Well, chapter 6 is up. Cagalli just ran herself into exhaustion after a team of paramedics took Athrun to the hospital.It was one of those blind, not thinking moments. However, here's an AsuCaga moment that you've all been waiting for.
WARNING: OOC Athrun, but I couldn't pass up the oppertunity. It was too perfect; I was in a moment of weakness. Oh, you'll see what I mean.
Damn that light. Does it have to be right in my eyes?
"Cagalli, you're awake!" Kira leapt up to my side.
"Of course I'm awake, what else would I be?"
Kira looked down, and my eyes began to scan my surroundings. I was in a very clean, very white room. It was shockingly bright. I was propped up on a bed, which was a little too firm for my liking. There was a curtain pulled on my right that closed off the entire side of the room. Wait. I was in the hospital.
"Kira, why am I here?" I asked blankly.
"You almost ran yourself to death, Cagalli. Your heart and lungs were almost to the point of collapse, and you would have killed yourself, had you not passed out." Kira brought his hand up to my face and gently placed it on my cheek. "Why did you do that?"
"I don't know. I just didn't want someone to take Athrun away again. We spent so long finding him, and I wasn't going to let all that just get thrown away." My eyes flared. "Where is Athrun?"
"He's close, just a few rooms down the hall. Lacus is with him."
"How is he?" It was all I could bring myself to ask.
"He's resting, last I heard." Kira let his hand fall from my face.
I nodded, thanking him for telling me.
Then, from out of nowhere, a horrendous scream came from behind the curtain on my right. I leapt up in mild shock. Kira stood and walked over to the cloth wall. He slowly pulled it back to revile a person strapped to a bed similar to mine.
Kira knelt down next to the person and brush the hair from her eyes. Lunamaria Hawke? She struggled against the straps holding her to the bed. As if she were rabid, she shook and fled from Kira's hands while he tried to calm her down. When she screamed again, a nurse came running in with a rather large syringe filled with a rather vile looking liquid. She rushed over and quickly drained the lot into Luna's arm.
She visibly relaxed. Kira stood up and thanked the nurse. I assumed that Luna was put into some kind of artificial sleep, because her breathing slowed and she no longer pulled against her restraints.
"She's had a bad reaction to some kind of new drug. She's become hyper aggressive." My brother looked back to me. "Shinn's been here all morning. He can barely stand to be here anymore." Poor Luna.
"Did she come from the lab too?" I asked.
"Yes. She and her sister were both brought here shortly before Yzak. They were also charged on drug overdose. The only difference being their reactions to the drug."
"Who would do that? Who would use these people like guinea pigs, testing drugs on them with mo regard for their health? It's inhumane." I thought aloud. I looked over at Luna, who was now sleeping peacefully. "If she became aggressive, what happened to Meyrin?"
Kira looked down. He was about to answer when a familiar silhouette graced the doorway. The songstress entered warily.
"Oh, Cagalli, you're awake." Lacus said, upon noticing me. "Meyrin hasn't made any progress, and Athrun isn't doing much better." She whispered. "Yzak is finally able to stand on his own though." She sighed. I could tell that the stress was taking its toll on my friends.
I laid my head back down, not knowing what to say. I laid there for a moment, trying to fit the pieces together in my head. Coordinators were being taken, and used for experiments. That much we know. The question now is: "why?" De Lin is behind it somehow, but we don't know why.
Athrun. He's not doing well, and I should be there. I tried to stand up. My muscles ached but I had to go to him.
"Cagalli!" Kira leapt over to my bed. He stood in front of me and held my legs to the bed. "You're not strong enough to get up yet."
"Please Kira, let me go to Athrun." I pleaded.
"Kira, we should take her to see him." Lacus took up my case. Thank you, Lacus.
"Fine. Sit here for a moment." Kira stood back up and went to the corner of the room to fetch a wheelchair. How indignant! The leader of Orb being wheeled around helplessly in a wheelchair at the mercy of slightest wind, the thought was too embarrassing. But it would be worse to just lie down. Kira and Lacus helped me into the chair and moved me down the hallway.
The rooms lining the hall were all filled. Every name plate bore the name of someone else the warden rattled off when he read his list to us. It was eerily scary. Every name was another person who had been taken and tested, and now they ended up here on the very edge of life. De Lin will pay. Nothing is worth so many people's lives. Then, we came to the door. "Zala."
The room was dark. The blinds were pulled and the lights were off. It was deathly silent as well. Kira pushed me through the doorway and stopped by a pulled curtain. My brother slowly pulled back the cloth. A soft moan came from the person on the other side. Oh Athrun. It sounded so pitiful. I tried to push myself up to the side of the now revealed bed. I'm here, Athrun.
