Hello again!

Sorry it took me so long to update – I had three major exams to deal with but now I'm free to write as I please. Thanks to all of you who took the time to review. It means a lot to me.

Oh my! I decided to treat myself and rented the first five episodes of Gundam Seed Destiny… Whoa… Athrun certainly changed but I still like him. He seems very mature - sighs I can't wait to see the rest of the series! I really like Shinn too... though he seems extremely irrational. Anyway, enough blather from me. Here is the next chapter – I hope you enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer:I don't own Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny or any references made to either series.

Abhorrence

Chapter #5: The Deal

Cagalli followed in silence as Jibril led her down a narrow alleyway, further and further from the crowds and into the darker parts of the city. From her time there during the war, she knew them well. Much as she would hate to admit it. As she stared at the older man, she felt her blood boil as the image of Athrun being held up against the glass window flashed in her mind over and over again. Athrun… the one she held most dear… perhaps the kindest, most thoughtful person she had ever met was now in the center of a mess that she had accidentally caused almost one year ago.

"So it has been quit a while hasn't it Cagalli?" Jibril made light conversation as though nothing was wrong. "An entire year? You've been quit successful so I have heard. Congradulations."

Cagalli just grunted.

"I'd have thought that you would have settled down by now," Jibril continued as he opened a door to a dreary, worn-down pub. Even though the windows were cracked and the door was broken, the place was still in business and Cagalli could hear harsh and crude voices coming from inside. The thick horrible odor of alcohol and smoke was overwhelming and Cagalli had to refrain from wanting to gag.

"Perhaps us picking up that young man off the street upset your plans," He added knowingly and smiled when he noticed the shade of Cagalli's cheeks darken. "He's a good-looking boy… for a Coordinator. Such a shame it would be to scar such a beautiful face."

She hesitated for a moment and looked over at Jibril, burning a hole through him with her blazing eyes. "What do you want?" She asked again, growing impatient.

"I thought you would want to discuss it over a couple drinks…" Jibril started but Cagalli cut him off, her fiery temper making her curt.

"I want to discuss it now!" Cagalli snarled and softened her voice. "What is it that you want!"

Jibril sighed and, closing the door, turned to face the girl his group had rescued almost one year ago. His light mood suddenly vanished as a shadow fell across his features. He straightened and took a sharp step towards Cagalli forcing her to step backwards.

"The Blue Cosmos has been having financial trouble since you left and refused to join our cause," He explained, his voice hauntingly low. "And our time for action is quickly depleting. Naturals are starting to become disillusioned by all the pro co-existence propaganda you and Orb have been putting out. I want 15 million dollars."

Cagalli gasped in shock but before she could speak, Jibril interrupted her.

"I know you have access to it," He warned and pointed a finger in Cagalli's face, his eyes screaming murder. "Don't toy with me or else… This Athrun will become a victim of my hospitality."

"You aren't seriously considering…" Cagalli couldn't finish. She remembered what Jibril had told her last year, his plans, his hopes, his aspirations: a bright future of the blue and pure and a dark future for the Coordinators.

"They are everywhere," Jibril spat and pointed in disgust down the alley towards the crowds casually making their way down the streets. "The Earth has become a polluted population, our culture has become all but nothing. If there is any future for this nation then we must rise up and remove the disease that is spreading. Coordinators are a threat to the way we live, our history, our culture, our way of life."

Cagalli felt a sudden pain stab through the back of her mind. As she gazed out at the crowds, she remembered staring at people through the same eyes with the same ideas that Jibril was telling her now. The Naturals had gone through so much in the last few years. The violent attack on the earth, the war… Cagalli had grown up barring a strong resentment for Coordinators… yet, she was better now. She had come to realize that such radical thinking would solve nothing and only lead to more tragedy on both sides.

"It's wrong," She ground out, shaking her head. "The Earth has moved past this Jibril. We have put so much effort into international relations… especially with the PLANTS… what you want to do will lead us back to war."

"Annihilation of the Coordinators would solve everything." Jibril snapped and brought his hand up to violently backhand Cagalli across the face. He stopped, however, when he saw the uncertainty in her eyes.

"You didn't think so before," He mused and raised an eyebrow. "And part of me believes that deep down you are still one of us. Revolutionaries who are fighting for a better world."

"I am NOT like you!" Cagalli shot back with less conviction than she might have liked. "You are a criminal. Your plan to murder all those of unnatural birth didn't work during the war and still won't."

"We shall see," Jibril replied. "You have two days, Cagalli. Bring me a check for 15 million or else… I'll start my plan to rid this region of all parasites… beginning with your friend and I have a feeling he means a little more to you than just a simple friend would."

