Disclaimer: Gundam Seed Destiny is NOT my property!
Phrase 21: The Revealed and Underlying Scheme
With the news of war against them, ORB has stepped up on security and starts their preparation for war. Murrue had given the order to start repairing the Archangel, in the shortest time possible. Back in the infirmary, Athrun kept trying to push himself off the bed but failing miserably, Neo was fed up with telling him to stay still, Stellar was staring at him in such a way that he felt she was feeling sorry for him. On his next try, the door slide open, two pairs of eyes stared at the scene, and one red head rushed into the room by his side, the other walked in with a frown on her face.
"Athrun!" Meyrin was frantic, as Athrun continued to strain himself, "What are you…" she was cut off here by someone else though.
"What in the world are you doing, Athrun?" the edge in the tone of voice Cher used was unmistakably one of irritation, and everyone stared at her, even the struggling Athrun, "Please enlighten me." She stopped right in front of him, crossing her arms and staring at him.
"…Cher…" Athrun met her gaze, "I want to get up, I want to do something. I don't want to keep lying down here while everything is raging chaos out there." He was finally able to prop himself up on his arm, but he was clearly over straining himself, the tremors along his arm were plainly visible.
"Do something? In this condition?" the irritation in her voice was pinching on danger, "What can you do in this condition? You can't even stand. You are no help like this." Though those words were harsh, they were the truth, "Concentrate on getting well for now, don't bother thinking about anything else." She pushed him back on the bed.
"No, but…!" his words of protest were totally ignored by the violet haired Coordinator.
"Rest." Cher's voice was low and threatening, "Or I'll make you." The warning was clear.
Athrun was frightened by the rather black aura that his childhood friend was emitting, and not wanting to irritate her any further, he meekly nodded and obeyed. Meyrin stared at Cher with what seemed to be admiration. Stellar giggled sheepishly, receiving a pat on the head from Cher. Neo was amazed; he didn't expect her to have such a big influence, much less for the extremely stubborn kid that he had been trying to dissuade to settle down just from having her as the one to say those words.
"Yes?" Cher's voice startled Neo out of his thoughts, "You look like you want to say something, Neo, right?"
"Ah…that's…" Neo stuttered, coughing, "I was wondering why you had so much hold over that kid, Freedom's pilot and that girl."
"Asking about my past?" she was direct, that he would give her.
"Erm, well, yes."
"It's not like I'm secretive about my past or anything, you could just asked if you wanted to know." She said, "By that girl I'm assuming you're referring to Cagalli?" a nod from Neo, "And it's Kira, not Freedom's pilot. He has a name, use it."
"Cher, you know Freedom's pilot? And Cagalli Yula Athha?" Meyrin exclaimed in what seemed to be awe and excitement; after all, she hadn't had much time to speak with Cher on the Minerva.
"Since I'm telling him, you might as well be here to hear it too, Meyrin," Cher motioned for her to sit down, "I know Lacus Clyne too. Athrun, Kira, Lacus and I, we're childhood friends. Though at that point of time Kira and Lacus didn't know each other yet," she started on her story, with three listeners.
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In ORB's headquarters, Djibril was having a talk with Unato Ema Seylan, about how people were lacking common sense, if they had the sense, they would be able to see through Gilbert Dullindal's plot to create a world government where he ruled and ORB wouldn't have anywhere to live in. Unato, nervous and frantic, agrees with him. The LOGOs leader than continues to add, that he has to get to the moon in order to be able to expose Gilbert's plot.
"ORB must temporarily be the victor, and you, being such a wise person, should know what to do." Djibril looked at Unato expectantly.
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As ORB broadcasts its reply to ZAFT's accusations, everyone on board the Archangel listened and watched from the bridge, save for the few confined to the infirmary. Cher stood beside Cagalli, she was worried about her. The situation now weighed on Cagalli's mind, the blond didn't eat much, didn't sleep much, all she had on her mind was preoccupied by the crazy turn of events. ZAFT had always deem ORB as a eyesore, and the once neutral country having left the control of the Athha family went haywire, apparently, the many times when ORB had aided the Alliance and LOGOs against ZAFT was needless to say, more than enough reason for ZAFT to label the once neutral country as their enemy. Especially since now that Djibril had gone and fled to ORB, who for reasons no one could comprehend, had accepted him in, ZAFT was given a totally valid reason to launch an all out war against ORB.
They watched as the representative of ORB, Yuuna Roma Seylan completely denied having accepted Djibril's entrance into the country and that since Djibril wasn't in ORB, ZAFT is infringing their dignity by attacking them. Cher clicked her tongue in annoyance the moment she saw his face on the broadcast, she dislike the man, and for good reasons. But what he said was, to put it simply, lame. The entire ship sighed, some even palmed their faces in exasperation.
Murrue frowned, "I don't think that helps any."
"What he's saying is completely useless," Cagalli was plain upset, adding on to the irritation and anger at herself for not being able to do anything.
"Makes you think how and why he can even make it to this point," Cher muttered, "Not only was that entire broadcast just for the sake of saying something like that, it was also utterly useless. I'm sure they'll get a handful from ZAFT, the chairman isn't naive, and he knew that was a lie. The information of Djibril in ORB was already fully justified. How he can still do such a useless broadcast only to try a lie that everyone can see through, I don't know. It a wonder why he can stay at the top political position when that idiot couldn't even realized that."
Cagalli was distressed, but she knew Cher had a point. Murrue could only hope for the best, as everyone on the Archangel sunk into silence.
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Back at the ZAFT headquarters, they had just watched the broadcast. Gilbert had expected as much, considering the uselessness of the Seylans. He knew, of course, that they were clearly lying. He stood up; drawing on his authority, and all the members of ZAFT focused their undivided attention on him.
"They're trying to cover up for Djibril. This is a lie; there is no mistake that ORB was indeed siding with LOGOs. In this situation, we must drag him out in order to make ORB understand. We will attack!" his voice roared over them.
The military personnel and leaders all cheered in agreement.
And then, the attack started, ZAFT having executed the attack with the courtesy of a preemptive warning, a bombing. Despite receiving orders to cause too much damage to the towns, this was a war after all; there was no guarantee that the innocents wouldn't be dragged into the middle of the battlefield. ORB has already sent out evacuation notices to its people.
Cagalli was more than just upset at hearing that, she felt absolutely miserable, even as she watched through the screen the scene of battle, just in time to see two ZAFT Babis flew overhead, destroying a very familiar looking residence, the Seylan's. Murrue was anxious to have the Archangel ready to move out, but she was informed, that the preparations were not yet complete. She urged them to do their best to hurry up. The crews were all anxious too, ORB was their mother country after all, they had been staying there for the past two years in peace and an attachment to it grew. None of them wanted to see the once neutral country, their home go down in flames.
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Yuuna walked nervously into ORB's Defense Headquarters, he knew and could see the ZAFT mobile suits and troops attacking his country.
"Why didn't they pull out? I already said that Djibril wasn't here!" Yuuna asked the head commanding ORB officer.
"That's because he knows it's a lie," the officer told him with a stern look.
"What!" the shock was evident; Yuuna's mouth even hung open.
"Why did the government make such a foolish response?" the officer asked him.
"It is because of the current situation," he said nervously.
"The government and the situation are completely different!" the officer blatantly told him.
The others in the room seemed to be on the commanding officer's side, as they stared at him with hatred in their eyes. Yuuna was sweating under the pressure of the looks, and is desperate to find a way to divert their attention.
"Th-This is not the time to talk about this!" he stutters a little, frantic, "Prepare to defend our country and intercept their attacks!"
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Murrue and Cher had volunteered to accompany Cagalli over to the ORB spaceship, the Kusanagi, where those who had stayed loyal to ORB's initial ideals and the Athha family were gathered. The anxious Cagalli began asking for information of ORB's current situation, and was told that ZAFT had already started attacking with ORB's defensive troops slowly getting into place in their attempt to stop them. With the fear for her country and her people overtaking her emotions, the blond requested for the Murasame squad on the Kusanagi to launch, wanting them to aid ORB's troops in defending the country.
"I'll go too! I still have my Strike Rogue!" Cagalli added, it was plain to see just how desperate she was.
"No, I can't let you; it's too reckless to just rush out!" Murrue refused.
"No! I have to! ORB is…my people are…!" she was getting hysteric, Cher who had been watching her throughout the exchange furrowed her brows in concern, and she was about to take a step forward when Cagalli suddenly turned and fled the room.
