Lacus held a hand to her head as she followed Ashino and the soldiers who were escorting Kira and the others further into the depths of the facility. He head ached abomindably... worse than a migraine. It was odd too, because the intensity of the pain seemed to ebb and flow according to some pattern she couldn't quite discern. It made it very hard to think clearly and that was not a good thing... if ever there was a time in her life when she needed her wits about her, this was it. They had been free... so close to being really free... and they had stalled right on the cusp of victory. If they'd been able to get out into the hallways alive she was sure they would currently be running around outside... wherever outside was here. But there was no use in lamenting what might have been, she needed to concentrate on the here and now. "Where are we being taken?" she asked Ashino, who was walking just ahead of her. Kira and the others were being pushed along several feet in front of Ashino, with the two other BCPU's almost frolicking along at the head of the group of prisoners and guards.
"To see the Doc. In his private lab, down on sub level six." Ashino replied.
"And who is this Doc? You said before that he was something like your father. He's not actually related to you, is he?" Lacus asked. "Does he have a name, this Doc?"
"Doc is his name, much like mine is BCPU. It accurately describes what he is, so that people do not need to ask. And as far as I know, he has no biological relation to me... or anyone here. In fact, I'm almost sure of that... for reasons I cannot go into right now. The Doc is the man who created the BCPU project in the first place... he designed and supervised the growth and construction of the three initial prototype models that served in the last war, as well as had a hand in designing their Gundams. After the initial models were produced the flaws found in them were corrected for later models like me... I only recently attained the designation of BCPU 4... about the time the last war ended." Ashino noted the unhappy look on Lacus's face. "What's wrong?"
"You keep referring to yourself as a thing or an object... you're a person, just like me. I weep for you, who doesn't seem to understand that...figuratively anyway, I cannot seem to muster the actual tears right now." Lacus replied with a self decrepitating smile.
"I am not a person. That fact has been drilled into my head ever since I can remember. I am not a human being... I am just an interface module with biological parts. I think and plan and create on my own... within the boundaries of my training... simply because no mechanical computer has yet been created that can do these things in an efficient enough manner to compete with Coordinators."
"But you feel! I know you feel. You feel pain and sadness and love... you might not want to admit it... but you do!" Lacus retorted. "You're not just what you're made of... people aren't made of parts... they're made of people!"
"I do not feel. I approximate feeling by judging how humans would feel. I've never lost anything important to me... so how can I be sad? I've never had anything I wanted... so how can I love? I've never had anything of value... how can I feel any pain that isn't physical? And while you may not be just what you are made of... I am. I'm Ashino, BCPU 4... take me apart and there is nothing left, not even a memory." Ashino replied.
"You're wrong. It's so sad, how wrong you are. You're in such pain that it has numbed you... you've lost so much you cannot even tell that you have lost anything. My heart goes out to you." Lacus told him. Ashino found he had to look away... an unfamiliar feeling of deep annoyance building within his chest. He felt... angry.
"Do not speak to me of hearts... especially when I know your heart is already held by another." Ashino retorted. "In fact... it would be best if you don't speak to me at all any more... if you have questions I'm sure the Doc will be able to explain them to you... he knows more about me than I do."
"I'm sorry for offending you, it was not my intention." Lacus said in a small voice. Ashino did not look at her and did not reply as the group filed into the elevators that would take them down to level six. "I want to thank you again though... even though you recaptured us, you did it without trying to hurt us... if you hadn't done what you'd done, Kira would probably have gotten hurt a lot worse trying to protect me against a person he can not defeat in personal combat. You're the nicest person I've met here... and I want you to know I appreciate it."
"You mistake kindness for efficiency. I am only kind because that is what accomplishes the mission the best way."
"No... you are kind because you want to be and you enjoy it." Lacus countered. "The best way to have captured us was to just knock me out and threaten me that way... you didn't even lay a hand on me." she smiled ever so slightly. "Say what you will... I won't think less of you because I know that deep down... in the heart you won't believe you have... you're a good person."
"What did I say about not speaking to me?"
"See... now you're getting annoyed... if my words really are meaningless, and you really don't feel... why does it matter what I say to you?" Lacus could not completely conceal a hint of triumph... she was starting to break through the wall he'd erected around his real self... or that had been erected around it for him. She felt the change in air pressure as the elevator descended... descended a very long way. "This sub level six sure is down a ways, isn't it?"
"Roughly one point five kilometers below surface level. This base is one of the deepest ever built. And completely without governmental supervision... the only people who know of this base are the people who control Blue Cosmos and the people who work here." Ashino replied, glad of a different topic of conversation... despite what he'd said he really didn't want to stop talking just yet... this might be the last chance he ever got to speak with her. The elevator slowed and stopped. "A word of advice... do not judge the Doc by how he looks... he works very hard and he frequently forgets to change his working clothes... he does all of the higher end augmentation surgeries personally and a little splatter cannot be helped..."
"So just because he looks like a mad scientist out of a movie doesn't mean he really is crazy?" Lacus clarified. She smiled again. "I'll be sure to make my impression off what he says, rather than how he looks. Thank you for the warning. See... that was a kind act."
"It was efficient... I wouldn't want to have to catch you if you fainted when you saw the Doc. And he really is crazy... there is a fine line between genius and insanity and I believe he firmly straddles that line."
