Chapter 24 – Meeting up

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter... ENJOY!

Athrun ran. He ran. And ran. And ran. It seemed like hours before he stopped. He stopped only to listen to his loud breathing and heart beating wildly at his chest. He tightened the hold his sweaty hand had on the knife. Footsteps. Slow footsteps and a slight shuffling noise. A kunoichi helping a wounded comrade? I did hear a bomb explosion and Cagalli did say that the bond shared between the sisters of the clan were strong. Athrun deducted. His body on full alert as he prepared himself for the approaching duo. He waited. And waited. And waited. A feeling in his gut told him to lash out immediately after the next set of feet shuffling noises drifted to his ears. His knife did not stab his target but it did draw some blood from a light scrape of the neck. Athrun could also feel the gun nudging painfully into his gut.

"Looks like Lady Luck isn't on your side lady." the deep voice said, tauntingly. Athrun reeled. The voice was too deep for a woman, not to mention the height and broadness of the shoulders immediately gave away the identity of the man.

"I think living together back when we were still in the army could allow me to recognize you even if you are reduced to ashes Dearka." Athrun laughed as he lowered his weapon. The mentioned also laughed and stepped into the moonlight dancing through the window. Athrun soon found himself plunged into a state of worry as he surveyed a rather painful wound upon a mass of auburn hair. It was literarily a spilt of the skin. Blood was oozing out slowly and spilling over the sides of the hard crater of dried blood. Athrun was asked for water and gently poured some over the wound. Miriallia only let out a hiss of pain and clenched her fist. Dearka immediately tied a piece of cloth he had ripped from his shirt around her cleaned wound. The trio sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Where's Cagalli?" Athrun asked as he looked out of the window. Miriallia rubbed her painful wound gently, "We parted at the first cross junction." Athrun sighed and rubbed his temples before looking at the blond man; who understood his unheard message immediately.

"Didn't see him." Dearka sighed before joining Athrun in his stare at the moon. The pale bright moon that looked back at them… in a (strangely) gentle manner. Dearka tensed as he heard something. He glanced at Athrun who was also reacting to the sound of footsteps. "Someone's approaching us. Hide." Miriallia whispered before adding the last of her sentence forcefully. Seeing that they were in a storage room, where large crates were in abundance that was no hard task. They scuttled quietly to the shadows offered by the crates; staring intently at the door. Dearka readied his gun, Miriallia fished out her shurikens and Athrun moved stealthily to the side of the tall standing crates close to the door; knife in his boot and gun occupying his hands.

Adrenaline was a big understatement.

Two guns aimed at him and a shuriken missing him by a mere inch was something he had not expected. He had not expected Athrun to pull him into the room, smiling and Dearka to punch him lightly at his arm. He had mostly certainly not expected the respected (not) chairman of PLANT to tend to his wound. As much as he hated to admit it, he was relieved to see them safe.

Yzak winced as the sting of water on fresh wound zapped through him. He looked at the puzzled and forlorn woman sitting next to Miriallia who was tending to a wound close to her chest. A small growl of pain was all the reaction Shiho gave as Miriallia dabbed at the wound. Sensing his friends' questions, Yzak turned and gave them a look that clearly stated: "Bugger off assholes!" Yzak closed his cerulean eyes and muttered a small almost inaudible, "Maybe later." He felt the intense emerald and violet gaze of his two friends as he rested his head on a crate low enough for his head to reach. He opened an eye only to see them still staring at him intently before letting out an exasperated growl.

"She was my childhood friend. She had amnesia and was working for the bitch who ordered her to kill me." Yzak explained briefly. Athrun nodded as the whole picture became clearer. Dearka only let out a smart, "Wha?"

Yzak sighed and pushed down his overwhelming urge to throttle the dumb blonde. I take back the thought about him being safe. Yzak growled in the confines of his skull. His mind took a sudden turn to the brunette sitting not far away from him. She was silent and cooperative. Strange for an enemy. Shouldn't she be threatening to tear them apart? Or even try to escape? Had she remembered something? Yzak wondered hopefully. He watched as the brunette turned to look at him. Cobalt met russet. A small bitter smile etched on her face as a silent message was sent between them:

I remember everything.

A/N: Now that the group met, what will they do next? R&R… Oh yeah and chapter 25 should be up in about one more day(?)