I don't own anything except Kevin Walker, Invictus, and Jack Carter
With the threat of the Cyclops over, and the Archangel temporarily at rest, most of the ship's crew emerged onto the spot of land where Kira had landed his powerful new mobile suit. None of them could quite believe it was really him.
Kira strode toward them in his ZAFT-issue flight suit, helmet in hand, and came to a stop in front of Ramius. "I guess I made it," he said with a smile, "just in time."
"Is it really... you, Kira?" she asked tentatively.
He nodded. "It's me."
Mir was the first to break the stillness, rushing toward him. "Kira!"
Soon, the other crew surrounded Kira, bubbling with excitement... except for Sai and Kuzzey, who held back, and Kevin, who stood some distance away, the only one unaffected by the reunion. After all, he'd known the whole time that Kira was alive.
Kira saw past the gaggle to Sai, and he stepped toward them. "Sai, Kuzzey," he greeted them.
"I'm... glad to see you're all right," Sai said, tone strange.
Kira smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Sai." He turned back to Ramius and La Flaga. "I bet you've got a couple of million questions for me," he said cheerfully.
Ramius smiled back, her expression full of emotion. "At least."
"First things first," La Flaga said, noting Kira's flight suit. "Were you with ZAFT?"
The younger pilot nodded. "Yes, I was with ZAFT; but I haven't become a ZAFT soldier." He glanced at the Captain. "However, I'm not with the Earth Forces anymore, either."
Ramius was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in understanding; besides, from the looks of things, it might not be very healthy for any of them to return to the Earth Forces. "I see. There's a lot of things we'll have to talk about. But first, what do we do about that mobile suit?" She nodded at the Freedom, standing motionless behind them.
"If you're talking about maintenance and resupply," Kira replied, "it's not necessary just now. You see, it has a Neutron-jammer canceller."
"Neutron-jammer canceller?" La Flaga's eyebrows rose.
Chandra, too, looked surprised. "So is that thing powered by a nuclear engine?"
"Where'd you get it?" Pal asked.
Kira's expression closed. "If you ask for specifics, you won't get anything out of me, and I'll have to leave," he said carefully. "And even if I have to fight you, I won't let you take this machine from me."
Ramius blinked. "But, Kira..."
"This kid..." La Flaga said softly.
(Lighten up, tovarisch,) Snake advised. (They're on our side, remember?)
"This machine was entrusted to me," Kira went on, ignoring his friend's warning. "I'll be the one to take care of it."
"I understand," Ramius said, recovering. "I give you my word we'll leave that machine and the equipment inside alone." She looked over her shoulder at the gathered crew. "Is that clear?"
Kira smiled. "Thanks for understanding."
Athrun Zala stood amidst the ransacked wreckage that had once been the Clyne Residence, his heart in turmoil. Learning that his fiancé had given a spy access to a top-secret mobile suit had been bad enough; hearing his father brand Lacus and her father Siegel traitors and order their arrest had been an even greater shock... especially after he'd seen what his father's people had done to the Clynes' home.
And there was another thing. Cagalli Yula Athha and Kevin Walker had challenged him to ask his father Patrick Zala if ZAFT had indeed done such terrible things to his old friend... and if he'd ordered it personally. So, edging carefully into the subject, wary of his father's uncertain temper, he had.
Athrun had recognized the third figure on the surveillance footage, despite the metal half-face and white uniform, which told him his former friend was indeed alive. That had given him the opening to the topic. "Sir," he began, "I know who that third man is, the one in white."
Zala looked at him. "Really?"
"Yes; he's the pilot of that other machine that was stolen, the one our forces recovered after my Aegis was destroyed." Athrun looked at his father through the corner of his eye. "His name is Baron Kevin Onishi."
"The Fencing Prince?" Zala snorted. "Nonsense. He died two years ago, in a very public assassination; though I hear the sniper didn't survive either."
"No," his son insisted. "He's very much alive. I've spoken to him myself, fought against him. He was also the pilot of the captured GINN that was flying off the legged ship. More importantly," Athrun went on, very carefully, "Baron Onishi is the true identity of one of my classmates from Copernicus, Kevin Walker."
That got Zala's attention. "I see. So you would know if it was him. That may be very important information, Athrun."
"Sir," Athrun said, picking his words with extreme care, "he seems to be more than just an average Coordinator; I fought him a couple of times, on the ground, and I'd've died had he not chosen, for whatever reason, to spare my life. He claims... that it was ZAFT that gave him his power. He told me he was part of something called ABADDON. Is that true?"
