Rau Le Creuset…
That name always came up whenever I asked other people about Rey. What I found disturbing was that Rey never talked about him. For all of the times that Luna and I spoke about the famous Commander, Rey did not mention anything about being related to him.
Something came between them… The war, perhaps? Either way, I had to learn about this enigmatic figure and his character during the war. Only then, will I be able to learn the reasons why Rey never talked about such an important person in his life. The information that I got from Marietta Brombeck wasn't enough. I needed another source.
After the Le Creuset Team's reconnaissance mission in Orb, only one remained and stayed with the Commander until the end – only one continued to be his subordinate. He was not an easy man to cross, even more hotheaded than I was. He was even harder to track than Marietta, perhaps because of his high position. But making an appointment with Cagalli Yula Athha, the leader of Orb, was even easier than this. So, I concluded that he was making it hard for me. I had a suspicious thought that he only agreed to meet me after a call from Athrun.
When I finally met him, he greeted me with a death glare – as expected. But what he said next threw me off and made me want to attack him.
"Scram."
Yzak Joule was every bit the asshole that I heard him to be.
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Chapter Seven – Abscond
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Rau Le Creuset surveyed the familiar glass chess pieces in front of him. His was always white, while Gilbert's was always black. Always. White moved first. "I met the idiot." He moved the pawn in front of the king forward.
"La Flaga?" Gilbert responded with an automatic move of his own. He advanced his king pawn as well.
It was the knight's turn. "Who else?"
"Do you plan to kill him?" This time, the pawn in front of the queen to protect the first pawn.
Rau took a risk and finally decided to move his queen in front of the king. "I plan to kill everyone."
"Even Rey?" Gilbert mirrored Rau's move and took out his queen as well.
Rau took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. His knight captured Gilbert's pawn. "Everything is born... and eventually, it all dies. It's as simple as that."
"So, no matter what we hope or wish for, it's all pointless?" Gilbert retaliated by capturing the knight with his queen.
Rau paused and stared at his hands, completely forgetting about the on-going game. Mwu La Flaga, could easily be called his brother… or his son. It must be fate that led that to meet once more – in the battlefield, this time.
Battlefield.
The world was a battlefield, with wars being fought each and every single day.
Rau smirked. "No, no. That's not what I meant. I was only referring to the essence of our beloved world, and of the creatures known as human beings. Regardless of how long or in what way they choose to live – even though it's something they all once knew – they have now forgotten about it."
They have forgotten about the important things.
Peace…
Life.
They could dream. They were allowed to choose their own futures. They could hope. They could wish. Pointless? No. Dreams were never pointless. Why, even he, a mere clone had a dream that kept him going. Mankind's dream. That was his dream. Mankind's dream to end its own worthless existence.
And Rey… Rau wanted for him to have a future – to have a dream of his own. Without his genetic roots to hold him back. Without mankind's greed to hold him back. Without his past to hold him back. With -nothing- to hold him back.
"But I, alone, will not forget it. No matter what, I will never forget it. If there is a value to my life, it is only that once I learned that, I have never for a moment forgotten it."
His life was valuable. Not because of the millions that were spent just to create him, but because of his mission to pass judgment. It was his mission to make sure that mankind never made the same mistake of making children like him ever again. And if he forgot about it…
…His life would have been for naught.
…and his curse would fall upon Rey.
Failure would result to death: both his and Rey's. Failure was not an option that he could take.
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Rau Le Creuset felt his annoyance rise up a notch as he watched the idiotic display of soldier reflexes in front of him. Neither of the teams that he saw today could match up to his standards. He had plans for the team of elite redcoats to be assigned under him – huge plans. They were the ones who would lead him to his ultimate goals… But if those in front of him were all that the ZAFT Military Academy could produce, he may very well have to wait for mankind's demise for another lifetime.
Just as he was about to stand up and march down to headquarters to turn down the opportunity to lead a redcoat unit, he heard an outburst from one of the cadets standing in formation several yards from where he sat. From their uniform, Rau could tell that they were still in-training. And if he guessed correctly, they were probably the next batch to graduate from the academy.
Rau continued to observe the five young men behind his mask. The sudden outburst obviously came from the hotheaded, silver-haired Coordinator. After several minutes, he had concurred that they were quite a lively quintet – an interesting bunch, in layman's terms.
