PHASE FOUR: Raging Chaos
C.E 79 Location Unknown (Present Day)
"WHAT HAPPENED?" A furious voice shouted. At the same time, his hand lashed out, cups and plates smashing against the nearby wall before shattering into a million pieces, showering the marble floor. "Why was the Freedom there?"
"I don't know," another voice, a calmer one, answered. "But it doesn't change the fact that it did appear, and we had to change our plans and deal with it a lot sooner than we thought."
The previous voice roared in anger, fighting the urge to throw something again. What made it worse was that this person in front of him did not seem at all unnerved. But maybe that was why he had been chosen to lead this project. He was a true leader who never followed his emotions and thought practically with whatever situations he faced. The same thing couldn't be said for the angry speaker, however - the pieces of glass on the marble floor was proof of that.
"We lost too many mobile suits battling the Freedom. Why isn't Advocate and Zantetsuken finished yet?"
"Because we weren't scheduled to battle against the Freedom yet," the other person answered simply. "Besides, they weren't scheduled to join the battle."
"They were the ones who should have destroyed Freedom!"
"But they didn't. Because things did not go as planned."
"That country is dangerous. You were supposed to give it a good scare with our forces."
This time, the other man laughed. His eyes twinkled with amusement and he inclined his head slightly. "With all due respect, I think that we are the ones who have the upper hand due to Freedom's interference. That country got their scare all right. Don't worry about that," he said smugly. "Besides, the Freedom is gone. This war will be won easier than planned."
"...I hope you are right."
"I always am. Excuse me," the other man said, giving a small bow before leaving the room.
The angered man sighed and turned his eyes to the window. There was no turning back now. A few arm's length from where he stood, a small framed photograph stood on the side table. The photograph was that of a young fifteen-year-old boy with green hair and brown eyes, sitting by the side of a piano. Yuri Amalfi sighed and turned his eyes on the photograph. "Nicol... I will ensure peace for us in your place..."
C.E 79 Orb Union (Present Day)
He refused to believe it. He absolutely refused to believe it. How... Why? Why did Kira fight against those mobile suits? Why hadn't Kira come to ask for his help? Why had he gone alone? How did Kira, that gentle person who never wanted to fight again, found himself in Freedom's cockpit once more, finally battling to his death? Why did he die at a time when they really needed him? Was that even Kira? What if the footage was a fake? What if the Freedom was a fake? Or, better still, what if the pilot wasn't Kira? What if Kira was captured somewhere and that it wasn't him who was piloting it? What if Kira was in danger? What if Kira... survived? Even if the blade of the mobile suit had cut the Freedom's cockpit cleanly in half, there must be a chance that Kira had survived... right? Right?
He barely registered the cries of those in the room. He barely registered Cagalli cursing over and over, crying desperately in Lacus's arms - the latter was also crying, silently, holding the dead Coordinator's twin like a lifeline to prevent herself from collapsing. Athrun clenched his fists as the footage was suddenly cut off, breathing harshly as he tried to deal with all the questions that were running through his mind. Impossible... Impossible... That was the one word that repeated itself in his mind, over and over again. Impossible... Kira couldn't have died... He just couldn't. Not like that, not in a battle like that. Athrun refused to believe that the brown-haired Coordinator had left them.
"I'm going! I'm going to search for him!" Athrun cried out, his green eyes just blazing with fury.
"No!" Cagalli shouted amidst her tears. "No... You can't go."
"Why? Didn't you just see Kira on the screen? Are you just going to leave it like that?" Athrun raised his voice, the tears also flowing down his cheeks.
He was nearly thrown off his feet when the collar of his uniform was grabbed roughly and a strong figure slammed his back against the wall. "Y-Yzak! What are you doing, Yzak?" Athrun shouted at the silver-haired General, trying desperately to release himself, but his comrade had locked onto him. His silver eyes blazed with such intensity that Athrun couldn't help but glare back. "Let me go, Yzak!"
"Kisama! What do you think you're doing? You're Orb's Admiral, Athrun Zala! Are you stupid enough to go there and let them ambush and kill you like they did with Freedom? Kira Yamato is KIA!"
Athrun's eyes widened. "YZAK!"
"You don't know where they were fighting. You can't help him now. Do you really think he would want you to look for him now and abandon your responsibilities to Orb? That guy went to that battle from PLANTs. He knew something that made him fight. Would looking for him be the priority he wanted you to take, or would defending your nation and finding out what's going on be your priority? Stop acting based on your emotions alone! Kuso!" Yzak roughly shoved Athrun to the side, his eyes glowering as Athrun landed on his side, both glaring at each other.
