Yo everybody. I'm back. I got some things to clear up. First, for the name poll, only logged in reviews count. Not anonymous reviews. And why hasn't more people voted?
Exia00: This is the last chance, either give me your OC profile in a review or make an author profile on the site and send me a PM with the profile
Phase Thirty-Two: Glimpse of the Past
The Archangel
Kira, Cagalli, Lacus and Athrun entered the Archangel's pilot briefing room. Inside was Chris, his sister Elizabeth, and their grandfather, Samuel. Chris and Liz sat in chairs while Samuel was standing at the speaker's podium. "Ah... Kira, Cagalli. Good. We can start now. All of you take a seat." he said.
The four sat down next to Chris and Liz.
"How's your arm, Chris?" Kira asked, taking note of the bandages on his face and arm.
"I'll be fine." he replied, waving him off.
"Now. Things have been revealed that I planned on revealing to you all soon. Once we had secured things at Mendel, I was going to explain this all to you." Samuel said. "But things did not turn out that way."
"Now, I have never set foot in Mendel myself, but I have the one of the few surviving records of what happened." he explained, pulling out a pocket hard drive. "I had wanted to explain this all to you when the Archangel first arrived at Orb. As did Lord Uzumi. Since Cagalli and Kira met as they did, we felt it was time to explain the truth of your pasts'. However, when Lord Uzumi and I spoke with the Yamatos about revealing this, they refused. Forcing Lord Uzumi and I to wait. Your mother Kira, is quite a formidable woman."
Kira didn't say anything. "And whatever you think Kira, that woman is as much your mother as the woman in the photograph." Samuel added.
He cleared his throat and plugged the drive into a port on podium. "What I hold here is the audio logs my son made during his stay at Mendel. It is his words that can best explain what happened at Mendel. My son David and his wife were not medical doctors as they told you."
"Then what were they?" Liz asked.
"Geneticists." he answered, pushing the play button.
April 25, CE 50: "This is Dr David Dante. We've arrived at Mendel. I must admit, I am still a little leery about Hibiki's offer. But if he can come through with his promises of a state-of-the-art lab and proper funding, than I can't complain about what he wants. Even if it is a stupid goal. His desire to create a prefect Coordinator, devoid of any of the natural flaws that occur their development in the womb. While I support finding ways to ease the pregnancy and birth on the mother and the reduction of miscarriages, things like making sure the eyes and hair are the right color, is nothing more than vanity. In the end, it has no real value to humanity."
"Tomorrow, Claire and I will be visiting the lab for the first time."
April 26, CE 50: "It seems Hibiki was not lying after all. The lab there is easily the largest and most sophisticated laboratory I've ever seen. It will be more than adequate for our purposes. However, as expected, most of our colleges are less than pleased to have us here. Many refuse to even acknowledge our theory on the Superior Evolutionary Element Destined Factor. Though we do have a few supporters. One of the doctors that will be working under me, Dr. Yushiro Kamakura from the Republic of East Asia, is a big supporter of our theory. A fellow Coordinator and former mentor, Joseph Durandal, is also a strong supporter. Of course, the man has some interesting ideas of his own now. I spent half an hour with him. In that time, he spoke of only two things. His son, Gilbert if I recall correctly, whom I understand is quite brilliant, even for a Coordinator. And how he seeks to use science to unlock man's destiny. Whatever that means. Heh heh...And people consider my ideas strange. But the man is entitled to his beliefs."
"Though there is one man that makes me well uncomfortable. Dr. Mikhail Andras. When I voiced my concerns over the man to Claire, she brushed me off. Saying I was being foolish. But I know what I saw. I caught Andras looking at me with a look of utter disgust."
"I don't trust the man..."
"Aside from that, things look good here. I feel that we can perhaps accomplish great things here."