"You give us girls too little credit... most of us are made of sterner stuff than you'd think. I don't just faint at the drop of a hat, you know." Lacus retorted. The doors to the elevator opened and Ashino escorted her down the short hallway. They had been in the elevator which descended first, so no one else was around... just the two of them. If she'd had anywhere to run at all, Lacus may have been tempted to make a break for it right then... but there was only forward to go, and forward led to the Doc... and she was probably safer as Ashino's captive than Cray's or Frost's... definitely safer on second thought. "I don't think I've ever fainted, actually... even when Frost was threatening to skin me alive... I was frozen with fear, but I was fully conscious." Ashino did not reply as he pushed open a pair of solid looking double doors. The dimly lit room beyond was actually quite large... the largest room she'd yet seen here, easily three times the size of the interrogation room. Four metal tables were arranged around the room, with bulky machinery hanging down over each table. There were also banks and banks of computer looking things, storage lockers and less identifiable objects arrayed along the walls and grouped in clusters all over the floor space of the lab. A lab it was... Lacus wasn't a scientist by any means but she knew a medical lab when she saw one... if the room had been much smaller and much more comfortably appointed, it could have been a room in a fertility clinic up in the PLANTS, where prospective parents would consult with doctors about what sort of enhancements they wanted their child to have and where the operation to input those enhancements would take place.
"Ah, the most enviable Lacus Clyne... I actually enjoy your music at times... it reminds me a lot of me when I was younger... I used to be such an idealist." the tired but not unkind voice said from off to the left. Lacus jumped slightly... she hadn't noticed anyone else in the room. She looked over and could not help but shiver and take a small step back... if Ashino hadn't warned her about what to expect she very well might have had a more serious reaction. It wasn't that the man himself was very threatening looking... on the contrary he was quite undistinctive... a little over five and half feet tall, perhaps one sixty or so pounds, a slight paunch... lined face, perhaps sixty years old... greying brown hair, still intense blue eyes... he didn't look like the sort of person who would be in charge of such a monstrous project like this one. Well... except for his clothing...it had probably been white at one time but now the surgical garb was so caked with gore that it was as stiff as plastic, stained brown and purple and dark crimson with unidentifiable bits of biological stuff stuck all over it. Lacus could smell the decay and putrefication from where she stood, more than fifteen feet away. The Doc noted her flinch. "Ah yes... I'm sorry for my appearance... I was forced to prepare for your arrival somewhat in a hurry and I accidentally grabbed my used smock rather than the clean one... but Ashino was nice enough to give you warning, I assume."
"Yes, he did. He is very polite and he is the most helpful person I've met here... if only more people were like him, I would imagine Blue Cosmos would be a far less destructive organization." Lacus replied. "I'd usually say I was pleased to make your acquiantance, but..."
"But you aren't sure just what my intentions are with regards to you, of course. No apologies necessary, dear girl. And as for Ashino... yes... he has been rather nice to you... uncharacteristicly so... he and I will be having a talk later... he might need some... evaluation."
"You're going to punish him for being nice to me and the other girls? That's..." Lacus started to protest.
"That's fraternization with the enemy, in one way of looking at it. You are his enemy, Lacus Clyne... you're a Coordinator... he was raised to kill people like you on sight. By all rights he should have nothing but loathing for you in his heart... he should want nothing more than to snap your pretty little neck... in that respect he should not be different from my greater sons, Cray and Zacharis. That he is different is cause for some concern... if my products do not perform as advertised... it reflects badly upon me... and I currently have too much bad blood between my employers and myself right now... it could be my head on the block next." the Doc cut her off. The doors opened again and the rest of the Coordinators and their friends were brought in before Lacus could reply. "Ah good... the other subjects have arrived... that is excellent. Secure the male subjects to the operating tables... bind the females to the wall restraints there on the far wall... make sure it's done properly. No... not you, Ashino... the soldiers. You stay right there, my son... you aren't in my good graces right now." The Doc ordered... voice turning harsh when Ashino started to lead Lacus over to the indiated wall. The soldiers grabbed Lacus roughly by the upper arms and dragged her over to the wall, securing her between Cagalli and Miriallia. The wall restraints held her arms close together, stretched above her head and the guards adjusted them almost painfully high... she had to stand on tiptoe or else hang from her wrists. A plastic strap was pulled tight against her throat, pulling her head back and up until her head was forced fully against the wall, and tilted up so much she had to look down in order to see straight... it was very uncomfortable. But as bad as it was for her, she was glad she wasn't strapped to a table like Kira, Athrun, Dearka and Ysak were.
The tables looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months, if not years... hardly the most antiseptic environments for surgeries. Locking plastic band restraints held the four Coordinators spread eagled upon the tables, with additional plastic band restraints on their waists, thighs, arms and necks. The tables were rotated on their supports so that the Coordinators were hanging from their straps, forced to look ahead, at the wall where the girls were secured. The guards left the room at a gesture from the Doc... the BCPU's stayed. "Zacharis... Cray... Markov... good work in recapturing them... you performed within design parameters and you accomplished your mission with alacrity. There will be rewards for this, boys. But the best things come to those who wait... so I'm going to have to ask you all to just wait a little longer while I have a nice talk with what may be your future brothers and sisters. You may wait here and listen or go about your own devices... as long as you stay nearby as I may have need of you." the Doc said, moving so all the captives could see him. None of the BCPU's left... Frost sat down in the middle of the room and stared hungrily at Lacus. Cray lounged against the wall and slowly eyed each girl up and down, obviously using his imagination to remove what clothes they had left. Ashino stood by the door, his arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed as if in thought, though he was listening very carefully.
