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.
Chapter 8 Summary: Members of United Council increases pressure on both Yzak and Lacus to go into war as another attack on Naturals ensue, while Milly realizes she has her own battles to fight while the rest go to the battlefield.
Chapter 8: The Knight
Athrun leaned back on his seat, scanning his monitors for his current coordinates. The space around him was quiet, with some stars shining from far off. He blinked tiredly, and leaned back against his seat. It would take a few more hours to rendezvous with Kira. They were to meet halfway, and from there, begin their search for the Fusillade. He had adjusted Justice's sensors to pick up any movement that could come from a mobile suit, and if his luck proved to be on his side, the mother ship that housed it.
It wouldn't be easy. Athrun mused. Even with current technology, space was too vast to be searching around blindly. Sensors still had their limits in terms of the radius in which it could detect movement. He felt tense, not wanting to miss a single alert from the sensors. The feeling of uneasiness kept him awake, and he mentally replayed himself pushing Cagalli's prone form towards Fusillade's pilot again and again in his mind, and wondering what happened after then. Was she alright? Was he touching her, hurting her? What did he want from her? He imagined Cagalli looking at him with angry eyes, betrayed and hurt that he had given her up without fighting. The feeling poured through him like acid. He had told Cagalli that he would fight for both of them this time, yet she had been taken away to fight for herself, straight into enemy territory, no less.
Athrun suppressed a groan of frustration, mentally smacking himself to get a grip. If this continued on, he'd probably make himself crazy. His thoughts were already a jumbled mass which were never articulated, but nonetheless ran in no less than an eloquent, dramatic manner which in certain cases, just wouldn't shut up. He needed to focus now, and face Cagalli's anger when it came. In fact, Athrun reflected, that if he saw Cagalli and she slapped him hello, he might find more consolation. At least then, he knew that she was healthy and alive and well enough to do such a thing. In fact, if Cagalli saw him now, she'd probably scold him again. A reluctant smile hovered against his lips as he remembered the time where he had purposely stayed out of the meeting to think. She had come to him then, exiting the bridge.
"You were here all along!" Cagalli called out.
"Hm?" Athrun turned.
"Are you thinking something in that head of yours? Thinking by yourself isn't going to solve anything. That's why everyone is at the bridge, making plans together. Don't be absent at a time like this." She lectured.
"I'm sorry." He answered.
The thought brought a constricting pain in Athrun's chest. He needed to get Cagalli back. The Justice pilot took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Cagalli."
Milly laid down the flowers she was carrying, closing her eyes as the breeze passed before reopening them again. In front of her was a memorial, it listed the names of those who had died as the war was being fought. It was a testament to those who had lost their lives, ensuring that they would be remembered, and their names— both Coordinators and Naturals were etched onto the smooth granite. It was a massive piece of stone which spanned several meters, standing as a solitary monument and memorial to the thousands who were now gone. The walkway was surrounded by flowers, left by the friends and families of the deceased. Identical memorials had been built around certain places on Earth and PLANT as a symbol of goodwill between Naturals and Coordinators, and a promise that history should never be repeated.
She traced her hand over the black granite, pausing at the names of the people she knew, her hand finally stopping at the name she was looking for.
Tolle Koenig
Whatever monologue she was supposed to have with Tolle was interrupted by the crunch of leaves behind her. Immediately, Milly was alert. Perhaps it was not the best of ideas for a Natural to visit a memorial erected in PLANT with the current situation as it was. Trying to keep calm, she noted that the memorial area was deserted. It should have her struck her as odd a while ago, but she had been happy that she could visit the memorial in private that she had failed to take notice of such an oddity.
She would make a run for it if she had to. She had only brought the flowers. She had not brought anything that could even remotely be used as a weapon. Slowly, Milly looked up. She froze as she saw the reflection of the person through the black granite, her eyes widening. All too familiar blue-gray eyes met hers on the surface of the polished granite, while wavy, dark, chocolate brown hair was tossed in the direction of the air.
