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Chapter 94
The pilot of the Yami arrived at the bridge about five or so minutes after Murrue and Mu had informed him that Kira and Athrun required his assistance up there, Dearka let out a small irritable sigh, he really was not in any mood for this, he would much rather spend his time with Miriallia and the rest of his family, playing Monopoly, eating snacks and drinking soda.
Reaching out, Dearka got the door open, then slowly stepped inside. The first thing his purple gaze fell on, was Kira sitting in Miriallia's chair, his fingers rapidly flying over the keyboard. Watching him work like that, the Yami pilot could not deny that he was a bit amazed by how fast Kira was typing, it seriously was no wonder, that he had been able to rewrite the Strike gundam's OS, even while in combat. Finally, after watching Kira a bit longer, Dearka slowly turned his gaze and looked over at Athrun, who was sitting in his wheelchair drinking a cup of coffee.
"So what's this about? It better be important, I got to be the dog, I never get to be the dog" Dearka growled slightly displeased, as he moved over and dropped down into the Captain's chair, taking a sip from the can of soda, he had brought along with him up there.
"Hmm, now that I give it a bit of thought. The dog thing does kinda suit you Dearka, you can be a bit of a 'bonehead' at times" Athrun teased his friend in a playful tone of voice.
Glaring silently at him for a few short seconds, before finally rolling his eyes a single time. "Hilarious. So, what's up, guys? Please tell me that we are going to prank call, the Chairman? I already came up with a few pretty nasty jokes, just for the occasion. I kinda wonder why, more heroes does not prank call the villain, it would be soooo damn hilarious" Dearka said with a small mischievous smirk.
Letting out a short amused laugh at that. "Heh heh, that does sound pretty great Dearka, with me being a former member of FAITH I might actually be able to reach his personal channel, if they haven't deleted me from their system, which they likely have. But, we can't take that risk, for a bit of fun, if we start messing with that creepy bastard in such a manner, ZAFT might try to block our signal, which would make it that much harder, for us to reach the person, we need to talk with" Athrun explained.
"Ahh man, you mean spoilsport" that was the only response Dearka gave to Athrun's words, while slowly spinning the chair, around itself a couple of times, in an attempt to entertain himself just a bit, while waiting for Kira to finish, whatever it was he was doing.
It was then, Kira decide to add his two cents to their conversation. "I am in too, guys! If you still want to mess with that disgusting creep, once we are done talking, with whoever this mystery person, we are trying to get a hold on is. With the Chairman, having already tried to kill my wife twice now, I got a few choice words, I would very much like to say to him, and just so you know, they might be a little much, for your innocent young ears" the Freedom pilot said, doing a pretty good job of a sounding like a cranky old man.
The furrowing eyebrows along with the tone of voice he was using, made it abundantly clear to both Athrun and Dearka, that if they did somehow get a hold on the Chairman, Kira had something completely different in mind, than just messing with him and having a bit of fun, he was going to shout and curse at the murderous politician, until he was blue in the face and had a sore throat.
"Damn, Kira, you really took all the fun out of the notion of prank calling the Chairman, and messing with him a bit. Not that anyone would blame you for being so pissed off at him. I know that it might come as a total shock to you guys, but with how many times that man and his people has threatened our weird little family, I am also starting to carry a bit of grudge against him" Dearka said, again spinning the chair around.
Those words, immediately earned the pilot of the Yami gundam a highly skeptical look from Athrun. "Yeah ok, that is a surprise Dearka, you have after all done such an amazing job, keeping the hatred you felt towards the Chairman, hidden" Athrun sarcastically said.
"Well what can I say Athrun, I am a genius when it comes to keeping my emotions hidden, I am almost like a rock in that regard" Dearka playfully continued, of course knowing better than anyone what a load of bull that was, he could be a pretty emotional fellow at times, like when watching a certain type of movies, it was not like he would bawl his eyes out over them, but he could be touched and even a bit angry by some scenes like when animals got hurt or worse died, especially dogs, the blond man had always had a soft spot for dogs, and he had done very little to hide his wish, to get one. There had actually been a bit of talk in the family about them getting a dog, before the war broke out.
Yet, there were also other things that could make him a bit emotional, like when thinking back to his and Miriallia's very first date, she had just looked so, so unbelievable beautiful and innocent in that blue dress she had been wearing. Just the mere thought of that brought a small but happy smile to his face.
"You are thinking about Miriallia, ain't you?" Athrun softly asked.
"Huh, how the heck did you know?".
Grinning ever so slightly. "You always get such a happy nostalgic look on your face Dearka, whenever you are thinking about, the more peaceful times together with her" Athrun explained.
"Damn Athrun, there goes the hold rock thing right out the window. But ohh well, guess I just have to live with being an emotional guy, that felt a bit sad, when ET went back home, and old Yeller died" Dearka said, still far from done messing around with Murrue's chair.
Rubbing the back of his neck and scratching his blue hair a bit, Athrun let out a thoughtful sound. "Hmm, not to rain on your parade Dearka, but I think most people gets a little emotional over those scenes, they never get any easier, even after watching them a few times".
Quickly turning the chair, so he was looking straight at Athrun, the Yami pilot was just about to give him a reply, when Kira's voice cut him off. "I am sorry to interrupt guys, but I am finished with the preparation, we can make our phone call now" he informed his two friends.
"Awesome, then let's get to it already!" Dearka shouted happily.
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Presently up on Aprilius One, a certain green haired woman in her mid-thirties, had just finished preparing her breakfast, sitting quietly down at the table, Romina Amalfi looked the food over, it was a boring meal, one fried egg and a single piece of slightly burned toast, not that she cared all the much about it. Reaching slowly out, she pressed a button on the TV remote, turning the device on.
Upon seeing Ezalia Jule, and some other male politician, Romina did not remember the name of, blabbering almost childishly about the war and what necessary steps ZAFT would need to take, to put an end to the war once and for all. Knowing full well what Ezalia would likely say, and in no kind of mood to listen to such mindless rubbish, this early in the morning, Romina hurried changed the canal, hoping to find something a little less intense to watch. Finally, she found a medical drama series she kinda liked, reaching out she picked up her cop of coffee, taking a small sip of the warm liquid, yet just as she was about to reach for her piece of toast, her video phone suddenly started ringing, which greatly surprised her, since people very rarely called her this early, it kinda made her feel a bit nervous for some inexplicable reason, standing up from a seat Romina press a single button on the phone.
