Phase-23: Place of Sin
Seren's amber eyes widened as she balled her fists. Athrun looked at his friends with a distraught expression. Lacus was almost killed? Kira won't trust the PLANTs or the Chairman? The ZAFT soldiers recalled the first the time they had seen Lacus' impersonator, Meer, upon their return to the PLANTs. They had seen her on the screen and heard her address the people, talking and acting exactly as the real one, calling for calm. They had questioned Durandal about her. The Chairman had no choice, because Lacus Clyne's influence was far greater than his. Meer too had said she was alright even if it was only for the time being, while Lacus was not in the PLANTs. She was happy to help the Chairman who had given her a role, who had needed her, and helped her realize her dream. She was happy to be of help to everyone. And she had been happy to meet Athrun too.
"Choosing the path that ends the battle or avoids fighting is indeed far more difficult than choosing the path to war..."
"I would like to do something about that if I can... but that itself, will be more difficult than anything else."
Right... there might be doubts concerning Meer, but that didn't change the fact that the Chairman was doing everything he could to stop the war with the least sacrifices and as soon as possible. All his actions were aimed at protecting the populations and interfering as little as possible while the Earth Alliance was making things worse.
"Seren, you of all people should have considered the possibility when you saw that impersonator at the PLANTs. So tell me, if the real Lacus is killed, who would benefit from it? What does Chairman Durandal stands to gain?" Yamato pressed for answers. Seren closed her eyes for a time.
"That girl... Meer Campbell, is nothing like Lacus. She's indeed a doll only interested in an idol's glamorous life. The Chairman recognizes that Lacus' ability to influence the populace is much greater than his. So if the real Lacus disappears, he'll be able to make full use of that influence without fearing a clash of opinions." Ledford admitted. But then she opened her eyes again to glare at her brother. "But Kira, have you ever wondered why he felt the need to set up this fake in the first place? Maybe none of it would have happened if Lacus had been there to keep things under control. The PLANTs had nuclear weapons fired at them again! It is only thanks to Meer and the Chairman that the PLANTs' response to that attack had been relatively lenient. They worked together to appease the people's anger. They were the only ones in a position to do that. Without them, believe me things would have turned out a lot worse. Or are you also going to deny that truth?" She fiercely countered, prompting her siblings to look away.
At the Lodonia Laboratory, Rey had managed to recover his breathing and calmed down enough to be taken out of that hellish facility with his friend's support. Shinn sat him down against a tree and quickly returned to the Impulse in order to contact the Minerva. Meyrin took the communication and relayed everything to Captain Gladys. Shinn returned to Rey and reassured him. The Minerva was coming over, so he just had to hang in there a little more. Rey nodded.
"But Kira, while the possibility you talked about certainly exists, aren't you purposely overlooking another likely possibility?" She kept accusing him. Despite being wary of Durandal herself, right now, the resentment she felt for her brother was stronger than her wariness, prompting her to defend the PLANTs' leader.
"Seren..." Yamato whispered after a startled reaction, knowing just what exactly she was referring to.
"If Lacus was indeed targeted... as you say... that is really terrible. But saying that you can't believe the Chairman, or the PLANTs because of it... aren't you jumping to conclusions a little too quickly, Kira? There are a lot of people in the PLANTs with many different opinions. Just like the perpetrators of the Junius Seven incident. That attack too may have been orchestrated by a small group of people the Chairman doesn't know about. I would have expected that to be obvious to you!" Zala supported his fellow FAITH member.
"Athrun..." Kira averted his eyes again, making clear that he HAD thought of that possibility. "Well, that is true." He finally admitted. "But then, if he's that trustworthy, why are you no longer wearing your engagement rings? Wasn't he the one who made you break your engagement to each other?" He probed. That one truly felt like a sword thrust through their hearts. Athrun and Seren took an involuntary step back under the blow. It was their turn to avoid his eyes with a pained expression. They were recalling their conversation with Durandal that led to this decision, their acceptance, Meer always being all over Athrun, Seren, who, unable to bear it, had chosen to break up for real, Heine's confession, his death... and despite all that, both knew they still loved each other... as much as this day when they exchanged those rings and promises. But, what had they obtained in return for that suffering they had gone... and were still going through?
