Disclaimer: Merely a work of fandom.
A New Dawn
Chapter 4
The Chosen Players
by tarot-flair
The pink stone swung back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm. But far from lulling Athrun to sleep, it was triggering all sorts of memories. The pendant was long overdue for a new cord; the current black one slightly frayed from constant use. Athrun had worn it every day for four years and today, a few remaining hours from Orb and her, was no different. Would she have changed? The pendant made one oscillation – right, left. We never made things clear… Another oscillation – left, right. What do I say, after one long year of distance? Right, left. Do we even share the same dreams anymore? Left, right, it swung. The speed had decreased considerably. I miss her. But will she still be the same girl I miss? The pink stone had stopped completely; suspended two inches above his eyes. He could barely make out the shape in the darkness of his bunk but he had stared at it often enough to know that it had never lost its luster and having it so close – a physical reminder of the memories he shared with her – was reassuring. She can't have changed that much. The doubts retreated just far enough for a pleasant wave of anticipation to wash over him.
Suddenly, the room flooded with light and Athrun immediately sat up, clutching the pendant protectively in his fist. He had to blink a couple of times before the momentary blindness faded and a familiar red-headed figure clad in casual, civilian clothing came into view.
"Athrun…" It was a comforting voice; a constant source of solace.
"Meyrin." He smiled in welcome and she took it as her cue to settle on the bunk, next to him. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, Kira said to tell you that we'll be landing in an hour."
"An hour? I thought we still had at least three more hours to go."
"I think he might have something to do with it. I saw him in the control room reprogramming the OS."
"Kira becomes an entirely different person when it concerns Cagalli." He shook his head in resignation.
"Is that… necklace… a gift from her?"
"This?" Athrun momentarily held the necklace up to the light before slipping it over his head where it settled comfortably over his heart. "Ah, it was a gift from her. If you can call it that… she gave it to me after she thought I killed Kira. Strange, isn't she?"
"She must have liked you, even then." Meyrin risked a glance at the man sitting next to her. His posture relaxed, his eyes softened with reminiscence. But there had also been a time when his shoulders had been perpetually tense; when he had been torn between his own beliefs and that of the blonde princess. And that was why she had insisted on coming along. I won't let that happen again, if I can help it.
"Like me? Hardly, she wanted to kill me." He chuckled softly at the memory and Meyrin smiled. Athrun's smiles were precious, fleeting things and she treasured each and every one of them, even if it was not she who prompted them. "I think Cagalli would have given it to anyone else in that situation."
"Athrun…" She wanted to tell him how much she cared for him but when she looked into his eyes and saw the open affection he held for her, the words evaporated like a long-held sigh in winter air. He was waiting patiently for her to continue, but she had lost all motivation to do so. This companionable fondness – it was the last thing she wanted to lose and Meyrin was nothing if not patient; she would wait until he realized that she had always been and would always be right next to him, waiting to catch his fall. "T-thanks for Neko!" She blurted out the first thing she could think of. She had been delighted when Athrun had presented the mechanical cat for her birthday and following tradition, had named it after what it most resembled.
"I'm glad you like it." He smiled, heartbreakingly beautiful and Meyrin felt her heart soar. And in that short hour, before things seem poised to change, they talked about inconsequential things, frivolous things, and Meyrin luxuriated in his presence, his laughter and mostly, just him.
"What makes you think," asked the woman, her voice soft and rasping, "that you can bring peace to earth?"
With her arm twisted painfully behind her back and her face unceremoniously pressed into the ground, it was more than a little difficult to speak, much less formulate an inspiring answer. "Killing me isn't going to help either!" She gasped.
The woman only tightened her grip on her hair. It did not seem like her answer had been the right one.
"Oh, it will, eventually. Your naivety disgusts me!" She bit out venomously, each word laced with fury. "Everything will be easier with you gone!"
Cagalli braced herself and shifted her weight onto her injured shoulder. Burning pain raced up her arm and for a moment, the world turned black but the new position gave her just enough leverage to lift her face a few inches away from the ground and access to a few inches more of air space. "Killing me will only plunge Earth, Orb, into war again! How will that bring peace!" She hissed, half in pain and half in rage at the senselessness of her impending death.
