Chapter 4: Redemption?

Legend

Italics shows character thoughts

Word shows Date, time, and location

-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing

June 30, C.E. 70

Rendezvous Point, 11:00 A.M.

Scion Kazuma, pilot of the Revolution Gundam created by Doctor Takashi to be used by Orb to help defend it's independence before everything went wrong, sat in the cockpit of the powerful machine, the first of it's kind. He was told by the booklet left behind by Doctor Takashi to head to certain coordinates after sending a signal on a precise frequency, there to wait for the man or women who would provide him a haven while he decided on his next, and first, move.

Scion has long since come out of his trance like mode that enabled him greater feats in battle then he thought could be possible for him. He had surpassed even his own expectations in the last battle but didn't know what could trigger such a change.

He decided to get a little fresh air so he opened the cockpit and got to the ground, the Gundam was laying on it's back. Once there he did a few stretches to get the kinks out of his body then ran in circles to get the sleeping feeling in his legs that he got from sitting so long.

I'm so tired…

And it was true, the battle had worn Scion out mentally and his body was also drained since his wound had only stopped bleeding because the blood dried and clotted the wound. He was so very tired and ever alert. At this point even thinking was hard on Scion.

-Sigh- "Maybe they were stopped by something? Maybe someone caught unto them or something….either way I don't like how this is turning out." Scion's voice was hoarse since his throat was dry and he was beginning to feel sick.

-VROOOM-

The sound of a truck came from the west and Scion turned to see it was a large truck, a very large truck with a huge trailer attached to the truck. It approached and Scion found himself reaching for his gun, the very same that ended Axle's life, incase he needed to use it.

The doors opened and two people got out of the truck and approached him. Scion stayed on guard as they walked forward…he wouldn't lose this machine after everything he went through.

"Hello, Mr.Kazuma. We are here to take you to the haven according to Doctor Takashi."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. You get in the truck or don't, your choice."

Some choice…

"Fine. I'm staying in the cockpit though."

"That's fine. Load your machine into the trailer."

"I guess it opens up then?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Scion then turned and jogged over to Revolution and brought the machine to life, the eyes glowing a yellow color to show it's activation. The trailer opened up with the left side folding out and the top folding up and then falling to the ground with the right. Scion piloted his Gundam to the trailer and laid it down on the bottom part of the trailer where the trailer then folded back up and concealed the mobile suit.

"Can you hear me Mr. Kazuma?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Just telling you that we are closing the rear door now. It won't be opened again until we get to the Haven."

"Okay…"

Scion felt a bit better about how they were acting towards him. Not to concerned about his feelings towards them meant they weren't trying to gain his trust. Just trying to get him to the Haven...or so he hoped.

Soon the truck was moving and Scion could tell it was turning slowly around and heading back the way it came. The ride seemed to be extremely slow but that was probably because he was used to going at high speeds…..a long ride was ahead.

On the Road, 11:10 A.M

Scion had a lot of time to think now that he could relax, for a while at least. He checked his wound to see that it wasn't bleeding again, it was good news. His mind whirled through everything from his early years of life to the here and now.

Everything seemed to happen for no reason until just a few hours ago when things that occurred at Junius Seven finally caught up with him. Axle was corrupted by his hate and Scion would have too if not for the commander that told him of the attack which made him choose to leave before the N-Jammer drop, which would be pissed him off to no ends he was sure.

Why? Why is this all happening? Why do I survive while the others die, why am I condemned? Why did they die in my place!

Throughout the ride, and before the ride, Scion was tormented by the thought. He had committed such terrible acts starting with his initial hate of Coordinators to the Doc sacrificing him and everyone else so that he, a man that does not deserve to be saved, could live on.

He knew he didn't deserve it, yet he would take what was given to him and move forward for Doctor Takashi, he gave Scion a goal and a reason to move on, a reason to live on, a reason to fight on, a reason to exist.

With these thoughts in his head Scion tried to get some sleep.

...It never came.

The Haven, 2:00 P.M.

Scion awoke to the opening of the trailer, he evidently did fall asleep after a while, and he waited and then heard someone speak through a megaphone for him to exit the machine, the voice said it was to dangerous to use the radio in this area so they had to use conventional means.

…Sheesh…who knows what is out there waiting for me…could be the firing squad.