Zala nodded slowly. "Yes, it's true." He swiveled in his chair, turning his back to his son. "It was three and a half years ago; a man came to me with the concept of a super-soldier program, that would enhance the best and brightest Coordinators with cybernetic technology and chemical learning techniques. A unit of twelve, they were to be our ultimate weapon." He seemed to have forgotten anyone else was in the room. "Kevin Walker, for a reason no one has ever determined, was present in Aprilius when the selection process was coming to a close. From your stories of him, I knew he would be a prime candidate, so I issued orders to have him picked up by the Project team and offered the opportunity to join the Destroyers' ranks; if he declined, the worst that would happen would be that his memory would be selectively altered to make him forget he'd ever had the meeting, and then he would be set free. Obviously, he accepted the offer" Athrun knew differently, but also knew better than to say so "but evidently changed his mind within six months and destroyed everything at the lab; until now, we thought that included himself, and that one of his people was tha actual traitor, but it seems not."
"Apparently," Athrun agreed.
His father turned to face him again. "I'm telling you this because you now have another objective: find Kevin Walker, codename Hydra, and eliminate him." Apparently not noticing his son's look of dismay, Zala continued, "I don't recommend that you engage him in single combat. Oracle's remaining records are fragmentary at best, but it appears that Hydra was born at least twice as strong as even other Coordinators, and his mental abilities were comparable. When he was augmented, he became the strongest human being who ever lived, a super-soldier capable of tearing apart armored vehicles with his bare hands; I doubt if anyone like him will ever exist again. You should also be aware that bullets are practically useless; analysis suggests that Hydra's particular augmentation package included an electromagnetic field, operating on a peculiar frequency, that deflects metallic objects moving at high speed toward his vital areas. A knife could get through" as Athrun already knew from painful, futile experience "but you're unlikely to live long enough to reach blade range. It's also believed that bombs must be rather large for him to even notice them, so your only realistic chance is to destroy his mobile suit... with him inside."
Athrun saluted. "Understood, sir," he said, words acid in his mouth. He turned to leave.
"One more thing," his father called after him. "Make certain you've found the right one. Numerous clones were made of Hydra, and though it's not known where all of them are within our own service, Jack Carter is serving at Carpentaria. Those men are some of our best, so confirm your target."
Athrun felt sick, thinking of it. His father obviously truly believed Kevin's participation had been voluntary, but the hate in his old friend's voice when he spoke of it was far too forceful to be fake, even with his acting skill. In a way, he was now grateful that the clones existed: they gave him an excuse, should he find himself unable to fire on the real Kevin.
But that was not his purpose here today. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but he expected he'd know it if he found it.
A sudden sound in the remains of the garden startled him, and Athrun's hand ducked past his sling to the gun hidden in his jacket. Then he relaxed, puzzled, as Lacus Clyne's favorite Haro (a type of robot pet he'd made for her), came bouncing out of the brush, muttering to itself.
Before he could catch it, the pink ball bounced away down the path, apparently leading him somewhere. "Haro!" he called, and the little machine stopped, bouncing into his hand before a specific spot.
Athrun recognized it from an earlier visit. "These flowers come from the theater where I first sang in public," Lacus had told him. "They're something to remember it by."
He stood still for a moment. Something to remember it by... The White Symphony...
Athrun took off running.
"So that was their strategy?"
Kira stood on the Archangel's Bridge, leaning against the forward viewports. He was back in uniform, whereas Snake had abandoned uniform completely, reverting to the same outfit which had been his trademark both on Heliopolis and the ship.
"As far as we can determine," La Flaga acknowledged. The entire Bridge crew was gathered in the forward section, while they pondered their next move.
"And they made the decision not to tell us a thing about it," Ramius said, anger in her voice.
"Headquarters obviously knew well in advance that Alaska was the target," La Flaga went on. "It must have taken awhile to build that Cyclops, and there wouldn't have been any point without advance knowledge of a massive attack."
Kira looked at the deck, thinking back. "I have bad news, Clyne," Eileen Canaver had said. "It seems that Zala's deceived us. Panama isn't Operation Spit Break's target; it's Alaska."
"The PLANTs didn't know, either," Kira said, almost to himself. Ignoring their looks of surprise, he glanced up. "So, what are your plans? Have you decided where the Archangel's going from here?"
"We haven't been able to reestablish contact with headquarters yet due to the N-jammers and magnetic fields," Tonomura said.
"Should we make repairs in the field, and then head to Panama on our own?" Neumann wondered aloud.
