Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed, the characters, plot, setting, yadda yadda, etc. etc. (I don't even own the manga for crying out loud)

OH! And possible yaoi warning. Also, implied shounen-ai and yaoi! (Nothing overt, but the innuendos are there and they might progress, depends on my mood)

I have had a slight return of inspiration!

I 'm not really proud of this chapter.

No niceness or fluff. No action. Mrgh.

Well, at least it's a continuation.

Ummmmm…

Can't think of anything else to say.

Italics means thoughts

Bold means….other stuff.

Last time:

The captive did not look up; he could not bear to watch as a numb, shocked Kira quietly followed the older man out the door. The foreboding hiss of the closing door seemed to echo Nicol's trepidation for his future. As well as that of the kind young man suffering the consequences of his own selfless heart and Nicol's thoughtless actions.

Nicol's New Fate

Chapter 4: Escape

--------------------------

"Move it, scum!"

Now where have I heard that before? Nicol winced as a hard rifle butt struck the back of his neck. It was odd how similar all the solders were; this one had mirrored the other guard, the one the kid had saved him from. Best not to think about it. Stumbling further into the bowels of the ship (he was still restrained and the pre-existing injuries had not been treated since the attempted escape). Nicol managed to detach himself from the painful experience by reviewing his overall situation. Which was even more agonizing.

After the boy, Nicol refused to call him Kira, had been led out, the female commanding officer turned on him. After listening to a list of his injuries (fractured ribs, a punctured lung, bruised cartilage all over, super-extended leg muscles (1), and a badly twisted ankle) the captain had deemed the prisoner healthy enough to undergo relocation to the cell block. She had called in two gun-toting goons, each one at least double their prisoner's body weight, to get him there. And so, here he was, walking through the entire ship with two idiots who had no idea where the cell block was.

Dammit, the normally polite ZAFT soldier was becoming irritated. I wish they'd just hurry up and get me there. I'm injured for crying out loud! Of course, they might just be doing this because they want to see me suffer. Maybe I hurt them as well, somehow...

"Faster, Prisoner!"

Nicol stumbled painfully before managing to speed up, but he barely noticed.

Like that kid, Kira. No, I can't call him that. He's a natural, an enemy. Not to mention he probably hates me now. After what I did and the effects, I really can't blame him.

Ruby eyes clenched shut in shame. I can't believe I did that! I mean, there was no real chance of escape. No matter what, I would have found myself wandering without a plan. That was really the only course of action that could have followed leaving the infirmary, yet I still did it. Damn! What kind of soldier am I? A good soldier always reviews possible outcomes before acting and never alienates possible allies or easily manipulated captors. God, this is-

"Finally!"

His head snapped up. IN all truth, he hadn't even seen where they had been taking him through the inner turmoil.

"No kidding, man. At least the brat was good. Is it possible to fall into a coma while walking?"

Nicol mentally rolled his eyes. Wonderful, he'd been upgraded from loathsome monster to comatose brat.

"Hahah! No, I don't think so. Besides, he's watching us."

"Really? Damn," A rough hand grabbed the boy's chin, jerking him to his toes and roughly moving the slight face from side to side. He barely bit back a whisper of pain from still-tender injuries "look at those funny eyes."

"Hmm?"

"They're RED."

"Coordinators are all freaks. Put the little monster down and help me with this door."

"Yeah, yeah."

Nicol stood absolutely still when released, outwardly calm and pliant but inwardly seething. Both men stood at the door, plugging in security codes. The stupid one that had grabbed the boy's chin had apparently forgotten he password. It wasn't long before they started talking again. Unsurprisingly, it was bout their charge.

"Does he really have red eyes?"

"Yeah! Creepy, isn't it? And green hair, too."

"…you sound like a demented Christmas commercial."

"Christmas? Hah! Guess so, he does seem to be holiday themed."

This time, the coordinator audibly ground his teeth, but neither of the men noticed.

"Yeah! Maybe they programmed him to be a Christmas-style coordinator!"