May 10, CE 50: "Hibiki and I had a long disquisition today about humanity's future. He clings to his foolish belief that humanity's future lies in the Coordinators. That if he can the perfect the process to create Coordinators, future generations of Coordinators will become perfect. 'Minds smarter than geniuses', bodies stronger than Olympic athletes.' as he put it. They will be the first step towards the next level on the evolutionary ladder."
"He's wrong. We Coordinators are but a stepping stone. The SEED is a part of mankind's future. But I think that's not the only part I've found. A few weeks after Claire and I published our theory on the SEED Factor, a blind priest named Malchio approached us. I admit, I had expected the man to tear into us for writing the article. Instead, he believed in our work. And it was during our conversation that we discussed other phenomena that may be linked to the SEED. He brought up things I had never even considered. A high degree of spatial awareness. Precognitive abilities. Telepathic abilities. And other unexplained abilities among certain humans."
"That is when I thought, 'What if the SEED Factor and all of those unusual abilities are branches of the same mutation? The mutation that will lead us the next step up the evolutionary ladder. And with the advancements in Genetics and the rise of the Coordinators, we have the chance to speed up our climb up the ladder."
"Naturally, Hibiki laughed at the idea and said that I was just taken in by 'fringe' science and that it wouldn't lead anywhere."
"Jackass."
"But Claire and I have tolerated far, far worse. I'll endure my peers'...disapproval, if it means a chance to prove my theories true."
March 24, CE 51: "Our research has been going smoothly. We've discovered several genetic markers that are linked to these mutations. Oddly, only a few are linked to the SEED Factor. Perhaps my initial theories were wrong. Or perhaps the SEED Factor has evolved the farthest from it's origin. More research is needed."
"There was also something interesting today. With the ongoing renovations, I've been getting lost quite frequently. I happened to discover a room I had never seen before. Inside were a number of frozen fetuses in capsules. Curious to what this room was, I hacked a computer terminal inside the room. All of the fetuses were labeled Al Da Flaga Number 002, Al Da Flaga Number 003, Al Da Flaga Number 004, and so on."
"They were clones. A lot of them. And I recognized the name of the late industrialist Al Da Flaga. Curious about these clones, I began to study their DNA on the computer. Some of the markers were present in their DNA. In fact, they have the most makers present in their blood than anyone I've studied to date."
"But apparently my hacking didn't go unnoticed. Just as I as logged out of the computer, Hibiki arrived. I figured that he was going to yell at me and possibly throw both me and Claire out of the late. Instead, he explained that these were the clones of Al Da Flaga, the man funding the labs. Even after his death. Apparently all he had in return was a army of clones. Believed that he could live forever though these clones. When he died, the first clone would take his place. When that one died, the second clone would take his place and so on."
"What a fool. Cloning was outlawed for a reason. It didn't work. The clones were born the same genetic age as their donor was when the samples were taken. A clone of a thirty year old would be born with a genetic age of thirty. When it reached twenty, they'd be fifty genetically.
"Their lives will be pitifully short."
"I asked Hibiki if I could study the clones' DNA for my project. He agreed and even offered me some of the clones. They meant nothing to him. But to me, they could be the key to everything."
August 10, CE 51: "Things have been progressing far better than I had expected. I've left Claire and Yushiro to study the DNA and identify the genetic markers linked to these mutations. While I have taken to resuming the work we did before we moved to Mendel. The study of the people with these markers themselves."
"I've realized that my early theories on the SEED Factor and the mutations were wrong. While they share certain genetic markers, they are separate from each other. Having one doesn't not necessarily mean having other as well. But both seem to be more prevalent among the entire population than I first thought. Yet few ever display either. Perhaps for most, an external factor is required. But what?"
"I am now more confident than ever that if we discover the secrets behind these mysteries, we will have the key to humanity's future as a species. From Naturals and Coordinators to a new type of being."
"Hmm...Newtype...Yes... I like that. That's what they shall be called. Newtypes."
October 15, CE 51: I was right! The information we've gained in these past months from Da Flaga's DNA has opened up all new possibilities! We've managed to locate most, if not all of the genetic markers linked to the SEED Factor and Newtypes."
