Old Friends Anew
Phase-10: Meetings and Misunderstandings
Stellar giggled as her bare feet slapped the wet sand, in love with the sound the thin layer of water made as she splashed in it. As Sting typed on his computer in the large house overlooking the shore, Auel walked out to the balcony and leaned forward onto the rail. He watched the unstable girl in her glee for a moment and a soft smile crossed his face. At the sound of an aircraft, he looked up, seeing a ZAFT carrier flying towards the base, over the ocean. "Huh, wonder what that's all about today?"
"Auel. Auel!" Stellar waved to him from below.
"What is it, Stellar?"
"Can Stellar go out today? I want to see those cliffs!"
"You'll have to ask Neo about that, but I don't see why he'd say no. Right, Sting?"
"I have to agree." Sting called out to them.
"Grab your shoes and we'll drop you off a little later, okay?" Auel smiled.
"Yay!" Stellar quickly ran up and snatched her shoes from the shore and slipped them on after wiping the sand off her feet.
Auel went into the house and Sting shot him a glare. "That's rather cruel, you know."
"Yeah, I guess. But, at least we should enjoy our off days."
"Even with what we know will happen?"
"Even with that. Remember, Stellar is the only one who doesn't know. She should enjoy it the most."
"I guess. Which reminds me, when did Neo say the booster pack would be done?"
"He said he's going to pick it up today."
"Finally, Gaia will be back to normal."
"Yeah, really. Stellar was really bummed about that."
As the carrier jet landed on a pad right next to the hotel, a hoverjet lifted off from the pad right next to it. A group of military saluted it as it ascended. Inside was the smiling, and still chuckling, Chairman Dullindal. Two DINNs launched to escort the ship. All of the noise woke Athrun and Meyrin from their respective sleeps. Meyrin yawned and stretched. "Ah! That was the best sleep I had in a long time!"
"GWAAAHHH!" THUD! Came from the next room over.
"Hmm?" She rubbed her eyes. "That sounded like Athrun-san. He must be next door. I wonder what scared him." She put her ear to the wall separating the two suites.
Athrun opened his eyes to see that it was light out. He sat up and moved his blanket out of the way, bumping something on his bed. He looked towards it. "Huh?" He saw a second human-sized lump under his sheets. The blue haired teen ripped the sheets off of the lump to see long pink hair running down a person's back. The person flipped over, as she moaned in her sleep, revealing that she was, in fact, Mia Campbell. Flipping over also revealed to Athrun just how skimpy her pink nightgown was. He reeled back. "GWAAAHHH!" THUD! He had no where to go but down as he fell off the bed.
The loud crash woke Mia. She sat up and cooed as she rubbed her eyes, the straps of her nightgown sliding off her shoulders unintentionally. Meyrin kept her ear by the wall. "I wonder why I don't hear anything right now." She whispered to herself.
Just then, a badly timed knock on Athrun's door came out. "Ohayo gozaimasu, daicho."
Meyrin shot her hands up to her mouth to prevent herself from yelling. "Oh shit, it's Lumi! What is she doing there?"
As Athrun gasped as he sat up again and Mia looked at the door indifferently, Lunamaria continued. "Are you awake in there? If you are, I was wondering if you wanted to head to the dining hall with me."
"So that's what you're doing, Lumi. Bad girl, trying to take someone else's man." Meyrin clucked.
Athrun was in a panic and only answered with an "Uhh…" as he stood up. He was about to run to the door in his underwear, until he slid to a stop and looked at Mia, fully realizing that her presence in a fuzzy pink nightgown and him in his underwear would make all sorts of problems. He dashed to his drawers and started slipping into a pair of pants.
"Daicho?" Luna continued to stand at the door.
"Uuhh….aah…" He tried to respond as he hiked them up.
"What's wrong with Athrun-san today?" Both Meyrin and Luna whispered to themselves.
Mia pouted and got up. Athrun caught her motion as she went to the door while he buttoned his trousers. "Huh? Hey, what are you…" He whispered loudly as he tried to follow her.
Mia opened up the door and a completely surprised Luna was at the other end. One look at the fuzzy pink dress and the sounds of Athrun's pants zipping up before he came into view told her all she needed to know, but it still didn't register. Mia put on her best charming face. "The offer is appreciated, but feel free to go ahead."
Meyrin clamped her hand over her mouth again. "Holy shit! Lacus-san is in Athrun's room! Lumi, you're so in for it this time!"
"Athrun will be escorting me down there in a little while." Mia continued as Athrun reached out to her trying to stop her.
Luna's eyes were wide open and her face was in total and complete surprise. "Eh? Umm…" She continued to stutter. "H…h…hai." The door slammed in her face, blowing her standing lock of red-purple hair out of place. She backed away slowly and stumbled to the next door.
"Ooohhh. Lumi got dissed." Meyrin chuckled as she went back to her dresser.
Meyrin stopped as she heard her sister talking to herself. "It's just going to be one of those weird days. At least I can get Mirei to come with me."
"Is that so, big sis?" Meyrin whispered to herself as her eyes narrowed. "This day is only gonna get weirder for you." She hopped onto her bed.
Lunamaria got to her sister's door and was about to knock when she heard squeaking, like from a bed. "What the…?"
Luna stood frozen in place as Meyrin continued to jump on her bed. The younger girl grinned evilly as she started to squeal towards the door. "Oh, Adam! No…not there…not there! Ooooohhh! Eeeeeeee! Oh, Adam, my God! Don't stop, please!"
Lunamaria turned green as she started to stumble away. "Am I the only person that hasn't turned into a pervert in this hotel?"
Meyrin stopped her moaning and jumping as she knew her sister was gone. "That was fun." She rushed back to the wall and pressed her ear against it to find out what else was happening in Athrun's room.
As Lunamaria dragged herself around the corner of the hallway, a certain orange-haired boy approached her. "Hey Luna, what's new? Is Meyrin up yet?" Adam raised a hand to her.
"Oh, she's up alright. But the way you two were going she should be fast asleep by now." She had hatred saturating her deadened voice.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I just got back from the parts shop."
"What? But you…." She whipped around to look at her sister's hall. "And her…" She turned back to Adam, "Didn't you just…." She slumped her head and shoulders.
"Luna, are you feeling okay? You don't look so good." The next thing he knew was lying on the floor with a very big lump on his head and Luna stomping off like a Zaku with her fist clenched. "Wh…what did I do?"
Mia hummed in victory as she turned from the door, right into Athrun, who grabbed her arms tightly. "What the hell was that?" The enraged boy yelled in her face.