"Cagalli!" Cher called as she turned and followed the fleeing girl. She was vaguely aware of the other two sets of footsteps trailing behind.
It didn't take much time for her to catch up with Cagalli, her Coordinator instincts, having surpassed a Natural's abilities, enabled her to overtake the upset girl at the fork of the hallway. Cher twisted her body into the way, blocking Cagalli's road and at the same time, made her stop from the impact of knocking into another body.
"Where are you going, Cagalli?" her voice made the said girl jump slightly, as she looked up apprehensively at the violet haired Coordinator.
"I-I…" Cagalli stammered, "I want to do something! I don't want to just sit there when my country is being attacked! I have to do something!" even as she almost shouted, she sounded unconvincing to Cher, "…but I don't know what I can do…"
Cher softened significantly upon seeing the dejected girl, she moved to hug her lightly, "I didn't mean to reprimand you. I know you're anxious and agitated, but you can't just run off and do something reckless because of that. You are the leader of ORB. It is your job to lead and guide them, out of this mess, out of this war and into peace." She pulled away and looked intently into her eyes, "And that won't ever happen, if you had recklessly gone and get yourself killed."
Nodding shakily, the blond Natural managed a small smile at her, calming down visibly. It was then that the other two following them finally made their presence known.
"Cagalli-sama, whatever you do, always know, that we will be behind you."
"And please listen to what Uzumi-sama has to say before you decide to do anything."
"…What do you mean, what my father has to say?"
"It's his will."
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As the two led Cagalli and Cher to a dark hanger by the furthest corner of the Kusanagi, the control panel by the side was inscribed with the words, 'I hope this door will be opened if ORB became engulfed in flames once again. ' Cagalli reached out a trembling hand to brush over the words. She knew these words; they were the words of her father, Uzumi xxxx Athha. As she did so, the large hanger door sprung open, moving to the side to allow them entrance with the lights lighting up as they enter. And then they saw it, standing vigilantly in the hanger, a huge magnificent golden colored Gundam, the Akatsuki.
All of a sudden, a voice echoed through the hanger, a played voice recording. Cagalli knew that voice, she had longed to hear it again, even when she knew it wasn't possible, that he was already gone, but now, here, she heard it again. Her father's voice.
"Cagalli, I present this sword to you, use it to protect ORB and the people. Live a happy life, Cagalli. I will always watch over you, my beloved daughter."
The two officers bowed down in a last salute solemnly, lowering their heads in utmost respect for the deceased ORB leader. Cagalli broke down, sinking to her knees at her father's words, she missed him so much. Cher bowed in respect and moved to support the Athha heir.
"Stand up, Cagalli," she insisted her voice firm as she pulled the sobbing girl onto her feet, "Now is not the time to feel sentimental or sorrow. As cruel as it sounds, you need to get out there to protect your country, your people and your home."
Tear filled amber orbs gazed at her for a while, before the owner of the eyes wiped away her tears. Determination filled her as Cagalli nodded and proceed to unlock Akatsuki's cockpit. The two officers, seeing their leader's determination, hurried over to their own mobile suits.
"Protect her well," Cher said to them as they passed by her, they saluted in acknowledgement before continuing their actions.
Cher watched as the Athha heir reached Akatsuki's cockpit and climbed in.
"Cher, I'm off," she said, her determination not wavering in the least.
"Be safe, Cagalli. Give it your best; I'll join you when I can. Keep your beliefs strong and going." She replied.
And with that, the cockpit closed, and following moments after, the golden Gundam took off on its first flight, waltzing out of the ship and into the air. Up and up, higher and higher the Akatsuki flew, hovering over the top of the battle field. Cagalli observed them, watching as the ZAFT troops attacked and the ORB troops defending their country brought on a wave of pride in her. They were giving their all defending their homeland, and she would have to do even better than that to be able to lead them. And that's just what she was going to do, spotting the Destiny Gundam, the determined ORB leader made her way over to engage him.
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Shinn was blatantly shocked when he saw a huge golden suit of metal headed straight for him. He had volunteered to launch instead of Rey, but he certainly didn't expect to see an unidentified and bright mobile suit come out of nowhere and attacking him. Jerking Destiny's controller, he swerve to the side to avoid the head on crash that would have otherwise occurred without a doubt.
Flashing out his beam sword, Shinn prepared for direct contact with the unidentified blinding gold mobile suit.
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The ORB headquarters were in a mess. They were hands full just with the ZAFT troops, and now, out of a sudden, there were oncoming groups of Murasame that were tagged with the ID of the already sunken ship, Takemikazuchi along with an unidentified mobile suit. It didn't take long for them to find out that the new mobile suit was piloted by their leader. Cagalli connected to the headquarters and explained the situation, with the two officers backing her in the explanations, seeing that the Akatsuki was busy engaging the Destiny Gundam. Yuuna started sweet talking her, but Cagalli didn't spare him a single glance, more concerned about her fight on hand and the overall wellness of ORB. While attempting to hold Destiny back, the blond gave out several orders, rearranging the battle line, the troops and the strategy.
They were amazed at how well it worked. The ORB as well as ZAFT commanders became slowly aware that the latter were being pushed back. Satisfied with the results, Cagalli cut off the communication and focused back on her own fight against Destiny.
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The Archangel is finally ready for launch, all viable hands on board preparing for the oncoming battle. The door to the bridge slid open unexpectedly and in walked a very awkward looking Meyrin, supporting Athrun who still looked half dead. The concern crews requests for him to go back and rest, but the stubborn blue head refused.
"I'm okay… I can at least sit in the CIC," he insisted though he sounded and look anything but fine.
The crews were about to protest to his insistence, but they were overshadowed by another voice, firmed and positively irritated.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Athrun?" The said Coordinator stiffened uneasily at that voice. It could only belong to his childhood friend.
And sure enough, the violet colored hair that symbolizes Cher came into view as the other Coordinator stopped right in front of him. Athrun swallowed nervously as he slowly looked up at her.
"Cher…" he gulped, his heart pumping crazily under the criticizing gaze of his friend.
"Well?" Cher demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I-I-I can't just lie there when a war is going on outside!" he burst out, dropping his head.
The crews and Meyrin were silent; they didn't dare to interrupt, having known of the other similar outburst. They had thought that Cher would have scolded Athrun senseless and dragged him back to bed. But Cher did otherwise. She slapped a hand lightly on his head and with a deliberate jerk of his hair began ruffling them, it wasn't till none of the strands of blue hair remained neat did she stop.
"! What are you doing!" he demanded back, trying to smoothen down his messed up hair with one good hand, and failing rather miserably.
"That's just typical of you, still as stubborn as always." She wrapped her hands around his head and pull him close.
The blue head flushed significantly, the others chuckled at him.
"Just promise me you'll just sit here you stubborn mule," she warned as she started smoothing down his ruffled hair, "Or else…" she left the threat hanging.
Mutely, Athrun nodded vigorously in acknowledgement, not wanting to offend her any further.
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Neo was of course, shocked when they released him from the cuff. He, as well as Stellar was brought to the outside of the Archangel, with a Sky Grasper readied there. He saw Murrue, as well as some other soldiers standing there.
"What's going on?" he dared himself to ask.
"Your wounds have healed right? And Stellar is fit enough. It's a war zone out there, and if you continue to stay on the Archangel, you'll all be dragged into the war and be wounded again." Murrue said, a little agitatedly, Neo stared in surprise, "This Sky Grasper is a military unit, but it's the best we have and I have prepared it for your escape. Leave!"
The Archangel captain was already in tears by then, turning around and leaving the area, all the while sounding like she was trying to convince herself, "You're not Mwu, you're not Mwu at all…" as she ran off. Neo, with Stellar clinging to his arm, looked on sadly.
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In the bridge, Athrun was trying to get Meyrin to get off Archangel and stay at the docks where it was safe when Murrue entered. As soon as the Archangel launches, they will have to fight against ZAFT. He didn't want to drag her on anymore. Meyrin on the other hand, looks to be on the verge of crying, she didn't know anyone else besides Athrun and Cher, and there was nowhere she could go by herself.
"But…! I've…!" the red head wanted to protest, but she couldn't seem to form words.
