To Rebuild From Ashes

Chapter VII

A/N: I don't own anything.

(Junius Eight)

Lacus was not having a good time at the moment. She currently found herself situated in a room with Captain Bartfield, Captain Ramius, Captain Zechs, Ms. Attha, and two other men, who were the heads of the Plant. Mr. Smith and Mr. Lisp had both been explaining the current situation to them for the last hour, and frankly most of the information weren't really interesting or new to the group.

"Intelligence reports that the attack wasn't even scratching the true force that the Blue Cosmos wields. In fact from what they said, the group was a rogue part of the Blue Cosmos. They couldn't handle waiting so they attacked before even whoever is the head of Blue Cosmos gave the go." Mr. Lisp said.

"From what intelligence gathered, it seems that the Blue Cosmos is also picking things up, and I believe that they will actually be bolder now that the know of you three. It was supposed to be a secret but because of the attack they know your true force and know what you can handle." Mr. Smith said.

Captain Ramius spoke up, "Then we should leave this Plant, we're only endangering the lives of those on the Plant needlessly for now. Most of the damages have been fixed, and we're all fully re-supplied."

"No... We have stepped up security to full war-alert. No ship will be allowed to even come within missile fire radius until they are surrounded by MS's to be searched. I guarantee that no ships will enter until fully searched and everyone coming in will be looked into, past associations and everything. Anyone even remotely suspicious will be detained until your departure." Mr. Smith said.

"Besides, it is standard procedure to allow the crews and pilots a full 5 hour rest period when docking. It wouldn't be best for anyone to get suspicious and worried with cutting the routine short." Mr. Lisp reasoned.

Captain Bartfield nodded, while Captain Ramius looked uneasy. She seemed to remember the past events of Heliopolis all too well. Lacus looked towards Ms. Attha who also seemed to share the captain's thoughts.

"Well might as well introduce to you the person you all will be working with for the next whenever. I present to you the Pilot Jule who is the Pilot of the MS Duel," Here a white haired teen stepped into the room, "I believe that your pilots have past associations with him." Mr. Lisp looked at the group.

Captain Bartfield and Captain Zechs looked indifferent, while Captain Ramius blanched. She knew of who the pilot was and was wondering the reactions of the crew and him interacting.

"Now this will only be the pilot that will be located upon one of your ships, however we are also providing a Laurasia Class Battle-ship. It will have full crew and a captain. Here let me introduce you to Captain Helios." Here a stern looking man in the mid 40's stepped into the room.

"Well also there will be 6 MS's docked with a veteran pilot for each suit. They will report to Captain Helios who will serve under you." Mr. Smith explained.

"Now why don't you just enjoy yourselves for now? We will alert you if anything comes up, after all 4 hours is a long wait doing nothing. I'm sure being stuck in the spaceships isn't your idea of relaxing either." Mr. Lisp said to the group, smiling. "You may leave, we have a few more things to discuss with Pilot Jule."

The group got up from their respective seats and exited the room.
(An hour later)

Kira and his friends, Athrun, Lacus, Cagalli, Sai, Mirillia, and Dearka sat in a café located by the edge of the Plant's city. It was supposedly one of the best places for quiet time and the atmostphere was perfect the moody group. Kira looked around and admired the quaint yet beautiful architecture that was put for the structure of the café. The café wasn't very brightly lit, but it only seemed to enhance the aura of the place, and the furnishings were quite comfortable and homely looking.

Kira then looked at each of his friends from left to right, starting from Athrun first. Athrun seemed to be looking into his cup of tea intensely almost as if he was one of those fraud fortune tellers reading tea leaves. Kira observed his posture and it seemed as if he was more tired then usual. His civilian clothing seemed to not fit him as comfortably as he saw it did at the previous Plant.

Lacus' expression showed her mind elsewhere. Her eyes were pointed on somewhere behind the where Kira sat, but her pupils weren't focused. It was rare for Kira to see Lacus' usual alert mind wandering. Kira then looked at Cagalli and saw that she was looking at Athrun. It wasn't hard for even Kira, who was often told that he was really dense; to see the worry she had for Athrun.

Kira looked towards Sai, and he was looking even worse for the wear then he did when Fllay broke up with him long ago. Kira could see the black circles under his eyes and his appearance, usually sharp and well dressed, was ragged. Kira inwardly sighed at how Sai must be taking Fllay's death. Even now he felt guilty about it. His dreams nowadays were actually nightmares that tormented him with the images of Fllay's death, and imagining the rest of his friends to blame him.

Truth be told, he was used to dreams like the ones he was already having. He had them for over a year now, the nightmares just having the death of different people to haunt him. He used to wake up in shouts and sweating profoundly, but now he just accepted it. It still tormented him, but he learned to hide it better.

