The Legunds
CE 68 Scandinavia
It was a strange noise that awoke her. A familiar sound, yes, but strange in that she didn't expect to hear it just outside of her door and especially not at such an hour. There were three gunshots, the distinct falling of two bodies and then the instant arguing of male voices. Her eyes had opened at the first shot, the darkened room quickly coming into focus through her pulsing headache and she stared across from her at the door, the faint sliver of light seeping through the gap at the bottom. The blanket was pulled up to her nose, the strong smell of used fabric following her quick intake of breath when she heard the first voice.
"Why the hell did you do that? We just had to knock them out. Now they'll be on our asses for sure!"
Namarra's heart quickened, knowing she could pick that sound out of a crowd by that point in her young life and that timbre soothed any withdrawal she had felt moments before. Shani? She sat up, the blanket falling down her bare arms to rest in her lap. Are they here? There was the distinct sound of someone messing with the lock on her door and she didn't waste another moment, twisting and putting her bare feet down onto the cold tiles before she launched for her uniform jacket and pants draped across the only chair in the room.
"I don't want to take any chances." It was Kai that time and her pace quickened, a smile inadvertently curling up her lips. Sitting, she grabbed her socks and shoes.
"You just made the whole situation worse, dumbass," Clotho spat.
"I said it'll be fine," Kai hissed, just as Namarra tied the final bow on her shoe; just as the lock on the door clicked and the handle turned. The movement was frustratingly slow and Namarra got to her feet impatiently, leaning around to look into the threshold as the metal swung.
"W-what are you—" she started, but didn't finish, seeing Orga's outstretched hand first before the relieved smile on his lips. She instantly reached for him, grabbing the hand and feeling the rush of air as he pulled her out of the room and right into Kai's embrace. Kai picked her up with a happy giggle and swung her around briefly before kissing her on the top of the head and grasping her hand.
The two guards were crumbled up against the wall to her right, a streak of red following one to his final resting place as Shani placed them next to each other. He gave an unhappy sigh, but when he saw her look, he winked. They were all still in their uniforms and all, surprisingly, armed. It was the middle of the night and based on the two very dead guards near her door, they weren't there for a social visit.
"We're leaving," Clotho said simply and she turned to him next, a similar, relieved expression on his face. "Here." He nodded to her hands and she held them both out, a semi-automatic pistol soon resting across her smaller palms.
She smiled—she couldn't help it—and grasped the weapon eagerly. "How?"
"That part is a little more difficult, but we have a plan," Kai responded, tightening his grip on her hand and giving a firm nod before they followed Orga down the hall and out into the empty expanse of the night.
CE 72 May 24, Japan (Morning)
Namarra followed behind Tsugu, keeping up with him to not be left behind, but still at a slow enough pace she could tell he was getting a little annoyed with the antics. The realization made her smirk and she kept up the ruse until they reached the elevator and stepped inside, the two of them finally uttering another word to each other.
"Since you agreed to this tour, I take it you remember who I am," Tsugu began, pressing the B2 on the pad near the door.
Namarra made note of the floor number and checked her watch for the time. It was 0945. While she was confident they wouldn't do anything to her given the circumstances, she was determined to mark down everything and remember it for later if needed. The reason why had little to do with Sora's possible connection with Blue Cosmos and had everything to do with this man's very real connection with those terrorists in her past.
"I admit it took me a bit longer than it should have," Namarra said as she leaned back against the corner of the elevator with her arms crossed. She watched him carefully, her accent dripping away into something more natural. "But, yes, I remember you, Doctor."
He gave the faintest of chuckles as the elevator continued its descent, holding his hand out for Namarra to get off first when it reached B2. She took the first step out, noting they were at the corner of two halls. One stretched out in front of her to a dead end and a rather tasteless painting on the wall. To her right, another path and the gesturing hand of Tsugu, the sweet smile on his lips making her frown.
"This way, please." It was a long expanse of off-white walls and green carpet, a boring contrast to the architecture displayed on the first floor and lobby. A sign on the wall only had the room numbers and the names of other employees listed in Japanese kanji.
"For the sake of Sora's relationship with Morgenroete, you should probably be telling me where we are going."
"Don't worry, Miss Legund, nothing will be done to you against your will."
"That's a strange way to put it."
Tsugu didn't respond, his pace quickening as they neared the end of the hall and he turned to his right at the intersection, taking the lead. Namarra let him, lingering a couple steps behind and observing her surroundings carefully.
The path led them down a similar hallway and he started to slow as the interior began to shift. A large, glass pane was to Namarra's left with a blue and white light emanating through the window in stark contrast with the yellow lighting of the hall. "I thought you might be interested to know what we are currently working on." Tsugu stopped in front of the window, folding his arms over his chest as he nodded slowly at whatever was in that room.
Namarra slowed before stepping into view, not sure what to expect and not eager to get too close to her old doctor. The humming sound from the room, however, made her turn as she crossed in front of the glass, the sound eerily familiar. Squaring up, she looked inside.
