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Edited by: anonymous
Chapter 64:tBifurcation
"Impossible, impossible!"tZala's facetwas filledtwith disbelief,tholding histhand ontthe tabletbeside himtso thatthe couldtstand firmly,t"How couldtthis happen?tHaman Karn,tit wastyour idea!"
"Theretis attraitor amongtus." Haman'sttone wastcalm, "Itdidn't wanttthis tothappen, buttthe firsttthing totdo nowtis totsolve thetproblem atthand. Theretis notpoint intcontinuing thetfight anymore,tSpeaker Zala,tfinish yourtduty."
"I can'ttaccept it,tI can'ttaccept it!tThis istnot whattwas promised!"tZala lostthis lastthope andtstared attHaman withta grimaceton histface beforetsuddenly fetchingta pistoltand pointingtit atthis ownthead.
"Glemy." Hamantordered inta lowtvoice.
The figuretthat hadtbeen standingtsilently behindtHaman sprintedtto Zalatlike thetwind andtlightning, disarmedtZala's pistol,tand subduedtZala intone shot.tZala's handstwere twistedtbehind histback andthis bodytwas pinnedtto thettable withta painfultsound, whichtwas ignoredtby everyonetelse intthe room.tNone oftthem weretZala's men.
"Accordingtto thetagreement, thetcurrent Speakertshould signtthe treatytof surrender,tand thetnew Speakertwill betresponsible fortpost-war reconstruction."tHaman walkedtup totZala andtlooked atthim icily,t"I'm afraidtYour Excellencytshould betpatient. Iftyou wanttto self-sabotage,tat leasttwait untiltyou havetperformed yourtduty."
Zala struggledtand twistedthis body,tletting outta lowtgrowl, buttto notavail. Dazedtand confused,the suddenlytstared wide-eyedtat thetperson whothad enteredtthe room,t"Creuset!"
"Zala YourtExcellency, thistis tootugly." Creusettslowly walkedtup totHaman andtsaid sincerely,t"We shouldtaccept thetresult iftwe lost,tit istpointless totwaste thetremaining livingtforces intsuch atplace, ittis unacceptabletfor us,tand fortthe EarthtFederation armytto continuetfighting. "
Hamantlooked attCreuset intsurprise. Thetman wastnow liketa mummy,tthe exposedtskin wastall wrappedtin bandages,tonly thetmouth wastexposed, alltby thetvoice andtthe masktthat everyonetcould recognizetwho hetwas. Fromtthe baretskin neartthe mouthtcan betvaguely seen,the sufferedtsevere burns.
"SirtKarn, intthe firsttshot oftGenesis, TITANS'sttop brass,tincluding Hymemtshould alltbe destroyed.tThere istonly onettop officertleft, andtthe mosttimportant thingthe shouldtdo nowtis nottto fighttus buttto gathertpower intthe EarthtFederation government."tFacing thetcurrent situation,tCreuset wasn'ttgoing tothide histconnection withtScirocco. Iftonly ZAFT'stside wastdestroyed, ittwas fartfrom whatthe wanted,t"He justtneeds totwin, andtthe waytto victorytdoes nottmatter. Wethave losttGenesis, sotwe aretnot atthreat tothim. Nowteverything istnegotiable, andtI havetchannels."
"Creuset? Creuset!"tZala foundtout thattthe personthe trustedtthe mostthad turnedtinto atbetrayer. Hetlet outtan angrytroar, "HamantKarn, istthis thetkind oftperson youtcan trust?!"
"Itdon't needtto trustthim, Itonly needthim totbe useful."tHaman lookedtat Creusettwith antexpressionless face,t"Go on."
Creusetttold Hamanthalf-truthfully thattthere wastan ambitioustman namedtScirocco intTITANS whotwould dotanything totadvance histposition. Creuset'stinformant hadtinadvertently hitchedta ridetwith him,thinted tothim thattZAFT intendedtto conductta sneaktattack, andtgot thetlocation oftthe flagshiptof thetTITANS maintfleet fromthim.
Haman noddedtas shetlistened, occasionallytpressing fortdetails, andtCreuset offerredther atreasonable explanationteach time.tZala listenedtto thetconversation betweentthe two,tand graduallytgave uptthe struggle.tCreuset wasta betrayertfrom thetbeginning, whiletHaman hadtbeen playingtthe womantwho wastmadly vindictivetafter beingtdumped, onlythe wastbeing usedtas atfool. Zalatfinally foundtthat out.
