PHASE FOURTEEN: In The Memory Of Nicol
C.E 79 – PLANTs, Supreme Council Building, Aprillius One (Present Day)
Athrun Zala. Athrun Zala. Athrun… Zala.
Yuri Amalfi sighed and buried his face in his hands as the name repeated itself in his mind, over and over again. At the same time, the image of the young pilot came to his mind, clear and apparent, almost as if he was standing right in front of him. Son of the late Patrick and Lenore Zala. Athrun Zala. A young man with a well-built body, quick and athletic. A sharp nose, rather high cheekbones, firm lips, and the most piercing emerald-green eyes that seemed to be able to look straight into a person's soul. Long-ish midnight blue hair framed the handsome face, and it was not uncommon knowledge that he had been extremely popular… especially among the girls, especially when he was engaged to Lacus Cyne. Top in ZAFT's Military Academy for his consignment. Graduated as a red-uniformed ZAFT elite pilot. Assigned to the Creuset Team. And most importantly, perhaps, the last person to see Nicol Amalfi alive.
He had met Athrun Zala, of course, several times during the first war. He had formed a small attachment to the boy in a way, and would have been proud to have a son like him, if not for Athrun betraying his own father and PLANTs for the sake of his fiancée, Lacus Clyne. Amalfi had also met the other members of the Creuset Team: Rusty Mackenzie, Miguel Aiman, Dearka Elsman and Yzak Joule. He heard that Rusty and Miguel had both died in the first war, but Dearka and Yzak were still alive… until they somehow vanished without trace during the attempted assassination of Lacus Clyne. Their ship, the Voltaire, had been destroyed by the Earth Alliance forces stationed outside Aprillius at the time, but Amalfi had no idea if both soldiers had survived the battle.
Athrun, Amalfi knew, had enlisted in Orb's military after the second war. He heard that the blue-haired Coordinator had also enlisted in ZAFT under Chairman Durandal during the first few months of the war, also assigned to the FAITH Special Forces unit, but had turned his back against ZAFT yet again to join the Archangel and Eternal. Last time Amalfi heard news about Athrun, he discovered that the young Coordinator had held a position as Orb's Admiral. He wondered what Athrun was doing on board the Renegade, but judging by Commander Aiten's manner of speaking earlier, Amalfi had no doubt that Athrun was being held against his will.
He exhaled loudly, resting against the surface of his desk, his eyes flickering to a framed picture of his wife and late son, standing with smiles on their faces in front of their home. Since he joined RENEGADE, Amalfi had separated from his wife, Romina Amalfi, who had refused to support him in the battle he was fighting in. He had no real idea where she had disappeared to, and silently, he believed that he never would. Amalfi wondered if he had reached a stage of desperation to allow himself to be consumed in his thoughts like this. Was it possible that he no longer knew for sure whether he was on the same path as his late son before him? Romina's disappearance had hit him hard, but he had firmly believed that this was the path that he needed to take to ensure that Nicol had not died in vain. But Romina didn't support him.
Was it possible that Athrun Zala knew the answer to the question he was searching for?
Amalfi straightened, rubbing his temples tiredly with his fingers. He was tired. Exhausted. Drained. Defeated. He wanted it to end. He wanted everything to end. That had been the sole reason why he had developed the N-Jammer Canceller at the end of the first war, but it wasn't enough. Hatred and war still exists.
What should he do?
Would Athrun Zala really be able to put his mind to peace?
Yes… he was desperate. He needed to know, to find out from Athrun. Whenever Nicol came home, he often talked of the kind, quiet blue-haired Coordinator. Amalfi knew that among the pilots assigned to the Creuset team, it was Athrun Zala who had been closest to his son. Maybe he just needed some reassurance, some sort of answer that he really was fighting for the right thing. Nicol had joined ZAFT for a reason and though Amalfi couldn't truly understand what that reason was, he was willing to fight to honour his son's brave memory.
He had never truly hated the Naturals before. Never. But when he received news that his son had been defeated by the amazing pilot of the Strike Gundam, belonging to the Earth Alliance, the hatred surfaced immediately and never died down since. And he owed his thanks, in a small way, to Athrun Zala, who had successfully destroyed the Strike by trapping the pilot in the mobile suit with his Aegis, self-destructing it. Athrun had killed Nicol's killer. Amalfi owed Athrun enough to at least meet him, and provide him an offer of sorts to have him by his side. He knew that he could never kill Athrun. Whether directly or indirectly, Amalfi could not kill this one Coordinator named Athrun Zala. He had risked his life in avenging the death of his son, after all.
Yuri Amalfi stood and glanced at the mirror by the side of his table. For once, he could just see sorrow in his eyes, and not the usual burning hatred he always felt towards the world. That Commander Aiten knew very well how to play his cards, but perhaps it was for the best. He couldn't let Athrun be a prisoner on the Renegade forever. He would go down to Earth, to that second generation Minerva-class ship, and he would meet the avenger of his son's death.
C.E 79 ZAFT Mahamul Base, Eurasian Federation – Archangel (Present Day)
"Torii!"
