Epilogue
The Siren's Song docked at Februarius 5, a PLANT that specialized in applied medical sciences and surgery. Multiple ambulances were waiting as the shuttle docked in a special zone designated primary for rescue shuttles containing wounded. Kira was strapped to a stretcher and was whisked away immediately. He was the most critically wounded, followed by Rusty and Miguel, then Miriallia.
The rest of the students suffered from minor cases of malnutrition, dehydration and stress. The Supreme Council kept quiet about having over one hundred Naturals on a PLANT to receive medical treatment, while few Coordinators wished for war, few Coordinators viewed Naturals without mistrust. It was merely for the safety of all of the people, to keep them all calm.
Miriallia Haw was anything but calm. She ignored the nurse trying to inspect her leg wound as she called out and looked around for Kira. "Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and stay still so we can look at your burn." The nurse pleaded. Milly could care less about some burn while Kira was still horribly injured. "I'll stop when I find Kira!" she snapped back at the nurse and hobbled away to check each of the operating rooms for Kira.
She finally found him in a room that looked like it was meant to be observed. Mir was standing by a window looking down into the room and could see seats on the opposite side of the room behind more windows. Two doctors and two nurses were standing over Kira, examining his chest and x-rays of his wound. Leaning in close, she discovered she could faintly hear what they were saying.
"His right lung has been punctured, and as a result blood has begun to flow in. I don't suggest we use an anesthetic, it might slow his heart down too much with all of the blood loss." One of the doctors was saying.
"Commander Le Creuset has informed us that this boy is a Coordinator, so we'll be able to perform open surgery without too much risk to the patient." The other doctor agreed. One of the nurses stepped forward with a scalpel and a large pair of scissor look-alikes. "Maybe he'll pass out from the pain." She suggested. They laughed and began their work on poor Kira.
Whatever state of consciousness Kira had been in before, he was fully aware as they began to cut his rib-cage open to get access to his heart and lungs. Miriallia started to pound ineffectually on the operating window as Kira screamed in more pain. The nurse from before finally found her. "Miss Haw, please do not disturb the doctors when they are operating on a patient, you could distract them which might kill the patient." She scolded the Natural girl.
At this time, Miriallia had had enough. "They are torturing him, not helping him! He's been through so much already is a little compassion too much to ask for!"
"Please calm yourself Miss Haw, I don't wish to have you sedated but if you continue to shout and yell then I'll have no choice." The nurse threatened in a motherly manner. "I am not going anywhere until those bastards stop butchering what's left of Kira!" she said resolutely.
The nurse motioned to someone outside of Miriallia's vision, but before she could protest any further, someone pricked her with a needle, injecting a cold, clear fluid. In no time, her eyelids began to droop as she tried to complain one last time. Darkness claimed her thereafter.
It was two days after Kira's life-saving surgery had been completed, and it had left the boy exhausted. He had slept all of the first day, receiving vital nutrients from an IV, and ended up sleeping for almost 18 hours of the second day, waking up in time for an evening meal and a visit from Rau.
Kira tried to sit up as Rau entered, but the masked man placed his hand gently on Kira's shoulder. "There's no need Kira, you're injured." He said simply. Kira relaxed back into the bed. "I want to thank you sir, for everything." Kira said.
"I should be the one thanking you Kira, you saved a lot of innocent people from a fate that would be considered worse than death, and more than once as well." Rau disagreed.
But Kira wouldn't accept all of the credit. "If you hadn't brought those weapons with you to Earth or if you and your teams hadn't participated in the project then none of us would have lived."
"I suppose. When you are more recovered, we'll talk again. I'll leave you to your evening meal." Rau started to leave, but Kira stopped him. "Commander wait, where's Miriallia? Is she okay?"
A sad smile passed over her face. "In her zeal to make sure you were fine, a nurse was forced to sedate her, except she didn't realize that Miss Haw was a Natural, so the dose was a bit too strong. She's still unconscious right now, but she's in stable condition. I suspect you'll be recovered sooner than she will. Get lots of rest young Yamato, I'll be back."
'Miriallia, what have you done now? Be safe, please.' Kira silently prayed. His unappetizing meal beckoned him, and he knew that he would need the strength to recover, so he ate, and then fell asleep again.
He woke up the next morning around 10AM, just as a nurse was taking away his empty dinner tray and placing a fresh breakfast tray. "Good morning Mister Yamato, how are we feeling today?" she greeted him politely.
Blinking away the sleep around his eyes, he sat up slowly with the aid of the nurse. "A lot better actually." He replied, eyeing his breakfast which looked a lot better than last night's dinner. "That's good to know. The Doctor says you might be able to be allowed to go out and about unsupervised later today."
"I'd like that. Can I ask you a favor?" he asked. She regarded him for a second. "I suppose." She said neutrally. "Can you find out which room Miriallia Haw is in? She's a really good friend of mine, and I'd really appreciate it." He implored her.
"I will try to find out. For now, eat up and save your strength, then I'm sure the Doctor will let you walk around." She left the room, sighing dreamily about her cute patient. The Doctor came to check up on Kira at 3 in the afternoon and found him staring out the window solemnly.
"And how are you today young Mister Kira?" he asked, flipping through a few pages on the clipboard located at the foot of Kira's bed. "I'm feeling a lot better than last night Doctor." He replied honestly.
"And your chart agrees with you." The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic card with a metal clip. "This will allow you to walk in our hallways unescorted. Your nurse has informed me that you wish to know the location of Miss Miriallia Haw?" Kira nodded eagerly. "A good friend is she? Well she's just down the end of the hall in room 502, but she is unfortunately still under the effects of the sedative. I believe she'll wake up tomorrow sometime."
