Athrun's Betrayal
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters associated with Gundam Seed.
A/N: Sorry for the sort of sucky title. I couldn't come up with anything better.
Chapter 13 Wins and Losses
Kira and Cagalli were very relieved when they finally returned to the Archangel. Needless to say, everyone on board the Archangel (and off it as well) was relieved when they came back. They began loading supplies onto the ship and began planning for a way to get past the Lesseps. Sahib pointed out a place on the map where the Desert Dawn had set land mines, a perfect place for a battle. While Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, and Kuzzey were blown away by Cagalli's awesome skills in the simulator, Flay hunted Kira down. She found him in the company of Athrun, the two of them strolling hand in hand.
"Um Kira can I talk to you for a moment…she asked shyly, pointedly ignoring Athrun.
"Uh…sure," Kira responded. He dropped Athrun's hand and looked at the dark-haired boy apologetically. Athrun nodded, frowning as Flay put her mar around Kira's waist. The two of them went into a nearby sleeping chamber and sat on the bed side by side.
"What do you want to talk about…Flay!" Kira yelled when Flay started kissing him and moving him so he was lying on the bunk with her on top of him. "Get off!" He pushed Flay off him and stormed out.
"Kira? Kira!" Flay protested.
Athrun was waiting when Kira exited. He could immediately sense that there was something wrong.
"Kira?" he asked softly, stepping forward. Kira's violet eyes were strangely blank. "Kira?"
"Flay…tried to force me to have sex with her." Kira refused to meet Athrun's gaze.
"What?" Athrun asked, disgust evident in his voice.
"I…we…she…started trying to kiss me and laid on top of me. I got her off but…" Kira trailed off.
"You should report her," Athrun said firmly. "Tell the captain about this."
"I don't want to cause trouble." Kira shook his head.
"Kira, this is wrong. She shouldn't be able to get away with this. It's sexual harassment, if not attempted rape."
"I don't want…"
"Kira, listen to me." Athrun shook Kira. "This is something you need to tell someone about, okay? It's not something that happens all the time. You should tell someone."
"I just wanna lay down right now," Kira mumbled.
Athrun sighed softly. "Fine. But if this happens again, you'll tell somebody in charge, okay?"
"Sure." Kira nodded absently.
He and Athrun went to bed.
--
A large transport ship landed in the middle of the desert. Mobile Suits began unloading.
"What is up with those guys at Gibraltar?" Waltfeld asked angrily from inside the headquarters, throwing a thin booklet on his desk. "Why are they sending us ZuOOTs? Are they out of BuCUEs?"
"They said they couldn't provide us with any more," his second-in-command reported. "Perhaps they think they're doing us a favor by sending them."
"The pilots' battle experience is limited to space. They're just going to get in the way."
"They are from an elite unit."
"I don't like the fact that they're from the Le Creuset team. I could never stand that guy."
The young officer couldn't help silently agreeing.
The two Gundams were unloaded and just as Dearka and Yzak were disembarking, they were blasted with sand.
"What are we doing in this god-awful place?" Dearka wondered, holding up the hand that wasn't holding his helmet to protect his eyes from the sand.
"They say you can't really appreciate the desert until you've lived here," a voice said. Yzak and Dearka turned and saw Waltfeld heading towards him with his second-in-command. "So…welcome to the Lesseps. I'm Andrew Waltfeld, the commanding officer here."
"Yzak Joule of the Le Creuset team," Yzak said, saluting. Dearka hastily saluted as well.
"Dearka Elsman, also of the Le Creuset team," he said.
Waltfeld and his second-in-command saluted in response.
"It must have been tough getting down here. We appreciate you coming." Waltfeld smiled slightly. He and his second-in-command lowered their hands.
"Thank you sir." Yzak lowered his hand.
"When one doesn't have a bad scar removed, some might think it's a symbol of your…commitment. Or maybe since you turn your head away, it's a symbol of your…humiliation." Waltfeld smiled.
"Why don't you just tell us where the legged ship is?" Yzak burst out angrily.
