JC: I've done editing this again. Shinn and Verdandi are going to have their little fight here. The Norn goddesses, except for Skuld, are pretty loyal to Odin and they'll do whatever it takes to eliminate Loki. This is trouble for Shinn.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny.

Gundam Seed: Mythical Legends

Phase 04: The Reason for all this

Urd, the goddess of Destiny, with uncertainty in herself, had no choice but to kill Loki. It was under the orders of her great lord, Odin, and as one of the Norns, she had to fulfill it. She was in the verge of wiping Loki from existence. As she observed Loki, who was struggling to get away, her hands trembled—she was afraid. I must not let my fear take over me. I must kill, Loki-sama.

Shinn, with the pain he felt right now, was still able to stand. He looked straightly at the goddess. He looked kindly at her with a smile. "Urd, I know you don't want to do this. I know you're only forced to." He spoke softly.

With his words, she stopped her tormenting and she dropped to her knees. "I... I was... I was just..." She was stuttering, thinking of what Shinn said to her.

"Urd, you don't have to follow Odin."

"I can't go against Odin-sama's will."

"Urd, don't be so stubborn."

"You are the one being stubborn, Loki-sama. Because of your mischief, Odin-sama is angry at you." She rose up, feeling aggravated again. This time, she unleashed a power so greatly, not even Shinn could withstand it. Urd was serious now.

"Urd, please stop this," Shinn told her as he blocked off her power with his shield, but it was weak. I can't hold on much longer.

A silhouette appeared beside Urd. It was a female being who had crimson red hair and emerald-green eyes. Shinn recognized her as Verdandi, one of the Norns. She reached out to Urd, telling her to stop her actions. For a minute there, Shinn thought Verdandi was helping him. He was about to thank her when...

"Loki-sama, please don't get me wrong. I am not your friend, because I'm also an assassin," Verdandi explained.

"You two are in this together, huh? This is getting interesting." His whole body felt pain, but he was still able to smile at the goddesses.

"Verdandi, why did you stop me?" Urd demanded for an excuse. "I was about to kill Loki-sama."

"Onee-sama, I am sorry," Verdandi replied. "Somebody is heading this way and I cannot let that mortal see you or your powers."

"I see..." Urd turned to Shinn. "You are very fortunate, Loki-sama. I will get you next time." After that, she disappeared.

Verdandi looked at him for a moment, showing sincerity in her eyes. "I am sorry about this, Loki-sama," she said and disappeared from sight.

"Among the Norns, Verdandi is the most kind-hearted. She's not the type to hurt other gods. It's unbelievable that she's in this too." Shinn stood up, with his legs trembling and his arm wincing in pain. As he heard footsteps, he opened the window beside him, and jumped out.

He ran towards the garden. There, he settled himself on top of a tree branch and leaned his back against the bark. He held onto his damaged arm, soothing the pain he felt. What should I do? If Cagalli sees me like this, she'll be so worried.

Momentarily, he saw Stellar walking by. He called her attention, getting her to look up the tree. Once she saw Shinn, she immediately jumped up and landed on the branch.

"Loki-sama, what are you doing here?" Stellar asked.

"Skuld, can you heal me? I'm injured here."

"What happened to you?" She placed her hand on Shinn's arm and started healing it.

"I know you'll be shocked to hear this, but Urd is the one who did this to me."

"Urd Onee-sama?" Stellar gasped. Her eyes grew wide as she paused for a while.

"Like Heimdall, Urd, as well as Verdandi, is here to eliminate me too."

"It's very hard to believe." She shook her head gradually.

A female student with red-violet hair heard voices from up the tree. She looked up and saw Shinn and Stellar. "What are you two doing there?" she asked.

Shinn and Stellar jumped off the branch and landed safely on the ground. Shinn, with a rather pissed look, faced the girl, while Stellar promptly greeted her. "Hello, Lunamaria Hawke!"

"Loussier-san, what were you doing?"

Before Stellar answered, Shinn cut her off, "It's none of your business, Hawke!" He grabbed Stellar's wrists and ran off with her.

Lunamaria raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about?" she mumbled.

Rooftop

Verdandi and Urd felt a dark aura floating around the school. The dark power eventually led them to the rooftop where no mortal was in sight. They looked around, trying to sense the power, only to feel it growing.

"The darkness... It feels familiar..." Verdandi murmured.

"There's no doubt about it, this eerie aura belongs to Heimdall-sama," Urd added.

"You got it right, Norns," Heimdall spoke as he appeared before them. "It's nice to see you again, Urd and Verdandi."

Gradually, the Norns knelt down before him to show their respects to the god. "Heimdall-sama, we have come here to assist you in your mission," Urd told him.

"That's good. With your help, Loki is as good as dead." He let out a sinister laugh. "I already have a plan in mind." He lifted his right arm, as it started to glow. Beside him, on the ground, an unconscious blonde girl appeared. "This mortal will be useful to us."

One close look at the girl frightened Urd, because she befriended her earlier. The girl was Cagalli, a close friend of Loki. "Heimdall-sama, we mustn't involve her."

Verdandi agreed with her older sister. She knew it was wrong for him to use Cagalli for his intentions. She believed that no mortal should be caught up in the conflict between gods.