Lacus turned, her eyebrows raised slightly as she heard the familiar call of the green mechanical bird, landing smartly on her shoulder. Pink-chan, distracted, began to bounce up and down questioningly and Torii tilted its head before taking off. Surprised, Lacus watched as Haro followed, all the while shouting to play, and a small smile crossed her lips as she watched them disappear along the corridor. It seemed as though the Archangel crew would need to bear with their ruckus yet again. She turned her eyes back to the direction Torii had flown from, relief washing over her when Kira walked towards her. Ever since Murdoch had began the repairs on the Freedom, Kira had been staying put on the Archangel and did not seem to overtire himself.
"Lacus," Kira greeted her, smiling slightly. "Are you alright? Where's Cagalli?"
"She's at the bridge," Lacus answered. "They're getting in touch with Heliopolis."
That made sense. Heliopolis was the only thing left of the once-proud nation of Orb, and Kira knew that a part of Cagalli actually wished she was up there with the small colony. But she and Kisaka needed to stay with the Archangel and the Harutsuki, entering battle with the remaining soldiers of Orb… especially now, when Athrun was still missing.
"Walk with me," Kira invited, his arm moving to circle her shoulders as he led her away. She followed, both walking quietly, yet Kira could sense Lacus throwing him the usual worried looks she had always reserved for him.
Once they reached the viewing deck of the Archangel, Kira turned, his eyes on the pink-haired songstress. "I'm going out with Shinn as soon as the Freedom is repaired," he said, noticing the surprise flickering across her face. "Now that the fighting has stopped, we can't really do anything. It's frustrating, when we still want to fight…" he trailed off, taking her soft hands in his. He had given this a long thought, and knew that it was time for him to reveal himself and show that he, too, was human and not a mere image. "I'll send humanitarian aid to the people of Eurasia… with the Freedom."
Azure eyes softened as she gazed at the brown-haired Coordinator in front of her. How he had changed since the first time she saw him when he had rescued her from her escape pod. The broken, gentle, kind Kira was still himself, but Lacus could clearly see the new strength that had developed in him since the first war, and his words struck her deep inside. Kira, she knew, no longer needed to rely on her or anyone else to continue to fight his battles. He knew what he wanted, and he knew the means that he would go through to achieve it.
"Are you sure?" Lacus asked quietly.
Kira nodded. "I am the Freedom's pilot… but I'm also Kira. It's time I stop hiding myself, Lacus. Athrun did," he said, sure of himself now. Maybe he hadn't been ready all these years. Maybe he hadn't wanted to admit to himself that he was the Freedom's pilot… but not now. Kira knew that many people supported the Freedom and the Archangel. This war that was now involving everyone would make them question their ideals. And Kira knew that he would fight to protect what he wanted to fight for.
Torii returned, almost as if it had heard Athrun's name and decided to check whether the blue-haired Coordinator had returned or not. It flapped its wings, landing squarely on Kira's head, and Kira felt the corner of his mouth tug slightly in amusement. Athrun was alive. Kira had no doubt about that. And he would continue fighting in Athrun's place until the Coordinator returned to them. Athrun would return, of that he had no doubt.
Lacus caught the pink Haro as it bounced after Torii. "Then, Kira," she said softly, her eyes on her round, mechanical friend. "Take Pink-chan with you. My father's wealth… Use it to bring peace to the people," she said quietly.
"Haro? Haro? Genki?"
Brown eyes met azure ones and Kira took the small pink ball into his hands. "I promise," he vowed.
A few hours later, Kira walked into his shared room with Shinn and Athrun, turning to the computer installed at the corner of the room. He connected Pink-chan to the system, taking in the numbers and information of the numerous accounts held by the late Siegel Clyne, and he understood. There was an unread message waiting for him from Meyrin. He had contacted her a few hours ago with a small favour, and she responded by telling him that she would try her best.
C.E 79 Location Unknown – Renegade, Sickbay (Present Day)
Frustration was all Athrun felt as he tried to twist his hands and fingers into impossible angles, trying his hardest to see if he could somehow free himself from the straps holding him down onto the bed. His chest screamed at him to stop trying, his wounds threatening to reopen and his hair was already matted with sweat. Athrun clenched his teeth, the small groans escaping his lips as he tried, but it was futile. KUSO!
All he needed to do was to escape from the straps holding him down. That was all he needed. He knew the layout of the Minerva like the back of his hand. He knew the best routes to take, the different shafts he could open, designed for engineers, which he could go through, undetected. He knew how to get to the mobile suit hangar blindfolded. He could disappear from the Minerva-class ship like a ghost, and nobody would be able to locate where he was.
If he could only ESCAPE.
Athrun slumped back in defeat with a loud groan, his eyes shut tight and his breathing laboured as he tried to force the pain away. At the same time, the door to the infirmary slid open and there was a rather surprised intake of breath as someone hurried to his side. "What do you think you're doing?" a male voice snapped at him, somehow familiar, and Athrun forced his eyes open, breathing hard.
At first, he had almost been too surprised to answer. Eyes clouded with pain, he almost mistook the person in front of him as his old childhood friend, Kira Yamato. Athrun blinked, clearing his vision. The face was awfully familiar – a young man with reddish brown hair and black eyes. Surprised, Athrun realised that this was the pilot who had saved him after he was retrieved from the cockpit of the Justice. But that still did not make him a friend. He glared at the newcomer, angered beyond belief that they were looking down on him like this.
The newcomer sighed and sat down. "You might want to keep that scowl away, Zala. I don't want to be here as much as you do, but orders are orders and I am required to make sure that you don't pull any funny moves," he said, his voice hard.
Athrun did not stop glaring. But he couldn't help but ask; "Who are you?"