"Huh? Well, that girl was trying to…."
"That's not the point!" He shut her up as he looked away for a moment before his eyes flashed with rage. "Why the hell, when the hell, and how the hell did you get into this room? MY ROOM!"
Meyrin continued to listen in. "Wha? Lacus-san, sneaking into Athrun's room? Maybe they're playing it up to cover for what they did last night."
Mia giggled. "Remember I promised you that I'd visit you in your room some time after dinner? When there was no answer I told the front desk that you had fallen asleep."
"Huh?" Athrun was still confused.
"It turned out that you really did, so they gladly let me in."
"Gladly and knowingly, probably." Meyrin whispered to herself.
Athrun let go of her and lifted his head. He took a deep breath and got in her face. "That's not what I mean! Why do you do stuff like this, you?"
"Wha? This is normal for a girl when she sees her fiancé again, isn't it?" Mia tried to play cute and innocent.
"Um, only in cheap romance novels." Meyrin sweatdropped. "And then, something actually happens when they crawl into bed."
"Lacus, she wouldn't do anything remotely like this!" Athrun's nose was within an inch of Mia's.
Athrun turned away before he tried to hit her. Mia didn't make it any better. "She wouldn't? How come?" Athrun pounded his palm into his forehead.
"Huh?" Meyrin scratched her head. "Well maybe something did happen and they like talking in the third person afterwards. But I can't really believe Zala-daicho would do something like that."
Meyrin's continued thought on the subject was disrupted by a knock on her door. "Hey, good morning, Meyrin. You up?"
The door flew open and Meyrin leapt into Adam's arms. "Adam!" She smiled before she kissed him. "I had a great night, thanks to you."
"Uh-uh. It's thanks to the Supreme Chairman, not me. If you're gonna thank anyone, thank him." He held her nice and tight.
"Yeah well, it's just proof that being your girlfriend has its perks." She giggled. "Let me get changed and we'll head down to breakfast."
The orange-haired FAITH officer sipped at his coffee in the café as Luna made her way down the stairs with Shinn talking by her side. "Really? So, the Chairman has left already?"
"Yeah. It makes sense. He is a rather busy man you know. Just speaking with him like that yesterday was a total miracle."
"I know, but I just wanted like five seconds to thank him for the rooms."
"To be honest, Shinn, I'm jealous. You and Adam got a ton of praise from the Chairman, and you've got an extra day off too. I'm surprised you're not dancing in happiness."
"Hey, you've gotten shore leave as well you know!" Shinn pointed out as he caught up to her. "What's wrong with you today?"
"It's nothing."
"Wrong time of the month?"
"Shinn!" Luna hissed.
"Um, you two…." The orange haired man said as they passed his table. "You're those Minerva pilots from yesterday, right? Where's the new kid?"
"Who, you mean me?" Adam walked up next to his crewmates, with Meyrin on his arm.
"Yeah, you. Auda? Who's this?" He turned to Meyrin.
Meyrin straightened up and saluted, as the others followed suit. "Please excuse us, and good morning. I am Meyrin Hawke."
The 18 year old smiled, and they all put their hands down. "Meyrin is my girlfriend and the communications officer on Minerva." Adam said as he put a hand on her hip.
"Is that so?" The boy took another sip of his drink. "And where's the pilot in FAITH?"
"I think that Daicho is still in his room at the mome…."
Luna's voice was cut off by the recognizable voice of Mia coming around the corner. "And then that soldier blushed redder than a beet and cried 'Arigato gozaimasu' at the top of his lungs!" She was hanging onto Athrun's arm like it was her last lifeline as they descended the same stairs that Luna, Shinn, Adam, and Meyrin did before. Luna closed her eyes and turned away before her emotions were revealed. Adam and Shinn had surprised looks on their faces, while Meyrin took one glance at Luna and knew exactly what she was thinking.
When the FAITH officer saw them he smiled again. "Ah, I see. Okay, I understand now. Shank you." He stood up and saluted. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Lacus-sama."
Athrun, noticing for the first time his fellow officer, let out a surprised sound and then ripped his hand free of Mia's arm. He stood at attention and saluted. Mia, not caring, went forward. "Well then! Good morning!" She approached the man.
"I'd like to thank you for all your hard work, especially yesterday. Everyone was overjoyed at your surprise performance. This should raise their morale quite a bit."
"Heine-san, I hope you had a good time yourself, as well."
"Yes, of course. You were excellent."
Meyrin looked from Athrun, to Lacus, to the orange-haired guy and back through the list. Mia saw her stare and caught the color of her hair and she turned to the girl on Adam's arm. "Oh my! What beautiful hair!"
"Who? Me?" Meyrin pointed to herself as she dropped Adam's arm.
"Yes yes! I love the pig tails! They're so pretty!" She took the girl by the shoulder and pulled her away slightly. "You've got to tell me how you do that!"
"Eh? But I was trying to emulate one of your styles, Lacus-san." Meyrin blushed.
"Really?"
Meyrin nodded. "Remember that blue dress you had, and you had your hair in pigtails."
"Hmm. I don't remember. I've had so many styles that I can't keep track of them all!" Mia giggled.
"Is that so?" Meyrin said under her breath.
"So tell me, how do you do it?" Mia clapped her hands together.
This conversation gave Athrun some relief from the girl finally, and the FAITH member in front of him began to speak. "I'm sorry I was unable to introduce myself yesterday, things being so hectic and all. I'm special forces member Heine Westenfluss."
Adam stifled a chuckle. 'Heine Westenfluss, Hiney Fluss, Butt Floss.'
"Get that thought out of your head, I've heard all the jokes made about my name before. You can't pull any new ones out on me." The green eyed Coordinater glared at him.
"Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about, sir." Adam stiffened.
"Uh-huh, sure." Heine rolled his eyes as he turned back to Athrun. "In any case, it's nice to meet you, Athrun."
"No, the pleasure is mine. I'm Athrun Zala." The two shook hands.
"I know. Your reputation precedes you." Athrun let out a surprised tone. "And the list is getting longer, since I just heard you've re-enlisted. In the first war you were in Kleuze Team, am I right?"
"Hai."
"I was in the Hawkings Team. I don't know how we missed each other at Jackin Due."
"Hai." Athrun said quietly, knowing that missed is rather close to the truth, in that he was most likely shooting at him.
Two civilians approached the group. "Lacus-sama, could you come with us so we could discuss today's plans? I'm sorry to take you away from your friends." Her manager spoke.
"Awww!"
"Please, Lacus-sama."
