Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Gundam Seed Destiny Fan Fiction ❯ Terminal ❯ Phase 1: Meyrin ( Chapter 1 )

Summary: C.E. 72. The war between the Earth and PLANT that lasted for a year and a half, finally came to an end with an armistice after the Battle of Jakin Due. Under mutual agreement, a treaty was eventually signed at the site of the past tragedy, Junius 7, pledging increased efforts to accept each other and strive for peace. Terminal, born at the end of the first Bloody Valentine War, created to provide a way towards peace in times of war, awakens in C.E. 73 at the start of the Second Bloody Valentine War. With the war quickly unraveling towards its end, Terminal focuses in on the true mastermind behind the war. Peices of information scattered between the heroes of the last war, cryptic messages, and fate twist together, the world driving towards an unrevealed destiny.

Authors Note: Welcome to Terminal. Here's how it works, Since I am posting this story on my writing journal, you'll get updates quicker if you go over there (link to it can be found in my profile). The chapter updates here will happen once I've gotten through all of the previous chapter. Which means while I will post it here, it won't be as quick. It should also be noted that while this does contain scenes from Destiny it is in no way a Destiny rewrite...the author is a very busy person and doesn't have time to fix such things...she just has an arc of the story that goes through Destiny.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created from the mind and heart of the author (and any poor unsuspecting friend she could batter ideas off of) and not intended for sale or profit. Character rights and original story are copyright of the Gundam Francise and Bandai.

 

 

Phase 1: Meyrin

 

“Her existence no longer has any value.”

 

Numb was hardly the expression that she would use. A deep sense of despair, a dash of hopelessness, and a pinch of panic, perhaps, would describe it. She'd known Rey as long as her sister had and yet he said it as if she were nothing more than a bug.

 

Oops… sorry, but according to the latest reports your importance on the cosmic level is about as much as dirt.

 

What did one say to something like that?

 

How could someone say that?

 

A startled gasp, a slight twist of her body behind the seat, facing the screen with the little man who'd spoken words—

 

“Rey!”

 

How sweet, he was trying to make it go away, but that was Athrun-san's way.

 

“Rey…” Shinn's voice was full of it. On the monitor he looked half as bad as…

 

It couldn't be true. He wouldn't say things like that. Sure he was cold most of the time, but—

 

But—

 

She wanted to scream, to rip her throat raw in a cry of denial, but the words jumbled together, caught in the moment between choice and action.

 

This was not how this was supposed to go. They weren't supposed to want her dead.

 

“He's already an enemy…” Rey wasn't talking to her, wasn't talking to Athrun-san. How odd that he seemed so concerned about Shinn when he'd just said… “No, they are…!”

 

But the consequence of her action was not death. At most it was imprisonment. Rey knew that as much as she did. And yet…

 

“They betrayed the Chairman, betrayed us, and are trying to stamp down on our wishes. Will you allow that to happen?”

 

Stop it!

 

No, no, no….this wasn't supposed to be happening. She wasn't betraying anyone. She'd just wanted to help him.

 

“You said it yourself. That for that cause, you will fight against any enemy.”

 

No!

 

The world tipped, dived, rolled, and pitched about her. Athrun-san was evading, again.

-

-

 

“Athrun-san, why do you think he came back?”

 

Her sister's hand paused mid-flip of the page of the magazine. She'd been reading it for the last hour. An eyebrow rose with an accompanying glance in Meyrin's direction. “Does it matter?”

 

“Don't you think it's curious,” she returned.

 

Her finger's fiddled with a puzzle piece. It should be easy to figure out where it went, there were only so many places for it to go. Granted on the cosmic level a single puzzle piece was about as valuable as dirt, it didn't change the day to day lives of the billions of people in existence. And yet, puzzles drew her in, fascinated her with their complexity, and drove Onee-chan crazy.

 

Her mother had said that it was just a phase and she'd get over it.

