Disclaimer: I own nothing of GS/GSD. R&R please.
A/N: Dear readers, thank you for sticking on with this for so long. I'm really sorry about the delay- some work was really urgent even after the exams. Still, I hope you enjoy this and for those who are holding out for a specific ending, let's just say that this isn't the final chapter.
Chapter 30
Moving as quickly as he could and stopping short of breaking out into a sprint, Yzak strode until he located the holding room that James Marlin and Cagalli Yula Atha were to wait in.
In his pocket, his hand brushed against his cell and his expression darkened a little as he thought of the call he had received from Cagalli Yula Atha. She was requesting to meet him, and Yzak had no choice but to do so. But frankly, Yzak did not know what more Cagalli Yula Atha wanted. More than anything, he was eager to return to prepare Erik Strumsson and to brief him on the situation at hand. He'd left the other two jury members to explain the basics, but there was far more that Yzak had to say to Erik in private. Before that, he also had to speak to Eileen Canaver and inform her that Erik would be testifying. He had a great deal to do, and he was not sure why Cagalli Yula Atha even wanted an audience with him.
As Yzak rapped on the door, he thought about the ring that Cagalli Yula Atha had been wearing—probably some token that Marlin had given her. He thought of Athrun, who had done nearly everything humanly possible to protect her and he wondered why Athrun had tried so hard when she could not do anything more than to return to the responsibilities of being the Orb Head that she was.
"Come in." He heard Cagalli say softly.
When he entered and closed the door, he saw only Cagalli Yula Atha. She was sitting in a chair, and for a moment Yzak's eyes actually skimmed past her; as if she had faded into the background.
Her legal counsel was absent, for which Yzak was both glad and somewhat puzzled about. He had assumed that the audience that she had sought with him had been to do with her defence, although it seemed that James Marlin was competent enough without the need for others' help.
"Your Grace," He said stiffly. "You wished to see me?" He swept his eyes around the room. The files were on the table, but Marlin was certainly not around. If it was help that Cagalli Yula Atha was seeking, Yzak was sure he would not give it. "Did your counsel want to clarify anything with me?"
She suddenly got down on her knees, sliding down from the chair and crouching with her arm still in that sling. It was so sudden and so unexpected for Yzak that he could not quite react, and he actually took a step back.
She bowed her head and her hair tumbled from where it had been tucked behind her ears, hiding her face and most of her expression, although her eyes looked at him fearfully. In her position, she was stooped, huddled like a kicked animal; beaten and begging.
"Get up!" He sputtered, his feet frozen. "You can't just—,"
"Take me to him." She said quietly. "Please, Yzak. I must see him."
He looked away, frowning. "I can't allow that. Not even as the Head General of Zaft or the Head of the Intelligence Council."
"But you're this former superior; one of the Numbers, right?" Her audacity rattled him.
"Even then, I'm not the Head of the Numbers, Your Grace." Yzak said stiffly. "I can't help him."
"But you still have permission to speak to him." She continued kneeling, as if waiting for an axe to swing down on her as the punishment she felt she deserved for being unable to speak out earlier.
Yzak looked at her and he knew that his will was crumbling. Her lips were trembling and she was still trying to stop her tears. Her fingers were wet and her nose was slightly pink, and he could tell that her will was the only thing preventing her from crumbling entirely. He wondered if he was going soft or whether he just could not stand to see women cry. But seeing the tears of this woman, whom he'd thought of as collected and even calculated at times, was no more than he could take.
Not sure of anything anymore, he took one step nearer and then knelt, taking her hand to help her up. She did not look at him, pink in the cheeks, eyes lowered and obviously embarrassed of her own emotional display. Cagalli Yula Atha seemed more human than ever; more likely to make mistakes that Athrun had.
As Yzak studied her, he realized that she did not seem to have planned what had happened. For that, Yzak could find it in him to empathize with her and the foolishness she'd displayed.
His expression softened. "I know you tried to cover up for him just now."
She kept mute, not daring to look at him. "But one of the Eyes is going to testify after this. I have to help Athrun find a way out of that."
He decided not to tell her that whatever she could influence of Athrun was probably of little significance now. In another corridor, the person who could save Athrun was ready to testify. Perhaps it was better if he dared to let Cagalli Yula Atha meet Athrun Zala. Perhaps it would aide Erik's testimony later on.
He placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "I will make the arrangements for you to see Athrun now. It can be done—I will tell the guards that I want to verify a very important piece of evidence with Athrun Zala in your presence."
Eagerly, Cagalli nodded.
"This is on two conditions, Your Grace."
"I'll agree to anything!"
"First, I want you to tell nobody of this—not even your legal counsel."
"Of course." She nodded quickly. "The second?"
He studied her. "I want you to promise me that you will never look at him the way the world is so inclined to because of his father's mistakes."
As James Marlin strode down the corridors, he could almost hear his own pulse. His heart was beating in his ears and his throat was jammed, and he stuffed his fists into his pockets, afraid that he would lose control and lash out at something. He felt flushed and ill, sick with knowledge and the truth that she'd lied to him.
He passed a bailiff who bowed very low to him, but he did not take a second look at the person as he marched past, his court robes billowing out like a crow's plummage. He ripped them off with more violence than he realised, discarding those on a chair at the side.
"She doesn't understand," He muttered to himself. He was moving, trying to find an exit, trying to get to some light where these mazes of corridors would end. These never seemed to; path after path leading into complex grid after grid. The signs did not seem to be of any readable language to him.
He swept past two or three people who were emerging from some room in that corridor he was in. He didn't even look at them as he moved past swiftly, and he brushed against someone, for someone said loudly, "Hey! Can't you say excuse me?"
Marlin didn't turn back.
"It's fine," He heard one of them say behind him. "It was just an accident."
"No, Mr. Strumsson," the voice became fainter as Marlin moved further and further away from them. "He's a real big-shot! That's why he doesn't even apologize."
He was the Prime Minister and former ace solicitor. He had become the person he was by struggling, despite the way he appeared to sail through life. He had his private fears of returning to the first square of the slums he had been born in, and his emotional hunger and that angry, tireless ambition drove him to the top. He had money now, and he had people who needed him. But for so many years, that chase, that pursuit hadn't filled the chasm in him. Then he had met Cagalli Yula Atha, and he'd decided that his struggles had not been for anything.
In a strange way, Marlin had felt like his ambitions had been justified when he'd met her. If he had been anything less than the Premier, he would never have gotten a chance to even see her in person. He hadn't realized it when they'd established a friendship, but eventually, he'd realized how much he liked her. Even now, he thought he had made the right choice by giving everything up for the one person who had seemed to make his struggling worthwhile.
But he was a fool. He had nothing except the hollowed lies that he'd added to. She just didn't understand what she meant to him, and she had never considered what he was working for all this time.
And that was why Marlin could not take her betrayal. He thought about the way she'd told him that she was carrying Athrun Zala's child with that steady, prepared air of hers, as if she had expected him to take it well. And he thought about her earlier nervousness when he'd asked her to testify about being misled.
He could have kicked himself.
As Marlin turned into yet another corridor, someone bumped into him. He muttered an apology and was prepared to move on without looking back, but the person who'd collided into him grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. Marlin looked up in surprise and came face to face with Shinn Asuka.
"What the hell are you doing here—,"
"Excuse me, what was that about?" Shinn demanded, cutting in and pulling Marlin into the nearest room he could see. "Why can't the defense do a proper cross-examination of the terrorists so that he can tear them down the way you tore down the testimonies of the guards?"
"The defense tried in the preliminary questioning during the finding process." Marlin told him bitingly, shoving Shinn's hands off his neck. "The defense agreed to concede that Athrun Zala is Greyfriars, amongst other things."
"But if it goes on like this, everyone'll think that Athrun Zala was leading the terrorists! Why is the defense not helping him?
"Did you expect the person representing him to try and get him off the hook?" Marlin's voice was harsh and loud, but he cared little that people passing by could possibly hear him. As it was, the corridors were vacated, and this room's ongoings were not being recorded by any camera.
"Quite frankly," Shinn said incredulously, "Yes!"
"It may not mean anything to you because you don't know much, Asuka." Marlin shot at him, his frustration at Cagalli now directed to Shinn. "But I don't think you understand how difficult it is to represent someone you don't have trust in."
He was ready to shove Shinn away and get out to wherever he could escape to. But Shinn's hand had tightened on his shoulder, and Shinn was growling. "What the hell do you mean by that, Marlin? Even a criminal deserves a lawyer!"
"Look, he's a Galactic criminal, and he's got one! Zala didn't want one, but those court procedures mean he gets one! He got one, Asuka, so why are you complaining about criminals deserving at least lawyers?" Marlin couldn't believe what was happening. He had never spoken much to Cagalli's former bodyguard even after Kira had introduced Shinn to him, but he had never expected Shinn to have so many screws loose. Why would Shinn care about the admittedly substandard defense anyway? Besides, how on earth had Shinn ended up getting into this section of the court?
"I would care less," Shinn growled, "If the defense wasn't screwing around and making things worse."
"I don't know why you should care." Marlin shook Shinn's hand of his shoulder once again. His tone was curt. "You shouldn't even be here, Asuka. This side of the building's unauthorized for anyone who's not part of the jury, the legal counsel or a witness. How did you even get in here? Did anyone authorize you?"
"Don't talk to me about that," Shinn barked. He was not about to tell Marlin that he had snuck past the bailiffs and had been heading to speak to Cagalli. He grabbed Marlin's shoulder again. "Tell me why the defense attorney the court got for him can't do anything."
"Like I said," Marlin turned on Shinn angrily. "I don't know! Go bother someone else, alright? Maybe it's got to do with the fact that the defense attorney is a junior and that this is his first time advocating, or maybe it's got to do with the fact that Zala's not going to get out of this even if Minrofherf was in love with him!"
Shinn let him go, his expression stunned. "You don't mean that the defense attorney's really not pulling his weight? It wasn't just my impression?"
Marlin snorted. "Anyone with an ass's brain would know that the defense attorney is too young and inexperienced for this and that he doesn't even believe in Athrun Zala. Even if you are the best advocate in the world, you can't defend anyone if you don't believe for a second that they could be innocent. And frankly, I think that's pretty justified with Zala here."
"But he's not guilty!" Shinn cried. His voice rose loud and Marlin knew that it was a matter of time before some bailiff would hear them. The corridor was not near the holding rooms for the jury or witnesses, and for that reason, Marlin was very glad. But still, Shinn's presence here was not a good thing. "Athrun Zala can't have wanted Orb and Scandinavia to go to war! The defense has to believe that!"
"Even if the defense did and had the skill to argue that, nothing can change the fact that Zala's dead meat, Asuka." Marlin looked at him with a rage that Shinn had never seen on this person's face before. Marlin had always been in control and jovial if somewhat insincere and guarded. But now Shinn could sense that something had gone very, very wrong for Marlin. "I can tell you this, Asuka. He and Cagalli were the only ones with Harraldsson. Cagalli did not shoot Harraldsson, and that leaves Zala."
"How do you know that she didn't shoot Harraldsson?" Shinn countered.
Marlin shook his head, unable to believe that he was standing in the middle of a corridor, arguing with Shinn and defending a woman that Marlin had just lost all trust in. He didn't even know Shinn Asuka that well, except that he'd randomly popped up in Orb and wanted to see Kira with another letter. "I don't have the obligation to tell you."
"No, tell me!" Shinn insisted. "How are you going to prove that she didn't shoot Harraldsson? All you did just now was to prove that the witnesses were unreliable, but that doesn't clear her of all doubt!"
"It's enough to defend on the balance of probabilities." Marlin said sharply. "Although I have pretty decisive proof to show her innocence." But he wondered if it was worth standing in court to defend her ever again.
Shinn hesitated. "Does it have to do with her inability to shoot?"
So Aaron had told Shinn that Marlin now had this information.
Marlin looked at Shinn, not sure what to say. But his silence was an affirmative, for Shinn seemed to grow more determined. "I'll testify for her, Marlin! If it will clear her of any doubt, Marlin, let me testify!" He shook his head. "That's really what I came in here to say to both of you—I don't want to see Atha go back out there and face doubts about her commitment to Orb."
Marlin stared in surprise at Shinn. "Why do you care?"
"She's become a friend to me." Shinn said quietly. He shook his head a little. "Although I'm worried about the implications for Athrun Zala if I testify."
Marlin's expression hardened again. "Why do you care about him anyway, Asuka? Does he mean as much to you as your friend and former employer? Or is he something to you too? Did he help you in Zaft? I heard you worked with him in the Second War from Aaron—does your belief in him have to do with anything of that past? Why don't you go and help Zala instead? Seems that he could use it like you say—the defense attorney's not helping him very much."
Shinn took a step back, fear striking at him. He began to stammer. "What are you talking about? W-What do you mean? Go and help him?"
Marlin made a sound of exasperation, realizing that he had spoken too much already. The more objective side of him was telling Marlin that he was treating Shinn unfairly. Shinn probably didn't even know what was going on and was just voicing out frustration at the general incompetence that the defense for Athrun Zala had displayed. "You know, you should just get out of here before anything happens and Cagalli's accused of buying testimonies."
He began to move in the direction he had been headed in, except Shinn grabbed him again.
"What is it now?" Marlin spat. He was trembling, Shinn could see, and he was very pale, as if he was about to lunge out at something.
Shinn shook his head. "Did something happen?"
Marlin turned away. His voice was cold. "No. Now get out of here before I get a bailiff to come."
He sat in his chair quietly, as if he was resting. Yet, Athrun's mind was moving very quickly, and very little of his emotions were calm ones. His hands were no longer bound because there was no way to escape from a room with no window and only one door that faced a heavily guarded corridor. But instead of massaging his aching wrists, Athrun ignored the smarting of his hands.
He had been bound for a long time and the physical restraints for a few more hours would have made no difference. Besides, he thought wryly, this was his retribution for the time he'd chained Cagalli to the bed for fear that she would escape or hurt herself.
He continued to sit in the hard-backed chair, waiting. The confinement room was like a cell, but with a table and a marginal effort at civilization. It was almost like he'd been pronounced guilty already.
As he thought about what he would say next in the courtroom, he heard a rapping on the door and the bailiff's voice. "Mr. Zala, you have a visitor."
Before he had a chance to respond, the door opened and Athrun looked up to see Cagalli standing in the doorway. As Yzak led her in, he knew that she had come with all intents and purposes to find him. She stood there, quiet and grave, while Yzak gave him only a glance, saying vaguely, "I'll handle the bailiff—I've got to go back speak to Eileen Canaver too." and then shut the door, leaving both of them there. Yzak might as well have spoken Greek, for nobody in the room was paying attention to him.
Within seconds, Cagalli was moving to him. As she murmured his name, the quality of the room became apparent. Her voice rose and died almost immediately in the stillness of the soundproofed place, and only the slight parting of her lips suggested that she had spoken.
He stood up, prepared to speak and drive her away as he'd planned. And yet, it struck Athrun that he had expected her to come in the first place. If he had once found her unpredictable and intriguing for that very reason, he realized with a pang of sadness that he had learnt to understand her and would have to use that to direct her actions once more.
But before he could say anything, Cagalli was undoing her sling and he saw that her injury was not as bad as Marlin had made it out to be. It was serious, no doubt, but it was not broken as it had appeared. There were only a few bandages on the wrist area left. She shook her head, hushing him by pressing a finger to his lips, and her hands crossed to his face.
Wordlessly, she stroked the bruise on his cheek gently. There was a small, hesitant smile and her eyes were bright with tears as she began to kiss him, pulling him to her.
He found himself wanting to return it; wanting to respond, wanting to hold her back and wanting her. He wanted to run his hands over her cheeks and rove those over the shoulders and hands that he could remember so well. Her body was small and warm, and he yearned to have it fit against him for as long as his hands could hold something.
But he pushed her away with all the force he could muster.