"Fine. I guess these things can't be helped." She sighed. "Well, thanks for the hair tips." She said to Meyrin, and then turned to Athrun. "Well Athrun, I guess I'll see you later."
"Um, yeah." He said back as the girl walked away.
Meyrin grabbed onto Adam's arm and whispered to him. "Thank Kami-sama! That girl can talk your ears off." Adam sighed. "I can't believe she forgot the pigtails, because that was one of her most popular styles."
"Well she is really busy you know. Maybe she really did forget."
"I'm not so sure." Meyrin said under her breath.
Heine smiled at Athrun. "You two seem to get along well, don't you?"
"Eh? Ah, well, I wouldn't say…." Athrun retorted as he turned back to the Gouf pilot.
"Oh come on! It's good to get along! Especially with your fiancé." Hiene said as he sat back and crossed his legs.
"Well, I guess."
"So, minus our present company of the communications officer, the four of you plus that blonde guy, there are five pilots in all?"
"Eh? Yes." Athrun said curiously.
Heine leaned forward as he stretched his finger out, pointing to each pilot in turn. "Impulse, Zaku Warrior, Savior, and…yours is…um…." He finally arrived at Adam.
Adam pouted as he rolled his eyes. "Falcon, Falcon Astray."
"Right, Falcon, that new one. That means the other guy's is Blaze Zaku Phantom, ne?" He said pointing up. Everyone blinked in curiosity as Athrun acknowledged him. "And you're part of FAITH, and the captain is too, right?"
"Yeah, why are you…." Athrun started to ask.
"Though not much in number, your military capacity is more than enough." He rested his chin on his hand as he looked out the window. "So what is he thinking telling me to join that ship, that Chairman?"
"Eh?" The rookie pilots and Meyrin let out as they leaned a little more forward.
"You're being assigned to Minerva?" Athrun asked the obvious in disbelief.
"Yeah, once shore leave ends, I'm boarding it with you all. I'll be going down there later to hand over my paperwork. Even though I think three FAITH personnel in one ship is rather bothersome." He picked up a couple of sheets off his table.
"Um…" Meyrin stepped forward. "If you want, Westenfluss-san, I could bring those to Minerva for you. Please, enjoy your shore leave as much as possible."
"No no, I couldn't possibly do that. That would remove some of your vacation time. I've heard you've all been through a lot."
"Please, Westenfluss-san, I insist. It's no trouble at all. I'm going back to pick up a few items anyway, so it's not like I'd be going out of my way."
The orange Zaku's pilot sighed. "Hai hai. Since you've been so kind as to extend the offer." He gave her the papers. "Hand them directly to the captain if you could."
"Yes sir."
He smiled again. "You've got yourself a good girlfriend…um…Adam, right? Make sure you treat her right."
Both Meyrin and Adam blushed brightly. "I…I try to. I have to make sure I'm deserving of her, right? Heh heh." Adam scratched the back of his head. Shinn chuckled into his hand. "What?"
"I should have brought tanning lotion. Your faces are making perfect impressions of the sun."
Adam and Meyrin looked at each other. Realizing he was right, they blushed even redder as they turned to him. "SH-SHUT UP!"
Heine chuckled a little. "Well, never mind about that FAITH thing. When on the battlefield, every little bit helps I suppose. Also, every person looks at things a little differently, right? In any case, I'm glad to meet you all. Chairman Dullindal has high hopes for Minerva. Let's not disappoint him."
"Hai, of course. We're pleased to make your acquaintance." Athrun said as he saluted. The others quickly followed his example.
As the propellers of a hoverjet spun up, Athrun and Mia stood a safe distance away, the pink-haired girl insistent on saying goodbye. Meyrin and the three other pilots stood by the entrance waiting for their commander to return.
"Well, Athrun. I guess this is it once again."
"Hai, please take care." He put his hand out to her.
Instead of taking his hand, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her face in closer. Athrun shot her a very cross look. "Please? You'd kiss her, wouldn't you?" She sighed as she took the final initiative.
Athrun caught her in time and shoved her away. "Enough of that already!" He turned her around and forcefully pushed her onto the craft. "Now you need to get going or else you'll be late."
"Aww…no fair."
A few moments later, the hoverjet launched, and two escorting DINNs lifted off. Watching the two reminded Adam of something. "Oh yeah!" He turned towards his girlfriend. "Meyrin, the mechanics extended us an invite to head into the city."
"Sounds like fun! Good thing I'm heading back to Minerva and getting my stuff." She said as they turned away.
"Now, I wonder what I should do today." Luna said, still pouting from her unkind experience from before.
"Huh? What are you talking about now, Luna?" Shinn went after her.
As the four approached the elevator, she continued. "I'd like to go into town, but it'll be boring by myself."
"You could always go with us, Lumi." Meyrin said as she pressed a button.
"No, I'm not going to do that, it's your day, not mine. Besides, I know you want to spend all that time with your boyfriend, most likely alone in a very hot bedroom." She rolled her eyes.
"Wh…whe…where did that come from?" Adam turned red.
"Oh, nothing. It's too bad that Ray is missing out. Maybe I'll head back to the ship instead."
Athrun, hearing the conversation as he approached, decided to add his two cents. "Why don't you go out with Shinn then?" The mentioned boy looked confused at the comment, as Adam and Meyrin chuckled at the mental image of Shinn going on a date with Luna. That stopped the instant they saw the frustrated look on Luna's face. The elevator door opened and she stomped her way in along with the others. The elevator closed behind them and began to move. "You do have the day off after all, so you should use it to relax. I've already decided to be the one to return to ship today, so don't worry about a thing."
"Eh? But daicho…." Shinn looked to him.
Luna bit her lip as her eyebrows twitched. After sharing a look, Adam and Meyrin took a step back from her. "Oh yeah! Don't worry about Daicho. He's okay. After all, Lacus-sama spent a LOT of time together with him already."
Athrun took a step back as Shinn looked back and forth between the two. Adam spoke up. "What do you mean by that Lunama…." Meyrin silenced him quickly with a deep kiss.
"And apparently so did THOSE two." Luna glared at them.
"Eh?" Athrun turned to them, the only one other than Meyrin that knew what Luna was talking about.
"Oh yeah, you should have gone with Lacus as a bodyguard, Daicho." She said, lifting her nose high into the air.
"Lunamaria!"
"You do belong to FAITH after all. There would have been no problem if you had done that." Before the problem got any worse, the elevator stopped and Luna tromped out.