They seemed to be one floor above the bottom of the room, their vantage point peering down into a white, sparce room barring eight, circular beds around the edges of the space. They each had a domed section of glass over light blue sheets, only two of those covers now closed over two beds. Their domes glowed pink and blue, a sparkly white and gold painting the light in a mesmerizing glimmer. Namarra stared at it a bit longer than she should have liked and shook her head, thankful the effects of that machine would only work for the individuals underneath it.
"I'm sure you recognize these."
"I am familiar," the Natural muttered, crossing her arms and taking a step back to square up to him. "I didn't realize you had your fingers in this as well."
He shrugged. "Better money," he admitted, but why he would put Namarra on edge. "Did you want to hop in one? Just for old times' sake?" She scowled at his smirk, but he was unfazed. "We've mastered the control a bit more, so if there's something you would particularly want to forget—"
"Shut up," she spat. "I'm not interested in your pet projects. Why did you bring me down here?"
He jerked his head backwards further down the hall and he walked ahead, stopping at the first door on the right. Opening it, he motioned her to go inside first, but she refused. Shrugging, he went in instead and she followed after, leaving her foot against the bottom of the door to keep it propped open. She wasn't about to go into a room alone with anyone in that company without a very good reason.
The room looked to be a smaller waiting space, housing a pair of sofas facing each other with a mahogany coffee table in the middle. A similarly colored desk stretched along the wall on the left side, various picture frames and a large binder scattered on the top. In the back of the room stood two bookshelves with an assortment of books and plants, which Namarra assumed were fake. While all of that looked terribly normal, however, the other reason Namarra refused to go into the room was the Trima machine for blood and plasma donation near the back-right corner. Her eyes scanned it briefly, recognizing the bottom drum and IV stand from her many trips to the infirmary.
"Please, have a seat, Miss Legund."
"No, I'm fine right here."
Tsugu sighed as he stood near the sofa on the left side of the room, his head following her gaze briefly to the machine in the corner before returning to her. "I told you, you will not be forced to do anything against your will."
She tensed at the repeated statement, but still didn't move. She was definitely not going to sit on the same side as that machine. "No," she repeated and narrowed her eyes as he sighed.
"I guess I cannot blame you for your reluctance, but I just want you to listen to my proposition, nothing more."
"I'm fairly certain I know what your proposition contains and I'm just going to say 'No' right now and save us both some breath."
They matched glares then, the older man losing his battle with his patience, it seemed. Namarra remembered that much about him. He had always been rather weak when Azrael and Djibril were around, but when he was the highest ranked in the room, he was cocky and almost whiny if he didn't get his way. Surprisingly, age didn't seem to filter that out of him.
"So, you would rather subject the members of the BCPU Program to withdrawal and, ultimately, a crazed and painful death?"
Her breath hitched. What? she thought as her eyes watched Tsugu walk around to grab the binder on the desk behind him. That program's still active? The panic bubbled in her stomach once more, but it was even more than that, she knew. Her heart ached with the memories she had retained from her time there and four, familiar faces flashed brotherly grins at the thought. She swallowed.
"Please, Miss Legund, we have much to discuss."
She hesitated a moment longer, but, in the end, her need to hear more about the program moved her feet forward. That was why she came after all, wasn't it? Why she followed him out of that meeting? To get answers?
She sat down opposite him on the sofa to the right, sitting on the edge closest to the door and furthest away from that machine. Tsugu smirked, seemingly enjoying her discomfort and that did nothing for her mood. She started regretting it then.
Regretted coming alone.
He set the binder down on the table between them, sitting and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Based on your reaction, you do not know much about this program, which is quite surprising seeing as you are very much at the center of it." Leaning further forward, he put his hand on the cover of the binder and flipped it open. "While it had started out as a hypothesis by some scientists connected to what was once called GARM R&D in the early months of CE 45, the program has since grown and expanded down some very interesting scientific avenues that even Coordinators have begun jumping onto the bandwagon of." The first page of the binder was of a photo and Namarra found her eyes following his finger to see a team of about 20 young scientists, based on their attire. "The program didn't have a lot of funding at the beginning, so the company enlisted the help of PhD researchers throughout the globe, gathering the brightest minds to work on the one hypothesis: Can Naturals, without messing with the fabric of life and genetics itself, be better than Coordinators? By that point in time, anti-Coordinator sentiment was high in many circles throughout the globe, especially in scientific communities where Naturals could often be spending twice as long on research as a Coordinator to obtain the same results. It was this mindset that fueled GARM to fund the project, and the reason they thought it would be so successful is because GARM had access to something that the Coordinators thought was only a myth."
Namarra narrowed her eyes. "A Berserker," she stated plainly and Tsugu nodded, a confident smile on his lips that she found disgusting. She had been on the end of that look enough times in her life to understand what it meant and without even knowing the other unfortunate Berserkers who had come before her, she felt bad for anyone seeing it from her vantage point.
"Yes, the genetic mutant that appeared to have the same skillset and capabilities as Coordinators, but was, for all intents and purposes, a Natural."
Namarra frowned and looked down at the picture again, unable to register how she felt about the smiles on their faces. So ambitious and yet so… naïve.