"Seorin. Seorin Kaitke. Pilot of the Apocalypse," he introduced, leaning back with his arms crossed. "Now are you going to keep that heart rate down, or am I going to need to inject tranquilisers?" he asked.
The other Coordinator couldn't help but grimace. As much as sleep appealed to him to keep the pain away, buried deep in the depths of unconsciousness, Athrun knew that he needed to stay awake. Pretty soon they would just have to release him from these straps. And when they did, he would begin his escape. And he was not going to achieve that with painkillers and sleeping injections flowing through his bloodstream. He turned his face away – it was easier to stay neutral when he wasn't looking at the members of the Renegade crew.
Ken couldn't help but smile. This guy was so much different to Kira Yamato. "You could offer me your thanks, you know. I did save you from possible death," he said.
Athrun glanced at him. "Were you the one who took the cockpit?"
"No. I wouldn't dream of it," Ken admitted. "If you want to thank the pilot for that deed, it would have to be Genei – Advocate's pilot. But he doesn't seem to take to you very lightly, especially when we got orders not to kill you, so I doubt that you'd have the opportunity to see him."
Athrun paused. "Thank you," he muttered.
"Not a problem," Ken answered. "I am here to give you a warning, Zala. We are currently on our way to ZAFT's Victoria base, where you will be meeting a rather special guest. Unfortunately, that means releasing you for a little while, but I'm warning you now – any funny business that you might attempt, and I won't hesitate to stick a knife behind your back," he said coldly, his black eyes narrowing. He did not like this Athrun Zala, merely because he knew how cunning the young Coordinator could be.
Athrun processed this. ZAFT's newly-captured Victoria base was located in Kenya, in Eastern Africa. If he guessed correctly, with the Renegade currently stopping their battles, Kira and the Archangel would most likely still be in Kuwait, at the Mahamul base. The Mahamul Base! Athrun thought, hissing when he tried to force himself upright again. What had happened in the Mahamul battle? One of the last things Athrun remembered was that ZAFT had not sent any back-up forces to join the Renegade and the Earth Alliance, and it seemed as if the Renegade was losing. But of course, Shinn suddenly stopped fighting for some unknown reason, and Athrun could remember very little after that. Kira… Was he alright? What about Cagalli and Lacus?
"We failed to capture the Mahamul base," a quiet voice broke through his thoughts. Surprised, Athrun turned his head, his green eyes resting on the other pilot. Ken shrugged lightly – RENEGADE had nothing particular to hide from any party, after all. "ZAFT did not send in any forces to help us with the battle, and we failed to capture it. We were ordered to return soon after your Justice exploded," he said calmly.
"I see…" Athrun trailed off, casting his eyes on the ceiling again. "What do you fight for?" he asked.
"Peace." The answer was immediate.
He frowned. "I don't understand."
Ken leaned back, focusing his eyes on the young pilot in front of him. "You might have realised that the Earth Alliance and ZAFT are still around even after both wars. Not to mention Blue Cosmos. Tell me how the world can possibly be at peace if all the time, you're still developing weapons to battle against each other?" he asked slowly.
Athrun found himself clenching his fists together. The question on how to fight war and to stop hatred had been on his mind for too many years already. Neither ZAFT, Orb or the Earth Alliance believed that the war was finally over. They all knew that they were just holding their breaths for the next attack, which admittedly happened five years after the last war despite Lacus and Cagalli trying their best. Even if RENEGADE hadn't started the war between the Naturals and Coordinators, Athrun still highly doubted that they were at peace. True peace.
"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" he asked, wanting to know despite himself.
Ken shook his head. "We're trying to get everyone involved in this war, because everyone is involved, Zala. You've been in Orb for too long to understand truly that a neutral nation, no matter how noble it may be, does not actually help when they refuse to give their stand on where they stand between two nations fighting wars. The war escalated due to hatred between Naturals and Coordinators. Our world, our universe, is made up of these two, so claiming yourself to be neutral is nothing short of ridiculous. You're not helping when you're neutral, not when you just stand idly and let people kill each other – especially not when your nation is made up of both Naturals and Coordinators.
"RENEGADE seeks to separate the two so everyone will make their stand. Will they support? Or will they eventually realise how foolish they are, that they actually cannot separate? As long as neutral nations exist, these wars will continue. That is why we seek to eliminate neutral nations – we attack military bases so they are forced to accept that with this war, that has lasted for so many decades, is connected to them."
"But Scandinavia! And Orb! And the Equatorial Union!" Athrun cried out, the anger coming back to him now. "How can you possibly justify your actions behind those attacks? The shelters, the civilians! You killed them!"
"We didn't kill them," Ken answered coolly, his black eyes flashing dangerously. "The Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces that joined us are the ones who attacked and killed them."
"They were fighting for you!"
"They were fighting because they wanted to fight. RENEGADE never gave orders to attack the civilians. Military bases, yes, but not civilians. Why do you think this ship always retreats every time it's obvious the battle has been won? Why do you think we were never here when the EA and ZAFT forces began to wipe out the forces that could no longer fight?"
Athrun clenched his teeth together, his emotions making his head hurt. "You claim not to be responsible for all that?"
