Chapter 15: The promise

Dearka cursed and swore loudly, they had followed Sedna's car all the way from the amusement park and surprisingly to the Amarfi mansion, but not off the cliff. Meyrin knitted her eyebrows together and looked like she was going to cry as she asked timidly.

"Do you think…they are…"

"They wouldn't DIE!" he shouted, then looked at Meyrin and uttered, "…Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you…it's just. We have to help them…"

Meyrin looked doubtful as she continued to stare downwards into the misty depths of the valley beneath; you'll have to be either a child or horribly naïve to think anyone can survive a fall of this height. "Hello…" she called, projecting her voice, "Anyone here?" All she heard in reply was an eerie hollow echo. The sun is setting now, its orange glow withdrawing from the dead woods beneath. "Dearka…", she began, trying to convince him that it is likely that all of them are…

A shrill homing signal that originated from Dearka's pocket told him what he needed to know.

"Who is your signal connected to?" Meyrin asked as she watched Dearka excitedly fish the device out of his inner pocket.

"You wanna guess?" he said as his grin returned to his face.

Yzak wasn't exactly the one sending out the homing signal, it cracked when he hit rock bottom, but it matters not to him as he picked himself off the uneven ground. He felt giddy and bruised but other than that he was relatively unscathed. It was almost a miracle, the car plunged into the valley at inhumane speed with and standard gravitational acceleration of that on earth, but the canopy of the dead woods caught them, breaking their fall and shaking them out of the car…

He looked around, shrouding him was a layer of deep mist and he felt like he was walking in the midst of rolling clouds. The mist was in fact, moisture, and left droplets of water on his skin. He shivered uncontrollably as a chilly wind hollered through the dark terrain, worming into every loose flap of his moist clothing. It was colder than above ground, he realized. The place felt like his mood, cold, empty…lonely.

Did Sedna make it? Was the idiot somewhere around too? Will we be able to get out safely?

Determined not to allow these thoughts to get to him now, he shook them off and walked forward, determined to find his comrades. A few steps off, he saw Athrun.

"Hey…Athrun, ATHRUN!" he shouted as he flipped his frame to check for wounds, he was scratched all over and there was a deep gash down his right arm, where blood was ebbing out steadily. Yzak cursed as he bound the wound with cloth from Athrun's sleeve, muttering, "You…stupid…FOOL!"

It was true, he reasoned, the idiot leaped out of the car for no apparent reason just as the car fell off the edge of the road. Reaching out to grab hold of something that appeared to be a reddish-purple stone and a ring.

Courting death just for a couple of ornaments?

That was unlike Athrun. But Yzak had to scold him later because no matter what he tried, he could not wake Athrun. Yzak's attention fell on Athrun right fist, which was so tightly clenched that Yzak couldn't even pry out the items within.

Odd.

He thought, when one is unconscious, how will one be able to hold something so tightly?

Unless the something is that important…

Shrugging the mystery off, Yzak slung Athrun's frame over his shoulders and continued his search.

---

Kira smiled heartily at the scenario before him, Shinn had complained about the children all day long but now… He slept in Kira's room, with eight or so kids strewn all over the bedding and even the floor, two of them bunking in right beside Shinn, who looked like he was one of them. He didn't look as angry when he was asleep, he looked for once…at peace.

Kira crept about, retrieving a pillow quietly and left the room, sighing once he got outside behind closed doors. Happy as he was, his problem didn't go away, his room is taken up. Andrew, Markiowas asleep and so was his mother, he did not want to wake them up…that left only one person he could possibly impose on…

Eyes widened at the atrocity of the prospect but told himself, she accepted his ring after all…, he beamed as he hugged his pillow tightly. And taking the first step, he set off with a steady march towards Lacus's room…

---

Yzak's eyes widenedat the sight in from of him, Sedna laid on the ground…her frame strewn across several pieces of rock at the lakeshore. It was dark and cold, and Yzak couln't see her face at all.

"Sedna…" he asked uncertainly, he did not know why…but his voice was caught in his throat and came out small and hoarse. There was no response at all, non of the bright 'Yes?' coming from her unusually optimistic self."Sedna…"he called again, louder this time, and was surprised his voice was shaking, it was unlike himself, even in the face of emergency... Now, he only knew he wanted her safe and alive, all other thoughts escaped his mind. Laying Athrun down on a nearby rock, he ran towards her and slumped down heavily beside her, suddenly feeling weak. He reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, and shook her, "Sedna…SEDNA!"

Her eyes flicked open and she got up, gazing at Yzak, "Yes?" and she gasped at what she saw.

Yzak just knelt there, a single tear rolled quietly down his cheek, shining like a pearl beneath the bask of the midnight moon. He just gazed at her with an empty expression, as if he didn't know it's there.

"Yzak, are…are you crying?" she whispered. He snapped out of his catatonic state and tried to hide his face behind a hand. "Of course not, stupid…It's just…sand got in that's all." he muttered. Sedna could tell he was lying; she leaned forward to pry the hand off his face and whispered, "I'll blow the sand away." and kissed his cheek. She smiled lightly as he watched him turn pink, and pulled him into an embrace. "I'm alright, don't worry..." She soothed him as she slowly retrieved a gun from within her belt…

Yzak didn't know how to respond, the female who ever dared to hug him like this was his mother. And in her embrace, it felt warm and peaceful, and a sense of security begin to wash over him. Almost taking control of him when he warned himself,

She might not be trustable…she might be making use of you just like everyone else…

The notion was dreadful but he entertained anyway, he pulled Sedna away and she hastily hid the weapon as he searched her eyes, looking for a hint of falsehood he didn't want to find. He wished for her to be true, wishing for her friendship to be real. "Yzak..?" she asked, giving him a blank look that indicated innocence. Yzak looked away, suddenly guilty at even suspecting her. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that she wasn't to be trusted no matter how he felt.

