JC: I've finished this just in time. Thanks so much for the reviews once again. Now let's get on with chapter 39.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED.

Gundam Seed: Mythical Legends

Phase 39: Enchantment of a Goddess

The bell rang, marking the end of class. Students burst out of their classrooms, eager to go home or do their after school activities. As for the running club, the members were getting ready in the locker room. Everyone was excited about their training, because they were sure to win the Interschool Competition next week. They have been champion for 10 whole years now and they swore not to break the record. However, they were still a little nervous. It was perfectly normal to feel that way about a competition.

But for Cagalli, she felt nothing about it.

"All right, let's get to the field," the coach announced as she grabbed her whistle to go.

The running club members rushed to the field, leaving Cagalli inside the room alone. Cagalli was in no mood for sports or training. She wanted to have time for herself, time to think about what was going on with her life. Her mind was still baffled by Alexander. She could not forget him—even for just one second.

"Alex…" she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I see your memories have fully returned." A familiar voice stroke fear and anxiety in her heart. She made a sharp move to her left just in time to avoid a knife heading towards her. She turned to the person who threw it and held her position defensively.

"Odin, you can't get me that easily. I'm more powerful now than before." Cagalli positioned her hands to charge up her powers.

"I can sense the vast power within you, but that power is not enough." Gilbert motioned himself to the window and looked outside at the track and field. He saw Cagalli's team-mates warming up for their usual training program. "Why aren't you out there with them?" he asked.

"It's none of your business!" uttered Cagalli.

With his hands behind his back, Gilbert turned to face Cagalli. "Is it because you're thinking way too much about your past?" he questioned with a smirk.

"So what?!"

"Please tell me, is your memory of Alexander bothering you?"

Silence. It was all she could answer. It was no use denying what Gilbert said either. She was thinking of Alexander all this time. It was hard not to. However, because of what Shinn said, she knew that the important thing was the present, not the past. Unlike before, she doesn't get too emotional now over Alexander.

"It's really a shame he died of a death like that. It was too brutal, don't you agree?" he said in an eerie voice.

Cagalli unleashed an energy sphere in her hands and fired it at Gilbert, but the attack was blocked a powerful barrier surrounding him. She backed away as she glared at him fiercely. "You! It was your entire fault why he died like that!" she yelled.

Gilbert gave her a malicious grin. "Is it really my entire fault?" He shook his head slowly. "Freya, with your memories back, I am sure you are fully aware of what happened to Alexander."

"Shut up!"

"Freya, I am not the only one to blame for his death and you know that."

"I'm not listening to this!" She covered her ears and closed her eyes. "You killed him! That's all there is to it!"

"Did I really kill him? Freya, you saw what happened and you know I didn't kill him."

In her rage, Cagalli fired several energy spheres at him. She did not care if he would block them or not, she just wanted to make him leave. But it was not really working out.

"Why are you denying the truth, Freya? Is it because—"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Not another word!" With her sudden outburst, she dropped to her knees and lowered her head. "It was your fault. Stop pretending to be innocent."

"But I'm not…" Gilbert approached her and knelt down to her level. "I did not soil my hands with Alexander's blood, because I did not do anything to him." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, she brushed away his hand, stood up, and took a few steps backward. "You don't fool me! I know it was all your doing!" she uttered.

"Freya…"

She fired one more energy sphere at him and temporarily blinded him. During the time he couldn't see, she bolted out of the locker room in a jiffy.

Gilbert rubbed his eyes a bit as the room cleared up. He opened his eyes and glanced around to find Freya. "Darn, she escaped!" he muttered, gritting his teeth.

Cagalli ran as fast as she could until she reached the track and field. She looked back to see if Gilbert had followed her, but she was relieved to see only a bunch of students doing their normal business. She saw her coach at the starting line of the field and approached her.

"Athha-san, you're late!" the coach scolded her.

"I'm sorry… I had a little talk with Gilbert-sensei," Cagalli explained, though she didn't want to mention Odin's mortal name.

"All right, it's okay." The coach restarted the time on her stop watch as she grabbed her whistle hanging from her neck. "So, have you warmed up?"

From the running earlier, Cagalli didn't need to do warm-ups. "Yes, I'm actually all set."

"Then take your position at the starting line." The coach pointed at the said location.

Putting her thoughts about Gilbert aside for now, Cagalli positioned at the starting line and looked straight with determination. She was the star athlete after all and she needed to concentrate well on practice. When it comes to running, Cagalli could almost forget everything for the meantime. Truly her sport always took pressure off of her.

