This fanfic is a Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Romance one...

Disclaimer: Michiyo Hikari does not own anything from the anime/manga series, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed.

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Chapter 6 – E-Soldiers

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The cold atmosphere welcomed the returning prince as he walked through the dark long cave that lead to his father's chamber. Two cloaked demons trudged along behind him with their hoods hiding their blood lust eyes. He as well, the youngest descendant of the Zala clan, was clad in a black cloak that covered every part of his physique with the exception of his cheek down to the base of his neck. The entire back of his cloak, from his shoulder blades to his waist, wore the insignia of royalty. They were known as Death's Markings. Rich red curves intertwined with wavy sharp lines of different directions. Athrun never knew the reason why everyone in the Zala clan had unique markings on their own cloaks. Not that he found them important, they didn't interest him much.

At long last, Athrun reached his destination. The two demons that escorted him moved forward just as he stopped walking. The guards pushed open a large door with a combination of patterns and symbols unknown to anyone who did not carry the Zala name. To Athrun, they were names of the past kings ever known in the history of the Underworld. The minute Athrun stepped into the spacious room, the guards left and slowly closed the gigantic oak door on their way.

Athrun nonchalantly walked towards the throne where His Highness sat and waited. He could feel his father's intense gaze as if watching his every single move. Athrun was a mere five feet away from the king when he kneeled on his right knee, one hand on top of the left, and head bowed down. His voice soon spoke aloud monotonously as it echoed in the room. "As requested I have come in the presence of Your Excellency."

"Stand up, son." The king ordered. "There is no need to act so formal."

Athrun obeyed and stood still. His hood slid off his face and revealed his expressionless face. "As you wish, sire."

Patrick Zala had aged. "Have you been well, Athrun?"

The boy did not meet his father's eyes. "Yes."

When a deafening silence took over the room, the young prince finally looked at his father straight in the eye. He waited patiently for what was about to come. He knew, within himself, that Patrick Zala would not waste his time to summon his son just for some futile reunion.

"The coronation of the new king..." Patrick began. "...awaits in the next Dawn of the Devil. You may—"

"I will not be the next Ruler." Athrun interjected.

Patrick narrowed his eyes and coldly replied. "You are the rightful successor of the throne. It isn't all about you anymore." He clearly emphasized. "It's for Hell... for your people, your kingdom, your home."

Since when was anything about me? When did he start to have people in Hell? When did he gain a kingdom? When did the Underworld become his home? No matter how tempting it was to argue with his father, Athrun didn't. "Vincent would do a better job at it."

"Silence! You have my blood flowing inside you." Patrick cleverly put. "You will be preparing for the corona—"

Athrun clenched his fists so hard that he felt its inside moisten... with blood perhaps. "Father, with all due respect, I refuse to become king." Athrun firmly spoke. His emotionless emerald eyes then blazed with absolute determination.

There was another long minute of silence that took place as the Ruler of Hell examined his son. "Very well." said the king, at last. "You may go back to that place and do as you please."

Athrun's eyes widened with bewilderment but he soon recovered easily. He bowed one last time to his father and walked out the giant door. The two guards from before greeted him and followed him on his way out of the castle.

Back inside the throne room, in the dark shadows that loomed behind the king, stood another hooded demon with his hands folded across his chest. "Sire, what plan do you have in mind?" The man's deep cold voice rang from where he stood on the far corner of the room.

Patrick Zala's lips curved into a small smile. "Eliminate the bird and complete the planned mission successfully. I'm counting on you."

The young man smirked and licked his lips. His mischievous silver eyes glistened with delight throughout the darkness that succumbed his figure. He laughed evilly as thoughts and ideas of what he defined as 'fun' played inside his head. It was his turn to welcome back his little brother.

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It was a mixture of numerous and complicated turns before Athrun and the guards reached the outskirts of the palace. Nothing outside the castle was impressive or amazing. Hell was simply... a dark, cold, and lifeless place. The sky was always blocked with dark grey clouds and the sun never rose. Some trees would have heads of demons hanging on its branches and others did not produce any fruit or flower at all. Skulls and bones decorated the land and stains of blood were seen everywhere. Roars and cries of demons were heard everyday throughout the Underworld, the sounds of pain and torture.

"You may leave me now, I shall be fine from here on." Athrun told the two demons.

