Disclaimer: Gundam SEED is owned by Sunrise and Bandai.
A/N: Happy happy joy joy for this is chapter 2! From this point on the story diverges from Ep 45 and stuff. Don't ask me how they can breathe on this planet- just look at the ending of GSeed—people in Space without a suit DIE, but they don't. D
Our Way to FallChapter 2: Coordinator
Athrun jumped out of the cockpit of Justice and stepped down onto the barren ground of the planet He inspected his gun one last time, and acknowledged that it was fully loaded. "Time to get this start…" he said with a note of surprise- Cagalli's ship had just landed, "…ed."
Out jumped Cagalli, her gold hair hiding her now dark, hazel eyes. She was dressed in her combat outfit: a baggy red shirt/which does her figure no justice/ Athrun thought in amusement, cargo pants, and sturdy boots. She slung a machine gun over her shoulder and walked steadily towards him.
"We will rescue Kira," Cagalli stated. There was no hesitation or doubt in her voice, like the entire outcome of the "mission" was set in stone. Asuran stole a gaze towards her eyes, and they were blazing with something he couldn't place his finger on. It was like that time she pointed that gun at him after discovering he was a ZAFT soldier… or the time she searched the island frantically for Kira when he told her that he had self-destructed Aegis and killed Kira... It was just that ..look.
The facility looked broken down and uninhabited for years. Many of the windows were broken and, upon entering the facility, Athrun observed that the dust piled on the surroundings could have been over an inch thick. They could see carved onto the wall a double helix diagram labeled with phosphates and nucleotides. DNA: the one key that led to evolution and genetic modification. /How would we have known that this simple molecule would be the cause of all of this/ Cagalli thought.
This place was obviously a lab, and a rather large one at that. Many instruments of were neatly stacked on shelves. File cabinets lined and filled every space of the wall that wasn't already occupied by a refrigerator or desk. Thousands of tissue culture petri dishes were lined up on a desk, dust accumulating on them so that they looked yellow. Rows and rows of computers with blacked out screens were assembled on the massive tables. They were running too- the occasional beep and fan noise showed that, although Athrun wondered where the electrical supply was from, for the lab was completely deserted.
The next room was dark, but when Cagalli and Athrun entered, light flooded the vaulted ceilings. Tubes filled with fluid extended to the roof. Each tube carried an embryo. Human ones. Athrun paced around, hand on chin, in deep thought.
"What are you doing? We need to find Kira!" said Cagalli.
"…."
Cagalli, impatient, approached Athrun with annoyance in her voice. "Come on, we need to…"
"This is where I was born!" Athrun exclaimed.
"Fllaga-san, is it true? Who I am?" said Kira, "What am I? What is my purpose? I'm not special, I'm NOT!"
"I don't know, Kira. I don't know." Mwu la Fllaga said, staring deeply into Kira's eyes, that were filled with just as much confusion and shock as the eyes opposite him.
"But I do," Kreuze said as he stepped out from the corner, his gun cocked straight at Fllaga's head, "and we should stop playing around, because I have caught the mouse." He laughed dryly.
"What am I?" Kira asked yet again, his voice tainted with strange desperation.
"You really want to know?" Kreuze smirked, "You're a killer machine. The only surviving specimen of one of the largest experiments ever conceived." His hand tightened on the trigger, "A living organism created not by god but in the hands of humans who use genetic shuffling and manipulation… a Super Coordinator… you should be thankful- in terms of fighting skill, no one can match your strength, not even me. Ha. But you're just a lab experiment, nothing more. You don't even have a real family because you're not truly human. Those naturals you call 'friends', Ha- they'll all go against you someday- haven't you noticed the way they look at you? Only you and I understand the pain of being alone in the world. And you are alone, Kira Yamato. But now I shall kill both of you," he paused, "It's been the longest of times, Mwu la Fllaga!"
Bang. And then the sound of a bloody bullet clinking upon contact with the marble ground.
"There should be a main computer here somewhere… we'd have a better chance of locating Kira if we try to toggle with the security panel views. I saw a camera in the front hall, and if there are more working, we could have a chance," said Athrun.
"Uh… sure," replied Cagalli, "but I'm not too good with computers."
"Maybe I could teach you someday," Athrun grinned, "when the war ends I mean."
"…."
They found the mainframe computer easily; it was the largest computer there. Athrun pressed the I/O start-up button and the large monitor lit up with an eerie blue glow.
"So… I've never asked, but how did you meet Kira?" Athrun said.
"Uhh… Kira, he…" Cagalli's cheeks turned slightly pink (at least Athrun thought they did) "Kira saved me. On Helipolis… when ZAFT blew it up, he put me into the last shuttle and risked, no, sacrificed his own life- just to help me, a nameless stranger."
"Oh." Athrun felt the guilt seep through himself. He thought with remorse/I was there too. And I helped too, only instead to destroy Heliopolis. How would I have known that you were there/
"I think Kira is the noblest person I have ever met, even though he isn't decisive or individual, and he's so shy…" Cagalli trailed on.
Now Athrun felt jealousy override his feelings of guilt as fast as the waves of a tsunami. He forced a small pained smile and reached his hand over to her's. She broke free of his grip, stepping back, stumbling as her arm landing on the keyboard accidentally. The computer buzzed, and many new windows appeared suddenly on the vast monitor.
CONFIDENTIAL
HUMAN GENOME PROJECT 113
Athrun stared at the new information appearing on the screen. It was as if his body turned into stone. "It's Kira."
"… through genetic manipulation and extraction of various genes off several P generation subjects, we were able to manufacture the newest military weapon: the Supreme Coordinator. Under certain conditions, such as danger and pressure in battle, the Supreme Coordinator will react with SEED mode, enabling optimized battle performance." Cagalli read.
A small picture was located at the bottom of the screen. "That's Kira. It's him. I know him from when he was little. I'd know his face anywhere." Athrun said, shocked.
"It… It can't be true!" Cagalli exclaimed, her voice filled with frenzy. "He's my brother… But… he's also a coordinator, and I'm not…," as if reaching some sort of odd conclusion, she ran out of the computer room.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to find Kira!" Cagalli shouted. /This means, he's not really my brother after all. I… I… and he will…/ she was afraid of thinking more deeply about the subject, afraid of having false hope, for it might all be a dream and disappear like fog when the morning lifts. She didn't know where she was running towards, but she ran with all the strength that her legs had.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Athrun felt his heart skip a beat. It was obviously Kagari's scream that he had just heard. Taking his gun, he raced towards the source of the scream.
Hopefully this was a satisfactory explanation for coordinators. I never clearly understood why Cagalli and Kira are brother/sister- I mean, she's not a coordinator (?), and even in the anime, Kira is a Super Coordinator- the brother/sister thing seemed to be a plot convenience so that the CagallixKira couple could be brushed out of existence. My interpretation is that Kira's genes are severely modified and manipulated, beyond just having the average coordinator's immunity to several diseases and faster reflexes, etc. I think Cagalli and Kira are at least half-brother/sister, if not almost completely unrelated. This doesn't mean the story will definitely be CagallixKira, but it makes it interesting… Chapter 3 will feature a very jealous Athrun and the appearance of a certain unanimously voted most hated character. :P Please review if you like/hate the story and have anything random to say.