Waltfeld walked past him, staring up at the Duel. "Currently, it's at a resistance base approximately 180 kilometers southeast of here." He turned to look at the two boys. "We sent out a reconnaissance drone. You wanna see the pictures?" He stared at the two Mobile Suits. "Yep, these look a lot like the other two."
"Speaking of them, what can you tell us about the fight you had with them?" Dearka asked.
Waltfeld turned, although he looked to be deep in thought.
He shrugged. "Yeah, well we did as well as the Le Creuset Team."
--
The Archangel was busy preparing for its departure. Everyone was running around, trying to accomplish last-minute things. Jeeps were loaded with supplies and good-byes were said. The Archangel took off, surrounded by the Desert Dawn in jeeps.
Kira picked at his food. He wasn't really hungry, but Lt. La Flaga kept putting things on his plate, insisting that he eat them.
"We're going to be going into a battle soon," he said, placing yet another thing on Kira's plate. "You need to keep your strength up. Look, Athrun has finished everything I've given him." Athrun's plate was clean but only because he hadn't really been eating properly lately and he was starving. Plus, the local food was fresh and really tasty. Kira smiled lightly and lifted the fork to his mouth. Suddenly, there was an explosion.
"What was that?" one of the other officers asked.
"Are we under attack?" A second asked.
"They cleared all the mines in one attack," Ahmed murmured from next to Cagalli.
Cagalli's hand angrily curled into a fist. After the smoke cleared, they could see several carriers with Mobile Suits heading right for them.
Kira, Athrun, and Lt. La Flaga put on their flight suits.
"I'd hate to say it, but we just can't rely on the strength of the guerillas," Lt. La Flaga murmured.
"I know," Kira said softly.
He and Athrun both knew that the three of them were the only ones who really stood a chance against the Lesseps.
Lt. La Flaga smiled. "Don't get killed. Either of you."
Kira returned the smile. "Right."
Lt. La Flaga headed for the hangar. Athrun and Kira hung back for a moment.
"Hey," Athrun said softly. "Are you going to be okay?"
Kira blinked. "Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing." Athrun quickly shook his head. He brushed his lips against Kira's. "Be careful out there, okay?"
"Yeah. You too," Kira replied.
They went to the hanger and boarded their machines. Lt. La Flaga launched first in one of the Skygrasper machines. Kira followed and then Athrun. They were immediately met by enemy helicopters. Kira brought up his shield to protect himself from the fire while Athrun brought it down. Several more helicopters were downed by the Archangel's guns. Lt. La Flaga took out several more.
"How many BuCUEs are we dealing with?" Kira asked over the radio.
"I pick up five," Athrun responded. "Commander La Flaga, what do you see?"
"I've got five of them," Lt. La Flaga said, soaring over the battlefield. "Plus two desert carriers, some other Mobile Suits, and a bunch of those damn helicopters."
"Copy that."
"If you two take care of the BuCUEs and the other Mobile Suits, I'll deal with the helicopters."
"Roger." Athrun and Kira landed in the sand and took on the BuCUEs. They swiftly dealt with them.
Suddenly, a strange Mobile Suit launched from one of the carriers. It was four-legged, like the BuCUEs, but it was a vibrant orange color. Kira rushed to face it, but quickly got distracted when another enemy ship came out of hiding and ambushed the Archangel.
"Kira!" Athrun called over the radio. "You deal with that orange suit. I'll protect the Archangel."
"Okay," Kira responded.
The Aegis took off. Cagalli ran for the Archangel.
"Cagalli!" Ahmed cried.
Kira was having much difficulty against the new Mobile Suit. Somehow, he knew that it belonged to Waltfeld. He was blown backward yet again. He was not doing so hot and his power was getting low. Cagalli "borrowed" the second Skygrasper. She fired at one of the carriers. The Duel and the Buster sat on top one of the other carriers.
"Damn it," Yzak growled. "I'm tired of just sitting here!" He took off.
"Yzak!" Dearka protested.
