Chapter 5: Lacus Strikes at What Stands in the Way
"The shuttle will be ready in about an hour. I'm sorry to make you wait so long Athrun, but we haven't used the Cosmograsper since before landing on Earth." Murrue told him.
"It's not a problem, I can wait."
"I'll meet you back here in an hour Athrun; there are a few things I can finish before we leave."
"Okay Kira, and thanks again both of you."
Kira left the hangar bay and floated back to his room. He had been surprised when Murrue offered the Cosmograsper, Kira had assumed the space fighter had been taken apart for spare parts. His mission was to escort Athrun as close as possible and then return to the Archangel until Athrun contacted them.
The door opened and he sat in his chair and turned the computer on. Smiling evilly, he cracked his knuckles and started a program. Music started blasting out of the speakers he had installed, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Powerman 5000, Papa Roach … Kira was in heaven. With this more suitable mood, he opened up another program and started typing furiously.
Half an hour into his work, Flay opened the door to the room she and Kira shared and took a step back as loud music assaulted her ears. She clutched them as she walked in yelling Kira's name in vain.
Cut my life into pieces
This is my Last Resort
Suffocation, no breathing
Don't give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding
Would it be wrong would it be right
If I took my life tonight
Chances are dynamite
Mutilation out of sight
And a contemplated suicide
Cause I'm loosing my sight
Loosing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Loosing my sight
Loosing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Nothing's alright
Nothing is fine
I'm running and I'm crying
I can't go on living this way
Can't go on
Living this way
Nothing's all
RIGHT!
The horrible song finally ended and Flay spoke before another one could start. "Kira! What the hell is that horrible racket?"
Kira jumped slightly, he hadn't heard the door open. He quickly paused the WinAmp v.71 and faced her sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." his hands continued to type as he spoke.
"Well with your music that loud, the entire ship could have exploded and you wouldn't have heard. Anyways, I thought you were supposed to escort Athrun back the PLANTs."
"They're still preparing the Cosmograsper." He saved his work and hit a few more buttons. Kira jumped up from his seat and grabbed Flay's left hand in his and pulled her in close.
"Kira, what are you doing?"
Soft music began to play, a beautiful and slow melody, perfect for dancing. Flay relaxed into Kira's arms and let him lead her around their room. She never understood his romantic impulses, he was totally unpredictable. Not that she minded them, every little thing he did made Flay love him even more. 'On the extremely bright side, he's a good dancer.'
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. "Kira Yamato to the Hangar Bay, repeat Kira Yamato to the Hangar Bay."
Kira sighed as Flay held in a groan. He turned the music off and shut the computer down. "Well, it looks like Murdock was more efficient than usual. I should be back within a day or two, so take care of the Archangel. It's up to you and Dearka now."
Flay approached him. "I'll see you off." They walked to the flight room hand in hand, and he changed as quickly as he could. By the time they entered the hangar, Cagalli was already confronting Athrun about his decision to return to the PLANTs.
Kira sighed more heavily and pushed off to stop Cagalli. "Cagalli, this is something he needs to do, don't make this any harder for him."
Cagalli nodded weakly and backed off. Athrun hopped in the seat of the Cosmograsper and sealed the canopy. Kira floated up to the cockpit hatch of Freedom, his helmet in his hand as Flay followed him. "Promise me you'll stay safe." She whispered.
"For you." He promised and sealed it with a tender kiss.
"Cosmograsper Unit 1, you are cleared to launch." The space fighter launched.
"Freedom, you are cleared to launch." Kira launched to escort back to the PLANTs.
It wasn't a particularly long journey, but Athrun hated long silences. "You love her, don't you?"
The question startled Kira, because he had been daydreaming of Flay. "Yes, more than she realizes. She saved me from myself Athrun, and that's a big debt to repay."
"Out of everyone you knew aboard the Archangel, why her? I don't mean that in a negative way, I'm just curious." Athrun continued.
"It's … a long story that has many twists and turns in it." A beeping noise interrupted both of them. "We're nearing the Jachin Due defense network."