The worst part was that Athrun knew he was right.
Chances are, the mobile suits were still where the Freedom is. They did not know who was responsible for it, and the fact that they received the live footage moments ago might just be to lure Athrun to go and look for Freedom as well. All that they had just seen might as well be a trap, and Athrun would definitely be foolish if he was to fall for such a trap. But Kira... There was no mistaking the Strike Freedom that they had just seen. Athrun knew it was the Freedom. Kira's Freedom. But the risk was too high... and he knew that. For a few minutes, they continued to glare at each other and Athrun saw that the silver-haired General was not even intimidated. Yzak's eyes were unblinking as he hardened his gaze, and after a few moments, Athrun lowered his eyes. "Sorry," he said quietly.
"He's right... Yzak..." Lacus said, her voice barely audible through her tears. "We need to continue Kira's fight... because we are alive..." She raised her eyes to the silver-haired General and Yzak's face changed from anger to abrupt surprise when he saw her expression. "Let's go back to PLANT, Yzak. We need to find out what happened," Lacus said. Athrun and Yzak looked at her in astonishment. Athrun noticed that there was something off with Lacus's expression - it was a look of pure determination, but there was something else there as well. Something that did not rest well with Athrun at all. Yzak stared at the provisional Chairwoman of ZAFT long and hard before nodding once.
"No way..." Cagalli trailed off, her golden eyes fixed on the songstress. "You're going back to PLANTs? But..."
"Don't worry, Cagalli. I'll be alright. We need to figure out what's going on, right?"
Athrun turned his face away, unable to speak any longer. He couldn't look at Lacus's face, whom he knew was feeling as much despair as they all were. In a way, perhaps even more. However, as usual, she was trying too hard to be strong. He knew they couldn't stop her decisions now. Doing so might just break her. He knew that much. Cagalli, too, had lost the will to argue with the pink-haired Chairwoman. She only lowered her head, her eyes glazed. "Yes... We're counting on you, Lacus. Please take care."
C.E 79 PLANTs (Present Day)
The shuttle was ambushed by officers and commanders alike as soon as it arrived, most of them wanting to know the status of the PLANTs in order to submit reports. With his temper reaching his limit, Yzak snapped at all of them and said that for the time being, all reports would need to be submitted to the National Defence Committee as usual with the excuse that PLANTs had not changed their status regarding anything yet. His icy blue eyes were furious, warning everyone in his path that the Chairwoman was not to be disturbed. Acting on the authority of being her personal advisor, Yzak grabbed Lacus's hand and led her away quickly, noticing a large number of ZAFT soldiers holding back anxious reporters. Yzak couldn't help but feel absolutely relieved when they arrived at the elevator and made their way to the military headquarters of ZAFT.
Luck was on his side – as soon as they arrived, they were received by Dearka Elsman and Shiho Hahnenfuss. Dearka handed Yzak's mobile device which he accepted thankfully and they proceeded to move quickly to Yzak's room though Dearka was surprised that Lacus was there. With his free hand, Yzak tapped into the device and barked a command over his shoulder.
"Hahnenfuss! I want you to locate the Yamato Squadron. Don't expect to find the Commander. Get me his second-in-command and senior pilots in my office. Quickly!"
"Yes sir!" Shiho saluted, immediately turning to leave.
"Yzak... What's going on?" Dearka asked, surprised.
"Later!" Yzak snapped. They went into his office and he led Lacus to a nearby chair before taking a seat by his desk. "What's the status?" he demanded.
"Officially, fifteen squadrons are missing but we have the feeling that there's a lot more than that. Total loss is estimated at 200,000 Coordinators, but there has been a lot of trouble trying to get more information – a lot of records are missing. A lot of mobile suits are missing from the factories in Maius One and Two, unless if they were destroyed by the nukes, including one prototype Second Generation Minerva-class ship that hasn't been named yet. They launched four nuclear missiles at approximately 0900 GMT-timezone. The mother ship could not be located but we took down the mobile suits responsible for the attack – around twenty of them. We were joined by the Yamato Squadron for the battle."
"Kuso!" Out of anger, Yzak slammed his fist against his desk, surprising Lacus. His eyes were absolutely burning with anger. "There is chaos in Victoria as well. We left PLANTs to try and handle the situation as soon as we heard about the Botswana base, but before we reached Victoria, Maius One and Two were already attacked," he said furiously. "It was in Victoria that we could get in contact with Washington DC, but apparently, they did not issue the attack. Neither did the officials in Victoria, apparently," he said angrily. "It's a double coup d'état, I know it is," he said scathingly, "but we don't have proof."
