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 9

Lain felt nauseous at the sight of the huge birthday cake sitting in the middle the shiny dining table in front of her, the candles lit. At the end of the table, Herze was smiling at her with his legs crossed.

'Sit.' He invited.

'Miss Lain.' Daire, who had escorted her into the room, pulled the chair at the other end of the long dining table out for her. 'Please.'

Eyeing Daire briefly, she didn't miss the sneer on his face as he retreated into the darkness, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the chair slowly, putting both hands on her lap.

'I can't say I wasn't surprised that you wanted to see me.' She said in a low voice, looking down the table. 'What do you want me here for Father.'

'You forgot?' Herze raised his eyebrows and nodded at the cake in the middle. 'It's you're birthday today Lain, you're twentieth birthday.'

'So it is.' Lain said slowly, narrowing her amber eyes. 'What do you want, you never cared about my life, let alone my age.'

'I'm not that heartless Lain.' Snapping his fingers, a few servants came out from the door behind him and moved the cake towards her.

'Make a wish.' Herze smiled.

Looking at him expressionlessly, she leaned forward and blew the candles out in one breath, wanting to end this meeting as soon as possible. 'Satisfied?'

'Not yet.' Herze nodded at the servant beside her. Taking out a velvet box with his gloved hands, he opened it, revealing a lovely diamond shaped ruby pendent hung from a platinum gold chain. 'My twentieth birthday present to you Lain. Put it on for her.'

Closing her eyes, she counted to ten, trying to regain her patience as the servant put it around her neck. When she opened her eyes again, she smiled down at her Father. 'Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?'

'Twenty years old.' Herze picked up the glass of red wine and took a sip. 'I can't believe Lacia gave me a twenty year old daughter, a very helpful daughter to say the least.' He looked down at the cup. 'Isn't it ironic that she gave birth to you on her birthday and died on that very same day, exactly ten years later.'

'It is.' Lain muttered. 'But I doubt the coincidence.'

'You've always been my best helper around here Lain.' Herze looked up. 'Without your help in the past eight years, I would not have expanded Nessar so quickly. Especially Russ' addition. I do admit that I was a bit worried when Daire told me you hid a man, a ZAFT soldier in your apartment three years ago. But time proved that you made a very right decision.'

'He won't be around forever.' Lain said curtly.

'And why is that?' Herze narrowed his eyes. 'Are you saying he's going to betray me?'

'I didn't say anything of the sort.' Lain responded. 'You're the creator of Nessar, you should be clear whether or not the people around you are loyal and you can't count on that loyalty to last forever.'

'Are you saying someone's loyalty is fazing out around here?' Herze asked.

Lain looked at him in the eye. 'You should be clear of the situation.'

Herze sighed. 'I am clear Lain. I know Nessar is facing a crisis, a threat of breaking down. I need to do something. What should I do? What should I do?'

'I only provide the intelligence, I don't provide solutions.' Lain paused. 'Father.'

'But I want your opinion Lain.' Herze smiled. 'I've never heard of your opinions Lain, and frankly, Novita's ideas are getting a little old. Besides, you may just be the only one I can trust now.'

'You won't want to trust me.' Lain murmured. 'You should trust anyone but me.'

'You're right.' Herze agreed. 'But if you were in my position, what would you do Lain? What would you do to prevent the breakdown of Nessar?'

Lain looked down, the ruby glittering under the dim light of the room. Below it, she could clearly see her wedding ring hanging from the silver chain, the words 'Rusty MacKenzie' facing her.

'I'll kill all traitors, including those who are my family.' Lain said slowly, looking up, her amber orbs trained on her Father. 'Only those loyal can survive.'

Herze suddenly laughed and clapped his hands in the air. 'You're more brutal than Quasim or Novita, that I did not see Lain.'

'Then you should learn more about it in the future.' Was all Lain said in response.

Leaning forward, Herze looked at her in the eye. 'And does this traitor include your husband, my trump card assassin?'

Lain paused before giving him a small smile. 'No.'

Herze raised his eyebrows. 'No?'

Lain shook her head and stood up. 'No, but you might want to look around, you might find people you'd like to kill in our complicated family tree.' Bowing, she stepped out of her chair. 'Good bye Father.' With that, she turned and left soundlessly.

'What do we do now?' Daire asked, stepping in.

