Phase Eighteen: Grieving Skies
I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Saul, Ian, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, the Raven, or the Surge Gundams. They all belong to Akatsuki_Leader13. Nor do I own Gundam. I only own Akira, Tao, Nisha, NASA/NAZAFT, the 7th Fleet, the Wing, Z.A.M., and Diver Gundams.
A0930: First off, Marie is not special. She is not enhanced or anything. And Cagalli is a Natural who can go SEED, so why not? :P There have to be others that can go SEED too. There is a reason Marie went SEED, and it lies in the fact that America is known as a 'melting pot' of different cultures. :P Akira comes to his senses, but not through meeting Marie. She has more important things to do as President after all. :P No, I am not changing how Mir and Dearka meet. Wu just hates the fact that the US is so powerful, and yet will not remove Naturals from power. :P And as for Heero fighting Zane, that happens in the second arc, the Destiny saga. :P
KentLinuzStadfelt: Nope~! Nothing changes. :3
Ken Wise: Enjoy this one too~! :3
CT7567Rules: Interesting comparison. :3
Titanic X: Glad you enjoyed. :3
Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in to leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in to leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, the feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.
C.E. 71 – War has been raging for 11 months between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs. With their superior numbers, it seemed inevitable the Earth Forces would win. But the PLANTs unveiled new technology and began to gain the upper hand. Now, 10 months after the initial conflict began, the war is at a stalemate…
Suddenly, the Aegis exploded. The fireball engulfed the Strike and expanded, slamming into the Raven. The Raven was sent flying. "AAAAAAAAH!" Chris screamed as the Raven was slammed across and darkness took him.
Chris groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He blink a few times as everything came back into focus. The Raven was lying on its front. The phase shift armor had deactivated and the main battery almost completely out of power. He switched over the reserve battery. It'd give him enough power to get back to the ship. The screens in the cockpit flickered to life. Most of screens displayed static. Either the screens were damaged or most of his camera had been taken out. Or maybe a little bit of both. Slowly, the Raven stood up. There were several mechanical groans that accompanied the Raven's movements. The Raven was in rough shape. The left arm was completely useless. The small hole in the left wing had grown in size as a result of the explosion. And the Raven's body had been damaged from the fire of the explosion and from being slammed into the ground. Not to mention the right leg was barely working and the right arm was completely missing along with the right wing. He had to get back to the ship before any of the ZAFT mobile suits found him.
He turned towards where the Archangel crashed and started to head that way. When he remembered what exactly happened during the battle...
"Kira!"
Chris scanned the area for Strike. The explosion had thrown him deeper into the woods. But there was no trace of either the Strike or the remains of the Aegis. "Kira! Come in Kira! Can you hear me?" Chris said over the comm, hoping it was working. "Kira, respond!"
"Come on Kira, where are you?" he said to himself as he listened to static. "You and the Strike are tougher than that. Come on, where are you?"
"...Tol...Kira...ris...please...res..."
It was Mirillia! Chris found comfort in the fact that at least the Archangel was still out there.
The bridge of the Archangel was silent. Save for Miriallia's attempts to contact the two mobile suits and the Sky Grasper. They had all seen the explosion. All contact with the Strike, the Raven and Sky Grasper 3 had been lost. They all feared the worse.
"Captain, what was that explosion?" Mu asked over the comm.
"I don't know." Murrue said. "But we've lost contact with the Strike, the Raven and Sky Grasper 3."
"...gel...This...Chris..."
"Chris! Chris! This is the Archangel! Do you read?" Miri said, frantically trying to reestablish communications with the Raven.
"Archangel...re gone...coming..."
"Chris! We're not gone! We're still here!"
"Archangel...This is Chris...still here...Raven's damaged..."
"Chris. What happened to Tolle and Kira?"
"Tolle's...dead...Kira...I...I don't know..." Chris replied, coming in clearer.
A stunned silence filled the bridge. Miriallia let out a sob and ran out of the bridge. No one tried to stop her.
"You have to send someone out to search for him." Chris said.
"Captain! Three contacts on radar!" Kuzzey said.
"They're DINNs, ma'am!" Chandra said. "They'll be on us in fifteen minutes!"
"Prepare to intercept." Murrue ordered.
"Not possible, Captain." Natarle said. "Over half of our weapons are out of commission. We won't last ten minutes against them. We have to leave the area as soon as possible."
