Gundam SEED: The Keshitai
A Kido Senshi Gundam SEED Fan Fiction by Prayer Reverie
Contact: prayerreverie(at)yahoo(dot)com
Summary: The heroes of the war set off to stop a vicious group from starting another! The fate of the Earth and the Colonies rests on their shoulders. KL, DM, AC, Y … uh …
This will be AU, thanks to Destiny (uh … Lessons was made to fit in with Destiny, I think just after Phase 6 or 7), however try to think of this story as a side-story, or a filler story much as Battlefield of Pacifists and Ground Zero was for Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED in any way (although some days I wish), but any Original Characters and Original Mobile Suits are mine.
Rating: PG-13. I don't plan on mincing words and there will probably be some descriptive scenes, but nothing outside of the rating boundaries. You have been warned.
Angel of Dreams: Hopefully this chapter will lay your fears to rest.
Prince Takeru: eek, apparently everyone is against Kira dying. Good.
redeye84: ZAFT vs Gundams …. Not a fair fight.
C-town Chica: Geez, no one wants the heroes to die … but how will I write a good story?
RVD: What is to come? Read the following chapters and find out!
Lightyearsaway: thanks for the review.
Chapter 11:
"Where is the earth-shattering kaboom?" – Marvin the Martian
CE 72, January 2nd
0 Hours Remaining
"NO!" Dearka screamed in anguish as his monitors showed the Apocalypse Gundam firing the nuclear warhead.
He had failed. His home, his father, his friends, everything he had known was about to be destroyed. And by a group of demented Naturals seeking the end of all Coordinators.
The same group who also wanted any Naturals associated with Coordinators dead. Including Miriallia.
The shock of everything hit the blond Coordinator at once. A sharp pain in his chest froze him in place, his hands leaving the controls to clutch his pounding heart. Groaning, he balled his hands into fists, clenching them tightly.
-
Yzak turned as a warning message popped up.
Apocalypse has fired it read. He watched the missile streak towards the detonation point, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Mother he thought painfully. She was a main reason for him to continue on. His mother had always been strong, dependable, just the kind of person he had always wanted to be. Yzak had taken up a Councilor's position to ensure the safety of his people and their homeland.
He had failed. In that instant, he had failed. He wasn't a good enough commander, not a good enough pilot, not a good enough son and Councilor, not a good enough friend. What was the point if everything you knew was about to die at once?
The missile closed in on its destination.
-
Athrun opened his cockpit with the little power remaining in his heavily damaged Gundam. He didn't know which way the PLANTs were and where Cagalli was. Slowly stepping out, he stood on the lower section of the cockpit hatch, attempting to find his bearings.
A bright and large explosion went off. Athrun threw his arms over his face to shield his eyes from the intensity of the light. For a moment, he didn't know what happened. Thoughts flew through his head so fast, he could barely comprehend them.
Explosion, light, Chon-Ji Tul, Gundam, Yzak, Dearka, Kira … PLANT! Finally, something made sense to him and he fervently wished it hadn't. The explosion was from the nuclear warhead. The Apocalypse Gundam had broken through the defensive lines and fired his remaining warhead.
Which had just detonated. He was in shock, in less than 20 minutes he had lost his entire homeland and the one person dearest to him, the one he loved with no end, Cagalli. His emotions built up, the pain of losing, the pain of loss, the pain of living without love, the pain of failure.
Finally, it was too much to contain. Throwing his head back, he let out a long, anguished cry of rage.
-
The explosion started to fade, and Hiroto let out a shout of victory, followed quickly by laughter. The laughter grew in strength, becoming so loud it sounded almost like a scream.
Proximity sensors forced Hiroto to tone his laughter down. He looked forward to see what would set them off, but found nothing. Nothing, except for an hour-glass shape. Two hour-glass shapes. Three. A dozen.
What the hell?
-
Just as Athrun left the medical room, Shiho came in. Lacus looked up, wondering why Athrun would have come back. Seeing Shiho entering, she smiled.
