Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny or its characters and names. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.
All's Fair in Love, War, and Journalism
35
Shinn strapped on his head gear and secured on his vest before taking an ominous step towards the entrance. Kira Yamato's intel had led them to here, literally a hole hundreds of meters deep into the ground.
Overgrown vines and weeds had grown over the top of a trap door concealing its entrance, in a small parkland area within the city. Despite Kira's directions it had taken them some time to locate the small man sized hole in the ground that supposedly led to Blue Cosmos' hideout. Shinn and the rest of the officers were growing antsy, both with impatience and anticipation of the operation. Somewhere down there, his captain was waiting for him.
Shinn left the circle where his sergeant was briefing in the team that Captain Gladys had lent them for the extraction mission. Despite being on Onogoro's turf, this was an operation under the Heliopolis PD to bring back the Heliopolis captain. Somehow, Yzak had negotiated with the Onogoro captain to hand authority over to Dearka.
Shinn reached the entrance and peered into the darkness below, not looking impressed. Although he was brimming with restless energy to rescue his captain, he was also not at all eager to climb down into the dark dingy unknown. They had no layout of the place and no idea what awaited them down there.
Just as he was leaning over the crevice, a huge tremble rocked the ground causing him to lose his balance.
"Hey, Asuka!" A shout came at him, and a hand grabbed him by the back of the collar yanking him backwards. "Watch yourself." Dearka reprimanded as he caught Shinn against him.
It took a moment for Shinn to right himself. The tremble died down soon after, as quickly as it came. The young detective leaned over the hole he had almost fallen into as a cloud of dust flew upwards escaping the tunnels.
"Shit." He said.
What had been a dark passageway below only a moment ago was now a sea of collapsed rocks. He swallowed the saliva that suddenly built up in his mouth. Had he lost his balance, he not only would have risked a broken ankle, but he probably would have been crushed to death.
His superior leaned over his shoulder and peered down as well.
"Shit." Dearka repeated.
They turned to look at each other.
"What now?" Shinn asked. They had been preparing themselves to go down there only a second ago. That was now out of the option.
Dearka set his jaw and turned to the group of officers behind them.
Kira had given them the location of two possible entrances to the tunnel, this one and another in the heart of the city.
"We change course."
The floor rocked where Athrun stood, causing him to ram into the wall beside him. The place shook like an earthquake. Was it an earthquake? He could feel the dust gathering in the air and the violent tremble of rocks.
Kira slammed into him, pressing him to the floor just as something hit the ground beside him, narrowly missing them.
When the rumble died down, he felt a layer of dust settle over him.
"What happened?" Athrun asked, coughing.
Kira remained silent as his body weight shifted off of Athrun. He helped pull Athrun onto his feet and Athrun was in no better condition to gauge what had happened. Everything was still pitch black.
"Kira?"
He heard Kira shuffle next to him as if turning in a wide circle. Then came the bleak desolate voice which stopped Athrun's heart.
"The tunnel collapsed. We're caved in."
A wall of fallen debris blocked the way ahead.
Cagalli came to a stop when she reached the end of the corridor. She approached it tentatively, eyes hardly believing what was in front of her.
"No!"
Her breathing quickened in panic.
Athrun.
Her hands clawed at the jagged stones before her, pulling, digging, trying to lodge it free. While her mind ran a mile per second at all the possibilities.
He was behind that wall.
He was trapped by fallen debris.
He was hurt.
He would run out of oxygen.
He was crushed under the weight of a tonne of solid rock.
But nothing she did would budge the wall. Whatever superior strength she had had left her by now. She was only wasting her energy. Logic told her that even if she managed to loosen one rock, there was no telling how long the sea of rocks stretched. The whole east tunnels could be gone.
She collapsed in frustration at the feet of the rubble. There was nothing she could do. If Athrun was hurt on the other side, she couldn't reach him. Hot tears burned at her cheeks.
She wiped them away.
Come on Cagalli. Get a grip on yourself.
She couldn't lose hope now. She had to believe in Athrun. That he was alright. He was a survivor like her. And if he was trapped, then she had to survive and make it out of here to get him help. Because if she lost hope, she might as well give up now and surrender to Djibril.
And she couldn't surrender to Djibril. She still had to make him pay.
Cagalli took a deep breath and with that she pushed herself from the floor. She couldn't stay here. Djibril's men would come looking for her soon.
And there was Auel. If there was nothing she could do for Athrun right now, maybe she could still save someone else she cared about.
Cagalli headed back the way she had come. She found the guard she had fought, lying on the ground unconscious. Bending down, Cagalli searched the guard, taking his gun and tucking his knife against her hips. She continued to where she had last seen Auel.
So far no one had come looking for her. Where were all the guards?
She passed the spot where Auel had turned his gun on Djibril. She remembered the way he had fallen limp at the mention of his mother. Her chest ached at the memory of the helplessness on his face. Would Auel really let them kill him without a fight?
She took another step forward and the corridor lit up with a red flashing light. Cagalli startled, looking around her to find that she was still alone, but the tunnels behind her were now flashing too. A silent alarm had gone off, the place was on alert. She wondered if this meant that Djibril was looking for her. Or perhaps it meant Auel had escaped. Either way, she had to find him quickly and get out.
She ran to where he had been dragged around the bend, then slowed down, wondering where they might have taken Auel. A long stretch of a hallway loomed before her.
Cagalli tread down the hallway, keeping her gun aimed in front of her. It wasn't until she was halfway down the hallway that she noticed there was an unusual stain on the floor. The red pulsing light above had made it almost invisible but tiny crimson specks came into focus, leading down the hall, eventually forming bigger and bigger patches on the floor.
