I do not own Gundam Seed.

Retribution: Prologue

by:frost2light

Cosmic Era 70

"I have a world I want to protect!" Kira Yamato shouted into the com-link as he flew straight on towards Rau Le Creuset. Green laser beams from the Providence Gundam's DRAGOON system shot from all directions but Kira was too enraged to care. He shot each and everyone blocking his way towards the madman who was the cause of all these and bore down like an avenging angel from above. Rau looked at the incoming Freedom Gundam, his mind clear.

" Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kira slammed his beam saber and pushed into the Providence's cockpit, forcing the Gundam back and into the pathway of Genesis before flying away. Rau merely smiled as his protective helmet blew apart from the force and accepted his fate. It was all right, he had done what he had set out to do, though he could not complete it, he had left a mark. He had planted those seeds and they will begin to grow. He was sure of it. This world was not meant to be saved. It was doomed as long as humans inhabit it.

The countdown clock on the Genesis reached zero and at the same time Athrun Zala with Cagalli Yula Athha's Strike Rogue escaped the explosion and the war ended with an announcement for a peace treaty. But, in another place, right at the moment Rau died with that calm smile on his face, yet another pair of eyes opened and looked though green liquid into an empty room, devoid of any other humans except those that were floating in tanks naked, with blonde hair billowing eerily and machines that was bright with lights. Unmanned control panels stood idly at one side as the man in the tank observed all of them.

He moved his limbs one by one, all of them connected with wires and tubes which provided him with all those nutrients needed to sustain a human being and medication to keep him alive, before pulling back his hand, clenched, and slammed it into the glass tank. He watched calmly as the glass started to crack, slowly forming a jagged line from the top and ending at the bottom, while the pressure of the liquid in the tank did the rest of the job for him. He waited till the liquid drained away, removing the oxygen mask clamped tightly to his face and stepped out amidst the broken glass.

The glass crunching beneath his feet, he pulled away those annoying tubes and heard an emergency alarm sound throughout the building. He waited patiently, knowing that someone would come to investigate. He surveyed the room and watched impassively at the other clones of his still floated neither dead nor alive, not even flinching nor asking the reason why he was there. He was alive now, and he had an unfinished job to do. It was his destiny to fulfil his previous predecessor's legacy.

" What the hell?" A middle aged balding man in a lab coat burst through the doors and shouted as his eyes took in the damage before landing on the standing clone. "Oh my God! Peter! Andrew! He's alive! He's alive!" He shouted as he neared the clone, excitement written all on his face.

"Are you in the one in charge?" The clone asked the man, his voice scratchy and hoarse from never speaking.

"No. None of us are in charge here, but the Crueset instructed us with everything and we shall gladly help you with his plan. But, first, there are many things that we have to do, tests to be done, so please, sir, if you may." His beady eyes gleaming as he stood staring at the man who looked exactly like Rau le Crueset. The clone nodded and followed the scientist out the door, leaving his birthplace behind without a backward glance. With an end to the first clone, the second had been revived to take his place. And the circle will go on.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3 years later,

"Thank you for sending me home." Melissa Thompson said softly as she stood on her porch, shyly looking into her companion's brown eyes. She wondered if she should invite him in for maybe a late coffee or something stronger if he wanted, to repay his kindness for treating her to that wonderful dinner and musical just now. Her companion smiled and butterflies once again took flight in her stomach. Blushing, she looked down at her black heels, cursing herself inwardly for her inability to hold a normal conversation with the man she was interested in.

"It was my pleasure Melissa." His timbre voice running through the syllables in Melissa's name, sending delicious shivers down her spine. He was so handsome, so beautiful, Melissa knew that she was blessed that he had even noticed her in the office. She was a plain woman, brown hair, brown eyes, nothing about her was extraordinary, she was not fat, but she did not have the hour glass body that most of her female colleagues had. She neither had the confidence nor the intellect either, and not for the first time, she wondered if this was some cruel joke her office mates had conspired with him.

"Urm…umm…Christopher… would you like to stay for coffee? I mean…if you want to…I mean if you don't have anyplace…I mean…." Making up her mind to just jump headlong into asking, Melissa was mortified at her own voice, squeaky and tiny, like a mouse she was. Embarrassed, Melissa could feel the heat rushing up her face, she was such a useless person. What would Christopher think now? How could she be so stupid? Why did she even try!

Looking away, she did not notice Christopher Brown's eyes soften and his lips quirked up in a small smile. He liked this mouse of a woman, he knew that she thought that she was not worthy of his attention, that she was not pretty enough, not smart enough, but what she did not know was that he was truly attracted to her, especially when she smiled. Her smile lit up everything around her, when her lips curled up, her brown eyes sparkled, and the warmth of them making his heart turn somersaults and his stomach do flip – flops. He had his share of women chasing after him, his good lucks getting him more honey than he could ever want to taste but nothing in those women did he ever see anything like Melissa.

"Melissa, look at me." He commanded softly, his fingers hooking her chin and gently brought her face up to him. "I like you very much. I like the way you smile and laugh, and yes I would like to stay for coffee."