"You should go back now Kira."
"I'll stay here until you return."
"No, go back to the Archangel." The conviction in Athrun's voice made Kira uneasy.
"Athrun, it isn't your time to die yet. You know that right? We still have a lot more to do."
Athrun clutched the pendant Cagalli had given him. "I'll remember that."
"Make sure you do." Kira disconnected the power transfer cord and stopped his forward momentum.
Flay hummed happily as she floated down the corridor, her dark blue eyes half closed. Turning the corner, she nearly ran down Dearka, who was floating in the middle of the hall. However, that couldn't ruin her good mood, so she grabbed onto his hands and started to dance with him, still humming.
"Um … Flay?" he asked, the confusion apparent in his voice.
Instead of answering, she simply released him and started her way down the corridor again, heading in her original direction. Turning another corner, Flay saw the lift doors were open. "Hold the lift!" she called out to its occupant.
Flay came to a stop, planting her feet on the floor of the lift. Miriallia closed the doors. "Where are you going Flay?" she asked.
"Nowhere in particular, I've been wandering since Kira left."
Mir shrugged and hit a button at random. "You know he'll be gone for probably less than a day."
"I know, but when I'm with him … he's just so spontaneous."
"Oh? How so?"
Flay explained the little things Kira did for her, leaving notes in the cockpit of her M1, little chocolates on their pillow when he had to work late and finally his little impromptu dance with her.
"I never knew he could be so romantic, I'm having a hard time believing everything he does." Flay finished.
"All hands, level two battle stations! All pilots to their suits!" Murrue ordered.
The lift came to a halt coincidentally on the Hangar bay level. Flay waved to Mir as the doors closed and took the other Natural to the bridge. Donning her custom flight suit, Flay stood in front of a man-sized mirror for a second and compared her suit to Kira's.
'You know, his seems bulkier than mine. But I guess my suit came from Orb, his came from the Alliance.'
Flay quickly made her way to her M1, and halfway up the cockpit, Dearka poked his head out of the Buster. "What took you so long?"
"None of your business Elsman."
He shrugged and sealed his cockpit as Flay settled in the chair of her M1 and started to power up. Dearka's face popped up on a small vid-screen. "Women always take so long …" he taunted.
Flay sealed her own cockpit, and instead of replying to him, opened a channel to Mir instead. "M1, all systems green."
"M1, Buster, you're both cleared to launch." Mir reported.
"M1 Alster Custom, launching!" Flay shot out of the port side hangar.
"Dearka Elsman, Buster, moving out!" The Buster launched out of the starboard hangar and activated the Phase Shift.
"The Kusanagi's Astrays will maintain a Combat Aerospace Patrol around the entrance and just inside of the hangar of this colony. I want you two to scout the immediate vicinity inside the colony itself." Murrue ordered.
"I know it's supposed to be abandoned, but we want to take no chances. This could be vital to our immediate survival." Kisaka added.
"Roger that." Flay confirmed. Dearka simply gave a two-fingered casual salute.
"Sounds like a walk in the park. Immediate scans showed the colony still had power and had maintained atmosphere. If anyone is actually alive in there, we'll find them pretty quickly." Dearka told Flay.
"So what was that earlier about me being slow?" Flay asked innocently.
"Huh?"
The answer Dearka received to his confused noise was a camera full of thruster wash, and a rapidly shrinking M1 in feminine colors. He swore to himself and gunned his own engines, struggling to catch up to her. The tan Coordinator was granted a small mercy as Flay had to wait for the large doors to open to allow access to the colony interior.
"What the hell were you thinking? You don't just run off like that in a potentially dangerous situation like this!" he scolded, annoyed at her lack of military discipline on the battlefield.
"You're no fun." She pouted. "There's no sign of human life within my scanning range. This colony is deserted Dearka."
"We'll do a flyby of the central shaft and the other entrance and then report back to the Archangel. Do you understand?"
"Who put you in charge?" she challenged.
