Andrew Dynon
18th December 2003, 07:00 AM
EXHALATIONS AND REQUIEMS
A Gundam Seed fanfic and denouement
By Andrew Dynon
Gundam Seed © Sunrise
Based on Mobile Suit Gundam by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate
SPOILER WARNING: This fanfic is set after the end of the Gundam Seed TV series and contains SPOILERS for the entire series, including the finale.
Any & all C&C NEEDED.
* * * * *
As the Strike Rouge drew within sight of the Eternal, Kagari Yura Athha exhaled - really exhaled. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had done so, but at the moment she was actively aware of it. The controls certainly weren't one of the things she was conscious of - after the near-Armageddon she had fought and almost died in, this was like being at the steering wheel on a quiet weekend drive. She dared not cast her mind back to that... she had cried as much as she could for now. The tears would come again, probably soon, but for now she was as empty of tears than certain leaders of major system powers were of compassion, or even sense.
Squeezed into the cockpit with her were Athrun and Kira - she didn't mind the cramped space. After all, it meant that they were together in a group hug all the way home. Sort of, at least. They had cried with her - if they had any sort of male ego about not doing so, it had been set aside. Whether either of them knew it or not, she felt just a little better for it. Kagari saw the crying as confirmation that not only was she not alone in this, but they were with her - the two people she could love as much as her late father... her boyfriend and her brother. Her *little* brother, as she planned to make sure he was clear on as soon as she found an appropriate time.
"Hey... look at that." Athrun breathed, pointing at the cockpit's screen.
"Yeah... I see it." Kira replied.
"See what? Oh... oh, yeah."
"Torii!"
She hadn't noticed it as quickly as the other pair, but now she saw. Undiminished by the light-pollution of beam blasts and explosions, space seemed brighter, sharper. It was more *there* than before. She was almost able to catch a constellation of stars in the Strike Rouge's hand and carry them back aboard the Eternal. And this was a small something that she could receive joy from. Right now, she figured, everyone needed something like that, no matter how small it may be.
* * * * *
The mood aboard the Eternal was bittersweet, the flavoring of the price they had paid for what would - hopefully - mark the end of the war. On one hand, they had prevented an insane mutual genocide. On the other, there had been such great loss of life that nobody dared even hint at a suggestion that the Klein faction should be celebrating. Even discounting the Alliance and ZAFT deaths, their own forces, small to begin with, had taken severe damage in the battle. The dying screams of Julie and the other Astray pilots she had trained with had reverberated in Kagari's ears throughout the battle. Kira, for his part, had Frey's image burned into his mind. And Athrun...
Athrun knew he would have to deal not only with the sight of his father's death, but with what the man had tried to do. Although it wasn't the foremost thing in his mind, he was conscious that his family name was likely to go down in history alongside Hitler and Bin Laden. Even after all he'd seen him do, it was difficult for him to think of his beloved father in those terms. He had not yet thought about what, if anything, he was going to do about it at this stage - he was sure he would have plenty of time to contemplate such matters.
Upon disembarking, they saw that others had the same haunted look in their eyes they knew to be in theirs. Of those here who survived, it was doubtful that any of them had not lost someone they knew well, and cared about, in the last few hours. Kira suppressed another surge of anger at the madman who had planned all this. {C'mon, Kira,} he told himself, ashamed at letting Cruze get to him in such a way. {He WANTS you and everyone else to be swallowed up by hate and despair, just like him. You're stronger than he is.} It was a few seconds before he realised he was physically shaking at the thought that he had almost been sucked into such a line of thinking.
Kira hesitated as he caught sight of Yzak, standing with the bandaged Deakka. He knew the Duel's pilot had carried a grudge against him, and although the scarred pilot had saved Kagari's life, he was still unsure whether or not the grudge was still there. If it was, then Yzak either knew it wasn't the time, or was simply too tired. Either way, his lack of reaction was a relief to Kira.
