DISCLAIMER: 'Repercussion' is a story based on characters and situations from Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed which is a property of Sotsu Agency, SUNRISE and MBS. This work is non profited and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Unless specified, all materials in the web is work done by HERMIT JUNCTION. Please do not use without permission any text or artwork.

WARNING: Text and all related materials are rated R/M and may mild strong language, violence, cruelty, explicit adult content, rape, death and nudity unless otherwise stated. Please do not read if you are underage or maybe offended by such material. Spoilers for Gundam Seed.

NOTE: This fanfiction disregards the plotline of the original series' sequel Gundam Seed Destiny. Please go to gseedaftermath.hermitjunction. net for site hosting of this fic. For Dearka and Miriallia's story, please go to 'GS Aftermath Trilogy I: Rebound'.

Gseed Aftermath Trilogy II:
REPERCUSSION
a hermit junction project

Chapter 2

He heard noises, they sounded like guns being fixed. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't.

I'm dead and I can still hear the sound of guns, how crazy am I about firearms? Rusty thought sarcastically. He pursed his lips and groaned at the pain he felt in his chest and wondered why it still hurt when he was already dead.

'You're not dead, don't move or your wound will bust wide open.' An impatient male voice said.

I'm not dead? How could that be? I was shot in the head! Rusty thought frantically. There's no way!

'I told you to lie down and don't move! Damn it!' The impatient voice ordered, trying to push Rusty down onto the bed again. He cursed when Rusty felt his wound rip. 'Miss Lain, the guy's awake and his wound's busted!'

Rusty froze when he heard light footsteps come his way. His eyebrows twitched at the soft hand that touched his shoulder. It was definitely a girl.

'What did you do Jevo?' the female voice asked flatly. Rusty felt the bed sink on the side. 'Get me the box.'

'Yes Miss.'

'Who are…' Rusty felt himself unable to speak, his throat extremely dry.

'Don't say anything.' The female voice said in her flat voice. 'I'll give you some water once I get your wound fixed, and don't move because it's still pretty bad.'

'Here you go, Miss.' Jevo Hake handed her the first aid box.

'Can you help him sit up?' She asked.

'Of course.'

Rusty winced at the sting of his wound and almost jumped up in pain when she tied the wound tightly. He wanted to shout out loud and even curse the woman but couldn't, much to his frustration.

'You can go Jevo.' The female voice said after they settled Rusty against the headboard.

'But Miss Lain, he's – ' Jevo protested.

'I know, and I'll be fine. You have to report to my Father immediately. I'll be fine. I've taken care of myself for so long, you don't need to worry at all.' She insisted.

'Well, if you say so, call me if anything happens, I don't trust him.' Jevo said, then walked out the room, closing the door behind him.

Rusty felt the weight of the bed lift and heard the clanging of glass. She was getting him water. Sitting down beside him again, she lifted the glass to his lips and gently poured the water into his mouth. She had very soft hands, incredibly soft and supple fingertips.

'Who are you?' Rusty asked after finishing his water, his voice still a bit coarse.

'My name's Lain van Ness.' The girl said, putting down the glass. 'Jevo and I saved you from Heliopolis. You had two shots in your chest, luckily they weren't lethal ones. You were lucky we passed by or you would have died in the fire.'

'Fire?' Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'Hold on, why were you on Heliopolis, if you saw me, then you must have been in Morgenroete! What the hell were you doing there?'

'That's none of your business Rusty MacKenzie.' Lain snapped.

'How did you - ' Rusty grabbed her arm, stopping her from getting up.

'You're dog tag.' Lain said shortly.

'Why are my eyes wrapped?' Rusty asked, fingering the gauze wrapped around his head.

Lain sighed and pulled her arm away. 'You got shot in the helmet but it didn't get your head. The bits from the protective shield that shattered from the force went into your eyes.'

'You mean… I'm blind?' Rusty asked carefully.

'No, well, not exactly.' Lain replied, sitting up. 'The doctor said it may take months before your eyes could heal, so I guess you'll just have to wait.'

'Right.' Rusty said sarcastically. 'And what will I do until then?'

'Look, you should be grateful that you still have your life.' Lain scoffed.

'Well, I didn't ask you to save me!' Rusty countered. 'I should have died out there because I failed on the mission! Who told you to mind my business?'

'Well, then I'm sorry.' Lain snapped.

Rusty started to panic when he heard her turn on her heal. 'Wait, I didn't mean that, I – ' Losing his balance, he tumbled out of the bed and groaned in pain. It was till now that he realized he was completely naked.

