Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.

All's Fair in Love, War, and Journalism

25

Yzak scowled immediately when he arrived at the scene, slamming the door of his car closed. An eerie silence had befallen the lively hub of the city, a deathly tension hung in the air. Looking from left to right, Heliopolis Square had been cleared of its evening crowd. Instead, it had been blocked off, flanked by police officers on all sides. They had their weapons drawn, locked on a target in the centre.

A lonely figure sat in the middle, still and unmoving at first glance, but as Yzak looked closely he could see the slight tremours running through the body kneeling on the ground. Blonde hair covered her features but he recognised her immediately.

Rage consumed him.

"Lower your weapons, you imbeciles!" The lieutenant's voice rang out across the square. "She's not a threat!"

Nevermind the fact that the officers had simply been following protocol, every one of those idiots would get a talking to when this was over. And a talking to from Lieutenant Yzak Joule was enough to cause nightmares.

Yzak hopped over the barricades, and took out his cell, placing a call to his captain. They found her. They had finally found her. But one glance to her chest and he knew that it was only because Azrael had wanted them to find her. By the time they reached Blue Cosmos' hideout earlier in the night, it was already abandoned. Athrun had remained at the scene to scour for any clues while he returned to headquarters. That was when a bomb threat was reported.

When Yzak finished his call to his captain, he made his way swiftly to the centre of the square. Coming to a stop before her, Yzak knelt down beside the blonde reporter, eyes narrowing at the ticking bomb secured across her torso.

"Cagalli." He was surprised by the softness in his own voice as he addressed her. "It's okay, you can put your hands down now, no one will hurt you."

When Cagalli didn't respond, Yzak reached out and gently lowered Cagalli's hands which had been held stiffly above her head this whole time.

"It's me Yzak." He said when she finally lifted her head and saw the flash of recognition in her eyes. He half expected her break down at the sight of a familiar face, but she held her posture upright.

She looked tired with shadows under her eyes, and though she held herself with a familiar pride, he noticed she was still shaking. But to his relief she was largely unharmed, save for the contraption ticking away on her chest.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to reassure her, Yzak leaned in to get a closer look at the device. A timer was attached to the explosives, ominous red numerals that ticked down for every second passed, and wires, bloody damn wires everywhere! He didn't know much about explosives, but one look and Yzak knew it would be impossible to get the bomb off of her without triggering it to explode.

"He said he was going to return me in pieces." Her voice trailed into his ears. It was quiet but he heard it. His eyes shifted to meet hers, and saw the flare of hatred amongst her fear. "I didn't think the slimeball meant it literally...Athrun..."

"Athrun is on his way." He reassured her. "He'll be here soon."

"Athrun can't see me like this." She gritted out. "It's exactly what Azrael wants."

Yzak scoffed, his hand squeezed comfortingly on her shoulder blade. Then he did something unlike himself, he offered her a smile. "You and I both know, nothing will be able to keep him away."

Athrun slowed down when he saw the flashing lights up ahead. Police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks surrounded the square. He had sped his entire way here. Pulling up as close as he could, Athrun hopped out of his vehicle with nervous energy. By the time he got there, the media hounds had already swarmed around the barricades, trying to get a closer look at what was going on. When they spotted him, the cameras and microphones turned towards his direction like they were out for his blood. Athrun pushed past them without a care and slipped behind the blockade, where his officers held the journalists back.

His eyes casted itself towards the centre of the square and he spotted her immediately with his lieutenant crouched by her side. Instead of making his way over to her straight away, Athrun scanned the premises, looking for another face. When he spotted him, he jogged his way over.

"Nicol!"

The green-haired sergeant turned at his name. There was a grim line on Nicol's usually serene face. He only came out to crime scenes when the expertise of his team were needed, and it was never for anything good.

"Athrun." Nicol greeted, once Athrun was next to him.

"How long until the bomb squad gets here?" Athrun asked.

"ETA 3 minutes."

"How long left on the clock?"