"Was it really worth it?" ... was what it felt Kira was asking them. Lunamaria too had been stunned by the revelation of Seren and Athrun's engagement and listened all the more intently.
"It couldn't be helped... for the people..."
"Yeah... a name carry a lot of weight. Just like Athha and Ledford are representives of Orb, the engagement between 'Athrun Zala' and 'Lacus Clyne' is a symbol of hope for the people of the PLANTs..."
"And he said that we could still be together in private, that this situation is only temporary, until he gained enough power of his own..." But rather than a calm explanation, it sounded like they were desperately clinging onto a thread, trying to justify their pain, to accept it... They had become so passive... That really was not like them...
"In any case, we'll look into the incident on our side as well. In the meantime, you guys should go back to Orb." Athrun hurriedly returned to the subject.
"What? Wait... then you aren't-" Cagalli began.
"If you want to prevent battles, and prevent Orb from fighting, then do something about that treaty with the Earth Alliance first. It's too late once you're already on the battlefield." Seren added.
"That's... I know that. But... you're not coming back, to the Archangel, to Orb?" The blonde girl desperately asked. Her sister made a pained expression.
"...As long as Orb is still the country it used to be, we should be traveling down the same road."
"... But right now, Orb is nothing more than the Atlantic Federation's lackey isn't it? They're trying to eradicate all Coordinators... so tell me again, which country are you saying we can safely go back to? Who made it such that we cannot return to Orb?"
"Seren! Athrun!"
"We've enlisted! We can't go back now!"
"That's right. We're in ZAFT now. And I haven't accomplished a single thing I've set out to do yet. I enforce the leader's will. But I have a vision of a future. It has been the same since the beginning. I will serve the one who can make it a reality. And right now, that is not you. A leader is the pillar that supports a whole country. They must be sturdier than anyone. If a leader is weak and collapses, so will the country. When the chairman gave us these units it wasn't only for ZAFT or the PLANTs but for mankind. He told us to pledge loyalty to our own beliefs, and to use this power to correct the wrongs. That's exactly what I intend to do."
"Then, are you saying that from now on you'll be with ZAFT and keep fighting the Earth Forces?" Kira questioned.
"Until the war ends, it can't be helped."
"Then you'll fight against Orb too, like you did the other day?"
"We don't want to either, if at all possible! But in that case, we had no choice but to fight!" Athrun retorted, causing the others to recoil, their eyes wide. "I'm sure you guys are well aware of what the Alliance is doing here! We must stop them! That's why I'm telling you to hurry and do something about the treaty and have Orb step back."
"You know that those guys want to wipe out the PLANTs, no, all Coordinators, don't you? The PLANTs are fighting for survival here. I too want Naturals and Coordinators to coexist. But the Alliance is waging a war of extinction. And Orb too, as part of the Treaty, is trying to exterminate all Coordinators. Inversely the Chairman may try to remove what he deems as obstacles but he has no intention to eradicate all Naturals." Seren reminded her siblings.
"But... Seren, Athrun... I do understand what you're saying, but even so, we still don't want you fighting against Orb. Actually, not just Orb... because what is lost in battle will never return..." For all the sadness in Yamato's expression, the ZAFT pilots felt a surge of searing white anger as they remembered the detonation of the Minerva's "Tannhauser" cannon and Heine's death.
"Don't spout pretty words like you're the only one who knows!" Athrun shouted with balled fists.
"Are you saying that to the twelve Minerva crew members who died when you shot our positron cannon? Or maybe our friend who went in flames with his orange GOUF thanks to the wonderful collaboration you showed with that black Earth Forces unit? And I'm not even speaking of the last war... Are you seriously pretending to be the only one who's all white now when you're as much of a dirty blood-stained rag as any of us? You think you have any right to judge us?" Seren released her venom. Cagalli's eyes widened, but Kira's narrowed slightly. Their sister had never been that harsh with them... unless she was truly angry. Kira of course remembered the lives he had taken. So a faint, self-derisive smile curved his lips.