Cagalli's heart stammered. She followed it deeper into the corridor until the patches became puddles and smears of fresh blood lined the walls. It all accumulated in a wet sticky pool of dark liquid. She could almost smell it in the air, a sweet, salty, metallic smell. The hallway split into an intersection further ahead and as the alarm kept on flashing, colouring her vision red she couldn't tell if there were any more trails of blood.
By then Cagalli's breath had stopped in her lungs, unable to expel, unable to breathe. She forbade her mind to contemplate the possibilities but her body reacted instead. Frozen. In horror and numbness.
She was too late.
She was too late.
For Athrun and for Auel.
Her lungs burned, yearning to take another breath. But Cagalli didn't want to inhale the scent of murder and death. For a second, Cagalli felt like giving in. To just collapse where she stood, curl up into a ball and let the world consume her. There was nothing left to fight for. If she had lost Athrun. And lost Auel. What was left? What more could Djibril take from her?
Yet she knew the answer to her own questions. There were still plenty more Djibril could take. There was still Kira. There were her friends. There were herself and many more innocent lives that could be lost at the hands of Blue Cosmos.
There was still justice.
She could still fight for justice.
The sudden sound of gunfire brought her out of her stupor. It came from the intersection up ahead. Instinctively, Cagalli headed towards it. She should turn and run the other way but Cagalli always had a habit of running towards danger instead of away from it.
As she drew closer, a part of her, a desperate, foolish and perhaps naive part of her hoped that the gunfire meant Auel was still alive. That he was still fighting. But as she drew closer even still, she knew her hopes were dashed. There were too many gunshots going off, coming from different directions. It was not Auel.
Cagalli stopped at the corner and peeked her head around. She spotted a small group of Djibril's guards crowded around one corner firing across the hallway to the other side. Another group fired back, dressed all in black protective gear.
A bullet ricocheted off the wall just above Cagalli's head and she ducked back around the bend. Another set of gunfire echoed from her other side until she couldn't tell where the bullets were firing from.
She pushed herself off the wall and went back the way she came. Whatever was going on, she couldn't afford to be caught in the crossfire.
By now the echoes of bullets permeated the entire tunnel network. Sounds of fighting were all around. It was clear the place was in an uproar, as indiscernible screams and shouts joined in the chaos of noise.
Cagalli retreated until she found herself a small nook in the wall and tucked herself away in an unassuming corner. She collapsed against the wall and slid to the floor.
She suddenly felt exhausted. An abrupt and heavy onset of exhaustion that made her bones tremble. She recognised the feeling. The drug that was in her system had worn out completely now, leaving her drained and without energy. It couldn't have happened at a worse time.
What was happening? Where were the bullets coming from? Who were the bullets coming from? Where was Djibril?
She forced herself to take a deep breath like Athrun had taught her to. When her breathing had evened, Cagalli tried once again to make sense of the situation. She remembered what Djibril had said. He had been sure that Orb Intelligence had found their location, and he had been cocky that he had trapped whatever forces the Intelligence Office sent down, in the tunnels that collapsed. But what if he was wrong. Orb Intelligence could have entered another way. Or it could be someone else attacking their base.
Friend or foe?
Djibril was bound to have many enemies. He certainly pissed off a lot of gangs when Blue Cosmos came to Orb. And the enemy of her enemy didn't exactly make them Cagalli's friends.
She couldn't risk exposing herself until she figured out who they were and what they wanted.
Her fingers tightened around the gun in her hands as she waited nervously for the gunfight to subside. Her emotions were running wild inside of her. Athrun. The explosion. Auel. Djibril. This.
Eventually, the noise died down, although not completely. Faded sounds of gunfire still echoed in the distance, but the one she had walked in on was over. Instead, she heard mumbled voices down the hall, and then footsteps heading towards her.
She took a shaky breath then lifted up her gun, just as a silhouette appeared in her view, looming over her.
"Woah, easy there little miss."
She could almost hear the smile in the voice and somehow it sounded familiar to her. Cagalli couldn't quite recall where she had heard it from until the man stepped forward and lifted the visor from his helmet. Her hand relaxed on her gun, and it was only then Cagalli realised she was shaking.
He knelt in front of her and lowered her arm the rest of the way.
"I'm just trying to rescue you from the evil clutches of a megalomaniac." His lips quirked up in an easy smile, meant to reassure her. "No need to blow my head off just because I'm late."
"Neo Roanoke."
"Agent Mu La Flaga."
Cagalli nodded, already knowing this. Kira had filled her in about the agent that he worked with.
He offered a hand to her which Cagalli took, then adeptly pulled her to her feet. Mu gave her a once over, eyebrow cocking at the gun still in her hand and most likely wondering when, where and how she had procured the weapon when she was supposed to be held captive in the heart of Lodonia.
"You don't seem to be doing too badly." He finally said with a hint of approval.
"Looks can be deceiving." Her heart felt torn in half on the inside, and her body felt ready to collapse. Yet somehow she found the strength to keep on her own two feet.
Mu gestured to behind him and a group of agents, five in total, came forward. "This is my team. There are four more teams infiltrating these tunnels as we speak. If I had time I'd introduce you to all of them personally, but for now, meet Henrys and Garcia." A man and a woman stepped forward, tipping up their protective visors to meet her eyes. "And they're going to get you to the surface. If you could tell me where Athrun Zala is, I'll go extract him now."
Cagalli's heart staggered in her chest. "He was..." She fought to keep her voice even. "He was in the east tunnels. Djibril...he blew it up. I don't know if Athrun made it out."