Maryu had said she was coming over from the Archangel, but still hadn't arrived. Kira knew she must heartbroken, though - not just in the romantic sense, due to Mu's fate, but also by what happened to Nataru - despite the vice-captain's stiff attitude during the time he was with her, he knew she was competent, responsible, and, underneath it all, concerned for the safety of those under her. He couldn't imagine how much it must have hurt Maryu to have to do what she did. He didn't know the full story, but maybe, when Maryu was ready for it, the contents of the Dominion's black box would be examined, and the matter would make at least a bit more sense.
And then, there was Lacus. The pink-haired girl surveyed the deck with eyes so dead that Kira could hardly believe they belonged to the same person as the innocent - he suspected others would say "ditzy" - girl he had met soon after ending up on the Archangel. Lacus had seen so much carnage and destruction here that even its end was hardly a relief for her - at sometime during the battle, the sorrow had become too great for her psyche to bear, and it had employed a coping mechanism of shutting her emotions off, leaving her in a state of semi-consciousness which she had yet to emerge from.
Kira put his arm around her, worried. She responded, not speaking, just reaching out to embrace him. Kira didn't know much about psychology, or psychiatry or whatever it was, but he took that as a sign that she was slowly coming out of the state she had entered. Privately, he resolved to be with her until he was convinced she was able to operate normally again, and to keep an eye on her after that, in case there were effects that were longer-lasting. If there were, he promised himself to help her deal with them, as he trusted she and his other friends would do for him.
To add to the problems Lacus faced, Patrick Zara had blamed her for the Alliance gaining N-Jammer Canceller technology. It wasn't true, but nobody on board knew just how much of the colonial population believed it. All of them suspected Cruze, of course, but there was no evidence that he was the culprit.
"Do you think any proof about it will ever be turned up?" Kira asked Athrun when the subject was eventually brought up.
"Not sure... but I hope so. It'll give closure to the matter. And if it turns out not to have been Cruze after all, hopefully the person will be caught. Not to mention, it'll be a weight of your girl's mind."
"But isn't she your..."
Athrun hushed him. "No, she isn't. Don't worry that you're taking her away from me. I know she's only got eyes for you."
"And besides..." A voice sounded out from a side corridor. "What makes you think that I'd let him leave me alone, little brother?"
With that, Kagari let go of the copy of the Koran under her arm in order to grab ahold of Athrun in a mock-passionate embrace.
"Of course I wouldn't... the flames of your wrath would strike down on me like the vengeance of the gods."
"Yeah, but... what do you mean, I'm your *little* brother?"
With those words, for the three of them, the burden of their worries was lightened a little.
THE END... MAYBE.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, I'm back in the fanfic writing game (after a fashion, anyway) and this is finally done. I was considering making this story longer, but then I looked over it again, and it seemed appropriate to leave it where it was.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Gundam SEED (although I realise that some of the old fog-, uh, timers on the Gundam ML didn't), but I agree that the ending could have been longer. What I have written here is an attempt to provide a glimpse of events after the big battle. I didn't try to provide much resolution, opting for character focus and a sense that the characters' lives go on, as it were. I'm contemplating writing an epic Seed sequel sometime, but that is dependent on several factors, including whether I have the inspiration, whether I have the time (amazing how my free time seems to get sucked up so much these days), and whether the rumored Seed 2 anime goes ahead.
On Kagari being Muslim: I got this idea while watching a documentary on Islam, and it seemed to make sense for her, especially considering some elements of her character that were already in the anime (fighting in northern Africa prior to hooking up with the Archangel crew, not to mention being the daughter of the leader of the United EMIRATES of Aube). Keep in mind that Quatre in Wing is Muslim, but that wasn't explicitly stated in the anime. Of course, Kagari doesn't wear the traditional veil, but neither did the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize this year (I wish I could remember her name). As a matter of fact, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that Islam in general, and Aube in particular, has become more liberal by the time Seed takes place.
(And I'm probably sticking my neck out here, but given the current state the world is in, I enjoy the touch of irony in an Islamic state being a haven of peace and tolerance in Seed's version of the future. Of course, I don't want to draw too many parallels between Seed and current conflicts, even though Seed's writers may have been influenced by them.)
Oh, and in case Warhammer and/or Brian Yaple are reading this, I promise to dig up Lightsphere for you. Really!