Tsugu continued his explanation as her eyes roamed over each face. "The research was slow. They had found a way to get a hold of the Berserker gene, but could not successfully transfer it to another human to achieve the same effects. The answer, sadly, kept eluding them and GARM was starting to get impatient. To add further to their misfortune, the Berserker specimen died in their custody and the research was looking to end until two of the researchers on the project became inspired by the research and successful implementation of what the Coordinators were, at the time, calling the 'artificial womb.'"
Namarra looked up at him briefly, knowing what project he was talking about. Her and Lexi had come to their own deductions about that program, but while just a theory, they hadn't actually expected it to be linked to Berserker research at all.
"The chief scientist of GARM R&D, Ulen Hibiki, was the one to successfully create a Coordinator outside of the womb, using the fertilized egg from his wife. While we didn't have the technology to do the same thing as Dr. Hibiki, the methods we could replicate and it would also make the process far more… natural we could say. Keeping it well within the constraints of what Mother Nature had intended."
"What do you mean?" Namarra asked, her eyes narrowing. He grinned and leaned forward again, his finger stopping above a pair of researchers in the third row of the photo, towards the left side.
"The two researchers used the remainder of the Berserker gene specimen we had and injected it into the fertilized egg of their child with the intent of growing a Berserker naturally instead of forcing the connection."
Namarra looked closely at the young couple in the photo, her memory slowly starting to piece together their features.
"Those two researchers were Axel and Lena Legund and you, Namarra, are that child."
CE 68 Scandinavia
They were so close.
They had one more, vast expanse to cover and then they were home free.
They had found cover behind some shipping containers, the distance between them and the final set of security to the base only 200 meters, but it was a very long, open, and lit 200 meters. A tall, concrete wall formed the barrier around the base and that was, thankfully, providing some shadows along the rim. The middle of the courtyard, however, was less than ideal, only some scattered military vehicles and shipment crates accurately placed to allow traffic being the only form of cover provided.
As planned, the truck of supplies was on time, but the problem was, Kai's rash decision to take out the guards had alerted the base and the cargo truck was now stuck in between the opened gates instead of through it. There wasn't enough space for them to sneak through without being seen. The driver looked to be annoyed with the situation, his conversation with the soldier outside his driver's door was not a pleasant one and as they conversed, two other officers were checking the cargo, starting with the driver's side of the vehicle.
"We'll take the truck," Orga said simply, checking his magazine. "Shani and I will head to the passenger door and take out the driver. Kai and Clotho, you two take out the guards inspecting the cargo, hopefully before they see us coming. Nam." He turned to her, his look stern. "You back us up, got it? Hang back slightly and keep an eye on the guards on the wall." She nodded and the others did as well. This was their last chance.
This was their only chance.
Namarra took a steadying breath as she watched Shani and Orga slip around to her right, zigzagging behind the various crates and vehicles that littered the larger expanse. It was risky travel, they all knew, but if they still had the element of surprise, their plan just might work. Kai and Clotho left a moment after them, heading off to the left and along the shadows of the wall.
Nodding to herself, she left the container behind as well, following the same path Kai and Clotho had taken. It would give her the clearest view of the lot and she would, ideally, be able to see anyone who snuck up on them. Her palms were sweaty against the handle of her pistol, but she was too nervous to remove them, knowing a second could mean the life of one of her friends. She was going to fight through it—going to see this through.
Shani and Orga got into position, crouching down behind a group of crates with a tarp tied across it. They were close to the truck by that point, but they still needed to make it across a fair expanse of open ground to make it to the passenger door and be in a good enough position to take out the driver. They needed to be quick and not alert any guards on patrol on the innermost wall about 30 meters to their right. One such guard had turned to see what was going on with the truck and Namarra saw him as well as the others. Everyone froze in their respective spots until they saw him turn away. Namarra got in position and aimed at him on the wall, knowing she was too far away to hit him with a clean shot, but maybe her bullet would still hit something vital. He was carrying an assault rifle and the strap hung loosely across his chest, his face tense in a look that made Namarra nervous.
Kai and Clotho made their move first, rushing the soldiers as their inspection took them around to the back end of the truck. Clotho shot one in the groin before he pushed the guard's weapon out wide and put two more into his chest as he buckled. Kai used a similar technique, catching the soldier in the lower back as he was reaching up to inspect the contents. He rushed him and put a bullet in the back of his neck before he could hit the ground.
Shani and Orga made their run a split second after the two attacked, zigzagging across the expanse as Namarra released a breath. The guard on the wall had turned to see the commotion and was aiming at the runners. She shot three bullets in quick succession, happy when one of them seemed to clip him in the shoulder and send him down. She ran forward, turning only once behind her to see if anyone else was had snuck up on them.
No one.
Shani shot the driver through the passenger window and Orga crouched down, shooting two bullets into the shin of the soldier on the other side of the truck and then one into his side as he crumpled to the ground.
"Come on!" Clotho yelled, going around the back of the vehicle and aiming for the driver's side.
"Nam, let's go!" Kai yelled at the same time and she her pace quickened.
A bullet ricocheted off the cement to her right and she flinched, zigzagging in the other direction until another bullet hit the ground near her feet and forced her back.
"Sniper? Where?" Shani asked with a curse, but they were still so far away. The run hadn't seemed impossible until that moment and even her zigzagging shouldn't have added to the distance. She had spaced herself appropriately, she knew she had. Why then did they seem so far away?