 

But even people were puzzles sometimes, each piece an answer to a question, a reason, a part of the whole, making a person, creating life. “Everyone knows that he deserted at the end of the last war and fought against both sides to bring it to an end. But if that was why he deserted, it doesn't make much sense to come back and fight in the next one.”

 

“I imagine he has his reasons.”

 

“Still it's quite puzzling,” she added. “Did you know that a teammate of his also deserted?”

 

“No… ”

 

“Dearka Elsman,” she added, encouraged by the surprise in her sister's voice. “He's back in ZAFT, but I find it odd that he went from being a red to a green. Athrun-san did the same thing, but he's in FAITH and red.”

 

A pleased sigh escaped her as she punched the piece into the wall of the castle puzzle. She'd have to remember to get a new one once it was finished. “I wonder why?”

 

“The commander's pretty powerful.”

 

“I wonder if the Chairman had anything to do with it,” Meyrin suggested. “Either way, it doesn't make sense, at least as far as the data's concerned.”

 

“If you're so curious, why don't you ask him?”

 

Meyrin smiled, amused by the thought. She couldn't ask him, not yet anyways. Not until she had the other pieces, perhaps not until she understood all of him. That was a part of the game. One did not simply ask the completed puzzle about its pieces. One had to find them all and then see how they fit together, but even then she wouldn't ask him.

 

-

-

 

The cockpit jerked, the GOUF seizing against the intrusion of a sword, cracking her head against the back cockpit plating.

 

“I'm sorry.” Athrun-san mumbled.

 

She didn't want to look, didn't want to see him or the cockpit. A sword, she knew she'd be looking at a sword if she opened her eyes. Her chest hurt, pain rippling up from the point where the sword had grazed her before plunging on through the back of the cockpit.

 

At least Shinn's inability to hit center on a target was coming in handy. If only he'd missed, if only he'd -

 

It wasn't like thinking of ifs was going to get her anywhere.

 

Well, she could claim to be the first Hawke to have successfully gotten Athrun-san's attention. Not that she'd ever wanted him to put himself at risk for her. She'd rather preferred it the way it was.

 

Two possibilities: death by explosion and death by drowning.

 

The GOUF would destruct, but that depended on the position of the sword and how much power was in the cell. It was very likely that the cell had been fully charged. The sword's intrusion would interrupt the flow of power in the cell, cycling it towards overload. Critical overload in turn resulted in a fire ball of explosion.

 

What would it feel like to explode? Would it hurt?

 

Probably.

 

Her breath hitched, a groan of agony slipping past her lips. He may have missed killing them but Shinn hadn't missed them entirely. A section of her arm, a good portion of her torso, and a cold numbness in her toes told her that in all likelihood she would die no matter what happened.

 

Was Athrun-san unconscious?

 

Her teeth chattered, shuddering against one another as she drew air in despite the fire in her side. Cold had spread up her legs.

 

Yes, that was to be expected. The ocean was always cold, unless of course you were near a thermal vent. The likelihood of being near one of those wasn't high.

 

Water…

 

If they were in the water, than that had to mean that he'd successfully dodged the death by explosion possibility.

 

Funny how that didn't seem to make drowning feel any better.

 

Chirp.

 

Ok, now she was hearing things. Wonderful. As if dying wasn't enough, she had to fall momentarily into insanity as she died.

 

Chirp.

 

-

-

 

“Athrun-san—”

 

His hand silenced her surprise at his hasty entrance into her room. “I'm sorry, I just want to get outside,” he said in a rush. “Please, stay quiet.”

 

So, they were after him. 

She nodded. But why would they want him, it wasn't like he was given to being as rash as Shinn. She wondered what they would charge him with.

 

We're sorry but we have to arrest you for being too good at your job.

 

Or—

 

We're sorry but you have to be arrested to keep the female population of Minerva from becoming any more interested in what it is that you're doing.

 

—No, that was silly. Onee-chan had shown the most obvious interest, but—

 

Why would they want him?

