PAIRINGs:Implied Shinn x Luna, Shinn x Stellar, Athrun x Cagalli, Kira x Lacus, Dearka x Miriallia, Yzak x Shiho
SUMMARY: When he was given a chance to inflict suffering upon his enemies, Shinn took it without hesitation. As the world turns upside down, he soon discovers the consequences of his actions. In order to return everything to 'normal', he must enlist the help of a bitter Princess, an emotionless Captain and a reluctant songstress's spirit.
DISCLAIMER: This is a story based on characters and situations from Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny.
WARNING: Text and all related materials are rated PG13/T There are/might be some grammatical errors and typos, spelling mistakes, even after rereading it many times.
NOTE: This story starts near the end of Battle of Messiah. After that, the story goes AU, and everything up to 'Operation Angel Down' is true. Shinn-centric, and mostly in his POV. Remember, everything's different now. Also, beware of STRONG use of language near the end. You've been warned.
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Chapter 3 Mirror Image
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Shinn opened his eyes blearily, and regretted his decision instantly. A very intense pain was thumping furiously on his forehead and was, needless to say, the cause of his trip to dreamless-land.
"Shinn, are you alright?" Rey peered down at him, his lips twitching slightly.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his bandaged forehead tenderly. "What happened?"
"The princess knocked you unconscious apparently. With only her fists, and with one hit too."
Shinn glared at his friend, bemused, "Are you making fun of me?"
"No, of course, not. I was merely surprised," the blond's expression was still as stoic as ever, but Shinn thought there was a ghost of a smile on the blond's face. "Well, I suppose we'll have to cancel all your meetings for today. The doctor informed me that had the Princess hit harder, she could've fractured your skull."
"With her fists?!" Shinn hissed in disbelief.
"Well, since she probably used her handcuffs..."
Handcuffs? What handcuffs?! Shinn was alarmed. Of course, the only reason that know-it-all Athha would stay here would be that...
...she was a prisoner?
"Well, could you cancel the meetings for me, then? I still need to talk to her," Shinn gave Rey a twisted smile. He was half-glad that he didn't have to go to anymore of those tedious meetings.
"Don't be too hard on her," the Chairman of PLANTs said and left the room. "Also, we had given her some sedatives, just in case."
Too hard on her?! Imprisoned or not, she had no right to hit me like that!! To hell with worrying about her, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!
Carefully, he got out of the bed, trying very hard not to sway. After making sure the hallway was empty, Shinn headed towards Athha's floor as fast as he could. Of course, he wasn't about to show other officers 'Representative Asuka' stumbling like a weakling.
When he opened the door, he carefully jumped backwards as precaution. Seeing no upcoming blows, Shinn walked inside, still on guard.
The room was simple-looking; one table, one bed, a few chairs and a bathroom somewhere. As expected, that even as a prisoner, royalty like Athha still got better treatment than most prisoners.
His curious red eyes ran over some pecuilar looking objects locked at a corner. Shrugging, Shinn turned and saw her.
Cagalli Yula Athha was sitting on a blocky chair, her usually piercing eyes glazed. She was breathing hard, and she seemed unable to move.
Shinn was quite taken aback back her appearance. No matter how much he hated her, she'd always struck him as a fearsome woman. But now, she seemed so fragile and haggard...
There was a handcuff on each of her wrist, but they weren't chained together. Shinn guessed they were probably electromagnetic and would restrict her movements if she were to move too violently.
Her hair was unkempt and uneven, as if someone had cut chunks of it out viciously. She had several healing bruises and some bandaids, but somehow Shinn could tell she had injuries worse than that. He was too surprised for words, and how insignificant his forhead injury seemed...
Her amber eyes caught sight of him and the image of a weak woman was gone instantly.
"You!!" She growled angrily, actually growling like an untamed beast. She struggled ferociously against her invisible chains; a few sparks appeared here and there, signifying the presence of her imprisonment. Shinn was reminded of Stellar when she was imprisoned on Minerva. She gritted her teeth in frustration as her attempts to break free proved to be futile.
"You...how's that bruise on your head coming eh? Did you get a concussion? It's a pity it won't do you more damage to your head, because it's already beyond curing!" She sneered scathingly.
For the first time since this Alternate Universe, Shinn was actually enraged. He lunged for her impulsively. Cagalli, as if this had happened numerous times, was ready and kicked his chest hard once he got into range.
Shinn fell back awkwardly, heavily winded. "Rey told me you were sedated... obviously not enough!"
"Keh, you get used to it after being drugged so many times, you bastard," she spat venomously, glaring at him with such a terrible hatred that Shinn faltered, his anger dissipating.
It was like looking at himself.
