Celestial Being Chronicles - Chapter 126
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.
The sky was dark and clear, but starless. In front of Kira Yamato, however, only red filled his vision. A disgusting iron-like smell overwhelmed his nostrils, giving him a powerful urge to vomit. He stumbled across the field, his hands and legs out of control, his mind in a daze. He faintly heard voices screaming to him, begging him to spare them, but he silenced them with swift movements of his arms.
He was killing. Killing them all. He couldn't stop. Even when he cried for help he killed. He stabbed. He shot. He crushed. Friends and people he had never seen before were equal victims. Tears filled his vision when his friends, his family, all died at his hands. Even when they rushed him he slaughtered them all. No bullet could penetrate him, nothing could make him stop. He was an invincible, unstoppable murderer.
Nothing could stop him nor the process of eliminating everyone. He crushed the bones of those he first slain, threw away the decomposing corpses that remained of those slain. Those who knew him tried to stop him, to reason with him, but their words were slurred, were unintelligible. It was like they were aliens, or even like he was an alien. He was alone, it seemed. Lost.
He traversed the whole world. No one could stop him. Flashes raced by him, impacted him, but he scarcely felt it. He felt flesh tearing away, his appearance becoming more hollow, more hideous, but he felt no pain. There weren't any protests from his soul, if he still had one,
He just wanted to stop, but nothing would let him. No matter how much blood filled his hands and covered his body, he couldn't stop this nightmarish scene. Soon, there was no one left. He was alone, abandoned, feared. People fled from him, calling him a monster. Pictures flashed in front of him, pictures unveiling the slain to his eyes.
"Stop! Please stop!" He begged. "I don't want to keep doing this! I'm not this! I don't want to see it anymore!"
Burned cities, monstrousities crushing, slashing each other and everything else. He was in one of them now, rampaging across the landscape. He tore through each of them with a scimitar forged with stygian markings, and a brimstone covering. He was condemned, a killer from Hell itself, a force beyond human understanding. For he was no longer human.
"Stop!" He cried. "Just make it stop!"
Then an ethereal voice entered his mind, a voice that halted him in his footsteps. Something tugging at him, shaking him, the voice whispering and screaming all at once. "Wake up!"
His vision was blurry, but he saw something dark, with a pair of faint spheres, one violet the other gold, right in front of his face. There was a faint light behind the dark figure, a crack that gave a miniscule glimpse at the world behind whatever was enclosed all around him.
"Kira, it was just a nightmare. Wake up." The voice was firm, feminine. He blinked several times, and saw a distorted visage of his wife and lover; Yumi, staring at him. Her flesh was rotting, blood seeped from her several injuries.
Her voice suddenly took on a demonic air. "Kira."
He lashed out at this hideous monster or whatever was masquerading as Yumi and leapt off of the bed, backing away from the downed figure. He stared at his hands. Full of blood. He could see the blood pouring from his hands. He blinked several times, trying to wish it away. He could almost hear the blood beginning to splash into the ground.
"Kira, stop! Shake it off!" The voice said, sounding much more like Yumi than before. Kira blinked several times, trying to see whether this was true, whether he was hallucinating.
"Calm down. It's okay." Kira looked up from his bloody hands to see a normal Yumi approaching him, her hair unusually disheveled, her eyes gleaming with concern, and, much to Kira's momentary relief, she looked normal. Like he was back in reality, or whatever reality was, anyway.
He looked at his hands. They glistened with sweat, but there wasn't anything else. Certainly no blood. Clearly, he had been hallucinating. A leftover from his nightmare had plagued him upon being woken up. The images he had seen had been elements of the nightmare, and he had transferred it to the reality. This was real. Yumi was real, she was here, flesh and blood, alive, without possession, without being a reanimated corpse. He hadn't been crushing people. He wasn't an unstoppable berserker.
Or perhaps the reality was hideous and he was dreaming right now. But before he could think about that possibility, even consider it, Yumi had wrapped her arms around him. Her head rested upon her chest, and stray strands of her hair tickled his chin and lips. "Calm down. Calm down. It's just a nightmare, okay? It's okay."
He suddenly realized that Yumi sounded injured, too. "Did...did I hit you again, Yumi?" He asked, fearing the worst.
"Just a blow to the stomach. You weren't yourself, don't worry about it." Despite the reassurance, Kira sensed Yumi's physical pain through the tone in her voice, and he looked away, stared at a random point in the wall.
'I hurt her again...I'm no better than a wife-beater, am I?' Kira thought to himself, being sure to prevent his lover from being able to see his depressive thoughts. 'She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve me.'
"I-I'm sorry, Yumi. I-I didn't m-mean to...God." He buried his face into her shoulder, letting her nightshirt absorb his release of tears. It quickly became soaked with his hot tears, and only more poured out with each pat on the back Yumi gave him.