The duo bowed to their prince and soon vanished in the blink of an eye. The lone prince then strolled down the gloomy Forest of Demise filled with bodies of dead monsters that lost their lives against stronger demons who devoured their souls. Not a trace of worry crossed Athrun's features for his mind was focused on a certain young woman. A smile grazed his face as he imagined her reaction when he returned. Her scowl and flaming amber eyes flashed through his train of thoughts and it made him chuckle.

He felt as if his heart stopped when his footsteps halted upon the realization of where they lead him. In front of him, with black water so still no one could see its depth and a strong stench of blood emanating from the body of water, was none other than the feared River of the Dead. The river... where he was —

"Welcome home, little brother."

Athrun looked up where the voice came from. He met the same deceitful eyes he looked into three days ago. Vincent wore a cloak covered with Death's markings all over... in every, single, place. Even his face was embellished with crimson marks. His spiky jet-black hair completed his notorious look as well.

"Thanks." Athrun replied sarcastically.

Vincent sneered. "I was talking to him."

Nothing other than anger and pure hatred tinted Athrun's face. "He's not in at the moment."

The two brothers glared at each other with disgust.

It was then that memories of that day flooded Athrun's vision. It was his fifth birthday, only a day before Lady Laura came to take him with her. Vincent was actually nice to him and told him that for his birthday, he wanted to give Athrun something special. Something he would never forget. Athrun agreed and smiled up to his brother for the first time. It was the only time Vincent showed interest in his brother.

Athrun recalled himself looking at his reflection on the shiny black surface of the River of the Dead for Vincent told him his present was somewhere in the river... if he looked hard enough. Had Athrun knew the history of the said body of water, he would not have come even a foot near it. Vincent had pushed him in and Athrun kept his eyes and mouth shut tight as he fell, he did not dare open them for the fear that the dark liquid would poison him if it entered his body. He blindly tried to swim to the surface when he felt hands of unseen creatures pull him down with them. He thought he was going to die before he passed out. He couldn't remember how he reached land again.

"Did you know I actually saved you?" Vincent mocked. "Since it was your birthday, I wasted an ounce of my power to lift your pathetic body out of that trash." He menacingly grinned. "You should be grateful."

Athrun's face darkened. "Grateful? Don't take me for a fool. You only did that to show everyone that 'silly little Athrun' fell on the river and got himself rescued by his brother."

Vincent laughed, his head focused on the grey sky. When he turned to Athrun, he had an unpleasant smile on his face. "Still as clever, I see." He complimented insultingly. "You know..." he went on, "I never got to ask you..."

Athrun's brows met and he braced himself for his brother's remarks. He seemed to have failed again for what came to him was not what he expected. It was far from what he thought of.

"...how does it feel to be... cursed?"

Before a word came out of Athrun's mouth, he came face to face with Vincent. The next thing he knew was that he felt a searing pain in his head and was soon welcomed by nothing but darkness.

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"RRRRRYAH!" Growled the blonde soldier as he swooped down from the air and slashed the slimy green beast with his weapon he named Buster. The lightning-shaped dagger of his double-bladed staff sliced the demon in two and unstoppable red blood spread on the ground like a plague. "Heh." The young man grinned. "Serves you right, you piece of crap!"

A pair of beautiful aquamarine eyes rolled towards the heavens before she turned around and walked away from her partner. She could still hear his insults to the monster he slew as if it was his enemy since birth.

"...thought you could defeat me, huh? Loser! Right, Milly?" The blonde spun around to look at his partner and soon groaned as he watched her walk into the woods. "Hey, Milly! Wait up!"

The brunette stopped at her tracks and faced her companion. "Well hurry up, Elsman! We don't have all day!" yelled Miriallia Haww. She did not like her new partner. She couldn't care less if he was a transfer from the East Department. She didn't need him, she wanted to stay with Tolle. Fight with him, spend time with him and...

"Aww, come on! Quit being so grumpy all the time. Sheesh." Dearka complained after he caught up to Miriallia.

"How about you stop being too full of yourself every time you kill a demon!" The girl argued. She could not stand his guts for it seemed he had too much of it. "It makes me wonder how you became an E.S."

"Now that's just mean, missy." Dearka sighed as he spun his staff - blades sheathed - above their heads. "I don't see your problem. Do you have issues with E-Soldiers from the East?"

