Phase 36: Regretful Thoughts
Ai was torn and confused on what had just occurred. It was all beginning to weigh down on her mind as she continued to follow the pilot. 'Wh... What's going on..?' she thought to herself though the tears still running down her face showed what she was truly feeling.
"Crot..." she whispered softly as she took a glance back to the window.
"Meamie!" shouted Lyai from outside the room in frustration. "Meamie please come out you can't stay in there forever!"
"Go away! Leav-... Leave me alone..." came a cold voice from within the room.
"Meamie... please..." Lyai urged as she walked over to the door and leaned her head against it. "I know it hurts Meamie..." she whispered to her as she finally gave into her wishes and walked back to the deck.
"So she's still in there I presume?" questioned Ayusagi as he watched the door open and Lyai walk in slowly. A solemn tone filled the atmosphere.
"Yes, but there's not much we can do for her in the meantime, sir." she replied as she walked over to him. "I'd suggest we continue with schedule." He nodded in response.
"Yes, you're right... It's time we made our way back to ORB."
Meanwhile Meamie lay huddled in the corner of her room, tears dripping onto the cold floor.
"Kanta... Kanta..." she muttered over and over again. Her hair flowed into her face as she grasped desperately onto her snow white ribbons. "Kanta... Y-You can't be... You can't be gone!"
An old and faded picture floated to the floor in front of her...
--flashback--
"We're under attack!" shouted a civilian as the streets were soon flooded with people. A battle was raging nearby and was slowly moving closer to the small area. Shrill cries and the sound of gunfire could be heard all around.
"Come on we have to get out of here!" shouted a boy as he dragged along a young girl. She was reluctant to leave the area but was forced to at the nearby sound of assault.
"W-Wait! Ah-!" she let out a slight scream as she fell to the ground. The boy rushed over to her side as he took her hand and pulled her up. Her leg was badly injured her ability to follow him had been completely compromised. Picking her up he took her in his arms and rushed from the area. "W-Why are you helping me?" she questioned to him as she saw the fact that he was also injured.
"I'm doing this because we still have to live!" he replied as he continued onward toward the ship.
"Still have to live..?" she questioned softly. He smiled and nodded to her as his pace increased.
"Yeah. That's right. We still have to live because there's always something more to fight for!" he answered to her with pride as he finally made it to the ship. "That way, even if you do die, those people who you've been fighting with will fight on."
"Kanta..?" she asked softly to him as he set her down on the bed.
"Yeah, what is it Meamie?" he questioned.
"Promise me... promise me you won't die!" she answered as she clung onto him, tears flowing from within her gentle gaze. His expression softened some as he gently laid her back on the bed and wiped the tears from her face. He smiled as he took something from his pocket.
"I promise..." he replied as he took the ribbon and tied it around her long flowing hair. "I'll never leave your side Meamie..."
--end flashback--
"Sir, we need to repair the ship." stated an operator. "We've taken some heavy damage from that last assault..."
"Dammit...We need to get repairs and fast...take us to ORB this instant!" Azrael stated.
"O-ORB sir? But they're neutral! We can't go having them make repairs and such on our ship! That's just wrong!" replied the operator.
"I don't care! We'll demand it by force if that's what it takes!" Azrael retorted. "Get the Dominion there at once!"
"Right sir..." muttered the operator. "Preparing for reentry, I repeat, preparing for reentry." The announcement was heard all through the intercom as little people payed any thought on the subject.
"Hmph, that damned neutral nation had better fix these damages no matter what!" grumbled Azrael as he walked off the bridge.
"Here's your room." Shinn stated as he led the new girl to her quarters. "You feeling okay? You haven't been looking so hot..." He looked closer into her eyes and noticed a look of sorrow and regret in them. "Hey, don't let that battle get to you, you're gonna make yourself sick if you keep thinking about these things too much." Shinn commented. "It's not good for anyone!"
He gave her a small smile, trying to encourage some positive behavior from the child.
"Listen, if you need anything, I'm here okay? I'm Shinn Asuka, just call me Shinn," he remarked, giving her another smile before leaving the room.
"What happened to them?" muttered Yzak, who had witnessed the events between the Dominion and the Epsilon along with all of the other ZAFT pilots.
"I don't know, but there's several things I wanna ask Creuset..." Athrun muttered, setting off for his commander's office.
The event had occurred just as they had gotten settled in the ship and had come as a shocker to everyone.
"Commander? May I come in?" Athrun questioned, giving the door a slight knock.