"Alright." Mu said steadily. "I'll send for help as soon as we have Lodonia under control. I need you to focus on reaching safety. Can you do that?"
Cagalli bit her lip and nodded. This was what she was aiming for, wasn't it? To survive long enough to get help to Athrun. Then why did it feel like she was leaving him behind?
"Good. There's something else I need to ask you. Have you seen Kira?"
The mention of Kira confused her and immediately made her shredded heart twist in more pain. "Kira? No, why? Is he alright?"
"I don't know." Mu shook his head gravely. He had lost the good humoured lilt in his voice. "We believe he's down here looking for you."
Her eyes unfocused on Mu and her surrounding as if her mind could run along the corridors of the facility and locate her brother, all the while thinking that she could not, could not, lose anyone else. Mu must've seen the distant look in her eyes because he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You need to go with Henrys and Garcia. If you fall back under Djibril's hands, my people would have risked their lives for nothing. Do you understand?" His eyes were startlingly blue as he pinned her with a steadfast gaze. "I'll find Kira and help your captain. Let me handle this."
The confidence in his voice made her believe in him, and she needed something to believe in. "Alright."
In the end, it was easy, perhaps a little too easy, to let La Flaga's agents lead her away. Cagalli had been fighting for so long, ever since she was brought here, constantly, not just physically, but against her fears and worst nightmares, that she felt so drained. Like all her courage had been used up by now. It was a relief to have the intelligence officers to rely on, to be looked after, to let her guard down just a smidgen.
And Mu was right. She couldn't afford to be recaptured by Djibril. So far Mu's team seemed to have escaped harm, but she could hear the echoes of gunfights going on in other sections of the tunnels. There were other teams of agents down here all risking their lives for her, some of them won't be lucky. Staying meant she was putting them all in danger. Perhaps if she still had some of her enhanced powers, she could be of help. But right now, she needed all of her energy just to keep walking.
They split off at the end of the corridor, where Mu and his remaining three agents headed deeper into Lodonia, and Cagalli and her escorts headed in the opposite direction.
Henrys and Garcia didn't speak as they flanked her, one in front and one behind. They were perfectly in sync as they moved, shooting at the stray guards that bumped into them in the hallways, coordinating their shots so effortlessly that Cagalli realised they must've been partners for years. Cagalli kept her gun at the ready but thankfully did not have to use it.
Eventually, they reached a dead end, a ladder set into the wall jutted out at them. Henrys went first, followed by Cagalli, then Garcia. She wondered which exit this was, she didn't remember it from her father's map. But then Djibril would have to be a fool to not have installed his own entrances into his domain.
"Where are we heading to?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"There's an upper level which leads to the nearest exit. Team B secured it 15 minutes ago." Garcia replied behind her.
The ladder led up to the ceiling where a narrow tunnel continued like a hole drilled right through the stone above. Each step she climbed was like hauling herself over a mountain. Finally, they seemed to have reached the end as Henrys, ahead of her, pushed onto a trap door above them. It creaked open slowly. Henrys took the final step up and emerged onto the other side.
As the agent bent over the opening and offered her his hand, her eyes registered a blur of movement behind him. Something whacked into Agent Henrys with a tremendous force sending him to the ground. Then a shadowed face leaned over the crevice. A gunshot was fired, Cagalli felt the wind of the bullet fly past and hit Agent Garcia behind her. She looked back down to find the agent falling to the ground below.
Swinging her head around, she looked up again.
Djibril's face greeted her.
Athrun coughed once more as dust filled his nostrils. He could hear Kira's laboured breathing close by and wished he could do something to help, instead of standing idly by on the sidelines.
Kira sounded strained and there was something off about his footsteps that made Athrun wonder if he had been injured during the cave-in. They had backtracked, trying to find a way out when they found another section of the tunnels where the ceiling had collapsed to reveal another level just above. The way was still blocked by a wall of rocks but the smallest and dimmest of light had seeped through a gap at the top.
It was like seeing the sun for the first time. The first ray of light in what was an eternal darkness. The thin stream was hardly enough to illuminate the shadows, leaving Athrun still half blind. But Athrun had felt a surge of hope and Kira had taken it upon himself to try to remove the rocks around the gap to make a larger opening.
"Your right!" A shout of warning came. Athrun dodged clumsily to his left as another piece of the falling ceiling almost smashed into him. "Sorry!" Kira's voice came floating from above.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Athrun called back.
When Athrun had questioned earlier if removing any of the rocks was actually a good idea, given one wrong move and the wall could tumble on top of them, Kira reassured him that he had studied engineering at university and knew where the strongest and weakest points on the wall were. Since then several bits of loose rock had made their way down trying to hit Athrun on the head.
"Not really." He heard a hint of sheepishness in Kira's reply. "I never actually finished my studies, you know."
He heard Kira shuffle another rock away and suddenly the gap widened allowing more light in. This time the light seeping through was enough for Athrun to make out the blurry shadows around him. It was still dark, but he finally had a sense of his surroundings. Athrun carefully climbed onto the rocks, his vision getting better the closer he was to the light source and set to help Kira.
It wasn't long before an opening big enough to fit a person through appeared above them. Kira went first, hauling himself over and disappearing against the backlight above.
Athrun followed, emerging into the light. He allowed a moment for his eyes to adjust, glad to be out of that godforsaken black pit, then followed Kira off of the unstable rubbles, onto a solid floor.
Two large hands grabbed her before Cagalli had even processed what was happening and hauled her up by her arms. Her gun was immediately taken off of her.