"Needless to say, everyone is quite ecstatic in the lab. Everything we have worked for is coming together. We expect to begin experimenting early next year. And that will be the difficult matter..."
"Most people don't realize that George Glenn was the first true Coordinator. There were dozens of children before that could considered Coordinators that came before him. But no one remembers them. Nor do they remember those that came before Glenn and didn't survive..."
"Let's hope that I don't loose as many..."
January 20, CE 52: "Things are progressing smoothly so far. We are almost ready to begin. In a couple of weeks, we'll begin. I must admit, I am quite nervous. I wonder if the scientists that created the process to create Coordinators felt this way went they began their experiments. Do I have the right to do this? Should I be doing this, unnaturally speeding up something that should occur naturally?"
"No. We've come this far. We must see it through."
January 24, CE 52: "Hibiki claims he's perfected his artificial womb and asking that everyone that can, help out with his 'Ultimate Coordinator' Project. I have opted to stay out of it. As did most of the leaders of the other projects. Hibiki was disappointed but understanding. We have our own projects to worry about."
"Plus I just don't believe in the artificial womb. Especially if the track record of the previous versions are any indication. Lives must be born. Not manufactured."
February 4, CE 52: The first generation has been seeded. We've impregnated twelve volunteers. Once the embryos reach the proper stage, we will begin the genetic enhancements."
"Hibiki's lost two embryos in his artificial wombs already. So far, it looks like he's got another round of failures coming."
April 27, CE 52: "The pregnancies have been difficult for the mothers so far. Two backed out and the fetuses were aborted. But all things considering, the project is going smoothly. We've moved the mothers into the labs, where they're being monitored at all times by several members of my staff. I'm not taking any chances."
July 13, CE 52: "Things have not gone smoothly. There have been two miscarriages in the last week. I don't understand what went wrong. We were monitoring the women closely. What they ate. The amount of daily activity they preformed. What medications they received. There is no reason for this to have happened."
"Fortunately, none of the mother's died. That would have caused some major problems for us had any of the mothers died. But-"
"Sorry to interrupt Doctor, but we've lost subject 010."
"And the mother?"
"She's survived."
"Alright. Have the fetus brought here for study immediately."
"Yes Doctor."
"Make that three miscarriages in the last week...I...I'll finish this later."
October 29, CE 52: "This first generation has been nothing but a spectacular failure. We've had three more miscarriages, bringing the total to six. And the four children that were born....were born deformed... Physically and neurologically."
"I had them euthanized. They shouldn't suffer because of my mistakes. But I swear, I will study my mistakes and solve them. I don't want anymore children to suffer like that."
January 21, CE 53: "We're still desperately trying to find every conceivable factor that could have contributed to failures of the first generation. It has been difficult to say the least."
"But we're not the only ones. As I predicted, Hibiki has become stalled under more failures. But the man has stubbornly refused to throw in the towel. He recently told me that with each failure, he comes one step closer to success."
"Personally, I don't see any success coming from that project in the near future."
July 1, CE 53: "I believe we've corrected the errors that caused the failures of the first generation. But I'm hesitant to try again on human subjects. I want to make sure I get it right this time. Even if it means years of work. But much of my staff, including my wife, are urging me to start the second generation of test subjects. They believe that we won't get anywhere without more testing. But I honestly don't know what to do now."
"But they aren't the only ones. Hibiki and many of the others are looking down on me and my work more. I believe back when I was doing the first experiment, they may have actually believed that I may actually be right. But now they laugh at me and mock me behind my back. Though Hibiki might actually be pleased at my failure. He's been trying to get me to abandon my research and work on his project. Which still has yet to produce any real results as well."
"Wait and study more, or push on and see what happens. What should I do?"
