Phase-29: Grieving skies
Soon after losing contact with the second Skygrasper, Miriallia lost both the Strike's and the Blast's signal in the same time. A second later, the ship was rocked by the shockwave of an explosion.
"Kira! Seren! Tolle! Can you hear me?! Please respond! Kira! Seren! Tolle! Kira!" She yelled in her mike. A heavy and ominous silence had settled in the bridge. All the seasoned soldiers had already guessed. La Flaga asked what the explosion had been. He was talking from the hangar.
"I don't know what the explosion was. However, the fact is... that communication has been severed with the Strike, the Blast, and Skygrasper 002." The captain answered almost fearfully. Her fellow Lieutenant Commander gasped slightly. Haw-nittohei was still desperately trying to reach Tolle, Kira and Seren but to no avail. Badgiruel pressed a button on Milly's panel, ending the communication attempts.
"That's enough." She told her callously. "Captain, what are the damages to the ship? There's no sense fooling ourselves and waiting for things to get better!"
"Chief Murdoch?"
"The damage isn't too serious! Once we're done with the Force Blanket repairs, we should be able to fly!" He informed her. Meanwhile, Dearka, often wincing, his hands tied behind his back, was being held at gun point and led inside the ship. The Buster was also being recovered, to some crewmembers' surprise. Well, it was theirs to begin with, and better take it back now than leaving it only to have it picked up by ZAFT again and used against them. Suddenly, Kuzzey got a reaction from his machine. Something had been detected at 6 o'clock. Three of them. Tonomura identified them as DINNs. They would be here in 15 minutes!
"Prepare to intercept!" Murrue ordered.
"That's impossible! Our firepower has practically been reduced to nothing! At this rate we won't last ten minutes against those DINNs! We must leave now!" Natarle argued.
"Kira! Kira! Seren! Can you hear me?! Please respond! DINNs are-" Milly tried again but once more, the vice-captain stopped the communication.
"Will you cut it out already? Ensign Yamato, Ensign Ledford and Crewman Koenig are all MIA! You understand, right?" The Lieutenant JG insisted firmly. The girl gasped as she remembered the meaning of those words and when they had first been used. Missing In Action, presumably dead but not confirmed, like when Seren had disappeared in the middle of the Indian Ocean after she had gone to help Cagalli-san and La Flaga-shousa...
"No way..."
"Accept it. Unless you get over it, you'll be the next one killed." Badgiruel said a little more sympathically. The DINNs' approach was reported. Eleven minutes until contact. But Miriallia still refused to accept it and ran away. The ship took off. Ramius asked for the last confirmed location of the Strike, Blast, ans Skygrasper 002, obviously intending to go fetch them herself. "We cannot go there in our current condition!" Natarle reminded her. The captain asked La Flaga about the status of Skygrasper 001, if at least they could confirm situation over there... but it could not go out. "Captain! They'll sink us unless we leave this area!"
"But if by chance Kira, Seren and Tolle had successfully escaped..." Sai suggested. The Lieutenant JG narrowed her eyes. She had also thought of the possibility and although she deeply regretted it, they could not afford to stay. But she said nothing.
"Anything from Alaska Headquarters?" Murrue questioned. But there was still no response.
"Captain! Are you telling all crewmembers to die?!" Natarle yelled urgently. The captain wavered and then steeled herself.
"Continue to try to reach them. And send out the coordinates of this island and a rescue signal to Orb." She ordered, shocking her subordinates. "We're asking them to save lives! And Seren is among the missing! Orb will accept!" She justified herself. Natarle protested, emitting her doubts about that country. "I'll take all responsibility!" Ramius bellowed, sick and tired of her second's quibbling when the lives of those children were at stake. "Boost engines to maximum! Our priority is to leave that area!"
Miriallia was staggering in the hallways of the rocking ship, repeating that it was impossible, again and again, whispering Tolle's name, just like Flay was whispering Kira's name. Sai was thinking about Seren, his precious friend who had so sincerely comforted him a number of times. In the hangar, Mu was acknowledging the captain's decision to leave the region. He soon saw Miriallia, tears in her cerulean blue eyes, as she ran to the skygrasper simulator and looked inside. It was empty. He ran to her. She asked about Tolle. Where was he? That he was MIA... it couldn't be... it couldn't be true... so... so...! She sank on her knees, weeping. La Flaga was going to touch her, to comfort her... before curling his hand into a fist.