Kira then looked at Mirillia. She lost her boyfriend not too long ago, although it was much earlier then Fllay's death. She seemed more stable now, and Kira even caught her giving Dearka weird glances every so often. Dearka for the most part was more uneasy and wisely stayed silent for others, not because he was brooding.

Kira desperately wanted to end this morbid moment and help cheer his friends up. Yet Kira didn't know if that was such a wise thing. His friends were obviously dealing with some issues and ignoring their problems weren't the best solution. Although, Kira had to admit, bathing in them wasn't such a good idea either.

Kira himself wasn't in the best of conditions as of now, he never was after killing, but this time he chose to fight. To help others, to make sure they didn't have to fight. He would probably regret all the blood on his hands later, but Kira took cherish that the bloods on his hand was limiting the blood on others.

Kira still didn't think it right, but when faced with horrible situations, moral had to be ignored and priorities rearranged. He would have to bottle up the pain again, just like he did before. He knew in the long run that it wasn't the best of plans, but for the immediate situation it worked fine. Cutting off his humanity, his emotions helped him live through battles.

It didn't make him hesitate, knowing full well that they weren't pulling back either. Kira didn't know if what he was doing was truly right, or if he was just justifying his own actions to feel better. Kira knew that he could have let some live in the battle, yet he didn't. Had so much changed in the last few days to make him want to kill the people opposing him?

To oppose the peace that they were trying to keep? Was he a hypocrite, killing to maintain peace? Kira shrugged his thoughts off, if one didn't believe in himself, who would?

Kira needed a distraction and he wondered getting up and leaving would be better then asking the others. He didn't want to step into their free space, yet at the same time wanted to help them. God knows they did it enough for him, well most of them. He didn't know Dearka very well.

"So... What do you guys want to do with 4 hours to waste?" Kira said reluctantly breaking the silence. He even chose his words carefully, saying "waste" rather then "kill" all the while wondering why they were relieved 4 hours.

Many of his friends looked at Kira, as if waking up from a nightmare. All of them seemed to give his question some thought. Dearka was the first to speak out loud.

"Let go to the IPEX theaters, I heard they had some good ones coming out! Let's check it out." Dearka sounded happy and relieved to do anything.

"How about an amusement park, I heard this Plant has one. It's a permanent one so it should be fun enough." Mirillia spoke up. The amusement parks were set up by the Plants to help put people's mind off the war, the Plants built gigantic amusement parks in many of the Plants. It was advanced and had many things from restaurants to arcades in there.

"How about going to the latest electronics fair?" Sai proposed. Most of them looked at him questioning his sanity, only Athrun looked mildly interested. Sai blushed. "Okay okay, I think the amusement park is a great idea."

"I second the movies!" Cagalli said excitedly all the while looking pointedly at Athrun.

Athrun could literally feel her intense stare as he said, "I also think the movies are a good place to go." Cagalli seemed to be satisfied with answer and smiled.

Dearka couldn't help but cough something that sounded like "whipped" and "loser." Cagalli glared at Dearka who in turn shut up.

Lacus seemed thoughtful and said, "The amusement park sounds perfect," with her trademark innocent smile.

Kira noticed that it was a tie, and gulped being the last one to have to answer. He could feel the stares of everyone at the table and it was unnerving. Kira wouldn't mind the movies, but Lacus wanted to go to the amusement park. Kira himself didn't mind the amusement parks, but he never went to one before so he didn't know if going there was going to be fun or not.

Kira could understand why Lacus wanted to go to the amusement park; she wasn't the type to like loud noises and being confined in a dark room with many noisy and rude people. The main problem with deciding was the consequences of each choice. So it was either to please Lacus and have Cagalli on his back or to disappoint Lacus and not end up being killed by Cagalli.
Athrun couldn't help but grin at Kira's current situation. It didn't even phase him that he himself was in a somewhat similar situation just a few seconds earlier.
Neither sounded like a good deal, so it was pretty much a lose-lose situation for Kira. He had to choose so he decided reluctantly that he could handle Cagalli with Athrun's help and went with the first choice.

"Um... Let's go to the amusement park." Kira said. He looked at Cagalli who seemed to be seeing red and then looked at Lacus. He didn't see it for long, but he caught a glimpse of a smirk. Kira couldn't believe that he just saw that! He knew he wasn't seeing things. Lacus Klein, the picture of innocence and naivety, made Kira made squirm on purpose!

Kira glared at Lacus who in turned gave him one of her innocent smiles. She topped it off with tilting her head to the side, giving her the confused look. Kira would have normally been fooled if he didn't see her eyes were full of mirth.