"It will bring peace," she paused, "eventually." It was enough for Cagalli to sense the vague uncertainty and more importantly, the slight let up in pressure on the armlock. Taking a chance, she tugged hard with her uninjured arm and maneuvering her wrist, attempted to reverse their positions. No such luck. Cagalli had not counted on the woman's unexpected strength; effortlessly, she twisted her arm back into place and this time, slammed her head none-too-gently against the ground. The world, once again, turned black and her ears rang so sharply from the impact so that when she heard a distant rumble from the ground, she thought it was just from the concussion. But realisation dawned when she noticed the woman's distracted gaze towards the entrance of the hangar. She had heard it too. And as the rumble got distinctly louder and nearer, Cagalli realized that it was the sound of heavy military boots, many heavy military boots treading on hard ground, and fast approaching. It did not seem like she would be able to keep the promise she had made to Kisaka after all.
"If you really believe that killing me will bring peace, then do it!" She snarled bitterly. Years of her father's efforts to keep Orb out of war, Kisaka's sacrifice, all the lives of Orb's soldiers; they were all going to amount to nothing because Cagalli had been stupid enough, careless enough, to land in this situation.
Suddenly, the excruciating pressure on her back loosened altogether and hands that had mercilessly kept her in place vanished.
"You don't deserve to live." The whisper was a curious blend of anguish, defeat and defiance but Cagalli did not pause to question her fortune. Instinctively picking up the woman's gun that lay forgotten a few feet away, she sprinted towards the mobile suit. It was only when she was enclosed in the relative safety of the cockpit that she risked a glance at the still motionless woman and wondered why her life had been spared.
Hefting the weapon – a standard Orb military issued pistol, Cagalli looked out of the windows of her office in the Athha Manor. The council members would be arriving soon, for an unprecedented Parliament meeting in her private quarters. With her injury and the current media-staged ruckus, the council members had unanimously agreed to her request to hold Parliament in the Athha Manor. And one of them was a traitor.
Oh, she could not be absolutely sure it was one of the council members. It could very well be a wealthy businessman disgruntled at the lack of wartime profits but to wield enough political clout to recruit Eurasia, an entire federation, as an ally would require more than wealth. It would require influence at least the equivalent of her office as Head Representative of Orb and with her death… Cagalli's grip tightened on the gun, her fingers pressed against the irrefutable proof of betrayal: the insignia of Morgenroete. The gun had been specially developed for the Orb military – semi-automatic, with a much larger than usual ammunition capacity and a mechanism that would greatly reduce recoil. That some of her assassins had had access to these guns, could only mean that their leader was closely affiliated to Orb. It meant that Kisaka, Uthar, Eltho and all the rest of the soldiers that had given up their lives for her had been killed by people they could have dined with, joked with and cared for. It was unforgivable.
"Cagalli? They're here." Cagalli spun around, startled out of her murderous rage, and found Miriallia leaning against her door, her expression, puzzled and concerned. "Why are you holding a gun?" Cagalli inwardly winced. Miriallia's journalistic persistence was far from dormant despite her change in profession and from past experiences, had proven to be lethal.
"New model! Fresh off the Morgenroete research lab and Erica wanted me to have a look at it first!" She hurriedly put the gun away in her desk drawer before straightening up and meeting Miriallia's gaze. As the Head Representative's aide, Miriallia's perceptiveness was invaluable, only if it was not trained on her. Like now. Fortunately, Miriallia had decided to spare her the interrogation, for now.
"Are you ready to meet the lions head on?" She looked decidedly too gleeful for such an occasion.
"What lions? I'm no Christian heading for the slaughter. They ought to be the ones feeling nervous." Cagalli snorted, adjusting her shoulder cast to a more comfortable position. She smoothed out the collar of her green and white blouse and flicked some imaginary lint off her lapel. "How do I look?"
"Decent," Miriallia choked on her laughter. "No, I mean great! You look like a princess." The good intentions immediately lost when she promptly burst into loud guffaws.
