Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing ❯ Episodes 9-15 ( Chapter 2 )

  DISCLAIMER:  The series Gundam Wing, its characters, etc. all belong to their rightful owners.  The author of this fan fiction, by no mean, receives a profit for this; it's purely for enjoyment.

Episode 09: Where Has All the Happiness Gone?

 (Arabian Desert)

       &n bsp;    "There's no use in moving now?"

            "How often are they out there?"

          &nbs p; "They fly over about every five minutes."  The pilot of Sandrock lowered his binoculars and motioned for his friend to lower his suit's hand.  "There is a storm coming…  We can use that for cover and leave then."

            ; Duo opened the cockpit door, "I guess so."

            "Will you be alright?"

          &n bsp; The braided youth shrugged and looked out into the desert.  "With all the things I saw her do…  I guess I can’t believe she's dead.  I mean she set her own broken leg!  And it was right after I ate too!"  Duo smiled for a moment before returning to his mournful expression.  "I thought the others would stay with us though."

          &nb sp; Quatre shrugged and headed to his own suit.  "They have other places to go and their own ways of dealing with death.  We'll meet again I know it…  My Heart tells me so."

 (Palace in Moscow)

          &nbs p; Heero smiled and bowed to his dance partner as they separated.  He had arranged to be here for one important reason.  Lady Une.  He hated that woman and not just for the death of his father the late Heero Yuy but also for the death of the girl he met not too long ago… Relena Dorlain --if that was her real name…   It was no big secret that after Une threatened the colonies if the gundams didn't surrender the pilot of 01 destroyed her suit and was killed in the explosion.  Footage didn't show her face but by her hair he knew. 

            "Heero!"

          &nb sp; Heero turned around to see his father's brother approaching.  "Uncle Oda…"

             "Your mother told me you would be here, and that your father asked you to carry on his work.  I'm glad you said you would."

          &nbs p; "Uncle…I…  Before I accept my father's work…  There is something I must do first."

          &nbs p; Oda watched his nephew, "I'm surprised you will be working in politics so soon."

            ; "The death of Marshal Noventa and his peers is probably the reason they allow me to work.  They know that I plan to carry on my father's ideals, and they have no one else willing to try, otherwise they wouldn’t even give me a chance."

          &nb sp; The sound of boots on marble surprised the ball's guests and they were even more surprised to see OZ soldiers filling the room.  "Une…" Heero glanced at his seething uncle.  "Trust her to make a show out of all this…" Heero remained silent as Une entered and waved for the ball to continue on. 

            "Mr. Oda, it's a pleasure to see you again."

          &nbs p; "A pleasure I couldn’t do without.  Lady, I would like you meet my nephew…"  Heero stepped forward and interrupted his uncle.

            ; "I'm sorry Uncle Oda but I believe Lady Une and I have already met!"

            "Heero Yuy?  What are you doing here?"

            ; "Lady Une, I am here for my father!"  Heero leaned forward, drew a gun, and fired it with no hesitation.  Cursing himself as he missed he pushed soldiers that we too shocked to do anything out of his way.

            Une pushed herself off the door, "What are you doing?  Go after him!"  She turned sharply on her heel and marched out but not before yelling over her shoulder, "We'll talk about this later Oda!"

            Heero ran as fast as he could down an alley and skidded to a stop when two soldiers turned the corner in front of him and the three behind him cornered him.  He closed his eyes bitterly as they forced him to the ground.  After several blows to the head Heero was starting to wish to fall in unconsciousness when…

             "Release him now!"

            Heero tried raise his head to see the person that commanded the soldiers to let him go but the boot on his back forbade him.

            "Lieutenant!  I'm sorry ma'am but he's is under arrest."

          &nb sp; "I can see that private, that’s why I told you to let him go."

            "I'm sorry Lieutenant but these orders came from Colonel Une."

            The sound of a gun being cocked hailed his ears, and the sound of a gunshot made him wince.  "If you are so concerned about orders, these orders come from His Excellency Treize!"

          &nb sp; The sound of apologies and shuffling of boots were gone before Heero raised himself to his knees.  "I suppose I should thank you but I don't see why.  You just another of those OZ bast-"

            ; "-That may be so but I'm not one now.  I've come for your help Heero Yuy, you may say no, and that’s okay, but I think you won't."  The woman, Heero was startled to see as he stood up, was younger than that he expected and certainly not quite the same military like as the Colonel Une.

            "Whats this about?"

          &nbs p; She smiled not unkindly, "Do you remember a Doctor named Sally Po?"

 (Maganac Town)

            "Is this your base?"  The youth was surprised at the base his comrade had stationed himself at.

            "Yes, for now."  Quatre blushed as Duo was pulled over to a girl by his braid and was promptly kissed on the lips.  "Sorry about that.  We always have these celebrations when we come home."

            ; Duo grinned and shook his head, "Quatre, there was nothing wrong about that."  He turned around again and waved back to the girl who had kissed him while the shy blonde blushed once again and moved on down the street his guard, Rashid, by his side.

 (Antarctica)

"Heero!"  The doctor smiled and shook the young politician's hand, "It's nice to see you again."

          &nbs p; "Yes, I must say I didn't expect to see you again." 

            Sally laughed lightly, "Come on…  I expect you want to see what this is all about."

          &nbs p; Heero walked into a dimly lit room and stopped surprised at what he saw.  "She's alive?"

          &nbs p; Sally walked around him and checked the various life support systems.  "Yes.  At first we all thought she was dead the way she was just laying there…Only Noin, you, His Excellency, Zechs, and myself know she's alive.  She hasn't awakened even though her recovery has been remarkable.  I remembered shortly after I came here that you brought her in to the hospital when she first was erm… injured.  I asked Noin to bring you here from there you know the rest."

            ; "Forgive me but I…I don't understand what I'm doing here."

            ; A gruff voice interrupted Sally before she could answer, "We figured that when she woke she'd need to see a friendly face."

            ; Heero turned around as was surprised to see an older man leaning against the doorpost.  "You're Zechs Marquis …"

          &nb sp; "Yes."

            ; The man studied him for a second then shrugged his shoulders, "Sally, I would like to see you in my office."

          &nb sp; Heero almost sighed in relief as the two older people left the room but instead turned around and sat next the unconscious girl.  She was breathing on her own but there was an IV running into the main vein in her left arm.  She had a horrible bruise on her left cheek and it was obvious by the cast on her left ankle that she had either broken it or twisted it.  He reached forward and brushed her bangs away. 

            "uhh…"  Heero's eyes widened as the girl before him groaned.

          &nb sp; "Relena, how do you feel?"

            ; "Heero?"  For that moment the Gundam pilot had left her and she was just a normal teenage girl.  "I thought… I thought…"

         &n bsp;  He shook his head and moved closer, "It's okay.  How do you feel?"

            ; "Horrible."

             "There's a doctor out here…I'll go out and get her.  Just stay still okay?"  Heero, assured that she wouldn't leave by her head nod, left the room and closed the door behind him.  "Sally!"

          &nb sp; While Sally examined Relena, Heero was contented to sit down and eat a late dinner while he waited for any news.  As he finished he identified Noin as she approached.  "Lieutenant."

         &nbs p;  "Yuy."  She sat down wearily.  "Zechs is with her now.  She asked that once you had rested that you come back and see her, and Heero … There's something you should know…"

           ;  “I know she’s a pilot, and attempted to kill herself.  What could be as horrible as that?”  Heero paused as he saw the grave look on Noin’s face.

         &n bsp;  "Hello Relena."

          &nb sp; Relena eyed the man before her not able to identify who he was behind the mask that he wore.  "Do I know you?"  It was then that she noticed the uniform and when he took the mask off she gasped.

     &nbs p;      "What do you mean Noin?"

            ; "Just what I said.  Zechs is Relena's brother."  Noin paused, “It’s part of Zech’s fault that Relena is the way she is now.”

      &nbs p;     "Millardo… Aren't you dead?  OZ they came and … and … Mother and father and you were there!" 

            The light haired brother held his sister down and she violently struggled to get up, "Relena listen to me!  I am your brother, and there is no reason for you to act like this!"

            ; "Then…" She sounded faint.  "It was you who was in OZ's new suit.  You now belong to OZ."

            Relena's brother watched her silently for a moment before he turned away.  "I'm your brother first."

          &nbs p; She swore and attempted to sit up and leave.  The two arms holding her down were what stopped her.  "The hell do you think you're doing?"  

            "You're injured, one of OZ's top officials wanted you dead, and would still want to dead if she knew if you were alive, not only that…you're not even listening to your older brother's orders."

          &nb sp; Relena managed to get a hand free and slapped him harshly across the face.  "My brother died a long time ago.  My brother, if was alive, would have saved me from the hell I’ve been living in."

            Heero was standing outside the door to Relena's room when Zechs walked out fuming.  He raised an eyebrow at his departure but continued on to enter Relena's room.  He found her then sitting up in bed with her hair covering her eyes.  He drew a chair back from its previous position to sit beside the bed.  "How do you feel?"

            ; "…"

          &n bsp; No answer.  Heh, so she was back to being the cold soldier again.  "Noin said you wanted to see me."

