PHASE SIXTEEN: Escaping The Prototype
C.E 79 ZAFT Phaedra's Base (Present Day)
He had seen it. Everything. He had seen pretty much all he believed there was to see in this wretched facility, and he had made his decision – humankind was determined to eliminate themselves, just as Rau had known they were.
His deep blue eyes gazed coldly at the scene before him as he walked through the observatory ramp that was installed a good ten metres above the happenings down below. The facility was large, but consisting of no more than two stories. Strong foundations were vital for a base set on the ocean floor, and the second floor was relatively smaller than the first, used for offices and observatory rooms in general rather than actual training and testing areas. Security was tighter outside than they were inside – scientists here worried more in people wanting to get in than specimens that wanted to escape… most likely due to the specimen's inability to actually escape from this hellish place. It was a simple enough facility in Sethe's opinion – a large hangar housed a few mobile suits and even fewer ships, more often used for supplies to get in than to transport anything out. There was a large testing area, the operating room, the training room, the infirmary, and a whole load of other different rooms used for storage, food, inventories and even bedrooms for the scientists, whom Sethe doubted had seen the light of day for months if not years now. They seemed fully and truly engrossed with their work.
He stopped short at the research department, looking down. From where he stood, he could see clearly the happenings below – between him and the room, there was a rather thick glass panel, most likely to keep that room well sterilised, from any external germs that he could be carrying, if even possible – he had to be thoroughly cleansed and changed before he could even exit the hangar to begin with. Sethe could count a total of twelve large, highly compressed metal vessels and he had no doubt that inside, he would find humans… or whatever it was that those humans had turned into by now. The scientists, five in total from where he could see, were monitoring the screens of each vessel closely and Sethe shook his head in disgust before continuing his exploration – he would have loved to actually go down there and check those vessels himself, but he just didn't have the permission to do so. An observation from above was as far as he could get. He could probably force his way inside if he wanted to with no trouble at all, but decided against it.
Walking further, he stopped and looked down at what was supposedly the 'training facility'. There was a child there, writhing and moving at a speed that Sethe would have thought impossible. It was amazing, what this child could do in his pain and suffering. Dead bodies were scattered around the child, bloodied and grotesquely mutilated. The child, a boy, Sethe presumed, shook hard and screamed – through the glass, the sound was a very thin wail that was almost inaudible to his ears.
"Specimen A35," a voice joined him, and Sethe turned, spotting his masked Commander making his way towards him. "Gruesome, if you ask me."
Sethe's eyes narrowed at the man. After the scientists had taken that Zala boy away, the Commander had made a strange remark to him… something about observing the surroundings if he was interested. To Sethe, at the time, it seemed as if Aiten was actually challenging him to look around the facility, and he had. And what he learned had surprised him, though he had somehow expected that Coordinators might have tried to do something like this, even with their extended abilities compared to the Naturals. It was the human wish, wasn't it? – To strive so much further than possible, to be infinitely more powerful and more dominating.
"If you are done observing, we should return to the ship," Daisuke said quietly. Sethe raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Our only reason for coming here was to send that pilot… Now that is done, Yuri Amalfi would like to head back to PLANTs, especially with the ZAFT forces attacking the lunar base as we speak. The Earth Alliance seemed to have accepted that ZAFT is going to fight again, in which case it is high time we attack those bases in Eurasia and end these battles on Earth," he said coolly.
"Very well. I have no more business here," Sethe answered. He wanted to be back on land, where he could contact Ryuu Apene. Blue Cosmos would undoubtedly love to hear about a research facility like this one. "Let's go," he said, turning to lead the way.
Daisuke watched him leave, allowing the Captain to take a few paces in front of him. He turned his eyes back on the training centre, the silver irises impossible to read behind the half-mask. It's all down to Zala now.
C.E 79 Ptolemaius, Moon – Hyper Duel (Present Day)
"Shoot them down! Shoot them down!" Yzak commanded angrily, deploying the ten missiles from his flyer pack. At the same time, Dearka fired his high-powered Hyper Impulse Cannon from the Enigma Buster and instantly, there were the bright flashes of nuclear missiles exploding before they could hit the remaining Nazca-class ships. Yzak's head snapped back slightly from the explosion – he could never get used to those amazingly bright explosions. His heart beating fast, he gritted his teeth and clenched his controls tightly when he realised that thankfully, none of the missiles made a direct hit – furiously, the Duel turned. "What the hell do you think you're DOING? Are you Naturals just that thick-headed or something? Why the hell do you think you need to fire nukes?" he demanded at one lone GAT-X105E Strike E that was facing him, equipped with a Noir Striker Pack, its beam rifle aimed to the Duel.
"What the hell did you protect those ships for? Just whose side are you on? Either we kill them, or we die!"
You ungrateful little..! "KISAMA! Don't go sprouting that nonsense with me!" Yzak cursed, his beam sabers activating themselves in a long blade of bluish white. "If you value your base, go and defend it. Otherwise, I won't be so nice."
Yzak clenched his teeth, angered with both sides by now, enough that he wished he could eliminate them both instead of fighting to stop them from tearing each other apart. The Strike E's appearance had surprised him – he knew that the Earth Alliance had been developing new mobile suits, just as how any other normal army would, but he hadn't expected them to be mass-produced so soon, much more for it to appear on a resisting base. The latest production mobile suits Yzak had heard of were the GAT-S02R N Dagger N, developed in C.E 78, which he had yet to meet in battle, and even those were limited suits (though he suspected that those models would have been mass-produced as well by now). It suddenly made him wonder why the Earth Alliance hadn't used them yet, but then again, they hadn't really been that generous with the latest development of the mass-produced Destroy units that rampaged on Earth.