"I never said that," Ken argued, huffing angrily. "Listen, Zala. As it is, we are allowing the two major powers to fight this battle. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Naturals and Coordinators. When we get rid of those who can't make their minds up and stay silent while their own kind are blown into smithereens, the two will have to make their decision. Either to separate, or to live together in harmony. In the worst case scenario, they'll try and eliminate each other, in which saving them is futile and hopeless."
"It is not futile," Athrun hissed. But deep down, even he often questioned those like his father, like his father's followers, like Yuri Amalfi, like Blue Cosmos, like the Atlantic Federation… He questioned those individuals that always often made him wonder whether there was any real hope for those who truly fought for peace.
Ken's eyes softened, a small smile coming to his lips. "I don't believe humankind is that terrible," he said quietly. "I respect those like you who fight for what you believe is right. But even you have to admit that one cannot be neutral about something like this. If you truly want peace, then you need to fight for it. And I believe true fighters, believers and supporters of peace will come when this is all over," he said sincerely. "RENEGADE is here simply to discover what humanity really wants, and to what means they will go to obtain it. There is no winning and losing."
The conversation was over, and Athrun knew it. Exasperatingly, his eyes were beginning to tire, and he knew he would drift to sleep very soon. He thought of Kira, of Lacus… of Cagalli. He wanted to build a life with Cagalli… he always had. But he never dared to, not when they were surrounded by wars like this.
"What will you do next?" Athrun asked, the darkness beginning to close in around him.
Ken hesitated. "Our next target is the resistance groups in Eurasia."
He registered nothing more.
C.E 79 Eurasian Federation – Archangel (Present Day)
The sound of deft fingers moving across a keyboard was barely heard above the workings of the maintenance and repairs in the mobile suit hangar of the Archangel-class ship, Archangel. Shinn's red eyes darted from one side to another as he went through the Destiny Gaia's OS, fine-tuning the calibrations, making minimal changes to the power output for his beam weapons, adjusting the strength of his Phase Shift armour and many more. He had been in the cockpit for hours, working swiftly as soon as Murdoch gave him the thumb's up and the report of the changes they had made to his Gundam.
Maximum thrust with low energy consumption is the most important thing. Interference is high in the Earth's atmosphere, so I can afford to weaken the Phase Shift slightly. It's really different to fighting in space. But even with this, the power of the battery is still not enough for me to fight a full battle without needing to resupply with the Archangel. Kuso. At least the Aurora had the Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System installed…
He was engrossed in his work, his brows pulling together as he tried his best to work his hardest with the system's Operating System. Shinn was by no means a good programmer, but he got by decently enough, which was one of the reasons why he was a redcoat in ZAFT. His talents leaned more to actual battle tactics against mobile suits, which was something that his old comrade Rey Za Burrel also excelled at. In fact, it was often Rey who could spot out peculiarities in fighting styles, yet it was Shinn who could normally fight the battles. Quite often, Shinn wished that the light-haired redcoat was still with him, fighting by his side. He had not truly learned what had happened in the Neo-GENESIS, but he knew enough – he knew that Rey had shot Durandal and that Captain Gladys had stayed behind. He knew that Kira and Athrun had witnessed the event. But he knew not much more than that.
So consumed he was in the work that he was doing that he did not realise a platform being raised to the same level as his cockpit. So he was very much surprised when a brown-haired Coordinator dressed in an all-too-familiar white ZAFT uniform poked his head into the cockpit of his Gundam.
"I was told I would find you here," Kira said simply, a small smile on his lips.
"C-Commander!" Shinn cried out, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Kira shrugged, resting his back against the wall of the interior access of the cockpit. "I was told to reprimand you for not getting enough rest," he said with a small frown. "Maybe Murdoch-san believed that I need extra work with the Freedom still in repair."
Shinn couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Truthfully, he felt awkward having Kira here. Since he was assigned to the Yamato Squadron, Shinn and Lunamaria had both been rather close to Kira – closer than they had ever been to Captain Gladys. Then again, Shinn assumed that Kira might just have that gift. He knew that all the crew members of the Aurora felt the same bond with the young Commander as well. But Kira had slapped him after what had happened with the Justice, and Shinn hadn't exactly been on good terms with the Commander since… or rather, they hadn't bumped into each other to address the issue. During the last war, Athrun had sought Shinn out to smooth things out between them when they had faced a similar situation, and he was only half-surprised that Kira was doing the same thing.
He didn't like Kira being here. Not in this cockpit, not in his Gundam. His eyes flickered to the other Coordinator momentarily. "Don't you have something else to work on, Commander?" he asked.
A small smile tugged at Kira's lips and Shinn bit back the urge to glare at him. "Thanks, Shinn," Kira said, his voice the usual, gentle tone. Surprised, Shinn's fingers froze and he raised his eyes questioningly to his Commander. "I know you've been working on this Gundam for a while, Shinn. That only tells me that you're still willing to fight, even if you do have someone important to you that you need to fight against," he said quietly. Shinn stared. "In truth, I'd be happier if we don't need to fight at all. But it can't be helped. We're only able to do what we can when the time comes for us to act."
"Stellar was an Extended," Shinn said, surprised with himself that he was actually telling his Commander this. "The Earth Alliance made her into a human weapon. It wasn't as if she chose to fight," he said bitterly.
"I think nobody really chooses to fight," Kira answered quietly. "But that's why it's important for us to know what we need to do."
Shinn sighed. It wasn't as if he didn't know all these things. But it was quite nice to have someone to talk to, all the same. In a way, Kira reminded him a lot of Rey. "I want to try and talk to her if possible," he admitted.
