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Thanks for the support you guys gave. I wouldn't make it to chapter 40 without your reviews. Hehe!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED.

Gundam Seed: Mythical Legends

Phase 40: Doubt

Rey came back to Gilbert's quarters, looking a bit weary and frustrated. Since Fllay did not give him any information about the necklace, he did not know what to tell Gilbert. He was hesitant and afraid for Fllay's welfare. From Fllay's act earlier, he was convinced that she was the one who sealed the Brisingamen. He could have forced it out of her, but his feelings for Fllay were way stronger than his loyalty to Gilbert.

He leaned by the window and stared at the sun-orange sky. It was already sunset and he has yet to cease thinking about the goddess of death. For so long, he had kept his feelings all to himself and had never once spoken of it to anyone—not even to Fllay. He did not know if he was being scared or absurd, or maybe too cold. He used to consider love as a form of trouble and weakness, but now love was different for him. It was strange how a girl can change a guy's point of view about something. And for a guy like him, he thought, Fllay was probably the only girl that can get through to him.

He placed his hand over the part where his right eye used to be. It would have been a lot easier if you were not the daughter of Loki, Hel. Of course, without his eye, he still thought of Shinn as an enemy. Despite Fllay's attempt of convincing him about her father's innocence, Rey remained firm and stubborn. No one else could have done it except him!

The door swung open as Auel entered quickly. "Heimdall!" he called, looking at Rey seriously. "How did it go? Did Hel tell you?"

Truth to be known, he did not want to answer his questions at the moment, because he was not in a good mood. He simply turned away to ignore the blue-haired god.

"Hey, I was talking to you! Mind answering me?!" Auel placed his hands on his hips.

"Sorry, I wasn't successful in my little assignment."

"So, she played a stubborn attitude on you, huh?"

"It was more than that."

"Not good," Auel mumbled, taking a seat on the couch. "What are you gonna tell Gil?"

"Nothing."

"Man, you cannot be serious!" Auel uttered. "Gil will definitely go after Hel now!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Rey retorted. He faced the window and banged his hands on the pane.

"You wouldn't be following Gil around if you had your eye," Auel said softly, leaning on his hand. "I mean the only reason you're here right now is because you think Loki stole your eye."

Rey slowly turned to look at Auel. "What are you trying to say?"

Auel smirked. "If you had your eye then Loki and you would still be friends and Hel would be a lot happier."

"Gil is actually helping me to get my revenge on Loki."

"Yeah…yeah…" he answered sarcastically. He stood up, crossed his arms, and approached the blonde god. "But did you ever stop to wonder why Loki keeps telling you he's innocent?"

"He's obviously lying. He's trying to put the blame on Gil."

Auel sighed. "You have a point there." He leaned his back against the wall and continued speaking. "But why? Why does he keep blaming Gil?"

"Because Gil was the one who exiled him from Asgard, the one who ruined his immortal life. Surely Loki would hold a grudge against him."

"Oh really?" If Auel could play this right, then he could convince Rey that Shinn is really innocent. It was time to put an end to Rey's desire for revenge on the mischief god. He also thought it would be better for Fllay as well.

"You and Loki were friends before, right?" Auel said. "You knew each other like an open book."

"And so?" Rey's tone of voice was drop dead and cold.

"As a friend, why didn't you believe his words?"

"Because a friend like him betrayed my trust. I personally saw him took my eye right before me."

"You know, it could have been anyone. Let's be real here—lots of gods can shape shift."

"His aura…"

Rey remembered the dreaded experience clearly.

He was resting peacefully in a slumber under the Yggdrassil Tree in Asgard. He was having a wonderful dream about Fllay, but all of a sudden someone started strangling him. He opened his eyes and saw something shocking. The one who was strangling him was none other than his best friend. It was really him. He tried to get him off, but Shinn already placed a binding spell on him.

"Loki, w-why…are y-you…doing this?" he questioned, sensing the strong rage of aura from Shinn.

However, Shinn did not reply and continued what he was doing. It was getting hopeless for Rey until he recited an incantation which blew Shinn away from him. It was only little, but it was enough to break him free from the spell too. Rey slowly stood up, feeling a tad weak from the strangling.

"Heimdall, die!" Shinn charged towards him.

"Loki, stop this! I don't want to fight you!"

"Shut up!"

"Loki…"

The two waged on fiercely without any plan on stopping. Shinn kept attacking Rey mercilessly, as Rey kept on defending and evading. Rey refused to attack his friend until he'll know the real reason why he was acting this way.