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A Gundam Seed fanfic and denouement
By Andrew Dynon
Gundam Seed © Sunrise
Based on Mobile Suit Gundam by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yadate
SPOILER WARNING: This fanfic is set after the end of the Gundam Seed TV series and contains SPOILERS for the entire series, including the finale.
Any & all C&C NEEDED.
* * * * *
As the Strike Rouge drew within sight of the Eternal, Kagari Yura Athha exhaled - really exhaled. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had done so, but at the moment she was actively aware of it. The controls certainly weren't one of the things she was conscious of - after the near-Armageddon she had fought and almost died in, this was like being at the steering wheel on a quiet weekend drive. She dared not cast her mind back to that... she had cried as much as she could for now. The tears would come again, probably soon, but for now she was as empty of tears than certain leaders of major system powers were of compassion, or even sense.
Squeezed into the cockpit with her were Athrun and Kira - she didn't mind the cramped space. After all, it meant that they were together in a group hug all the way home. Sort of, at least. They had cried with her - if they had any sort of male ego about not doing so, it had been set aside. Whether either of them knew it or not, she felt just a little better for it. Kagari saw the crying as confirmation that not only was she not alone in this, but they were with her - the two people she could love as much as her late father... her boyfriend and her brother. Her *little* brother, as she planned to make sure he was clear on as soon as she found an appropriate time.
"Hey... look at that." Athrun breathed, pointing at the cockpit's screen.
"Yeah... I see it." Kira replied.
"See what? Oh... oh, yeah."
"Torii!"
She hadn't noticed it as quickly as the other pair, but now she saw. Undiminished by the light-pollution of beam blasts and explosions, space seemed brighter, sharper. It was more *there* than before. She was almost able to catch a constellation of stars in the Strike Rouge's hand and carry them back aboard the Eternal. And this was a small something that she could receive joy from. Right now, she figured, everyone needed something like that, no matter how small it may be.
* * * * *
The mood aboard the Eternal was bittersweet, the flavoring of the price they had paid for what would - hopefully - mark the end of the war. On one hand, they had prevented an insane mutual genocide. On the other, there had been such great loss of life that nobody dared even hint at a suggestion that the Klein faction should be celebrating. Even discounting the Alliance and ZAFT deaths, their own forces, small to begin with, had taken severe damage in the battle. The dying screams of Julie and the other Astray pilots she had trained with had reverberated in Kagari's ears throughout the battle. Kira, for his part, had Frey's image burned into his mind. And Athrun...
Athrun knew he would have to deal not only with the sight of his father's death, but with what the man had tried to do. Although it wasn't the foremost thing in his mind, he was conscious that his family name was likely to go down in history alongside Hitler and Bin Laden. Even after all he'd seen him do, it was difficult for him to think of his beloved father in those terms. He had not yet thought about what, if anything, he was going to do about it at this stage - he was sure he would have plenty of time to contemplate such matters.
Upon disembarking, they saw that others had the same haunted look in their eyes they knew to be in theirs. Of those here who survived, it was doubtful that any of them had not lost someone they knew well, and cared about, in the last few hours. Kira suppressed another surge of anger at the madman who had planned all this. {C'mon, Kira,} he told himself, ashamed at letting Cruze get to him in such a way. {He WANTS you and everyone else to be swallowed up by hate and despair, just like him. You're stronger than he is.} It was a few seconds before he realised he was physically shaking at the thought that he had almost been sucked into such a line of thinking.
Kira hesitated as he caught sight of Yzak, standing with the bandaged Deakka. He knew the Duel's pilot had carried a grudge against him, and although the scarred pilot had saved Kagari's life, he was still unsure whether or not the grudge was still there. If it was, then Yzak either knew it wasn't the time, or was simply too tired. Either way, his lack of reaction was a relief to Kira.
