Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Soldiers Of Apocalypse ❯ Part-3 Memories and Sorrow ( Chapter 3 )

The Soldiers Of Apocalypse

Part-3 Memories and Sorrow

Warnings: Language, Violence adult themes, and slight OCC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam wing, if that's not obvious. So don't sue me unless you're a real low-life jerk.

Ch-1

The Kale Incident: In a gamble to end the rebellion, the Preventer's hastily made a decision to strike against Kale Young. Going only on a radio transmission from Kale himself, the Preventer's assembled 30 Preventer Cruisers, 20 Mobile Suit Carriers; each Carrier containing 10 suits. Also coming were the 5 Gundams, and the Tallgeese. They then launched a full frontal attack. However it was all just a trap organized by Kale. The Preventer's did manage to beat the Blood Fang, but the price was great. Out of the 30 Preventer Cruisers involved, only 7 came back; and out of the 200 suits that were sent in, only 38 were left. And victory was only obtained when Zechs Marquis, the greatest warrior the Preventer's had, sacrificed his own life. The disaster has been labeled The Kale Incident, and it is still a dark stain that haunts the Preventer's to this day.

It is now the year A.C. 203 and since the disastrous Kale incident, changes have been made. The senate on ESUN felt that the Preventers were no longer capable of defending the peace alone. In an historic and unanimous vote, the ESUN approved the formation of a new organization, the United Military Service, aka, the UMS. However the head of the ESUN Relena Darlin, who was too grief stricken over the loss of her brother, could not continue her duties. In the year A.C. 202, she resigned from head of the ESUN, shortly before the vote. Heero Yuy also found himself unable to go on with his duties, and retired his position on the senate. Heero and Relena now live in a seclude area of the New Sanq Kingdom.

Yuy Mansion (Sanq Kingdom)

_________________________________________________________________ __________

"Goodbye Heero..."

Heero watched as Zechs suit slammed into the control ship and exploded.

“ZECHS!”

_________________________________________________________________ __________

Heero bolted upright from his bed and began to breath heavily.

“ZECHS…Zechs…”

Relena woke up and looked at Heero “Heero… are you alright?”

Heero got up from his bed and ran to bathroom. He locked the door behind him, ran over to the toilet, and vomited. He then staggered over to the sink and cleaned himself up. As he splashed his face with water, he heard Relena's voice from the door.

“Heero… are you alright… Heero… please… open the door.”

Heero opened the door and saw a teary eyed Relena. Heero touched her check and embraced her. Both began to cry as they held each other.

It had been more than 2 years since the incident, but the memories continued to haunt him. They haunted him in reality, and in his dreams, and they only got worse during this time of year. Because it was 3 year ago, on this day, that Zechs had died.

Heero stroked Relena's hair and looked into her eyes “I'm sorry to worry you Relena, it's just, I'm still having nightmares about that day…”

Relena placed a hand on his cheek “Your not alone Heero, I've had them too. The only thing we can do is to try to be strong and overcome them.”

“Your right,” Heero looked out the window and saw it was still dark “What time is it?”

“It's about 5:30, sunrise should be coming up soon,” Said Relena

Heero nodded and looked at Relena “Hey Relena.”

“What is it?”

Heero looked at the window “When was the last time we saw the sun rise together?”

Relena smiled as Heero took her by the hand and led her out the balcony. They both held each other close as the sun peaked over the horizon. Soon the whole sky was a beautiful shade of orange and yellow.

Heero stroke Relena's hair and looked up at the sky “Zechs… I wish you were still here.”

Later that morning

Heero and Relena sat down at the dining table as a servant brought them their breakfast. The two ate in silence for most of the breakfast. Finally Relena spoke up.

“You know Heero; the head of the Sanq Kingdom is going to retire soon. That means as soon as he does, there will be an election.”

Heero looked at her astonished “Relena, are you thinking of running?”

Relena nodded “I'm tired of living in seclusion, I want to do something, I want to make a difference.”

“Relena, that`s a very tough job, are you sure your mentally ready for this?”

Relena sighed “I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm tired of doing nothing. I want to do something with my life; I want to help people again. I know I messed up the first time around, but I feel this could be a second chance for me.”

Heero nodded “Relena I wish that I had the strength that you do. It's been three years, and I still can't get past it.”

