Yay! More reviews!
yuugiri- yea, it's pretty funny how Dearka answered Cagalli...oh, and by the way, your fic is really good too...
mal- I could just imagine Yzak fainting...that would be hilarious...lol. But I had to keep him in character...oh, and yes, he's going to have plenty of opportunities to get jealous...the war is on! Lol...
witchesgirl- Let's just say that Yzak's got a bit of competition...lol. But maybe this will encourage him to actually act...
Lomiothiel-YzaknNicol fangirl- Yes, it would definitely suck is Yzak gets his heart broken...we'll see what happens.
Prayer Reverie- Yes, he should...the only problem being that he needs to figure out a way to get away with it...lol.
King Arthur6687- Oh, Lucia? I didn't mention her name before, but I did describe her. Look back at Ch. 6. That would freshen things up...Oh, and the last bit, you'll just have to wait and see! Lol...
Miss Akira- Yzak should so that he could gain an upper hand, but he's just too stubborn, isn't he? Lol...and yes, everyone has a reason to hate Lucia...hate her as much as you like...lol.
Annie- The person with the maniacal laughter, you ask? Well, I can't tell you that now, can't I? Lol...
Thanks also to charice, Anime Lover's Society of the United States, Sakura Kuonji, x2015 doom gundam, and Soi. (everyone...right?)
Disclaimer...blah blah..
.Ch. 12: Setbacks and Inquiries
"This is really messing up our plans!" Cagalli yelled, frustrated. The group sat in the lounge, waiting for Arabella, Yzak, and Elise to show up. Not to mention breakfast also.
"Maybe we should give up." Miriallia suggested. "If she already has a fiancée, isn't it rude for us to butt in?"
"Not really. After all, that didn't keep a certain former ZAFT pilot from keeping an eye out for other choices." Dearka smirked at Athrun.
"That...is a different issue..." Athrun retorted, slightly blushing. "The engagement was arranged, and besides, the other party seemed to be quite fine with the break up."
"I'll agree to that." Lacus stated, trying to reassure everyone.
"I was just joking..." Dearka grinned while shaking his head, due to the "why did you have to make the situation more complicated" look from Miriallia. "I just wanted to go over the possibilities. For all we know, she may not be happy with it, but just isn't showing it."
"That's a good point." Cagalli remarked, causing everyone, even Dearka, to be surprised that she actually agreed with him. "I mean if that's the case, we might even be doing her a favor."
"But how would we know if that's the case." Kira suddenly added. "I mean, it's not exactly something you could ask her directly to her face..."
"What are you all so intently talking about?" Everyone turned around to find a very puzzled Elise.
A mischievous smile came on Cagalli's face. "Elise, you've known Arabella for quite awhile, right?"
"Yes. We've been friends ever since we were born." She replied, not catching onto Cagalli's plan.
"Well, we were talking about how Ray made quite an entrance yesterday." Cagalli started, causing the others to nod their heads and follow along.
"Oh, yes. Ray is like that pretty often."
"Well, we were just wondering just where they stand in regards to each other." Cagalli slowly slipped it in.
"Well, where should I start?" Elise started to have a worried look on her face. Then she became resolved. "She doesn't love him."
The group had to try their best to not let out an obvious sigh of relief. "Then just exactly, what is the situation?"
"Well..." Elise looked back and forth uncomfortably, making sure at the same time that Arabella hadn't entered the room. "All right." She sighed. "I'll tell you, but don't say anything to Arabella about this, okay?"
"Of course." They replied, eager to hear anything.
"Well...their engagement is arranged." Elise started off. "As long as I can remember, it's been that way."
"So does that imply that Arabella's not too happy with the situation?" Cagalli asked, almost too excitedly.
"Hm...I don't know just how to explain this..." Elise tried to choose her words carefully. "It's not as if she hates him. They get along pretty well. It's just that they're more like friends. Even that might be a bit of a stretch, since they rarely get to see each other anyways."
"I see..." Cagalli commented trying not to sound too disappointed.
"So she's just going along with the whole scheme?" Lacus asked.
"Pretty much." Elise shrugged. "She's just going along with it. Not exactly happy with it, but not exactly sad either."
"Oh." Cagalli remarked, with a bit of hope. "Just hypothetically speaking, what would happen if someone that interested her happened to come along?"
"I could only hope." Elise sighed, surprising everyone with her response.
"Wait, you actually don't want Ray and Arabella together?" Cagalli exclaimed, a bit too happily.
"Well, I don't have anything against Ray personally. It's just everything else around him that I don't like."
"Lucia." They all said in unison.
