4Disclaimer : Gundam 00, characters and related indicia © Bandai, Sunrise;
Author's notes : a bulk of this fic was written last year –- a little after Season two's episode 8 aired (so, episode 17 hasn't happened yet =P) More explanations at the end - don't want want to spoil too much from here. ^^;
Banishing Mora
a Gundam 00 fanfic by Cielo
Mora : in Greek and Cypriot mythology, Mora (also known as Vrahnas or Varypnas)
is a demon believed to sit on a sleeper's chest, inducing sleep paralysis.
Sleep paralysis in itself is, most often than not, accompanied by nightmares.
All those who are able to dream, wish and hope for a happy ending.
It was as clear as crystal. Allelujah could feel his heart racing in his chest, the nano-machine implants barely keeping up. Never in his whole life had he faced such a nerve-wracking experience: He was getting married.
He tried to keep his composure as a sea of familiar faces looked up at him from their seats. He almost jumped as a hand was placed on his arm. A most familiar baritone soothed his nerves, "Relax, Allelujah Haptism. You've been through much, much worse."
"You're kidding right, Tieria?"
"No, I'm not." Then the purple-haired Meister's trademark scowl turned into a smile, "Just kidding."
Allelujah couldn't help but snicker and smile, "Your timing's getting better and better each time, Tieria." He then turned away and took register of his surroundings: he was standing right near a minister's lectern, Tieria Erde right behind him as his best man... He roused from his wandering thoughts as the shuffle of people stood up and the hired string quartet started to play - the bride had arrived.
Her adopted father, Sergei, walked her down the aisle of the small chapel. And she - Marie Parfacy-Smirnov - was resplendent in her simple column ivory gown. White, blushing magnolias adorned her simple up-do as a delicate lace-trimmed veil flowed down below her waist.
Marie clutched her bouquet of cream-colored roses and her other hand squeezed Sergei's arm. Her eyes traveled from left - where Andrei, Patrick, Graham, Colonel Mannekin, and Saji were; and to the right, where her new friends - Klaus, Shirin, Marina, Lyle, Setsuna and the rest of the Ptolemaios crew were seated.
She looked up ahead where Louise, her matron of honor, gave her an encouraging smile. Finally, she let her gaze rest upon the one she was giving herself to - his gentle smile, his eyes full of love. A blush crept up her cheeks as she thought of her future name, 'Marie Smirnov-Haptism.'
Colonel Smirnov, following tradition, lead her hand to that of her groom. The two men's eyes briefly met, Sergei silently giving Allelujah his blessing.
The ceremony was brief - a short lecture from the minister, culminating in an exchange of vows and rings. But to Allelujah and Marie, that small moment lasted a lifetime - almost like a dream, and just too good to be real. Hands shaking, Allelujah lifted his bride's veil and they kissed, holding onto each other for dear life, afraid that the other would dissolve into particles. Only the applause of their guests, and Lyle's good-hearted, "Oi! Break it up or get a room!" confirmed that this was all real.
The guests had gone out ahead, preparing their party poppers, rice and flower petals. The newlyweds walked back down the aisle. Marie paused in her tracks, head bowed down.
"Marie?" Allelujah had that distinct way of saying her name - and he was worried.
"I - I'm sorry, Allelujah..."
His face expressed his loss, while his lips moved to say everything and nothing.
"... I can't go with you."
He was startled as a glowing hand was placed on his wife's shoulder and he saw the face of a man his age, his brown hair in a braid. His throat went dry as three other people appeared to confirm his one fear:
"Lichty... Christina... Lockon..."
He fell to his knees. The chapel was eerily silent. His blunt nails grated the marble floor as he clenched his fists. Marie touched his face, but he felt nothing but an aura of warmth. He looked up and saw her sadly smiling face, "I love you, Allelujah."
"Marie..."
Allelujah got back on his feet - she can't be leaving him! Not now, not when they can finally be together...
She walked along, towards a bright white light, where Lockon and the others ushered her onwards. He ran after them - after her, screaming her name until his voice was hoarse - but the more he ran on, the more they moved away from his grasp; his chest felt heavy, his legs felt like lead; farther and farther away, until he saw them no more, and he was left in darkness.
"... His heart rate's going up, doctor."
Intensive Care Unit personnel were on alert, as one of their patients' vital signs suddenly shot up.
"... Brain activity's erratic..."
They held down their patient as he showed signs of breaking free of the tubes, straps, needles - and OUT of the recovery capsule as beeps mingled with commands from doctors and readings from nurses...
