Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ In The Arms Of A War Hero ❯ Unforeseen Agreement ( Chapter 4 )

-Author's Note-

Thanks for staying tuned everyone! It means a lot!

 

~Alexs - What I am planning for this story is somewhat more dramatic than full of action story-line wise. But take my word for it that there WILL be action mingled in here somewhere, lol. And I'm sorry to hear that it is not progressing as you thought it would, but any ideas or thoughts you have I'd love to hear, and possibly entangle in the story. Hope it turns out to your liking none-the-less.

 

And to everyone else staying tuned, any comments or thoughts are encouraged via e-mail or review.

I hope all you Gundam SEED fans enjoy reading this fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it!

Please enjoy!

 

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In The Arms Of A War Hero

 

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Unforeseen Agreement

 

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Chapter 4

 

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The uniform they once wore was once again hanging before them in the lockers they used to call their own.

 

“It's kinda weird, huh?” Dearka said with a chuckle, “being here again, after all this time.”

 

Athrun nodded and changed into the ZAFT uniform, feeling the ache of all the past memories upon his body as he watched each portion of red and black cover his skin.

 

The two boys dressed in silence, soon broken by the slamming of Dearka's locker as he rested his elbow against the cool metal.

 

“What the hell are we doing Athrun? Sure, it'll all be great getting to Earth, getting away from this again. But we'll have to come back. Just like before,” he said trailing off.

 

“This place is inescapable, you're right,” Athrun replied

 

“But what if we pretended to be MIA. If we're missing in action than your father will forget about us! Then we can stay on Earth.”

 

Athrun looked at Dearka with a playful yet discouraging look in his eye, “You don't think I've not thought about that? But it won't work, Dearka. My father will send ZAFT soldiers after us, and then we'll just be putting Earth and the Naturals in more danger than they already are.”

 

The smile on Dearka's face slipped away with all the hope he had gathered. “So what do we do then? Get this crap-load of technology and then just meander our way back?”

 

Athrun didn't respond.

 

“Maybe you should talk to your father, Athrun. Ask him - ”

 

“Ask him what?” Athrun interrupted turning his body towards Dearka, “Ask his permission to stay on Earth and to be forgotten about? For him to leave us alone?”

 

“Or at least not make us return to this PLANT!” Dearka argued.

 

“My father won't even consider it. If we take too long he'll come looking for us. Sending more ZAFT soldiers after us.”

 

Dearka sank to the ground and rested his head against the graying-blue locker behind him. They passed by in silence, lost in thought, before Dearka opened his mouth.

 

“Then let him come after us. What's going to happen with this war if people don't start fighting for what's right? Coming back here and just waiting for orders to destroy the Naturals isn't what I'm planning on doing.”

 

Dearka stood and walked over to Athrun, putting his hand on his shoulder. “I want this war to be over almost as much as you do.”

 

“But what you're proposing, Dearka isn't one hundred percent flawless. We go to Alaska and find this commanding system. What do we do with it?”

 

“Well…we could bring it back. Or just forget about it and go find everyone on Earth. We know from letters that they're all in Japan. We could go there.”

 

“And then what?”

 

“Wait for them to come, I guess…”

 

“I don't know,” Athrun said beginning to pace.

 

“What's wrong?”

“Well,” Athrun sighed, “what if we brought back this tracking system. Maybe I could talk with my father, see if we could come to some kind of arrangement. Maybe I can try again to talk him out of this war. It didn't work last time…but it's worth giving it another shot.”

 

“What would you ask him though? To stop the war?”

 

“Well, maybe not in so many words,” Athrun said brushing his navy bangs away from his eyes. “But I could try. See if he can settle to at least some conclusions.”

 

“When are you going to talk to him?” Dearka asked grabbing his helmet and holding it under his arm as he glided towards Athrun who grabbed his own helmet.

 

“Right now,” Athrun said as he exited the room leaving a smirking Dearka behind him.