She cupped his face and asked again, "What's the matter?" Yzak grabbed that hand and questioned, "What is it you want from me?"

"Huh…?"

"What do you gain by getting close to me, befriending me! What's your motive for doing all that? Why are you…"

"YZAK!" she shouted, trying to calm him. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"WHAT!" he yelled back, pushing her away.

Both of the fumed, glaring at each other and panting. Sedna was shocked at Yzak's sudden outburst; he was always so calm and serene, able to keep his cool in the worst of circumstances. But now he appeared so childish, so…insecure. His gaze softened after a while…and he reached a hand to pull her up.

"I…I ..." He stammered and was unable to continue; she lifted an eyebrow and waited patiently for a seeming apology coming from Yzak Jule.

"Don't… don't lie to me…" he said, looking at the floor.

"I beg your pardon…?" Sedna asked, surprised at the odd and incoherent sentence coming her way.

"I said, don't lie to me!" he gripped her shoulders and looked into her eyes, "Promise me! Don't ever deceive me, don't be like those who only want to make use of me…" he pleaded. Sedna softened as well, smiling. He wants to trust her, he wants enough prove to be able to believe her and rely on her.

"Okay. I promise…" she replied, taking his hand and turned towards the moon and its reflection on the glass-still lake, "May to moon and stars bear witness to the words I say, I, Sedna Ileisus…" She paused, looking at his aquamarine eyes. "will never lie to Yzak Jule. Till the day…I return to dust. Happy?"

Yzak looked down again, unwilling to catch her gaze. A loud creak overhead attracted both their attentions, and the looked up spontaneously. It was Sedna's car, hanging dangerously from a few branches that were on the verge of snapping. The windows were shattered and it was a total wreck.

"Uh-oh…" Sedna uttered, an instant before one branch broke and the ton of scrapped metal came crashing down on them. "YZAK!" she said as she grabbed him by the waist and threw themselves into the lake. Yzak didn't know what she was doing and gasped as they plunged into sub-zero water temperature, unavoidably inhaling a lungful of water and blacked out.

---

Kira knocked lightly on the door, saying, "It's me."

"You can come in…" Lacus replied from the other side of the door. Kira opened it and stepped into her room. Surprisingly, there were no children in there for most of them were all in Kira's room, along with Shinn "I…have no place to sleep tonight, my room's all taken." He reported, laughing at himself inwardly. Lacus seemed to find it humourous as well, "You can take a mattress and…"

"May I sleep with you tonight?" The words came out before Kira even thought of it clearly. Lacus stared at him, surprised at his sudden boldness. He buried his head in his pillow, embarrassed at his shamelessness, and only dared to peek at her over the edge of the pillow.

Slowly, she put down the bandages she just undid and moved to the right, lifting the blanket off the left side, inviting him to come. Gingerly, he approached her and sat down on the bed. He gazed at her inquisitively; for a gleam of crimson in her hair caught his attention. Setting the pillow down, he reached out and gently parted her hair, revealing a still-raw scar. "Kira?" she asked, mildly surprised by his actions. Kira kissed her forehead and leaned towards her. "I…want to apologize for this scar. I should have been the one who protected you then."
"It's not your fault…"she whispered, "You didn't do anything wrong. You protected me, the times I was assassinated; you carried me in your arms. You carried me through all that. Don't blame yourself." She held his hand.

"Lacus…" he said just as softly, and he kissed her and both of them fell backwards onto the bed. And they spent the night together…in each others arms…

---

Yzak woke up to find someone's lips pressed upon his and jerked away, wiping his lips. "Who…Sedna? What do you think you are DOING!" he shouted. Sedna managed to look relieved and offended at the same time, "You were out cold and I am trying to give you CPR! What are you shouting for! You act as if I just raped you or something!"

"Who was the one who pushed me into the water anyway!" he retorted.

"I was trying to save you from being squished by the car…You're so unreasonable."

Sedna fumed, refusing to look at him. It took quite a bit of courage and resolution to even touch him in the first place, she didn't really expect gratitude but not this either. He acted like her lips were poisonous. A thought occurred to her and she just had to ask.

"Lemme guess…you never…You never kissed before."

Yzak drew breath sharply and stared at her, indicative of a 'Yes' for an answer. So that's why he's so sensitive about who touches his lips. Sedna laughed with glee as she teased him, "Virgin."

Just as Yzak was about to kill her, a wind rushed down on the couple, blowing the mist away and Dearka was heard shouting over the roar of the helicopter blades.

"YZAK, I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU! WOO-HOO!"

A helicopter came into sight, and in the cockpit Yzak could make out the form of Meyrin and Dearka. He never felt so happy to see Dearka, and all else were forgotten at the moment."What took you so long!"

Sedna laughed as she skipped towards the craft that just landed, and dropped something in the process.

She didn't realize it, but Yzak did. He stared at it as he picked it off the floor, it was a white emblem shaped like a wing and had an uncanny similarity to the the letter 'F'. His blood turned cold at what he saw when he flipped it around, engraved on the metal surface, was a name, her name. Sedna Ileisus……

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The treachery…the story is gonna end soon... All for the build up to the climax yeah… And At this point in time, do me a favour,I need all who read this story to review and feedback about two issues.

1)The relationship between Sedna and Yzak so far..

2)Athrun's prospect in becoming chairman...

It will affect the ending of Shiho, Yzak, Sedna, Athrun, Lacus and Kira and Shinn. Even Dearka and Meyrin, so do review ...