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Chapter Five: Leaving the Past Behind
Just as he had hoped, the corridors were empty. Nicol raced through them on soft and silent feet, heart beating quickly in his chest. Mocking, affectionate gray eyes lured him on; memories of soft-spoken words and defiant gestures that had been gone for so long pushed him forward. He had no idea what had happened- whether she was even alive still. What torture had she endured? What had they forced her to do or see?
The control room was out of the question- it would be filled, regardless of any other activity in the outside world. However, there was a smaller utility room, with connections…
Nicol skidded around a corner. It should be around here somewhere, Room 40A. Signs flashed past- 35A, 36A…40A! He halted, pivoting on one foot, and eyed the electronic lock on the door. Hm. Simple design, not the latest, one they had been taught to break at the ZAFT academy.
The door slid noiselessly aside, and, another stroke of luck, no one was in. Nicol quickly locked the door behind him and sat on the edge of the seat at one computer, hastily tapping keys. He needed to find Rynae’s exact location. Wandering around would only get him killed.
Maps popped up- underground, level 3, in the left room…Nicol memorized the route swiftly, then backtracked and erased all records of his being there, the electronic path and everything. By the time he left the utility room, nervously glancing up and down the hall, five minutes had elapsed- way too much time.
Nicol began to sprint.
“Dammit!” Yzak paced the hall of Lacus’s house. She had left to aid her allies; the lack of her presence did not help the level of tension. They were all impatient and anxious about Nicol, emotions heightened by the timing.
Leaving the PLANTs branded as a traitor, Athrun thought bitterly. We could be discovered and killed at any minute. And Nicol’s gone…
The Eternal will be launching soon, Nicol noted, thoughts racing as frantically as his legs. Damn, I don’t have much time…and I have to make sure…she’s okay…What if she can’t even move?
Something twisted and knotted inside him, physically painful to the point that he gasped for air. She would be all right. She had to be. Rynae could look out for herself.
Down the stairs; elevators were too risky. That took longer, eating up precious minutes as he recklessly leapt down the steps. Corridors stretched endlessly before him, as confusing and strange as a maze.
Please let me have memorized the right path…
And then there it was. The left room, level 3, underground. Panting, Nicol stared at it, disbelieving. He swayed as delayed feeling crept back into his legs, the result of running so fast in a panicked state.
No time for doubts.
Nicol hacked the lock and opened it quietly.
“Rynae?” he whispered into the darkness.
“Switch on the left,” croaked a voice, and his heart jumped into his throat. She was okay- she was all right! He fumbled for the switch and flipped it, light flooding the room.
Nicol gasped.
“Ryn! You’re-”
“I’m fine,” she muttered weakly, but clearly she wasn’t. Bruises, cuts, and deeper gashes covered her. One eye was blackened, and her lip was split. Her right leg was twisted at an awkward angle, and her ties were tied tightly behind her back. It must have been painful to even move, but she managed a smile for him.
“Knew you would come…”
“Don’t talk,” Nicol ordered automatically, making himself step forward. They had to get out of here, now.
“Cameras in the ceiling,” Rynae breathed. “I don’t know…whether they’re on…”
“I’m not going to take the chance.” He sliced through the crude, rough ropes that bound her, flinching at the sight of red, bleeding skin underneath.
“Can you walk?”
“I’m going to have to run,” she said grimly. Nicol helped her stand, and together they managed to half walk, half dashed out of the room.
Gunshots sounded. Nicol cursed, gathered Ryn into his arms, ignoring her protests, and then fled. Yells and shouts echoed behind them as security poured onto the scene.
“Cameras were on,” Ryn murmured, sounding drugged, and then she fainted. Nicol swore briefly.
He’d have to take his chances with the elevators; as he passed, Nicol saw that one was there and sprinted into it, jamming the button to close it as guards ran up wielding guns. He ducked their shots and then the elevator closed, promising them safe passage to at least the first floor. After that…they’d have to get out on their own.
Ryn stirred in his arms, mumbling. “Good, you’re awake,” Nicol said quietly. “Can you fire a gun?”
She nodded, determination in her expression. “Give me…the gun.”
He awkwardly shifted and managed to snag his gun, letting her grasp it and click the safety off.
“All set,” she whispered, and then the doors hissed open.
No one was waiting for them just outside the elevator, but as Nicol darted towards the exit, he glimpsed people converging on them. Shots sounded from everywhere, but Ryn was returning them. Either by luck or skill, she hit a couple, slowing their pursuers a little.
