Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 109
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam series, nor any of the various series which are used or referenced in my fic, so please point that damned lawsuit cannon at someone else, also, don't read this if you are not of legal age to read such material. The story contains possibly disturbing content and should not be read by close-minded people (i.e., people who are easily offended.) Everything in the story is fictional. I am also not responsible for any actions taken by people who read this story and society's problems. I do, however, own my original character; Hope Yamato.
"What the hell is going on?" Shinn Asuka yelled as his cabin onboard the Excalibur was unexpecetedly plunged into complete darkness. After a full fifteen seconds, much longer than it should have taken, the emergency lighting finally came on, bathing the room in a dim red light.
"Inertial dampeners; offline." Lexi's voice spoke through the ship-wide announcement system, although the voice of the artificial intelligence was heavily broken by static. "Weapons; offline." Despite the damage to the artificial intelligence herself, she continued to list the rapidly failing systems. "Propulsion; offline, levitators; offline, primary shields; offline, communications; offline, secondary shields; offline, MCPS armor; offline, multiple warp core breaches in progress, multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns in progress." Before anyone onboard the Excalibur could possibly hope to react, the massive dagger-shaped warship, having lost its propulsion systems and levitators, began to rapidly lose altitude, plunging towards the Earth's surface far below.
Meanwhile, high above the planet, Athrun Zala was meeting with his father, Patrick Zala. "What's going on?" Patrick asked, even as Athrun walked into his office. "What happened? Where's Justice? And what happened to the Freedom?"
"First things first." Athrun said. "I have a question for you. What are your true intentions regarding this war?"
"What did you say?" Patrick asked in shock.
"You heard me, Father." Athrun answered. "How long are we going to keep fighting this war?"
"What are you blathering about?" Patrick yelled. "What's important is the mission you were assigned. Now stop wasting time and make your report!"
"I came back because I felt I had to ask that one question in person." Athrun said. "That's it, father."
"Athrun, you little bastard!" Patrick growled. "I'm warning you, Athrun, I won't tolerate this talk, especially from a boy who doesn't understand a thing!" The older man roared, slamming his palms on the desk and rising to his feet
"I think you're the one who doesn't really understand what's going on here." Athrun retorted. "Alaska, Panama, Victoria...you attacked because you were attacked first. And you're attacked again because of that. This war only keeps escalating."
"Where did you get these crazy ideas?" Patrick asked, before realization dawned on him. "It's that girl! Did Lacus Clyne fill your head with lies too?"
"All you can think about is meeting power with even more power!" Athrun continued. "Tell me, father, is that really your true intention? Do you believe that will ever bring an end to this war?"
"Of course it will!" Patrick yelled. "When the very last Natural is dead, this war will end!"
Athrun's eyes widen in shock and disbelief, even as his father approached him. "Now tell me, Athrun, what happened to our machines, the Justice and the Freedom? And answer carefully because I forgive no one!"
"Are you serious?" Athrun asked. "Do you mean what you just said, father? About how you want all the Naturals dead?"
"That's the whole point of this war!" Patrick seethed. "That reason and that reason alone is why we are fighting this war! How could you possibly have forgotten that fact?" He then threw his son to the floor, moved to his desk and pulled a gun from the drawer.
"A gun, father?" Athrun asked, unable to hide a slight snicker.
"What a pathetic sight you are!" Patrick growled, not noticing the smirk on Athrun's face. "Now stop this nonsense and answer! Where are the Justice and the Freedom?"
Athrun remained perfectly silent.
"I won't hesitate to have you arrested as a traitor if you don't answer my question." Patrick threatened.
Athrun continued to remain tight-lipped, and after a few seconds Patrick summoned the guards from outside and they rushed in and pointed their machine guns at Athrun, who just sat on the floor and recalled what he was now fighting for; eternal peace.
"Athrun!" Patrick yelled.
With a blinding flash of light, Athrun was back on his feet and charging at his father. In an instant, all of the soldiers in the room were firing, the rounds pinging harmlessly off of Athrun's body.
At the same time, a massive battle was taking place near GENESIS.
"You're something that shouldn't have been allowed to exist, boy!" The voice of Rau Le Creuset suddenly cried out over the communications line as his dull grey ZGMF-X13A Providence Gundam streaked towards Kira Yamato's METEOR-clad ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam.
"Just shut up!" Kira yelled, unleashing a cloud of missiles from the METEOR unit.