"Captain Yuki," he addressed the man beside him. "Do you know them?" he asked, gesturing to the five that he had been observing.
Ray Yuki followed Rau's line of sight and his face broke into a fond smile – an indication that he did know them. "Oh, them. I'm quite surprised that you don't know them."
Rau raised his eyebrows, but the effect was lost on the man, since he was wearing his mask.
"They're quite famous here," Captain Yuki informed him. "Not only because of their impressive skills but first and foremost, because of their family backgrounds."
"Interesting." It had certainly piqued his interest further.
"Four of them are the sons of members of the Supreme Council. One of them is Athrun Zala, Patrick Zala's son."
The gears in Rau's mind were turning. He stood up. "Thank you for the information, Captain Yuki. If it's all the same, I would like to take my leave."
Captain Yuki stood up as well, his brows frowning in concern. "But what about the drafting?"
"I have already chosen my team," Rau answered simply. He casually glanced at his watch. Good. He could still make it to headquarters and present his propositions.
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"Yzak Joule." Silver-haired with what seemed to be a permanent scowl etched on the boy's face; clearly someone who was hotheaded and proud.
"Dearka Elthman." Tan and blond – an unusual combination; with a cocky smirk on his face; obviously sarcastic and at the same time witty.
"Rusty Mackenzie." The red-head; also with a cocky smirk on his face, but with an underlying gentleness to it; apparently the 'common denominator' of the group.
"Nicol Amarfi." Gentle, quiet demeanor; with hands that bore traces of his musical endeavors.
"Athrun Zala." The wild card – quiet and unassuming; evidently hiding something. The most mature in the group, and yet the most pained.
Rau scrutinized all five of them behind his mask after the roll call. They did not look any different from the way that they had looked months ago. The only exception would have to be the blood red uniforms that they were currently sporting. But now that he had met them face to face, he had more or less a deeper understanding of each one of them. "I am Commander Rau Le Creuset."
Nevertheless…
Pawns. They were all his pawns. But what exactly differentiated a pawn from another pawn? A pawn was meaningless if it was captured by the other side. But if the player had intended for the pawn to get captured to disguise his true moves, then the pawn would have served its purpose and its capture wouldn't have been for naught.
Redcoats. What made these redcoats different from the others? Because all of them fell under the second classification of pawns.
Rau smirked. "First rule of Team Le Creuset is to never question the mask."
The reaction from them was expected; the rookies looked as if they didn't know whether he was serious or not. Rau could clearly read it from the expressions on their faces. Nevertheless, serious or not, he was certain that he gave off the feeling of someone that shouldn't be crossed.
There were quite a number of rules in his book, but there was no need for them to know all of them. After all, the only thing that a pawn needed to know was to move forward. Not diagonally, L-shaped, or sideways – only forward.
"You must be expecting me to give a long-winded speech about the reasons as to why we are fighting. Sorry to disappoint you all, but I was never one for speeches. And you all know why we are here." Rau paused and smirked for effect. "To end the war."
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"Rau?"
"What?"
"Why do you wear a mask?"
"Because… I hate my face."
"But Talia said I look a lot like you! Does that mean that you hate my face as well?"
"Your face is different from mine."
"Really? How come?"
"I can't exactly imagine you with a sneer on your face."
"If it helps, I can't imagine you going out without your mask on."
"I did…once."
"You forgot it?"
"…Leaving behind something doesn't always mean that you forget it."
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Rau forced himself to leave the comfort of his day dreams and looked up at the Elizabethan-style house that was Gilbert's. He had always thought that the architectural style suited Gilbert perfectly, but he couldn't say the same for the size. It was big, considering that Gilbert lived alone. When and where his friend had acquired the property, he couldn't care less. What mattered was that it should provide a healthy living space for Rey.
Rau was never the idealistic type, but when he met Rey he began to hope for a tomorrow. Not for him, but for the child. From the moment he saw the child, he had made up his mind that Rey wouldn't live in the shadows of the man from whom he was cloned from.
…Unlike him.
Because no matter how much Rau tried to distinguish himself from his 'gene benefactor', he just couldn't. He saw himself as someone superior to others, because he -was- superior. He was the only one who saw mankind as the monsters that they were. He wasn't a genocidal villain. He was the catalyst that would speed things up and bring mankind the Armageddon that it was searching for all throughout war's history.
