Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/Destiny
Chapter 1: Ghost
Cosmic Era 76, Aprilius One
"What's going on!? What's happening!?" the PLANT Supreme Council Chairwoman Lacus Clyne was asking over and over again while looking at hundreds of people running to the exits of the Supreme Council. She just woke up from being unconscious. The last thing she remembered was that she was making her State of the PLANTs Address when suddenly she heard a gunfire and then she blacked out.
She was asking every people she runs into but no one seems to notice her. She ran out of the building and saw paramedics pushing a stretcher with a body.
She went near to see who was the person lying on the stretcher. What she saw kept her in a state of denial. A pink-haired girl was lying on the stretcher with blood on her head and clothes.
"Is that me? No.. this can't be. I'm right here... I'm alive." Lacus said while looking at her unconscious body. How could this happen? If she was the person on the stretcher, then why was she able to talk and run around? She was trying to get the attention of the paramedics.
"Hey I'm right here! Can't you see? I'm alive!", but still, no one noticed her. The paramedics put the stretcher inside the ambulance. Lacus, afraid of what might happen to her, came after her body.
"Wait! Where are you taking her? I mean me?", she rode the ambulance while looking at her sleeping face. She kept thinking that everything that's happening was just a dream. It's impossible. How can she be in two places at once.
"This must be a dream. Wake up Lacus! Wake up!" she kept saying to herself while slapping her own face repeatedly. The ambulance finally arrived to the hospital. Paramedics brought out the stretcher and rushed inside the hospital. Lacus ran after her body.
"Hey wait for me!"
Hospital
The paramedics put the stretcher inside a small room. Lacus did not enter the room but went to the counter instead.
"What's happening? Is this a joke? Is this a dream? Please answer me!?" Lacus was screaming but still, no one noticed her. Tears were forming from his eyes. The type of tears that Kira wouldn't want to see from her. She looked at the television near the counter and saw the headline in the news.
"BREAKING NEWS! PLANT SUPREME COUNCIL CHAIRWOMAN LACUS CLYNE SHOT DURING SPEECH"
She finally accepted that everything that is happening must be real. No matter how much she asks, people will not notice her. She is a ghost. A lonely ghost. She cannot talk to anyone. She can only see and listen to what everyone's doing.
"Move! This is an emergency!" one of the doctors was screaming at the people to get out of the way. Of course, Lacus was probably the most important person in the PLANTs so no doubt that she should get immediate medical attention. The doctors of the hospital brought the unconscious Lacus to the operating room. The spirit Lacus went inside the operating room.
Operating Room
"Report!" the head doctor said. The nurse looked at the X-ray.
"No good, she has a bullet in her temporal lobe. She has also lost a large amount of blood." the nurse told the doctor.
"Bring packs of Type B blood here! A lot." everyone in the operating room were moving as fast as they can. They can't afford to let the Chairwoman of PLANT Supreme Council die. She was loved by most of the people from the PLANTs and also from Earth since she acts a lot like her father Siegel Clyne. She is a pacifist and a singer. Most of her songs are about maintaining peace in the universe which capture the hearts of many.
"This operation might take hours" the doctor told his assistants. After hearing what the doctor said, Lacus decided to leave the operating room. Before leaving, she whispered to her unconscious body.
"Miss Lacus, you need to stay strong. You control this whole thing. It's up to you if you want to live or die." the nurse whispered into the unconscious Lacus's ear. The spirit Lacus heard what the nurse said.
"I control this whole thing? But how do I return to my body?" Lacus said to herself. Of course she would want to return to her body. A lot of people depend on her leadership. She wouldn't want everyone mourning for her death.
"Keep on fighting. The people of PLANT need you. The people from Earth need you. Your friends need you." Lacus remembered the most important person to her life.
"Kira needs you." she left the operating room and went into the waiting room.
Waiting Room
Lacus saw Shinn, Luna, Meyrin, Arthur, Dearka, Yzak, and Shiho sitting there. Dearka was looking at the floor. Arthur had his palm on his face. Luna was hugging Shinn tightly with a worried expression on her face. Shiho asked Yzak.
"Do you think she'll be alright Yzak?" Shiho asked the white-haired commander.
"Miss Clyne is a tough woman. She survived two wars without getting hurt. I'm sure she'll be alright." Yzak answered confidently. Yzak was a witness of Lacus's actions during the past two wars. She fought both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance even though the chances of success are very slim. Lacus was happy to hear a positive answer from Yzak. Usually, Yzak would answer that the person in danger would probably die.
Meanwhile the former Minerva colleagues and now lovers Shinn and Luna were talking to each other. Lacus went near the couple. After the war, Shinn and Luna are living together. Luna supports Shinn and makes him forget of all the terrors that haunted him past just like how Lacus did it to Kira.
"Shinn, how do you think Kira would react to what happened?" Luna asked her boyfriend. Kira was always protective of Lacus. He vowed that he would never fight again but he still used the Freedom again in order to save Lacus from intruders without even thinking twice. Fighting again would hurt him deep inside but not being able to save Lacus would hurt him more. In fact, it is the thing that would hurt him the most.
"I think he would feel either sad or angry. Probably both. I know how it feels to see someone very important to you suffering. You want to do something to help him or her but you just lack the ability to do so. I heard from Athrun that Kira is a person who is afraid of his own failures. Not being able to save people who are important to him makes him an emotionless killing machine. Actually, he's not totally emotionless. He could still feel anger. Just like me. At first I thought Kira was the perfect type of pilot. He could defeat a military fleet single-handedly without getting hit and without killing anyone. Then I realized that we're not so different from each other at all. He's also a pilot that could feel hatred. A pilot that would avenge his loved one's death so that we would feel better." Shinn responded in a cold way. Luna and Lacus were both surprised by raven-haired boy's answer. This made Lacus worry even more.
