The Freedom of Destiny

A/N: I started this phase almost immediately after I posted the sixth phase, and now I have to replan everything for this story because of the changes I've made. If anyone's wondering, this time round I'm only going to plan a few phases ahead because, apparently, that's the only way that my plot bunnies will cooperate with; and without them, there would be no story.
Anyways, I was hoping for more reviews then what I got; you guys do know that those little reviews help me to stave off the writer's block and help me keep going, right? I don't stay up this late because I like too, but I do like to know that my work is appreciated.
As well, I've noticed that it's incredibly hard to identify what color Shinn's hair is. In some scenes of him, it looks like a very dark violet, others it looks black, and even sometimes an incredibly dark shade of brown. I really can't tell; so from now on I'm just going to call it black, if I called it something else in previous phases, I apologize to any readers who I may have confused by that. My apologies.
WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF THINGS OF A SEXUAL AND NON-CONSENSUAL NATURE. IF ANYTHING OF THIS SORT OFFENDS YOU, I SUGGEST YOU TURN BACK NOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Disclaimer: Gundam SEED Destiny is the property of Bandai, Hajime Yatate, and Yoshiyuki Tomino; and not me. I only own Harmony and the plot; that's it.
Dedication: This fanfic is dedicated to one of my closest friends, Kate. Thanks for the inspiration and all the times that you've been there for me. This story is for you.
Phase 7: Shinn
Kira watched as his love slept as he made his way along the winding roads towards where the Archangel was hidden. He knew that he'd have to calm down before he encountered anyone on board; but he didn't see it as being possible, Kira had always thought before that he could control his anger well, but he'd never been faced with a situation like this one before.

Hell, he'd never been in love likethis before either.

Now he knew what the chairman had done, Kira could never forgive him; he'd kill him the moment that he had the chance to do so. The attempted assassination of Lacus had been the first straw, but this just bypassed all of the others to make itself the last straw for him. Durandul wouldn't be forgiven; he would pay for what he'd done to Kira's beloved and very fragile Shinn. This had been the first time since the last war that Kira had felt such potent rage welling up in himself; no, this was stronger then that. This was murderous rage that he felt now, there was no way that he could reign it in; there would be no forgiveness for Durandul.

None.

Swinging off onto an almost unseen narrow dirt road, Kira continued stewing his rage; letting it wash over him as his hands tightened almost minutely on the handles, almost unnoticeable. Winding the final turn and emerging onto the cliffside, Kira steered towards where the entrance to the ship was. He was surprised to see Cagalli standing on the edge of the cliff; staring out over the sea. She turned when she heard the roar of the motorcycle.

Cagalli immediately noticed the tense and rigid set of her brother's shoulders; the way his anger seemed to seethe off him to the point where his normally soft amethyst eyes looked dark and empty. Something had flipped a switch in her brother, and it didn't seem to be for the good. Slowly, she approached him as he cut the engine and carefully picked up a body that was perched precariously on the front of the bike's seat. The person flopped a little before eyes cracked open.

Gasping when she recognized them, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Shinn!"

Shinn's shot wide and he suddenly clung to Kira's shirt, almost looking like he was frantically trying to get behind him; Cagalli recognized that it was pure fear that drove him. Kira's eyes softened and his body language relaxed, he wrapped his arms around Shinn; one under his knees and the other curled around his back so that he could easily carry him. His hand rubbed soothing circles along the younger Coordinator's back, whispering something to him that seemed to calm him down slightly. He peeked at her nervously; his crimson eyes still reflecting fear.

"K-Kira...?" her voice shook; she noticed the visible shudder that rocked Shinn's frame. "What's going on?"

"... Cagalli." Shinn buried his face in Kira's neck, whimpering. "I'm sorry... please don't do anything too sudden."

"Kira, I - what - how?" she nodded dumbly. What the hell was going on here? It didn't make any sense to her. Why was Shinn here, with her brother no less, and what had put him into such a state? She lowered her voice, concerned now. "Is there anything I can do?"

Kira walked towards her and the ship, a trembling Shinn in his arms, "Could you get a first aid kit and some food and bring it to my quarters? I don't want to leave Shinn alone like this."

"Right!" Cagalli dashed into the Archangel; her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and scenarios, none that really made any sense. But still... she'd have to worm the truth out of Kira soon; once Shinn was safely asleep, she was pretty positive that he wouldn't want anyone to know of whatever it was that happened to him, he had a very prideful nature. Even so, Cagalli was fiercely determined to find out; if there was something that she could do to help him, she'd do it, this was a way for her to make amends for the wrong Shinn perceived against her and her family.