"What exactly did you mean by their future brothers and sisters? You aren't going to condition us into becoming freaks like them!" Ysak snarled, arms twitching as he tested his restraints. The Doc looked amused.
"First off... those restraints are designed to handle the likes of Markov and Cray... you won't be breaking out of them by physical strength alone. And as for conditioning you... well, that remains to be seen. First I must decide if you really are suitable subjects for my continued research... and then, if you are, well... everyone is defiant at the beginning... a decade from now, who can say... you might be think of me as fondly as they do." the Doc indicated the BCPU's. "Though hopefully you'll like me more... these three would probably kill me if they could."
"I can... I just... don't want to." Cray said, uncomfortable.
"I don't think I can." Ashino replied.
"I'm going to... but not yet." Frost told everyone.
"Exactly. Now... maybe you'll allow a miracle to occur and you'll do this the easy way. There's always a chance, right?" the Doc said. "But first... tell me, what do you know of the SEED factor?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ysak replied.
"Me either... never heard of it." Dearka added. Kira and Athrun also indicated in the negative, as did all four of the girls... none of them had ever heard of a SEED factor.
"Ah well, I suppose I should give you a little background information then... it is always desirable to understand what you are, so then what you can do can be determined. A horse cannot shoot, because it is a horse... a human cannot fly a mobile suit unaided... because they are human. What we are determines what we can do... and what we can do determines who we are. And who we are determines where we can go. You can think of the SEED factor as something which exponentially increases the magnitude of the potential for what a person can do. And thusly exponentially increases the magnitude of the potential for who they can be... and most importantly, where they can go from there." the Doc told them.
"That sounds an awful lot to me like a Coordinator." Athrun said. "Though potential does not define who you are or what you can do or where you can go... without hard work potential means nothing."
"Potential means everything... but I'll explain that later. But no... what a Coordinator is, is a geometric increase in magnitude of potential... usually around one point five to two point five times the potential of a Natural. Even the best of the Coordinators... Ultimate Coordinators like Mr. Yamato here and my regrettable nephew up in the PLANTS... even they are limited in their potential over that of a Natural. Those who possess the SEED factor... be they Naturals or Coordinators... both have no discernable limit as yet has been discovered. They represent the next stage of human evolution... Coordinators are a step along the path to that stage... those with the SEED factor stand at the very cusp of the next stage. Can you see what I'm trying to say here? Anyone with a SEED factor has the potential to be the start of the next stage of human existence... the potential to be greater than any human ever has been... to be faster... stronger... smarter... to be everything a human is, but more so. There is only one thing holding those with the SEED factor back from achieving this wonderful next stage... you know what that is?" the Doc lectured. Everyone shook their heads. "The thing holding back those fortunate individuals is emotion... fear specifically. They are afraid of what they might become... afraid of the unknown void that stretches out before them... afraid to take the steps along the path that will lead to the recreation of humanity. And sadly, the SEED factor is almost impossibly rare... individuals possessing it are less common than diamonds growing on trees. Well... you get the idea. Anyway... if only those with the SEED factor could have their fear removed... why then there would be nothing holding back the advance of humanity to the next stage... whatever it may be. I have a few theorys on that, but that's not important right now."
"Why are you telling us this?" Kira asked, a sinking feeling in his gut.
"Oh, I thought that to be obvious... I believe that you possess the SEED factor, Kira. As do you, Athrun... and you... Dearka... and you... Ysak. I believe all four of you are one of those remarkably talented individuals who can transcend to the next stage of humanity... if only your fear of the consequences could be eliminated. And aren't you lucky... I just happen to be an expert in the removal of fear from the human psyche... just ask the BCPU's here. You're not afraid of anything, are you boys?"
"Of course not." Cray said immediately.
"I AM FEAR." Frost said coldly.
"It is true... fear holds no sway over me." Ashino said slowly.
"See, straight from the mouth of the beast. Oh, of course the process isn't without its drawbacks... fear is rather hard to isolate, I'm afraid I'll have to take a great deal of your other emotions as well... just the useless stuff... love, friendship, tolerance, mercy, wistfulness, creativity... the stuff you really won't need as a next stage human." the Doc said calmly. "The transition process won't be without physical pain either, I'm sorry to say. Medical science has only come so far... it is up to the people you will become to advance it further. Some of you will almost certainly die... but that's why it is such a good thing that there are four of you... my success rate is considerably better than 25 percent. But worry not... you won't remember a thing... I'm very adept at memory wipes... I've performed several hundred so far and not a single subject has remembered anything about their past... not even when it's mentioned to them. For example..." the Doc indicated Ashino. "Tell me Markov... how old is your sister?"
"What sister?" Ashino asked blankly. The Doc took a control out of his pocket and a screen descended from the ceiling, flickering to life as it did so, to display a girl of about ten, with pale green eyes and hair the exact shade of Ashino's... it was obvious even from a glance that there was a familial resemblence between them. The photo split, to show a second picture of the same girl as a baby, perhaps two years old.
