Chapter 28: I believe
"Till death do us part…" ~-Athrun Zala
Ooo
"My name is Athrun Zala, Tad Elthman has been captured. Leave this place if you don't want to die."
The declaration stood like a death sentence, and then he turned to Leonidas Fitzbane still on screen.
"Leonidas." He greeted.
The air stood still as the other man merely widened his eyes, "You…"
"Yes, me." Athrun interrupted him remorselessly, "I'm tired of games. If you want me, come and get me. Don't harm the innocent."
The other man laughed a maniacal laugh, it was a while before he managed to speak.
"Don't you understand the situation?! You have no rights to make any demands! I have the 11th fleet under my control and I will destroy the PLANTs if I need to. If anything, I want you to come, begging, on your knees. And you midgets are my hostages, all of you…Even Cagalli."
Athrun's face betrayed a trace of emotion at long last.
"Oh, you did not know? Ask Elthman…he used you as a bait to lure Cagalli Yula Athha to the PLANTs. She's probably somewhere in the same building as you now. Maybe killed, maybe tortured…" Leonidas Fitzbane paused dramatically.
Athrun glared pointedly at Tad Elthman for a moment, but did not make a sound. Then turned back to Leonidas Fitzbane on screen.
"Leonidas Fitzbane, let's talk." Athrun said, and the room was suddenly silent as they watched him raise a detonator in his hand. Leonidas merely studied him with disdain.
"…I know you are controlling the fleet with the bombs in the engine core, but you have no idea what you are dealing with. These are not the average blue rinsers, they target inorganic material and wipe out anything within ripple range. Including you."
Leonidas paled, he had assumed no one else will know what's going on.
"…What are you trying to say?"
"That I can destroy you and your fleet within 30 seconds."
People around gasped, but no one dared to move or to confront Athrun.
"You're bluffing…" Leonidas said uncertainly.
"Try me." Athrun conceded leisurely, "All I have to do is to destroy one of the Stealthium ships, whether by force or by command. Remember, the Crimson army is undefeatable, and they are loyal to me…"
"…You won't…Athrun Zala…You're too nice, too benevolent, too merciful for your own good." Leonidas smiled sinisterly.
"PLANTs will be caught in it too… I'll make sure it does..."
"That's the beauty of this weapon. The forces get diminished by organic material, human bodies, for example…The ripple won't spread beyond December one even after your entire army becomes space dust." Athrun explained patiently, he felt sweat meander down his temple. He deliberately made himself speak slowly.
The whole threat hung on this one lie, no one knows the force of the bombs once they detonate.
No one made a sound, not one dared to breathe as the threat sat out there in the open. Leonidas Fitzbane was rendered speechless.
"But…" Athrun went on. "I can cut you a deal. Land on Aprilius, we talk. Just one unarmed space shuttle, no escorts, no more tricks…We talk."
The man on the other line looked livid, as if he was about to explode, then gritted his teeth and in a tight voice he consented.
"Let's talk then…"
The connection was severed, then a wave of muttering passed amongst the staff.
"The police have surrounded the place, they have sealed the exits and entrances." One of the soldiers who was on line with team two in Yzak's office reported.
Athrun nodded. No one gets in or out.
Frank Wisely had kept his end of the bargain. Instead of going to exterminate the carriers, he would pretend instead to have received a tip-off regarding terrorists trying to take over HQ. Sent as little policemen as he reasonably could to the carriers and pretend, once again, to be overwhelmed by angry patients. And stomp into HQ after all Athrun's men had gone in, trapping them, the good guys and the bad guys.
Now all he had to do was to finish the show…
"Team leaders, assemble." Athrun commanded. And Mark Jocose walked over, Yzak stood up with difficulty, shrugging off Ezaria Jule's hand. It was also then that the door behind Athrun slipped open to admit Shinn, Kira, Mwu and Andrew bearing arms. More gasping occurred.
"Lacus…! Team one- rescue the princess team-reporting." Mwu gushed in relief as he saw that Lacus was unharmed. Gazing very briefly at Spencer Gladys.
"Team three, finished mission of escorting Supreme Councilor Yulie Amarfi, reporting." Nicole declared proudly.
"Team four reporting." Said Yzak grimly. "Awaiting orders."
"Team five reporting." Mark Jocose said.
"Hey we are here too, don't forget us!" Murdoch reported from the walkie talkie. Athrun could imagine him now, toothpick in mouth, donut and coffee in hand. A bemused Meyrin by his side.
"Good work." Athrun said with a slight smile. "There are things we must accomplish before Fitzbane gets here, team two is to continue surveillance, we will need their support."
"You have it, boy." Murdoch said, he seemed to be chewing, Athrun thought he may have been right about the donuts.
He looked at Mwu, then nodded at Kira meaningfully, and lowered his voice, "…Find Cagalli and keep her safe."
"Athrun…? Don't you want to…" Kira questioned in surprise, but Athrun would not let him continue. "…Team three, take Lacus as well as the Supreme Council with you and meet the police outside…peacefully. Show them who we are."
Nicole widened his eyes in consideration of what Athrun was really asking him to do, then responded. "Yes sir."
"Team four...Yzak…sieve out all who is willing to cooperate, escort the rest out, we are not taking these people as hostages…" He sighed slowly, and turned to the forecasters below.
"The battle has not ended… At any point of time, if Leonidas Fitzbane decides to try, we will have to be ready to fight. Either that…or to get ready to evacuate December city." Some of the staff nodded at that, gathering their wits about them.
He went on. "You may not understand or agree with what I have done, or what I am going to do, but I think you all here have a reason to fight, someone to protect. This place… is my home, and I will do what I can to defend it. Let us be united in that. Supreme Councilor Yzak Jule."
Ooo
Yzak only widened his eyes as Athrun stretched a hand out at him, pressing the detonator into his hands.
"Zala…?"
Athrun ignored him totally.
"Team five. I'll let you decide what you want to do with him." He pointed at Tad Elthman. "Just ensure he doesn't get out of your sight." Ezaria moved in front of Tad, Athrun only frowned, and employed his only weapon to ensure these two never team up again.
"Ezaria Jule…you can drop the act, you have done well. You betrayed him, you sent assassins to kill all his men."
It was another lie, the truth was that when Mark tied up his hands, he pressed the other end of the rope into his palms with the detonator and whispered, "You must somehow get near Tad Elthman, we'll put up a circus show here." Later on, as the interrogators filed in, men were sent to kill them all, Athrun guessed they were indeed from Ezaria, to silence all. But Shiho and gang came just in time to save his life.
"What…?" Ezaria gasped in surprise, Tad Elthman did not even look at her."