"That's one of the main issues." Elise said, starting to look disgusted. "I mean, she's going to be one hell of a sister-in-law, and Arabella certainly doesn't deserve that." They all nodded in agreement. "The whole family's that way. If they're not part of the Purists, I don't know who would be. It's just too bad we don't have evidence at this point to prove it." Elise continued. "It's a miracle that Ray turned out half-way decent."
"Don't you think that's a bit suspicious?" Athrun added.
Elise shrugged. "That's what my grandmother thinks too. She doesn't really trust Ray. But I haven't noticed him acting differently, so I'm not going to judge him."
"And what's the other main issue?" Cagalli eagerly asked, deciding to get the info now and think about it later.
"I think this is the more important one." Elise said, looking grave. "I don't think she'll ever be happy this way." After a period of silence, she continued again. "She didn't have much of a childhood. Oh, I know, I'm sure none of you exactly had a normal life being involved in the war. But now, everyone's going for peace. You have a chance at a new life. Arabella doesn't. Even if she did, she would have to sacrifice it for something else." Elise added bitterly. She ignored the quizzical looks they were giving her about what those "something else" things would be, and continued on. "As a friend, I just want the best for her, you know. Sometimes I want something drastic to happen. Maybe a guy will show up and just sweep her off her feet." Elise laughed, despite herself. "Although I can't imagine that happening." She managed to put on a smile. "Well, I think that's all I could say for now, or Arabella would scold me for having a big mouth."
"Just one question." Miriallia spoke, surprising everyone. "Is it just me, or is the fact that Arabella is just 'going along" seem strange?" Silence filled the room.
"You know, you have a point." Cagalli remarked, getting quizzical. "I mean, what exactly bonds her to this so-called engagement? Is it her parents, perhaps? Which brings in another factor. I've never seen or heard of them before."
"Well, Arabella hasn't really been herself ever since..." Elise suddenly covered her mouth. After composing herself, she said flatly, "You didn't hear that from me."
Taken aback by Elise's sudden change in personality, the group merely nodded.
(Yzak POV)
I really didn't want to get up today.
It had nothing to do with not having enough sleep, or lacking energy. If only it were that simple. I didn't want to see anyone today. Of course, not that I ever enjoyed their company...okay, maybe a little bit. But today, I just dreaded it.
Why? To tell the truth, I couldn't pinpoint the exact answer. I think it might have to do with the fact that they're well...too happy. Always laughing, always up to some trick, always joking around...am I being jealous? No, I can't be. It's only because they're irritating, right? Right?
Shaking my head, I managed to get myself out of bed. Even though I wanted to do just the opposite, I disciplined myself to get up. After all, if I did otherwise, they would come looking for me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them barged into my room to drag me out. I wouldn't put it past Zala's girlfriend, that's for sure. And of course, that would be very embarrassing.
"You're a mess." I scolded myself. And that comment was very true. My mask had started to slowly come off, all thanks to the group...and Arabella.
The last thought made me shake my head once again. I always became confused when it came to her. Okay, one thing I know for sure. To a certain degree I did respect her. Dearka would probably fall off a chair and would never let me live it down if he ever hears me say it. Yzak Jule never showed weakness. Never. But then again, I don't even know if I'm still the same Yzak.
I sighed, walking out the door. Why did I overreact when I saw her fiancée? After all, why should I even care? It's none of my business after all. I thought war was complicated. This is driving me insane.
"I really need to get a hold of myself." I said, when...
"Ouch!" Yzak rubbed his head. He really needed to pay attention when walking...the first thing he saw happened to be a pair of shiny cobalt eyes that looked down at him in concern.
"Are you alright?" Arabella asked. "I'm sorry, I guess I was paying too much attention to these papers and didn't see you coming."
"It's fine." Yzak replied a bit more irritatingly than he had wanted. After all, he didn't exactly pay attention either. Of course, no way would he admit that to her.
"So..." Arabella started, hesitantly.
"Uh..."
"Well..."
"By the way, are you feeling better today?" Arabella quickly asked.
Before Yzak could answer, a shout came from across the corridor. "Princess! We have urgent news!"
"Hey, what took you two so long..." Cagalli started to ask and then stopped, seeing the grave looks on Arabella and Yzak's faces. "What happened?"
"Apparently, Blue Cosmos carried out an attack on PLANT." Arabella started to explain. "Luckily no one got killed, but a lot of people were injured."
"Well, that's not too bad then, isn't it?" Cagalli managed to speak.
"In a sense yes." Arabella replied quietly. "But this is a political massacre."
"You...you don't mean..." Lacus stammered, hoping that Arabella wouldn't say the next couple words.
"All negotiations are suspended until further notice."
"I can't believe this!" Cagalli slammed her fist on the table. "The negotiations, although slowly, were finally getting underway, and now this..." Although the others weren't as expressive as Cagalli, it was evident that they weren't taking the news too well.
