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 12

'If you don't love me, then I'll make you love me in your death!' Novita hissed, tears streaming down her face.

'Then kill me.' Rusty said flatly. 'I'm standing right in front of you, kill me.'

'Damn you!' Novita screamed.

Rusty closed his eyes and turned his head at the painful sting across his right shoulder. All was going on so fast he could only see Novita step forward, blood oozing out of her chest. Just as Novita turned around, another shot went through her forehead and she fell back from the force.

Time seemed to pause as Rusty stared down at Novita's dead body, blood pouring around her head, staining her dyed hair. Looking up again, he found himself staring into familiar bright amber eyes. Lain was standing there, looking at him with a gun in her hand, smoke coming out of it. She gave him a small smile before lowering in the gun. Rusty felt his voice caught in his throat as he watched her fall back, the gun falling from her gloved hand.

'Lain!' Shiho gasped and fell to the floor at Lain's weight. She patted her blood stained cheek. 'Lain, hang in there! Lain!'

'Let me.' Rusty walked up to them, stepping across Novita's dead body. Kneeling down, he took off his trench coat and wrapped it around Lain. Just then, the doors at the tier burst open with men armed with shot guns.

Among them, Vail stared down at Novita's dead body. 'Damn you Enzia, you killed her?'

'Not me.' Rusty said, looking up at him. 'Her sister killed her.'

'You're not going to get away with this Enzia, you and your bitch.' Vail growled, holding his hand up. 'Fire – '

'You're not going to win with a handgun!' Rusty yelled over the noise, dodging behind one of the boxes with Lain in her arms.

'Shut up.' Shiho bawled. Loading her gun again, she poked her head out from the box and aimed at Vail's legs, watching as he fell down onto his knees.

'They don't work like the military.' Rusty hissed. 'They – look out!' He pulled Shiho back by the collar.

Just then, a loud explosion could be heard. Hugging Lain to him tightly, he watched as the tier collapsed, smoke filling the area.

'Jesus…' Shiho stood up, coughing at the smoke. Turning around, she widened her eyes at the door.

'Right on time, am I not?' Yzak asked, raising his eyebrows, tossing a small remote in his hand.

Shiho looked away, gripping her gun tightly.

'You could have made your timing better.' Rusty muttered, standing up.

'Let's go, LF's going to be here soon and you can't let them be seen or you'll be charged.' Yzak motioned his head towards the entrance. 'My car's out front.'

'Let's go.' Rusty murmured, picking Lain up. When he walked past Vail's knocked out body, he couldn't help but give his head a hard kick, glaring down at him. 'My name's not Russ Enzia, asshole. My name's Rusty MacKenzie.'

Yzak couldn't help but smirk. 'Let's go, Rusty MacKenzie.'

Walking out of the warehouse, Shiho took out a grenade and eyed Rusty. 'You don't mind, do you?'

Rusty just shrugged as Yzak opened the car door for him. 'Be my guest.'

Pulling at the safety lock, Shiho threw it at Rusty's convertible. Watching it burst into flames, she climbed into the front seat of Yzak's sedan. 'They're going to come any minute.'

Yzak took a deep breath while gunning the engine, shooting a glance at Rusty through the rear mirror. 'Let's get the hell out of here. Dearka's so going to kill me.'

Holding Lain close to him, Rusty took off Lain's glove and took her hand in his. Feeling Lain's fingers move against his, he watched as she wrapped one finger around his wedding ring.

'It's going to be alright.' Rusty could only whisper as he tightened his grip around her. 'Hang in there.'

'Rusty, calm down, you're making me dizzy.' Yzak scowled, peeling a banana.

'Calm down? You're telling me to calm down?' Rusty glared at him while pacing the room.

Yzak just smirked, taking a bite of his banana. 'The doc's doing her job, so shush.'

Rusty threw his hands up in the air. 'I can't believe – ' he stopped and narrowed his eyes at Yzak. 'You're really enjoying this aren't you?'

Yzak looked at him innocently. 'What do you mean I'm enjoying this?'

'You're so enjoying this.' Rusty scowled.

Yzak shrugged, trying hard not to smile. 'I just find the role reversal ironic, that's all.'

'One of these days, I'm really going to kill you.' Rusty muttered.

Yzak just raised his eyebrows. 'You've had your chance and you blew it. Face it Rusty, you don't want to kill us.'

Rusty could only glare at him. They both looked up when Shiho stepped out of the bathroom.

'She's still in there?' Shiho asked.

'Yeah.' Yzak cast a glance at the closed door. 'They've been in there for two hours, must be pretty serious.'

