Fandom: Gundam Seed Destiny
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Rating: T
Type: Multi-part, Chapter 51
Pairings: Melody(OC)/Nicol, Yzak/Michelle (OC), Kira/Lacus, Dearka/Mirialla ...
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Gundam Seed nor Gundam Seed Destiny
Author's notes: Revised Edition, I shall begin from Shinn's decision to join the ZAFT when he first arrived at the PLANTs. Namely, slightly before the start of the final battle in Seed. From now onwards, I'll go on and insert my own ideas and original scenes to the story - at the same time combining them with those from the original series of 'Destiny'.
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Chapter 51
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C.E. 73, December 28
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The ZAFT Forces ended up still waging war against the members of the 'Heaven's Base' for they simply refused to surrender themselves, and had even went out as far as mobilizing their Military power.
In the meantime, back up in Space - with the Jule's Team.
A certain silver-haired Commander was hopping mad, due to a series of unfortunate events which had taken place - over the past few weeks. Immediately, after his Second-in-Command; Dearka Elthman's return from the Earth. He had ranted at the blond for hours of not thinking clearly with regards to the situation with the Archangel - before he officially dismissed the former from his sights.
Now, those almightly superiors of his - from the PLANT Supreme Council, wanted him to drop the re-entry pods down to the 'Heaven's Base' site for the ongoing battle. Yzak Jule was on the verge of yelling at those superiors' stupidity.
Even after their previous experience during the Alaska battle - they still had the guts to do something like this ? If there was anything he knew about the Earth Alliance - it would be their tendency to hide something up in their sleeves, especially when the news of having the ZAFT Forces to attack their so-called 'Headquarters' had been leaked.
Whether the news leakage had been on deliberation or not, Yzak could hardly cared - since it had nothing to do with him, in the first place.
For a while, he debated if he wanted to go against the orders issued. However, after pondering on the situation for some time - he decided to play his cards according to his previous experience and yet, at the same time - obeying the orders from his superiors. Therefore, he chose to send down only one re-entry pod, instead of the four pods - which the order issued had specified.
"Woah ... Yzak ... I didn't know - you had it in you to go against orders. " Dearka commented from his side.
Yzak throw the former a look of annoyance, "Do you think I'm stupid ? What if the Earth Alliance activated another 'cyclops' system ? I am not that bloody stupid to send my soldiers down to die on the battlefield - if I had already knew what the Earth Alliance Forces are capable of doing. "
"I'll leave that to the other teams. All we need to do now - was simply to concentrate on our own duties and responsibilities. " Yzak muttered, aloud as he ordered for Dearka to follow him to the bridge and check out the situation.
Sure enough, the Earth Alliance did had something hidden up in their sleeves. As soon as the re-entry pods were dropped down - they had been eliminated along with the machines units still in them.
Dearka Elthman then proceed to turn wide eyes at Yzak Jule, his best friend and Commander - commenting the former on his insight.
"That is not an insight on my part - but purely basing the entire situation on my past experience. " Yzak near growled, but was thankful for his own judgement to send only four units down to Earth - since that was the number of units that one ZAFT re-entry pod could carry, at one time.
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The battle in 'Heaven's Base' had ended up with the ZAFT Forces being the winner, Lord Dijbil had went off on his own to plan for his escape - as soon as the third unit of the 'X1-Destroy' fell to the ZAFT Forces. He had chose to abandon his fellow allies and ran off on his own - to escape to the Kingdom of ORB.
Soon, the base fell to the ZAFT Forces control as they started combing the area for Lord Dijbil. However, they ended up not finding any signs of the former - and instead arresting several other members of the 'Logos' whom Lord Dijbil had abandoned behind - in order to make his own escape.
The ZAFT Forces, being unable to locate Lord Dijbil - had retreated back to their Central Headquarters - in Gibraltar to await further information from their other sources. Once the Minerva arrived back in Gibraltar - they were summoned to see the Chairman in the Headquarters building.
Lunamaria, Rey and Shinn were each presented a Nebula badge to congratualate on their truimph and their achievements during the 'Heaven's Base' battle. In addition, Shinn and Rey were both bestowed upon the symbolization of authority and loyalty - the 'FAITH' pin badge.
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At the same time, Athrun Zala awoke on board the Archangel medic wing - after being unconscious for a period of four days. The first sight to greet his awakening had been Kira Yamato - his best friend since childhood.
"Kira ?" Athrun started, disbelief reflected in his eyes - before tears started to well up in them. "But ... I ... I watch you die ... "
Memory of the 'Impulse' destroying 'Freedom' replayed in his mind, before his own demise by the 'Destiny' - struck him.
"Athrun ... its' alright. You're fine now, you're still alive. We are now back in ORB. " Kira assured Athrun, as he greeted his best friend - with a smile on his lips.
"ORB ?" Athrun blinked, his mind fuzzy - wondering how on earth did he made it back to ORB in his state.