She turned carefully, as if the apparition behind her would disappear if she moved too quickly.
"To…lle…?"
The person in front of her smiled, it was the same honest, easy-going smile that she remembered, one that she hadn't seen in four years.
Milly felt her eyes misting. There was no way that what was in front of her couldn't be true, could it?
"Milly…"
A few meters away, Dearkka paused at the scene unfolding before him.
He had been on his way back to meet up with Yzak, until he had caught a glimpse of Milly at the memorial. He had noticed how empty it was, as usually there would be a small yet consistent crowd milling within the memorial park. A nagging feeling had come over him, and he had found himself silently watching her place the flowers trace the name on the granite.
He had kept himself hidden from view via the oversized bushes that were grown around the perimeter of the memorial. He had a pretty good idea of who she was visiting, though he had never asked Milly what that person's name was.
He had heard the footsteps long before she did, and had taken out the gun he always carried— just in case. There had been a subtle sign of tension in her when she had heard the person approach, telling Dearkka that whoever it had been, they had been uninvited. He had then maneuvered himself to a perfect position, where he could easily shoot the guy, should he try anything funny with Milly, but one that would also provide the cover that he needed.
"Where were you? Why didn't you contact me to tell me you were alive?" Milly rubbed her eyes, wiping away here tears. She took an uneasy step toward Tolle, wondering yet again if this was some kind of dirty trick being played on her.
The ground suddenly shook, and a blast reverberated throughout the memorial. Fighter planes and mobile suits appeared in the sky, casting shadows over the terrain. The blast was strong enough to knock Milly off her feet, and she winced at impact, looking over Tolle who looked terrified from the sound. Without warning, he shot off, leaving Milly.
"No! Tolle!" She called out. "Come back!"
Milly found herself staring at Tolle's retreating back, bewildered that he would just leave her. Another blast threatened to crack the ground that she fell upon, before a pair of strong arms lifted her up, and she was brought face to face with Dearkka.
"Dearkka!" Milly exclaimed, surprised.
Dearkka flashed her one of his cocky grins, wiping her cheeks with his thumbs.
"I'd love to hear the gushing praise for knight in shining armor, but it just has to wait until I'm sure our heads aren't going to be blown off."
Milly stared at him, mouth agape. "What!"
Dearkka shook his head and grinned, happy that he distracted her. He turned and surveyed the landscape around him, looking for the best path. Deciding, he grabbed Milly's hand, he ran towards the direction of the base, using the trees and bushes as cover for their ascent up to the path that led to the military bases.
Milly ran behind him, her mind whirling with the events of the day. However, Dearkka was running too fast, and Milly lagged behind, nearly tripping over a body that had collapsed by the path.
Her mind returned back to the time in Heliopolis, when she had ran like this, it was Tolle who had held her hand and guided her on their way to the shelter. Like before, they had to run around people who had literally drop dead in front of her. Her body froze at the memory, and she stopped running.
Dearkka turned to see why she had stopped, and saw the body that laid crumpled by Milly's feet. He pulled her aside, and shook her.
"Milly!"
"Tolle…I need to go after him." Milly replied bleakly. "I saw him, he was afraid. You see, he came back to me. He was alive after all. I need to help him!"
Dearkka's violet eyes met Milly's desperate blue ones. He shook his head.
"Who is Tolle, Milly?"
Milly stared at her hands. "Toelle Koenig…boy…friend…piloted sky…grasper…the blue…and red plane." She replied in a small voice.
Dearkka's eyes widened.
"He's alive?"
"I think so…"
Dearkka sighed and looked at Milly, making sure her attention was focused on him.
"Keep going up the path until you reach a cave. Go inside and keep going left, and then at the junction, take a right."
Dearkka slipped an ID out of his pocket, and placed it on Milly's hands, along with his gun.