La Flaga snorted. "Oh, you think they'll be happy to see us? We knew far too much for our own good. I don't think it would be very smart to head there."
"They'd probably say we disobeyed orders," Ramius said moodily. "That we deserted in the face of the enemy, just to save ourselves."
"We 'deserted' to escape a trap set by our own people," Snake interjected. "Just who gave those idiotic orders, anyway?"
"A guy I think you'd have shot on sight," La Flaga said with a slight smile. "A Captain William Sutherland."
Kevin's response was completely unexpected. The flesh-and-blood half of his face turned an alarming shade of purple, and he launched into a torrent of invective that lasted for five minutes and around fifty languages, without repeating himself once.
When it was over, he erupted in English. "That son of a- That bastard was here? Can't he just die?"
Ramius tilted her head, stunned by the reaction. "Is there... something we should know?"
"Does the phrase 'for the preservation of our blue and pure world' mean anything to you?" Snake said bitterly.
Neumann gasped. "You don't mean-?"
"Yes. That unmitigated bastard is a member of Blue Cosmos, one of the bigwigs in charge of hunting me!" The super-soldier's eyes were colder than space, showing his elemental rage to the crew, who knew him well by now. "I tried to blast that nekulturny bastard into the Stone Age with a car bomb about a year and a half ago."
Ramius was not as surprised as she might have been, after the Archangel and the Eurasian forces had been used as bait for a trap that they weren't supposed to survive, either. "It's becoming more and more difficult to understand just who or what we're fighting for," she said, tone a mixture of anger and despair.
"Ms. Murrue," Kira said, "what is it you think we should be fighting against, to end all this?" When all eyes turned to him, he looked up. "Whatever it is, I think it's time we started fighting against it."
Ramius looked thoughtful at that. "Commander, Snake, please join me in my office. We need to plan out our next move."
Kevin, heretofore silent other than his torrent of rage, looked surprised. "Me too, Captain?"
"You may be young, and you may not be quite as good a pilot as Kira, but you've proven yourself to be a valuable member of the team, Snake," she explained. "You're our only trained tactician and strategist, and you learned it under Andrew Waltfeld. I'd greatly appreciate your input."
The super-soldier considered that, then smiled. "I'd be honored."
Minutes later, Kevin leaned against the wall in Ramius's office, studying a world map, and idly rubbed the metal half of his face. He missed the synthetic flesh; it had never felt quite right, but he could have sworn the bare metal itched.
"I suppose the first question is, where do we go from here?" Ramius said, sitting behind her desk, chin resting on her hands.
"Yeah." La Flaga poured coffee into a pair of mugs, setting one before his Captain. Kevin had brewed the stuff, recalling a blend the Desert Tiger had favored.
"Hmm..." the young man mused. "Well, Panama is out, unless we want both sides shooting at us, and so's the rest of Earth Alliance territory. That rules out both Americas, most of Europe and Asia, and Africa. Australia's out, too, what with Oceania, and something tells me Antarctica wouldn't be much better." He traced coastlines and borders on the map. "I somehow doubt Scandinavia or the Equatorial Union would be much interested in helping us, either... so I guess that rules out most of the world." Kevin's finger settled on a spot along the equator. "I think Orb is our best bet."
La Flaga glanced at him, a teasing smile on his face. "Want to see how your girlfriend's doing, huh?"
Snake turned slowly. "Mu," he began (like Kira, he'd abandoned titles), "I'm going to say this one more time: if you call her my girlfriend again, I'm going to knock your teeth down your throat."
Ramius hid a smile. She more than half-suspected that La Flaga was actually correct about how Kevin felt toward Cagalli, whether he'd admit it to anyone or not; and even if he was wrong, the banter between the two on the subject tended to be amusing.
"But you're partially correct, Mu," Kevin went on. "I do want to see how she's doing. Imagine how she must be feeling, believing that Kira and I are dead. Do you think I want to leave her like that?"
La Flaga suddenly looked more thoughtful. "I guess you're right. Sorry."
"You're probably right that we should head there, Kevin," the Captain said; and the teenager's eyebrows went up. That was the first time she'd addressed him by his given name. "Besides, they could probably repair this ship faster than anybody else. They've had enough practice, after all."
"Yeah. You know," Kevin said thoughtfully, "just once I'd like us to come out of a battle more or less intact. The last few have been pretty nasty, and I nearly died again on the way to Alaska. I'm gettin' kinda tired of dying, you know?"
Ramius looked curious. "What's it like, on the other side?"
He smiled enigmatically. "That's not for the living to know, Murrue."
