Athrun's Betrayal

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I just want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter in general. Reviews help inspire me to update.

Chapter 8 Falling to Pieces

There were no cries of relief or celebration upon the Archangel as they landed safely on Earth. No one knew what was wrong with Kira or Athrun for one thing, and for another, they landed in the completely wrong place. No one really cared at the moment; the two boys were their first priority. Lt. La Flaga manually opened the Strike's cockpit from the inside and went in. It was incredibly hot. Kira was unmoving, his head down on his chest.

"Kira? Kira!" Lt. La Flaga cried. As quickly as he could, he unbuckled the young pilot and brought him out into the garage. There were murmured worries as they saw that Kira was not moving. He put Kira in the arms of one of the crewmen and went to the Aegis. When he manually opened the cockpit of the Aegis and found the same thing; Athrun lying unconscious in the overheated cockpit. He brought the dark-haired boy out and brought him to the Infirmary himself, where Kira was already receiving treatment.

"What is he doing here?" Flay demanded, glaring as Lt. La Flaga brought Athrun into the Infirmary and laid him on one of the free beds. "He is a Coordinator formerly with ZAFT right?"

"Yes, that's right," Lt. La Flaga answered with a nod as he straightened up. "But he changed loyalties. You saw for yourself how he fought against his former allies in the last battle."
"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that he was once with ZAFT. He could decide to change sides again and go back to his old ways. It doesn't change a thing."

Lt. La Flaga sighed softly, trying hard to not lose his temper. "You're missing the point. Even if Athrun wanted to go back to ZAFT, he can't now. He's committed a serious act of treason by disobeying orders and bringing Kira, the Strike, and the Aegis."

"I don't see the problem."

"For a soldier to desert his army…it's a bigger crime than you seem to understand!" Lt. La Flaga's voice rose. "And, he just happens to be the son of the leader of ZAFT. His father, Patrick Zala was just recently named the new leader. If he goes back to them now, he'll be executed for being a traitor! Just like Kira almost was. They don't take desertion and betrayal lightly."

"Perhaps he deserves to die," Flay said quietly, her eyes glittering wickedly. Thankfully, Lt. La Flaga didn't hear her. He departed. The doctor finished taking care of Kira and moved onto Athrun. Once he had finished with Athrun, he vanished as well. Flay left to give Kira and Athrun time to rest.

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Kira sweated profusely, fever raging through his body. He tossed and turned as he relived the previous battle.

"Signal the Strike, Aegis, and Zero to return!" Ensign Bageruil ordered. Lt. La Flaga shot back towards the Archangel. The Buster fell towards earth, caught in its gravity. The Gamow and Menelaos shot at each other. Both of them exploded.

"Admiral Halberton no!" Lt. Ramius yelled. She and Ensign Bageruil stood and saluted the fallen ship. Tears stung her eyes. The Duel and Strike fought, Athrun still hovering in the background. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to shoot his ex-comrade. Yzak spotted the shuttle.

"Oh no!" Kira cried, seeing that Yzak had spotted it. Yzak took aim. "Don't do it! They're only civilians!" he cried, trying to reach the shuttle before it was too late.

"Yzak no!" Athrun screamed. Yzak fired. The shuttle exploded right before Kira made it to it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as the Strike was blown backwards, and then began to fall.

"Kira!" many voices screamed.

"Birdee?" his mechanical bird chirped sadly as it watched Kira from its resting place on his chest.

Flay and Miriallia came back. Kira twisted around and nearly fell out of his bunk.

"Kira?" Flay asked.

She ran forward and grabbed Kira before he fell. Carefully, she put him back in bed and covered his chest with a sheet. Miriallia watched from a short distance as Flay lovingly watched over Kira, gently bathing his forehead with a washcloth and speaking soft words of comfort to him until a soft sound caught her attention. She turned around and saw that the sound was coming from the bunk across from Kira, where Athrun lay. She opened the curtain and found Athrun writing around in pain. He was sweating just as badly as Kira was.

"Athrun you bastard!" he growled as his shot missed.

"Why are you siding with the Earth Forces all of a sudden?" Dearka asked.

"They were kind to me. They showed me compassion. I must repay them for the kindness they've shown me so far," Athrun replied. "But that isn't important. Where is the Blitz? Why isn't it out here too? Where's Nicol?"

"Athrun…" Dearka murmured.

"Nicol is dead you bastard!" Yzak yelled firing a shot at Kira.

"What?!"

"HE'S DEAD!!!!!!!!!!" Yzak nearly succeeded in hitting Kira this time.

"Nicol dead? No it can't be!" Athrun gasped.

Athrun moaned again and continued to writhe around, trying to rip out the IV line in his arm.

"Athrun!" Miriallia cried. She grabbed ahold of him and tried to calm him down.

Dearka sighed softly. "He committed suicide right after you left. We found him in his room bleeding."

Athrun gave a low choking sob. Miriallia stared at him. He gave another dry sob. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. She gently patted his hair.

"Shh Athrun. It's going to be okay," she whispered, trying to calm him down.