Such deep loathing...he had seen it in himself whenever he looked into a mirror. Why was Athha looking at him like that? It was extremely unnerving.
"Why are you here?" He muttered to himself, but Cagalli caught it.
"HA! Why, isn't it all because of you, O-mighty Asuka? Everything's all because of you, Representative!" She laughed mockingly.
"Oh yea, blame everything on me!" However, Shinn already suspected that it really was his doing...
"Why the hell not? You blamed everything on me!" She snarled darkly, "You blamed my father for your family's death. You blamed me for everything that had happened to Orb. Don't you think I blamed myself for it as well? No one blamed me as much as I blamed myself! I truly regretted everything that had happened, Shinn, but regretting definitely doesn't help, does it?"
Cagalli took a deep breath, and smiled contemptuously, "Of course, in your dictionary, there's no such thing as 'regret'. Just because something bad happened to you in the past doesn't mean you're justified to do the same on others!" She snorted in disgust, "To think I once feel sorry for you!! I even wanted to apologize to you before! Well, are you happy now? Everything went your way, didn't it? You've exacted your revenge on me. Look at yourself; are you satisfied, huh? You're pathetic, Shinn Asuka. How unfortunate your family had you as their family member."
"Shut up, Athha!" His anger was starting to boil again, "Don't mention my family! You don't understand anything!"
"No, you 're the one who understood nothing!!" She roared back, struggling even more and causing more sparks. She winced as an electric shock flowed from the handcuffs.
She slumped against the chair, breathing heavily. They glared at each other in silence, unwilling to admit defeat.
"What do you want? Haven't you already done enough?" She asked finally, her voice practically dripping with poison.
"Nevermind," Shinn gritted his teeth, unable to recall why he'd come here in the first place. How dare she insult him using his family?
After awhile, he got bored of her silence. "Oi, Athha, still awake?"
"What?" Her voice was still harsh, but it seemed oddly slurred. The sedative was finally taking effect. Perhaps now's a good time to ask some questions... Shinn decided to put his anger on hold. Answers are more important.
"What did you mean by ' exacting my revenge on you'? From what I can see, other than being imprisoned, you're still alive!" Shinn recalled his dark rage, vowing to eliminate Athha. Not that he still wanted to kill her or anything...
Her hand twitched. "How dare you ask me that," she whispered angrily, "You took away my remaining family and everyone I love..."
Silence.
"Remaining...family?" Shinn stared in disbelief, feeling his veins turned cold.
Perhaps it was sedative, perhaps it was simply to painful to reminisce, Cagalli broke down.
It was the first time he saw her cry, and he was rather scared for some reason. His hatred for had vanished somewhere and he actually felt sorry for her. Tentatively, he walked closer towards her trembling form, trying to make out her words.
"You...you killed Kira...you killed my brother..."
"Y-you have a brother? Was he a civilian or-?" Kira? That was the name Lacus Clyne had said...
She glared at him through her tears and he winced as though he'd been struck physically.
"Freedom's pilot...that was my brother, you asshole... you killed him... you killed him when he was only trying to protect me and Archangel!"
He gulped. "I-I did what I had to do..." he retorted weakly.
"Damn you! You've always wanted to kill him!! I heard you from the open channel...you were laughing...you were laughing at my brother's death!!"
Shinn swallowed hard again.
"He was such a gentle man...so protective and was a real pacifist. He was only fighting becasue he didn't want anymore bloodshed," Cagalli sobbed, "A-and you also killed Lacus, my best friend...when she didn't even do anything wrong! She'd always hated wars, a peaceful, kind person she was. How blind were you people, unable to tell who the real Lacus Clyne was? Of all the supposably elite ZAFT people, why was Lunamaria the only one who knew?"
Shinn blinked. Eh? Luna? Did Luna...defected to Athha's side or something? Rey did say something about her betraying...
"You killed so many civilians, so many innocent people... why, Shinn, why do you do it? If you hate how your family died in Onogoro, why did you do the same thing to other people? Why did you make them suffer?"
"Athha..." Shinn tried to justify himself but couldn't. All her words rang true in his heart.
"And most importantly...", her body shivered as she wiped her face wearily. But the tears won't stop. "You killed Athrun..."
Shinn flinched at the mention of his ex-commander's name. "You killed Athrun and Meyrin!!"
"A-Athrun...h-he trusted you ZAFT...h-he always had this strong sense of justice...he was always so helpful...so kind...he always comforted me, disregarding his own pain...h-he...was such a wonderful man...I-I..."
"Y-you killed him...Athrun...my fiance... h-how could you...I hate you...I hate you..." At that, she seemed too agonized to speak anymore.