Cagalli's eyes scanned the area. Unlike the network of narrow tunnels underneath, this level was mostly open space with a high ceiling. As her eyes landed on crates being loaded onto trucks preparing to leave, she realised this was how Djibril got his supplies in and out of the tunnels. Blue Cosmos had somehow managed to build an underground carpark right on top of the ancient tunnels to act as a loading dock.
She caught the sight of several bodies that lay scattered on the floor and knew that they were the Orb Intelligence team that had been securing this area. Her eyes finally landed on Agent Henrys, who lay dead a couple of feet away from her, blood pooling underneath him, and she felt weak in the knees.
"Where were you going?" Djibril's icy voice brought her attention back to him. The red lights flashed on this level too, casting Djibril's angular face in blood and shadow. "You think you can get away from me?!" His rough hand reached for her chin, yanking her head upwards to meet him. "You will never leave. When I'm done with you, you'll be begging at my feet trying to find every possible way to please me."
Disgust pooled in her stomach and Cagalli spat in his face. "Never."
Djibril gritted his teeth but calmly wiped his face with his sleeve. "You're shaking." He pointed out.
She was, Cagalli realised. Tremors travelled along her body like waves. If it weren't for the two guards holding her up, she would have buckled. Her eyes suddenly widened as it beheld the knowing and smug look in Djibril's eyes. She knew it wasn't the fear causing her body to tremble. She had thought it was exhaustion earlier but a more horrifying thought came to her. "The drug."
"Yes." A cruel and malicious smile formed on Djibril's face. "You're showing withdrawal."
A cold chill ran along Cagalli's spine. All this time when she thought she was simply tired, she had been experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and it had gotten worse each time she took the drug. She remembered the feeling of anticipation and excitement when she knew she was about to get another dose, the glee and ecstasy when it entered her system leaving her feeling invincible. Suddenly she felt sick. She finally saw the truth behind it all. The true power of any drug was addiction.
"You never planned on perfecting Gamma Glipheptin. My brother doesn't need constant doses to keep him fast or strong. He doesn't need to go back for more. But you need your minions to come back to you. You need a way to control them."
Djibril's smile enlarged as she hit the truth. "What is the use of having super human soldiers if they don't listen to me? When they could turn their backs and betray me at any time? They certainly wouldn't be afraid of me. And there would be no profit to be made, if I only need to sell one dose to someone."
"Then why do you need me if you already have that?"
"Because I still need it to be stable enough to sell. No buyer would pay for an experimental drug. No military would spend millions and billions for something with uncertain outcomes. That's why you're coming with me."
Djibril gestured to the two men holding her and they dragged her away towards one of the parked trucks. Cagalli's stomach lurched as one of the guards let go of her to open the back of the truck. She knew in her heart that this was it. If Djibril took her away now, no one would ever find her. She would never see Athrun or Kira again. Never know what might have happened to them. If they would survive tonight or how many years might pass before they finally gave up looking for her. Would there even be anything left of her to save after the drug had eaten away at her mind? This was her last chance to escape, and if she didn't take it she was as good as dead.
Her eyes darted to the gun by the hips of the guard still holding her. In plain sight and within reach. They were still underestimating her. She couldn't win in a physical fight, but she could still pull a trigger. Perhaps once she would have hesitated, but this time she didn't. She yanked it free from its holster and fired. The guard fell to the floor with a startled yelp.
Her whole body was trembling when she turned to the guard by the truck but she managed to steady herself and shoot him in the shoulder when he tried to reach his own gun.
"Keys. Now!" She demanded, aiming her gun at his head, hoping she had managed to mask her shaking enough to convince the guard that she could make the shot.
The guard hesitated, one hand clutching onto his bleeding shoulder, but when Cagalli growled impatiently, he fumbled inside his pocket and tossed her the key to the truck.
She darted to the driver's side and caught blurs of movement as the rest of Djibril's men who had been loading the vehicles realised what was going on. She couldn't see exactly where Djibril was but she could hear him shouting orders. Bullets hit the truck just as she climbed inside. She slammed the door shut. To her advantage, the truck's windows were re-enforced with bullet-proof glass. Cagalli turned on the ignition and floored the accelerator.
The sounds of bullets followed her, aiming at her wheels. She turned the truck around directly towards the gunfire and Djibril's men scrambled out of the way to avoid being hit. Cagalli drove the truck in a full circle trying to find an exit. A ramp eventually came into view and Cagalli veered the vehicle onto it. She had no idea where she was going, only that she had to head upwards towards the surface.
Athrun followed after Kira as the other led them towards the commotion in the distance. The closer to the centre of Lodonia they got, the more obvious something was amiss. The soft luminance of the tunnel lights had started flashing red with warning as they got closer. Then came the distant echoes of guns going off. Everything was screaming out danger. And Athrun's heart screamed out with worry for Cagalli.
They eventually came to an opening where the narrow corridors they were traveling through opened up to a wide area. Kira motioned for Athrun to slow down as they approached. His hand went straight for the gun Athrun had handed him earlier. Before they even reached the opening, Kira had already drawn and fired. The sound of someone going down was heard.
Kira didn't wait for Athrun and sprinted ahead into the open. Half a dozen guards turned their attention towards him as he ran past them, drawing them away from the opening.
Athrun snuck out unnoticed around to the back of one of the guards. Wrapping the guard into a stranglehold, Athrun twisted the man around in his arms and slammed his head into the nearby wall. The guard fell limp by his side. No one seemed to have noticed as the ringing of bullets going off in Kira's direction drowned out any noise. Athrun bent down and picked up the fallen rifle by the unconscious man's side and quietly joined in the fight.