"Hello Shiho." Lacus greeted politely.
"Come on Lacus, it won't do you any good to be cooped up in here all day looking after Kira. Milly and I are in a lounge room, and we've reserved a couch for us." Shiho replied.
"But he might wake up soon." Lacus protested as Shiho grabbed her arm to drag her out.
"The rest of your friends are fighting to save us all, you could at least watch them with us."
"Alright then, give me a second. " Lacus conceded, kissing Kira softly on his forehead before leaving the room.
They passed Otto on the way to the room.
"Are you going out to fight as well?" Lacus asked.
"Not today Miss Clyne, I'm merely going to see the pilots off." He said, still moving.
As they turned a corner, Otto entered the medical room.
-
Cagalli found Athrun just a few minutes after he had left the medical room. They stared at each other for a moment before Cagalli spoke up.
"Be careful out there, okay?"
"I will. But you have to promise to take care of yourself out there as well." Athrun replied.
"I promise." They came together, hugging each other tightly before Athrun locked lips with Cagalli's.
-
The door slid open with little noise, but Kira still awoke to see Otto enter. He looked around for Lacus, or Athrun, remembering their voices. Perhaps it was only his imagination, or dreams.
"How are you feeling Kira?" Otto asked, sitting in the chair Lacus had recently vacated.
"Better, but I'm still not back to normal." Kira replied.
"You know about the situation correct?" Otto inquired.
"I do, which leads me to my question: what can I do?" Kira asked.
Otto smiled.
-
Kira raised his head, staring straight ahead at the Apocalypse Gundam, now visible again. The large explosion had finally subsided, and a quick scan showed all the PLANTs safe and unharmed.
The one shot Kira had fired mere seconds before the warhead was supposed to detonate penetrated the guidance computer and charges, destroying the warhead without setting off the nuclear material.
He opened a general channel, broadcasting to all forces in his considerable broadcast range.
"This is Kira Yamato, Eternal Gundam. Mission complete."
-
Otto and Kira were moving as fast as they could to the hangar bay. Ron had let Otto know that the rest of the Gundam pilots were occupied, so the two had to move quickly. Otto was explaining the mission on the way.
"You'll have only a few seconds to lock onto the warhead before its detonation point. Any sooner and I'm sure that the Apocalypse will pick up on the lock and either detonate the warhead earlier or somehow block the shot." Otto was saying.
Kira nodded and finished doing up his flight suit.
"You may be waiting for the full twelve hours, depending on how our forces do. Best case scenario, the Apocalypse is stopped and you've sat in space for nothing. Worst case scenario, you die." Otto was blunt, but Kira knew the outcomes already.
"No matter what happens, you must maintain stealth and secrecy." Otto warned.
That was harder for Kira to accept. The people going out to fight were his family and friends, comrades in arms, forged in war. But he had a duty to do and a mission to complete.
"I understand." Kira replied.
"Then good luck and god speed."
The cockpit hatches closed on the Eternal Gundam, and Kira powered up his phase-shift armor. The hangar doors opened and he was cleared to launch.
"Kira Yamato, Eternal, Ikimasu!" the Eternal shot out of the bay and used the momentum from the catapult launcher to guide him instead of the powerful engines in the Gundam suit.
"Lacus," he whispered, "be safe."
-
Athrun floated in his cockpit, out of breath from screaming so long. His life seemed almost pointless, and everything he'd done in the past seemed insignificant. It was amazing how a few words from a good friend could change everything.
"This is Kira Yamato, Eternal Gundam. Mission complete."
Kira? Squinting his eyes, he could faintly see the assembled PLANT colonies, still in one piece. Hope flared in his heart, the PLANTs were safe, and perhaps Cagalli had a chance as well. Kira was piloting his suit, which evened out the odds considerably.
Now if only he could find Cagalli and the Chon-Ji Tul.
