JC: Okay, it's time for chapter 53. So many chapters and I'm going crazy. Well, my head is just filled with ideas.
Disclaimer: Don't sue me coz I don't own this Anime series. Plus, I don't have money to get a lawyer.
Gundam Seed: Mythical Legends
Phase 53: Result in Tragedy
The nastiest place of all in the palace was the dungeon. The dungeon was primarily used by Gilbert to lock prisoners and torture them to death. In one of the cells in the dungeon were the three immortals that got captured by the chains. Their hands and feet were bound to the wall. The cell was also provided with a spell that prevents gods from using their powers, so escape was impossible.
"How are we gonna get out here?" Stellar asked, looking frightened. "I hope Shinn, my sisters and the others are all right."
"Oto-sama will be all right! He's strong." Fllay said, knowing her father best.
Rey was giving his all to pull free from the chains, but physical strength was not doing the job. "I doubt the others can find us here. This dungeon is very hard to find."
"Rey… Don't worry coz my Oto-sama will come for us." Fllay assured cheerfully, having full faith and hope.
"Just as Fllay said, Shinn will come." Stellar joined in, putting a cheerful front.
Rey could not help but smile along with them as well. "You two act like this is nothing."
"There's no use moping around," replied Fllay.
Just then, they heard a loud explosion not too far from them. And it seemed like a hyper beam coming from a monster. The blast and the roar of the beast kept getting closer and closer.
"That roar… It's a Dark Dragon," Stellar announced. "One hit from its hyper beam can injure us greatly."
"Oh great… We're trapped in a cell, unable to use any powers, and now a dragon has come to finish us off. Any more bad news…" Fllay rolled her eyes away and sighed in frustration.
Rey listened in closely for the dragon's whereabouts. Based on his calculations, the dragon was just a meters away from their cell. But Rey also heard another thing—another blast but a smaller one. "The dragon seems to be fighting with someone or something."
"Eh? For real?" Stellar reacted.
"There's no doubt about it."
Suddenly, the wall beside Rey crumbled inwards bringing a person along with it. The person landed roughly on the cell floor and hit a wall. It was such a painful entrance for him.
"That dragon packs a punch." He stood up and rubbed his sore head. "That's gonna leave a mark."
"Oto-sama!" called Fllay, her lips curving into a wide smile. "You're here. I knew you would come!"
"Fllay… Stellar… Rey… What are you guys doing here?" Shinn approached them.
"We were captured by these white chains," replied Stellar, also feeling happy to see Shinn.
"Where's Kira and Athrun?"
Rey sighed. "Can we just talk later? There's a ten foot dragon out there that can seriously kill us."
"Oh yeah… Sorry…" Shinn used his power to break all the chains.
As soon as Fllay was free, she immediately hugged her father dearly. "Thank you, Oto-sama!"
"Yes, thank you so much." Stellar bowed her head politely.
"Come on, stop thanking me. I'm embarrassed." Shinn scratched his head awkwardly.
"Nothing to be embarrassed about, Oto-sama." Fllay pulled herself away, motioned over to Rey's side, and hugged his arm. "It's just your daughter talking and your future wife." She giggled.
Shinn and Stellar looked at each other for a short while and then they blushed wildly. As in their faces were totally red.
"They'll make a good couple," Rey tagged along just to make fun at Shinn and it was working well.
Shinn was so tensed that his first step almost made him trip. "W-we have to hurry…and um… find the others…" He left the cell first in a hurry.
"Shinn…" Stellar stared in awe. She was still blushing but she didn't mind it. And her heart was racing faster than usual. Shinn…
Room
Witnessing the siblings kissing stunned both Athrun and Gilbert greatly. Kira and Cagalli were kissing so fervently that they could pass as lovers. None of them were planning to stop or let go of one another. They looked like they were very satisfied with each other. It may be a sweet moment for them. But, as for Athrun and Gilbert, well it was another story for them.
"Freyr, you're despicable!" Gilbert uttered out, letting out a gush of raging aura from his body. "I'm not going to let him get away with this."
With those threatening words, Athrun snapped back into reality. "Hold it, Odin!" He raised his arm where the Brisingamen was.