 

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“I have to say, I am very pleased with this final piece, ladies,” Mikoto said beaming at the two girls sitting opposite her large oak desk. Miriallia and Kanadi beamed at each other.

 

“Is this the last piece you girls had to submit before the magazine deadline?”

 

“Yes ma'am, that's it,” Kanadi responded.

 

“Excellent!” Mikoto said happily as she stood up, her short bobbed black hair bouncing around her shoulders. “Than you ladies have the rest of this afternoon off, please enjoy yourselves.”

 

“Oh thank you!” Kanadi grinned.

 

Miriallia and Kanadi left their boss's office momentarily and walked down the hallway talking about how they believed the outcome of the magazine would be. They pressed the button for the elevator and waited for it to arrive at their level with a ding.

 

“So, Mir, what are you gonna do for the rest of your day?”

 

“Sleep?” Miriallia said with a laugh. “No, um, I'm not sure. Maybe just relax, read a book I've been meaning to lately. What about you?”

 

“Well, I might give Touji a call.”

 

The elevator arrived and the two girls waited for the crowd of people to flutter their way off before they got on. “Oh yes,” Miriallia said, “you're boyfriend. You guys are pretty close, eh?”

 

Kanadi smiled toothily, “Yep. It's almost nearing our one year anniversary!”

“Wow…” Miriallia said watching the numbers decrease as they got closer to the main level, “that's great, Kana. I hope you guys last long.”

 

Kanadi gave Miriallia a friendly hug and thanked her, “What about you, Mir? No secret crush? No passionate lover?”

 

Miriallia forced Kanadi a smile and shook her head, “No.”

 

“What about this Tolle person I've heard you mention before? You fancy him at all?”

 

Miriallia's eyes began to water as she shook her head again, “No.”

 

The elevator doors opened and the two girls got out, said their goodbyes and went their own separate ways down the street in front of the building.

 

“Do you fancy him at all?”

 

Of course I do. I loved him…

 

Miriallia ignored the tear that fell down her cheek as she walked the six blocks to her small apartment.

 

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“Sir?”

 

“What?”

 

“Athrun's here to speak with you.”

 

“Tell him I'm busy.”

 

“He says it's mandatory, sir.”

 

Patrick Zala grumbled annoyingly and told the guard to let in his son. He put the papers in front of him away into a folder and tucked them secretively into the drawer to his left.

 

“Father,” Athrun said.

 

“What is it you want? Shouldn't you be preparing to leave for Alaska?” his father heated.

 

“There is something we need to discuss.”

 

“Oh, is there?” Chairman Zala replied smugly.

 

“Dearka and I do not want to return to this PLANT. We want to remain on Earth.”

“You want to do what?”

 

“We want to remain on Earth. After we retrieve this equipment for you, we would like to return back to Earth.”

 

Patrick Zala leaned forward in his chair and let out an exasperated sigh. “Athrun. The answer is no. You will remain here after your task. Both you and the other pilot.”

 

“But father!” Athrun tried to reason, “Dearka and I will be doing nothing here besides waiting for you to assign us a task. And as seeing that we are supposed messengers, we will have the tasks of delivering and retrieving. And seeing as Earth is the home-based location of ORB and the EA, we would be pacing back and forth from locations on that planet and this PLANT.”

 

Patrick Zala crossed his hands in front of him and leaned further in his seat. He gazed down at his desk as if thinking, than up at his son a moment later.

 

“You want to run. Both you and that pilot,” his father spat. “You want to leave because you're afraid.”

 

“No, father. That is not true! Dearka and I both want this war to end. If there are several people on Earth who are familiar with us as co-coordinators, than it might be considered as a small sign of a conclusion to this war. As a small sign of allegiance.”

 

“You will resume your task to Alaska, and you and the Buster pilot will return here. Is that understood, Athrun?”

 

“No, sir. That is not understood!” Athrun argued straightening his arms at his sides and clutching his hands into tight fists.