"Tad, listen! He's lying…! You must believe me!" She almost yelled in panic.
He ignored her, Athrun only watched, satisfied as he indicated Dearka and Spencer. "Take the wounded with you, leave no men behind."
"Of course." Mark and some of the men chorused.
"Move out."
Someone grabbed Dearka and Spencer, the soldiers started moving at command, running down the stairs and beyond the gates. There were voices and shouting, and order began to be established.
ooo
"Wait!" Yzak snapped, his voice was barely audible through the din. He did not move from the spot, neither did Kira.
"Are you mad?! You're going to be here sitting ducks? Fitzbane will kill you!" He snapped anxiously.
Athrun only gazed at him calmly, and did not make a sound. Infuriated, Yzak punched him.
"Idiot!" He chided, then staggered a little, blood loss and injury taking its toll on him, he felt his vision blur for a moment. Kira caught him and broke his fall.
"Yzak, you're hurt…!" He berated, Yzak merely snarled and shoved him off roughly.
If anyone, Kira should be stopping Athrun, he was his best friend, and Yzak was disappointed at his lack of action, it spelt apathy.
Lacus was still there, she slowly gestured at Shiho and Nicole to wait, then gingerly walked back to where Athrun stood, and gazed at him. Yzak looked at her hopefully, wishing that she will be able to stop him.
"Athrun, are you sure…?" She implored, her voice small and gentle.
"This is your last chance, you…might never see her again…Are you certain…?"
Yzak wondered what she was talking about, to a certain degree, he had guessed, he just was not willing to accept or believe.
Athrun merely smiled in a small and sad way, "Yes, Lacus. I am sure…"
"You… have never managed to look people in the eye and lie…look at me, Athrun." She probed, touching his chin with her fingers.
"Look at me and say that again." She pleaded.
He did not,Yzak knew he could not. Athrun was apparently afraid that he will shed the tears that he could not afford to shed.
"You want to see her again, don't you?"
She had seemingly hit the nail on the head, and Athrun could not find a reply.
"It's better this way, she'll be safe…" He whispered miserably. "I…can't risk her being hurt by that man again."
Yzak gasped inwardly, he had heard more than is being said.
Athrun was trying to do what Yzak had not managed to, he was trying to protect the woman he loves, even if it meant eternal separation...
Lacus only widened her eyes, hesitated, then nodded grimly. Slowly, she fished his pendant and wedding rings out of her pocket. She tried to put them on for him, but he warded her off with a hand, for some reason, afraid.
"Don't, keep it. Pass them to her…" He whispered brokenly.
She only shook her head adamantly as she evaded his hand and rounded behind him, clasping the chain around his neck.
"…You either keep it, or you do it yourself." She declared.
As Lacus began her descend down the stairs Yzak could just about prevent himself from shouting. "Zala, you listen! You can get everyone to do your dirty work but I don't care, I am not going to watch you kill yourself."
"I'll be fine…trust me." He said, taking Yzak by surprise, "I have a way to stop him, and Yzak…it has to be you…they won't listen to anyone else." Athrun indicated the sea of strategy forecasters seated below.
Yzak hesitated, he saw it. If there was a coup and Chairman Elthman has been overthrown, it left the decisions up to the next deputy in command. Steven and Violet and Yulie have been MIA and just return, they gazed steadily at him, and he realized the entire room was looking solely at him.
Grudgingly, Yzak glared at Athrun as he walked down the stairs back to his seat. He replaced the commander's hook in his ear.
He took a deep breath, and sighed.
"This is Supreme Councilor Yzak Jule. Chairman Elthman's atrocity has been found out, I am taking temporary command of the 11th fleet. I am sure all of you have heard the correspondence between Chairman Zala and Leonidas Fitzbane. Please help, we must defend our nation…"
He could see determination in some of the soldier's gazes, there was a beehive of activity in the tier below, thankfully, majority of the soldiers chose to stay and cooperated, those who refused were shooed off by Mark Jocose at gunpoint. Some of them tried contacting the various crafts and were relieved with any kind of response. Some were crying , other were cheering. It sounded joyous, like a reunion, there was unity in the place.
The Supreme Councilors were still watching him, and with that, they nodded, and left. Steven even gave him and thumbs up and a flying kiss before the door closed.
"…Let's protect our home together." Yzak whispered with a bitter smile playing by his lips, knowing that the intervention had just saved hundreds, probably thousands of lives. He turned and gazed back at Athrun, at last forlorn on the uppermost tier. Athrun grinned, but his expression was unexpectedly, sad.
"Goodbye, Yzak."
Ooo
And before any of them could react, Athrun activated the switch on the panel that flattened the stairs and sunk them into the ground. He gave a small childish smile, he had itched to prank somebody since he first found out about the contraption, and he wondered what was going on in that devious mind of Frank Wisely's when he built it. Then a sheet of reinforced steel slipped across the division between the first and second tier, shutting off the rest of the world from where he was.
A wave of silence passed over the soldiers like electricity as they saw the incoming steel wall, some ran up frantically and tried to scale the flattened terrain, sliding down miserably.
"Warlord?!" Someone yelled.
"Leave, all of you."
"No!" One of the younger ones declared in protest, "Leave no man behind, you said it yourself, sir! We don't abandon our comrades!"
"I'm not your comrade." Athrun answered quietly. "I am just a liar."
The soldiers eyes widened unanimously, and they studied him, Mark Jocose stiffened, only Yzak did not seem surprised in the least. He was pretty sure Violet would perform her magnificent eye-roll if she was still here.
"The truth is, I married Cagalli Yula Athha." An audible gasp, someone mouthed 'Impossible', followed once again by the dead-panned silence and Athrun went on emotionlessly.
"I married her right after I became Chairman, all that I've done, all that I've said, it's all a lie."
It was almost unbearable to have these men who had trusted him to look at him as if they are about to cry, but he was banking on that, he needed them to know and understand how ruthlessly complete his betrayal was.
"The two children you guys see running around the ship, little Max and Marlene, you guys ever wondered why they look so much like me?" He paused, sensing that they had seen the truth, they had to.
"According to my wife, they have my eyes." He said quietly.
"...Bastard..." one if the soldiers cursed.
"Leave." Athrun said simply, finding it unnecessary to add command into his voice. He knew it will be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Mark Jocose widened his eyes, realization dawning on him as to what Athrun was trying to do.
The youngest soldier backed off to the other side of the wall as it slid past them, the rest followed suit.
Suddenly, Yzak saluted.
Athrun bit his lip.
Mark was last, he lingered, hesitated...Then fell into a sharp salute, as if renewing his final promise to Athrun.
I'll bury you beside your parents.