She cried out a little as she stumbled against the wall. "Ath—,"
"Don't lie to me." Athrun said coolly. He pointed at her arm. "Marlin's helping you. You don't need to kiss me to get anything more from me—not anymore. Save those kisses for him."
Cagalli's face was pale. "What are you saying? I asked Yzak Joule to give me permission to come here. He wasn't happy about this at all, but I begged him. I need to warn you about the letters— the prosecution has an Eye's testimony regarding the seal. I came because—,"
He shook his head, cutting her off for his sake, keeping his voice masked because it was impossible to inject anger into it. "You made use of me each time on the Isle, and if you think you can continue that in this courtroom, you're wrong. Go back to him. He's the one who will be your fool from now on."
Cagalli looked at him, her expression confused, then morphing into pain and a deep disappointment. She drew in a deep shuddering gulp, and her voice shook.
"I don't believe that you were trying to kill Harraldsson," She cried softly. "You did it to protect me, didn't you?"
He lifted her chin, looking at her without any clear emotion on his face. "I'm afraid you don't understand how I work, Cagalli. My final duty is still to the Numbers. You were not part of the equation at that time."
"But that can't be true! I don't believe that! That's why I tried so hard to lead the blame away from you, Athrun! I was supposed to say that you'd misled me to going to Sweden, but I couldn't do it!"
Athrun shrugged. "It's not my job to convince you to save yourself. That's James Marlin's." He turned away for a second. "If it goes well, he won't find out that you played him out by making use of me."
Losing control, she grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to turn back to look at her, trying to find something that would remind her of the person he'd been with her in the past. But all she saw was that insincere, cool demeanor; that strangely familiar but somehow detestable, subtly threatening Rune Estragon.
"I was trying my best back there." Cagalli whispered. "How could you say that I was making use of you or Marlin?"
"Then why do you rely on him at all?" He countered. Once more, Athrun found he was using the small seeds of jealousy in him to turn her away. To hide the lies within the truth had always been the best way to lie. "I watched him with you, Cagalli. Don't tell me that you don't know that he's putting everything out there for you as your fiancé."
"But I didn't!" Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head wildly. "I swear I didn't know he wanted so much, Athrun!" She clutched at him wildly. "We were never engaged! I never told you properly, but—," He voice broke and she was half-sobbing, half-begging. "Oh God—was that why you refused to look at me in the courtroom? Is that why you don't trust me now when that Marlin's representing me?"
Athrun stared at her, his pulse hammering against him so violently that he wondered if his astonishment would be seen by her. But he only just managed to keep his expressions hidden and not give up on what he'd started. "Look at you-," His eyes gazed at her and her pink cheeks and lips. "You're not worth very much under that exterior, are you? For every single scrape that you get out of, you have to use someone as a stepping stone."
"No!"
He let his eyes linger over her neck and further down. "What about that façade of competence? You need your fiancé to get you out of this, don't you? You certainly needed me to do everything you managed on the Isle. What if I told everyone in the courtroom of what we got up to in those months?"
She stared at him, tears falling from her eyes and her hands near her mouth as she shook her head, trying to make him stop. He wanted to—he wanted to take her in his arms and beg for her to forgive him and to trust him still. But he had set his mind on this.
There was almost no chance of him getting out of the mess he was in, and if she tried to save him, she would jeopardize her own chance too. As it was, her efforts to cover for his role in her going to Sweden was jeopardizing the coherence of her own testimony. He couldn't have that. He needed her to stop caring about him and to start thinking only of herself. As far as Athrun needed to know, Marlin would do his job well and he would care for her. That was all that mattered, Athrun tried to remind himself.
"Don't say anymore," Cagalli begged. "It's not like that at all, Athrun. Please. You have to believe me and what I have to tell you and ask you to do later. I'm trying to protect you, Athrun, you must believe me."
"I'm not going to believe or do anything you ask me to." His voice rose harshly. "He's put you up to this, I know that. Just like that arm." He grabbed her hand and lifted it, looking at the ring. "You wear this as a charade for the public; but that's all it is even for us!"
He dropped her hand roughly, trying not to care that she let out a tiny little gasp of pain because of her injuries. "You know, I thought I was capable of caring for someone else at one point." He smiled grimly. "But at least you've taught me that it's every person for himself. I never realized it Cagalli, but that's the thing that makes you able to lead your country."
"I'm not like that," She said through gritted teeth. "You were the one who told me I wasn't like that! You were the one who took me close to you."
"And who was it who offered yourself in the first place?" He mocked her. She flinched, shrinking back, her face white and the blood rushing from it. He looked at her coolly. "At least you were good to have, even if that's all you amounted to."
Cagalli reeled back. "I don't believe—," She shook her head, as if trying to clear what he'd said.
"I know the real reason as to why you came here." He said evenly, knowing that his utter control over his words would hurt her more than anything else. "You're trying to beg me not to say anything about our relationship. Aren't you?"
"That's not why I came!" Her voice rose and angry tears welled up. "That's not why I said what I did back there!"
"Don't lie. You want to get out of this in one piece and like you were never sullied, don't you? But I'm here and I'm still alive, and that's why you're worried. I could easily besmirch your reputation with this, and you're afraid of me doing so." He laughed at her. "It's not just because of your country, is it? You're afraid of so much more. You're afraid of me telling everyone around you about the agreements you led me into, including that man who defends you and believes in you being so pure and defends you wholeheartedly. I'm sure he'll be less willing to defend you when he finds out that you were in my bed for hours at an end."
"Marlin's not—," was that really her voice, so weak and broken? "He's not anything to me."
"You're afraid he'll find out how you behaved with me." Athrun gripped her by her shoulders. "You know who I am, don't you? I was the first man you ever had. You don't want anybody to know, do you? What would James Marlin think if he knew who you really were?" He watched her looking more and more faint and he knew he was just moments away from achieving his purpose. He forced a laugh. "I took you before he did, didn't I? And you were another man's wife-to-be at that time! You couldn't go without me, once I took you. I daresay that you enjoyed it."
"You can't prove we had a relationship," She said tremblingly. "You're lying to me. You can't say that, Athrun—you'll ruin everything!"
"Why not?" He said laughingly. "I can prove it with Epstein's word. He's still loyal to me. He can testify about the occasions that I brought you out to sea." He leaned forward. "Did you look through all the evidence that's out there, Cagalli? They found the yacht we were on."
She shrank back. "What?"
"The investigation may have been rushed, but I'm sure traces of my presence and yours can be found. Besides, there's Epstein. At my signal he would not hesitate to recount even the times when we would lock ourselves in my office. There are a thousand things that you can't erase even if that would help you get out of this courtroom with an intact reputation. I'm the one who can destroy you, Cagalli." He looked at her intently. "But then, you knew that all along. That's why you're here."
"Why are you doing this?" She whispered.
Athrun smiled coldly. "I've lost everything because of you, Cagalli. It's the least I can do to return the favour."
He hauled her to him and kissed her roughly. It was hungry, poisonous in its spontaneity, for speaking in the calm, measured tones had forced him to take another outlet for his pain. Perhaps this was it, for this kiss was angry and possessive; desperate even. He brushed his hands against her, yanking off her jacket, grabbing at her roughly, trying to pull her against him. She struggled hard, crying out, and she tried to push him away. He only laughed and pulled her closer, winding a hand in her hair as he'd used to do once; running his fingers in those gold strands.
A moment later, Cagalli broke free and struck out at him.
A stinging welt formed across his cheek as she struck him, his lips bleeding slightly where her teeth had bitten them. Her tears were still spilling but her hatred helped her to hold her head high. This was what he had made of her, Athrun realized. This was the last gift he could give her for her to survive.
"You bastard." Cagalli said brokenly. "You're more like your father than I thought."
She collected her things in a daze, and she stumbled out of the room. He took a step back, collapsing into his seat, and he hid his face with hands and did what only his will had prevented him from doing previously.
Back in the privacy of his holding room and in the absence of the other jury members that Eileen had requested to leave, Yzak was fighting desperately.
"Chairman," Yzak was trying not to let his voice shake. "He can testify."
"Exactly," Erik was doing his best to convince Eileen as well. "I have solid evidence here other than my testimony." He lifted a file. "I have documents that my wife kept of her brother's dealings with weapon companies and the lands he acquired and used as camps to round up Danish Coordinators."
"I'm afraid I won't allow you to testify." Eileen's expression was troubled, but there was grimness in her expression that suggested how she had made up her mind. "Even if I give permission for you to divulge the Isle's secrets, the jury and the judge will never allow a witness like you to take the stand. Your personal circumstances are far too questionable; as your personal interests will seem."
"Let them question me!" Erik argued. "They cannot prove what does not exist. All the interest that exists for me is to expose the things my brother-in-law caused!"
"But Plant has sworn you to silence ever since we granted you refuge and protection in Plant. Your dealings with our Intelligencers and the Isle and most particularly the nature of the Isle and the people on it are of utmost confidentiality."
"But Chairman!" Yzak's voice was desperate now. "He can avoid revealing those things!"
"Don't fool yourself, Head General. That is impossible in the situation at hand if he is allowed to take the stand."
She paced the room, her honey-coloured hair less vibrant in the harsh light of this room. The other members of the jury were kept outside, and Yzak was not afraid to speak his mind with another member of the Intelligence Council and the head of the Plants. "No. Erik Strumsson, you cannot nor do you have to testify. It defies my understanding as to why you would want to break his silence now, given that your wife has awoken from her coma and would benefit a great deal from what Plant is offering you."
Erik was silent, looking down at the hand he had lost. Yzak did not have to glance at him to know what tremendous conflict and inner turmoil Erik must have fought with before deciding to come here.
"But he's willing to give that up," Yzak argued. After his visit to the remand centre where he'd glimpsed Athrun in that battered, weakened state, he had pleaded with Erik Strumsson to testify against Pietre Harraldsson. It had been a selfish request, as Yzak had admitted, given that Strumsson's testimony would undoubtedly include the location of the Isle and lead to more questions about who had been there and why Zaft and Plant had been in control of a forgotten, coastal region within an Earth Alliance territory.
Erik Strumsson had been given refuge when he had fled an assassination attempt seven years ago, and Plant had agreed to let him bring his wife there as his fears for her safety were justified. At the same time, Plant had obtained the information Erik had passed to them to understand the threat that Pietre Harraldsson was to the delicate balance between Coordinators and Naturals, and it had started a new operation on the Isle for the precise reason of safeguarding the peace.
Thus, Erik Strumsson had been reluctant to testify against Pietre Harraldsson and thus provide a reason that Athrun would be able to use. His eventual agreement had given Yzak hope, and now Yzak was terribly afraid that all this would still come to nothing.
"Athrun Zala must have shot Harraldsson," Yzak muttered. "But I'm sure he had a good reason for doing so. If Erik testifies, then the jury will understand that it was in self-defense against a highly dangerous person. Isn't that true, Erik?"
Before Erik Strumsson could apply, Eileen cut in.
"Look, Head General," Eileen said sharply, "It's not like you to lose your cool here. Think about it. So far, the jury's been unanimous and on rather civil grounds of decisions despite the undeniable tension between each section. Putting Erik on the stand will make the different sections go wild, and you can be sure that's the self-destruct button for any decision that follows in our favour."
"But I have these pieces of evidence!" Erik protested, holding up the file he had compiled. He thought of Freja Magdalena's weak state after she'd come out of her coma but her dogged, brave insistence that he find the documents that she had taken and hidden from her brother and thus suffered so much injury and injustice for. She had urged him to do what he thought was right with everything that she'd amassed, and now Erik was sure that he was doing the right thing.
"But think about it more." Eileen said tiredly. "Erik, you weren't there on the day of the events. You were away in Prague, hiding from the terrorists as was the order the Intelligence Council gave Athrun Zala and made him carry out."
"I can tell them what Harraldsson did!"
Eileen shook her head. "Your information on Harraldsson is important, no doubt, and I applaud your courage in forgoing the refuge we are giving you and your wife in order to help Athrun Zala. But what good can you do other than establishing that Harraldsson was a criminal? You weren't there. You did not see Harraldsson attack Zala; you did not see Harraldsson do anything that warranted Zala's behavior. You are almost useless on the stand and you would be throwing away the chance of a new life in the Plants in safe anonymity for you and your wife if you do as the Head General has somehow convinced you to."
She made preparations to leave the room, straightening her coat and forcing her voice to be steady. "If Zala is truly innocent like you believe, Head General, and that he had a lawful excuse for killing Harraldsson, then he'll be able to prove himself without Erik Strumsson's help."
"Not with how the jury's biased against him!" The words flew from Yzak's mouth before he could stop himself.
Eileen slammed her fist on the table between them. Her face was pale and she shook her head, even though Yzak knew she personally agreed with him. "I will not have you accusing the integrity of the members of the jury, Head General, especially those from Plant!"
"It's especially them that don't believe him," Yzak said fiercely. "They think he's a black-sheep of a Coordinator—he's not one of them anymore. They want to put him away because they think he's a Coordinator who doesn't deserve to be one of us."
"Perhaps they are justified in thinking so as long as Athrun Zala cannot prove his innocence." She said tonelessly. "Of all people, Head General, I chose you to represent the Plants because I was convinced that you would keep emotions and long-time friendships from objectivity." She turned away. "Don't disappoint me more than you already have."
"I am being objective." He insisted. If there was one person he thought he agreed most with in terms of policies and mentality, it was Eileen Canaver. Her husband and child could not change the way she thought or the way she committed to the Plants, and he had always admired her for her strength and doggedness. But bitterness rose in him when he realized that he had still been moved by his friendship with Athrun and that Eileen Canaver could not be moved by anything else outside her duty to the Plants. "I am being objective when I say I believe in his innocence."
"Then someone else will have to prove it." She said quietly. "The trial will resume, and I expect you to make the right decision when the time comes."
Yzak stared at Eileen in frustration. "Doesn't the fact that Athrun Zala is innocent have any impact?"
She looked at him, and the ravages of time under her eyes and the way she had to force herself to stand tall made Yzak feel less sure about himself too. "Doesn't the fact that I have to account for a million more lives out there have any impact?"
Erik Strumsson and Yzak Joule were left standing helplessly while Eileen left quietly with the countenance of one who had assumed more weight on her shoulders with no way of ever taking the yoke off.
As Marlin stepped into the holding room, closing the door quietly and turning to look at her, he had every intention of discharging himself of his duty. In the last half hour, he had prepared himself to tell Cagalli of this, for he had been far too broken by what she'd revealed. How was he to protect someone that he could not agree with or trust on any single ground anymore? Her rejection of him had smarted, but what had hurt more had been the way she had made use of him even if unwittingly.
But as he turned to her and took one look at the woman he loved, James Marlin knew immediately that his decision was moot. He flew to her, grabbing her and trying to hold her up as she sobbed.
"I'm sorry," He whispered. "I didn't mean to be so harsh—I wasn't thinking straight. I take back everything I said about your integrity. I didn't mean it, Cagalli."
She shook her head, still crying with those quiet, tiny sobs that made her shoulders tremble. If only those words had come from another. She made no sound, her hands near her mouth, but she could not open her eyes to look at him. When she tried to speak, she could only do so in broken gulps that shook her frame.
"No, it's me who should be sorry." She told Marlin. "I won't try to protect him anymore." She choked back her tears. "I don't know why I said everything I did to you. I don't even know what I was thinking—,"
He knelt by her, wiping the tears that escaped her control. "It's fine; I don't blame you. You were vulnerable then and he was the only person who you could have relied on for anything in the place that you were at. He was Kira's friend too, that's why you believed him more than you should have."
He hugged her gently, being careful with her arm. "I take back everything I said that hurt you, Cagalli, but I meant everything about wanting to be with you. Don't mistrust me—I don't care even if you lied to me or had me like a fool back there. You don't deserve to be hurt this way."
Cagalli tried to choke back her tears and tell him what she was crying about. But she couldn't. She couldn't even explain the pain within her and the way she'd found herself crumbling when Athrun had looked at her and smiled that strange, cold smile of his. "It's true though. I did love him. I really thought I did."