She carefully examined his face. In the time he'd been away, Kevin Walker had obviously changed, much as Kira had. This new Kevin seemed far more cheerful. Still inclined toward violent and permanent solutions, yes, and still easily capable of vengeance, but the deep psychic wounds seemed to have healed.
His bright jade eyes, the features that had always belied the warrior's spirit within, still bore a shadow, and Ramius suspected they always would. Kevin Walker had the look of someone who had seen the depths to which a human being could descend, and he had, for he'd traveled to the deepest places of the soul himself. Though she had never believed his own assertion that he was a monster, she saw that there was some truth to it, for deep inside there still lurked the ancient and dangerous something she had seen awakening on Heliopolis, months before. But the monster was locked away, chained unless deliberately unleashed, and it seemed the young man who had vanished years before into the super-soldier known as Hydra had finally returned, tempered by his experiences but no longer a man consumed by a desire for self-destruction.
It was, Ramius thought, a good thing.
Dearka Elsman lay on his back on the hard bunk in his cell, staring up at the ceiling. Sounds like the battle's over, he thought. Wonder who won?
His thoughts were interrupted when the brig's hatch slid aside, and a figure clad in black stepped in. The newcomer walked straight to Dearka's cell, and the prisoner sat up, puzzled. Who's he? He took in the dark clothing, metal half-face, and holstered weaponry.
Dearka went rigid as he realized who he was looking at. The jade eyes, the eyes that no one who had ever met Kevin Walker would forget, were unmistakable. But... but he's dead... That girl was ready enough to hurl that in my face, too!
"Hello, Dearka," the frightful apparition said calmly. "I'd heard you were captured, in the same battle that cost me my face."
"W-Walker?" He swallowed, frightened; from his reputation, he had little doubt "the Snake" wouldn't hesitate to kill him, despite his POW status. "If you're gonna finish me, then go ahead," he managed. "Your friend nearly did."
To Dearka's surprise, Kevin smiled. "Relax, Dearka. Despite what you may have heard, I don't eat prisoners for breakfast. Not even for lunch, though dinner is a possibility." He leaned back against the wall, chuckling to himself. "And I've heard all about Mir's attempt to kill you. I don't think she'll try that again. But I'm not here for that. I just wanted to talk."
"Talk?" The Buster's pilot blinked, then sat back with a shrug. Well, if this avatar of the Grim Reaper really didn't want him dead, well, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do. "They said you were dead, when Athrun blew his Aegis up."
"Nearly," Kevin conceded. "But Stormhawk is more durable than even I'd thought. And call me Kevin, by the way, or Snake. I really don't have anything personal against you. We were just on opposite sides, that's all; and as for when we first met, well... Did you actually know what you said to me?"
Fighting a sense of unreality at the idea of having a calm conversation with Snake, Dearka thought back. That time he'd gotten thrown through a wall, he'd just said something in Russian. And now that he thought about it... "No," he said finally. "I'm still not sure what it meant."
Kevin chuckled. "Well, Dearka, suffice it to say that you hurled the most obscene insult in the Russian language at me. Back then, I wasn't quite so good at keeping my temper in check. Especially since that particular obscenity referred to my mother, and since my parents are gone..."
"Ouch. Sorry about that." Whatever his other faults, Dearka Elsman didn't exactly go out of his way to offend people. "By the way, for it's worth... I'm sorry about what ZAFT did to you." When Kevin looked surprised, he smiled. "Hey, we may be enemies, but I had no idea you were forced into that." Dearka glanced away. "That girl -Mir, you said?- made plenty sure I understood it."
Snake waved a hand. "Not your fault. The only remaining member of ZAFT who had any kind of connection to the Project is Patrick Zala. And I can't exactly say that no good came of it." He idly flexed his augmented hands. "I'm probably the toughest human being in existence, and certainly the most lethal. I won't claim to be altruistic in my aims, but this enhancement makes it that much easier for me to protect my friends."
Dearka tilted his head. "If it's not too big a secret, would you mind telling me just how it is you keep coming back from blows that would kill a normal person?"
"Not a secret on this ship at all, Dearka, and simply knowing about it won't allow you to do anything about it, anyway." Kevin leaned back. "The answer is nanotechnology. My augmentation utilizes millions of nanomachines, keeping the systems in working order, among other things." He extended his claws for a moment. "These are nanotech, too. Shape-memory is what they call this, another application of nanotech; in this case, the metal that forms the claws is normally simply spread throughout the hand, but when given a specific electrical pulse, the metal reshapes itself into the lethal weapons. But the most important application is self-repair. When I'm wounded, the nanomachines react virtually instantly, rushing to close the injury faster than you'd believe possible. That's why I tend to ignore things like knives and bombs: you pretty much have to hit me with something instantly lethal to kill me."