It was only a split second later, when she saw three young men appeared on the screen, the blond one looked family, he was definitely somebody she had seen before, but she did not quite remember where, next her gaze wander to the brown haired boy, him she definitely did not know, he had a kind look on his face, but he also looked quite a bit tired, like he could really use a good night's, well-deserved rest. Finally, Romina's gaze found its way to the only person she knew of the three, his blue hair looked kinda messy, plus he looked so beat up, like he had been fighting a devil or two recently, and lost pretty severely, something that was made all the more apparent, by the old wheelchair he was sitting in.
"Athrun, Athrun Zala it's nice to see you again after such a long time. It looked like you have had a couple of rough days" Romina told the young man, with a hint of almost motherly concern in her voice.
"Heh, that's a word for it. It's good to see you too, Miss Amalfi" Athrun said back, truly grateful for her genuine concern for his wellbeing.
Slowly turning her head, Romina looked at the blond one, furrowing ever so slightly, as she struggled to remember his name. "Deaken, your name is Deaken, right?".
Easily able to count the few times he had met, Miss Romina Amalfi on one hand, it did not come as an overly big surprise, that the green haired woman did not remember his name, Dearka was actually a bit impressed by how close she had came to guessing it correctly. So, it was with a slight but still friendly smile on his face, that he told her who he was.
"Pretty close Ma'am, it's Dearka, Dearka Elsman. I'm sorry that we have not had a chance to speak properly, before now" he politely said back.
Slowly shaking her head. "That... That's fine young man, it's nothing you need to feel guilty or apologize for, it's not like I put much effort into getting to know any of Nicol's comrades from the military, perhaps that was a mistake on my part" the young mother said, her mind clearly trying it's utmost to figure out what she could have done differently in the past, as she glanced back over at Kira.
Standing up from his seat, Kira bowed slightly to the woman. "I am Kira Yamato Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you. I do wish it was under better circumstance, than this".
Upon hearing his name, Romina leaned a bit closer towards the screen, as watched the tired young man sit back down. "Ahh, I see. So, you are Kira Yamato, I do remember Nicol mentioning your name a few times after he got back home after the last war, he told me that you were a nice kind-hearted person, that he had a lot of respect for".
Honestly, not sure if he had actually heard Miss Amalfi right, considering how different, how unbelievable crazy Nicol was now, it was kinda hard for the Freedom pilot to believe, that Nicol could have said something so nice about any of them, here on the Archangel, and judging from Dearka and Athrun's reaction, they felt the exact same way.
Of course, noticing their shocked expressions and reactions, Romina gave her lower lips a hard bite. "The reason why, you are calling me, is because you want to ask about Nicol, and what happened when he got back home from the war two years go".
Clearing his throat, Athrun nodded slowly. "Yes, he told me a few things at Gibraltar, but after giving it some thought, I am not entirely sure, how much of it, I actually believe. Some of it, pardon the expression, sounded like complete and utter nonsense, if not downright horseshit, to me".
The hurt, deeply sorrowful expression, along with the hint of sheer anger in Athrun's green eyes, took Romina aback quite a bit. What? What in the world had Nicol, her child done, to his long time friend, that would hurt him so deeply, so intensely. "Umm I, Athrun? Will you please, please tell me what happened between you and Nicol, at Gibraltar? I... I need to know".
Letting out a deep reluctant sigh at the request, Athrun with a far-off look in his green eyes, that very much made it seem like he was an exhaust old man, that was remembering something truly terrible, something that even if he grew to become a hundred years old, he would NEVER like to talk about. The immense betrayal he felt, when Nicol had pointed his gun at him, was so close to how heart broken he had felt, when his own father had shot him doing the last war.
But despite how, how unbelievable much Athrun Zala would rather talk about anything else, he still began telling Romina, Dearka and Kira about everything that had transpire on the Minerva, after Shinn had destroyed the original Freedom gundam, how uncaringly Nicol had seemed about it, even though Kira was supposed to be his friend too, it was only when Athrun had almost gotten into a full-blown brawl with Shinn, that Nicol had finally done something, stopping him from tearing the red eyed brat apart.
Afterwards, the absent-minded Athrun told the three of them about how he had tried to make his escape from the Minerva, before the ship could reach at Gibraltar, but none of the ship's crafts, had been fast enough for him, to get far enough away, before Shinn would catch up to him in the Impulse gundam. Then finally, after taking a small sip of his coffee, the blue haired man went on to quietly tell them about the Minerva's arrival at Gibraltar, where he, Nicol and Shinn had immediately been summoned by the Chairman, who had proudly shown them the Destiny, Legend and Adamant. But while Shinn and Nicol, had been extremely excited about the powerful new gundams, Athrun had dreaded their very existence with every fiber of his being.
"I then argued a bit with Durandal about why he had given the order to attack and destroy the Archangel and the Freedom, but he just said some nonsense about not wanting you to interfere in the attack on Logos, back then I seriously had to force myself not to pull out my gun and shoot him right then and there, but there were so many guards keeping watch and I wanted to see you guys, my family again, I wanted so to be with Cagalli and help her raise our child. Heh, that was before I realized that we were having twins" Athrun said, then fell silent for a short minute, as he sat there thinking, wondering how things would have changed, if he really had gun down Gilbert Durandal at Gibraltar, the world would definitely be a safer place, but he too would likely be dead or rotting in a prison cell, with Rey, Nicol, Shinn and so many other people wanting him dead and gone, for what he had done.
Upon being told how cold, how uncaringly her son had behaved, when one of his friends, had almost been killed, made a heart-wrenching pain run though, Romina. It truly did feel like, an invisible hand was clutching tightly on to her aching heart, trying with all of its might, to crush it. The only bit of comfortable the green haired woman could find, was the news that Athrun was going to be the father of a couple of twins, if it had been under less dire circumstances, Romina realized that she would have been pretty excited about that, and started asking a ton of questions about the do date, what gender they were going to be, and if it was possible for her to met them one day, along with so many other things. Yet, as a couple of sad tears, ran ever so slowly down her face. She saw Athrun slowly reach up, rubbing both of his eyes a bit, then let out a deep sigh, as he went on to tell her and his two friends what happened next.
