Count to Ten

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Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed... Only the characters I add and the plot.

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Summary: Kira is haunted by the dead. He doesn't know why they are but he has learned to live with it. How will meeting a new girl help his little problem? And why are all his friends still looking for him three years after he disappeared? Kira OOC.

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(A/N)- Author's Notes

(Lalala)- Ghost Speaking

-Devine Speaker-

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Last Time:

-I have contacted Athrun. He said he has a plan but he also said that you should have a backup plan just in case. He said he is in a steel cage and that Mu is growing impatient.- Lacus said as she opened her eyes.

"Okay. It's a quarter to midnight now. Jasmine you will know what to do. Trust me." Kira smiled before turning to Yzak and walking away.

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Chapter Seventeen: Base of Operations

Kira walked silently for a few minutes before he stopped. Yzak swerved to the right so he wouldn't hit the young coordinator. Kira stood there for a few minutes with his eyes closed. A second later he was on the move again. This time heading towards the right.

"Why haven't you healed yourself?" Kira asked quietly as he stopped again.

-I don't feel pain. I don't bleed. I just look like I'm in pain.- Yzak muttered as he followed Kira.

"Would you heal me if I asked you to?" Kira pause again this time only for a second before he started in a new direction.

-Do you know where your going?- Yzak looked around him.

"Yes." Kira answered as he turned in a different direction without pausing.

-Well that makes one of us... and yes I would heal you if you asked.- Yzak was starting to get annoyed.

"Would you heal someone else if I asked you to?" Kira stopped again to look at Yzak.

-Depends on who.- Kira lifted an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Kira leapt into a tree just as a gun shot rang through the air. Kira jumped higher into the tree while Yzak stayed on the ground in confusion. Yzak isn't sure about what Kira is up to but goes with the flow.

"I have a surprise. I just need to find Athrun." Kira said as he landed next to Yzak.

-How do you plan on finding him?- Yzak asked.

"I already have. We're close to him right now. In fact we've been circling around him for the last ten minutes." Kira muttered as he began walking into a bush.

Yzak looked surprised at the little announcement. He followed Kira and sure enough in a clearing sat a steel cage. Except there was one problem... No one was in it. Yzak looked at Kira and Kira pointed down.

"This is just the trap. They did have an illusion up earlier but it would seem someone destroyed it by landing on it." Kira said was a toothy grin.

Yzak shook his head in amusement. He gave Kira a now what look and Kira pointed down again. Yzak placed his palm on the ground just inside the clearing and was surprised to see it go through. He looked at Kira again and Kira smiled before pulling out a blade.

"Now all we have to do is wait for Athrun to free himself. If he doesn't I have a plan." Kira looked smug.

-How on earth did you know all of this?- Yzak couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"A few things I picked up while wondering around the world and space. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Yzak decided not to ask.

Kira began to pace as midnight drew closer. Every few minutes he would look at his watch before turning and starting to pace the other way. Yzak leaned against a tree training all his senses on there surroundings. Yzak began to grow impatient as the minutes ticked by. Finally it was midnight and a loud explosion filled the air.

Kira dove behind a tree while Yzak took to the air. The place where the illusion was, hiding the presence of Athrun, disappeared and a door formed in its place. Kira cautiously walked over to it and lifted it open. It is a steel door that looks like someone had dropped and never picked up, in the middle of Central Park.

Once the door was opened many strange sounds greeted there ears. Crying, sobbing, screaming, of many souls filled the air. Kira had just found the main base of the ghosts.

With Athrun...

Athrun pulled out some small objects from his pockets as midnight drew near. Mu had been gone a long time. Probably out looking for or watching Kira or he may even be watching Athrun himself. At the moment Athrun didn't care where Mu was. Athrun took apart what seemed to be a small ball. With only his hands for tools he pulled two wires and crossed them. With a grim smile he attached it to one of his bars.

Standing back the small ball exploded bending the bars in such away that Athrun was able to pull them so he could fit through the hole. He then threw other small balls in all directions causing many small explosions. One of the explosions destroyed the illusion generator that hid the base. Not that he knew what it was.

Smiling to himself Athrun walks over to one of the panels. One of the screens hanging on the wall of the large room Athrun had been imprisoned in was still intact. Thanking whoever was up there for his luck he called up a few documents. A keyboard just bellow the screen had also managed to survive Athrun's attack as well. Making all of this possible.

Calling up a schematic of the building he whistled at the sheer size of the place. At the moment he is on level one. At the very bottom of the six level base. Only two rooms occupy this level. One room is called the Waiting Room and the other a simple office. Just above this level is called, Lab Level Two, which Athrun concluded is where they experiment. On what he didn't know. Athrun would have to puzzle about it later though.