"I am going to end this here right now!" Shinn managed to strike a punch on Rey's abdomen, sending the poor blonde to his knees. Then he cupped Rey's chin with his hand as his other hand at his right eye.

"No, stop!" Rey pleaded. "Please don't do this, Loki!"

But Shinn just showed him a malicious grin. When his hand glowed in a dark aura, little swarms of bolts went into Rey's eye and started sucking it out. "Your eye is mind!" he uttered, laughing. Once he successfully pulled the eye, the eye formed into a cobalt stone on his palm.

Rey covered the right side of his face with his hand as he stared at the ground in dismay. What happened just now was a total act of insolence and cruelty. It was too much. He could take the fighting and beating, but losing his right eye was way out of his expectations.

Shinn formed an energy sphere with his free hand and pointed it at Rey. "Say your last words, Heimdall," he said.

Rey slowly looked up at Shinn and narrowed his eyes. "I'll get my revenge."

With one last laugh, Shinn fired the sphere at full-blast.

"I was lucky enough to have survived that blast," Rey said, feeling hurt and betrayed.

"Do you actually believe that it was really Loki?"

"It was him! It was his power, his voice, his aura…" Rey gritted his teeth. "It was all him!"

"Somehow, I doubt that." Auel took a few steps away from Rey. "Heimdall, there are lies all around us. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether or not something is true or false. We have to search deeper in order to find out the truth."

"Tyr…"

"The fact isn't all what it seems, Heimdall. There are facts behind everything." Auel gave Rey one more look as he stuffed his hand in his pockets. "Think about it, Heimdall." He walked out of the room with a smirk on his face. He was confident that Rey will figure out the truth.

Rey rubbed his temple as he sat down. "The fact isn't all what it seems…" Auel words left him baffled with more questions. "Seems like I have to look into this a little further…" he said. If everything goes well, if he finds out that Shinn had nothing to do with his eye, then he and Shinn might have a second chance with their friendship.

Cagalli's House

She opened the door to her house with a sigh. Apparently, she was exhausted from thinking about her past all the time. But she was happy for one particular reason and that was the promise Athrun made to her. Although it seemed impossible to keep, Cagalli knew that Athrun was always true to his word. As she looked at him right now, she could see his warm face and his cunning smile. Everything about him seemed so perfect, yet Cagalli tried to think otherwise.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said in a tiring voice. She did not mean to speak that way, but she was completely tired.

"You have morning practice tomorrow, right?" he asked.

"Yeah… It's gonna be real early."

"Then I'll be coming by here early so we can walk to school together."

Being the gentleman again, she thought as she shook her head. "You don't need to." Besides, she does not want to make him get up so early for her. She will not feel right about that.

But Athrun insisted on it, because he wanted to keep her safe from a certain teacher at school. It was still dangerous for a goddess like her to be alone. He could not count the number of times she got into a mess with Gilbert.

"Okay, but are you really sure it's fine with you?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded. "Of course…" Then he spun on his heels and walked to the gate. He looked back at Cagalli one more time before he left for home.

"Athrun…" Her eyes softened as she slowly closed the door. As she turned around, her eyes widened in surprised at what she saw. "Wait a sec! Why are you here?" She nervously pointed her finger at the person in front of her.

"Don't be alarmed, Freya, because I'm not here to abduct you or harm you."

"Then what you do want, Heimdall?" She eyed the blonde god with fierceness.

Rey scanned from left to right and from front to back, to see if Cagalli's mother was around. Since he saw no one other than Cagalli, he grabbed her hand and flew upwards, pulling the goddess along with him. He passed through the ceiling like a transparent ghost and so did Cagalli.

"I thought I was gonna get squashed right on the face," she said sarcastically.

"Let's talk here," he told her after reaching her room.

Cagalli sat down on her bed and crossed her arms. "What is it you want to talk about?"

Silence.

Truth to be known, Rey was having the hard time finding the right words to ask her. He had so many questions in his mind that it was starting to confuse him. He leaned his back against the wall, his eyes staring down at his feet, as he let out a few sighs. It was not totally like him to act like some kind of nervous wreck, but he could not handle the pressure anymore. He had to know who really stole his eye. He had to know if Auel was telling the truth. He had to know if Shinn was really an enemy to him.

To be continued…

JC: Rey is getting the bottom to the mystery of his missing eye. Auel is sure helping him. Anyone here know why? You could guess if you want. And oh… please do review and no flaming! I'll update as soon as I can. Ja e!