"Nam!" Kai yelled and the sniper got off two more shots. The first one hit the ground to her left, but the last one was where it all started to go wrong. It grazed the outside of her right knee, causing her to fall elbow-first onto the concrete. Her knees and pistol slammed into the ground in an attempt to cushion her fall, but she had lost valuable time.
"Don't shoot!" someone yelled to her right and it wasn't until that moment she realized how valuable that time had been. Back-up had arrived and while it couldn't have been more than two soldiers, their window to freedom was closing fast. Kai was running towards her, bridging the distance between the truck and her with his hand outstretched. She reached to grab his fingers, but a bullet flew in between and they both recoiled.
"Don't shoot!" the same voice yelled, more frantic that time.
The siblings looked at each other, the raw worry and panic clear on their faces. This had been their last chance. They knew, in that split second, if they were caught, they would never see each other again. Namarra had been kept away from everyone for almost three weeks since her episode, her only time away being her brief escape to the hangar. Who knew what would happen after all of this and she felt herself panic at the thought. They had all gambled and had lost.
Why did they always lose?
"Namarra—" Kai breathed, and he gambled again. Turning, he aimed at the soldiers who had them boxed in and fired off two shots in an effort to make them back down—an effort to drive them away for a second to get Namarra to the truck.
But he never got off a third.
The sniper took him out with a bullet to his upper back.
"Don't shoot!" the same man was shouting, but it was dull—it was a small sound. Nothing could compare in that moment, everyone knew.
Nothing could compare to Namarra's scream.
CE 72 May 24, Japan (Morning)
"You lie," Namarra hissed, her palm falling hard down onto the table. The binder trembled with the force, but Tsugu's look was still confident despite her outrage.
"Don't be mistaken, their risky gamble did not make them any friends on the project and despite the fame their research paper received, GARM R&D still went bankrupt, the funding for the project ceased, and after you were born perfectly healthy and even led a normal life for close to seven years, a rather jilted member of the project killed your parents in hopes of stealing their success."
A snarl escaped her lips then, an instinctual, feral sound she found herself surprised about and Tsugu's continuation of the tale made her feel no better. "In cold blood, of course, and both you and your brother were lost to the scientific community with no hope of finding out if the project had, in fact, succeeded. At least, until your names showed back up in the system when you were around 10 years old." He paused and she saw him study her face. Was he enjoying her distress— trying to provoke her?
"The program had shifted by that point," he continued. "Some members of the terrorist group Blue Cosmos had taken interest in the idea, in particular Murata Azrael, owner of Azrael Conglomerate. He and some of his biggest donors managed to bewitch the upper echelons of the military soon after gaining control of the project and, I guess you could say, that was how the EA got involved." The older man shrugged as if it didn't matter and Namarra frowned. "What your parents had done, however, was too close to messing with the natural genetics of a human being. It was too close to what Coordinators were. So, they shifted their focus to drugs; manipulating the human body and mind through chemical enhancements. It wasn't until you resurfaced with, apparently, having an episode involving the Berserker, that the research really took off and that was where I stepped in." He shrugged again, his flippant approach to the subject matter a vivid reminder that her confinement had been a means to an end for him. "We tried similar methods to the original research party and used your blood and plasma, but added them to our drugs instead and for the first time, we were receiving positive results."
"You're welcome, I guess," she muttered and leaned to the side, her left arm propped up on the armrest.
"There was a huge drawback, however," he went on despite her remark. "And—admittedly—we got a little too ambitious with the drugs at first. It wasn't until our specimens began going insane from addiction and some even overdosing that we began realizing our error and began regulating doses more closely. Still, no matter the timetable, our specimens didn't last long and going insane before they expired."
A scowl returned to her lips, knowing full well he was talking about her brothers and it pained her to watch him speak about them as "specimens." Even her Berserker amused her then, playing a few scenarios of Tsugu's untimely demise across her mind's eye and she found herself smiling. Tsugu paused and her smile arched up further. She enjoyed his displeasure then, even if he didn't know the full extent of her delight. Her Berserker hadn't taken hold yet, which was perhaps the real reason for his discomfort. Namarra could pull of intimidation without a gun after all.
"The withdrawal symptoms from our drugs were often too great and their bodies succumbed without us ever knowing if our research had succeeded," he began again, shaking his head to look away from her and back down to the binder. Reaching forward, he turned the next few pages, columns of names and dates printed along the yellowed pages as he flipped. Namarra actually recognized a name or two and she had to swallow down her surprise. Those pages before were copies of that Berserker bible Dearka had found on Mendel.
He stopped at one of the newer pages, his finger sliding down the line of names before his elbows returned to his knees. "As the research began to plateau, scientists started flaking off again. At the time as well, there were rumors of a Berserker that had been found in Orb, someone two years older than you. We know there is only one Berserker at a time, and after spending months trying to verify the claim, we did, in fact, find it to be true." He lifted up the back page of the binder and pulled out a photo, putting it over the list of names and facing towards her. It was a picture of her and Lexi, but they looked a little younger. Based on their body language, it had probably been taken during the war, but where and when she wasn't sure. They definitely seemed wary of each other, however, so probably around the time Namarra had defected to Orb.