Sighing, Lain helped him get back into the bed and draped the sheets across his lap. Luckily, the bandages were still in place.

'Look, I'm sorry, it's just… I never thought this would happen, that I'd survive the raid.' Rusty apologized.

'Well you did, so suck it up.' Lain said flatly.

'What day is it? Where am I?' Rusty asked, touching his forehead.

'You've been out for over a week.' Lain replied. 'You're at Aprilius One, this is my apartment at the outskirts of the city.'

'A week?' Rusty exclaimed. 'You mean…'

'Heliopolis fell, if that's why you want to know.' Lain said.

'It fell? What do you mean it fell?' Rusty demanded, gripping her arm again.

'It collapsed a few hours after the raid.' Lain replied, wincing at his strength. 'There was a serious mobile suits battle and the main axis was hit, so it just, fell apart.'

'How about the Mobile Suits? Did it get back to Versalius safely?' Rusty asked, shaking Lain.

'How would I know, I'm not a ZAFT solder.' Lain muttered, pulling her hand away from him.

'I'm sorry.' Rusty said softly, leaning his back to the headboard. 'Could you do me a favor?'

'What?' Lain looked at him.

'Is there a TV here?' Rusty asked. 'I want to listen to the news.'

Lain turned around. 'Television on.'

'We never had the intention to occupy Earth, nor have we the intention to continue with this bloody war, but, as the situation has developed so drastically, we have no choice but to carry out measures to protect PLANT. A self-proclaimed neutral Heliopolis has betrayed us and has leaned against Earth Alliance. They want us to trust them again and open negotiation, but now, it has become nearly impossible.'

'Patrick Zala, Athrun's father.' Rusty muttered, leaning forward slightly.

'Patrick Zala, senior council has made it clear that ZAFT will do anything to protect PLANT against Earth Alliance aggression. The unexpected fall of Heliopolis has caused two hundred deaths and all refugees will be deflected to the Kingdom of Orb…'

'Television off.' Rusty commanded. Sighing, he lied back down. Lain had left the room already and it was quiet, very quiet, deathly quiet. He wondered if the lights of the room were on because he couldn't sense anything with the annoying gauze wrapped around his eyes.

Two hundred people have died on Heliopolis, among them, there were bound to be the ones he killed. Wincing at the sudden pain in his chest, Rusty rolled onto his side and exhaled loudly, sweat forming on his forehead. He was blind now, even if it was temporary, and there was no way he could return to ZAFT in this condition, nor could he live off a stranger.

'What shit have I gotten myself into? I should've just died.'

'Who are you?' Athrun asked, the door sliding shut behind him. A girl in a green uniform was hovering over Rusty's bed.

'Sir.' The girl saluted him. 'I came on orders to organize Lieutenant MacKenzie's relics.'

'Right.' Athrun nodded, watching the girl zip the duffle bag up. Rusty's uniform was folded neatly beside the two bags and when the girl was done, she saluted Athrun and left.

Taking a deep breath, Athrun lied down on his bed and stared at the white ceiling. He was always thinking and Rusty would chide him into a conversation, breaking the silence. He was really a big brother to him and despite his slightly goofy personality, he was a very sensible person. He'd know what to do and know when to stop, unlike Yzak. He was just the happy-go-lucky kind of person who'd enjoy life whenever he had the chance.

Rusty MacKenzie was one big mystery and he'd pass questions of him he didn't want to answer with a toothy grin. Despite that, he was a great friend and also a great soldier. And now, he was dead.

Athrun floated in the air at a slight impact of the ship and turned on his side, looking at what was left on the bed beside him.

'Rusty… Miguel.' Athrun closed his eyes in pain. In less than seven hours, he had lost two of his closest, most trusted comrades. This was war, it was really war. Their lives were at stake, there was no room for mistakes anymore, no room for mercy, or someone will die.

'Athrun, are you in there?' Nicol's voice came through the communicator.

Pushing himself up, his feet landed on the floor and the door opened.

'You okay Athrun?' Nicol asked in his gentle voice.

'Yeah, I need to drink something.' Athrun said, walking out of his room.

'I can't believe they're actually gone.' Nicol said quietly, looking out the window of Versalius. 'Rusty and Miguel, they've really died haven't they.'

Athrun took a deep breath. 'This is war, it really is war.'

'We can die anytime.' Nicol sighed, sitting down at the table of the lounge. 'One of us can die anytime and there won't be any preparation for it at all. We have to move on with it.'