"This sister... she was just a baby when you were kidnapped off the streets of the Ukrainian town where your family lives. Surely you remember her? Or what about your two older brothers... I hear they died in the last war, heroically defending the Earth Alliance at Panama... gunned down by the Coordinators as they tried to surrender. Your father's alive though... in jail for spousal assault, but he's alive. So's your mother... back in Panama, serving as a nurse. She could die if ZAFT attacks there. How does that make you feel, Markov?" the Doc asked.
"I don't know who you're talking about. That girl... she looks like me... but I... I've never seen her before. I don't know who my mother or father are... I... what brothers? Kidnapped? What are you talking about, Doc?" Ashino asked, sincerely confused. Lacus felt her heart go out to him like it never had before... he really didn't recognize his own sister... or remember his own family. He existed in a void... a void created by the monster disguised as a human being dressed in a surgeon's smock in front of her.
The Doc smiled and made as to tip a hat at the Coordinators. "So, I'm sure that makes my point rather well... when I'm done with you, you won't even recognize each other, much less the rest of the world. You won't be you any more... you'll just be a big ball of potential to mold as I see fit. Don't worry... I'll make you into something beautiful... something artistic... something the rest of humanity will see and cower from on their knees. No doubt they will fear your potential... and try to destroy you. That is the standard response of humanity to the unknown. However... I don't believe they will succeed... one thing I never remove from my subjects is the will to live. As long as you have that, you'll always be willing to come back for more. I skirted dangerously close to removing it from Zacharis... it was necessary in order to mold him into what I needed from what he was... but look how he turned out... a perfect engine of destruction. I must admit, he is my finest work to date, the maximum a human can be. But there lies the rub... he was just a human. You can only go so far with inferior materials. By the way... have you figured out why potential is such a powerful thing, Athrun?"
"I'm sorry... I've been tuning out your mad ravings." Athrun retorted.
"Tsk... insulting me won't do you any good... you won't remember you did it." the Doc replied. "I'll spell it out for you. Potential is what has caused both this war and the last war. Potential is what the Naturals fear of us Coordinators... yes, I am a fellow Coordinator... and potential is what we Coordinators fear of the Naturals. The Naturals fear that with our potentially superior minds and bodies that we will replace them... fill their niche in the biosphere. Coordinators fear the Natural's potential to destroy anything that threatens them without thinking about it. Natural's created Coordinators seeking to better themselves... but they advanced too far too fast and they don't understand what they did. So they want to eradicate it and start again. Do over. It is potential that is the root of all problems currently assailing us... it can even be applied to your poor lambs. If you did not have the potential you did... why, you wouldn't be here at all, would you? You are partially right, Athrun... without hard work potential is an intangible rather than an absolute. However it has always been the intangible that has stirred humanities fears and hatred, rather than the absolute. Thus, can you see how the potential created by Coordinators causes the war to be? Without Coordinators there would be no intangible threat of potential... and thus no war. Humanity cannot tolerate the threat of Coordinator potential... they must respond as humanity always does... they must destroy it. There is no other possible conclusion for them... distasteful and depressing though that thought may seem."
"You seem to be saying that humanity is governed entirely by its base instincts... that is not true." Cagalli interrupted. "If that were true we'd still be living in caves and bashing each other with rocks. It is an essential component of humanity to overcome their fear of the intangible and the unknown and harness it to improve themselves. Blaming the potential of the Coordinators for the war is a little like blaming the bullet for killing someone... you cannot place the blame upon the result if the action that created it was the problem. Think about it... if humanity always reacted to destroy that which they did not understand... how could we all be here in this situation?"
"Your argument is potentially valid." the Doc said with a smile. "If you had chosen to put it in proper scale, that is. You speak on the individual level, where the choice to user the higher mind to control the instinctual parts of humanity do indeed triumph on a greater than average scale. I was speaking of humanity as a whole... you were speaking of yourself. You might be able to rise above the need to destroy that which you don't understand... or to accept it. But if we were to drop you into the middle of all of humanity... well, your higher mind would be in the minority there, wouldn't it? It is a sad fact of life... but a fact nonetheless... that people are not reasonable. Do not think for themselves... do not allow their higher minds to control what they do. Well... unless... unless you remove their fear. Which is what I do... that is why humanity is not afraid of the BCPU... they have no potential left... they have reached their maximum. There is only absolute... no intangible. Zacharis's abilities are tremendous... but they are also quantifiable... calculatable... recordable. BCPU's are what Coordinators should have been... if humanity had been thinking with their higher minds, like you say they do. However, it is the Coordinators, with their sloppy penchant for potential who were created, rather than safely maximized abilites like a BCPU possesses. You and I really aren't that different, Cagalli Yula Attha... we both looked at the problem from the perspectives of an individual, but while you chose to merely accept... I chose to do something about it. Thus the BCPUs... the true next step towards the future humanity. And thus you four... SEED Coordinators, who I will turn into BCPU's... maximizing your potential, so that humanity will have nothing to fear from you, even though your abilities will be so far beyond human that you will truly be the next stage."
"You are fucked in the head!" Ysak declared. "I've never heard such a load of bullshit in my entire life."
"You're just a screwed up mad scientist with no ethics... no morals... and no clue what a total bastard he is!" Dearka added. "You make me sick... I can't believe you are a Coordinator."
