world and I, I shall prove to the world that I, Patrick Zala is the best of them all."
" Oh, and do please drop the formality, it's grating on my nerves."
Athrun had stayed dispassionate the whole time as the man who had created him cackled in glee and his features that were hidden before were exposed to the dim light that shone in the dilapidated house where both of them had lived since time immemorial. Patrick had been a handsome man once with a strong jaw and a high noble nose, but those features though still there were twisted and somehow his face resembled something like a devil.
Yet, he was a father that Athrun had never had and for that he would stay loyal and obedient to the devil himself till the end of time, at least till he finally finds what he has been looking for and he answered, " Yes, father."
Author's note : Hope you like it. This fanfiction is still in try out mode. It really depends on the reaction of you guys, so like it tell me so.