The violet-eyed Coordinator watched as his sister raced into the Archangel before he followed at a slower pace. Realizing a little too late that Shinn's trembling and fears were from being around strangers, he knew that he'd have to reach his quarters faster so as to avoid the most people. He just wanted to get Shinn somewhere safe, and fast, somewhere where he could look after Shinn without prying eyes on them; he hated to see the young man that he'd fallen in love with so terrified and broken.

Luck seemed to be with him, for he reached his destination without encountering anyone. Opening the door, he stepped in and placed Shinn gently on the bed. He peered up at Kira with dull red eyes, "... Kira..."

"Shinn, don't worry," Kira knelt in front of him, his hands cupping Shinn's cheeks. "You don't have to be scared, you're safe here. You're safe now."

"I-I... I'm safe?"

"Yes, he won't hurt you anymore; I'll make sure of that. I'll protect you," Kira's voice was harder then usual, but the promise was still there and it held Shinn to what little grasp on himself that he still had.

"Where... where am I?"

"You're onboard the Archangel, in my room." Shinn looked at him, his eyes watching Kira's almost warily. "Shinn... I love you, I won't allow anyone to hurt you again; especially not that bastard."

Tears were welling up again in his eyes, "K-Kira..." Kira nearly sighed; he had his work cut out for him in convincing Shinn that he had nothing to be ashamed of, that Kira still loved him.

"Shinn, tell me what's troubling you," Kira's thumbs stroked away the tears, giving Shinn a soft smile. "Let me in again, let me help you."

He started crying harder, shoulders shaking with the force of his sobs, "... you... you're already in... but... how can I... how can I be what you want now...? I'm nothing... worthless, tainted..."

"No Shinn," Kira's voice was hard. "You are exactly what I want, what I love is you. You're not worthless or tainted; none of what has happened is your fault, and I don't blame you. No one will blame you, if they do... I will make sure they take it back. You are worth so much more then what you seem to think you are. Shinn, your worth is more then the purity of your body; I would still love you no matter what." He leaned up, not sure if Shinn would be comfortable with a kiss to the lips; so he pressed a kiss to the boy's cheek instead.

There was a soft knock at the door, Shinn stiffened and looked to Kira in fear. Kira smiled at him, "It's fine, don't worry Shinn. It's just Cagalli, my sister. Listen Shinn, if anything happens or you need anything and I'm not around, you can go to her, okay? She'll help you and look after you; she's safe."

"O-okay..." Shinn remembered now; Kira had mentioned that Cagalli was his sister before, she was related to Kira, so did that mean she was safe? Kira thought so, and Shinn trusted Kira, so she would be. He'd trust her, or at least try to.

The door opened with a whoosh and the worried blond entered; a simple meal and a first aid kit balanced on a tray that she held in her hands. Slowly, she approached, placing the tray on the desk at the door; she was also dressed in civilian clothes, like Kira, but the look on her face was different. It was alive with concern and confusion; but there was a fierce determination there as well.

Standing up, Kira walked over to the desk, retrieving the first aid kit first, "Let me see your injuries Shinn, then you can eat and rest, alright?" Shinn nodded.

Removing the makeshift bandages from his wrists, Kira first dabbed on a little antiseptic to the scratches there before binding them. His hands gently rubbed over Shinn's arms, searching for any further injuries; when he found none, he gently pulled on Shinn's light t-shirt.

"N-no... Kira you don't-"

"Shinn, don't be ashamed. I need to make sure that you're not injured anywhere major." The younger Coordinator looked away, before allowing the amethyst eyed one to pull his shirt up and over his head. No injuries leapt out at Kira, but several dark bruises covered the pale skin; they looked like they'd been caused in a struggle. "Did you fight him Shinn?"

"I-I couldn't just... but he..." Shinn looked like he was on the verge of breaking down again; Kira wordlessly sat beside him on the bed and pulled him into his arms. He ran soothing fingers through the black hair, trying his best to calm down the battered and very much broken Coordinator who just so happened to hold his heart.

"Shush, it's fine now Shinn. I'm so proud that you fought back, it's alright, you don't have to be ashamed for attempting to fight him off," Kira's voice was soft. Cagalli took a seat on a stool she'd pulled over, watching the entire scene silently with an unreadable look on her face; her eyes hard. "You don't know, how proud of you I am. You gave it your all, Shinn, it's fine. He'll pay for what he did to you, you can rest now. You're safe and loved; I won't let anything hurt you."