"With me being totally powerless to do anything down in the hangar, and not wanting to spend another second listening to the Chairman's mindless bullshit, I quickly left the hangar, retreating to my room. I had not been there for very long, when Meer Campbell show up to warn me, that Rey and the Chairman were talking about getting rid of me".
Still feeling a massive amount of distressing emotions running rampage through her heart and mind, Romina with a blank look in her eyes found herself asking who this Meer Campbell person was, she was not entirely sure how relevant the girl was to the story, but for some reason she still wanted to know. However, before Athrun had a chance to come up with an answer to that question, Kira did it instead.
"She is the fake Lacus Clyne working for the Chairman" Kira said, doing next to nothing to keep the resentment he felt towards the fake Lacus out of his voice, he knew full well, that one of the reasons why Durandal was so determined to kill the real Lacus, his adorable wife, was because he had that fake one running around telling everyone who would listen, that what ZAFT was doing for the world, was truly the best for all of them.
While quite frankly a bit taken aback by the sheer amount of hostility she heard in the young man's words, Romina sat there staring quietly off into space, thinking for a few short seconds about what Kira had said. It kinda made sense, the Lacus she remembered from two years ago, had seemed so pure, innocent and cheerful, while the Lacus who was being shown on TV these days, seemed FAR less innocent. Her songs had change so much, that some of them Romina hardly recognize, and those she did, she now found herself disliking a great deal, they were too noisy for her taste, and that overall revealing dress, this other Lacus was wearing, was just, just so indecent, not something a girl Miss Lacus' age, should wear in public, it was like the whole purpose of that dress, was to get as many people to drool over her as possible.
Slowly shaking her head a few times, Romina took a deep breath. "So if this Lacus working for the Chairman is a fake. Please tell me where the real one is! Please tell me, that she is safe! I was pretty good friends with her father, Siegel Clyne, so I have to know if she is alright!" Romina said in a demanding tone of voice, that immediately served to make it clear, to the three friends, that if they knew about the real Lacus' whereabouts and more importantly her well-being, they had better not keep it a secret from her.
Of course noticing of the genuine concern look in on Miss Amalfi's deep brown eyes, as she asked about Lacus, Kire could feel his respect for this woman grow, if she was the one who raised Nicol, it was no big mystery why he used to be such a friendly warm-hearted person, before his entire personality went to hell and got all twisted up and wicked.
"You do not have to worry about Lacus, Miss Amalfi she is safe here on the Archangel, presently she is playing Monopoly with some friends and a girl who is very much like a little sister to her" Kira explained.
Nodding firmly a single time. "Good, that's good, I am just so relieved to know that she... she is alright... I do kinda wish that I could speak with her, but that can wait. So Athrun, what happened after this Meer person had warned you about the Chairman's intentions?" Romina asked next.
"Well, Meer had barely done that, before four well-armed idiots showed up to arrest me. Knowing that it would be even more difficult to escape from a jail cell, I decide to try to get away right then and there. I threw a chair through a window, then jumped out and hide out on the fire escape. With the four of them busting into the room a second later, they of course quickly followed me out there, where I hastily knocked all four of them out. Then after grapping one of their weapons, I try to convince Meer to go with me, but she steadfastly refused, even more so when I call her by her real name, she kept on insisting that she was, Lacus Clyne" the blue haired man explain.
That was when Romina's soft voice interrupt him yet again, with a single word. "Schizophrenia?"
Nodding ever so slowly. "I think so, but I am not a psychologist, so I do not know for sure. But I do know, that I still feel pretty bad about leaving her behind at Gibraltar. Despite however much she refuse to believe it, I know for a fact, that her life is in serious danger, the longer she keeps on pretending, to be Lacus" Athrun told, Romina, Kira and Dearka in a low tone of voice, again wondering if there was anything else he could have done and said to Meer at Gibraltar, that would have convinced her to go with him. While Kira might have sent her a few nasty glares, for running around pretending to be his wife, neither he nor anybody else on board the Archangel would have harmed her, she would be safe and protected there, unlike wherever she was now.
"Perhaps we really should have kidnapped her, when I suggest it. I might despise her, but I really do not think she deserves to die" the until now mostly quiet Dearka, mumbled softly to himself, but still loud enough for Athrun to hear him.
"Yeah that might have been for the best, she might not have been grateful for it, but at least she would be safe. Truth is, I have actually been considering that idea for a while now, but unfortunately Dearka, I have no idea where Meer even is now, she could still be at Gibraltar, she could be up on the PLANTs, or somewhere else entirely, but wherever she is I am fairly certain that she is VERY well guarded, and will be until Durandal no longer needs the poor girl. Anyhow, once I reach the bottom of the fire escape, I found, much to my dismay, Nicol there waiting for me, gun in hand..." the low-spirited Athrun told the three of them next.
Following that, a long moment of slightly tense silence fell over the four of them, the far away look in Athrun's green eyes, along with the deeply hurt, sorrowful expression on his face, made it abundantly clear to Romina, Kira and Dearka, how much Nicol's betrayal and overall crazy actions, at that very moment pained him. Lightly biting his lower lips, the Justice pilot was just about to continue talking when a loud bang cut him off, followed by the sound of breaking glass.
Having slammed both of her hands down into her table and knocking over her cop of coffee in the process, Romina now stood there looking with widen tear filled eyes at Athrun, her mouth opening and closing ever so slowly, as she struggled internally to regain the ability to actually say a complete sentence.
"I... I... Please tell me that he was not going to shoot you!" The woman screamed at the top of her lungs, with a steady stream of distraught tears now running down her face.
Staring silently into her eyes for a few seconds, Athrun practically had to force the next sentence out of his mouth, almost feeling like he was about to choke on the very words, he was only barely able to keep himself from crying at this point.