"Ok, so maybe I'm slightly nervous." Cagalli conceded, rolling her eyes, before blowing past her insufferable right-hand woman and heading down the spiral staircase towards the meeting room. Only to come to an abrupt halt at the disgruntled visage of a red-eyed colonel.
"S-Shinn! What are you still doing here?" She could feel the heat radiating off her face. She just hoped it was not as obvious to them. Of course that had nothing to do with the fact that she had woken up to his heartbeat this morning. Almost instantly, she felt her ears turn pink. Was it possible to die of mortification? "Aren't you needed somewhere else?" The ancient Ming vase in the hallway was a safe object to concentrate on, she decided. It was also the exact same shade of his eyes, she realized belatedly as her fingers twitched from the urge to fan herself. When she very reluctantly dragged her eyes back to him, he had a large smirk and his answer ready.
"There's nowhere else more important than right next to the person I'm supposed to be guarding, is there?" His smirk widened, if that was possible.
"What! Who would appoint you as my bodyguard!" She longed to wipe that irksome smirk off his face, preferably with something very rough.
"Myself, naturally." He crossed his arms. "I'm the most suitable candidate for the job."
"I absolutely refuse! I don't need protection inside my own house!"
"Ah, shut up, both of you. Shinn, you really shouldn't agitate her so early in the morning, especially not now. And Cagalli, do you mind dealing with those annoyances first before beating the daylights out of him?" The tension returned, and Cagalli knew that Shinn's somber expression mirrored her own.
"I'm going to stand right next to you in that room," he said quietly.
"No."
He looked determined to protest.
"This is something I have to do alone, something I can do alone." And she closed the doors behind her.
They stood up in unison upon her entry – a mass of silent questioning and, she would like to think, concern. This was, after all, a largely newly elected Council as most of the previous council members had died in unfortunate accidents. A bland smile fixed firmly on her face, she strode to the head of the long table and nodded in greeting before seating herself. A brief interval of papers shuffling, chairs scraping and throats clearing and the battle had begun.
They gave her the courtesy of the first strike.
"Thank you for accommodating my request to hold Parliament here. I am aware that I have a lot of explaining to do but before that, I would like to ascertain that my leadership is still uncontested." She let her gaze sweep across the table. "As you can see, I'm very much well and alive." She knew she made quite the picture today – she had opted out of her usual deep purple Representative suit as a reminder to them that she was not just any Representative. She was the only princess Orb had, an Athha and in all honesty, the public symbol of Orb.
"Of course, Cagalli-sama. We only appointed Taiten as a desperate measure as word had leaked out about your assassination." Twenty-three year old Rameul Alskou said, smiling warmly. Word leaked out mere hours after my supposed death? She had no idea Orb's networks were that efficient. But her apprehension eased another degree at Rameul's sincerity. She was a year older, hopefully a year wiser, and this time, she had allies. If they thought they could manipulate her, they had better think again.
The rest nodded in agreement.
"I'd more than glad to relinquish the position as Head Representative now that you're back." Taiten Toma Seiran interjected smoothly. Her eyes narrowed in distaste; his insinuation that he had held the position at any point in time sat uncomfortably with her. Besides, the name Seiran itself was distasteful.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence." She smiled, in what she hoped was a princess-like manner. No time like the present to abuse the title they had foisted on her. "There was indeed an attempt at assassination in Eurasia, before I met with the Representative of the Eurasian Federation," she confirmed. Angry murmurs filled the room and she waited for them to peter out before continuing. "However, before concrete evidence is gathered to prove that the Eurasian government is involved, I would like Orb to refrain from making any allegations. Or any declarations of war." She added meaningfully.
"It took place on Eurasian soil! In one of their military bases, no less. How could they possibly not know?" Yazuo, the oldest and most volatile member of the Council, retorted disdainfully. She rather liked him. With his hooked nose, piercing eyes and a mouth that was perpetually set in a frown, the irascible old man greatly resembled a hawk. Like a hawk, he went straight in for the kill, and never circled his prey. She appreciated his bluntness but it was not time yet to reveal that a good portion of her assassins had been men carrying Orb military equipment.