Herze took a deep breath before looking up at the ceiling. 'She may not be a person I can trust, but her information is correct, just not complete.'

'What should we do then?' Daire asked.

'We wait.' Herze looked down at the wine glass. Squeezing the glass hard, it shattered in his hands, red wine dripping down his fingers. He had to admit that Lain's ideas were bold and daring, if not old.

'Sorry, orders from our boss, no one sees her.'

Rusty narrowed his eyes at the man standing in front of the door to the guestroom of Quasim's cottage that extended downwards.

'Just a while?' Rusty smiled. 'I want to talk to her.'

'No.'

'Let him be.' Quasim walked up to them with Daryl behind him. 'He's with us, it's okay, let him go in.'

'Fine.' He unlocked the key and stepped aside.

'You take as much as you want Russ.' Quasim gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Giving a curt nod, he opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him quietly.

'Are you sure?' Daryl asked, looking at Quasim. 'You think we can really trust Enzia?'

'Even if we can't trust him, it'll be okay.' Quasim smirked. 'The room's under surveillance.'

Lowering his eyebrows at the sudden darkness, Rusty looked around, his eyes adjusting to the poor light that only shown from the window at the far end of the big room. Taking a step forward, he saw Miriallia sitting at the side of the bed, the moonlight shining on her foot. Looking up, she stared up at him silently.

'I remember you.' Miriallia said quietly, glaring at him. 'You're that male nurse from the hospital, the one who threatened me. You're Rusty MacKenzie, you used to be teammates with Dearka and Athrun.'

'I warned you.' Rusty said quietly, narrowing his clear blue eyes. 'I told you to keep to your own business.'

'Who do you want to kill?' Miriallia asked, standing up. 'You said it was just a warning shot, you didn't want to kill me, that's what Dearka told me.'

'Dearka really tells you a lot.' Rusty muttered. 'You really want to know?'

Miriallia gave him a hard look

Sighing, Rusty looked away. 'I want to kill your boyfriend, his best friend and the guy who killed your old boyfriend.'

Miriallia widened her eyes. 'Why?'

'Why?' Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'You do know what I am, don't you Miss Haww? I'm an assassin, an assassin working for an underground society. I don't care about the reason, I just care about my order and it's to kill the three of them.'

'Even if they're your teammates?' Miriallia countered.

'I'm no longer the MacKenzie from ZAFT.' Rusty said in a low voice. 'I'm Russ Enzia, the ace assassin of Nessar.'

'How can you do that?' Miriallia cried, taking a step forward. 'Can you really do it? Can you really kill them? Kill them?'

Rusty looked at Miriallia silently, noting the trembling in her bright blue orbs.

'I can, and I will.' He finally said.

Gulping, Miriallia took a step back. 'Well, then I can tell you they're not going to die because of you, all three of them.'

'We'll see.' Was all Rusty said.

'What are they going to do with me?' Miriallia asked quietly, sitting down on the bed.

'I don't know.' Rusty looked away. 'I have no idea how they work.'

'What do you mean? You work for them.' Miriallia spat.

'I don't know anything about the organization's operation.' Rusty snapped. 'All I do is kill on order. But from what I've heard…' Rusty paused. 'They'll either kill you or send you to one of their brothels.'

'A brothel…' Nodding her head deeply, Miriallia tried to hold back the tears that had welled up in her eyes and buried her head into her lap. 'Just go.'

Giving her one more look, Rusty turned and opened the door soundlessly, stepping out of the dark room into the bright hall.

'Finished?' Daryl asked, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

Shooting him a glance, Rusty walked past him silently, pulling his trench coat closer.

'My boss left.' Daryl said before he reached the door. 'He wants me to remind you of the thing he asked. You'll know what it is.'

Rusty looked over his shoulder briefly. 'Of course.' Returning Daryl's smirk, he turned and walked out of the exquisite villa. Reaching his car, he stared down at the driver's seat for a while. Sighing, he leaned down and pressed a button, watching as the roof of his convertible started to rise. When it closed completely, he put one hand on the door and at the same time, saw another perfectly manicured hand on top of his.

'It's been sometime honey, where've you been?' Novita's voice purred from behind him. Turning him around, she fingered the collar of his trench coat, pushing him against the car. 'Missed me?'

Pausing, Rusty smiled down at Novita. 'How could I not miss you?'

'Have you been that busy?' Novita slurred, leaning into him. 'You haven't come over in like a week!'

