Merry belated Christmas! This is a present for all people reading this! So, enjoy and please review!

Oh yeah, I forgot the disclaimer last chapter...hee hee...

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Seed...or do I? apple thrown at head

Nope, I don't. --

Illusion - Part Three

It happened a bit more than a year ago. She had become the new ruler of Orb as her father wanted her to be. She was busy all the time and seemed to care more about the country rather than herself. She didn't get enough sleep. She didn't eat enough. She didn't drink enough water, although she had drunk a lot of coffee to keep herself awake while filling in all those reports.

Then one day, I was called. The voice on the phone cried, "Cagalli, she's gotten pneumonia! Come back here, quick!" The call ended as quickly as it came. Of course, I rushed out and found Lacus. I told her about Cagalli and she in turn ushered me to the car and then we drove to Cagalli's expansive home. We rushed up to her room and found Athrun at the side of the bed, murmuring reassurances to her. His face was covered by his hair.

We walked closer to the bed and that when Athrun seemed to notice us. He stood up and faced us. He said to us, "The doctor's diagnosis says it's fatal. She's dying as we speak..." We examined his face from where we stood and it looked as if he had been crying for a long period of time. We went closer to the bed and Cagalli was lying there, pale and still, occasionally coughing a bit. Her eyes were closed so she couldn't see us, but we were there for her...

Two weeks later, she had passed on. Athrun had spent an extremely long time in her room with her body. Lacus was crying on my chest as I stroked her hair gently. I didn't cry. I promised myself not to cry and now that Cagalli was gone, I had to be the pillar for everyone. I had to support Lacus and Athrun. Or else...I would never forgive myself.

During her funeral, Lacus was the only one to cry. Cagalli was buried beside her father, just like she wanted it to be. Athrun. He was pretending that he wasn't as affected, but in his eyes, I could see all the sorrow that harboured there. He was putting on a brave front, and we knew that he would be depressed for months and probably years to come. But he would get over it. Or so we thought.

A year later, it looked as if Athrun had finally recovered from Cagalli's death. So Lacus and me married. Athrun and our old friends (even Yzak came, can you believe it?) celebrated our marriage and when we told Athrun that we were going on a honeymoon. He seemed to look at us with envy, but back then I thought I was imagining that. We had a great time, but we kept on worrying about him. And we were right to.

Athrun was gone when we came back. We were shocked that he would run away and we started looking for him, wherever he was. One year had passed, but we still had no idea of where he was. It was only by chance that I found him, possibly on quite an obvious place, but not obvious for us at the time.

When I spotted him, I shouted, "There you are, Athrun!"

He looked up at me and replied. "Oi, Kira! I haven't seen you in a while!"

I was worried and he seemed to notice it by my expression. He seemed to have confused look and I decided I would reply.

"Athrun..." I hesitated a bit, wondering if I should continue with my query. In the end, I asked him, "Are you feeling alright?"

He smiled at me.

"Of course I'm alright, Kira! Yuli and I..." He gestured to the spot beside him. My eyes widened as I registered what was happening. But he never seemed to notice as he continued talking. "...Are just fine! And don't worry about Cagalli either! She's not overworking herself as long as the baby's here."

I was paralyzed in shock, but not even once did Athrun notice the way I was staring at him. He now started asking me questions. "Kira...why did you never visit us? We would have been happy with you and Lacus as guests and we would've liked to know what you two were doing this past year."

I answered in my head, 'Because you ran away and we never knew where we could find you...' But when I replied, I surprised even myself.

"You...and Cagalli...are married?" He looked at me with obvious suspicion. 'Idiot!', I cursed myself. But he didn't try to attack me or anything. Just answered with a quiet, "Yes...and what is it to you?"

I shook my head and I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to see him shattered in front of me. I didn't want to break him away from his illusion of safety. But...

"Nothing...except..."

"Go on," he said back to me. He still wanted to know the cruel truth? Then I would deliver it to him...

"She's dead. Cagalli's dead, Athrun, and has been for the past year or so."

Athrun Zala was broken by this new revelation. The illusion that he had been seeing for a year had shattered in front of his very eyes, the shards cutting him apart and breaking him in turn. The shards which he embraced, yet made him bleed more the longer he clutched onto them.

I watched as he refused to believe it, but then...the message had sunk in. Cagalli was fated to never come back to him.

His hair had blocked his eyes. He finally let go of the shards. He said, "Yes...I remember now...she's gone forever..."

I let out a breath of relief. He was back to normal, depressed, but back to normal. But he continued.

"...Because you made her go away."

His hands went for my neck. When he squeezed, I gasped and tried to pry his hands off my neck. It wasn't working and I was already losing strength from the lack of air. I tried talking to him.

"Athrun...yamero..."

He looked at me with a manical expression on his face. He was enjoying this, I could tell.

"Athrun...onegai..."

This time he reacted by squeezing harder. And then he said something I never thought he'd ever mention again.

"Huh, you truly are the Ultimate Coordinator...And you were disappointed with being superior compared to others...so why won't you die?"

I nearly cried hearing that from him. 'No, not that nightmare again, never!' I reached for what I only kept for emergencies. And I told him, "Because...Lacus...needs...me..."

He remembered Lacus and his grip on my neck slackened for a second, but it was enough time I needed.

'Gomennasai...Athrun.'

I took out the dagger and plunged deep into his heart. His hands let go of my neck. As he fell, he left me with something that would haunt me forever.

"Naze...Kira...?"

And he slipped into the darkness forever.

Owari