Athrun returned the salute.
The door was shut.
Ooo
Ezaria Jule has many secrets in her life…
Those years ago, she fell in love with a man who had been enraptured with Lenore Zala. She waited and waited, but he did not seem to see or understand her, in the depths of her sorrow, Ezaria found out a harrowing truth, the genetic profiling showed that it was not possible at all. His genes and hers will inevitably be sterile, resultantly it would be illegal by state law. She gave up and married her match-made husband, it was a loveless, sterile marriage. It was a front, to allow both of them to move on in their careers.
Later, as Patrick married Lenore, she watched as he fell out of love and into despair, and at that time she was secretly glad, for he might finally look around and hopefully, look her in the eye and realize that she has been right beside him. But no such thing happened, he remained unmoved by her approaches, but she could not leave him, knowing that he needed every bit of comfort his broken heart could find. In his drunken stupor, they slept together, and that night was the happiest night of her life. But what came after was beyond expectation.
She became pregnant.
When she missed her period for a second month in a row, she could not help but be surprised, and lo and behold, she was already 6 weeks pregnant. It was splendid news, it showed that the genetic profiling was wrong, the world was wrong, she was right in clinging to love. Yet for some reason, she was afraid to tell him the truth, she did not want him to accept the relationship just because there was now potentially a baby involved.
The other option was to abort the child, but she did not want to, for the baby growing in her was a pure miracle. She discussed the possibility of a child with her husband, who surprisingly talked about tax rebates, and the issue was settled, she conveniently lied to say that the child was his, and the masquerade continued.
A few months later, a pudgy baby with bright eyes was born. She delighted herself in motherhood as the toddler tumbled around the house, Yzak is an intelligent little boy with natural leadership qualities. And her husband adored the little one, always calling him 'little devil' and playing Lego and taught him to play golf before he reached the height of a golf club. It made her very guilty, she had lied to him, but this man nurtured Yzak to the best of his abilities. He would show Yzak off at every house party and event he could possibly bring the child to, proudly declaring that the child was his son, and dismissing comments like, 'He looks more like his mother.', and retorts with a, 'Of course, he's his mother's son too, right? Ez.'
Ezaria could only try to smile.
To Ezaria, the best part about Yzak was that he inherited his eyes. Ezaria's eye colour was like a piece of iceberg evacuated from the Arctic, but the little one had clear, bright blue pupils with a beautiful tinge of indigo at the periphery, like the graduations of a rainbow. Being a mother was the toughest, but most fulfilling period in her life. Yet she had never regretted her decision to give birth to and nurse this little boy. She knew that one day he would be her bargain chip, her key to a life she never had.
Yzak seems to understand her intents to a certain degree, one day when they were watching an ad regarding a multipurpose screwdriver that will somehow enhance one's life and bring salvation to humanity, the two-and-the-half-year-old boy turned to her slowly and asked.
"Mommy…am I your tool?"
Shocked, appalled and ashamed, she said, "No."
Her husband was assassinated one day when Yzak was four, Yzak cried and cried when he saw his father's dead body.
Her only regret was that she had not yet told him the truth.
She swore to herself that one day she would tell the truth, one day when this little boy makes his real father proud…
Such a moment has come.
"Are you alright?" Ezaria asked Tad, they were tied and blindfolded and trapped in a broom cupboard somewhere in the building. She could only gauge his position by the sound of his voice and breathing.
"I'm alright..." He replied stoically, still unwilling to engage her.
"Tad…I have something to tell you…" She bit her lip.
ooo
"…Whether by force or by command."
Bethany understood what she must do as she watched the procession; a space shuttle escorted by several mobile suits detached itself from the main EAF fleet. From then on, it is unclear as to who holds the detonator. But the presence of the Crimson army serves as deterrence against the EAF doing anything rash, the 11th fleet are hostages, but hostages become useless once they are dead…
She contacted Lunamaria Hawke, using a lone ancient channel, it was at a wavelength which became obsolete since before the cosmic era due to the low quality, but at this moment it will be almost undetectable and will serve her purposes.
"This is a strange development...Captain Hawke." She began.
Lunamaria was pensive, and nodded as she told her. "Bethany, let the Crimson army stay close, please."
"This are my standing orders." She agreed, then paused. "But it is also my orders to keep the men safe…"
The fastest and safest way was not to weather it out with the 11th Zaft fleet, but to run, as far as possible.
But Bethany could not, it was not so much Athrun's orders that she was following, but his requests…
"Please…live."
"I have consulted with the other captains on the 11th fleet, we are not allowed to communicate directly with HQ, they have threatened to kill us all starting from the non-stealthium ships if we are caught trying…"
"You want me to relay information to Zaft HQ."
"Yes. It should not be difficult, yours is a Zaft ship too."
"…You have it."
"I need one more favor."
"Sell it to me, Captain Hawke."
Lunamaria only smiled, "I hereby acknowledge the Crimson army as ally, as part of the Zaft army, from this point forth we will fight together, and not against each other. Due to the delicate situation at hand, we will conceal this alliance until further notice." She turned from the screen, "Pass it down to all vessels, do not engage with any of the Crimson army."
Bethany widened her eyes as some of the bridge crew smiled and cheered, as the leading commander of the 11th fleet, it was within Luna's authority to forge a temporary alliance. It also meant that these vagabonds could finally go home after the war…
There was only one more hurdle to cross.
"You have my full cooperation." Bethany replied.
"Thank you." Luna replied, "I…think I know a way to prevent them…or anyone from detonating our ships, but I need you to put up a show with me."
"…I'm all ears. And also, regarding the bombs, I have an idea...though its not a very good one..."
Ooo
"What…?" Cagalli uttered. "What do you mean by evacuate?"
"Exactly what I said, my lady. This has gone too far, I have allowed you into enemy territory shamefully unarmed, now that it has become clear that the situation is out of control, your safety becomes my only priority." Kisaka said as he took her hand, pulling her onto her feet.
"No…We can't go now… Athrun is so close…" She stopped and turned to Kira, "You said he is, didn't you? He's just upstairs, isn't he?"
Kira nodded grimly, his footsteps pausing. "He is…but…"
"But what?!" She demanded, tired of being denied of the one thing she needed to do. "He's…!"
"He is not my priority." Kisaka snapped, interrupting her protests. "We have to go, you should know better than to be caught up in PLANTs domestic affairs now."
She merely widened her eyes, but refused to let Kisaka drag her off. "No…"
"But my lady…! This is for your safety."
"My safety…?" She shook her head.
"Cagalli. It's not the time to be stubborn…" Kira said placatingly. "Athrun wants to keep you safe too…"
"So he's telling me to leave too…?" She challenged.