            "…"

          &n bsp; Again, no answer.  "Look Relena.  I like you.  I like you a lot okay?  But you need to stop these little quirks of yours.  You don't answer when people try to talk to you.  You ignore people.  You don't even make you own decisions!"  Relena drew back as he reached out to her.  He stood up abruptly and stormed to the door much like Zechs did moments ago.  "You know, I've met a lot of politicians, statesmen, generals and whatnot.  What they all had in common was that they were so pigheaded and stuck up but out of all of them … you take the cake."  Heero departed her then and closed the door sharply behind him.

            Slowly drawling her legs up to her chest she shuttered, "Alone…  I'm alone again.  Milly…Why didn’t you die with the rest of them?"

 (Maganac Town)

            The pilot eyed his braided companion as they sat down in a private room.  "So you are from the colonies too?"

            "Yeah."  Duo stretched and propped his feet up on a nearby table.  "Its weird.  We all had the same objective.  Our suits are almost all the same…" He pulled his braid to let it rest at his side.  "I was given my suit."

            ; "Me too."

            "Don't look back towards the colonies. Just destroy OZ, before you and the colonies  are destroyed."  They looked at each other after saying the same sentence at the same time.  "Same order huh?"

            "Exactly."  Quatre moved towards a tray to pour himself something to drink, as they both seemed to think about what to say or do next.

            "I wish…"

           ;  "Hm?"

            "I wish we could have brought Her with us."

            They did not speak again for a few more moments.  Each of them knowing which "Her" he was talking about.  "She was very strong."

          &nb sp; "Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."  Duo snorted in grim humor as he saw Quatre’s astonished face, “I saw it tattooed on her arm.”

             Quatre paused at his companion's new choice of words.  "I couldn't die."

            "But Relena did!  Just like that!"           

            "The colonies do not want war.  So the colonies must not be sacrificed.  She was too noble."

          &nbs p; "Too noble…  I thought She was smarter than that."

            ; The night there was peaceful for the two pilots until an alarm woke them from their slumber the people outside where still holding their festival.  "Sir?"  A Maganac soldier approached Rashid as the OZ troops approached the town. 

            "Lets see what they want first.  Go tell Master Quatre that he should stay in his room."

            ; "Is this some kind of festival?"  The OZ soldiers moved through the crowd in a two by two formation.  Their weapons were by their sides, but anyone could tell that they were itching to pull the trigger.

          &nb sp; Rashid stepped forward, "A nomadic caravan stopped by, so we're having a little party. And what can I do for you?"

            "We need to restock our water supplies." 

            "I'll see what I can do for you, but is all this heavy security necessary?"

             The soldier shrugged as two more soldiers lower a crate to the ground and activate something inside it.  "Its just a precaution.  We've heard reports that there are nearby rebel forces."

          &nb sp;  As soon as OZ had left the two pilots appeared and approached Rashid.  "What did they want?"

            ; "They wanted supplies but they left these crates here.  Sadaal is keeping note of their progress away from us." 

            Duo approached the crate with care and two Maganacs stepped away to give him room.  "The crate is rigged Quatre.  Any moving it and it will go off.  Any tremor can set them off."  He stepped away from the crate and turned to Quatre.  "I think they know we're here and are trying to provoke us to fight."

          &nbs p; "They must have suspected this town all long."

            ; The entire town was assembled in the meeting hall and listened as Rashid spoke to them.  " Everyone, listen to me! OZ has found out about this place and are ready to make an attack on us. We can no longer hide in this town. Therefore, we're going to take the initiative and attack the enemy in the desert tonight, while evacuating the civilians. And, there is another     honorable task: we will help the two Gundams escape safely. The Gundams are the true heroes from the colonies who are committed to destroying OZ. They can't join tonight's battle, but one day, they will return and liberate us all! Be proud of your participation in this glorious battle. Understand, everyone?!”  The cheers raised up and Quatre felt like his heart would burst from the love and admiration he felt from the people.  He sighed, “Don’t worry Relena.  Your sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

Episode 10:  Making Amends

It was I who made the mistake

Relena left the plane where it could be easily found and began making her way towards the European continent where her flat was located.  Her leg was still in bad shape and the aching in her bones and muscles refused to go away.  She was also running a fever and she knew that if she didn't find help soon, she could be in trouble.  By her guess, she was somewhere around the Russian border by now.  From time to time she would steal into an office and pick up information but it was all done at times where people would not be there to see her.  It was after one of these times did she actually regret leaving her bed in Antarctica.  There, she could have fully recovered and then begin her mission once again.  But, Relena reminded herself, there was no way she could focus on her purpose here on Earth while staying there.  She had snitched from an OZ base a gun, a water hip flask, a radio, a knife, and some decent clothes.  The food she had snitched, was regretfully tossed away when it started to spoil.  She had made sure to cover her tracks afterwards of course.  It was the night after she had taken the radio did she hear that Lt. Zechs had return to an "urgent" task at his homebase.  She snorted; it was more likely that he was looking for her.  She did leave in the middle of the night stealing on of the best planes to aide her escape.

She had not just got up and left though as she had intended to do.  She did, however, wake Heero right before she left and gave him a number that he could reach her at and she couldn't be traced.  She did it on a whim but now that she looked back on it, she realized that she didn’t quite want to part from him.  It was after she came to this decision that she heard the report come over the radio.  A gundam had destroyed a base near her and had last been seen moving towards her direction.  It was possible, she thought, that he or she remembering that one other pilot was a female could help her. 

She moved fast or as fast as she could with the remaining injuries she had.  By her guess, she had been running and alternately jogging for 3 hours till she finally found her first clue as to where the pilot was.  The smell of wood burning was in the air.  She climbed into a tree in the dense forest and used the wide strong braches to her advantage.  From there she moved through the trees until she was at the edge of a clearing.  In the middle of the clearing she saw a fire and a young man sitting beside.  By the lack of the long braid she knew it was not the chatterbox pilot and purposefully rustled the leaves of the branch she was on.

 (Ship)

        &nbs p;   "Quatre, I would like for you to meet Howard.  Howard, this is one of my new allies." 

            Howard nodded and grinned at Duo's friend.  "I trust you aren't the same practical joker Duo is?"

            "Practical Joker?"

          &nbs p; Duo grinned and scratched his head not trying in the least to appear to be innocent.  "It's just a pastime that I keep up with."

 (Old Palace of the Sanc Kingdom)

          &nb sp; "Sir." Zechs paused in his pacing steps in front of his as the soldier knocked and entered his room.  "Sir, you have a call from a Lt. Noin, and the staff members have arrived to over see the restoration process."

          &n bsp; "I see, well then carry on.  Oh, and patch the call to the phone in here."

            ; “Sir.”

          ;   Zechs hesitated before picking up the line.  It was his fault that Relena was hateful, spiteful, and detested everything about him.  If he hadn’t…  He shrugged that thought away.  It wasn’t healthy to dwell on the past.  Still unsure, he picked up the phone, “Noin."         "Zechs… how are you?"

            Zechs leaned back in his chair, "I could be better.  But I could also be worse."

          &nbs p; "Please.  You look as if you just lost the war."

            "Any reports on her?"

            Noin smiled slightly, "None.  Although I did see the inventory of the bases on the European continent today… One base was missing some survival gear."

            ; "How's our other project coming along?"

          &nbs p; "As well as can be expected.”

 (Somewhere near the Russian border)

          &nbs p; Chang Wufei stiffened as the rustling of trees broken the stillness of his camp.  There was only one, but, as Wufei reminded himself, only one person was needed to call for others.  But what was odd about this tracker was that he had purposefully allowed his location to be known.  It was as if he didn't want to startle him. Wufei allowed himself a smirk as he stood up and faced the tracker's location.  "Alright come on out."

            Relena balanced her weight and waited for a few moments before dropping down, the balls of her feet absorbing most of the shock.

            ; Wufei had to fall back on his schooled Chinese blank face.  Of anyone he had expected pilot 01 was not one of them.  "You're dead."

            ; "I was."

            Wufei scanned her body, "You're injured I see that."

            ; "I used one of my nine lives."

          &nbs p; Wufei approached her, "Drop all equipment and weapons you have."

            ; Relena did so and held her hands up in clear view as Wufei collected the items.  He raised a eyebrow at the radio, "It's how I found you."

            Wufei glanced at her once more before moving back to the fire.  "The news coverage on your "noble but foolish deed" has inspired many.  How many know you're alive?"

          &nbs p; "Heero Yuy, Zechs Marquise of OZ, Treize Krushrenada, Lt Noin of OZ, a doctor named Sally who's also from OZ, and maybe a few others but those I listed won't tell.  They wanted me alive."

          &nbs p; "You said you were dead."

            ; "Apparently the explosion sent my body into shock and over load-it shut down but they brought me back after the Gundams left, and I was in a secure area."

            ; "I assume you checked yourself for any beacons that they planted on you?"

            "Yes, there was one but I left it on the plane I had used to get away from the base in the first place."

          &nbs p; "I see."

            And no more was said the rest of the night.  Wufei had passed her a serving of food and after she ate it he motioned for her to sleep.  She didn't complain. 

            The sound of a truck door slamming shut stirred her from her slumber but training took over and she was one her feet ready for anything.  Wufei had finished packing up his things then and wordlessly handed Relena her things.  He climbed into the driver's side of the trunk and waited till they were well on their way till he spoke.

            "What you plan to do now?"

      & nbsp;     Lt. Noin glanced at the young politician to her right.  "What's wrong?"  She checked her watch, "We'll be arriving shortly."

          &n bsp; "Noin, why does the Romafeller Foundation still mass produce mobile suits?"