"Excuse me!" Shiho's voice sounded from outside the door. Yzak permitted her entry and she came inside, leading four ZAFT solders with her – one of them wore a black ZAFT uniform while the other three wore the red ZAFT uniform.
"Laniel Ghens, Yamato Squadron Vice Captain. Reporting for duty!"
Yzak stood, facing all four soldiers. The other three were the senior pilots from Kira's squadron: Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke and Sierra Chaes. He had the uncontrollable desire to throw a bomb at someone, but in front of these pilots, he kept calm. He turned to the Vice Captain, a tall man of his age with short beige hair and warm brown eyes. "You were with my squadron, under the command of Captain Dearka Elsman, investigating the conditions of Maius One and Two at GMT 0900 – correct?"
"Sir! Commander Yamato gave the order right after Maius One and Two were attacked by the nuclear missiles. Shinn, Lunamaria and Sierra launched upon his command, but there were no enemies in sight when we first arrived. They came from behind us only shortly after – around twenty enemy mobile suits, the type Unknown. They weren't ZAFT mobile suits," Laniel informed.
"What happened to your Commander?" Yzak asked. Lacus, who had been listening, suddenly winced with her eyes wide open as she fixed her eyes on Laniel. Shinn had to admit, the songstress looked like she would break under the pressure at any moment. Laniel turned to Shinn, nodding once.
"Sir!" Shinn straightened, turning his gaze on Yzak. "When we first met with the mobile suits from the Joule squadron, we were given the command to investigate what we could among the debris. There were a lot of missing mobile suits from the facilities, and that was when the attack came. We fought with them, along with Commander Yamato, but he suddenly issued an order to remain under Captain Elsman's orders – he said that he was taking his Enigma and as long as he has not returned, Captain Ghens is to take charge of the squadron as second-in-command in his place," Shinn said.
"Commander Kira returned to the Aurora in the middle of the battle," Laniel continued. "The communications were jammed, but he gave an order to equip his Enigma with a booster. We couldn't make sense of the rest of his words. He hasn't returned yet since he launched."
"General Joule..." Shinn spoke up, his eyes filled with worry. "What happened? Is the Commander okay?"
Yzak turned his head away. "On Earth, a live coverage of the Freedom fighting mobile suits from both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT was shown in Orb at approximately 2200 GMT. The Freedom was taken down."
"WHAT?" Dearka and Shinn cried out at the same time. Laniel tensed, his brown eyes hard as he stared at the silver-haired General.
"Commander Kira was taken down?" That was Lunamaria. "He's... Did he..."
Yzak nodded slowly, his mind working fast as he did the maths. "If what you said was true, then it must be Kira in the Freedom. Current status: KIA. It's not impossible for him to make the journey to Earth with the Enigma," Yzak said, his brows furrowing considerably. "In any case, there are still a lot of things that we need to find out. Captain Ghens, you are to take command for the Yamato Squadron until further notice. That is all."
"Sir!" The four ZAFT soldiers saluted, their eyes clearly troubled as they reluctantly exited the office.
The ZAFT General sighed, his mind whirling as he tried to take control of the situation. He covered his eyes with his hand for a few minutes; Dearka and Shiho could only watch. Lacus had her head bowed again, silent as ever. Then, Yzak exhaled loudly, turning his eyes on Shiho. He nodded once, but she understood immediately: She locked the door, ensuring that nobody would come inside. Yzak moved around the table and stood in front of the silent songstress.
"Lacus," Yzak called her. She looked up questioningly at him, but he wasn't swayed by her acts. He had been her personal advisor long enough to know the little expressions she always had. Yzak's brows pulled together. "I covered for you on the way from Orb to here, but I will not allow you to make excuses any longer. You need to stop this," he said firmly.
"Yzak!" Dearka reprimanded him, shocked.
Yzak paid him no attention. "As it is, the current status of Kira is KIA if not MIA. The sooner you can accept that, the better. Either way, ZAFT and PLANTs needs you to settle the confusion. Will you acknowledge the act as those done by terrorists? What will you do with ZAFT's condition? The power to make those decisions is with you, Lacus! It is your responsibility and when you have subordinates under you, you cannot afford to lose to your emotions and stop leading them because they rely on you to keep them alive and on the right track!" Yzak said commandingly, his blue eyes burning.
Lacus froze as she heard his words. She looked up at him, surprised when his gaze suddenly softened slightly. "It might be difficult and painful, but a leader is still a leader," Yzak said quietly, turning his eyes away.