The Strike E rubbed him the wrong way, for the simple reason that it was a direct development from the old Strike Gundam that Yzak had once detested so much. Its torso was black, thankfully, but it still had some slight resemblances to the old Strike, and the fact that it could change it armaments was really annoyingly familiar. It was equipped with four rocket anchors and two beam rifles, also mounting a Noir Striker pack that provided additional armaments consisting of another rocket anchor, two beam blades and two linked linear guns. Yzak tsch-ed to himself. This mobile suit was so obviously superior to the new Windams the Earth Alliance had released since the start of the war – under different circumstances, he would just be itching to fight it.
He scanned his eyes around him, assessing the situation. The base had been damaged, but in no way was it taken down. Small fights still ensued between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits, but it was being taken further and further away from the moon. The high-energy cannons that had fired from the Nazca-class ships had been surprising, inflicting a huge blow to the lunar base, which had led the Earth Alliance to firing their nuclear missiles. Ten metres from his right, he could see Dearka engaged in battle with two Enigmas, obviously overpowering them.
"You Coordinator scum! Don't look down on me!" The pilot shouted angrily, boosting its thrusters, at the same time switching the rifle he had been pointing for a beam saber.
Yzak smirked. So, he would be able to fight the Strike E after all. This mobile suit may be superior, but Yzak was a close-quarters expert. Easily, he increased the power output of his thrusters and the Duel shot upwards, dodging the attack. Yzak flipped and slammed his foot against the Strike E's back, sending it down. In a blur, the Duel had sliced off an arm and a leg, and he turned just in time to block an attack with his beam saber. Yzak clenched his teeth as he felt himself being pushed back, the force of the two clashing sabers nearly overpowering. With a loud cry, Yzak moved back and released his two beam boomerangs, cutting off the arm of the Strike E, leaving it armless. It released its rocket launchers and Yzak boosted his thrusters, switching the sabers for a rifle and he shot them down, releasing his own set of missiles. Rockets and missiles exploded and Yzak took out his Aegis short beam blade, sending it down to penetrate the headpiece of the Strike E.
It angered him to fight against both sides. It angered him that neither side would listen to reason. The few hours after that were blurs as Yzak lashed out and shot, fire and strike, until the Ptolemaius base was heavily damaged and both sides decided to stop fighting.
C.E 79 Location Unknown (Present Day)
A loud grumble echoed through the corridors of an Earth Alliance Des-Moines battleship, followed by the sound of footsteps moving back and forth. Tierra's hazel eyes moved to and fro as he watched Genei pacing in front of him, his brows furrowed and his fists clenched tight. He raised his eyebrows at his companion, leaning back and crossing his arms as he did so. Liesel was having her last check-up with the Doctor, and the wait was driving Genei mad. Damn it, he wanted to see the Freedom. He wanted another try in fighting that blasted mobile suit, if it was the last thing he did. When they were transported on the Des-Moines battleship, their mobile suits had been transferred as well and Genei had received the report that his Advocate was as good as ever for battle. How he wanted to launch that attack. It has already been scheduled that the Earth Alliance and ZAFT would be fighting again, though he heard that the resistance groups in Eurasia were very weak… it wouldn't be like fighting in Orb, say, but Genei did not care. As long as he could get that Freedom.
The door to the infirmary slid open and Liesel walked out, followed by an unsatisfied-looking Doctor Peer. The Doctor was someone whom Genei both liked and hated at the same time. On one hand, he liked the Doctor because the man was so inherently different from the other humans Genei knew. The Doctor hated humans, and his only love and passion was for the Extendeds, whom he had developed since goodness-knows-when. In regards to the subject of Extendeds, one could say that the whole operation was under the Doctor and not just the Blue Cosmos. He was there from the beginning, until now, and all successful Extendeds had some sort of connection to the Doctor in a way. A master of medicine and drugs, brilliant in his own way. Having said that, however, Genei also disliked the man for his lack of emotion. It wasn't as if Genei had much to talk about himself, but emotion was what made humans so delicious to torture and kill. With the Doctor having none, it was difficult for Genei to know what the man was really like.
"You're nowhere near as perfect as I want you to be, but the good Commander asked for optimum, and that's what I can give," the Doctor said as Liesel walked to stand beside Genei.
"Thank you, Doctor," Liesel said tonelessly as she stared at the doctor. Genei glanced at her. She seemed thoughtful.
"It's about time!" another voice joined them. Tierra turned, resisting the urge to arch his eyebrow as Ryuu Apene walked towards them, the satisfaction in his eyes undeniable. "We have left those in Eurasia for far too long, and it's time for us to continue our journey," he said smugly, perfectly at peace with himself. The world worked on a system, both written and not, but when that system was thrown into chaos, he had the freedom to act as he wished… especially with soldiers that so willingly followed his orders.
Genei's eyes lightened at the mentioning of a battle. Now was his chance to fight against the Freedom.
"Any word from Commander Aiten?" Tierra asked curiously, voicing for the first time.
Ryuu turned to the hazel-eyed Extended. "We have. The Renegade is moving as we speak, and we shall rendezvous with them in three days. But I don't see why we shouldn't attack first. The Earth Alliance is always ready."
With that, the Blue Cosmos leader turned and left the three Extendeds and the good Doctor, his eyes unreadable as his thoughts ran through his head once again. He had been occupied ever since they received word from the Renegade… more specifically, since he received word from Sethe. That man had always been a great asset to Blue Cosmos, but this time, it seemed as if they had hit the jackpot. Extended Coordinators! Ryuu thought the Earth Alliance Extendeds were terrible enough (though necessary, especially when fighting against beings that should never have existed in this world), but to have Extended Coordinators? That was the final straw, the last proof he needed (as if he really needed more) to know for certain that he could never allow Coordinators to continue living. So… enhanced genes weren't enough, were they? They needed to resort to further enhancement, to building live Coordinator weapons now instead?