"Listen Flay, I've been a mobile suit pilot since before the Heliopolis incident. I've graduated from the ZAFT Military Academy with top honors, earning me the right to wear an Elite's Red Coat. You on the other hand had never experienced a battle first-hand before the fall of Orb. You were a civilian dragged into the war, and with no previous experience, given the enormous task of piloting a mobile suit."
"So?"
"Besides, if you died somehow, Kira would probably kill me."
That made more sense to Flay. "Don't worry Dearka, I won't die, and I'll tell him that you took good care of me in his absence." She assured him.
The two pilots completed their recon with no further incident. Upon hearing the 'all clear' signal from Flay and Dearka, the Archangel and the Kusanagi docked inside the colony hangar and their crews immediately attached large power cords from the colony to their ships to ease the drain on the ships and their systems.
"We'll maintain a patrol of two mobile suits outside the colony at all times on a rotating schedule. Recon teams will survey the interior for supplies, and then we'll send recovery crews later." Kisaka informed them.
"Dearka and Flay, I'd like you two to take the first CAP, Asagi and Julie next, Mayura and Barry after them …" Kisaka began to read off their assignments.
Dearka opened a private channel to Flay, one that no one else could listen in on. "Flay, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, you can even ask me another one." She teased him, but stopped when she saw the serious look on his face. "What's wrong Dearka?"
"I want to get to know Miriallia better … and since you're her friend, I thought you might be able to help me."
His request surprised Flay a little. After a small pause, she answered him. "I don't know what you want to know, but I don't know if Miriallia would be comfortable with me telling you this. Cheer up, she doesn't hate you, she's just unsure of what you mean to her."
"I guess that's a good thing, but maybe if you spoke to her, told her about me … or something."
"Look, I don't want to sound like a bitch, but you've got to do this yourself. You're a man, right? Muster up that ZAFT Elite courage and go talk to a girl for once." Flay taunted.
"I knew I should have asked someone else, I just thought maybe you'd help me. Honestly, sometimes I don't know why I even bother; you're too wrapped up in your little Yamato-world to care about the rest of us."
'Yamato-world?' she wondered.
"Hey, no need to start that, I was just teasing you. If you want my advice Dearka, then you really should just talk to her in person. I know her shift ends when our CAP ends, so you have a chance there." Flay suggested.
"Thanks."
Three hours passed with little to do. Flay started to run a small diagnostic on her suit, simply because she was bored. Halfway into the scan half an hour later, Dearka's faced popped up again.
"Hey Flay?" he said a little nervously.
"What now Dearka?" she asked, not looking up at the screen.
"What should I say to her?"
Flay sighed and paused the diagnostic. "I can't write a script for you, but I will give you a little advice, and remember, if you hurt her in any way, I will exact revenge."
Dearka gulped as Flay continued. "You've got to be yourself, don't project an image of someone that you aren't, you have to be true to yourself and your heart. And don't pressure her, every time she looks at Athrun, I can see Tolle flash in her eyes."
"Right … I think I understand. Just be myself. Thanks Flay." His image winked out.
She shook her head and resumed the diagnostic, watching as the computer scanned itself and the entire mobile suit bit by bit. The sound of the vidscreen coming to life a few minutes later punctured the silence. "What is it this time Dearka?" Flay asked, annoyed at his seemingly unending interruptions.
"Dearka?"
"Kira!" Flay said happily, looking up to the screen to see Kira's head, his helmet off. "How did you-"
"I modified a few systems on the Freedom." He explained nonchalantly. "Even the Jachin Due defense force can't pinpoint this signal, and only you can receive it."
"You're broadcasting near the largest assembled ZAFT force? Are you crazy?" Flay was shocked.
"Like I said, they won't be able to trace it. But that's not why I called. Patch this video feed through one of your larger monitors." Flay typed in a few commands and in an instant her right-side monitor was replaced with Kira's mysterious video feed.
"So what am I supposed to be seeing?" she asked, seeing very little from the feed.