"I can't waste my time with you any longer!" Gilbert unleashed a powerful force around him and formed a barrier. His golden eyes turned red in an instant. As he raised his hand, his shadow rose from the floor, engulfed him, and hauled him downwards to the floor where he went through like a ghost.
"Odin!" Athrun attempted to grab him but Gilbert disappeared too fast. "Damn it!"
He had Gilbert right where he wanted but he was not able to kill him. Now Gilbert was after Kira because of his jealousy. The question boggling his mind now was why was Kira kissing Cagalli? It made no sense. Nevertheless, Athrun felt so hurt that his heart wanted to burst.
"Cagalli…"
He thought back the moments he shared with Cagalli. Back in school, they were so happy together. He used to stare at her from afar, admiring her cuteness and spunkiness. He used to give her roses without revealing his true identity. He became close friends with her and everyday was so fun around her. He felt so glad to have met her.
"Wait for me…" His knees trembled as he walked towards the door. Despite the throbbing pain in his heart, he still loved Cagalli deeply. He was still determined to save her no matter what. "I will protect you, Cagalli."
Because of his hope, love and determination, the Brisingamen reacted and started emitting healing waves around Athrun. It did not take long until Athrun was cleared of wounds and blood. He became good as new. Not only that, the Brisingamen also brought back some of his memories in Asgard.
"I see… So that's why…" He smiled. "He was doing it for her sake." He gently rubbed the Brisingamen and thanked it for aiding him.
Wit no further ado, Athrun rushed out to head for the throne room.
At the east side of the palace, the two goddesses of destiny, Miriallia and Jean, were being pursued by Orcs. The Orcs were wearing special anti-magic armor, making Miriallia and Jean's spells useless. Physical attack on the creatures will not do them good either since the creatures' strength were impeccable.
One of the Orcs threw its mace at them, but the two were quick on their feet so they easily dodged the weapon. Jean then jumped up and shot lightning bolts at them. However, the bolts were being deflected by the armors. She knew it would not work but she had to try.
"Jean, no stopping! Keep running!" Miriallia demanded, pulling her sister away from the Orcs.
"Onee-sama, we can't run from them forever!" Jean whimpered, looking back at the creatures.
"We used most of our powers to teleport everyone here. We also had a hard time with those Shadow monsters. I can say that our powers are not enough to fight those ugly things right now." Miriallia explained in quite a serious yet cracked voice.
Reaching the ballroom, they speedily closed the door and placed a seal on them. With the seal, it would be impossible for anyone to enter—even if they were special armors.
"Well, this is a relief." Jean shrugged. She leaned against the wall and sighed. "I'm so tired. I haven't run like that in ages."
"The palace is crawling with monsters," Miriallia grumbled, leaning against the wall. She was feeling exhausted and upset. "How can Odin-sama let those monsters here?"
"Onee-sama…" Jean gazed at her sister with concern.
"It was also like this back then." Miriallia sat down on the floor, hugged her legs, and sighed. "It can only mean that Ragnarok is fast approaching."
Jean fell into silence. She did not have anything to say against her sister's thoughts.
Throne Room
A passionate kiss for the one he loved. Kira had used up all his energy to gain control of his sister and to return her back to normal. It was a difficult task, but he willingly took the risk because of his love. As he pulled himself away, he faced Cagalli with his sweetest smile and caressed her face. He felt so relief as he saw her eyes coming back to life. He had succeeded.
"Kira…?" she muttered his mortal name softly. "W-what happened?" She held her head, trying to remember all that has happened. But it seemed that her mind was a bit of a blur.
"Cagalli…" He hugged her with all his might. "You're back. You're back…" He was starting to cry tears of joy.
As she felt his tears running down her neck, she remembered going berserk again. "K-Kira… I didn't hurt you, right…? Please tell me…" Her voice was cracking.
"No, Cagalli, you didn't." He sniffed.
"I see…" Her lips curved into a smile. "That's good." She finally hugged her brother back.
Just then, a large sphere rammed through the wall and flew to the center of the room. The ball charged up a bit before it dispersed to reveal what was inside.
"Odin!" The siblings uttered at the same time.
Yes, it was Gilbert who was in the sphere. His aura was more dangerous than before because it was now filled with rage and jealousy. His eyes were as red as blood and a strong gust of wind surrounded him, creating a very powerful barrier.
"You're not getting Freya!" Kira spread his arms to protect his sister.