And she knew she would not be able to ever tell Marlin again that she had loved Athrun even before meeting him at the Isle again. She thought of Athrun's eyes and the way he had laughed at her for her foolishness, and she felt her hands go weak. Had he really believed that when she had pulled him out of the water and resuscitated him, she was doing everything for Marlin's sake?
She did not know what to think anymore. Her tears were still falling and she was sobbing quietly, desperately, panting because of the lack of air.
"It's fine," Marlin repeated gently. He hugged her to him. "Don't think of anything of the past anymore. Think of what you have now. I know you aren't as dependant on him as he made you think you were. You have me. I can still help you out of this. Don't be frightened. I'll find a way to clear you of the charge of causing grievous hurt to Harraldsson. I don't believe you shot him—you couldn't have. It was Athrun Zala who took the gun from you."
Her hands were grasping blindly and wildly, and if she had meant to find anything, there was only Marlin's hands that found hers and tried to steady her. But even that warm grip did not fill the aching and maddening grief in her.
"You were lucky that you didn't say anything more than what you did."Marlin said quietly. "Or I would have probably had to discharge myself."
She did not know what to say to that, and so she nodded, still numbed and cold from the encounter with Athrun.
"He's not worth saving, you know." Marlin told her. "He was definitely the one who shot Pietre Harraldsson. Regardless of whether Harraldsson was a good person or bad person, Athrun Zala shot him, and he has to face up to that charge."
"What makes you so sure that Athrun Zala shot Harraldsson?" She whispered shakily. "How can you prove that I couldn't shoot?"
"The fact that you can't shoot at close range." He said directly. "I have a witness—a doctor who treated your injuries from the event that happened on your twenty-second birthday. He can testify that your trauma was so great that it would have been impossible for you to shoot. If need be, I can bring in a bodyguard you had subsequent to the event to prove that you developed the inability to shoot at anything less than two metres in front of you. Shinn Asuka, I believe. He'll definitely help us there."
Cagalli swallowed, not finding the strength to tell him who had trained her to during her stay on the Isle. If it would save her, she would let him continue with his understanding of her past.
"As for the charge of inducing Kira to lead the troops into Orb," Marlin said softly, "Zala will certainly not even have a chance of clearing that. As long as you keep maintaining that you never trusted Athrun Zala, no matter what kind of evidence the prosecutor throws at you, I will find a way to get you out of this. And even if I don't, the prosecutor can't fail on this particular charge now. "
"Why?"
"Because the prosecution has found a way to use an Eye's testimony to incriminate Athrun Zala for good." He looked at her with a small smile. "And I have a way to get you off the hook for sure."
When Yzak came in with the others, Athrun noticed that he was visibly shaken. It seemed that the members of the jury were revitalized and ready to hear the rest of the trial, but Yzak looked ill and worried. Wryly, Athrun wondered what there was to worry about when the outcome was decided anyway.
"Your Honour, the charge that Ms. Atha still faces is that of causing grievous hurt to Pietre Harraldsson," Marlin said confidently. "The defense will begin examination now."
"Proceed."
"Ms. Atha," Marlin said. "I would like to refer you to evidence number twelve of the master bundle of authorities."
The jury and judge stared at her as she lifted a clear bag with a gun in it.
"Ms. Atha, you took this gun from the yacht you used to get to Sweden. True?"
"Yes."
"Ms. Atha, did you use this gun at any one point while in the Swedish Winter palace?"
"No. I lost consciousness from my injuries before I could pull the trigger. My injury was to the left arm, but I was in too much pain to muster any strength to even hold the gun. Even if I had been in the perfect state of health," She hesitated a little, thinking of what Marlin had briefed her on. He nodded a little encouraging her, and she forced herself to continue. "I would have been unable to shoot at close range."
"Ms. Atha, when you faced Harraldsson, did you hear anything going on beyond that room?"
"Gunshots, yes. Screams and the sound of fighting."
"I see. Ms. Atha, when you passed out, as you say, did you remember anything?"
She could. She could remember Pietre Harraldsson falling forward. That had been all. Her back had been facing the door and she could remember that it had been opened. But she hadn't seen who had shot and she was afraid to think of who it had been. "No. I don't remember anything. But I know I didn't shoot."
"Ms. Atha, your fingerprints are on this gun, and you say that you took it from the yacht you were on. By right, the owner's prints should be on those, unless he was wearing gloves or regularly cleaned his prints off a gun. Instead, there are only Mr. Zala's prints apart from yours." Marlin was clearly advancing the case theory that he had used before, Athrun realized. "Can you then explain why Mr. Zala's prints are also on this gun?"
She bit her lips a little. "I don't know why those are there."
"Thank you, Ms. Atha." Marlin turned to the jury and judge. He had no more need to say anymore, for it was obvious what he was suggesting. "No further questions."
The prosecutor took over. From his absence of objection as to Marlin's careful tracts of questioning, Athrun was quite sure that Minrofher did not see her as a suspect at all. Rather, he saw her as a witness to incriminating someone far more significant. "Ms. Atha, you say you never used the gun at any point. True?"
"True."
"Then Ms. Atha, can you explain why there is one bullet missing from the cartridge?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe when I took it, there were only five inside."
"That is possible Ms. Atha," Minrofherf said slowly. "Did you check that it was fully loaded when you brought it with you?"
She had. It had been. She thought of what Marlin had asked her to stick to but found herself hesitating. "I don't think so."
"Moving on then, Ms. Atha, you are about one point six five. True?"
"Approximately, yes."
"Ms. Atha, the bullet that caused Harraldsson his main injury was at point blank. If you were to raise your hand, any discharged bullet from your gun would have been at that spot."
"I'm sorry." Marlin was on his feet. "Your Honour, anybody can aim at anyone at close range. Anybody who had been in that enclosed space would have hit easily at Harraldsson's chest to cause him that injury."
"Sustained."
"Well then, Ms. Atha," Minrofherf said testily, "You said previously that you would be unable to shoot even if you had a gun in your hands, due to your inability. What is the nature of this inability?"
She took a shaky breath, saying what Marlin had convinced her to. "Three years ago, on my birthday, I had to shoot in self-defense when some assassins broke in. I suffered from symptoms akin to being shell-shocked for months after that, and I was unable to shoot at any kind of range, particularly at close-range."
"Your Honour," Marlin called out, "May the defense bring in a new witness to prove Ms. Atha's inability?"
"You may."
"Thank you, Your Honour."
Shinn Asuka took the stand and Marlin questioned him.
"Mr. Asuka, you were Ms. Atha's bodyguard for nearly a year when she was twenty-three. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Asuka, did Ms. Atha ever carry a gun on her?" Marlin said carefully.
"If she ever did, it was I who encouraged her to. She was often reluctant to."
"How would you describe Ms. Atha's competency with a gun?"
"She was not competent at the point when I was working for her. I was surprised to find that she was so poor with her aim. Her hands would shake continually when she tried to shoot during target practice and particularly at close range. She was also quite inacapalbe of loading the gun correctly at times; as if she was not paying attention or trying not to pay attention to what she was holding. This is what I noticed, and I thought it was unusual for somebody who had been through a war. Now that you say that she went through a traumatic experience—," He shrugged. "That would make sense."
"Given your understanding of Ms. Atha's competency with a gun, Mr. Asuka, would you say that Ms. Atha would be likely to fire successfully at close range and in a pressurizing situation?"
"Objection!" Minrofherf was standing and frowning. "Your Honour, I cannot allow this line of questioning when Mr. Asuka was not at any point present in the circumstances."
"But Your Honour," Marlin said quickly, "Mr. Asuka is arguably one of the bodyguards that Ms. Atha trusted deeply and took advice from. He has also testified to training with her so as to understand her weaknesses and to accommodate her reactions in the kind of situation she faced at the Swedish Winter Palace."
The judge considered this for a moment. "Overruled. Continue, defense."
"Thank you, Your Honour." Marlin turned back to Shinn. "Mr. Asuka?"
"It's unlikely that she would be able to shoot. She always tensed up and didn't seem to be able to pull the trigger."
"Thank you, Your Honour. No further questions."
Minrofherf took his turn to do the cross-examination.
"Mr. Asuka, did Ms. Atha ever go for therapy and counseling to get over her trauma?"
"Not that I know of."
"Mr. Asuka, you mention that you trained together with Ms. Atha. During these training sessions, weren't these attempts she made to regain her past expertise with weapons?"
"Maybe you could say that, but those were training sessions I initiated. It's important for the employer to understand what the bodyguard is likely to do during certain dangerous situations."
"I understand, Mr. Asuka. But would you say, Mr. Asuka, that Ms. Atha was able to shoot even if not very well?"
"I don't think so," Shinn looked at him stubbornly. "Like I said, she was quite hopeless with a gun. She never carried one if she could, precisely because it was useless even if she did. She could not get over her fear of having a gun in her hands. It was clear to me even then, despite my lack of understanding as to why."
Minrofherf gave a small little shrug, as if Shinn's rather airtight testimony was not an issue for him anyway. "No further questions, Your Honour."
"Court adjourned for half an hour. The verdict regarding the charge of grievous harm will be read out shortly."
As Marlin took Cagalli gently by the arm and began to lead her from the stand, they both passed Athrun. Marlin stared at him hard, although Cagalli's eyes carefully avoided his. The two men's eyes did not blink, although Marlin's hand tightened around Cagalli. All Athrun could do was to be proud of his control.
"By the powerful testimony and the fact that Ms. Atha could not use a gun, she could not have shot at Harraldsson. Prosecution, we will deal with the next charge."
Athrun kept silent as he watched Yzak's face tighten. Cagalli stole a glance at him, and he saw that her eyes were frightened and unsure, but nobody seemed to be surprised by the decision.
"Your Honour," Minrofherf spoke up, "The remaining charge that Mr. Zala faces is as follows. Mr. Zala faces the charge of criminal instigation of misleading and instigating Mr. Yamato, the Orb Proxy, to direct the Orb troops unlawfully into Scandinavian territory. Given the rather lacking testimonies regarding the entry of to Orb troops into the palace that day, the prosecution will require Ms. Atha to assist the court as a witness in understanding the events."
"Proceed, prosecution. Ms. Atha," the judge said kindly, "Do bear with the court."
"Yes, Your Honour." She said softly, remaining where she was. All suspicion of her had been cleared, and Athrun was relieved for at least that. Now, she would testify against him, and she would be free to live her life once more.
Minrofherf began questioning again.
"Ms. Atha, your written statement suggests that you knew little about the events outside the Zaft grounds you were at. This included the lack of updates on your country's state of affairs and even where the place you were at was. For that matter, the people who sheltered you used aliases. True to this extent?"
"Yes."
"Ms. Atha, did you ever ask why?"
"Yes. But I was told that the place was a top military secret and that was why I could not find out where I was. I trusted the people looking after me enough, since I trusted Plant in the first place."
"But Ms. Atha, surely you were justified to demand for updates on the state of your country from time to time?"
"I tried, but they could not tell me very much. It wasn't their fault or choice—the base I was at was apparently very important and no information left or entered it."
"Ms. Atha, who are you referring to when you say 'they'?"
"I refer to Mr. Zala and his aides."
"Ms. Atha, am I correct to say that you knew Mr. Zala despite the alias he probably asked you to address him by?"
She hesitated a bit. "Well, marginally, yes."
"Ms. Atha, please answer the question. Did you know Mr. Zala's name and background specifically when you met him after regaining consciousness?"
"Yes." She could not deny it.
"How did you know this, Ms. Atha?"
She took in a deep breath. "It isn't private information. Most people would have heard something about Mr. Zala."
"Ms. Atha, Mr. Zala was also a friend of your brother's. True?"
"I'm not sure." She was trying to hide the fact that they knew each other, Athrun realized. She had been shaken enough by his encounter with her that she was trying to deny any influence of friendship or anything more that he could have had at all. She was in other words, playing into the scenario that Athrun had planned.
"Is that all, Ms. Atha?"
"I-," She swallowed. "Yes."
Minrofherf raised an eyebrow at her, and then turned to the jury. "I would like to draw Your Honour's and the respectable members of the jury's attention to page eighty-two of the bundle of authorities. Ms. Atha, please turn to that page as well."
A few moments passed as the parties looked at the thick file before them.
"Ms. Atha, can you tell us when this photograph was taken?"
She felt nausea rise in her as she stared at a picture of Kira, Lacus, Athrun and herself smiling with the background of the sea behind them. She knew exactly when this had been, for she had been Lacus' maid-of-honour and Athrun had served as Kira's best man after the First War. The informal wedding had been a tiny, simple affair at the orphanage by the sea, and her brother and Lacus had exchanged their vows without any fanfare and in their simple, Sunday best attire. It had been a vastly different event from that of the massive, complex ceremony that nearly everyone had been invited to after the Second War.
"I don't know." She said quietly. "I can't remember."
"Ms. Atha, do you know where this photograph was retrieved?"
She did know. She had not liked going to the fireplace in Lacus' home precisely because of its presence. "I—I don't know."
"Ms. Atha, this was taken from Ms. Clyne's photograph collection that was on display in her living room. You have seen it before and frequently, given that you must have visited your brother's home many times in the past. True?"
She was trapped. "Not true. I don't really visit my brother's home."
"But you must have seen this photograph before." The prosecutor pressed.
"I have a vague recollection of this, yes."
"Ms. Atha, Ms. Clyne's photographs that she displayed in her home were of significant, personal value to her. She herself has admitted so. Those include photographs of her father, her husband, her close friends, and of course, you. This photograph should not, logically, be of any difference—and by extension, the subjects of this photograph."
Cagalli looked at the copy of the photograph. They had looked so happy then.
"Ms. Atha, returning to the question at hand, you said you knew Mr. Zala marginally, since he was your brother's friend. In this situation, given the proof and the deductions that we can make, you knew Mr. Zala's background and identity on a far more intimate level than the average person who reads newspapers. True?"
"I suppose so." She said grudgingly.
"Not just that, Ms. Atha, you would have recognized Mr. Zala even after this indeterminate time when the photograph was taken. This is because you were introduced to him by your brother. True?"
"No." Cagalli looked a bit ill. "My brother has many friends—I don't know all of them."
"Of course," Minrofherf said softly. "But Mr. Zala, Ms. Atha, was someone far more familiar to you than what you claim. Am I correct to say this?"
"No," She slowly. "That isn't true."
"Then, Ms. Atha, can you explain why Mr. Zala served as your bodyguard after the First War?"
She nearly crumbled but Marlin gave her a quick stare and she tilted her chin defiantly, not willing to disappoint him more than she already had. "I have nearly twenty bodyguards with me at any time, Mr. Minrofherf. I am afraid I do not take notice of all of them or know everybody's name."
"No, Ms. Atha, but Mr. Zala was living in your estate, as Mr. Ledonir Kisaka has testified."
She held her voice steady. "So did the other bodyguards and gardeners and servants until after the Second War ended. I do not recognize most of them or see them for most part—they live in the servants' quarters, not my own, even if it is the same estate. Those I hire don't come as close as you would think."
Minrofherf frowned. "But Ms. Atha, you would have recognized Mr. Zala, given that you had met him during the First War through your brother. And as this picture shows, were on a rather familiar basis with him."
"Yes," Cagalli admitted. "But I'm afraid that I was no more familiar with him before and after I left the place I was recuperating in for these months. I do not know him anymore than what the average person on the street would know of Mr. Zala."
"Your Honour," The defense representing Athrun was on his feet, "This pointless line of questioning has gone on for far too long. Establishing that Ms. Atha and Mr. Zala were on good terms would not suggest an explanation as to how Mr. Zala got hold of the details of the seal. As it is, Ms. Atha has already established that the servants lived in different quarters from her own, and that even a bodyguard was not likely to hear of her seal's details from her. Mr. Zala could not have known the details of the seal, even if he knew that there was one."
But the attorney need not have bothered.
"I'm done here with questioning, Your Honour." Minrofherf sat down.