By the time the guards had noticed that Kira was not alone, Athrun had already picked off another two men. Two remained, firing stubbornly at them. Athrun hid behind a large crate, craning over his shoulder to see where Kira had gone. He saw Kira dodge a bullet by falling into a tumble to the side.
But something was off with Kira's footing. Athrun had noticed it earlier in the tunnels, and although it didn't seem to affect Kira's speed, Kira had still moved far more stiffly than usual. Just as Kira was spinning back onto his heels, he suddenly staggered. His knees buckled, collapsing under him, leaving him exposed.
Athrun saw the gunman take aim on the other side as Kira stumbled forward. Raising his weapon, Athrun aimed and shot the man between the eyes. The lone remaining guard turned tail and ran but Athrun didn't give chase. Instead he hurried towards where Kira was still kneeling. Offering Kira his hand this time, Athrun pulled the other onto his feet, frowning at the patches of blood that had seeped through the fabric of Kira's trousers.
"Your knee."
"An old wound that's reopened that's all."
"Doesn't look old to me."
"It's nothing." Kira brushed it off, but didn't brush away Athrun's hand when Athrun put an arm under his to support him.
Taking on some of Kira's weight, Athrun helped steady Kira as they continued onwards.
They rounded a large shipment container when they saw another body on the ground. This one was dressed differently to Djibril's men they had fought earlier.
Kira knelt down in front of the dead body, his eyes widened in recognition. He searched the man's clothes until he came up with a small radio.
Turning it on, Kira spoke into it. "Endymion, are you there?"
A crack of static. "Who is this?"
"This is Freedom."
"Freedom…" A sigh of relief came from the other side before the voice immediately became stiff. "What's happened?"
"I found one of your men down. I'm on an upper level somewhere above the ancient tunnels."
"Shit!" A string of swear words followed. "That area is supposed to be secure! Listen Kira, I had two of my agents take your sister that way. I'll send all available units to your location. Wait for back-up, do you hear me? Do not go after them alone. If Djibril has Cagalli, he cannot get his hands on you as well."
Kira was still for a moment, a sudden rage cut across his face. "Athrun Zala is with me, he'll back me up." Kira abruptly ended the connection. Something about Mu's words had cut him deeply. He threw the radio to the floor and turned to Athrun. "Cagalli's here."
Cagalli followed the ramp until it brought her up to another level. She checked in her rearview mirror. There was no one behind her, but she could hear the sound of a vehicle, its tyres screeching as it turned up the ramp in pursuit.
Her shaking hands slipped on the steering wheel and she almost ran into a column. She righted the truck and scanned the area.
Her eyes caught sight of a gate in the distance. Her stomach lurched. The exit was in her sight but its roller doors were shut. Her way out was blocked. The sound of the vehicle behind her loomed closer. There was no other way out. In a split second, Cagalli made up her mind. She was going to go through that gate.
Cagalli took a deep breath then opened the driver's door, getting ready. She rammed her foot down on the accelerator giving it one last boost, then jumped out of the moving vehicle. Her body slammed the ground, jolting with pain at the impact. She rolled several feet, skin scraping against the concrete before she came to a stop. Up ahead, the truck continued its course until a loud crash was heard as it rammed into the shutters of the gate and came to an abrupt stop.
Cagalli lifted up her head from where she lay to see the distorted shape of the gate, scrunched and dented and twisted at an angle. The truck hadn't managed to completely dislodge the shutters, but a large gap now appeared. On the other side of the gate was a dark endless sky. It was freedom.
Cagalli reached a hand towards it. She could almost smell the sweet scent of fresh air blowing in from the opening. Feel the soft breeze of the wind ruffling through her hair. If she squinted, she could almost see the stars from the night sky outside. She was so close. But she was so weak. Her body was screaming out with pain. Jumping out of a moving vehicle was perhaps not the brightest idea she's ever had. She didn't think she had the energy to stand.
The screech of tyres behind her told her she had run out of time. Perhaps it was stubbornness or a sheer will of not wanting to give up, Cagalli scrambled on her hands and knees, desperate to get to the exit. If she could just get to the other side of the gate, she could still make it.
The doors slammed. Footsteps came closer. She heard the sound of bullets going off. But she didn't look back. She focused on the opening up ahead. Then a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her to her feet. They were dragging her. Towards the exit, she thought at first. No. Towards the truck. The engine of the truck she had crashed was still running.
She caught the sight of grey hair from the corner of her eyes. It was Djibril's hands wrapped around her waist, half carrying and half dragging her towards the truck. He still wanted to take her away.
Following the sound of a loud bang, Athrun and Kira rounded the ramp. A group of Djibril's men came into view, hopping out of a parked van. Athrun opened fire immediately, taking them by surprise. It didn't take many shots to dispatch the unprepared men.
His eyes focused on what was going on further ahead in the distance. A truck had smashed into a gate, and a struggle was happening between two people, one dragging the other towards the truck.
Athrun's heart froze with a cold shiver when he realised who they were. Kira had already seen what was happening and was running towards Cagalli. But they were too far away. Kira's injured knee was slowing him down. He wouldn't make it in time.
Athrun hefted up his rifle, not knowing where to aim. Djibril had seen them already, had heard him shoot down his men, and was using Cagalli as a shield in front of him while he carried her away.
Djibril would get away with Cagalli in the truck.
That thought made him violently ill on the inside. Djibril would take Cagalli away from him forever. Athrun's eyes landed on the truck. Unless Djibril didn't have a means of escape.