"Thank you very much Doctor." Kira thanked him genuinely. "Just make sure you recover and don't strain your body too much. You're a good patient, but I'd hate to keep you here any longer that required."
The Doctor left and Kira stared outside again, looking at the bright sunny day that was out there. Steeling himself, Kira got out of his bed and stood for the first time in three days. He took a few trial steps, and seeing that he probably wasn't about to fall flat on his face, walked out of his room, on a mission to get to Miriallia's room.
He made it, passing by other patients in various conditions, some of them on wheelchairs, some on crutches, other missing entire limbs. It was a little disconcerting to Kira; he had never been in a hospital after he had been born. Finally, Room 502 appeared before his eyes, the door half-shut, and the north-side windows letting some of the light in.
Remembering the Doctor's words, Kira didn't bother to knock; instead, he just walked in cautiously. Miriallia lay on the bed, still sleeping, and rather peacefully in Kira's opinion, looking like an angel. There was an empty chair beside her bed, so he sat in it and held her hand. "Milly, I'm here for you, no matter what." He said soberly.
She shifted in her sleep, but didn't wake. He stayed until the sun started to set, and then a nurse took him back to his room to rest again. "She'll be here in the morning." She assured Kira. "And she'll probably be awake as well."
Despite being excited about the possibility of being able to talk with Miriallia again, Kira fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. His dreams were plagued once again by nightmares, and it was if he was getting a guided tour through his own mind, and Icess was the guide.
'You can't escape me Kira …'
"But I killed you …"
'Do you really think a mere human like you could kill me? This is the second time I've been thought to be dead.'
"I'll make sure it's the last Icess, I won't let you live again."
'Like you have a choice, I'm surprised you're still alive.'
"I'm tougher than you think I am."
'So I see. Don't mistake me for a humble Warrior, Kira, I know of things that your mind would assume is pure fantasy.'
"If you're alive Icess, then I won't stop until you stay dead!"
'Such anger for someone so naïve. I will have my revenge before you can stop me, mark my words.'
Kira's eyes snapped open, allowing him to see the darkened hospital room. "That was no dream …" he said forlornly. Sleep claimed him again, letting him rest in peace for the remainder of the night. When the nurse entered in the morning, she saw that Kira was already out of his bed, and his room.
There was only one thing on his mind, Miriallia. She was unfortunately still sleeping when Kira arrived, but it looked more normal than a tranquilized sleep. He sat in the chair again and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. "I don't like feeling so helpless Mir, I wish you could wake up, so then I'd know that everything will be alright."
There was a change in her heart rate as she finally woke up. Milly concentrated to bring her blurry eyesight back into focus, and realized that Kira was sitting beside her bed. "Hi Hero." She said, using her pet name for Kira. "Good morning Angel."
She yawned and sat up. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked, remembering faintly about being sedated. "Almost three days." Milly stared at him. "The nurse didn't know you were a Natural, so you got a shot that was meant for a Coordinator." He explained.
They sat in silence for a moment, until Kira noticed the warm sunny day outside her window. "What do you say we take a walk?" he suggested. "I'd love to."
The hospital cleared both of them to leave, allowing them to take a long romantic stroll wherever they wanted. Unfortunately their plans were slightly interrupted thanks to Rau. "I just wanted to let you two know that everything will be covered by Supreme Chairman Clyne, Lacus' father. He wishes all of you a speedy recovery and safe trip home." He told them, and then took out two tickets.
Rau handed one to Miriallia, but paused for Kira. "I want to offer my nomination for you to join ZAFT Kira. I know you have what it takes to be the best."
Kira was shocked. "I … I don't know what to say Commander …" he stuttered. "Think about it for a bit, you can even go home and come back if you want, I'll make sure there'll be no hassles." Rau handed Kira his ticket and a card. "This how to contact me, at any time." He walked off, leaving Kira and Milly to themselves.
"Are you going to do it Kira, join ZAFT?" Mir asked worriedly.
Kira stared at the card and shuttle ticket. "You know ..." he looked up. "I don't know."
So was that a cliffhanger? Yes, no? I want to thank everyone who reviewed, and I encourage all to review, it helps boost the confidence of a writer, and it can help them improve. I'm going to answer a few things, and if you aren't satisfied, or I didn't get to your questions/concerns, then send me an e-mail at kudos to those who caught the Zelda reference in Chapter 1. Unfortunately, the latest news I've heard was the game is pushed back to mid-April 2006, but there was a cool demo at PAX '05.
Kedima: I must be messed in the head when it comes to your e-mail address, it still sends a "send error" for me. I hope you continue to read K/M fics and I encourage you to read Hildebrant's works.
PoisonousAkemi4869: I hope I didn't make you wait too long for each update, I try my best.
A few people noticed the likeness between the setting for Icess and the setting for Aliens versus Predator. You know, that wasn't a completely terrible movie after all.
KL,AC,DM Forever: I just want to clear up what seems like a little confusion. Dearka didn't swing, he fired the Sturm Faust (German for Rocket Fist or something like that), however, he was killed in one swing from Icess.
kittykute: … that's an interesting review for sure …
KariHP: so you caught the Star Wars reference. I'll admit, I know far too many lines and quotes for my own good, some well-known, others seemingly obscure, and I like to use a lot of them because they make good sense. I guess you can blame this on the misfortune of my birth …
To everyone who has stayed with me the entire way, and to those who only reviewed once, it has been a pleasure. I hope I can continue to perform up to your expectations.
DarkRoxy (a.k.a. LethalDose), Hildebrant, all I ask of you is that you both continue to update. And thank you both for your help, for everything you two have done for me. I appreciate it greatly.
My profile has been redone (or I've actually updated it), check there for a small list of upcoming stories and my AMV projects. Until next time,
Prayer