"DAMN IT!" He shouted in rage and frustration and punched the simulator. Even though he was the one and only adult, veteran pilot, and soldier by choice, that he couldn't do anything for those children...
In Orb, Kisaka joined Cagalli who was looking through files, dressed in her army supreme commander uniform. He looked and sounded so foreboding as he communicated to her the information he had received from Rayner. Soon a large rescue seaplane departed with Cagalli, Rayner, Kisaka, and a search party.
While below the sea, in the Cousteau, Yzak, who had been resting after being treated, arrived in the control room and questioned the captain about Athrun and Dearka since he had noticed the Legged Ship moving. What was the situation?! The captain told him they were both missing, and that they had been ordered to return by Commander Le Creuset.
"Missing? What do you mean missing?!" The boy snapped. However, the captain did not have any details. First, they had lost communication with the Buster. Then, following confirmation of a major explosion, they had lost contact with the Aegis too. "What about emergency signals?!" But there had been nothing from either. "What about the Strike, the Blast, and the Legged Ship?!" He snarled, and was informed that the pursuit of the Legged Ship had been left to the Bozman Team. "That's nuts! Return at once! There's no way that those two would be defeated so easily! They're not wearing this Red Coat for nothing, you know!"
"In that case, you should be able to make coolheaded decisions based on the situation." The officer calmly but firmly admonished the hot-blooded youth who recoiled, stung at having been so clearly shown his improper behavior and thus reminded of his status and responsibilities. "We have been ordered to return. A separate unit has been dispatched to search the area."
"But-!"
"We also have word that Orb is on the move in the area. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" The captain added. Yzak lowered his head. There was nothing he could say.
The Orb seaplane landed near the small beach where the explosion had taken place. The party was searching through the wreckage. Cagalli was appalled. They understood that the red unit had self-destructed as it was in pieces. The Strike and Blast were still about whole. The Strike's feet were in the water. She approached and touched the Aile's engine.
It couldn't have been... that guy...? She thought of the boy with midnight blue hair she had seen with Kira and Seren that day in Orb, the one on the other side of the fence. Against Kisaka's advice, she climbed up the machine and looked into the cockpit. She looked with horror at the melted fabric of the seat. He was not here! It was an empty shell! Maybe he had escaped! Rayner called her. They had found the Blast and finished cutting through the metal of the cockit that they couldn't open otherwise. Seren was alive! Wounded but alive! They delicately pulled her out and removed her helmet. She woke up. Her head was bleeding and small shards were embedded in her arms and torso more or less deeply. Her back hurt like hell, she had trouble breathing, and she could barely feel her legs as they had been encased in the metal. Her cousin supported her. She recognized him, and Cagalli who had come running to them. And then, the fog lifted from her muddled mind...
"Kira! Where's Kira?! And Tolle?! And what about Ath-" But before Seren could finish, they were called to another beach. Cagalli rushed. Seren broke free from Rayner and ran too, tripped, fell, and dashed again. It was not Kira, but Athrun's unconscious form. Seren sank on her knees and reached out with a trembling hand.
The sun was setting when Athrun woke up in a room on the seaplane. He saw that his left arm had been bandaged and was held in a sling. There was an intravenous drip hanging on the wall next to him. He struggled to sit up despite the pain shooting through him. He had his light green turtle-neck t-shirt he usually wore below his red uniform or pilot suit.
"I see you're awake." A female voice remarked drily, almost bitingly next to him. He turned his head and was surprised to see Seren sitting on a chair before a desk. Chacha was perched on her head. Her right arm was resting on the top of the back of the chair. She had been lent clothes.
"Seren... so you were alive..." He said softly. She was alive... but in what state... her arms and hands were bandaged, he could also see white strips on her shoulders that the collar of her t-shirt did not cover, she also had bandages on her head and from the way she was carrying herself her body and legs had also been wounded. Back then, even though he had heard her, even though he had seen her, he had not been able to stop. When he had ejected, she should have understood, she should have stayed away. There was nothing she could have done. That was what he had thought – hoped – she would do. He had not wanted to involve her, even if that was pure hypocrisy.
"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you."
"That's harsh..." He smiled sadly, gracefully accepting the caustic barb. It was only natural for her to react that way after what he had done...
"I don't want to hear that from you."