"Let her stay," Cher's voice overpowered her, "You can't just drop her off and expect her to have somewhere to go? And we were probably branded traitors and spies after leaving ZAFT, you can't expect her to go back either. As much as we'll be opposing ZAFT to our last breath, I still think, that Meyrin is safest here."
"She has a point, Athrun," Murrue had agreed with Cher.
He finally gave up and agreed to have her stay on board.
The Archangel then launched, lifting off into the air and moving past where Neo and Stellar were still at. Murrue spared him a last glance, before giving out orders for Archangel to move full speed ahead.
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Meanwhile Talia orders for Minerva to prepare for battle. The ORB troops had been on the verge of collapsing, up until that troop of Murasame together with the unidentified gold mobile suit entered the picture. From that point on, they quickly recovered. It was unbelievable how they had been on the border of losing just moments ago.
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In the fight against Destiny, Cagalli was determined to shoot it down. She knew, from Cher, that it was Shinn piloting it, and she knew that Shinn was a talented pilot, what she also knew was it's power, and how it would affect ORB should it get past her.
Akatsuki fired continuous shots at Destiny, to which it dodges and shielded itself with its beam shield. Shinn, ever short tempered in battle and against anyone who wasn't his superior, his friends, and most of all Cher, was getting frustrated. He fired Destiny's laser cannon at the gold suit of metal, only to scramble to the side to avoid the return cannon as it bounced back upon hitting Akatsuki. Cagalli had specifically angled it for the effect. Surprised, Shinn aimed his rifle at Akatsuki's head, but it reflected harmlessly off again. Narrowing his eyes, the black haired Coordinator went for his sword again. Cagalli looked worried, when she saw a group of Murasame flew in to hold down Destiny.
Shinn snorted; did they seriously think a couple of Murasames were enough to down him? He lifted his beam sword and slashed down, chopping into one of them as the group flies past him. Turning Destiny around, he made quick work of the rest of the group without much effort and once again focus his attention back at Akatsuki.
Cagalli bit her lip at the group's sacrifice and pulled out her own beam saber, both Gundams flying in for the move, their weapons clashing against each other's.
"So, you're the commander unit? But your skills are nothing special!" he taunted as he pushed on his sword, swinging it down heavily, pushing Akatsuki to the side.
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The Archangel finally approached the waters around the ORB headquarters and found out, that the Minerva was in the area, it came as a surprise to them. Not as much for Minerva, seeing as they hadn't managed to destroy the Archangel that time when Shinn destroyed Freedom, and Talia was almost sure that they would continue to intervene them.
On the Archangel, everyone's attention was diverted away when Milliaria suddenly reported that the Akatsuki was in close combat with Destiny. At the same time she reported it, she sent the image up on the main screen, which shows the melee fight between the two Gundams. Athrun was shocked and worried at the same time. He knew Cagalli was at a disadvantage, as any Natural would have, against a trained Gundam pilot who was a Coordinator. Cher wasn't exactly surprised, she had a hunch that the Minerva as well as Shinn would show up here, seeing that it was Chairman Gilbert Dullindal's orders for the attack after all. But what had her concerned was the fact that Cagalli was the one engaging against Destiny. She certainly didn't want to see the blond girl that was almost like a younger sister to her injured, but neither did she want to see Shinn on that side either.
It would seem, that despite both being Gundams, Cagalli clearly had a drawback using melee attacks against Destiny. Shinn on the other hand, was relentless in his attacks. It didn't take long for him to go through Akatsuki's defenses, slicing through the gold Gundam's shield. That being done, he had a plain target. Whipping out beam boomerangs, he chuck one with aimed precision that took off Akatsuki's shield arm, he then threw the other one as the first boomerang rounds back towards the gold mechanism. Cagalli was unable to react in time.
"Cagalli!" Athrun shouted, fearing for her.
While Cher jumped to her feet abruptly, her eyes wide in horror, the same sense of dread filling her once again, 'No, Shinn, don't make me unable to ever forgive you!' her mind screamed.
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On Minerva's bridge, there was a sudden report of something coming down from space.
"They might be mobile suits…" he rechecks his report again and corrected himself, "-They're too fast to be certain, captain!" Talia was completely taken by surprise.
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Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, as well as Lucifer were glowing bright red from the sheer heat and speed they were traveling at. The three Gundams had descended from space down to the Earth, hand in hand. Needless to say, Minerva wasn't the only one who spotted the three signals. Cher transfixed her attention at the three spots, she knew that one of them was Lucifer; she could sense it, along with her two childhood friends she knew was in the other two mechanisms. As the three spots continued their descend into the clouds, the Archangel received an unexpected communication request from an unidentified unit. It was strange that anyone would actually bothered to request for communication with the Archangel no less in the middle of a brewing war, but Murrue ordered to accept the request anyway. The moment the transmission request went through, Kira in his blue pilot suit appeared on the screen.
"Murrue-san! Cher!" Kira's voice rang through the communication line, though the brown haired Coordinator looked more surprise at seeing Athrun sitting in the bridge, "Athrun?"
"Kira!" calls of his name echoed through the bridge.
"How's Lacus?" the blue head asked anxiously.
"Lacus's fine. She's in the other mobile suit with me. Speaking of which," he suddenly turned solemn, "Cher, could you get Lucifer to activate the invisibility mode, get Lacus back on the Archangel. I have something I need to do." His eyes met hers for a second, and she didn't need words to know what he meant.
"Go, Kira." She replied gravely, resolved, "Be safe."
The dubbed ultimate Coordinator nodded and with an assuring smile, shut off his link and focused on the problem ahead. He signaled and nodded to Lacus, who replied him with a nod, and released his hold on the reddish mechanism's hand, putting on extra speed to accelerate Strike Freedom even faster, heading straight on for his destination.
Directly after Kira had cut off his line, Cher instantly turned to the nearest IC, "I'll be borrowing your position for a while," she told him, to which the IC, having seen what she could do, nodded in consent and gave up his seat temporarily.
The Zephyris descendent took a single glance at the controls and instantly identified the model and the usage easily. Her fingers danced over the keys expertly, the others watched, amazed as Cher started keying in a complex and coded message before she sent it to Lucifer. The entire procedure barely took a minute. The next instant, a voice line to Lucifer was successfully opened. Putting on the headset, Cher gave her command to Lucifer, as they all watch the screen carefully. The three mechanisms emerged from the clouds, with Strike Freedom breaking away from the other two. And just as a couple of stray ZAFT units flew close to examine or attack, Cher's command took effect, as Lucifer together with Infinite Justice disappeared, literally, into thin air. People on the Archangel cheered at the save, knowing that the two mobile suits would be back in the ship very soon, and also, for the frantic swings the ZAFT units were doing in a vain attempt to find the vanished mechanisms. People on the Minerva were bewildered at the act, it was simply just impossible for huge chunks of metal to simple dissolve into nothingness right in front of their eyes. Though in Talia's case, she wasn't just shock from the disappearing act, she thought she had caught a glimpse of black feathered wings just before they disappeared.
Kira fired two shots from the two railguns on either side of his mobile suit just in time to blast the two spinning boomerangs that were aiming at Cagalli into smithereens just in time before they could even scratch the gold Gundam, though the Akatsuki was knocked back as a result of the impact from the explosions. Shinn was undoubtedly surprised, he tried to spot the interfering unit but due to the speed it was travelling at, he couldn't exactly see past the shape that told him it was a mobile suit. Strike Freedom shot down the air and pulling out both beam swords, Kira slashed at Destiny, which dodged just in time to avoid damage. Kira pulled up his Gundam in front of Akatsuki, his swords still out. Strike Freedom's uncanny similarity to Freedom singled it out from any other suits. By now, everyone was staring at the newly arrived unit in both shock and incredulity. The former was more applied to the entirety of ZAFT, seeing as they had been sure they had seen Shinn destroy that very unit with Impulse. The latter was suited to the whole of the Archangel, they had known that Kira had came in a new and unidentified suit when he had contacted them, but they hadn't been able to see it yet and were astonished to see the new suit with almost complete duplicate features to his prior one.
Shinn went from shock to confusion and then finally his emotions settled on anger. Why was it here? He had destroyed it! He had seen it explode! So why and how in heaven's name was it here? Cagalli wondered and asked, even if her voice wasn't heard if that was Kira inside, and as if her twin really heard her, Kira appeared on her communication line.
"Cagalli," he called her name, "I'll take care of things here, go, go to the ORB headquarters. Go and complete what you came here to do."