Relena grabbed Heero's hand “I know your still hurting, just know you're not alone. He was our brother, but when he died, it impacted the entire group. We all had a close bond with him, he wasn't just our friend, he was our family. Just like Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and Wu-Fei are too.”

Heero looked down at the table; Relena walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

“Heero, through whatever problems you may face, just remember that I'll always be by your side.”

Heero looked at her and nodded “I know… thank you for everything.”

The two held each other for awhile before Relena broke the hug “Now, we better get ready, we need to get some flowers before we head over to the cemetery.”

The two finished breakfast and got ready for the trip.

End Ch 1

Ch-2

Near Sanq Kingdom Memorial

Relena stepped back into the car, bouquet of flowers in hand. Heero started the car and drove towards the destination. Heero looked over at Relena who was clutching the flowers.

“What kind are they?”

Relena looked at him “Zechs never did tell me what his favorite kind was, so I brought a mixture of flowers. Do you think there good enough?”

Heero smiled “They look nice, I'm sure they'll be fine.”

They continued to drive until they reached a set of gates that were opened. The sign above said “Sanq Kingdom Memorial”.

They parked the car and walked past a memorial of all the other soldiers that fell during the battle with Kale.

“So many lives lost…” Thought Heero

They continued to walk past the graves until they reached a decorated Gravestone.

Here lies Zechs Marquis, devoted warrior for peace and justice

May his Heart, Spirit and Soul forever be with us

Relena kneeled down and placed the flowers on the grave. She traced the outline of the engravings and wept quietly. Heero placed a hand on her shoulder and permitted himself to shed a few tears. As he looked at the gravestone, he saw various items indicating that the others had arrived earlier. But one item caught his eye; it was a letter, from Noin.

“Noin… I haven't seen her since…”

Heero's thoughts drifted back to the funeral. The funeral, he could remember it like it was yesterday.

Heero just sat in his chair as he stared at the coffin filled with Zechs personal items. Everyone from the Preventers had shown up for the funeral, including Lady Une. Heero looked over at Duo and Hilde. Hilde had her head buried in Duo's shoulder as she wept aloud. Duo had one hand on Hilde's shoulder; his own face was buried in the other hand as tears ran down it freely. Trowa and Catherine both held each other in their arms as tears rolled down their cheeks. Wu-Fei wrapped his arms around Sally in an attempted to comfort her, but a heavy flow of tears flew down his face too. Noin, accompanied by a teary eyed Quatre, slowly walked up to the coffin. She wore a black dress with a black veil hanging over her face. When she reached the coffin, she placed a hand on it, and collapsed to the ground with a sob. Quatre knelt beside her and offered any sort of comfort he could to her. Heero stood up from his seat, took a deep breath, and began to speak the eulogy.

“Everybody in life wants to be remembered for something. They want to leave a legacy behind, so that future generations will be proud of them and their accomplishments.”

Heero looked down at the coffin “Zechs… words can not do justice for what you did… You didn't just save our lives… you saved all of earth and space. You sacrificed yourself to assure that future generations wouldn't have to go through what we went through.”

Heero placed a hand on the coffin “Zechs… you were my brother, and though we were once enemies, you were my most trusted friend and ally… I'm proud that I can call you my brother.”

Heero's voice began to croak “I…I know that you're looking down on all of us… and that you'll always be with us. So I'll try to make you proud, I'll try to live a life that you'd want me to.”

Tears now began to fall down his face “Zechs…I still miss you, I loved you, we all did, you were are family, are brother… and I'll never forget that. Zechs I… oh god…”

Heero put a hand over his face and wept aloud. Relena walked up to him and held him as tears came down his face. After awhile, Heero slowly broke the hug. And with tears still running down his face, he kneeled down, and kissed the coffin.

After the preacher said a few words, there was a moment of silence as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground. Afterwards, each of the guests walked up to the coffin, and said a little prayer. Then one by one, they left until just the Gundam Pilots remained. Heero took one last look at the coffin, and then to the sky. He knew Zechs was up there watching, waiting…

“Heero,”

Heero snapped out of his trance and looked at Relena “What is it?”

Relena sighed, “It's been almost an hour, we should get going soon.”

Heero nodded “Yeah,” He looked at the coffin and ran his hands on it. “Goodbye Zechs.”