"Yzak..." Dearka trailed off, surprised at the words of his old comrade. Shiho was smiling – it wasn't the first time she had heard Yzak speaking like that.
With a deep breath, Lacus forced herself to stand. "You're right," she whispered, then smiled ever so slightly at the silver-haired Coordinator. He relaxed considerably at that small pull of her lips. "It's a good thing you're my personal advisor... isn't it?"
Yzak gazed at her deeply. "Dearka. Hahnenfuss. You may go now," he said, not even turning to look at them. Dearka arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth to argue but Shiho nudged him and shook her head before going out. Unsatisfied, the blonde-haired Coordinator followed her out and shut the door.
Lacus watched them leave and turned her eyes on the ZAFT General again. "Thank you Yzak..."
"If you despair, Kira's sacrifice might have been for nothing. Be the leader you need to be, for those under you," Yzak said, putting a hand on the Chairwoman's shoulder. Lacus pressed her lips together, but the sobs escaped her anyway. She hugged herself as she cried, her knees buckling underneath her as she cried like never before. Yzak could only crouch in front of her and hold her trembling shoulders as she cried, unable to say anything else.
C.E 79 Orb Union (Present Day)
It was night. Fourteen hours had passed since they had witnessed the destruction of the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom and Athrun stroked Cagalli's hair gently, finally able to put her to sleep after a lot of crying on her part. He was done crying. Yzak's words echoed in his mind and he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Once or twice, Cagalli would sob in her sleep, but Athrun knew that she was deeply unconscious now. It was the one thing he needed right now... despite what Yzak, Lacus and Cagalli had said, Athrun simply couldn't afford to leave things as they were currently. All he knew was that there was something he must do, no matter what. He could only be grateful that for now, Orb was peaceful. Athrun kissed Cagalli's cheek lightly and quietly made his way out of the Attha grounds and into his black car.
He drove at full speed, glad that there were no other cars in sight. Thankfully, Orb had always been a peaceful country, especially at night, and the only sound that reached his sharp ears were the quiet whir of the car's tyres. Within minutes, Athrun's car was already in the area of Mu and Murrue's mansion and orphanage. The door to the house opened before he was even out of his car. Clearly, Mu, Murrue and Waltfeld's senses were still as sharp as ever from the previous war. The one at the door was Waltfeld, holding a mug of coffee and arching his eyebrow at the sight of the blue-haired Coordinator.
"Well... I didn't think you'd come here at this time, Athrun," he remarked, waving a hand for Athrun to come inside.
Athrun smiled slightly, entering the house and sitting down on the sofa that Waltfeld had gestured to. "I'm sorry, Waltfeld-san. I –"
"Athrun-kun!" Murrue's voice was surprised when she appeared in the guest living room. Athrun looked up, noticing that Mu and Reverend Malchio were with her as well. "What are you doing here so late? Is everything alright?"
"Sorry," Athrun said again, lowering his gaze. Mu's face changed and he immediately led Reverend Malchio and Murrue to sit. Out of the four, it had always been Mu who was alert to both Kira and Athrun's feelings.
"Is everything alright, Athrun-kun?"
Athrun froze. That was the one voice that he did not want to hear, but when he looked up, his fears were confirmed. Caridad Yamato, Kira's mother, was standing behind Reverend Malchio, her eyes fixed on him questioningly, full with concern. Once upon a time, Caridad had been Athrun's mother, too... back when he and Kira were inseparable like close brothers... Even now, she still treated him like a son - like how she had always treated him - but Athrun could never bring himself to be close to her again after the war. "Yamato-san..." Athrun gritted his teeth, turning his eyes away as the tears began to fall slowly from his eyes. "I'm sorry... Kira..."
Everyone in the room looked surprised then, upon the mentioning of the young Coordinator's name. "Kira-kun? What happened to him?" Murrue asked, though she could already guess by Athrun's behaviour.
Athrun's eyes were troubled. "You weren't aware of it..?" he asked, already knowing from how Waltfeld had greeted him that they had not been shown the live footage of the Freedom in battle. Which meant that the footage was not a public one, Athrun noted. Murrue shook her head. Concerned, Mu stood beside Athrun and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Athrun heaved a deep sigh. "The Freedom was engaged in battle this morning..." he said quietly, his eyes already saying everything else.
Caridad felt her knees buckle underneath her. "Kira..." she whispered, tears instantly coming down her cheeks. Reverend Malchio was by her side instantly. "Kira..?"
Athrun nodded once.
"Please tell us everything," Murrue's voice was stern.