"Do not worry, because I promise not to harm her. I will just use her to get Loki, that's all."

"You better keep your promise, Heimdall-sama," Verdandi said.

Classroom

Before class started, the teacher introduced a new student who came from a foreign country. Because of his cute looks, he amazed the girls and made them giggle a lot. His purple eyes wandered around the classroom, looking at each student carefully, as if he was searching for someone. When the teacher told him to sit down, he immediately went to a vacant seat beside Athrun Zala.

"I'm Athrun Zala and from this day, we're official classmates," Athrun said, showing the new student a friendly smile.

"I'm Kira Yamato, but you can call me Kira." Kira seemed to be a nice guy. He had a gentle face, a warm smile, and unruly brown hair.

"Then just call me Athrun. By the way Kira, where are you from again?"

"I'm from America."

"I see, but you're accent is different."

"I spent most of my childhood days here before I went to the States."

"Hmm... Okay... Do you want to hang out after class?"

"Sure, I do."

Athrun shook hands with his new friend, Kira. Although he has noticed that Kira looked a lot like Cagalli, he didn't bother to ask him if he was related to the feisty blonde.

Lobby

Shinn had looked everywhere for Cagalli, because she didn't attend her 4th period. He tried the gym, the library, the computer lab, and even the girl's locker room. But she was nowhere to be found. He was about to give up when Stellar appeared.

"Loki-sama, I don't feel Cagalli-san's presence in this school," Stellar informed him.

"Maybe she's gone home already, but why do I feel like she's in danger?" Shinn said.

Stellar turned around, as she deeply sighed. She crossed her arms, feeling very sad and envious. Loki-sama always talks about Cagalli-san. He truly cares for her. What about me? What am I to him? Skuld thought.

Suddenly, she felt a massive aura forming near them. She recognized the aura very well, because it belonged to her sister, Verdandi. Stellar went in front of Shinn, stretching her arms sideward to shield him from danger. "Loki-sama, Onee-sama is coming."

As expected, Verdandi appeared showing a serious expression to them. "Skuld, it's nice to see you again." She gently brushed off her hair from her shoulder, before speaking once more. "Skuld, shouldn't you be looking for her than protecting Loki-sama?"

"I am looking for her. It's just that, I can't stand seeing Loki-sama getting hurt." Stellar defended.

"Skuld..." muttered Shinn, pleased to hear her words. He went in front of Stellar and faced Verdandi bravely. "Verdandi, if you came here to fight me, then let's do it." Shinn prepared himself.

"Very well, Loki-sama, very well..." She clapped her hands three times, causing an earthquake. During this moment, the surroundings changed into a field of grass, with dark clouds in the sky. A strong wind blew, carrying with it, the leaves from the trees. The wind was getting colder and colder, like the winter climate. Verdandi performed a magic stance, while chanting a spell of destruction. "Let me see if you can block this." Verdandi twirled once, creating fire balls around her. With one swing of her hand, the balls of fire flew towards Shinn.

Shinn evaded every single one of them, by jumping around and showing off some skills. He charged up his own power and attacked Verdandi.

School Gate

Lunamaria Hawke was waiting for her younger sister. She was growing bored every minute, so she decided to amuse herself by daydreaming. Her thoughts shifted back to the garden where she saw Shinn and Stellar. Why am I thinking about them? She shook her head, trying to erase the thought. Shinn was so rude to me. I can't believe what a jerk he can be!

While mumbling some curses about Shinn, including some insults about his hairstyle, a red-haired girl with pigtails slowly approached her. "Onee-chan, what are you babbling about?!" She gave Luna quite a scare.

"Meyrin, you almost gave me a heart attack," Lunamaria scolded, while touching her chest. "Don't you ever do that again, got it?"

"I can't promise you that." Meyrin winked.

"Yeah, right... Well, let's go home," Luna suggested as she started walking, but she was stopped by Meyrin. Apparently, Meyrin was looking at someone. Luna shifted her eyes at the person she was staring at. "Isn't that Athrun Zala?" asked Luna.

Meyrin nodded. "Yes, he is! Isn't he handsome, Onee-chan? He's just the coolest guy I've ever seen." She was definitely in fan mode.

"You had a crush on him since you were in junior high."

"I have many reasons for liking him. I wish he'll notice me for once."

"You must be kidding? You don't stand a chance against Cagalli Yula Athha or Meer Campbell."

Meyrin raised a brow. "Wait a minute, I understand Campbell, but Athha too?"

"You see, I've heard rumors that Athha-san is Athrun's girlfriend."

Meyrin turned green with envy after hearing that. Instead of being depressed, she was angry, steaming mad. "I don't want her for Athrun-san!" she uttered.

"Hey, what happened to the shy Meyrin?" Luna chuckled at her reaction. "Mey, you shouldn't believe that right away. It's only a rumor." Luna reminded her, so she would calm down.

"You're right, but I'm still worried." Meyrin replied.

To be continued...

JC: The chapter ends here. Kira and the Hawke sisters were introduced in this story. As you have read, Meyrin likes Athrun and Luna... well... nothing much of her for now. Kira is the new student here- you probably wonder what role he'll be playing here. Hehe... Okay, that's it for now. Please don't forget to review and no flames.