July 8, CE 53: "Yushiro has recently found out that his wife, Ami, is pregnant. They've volunteered their unborn child as a test subject. We were all stunned by this. It's one thing to have a woman off the street volunteer, it's another to have someone you know quite well volunteer. But they are fully aware of the risks and willing to risk it."
"If they're willing to take that risk, than I must push on. I must stop worrying. Risks are a part of life. We...I must take them if we are to succeed. I've been too afraid of repeating my mistakes. The only way science will ever advance is if we take risks. If I don't succeed, then at least, I'll have laid down the foundation for future scientists to continue and prefect."
July 13, CE 53: "It's been done. The second generation has begun. Ami and eleven other women have agreed to it. One of the other women is Via Hibiki's younger sister, Caridad Yamato. Tomorrow, we'll be beginning the enhancements of Ami's child. The other mother's have another week or so before we begin their enhancements."
Kira tensed. He was the Yamato's only child. He knew how it was going to end.
"We're taking a different approach this time. Rather than performing all of the enhancements in a single procedure, we're spreading it out of the course of a week. Hopefully, this will allow both mother and embryo to better adapt to what we've done."
"Also, Hibiki has become more insistent that the staff of other projects help out with his project. He claims that he's on the verge of a major breakthrough. I have told him that my project has reached a critical stage and that diverting resources to his project would damage my own project. He relented, but has applied even more pressure to the other projects."
"That jackass is too caught up his own project for his own good. He doesn't give a damn about everyone else's project. Probably never did. He just wanted the best scientists in the field of genetics in this building so that he can use us to further his own research."
November 25, CE 53: "So far things have progress much smoother than last time. The pregnancies have been difficult but less than the pregnancies before them. And only a single miscarriage. Not bad considering the early miscarriage rates of Coordinator births."
"But I am growing concerned for Caridad. Not because she's having problems. Far from it. But I fear she's becoming attached to the child in her womb. When she first volunteered, she felt that she wouldn't make a good mother and felt she was too young to. And I told her, as I told all the other women, do not get attached to the child. Due to the fact that most of the volunteers are women who need the money we pay them for volunteering, this hasn't been a major issue. But now I fear that having this child has changed her mind. Her husband, Haruma, has told me that the other day he caught her picking names for her unborn child. This does not bode well for us should she lose the child."
January 20, CE 54: "I haven't updated this log in few weeks. Things have been quite hectic as of late."
"Hibiki has been demanding that everyone help out with his Ultimate Coordinator Project or he'll cut the funding to everyone else's projects. Most of us have taken to calling him, the Iron Womb Tyrant or more 'unpleasant' names behind his back. Yushiro thinks that Hibiki subconsciously wishes he had been born a woman so he could bear children and his project is really an extension of that wish. And that a night, he sneaks into the lab and cuddles his artificial wombs."
"Heh heh heh...ha ha ha..."
"But I've relented to his demands. I've divided my staff in two and put them on rotations. One half works on Hibiki's project for a week while the other have works on our project. Once the week is done, we switch places. Not the most efficient way of doing things, but we have little choice in the matter. Hibiki controls the lab and the money. We have to bow to his wishes."
"Hibiki is so wasteful. He's going through embryos and fetuses like there's no tomorrow. Few fetuses survive to an advanced stage of development, but he always aborts them anyway. He claims it's to ensure that the Ultimate Coordinator will be the best."
Kira grimaced at the actions of his biological father. Lacus, seeing his reaction, reached out and held Kira's hand. Kira gently squeezed her hand back.
"I still believe that Coordinators are only a stepping stone, not the future of humanity. Newtypes are the future. Perfecting Coordinators will not improve humanity as a whole."
"But he, like a many of my colleges, view Newtypes as just a fantasy. However, some of my colleges have become intrigued. Joseph, in particular, has become very interested in my Newtype research."
"Speaking of him, his son, Gilbert, has recently graduated from university. Joseph has offered him a position in the labs here. To my surprise, Gilbert asked to be put on my project. I accepted his request. He may be a teenager, but he is quite brilliant. I am curious to see how well he does here."