"At 8PM yesterday, an attack was launched on the Botswana base in the South Afican Union," Athrun started, his fists clenched tight. He had no doubt the Archangel crew were already aware of this, but somehow, he could feel like there was a deep connection between all three happenings – it's impossible for them to not be connected. "The attack was done by unauthorised forces from ZAFT's Victoria base, but due to someone hacking their system, this cannot be confirmed. Barely an hour passed before a nuclear attack was then launched onto Maius One and Two in PLANTs, destroying them completely, but Lacus said that the Earth Alliance did not issue an order to launch the attack. Yzak... said that Kira had been on PLANTs when Maius was attacked.
"We were visited by Lacus and Yzak this morning... around 10AM. I was the one who asked them to come, when I found out they were on Earth. We were discussing about the attacks when the Orb soldiers said that they were receiving a live coverage of the Freedom in battle. According to the coverage, the Freedom had been in battle for ten hours," Athrun explained, noticing Mu's hand tightening around his shoulder. "Shortly after that, he was defeated. Kira was..." Athrun trailed off, trying to block out the sounds of Caridad Yamato sobbing as he gritted his teeth. He refused to look up, even when Reverend Malchio ushered her to a different room. "The mobile suits that fought him were from the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. The ZAFT mobile suits were the latest production of Maius," he said, finishing.
"What is the world turning into..?" Mu said eventually, breaking the shocked silence. Murrue's eyes were wide and disbelieving and Athrun could not blame her. Even he refused to believe that Kira was gone. But he had seen it with his own eyes, how the Freedom had been split into two... There was no way a pilot sitting in that cockpit could have survived.
"Please..." Athrun bowed his head, his fingernails digging into his palms painfully. "Commander Mu, please... Will you take me to the hangar? I... I need to find out... I need to make sure..." he trailed off, the tears coming to his eyes again as he tried to control his emotions. "Kira... I cannot leave it like this," he said, his voice hard.
Murrue sighed. When Athrun looked up at her, he noticed that her eyes were full of tears as well, but she did not cry. "I guess it can't be helped. We can't leave it like that..."
"Ah... But it will be dangerous. There might be an ambush waiting," Mu warned.
"I know," Athrun's tone was absolute.
"I'll come too," Waltfeld said, his eyes intense. "That kid... I wonder what happened," he murmured to himself. "I'll take a Murasame and keep watch from above."
Athrun was surprised. "Waltfeld-san... You..."
"You're going to bring Justice back, aren't you?" Waltfeld countered. Silenced, Athrun bowed his head again. It was only when Waltfeld had said it that he realised that that was one thing he did want to do, apart from checking the hangar for the Freedom.
"Ah," Athrun answered quietly, his eyes gleaming with a sort of anger and determination that was lost to him since the war, "Whoever it was that did this to Kira... I'll need the power to defeat it."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mu asked, pulling the Coordinator to his feet. "It's already late. You could have come earlier, kid," he smiled at Athrun, though his eyes were dull with grief.
"Sorry," Athrun said sincerely. "I had to wait for Cagalli to sleep."
"It must be hard on her..." Murrue said quietly, her eyes briefly turned to the room where Caridad's sobs could still be heard. "Let's go."
C.E 79 United States of South America (Present Day)
"Take care, all of you. Make sure you return," Murrue's voice was firm.
"I get it," Mu answered. He and Athrun were already in their pilot suits. "Mu La Flaga. Akatsuki. Launching!"
"Andrew Waltfeld. Murasame. Let's go!"
They launched from the secret hangar of Orb, where the Archangel and Akatsuki had been stored. The gold Akatsuki dove straight into the water while the Murasame scoured the skies. Everything seemed quiet, and the radar on the Akatsuki did not detect anything as they moved. Even Waltfeld reported that the skies were clear, no heat signals that suggested anything peculiar going on. It was truly a quiet and peaceful night with no hints whatsoever that the world was dangerously close to entering war again. Athrun kept his eyes on the darkness outside, wondering what he might find when they reach the hangar in the United States of South America. He hated to admit it, but every inch of his body was hopeful to find some sort of clue that his friend was still alive. How could Athrun accept it if Kira had died on them? Alone, facing enemies when they should be fighting together... the fact that Athrun had been completely oblivious to any threat to them when Kira was already engaged in battle pained him.
"Don't let it get to you," Mu's voice suddenly broke through his thoughts. Athrun turned to look at him, surprised, and noticed that the mobile armour pilot's face seemed to have aged since he heard about Kira's death. "If what you said was true, you couldn't have helped him," he said calmly.