Dearka shook his head in apparent disgust. "And if ZAFT had just been smart enough to settle for lesser-capable soldiers of greater loyalty, we could have ended this war pretty quick. Ha!"
"Well, nobody ever accused Oracle of being particularly sane. In fact, he was your stereotypical mad scientist." Kevin looked oddly uncomfortable for a moment. "By the way, Dearka, there's something you should know. It wasn't the Strike that killed Nicol Amalfi." He looked away. "It was me."
The POW blinked. "What? You? But the Strike was the only enemy in the area-"
"I was hovering above under Mirage Colloid, and when I saw the Blitz going for my friend, I did what I had to do." He shrugged. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. Nicol was a friend of mine, too."
Dearka looked surprised. "You knew him?"
"I did," Kevin acknowledged. "He was a sometime concert-pianist, so we moved in the same circles during my trips to the PLANTs." At the other's look of incomprehension, he smiled. "You know me as Kevin Walker, Dearka, but that's not the name I was born with. My true name is Baron Kevin Onishi."
Dearka frowned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it... at first. "Wait a minute. You're the one they called The Fencing Prince?" Kevin nodded. "But you're supposed to be dead! It was all over the news for weeks. Some lunatic shot you, and then disappeared without so much as claiming responsibility."
"He wasn't 'some lunatic'," Kevin said grimly, "he was a highly-paid assassin. The best in the business. Unlucky for him, I can survive slightly longer without a heart than normal people, so I promptly killed him back. Then I dropped dead, and even I don't have the foggiest notion how I came back to life." He shrugged. "Believe it or not, the bastard was hired by the man the Orb upper crust assumed was going to be my father-in-law."
"You don't mean Uzumi Nara Athha? That idiot who's trying to keep Orb out of the war, but lets Morgenroete supply the Earth Alliance?"
"I'll agree that he's an idiot -this became Orb's war the day you lowlifes attacked Heliopolis- but I'm not certain he had anything to with Morgenroete. But yeah, it was Lord Uzumi. A little misunderstanding; he won't try that again."
Dearka had to chuckle, thinking of just how this lethal enemy of his might have "persuaded" Athha to stop going after him. "So, Snake, is it true what they always said? About your marrying the princess, I mean?"
Kevin observed him calmly for a moment, then drew his Colt revolver and pointed it directly at Dearka's nose. "Dearka, I don't have anything personal against you. As a matter of fact, were we on the same side, I would probably like you. But I just might bend my own rules about prisoner treatment if you ask me that again, particularly in Mu La Flaga's hearing. Bear that in mind, will you?"
The ZAFT pilot didn't take it very seriously; despite the enmity between them, which was only now beginning to dissipate, Dearka knew that his old adversary wasn't a liar. If he said he didn't kill prisoners, then he didn't kill prisoners. "Right, right." He grinned. "So, is it true?"
The revolver vanished. "No. As you've seen, Dearka, the Grim Reaper is always just a step or two behind me. If he cannot get me, he takes my friends, and Cagalli Yula Athha is more important to me than anything else. I won't put her at risk." Kevin turned to leave, then glanced back. "By the way, you probably won't be in that cell too much longer. We're heading for Orb, so you'll probably be free to go soon."
Then he was gone, and Dearka lay back on the narrow bunk. Free to go... Huh. But will I be any better off going back to ZAFT? I was captured, and I lost my machine; no way they'll give that back to me. So will I get a hero's welcome... or a coward's?
Athrun stepped out of his car in front of the old theater, reading the battered sign that said White Symphony. From the looks of things, the building had been abandoned at least since the start of the war, maybe longer; it was unusual to see a building in such poor shape in the PLANTs.
Stepping through the old doors, his hand reached into his jacket, checking the grips of the submachine gun hidden within. In his left, nearly useless hand, he carried the pink Haro that had led him to come here. If Athrun was right, the person he was seeking would be here.
This seemed to be confirmed by the soft singing coming from somewhere ahead, and the old lettering on the walls: Lacus Clyne. The voice was definitely familiar, though he had not heard the song before.
Athrun quietly drew the submachine gun and climbed the staircase leading to the amphitheater. At the top, the singing growing nearer, he raced quietly to the door and edged it open, peering cautiously through it. "Lacus," he whispered, seeing the figure on the stage.