"Hush, just watch." He said quietly.
Another minute passed and realization struck Flay the same time the sun began to appear over the edge of Earth. Of all the sunsets and sunrises she had seen on Earth, those were nothing compared to this sunrise. Light seemed to spread around half the planet as the sun slowly emerged from behind.
"Kira, it's beautiful."
"Just like you." Flay blushed a little at his compliments.
They sat in silence until the sun was completely out from behind the planet. A proximity alarm could be heard and Flay immediately checked her scanners. They showed only the Buster in the immediate vicinity, and Dearka wasn't reacting. It had to be from Kira's end.
"I've got to go, their defense force is scrambling to intercept something, from the size I'd say a ship, but from the speed … well I'm not too sure. I'll see you in a few hours." Kira reported while at the same time putting his helmet on.
"Kira, be careful." His image winked out, leaving her alone again.
The rest of her CAP seemed to drag on, especially with Kira's sudden alert. Flay was beginning to get so worried about Kira that she didn't even notice when Julie and Asagi came to relieve them.
"M1 and Buster, you are cleared to land." Mir announced.
Flay's M1 was quickly secured in the storage rack against the wall and as her cockpit hatch open; she began to shiver in fear. Fear of the thought of losing Kira again. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a very talented pilot in an excellent machine, but he had been sitting out there for hours on end and probably had to face the entire Jachin Due defense force.
"Knock knock! Anyone home?" Dearka's voice finally registered in her head.
"Huh?" she asked confused.
"You've been sitting in here for the past five minutes, staring at nothing. Are you okay?" he asked, a little concerned.
She took a moment to think before she answered. "I'll be fine. Thanks Dearka. Now go find Mir and talk to her, and remember if you hurt her …" she left her threat unfinished.
He raised his hands in defeat. "I know, I know. Thanks Flay." He floated down the hangar deck and entered the lift alone.
'Wow, that's pink.' Was the first thought that entered Kira's head when he saw ZAFT's target. Several GINNs fired their M66 Canus missiles at the rogue ship, and a salvo of missiles from the ship rapidly intercepted the offending warheads.
A few well-timed bursts from their main cannon destroyed three or four GINNs, but more closed in and released their salvo of heavy missiles. The pink ship became hard pressed to intercept them all.
'They're not going to make it!' Kira sprung into action, aiming his beam rifle at the missiles closest to the ship. Every time he pulled the trigger, a missile exploded. In a few seconds, Kira had destroyed that volley and engaged his Hi-MAT mode and targeted the mobile suits in range.
He fired, blowing off heads and hands that held the weapons and some of the beams destroyed the weapons themselves. The fight was over for now; the GINNs retreated back to their fortress. Kira opened a channel to the ship.
"This is Kira Yamato, pilot of the Freedom."
"Kira!" a happy voice exclaimed.
Kira opened a video link; the voice was all-too familiar. "Lacus?"
"Yes!" she confirmed.
"Hey there youngster." Another voice chimed in. "You saved our butts."
Kira knew that voice as well, but he thought the owner was dead. "Mister Bartfeld?"
"Dead on. I knew you were a smart one."
"I'll escort you back to our base." Kira offered.
"Sounds good youngster, we all have a lot to talk about."
The Eternal docked inside the Mendel colony hangar and a small shuttle was dispatched from the newest addition to the alliance. They all met aboard the Archangel and formed three groups. Murrue, Sai, Mir, Dearka, Athrun Flay and Kira from the Archangel, Kisaka, Cagalli, Barry, Julie, Mayura and Asagi from the Kusanagi, and Bartfeld, DaCosta and Lacus from the Eternal.
"So I guess 'How are you doing' would be a bit awkward. I'm Captain Andrew Bartfeld, commander of the Eternal, the ship of the songstress." Andy introduced.
"I'm Captain Murrue Ramius of the Archangel." Murrue shook Andy's offered hand.
"And I'm Colonel Ledonir Kisaka of the Kusanagi." Kisaka finished.