Ryuu simply could not leave that base behind. Think of all the Naturals who would perish in the hands of those monsters! Think of all that they would lose! And besides, what better way was it for Blue Cosmos to rise to the top, after all? Their support was wavering, but if the Naturals could just see what the Coordinators were doing, they would definitely feel the fear. And they would turn to Blue Cosmos once again to restore peace and order to the world, for a pure, blue world. There was high chance that even those in Eurasia would join his battle once they discovered the truth behind the Coordinators, behind Yuri Amalfi. Extended Coordinators! On Earth! If that wasn't a sign that the Coordinators wanted to wipe out the Naturals, then Ryuu had no idea what was. He prided himself in being one of Blue Cosmos's most distinguished leaders after his mentor, Muruta Azrael, and he would not allow Azrael to feel disappointed. There was a lot at stake here, but the Atlantic Federation was the most powerful of the Earth Alliance, and Ryuu was not frightened. He had resources. He had power. He also had opposition, but he had no doubt that he would turn the tables around this time.
Entering the office that had been specially prepared for him, Ryuu turned to the computer and began to type, the smile now pronounced on his face. He knew what he was going to do, and ZAFT and PLANTs would both pay for what they had done, for attacking the lunar base without consulting the Earth Alliance first. It was high time they end this war. Separation was something Ryuu wanted, but it would be so much better if he could eliminate those damn Coordinators once and for all. Aoki seijou naru sekai no tame ni! For the preservation of a blue and pure world!
C.E 79 Heliopolis – Lagrange Area 3, Eternal (Present Day)
"What's the status of those in Maius's headquarters?" Waltfeld asked as soon as he entered the bridge of the Eternal, moving to the communications station by his right and looking over the monitor as he did so.
"They've had more luck infiltrating the database. We found an old blueprint of the GENESIS ZERO project, but it's highly possible that the design has changed since then – it's more than five years old, older than the old Neo-GENESIS," DaCosta answered, looking over his papers as he did so. They had just made the breakthrough a few hours ago, and he had been far too relieved when Waltfeld had arrived in Heliopolis with the crew members from both Orb and ZAFT. The Orb soldiers had gone through a rough time on Earth, and they were more than happy to be reunited with their families… that is, if their families had survived the battle in Orb in the first place.
"Hmm…" Waltfeld mused, his hand moving to his chin. "Older than the Neo-GENESIS? I knew that Amalfi must've been planning this for a long time now," he commented. "Let me see the blueprints."
A large screen was lowered on the bridge's left side and Waltfeld turned, his eyes on the screen as it flickered to life. Immediately, the designs and rough sketches of the new weapon was shown and Waltfeld arched his eyebrow as he looked at the thing. By itself, the thing was large and ugly, resembling the original GENESIS more than the Neo-GENESIS. Still, Waltfeld was certain that they had hid the weapon in an asteroid or a fortress as they had done before, in which case pinpointing the large weapon in the vastness of space would be simply impossible – they had neither the time nor the resources to be looking for a needle in the middle of a field, and the best chance they had was if they could further break through ZAFT's database.
Waltfeld's brows pulled together. Something did not seem right. "This weapon… it's a little strange if they built it with this blueprint. This could well be the blueprint of the original GENESIS," he pointed out. Sure, the power output had been increased at a dramatic scale, not to mention the amount of damage the weapon could cause, but something did not seem right. It seemed rather strange for ZAFT to use the same type of weapon. Surely, they had something else in plan? Even the Earth Alliance had used mirrors during the last war to reflect the beam to a particular target without needing to move the weapon. What could Yuri Amalfi have possibly planned for this war? Judging by the power output the GENESIS ZERO could emit, Waltfeld could see that major damages would be inflicted on Earth. It was possible for the weapon to even destroy Heliopolis in a single shot if placed at the right distance. It was a worrying situation, but not one that Waltfeld was not familiar with – these soldiers liked to play with big weapons.
"Send the information to the Archangel. I'm sure they would like to know about this," Waltfeld said gravely, moving to sit at his seat in the bridge.
"Commander, the Aurora is currently on their way back. They were pursued earlier, but it's possible that the ZAFT forces have given up chase," a crew member reported.
A small smile twitched at Waltfeld's face. "Well, I'm sure that General Joule could handle things. He'd probably not appreciate the Eternal if we interfere," he said easily. "Get the status of those in Factory and have a shuttle prepared. DaCosta, it's time we learn about this GENESIS ZERO," he commanded, clenching his fist as he did so.
C.E 79 Location Unknown – Hyper Duel (Present Day)
"Battery fully charged. Deuterion beam disengaging!"
Yzak smirked, his Duel immediately taking a sharp turn as soon as the power charge had been completed. The pursuing ZAFT ships were annoying, and the Aurora had taken the rear, allowing the ships from Heliopolis to travel ahead. Flashes of beams coloured the blackness of space and Yzak immediately took out his beam rifles, boosting his thrusters as he did so. The blue and grey mobile suit darted forward in a quick flash and he found his two blades clashing against two pursuing Enigmas instantly. Enigmas were ZAFT's pride, but Yzak was far from caring – it was high time the ships gave up chase. He gritted his teeth, fighting for balance as he prevented himself from being thrown back by the two mobile suits. With a cry of anger, the Hyper Duel moved forward, pushing the two Enigmas back, and Yzak flipped, his foot slamming against the cockpit of one of them while his other tore the Enigmas's arm away with his beam saber.
Alarms blared and Yzak's head snapped up as three mobile suits locked onto him, a Nazca-class battleship coming far too close for comfort. He was too far in.