"Yeah, I know. So I'm really sick and tired of it all. I don't want to fight. Don't make me fight."
"YOU are tired? Don't make me laugh. You think just because people had stopped shooting then, it was truly over? The fight was never over! I was always fighting! Cagalli was fighting! Even if our weapons had changed, WE kept fighting! And Athrun too! Even if we made mistakes, at least we tried to do something! YOU, Kira, just sat back and watched. You who have always been content hiding in your bubble don't have the right to criticize or make demands from those who kept fighting nonstop! If you had come out earlier, things might not have boiled down to this! If Lacus had been in the PLANTs, she might have been able to do something too! Then we wouldn't have met like this on the battlefield! We were weak, we couldn't do anything. So we searched for something we could do!"
"...You're right. That's why I boarded the Freedom again. Because I had to do something, because I believed it was not too late. Cagalli, Rayner, Murrue-san, me, everyone... We're also doing what we can to end this conflict."
An indicator lit up and rang on Lunamaria's equipment, like it was demanding her attention.
"Ascend. The Minerva's taking off. Ascent ration: 3.2. Course: 1.0. Scatter signal flares to 2.8.0." Gladys-kanchou ordered. The ship rose into the evening sky.
"All the more reason why you must stop what you're doing and go back to Orb. Got that?" Athrun turned heels.
"ZAFT is at war with the Earth Alliance. The only way to stop Orb from fighting is for you to take control of the Orb government and make the nation withdraw from the Treaty." Seren also turned her back on them. The two FAITH members started walking back to their gundams when Cagalli called her sister again. She stopped to look back at her but the coldness of her gaze prevented her from saying any more than that. So she faced forward again. "Even I... have things I can understand, but cannot agree with. Someone once called her father a traitor for not knowing about the G-project in Heliopolis, that ignorance itself was a sin... then wouldn't someone who knowingly sold Orb to the Earth Alliance be even more of a traitor to that nation and its ideals? Well, not like it's something I, who wear a ZAFT uniform, can say..." Seren shrugged and smiled cheerlessly.
Right, she was similar to Shinn in that aspect after all. As much as she loved Orb, and her siblings, she was furious at them, could not forgive them... so much she would let her anger get the best of her and could not help but spew snide hurtful words at them. Athrun placed a hand on her shoulder signaling it was enough but did not chide her. Then he lightly pushed her back. The two boarded their respective units, and activated them. The Savior and Fortuna ascended before turning into mobile armors. Athrun and Seren glanced one last time at the companions whose paths had diverged from theirs. Then Canaver zoomed onto a cliff and smiled derisively. As expected, Lunamaria was there... with all the equipment necessary to record their conversation and certainly take pictures of them. They really were not trusted. The two flew away. Those left behind kept watching sadly until the mobile suits disappeared in the horizon.
As they were returning to the port, Seren was wondering... was it Durandal who had given the order? Was it Captain Gladys? That did not matter. Lunamaria had listened. That was what mattered. So as intended, the truth she had heard about Lacus, about Meer, will have her thinking. Of course, Luna will know that Athrun and her were not entirely honest with them, but more than that, she will have doubts towards Durandal as well. Indeed, Seren might have defended the Chairman to spite her siblings, but that did not change the fact that she was still wary of him, now more than before. So she would keep sowing doubts. Would you say she had become devious? Even if she did, that must have happened by necessity.
A number of jeeps had arrived at the Lodonia Lab. Powerful spotlights were directed towards the facility. Two groups of armed men in green protective gears were warily making their way inside while others stayed near the vehicles, ready to intervene. After all, who knew what toxic substance could have leaked, or what traps could be hidden in there.
"F2 to all squads. Deactivation of the detonation switches confirmed."
"F-5 calling F-1, the second floor is clear."
"F1, F-3 here. They're all decomposed. The stench is horrible."