"Jibril," Cagalli knew she sounded desperate but at this point didn't know what else to do. "You know I can't betray Orb like that…I can't give you the money to kill hundreds of innocent people. Such actions would upset the PLANTS and we are so close to achieving true peace!"

"But it is acceptable to betray friends?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's not like you, Cagalli…or is it because he is a Coordinator that you don't seem to care. That, I could understand."

"If you dare hurt Athrun I swear I will see you dead…" Cagalli ground out. Her fists clinched as the words stumbled out. "No more blood needs to be spilled over events that happened so long ago. We've stopped the fighting… there is no need to start it up all over again… massacring Coordinators on earth will do just that!'

"Do you not want to secure the future of our pure world?" Jibril demanded before shaking his head. Eyeing Cagalli, he knew he was wasting his time. "Regardless, it matters not. What does matter is that I have something you want, and you have something I want. Give us the money, we will give you back Athrun and you can go free, never to be bothered by us again."

"What will you do with the money?" Cagalli shot back. "Buy weapons? So you can hurt more people?"

"Yes." Jibril replied. Without any warning, he grabbed hold of Cagalli's jacket and pulled her close. So close, Cagalli could smell the alcohol on his breath and winced. "I am growing tired of this. I've told you where we stand. You have two days. Think long and hard about what you say next for I'm warning you… it won't be you who suffers."

Cagalli bit her lip and lowered her eyes. She knew that Jibril wasn't lying and that any more words from her could result in Athrun being hurt. Never had she felt more sick in her life. Gazing into those hard, violet eyes, Cagalli understood all too well Jibril's fear, no phobia, of Coordinators. His belief that the Coordinators would bring about the destruction of the Naturals and that they all must be destroyed had manifested itself in his mind. Athrun was in grave danger.

"You know what I am capable of," Jibril hissed. "Coordinator or not, they still bleed, they still feel pain and they can still die. If you don't give us what we want then I can assure you, Athrun won't live another pain-free moment in his miserable life. If you go to the police, I will personally see to it that his death is an excruciating one."

"Promise me, Jibril," Her voice softened as she choice her words with great care. "Promise me that you will not hurt him… I have two days right? Promise me that you will leave him be."

"For two days and two nights…" Jibril warned. "If you fail to comply then you can consider his life forfeit. If you are not here, in front of Aua's Pub by midnight two days from now, then don't bother coming back at all."

Cagalli simply nodded and giving Jibril one final glance, turned and hurried down the alley. She didn't know where she was running to, but she had to get away. Her heart felt torn, she felt as if split between two horrible evils. Her feet smacked against the cobblestone road as she ran and she shook her head in anguish. How could she give Jibril the money he needed to start army? How could she sit back and let Athrun become a victim of Jibril's foolishness? Neither choice was appealing, and she felt her heart bleeding in pain and indecisiveness.

Cagalli fled towards the hotel that she was to stay at. Tears of frustration filled her eyes as thoughts of Athrun ran through her mind. She needed help. "Kira…" She whispered suddenly. Would her brother be able help her? She could only hope so.

Bursting through the main doors of the hotel, she raced through the lounge and up the stairs to the room that she knew had been set aside for her. She opened the door and walked inside. The room was small and tidy, with a good-sized fireplace in the center of the wall. The quarters were actually cozy but she felt no comfort. How long had it been since she had been alone? Since she had some quiet time to herself, without Athrun? Longer then she could remember, to be honest.

Sighing, she kicked off her boots and sat on the bed heavily. An odd, stabbing pain in her chest and abdomen acted up again, and even as she shut her eyes in agony she wondered what it meant. It wasn't a physical ailment, but her body was definitely reacting to something. Was it her emotions? As she looked down at the floor between her knees she realized there were wet spots on the fabric of her pants. She moved her hand to wipe them away when another droplet of moisture landed on the skin of her knuckles. Staring, he watched as another fell, then another.

With a start she realized they were coming from her. She was crying. Her chest heaved with a sob, her lungs burning as badly as her eyes, and she put her head in her hands. Hurt and despair gripped her body and she curled herself around it, losing herself in the torrent of feelings. She had never wanted this to happen. To loose Athrun like this… she couldn't give The Blue Cosmos the money they were demanding. They would hurt so many people … yet Athrun….

Pulling at her hair, she furiously cursed over and over again; condemning Jibril to a dance with the devil. She should never have let Athrun come! She should have listened to her gut instinct and insisted that he attend the Bloody Valentine Memorial as he had initially intended.

"It's not fair!" She screamed and it truly wasn't. Only when she realized that she loved him had he been taken away from her and there was no way to bring him back.

Glancing up teary-eyed at the phone on the table across the room, she stood up slowly. Should she call Kira? What if the phones were bugged? Inhaling deeply, she reached out a shaky hand towards the telephone. She couldn't handle this alone and nobody here would help her… there was nobody here she could trust.