It seemed like hours until Shinn had finally cried himself out and collapsed against Kira, having cried himself to sleep. Tear tracks were left on the pale cheeks, one of which was still covered with an ugly purple bruise, gently, Kira wiped them away before lying the exhausted teen down on his bed and tucking him in under the clean covers. He'd hunt up something clean for him to wear later.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kira watched as Shinn slept; he looked so peaceful when he slept, so innocent, you wouldn't believe that he'd gone through what he had. Kira watched; knowing that nightmares would come, and that he would stay right here for whenever Shinn would need him. There was no way that he was leaving his young love's side now.

"Are you going to explain this to me now?" Cagalli asked, her tone clipped and short. Kira turned back to face his sister.

"Sorry Cagalli," Kira responded. Cagalli was startled by the rage underlying his tone; she'd never heard that emotion coming from Kira. Not even when he spoke about the attempted assassination of Lacus; what was this Coordinator boy to Kira? "I'll explain it as best I can."

She took a deep breath, "You brought a Zaft soldier back here. And not just any soldier, but an elite red coat who is serving on board the Minerva; which, from what I've made out, is a ship that the chairman highly favors. So why?"

"Because I couldn't leave him there, I wouldn't." Kira's voice was tense with his rage and thirst for vengeance; his hands clenched tightly into fists. "Not in the state he's in, I won't leave him anywhere where that bastard can get his hands on him."

Cagalli crossed her arms, that was a bit of an evasion; but then, she guessed her question had rather broad meanings, so she tried again, "What is he to you? This is more then worrying over a friend; so what is he to you?"

"Everything, Cagalli. I love him."

A loud gasp slipped past her lips. She couldn't doubt him, the look in his eyes, the way he spoke, the way he'd held Shinn and spoke to him; it all showed just how deeply the older Coordinator's feelings for the garnet eyed Coordinator ran. This was more then just a passing fancy or interest, this was real love at its strongest. Pulling them apart would cause irrevocable damage to either of them; it was as if their very spirits had been melded together on the deepest level.

But still! "What about Lacus?! You can't just-"

"Lacus and I realized a long time ago that... we weren't meant to be," Kira spoke, his tone softer then it had been when he'd spoken about why he'd taken Shinn. "She doesn't know about Shinn and I, but we never had a relationship like what you think it was to begin with. All we've ever been is close friends, I was planning on telling her about this; but now... I'm going to have to."

"What?! But I - I mean..." Cagalli wasn't even sure what she was trying to say at this point, so she stopped that train of thought. "Even still, you're going to have to tell everyone about the fact that you've brought a Zaft soldier on board; and that Zaft soldier just happens to be the pilot of the Impulse, you do realize that we're going to have to leave now. Before they stage a huge search for him; you'll have to call Harmony back from her search for her sister."

"Yes, I know that I'll have to tell everyone." Kira looked back to Shinn. "And I met Harmony's sister, Stellar-san, she went into town after I met her to see Harmony. She's really a sweet and innocent girl, I just hope the war doesn't corrupt her or hurt her; it's people like her... that remind about what I'm fighting for."

"Oh..." Now for the biggest question. "What happened to Shinn? That made him this way? I'm guessing that this has something to do with why you brought Shinn here."

Kira's hands tightened into fists once more, tighter then before. He ground his teeth together, rage and malice pouring off him in almost visual waves; his voice was tight, rigid with anger when he spoke, "That bastard of a chairman caused this." He paused trying to gather himself a little but ultimately failed. "As far as I can tell, he sexually abused Shinn."

"You mean he raped him?!" Cagalli was in shock, then the anger set in. "That bastard! Kira, if you're going to kill him, then I will be more then willing to help you tear him limb from limb and make his death excruciatingly painful." While Cagalli might not feel the same way Kira did about Shinn, nothing even close to it, she realized that he meant a lot to her brother; she'd do whatever she could. And the thought of someone, anyone, doing something like that to someone else... well, it set her blood boiling! Especially when they were in a position of power over the other!

Durandul was now facing the combined wrath of the Yamato-Athha siblings.

"Thank you Cagalli. For now though... all we can do is help him recover." Kira's hands were shaking as he tried forcefully to relax himself and focus on his lover. Yes, right now his first priority was Shinn and his recovery; nothing else mattered right now, really, except that. "Help him regain as much of himself as he can, though I doubt he'll ever fully be the same again."

"I've seen what happens to people who go through that sort of thing... and I've seen that not everyone makes it through such an experience. Kira... do you think he will?"

"Shinn's strong... I can only hope that he will. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose him."

And Cagalli believed him, and prayed with all of her heart and being that Shinn would make it through; that he'd pull through this. If not for his sake, but for Kira's as well.