There was a running stopwatch in Nicol's hand, counting backwards. "10 minutes and 11 seconds." He read aloud.

Athrun's heart took a dive in his chest, and it must've showed on his face because his sergeant moved to reassure him. Nicol gave a pat on Athrun's shoulder.

"Luna's the best on my team. She'll get the bomb off of Cagalli."

Athrun barely managed a nod of appreciation before he turned on his heels and headed for Cagalli. 10 minutes. Azrael was giving him 10 precious minutes left with Cagalli. The bastard. By the time the bomb squad arrived and suited up, that time would be cut down to 6 minutes. That was all they had to deactivate the bomb, and remove it from Cagalli's body.

As Athrun made his way across the square, he couldn't help the sickening feeling of guilt consume him. Azrael had warned him that he would kill Cagalli if he tried to go after them. He didn't listen and instead pushed Azrael too far. Azrael had made no demands this time, despite knowing that he must be desperate enough to do anything right now. No, Azrael wanted him to watch, helpless to do anything as his most important person's life ticked away in front of his eyes. He couldn't lose Cagalli now, not when he had finally realised all that she meant to him. Not when they had just begun. But Athrun might as well have had strapped the bomb on Cagalli himself. He had put her in this situation. This was the consequence of his actions.

When he reached them, he gave a light tap on Yzak's shoulder, and his lieutenant automatically switched positions with him, so used to the signal he gave when they took turns in interrogating suspects, or took shifts on stakeouts when they were partners during their rookie days. As Yzak stepped aside, Athrun took his place and knelt beside Cagalli.

Yzak leaned over to whisper in his ears. "She's dehydrated but no serious wounds."

"Thank you for keeping her company."

Yzak gave a curt nod before retreating to the sidelines. Athrun turned his attention sorely on Cagalli.

"Hey, you."

He brushed a wayward strand of hair from her eyes. Her eyes. It was so good to look into her eyes again. Like pure molten gold, they shone with brilliance at the sight of him. He let out a smile, Azrael hadn't managed to diminish her light. Not yet. Not ever.

"Athrun." She braved a smile back at him. "I'm glad you're here."

"There's nowhere I'd rather be."

His eyes roamed over her body to confirm his lieutenant's words, narrowing at the sight of fresh bruises on her skin. Her feet were bare with cuts on her soles, and the wounds on her face he had seen in the video recording looked worse up close. She was quivering in the night wind in a disheveled green dress. He couldn't begin to imagine how terrifying this was for her. How terrifying the last 24 hours had been.

He moved to sit behind her, then carefully wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind, he pulled her into his chest, hoping to impart some of his warmth.

"It's alright." He whispered into her ears, when he realised she was still shivering. It wasn't just the cold making her shake. "I've got you."

He heard a sob which then turned into a hearty chuckle. "You've said those words to me before."

"I have?" He felt the tension in her shoulders ease slightly.

"Yes." She replied with fondness. "That time I was pushed from the municipal building, and just as my grip was about to slip, I looked up and I saw you there. You smiled at me and said, 'I've got you' then pulled me back up and I fell through the window and into your arms. You continued to hold me, and whisper to me 'You're safe now, I've got you. I've got you.' until I finally calmed down enough to stop slobbering over your suit jacket."

Athrun's arms drew tighter around her shoulders. He remembered that day. He remembered the way his chest pounded frantically in panic, how his heart squeezed at the thought of losing her, exactly the way it was now. He pressed his lips to her hair, and kissed her fiercely on the crown of her head.

"You gave me your dry cleaning bill the week after."

Athrun chuckled. "And if I recall, you never did pay me for it."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to pay it."

"You're always telling me to be careful, and I never listen. Now I have a bomb strapped to my chest. And my carelessness got an innocent person killed."

There was a strain in her voice. She was talking about the shopkeeper. Azrael had made her feel responsible for it. It just added another layer of hate he had for the man.

