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Chapter 3: Searching

Athrun Zala POV

I sat at a café table near the ocean, looking and feeling rather dejected. It has been three days since Cagalli had called us to her home because of the threat to five young kids. Now Kira was in trouble and there was nothing I could do; I had exhausted every possible option I could come up with and had gotten nothing in return.

To say I had been shocked when Kira spoke up would be quite an understatement. It also scared me. Kira had always been special; advanced in many things. But he was also the kindest person I knew, completely opposing the idea of the Ultimate Coordinator that many people had; that the Ultimate Coordinator would be the one to decide the fate of the world and rule it unopposed.

In a way I suppose he did, but without the ruling bit; he sacrificed everything to bring a peace that meant people could have their own life and not be controlled.

And now he was willing to do it again. But at the ultimate price.

Making him stay indoors and out of danger for the week long period had been a hard argument, but I knew that if I pushed enough he would submit. So now he was home, and I was out here; searching in vain to find an answer to our problems.

I had come to love Kira, strange as it was. He was all that I had left to fight for, or even die for. And now, once again he was slipping from my grasp.

With a sigh I stood, leaving a small amount of money as a tip to the waitress who had served me, I left.

The sun that had shone brightly earlier was slowly disappearing behind a thick band of dark clouds, now threatening to let loose and rain, I made my way towards my car.

"What will I do?" I murmured to myself, willing an idea to come to mind.

Not long after I made it to the car the first heavy drops of rain began to fall and the last rays of sun faltered leaving the area in shadow.

In the car I sighed heavily again; wishing once again that a bright idea would burst forth into my mind. I felt lost. I started the car and deciding that I wanted company I began heading homeward.

As I drove my thoughts turned to the previous war and my involvement. At first it had seemed like the right thing to do; to join the military and fight to stop further events like the Bloody Valentine destruction. Stop more people from dying. Like my mum.

But everything we had been fighting for had been challenged when Kira became part of the war; a Coordinator fighting for the naturals. It had been unheard of and therefore it had been treated like treason. During all the fights I had fought with Kira and offered him a place to return to and a chance to stop fighting, he had always remained adamant that he had to protect his friends. That want turned into a driving force for Kira and my whole team found it impossible to beat him; even when we fought four against one.

And then after Nicol died and one of his friends perished as well, the fighting changed; it was not just fueled by the need to protect, but a burning rage to avenge the fallen. It was in that battle that I nearly killed my childhood friend, exploding my own Gundam in an attempt to destroy him. I had really thought him dead then. And I hated myself for it.

Cagalli and the people from Orb had been the ones to find me, and it was her that said the words that still ring in my mind; "Someone is killed for killing another, then that guy is killed for killing him. How is that kind of twisted thinking ever going to beget peace."

After Kira came back from the PLANTs with the Freedom, I finally took the chance and spoke to him. From there I began questioning my role in the war, and it eventually drove me to join Kira's side. But his side was no longer with the Earth Alliance, he had chosen his own side; a side devoted to ending the war on a peaceful note and not by exterminating one side or the other.

A deadly battle took place in the end, and we all nearly lost. Somehow we not only managed to survive but to also end the war and push the world into the peace it now has.

But now this. These people wanted the Ultimate Coordinator, and that had turned out to be Kira. He had given so much only months ago and now the world wanted more from him, it just wasn't right!

I remembered the tears I had shed with Cagalli after I thought I had killed Kira, and wondered if it would be the same this time; if the same deep, penetrating pain would fill my chest and threaten to suffocate me with the pressure.

When I arrived home I found Kira out on the upstairs balcony, looking out over the ocean. He seemed to be in one of those moods he fell into a lot lately; one where he seemed stuck in the past and no longer conscious of the present. The rain had lessened the further I got from Orb, now letting the sun once again grace the sky, which now shone on his face; illuminating it with a vibrant glow. One that was belied by the flat look in his violet eyes. I stood there for a while, watching him, trying to ingrain his face in these semi-peaceful moments. All too soon, that blank look turned into one of pain and fear and I knew the memories he was reliving were becoming too hard for him to bare. I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him jump a little bit but effectively bringing him back.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"No, its fine… Thanks." He replied.

We fell into a comfortable silence as we watched the last of the sun disappear below the horizon. Not long after the darkness began to set in the sound of rain sounded on the roof, and I knew that the rain from Orb had finally made it here.

"Come on, let's go in." I said and headed towards the doorway. Inside we headed towards the lounge room and sat down on the sofa.