"Freyr, you scum! How dare you…" Gilbert took a few steps forward. "How dare you kiss Freya?" He formed an energy sphere on one palm and threw it right at Kira.
Due to their fast reflexes, Kira and Cagalli were able to jump out of the sphere's range and landed on the far side of the room.
"Stay away from Freya!" Gilbert demanded the brunette, threatening him with another sphere.
"I have every right to be with Freya." Kira stood defensively. "Allow me to remind you that she's my sister." He opened his palm, aimed at Gilbert, and unleashed a powerful force against the god.
Gilbert really did not expect that to come so he was kinda late in dodging. His left arm got badly hit.
"Freya has gained her control back. Your plans have failed, Odin. Ragnarok won't be coming!" Kira announced strongly, his hand extended forward with an energy sphere.
"Me…? Failed?" Gilbert let out a sinister laugh. "Let me tell you something, Freyr, I'm no failure." His eyes were glowing in bloodthirsty aura.
Kira and Cagalli felt threatened by such an aura. But Kira was ready to blast Gilbert if he tried anything. Not only that, Cagalli had formed a barrier around them to keep themselves safe.
Gilbert laughed some more as his aura rose to greater heights. His left arm that was supposed to be injured suddenly healed. "It's not over yet." He extended both arms forward and shot a beam towards the siblings.
Luckily, the barrier Cagalli set up was shielding them. "Like I'm gonna let you do what you please."
"Freya, you always had been stubborn." Gilbert increased his power even more. "And I always had to get you the hard way." With that, the beam pierced through her barrier and hit her.
"Cagalli!" the brunette shouted with fear in his eyes.
The beam sent her flying to the wall where she hit her head pretty badly. When she fell to the floor, her head started to bleed.
"Cagalli!" Kira rushed to his sister's side and held her. "No… Cagalli…" He hugged her.
"Oh… I'm so sorry, Freyr. I didn't mean to hurt your precious sister." Gilbert mocked.
Kira's eyes darkened. "Why? Why, Odin?" He gently placed Cagalli on the floor and stood up. "I thought my sister was special to you. I thought you loved her."
"I still love her, Freyr. What I did was only to injure her and not to kill her."
"That's…" Kira gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly, and faced Gilbert. "Odin, you're pathetic." He formed purple spheres with his two hands.
"Her injuries can be healed easily, you know."
"Odin, I had enough of you!" The brunette charged forward and swung his sphere at Gilbert.
Gilbert teleported from sight and appeared behind him in a flash. He touched Kira's back and blasted a powerful beam, sending the poor god sliding across the room. "Your movements are so predictable, Freyr."
"O-Odin…" He was not going to give up. Despite his wounds, he still stood up and faced the enemy bravely. "I will fight you till the end. I will fight you for my sister's sake."
"I must admit, Freyr, you are very noble." Gilbert used levitation to reach a certain height. He looked down at Kira and formed a black sphere. "But you are also quite foolish." He was about to throw the sphere until a bright red light flashed before him.
"That light…" Kira could recognize that light anywhere. It was a red light from the Brisingamen. He turned to the entrance and saw Athrun there.
"You again?! You're such a menace, Alexander!" Gilbert shot several spheres at him like bullets.
But Athrun had mastered the use of the Brisingamen quite well, so he managed to create a barrier. With it, the spheres could not even scratch him. "My turn…" The Brisingamen gem lighted up. He called upon the power of the gem and unleashed a beam towards Gilbert.
Gilbert moved away quickly. "So strong… How can a mortal like you control such an immense power?" He glared at Athrun seriously.
Athrun ignored his question and kept firing at him. He was not going to stop until he hit Gilbert square on. He wanted to make him pay for hurting Cagalli and Kira a while ago.
"This is too much." Gilbert could see that he was outmatched. The Brisingamen was too powerful for him. As he evaded another beam, he quickly cast teleportation and disappeared from the room.
"Darn it! He escaped once again!" Athrun growled, dropping his hand to his side. He lowered his head and panted slowly. Controlling the Brisingamen was taking a lot of his energy.
"Athrun, thanks for the help," Kira said, approaching the blue-haired mortal. He placed his hand on his shoulder. "You did great. I never expected you to unleash such a power from the necklace."