Scion came out of the cockpit reluctantly to see a number of mechanics, or so they looked to be, and other personal. He hopped down and went to see about the person with the microphone who turned out to be a man in a suit. He quickly said he was to busy to talk and left Scion in the middle of a mob of foreign people.

"Some help you are. Bum.." Scion said hoarsely as he rubbed his throat slowly. He shook his head as he got a sudden dizzy spell, probably from the bleeding.

"Hello, Scion Kazuma."

Scion spun around on hearing a familiar voice and to his extreme surprise he found Yumi Akechi standing in front of him. She was dressed in her normal attire with her hair pulled back in a bun. She held a clipboard with some papers on it as she stood staring at Scion.

To bad for Scion it was to much for him, he had all but assumed everyone was dead and this new revelation was to much for his battered mind and body to take. With some gratitude that not everyone died Scion collapsed to the floor in front of Yumi who's reaction was to catch him.

"Scion? Scion what's wrong?" She shook Scion a little to have no response in return.

"Someone come help me!"

A few workers were already on the way and helped Yumi lay Scion on the ground, a closer inspection showed where Scion had been shot and bleeding for nearly a day, he survived thanks to his Coordinator genes and the fact his pilot suit helped the blood clot.

"Get him to the infirmary ASAP!" Yumi yelled at the men around her, frantic to save the pilot of Doctor Takashi's grand war machine.

"Yes ma'am!" They responded as they ran to get a stretcher. They soon returned with one to see Yumi not left his side since. They then loaded the wounded pilot on the stretcher and hurried him to the Haven's doctor.

Infirmary, 2: 15 P.M.

Yumi sat in the waiting area just outside the actual placing of patients. She guessed Scion had carried that wound for at least twenty-four hours since it could only have happened before the battle over the destroyed research base, it was all over the news as a accidental explosion.

Yumi had taken a hard blow when she found out that the Doctor was dead, she thought that she was sent away to set up for the movement of the mobile suit, since the spy attacked her and Sion, but she didn't think she was being moved for that purpose as well as for her own safety. Though she had reason to believe there were other reasons for her moving away from Takashi.

The stupid fool. Why didn't he fix up his wound or tell someone. They would have done better then just covering it up. What is it with younger men doing the stupidest things. He better learn to accept help from people because we can't afford to lose him…I can't afford to lose him. I need him alive...

She sighed mentally, she had grown attached to the younger man over the past months, though it went against her better judgment. At the time of his arrival the only thing that stood out was his eyes which were a pale, almost sickly, red. Those eyes looked like some great pain was inside him and was just bleeding inside of him. She found out that she was very much correct when she was asked to do a background check, finding that he was half Natural and Coordinator and that he protected the mobile armor carrier that carried the weapons that would destroy Junius Seven.

How does someone get over knowing that they helped kill hundreds of thousands of people? How does he get up in the morning and fight as hard as he does when he sent so many innocents to death? He must have a cold heart...a solid heart of ice.

Those were her original thoughts about him, a broken tool and/or a cold blooded murder, and it was her pity that forced her to talk to him when he spoke to her. Because of that she found out more about him then she wanted and she found herself looking more into his life and his actions.

In the months of them being in the same working space she found herself being scared by things he would do. Often when he was in the mobile suit going through a test run he would stop and go into a involuntary fit of silence, the camera would show him shaking, his hands gripping the controls for dear life. It would last for only a moment before he would return to the present and if asked about it later he would deny that it happened or play dumb, he was in denial, trying to make himself believe that it wasn't his fault but somehow he still tormented himself.

Then came his own abilities. He did so well that people would often congratulate him on an excellent performance. That in itself would send him from the room. He would just up and leave. Yumi assumed that he felt that the people were telling him that he was a good killer. Though like everything about him Scion simply denied it and made up an excuse.

He was a horrible liar as well.

Yumi looked at the door to see nothing from behind the window near the top of the door. She sighed and stood up and began pacing. Scion Kazuma was a broken tool, but it was the only tool able to use the Gundam to any extent and with Takashi gone she would have to tend to his mending. She would have to make sure that he holds together long enough until the good Doctors goal was reached.

"Ms. Akechi." The door opened and a nurse came out, she looked about before seeing Yumi and walking over to her.

"Yes? Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine, not sure how he survived this long but he did and he will make a full recovery in a day or so."

-Breath of relief- "I'm glad to hear that. Can I see him?"

"…Well…no."

"Why not?"