Miriallia coldly said no. She didn't hate fellow soldiers from anywhere. She merely disliked him because an immature, annoying, show-off, dimwitted blonde named Dearka Elsman replaced Tolle. What wrong in the world did she ever do to the West Elite Soldier Department of Syphoria for them to give her such a burden? Sure, he was a nuisance (to her) but that wasn't the reason they never got along. It was not easy to forget about Tolle when they have been partners for three years. He was hers... and she was his.

"So what's your Epheral about?" Dearka asked, an attempt to make conversation. He had stopped playing with Buster and simply placed it in the large sheath strapped on his back. Putting his hands behind his head, he looked at the girl and waited for an answer as they walked.

Miriallia raised a brow and thought of the consequences she would face if she told him. Give him a sentence or leave him hanging to ponder about it? She stuck with the latter, both would make him question her anyway. "Blades."

"Really? But I never saw you wield anythi— hey! I'm talking here, missy!"

Milly rushed to what seemed to be an injured animal that lay on the ground. It was a very young black tiger with stripes of pure white. It would've been unbelievably adorable had it not had a big wound on its back and one broken leg. "Dearka! Can we go to Feryl?"

"Uh...s-sure." The look in Milly's eyes did something to the blonde. He always thought she was a snob by the way she treated him within the first week of their partnership. He stood corrected as he watched concern fill those eyes that gave him cold glares all the time.

The Blade Mistress carried the bloody animal without caring about the stains her uniform would attain. She held out her right fist as Dearka held out his left. The patterns of the rings in their middle fingers perfectly fit with each other's as their fists met.

"Miriallia Haww, E.S. Class A, Fourth Division."

"Dearka Elsman, E.S. Class A, Third Division."

"E-Soldiers Code Number 713, Destination: House of Laura Hibiki, Feryl, Syphoria."

A shimmering white fire enveloped the figures of the two soldiers. The warm flame made Miriallia and Dearka float from the ground as the sensation of sleepiness entered their bodies. After a second later, they were gone.

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It could be said that it was raining cats and dogs at Feryl that afternoon. The continuous splattering sound of raindrops was the music to everyone's ears in Lady Laura's household. Thunder and lightning accompanied the dark clouds as they continued to pour heavily.

The house was silent as it always had been. The living room and the kitchen were the only sources of light that could be seen from outside. The house was cleaned from dust and its walls were adorned with paintings and pictures. The aroma of baked pastries lingered from the kitchen as two of the occupants sat in the living room.

Kira, Cagalli, and Lacus, all got back together that morning. Albeit Cagalli's protests to wait for her Guardian, Lacus and Kira won in the end after saying Athrun would most likely return to Syphoria for he would've thought they were waiting there. The blonde was infuriated at the fact that 'the damned Zala' went on a trip without any thought whatsoever that he shouldn't have left without telling her where he was off to. Not that she was... worried or anything like that. She wasn't. Or so she told herself. The necklace he left her was hidden under her shirt. There was no way she'd let her see him wearing it. Unless Fate decided to play some dirty trick on her to cause some kind of event to occur just to show Athrun.

Kira on the other side of the couch, stared at the miniature tornado he created on his palm. He couldn't help but worry about Athrun's situation. He was one of the few people who knew about his best friend's curse... and his life when he was still in the Underworld.

Athrun never got along with anyone in Hell. Yes, not even his family. He hated his father who expected so much from him that nothing he did was good enough. Sure, he only lived there for five years and could hardly remember half of what happened during that span time. However, it was said that in the Zala clan, children at the age of three, were already aware of the events around them and would not forget them unless Lasare Memoria was used. Patrick gave Athrun assignments beyond what he could handle for as long as he could remember. Kill a first-class demon at the age of three and drink the blood of the most ferocious dragon alive at the age of four, were only a couple of things Athrun had to face. The young boy faced death many times before he succeeded any of the tasks he was told to do. Luckily, Athrun didn't do anything else when he turned five and moved to Syphoria.

He was, instead, cursed...a curse that was indirectly given to him by his stepbrother, Vincent Zala. The eldest and only stepson of Patrick Zala despised everything about his younger sibling. Kira guessed it was because Athrun was the rightful heir of the throne. Although Athrun didn't want it, the ceremony of the Devil's Dawn would not accept Vincent as their Ruler unless Athrun was dead.

Hilda Zala, a stepmother to Athrun and Vincent's mother, died when Athrun was four. She was a nice woman who cared about Athrun even if he wasn't her own son. As Vincent saw her affections for the little prince, jealousy overcame him and he killed the woman who gave him his life.