 

Chairman Zala slammed his fists against the table in fury as he stood up and walked over to Athrun and glared down at him.

 

“This is a war, god damn it!” Chairman Zala raged, “You are a symbol of what ZAFT is capable of! What Coordinators represent! Did those damned Naturals have any regard towards us during Bloody Valentine!”

 

“Look what we've done towards this war as well, father!” Athrun shouted back at his father, “Do you have any idea how ZAFT was regarded when the Nazca class and Laurasia class destroyed a neutral colony!”

 

Chairman Zala growled at his son and placed his hand on his desk and grabbing it tightly in his hand with sickening strength.

 

“As much at fault as the EA may be! We are just as much at fault!” Athrun finished, his eyes exuding an extreme amount of supremacy and strength.

 

“Sir!” a soldier shouted interrupting the dispute between the Zala's.

 

“What!” Chairman Zala shouted back.

 

“The Justice and the Buster are ready for taking off at any time,” he announced.

 

“Fine!” the chairman barked and the guard left after saluting.

 

Chairman Zala sat back in his seat in silence as he opened a drawer and took out a small stack of papers. Athrun stood before his father, his eyes rotating from staring at his father to analyzing the papers in his father's hands.

 

“Recently, there has been news that the EA has a new development in weaponry for Gundams. Nuclear-based fire arms and a new high-standard weapons system,” his father read.

 

“You and the pilot of the Buster are to collect data about this newly developed machinery after you return from retrieving this tracking system.”

 

“Father…” Athrun said suspiciously. He subtly furrowed his brow, trying to think of ordinary reasoning for his father's sudden change in the topic.

 

“In order to retrieve this information, a correct analysis must be done. And to facilitate this, it will take a great amount of time on Earth to study the EA.”

 

Athrun stared at his father in bewilderment as his father gazed up at him suddenly, “If you and the pilot want to remain on Earth, so be it. But if you are there, you will remain working for ZAFT. You will retrieve this information and in two months time, hand over the gathered information to a soldier I will send.”

 

“Thank you, father,” Athrun said, holding back on the kindness in his voice. Keeping a monotone voice.

 

“If there is not a proper amount of information gathered, than rest assured that you will report back here faster than you have time to blink, is that clear, Athrun?”

 

“Yes, father.”

 

“Then you and the Buster pilot may go now. Don't waste all of our time.”

 

Athrun nodded to his father, saluting him and then leaving the room. He headed down the long monotone coloured passage and entered the hangar.

 

“Athrun!”

 

Athrun looked up to find Dearka glided down towards him. “How'd it go? Was it a no?”

 

Athrun smiled at Dearka. He explained what his father had told him about gathering information about the weaponry systems and then giving it to another ZAFT soldier to return back to ZAFT headquarters.

 

Dearka laughed loudly and started cheering, “Way to go, Athrun! We'll be able to see everyone again! Think about that! Oh my God!” Dearka cried lunging up towards his Buster and opening the cockpit door.

 

“Let's go get that god damn piece of technology!” he shouted.

 

Athrun laughed and coasted over to the Justice and climbed inside the cockpit. “You all set, Dearka?” Athrun said sending a transmission to his comrade as he entered in speedily his commands for the OS and interface systems.

 

“Yeah,” Dearka transmitted back, “let's get the hell outta here!”

 

“Buster, you are clear for launch,” a female voice spoke over the PA.

 

“Dearka Elthman, Buster, launching!”

 

The Buster took of from the hangar and was blasted into the depths of space and remained in position waiting for the Justice.

 

“Justice, you are clear for launch,” the voice repeated.

 

“Athrun Zala, Justice, launching!”

 

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-Author's Note-

This was a more challenging chapter to write because this chapter was one that affects several outcomes in the future of this story. I hope you all enjoyed this, though!

 

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If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know via e-mail or review.

 

Reviews are not mandatory but are appreciated.