Hello, awesome readers! Once again, I am sorry for updating so late. Well, I don't have much to say except: Read and Review, please! It's not really nice to keep on reading my story but not reviewing even once! (And I know some of you do that, so please stop!) Also, I'm not going to check when the main character's birthdays are, so I'll just make them up. And here they are:

Athrun: January 17th,

Stellar: March 2nd

Shinn: February 24th

Cagalli: April 7th

If you have any questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask! thought I would let you people know that in the next chapter or the one after that, I'll probably skip a few years of the group's lives' and then the REAL stuff will start! –cheers—

Well, READ ON!

Disclaimers: Oh, please…… --sighs-- yeah, make me feel bad about not owning Gundam SEED/Destiny! UGH! Go ahead, rub it in…… Meanies…

Destined To Be

-By HiddenNightmares-

Chapter 4

Cagalli Yula shivered in the wind, pulling her warm coat closer to her petite body. Her nose was bright red from the cold but she walked fast so she could stay warm and find Kisaka at the same time. School had just ended a few minutes ago and Shinn and Stellar had run off somewhere to play without her, leaving her all alone.

She frowned. Shinn had promised her that he would build a snowman with her in the afternoon, but he had obviously forgotten. Cagalli and Shinn had met Stellar and Athrun in mid-March. Now it was early December.

Cagalli, Shinn, and Stellar had become close friends, but unfortunately, Athrun remained the odd one. Cagalli had noticed that Athrun was spending less and less time with them, even Stellar, who was obviously the closest to Athrun out of all of them. Now Cagalli rarely even saw the blue-haired boy, and when she did, she wasn't happy with what she saw.

Athrun's pale, but healthy, skin, had become even paler, but instead of looking a healthy pale, it looked like a sort of sickly pale. His once luscious blue locks had lost their shine. His once dazzling emerald-green eyes, though usually filled with smugness and that 'I-am-WAY-better-then-you' look, had dimmed, losing their precious gleam that made him… him. Even his annoying fan-girls had sort of stopped buzzing around him like a bunch of bees attracted to honey. Not that was any great loss, of course.

But worst of all, he seemed to be losing his spirit. He was a completely different person now. It was as if the boy Cagalli had met was disappearing…. maybe for good. And just when they had started to develop a friendship, too. Oh, the irony.

Cagalli was starting to miss the person who always annoyed the hell out of her. Sure, she knew he was still there. Of course she knew. But it was just his physical appearance that was there. The rest of him wasn't. Cagalli had realized a while ago that Athrun wasn't sick, even though he always said he was whenever someone told him he didn't look that great. And when Cagalli finally admitted to him that she didn't believe him, he continued insisting that he was going to be fine the moment he gave her his excuse. If he was, he probably would've made some stupid jibe about Cagalli being concerned for him, just to see her blow up on him.

Cagalli planned to find out why he never talked anymore, (even though he was quiet to begin with,) and the reason for why he didn't come to school more than once a week.

As Kisaka came into her line of vision, and as she started running towards her guardian, Cagalli had a thought. It was an awful thought, and quite advanced for her mind. But the more she tried to forget about it, the more she thought about it. And the horrifying thought was this:

It was almost as if Athrun had lost the will to live.

Cagalli shivered, but not because of the cold.

…

(? P.O.V.)

Mom…. she's gone. People say that when someone dies they're gone, just like that. What do they know? Mom isn't gone, I know it. And even if she is, why didn't she tell me she'd be leaving? I……

I thought she loved me.

Y'know how they say that when you look at someone who's dead, they look like they're in some kind of peaceful slumber? PFFT. That is one of the stupidest and most exaggerated theories I have ever heard. When someone is dead, they're just… dead. Kaboom. It's over.

I don't believe it. I can't believe it! She's not gone! Dad's lying, he must be. When mom comes back, then dad will become his old self again. He'll stop working so much and he'll stop….. Stop it. Mom would make him stop. She'd make him laugh and smile again just as normal fathers' do, and she'll warm the whole house with her kindness and love. And then…….

Then I'll have a family again.

…

Cagalli yelled happily when she saw that her snowman (or snowgirl) was finished. Sure, it was a tad crooked…… and unstable-looking, too, but it was still her first snowman EVER! She was so proud of herself! It had the classic carrot nose, wool scarf, and the hat, and it was cute and all, but there was something missing, something important.