"Yes, yes, resistance is expected at first. The memory wipe will take care of most of that... the training and conditioning will supress the rest." the Doc replied. He looked at Kira and Athrun. "Either of you have anything to say? Perhaps you'd like to call me names or tell me how insane I am?"
"It wouldn't do any good... you're so far beyond the pale that reasoning with you is no longer possible." Athrun answered.
"Normally I'd be trying to talk you into realizing how little sense you are making... but I don't think that'll help in this case." Kira added.
"Ah, thinking with the higher mind... yes... we'll get rid of that quickly enough... soon I have no doubt you'll be spitting curses and expletives much like your two friends. For you see, it is just about time for me to confirm if you four really do have the SEED. But first I need to address one more question. This time I am speaking to the delightful Katie Belaruse." the Doc said, turning to face the girls. "You are an Active Newtype, are you not?"
"I am a what?" Katie asked, trying to play dumb.
"Don't play with me, girl... I recorded your sister's echo when she died." the Doc said, watching her very closely... she tried to hide it but her eyes widened and she gasped.
"I don't know what you're talking abou..." Katie started to say.
"You just gave me all the confirmation I needed, dear girl... I did not record the echo, though I wish I could have. I cannot wait to have a more in detail talk with you at a later date... its not every day you meet an Active Newtype who knows what they are. It is just too bad your sister was killed... two Active Newtypes would be a hell of a catch, don't you agree?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ysak demanded. "What are you trying to say to Katie?"
"Oh yes... she hasn't told you, has she? Or has she, but you wouldn't listen? I find that more likely. Yes... well, I suppose it is a wasted effort, since you'll be mindwiped, but I have the energy to spare...today is a very good day for me." the Doc replied. "Well, you all remember what I said earlier about the next stage of humanity? Well, there are multiple ways of reaching that next stage... evolution is not a one lane road, it is an ever changing destination that can be reached by many means... many paths... evolution is more about the journey than the actual reaching of the goal. Coordinators and BCPU's take the path of increasing physical skills and intelligence. Other paths exist... in this case, when speaking of the so called, Newtype, the path is the mutuation of the brain that allows certain abilities to be utilized... abilities that most of humanity cannot even conceive of consciously... though the concept does exist, translated from the subconscious of creative people into the pages of fantasy and science fiction novels for hundreds of years now."
"What are you saying? That Katie is a mutant?" Miriallia asked incredulously.
"Precisely... but not in the way you are thinking. She is no comic book heroine, warped by radiation or other scientific means... she was born the way she is... an accident of genetics so rare that there are likely no more than fifty or so people who possess it in all of humanity, Coordinator and Natural combined. And of those fifty or so, only a dozen at most have any concept of the abilities they have at their... potential... command. Of that dozen, one stands before us... another likely lies in state in the waste room, with an unfortunately unhealable hole in her skull and a bullet lodged somewhere in her mutated brain. Where the others are is anyones guess... they could be in the PLANTS, anywhere on Earth or the Moon... or even amongst us right here in this room. Hmm... I've been lucky so far today... why not push it a little further? Katie... you're an Active Newtype... you can sense other Newtypes, can't you? Tell me... how many people in this room are Newtypes? Active or Latent?"
"Why would I help you? I grew up in a lab, being studied like an animal by people like you! I'd sooner die than tell you anything." Katie spat.
"By which we can infer that some of you are indeed Newtypes. Otherwise, why would she try to hide information from me? It's not like I could find out by myself." the Doc said cheerfully. Katie looked crestfallen. "Don't feel bad, Katie... I've been manipulating people for decades... its a large part of my job." the Doc stepped closer to Katie. "Now... tell me who is a Newtype... and whether they are Active or Latent."
"No. I'm not going to help you." Katie replied. "Not even if you threaten to kill me... I know what kind of experiments you people do to us Newtypes... I wouldn't wish that sort of thing on Fro... on my worst enemy." Katie corrected herself, unable to bring herself not to wish it on Frost... she actually wouldn't mind if they did to him what had been done to people she'd known at the lab.
"I would never threaten to kill you, dear girl. Especially since you are the only Active Newtype I have for sure. However... you have yet to be stripped of your emotional attachements... Markov, I have need of you."
"Yes, Doc?" Ashino asked, moving over to stand by him. The Doc looked him over with a practiced sneer.
"This is your punishment for your fraternization, my boy. These females have had an adverse affect upon your mind and your conditioning. Normally I would consider your loyalty unimpeachable... but not now. Now I need some action to restore my faith in you. Pay close mind, Markov... this is a very serious test... if you fail, it will be the waste pit for you. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly, Doc." Ashino replied, voice neutral.
"The Coordinator with the green eyes... Athrun Zala. Bring one of them over here. Cagalli looks a bit underfed... you will force feed it to her. If Katie doesn't fess up after that, take one from Kira next and repeat with Lacus. And then Dearka for Miriallia... and then Ysak, for Katie. If she remains resistant after that, I want you to bring me their testicles and repeat the process... the males will have no need of them here." The Doc ordered, staring into Ashino's eyes for any hint of reluctance... he could see none. "Use your bare hands. Now hop to it."
"Man... Ashino gets to have all the fun." Frost complained.