"Also, the situation with Caridad has not improved. I tried to talk to her. But she's become fixated on becoming a mother. She wants this child now. I've warned her that there's the possibility that her child may not survive the pregnancy or worse. But she doesn't care. It's her child and she will rise them regardless of the outcome. Both Via and Haruma have tried to convince her that things could go wrong as well. But she refuses to see it. I hope for her sake, that they are just over worrying about it."
March 11, CE 54: "Most of the second generation has been born with mixed results. Only Ami's child has yet to be born. While four children where born safely and without any deformities, six were either stillborn or just as badly deformed as the last generation. Among those six, Caridad's son."
"While the child was born successfully, it suffered severe physical and neurological deformities. The child would have lived a short, pained life. Haruma and I agreed that the child's suffering should be ended quickly as a mercy. But Caridad refused. I can still hear her screams of 'Murderers'."
"I...I...I just can't do this right now. Signing off."
March 20, CE 54: "Ami died giving birth yesterday. It had been a long and difficult birth and in the end, her body gave out. But she did live long enough to see her daughter for the first and last time. She named her Misuumi before passing on."
"I had thought Yushiro would blame me for what happened. But he didn't. He told that they knew the risks and accepted them."
"Unfortunately, most of the special enhancements we created didn't take in most of the children. They are little more than Coordinators. But the initial looks at Misuumi's DNA have given me hope. Some of the markers didn't take, but a number of them did."
"Not quite the ideal Artificial Newtype I had envisioned, but a likely prototype of my vision."
"We are close. So very close. I just need to prefect it."
March 26, CE 54: "Damn him! Damn that Iron Womb Tyrant!!"
"I've been trying to figure what exactly has been causing the problems we've been experiencing when Hibiki said that it was the mother's fault! He had the gull to say that it was the mother's fault that we had limited success in our experiments. He than added that had we used his artificial womb, we would have succeed by now. That his machines are the only way to succeed."
"Barely kept myself from decking him right there. He's lucky Yushiro wasn't in today. Or he would have killed Hibiki."
"But as much of a jackass he is, Hibiki did raise a point that I had not considered. The parents of the child. And I wasn't the only one to realize that. Gilbert did as well. We need to study the DNA of the parents of the children that lived. If there's something linking them all together, than we can determine which parents could successfully give birth to an Artificial Newtype."
"And Gilbert raised another point I had ignored. All of the parents of the child have been Naturals. We haven't tried it on a Coordinator couple. If the parents are Coordinators, or at least the mother, it would likely increase the chances of a successful birth."
"If we can get that down, we can then work on finding a way for anyone to have a Newtype child."
April 21, CE 54: "Something rather interesting as happened. A week ago, Yushiro reported several unusual instances involving his daughter. He claimed that there had a few instances where he instinctively knew his daughter was hungry without her giving an physical indications. He described it as, 'I would be holding her when this sudden feeling that she was hungry entered my mind. She wouldn't cry or give any other indication that she was hungry, yet somehow I knew she was hungry.'. Curious, Claire and I took care of her for much of the past week. And we both experienced it a few times ourselves. But it only seemed to work if one of us was in physical contact with her. But it only happened a few times. The rest of the time, she cried like a normal child."
"There was one other instance of unusual behavior. On Saturday, we took her for a stroll through a nearby park. For most of the trip, she had been quiet. But when we approached a playground full of playing children, she suddenly started giggling like someone was playing with her despite the fact she was still in a stroller. Perhaps she was feeling all of the positive emotions from the other children."
"Part of me thinks that these are signs of Newtype abilities. But the more rational part of me says that I don't have enough information to determine whether or not she has developed such abilities."
"Yushiro brought her to the lab so he and Gilbert ran some tests on her. Oddly, she wouldn't stop crying the moment he brought her in. No matter what we did, she wouldn't calm down. They did manage to preform some tests. There were some slight odd activity in her brain. But beyond that, nothing out of the ordinary. Regardless, we shall keep a close eye on her as she grows up."