 

“You're being pursued,” the words spilled from thought to action, tumbling out of her mouth. “Why?”

 

He was at the window; his gaze slid her direction for a moment before looking back. “Ask Rey or someone else about it later.” 

 

Why the hell would Rey know anything about it? Rey wasn't the type to give the weather report, let alone explain why it was that the ZAFT hero of the last war was standing, dripping wet, in her room.

 

A pounding on the door snapped her about, whirling her away from him and the window. She watched the door for a moment hoping she was just hearing things. They pounded again. “This is the military police. We'd like to search your room. Open your door,” a voice barked.

 

A door to door search?

 

That was the most likely event, but what had he done to warrant such a search. Her eyes darted to the gun he had in his hands. Did he steal it from them or had he gotten it from somewhere else?

 

“After I get outside, scream and tell them that I was holding you at gunpoint,” he was saying.

 

She stepped back in surprise. That was a stupid plan. They'd find him in a second. She glanced towards the door, glanced back at him, an idea forming in her mind.

 

Damn it— Onee-chan was going to kill her later, but it didn't feel right to let him get hurt. He was a nice guy. Not bad to look at. And there was still the matter of the missing pieces to the puzzle that was Athrun Zala. She'd never figure them out if he was dead and all things being considered equally, she didn't want anyone to die.

 

Determined, Meyrin grabbed his arm, dragging him protesting behind her. “Over here.”

 

“There is one trick that works no matter when or where you use it,” Sensei's voice whispered in her memory. “If you ever need to help someone escape—”

 

It was known as the shower trick.

 

“Hey, is there anyone in there?”

 

“Uh,” she hastily answered, “yeah.”

 

Was one supposed to add “Just a minute” to that or were they supposed to say nothing? But if one did say that they would be just a moment more, than they would be expected to appear within that allotted time. A truly a perplexing situation, but it would just have to be addressed at a later date when she had more time.

 

She'd tugged him in behind her, wedging him between the tub and the door. Reaching for the shower knobs she wrenched them open, splashing water into the tub.

 

“Idiot, that won't work,” he complained.

 

In all likelihood he was correct. She'd never actually had an occasion present itself that would warrant the using of such measures.

 

“It'll be ok,” she answered over her shoulder. Her fingers worked the buttons of her uniform off, dropping it to the floor a moment later. He sounded like he was trying to protest, but something was stuck in his throat. She ignored him, fought against the blush that threatened to spread from her cheeks, and shoved her head into the cold water.

 

In order for the trick to work one had to look appreciably similar to one who had just stepped out of the shower. Or at least that's what Sensei had said. Sensei was fond of leaving out information that might be important. She wrung out her hair.

 

Her hand snatched the towel from the bar and she was out the door. She wondered if he'd know to stay in the bathroom, but rejected the notion. He wasn't that foolish. She wrapped the towel around her, shutting the bathroom door behind her, and took a deep breath. "Calm yourself, but remember that they're here looking for him. They don't expect you to know where he is. You're just a lowly officer, caught unawares," Sensei's warm voice whispered. "Remember to be slightly annoyed. They interrupted your off hours, but be respectful at the same time."  And she pulled the door open.

 

Their eyes went wide, the one closest to the door had obviously been about to force his way in. Blinking innocently— hopefully innocent enough—she waited for them to collect themselves. The one who had been about to force his way in teetered back on his heels, stammering out what might have been an apology if he could manage to get it past his grunt of surprise. Meyrin's eyes widened a bit, Onee-chan was behind them, shoving her way forward.

 

Why was Onee-chan in the hallway, hadn't she said she was going to get something to eat.

 

“Meyrin,” Onee-chan snapped. “Why aren't you dressed?”

 

“Oh, Onee-chan…” she hesitated, uncertain as to how to answer it, then decided that truth could be fubbed considering a certain blue haired someone was hiding in her bathroom. “I was taking a shower, but they were pounding on my door, so…”

 

Onee-chan spitted the nearest of the military policemen with a glare.