"Representative Yazuo, I'm sure many of us here were ignorant of the fact that Lord Djibril was temporarily sheltered by some members of the Council a year ago. There are many things that can happen in a country without the government's authorization. It could be a random terrorist group opposing the peace agreement between Orb and Eurasia. Is that really worth going to war over?"
"Eurasia is a declining power; even if we do go to war, I doubt they will pose much of a challenge." Her composure shattered as she stared incredulously at Taiten.
"Are you joking!" So much for poise and self-control. She suppressed the familiar urge to slam her palms on the table. "Orb is a neutral country! We do not seek to conquer other nations!"
"Inaction will only embolden them, Representative Athha. We must not allow them to get away with this. If we strike now, while the iron is hot- "
"I repeat, Orb is a neutral country! We will not go into war except in defense!" She slammed her palms on the table in frustration, or at least her uninjured left one, and stood up to glare at the dark-haired politician. Taking a deep breath, she tried for a more rational approach. "Haven't we learnt anything from the previous wars? Orb is doing well now; do we really want to destabilize the economy and citizenry in order to pursue revenge? Especially when it might be unwarranted." Amber clashed with icy-blue as Cagalli locked glares with Taiten. He yielded; looking away first, a flicker of grudging respect surfacing in those blue depths. She had won, this round at least.
"No need to get so worked up over a suggestion…" Yazuo grumbled. Cagalli could have laughed at the sudden drop in tension, instead, she settled for sitting back down on her seat.
"It was an unbelievable suggestion. Until the intelligence reports and the press release from Eurasia come in, I suggest we work at reassuring the world of Orb's stability."
"Your wish is our command," Taiten had clearly recovered from the stumble. "There isn't likely to be much evidence, though, seeing as you're the only survivor…" The man sure knew how to push her buttons. The fight abruptly drained out of her at the thought of all the bodies that had littered the ground.
"Parliament is adjourned for today," was all she said.
As the council members filed out of the meeting room, Cagalli scanned their faces, silently wondering which one had had the audacity to attempt her assassination. Rameul? Impossible, the man was a fairly impressionable young man who had worshipped her father and upon his death, transferred that loyalty and admiration unconditionally to the daughter. In fact, more than half of the Council was made up of people like Rameul and Cagalli knew she owed a lot of her influence to the Athha name. Yazuo? The man was prone to confrontation and had a strong nationalistic streak but it was precisely that which ruled him out. His policies had always been for the good of Orb and being the traditionalist that he was, would never have condoned the assassination of the heir of one of Orb's oldest families. That left Seiran, who seemed such a natural suspect that Cagalli felt inclined to give him more credit. He had not been elected like the rest of the politicians with the exception of herself; occupying a seat on the Council by default as the last remaining Seiran. But even though the Seiran name was currently a source of derision in Orb, Taiten's natural good looks and charisma had won him a sizable following, particularly of the female variety. She had thought him a decent politician who had, until now, advocated peace and neutrality. She could feel a migraine coming on.
"Cagalli"
"Cagalli!"
"Cagalli!"
"What?" She snapped out of her reverie, blinking a few times before realizing that Miriallia had been trying to get her attention for quite a while.
"The meeting's over! What are you still in a daze for?" Before she could defend herself, Miri bulldozed on. "So has war been averted? Or should we prepare to launch the missiles?"
"No, no, of course not! No need to dust off the missiles."
"That's good because Kira is wearing a hole in the carpet of your office."
"Alright, I'll just go meet him now," Cagalli stomped irritatibly towards the doors. There always had to be people waiting to see her; demanding this, pleading for that-
"…Kira!" Cagalli's head whipped around in a delayed reaction. "You mean, Kira's here? In my office? And you only told me now?"
"You were otherwise occupied," she replied blandly.
"Kira's here!" The migraine instantaneously disappeared. Even the throbbing pain of her shoulder receded. Kira would know what to do.
"What are you waiting for?" Miriallia laughed at the radiant joy which transformed Cagalli from a weary politician to a child who looked as if Christmas had come early for her. Cagalli ran for the stairs.