'You know.' Rusty shrugged and wrapped one arm around Novita's slim waist, trying to refrain from wrinkling his nose at the smoke. 'I still have that big "project" on hand that I haven't finished yet and I don't have much time.'

Novita narrowed her eyes. 'You don't have much time or you don't want to do it?'

Rusty looked down at her innocently. 'What do you mean honey?'

Taking a drag from her long slim cigarette, she breathed out the smoke into Rusty's face. 'You know what I mean sweetie, that's why Quasim wanted to see you at Beatrix. He wants you to take his side and drop out on the assassination order my Father gave you.'

Sighing, Rusty leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. 'Are you saying you don't trust me Novita?'

'I trust you.' Novita assured. 'But not all people around Nessar trust you. I'm sorry but you can't blame me for wondering, my Father told me to keep an eye on everyone, and that includes you.' She narrowed her eyes. 'What did Quasim say to you tonight?'

'More or less what you just said.' Rusty replied casually. 'He wants me to take a side and not stay neutral.' He paused for a few seconds. 'He also wants me to persuade Lain to… you know.'

'Bitch.' Novita spat. 'Stay with me tonight?'

'Sorry, but I can't.' Rusty said in an apologetic voice.

'Why not?' Novita exclaimed, grabbing him by the collar, dropping the cigarette onto the floor.

'I have something to do.' Rusty coaxed. 'Something to do with the big project your Father gave me.'

Novita pouted. 'Fine.'

'Be good, okay?' Rusty gave her a quick kiss on the lips. 'I'll call you when I have time.'

Nodding like a little girl, Novita pulled Rusty's face down in a deep kiss. At the corner of his eye, Rusty saw something flash in the dark.

'Call me.' Novita whispered against his lips. Nodding, Rusty smiled and climbed into his car. In the rear mirror, he caught Novita giving him a smooch.

'What's so great about him sis?' Quasim stepped out of the shadow as Rusty's car disappeared down the road.

'He's gentle, caring, handsome and has this quality no other man I've met has.' Novita replied promptly, lighting another cigarette. 'He's the man of my dreams, this thought has not changed over the past two years. From the day I saw him in that bitch's apartment, I fell in love with him.'

'Be nice Novita.' Quasim smirked.

'The word "nice" does not exist in my dictionary Quasim.' Novita said in a low voice, turning around. 'You better watch out Quasim, one wrong step and you're going to fall hard, you and Giles. Thank me for catching that bitch snooping around.'

'Thank you.' Quasim said promptly. 'For the warning too by the way.'

Blowing smoke out of her mouth, she tapped her cigarette. 'You're welcome.'

'Watch out sis.' Quasim smirked, watching as Novita walked away. 'Russ Enzia's one fucking heartbreaker.'

Stepping into the quiet apartment, Rusty glanced at the digital clock that hung on the wall, noting that it was already two in the morning. Unbuttoning his trench coat, he exhaled tiredly and flipped on the lights of the hallway. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Lain sitting on the wooden floor with her knees pulled to her chest, her face down. She was still in her white jeans and deep blue tank top.

'What are you doing here?' Rusty asked softly, walking up to her. He noticed a frame beside her, a wrinkled picture of her mother in it. 'Lain?'

Looking up, Lain stared at Rusty with dazed eyes. Blinking, she looked around. 'What time is it?'

'Two in the morning.' Rusty replied.

'Damn.' Lain muttered. Holding herself against the wall, she stood up, holding one side of her head. Shaking it, she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Looking down, Rusty saw the photo frame still on the floor. 'You left something.'

'What?' Lain turned and looked at the floor. 'Can you pick it up for me?'

'Why not?' Rusty shrugged, picking it up. Sitting at the kitchen table, he set the photo down and stared at the beautiful women in it. She had long dark brown hair and the same amber eyes Lain had. It was a portrait and she was smiling out at him, one hand placed over her shoulder. Wearing almost no make up, anyone could see that she was a natural beauty.

'You saw your Father today?' Rusty asked casually, leaning back. The kitchen was probably the place where they had the most interaction besides sex.

'Yeah.' Lain replied quietly after a few moments of silence. Pouring herself a glass of water, she popped in an aspirin and drained it down.

'Why were you sitting in the hallway?' Rusty continued.

'I had a headache.' Lain said lightly, holding herself against the sink, her back towards him.