"Hey." He turned her head softly to face him, seeing the unshed tears. "None of this is your fault." His eyes held her gaze, slowly convincing her of his words until she gave him a slight nod of her head.

His eyes flicked lower then to the timer. Athrun hadn't failed to notice that the clock was counting down to exactly 24 hours since Cagalli's abduction. No kidnap victim survived more than 24 hours. Azrael had planned everything perfectly, to the last second.

Athrun's hands caressed Cagalli's face on both side. "We're going to get that thing off of you. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." He said with conviction, to convince her and to convince himself.

07:30

Despite her earlier protest with Yzak, the moment Athrun appeared she felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over her. Just the sight of him had calmed her down, and when he wrapped his arms around her and leaned her into his chest, she felt a sense of security wash over her despite the bomb ticking away at her chest.

His breath tickled her neck from behind. It felt as if she could forget everything that happened in the last 24 hours if she just closed her eyes and remained in the safety of his arms, but that constant ticking noise kept her from deluding herself. There was a live bomb strapped to her torso, how she had managed to survive this long in the hands of Azrael was a miracle, she wasn't counting on any more. Azrael meant to kill her this time, and he meant to do it in a spectacular fashion. Not to mention he had ensured there would be an audience to watch. Her death wouldn't just be about her.

She was certain now, that Azrael wanted the whole world to see. To drive the message home that no one messed with Blue Cosmos. Because look what happens to the poor fool who tried.

All of Heliopolis' media crews were parked right outside the barricade, some broadcasting live. She could see their cameras and lights from where she was, and usually she would be among them, clambering to get a better look at the poor lost soul whose life was about to be cut short. She suddenly longed to be amongst them, reporting the news, instead of being the news. Who had Kisaka sent to cover this for The Orb? Did they even know it was her? Then her eyes locked with Yuna's in the crowd, his face pale and ashen with recognition. He was looking at her as if she was already dead.

Athrun hushed at her, and Cagalli realised she was gasping for breath. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on Athrun's warmth behind her before her breathing evened again. He was the only thing keeping her sane right now, as all of her previous bravado melted away with each second closer to her doom.

Just when the ticking of the bomb threatened to drive her insane, a loud screech was heard as a heavily armoured van came to a stop just inside the barricaded area. As soon as the van was let in, Athrun's officers moved to block access to the area once more.

The van doors opened, and someone was being zipped in a full-body padded suit. Athrun breathed out in relief behind her. It was the bomb squad. The person in the suit chatted very briefly with Sergeant Amalfi before heading towards them, stopping just before her. The officer gave Athrun a nod of the head first before focusing on Cagalli.

Kneeling down beside her, it was a kind and feminine voice that spoke. "You're going to be okay, Miss Yula. I'm going to look after you."

The words sounded strangely familiar to Cagalli, and it brought a warmth to her heart. She peered through the protective helmet the other wore and saw Lunamaria Hawke with her unmistakable red hair. She had used the same words Cagalli had once said to her sister.

Lunamaria gave Cagalli a firm squeeze on her hand to tell her that she meant her words.

"Captain," Lunamaria turned back to Athrun, "you can trust me with Miss Yula's life. Perhaps you should evacuate to a safer…"

"No." Athrun cut her off abruptly. "I'm staying."

Lunamaria's mouth turned grim for a second but she didn't argue back, instead she opened up the toolbox she had set beside her and turned her attention to the bomb carefully. When she unscrewed its outer casing, taking off its cover, she took a sharp intake of breath.

"Detective?" Athrun inquired cautiously. From his position, he couldn't see the criss-cross tangles of wires within and the impossible task of sorting out what connected to what.

"Nothing." Luna replied immediately, but Cagalli didn't miss the momentarily look of doubt on her face before it settled into determination.

Cagalli's heart escalated inside her chest. "Athrun, don't be a fool."