"Yeah… I was surprised myself." Suddenly, he remembered Cagalli. "Cagalli!" He went to her side right away. He lifted her body carefully, caressed her pale cheek, and hugged her.
Kira knelt to their level and held Cagalli's hand. He sighed deeply and told Athrun that he had no energy left to heal Cagalli. "It's all up to you. You can heal her with the Brisingamen."
"Do you really think I could?" Athrun was unsure. All he could do with the necklace was cast damage upon opponents. He knew nothing about healing.
"Come on, Athrun; believe in the power of the Brisingamen." Kira patted his shoulder. "You can do it."
Athrun gazed at Cagalli with care and love. He placed his palm on her temple and closed his eyes. The Brisingamen on his wrists began glowing. "Please heal her… Please…" he begged. The sparkles from the Brisingamen spread all around Cagalli's injury and commenced the healing process.
"After this, she'll be fine. Just keep going, Athrun." Kira encouraged his best friend. He felt relief for having him there for his sister. In addition to that, with the Brisingamen active, his powers were gradually regenerating. He would be back in shape in no time so he had to find Gilbert and finish him off. "I leave my sister with you, Athrun. Take good care of her."
He walked towards the entrance, feeling hesitant to leave his sister. He took one good look at the two and smiled. "I won't let the past repeat itself. I won't let those two suffer like they did in the past." Afterwards, he took his leave to find the enemy.
Reaching the main hallways of the palace, Shinn and his group fended off a couple of zombies blocking the way. It took them a lot of time to escape from the Dark Dragon in the dungeon and now they were irritated with the zombies. It seemed that there was no end to the monsters in the palace.
"Darn that Odin!" Fllay grumbled as she took out fives zombies before her. "How dare he use the undead!"
Stellar back flipped away from two zombies and jumped up. While in mid-air, she formed two spheres and threw them at the menacing creatures. As she landed, the creatures were destroyed.
On the other hand, Shinn twisted the neck of a zombie and kicked the one coming from behind him. He lifted two zombies with telekinesis and rammed them against the others. "These guys are too weak. I like it better if you control them, Fllay."
"Of course… My zombies are way stronger than these pathetic ones." Fllay boasted. She raised her arm and snapped her finger. "Say good-bye zombies." The floor below the zombies suddenly opened up and engulfed them one by one.
"Eh…? Why couldn't you have done this before?" Stellar whined like a little girl.
"It takes time and power. I didn't want to waste my power so easily, you know."
"Your attitude never changes, Fllay."
"Of course!" Fllay giggled a little before she looked around to find her boyfriend. "Rey, come out! Where are you?"
"Didn't you know?" Shinn said, approaching his daughter.
"Know what?"
"We've got separated from him 30 minutes ago when these zombies started tailing us."
"WHAT?!!!" Fllay yelled in horror. "Oh no… We have to find Rey, as in right now!"
"Calm down, Fllay… I'm sure Rey-san is fine on his own." Stellar assured.
But Fllay was still worried. "Rey is strong, but we can't leave him alone in the place. It's too dangerous."
"Then come on," Shinn urged, grabbing Fllay's and Stellar's wrists. "Let's not waste anymore time." He pulled the two girls with him.
Courtroom
Kira waltzed into the courtroom as he felt Gilbert's presence there. He looked around the room, remembering the times he used to be there. The courtroom was the place where the high gods and goddesses hold verdict against criminals and demented gods. It was also the place where his mother and father were usually at. But him moment of remembering was shattered by another presence. It was not Gilbert's, but it was strangely familiar.
He hid himself under the table, set his sights at the other entrance, and waited for someone to come. To his relief, the god who came in was none other than Rey. He came out of his hiding and called out to the watchman.
"Kira?" Rey was surprised to see the brunette there. "Did you and Athrun save Cagalli-san?" he asked.
"It was tough going against her and Odin." Kira exasperated. "But Athrun and I did it. We saved her."
"That's good news. So, where is she and Athrun?"
"They're in the throne room getting some rest."
"How about you? What are you doing here?"
"I've sensed Odin's presence in this room a while ago."
"I have as well, which is why I'm here." Rey turned his head back at the entrance and sighed. "Though, I did leave Fllay and the others behind."