When his head connected with the hard rosewood parquet of Cagalli's office floor, Kira's first thought was: I can't believe I miss being abused. He just wished that they were in the zero-gravity field of space where he could have floated harmlessly around instead of nursing the beginnings of a headache. But this was Cagalli, and a Cagalli who did not think that a tackle was a suitable greeting for her twin brother would not be half as lovable as she was. He laughed, hugging her golden warmth to him, immensely comforted by her exuberance.
"Kira! What are you doing here?"
"You didn't seriously expect me to stay up on PLANT with that stunt you pulled on international television, did you?"
A discreet cough and a quickly smothered laugh interrupted their conversation and Kira watched in amusement as Cagalli realized that they had an audience. She stood up abruptly, dusting off her pastel green long skirt and attempting to gather the remaining shreds of her Head Representative dignity. It would even have been fairly successful if not for the twin spots of red on her cheeks.
"Well… that was… unexpected…" Dearka managed in between bursts of laughter.
Kira helped himself up, rubbing gently at the bruise at the back of his head. Now that he was viewing Cagalli from a more normal perspective, he finally noticed the dress she was wearing. He must have hit his head harder than he thought. "Wow, Cagalli… that's a really nice dress! You look almost like a lady," he complimented.
Apparently, she did not share the same appreciation he had for compliments.
Bristling like an angry cat, she stalked up to him and proceeded to stab him repeatedly in the chest with a very strong finger. "What do you mean by that!"
Catching her finger before she could actually drill a hole through his chest which she no doubt intended, Kira used his other hand to tilt her head to the right where a long, thin scar marred the smoothness of her cheek. "That isn't going to be permanent, is it?" He said lightly, despite a growing ache of guilt.
"No, of course not, it's just a bullet graze. It'll fade in a few days."
"What about this," he tapped lightly on her shoulder.
"That too," she said flatly.
"Any idea who did it?" He was really proud of how calm he sounded.
She turned to look at him and maybe it was a twin thing, or maybe it was just because it was Cagalli, but he understood perfectly. She would tell him when they were alone and she was ready.
"It's ok," he smiled and because she looked like she needed it, he reached out and ruffled her hair vigorously.
"Hey!" Swatting his hand away, she glared at him indignantly. "Is that something you ought to do to your older sister!"
"Who made you the older sister?"
Eyes flashing dangerously, her mouth opened to deliver a stinging diatribe when a feminine voice echoed from the doorway.
"I hate to break up the party but lunch is almost ready."
"Miri!" He was genuinely glad to see his old friend and judging from Dearka's reaction, so was the blonde pilot who had taken an extended shore leave to come down to Earth.
"If you are done ogling me, I might reconsider showing you the way out," Miri said evenly, still looking at Kira but quite obviously referring to somebody else.
"H-hello to you too…" Dearka laughed nervously, one hand awkwardly running through his hair. He was certain he had not been that obvious and the heartless woman had definitely not mellowed over the years.
"It's good to see you, Kira. And you too, Athrun and Meyrin-san." She smiled warmly, pointedly ignoring Dearka.
Kira caught the barely perceptible flinch Cagalli made at the sound of Athrun's name and knew – that time had not healed all wounds and despite how his best friend and twin pretended otherwise, the feelings between them were far from resolved.
"Miri, can you show us to our rooms first?" Taking the matter into his own hands, he gently but firmly steered Meyrin towards the doors and Miri, smart girl that she was, immediately caught on and impatiently signaling to Dearka to follow her, ushered them out of the door.
Seconds ticked by silently. The air was thick with tension, unspoken thoughts, and labored heartbeats. Neither of them moved. When the door clicked shut and the last of the footsteps had faded away, Athrun finally pushed away from the wall he had been leaning on and moved before her.
He had observed her interaction with Kira – her unaffected, boisterous fondness, and felt a sharp pang of emotion. He did not particularly want to label it as jealousy because what he wanted to be was not her brother but still, it bothered him that she never behaved so spontaneously with him. Maybe once she had, but now it seemed like a far-fetched dream.
"You look very pretty." Once again, words failed him.
Mesmerized by the husky sound of his voice and the strange, almost reverent intensity in his green eyes, Cagalli slowly murmured. "I don't usually wear these… Acting is important, sometimes, isn't it?" She tucked a strand of golden blonde hair behind one ear and he was struck by how much weight she had lost. Her cheekbones were too prominent and the delicate bones in her wrist, too noticeable.