 

He stepped back, his hands raised as if to surrender.

 

Onee-chan's glare slid back to her, “Hurry up and get dressed.” And then without waiting for Meyrin's answer she turned back to the officer, “And what is this commotion about to begin with?”

 

“Well, umm…” the policemen Onee-chan had glared at fumbled for an answer. He decided after a moment that retreating from her angry sister was the best course and moved on down the hall, motioning for her to go back into her room.

 

The door clicked shut behind her. She wilted against the door, drawing one ragged breath after another into her lungs. It had worked.

 

It couldn't have worked. By all logic that shouldn't have worked. She was a horrible actor, had always been a horrible actor. Where were the sirens? Why weren't they barging in to take him away? That couldn't have worked as well as she thought it would. They couldn't have been fooled by just that. What was she going to tell Onee-chan when it came out that she'd harbored Athrun Zala in his escape attempt? Why had Onee-chan believed her? She'd never been able to keep a secret from Onee-chan.

 

She sunk, curling into herself, dropping to the floor.

 

What was she thinking? He was a fugitive. She could go to jail for harboring him. This was stupid.

  

The door to the bathroom clicked as it opened, his boots thudded across the floor, and she was draped in warmth. It took a second for her warring mind to figure out that it was the robe from the bathroom and the heavy weight on her shoulders was actually his hands. His hands were on her shoulders—in another situation, another day, maybe it would have brought a blush to her face. 

“Thank you,” his soft voice brought her head up. Damn why did he have to be so nice. She'd just done the stupidest thing of her career in the military and he was thanking her. “But why…?”

 

Her head sunk. Why indeed. She didn't really know. All of the answers that had seemed so correct in the moment of decision seemed wrong, foolish even. “I don't know,” she answered, tears clogging her throat.

 

It was the truth, simple and pure. Maybe she could chock it up to cosmic influence, but simply she'd done it because she could.

 

The weight of his hands on her shoulders was gone, “But you did save me. Thank you.”

 

She'd saved him for a moment that was all. Given him time to formulate something else, maybe even time to think, but she hadn't really saved him all that much. In a little bit he would be gone and she wouldn't have really saved his life, not like Onee-chan or Shinn had or so many could. She wasn't that strong, she couldn't do the things they did.

 

There had to be something else. She'd done this one thing. Done it and survived it, ironically enough. But when he left she couldn't help him anymore. There was something, some piece to the puzzle that was Athrun Zala that had driven him to rejoin ZAFT, something that couldn't be found in any of the data streams she had access to.

 

“The heart drives all decisions, Meyrin,” Sensei's voice admonished. “Without the heart the data is irrelevant ...”

 

The heart was always the piece that eluded her. It had eluded her when she'd pieced together the puzzle that was Shinn, but that was only until Onee-chan had mentioned that his family had died in Orb.

 

Orb…

 

Her hand snapped out, grasping his ankle, jerking his stride out of motion. She looked up into his surprised face. “The hanger,” she stammered out. “Please just wait a minute.”

 

-

-

 

Chirp.

 

She wondered if she would turn blue from the cold.

 

Would she look the same once her body had sopped up all the water or would she bloat, filling up like a balloon?

 

Chirp. Chirp.

 

Something was chirping.

 

She doubted it was Athrun-san—in fact she was fairly certain it wasn't him.

 

She wanted to move, to twist a little so that her side didn't ache so much, but twisting hurt more. And it wasn't like she could remove a sword.

 

It was oddly amusing to think that the lower half of her body was slowly numbing to the water's temperature. She'd bleed to death and she wouldn't even feel it happening.

 

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

 

Why couldn't she look at him? She should look at him, make certain that he was alright, but at the same time she couldn't.

 

There had to be something that she could do. Some way to get this to change, but she didn't know how to move a wrecked GOUF, let alone a whole GOUF.

 

Why couldn't she have managed the escape just a little bit better?