"No he isn't…" Kira denied.
"Then, I'm not going to leave him behind…not this time." She tore her arm out of Kisaka's grip.
"Lady Cagalli?!"
"You guys don't understand!" She muttered reproachfully. "I'm going to find him, I have to."
"Cagalli?" Kira asked.
"I have to get to Athrun…!" She shouted as she nodded a quick apology.
Before anyone could react, she broke ranks, grabbing a gun from one of her guards and pushing two men towards Kisaka, it effectively blocked up the corridor, then she ran with all her might.
"Lady!"
But Cagalli was off, and refused to be caught. The men gave chase.
ooo
Spencer's mind was blank, and was occasionally caught up with the image of Emily's bloodied and mangled body lying at the bottom of the stairs beside Yzak Jule. It was almost enough to make him pull his hair out and scream, but he restrained himself, knowing that his first and only priority is to escape his captors.
Spencer always nursed a soft spot for Emily, it wasn't love, it was more like brotherhood.
He admired her guts, looked up to her as an ally, a capable soldier, a great comrade to have. She was popular on the ship, and Spencer could not fathom why everyone found her so charming. Maybe it was the way she talked loudly, burped whenever she feels like it and would declared the length of her latest burp. When she laughs she snorts like a pig, and likes to eat with one leg propped on the chair and Spencer had teased her about it to no end at how un-girly she was. She ignored him, and there was once when he was found in a tight spot, and she saved his life. She was ambitious, but unwilling to backstab to climb the ranks, she hits back hard, but trusts and forgives easily.
Until the incident at Janurius.
Spencer was disappointed at how the best of persons can become unmade. Literally overnight, she changed, she became a cold and distant being. It was as if a part of her had died along with those in Janurius. Her parents, her sister, once her motivation, her strength; had become her poison. She strove for revenge, and was willing to die to get it. She fought the fiercest and the hardest during the first battle between the space rebels and Zaft, many of their friends died, but they killed Athrun as well, or so they thought.
But what came after that sweet revenge was not what Spencer expected, he expected a smile, some glowing pride, but all that remained was a ghost of who she was, an empty doll. The war had truly broken her.
Now she is dead. And Athrun Zala is still alive, somehow she was misled into thinking that Tad Elthman was the culprit, but Spencer was not buying that.
He tightened his fist, if he could not save his friend, he could at least fulfill her final wish…
He gazed at the three men guarding him, looking for an opportunity to strike.
ooo
"Athrun, give it to me." Lenore Zala said sternly.
"Give what?" The seven year old Athrun Zala questioned as innocently as he could, he did not want to let his mother find out about what he had done.
"You know what." She replied coldly.
"I really don't know what you are talking about…" He muttered absentmindedly.
"Fine. Have it your way, she declared as she began a beeline march to his room.
"Mother, you can't come in!" He protested as he blocked his mother's passage frantically.
"Give it to me then. Unless you are hiding something"
"I'm not hiding anything." He denied, and thought quickly. "It's just…Ah, I found a cockroach inside yesterday!"
"Well." Lenore Zala flinched at the word 'cockroach', but forced opened the door nevertheless. "Looks like I need to clean your room. Where did you keep it?"
"Keep what?" He played dumb, while discreetly moving to cover the hiding place.
"The blue bird you trapped two days ago."
Athrun could not reply, he had been found out.
He reached under his bed, and obediently took out a shoe box with holes poked on top, the box was shuffling in an erratic manner. But he held it dearly in his hands, and did not pass it to his mother.
"Athrun Zala, do you know that it's very cruel of you to do that?" Lenore Zala was crossed, she had just used his full name.
"…Why? I give it seeds and water and play with it everyday." He defended himself weakly. "I'm sure it will be happy…"
Lenore Zala sighed, and shook her head.
"Athrun…look out of the window."
He did.
"What do you see?"
"The sky…?" He replied uncertainly, not sure what his mother was getting at.
"Very good, tell me, Athurun. Do you see any end to the sky?"
"…No." He replied truthfully, surveying the boundless blue.
"Yes, the sky is so big. And you… are putting something that was meant to fly free in such a big sky in such a tiny space, do you think it will ever be happy?"
Athrun looked down.
He shook his head wordlessly.
"Then do you know what you should do?"
He nodded, but made no movement to release his prey.
Lenore Zala sighed as she realized her son was about to cry. She squatted down and touched his face, prompting him to look her in the eye.
"Son…" she whispered tenderly, and gazed at him right in the eye. "When you love something, let it go."
"But… I won't see him anymore..." He whispered miserably.
Lenore Zala sighed patiently, "…If it doesn't come back, it was never meant to be yours. But if it does, it will be yours forever." She paused, giving Athrun time to digest those words.
"If you love something, you must give it a chance to love you back, if not…that is not true love."
"So…if he comes back, I get to keep him?" He asked shakily.
Lenore Zala simply nodded.
He slowly opened the lid of the shoebox, out hopped an Eastern bluebird with a beautiful heart-shaped gradient apron. He cupped the bird with both his hands gently, and brought it to the windowsill, and asked his mother one last time, "Will he come back?"
"If he wants to."
Athrun took a deep breath, then opened his palms. And the bird, realizing that it is now free, spread its wings, and took off.
After that, Athrun remember staring out of the window miserably for the next few days, for the bird did not come back to him…
It was only towards the end of the year that a curious looking pair of bluebirds landed on his windowsill, and started to build a nest there. Of course Athrun recognized the heart-shaped apron bird and its new mate, so he helped to feed them, give them twigs for their nest, he even added a heating pad to keep their eggs warm. And they and their chicks flew away come spring. It repeated year after year until one winter, all Athrun found outside his window was the frozen little body of the bluebird.
It was old and balding, but Athrun recognized it by its still-pretty apron. Lenore Zala told him it had come all the way back to say one last goodbye.
It was the end of Athrun's first pet, and after he buried it in the yard , he added a little special piece of pretty metal he treasured to mark it's tomb.
Then, his mother gazed at him and said, "Athrun…don't cry. Birdie loved you, that's why it kept coming back to you…"
He did not cry, he simply nodded, burrowing into his mother's arms.
"Did you regret letting birdie go?"
He shook his head vigorously. He could sense his mother smile.
"Athrun Zala, remember this lesson, someday you are going to be a good man. And a good man should treat his woman like he treated this bluebird. Like that…the woman will never cry."
"A woman…? Mother, I will never marry a girl! Yuck..." He made a face and declared resolutely.
His mother laughed, apparently she was amused. "Never say never…"
I'm…not sure I understand…" He replied uncertainly.
"Then it shows that you're still a boy." She patted his head fondly, and pecked him on the cheek.