The squads reported. The securing of the place seemed to be proceeding smoothly, unaware that a man in civilian clothes was observing them, hidden concealed behind a tree beyond the fence.
Shinn and Rey were in the Minerva's medical wing for a check up. Asuka insisted he was perfectly fine while buttoning up his jacket and fastening his belt. But they nonetheless had to make sure. No gases or viruses had been detected in the building at this point, but they couldn't rule out the possibility. Rey was resting in the bed opposite him, the back of his left hand on his forehead. He knew the reason of his collapse. It was not due to some pathogen as everyone seemed to be thinking, but because of his traumatic memories, his past, his birth resurfacing, the truth that he absolutely wanted to hide. As a child, he had walked along the pathways of the Mendel Colony's facility, between the columns immersed in liquid where fabricated human embryos and fetuses were growing. He had held Rau Le Creuset's hand, like brothers. And Rau had taken him to the PLANTs, and entrusted him to Gilbert Durandal.
"Frankly, I think the Captain was careless, sending you two alone to such a place." The doctor complained.
"We checked the place thoroughly before going in." Shinn retorted. "Rey!" He suddenly exclaimed as his friend slid the shutter open. The blonde boy stood up, apologizing for the trouble he had caused, and assured them he was fine now. He thanked the medical staff who told him he could rest some more but he too, maintained that he was okay, putting his jacket on.
Actually, the Minerva had landed right outside the establishment and equipment had been transported into the yard where a base of operations had been hastily set up. Mobile suits were also standing guard. A soldier reported that the check of the interior and removal of all self-detonation devices had been completed and no biological hazards had been detected. Talia thanked him. Arthur wondered what had caused Rey's abnormal behavior. It was then that the Savior and Fortuna returned. The ship's officers came to greet the pilots as they came down.
"When we returned to the port, we heard that you had launched already. What's the matter? Did something happen?" Athrun inquired.
The joint Orb/Atlantic Federation fleet had taken near Antalya, a city of southern Turkey. The naval base actually belonged to the Eurasian forces, but as usual, the Atlantic Federation had just forced its way through and was behaving like they owned the place. They were all hurrying with the repairs and resupply. The technicians had hoped to return to Suez where they would have proper equipment and cooperation but Neo had decided against it. Certainly, they had not expected all three of their prized units to have been damaged. However, they had not been damaged enough to warrant a return home. And Stella (who was clinging to Neo's arm) and the others were still healthy too. She grinned at him and nodded. At this moment, a soldier came to inform Roanoke about the Lodonia Laboratory. He walked away from her and talked with the soldier a distance away as he did not want to give her information she did not need to know. Not only had its demolition failed due to an accident, but ZAFT had discovered it to top it off. Suez had also been informed and was scrambling to do something about it. Stella still heard some of their whispers though.
Now that its safety had been confirmed, Talia, Arthur, Athrun, Shinn, and Seren were visiting the interior of the research facility, flashlight in hand. The captain had covered her nose and mouth with her handkerchief. What their lights fell on was a path strewn with corpses, children and adults. In both horror and to block the stench, Seren had clamped a hand over her mouth and nose. Trine's foot bumped into an empty recipient that rolled away. He screamed, scared by the noise. And he screamed even more when he saw what lined that path on each side. More children corpses were floating about in what looked like fish tanks spanning over the whole length of the corridor. Electrodes and intravenous drips were still applied onto them. The kids and staff members appeared to have killed each other. Talia inferred that a riot must have taken place. Seren agreed that was the likeliest. A card was hanging from the neck of a researcher, requiring iris and fingerprint identification to activate something, probably the self-detonation devices in the base.
