Heavenly
Chapter 4: Retrieve
Vino and Yolant gave Shinn a welcome back hug but Shinn doesn't seem to respond. They knew that something's wrong with him but still Vino decided to ask him.
"Shinn, what happened?" he asked in a concerned tone. Shinn just ignored him and went to the changing room. While he was there he could hear Meyrin.
"Where's my onee-chan?" she asked, tears starting to pour out of her eyes. She was on the bridge so she knew exactly what happened but she doesn't want to believe it so she went there, hoping her big sister will return. All of them looked at her sympathetically. She was always the cheerful type but right now all the cheerfulness she had disappeared and turned to loneliness.
Athrun went to her and nodded his head negatively. This brought more tears to the young girl as she covered her face. Then Athrun escorted her out of the hangar. The ship was filled with grief for the girl that always brought smiles to everyone, the girl who always said that everything will be alright, the girl who fought hard to save everyone she loves.
~~~*~~~
Shinn lied down on his bed, his body aching because of the bruises he got when Destroy fired at them earlier. He just stared at the ceiling, thinking about Luna. He was supposed to confess the feelings he had been keeping all along to her today. Today, he was supposed to say to her 'I love you'. But she didn't even hear those words before she left. Then hot tears escaped from his ruby eyes. He was the only one who could've saved her, the only one who could've pulled her out of harm's way. But no, he failed her. Even after he made her a promise that he will protect her, he still failed to fulfill his promise. Soon the soft sobs turned into loud ones as he continuously banged his fist on the wall, blood gashing out of his open wound.
"LUNA, I'M SORRY!!!" he cried loudly, speaking to no one in particular.
She was always there for him, whether he needed it or not. But he wasn't able to save her when she needed him most. He didn't even have the privilege to say goodbye to her. Like his family and Stellar, she too was taken away. Why does everyone he cherished have to be taken away from him? Does God hate him? He closed his eyes and an image of Lunamaria appeared on his mind.
"Shinn… why are you crying?"
"Because I lost you, you're gone forever. I won't be able to see your loving smile again"
"Silly, I'm not gone yet. I'm still living…"
"Really? Where are you then?"
"I'm alive but I don't know where I am right now"
"Then you must be laughing when I was crying for you"
"Yeah. I didn't know that I mattered that much to you"
"Of course you do"
"Shinn, I know someday we will meet again. Then you can say those three magical words that I've been dreaming to hear from you"
"Really? Okay then, but please come back soon. It's so lonely here without you. You're the only one who makes me happy"
"And you're the only one who makes me happy too. Don't worry, Shinn, I'll always be beside you"
"I know. I'll try my hardest to find you, then we can be happy together again"
"Yes, but right now please get some rest. We'll be able to see each other again soon"
"Yes… Good night, Luna… I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Good night, Shinn. I know that that day will happen soon…"
And with that the young pilot drifted off to a long, peaceful sleep believing that he and Lunamaria will see each other soon.
~~~*~~~
"Shinn…" she murmured softly as she slowly opened her eyes with difficulty. She couldn't make out what's around her because of her blurred vision. Then pain finally welcomed her presence. Thankfully, her injuries are not serious. Then she tried hard to recall what had happened that resulted to her being there. There was a sudden ambush by the EAF. They tried their hardest to eliminate all the enemies but there were just too many. Then she was surrounded and…
"Good, you're awake now. The captain will be very pleased" said a middle-aged man, Luna supposed that he is the doctor from his outfit.
"Why?" she muttered weakly but the older man managed to hear it
"Don't ask me, girlie. The orders came from the captain of this ship, I'm just doing what I was told to. But it seems really strange, prisoners are supposed to stay locked up in a cell" he replied as he looked at his patient who seems to get the point
"Just be thankful that your injuries are not serious. The captain said that he'll have a talk with you once you're in good shape" said the doctor then left, probably to report her awakening to the captain. Shortly after he left, a nurse came in.
"Good night, Shinn. I know that that day will happen soon…" she thought before drifting off to a long sleep.
~~~*~~~
3 days later…
Shinn got up from his bed. It's still 7:30 in the morning, too early for someone like him who likes to sleep in. But ever since Luna was captured three days ago, he's been waking up earlier than usual. Captain Gladys already reported what happened to the head quarters and asked for reinforcements. They said that they will send reinforcements as soon as possible but with the current situation Zaft and EAF are in right now, it will take about a week or so before the reinforcements come. Captain Gladys is really frustrated about that. For her, they're just not the Minerva's ace pilots, but also her children. Especially Lunamaria because she reminded her of a daughter that she'll never have as long as she remains in the military.
After taking a quick shower Shinn went to get breakfast. He saw Meyrin, Athun and Rey eating together. He sat with them and together they ate their breakfast.