Cagalli nodded in determination, and turn to fly in the direction of ORB's headquarters. Shinn saw his target leaving and made to chase it.
"Hey! Stop right there! Don't you run from me!" he yelled as he brought up his sword to swing it at the Akatsuki.
And he would have succeeded, if he didn't forget the presence of the other Gundam. Kira moved Strike Freedom to intercept and engage Destiny in combat. The two Gundams clashed swords against each other, flying around and repeating the clash in an attempt to bypass the other.
By then, Lucifer, hand in hand with Infinite Justice still covered in the invisibility mode, reached Archangel. Cher, knowing this, turned to tell Murrue about their arrival, and the captain immediately gave out orders to allow them entrance.
"Murrue-san," Cher stood from where she had sat, "I'll be launching too, when the time is right." She told her.
"I acknowledge that. I've heard from Kira about you," she smiled, "Please go, and assist them!" she urged her.
Nodding, Cher rushed out of the bridge, heading straight for the hatch. Athrun got up unsteadily from his seat, aided by Meyrin, with the full intention of following his childhood friend's actions.
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Talia decided to press forward in their attack, seeing as the Archangel was, after all, the strongest enemy. She gave out orders to open fire against their nemesis. At the exact same time she did, Murrue, seeing the situation and having predicted Minerva's course of action, gave her own orders for open fire. And the two ships went against each other, firing and dodging.
Distances away, Kira changed from his swords to his rifles, which he combined the two halves into a whole and fired it at Destiny. Shinn raised its beam shield and blocked the attack, then returned fire with Destiny's cannon. That was, however cancelled out when Kira fired Strike Freedom's cannon in return.
The battle between ZAFT and ORB continues, the damages done to both sides continued to increase. Cagalli returned successfully to the ORB headquarters without problem, except for maybe the couple of ZAFT GOUFs she had to take out on the way. Up above the area of the battle, a metal pod dropped like a meteor straight for the ground, landing with a huge dust cloud. It cracked open to reveal the three DOM Troopers that had been part of the Clyne fraction, and the three proceed to help the battle, wiping out the ZAFT troops coming their way. The Archangel crews were informed, by Lacus from her location in the hanger that those three were on her side, thus they should be treated as their allies.
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The pink haired princess swung her head towards the entrance as the door slide open to reveal the one person she had been waiting to meet.
"Cher!" she exclaimed, at the exact same time Cher called her name.
The two sisters promptly rushed towards each other, meeting halfway and embracing each other in both relief and elation at being able to see the other safely again. It took a few moments for them to get their overwhelmed emotions under control and pulled away from each other, hands still clutched together. And that was what Athrun, accompanied by Meyrin saw when they turned into the area. The echo of their own footsteps they hadn't been aware of carrying over to the two sisters, making them focus their attention towards them. Meyrin was needless to say, shocked beyond anything. She hadn't been expecting to see Lacus Clyne here, in the Archangel, not when she was more than aware that she was in ZAFT together with the Chairman. But this Lacus Clyne somehow looked different, and it wasn't just because of her clothes, hair or accessories. Her gentle and knowing gaze and the way she carried herself was significantly opposite to the one she had knew back at ZAFT. It was as if... she were a totally different person altogether. She barely heard the deep sigh of assured relief that Athrun had let out by her side.
"La-La-Lacus C-Clyne?" she squeaked, her mouth dropping.
Cher raised an eyebrow at seeing Athrun, trust that stubborn idiot to strain himself, then made a mental note to explain to the confused Meyrin about the problem of Lacus and Meer. Lacus looked at the unfamiliar red head, then turn to lock gazes with her ex-fiancé.
"Lacus, you're alright," he murmured.
"I am, Athrun. But the problem is, are you alright?" there was nothing but concern in Lacus' voice and she wasn't just referring to his physical state.
That was a question that both sisters were waiting for the answer to. There was nothing they could do for him now, he has to come to terms and face his own inner feelings by himself. Meyrin was by then, bewildered. The confused girl could only keep looking from one to the other, but no one was able to explain anything to her under this atmosphere. Athrun cowered inwardly under the two pairs of scrutinizing blue and silver eyes belonging to the two adopted sisters who happened to be two amongst the small handful who knew him inside out. And because they knew him, all his strengths and weaknesses and of course, his little quirks and habits, they could easily learn his answer even if he didn't speak. And he didn't. Athrun hesitantly averts his eyes away from them. That action in itself already told them a thousand words – he's not alright, not yet, not at all.
That brought about immediate change of expression in the two sisters. Lacus' expressions instantly turned sad, her eyes down casted. Cher too looked saddened, she however unlike Lacus, knew what he was going through, the issue of Shinn was more than evident, but knowing and being unable to do much besides watching over him was hard.
.
.
Outside, the battle continued to wedge, neither sides gaining any advantage over the other. The fight between Strike Freedom and Destiny was no different, despite both pilots entering into their SEED modes. Minerva and Archangel continued to fire, intending to deal as much damage as they could to the other.
On board the Minerva, Talia were giving out new orders to aim at Archangel's engines when she received a line from Rey. The blond asked her to call Shinn back seeing as the entire situation has now changed, gone for the worst maybe, since the reappearance of Freedom. She had requested for him to launch together with Lunamaria to aid, but Rey was eminent about having Shinn return before launching. They couldn't win if Strike Freedom wasn't taken down. Talia agrees.
.
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In a war field, there was nowhere safe, and this was once again proved, when the shelters that housed Unato and ORB's other ruling members were pried open; at the same time, something drops into another shelter that housed the innocents, they were all killed. Djibril ran down the corridors with five ORB soldiers guarding him, he had only one aim, to reach the aircraft and make his escape.
While that was happening, Shinn received Rey's line, ordering him to retreat. The black haired Coordinator initially refused to, but upon seeing Destiny's energy gauge: thirty percent, adding onto the question from Rey if he could take down Freedom before Destiny's energy ran out, he couldn't gave an answer. Resigning, Shinn could only retreat. Kira was surprised at his retreat, but he wasn't about to complain, there were more important things that he needed to do right now, than fighting him.
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Cagalli finally lands in the headquarters, taking out a couple of offending soldiers, still in her pilot suit. The ORB headquarter was under heavy attack, and she was desperate to get to the main control room. She was, greeted with a weird scene upon entering the room. One with several ORB officers surrounding a handcuffed Yuuna whose face looked swollen, probably from being at the receiving end of some punches from the irritated and furious looking officers. However, she couldn't say she felt sorry or even much pity for the man.
Yuuna pleaded and begged with her, "Cagalli! That was too cruel! It's too much, Cagalli! I did my best to take care of things while you were away…" whatever he was going to say was cut off, by a flying fist to his face.
Holding his newly formed swell, the man looked up at the puncher, who turned out to be Cagalli herself. The blond was more than irritated, "Stop trying to gain pity and sprouting crap that no one believes! Did your best to take care of things? Don't make me laugh! You went ahead and joined with the Alliance during my absence despite all the efforts I made to stop that, and subsequently, the LOGOs. How many people have you sent to their graves by sending them out to start a stupid fight that we shouldn't even be involved in! And now, by providing a hiding place for the wanted LOGOs leader, you just turned ORB into a freaking war zone!" she hollered at him who shrunk back from shock and fear, "I know you're not the only one to blame, your father and the others of the board were equally guilty for supporting and voting for these series of problems, and I'm equally guilty, for not being here when I should have." she took a deep breath as she glared at him, her hands clutched into fists and her body shook with anger, "But what the hell is this! I would have thought that despite all our differences in the management and the future of ORB, our feelings to protect our country, our people were the same! So why did this happen!"
The ORB officers were surprised at her open display of rage though they all knew, that she had bottled it up for too long, and that Yuuna simply deserves what he gets. The said man was cowering under the intensity and pressure of the irate Athha.
Cagalli hauled him up by the front of his shirt, "I only ask this once. Where is Djibril? Are you still going to cover for him after all these?" she demanded. In return, the man, scared out of his wits at Cagalli's rage, told her, truthfully, that Djibril had been at the Seylan mansion, but he didn't know where he was now.
She 'tsh-ed', flicking her tongue in her mouth to form an irritated kind of sound, and threw him to the side in disgust, "You're useless."
Ordering soldiers to take him away, Cagalli gathered the commanding officers and start out another plan. If they couldn't get hold of his locations, they just have to search for Djibril themselves, as soon as possible.