"Heh, I bet. Parents probably asked for the looks as a joke. It would be terrible for a natural childe, but for one of those engineered brats…"

Engineered? THEMED! Do they even know what a coordinator is? They talk as if I'm some kind of advanced robot or trained animal! THIS is why so few coordinators like naturals! If I was free… Wait a minute.

All signs of hostility died as Nicol stopped listening to the immensely degrading conversation and focused on himself. The men had left him alone. All alone, with his hands bound. Full use of feet and empty hallways all around. But considering last time…

No. That was different. If I go through those doors they're trying to open, I WILL NOT be able to escape. Those cells were built to hold much stronger men then me. But I need a plan. This can't end up like last time. Ummm…Well, sneak away first, then get these restraints off in any way possible. Find a terminal with a map of the ship, and then some kind of vehicle to escape in. Yeah, that'll work.

Inch by inch, the coordinator backed away, watching the guards until his careful steps passed a hallway to duck into.

Several minutes later, with the door finally open, the two men turned to retrieve their prisoner only to find an empty hallway.

Kira lay on his back on the now-familiar military bed, squeezing shut his eyes and trying not to cry.

Why? Why did this have to happen? Any of it? I never wanted to fight or hurt anyone and when I try to help those that do get hurt, I become even more miserable. I don't blame that Zaft soldier; no, he didn't leave the ties loose and it was only natural he'd be trying to escape. I guess he just didn't look like a prisoner of war to me. Unfortunately, by treating him like a normal injured boy, I put the entire crew in danger.

And now I'm going to be court marshaled. Last time, with Lacus, I was told it would have been a capital punishment were I actually a soldier.

Now I am a soldier…and this crime is just as bad as the last.

Small tears escaped the corners of the clenched eyes, growing in intensity until Kira was sobbing quietly.

Why? I hate all of this, so why do I keep being put through such pain? I wish Athrun was here. Of course, if he was he'd be trying to kill me. Athrun…

A fresh wave of tears cascaded onto the sheets as Kira remembered his childhood friend, the only person in his entire life to truly understand and appreciate him.

"Athrun…" A pained whisper was all the Earthen coordinator managed before once again dissolving into sobs.

Why, dammit, why does all this keep happening? First I lost Athrun, then my family, my friends have started treating me differently, I betrayed my entire race, and now I've alienated the commander and captain because of a prisoner I took! But I couldn't just kill him!

Sobs died into breathy gasps as the young man slowly cried away his sorrows. Exhausted from all the emotions and trying to escape the grim reality of the situation, Kira slipped off into a dreamless slumber.

Three…hours…

That was how long Nicol had been wandering around this stupid giant ship. The thing was built like a friggin' gopher burrow! The restraints had come off within the first 15 minutes, but so far the escapee had not seen a single person, which was good, OR a single terminal, which was bad.

"Damn." He swore lightly, resting to ease the strain on his injured limbs. What would one of the other have done in my shoes? Feh, stupid question. None of THEM would have gotten caught."

Grumbling and grousing, he almost missed the small screen set in the opposite wall next to a keyboard. As it was, he had to do a double take.

"Wires, paneling, screen, keys…YES! (2)" Good spirits were back full force! He had found a terminal!

Good! Now I can find out what happened to the others and how to get out of here. A Natural computer shouldn't be that hard to hack.

Fingers flew over the keyboard, tapping letters and numbers in a seemingly random but perfectly controlled order.

He was in.

"Files, files…here we go!" somehow, talking didn't seem like a very good idea, but his optimistic nature didn't seem to want to stay dormant. "Battle with Zaft about a week ago…" He scanned the screen rigidly, then sagged with relief. "Thank God. They were just psyching me out. The others might have broken off and headed back to the Plants for a break, but none of them were taken down." There was no time to rest his wounds, not now; not with the goal so close. "Well, let's look up Strike. There should be a route to the docking bay or hangar somewhere nearby. Huh, what's this?" An empty screen came up, only to flash a 'restricted' sign at the hacker.

"Hmph, we'll see about that."

Five minutes later, he was still working and beginning to sweat. Even coordinator systems would usually have fallen by now; there was something very wrong. Naturals did not have this tight of security. They didn't know how to program or handle it. Maybe… all these strange comments about a coordinator around were true.