"When you reach the end, ask them to let you in the base, I'll meet you there. Use my pass to get in, understand?"
"Dearkka?" Milly looked at him, confused.
"Tell me you understand me, Milly." Dearkka's voice sounded sharper than usual.
Slowly, Milly nodded.
"Smart Girl." Dearkka managed a grim smirk. "Now go. I'll find him for you. I'll have you know I don't save men very often."
Milly looked up at him. "But…"
Dearkka shook his head. "Run as fast as you can, and don't look back. Now go!"
Milly ran.
She made her way up the path and onto a clearing. She stopped looking around her, concentrating on reaching the end of the path. She panted from the effort, while she held the gun tightly, praying that she wouldn't have to use it. The ground shook from more blasts, making Milly wonder if it would ever stop. Eventually, she reached the cave. Bearing Dearkka's instructions to mind, she walked into the darkness, keeping her hand on the left side of the wall, walking briskly until she reached the junction he mentioned, and took a right. She eventually reached a gate and fumbled around for the pass, and used it to gain access inside the base.
As she entered, she bumped into Yzak, who was impatiently staring at the gate. His face held a look of annoyance, and he glanced at her and the pass she was holding.
"So, where is he?" Yzak demanded.
"He went to look for…someone." Milly replied, out of breath.
Yzak scowled. Milly was saved from his temper when a solider came in, saluting him. Returning the soldier's salute with a brief one of his own, Yzak gave his permission for the soldier to proceed.
"Sir, we received a transmission. The council wishes for a situation report."
Yzak nodded and turned to the solider.
"Settle her in one of the rooms, and make sure this meeting remains undisturbed."
The soldier saluted in compliance.
"Please follow me."
Milly followed him silently through the maze of corridors until he opened the door for her in a room. She stepped inside and sat down on the bunk bending her knees and resting her forehead against it.
"Tolle…Dearkka…"
Yzak turned his attention to monitors in front of him as the doors shut behind Milly. He pressed the buttons which would connect the video conference, and sat back in his seat. Concerned faces of the council members appeared before him, and he nodded in greeting as he began his briefing.
"What's happening out there?" Lacus' concerned voice was the first one to break the silence, asking the inevitable question.
"I'm sure you saw for yourself. Jets and mobile suits have appeared around this PLANT, dropping of bombs and missiles at public areas that have a recorded higher density of Naturals. Whoever it was managed to plant devices onto the mobile suits that were placed to fight against this purpose, and is wreaking havoc right now."
One of the council members interrupted him. He was a high-ranking official of the Earth Alliance during the war, and had old-fashioned sentiments about governing.
"This is an outrage! What are you Coordinators doing about this? You should be happy that Naturals haven't decided to go to war because of this!"
Yzak narrowed his eyes at him.
"Sir, we have already deployed mobile suits to counteract this, along with the police and firefighters who have moved the people to shelters, along with diffusing the fires caused by the explosion."
Another council member frowned.
"PLANT's resources and property are being destroyed, yet all you can think about is how this is the Coordinator's fault? We built the PLANTs, for goodness sake! Do you think we aren't upset that somebody is trying to destroy the home we've built with our hands? Why would we bother to destroy our property for the sake of killing a few measly Naturals? What have YOU Naturals done to prevent this from occurring? All you do is sit there and complain!"
"Please, we must stop this." Lacus interjected.
"No we will not! It was wrong to think that Naturals and Coordinators could live peacefully in the first place. We will send an advisory for Naturals to return to Earth as soon as possible to avoid any more of this insanity!"
Yzak scowled.
"Do you forget that the Princess' of Orb's shuttle was shot down? Do you want more Naturals to suffer the same fate? And what about the Gundam which shot her down? It was neither affiliated with Naturals nor Coordinators. Would you so easily fall into his manipulation?"
Aya Vasil watched in amusement as the council's meeting concluded before him.
Stupid old fools.
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