"But why these children?!" Trine exclaimed, still unable to believe the abomination of what he was seeing. All the children on the path had their neck shackled; though those shackles, those... collars might have also served as identification and basic health monitoring, but it might not be all. Collars... like fighting dogs being raised, and inflicted pain if they misbehaved; Canaver thought. Those children, were they sold here? Were they kidnapped? Did they come themselves to escape from some miserable situation? Merely to be brought up knowing only how to kill or be killed. A wave of pity washed over her. She walked to a little girl, not even ten of age, knelt down, and extended her hand, only to withdraw it, averting her eyes, closing them. She stood up and stepped back, her hand to her chest, unwittingly getting closer to Athrun who instinctively wrapped a warm and comforting arm around her shoulders. Shinn, however, rather than sadness, was overcome by an intense, searing rage.
Meanwhile, three live Extendeds, namely Stella Loussier, Auel Nieder, and Sting Oakley were walking in a hallway of the JP Jones. Suddenly, the girl stopped and mentioned the Lodonia Lab, asking what it was. The boys glanced at each other.
"The Lodonia Lab? Well, you know..."
"That's where we used to be." They answered like it couldn't be more obvious.
"What brought that up all of a sudden?" Although they sounded nonchalant about it, the moment Loussier repeated the snippets of Neo's conversation that she had overheard, which included ZAFT's involvement... they turned back to her, now very interested.
The Minerva's officers arrived at a narrow control room, just as nightmarish as the rest of the place as brains jammed with probes filled the shelves of two whole walls from top to bottom. While the men looked at the human parts, the women were sitting opposite each other, trying to extract information from the database computer. They confirmed their suspicion that this place could be called a "Biological CPU manufacturing facility" as they found the records of every experimental subject who had come here, including their names, photo, progress, the numbers of failures and successes... Blue Cosmos, despising genetic manipulation, nonetheless had to find ways to enable their soldiers to fight on par with Coordinators and their superior abilities. So they kidnapped or bought children from a tender age, preferably coming from as good a genetic pool as possible, and enhanced them through various drugs, medications, and surgeries, brainwashed them, and subjected them through brutal combat training... all designed to transform them into ruthless living weapons. The weak were weeded out, either simply disposed of by the researchers, or killed during training by the other children. However, it came as no surprise that the survivors would grow up... distorted.
But then Seren paused, and gasped slightly. Alerted, Athrun came to see, and reacted the same way... Clotho Buer, pilot of the GAT-X370 Raider gundam who they had fought in the last war... had been part of the program here.
Clotho Buer, Orga Sabnak and Shani Andras, from an earlier batch, were "Boosted Men" controlled using their addiction to the stimulant "Gamma Gliheptin" that enhanced their physical abilities to their utmost limits. The fact that the withdrawal symptoms caused excruciating pain guaranteed their allegiance. What more, that drug did not only affect the body but also the brain, the mind... it caused euphoria and a sense of invincibility, and induced the user to display destructive urges. And then, when they ceased to take it, they would start deteriorating, both physically and mentally. Having been continually and forcefully pushed beyond their limits they could no longer function without the stimulant... whose components were not produced naturally by the body. So they grew withdrawn, crippled, withering until death.
...Or so they learned. Right now they had no time to study those extensive records in details so they stopped here. But actually, their 'current' opponents, Phantom Pain's Extended pilots Stella Loussier, Sting Oakley and Auel Nieder also appeared in those records, albeit at a later date. Those three could be considered an improved version. Their mental stability was maintained by regularly manipulating their memory with a sleeping capsule called "the Cradle". Thanks to this stability, the Extended showed greater cooperativeness, communication skills, and were less violent, or psychotic... allowing for more complex operations. Despite those measures, rampages could not be fully excluded, so they were conditioned to respond to pre-programmed behavior-altering 'block words', different for each individual, to restrain them. That said, abusive use of those words would have the opposite effect and send them into a panic.
And the Lodonia Laboratory was likely just one out of many Biological CPU producing facilities for not just Phantom Pain but the other special task forces within the Earth Alliance. After all, the way they were made gave them a naturally short 'shelf-life', so they were used abusively, plus the fact they were meant to be sent to the front line obviously resulted in a high turnover rate, and supply must be able to meet demands... Or so Seren thought glumly after glancing at the dismally high number of children used as subjects and the ratio of failures and successes. They left the room and went to explore the other parts of the research complex.