-BEEP-

Huh?

-ACCESS GRANTED-

A gentle smile split his face for the first time since the fight. This could work. This could really work!

First thing he did was call up a map, taking all of thirty seconds to commit it to memory. He should have logged out there and then, but a little extra information never hurt anybody…

A minute later, he was furious; fists clenched tight enough to shut off circulation. How DARE they!

We'd always guess and assumed, but still…

The Bulletin read:

As a result of damages inflicted on the way to Joshua,Alaska base,
the Archangel and its crew have been forced back. The
only country willing and supplied enough to harbor and repair such a
ship is the neutral nation of Orb.
As per positive negotiations between the vessel and the
Princess of the neutral nation, Cagalli Yula Attha (3), the craft will be
Berthed secretly in a repeat performance of the previous similar act of
good will. Keeping Zaft unaware of Earthen Alliance plans is essential
to the longevity of both Orb and the Archangel.
Information classified by Earthen Alliance government
representative.

There was a semi-intelligible signature at the bottom of the statement.

"Dammit!" A fist rammed the keyboard, only to quickly jerk back with a little mewl of pain and another curse.

How could they? Anger was dulling to resentment. I mean, we never did anything to them. Ok, maybe we blew up Heliopolis and almost killed their princess, but that was their fault! Sulkily, Nicol looked up from nursing his hand and froze.

All thoughts of back-stabbing neutral nations flew out the window and his mouth gaped open.

Apparently, he had hit a key when his fist stuck the board.

On the screen was a profile.

A very FAMILIAR profile.

Short brown hair framed a delicate featured, nervous face. Peering out shyly from behind shaggy dark bangs were bright amethyst eyes.

"The boy..." Uncertainly, Nicol pressed the 'scroll' key.

"Kira Yamato. Ensign. Wow, high rank. What's a natural teen d-"

-BEEP-

What? Why was the rest of the information classified?

A sense of dread grew in the young coordinator's chest as he cracked the code. The reason for the security became clear instantly.

-Kira Yamato, Ensign. Coordinator. Not technically a member of the Earthen Alliance fleet, this first generation coordinator was brought on board at the neutral colony of Heliopolis and persuaded to pilot the MS Strike. Supreme care and caution should be taken around Ensign Yamato. As a coordinator, the Ensign is very high strung and volatile.-

Coordinator. That's why…everything fits. Why he was so nice, why the Strike was so strong, why I felt a connection to him. But why would a coordinator work for naturals?

-tak….tak….tak…-

Reflexively, Nicol dropped back into the shadows of the hallway, avoiding the footsteps.

The legged ship is returning to Orb… and the Kid…he's a coordinator. Like me.

"Atchoo!" Kira awoke with a sneeze to find himself curled up on top of the bed sheets. It was just barely 5 am. What had…?

"Oh, right."

Depressed again, he stood slowly, regarding the four walls, bare of anything save one little picture. He picked it up.

"Athrun…" infinite sadness well in amethyst eyes as a ginger stroked the 2-d image almost lovingly.

"Birdie!"

"Tori?"

The small mechanical bird landed on Kira's shoulder, nudging his neck urgently a few times before taking off again.

"Yeah, you're right Tori. Staying in here will just make me more miserable. I have the run of the ship until we reach Joshua, might as well make the most of it."

Resolutely jamming the picture into a hip pocket, the emotional young man set off for the hangar, his most prized possession and symbolic friend flapping along behind, like a small guardian angel.

TBC.

REVIEW!

Sorry about spelling errors, I haven't edited anything on ffnet, and that sometimes screws things up. And I know the end is tacky. I'm tired so screw it.

Not to mention I don't have a beta reader and my story line is getting a bit fuzzed.

Errr….oh. The next chapter will be VERY different. XD You won't see Nicol or Kira for a little while.

Thanx to all of you that reviewed, responses are at the bottom!

Oh, good lord it took forever to type this stupid chapter.

I'm rapidly growing to hate it.

Sorry it sucked so badly, I honestly don't know why, it just DOES. Not because of the quality or anything, just the structure and weirdness.