Cagalli frowned. What was it that was missing? She looked the snowgirl over, whom she'd christened Cagalli Junior, but she still couldn't figure it out.

Sighing, she drifted to her home, deciding to give up for now. At the moment she'd just think about other stuff, and, oh, the creamy, delicious substance she craved for that was called—

"HOT CHOCOLATE!" Cagalli screeched, running into the kitchen still in her 'snow-clothes'. "KISAKA, ARE YOU DONE YET!"

"Yes, Cagalli, I'm done. But—" he waggled a finger at her. "—get out of those wet clothes first."

"But I wanna go back outside after!" Cagalli whined.

"Cagalli-chan…" Kisaka warned in a low voice.

"Fine, then. After I finish my hot chocolate, don't EVER talk to me again."

"Understood, princess." :P

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

A few minutes later Cagalli sat on one of the chairs in the dining room, happily sipping her warm drink.

Therefore, thoughts could wait until later.

…

…

(? P.O.V.)

Cold….. It was so cold……

—Dream Sequence—

Blood. There was blood everywhere. I knew who's blood it was, yet at the same time, the name of the person who had shed do much of the red substance was in the deepest corner of my mind.

I saw the body. It was, again, someone familiar, yet forgotten. Someone precious and talented, yet someone who no longer shone like the jewel they were. Someone who had a soul filled with hopes and dreams and wishes, yet someone who had lost just about everything.

Then…… I saw the person beside the body. It was definitely a male, but the features were too far away to recognize. Even if I had been physically close to the person, it would have been too dark to see the features of this man.

The stench of blood is suffocating, but I did not choke. I was used to it.

All of a sudden, a light opened up out of the red clouds and it landed on the two people, one dead and one alive.

The man, the one who was alive, was holding a silver dagger in his hand. The dagger was beautiful, but deadly at the same time. An intricate design wieved across the blade, and a detailed 'P' was carved into it. But the most eye-catching part of it was a beautiful emerald placed at the hilt. But there was one more thing…

Both the dagger and the man were covered in blood.

A chill ran down my spine as the man's evil laugh filled the air. And at last, I knew who the two people were.

The man was my father. A murderer?

And the blood…

It was mine.

—End of Dream Sequence—

(Normal P.O.V.)

Athrun Zala woke up gasping, trying to separate dreams from reality. Sweat dotted his brow, but he didn't bother to wipe it away.

After he got himself under control, he shivered and pulled his comforter closer to himself.

He was cold. His skin seemed to be covered in frost, icy enough to bring pain biting into him like tiny needles. (1)

The dream… it had all seemed so real. But, Athrun reasoned with himself, it had only been a dream, right? His father wouldn't really murder him, right?

Right?

At least, that's what he wanted to think. But he knew, deep inside, that his mind was right. And what his father had said and done before proved to rouse his suspicions even further.

—Flashback from about a year earlier—

"Father? You requested my presence?" Athrun called questioningly, standing outside of the door to his father's study.

"Come in, Athrun." his father's voice, usually so deep and loving, cut into him like a knife. It sounded hard and cold. And, if Athrun was correct, it had a tiny bit of despair and anger in it, too. This was a little strange because Athrun thought he had not done anything to make his father mad, so why would he be calling Athrun himself? Still pondering this, he went inside and quietly closed the door behind him.

His dad had his back to Athrun. Mr. Zala was standing with his hands behind his back, facing the large window that covered half of the room's right wall. It wasn't that the room was small, just that the window was big.

Anyone who came into the house could immediately see that the Zala household was buried in money. Patrick Zala's study was impressive, but it showed less then 1 percent of their wealth.

Glancing around the familiar room, Athrun waited for his father to speak. After a few seconds of tense silence, the head of the Zala mansion spoke up at last.

"Athrun, I need to talk to you about something very important. Your mother, she…. she's—" surprisingly, his voice cracked. Athrun's concern-filled eyes widened when he saw a tear spill down Patrick's cheek. He'd never seen his headstrong father cry before.

Trying to pull himself together, Patrick spoke up again, clearing his throat and hastily wiping the unbidden tear away. "Your mother, she…

"She's gone."

It was at that moment, on his 9th Christmas Eve, Athrun Zala, kind-hearted and always seeming to be ready for anything, saw his world fall apart right in front of his very eyes.