          &nbs p; "The people fear and respect them.  It's a way to keep the people in their place, and remind them who holds their future in their grasp."

          &nbs p; Heero grimaced and tugged at his formal clothing.  "I don't understand why I'm here any way."

            "His Excellency and Zechs both agree that it's good for you to be at this meeting."

          &n bsp; "Another words, they want me here in hopes that Relena will find out and show up."

            Noin silently agreed with him as the car came to a stop and Heero got out.  She has always wished one of Zech’s relatives was alive but now she wasn’t quite sure.  She had never considered that they might have believed Zechs abandoned them.

  Relena watched the other pilot approach and nodded her head in thanks when he gave her a roll to eat.  Wufei kneeled in front of her then and proceeded to foldthe left side of her pants up so he could have a look at her ankle.

            ; "The swelling has gone down even though you've been on it."

            Relena shrugged, "I heal quickly."

          &n bsp; Wufei removed the bandages and continued his examination.  "We're an hour from Noventa's home.  Are you ready?"

          &nbs p; “No matter if I am ready or not, peace must be made.”

           ;  Heero gritted his teeth as another politician scorned the colonies.  The gray haired politician ranted about the lack of order, and discipline.

             "-And that girl!  Her actions alone speak for the colonies.  Why, it's her own fault she's dead!  She would still be -"

            Heero jumped to his feet, "That pilot showed more honor and loyalty that day than you ever will.  She willingly gave her life for her mission and cause, like my father, she was strong and didn't even let death stop her.  What about you Mr. Gravat?  Are you that strong?  Will you give your life as easily as 01's pilot did?"

            The room was silent and remained so until a person's applauding broke it.  Treize finished his standing ovation as he approached the table.  "Well said Mr. Yuy.  I couldn't have said better myself.  That pilot is-was very strong.  It's too bad there aren't more of those kinds of soldiers in our own army.  Forgive me for being late, but another meeting held me back.  I asked Mr. Yuy to come-"

     &nbs p;      "Ms. Noventa?  I would like to have a word with you, privately."

             Silvia Noventa eyed the girl-no woman in front of her before nodding.  Anyone who had as much sorrowful in their eyes as this stranger did could no longer be a child.  She gestured for Relena to follow her as Wufei sat down on a chair his eyes closed.

          &nbs p; They were in the middle of the garden when Silvia spoke up, "What can I do for you?"

            Relena stopped, pulled out a gun, and held it out to Silvia handle first.  "My name isn't Amanda Michaels it's…well my service name is Relena Dorlain.  I was the Gundam pilot who killed your grandfather.  I now hand you this gun so that you may take your revenge."  She felt the gun violently ripped from her hand and waited to the shot.  Relena closed her eyes, and she opened them almost a minute later.  “Revenge is yours.  A life for a life.”

             The attack on the Center well into the second week of discussions sent politicians and civilians alike running for cover.  Heero identified the one suit as belonging to the boy with the long braid.  Treize appeared at his side as the second suit released all its missiles and began to retreat with 03 covering its escape.  "Is your friend with them?"

            ; "I have no idea where Relena is."

            Wufei easily destroyed the suit before him and once again glanced towards the entrance on the side of the main building.  With Wing destroyed, Relena volunteered to wire the bases up and destroy them while Wufei battled outside.  They had left Silvia Noventa's home the day after their arrival and continued the pattern of apologies until Relena was satisfied.  Once, Wufei recalled, a relative HAD shot her.  He inwardly chuckled, that visit had been the most memorable for not only did Wufei have to patch up Relena's side after being shot but he also mended a jagged cut she had received when on of the older relatives deemed it necessary to "whack" some sense into her "young but passionate" soul.  Personally, he rather liked that family.

            After two moves on his part, Wufei finally saw the girl running out of the building before it exploding.  Navigating the Gundam low enough to the ground for Relena to jump and catch hold of, he waited until he heard a faint thump next to the cockpit to resume altitude.  Wufei was still puzzled over Relena's abilities.  It wasn't natural he decided.  When he had puzzled over how to pick Relena up after mission completion she ever so easily explained that she could easily use a running jump, and settle on the suit in a niche until they were well away from battle.

          &nbs p; An hour later, Relena was studying readouts when a Chinese curse filled her air.  She walked towards the black haired pilot and across her arms as she leaned against the desk he was currently sitting at.  "Whats wrong?"

      &nb sp;     "Who would have thought a Gundam pilot was a little kid?"

            Duo Maxwell grinned, "Sorry about that.  Does it hurt your pride?  You won’t get any information out of me."

            The interrogator drew back his arm and punched the young braided man before him.  "You Cheat!  "

            Duo sagged against the ropes that tied him to the chair.  “I may run and hide but I never tell a lie.”

             "You will be executed, and with your death the feelings of the colonies will become one…  Who ever thought the Gundam pilots would become useful?"

          &nb sp; "You…Son of a…bit-ch…"

      &nb sp;     The platform held not only a stage where an announcer would rally people, but a noose.  It seemed that they were going to hang him - a little too medieval in Duo’s humble opinion.  "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have you attention please?  Today we are to witness a historic event.  Finally, Earth and the colonies will no longer have to fight for dominance!"  The man swept the mic off its stand, "I present to you Gundam pilot 02!"  The crowd roared, jeered and stomped their feet as two OZ soldiers (with others surrounding the stage) brought forth a beaten and only partially conscious Duo.  "No more will our lives be put into jeopardy because of an arrogant teenage boy!"  The crowd roared again, and some started to throw various items that splattered onto the stage and pilot after the noose was slipped over Duo’s head. 

            "Any last words?"

          &nbs p; Duo grinned and managed to hold up his head, "Can I have an aspirin?"

          &n bsp; The soldier to Duo's left triggered the switch and the noose tightened as Duo fell.  The crowd screamed in delight –only to have their hoped dashed upon the rocks of irony as Duo, the self proclaimed God of Death, was saved from early demise by a pilot he even though to be dead.

            Relena flew from the shadows, her hair streaming behind her as she held her sword bared and cut the rope before it could finish it's deadly deed.  The announcer sputtered, "It can't be your dead!"

            ; The crowd murmured about the girl dressed in black before them.  It certainly looked like the girl.  Duo stumbled to his feet.  "Relena?"

          &n bsp; She tossed him a gun and engaged the soldiers as they attacked.  When she was finished, 15 OZ soldiers littered the ground though none of them we killed.  A blast echoed followed by an approaching aircraft.  "Our fight is not with the colonies.  OZ is no friend of the colonies or the good people of Earth."  She sheathed her sword and approached Duo as the crowd looked on.  The craft open it's cargo hold and carrying Duo, she sprinted and leapt gracefully into the hold, the door closing behind her.

            "How did you get here?"

            ; "We used a spare shuttle."

          &n bsp; Duo winced as the wounds he had received were aggravated, "I mean you're alive."

          &nbs p; "…"

          &n bsp; "You really are the perfect soldier."  Duo's head sagged as he passed out.

            I am a soldier…Relena pulled a blanket over Duo's form, knowing he would survive his injuries.  I fight and kill, sometimes I make mistakes, sometimes I save lives…  She sat down beside Wufei and pulled a headset on.

            “That was quiet a speech you made.”

           ;  “It was only the truth.”

         &nbs p;  “The truth could be a powerful weapon.”

         &nb sp;  Relena paused and then looked out the window.  A powerful weapon indeed.

Episode 11:  Allies, Foes, and Honor

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much

             Duo, still recovering from his wounds, winced as Quatre enveloped him a tight “welcome home” hug.  When he turned to Wufei, he received a glare that plainly told him not to even think about it.  What Quatre didn't expect was to see a slender woman to exit the shuttle.  "Relena?"

          &n bsp; She turned her head towards him and nodded.  Ignoring her glare, Quatre leaped forward to hug and kiss her.  "We all thought you were dead."

            ; "…I was.  OZ actually brought me back to life."

            ; Quatre smiled once more before he gestured for them to enter his base.  "Cathy is also here, and her brother too."

            Duo grinned, "Is that why I had to wait from Relena to come back alive in order to get saved?"

          &nbs p; "Not exactly."

          &n bsp; Cathy pushed herself away from the wall and strode forth to shake Relena's hand.  "Good to see you."

            Relena nodded and withdrew to a corner.

          &nbs p; The pilots arranged themselves against walls or sitting on furniture and Cathy brushed strands of hair out of her eyes as she began speaking. "My brother Trowa and I have been living here for the past five days.  Shortly after Relena's "death" OZ attacked the place where we were staying.  We managed to get out but several didn't.  Somehow they knew where we were or they had been planning this all along.  It was well planned.  I do not suppose that they took the information from Relena or Duo because neither of them knew where we were stationed."

             "Duo stayed with me after the battle.  OZ also attacked.  They knew every corner of the town.  My people retreated, and the OZ force was wiped out, but not before the town was completely destroyed.  The building I regularly slept in was the first to be destroyed."

             "Is this building secure?"

          &nb sp; "Yes."

            ; "hn."

            The group turned around to see Relena shake her head.  "Don't count on it.  We can't stay here long."

            ; Deep down, the pilots including the new addition of Cathy’s brother, Trowa, knew she was right.

       & nbsp;    Sleep evaded her once more.  The course of years of long work had trained her body and mind well.  The steady glow of the computer screen did not bother her eyes, and the darkness that surrounded her provided no comfort nor did it bother her, it just was.  A window appeared on the screen, interested, though not outwardly showing it, she clicked on it.