That is how 15 minutes later he found himself at the entrance amusement park with a smiling Lacus and an angry Cagalli. Dearka was once again coughing his oh-so fake cough, but this time Cagalli wasn't pissed off at him as it was directed at Kira.

Kira smiled, at least the morbid air broken. The seven bought an all day ticket with speed stream for each of them and entered the amusement park. The group separated into pairs and a triplet agreeing to meet an hour later at the entrance once again.

Kira and Lacus went in one pair, Athrun and Cagalli in another, with the last triplet being Mirillia, Dearka, and Sai. Athrun and Cagalli immediately rushed to the roller coaster, the triplets going to the prize events, and Kira and Lacus still haven't decided.

Lacus kept insisting that Kira choose, while Kira did vice-versa. Kira then made a compromise saying that Lacus choose first then he'll choose. First stop was to the Ferris wheel. Kira and Lacus went to the front of the line and entered right away after show them their speed stream and all day bracelet.

Kira and Lacus went into one of the Ferris wheel compartments and got secured in. The ride lasted for 5 minutes, giving the two enough time to look around the Plant because the Ferris wheel was so large. After they got off they went to a water ride. He intended to get payback at Lacus for getting Cagalli mad at him, but the plan seemed to backfire.

For some reason every time water shot at the two when they were in the ride, Kira kept getting hit. There were the occasional splashes of water that sprayed at Lacus, but at every bump of water it seemed that the circular ride (think Knott's) twisted around to make Kira take the brunt of the blow.

Kira was grumbling as he exited and trying to dry himself off. He looked towards Lacus and saw her waving at one of the people that oversaw the ride. He groaned at how obvious the situation must have been. Somehow Lacus must have known what Kira was trying to do, and Lacus must have talked to the tech's, who made sure to make Kira's ride as wet as possible. Lacus turned around from waving and smiled cheerfully at Kira. Kira, weakly grinned, having been outsmarted by Lacus.
(Currently on a Roller Coaster)

Athrun was currently shouting near screaming as he went for another drop. Cagalli, sitting next to him on the roller coaster, was laughing like crazy. As the ride was over they got off, Athrun albeit a bit more shakily. The moment they exited the ride Cagalli practically pounced on Athrun.

"Haha! You should hear your voice. Is big, bad MS pilot scared of a wee-bit of a drop?" Cagalli said trying to maintain her posture.

"Shut up Cagalli, that isn't funny." Athrun retorted, which only made Cagalli laugh harder.

"So what should we do next?" Athrun asked trying to get Cagalli off laughing at him.

"Hmm... let's go for another roller coaster, unless you're too scared?" Cagalli asked baiting him.

"Fine..." Athrun said in exasperation.
(Somewhere in the Amusement Park)

Mirillia was not having an easy time hanging out with Sai and Dearka. There was still uneasiness between the two. She could understand why; even now she had a hard time being around Dearka. She thought him a nice guy, if a little too arrogant, but she truly did think he was a good person. But there were still too many scars from the past. Scars that would take more time to heal.

Mirillia suggested that they go to the bumper cars. The concept behind the ride was a relic. Built around -200 CE, yet it still brought cheers amongst those who tried it out. From what she read about the past, the bumper cars were different. First the bumper cars didn't even look like cars, they looked like passenger space ships. Second the they were situated in a closed room with a hologram of space all around them.

It was nothing special to Mirillia, a person who lived on the colonies her whole life, and ended up being stuck in a spaceship for the better part of a year. The rides they were in were also not a 2D concept but 3D. They could fly around everywhere in the room, and not be limited by gravity. It wasn't anything special, but it served as a distraction.
(Front Entrance)

An hour or so later, the group met up again at the front entrance. Kira was still wet, from another water ride that also backfired. Lacus was behind Kira grinning, no upon closer look she was smirking.

Athrun and Cagalli walked hand in hand, with Cagalli dragging Athrun everywhere. Athrun just gave Cagalli and exasperated look, giving everyone he knew pleading looks. Yet no one was foolish enough to try and help Athrun under fear of Cagalli's wrath.

The triplets just looked at Kira and Athrun in amusement. Mirillia and Sai were happy for Kira who seemed at ease around Lacus. Sai didn't want to admit it, but he knew that Fllay gave Kira more pain then help. Mirillia just wished her kind-hearted friend a happy relationship.

Dearka was pointing at Athrun, calling him names all the while laughing. Athrun could do nothing but glare at Dearka. The group agreed to eat something, having only drank tea or coffee at the café.
(Somewhere in the Amusement Park)

Kira walked out of the restaurant with the group in tow. Cagalli was complaining at the price of the food, and while Kira agreed, he knew that it was going to be more expensive then usual.