"My sympathies for what happened to Orb. I'm glad to see the little princess made it out alive." Andrew offered.
"Little Princess?" Cagalli repeated, dumbfounded.
"You have a real reason to want revenge Mister Bartfeld." Kira said, not meeting the man's eyes.
"This is war youngster, everyone does, and at the same time, no one does."
"But perhaps such matters can be discussed elsewhere?" Kisaka suggested.
"Yes, I quite agree." Murrue looked at her pilots. "You're dismissed."
Everyone under the age of 20 looked at her with confused expressions.
"You'll be included in future discussions, but right now it's best if you let us talk first." Kisaka said before leaving.
Andy, DaCosta and Murrue followed, leaving the young teens to themselves. "I'm going to run a maintenance check on the Buster." Dearka announced right before leaving.
"Actually, my bridge shift started already." Sai agreed, catching up with Dearka.
"I need some sleep first." Mir told them.
"We've got our Aerospace Patrol to finish." Barry led the other three Astray pilots away.
"I've got … stuff to think about." Athrun said lamely. Cagalli latched onto his arm and followed, leaving Kira and Lacus together again.
Kira scratched his head, unsure of what to say. "So, how have you been?"
And he immediately regretted it; he could see the emotions swirl in Lacus' eyes. For a second, she held it back, and then gave in. "It's my father Kira. He's … he's dead!"
She wasn't sure if she could seek comfort from him, but after a very quick deliberation, she threw herself into his arms and cried. Kira hesitated for a moment, unsure if this would be considered cheating on Flay, but then reasoned that Lacus was a friend in need, and wrapped his arms softly around her.
"They've already killed her father, well murdered is more like it, and they were hunting for her before we made our escape. Thanks to Kira, we survived and now ZAFT will most likely continue their pursuit."
"But now they have added reason, after all, you've taken with you their latest ship." Kisaka said.
"True, but the Eternal was designed for the exclusive use of the Freedom and the Justice, she wasn't meant to hold any other mobile suits. The hangar bay has been designed with them in mind, the same with the launch system." Andrew explained.
"Well I for one am glad to see that not everyone in this war is hell-bent on genocide." Murrue said with a little relief.
"Unfortunately, I expect ZAFT to be scouring the area soon, Lacus was considered to be Patrick Zala's worst enemy, because of her views of the future, that and the theft of Freedom. We may be more trouble than we are worth." Andrew laughed lightly.
"Regardless of what happens, this isn't going to be similar to the first time ZAFT chased after us, everything has changed now." Murrue said confidently.
Dearka rubbed his face, trying to rid himself of the fatigue he felt. A good solid sleep would cure it for sure, but then he'd be putting it off even longer. Gathering his courage, he made up his mind to talk to Miriallia. Thinking she was in her quarters, he floated his way towards them, passing the mess hall on the way.
Luck was with him, she was sitting the hall alone, a half-eaten meal tray pushed to the side. Dearka halted his forward momentum and entered the mess hall. Nervousness threatened to overwhelm him as stood in the doorway, staring at her.
'I am a ZAFT Elite, I can do this!' "Hey Mir." He said almost casually.
'So far so good …' he walked and sat down across from her, hearing a small and rather timid greeting as he did so. "You looked lonely; I thought you might want some company." He said, answering her unspoken question.
"Thank you, I probably could."
"So how are you holding up?" he asked.
"I'm doing better. It's nice to see Lacus again, but everyone's so busy with the re-supply and watching for enemy ships that at the same time, it seems like I'm doing worse."
"Look," he started. It wasn't going to be pretty, but he had to know. "About Tolle …"
In an instant Mir's eyes hardened with anger and she glared at him. "What the hell is your problem?" she demanded. "As if that wasn't hard enough for me already, I have to see his killer's face every day, and every day I try to remember that he didn't want to kill Tolle. But every day it gets harder!"
Dearka lowered his head. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I can't tell you that I know what it feels like, and I can't tell you that you'll get over this, because I honestly don't know."