Stella was watching her fellow pilots arguing, or rather, Sting doing his best to contain a struggling Auel who was trying to rush out.
"How?! How the hell am I supposed to stay calm?!" The light blue haired youth shouted angrily as he managed to break free and confront his leader. "At the lab there's still Mom! Mom-..." He suddenly froze as he recalled the only adult, the woman who had been kind to him at the Lodonia Lab. She might have been a staff member, but she had still stroked his cheek and gazed at him with love. He started crying and trembling, and holding his head. "Mo... ther... is... still... there..." Nieder could only stammer. Certainly 'block word' was a fitting term. Just hearing 'mom' or 'mother' blocked his thinking process and actions and reduced him to the pitiful state of a paralyzed, crying little child. And he had unwittingly uttered it himself. It was like he could not see Sting before him holding his shoulders and hear him telling him to cut it out. The boy sank onto his knees. "Mom... mom... could... She could die!" He suddenly raised his head and yelled, overwhelmed with sheer terror. Now he had not only spoken his own block word without realizing, but also Stella's...
"...Die...?" Stella muttered, her violet eyes wide in fear. She seemed calm as she walked away. At least she appeared to understand that she was not the one going to die. "But it's not good to die... It's scary..." Her comrade, Auel, was in that condition. The person who could die was important to him, very much so, or he would not be like this. She stopped. Stella had also learned what to do when you didn't want a person to die... "Protect." Someone had taught her. Someone had said that he would protect her. Then she started running.
Roanoke was called and informed by a panicked staff member of Auel Nieder's state. That was just as Loussier reached the hangar and boarded the Gaia – without permission of course – and activated it.
"Open the hatch! If you don't open it, I'll blast it!" She threatened. Neo had barely left the bridge that an officer yelled after him and told him about Stella. A moment later, her unit was running across the docks in mobile armor mode. "Lodonia. Lab. Mother. Protect." She voiced with determination. Just like she had been protected, she would protect the person important to her comrade. She had that power.
The pilots and officers of the Minerva finally returned to the base. Talia was giving orders to her subordinates to collect as much data as they could, though a team of specialists was no doubt going to be sent here later. She couldn't imagine the Alliance was going to ignore this facility for long. She also told Burt to keep an eye out for enemies. Arthur was faithfully standing behind her. However, when he saw yet another corpse being transported in a body bag, he gagged and ran away to vomit in a slightly more deserted place. Athrun and Seren were sitting at a table. Canaver focused all the more on the work she was doing on her laptop as she heard the stretcher pass behind her. Zala though, was opposite her and watched it, heaving a sigh.
"This is nuts. I can't believe it." Shinn spoke, standing next to Athrun who looked up at him. "They go on about Coordinators being a mistake that goes against nature, and yet they do those things?!"
"Shinn..."
"Manipulating genes is wrong, but this is okay?! This is allowed?!" The boy cried out against the unreasonableness of the world, like a child throwing a tantrum. "What in the world is with them, with Blue Cosmos...?!" He slammed his hands on the table. Seren glanced at him, and focused back on the laptop. If everyone was fair and sensible, there would be no war in the first place. There were always those who would or could not recognize others as humans. But what was the point in replying? Shinn knew that already. He was just letting his frustration out. They understood, so Athrun tiredly agreed with him. But complaining was not going to help anything or anyone. And if he was not going to help, he should just keep quiet and let others focus on their work.
Neo Roanoke arrived at the hangar and instantly started yelling at the fools who had let Stella out... until he saw the blasted hatch. They did not let her out. She let herself out. In the meantime, Auel was in the John Paul Jones's infirmary, being held down on a bed by the medical staff and administered a sedative. Sting worriedly watched him from the doorway, his arms crossed.
In the Minerva, Burt Heim detected the enemy mobile suit and alerted the captain. The Gaia was approaching. The three pilots who also heard the information instantly rushed to their respective units. Talia asked if there was only one. No other enemy had been detected. That confused her but nothing changed the fact that they had to protect the facility. She issued her commands to which Athrun, Shinn and Seren rogered. They activated their gundams and soared to intercept the Earth Alliance soldier.