"Yzak!" Dearka's voice made him glance to his right and Yzak gasped, his hand just managing to control the Duel, pushing it forward in time to escape the high powered cannon blast that came from Dearka's unit. Three mobile suits disintegrated beside him, and a large hole was seen in the Nazca-class battleship, which began to explode.
"KISAMA! What do you think you're doing?" Yzak snapped angrily, using the moment to disable the two Enigmas he had been fighting earlier. That was far too close. He could have been fried!
The white and brown Enigma raced past him, beam saber out, and began to tear down the CIWS of the battleship. "I'm saving your butt," Dearka answered easily, the Enigma relaxing as it reversed away from the battleship. "I think that's the last of them," he reported, turning to gaze around him.
The Aurora was leaving safely, though the ship had clearly suffered some grave damages in the battle on the lunar base.
C.E 79 ZAFT Phaedra's Base (Present Day)
Pain… Deep pain. Somewhere deep in his veins, something flowed, leaving behind electric and an excruciating sensation that nearly blinded his senses. Athrun forced his eyes open, his head spinning, but his vision far clearer than it had ever been in the past. The sensation was overwhelming. He shut his eyes again, his nails digging deep into the palms of his hands. What was going on?
He remembered vaguely fighting through tranquilisers, trapped in darkness but with the ability to hear. He had not been able to understand through the cloud in his mind, but several times, he had forced his eyes open and he could remember snatches of what had happened to him. There was a room, one that was filled with oval chambers, and he had been transported to a bed before he was injected with different liquids. He remembered forcing his eyes open, turning to the chambers, seeing something so utterly human-like in those cells, but wanting to believe that those things couldn't possibly be human. He remembered being tested on, being scanned, he remembered reports read and his body touched.
He was a specimen.
"Well done, Athrun. You seem to be fighting against it better than most first-stagers," a voice, a female voice, greeted from beside him. "The dosage is still no more than the first stage, but I think Amalfi is not wrong when he recommended you," she said, her voice wistful.
Amalfi? Athrun opened his eyes again, the same disorienting sensation coming over him again. His mind seemed unable to make sense of anything, but he could see. He could see so much. He turned his head, focusing on the woman who had addressed him. She wore a white coat, a typical laboratory coat, and was holding a clipboard in her hands. She gazed at him curiously, her head tilted to the side. "Most would be screaming by now," she noted interestedly, taking a note down on the clipboard.
If he could speak, he would have retorted. But his muscles were locked, and the pain was too high. Athrun wondered why he wasn't screaming already. Rita walked over to a machine that beeped beside him and typed into the keyboard. Instantly, the pain subsided, but only slightly, leaving behind a lingering sensation of what was once truly excruciating. Athrun gasped, then pushed himself into sitting position. He was still getting used to his senses, which seemed to have magnified tenfold. He felt… better. Better than he had ever felt before. "Who are you?" he forced.
"Doctor Rita Ash, head of the Phaedra facility. You've sustained quite a historical amount of injuries in the past," she noted, turning her deep blue eyes on him. "PLANTs have quite the sophisticated medical system, but they are still unable to fully heal wounds to perfection. We had a rough time working through those first," she said, facing him again. "I'm going against orders here, but I need to try, if possible. I don't think a pilot like you need further enhancement."
The word startled him. "Enhancement?"
"The Phaedra base specialises in enhancement… Enhancement of Coordinators. Most of us down here, if not all of us, are very loyal followers of your father, Athrun. We believe in the superiority of the Coordinators… We believe that we can strive so much more than what the Naturals limit us to do," she said quietly.
His fists clenched instantly, a prompt reaction upon the mentioning of his father. Patrick Zala. How Athrun hated the way his father had left behind such a legacy that the Coordinators followed, and he thought he might have seen the end of it during the last war. Clearly, that wasn't the case. "Coordinators are not superior," Athrun said coldly, the image of Cagalli coming to his mind. Cagalli, that girl who, without her, Athrun never knew what would have happened to him.
Rita sighed. "Athrun… A large number of us here respect you for who you are. And we see no reason why you need enhancement. Why won't you see the way of your father? You could continue his legacy and lead his followers towards a better path for Coordinators," she said softly.
"There are other ways for Coordinators to be better," Athrun said angrily, clenching and unclenching his fists. Rita's eyes moved towards them, taking note on how Athrun was beginning to adapt with the changes. He was going to lead the Coordinators to a better path, but this wasn't it. His father's ways were so far and beyond what Athrun himself wanted to do, and he hated it.
"Patrick Zala's way was the right one!"
"His way was cowardly!" Athrun shouted, tensing himself. "If you truly want a way for Coordinators to live peacefully, then find a way to stop the fighting!"
"There is no other way!"
He launched himself at her, driving a firm hand to stomach, feeling her going limp in his arms. Alarms blared instantly, a sign that someone had been watching them all along. Athrun wasn't surprised. He needed to return, he needed to get away from this place. The chambers, the conversations, the hopes of what Yuri Amalfi had had for him... he understood now. But there was no time to ponder over it. Yanking the cables and tubes connected to him, Athrun had made his decision. Suicidal or not.
In a flash, Athrun sprinted towards the door of the lab and took a sharp turn, neither caring nor knowing which direction he should be taking. His mind worked furiously as he assessed the place and his situation. He had ran for fifteen seconds before the seven armed guards appeared, batons and guns in hand. One of them open fired and Athrun immediately dropped, his foot lashing out in a painful kick to the guard's stomach before ramming up an open fist to the face of another. A baton missed the side of his head by millimetres and Athrun kicked out, his foot coming in contact with the guard's armpit. One ran towards him, a knife in hand – they had received strict orders not to kill if at all costs possible, but knife wounds were easier to restore than bullet wounds. Athrun stood, and with a swift move, he turned on his heel just before the knife made contact, catching the guard's hand with both of his. The forward momentum was easy to work with and Athrun twisted the arm behind the guard, the knife dropping, but just before he could shove the guard away towards the other two, something hard and fast hit him on the back of his head and he dropped, his vision blurring for a split second. The distraction was enough – a guard fired, and Athrun felt the all-too-familiar searing pain as a bullet drove itself into the flesh of his shoulder.