"I guess... you don't..." He looked down. Seren sighed and put Chacha on the table. Certainly, she had known that the Aegis was going to self-destruct and that there was nothing she could do. She was aware she should have prioritized her safety for the sake of the Archangel and her friends onboard. If Kira could not be saved, then they could only rely on her. But nonetheless, she had still gone. She had almost died, and now the Blast was totally out of commission. Just a little fix or two wouldn't cut it this time. But Kira and Athrun were THAT important to her... so for Athrun to kill Kira... She gritted her teeth and aimed a gun at him.
"You're currently in an Orb seaplane. The Archangel contacted them and they came to rescue us. They took me out of the Blast that has become inoperational because of the explosion, and they found you lying on the beach. During the battle, I captured the Buster which must now be in the Archangel along with its pilot."
"Orb? What does the neutral Orb wants with me? Or since they agreed to help an Earth Alliance warship, and they're helping you, an Earth Alliance pilot threatening me, are they now with the Earth Forces? Is the gun loaded this time?" The boy's smile turned bitter and cynical as he looked at her. Seren took off the magazine and showed him the bullets before putting the magazine back in the gun. Athrun removed his IV drip. If he was to be killed, what was the point of that thing?
"Orb only agreed to help to save lives, and also a bit because I, a Ledford, was here. My family has the safety of their members as priority after all. We get to be alone like this because someone trustworthy here knows of our connection. And I've asked them not to contact the Archangel yet. They don't even know that I'm alive. What I'll do from now on, what will be reported... depends on you. Now tell me. What happened to the Skygrasper... the fighting plane that should have come to Kira's help?!"
"...I destroyed it."
"What happened to its pilot?!" The girl insisted. She had started trembling, doing her best to keep herself under control.
"He died in the explosion of his plane."
"What about Kira?!" She asked again, feeling her heart breaking more and more with each question, and each answer... Athrun's eyes widened before narrowing. "I didn't see him escape... but the cockpit was open and there was no trace of him, and the inside was completely burnt... They can't find him!" Seren was losing her nerve, she was panicking, and tears were welling up in her eyes. Maybe she had missed something! She was desperately hanging onto a thread and watching it giving way under her very eyes.
"You've seen it, right? You were there." The young man hung his head. "I... killed him. I... killed him." He repeated. Seren's eyes widened. She was feeling herself going numb, sinking down in the abyss. No! She had to keep it together! She struggled, doing all she could to keep a semblance of reason and stability in her crumbling world. The man she loved the most had killed the other man she loved most. Although the love she felt for them was different and could not be compared, she still loved them both more than anything... Athrun had killed Kira... and he had also killed Tolle... she loved him... but how could she forgive him?! "I grabbed onto the Strike with my Aegis, and then self-detonated. I can't imagine he could've escaped." He reported, sounding incredibly exhausted. The girl snapped and grabbed his collar, her knees on the bed, menacing him with her gun. "That was the only choice I had left... to defeat him." He justified himself. His voice was quivering. He looked at her with an incredibly sorrowful gaze and tears fell from his green eyes. That was too much for Seren whose tears overflowed too... tears of sadness and anger...
"You bastard!" She yelled hatefully, furiously, pinning him down. He uttered a pained sound. But what her expression showed was pure agony. "Damnit!" She cursed, and tightly shut her eyes as if hoping this was just a nightmare. But she knew it was not. Her tears fell on the cheeks of the boy who averted his head.
"Eh? Seren and that guy are childhood friends?!" Cagalli exclaimed in the hallway.
"Yes, and so is Kira. Those three became very close on the moon." Rayner answered.
"Then this is bad! We should-" Cagalli was going to dart away but Rayner caught her wrist and pulled her against him, immobilizing her.
"You can't. No, you must not. I know that you care a lot about them. You want to help them, and you can't leave them alone, but this is something they must solve by themselves. We are outsiders. We shouldn't risk making things worse by clumsily interfering."
"But-"
"Those three have a special bond. Trust them. Trust my adorable cousin. It'll be just fine to leave those guys, well, things to her." The young man reassured her gently, kindly, petting her head before embracing her comfortingly. And Cagalli truly felt heartened again.
"But why am I still alive?" Athrun wondered. "Maybe because I ejected back then." He heard the click of the safety being removed and turned his head to see her amber eyes full of hate and rage, so much that she could kill him, silently accuse him and ask the same question, 'even though you killed Kira and Tolle, how dare you be still alive?!', and he felt the cold tip of the gun trembling against his chest. She was obviously struggling about whether to kill or not. He smiled in sadness, irony, and almost relief. "Maybe so you could kill me..."