Heero rose to his feet “Let's go.”

Heero took Relena by the hand and they began to walk out of the cemetery.

“Heero… my god, is that you?”

Heero quickly spun around and stared at the face of Duo Maxwell.

End Ch 2

Ch-3

Sanq Kingdom Memorial

Heero walked over and gave Duo a big hug “Oh my god, I haven't seen you in years.”

Duo released the hug and looked Heero in the eyes “It's been too long my friend.”

Duo looked at Relena “Relena, it's good to see you again.”

He grabbed her hand, kissed it lightly, and gave her a brief hug.

Relena smiled “It's good to see you too, where's Hilde?”

“She had to use the restroom; she should be back soon though.”

“Hey guys.”

The three of them looked over and saw Hilde coming towards them. Hilde grinned as she saw Heero and Relena.

“Wow, It's been ages since I last seen you two.”

She walked over and gave Heero a quick kiss on the cheek and Relena a hug before returning to Duo.

“It's nice to see you again too.” Said Relena

Heero nodded “Same here, I haven't been able to see any of the other pilots for awhile.”

Duo sighed, “Yeah me to, it's really hard to visit them, they always seem really busy.”

Hilde shrugged her shoulders “Yeah but at least we all still talk to each other more often.”

Relena nodded “True, but it would be nice if we could all visit each other once awhile.”

“Um since were here, Relena would you mind if I talked to Heero privately for a moment?” Said Duo

“Not at all.”

Heero nodded and walked with Duo through the cemetery.

“So how are you holding up?” asked Duo

Heero sighed, “Not to well I'm afraid, I… I'm still not fully over it yet.”

Duo nodded “I don't blame you, not a day goes by where I don't think about it. I'm sure glad I have Hilde; she's really kept me together these past few years.”

“I know what you mean, if Relena wasn't in my life… well… I don't want to think about it. So how's the scrap metal business going?”

Duo smiled “It's still going strong; I now own shops on almost every colony. I`m now almost 1/8 as rich as Quatre is.”

Heero chuckled “That's good to hear, do you talk to the others regularly?”

“Yeah off and on, not nearly as much as I should.”

Heero nodded “Yeah I've been like that too. Hey, did you hear that Quatre and Dorothy broke up?”

“Who didn't, I spoke with him a few days afterwards, and he was still pretty torn up about it.”

“Did you ever figure out the reason why?”

“Yeah, apparently they decided that they were getting too busy to have a stable relationship. I guess it's understandable with Quatre running his Fathers Company, and Dorothy getting elected as a senator.”

“So it was mutual?” Asked Heero

Duo nodded “Yeah but it still hurt him pretty bad.”

Heero sighed “Well that goes without saying, I still can't believe though that Dorothy became a senator for the ESUN.”

“It is kind of strange but then again you were a senator too, speaking of which, are you going to try to get back on the senate?” asked Duo

Heero shook his head “In my present state, there's no way I'd be able to focus. However Relena is planning on running for President of the Sanq Kingdom.”

“That's good for her, she'll win no contest.”

The two walked for a while in silence before Heero spoke up.

“What's on your mind?”

Duo sighed “Well…I don't want to talk about it here, is there by any chance you could go out.”

“Yeah, but I'll have to tell Relena first, your car or mine?”

“We'll take my car, that way Relena can show Hilde around.”

Heero nodded “Right,”

Heero and Duo walked back to where Hilde and Relena were talking.

“Hey Hilde, I'm going to take Heero out so I'll need the car, would that be alright?”

Hilde nodded “Sure, I could use some time with Relena, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

Heero walked over to Relena and kissed her “I'll be back some time tonight okay?”

“Alright, well be back at the mansion, just be safe and stay out of trouble.”

Heero smiled “No problem, its Duo I need to watch out for.”

Hilde smirked “You guys have fun, see ya later Duo.”

Duo quickly kissed her “Okay see ya tonight.”

Heero and Duo walked over to Duo's car.

“Wow, this is nice.” Said Heero as he ran his hand across the jet-black paint.

Duo smiled “You like it, it's my favorite one. It's modeled after a classic, but I'm not sure though. What I do know is that it's very fast.”

“Great, I knew I should've written my will this morning.” Said Heero with a smirk.

Duo laughed, “Oh shut up and get in, I'm not that bad of a driver.”