"Slowly, take your time to grow up, I'm sure you'll be a good man someday."
When he was left alone in the place, he shuffled over and sat down heavily in one of the chairs. He felt a little better to lay his head down for a bit, he wanted to sleep but he could not afford to let his guard down. Resultantly, he settled into a sort of a waking sleep, a timeless, trance-like state. His senses were still on the edge, waiting, watching, but his body had reached a state of rest…For some reason, he thought of his mother, and the little blue bird which served as the prototype that he based Tori on…
A wave of sharp pain pulsated from the middle of his chest, and radiated to his shoulders and back. He doubled over, clutching his chest with a grimace. The pressure caused his chest to tighten, and the pain worsened to the point that made him want to scream. But he couldn't, he could not find the air to make a single sound.
His breathing was a wreck, and he swallowed grimly between gasping breathlessly. His head was spinning and he could feel perspiration dripping off his nose, he fought down panic, willing himself to remain calm.
It was so quiet that all that he could hear was the steady homing of the computers in contrast to his own strained breaths.
I'm going to die...
The thought came, clear as day, dark as night. But he could not find it in himself to pity nor to fight. To be honest, he was just too tired to. If he could, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. If he could, he would have chosen to escape into the land if eternal slumber, where there will be no pain...
No, you have to wait.
He chided himself, and forced himself to open his eyes and sit upright as far as he could.
He still had a job to do, a mission to accomplish, an objective to fulfill; a closure to make. He had to settled things between him and Leonidas once and for all.
A little twinkle on his chest caught his attention, and he realized he had difficulty focusing his eyes and cannot see what was it.
It was frightening, his sense of vision has always been effortlessly acute, but now it was so blurred that he can't even identify the object hanging from his neck.
His hands enclosed themselves gingerly around the wedding rings and the purple pendant. Though Athrun cannot see them, he was grateful for still being able to feel them, the metal was warm and comforting to the touch.
How curious, they had somehow naughtily slipped out from their hiding place again when he needed them to. Her face came into his mind, and he smiled, even though tears slipped down his cheeks and landed on the smaller ring. It ran over the metallic surface and drained towards his palm.
"Come on, Athrun Zala, you haven't sucked that bad, 25 years in this world…And you've met and married a woman, who's the one woman worth the chase. You have had an exciting, roller coaster-like career, an awesome best friend and a hot wife, there's nothing to regret about. You've had enough fun, it's time to give others a chance for once."
He nodded once to himself weakly, feeling pathetic with being satisfied with an odd sense of bliss, and after that he tucked the ornaments back into his collar. He settled back, and time passed him by, ticking away his final moments. He wondered where Kira and Cagalli were now, whether Yzak was faring alright, whether Bethany was still alive. He had handed over the reins, for once, doing complete delegation in order to ensure that these people whom he cared about will survive; all of them if he could help it, as many as possible if he could not.
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you're dead, you either do write something worth reading or do something worth writing...
And Athrun made a silent prayer that they will all survive, and hoped that this was merit worth writing about…
"Don't move." Spencer Gladys suddenly appeared, and pointed his gun at Athrun.
He did not get up, there was no strength in his legs, and truth to be told he did not want to confront the boy, he did not want to harm him. This boy was a victim.
"Spencer…"
"You killed Emily…" Spencer whispered shakily, his hands trembling, and Athrun saw a shadow of himself in the boy. He shook his head wearily, "Emily…the name of the girl?" Athrun gestured at the Zaft red's body still lying at the bottom of the stairs. He also noticed a small door that Spencer had probably lasered through to get in and a piton belt hanging on the edge. He wondered where Yzak and the rest of the staff.
Spencer answered his silent question. "The main cannons of the 11th fleet are pointed at Aprilius, Yzak Jule had issued a mass evacuation order. This place is now a ghost town."
"Ah." Athrun understood, if it were true that detonating will mean destroying one PLANT, Aprilius one will definitely become the target. Then it did not matter how close the Crimson army was.
"Why did you kill her?" Spencer demanded brokenly.
"I didn't." Athrun said simply.
"Liar!" Spencer snapped, "You were lying to everyone! Everyone died because of you!"
Those accusations stung, for they carried a grain of truth. Athrun's selfishness had cost lives, it was his fault, at least a part of it.
"Maybe…but Spencer…you're alive…"
The boy gasped softly.
"Tad Elthman did not manage to destroy you…you survived."
"What do you care about that…?" He demanded brokenly, as if willing that he hadn't survived.
"You have a gun, use it! Fight me!" Spencer Gladys hollered at the top of his lungs.
Athrun shook his head, unprovoked. "I won't…"
"Why not?!" Spencer was losing control.
"Both your mothers…asked me to protect you..." He confessed whimsically, he remembered Talia Gladys's requests those years ago, and Murrue's just a fortnight ago. This boy is loved. Spencer looked stricken, and the weapon in hand started to shake, he was losing his resolve.
Suddenly, the door slipped open with a pneumatic hiss. "Hide." Athrun hissed.
Spencer obeyed instantly, trusting his instincts if nothing else.
Athrun looked up and pointed his gun at whoever it was, the man pointed back.
Leonidas Fitzbane began to laugh, "Athrun Zala, how nice to see you."
"Fitzbane..." He stood up slowly, never letting go of his gun. His appearance brought all the aggression back. This is the bastard who raped Cagalli, and all Athrun wanted to do was to shoot his balls off.
"Oh, you wouldn't." Leonidas said, as if reading his mind, and wagged his finger like an old school teacher, "I'm the father of Cagalli's baby. You said all you wanted was her happiness in the letter, didn't you?"
Athrun flushed, angered and mortified that a document of a personal nature was hijacked.
"You read it...?" He stuttered, inwardly cursing his ears that are probably glowing red hot.
"Of course..." Leonidas gloated, then paused, and seemed to do some quick thinking. "She laughed, and threw me the letter to share her mirth."
Athrun did not want to believe what he said, but he felt an unexpected stab of pain that had nothing to do with his infected, failing heart.
With that, Leonidas smiled, then withdrew the tiny envelope from his pocket. Athrun recognized it immediately, and the sight of it's battered appearance filled his heart with grief.
Leonidas casually twirled it around his fingers, and flicked it at Athrun. It hit him like an insult, and dropped onto the floor at his feet.
He itched to retrieve it, but did not do so, he knew there was no point, the intended recipient ignored it already. The envelope sat on the floor, abandoned, with cursive letters that he had penned down so many seasons ago, declaring still, 'To Cagalli, the love of my life.'
"What do you want?" He demanded abrasively instead, unwilling to continue the humiliation.