"Aren't you going inside?" The familiar voice of Gilbert Dullindal cut through his thoughts. He was coming from the direction of the garden, with the equally familiar, annoying, little notebook in his hands.
"Not really. I just thought that I'd drop a few of Rey's things," Rau answered nonchalantly. He gestured at the small box sitting innocently in the passenger seat.
"Rey's not here," Gilbert pointed out. When Rau just shrugged in reply, his suspicions were confirmed. "But I figured that would be more favorable for you."
Rau raised an eyebrow. "It's not so much as favorable as convenient. I'm not up for questioning, as it were."
"So, this makes his living arrangements permanent?"
Rau averted his gaze and sighed in frustration. "You just can't make it easy for me, can you? I couldn't just drop his things and drive off without questions, could I?"
Gilbert smiled – to further annoy his friend, it seemed. "But that would be quite dreary, don't you think? And we know how much you prefer to keep things interesting."
Rau did not answer and stubbornly refused to meet his friend's eyes. Gilbert had a habit of sticking his nose in someone else's business and then pointing out the things that one would normally want to ignore. But he rarely did it, preferring to keep his more charming façade, but it seemed as if it wasn't the case this time. Rau glared at his friend, his irritation clearly visible through the absence of his mask.
Gilbert returned the gaze evenly. "If I would be having a permanent 'son' quite out of schedule, I would like to hear some reasons."
"Don't be an idiot. You know the reasons," Rau answered evasively, with a hint of annoyance. He opened the door to the passenger seat and extracted the box. "I will still visit him."
Gilbert accepted the box without bothering to look at its contents – his piercing stare completely focused on his friend.
"Just promise me that he won't become someone like me," Rau mumbled softly, with a trace of aberrant desolation in his voice. "No matter what science says, he is a different person from me. No matter what happens, he still has a future… I will make sure of it." He paused and took a deep, calming breath. "One more thing," he said before moving into the driver's seat, "It's forged, but it will clear things up if ever the need arises." He handed a thick manila envelope to his friend. After that, he drove off without a word.
He was making the right decision. He was sure of it. Rey would be better off with someone like Gilbert. Gilbert would see to it that Rey was assured of a future.
Inside the envelope was Rey's future – documents showing that Gilbert Dullindal had full custody over Rey Za Burrel. The world will end. But Rau would make sure that Rey managed to enjoy his life to the fullest until that fateful day.
Rau didn't have a tomorrow. And hopelessness was known to be contagious.
He shifted gears and accelerated the car, until the big house was nothing but a tiny pin-prick in his side-view mirror.
Yes, he made the right decision to leave Rey.
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Rey surveyed the box with curious eyes. He looked up at Gilbert questioningly.
The black-haired man gave him a reassuring smile. "I dropped by Rau's house and I thought that maybe you'd like to see some of your things again."
Rey took the box from Gilbert's hands, head bowed and strands of blond hair shielding his eyes. Inside the box were mementos of his childhood in the first ever home that he had ever known. "Thank you." His grip on it tightened. "For everything…
…Please tell that to Rau."
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Author's Notes: Before Yzak-fans pelt me with choice rotten tomatoes, let me explain why I called him an 'asshole'. Technically, it was Shinn's point of view and guys never call fellow guys 'jerks'. Their vocabulary is so eloquent that every guy that antagonizes them is called an 'asshole'. I hope I cleared that up.
Yzak and Shinn… I've always wondered what would happen if they ever met. Shinn's stubbornness and hostility towards Athrun could put Yzak's to shame, don't you think? The good thing about writing an intelligent fic (oh, come on. Humor me here…) is that you get intelligent readers/reviewers as well.
…Enter the Le Creuset Team. Who didn't see it coming? Come on, spill. Don't worry, though. No focus on goody-goody protagonists here. It's all about the villains:D
Who will Shinn talk to next? Got any ideas? I do, but I'm not telling. ;P
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH:
To the readers of this fic! And to the reviewers, in particular: koyuki-san, viper, Centurious, elven-girl10, WillTheWatcher, Gambit01. To MidnightReverie, for putting me in your fanfic recommendations list! I really appreciate the gesture! I feel so flattered! Lastly, to the person who makes sure that I update on time, and minimizes all the stupid spelling/grammatical errors that I make, my beta-reader (and best friend), Lia lostsmile!
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