Athrun's eyes darted from the truck to Djibril and Cagalli, and back again, calculating the distance. Then he opened fire.
Cagalli's heart spiked with each step closer Djibril took her. Her breathing came in rasps as she tried frantically to get free. But there was no force or strength left in her punches and Djibril hefted her easily. Still, she struggled, twisting and kicking in his grip.
It wasn't until she felt the jab of the handle against her ribs that she remembered the knife she had tucked against her hip. Cagalli reached for it just as an explosion rocked behind her sending her flying out of Djibril's grip and landing with a roll several meters away.
The second fall to the floor left her disorientated. When she turned around to see what had happened, a hot burning blaze had engulfed the truck. A sudden panic and fear emerged, trapping her in a memory. See smelt the burning flesh as a van exploded with Nicol inside, she saw the blazing fire licking at her heels as she ran from her house with her brother beside her. In between the haze of the fire and her blurry visions, Djibril emerged looking wild with madness.
He had come back to kill her and her brother. To stop her from ever leaving that house.
He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her against him. He was shouting something against the crackles of the fire.
"Get back! Or I'll throw her into the flames!"
Fear trembled through her. She was going to die in that fire.
It would have paralysed her if she hadn't heard her name being called.
"Cagalli!"
She knew that voice. The voice wrapped around her, pulling her out of her nightmares, giving her strength. She was not back there, in the burning house where her parents had died. She was not helpless anymore. She was not going to die.
This time Cagalli's hand found the handle of the knife and she gripped onto it tightly. Pulling it out, she stabbed it into Djibril's hand. He let out a scream and let go of her immediately. Cagalli dropped to the ground. She crawled away from Djibril just as someone slammed into him, pinning Djibril to the floor.
Then a pair of arms wrapped around her, this time gentle and caring, and lifted her off the ground. Cagalli looked up to find Athrun looking back at her. His usually clear emerald orbs were brimming with tears as he hugged her against him.
"Cagalli." He said her name again. "I thought I'd lost you. I was so scared I was going lose you." His tears mixed with hers as he pressed his face against her cheek.
"I was scared I'd lost you too." She managed to croak back. "I was so scared."
"It's alright. You're safe now." He promised, kissing her gingerly on the forehead.
Cagalli released a held breath and let his words soak her. She was safe. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she felt it was true.
Cagalli shifted in Athrun's arms until she could see her brother's form, kneeling over Djibril. The older man had been beaten into a bloody mess.
Kira got off of Djibril, his knuckles were raw and bleeding, then pulled out the gun from his waist.
She felt Athrun tense against her. Gently, he set her back onto the ground, while still keeping one arm around her, giving her support.
"Kira, what are you doing?" Athrun asked tentatively, staring at Kira with apprehension.
"He deserves to die." Kira was quiet in his reply.
A dark shadow had crossed over her brother's face. There was a fury there so intense that it almost burned and a pain that gorged deep into his heart. It was so foreign on Kira's usually gentle face yet she felt like she had seen it before, like it had always been there under the surface. She wondered if it was the fire. If he saw the same thing she saw when he looked into its flames.
"I remember you." Kira's eyes narrowed, glaring at Djibril by his feet. "You were there that night. You dragged mum by her hair and murdered her in cold blood. You murdered dad as well. You tried to burn my sister and I alive." His voice rose steadily with clear rage. "You tried to kill my sister again just now!" His gun clicked, aimed at Djibril's head. "You deserve a lot worse than this."
"Kira! Stop!" Athrun's voice rang out with warning. "If you kill him like this, it won't be considered self defence. You'll be charged with murder."
A loud bark of laughter escaped from Kira. His shoulders shook violently. When he turned to look at Athrun, there was a hollowness eating into his eyes. "I'm already a murderer. I killed Shani Andras. What difference would this make?"
"No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did!" Kira snapped back. Hatred and rage consumed him. Yet Cagalli didn't think the hatred was directed entirely at Djibril or Blue Cosmos. It was at himself. "You may think it was in self defence, but I had already made up my mind to kill Shani before he attacked me. I am a murderer, there is blood on my hands, and sparing Djibril won't change any of that."
"You didn't kill him." Athrun repeated. "Shani Andras died from a heart attack induced by Gamma Glipheptin, not a bullet wound. I'm sorry I should have mentioned it to you sooner, but there was never a chance. You didn't kill him, Kira."
Kira's rage wavered as he shook his head in denial. "No, I still killed him. He still would have died from my bullet if he didn't suffer a heart attack. I...I'm still..."
"No, Kira you're not. We're all judged by our actions, but not by what we might have done. You shot Shani Andras in self defence. You might have shot him in cold blood, but you didn't and there's no way to know if you would have gone through with it. And he didn't die from the bullet. But what happens next here, you have a choice in, and if you kill Djibril, you will be judged for it."
The dark clouds in Kira's eyes were dissipating, leaving a confused and vulnerable boy in its wake. Kira was shaking his head still fighting with the guilt he harboured.
Athrun's voice softened as he spoke next. "You need to forgive yourself. You're not a murderer, Kira."
Finally, Kira's arm lowered and he staggered a few steps backwards, falling to his knees. His gun fell to the ground forgotten. Tears streamed down his face in anguish and at the possibility of what he had almost done. There was no more rage left in him, but perhaps the self-loathing still remained. It would take time for him to finally forgive himself.
Athurn let out a held breath.
Cagalli extracted herself from Athrun's side and walked towards her brother. Bending down, she picked up the abandoned gun and took another few steps towards Djibril.
She heard Athrun's breathing quicken again.