"If it ends this way, all the fighting we did, and all the lives sacrificed will be wasted..." Kira stared into an empty space.
"Well, at least the negotiations are suspended, not canceled. Maybe there's some hope yet." Lacus attempted to cheer everyone up, although she herself didn't look too happy.
"Unfortunately there isn't much we can do at this point." Arabella sighed. "But I thought that at least you should make a couple calls..."
"That's a great idea!" Cagalli shouted. "At least this way we could straighten out a couple things."
"I guess checking with ZAFT won't hurt." Dearka sighed.
"Well then, follow me."
"So there isn't much we could do at this point." Kisaka told Cagalli at the other end of the connection.
"All right. So I guess we just have to sit this out." Cagalli grumbled, definitely not happy with the way things went.
"Are you alright there by the way?" Kisaka suddenly asked. "We haven't heard of your whereabouts for quite awhile. It was definitely a relief to finally hear from you. Where are you anyways?"
"Icedale." Cagalli replied matter of fact. "It's pretty nice here actually..." Cagalli stopped as she saw the look on Kisaka's face.
"Icedale? How in the world..."
Cagalli's eyes suddenly glinted. "You know something, don't you? What's about this place that everyone's been trying to hide so much about? Tell me!"
Kisaka looked grave. "I actually don't know much. But even what I know I can't tell you. Just promise me one thing. Stay out of trouble." With that, Kisaka broke the link.
"Wait, Kisaka! Why won't you...ugh!" Cagalli yelled, frustrated. Fuming, she returned to the lounge, where the group, minus Arabella and Elise waited.
"Cagalli, what's wrong?" Athrun stood by her side the instant she entered the room. "What happened?"
"Kisaka acted weird." She replied. "There's something going on here that we're missing."
"I'll have to agree on that." Dearka remarked. "When I contacted ZAFT, the instant I told them where Yzak and I were, they just told us to stay here. Is it just me or is that strange? You would expect them to order the two of us to return immediately after that incident, but they did the exact opposite."
"That is strange." Miriallia added. "Although Kira and I are technically not really part of the Earth Alliance anymore, we still contacted them anyways. They basically had the same reaction."
Lacus also nodded in agreement. "Same with my case."
"Something's definitely happening, and I'm not just going to sit here. So are you with me or not?" Cagalli asked. All nodded in agreement. "Looks like we have two missions to carry out now." Cagalli murmured to herself. "Hopefully both will turn out well."
(Arabella POV)
If I could just say something.
I sighed, as I gazed out the balcony, feeling the fresh air sweep past me. But I can't. No matter how simple it sounds, there is no way I could do that. I don't want any more casualties. Mother, father, cousin, they're all gone. I attract death wherever I go. Don't want that to happen ever again. Never. I need to bear the burdens alone. To spare others from pain. I hurt enough people as it is.
Smiling, I thought about the group. They seemed so happy...and they deserved every bit of it. The war had been cruel. I doubt that they would ever fully recover from some of the trauma, but I just get the feeling that they will learn to move on. The peace that they strived for, they truly earned it. I can't let them fall back into worries again, or anyone else in a matter of fact. They deserved rest.
I guess Elise is the one that was affected the least out of all of us. Sometimes I envy her. Okay, she can get a bit annoying at times, but she just radiates a certain innocence. Not that she's completely naïve, but she seems so carefree. If only I could trade places with her...but here again I'm being selfish.
And there's Yzak...
I don't know just exactly where I stand with him. It's obvious that he wears a mask, that he's trying his best not to reveal himself. But then again, so do I, so I shouldn't be the one to talk. For some reason, I get an urge to help him. He seems like the only one that doesn't seem to be happy, and he really deserves to be. Maybe that's why. But I suppose I'll never find the exact answer.
I know something's amiss with the PLANT situation. Blue Cosmos attacking...something's a bit out of place. Some part is missing, and I need to find it. Also the way ZAFT reacted...someone's pulling some strings. I truly doubted that ZAFT would act like this on its own. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if they speed up the negotiations in order to solidify a secure treaty to keep such things from happening again. The Purists are up to something. But what is it exactly that they're after? The decimation of all Naturals is an obvious guess, but there's something more. Something else that they want with it. What is it?
Even if it kills me I'll find out for the sake of others. For their peace, for their happiness.
Yay! Chapter done. Getting dark, isn't it? Hopefully I didn't mess up the story in the process...
Aw...poor Arabella, is it just me, or is she a bit too hard on herself?
In the next chapter, Ray and Lucia come visit again! (This is where the much-needed comic relief after this depressing chapter comes in play...lol...wait for it!)