The front doors slid open for them automatically, and Nicol fled out. Still without cover, though, chances were slim that he could climb the fence carrying Rynae.
“I’ve got a grenade,” Ryn warned him, seconds before she pulled the pin and threw it behind them.
Screams rang out as the bomb exploded, effectively covering their escape.
“When did you get that?”
“I stole it from your pocket,” she laughed, coughing, and then they were at the fence.
“Throw me over.”
“Are you insane?”
“Do it!”
With no choice left, Nicol half tossed her over the fence. Ryn landed hard, but managed to stagger to her feet- well, one foot- as he climbed up and over, jumping lightly to the ground.
“I’m still carrying you,” he whispered, and swept her up again.
“Hey! You there!”
A man emerged from the smoke, raising his gun and firing. Nicol instinctively turned sideways, protecting Ryn from harm.
The bullet slammed into his shoulder. Muffling a cry of pain, he forced himself to move, escaping into the brush as more shots hit the ground behind him.
“You’re hit!”
“I’m fine. It’s…not serious. We’ve got to reach the Eternal.”
“The what?”
“We met with Lacus, and we’re leaving the PLANTs with her in roughly ten minutes. The Eternal is the ship she’s taking for the escape. The plan is to leave right after Operation Spit Break.”
“Tell me more later,” she whispered. “You’re going to need all your strength. I can’t…keep up with you in this state.”
“We’re both injured now,” Nicol said, irony thick in his voice.
“They’re announcing Operation Spit Break!” Lacus burst into the hallway. Yzak started, half falling out of his seat. Athrun straightened hastily.
“When are we leaving?”
“Right now. At least, we’re leaving this house right now. It’ll take about ten minutes to secure the Eternal once we’re on board. If Mr. Amarfi does not get back by then…”
“We’ll go find him as soon as we confirm that you’re okay on the ship,” Athrun said firmly. Yzak and Dearka nodded their assent.
Lacus sighed. “Let’s hope that this plan works, everyone.” She turned to the TV and flipped it on. Immediately, Patrick Zala’s face filled the screen. Athrun tensed.
“-and so, let Operation Spit Break commence! The target is…Joshua, Alaska!”
Joshua, Alaska.
Athrun felt the world spin around him. Images of intense violet eyes and messy brown hair, memories of long ago…
Kira was in Alaska.
ZAFT was attacking Alaska at full strength.
“Athrun!” Yzak and Dearka grabbed him by the arms, holding him up as the young Coordinator swayed, white as a sheet. “Athrun…”
Lacus closed her eyes and whispered, “Oh no…”
“Miss Lacus!” A harried voice interrupted their shock. “Miss Lacus, Mr. Amarfi is here, with a girl!”
“Ryn and Nicol,” Athrun murmured dazedly. “He did it.”
Five minutes later found all six of them seated around the table, faces drawn and grim with worry. Nicol’s shoulder was bandaged and his arm in a sling; the bullet wound was clean and should heal quickly. Rynae was a different story. No one knew the exact details of what had happened, as she had been quiet other than warm greetings, but the extent of her injuries revealed what her silence did not. A broken leg, an infinite number of bruises, and lots of open wounds, some of which could scar. She held an ice pack to her black eye as they talked.
“We have to leave now! Kira…We can’t just…stay here and do nothing!”
“We’re completing preparations. Boarding of the Eternal will begin shortly, and within the next fifteen minutes we will launch.”
“Rynae, what happened?”
“They imprisoned me,” she said flatly. “Tried to get me to agree to their terms about being the survivor of Junius 7. And then when they realized I wasn’t going to agree with them…well, let’s just say I’m glad Nicol came at the time he did. Too much longer and I would’ve been dead.”
“They were going to kill you?”
“I had no more purpose. I refused to be a symbol for them, and so they would eliminate me, to rid themselves of something that could be used by someone else.”
“What did they do to you?”
“Just beatings, really. Nothing I can’t handle.” She grinned crookedly, but only half her heart was in it. All of them were worried about Kira and the Archangel.
“We’re ready!” DaCosta called from the corridor.
“Let’s go.” Lacus rose to her feet.
The Eternal was taken over swiftly and with little fuss. Those who had chosen to ally themselves with Lacus Clyne quickly and silently ejected those who had no idea of what was going on.