"He's sleeping, has been for a while now and seems to be in quite a fit. We've drugged him up pretty bad since the bullet was in pretty deep because it wasn't removed until now. Due to the drugs we can't pull him out of his dream and I doubt you'd want to see him at this point."

Yumi stood silently for a while. Did she want to see him? She was wary of becoming more attached to him for fear or it interfering with work. She needed to be able to keep everything profressional, she had an agenda to follow afterall.

So she resigned herself to seeing him later, as soon as she possibly could. She would show she cared for him but she wouldn't sit by him all night and make him think there was going to be anything between them. She couldn't allow such a relationship to exist…for reasons that she would not betray.

July 1, C.E. 70

Infirmary, 11:00 A.M.

Scion lost track of how long he had been sleeping, he slipped in and out of his dreams and his realities...though he didn't know which one was the better of the two. He just knew that he was happier awake then asleep. In his sleep he relived every battle and every event of his life. Starting with his mother and her loss of pride in him after the Coordinators came. She meant well and just wanted to push Scion to do well but not that Scion looked at it…she pushed him well over the edge

After that he went to his school years and how sad and petty he acted. He hated them out of envy and spite just because they did things better then he did. His school years led him to the military and he knew how that would end. He would excel and rise to the very top of the class only to fall to the very bottom, to the bottom of himself and the bottom of human morality.

That fall lead him to be picked up by Doctor Takashi who gave him wings to try and rise again. With the mobile suit and what it was being used for he thought he could rebuild himself. Before that he went through a period of changes, or more to the point a period of understanding. This time of dismantling the truth from the false allowed him to be rebuilt as he was and should be.

Then Axle came and brought Scion to the top again, his best friend was with him and he was mastering the new machine that would be used for peace. And in that moment he realized he was not built different, he was still the same spiteful person. He just hid it behind veils of goodwill and attempts to make good on himself.

It was here where Scion would go into a violent fit and began sweating profusely. The images of him and Axle staring each other down as the pointed their guns at each other. The doctors would try and hold him down as he thrashed about until his dream reached the point of the guns firing.

Scion would go quiet then, his dream following him into Revolution and his trance like state where he almost destroyed a fleet.

In his wake he realized that it was over but then a new feeling of fear for what was to come would slam into his mind and then he would beg for sleep to take him back to what had allready been said and done. For the past and the things that he could not change, for the absolute.

This all took place in a two days time. After which Scion's eyes snapped open and he sprung up into a sitting position and examined his soundings. A infirmary of some kind or so it seemed. He heard the sound of a few bustling figures beyond a curtain surrounding him. A figure stopped and look at him through the curtain before pulling it back and looking at Scion in an astonished way, she wondered how he could be up so quickly judging from how much blood he had lost. It just didn't make sense.

No one beside Yumi knew what Scion was and so the nurse walked over to him slowly. She was unsure of his condition.

"Hello Mr. Kazuma. How are you feeling?" She said as softly and politely as she could.

Scion opened his mouth to speak but found his throat very dry and he just couldn't talk. He made a drinking gesture and the nurse quickly nodded and ran off to get something to drink. She returned with some water and handed it to Scion who quickly drank the glass and finding it unbelievably tasty and refreshing.

"Tha-thank you."

"Oh no! It was my pleasure. I'm just surprised you are up at all. You lost a terrible amount of blood."

"I did? Hmmmm." It then dawned on him that he had never properly treated the gunshot wound that he had gotten from Axle himself. His hand went to where the wound was and saw that he was currently shirtless and was wrapped up, his chest anyway, pretty well. He still felt stiff but he wasn't hurting.

"Do you see?" The nurse decided to get him back into the conversation. She appeared the peppy talkative type.

"Yes, I do. How long have I been here?"

"Ohh…a few days I suppose. No one here really knows when you got here or even why you are here or what you do."

"I guess I shouldn't tell you then. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay. I kinda like the mystery anyway. -Giggle-" She then bowed and left him to his business, or his boredom.

Well…that was interesting.

Scion always thought it strange how people just zipped in and out of conversation like she just did. He shook his head and laid back down. He put his arms over his eyes and tried to get some sleep before yet another voice came to his hearing.

"Hello, Scion."

Scion didn't need to move his arms to know who it was. It was definitely Yumi, he had talked to her enough to know that it was her.

"Hello to you too, Yumi. I thought you were dead."