"I'm staying Cagalli." Athrun said with finality. "I'm not going to leave you." Then with a softer voice, "How can you expect me to leave you, when I've just found you?" She turned her head to see his forest green eyes boring into her with words unsaid, then he smiled at her. "You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

Despite herself, Cagalli couldn't help but smile back into those eyes that bore her affection. "I was right. You are an idiot Zala." She chastised softly. Though she preferred it if Athrun was far away somewhere safe, she also couldn't deny how terrified she would be if he wasn't here. "Thank you." She said quietly, to both Athrun and Lunamaria. Both of them were risking their lives for her right now, and the least she could do was show them her gratitude.

She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sound of the bomb.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Lunamaria worked away, her forehead knotted together in concentration. And the seconds counted down closer. Minutes passed when they only had minutes to begin with.

02:34

"Luna?" Athrun's voice now traced with urgency.

"Sorry captain. It's a little more complicated than I anticipated." There were beads of sweat escaping her forehead now. "I just need…more time."

"Luna," Athrun addressed steadily. "Sergeant Amalfi tells me you're his best. You can do this."

His words seemed to have sparked away the momentary doubt in the red-haired detective. Lunamaria gave a firm nod and resumed her work.

But Cagalli could feel the tension rising in Athrun's body behind her and whatever comforts she found in Athrun's arms earlier were gone. Instead a dark, terrifying fear crept into her heart. She didn't doubt Lunamaria's skills but time was the only thing they didn't have.

"Athrun…" Cagalli began to say.

"No, I won't leave."

"You need to go." She pleaded with him.

"Stop it!" He snapped at her, she recognised the agitation and panic in his voice. "That bomb isn't going to go off. Where is the stubborn woman that I loathe so much, who doesn't know when to give up?"

"Right here." She placed a hand over Athrun's which was still wrapped around her. "And I won't let you throw your life away for me. It's bad enough that Lunamaria is risking her life to disable the bomb, Athrun you don't need to be here as well. Don't give Azrael the satisfaction of seeing both our bodies in pieces splattered across the front page news."

"I won't let that happen." His voice came out strained. They both knew it was out of his hands now, it had been since the beginning.

She felt his forehead press the back of her head as he leaned into her. She knew what he was thinking. That he would never forgive himself, if he walked away and that was the last time he would see her. But she would never forgive him if he stayed. And her stubbornness always outweighed his. She wasn't going to let it end like this.

"I need you to do something for me." Cagalli said quietly. "Kira…he's my brother…I'm sorry I haven't told you…" She fumbled, having only the barest idea if Azrael had gotten to Kira too. But Azrael hadn't tried to use Kira against her while she was in his captivity, which meant her brother should be somewhere safe. "My parents, my real parents they had something that Blue Cosmos wanted. It was at my father's house, that was why I went to Onogoro. I found it and posted it to myself. It's in a locker, no. 828, at the city post. It contains everything I found of my parents' research. You need to get to it straightaway. Give it to my brother, Kira will know what to do with it."

"Cagalli…Kira…" Athrun struggled for words.

"Athrun, promise you'll do this for me. It can't end up in the wrong hands."

"Give it to him yourself." He replied stubbornly.

"I will, but on the off chance that I can't…Please." Cagalli begged with desperation behind her voice. His green eyes were turbulent as they stared back at her. She knew he couldn't refuse her.

"Okay." Athrun finally conceded, his arms tightening around her as if afraid she would disappear. "I'll find Kira, and give it to him, I promise."

"And you'll leave?" He couldn't promise one thing without the other.

His brows knotted in a frown. "When there's less than 30 seconds left on the clock, I'll leave." She heard the struggle in his voice. "Until then, I'm staying."

She nodded and relaxed in his arms once more. The clock ticked down another second.

00:35

Athrun shifted and reluctantly untangled his arms from her. There were no words of goodbye, or whispers of affection or comfort. Instead he gave her a light peck on the side of the face, as if he expected to see her again. Athrun was still resolute that everything was going to work out fine. He couldn't allow himself to think otherwise. But when he addressed Lunamaria, his voice was grim.