Stella raced through the forest, furrowing the ground, cutting trees. She had taken off alone, without permission, plan or promise for reinforcement, driven, haunted... entirely possessed by only two words "protect... mother..." and showed no sign of stopping. She grew only fiercer when she saw the ZAFT mobile suits blocking her path.
"Damn you!" Asuka was – as usual – about to charge head first like a bull when Athrun cautioned him.
"Watch out, Shinn! If their mission is to destroy the facility, they might be equipped with a special weapon. Defeat it without letting explode." He instructed as the Impulse avoided the Gaia's beams. The units clashed once and disengaged.
"Eeeehh?!" The child was so busy complaining he failed to react in time to the Extended's next attack. The black gundam rammed into him with all its power. Shinn screamed, his unit crashing onto the ground. Athrun cried his name. Seren clicked her tongue.
"That's what you get for whining and getting distracted."
The X88S changed back into its mobile suit mode and landed. Its panting blonde pilot soon had beams raining down on her from the Savior and Fortuna. Stella shielded herself before trying to escape into MA mode again. However, the moment she jumped, her machine's rifle and left wing were sliced off by the FAITH agents' gundams. The impact made her fall, but she managed to recover.
"Damnit! Don't let it explode you say, but how?!"
"Just dismember it or damage the propulsion system!"
"Don't make it sound so easy!"
"If you don't think you have the precision skills, just back off and watch quietly." Seren, calculating the enemy's evasion's pattern, sliced an arm as the black unit was trying to dodge Athrun's fire. She was significantly harsher than usual but nobody mentioned anything. After she had these fights with her family, she had been made to witness those horrors in that hell of a place. Surely, she could be forgiven for being somewhat lacking in amiability.
"I can do it!" Asuka shot back, trying indeed to learn from Seren's maneuvers and positioning.
It was then Lunamaria returned in her gyroheli. She was of course shocked to see mobile suits fighting. The Gaia fired at the Impulse with its Beam Assault Cannons. Shinn protected himself with his shield and pressed forwards without faltering, forcing the black gundam back. The boy slashed. The Savior turned into a MS and fired the "Amfortas" cannons. The Fortuna, also in MS mode, fired her "Invictus" rail cannons and her binders' "Honos" railguns. Stella had no choice but to also transform her unit back into a mobile suit in order to use the shield. Shinn took advantage of that moment to close in. He roared and slashed the enemy's cockpit. Loussier screamed. The Gaia crashed on its back. Fortunately, the beam saber had not cut deep enough to wound her as she had moved backwards to lessen the impact of the strike.
Now, the EA machine was unresponsive. The ZAFT pilots zoomed on it, specifically on the tear in the cockpit. They were surprised to see a young woman with short blonde hair. The blow had knocked her out and her head was bleeding. Canaver tilted her head and zoomed larger, as did Shinn. He gasped when he recognized the girl who had been innocently dancing on the cliff, and who he had saved from drowning. She had gifted him the shard of a shell. He had held her in his arms and sworn to protect her...
"Wait, Athrun, that's..." Seren could not finish.
"That girl... Stella?!" Shinn muttered, shocked.
A solution missed. Unhealed wounds are reopened. This was the first price paid for that conversation. We were soon to learn that both conversation and battle come at a price, and that the meeting of two hopes did not necessarily lead to peace. 'Understanding' is not 'accepting'. The sound of waves always overlapped the repeated farewells. We part but we know we will meet again. Don't cry. Because we cannot turn back. Still, we believed. At any time, hope can only be found in the future. Hope that we will meet in a place other than the battlefield. Yet, the world kept descending into disorder. And those two also met anew. Was it the prelude to understanding or destruction?
Author's note: last chapter of the year. However, tomorrow, to celebrate the new year, you'll have another chapter of Gundam Seed Destiny 'Phase-24: Respective Promises' =)