"So, how are you holding, Meyrin?" asked Athrun
"Just like what the captain said, there's still a chance that the EAF took her as a prisoner or something. I can feel that she's alive and well, so I'll just wait for her to come back" said Meyrin happily but you could still sense some loneliness in her.
"That's good. We shouldn't be worried about her, she'll hate it" said Athrun, trying to bring the mood up
"But it's really strange. Why did they kidnap Lunamaria of all of us pilots?" asked Shinn, that question has been bothering him for the past three days.
"I think they want Impulse. They planned on taking it down from the beginning, that's why they always surround her. They also know that there are three more ace pilots aboard the Minerva so they send out many of their Windams" said Rey in his usual serious tone
"What will they do with the Impulse?" asked Shinn suddenly
"They will use it for their own just like what happened to Chaos, Abyss and Gaia" replied Rey. All of them looked surprised, if that happens peace will never be obtained. And what will happen to Luna if that happens?
"All pilots please report to the hangar immediately" said a male voice through the speaker. It's time to check the maintenance on their mobile suits. The three pilots quickly finished their food and went down to the hangar.
~~~*~~~
"Eat up" said a male soldier as he opened the cell and put the tray of food on the floor. Lunamaria just ignored his offer although her stomach is yelling at her to accept it.
"You're not going to eat again? You've been doing this ever since you were sent here. Do you want to die?" he asked as he stared at her and sighed
"Why won't you even look at me when I'm talking to you, missy? Remember, you're just a prisoner here" he asked quite angrily and was about to come in and hit her when another soldier held him back
"Don't touch her. If you do, the captain will punish you" said the other soldier as he let go of him
"Fine then. If you don't want to eat, then don't" he said then left with the other soldier.
Lunamaria looked at the tray of food on the floor. She hasn't eaten anything since she woke up three days ago.
"Don't, Luna. There might be poison there" she thought to herself then looked around. It seems like the soldier left her cell open, probably because she got him pissed off. Then she smiled in triumph, who knows that getting someone pissed off can be this useful.
She saw a soldier guarding the cell room and took him down from behind. She took his gun and went to find the hangar. On the way she stumbled upon a laboratory. There she saw two men, one was wearing a lab gown and the other she supposed to be the captain because of his uniform.
"It's nearly compete, captain" said the professor as they stared at those huge tubes that seems to contain humans.
"Yes, with these we will surely win. It even outclassed our extendeds. We will call them centurions. Human beings turned to war machines. They won't stop fighting until we tell them to. They don't know hunger, thirst and emotion, all they know is to fight. It's in their program" said the captain happily as he stared at the sleeping centurions in their tubes
"My… my… I wonder what will Zaft do once they see our centurions…" he continued then sensed an unwanted presence. He quickly grabbed his gun and aimed it on the door
"Who are you!?!" he yelled as he went closer to the door
"Oh no, he sensed me. What shall I do?" she asked herself as she looked at the gun in her hand "Those centurions must be destroyed at once" she convinced herself then started shooting the tubes and everything inside the laboratory. The professor quickly got up and left, leaving the captain and the prisoner in the lab.
"Oh, so it's you" said the captain quite happily, his gun still aimed at her
"I should've disposed of you since the beginning. But I thought that I can get some information about the Impulse and Zaft from you so I decided to let you live. And now this happens…" he continued
"I knew there was a reason for me always being surrounded during that last battle" she said, her gun aimed at him
"But I certainly cannot let you live now, now that you know our secret weapon against Zaft. These centurions will bring victory to us Earth Alliance Forces and will finally eliminate coordinators once and for all" he said as he fired and missed on purpose. And with that Luna fired and hit him in the arm. They continued to fire at each other. The laboratory is nearly destroyed and just a few centurions were left. The captain saw a chance and hit her in the right shoulder. She screamed in pain and the captain took this chance and went to the bridge.
Luna went to the hangar, taking down soldiers who got in her way. There she saw the Impulse, repaired and ready to use. She smiled gratefully and climbed up on the cockpit. Turning on the power switch and pressing the necessary buttons, she launched.
"Shinn… wait for me, we'll be able to see each other again…" she thought happily
~~~*~~~
Athrun, Shinn and Rey were summoned on the bridge by Captain Gladys. They finally have news about the retrieval operation for Lunamaria.
"I have good news. The reinforcements will finally come tomorrow" said Captain Gladys, happiness evident on her voice
"Well, it's about time" said Shinn quite impatiently
"Shinn" said Rey, trying to stop Shinn from saying ridiculous things. Captain Gladys just ignored him and was about to say something else when…
"Captain, we've detected heat source, it's a mobile suit" said Meyrin and her eyes grew big when she saw what was written on her screen
"Is it an enemy?" asked the captain in reflex
"It's the Impulse!" said Meyrin happily. A big smile appeared on everyone's faces when they saw the Impulse through the camera
"Meyrin, open communication with the Impulse" said Captain Gladys as she sat on the captain's chair
"Yes!" replied Meyrin. Then Lunamaria's face popped on the screen.