Leonidas Fitzbane was not as easy to throw off. "To see you die, of course. You can shed the facade, I know you're ill or something. For crying out loud, have you looked in the mirror recently?"
Athrun was unfazed, though by virtue of him being him, he had. He replied coldly, "Mind your own business."
"Uh Uh." He shook his head, "If you died first, I wouldn't be able to kill you." Athrun frowned, and wondered why.
"And you should want to kill me too." He added sinisterly.
The frown deepened, the other man did no wrong except to hurt Cagalli.
"What have you done to her?" He snarled.
"Uh oh, misunderstanding. It's not always about women, you know." He paused, then continued in a steely voice, "My father killed yours."
Athrun was confused.
He remembered, Patrick Zala was found bleeding, fatal bullet wounds on his chest. Floating across the room was another man, Ray Yuki…a man who had mentored Athrun during his time in Zaft Academy.
"During the battle of Jachin Due...My father killed Patrick Zala to protect my mother and I…who were in Orb."
Understanding dawned on Athrun, "...You're a Coordinator?"
"Half..." He replied. "Only my father was a Coordinator."
Athrun paused, then asked after a while, "...So?"
Leonidas blinked, his blue eyes widened. There was a comical, anti-climatic pause.
"Why should…I hate you?" Athrun questioned genuinely.
"!" Leonidas looked as if he had been slapped.
"I must admit that I didn't know…But given the circumstances then, if it wasn't Sir Yuki... someone else would have pulled the trigger. Furthermore...whatever our fathers did was their business, why should I hate you because of that...?" He asked.
Leonidas looked like he had suddenly turned to stone, his face was grayish and expressionless. He did not speak for a long time after that, and when he recovered his composure. He shouted at the top of his lungs at Athrun. "It's not possible! You should hate me!"
It was Athrun's turn to retaliate, "I don't doesn't mean I won't."
Leonidas looked happier, though it inched towards being deranged. "So you do hate me, right?"
Disgusted, Athrun fired a shot at Leonidas, his bullet deliberately missing his crouch by mere centimeters. Then there was pounding on the door, he sealed it quickly with one bullet.
"You make me sick. You can go fantasize about the whole world hating you for all I care! The only reason why I'll hate you is if you ever make Cagalli cry!" He yelled, the stunned look on the other man's face made him even more irritated, throwing his empty gun aside he stomped forward and punched Leonidas squarely in the face, it felt good as his fist met its mark. Leonidas fell onto the floor, but he was not done. Athrun grabbed his collar roughly, the pounding outside got angrier and more incessant but he ignored it and focused on murdering Leonidas.
"Bastard! You have a lifetime with her. If I were you I'll stop living in the past and start thinking about how to make her the happiest woman in the world! You better make sure you massage her feet while she's expecting! Whatever flowers you give her, no roses, she hates those..."
Athrun panted as he cut himself off at that point, he was surprised by his own outburst and he turned away, shamefaced as hot tears trailed down his cheeks. It was simply put- pathetic-to sound so jealous and broken in front of the man who stole his lover, but he had meant every word; he would have continued to do those things for her every single day of his life...
"Back off..." Leonidas warned, finally getting his bearings as he pointed the gun at Athrun's forehead. Athrun got up slowly, feeling faint, the chest pains were coming back, but he fought to not show how much pain he was in.
"I...don't understand you..." Leonidas muttered in a uncharacteristically small voice, he was frowning so hard. "I'm the son of your father's murderer, yet you don't hate me. Cagalli...she betrayed you...and yet you..." He trailed off, seemingly unable to continue, he paused, then choked out. "...Still love her...Why!? It's not normal!"
Athrun gave a strangled laugh, and coughed a little. He had long since departed from normality and threw it out of the window with a slam-dunk. It happened ever since he met that blonde Natural girl in that red tank top, liberally lifting her shirt to examine for crabs...
"Dunno..." He whispered eventually.
"Maybe...hating someone is too tiring..."
The other man seemed to be glaring at him, he could not really make out his features by now.
"Leonidas..." His voice was surprisingly quiet.
Leonidas aimed the black revolver at Athrun's heart. Athrun doubted if he could run even if he wanted to. In fact, staying upright demanded all his effort. He had nowhere to run to, his heels were backed against the glass panels...He could not run, only stand and face his fate.
"Don't harm the innocent because of personal vendetta. Here I am, you can kill me…don't detonate."
"Hahaha..I can always do one thing at the time…" The other man gave a deranged laugh.
Athrun froze, he had miscalculated. He had predicted Leonidas would leave the detonator in the hands of his officers who were mercifully more sane, and be happy with just killing him. It's a simple matter of who blows who first…he had hoped that the time he bought them would allow them to figure out how to disarm the bombs.
Involuntarily, he cursed inwardly and gazed the corner where Spencer hid...the boy's eyes were glinting.
"Leonidas…please…no." He whispered.
Leonidas took out the detonator, and placed a threatening thumb on it. "And let me tell you, Cagalli did not give me the letter. I stole it from her..."
"Spencer!" He urged, they were not exactly comrades, but surely Spencer understood the gravity of the situation.
The boy shot out from his hiding place on cue, tackling Leonidas to the ground. A series of gunshots…
Then he was engulfed by white-hot agony.
Someone shouting his name, his heart skipped a beat as he thought he heard her voice, then a backward plunge to nowhere...
Ooo
It was not long before her guards caught up, cornering her. "Lady Athha?" Someone called, she almost jumped out of her skin as she pointed her gun at whoever it was.
Kisaka raised his hands high. "Don't shoot."
"Kisaka..." She was on the verge of panicking, he looked livid, and warned. "Don't run off like that in Zaft's territory. We'll help you find him..." He added in a softer tone.
"Thank you..." She stuttered gratefully, and noticed that Kira was no longer there, then a gunshot not far down the hall attracted their attention, Cagalli ran there, pounding on the door. "Athrun?!"
One more gunshot sealed the lock, she cursed. She pressed her ear against the door, searching for clues as to the identity of the person inside.
Kisaka pounded on the door, trying to see if it will hold. Then she heard a voice, his voice, he was shouting at someone else. And what he said melted her heart twice over...
Bastard! You have a lifetime with her. If I were you I'll stop living in the past and start thinking about how to make her the happiest woman in the world! You better make sure you massage her feet while she's expecting! Whatever flowers you give her, no roses, she hates those...
"Athrun..." She cried, "Athrun...! Kisaka, gimme something to open this!"
He pressed a little black button looking object against the door locking mechanism, "Small explosion, about forty centimeters diameter. Duck." He added, dragging Cagalli further away. The door blew, and Cagalli ran in as a final gunshot sounded.