'What happened at your Father's?' Rusty asked, standing up.

Lain looked over her shoulders. 'You're weird today. You never ask questions about this.'

'Just answer me.' Rusty said curtly.

'The same.' Lain shrugged. Putting the glass into the sink, she walked past him. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her at the door. When she turned around, he got a good look of the ruby tear drop pendent that was hanging around her neck by a platinum chain, dangling right above her wedding ring.

Frowning, he reached out one hand and held it up. 'Who gave you this?'

Looking down at his hand, Lain lowered her eyebrows. Grabbing the pendent from Rusty's fingers, she pulled it down from her neck hard, the platinum chain breaking. Rusty widened his eyes slightly as she stepped back and threw it onto the floor, grinding it down hard with the sharp heel of her boot, crushing it.

'It was a birthday gift.' Lain whispered, her head bowed so low her long silky strands covered the side of her face. 'My Father gave it to me.'

Looking down at the shattered pendent, Rusty sighed. Walking towards her, he lifted the soft strands and brushed them over her shoulder. He could see that Lain's amber eyes were trained on the floor, on the shattered pendent.

'You want him to die?' It sounded more like a statement.

Looking up, she found herself staring at Rusty's clear blue eyes. She watched as they slowly turned grey as he leaned down, her hair still tangled around his fingers. He was about to brush his lips across hers when she suddenly caught sight of something red smeared on his jaw line. The familiar smell of perfume and smoke suddenly hit her and she stepped back while pushing him away.

'You have Novita's stink.' Was all she said as she turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

Narrowing his eyes, he followed her into their room and closed the door behind him quietly, watching sideways as Lain changed into shorts and an oversized T-shirt. Pulling her hair up, she tossed the dirty clothes into the hamper beside her dressing table and padded across the carpeted floor barefoot, passing him silently.

When the door clicked behind him again, Russ threw a glance over his shoulder before he walked to the night stand. Staring down at it for a while, he opened the top drawer and found his abandoned dog tag in there. Picking it up, he closed the drawer with one knee and sat down on the easy chair. The only light in the room was the bright moonlight that was shining in, filtered by the blinds.

Holding the dogtag up in the air, he could barely see the words engraved on the two plates.

Rusty MacKenzie / C.E. 73-07-21/ Code: 053342/ Red Elite / Team Klueze

Closing his eyes, he gripped the cold metal in his hands.

'You're Rusty MacKenzie, you used to be teammates with Dearka and Athrun.'

'This is just an excuse you're giving yourself. Even so, it doesn't justify you joining Nessar! You're killing for a paycheck Rusty! You're not killing for justice, for PLANT and not for ZAFT!'

'My name is no longer Rusty. Rusty MacKenzie has died and is buried under that grave. I'm Russ Enzia, Nessar's trump card assassin.'

'This is your true test, I want to see loyalty in you Russ, or you know what will happen. You can do it right?'

A sudden feeling of helplessness washed through him. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place and he only had himself to blame. He should have seen this coming, no matter what he did, he'd be caught in the middle of Nessar's own war because he was too good a sniper. Just one order and he'd get the job done. If he wanted to, if he was brutal enough, Yzak, Athrun and Dearka would have died three months ago.

He was hesitating, really hesitating. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget the ZAFT soldier within him. He was still Rusty MacKenzie, he still wanted to be Rusty MacKenzie and was waiting for this day to come, waiting for a chance to leave Nessar. He wanted to leave, but he wouldn't leave without Lain.

Closing his eyes, he fingered his wedding ring on his left forth finger. He more or less knew what Lain wanted to do. Throughout the years, even during the time when he was blind, he knew Lain was up to something, she was collecting information to break down Nessar once and for all. He knew that his appearance had ruined her original plan and because of this, Novita had started to suspect Lain, not that she wasn't suspicious from the very beginning.

From the time he spent with Novita, he knew that the girl had serious security issues. If the girl he married wasn't Lain, Novita would have killed her. She had been extremely jealous of Lain since forever and was waiting for a chance to kill her. If she could just uncover what Lain was doing, she'd have a chance and an excuse, but Lain was smarter than she thought.

Now, Lain was in a very dangerous situation and was truly walking on thin ice, thinner than him. He had predicted this day, ever since he sensed people following them in the park two and a half years ago. He knew Lain was careful, but with Quasim's request and all, her real intentions will blow wide up if he wasn't careful, let alone she.