"What about Kira?" Chris said. "We just can't leave him out there!"
"There's nothing we can do." Badgiruel said. "It's obvious that Ensign Yamato is MIA. Return to the ship. Besides, we need the Z.A.M. Gundam and Wing Zero for defense at this point."
"But Kira-"
"Ensign Dante, return to the ship." Murrue said.
Chris sighed. "Yes ma'am..."
"Captain, power has been restored." Newmann said.
"Prepare to take off once the Raven is on board." Murrue said. "What was the last known position of the Strike?"
"But Captain! We don't have enough time to search for the Strike." Natarle said. "If we stayed, you'd risk this ship as well as the lives everyone on board."
"I know that! Send out an SOS, along with the Strike's last known coordinates to ORB and NASA." Murrue ordered.
"ORB and NASA?!"
"ORB will accept. We're asking them to save lives. NASA may even respond first, given how dedicated they are to saving lives of others."
"But those nations-"
"I will take full responsibility for this!" Murrue said, silencing her XO.
The damaged Raven approached the Archangel. One of the catapults was open for him. The Raven clumsily jumped up, landed on the catapult and staggered into the hanger. The Raven moved passed the captured Buster and Surge and came to rest in its usual spot, next to where the Strike normally stood. The Z.A.M. Gundam was still outside for defense as was Wing Zero. Chris didn't say anything as he deactivated his machine and climbed out. Once he was out of the cockpit, he tore off his helmet and slammed it into the ground, screaming as he did it. He leaned on the catwalk, his eyes watering.
"Birdie. Birdie." Kira's mechanical pet chirped, flying through the hanger before landing on Chris's head.
Normally, Chris would have swatted the bird off his head. But at the moment, he didn't care. Tolle was gone. Kira was missing. Worse, they were abandoning Kira to save themselves.
Chris slammed his fists onto the railing. He was right there and he didn't do anything. He should have known that the Aegis's pilot would have self-destructed like that. He should have tried to pull the Aegis off of the Strike.
Liz touched his shoulder. Chris turned to face her. There were tears on her face. The two hugged each other as they cried.
Elsewhere, Miri approached the flight simulator that Tolle had spent so much time in. "Tolle?" Miri said, tears in her eyes.
Mu approached the grieving girl. "Where's Tolle?" Miri asked him.
Mu didn't say anything. He hated these situations. He never knew what to say.
"Tolle cannot be dead...He just can't...Because...because..."
Miri collasped to the ground, crying. Mu reached out to her, drew his hand back before he touched her. He instead punched the flight simulator in frustration and grief. There was nothing he could do to help her.
Outside the ship, the three DINNs fired on the engines of the Archangel. The three beam shots were intercepted by Wing Zero, which took the blows on its shield. "Attacking a weary opponent is an act of cowardice." Heero murmured as he moved the shield away.
Nisha fired his missiles at the DINNs, but all three managed to dodge easily. It did not help that the Z.A.M. Gundam was not built for aerial combat. But Wing Zero was.
"Hey, Heero. Can you try and take those guys out? I will provide cover for you."
Heero grunted once at the offer. "Hn."
Taking to the sky, Heero pulled out his machine's beam sabers and flew right at the three DINNs. The trio darted away from Wing Zero, but Nisha's cannons forced them back into a less favorable position. Heero used the attack by Nisha to rush one of the DINNs and slice off its engines as well as a leg. The damaged machine crashed into the water with a splash.
The two remaining DINNs decided to try and attack the Archangel from the top, but a missile barrage from the Z.A.M. Gundam took out one of them as the other pilot managed to dodge the slew of warheads.
The last DINN was made short work of thanks to the Buster Rifle from Wing Zero. The golden blast took out the ZAFT machine so quickly the enemy pilot had no chance of realizing what had happened until it was too late.
Wing Zero landed on the Archangel, the battle over…
Aboard the Cousteau
"Captain!" Yzak said as he entered the Cousteau's bridge. "Why are we moving? Athrun, Dearka and Saul aren't back yet!"
"They're all missing, I'm afraid." the Captain said. "And Commander Le Creuset has ordered us to return to base."
"Missing? What do you mean missing?"
"What do you think it means?" Zane said, staring at the screens. "Dearka and Saul were likely shot down and Athrun likely killed himself taking out the Strike."
"WHAT?!" Yzak shouted.