"Then do it. As long as you still haven't lost sight of what you're fighting for, then you shouldn't worry," Kira said easily, turning to exit the cockpit again.
"Commander," Shinn called. Kira paused. "If someone attacks us… then it's only reasonable that we fight back, right?"
There was a long silence following his question, and Shinn wondered what Kira was thinking of. The usually calm amethyst eyes looked grave, and there was an undeniable regret in the depths of those orbs. Eventually, Kira turned, resting his eyes on the other pilot. "There are many ways to fight," he said, his voice so soft that Shinn thought he had imagined it. Then, the light smile was back on the brown-haired Coordinator's lips. "You might want to try and adjust the energy output of the thrusters for both forms. A mobile armour is more streamlined than a mobile suit, so thrust should be less. If you direct the power to the assault cannon, the efficiency will be raised, yet power consumption should still be stable. Set the cannon on auto-target using the heat signatures of the Gundams," he suggested, moving back onto the platform. Shinn, shocked beyond belief, could only stare at the open cockpit. Kira's voice reached him a final time before he descended to the ground; "The Freedom should be done in three hours. I expect you to be ready by then."
It took him a few more hours to finally finish tuning up the Destiny Gaia's OS, and by the time Shinn had finished, the combat status of the Gundam in its mobile armour form had increased to just over ninety percent – something that Shinn had acknowledged grudgingly even though the tweaks he did had brought out much better potential of better battle outcome for the future. His foot touched the ground of the Archangel hangar and he exhaled slowly.
"Are you ready?" Kira's voice made him turn. He was surprised to find the brown-haired Coordinator dressed in plain clothes, wearing the same black jacket he had worn when he returned to the Archangel from Mendel those few months ago. Lacus was behind him, a small but knowing smile on her lips.
"What's going on?" Shinn asked, perplexed.
"Get changed. There's no need for military uniform for what we're going to do," Kira answered, not even answering his question.
He wanted to argue, of course, but Shinn had to admit that he did feel rather intrigued. His curiosity was pulled in, much to his dismay, and followed orders accordingly. By the time he returned to the hangar, Kira was standing by the foot of his Freedom, talking to Murdoch and pointing to several locations on his Gundam. Sensing Shinn's arrival, Kira turned, his face immediately breaking into a smile. "You're back. Let's go, we don't want to be late," he said, grasping the lever of his mobile suit to climb into the cockpit.
Murdoch walked over to Shinn, rubbing his hand at the back of his head. When it came to Kira and the Archangel crew members, the senior technician was always having headaches. "I think leaving you with the beam sabers and a beam rifle should be enough. We've taken down the rest. Jeez. That kid is only taking his beam sabers and Armour Schneiders. I thought that pink princess would have said something, but she's as guilty as he is!" he ranted, walking away while still muttering silent curses. It was then that Shinn realised what was strange about the Freedom – most of its armaments had been taken down.
"O-Oy!" Shinn called, but Murdoch, in his headache, did not seem to hear.
"Kuso! What does he think he's doing?" Shinn cursed aloud, immediately running to his Destiny. Like Kira, he hadn't bothered dressing up in a pilot suit. He strapped himself in and immediately activated the mobile suit, punching the codes so Kira's face was presented on the left screen of the Gundam interface.
GENERATION UNRESTRICTED NETWORK DRIVE ASSAULT MODULE
G.U.N.D.A.M ZAFT
"Commander, what is this?" he asked as the Freedom was connected to the catapult.
"Sorry, Shinn. There are some things we need to do," Kira said with a small smile.
"I'm not worried that you're going, but take care all the same," Waltfeld's voice greeted them from Miriallia's CIC station. "Freedom, please launch."
"Yes! Kira Yamato. Freedom. Launching!"
He was blind. Completely blind. On a blind mission, with minimal weapons, with a strange Commander. Shinn cried out in frustration. "Shinn Asuka. Destiny. Launching!"
C.E 79 Iran (Present Day)
Nearly a century had passed since Planet Earth had ran out of their petroleum resources, and during those dark times, the condition of the Earth, along with the effects of pollution and global warming, had worsened. It was in these dark times that the first Coordinator, George Glenn, had been born. Seventy years ago, major powers emerged such as the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation and the Republic of East Asia, all to try and tackle the growing problems of resources in order to survive, but when the truth of George Glenn's origins were revealed in C.E 15, the world was thrown into chaos. Though modifications of genes were not allowed, quite a number of wealthy families still turn their children into Coordinators. Among these were Siegel Clyne, born secretly in the Kingdom of Scandinavia, and Patrick Zala, born in the Atlantic Federation. The restriction was lifted in C.E 30, and by C.E 45, the estimated number of Coordinators making the world's population was ten million. Tensions escalated, fights broke out, and the Natural and Coordinator conflict began.
After thirty-five years of conflict and battles (with the last ten years filled with official wars and killings), it was evident that the previous worries about energy crisis had depleted. Though most countries on Earth ran under nuclear power under their own major powers, it was evident that the country's well-being was nowhere near as advanced as their military advancements. The Middle East, holding a record of always being underprivileged even before the adoption of the Cosmic Era calendar, especially when their oil treasures had been exploited and later used up, was even more badly affected when the world decided that conflict between Naturals and Coordinators was more important than developing their world.