'You don't have much to lose Russ. You've been sent this mission for three months, its obvious you're hesitating, you don't want to kill them. If you fail this mission, it's a mutual benefit and you may eventually be the biggest winner.'

He wasn't stupid, he knew what Quasim was up to. The quality of people in Nessar was going down and it would have deteriorated if it weren't for Lain and later Rusty. They were more or less holding Nessar together and if they took either side, chances are the other party would lose. If he failed this mission, he'd failed this loyalty test Herze had given him. Herze van Ness was not the type of person to keep traitors. He will kill him and Lain. He'd kill him either way.

'Rusty.'

Opening his eyes, Rusty found that the sun had already rose, the weak sunrays shining into the bedroom. Looking up, he saw Lain staring down at him, fully dressed, her hair down.

'What?' Rusty asked curtly, fingering the dogtag.

Shooting a glance at the dog tag in his hands, Lain took a deep breath. 'I want you to help me.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'Help you? That's new.'

Lain just looked at him. 'Please.'

'She's in Quasim's villa in the outskirts.'

'Why are you telling me all this Jevo? You betrayed me before, why should I trust you?'

'Believe me, you'd want to trust me this time.'

'Why?'

'I may be working for Quasim now, but I want to return this favor. Believe it or not I regretted betraying you two years ago.'

'There's no room for regretting Jevo, you just do it.'

'You told me you won't let innocent people fall into Nessar's trap, that's why I'm telling you where she is.'

'You really think I'm going to save her?'

'I do.'

Lain opened her eyes at the sound of Rusty pulling the hand break.

'We're here.' Rusty said flatly, turning to her. 'What do you want to do? May I remind you that this villa belongs to Quasim van Ness.'

'I have my ways.' Lain muttered, eyeing Rusty briefly. Reaching down, she picked up the briefcase at her feet and opened it, a computer inside. Flipping it open, she typed in a few codes, the villa's blueprint appearing on the screen.

'You want to cut the power?' Rusty asked, leaning over to see what she was doing.

Lain nodded and looked around, her fingers still flying over the keyboard. 'I've hacked into their control server. Quasim's villa has been a worry to Father for some time and he had asked me to check it out a while ago. It may not be as big as the headquarters, but it's well equipped enough, it's practically like a fortress.'

'What do you not know?' Rusty muttered, leaning back.

'A lot.' Lain replied absently. 'But if you confine your question to only Nessar, then practically everything.'

'You're crazy.' Rusty murmured. 'You know that? Crazy.'

'I take that as a compliment.' Lain responded flatly, eyeing him. Narrowing her eyes at the villa that was a distance from Rusty's convertible which was parked in the shadows, she hit the command. five seconds later, all lights of the villa went off.

'You cut their emergency power too?' Rusty asked.

Lain nodded, closing her briefcase. Taking out a palm, she put it into her jacket pocket.

'I don't get you.' Rusty said, climbing out of the car. 'Why are you doing this?'

Lain looked at him, leaning against his car. 'Make a guess.'

Rusty snorted. 'I'm too old for guessing games.' Reaching into his coat, he took out an extra pistol and tossed it across the car.

'What's this?' Lain looked down at the pistol in her hand. 'I've never seen this before.'

'It belongs to my person collection.' Rusty said absently, loading his own gun. 'Just take it, it may save you.'

'Fine.' Lain muttered, sticking it into the back of her pants. 'We have thirty minutes, the room Miriallia's in is enclosed. Since I've cut the ventilation system as well, she's going to die if we don't get her out of there.'

'Wait.' Rusty pulled Lain back a bit before they approached the dark villa. Taking out a muffler, he put it on his pistol and raised his gun. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the trigger four times.

'I guess that year of blindness did not take away your incredible eyesight.' Lain commented dryly, watching as four of Quasim's guards fell onto the ground from the shadows.

'I have you to thank.' Rusty said in a low voice, smirking over his shoulder.

Snorting, Lain walked across the ground soundlessly. Looking around, she motioned for Rusty. Peering into the window, she saw Miriallia sitting against the bed, her head buried in your knees. Lain could tell that she was starting to pant.

'You better be quick.' Rusty warned, looking around. 'They're going to find out about the four dead bodies very soon.'

'Don't rush me.' Lain hissed. Reaching into her jacket, she took out a few tools, including a screw driver and a needle.