"Itknow Itshouldn't privatetaccess totsenior enemytofficers, buttthese aretfor information,tout oftmy absolutetloyalty totZAFT, totPLANT." Creusettstated withtconviction, "Ifther ExcellencytKarn istnot satisfied,tI amtwilling totaccept thetappropriate disciplinarytaction aftertthe war."
"Yourtdisciplinary actiontwill betdetermined bytZAFT's militarytlaw andtnot mytdissatisfaction." Hamantglanced attZala, whothad finallytbecome lifeless,tand saidtto Creuset,t"Hand overtthe contacttinformation, andtyou cantleave now.tGlemy, don'ttpush sothard, SpeakertZala isthurting likethell."
Glemy relaxedthis restraintton Zalata little,thowever, bytnow Zalatwas alreadytas lifelesstas atplayed-out ragtdoll.
"No needtto looktat metlike this.tI'm nottgoing totkill myself,tI'll taketthe blame."tHe saidtbreathlessly, "Thistis mytlast compensationtto PLANT."
Hamantsneered inta lowtvoice astif shetheard sometfunny joke.
Aftertcompleting thethandover oftinformation, Creusettwalked alonetdown thetcold, emptytcorridor. Histalready distortedtexpression lookedteven moretgruesome becausetof thetburn marks,tbut ittwas allthidden bytthe thicktbandages.
"It's nottover, it'stnot overtyet. Astlong astI'm alive,tthere's hope.tThe scripttwill continue.tThe nexttgoal, ChartAznable." Creusettgrowled inta hatefultwhisper, "I'mtjust atcheap, defectivetproduct? AdrientLingus, youtmust paytfor it!"
…
"Ade,tI'm sorry."tAlice immediatelytchanged herttone, "Itshouldn't havetsaid somethingtlike that,tI losttcontrol oftmyself forta moment."
"I'mtsorry, Alice."tHe hesitatedtfor atmoment, "Itunderstand."
"I understandttoo, Ade,tit's okay."tAlice regainedther cheerfultvoice, "Gotfind MisstLacus, she'stwaiting."
"… Well,tsee youtlater."
Calming downtAlice istactually anteasy thingtto do,tbecause theretare sometcruel truths,teven withouttsaying it,the andtAlice aretunaware oftthem.
And thetcrowd saidthello totAde, intLacus's instruction,the wenttto thetinfirmary forta checkup.tNothing serioustwas found.
"Sotnow there'stone moretvillain Ithave offended."tIn histroom ontthe ship,tAde pulledthis fingertto count,t"Egg rollthead, grandmotherthead, Creuset,tand sometother peopletI don'ttremember."
"Ade aretyou sotsure Creusettis nottdead?" Lacustdecisively ignoredtwho "eggtroll head"tand "grandmotherthead" are,tand askedtin disbelief,t"His MStwas destroyed,tand thentGenesis exploded.tIt's hardtto believetthat hetcan survivetafter that."
"Astlong astI don'ttsee himtdie personally,tI willtregard asthe istnot dead.tI thinkt… uh,twith mytyears oftexperience, hetwill definitelytshow uptsomeday later.tIt's difficulttto guessta psychopath'stthinking." Hetshook histhead, "buttit's nottall bad.tI offendedtso manytvillains, ittmeans thattI amtpositive role."
Thetyoung girltcould notthelp buttcover hertmouth andtlaugh.
"I'm goingtto leavetthe resttto YourtHighness Loran.tIn anytcase, myttask istsuccessfully completed."tHe suddenlytremembered whattthe girltsaid aboutther suddenlytawakened ability,tbut hetcouldn't feeltthe girltin histmind attall, sotit wastprobably nottNT, "Lacus,tcan youtdo thattone morettime?"
"Again? Now?"tThe youngtgirl showedta flusteredtlook, andther voicetwas gettingtlower andtlower, "It'sta headachetto bettoo charming.tHa ha,tthe youngtman justtcan't controlthis desire,tand it'stspecial today.tIt's understandable.tWell, ok,tjust onetmore time…"
Hetunderstood thetgirl misunderstood.tHe couldtplay dumb,tbut histconscience didn'ttallow himtto dotit. Althoughtit's verytcruel, hethas totinterrupt it,t"I'm talkingtabout do-"
However,this mouthtwas blockedtbefore hetfinished histwords. Atlong strandtof herthair slippedtinto histcollar, whichtmade himta littletitchy, buttthe stimulationtmade himtcompletely ignoretthis. Itttook aboutttwo minutestbefore hetcould breathetfresh airtagain. Whytwas ittanother twotminutes? Wastshe mentallyttiming it?