"The defense sees no need to question Ms. Atha's testimony that Mr. Zala could not have gotten information about the seal's details, Your Honour." The defense chose not to do cross-examination.
Minrofherf had not seemed to want to push for more ways of establishing a situation where Athrun could have requested such information, and Athrun was quite sure that Cagalli would not let on that she had been in a precise situation where more than information was accessible to Athrun. The jury mumbled amongst itself, for it seemed that it was unlikely for Athrun to have gotten the details of the seal, which would prove detrimental to any chance of incriminating him.
But Athrun saw that Minrofherf was smiling.
The next person to be called to the stand was Lent Mortimer.
Minrofherf opened with his statement. "Your Honour and respectable members of the jury, the question at hand is not who wrote those letters. Given Ms. Atha's testimony that she did not write those, those letters may have been written by anyone at any point."
He paused significantly, looking confidently at every jury member. Athrun could see that they were hanging on his every word; members of an orchestra that Minrofherf was conducting. "But it is what they were accompanied by that matters. It is the recreated seal that convinced Mr. Yamato and the Orb Parliament that Ms. Atha was alive, amongst other more significant things. It is this seal that the jury must turn its attention to—how could such a secret object have its details divulged to Mr. Zala in the first place? Hence, the prosecution calls on Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Zala's former colleague, to testify."
Lent took the stand, looking highly uncomfortable in the stiff suit and without the glasses that had been confiscated by the bailiffs in charge of security. Those glasses could record and do rather extraordinary things, and it was quite natural that he could not wear those here.
"Mr. Mortimer, you were asked by Mr. Zala some time in the third month of Ms. Atha's stay to recreate a seal. True?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Mortimer, when Mr. Zala asked for this to be recreated, did you know that it was Ms. Atha's personal seal?"
Lent thought of what the Numbers had insisted on him testifying. "No. That's not true—he came up with a design and asked me to make it."
"Mr. Mortimer, did you never think to ask what it was for?" Minrofherf was obviously trying to lead Lent into divulging that Athrun had made some kind of false representation as to what the seal was supposed to be.
"Your Honour!" The defense for Athrun was on his feet. "I must raise an objection to that. I cannot allow Mr. Mortimer to face pointed questions."
"Your Honour," Minrofherf insisted, "This is a key question for understanding Mr. Mortimer's state of mind and perhaps even what Mr. Zala induced of it!"
"You will answer the question, Mr. Mortimer." The judge told them.
"I never asked because I was so sure that it was a decorative gift." Lent kept his voice steady. He watched the prosecutor frown a little. "I didn't even consider asking my colleague what it was for when it seemed very obvious that it was a decorative item."
The prosecutor paused and Athrun knew that he was changing his tactics.
"Mr. Mortimer, you made the seal. True?"
"Yes." Lent was very still.
"Mr. Mortimer, how did you gain the expertise of doing so?"
"I used to work in weapons-development in Zaft."
"I assume you were rather good at what you did?" Minrofherf said testily.
"I wouldn't say that. It was a matter of experience, that's all."
"And how does one create a seal from a two-dimensional design?"
"Your Honour," The defense for Athrun was jumping in, so excited that he could not even phrase his thoughts properly. Athrun half-wondered if the jury was biased towards Athrun by insisting he have this particular person to represent him and botch things up even more. "This is a pointless line of questioning and-,"
"Overruled. Mr. Mortimer, you will answer the prosecution's question."
"Usually, one has to make a mould before the steel is poured in. The mould is carved from material that is strong enough to withstand the heat of liquid metal."
"Would you say that the process is a very detailed one?"
"Yes. The person making the seal has to be careful about the carving and the individual strokes and different depths of the design."
The prosecutor smiled a little, and Lent knew that he had been caught already.
"Mr. Mortimer, did you have assistance in making the seal?"
"Yes. My aides control the fires."
"Very good, Mr. Mortimer. So even when your aides were merely stoking the fires, they were able to see the end result; at very least. True?"
Lent thought about Tequila's joy at seeing the pretty shape. "True."
"Are your aides in the habit of voicing their opinions, Mr. Mortimer?"
"It depends on what the opinion and what the situation is."
"Well, Mr. Mortimer, do your aides comment on the things you create?"
"Generally, yes."
"Then Mr. Mortimer," Minrofherf raised his voice a little. "You must have noticed one key aspect of the seal, given your experienced and meticulous way of making it. And even if you did not for some unimaginable reason, your aides would have commented on the unique quality. I refer the court to the sample of the seal that the investigators obtained from Ms. Atha's safe in her house."
"Prosecution," One member from the Earth Alliance side spoke up, "Do we have a sample of the seal that arrived with the letters?"
"I apologise to the respectable member of the jury." Minrofherf said. "The seals that came with the letters had to be broken each time, and those have long been discarded. However, two out of three of the respectable jury members from Orb have seen this recreated seal that was stamped in wax and accompanied each letter."
The judge nodded. "I assure the others that your learned fellow members of the jury have testified that the wax was stamped with the same components as Ms. Atha's."
"Carry on then, prosecution." The judge said.
"I would like to draw the jury and Your Honour's attention to the inner circle of the seal's design." There were murmurs everywhere as Minrofherf turned back to Lent.
"Mr. Mortimer, you have said that you were specifically involved with a detailed process of creating a seal; of which, a design was supplied by Mr. Zala. During this time, you believed it to be a decoration rather than of any significance, in absence of Mr. Zala's express explanation for why he needed this. True?"
Lent took a deep breath in, sensing Yzak Joule's eyes boring into him. "Yes."
"Then, Mr. Mortimer," The prosecutor said triumphantly. "You would have noticed the name, or at very least, the inversed letters that would show up when you tested the seal. True?"
The people in the courtroom began to talk amongst themselves, but Lent shook his head. "I don't deny that! It is precisely because I saw a name that I thought it was a present for Ms. Atha, who was treated as a guest of sorts on Zaft territory."
"It is interesting that you assume that Ms. Atha and Mr. Zala were on sufficiently good conditions for him to give her a gift." Minrofherf noted. "Mr. Mortimer, did you ever consider that this supposed gift was never shown to Ms. Atha?"
"No."
"Then, Mr. Mortimer, did you ever suspect that it was used to establish a kind of communication with Orb that led Mr. Yamato to direct the troops unlawfully into Sweden?"
"Never." Lent said firmly. "I have already said that I always thought it would be a decorative item and used for nothing more than taking up space." He began to push up his glasses as a matter of habit, but found none there. The truth was that Lent was uncomfortable at the lies that his superiors had asked him to tell. "I did not think that my colleague would do such a thing—such a thought never occurred to me. I did not know that Ms. Atha had a seal and that its details were thus."
"Still, Mr. Mortimer, you were allowed to be put under the impression that this was a gift for Ms. Atha. True?"
"True."
"Then, Mr. Mortimer, you would have believed, or had been led to believe two things. First, you believed that Mr. Zala had come up with the design himself. Secondly, you believed that Mr. Zala and Ms. Atha were sufficiently amicable for one to give a present to another. True?"
Lent thought about Sheba and Sanders. He thought about the grueling times and the pains that he had experienced on the Isle, and he wondered if he was correct for sticking to his duty. Athrun hadn't, and Athrun was facing this. But unlike Athrun, Lent had nothing else in his life except his duty, and it was duty that anchored him to this world. And he made his decision there and then. "True."
"Thank you, Your Honour and respectable members of the jury." Minrofherf said. He allowed himself a small smile yet again. "No further questions for now."
"Your cross-examination, defense."
"Thank you, Your Honour." The defense stood up and faced Lent, with all the intention of breaking down his testimony. "Mr. Mortimer, how long have you worked with Mr. Zala?"
"Nearly seven years now."
"I see. Mr. Mortimer, would you say that Mr. Zala offers information about himself as a forthcoming person?"
"No. As far as my impression goes, Mr. Zala is almost introverted."
"Then, Mr. Mortimer, does Mr. Zala make friends easily?"
"I wouldn't say so. He was very professional with his colleagues, but as to friendship—," Mortimer trailed off and it was enough to establish his point.
"Then Mr. Mortimer, it would be an illogical assumption that Mr. Zala, who was introverted and did not make friends easily, was on suitably good terms with Ms. Atha to give her a token of friendship. True ?"
"Like I said," Lent said a bit impatiently, "He didn't make friends easily, but it's not impossible. For that matter, the seal had her name, so that's why I thought it was a gift for her."
"Even if we accept that, Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Zala never made such a representation to you. True?"
"Yes."
Athrun could see what the defense was trying to do, and it seemed to be going pretty well. He stole a glance at Cagalli and saw her relaxing a little. If friendship between them could not be proven, it was unlikely that anything else could be.
"Then, Mr. Mortimer, I would be correct to say that Mr. Zala never gave you the impression that he was on good terms with Ms. Atha. Rather, it was the basic design of the seal he asked you to make that you got this impression."
"Well—," Lent paused. "Yes."
"By extension, Mr. Mortimer, I would be correct to say that anything you believed to be pertaining to good terms between your colleague and Ms. Atha was just your own interpretation of ultimately baseless impressions."
"Maybe not as baseless as you make it sound, but overall, yes."
The defense smiled. "Your Honour, clearly, Mr. Mortimer was not led by Mr. Zala to believe that the seal was a gift, or as the prosecution tried to infer, that Mr. Zala and Ms. Atha were on good terms at all. For that simple reason, Your Honour and respectable members of the jury, Mr. Zala could not have obtained details of the seal because there was no goodwill or trust between them both in the first place. Any such indication was merely an impression tat Mr. Mortimer has admitted to having, despite any express details from Mr. Zala."
"But Your Honour and respectable members of the jury," Minrofherf was on his feet. Athrun knew he had been holding back all his objections, simply because the defense had played right into his hands. "That is precisely my point." He turned to look at Athrun, and he was smiling. "Given the lack of friendship or any particular goodwill between Mr. Zala and Ms. Atha, Mr. Zala did not and could not persuade Ms. Atha to reveal the details of her seal."
"Then how do you suggest Mr. Zala got the details of her seal, if that is what you are claiming he had to instigate Mr. Yamato into leading troops into Scandinavia?" The judge demanded.
"Why, through threats and the use of physical violence, Your Honour."
Minrofherf smiled indulgently, continuing with his voice raised above the growing murmurs of those present. "The prosecution calls upon Ms. Atha to testify in hopes that she will take this opportunity to amend her testimony. The prosecution hopes she can testify as to how she received the injuries on her person on the day she was found at the Palace, and what formed the basis of her urgent need to escape the Zaft vessel that was headed to Orb in the first place."
"Ms. Atha, you suffered a broken arm and a side injury caused by a blade. True?"
"True."
"Ms. Atha, as far as your claims extend up to this point, Harraldsson caused those injuries in the confusion of your entering his room. But the circumstances of these are unclear, with no proof for it, even if there is no proof that he did not. It is on your word alone that this is suggested. Can you tell us again, if this is true, how Harraldsson attacked you?"
She said in a whisper. "I—I don't remember."
"Ms. Atha," The judge said gently, "Please don't be frightened in this court. We are only concerned with the truth. The media has not been let into this, and human frailty is to be expected from anybody at any point."
"Your Honour and good men and women of the jury," Minrofherf said loudly, injecting a great deal of sympathy into his voice. "I ask you not to focus on Ms. Atha's fear—," He paused, knowing that he had drawn attention to her hesitation even more, "Nor her inability to answer directly."
It was too late for Athrun or the defense to stop Minrofherf's tactic. The jury was already looking at her limp figure, her pale face and her broken arm.
"But for the sake of Ms. Atha and the unspeakable grievances she may have suffered, I ask you to think of only the truth and the circumstances at hand. Think not of Ms. Atha's past as the undoubtedly competent person she was with her parliament, but think of who she ultimately is. Ms. Atha was kept a captive, even if in supposedly hospitable circumstances. I ask you to think back to her dogged insistence that she had been treated well even when she was first called to testify. Was it merely for the sake of international relations that she spoke out about the treatment that she had received and the lengths she went to this?"
Minrofherf was pacing, using rhetoric and various elements in a way that Athrun had never expected. "As jury members, no, as fellow humans," His voice rang with righteousness, "I ask you to consider Ms. Atha's vulnerability with regards to the strain of her emotional, mental and physical state while in captivity."
"Are you claiming that Zaft mistreated her, prosecutor?" Yzak Joule suddenly spoke up, his voice tight with anger. The other members of Plant on the jury nodded unhappily, and suddenly the courtroom was talking and pointing indiscreetly. One member of the Orb portion of the jury leapt to his feet, saying loudly, "I don't believe she was treated well at all!"
Suddenly, there was someone diving at Yzak Joule's throat and Yzak punched and a groan was heard in the air. The jury members were fighting amongst themselves.
The judge was banging his gavel and screaming for order in the court, and it took a few minutes before the jury was seated and the troublemaker who'd tried to hit Yzak was back in his seat with a bleeding mouth.
"I understand that national sentiments are important," The judge said wearily. "But this courtroom cannot be a circus. Prosecution, you will substantiate your claims or drop them."
"Thank you, Your Honour." Minrofherf had watched the unfolding chaos with a little smirk on his face, and now he turned back to the jury. "Forgive me if I have insinuated more than what is just, respectable members of the jury. It was never my intention. Rather, the prosecution would like to highlight the fact that Mr. Zala was the sole Intelligencer who had custody of Ms. Atha, as Ms. Atha has established. Furthermore, the Intelligence Council of Plant has established that Mr. Zala will face charges of insubordination and acting willfully with the misuse of his powers back in the Plants, and the prosecution submits that it is highly likely that Mr. Zala abused his powers in a situation where he had custody of Ms. Atha."
"Are you still insinuating that the Intelligence Council allowed physical abuse, as you claim, to happen to Ms. Atha?" Yzak was pale with rage.
"No, Head General Joule," Minrofherf was quick to qualify the case theory that he had been forwarding. A little drama had gotten his point, but anymore would make it seem more controversial than probable. "If it did happen, then it could not be in the control of Mr. Zala's employers to prevent this, given that reasonable employers would trust their employees enough—particularly someone of Mr. Zala's experience and excellent track record with Zaft."
What was this? Athrun wondered. When they wanted to paint him in a bad light, his history of a double defection had been brought up. When they wanted to show that he had cunningly misused his authority, his record was suddenly a stellar one. It was hypocritical and inconsistent, and it was precisely what nobody spoke out against.
"In any case, Your Honour," Minrofherf continued, keen to get on with his point, "Ms. Atha cannot prove that Harraldsson inflicted those injuries on her. These are grave injuries, Your Honour, and it is unlikely for Pietre Harraldsson to inflict these on Ms. Atha, particularly because Orb would be expecting her to arrive home unscathed, as Scandinavia was supposed to achieve."
"Objection, Your Honour!" The defense stood up. "The prosecution keeps accusing Mr. Zala of threatening and hurting Ms. Atha as a means of obtaining the seal's details from her, but there is no proof to suggest this!"
"No, Your Honour!" The prosecutor shook his head. "I was getting there. Ms. Atha has expressed great hesitation as to how Harraldsson inflicted injuries on her. Beyond that, she took great pains to escape the Zaft vessel she woke up in—even though it was headed towards Orb."
"She has already claimed it was due to confusion!" The defense butted in, going quite wild with excitement. Athrun wondered if the defense had been hired to do him in.
"Your turn for cross-examination will come," The judge cut in irritably. "Carry on, prosecution."
"Thank you, Your Honour." Minrofherf nodded. "Why would Ms. Atha ever be confused as to her waking up on a vessel, if she had been so well treated by the person she was in custody of? Why would Ms. Atha fight so hard to get to Sweden and specifically Sweden, where she made it clear that she thought only of getting to the palace? And why would she require weapons and carry them with her as if she was being pursued; and why would she need help from Pietre Harraldsson and why would she even require it at all?"
Minrofherf searched the faces of the jury members, seeing doubt, apprehension and even pity rise up in their faces as they looked at the silent Cagalli. "For one reason, respectable men and women of the jury. Ms. Atha was being abused by Mr. Zala to the point that she divulged details of a seal that caused the damage we face today."