Relena,

I must speak with you. 

Please, I am in Room 738 at The Plaza, Belgium. 

Send word.

-Heero It took her no more than a second to make her decision.  She scrawled a note to Wufei and left.  She managed to reach Belgium as a stowaway on many transports.  She reluctantly admitted that she had become too accustomed with the convenience of having her own transports whether it was Wing or Wufei.  She nicked a motorcycle at an airport that had belonged to man currently taking a week’s vacation in space.  Relena smirked; companies should really watch their computer systems.  She stowed the bike a block from the Plaza and debated whether or not she should take her laptop back out and send Heero notice.  She shrugged, as a politician he should be ready for anything. 

A knock on the door stirred Heero from his papers.  He stretched and checked the time inwardly pleased that dinner was served on time.  He opened the door and allowed the admittance of the waiter.  He closed the door behind him and approached the table (where his wallet was) only to be suddenly tripped.  "What the?"  The waiter took the advantage of him down on the floor and locked various doors, windows, and closing the blinds.  He rolled on his back and sat up, "Was there a point to this or?  …Relena?"  The young politician chuckled as he came out of his gaze and stood up.  "I should have known." 

"Will we be disturbed here?"

"No one will bother me until eight am tomorrow morning."

She stripped herself of the uniform till only her clothes remained.  The form fitting jeans and shirt were not designed for fashion rather they were serviceable.  While she did so Heero uncovered the food.  "I take it you also added food for yourself."  He picked up his food and waited until Relena was settled on the floor with hers till he began eating.  They ate in silence each enjoying the quiet time.  When they finished Heero watched her efficiency as she cleaned the tray up.  She disappeared into the bathroom and Heero could faintly hear the water running.  When she returned, Heero approached her.  "I am curious."

She did not answer.

"I propose that we play a game of sorts.  You ask a question and I answered.  I ask a question you answer.  Granted some things we can not answer because of various reasons but we have to be truthful and answer as much as we can."  He sat down on the floor and motioned for her to sit with him.  "What do you say?"

"I … accept."

"Alright, I'll go first.  Why did you wash those dishes you used off?"

"Saliva that was transferred from my mouth to the utensils, to the dishes carried my DNA pattern.  It's essential that no one may retrieve it if possible.  Why did you send for me?"

Heero was startled over the answer but quickly regained his footing.  "Zechs sent me a message for you.  Why is it essential that no one may retrieve your DNA pattern?  After all couldn't they retrieve it from your hair?"

It was six before her mental clock stirred her from an unfamiliar feeling of comfort.  At first she was confused, confused as to how she felt this but a faint caress of air against her neck brought back memories for the previous night and early this morning.  She allowed Heero to drag her into bed with him "only to sleep" he said.  But sometime during the night she ended up wrapped up in his arms.  The soldier's conscious screamed at her and begrudgingly she admitted its control over her once more.

She left the warm comfort and dressed again in the clothes she had taken the evening before.  Heero woken then and watched her with interest.  A knock on the door startled them both and Heero quickly pushed her into the bathroom with him.  The large but deep bath was quickly filling with water.  When the room door was opened, Heero push her into the water before stripping down to boxers and sitting down on the side of the tub as if waiting for it to fill, adding a type of bubble soap supplied by the hotel to the water. 

"Sir?"

"I'm in here."

The male figure entered the room dressed smartly in an OZ uniform.  "Sorry to disturb you so early but we have reports of a Gundam pilot in the area."

"All safe?"

"For now sir."

"I'll be down as soon as I'm ready please close my door on your way out."  Heero stepped out of the water as he heard the door closed.  After checking to see no one else was present he reentered the water closet and pulled Relena out from under the water.  "Sorry about that but I wasn't expecting him."

Relena shrugged, "You thought quickly.  I was prepared to jump out a window."

Heero was extremely glad that as she took the time to wash the bubbles off of her he was able to put a robe on.  He retrieved a disk from his briefcase and as he handed it to Relena he gripped her arm.  "This is from Zechs.  I may not have a chance like this again so please forgive me for my abruptness Relena."  He pushed her into a wall beside the window she earlier meant to jump out of and kissed her thoroughly.  The soldier in her was off guard, surprised, and insensible.  It did not know how to react.  He traced her jawbone, and clutched her waist to him before impulsively letting her go.  Knowing he couldn't let this continue.

"I suppose you want me to come with you."  The Asian pilot studied the woman before him carefully and snorted.  "You never do anything half way do you?"

"All I asked is if you would take me there.  I've already looked it up.  Two suits including Tallgeese are there, and the only other things there are wildlife."

Quatre studied the map carefully.  We could remain here."  Quatre pointed to the map, "And come if you have need of us."

His secondary viewing screen remained on Relena's form as Wufei left the others at their site to continue on to the field Zechs had said he would met them at.  She was crouched in the little corner of his suit, and Wufei turned his head from the screen.  He knew she controlled her heart rate, body heat, and such through her abilities that she refused to discuss but he still felt uneasy about it, he still thought he might be able to accept it better if she was using drugs.  The screen "bleeped" and Wufei read the readings…  She had slowed her heartbeat down to 48 beats a minute.  He snorted, best to call her out of her meditation now so she could be ready for this meeting.  "Relena."  She roused from her mediation and nodded her head.  Wufei scanned the ground until he spotted the site.  He flew down low enough for Relena to jump down and backed off just enough to not over crowd them.

Zechs watched as the suit approached and waited for Relena.  He was not startled to see her jump off the Gundam and land neatly in front of him, a gun by her side.  "It's good to see you."

"What do you want Zechs?"

She sat in Nataku's pilot seat and watched Zechs.  He sat in his own suit's seat and waited for the "right moment" to begin.  Wufei had allowed her use of her Gundam as she refused to use her own for this fight.  The other pilots and Cathy's brother (in the second seat of her suit) watched on uncertain that this was not a trap.  "Now."  She lunged forward as Zechs did and grit her teeth against the jarring of the attack.  They moved back and engaged again.

She growled as Zechs managed to somehow damage to the suit's left arm and pressed forward giving the Lieutenant no time to withdraw.  She evaded a strike and was prepared to slash Tallgeese's head of when an alarm sounded.

"Damn it." 

Relena centered in on the direction Zechs was focused on and jerked her attention back to Zechs.  "Is this how you fight?!"

Zechs moved back, "Noin, who is it?"

"Lady Une sir."  Noin paused, "She insists that we turn the pilot known as Relena over to her immediately.”

"Deploy whatever we have and get our people out of here.  Relena, we will end this later.  Get yourself and the rest of the pilots out of here." 

"You don't tell me what to do Zechs."

Quatre's face appeared on her screen, "Live to fight another day.  We can't fight like this."

"Let me come along with you."  Sally's voice echoed over the intercom in Tallgeese. 

"Sally?"  Zechs shook his head; "Une will stop at nothing to get you then."

"It's what's the right thing to do."

Quatre smiled on screen, "I suggest we return to space if Une is so eager to catch us."

Cathy touched a picture to the left on her controls, “To space then?

"It appears so."  Trowa nudged his sister from his seat, “Space will allow us to have extra time to plan our next step.”

"WHHOOO HOOOO!!! We're going home!"  Duo’s voice screeched into Wing’s cockpit.  “Home Wufei!” 

            Wufei ignored Duo’s screams of delight as he watched Relena’s hesitant retreat.  “So I heard.”  He didn’t mind using Wing as Relena fought her own personal battle in his suit, he had come to respect her not only as a person but also as a woman and a fighter, and he knew she desired to cut all ties with Zechs.  He patched a com link between him and Relena alone.  “The others are already heading out; we can ship out together to switch our suits back in space.”  Her silence over the link was understandable, “Come Onna, the cold of space is more hospitable than this flourishing planet.” 

            Her voice, now raspy with emotion breathed into the com link.  “I never thought this would be how the war would evolve.”

         &nb sp;  “Relena?”

        &n bsp;   “I’m coming.”  She moved the controls and the suit turned to follow Wufei and the rest of the pilots back into space.

Zechs watched as the pilots departed.  He grimly faced the task before him; I've waited a long time to do this Lady Une… 

Episode 12:  Earth's New Leader

God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh

       &nb sp;    "Mr. Yuy."

            Heero ignored him as he sat in his office.  When had thing become so complicated?  Oh yes.  A flash of the "Meteor" next to the shuttle flashed in his mind, it was then that things became so complicated.  The files on Op. M still sat on the bottom of the lowest cabinet in the room.  After he gained enough security clearance, he sent for copies of the files name O-01M, and now the people who wanted the death of his father and the girl he had unconsciously grown close to wanted him to become their "Lord Emperor." 

            "Mr. Yuy, might I remind you of the consequences if you refuse?"

            "No.  I think you've done that enough today.  Give this letter to the leader of the Summit.  I'll be down shortly."

          &n bsp; Heero waited till the sound of footsteps faded completely away before standing up and walking to the "royal" clothes he had been presented.  If I can make a difference…so be it…

         &nbs p;  "…The greatest paradox of them all is to speak of 'civilized warfare.'  There is no civilized warfare, we cannot profit from any kind of warfare.  We can only profit from peace.  So I ask you to lay your grief, weapons, and vengeance down and aside so that one day we may achieve true everlasting peace."  Heero took a step back and had to get a grip on is emotion to keep from running off stage.  The audience sat before him; not stirring from their eerie silence.  Then, out of nowhere, Ambassador Decker stood up and gave him a standing ovation, an ovation that would soon be copied by the other politicians.