Athrun seemed to be pleading for Cagalli to shut up as they were attracting undo attentions to themselves. The group then went to see the shows the amusement park had. The shows changed monthly and this time it was some spin-off of some movie, but it was a stage performance with visual effects and steam.

Kira looked at his watch as he was leaving the show with the rest of his group. He noticed that there was around an hour left to stay at the amusement park. The first hour was spent nicely, the second was mostly spent eating, and most of the third was spent watching the play.

The group wandered for the last hour, going on any rides that seemed good. It was an easy and happy moment for the group. The group that was soon going to be risking there lives for peace. To fight for peace, to make sure that Plants like the ones they were standing on wouldn't be torn by war.

However the good times of the group were cut short. All of their walkie talkies sparked to life informing them to return to the hangers. The group's 4 hours were up, and now they had to return to the confines of the space ships.
Athrun dreaded having to go back. He longed to be back at the amusement park like any other normal kid would have been at the moment. He dearly wondered if his decision to stay with the Klein Faction and being a member of the Peacekeeper Organization was the right thing to do.

The group was currently in 2 SUV's that were driving the group to the hangers. The guys were in one car with the girls in the other. It was a boring and uneventful ride. The only thing nice was the distance of the ride, prolonging Athrun's arrival at the hangers and ultimately the ships.

The cars arrived at the hanger and dropped the teenagers off. It seemed that they were the last to arrive; it was expected considering that the amusement park had probably the most traffic around it then wherever the others went to.
Kira walked to the place where the pilots and crew had to check back in. That was soon taken care of and the group soon entered into the part of the hanger that held the Archangel, Kusanagi, and the Eternal. The group was about to separate into their respective divisions based on whose ships they served under, but saw that everyone from each ship was situated outside in front of the Kusanagi.

In the center were Captain Ramius and a group of people that looked from ZAFT. They were standing off to the side looking uninterested about the commotion that they were making. The captain said something that caused a great deal of muttering to go on from the group that surrounded the ZAFT soldiers.

"Now as I was saying before so many of you interrupted." Captain Ramius spoke in an annoyed voice. "These fellow soldiers will be your allies and will help for our mission. It isn't like you all didn't know about the help we were going to receive from the Plants. Now the group will be stationed to their own ships, but one pilot will serve under my ship. I introduce to you Pilot Jule; those under my captaincy will see a lot more of him from now, so I suggest getting along with him."
Athrun, who was standing to the side of Kira, almost choked on hearing who was going to be joining them. Athrun turned to Dearka whose mouth suddenly was large enough to fit his own fist. Many of the others didn't seem to know him that well. Only Lacus and Kira knew him and that was vaguely.
"Yzak..." Dearka mumbled.

'Fuck! How can this be happening, whatever gods that are up there must have a fucked sense of humor! Damn you all to the deepest parts of hell! Of all the soldiers from ZAFT, the most prejudice and stubborn coordinator had to be chosen to help with the Peacekeepers!'

Dearka also realized that he would be in the same ship as Yzak, at least the others that knew him didn't have to be within his proximity for most of the time in space. He hoped that maybe he could enlist a transfer to another ship.
Kira knew who the guy was; he was the pilot of duel. He was the guy that Kira scarred, even if the scar was removable, and the guy that seemed to be royally pissed off at him every time they met.

"...Well get back to your ships, we will depart for Sextilis Four..." The rest of Captain Ramius' speech was unheard by Kira as he was already heading back to the Eternal. Athrun and Lacus trailed by his side. Lacus seemed rather unperturbed by the news, but she didn't really know the past histories between Kira, Athrun, and Yzak. She only knew that Yzak was a soldier that served with Athrun and may have some conflicts with Kira.

Soon the now group of four ships left for the Plant Sextilis Four.
A/N: Sorry for the long while since I last updated. I have a block at where this story will go next. I've been questioning how and why this story goes as it is now. I mean if it was realistic, logically a lot of what I'm writing won't be happening the way it is going. I'm trying to find a way to explain to myself how to write the story while still going with my plot.

It's rather embarrassing but as I was surfing through GundamOfficial, I've come across the significance of each Plant cities. Lol, I only knew that Junius Seven was an agricultural Plant before being blown to smithereens never thought that all of the Junius Plants were agricultural. There is also the fact that if the Junius Plants are right by each other as seen in the anime, how would it take 6 hours for a normal flight from one to another Plant? So yeah... if you would just shut down the logical part of your brain, it will help me a lot. Sorry for the confusion.

I hope to make the next Gundam Seed better, but I gotta finish this one first.

Zeno the Stoic: Thanks for the review

davis45108: Thanks for the review like your story, hope you update soon.

nifer-inc: Thanks for reviewing, the fight scene was tiring, but I like the fact that you really don't have to think too much at writing it.