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Lacus had gone to get changed, and Cher had ushered the steadily confused and bewildered red head back to help out at the bridge, seeing that Athrun had somehow looked stronger and was able to stand without needing much help. The violet haired Coordinator stopped beside her childhood friend.
"How are you now? Seriously?" she asked her eyes staring at the same thing he did, Infinite Justice, her voice just barely louder than a whisper but she knew he could hear it.
"I…" his voice was hesitant, "I…don't know. I really don't know." He sighed and turned to look at her, and as if she could sense that, Cher tilted her head to meet his eyes, "Some part of me still finds it hard to believe, that all these hadn't happen, but the truth is it did. Despite all the things he did, I still want to believe in the Chairman."
It was now Cher's turn to sigh, though she did so good naturedly, "You never change do you, Athrun." She laid a hand on his arm, "I know you want to believe in the good of people. I know you want to believe that what the Chairman did was right. But what has happened has happened, there's no way to change it. He may think what he is doing is right, but it wasn't, and it probably hadn't been for the world since the start of it. I'm not asking you to change your beliefs directly, but you have to come to terms and accept it. Accept that the Chairman wasn't who you had thought to be, and accept that everything, all the battles that we may be involve in from this point on, are the result of his plans."
"… I know…" Athrun said softly, "But what about you? What about Shinn?"
"…" Cher turned away, "As things are, there are no returns, for me or him. I'll tell you the same thing I have told Kira." She turned back to him, "He has chosen to believe in the Chairman, in ZAFT. And I'm not ever leaving the side of you, Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, and I know what all of you have been working so hard for. He has chosen his stand, and so have I. As long as this war continues, as long as he still stands by the Chairman, and as long as my friends are all here, we'll never be anything."
"Cher…" he started.
"No, don't say it. He nearly killed Kira, nearly killed you, and nearly killed Cagalli. I'm not sure I can really let that go too." She let out a deep breath, "But you, on the other hand, better get yourself back together. I'm not gonna sit around forever waiting for you, you know. I still have to push you for a decision. At this point of time, it's now or never, you'll have to decide for yourself." She shrugged her shoulders, gesturing to the red mechanism, "Lacus has gone through the trouble of bringing you this."
"?" Athrun was confused, how did she know if the mobile suit was intended for him? He looked up at the immobile Gundam, "…Justice?" for it was indeed what this suit looks alike to.
"Yes." It was at this moment, that Lacus once again came back into the area, dressed in her own clothes. She stopped beside Cher, both sisters glancing at each other with a smile, before having their attention back on Athrun.
"For me…?" he voiced that question, he was still perplexed by what Cher had said just now.
"That is for you to decide," she said just as softly.
"For me to decide?" Athrun was surprised, he hadn't expected that, but as unexpected as that comes, he was still pushed for a decision. Suddenly, the blue haired Coordinator couldn't help getting frustrated and angry at his childhood friends, even when he knew, that he shouldn't have, even when he knew deep down, that they were just trying to help him overcome his current situation.
"Did you… Do you think I'm only capable of being a warrior too! That I'm only capable of fighting, bloodshed and war?" those words burst out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Cher felt a slight bit of déjà vu when she heard that, she know she had heard that before, though it wasn't directed at Athrun. She remembered where she had heard that the next second, and sighed sadly as she murmured a soft response, "Kira, Lacus and I, we knew you since we were kids, do you really think we thought of you like that? Besides, being a warrior has different meanings. Athrun, I know that the Chairman has said that about Kira, but he didn't and never knew Kira. Thus, what he said is only to compliment his own ideals. That is why he wanted to the Archangel, Kira and Lacus eliminated."
Athrun was taken by surprise by her words and feeling a little ashamed of himself, he turned to the side, he couldn't face them. Lacus, understanding Cher's intentions, took a step forwards.
"That is also for you to decide," Her voice made him turned back, "I know you are frustrated with all the things that has been going on and with some of the choices you made before. I had initially thought it wasn't the right time to present it to you," she gestured to the Infinite Justice, "While Kira agrees with me on that, he understands how painful it is to not have the means when you want to do something. I understand that too."
Athrun was staring at Lacus in shock, and Cher moved to stand between the two, taking one of Athrun and Lacus's hands, holding them together with her own pair, the stunned boy flicked his eyes to her.
"Power is simply power," Cher started gently, "Remember what we had told Shinn when he unthinkingly killed the ORB troops?" he nodded numbly, "Power is nothing, if you can't utilize it properly. You are a warrior, a fighter, and so am I. Everyone's a warrior, Athrun, even Kira, Lacus and Cagalli. Right now, Kira and Lacus, and the whole of Archangel are fighting to stop this war from spreading. Right now, Cagalli is fighting to defend her country. And I have always been fighting for all my precious friends. We all live to fight for something, and we need to, in order to survive." His eyes widened as comprehension started to sink in, and a growing emotion started to sparkle.
"While you may be a warrior, you are still you, Athrun." Lacus added just as gently, "Just like Kira is Kira, Cher is Cher and I am myself. Never forget who you are, before you think of yourself as anything else. You will always be you. That is what we will always see, and that is what you should see, especially when you have friends to support you."
.
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The battle between the Archangel and Minerva still continues. The Archangel shot down the missiles launched by Minerva, but unfortunately, missed a few. Murrue knew that they wouldn't avoid it in time, and had the entire ship prepare for impact. It would result in severe damage, seeing that they were aimed at the Archangel's engines. But those missiles never reached their target. The flying figure of a Sky Grasper swooped down and shot them down. And then, the Archangel received a communication transmission, to which someone Murrue hadn't thought she would see again, seeing as she had sent them off, appeared on the screen.
"Sorry if I did something unnecessary." Neo was on the screen, and everyone was staring at him in disbelief.
"Wh-wh-what? Y-yo-you…" Murrue was so flabbergasted that she couldn't even speak properly. She was sure she had sent him off, so what was he doing here!
"But you know, that Minerva ship, I really don't like it," he added, the way he said that and his attitude now was so like Mwu, that Murrue was caught by surprise.
"Stellar wants to help too!" the blond Extended piped from behind Neo's seat.
"It'll be alright. You'll win. After all, I'm the man who makes the impossible, possible!"
Murrue's eyes were wide open, stunned by those words. Mwu had said the same thing. The Archangel Captain had to calm herself from the warring emotions by taking deep breaths.
In ORD headquarter; Cagalli was still trying to find Djibril. But the wanted man was in some sort of hanger, accompanied by some soldiers. Apparently, he was going to launch if only to save himself.
Outside, Kira was still taking down mobile suits, both beam blades out.
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Once the resupply of Destiny was completed, the fuming Shinn stormed for his Gundam. The concerned Lunamaria had made to follow him, but she was stopped by Rey. Rey outright ordered her to stay. The blond had regarded her as an obstacle, a block in his way. He made it clear, that if Shinn was distracted, he'll lose, and that she was simply hindering and in the way before he leaves. The elder Hawke dropped her dead heavily, she was really hurt.
In Minerva's hanger, Shinn and Rey got onto their respective Gundams, powering them up and preparing for launch. The latter was getting the former to calm down. If Shinn was so easily provoked, he would lose himself and wouldn't be able to defeat the enemies that he normally could have, otherwise. Shinn seemed to understand and indeed calmed himself down. The pair of ZAFT Gundams then launched, with the sole intention of taking down Strike Freedom, for good.
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Hearing all those things from his childhood friends made the difference. He had been hovering between his decision and his feelings, but those words made the impact of clearing off his doubts. Finally decided, he took a step towards the Infinite Justice. Lacus and Cher nodded in approval. As he looked back, he found the two sisters smiling at him. He was finally able to make his choice. He continued to step forwards, until he reached his designated Gundam, though he has trouble getting on. Rolling her eyes, Cher rushed forwards to help him.
"You only need to ask, you know," she told him as she helped him up into the cockpit.
"Cher…"
"I know this is your choice, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I should have confined you to the infirmary for being in this condition…" she trailed off as he started to protest, "But knowing you, you wouldn't stay down even if I make you, you stubborn mule." She poked him on the nose, then turned and jumped down to join Lacus on the ground, "That's why, I'm launching too. I can't exactly leave my half dead best friend out in the battle field by himself, can I? Just don't push yourself too much; you're still actually an invalid. Please Athrun, don't do anything stupid before I get out there." she teased.