 

Athrun-san should have been able to do this all on his own. He was experienced in escaping from capture or at least that was what the data had said. He'd fled capture in Eternal the last time, along with Lacus Clyne and some Commander that had been injured in a fight with Strike.

 

Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirrrrrrp.

 

Was it because she was there? Was that why he was fated to float to the bottom of the ocean in a wrecked GOUF?

 

She still couldn't open her eyes. A part of her wanted to see what had happened. A part of her curled inside waiting for the inevitable slow death that was sure to come. Neither wanted to face the sword and the wounded soldier that had protected her.

 

It wasn't fair.

 

Life wasn't supposed to end at the bottom of the ocean.

 

Chirp, chirrrrrrrrp, chirp, chirrrrrrp.

 

That stupid chirping was getting on her nerves. She would have to remember to kill whatever was making it…

She yawned, a lance of agony shooting up her side. Whether it was from the blood loss or the cold or maybe it was just that she was tired, her body wilted against the back curve of the cockpit. She needed to sleep and yet she also wanted to stay awake. Her mind was both fascinated by the chirping and its source and oddly uninterested. There wasn't anything in a cockpit that would chirp and yet, it was still there.

 

Sleep would be a very nice thing to have.

 

Was she allowed to sleep? Would it be okay if she did go to sleep? Something told her that she shouldn't.

 

Sleep seemed like such a warm idea too.

 

Cold—something about cold and it being a bad idea to sleep. She wanted to remember what it was, to recall it incase it was important.

-

-

 

She was not a spy. She'd never been a spy; of that much she was certain. Of course, infiltrating a base's computer and triggering an alarm was simple enough to do. It seemed like a good idea.

 

It was stupid to think that once they figured out that it was a false alarm that they wouldn't immediately trace it back to her computer. She'd have to think of a way to get out of the inevitable interrogation, after she'd gotten Athrun-san to safety.

 

She peeked out into the street. Clear, for once. How many times had they had to hide on the way down the fire escape? She was losing count of things.

 

She wondered if he was just being nice, if that was why he didn't seem to notice that it took all of her to keep her from shaking.

 

This escaping business was nerve racking. It was not something she wanted to do. Not that she'd ever had a time when she needed to escape. It was one of many reasons why she didn't make it in intelligence work. Puzzles were all nice and dandy, until you actually had to act on the information you'd gathered. When life and death hung in the balance, her skills proved sorely lacking. And yet, she'd wanted to be good at it.

 

“Wait here, I'll go get a car,” she instructed, “When you see me, come out.”

 

She didn't wait for him to answer. Didn't wait for his objection to what still—logically—was a stupid plan.

 

Well at least it was a plan. It was better than standing in the middle of the rain waving her arms in the air, begging the gods for a plan.

 

Her hand fumbled in her pocket for the keys.

 

Why did it have to be raining? It would've been much easier if it was just dark. No storm, no rain, no lightning, nothing, that was the best situation.

 

Then again, she'd never actually helped anyone escape before. Did it matter that it was raining?

 

For the tenth time since she'd come up with the stupid plan she found herself wondering if maybe Sensei had been wrong. Sensei had said she wasn't suited to field work, not even really suited to desk work. An expert in information that was all she could be. Command and Control the sum total of all her skills. Surely there was some hope that she could be a good intelligence officer.

 

The keys slipped from her fingers, plopping down onto the road way, a tinkle following in their wake.

 

Meyrin frowned down at the escaped keys. Then again, maybe not.

 

“This is why I'm not in intelligence,” she dejectedly muttered, “I drop keys at the wrong time.” She snatched the keys off the ground, continuing her annoyed mutterings about her short comings, and quickened her pace.

  

Running was bad. It was as good as screaming that she was helping someone; then again there wasn't anyone on the street. There might be someone in the parking lot though. It was better to be quick, but not too quick. They'd shut the siren off in a few minutes, she was fairly certain of that.

 

The problem was where she was going to take him once she got the car.