           ;  As two men escorted him off stage an instinctive feeling told him to look up and when he did he spotted a figure in the balcony slowly walking away.

            "So the boy accepted."

          & nbsp; "Everything is going according to plan."

            ; "Do you realize that as Lord Emperor he has the power to get rid of all of us?"

            The three men continued on their way in silence until the man who spoke second spoke up again, "It's of no matter.  He's a child.  What does a child know?  We will be puppet masters, the world our stage, and Heero will be our star player."

          &nb sp; One of the men chuckled, "Long Live Emperor Yuy!"

OZ Base on Colony L1

            "There they are!"

            Relena lunged at Duo, sending them behind a wall that ultimately shielded them from the gunfire.  "Wing to Arms status?"

          &nb sp; A crackle came through the comm. link and Cathy's voice came over the radio, "Arms here.  On schedule."

          & nbsp; "Noted."  Relena turned the link off and glanced to Duo.

            "Never fear 'Lena dear!  Duo is here to help you!"

            That’s what I was afraid of…  "Cover me."  She turned sharply and started firing on the enemy.  With on shot, she opened the vent above them and leaped up into it.  The ventilation shaft was wide enough to allow her crouching frame, and as her crouched/ran she made her way towards the main comp room.  The screens portrayed an unconscious Cathy slung over the shoulder of an OZ Captain and he made his way to a waiting ship.  She allowed herself to smirk and turned towards the computers. 

            Hooking the link between her wrist back (which would transfer files to Wing) and the main computer was easy; hacking into it took a longer time.  She ignored the sounds of battle as she rushed through the commands. 

            Sally admonished Duo with a quick slap to the back of his head as he laughed at Wufei's limp at an obvious leg wound.  He glared at her, which courted an insult from Sally, which caused Wufei to called her "stupid woman", and it became a full-fledged fight.  Trowa decidedly left the room at that point, considering if he should turn the artificial gravity off.

"Do you need help?"

            ; "At it again are they?"

            ; Trowa propelled himself upward in the zero gravity of the hangar and grabbed a side of armor to allow him to float next to Relena.  "The Maganacs have taken Quatre off to make sure he wasn't hurt.  Last I saw, Sally gave Duo a shiner with a well aimed punch."

          &nbs p; Relena used the pliers to disconnect a few wires that looked like they needed to be repaired.  "You are not worried about your sister?"

          &nb sp; "She can take care of herself."

          &n bsp; "Well said."

       & nbsp;    Heero tugged at her uniform as he and the Wing pilot fell on his bed.  He smiled briefly and leaned into a kiss when he heard the most annoying sound turn on - his alarm clock.  He groaned and shoved the memory of the dream and the one time Heero did actually kiss her out of his mind.  It had been a week since he had been promoted to his new position.  He roused himself and dressed in the uniform he had come to hate.  He had refused to wear the crown they had fashioned for him, so instead they made him wear a medal with two lions fighting on a crimson background…he hated it to but would suffer through it.

            He made his way down the hall after being fully dressed and opened the door to his office.  He was most surprised to see someone already there waiting for him, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had an appointment this early- Mr. Treize!?"

          &n bsp; The older man stood up and smiled briefly, "Well met Mr. Yuy."

            "I won't support the Arms Race."

            ; Treize nodded and took a sip from his cup, "I didn't think you would.  Norin is absolutely positive he as you under his thumb."

          &nbs p; "Sorry if that disappoints you sir.  I told my father I would carry on his ideals, and I have added on my own ideals to that.  I won't sacrifice them for the summit members."

          &n bsp; "What did you want to do when you first started?"

          &n bsp; Heero looked out the window, watching the morning sun, "I wanted to be in space, like my father…"

         &nb sp;  The assassin crawled through the small opening like a cat and purposefully walked over to the ambassador's bed.  A blade from the assassin's hand gleams in the pale moonlight.  A snarl is heard and the assassin leaps forward blade aiming directly for…

          & nbsp; "The Hell?"

            ; Heero pushes the assassin off of him and glares at the blade, "That thing is sharp you know."

            ; Relena straightened, "I am an assassin.  What the hell are you doing with your windows unlocked?"

          & nbsp; "You ruined my favorite pillow."

          &nb sp; The soldier grimaced, "You sound like a politician now.  What's this I hear about you being the Lord Emperor of Earth?  Are you asking me to kill you?  And if I really wanted to kill you, your pillow would be stained red rather than slashed."

          &n bsp; "Are you willing to kill me?"

            "…" She moved into the bathroom.

          &n bsp; "Do you want something to eat?"  Hearing no reply he decided to order food through his phone anyway. 

            He faintly heard the shower being run.  He grinned, so maybe she was a girl after all?

          &nb sp; After a few minutes Relena returned, her hair still wet and wearing a different set of clothes.  At his curious expression she announced, 'I do carry other things with me.'

            They sat together and ate much like they did before then Relena pushed the food away, "What are you doing here Heero?"

          &nbs p; "I was told basically that if I didn't agree to become the "Lord Emperor" of Earth they wouldn't repair one of the colonies, they would stop feeding the homeless children, and they would kill my family."

          &nb sp; Relena snorted and stood up away from Heero.

            ; "Don't give me that perfect soldier routine Relena.  Besides, in a week, I won't be 'Lord Emperor.'  I have made an influence one these people.  The new school will open tomorrow, and the new amendments will be put to vote the day after.  These people are starting to believe Relena; you have to give them a chance."

          &nb sp; She shook her head still turned away, "Give them a chance?  You really are a politician aren't you?  I don't have to give them anything except the blade of my sword.  You don't know why I fight.  You don't know me.  I am different from you Heero.  I am not a peace loving naive pampered arrogant aristocrat!"

           ;  "You can change Relena, you don't have to fight anymore.  You can stay here on Earth."

          &nbs p; Relena whirled around; her eyes narrowed and body tense.  "I am a soldier, there is nothing else for me to do.  And I would rather die that to stay here on Earth with you or any other absurd life form!"

             "Hey did you guys hear?  Heero resigned!  He just said it on tv!  Treize is on now; he says that he appreciates Heero's work."

            ; "Maxwell we already knew that."

            ; "OH yeah…  But still!"

          &nbs p; The Chinese pilot closed his eyes as if praying for more patience.  He looked up to see Relena walk in ignoring the other pilots and allies.  She sat stiffly down at her computer and began typing.  Duo perked up, "'Lena!  Did you hear about the Lord Emperor resigning and Treize taking over?"

            ; "…"

          &n bsp; "Where did you go anyway?"

          &nb sp; "…"

          &n bsp; "Do you know where Trowa went?  Cathy knows but she refuses to tell us.  I think she's hiding something from us.  I just don't think-"

          &nbs p; Relena stood off disconnect the laptop from the phone cable, picked it up, and walked out of the room with out saying a word.

            "She's back."

            ; "What are you talking about Maxwell?"

          &n bsp; "She was starting to talk and everything and now she's back to being the perfect soldier."

          &n bsp; Wufei grimaced and walked to the door, "It's probably because she can't stand you.  Go bother the woman."

          &nbs p; Duo groaned as Wufei left leaving Duo to himself in the large room, "Oh man…" He spotted Sally and Quatre walking down the hall together and grinned.  "This should be fun…"

             Ten minutes later…

           ;  Sally grimaced, as another balloon filled with God knows what exploded on impact on her head.  Currently, Quatre was trying to get the goop off of him to help her but it was useless.  Duo laughed again and left. 

            "You okay Sally?"

          &nbs p; Sally sat up as best as she could and faltered when Wufei walked by, stopped, backed up, and thoroughly examined the scene before him right up till he laughed while walking away.

            "Sally?  Are you alright?"

          &n bsp; "I'll get back at him if it’s the last thing I ever do."

  Episode 13: Support For Peace & The New Gundam

Only Those Who Are Mad Love War

         ;    He read the papers carefully before leaning back and rubbing his temples, trying to rid himself of the headache that had been plaguing him for the past two days.  The papers were from various reports from the colonies he was assigned to and they were all backing out of the peace treaty.  One man claimed that the Earth's "Flying Demon" would not force him to "sign a bloody treaty."  He sighed, and decided to turn on the news.

            "Colony B-X978 was destroyed today as was all its residents…"

             Heero sat up, "What the Hell?"

            ; "This was a photo taken right before B-X978's destruction."

    &n bsp;       Tap, tap, tap…  Her fingers pressed the key.

New Mission < /P>

Do you accept?

Yes

< /P> < /P>

Ring obtained data on

The "Flying Demon."

< /P>

Mission:  Intercept Flying Demon Destroy it if necessary

Or capture it.

   < /P>

Acknowledged

        & nbsp;   Relena cleared the screen and packed the laptop up.  After stowing the things in her room away she took what she needed and left the room.

            "Relena," Quatre looked at her.  "You're not coming with us?"

            "I have my own mission."

          &n bsp; "Awe 'Lena come on."  Duo got up and walked over.  "You can go after…"

         &nbs p;  His sentence was stopped by a punch to his face.

            "Don't."

          &nb sp; Quatre and Sally went to Duo's side as Relena left.  "You shouldn't provoke her like that."