They both got in and Duo sped off.

End Ch 3

Ch-4

Sanq Kingdom

“So how are things with you and Hilde?” asked Heero

Duo looked at him and smiled “Well… I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”

Heero's eyes opened wide “Well congratulations, although it's not like she'd say anything different. When did you ask her?”

“About 6 months ago.”

“So are you going to have the wedding soon?' Asked Heero

Duo shrugged “We're not sure on a date, but it is in the near future. And I know this goes without saying but I'm choosing you for the best man.”

Heero looked at him and smiled “Thanks Duo… I really appreciate that.”

“Come on, don't get all sentimental over it, we both knew you were going to be it for a long time now.” Said Duo as he pulled into a parking lot of a bar.

Heero looked at Duo confusedly “Duo, if we have to talk, why are we going to a bar?”

Duo smiled “What can I say, I like bars. Besides a few drinks never hurt, come on, they're on me.”

Heero sighed “Alright, but no shots, I can't stand that kind of stuff.”

Duo smiled “Fair enough… wimp.”

The two both laughed and got out of the car, and stepped into the bar. A couple of people looked at them when they entered, but resumed their business. Heero and Duo walked over to an empty table in the corner and sat down. A minute later a lady came up to them.

“Hello boys, what can I get you?”

“Two beers for now.”

She nodded “Okay, I'll be right back.”

Heero looked around the room and then at Duo “Alright Duo, honestly, why did you bring me…”

Duo held up his hand “Hold that though.”

The lady came back holding two bottles of beer “Here you go.”

Duo smiled, gave her some money, and took the beers “Thank you, I let you know if we nee anything else.” She nodded and left.

Duo gave a bottle to Heero “To Zechs.”

Heero touched Duo's bottle with his own “To Zechs.”

They both tool a gulp and set them down.

“Alright, so what's the reason you brought me here?” Asked Heero

Duo reached into his pocket and pulled out 5 photo's “Take a good look at these.”

Heero looked at the pictures, and his mouth dropped “Duo… are these are Gundams?”

Duo nodded “Yeah, they look great don't they.”

“They look… different.“

Duo smiled “Well, that's probably because I upgraded them.”

Heero looked at him wide-eye “What do you mean upgraded?”

“Well about a year and a half ago I decided that if another war ever broke out, we would need more advanced Gundams. So with permission from Lady Une, I got some mechanics, and completely re-modified our Gundams with the most advance technology.”

“Duo this is incredible.”

Duo shrugged his shoulders “I can't take all the credit, I came up with the design, it was Howard and his team who put then together.”

Heero just stared at the photos “Well with Howard involved I know I can except the best, do any other of the pilots know about this?”

Duo shook his head “Nope you're the first, but I have an idea on how to tell them.”

“What's that?”

Duo grinned “A reunion, I call them all up and we all get together, that way we can all see each other again, and I can tell them the news. Hell I'll even bring Howard; I know he'll want to see the gang again.”

Heero smiled “That's great, but where should we hold this reunion?”

Duo shrugged “I would say my house, but it's always too busy.”

“Well how about my mansion, it's big and we have pool. It would be perfect; we'll all have a great time.”

Duo smiled and put a blank stare on his face.

“What are you doing?” asked Heero

“I'm trying to imagine Relena in a bikini.”

Heero glared at him “You know, I am carrying a gun.”

Duo laughed, “I'm just kidding man, but that pool idea sounds great.”

Heero smiled “Well then it's on.”

They both took another drink of beer and began chatting about various things. Suddenly, a large man walked into the room accompanied by 8 other men. They saw Heero and Duo at the table and walked over to them.

“Well well, what do we have here, you boys must not be from here cause if you did, you know that this is my table.”

Heero looked up at him “There's plenty of other places to sit, couldn't you find another table?”

“Yeah besides it's not like you own this bar.” Chimed Duo

“That's where your wrong pretty boys, my name is Trent, and this is my bar. So I think we have a problem here.”

“Look we don't want any problems, why don't you just sit down and have a drink with us?”

Trent slammed his hand on the tabled and yelled at them.

“YOU LISTEN HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, OR YOU WON'T MAKE HOME ALIVE!”

He then grabbed Duo's braid and yanked hard on it. Duo grimaced and made a motion for his gun.

Heero shook his head “Let's have some fun with these guys.”

