Before Heliopolis: A GUNDAM SEED Fanfic

Chapter 16: Dearka

I lie on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. The incident with the explosion and Athrun has shaken me up more than I’d ever admit. I keep thinking, what would have happened if Miguel and I weren’t there? Would he have died before they were able to find him? And what’s with the Amalfi kid? Something seems wrong about the whole situation. He just isn’t the kind of person who would do things like that. 

I roll over and bury my face in the pillow. Dammit! Snap out of it, Dearka. This is the real world. People die when there are wars, not just the enemy, but friends and allies too. And just because someone looks innocent, it doesn’t mean they are.

“Dearka, are you alright?” It’s Yzak. He presses the button that closes the door, and sits down on the bed next to mine. Hisbed. 

I sit up and turn to face him, hoping that I don’t look as messed up as I feel. “Yeah, fine. What’s up?”

“Well…” Yzak bites his lip, as if he’s unsure about where to begin. I’ve never seen Yzak look unsure before, he’s always so angry, all the time. “I think Nicol’s innocent.”

What? I stare wide-eyed at Yzak. “What do you mean? How can he be innocent? What about all the evidence?”

“He was framed.” Yzak tells me about how he had heard Nicol playing the piano at the time of the attack, and what he had overheard Orga say. “I only just realised. It took me so long. I’ve been so stupid.”

“Those bastards!” I stand up angrily. “To think that they framed the poor kid.”

“Getting emotional now, are you?” Yzak teases, but his heart isn’t really in it. I know that deep down, he’s just as upset as I am. I saw Orga, Shani and Clotho a few hours ago, strolling around in the corridors acting perfectly natural. If Yzak hadn’t told me what he’d overheard, I would have suspected them. They must really think that they’d gotten away with this.

“But what I don’t get,” says Yzak with a frown, “is why didn’t they try to get away straight after the attack.”

“It would have been too suspicious,” I realise. It all starts to make sense. The pieces are coming together. “Someone would have seen them leave and realised that they were responsible for all this. They wanted to make sure that everyone thought Nicol did it.” Suddenly, an idea comes into my head. It’s only a sneaking suspicion, but it makes sense. “I bet that they’re planning to escape during Nicol’s trial. Everyone will be at there, and no one will see them go. By the time someone discovers that they are gone, it will be too late.”

“You mean they’re making everyone attend the trial?”

“Yeah,” I say bitterly, “They’re trying to get a message across, I think. They’re trying to make a statement. They want to make it clear to everyone that traitors will not be tolerated.” Poor Nicol. I never thought I would say this, but I feel really sorry for the kid. He must be going through so much right now. And now that I know he’s innocent…

I make my way to the door. “We have to tell someone!” The trial’s in an hour, and if Nicol’s proven to be guilty, who knows what could happen to him?” He could be put to death. Neither of us says it, but we know that it’s true.

“No, Dearka, wait.” Yzak grabs my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. What is he doing? We don’t have the time to mess around! “No one will believe us if we tell them that Nicol’s innocent now. Sure, I can tell them what I know, but without more evidence, that’s not going to help anything. We need more proof.”

I sigh, defeated. That’s true. “Alright, then Yzak, what do you suggest we do?”

“I have a plan.” Yzak looks determined. There is a spark in his icy blue eyes. “It’s going to be dangerous, but what do you expect? If what you’re saying is correct and they’re really going to try and escape during the trial, we have to stop them. No matter what it takes. We’ll follow them and try to catch them slipping up. I know those three. They’ll want to brag to each other about their success. We’ll record everything, so that we have proof to use during the trial. And if all else fails,” Yzak lowers his voice. “We shoot them down.”