"When it gets down to 10 seconds, I want you to leave as well." He was speaking as a captain, concerned for the welfare of his officer.

Lunamaria didn't give up, she didn't even lift her head from where it tilted in concentration. "I owe a debt to Miss Yula, and I intend to pay it back."

"10 seconds Luna." Athrun reminded her, as he started to rise to his feet.

"I've got it!" Lunamaria's voice suddenly cut through, halting him.

Athrun stared down and saw her holding up a yellow wire, amongst the sea of wires. It trembled in her hands.

"How certain are you?" He asked, his heart felt as if it was going to explode.

"85%."

Athrun's green eyes sought Cagalli's for a brief second before turning back to Lunamaria.

"Do it."

Lunamaria sucked in a deep breath then snipped the wire.

It seemed like the whole world stopped. Silence hung in the air and as the next second ticked by. The clock remained frozen.

00:17

Then it was suddenly like there was air enough to breathe again. Lunamaria let out a single sound of laughter before a brilliant smile lit up her face in triumph.

"You should have more faith in me captain." She beamed proudly.

"I never doubted you Luna." Athrun returned her smile a thousandfold, "Thank you." And he would never be able to thank her enough.

He knelt down beside Lunamaria and helped her unstrap the bomb from Cagalli's torso. When the bomb had been safely removed. A loud eruption echoed across the square as the gathered media crews and onlookers cheered and applauded ecstatically. It was like a ripple that spread over the crowd into a wave. The exhilaration was contagious.

Athrun was knelt before Cagalli. He pressed his forehead against hers. "You're okay." He said to her, as much as to himself.

"Yeah." She replied. He brushed away a tear that had escaped down her cheek, from the fear, from the release.

"I told you I wasn't going to let anything happen to you." Then he gathered her into him and lifted her from the ground.

Cagalli clung to him as he carried her away, so fragile, made of only flesh and bone. He came this close to losing her. 17 seconds. So easily she could have shattered into a thousand pieces before him. Then he felt her heart beat behind her ribcage pressed against his. And he heard its strength. Relief drowned him like a flood. She was whole and unchanged and in his arms. He never wanted to have to make that kind of decision again. He never wanted to let her go.

Cagalli protested, like the stubborn and persistent woman she was until he finally set her to the ground so she could walk herself. But her hand didn't let go of him, still clinging onto his shirt, and he didn't let go of her.

Yzak came rushing towards them, meeting them halfway. "Cutting it a bit too close don't you think, Zala?" The lieutenant chastised but the worry and relief in his voice was evident as Yzak walked them the rest of the way to the perimeter of the square.

"Athrun, the locker." Cagalli quietly reminded him, there was something behind her eyes that said to him of urgency. "Azrael..."

Understanding what she meant, Athrun turned to his lieutenant with instructions for Yzak to take a few men to check out the locker at the city post. Yzak turned, gathering people as he left and Athrun stopped Cagalli in front of a waiting ambulance.

She was bundled up into a blanket as the paramedic checked her over for injuries. After a moment, the paramedic turned back to Athrun. "Only superficial wounds." The woman confirmed. "But I'll still need to take her to the hospital."

Athrun nodded his thanks, and as the paramedic tried to get Cagalli into the ambulance, Cagalli's grip on Athrun's shirt tightened.

"Don't leave." A stir of panic entered her voice.

He leaned in and gave her a reassuring peck on the forehead. "I'll be right behind you. I need to take care of things here first, but I'll follow you to the hospital right after, I promise."

She nodded and reluctantly let go of him as he did the same. Cagalli entered the back of the ambulance as Athrun turned away. His eyes scanned the premises looking for Nicol for a debriefing when a loud explosion rocked the premises shaking the ground with it.

He was knocked several steps back from the force of the blast, flinging him to the concrete. His body throbbed from the impact, and when Athrun opened his eyes, he was staring at a scene of chaos. Red flames licked the sides of a blown out van in his line of sight. Its door flung 20 metres away. He pushed himself off the floor with some difficulty and as his eyes adjusted and cleared, he scanned the premises once more, mentally counting off his officers in his head.