"Yes, ORB - Lieneunant Kisaka brought you along with him. Cagalli had been crying nonstop since you were brought in - and she had stayed with you all this while, only stepping out a moment earlier to eat. She was dragged out by Michelle - claiming that if she still refuses to eat, Michelle was going to force feed her. " Kira added, smiling at the memory.
"Michelle's here - too ?" Athrun asked, with much difficultly since he was still unable to move from his injuries.
"Yes, she was the one in charge of covering up the trails when Kisaka found you and the girl and brought the two of you back to us. Moreover... Michelle was also the one whom arranged for one of the fellow pilot to help retrieved the damaged cockpit that you two were in.
On top of it, she also had one of her best medical crew member to revive you from the brink of death. " Kira explained, when he realized Athrun was totally unaware of Michelle's involvement in his rescue operation.
Upon Kira's mention of the girl with him, Athrun's eyes widen in panic - gasping as he inquired on Meyrin's status.
"She's fine - she's being situated next door. Other than fighting a fever, she's alright - Mirialla is tending to her. Her injuries were nothing - as compared to yours. Now, rest ... we can talk later ... I promised. " Kira told Athrun, instructing the former to stop talking and try to recover his strength by sleeping.
After Kira's relentless attempts of urging, Athrun finally allowed sleep to claim his subconscious - as he slipped into a peaceful slumber of oblivion.
Meanwhile, next door - Meyrin Hawke had awaken from her fever induced sleep to find herself staring up at an unfamiliar brunette.
"Erm ... " Meyrin started hesitantly, before realizing that her voice sounded raw from the lack of liquid.
The brunette hurried off to bring her a glass of water, which she gratefully took a few sips from - before addressing the former whom was helping her sit up in bed.
"Ano ... ?"
The brunette smiled, and replied. "You may not know me - but I am the CIC officer of the Archangel. Mirialla Haw - is my name, but I believed that you do know my younger sister ? I heard from her - you were assigned to her team, or rather her fiance's team during your industrial attachment upon immediate graduation from the ZAFT Training Academy ... "
Meyrin's eyes widen in recognition, before gasping out. "You're Michelle's elder sister ?"
Mirialla nodded, and smiled in response. "Yes, I am ... So, she did told you something about me ?"
Meyrin smiled wryly, before replying. "Well... yeah, she did had some explaining to do - whenever Mr. Elthman started whining about someone ... and I was the one whom helped her to remove traces of the 'Duel' participation in that recent battle that the Minerva had against the Archangel ... "
Upon Meyrin's response, Mirialla spluttered un-intelligently while she cursed Dearka Elthman under her breath. "How many people actually knew about my situation with a certain blond officer from the Jule's Team ?"
"Eh ? No idea ... but I think practically the whole Jule's team were very much aware of the fact. " Meyrin responded.
Mirialla looked somewhat peeved by the information received, but soon shrugged the matter off and addressed Meyrin - formally instead.
"So ... would you care to fill me in on what exactly happened ? You were brought in here about four days ago - along with our old pal, Athrun Zala ... "
"Athrun... Athrun-san! What happened to him ? Was he hurt badly ? Is he alright now ? He's not dead - was he ?! I need to go and see him for myself ... Where's he ?" Meyrin started, attempting to stand up and go in search of Athrun Zala.
Mirialla blinked twice, in awe of Meyrin Hawke's agitation to locate Athrun Zala. The former was reacting as if she was his distressed lover in diguise, or something of that sort. Shaking herself out from her stupor, she hurried to stop the agitated redhead from moving about.
"Wait! Calm down ... Athrun's fine. He's next door recovering, but his injuries were far more serious than yours. He's still alive, so don't worry. You are still running a mild temperature, so it would not be wise for you to tire yourself out.
Anyway, since you're awake already - would you like to fill me in on the details - of how the two of you ended up in this situation ?" Mirialla directed at Meyrin - after the redhead had calmed down, somewhat.
Therefore, Meyrin told the tale from her point of view. She claimed that it was Athrun whom saved her - instead of vice versa. She insisted that, her help was nothing as compared to the help which Athrun provided to her - under that desperate condition. Athrun could have left her where she was, but the former had chose to bring her along with him.
Further more, she added - the reason why Athrun was the one suffering all the major injuries while she received minor injuries from the explosion; was simply because Athrun had tried his best to shield her from the impact of the explosion.
The more Meyrin tried to describe the situation to Mirialla, the more tears fell from her eyes - turning them red and sore from all the crying.
It took Mirialla nearly an hour to calm the agitated redhead down, and settled the former down for another moment of rest - while she headed off and went in search of the others, filling them in on the tale she had heard from the distressed redhead.
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The second time Athrun awoke from his slumber - Kira was still there, by his side. He vaguely recalled seeing Mirialla leaving the room - that he was placed in and was once again reminded of Meyrin Hawke, the girl whom he had dragged down with him by getting the former involved in his screwed up situation.
"Kira ? How's Meyrin ?" Athrun asked, before he realized that Cagalli was next to his bed.
"Meyrin ... she's the one you did your best to protect from harm - right ?" Kira double-confirmed, before adding on.