Some of the anger faded from her eyes, so he continued. "I'm not asking you to forget about him, I'm not asking you to forgive Athrun either, and I'm not asking you out on a date. All I ask of you is to remember that if you need someone to talk to, any time, any where, I'm here. Please, remember that."
He stood as if expecting something, and after a moment of silence, he left the mess hall, feeling as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Maybe things weren't so bad after all …
It had been five days since the Eternal had docked at the Mendel colony. Five days of almost non-stop work. The Mendel colony interior had been quickly surveyed and several prominent water sources were found. In a very short time, all three ships had taken on more water than they thought they could possibly hold.
Kojiro and his tech crew completed their project, the repairs to the Strike Gundam. It stood proud once again in the hangar of the Archangel, but Flay declined immediate use, saying she wanted to train with if first.
The skeleton crew of the Eternal was busy making adjustments to the ship that would further benefit the minimal crew. On the fifth day, Murrue contacted Lacus, Athrun and Kira. "Since the Eternal was designed for Freedom and Justice, we'll transfer those two over to your ship, and keep the Buster and a few M1s. The Kusanagi will keep her complement."
"That sounds like it will work." Lacus agreed.
"We'll transfer right away." Kira nodded.
But before anyone could react, a large heat source was detected, flying towards the Mendel colony quickly. "Looks like a warship class, distance of 700. No match in the library." Sai reported.
"All hands, level one battle stations!" Murrue ordered.
Freedom and Justice were prepped to be first off the catapults, followed by Flay's M1 and the Buster. The pilots stood by, waiting as patiently as possible. A large explosion rocked the colony, and Murrue ordered the Archangel to leave the hangar in order to fight better.
The Kusanagi was going to follow to back the warship up, and the Eternal still needed time for more adjustments. "Incoming transmission!" Mir announced.
"This is the Earth Alliance forces mobile assault ship Dominion Archangel, do you read? The military has classified you as a renegade ship. We therefore demand your immediate surrender. Your ship will be destroyed if you fail to comply. Captain Ramius, it's been some time." Natarle broadcasted.
"Yes, it has." Murrue agreed, astounded at seeing another ship of the Archangel-class.
"I regret having to meet under theses … circumstances. I heard about what happened at Alaska, but nevertheless I strongly urge you to surrender so you can discuss the matter with the authorities. I don't have much influence, but I'll do everything I can to help you. You're well aware of this ship's capabilities." She offered.
"Natarle, thanks for your concern, but we can't do as you ask. This isn't only about Alaska; we have serious doubts about the Earth forces in their entirety. No surrender, and no return to the military."
"But Captain Ramius-" Natarle was cut off.
"That exchange was simply fascinating. Oh Captain, you should be embarrassed. There would be no conflicts in this world if everything was solved through discussion. Misunderstandings create enemies, and when you have enemies, you shoot them."
"Director Azrael?" Natarle questioned
"Calamity, Forbidden and Raider, launch! Today we destroy the invincible Archangel" He ordered.
The Archangel launched their mobile suits, and Murrue ordered Flay and Dearka to stay back and defend the ship. Mir reported the launch of a squadron of Strike Daggers and a single unidentified mobile suit.
It was, according to their poorly updated identification library, a GAT-01A1+AQM/E-X04, or in simpler terms, an upgraded Strike Dagger, the 105 Dagger with a Gunbarreled Striker pack.
And it was utter chaos. The pilot of the Gunbarrel Dagger was very good; he managed to keep both the Freedom and the Justice at bay while the Calamity, Forbidden and Raider moved unopposed towards the Archangel. Finally, Kira snapped.
"Enough of this!" he yelled, drawing a beam saber and charging the 105 Dagger.
"If you value your life Kira, you'll retreat now." The pilot warned him.
Kira almost stopped. "Mu? Mu La Flaga?"
And his answer came from the four gunbarrels opening fire on him. Kira blocked and deflected what he could, but there were too many beams for him to handle, and the right arm of Freedom was blown off at the shoulder joint. He knocked Mu away with his shield before ejecting it and drawing his second saber.