"He grabbed the Strike with the Aegis and then self-destructed." Zane said. "I did see him bail out, but it's unlikely that he cleared the blast radius in time. But he did destroy the Strike and likely the Raven as well."
"Turn this ship around right now!" Yzak shouted. "There's no way that all three of them dead! We don't wear these red uniforms for nothing!"
"Those red uniforms mean that you should be able to make decisions calmly and rationally." the Captain said. "We've been ordered back. Second team has been dispatched to search the area. And we've received word that ORB is also joining in the search for survivors. If they're alive, they'll be found." He was unaware that another nation was searching as well…
Aboard the Archangel
"Well...This is one fine mess we've gotten ourselves in." Saul said.
The two of them had been taken to one of the locker rooms, stripped of their flight suits and dressed in simple white clothes. Their hands were tied behind their backs and a pair of armed guards was watching over them. "Shut up." one of the guards said.
A man entered the room. He wasn't wearing a uniform like the others. Rather he was wearing a dark trench-coat and pants. But there was something about him that Saul found familiar. But he couldn't figure out what it was.
"More kids." the man said. "You'd think that they would have entrusted those stolen mobile suits to people that were older and more experienced."
"You seem familiar." Saul said.
"I could say the same about you." the man said. "Wait. What's your name?"
"Saul Kessel."
The man started to laugh. "You're Diana Kessel's little brother? The one she's always complaining about? Yes. Now I recognize you. You're the lazy slacker."
"Hacker. I'm the lazy hacker. What about it?" Saul said.
"You don't recognize me?"
Saul stared at the man. There was something familiar about him, but he just couldn't place it.
"No. Why..." he said as it suddenly dawned on him. "Wait minute! Now I recognize you! But you're dead!"
"Okay. I'm confused. What's going on here?" Dearka asked as the man continued to laugh. "You know this guy?"
"Yeah. This prick's the Black Hawk. Commander John Alaric." Saul said.
"What? No way! You mean the guy that fought the Tiger actually was the Black Hawk!" Dearka said. "Wait a minute! You don't look like the Black Hawk. The Black Hawk had-"
"Longer hair, a beard, and a mustache? It's called shaving kid. Something you have yet to experience."
"He's Alaric." Saul said. "I met him once, a few months before the war started. It's him."
"But you're a Coordinator. Why are you fighting with the Earth Forces?" Dearka asked.
"I have my reasons." he said. "None of which I have to explain to you two."
"Does my sister know that you're a traitor?" Saul said.
"She knows, along with the entire 11th Fleet as they have been aiding me since my 'death'. And we're more like patriots than traitors. We're simply doing things our own way, as we have always done."
"What do you mean 'doing things our own way'?" Dearka asked.
"There are times when people, who love their nation, must act against it to remove dangerous elements within the nation that don't have the nation and its peoples' best interests." he cryptically replied.
Alaric turned to the two guards. "Now, the Captain wants us to take them to the infirmary, so the doctor can check them over before they're put in the brig."
A few minutes later, the five of them were walking down the halls towards the infirmary.
"Well, at least you got one cute girl on this ship." Dearka said as they approached a group of crew members, one of which was a sad-looking, brown haired girl.
"Must you hit on every cute thing in a skirt?" Saul said.
Dearka ignored him and turned his attention to the girl. "Aw...What's with the tears?" Dearka taunted. "Saul and me are ones that should be crying."
"Well, you should be crying." Saul said. "You got shot down by a single fighter. What kind of Red Coat gets shot down by a fighter?"
"Hey! That was no ordinary fighter!" Dearka said as they continued down the hall.
"Excuses. Excuses." Saul said.
Aboard an ORB Transport Plane
A Few Hours Later
Athrun slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight was shining through the window, onto his face. He slowly sat up and groaned from the pain of his injuries.
"I see your awake." a familiar voice said.
Athrun turned his head. It was the girl, Cagalli, holding a gun at him. "At the moment, you're aboard an ORB aircraft." she said, moving closer to the bed. "We decided to take you in after we found you lying on the beach."
"What does a neutral nation like ORB want with me?" Athrun asked. "Or am I in the hands of the Earth Forces now?"
"There's something I have to know." Cagalli said. "Were you the one who destroyed the Strike?"
Athrun bowed his head, unable to look her in the eye. "Yes...That was me."