Athrun looked away. For some reason, the blue-eyed pilot always seemed able to read his mind - and Kira's. Mu glanced at him once and smiled slightly. "I'm not one to say though..." he trailed off quietly.
"Commander..?"
"If at all possible, I don't want to believe that kid has died myself," Mu admitted, his eyes hard.
"Ah..."
Briefly, Athrun remembered the moment when he was about to confront his father alone in PLANTs during the war seven years ago. He had decided to go alone, to learn about the truth from his father's lips himself. At the time, he was torn in two - whether to fight alongside Kira, or to return to ZAFT again. A part of him had believed in Kira... a part of him had always believed in Kira, no matter what the other Coordinator had said. Yet, a part of him refused to believe that he was fighting for the wrong thing and that his father was mistaken. That side of him was harder to shake. The thought of his hands being stained by the lives of the people he took for the wrong reasons unnerved him. It wasn't something he thought he could live with, which was why he had wanted to die with the Justice by self-destructing it in GENESIS. When he was about to leave for PLANTs, he believed that if he was mistaken, at least he would try to stop his father or die trying. Yet, before he left, Kira had stopped him and gave him a reason to stay alive. "It's not your time to die yet, Athrun..." That was what Kira had said. After he had tried to kill him, after killing his friends and destroying his home, Kira had asked him to stay alive. He was always, always, truly kind.
Athrun clenched his fists tightly. His emotions now were almost the same as that time seven years ago, when he had been ready to meet his father and learn the truth. Only now, he was on his way to learn about the truth of what he had seen fourteen hours ago - whether the Freedom was truly there or not, and whether it had really been Kira who had been piloting it. On one hand, Athrun knew that the other Coordinator was dead. There was no way a pilot could survive such an attack. Yet, on the other hand, he wanted to believe... he wanted to believe in Kira, as he had always done, faithfully, since they met on the Moon.
They continued the journey in silence. It did not take long before they were close enough to the cliff, and the Akatsuki began to surface. Waltfeld's Murasame whizzed past them.
"I can see a mobile suit in the forests. ZGMF-K1001 Enigma..?" Waltfeld said, reading the details from the screen of his Murasame.
Athrun felt as if a cold hand had gripped his heart. "Kira's unit..." he trailed off. It still doesn't prove anything...
"Anything else?" Mu asked.
"No, that's the only one. It's inactive."
"This is it, kid," Mu said, allowing the Akatsuki to lift off from the surface of the water. They landed gently on the cliff and was soon joined by the Murasame, already transformed into its mobile suit form. "I'll keep watch here with Waltfeld. Maybe you want to check out the Enigma first," Mu said, opening the hatch to the cockpit. Athrun nodded once, grasping the lever that would transport him to the ground. His hand was suddenly grabbed and he turned to Mu in surprise. The pilot's blue eyes were hard. "Whatever you find in there... don't push yourself too hard," he said. Athrun could only nod.
Once on the ground, Athrun took out his flashlight and walked into the forest, quickly locating the Enigma. It was white, and as Waltfeld had said, it was inactive. Just to be safe, Athrun took out his gun, but there was no real need – the cockpit hatch was open, and it was clear that the unit was empty. Athrun climbed inside and activated the Enigma, noticing that it was low on power. Even if someone stole this, they couldn't get far...he thought, turning the machine off again. "All clear. Maybe we should take it back with us," Athrun said, speaking to the communication device on his wrist. "I'm going to the hangar."
"Roger. Are you sure you want to go alone, kid?" Mu's voice was concerned as he asked Athrun from his Akatsuki.
"Ah," Athrun answered, "Don't worry, Commander Flaga. For sure... I'll return for sure. Please take care as well," he said and received a grunt in reply.
Athrun walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down. The fact that Kira had left his unit here... It might not be him... the small voice at the back of his head said. Athrun shook his head quickly. He was here to find out. With one last look to the Akatsuki and Murasame, Athrun jumped, immediately feeling the cold emanating through his body as he hit the surface of the water. He was all-too-grateful for the pilot suit he was wearing – at least some of the chill was still kept out. Athrun swam quickly, finding the security latch that was camouflaged against the rocks. It took a few minutes, but he spotted it eventually, neatly in place and nearly invisible to the naked eye. It was just as they had always left it after tending to their Gundams. Athrun flipped the hatch open and moved closer to the small red laser beam that was shining from it. It scanned his retina and within a few seconds, a pathway fit for a person opened. Athrun swam inside and closed the door, allowing the water to be filtered out before he took his helmet off and took his gun out. So far, everything was normal.