"Thank you, Cher," was he ever grateful to have her as his friend. Athrun smiled once more before he shut the cockpit and boot up the system, and launched from the hanger promptly. He has things he needed to do.
After watching the red Gundam took off, Cher turned to Lacus and wrapped her arms again around her adopted sister, with the latter returning the hug.
"I'll be going too, Lacus," Cher whispered into her ear.
"Go on, Cher, keep him safe," Lacus nodded.
Pulling away, she offered one more sentence, "We have a lot of catching up to do after this!" Lacus beamed at her. Grinning back, Cher then hurried towards the exit of the hanger, calling her trusted partner, "Lucifer!" the dark colored Gundam reacted instantly, flying towards her. The violet haired Coordinator jumped onto Lucifer's outstretched hand and hopped gracefully into the cockpit.
"Let's go Lucifer," she murmured and the black feathered wings flapped, propelling them out of the hanger and into the skies.
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Neo sighed, as he attempted to land the now unstable and rather damaged Sky Grasper back in the Archangel as smoothly as he could. He had flown the small mobile armor plane unit to counterattack Minerva after saving the Archangel from sustaining certain damage. Though he has Stellar to thank for, or else the Sky Grasper wouldn't be able to get away with just damages, they both could have died. The blond had actively pointed out the angles and directions, supporting him from the seat behind him. And he also was thankful, that the Archangel had actually approved permission for him to land. As he walks out of hanger damaged plane with Stellar in tow after landing, he started to have flashbacks of something he didn't remember doing, but was so vivid that he couldn't deny it having happened. But it was so familiar, and the person in the flashback, it was undoubtedly him, or so he thought, without the scar he has now. As he continues down the too familiar corridor, he wondered if that guy in his flashback was the 'Mwu' that everyone had been waiting for.
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Back at the battle field, Kira was facing both Destiny and Legend while still in SEED mode. He had aimed at the constantly aggressive Destiny, since the said Gundam kept slashing at him randomly, but Legend kept interfering, sending out his miniature beam guns that reminded Kira so much of the late Providence Gundam that he had defeated in the last war. While Strike Freedom was engaging Destiny in melee, Legend snuck up behind it, directing all its gun beams straight at Strike Freedom's unprotect back. It should be heavily damaged at least, or so he had thought. But before the beams reached, Kira activated the beam shield across and even Rey saw his beams smashed straight into the beam shield with absolutely no effect on Strike Freedom itself, save for the impact of the blast, which blown it slightly ahead. Shinn, never one to let such opportunity go, took Strike Freedom's moment of weakness and attempted to fire Destiny's cannon aimed at its cockpit.
Cher, who had just left Archangel in Lucifer with its invisibility mode activated, was still far from reaching that area. She had instantly put a search for both her childhood friends; the first result to be shown on her screen had her nearly stopping from shock. Destiny with its cannon aimed directly for Strike Freedom's cockpit. There was no possible way she would be able to reach them in time, even as she urged Lucifer at full speed. But the sudden flash of red on the corner of that screen made her stop Lucifer. A click of a button enlarged the red speck, and it turned out to be the other friend she had been locating. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw the Infinite Justice drew out its side beam boomerang and promptly flung it.
Athrun had found Kira, just in the nick of time, seeing that Shinn was about to pull the trigger to shoot his cannon. He yelled a "Stop!" and drawing out a boomerang, flung it at the offending mobile suit, causing Destiny to nearly lose its grip on the cannon as the beam boomerang strike it on the hand and then rebounded back towards the mobile suit which threw it. That action however, drew the attention of all Gundams on the field to him, both friends and foes.
However, as shocked as they were, they had never expected to see Athrun's face appear on their intercom screen. The stunned state of Shinn and Rey was shown through their Gundams, seeing as both were suddenly motionless. Cher slowly and stealthily flew closer, thought she remained outside of their range of detection, watching the scene silently. Kira smiled, he had expected as much.
"Stop this, Shinn! Do you really know what you're attacking?" Athrun posed the question, "Isn't the purpose of this war to the tyranny of the LOGOs? So why attack ORB? To destroy the country that he came from?" he could still remember clearly, perhaps too clearly, how in the last war, ORB was burned down, and he didn't want to see that happen again, not when he has the power to prevent it, "Please, Shinn, think through very carefully about what it is that you want." He urged.
Shinn stopped short, that really had gotten him thinking, what did he want? Rey was annoyed at that, and moves Legend forward to attack Infinite Justice.
"Shinn don't be deceived by him. He's a traitor who won't die and has the guts to show up suddenly." Rey advised while continuing to fight Athrun.
Kira intercepted just in the nick of time, offering to buy him time as he distracted Legend away from Athrun, giving the latter time to persuade Shinn. Athrun turned his full attention back to Shinn, he would stop him, and he has to. Pulling out his weapon, he yelled, "You mustn't attack ORB!"
Kira fought Rey, effectively keeping it from interfering with Athrun while Athrun continued his persuasion.
"You shouldn't only harbor all the anger towards ORB, or even us, without fully understanding the current situation!" Athrun said.
"I understand, alright! You betrayed me; you betrayed ZAFT and the Chairman! And you just had to drag Cher into it! You! You're the cause of everything!" the black haired boy yelled.
Still out of the detection of any radar or sensor in Lucifer's invisibility mode, had tuned in to the weirdly off and turning violent conversation. She shook her head sadly at Destiny's direction even as Athrun still didn't give up persuading him.
"You still don't get it. To understand the situation doesn't mean blindly listening to a one-sided idea and sticking to it!" Athrun was getting anxious; it didn't seem to be working, of any at all.
"No! You're a traitor! And it is you who didn't understand the true situation! I don't know why you had lived, but you had caused Cher's death!" it was apparent to both Athrun and Cher, that despite seeing the former still alive in front of him, he had still thought her to be dead. "I'll take revenge for her! I'll sent you off!" he was more than agitated; all he could see was how Athrun had involved Cher and consequently Meyrin into his escapade and betrayal of ZAFT.
Sighing in disappointment at the outcome of his attempted persuasion, he engaged Destiny in a fight. Rey, getting too frustrated at not being able to land a hit on Strike Freedom, pulled out his javelin and charged at it. Kira readied his own sword to meet him.
.
.
Meanwhile, as the ORB soldiers escorted Yuuna to the shelter, Yuuna's effort to escape brought about his end as a ZAFT GOUF crashed into him from above. All the while, a very impatient Djibril had been waiting at the space shuttle for the Seylans.
As Minerva tried another approach at the Archangel, Murrue cleverly ordered for her crews to submerge the Archangel. Talia was flustered at her tactics, seeing as Minerva couldn't go under water, and hastily ordered for her ship to be moved away from the waters, but was completely unsuccessful seeing as Murrue then ordered for open fire whilst under water, with the strikes scoring direct hits against the ZAFT ship.
When his concern for his own safety finally out ran his patience, which wasn't much at all, he couldn't care anymore for the Seylans and told the soldiers with him that he couldn't wait for them any longer, as he has much more important things he needed to do, to get to the moon.
Cagalli was getting very worried for they still could not locate the LOGOs leader at all. Archangel continued to take down ZAFT ships and submarines from under the surface of the sea.
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Shinn, having completely lost it, goes into SEED mode, knocking hard into Infinite Justice, jostling Athrun and sending the entire Gundam sideways at having been caught off guard. But Athrun regained control just as Destiny thrust out its beam saber to slash at him, pulling out his own beam swords; he slashed through Destiny's arm before the latter could even attempt a strike at him. Needless to say, Shinn was very surprised and dumbfounded at this; Rey on the other hand, was starting to look worried, even as he continued to fight against Kira. He, being the complete obedient child to Chairman Gilbert Dullindal, had shared all his ideas and opinions but have never once considered the fact that the skills that the soldiers who fought in Patrick Zala's war could be actually overwhelming. Cher had already moved next to the red suit by this time. And when she saw Destiny firing its cannon in defense, she moved Lucifer forwards and with her sword, slashed through the incoming beam, diverting it to the sides harmlessly. Seeing as Lucifer was still in invisibility mode, none could see her, except for the sole exception of Kira who had been under that mode with experience and Athrun, whom knew about it when he saw her used it earlier. The former smiled knowingly, while the latter was slightly surprised. Shinn however was staring incredulously at the length of blank space between Destiny and Infinite Justice, what in the world just happened? Rey was shocked, how was that possible?
