Author's note: It is really me and I am back to writing again Firstly, I must say a very very very sincere apology. I know each time I start by apologising for my long absence and that absence stretches longer and longer and longer. This time, it's been what… six years? Unbelievable! How time flies! Where is everyone now?
When I decided to come back to this fanfic after so so long, I wondered how everyone would be. Are there still Gundam fans out there? Have my readers of old reached new and happier places in their lives? So much has changed for me (haha, for starters, I am now working and married!) But to be very honest, this fanfic and the readers of this fanfic have ALWAYS remained nestled in a small corner of my mind and heart. Over the past few years, I have felt the urge to return to writing this fanfic again but never got to doing so… I did wonder if I would be writing this without any readers to read it. Perhaps everyone has moved on and grown up. But I decided to just go ahead because there is an incredibly heart-warming feeling to be immersing myself back in the Gundam world, such a significant part of my childhood.
But if somehow, there are people reading this, let me just say:
To fans and reviewers of old, if you have been following this story the whole time, and suddenly leapt for joy when you saw it being updated, welcome back! I hope you have been doing well over the past 6 years even with COVID and all! Welcome back to the Gundam world, to your childhood / younger days and thank you for still staying with me this whole time! I hope this chappie will satisfy any lust you might still have for this fanfic and the experiences of the characters.
To new fans and readers, welcome to the world that I have shamelessly created for the Gundam characters, having appropriated them and placed them into heart-wrenching situations. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I have enjoyed writing it every time.
As per tradition, I usually dedicate this chappie to all readers. I shall do that again, but also, perhaps I shall dedicate this chappie to Time. Here's wishing that the Gundam universe can withstand the test of time and fans, old and new, will continue to adore this series and its myriad of characters.
Chapter 76:
Thirteen years ago
Ulen Hibiki paced back and forth, shoes scuffing impatiently against the ceramic tiles. Every few seconds, he would glance up through the floor-to-ceiling glass observation window that lined one side of his lab, eyes glinting with a maniac hopefulness. This was taking too long, he shook his head, way too long. Way too long. He stilled his pacing and ran a hand through already dishevelled blond hair. Sweat beaded on his brow despite the cold air circulating the room.
"Isn't he due to wake already?" He snapped at his assistant who sat at one of the computers, data flashing rapidly through its screen. "How're his vitals showing?"
"Not bad," she nodded towards the observation window, "Still looking good. Probably needs a bit more time."
No, no, no, Ulen bit his lip. Too long. He had been waiting for this for way too long. Beside him, other scientists were too milling around the lab, all watching intently. Hands were wringing; bottom lips were chewed; brows were dabbed. A nervous energy was pulsating through the air; they were on the verge of a breakthrough, Ulen could just feel it.
He licked his dry lips, then made his decision. "Introduce the reversal agent," he said.
His assistant spun round and stared at him, wide-eyed. "He might not be able to take it. Better if we let the body rid itself of the anaesthesia and awaken on its own."
"No, it's taking too long. Do it."
"But-"
Ulen Hibiki turned steely eyes on her, "Do it. Now."
Without a word, she turned back to the monitors and punched the instructions into the computer. Ulen returned his gaze to the room that lay beyond the observation window. The view opened up onto a larger laboratory, one several times larger than the one he was in. Almost the size of a stadium, it was meant to accommodate the various apparatuses and devices Ulen had invented alongside his wife and team. The culmination of years and years of hard, hard work. He had dedicated almost his whole life to this place. To Rau's mission. And here… here, finally, the end goal was in sight.
The thought of his wife made Ulen close his eyes. There was a deep ache inside him, one that made his throat tighten uncomfortably. Via had been by his side for most of this journey. She had shared his dreams, his ambitions. She knew what he wanted to achieve. Hell, she had wanted to achieve it too – that perfect world. But then things had changed and she had forsaken him and their mission.
She had sent their children away from the facility, away from him and told him in no uncertain terms that he would never find them. She had spoken with an eerie calmness despite the tears streaking her cheeks, her face pale, brown hair plastered to her brow and neck with perspiration, body still frail and wrecked from the labour of childbirth. He saw her love for him in her violet eyes, and her determination to stay with him, to continue fighting with him, but there was also something different now – a bitter resentment and resignation, as if he had disappointed her. That had hurt Ulen more than anything he had experienced in his life. Why couldn't Via understand that he was doing all these for them? For the world?