—End Flashback—

Athrun buried his face in his hands, large tears spilling out of his eyes, remembering……..

—Another Flashback from the beginning of November—

A scream made its way out of Athrun's throat as he sat up quickly in his bed, breathing heavily. When he realized he had only been having a nightmare, his heartbeat started to go back to normal and his fear-filled eyes started to calm down.

After he felt somewhat better, he decided to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Padding out of his room, he sleepily made his way down the long flight of stairs, running his hand freely along the dark oak banister. When he reached the kitchen, he went straight to the cabinet holding the drinking glasses.

Just as he was reaching for a glass, he heard the front door open, then close, and a muttered curse as someone bumped into a wall.

Athrun froze. Was it a burglar? A clumsy burglar? Just as he was about to press the security button under the sink, he heard a cough. It was an awkward sort of cough, and slightly drunk sounding, but Athrun realized that the cough was familiar-sounding. But even though it was familiar-sounding, he couldn't place whose it was. So he decided to leave security out for the moment and find out who it was by himself instead. Not a very smart move, but he was only 10.

Looking around for a makeshift weapon, he quietly slid out a pan from… uh… 'somewhere'… and slowly crept out of the kitchen.

Athrun held the pan in front of himself protectively like a spear. Of course, he knew how to both defend himself and inflict pain without the pan. It was in his blood, and he was trained to do so. No worries, end of story. However, that is for another time. Right now, he had to concentrate on the task at hand.

With the grace of a cat, he silently stalked into the main hallway. Within another few seconds, he was in the same room as the stranger.

He started to feel his way to where the light switches were, but he came to a sudden halt and stiffened when he felt a large hand on his arm, stopping him in his tracks. The poor boy's heart almost stopped, but, as I said before, he was…… trained.

Athrun pulled a dagger that he had had concealed under his shirt faster then you could blink. In two seconds flat, he had the advantage. Twisting around, he gave the man a painful blow to the abdomen, making him fall to his knees. Athrun slid the dagger smoothly to the man's throat.

"Who are you?" Athrun whispered harshly. Kill or be killed, that was the policy he was taught to believe. "What business do you have here?"

There was silence. You know something bad will happen when you hear that kind of silence. You just… you just know it. Call it… instinct, if you will.

Athrun knew it, too.

The man spoke up at last. "Athrun… turn on the lights." His words were slurred, and Athrun could tell straight away that he was drunk. However, the person's voice was calm. And, of course, once again, it sounded familiar. And finally, Athrun recognized the person and the voice that belonged to it.

"F-FATHER!" Athrun managed to gasp out. He quickly let go of Patrick Zala and blindly made his way towards the light switches. With one quick flick of a finger, the whole house was illuminated.

Athrun's dad stood up and brushed non-existent dust off his…. HAWAIIAN T-SHIRT AND NEON GREEN SHORTS! WITH A BASEBALL CAP! Athrun blinked to see if what he was viewing was actually real. Nothing changed, so he pinched himself. Nothing. If Athrun hadn't known he was in trouble, he would've laughed. His dad still hadn't looked Athrun in the eye.

When he finally made eye contact with his son, Patrick's eyes were filled rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. Athrun let go of the pan he hadn't realized he was still holding in surprise and it fell to the ground with a dull crash. He stared at his father with wide eyes, not being able to accept the idea that his father was drunk. He had never seen him drink before.

His father had changed after Lenore's death. But Athrun hadn't thought that the change would be this… this severe on his father. Athrun himself had changed very much through the few months that had passed. He was no longer the naïve and considerate young boy he used to be. Now, the new him concealed his emotions as if he was no longer human, but a machine.

Patrick Zala slowly started to move towards Athrun, who inevitably started to back away. The only ones who could ever see through Athrun's emotionless façade were his mom and dad. His mom had left the world a long time ago but his father could see that Athrun was confused. Confused and….. Scared.

Grinning like a madman, Patrick Zala took a gun from his pocket, pointed it at Athrun, and pulled the trigger.

—End Flashback—

…

MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Sadly, that's all I've got so far. What's sadder is that I haven't even gotten to the real Christmas-y stuff yet. Some Christmas special this turned out to be. Oh, well. I hope you guys liked this chapter. As you can tell, it sucked. But I like the part where I stopped. Leaves you guys in suspense, you know? You must have a lot of questions…… heh. )