Quite unlike the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation does not have as many Earth Alliance bases, and most of the people of Eurasia began to form resistance groups against war itself, especially after the second war. The sights of mobile suits and battles were common for those in Eurasia, their lands always chosen as the perfect battlefield, and they suffered. Perhaps it was due to this that they were able to identify the blue, white and gold mobile suit as the Freedom when it landed in their territory, the twenty-metre machine standing proud and tall. Mobile suits were horrifying things, but the people in Eurasia had held their faith to the Freedom especially after the second war. So when the famous mobile suit landed, they suddenly found themselves curious and apprehensive as to why it had made their appearance, especially when another mobile suit, a black and gold Gundam, landed beside it.
The two mobile suits were quite different in the sense that both did not seem particularly armed. Instead, in the arms of the two mobile suits were heavy crates which they set down very carefully, then crouching forward so it was easier to transport themselves down.
As Shinn climbed out of the Destiny's cockpit, he glanced at his Commander who was already touching down from the Freedom beside him. He had worked out what they were doing when they arrived in Saudi Arabia, making high amounts of purchases and donations which, with Kira being a high-ranking Commander and Lacus being… well, Lacus… Shinn wasn't surprised to see that money was of no issue to them. Resources were something that was never enough to any country no matter how advanced it was, and that was what they were providing.
A form of humanitarian aid with no weapons whatsoever.
From the basics of food and clothing, to items like cement, tools, pencils and crayons.
A man stepped forward from the group, his brown eyes shining as he took in the pilot of the legendary Freedom Gundam. He exchanged a few words with Kira, both using their hands when it was apparent that there were language barriers that could not be resolved with a common lingua franca, and Kira began to unload the crates that they had set down. The man turned, his arms spread wide, speaking quickly and happily and a number of men rushed forwards at once to help, all the while shaking their hands, patting their backs, crying out "Syukran Jazilan! Syukran!" as a sign of thanks.
It was an emotional moment to Shinn, who had always wanted to help anyone where he could, even during the second war. He watched the happy faces of the families and watched how smiles were exchanged between them with such a small token of help.
A child, no more than twelve years old, walked over to Kira, his eyes accusing and untrusting. Kira raised his eyebrows as he regarded the boy, and Shinn saw the boy clenching his fists. "You Coordinator? Natural?" the boy asked.
Kira stared at the boy. Then, with a gentle smile that reminded Shinn of Lacus, he crouched down in front of the boy and gave him a book. "I am Kira Yamato," he said simply.
And immediately, Shinn understood what Kira meant when he said there were many ways to fight.
C.E 79 ZAFT Victoria Base – Renegade (Three Days Later)
"I'm warning you one last time, Zala. You better not pull any stupid stunts on me," Ken said gravely as he walked over to the blue-haired Coordinator. Athrun narrowed his eyes at the brown-haired Coordinator and turned his face away, signalling defiance. Forget them, if there was a smallest chance of escaping, Athrun was going to take it. Ken sighed loudly and took out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. Hikari standing a few paces away from the bed, raised her gun and pointed it at Athrun's head, her eyes watchful and wary as she regarded the injured pilot. "I might be a little kind, but don't expect Aya not to put a bullet in your head if she thinks you're up to something."
Athrun had to admit, despite not knowing who exactly he was going to meet, he did feel rather grateful that he was finally going to be able to sit up. Ken and Hikari had both argued that he should remain strapped down, but somehow, he had gotten the approval of the Commander – a peculiar silver-haired Coordinator who wore a half-mask that reminded Athrun of the late Rau Le Creuset. He had only seen the Coordinator for a few minutes, popping inside to look over Athrun before finally deciding that for this meeting with the unknown person, he would be allowed to sit, as long as he was securely handcuffed. Athrun was truly sick of lying down all the time, and he welcomed this strange meeting.
He bit down on his tongue as Ken unlocked the straps holding him down and helped him to sit, his body protesting against the move. So surprised he was by the pain that he hadn't noticed Ken pulling his arms behind him, securing the handcuffs. The Coordinator moved extremely fast, and Athrun cursed silently to himself – he could escape just fine, but without another person's help, it would be difficult to escape from the Renegade. He would just have to bear with it a while longer.
The door slid open, and the masked Commander entered, turning his face to the three. "Is he ready?" he asked tonelessly.
Ken tugged on the handcuffs and Athrun clamped his teeth down once again. "He's secured."
"Good. You two may leave now," the Commander dismissed.
Clearly, the two hadn't expected that. Ken jumped to his feet immediately. "What? Commander, we can't leave him all alone like this!"
"I'm aware of that, Seorin," Daisuke answered wearily. "The orders didn't come from me. Keep guard outside – you too, Aya. It's not as if I wanted him unguarded in here myself," he said, his emotionless, masked eyes trained on Athrun.
There was a brief silence as the two contemplated on disobeying. But the orders were clear, and Athrun guessed that whoever had issued it, the person must hold quite a reasonable amount of power over the ship. The two Coordinators sighed, and with a final warning glare to Athrun, Ken followed Hikari out of the room. As they exited the infirmary, Daisuke kept his eyes on Athrun. In truth, he admired young people like Athrun, who would willingly risk their lives rather than be used by those around them – but making sure they didn't attempt anything risky and suicidal was difficult, and he was distrustful of the blue-haired Coordinator.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Athrun asked hotly once they were alone.