Narrowing his eyes, Rusty couldn't help but worry at the unusual quietness. His sensitive ears could hear chaotic footsteps in the house, but they weren't chaotic enough.

Smirking at the click, Lain dropped the tools on the ground and opened the window silently, frowning at the squeaking joints. 'Hold it open for me.' Lain said, turning to Rusty.

'Quick.' Rusty whispered. 'I don't have a good feeling.'

Climbing into the big guest room, Lain shook Miriallia by the shoulder. 'Wake up!'

Looking up, Miriallia stared at Lain, caught back by Lain's bright amber eyes. 'I've seen you before…'

'Yes.' Lain nodded down at her tear-stained face. 'If you don't get out of here now, you're going to die.'

'What?' Miriallia watched as Lain pulled her up to her feet. 'What do you mean?'

'I cut the power source, the ventilation system's dead and you're in an enclosed area.' Lain explained quickly. 'Get out of this window now.'

Nodding, Miriallia climbed out of the window and gasped at the sight of Rusty. 'What are you – '

'You want to get out of here or you want to die?' Rusty snarled, arms crossed.

'Let's go.' Lain said quietly, giving Miriallia a soft push.

'I can't…' Miriallia put one hand on her chest and coughed.

'Rusty.' Lain looked at him.

Exhaling loudly, Rusty rolled his eyes. 'I don't see why not.'

Holding her by the arm, Lain helped Miriallia onto Rusty's back. Miriallia tried to refrain from coughing as Rusty walked across the ground soundlessly yet his footsteps swift.

'Put her in the car first.' Lain said in a low voice, looking out.

'What?' Rusty hissed, putting Miriallia into the small backseat area of his convertible. 'Where do you think you're going? We're getting out of here.'

'I'll be back.' Lain said slowly, her eyebrows furrowing. 'Send her back first if anything happens.'

'What?' Rusty tried to stop her but jumped back at a sudden flash of light. Stepping back, he prayed that it was dark enough so they couldn't see his car parked behind the big tree.

Lain couldn't help but widen her eyes at the beat up body on the ground.

'It was your advice Lain.' Herze van Ness stepped into the white light, a pistol raised. 'You told me to destroy all betrayers and that's what I did.'

Lain swallowed down the lump in her throat. 'And what did Madge do?'

'A lot.' Herze said. 'Too much that it's hard to count, and now, I figured you're a traitor too.'

'You want to kill me?' Lain narrowed her eyes, taking a step forward.

'I've wanted to for some time.' Herze said. Looking over his shoulder, Novita stepped up with her arms crossed, followed by Quasim.

'I'm glad you've finally had the guts to do it.' Lain narrowed her eyes. 'Father.'

'Don't call me Father.' Herze seethed. 'I'm not your Father.' With that, he pulled the trigger.

Closing her eyes, Lain looked away. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Madge before her, gripping her shoulders. Smiling up at her, she closed her eyes and fell.

'Madge!' Lain caught her falling body. 'Madge!' Raising one hand, she saw blood stained on her fingers. Looking down, blood was oozing out of her right abdomen.

Looking up, Lain was just in time to see Herze fire another shot. Dodging, it brushed past her left arm. Unable to withstand Madge's weight, Lain fell to the floor.

'You're right Lain.' Herze took a step forward. 'Betrayers should be eliminated.'

'If you want to shoot, then shoot.' Lain muttered, glaring up at him. 'I dare you.'

Narrowing his eyes, Herze was about to pull the trigger for the third time when a bullet suddenly hit the barrel of his gun, causing it to fly out of his hand. When he looked up again, a tear bomb was already on the floor, smoking rushing out of it.

'Are you alright Father?' Novita cried, rushing towards him.

'Did you see who it was?' Herze asked, staring at the now empty space before them.

Novita shook her head.

'Sir, the hostage has escaped.' Klause reported to Quasim, who nodded.

'It's him Father.' Quasim narrowed his eyes, shooting a glance at Novita.

'It was Enzia.'

End of Chapter 9
Next Update: 2nd October, 2005

A/N: And the countdown begins, three chapters left. If you're curious about who will be in GSA III, which I think a lot of you have already made a very good guess, you can go to 'hermitjunction. net' or my LJ by the user name 'piscesmiles' for teaser pics. Of course I'm not going to let out too much. I'm evil.