"Lunamaria!" everyone said out loud in happiness when they saw her face. She look thinner, like she hasn't eaten anything for days. And she's wearing a white simple dress stained with blood on the shoulder.
"Long time no see guys" said Lunamaria happily
"Luna, are you okay? You're bleeding" said Shinn, worry evident on his voice
"Don't worry, Shinn. It's just a small wound" she lied, her wound keeps on bleeding and it's getting hard for her to control Impulse
"Are you being followed?" asked Captain Gladys
"I think so. I might need a little help here" she said. Without anything said, the three male pilots went down to the hangar and prepare their mobile suits.
"Captain, while I was there I discovered something, they said it's their secret weapon against Zaft"
said Luna
"Really? What is it?" asked Captain Gladys but suddenly the communication was lost. She groaned in annoyance.
"Shield the bridge. Announce Condition Red. Prepare for anti-mobile suit combat" said Captain Gladys
"Announcing Condition Red. Announcing Condition Red. All pilots, please stand by your units" announced Meyrin through the speaker. All of the crew went to their respective positions, curious about what is happening outside.
"Shinn Asuka. Destiny. Launching"
"Athrun Zala. Savior. Launching"
"Rey Za Burrel. Legend. Launching"
Shinn quickly went to the direction of Luna and saw her there, followed by four platoons of Windams.
"Damn! They won't even leave her alone" Shinn muttered under his breath and opened his communication channel and Luna's face popped on his screen
"Don't worry, Luna. I won't let them touch you" he promised as he took down several Windams behind her.
"Thanks" she replied as she smiled gratefully at him through the screen.
Then Athrun's face popped on Shinn, Rey and Lunamaria's screen
"Our objective is to make sure that Lunamaria gets aboard the Minerva safely and take down any enemy mobile suit that gets in the way. Got it?" said Athrun in a serious tone
"Yes!" replied the three Minerva pilots
Then many more enemy mobile suits appeared, making it harder for them to accomplish the said mission. Even the Minerva helped take down the enemy but they were just too many. And to make the situation worse, a Destroy appeared. Then suddenly all of the enemies aimed at the Impulse.
"Shinn, get Lunamaria to the ship right now. I think that they just issued a shoot-to-kill order for her. Rey and I will take care of things here" said Athrun urgently with a little fear in his voice while taking down three Windams
"Okay" replied Shinn as he took down the Windam in front of him
"AAAHHHH!!!!" Lunamaria screamed as both of the Impulse's leg got hit and exploded. Shinn quickly went to her rescue.
"Luna, are you okay?" he asked worriedly
"I think so" replied Lunamaria through the screen
"You're their target. We should get back to the Minerva immediately" said Shinn, stating the obvious, as he took down more Windams blocking their way and held Impulse's hand
"I know" said Luna, grasping the Destiny's hand tightly. Lifting the Impulse proved to be a difficult task even for an ace pilot like Shinn, probably because of the Earth's gravity.
"Don't worry, Luna. I won't let them touch you" he promised her once more, smiling lovingly at her through the monitor. Lunamaria returned the smile with one of her own. Somehow, she didn't really like being the damsel in distress. She was the one who protects, not the one being protected. But there's really no choice, especially in a situation like this when her mobile suit is rendered useless.
Then an explosion was heard, it was Impulse's wings.
"LUNA!!!" screamed Shinn, Impulse's hand slowly slipping away from his grasp.
"SHINN!!!" screamed Luna as she desperately tried to grab Destiny's hand
An EAF pilot saw this as an opportunity and fired at her, smiling and laughing triumphantly as he did so.
"Shinn, I love you" said Lunamaria before the communication channel was gone and the Impulse exploded in the sea.
"NO!!!!!!!"
Author's Notes: So sorry for the late upload. I've been so busy with school that I don't have time to write anymore. And midterm exams are next week and there are many requirements to be done before that.
I'm not good with writing battle scenes so please bear with it heehee... And about the centurions, I got the idea from the Corpse Corps of Blood+. And I tried to think about other names but I can't think of anything good so I just stick to centurions. And on the last part where the Impulse slipped away from the Destiny, think about the episode where the Minerva is trying to destroy Junius Seven. Where Athrun's Zaku was pulled to the Earth and Shinn tried his best to reach out.
And to those who think that there will be an Athrun and Meyrin pairing here, sorry but there won't. If I do that then CagalliYulaAtthaZala (author of stubbornly in love and our Cagalli for our GSD group cosplay) might hunt me down heehee...
Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you. If you have a favorite line, sentence or paragraph in my story, please review and let me know so I can improve on it heehee... And wish me luck on my exams heehee...
Thank you and please review!
(*^o^*) Peace out! (*^o^*)