Tolle... who had been the first and most vehement in protecting Kira and her when they had first board the Archangel and her crew had learned about them being Coordinators, how he had always supported them, defended them, how he had decided to fight on the bridge for them, how he had decided to pilot a Skygrasper for them so he could protect them even out there... And Kira... all the times he cried, all the times he agonized over killing his own people, over fighting his precious friend... only to be killed by him! That guy had killed them, he had killed them both! He killed them... Feeling like her heart was literally being split, quartered, torn apart... she fired one, two, three, four, five rounds... in the mattress.
"Why...? I told you, didn't I? I told you why we didn't have a choice but to fight... Kira, he hadn't changed at all since back then... he was an airhead who lived recklessly, who never knew what he was doing, who always cried and cried, and who was impossibly kind... so why... why did you have to kill him... why did he have to be killed by you, his best friend, of all people?!"
"I don't know. I have no idea why either! It's your fault too, Seren! We were separated... and the next time I saw you guys, we were enemies!"
"Enemies?"
"I told you a number of times to come with me! You guys are Coordinators too, you're one of us, and so was he! You were wrong to side with the Earth Forces! You should have been able to pull strings so you guys would withdraw! But you didn't! You wouldn't listen! It's your fault! You fought us, you hurt my friends! And he killed Nicol! Nicol was only 15, he loved the piano, and just wanted to protect the PLANTS!"
"That's why you killed Kira? You...?"
"He was an enemy! He was no longer on my side! I had no choice but to kill him, did I?!"
"Then kill me too!" Seren cried, putting her gun in Athrun's good hand. "If you say that he was your enemy then so I am! There's still one bullet left. Go ahead, shoot! Kill me! Since I am your enemy! Shoot, since that's what you said you'd do, since that's what you must do!" She challenged him, clamping his hand on the firearm so he couldn't let go, and the muzzle against her chest, tears of anger and exasperation flowing down from her amber eyes. The boy suddenly froze, his eyes wide, as he stared at her unflinching golden gaze, and then at the gun in his hand, pointed at Seren's heart. His finger was on the trigger, but he could not move. He still could not shoot. He could not kill her. Soon, he started shaking. The gun was appearing more and more like something abominable and horrifying. He tightly shut his eyes in frustration and put the safety back in place.
"Stop, Seren! Stop doing that to me! Stop cornering me!" Athrun managed to yank the weapon away and throw it, weeping twice as hard. He had already lost Kira, and doubted he could bear to lose her too.
"I'm cornering you?! You fool! Kira never wanted to shoot you or kill your friend! Why did you come to that conclusion?! Why did you have to corner him like this?! Your friend, trying to protect you, was going to kill him, so Kira killed him first, Tolle too, a civilian thrown into this war just because he had seen something he shouldn't, he loved his girlfriend and he was just trying to protect us, Coordinators, despite being a Natural! He was just trying to protect Kira so you killed him too! Kira and I... also had things to protect... so why did he have to be killed, and at your hands of all people, the one he's always considered as his most precious friend! One kills because someone is killed, and then gets killed because he had killed... Just when is that going to end?! ...Just how is that going to bring us closer to peace?! Or is peace the total annihilation of every single Natural or Coordinator or both?!" And too weak to keep going, Seren slumped down on the young man, first her forehead on his chest, then lying down, half on him, half on the bed. She cried on his chest and Athrun tightly hugged her with his able arm, clutching her t-shirt like she was clutching his. They both cried, and cried, holding onto each other for dear life, because they were the only one the other had left. Their loss was the same, and the other was the only one who could understand it.
The wrecked Strike and Blast were loaded onto the seaplane, but nothing could be done about the Aegis that had exploded into thousands of pieces.
Night passed. In the Archangel, Miriallia was sitting on her bed, in the darkness, looking up with tears in her eyes. Flay too was in the darkness, sitting at a desk in Kira's room, her head buried in her arms. Torii landed next to her and twittered worriedly. She raised her anxious face towards the robotic bird.