"Any luck today?" Kira asked after a while. I could tell that he was scared about the future, but as he always did he put on a brave face and attempted to go on as usual. I also hated having to tell him bad news.

"None." I sighed, "These guys seem to have disappeared from the area altogether."

"Oh well…" he said giving me an encouraging smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, "What about Cagalli?"

"Haven't heard from her today, but its most likely the same as last time." I answered feeling downcast.

"Listen Athrun; please don't worry too much. Things will work out in the end." To me the words sounded fake, nothing more than encouragement. But I was still glad for the attempt to cheer me up, even though I thought it should be me cheering him up.

"I will never stop searching." I murmured. I knew it was true because I would feel lost without him in my life and even the thought of those people getting him was like a hot iron being pressed against my heart.

"I know…" he replied just as quietly, "But I also believe in you."

And that was all I needed to hear in that moment as a smile broke upon my face.

Still more days passed without success, and before long it was the night before we were supposed to meet the people who had started this whole catastrophe. I couldn't help but feel that I had let Kira down, despite his constant dismissal of the subject. I was still out, being too stubborn to give up when there was no time left.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, feeling as though I was clutching at straws.

"Afraid not Athrun… Sorry." Dearka Elsman replied. Being an old team-mate and still in the ZAFT military I had contacted him to see if anything strange had happened at the PLANTs or the surrounding space.

"It's ok… Thanks." I said about to disconnect the com line, but Dearka's voice stopped me;

"Oh and Yzak said that if you need backup there, we can be there by sunrise."

Looking at the boy before me on the com screen I couldn't help but smile. He was my age, with dark skin and blond hair. He was always the fun loving one of the team and the exact opposite of his best friend; Yzak Joule. Yzak was temperamental and impulsive, but he was always there for his friends. The fact that he was offering to come down from the PLANTs and help Kira and I was a big thing; especially since Yzak was the one who hated Kira the most during the first war.

"Thanks… But no thanks, I have a feeling that these people might not appreciate outside help. And that could be bad for the kids." I replied thankfully.

"Yeah, ok then. Good luck Zala." With that we both disconnected.

It was strange being called by my old nickname again, it had only been a few months but it felt like a whole life time ago.

I sat back in my seat, looking out the front windshield at the lights of Orb. They looked so peaceful from here and belied the hustle and bustle of the city.

From here I was sure that I could see Cagalli's house; its lights shone bright just beyond the city area. Cagalli was stressed to say the least; she hadn't been able to find anything either and now she was very worried for her twin brother, even going as far as to blame herself.

Kira meanwhile has been very distant lately; often choosing to close himself away in his room. This had worried me at first, until I realized that he was distancing himself in an attempt to prepare us for the worst. At first this realization had hit me as hard as a jackhammer, as though he had been lying about his faith in us, but the more I thought about it the more I also realized that he was scared and just trying to protect us. As he always has.

After a while of just staring at the city lights I decided to head over to Cagalli's to see how she was.

When I pulled up most of the lights in the house were dark. This worried me; usually Cagalli would be up well past this time, and I doubted she would be seeking an early night tonight of all nights. I walked up to the front door and knocked loudly, making sure that someone would hear me from inside. I waited for a moment before opening the door and peeking inside. The usually well-lit foyer was dark and full of shadows. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

Normally the staff here would be there to answer the door at any hour of the night, and this area of the house was always kept well lit to cater for any occasion that may arise for the ruler of Orb.

Drawing my gun from its usual shoulder holster I carefully made my way through the door and into the foyer that had seemed so welcoming only days ago.

"Hello!" I called, my voice echoing hollowly around the room. When I got no answer my apprehension rose, something was really wrong.

My ZAFT training kicking in, I made my way toward the stairs; keeping my back near the wall where possible to avoid any unwanted attacks.

The top of the stairs yielded more shadowy areas, but as I made my way further down the hall a small line of light made itself known from under one of the doors. I breathed a sigh of relief at the idea of someone being here, but then more questions bubbled up from the reassesses of my mind; If someone is here, why didn't they answer my calls? Are they hiding from me? If so, then why?

Once again that bed feeling washed over me. Keeping my gun at the ready, I made my way towards the door, keeping my back toward the wall for protection.

I slowly edged the last few steps to the door and braced myself against the door frame in a way that would allow me to see most of the room the moment to door opened.

With deliberate slowness I edged the door open, straining my senses for the slightest hint of danger. Once the door was opened fully I carefully surveyed the room and subsequent disaster area before me; desks and chairs were over turned, vases that had once sat on the mantle to the left now lay in a thousand pieces on the floor, a glass cabinet that had held family heirlooms was completely smashed, and the glasses and plates were everywhere.