May 19, CE 54: "We've done it. We've located the genetic markers that will determine how likely a child with the Newtype genes will be successfully born to a couple. Out of curiosity, I ran a check on the DNA of everyone working in the labs. Some of the results were surprising. Yushiro had a many of the markers in his DNA. His late wife had only a few, which may have contributed to her death. Hibiki and his wife share a large number of the markers needed. Though I haven't told him that. His ego is be enough as it is."
"...And both Claire and myself have number of markers. Something I am less than pleased about. For one simple reason."
"Claire is pregnant."
"She hasn't told me yet. I've seen her exhibit the early signs. I know she's going to asked me to use our child as a test subject."
"But I need to stay impartial. If my child becomes a test subject, how can I remain impartial and unbiased?"
"But on the other hand, I have the prefect conditions right here, right now. Parents with the ideal DNA and a Coordinator mother to increase chances of a successful birth."
"I need to think on this matter."
May 21, CE 54: "Hibiki's increased the pressure on everyone. He says there's not enough funding to go around. Unless the other projects start showing real success, he's going to start closing them down. However, should they assist in the completion of his project, it would speed things up. Which means the funds would flow again that much sooner."
"In other words, stop your projects for now and help me with mine and once it's complete, I'll give you back your funding."
"When I confronted him about this, Hibiki laughed in my face. Saying that the time for quack theories is over. And that only real science belongs here. Either I bring him results or he's closing me down."
"Damn him! All that matters to him is his dammed Ultimate Coordinator Project. Everyone can go to hell unless they help him. We're practically there but he refuses to see it."
"The blind fool. He's pushed me to this."
"I'm going through with it. If he wants results, I'll give it to him. I won't just create a Newtype for him, I'll create the greatest Newtype that will ever be born!"
"I will not allow Hibiki or anyone else trample on my dream! I will show them all that my theories are not quack theories! My child will be a Perfect Newtype!"
Liz, who knew her brother's birthday, had already done the math. She turned to her brother, a fearful, questioning expression. Chris only nodded his head once, not looking at her.
June 19, CE 54: "The Mendel Labs now have only two projects running instead of the dozens it once had. Hibiki's and mine. All of the other project teams have either left or joined one of our two teams."
"Hibiki is become less than pleased at this. The mild respect we held for each other is gone. Now, our rivalry has become vicious. Neither of us is willing to let the other win. It's a competition to see who can create the next step of human being. And I'm pleased to say that his latest prototype is another failure. Though the boy has survived while those that came before him have not. Hibiki was furious at his latest failure to say the least. I understand he's had the child dumped at an orphanage."
"Where has everything is running smoothly with my project so far."
September 22, CE 54: "Hibiki's getting desperate. He's following in my footsteps. Via had recently become pregnant with twins. So what does Hibiki do, he takes one embryo and puts it in his artificial womb."
Kira's eyes widened. It was true. He had been born from an artificial womb.
"It is a truly odd thing. To have a twin sibling that was grown in an entirely separate womb. Would they still be twins? Could the child in that machine be truly considered born? Or would it be considered manufactured?"
"Whatever the case, i imagine that any child born of that machine would likely suffer psychological problems if they ever learned how they came into this world."
"This action has also strain his relationship with Via. Which isn't all that surprising. From what I've heard, she didn't exactly agree to having her child placed in that machine."
"As to my project, things are progressing smoothly. Clarie is having some difficulties, but nothing serious."
Janurary 8, CE55: "It seems that Via and Hibiki are have serious problems. Far more than I had first realized. Via is furious at Hibiki for taking her second child. I caught the two of them arguing in a hallway. It sounds like she's done with his whole project and him. I won't be surprised if she sued for divorce. Hell, I'd be willing to testify for her."
"The jackass deserves it. I would never do such a thing to Claire. She willing volunteered for this. Via didn't."