"—ra? KIRA YAMATO!" Cagalli yelled into Kira's ear.

"WHOA!" He almost jumped. His surprise caused a blade of wind to quickly fly at Cagalli's direction.

Fortunately for Cagalli, the element of surprise woke up a reflex she never knew existed. The moment she shielded her face with her arms, a ball of fire sprang out and clashed with Kira's wind blade. The two elements left a trace of smoke after they exploded upon contact.

Beads of cold sweat began to form and roll down Kira's face as he watched Cagalli turned red with anger. Uh oh.

"Watch were you wave that hand! That... that whatchamacallit could've hit me!" Cagalli shouted as her fist shook with rage. To be honest with herself, she was scared. She knew Kira's wind blades could easily cut trees and after she imagined how it would be like if used with humans, goosebumps appeared on her skin.

Kira laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. Please don't let her give me hell this time. "S-Sorry, sis. I didn't mean to attack anyone... was just surprised... hehe."

The girl huffed and crossed her arms. "Whatever." She glanced at her hands and noticed the picture she held as it reminded her why she called Kira in the first place. "I was gonna ask you who these people are." Cagalli held out the picture she took on top of the small drawer beside the couch a minute ago. It was a picture of a young man with wavy brown hair with his arms around a pretty brunette with striking aquamarine eyes. Both even had matching uniforms.

"Oh." Kira sighed. He had expected a painful beating but was very thankful Cagalli didn't let her temper get the best of her. "That's Tolle and Milly. You haven't met them because they travel a lot, part of their job. Haven't seen them for so long. They're E-Soldiers."

Cagalli tilted her head on the right. "E-Soldiers? The heck's that? I speak English, Kira."

Lacus came in the room with a tray of newly baked cookies. "They're highly trained fighters. Demon slayers, to be precise." Lacus smiled as she offered the blonde girl a cookie.

Cagalli gave Lacus a curt nod and smiled back before she took a cloud-shaped cookie. After she took a bite, she asked again. "I see. So are there a lot of them or are they as few as Guardians?" The girl looked at Lacus who offered Kira a delight. Kira blushed and seemed to have his head on the clouds. Cagalli pretended to cough a couple of times.

"Oh my! Are you okay?" Lacus turned to Cagalli and handed her a glass of Farzle.

Cagalli nodded after she took the glass and drank. "So is anyone going to answer me or is my brother um... too busy?" The girl teased.

Kira blushed a deeper shade of pink and choked on the bite he took from the small snack. After he drank the whole glass of Farzle like a mad man in a hurry, he cleared his throat and looked at Cagalli with a hint that that wasn't funny. "The population of E-Soldiers exceeds that of Guardians by... I must say, a lot. The last time I heard about them, there are currently 576 E-Soldiers all over Syphoria."

After she placed the tray of desserts on the table, Lacus added her thoughts as well. "There are three classes of E-Soldiers. Class C are the newly graduates, Class B are those who have slain more than 300 middle-powered demons, and Class A are those who slew more than 300 high-powered demons."

"Oooh." Cagalli was fascinated.

Kira nodded. "Yep. Then there are four divisions. First Division are E-Soldiers from the North of Syphoria, the Second Division are from the South, the Third Division are from the East, and the Fourth Division, as you can probably tell, are from the West."

"Interesting." Cagalli concluded as she took the last bite of her cookie. "By the way..." She looked at Lacus. "Where's Lady Laura?"

Lacus clapped her hands. "Oh yes! She's sleeping upstairs."

CRASH!

The loud noise that came from the kitchen startled the trio. They looked at each other and an unspoken message was passed. When Lacus snapped her fingers, a bow and arrow made of entwined vines and flowers floated in the air and she held them in position. A spinning oval wind hovered above Kira's hand and he raised it up high. Cagalli on the contrary, still a beginner with her Epheral, managed to create a fireball with the size of a grapefruit. The three quietly walked towards the kitchen door and their jaws dropped by what they witnessed.

Lying on the floor, soaked, were Miriallia Haww and Dearka Elsman. The blonde on top of the brunette in what seemed to be an awkward position. Their faces were so close it seemed they were about to kiss.

"Hey, isn't she the girl in the picture?" Cagalli asked. "But... who's the dork she's with?"

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To Be Continued
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