"I'm so... so sorry Miss Romi... Miss Amalfi... I really do believe that was his intention, he did try to convince me that I was making a mistake and that I should just surrender peacefully, while I tried to convince him that the Chairman was a complete nutcase, who's goals would ruin this world. Both of us refused to listen to each other. Then after arguing a bit more, he then went on to tell me about what happened between you, Miss Amalfi, your husband and him, telling me that Mr Amalfi was practically mocking him for mourning Mayura's death, a Natural girl, which result in Nicol punching him and knocking out one of his teeth, afterwards he said that you disowned him and threw him out of the family" Athrun said with narrowed eyes, not once moving his gaze away from Romina Amalfi, he wanted to see her reaction to his words.
Face white as a ghost, Romina just sat there with even more tears running down her face, reaching slowly down, she picked up the small handle of her broken coffee cup, fumbling absentmindedly around with the red and white glass, before simply releasing her hold on it, letting it drop back down onto the floor with a small sound.
"So... So that's what he believed happened... It's true until the point where Nicol punched his father. You see when he did that, he did not just knock out one of Yuri's teeth, he also broke his nose. It was bleeding, so much, and ever since I was little, I always had a few issues with the sight of blood, and there was just so much of it. I was barely able to keep myself from passing out. So, with me struggling with everything I got to keep myself together and not get a full-blown panic attack, I did not pay much attention to Nicol's emotional state, while I tried to help Yuri, who at that point was sitting on the floor, yelling and screaming at Nicol, to get out of our house. But despite how nasty Yuri's words were, I think my actions hurt Nicol a lot more, I simply turned to him and told him that he should go to his room, to think about what he did, and that we would discuss things, like proper mature adults, after I got back home from taking his dad to the emergency room. When I did get back home a few hours later, Nicol's suitcase and backpack were gone, along with most of his clothes and a few other items. I tried calling him so many times, then I message him, but I never got an answer, I spend the entire night, frantically running around Aprilius searching for him. The next three days are, pretty much a blur to me, I tried to get Yuri to help, but he wouldn't do anything, being hit like that by his son, hurt Yuri's pride pretty badly. So, I had to search for him all by myself, I tried reporting him missing, but that didn't really get me anywhere. On the fourth night, in my sleep-deprived state, I was almost assaulted, I was thankfully saved by a kind orange haired woman called Hilda, she did a lot to help me out. It was only thanks to her, that I was finally able to figure out, that Nicol had rejoined the ZAFT military. I tried contacting him there, but I still got no answer, I then tried to sneak into the base, but I of course, ended up getting caught and arrest. It was only thanks to me being Yuri's wife, that I did not end up with serious jail time, for that little stunt. Afterwards, I had no idea what to do next, all I could come up with was messaging Nicol and E-mailing him, I have been doing that daily, ever since" Romina sobbed, standing slowly up, she almost stumbled over to the sink, where she poured herself a glass of water.
Time, the three Archangel pilots all need quite a bit of time to process all the things Romina had told them, they all glance at each other, where they of course noticed, the thoughtful slightly angry frown they all had on their faces. Finally, after a few minutes Dearka let out a long sigh while rubbing his forehead in a frustrated manner.
"Damn it, damn you Nicol, you stupid idiot! Miss Romina, could not you have gotten your husband to help you get in contact with, Nicol?" The Yami pilot quietly asked, glancing up at the woman on the screen, having a sneaking suspicion what her answer was going to be.
Swallowing everything in her glass, the green haired woman slammed it down onto the counter. "I tried that so many times Dearka, I practically begged Yuri to do something to help me get in contact with our son, but no matter, what I said and did, he just wouldn't listen to me. You see, the exact moment, Nicol punched Yuri, he immediately stopped existing in Yuri's mind, it was like he never had a son. But I on the other hand, simply was not ready to write my little boy out of our lives, which resulted in Yuri and I arguing about that every day, after Nicol left, it got so bad in the end, that after four hellish months, we ended up filing for divorce. I don't even think Nicol knows, that his father and I are no longer together" Romina explained, stepping back over to the table, not caring one bit about stepping in all the coffee on the floor or the broken glass, she was thankfully wearing a couple thick flip-flops, otherwise her actions just now, would definitely have hurt like hell.
"So you really didn't disown Nicol, like he claimed" Athrun said in a low tone of voice, knowing that if Nicol had been there, he would likely have given him a good hard smack or two on the head for being so, SO damn stupid, and doing something so cruel to his kindhearted mother, who had clearly been suffering a great deal, since her child had disappeared out of her life.
Placing a hand on her chest in a somewhat desperate attempt to lessen the immense pain, she felt in her heart. "Noo, I did not Athrun, I love him, he is my little boy! I want HIM, to be a part of my life! I want to be a part of his life, but with him unwilling to say even one word to me! I simply do not know how I am supposed to convince him of that!" Romina sobbed loudly.
Finding it so God damn difficult to even look at the sorrowful expression on Miss Romina's face, Dearka sat there staring down at his feet like they were the most interesting things in the whole world. "So if you still want him around, then that means... Means thaaat umm..." he began ever so softly.
"That it all comes back to Mayura in the end..." Kira finished quietly for him.
Glancing a few times between the sad looking Kira and Dearka, Romina swallowed the unbelievable huge lump in her throat, which instantly served to make another loud sob run through her grief stricken body.
"I... I know that Nicol loved that girl dearly, but he never really told me all that much about her, what was she like?".
"She was... Mayura was a nice girl, with red hair and blue eyes, she loved spending her time with Nicol, Cagall and her two friends Juri and... And Asagi..." Kira said, unable to stop himself from getting completely lost in his own thoughts, when he mentioned Asagi's name.
Upon noticing the far away gaze in Kira's purple eyes, it instantly became clear to Athrun, that his childhood friend was going to need a moment to collect himself, before he was ready to continue the conversation with Nicol's mother. Something that was made all the more obvious, when he narrowed his eyes even further, in what could only be described as intense thoughtfulness. Athrun was of course easily able to figure out, that Kira was presently reliving his overall cazy life and death battle, with Rau Le Creuset, at Jachin Due, pondering intensely over, if there was anything at all he could have done differently to protect Asagi, to prevent her Astray from getting hit by that one DRAGOON from the Providence. Yet finally, after about a minute, Kira shook his head a bit, then looked back up at the screen. But he still kept his mouth firmly shut, not quite ready to talk yet.