Daisuke arched his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"All this! Why are you doing this? Disrupting the peace we have, inflicting hatred again! Don't you think the world has had enough already?" Athrun half-shouted, his green eyes burning with anger to the Commander of the Renegade. Despite his talk with Ken three days ago, he still would never agree that RENEGADE's way of obtaining peace was right, no matter how justified they seemed to be.
The masked man stared, and Athrun wished he could see his eyes. "There was never peace to begin with," Daisuke said bitterly, surprising the other Coordinator. Perhaps all of those on the ship believed in the same thing Ken had told him earlier.
The door slid open and Athrun's attention was taken by the man who stepped inside. His eyes widened, the breath nearly escaping his lips as he instantly recognised the person before him. "A-Amalfi-san?" Athrun cried out, the surprise very quickly turning into pure anger. "What is this? Why are you doing this? After all that Nicol has fought for –"
"Please leave us, Commander Aiten," Amalfi said, his eyes not even glancing to the masked Coordinator. Daisuke hesitated. "It's an order."
He didn't like being ordered around, especially when Daisuke didn't take orders from Yuri Amalfi for RENEGADE – in fact, it was the other way around. But he had called Amalfi here for a reason, and he supposed that if the Coordinator wanted some time alone with Athrun by himself, then there should be no reason to protest. He turned, leaving the two alone, and as soon as the door slid shut behind him, Amalfi turned back to Athrun.
"You mentioned Nicol," he said shortly.
"He fought and died to protect PLANTs. He didn't know how to fight, he didn't like to kill! But he still fought, and you started the war again!" Athrun shouted, barely able to contain himself from launching at the other man.
"Is that really what you believe..?" Amalfi asked quietly. Athrun glared, but he said nothing. The other Coordinator sighed. "It's true that Nicol fought for PLANTs. But he fought for the Coordinators. He wants us Coordinators to live peacefully and happily. But the Naturals were always getting ready to attack us, Athrun. I couldn't wait for it to happen before I take action."
"You're wrong. We had five years of peace. Lacus tried her best to maintain the peace. So did Cagalli."
"War was about to start."
"You started it," Athrun spat. "Even if they were about to start, why did you attack the civilians? Those battles in Scandinavia, in Orb! The people there try to live peacefully between Naturals and Coordinators. They weren't oblivious. It wasn't as if they didn't care. They just didn't want to fight. If you really want to protect the Coordinators, is this truly the right way to do it?" Athrun cried out angrily. Amalfi clenched his hands tight, his bronze eyes looking down on the handcuffed Coordinator in front of him. "To kill those who have the potential of hurting Coordinators… To act before they act, because it's possible it might happen… Are you sure that's the right way of obtaining peace?"
"Then what do you suggest?" Amalfi shot back, silencing Athrun. "With ZAFT and the Earth Alliance constantly getting ready for war, what do you suggest we do? A person without followers and power is nothing. They cannot achieve anything, just like Lacus Clyne. The soldiers of ZAFT were willing to follow me again quite easily, and therefore, I had the power. Clyne didn't."
"Lacus was trying her best, and she managed to refrain war from happening!"
"She was endangering us!"
"Do you think Nicol would come back if you wipe out all the Naturals?" Athrun bellowed. Shocked, Amalfi stepped back, his eyes wide as he regarded the other Coordinator.
"What are you saying?" Amalfi asked quietly, his eyes hard. "You were the one who destroyed the Strike. You avenged Nicol's death. What justification do you have for that?"
Athrun clenched his teeth together as the memory of the battle with Kira was played across his mind, for the umpteenth time since the first war. It was played in his mind every day, every time he faced Kira. He would feel that jolt in his chest, the undeniable amount of regret for what he had done and for what could have happened. "I destroyed the Strike," Athrun admitted, his voice tired now. "Trying to kill that pilot is the one thing I truly regret the most during that war. Nicol was gone. And I kept on killing – it wouldn't bring him back. To kill because he killed… and then get killed because he killed… Do you think war will honestly end that way?"
"Then what do you propose we do to stop it?"
Athrun shook his head. "I don't know. But fighting is not the way. Right now, the Archangel is trying their hardest to fight without killing and achieve peace again. But it cannot be achieved by killing," he said softly, turning his face away. "Tell me, Amalfi-san… Do you feel liberated when you killed all those Naturals? Or have you finally discovered that with each battle, you're forgetting Nicol less and less?" he asked.
It was painful. The feeling he felt as Athrun spoke those words were truly painful, and he felt his breath escaping his lips, the presence of Nicol's picture in his chest pocket now feeling extremely heavy. So… Athrun believed that he wasn't fighting Nicol's battle, too. But Amalfi couldn't leave the neutral nations alone. It was as the Commander of the Renegade had said when he first approached him those years before, how the constant battle against Naturals and Coordinators ending in stalemates wouldn't improve the conditions at all. Not when there were neutral nations that wouldn't fight for their peace… Peace that deserved to be felt by all…
"Join me, Athrun," he said finally, his voice defeated. Athrun turned his face away. "I'm sure Nicol wanted peace when he fought, just as how you and I want it. Fight with me, and I'll release you," he said.
A small smile crept up Athrun's lips as he shook his head. "Sorry, Amalfi-san. I can't. I'd be betraying the memory of your son if I fight alongside you. I will fight for peace. But not in the way you are doing. Not by wiping out all the Naturals and neutral nations," he said, raising his eyes one last time to the Chairman of ZAFT. "If possible, let me return to the Archangel."