"Aye aye, Doc." Ashino turned, not even looking at Lacus, though he desperately wanted to, to somehow indicate to her how sorry he was... but he really was the sum of his parts and nothing more... he could not just ignore a direct order from the Doc... even if he did want to, on several levesl. Ashino walked over to the table where Athrun was secured. Using one hand he gripped Athrun by the hair, using two fingers to spread his left eyelid apart. He was just reaching for the wildly staring eyeball when Katie caved, much like the Doc expected her to... it really was a horrific thing to consider making your friends go through, when all you had to do to stop it was give up some information.
"Wait... wait!" Katie said. "Fine... you win. I'm an Active, you know that. Ysak is a Latent... how I'm not sure, he didn't use to be before Chanel's echo. L-Lacus is an A-Active. Kira is a Latent. Thats all."
"Aww man... you can't just stop there! You already have your hands on him! And it's not like she can take her words back if you take the eye anyway." Frost exhorted Ashino. Ashino jerked his hands away as if Athrun was made of hot metal... he was very glad he hadn't had to go through with that. "Coward." Frost commented.
"I'm a what now? What's an Active?" Lacus asked, trying to control her heaving stomach... her imagination had caused her to gag almost at once at the thought of eating an eye... especially Kira's.
"Well, well it really is a good day. Another Active and two Latents... this must be divine compensation for Asmodeus's rudeness." the Doc said, sounding amazed. "My dear Lacus, you would be one of the fifty or so who had no previous idea what you could do. And there is a lot you can do... potentially. Not all Actives have the same range of abilities, and not even a fraction of all possible abilities have yet been catalouged... I only know of the basic ones, personally. Just to name a few things would be extreme empathy for people around you... telepathy with other Actives and Latents... mental control of Actives or Latents on a limited scale... the ability to sense the minds of people, Active, Latent and Stump, which is Newtype slang for regular humans... the most esoteric I've ever heard of was an Active Newtype who could put people to sleep merely by willing it... even Stumps."
"The only problem with that was that utilizing the power caused a brain seizure and Alan slipped into catatonia right afterwards... they never did wake him back up." Katie said bitterly. "They forced him to use it, even though he didn't want to... he knew he could only make people drowsy... putting them to sleep was beyond his power."
"Oh, so you knew him? That's nice." the Doc commented. "What, pray tell, can you do, Katie? Do speak with alacrity, or I'll have Zacharis remove the eyes this time... he won't stop either."
"Chanel and I were classified as tele-empathic resonators and sensors." Katie replied, repeating the words with hatred... she never had liked being labeled like an animal.
"By which you mean the two of you could share thoughts and feelings with each other across almost any distance, regardless of the barriers between you. And you could both sense the minds of the people around you... what's your radius?"
"Chanel was more practiced than me... she could do almost a half mile... I can only do a few hundred feet."
"And you can beepcall, of course."
"Yes..." Katie confirmed.
"Well, this IS exciting. Could you beepcall me?" the Doc asked. Katie glared at him hatefully.
"You're a Stump. You might hear a buzz if I tried really hard... but I'm not going to... I'm very tired and the effort could hurt me."
"Can you tell what kind of abilities Lacus has?"
"No... there was an Active back at the old lab... Eileen... she could have done a deep scan and found out, but I don't know how... I'd probably end up blowing out both our minds if I tried."
"What are you talking about?" Kira said. "I'm not following anything you're saying. I'm a Latent? What's that?"
"The details are beyond the scope of the time we have together, Kira. You'll need to be memory wiped before you can get the story also, I'm afraid. But suffice it to say, for your current curiosity, that a Latent is a human with an extraordinary sensitivity to the powers of an Active Newtype. They are generally people who are very emotionally sensitive, but not always is this so. If an Active is a lightbulb then a Latent is a photocell... they have power of a sort, but only when illuminated by an Active. In practical terms, you can be beepcalled, you can be controlled telepathically with effort, and you are generally much easier to influence than an Stump... the unfortunate Alan that Katie knew could have probably put a Latent so deeply asleep they would not wake without outside stimulus for the same amount of effort which caused his seizure. Latents also tend to resonate with each other... not quite beepcalling, but you do tend to get a feeling when another Latent is around... most often when they are thinking of you and you them, assuming you know them. Maybe you've experienced such a thing?" the Doc answered.
"Maybe." Kira replied softly, thinking of the last battle of Jachin Due... the almost subconscious warnings he gotten when fighting Rau. Mu claimed at one point to be able to feel when Rau was around... maybe that was this... Latent whatever. And then there was the vision he'd had of Flay after she'd been killed... he dearly wanted to ask about that, but he didn't want this monstrous Doc to be the one to answer that question for him.
The Doc looked at his watch. "How time flies when you're having fun... my BCPU's will have to be leaving for the front soon... by this time tomorrow,given their intervention, Australia and Carpentaria will no longer be a threat to humanity... and neither will the PLANTS. But you don't need to worry about that... you'll be on our side by that time. Now for the moment of truth... the moment when you prove my hypothesis to me and prove you four really are SEEDs. Its theorized that those with the SEED can call upon their potential at will... but I don't think I'm that lucky. No... you'll need to be stimulated into it. And we're in luck... there is a stimulus for each of you, secured quite conveniently to this wall right here." the Doc said. Zacharis stood up and Cray stopped leaning against the wall, both had ravenous expressions on their faces. "Patience, boys, patience. Markov has yet to finish his penance... an uncompleted order cannot stand in lieu of the test. You didn't think it was that easy, did you, Markov?" the Doc asked Ashino, who was staring to look uncomfortable. "Of course not... you don't think except when I want you to... that's right, isn't it?"