He could only stand there helplessly, watching as drops and drops of tears streamed down her cheeks endlessly.
"Give him back...g-give him back! Athrun...," she sobbed in a prayer-like mantra. Now, she was not the Princess of Orb; she was simply a victim of war who had lost her loved ones. A victim of his rampage.
Gradually, Shinn found strength in his body and he bent down before her.
And hugged her as he used to do to Mayu.
"I'm sorry Athha..." He murmured, still in shock. He stroked her hair gently, cringing as he noticed several scars on her wrists. Did she-?
Cagalli was too tired to push him away. For now, she sobbed in his arms, pretending it was Athrun holding her, not his murderer.
"Shinn, are you alright? You look dazed," Rey asked calmly, talking to his friend via video transmission.
"Huh? Yea, just a little tired," he replied half-heartedly.
His mind was still full of the events from yesterday. He couldn't really sleep last night since all he could hear was Athha's cries.
Her brother...Freedom's pilot...and Athrun, her fiance...gods...
After he came back to his room, he had immediately searched for interrogation videos and wasn't surprised to find several of them with Athha's name on it.
Shinn shut his eyes, willing the images to fade. He was completely disgusted at himself. How the heck did he even think of those inhuman torturing methods? No wonder Athha hated him! No wonder Luna hated him! Heck, no wonder he hated himself right now!
He had seen his future self for the first time on those videos. A demon he was, with gleaming red eyes, laughing sadistically as Athha screamed in pain. I have a lot to make up to her...if I can ever make it up, that is...
Rey looked thoughtful. "About the Princess, Shinn...why don't we stop the interrogation, for now? You've been rather... too vicious towards her," he said carefully.
"Sure, of course. That's fine by me," Shinn responded instantly. He was so sick of himself he could barely move at all. "Why were we interrogating her in the first place?"
"We desperatedly need information on two stolen mobile suits," Rey seemed troubled, "The resistence force in Scandinavia is becoming rather restless. If they were to get hold of those mobile suits..." he shook his head, "Only the Princess knew where they were hidden, as she is the only person with close relations to Terminal we've caught. Of course, I've thought about Lunamaria..."
"No, don't interrogate her as well!"
"I don't intend to," Rey was perlexed at Shinn's behaviour, "Usually, you won't miss the chance of ...hurting her, Shinn."
He winced.
"Well, no matter. It's better this way. I'd rather you stay like this, Shinn. You're less snappy and less...demonic these days."
He was torn. Rey seemed genuinely concerned for him, so who was right? Those on Athha's side or Rey's side?
"What's Lacus doing right now?" Shinn asked, finally sitting up from his bed.
Rey chuckled lightly, "Really, Shinn, you don't have to call her Lacus when we're alone. She preferred to be called by her real name in private."
"Huh?"
"Thought so. Remember, her name is Meer Campbell."
Shinn was surprised; so Rey didn't really lie to him...well, now that he was the Representative of Orb.
"She was preparing her speech right now. Which reminds me, you need to be present as well. Meet me in the conference at 13:40. Don't be late."
Shinn stared blankly at the now dark screen. Now that no one was talking to distract his thoughts, his mind immediately went back to the events in Athha's prison again.
"I hate you!"
"I'm sorry, Cagalli."
He opened his eyes lazily. The man sat up and looked around in confusion.
"Where the fuck am I? Just lying in the middle of nowhere?" He snarled viciously at several curious wild animals. They fled instantly at his feral voice.
He searched his pockets in great annoyance, punching the ground in anger when he couldn't find his wallet or identification card.
"What the fuck's going on? That bitch Lunamaria better not have anything to do with it...I know for sure she's behind this! She has to be! She's been wanting to get rid of me for months, that traitorous slut!" His slitting eyes glinted darkly.
"No matter, I'll just have to find my way back. There' nothing I can't do," he smirked arrogantly. "Really, Lunamaria. If you think you or your cronies can bring me down like this, you're gravely mistaken! After all, I've taken down both Freedom and that Zala! I've conquered Orb and destroyed Lacus Clyne and her followers! Huh, even if you aren't the one who did this to me, I'll still make you scream in pain again, no matter what," he licked his lips and chortled madly.
His demonic red eyes searched the forest around him.
The man got up and started his journey back home, determined to inflict pain upon whoever did this to him.
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End of Chapter 3
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A/N: Man, an extremely difficult chapter to write. I almost killed Shinn myself while writing this chapter... More shall be revealed next chapter as we learn more about the resistance force and what really happened during the Battle of Orb.
Oh about what happened near the end? Who knows? You'll just have to read and find out! Another character shall be returning next chapter, guess who?
Have a Happy summer!
Oh, leave a review, if you will :D
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Athyra