.
"He's a headstrong person, under that quiet mask," Daisuke remarked, his masked eyes trained on the Coordinator in front of him. Yuri Amalfi said nothing, but Daisuke could just see him give a small nod at his statement. They were in Daisuke's study in the Renegade. As soon as Amalfi emerged from the infirmary, carrying the air of a broken man, Daisuke had guessed what had happened and he wasn't at all surprised. Ken ran into the room instantly to secure Athrun back onto the bed, but he had followed the old Chairman to his study and watched as, for two hours, Amalfi lost himself in his thoughts.
"…I'm very disappointed he couldn't see my views. The same views of his late father, Patrick Zala," Amalfi said quietly, sighing deeply. "Peace will never come when we are unwilling to disarm."
"What will you do?" Daisuke asked, his voice firm and emotionless. "You do know that since you failed to offer support for the Mahamul attack, the Atlantic Federation had been very restless. Ryuu Apene –"
His words were broken off as Amalfi laughed harshly. "Ryuu Apene. You see, Commander Aiten, people like Ryuu Apene and the Atlantic Federation is precisely the reason why I cannot back down from this fight. Athrun's intentions and goals are noble, but they are not realistic. Peace is impossible for us. So I will continue fighting for separation between Naturals and Coordinators," he said coolly. And once their forces are wiped out, if they still persist, I must eliminate them… I cannot allow more young soldiers like Nicol to die… He raised his eyes to the masked Commander. "I will order an attack on the lunar base. I heard that base has been resisting, and I will not ask for support from the Earth Alliance. It is only fair," he said, turning to the computer beside him.
With a quick finger, the machine activated itself and Amalfi took out a compact disk from his pocket, inserting it. Piano music filled the room and he inhaled deeply, almost as if indulging in his favourite drug… which, in a way, he was. "My son's," he said shortly to Daisuke, who made no reaction to his words. The screen flickered and the specifications of a mobile suit appeared on the screen. Now that got Daisuke's attention. "I will give this mobile suit to Athrun."
Daisuke arched an eyebrow. "He made it clear he did not want to join either RENEGADE or ZAFT," he said pointedly.
Amalfi nodded slowly. "I know. The boy is fighting for Nicol's memory, and I must help him by directing him onto the right path. He wouldn't be able to fight in his current condition, but I also cannot leave him to be imprisoned on your ship, Commander," Amalfi said, turning back to Daisuke. His next words sent a chill to Daisuke's heart; "It's time the Renegade head to Phaedra's Base."
C.E 79 Heliopolis – Aurora
GENESIS ZERO? GENESIS ZERO?
Yzak felt as if he was about to explode from rage as he viewed the specifications of the killer weapon displayed on his computer screen. The weapon was enormous, built and improved from the previous GENESIS and Neo-GENESIS. Meyrin had finally managed to hack into ZAFT's system, but there was only one catch: the location was unknown. The silly, gigantic gamma ray emissor's location was unknown. Yzak jumped to his feet, slamming his fists onto the table and could barely hear it cracking slightly from the impact. "KUSOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Calm down, Yzak…" Dearka said quietly, though it was plain that the words meant nothing to him, too. Yzak's head snapped up, his ice-cold blue eyes glaring at the blonde Coordinator as he clenched his teeth together. He was barely aware of Shiho and Laniel's presence in Kira's office in the Aurora. Laniel's eyes were hard. For once, the usually-light-hearted Captain was serious.
"We can't let them fire that thing! And the only way to do that is if we know where the damn thing is!" Yzak snapped, exasperated.
Author's Note: A rather short chapter this time, but I had to deliver something to my dearest readers. Life has been hectic since the semester began. I feel as if I'm needed everywhere. Studies, meetings, camps, faculty activities, club festivals, sports to enter, articles to write, scholarships to apply for and settle… Not to mention getting involved in a minor accident two days ago with the motorbike that has now left me bruised and sore (thankfully nothing more serious, as it was raining and the roads were very slippery). Man, it's amazing I could finish writing this chapter at all. Next chapter should be up around 30th September!
After much planning, I discovered that should I follow through and not come up with much more ideas, there will be a total of around twenty-five phases for this story. So with the end of this chapter, we have reached half-way. :D I thank AngelicFox12, LuckyXIII and San_017 for your reviews for the previous chapter, as well as those who favourite-d and read the fic! Drop a review? :D
AngelicFox12: Actually, now that you pointed it out, Athrun does always seem to have quite the bad luck to him in GS/D. Unfortunately, things will just continue and get worse from him from here onwards. XD I kinda feel sorry for him. Many thanks for the review! I think we can all feel the final battle beginning to loom over our heads.
LuckyXIII: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I have to say, that was one big compliment you paid to this story, and I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. :D I've edited the mistake regarding the Neo-GENESIS, thanks so much for pointing it out to me. I hope you'll stick to this fic until the end!
San_017: The extra-curricular activities I join actually take more of my time than my assignments and courseworks do, amazingly. But it's only just the second week, and I'm sure by mid-semester, I'd be neck-deep in papers and frustration. XD But worry not! I aim to complete this fic by November, latest. Hope to see updates coming from your side, too! In any case, I didn't like the fact that Athrun was kidnapped myself. But it's only now that I realise it was actually a necessity to the story.