It was like watching a movie in slow motion. She saw Leonidas first, with a gun in hand, detonator in the other, and she looked at where the gun was pointed at, her eyes widened as she saw him.
Then someone pounced on and straddled Leonidas, there was red, and the bullet seemed to have cut through Athrun, for the glass behind him shattered, and then he tipped over and fell headfirst.
She screamed as she ran forward, wanting to leap through the shattered glass after him, but hands caught her waist forcibly as she gained the edge of the control panels.
"No Cagalli, he's okay!" Kisaka shouted, restraining her, she struggled. She knew Kisaka was lying, it was a three-storey drop.
There was noise behind her, and she turned to see the Spencer Gladys subduing Leonidas and pinning him to the ground, all the while he was laughing hysterically. "I killed him! I finally killed him." Spencer Gladys pointed a gun at the back of his head, "Shut up." He cried helplessly.
He knew it was too late, the detonator's button had been pressed.
She waited, heart in mouth…four seconds, five, nothing violent happened, no ground disappeared beneath her. Leonidas seemed to realize it too, and he began to scream like a headless chicken, "WHY?! BURN! Everything burn!"
"Shut up!" Spencer Gladys knocked him out.
"Let go of me…!" She thrashed, frightened, trying to get over the edge.
"Listen!" Kisaka told her, and forced her to look him in the eye. "Kira has him, he's fine. Look."
She looked down, and Kisaka was right. There were about seven of them, she recognized Kira, Mark, and two others. Athrun was seemingly unconscious, and lay bleeding and inert as Mark Jocose lowered him onto the ground.
Her heart wrenched as she realized that there was blood sprouting from somewhere on his chest.
"Athrun!? Is he alright?" She shouted as Kira gave him a brief examination. "Wait..." Cagalli watched as Kira checked his vitals.
"Cagalli!" Kira shouted up, "He's alright. He's still breathing."
She released the breath she cannot remember holding.
"Athrun…hang on…How do I get down?" She shouted, gazing at the terrain.
"There is another way, let's meet at the central meeting room, we are going to hole there and wait for the police." Kira said decidedly as they stemmed the bleeding from Athrun's wounds and bounded it up. The Mark Jocose lifted him off the ground.
Cagalli did not understand, but they sounded like reinforcements of sorts. "Okay."
When they were gone, she noticed the little letter lying forlorn on the edge of the floor.
To Cagalli, the love of my life…
She dove over and picked it up, holding it to her heart.
Ooo
It has ended.
Yzak Jule was thankful to be alive after the mess, the evacuation order had been voided due to a certain brilliance on the part of Lunamaria and Bethany. They had somehow managed to disarm the bombs, PLANTs was saved.
He led the men who was with him through the series of corridors, and finally found the first group whom he had separated from. They had holed themselves up in the meeting room, where the ominous crystal chandelier hung overhead, giving out a faint glow. Honestly he had always found the crystal quite ugly…
"Don't shoot, it's us!" He raised his hands as he entered the room first, facing Mark's gun barrel.
"Councilor." The officer greeted as he lowered the weapon and gestured for Yzak to approach. The men marched in and closed the door.
"Who are we waiting for now?"
"The police high commissioner. He contacted me, he says that if we surrender, he can guarantee the safety of every single man..." Mark explained, a slight confused frown on his face.
"This is called legitimate handover..." Yzak muttered thoughtfully, it was a smart move. The police will look good and the casualties will be minimal.
"Where's Zala?" Yzak asked, he had things to report.
Mark paused and frowned harder, this time he looked a little sad, it was bad news. Hesitantly, he indicated behind him, Yzak followed his gaze to find Athrun lying on the floor, a folded up red's coat as his pillow.
A breath got caught in his throat.
As Yzak got a little closer, he realized that Athrun was unnaturally still, there was hardly any distinctive rise and fall of the chest, where dried blood caked over a makeshift bandage. His breathing was painfully strained and raspy. He was pale almost to the point of his skin being translucent and his lips carried an unhealthy purple tinge.
Yzak knelt down heavily beside Athrun, his legs had suddenly turned to jelly. Gingerly, he placed two fingers on his wrist and read his pulse.
Athrun's pulse was thready and weak, meaning his heart was about to give out. He was still alive, but barely.
"Za...Zala...!" He called, a little louder than necessary, and touched Athrun's shoulder when there was simply no response. He resisted the urge to shake him, "What happened...?!"
Kira came, and gently drove Yzak's hand off. "Don't touch him..."
"What?...Why?"
He took up the explanation, "He was shot at point blank range, and even though he was wearing a bulletproof vest, the bullet went through...
"Yzak shook his head, quite unwilling to believe that his arch rival was in such a terrible state.
"We have to get help...!"
"From where?! We are lucky this room isn't filled with people trying to kill us. We shouldn't move him..." Kira said through gritted teeth, "We must wait...And even if he gets treated..."
"What do you mean?" Yzak questioned.
"...The plague..." Kira whispered, and Yzak widened his eyes in dread.
Miraculously, Athrun stirred, and gradually opened his eyes, gazing around until he found Yzak. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, as if he forgot the words. He seemed to think for a bit, and the look in his eyes were frighteningly empty so unlike his usual self. Instantly Yzak knew, they were going to lose him...
Suddenly Athrun coughed harshly, and Yzak saw blood on his teeth. But when he caught his hand, his grip was surprisingly strong, "Cagalli...!" He rasped. "Did Leonidas hurt her...?"
Yzak shook his head, he really did not know.
"She's fine." Kira answered curtly, Yzak could not tell whether he was lying to placate Athrun. "Hang on, she's coming to find you..."
Athrun bit his lip, unmistakable joy on his face, then nodded weakly. And Yzak wriggled his hand out of the loosened grip, Athrun's hands were so cold, and he said through gritted teeth. "You should..."
"...Zaft?! The other guys? Are they okay?" He questioned, and clutched his chest in obvious pain.
"They are fine." Yzak assured, it had taken all the command in him to prevent the 11th fleet and the Crimson army from annihilating the EAF forces. "The Zaft army and the Crimson army forged a temporary alliance, the moment they detonated... Lunamaria had gotten the bombs wrapped up by dense organic material."
"Organic material…" Kira muttered, "You mean like, thick sheets of plastic or something…?"
"No…they used the clones." Yzak confessed darkly. A look of horror was reflected in the other two men's face, he did not like it either, they were just innocent kids but they are used as a human barrier around the bombs. Most of the stealthium ships suffered minimum damage as a result when the bombs blew, but the end does not justify the means.
"It could not be helped, then, it was that or draw lots to see who dies…"
"You should rest..." Kira touched Athrun shoulder. "What is done is done."