"Trust me, the irony of you two finding each other in this day and age is not lost on me either." He gave a light shake of his head.
Sadly, Namarra was not as amused.
"Many of the scientists began losing faith because that could only mean one thing, you were a fake, a copycat. Their entire life's work was based on a byproduct, so their data was, most likely, skewed, and most of them left."
A fake, Namarra thought, churning the word over in her mind. Is that what she was? Nothing more than a copycat to Lexi's pristine genetics? A fluke? A miracle of science? It seemed foolish to feel envious of such a thing and yet there she was, a part of her wishing she was more than just her parents' little experiment gone right. A fake, she thought again and felt the Berserker give a toothy grin. She shivered.
"A few still found your success encouraging and began implanting the Berserker gene into fertilized eggs." He moved the photo to the side and slid his finger down the names printed on the page again. "But it will be years to see if that method could work multiple times and, technically, you are a fake, so whether or not a copy could be made of a copy is up for debate. Others continued with the drug enhancements, but the army was starting to become even more invested and were requiring results—results that we couldn't really provide. So, the scope of the program gradually shifted and expanded. The drug research required access to you to sustain itself, and others, like myself, moved to different methods of enhancement."
"Memory."
He nodded and finally leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "All of these projects, however, are part of a machine, each moving our own gears to recreate something that can finally separate the Naturals from the Coordinators and yet put Naturals on the same level. Memory manipulation plays a role in that and based on what we discovered with you, we could manipulate your memories and yet you never slipped into the familiar insanity that the others did. At least not until the unfortunate death of your brother."
Namarra rose at that, standing and slamming both hands on the table around the binder. Tsugu jumped and was startled for a moment, but his surprise didn't last long. "The point is, Miss Legund, that there is the possibility of creating individuals with one aspiration— one purpose and that combined with chemical enhancements could lead us even closer to our ultimate goal."
"Then why did you need Lathan?" she spat, still leaning forward towards him. "Why bring him into this mess if I was your target—you wanted me?"
"Mr. Rymyr, while not well known, has gained a reputation for making very advanced technology in a very compact form." The CA immediately came to mind and Namarra felt her lips curl upward in another snarl. "Some of the researchers here are also remnants of another project Dr. Hibiki had been tasked with and they are currently working on an individual that is of great importance to them and their past research," he explained. The information came off his tongue rather willingly and Namarra's snarl stopped, her wariness trumping her anger. "They required a device to help constantly manipulate his memories since, as an adult, his memories have been returning more quickly than we can erase or alter them. Because of this, Lathan was procured. Of course, there were other reasons he was the preferred one for the position." His hand went to the back end of the binder again and he pulled out another photo, putting it face up over the previous one of her and Lexi.
A small gasp escaped Namarra's lips then as her face paled, Tsugu's finger lingering above the profile of a bandaged individual on a hospital bed. The patient was over a decade or so her senior with blond hair, a bruised and burned, but fair face. He was injured—badly—but an image could only display so much and that was by far better than what her mind had come to believe was the truth. No matter how many scars or cuts were on his face, no matter how many bandages tried to obscure his image, Namarra would never fail to recognize him. "Mu," she breathed, her shock sending her falling backwards onto the sofa.
Tsugu nodded. "Yes, Mr. Rymyr's past relationship with him was the primary reason he was brought onto the project. He had the skills we needed and would try his damnest to keep this man alive."
"W-why?" she stammered. "W-why do they need him alive?"
He shrugged. "My colleagues have their reasons."
She could barely think. Mu, alive? How was it possible? She had witnessed the scene herself; she had seen the wreckage. How had he—no—impossible. She looked at the photo again, but despite her denial, she knew for certain that time. It had to be him.
Her heart twisted, realizing that if he was still alive, she could have saved him, and yet, she hadn't. She hadn't looked close enough. Thinking back, she still remembered the scene vividly and she bit her bottom lip. No one should have been able to survive that attack, not even in the Strike. And yet, he had made the impossible possible not once, but twice, and she hadn't even tried to find him. He had been there alone, dying, until these doctors had picked him up. Her head fell into her hands. Should she be relieved? Thankful even?
"Sadly," Tsugu continued as she digested her shock and guilt. "Mr. Rymyr remembers nothing of his good deeds."
"What?" she spat, the hiss merely a breath as she tried to comprehend everything at once. She lifted her head to return her attention to his confident smile and her snarl returned. "What did you do?" Sadly, she already knew the answer.
He held up a hand and the gesture mixed with that cocky hint of a smirk on his lips only made her anger grow. If this man had any survival instincts, he might tone it down and realize he was very much alone in the room with a Berserker, copycat or no.
"I think what we need to be discussing, Miss Legund, is what we're going to do now," he continued, perhaps proving his instincts were subpar at best. "You see, I have shared a lot of information with you today, and yet I have still not given you my proposition. Though, now that you are aware of all this, I'd like to think what I'm about to ask will have an easy answer." He paused and she met his look. "The BCPU Program is on its last legs and that's because we have no more Berserker specimen. These kids—" He reached towards the binder and picked a random page in the back to turn to. It opened to a spread of photos of young individuals, presumably the newest recruits in their program. Based on how many pages were left in that binder, Namarra had the sinking feeling there were at least 100. "No, these soldiers are all going to die a horrible death of insanity and withdrawal unless we get more. While I had hoped Lexi Rymyr would have been the one to come save her brother, I have to admit your arrival is just as fortunate."