She was realizing that Shinn was Kira's everything and that nothing would change that; if Shinn couldn't pull through, this would turn from merely being a sad and horrifying event to becoming a tragic tale of two lovers. Cagalli didn't want that.

So she prayed that it wouldn't become that.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Harmony sighed as she headed back towards the Gentle Arms café that she'd stopped at the day before yesterday and spent the day with those two siblings from Zaft as well as Shinn, and later Kira. It hadn't been a good day for information gathering; the lab had been abandoned for a while now, so any leads that it could've offered had long dried up. All evidence of what it had housed and the experiments that had been performed that had been removed, and none of the high-tech equipment had been left behind except for a few destroyed computers and ransacked supply closets. She ran a hand through her black hair and sighed angrily, a cup of tea would do her good right now.

As she crossed the street towards the café, a flash of blond hair caught her eye. She hadn't seen very many blonds here, and that one... it looked familiar. Could it be...?

"Stellar?!"

"Onee-chan?!"

"Oh my god! Stellar!" Harmony raced the remaining distance to her little sister; throwing her arms around the smaller girl in a desperate embrace. She'd been right! She had been right to not give up hope! Stellar was alive! Her little sister was alive and well and here with her! Harmony could dance and sing! She certainly felt like it. "Are you alright?! I've been so worried about you! And Stellar - oh! I've missed you so much, you can't imagine!"

And right there she collapsed into tears against her sister's shoulder. Stellar smiled childishly, wrapping her arms around her weeping older sister and holding her, "But Stellar is here right now and is very much safe and happy, so onee-chan doesn't have to worry about her anymore."

Laughing shortly, Harmony pulled back, wiping at her tears for a moment before poking Stellar on the forehead; right between the eyes. "Silly Stellar! That's what an onee-chan is supposed to do! Worry after their little sister."

"But Stellar doesn't want onee-chan to worry about her; she wants onee-chan to be happy," Stellar replied as the two held hands and entered the small, quaint café. "Stellar's happy to see onee-chan again."

The two newly reunited sisters sat down at a small table, Harmony ordered some iced green tea with pomegrante juice, while Stellar asked for apple juice. Harmony watched her sister carefully; noticing how she'd grown from the shy little girl that she'd been into a beautiful young woman who still held the innocence that she herself had lost years ago. She smiled sadly at the thought; well, Stellar was alive and obviously still the innocent, naïve little girl. That warmed Harmony's heart.

"I've been so worried about you Stellar. I thought you were... that you were dead."

Stellar cocked her to the side cutely, "Why would onee-chan think that? Stellar has been alive this entire time and wants to stay alive too, she's glad that onee-chan is alive too, and healthy. But is onee-chan happy?"

"Yes, I'm happy now that I know you're alive and safe. But what are you doing here in Diokia?"

"Oh, Auel and Sting brought Stellar here with them, Sting looks after Stellar very well; but Auel annoys Stellar and makes fun of her and picks on her. But otherwise, Stellar is happy with her 'family'. But she wants to know what onee-chan has been doing."

A sad smile crossed Harmony's features as their drinks arrived, "I've been looking for you... ever since I was old enough; that's what I've been doing. But... after the attack on Orb two years ago, I've been working alongside a few friends that I made during the war. We're only in Diokia for a few days, we have to move on soon."

"Oh... so onee-chan won't be here for very long either."

"You're not here permanently Stellar?" Harmony was curious; but she was dreading what had actually happened to her little sister, she had a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach that this would be the last time that she'd be able to talk to Stellar like this. But she shoved it away, refusing to believe it.

"No, Neo says that we have to keep on the move if we want to keep up and follow our orders. Sting says Stellar shouldn't worry about what goes on with her superiors, so she doesn't." Stellar watched Harmony's face fall a little. "Onee-chan is sad, did Stellar say something to upset her?"

Harmony shook her head, fighting back tears that hadn't quite stopped yet, "It's nothing you've said, Stellar. You haven't done anything wrong, I'm just so relieved to see you safe and happy." She reached into her small bag, rummaging around in it until she found what she was looking for. "Here, this is for you."

Holding out a small box, she passed it to Stellar who looked at the box then at Harmony, before opening it. Inside was magenta crystal pendant, Stellar looked at it for several long moments.

"Onee-chan got this for Stellar?"

"Do you like it? I thought that it would make a nice present for you, to remind you that I'm always with you and that we're family. I'll always be with you if you have this Stellar, okay? And even if you don't, I'll still be there with you in spirit."

"Onee-chan..." Stellar stared at the pendant for several long moments, watching as it caught in the light. Then, she slipped it around her neck; the crystal bumping gently at her collarbone. "Thank you onee-chan. Stellar feels bad that she doesn't have a gift for onee-chan."