Shiho sat down on the sofa beside the dining table, holding one hand against her forearm. 'She's been whipped like a horse, you think?'

Yzak eyed Shiho. 'Don't freak him out more than he already is Major.'

Gritting her teeth, Shiho looked away, crossing her arms.

'Don't worry Rusty, she's going to live.' Yzak said, crossing his arms.

The door clicked open, a woman in a white robe stepping out of the room.

'How is she?' Shiho asked, standing up.

'She's going to live.' She said, taking off her plastic gloves. 'I had to stitch her up though, her back's like broken. She's going to have to rest for at least three months.'

'Not a problem.' Yzak said. 'This place's practically a hospital.'

'Yes.' The doctor eyed Yzak. 'I'll come back tomorrow to check on her, okay?'

'Thanks.' Rusty muttered.

'See, I told you she'd live.' Yzak raised his eyebrows at Rusty.

'I'm a little confused here, what is this place?' Rusty asked.

'This is my grandmother's apartment.' Yzak replied, sitting down on the sofa. 'It used to be under her name, well, still is. She had to lie in bed for most of the day but she didn't like staying at a hospital so we sort of set one up for her in her apartment. You're going to be safe in here and you can trust the doc, she use to work for my Father before he died.'

'Thank you.' Rusty said quietly, running one hand through his hair.

'Go check out the lady, I'll come back later.' Yzak pointed one finger at him. 'You still owe me an explanation, don't forget it MacKenzie.'

Rusty gave him a small smile and pointed a finger back. 'I won't, trust me.'

Yzak and Shiho were silent as they watched Rusty enter the room. Grabbing her jacket, Shiho shrugged it on carefully, avoiding the wound she got wrapped up.

'I'll take off then.' Shiho said quietly, tossing her hair of the jacket.

Yzak sat there on the sofa, watching sideways as Shiho opened the door and stepped out. He continued sitting there, staring at the door. Clenching his teeth, he suddenly sprang up and threw the door open. Looking around, he saw Shiho walking across the parking lot. Cursing, he flew down the stairs and caught up with her, turning her around by her good arm.

'I'll take you back home.' Yzak said.

'I can go home by myself.' Shiho said, refusing to look at him.

'You didn't drive, you're not in the city and you've got a bad arm.' Yzak grunted. 'Just let me take you home.'

'Let go Commander.' Shiho said flatly, staring down at his arm.

'Shiho!'

At the use of her first name, Shiho snatched her arm away and slapped Yzak in the face before she could even stop herself. She paused before opening her mouth. 'Don't use my name!'

Yzak stared at her, touching his heated face with one hand. 'I just – '

'I can go home by myself.' Shiho said in a controlled voice, looking away. 'I'll see you tomorrow at work, goodbye Commander Jule.'

Yzak glared at her back and watched her turn the corner. Unable to contain the frustration building within him, Yzak gave the tire of his car a kick and punched on the side. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten, gritting his teeth.

If he gave up, he wouldn't be Yzak Jule.

Three Months later

Lain held herself against the door frame, wincing at the pain shooting up her back. A bit dizzy, she paused at the door before taking slow steps, holding her head with one hand and the wall with the other. Shooting a glance at the wall clock, it read five fifteen and it was already starting to get dark outside.

Turning her head, she saw Rusty sitting on the barcalounger in front of the TV, his trench coat draped across his shoulders. He seemed to be fast asleep and had his head rolled to one side. Swallowing down a lump in her throat, Lain walked her way to the bathroom and pushed open the door slowly, not wanting to wake him up.

Stepping in slowly, she looked up and found herself staring at dull amber eyes. Taking a deep breath, she turned on the tap and washed her hands, leaning her elbows on the counter to stop from collapsing. She was still so tired and all energy was drained from her body. Staring down at the loose over sized T shirt she was wearing, she grimaced at her smell. Before she made a move to remove it, the door opened again.

'What do you think you're doing?' Rusty asked accusingly, crossing his arms.

Lain stared at him for a while before looking down. 'I want to take a shower.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'Alone?'

'Alone.' Lain confirmed, shooting a glance at him.

'In your dreams.' Rusty muttered. Walking up to her, he held her by the arms. 'If you really want to take a shower, I'll help you. It has been three months and the doc said you could start taking showers, only with someone's help. You're going to slip and bang your head into something in here. I already owe Yzak a lot of money.'

'Well, I'm sorry for you.' Lain scoffed.

Ignoring her comment, Rusty grabbed the hem of her long T-shirt and pulled it off her. Wrapping one arm over her shoulders, he steadied her before pulling her white cotton panties down to her thighs. 'Sit down.'