Of course they would have wanted Lexi, she thought, realizing they should have been keeping a much closer eye on Lathan. He was clever and could definitely take care of himself, but the science world was now very aware of his connection to Lexi, and if this past rescue mission had proven anything, science was terribly resourceful. Frustratingly, they seemed to be functioning far better in peace times than during the war. While they might have been taking advantage of the chaos of the past year before, peace had many loopholes and they were far better at navigating the system than Lexi and she had anticipated.
"We only require blood and plasma from you to save their lives and not enough to cause you harm," Tsugu continued, either not interested or not realizing her internal turmoil. "And, because you are, essentially, the reason for this program, I assume that will be a small price for you to pay."
Guilt; of course he would try to guilt her into it. That was really his only play. He couldn't just kidnap her and he definitely couldn't do anything without her permission. Guilt; such a dirty hand to go with. His words before made more sense now. Nothing will be done against my will, she thought bitterly as she narrowed her eyes.
Guilt…
She took a breath as her gaze wandered downward, glancing at the faces in the binder and feeling the twist at her heart again. None of these kids were to blame for being in the program. If the EA was still using its particular methods to get recruits, none of these kids were to blame for anything other than potentially having survived something tragic. With the war only recently have ended, most of these faces had probably seen their fair share of tragedy and now they were being subject to dying a slow and horrible death.
Dying like they had…
"Fine," she spat after another breath. If she could ease their lives at all… "I will let you do that and only that."
"Of course, Miss Legund," he said with a grin.
"But this will only prolong their suffering," she realized, the repercussions of her decision slowly gaining form. "I don't plan on being a regular donor."
"I didn't expect you to, at least not for now."
She tensed, her fingers curling into the fabric of her trousers. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged. "Call it a hunch or pessimism, but I'm not convinced the world is ready for this fragile peace it's been forced into. What that means for us in the future, however, I'm not really sure." He shrugged again and the movement pissed her off. He was cocky alright, but there was more to it than that and she searched his face for an answer. Did he think the EA would just get their hands on her again? Blue Cosmos? Did he know about something? And why was he being so open with her? That was, perhaps, the real reason she was worried and she swallowed down the rising panic as her eyes wandered back to the photos on the table. The kids stared at her, almost accusing her. If she hadn't existed, they might have normal lives and yet there she was trying to figure out how to keep her own fairly normal life by sacrificing theirs.
"What I do understand, however, is you, Miss Legund." Tsugu began again and she heard someone then—felt a different presence in the room. Had they not been alone after all? "And, while I have become a master at erasing memories, I have yet to figure out how to erase the emotional feelings behind those memories." Namarra's eyes went wide as she saw cloth arch in from over her left shoulder to wrap around her nose and mouth. "And your loyalty to others, including those who could be suffering because of you, has always been your downfall."
Her eyes closed and she leaned over, blacking out before her cheek even hit the cushion.
CE 72 May 24, Japan (Afternoon)
Athrun glanced at his watch again. They had been arguing over paperwork for the past three hours and the longer Namarra stayed away, the more nervous he got. If they did do anything to her Athrun wasn't sure how he could face her, let alone, Lexi again.
"Arguably, I don't think we have that much to do on cleanup," Lathan was explaining in Japanese, the conversation lost on Athrun by that point. Based on the paper underneath Lathan's fingers, however, they were discussing how much was left to do on the project. Lathan seemed to be arguing for no further time and his colleague, a younger man introduced as Hiro Tanaka, was aiming for at least a week, if the crossed-out dates on the paper were any indication.
"The product is not yet complete, Mr. Rymyr," Tanaka began, the Japanese exiting his mouth in a string of sounds Athrun was finding more and more alien the longer he listened to it.
"Then I will leave instructions. I do not think Miss Almasy will be able to help you with that anyway."
Athrun checked his watch again and his leg started to bounce. He wanted to check his phone, send her a text—something. Anything other than sitting there pretending to know what was going on. Lathan was trying his hardest, he knew, but the longer Athrun watched him, the more quickly Lathan's condition started to worry him as well. He had begun to visibly sweat and his fingers often went to massage his forehead. While Athrun couldn't see much from his angle, he could tell that the glasses Lathan was currently wearing were helping him see. To what degree, he wasn't sure, but if their past interactions had been any indication, it was enough to recognize more than just shapes and even at a distance. His longer hair covered the temples of the glasses, but he did see some sort of earpiece that was wrapped around and stuck in his ear. Lathan's eyes looked the same, their pale color slightly unnerving, especially now that Athrun knew those eyes were focusing on him. They did in that moment and Athrun had to blink a couple of times to get out of his thoughts, offering an apology for missing Lathan's first sentence.