"Chotto matte! Lunamaria!" Athrun followed her out. She glared at him as the other three exited and stood behind him. "Shinn, please go on ahead. Adam, Meyrin, I want a talk with you later. Meet me in the lobby."
"Hai." The two said nervously as Shinn just shrugged as the walked past the two.
"What was that all about, Meyrin?" Adam whispered.
"I'll tell you later."
"Oh, are you going to hit a woman too?" Luna snarled at Athrun as they stared at each other.
Athrun sighed and the anger left his eyes. "I admit I was at fault for this morning's incident. I don't want to make excuses for it, but you're misunderstanding things. Stop acting so snobbish because of that."
The red-head raised her right eyebrow. "Misunderstanding? There's nothing to misunderstand, but I get it. Fine then, I'll be much more careful when Lacus-sama is around."
Athrun leaned forward at the shorter girl. "Don't make me repeat myself…."
"There's nothing to worry about. I get the relationship between you two VERY well." She saluted quickly and walked off in the opposite direction. Athrun sighed at the situation.
"You did WHAT?" Adam and Athrun yelled at Meyrin at the same time.
"I tricked her. I made her think that Adam and I were having sex." Meyrin tried to make herself look smaller.
"Hmm, that would explain all the moaning and screaming I heard from the next room." Athrun rubbed his chin.
Adam sighed. "Meyrin, as far as pranks go…that was a good one." He chuckled.
"Adam!" Athrun scolded.
"I know, I know, I'm getting to it. Even so, don't you think that's a little over the line?"
"Yeah, I guess, especially after what I heard Lumi saying after she stopped by your room, Daicho."
"You…you heard?" Athrun started to panic.
"Not that much really, I was waking up. I hardly remember a thing." Meyrin lied through her teeth.
"Oh, okay. Well, use more judgement next time you decide to play a joke, clear?"
"Yes, sir." Both of them said.
"Well then, dismissed."
Shinn sighed. "You know Luna, I'd go with you if you really wanted me to. 'It's better to take journeys with friends.' That's the saying isn't it?"
"Bah, I don't think so. Who would want to go out with a big baby like you?"
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Nope, I'm going back to my room and getting changed. Then I'm going to head out and get some shopping done, ALONE."
"Luna! What is wrong with you today?"
"It's nothing, I just don't really feel like being around people I know today." She walked off.
"She can be so weird." Shinn shrugged as he went back to his own room to grab his civilian clothes.
Adam finished tapping his foot into his shoe when a buzz came at his door. "Adam, it's me."
"Come in." He said as he slipped his foot into the other shoe.
Meyrin came in. "Hey, ready to go?"
Once he finished tying his shoe he stood up. "Almost, I've got one more thing to take with me, and wow! You look great Meyrin!" She wore pink and orange light jacket with the collar flipped up, very short blue shorts, and a white hat with her favorite sunglasses on top of them.
She blushed at his comment. "You don't look too bad yourself." Adam wore his sunglasses on top of his orange hair, an open dark blue athletic vest with a white t-shirt, and long khaki cargo pants.
"Thanks. Gimmie a second would ya?" He turned to his dresser. "Now where did I put those? Aha!" He pulled out the two knives he bought in Carpentaria. Meyrin gasped as she saw the blades again. Her eyes trembled as Adam turned to her. "Oh, don't worry Meyrin. I'm over that already." Adam smiled. "Once you gave me something to live for, that is. I'm taking these with me for protection."
Meyrin sighed in relief. "Protection?"
"Yeah, protection. Diocvia was liberated from the EAF after all. I'm worried that there might still be some EAF spies or something." He flipped the first knife open and shut and stuck it in his shoe. He did the same to the other and slipped it into a pocket. After that, the Falcon pilot wrapped his girlfriend in a warm embrace. "I've got to make sure my special someone is safe after all."
Meyrin sighed as she closed her eyes and put her head against him. "You're so sweet, Adam."
Shinn wandered aimlessly around town in his white and gray sweatshirt and khaki pants. "Just as I thought, there isn't much to do around a city that's being repaired." But he passed a vehicle renting store and he smiled. "Woah! What a bike! And there are a lot of cliffside roads around here. Maybe I can have some fun after all!" Shinn snapped his fingers. "Hey pops! How much to rent that red Kawasaki for a day? Hey cool I just made a product placement. You're welcome Kawasaki!"
As the repair and re-supply to Minerva continued, Captain Gladys sat at her desk reading the profile of Heine Westenfluss. "He's no ordinary reinforcement. Really, what is he thinking, that Chairman?"
Adam, Meyrin, Vino, and Youlan sat at a table at the front of a restaurant. A waitress came up to the table. "How may I help you today?"
"I'll take an orange soda ice." Adam said.
"Strawberry sherbet for me." Meyrin licked her lips.
"I'll take a vanilla milkshake." Vino added his in.
"Mmmm, root beer float sounds nice." Youlan finished it off.
"I'll bring them out to you shortly." The woman left.
Once she was out of earshot, Youlan and Vino were whooping. "Wow! Did you check her out?" was Vino's comment.
"Did I? I had to look twice to take her all in!" Youlan countered. "Diocvia girls are real babes! I want one."
Meyrin picked two pebbles out of her shoes and flicked them into the boys' foreheads. After getting a satisfactory yelp of pain from them, she scoweled. "What are you talking about in front of a lady?"
"What lady?" They said at the same time.
Adam pounded his side of the table and Vino and Youlan's end hit them in the chin. "Watch it guys. You might be my friends, but my girlfriend comes first."
"Hey, you two have already hooked up. Athrun's hooked up. We're thinking this love bug is contagious, so we're just trying to pick candidates." Youlan rubbed his chin.
"Candidates?" The couple yelled. "This isn't some type of dating show you know!"
"We know that, we're just fantasizing. And after seeing a babe like that, we'll be doing so for a while." Vino smiled and looked up to the sky.
Little did Vino know that the waitress was right behind him. Her eyebrow twitched. "Ahem." Vino and Youlan reeled back. "Here are your orders." She carefully placed them on the table, and before she walked away she glared at the two boys. "I'll be having fantasies too, about ripping you to shreds in very painful and torturous ways." With that said, she walked away.
The two mechanics stopped dead in their tracks and paled. Adam and Meyrin started laughing at them as they shook out of it. "That girl thinks she's getting a tip, no way." They grumbled.
From the roof of a building across the street, a man watched them through binoculars. He hung them around his neck and revealed the blue beret he had on his head. "Coordinators from the flagship Minerva, eh? Lucky."