'You're stronger than me Nicol.' Athrun smiled. 'You really are.'

Nicol smiled back.

'Athrun.' The door slid open and Dearka came in.

'Is something wrong?' Athrun asked, looking up.

Dearka shook his head and handed him a magazine, it was a copy of 'Sniper'. 'The gun bunnies found this in the ammo locker.'

Athrun stood up and took the magazine with trembling hands.

'I thought you could put it back with his other stuff.' Dearka said quietly. 'He loved it.'

'I know.' Athrun whispered.

'Who knows what will happen next month.'

'Maybe we'll get a sortie and someone dies.'

'Doc, he hasn't spoken in two weeks, ever since he woke up. It's starting to freak me out, you sure he's okay?' Jevo asked, leaning against the wall as Dr. Nargent cleaned up Rusty's wound. It was almost healed with a pretty ugly scar.

'Psychological effects I guess.' Nargent responded, pulling on the bandage tightly. He shook his head when Rusty didn't even budge. If anyone knew better they'd think he was asleep. 'Help me get him up Jevo.'

Sighing, Jevo walked forward and hauled him up. He was dead weight and made no effort of getting up himself.

'How are his eyes? Don't tell me he's going to go blind forever.' Jevo muttered.

'It will heal, but it will take time and patience.' Nargent said, carefully unwrapping the gauze. 'I take that you've taken good care of him.'

'Me?' Jevo shook his head. 'I have no idea how he survived, I only come when you come.'

'So I guess it's Miss Lain then.' Nargent said. 'I wonder what her Father would say if he finds out his daughter's living with a man.'

'He wouldn't be happy.' Jevo grumbled. 'It's not that they could do anything though, he is blind.'

'Right.' Narget gave the gauze a tug, fastening it over Rusty's eyes. 'All set, I'll see you in two days.'

'Thank you Nargent.' Lain came in with a bottle in her hand.

'Now, remember that he has to take his medicine on time.' Nargent instructed, standing up. 'And now that the wound is more or less healed, he can take showers instead of only wiping his body. God he stinks, please make him take showers.'

'You got it.' Lain smiled.

'He can't though, how on earth can he take showers?' Jevo wondered, looking at Lain weirdly.

'I think of it.' Lain said, smirking. 'You might want to take Nargent back to the headquarters, Jevo.'

Jevo sighed. 'I guess I don't have a choice. By the way, you know when the thing is, right?'

Lain nodded. 'I'll take care of it.'

Closing the door to her apartment, she turned and walked back to the room Rusty stayed. She stared at the closed door, not really knowing what to do. The situation was getting complicated and she only had herself to blame. Rusty wasn't an ordinary person, he was a ZAFT elite soldier who is now blind with two bullet shots in his torso, that ought to explain the situation she was in.

Sighing, she pushed the door open just in time to see Rusty roll out of bed again, luckily, he had his boxers on for once.

'You do know that without your eyesight, it's hard to balance.' Lain said shortly, watching as Rusty tried to stand up. Holding his hands in the air, he felt for the wall as if he hadn't heard her at all. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the wall and watched Rusty hit the wall, falling back in pain, covering his nose with one palm. 'Told you.'

'I need to go to the washroom and I've been doing this for two weeks already.' Rusty muttered, standing up again.

'I see the temper coming.' Lain said, uncrossing her arms. 'You need to take a shower, you stink like hell.'

'You think I can take a shower in this condition?' Rusty scoffed, lowering his head. 'You need to be smarter than this lady.'

Lain shrugged. 'You can't take a shower by yourself.'

'Oh, so you want to help me.' Rusty snapped.

'Yeah.' The prompt answer surprised Rusty and he almost fell off his feet.

'Get out.' Rusty muttered, steadying himself.

'You should think for a second who this place belongs to.' Lain snapped, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Ignoring his protests, she pushed him into the bathroom and forced him into the shower stall. 'I'm not going to strip you for god's sake, I'm just going to show you where the stuff are.'

'Oh, and I was scared for your virginity, if you still have it.' Rusty jeered.

Glaring at him, Lain grabbed his hand and placed it on the shower. 'The towels are just beside the glass door, be careful of the step, I don't want you to hurt your head, it's already as bad as it can be.'

'Is there a robe?' Rusty asked.

'It's right beside the towels. I'll be outside, yell if you need me.' Lain said in her monotonous voice. 'Don't be too long, I don't want to wreck the door and see you naked. I really don't appreciate people dying in my apartment.'

'Fine.' Rusty snapped. 'Now get out!'