He walked slowly down toward the stage, Lacus Clyne's song bringing to mind images from his past battles, from his last face-to-face encounter with Kira... before he killed him. There was a bittersweet sound to it all, the more so since it appeared now that even Lacus had betrayed him...
Athrun neared the stage, and the Haro jumped out of his hand and bounced up to Lacus. She stopped her singing and smiled down at the robot. "Well, hello there, Mr. Pink!" She turned to Athrun. "I was certain you'd be the one to find him and bring him here! Thank you so much."
He couldn't contain himself any longer. "Why, Lacus?"
"'Why' what?" she asked sensibly.
Athrun jumped up onto the stage. "You know what. Just what have you done?"
Lacus smiled. "I'm sure you've heard all about it. That's why you came to see me, isn't it?"
"Is it true what they're saying about you?" he demanded. "That you're guilty of providing assistance to an enemy spy?"
"I did not provide assistance to an enemy spy," she said calmly. "All I did was decide to provide Kira" and she emphasized the name "with a newer, better sword."
Athrun drew back, confused. "Kira? But-"
"Because I thought that he would have need of it soon," Lacus went on, "and because I thought it would serve its purpose best in Kira's hands."
"What are you talking about, Lacus?" he demanded, utterly bemused. "Kira's gone! I-"
"Took his life yourself?" She smiled at his look of surprise. "Oh, don't look so worried. It's true, Kira's still alive."
Athrun shook his head violently. "You're lying!" His machine pistol snapped into firing position, pointing directly at his erstwhile fiancé. "Just what kind of trick are you trying to pull now, Lacus Clyne? Kira's gone! There's no way he could be alive! I killed him!"
"Reverend Malchio found him unconscious and brought him to me," Lacus explained. "Then I found out what happened between you two; Kira told me." She tilted her head. "Don't you believe what I'm telling you? Do you even believe what you've seen with your own eyes? On the battlefield, or now that you've returned to the PLANTs after being away for so long? Haven't you seen that things are different?"
Now that she mentioned it... his father's uncertain, paranoid temper, the new mobile suits with N-jammer cancellers...
"What is it you believe in?" she challenged him. "What is it you're fighting for now? Is it for that medal you received? Or your father's orders? Think about that; because if you continue on this course, you'll likely end up facing Kira as his enemy again." That got Athrun's attention. "And you'll be fighting me, as well." Lacus stood and walked right up to him, almost daring him to pull the trigger. "If I am to be your enemy, then you might as well shoot me now," she said in a determined voice. "Athrun Zala, soldier of ZAFT!"
He looked away, tears in his eyes, and lowered his gun. "I... It's all so..."
"It's Lacus!"
At the echoing whisper, they both turned, to see armed men in black suits and sunglasses running toward them. As he raised his gun again, the apparent leader of the gunman, a man with a mustache, smiled. "I see you've found her. You have our thanks, Athrun Zala."
"What is this?" he demanded, unconcerned that he had just nearly shot her himself.
"Naturally, her fiancé would know her best. You've saved us time." The man gestured with his machine pistol. "Now, please step away from her."
"What do you think you're doing?" Athrun stayed right where he was.
"That girl is a fugitive, charged with treason. We have orders to use lethal force if necessary." The man smiled coldly. "Are you sure you want to protect her?"
"Those orders can't be right!"
Further debate was suddenly, startlingly cut off, by an echoing whisper that filled the theater. "When the shadow strikes..."
A barely-seen blur brushed past one of the gunmen, and the man screamed for an instant before dropping dead in his tracks. Literally.
"...only death remains..."
Another man fell, his head neatly lopped off as if by a sword, and the leader turned to his men. "Find it! Kill whatever it is!"
"Hello, mai ada," a metallic-edged voice said. A blur suddenly resolved itself into an armored man, standing before the hitman.
"Optic camouflage!" the man hissed. "Can't you even die right?"
"It's not my time. But it is yours." The ninja-like figure lashed out with his blade, neatly decapitating this foe as well.
Athrun had by this time taken cover, taking Lacus with him, and he peered out as the gunfire ceased. A little too soon, as it turned out; another gunman was waiting. But before he could move, another shot rang out, and he dropped, as a man in ZAFT green walked over.
"Are you all right, Miss Lacus?" the red-haired man asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Lacus walked out from cover. "Thank you very much, Athrun!"
"Are you finished here, Miss Lacus? I think it's time we got going as well."
"And Reverend Malchio?"
"He was able to take off safely." The man tucked away his gun. "We'd better go."