"Where's Sergeant Amalfi?" Athrun yelled out to no one in particular. His voice now hoarse from having the wind knocked out of him, as well as the deadening smell of smoke. "Nicol?!"

When no one answered, and Nicol didn't reappear from the corner of his vision, a sickening feeling settled at the bottom of his stomach. His eyes found Lunamaria instead, kneeling on the ground in front of the burning vehicle with a look of utter shock and disbelief on her face and he remembered; Lunamaria had handed the disabled bomb over to Nicol. And Nicol had taken it into the amoured van.

"NO!"

A maddening scream erupted behind him, cutting through the ringing in his ears. Cagalli was behind him. He caught her in his arms, stopping her from running towards the flames.

"No, no, no!" She continued to scream, struggling in his arms. "It's my fault! That was supposed to be me. That was supposed to be me!"

"No Cagalli." He tried to tell her but she wasn't listening to him, she was hysterical. And Athrun finally saw the crack in her. What Azrael had failed to do in 24 hours, he had finally achieved in a heartbeat. She was broken.

Athrun held her tight as he pushed her back towards the ambulance. Complete and utter despair reflected in her eyes then she collapsed against him, sobbing hopelessly, shakes erupting over her body. She muttered incoherently to herself as he settled her into the ambulance.

"Get her out of here." He instructed the awaiting paramedic who for a moment was too shocked to move, then as if jolted from a stupor suddenly sprang into action. She gave Cagalli a dose of sedative to calm her down. As the drug kicked in, and her eyelids grew sleepy, her hand reached out for Athrun one last time.

"It should've been me."

Closing the door to the ambulance, he waited until it started to drive away before returning to the destruction behind him. He was still trying to comprehend what had happened.

The bomb went off.

Inside the van.

With Nicol.

How?

"I don't understand." It was Lunamaria's voice, drifting through the chaos that echoed his own. "I disarmed it. I disarmed the bomb...it shouldn't have..."

Forgetting his own grief for a second, Athrun rushed towards the red-head still crumpled before the flames and knelt beside her. She had been close to the van when the blast went off, but to his relief the suit she still wore protected her from the brunt of the impact.

"I don't understand." She repeated, turning to meet his eyes. Wide and confused, they were teemed with tears.

He placed his hand on the detective's shoulder, squeezing tightly. "Luna, listen to me, this isn't your fault. I know you disarmed it, I was there."

"But it went off…Sergeant Amalfi…" She choked on the words as horror flashed across her features.

Athrun couldn't understand it either. A moment ago they were celebrating. The bomb was disable, Cagalli was safe, the crowd had cheered. How had everything gone so terribly wrong in the blink of an eye? There were no words Athrun could use to comfort Lunamaria. He got up when Shinn rushed over from where he had been stationed on the other side of the square. Shinn had once been overcome with grief and guilt over a death of a comrade, he understood best what Lunamaria was going through. Shinn took Lunamaria in his arms and Athrun left her for him to comfort.

Athrun finally turned to the flaming van, burning like hellfire. Firefighters were already in position, pumping water over the van, but the flames persisted, insistent on burning everything inside until there was nothing left. Until there was nothing left of Nicol, of the person who had been his trusted sergeant, his comrade, his friend.

Nothing left to bury for his family.

His officers stood by his side, watching as he did as the flames licked away, horror on their faces and absolutely nothing they could do about it.

Even as the stench of burning flesh wafted into their nostrils, its smell of roasted meat, Athrun couldn't help but glimpse to the corner of his eyes, and hoping, praying, that Nicol would walk out from the shadows somewhere. That he had not been in the van. That he had simply been hiding from the explosion. But the devastation of everyone's faces around him told him otherwise.

That was when Athrun realised that Azrael was still playing with them. That they were still in his game. And Azrael had won.