"I thought I told you to not overdo yourself?" Cher appeared over Infinite Justice's screen.
"Cher…" Athrun was grateful at her appearance regardless.
"Well, we'll talk about that later. It's time for me to face him," she said, sounding rather solemn.
Cher then gave the command for Lucifer to deactivate the invisibility mode. And for the second time since its implementation, the form of the dark colored metal body and black feathered wings fade in from seemingly thin air. It came needless to say, to the shock of the two ZAFT Gundam units to firstly, see a mobile suit appear out of nowhere, and secondly, that said mobile suit was none other than Lucifer.
"Cher…!" Shinn exclaimed as she appeared on his screen, he couldn't believe his eyes, she was there! She was alive!
"Shinn," the voice had wanted to hear so much called his name.
"Cher! It's really you! You're alive!" he burst out his emotions overwhelming at seeing her safe.
"…" she was silent for a moment, "Shinn, I want you to know, that whatever actions I did, or things I do, I did it all of my own volition. Athrun didn't drag me into anything."
"You…you'll go that far just for a friend?" Shinn's initial elation turned bleak.
"I'll go as far as they need me to, Shinn. To me, my friends are my life." She said softly.
"You'll betray ZAFT, betray the Chairman and even me?" he choked out.
"…If you want to put it that way," she sighed, "Firstly, I have never joined ZAFT, so I can't betray something I'm never a part of. Secondly, I have never trusted the Chairman, not any at all, so it wouldn't be right to say I betrayed him if I have never even trust him in the first place." Her eyes never wavered, "As for you, Shinn, I can only say I'm really sorry, if I made you think I've betrayed you."
"What is that supposed to mean? Then, what about me? What am I to you?" Shinn was getting upset.
"…" she paused, then continued, "You are who you are, Shinn. I said I couldn't and wouldn't trust the Chairman because I can guess what he's trying to do. And it is in no way under my comprehension to follow him. I disagree with the things he's doing. What about you, Shinn? Did you never ever questioned or even feel the slightest bit of doubt about the orders he gives? Can you really say you're sure he's always right?" with a gentle gaze she added, "I know your feelings for me, Shinn. And as much as I didn't want to admit it, I think I do too." Shinn's eyes brightened considerably, his hopes soaring, only to be crushed by her next words, "But as long as you continue to stay in the ZAFT now, as long as you continue to trust the Chairman and obey his orders, we will never be."
The stunned Shinn could only stare at her. Why did it turn out this way? Was this really what he had wanted?
Rey, irritated that it wasn't only Athrun who had survived that explosion, but the very girl that was Shinn's entire world had too. Shinn had been easy enough to manipulate, with his anger at everything, but now with her in the picture, he couldn't say so. She has a way to make people listen to her, even reconsidering their own choices and following her, and that in itself was a very prominent threat, especially when she wasn't on their side. Even though he didn't hear their conversation, but from how Destiny hadn't move an inch, he knew, that she was also going to be the hinder blocking him, the Chairman and Shinn's way. In other words, she has to go. With renewed vigor, Rey tried to break through Strike Freedom's defenses and take out the annoying Zephyris descendent that Gilbert had told him he was wary of, but was unsuccessful once again.
.
.
While the battle continued, more and more of ZAFT's forces were being taken out. And although Talia was having second thoughts about continuing to attack, the commander of the submarines told her in a transmission that as long as they haven't caught Djibril, it was useless to stop, even when the said commander's submarine was destroyed. As her crews caught the Seylan's shuttle flying up at high speed towards space, Talia immediately sent out Lunamaria to intercept, giving her the order that she had full permission to shoot down the shuttle, as long as it prevents it from going into space. The elder Hawke launched in Impulse and chased after the shuttle in its route, firing at it in an attempt to stop it. Unfortunately, due to the multiple Murasames who came into her way, she was unsuccessful in her mission. Everyone could only watch as the shuttle shot off into the distance.
Knowing the heavy disadvantage ZAFT was at, Talia ordered for a retreat and firing signal flares to the remainder of the ZAFT forces, surprising her vice-captain and her crews. She told them, that their objective was to capture Djibril, not destroying ORB, and seeing that they hadn't been able to locate Djibril's location at all, this entire attack on ORB was completely pointless. Cagalli was also surprised at her choice of retreat, but agreed and ordered all ORB forces to stop their attacks. The Archangel crews watched silently.
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"Just as Athrun said, you have still failed to understand the situation." Cher said, shaking her head, "I don't mean the situation on the Chairman, or Rey's part. They were in it together. What I mean is the situation of everything on the whole. If you can only see a single side of the situation, you can never understand Athrun or my choices."
"What're you…" Shinn was bewildered.
"You're only following the Chairman and Rey, and obeying the orders given blindly, Shinn. Can you really say you understand the situation? No one is absolutely right, and no one is absolutely wrong. It takes two hands to clap, and it takes both sides to create a situation. Where could a problem possibly arise when there was no one to start it? He never did give me a good impression even on our first meeting, but the moment he started dragging in Lacus' name and using that as a figurehead to boost his own popularity, the Chairman has my distrust completely." She was almost hissing near last sentence.
"Lacus?" Shinn murmured absently.
"But he has to use Athrun as part of his scheme, even going so far, as to order to have Freedom and the Archangel eliminated, even when he knew they were our friends. And now, he's using the convenient excuse of capturing the LOGOs leader to attack ORB?" she questioned, to which Shinn has no answer, "I know the LOGOs were the main problem for a time, setting off attacks for no reason, but what about the Chairman? Isn't he trying to do the same things too? Freedom and the Archangel were neutral; they had never taken a side, so why involve them in something that they shouldn't even be in? Unless he considered them a threat in his plans."
At that moment, everyone on the field saw the signal flares from Minerva that signed the retreat of all ZAFT forces.
"At least Captain Gladys still has the logic to not follow orders through blindly." Cher nodded in approval, "What about you Shinn? Will you start to think through about everything? Or will you continue to follow the Chairman?" she asked, "I can't force you to change your mind, but at least, think thoroughly, before you execute any orders given, if the order is logical, or you may end up doing something you regret again." She told him before she turn to move Lucifer around.
"Cher!" Shinn called, frantic, "I know what you mean, but Athrun is a traitor!"
"…" she turned around, "You still don't get it, Shinn. The Chairman and Rey labeled Athrun, Meyrin and me as traitors to ZAFT. But what have we betrayed about ZAFT? What had we given away that can be used against you? Have you give thought on why he labeled us as traitors?" she sighed, "Really, Shinn, you had bought his stories and did as commanded. You have not just once, attempted to kill my friends, and nearly succeeding. I'm trying to make myself forgive you, but I need time for that." Her eyes softened, "Take care Shinn, please think about what I've said."
Shinn was completely stumped, but he was jolted into action when Legend came by, pulling him back in the direction of Minerva. He has time to cast a longing look at Lucifer before being led away.
Lucifer moved just in time to catch Infinite Justice as it suddenly swayed and toppled sideways. Apparently, this short fight and the fact that Athrun was still classified under the disabled category added to the strain of his injuries and what little strength he has at the moment, has taken its toll on him. He would have ended up in the sea if she hadn't been in time to catch him. Casting a look in the direction of Freedom, both Coordinators hurriedly brought him back into the Archangel.
Just looking at the state he's in brought tears to Cagalli, as the blonde all but flew to his side. Kira, Lacus and Cher all had knowing looks on their faces. They knew it was unwise to let him pilot in this condition, but it was also a required step in order for Athrun to truly make his final decision.
"You pushed yourself too much," Kira said, "But I'm glad that you have cleared your mind and made your choice."
"Kira…" he whispered back.
"That's right, Athrun." This time, it was Lacus, "We are all proud of you." She smiled at him.
"Lacus…" he called, as he attempted to push himself up, but failing rather miserably.
"Athrun!" Cagalli was anxious, "Don't get up! Just lie down, or you'll hurt yourself!"
"…" Cher sighed, "Listen to her and stay down, Athrun. What have I told you before about straining yourself in this condition? Or do I have to make you stay down myself?"
"…Cher." He paled slightly and didn't struggle to Cagalli laying him back down on the stretcher.