"Yes." She looked back at Athrun. "You'll find Kira on Earth," she told him. "I suggest that you have a talk with him; he is your friend."
"Lacus!" Athrun broke off, glancing away.
The newcomer looked at the armored figure on his way out. "Coming, John?"
The ninja shook his head. "Get Lacus out of here, Martin; I'll catch up. Athrun and I need to talk."
"Very well."
As Lacus and "Martin" vanished, Athrun turned his attention to the swordsman... and realized he recognized him. "Invictus?"
Invictus nodded. "That's right. Been a while, Athrun."
"What are you doing here? And-" He broke off for a moment. "Martin? Was that Martin DaCosta?"
"Yeah. There are more of us than you know, old friend, and if you're smart, you'll join us."
Athrun's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'old friend'?"
Invictus yanked off his helmet... revealing the sandy hair, and jade eyes. "I don't have a name," the young man admitted, "not really; 'John Tyler' is just my most common alias. But if I had one, it would be Kevin Onishi."
Realization flooded him. "You're another clone of Kevin."
"That's right. You might call me Kevin Version 3.0," the clone cracked. "And by the way, you've got no idea how much I hate this bloody helmet. I've barely taken the thing off in three years."
"There some kind of reason you're not killing me? And I thought you were Commander Le Creuset's private assassin."
"I'm not killing you, tovarisch, because I'm the only clone to have gotten all of the original's memories," Invictus said softly. "I realize I'm not exactly your friend, but in a sense you're mine. I'd never hurt you if I could avoid it."
Athrun snorted bitterly. "Kevin doesn't seem to have that problem."
"That's because he had some nasty experiences with ZAFT; but my template is from before that. I wasn't yet awake when they augmented me." He shrugged. "And as for Commander Le Creuset, well... Ours was a business arrangement, Athrun. I did odd jobs for him and he provided me with information. But we never exactly trusted each other -it could be no other way, since I'm a direct copy of Hydra- and around the time the Archangel returned to Earth, I took my leave of his service. I joined up with the Clynes about three weeks ago."
Athrun shook his head, trying to absorb the influx of information. "So you work for Lacus and her father. Then maybe you can tell me something: is it true that Kira's still alive? You should know him as well as I do."
"I wouldn't know," Invictus admitted. "I was on Earth when he arrived, and I got back a day after he and Hydra left. But, just as I 'remember' Kira, I know Lacus, so I'm not inclined to doubt her."
"I see." The pilot had to agree. "Any idea what Kevin was doing up here?"
"Same thing Kira was, I expect. They tell me some newfangled mental-interface system went haywire and nearly fried his brain, not to mention blowing half his face off." The clone quirked an eyebrow. "I guess even the great and powerful Hydra needs a little convalescence after something like that. Deadlier than me, though; I'm a wizard with a rapier or katana, but I'm not nearly as good with a gun as the original. Not sure about the others, though."
"Others?" Athrun tilted his head. "Just how many of you are running around, anyway?"
"As of now, besides Hydra himself, just two. I think." Invictus had to shrug again. "That madman Oracle didn't keep very good records, and they were mostly lost when Hydra vaporized the lab, but we think I was the second clone of twenty-three; the rest were part of the Serpent's Head Project, an effort to maximize combat effectiveness by making a lot of copies of the world's most lethal human being. Commander Le Creuset had me created before the end of the program, by a mole within the operation. The mole didn't survive the explosion, which left just the two of us knowing what I truly was. After that, I spent my free time hunting clones, and in fact that's what I was doing on Earth recently. Unfortunately, Carter got away at the last minute." His eyes narrowed. "Be very wary of him, Athrun. He doesn't have the same augmentation package as Hydra -or mine, for that matter- so he's not quite as strong, but our information suggests he's gone rogue, without even the Defense Committee holding him in check. From what we can gather, he managed to steal a new kind of mobile suit ZAFT's developing, something called a 'GuAIZ'."
Athrun frowned. "'GuAIZ'? I've never heard of it."
"Neither have we, and that's why we're worried. I doubt it'll be a match for your new machine -sources tell us you've been assigned ZGMF-X09A Justice- but the pilot is very dangerous, and we have reason to believe he's a genuine sociopath. Carter's feelings do not have any control over his actions, which makes him a very dangerous man. Watch your back, tovarisch."
Invictus turned his back, armor fading as he activated the optic camouflage, and soon Athrun stood alone in the abandoned theater, a confused and lonely young man.
A day later, the sling finally removed from his now-healed arm, Athrun sat in the cockpit of X09A Justice, waiting for the command to launch.