It was a battle lost, and Athrun felt the bitterness as a guard roughly took him by the collar, forcing him onto his feet. He turned, his eyes spotting a small child with brown hair and the fieriest red eyes that he had ever seen – it was this child who had caught him off guard earlier, acting far too quickly for Athrun's reflexes to catch.
"Please don't try that again," Rita's voice came from behind, and Athrun turned, glaring daggers at the doctor. She was holding her head, and moved to the child, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Specimen A35. Well done, Miho," she complimented him. "Please take him back to the lab."
The guards did so gladly, but not as nicely as Rita would like them to be. She could not complain, of course. Athrun was a vicious fighter, and she had only given him the first dose of the first stage – perhaps not even complete! Then again, Athrun was a trained elite soldier of ZAFT. She could probably get away with administering the drug for the third stage right away, with his durability.
The third-stage drug would turn Athrun into what Miho was now – a living, breathing weapon, but no longer with any memories or recollections of self. It was a sorry existence. Rita definitely would not like to see Athrun having the same eyes as Miho, but what else could she do? He did not want to uphold his father's fight, and he did not want to stay put as he should. Amalfi wanted to give him a mobile suit… a mobile suit that would forever change the history of the Coordinators. It was the only path left for her to take.
In the meantime, while they were moving, Athrun painfully gripping his shoulder, his mind had worked furiously for a plan to escape. He had worked out the few things he needed to know, and he'd be damned if he was to allow them to transform him into something inhuman without a fight. He knew that this was his chance. The guards had an iron grip on him, but they had only cuffed his hands in front of him and he was grateful for that. The many years the guards have had of overpowering pained, enhanced Coordinators had made them smug, and that was to be their last mistake. Athrun couldn't allow this operation to continue – one glance at Miho and he knew what had happened to the young boy, whom Athrun perceived was perhaps no more than fifteen years old… the same age as Nicol when he died.
He had heard the tell-tale sounds of mobile suits moving earlier. Athrun doubted that this facility created mobile suits for battle, and he doubted that it was a military base… but mobile suits had many uses, and one of them was to carry around heavy crates full of essentials needed for facilities like these. He supposed that that would be the case – the mobile suits wouldn't be armed, but Athrun knew he didn't need many weapons for the suit to escape. He had seen someone move earlier, half-dressed in an atmospheric pressure suit, and he knew that he was underwater. The heaviness was obvious, secure as the facility was even. Now all he needed to do was to escape.
The child unnerved him. Athrun hated the idea of fighting against such a child, but he also knew that it was likely that the boy was his enemy here – his most powerful enemy, most likely, judging by how the guards had stepped down as soon as he put the blow to Athrun earlier. Was it possible? It was too possible, too easy, to escape from this place. He was going against a whole facility, weaponless, cuffed, but there was a mobile suit he could pilot and all he needed was to get out of here. Guards littered the place, but Athrun doubted that he had any other chance. Either take the opportunity now, or risk being chained down, never again having the opportunity to escape. Athrun had had enough of being held down – he could have escaped from the Renegade if not for being held down, and so he made his decision.
He would win against this Miho, no matter what enhancements the boy had gone through. After all, there was one vital thing that Rita and Amalfi had missed when they had made these Extended Coordinators – unlike Miho, Athrun had a reason to keep on fighting. The drive, the reason to keep on living and fighting, was what made a soldier most lethal. The image of Cagalli came into mind and Athrun clenched his hands tighter, his teeth clenched tight. When all this is over… I'll marry her.
The only one who saw it coming was Miho as Athrun suddenly threw his body back against the guards, spinning easily on his heel which he slammed against a guard's face. Blood spurted from the nose and someone open fired, though they had no chance of hitting the blue-haired Coordinator. Athrun was quick as he dodged the bullet, taking the guards down with his uninjured arm and his feet as he fought. A swift kick was all it took to acquire a gun and Athrun open fired instantly, taking the remaining guards down. Rita had disappeared, taken away to safety by a different guard, and Miho had strangely disappeared. Alarms blared deafeningly around him and he turned around, trying to locate the small boy. He wasn't there, but something screamed danger at him and Athrun knew that he was in trouble. Breathing deeply, the blue-haired Coordinator looked around, assessing the situation – he had the choice of two corridors – the one on the left would undoubtedly take him back to his room. He could hear more guards hurrying from behind and he made the prompt decision – he took the right corridor.
A sudden bang, followed by an extremely heavy sensation of something impacting against the facility threw him off-balance as he felt the ground shake beneath him. An external attack! Moving as quickly as he could, Athrun found himself in a large computer laboratory and he immediately dropped down as he spotted a few men shouting at each other, pointing their fingers, most likely alerted and worry with his escape. Athrun edged forward, moving through the computers and paused momentarily when something caught his eye. The monitor had his details displayed, but what surprised him even more was the mobile suit specifications that was displayed beside his image. A small intake of breath escaped his lips as he read through the details – ZGMF-X99X Terminate.
"We're being attacked! Prepare the system shutdown!" someone shouted. Athrun raised his head slightly – the three men earlier exchanged glances and immediately ran out of the room, heading towards the main headquarters of the facility.