"Why are you doing this Mu?" Kira demanded, slashing down at the 105 Dagger.
Mu drew both of his hip-mounted sabers and blocked the overhead slash and with his free saber stabbed the Freedom in the head. "Kira!" Athrun screamed, flying to help his friend, only to back off to avoid a volley from the gunbarrels.
"This was the only way I could see to help end the war. I'm sorry kid." Mu tried to explain.
And he suddenly realized that the three Gundams failed in their task to neutralize the Archangel. Two powerful Lohengrin beams shot by him on either side, aimed at the Dominion. Natarle ordered evasive maneuvers, but the crew wasn't fast enough, and the ship sustained damage.
Signal flares went up to signal their retreat. "We'll meet again kid, and I can only hope it'll be better next time." Mu said before rushing back to his mothership.
Athrun grabbed hold of the damaged Freedom and they flew back to the Eternal to dock. It was evident that Kira was injured, even after the Freedom had been secured, the cockpit hatch remained closed. Former ZAFT techs manually opened the hatch and immediately, the call for a medic was sounded.
Athrun couldn't see exactly what happened to his friend, but it wasn't light injuries. Before he could ask, Kira was rushed off the medical ward. An hour later, Athrun was still tinkering with the Justice when Flay's M1 landed, and she hurriedly exited, obviously looking for Kira.
He had been released back to his new quarters on the Eternal, cleared by the doctor. Kira was sleeping off a mild concussion, and had a bandage around his left hand, the doctor had said something about a piece of shrapnel impaling itself through his hand and trapping it against the joystick his hand had been wrapped around.
Flay stroke his bangs out of his eyes as she spoke softly. "Oh Kira …" she sighed.
The door chime sounded, and Flay jumped to answer it, if only to stop the offending person from ringing it again and risk waking Kira. The door slid open, letting the bright corridor light flood in around Flay's curves. And the person who wanted in was none other than Lacus Clyne.
"Can I help you?" Flay asked as politely as she could.
"I just came to check up on Kira. How is he doing?"
Flay debated closing the door in Lacus' face, but decided against it. "It was a rough battle, fighting Mu like that. Kira was caught off guard mentally and paid for it physically as well. Your doctors say he'll be back on his feet by the morning, but I'm never so optimistic about the human mind." She said quietly.
"I don't mean to be rude, but aren't you stationed on the Archangel?" Lacus inquired.
Flay narrowed her eyes, "I'm not allowed to spend time with my boyfriend on this ship?" she questioned.
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry, it's late, and it has been a rough day, for us all. I apologize." Lacus bowed and turned to leave.
"Lacus wait." Flay said, not quite believing she had just said that. "I'm sorry as well, for everything. Since we first met, I've been … well I've been a bitch."
Lacus smiled faintly. "I understand what you went through then." And then she left.
"Flay?" Kira whispered.
Flay heard him speak, so she closed the doors and moved to his side, sitting on the bed. "I'm here Kira."
He smiled and searched in the dark for her hand. She slid her fingers through his and he held it tightly, not wanting to let go. "Stay with me?" he pleaded.
"Of course." She assured him, settling into a more comfortable position. A silence settled in, and Flay broke it. "Kira?"
"Hm? What is it Flay?"
"Tell me about your time in the PLANTs." She asked.
He gathered his thoughts and breath for a moment, and then started. "After the Aegis tried to fire its Scylla cannon, Athrun went for the self destruct …"
And the rest is history …
A/N: Well that was longer than I thought it would be, and there is still more I wanted to add. Oh well. That last line doesn't mean the end of the story, it just means that Kira is telling her of the SEED T.V. Adaptation Manga version of the events that transpired after the Aegis blew up.
Thanks for the reviews (few as they were), please keep on reviewing, let me know how the story is.
A note about my site (URL is in my profile): the AMV section actually works now, no more dead links. Sorry for the delay, but that's what happens when I don't check my code.
Prayer