"What happened to the pilot?" Cagalli desperately asked. "We couldn't find him anywhere. Did he eject like you?"
"He's dead...Because I killed him..."
Cagalli's eyes widened as her arm holding the gun began to shake.
"It's true...I grabbed the Strike with my Aegis and self-destructed. I don't see how he could have escaped."
Cagalli grabbed him by the collar and jammed her gun under his chin. "It was the only option I had left..." Athrun said, raising his head.
Their eyes met as tears slid down Athrun's face. Cagalli slammed him down on the bed and looked ready to shoot him, when she let go of him. "DAMMIT!" she shouted as she punched a wall while her own tears appeared.
Athrun sat up again. "But why am I still alive?" he said, more to himself than to Cagalli. "I must have gotten out just in time."
Cagalli spun around and pointed the gun at Athrun again. "Or maybe you're the one destined to kill me."
"Kira...took too many risks and didn't always know what he's doing and always cried...But he was kind! He was a nice guy!" Cagalli shouted.
A sad smile spread across Athrun's face. "Yeah...Sounds like he didn't change a bit. He was always like that."
"Did you..."
"He was a sentimental crybaby and he was smart but never thought things through."
"You really knew Kira?"
"Yes...We were close. We were friends ever since we were child. We were the best of friends."
"But then...That's crazy! If you were such great friends, then why did you kill him?" Cagalli said grabbing his collar.
"I don't...I have no idea why either!" Athrun shouted back as his tears returned.
"We separated as friends and the next time I saw him, we were enemies. I asked him to come with us, over and over. Because he was a Coordinator! Don't you see? He was one of us! He didn't belong with the Earth Forces!" Athrun said. "But he wouldn't listen! He fought against us! Even hurting friends of mine! Then he killed Nicol!"
"So that's why-"
"He wasn't on my side anymore! He was an enemy! I had no other choice but to kill him!" Athrun said, trying more to rationalize it in his own mind than Cagalli's.
"You idiot! How could you have come up with something so stupid? How could you do something so terrible?" Cagalli shouted.
"He killed Nicol! He was fifteen! He loved to play the piano! He only fought to protect the PLANTs! And Kira murdered him!"
"Kira was fighting to protect the people he cared about! He didn't deserve to be killed, and by his best friend of all people!"
Athrun didn't say anything, but a fresh set of tears rolled down his face.
"Someone's killed for killing another! Then that guy is killed for killing him! How is that twisted thinking ever going to bring peace?" Cagalli said, crying.
Cagalli held on to Athrun and leaned her head onto his shoulder. Suddenly, the door opened and an old man in an ORB Military uniform entered the room.
"Sorry to interrupt." the man said. "But we received word from the team that recovered the remains of the Blitz. There were no remains within the cockpit. Likely the pilot survived and was captured by the Archangel. I figured that he would want to know."
The news hit Athrun like a ton of bricks. Nicol was alive...He was alive...Then he had killed Kira over nothing...He had killed his best friend for nothing...absolutely nothing...
"What...What have I done..."
Pacific Islands…
A small fleet of ships headed into an area that was littered with the remains of machines and parts of a ship. The commanding officer of the fleet glanced back at the radar-man, hoping for an answer. "Well, any sign of life?"
There was a slight shake of the head before the radar acted up. He grabbed the console, looking shocked. "T-there is, sir! Off the starboard side, ten degrees south, 15 meters away!"
"You heard him, men! We have a survivor! Launch the Zodiacs and head to that area at once! Retrieve the Strike's pilot!" the fleet commander shouted.
"Yes, sir!"
NASA Transport Shuttle...
Soldiers stood guard as the famous Reverend Malchio walked in. On the bed was a boy with severe injuries, bandages covering the majority of them. "So, this is the boy that you found?" he asked, turning his blank gaze to the soldier in charge.
"Yes, Reverend." The soldier replied, bowing to him as deeply as she could.
The older man looked back at the young passenger, his gaze, even though it was blank, filled with disappointment. 'So young and already a soldier…is this what the war is coming to?'
"We already have ZAFT identification crafted for him, as the only real place he can be treated is the PLANTs." The soldier said from beside the Reverend.
"What about in NASA? Why can't you treat him there and give him one of the machines?"
The soldier was silent before speaking. "It…would raise too much suspicion as he is an Earth Alliance soldier, despite being a Coordinator. And we cannot risk it."