Quickly, Athrun twisted his hands from inside the cuffs, gritting his teeth as the sharp metal cut into his wrists, and he began to type into the computer. He read through the details quickly, but what he really needed, at least right now, was the layout of the facility as well as a good idea on where he was.
"Stop."
The voice was soft, and it was the first time Athrun heard it. He turned, immediately spotting Miho standing six feet away from him. The boy had a mace in one hand and a kusarigama in another, which he had retrieved when Athrun was making his escape with the guards. It was rare for Miho to be able to obtain a weapon away from the training facility, but with the guards hurrying and an external attack happening outside, nobody paid him any mind. Only one guard did, and Miho had dealt with that man appropriately. He had no real experience with the kusarigama, which had been deemed as too dangerous for him to equip in his current condition, but he liked the feel of the weapon and couldn't help but bring it along – he was more familiar with a mace or a club, but this was his chance to test his skills. The kusarigama's blade flashed dangerously, attached to the chain that he was now holding to spin it around.
The facility shook again, and Athrun tensed. Someone was attacking the facility… But who? And why? In any case, he needed to get out quick before the facility was taken down. His eyes narrowed at the boy in front of him who was watching him curiously. The advantage of fighting against an enemy with a melee weapon was that Athrun could obtain the weapon and use it to his advantage… but handcuffed, it would be a harder trick. His eyes flashed at the chain that Miho was using to spin the kusarigama around. The boy was waiting for him to make the first move. Athrun did what he could – he immediately moved to his right, taking cover behind a computer just before it exploded above him, showering him with plastic, glass and metal. Sprinting forwards, Athrun dodged another throw of the weapon and it latched itself into the table beside him. His eyes flickered from the sharp blade to the handcuffs in front of him. Acting on pure impulse, he hooked the handcuffs to the blade, twisting so it would catch. Miho tugged, and the edge of the blade sliced cleanly through the skin of Athrun's arm, but it did what he wanted it to do as it unhooked itself from the table – it caught in the links of the handcuff. Athrun tugged hard and the blade cut into the metal, at the same time using the momentum to throw Miho off-balance. The boy released the chain, equipping the mace instead which he brought down. Athrun dodged, a hair width away from having his skull split open, but the force snapped the links and he rolled away, his hands finding the chain of the kusarigama which he pulled to have the weapon in his hands. Now he was armed.
Sweat poured down his face as he faced the child who did not even seem alarmed that his hands were no longer chained together. Instead, the boy's eyes were dreamy and faraway. The lights above them flickered – a few switched off as the facility continued to shake. Athrun faced the boy, and as Miho raced forwards, Athrun dropped down, lashing out with the chain instead of the blade, which twisted itself around the boy's ankle. He yanked hard, biting down as his shoulder protested painfully, and Miho, caught unbalanced, lashed out with the mace. Athrun dodged, but the backward motion had been too sudden and he stumbled slightly. His arm moved forward with the momentum, the blade of the kusarigama knocking a few computers down, crashing into the boy. Athrun backed away, pulling the blade with him.
There was probably no reason for Athrun to continue fighting the boy – if the boy did not escape, the facility, if taken down, would kill him. Judging by the situation, Athrun had high doubts that the facility could continue to hold on. He had heard the shouts, had heard the various corridors being sealed off from water that had escaped inside. He made his decision quickly, taking no more than a few seconds to do so – he turned and fled, and the boy did not give chase.
His observations earlier had been accurate. Athrun found the changing room quickly and he drove his fist into the stomach of the man standing there, far too quickly for the man to react. He was alone. He strapped himself into an atmospheric suit, which was far thicker than the standard pilot suit he usually wore and looked over the man that he had attacked earlier. The man had been about to put on his helmet, which contained the number 36 printed with a large, black print – out of instinct, Athrun reached for it and put it on. He discarded the kusarigama and raced through the corridors, locating the hangar easily – the facility was not large and only served the purpose in which it had been built for, which was to develop Extended Coordinators. The idea of an attack was nearly unthinkable, especially deep in the ocean. Someone had discovered their existence.
The hangar was chaotic, with mobile suits launching and engineers running around with damage reports. Athrun heard several reports about escape pods being launched and also the mentioning of the Earth Alliance, which surprised him. Had they been found out by the Earth Alliance? How? In any case, he needed to move.
"Roger! Hurry it up, the Earth Alliance will destroy us this time! Damn it, we're not even under the military! They have the nerve to do this!" someone shouted, shoving him forwards. Athrun gasped in surprise, the tinted surface of the helmet keeping his identity hidden. He was pulled to a mobile armour nearby, nowhere near equipped for battle even against Earth Alliance mobile suits – it was plainly a transport mobile armour, but it was all he had. Athrun climbed inside painfully, his shoulder protesting and strapped himself inside.
"Wait! Wait! That guy isn't Roger!" a guard ran towards them, but it was far too late. Tired, angry, Athrun moved the mobile armour, his left hand moving quickly across the keyboard as he assessed the unit's capabilities. Very low. But enough.
He was perhaps just in time. Outside, something launched its missiles which finally went through to the facility, breaking through the walls. Water streamed inside instantly and Athrun watched as the engineers and guards were swept away. He powered the mobile armour which was only equipped with a pair of extending claws and a laser beam cannon. Firing, the wall broke through and Athrun pushed the speed of the mobile armour, exiting the facility and staying well near the ground as he tried to make his escape. His radar detected only a few Earth Alliance mobile suits, and even fewer ZAFT suits. There was no submarine that he could detect, but the external cameras of his mobile armour could easily make the remains of what was once a small carrier of the Earth Alliance, no doubt successfully taken down by the ZAFT units. He did not know what had taken place, nor did he know what else to expect… all Athrun knew was that he was escaping, and he hoped that nobody would give chase.