"Of course, Doc." Ashino forced himself to reply. He hated this powerlessness... any other man he could have refused... but the Doc... the Doc had a hold over him no other man did... he couldn't help himself...despite telling his body not to move, it was starting to move anyway. Ashino knew he was going to despise himself forever for doing this... but it would be easier to stop the world from turning with his bare hands than to not follow the order... whatever it was.
"Good... very good, Markov. You're doing well so far... only a few more points until you pass. You can begin with Lacus. She's an Active Newtype... her brain is what's important... don't hit her in the head... other than that... break bones... split flesh... I'm a doctor... I'll tell you when she's had enough."
"Don't you dare! If you lay a single hand on Lacus... I'll...!" Kira trailed off, feeling the anger welling up inside him. He tried to fight it... he was being manipulated into this... being forced to display the SEED... but if he didn't... if he didn't... he'd have to watch Lacus get hurt in front of him... without doing anything to stop it. He didn't think he could take that.
"No." Ashino suddenly said, planting both feet firmly on the ground and hugging himself tightly to occupy his arms. "No... I won't. This isn't what I was designed for. I... I'm built... I'm built to kill the enemy. She is not the enemy. I... I won't... I won't beat a helpless girl... not... not even if she... if she... if she... is a Coordinator. Not even... not even for... for you... you... Doc. Especially... not for you, Doc." Ashino had to fight his conditioning for every word. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done... it hurt worse than all of his operations combined. It felt like his brain was melting and running down out of his skull... he belatedly realized his nose was bleeding. His body was physically rebelling against his mind... the result of years of hypnotic suggestion and conditioning... it was built into his psyche to follow the Doc's orders unconditionally... refusing was throwing his systems out of whack... disrupting the flow of blood and vital fluids to some systems, activating others when there was no need, shutting down still others. It was terrible... he fell to floor, shaking violently.
"You refuse?" the Doc asked mildly. Ashino coughed in agony and nodded. The Doc's face softened. 'My boy... Markov... as a man who once had a family, I can respect your choice. As a man, you have made me proud. As a father, you have made me proud. As a Coordinator... you have made me proud. However..." the Doc's face turned thunderous. "... As a scientist your actions are the EXACT OPPOSITE of making me proud! And a scientist is what I am, first and foremost... you're a big disappointment, Markov. A big disappointment! I'd thought you beyond such human failings... apparenty I let you have too much leash... I'd always enjoyed our little arguments, your naivete... but the buck stops here, so to say. You've got a one way trip to the waste pit, my boy. I'll remember your failings and keep them out of the next batch." the Doc turned away from Ashino. "In any case, I guess you won't be doing much but lie there for the moment... the countermeasures against disobediance I installed into every last one of you BCPU's look to be doing their job, at the least. You can watch what consequences your refusal has for the people you just chose to side with. Zacharis!"
"I am so here, Doc. I am so here and so ready!" Frost replied immediately.
"Miss Lacus has a respite... she's a Newtype and I need to study her first... you can have miss Cagalli right now though. I don't need any part of her. You can even have this scapel." the Doc handed over the tiny razor sharp blade.
"You sick bastard." Cagalli accused, twisting to no avail in her restraints. Athrun didn't say anything... he just watched, his eyes like frozen emeralds. Frost looked back at him and met that gaze... met that gaze and waved cheerily.
"I'll be thinking of you, bro. Just think... I'll be going where no one but you has ever gone before. And you all get to watch. The Doc really is a nice man, isn't he?" Frost taunted. He started to bring the scapel down towards Cagalli's throat.
"Cray... you can have Miriallia... I don't need her either. Come to think of it... as long as you don't beat them too much... you can have any of them that Frost doesn't take... your pleasures are noticably less final than his." the Doc allowed.
"Oh, I heartily believe in the value of a good bout of terminal sex... but I can keep that nasty side of me down for the moment... the rest of me is pretty far up right now to compensate." Cray replied wickedly. "Do I get a scapel too?"
The potentially vile scene was not allowed to progress any further. Pushed beyond the edge of remit by the eminent harm of the people that meant more to them than their own lives... more to them than the lives of everyone else in the world, truth be told... four seperate Coordinators saw four seperate seeds... one purple, one green, one blue and one yellow. Four seperate Coordinators saw the selfsame four seeds slowly fall through the whirling darkness enveloping their minds, saw them touch bottom and gently bounce back up. Four SEED capable Coordinators saw four SEEDs break in terrible but beautiful flashes of light... four pairs of blank, washed out and dully colored eyes stared out at the people threatening their loves. The shattering of the mental tension in their air was palpable... even to the non-Newtypes. To Katie it was like four seperate bonfires alighting from nowhere... she was forced to look away, even though that did nothing to shield her mental sense. Even Lacus found herself blinking as if she'd just looked into four especially bright camera flashes... she didn't know how or why, but suddenly Kira and the other guys seemed to almost be glowing... or something. It was hard to make out what was real and what not... she felt delirious, her mind overfilled by all the information from the Doc and the events of the days prior. Not to mention the very real threat to her health and body being posed by Cray. She actually felt like she really was going to faint.