Gritting her teeth, Lain sat down on the side of the tub carefully, trying to ignore the fact that she was next to naked with Rusty kneeling at her feet.

Pulling her panties down her legs, Rusty tossed it into the hamper. Glancing at her, he picked her up and placed her into the tub, her back facing him. Stepping into the tub with only shorts and a tank top on, he sat at the edge and positioned her between his legs. He was about to reach for the shower when Lain grabbed his left hand.

'You're going to get yourself wet.' Lain protested weakly, turning her head.

'I've got clothes to wear.' Rusty said. 'Unless you want me to wash with you… Lain?'

Lain took a deep breath and let go of his hand. 'If you say so.'

Rusty's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he turned on the shower. Leading her head back slightly, he rinsed her silky locks and started washing it with shampoo, massaging her scalp gently.

'Gods your hair's freaking long.' Rusty muttered, running his fingers down.

'I didn't ask you to wash it for me.' Lain muttered, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

Rusty just pursed his lips at the comment and twisted her hair like a cloth, watching as water squeezed out. Reaching for the shower, he gently rinsed Lain's body, running his hand over her scarred skin softly. He couldn't help but twist his eyebrows at the dark scars on her shoulder and her back. The shower dropping from his hand, he knelt down on the tub and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

'Rusty?' Lain turned her head slightly, touching his arm, feeling his soaked tank top on her back.

Rusty buried his face into her neck, his spiky red locks brushing across her sensitive skin. After a while, he let go of her. 'Turn around.'

'What?'

'Turn around.' Rusty repeated impatiently, his hands on her shoulders. Grunting, Lain turned around slowly with his help and looked down.

Reaching for the shower, he continued his unfinished work.

'My face.' Lain reminded, staring up at him. Nodding, he ran his wet palms across her cheeks and forehead. Resting his thumb on either side of her face, he messaged it gently, their eyes locked the whole time. Stepping out of the tub, he grabbed a towel and carried her out of the tub. Placing her down on her feet, he toweled her off and wrapped a white robe around her, tying the knot loosely.

'Wait.' Rusty held his hand up before Lain could say anything. She turned her head away when Rusty peeled off his wet clothes and toweled himself.

'Aren't you going to put something on?' Lain asked.

'My clothes are in the room.' Rusty said, looking at her in amusement. 'You're not shy are you?'

'No.' Lain murmured.

'Well, if that's the case…' Rusty leaned down and picked her up. Opening the door, he walked across the living room butt naked.

'You'll want to kill yourself if your friends come in at this moment.' Lain muttered, wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself.

'Don't worry, I'll kill them before I kill myself.' Rusty said in a joking tone. Placing her down on the bed, he opened a drawer and took out some clothes, throwing a pair of boxers and a red T-shirt on.

'Don't I get to wear anything?' Lain asked with a frown.

'White cotton panties?' Rusty offered, dangling a pair from his fingers.

Lain rolled her eyes in attempts to cover her embarrassment. 'Whatever.'

Smirking to himself, he took out one of his shirts before closing the drawer. Untying the knot, he slid the robe off her slowly in order to avoid friction with her wounds. He quickly dressed her up, not wanting her to feel cold.

'Hungry?' Rusty asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lain shook her head. 'I'm a little thirsty though.'

'I'll get you some water.' Rusty made a move to stand but stopped when Lain held her arms out.

'I want to go out to.' Lain said.

Sighing, Rusty picked her up again and carried her out into the living room. Setting her down on the sofa, he went to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. Handing it to her, he sat on the coffee table, watching her sip from the glass.

'What?' Lain asked, trying to hide her face behind the cup.

'Déjà vu?' Rusty asked back, leaning forward slightly.

'More or less.' Lain shrugged. 'You drove me crazy during those five months.'

'And then you fell in love with me.' Rusty said promptly.

Lain looked at him in the eye, then turned her head. 'Maybe.'

Smirking, Rusty sat down beside her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Exhaling softly, Lain leaned her head on Rusty's shoulder.

'The scars are going to heal.' Rusty said softly, caressing her arm. 'Your skin's going to be flawless again.'

Lain just nodded, leaning into him more, holding the glass with both hands.

'You want to ask me a lot of questions.' Rusty said.

Lain nodded.

'It's all going to work out, don't worry.' Leaning the side of his face on her head, Rusty closed his eyes.

'Rusty.' Lain gave his T-shirt a gentle pull. Opening his eyes, Rusty smiled at the snow falling outside the window, lacing his fingers through hers.