"Christopher…" Melissa whispered, her embarrassment draining away and replacing it was shock. Was she hallucinating? Did she dream of what she thought he had just said? "This is not a joke right?" Melissa added, wanting to make sure, her childhood nightmares running through her brain. This was not the first time a handsome man had asked her out, this was not the second either. All those times before, it was terrible jokes that those so called popular girls had played on her. How they had hooted and laughed; how her ears had burned when she heard their comments. Melissa's eyes roamed about her neighbourhood in search of those evil cameras that taped up her embarrassment and played it out for everybody to watch the next day.

Slightly exasperated, Christopher mocked glared at Melissa, his heart hurting for her insecurity. "Melissa. Do I look as if I would play this kind of joke on you? Do you think I'm lying? For once, could you please believe that you are not what you think you are? I see you as a beautiful and kind woman, who beats all those fake Barbie's with their perfect white teeth and long blonde hair. So now may we please go in for coffee or would you rather continue this debate outside in this freezing cold weather?"

Melissa bit her lip, her eyes searching Christopher's brown eyes, the saying her mother used to tell her repeating itself again and again in her head. "The eyes are the windows to one's soul." Melissa tried hard to find that deceit she could usually detect in the past but found nothing except earnestness and defiance. Blinking away the tears but not succeeding, she felt Christopher's softly brush it away before leaning down to kiss her on her forehead.

"Thank you." She whispered, before throwing herself into Christopher's embrace and started sobbing, "Thank you." All those past torments, those past insecurities, with those gentle acts and honest words were forced into a box and locked tightly, they would raise their ugly heads later she knew, but right now, she was safe from them, safe from everything and everyone because she was in his embrace, because he really liked her.

"Now, may we please go in?" Christopher said and both of them smiled at each other before walking hand in hand into the warm house with an angel standing guard outside.

Yet unknown to both of them, a pair of hawkish blue eyes retreated back from the opposite window and two pale pink curtains closed, hiding the old man in the living room from anybody on the street. Maeda was his name and spying on neighbourhood going – on was his duty. He was eighty three years old and still in the pink of health. He woke up everyday at six and slept way after everybody else has slept. His tongue was as sharp as ever and those who ever crossed his path was cut and diced by his choice of words. He was perpetually alone with his family all far away and out of reach. Many had speculated it was because of his arrogant personality that he was ostracized by his children, yet many others think that it was because of loneliness that he had become so crabby.

Maeda settled down into his armchair, the fire crackling merrily in the fireplace in front of him, providing him heat to chase away the chill. He was old and tired yet, he had a long way more to death. Clicking his tongue, he waited for that familiar white bundle to come to accompany him and seconds later, his ears could pick up the commotion that usually came with his chosen pet. Grinning as he watched as dog came rushing in, his tail beating like a helicopter rotor, as he skidded on the wooden panelling before barrelling back on course and hurtling down towards the armchair where Maeda sat.

"Snowball!" Maeda exclaimed when Snowball launched himself into Maeda's lap and started breathing into his face. "My goodness, your breath alone can kill me!" He said, scolding the dog affectionately as he petted Snowball's head and allowed the dog to lick his face. He had picked him up at the pound months ago and from then on had formed a relationship with it. The dog was not much a dog as it was a puppy, still growing and having a humongous appetite to boot, he was what Maeda needed to keep the loneliness at bay. Smiling contentedly, Maeda allowed himself to snooze while Snowball chewed on his sofa arm.

Three doors down from the neighbourhood spy, a fight was going on with crashing plates and broken furniture. The husband, a huge giant of a man while the wife a small slip of a woman stood face to face, shouting at each other, neither one wanting to back done from each other. Both of them had long forgotten what their fight was about, and was merely running on anger as fuel. They were picking at each other's faults, remembering past incidences with clarity and scaring their young children witless.

"You bitch!"

"Bastard!" Their screaming alone could break windows yet nobody bothered to ask them to turn it down. This was normal for this family, both of them Italians, both of them with fire in their blood. Their shouting matches rivalled their affections for each other and all knew that both of them will probably make up later for what they have said. They had eight children to prove that fact to be true.

All of them were normal people going on with their normal lives, neither of them able to predict the future. Their lives went on peacefully until midnight - when Melissa and Christopher snuggled closer to each other and slept, when Maeda finally said enough was enough and went up to bed, and long after the Italian family had cooled off and were now about to start yet another new life – did their lives come truly to an end as a low thrumming started and could be heard from the empty field nearby. None of them realized the sound; none of them noticed the wind starting, and none of them noticing the shadows that moved when there was nothing about until it was too late.

"This is 001. Everything is in place, awaiting orders to commence operation."

"You have the green light 001. May we have a truly clean world."

"To a clean world."

The thrumming increased in volume and everything started to shake and tumble around those oblivious, innocent people in their own peaceful neighborhood.

Author's note: This is a revised version of my original Retribution and C- Town Chica, if you are still alive, this ficcie is still dedicated to you for being my first reviewer. This revised version will be somewhere along the lines of my previous Retribution but there will be some changes, some additions and I still hope that all of you will like it. Thank you for being patient and though I cannot promise to update as frequently as I want, I will finish this. If there is any questions, any thing you wish to comment, please feel free to do so. If you leave your email address, I will personally answer all of it. Thanks again everybody.