Gundam Seed- Alternate Plot twist

Those scars that refuse to heal

LAST TIME, ON GUNDAM SEED: F.R.E.E.D.O.M....

"Son..." Patrick Zala began, the look on his face somehow reminding Athrun of the time his dad has run over his dog, "...I don't know how to tell this to you. Lacus..." he paused, the shift in his weight and the length of the pause again reminding Athrun of a past talk with his dad, but this time of the time his cat had gone missing, "...her ship was ambushed by a team of Earth Federation assassins just outside the Junius Seven debris field. There were no survivors. She's... gone."

NOW, ON GUNDAM SEED: F.R.E.E.D.O.M....

There was a long silence, what felt like a week to everyone in the room before anything else was said. The constant hum of the air conditioner thrummed in the background, papers could be heard being shuffled about outside Patrick Zala's office. Rau could swear that someone could drop what was once called a 'pin' and you could hear it hit the ground.

"...what?" were the first words coming out of Athrun's throat, skepticism being his first defense from this news, "You're kidding, right?"

Patrick Zala shook his head slowly, his voice betraying more sadness than his eyes bothered to show, "I'm sorry. I only just heard about the attack myself. We got a distress call stating exactly that, but the beacon was destroyed before we could send anyone to help."

Athrun stepped back from his father's desk, reeling. Commander le Crusiet gently grabbed Athrun by the shoulder, as if trying to steady the young man... which also increased Athrun's feeling of discomfort.

"...we can't let anyone know about this." The elder Zala spoke up again, standing up from his incredibly comfortable chair and walking around to his son, "Not one single person in the public eye can know that Lacus, your chosen one, is gone." He paused, placing a hand on Athrun's other shoulder, "The blow to morale, not to mention the boost to the morale of the Earth Forces could be incalculable."

There was a long pause as Patrick let his son slowly process the information, "I have a plan, though."

Athrun didn't look up at his father, his eyes were too busy being covered by hands that almost seemed to be trying to shut out the world. He nodded once, listening.

"I was going to have her be a bodyguard for Lacus, a double to make public appearances just in case anyone tried anything..." Patrick Zala moved away from his son, toggling a switch on the comm system built into his desk, "Cherisa, send in Meer, will you?"

That got Athrun's attention; he'd known a Meer a long time ago, and at least one of his friends had been lusting after her at any given point in time. The large double-doors at the front of the room slowly creaked open, and Athrun could hear someone stepping across the soft carpet. Turning around, Athrun opened his eyes finally, to see exactly who he was afraid of seeing: Meer Campbell, the object of one Rusty Mackenzie's affections before he'd been killed during the Heliopolis incident.

Or at least, it might have been Meer. Gone was Meer's deep gray hair, replaced by a color almost identical to the shock of pink that Lacus had for hair. The freckles that framed her face and made her adorably cute were also gone, replaced by pale flesh that was a very close match to Lacus' own. Finally, her deep brown eyes were now a shade of blue that almost perfectly matched the eyes he'd spent quite a few dates staring into.

"Hi, Athrun," Meer waved lamely, her plain clothes reflecting the proverbial pauper that she was compared to the Lacus she now represented, "I... I'm sorry."

Athrun nodded in acknowledgement that Meer had spoken, stunned. If he hadn't been told Lacus had died, if he hadn't been forewarned that this was Meer, he could have sworn that Lacus had simply returned home early from her memorial visit to the Bloody Valentine graveyard. In his grief, Athrun seemed to be omitting the incredibly large difference between Meer and Lacus when it came to the torso, but Patrick Zala didn't mind. If his own son didn't notice the enhancements he'd had made for him, the unwitting public wouldn't notice either.