Disclaimer: Gundam Seed is the property of Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, Bandai, etc. The author claims no right over any of its concepts, characters and locations aside from those created originally for the purposes of the storyline.

A/N: Chapter 5! Chapter updates starting chapter 5 will probably be made over a weekly basis. Thanks for reading! Thanks also go to those who review and encourage me to continue, it honestly keeps me going!

Chapter 5 Summary: As Athrun and Kira announce their intentions to Cagalli and Lacus, Aya Vasil realizes that it is Lacus, Cagalli and Yzak who he needs to eliminate to push history in the right direction.


Chapter 5: Outbreak

Aya stared at the television screen, his hand lightly resting over the remote control. He played the public announcement over and over again, his steel-gray eyes thoughtful.

He admitted to himself that he had made a miscalculation. He had underestimated the amount of influence the younger council members had on the majority of the council members. It was unexpected that three young individuals could be charismatic enough to convince other members of the council to stand united and consider his declaration of war a terrorist attack instead. His gray eyes narrowed as his gaze skimmed over each individual, wondering why they had chosen a path that hindered Coordinator's growth as the new humanity. What could they possibly have seen in Naturals? He pondered.

Aya stared at three folders sitting on his desk, and flipped them open. He scanned folders containing shots taken of the council members in their natural environment. He stopped at a picture taken that morning and his lips curved into a small, satisfied smile, setting the picture aside. It was a candid picture taken through a hotel window that morning, but it was clear enough to distinguish the faces of two young people locked in a passionate embrace.

Another full scale attack now would simply hinder his mission. People were starting to believe what he had done to help history along was simply as mundane as a terrorist attack. So instead, a change of strategy needed to be employed. People who had emotions such as love were simply marionettes to the emotion, Aya mused. And he fully intended to make use of such a powerful tool. He stood up, pressing the intercom button.

"Keyara."

"Sir?"

"Did you see the press conference?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what I need."


Athrun had went back to his room after speaking with Kira. He was thinking of a way to tell Cagalli about his decision. But whatever he would said, Cagalli's reaction most probably wouldn't be pleasant. Knowing her, she wouldn't be pleased to see him holding any kind of weapon that could kill. He leaned against the window, staring outside. He didn't know if she would understand why he decided to fight again.

Cagalli entered the room, throwing off the coat she had put on that morning. Frustration was evident on her face as she made her way directly to Athrun.

"Rough morning?" Athrun shifted his gaze from the outside scenery and turned to look at Cagalli.

"Everything's suddenly become so complicated. The Press want answers, like who and what's being done about it, and even if we assure people, there are those who think that someone is out to declare war again. It's frustrating to see someone cause all this trouble and not know what they wanted to accomplish in the first place!" Cagalli answered, running her fingers through her blonde hair in annoyance.

"What does the council think about it?" Athrun asked lightly, catching Cagalli's wrist.

"Them---!" Cagalli shouted before catching herself and lowering her voice. Wondering if anybody was listening in, she pulled Athrun to her and whispered something rather derogatory about the other council members in his ear.

Athrun chuckled, "I'm sure you can take them on."

Cagalli nodded, being allowed to pour out her impatience over the other council members had made her feel better. She managed to smile, realizing that Athrun had probably intended that.

"Have you had lunch?" She asked, noting the time.

Athrun shook his head. "Kira and I were waiting to take both of you out to lunch."

"Oh? You two could have gone ahead if you were hungry." Cagalli said, slipping her coat back on.

"Well, we thought it might be fun for the four of us to relax and eat out. Who knows when we'll have the time to see each other again when you go back to Orb tomorrow, right?" Athrun said casually, placing his hand at the small of Cagalli's back, leading her out the door.

They met Lacus and Kira in front of the elevator, and made their way into a quaint restaurant in on of the less noticeable areas around PLANT. They entered the establishment, which was empty aside from the bartender polishing glasses, and a waiter who was standing by the doorway. Taking their seats, the foursome quickly decided and gave their orders to the waiter, relishing the chance to be left alone, away from the press.

Athrun and Kira exchanged a look, neither looking forward to the subject they wanted to broach with the girls.

The door opened again to reveal Dearkka and Miriallia. Kira raised his hand and waved in their direction, while Athrun asked to be transferred to a table for six.

"I didn't know you were in PLANT, Milly." Kira remarked, his gaze flicking from Milliaria to Dearkka, who had just seated himself.

"Oh, it's for work." Miriallia smiled, while Dearkka threw a surprised look at her.

"Work?"

Miriallia nodded. "I just started work as a photojournalist." She paused, looking at his incredulous expression.

"You mean you could have been blown up yesterday?" Dearkka's voice sounded unnaturally strained.

"What a nice way to put it, Dearkka." A voice behind them quipped dryly.

Dearkka turned and looked at behind him, seeing Yzak staring at them with an unreadable expression.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Athrun told me he'd be here." Yzak shrugged, offering no immediate explanation. An additional seat was placed for him.

Cagalli glanced sharply at Athrun, who returned her gaze calmly. He looked down at his plate as he explained softly.

"I asked him to find blueprints for Freedom or Justice."

"What?!" Cagalli stared at him incredulously, while beside her, Lacus had gasped softly.