            ; "I just wish she would loosen up."

            "Maxwell, with you around, everyone has to be on guard."

             "I don't believe this.  How could you not defend one transport?  I don't care if was four gundams, you had you orders!"  Une snarled and backhanded the officer.  This is the second time you have screwed an operation up!  How do you explain this?"

            ; "Ma'am you've fought the gundams…"

         &n bsp;  "Get out of my sight!"

             "Target sighted."  She pulled the control up and targeted the suit surprised at how similar it looked to her gundam.  As the suit prepared to fire Relena fired two shots distracting the pilot.  "Pilot of unidentified suit, disarm."

          &nb sp; "They'll all pay-- starting with you!"  The pilot screamed over the radio and lunged at Relena, Relena, in turn, fired the thrusters and back off…  That voice…  Could it be Trowa?!  I thought he was only a backup pilot.

          & nbsp; Trowa snarled over the radio and began firing his weapons in all directions, some hitting the colony nearby, and some hit Wing.  She locked on and fired half of her missiles and gritted her teeth when they were avoided or did no damage.  The computer blinked on her right and displayed the damage report…  A few good hits, she was done.

            "Trowa!  Listen to me, I am not you enemy!"

          &nbs p; "All who stand in my way are my enemies and they will ALL SUFFER!" 

         & nbsp;  Trowa came to with the vision of Relena's grim solder face looking down at him.  She crouched down beside him, "Are you alright now?"

            Trowa stiffened and bowed his head, "How can I be okay?  All those people…"

         &nb sp;  "It wasn't your fault.  I examined the suit after I drug you out.  You engaged something in it called the Zero System.  It took control on your mind and actions."

          &n bsp; Trowa closed his eyes that were now filled with pain.  "I failed."

          &nb sp; Awkwardly, she pulled his mourning form into her arms.  "You stumbled.  I read your mission read out.  I have obtained this gundam so you did succeed."

       &nb sp;    Relena adjusted her clothes and prepared the gundam Wing Zero for flight.  She was surprised no one had come to investigate, but she wasn't heartbroken about it. 

            "Are we leaving?"

          &n bsp; "Yes."

            ; "And we're taking Zero?"

            ; "My suit is totally destroyed.  I already transferred the data and destroyed the software on Wing."

            ; "I can't-"

          &nbs p; "I'll pilot Zero, you'll only have to sit in the cockpit."

          &n bsp; He pulled on a shirt, "Alright."

          & nbsp; Their flight, relatively short as it was, was also quit until they met Wufei and Quatre halfway in the secured docking bay.  Together, the four pilots sat down oddly detatched over this situation.

          & nbsp; "Trowa?  Why did you leave?"

          &nbs p; "I was told and given a mission by the Ring.  I was to retrieve the suit Wing Zero and give it to Relena to use but I was …" Trowa shook his head, "The suit Wing Zero has a system built into it that can either be used to enhance the pilot or take over the pilot's mind.  I was not strong enough to take control of the suit."

            ; "The Wing Zero is most diffidently an upgrade from Wing.  But the Zero system?  I haven't seen anything like it."

            Wufei raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting that someone is building these machines?  Doctor O, H, S, G, and J would never do something like this with out notifying one of us."

            "…"

          &n bsp; "There's something else…"

           ;  Wufei and Relena turned their attention to Trowa who was currently getting a cut clean on his arm by Quatre, "I encountered another suit.  It was made in the same way and Wing Zero but someone else was piloting it.  If I'm not mistaken, Zechs was the pilot in it, and that suit also contained the Zero System."

          &nb sp; Relena bowed her head keeping her anger in tack.  "Did you speak with him?"

            "Briefly, he claimed he wasn't part of OZ anymore and someone had contacted him in gaining a new suit at this location.  Apparently, Tallgeese was destroyed when he was defending the revived Sanc Kingdom."

          &n bsp; "The Sanc Kingdom?"

          &n bsp; Quatre cleared his throat, "OZ forces attacked the revived kingdom hours before you returned from your mission before last."

      &nbs p;     She punched and kicked in a rhythm that she understood.  Her movements became faster as she remembered.

             The mission had gone all wrong.  She only had a long knife left.  Her gun had run out of bullets minutes ago and all she had left was a long knife.  When the person jumped out at her, she only reacted, she didn't think.  She came to when Dr. J gripped her  arm and dragged her to her feet.  "You messed up."  He shook her and pushed her  into the back seat of a waiting car.  "It was so easy!  You've delayed us once again.If you mess up one more time, I'll make sure that you will learn your next lesson."  Dr. J's voice was harsh and irritated, but all she could see and hear was the woman slowly burning to death and she clutched her new born babe to her body.  The husband she had killed earlier when she bombed the quarters.  The ground and her hands became eternally stained with the color of blood…

           ;  The punching bag flew across the room in her anger.  But yet she was not satisfied and threw a punch at the mirror which she believed mocked her.  Her hands, she saw again, were covered in blood.

            ; "Are you going to become like the woman?"

          &nbs p; She tried desperately to block Wufei's voice out, "You have let your emotions take hold.  They are causing you to hurt yourself."

          & nbsp; "No!"  She cried out.  “Her training screamed over and over in her mind, “You should act on your Anger, and Hate.”

           ;  "That might be true in theory but you can’t act on those emotions alone, and you must only act on those particular emotions in moderation.  Quatre fell apart when Noventa was killed.  Duo constantly gets himself in trouble because he can't control his emotions.  You must control the soldier inside of you."

            She brushed at tears that weren't there, "I went there, but he didn't and doesn't want to understand.  I have to fight, I am a soldier."

             "Well Mr. Yuy, you work as hard as your father did.  If he was alive today he would be proud of you."

            "Yes, I suppose he would.  Now that the Flying Demon was destroyed, the colonies seem to be eager to sign the peace treaty."

          &nb sp; The colony representative, Joseph Sattler, smiled in remembrance, "When I was a child, there was peace…  Maybe my grandchildren will have peace too."

            Heero nodded briefly to Joseph before his left when he returned to his private room later he was amazed to see a note addressed to him on the table.  "Mr. Yuy…" It read.  "I ask you to met me at the park tonight I have a few questions that need to be discussed with you.  Enclosed are directions, come by yourself.  Zechs."  Heero scowled, was this the beginning and if it was …what did it start?

            ; Zechs eyes the mission specs, "Was my letter to Treize and Mr. Yuy delivered?"

             Dorothy Catalonia smiled, "Yes sir.  Construction is 55% complete as well."

            ; "We're ahead of schedule…"

         & nbsp;  "Sir?"  A soldier entered the room.

            "Yes?  What is it?"

            "A letter for you sir."

Alright Zechs.  If you want a war you'll have it.

          & nbsp;           &nbs p;            & nbsp;            -Treize Krushrenada Zechs grinned ruthlessly, “Come on Gundam pilots.  Come protect your precious space.”

Episode 14: A New Fight

Dying before the final battle has begun is no way to die.

       &nbs p;    The screen bleeped and Relena clicked on the new message.  As she read, she decided she was a fool.  How dare he?  Zechs was purposely involving Heero in this because he knew she wouldn't back down.  But then there was the war…  The new group White Fang led by her own brother had entered the picture and now the Gundams were put against even more odds than that of OZ.  Relena looked at those who were in the room as well. 

            They were going over the final plans.  Duo and Wufei would infiltrate the Space Fortress with Trowa and Cathy as back up.  Relena was to stay behind and manage the technical, while Quatre was to deal with any changes in the plan.  It was different.  Relena was usually on her own mission or was taking part in the mission that was least likely to be successful.  Sally and the Maganacs were off on their own somewhere, and personally, Relena didn't care - as long as they stayed out of her way. 

      & nbsp;      Duo winced as a bullet grazed his leg.  Wufei wasn't much better.  Somehow they had blundered their attack on the base.  They did not expect to be this much force and guard, but it was their fault Duo sighed…  While Wufei reloaded, Duo stood before him and fired into the hallway at the soldiers.  "Wufei, we can't keep up like this!"

            ; "What the hell you want me to do about it Maxwell?"

          &n bsp; "You studied the maps, isn't there some ducks we can go through…?"  Duo sweat dropped as he realized how low his magazine supply was.  "I mean we can't die here…"

           ;  "An American at heart are you…"  Wufei looked meaningful as his companion before throwing an explosive down the hall and while the soldiers recovered from the blast he grabbed Duo and practically tossed him into a duct that only a few knew about.  Silently he cursed, it would take longer to go this way.

            Quatre watched Relena pace off to his left.  The headpiece that rested on his head was switched on and tuned to a frequency that was now silent.  "The last message from Wufei said that things had taken the wrong turn.  Everyone is fighting now."  His words had no effect on her.  "Treize will not back down nor will Zechs…" 

            Relena's agitation increased.

          & nbsp;  "You can end this war Relena.  It's what Heero would have wanted."

          &nb sp; She whirled around, "And what would you suggest for me to do?!"

            Usually he would have backed down by now but her antics only encouraged him.  "You may follow this plan but even I can see its not going to be enough!"

          &nb sp; "We are soldiers and we both have our orders."

          &nb sp; "Are you going to become a doll as well?"

            ; The five scientists watched in mild humor as the two young men in front of them deftly shot their opponents down one by one.  Duo's clothes were stained with blood that wasn't just from him, and it was clear that we wouldn't be able to maintain his current stamina.  What they didn't expect at the moment was for a girl, no older than them to appear and knock Duo to the ground.