"Speaking of Clarie, she's doing fine and is expecting any day now."
January 12, CE 55: "It's happening. It's finally happening! Claire went into labor a few hours ago. The labor hasn't ended yet. But I'm sure she'll make it. As will our child."
"They have to..."
January 13, CE 55: "It's finally over... I nearly lost them. Both of them. But it's over now."
"At 2:37 am, on January 13th, Clarie gave birth to a healthy baby boy. We named him Christopher, after Clarie's late father."
Cagalli, Athrun, and Lacus turned to Chris, stunned by this. He had closed his eyes and had a slight grimace on his face. His right hand resting on the bridge of his nose.
"I should be happy. They both made it through alright. Everything likely went has planned, but I still need to check Chris's DNA. But I haven't done it yet."
"All I can think about are Via's words to her husband form a few days ago. 'What is this all for? For his sake or for your's? Will this bring our child happiness?'"
"I need some time to think about things."
January 29, CE 55: "I'm closing down the project. I've realized that I've lost touch with why I was doing what I was going. We all did."
"What I had tried to make my son into, failed. While he does have the genetic makers, he hasn't displayed anything else like Misuumi has. Scientifically, he's a failure. But I don't care."
"All I can think of now, is my arrogance and those children that suffered because of it. I had wanted to help humanity. Instead, my arrogance and vanity led me to playing God. Led me to believing that I could speed up humanity's evolution."
"I never stopped to consider if Newtypes were truly the next step in human evolution or just a new, separate species of man."
"No matter. I am through with creating Newtypes. Yushiro and some of the others have tried to convince me to stay and continue working. They wish to continue working but I have no desire to stay. I think I understand now why Misuumi cried the entire time she was here. She could tell what this place really was. A man made Hell. We strove to make life better for all of humanity. Instead, in our arrogance, we created our own little Hell. Where the most innocent of people suffered. For no reason beyond our own arrogance."
"We're going to move back to Orb. To continue our original research. Studying those with the SEED Factor and natural born Newtypes."
"Never again will I set foot in this hellhole."
January 30, CE 55: "A change of plans. Via has asked us to stay. She needs our help to get her children away from Hibiki. So I will stomach my dislike for this place for awhile longer. It is the least I can. As a means to work off some small fraction of the sins I've committed."
"We can't doing anything now with one child in the artificial womb. But we will bide our time for now until after they are born. Then we will strike."
May 18, CE 55: "The twins were born today. From Via's womb, a girl. Cagalli. From that machine, a boy. Kira. Hibiki's so called Ultimate Coordinator."
Cagalli gasped. Why they were here suddenly made sense. Then she gasped again, realizing everything that they had just heard. She wasn't the only one. Athrun, Lacus, and Liz had their own gasps of surprise.
"We can't move just yet. But we have it all planned out. On June sixth, while Hibiki is at the lab, we'll just take the twins and leave. We've already booked at flight to Heliopolis. My younger brother and his wife moved there a few months ago. Then we'll head to the Orb homeland. I've spoken with my father, he has arranged a meeting between us and Lord Uzumi. Hopefully, he'll help us hide the twins from Hibiki."
May 29, CE 55: "Dammit...I was right all along! Andras was up to something! He's working for Blue Cosmos! He told them everything we were doing there and they came to kill us all. Hibiki and Via are dead. As are much of the staff.
"...Yushiro is dead too. He shielded me from one of the gunman. I would have died as well if it wasn't for the fact that my father had taught me how to fight and shot a gun with I was child. I don't know if Joseph or any of the others managed to escape."
"But there is some good news to this. Both Claire and Christopher are safe. As are Cagalli and Kira. When the attack on the lab happened, I knew they would head after them. I managed to escape during the attack and raced home. After I grabbed Claire and Chris, we went to Hibiki's residence. Kira and Cagalli were being cared for by Caridad and her husband. As we made our escape, a couple of Blue Cosmos thugs attacked. Fortunately, we lose them. Barely."