Yzak simply nodded, he did not have Kira's kind of patience.
"But…" Athrun protested feebly.
"Enough!" Yzak finally shouted, his infamous temper flaring, the other men turned in his direction, but he did not care. Athrun seemed to shrink a little in intimidation. "Cagalli is fine, the soldiers are fine! Everyone is fine except you! Stop treating yourself like some thousand-legged-worm! If you really trust us, then prove it! Prove that we are worth your trust!"
He said all that in one breath, and Athrun merely stared at him with widened eyes as he panted. It was then he realized that tears were brimming in his own eyes. He wiped his face roughly and continued his tirade in a softer tone.
"I made a promise... and I keep my promises…! You've done your best, leave the rest to us. Just rest…" In an attempt to make it sound more of a request and less of a command, he bit his lip and muttered.
"...Please."
Tears made their way down the sides of Athrun's face as he nodded lethargically. Obediently, he laid his head back down and closed his eyes, catching his breath.
After a few moments, he turned to gaze at Kira, then him.
He gave a smile of gratitude that caused Yzak to feel pain he never thought he could feel.
"Thank you..." He whispered to the two of them. Kira sobbed openly, and bit his lip, an expression of utter anguish on his face. Somehow, he managed to smile back bravely, man to man, brother to brother.
"You're welcome." He said quietly.
Yzak was nearly oblivious to his surroundings, and merely nodded numbly, unaware of the hot tears trailing freely down his cheeks. If Athrun had said 'Sorry', Yzak would have punched the living daylights out of him.
What could he say? What more can he offer to his dying friend?
He was tongue-tied for a while, not knowing what to do. He only knew that he wanted Athrun's suffering to end, he had been fighting for far too long. It was almost too terrible to bear to watch his once strong friend struggle just to breathe. Terrible that now he lay bleeding; dying on the floor...
Fortunately, Athrun did not require a reply. His eyes glazed over, he seemed to fall asleep and remained utterly still after that.
"Athrun…?" Kira asked.
When it was quiet, Yzak realized that alot of people around him were crying. And strangely, an overwhelming sense of sadness and unease washed over him. It were as if a mighty dam which had protected their world came crashing down, and the weight of the world finally came upon their shoulders...
At the far end, a young soldier raised an arm in a final salute. Slowly and gradually, the other soldiers followed suit. Soon, the entire room had done the same, and Yzak was the last.
He raised his arm shakily, saluting and mourning for the one brave soldier whom he acknowledged as an equal.
"To Athrun Zala…" He whispered with finality.
"To Athrun Zala." The soldiers echoed.
Ooo
Cagalli felt as if the ground had molten right beneath her feet as she beheld the sight in front of her. The men dropped their salutes as she walked in, her footsteps echoed around the seemingly empty space. Instinctively, she knew where he was, the men gravitated towards a focal point, just as plants turn towards the sun.
When she saw their faces, she knew she was too late.
Yzak and Kira stood up slowly as she approached, giving her room, and she gasped inwardly when she saw how still he laid.
The letter fell involuntarily from her slackened hand and floated to the ground, where it landed to stare at her accusingly.
It was as if time had slowed to a crawl, then stopped altogether.
She felt...nothing, she could not feel, nor think as she knelt down beside him numbly, and her fingers gingerly brushed his face, tracing along the contour of his cheeks. His pale skin was cool and he looked like a sleeping prince; his long, dark lashes stirred as she called his name. But he did not respond, it broke Cagalli's heart because she knew he can never...
He will never open his eyes at her touch and smile at her and kiss her hand. Nor will he ever mumble sleepily that it's her turn to change the kid's diapers...
He remained utterly cold and still, spurning and rejecting her every effort to woo him to come alive. He did not make a sound as she shook him desperately and clung to him and wept.
She felt so detached from her surroundings, like she was a ghost possessing the body of this woman who just lost her lover. No matter how she mourned and grieved, the crater in her heart could not be filled. It only widened and thirst like a bottomless pit, demanding for more as it drank in her sorrow. How she wished she can indeed flee into the air like a spirit, and perhaps then she will find him again.
Her last remnant of him was his letter that was lost, but now have found it's way back to her. It declared eternally in his beautiful, cursive penmanship.
Dear Cagalli, I do not know if you will ever find this letter, I do not know when you will you ever do. But when you do, it will mean that I am already gone.
She cried, Kira took her shoulders gently, holding her, "Cagalli..."
In many ways, I may not have been a good husband. For one, I cannot find it in myself to be happy about the new baby. I have thought about it for a long time, about the children, about us. And I remembered that someone told me a long time ago, that a good man will never make his woman cry.
I have resolved to be a good man, so please don't cry.
She wept piteously, her tears dripping onto his cheek and draining down the side of his face. "Idiot...!" She chided no one, even though she knew he cannot hear.
I want you to be happy, enjoy life with the man you chose. The only thing I ask of you is to take care of the children while they still need you. They will not have a father to watch them grow, please don't leave them without a mother as well.
"...You moron!" She whimpered, then she gathered him in her arms and cradled his head in the nook of her elbow. Tenderly, she touched his cheek; gazing longingly at his sleeping face though her vision was marred by her own tears. She took his hand, and slowly drew it to her face, pressing his palm against her cheek. Like that, she could pretend that he was alive.
"Athrun...Don't you understand?" She asked shakily.
For better or for worse
For richer or poorer
In sickness and in health
"...You have always been the only one in my heart...Just you, Athrun." She declared in a whisper, then shook her head in despair, "Wake up..." She sobbed, her tears flowing freely, "...Please...com'on...Wake up…"
Till death do us part.
He had fufilled his end of the bargain.
Her hold around him tightened, as if by holding him she could prevent him from leaving her. She did not even get to say goodbye to this brave, brave man who loved her to the point of death. Who sheltered her and cared and provided for her and their two children. She owed him a debt that can never be repaid...
And now he is gone...
So for the last time, Cagalli hugged her sleeping prince close to herself where he could share her heartbeat. Slowly, she cupped his cheek, her fingers lingering on his temple, and kissed him.
A miracle did happen, because she believed.
Oooooo
Author's lamentations: This is the second last chapter, because there will come a time when they will be reunited at last. A thousand, million gazillion thanks to all who stood by and followed this story even though Gundam Seed and destiny has finished airing for so long!
I am quite emotional writing this story, knowing full and well that this story I have been working on for the last few years is ending. I dream it in my sleep, jot down inspirations in my handphone whenever it hits me, some sections are written fully in IPhone format. Lolz, I am glad!
Please R&R.
Miracles happen when one believe.
Yours
Ming