 

Could he manage to get off base if she let him have the car? But they'd notice if he was the one that was driving. Driving would require both of them and Onee-chan would really kill her if she did something like that.

 

She could take him to one of the hangers. She was fairly certain that he could fly just about any mobile suit that he got his hands on, but the take-off would be instantly caught on the sensors.

 

Damn it!

 

She should have thought of that sooner. If the hanger was where they were going than she should have known that the unauthorized flight would be flagged and the alarm triggered and then of course there was the inevitable pursuit.

 

She skidded to a halt before the car and huffed. She really wasn't a spy. A real spy would've known exactly what they were going to do.

 

Her hands fumbled with the keys searching for the one that would open the door, nerves rattling them. She hesitated, taking a deep breath, and plunged the key into the lock.

 

Lightning cracked, spinning her away from the car in fright, illuminating a figure on the rooftop.

 

Meyrin froze, blinking away rain water, hoping that she was just imagining it. There couldn't be anyone up there. It would be silly. Who would be stupid enough to be standing on a roof top, in a rain storm?

 

Lightning cracked again.

 

She waited through the flash, memorizing the curve of the curled figure on the rooftop. It was too dark to be certain, but it looked like it had a pack strapped to its back and that it was dressed in black. An advantageous color for night time viewing. A ribbon of orange flicked against its shoulder. Orange hair?

 

Was it looking in her direction?

 

This was stupid, even if it was looking at her, freezing would only give who ever it was the idea that she was up to something. “Just get in the car,” she mumbled, turning back to the car. “It's nothing. Besides they don't know that you're helping him.”

 

She tumbled into the seat, hastily recalling that she should strap herself in, before throwing the car into gear. The wheels screeched a little bit as she backed out and headed for the roadway.

 

She took one last glace at the rooftop. Well, at least they weren't moving. But why on the rooftop and in the middle of the night, in a rain storm no less.

 

Her nerves settled a tiny bit as she slid the car to a halt, honking the horn to let Athrun-san know that she was there. He pelted out of the alcove he'd hidden himself in and scrunched down in the seat beside her.

 

We're going to the hanger became the mantra that played over and over in her mind as she drove. Green light after green light earned a silent celebration in her head. It was the upcoming red, just down the road that had her worried. Would it turn green in time or would she have to...

 

Did one drive fast or normally when attempting an escape?

 

But, if one did drive fast than weren't they more likely to attract attention? But if they drove normally than they wouldn't make it there quickly.

 

She decided it was the better part to get there fast and slipped and skidded through the red light on the way to the hanger. All she had to do was get him to the hanger. Once there he could handle things. He'd done this sort of thing before, hadn't he?

 

Of course an open hanger would be nice. Why was it all of them on this street were locked up tight. Should she try a different street?

 

He tapped her shoulder. She jumped, hastily recalling a moment later that it was the better part of valor to drive down the street on the correct side. She glanced to the side, wondering what had possessed him to do that. His finger pointed towards the open doors of a hanger just down the street.

 

Finally some good luck.

 

The car screeched to a halt, the headlights illuminating neat rows of GOUFs. Not as fast as Savior but it would do for an escape vehicle. The two of them piled out of the car. “Most of your pursuers are at the harbor. So it shouldn't be too hard…”

 

He hesitated for a moment, looking back at her.

 

“Please go,” she added, looking away from him. This was all she could do. It had to be enough.

 

“But what about you,” he asked.

 

Why did he have to be so nice? Why wouldn't he just go? It was better for him to leave. If he stayed they would catch him and …and he would get hurt. “If you're going to be killed, it's better for you to go.”

 

He hesitated, his green eyes mirroring his confliction.

 

Go, please just go.

 

There was a chance that someone could have followed them. That all of this was for nothing. She had an out. All she had to do was tell them that he had forced her to do it. It would be a lie, but it was better than him dying.