"But I couldn't fulfill Yushiro's dying wish. We couldn't stop to get Misuumi. It was too dangerous. I pray she's safe but there's nothing more I can do."
"Damn Andras! Damn those Blue Cosmos bastards!"
"We've been hiding out for a good six hours now. It's not safe for us here anymore. But undoubtedly, they have men keeping an eye on the spaceports. But I've got a plan. I'm going to the lab's computers into thinking there's been a biohazard outbreak, at the highest level. This will trigger the emergency evacuation alert in the colony. People will be rushing to the spaceports and it's unlikely that the men watching the ports would stick around during a colonywide biohazard evacuation. After we escape, we'll head to Heliopolis and then Orb as planned. We'll be safe there. David Dante signing off."
With that, the recording ended. "After that, the seven of you entered Heliopolis for two weeks until my son, Claire and the Yamatos were able to take you to the Orb homeland. That is when I first met the three of you. I took them to Lord Uzumi. We all agreed that we needed to keep you hidden from those that would either seek to duplicate what happened at Mendel, or kill you what you are. So we did everything in our power to keep you safe. I believe you already know what happened next. Lord Uzumi adopted Cagalli while the Yamatos took Kira to Heliopolis. And my son and his wife took Chris to Junius Seven. There, they, as he said they would, continued their original research."
"But why separate us?" Kira asked.
"To help keep you safe. Blue Cosmos would be searching for twins. If we kept you apart, it would help decrease the chances of them not realizing who you really were."
"Wait. This is crazy! Newtypes, Ultimate Coordinators, artificial wombs. It's nuts!" Cagalli said, completely stunned by this whole revelation. "This can't be real!"
"It is." Samuel said, pulling out an old photograph. "The labs at Mendel were started for the betterment of mankind. Instead, that dream became warped by their arrogance and ambition. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And no where was that more true than Mendel. Everything you have heard was true."
He approached Cagalli and handed her the photo. "This was taken on New Year's Eve CE 52." he explained.
The photo was of a New Year's Eve party. Cagalli instantly recognized one person in the photo, the woman who was her birth mother. Next to her was a blond haired man with amber eyes. Just like her. Liz leaned over to look at the photo. Her eyes widened as her finger pointed at another couple in the photo. "That's mom and dad!"
The couple was smiling with champagne glassed raised in their hands. The man had dark brown hair and green eyes while the women's hair was a lighter brown and she had gray eyes.
Cagalli shook her head. "I...I...This is just so unbelievable."
"I know. I didn't believe it myself when I first heard it. It's true." Samuel replied.
"Then just what am I?" Kira asked, lost and confused.
"Kira. You are you. That's all that matters. Whether you're a Coordinator, Natural or something else, doesn't matter." Lacus said, still holding his hand. "You are a kind person Kira. That's who you are."
Kira stared into Lacus's eyes. "Lacus...I..."
Samuel cleared his throat. "Ah...Young love... Would you like us to leave the room for a moment?"
Both teens' reddened in embarrassment as Samuel chuckled. He then turned to his grandchild, his expression turning serious. "Chris, Liz, how are you taking this?"
"I...I'll be fine." Liz answered. "It's a lot to take in."
Chris opened his eyes and looked up. "I'll be fine as well. I just needed to know who my parents were. And nothings changed, they are still the people I thought they were despite what they've done. But there is one thing that is bugging me."
"What?"
"What happened to that girl, Misuumi?"
Samuel frowned. "After the authorities realized it was a fake biohazard, your parents tried to find out what happened to her. But she disappeared." he replied. "That was one of your father's biggest regrets. He never forgave himself for not finding her. Any other questions?"
"No. I think you've answered everything." Kira said. "Thank you."
Samuel nodded. "It was my pleasure. You deserved to learn the truth about this whole mess."
And that's it. Next up, Operation Peacemaker.
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