Maryu had said she was coming over from the Archangel, but still hadn't arrived. Kira knew she must heartbroken, though - not just in the romantic sense, due to Mu's fate, but also by what happened to Nataru - despite the vice-captain's stiff attitude during the time he was with her, he knew she was competent, responsible, and, underneath it all, concerned for the safety of those under her. He couldn't imagine how much it must have hurt Maryu to have to do what she did. He didn't know the full story, but maybe, when Maryu was ready for it, the contents of the Dominion's black box would be examined, and the matter would make at least a bit more sense.
And then, there was Lacus. The pink-haired girl surveyed the deck with eyes so dead that Kira could hardly believe they belonged to the same person as the innocent - he suspected others would say "ditzy" - girl he had met soon after ending up on the Archangel. Lacus had seen so much carnage and destruction here that even its end was hardly a relief for her - at sometime during the battle, the sorrow had become too great for her psyche to bear, and it had employed a coping mechanism of shutting her emotions off, leaving her in a state of semi-consciousness which she had yet to emerge from.
Kira put his arm around her, worried. She responded, not speaking, just reaching out to embrace him. Kira didn't know much about psychology, or psychiatry or whatever it was, but he took that as a sign that she was slowly coming out of the state she had entered. Privately, he resolved to be with her until he was convinced she was able to operate normally again, and to keep an eye on her after that, in case there were effects that were longer-lasting. If there were, he promised himself to help her deal with them, as he trusted she and his other friends would do for him.
To add to the problems Lacus faced, Patrick Zara had blamed her for the Alliance gaining N-Jammer Canceller technology. It wasn't true, but nobody on board knew just how much of the colonial population believed it. All of them suspected Cruze, of course, but there was no evidence that he was the culprit.
"Do you think any proof about it will ever be turned up?" Kira asked Athrun when the subject was eventually brought up.
"Not sure... but I hope so. It'll give closure to the matter. And if it turns out not to have been Cruze after all, hopefully the person will be caught. Not to mention, it'll be a weight of your girl's mind."
"But isn't she your..."
Athrun hushed him. "No, she isn't. Don't worry that you're taking her away from me. I know she's only got eyes for you."
"And besides..." A voice sounded out from a side corridor. "What makes you think that I'd let him leave me alone, little brother?"
With that, Kagari let go of the copy of the Koran under her arm in order to grab ahold of Athrun in a mock-passionate embrace.
"Of course I wouldn't... the flames of your wrath would strike down on me like the vengeance of the gods."
"Yeah, but... what do you mean, I'm your *little* brother?"
With those words, for the three of them, the burden of their worries was lightened a little.
THE END... MAYBE.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, I'm back in the fanfic writing game (after a fashion, anyway) and this is finally done. I was considering making this story longer, but then I looked over it again, and it seemed appropriate to leave it where it was.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Gundam SEED (although I realise that some of the old fog-, uh, timers on the Gundam ML didn't), but I agree that the ending could have been longer. What I have written here is an attempt to provide a glimpse of events after the big battle. I didn't try to provide much resolution, opting for character focus and a sense that the characters' lives go on, as it were. I'm contemplating writing an epic Seed sequel sometime, but that is dependent on several factors, including whether I have the inspiration, whether I have the time (amazing how my free time seems to get sucked up so much these days), and whether the rumored Seed 2 anime goes ahead.
On Kagari being Muslim: I got this idea while watching a documentary on Islam, and it seemed to make sense for her, especially considering some elements of her character that were already in the anime (fighting in northern Africa prior to hooking up with the Archangel crew, not to mention being the daughter of the leader of the United EMIRATES of Aube). Keep in mind that Quatre in Wing is Muslim, but that wasn't explicitly stated in the anime. Of course, Kagari doesn't wear the traditional veil, but neither did the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize this year (I wish I could remember her name). As a matter of fact, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that Islam in general, and Aube in particular, has become more liberal by the time Seed takes place.
(And I'm probably sticking my neck out here, but given the current state the world is in, I enjoy the touch of irony in an Islamic state being a haven of peace and tolerance in Seed's version of the future. Of course, I don't want to draw too many parallels between Seed and current conflicts, even though Seed's writers may have been influenced by them.)
Oh, and in case Warhammer and/or Brian Yaple are reading this, I promise to dig up Lightsphere for you. Really!
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| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
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