By now, Djibril had managed to push himself into a sitting position on his knees. He stared up at her with swollen eyes. His nose was broken and blood poured freely from it down his face. Still, he managed a taunting smile at her.
"Are you going to kill me, girl?" He half mocked and half challenged. "Since your weakling of a brother couldn't finish the job?"
"Yes." Cagalli's arms raised, pressing the gun into Djibril's forehead. "I am going to kill you. But first, I'm going to make you suffer. The world will know what you have done. I will write about your crimes. I will give evidence against you. I will do everything in my power to make sure you're locked away for life in a maximum security prison. You will not get bail. You will not get parole. You will never see the outside of your prison fence or taste freedom ever again. Your reign, your power, your ambition stops here. The empire you built and worked so hard for will crumble and fall. You will never be in control of anything ever again. Not even your own life. You will live the remainder of your long life locked in a cage. Everything you've ever dreamed for yourself will only remain a dream, until they become a nightmare, taunting you with what you can't have. You will stay in that prison stewing in your own losses while the rest of the world moves on. You will grow old. Any influence you might have had will diminish until your cellmates will have no idea who you are. You will just be an old man that they mock and bully for their own entertainment. When you're old, and frail, and lay forgotten in the same cell you've been inhabiting for the last forty, fifty, sixty years if you're lucky, that's when you will die. And in your last moments you will think of me and this moment here." Cagalli released a smile of her own. "So yes, you are going to die, and I will be the one to kill you."
She watched with a twisted satisfaction as Djibril's face scrunched up in hatred and horror at what she just said. For a man like Djibril whose whole life was built on his ambitions and power, the thought of rotting away in a prison with all his life ambitions forgotten by time was the worse kind of torture.
Cagalli eyed Djibril kneeling before her. She understood her brother's anger and pain. The desire to flick it back onto the man who had caused it all. She didn't know if this will ever quell the anger inside her, but it would have to be enough. She let out a long breath.
Raising her gun, she brought it up and smashed it across Djibril's face, knocking Djibril to the ground unconscious.
"Enjoy the rest of your life."
Cagalli dropped the gun to the floor, and walked over to Kira. Kneeling down in front of her brother, she embraced him. He embraced her back as if holding onto dear life. Their tears soaked through each other's clothes. Crouched on the floor together like they had as children. Their quiet sobs echoed against the crackling flames that was still burning.
Athrun watched from the side, knowing this was not a moment he should interrupt.
They had taken down the man that had destroyed their lives but the pain still remained. Still, Cagalli felt a warmth in her brother's embrace. And a hope that this was not the end to something, but the beginning.
Cagalli grabbed Athrun's hand as he pulled her up over the opening of the tunnel. She emerged into the fragrant air of a night garden. The stars twinkled above her and she took her first breath of the outside air in what seemed like forever.
The fire from the truck still raged, so Orb Intelligence had taken them to an entrance which opened up to the estates of the old palace grounds, just on the edge of one of the palace gardens. Even with the night flowers blooming around her, Cagalli couldn't help but keep staring at the sky. The stars above were like old friends greeting her, and the night wind that rustled the leaves whispered freedom in her ears.
The agents that escorted them headed back down again. Her brother had remained in the tunnels to assist with the rest of the operation. Athrun came with her, insisting on remaining by her side. His hand still held onto hers tightly, refusing to let go.
A movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. Athrun's grip on her tightened as he caught the movement as well. His other hand moved to the handle of his gun.
When the person emerged from behind a great oak tree, Cagalli's heart squeezed in her chest. She took a step forward but Athrun held her back.
"It's alright." She told him, giving him a nod. Athrun frowned but let go of her hand.
Cagalli sprinted to where Auel waited for her in the shadows. She stopped short just before she reached him, eyes widening over the amount of blood soaking his entire front.
Auel noticed where her eyes were trailing. "Not mine."
She breathed a huge sigh of relief and pounced into him, mindless of the blood now smearing across her own clothes. His arms came up to engulf her, hugging her tightly against him.
"I am so sorry Cagalli," he whispered into her ear. His voice wavered like he was trying hard to hold back tears. "I never wanted to hurt you."
"I know." She murmured back quietly against his shoulder.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness but I want you to know why. I...ever since I can remember, I've always wondered about my mother. Like all the children in the orphanage, I dreamt of her. Of what she was like, why she left me and when she would finally come back and take me with her. As I grew older, I came to realise that she was either dead or she had abandoned me. So when I finally found out that she was still alive, and was forced to give me up to protect me, I couldn't abandon her. I had to do everything I could to protect her." A heavy breath escaped him as his voice strained. "That's why I joined Blue Cosmos. I didn't even know you then, not really. But since then, I did get to know you. And if there was any other way to protect you and my mother I would have done it. Because I wanted to protect you too, so much."
"You did protect me." She smiled up at him. "You risked your life rather than break my legs. You helped Athrun and I escape. I know what you did for me. And I forgive you."
Auel closed his eyes and let out a soft chuckle. When he opened his eyes again, his turquoise orbs were twinkling back at her. "I'm going to miss you, Cagalli Yula Athha."
Her heart gave a lurch at his words.
"I have to go. I've done some terrible things Cagalli. Things that will have me locked away for a very long time. And..." Auel looked over his shoulder and Cagalli finally noticed the second shadow in the distance. "I've finally found my mother, I don't want to lose her again."
"Oh." Cagalli let out as her heart sank in her chest. This was the last time she was going to see Auel. Cagalli mustered up a smile. "Take care of her." She leaned back in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, wishing him every bit of happiness.