So Athrun quickly decide to take over. "She had a bit of a foul mouth at times, but she was always kind and respectful towards the ones she cared about. If you, got her to stop cursing, Mayura was definitely the type of girl, any mother would have been happy, for her son to bring home. She had a pretty relaxed personality, not that she was lazy in any way, she was always willing to lean a helping hand. From what I remember, one of her favorite hobbies was playing board games, according to Cagalli, Mayura was a real wizard at bowling, and other of such activities" the blue haired man said, just as Dearka cut in, when he sensed that Athrun was reaching the point, where he was unable to continue.
"Yeah, she along with Asagi and Juri were pretty great. I, for one, really do curse the fact that I never got to know them better. All three of them were pretty brave pilots when in battle. Mayura, was extremely good at putting her Astray through its paces. But... when she and Nicol encountered the Calamity gundam, at Jachin Due, Mayura was, emm was no match, for the crazy son of a bitch piloting that ugly thing...!" The Yami pilot said, then just sat there staring intensely up at the blank ceiling.
"I see... she sounds like a lovely young lady, I wish so much, that I could have met her..." Romina wept into her hand. She truly did, she wished with every fiber of her being, that she could have met, Mayura. Oh, God why? Why did such a wonderful person had to die, in such a gruesome way, if she had been around Nicol's age two years ago, she had still been a teenager, somebody who had her whole life ahead of her, and judging from what Kira, Athrun and Dearka had just told her, Nicol was not the only one who sincerely missed Mayura Labbatt. Her death, along with her two friends Juri and Asagi, truly were a tragedy. The thought of how many innocent young people, that had lost their lives, both during the previous war, and now this one, instantly served to make the green haired lady cry that much harder. Why, in God's name? Could humanity not stop fighting each other, like this.
As Romina pondered in her sorrowful state over that question, like so many other people had done before her, she kept on crying her poor heart out, crying for the loss of Juri, Asagi and Mayura, three young women she did not know, but realized were deeply missed, by the ones who had cared about them, crying over the immense heartache her dear son had gone through, when he had lost the very first woman he had been in-love with. Crying over how she and her fool of an ex-husband, had abandoned their child, during that time, he needed them most, they... they truly had let him down.
"Nicol... Mayura... I'm... I'm so sooorryy!" She sobbed.
Upon hearing those words, Dearka glance up at her, this, this was still so difficult to watch. It did not help much that Romina Amalfi quite frankly remind him of his own dearly departed mother, he would never forget her crying and apologizing like this to him, when his self-centered bastard of a father, had ran out on the two of them. Back then, all Dearka had been able to do, was gently hug his distraught mother, softly reassuring her over and over again, that everything would be alright. He felt like, he felt so much like, he should be doing the same thing right now, that he should be telling Miss Romina, that everything regarding Nicol, was going to be alright, that he along with Kira and Athrun, were most certainly going to fix this, and make everything right again. But HOW the hell could he promise her something like that? When he, quite frankly did NOT have an inkling of an idea about, how they were supposed to fix things.
'God damn bullshit! Nicol, I am tearing the Adamant apart the next time I see that damn thing!' The Yami pilot mentally promised himself, making a light cracking sound with his left first, as he thought angrily about how he was going to reduce the Adamant gundam to nothing but a smoldering wreck, leaving only the cockpit intact, once that was done, he was going to drag the idiot out of the cockpit and start punching his head again and again, to see if his head really were as hollow as it seemed.
Dearka was pull out of his dark brooding thoughts, by the sound of Miss Romina loudly clearing her throat, obviously finding it difficult to speak properly after crying so much. "Athrun, Kira, Dearka, are you... are you going to... to kill my... my son?" The woman feebly asked, sounding downright terrified about what their responses, were going to be.
It was a reasonable question for the woman to ask, it truly was, especially considering the extremely dire circumstance. But despite that, it still came as a MAJOR shock to the three Archangel pilots, who immediately exchanged a few uncertain glances between each other, neither one of them, able to hide the immense fear they felt, over the thought that killing Nicol, their old friend, might be the only way to put a stop to his craziness.
"I... I know that I, for one, do not want to kill him. I kinda want to put his head through a wall... But I do not want him to die, Miss Romina, I want him to return to normal, like how he used to be, and not do anything else to dishonor the Astray girls, than he already has..." Kira said in a low far away tone of voice, as he saw a few vague images of himself in the old Freedom, fighting alongside the Blitz gundam, at the battle of the Mendel colony, Jachin Due, then how hard Nicol and him had fought to prevent any of the Earth Alliance's nuclear missiles from hitting the PLANTs.
"I'm with Kira, that guy, is definitely in for a good thorough beating and a special scolding from Dearka Elsman, I got so much I want to say to that colossus dunderhead, and I can not do that, if the dumb fool is dead!" The Yami pilot said loudly.
"I think all three of us are in agreement, Miss Romina, none of us wants to kill Nicol, to kill your son. But the thing is, neither one of us have any idea about how the heck we are supposed to stop Nicol, without seriously injuring him in the process. Each one of us, have tried to reason with the fool, but he has made it abundantly clear, on more than one occasion, that he will not listen to anything, we have to say. That's actually another reason why, I, for one, thought we should get in contact with you, Miss Romina, I was hoping that you had an idea about to how get him to stop, before any of us are forced to do something, we are going to regret for the rest of our lives" Athrun explained, thinking briefly about some of the awful things he had done, both during this war and the last one, which he would never be able to forgive himself for, Tolle Koenig's death, when he had blown up the Aegis, being at the very top of that list, and he knew that both Kira and Dearka likewise had things on their consciences, that would NEVER stop bothering them.
Silently looking from the guilty apprehension expression plastered on Athrun's face to the one on Dearka's face, then finally her gaze found its way to Kira. Romina, slowly opened and closed her mouth a half-dozen times, like a fish out of water, pondering intensely about what her son's three friends had just said to her, she knew what a dilemma her child had put them in, none of them truly wanted to fight Nicol, but his downright crazy actions throughout this war, was forcing them to do so, was forcing them to be his enemy, for a brief moment, she considered telling them not to hurt her son, that they should just beat up his mobile suit, whatever it was call now.