"Athrun…" She whispered softly and dialed Kira's home phone number. Bringing it up to her ear, she listened as it rang over and over again. "Come on Kira, answer your stupid phone!"

"Hello?" A voice yawned into the phone and Cagalli pulled back in disgust.

"Kira? Did you just wake up? What is wrong with you men that you sleep half of your life away!"

"Oh my God!" Cagalli cringed when she heard Kira drop the phone. "Cagalli? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me!" Cagalli snapped, her fear for Athrun making her curt. "Who else would it be!"

"Well… I don't know… I…" Kira fumbled over his words and Cagalli could hear him moving about on the other line. "I thought you were in the middle of negotiations. I wasn't expecting a call from you."

"I didn't plan on making this call," Cagalli replied and hiccupped as she fought to control the emotions that were racing through her. "Things have been really busy."

"I can only imagine," Kira listened carefully to her words. He could sense that she had something she wanted to tell him. Something she needed to tell him. "So, how is everything? Is Athrun with you?"

"Oh… umm…no," Cagalli replied abruptly, her voice falling to a low whisper as she tossed a quick glance over towards the hotel room window. The sun was setting and she shuddered, feeling the cold of night grip her. Athrun was somewhere out there with a group who hated his people. All because of her.

There was a pause on the other line before Kira dared to speak again.

"Cagalli? I thought you and Athrun were traveling together… did you two have a fight? Did something happen?"

Cagalli nodded into the phone, afraid to say too much. "Kira, how long would it take you to meet me?"

"Meet you? But I thought…"

"I really need to see you!" Cagalli blurted out and her voice cracked as a painful sob escaped her throat. She could sense the confusion on the other line which only upset her further. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to just shout Athrun is in trouble! Can't you understand that? They took him away and I may never see him again! But she bit her tongue. She couldn't take any chances and if the phone had been bugged, she could quit possibly put Athrun in even more danger.

"As if that were possible," She thought to herself bitterly before turning her attention back to Kira. "When can you be here?'

"Where are you?"

"In Helsinki, I'm in the Auda Hotel, room 27."

Kira sighed. "Well, flights to the Earth leave every other hour so….Tomorrow morning?"

At that moment Cagalli's heart stopped. Tomorrow. After tomorrow, Athrun could arguably only have one more day to live. Athrun Zala. From the very first day, she had discovered an overwhelming fascination with him and as time brought them closer together she had found that her fondness for him had evolved into a love she had never experienced before… and now she had lost him.

"Cagalli talk to me," She barely managed to hear her brother's words. "Is Athrun alright?"

"Tomorrow will be fine," Cagalli completely dismissed his question. "I will wait for you at the hotel."

"Wait a minute!" Kira protested as if sensing that Cagalli was about to hang up on him. "You didn't answer my question. I…"

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Yes but…"

"I will talk to you tomorrow then."

Before Kira could reply, Cagalli hung up the phone. Leaning over the telephone, she began to quiver as heart-broken sobs wracked her thin frame. Her grip on the phone tightened as her eyes filled with tears. "Blast it!" An anguished scream ripped from her throat as she viciously ripped the phone out of the wall and flung it across the room.

The phone crashed against the door to her room and fell to the floor in pieces. But Cagalli wasn't yet satisfied. "No! No! No! Why Athrun? WHY?"

She slumped to the ground, her breathing erratic as she fought to calm herself down. Her nails dug into the carpet as she sunk further to the ground in despair. It felt as if someone had just ripped her heart out and had left her to die in her misery. Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Cagalli realized that in many ways, that was exactly what Jibril and the Blue Cosmos had done.

Too distraught to sleep and too exhausted to move, Cagalli cried and cursed for another hour before pure exhaustion finally claimed her.

TBC.

I hope you liked it. We see Athrun again in the next chapter – it's done but needs editing. Again, please let me know what you think ok? Any advice you have a really do take into consideration since this is my first fanfic.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Krilyn

Slightly Sinister Sinestra I'm glad you like it so far! Please update your story again soon!

rain angst: I'm glad the length is ok – I wasn't sure how long the chapters should be.

daisukiasu'n'caga I'm so sorry you're getting lost! To be honest, I don't know who will save who yet because I haven't finished the story yet. Thank you for continuing to read though – I'll try to make it clearer.

Kageharu Kaco It's great to hear you enjoy the story! I love description and could go on and on and on about things the probably aren't important. Actually, I love describing eyes. With me it's always eyes lol. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as well. Thank you for the nice review.

Cari-Akira Yes, I don't like Jibril either. As for Athrun, I think I mentioned earlier, I don't really like death fics hint hint so even if things get bad keep that in mind ok?