Harmony smiled, "That's fine Stellar. Seeing you is more then what I could have ever asked for." Before either young woman could say anything else, the older sibling spotted a soldier out of the corner of her eye talking to the café staff. She quickly paid for their drinks, which were finished, before taking Stellar's hand to leave.

"Where are we going onee-chan?"

"For a walk, is that okay? We can go down to the beach and look at the ocean, would you like that?"

"Stellar wants to see the ocean again! It's very pretty and blue too! She wants to see it with onee-chan!"

"Then let's go Stellar!"

"Yay!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Luna woke up to frantic knocking at her door. Rolling over with a groan, she quickly dressed and ran a brush through her hair before opening the door to find Meyrin standing there. The worried, almost panicked, look on the younger Hawke's face alerted Luna that something was horribly wrong.

"Meyrin? What's wrong?"

Meyring bit her lip before blurting, "Shinn's missing! There's already a full-fledged search going on; no one knows where he's gone and the watchmen said that he took off in a real hurry this morning, but they don't know where he was headed!"

"What?! Shinn's gone?!"

"We don't know that for sure yet," Rey's calm voice reached them as he walked over to stand with him; though there was definitely worry in his pastel blue eyes. "He may have gone out for a walk or taken a drive up to the cliffs; we'll have to wait and see what the search results in."

"But this isn't like Shinn!" Luna asserted. "He might not be the most responsible person when it comes to telling other people about his whereabouts, but he wouldn't just get up and leave like this without telling someone or leaving a note! This isn't like him!"

"I know," Rey responded with a heavy sigh. "But there's not much we can do until the search is finished. All we can do is be patient and hope that Shinn's found."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harmony sighed happily, but with a little sadness too, as she watched her little sister dash across the sand to where her friends were waiting in a convertible for her. She waved back at Harmony as she climbed in, yelling, "Stellar will see you onee-chan! Good-bye and Stellar loves you!"

"Bye Stellar! I love you too!" she watched as the convertible sped away before turning back to the ocean; her magenta eyes watching the waves crash on the shore and around her feet. She held her shoes in one hand as she wandered barefoot down the beach, wondering when Kira would call her to tell her where and when he was picking her up. He'd torn out of their hotel room this morning like a bat out of hell and she hadn't seen him since, all he'd said to her was that he'd call her later.

Shrugging off the weird situation, Harmony continued thinking about her sister and their situation, the beach's sand felt good under her feet and between her toes. Just as she rounded a corner of the small bay, her phone went off. Answering it, "Hello Kira! I was wonder when-"

"Harmony, Cagalli is on her way right now to get you." Kira's voice was short and to the point; something had flipped a switch in him, he was angry.

"Uh, okay." Harmony wondered what had happened. "Did something happen? You were in a real hurry this morning and you didn't seem too happy about something..."

"Your sister called me, from Shinn's phone."

"What?! Stellar did?! But how? When did she meet Shinn?"

"As far as I can tell? This morning. But that's not important right now, you have to get back to the Archangel right now; we're having a very important meeting and you need to be there." He hung up.

Harmony stared at the phone in her hands for several minutes before the roar of a car's engine's broke through her thoughts. Snapping the phone shut, she dashed to the car and hopped in the front seat beside Cagalli.

"Anyone care to tell me what's going on?" The blonde's eyes were hard and extremely wrathful, but Harmony could tell it wasn't directed at her; but still, what had both Cagalli and Kira so angry?

"It's that Zaft soldier that Kira brought back; he was raped."
~*~*~*~*~
There's a number of things that I noticed that were wrong with this phase when I finally got around to posting it here on this site. Mostly part it's small errors I've made, but also some others. For instance, I realized that the parts that consist of phone conversation could be confused with flashbacks, seeing as they are both in italics, so I've fixed that in this phase, and I'll get around to fixing it in the other phases too. All phone conversations, the person or people on the other side of it will be italisized and underlined.

Also, I like the name 'Stellar' more then the name 'Stella', but both are really pretty names.

Oh, and I apologize that it took me so long to post this here, it's just, well, I hadn't anticipated that I'd be so swamped this summer that my updating schedule would be so pressed. I might not accomplish my goal of finishing this story by the end of the summer, it doesn't help that I'm moving about halfway across the country shortly because of university starting soon. I've been packing and buying stuff all through July, plus I took a short hiatus from writing; I couldn't come up with any ideas. My apologies.

Expect the eighth phase shortly, I'm going to continue working on it right now. I still want to finish this story, even if I have to push myself to the brink to do so.

Please review?

Kat.