"Sora is asking to keep Coda until the end of the week. I don't think she needs to stay that long, but they are being insistent. Do you have anything against it?" Lathan was calm as he said the words, but the audible drumming of his fingers on the table proved he was far more nervous about their insistence than his face displayed.
"I thought the project was completed. Is there much more to do?" Athrun asked, taking that nervousness very seriously.
"I don't think there is no, but I'm not the highest authority from Morgenroete here at the moment."
Athrun got that hint at least. "Well, with all due respect, I trust Mr. Rymyr's judgement, Mr. Takahashi, and I also trust him to know the scope for which he had been contracted. If he thinks Morgenroete will earn nothing more from the project, I don't feel the need to keep any of our employees at Sora BIO."
"Which I agree with," Lathan said quickly, following Athrun's move and facing Takahashi who had been looking at the project schedule Tanaka had provided him. "This project has been a success and I think we should keep our pleasant relations."
"I understand your feelings on the matter, but I think this is a good opportunity to think about Ms. Almasy and her career opportunities," Takahashi began, leaning forward on the table and arching his folded hands near his mouth. "Both companies, at the end of the day, gentlemen, are learning facilities and places for workers to grow in their careers. Ms. Almasy's internship with Morgenroete is until the end of the year, and her college semester should be ending soon, if I do recall. In order to keep our pleasant relationships, perhaps we could consider developing an exchange internship program to help out both parties? Perhaps she could intern over here for the summer and we can send one of our interns over to Orb for the summer?"
"I don't think we're in a position to sign off on that," Athrun said quickly. "That would require a far more detailed conversation with human resources and even Miss Almasy herself, among others."
"Of course, of course, I am merely putting the option out there." Takahashi sighed and Athrun didn't miss it. They were eager to get her, but for how long was still in question. At least a month was no longer on the table, but if they could even talk them down from a week… "But for now—for this project," Takahashi continued. "I think we need to take both needs into consideration. If Ms. Almasy is interested in our company, perhaps she can just stay on a few days then in order to finish up whatever bits of the project she can. Mr. Tanaka could always use the help and, as he has been stressing, Mr. Rymyr's departure is a bit premature and leaves us in a bind."
Athrun held in a curse as Tanaka went off on something in Japanese to Lathan and the others. Whatever game Namarra had played previously had really hurt their edge in this conversation. If she hadn't looked so eager to have the tour, they might have been able to talk them out of insisting she stay, but instead of arguing about whether or not the project needed her, they were discussing how much she might have wanted to stay on for her career's sake. It was all a bunch of bullshit, he knew, but without putting Morgenroete in deep water he had to play nice.
Damnit, Namarra…
They argued for another half hour before it was well past 1300 and still Namarra hadn't returned. Athrun cursed again in his head and nodded to the question directed at him. It was the best deal they were going to get, unfortunately. "Very well, we will draw up Miss Almasy's contract for her to remain here at Sora BIO for two more days, returning to Orb on the 26th of May. She will need to confirm this, of course," Athrun continued, writing the dates into the blanks on the contract. "And you have no issues with what else is in the contract?"
"We are happy with its contents," Takahashi said with a nod.
Athrun sighed. "Very well. We will have this signed and returned to you as soon as Miss Almasy returns from her tour." The people in the room nodded in unison, Lathan's and Athrun's faces by far the most solemn. It should have felt like a win, he knew. They had agreed to take Namarra on for just a few days. That was by far the better of any option they could have hoped for and yet her eagerness to go with the president—her eagerness to go off script bothered him.
He was missing something.
CE 68 Scandinavia
The world had stopped—her world had stopped.
Kai wasn't moving and she knew, deep down, he never would again. His body was prone, a growing pool of blood underneath his chest and stomach and no signs of breathing. No signs of life at all. His face, perhaps mercifully, was turned away from her, her final memory of him being the panicked look in his eyes when they realized that was it—that was their last stand. She wanted a different memory, she knew, almost willing her mind to produce an image of him smiling—of him laughing—but there was nothing other than panic and her sight began to waver. This was her final memory of him. Deafened by the blood pulsing in her ears, she scraped her forearms across the cement as she got to her knees, reaching towards his body.
Gone.
Her brother was dead.
"Kai?" her feeble voice asked, though why not even she understood. His name wouldn't bring him back to her. She would never call that name again. No one would ever respond to her calling that name. She would never have him in her life again. Her blanket of safety was slipping away. Her safe place was gone—he was gone.
She was alone.
Other, muffled cries gradually registered in her mind and she vaguely recognized the voices of Shani, Orga, and Clotho as they were, most likely, being apprehended. The sounds of dragging feet, familiar cursing, and the authoritative commands of the guards slowly penetrated her deafness as they struggled nearby. They were caught.
There was no hope.
However, no one had approached her like they had the others. It could have been because she was kneeling near Kai, the pistol still in her hands. It could have been because she was shaking so hard her finger on the trigger could force the gun to go off.
It could have been her eyes.
Or it could have been because the barrel was between her teeth.
"Nam—oh God, please—Nam, don't!" It was Orga who spoke first, his desperation in those words clear as she heard his feet shuffle against the cement, trying to break away from the soldier holding him.
"Nam, don't—it'll be fine," Shani stuttered next, his voice louder than Orga's and nearly drowning out Clotho uttering a similar plea next to him.