"I do believe we've done it, gentlemen. We have achieved ignition, achieved a self sustaining emotional reaction." the Doc said, small tears of joy running down his cheeks. "It's beautiful... don't worry, keep up the pressure, boys... those restraints will hold them till the sky falls... they're just Coordinators."
"That is the last time you're ever going to say "Just Coordinators"." Ysak promised. He jerked at his restraints... they shook but they were designed to give slightly under pressure and he could not gather the leverage to break them... not even with the feeling of uncontrollable rage and focused intent burning through him.
"That's the last time you're going to say anything." Kira added. The Doc was right... the restraints could not be broken out of... but that didn't mean they couldn't be slipped... he braced himself because this was going to hurt no matter how hyped he was. He jerked himself to the side, moving the restraints just enough to give him the room to dislocate his right shoulder and arm while simultaneously dislocating his right wrist, causing the entire limb to go as limp as a rag. He dragged it out of the restraints and rolled back, popping the shoulder joint back into place, then jamming the wrist hard against the table to do the same for it. He had been right... it did hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt so much he couldn;t see for the pain. But it didn't hurt so much that it stopped him. Not even close. He heard a series of loud pops from Athrun's direction... he'd hit on the same desperate ploy. With one arm free, it was a simple matter to pull the restraints apart... he tore his hands up pretty good on the hard plastic, but that mattered less than not at all right now. Only one thing mattered... saving Lacus. Everything else was secondary. The Doc had just started to turn around when Kira dropped to the floor... the entire escape had taken perhaps two seconds. The Doc was opening his mouth to order the BCPU's, who were still focused on their almost beginning fun, when Kira ripped the restraints from Dearka's arms while Athrun did the same for Ysak.
"Oh... dear lord..." the Doc managed to gasp.
"What'd you say, Doc?" Cray asked, one hand inching lower on Miriallia's belly, the other caressing her face as she tried to bite his fingers, much to his amusement.
"He said... TAKE YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MIR!" Dearka shouted, burying his foot squarely in Cray's ass, throwing the BCPU forward to crash headfirst into the steel wall. Dearka did not stop there, he grabbed the stunned Cray and physically dragegd him away from the wall, throwing him into the center of the room by main force alone. Athrun and Kira had combined to grab Frost from behind and toss him likewise... millimeters before the scapel had cut Cagalli's throat. Frost landed heavily on one of the tables, actually denting the metal surface. Ysak wasted no time and no effort in slapping the Doc aside... the older Coordinator landed with a wet snap, his left arm bent at a very unnatural angle. Meanwhile the other Coordinators had freed the girls and had faced off with the BCPU's again. Again the BCPU's got the short end of the stick... Dearka landed on Cray with both feet quite literally, and rammed his head into a computer terminal for effect, leaving the BCPU with his head stuck through a screen while he tried to regain his center of balance. Athrun and Kira double teamed Frost again, coming at him from either side, punching and kicking and grabbing him together, then picking him up and running him into a huge bank of machinery. Frost cut them up a bit with the scapel while they did it... but they ignored the bleeding cuts like they ignored his punches... even though they landed like hammer blows. They helped tip the bank of machinery over on top of the dazed Frost, pinning him to the floor under nearly sixteen hundred pounds of circuit boards and steel. They wasted no further time... each guy proceeded to collect their respective girl... though they really needed no collecting, they were perfectly happy giving the Doc a good kicking... and they ran for the doors.
"Get them! Bring them back!" the Doc cried hoarsely, fighting the agony of his broken arm and cracked ribs... speaking around shattered teeth and bruised flesh... the girls hadn't had long to work out their feelings on him, but their motivation could not be faulted... they'd made extremely good use of the few seconds they'd had. Ashino jumped up... he could follow that order with no qualms... though he wondered what he'd do if he actually caught up with the enemy this time. He didn't let himself think about it... he raced after them... not bothering to trigger the security alarm... the Doc hadn't told him to, after all. Cray yanked his head out of the screen, leaving a few pieces of plastic stuck in his face as he did so. His growl was a terrible animal thing... a beast of prey goaded in its lair with a sharp stick. He'd bring them back all right... he'd bring them back in pieces. The Doc hadn't said anything about bringing them back alive. Frost just shifted slightly underneath his bank of machinery. He'd join the pursuit later... his instincts were telling him that the opportunity he'd been waiting for for so long was finally at hand... all he had to do was wait to be left alone with the Doc. And then he was... Cray ran from the room... there was only silence and the sound of the Doc gasping in pain. Frost smiled broadly... today was a good day. A good birthday.
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Author Note: I appreciate those of you who've given me reviews... TheJackOfDiamonds in particular. Getting encouraging remarks is remarkable incentive to keep writing. However, next time you comment on a chapter, my good reviewers, I'd appreciate it if you'd do me a slight favor. Nothing much... I just want to know which character is your favorite and why. A sentence or two is all I ask, though feel free to go into as much detail as you like. It'd also be nice if you could mention any characters you think I'm either neglecting, overly misrepresenting or that you just plain don't like. And a reason for that choice too. Thanks in advance, it'll be very enlightening.