Her words seemed to reach him; he slowly calmed down and stopped moving. Miriallia gently laid him back on his pillow and bathed his sweating face with a washcloth. Athrun breathed heavily, tears oozing out of the sides of his eyes.

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"This is Alaska," Lt. La Flaga said, pointing to a map hanging on the wall. "And here's where we are."
He pointed at the country of Libya.

"Right in the middle of ZAFT territory. Not exactly the best place to be."

"There wasn't much choice," Lt. Ramius murmured, sipping at her coffee. "Our alternative was to get separated from the Strike and Aegis and we couldn't afford to do that."

Lt. La Flaga looked over at her, concerned. Both of them remembered how they had nearly lost both the Strike and the Aegis and how Athrun had risked his life to bring Kira back.

Lt. Ramius nervously twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "It had to be done. Despite everything that happened, our ship's objectives and destination remain the same."
Lt. La Flaga sat next to her at the desk. "Everything okay?"

"Should be," Lt. Ramius answered in a tense voice.

"I meant the deputy commander."

Lt. Ramius's stomach twisted with the reminder of the unpleasant memory.

Lt. Ramius rose angrily. "Ensign Bageruil!" No one had ever heard her use such a sharp tone before or look so intimidating.

Ensign Bageruil didn't seem sorry that she had overstepped her boundaries.

"If this ship is destroyed, the sacrifices of the eighth fleet will have been in vain," she said coldly. The two women glared at each other, though nothing was said.

Lt. Ramius somehow managed to smile. "Everything's all right."

"Very pleased to hear that." Lt. La Flaga drained the remains of his coffee cup and stood. "I think I'll go and see how Kira and Athrun are doing and then get some sleep. You could use some shut-eye too. A commanding officer mustn't allow herself to get worn out and exhausted. Not good."

He was grinning as he left.

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Flay and Miriallia continued watching over Kira and Athrun and half-listened to the doctor explaining to Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey about how they were not hurt and only had fevers.

"The only thing we can right now is give them plenty of fluids and try to lower their body temperatures," the doctor said. He was explaining to them how Athrun and Kira's bodies were different because they were Coordinators when Lt. La Flaga came in.

"La Flaga here. I'm coming in," he said over the speaker outside before entering. He stared at the less-than-happy expressions on the students' faces. "Uh, is there something I should know about?"

"Oh no," the doctor replied cheerfully. "I was just explaining the differences the Coordinators have from Naturals."

"I see…" Lt. La Flaga murmured. He walked over to the beds and looked down at Athrun, and then Kira.

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He was back on Heliopolis, although he knew there was no way he could really be there. They were in the middle of an intense gun fight. He was taking cover behind a large metal crate and Rusty was kneeling behind an overturned vehicle in the thick of a fire. Several gunshots missed him…and then one finally hit its target.

"Rusty!" he screamed as Rusty fell backwards, dead. Angrily, he rushed forward and shot everything in sight…

His bullet hit the Earth Forces woman in the shoulder and she fell back, wounded, but not fatally. At the same time, a young boy hopped down onto the Gundam's leg. He raised his gun to shoot them, but it was jammed. He tossed it to the side and pulled out his knife. He raced forward and the boy looked up. The boy recognized him and gave a soft gasp.

"Ath…run?" he asked. Athrun stopped at his own name, the knife pointed outwards. The voice sounded so familiar to him. He stared at the boy, hardly believing it.

"K…Kira?" he stammered.

Miguel's screams echoed through his cockpit as the Strike sliced it in half. The GINN he was piloting exploded.

"MIGUEL!!!" Athrun screamed.

"Kira! Kira Yamato!" Athrun said. The other pilot gasped. "So it is you. Isn't it Kira?"

"Athrun? Athrun Zala?" Kira asked. "What is this? Why are you here?"

"You should talk. What do you think you're doing in that thing?"

They were in space now, fighting again.

"Kira!"

"Athrun!"

"Stop this! Please, put away your sword, Kira. We are not enemies. Am I right? Why do we have to fight each other?"
"Athrun…"

"You're a Coordinator just like us! Why would you want to fight against your own kind?"

Kira tried to get back to protect the Archangel, but Athrun stopped him.

"Kira, enough!"
"Athrun."
"What are you doing with the Earth Forces? Why are you siding with the Naturals? Tell me!"

"I am not with the Earth Forces."

Athrun felt his heart skip a couple beats. Maybe, just maybe…

"People I know on that ship. Some are very good friends of mine. Besides, what are you doing with ZAFT? Why'd you get involved in the war? You used to tell me that you hated the very idea of war…" Athrun's eyes widened. He tried hard to not show that Kira's words hit home.

"Nicol is dead you bastard!" Yzak yelled firing a shot at Kira.

"What?!"

"HE'S DEAD!!!!!!!!!!" Yzak nearly succeeded in hitting Kira this time.

"Nicol dead? No it can't be!" Athrun gasped.

Dearka sighed softly. "He committed suicide right after you left. We found him in his room bleeding."

Athrun groaned softly and opened his eyes. He saw strange walls. A girl's face came into view. He vaguely recognized her as one of Kira's friends.