"I see. Very well, then. I shall accept the decision."
"Sir…"
Reverend Malchio then faced the soldier. "So, what is the cover story you have for him?"
"Well, we decided that he would be under the guise of a ZAFT red that was shot down in his mobile suit and injured even though he survived the crash. This way the PLANTs wouldn't hesitate to accept his return. Luckily for us, the PLANT leadership will buy the story as they are accepting of us as allies. I just hope that it goes off without a hitch."
"As do I, soldier…as do I…"
New Juneau, brig section…
Akira Nishikama sat in his cell, wondering if he was going to be executed by the NAZAFT officers who ran the place. There were rumors about ZAFT pilots being captured by NAZAFT and experimented on to see how they were engineered, and stories of young pilots like him being killed just for the fun of it, not to mention stories of how captured ZAFT pilots were sold to the Natural royalty that ruled the countries in the alliance!
He was scared now, and it did not help that ZAFT was now attacking its own fellow colony no less. If ZAFT attacked, then he was as good as dead!
But upon being retrieved from his machine, he had been handed clothes that had his last name on them, and not a number. On top of that, he had been treated decently so far, but he knew that could change anytime soon.
The door hissed open, revealing a guard in a white uniform that was just like ZAFT's, except for the patch on the left shoulder. And the customary Z had three stars over it as well.
"I heard that you were part of ZAFT's famed 7th Fleet. Care to explain why ZAFT sent you to attack us?" the guard asked.
"How should I know? They just sent us the orders and told us that you were the target." Aki' replied as he looked down at the floor.
The guard was silent at the information, but deep down, he suspected it had to do with Wu and his ambitions. That did not bode well for anyone under any circumstances.
"So, you just do as you are told now?" he asked.
Aki' glared at the guard with malice in his golden eyes. "No, we don't! But if we didn't, then ZAFT would brand us traitors and have us executed!" he snapped back.
"Don't you realize that you are considered a traitor now that you have been captured by us?"
That made Aki' gasp in shock as horror flooded his body. He looked at his hands shakily, eyes smaller than normal. "'Any ZAFT officers captured by NAZAFT are to be executed upon their retrieval.' Those are Chairman Wu's exact words." The guard said as Aki' shook with disbelief.
"It…it can't be true…there's just no way…I mean…" Aki' was unable to speak clearly, but the words he was trying to say were evident in his body language and in his eyes.
The guard felt bad for telling him that, but he needed to know, otherwise there would be no way for him to get out of returning to the PLANTs as a traitor.
Especially now…
But it was needed, as ZAFT was now going down the path that everyone in NASA had feared: the path of conquerors and ruthless rulers. The guard could only hope that the NASA leadership made the choice soon, otherwise things were over for the alliance and the human race…
The Archangel
Later That Night
"Come on you guys! I'm begging you!" Mu said, trying to get the hanger crews to prepare his Sky Grasper for launch.
"Don't be a fool." John said. "There's nothing you can do for him."
Mu ignored him and started loading extra supplies on his fighter.
"If you somehow manage to find the kid, just what then? ZAFT forces are likely still in the area." he said. "You'll be lucky to get to the island without being attacked."
"Commander!" Murrue called out, running towards them.
"At last, someone that can talk some sense into him." John said.
"Give the mechanics some time to rest." Murrue said.
"Have we received any word from ORB or NASA yet?" Mu asked.
"No. But-"
"Have we reached Alaska's air defense space?"
"Yes. But-"
"Then I'm going."
"I won't allow it." Murrue said.
"But what if he managed to get out in time?!"
"And I would be the first to volunteer to go out and search for him. But right now, that's impossible." Murrue said. "And given the current situation, I cannot permit you to go out alone either."
Noting the change in Murrue's tone, John decided that this conversation no longer for him to be a part of. And he quietly left the two.
"Commander, if you didn't come back and we lost you too...I don't know..." she said, her eyes watering. "Have faith. Pray for Kira. And stay here."
Mu put a hand on her shoulder. "Understood."
Nicol quietly sat on the floor of his cell, writing another musical piece. Chris was a life saver. If he hadn't managed to bring him paper and a pencil, he probably would have lost it a couple of days ago. At least now he could do something to kill time. Chris also frequently brought him his meals and would stay and talk for a while.