“Fire the engines!” Commander Waldfeld, at the head of the ship, barked.
“Eternal! You have no orders to leave! Commander Waldfeld, what is-” Waldfeld killed the transmission.
Alerted, the soldiers at the control room began to react, but too late. The doors slid open and the Eternal launched, leaving behind chaos and questions and little clues.
“Jachin Due defense forces will come!” Waldfeld warned.
“Our main objective is to reach the Earth,” Lacus said promptly. “Please try not to destroy more than is absolutely necessary.”
“Roger.” Athrun, Yzak, and Dearka were already in their suits, on standby. Despite heated argument, Nicol was forced to stay in the ship. His injured shoulder would only hamper him in combat. Rynae likewise was confined.
“Athrun.”
“Yes?”
“Take the Justice.”
“What?”
“It’s much better equipped than the Aegis. We’re going to need every bit of help in this battle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“…Understood.” Athrun opened the cockpit and let himself out, drifting to the Justice instead.
“How come he gets to the pilot the new machine?” Yzak muttered.
“You want it?” Dearka asked, laughing.
“No. But still…”
Athrun buckled himself in and tapped the controls, acquainting himself with the new Gundam. It was similar to the Aegis, in ways, but…
“N-Jammer Cancellers?” he hissed in shock.
“What was that?” Yzak nearly yelled.
“Yes. The Freedom and the Justice are both equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers.” Lacus gazed at Athrun seriously. “Be careful with it.”
“Right.”
“I definitely don’t want it,” Yzak grumbled.
“Dammit! I hate not being able to help!” If there had been gravity, Ryn would have been pacing- or rather hobbling- around the room. As it was, she drifted restlessly through the air. Nicol watched her from his seat.
“You don’t have a mobile suit anyway,” he pointed out.
She shot him a half-hearted glare. “I can find a mobile suit,” she said defiantly.
“Where?”
“I can take the Aegis,” Rynae threw out on a whim.
“The Aegis?” Nicol looked startled.
Suddenly excited, Ryn nodded. “Yeah…Actually, it’s perfect! Can transform into a mobile armor…beam rifle…Scylla…If we can decrease its bulkiness, maybe I can use it!”
“Have you asked Athrun?” Nicol inquired dryly. Ryn flushed.
“No…but I’m sure he won’t object, now that he has the Justice.”
“Do you really want…to go out there, and kill?” Nicol fixed a serious gaze on her. “We both know now that war leads to death. Are you willing to bloody your hands?”
“They have never been clean,” she answered softly. “And maybe peace achieved through murder is not real peace, but humanity cannot accept real peace anyway. This is the best we can do, and I have to help.”
“I…” Nicol hesitated. “I just…I’m worried about you being out there as well. What if you get shot down…”
“I won’t be any safer on board the Eternal, Nicol,” Rynae replied gently, understanding. “Once I’m out there, we can look out for each other, okay? You’re going to need someone to watch your back.”
He laughed. “All right, all right. I know you can take care of yourself.”
“…Thanks.”
“What? What do you mean, Lacus Clyne has deserted the PLANTs in the Eternal? Damn you!” Patrick Zala clenched his hands into fists. “That traitorous girl! Where is her father?”
“He has been taken care of, sir. Siegel Clyne was killed at their house.”
“Good. Now bring back the Eternal! I want that renegade girl destroyed!”
“Yessir!”
The Duel, Buster, and Justice launched as soon as the Jachin forces approached.
“This machine…is so much more powerful!” Athrun marveled, quickly adjusting to the new settings.
“Yeah, yeah, just help us!” Yzak snapped. “The Ginns are carrying heavy duty weaponry.”
“Soldiers of ZAFT!” Lacus’s voice aired over all channels. “Please heed my words. I am Lacus Clyne, daughter of Siegel Clyne, former chairman of the ZAFT Supreme Council. Although I envision a different future than ZAFT, I have no desire to fight any of you. Please let our ship go in peace, as I am not a direct enemy of the PLANTs.”
“Lacus…” Athrun sighed. “I’m afraid these soldiers will not change their views so quickly.”
And then the battle began.
I’m not a ZAFT soldier now. Do you hear me, Father? I’m not something you can control any more. I’m on a new path, to a better era of peace. Maybe it won’t be easy, but I have friends, and a lover, waiting for me. I’ve crossed a line, and I’m not coming back.
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