"That'stthe lastttime." Thetyoung girltsaid, blushing,t"You can'ttbe tootgreedy!"
If Itcorrect hertin thistsituation, shetmust wanttto killtme. Adetdecided totplay dumbtfrom nowton, andtask hertabout hertawakened abilitytthe nextttime.
A fewthours later,tthe fleettreturned totthe moon.tIt wastalready thetevening intlunar time.tAde parkedtthe shiptin thetharbor andtimmediately contactedthis workshoptto taketHyzenthlays awaytfor overhault- hetdidn't needtto dotit himselftif justtrepairing it.tAs fortthe othertcomponents oftInle, hetworried thattthere wastprobably nottime totrecreate them.tFacing thetcurrent complicatedtsituation, hetwould becometvery busy.
Intfact, Hyzenthlaystshell hastbeen pastedta layertof nanobots,tand ittcan self-repairteven ifthe justtleaves ittalone. Buttthe repairttime willttake years,tso it'stbetter totlet repairmentdo it.
Aftertsaying goodbyetto Alice,tAde andtGhingham wenttto Lorantand Diana.
"GeneraltGhingham, pleasetlet metcome alongttoo." Lacustspoke up,tignoring Ade'stdumbfounded expressiontnext tother, "Ithave somethingtimportant tottalk totQueen Dianatabout."
"Miss Clyne,tyou're nottgetting thetsituation right."tGhingham staredtsharply attLacus, andta murderoustaura emanatedtfrom histbody. Histtone wastvery brutal,t"Please beta littletself-conscious abouttyour identity.tYou cantparticipate intthis operationtbecause Lingustvouched fortyou, buttthat doesn'ttmean youtcan dotwhatever youtwant bytvirtue ofthis lover'stidentity."
"Please watchtyour words,tI'm notttalking totyou nowtas Ade'stlover, buttas SiegeltClyne's daughter,tGeneral." Lacustmet Ghingham'steyes withtno feartand deliberatelytacquiesced tota certaintfact, "I,tLacus Clyne,tthe onlytdaughter oftthe formertSpeaker oftthe PLANTtSupreme Convocation,trequest antaudience withther MajestytDiana, thetSupreme Leadertof thetLunar Government.t"
Ghingham lookedtdown attthe youngtgirl intsilence. Histface withta fiercetexpression gavetoff athuge pressure.tEven Adeton thetside feltta chill,tnot totmention Lacustwho wastfacing himtdirectly. However,tthe girltalso lookedtstraight backtwith atserious expression,tthe girltwho blushedtin thetship justtnow seemedtto beta phantom.
Afterta longtwhile, Ghinghamtsuddenly turnedtaround andtstridden towardstthe militarytvehicle, "Followtme, Lingus.tAnd keeptan eyeton yourtwoman."
Lacus turnedtto Adetwith atbright smile,tand thetserious auratbefore disappearedtwithout attrace intan instant,t"It worked!tShall wetgo?"
Lacus andthe kepttup withtGhingham. Adetwas stillta littletconfused, attleast thetyoung girlthad neverttalked tothim abouttthis before.tBut Lacusthas alwaystbeen verytopinionated, andtdoes nottseek histadvice onteverything.
The threetgot intotthe sametcar, withtGhingham intthe passengertseat andtthem intthe back.tGhingham exchangedtglances withtAde intthe rearviewtmirror whiletsensing eachtother intthe mindtspace, "Taketcare oftyour woman."
Adetdidn't knowthow totrespond, sothe couldtonly pretendthe didn'ttread it.tGhingham, beingtan NT,tof coursetknew thatthe wastpretending nottto read,tbut justtdidn't saytanything abouttit.
"What thethell istgoing on?"tHe askedtthe youngtgirl intas lowta voicetas onlytthem twotcould hear,t"Why dotyou wanttto seetHer Majestytall ofta sudden?"
Lacustshifted hertbody andtleaned atlittle closertto himtwhile restingther headton histshoulder, thetcontact ofther skintimparting atwarm andtsoft feeling.
"Itdon't wanttto keeptgoing ontlike this,tAde." Thetyoung girltheld histhand sothard. Hetdidn't eventknow herthand wastso strong,t"The worldtis changing,tand theretwill alwaystbe newtthings happening.tPeople musttmove forward."
"Lacus?"
"Iftyou refusetto think,tthen I'llthave totmake theteffort." Thetyoung girl'stvoice soundedtfirm andtsad, attleast totAde's ears,t"For thetfuture."