Athrun slowed down at the gate, and spared a glance at his passenger
Athrun slowed down at the gate, and spared a glance at his passenger. James Daurio sat in his seat comfortably, hands in his lap, fingers laced together.
"Name, please."
"Athrun Zala," he said, and James smirked. Athrun drove in, then looked at James again. "What's so funny?"
"You, man," James said, smiling. He was wearing sunglasses, and the smile reminded him too much of Creuset. "Just because you're a soldier doesn't mean you have to be serious all the time. Your buddy Elsman is proof of that."
"Have you heard anything on that topic?" Athrun asked, turning the wheel.
"Last I heard, they made it down fine," James said, unbuckling his seatbelt. He stepped out and took a deep breath, stretching. "Now this is what I call a nice view."
Athrun smiled and nodded. The Clyne estate was certainly beautiful, as well as massive. He looked at the staircase leading to the home itself, and suddenly cried out as a Haro narrowly missed his head. James walked around carefully as more of the round machines arrived, circling them.
"I'm sorry, they're excited to see you," a voice said, and James looked up to see Lacus Clyne herself. "It's been a while, Mr. Daurio."
James nodded. "Yup. Very true, Miss Clyne," he said, bowing. Athrun looked at him in surprise, and James suddenly went red in the face. "I always felt weird just saying hi to her, and I don't do the whole 'kneel on one foot and kiss the hand' routine. Alex always hated that," he explained.
Athrun nodded, a smile appearing on his face when he remembered a few moments when that happened. Especially when he'd first met Lacus.
He and Alex wore matching green uniforms, waiting patiently for the person they were to escort. Alex tugged at his collar, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Athrun asked.
"You know me. I hate wearing these formal clothes. They're too frickin' stiff," Alex said. "If I ever get promoted, I'm getting my clothes custom tailored."
The door in front of them slid open, and the two stared as a young girl with long pink hair stepped in, wearing a white dress. Her mouth immediately formed into a smile, and Alex leaned in towards Athrun. "Remember how my mom said angels existed? I told you she was right."
Athrun nodded, smiled, and the two saluted. "Miss Clyne, Athrun Zala, Alex Kolodziej. We're your escorts this evening."
Lacus nodded graciously. "Thank you. I see you take this very seriously."
"Told you we'd overdo it," Alex whispered, grinning. "We'd have been better off just saying 'Hi, how are you'."
"Yeah, he did," Athrun said softly.
Lacus sat down and picked up a Haro, painting a moustache on it. "I prayed for your mother on you behalf while you were gone, Athrun," she said quietly.
James looked at Athrun, silent, while Athrun looked surprised that she would do that. "More and more of my friends are enlisting," she said sadly.
"I'm sure they're doing what they think is right," James said, shrugging.
"I feel like this war is escalating," she continued. "I wonder what Kira's doing."
James frowned, and Athrun just shook his head on the subject. "He's probably down on Earth somewhere."
"Were you friends for a long time?" She asked.
"Since we were four or five. Alex met him a year after I did. Alex and I came back to the PLANTs when my father asked us to, though," Athrun said.
"When Kira learned about Mr. Pink, he told me his Birdy was also made by you."
"He still has Birdy?" Alex asked, surprised. I didn't think he'd keep it this long.
"Friendship doesn't die easily, Zala," James said. "After all, Alex and I were good friends, probably as close as you and this Kira were."
"How do you know Alex, Mr. Daurio?" Lacus asked.
James laughed then. "Basic training. "I was a bully back then. Alex straightened me out."
"How?" Athrun asked.
"By kicking me in the face," James replied, and Athrun smirked at that. Lacus once again had a sad expression on her face. "He always did prefer to solve his problems with his fists," she said.
"You can't blame him," James said. "After his aunt died-"
"Athrun didn't turn out like that," Lacus interrupted.
"Alex lost his whole family, Miss Clyne. Athrun still had his father, you, and Alex. Alex shut himself off from everyone."
Nicol sat at home, watching a speech being made by Zala. His father came in, looking tired. "Operation Spit Break needs to be approved, if we're going to end this war," he said, hanging his coat. Nicol looked at him, sitting behind the piano.
"It'll mean going back to the battlefield," his father said, walking over to him. "But I'm proud of you," he said, putting his hands on Nicol's shoulders. Nicol watched as his parents left, then he sighed and began playing the piano.
Siegel Clyne rushed up to Patrick Zala in a corridor and matched his pace. "Just thought you'd like to know the notion for Operation Spit Break will likely be approved."
"Good," Patrick said instantly.
"I'm not as sure," Siegel said. "I don't think this is the right way to go about this. If anything, it will only escalate this conflict."
"We coordinators are the new species, Siegel," Patrick answered. "We don't need to coexist with the naturals," he said, hatred in his voice.
"And the decreasing birth rated of third generation coordinators?" Siegel asked. "Is that a sign of our superiority?"