          &nbs p; "You idiot.  Can't you even watch your own back?"

            ; He grimaced as he could feel Wufei's smirk mocking him.  "Yeah well get off my back!"

            ; She moved away and tossed a set of keys towards his general direction.  "You better get the hell out of here!"

            ; "What do you mean?"

            ; She watched as Wufei moved toward the scientists and began releasing them.  "Well, DUO, this is going to be the final battle ground."  She secured the gun at her hip and began moving off.

            "Wait!  How do you know my name?!"

      &nb sp;     Heero tried as best as he could not to cough, but it seemed impossible.  He knew for sure one of his ribs was cracked and he would have a hell of a lot of bruising but that was all he could register right now.  Zechs was insistent on knowing the secrets about the earth sphere but Heero refused to bow down.  He winced as the blonde soldier name Dorothy cracked a rib.   Not much longer now.

         ;    "Bloody Hell!"  She tore at the two cords until they came apart then set herself down to the task of tying them together.  She hadn't received any new wounds as of yet but that, she reminded herself as she listened to the sounds of explosions, was subject to change.  The door finally opened and with a flick of her wrist she sent a dagger into the throat of a soldier on the other side of the door.  She pounced on the next soldier and cleanly snapped the bones in his neck. 

            Relena dashed away and ran madly down hallways at a speed that seemed near impossible.  It seemed like minutes passed.  Her blood pounded in her eyes in the rhythm of the war drum within. 

            As her feet lead her to a large one way mirror that showed the occupants on the other side, she sped up and jumped into the mirror shoulder first rolling as she fell and the mirror continued crumbling.  She stood up, ignoring the cut on her cheek made from the broken mirror glass, and calmly held the gun in her hand up to the woman's face.  "Dorothy I presume."  Relena's eyes narrowed as the other woman smirked, "Well then you know who I am and what I want."

            ; Dorothy's smirk turned into a rather large greedy and sickening grin, "But I don't know how much you are willing to risk."

            ; Those in the command center braced themselves against the explosion.  Information was continually shouted across the room.

"What do you mean Treize's suit no longer receiving or sending information?"  Lady Une's hands itched to strangle the soldier that clearly, in her opinion, did not have the sense God gave him.

            The solder was at a lost as to what to say, "I would appear that Treize has lost the battle and his suit is now destroyed…"

             "Visual on Treize Krushrenada's suit on Screen One now!"

            The crumbled debris floated peacefully in space as Lady Une screamed to turn off the visual.  Her eyes floated and she looked away from the shouts of those who needed her attention.  Zechs…  She tore her glasses off of her face and in a sudden moment of emotion she snapped her glasses in half.  Zechs, how dare you.

     &n bsp;      "Get in the damn cockpit Heero, I am not going to die today."  Relena crouched down in front of a radio trying to fix it.

            "You did a good thing."  Heero watched her as she continued to work, "Not many people would have allowed Miss Catalina to live.  She--" He paused as Relena kicked the radio away and walked towards him. 

            "And not many people have insanity in their family.  Get in the cockpit now or I'm leaving you here."

            Heero cursed under his breath as it took him more time to move because of his injuries.  Grateful when Relena helped him sit down on the floor and lean against her seat.  "Where are we going?"

          &nbs p; The cockpit door closed and the screens and panels flickered to life.  "The radio mentioned before short circuiting that the Gundam Pilots were clear and in the Command Center with Lady Une.  Something has gone wrong for the pilots to team up with her."

            "And so we are going there?"

          &nbs p; "Yes."

            ; Heero did his best to brace himself as the Gundam avoided the weapons and battles of the other soldiers.  An explosion just to the right caused the Wing Zero to shutter and Heero to grimace in pain.  "Why aren't you fighting back?"

            ; Slowing down upon sight of Lady Une's Command Center, Relena sent a brief message to assure that she was joining the other pilots and wished she could kick Heero for his foolishness.  "I will not fight someone while you are in this Gundam."

          &nb sp; Even battles need a break….  Quatre analyzed the information on the screen before him.  The suits that remained on the battlefield continued fighting but it was quite evident that currently both sides were replenishing the major part of their forces.

          &nbs p; "Zechs--"

          &n bsp; Quatre shook his head to remove Relena's voice from his head.  He had already heard her claims that Zechs had gone mad more than once, and he gave up being the mediator between the Gundam Pilots and OZ.  Besides Heero Yuy seemed to have better results being the mediator now…

          & nbsp; "Stop it, if what both you say is true then the former Lightening Count intends on landing on Earth and destroying it after he destroys us.  What are we going to do about it?"

            "Even with the addition of the Gundams, the White Fang still has mobile dolls that have yet to be deployed…"

         & nbsp;  "The mobile doll system the White Fang created is flawed and won't deployed until touchdown on Earth…"

         &nbs p;  Relena looked up, her eyes wide, "Doctor J?…"

          & nbsp; The old scientist stared at her for a moment before expressing his dissatisfaction at her by a combination of body movement and stinging words, "…01 you did not complete your mission.  Are you always going to be a failure?"

          &n bsp; "Other things required attention sir.  The mission would have completely failed if not for the secondary points."

          &nb sp; With his good hands he slapped her across the face and was almost mollified when she did not move.  "Girl, you try my patience.  But now is the time for other things."  His body reeked of the message that he clearly thought a male would have done better in Relena's place.  "This plan of Zech's is flawed, his resources are down and the construction on Libra was never completed.  He will need some new plan.  The Peacemillion has rendered Libra's primary and many of its secondary weapons unable to operate."

          &n bsp; "Lady!  Voice only stream from the White Fang requesting to speak with you!"

            "Then put it on speakers!"  The room grew silent as the voice of Zechs, the former OZ poster boy, was transmitted over the speakers.

          &n bsp; "Good evening Lady Une.  How are you?"

            "What do you want Zechs?  Treize is dead, do you want us to surrender?"

             "No Lady…  That would not accomplish anything.  Besides, no one will realize the horror of war until I'm finished."

          & nbsp; "Then what do you want?"

            ; "The End."

            Static filled the speaker and just as one of the soldiers turned the speakers off Quatre's voice rang out, "Zechs is now launching his replenished suits and back up!"

            Lady Une grabbed the nearest Com link, "Deploy everything we got now!"

            "That may not be enough."

          &nb sp; Lady Une turned to the man that pilot 01 had called 'Doctor J'.  "And what do you mean by that?"

            ; "I mean that Zechs is probably planning to drop the two war ships onto Earth causing almost100% damage to the planet.  As we speak, Zechs is most likely in his own suit preparing to give his life to make sure that does happen."

          &nb sp;     "And by your tone of voice I'm assuming that you have a plan for this?"

            ; "I don't," Doctor J motioned to the four men standing behind him.  "But we do."

            "The scientists are boarding Peacemillion, three Gundam Pilots will join the battle shortly, and Mr. Winner is helping Lady Une.  Why do you need to go to Libra?"

          &nbs p; "…"  Relena adjusted her flight suit, but at the same time tried to ignore Heero.

            ; "Zechs will not succeed--"

          & nbsp; "Zechs is my responsibility."  She tore the patch from her suit the sent information to the computer about her \heart beat, life support, and oxygen intake.  “This is a final battle for me Heero, it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.  Take this if you want something to remember me, I won’t survive this fight.  I will finish this now, as my responsibilities demand of me.”

           "How can you say that?"  Heero grabbed Relena as she tried to turn away.  "You don't--"

          &nb sp; "When I allowed Zechs to live in order to save you he became my responsibility, and since he has always been my brother by blood he will remain my responsibility."

         & nbsp;  Heero's eyes narrowed as he put two and two together, "That’s why that man was mad at you.   You compromised the mission to save me."

            "…"

          &n bsp; "Why did you do that?"

            ; "Go back to the Command Center Heero."  Relena pressed a button on her left wrist that allowed the spacesuit to hug her body in a snug fit.

            "Not until you answer my question." 

            Relena looked at Heero as he pulled her close, "I…"  She closed her eyes as his lips descended on hers for a long lasting moment before pulling away.  "I…"  Her eyes hardened and she pushed Heero away and into Duo Maxwell, "Duo, take him to the Command Center and make sure everyone there understands he is not allowed to leave."

          &nbs p; "uh…Sure…"

        & nbsp;   "No!"  Heero fought against those who held him back.

    &nbs p;       Zechs watched the suit approach, When I said no one would stop me, that meant you too my dear sister…

Episode 15:  The Promise of Tomorrow

      &nb sp;                              &nb sp;                       …Destroyed?

"They say pride leads men to war, I think its arrogance."

"Pride?  Arrogance?  What's the difference?  …It all leads to the same thing."

"What about women?"

"What about them?"

"What leads them to war?"

The second man chuckled, "Love.  What else could make someone go mad?"

  < p>            "Doctor J and the rest of the scientists have just boarded Peacemillion.  Pilot 01 is entering Libra."

          &nbs p; Lady Une gazed intently at the screen with one hand planted firmly on a hip.  With each minute another person died, time, she reflected, is of the essence.  "How long do the doctors estimate until they are completed?  I want an adequate warning to clear our people out understand soldier?"

          &n bsp; "They estimate thirteen minutes."

          &n bsp; Unlucky thirteen…  Une turned to the blonde pilot sitting before a laptop to the extreme right of Heero Yuy.  "Will 01 be able to stop Zechs?"