"Ms. Atha, I would like you to revisit your previous testimony on how you escaped the Zaft vessel. Did you know it was a Zaft vessel that you were on?"
"Yes."
"Then Ms. Atha, did you know you were headed back to Orb?"
She paused. "I guess I did consider that. But I was confused."
"How did you get out of that vessel?"
"I heard a nearby ship and I opened a window in the room I was in and saw other boats and the like. I left the room because it was unlocked. A smaller yacht was next to the ship, and I could climb over from the rails and get onto it."
"Ms. Atha," the prosecutor was looking at her carefully. "Do you remember the details of this Zaft vessel you say you woke up and found yourself on, and where you abandoned it?"
She hesitated, for it had not even existed. "Not really. I didn't look around much."
"But you mentioned that you saw other boats, including the yacht you took control of, at the point when you woke up. This means you were probably at a point where vessels where headed to. True?"
True."
"Then, Ms. Atha, even if the investigation team was unable to locate this Zaft vessel, you say that you took control of another yacht by climbing over the rails and getting to the yacht that incidentally happened to be so close."
"Yes." She said nervously.
"Ms. Atha, were there any people on board the yacht?"
She hesitated, knowing that she was bound to make some kind of contradiction here. "I don't think so."
"But Ms. Atha, the yacht you got onto had to be headed somewhere! Surely, it wasn't a ghost piloting that yacht?"
"I don't know. There wasn't anyone in the control room."
"Ms. Atha, this yacht seemed to be a civilian one, as far as the investigation team could infer from its interior and operating system. Can you describe the path you took when you say you got to the control room and found nobody there?" He handed her a map and a pen
"I-," She swallowed, and then drew her path on it. Minrofherf took it and slid it under a projector and the court and jury looked at the path she had drawn.
"This means, Ms. Atha, that you were travelling along the left side of the yacht, approximately this way." He placed a series of photographs on the projector. "I refer the jury to page twelve of the bundle of authorities."
She looked at the panel of photographs marking out her trail, not really understanding its significance.
"Ms. Atha, you would have passed by this spot," He gestured to where a pile of rope lay on the deck. "Where a rescue boat would have been. Upon your getting onto this yacht from a vessel you claimed you were on, you would have then seen a rescue boat here."
She went cold with fear. There hadn't been a rescue boat on the yacht—Athrun had used it. "Th-There wasn't any!"
"I am afraid that is impossible, Ms. Atha," The prosecution said coolly. "All yachts must be equipped with at least one rescue boat as part of safety procedures."
"Maybe it was being used at that time," She said shakily. "Maybe that's why there weren't ay people I met on board. Maybe they used it and were out fishing or something."
"That is possible," Minrofherf agreed. His lip curled. "But more probable than that, Ms. Atha, is that you were never on any vessel except the yacht in the first place. If you only passed through this path, as you claimed with this map, then it would not explain the presence of your hair in this room-," He pointed to the map where the other side of the yacht had a particular room. "The investigation team found traces of your blood in this room, which you must have been in at some point."
Her face turned pale. Had they found and identified Athrun's presence in that room as well? But the prosecutor did not say more than this. He carried on. "The prosecution submits that if Ms. Atha had indeed been on a Zaft vessel and had escaped to this apparently civilian yacht, then she would have not been in this room-," He pointed at the photograph of a place that Cagalli recognized as the room she and Athrun had been in—the same room with the bed that he'd bound her in, "At any one point."
"I'm sorry," Cagalli broke in wildly, "I think it was on the other side of the yacht that I was at. Maybe it looks similar—," She paused, shaking her head. "I was in that room. Yes."
"That is logical, Ms. Atha," Minrofhef said sympathetically, although his eyes were glinting. "Then Ms. Atha, can you explain why there were traces of your blood on a pillow in that room?"
She could remember why. She'd fallen down when she had tried to run from Athrun, and she'd scrapped her knees because the floor had been slippery from the rain and she'd had a bad stumble. She must have bled a little on those sheets when she'd lain in them after that. She thought of how she'd dug her nails into Athrun's shoulders and for a second, she thought the game was up.
"Ms. Atha," The prosecutor continued, "There were no other traces of anything significant in that room, but surely, the presence of your blood is important? How did it land up there?"
She continued with great difficulty. "I hurt my knees before that. A minor scratch, but I guess it bled a little."
"So Ms. Atha, you admit that you were on that yacht, there was no Zaft vessel that you were on before that, and that you did have some physical injury on you at that time." Minrofherf said this slowly.
She could not disagree. She looked at Marlin, who nodded just ever so slightly at her, and she said shakily, "Yes."
"Why did you feel a need to testify that you had been on a Zaft vessel that you'd escaped from before that, Ms. Atha?"
She bit her lips. "I don't know. I just-," She shook her head. "I didn't even know whether I was on a Zaft vessel or not when I woke up on that yacht." She looked at the jury and saw that their expressions had hardened. They were not looking at her but at Athrun.
"Your Honour," Minrofherf spoke, "The prosecution submits that Ms. Atha's inconsistent testimony is precisely the end result of the abuse she suffered. Ms. Atha undoubtedly had a physical injury at that time," He paused, directing the jury's eyes to Cagalli's arm, "And that was why she was so nervy and found a need to protect herself by taking the gun and knife that she found in the control room."
"Your Honour, the prosecution further submits that the injuries found on her when she was at the Winter palace were injuries she had prior to her encounter with Harraldsson, and that she sought Harraldsson because she was afraid that the vessel would be heading where Mr. Zala was."
"Objection!" The defense for Athrun was on his feet. "That contradicts every single testimony that we've heard from the guards at the palace!"
"I'm afraid, Your Honour, that those were unreliable from the start; particularly when the fighting broke out." Minrofherf spoke. "Ms. Atha's own defense counsel so saliently proved that the guards have perhaps some interest that colours their perception of events and their testimonies."
"Overruled. Prosecution, continue."
"Your Honour and respectable members of the jury," Minrofherf looked almost relaxed now. "Ms. Atha has suffered enough. I only ask that the truth be brought to light as to how Mr. Zala obtained the all-important details of her seal. Those details are what convinced the Orb Parliament to do as what the letters asked, and those details were taken from Ms. Atha against her will. She has suffered. Let her suffer no more." He looked diffidently at the judge, knowing that the jury had bought his case. "No further questions."
The defense got onto his feet. His hands were trembling a little, and Athrun was afraid for him.
"Ms. Atha, did Mr. Zala ever threaten you?"
She thought of the cuff that she had thrown into the water, glancing sideways at Athrun. And for all she had set her mind to doing, she was glad he would not be implicated more than he already was. "No."
"Objection, Your Honour! It is unlikely for Ms. Atha to be able to answer that question in Mr. Zala's presence. Your Honour, if Ms. Atha has indeed suffered, which is likely to be the case, such a line of questioning would be pointless!"
"Sustained. Defense, I ask that you question while keeping in mind the delicate state Ms. Atha is in."
"Dutifully, Your Honour. I apologise." The defense looked even less prepared to question Cagalli. "Ms. Atha, how would you describe the state of the yacht when you got to the control room?"
"It was empty," She hesitated. "Nobody seemed to be on it. I directed it against its path without much difficulty."
"Ms. Atha, given Mr. Zala's role as an intelligencer and the person who had custody over you, would you say he was careful?"
"I suppose so. He did not let me leave the place."
"Then, Ms. Atha, did you suppose that he had been so careless that day as to let you maneuver the yacht to wherever you pleased?"
"It's not impossible." She said softly.
"Ms. Atha, would you describe it as characteristic of Mr. Zala as an intelligencer to be so careless?"
"I'm not sure he was being careless. I've been told that on that day, I was meant to return to Orb anyway. Maybe that's why he didn't really care that I could do whatever I pleased."
The defense seemed to be facing yet another dead end. He shook his head. "No further questions."
Athrun looked at Yzak and saw that Yzak was gripping his pen so hard, it looked almost ready to break.
When the defense was asked to question Athrun, Athrun took a look at his face and knew that it would be to no avail. The defense stumbled, unable to establish anything convincing for Athrun that Athrun had not abused his power of custody. Some part of him felt sorry for his representative, for Athrun knew that the young defense attorney was trying his best when it was simply not possible to save Athrun.
And when Minrofherf took over, Athrun knew it was over. Even before he began answering the prosecution's questions, he found himself wondering why he had to go down in a manner that Athrun knew was entirely false. He hadn't threatened her for the details—he had done everything for her knowing that he would face a day like this; all because he had chosen those months with Cagalli rather than what Plant had promised him.
"Mr. Zala, you have established that you knew Ms. Atha had a personal seal. True?"
"Yes."
"How did you know this, Mr. Zala?"
"It is rather common knowledge that the Head of States have personal seals that only they know the details of."
"Nobody in this court will dispute that, Mr. Zala. But specifically, you knew what Ms. Atha's seal's details were, given that you produced a design for your colleague to recreate True?"
There was no way around it. But as Athrun studied the cold faces of those before him, he decided that he had nothing to lose anyway. There was only one person he wanted to protect, and he could do it even if he went down right here. "True."
"Mr. Zala, how did you obtain the design that Mr. Mortimer eventually relied on to create a seal that you had asked for?"
His mouth went dry. "I asked her to draw it out and I recreated it."
"And Ms. Atha agreed without question, Mr. Zala?"
Athrun did not dare to look at Cagalli for fear that the jury would sense his thoughts. But if he had, he would have seen that her eyes were downcast and staring at a low angle even if her chin was defiant and stubbornly tilted. It was a good thing that Athrun was keeping every spectator's eyes on him and thus detracted potential attention from her.
She had first made the offer. She had offered him money- the memory made him laugh- in exchange for the location of the town on the Isle. He had needed the seal from her- he asked for it rather than money. Money was a poor thing to offer.
He knew why Cagalli couldn't speak up and say that he had done everything, including take the blame for Harraldsson's death, for her sake. That would mean exposing why Athrun would even try to protect her, and Athrun could see her fears that it would not be as easy as to explain that it is a matter of duty to the courts. After all, the Eyes had already made enough preparation to ensure she would be safe. Even arguing that he had shot to protect her was in the heat of the moment would not work unless she revealed that he was already protective of her as they were lovers.
He knew that she was afraid to throw everything away and tell the world that because it was risky to herself. He had always known that and played on that fact when she'd come to him, telling him that she would tell the courts of their relationship and try to protect him. He'd given her a reason to mistrust him—he'd pushed her in the opposite direction. Now, he had confirmed her fears. What would everyone think of a woman who was involved with her captor and someone like Athrun Zala, no less?
He knew that. He had wanted precisely this. But why did it hurt to so much to see her silent with her eyes cast down and Marlin's arm around her?
"Answer the question please, Mr. Zala!" The prosecutor said firmly- almost viciously. "Did Ms. Atha give you the details of the seal?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Zala, Ms. Atha was very explicit about establishing that she did not know you very well at all. You were at best, an acquaintance that she recognized by face and name and little more than that. True?"
His heart ached. "True. But I obtained the details regardless of any lack of friendship."
"Mr. Zala, how could you have made any attempt to convince Ms. Atha to give you details of her seal, especially since you were both not in a relationship of any trust?"
"We agreed that Orb was behaving rashly and on nationalistic sentiments. If she didn't reach out to it and stop it from storming Scandinavia, Orb could potentially damage its relations with the Earth Alliance." Athrun said. He breathed deeply, trying to steady himself. The prosecutor looked disgruntled. He stole a glance at Cagalli. She was not looking at him. She was staring at Marlin instead. He felt sickened, and looked away.
"Mr. Zala, you both reached that conclusion and Ms. Atha made an express wish to contact Orb through her brother in this way. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, am I right to say that Ms. Atha trusted you not to misuse her seal when sending a letter for her?"
"Objection, Your Honour! This line of questioning assumes Mr. Zaa had already misused her seal—," The defense sputtered.
"Overruled."
"Answer the question, Mr. Zala! Did Ms. Atha trust you not to misuse her seal?"
"Yes."
"But again, Mr. Zala, I am afraid that Ms. Atha has testified that she does not know you more than beyond the fact that you were her brother's friend. Her acquaintance with you was a matter of circumstance rather than any clear friendship. You say that she agreed to give up these details without any convincing on your part, but the prosecution submits that the only way this could ever happen was that you persuaded her to by talking about Orb's best interests."
"No!" Athrun's voice rose.
"But Mr. Zala, at very least, you gave her notice of Orb's situation. By her testimony and your colleagues', the rules on the grounds were that no information was supposed to be given for the purposes of maintaining the highly secret, confidential nature of the place. True?"
"True." There was no way to disagree.
"So for her to know that-," The prosecutor said slowly, "She needed to have information from outside. This contradicts what you previously said. Moreover, Mr Zala, you were the primary person who had custody of Ms. Atha, and your aides were expressly forbidden to tell her of where she was or what was going on. True?"
"True." Athrun had no choice.
"Your Honour," Minrofherf said, "I put it to this court that Mr. Zala did not have to actively persuade Ms. Atha to give up the information that inevitably influenced Mr. Yamato's decision. Mr. Zala had the advantage of information that Ms. Atha would have benefitted from not having, and yet he defied his orders and gave her that information while fully knowing that she had a seal with details she was likely to divulge to him because of her concern for Orb.
"She guessed what Orb was likely to do." Athrun said evenly. "It doesn't take a genius to guess that."
"But even if we accept that, Mr. Zala," the prosecutor said cuttingly, "For her to trust you with such powerful details of this seal would be an unimaginable, almost illogical thing, given her testimony that she knew you only as her brother's friend."
He looked at Cagalli, knowing how they'd made that contract. She was trembling a little and her eyes were focused on the floor.
"It seemed wise to prevent Orb from entering Sweden then." Athrun said softly, trying to control the way his heart was beating.
"Even if we take it that she had, Mr. Zala," the prosecutor was smiling now. "That is not the same thing as saying that Ms. Atha willingly gave you details of her seal and had you use them in letters that she claims she did not write. Frankly, it is difficult to believe that she would write those herself, given that those led to a very unsavoury state of affairs for her country and Scandinavia. It would defy logic as to why she would write such letters. And even if she wrote letters, it would be impossible to send them without your co-operation. In fact, it would be impossible for her to think of writing them if she did not have specific information about the events outside the training ground. She was not supposed to have any information. Your position was that of an intelligencer with very strict orders not to let information pass out of the training grounds. Your interest was primarily not in your duties, but in causing Mr. Yamato to act as he did. True?"
He swallowed. "Not true."
It was the truth. He had never considered sending the first and second letter to convince Kira that Cagalli was alive, let alone the third letter to direct Kira's actions. He had known what the letters' effects would be, but it had only been possible for him to send the letters because of his weakness. He had no interest in the politics beyond the Isle, or Cagalli's true interests when she'd begged him to send letters for her. His only interest had been her—
"Then what, Mr. Zala, was your interest when you defied orders and did something that had such foreseeable, negative impacts on Orb and Scandinavia's relations?"
Cagalli was sitting in that chair, her shoulders limp and her face blank, Marlin's arm around her shoulders. In that moment, Athrun doubted his ability and will to protect her. He could tell the court what she really meant to him; how he'd chosen to shoot Harraldsson for her, and that he'd always been involved with her. That way, he would establish their true relationship and be able to plead that in his circumstances, she'd been the one who'd induced him to send those letters rather than what this court was believing- that he'd persuaded her to get her brother to wage war on Scandinavia. He'd have his defense, and for once, she would understand what it felt like to be defenseless.
"Please answer the question, Mr. Zala. What was your interest in giving her information, even if it is true that it was Ms. Atha who asked you to contact her brother?"
"I-," He felt his throat go dry.
Cagalli's head snapped up, and her face was ashen.
He could say it. He could tell them how he had earned her, little by little, and then how she'd given herself to him and asked him to make love to her, how madly they'd been in love all over again. He could tell all those present how they'd been fools to leave each other for the war, and how badly he wanted to keep her by his side. Her entire testimony would be discredited, and so would the evidence against him in many ways.