Yzak quickly found out about the little problem with the sand. He started sinking like a rock.
Cagalli took out several guns on one of the carriers.
"Take that!" she declared.
The Archangel shot at the carrier Dearka was sitting atop. He was forced to jump off as the carrier went down. He found himself sinking in the sand as well.
"This could be a problem," he muttered, trying to maneuver.
Finally, Kira managed to do some damage to the enemy Mobile Suit. Waltfeld ordered a retreat, but didn't retreat himself. He tried to convince Aisha to get out, but she stubbornly refused.
"We're both idiots." Waltfeld smirked. "Let's get him!"
The Mobile Suit charged forward. Kira hailed the Desert Tiger over the radio, begging him to surrender, but he wouldn't listen.
"Don't do it Mr. Waltfeld!" Kira begged.
At that moment, the Strike ran out of power. Waltfeld's Mobile Suit's cockpit was full of sparks.
"There's no way to determine the end to this war. There's no choice but to fight. I'm not going to quit! Not until one of us is destroyed!"
Kira thought fast. He got rid of the extra armor and took out the two knives. He charged forward and slammed them into the other Mobile Suit. He stumbled backward and fell as the Mobile Suit exploded. He weakly lifted his head, staring at the bright explosion. Tears streaked down his face.
"It didn't have to end like this!" he cried.
"Kira, are you all right?" Athrun asked worriedly over the radio.
"I'm fine," Kira answered flatly.
"What's wrong?"Athrun asked.
"Nothing. I'm just…tired."
"Okay. The Archangel is on its way over to pick us up."
"All right."
Athrun could sense that something was wrong because of Kira's listless tone, but politely waited until they were alone to press the matter further.
"Kira…I know there's something wrong. Please…tell me. Let me help you," he said softly when they were alone in his sleeping quarters.
"I…killed him." Kira unexpectedly broke down. "I…I killed the Desert Tiger and his girlfriend."
Athrun stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his lover. He held him close. "I…I didn't want it to end like that."
Athrun hugged Kira closer to him. "There was nothing you could have done. Sometimes…" he sighed softly. "Sometimes it has to end like that."
"But it's wrong!"
"I know. None of this is right. But there's nothing we can do."
He's too gentle to be involved in a war like this. Athrun thought. He did the only thing he could—held Kira and tried his best to comfort him.
Outside, the crew of the Archangel and the surviving Desert Dawn members celebrated. Lt. La Flaga, Lt. Bageruil, and Captain Ramius talked with Sahib in the headquarters. Suddenly, a little boy around seven or eight ran in.
"Father," he said breathlessly. "The Chief wants us to honor our fallen warriors."
Sahib nodded in agreement. They stood outside and a cannon was shot off as the Chief read the names of those who had lost their lives. Everyone stood in a respective silence.
The next morning, the Archangel prepared to leave. Cagalli somehow managed to convince Captain Ramius to allow her, Kisaka, and Ahmed to come with them. She said she wasn't going to guarantee that they'd go to Alaska with them, but she convinced them that she and the others could help them. And so the Archangel took off with several new people on board. Athrun and Kira avoided the rest of the crew for the first part of the voyage and stayed in Athrun's room as much as possible. They talked for hours on end about everything and nothing. And Kira was very glad for the company.
To be continued…
A/N: Um…(runs and hides from angry reviewers) please don't kill me. I knew where this was going forever but I had a lot of trouble writing the scene between Athrun and Kira. I was going to have them go have sex but I couldn't bring myself to write a lemon scene so I just ended up leaving it at them going to bed. I'm so pathetic, huh?
Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. I have decided that I am going to continue this into the Gundam Seed Destiny canon but I'm going to make a lot of changes to it. There were a lot of things that I thought could be improved so I will.
About Yzak and his scar: I didn't explicitly state that he had it, like in the series, but it's still there, okay? Or…just there. Whatever. The point is that he has the scar like in the series.
Again, please don't kill me for not updating!! (runs and hides from angry reviewers)