Something other than the total carnage tugged at the back of my mind. This was not the usual home invasion, it was something else and as I stared at the room before me I struggled to see what was written in the evidence.

Then I had it; although everything looked ransacked, as though someone had searched through it all, there was nothing of value missing. It was easy to see that all the items from the glass cabinet were worth a fair amount of money, yet it seemed as though all the items were there.

"This isn't good..." I mumbled to myself.

There was door on the right side of the room, and I figured that I should probably check it to see if it revealed anything else about the current situation.

I crossed the room slowly, being careful not to stand on anything. When I reached the door I slowly reached for the handle, I noticed that the door opened towards me and made a mental note to be cautious because of the disadvantage it would put me in if there was an enemy behind there.

One again I inched the door open; the room was dark beyond, limiting my sight into the area.

Deciding that if anyone was going to take a shot at me they would have already done it, I flung the door the rest of the way open and instantly had my gun up ready, eyes working to pierce the shadows of the room.

What happened after that was anything but what I expected.

The slight movement in the shadows came as a shock, and I cocked the gun on instinct, but before I had a chance to pull the trigger, something, or more accurately, someone moved.

The person came forward in a rush, but not how you would expect an attacking person to come at you. No. This person was falling.

The impact surprised me and I was sent sprawling backward with the person on top of me; glass shards and other objects digging painfully into my back upon impact and dragging a small cry of pain from my lips.

I rolled out from underneath the person, earning several more cuts along my arms, and turned to face them with gun at the ready. I was not prepared for the sight I saw;

It was one of the house staff, and he had three bullet holes in the middle of his back; blood staining the white shirt around it.

I couldn't quite quell the nauseousness that welled up within me at the sight and had to swallow hard a few times. I had seen dead people before, hell I had killed people before but it never made it any easier to bare. Recalling how stiff the body was when it landed on me, I knew this person had been dead a while.

I looked around the room again, now seeing each shadow and crevice as a potential hiding spot for danger. My heart beat a fast-tempo in my chest, filling my ears with the sound, my chest was heaving from the shock and attempt to keep oxygen levels balanced with my adrenaline filled blood.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself once again.

Then another thought struck like a time bomb; Cagalli!

Spurred into motion by the single thought I raced from the room and down the hallways, now completely disregarding my own safety.

This mansion of a house had never seemed quite as large as it did now; the study, although destroyed, held no sign of Cagalli. I was beginning to panic now as I searched frantically for my friend; bursting through the doors to every room I passed. Most rooms were either untouched or a disaster area, and a few held more dead staff.

I was at wits end by the time I reached the last unchecked room. This time I slowed down as a realization dawned on me; if Cagalli wasn't in here, then there was major trouble.

I took a deep breath and reached for the handle, opening the door slowly. A pale light filtered through the room from the open window on the far side, the full moon taking up a large proportion on the outside view. At first my heart sunk as I scanned the large room finding no sign of Cagalli.

"Shit." I muttered to myself.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when a voice sounded from within the room;

"W-Who's there?" The voice was scared and thin sounding. It was also immediately recognizable.

"Cagalli?" I called, wanting to confirm my thoughts. "Its Athrun..."

"Athrun? Oh, god. Athrun... They... They."

"It's ok." I said with a calmness I didn't feel as I moved into the room. "It's all going to be alright."

Flicking the light switch and getting nothing, I resigned to the fact that I would have to make do with the moon light. As I moved further into the room, one of the shadows from the corner moved and Cagalli came into focus.

Even in the moon light she seemed pale; her eyes were wide with fear and her cheeks showed signs of tear trails, her hair was disheveled and her clothes rumpled.

I had never seen Cagalli look so... Fragile.

I moved over to her and brought her into a reassuring hug. She was shaking badly.

"It's all ok now." I told her softly.

"No!" She yelled pushing away. "They know! If I didn't tell them, so many would have died."

I felt my fear peak again, Cagalli had always been calm and level-headed in situations where lives were at stake, so for her to be this upset meant that something really bad had taken place.

"Who Cagalli? And what did you tell them?" I asked, still trying to act calm.

"Them. The ones who took the kids... They know Athrun... They know about Kira..." She said with obvious effort, shoulders shaking with renewed sobs. It took a while but her words slowly sunk in, and my blood ran cold.

"They know about Kira..." Those were the words I had been dreading for the last week. Words that scared me more than anything else ever had...


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