As the coach blew the whistle, Cagalli took off in a flash.

School Gate

Fllay was waiting patiently for her father by the gate. She was starting to wonder what was taking Shinn so long. She thought of going back inside the building to fetch her father personally, but she figured that Shinn might come out already. She tapped her foot and then leaned against the wall. She watched the students passed by her, knowing they lead normal lives. She would give anything to experience a life of just a mere mortal. At least being a mortal was a lot easier than being a goddess.

"The underworld…" she muttered under her breath. "The goddess of the underworld…" She had not been to the underworld for a while. She was a bit worried for her realm, but she did not wish to go back with Gilbert and his minions still around.

Speaking of minions, Fllay had sensed Rey's aura, which was coming from outside the school. She ran out of the gate and found Heimdall standing near a pole and a vending machine. "Heimdall…" she said.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Hel," Rey politely said.

Fllay shook her head. "Not at all. So, what you want?"

"Information. Rumor has it that you sealed the Brisingamen."

"The Brisingamen? I didn't seal it," Fllay lied. Surely she could guess that Gilbert sent Rey to force some information out of her, but there was no way she would tell him. She had sworn to keep the location of the necklace a secret no matter what happens.

Rey narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Hel. I know you have the ability to seal such an item."

"But I didn't seal the Brisingamen. Remember, Oto-sama was the one who stole it."

"Your father stole it, but he didn't seal it."

"Maybe he just threw it away…"

"Hel, I have no time for this. Just tell me where the necklace is."

"How can I tell you if I don't know where it is in the first place?" Fllay played innocently.

Rey wished she would tell him already, because he did not want to use drastic measures on her. Furthermore, Gilbert might hurt her if she will not inform him about the necklace. But it seemed like Fllay was playing hard to get. Knowing her attitude, she would never give out valuable information unless her father tells her to.

"Hel, you have got to tell me," Rey demanded once again. "I don't want Odin going after you again." His voice turned soft and caring.

"Heimdall…" She looked at him sincerely. "You're worried about me?"

"Odin thinks you're the one who sealed it and he wants the information badly."

"So he could get to Freya, is that it?"

Rey nodded slowly.

"Well, sorry, but I don't know. I'm not the one who sealed it, Heimdall. Better go ask someone else." She was about to turn and leave until Rey pulled her by the arm and hugged her. "Heimdall?!"

"Please, Hel, I beg of you… I don't want Odin to hurt you yet again." He tightened his grip around her even more.

Fllay was touched by his actions and his words. She never would have expected Rey to still care for her all this time. At first, she was disappointed and furious at him when Rey fought her father. She thought she could never forgive him for that. But she was felt different about him now. She could see the old Rey before her and she was quite happy. However, the truth about Rey treating Shinn as an enemy was nothing to neglect about. If only Rey believed her when she told him that her father was innocent, then their fight would have never happened in the first place.

Suddenly an idea struck her…

If I find Heimdall's eye, then he will stop chasing after Oto-sama. But the question was where to find it? Since it was stolen, she could only thought up one god who could have done such a thing. Odin… He's the one. I'm sure of it.

Heimdall pushed her back gently and gazed into her grey-blue eyes. "Hel, have you come to your senses? Can you tell me where it is?" he asked, looking worried.

Sad to say, Fllay still refused to talk about the location.

He grabbed her shoulders. "Don't you care about what Odin might do to you?"

"No, because I'm not afraid of him. Besides, Oto-sama is there to protect me."

"Loki failed to protect you last time when Tyr abducted you! You cannot count on him!"

"You're wrong. It was my own fault. I was too weak to even defend myself from Tyr."

"Hel, Loki is not strong enough to fight Odin."

Fllay sighed. "You don't know Oto-sama too well." She smiled as she lifted Rey's hand from her shoulders. "I trust in him. I know he can protect me," she said.

Rey dropped his hands to his side and took a step backward. He knew there was nothing he could say to let her think lowly of Shinn. With his head lowered, he said, "All right, I won't bother you anymore."

"Thank you, Heim—Rey!" she lively said with a smile.

"Just promise me to be careful, okay, Fllay?" he muttered.

Fllay raised her right hand and nodded. "Sure, I promise." She turned around and saw her father coming out of the school building. "Oto-sama!" she called, waving her hand.