-
Those words spoke by Kira echoed in Dearka's mind. Able to control himself once again, he gunned his engines and targeted the Apocalypse Gundam.
Kira cleared the path, but I'm going to finish it! He sent a silent prayer and thanks to the brunette Coordinator, for saving his home and for giving all those hope to continue.
"I owe you one." He said quietly, speeding towards his target.
-
There was a lull in the fight, as Kuzzey, Untensu and Yzak all attempted to comprehend the significance of Kira's transmission. The PLANTs were safe, so was his mother.
Grinning wildly, Yzak went on the offensive, pushing both opposing Gundams back as they tried to overcome the shock of failing their mission.
-
Cheers echoed throughout the ship as Kira's words faded from the speakers. Otto smiled widely and was doing a little victory dance. Lacus was so happy that Kira was alive and safe that she hugged Otto tightly and happily. He was surprised for a second, but figured that Kira just save the PLANTs, so it was justifiable.
Then Lacus realized she was hugging Otto and not Kira and quickly released him, a flush of embarrassment covering her cheeks.
"Err, sorry about that." She said shyly, backing away as she kept her head low.
"It's alright, I understand." He replied, laughing.
-
"Yamato, you have interfered in my business for the last time! I will kill you!" Hiroto screamed after hearing Kira's transmission.
Foregoing melee combat, which would have been much more preferable, Hiroto armed and raised his powerful beam rifle, aiming at Kira and firing off volleys of fire. Kira managed to dodge some and block some more, but several beams singed his armor as he barely avoided the full impact.
"Oh great, I think he's mad." Kira muttered as more and more shots came his way.
But as suddenly as the deadly barrage had begun, it quickly ended. Is he out of power? Kira wondered. Then he saw the reason why, Dearka had placed himself halfway between Hiroto and Kira, using the I-Field to save his comrade. Bursts of colored light came from Dearka as the blond pilot fired back.
"Your fight is with me now Hiroto, and no one else." Dearka transmitted.
"We'll see about that."
Milly heard Dearka's declaration and looked on in horror as he charged the behemoth Gundam suit. Kira noticed Kali closing in on Dearka and moved to intercept her.
"I beat you once, and I can do it again." He told her.
"I will have your head!" she screamed back, firing her missiles.
What is it with these people and firing everything they have at once? Kira wondered as he went evasive and opened fire on the missiles with his beam rifle and wrist mounted beam guns.
With her missiles destroyed, he drew one of his beam sabers and charged her, beam shield raised to block the fire from her gatling cannon. As he flew by, he thrust his beam saber out and managed to slice off the arm that had the gatling cannon mounted on it. Curving around for another run, he fired his thrusters again, boosting forwards and slicing off the head of the Famine Gundam before she could react.
Unable to see her opponent, she nonetheless activated her wrist-mounted beam saber and started to swing wildly. Kira backed away and sat there for a moment as she continued to swing. Rolling his eyes, he sheathed his saber and armed his rifle. Taking careful aim, he fired off one shot that blew the remaining arm off at the shoulder joint.
"Surrender, you've been disarmed." Kira transmitted.
"You dishonor me with a notion of surrender?" she asked.
"There is no honor lost in a fight you cannot win." He replied.
She didn't reply to him, so moved closer to her near-useless suit. Her cockpit opened, and Kira was sure that she was signaling her defeat. The damaged suit took on a red glow for a second, and Kira quickly realized that she was going to self-destruct, and planning on taking him with her.
He barely raised his shield in time before he was enveloped in a large explosion. Alarms went off as he was buffeted by the energy washing over him. The explosion subsided, revealing scattered debris that formerly made up the Famine Gundam. Kira's shield was melted beyond use, so he ejected it.
Kira performed a quick diagnostic, which came back with more negative results than positive ones. He zoomed in on Yzak fighting Untensu and Kuzzey. The brown-haired Coordinator really had no choice; he had to deal with his friend.
-
A sudden jolt woke Athrun up from his unplanned nap. A transmission crackled through his speakers.