Ulen Hibiki opened his eyes and tried to ground himself in the moment. This pivotal, ground-breaking moment. But it was difficult. Whenever he looked through that glass observation window and saw the child, he was reminded of Via. The child had inherited Via's brunette hair, amethyst eyes and even her innocence if it was possible. He shook his head and clenched his fists. But it was alright now. Rau had found him eventually, hidden away in the suburbs with Via's sister and brought him back. There was no time and no room for such nostalgia now. Via would understand why he had to do this. They were one, they shared the same dreams.
"More," he said to his assistant. "Up the reversal agents. I want him awakened from the anaesthesia now."
His assistant looked like she wanted to contend his decision again, but then her lips merely tightened into a firm line and she did as she was told.
Ulen watched, and smiled. The child would make it. If there was anything else the child had inherited from them, it would be their steadfast resilience. The child was his son, the messiah and saviour of all of humanity. He would make it.
Beyond the glass window, in the adjoining lab Ulen was peering into, row after row of cylindrical glass tanks had been positioned. In each, an unmoving human figure lay suspended in the viscous liquid, as if returned to the womb from which he or she had been born from. Tubes and wires connected each creature to the apparatuses like uncanny mechanical umbilical cords. Typically, men and women in white lab coats would be seen meandering through the maze of glass tanks, monitoring the vital signs of the test subjects and keeping a close watch. But now they had all gravitated towards the tank at the front of the row, the one that too arrested all of Ulen and his colleagues' attention.
Because the figure in the tank was beginning to rouse.
The child's eyes opened slowly, gaze unfocused and clouded over by the lingering anaesthesia. Fingers began to twitch. The boy was coming round now. His eyes were blinking, limbs trembling as sensation returned to the body. No doubt the boy was feeling pain now that the anaesthesia was draining from his system. Then all of a sudden, a spasm wrecked the little one and his body unfurled rapidly from its protective foetal position. A collective gasp resonated through the lab Ulen was in, while the awestruck scientists encircling the tank fell back a step. "Blood pressure's shooting up," his assistant warned, glancing over her shoulder at Ulen, waiting for his instructions.
But Ulen was silent. He stood, transfixed by the scene beyond. He couldn't believe the beauty he was witnessing, as if a bud was blossoming.
He didn't hear the door of the lab open, didn't notice Rau Le Creuset's approach until the man appeared beside him. "I heard the good news. I just had to come and see myself," the blond man smiled. Light glinted off the surface of his silver mask. "You've done it, Ulen. You've created the perfect superhuman."
Ulen turned his gaze back to the scene unfolding before them. The boy was fully awake now. He had survived all the experiments, all the chemical agents, all the genetic alterations. This boy. His own son. All around the lab, applause rang out as the child began to thrash in the tank, clawing at the glass, the screams renting from his throat soundless and unheard. Ulen felt the sting in his eyes. If only you could see this, Via. You'll understand. You'll be so proud of our Kira.
Present
"So you see, Kira, your real name is Kira Hibiki," Rau Le Creuset smiled, savouring the story and the memories it brought forth.
Oh, he remembered that day so well. The day he had stood beside Ulen Hibiki and saw Kira awaken, the first successful genetically enhanced superhuman, the perfect assassin. He had to hand it to Ulen. The man was a great scientist. He had wished to give his son the honour of being the first test subject, a sacrifice at the altar of science if you would have it. And it had happened all right here, in this very lab Rau had built.
Trust Fate to come full circle and bring Kira back here again.
"Ulen and Via were both scientists here, in this very lab. Your father created you, Kira, with his own hands and made you into the perfect assassin. This is your home all along. You were born in this very facility and this is where you have always belonged. This is your purpose."
Only an echoey silence greeted him. Rau felt a tinge of irritation worm its way into his heart. The fools. Did they not understand the magnitude of the marvels he had engineered here? Sure, Rau was no man of science, but he was a visionary. He understood Science was the new God, the only salvation to a corrupted, screwed-up world that they had all been involuntarily born into. He would use it to return purpose to their lives. Remind them that only individual survival, the very thing Nature endorsed, was the thing that mattered.
He lifted a hand and signalled with two fingers. Trained as they always were, Orga, Clotho and Shani moved in, their guns lifted and pointed forwards, centring on the computer behind which Athrun Zala was hunkered together with the traitor, Kira.
As much as he had enjoyed their little cat and mouse game and the adrenalin rush, Rau Le Creuset knew things had to be put back in place now. It was time to reclaim his prized assassin.
Author's note: And that's the end of this chapter. Do pardon me if it is shorter than you expected. It's going to take me a while to get back into the groove of writing chapters with 7k+ words! But fingers crossed that I will regain that momentum soon!
As usual, like what I always say, do leave me your reviews and tell me all about how you felt reading the chapter! The good, the bad, let me have it all!