"Why?!" Cagalli had stood up from her chair, leaning against the table, her hands fisted.

"Did you find it?" Kira asked, ignoring, for the moment, Cagalli's outburst.

Yzak nodded. "We've managed to reconstruct the file. Apparently, when the agreement to destroy the files was signed, the way to destroy it wasn't specified. They thought that deleting it off the system would be enough, but they didn't realize that their deletion process had left vestiges of the file and the fragments could be reconstructed, and missing parts could pretty much be filled in."

"That's just irresponsible!" Lacus exclaimed, shaking her head sadly. "So much people died yesterday..."

"They would have attacked even without a Gundam." Dearkka interrupted, shaking his head. "The Gundam just participated in the attack, but most of the casualties were caused by the bombs that went off."

"What are you going to do with the blueprints?!" Cagalli interrupted again, her voice laced with impatience.

Yzak glared at Cagalli. "It should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

"It wouldn't prove anything even if you used it!" Cagalli replied angrily.

"Wouldn't it?" Athrun looked at her quietly.

Kira gently pulled Cagalli to sit down. "None of us want to fight again." He stated simply. "But what happens if we don't? Do we stand by watching him destroy everything we've worked so hard to accomplish, even if we know we might be able to stop him?"

"But for everybody to risk their lives again..." Mirillia interjected softly.

"It's just something that needs to be done." Dearkka gave her a sideways glance, his cocky grin in place.

Athrun nodded. "We can't let any of you be hurt right now." He explained, his gaze fixed on Cagalli. "We know better than anybody what the Gundam is capable of."

"But to just build another one!" Cagalli exclaimed, her eyes troubled. The chaos that had escalated with Orb helping build the Gundams in the first place was not lost on her. The Gundams held so much power under the control of Coordinators that nobody would be able to predict what would happen if they pitted one Gundam against another. Also, where the battlefield would take place would surely be devastated, should the Gundams engage in combat within PLANT or Earth.

Lacus folded her hands on her lap, coming to a decision. She herself had told as much to Kira that simply the heart or the will couldn't fulfill someone's hopes. One needed an instrument of power to accomplish what they wanted. She raised her aquamarine eyes to Yzak.

"Would you like engineers in the Klein faction to come and help, Yzak?" She asked serenely.

Everyone turned to Lacus, surprised.

"I just believe that we need some way to protect ourselves." She explained softly. "If they do decide to attack again, we need something to draw their fire away from the civilians."

Yzak nodded his assent. "It'll make everything go faster. We'll go over the details later."


Dearkka and Mirillia were making their way back to the hotel Mirillia was staying in. They had walked back in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Dearkka looked hesitantly at her, when he finally asked.

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"I hadn't expected them to come to that decision." Mirillia replied truthfully as she looked up at him.

"What about your work?" Dearkka asked.

Mirillia frowned at him. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

Dearkka cringed. He had somehow offended her again without meaning to.

"I won't snoop around and try to take pictures, if that's what you mean." She scowled up at him.

"I didn't mean it that way..." Dearkka said, trying to placate her. "I just wanted to know what you plan on doing with your work, now that all these happened..."

"Oh." Mirillia looked away from him, slightly embarrassed.

They fell back to silence, until Dearkka felt Mirillia tug on his sleeve.

"Hey Dearkka."

"Yeah?"

"Don't die...okay?"

Dearkka smiled, his eyes closing as he tipped his head back and he opened his eyes again to stare up the bright blue sky. Life suddenly wasn't so bad.

"Sure thing, Milly."


A knock was heard outside Aya's quarters, he turned slightly at the sound.

"Enter."

The door opened to reveal a young woman dressed in uniform, her dark green hair flowing down her back, and alert amber eyes scanning the room.

"Should you be so relaxed?"

"Why shouldn't I be, Keyara?"

"I could've been holding a gun when I was entering the room, Aya."

Aya shrugged nonchalantly. "Do you have information for me?"

Keyara nodded slightly. "The princess has reservations for a shuttle ride back to Orb tomorrow morning."

Aya smiled.

"Perfect."


Chapter 6 Summary: Cagalli confronts Athrun about his decision, while Lacus and Kira say their goodbyes for the battle ahead. Cagalli makes her way back to Orb, but will she be safe? Aya Vasil launches phase 1 of his attack against the remaining council members.

A/N: I have some oekakis up for this fic. Mainly art on how Aya Vasil looks like, and another one. . I don't know if anybody is interested in seeing them, but just send me an email if you want me to send you the url where it's at.


Replies:

KingArthur 6687: Well, we'll have to see what happens if they do screw up, don't we? grin As for Yzak, I can see him fulfilling both. He's a hothead, but very responsible with strong leadership capabilities, don't you think? Also, that's for always reviewing and adding me to your favorites! ;)
Yuugiri: LoL! You'll just have to see what I have in store for Aya. XD Maybe in the next chapter? Haha.
Chibi Fyrefly: Hehe, I'll try. But usually, my chapters are kept 1600-1800 words long. :)

Also, thanks to DJ(), Angel of Dreams, AsuranXKagari-Forever, Doctor Kiba, M.S Arashi Sumeragi, Witch01, and lightyearsaway( ) for reviewing!