"Oh no... Kira... What if I don't come out of this alive?" Lacus was worried that Kira would return to the person that he used to be if she dies. She doesn't want to be added to his pile of nightmares. Her death is equivalent to a broken promise made by Kira.
Intensive Care Unit
Several hours later...
After four long hours of surgery, Lacus was finally brought out of the operating room and put inside the Intensive Care Unit. The people from the waiting room, including the spirit Lacus went inside.
"How is she doc?" Meyrin asked. Even though their time together aboard the Archangel and Eternal was short, Meyrin had a great friendship with Lacus. They would often talk about fashion and about how many innocent lives were wasted during the past two wars.
"Currently Miss Clyne is in a coma state. We don't know when she will wake up. Let's just pray that she is fighting deep inside." the doctor said. The spirit Lacus was not happy of what she heard. How long will it be before she wakes up? What if Kira loses hope before she wakes up? What if she does not wake up at all?
"The nurse said that I control this whole thing. How would I make myself wake up? Maybe I need a push. Maybe I need something that would make me wake up." Lacus muttered to herself.
A few minutes later, a brown-haired boy wearing a white ZAFT uniform was running inside the hospital. He was running like there was no tomorrow. Like today would be the end of the universe.
"Where's Lacus!? Where is she!? I need to see her right now!" it was Kira Yamato, Lacus's protector, her knight in shining armor. He was breathless. After he found out that something bad happened to Lacus, he flew all the way from Orb using his legendary mobile suit, the Strike Freedom.
"Calm down Commander Yamato, Miss Clyne is currently in the ICU with some of her friends." the woman from the counter answered. Kira ran immediately on his way to see Lacus.
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down now that Lacus is in the hospital?" the Ultimate Coordinator said to himself feeling somehow annoyed. He was right. How could he not react that way knowing that the person he vowed to protect in danger? He finally reached the ICU and he saw Lacus lying on the bed.
"Lacus!" he shouted. Everyone was surprised. They did not expect Kira to arrive immediately. For Kira, a thousand miles is just a few footsteps if it means seeing Lacus. He rushed toward her and hugged her also planting a kiss on her cheek. The spirit Lacus was very happy to see Kira again.
"Kira!" she hugged Kira from behind but of course, he could not feel her or even notice her. Kira was usually stationed in Orb so they can rarely see each other personally. Although but they do have video chats regularly.
"I'm sorry Lacus. I promised that I would always protect you. But it looks like I failed. It's just beyond my reach. We both have our own responsibilities and we have to perform them properly in order to maintain a peaceful world to live in. Not just for the citizens of Earth and PLANTs but also for us." Kira apologized to Lacus. He hates breaking his own promises. He makes them because he believes that he has the ability to do so.
"Kira... It's alright. What's important now is that you're right here with me. You may not be able to see me or hear me or touch me but we're still together." Lacus was crying when she said it. She wanted Kira to know how happy she is to see him again. She has not been able to be together with Kira for two weeks already. What seems to be a short period of time is equivalent to years for her.
"The operation was finished not too long ago so I think that it's better to let her rest for now. You can see her again later." the doctor told everyone. They left the room along with the spirit Lacus. Kira took a glance at the sleeping Lacus before exiting the room.
Waiting Room
While some of the visitors are sitting watching television, Kira and Shinn are having a talk. What they did not know is that Lacus was listening to them.
"This is stupid. Why did this have to happen to her? She did nothing but to maintain peace and equality among Naturals and Coordinators. How cruel are they to do this to Lacus? I hate this feeling. The feeling of failure. I am able to fulfill minor promises like doing my job properly and always keeping my mobile suit in top condition but why do I always fail to fulfill the important promises that I make? Every time I make important promises, there will always be an important person on the verge of leaving my life." Kira muttered. Shinn cannot help but feel bad for Kira. They used to be arch enemies in the battlefield but now they are close friends. It was probably because he has experienced what Kira is experiencing right now. Lacus had tears running down from her cerulean orbs. She is sad because of how Kira feels for himself.
"I know how it feels. But you know what? You should cheer up a little and stay positive. That's what Luna told me. Whenever I am facing problems, I should stay positive and maintain a good mood. I'm sure that Lacus won't be happy to see you like this. At least right now, we know that she is not in critical condition." Shinn said to his former nemesis.
"You're right. I need to stay positive for her. I could still remember the face she makes when she sees me like this." Kira replied. True, Lacus would always make that pouty face whenever she tries to make Kira laugh. He would always think that she looks very cute. Lacus was happy to see Kira in a much lighter mood now.
"Come on let's go talk to the others." and so the two ace pilots reunited with their friends to talk about their current lives. Lacus on the other hand, thanked Shinn for helping Kira.
"Thank you, Shinn." Lacus giggled. Then she went near to Kira and touched his face with her hand.
"Thank you, Kira. You're the most important person to me so I don't want to see you hurt. I'm still looking for a way to wake myself up. Don't worry, I'm sure that one day we can finally be happily together in each other's arms." she kissed him on the cheek and went back to the ICU to look at her sleeping body.
A/N: I got an idea to write this kind of story after watching a movie. I promise that this story will end with a happy ending. I'm still not finished in writing "Fate" but one day I will. READ AND REVIEW!