Mrgh.

Two stories updated in two days! It's a new record!

Woot!

Gawd, I'm tired. It's almost 1 am. That's why I'm spastic. I think that's why there are so many...odd...jokes in this chapter. I couldn't resist the christmas ones, and the sneeze was just begging to be put in. Anything else was unintentional. Oh,a nd something I forgot to comment on, the gopher burrows to describe the ship. Gopher burrows are like really complex mazes as far as I know. That's the comparison.

(1) I don't really know if this is a condition. It's supposed to mean that he over-stretched his muscles so they're torn and kinda wasted. It hurts.

(2) I don't actually know the technical statistics of a terminal in the GS universe, but this seemed to make sense.

(3) I know that's Cagalli's name, but I'm not sure if I spelled it right. 'Yula Attha', huh.

Karone-sakura: Well, this one is a bit longer. I think. Hmmm… my tiredness is affecting my brain. I can't remember how long the other chapter was. Anyways, I hope you liked this one and thanx for the review.

RainPure:Heh, I like Nicol and Kira as well. I was very sad when Nicol was killed, especially when they saved Athrun's life from a much more dire position. I mean, there were holes torn through the MS, and he ejected. So why didn't Nicol? Which is why he does in my fic. XD Unfortunately, I'm not always remarkably nice to my characters…it's just something that seems to happen. I don't think I'll make them suffer anything real bad though.

Yzak Lover Extrodinaire: Well, Nicol had to find out SOMEtime. I wasn't actually planning on this way originally. Before it was that Nicol was put down in the cells and Kira went to talk to him and they had a sweet little heart to heart where Kira told Nicol about being a coordinator, why he fights, Athrun, etc. and Nicol told Kira why he fights, how he loves the piano, his teammates, and other cute stuff. But this seemed to work better. Hope you liked this chapter as well!

Yipster54: I like my idea for the other fic, but I really have no time right now. Even if my inspiration is returning a bit, my schoolwork is suffering. Hmmm… well, hope you liked.

ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice: yeah, real awkward. Second offense with a government that hates his guts for existing. Not good at all. You'll just hafta wait to see what happens. XD

Artgirl150: Well, I'm gonna try to get the neko fic up eventually, but I already have Kira as a kind of AU neko in a different fic (Oddity) so I think I'm going to wait to start that one until I'm finished some of my current stories. And, unfortunately for Kira, things will get a bit worse before they get better. Thanx for your review.

Nariko: Oh yes. Oh yes yes yes will there be Athrun. There might be some shounen-ai as well. Hope that doesn't offend. And I'm not telling between whoooo… XD

Nevermore-Amaya: Yes, but the punishment was for WHEN they reach Joshua, not on the ship. :D So things still may happen…And now they have a lot more time. Maybe…hmmm… If I elongate the fic, I might be able to bring Joshua more into it…and blue cosmos…Geez, I really seem to have it in for poor Kira. Although being captured or confined with someone would force them to have 'quality time' together. Question is, who? Hmmm…

Anei Tenshi Raya: Well, thank you. :) I get them out as fast as I can. And things will eventually get better. A lot sooner for one character then the other. Hope ya liked this chapter.

Silvercage: Thanks. Hope ya liked this one.

SpiritsMelding: Heh, well, I hope you liked this chapter. Hope I didn't forget to put anything in…I was half asleep when I wrote it. Thanks for the review.

Jiang Mae: Sorry I'm so late. No teens of August for me, a whole half month later. Hope you liked this chapter.

Twisted-Galaxy: Heh, well, don't worry about updating. I might be sporadic but I'm definitely planning on finishing this fic. I'm a little fuzzy about some events that are gonna happen (can't decide if I want to add another major story arc or not) but it WILL get finished. Hope you like this chapter as much as you did the others.

Easy-Company-506101: I suppose that's a positive way of looking at it. Mrgh, stupid writer's block. I swear, it was vicious. Seems to have calmed down somewhat by now, though. Hope you liked this chapter and thanx for the review.

Deathbyhugs: Thanx:D Hope ya liked this chapter.