Looking down at their entwined hands, Lain couldn't help but finger his now bare fourth finger. Sighing, she closed her eyes relaxed against his warm body, falling into a deep sleep.

Never in her life had she felt so secure and belonged.

'Now that I've given you my explanation, it's high time you give me some stuff on the current situation out there.' Rusty crossed his arms and looked at the three men before him.

Yzak, Dearka and Athrun managed a three-way glance. Sitting on the barcalounger, Lain looked down while Shiho crossed her legs on the floor.

'Well,' Yzak cleared his voice. 'Nessar's not completely down, if that's what your asking about.'

'That's to be expected.' Rusty grunted, shooting a glance at Lain.

'Well, they've basically gone underground.' Dearka said. 'But Herze van Ness has been charged, along with his number one sidekick Daires something, thanks to Athrun's intelligence from Orb of course.'

Athrun just shrugged.

'Yeah, I saw that on the news.' Rusty said flatly. 'Anything else?'

'It's Quasim isn't it?' Lain said suddenly.

'Well… yeah.' Yzak sighed. 'With Novita van Ness dead and all, Quasim van Ness is basically the only one around to keep the business working. Their narcotics business has come to a halt because the warehouse was taken by LF and because Herze van Ness held all the business in hand.'

'They've even taken their headquarters away from PLANT.' Dearka continued. 'They've now basically turned to firearms and sex trafficking.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'Sex trade? They've been expanding it for some time.'

Dearka nodded. 'That's all I've got from LF, they've put everything under confidential and I'm not in the mood to hack their database.'

Rusty turned to Athrun. 'Anything from you?'

Athrun shook his head. 'No, I've got nothing.'

Rusty frowned. 'Then why are you here?'

Athrun gave him a smirk. 'I just wanted to see if you're still in one piece and listen to this "explanation" of yours.'

'Well, are you satisfied with it?' Rusty asked.

Athrun shrugged. 'It was okay.'

'Okay?' Yzak snarled. 'He practically shot my head off!'

'Get over it Yzak.' Dearka rolled his eyes. 'It's Rusty MacKenzie we're talking about, do you know how much money you lost to him during our academy days?'

Rusty couldn't help but give out a laugh. 'Man did you turn into a cry baby when you lost.'

'I did not.' Yzak said through clenched teeth.

'You did.' Rusty said, raising his eyebrows. 'And you still owe me two hundred bucks.'

Yzak crossed his arms. 'And how much do you owe me?'

Rusty looked up. 'Call it even?'

'What are you going to do about the two of us?' Lain asked, leaning forward.

Yzak sighed. 'To be honest, I can easily give Rusty back his identity and – '

'There's no way I'm going back to ZAFT.' Rusty cut in.

'I didn't ask you to.' Yzak shot back. 'Anyway, you can use your name again, the system's easy to hack but I won't change the data from ZAFT's database, so you'll basically be just another Rusty MacKenzie.'

'How about Lain?' Rusty asked.

'That's where the problem comes.' Dearka said. 'There's no way you'll be able to use the name van Ness again.'

'I know.' Lain said quietly.

'It won't be a problem, changing your name, but…' Yzak's voice trailed.

'But what?' Rusty asked sharply.

'I want you two to do me a favor.' Yzak leaned forward.

'What favor?' Lain asked.

'I don't want to waste those talents of yours.' Yzak said. 'I want you two to help me, just occasionally. Mainly intelligence.' Yzak narrowed his eyes. 'Like what you did for Hahnenfuss.'

Lain looked at him briefly before smirking. 'You do know how to make a bargain Mr. Jule.'

Yzak shrugged. 'I'm lucrative. I'll guarantee your safety from Nessar and LF, do we have a deal?'

Rusty shot a glance at Lain, who shrugged.

'Are you going to let us live here?' Rusty asked.

Yzak smiled, shaking his head. 'As long as you want.'

Rusty nodded. 'Now that's lucrative.'

'Shiho.' Lain called.

Looking up, Shiho looked at Lain.

'Can you help me up, I want to get something from my room.' Lain raised her eyebrows at the silent girl.

Nodding, Shiho stood up and helped Lain to her feet.

'You're not going to help?' Dearka asked as they disappeared into the room.

'Nah.' Rusty shook his head. 'They want to talk, let them be.'

'You know, I still can't believe you're married dude, married!' Dearka shook his head.

Rusty frowned. 'Excuse me?'

'You did throw us off guard Rusty.' Athrun said. 'Who marries at eighteen?'

'I do.' Rusty said promptly. 'And I plan on being married to her for the rest of my life.'