Kira motioned himself to the tables. "It looks like Odin's not here anymore. We better look some place else." As he glanced back at Rey, he saw a red-haired girl behind him. Her hair flowed down to her shoulders and part of it was covering her face. She was sitting on the main judge's table and she was wrapped in white chains. Her eyes were blank and lifeless. "Fllay!" he gasped.
Hearing him utter Fllay's name made Rey's heart skip a beat. Slowly, he turned around and saw his girlfriend in a bitter state. "Fllay!" he called out to her. "How did this happen?"
Just then, Gilbert appeared beside Fllay and held her shoulder. "What do you think, Heimdall? Doesn't she make one cute hostage?" He licked her cheek and planted some kisses. He held her face against his as he ran his fingers around her waist.
"Stop it, Odin!" Rey's eyes narrowed. "Take your hands off her."
"Getting jealous, are we? Good… That's good…"
"Odin!"
"If you really care for this goddess, then I suggest you work for me again." Gilbert stated his condition clearly and gravely.
"Don't listen to him, Rey!" Kira said.
"Freyr, how can he not listen? His girlfriend is with me and I can kill her anytime I want."
"Please don't harm her… I-I… I…" Rey lowered his head and loosened up. "I'll do anything."
"Is that so?" Gilbert pasted one malicious grin on his face. "Then this will be my first order, annihilate the god of Fertility, Freyr!" He pointed at the brunette happily.
"Huh? What?" Kira backed away as he turned to look at Rey. He felt something changed within him and it was bad. "Rey, don't take him seriously."
Rey was silent but his aura was growing. He spun on his heels and faced Kira. As he raised his head, he stared straight at the brunette god.
"Come on, Rey… I-I don't want to fight you."
"I don't want to fight you either but I don't have a choice. Fllay's life is in danger, so I have to follow him."
"Rey…"
"Freyr, prepare yourself!" Rey disappeared and reappeared above Kira. Seeing that he was defenseless, Rey sharpened a spiritual blade in his right arm. With one full blow, he could have killed Kira.
But Auel Neider, who appeared out of nowhere, came in just in time to kick Rey away from Kira. He then flew back at the entrance and landed with poise. "Okay, that felt great. I always wanted to do that to you, Heimdall."
Rey managed to land safely despite the disturbing entrance brought by Auel, his former rival to Fllay's love. "Tyr, I have no time for you. I have to fight Freyr."
"Really?" Auel raised an eyebrow. He looked at Freyr and said, "Hey, Kira, you might wanna see this."
"Huh?" Kira wondered what Auel was saying.
Auel positioned his arms as if he was carrying someone. He focused hard until sparkles of light danced around his arm. After that, the light united and formed into a girl. "Here we go. You recognized her?"
"What the—" Kira's mouth dropped open as his amethyst eyes widened. "Lacus Clyne?! What is she doing here?"
"What do you think?" Auel rolled his eyes away. "A hostage, duh…"
Maze
Behind the palace was a giant maze made from plants and flowers. Each trail in the maze could either lead one to an exit or to a dead end. It was a maze built to torture prisoners since it possessed traps and monsters there. In the middle of the maze was a beautiful marble statue of the Goddess Frigg, the former wife of Odin. Frigg had lost her life during the previous war and she was long forgotten by Odin. Under that statue lay a pink-haired girl whose name is Mia Campbell.
Mia was brought there by Gilbert as a hostage. He found out that Mia, as well as her sister, was important to Kira. He was going to use them against the brunette god. Lacus was already taken by Auel and Mia was left alone in the dangerous maze.
"Ugh…" Mia was regaining consciousness. Slowly, she sat up and held her head, which felt like it hit a rock. "What happened to me?" She looked around the unfamiliar area. She felt afraid as she did not know where she was. She tried to call for her sister, but no one answered her.
Just then, she heard a terrible roar somewhere near her area. Now she felt more afraid that she wanted to cry. Another roar was heard, so she quickly hid behind the statue, knelt down, and hugged herself. "Somebody…" She whispered softly. "Please help me… Lacus… K-Kira…"
To be continued…
JC: Lacus and Fllay are taken hostage. Oh no… Things aren't looking good for Kira and Rey. Looks like Auel is still with Gilbert. Guess what? There will be Cagalli and Athrun moments too. Stay tuned. This story is nearing an end. Please review and no flaming.