          &nbs p; "If there is a way Miss Relena will find it."

            "I didn't ask you Heero Yuy.  I have yet to know why exactly you are here…"

           ;  "Tell Doctor J they have to blow up Peacemillion now!  Libra is setting up for reentry into Earth's atmosphere!"

           ;  Une paused for a moment, "We'll finish this later Yuy.  Get our suits away from Libra!  We don't need any one killed by the explosion!"

             "Relena…" 

            “Oh Relena…”

        &nb sp;   “Baby sister….”

        &n bsp;   The voice over her radio was taunting as she stood before the dark red suit.  "Zechs, I have come to kill you.  Arm yourself."

          & nbsp; The laughing erupted over the radio waves, "You would kill your big brother?  My my, father would be very disappointed in you."

            Her eyes narrow and her grip on the controls tightened, "The Peacecraft family is dead, and I have never known a family let alone a brother."

           ;  "Oh I see now…  You plan to save everyone don't you?"

            "If that is what happens with your death then so be it."

            "Don't make yourself sound like some martyr!" 

            Relena barely had enough time to guard against the attack. 

            "Unidentified suit coming in fast!"

            ; Une turned to the Gundam Pilot, "From Libra?"

          &nbs p; "No, behind us!"

            Clicking the Com link into the sending position she raised the mike towards her face, "Unidentified suit identify yourself!"  She waited for a count of ten, Quatre's surprise that the suit was made of Gundanium only briefly registered in her mind.  Only a second before she gave the order to attack the suit did a voice come over the speakers.

          &n bsp; "I'm Hilde.  I'm here to help.  Another faction is on its way, this is becoming an all out war and I don't think we're gonna be able to stop it."

            "Are you a Gundam Pilot?"

          &nbs p; "I may pilot a suit made of Gundanium alloy but please do not put me in the same category of pilot 02."

      &nb sp;     The two suits battled each other as their pilots so willed.  The sparks and billows of smoke surrounded the two suits. 

            "What do you hope to accomplish Relena?  This world is stained with the blood, with the blood of the Peacecraft family!  This is the only way to cleanse it."

            Relena evaded the attack and twisted the suit around so that her beam saber cleanly sliced the left arm.  Gritting her teeth as Zechs slammed her into the wall she faintly heard Quatre's scream for her to "get the hell out of there" before the explosion of Peacemillion tore Libra to pieces. 

            Gritting her teeth she shut the Zero system down and switched the suit to normal mode.  The warship was in state of total mess.  As she looked around she saw…

          & nbsp; "Zechs!"  Kicking the door in her efforts to get out of the cockpit faster she leaped down and raced against her beating heart to get to the fallen suit.  "Zechs!"  She bit her lip as the effort to open the closed control and pilot compartment strained her muscles.  But that didn't matter to her now…  A pool of blood was forming that started out as a trickle from her brother's suit.

            "Brother…"  The door opened to reveal the bleeding form of Zechs.

            ; "I guess I wasn't lucky enough to escape death this time."

            ; "Milly…"

         &nb sp;  "Don't Relena.  My time is over now…  I'm glad that you made it alive and I could finally see you again.  I do love you, you must believe that."

            ; "Stay quiet", Relena crawled into the cockpit and quickly assessed the situation.  "You're going to need some help."  The com link on her wrist beeped, "What is it?"

            "Pilot 01, you must destroy Libra."

          &nbs p; Relena unconsciously stood straighter, "Doctor J that is impossible to do right now."

            "If you don't millions will die and the Earth will be destroyed."

             Unwillingly, Relena's head dropped forward, "Mission….  Accepted."  The link dissolved into static until the familiar hands and arms of her brother drew her close.

            ; "Get back to that boy who loves you."  He forcefully pushed her off the suit, "I will pay for my mistake, not you."

            “Brother!”

        & nbsp;   The door closed and the red suit came to life.  A giant hand reached down and picked her and placing her on the shoulder of Wing Zero.  "Leave now Relena!" 

       ;       "Libra is completely destroyed.  The Earth is now out of all danger from Libra."

          &nbs p; "And the new faction?"

          &n bsp; "They've declared war ma'am.  L1 and L2 have been taken over, they say that they'll have their formal declaration of war broadcasted shortly."

"What about our soldiers on those colonies?"

"Dead or taken prisoner."

"I see…"  Lady Une gazed thoughtfully at the remains of the two warships.  Her clear eyes carefully examined the wreckage.  Something was missing…

"Where is Relena?"

Une froze at Heero's voice, "Sergeant!  Get the Gundam Pilots and whatever we can spare to find that girl!  I want her found two minutes ago!  Do you hear me?"  The sergeant saluted and ran off as Une turned back to Heero.  "Mr. Yuy do you think you can make an emergency statement?  We need to stop all flights and prepare for this new storm."

"Once I hear about…"

"Pilot 01 is alive."

Heero gritted his teeth, "And how do you know that Doctor J?"

He chuckled, "My dear boy…  No one gave her permission to die.  She's alive somewhere out there.  When she can physically make she’ll be here on your door step. What I propose is that right now we start our plans for what we are going to do with the new faction.  "

"If I'm not mistaken, you ordered your pilot to kill herself before handing over the Gundams."

"I am not handing the Gundams over to OZ.  Call this a temporary truce."

"Une if there is any word I trust that you will notify me…"  Heero nodded stiffly at the woman's calm reply before leaving.  He couldn't stand being in the presence of either one of them at the moment.  Following the way he came in from the hangar when Relena brought him to the command center, he slowly made his way back.

Amidst the incoming suits, emergency personnel, and soldiers Heero found his way in front of suit that was closely modeled after the Gundam Sandrock.

"She's a beauty huh?"

Turning quickly around he was a girl, younger than he, smiling impishly at him.  "Excuse me?"

"My suit.  I asked if you thought she was pretty."

"I guess…  Its hard to call a weapon pretty or beautiful."

"You must be Heero Yuy.  I'm Hilde Schbeiker."

"How do you…"

"…Know your name?  I work for an intelligence group, its my job to know such things.  Ever since I lost my home, I've made it my business to know who was trying to create havoc so I could prevent it."

"So you’re a Gundam Pilot."

"Hey don't make us sound like a disease or something.  It takes a lot of training to be a pilot!"

"Doesn't anyone of you have a home?"

She paused, "I heard about your friend."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I don't remember any parents if that is what you mean.  Where I grew up, we were all war orphans."

"Did you ever want anything else?"

"Never knew anything else.  I--"  She paused grabbed Heero's arm and reached towards the nearest radio.

"<crackle> Peace is not the absence of war.  Rather it is the time where the people are oppressed and their dreams crushed!  No longer shall we sit and allow the government to make our decisions for us.  And I ask one thing of the people…  Trust me.  Trust that I can bring you justice. Trust that I can bring you freedom. And Trust that I can bring you true peace where our dreams are not crushed where we are allowed to live as we want!  No more shall we lie down like dogs, today we will make a stand!  Here is our declaration, we declare ourselves, our homes, and everything that we represent to be free from tyranny!  Today we declare war…"

"Damn fools.  They have no idea of what they are doing."  Turning to Heero she frowned, "Shouldn't you be doing something?"

"And what would you have me do?"

"Well I thought you were the person that is supposed to keep peace with your speeches, ideals, and all."

"I took up my father's work only because his untimely and unfortunate death enabled and demanded for me to do so.  I have been used as a pawn and I'm tired of it.  Politics weren't even my GOOD subject in school.  People don't believe what I say, and I haven't even graduated from HIGH SCHOOL."

"What about…"

"Relena's body is floating somewhere out in space where my body would have been is she hadn't disobeyed orders and saved me.  I obviously can not stop this war and nor do I have any intentions of helping out anyone by pretending to be on their side."

"You…  You ARE on our side aren’t you?"

"I'm going home, I don't know what to do in a war."  He hesitated, "When they find what’s left of Gundam 01 let me…"  Heero looked away, "I've changed, we all have…  I wonder what would have happened if things were different…  --It was nice to have met you Hilde, I'm sorry it couldn't have been under different circumstances…"

"Although was has been officially declared, so far there has been no engagements.  Lady Une reports to us that Heero Yuy has stepped down from all positions in and related to the government.  When asked about the rebels all Lady Une could say was 'No Comment'.  Since the recent revolution, L1 and L2 continue to lie within the grasp of the Rosen.  The leaders of this "Rosen" have yet to be identified…"

Brilliant crimson eyes twinkled with veiled humor and psychopathic tendencies.  The young man sat a mahogany desk staring at the view screen in contemplation as his fingers on both hands weaved together to form one fist that covered full lips set into a most satirical smirk. "Well Roger, it's begun.  The Earth will soon be ours as well as the rest on the colonies.  It was even easier than that we imagined."

"With you to rule them."

A third man nodded, "Of course…"

The crimson eyes now darkened, "I wouldn't have it any other way.  I expect to have all the information on our opponents by tomorrow.  Do NOT disobey me."

The men nodded and a girl in the shadows made her escape in the same way she came in.  She slipped into a technical duct filled with wires and began to make her way slowly back to her room and her computer.  Ayawill be pleased…

 End of Part II

  DISCLAIMER:  The series Gundam Wing, its characters, etc. all belong to their rightful owners.  The author of this fan fiction, by no mean, receives a profit for this; it's purely for enjoyment.