Shinn saw her and waved back. "Fllay!" He ran towards her until he caught glimpse of Rey. "Heimdall, why are you here?" he questioned, narrowing his ruby red eyes.

The blonde god gave Shinn a cold stare. "It's none of your business, Loki," he said before teleporting from sight.

"Fllay, did Heimdall do anything to you?" he asked, checking if his daughter was all right.

"He didn't even lay one finger on me." She had to lie in order to avoid getting scolded by Shinn. She could not possibly tell him that she and Rey shared a hug a while ago. "He was asking me about the whereabouts of the necklace," she said.

"He was asking you what?! Did you tell him?"

Fllay shook her head vigorously. "I would never! It's supposed to be a secret, remember."

Shinn sighed in relief. "That's good."

"I guess Odin wants the necklace to tap into Freya's hidden power."

"When will he learn to leave Freya alone?!" grumbled Shinn, balling his fists hard.

"I don't know. What I do know is that Odin will never stop until he gets what he wants and that is Freya."

Shinn gritted his teeth in anger. He looked at Fllay seriously, but his eyes held something meaningful. Fllay understood what he felt and she too was worried for Cagalli.

Track and Field

The whistle sounded off as the racers passed the finish line. All of them were exhausted as they drank their bottled waters to quench their thirst, all except for Cagalli. She was the one who finished first than the others, but she didn't look a bit tired. She was not even panting. She looked perfectly fine, which made the others wonder what the secret to her energy was. She would usually answer them "it's all practice," but they think it was something else.

"Well done, Athha-san!" the coach said, holding her stop watch. "You've broken your own record again."

"Again? That's so cool!" A girl standing beside the coach uttered. "Cagalli-sama is really the best!" Another girl spoke up. "With her in our team, we'll win for sure." The other runners started whispering about how great Cagalli was in terms of running and other sports.

Cagalli did not mind the compliments, but she wished they would stop thinking highly of her. "I'm just doing what I can," she said.

"And since you've done a great job, Athha-san, practice will end early," the coach announced.

The other runners cheered for joy and thanked the coach and Cagalli. But they suddenly became quiet as they stared dreamingly at the person walking towards Cagalli. "Look, its Athrun Zala!" one of the girls pointed out.

"Athrun?" Cagalli turned to see her charming prince before her. "Hey…" she greeted, smiling sweetly.

"Is practice over?" he asked, showing his well-toothed smile.

The girls, including the coach herself, were all sighing in fascination. They were very mesmerized by the dashing bishounen. Some of them wished that they were in Cagalli's shoes right now. But some totally admired Athrun and Cagalli as a couple.

Cagalli nodded her head in response to Athrun's question. She then turned to her coach and asked if she could go.

"Sure, no problem," the coach replied.

"Thanks." She looked at the other runners. "I'll see you girls tomorrow," she said.

"Take care, Cagalli-sama!" they all said in unison as they waved their hands.

"You too!" replied Cagalli, spinning on her heels. "Let's go, Athrun." She grabbed Athrun's arm and walked away with him.

On their way home, Cagalli kept thinking about what Shinn told her earlier at school. Past is past. She could never change what has happened and blaming herself will not help her either. His words made perfect sense to her, but it was not enough to ease the anxiety of her mind. She was worried about the future. If the future holds a vile death for Athrun, then she could not possibly live with it.

"Athrun…" she muttered softly, lowering her head.

"What is it?" asked Athrun, noticing the sad expression on her face. "Something the matter, Cagalli?"

The blonde goddess halted and started to tremble.

"Hey, what's with you?" Athrun was beginning to worry. "Are you in pain?" He held her shoulders to see if she was all right.

Unexpectedly, Cagalli threw herself at him, sending them both to the ground. She buried her face in his chest as she clutched on his shirt tightly. "Promise me…" she muttered, her hands trembling. "Promise me you won't die, okay?"

"What are you saying?" He did not quite understand what she was talking about.

She raised her head to look at him straight. "Just promise me you won't leave me!" Her eyes were teary and sad.

"Cagalli…" He was beginning to realize her fear and pain. "All right, I won't die. I won't leave you, Cagalli," he said, hugging her.

"Thank you…" she managed to say as she leaned her head comfortably on Athrun's chest.

To be continued…

JC: Whew! This turned out to be a bit long. Okay, reviews please! But no flames, remember? In the next chapter, you'll find out if Rey/Heimdall is really an enemy or not. I'll update soon, so stay tuned.