The next day, the interceptor squadron that had escorted the Archangel to Alaska finally left the ship. The captain ordered to send a message thanking them. Then Kuzzey reported that someone was trying to ID this ship. Well, it was their first time to Alaska after all. Ramius told him to send their data. There shouldn't be a problem. Still, everyone was truly reassured. They had been saved by a hair's breadth. If the interceptor squadron hadn't arrived when they did and driven the DINNs away, this ship wouldn't have made it. Sai was surprised the DINNs had so easily backed off though. Chandra answered that no one in their right mind would consider entering and attempting a battle in Alaska's air defense space with only three DINNs. Sai wondered if Alaska was really that powerful. Lieutenant Badgiruel sharply scolded them. How long were they going to keep chatting?! They were still at level two battle alert! Murrue apologised and changed the status to half watch. It should be alright now. Natarle sighed. However, as soon as the announcement echoed through the ship, the captain received a message from Murdoch. He was begging her to stop the Lieutenant Commander La Flaga who insisted that the repairs on his unit be done now so he could go and search for the kids.
"Lieutenant Commander! I will not allow you to take off! Give the maintenance staff a chance to get some rest!" Captain Ramius ordered as she came running into the hangar.
"We haven't received word from Orb yet, have we?" Mu fiddled with the circuits of his Skygrasper.
"No, but..."
"Our ship is safe now. So what's the problem?"
"No! I will not allow it!"
"But what if those guys escaped successfully?!" The man finally snapped, turning around.
"I understand! Me too...! If I could I'd be the first one to fly over and rescue them! But right now, that's impossible!" The woman was sounding so desperate.
"Captain..."
"And given the present situation... I cannot allow you to go out alone either, commander! Should you sortie and also not return, I..." Tears beaded at the corner of her eyes as she was starting to panic and her feelings started showing. If that man who had been her sole support and who was her... their only remaining strength was to leave... But she noticed and stopped. She recovered a little and looked down. "Right now, please believe in Orb... in Kira, Seren, Tolle... and remain here." She instructed, like she was pleading him.
"Roger." Mu sighed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. If it was for her, if she needed him, if she was asking him like this... he would stay.
In the hallways, Natarle called Argyle-nittohei and handed him three cardboard boxes, telling him to gather the personal belongings of Crewman Koenig, Ensign Yamato, and Ensign Ledford.
"Personal belongings?! But they could still be-"
"The captain has declared them as MIA. So this is common procedure. By reminding yourself of the past and feeling sad about it, you're assuring yourself of being the next one to be killled. That's what a battlefield is."
In the dining room, the maintenance staff was discussing, unaware that Flay was listening... They had finally made it to Alaska, but without the Strike or the Blast... who would've imagined that both Yamato and Ledford would be wiped out like this... And indeed, they didn't seem very sad about it, unlike Flay who gasped shocked. She saw Kuzzey coming and asked him about Kira... and Seren. He told her they had been reported MIA, Missing In Action, a military term meaning 'killed in action but unconfirmed'. It was the same for Tolle. If she wanted more details, she would have to ask someone else. That was all he knew. He tried to enter the cafeteria but she roughly stopped him.
"Wait a minute! I'm asking you, where's Kira?! And where's Seren?!" She repeated. It was plainly impossible for something to have happened to BOTH of them. It was as if she had not heard anything he had said... or it was probably more like she was refusing to understand and accept. Her brain seemed to have the capacity to filter unwanted information.
"And I'm telling you I don't know!" Kuzzey snapped, shocking the girl who let go. It was not in his habit to raise his voice. "Not even if they're dead or alive!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"They're probably dead..." He voiced his opinion more softly, sadly. "It's fine now, right? Leave me alone!" He entered the cafeteria, really not in the mood to deal with her stupid questions or her neediness.
"Dead? Kira?" She muttered in disbelief, her eyes watering.
Sai went into the room Tolle and Miriallia shared with his boxes. He jolted when he saw her sitting in the dark and hid the boxes in his back. But she hadn't seen them. She asked if there hadn't been any contact from Tolle. She was usually a rather optimistic girl but now she was looking so miserable.
"N-no, b-but I'm sure there's nothing to worry about!" Sai lied, unable to destroy her any more than this. "The captain has asked Orb to search for them. We may very well learn something once we arrive at headquarters."
"Y-yeah, you're right. Because he has to be okay..." Milly tried to convince herself before once more hanging her head. The boy stepped back, put the boxes on the opposite bed and hid them behind the shutter without her noticing anything.
"Let's go to the cafeteria. You mustn't remain here alone."