It was a miracle that his lovers had remained this tolerant. Why Cagalli had sacrificed so much of her political influence, why Lacus had ignored her musical career in favor of trying to keep him sane was beyond Kira's comprehension. They constantly told him why, but he wasn't sure whether he believed it or not. They seemed sincere, but a small part of him remained suspicious. Perhaps they were punishing themselves for sending him into more and more battles long after he had been pushed beyond his limit.
'Am I going to break her? What if I go crazy and kill her?' Kira asked himself, as he did every time he had one of these nightmares, still being sure to shield the thoughts from Yumi. He wondered if the nightmare would continue to stick with him, long enough that he would end up changing his reality into something like his dreams. And Yumi would really be a corpse.
"Take a deep breath, Kira. You can do it. It's all right." Kira obeyed, forcing oxygen through his nose and down his constricted throat. He coughed as his throat protested against the surge of dry air, and Yumi told him to breathe like that again. And repeated it once more. Eventually, his heartbeat slowed to a halt, and his frantic grip slowly loosened.
Probably ten minutes passed in this deliberate, cautious dance of sorts. There was no way for Kira to tell the time, but when he had inquired once Yumi had told him it usually took anywhere from five minutes to two hours to get him calmed down. To Kira, this felt like one of the shorter ones. The nightmare hadn't been as long, and hadn't been as explicitly detailed as some of the others. Or perhaps it was the worst one of the lot and Yumi had simply improved at comforting him.
At least the fact that he still cared what happened to Yumi, and that he was afraid of hurting her reminded him that he was still human. Despite everything since the Bloody Valentine War, he had managed not to regress into something less than human. That was only mild consolation, but it was something that he could hold onto. And reason for Yumi not to give up yet.
Finally, his eyes dried. Perhaps sensing this, Yumi's embrace loosened and Kira was able to stare into her eyes. "You all right now, Kira?"
Kira nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess."
One of her famed, dazzling smiles crept across her face. "That's excellent. This one was shorter than usual. Maybe you will get better, Kira. Just stay strong, all right? You're gonna get through this."
"I hope so." Kira couldn't think of anything else to say.
Yumi's hands curled around his own, and she led him to the bed. They sat down on it, and the bed creaked softly underneath their combined weight. "Just rest right now. Remember that I'm here. We've both got a bit of work to do, tomorrow."
"Yeah." The amethyst-eyed man nodded. "You are okay, right? I don't want to-"
"I'm fine." She smiled. "Now lay back, and try to fall asleep. I'm with you if anything happens, okay?"
Kira rested back, pulling the blanket above his body, He felt Yumi's left arm curl around his midsection, and after an initial moment of awakward silence, he realized he had a question to ask. It was one he asked frequently, for he was never sure what was the real answer. It was the same one, but he could never bring himself to trust Yumi. He didn't know why. Perhaps all the betrayal and misdirection that happened to him in the war still affected his mindset. There was no real answer. His memories back when he was happy, back when he had a small group of friends and lived in peace seemed so distant now, almost like an alternate reality or alien society.
"The very idea of Slants cuts against the grain, Kira." Hope Yamato sighed as she walked into one of the Excalibur's many the crew lounges, accompinied by Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, Mayu, Murrue, Asuka, Misato and Shiho. "Coordinator genes are always dominant."
"Always?" Kira asked, allowing a smirk to cross his face.
"Yes." Lacus answered. "Even if a child has a Natural parent who coupled with a Coordinator, the offspring will be a Coordinator, no exceptions."
"That's how we get second and third-generation Coordinators." Cagalli continued. "I know that spits in the face of standard biology, but that's just how it works."
"It's impossible to be three-quarters Coordinator or Natural." Asuka and Misato said in perfect unison, breaking their silence. "It's all or nothing."
"Even if it is somehow possible, the Slants will be targeted for discrimination because they'll superior to Naturals, but inferior to Coordinators." Shiho added a moment later, finally breaking her own silence.
"You all forget that I'm an Ultimate Coordinator." Kira sighed. "Even though some of you may, in fact, be Naturals." He continued, glancing at Asuka, Cagalli, Misato and Murrue. "Our children are garenteed to be Coordinators, unless we take steps to decide otherwise."
"So, what if two Naturals decide to have a child?" Lacus asked, trying to catch Kira off-gaurd and confuse him.
"In that case, Lacus." Kira smirked, knowing exactly why the blue-eyed beauty was asking that question. "The child will be a Natural."