"Don't worry - she's fine, Mirialla was just in here to tell us that she had awaken a little before now. Other than the fact that she was still fighting a slight fever - nothing else happened that required your attention. "
Athrun Zala, heaving a sigh of relief, that nothing had happened to Meyrin - he turned his eyes from Kira to the silent blonde by his bedside. Upon the sight of Cagalli and the ring which he had given her in prior to his leaving - Athrun Zala flinched.
Cagalli was still crying, but this time - silently as not to disturb Athrun with her hysterical crying fits. Cagalli, having just heard the tale of Meyrin from Mirialla - was now struggling to keep her emotions in check.
From her opinion, Athrun must have reacted by instincts when he covered the girl and exposed himself to all the harmful after-effects from the battle. Athrun did not even paid her much attention, when they were stranded in the middle of the Armoury One hijacking incident.
If anything, Athrun had even forgotten about her sheer existence in the cockpit with him - until she hit her forehead and fell unconscious onto the lap of the blue-haired Coordinator.
Yet, Athrun had tried to shield Meyrin Hawke - the CIC officer from Minerva, with the best of his ability when the Mobile Suit exploded on them, from the 'Destiny' attack. Moreover, the former had flinched at the sight of her and her ring - which was given to her by the former, in prior to his leaving for the PLANTs.
In addition, during their meeting in Crete - Athrun's reaction to her had been anything but what she expected. The former was probably still mad at her for marrying Yuuna behind his back - and had yet to forgiven her for her stupid actions.
"Athrun ... Why ?" Cagalli finally gathered her courage to ask her question, aloud.
Athrun averted his eyes from Cagalli and Kira, as he stared up at the blank ceiling - instead.
"I wanted to protect ... Cagalli and Kira ... I wish to protect. That was why I thought returning to ZAFT would be good for us, for ORB. The Chairman discovered and knew my intentions - so he make use of them ... make use of it, make use of me ... "
The thought of Shinn caused him to remember his painful memories, again as he squeezed his eyes to shut out the images - but they kept returning and haunting him. Kira, sensing his discomfort on the topic - tell him to rest, and continue the conversation another time.
After that, Kira left the wing and went outside to check on the situation. Cagalli, meanwhile - remained by Athrun's side, still thinking in silence.
"Athrun ... is the war happening really the fault of the 'Logos' - like what the Chairman said ? Everyone was always talking about stopping the war - but I don't see it happen, in any situation ..." Cagalli asked, after pondering over the situation in silence.
"Cagalli ... " Athrun started, and when Cagalli wondered if she should just gave up on the idea to save the world from war and destruction. Athrun interrupted, with steel determination in his eyes.
"No ... never give up! There must be a way to stop all these from happening - at least, that's what I believe."
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Meanwhile, back up on the 'Eternal' - Dacoasta was sent out to check for something in the Mendal Colony, where previous experiment were conducted on the development of the Ultimate Coordinator - Kira Yamato.
Lacus Clyne was in the Captain's room, trying to analyse the Chairman's plan further - when the intercom sounded.
"Lacus, previously - you mentioned that ORB might be the Chairman's next target once the 'Heaven's Base' falls, right ?" The voice of Andrew Waltfield greeted her through the intercom.
Frowning, Lacus responded. "Yes, Why ? " Silence met her, as she worked out the reason behind Andrew's question - herself. "Did it fall - already ?"
A sigh was heard through the intercom, as Lacus left her room - for the bridge of the Eternal, immediately.
Entering the bridge, she was greeted by Andrew Waltfield's solemn expression as he revealed to her of the latest situation - down on Earth. "Its' much worst than what we anticipated - from before ... "
Lacus frowned, and informed the factory to work faster and harder on the final adjustments of their units. "Before things escalated further ... " Lacus whispered to herself, but Andrew heard it - just the same.
Down in ORB, Kira met up with Captain Ramius - outside the Archangel; as he inspected on the work coming along with the maintainence of the Archangel's engines.
"Kira-kun ? How's Athrun-kun, doing ?" Captain Ramius asked, as he approached the former.
"Much better - but still on bed rest ... " Kira responded, as he inquired the former on the maintainence work of the Archangel.
"It's coming along - we were all restless, I guess. However, that's a very big damage we took from the Minerva. Miraculously enough, we did managed to get back to ORB - before it collapsed altogether. It will take some time for everything to be fixed though ... How are you doing ? Tired - or are you restless ?" Captain Ramius asked Kira, in return.
"Eh ? Ms. Murrue ?" Kira frowned, in response.
Captain Ramius smiled in understanding, "Don't worry - Lacus would be back soon. Hopefully, we would be able to know more information with her return. "
"Aa ... " Kira responded, while praying for Lacus' safety from his current location. With the 'Freedom' gone, he was now incredibly restless and feeling insecure - for he would not be able to protect anything, in his current condition.
With that, he went on to help the 'Murasames' pilots' on the adjustments of the 'Murasames' unit.
to be continued
Date started: 21/06/07
Date completed: 21/06/07
Date edited: 16/09/07