"Chicabo, don't—please."
Her eyes were only on Kai, his body blurring through her tears. How had it come to that point? What had gone wrong? Why did he have to die? Despite her friends' appeals her young mind couldn't process anything else other than the cool metal between her lips and the wind against the tears on her cheeks.
He was gone.
And she wanted to go with him.
No.
It was a feeling in her mind more so than the word and her thumb faltered on the trigger. Her teeth clamped down against the barrel as she tried to understand, tried to comprehend the new sensation in her head.
I decide when you die.
It made no sense. All she had to do was pull the trigger; just a little more pressure. She wanted to—her body willed it. How could a mere feeling stop that? But it was—something else was keeping her from firing. Keeping her from joining her brother.
Fresh tears fell from her eyes as her hands shook, the metal rattling against her teeth. Please, she begged, but there was only one response she would get.
Someone had finally taken advantage of her hesitation and snuck up behind her, sticking a needle in her neck and pushing a sedative into her system. Her body began to relax and she started to panic one last time. She wanted Kai, no one else. Please, she begged again.
No.
A hand pulled the barrel from her mouth, her teeth scraping against the metal as she gave a frustrated scream and then, finally, nothing as her body went limp.
Nothing other than the laughter in her mind.
A/N: So, what to say after that? I suppose we all knew it was coming—it was, after all, the inevitable death—but this was definitely one of the hardest chapters for me to write so far in this story. I hope it had the impact I had intended and that no one hates me too much... Lots of info in this chapter as well that will be unraveled as the story progresses. Possibly the first info dump of the story so far, so now we get to see how the characters process it.
On that note, we are winding down on Nam's past and we'll be jumping into another pair of siblings soon, so I hope you are all eager to see a look into what the world was like from the young eyes of someone on the other side of the world. Much different, I'm assuming, but we'll have to see how it pans out.
Also, I suppose this is the huge drawback of working so closely with canon, no one is really surprised about any of these characters being found alive. It was like that for Waltfeld in Waltz and for Mu here. The drawback of what I'm trying to create, I suppose, but I'd like to think I'm filling in some blanks too. So, while some of the points in my plot progression might be obvious, I do hope they are accented with enough new and interesting things to keep you wanting to read the next chapter.
Other than that, not sure what to ramble on about here. I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and we can all put 2020 behind us. Despite everything, I suppose I'm grateful to 2020 for one thing and that was my renewed interest in this series. Gundam SEED is quite an old story now and the fandom seems to have withered, but I'm happy to have enough inspiration to finish this and enough emotional support to keep me trudging along.
So, like last time, special thanks to the writing Discord I frequent and my fellow creators there. Also, huge thanks to Dealth-Scimitar, who has just as much blood and sweat in this chapter as I do. It needed to be good and it wouldn't have been half as good without her insights.
Corrections to the Narrative:
I've taken a lot of liberty with the BCPU Program in this chapter and while I have dabbled in the past CE canon material I have on hand, I am by no means versed in everything. If anyone has any suggestions/issues/changes, just let me know as I'm always keen to hear other opinions. Also, perhaps as a mandatory disclaimer, I know little to nothing about the science behind genetics, so if anything seems a bit too far-fetched (even for a Gundam story) let me know as I'm more than happy to tweak if necessary. This is still my headcanon, but I do like to make things plausible. If I can.
Questions/Gripes:
Quiet0ne: I have a feeling this chapter answered a lot of your queries about Nam and her motives. I do hope it didn't disappoint.
Shameless Recommendations:
Still shamelessly recommending some other reads. If you have an extra moment or two, be sure to check them out:
1. Anything by Death-Scimitar – Yes, a Beta of mine, but if you're lucky enough to have a Beta who is also a kick-ass writer, I'd say you struck gold. Nothing in SEED, per se, but she does have a crossover in the works that involves 5 famous pilots from Gundam Wing and some lucky (or unfortunate?) individuals who run a host club. Check it out if you're interested and know that you will not be disappointed.
2. Anything by Maderfole – He's the writer of the epic Golden Age Trilogy which is, arguably, one of the best Gundam fics on this site (and, yes, I'm probably a bit bias). The series is currently on book 3 and the newest chapter is now up! The haitus is done! Be sure to check it out and enjoy the nearly 3.5 million words of epic Gundam-ness before you get to that point.
3. Anything by Asmus – Another one for the SEED stories who is definitely one of the better writers on this site (again, I might be bias) and I highly recommend anything he's done. He just started a new story, actually, that takes place in Maderfole's universe. You don't have to be terribly acquainted with the Golden Age Trilogy to read it, so I recommend you check it out. Things are definitely starting to heat up.
4. Anything by Quiet0ne – New SEED author on FF with her story, Scattered Seeds. This is another story that plays around with the idea of the SEED Factor and genetics in the SEED universe and while only just starting, I can see we're all in for quite the roller-coaster ride. Tantalizing plot movement so far and some priceless interactions between our favorite characters. Loving every moment of it and I hope you do too.
I hope you all have a New Year and please stay safe. I appreciate you taking time away from your festivities to pop into my world, even if only for a moment.
Strata