"This is Chon-Ji Tul Rescue and Recovery, standby to come aboard." The male voice said.
"Otto?" Athrun asked, forgetting that he wasn't able to transmit in return.
A life tube extended itself from the shuttle just above Athrun's damaged Gundam, and as soon as it sealed with the open cockpit, Athrun pushed off and flew up the tube to safety and warmth.
The hatch at the end of the tube slid open and he ducked inside, closing it and allowing the room to re-pressurize. The monitor beeped, letting him know there was breathable air. Taking off his helmet, he blew a sigh of relief and opened the inside hatch to thank his rescuers.
Pink hair and a pair of arms greeted him in a hug. There were quiet sobbing noises heard and Athrun looked down to see Lacus hugging him, crying softly.
"Thank you." He told her.
She looked up and smiled. Otto came back from the control room.
"We've just got to perform some preliminary exams to ensure you are healthy and not injured." He said.
"Of course." Athrun agreed.
"Lacus, you can take my place on the bridge." Otto said, leading Athrun to the cramped medical bay aboard the rescue shuttle.
Athrun knew the routine all-too well. He stripped down to his boxers and flopped onto the examination table. Otto placed sensors on his chest and temples to monitor his heart rate and brain-wave activity.
"This will only take a few minutes, just be sure to lie still." Otto said.
Athrun was left in silence, and started to drift off to sleep again. He swore he felt the shuttle stop and heard the hatch open. His suspicions were confirmed as Otto floated Cagalli in.
"Cagalli!" Athrun said, sitting up.
Otto quickly looked at Athrun's test results.
"You're fine so I'll let you take care of her." He said, and then left.
Athrun tore the sensors off of his body and made his way to Cagalli, unconscious but breathing steadily. He stroked the loose strands of her sweat-soaked hair away from her eyes and stared at her for a minute.
"Cagalli." He said softly.
Her eyes fluttered open, and focused on the handsome face of Athrun, framed by his blue hair floating in the zero-g environment. She smiled at the sight.
"Well, that's one of the better ways to wake up." She said.
Athrun laughed, planted a kiss on the tip of her nose and held her close.
-
Untensu's proximity alarm went off as Kira approached in the Eternal Gundam. An evil smile settled itself on his mouth as a devious plan popped into his head.
"Kuzzey! Go deal with your friend. Consider this your final test." He sneered.
Kuzzey narrowed his eyes at Untensu's order, but complied, shutting down his beam sabers and changing his course to meet Kira in the open battlefield. Kira's camera's zoomed in on the approaching War Gundam, and he remembered that Hiroto had said that Mordecai was the pilot. And Mordecai was Kuzzey, in the flesh, and no one else.
"Kuzzey, why did you betray us? I thought we were friends?" Kira demanded, using what little time they had left.
"How can I be friends with something like you? You and yours disgust me!" Kuzzey snarled back.
"None of us chose to be Coordinators when we were born, just as you didn't choose to be Natural." Kira replied attempting to shove some common sense into the person he had once called his friend.
"It doesn't matter how you are born, it's what you do in life that separates everyone, and it's what makes us all unique. But to go actively flaunting it, that's why the war started, and that's why we will end it." The range between the two suits diminished as Kuzzey spoke.
"You realize that Hiroto also demands more than the Coordinators, he also demands Naturals associated with Coordinators!" Kira was astounded at how much Kuzzey had changed over the few months.
"Those Naturals have condoned actions taken by the filthy scum known as Coordinators!" Kuzzey barked back.
"Tolle died to defend you! He died to defend me! Miriallia is on one of those Coordinator ships right now! Tolle died to defend HER!" Kira all but screamed at Kuzzey.
"Enough! Nothing can change the crimes you've committed!" Kuzzey roared, and activated his remaining beam sabers.
Seven was more than Kira could handle with a beam shield, and his was gone. Then he realized that the War Gundam had little to no ranged capabilities beyond the standard CIWS guns.