But Romina begrudgingly realized that would not solve anything. If they did that, Nicol would likely just run off, to find a new mobile suit to fight in. She had to come up with a more permanent solution to stop him, other than his death, she did not want her son, her child to die, she did not want Kira, Athrun or Dearka, to go through the grief, anguish, and guilt they would feel, from being forced to end Nicol's life.
"Maybe... Emm no... that wouldn't work... I'll... I don't really have any ideas... I... I think, pretty much the only option we have left... is for me to speak with Nicol in person... but since he has made it so clear that he will not answer my calls... I have to get closer to him... So if you can use me, I would like to officially join the Clyne Faction! I might not be of much use in a gun fight, but if you have a ship, that is in the need of a CIC, I am the woman for the job!" Romina said, with a confident look in her brown narrowed eyes.
"Are you absolutely sure, that is what you want to do, Miss Romina? You do understand that we are fighting against ZAFT and the Chairman"
Nodding ever so slowly. "Yes I understand that Kira, I understand THAT perfectly. But what the three of you don't understand, is that I have been hoping, wishing for an opportunity to get my son back, and now that you are providing me with one, I am not going to waste it. I am NOT going to just sit here, mindlessly twiddling my thumbs, hoping you guys can put a stop to his craziness, and that he will then come back here on his own, I am going to play my part in this, I am going to struggle with all my might to get my son back to how he use to be!" Romina said with an incredible amount of determination in her voice.
Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Damn, Miss Romina, you are making it very hard to say no to you" Dearka said, frankly more than just a little impressed by the green haired woman's willingness to join up with them, and thereby throw herself headfirst into danger. She really did love her son.
"Yeah, no kidding. Once we are done talking here, Miss Romina, we will get in contact with the Eternal, and ask if Mr Waltfeld can't find away to get you off Aprilius One and on board the Eternal, knowing him, he might already have a few ideas for something like that" Athrun said.
"Hmm Eternal...? Eternal that's the pink colored spaceship, the Clyne Faction stole during the last war, correct? With my ex-husband having been the one, who was in charge of designing that ship, I can easily remember how frantically he complained about the theft of that ship, for hours on end. Back then, I did feel somewhat sorry for him, but now, I think it's kinda funny. It will be, a true honor, to be a part of that ship's crew" Romina stated in a proud tone of voice.
"With you being a close friend of the Clyne family, and with the Eternal functioning as Lacus' personal flagship, I believe she would be thrilled to have you on board, Miss Romina" Kira told the green haired woman with a small smile on his lips, looking forward to telling his adorable wife, the good news.
While grateful for Kira's kind words, Romina found herself wondering a bit what kind of relationship, Kira had with Lacus, like before, when he had told her, that Lacus was safe down there on the Archangel, the green haired woman, had noticed that the purple eyed man had a certain amount of affection in his kind eyes and voice, which made it abundantly clear to Romina, that there was something going on between Lacus and him, yet as overall tempt as she was to start asking questions about their relationship, Romina begrudgingly realized, that now, simply put was not the best time for something like that.
Romina was instantly pulled out of her nagging musing thoughts about what might be going on between Kira and the sweet innocent Lacus, by the sound of Athrun's deeply serious voice.
"We will give Waltfeld your contact information, Miss Romina, so he can get a hold on you. And pack lightly, so you can leave, in a hurry, if that becomes necessary". The blue haired man said, thinking ever so briefly about how things had turned out, when DaCosta had helped him escape from Aprilius One, during the last war, Athrun sincerely hoped that Miss Romina's departure could be a little less hazardous, but knowing that if Durandal were to find out about this, there was a high chance that things could easily turn violent, Nicol was after all one of the Chairman most essential pawns in the crazy game he was playing with the world, and Athrun felt absolutely certain, that he would do just about everything to keep Nicol under control, even killing his mother, hopefully they would be able to keep it under wraps.
"I assume, I am going to get a uniform of my own, once I get on board the Eternal, so I will just pack some of my sleeping clothes, some books, my handheld gaming console, ohh and most importantly of all, the picture of Nicol from my nightstand, so I understand why I am there, so that, I never lost sight of my goals, my hopes to be reunited, with my son" the woman said, sounding quite a bit poetical.
Finding Miss Romina Amalfi's sheer amount of determination somewhat inspiring, all three Archangel pilots smiled ever so slightly. As they kept on talking, with the green haired woman, a few minutes longer, giving her a password that they would make certain that whoever came to get her from the Eternal, would of course know, and that she should delete her caller history once they were done talking, so it was at least possible for her to try to deny that she had been in contact with them, which Romina immediately agreed to do. Then after telling the woman that they would be seeing her on board the Eternal, Kira, Athrun and Dearka finally said goodbye to her.
Once the screen went blank, Romina sat there a few minutes, just looking at the screen, she could not believe this, she was finally, after almost two whole years of not seeing him, of missing him, so much. The opportunity she had been waiting for all this time, was within reach. She was going to get back into her son's life, no matter how much he kicked and screamed to keep her out of it, she was going to break down every single damn wall, he had put around his broken heart, from Mayura's death.
"Mayura sweetheart, if you are out there somewhere listening to me, I am going to get Nicol, my idiot of a son back to normal, that's a promise" the green haired woman said determined, then after quickly using her sleeve to rub away the tears on her face, she pushed herself up from the chair, then slowly made her way over to the phone to do what her son's three brave friends had told her to do.
Once that small, but crucial task was over and done with, Romina entered her bedroom, there she opened the door to her walkin closet, and started rummaging around between her clothes that had been placed so neatly on the shelves in there, not caring one bit about how much of her clothes fell on the floor. Finally, after a few seconds, she found a small wooden box in there, pulling that out, Romina immediately opened the box and looked at the small taser in there. She had purchased the bloody thing not long after she had almost been assaulted, in case she felt the dire need to go out and search for Nicol in the middle of the night again. She had never used it, and had almost reached the point that she had forgotten she had it.
Sighing loudly Romina closed the box, then went out and placed it on her bed, then entered the walkin closet again, where she quickly located her smallest suitcase, opening that, she started packing for the complicated trip she would soon embark on.
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At the exact same time, back down on the Archangel, Dearka let out a low impressed whistle. "Damn, that bonehead Nicol really does have a totally awesome, mom. I don't know about you guys, but I never expect that she wanted to bring her handheld game console, of all things" the Yami pilot said with a small smirk.