He had given up his freedom for her. If he exposed how she'd tempted him, created opportunities for him to have access to her body in exchange for that top-secret information, then the blame would be on her. In the best case scenario, she would be blamed entirely. In the worst case, they would take equal blame.
He could pour every potentially vile thought from his head into this court, through his mouth. He could tell them how she'd enticed him and tempted him. He had done anything but hurt her. He was sure of that. With him, she had behaved like an animal in heat for him. God, no. If anything, she had forced herself on him.
He could say it. If he went down, he could take her down with him. That would be fair- that would injure her no more than she had ruined him. The jury would stare at her- look at the fair Orb Princess and see her as what she was in bed, a whore, his whore, the only thing that had sustained him for seven years, the only thing he'd thrown everything away for despite his freedom being so close at hand.
He parted his lips to speak. Her eyes fastened on him, and for a second, it was like they were two dark spots in the mad kaleidoscope of shifting sounds and movements. Her eyes were golden- they were always golden.
But there was pain and a plea in them. In that second, he knew that even if he tried to back out of his plans to protect her at the expense of himself, he would be unable to betray her. He had loved her too much to ever do that, no matter how easy it would be to save himself and not her.
His voice rang out, silencing the courtoom.
"She did not ask me to contact her brother. It was I who could not persuade her to divulge the details of her seal, given our lack of friendship that I shared with her brother. I threatened her until she gave me those details. I forced her to write letters that I dictated."
Minrofherf looked like Christmas had come early. "So you admit your guilt pertaining to the charge of instigating Mr. Yamato to wage war on Scandinavia through obtaining a seal by threat and use of violence on Ms. Atha then, Mr. Zala?"
He began to nod, but suddenly, Cagalli was on her feet. She got up slowly, achingly; as if she'd been bruised all over. He was enraptured by the beauty of her face and the strength in her voice, although it was trembling still, and his voice jammed in his throat even while she found hers. Hers rang out in the air, surprising all those present. "Even if it is not my turn, I would like to speak. It is of utmost importance that I add to what Mr. Zala is saying."
"Your Grace will have your chance if it is relevant to issue at hand." The judge said courteously, even though he seemed unnerved by Athrun's sudden confession and Cagalli's sudden request to speak.
"It is. I'd like to amend my testimony, Your Honour. I beg for you to oblige me even though it is not my turn yet."
The mutters of the jury grew, encouraging those watching to talk amongst themselves too. Athrun stared at her, praying with every fiber of him that she would not do anything foolish against herself.
"You may amend it," The judge nodded. Minrofherf was almost skipping on the spot, and Marlin looked very confident. It was almost obvious that they were expecting her to say tha Athrun had indeed done as he'd confessed. Athrun knew she would—he'd forced her into a state where she believed that he'd wanted nothing more than to use her as a pawn. She would play into the scenario without trying to cover for him now.
But while Athrun waited for her to speak, he thought of what he'd told her the last time that they had made love. He'd asked her to remember all the times that he'd bound her against her will, and he'd asked her to use that against him. His heart weighed him down; a burning stone in the flesh of his body. Well, he couldn't complain about the only outcome that he had arranged for himself through Cagalli.
"Ms. Atha, when you are ready." The judge said patiently.
He waited. The judge and jury waited. Those present in the courtroom waited.
She took in a deep breath, looking very pale but very determined.
"Firstly," She said clearly and very steadily, "I wrote the letters. All of them. I asked Athrun Zala to send those for me. He did not have to persuade me for the details of the seal."
"No!" Minrofherf was shouting even as the courtroom exploded into sound. "How is that possible?"
"Cagalli!" Marlin had leapt to his feet, and his expression was nearly begging her, trying to pull her to sit down. "Your Honour, I'm afraid Ms. Atha is suffering from the after-effects of her trauma and—,"
"I'm not suffering from anything!" Her voice was whiplash; a cry that silenced everything in the courtroom. And she stood rapt, her gaze firm and filled with defiance, her will clear before Athrun. "He never abused me at one point."
"That's not possible!" Minrofherf's voice was cracking from the strain of his shock. "You can't just say anything you like and have no pr—,"
"I'll tell you why it's possible!" Cagalli cut in. She looked directly at the judge. "I was the one who threatened Athrun Zala, Your Honour. I told him that I would kill myself if he did not contact Kira Yamato for me."
She ignored the shouts that were breaking everywhere. "I beg for silence, Your Honour."
He did as she had asked and banged the gavel, although his eyes were protuberant with shock like everyone else's. The Earth Alliance members of the jury were sputtering, and the Scandinavian members pointing and looking very confused as their gazes travelled between the supposed victim and the accused.
Amongst the Plant members of the jury, Yzak was the only one who was keeping very still; the other two were shaking their heads in disbelief. The Orb members had reacted the most drastically—one had her hands to her mouth and the other two were staring with slack jaws at a red-faced Marlin and a pale Cagalli.
Athrun's face too, he was aware, was unguarded and the shock was rippling through every feature. Thankfully, nobody noticed because they were all mostly staring at Cagalli. She made use of this attention as she began to speak, and her voice shook slightly although she balled her fists in a bid to keep her control.
"He could not refuse my request for information and my later requests to send the letters that I'd written when his duty was to keep me alive."
"No," Athrun tried to say. "I was the one—,"
She held up her hand for silence, cutting him off without even a glance at him. "Secondly, I shot Pietre Harraldsson. He had no conspiracy against Harraldsson. Rather, it was I who found a need to protect Athrun Zala when the Danish Liberalist Faction was embroiled in a fight with the Royal guards. I shot Harraldsson at close range. I am capable of that still, despite what was claimed, and I can demonstrate it if the court wishes me to."
Her eyes searched the face of the stunned jury, and they swept across the courtroom, that was in an uproar. For a brief second, her eyes met his, and then she looked away, although her gaze was still steady.
"Do-do you understand the implications of what you are saying?" The judge said weakly. In his elderly and somewhat fragile-looking state, he looked like he was about ot pass out from heart seizure.
She looked at the judge with some pity in her eyes. "Of course. Why else would I say it?"
Once again, the courtroom was embroiled in the sheer volume of those speaking and trying to understand what the hell was even going on. The jury started arguing amongst themselves with the Orb members openly accusing the Plant members of having their Intelligencer threaten the Orb Princess to the point that she thought she was responsible for this state of events.
"That's the kind of scum you employ!" One of them screeched. He thumped his fist hard on the file and then lifted it to smash it on the table. "This is a joke! What do you mean by this, you Plant scum?"
"Who are you calling scum?" Another roared back. "It's your Princess that threatened our Intelligencer!" He stood up as well, and for once, Yzak was the one pulling someone else to sit down. But the other Plant jury member seized the opportunity to dive at the Orb representative.
"I say it's all Orb's fault!"
The Scandinavian members joined in and began arguing that Orb had always known its Princess would go willingly with the Intelligencer who had appeared on the SS Rafael but had blamed Scandinavia for her disappearance.
"That's right! It's a conspiracy they planned, and they wanted us to take the blame! That's why our own High King's dead now! It's their fault in the first place!"
The Earth Alliance was stunned, still trying to get everyone else in the jury to calm down. As it was, utter bedlam had sprung out in the courts and spread over to the spectators. Officials within those watching were shouting allegations at each other and it seemed that the roof would come down in seconds.
The judge was banging the gavel, but nobody bothered. It was too noisy. In the midst of all of the chaos, a signal was given and Cagalli was led away. She did not struggle with the bailiff but followed meekly and almost willingly. Marlin tried to intervene, but Minrofherf strode there, grabbing his arm away from the bailiff's. And as Cagalli was brought away from the stand, she turned, facing Athrun directly. In that moment, he stared at her.
A tiny, wistful smile played on her lips, and he knew what he read in the triumph of her golden eyes.
'I beat you to it.'
"Your Honour! Hear me out!"
There was a mini-commotion at the back of the courtroom. One of the aides who had been called in to give his witness was on his feet, despite the other Plant Intelligencer's efforts to pull him to sit down.
"No," Athrun whispered, horrified. The bailiff who had been about to guide Cagalli off paused, staring as everyone including the judge and jury was. "No, Epstein!"
But Epstein was already speaking. "I'm afraid that what Ms. Atha says about shooting is not possible, Your Honour." He shook his head a little. "Ms. Atha's bullet only grazed Harraldsson's hair. I and Mr. Zala are the witnesses for this. The bullet in the wall is the one that was discharged from Ms. Atha's gun. I was the one who shot into his chest with every intention to kill him. The prosecution has assumed up to this point that there were only two people in the room other than Harraldsson. But I can testify this is not the case. I was the third person present."
"Who is this?" One jury member from the Earth Alliance demanded.
"An aide of Athrun Zala's," Another member told him.
"Your Honour." Epstein caught the question in the silence that had suddenly spread over the courtroom. He stood tall, his face devoid of fear. "I am Erlich Hoffman, alias Epstein Cleamont, subordinate of Athrun Zala, employee of Zaft.
Yzak got to his feet addressing the judge. "Your Honour, I ask that Epstein Cleamont be allowed to admit to his causing grievous hurt in order to protect Ms. Atha from suffering further injuries that Harraldsson had caused her."
"No!" Athrun was shouting and trying to move forward. He lunged violently, pulling his arms forward. But the binds held him in place and nobody heard as the muttering had already become loud chatter. "No, Yzak! You can't! He's not the one who shot-,"
"What on earth is happening?" The judge said in his confusion. "I should hold all of you in contempt of the Galactic Court!"
Yzak ignored Athrun, who was still trying to break free of his binds. Instead, Yzak looked straight at the judge. "Your Honour, I appeal to you to do as I humbly request."
The other members of the jury had yet to turn their gaze away from Epstein. Then someone in the audience began to talk to the person next to him, and it was a sentence with words that nobody could quite make out save for the sound of words in the air. But it was enough.
Suddenly, the jury members were speaking amongst themselves or perhaps, shouting with a great deal of table-banging, and there did not seem to be a way to make silence come. The bailiffs were hollering above the noise, the judge was staring as if he'd been frozen, and the world seemed to have descended into a mad whorl of sound and words that nobody could understand.
The gavel sounded after three minutes. Nobody paid attention to it.
When Cagalli found her way out of the courtroom and tried to make her way to the car, she found that being guided by the circle of her aides and bodyguards did little to help her. Around them, people were clamoring to get close with their arsenal of pens, notepads and cameras. Some were shouting and begging to know about the progress of the trial, and one got close enough to pull at her.
But as she managed to push her way into the car, she heard the door shut quite securely. Yet, she knew that she was trapped even in here, for she had no other way to change what she'd done.
And she looked at James Marlin, quiet and unable to say anything. In turn, he saw that she was biting her lips to keep from crying. He sat next to her there in the car, and while they waited for Aaron to come and to drive them away, he began to spill the innermost of his secrets to her.
It was a pity, Cagalli thought, that she'd destroyed something in him.
"You disappointed me when it mattered the most." Marlin said brokenly. "We could have started all over again. I could have had you if only you had renounced him first. We could have made this so different."
"The only difference was that he would have been sentenced to death." She said numbly, unmoved by him. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head, looking older than she had ever seen him. "No. Don't."
"Marlin-,"
He was backing away, looking pained.
"You got out of this as best as you could possibly have." He told her. "Take it as a gift, Cagalli. I did my best. Even when I wanted to hate you for lying to me, I did my best."
She tried again. "I didn't want to lie to you, Marlin, but I had to."
"I was a fool to lie to myself," He said angrily. He ran a hand over his face, trying not to break down. "The truth was staring right there at me in the face from the moment you asked where Athrun Zala was when you woke up."
Her voice was low and ragged. "To some extent, it was always like that. All these years, he was the only person that I needed or wanted."
Marlin gave a funny, choking sound of unimaginable grief. "I don't want to know anymore."
The thought of her, vulnerable and alone, using the only means she had to gain the upper hand during her kidnap, made him feel a sense of helplessness. Helplessness disgusted him. In that instant, he understood that he had always loved her because of an independence that hadn't quite existed. He had mistaken her as a mercenary person, the kind who did anything to survive; the kind of person who'd been born into a certain class and emanated the power in her blood. He'd respected her for that, loving her for her strength, ambition and her ruthlessness. Deep inside, Marlin knew he could have accepted anything she did or had done- so long as she was trying to escape and return to Orb.
But she had not done everything just so she could leave. She had done it for a very different reason. Staring at Cagalli, he knew what it was.
She loved Athrun Zala. She had always loved him.
In that blinding minute, Marlin had realized that she was weak. He knew she had a weakness and he knew he would not be able to accept that when the weakness was not for him but for another. Cagalli had ended up becoming weak for another person; another person that Marlin would never be able to know or even understand. But Marlin of course, understood now that she could not live alone and apart from the one person she loved the most. Her weakness was Athrun Zala.
She bowed her head. "You've been a friend to me."
"I will always be." Marlin said quietly, his face without the vitality that it had once symbolized, "Nothing less and nothing more."
She watched him turn, open the car door and leave. She couldn't even see him move away from the car, for it seemed that he was swallowed whole by those beyond the glass and metal barriers.
Court was adjourned for three weeks, and in that time, the facts were revisited and new inquiries opened. In the remand centre, Athrun found that he was quite disorientated by the lack of beatings or interrogation, for nobody seemed to want to extract information from him anymore. Through the hours of his stay, he could see the guards muttering and whispering amongst themselves, but they never attempted to ask him questions, as if they were aware that he would not be able to answer those.
One guard still cursed quietly and under his breath when he came to give Athrun his meals, but none of them ill-treated him. It was all very disconcerting for Athrun, who noted with a great deal of cynicism that not being hit or yelled at was something he hadn't expected from this place at all.
Then Yzak came to visit him, and Athrun noted that Yzak had never looked more tired than before. He was gaunt and appeared to have lost a significant amount of weight during these five days. When he sat down, he seemed to make up for his slighter-looking self by puffing up with the essence of bad temper and glaring at Athrun.
Athrun was the first to speak, and it came out as an apology. "I'm sorry. "
"What for?" Yzak said sharply. "It's not like you didn't keep your promise to me and the Intelligence Council. You never breathed a word about the Isle or its operations, and even now, the court and everyone out there only knows that some secret training ground exists."
Athrun shook his head. "I came close to it at times."
"I admire you for that." Yzak said gruffly. "If you'd revealed the true nature of what you were dealing with, I don't think anybody in the jury would have doubted you or why you turned up in Scandinavia for a second. And that is why I thank you on behalf of the Intelligence Council." He looked at Athrun with a small frown. "They admit that you were very diligent in keeping mum about the Isle's affairs."
"I'm sure they were wetting their pants when I was being questioned." Athrun said calmly. "Whoever my superiors are."
It struck Yzak that even at this point, Athrun did not know the faces of the Numbers except for Yzak's. All this time, Yzak reflected, Athrun had been putting his life in danger for people he did not even know, and duty had compelled him to continue even when he had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by spilling the beans in court.
"Frankly, some of them told me that they were afraid that you would let it out the secrets at some point. It seemed that you didn't have anything left to lose."
Athrun smiled a little. "I promised you I wouldn't spill those secrets in exchange for Cagalli's getting to Scandinavia. I wasn't about to back out on that promise—not to you, anyway."
"I know." Yzak said uncomfortably, knowing that it had been that promise that had caused so much suffering to Athrun from the moment he'd made it. In the remand centre, Athrun had been compelled to keep silent about the secrets, as he had been in court. Yzak had made that promise knowing precisely that Athrun was a man of his word.
"So nobody knows what the place really is or where it is?" Athrun asked unsurely. He had tried his best not to say anything indicating its nature. But he was not sure if he had succeeded in helping Plant maintain that Cagalli Yula Atha had been held in a simple if extremely secret training ground for Zaft.