"That problem will be solved soon," Patrick explained. "I don't want to devolve to the level of the naturals." Siegel stopped and stood in the corridor alone as Patrick kept walking. We can't devolve if we never evolved in the first place…Patrick.
A few hours later, the council was called, and Yuri Amalfi proposed Operation Spit Break. Rau was in his room, writhing in pain when the phone rang. He fell off the bed, and with a shaking hand, picked up the phone.
"Spit Break has been approved. We'll meet later and discuss the details."
The line disconnected, and Rau hung up. "You can be as arrogant as you wish, chairman," he rasped.
Kira and Kuzzey walked side by side, Flay following behind. None of them noticed that Zero was following as well, hiding around the corners. Kuzzey stopped Kira. "I'll do it," he said softly. "I don't think you showing up will be good."
Kira nodded, and Kuzzey went into Sai's cell. Murrue, Natarle, and Mu stood together, trying to think of a battle plan. Alex paced next to them in his ZAFT uniform, trying to come up with his own plan.
"There's an area here we can use as our rally point," Sahib suddenly said, touching a single point on the map. Alex zoomed in and studied the data. "It could work," he said slowly. "And if we're lucky, we can get the Lesseps herself into the fray. Take her out, things get easier instantly."
"What about casualties?" Mu asked Sahib. "It's gonna get messy."
"The women just want us to surrender," Sahib said. "It's not going to be that easy. We've been oppressed for hundreds of years, and we're tired of it."
"Thousands," Alex said.
"What?" Sahib asked, confused.
"I'm a bit of a history buff. The problems within the Middle East, regardless of specific conflict, have gone on ever since the Europeans came out here to start trade. I'm not shifting blame, just pointing it out," Alex said coolly.
"We don't want to rule others, nor do we wish to be ruled," Sahib said, and Alex was suddenly reminded of Orb. Not too different from their angle, either.
"All we need is your ships," he said, and Zero's head lifted slightly. He'd been standing there silently since the start, not saying anything. A soft pinging sound suddenly started going off in his helmet, and he quietly walked out of the room into the hall. "Go," he said quietly.
"Still surprised I have your frequency? I'm surprised you haven't changed it."
"Shut up, and talk," Zero said, looking around.
"Got some info for you. Figured you might like to hear it."
"Then tell me, or I'll shut off the frequency," he said, agitated.
The voice on the other line was quiet, but deep, muffled. "There's been reports of an unknown mobile armor tearing through ZAFT patrols over the ocean."
"A mobile armor? You called me for a mobile armor?" Zero asked, surprised. "You're an idiot."
"Really? How many mobile armors do you know that supposedly transform into a mobile suit?"
Zero stopped in his tracks. "Is it-"
"I don't know. My contacts say it's not the same unit, but it's probably safe to say someone got the blueprints for your friend's prototype. I'm trying to get more info, but that's going to be tricky. If they find out, they might kill me, or they'll force me to come after you. If the Blue Blaze plans on doing anything to end this war, I suggest he starts doing it soon."
Zero lifted his head. "There's something you're not telling me. I can hear it in your voice."
"Just do what you have to. Things are gonna get ugly soon."
The line disconnected. Zero started twisting his hand slightly, and his internal HUD started tracing the call's origins. Come on, come on…find him!
After a few seconds, his log completed its scan. TRACE INCOMPLETE. SIGNAL LOST.
"Damn," he said quietly.
Cagalli got out of the simulator, pleased with herself. "That wasn't so hard," she said. She'd tried out a simulated run against BaCUEs, and had even managed to damage a few. She walked over to the real Sky Grasper, and touched it.
"Hey! You can't use the real one, kid!" Murdoch yelled.
"I know that!" She yelled back, angry. Steve, who had decided to visit the ship, merely smiled. "What?!" She asked when she noticed.
"You really have no patience," he said.
"Wanting to fight the enemy is a bad thing now?" She asked him.
"No. But rushing in blindly is. Like that stunt in the desert. If Yamato hadn't shown up when he did, your friends would have all died," he said calmly.
Cagalli tried to grab him by the collar, but he blocked her hand with ease. "Let them do their job. I'm sure they'll repay you for your help soon."
"I still don't trust Kolodziej," she said coldly. "He's the Blue Blaze, an ace pilot, and-"
"And you don't know a damn thing about him," Steve responded, his eyes burning into hers. "If he wanted to hurt us, believe me, he would. You make a move at him, be prepared for the worst. We got this far thanks to him. Him and Zero. Hurt them, you'll regret it."
Back at the camp, Alex walked out of the tent and looked up at the night sky. What's happening at the PLANTs right now?
"Creuset, I need your assurance that you'll assist me in the 'real' Spit Break," Patrick Zala said, sitting at his desk.
"Of course," Rau said, smiling.
"Good. And keep Daurio out of it."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so, so sorry. My computer died a while ago, and I had to get a new one. The good news is, I shouldn't have anymore problems. The bad news is, this chapter was shorter than I wanted it to be. Sorry. I'll try to make it longer next time. Until then, let me know how I did. Hellshadow