"Tell Sting and Stellar I'm sorry." His voice cracked at their names.
"I will."
Auel took a deep breath. He reached out and ruffled her hair like he always did. "Take care of yourself, princess." There was a teasing smile on his face, making him look very much like the boy he was. Except this time his smile was laced with a sadness that shouldn't belong there. He bent down and kissed her softly on the head. "Goodbye, Cagalli."
She felt an urge to cling onto him but held herself back. "Goodbye, Auel."
She watched as he turned away, jogging towards his mother's figure among the trees. Then the two of them disappeared into the shadows.
Athrun came up to her just as she heard the sound of sirens approaching. His hand held hers once more.
"I suppose I'll give him a head start."
Cagalli choked back her tears with a laugh. "Thank you."
Not long after, footsteps padded the soft ground, running towards them. Dearka appeared from between the trees, followed by Shinn and a group of officers.
"Elsman?" Athrun questioned in disbelief as his sergeant approached. "What are you doing here?"
"We...ah...came to rescue you?" Shinn replied from Dearka's side. He exchanged a look of confusion with his sergeant.
Cagalli couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two familiar faces. She walked up to Shinn and patted him on the cheek. "Aww, that's sweet of you." She teased, leaving the younger man speechless and turning red in the cheeks.
Athrun chuckled behind her before coming up and clapping his two officers on the back. Dearka and Shinn still looked somewhat confused until Agent La Flaga emerged from the tunnels.
"Ah man." Dearka complained as his shoulders slumped. "Yzak is going to kill me when he learns that Orb Intelligence beat us here."
Mu approached Athrun and Cagalli, his helmet was off now and he looked visibly relaxed. "Lodonia has been secured. Some of Djibril's men got away but we have the majority of them captive now, including Djibril himself, thanks to you both." He turned to Athrun. "You know there's a position available at the Intelligence Office. We could use a highly skilled person like you."
Athrun raised an eyebrow. "Are you offering me a job, Agent La Flaga?"
"I am in fact."
"I thought you would have offered the job to Kira."
"I did. But he's not entirely happy with me right now, and rightly so. Will you take it?"
Athrun peered to the side where Dearka and Shinn stood eavesdropping and looking like two kicked puppies at the prospect of losing their captain again. He shook his head. "I have to decline. I'm happy where I am. There are people waiting for me back at the PD and I can't imagine working with anyone else."
Mu let out a sound of disappointment. "I don't blame you. You have a good team there. But the offer stands, think on it." He winked then turned his attention to Cagalli. "Miss Yula, I have a favour to ask." Cagalli inclined her head. "I doubt there is anything that could keep you from reporting on this, but I ask that you keep certain elements out of your article, including anything that could jeopardise the trial and impede the ongoing investigation. This includes the location of Lodonia and the mention of Gamma Glipheptin. If you could also omit any specifics on Orb Intelligence's operation, I'd be very grateful. We like to keep a low profile if we can."
It was a reasonable request and far be it for her to impede on the course of justice. She owed a lot to Mu La Flaga tonight, his people had died coming to her rescue. But Cagalli still pretended to think long and hard on it. "If I agree to this," she finally said, eyes flashing, "I'd like something in return." She caught Athrun's knowing smirk beside her, having been at the other end of her bargains.
Mu seemed to have anticipated as much. Reporters were known for driving hard bargain and Cagalli was the best. "Of course Miss Yula. What did you have in mind?"
Cagalli took a deep breath. "I'd like an interview. With Djibril, one-on-one, once the trial is over."
Mu's eyebrows narrowed for a second before he smiled again. "I think I can arrange that."
When Mu moved away, Athrun pulled her to the side.
"Hey."
"Hey." She replied. The moment still felt unreal. She was simultaneously torn between not believing that they had truly made it out, and thinking the last few days was all a horrible dream.
"I haven't had a chance to thank you yet, for saving my life."
Cagalli blinked. "What are you talking about? You saved my life, Athrun."
"No. You saved me, Cagalli." He smiled with all the love and affection in the world, and it lit up her heart like the stars above. "Thank you." He leaned in and kissed her. The soft press of his lips, brushing and kneading against her gently, and so painfully sweet.
When they pulled away, Cagalli felt her cheeks redden. She could hear the quiet snickers of the officers with Dearka as they spied from the sidelines. She raised an eyebrow at Athrun, questioning his bold move. "People are watching you know."
Athrun's gaze didn't falter from hers. "Let them."
"I'm pretty sure Dearka is filming this right now."
"Remind me to confiscate his phone before we head back to Heliopolis."
"You don't mind then? This. Us. The whole world knowing."
Athrun's smile remained. "No." He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair away, cupping her cheek. "Cagalli, this might not be the right place to say this, and it may be premature, considering we haven't even gone on a proper date yet." She chuckled at that. "But I nearly lost you, so many times now, and I don't want another moment to go by without letting you know. I think I'm in love with you. And I think I've been in love with you for a very long time."
Her heart leapt out of her chest at his words. She didn't think it was possible to feel happiness right now. Not after all the blood and deaths, fury and anguish, sadness and loss, she felt tonight. But his words brought sunshine to her face, starlight to her eyes.
Cagalli's smile widened, spreading, and she said back to Athrun, "I think I've been in love with you for a long time too."
Athrun's emerald eyes brightened. He leaned in and kissed her again.
A/N: One more to go! Although this chapter is really the end to the story, plotwise. The last chapter is more of a wrap up. I'll leave my goodbye till then. If you're confused about anything in the fic or have any questions, feel free to ask. I *might* actually answer them this time. Thanks for reading :)