"Yes, you may come in..." came Creuset's voice from the inside of the room. Athrun stepped in and immediately confronted Creuset.
"Where's Ai?" Athrun demanded. "I don't want any games..."
"The girl?" Creuset questioned. "She's been sent to another vessel, the Minerva to be exact."
"You did what!" Athrun exclaimed.
"Oh, don't fret, she's quite alright, maybe you could even see her when we reach ORB..."
"ORB? Why there?" Athrun asked, his thoughts flashing briefly to Cagalli.
"That right now is none of your concern...now get out, I don't need anymore interruptions." Creuset stated, ushering Athrun out the door. 'Wonder what that was all about...' Athrun thought, making his way back to the others.
Ai stood there for a moment as the boy left her in the room. She was alone again and she knew she didn't want to be. Standing there for a few moments she thought about what had been occurring and now all of this. 'It just hurts...' she thought as she shoved the thoughts from her mind.
'I don't know what to do anymore...' Looking at the door she stood there staring at it and thinking for a moment and then finally burst through the door. Running over to Shinn grabbed hold of him from behind, tears once again flowing from her tired eyes.
"Don't go..." she whispered softly to him. "Please... please don't go..." Shinn was slightly surprised by the girl's actions.
"Wha?" he questioned, turning around so that he could face the little girl who had grabbed a hold of him. He saw the reflection of sadness in her eyes from the events of the past. "Well, if you insist, then I don't see the problem, although I do need to report to the bridge for a bit, so maybe you could come along." Shinn explained, once again taking a hold of her hand and leading her to the Minerva's bridge. "I'm here captain." Shinn stated, still holding Ai's hand.
"Well, we are to head to ORB, at least that is what we have been informed." the captain stated, glancing with slight curiosity at Ai.
"ORB? Why there?" Shinn questioned. "Isn't ORB a neutral nation?" The captain gave a small sigh as she once again focused her attention on Shinn.
"We have received clear orders from the Versalius to report to ORB." the captain explained.
"I see..." Shinn muttered. "Is that all you wanted to say to me captain?" The captain gave a slight nod, still eyeing Ai. Shinn nearly dragged her out of the room and back to her quarters. Shinn looked at Ai a bit apologetically. "Sorry, I just couldn't stand being there..." he remarked. "Now, I never got your name..."
"Crot! Dammit! Come out here!" Orga shouted while knocking on the door.
"You can't stay in there forever! Get your ass out here!" Shani hollered, trying to gain access into the silent room.
"Go away..." came a muffled cry from the inside.
"Stop being such a bastard!" Orga commented.
"Don't make us come in there..." Shani grumbled, the key card already in his hand. Silence once again filled the halls as the two pilots gave a slight pause to see if Crot would react.
"Let's just get on with it." Orga grumbled, snatching the card key from Shani's hands and swiping it through the slot. "Crot? Hey, are you dead or what?" Orga questioned, trying to scan through the pitch black room for any sign of Crot. Shani slowly stepped into the room. "Where are you? Don't try to hide dammit!" Orga called, following Shani into the room. A slight click was heard. Orga abruptly turned around, just to come face to face with the nozzle of Crot's handgun.
"I said go away..." Crot murmured, trembling and still holding the handgun at point blank range with his finger on the trigger.
"Don't go doing anything too hasty..." Orga muttered, trying to move away from the gun's trajectory.
"After all, you already killed once..." Shani added.
At the sound of those words, Crot dropped the handgun and trudged back to the bed, crawling back to his little corner in which he huddled back into and continued to glare daggers at the two pilots still standing in his room.
"Come on...I don't he wants any contact at the moment, let's go." Shani commented, walking out the door. Orga gave Crot one last glance and left. Left alone in the darkness, Crot stared at the discarded handgun on the ground as the memories of the recent battle drifted back into his mind.
"I'm a monster..." he muttered, burying his head into his arms.
Author's Notes: It seems that Kanta's death is weighing down heavily on everyone now. We never knew that the passing of a single character could cause the mood to shift so drastically in the story. Either way though, it seems all of them are heading to the same place; ORB. I know; WHAT? ORB AGAIN, please spare me... - -; It's all for a good reason. Some interesting things will be happening down there. Let's pray for the best; both Crot and Meamie are pretty bent out of shape about the whole thing so who knows... Oh and just for your curiousity: the faded picture was a photo of when Meamie met Kanta and he was tying her hair up, she kissed him on the cheek in the photo which caused him to blush and so on and so forth.