Shinn raced through the mountain roads on his rented red motorcycle. His hair swirled in the breeze as he accelerated, and his loose clothing flapped around. But no matter how fast he rode or farther he went, he couldn't run from his own mind.
"If war ended, there would be no need for weapons. Thus, there would be no profit in it. But it's quite lucrative for them if wars do come around. And thus, they would want wars to exist, by any means necessary."
Those were the words of Chairman Dullindal the day before.
" 'Killing because someone was killed…Being killed because you killed…Is that really going to lead to peace?' A friend asked me that once. I couldn't answer back then, and even now, I haven't found an answer. Yet I'm back in this uniform, and back in battle once again."
Athrun's phrases rang true over the sound of his engine.
"People have been crying those words for all of time, those who think of war as industry and have made them by themselves for their own profit."
Dullindal's speech made him grit his teeth. How could someone profit over a war that cost the lives of his family? It was one thing he could still not grasp.
"Why is all of this necessary now? Didn't we pledge? Didn't we all pledge to take the path to understanding each other? To go hand in hand so that this tragedy won't happen a second time?"
Cagalli's preaching continued to disturb him, even after all this time.
"Hailling the ZAFT battleship, Minerva. You are nearing the territorial waters of the Emirates of ORB. We cannot permit you to cross the territorial line."
The battle against the EAF took the biggest toll on him, and also was his greatest moment, where he discovered his capabilities.
"That's why…I'm begging you…I want you to finish them off! Burn that battery to the ground for good! I'm begging you, please!"
At that moment, he had realized what a fool he had been, but now…?
"Even now, the shadows of war hide them, but the Logos are definitely there. They are the ones that gave birth to Blue Cosmos. And that's why it's so difficult. As long as those people tug at the strings, Earth and PLANT will fight. If there's something, anything, that I can do, I would like to do it."
Dullindal's most important words changed his attitude. His joyride was taken over by anger, anger that needed to be worked off. Thus, he kept riding.
The four young teens from Minerva continued walking through the bazaar, window shopping, and in some cases, just plain shopping. Many of the items they saw were of good quality, but highly priced. As they entered another café section, a shiver ran down Adam's spine. As Meyrin and Vino started playfully arguing about any old topic, he walked next to Youlan and started looking around. "Youlan…."
"Ah, you felt it too huh?"
"Yeah, the atmosphere changed. Something's up."
"Also, the number of people in this area is less than the other areas, and they're not reacting normally. All of them are giving us looks while trying to hide it."
"There are also a lot of alleyways around here." Adam saw a human-sized movement in one of them and gasped. "Something's going to happen."
"I know."
"Do you have an emergency beacon with you?"
"Yeah. I do."
"Crack it now. We're in a bad spot."
"Gotcha." Youlan pulled out his dog tags and snapped one of them in half.
In one of the dark alleyways the man in the blue beret spoke into a radio. "Saiksen kaishi." (Commence operation).
Shinn put the kickstand down and dismounted the bike. He had found a nice scenic ocean view off of a cliff. He stretched and smelled the crisp salty air as the breeze tossed his hair slightly. Over the crashing of the waves against the rocks, he started to hear singing. The voice of a girl singing. He turned towards the sound. On the next jut on the cliff was a golden blonde haired girl with purple eyes, singing softly as she spun and danced in her blue, white, and purple dress. Though he didn't realize it, it was the same girl that he bumped into at Armory One. As she continued to spin forward, Shinn smiled and looked away, glad that someone else was able to enjoy the day. That is, until she let out a squeak, and a splash reached his ears. "Eh?" He turned towards the cliff she was on a moment before. The happy musician was gone. "No way, don't tell me that she…!" He ran onto her cliff and spun around searching for her. As Shinn looked down over the edge, he could see the girl splashing madly below. "She fell in! No way!" He took notice of her flailing motion. "She can't even swim? Eh!" He stood up and took off his jacket. After tossing it away he leapt in after her, feet first.
By now she was starting to sink, her lungs holding in the last breath she had taken. She had let it go by the time that Shinn reached her and grabbed her waist. Instinct took over her mind as she tore away from him, but her strength left her and he pulled the girl up to the surface. As they broke, her lungs took a deep breath and her energy returned along with her instincts. She unwittingly tried to fight against her savior, and scratched him hard on the cheek as he held her at arms length. Losing his grip, she started to sink again, and he dove under her and grabbed her waist again, pulling her back. "Damn it!" He said breaking the surface. "Calm down!" He said as she continued to flail, sending them both backwards into the water.
Moments later, the girl was floating on her back on top of Shinn, who also was floating in the same manner, holding her tightly as they looked up at the seagulls as they caught their breaths. They had finished with their struggling and now all was calm, but their hearts were still racing. Two gulls circled above them calling out to their friends. "Oh sure, laugh it up birdbrains." Shinn shook his free fist at the unkind birds. He surveyed his surroundings and found a cave in the rocks. "Hey, I'm gonna move you over to the land. Just stay calm and we'll be there shortly."
She didn't let out a sound as they moved towards the coast. When the water was shallow enough to walk in Shinn put the girl's arm over his shoulder and they both walked their exhausted forms into water that you could kneel in, where they threw themselves onto the sand. The blonde coughed as Shinn flipped his water-drenched form over into a sitting position as he caught his breath. The girl in the soaking wet dress turned her head to see her savior for the first time. "Were you planning to die or something, idiot?" Shinn snapped. The girl's world just stopped as the forbidden word triggered her flight instinct with intense fervor. "If you can't swim, why were you being so careless in a place like that?" His anger faded as he saw her reaction.
Her face was the epitome of fear as she backed away, letting out stuttering squeaks. "N…no." When her back hit a rock she started shivering. "I don't want to die. No!" She took off towards the sea, not realizing that she was heading for certain doom.
"Hey, wait a minute! What's wrong?" Shinn went after her with a new burst of energy.
"No! I don't want to die! I'm afraid!" Her feet were slipping on the rocks as the water kept getting deeper.
"Hey, hold it! That's why I'm telling you not to go!" Shinn said as he grabbed her again.
She fought against him as she cried. "I don't want to die! If I'm shot, I'll die!" She elbowed him hard, causing a small trickle of blood to come out of his mouth as he hit the water. She lost her balance on a jagged rock and fell as well.
"I get it! This girl must've…she must have been there when the EAF…damn it!" He went after her again.
"No! Please not that! I'm afraid! I'm afraid to die!" Her strength was leaving her.
Shinn yanked her up, turned her around, and cradled her head as he held tightly to her. "Ah, I get it. You'll be fine. You're not gonna die." She gasped as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll do it. I'll protect you!" His words brought to her mind a certain masked man named Neo. She sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. This was my fault. I'm really sorry. It'll be okay now."