Lacus was right, he didn't look much better. He was horribly pale and gaunt. His breathing was extremely shallow and his heart rate was fearfully slow. Kira helped me to his bedside. I placed my hand on his. It was warm, thank goodness. He was still alive.
"Athrun," I knew he was asleep, but I hoped he could still hear me. "I'm so sorry." It was my fault. I should've gone with him when he left. I should know what's going on. I should know how to make everything right. I should never have let him go. It's my fault he's like this. I wasn't there to protect him. Tears ran down my face and stained his bed when I rested my head by his side. "It's all my fault."
I heard a faint noise come from him. I lifted my head, tears still coming. He had opened his eyes. He saw me, saw me crying. "Athrun?" I quickly pulled myself back. He nodded a little, and smiled. It was that special smile, reserved just me. He knew who I was, and that made me happy. "Are you okay?"
Again, he nodded slightly. That was good to know. "Cagalli," he tried to pull himself up.
"It's okay. Athrun, don't get up."
"That's big talk for someone in a wheelchair." He smiled and continued to sit up.
"Yeah, well I'm not the one who's stuck in bed." I came back, re-setting my hand on his. He glanced down at my hand, no doubt noticing his ring. "I haven't taken it off." I said, pulling my hand up to my chest, defensively.
"Good. I wanted you to wear it." He brought his hand to mine and gently took it. "It is special to me." I could feel my cheeks begin to burn. He laid back a little, obviously tired. "It was my mother's; it looks good on you." His laugh never sounded so sweet.
"Athrun," I was about to thank him, until he suddenly grew stern.
"Cagalli, De Lin is plotting something horrible."
"I know, Athrun."
"He's locking us up, trying to make resistance weaker. While keeping us out of the way, he will try to rekindle hatred towards the naturals. He wants another war."
"Then why would he be killing coordinators? It makes no sense!" He fell back a little under my outburst.
"He's bringing back Hibiki's dream of an ultimate coordinator." It was then that I realized that Kira had left the room. When did he leave? Athrun continued, "He is ordering the drugs, the ones for the fetuses, to be tested on grown coordinators first. That way, he hopes to maximize fetal success by minimizing fetal risk. In other words, he's killing us to save them."
"Why would he do something like that?"
"To ensure a world without war. The perfect world, with perfect people. He's an idealist, just like Durindal before him." My companion fell back, blue strands covering his eyes.
"Then why didn't he take Dearka, or Shinn?" It still didn't make sense to leave these two out.
"Because, De Lin doesn't believe they are threats. He can easily manipulate them. They lack the resolve of the others: Yzak, Meyrin, Kira."
"It's okay; I'm here." He seemed to be struggling to talk. I brought my hand to his cheek, and stroked back the hair from his eyes. He was so beautiful, especially those deep green eyes. It hurt to see him this weak, but what could I do? I was still indebted to De Lin, and I couldn't forget that. But that would wait until Athrun recovered his strength. I was his now. It was my job to make sure he got well. Then I remembered my own shortcomings, me being here in a wheelchair didn't bode well for anyone.
"You look beautiful today, Cagalli." What? Athrun? I looked up to see him staring at me. At once, I was lost in those emerald eyes. There was no where else I'd rather be. This was perfect. He sat up again, this time, to meet me. He wrapped an arm around me. I'm not sure if it was for support, but I'd like to think that he was just reassuring me that he loved me. "I promise, I'll never leave you again. I'll always be there to protect you, bodyguard or not."
I leaned into him, sharing his embrace. I wished that that moment could have lasted forever. It was so warm and blissful. I never wanted to leave his arms, but I had to. Though this moment was a treasure, there were important matters to attend to. "Athrun, what about De Lin?"
"Cagalli," he pulled back from me, slightly revitalized. "Can you forget about work for a moment?"
Huh? What? That was not what I was expecting to hear. "Why?"
"Dammit Cagalli, I've just been through a living hell, and you won't give me the time to embrace you properly?" I blinked. Where did this Athrun come from? I was confused.
"Well Athrun, I was just thinking that we still have work to do and-." That was all I could get out. Athrun had pulled me forward into himself. Without letting me finish, he pulled me into a deep kiss. I stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, not wanting to move. When he finally let me go, I came to a realization.
"Were you just faking being that weak for sympathy?" I asked as he lay back down.
"No, I always store just enough energy to always satisfy my woman." He said with a mysterious smirk. Oh, I hate you sometimes!
"Athrun!" What kind of an answer was that? I gave him a look of pure hatred. That was the worst answer! But he just smiled and took my anger. He knew I had enjoyed it, and I knew he'd try it again, when he worked up the energy.
ducks behind desk I said I was sorry, but it was just too tempting. I hate that line, but it fit too well.
Next chapter is on it's way. See y'all then.