The guards were pushing Dearka (whose hands were tied behind his back) in the hallways while he wouldn't stop complaining arrogantly like he owned the place and annoying everyone.
"Stop poking me like that! I'm injured, you know! Geez, how much longer were you planning to leave me like that?!" He whined. A soldier told him to shut up. The two former Heliopolis students stopped behind Neumann told them he was the Buster's pilot, and was surprised at his youth. As Elsman was passing before the group, he remarked the young girl with the downcast expression and stopped before her. "Eh? You've got some pretty cute girls aboard this ship, I see. What an idiot. Gimme a break. What are you crying about? I'm the one who wants to cry." Dearka ranted thoughtlessly, carelessly. Milly's eyes widened as she froze. To her that lack of sensitivity and consideration only sounded like an insult, he was cruelly and deliberately taunting her, tormenting her. Aware of her feelings, Sai tried to attack him but Neumann stopped him. Violence towards a prisonner was prohibited. Haw gritted her teeth. They didn't know that Flay had been intently watching the scene from afar.
Seren suddenly stood up. Athrun, who was sitting up on his bed, looked at her. Chacha was perched now on her shoulder. She was still in his room. She had never left him. She had slept at his side, eaten at the desk, and sat on the couch from which she had not budged. And after waking up, she had kept thinking, and then shutting all thoughts to see what was left. And she had reached a conclusion. She had decided what she wanted to do, what she was going to do. She called for Cagalli and Rayner to come in the room.
"Kira is still alive, and I'll be searching for him myself." The girl asserted when everyone was there. This declaration caused a storm of protests from Cagalli and Athrun. There was no way he was still alive! There was no way he could have escaped! He had killed him! She had seen everything! They couldn't find him anywhere despite their resources! She was still injured and needed rest! What could she do on her own?! Athrun resented her too. He was doing his best accept what he had done, even though she had cried like this... what was she saying now?! He did not have enough strength to make her face reality too! Only Rayner kept quiet and then calmly but strictly reminded her of her responsibilities towards the Archangel, its crew, and her friends there. "I believe in Kira, in the bond we share, and in my instinct. Kira is alive, and I will find him. That is my priority, the path I must take right now. La Flaga is still with the Archangel, and they've reached the Alaska air defence area so there's nothing to worry about for now." She glanced suspiciously at Athrun.
"And what will you do after you find him?" Rayner questioned. Cagalli cried his name. Even though she wanted Kira to be alive too, she was scared to believe, and didn't him to indulge Seren's wishful thinking too much, or Seren would be the one to hurt the most if she found out Kira had truly died, or she could as well keep searching forever.
"I have no idea. I don't even know whether we'll come back or not. Well, for now just confirming his safety will be enough. Kira killed his best friend's comrade, had another precious friend killed by him, and was practically killed by that best friend too. I doubt he'll ever want to experience that again, and truthfully I don't ever want to go through what I did these days either. But... we might be forced to make a choice again... because even if we stop walking, war will continue." She was speaking so resolutely that no one could retort anything. And they also felt that even if they did, she would not listen anyways. Because even if she wavered a lot, she wouldn't budge after having taken a decision. Athrun sighed and went to sit back on his bed, exhausted.
"Alright." Rayner agreed. Seren was truly thankful to him for a lot of things. He was the one who had made it so she could stay alone with Athrun, and prevented people from entering after she had fired that gun and now he was supporting her again without question in this apparent wild goose chase despite her complete lack of evidence. But suddenly, they were interrupted by Kisaka. Athrun's escort had arrived. The young man glanced at Seren and Athrun before taking Cagalli by the shoulders, hushing her protests and taking her out to greet ZAFT. Cagalli didn't understand, but he did, and was being considerate. His cousin glared a little before turning to her childhood friend who was already lost in thought. She sighed and pinched his nose so he couldn't breathe to make him snap out of it.
"What are you doing?" He exclaimed. She then helped him up.
"Didn't you hear anything? Your escort has arrived. ZAFT soldiers cannot be taken into Orb. Geez, will you really be alright?" Seren asked worriedly, her hands on his cheeks as if to make sure he was steady and focused. He smiled faintly and suddenly leant against her and held her close with his valid arm, surprising and making her blush.
"Yeah... you're really a strange girl after all..." Worrying about him like this despite what he had done to her friends, to Kira... even though she was going to kill him earlier. "Should I say thank you? Though I'm not really sure right now."