His stomach growled, loudly. Nicol hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. There had been a battle shortly after he had given his breakfast and no one had stopped by his cell since the battle ended.
Suddenly, the brig door opened. Nicol quickly stuffed the paper and pencil under his mattress. A weary looking Chris, holding a food tray, stepped in front of the cell doors. Nicol could tell that something bad had happened just from looking at him. "Sorry about forgetting to bring you lunch. I...There's been a lot going on." he said as he slid the food tray through the slot.
Nicol grabbed the tray began eating with gusto. "The Buster and the Surge were captured in the last battle."
Nicol's eyes widened as he stopped eating. "Are the pilots-"
"They're fine." Chris said. "Actually...They should have been moved into their own cells hours ago. I think I better go ask someone about that."
Chris turned and started heading for the door. "Wait!" Nicol called out. "Was anyone else shot down during the battle?"
"The Duel was damaged but retreated." Chris paused for moment. "The Aegis...The Aegis grabbed the Strike and self-destructed. I don't know if either of them made it."
Chris left the brig without saying another word. "Please Athrun. Be okay." Nicol quietly said, worried about his friend.
Chris sighed as he aimlessly wondered the halls. They had reached the safety of the Alaska Air Defense Zone and ZAFT had given up. They'd reach JOSH-A the next morning. And then...Well he didn't know what would happen when they got there. It did not help that the Raven was damaged beyond repair either, as he would likely be blamed as a ZAFT spy for the damage.
Everyone was having a difficult time with Tolle's death and Kira's disappearance as well. Chris had spent the day alone for the most part. Wondering the halls or just sitting somewhere. Flay had tried to comfort him, but he just wanted to be left alone for now.
He turned a corner and came face to face with Sai as he left the infirmary. Neither he nor Flay had spoken with Sai since it happened. But he figured that maybe now would be the time to try to patch things up between.
"Sai." he said.
"...Chris." Sai said as politely as he could.
"I'm sorry about everything. I never wanted or intended for what happened to happen." he said. "I just wanted to help Flay out with her grief over her father's death. But then…Well, you know what happened. Again, I'm sorry about this whole mess."
Sai opened his mouth. "I-"
Suddenly, they heard some muffled shouting and a loud crash. It was coming from the infirmary. Chris and Sai ran into the room. The blond haired prisoner was lying on the ground, his hands bound and bleeding from a cut on his forehead. The other prisoner was sitting on one of the beds, trying to break free of his bonds to help his comrade. Standing over the blond was Miriallia, holding a knife. Her face was a mixture of grief and rage. Heero was there along with Nisha, the former ready to attack as well.
Both Sai and Chris grab Miri, stopping her from attacking the prisoner again. "What the hell is her problem?" the other prisoner shouted.
The two teens ignored him, focusing on Miri. "Miri! Stop it!" Sai said as they tried to get the knife from her hands.
"Doing this won't change anything!" Chris added.
"Tolle's gone and he's never coming back! And yet this creep...What is this scumbag doing here?"
"Heero, help us!" Sai yelled. The blue eyed boy nodded, grabbing the knife from Miri just as Chris did his thing.
"I hate to have to do this." Chris said, letting go of the girl.
A second later, he slapped her. That stopped her. "Is this what Tolle would have wanted?" Chris asked. "Would he have wanted you to kill someone?"
The rage left Miri's face, leaving only her grief. Miri hugged Sai, burying her face in his shoulder, muffling her sobs. Heero placed the knife on the desk near the door as Sai comforted Miri. Chris then helped the injured prisoner back up onto the bed. "Why don't you take her back to her room?" Chris said. "I'll get the doctor to see to this guy."
Sai nodded. "Okay." he said, guiding Miriallia to her quarters. "And I accept your apology."
"You just had to make those stupid comments, Dearka." the other prisoner said once the two were gone.
"Shut up." Dearka said. "How was I supposed to know that she'd react like that?"
Chris sighed. He felt a headache coming on. "Do I even want to guess what you said?"
The other prisoner chuckled. "Probably not." he said. "When that girl came in, Dearka started taunting her about how upset she was and how soldiers shouldn't be crybabies. And he made a really bad comment about how maybe she's upset because her boyfriend got himself killed."
"That's what I thought." Chris said, rubbing his forehead. "You know, her boyfriend did die in that last battle. And everyone's having a hard time right now. In fact, I wouldn't mind having a piece of you after what you said."