Arming his beam rifle for what Kira hoped would be the last time; he took aim at the arms and legs of the War Gundam. Kuzzey, I'm sorry. Four shots left his beam rifle in rapid succession, the tip moving millimeters to adjust for new range and new targets. The bolts of destructive energy were oblivious to their fate.
Kuzzey was not. All four bolts were deflected in quick succession by the powerful sabers. But they had served their purpose. Not completely concentrating on Kira and the Eternal Gundam, Kuzzey failed to see Kira activate one his beam sabers and hide it behind his back.
The distance between the two Gundams was negligible and Kuzzey poured all of his power into the wrist-mounted beam saber in his right arm, shutting off all of the others and driving the last beam saber straight towards Kira's cockpit.
"This ends here!" Kuzzey said.
Yes, yes it does old friend. The hidden beam saber made its way without warning forward. Kuzzey's eyes widened in surprise as the energy blade damaged the arm, cutting deep before quickly changing course and moving towards his own cockpit. Kuzzey's blade started to flicker as power was lost.
Kira's beam saber stabbed through the armor and exited out the other side of the … neck? Just before Kuzzey lost all power to his last weapon, he managed to stab it through Kira's cockpit, although the aim was thrown off. The weapon penetrated the upper section of the cockpit, missing Kira and shutting down before it could go all of the way through.
"Somehow I always knew it would end up like this." Kuzzey said to Kira.
"Kuzzey, there's still hope." Kira replied.
"Not for me. Say goodbye to Miriallia for me."
"Kuzzey!"
There was another violent explosion which propelled the Eternal backwards and knocked Kira around. The blast damaged his sensors and cameras, and the image Kira saw flickered intermittently. The explosion cleared and there was nothing left of Kira's friend.
Blackness started to creep in the corners of his vision. Kira stopped his momentum as he registered that his faceplate was slowly cracking. His consciousness began to waver and he imagined Lacus' voice, telling him to hold on. What felt like two pairs of hands grabbed hold of him, but he couldn't see what was happening, there was red in his eyes.
The red slid off his world like a helmet and the last thing Kira saw was Lacus' face above his, staring down happily.
-
The battlefield had thinned considerably. Kali, Mordecai and Gideon had been killed in action, leaving only the brothers; Untensu and Hiroto Syuu. It was somehow fitting that the last two Horsemen pilots were brothers and also had the largest Gundams, as if everything had lead up to them.
Of the Chon-Ji Tul's forces, only Yzak and Dearka were still fighting. Athrun, Cagalli and Kira had been recovered, but their Gundams were near useless to fight the relatively undamaged Horsemen suits.
Dearka and Hiroto seemed to be evenly matched, with their I-Fields and Phase-Shift armor. The former ZAFT pilot was doing a good job of holding the Keshitai leader at bay, not letting the massive Gundam close to melee range.
But neither pilot could keep it up forever, and Yzak prayed that his friend had the will and the means to outlast his opponent. The fight between Yzak and Untensu was totally opposite, with both suits fighting at melee range, beam sabers versus the double beam scythe and no ranged weapons at all.
Yzak was thankful for the XML system, it had allowed the silver-haired pilot to match and counter several astonishing moves Untensu had pulled. They clashed time and time again, and Yzak struggled to think of a way to end it quickly. Nothing came to mind.
At least PLANT is safe from these maniacal bastards, it won't matter much in the long run if I die, right? Yzak thought bitterly.
But there was something unspoken and intangible that wouldn't let the former Duel pilot give up. He didn't know what it was, maybe the sense of belonging, perhaps it was love, or maybe Destiny had other plans.
One would never know, until Fate so chooses to reveal itself.
"We write our own destiny, we become what we do." Otto had told Lacus.
One would never know.
A/N: That took a while. Some good fics came up on FF, and I quickly did "Lessons", a Destiny One-shot. Please Read and Review (emphasis on Review and Please).
Until next time.