The four young teens approached a soda shop with some large outdoor tables. Adam and Youlan nodded to each other, and Adam spoke up. "Hey, I'm thirsty. Let's grab a drink."
"I could go for something too." Youlan saw his plan.
"But we just had ice cream." Meyrin looked to her boyfriend.
"Meyrin." He looked at her with the gravest look ever. "Please."
"U…u…unh." She nodded as she sat down. Vino looked between them and shrugged, not getting it.
Adam walked up to the cashier of the store. "Hey Youlan, what do you want?"
"Just get me whatever." He said as he stood by the table.
"Okay, I'll have two Lemonade-Lime sodas." Adam said.
The man glared at him. "That'll be 3.50."
"Here you go." Adam pulled out a 5. The man took it and put it in the register and went to the soda table. "Hey, I gave you a five, where's my change?" He said reaching for the metal napkin case.
"Right here!" The man said as he pulled out a pistol from under the station.
Adam flung the napkin dispenser at the pistol before the man could line up a shot. They connected and the shot deflected. "Youlan!" The boy cried as he leapt over the counter, pulling out the knife from his pants in the process.
"Hit the deck!" Youlan cried as he kicked the table over. Meyrin, Vino, and Youlan dove behind it just as it began to rain bullets.
Adam sliced open the neck of the man that attempted to kill him and grabbed his weapon from the floor. From the alleyways opposite of the store, three gun toting men came out wearing blue on some part of their clothing. "Your race has ended Coordinator! For a pure and blue world!" One of them cried.
Meyrin screamed as Adam fired shots from over the counter into the attacking men, taking one out. "Who the hell are these guys?" He yelled as he jumped over the counter and rolled into the back of the table, dodging another hail of bullets.
"It's Blue Cosmos! Damn extremists!" Youlan said as Vino cowered.
An orange haired Coordinator walked through the bazaar sipping on a soda in full uniform. "Well, I'm glad that girl turned in my forms. This is a really nice day today." Heine sighed as he stretched. Then the sound of gunshots reached his ears. "What the…?" His phone rang in his pocket, which he quickly answered. "Westenfluss."
"There's an emergency beacon active in the bazaar, can you assist?"
"Affirmative." He said as he pulled out his pistol and ran towards the sounds.
After more shots at the enemy, the familiar clicking sound of an empty gun made Adam drop down behind their shield again. "Shit! It's empty! I don't have another clip!"
"Then it's time for you to say sayonara, you monster!" Another radical came out from the alley to the left of them and lowered his machine gun at them.
Everything went in slow motion for the four doomed teens as Adam held Meyrin, using himself as a shield for her. A bullet pierced the brute's back, and a man with a red ZAFT uniform with a FAITH emblem ran in front of him as he began to fall. Heine pointed his pistol at the man's head. "Sayonara." He pulled the trigger.
"Heine-san!" Adam and Meyrin cried as he dove behind their shield.
"Never a dull moment is there? Just the way I like it!" He smiled as he put his pistol down. He took off for the machine gun that the man had carried, just as another one came forward. "Shit!" He said as the rifle was leveled at him. A knife flew past his ear and embedded itself in the dangerous man's forehead. Heine took a quick glance back as he picked up the gun. Adam still had his arm outstretched and he was panting heavily. Heine smiled for a second as he cocked his new weapon and began firing as he ran behind them, strafing the charging men, taking them out.
Heine knocked out a second table and took cover behind it. With his weapon he picked off the men that continued to come from the alleys. What he didn't see was the man emerging from the alley behind him and to his left. "Hey, look out!" Vino cried as he saw the man. In the time it took for Heine to turn his head, three bullets embedded themselves into the evil Natural's heart. The one behind the now smoking pistol was Meyrin.
Heine took out the last of the emerging Naturals and the gunfire stopped. On the roof looking down on them was the man with the beret. "Damn it!" He reached down and lugged a rocket launcher onto his shoulder. "Why won't you Coordinators die? For a pure and blue world!"
A shot echoed through the square, and the man fell off the roof, splatting onto the concrete below. "Zulu, Alpha, Zulu, two, nine, five! You're clear!" A man called down from the roof where the man used to stand.
"Shank you!" Heine said as he stood up and waved to the ZAFT soldier on the roof. "We're clear guys, it's safe now."
Meyrin's eyes trembled as she stayed in the same position as when she fired the weapon. Adam put his hands around hers. "Meyrin." She gasped suddenly. "It's okay. It's over." Her hands lost all grip, and the pistol fell to the concrete. She doubled over and started to sob. Adam wrapped his arms around her as he whispered into her ear. "It's okay, you're safe now. Nothing else bad is going to happen."
Youlan and Vino stood up. Vino made a face. "Look at that! I'm in shock too! Why can't I get treatment like that?"
"Would you like me to instead?" Youlan shot him a glance.
"On second thought, screw the shock." Vino took a step away.
Heine pulled out his phone. "The danger has passed with no visible injuries, but get a medical team down here just in case." He sighed as he closed the phone. "Well, this is turning out to be quite the eventful day."
As the sun began to set on the water, Shinn gingerly placed the blonde girl on a rock in a dry spot at the entrance to a cave. She continued sobbing, and she was still in a rather depressed state. "Hey, it'll be okay now." Shinn said as he sat down in front of her. "I…I'm going to protect you."
The word protect triggered a reaction, as she stopped crying and looked straight into his red eyes. "Protect?"
Shinn nodded. "So you'll be okay. No matter what happens, you won't die." He kindly placed his hand on hers.
In an unexpected move, she took his and in both of hers and placed it against her cheek. Her eyes shone at its kind warmth. "Protect?"
Shinn nodded once more. "Protect. Definitely." She just sighed as she held his hand for a moment. Though nothing was said, Shinn knew she was greatful. He stood up and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. After he rang it out, he started drying her hair. "Are you cold?" She didn't respond as he caught the sight of blood. He knelt down to her leg, where she was bleeding from her ankle. "You must have cut yourself on a rock. Does it hurt?" Being the numb person she normally was, she didn't notice until he mentioned it. At the new pain, she squeaked slightly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that." Shinn smiled as he rang out the hankie again. He tied the piece of blue-green fabric to her ankle tightly.
"Eh? This is…."
"It's yours now. I got it a long time ago in a country far away, so take good care of it."
"Unh." She whispered.