The base was destroyed. So was the Earth Alliance carrier. But some had survived from both sides, and from the facility, the survivors included Specimen A35 Miho and Rita Ash.
C.E 79 Eurasian Federation – Ultimate Freedom & Destiny Gaia (Present Day)
"FREEDOM!"
Kira's head snapped up in surprise and he immediately swerved as the Advocate lashed down with its beam saber. Clenching his teeth, Kira boosted his thrusters, leading the Advocate away from the battlefield. "Cagalli, I'll leave them to you!" he called, switching his railgun for his beam sabers.
"Kira!"
The Freedom turned sharply, facing the dark green Advocate. Instantly, another mobile suit joined in – this one the familiar dark red Apocalypse. Shinn's Destiny Gaia moved to the Freedom so they were back-to-back facing their enemies – the Zantetsuken and Imperial joining the battle. There was only one mobile suit missing from the Renegade's ship, which was the Premium which may still be under repair. In a way, Kira was rather glad that the mobile suit wasn't in battle. He wondered how Shinn would fight with that mobile suit as an enemy.
"Let's get them, Commander!"
Shinn's voice immediately began the attack and Kira boosted his thrusters, his beam sabers out which instantly clashed against the Advocate. Gritting his teeth, Kira fired the cannons mounted on his shoulders and the Advocate moved back, dodging and releasing its missiles which Kira shot down with his DRAGOONs, locking and firing instantly. Alarms blared and Kira swerved just in time to avoid the claws of the Apocalypse. An image of a violet-coloured jewel exploded from the back of his mind and Kira turned, the heel of the Ultimate Freedom slamming against the Advocate while at the same time, the beam sabers were brought down, cutting off the right claw of the Apocalypse. Kira boosted his thrusters, locking all the armaments against the two and he fired, his eyes furious, the image of the Infinite Justice exploding in his mind. The right beam saber of the Advocate exploded, as well as the right missile pack, while the Apocalypse took more damage on its remaining claw.
Turning, the Ultimate Freedom shot forwards and Kira equipped his railguns, shooting at the Zantetsuken and the Imperial. They moved, and alarms blared as the Apocalypse closed in with its Voiture Lumiere propulsion system activated. Kira gritted his teeth, his sensors going haywire as it neared. The Advocate released its missiles and Kira flipped back, the DRAGOONs locking on the missiles which he then fired. The sound of the explosion was deafening, and as he flipped, the Destiny, transformed into its mobile armour form, raced forwards, firing with its cannon which hit the Apocalypse straight at the shoulder. The plan was perfectly executed, the Freedom acting as the shield that hid him from view.
Shinn smirked. "Where's your friend?" he asked, the Destiny transforming itself into its mobile suit form again. He equipped his rifles, shooting at the approaching ZAFT and Earth Alliance mobile suits that threatened to interfere with the battle. The Premium had not joined them in battle, and Shinn wondered why. He had been ready to face that pilot, to demand the truth and to fight against her if he needed to. Stellar was gone, and he wasn't going to delude himself any further. His red eyes moved to the Archangel momentarily, spotting Lunamaria's unit that was battling against the mobile suits that was attacking the red and white ship. He had made his decision.
C.E 79 - Supreme Council Building, PLANTs (Present Day)
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BASE WAS TAKEN DOWN?" Amalfi shouted furiously, his clenched fists slamming down on the desk as he glared at Rita, displayed on the monitor in front of him. The woman had clearly been injured, but he cared not about that - the base. The base had been taken down! His facility, his work that he had invested for too many years with Patrick Zala, destroyed! He had only been there a few days ago - how could it possibly have been taken down like that?
"I thought you could tell me," Rita snapped angrily, her patience running thin. "The Earth Alliance came more or less right after you left!"
It was completely uncalled for, and Amalfi found that he had lost his trump card against the war. "What about Athrun?"
"Either he died, or he escaped," Rita said, her blue eyes burning. "You know, Zala began to attack the guards right before the Earth Alliance came with their mobile suits. Would you care to explain that?"
Athrun Zala teamed with the Earth Alliance? Amalfi quickly shook the thought from his mind. Utterly impossible! Athrun wasn't like that. Amalfi had no doubt whatsoever that Athrun hadn't been involved. Perhaps the Coordinator took advantage of the situation... but Rita had specifically said that Athrun began his escape before the Earth Alliance attacked... was it possible? No, it couldn't be.
Clenching his fists together, Amalfi stared at the woman in front of him. "What about Miho?"
"He's with me right now... though not in the best of conditions. He fought with Zala."
"And..?" Amalfi prompted. "I would have expected him capable of handling Athrun," he said coldly.
Rita narrowed her eyes. The man in front of her was beginning to really test her patience. "With all due respect, Miho is still a prototype, far from the perfect FIGHTER. Without the correct briefing, he was unable to face the situation as he should," she said quietly. That was what you get with weapons with no identity or self. Miho was nothing much more than a weapon that needed input in order to attack. It wasn't the FIGHTER's fault that he could not respond to the situation correctly. Miho was highly experimental. They were far from able in creating the perfect FIGHTER, though Rita believed that Athrun might have been a perfect FIGHTER if only they had been able to work with him long enough. That was the problem with prototypes - usually, they fail.
He had his decision. It was the only one left, after all. The Earth Alliance had been getting ready in annihilating the Coordinators with their new weapon, and he must retaliate in the same way. He had no doubt that within hours, news and the truth of the FIGHTERs would be broadcasted everywhere. He must fight, he must wipe out the remaining Naturals. The war had escalated, and there was no way the Naturals would stand down once they found out the truth behind his actions. It was simply too late to turn back now.
"Prepare Miho for the Terminate. I want an attack on the Suez base as well."
"What? But we -"
"It's over," Amalfi said quietly.