"Yes. I just ended an urgent meeting with the Chairman and the Intelligence Council. By our estimates, which I daresay is quite accurate, the Isle is going to be abandoned within the next four years. The chairman has made her decision—she agreed that it has to remain a secret, but the Intelligencers we brought in will be pulled out now."
Athrun pursed his lips, saying nothing. He found that he did not have the right to judge those who made the policies and those who had to struggle with their own consciences while making decisions for the greater good.
"I can tell you this, Zala. Eileen Canaver was never for keeping the Isle's operations from continuing." Yzak sighed once. "When she assumed power, she joined the Intelligence Council by default, as all Plant Chairmen do. That didn't mean she agreed with every of our decisions. She was only one out of twelve to influence every decision."
"What do you mean?" Athrun tried to recall the way Eileen Canaver sat quietly amongst the spectators throughout the court trial. As the Chairman and Head of Plant, she could not be amongst the representatives who made up part of the jury. But Athrun understood Eileen Canaver's personality and way of doing things well enough to know that she could get her way if she wanted it enough. "If the Plant chairman is a member of the Intelligence Council, why shouldn't she be able to make the final decision for one council?"
"It doesn't work that way, Zala." Yzak said crossly. "In the Intelligence Council, she's not the head. The Intelligence Council has twelve members, and it needs eight out of twelve positive votes before it embarks on a decision. I can tell you that much."
"And even then," Athrun realized, "This decision and its plans for action must pass through the approval of the Supreme Council, which has currently fourteen members. Of this fourteen, there must be nine who approve of any decision."
"Exactly." Yzak tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. "But specifically for decisions concerning the Isle, these didn't and never went through the Supreme Council."
Athrun knew why. The original Secret Intelligence Council and specifically, the Numbers, had been created and handpicked by Siegel Clyne to manage the Isle without the knowledge of the rest of the Plants, including Siegel Clyne's own Supreme Council.
"When she was obligated to enter the Intelligence Council as a member," Yzak said cynically, "Let's just say she was only one out of twelve. The head of the Intelligence Council was put in charge of telling her about Plant's dirty little secret, and she personally appealed to the Council to stop the Isle's operations."
"That didn't work?"
"She was outvoted, Zala. Even if she was the Chairman of the Plants, the decision was a seven-twelve decision. She needed eight votes, not seven. But frankly, she wasn't the first chairman to be outvoted on that particular decision with regards to the Isle." He shook his head. "Tough luck for her."
"Was she the only chairperson to vote for stopping the Isle's operations?" Athrun asked curiously.
Yzak looked at him with a strange little laugh. "Would you believe that your old man was firmly against safeguarding this particular group of Coordinators?"
Athrun stared at him, silent for a few seconds. "I thought he'd be all for saving Coordinators; even those who were wrong in the first place."
"No," Yzak muttered. "Not so." He stretched a little, cracking his knuckles a bit. "I suppose the decision's a hard one, either way. I entered the Secret Intelligence Council and joined the Numbers after the Second War, whereas some members have been there since Siegel Clyne picked them. They face the same dilemma term after term, never mind their supposed experience and knowledge of the people and the place." He frowned. "Who knows what's right and who deserves to be protected anyway?"
"Yes." Athrun agreed softly.
"As it is, the chairman successfully convinced most of the Intelligence Council to cease the Isle's operations." Yzak looked at Athrun cryptically. "I suppose in light of the recent events, it's quite obvious that we're playing a dangerous game with the world and we should stop for our own good. Besides, it's quite obvious that the Coordinators there aren't exactly reflecting on their past crimes, which is what Siegel Clyne intended for when he chose to protect them."
"That's the sort of person he was," Athrun muttered. "Always believing in the best of people."
"Well, he made his decision." Yzak sounded very tired. "Eileen Canaver's made hers." He began to stretch again, except that he winced. The Zaft uniform that he wore was spotless, as usual, but Athrun suspected that Yzak was really more worn out than his impeccable attire suggested.
"Are you alright, Yzak?" Athrun said concernedly.
"Oh, don't look at me like I'm a delicate little kitten sitting on some prissy cushion. I'm more than fucking good." Yzak said brusquely, ignoring the way Athrun's eyes lingered on his dark circles.
Athrun thought of something. "Were you at this remand center at any point?"
"There was some questioning for me as well." Yzak admitted. He shrugged. "I had to give a testimony as your superior, but I didn't suffer anything more than a lack of sleep from paper work and pointless questions. Worse, they didn't serve coffee despite my repeated requests."
"Did they interrogate you?" Athrun demanded, not believing that Yzak was as fine as he made himself out to be.
He snorted. "I'm still the Head General, damn it! Do you think the interrogators would ever forget that? For God's sake, Zala, I didn't get roughened up at all, unlike some lousy, two-bit Intelligencer."
Athrun smiled wryly. "Ten upon ten for accurate description."
Yzak granted him a rare smile, and then sobered up again. "You're going to get out of here, Zala, but you've got a lot of things to be thinking about. Frankly, Epstein's confession shocked the hell out of everyone—I didn't even see it coming. I didn't even suspect that there had been another person in the room. But come to think of it, there must have been. That's the only explanation for why there were a total of eight bullet wounds. One came from Epstien, two came from you when you took his gun, and then the remaining five had to be explained somehow. But you two weren't the only ones in the room. Some of the guards have admitted to entering after you'd dragged Cagalli Yula Atha out and then fixing the scene as well."
Yzak laughed humorlessly. "Isn't it fortunate that she said what she did? The judge ordered investigations to be opened again and more evidence has been found that supports what Epstein claimed. The investigators found that the fireplace acted as a passage way for the guards to enter Harraldsson's room quite easily from their quarters? The guards were questioned yesterday and they admit to seeing a bullet-riddled body and that they shot into Harraldsson too."
"Why?" Athrun said confusedly.
" Because they wanted it to look like crossfire, that's why .They were afraid that they would be accused of not doing their job and protecting him from what they thought were assassins. They all thought he was dead by then—nobody really knew that he was in a coma."
"What's going to happen to them?" Athrun inquired.
Yzak shook his head. "Like you, Zala, all they'll get is a slap on the wrist, and then face charges of professional negligence and insubordination back in their marshall courts. Criminal culpability-wise, it's one thing to fix the crime scene like that, but it helps if you thought you were shooting into a corpse and you shot at his limbs instead of the vitals. Besides, the doctors who tended to Harraldsson testified that at the time of his treatment, he was not breathing until they revived him successfully with the forceps. It's an accepted fact that anyone would have thought he was dead the way you and the guards did, and thus shot into what appeared to be a corpse."
"Do they know about the Isle?"
"You know, I don't think they do." Yzak considered. "They were some of the lesser cronies he used to carry out his diabolical plans. Trust me, there were probably far more politically-inclined, wealthier supporters that Harraldsson had when he began purging Denmark and then other Scandinavian regions of the Coordinators and Halfs. But I don't think any of them, including Harraldsson, knew about the Isle. How else could it have survived for so long?"
"Are you sure?" Athrun said worriedly. Ko was still back on the Isle, and he had spent plenty of hours fretting over the child the aides had left there. While Ko was perfectly capable of cooking his meals and looking after himself, if any of Harraldsson's supporters knew and went to the Isle, Ko would not be safe.
"Well, for starters, I'm absolutely sure that Harraldsson's supporters will never breathe a word about being fans of his." Yzak ran a hand over his face, tugging at his nose bridge in a bid to rid himself of tiredness. "Even if they knew about the Isle, they wouldn't go around talking loosely, now that Erik Strumsson's back. He's quite ready to get rid of anyone who helped his brother in law perpetuate crimes against Coordinators and only an idiot would admit to helping Harraldsson."
Yzak glanced at him. "I know you're worried about Kitani Ko, Zala."
Athrun looked away. "I promised his mother that I'd keep him safe."
"I know." Yzak agreed. He lowered his voice. "I sent Ko to the Plants, you know. I got him there two days ago—he's currently staying in the Joule Estate."
Athrun nodded his thanks, but relief had not come to him yet.
"What about Epstein?" Athrun had wanted to ask this for a long time, but knowing Yzak, he had done well to bide his time. Yzak was more like Ezalia than he realized, and Athrun knew that the Joules were the kind of people who revealed things in their own time but clammed up when pressed too fast.
But perhaps, Athrun had still been too impatient.
Yzak was silent, sitting stiffly across the visitor's table. He was probably trying to find the words to answer Athrun, and this worried Athrun.
"What about Epstein?" Athrun said, his voice tense.
"The defense attorney will try to plead necessity in his case. As it is, if he didn't shoot Harraldsson, she would have died."
"What are his chances?"
"I don't know. I'm not the best person to tell y-,"
"Get Erik Strumsson in here." Athrun said quietly, cutting Yzak off. Rage was in his features, and he was trembling. He had to bite down his anger and control himself, for he knew that using demands on Yzak would never work. "I'll make sure he testifies if it's the last thing I do."
"You don't get it, do you, Zala?" Yzak said wearily. "It's not like he doesn't want to. He can't."
"What?"
"He wanted to on the very day when Epstein admitted to shooting. He wanted to testify on your behalf to show that Harraldsson was likely to have attacked the Princess out of a desire to kill her, and that she would have died if you, as he thought it was you at that time, did not shoot. He could not have testified that if he did not have a reason to show why Harraldsson wanted to kill Cagalli Yula Atha— the facts would still fall back to Harraldsson attacking in supposed confusion, without any concrete proof that he had injured her and was intending to kill her."
"Then why couldn't he?"
Yzak shook his head. "He wasn't allowed to because the Intelligence Council and the chairman don't want the Isle's secrets to be exposed. The Intelligence Council and Plant's Supreme Council don't need more trouble with our international relations."
"And they were willing to let Harraldsson get away like that?" He said bitterly. "You mean to say that the people that Epstein and I worked so hard for were willing to let someone like him not face his comeuppance in the courts?"
"He's already half-dead, Zala. There really isn't a reason for Plant to spend more resources than it has."
Athrun shook his head, bringing his hands in front of him to show Yzak the slight scars on the wrists. "I don't begrudge them their lack of care to my fate. But what about Epstein's?"
Yzak looked at him pityingly. "Haven't you realized this for yourself, Athrun Zala? There are few things in the world that one does not treat as a pawn. It is enough that Epstein has someone like you."
"It isn't enough that I care about him." Athrun said quietly. "I can't let him be sentenced to a crime that isn't his fault. Strumsson has to testify and say that Epstein should be excused for shooting someone who would have definitely wanted and tried to kill Cagalli."
Yzak shook his head, tapping his fingers on the table. "Even though I am still part of the Numbers and my interests are the Isle and its secrets," He paused, a small, wry smile blooming on his lips, "I'm not sure that Erik can be prevented from testifying against Harraldsson even if the Numbers give him the entire Isle as a holiday resort."
When he was brought back into the courts, Athrun was only vaguely aware that he was entirely exhausted. His mind seemed to be moving faster than his body, and there was a disconnection to whatever he saw and felt. After all, he'd spent hours wondering what had gone wrong in his cell; wondering where he had failed and why he'd been unable to protect either Epstein or Cagalli.
As he moved into the courts, he was somewhat amused to see that the judge had done the cleverest thing one could have ever done. Come to think of it, Athrun realized, he'd heard word that the media had camped outside and plenty of officials had joined them with protests that there was no effort at maintaining transparency of public accountability of the holdings. Clearly, those protests had not swayed the judge's decision. Apart from the jury and the legal counsel and witnesses, there were no spectators allowed whatsoever. Even the jury was sitting in a way that the members of each faction were separated and staggered from each other.
"I see you've noticed the new arrangements. I assure you, those were absolutely necessary for the sake of sanity," The judge said mildly, as Athrun was brought in, and Athrun was astonished to see a small smile on the judge's lips. "Now, defense, you may begin."
"Mr. Zala, your aide has confessed to being with you when you went to Harraldsson's room. Both of you managed to get up the stairs. True?"
"True." There was nothing more to hide.
Mr. Zala, according to your aide, you had three shots left by the time you entered the room. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, you opened the door, but your aide took the opportunity to shoot at Harraldsson's chest level and at point blank. You were unable to prevent this because he had taken the chance to fire first. True?"
"True." He wondered if he was just here to affirm everything that Epstein had confessed.
"Mr. Zala, your aide has claimed that he was wearing gloves when he shot with his gun. But then you took his gun, and then held it with an ungloved hand to make it seem like you had shot Harraldsson. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, your aide has testified that you used your aide's remaining shots to fire at Harraldsson's legs to make it seem like crossfire injuries, then discarded the gun in the room. He had a spare gun that he did not use, and you did not take it from him. True?"
"True." That had certainly been the case.
"Mr. Zala, you never used your gun in the room at any point. True?"
"True." If Epstein had not gotten to it first, Athrun probably would have though.
"Mr. Zala, you also took and held Ms. Atha's gun while she was unconscious. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, you never used the gun that Ms. Atha had on her person. True?"
"True."
"With regards to the charge of instigating Mr. Yamato to lead the Orb troops into Scandinavia, Mr. Zala, Ms. Atha has admitted to writing two out of three of the letters. The third one was written by your aide, as he testified, and you did not know of this. True?"
Athrun paused, looking at Yzak, who gave him a little frown.
And Athrun swallowed down his protest. "True."
"Mr. Zala, your aide has also testified to finding it necessary for Ms. Atha not to go back to Orb because he suspected that members of the Danish faction were waiting to kill her in Orb. Mr. Zala, you provided him such information. True?"
"True."
"Right before you came in for questioning, Mr. Zala, Ms. Atha admitted to stealing a yacht from the Zaft grounds—your personal yacht in fact, and escaping two days before she was scheduled to go back to Orb. At that time, you had left a knife and gun on the yacht. True?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, at that point, Mr. Hoffman wrote a letter to Mr. Yamato, who was informed that Ms. Atha would be likely to go to Sweden. Again, you provided this information to Mr. Hoffman without realizing that he would use it to write a letter, true?"
"True."
"Mr. Zala, how did you know that Ms. Atha would be likely to be in Sweden after taking that yacht? It was after all, set in the direction of Orb."
He paused. "The yacht is a personal one and I had set it to go to Orb in preparation og the date that Ms. Atha would return. However, she must have become impatient and she stole off with the yacht herself, trying to bring it to Orb without realizing that it was already in Orb's direction. She did not know that I can track the yacht from the military base, and I knew that it was heading in Sweden's direction. That's how I guessed she was heading there."
"No further questions, Your Honour."
The questioning was fast and it came and went quickly. He answered without evasions, not bothering to say more than what was required of him. Even as he was led out, he already knew what the verdict was. It came in half an hour's time, and he was cleared of nearly all the criminal charges as the result of a unanimous decision.
"However," the judge read out, " Mr. Zala will hereby be sentenced to two weeks of confinement for his attempts to disguise the crime scene."
He smiled while keeping his face down when he bowed. "Thank You, Your Honour."
As the rest of the decision was read out, he searched the jury's faces and found doubt and fear still in some of their faces. While some of them seemed more neutral, he knew that some of them would never accept him and how hard he'd tried to protect those that mattered.
But the judge was studying him quizzically with his wrinkled old face in a curious gaze "Now that that's been settled, Mr. Zala, I'd like to ask you a few questions before this jury. Out of curiosity, mind you. I assure you that the court and jury's confidence will be kept from this moment onwards."
"I will answer as best as I can, Your Honour." Athrun said quietly.
"During the course of your aide's testimony, Mr. Hoffman clarified that your contract with Zaft was to expire in three years." The judge shifted his glasses a little, looking directly at Athrun. "And as I understand it, you were highly reluctant to undertake more responsibility with regards to helping your employers and Erik Strumsson manage the terrorism within Scandinavia. Yet, you are still here today. May I inquire why?"
"I make good my word." He said quietly. "I agreed to go on this mission until it ended. That was not part of the contract per se, but I felt it was my duty."
Yzak nodded once to show he had understood. The rest of the Plant Jury was nodding as well, looking highly satisfied. At least, Athrun thought, he had pleased them. It seemed to him that the Scandinavian and Orb members of the jury looked highly skeptical still.