Athrun laughed. 'We're not saying you can't.'

'If anyone should be worried, it should be Yzak.' Dearka said, shooting a glance at his friend and commander.

'Oh?' Rusty raised his eyebrows at Yzak.

'Don't listen to him.' Was all Yzak said as he stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Inside, Lain sat down slowly on her bed.

'You wanted to talk?' Shiho asked, sitting down on the chair.

'We're even aren't we?' Lain asked, looking out at the window, snow flurrying down.

'You can say that.' Shiho shrugged, crossing her legs.

'Do you have someone to kiss at midnight?' Lain asked.

Shiho growled. 'What are you talking about?'

Lain raised her eyebrows. 'It's new years eve.' She sighed when Shiho refused to response. 'It's been four years Shiho, let it go. So what if it really was your fault, she's not going to live again and neither will Jule care if she lived. She's dead.'

'It's not that simple Lain.' Shiho muttered. 'There's just… too much.'

'Maybe there is.' Lain looked up. 'I just hope you know what you're giving up, or do you really want to give it up.'

'What do you know?' Shiho muttered, looking away.

'I know nothing, ' Lain admitted, 'you're the only one who knows.'

Looking up, Shiho pursed her lips. 'Aren't you supposed to be the cold and uncaring one?'

Lain gave her a smirk. 'And I still am.'

Taking a deep breath, Shiho nodded, giving Lain a pat on the shoulder. 'I'm going to take off.'

'Think about it.' Lain called before Shiho stepped out of the door.

She turned and smiled. 'Take care, I'll call you some other time.'

Lain smiled as the door closed. Reaching up, she touched her chest.

'How're you feeling?' Rusty asked, stepping into the room.

'I'm okay.' Lain said quietly, giving him a small smile.

Returning the smile, Rusty sat beside her. Lain leaned onto him, wrapping one arm around his waist.

'Rusty.'

'Hmm?'

Lain paused before shaking her head. 'Nothing.'

Smiling down at her, Rusty took a deep breath. 'What is it?'

Lain looked up at him. 'I want to go out.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows. 'Go out?'

Lain nodded. 'Out, anywhere.'

'I remember someone locking me in the house for three months straight.' Rusty smirked.

'You were blind then.' Lain muttered, poking him in the chest.

'You really want to go out?' Rusty asked.

Lain nodded.

'Then I'll take you out.'

Lain could see the breath before her as she pulled her coat closer. Walking up to the barrier, she looked down at the magnificent scenery before her.

'They'll love this place.' Lain whispered.

'Here.' Rusty walked up to her with two jars in his hands.

Taking the bigger one, Lain looked down at it. 'We did the right thing didn't we? I did the right thing, right?'

'You did.' Rusty said quietly.

Looking up, Lain opened the jar and tilted it slightly, letting the wind blow the ashes away. Rusty did the same thing with the other one, the sky before them darkened all of a sudden.

'Say hey to Mother for me Madge.' Lain whispered, dropping the jar onto the floor. 'You too, Marni.'

'You think they'll rest in peace?' Rusty asked, looking down.

'They will.' Lain whispered, watching as the sky cleared again. 'They will.'

They stood there in silence, watching as the ashes blew further and further away until they disappeared completely.

'Lain.'

'Hmm?' Lain turned around and saw Rusty staring at her. Feeling her heart skip a beat, she looked away.

Stepping forward, he brushed the back of his hand against her cold cheeks. Sliding his hand down her sleeve, he took her hand in his, holding it up. 'Marry me.'

Lain looked down at the pair of brand new wedding bands lying on his palm. Smiling, she looked up. 'I already have.'

Taking the ring that had her name engraved, she flipped Rusty's hand over and slipped it onto his four finger. She held out the other ring and raised her eyebrows. 'Your turn?'

Rusty's lips curved into a smile. Taking the ring from her, he lifted her hand up and slipped it onto her finger. Holding onto it for a while, he suddenly pulled her forward, enveloping her into a hug.

'A new start?' Rusty whispered into her ear.

Lain pulled away and looked into his eyes. Reaching out one hand, she brushed some of his spiky red locks out of his eyes. 'A new start.'

Brushing her fingers across Rusty's lips, she leaned forward and kissed him. Deepening the kiss, Rusty opened his coat, wrapping it around her as snow started to fall around them.

A white canvas soon surrounded them. They were like a piece of white paper now, the past behind them, erased. There was no Nessar, no Herze van Ness, Novita van Ness… they were going to start all over again, start from square one. There will no longer be questions of the past, only questions of the future.

The future where they belonged to each other. Together.

End of Chapter 12