Duo smiled and stood up from the table “Well I'm sorry Trent, here you go. Come on Heero, if the baby is going to cry about it, we better leave.”

“WHAT!”

“You heard me you worthless piece of shit!”

Trent yelled and lounged at him, but was sent flying back with a right hand from Duo.

Heero looked at the other 8 “You boys better clear out, before something bad happens to you.”

They just continued to glare at them, one made a lunge for Heero, but he took him down with an elbow to the nose. Duo ran up to one, and slammed his fist into the man's gut, doubling him over. He then grabbed his head and knocked him out with a knee to the face. Heero ducked a punch from one, and countered it with an uppercut to the jaw. Duo grabbed another man by the face and repeatedly head butted the man's nose, he then threw him into the wall. Heero blocked another punch and responded with a front kick to the man's stomach, and followed it with a round house to the head. Another one tried to punch Duo from behind, but Duo caught the arm, and threw the man over his shoulder through a table.

Heero and Duo looked around the room, there were still 2 more, but they were just standing there.

“What's the matter; you were all acting tough before.” Said Heero

Duo smirked “Don't tell me you're afraid of a couple of pretty boys like us?”

As Duo and Heero approached them, the men started backing up a bit.

“Come on guys lets do this, I'm having fun.” Said Duo

Heero smiled “Ready when you two ladies are.”

The two men ran out of the bar as fast as they could. Heero and Duo just looked at each other and grinned. Suddenly Trent came in from behind with a chair and smashed it over Duo's head. Heero grabbed him by the hair, punched him in the nose, kicked him in the groin, and kneed him in the face. Trevor fell on his back and laid there, Heero kicked him a few time before helping Duo to his feet.

“You alright Duo?”

Duo nodded “Yeah,” He shook his head a bit and saw Trent trying to get to his feet “That cowardly son of a bitch!”

He walked up to Trevor and knocked him back on the ground. He then began kicking him repeatedly in the ribs. Heero ran to Duo and pulled him away from him.

“Easy Duo, don't you think he's had enough?”

Duo looked at Trevor and saw him squirming “Nope, not yet,” He gave him another couple of kicks “I think that ought of do it.”

Heero and Duo looked at each, other and kicked Trent one last time. Just then they heard sirens in the distance.

“Let's get the hell out of here before we get arrested!” Yelled Duo

“Right,”

Duo quickly gave the owner over 500 and ran out the door with Heero. They both got into the car and sped off. After they were a good distance from the bar, Heero and Duo looked at each other, and began laughing hysterically.

Duo patted Heero on the shoulder “Hey man, now are you glad that I took you out?”

Heero smiled “You know something; this is exactly what I needed. I've been having some rough times, but tonight, I felt good. For the first time in awhile I felt like I was alive, and I owe it all to you man.”

Duo smirked “You're not going to try and kiss me are you?”

Heero smiled and raised his eyebrows “You never know.”

Duo chuckled a bit; suddenly he heard his cell phone ring. Duo grabbed his phone and answered it.

“Duo here, oh hey Hilde, your ready to be picked up now, ok, I'll see you in a few.”

Duo hanged up the phone “That was Hilde, she needs to get home.”

Heero nodded “That's okay.”

Duo continued to drive until they reached the Yuy Mansion.

Duo smirked “Hey Heero, about this whole brawl thing, let's try to keep that under wraps.”

Heero nodded “Yeah, no need to get our wives upset over this.”

Duo honked on the horn and Hilde walked out of the house accompanied by Relena. Heero and Duo got out of the car and looked at each other.

“Well Duo, it was good to see you again.”

Duo smiled “Same here… Listen I have something I want to give you.”

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a photo, He handed it to Heero.

“To remind you of better days.”

Heero looked at the photo and a small smile came across his face. It was a picture from the reunion with everybody in it.

Heero grinned and looked at Duo “Thank you… this means a lot to me.”

“Don't mention it, it the least I could do to help out a friend.”

Heero smiled warmly and gave him a brief hug; Duo returned the hug.

Heero released Duo “Well I guess I'll see you at the reunion.”

Duo smiled at him “Yeah, I'll give you a call later on this week.”

“Alright take care Duo.” Said Heero

“Yeah, goodbye… for now.”

End Ch-4

End Part-3

Peace!