"Yeah, tell me about it Dearka, that was quite unexpected. But I think the most unexpected thing of all. The thing that surprised me the most during our talk with, Miss Romina, is that she wants to join up with us. Did you suspect that might happen, when we call her, Athrun?" Kira asked, as he punched in the code to contact the Eternal.
Slowly shaking his head, Athrun, with a hint of a frustrated frown on his forehead, gave his childhood friend a response. "No I did not Kira, to tell you guys the truth, I really do hate that Miss Romina insist so firmly on involving herself even further in this craziness with, Nicol. I know that it was necessary for us to talk, with her, but if she ends up in prison, or worse killed by trying to join up with us. I do not think I will EVER be able to get a proper night's sleep, EVER again. Even now, it bugs me so damn much, that I could not think of ANYTHING to say to her, that could have convinced her, to just leave Nicol to us"
"I hate to break it to you Athrun old friend, but I think that it would have been utterly, if not downright pointless, for us to even try to talk her out of joining up with us, Miss Romina, quite frankly seems even more stubborn and headstrong, than her son. Besides, I believe that my mom, yours, and Kira's would have reacted the exact same way, if it had been any of us, who had gone over the deep end from sorrow. So let's just do what we can to help her out, Athrun" Dearka said calmly, even though deep inside he was just as concerned about Miss Romina's wellbeing, as Athrun.
"We will ask Mr Waltfeld to hurry and get her off Aprilius One, once we get a hold, on him" Kira reassured his two friends, those words had barely left the Freedom pilot's mouth, when Andrew Waltfeld's room, up on the Eternal appeared on the main monitor.
The Desert Tiger was sitting at his desk, he was wearing a yellow and red oversized baggy T-shirt, which was a sure signed way to tell, that he was trying to relax. However, with his left prosthetic arm removed from where it belonged, and with a bunch of, small the screwdrivers and a few q-tips floating around him, it was obvious that he was doing maintenance on the arm, something which everyone who knew Andrew, realized that he hate doing with a passion, it was delicate work, and according to him, it did not become any easier with just one hand.
Glancing ever so briefly up at them, Andrew smiled slightly at his three young friends. "Hey guys, what's up?" He asked, yet before any of them had chance to answer, he cursed softly under his breath. "God damn piece of shit, who put this dumb thing together?. Kira, hurry the hell up and get up here, I need your help with this stupid thing".
Simply unable to stop himself, Kira chuckled slightly over the displeased cursing, but he did feel a bit sorry for the coffee addicted man. Kira, knew that there were, very few people, Andrew would permit to do maintenance on his prosthetic arm, him being one of them, and Miss Erica being the other one.
"Do you have, any problems with it?" Kira asked.
Pushing away a q-tip that came floating into his face, Andrew took a sip from the cup standing on the table. "Yeah, the little finger's reaction time is a bit annoying these days. It might not be much, but if I have to go out into combat, I prefer the damn thing be working like it's supposed to".
"Hmm, it does sound like the joints need a bit of fine-tuning. I can take a look at your prosthetic arm the next time we met, Andy" Kira offered in a kind tone.
Smirking ever so slightly at that. "I appreciate the offer Kira, but I simply can't wait that long, I'll just have to find out what's wrong myself, then do what I can, to fix it. But enough about that, so what's up, guys? You called me because you got something important you need to discuss with me" the Desert Tiger said, before quickly snatching the small magnifying glass that was likewise floating around, then leaned forward a bit to take a more thorough look, at the little finger on the prosthetic arm.
Of course noticing how overall focused, the Gaia's pilot was on repairing his arm, Athrun found himself wondering just a bit, if the Commander really was paying all that much attention, to what they were about to tell him, so it was with a deep loud clearing of his throat, that the blue haired man began explaining their reason for calling, which took about five minutes or so.
Putting aside the magnifying glass, Andrew sat up straight, stretching his back a bit, until it made a light cracking sound. "Hmm, well guys, there is a challenge, if I ever heard one. Aprilius One is pretty well guarded these days, 'don't really get, why', but since I do find the notion of getting a cute new female crew member here on the Eternal, quite a bit appealing, it is a challenge, I will happily undertake. You just leave it to me, we still have a few loyal people on Aprilius One, I'm certain they will help her out, if I ask" the one eyed man guaranteed his three young friends, then mumbled something about attacking Aprilius One in the Gaia, to rescue the damsel in distress, like the dashing heroic knight he was.
"Heh, just don't go and get yourself killed performing your heroic duties Mr knight, otherwise who is going to make good tasting coffee for us in the future. I for one, am kinda tired of the vending machine, crap" Dearka said, with a bit of a laugh.
Lightly patting the left side of his chest. "Ohh wow Dearka Elsman, your deep-seated concern for my wellbeing is just so damn touching, it hits me right here in the good old feeling. Anyhow, all jokers aside, you guys do not have to worry about Miss Romina, I'll find away to get the little lady off, Aprilius One!" Andrew promised loudly.
"Thank you, so, so much Mr Waltfeld, you have no idea how much this means to me, to us" Athrun said, with a sincerely grateful expression on his face.
It was with a small grin on his face, that the Desert Tiger gave the Justice pilot the thumbs up.
"Don't mention it Athrun, if good friends don't help each other out during these difficult times, there is no way we are going to defeat Chairman Durandal. Now then, what other information can you give me about, Miss Romina? Can she fight?".
Slowly shaking his head. "I don't think so, Andy, she did mention that she would not be of any use in a gun fight. As for fighting in other ways, like martial arts, that's simply not something we had time to ask her about. So, whoever you get to help her, make sure they can protect themselves, and her" Kira thoughtfully advised the Eternal's Commander.
"You got it, Kira. Hmm, perhaps we should consider getting a hold on, Gai Murakumo and hire Serpent Tail again, they did a pretty decent job stealing the METEOR prototype mid-flight when it was being transferred to another Colony, apparently they only wrecked four ZAKUs during that operation. So, I am certain that helping Miss Romina get away from Aprilius One, will be a piece of cake, for them" Andrew said, hoping that this less risky job, he had for Gai and his people, would not be as expensive as the last one, that had cost them quite a pretty penny.