C.E 79 Eurasian Federation – Renegade (Present Day)
"We have orders to retreat, and we will - you probably can have a maximum of just ten minutes out there," Daisuke frowned as he stared at the blonde-haired Extended in front of him. The Premium's damages were terrible, and it was only a few minutes ago that Liesel had been given the green light that allowed her to launch. But Daisuke had received warning from Sethe, and he knew that Liesel still wasn't fully prepared for battle. But ten minutes... he could allow that.
"Ten minutes will do. I need to speak to the pilot of the Destiny," Liesel said, her pink-ish violet eyes unwavering.
Daisuke pursed his lips. That made sense. If Liesel could somehow talk the Destiny out from fighting, then the Archangel would be weakened immensely. The Apocalypse had already docked a few minutes ago after receiving a very heavy blow from the Freedom. He sighed. "Ten minutes, and then retreat. Remember that you are not fully prepared for battle yet," Daisuke allowed. Ten minutes was long enough for her to do what she needed to do. Besides, she had already made her decision, strapped in her pilot suit and all.
"The Archangel has locked onto us!"
"Evade! Thirty degrees port! Isolde, fire!" Sethe commanded, his blue eyes icy as he commanded the ship. "Cut them off. Prepare the Parcifal!" Liesel turned and ran out of the bridge.
Daisuke gripped the handles of his seat as the Renegade moved unsteadily, the Archangel's Valiants grazing the side of the ship. They had received the order from PLANTs to prepare an attack on the Eurasian Suez base, and he knew that the Phaedra facility had been destroyed. Daisuke had yet to learn the full story, and he would command the ship to retreat soon enough. Suez had been one of the main bases to send out mobile suits to assist the resistance fighters in Eurasia, but he couldn't help but shake off the feeling that the attack was more than that. As RENEGADE, it was their duty to support whatever actions could lead to the separation of both Naturals and Coordinators, but this... He would need to consult Amalfi further to learn of the truth. He wondered if Athrun Zala had survived.
.
"We're equipping the Premium with the Haste RENEGADE Pack. You have strict orders to return quickly to the ship once the mission is done," Schellen informed.
"Roger," Liesel answered. As the mobile suit was transported to the catapult system, Liesel adjusted the controls to better suit the Haste pack and activated the Phase Shift armour of the mobile suit. "Liesel Asien. Premium. Launching!"
Liesel activated the Voiture Lumiere propulsion system as soon as she was catapulted out of the Minerva-class ship, boosting her thrusters and immediately locating the black and gold Destiny. It was fighting against the Zantetsuken and Liesel immediately took out her beam sabers, coming right in between the two mobile suits and catching the Destiny off-guard. In its haste, the Destiny had turned, and Liesel had managed to cut off the side of his wing. "Move back, Tierra! This one is mine!" she hissed.
"About time. Take him down," Tierra said, his voice cool as he turned and moved the Zantetsuken to the Freedom, already engaged with the Advocate and the Imperial.
Liesel turned her eyes back to the Destiny. "Destiny pilot. Shinn Asuka. Can you hear me?" she asked.
There was a brief silence, and the Destiny took out its beam rifle, bringing it up to aim at her. "What do you want?"
"My name is Liesel Asien. Third-stage Extended, developed from Stellar Louisser. Shinn Asuka... Why are you fighting with the Archangel?"
"What?" the pilot snapped incredulously.
She had read the reports about him. She knew about his actions, about what he had fought for and why. She knew what had taken place in Onogoro, the most likely explanation for what had happened. She knew what he had done for Stellar Louisser... "You're being used by the Archangel," Liesel said slowly, noticing that the Destiny was still pointing its weapon at her. "I have doubts that you know the truth about that ship."
"What are you talking about?" the pilot spat angrily. But Shinn could not bring himself to fire. Not yet...
"Don't you know the real identity of the man who promised that Stellar would no longer fight?" Liesel asked, holding her breath. The Destiny's arm moved slightly, almost as if it was now having second thoughts in shooting. With her next words, the rifle was lowered; "Don't you know what really happened in Onogoro and who might be the one who killed your family?"
Author's Notes: I'm actually feel rather sad that Athrun escaped before he could turn into a full Extended Coordinator/FIGHTER. It would definitely have been interesting to see him fighting Kira, but then again, it would have taken the point of this fic out, which you'll come to understand in later chapters. Maybe I should create an AU fic after this where Athrun becomes the bad guy. XD Anyway, the words of you readers and reviewers really motivated me to keep on working and writing this fic until the very end. You're so awesome! Honestly, I don't know what I would do without you all readers and reviewers. The encouragement and criticisms given are really appreciated, without which I'd probably have stopped writing by now, so I thank you all for staying with me still. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter predicted to be uploaded by 14th October.
The greatest thanks goes to IgNighted, PrincessOfDestiny14, AngelicFox12, WraithFive, AWESOME, Atlantislux, Maderfole, San 017 and Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius for the reviews dropped for the last chapter. And I also thank those who read and reviewed my latest oneshot, Piloting the Justice – to those who haven't read it yet, if you liked my interpretation of Athrun in this story, I recommend you reading it as there are also some AsuCaga moments in it. In any case, thank you for reading and reviewing, and many thanks to those who favourite-d and alert-ed. Please drop a review behind and let me know how you liked this chapter? Stay tuned!
AWESOME: Heheh. I agree. Kira is boss, though he has yet to show his full power, which you'll all definitely see in the next few battles. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
San 017: Thanks for the review! I'd always love to hear your thoughts regardless, San 017. :) I wish I could have created an OC for Waltfeld, but I've always seen him as a one woman guy who could never find it in his heart to replace Aisha. In any case, thanks so much for the words of encouragement! I really appreciate it.