He moved slowly, his eyes listening intently for any sound that might be suspicious in the hangar. There was nothing. No signs of any fight taking place, no signs of blood or scuffles. A small voice at the back of his mind told him that if Kira had really been taken against his will, then the Justice shouldn't be there as well. It wouldn't make sense to steal one unit and leave the other behind. Athrun moved towards the control panel, scanning his eye once again. The lights flicked on and, right in front of him, was the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice. Athrun's eyes widened and he clenched his teeth.
The Strike Freedom was not there.
The blue-haired Coordinator laughed shakily. "Baka... What did you expect, that the Freedom was here?" Athrun scolded himself, but he was shaking again.
His arms rested against the control panel, his body tense as he tried to control his emotions. "Kuso... Kira... Why..? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked aloud, his eyes turning to the Justice again. How many times had Athrun seen Kira being "killed" in battle? How many times had he grieved? How many more times could he take it? After seeing Kira surviving from the dead too many times, Athrun couldn't help but still be hopeful. He couldn't help but feel the need to believe...
"Your friend... comrade... I killed him... But, I didn't know him. I didn't even want to kill him. You killed Tolle... But, you didn't know Tolle. It's not like you wanted to kill him either."
"I... wanted to kill you..."
"Me too, Athrun... I want to live in a world where I don't have to fight."
Why had he fought alone, when they both had their swords to fight with? What if Kira was truly dead? Could he ever accept that? Could his heart ever stop putting in the faith that his friend was still alive, until he could see the body itself? How long could his heart keep the faith, before it would truly break?
The Freedom was gone. But... it still doesn't prove it was him... It still doesn't prove it... Kira... Where are you? Why? Kira... Why?
"Pull yourself together, Athrun," Athrun scolded himself again. "Maybe there was a chance..."
Athrun still wanted to believe. He still wanted to believe that it wasn't Kira who was piloting the Strike Freedom. Even when there were no signs of tampering with the retinal eye scan, even when there were no signs of a fight or scuffle, even when the Freedom, which had been programmed to allow either Kira or Athrun only to be able to operate it (much like the Justice itself), was no longer there... There was still that possibility that it wasn't Kira, right..? He wanted to believe that, because...
With tears running down his cheeks, anger and sadness overwhelming him to an impossible degree, Athrun latched the Aegis onto the Strike, his green eyes burning with fury but wet as he cried for what had happened, for what they needed to go through, for what could and should have been but didn't. He punched the code number to self-destruct the Gundam, watching as the numbers decreased as the countdown began. Something, some sort of blind instinct then pressed the button to eject – Why? He could make out Kira's figure in the Strike's cockpit as he moved away from the Aegis, only a few seconds of escape before it self-destructed, blowing him away into the darkness.
He never apologised. To Kira. He never did. Even when they were fighting together with the Archangel, sharing rooms, him listening to Kira's moans and cries in his sleep and shaking the Coordinator awake, he could never bring himself to say it. Kira, too, never approached the subject, though Athrun knew that they both never forgot that day. Seven years had passed, but they had never forgotten it. He knew. He knew, because he felt it, just as how he knew Kira felt it. Their friendship had always been on the safe zone. Both talking, both smiling, both laughing, but there was something missing in that friendship which had changed after that one day... And he never apologised for it.
He never apologised for trying to kill him. He never apologised for never apologising. He never apologised for the damage done to their friendship, so fragile yet both still holding on, like a time bomb that was just ticking by. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to... he was just afraid of the outcome.
In the war five years ago, he thought that Shinn had killed him. Even then, he had refused to believe that Kira had died. He had been plagued by the same thoughts that were plaguing him now. Every day, Athrun had wanted to apologise, but he couldn't bring himself to approach the other Coordinator. Kira, always, had seemed so far away even if they were sitting and drinking together, side by side. He would wake up at night due to Kira's cries and nightmares, and he would sometimes cry out of his own nightmares, sweat drenching his shirt and his eyes wild with fear. But always, in both situations where the other was present, the only words that would come out were reassurances. To hush, to go back to sleep because everything was fine now... everything was fine now...
"Those lost in battles will never come back again."
"Don't you dare spit out those excuses as if you're the only one who knows that! Your hands are also stained with the many lives you've taken!
"Yeah... I know. That's why I'm really sick of things like this. ...I don't want to fight. Please don't make me fight..."
"Torii!"