"Knowing Murakumo and Serpent Tail's reputation for accomplishing whatever missions they are given, I am sure that Miss Romina will be in good hands. I might only have seen a few pictures of the Blue Frame, but that thing looks like it could beat the crap out of most mobile suits, I am especially impressed by that giant sword, it's lugging around, I seriously wish a kick-ass weapon like that, could be installed on the Yami" Dearka said with a hint of almost childlike glee in his voice.
It was then, that Athrun decide to share his two cents over the subject at hand. "I really don't think you need to feel any kind of jealousy over the Blue Frame's arsenal Dearka, the Yami has a lot of awesome weapons like those gatling machine guns hidden in the shoulders, along with those beam guns in the head, not to mention all of your machine's well-thought-out features, besides with your preference for long range, combat, I do not think you would get much use out of that sword".
"Hmm, you know you are a bit of a spoilsport Athrun, but I guess you got a point, so I'll just stick with the whole invisible weapon thing, that is also pretty damn cool. Anyway, I think we can trust Serpent Tail to get Miss Romina off the Plants, and safely on board the Eternal" the pilot of the Yami said, a part of him still wondering how his fighting style would change, had his new highly agile gundam, been equipped with a sword like the Blue Frame's. While it was true that he still very much preferred doing battle from a distance, he knew for a fact, that he was getting better at melee combat, thanks to all the time he had spent piloting his good old blue Murasame, followed by the Yami, that was even more melee combat capable, with its two Lacerta beam sabers and the powerful beam blades it had in its legs, but maybe he should consider asking, Kira, if he was up for a friendly little sparring match tomorrow, in their mobile suits, it was not like a little extra training had ever hurt anybody.
Yet as Dearka rubbed his chin, he pondered seriously over how he could best beat Kira and the Strike Freedom, in their friendly little 'duel', if his friend said yes to the match. He definitely needed to keep moving around at top speed, and take full advantage of the Mirage Colloid, to try and catch Kira off guard. Not that Dearka expect Kira to fall for such trickery for long, not to mention, that despire it massive arsenal of weapons, like the DRAGOONs and the two combinable beam rifles, this new Freedom was still able to almost match the Yami's high speed. However, there was one thing, that his machine did so much better, than the Freedom, Justice and Akatsuki, it's unbelievable high maneuverability, it could practically turn on a dime, that was most definitely something, Dearka was intenting to use to its full extent, to get the upper hand and win against Kira.
Strangely enough, like he somehow knew that Dearka was thinking about him, Kira was the one who interrupt his thoughts. "So we will leave Miss Romina's protection to you, and Serpent Tail, Andy".
"Roger that Kira, I'll contact the Serpents immediately when we are done talking here" Andrew said with a reassuring smirk, then frowned ever so slightly, as he reached out to snatch a small screwdriver, obviously about to continue working on his prosthetic arm. And with not much else to say at the present moment, the three Archangel pilots said goodbye to the Desert Tiger, who responded with a small friendly wave. Then, just as he started cursing over the arm again, the video call ended.
Immediately when the screen went blank, Kira stretched both of his arms up over his head, letting out a deep yawn. "Guuuess that's that then, took a lot longer than I had expected. I do not know about you guys, but I kinda want to go find my wife, tell her that I love her, then just hug her for a few hours. Besides, I also need to tell her, that Miss Romina is joining the Eternal's crew, I hope she will be happy, with those news" the pilot of the Freedom said.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I never expect a friendly chat with Nicol's mother to feel so exhausting, I wonder if Mir is alright with us calling it an early night" Dearka said, as he pushed himself up from Murrue's chair, where his stomach growled loudly, informing him, that he should not even think about heading to bed, before getting some dinner first, which lead him to tell his two long time friends, that he was hungry.
Having of course heard, the loud noise from Dearka's stomach, him being hungry did quite frankly not come as a major surprise. "Heh, what else is new, but now that you mention it Dearka, I could use a bite to eat, myself" Athrun said with a light chuckle.
"Ok, I am getting a sense of deja vu here, I am relatively certain that both Miriallia and Mayu, said the 'new' thing to me just yesterday, when I casually mentioned, that I was hungry. I get that I got a bit of an appetite, guys, but do I really eat that much that it never comes as a surprise?" The blond man asked, with a hint of a frown.
Chuckling slightly at that question. "Hate to break it to you Dearka, old friend, but your eating habits are pretty easy to figure out, you are always hungry in the morning when you wake up, or when you get home after a hard day's work, you especially like to eat, when you are feeling stressed about something. And while you do eat relatively healthy, your idea for a good lunch, very frequently consist of a bag of bacon chips, and on rare occasion a pear" Kira said, enjoying the look of slight bewilderment on Dearka's face.
"Um, how do you know all those things about me, Kira?" Dearka asked.
"Are you kidding? We have been living in the same house for two years now Dearka, of course I noticed certain things, I also know that you like falling asleep on the couch and what your favorite movies are, along with Miriallia's, Murrue's, Mayu's, Andrew's and of course Lacus's" the purple eyed pilot of the Freedom said.
Reaching up, Dearka rubbed the back of his neck a bit. "Yeah ok, I guess that does make sense. But know this, Kira Yamatooo, I also know some stuff about you, like your favorite animes and games. Plus, that you do occasionally gets up during the night, to get a drink of water!".
"That I don't doubt, Dearka. I don't really get, why you sound so boastful about that, of all things, but never mind, let's get out of here and go join the others down in the mess hall, that way I can tell Lacus about Miss Romina, and the two of you can get something to eat. I think I heard this morning, that the kitchen staff was planning on making, some good juicy burgers for dinner" Kira said, which was immediately met with a cheerful shout from Dearka, who hastily began naming all the different ingredients he wanted in his burger, he especially talked happily about if they had his ketchup favorite on board, otherwise somebody needed to go buy some of that.
"A well cooked burger sounds great right about now" Athrun stated with a pleased look in his green eyes, as he along with his two friends left the Archangel's bridge, none one of them, close to realizing, that the day was far from over.
To be continued.
Like Mayu, we don't really see much of Romina Amalfi throughout the series, so we don't really know much about her personality, I'll do my best to make a likeable character out of her, hope I don't disappoint in that regard.