"Seriously, you always outdo yourself," she shrugged, but a small smile was on her face, "You had better only focus on resting and recovering until you're fully recovered, or you're definitely going to regret ever leaving the infirmary." she warned, the darkly irritated look in her eyes was terrifying.
She received a slight but frantic nod from him, sending everyone into fits of laughter.
.
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The aftermath of the crazily weird with the true motive of the battle initiated by ZAFT still unknown was needless to tell, disastrous. It was hard to gaze upon the damages done to the once beautiful country, the death rolls which should have been kept to a minimum was unsurprisingly, the exact opposite, seeing that the ZAFT mobile suits did blow up their shelters whole. The remaining Orb soldiers tried their best to repair and savage whatever they could from all the wreckage, picking up the pieces of their country, home and life.
Meanwhile, the ZAFT troops gathered back in their base. Talia, together with Arthur met with Gilbert. The chairman was unsurprisingly, disappointed with how the battle turned out, though he questioned Talia for the reason. The Minerva captain, like Cher had said, had indeed has her doubts. As much as she was equally irritated with Archangel's untimely interruptions, she didn't exactly understand why Gilbert could give the order to eliminate the group of people who had been the, their heroes from the last war. Even she knew that without them, they wouldn't have even lived to see daylights now. And adding on, the sudden branding of two FAITH members he had appointed himself as traitors, and even to the point of starting a sudden war with ORB? She took a deep breath and explained her reasons. Since there was no proof of the LOGOs leader in ORB or the shuttle, and with the additional help ORB was receiving when the Archangel, Freedom, Justice and even Lucifer was giving them, it was completely pointless to continue the battle. Sighing, Gilbert accepted her reason, albeit reluctantly, and dismissed both captain and vice. When the door slid close, a frown instantly stretched over his face. The contents of Talia's report mentioned Justice, and that was a familiar name, one that showed itself in the last war, with it, the famed Coordinator pilot Athrun Zala. Does that mean he wasn't dead? He thought to himself, but found his answer, the moment Lucifer's name flashed across his mind. The Zephyris was undoubtedly getting on his nerves, not only because she was a Zephyris, but also because of her charisma to affect others, just like how Lacus Clyne could. Athrun trusted her completely, without even a hint of hestitation, he could have succeeded in manipulating him if it wasn't for her. And with her becoming a significantly important part of Shinn, she had planted thorns in his plans, which Gilbert was sure, she knew, or rather, suspected. He regrets not getting rid of her like he tried to do to Lacus from the start, but then again, how was he suppose to know, that she would reappear after having gone missing?
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Back in the Archangel, Kira, Lacus, Cher and Meyrin were watching over the sleeping Athrun. Surprisingly, he hadn't managed to degenerate his condition much, as worse as he had looked to be. Cher noticed Meyrin staring with wide eyes at her childhood friends, as Kira had an arm around Lacus' shoulders, holding her close, while the pink princess rested her head against his shoulders. Well, it's not like she could blame her though, since Gilbert did kept promoting the false rumor of Meer who had been playing Lacus to be Athrun's fiancé after all. And then again, no one else but those who participated side by side with the Archangel and their close friends would have known about that. Deciding to do her a favor, she whispered a promise to explain that to the redhead later.
On the other hand, Murrue had found Neo on the deck, with Stellar running about across the edge, enjoying the view of the sea. Neo faces Murrue seriously and relates to her his real thoughts: that he had lost confidence in who he really was and there was no longer a place he could go back to. Adding on to that, he even confessed to her, expressing his feelings for her and his wish to stay by her. Murrue was touched and nods gently, as the pair embraced each other, with Stellar beaming brightly behind them.
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Cagalli arrived at the broadcast centre, intending to show the world her determination and decision as she made her way to the room. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the area and sat down, as the cameras started rolling.
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Meyrin rushed to help Athrun up as he again, tries to get out of bed. And untimely, that was when the door opened and a group of three came in. Cher glared at him.
"What did I say about resting?" she crossed her arms.
"You could have just sit up if you're unable to lie down, you know," Kira sighed, moving over and helped Athrun sat leaning against the headboard.
"Seriously, if you even try to put a finger out of bed again, you're dead." Cher declared, her eyes flashed with dangerous irritation, making Athrun, and even Meyrin shiver at her deadly threat.
"Now, Athrun, I think Cher mean it this time," Lacus added seriously, gesturing to her irritated sister, "You better just listen to her."
"Now, now, you two, stop scaring them," Kira chided, sounding rather amused himself, "You can just watch the broadcast from here," he reached over the punched in a few commands on the small communication link beside Athrun's bed and watched together with the others as Cagalli's face came into view, signalling the start of the broadcast.
.
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Everyone in the world watched as the Athha heir introduced herself and proceed to openly address the issue of Gilbert's message about eliminating the LOGOs even to the extent of directly giving down the command of attacking ORB. Cagalli was about to continue on to oppose Gilbert's actions when her broadcast was cut off and on the screen, appeared Meer. The overly enthusiastic girl waved and introduced herself, "Everyone! I'm Lacus Clyne!"
To say the world was not bothered was an understatement, especially because of her unexpected enthusiasm towards what she was doing – badmouthing the LOGOs, or more specifically, Djibril. The PLANT chairman casually takes a drink, as he watched Meer's broadcast, he was practically gliming with confidence. Confidence that he would win. Meer goes on talking about Djibril, how he was one of the Blue Cosmos, which indefinitely shows just exactly how evil the man was. The Lacus look-alike continued to list out all the bad things that were already happening in the world now may continue to happen or worst, escalate and expresses how shocked she was at ORB's actions.
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Back in the infirmary of the Archangel, Meyrin was bewildered with Meer's broadcast, not just because of what she said, but moreso because she did look unbelievabily uncanny to the Lacus standing just beside her. Athrun clenched his fists, he couldn't believe that Meer was doing such a thing; was this the reason she didn't want to leave with them? Why did she rather allow herself to be used for such a thing? Kira was silent, though his eyes never leave the screen, squeezing Lacus' shoulder supportinly. Cher hardened her eyes, she knew; this has to stop, now. As much as she feels for Meer, using Lacus' name and face to feed the world black lies that Gilbert only want the world to believe in was simply blasphmy. She couldn't stand, not anymore for them to continue tarnishing her sister's reputation. Looking over, she found Lacus' clear blue eyes locking with her silver ones.
"Let's go, Lacus," she said.
"Yes, it's time," Lacus agreed.
As they moved towards the exit, Cher suddenly turne, "Oh, Kira and Meyrin too, watch after that idiot, and if he even does anything that suggest he's trying to get up, again, smack him." She was smiling, but the seriousness in her eyes before she left the room sent the said two into fits of laughter and the one referred as idiot into a state of shock.
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Meer's broadcast continued to speak of how evil the LOGOs were, but was unsuspectingly interrupted by another, which was Cagalli's initial one, not completely cutting off Meer's broadcast, but simply minimized hers to a small window at the corner of the entire broadcast – thanks to Cher's skills, in order for the next scene to take enough impact on the world.
I'm sorry, Meer. Cher thought sadly.
Cagalli was still seated in the same position, when Lacus walked into the picture.
"Don't be deceived by her appearance." Was the first thing she said as she stopped next to Cagalli, the other returning her gaze before they turned back to the camera.
At this, the entire world was thrown into chaos. Two Lacus?
While everyone in Minerva except for Rey, of course, was completely shocked, at the appearance of another identical Lacus. It was only then, did Shinn finally started having bits of doubt: was this what Cher was referring to?
"I am the real Lacus Clyne," Lacus stated through the broadcast, her voice strong and commanding, her eyes blazing.
Talia's mouth dropped in utter surprise, this was the very last thing she was expecting to happen, not that she knew about Gilbert's plan of the fake Lacus. Gilbert on the other hand, slammed his glass on the table and literally jolt up from his seat, absolutely flabbergasted, yelling the one thing that he plainly didn't even thought to consider.
"Impossible! How could she be in ORB?"
A/N: Phew… I'm finally done with this chapter! So sorry I took so long, but alast, it's up! But sadly, the website that I've been depending on for episode summaries to help me recap (since I'm too lazy to rewatch the anime) has been removed. Unfortunately, I've lost my source since I didn't thought of copying them out. As a result, I'll have to really go through the last few episodes to refresh my memory before I can continue, so the next chapter, and possibly the last needs quite some time to be done, hope you understand and bear the next long wait with me. Thank you all for reading!