Shinn stood up and looked around, seeing only rocks, a cave, a few dead branches, and ocean. He spoke to himself as he continued surveying. "What are we going to do now? She can't swim, so I can't take her anywhere." He sighed as he pulled out one of his dog tags from around his neck. "I'll probably be scolded later, not to mention the rumors, but there's no other option. Oh well, one emergency beacon, coming up." He snapped apart the tag.
As the medics checked up on Adam, Heine felt it was a great time to give the poor boy an earful. "What were you thinking, picking a fight with Blue Cosmos? You had two knives and they had Uzis. You could have gotten everyone killed!"
"I've told you this before, I didn't provoke them, they planned this." The boy shot a glare at him as the medic plucked a small piece of shrapnel from his skin. "Ow! Look, the whole thing was a trap that we got stuck in. Youlan cracked the beacon before the shit hit the fan."
"Then why'd you walk into it to begin with? Baka!"
"By the time we realized what was going on, we were already surrounded. If we turned around and headed the other way, they would have jumped out and shot us in the back. If we had let on that we knew about the plan, they would have attacked anyway. There was absolutely no way to avoid it!"
"Fine, fine. I'll let it slide." The orange haired FAITH boy stopped another medic. "How are the others?"
"Physically, the same as him, but that girl is still in shock. I'm going to recommend a counselor for her."
"Mind if I try my hand first?" Adam asked. "I think I can get through to her."
"I'm sorry, but in this condition there's a high probability that you might make things worse. I can't let…."
"I authorize it." Westenfluss broke in.
"What?"
"I authorize it. Adam will go and see what he can do for her. He is her boyfriend after all."
"But didn't you hear what I just said?" The medic said.
"Didn't you see the emblem on my collar? This is an order." Heine pointed to his FAITH insignia. "Now let him see her."
"Hai." The medic grumbled.
"Thanks, Westenfluss-san." Adam sighed in relief.
"Heine, call me Heine. I figured I owed both you and that girl of yours, considering you two saved my ass twice."
"You've just got to learn to look behind you, Heine-san."
The man just laughed. "Maybe you're right, maybe not. You should go check on your girl."
"Yeah, thanks." Adam said as he grabbed a blanket from the medical truck and headed towards the pigtailed girl.
Inside the cave, Shinn had fashioned a drying rack for his and the girl's clothes out of some large branches. Next to them was a small fire made of some small dry twigs. He and the girl sat back to back to make sure they didn't see each other's top-naked forms, even though it didn't seem like the girl didn't really care, she huddled her knees against her chest for warmth. Shinn broke the uneasy, and rather uncomfortable silence. "So are you from Diocvia? What's your name? You do know what I'm saying, right?"
"My name…Stellar. Town…I don't know."
Shinn picked up an unlit stick and prodded the fire. "Then who do you normally stay with? Your mother, or father perhaps?"
"Neo…Sting…Auel…are the ones. Father…and mother…I've never known."
Shinn lowered his head. "Oh. Something really traumatic must have happened to you."
"Traumatic?" Stellar echoed as she turned towards him slightly.
"Um, sorry! I was just thinking out loud. You're alright now, remember?" He turned his head and looked at her with one eye. 'The poor thing.' He thought to himself. 'Hey, she's got a really smooth back. Hey wait a minute!' He turned away quickly and pulled his legs up to his chest. "I mean I'll be here to protect you, yeah."
"Stellar will be protected? I won't die?" A little more happiness came into her voice.
Shinn turned towards her again. "Yeah. You won't die. You'll be safe." He turned away quickly as he realized he was staring at her back again. 'I don't know whether to be happy about this situation or embarrassed.' "Um, I'm Shinn. Shinn Asuka."
"Shinn?"
"Yeah, Shinn." He unwittingly turned again. "Do you think you can remember it?"
She turned away and clasped her hands together with a joyful smile on her face. "Shinn."
She stood up suddenly, giving the boy a perfect view of her posterior, thankfully covered in underwear. A part of his mind embraced that image, but the rest of him was confused at her actions. Stellar rummaged through her drying dress and clasped something in her hands. She turned towards him, cradling the unknown item, but also giving him a look at her nakedness. His hair stood on end as he turned away as fast as possible and buried his face in his knees. "Umm…that's a bit…well…."
"Here." Stellar stood next to him and held her hand out in front of his face.
"For me?" He turned back towards her instinctively, getting an even closer view than before at her shameless display. Shinn closed his eyes and shook the image from his head as he blushed wildly. After pausing for a second, he opened his eyes and took the small item from her hand. "You're giving this to me?" It was a small piece of pink opalescent shell, appearing to be only one part of a whole piece. "Arigato." Shinn once again turned, and whipped back around. "Agh, dammit! I did it again!" He pounded his palm into his forehead as Stellar smiled and sat back to back with him again.
Adam stopped next to Meyrin as she sat on a wall, her feet dangling over the edge. The setting sun made it hard to see her eyes, but the rest of her face was total sadness. Adam unfurled the blanket and draped it over her shoulders. He mounted the wall and rubbed her back. This action continued for at least five minutes, but the time was lost between them. Finally, the boy spoke. "The ice cream place had some good stuff, didn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I liked the selection that the music store had. Not often you find vintage vinyl."
"Yeah."
"And then there was that clothing store! I swear, if I hadn't pulled you away from all those soft fuzzy sweaters, you'd have been there all day!"
The girl chuckled. "Yeah."
"Oh, but that last shop was terrible! Did you notice that all the sodas they had tasted metallic?"
"Yeah." Meyrin continued to chuckle.
Adam took a deep breath and held her close. "That was your first time, wasn't it?"
Her laughing stopped cold, and her voice almost dropped off. "Yeah."
"Everyone has to have a first time at some point when you're in war, Meyrin, you know that, right?"
"Yeah."
He whispered into her ear. "Meyrin, I know what you're going through. My first kill was the day I came out of that hole in the ground."
"But when I close my eyes…."
"You can see his face. I know. I'm the same way with mine, not a day goes by when I don't see their faces."
"My chest hurts. The pain won't go away, will it?"
"No. That's the reality of the situation, Meyrin. I'm not going to lie to you and say that nothing has changed, because everything has changed. Meyrin, look at me." She lifted her head and her tearstained pale blue orbs met with his brown ones. "It's up to you as to if it changes for the better or not. We have to keep going forward."
"I know." The girl whispered as she put her head down again. "It's just…."
"It's just what?"
"It's just…so cold now. I can't stop shaking." She whimpered. "This blanket isn't enough to keep me warm."