His gold and silver eyes faded in and out of focus - flashes of white, masked faces, a whiff of chemicals, her smiling face.
'Marie...'
Allelujah was almost glad that whatever was injected in him knocked him out - perhaps, he can see her again when he closed his eyes.
"Allelujah..."
Someone was calling out to him. It wasn't her though... but it was familiar...
"Allelujah Haptism..."
Without a doubt - it was Tieria. He blinked his eyes open, as much as his heavy lids would allow.
"You're awake, Allelujah... yokatta..."
He regained his focus and found himself inside a medical capsule. He looked around and the familiar head of purple hair was looking over him. To his right, a doctor gave him a critical eye, "You've got to stay in there one more night, son -"
"Marie..."
"I'm sorry?"
"Marie... I... need to see her."
He saw Tieria and the doctor exchange looks. The purple haired man spoke, "I - I don't think it's a good time, Allelujah - you need to rest -"
"Please, Tieria... sensei..."
The walk to the adjacent room felt, to Allelujah, like he was walking on broken shards of glass. He meekly smiled at his friends who were waiting outside his ward - Setsuna, Sumeragi, Lyle (who held Feldt back, as she motioned to stop him from going into the room), Ian and Lasse.
Her room was dim, making the capsule holding her emanate an ethereal glow. Allelujah held his breath as Tieria and the doctor helped him get inside. He leaned his hands on the capsule, and looked inside, his eyes taking in her still prone form for as long and as much as he could.
"Please, doctor... open it."
Tieria nodded his agreement, allowing the doctor to carry out the request. The glass lifted and Allelujah reached out to touch her hand - and he fell to his knees, staring at a blank space in front of him.
"Marie..."
Tieria couldn't bear to look - he had never seen his friend so broken and weak. He sensed him trying to connect with her using his brainwaves, but to no avail. He tried and tried, up to the point where the Innovator felt his head hurt. Allelujah exerted so much that the machines surrounding the capsule came to life with erratic readings.
"Whatever he's doing, Erde-san, tell him to stop right now!"
Tieria gathered his senses, and called out to the kneeling Meister, "Allelujah!" He approached him, placing his hand on his shoulder, "Allelujah, stop this, please!"
The machines' screens went haywire, as some emitted sparks, and the smell of burning wires wafted through the room. The sprinklers were immediately triggered, as the doctor rushed out to get help. Suddenly, the abnormal room activity stopped - Allelujah was slumped to the floor.
'So this is how I pay for my sins?'
As Tieria rushed back in with medical staff, it took a lot of his willpower not to show any sign of weakness. The sprinklers washed over Marie's unmoving body, while doctors and nurses buzzed around Allelujah. His head was downcast, droplets rolling off his hair, his chin - no one could tell if he was crying, or simply too catatonic to react.
"Whatever that was gave us quite a scare son. Thank God you're not hurt," the doctor quipped as they ushered him to a wheelchair. He made no effort to sit upright. His heart felt like a dead weight in his chest, and even the act of breathing felt like an impossible feat.
'Perhaps this is how people felt,' he mused, 'when your life has been taken away from you.'
'Allelujah? Allelujah?'
He felt small but strong hands shaking his shoulders, and his eyes were wet with tears.
"Allelujah! Wake up!"
He felt a smaller frame straddle his waist and shake him some more. His watery eyes shot open, as he took a few seconds to take note or his surroundings. Marie was hovering over him, her silver locks falling like a curtain beside his head, a hint of worry on her face, "You were having a bad dream, weren't you?"
Taking in his half-sleepy, half-shocked face, it did not take Quantum Brainwaves for her to get an answer. She gave him a reassuring smile as she cupped his cheek with her warm hands, clearing olive fringes from his face. She placed a kiss on his brow, his nose and touched her forehead to his, "I will never leave you," and gently kissed is lips, "I'm right here..."
"Promise?"
Marie flashed her left hand over his face, and his eyes focused on a shiny gold band on her ring finger, "With your friends and mine, the minister, these rings, and God as witnesses."
Allelujah lifted himself up, and caught his Marie in a long embrace - the nightmares are over, as the dawn heralded their new lives together.
- END -
Notes :
Whenever I'm stressed & anxious and end up sleeping on my back, I experience Sleep Paralysis, and have nightmares upon nightmares (horrible enough to get me screaming and crying - at least in my nightmare) until I really wake up. I tried to incorporate that feeling into this fic, which explains the tone of "finality" in the two nightmare sequences.
I intended to write a "choose your own ending" kind of fic, but I ran out of scenarios, and I didn't want to draw it out too long.