Acting is important, sometimes, isn't it?
The words sounded familiar, but for the life of him, he could not remember where he had heard it.
"You said it, once, don't you remember?" She smiled at his puzzlement.
The memory clicked into place – of course, up on PLANT, when he had suggested that she wear a dress for the meeting with the Chairman. The meeting before everything had gone wrong.
"You don't look like an act." He meant it; she looked pretty, as pretty as she did in wrinkled cargo pants and shirt. The memories flitted through his mind, gossamer-light and fragile; seductive whispers of a time that felt so very long ago. Then, on a lonely island, he had thought that the distance put between enemies of a war was great. Now, they fought on the same side and the distance was still, if not more so, unbridgeable.
"It's ok even if I do. I love Orb. I used to think that it was such a heavy burden… but now, it's a burden I would gladly, willingly carry." He realized, with a pang of regret, that the girl had blossomed into a woman, or perhaps elevated to a goddess.
"You were always willing to shoulder it." Willing enough to marry for it. The thought came unbidden; the ferocity of the resentment, unexpected. And she had always understood him.
"I was, wasn't I? Would you have done the same for PLANT?"
He paused to seriously contemplate.
"I hope I'll never have to find out."
"Bunch of patriots that we are," she laughed. An empty laugh because both of them knew how true it was.
"I might do it for Orb too," he said lightly, impulsively.
She snorted scornfully. "Don't, it was a stupid thing to do."
Was that what you wanted to hear? Did that make you feel better? The voice in his head taunted.
"It's a common affliction – stupid things… I did a couple of those myself." It was as close to an apology that she would accept.
He met her eyes across the room and felt the old, familiar urge to enfold her in his arms.
"Athrun!" The door flung open to reveal a flustered Meyrin. "Did you see— " She paused and flushed a color to match her hair. "S-sorry if I interrupted anything… I was just looking for Neko! There he is!" She hurried to Athrun's side and picked up the mechanical cat curled up at his foot, a tiny ball of metal that he had not even noticed.
"Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?" She stroked the cat behind its ears and it emitted a very authentic purr. "Athrun's very talented in making them."
"I know… He made Kira's Torii and Lacus' Haros…"
"Cagalli!"
As one, the three of them turned towards the newest intruder.
"Didn't I tell you not to wander around, even if it's in your –- " Shinn trailed off in mid sentence as he suddenly found himself the center of attention.
"What the hell are all of you doing here?" He looked directly at Athrun.
Before he could reply, since it seemed as if Shinn fully expected him to, Cagalli had stalked over and grabbing Shinn roughly by the arm, tugged him towards the corridor. "Never mind! Let's go for lunch!"
"We're changing your bandages first!"
"I'm changing them myself, you dolt!"
Their voices, even as loud as they were, had faded out of hearing by the time Meyrin turned and looked earnestly at him.
"Let's go for lunch too, Athrun."
His glance towards the corridor was wry and a little sad.
"If you say so," he replied.
Author's Note: My apologies for the late update! Aiks, I know I deserve to get bricked for taking 3 freaking weeks for just 5,000 words but the last scene simply refused to be written. In fact, this is the third rewrite! I wanted their first reunion to go a certain way and although I'm still not quite satisfied, I think this will be the closest I can get without giving up. I tend to write in bits and pieces when inspiration strikes so strangely enough, Chapter 6 is mostly written while Chapter 5 (the next, oops!) is an utter blank...
I hope you'll be satisfied temporarily with a companion fic I've written: A Fork in the Road. Check it out on my profile and although you don't have to read it, it'll probably give a better insight to the main fic.
And a BIG thank you to all those who reviewed, without which I would probably have just given up on the darn scene.
I normally try to reply through private messages but to those who I can't - cleis, isabel, asucaga4ever -
thanks for the absolutely wonderful reviews. they made my day, heck, they probably made my week!
And to the recent reviewers -
tamara224: the main pairing is most assuredly AxC although Shinn gets his spotlight.
Miich: Thanks, I love you too!