Clenching her teeth, Lain stomped out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Pulling at his red hair, Rusty pulled off his boxers and placed them on what seemed like the basin. He made his way towards the shower, being extra careful of the step Lain had warned him about. Sliding the glass doors shut, he grabbed hold of the shower and turned it on, careful that the water didn't splash into his face. Sighing, he wondered if he could ask Lain to wash his hair, it was itching like hell and he had to be extra careful about the water getting into his eyes.

Outside, Lain glared at the door before walking out the room. Entering the kitchen, she headed straight for the fridge and took out a bottle of water. Popping the lid open, she drained it down and took deep breaths. She hadn't been this pissed in a long time.

Keep your cool Van Ness. Lain thought, kicking herself mentally. She wasn't going to lose her cool over a jackass like him. She wasn't around to save people and lesson learnt, people don't appreciate their lives being saved. She really had no idea why she had to do this in the first place, why couldn't she have just left him to die on Heliopolis? If he had died, she wouldn't have to worry about the next step. No way was she going to turn him in but if her Father knew about this, chances are he'd be dead in the next second, or worse…

Sighing, she leaned against the counter and picked up a pistol that was lying beside sink, checking the security lock. There were still a few busted shotguns that needed to be repaired and she was working on a new sniper rifle. She'd be lucky if she had everything fixed by next week.

Fingering the pistol, Lain frowned at something sticky, raising her fingers to eyelevel, she saw that it was dried blood.

How many lives has this pistol taken? Lain thought. She looked up when the phone rang, it was Jevo.

'The boss wants to see you at fifteen hours tomorrow.'

'Fine.' Lain mumbled. He knew exactly what he wanted.

'Don't piss him off like you use to.' Jevo warned. 'Novia already pissed him off.'

'Oh God, what did she do this time?' Lain murmured, rolling her eyes.

'You know, the usual bar stuff, but this time, I heard she got someone, uh, sterile, if you know what I mean.' Jevo said.

'Right.' Lain said dryly, then hung up the phone.

Grabbing a polishing cloth from the drawer, she started polishing the gun, trying to wipe off the dried blood. She couldn't work with blood on it, she just couldn't.

'What's that in your hand?'

At the voice, Lain whirled around and found herself pointing the gun at Rusty, who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen with only his robe on.

Lain's eyebrows twitched. 'You didn't wash your hair?'

'Look, I couldn't, so you have to help me.' Rusty said flatly, feeling for the table.

'That's a very polite way to ask a favor from someone.' Lain said dryly, putting the gun down on the counter.

'What's that, a T5X?' Rusty asked, turning his head slightly at Lain's direction.

Lain looked at him for a moment before tossing the gun across the air, not surprised that he caught it without hesitation. 'You have good ears and you know a lot about firearms.'

Rusty shrugged. 'I was in the military, got to have known something.' He fingered the pistol and his eyebrows furrowed. 'There's blood.'

'Well, when you kill with a gun, there's bond to be blood.' Lain said warily, sitting down across from him. She raised her eyebrows when Rusty pointed the gun at her. 'It's not loaded you know.'

'It'll probably give you a scare.' Rusty said sarcastically, lowering his head. 'Why did you save me?'

Lain got the feeling that he was getting really serious and wondered if she should give him straight answers.

'Well?' Rusty cocked his head.

Lain shrugged and leaned back, looking down the gun barrel. 'I don't want to see people die before me, as simple as that.'

'You know you make weapons that kill, no?' Rusty scoffed, lowering the gun. 'My life would have been less miserable if you hadn't saved me, your life too would be less frustrating now.'

'True.' Lain admitted. 'I'm still pondering on what to make of you. Those eyes of yours won't be able to see for at least a few months. If you step out of this building, you might get yourself killed. If I let you stay here, I'd be in deep shit.'

'A deadlock?' Rusty suggested.

'I guess so.' Lain raised her head and looked at the ceiling. 'We can't say anything until your eyes can actually see again. I got myself into this mess and it's only logical that I take responsibility until something happens, which I hope, doesn't.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. 'Are you sure about this?

'I'm not left with much choice now am I?' Lain scoffed, tapping the table with her finger. 'I have my idiotically good intentions to blame.'

'They are idiotic.' Rusty smirked, crossing his arms. 'Don't regret it, because I can be big trouble.'

Lain looked at him for second, then ran her fingers through her long black hair. 'You're already trouble, Mr. MacKenzie.'


End of Chapter 2
Next Update: 17th August, 2005