Mechanics swarmed around, making final adjustments and disconnecting power and mooring cables. "Check reactor readings."
Kira... he thought. What are you thinking about now? And Kevin... is what Invictus said true? And do you even know he exists?
"Radiation levels are normal."
"Confirm separation of X09A."
"Separation of X09A confirmed." The voice's tone changed. "May our Justice have the divine protection of the stars!"
"Athrun Zala," Athrun said into the radio. "Justice launching!"
The red mobile suit, resembling his old Aegis with the addition of the backpack-light subflight system, launched out into space, heading for Earth... where he had been ordered to kill two old friends.
Author's note: Kira and Kevin are back aboard the Archangel, and the ship is on her way to Orb. Meanwhile, Athrun has learned the truth of Project ABADDON, and met Invictus again; will the cloned assassin meet the man from whose cells he was made?
Arekuruu-inabikari-no-She, glad you liked the scene with Cagalli and Athrun; I rather thought it worked well.
Gojiro17, once again, thanks for the information. Not terribly relevant to the story, but I find it quite fascinating. As regards to Artemis, though… I doubt that you appreciate the full extent of what I'm planning. Suffice to say that it comes at the very end, and is very ambitious…
Daniel Lynx, I think you can safely say Carter is Liquid, Invictus Solid; before long, Kevin will have his first encounter with Carter, and believe me, it won't be pretty.
You didn't actually miss anything, with regard to Kevin and Lacus' connection; that's something that comes much later. I honestly don't know if it will be that unexpected, but I imagine I'll at least be able to take some people by surprise.
As for Kevin's respect for Le Creuset, I should mention that at the time I originally wrote that, I was under some mistaken impressions about him. That is no longer the case.
You're certainly correct about Kevin not taking Badgiruel's position very often; that was merely something that seemed like a good idea for that one instance, not a regular arrangement.
As for Battle Assault 3, I'm afraid that, while I have unlocked everything, I don't remember exactly which MS is found where; I'd suggest going to a website called Gamefaqs, which has a complete list of secrets.
Shinji Ikari, I must admit I'm somewhat surprised by your initial remarks; I always thought I was something of a plodder with battle scenes. Not that I'm complaining that you disagree, of course.
About what Cagalli said to Athrun… in the version I saw, "murderer" was what she said. Can't say I'm surprised to hear it's different on the DVD, though; but in this case, I think "murderer" fit better, anyway.
I wouldn't think Cagalli would have a problem with Kevin being one of those who "betrayed us all"; after all, he did that work years before hostilities broke out between Earth and the PLANTs. He couldn't have known what was going to happen.
I realize it seems just a little convenient that Kevin would miss just then, when faced with Le Creuset, but, as you said, he has to miss sometimes, and to date he hasn't missed a shot in the entire story. Besides which, his augmentation probably isn't working as well as usual right then; after all, surge protectors or no, he did take a very nasty "shock". In this case, I'm willing to overlook any possible problems with it.
I really don't see any reason to change anything, with regard to Stormhawk's beam sabers; it stands to reason that, though they may be more powerful than standard beam sabers, they are four years out of date. The new ZAFT weapons, particularly if you factor in any knowledge they may have gleaned from the Stormhawk itself, would almost certainly be even more powerful.
When it comes to Lacus, I wouldn't call it character development per se; as far as I could tell, she was about the same as always during that time. She may seem a little less naïve, but it's my opinion she never was that naïve, despite outward appearances, and Kevin would most assuredly know it.
By the way, I actually might go with your possible explanation for Kevin's continued "allergy" to death, but there's something very dramatic that I have in mind near the very end. I won't go into detail, but I will say this: whatever the series may lead you to believe, it is physically impossible for Athrun to destroy GENESIS in the way he did. I'm not sure of the exact reasons for it, but a nuclear fission reactor cannot go supercritical. It can meltdown, like at Chernobyl or Three Mile Island, but I gather that very geometry of the reactor utterly precludes the possibility of a genuine detonation.
Final point: I think we may both have misunderstood each other about the explanation of Kevin's abilities. However, since everything seems to be properly explained, I think it best to drop the subject before I give myself a headache trying to figure it all out.
Now, for general information: if you're interested in seeing more adventures involving Kevin Walker, I recommend reading NukeDawg's Gundam SEED Destiny: A New Saga, which now has Kevin involved. I think you'll find he's much the same as in this story.
Okay, now that I've spent an hour at this, I'll wrap up. Let me know what you think. -Solid Shark