"And you are really an idiot after all." She briefly hugged him back before pulling away. "I know you don't believe me, you don't want to, but Kira is still alive, and I'll do something about him. But I'm very worried about you since you can be really reckless." The young woman unfastened the mini photo album she put in one of her pockets and removed her pendant to place it around Athrun's neck. "It's a stone amulet of Haumea. It protected me well all these years, now it will protect you."
"Even though I killed your friend... and Kira?"
"If that's truly what you think, don't make me lose someone else." She pleaded so strongly. "Besides, you didn't kill Kira." She slightly slapped both his cheeks where her hands remained. "So at least, if anything, you don't need to burden yourself with his death." She accompanied him to the door leading outside and stayed at the opening while he jumped down on the inflatable boat and was led to the ZAFT seaplane.
"You bastard! You've got your nerve, showing your face around here!" Yzak greeted him angrily. A soldier helped up the other red coat.
"I destroyed the Strike like I said I would. I also damaged the Blast out of action." Athrun walked away. Yzak looked at him with a satisfied smile. But before he closed the door, he saw the girl on the Orb ship looking at them with an unreadable expression... and he recognized her.
"Huh? That girl..."
"Yzak, the Blast got the Buster." Zala said, reporting his attention back to him.
The Archangel received a communication from Orb. Kisaka informed them of the search's current status. They were all overjoyed that Seren was still alive. And she wanted to talk to them. She appeared on the screen. She was also reassured that they were all fine. And she also told them that she won't be returning to them. She had decided to look for Kira on her own. As she had expected, her announcement shocked them all and caused a commotion on the bridge. And Lieutenant Badgiruel was of course the most virulent, which was only natural given how selfishly she was acting.
"I have already taken my decision, and whatever you do or say, it won't be overturned. And I must say it turns out well since I didn't want to go to Alaska anyway. I have received information that the top executives of the Earth Alliance in Alaska, and notably those of the Atlantic Federation, have been infiltrated by Blue Cosmos, and I certainly didn't intend to fight and die for those people, nor did I want the Blast to be used by them in any way. I will look for Kira, but I have no idea what will happen after that. I may return alone, or with him, or not at all. And I don't know either when that is going to be. I wanted to inform you of my intentions and ask you to choose. I know acting without permission like this and without any evidence to back my claim would get me executed, but I will still look for Kira. I want to know whether you'll still forbid me to go and make me a deserter, or will you gamble on me and allow me to go?"
"Alright. I give you permission to go look for Kira-kun." Murrue authorized after a time, surprising everyone.
"Captain!" Natarle protested.
"I agree with the captain." Mu supported Ramius. "Even if Seren's a soldier, she's still a child. And though she's still a child, she has those abilities, and that instinct of hers. She'll go regardless of what we decide but if you make her a deserter now and Kira is really dead, we'll lose everything. If we let her go and she finds Kira alive, we'll have everyone back. The best option should be obvious. If it's something Seren feels she absolutely needs to do, don't you think we should be responding to her with trust instead?" He smiled at the vice-captain, echoing Murrue's words from the Menelaos, when she had chosen to let Kira and Seren disembark. That man was really something... using proper arguments to reason with Natarle, protect Seren-kun, and in the same time giving her such a heart-warming 'wink' in words...
"If you two are saying so much, then there's nothing I can do."
"Thank you... for everything... and especially for going along with my selfishness. And I deeply apologize for all the trouble I have caused and I will be causing you. You will probably be mistreated in Alaska for having shielded and trusted us Coordinators but please, hang on..." Seren smiled softly, warmly, gratefully.
The PLANTs...
Lacus was scolding Green-chan for being bad when Pink-chan left the group and hopped towards a conservatory. It was slightly away from the house, and the hallway connecting it to the house was also made of glass. Lacus told him he shouldn't go there and went after him. The door opened and he hopped onto the bed where a boy was sleeping. The girl picked him up. Kira opened his violet eyes. His head was bandaged and he had bandaids on his cheeks too.
"Good morning." Lacus greeted him with a gentle smile.
Look up. That day, on a sunny day, it rained. But an umbrella of smiles was quietly handed to those soaked in the rain. What we had was not happiness from staying alive after having fought. The reality of all those sacrifices, of friendship, of love... kept tormenting us. Just accepting them was the best we could do. But even so, we had to live on... and pursue the path we had set out for ourselves.