"If people learned of your existence, they would want to become just as you are!" Rau ranted as the Providence launched its DRAGOON units with a flash of exhaust and opened fire, wiping out all of the imconing missiles. "They would want to become like you!"
"That's garbage!" Kira yelled, charging forward, igniting the METEOR's right-hand beam sword and slashing at the Providence
"And that's the reason why..." Rau continued, even as he dodged the beam sword slash. "Your existence cannot be allowed!"
"I'm not...even if that's true...I'm not defined by my abilities alone!" Kira shrieked.
"Who's going to believe that line?" Rau mocked. "Will they understand that? Of course they won't! Nobody will!"
An instant later, the Freedom Gundam, along with its METEOR unit, was unexpectedly sliced in half by a pure white beam sword.
"So, I have to put up with your bullshit again, Rau Le Creuset?" The annoyed voice of Kira Yamato spoke through the communications line.
"W-who is this?" Rau asked, having truely believed that the Freedom and its pilot had been destroyed.
"I am Kira Jesus Yamato." Kira answered, even as his image appeared on one of Rau's subscreens. The vision of Kira's amethyst eyes causing Rau to recoil in his pilot seat. The brown-haired man's pupils had dilated into near non-existence, the irises almost completely engulfing them. The irises themselves were faceted, like a diamond, and shifted through countless colors, the whole spectrum of light flashing through Kira's eyes as blood steadily flowed from them.
"H-how?" Rau asked, shock and even slight fear, evident in his tone of voice. "I just saw you die."
"Aren't you the least bit curious?" Kira's voice calmly asked as the CB-X60D Divinity Gundam faded into existence, staring the Providence Gundam in the face, the two machines almost touching. "About the ultimate extent of humanity's insatiable desire to fight? About the cause of wars?"
"You don't know anything about war!" Rau yelled, slashing at the Divinity, only for the glowing pink beam blade to be grabbed and brought to a halt by the angel-winged machine's right hand.
"I am the dream of humanity, the Ultimate Coordinator." Kira grinned, almost manically as he repeated Rau's own words. "It was in pursuit of that dream that, my father; Dr. Ulen Hibiki, created the artificial womb. And I was the only viable child it ever produced. For that result, a very large number of my siblings were sacrificed." The amethyst-eyed man paused for a few short seconds before finally continuing. "Since the beginning of time, humanity has thirsted for knowledge! We have sought to fulfill our selfish desires! And ultimately, we forgot why we were doing it. Even as we proclaimed our reverence for human life, we began toying with it, and eventually we began destroying it!"
"The final door is about to open!" Rau snarled. "And I'm the one opening it, not you! Then the world that we know of will come to an end! This world of insatiable desires will end!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Kira roared, firing both of his rail guns into the Providence Gundam's torso, violently rattling the grey mobile suit. "I have the right to judge humanity! You, Rau Le Creuset, do not!"
"Why torment yourself by believing that you are surrounded by friends and loved ones?" Rau asked. "How long have you been fighting with your thoughts clouded by that brand of sweet poison?"
"Unlike you, I know that there are people who love me." Kira smirked, even as he delievered a brutal punch to the Providence Gundam's cockpit hatch. "One guy's killed for killing another and then he's killed for killing him. How is that kind of twisted thinking ever going bring us peace?" Kira paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in before he answered his own question. "The cycle of killing will never bring peace and if that cycle continues, the war will never end."
"So?" Rau asked, only for the Divinity to deliver another brutal punch to the cockpit hatch of the Providence, once again violently rattling him in his seat.
"What is it that you people believe in?" The voice of Lacus Clyne suddenly asked through the communications line, which was now broadcasting on all channels and on all frequencies. As a result, the question was heard by both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. "What is it that you people fighting for now?" The unexpected announcement actually suceeded in causing all of the fighting to pause for a few seconds. "We of Celestial Being believe that no one should be judged by whether or not his or her genes were altered." Lacus continued, quickly taking advantage of the temporary lull in the fighting. "It is true that our leader; Kira Yamato is an Ultimate Coordiantor, however, this is something that he has absolutely no control over. People are not defined by their abilities alone."
"The world belongs to humanity, both Coordinators and Naturals, just as much as humanity belongs to the world." The voice of Cagalli Yula Athha said, continuing from where Lacus had left off. "For we were born, and that alone gives us the right to exist."