"I could say the same to you."

-Grunt- "Fair enough. What is this place and what is the current purpose of this facility?"

"To prep the Gundam for final launch. We've decided on it's name too."

"Already done."

"It is? Doc named it?"

"No. I did."

"You weren't allowed."

"Everyone was dead in my mind. It's name is Revolution. I've already put it into the Gundam's central computer processor. It can't be changed."

Yumi was a bit angry at the way Scion was acting. He would normally be very nice to her and try to get brownie points for being a gentlemen. Today he was cold and cutting to the meat of things. She didn't know why it was bugging her but it did. Maybe it was the fact that she was trying to be nice to him while trying to be formal as well. It must have been that that irked her.

"…Fine. Revolution is as good a name as any."

"When do we launch?"

"Soon. Very soon."

Yumi was very uncomfortable now. He seemed so cold now, a distant figure compared to the rather social able person he once was or at least tried to be. It was unnerving to say the least.

"Good." Scion stood and began looking for his shirt, he assumed they had gotten rid of it since the blood couldn't be cleaned out.

" I don't think you should be up…" Yumi's voice came weak and she found herself blushing and looking at the ground. Military training and strain from using Revolution had gave him a toned figure though he was a slightly pale from being inside the cockpit of a mobile suit too long and not spending enough time outside.

"I'm ready to go now. I need to get to the PLANTS as soon as possible."

"What for?"

"It doesn't matter and it will be safer if you didn't know."

"….."

Yumi nodded and left after telling Scion that she hoped he got better very soon. Truthfully she was scared of what she saw before her. The broken tool that didn't know he was broken had finally snapped in two. His cold look and 'get to the point' way of talking chilled her to the bone. She found herself anger at herself for letting this happen...and then she was surprised she was so concerned.

Haven Hallways, 1:00 P.M.

Scion walked down the halls with gusto. He looked normal except for the bandanna, the material being the same stuff they used to wrap his chest to stop the bleeding, around his head and behind his bangs that now covered his entire face since he lost interest with keeping it tidy and now hide both of his eyes. The Bandanna was a reminder of the hole in his gut and where it came from and why it was there. On the white accessory was written 'Redemption' for that is what he wanted. To redeem himself for all the people he had sent to their grave.

His mission was Revolution and to gain Redemption for his acts, involuntary and voluntary. He walked with his head held high, showing off the bandanna though it was hidden behind his hair. He would not hide from his mistakes.

The mobile suit was done being prepped and they had a way to get to the PLANTS. This place had a ship that, a stolen salvaging ship, that could get into the PLANTS. They wouldn't search a salvage ship for anything since they're better ways to get into the colonies that are cleaner. This way allows for a mobile suit to be carried onboard. It was already in space gathering some junk for looks.

Haven Hangar Bay, 1:20 P.M.

Scion walked towards the only mobile suit in the hangar. His mobile suit. It was equipped with a number of strong rockets to propel it into space where it would be intercepted by the carrier that would transport it to the PLANTS.

He would be launching as soon as he was ready to go.

The five minutes went by very quickly and soon Scion was strapped into his machine and he was getting ready to be thrust into deep space. Yumi would not be joining him.

"Are you ready Scion?" Came Yumi's voice over the com.

"Yeah. Ready to go anytime." Came Scion's rather dull voice.

-Sigh- "….Okay then. Prepare to launch." He had grown so cold all of a sudden and it still irked her but she said nothing as the numbers counted down and after confirming his launch she watched him rise up into the sky and put her hand up over her eyes as the power attached rockets ignited and blasted him through the atmosphere and into deep space….

Then she realized she had forgotten to wish him good luck...and then she realized she had never wished him good luck. It hurt her to realize that she was just as cold to him then as he was to her now.

As Scion saw the bright blue sky fade into a dark star colored void he wondered where this path would take him. He wondered if this path would lead him to his redeeming and to the Doc's revolution. Where would his path lead him, on his way into this vast expanse known as space…

Author's Notes: Okay. So the first solid chapter in this story and is like a kind of slowing down of things after the last chapter. You start to see some changes with Scion and perhaps a bit more in Yumi's mind. Some things will become more obvious between the two as the story goes on.

I'm still a few months away from the original Gundam SEED story and haven't really thought of how Scion will affect that world, if he does at all. Any opinions on this are thanked in advance.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and will come back for the next. Sorry this one took so long too.