"Even then," The judge continued inquisitively, "I understand that after you had been repatriated back to Plant over some false allegations, you did not have to work for Zaft. Can I know why you agreed to work with Zaft?"
Yzak's voice was thinly masking irritation as he held a hand up and prevented Athrun from answering. "Your Honour, the Plant Supreme Council has already made its stand clear on this. Mr. Zala and for that matter, the other Intelligencers' motivations for undergoing so much personal sacrifice and danger for Plant and Zaft are not important to the events at hand."
"It's fine." Athrun interrupted. "I'll take that question." He turned back to the judge, trying to ignore the way the jury members were boring holes through him with their eyes. "You see, Your Honour, I was offered a very good bargain."
"What was the nature of this?" One jury member from the Earth Alliance called out.
"At the time when I agreed to work for Zaft as an intelligencer, my payment included a recommendation from the Supreme Council and a chance to revisit Orb to clear my name."
He bowed and left the room, ignoring the stares that followed.
Cagalli did not face anymore questioning. She merely stood in the mostly empty courtroom, silent with her head bowed. She said nothing as the verdict was read out, and she only nodded once and briefly to show that she accepted that all criminal charges had been cleared.
"If that's all, Ms. Atha," The judge said in that same kindly tone that she had come to associated with the wizened old man. He turned to the bailiff. "Release her."
"Thank You, Your Honour." She said softly. She lifted her head to look at the jury members, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to flinch at the gazes some of them did not bother hiding from her.
She had no reason to hold her head any less high, Cagalli told herself stubbornly. If she had done anything wrong, it was not an obligation that she had to any of these men and women on the bench. It was not to them that she owed the duty of truth—it was to herself.
As it was, she required all the courage she had ever been born with. One of the Orb members of the jury was looking at her with a strange combination of scorn and pity, and two from Plant were whispering something that Cagalli fought hard not to burn at. For a minute, she stood there, frozen, sensing the hostility from those she had tried so hard to appeal to. But then she bowed again, and knew that she had only gotten a taster of what she'd been prepared to accept in her life from the minute she had stood up and requested to amend her testimony.
As she turned to move towards the door, a representative from Scandinavia said loudly, "Was Athrun Zala really just your brother's friend, Ms. Atha?"
Cagalli froze, but did not turn back to look at the person who'd asked or those who were obviously staring at her.
She never did as she left the courtroom.
In the car, Kira was not fastening his seatbelt and preparing to drive off. Cagalli had called with the verdict, and he was finding it a great deal easier to breathe now. But they could not breath anywhere inside or directly outside the courtroom, for the media had formed a circle and only a cordon of bailiffs was keeping them out.
Thus, he and Lacus were facing each other, cramped in the backseat, breathing hard in this space. But they were more able to breathe here than in the large courtroom, for that place suffocated slowly and almost without exception. He looked at her, nodding once, and it was all she needed to breathe deeply, joy lighting her features once again.
The evening had come and it was dark in this parking lot, in their locked, hired car, but it made sense that they could be alone in this space—where only two of them would be present.
"She's fine." Kira said quietly to Lacus. "The guards have also admitted to fizing the scene and shooting into Harraldsson."
She smiled through her tears. "Thank goodness."
He studied her. "Frankly, I knew that Epstein had been in that room too. He passed me by along the stairs, and so I knew he and Athrun must have been there, along with Cagalli."
"Then why didn't you testify to that?" Lacus demanded. Her eyes widened. "Was that why you kept evading certain questions you could have well answered?"
"I knew who Epstein was when I saw him." Kira said quietly. "When he passed me by, I knew immediately that he was the boy in that photograph with Talia Gladys. I've been looking for him since the end of the Second War. I suspected that Athrun was trying to protect him or Cagalli, and so I kept mum about what I'd seen and who I'd seen passing me by at the stairs."
"I see." She hugged him tightly. "I don't know what to think anymore." She smiled up at him. "I didn't think that you believed he was trying to protect Cagalli. I didn't realize that you refused to say more than you did because you thought that she had shot and that he'd been trying to take the blame."
He held her back, breathing in her scent, glad to be in her embrace.
"After he was led away," Kira confessed. "My instincts told me that he'd never harm her, no matter how many wrongs she'd done to him."
An hour later, all the verdicts were read out to the courtroom's spectators, who had been allowed back in. The questioning had been done without them, but public accountability demanded that the verdict were re-read for their sake. And as the last of the verdict was read out, the courtroom's spectators began to talk. These were no longer whispers or barely-concealed mutters.
Some were rushing towards their superiors who sat in other sections of the courtroom, demanding to know what the implications of the verdict was. Cagalli sat amongst them, not hearing the roar of their discussion, hearing only her heart beat against her, a reminder that she still existed.
Dimly, she watched as the witnesses and people who'd given their testimonies were led out by the bailiffs. She kept her eyes on Athrun's back; willing him to turn, willing him to look at her. But he never got a chance to turn, and nothing she saw of his expression suggested that he knew what to feel.
Then Cagalli closed her eyes, and without knowing why or how, she struggled out of the courtroom, not noticed by anyone. The hundreds of people surged around, the bailiffs ineffective against the crush of people who were desperate to get out of the courtroom to talk about what had just happened. It made no difference that the media was not allowed into the courtroom. The truth of the matter was that people had witnessed the proceedings and the word would spread.
Her feet were mashing with thousands of others, and she muttered an apology as she stepped on what was presumably someone else's foot. Someone grabbed her shoulder but she shoved it away madly, turning and not seeing any particular face but a grotesque mash of humans. Her cry was swallowed whole by the crowd that never even seemed to hear the beating of her heart and the way her breaths grew louder in her own ears. Even the exit was unrecognizable, for it was encrusted with people who had been waiting for hours for the proceedings to finish.
Through the heat and mesh of people, Cagalli understood that bodyguards were leading her in a direction that would allow her to breathe normally. Panting a little, she felt them block others from coming towards her. There was someone shouting next to her, his hands trying to clear the way as reporters swarmed, their words a buzz that grew louder and louder. She tried to think of what to say; tried to dissuade them; tried to make them leave her alone. It was drowned. A thousand others were shouting at the same time. And in some way, she had no right to try and evade all the questions. Cagalli had always known this would happen, despite the supposed security of the court. She had made her last decision while knowing of this.
And for that, Cagalli would not be able to move on.
"Ms. Atha! Can you tell us what the judge's decision was?"
"What were the circumstances of your kidnap?"
"Ms. Atha, is it true that your injury was caused by Pietre Harraldsson?"
"Your Highness, did you have some kind of falling out with James Marlin?"
"Your Grace, is it true? The rumours that you Athrun Zala was once your bodyguard and-,"
She shook her head mutely, unable to face the field of flashing lights and the outcry of voices in that strange sea of hands and arms and featureless faces.
"Did you know that you were related to Kira Yamato since the First War?"
The buzzing in her head was still going louder. Which was louder? The buzzing here or the shouted accusations and doubts channeled towards those she'd given so much of herself away for?
"Was it true that you knew you would be kidnapped but let yourself be? And what are your thoughts on-,"
The cameras were flashing everywhere, and she didn't understand what was going on. Shaking her head, feeling nauseous, Cagalli felt someone guiding her. She felt her vision going black for a moment and blinked, trying to walk straight.
"Give her some room." A voice was barking.
"Sir, you can't"
"Your Grace-,"
She was about to thank the person who was pulling her away from what she presumed was the crowd. But as Cagalli looked up, she realized a microphone was shoved under her face, and in horror, she realized that a reporter had gotten through the line of bodyguards and was yelling questions in her ear.
Terrified, Cagalli shook herself free from the person who had her elbow in a grip and began to run, shoving through the circle of people around her. A reporter broke free from the cordoned section and began to chase, and she didn't even have time to react, for her feet were reacting independently of her judgment.
As she fled up the stairs and back into the courtroom and down the first corridor that she could see, she slammed into someone who'd somehow overtaken her, and she looked up into Yzak Joule's impatient, sharp-featured face. But those features were marred by how wan he looked, and she noticed immediately that he'd aged in some way.
"Just in time, then. I was trying to reach you and get you to a safer place." He said with that thin brittleness she recognized as barely-veiled impatience. "How strange that you would run like I was the paparazzi."
Despite his stern posture and the way he seemed to fill every inch and implication of his uniform, Cagalli was suddenly aware that Yzak had never cared for his duty when he'd stepped into the courtroom. He had only cared for the friendship between him and Athrun, and for that, he had spoken out.
"Head General, I—,"
Cagalli stammered an apology and backed away. But Yzak captured her hand and spoke in a voice that had no room for argument. "Come."
She stared, not knowing what to say to him, he who seemed so familiar but not quite as well.
Everything was in a blur around her, and she knew she couldn't refuse even though she was afraid of what came next. She did not know where Yzak Joule would take her- their feet were marching down halls and halls and mazes of the bowels of the Supreme Court. Her hands were shaking, even the one he held.
Yet, she knew not to question him.
Turning corridor after corridor in the abyss of the inner courts, Yzak suddenly paused. This door looked like any other, and she stared at it, then at Yzak.
"This room's a safe one." He told her. Nobody will bother you here. But you can't stay for more than an half an hour, you hear me?"
Gratefully, she nodded. Her feet were sluggish as he led her and she wondered if she was breathing too hard to be getting any air at all. "I just want- want a place to breathe in for a while."
"Funny." Yzak looked a bit sad. "That's what he said too."
"What?" She said stupidly, not understanding. "What do you mean?"
Then Yzak looked at her and said brusquely, "He's been waiting for you."
It was then that she understood and her eyes widened and her face paled a little.
"How long has he been waiting for me?" Cagalli asked quietly, afraid that Athrun had seen her in the crowds, waiting to hear the verdict.
Yzak looked at her with something like scorn and empathy mixed into a complex emotion. There was bitterness in his eyes and sadness in his voice.
"Ever since he met you again."
Cagalli had scarcely any time to learn how to breathe again, for Yzak had opened the door and pushed her in, shutting it as it automatically locked.
She stumbled in, facing Athrun, seeing him again, the way he sat, carefully, on the edge of his seat, his legs crossed elegantly, as if he had never been through the ordeal that she had witnessed. His hands were no longer bound and the bruise on his cheek had faded, although something of that distressing shadow remained and his haunted eyes seemed as hollow as ever.
He stood up, watching her with those eyes she had avoided for so long, and she put a hand to her lips, vision a little blurred at the edges. The back of her hand was tight against her mouth, the palm facing outwards, shielding half her expression. Desperately, the back of her hand began rubbing her mouth, as if she could find her voice that way.
Then she was running and throwing herself into his arms, her arms circling around his neck, his own arms finding their way around her back as he kissed her.
These were angry, passionate kisses, Cagalli realized. These were familiar ones that held their frustration with the kind of regret that had stained their lives. These were kisses that bruised their lips; quick, hungry, lingering kisses that were reminiscent of those who knew of nothing else to say. These were kisses of a desperation that she could not measure or quantify even when he was right next to her.
No apology came, nor did any explanation. Perhaps, any would not have sufficed, and any would have been superfluous. She thought of the puzzle he'd been able to open and the way she'd struggled to for so long without realizing that only he could open the puzzle when he chose to. She thought of how she'd yearned to know how to open it, and she thought of how long she'd wanted to be able to understand him, even while she had been afraid of breaking him.
Athrun heard her sobbing, and he buried her face near his shoulder, hugging Cagalli as if she were life itself. He scarcely knew that he was breaking inwardly, clutching her and begging her not to cry.
"I'll have to leave for the Plants," He said softly. "I have to return to face the marshal court's inquiries."
Her breaths came in gasps. "I don't want you to go! Stay, don't leave anymore-,"
Athrun shook his head, still holding her very tightly. "Orb has always needed you, you can't abdicate and leave all that you've accomplished-,"
"I don't care about all that anymore!" She cried. Nor did she care that she was helpless, she was being foolish and weak, and that her pride had long been replaced with desperation and the misery of the future's prospects without the anchor of his presence. Amongst all these, she cared little that she was begging him as she'd never begged anyone before, and that he was present to see the way her tears were streaming down her face.
"I've never cared about anything more than you- you can't ask me to go back there and pretend that nothing exists outside that little world that I used to lock myself in!"
"I don't care what kind of savior complex you've developed since young, Athrun, or the real reason why you pushed me away from you the other day." She was choking in a bid to say what she wanted to, but her words seemed to fail her. "Don't you dare take me and then say you're giving me up!"
Athrun kissed her feverish forehead, and he felt a few warm tears drop from his eyes. Those fell on her hands and she didn't dare to look up and realize that he had never been strong the way she'd imagined. Athrun had been as weak as her in his indecision and his capacity to hope. If she had thought him to be strong, that had only been because he'd had to be strong for them both.
"I thought I'd do anything to hear that." His voice was hoarse and his hands seem to weaken in their grip. "I didn't mind giving away my identity and my beliefs so that I could meet you again."
"Don't go then," Cagalli begged, looking at him and grabbing his shoulders. "You don't have to prove anything anymore."
Athrun gazed at her. "I have to. I have a few more things to sort out."
She knew what he was trying to hide. His insubordination would be brought into question and she knew he had already been charged and was facing court-marshalling from Zaft.
"It's going to take some time to sort out." He told her, and she saw the fear in his eyes, despite his strength and steady calm. She saw the old pain in his mouth and the way he held his head high, and Cagalli knew that she was going to lose him.
"How long?"
He shook his head, unable to say anything. He would not lie to her this time.
"Athrun—,"
He held her a little tighter. "I wish-," His voice broke. "I wish I didn't have to go."
She clung to him, trying to tell Athrun what she had always felt, what she had always wanted to say to him, the innermost of her thoughts and her wishes. But it made no difference now. It was impossible. In that little world of her own, he had made her very aware of the world that existed outside it, a world that he existed in. She wanted to go to him, to that other world outside her own, but now it was impossible.
Still, it made her very bitter. He had shown her what the real world was, how complex and strange it was, how insanely necessary he was to her, and now, he was taking everything away. It wasn't fair— it just wasn't. But then, she had done the same to him a very long time ago. She'd taught him how to feel, she'd shown him that love and hatred were very much the same, and then she had taken it all away and made him a shell of himself. Perhaps then, Cagalli realized, it was fair.
"I have to go soon." He said quietly. Yet, his arms did not slacken around her.
She held him close. "Isn't there some way for me to change that? How can I make you stay?"
"I don't want you to." Athrun said slowly. "There's no point in that now."
She knew that he spoke the truth.
Even if she abdicated now, it would not change the fact that the Plants would never let him leave. She could go to the Plants with him—Cagalli Yula Atha could throw everything away in the manner she'd just threatened to if he didn't stay. But it wouldn't change anything where the Isle was concerned. It was a place where the past could be escaped even if only in the minds of the deluded ones, and it was a place that he was bound for indefinitely. It was the one place she would never be able to return to again. And who was to speak of returning when the same river could never be stepped into twice?
"You won't be coming back, will you?" She was unable to stop her tears. "That's why you're not saying anything."
He was silent. "I don't know. I have to deal with some things first."
"Come back to me," She begged, holding his hands in hers. "Please."
"You can't cave in," His voice was low and hoarse, for if he was fighting something they both couldn't see. "Don't give anything up. You're going to be strong for yourself now. You must."
Her tears were still falling even when all the expression had died from her face. She felt nothing of them, saw nothing of the emotion in face because her vision was so blurred, but she nodded for both their sakes.
When had their lives become those parallel lines that looked so similar but never met?
He reached to her collarbone, peeling away the high-necked collar she wore, fetching out the ring she was wearing on a chain. In fact, however, he hadn't needed to check— he'd always known that she had been wearing it. She looked at it soberly, and then closed her eyes because the tears would not stop falling. In that darkness; in her blindness, she felt him kiss and say quietly, "Keep it safe for me."
Her voice echoed his in its pain and longing. "Always."
-34 days