Shocked, Athrun's head shot up and sure enough, a familiar green mechanical bird was circling above him. Instinctively, Athrun held his hand out and the bird landed on it, tilting its head a few times questioningly as if trying to make sure that it was Athrun and not someone else who was holding it. Or maybe it was silently questioning why he was here. Why he had never tried to repair the broken friendship. Why he was crying.
"Kira..."
Images of their days at the moon. Images of the day he was ordered to leave with his mother. Images of Kira helping them pack. Images of his final three days when he worked day and night to make the mechanical bird. Images of him giving it to Kira, sure as ever that the other Coordinator would follow him to PLANTs soon and they would play again. Images of that damned woman who was one of the people who had killed Rusty. Images of Kira by her side, his eyes wide as he said his name, and he stopped. Images of him running away. Images of them fighting. Images of him latching the Aegis onto the Strike. Images of him crying for what he had done. Images of him crying after finding out Kira was still alive. Images of them finally being able to speak to each other again. Images of them obtaining peace. Images of them becoming enemies again. Images of them side by side again. Images of them trying to rebuild their lives. Images of two halves of the Strike Freedom exploding before reaching the ocean's surface.
"KUSOOO..!"
Athrun collapsed, the sobs coming freely now as he cried. "Kira..." There was no way Torii had been here, except if it had been with Kira all along. There was no way Kira would have left Torii behind in a place like this. The fact that Torii was here told Athrun everything, wiping away every single denial that he had been feeding himself since he saw the Strike Freedom go down: Kira had been here. He had entered the place himself. Faithfully, from the first day it landed on Kira's outstretched hands, Torii had followed him, and Kira had allowed it to keep him company before going into the Freedom's cockpit.
Athrun knew.
Kira had left Torii behind to let Athrun know that before launching the Freedom, he knew he was going to die.
"It's yours... isn't it?"
"Yes. Thank you... A long time ago! From a friend... It's a precious item that I received from a precious friend..."
"I see..."
"I want to live in a world where I don't have to fight."
"It's not your time to die yet, Athrun."
"...I don't want to fight. Please don't make me fight..."
.
.
.
"Athrun Zala. Justice. Launching!"
TIMELINE INFORMATION
GMT TIME
0800 Botswana attacked
0900 Maius One and Two attacked
1200 Freedom starts fighting
2200 Freedom goes down
- - Botswana time: GMT+2
- - Orb time: GMT+12
Author's Note: We're back in present day! And from the next chapter onwards, we'll be really going into the plot. :D I might include two pages of information that might be important to the story after the next chapter. I was thinking of adding two chapters where I list down all the main OOCs involved in the story, as well as information about new mobile suits and ships, which will be updated regularly until we reach the final phase of this story. I love fics with character and mobile suit information, just to clear the confusion while reading, so I think I should do the same for this one.
I guess I should tell you guys that as well as having the whole plot with the battles and such, I'm looking at writing some sort of closure-story for GS/GSD with this fic. This includes the characters, not just ending the whole "COORDINATOR plus NATURAL equals to STALEMATE" wars type of thing. I didn't think the ending to GSD was really properly done - at the very least, I wasn't satisfied with it. If at all possible, I want to try and flesh out the canon characters as much as possible, and one of the things I really want to focus on most (apart from canon relationships) is Kira and Athrun's friendship. Honestly, I think it's just weird that they started as childhood friends, tried to kill each other, fought with each other, and can find peace again. I think even in the series, there was something off – it was like the friendship was too forced, and I don't think anyone can forget if their closest friend had tried to kill them (and vice versa) without some sort of confrontation or something. So it's something I want to try out with this fic, while still having a plot to truly end the war between the Naturals and Coordinators. If you have any views on this, let me know.
This chapter (and the whole story, really) has been largely inspired by the songs "Tomorrow" and "Ima Kono Shunkan Ga Subete" by Soichiro Hoshi (Kira). For this chapter in particular, it's "Mizu No Akashi" by Rie Tanaka (Lacus). Again, I thank those who alert-ed and favourite-d this story! Thanks also to my reviewers for the previous chapter: PrincessOfDestiny14, WaaWaa, sugarcarly, hakuMeyen and AngelicFox12. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know!
hakuMeyen: Teehee.. Thanks a lot! You've been a real supporter of this fic! I'm glad you like the balance for the romance. I love Athrun/Cagalli, but I also love most of the other canon couples. :D And no problem! Your reviews have helped me a lot in terms of motivation. Thank you!
AngelicFox12: Thanks dear! I'm glad the introduction managed to pull you in - I was afraid it was too confusing or something to start right in the middle of the attack, but I'm glad it worked for you. Thanks so much!