"I understand." Adam held the girl's hands in his. "Then let me warm you now, and we'll make it through this together." Meyrin nodded as a tear ran down her cheek. Adam wrapped himself in the blanket with her and held her closer than ever before, and they shared a long, necessary kiss.
As the blue-black sky of the night overtook the ocean, the fire had died out inside the cave, the clothes were relatively dry, and they were back on their respective owners. Shinn and Stellar huddled together as a boat motor sounded from outside. A bright light entered the cave, making them flinch. Athrun called into it from the boat. "You activate your emergency beacon when on shore leave? When you pull something, you manage to do it with flair, I'll give you that."
Shinn emerged, shielding his eyes from the bright light. "Daicho!"
"I'm not sure I want to know how you managed to get stuck in a place like this."
"Hey, I didn't really get stranded. It's just that…." Shinn continued on as Stellar came out of the cave and hid behind the boy, grabbing his arm.
"Hmm?" Athrun's eyebrows raised in surprise. A smaller boat came out to the shallow water, and the pilot tossed Shinn a blanket, which he draped over the girl. They were taken into the larger vessel and started to work their way around the rocks towards port.
Athrun pulled Shinn aside and asked for an explanation. "She fell off the cliff I was by and went into the ocean. I dove in after her and I pulled her out here, but since she can't swim, we weren't able to find a way out."
"Do you know if she's from Diocvia?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Her past…it seems to be jumbled in her mind."
"Eh?"
"My guess is that she's like me, losing her parents, and then going through some really bad times. I just hope no one had raped her or anything like that."
"You mean you didn't find out first hand?"
"Daicho!"
"Okay, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. So, what's her name?"
"Stellar."
"No last name?"
"She won't tell me."
"How about her home? Where she lives?"
"Like I said, her memories are all out of place it seems. I'm not sure if she even knows herself."
"Well, it's a unique name. Even so, without any other information, we'll have to take her back to base and do a background check on her."
As they passed the cliff where she fell off, two male voices reached her sensitive ears. "Stellar!" Sting called out.
"Oy! Stellar! Where'd you go, kono baka?" Auel insulted her absent form with real concern. At the sound of their voices she stood up and looked back, smiling widely.
Shinn, who was still comforting her, looked up onto the cliff. "Daicho! I think we just got our lead!"
The cleanup work was done on the scene of the battle, as Adam and Meyrin watched the stars together. Heine kept an eye on them from a short distance. "Okay people, we're moving out!"
"Um, Westenfluss-san." Vino yawned as he came up to the man. "What about them?" He motioned to the couple.
"We'll let them come back on their own. Night's still young after all." He shrugged as he walked away. Vino shrugged as he followed in short order.
After the boat docked, Shinn, Athrun, Stellar, and a driver piled into a jeep and headed for the cliffs. A black sports car was driving the opposite way. Shinn stood up and squinted for a moment. "I think that's them!"
"Okay, stop the car." Athrun said to the driver. He hit the breaks and honked the horn to get them to stop.
As the sports car screeched to a halt, Stellar let out a happy cry. "Sting!"
"Eh?" Auel said as he looked over his seat.
"Stellar?" Sting gasped in surprise as he started to come out of the car.
"Hey! That's a ZAFT Jeep!" Auel gripped his headrest.
"Sting!" The girl ran barefoot, with the blanket wrapped around her towards them. Shinn and Athrun took their time heading for them as well.
"Hey, that's a red uniform." Auel stated the obvious.
"Shush!" Sting hissed. Stellar panted happily as she threw herself into him. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Um, she fell into the ocean. I happened to be nearby, so I went in after her. I'm glad we found you, though. Since there's so little we know about her, so we really didn't know what to do with her." Shinn came up to the group.
"Oh I see. I should apologize. I got a little suspicious for a second. Thank you for all the trouble you've gone through to return her to us." Sting acted totally professional.
Auel stared at them in hatred, until Athrun noticed. When he turned his head, the sky-blue haired boy was looking away. Then a flash of memory came to Athrun, realizing he saw three people quite similar to them on Armory One the day the Gundams were stolen. He shrugged it off and told the driver to swing the jeep around. "Well then. We should get going."
Sting's playacting continued as Athrun and Shinn hopped into the Jeep. "ZAFT has taken great care of us. Thank you again."
On impulse, Stellar walked up to the side of the automobile. "Shinn, you're leaving?"
"Eh? Um, sorry, but yeah. I have to." Stellar sighed at this news. "But now you're back with your brothers, right? You'll be okay now." She let out a sorrowful tone. "Um, oh boy…. Hey, tell you what. I'll come visit you sometime, okay?"
"Eh?" Stellar looked into his eyes.
"We're going now, Shinn." Athrun sighed.
"Ah…Hai." He responded. As the jeep started to move, Stellar took a few steps forward after it. "I'm really sorry, Stellar! But I promise you…I'm positive… really… that we'll meet again!"
"Shinn." She peeped.
"Stellar! I'll come see you sometime soon!" He said as the car rounded a corner.
"Shinn…" She sighed.
"Geez, that gave me a scare." Auel said as he flipped into his seat. "What a pain."
"Yeah, no kidding." Sting said as he shut the car door and started it up. "Stellar, let's get going."
"Shinn…. He promised. He promised he'd protect Stellar."
"Stellar! Get in the car!" Sting demanded. She complied as she got in the back seat, eyeing the handkerchief on her ankle.
As they drove off, Auel whispered into Sting's ear. "Looks like a complete overhaul."
"Yeah."
Once again, Shinn looked back, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde beauty. Athrun took notice of his reaction, and wondered what really happened in that cave.
Meyrin sighed as she leaned into Adam. "You're so warm."
"I could say the same thing."
"Adam, thank you. Without you here…. What would I ever do without you?"
"I think that's my line." Adam said right before he kissed her again. When they broke, he looked at his watch. "We should start heading back."
"Yeah." Meyrin hopped off the wall and turned around with a big smile on her face. "Now, let's start planning our next prank! I think I've got one that would get Ray good."
"There's the Meyrin I know and love." Adam dismounted and he draped the blanket over them as they slowly made their way back to Minerva. Behind them, two shooting stars traced parallel paths in the night sky.
Life Goes On.
Chapter 11 Preview: A battle can determine the winner or loser between those that fight. But it does not mean the end to all battles. As ORB forces join the EAF in their retaliation, the hearts of three ZAFT pilots become troubled. Will they have to fight the nation that they had known best? And what is this new force playing its hand? Next time on Old Friends Anew: The Blade that Splits the Sky. Blast your way through the maze of fire, Freedom!