"Hey! How was I supposed to know that?!" Dearka said.
"It doesn't matter." the other prisoner said. "That's not something that you joke about! That girl should have cut your balls for that!"
"Hey! Don't even joke about that!"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll get the doctor to patch that up." he said, leaving the room.
A Short While
The doctor had patched Dearka's wound and now a pair of guards were escorting them to the brig. Then when they reached JOSH-A, they'd be sent to some torturous POW camp until the war ended. Something Saul was not looking forward to.
"Saul! Dearka!" a voice called out from a cell as they entered the brig.
A very, very familiar voice, a voice that they shouldn't be hearing. The two ZAFT pilots turned to the first cell. Sitting on the bunk was...Nicol, alive and well. "N...Nicol...You're alive..." a speechless Dearka managed to say.
Saul started to laugh. "I don't believe it! How did you survive that? You have got to be the luckiest guy in ZAFT!" he said as a grin spread across his face.
"Move it." one of their escorts said, jamming his gun into Saul's back.
"Okay. Okay. We're moving." Saul said. "Jeez. We just meet a friend that we thought was dead and you guys won't even let us talk to him."
"You two are going into the two cells next to his." the man said. "So it doesn't matter."
The guards opened the second cell and put Saul in it, and then they placed Dearka in the third cell. "How did you survive Nicol?" Dearka asked. "I mean that explosion...We all thought that you were dead."
"Yeah. I'm surprised I survived myself." Nicol said. "I guess I was just lucky that the Strike's sword didn't hit the cockpit."
"I'll say." Saul said. "You got a rabbit's foot on you or something. Or maybe you got a four leaf clover hiding in that green hair of yours."
All three friends started laughing. And for that moment, the war didn't exist, nor were they soldiers. Instead, for that brief moment, they were a trio of teenage friends, laughing and joking around.
PLANTs…
"We thank you for this action, Clyne." The shuttle pilot said as the young boy was unloaded into the colony.
"No problem. Just be glad that Wu bought the story with no complaint." Clyne replied as he looked into the eyes of the young man.
A nod from the pilot was all he needed. With that, the pilot walked back to the NASA shuttle without a single glance back.
Archangel brig…
Nicol was writing away at his music when the door slid open to reveal another boy, this time not wearing the standard Earth Forces uniform. Instead he was wearing a green sleeveless shirt with blue jeans and black shoes. Brown hair matched his blue eyes, which seemed to be cold and emotionless.
"Oh. Hey, Heero." Nicol said as he looked up. Said boy grunted once.
"Hn."
He held a food tray for Dearka and Saul. Dearka looked over, only to see the person who was bringing him his food. "And you are?"
The boy just glared at him with cold blue eyes. "None of your business. If you knew, I would have to kill you."
"So talkative…" Dearka muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Saul did not respond to Dearka's remark, instead staring at the boy who was setting down the food trays in front of their cells.
The boy did not seem like an Earth Alliance soldier, but the way he carried himself could be mistaken as such. He seemed to be lanky in build, almost as if undernourished, but that was not the case, as his muscles were visible beneath his shirt. His blue eyes were cold and hard from no doubt countless battles, but there was a certain weariness in them as well.
"Are you a child soldier of the Earth Alliance?" Saul inquired. Dearka looked at the boy outside the cells in shock and confusion.
"He can't be…he's much too young! I mean, he can't be older than 11 years old at most!" Dearka protested in shock.
The boy, Heero, glared at Dearka with a cold look that would have even made Le Creuset back up in fright. "I am 16 years old. And, no, I am not an Earth Alliance child soldier if that is what you are thinking." He growled.
"But you fight with the legged ship!" Dearka exclaimed, a smug tone in his voice.
"Only because they took me in when I had nowhere else to go. And given my situation, it was highly unlikely that I would be helped by anyone except for the Archangel, which is the name of the ship you are now on."
Dearka tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Your situation? What do you mean?"
The sound of a gun clicking into the safety-off position was his cue to shut up. "Ulp!"
Heero pulled his side-arm and aimed it at Dearka with an emotionless look in his eyes. "If you knew that, I would have to kill you, no matter what your situation." He muttered back.
Dearka was silent as Saul then realized something. "Hey, aren't you a Coordinator as well?"
"No, I am not."