Hawking Base was efficently designed. Due to the limited amount of space in a PLANT, it had to be. No more space was used than necessary for the crews to function in and be reasonably comfortable. And Chairman Gilbert Durandal's tour was similiarly succinct, with enough detail and sights to satisfy an ordinary person, but quick enough that Athrun couldn't look at the activities for very long.
"A lot of mobile suits..." Erica Simmons finally said, either in awe or in disgust, Athrun couldn't tell which.
"Yes. And from what the press releases say, you are about to launch a new warship as well," Cagalli said. Athrun silently approved of her still-suspicious stance. She was not going to let herself be taken in by Durandal as much as Durandal wanted her to be.
"Your actions are worrying the Pacific Earth Alliance in particular." Erica said. "With the North American Federation and Eurasia taking most of the abuse in the last war, the Pacific Earth Alliance is the predominant political and military force at the moment. And they've always been more aggressive and reactionery than either the North American Federation or Eurasia. The Pacific Earth Alliance wants an arms race."
Durandal shook it off with the wave of his left hand. "I have absolutely no interest in reigniting the war." He quickly answered. "That is the last thing ZAFT needs right now. Too many of her children perished in the last war. They're still being flown back in caskets. I can't put my people through another wringer."
'Good answer.' Athrun thought.
"Try saying that to the Pacific Earth Allaince." Erica said.
"Right now, my only interest is to show strength so that any aggression can be prevented. There are terrorists, from both Earth and the PLANTs, whose only interest is to essentially neutralize the moderates in any manner possible. They are my primary concern. Because of their profession of terrorism, they are not bound by politics and niceties like Eastern Asia or any other organized government. They don't worry about anyone other than themselves, all they are concerned about is murder. They can strike anyone at any time, and with more lethal force than the Earth Alliance, Orb, or ZAFT."
Durandal seemed to have chosen his words carefully to Athrun. Perhaps too carefully. Like he had rehearsed this whole conversation beforehand. Considering how quickly he had discerned Athrun's true identity, he wondered how intelligent Durandal was, and when he learned these political skills.
"The new mobile suits will play an important part of the campaign against the terrorists, and hopefully defuse any thoughts of aggression from the Pacific Earth Alliance, or any other warlike federations."
He looked at Erica and Cagalli at the same time and smiled calmly. "My people elected me so that I can strengthen the peace. To go to war, especially without provocation, is betraying them. I have been given a responsbility, to provide for the people and keep them safe. That is all I'm doing. Please refer that to Eastern Asia if you are so worried they will launch a preemptive strike without the support of the rest of the Earth."
Erica nodded. "I will. Whether they will listen or not is another matter altogether. Also, the North American Federation and Eurasia both desire revenge for last war. If there is an attack, the Pacific Earth Alliance will have support."
Upon walking into the experimental mobile suit hanger, Hanger Six, on the Hawking Base, Kira Yamato nearly burst out laughing. Standing in the hanger were ten mobile suits, seven of which he had seen countless times before and could possibly beat without having to use the Divinity Gundam. Quickly regaining control of his compusure, Kira looked over the ten machines.
"ZGMF-X23S Savior, ZGMF-X24S Chaos, ZGMF-X31S Abyss, ZGMF-X42S Destiny, ZGMF-X56S Impulse, ZGMF-X88S Gaia, ZGMF-X666S Legend." The amethyst-eyed man muttered to himself, glancing over the seven familiar machines, before then continuing to the ones which he didn't recoginize.
The first of the three mobile suits, which Kira was not familiar with, was quickly identified as the ZGMF-XXX Rapist Gundam. The inappropiatly named mobile suit had an appearance that was highly reminiscent of the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam. The ZGMF-XXX Rapist Gundam posessed a pair of chest-mounted multi-phase energy cannons, a single plasma cannon in the crotch, another pair of plasma cannons in the wings, and a pair of hyper-impulse cannons, which were stored on its back.
"Why the hell would ZAFT give one of their new Gundams a name like that?" Kira wondered aloud as he moved towards the second unfamiliar machine, the ZGMF-X150M Mewtwo Gundam. This machine, as its name suggested, had the appearance of a legendary creature known as; Mewtwo. While the Mewtwo Gundam didn't appear to posess any weapons other than a pair of shoulder-mounted vulcan guns, a multi-phase beam cannon in the chest and a beam cannon in each palm, Kira figured that most of its armarments were hidden.
Kira shook his head as he proceeded to the third new machine, the ZGMF-X01 Berserk Gundam. The ZGMF-X01 Berserk Gundam was essentially a copy of the Destiny which had been colored purple, green and black. But unlike the Destiny Gundam, the Berserk Gundam had a pair of DRAGOON units mounted on its backpack, in between the wings. After a long moment, the amethyst-eyed man let annoyed sigh escape his lips as he finally turned and walked out of the hanger.