 

Her mind barely registered the sound of footsteps before he had her around the waist and had catapulted them towards the bank of maintenance consoles. He'd managed to roll their flight until he took the brunt of the impact with the floor. Thunder cracked, spinning a fragment of the console in front of her towards her. Athrun-san was up, his body shielding against the fragments that followed.

 

“So you will run away again,” an all too familiar voice barked from the doorway.

 

“Rey!”

 

Oh, great.

 

Perfect.

 

Just what she needed. Rey had to be the one to find them. Rey—the one who, according to the target practice records, was the least likely one to miss. Granted he wasn't as good as Athrun-san, but still—

 

“I won't allow you to betray Gil!”

 

For god sakes there wasn't time to be bickering about politics. Soldiers were attempting escape. She was being shot at. Meyrin, still curled up on the ground, hands covering her head, frowned. 

 

Gil—

 

He knew the Chairman well enough to call him by his first name. She hadn't known that.

 

She squeaked, curling into as much of a ball as she could manage, hands attempting to cover her head as the gun snapped bullet after bullet, peppering the repair consoles they'd hidden behind.

  

“Stop it Rey,” Athrun-san's voice called through the noise. “Meyrin is…”

She cried out, holding her hands up, covering herself as much as she could, trying to keep from getting injured by the fragments spitting in all directions.

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid....

 

The proper protocol was not to shoot at the hostage. Especially when said hostage was being covered by the target. Not that she wanted Athrun-san to be shot, but it was the lesser of two evils.

 

Athrun-san was gone, the familiar presence having drawn away. She glanced back, watching as he popped up between the two consoles, fired off a few rounds and then ducked behind the console again.

 

Rey hastily retreated from the door the shots pinging very close to where he had been. A moment later he was back, the console in front of her spitting out fragments again.

 

Athrun-san rolled across the floor towards the GOUF. He landed in a crouch; green eyes narrowed; aimed the gun at the doorway and popped two shots. The first pinged against the doorframe; the next sent the gun in Rey's hand spinning into the air.

 

Did the rolling really help, she wondered.

 

A grimace of disappointment appeared on Rey's face before he went pelting after it.

 

She didn't move, didn't want to go out where she might get in his way. Athrun-san had risked his life to save hers. Why had he done something so…so…?

  

His hand was out, the look on his face inviting her to come with him. She sat back in surprise.

 

Rey had shot at her, despite the fact that Athrun-san had been trying to tell him to stop. Granted Rey probably thought he was doing the right thing. Athrun-san was deserting and according to military regulations that warranted death, but she hadn't done anything wrong. She'd helped him, but that hadn't been wrong. Had it?

 

It was a chance that she would only have once. Going with Athrun-san, staying alive—given Rey's apparent lack of interest in her safety—and maybe answering a few more pieces of the puzzle.

 

She took it.

 

The pair of them raced for the lift, for the GOUF. Shots pinged on the hatch entrance informing them of Rey's return. And then the hatch was closed, she was nestled behind the seat and Athrun-san was punching buttons. She'd never been in a mobile suit before. Granted she'd peaked into Onee-chan's ZAKU, but Onee-chan had been sitting in the pilot's seat at the time.

 

“I'm sorry,” Athrun-san was saying. “But at this rate, you'll…”

 

She nodded, finding herself in agreement with his assessment. Besides, she was already in the GOUF and it wasn't like Rey was going to stop shooting long enough for her to get out.

 

It wasn't until they were already out over the ocean that she spoke about anything. She didn't want to distract him while he was flying, though she wasn't certain as to how much concentration he needed. “B-but, what will we do?”

 

“We'll look for Archangel,” was his answer.

 

“But that ship was destroyed,” she protested. He couldn't honestly believe that it had survived a direct shot from Tannhäuser. It had to have been destroyed, especially considering the explosion.

 

“It's not gone,” he answered. “I'm sure Kira's fine too…”

 

Why did he look sad? Was this Kira a friend of his? She couldn't recall that having been in any of the data she'd gathered.