This made Dearka and Saul look at one another before Dearka busted out laughing. "You? There is no way in hell that you could be a Natural! You're too skilled to be a mere Natural!"
"I am a Natural," Heero replied coolly. "And most of the people on this ship are Naturals as well, so if you think about harming any one of them, I will be forced to take drastic measures."
Dearka could only smirk in a cocky arrogant way. "And what would you, a mere Natural, do to us, the superior Coordinators? Use your meek and useless Mobile Armor to defeat us? How cute!" he purred.
Heero's gaze turned to ice as Saul gasped. He had never seen such a cold gaze before in his entire life, and that did not include his sister, who would also be scared by that kind of gaze that this boy now held.
"I will kill you…"
Saul gulped as Dearka continued his taunting. "How, with a mere bullet using gun on your Mobile Armor that you can't even use properly?"
"…no. Zero."
"Are you talking about a Moebius Zero?"
"Wing Zero. That is my machine. And I believe that you have seen it before."
Dearka gasped as he recalled that machine he had seen earlier. "You pilot that machine?!" Saul was also stunned, but for another reason. The same pilot was now before him, a pilot who had, on countless occasions, had the chance to kill him and the others.
"Why?"
Heero glanced to Saul, who continued speaking. "Why did you not kill us?"
The boy looked down before he glanced back up. "I will not take a life if it is not called for, and those times were not such situations."
With that said, he turned and left, leaving behind two newly stunned Coordinators as well as one relieved prisoner of war.
NASA capital, Washington D.C…
President Hilson opened her eyes, her head throbbing as she sat up. "Ugh…"
Agent Williams, her guard, peeped in. "Ah! Glad to see you awake ma'am." He said as he entered the room.
"What happened?" the president asked.
Williams was silent before he spoke. "There…was a…assassination attempt on you, and by the radical faction of ZAFT no less. It was only by pure luck that we got out in time."
"No. I mean after that. Didn't a couple of ZAFT Mobile Suits infiltrate Washington?"
Agent Williams looked up at her. "Is that what happened? I didn't know. Did you defeat them?"
President Hilson gaped at what the man was saying. She had fought the ZAFT units and won? It did not seem likely as she was a Natural and they had been Coordinators. True, she had been in the Traverse machine at the time and that had a Natural-use OS, but even that should not have been enough to beat a couple of trained Coordinators, and ZAFT aces no less.
"Are you sure it was me and not someone else?"
Her guard just nodded, further cementing the idea that she had indeed done the task. "You did, as you were the only other one inside a Traverse at the time. There was no one else inside such a machine at the battle site, and your machine was the only one standing."
Realization sank in as the U.S. leader fell back onto the bed. "There's…just no way…how in the world did I beat a couple of ZAFT trained aces and Coordinators with no trouble?"
Agent Williams just looked at her and shrugged. "I have no idea. I tried to contact you to see if you were alright, but there was no answer from the cockpit. I could only worry about you, and when we got you out of the cockpit, you were unconscious from either blood loss or hitting your head, but the latter is not likely as there was no injury to your head."
"It wasn't that, or blood loss."
"Eh?"
"I saw…a small…thing…before I passed out…It looked like a…seed…almost…and it exploded. Then…everything became clear to me…almost like a berserker mode…"
Agent Williams stared at her, but did not say anything of it. It was either a one-time thing, or it had been a hallucination of some kind caused by blood loss.
Still, he could not deny that he had seen her results from the battle site, and wondered if this had been the cause of her being able to stand up to the two ZAFT pilots that had attacked them in the hanger earlier that week.
PLANT capital, Aprilius One…
"We've got a problem!" the infamous Mr. Pink said, bouncing around in the backyard of the Clyne residence.
"Mr. Pink! Don't go there!" Lacus called out as the pink Haro entered the glass sunroom.
The Haro landed on the bed in the sunroom. Lacus followed after it and grabbed it from the bed before it could wake up the boy in the bed. There was a groan and the boy's eyes opened. "Oh. Good morning, Sleepy Head." Lacus cheerfully said.
Kira blinked a few times. "Where...Where am I..."
Chapter is complete. Heero has a small confrontation with Dearka, which he wins. President Hilson recovers from her battle, and the legged ship reaches NASA.
Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated, as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate filled/spamming reviews, will be deleted AND/OR reported depending on if they are signed or not. Anyway, everyone else, keep sending in those reviews! ^^