The top level is just above ground. There are two entrances. A door in Central Park and the other in a nearby building just across the street. The building is supposed to be a business but it seemed that the building never opened. Always under construction. Probably Mu or another ghost had killed the owners to use the building as a base so it wouldn't look so weird when humans went in. It would seem though they never came out either. Well at least not how they went in.

All the other level's are filled with cages to hold prisoners. Level 5 holds live prisoners while level 4 is the torturing level and level 3 holds all the ghosts. Athrun looked it all over and felt his stomach drop. Only one way up and its bound to be guarded. Whoever is running this show must control the ghosts but only in small groups.

He or she must not have the power to be able to control more but why need Athrun? Why need Kira? Athrun puzzled over it for another minute before he realized it was after midnight.

"Kira..." Athrun muttered before turning around to find a weapon.

Back with Kira

-Do you know where your going?- Yzak asked for the millionth time.

"Yes. Now be quiet or else I won't be able to hear or sense the next ghost attack." Kira muttered impatiently.

They had spent the last five minutes descending what appeared to be the only stairwell in this place. Going around and around the circular stairwell while listening to the sobs and screams of something. Stopping at what they thought to be the first level they open a single door cut into the stone that incased the stairwell.

Kira's hands shook slightly as he opened the door. A blast of sound met them that shook each of them to the core. Humans... alive and being tortured... killed... mutilated... Kira turned away and threw up on the floor. Yzak turned his eyes away as another scream had ended and another took its place.

"Why kill all these people?" Kira muttered to himself as he shut the door.

-They must feed on tortured souls.- Yzak looked down at Kira.

Kira had fallen to his knees in despair. Kira nodded weakly before getting back up.

-Aren't we going to go in there and find Athrun?- Yzak asked as he tried to catch up with Kira.

"He's not in there. The leader wants us alive... For now and together. He would hold Athrun separate from the rest of his prisoners." Kira said as they continue to descend farther into the base.

-Why didn't we rescue those people?- Yzak asked clearly confused.

"We don't want to alert them that we are here. At least not yet. We will save them after we find Athrun." Kira said sadly which was followed by silence.

Minutes later they came across another level. More screams could be heard and Kira shook his head. He didn't even want to know what was going on in there. What neither of them realized was that they had missed a level.

Level five was hidden directly under the building. On the other side of the torturing level was a hallway leading away from the horror. The hallway leads to another stairwell that leads to the only entrance to the live prisoner cells and it also leads to the entrance to the inside of the building. That stairwell only joins those three levels. To go deeper you would have to cross the torturing level.

The people on the other side of this door... Are already dead and they are sobbing because they had entered there own personal hell. Never to see heaven's gates... Never to be set free and that is why they scream and cry. It is there despair...

Kira and Yzak descend another level and this one has a label. Lab Level Two. Is what Kira read and somehow knew that Athrun wasn't there either. A noise behind them startled the two out of there daze. Kira whipped around to face whoever it was only to find Athrun standing there and staring at the two like they were idiots.

"I was wondering when you two would show up." Athrun muttered tiredly.

"Are you okay Athrun?" Kira asked in concern.

"I'm fine. You however... You look like you've been to hell and back." Athrun smiled slightly.

-That would be because while you were dozing in your nice little cell we've been fighting.- Yzak smirked.

"I was not sleeping. I was trying to figure out how I was going to escape." Athrun said defensively.

-While we did all the work.- Yzak snorted.

"Will you two stop it! Do you remember where we are?" Kira growled.

They both looked at each other in surprise. That's right... There still in the base. They gave Kira apologetic looks before turning to climb the stairs. Standing there was...

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A/N I think in this fic my one favorite lines to leave you all with is "Standing there was...". Tehe. I just want to say thank you to one reviewer who pointed out some interesting facts.

Lacus and Jazz are a lot alike but the major difference is about to be shown. In the next chapter at least. So far I have planned only two chapters left.

Also yes Kira is out of character and rightfully so. While Kira was slowly changing from the war is when people started dying all around him. People he knew and didn't know. Some one has been after him for years and after each death he felt a little more anger towards whoever. Anger turns into hatred. For him the last three years have been a nightmare. Moving from city to city. That is why he is so out of character and yet he is the same naive boy. In the beginning of the story you can barely tell there is something different. One thing about war... It affects everyone. Kira killed many. To have him spared from the misery he conflicted on others is something I could not do. Its not realistic.

Well any ways... I know it took a long time for me to update but I was on vacation for a week and then I had to get used to working again and I've been sick... and family issues. So yeah I hope you can all forgive me. Well ciao for now!

Karone