Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY

The New Coordinate

Story:
AU of GSD. Xander Darklighter, a ZAFT ace pilot was thrown into a string of events that will test his skills, resolve, courage and determination. Which side will he choose to fight with? How will he deal with the events unfolding before him?

Notes:
ChibiRulz: Heart-wrenching? Funny. My girlfriend said almost the same thing about this story especially Xander.

NukeDawg: 19 of them? Damn, you better make a story like G Gundam then. :P

GodNo127: It will be answered here, my friend.

Keep the reviews cometh!

I don't own GSD, their characters or anything else aside from Xander Darklighter, Claire Whitestar and Yvonne Norman.

Chapter 25: The Power To Atone

Xander was tuning his new unit when Kira called him out.

"Xander, do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, sure."

He got out and took his place beside Kira. "Do you have something to ask?"

Kira was surprised by Xander's agile mind but remembering of what Lacus said about him, he smiled. "Yeah. Other than that you were once a ZAFT soldier, I never knew anything about you."

Xander chuckled. "Want me to give a history lesson, huh?"

"I prefer short and concise, thanks very much." Kira said sarcasticaly.

"Hm. Alright. Like you already know, I was born as Xander Reinhardt 18 years ago. My dad, Knuth Reinhardt was a renowned mobile suit engineer back then while my mother Christina Alexander Reinhardt was born of a noble blood. In short, I'm a rare mix of mad science and noble uptights."

Kira grinned at the last sentence as Xander continued.

"Of course being born as a noble gives me advantage in social matters but I'm unlike other nobles who were so full of themselves and knew little about what is happening around the world. Being a deep thinker myself, I decided to leave for PLANT to join ZAFT at the age of 13. It didn't went well with my parents though my mother understood my reasons and let me go. I could still remember my dad's statement, openly disowned me in front of the mansion as I left."

"I used my computer hacking skills to alter my identity and took the name Darklighter before finding my way to PLANT. Once I arrived, I applied to enlist in ZAFT but I have to wait a year before I got accepted. Even with that, I didn't get the chance to train with other recruits. Instead, I was sent out to be Miss Lacus' bodyguard."

Kira raised his eyebrows. "Lacus never said anything about this. You were her bodyguard? But you were just 14 at that time, right?"

Xander nods. "Aye. Apparently, some top guy from the council saw something in my...uh, genes. I found out later that it was Patrick Zala who assigned me. Anyways, I stayed at Clyne's resident for a year and they treated me well."

"Then, I was sent back to the academy and trained under Miguel Ayman. Somehow, I completed the training within a few months and was assigned to Dark Crimson as some sort of apperentice to Claire. From there, we were sent to various parts of the world, doing dirty jobs for the High Council. Of course I felt guilty about killing but I managed to get past that. Soon, I was called 'Rookie Assassin' by my fellow teammates but I couldn't care less about it. To sum it all up, I met many allies and foes like Andrew, Aisha and Yvonne."

"Then, I returned to PLANT to found that I failed the test and I have to repeat another few months and met Athrun, Rusty, Nicole, Dearka and that whiny arse Yzak. I finally graduated with them but was drafted back to the Dark Crimson unit. Again, I killed many innocents and by that time, I started to regret of what I did. My aim was to boardened my views about the world, not killing the innocents. But thankfully, my teammates and especially Claire felt the same way. Later, Claire went back to PLANT to help Miss Lacus in stopping the war. We met back at PLANT and took part in the Battle of Jachin Due. The rest, as historian said, is history."

Kira blinked his eyes a few times. "Is that short and concise?"

Xander smirked. "That's the short and bridged version, my friend. Trust me." he replied.

Xander was floating in his quarters, holding the disc containing the Dark Strike data in his hand.

"Right. I should go and see Lowe."

Xander pushed a comm button for the bridge. "Darklighter to the bridge. Anyone there?"

"Yeah. What do you want, Darklighter?" Andrew asked.

"I need to go somewhere. In my unit."

"Sure. But you'll be back soon, right?"

"Don't worry. I just need to give something to a friend."

From the bridge, Kira, Andrew and Lacus watched Xander left in his new Gundam.

"Don't worry about him, Lacus. He'll be back soon." Kira said.

Lacus nods. "I know. Sir Xander is the type of person that cherish every relationship and true to his words."

"You really know him that much, do you?"

"Yes. When he was my bodyguard, he seldom talks about himself. Doing everything assigned to him without complaining. But he always kept his pledge whenever he made one. He also often had to put up with my naivety and helped me out whenever I'm in trouble."

Andrew nods in agreement. "I still remember when his squad came over to my place for mobile suit training. He was the worst of them all. I berated him a lot because of his slow reactions. But he just shrugged it off and soldiered on. Aisha seemed to take a liking towards him. Often offered him advice and provided extra physical training for him. Why the High Council assigned such a young soldier to Dark Crimson was beyond me."

In the Junk Guild base, Xander was greeted by Lowe upon touchdown.

"Hey, it's been a while, Lowe."

The punk-haired engineer nods. "Yeah. From the look of things, you thrashed the Dark Strike."

"Ugh...that's..."

Lowe laughed at Xander's worried expression. "Don't worry. I won't sue you or anything like that."

"Here's the technical data of the Dark Strike. I managed to take it out just in time." Xander handed Lowe the disc.

"Thanks man. With this, I can make a more powerful unit soon. By the way, have you heard anything from Jess?"

Xander shook. "I'm afraid not."

"It seems that ZAFT is after the Out Frame and Jess have to deal with a mysterious pilot in another Gundam produced by them."

"I see. But I won't worry about it. He might look like a normal peace-loving camera guy, but Jess is actually a capable pilot."

Lowe nods and smiled. "Yeah. I think that too. So, how about a drink? I felt bad seeing you left without having some sort of refreshment the last time around."

"Yeah sure. Just a drink though."

"Sure, sure. While we're at it, I want to know more about that new unit."

Xander just got out from his unit upon returning to Eternal when Kira and Lacus approached him in their pilot suit.

"Hm? Something's wrong?"

Kira nods. "Orb is under attack from ZAFT because they are hiding Lord Djibril there. The Archangel is on its way to help but I don't think that will be enough."

"I'm taking the Infinite Justice and go with Kira." Lacus added.

Xander nods. "Alright. You two go on first. I'll follow up soon."

Kira and Lacus nod. Then, they entered into the respective units.

"Be careful." Xander said.

"We will." Kira replied.

A few minutes later, both Strike Freedom and Infinite Justice launched together.

Xander put on his pilot suit. After firmly putting on the helmet, he got into his unit. He turned on the system to enable the N-Jammer Canceller.

"Damn, I'm carrying a weapon of mass destruction here..."

The catapult deck had been opened and the launch strip was ready. Andrew messaged him.

"Kid, you have to get there ASAP. Orb is under heavy fire from ZAFT right now."

"I know, Andrew. I'm worried about my parents too."

"Well, good hunting then."

"Thanx. You be careful too."

Xander braced himself as his unit was placed on the catapult. Then, a female voice from the bridge echoed.

"X17A Atonement. Please launch!"

Suddenly, Xander remembered what Claire had said.

"I want you to protect everyone dear to you."

(I'm gonna protect my parents...and Lunamaria. Thank you Claire for giving me the power I need to do so.)

"Xander Darklighter. Atonement, heading out!"

With that, the Gundam launched out, spreading its deadly wing blades as Xander turned on the Phase Shift Armor, changing its color from grey to black. Xander couldn't help but to scream in ecstasy.

"WOOOO---HOOOOOO!"

To Be Continued...