"You're awake," she said, smiling. "That's good."
"Where…am I?" Athrun asked, trying to sit up with much difficulty.

"Hey, take it easy. Don't try and get up just yet. You've been through a lot," the girl said, pushing him back down. He watched her quizzically. "You're in the Infirmary of the Archangel. You were unconscious when you were brought here so it's understandable that you don't remember."
A tangle of voices and blurred images ran through Athrun's head. He could dimly remember what had happened.

"Kira!" he suddenly gasped, trying to sit up again. The girl pushed him back down.

"Shh. It's okay. Kira's fine. He woke up a while ago. He's taking a shower," she said in a soothing voice.

"I'm glad…he's okay," Athrun murmured.

"Yeah," the girl smiled. "All of us are."

"Did we land on Earth?" Athrun asked.

"Yes. Last night. We're in the middle of the desert."

Athrun watched as the girl dipped a washcloth in a bowl next to the bed, wrung it out, and gently washed his face. It was refreshingly pleasant. When she had finished, she put the cloth back in the bowl.

"Why…why have you been taking care of me?" he couldn't help answering. "After all, I'm…"

"It doesn't matter what you are," the girl said stiffly. Her face softened. "Kira's been really worried." Athrun felt his cheeks grow warm. "I'm going to go and get the doctor and tell him you've woken up, okay?" Athrun nodded. The girl's face grew stern. "Don't even think about getting up while I'm gone." Then, she left.

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Sai, Tolle, and Kuzzey chatted about Kira and Athrun as they ate lunch. Miriallia and Flay were both absent, having taken Kira and Athrun lunch. They had been transferred back to their own quarters, but ordered to stay on bed rest for the day. Flay returned first with two empty trays and reported that Kira's appetite was healthy. Miriallia returned later with the same report. Flay was about to return to Kira when she was stopped by Sai.

"Flay, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, grabbing her by the shoulder. They stood out in the hall, though Miriallia and the others could still hear what they said.

"Look Sai, our relationship was something arranged by my father, but as you can see, he's no longer around," Flay said, her eyes narrowing. Sai gasped softly and stared at her. Flay smiled at him. "It was a verbal agreement. That's all. Our situation has totally changed since then so we shouldn't be tied down by that any longer." She walked away.

"Flay, I really don't…!" Sai protested, but it fell on deaf ears.

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Athrun stood in the shower and let the hot water pour all over his body. It felt really good after being stuck in bed all day drenched in sweat. He turned the water off and dried off, then put his uniform back on. He decided to go and check on Kira, although he immediately wished that he hadn't. He told Kira he was coming in but received no answer. When he opened the door, he saw why; Kira was locked in a kiss with the red haired girl. Tears burned at his eyes when he saw the scene and he let out a soft cry, which alerted the others to his presence. The girl looked triumphant, Kira mortified.

"Sorry," Athrun said harshly. "I didn't mean to interrupt." He fled.

"Athrun wait!" Kira protested. Flay grabbed him.

"Don't worry about him. He's just jealous. Now that we've gotten rid of him, we can get back to what we were doing," she cooed.

Kira pushed away from her in disgust. He had not wanted to kiss Flay. Every time they touched, it felt wrong. Somehow, he knew why.
"Get off me Flay," he spat. Flay looked upset.

"Kira!" she gasped. Kira rose, the flower still tightly clutched in his hand. He ignored Flay's sobs as he ran out of the room and sprinted down the corridors, searching for Athrun. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

He stopped when he abruptly ran into someone. After a moment, he realized it was Kuzzey.

"Kira? What's going on?" he asked.

"I need to find Athrun. Now," Kira answered harshly.

Kuzzey looked surprised, but didn't ask questions. He joined Kira as they hunted Athrun down.

A quarter of an hour later, they found the dark-haired boy huddled in a remote part of the ship, sobbing.

"Athrun?" Kira asked softly, stepping forward.

"Go away," Athrun replied harshly. "I don't want to talk to you."

Kira stopped walking and sighed softly. He smiled sadly. "Yeah, I don't blame you. I'd be really upset too if…" he didn't finish his sentence. He took a deep breath. "Athrun, look. What you saw, it…it wasn't what you think."

"What do you mean it wasn't what I think? I know exactly what it was," Athrun choked back sobs. "How the hell can it be anything other than what I saw?"

Kira sighed softly and rubbed his forehead. How the hell did he explain how he felt?

"Look Athrun, there's no way I can explain this," he murmured. He slowly walked forward. Athrun watched his every move. Kira crouched down next to him and wrapped his arm around Athrun's body.

"K…Kira?" Athrun stammered as Kira's lips enclosed his.

He closed his eyes. Kira pulled away.

"I love you," he whispered. His lips found Athrun's for another kiss.

"I really…love you."

To be continued…

A/N: You can really tell I hate Flay, huh? I tried really hard to keep her in character (and I apologize if she was out of character) but that doesn't change the fact that I still hate her guts. She's probably the biggest bitch ever. (sweatdrops) Forgive my little rant. Um…don't kill me for the cliffie. Please!! (runs and hides) Reviews are always loved! (takes cover from angry reviewers).