Someone once said that life is like an endless waltz, the three drums of peace, war, and revolution flowing one after the other seamlessly and endlessly.
What, though, if life is not an endless waltz? What happens when it looks like the end is near? The results might be described by some as a
Hellfire Paradox
Year 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, Quatre Winner, Zechs Marquise, Relena Peacecraft, or any of the other original characters from the Gundam Wing TV anime. If I do write in any of my own original characters, I'll make a list of them at the end of the story.
I'd like to dedicate this fic series to FierySable, who was the first person to review my GW fics at fanfiction.net. God bless, FS, and I hope you get just as crazy about Hellfire Paradox as you did about Operation ArchAngel.
This fic takes place after Endless Waltz
Chapter 1- The Impossible Occurs
Location: The Peacecraft mansion, Sanct kingdom
Timeline info: The year A.C. 199, a spring night
Heero's mind had barely registered the events of the past several moments. One minute, he'd been talking with Quatre and Duo over long-range visual communications gear, the next he smelled smoke and had rushed out of the room urgently, abruptly terminating his conversation with his two friends. The hallway had been filled with only smoke at first, he remembered, but then suddenly fire filled his field of vision. Most of the rest was a blur. Now, rushing out of the mansion, he carried the unconscious Relena in his arms, rushing out from amid the smoke and devouring flames. He was just now aware of fire trucks scattered about outside, throwing both Fire and non-burning chemicals at the mansion by the tons in attempts to stop the enormous blaze. One firefighter quickly rushed over to Heero as he spotted the young warrior emerging from behind a veil of smoke.
"Is she alright?" He inquired, obviously trained to address the most critical-looking situation first.
"She's unconscious; call for an ambulance." Heero instructed.
"There's three ambulances over there." The firefighter said, pointing to a cluster of vehicles. Heero and the older man started in that direction without hesitation. In minutes Relena was being checked over by on-scene paramedics. The firefighter, after urging Heero to have his burns looked at as well, turned and looked at Heero with an obvious question on his face.
"What in the world happened in there?"
Heero looked at him monotonously.
"In all truth and honesty, I have absolutely no idea."
Location: Somewhere in the inner solar system
Duo and Quatre's custom shuttle drifted lazily through space, it's heading earth. Stars glided gently past as the low-burning thrusters blazed, and in the far distance was an ever-shrinking steel-silver colony. Within, Duo looked confoundedly at a screen with nothing but static to show him.
"What could be going on down there?" Quatre wondered out loud. "I hope Heero and Relena are alright."
"Ah, it's probably nothing. You know how weird couples are." Duo joked as he toyed with different communications frequencies.
"Heero, become weird? Not a chance." Quatre joked sarcastically.
"Yeah, the guy must've gotten brainwashed during his training under Doc. J or somethin'." Duo replied. "I mean, how many times have you ever heard the guy do something normal like tell a joke or even laugh?"
"Yeah. It's strange to be around him sometimes."
Suddenly, Duo picked up a signal on a spread spectrum band width. Quickly keying in commands, he linked into the signal and displayed it on the comm. screen in font of him and Quatre.
The face on the screen was that of Wufei.
Location: The Sanct kingdom
Relena's eyes slowly dialed into focus, throbbing in her ears slowly receding to a tolerable level. Above her, Heero's face was the first thing she recognized. Looking around, she realized that she was in an ambulance with a paramedic on either side. Groaning, she slowly sat up and looked into Heero's eyes for answers.
"Heero? Where are we? What happened?"
Heero gave her his version of an uncertain look, then took a breath and looked into her eyes.
"I don't know what happened, but you're OK now. You had a concussion, but the paramedics say you didn't receive any injuries other than that. What do you remember?"
She looked away, collected her thoughts, then looked straight at him again.
"I remember that I was in my room, then I remember smelling smoke and... and then I was suddenly falling. I must have blacked out when I hit something and the next thing I remember is that I woke up here."
"Relena, the mansion somehow caught on fire. I don't remember much of it, but I was able to get you out of there. I don't know who else did or didn't get out, or how the fire started, but the important thing is that you're alright."
"What about the students, the workers, the-"
"We can't do anything about them right now. We'll find out what happened as soon as we can, though. I promise."
Location: Somewhere in the inner solar system
"This is Preventer agent Dragonfire." Wufei stated, obviously not speaking just to Duo and Quatre but whosoever might chance to receive the message. In the background, Sally could be seen working frantically at a control console. Wufei continued. "All space faring ships, be alerted that numerous disappearances of people in the outer colonies have been reported in the last hour alone, and that there are critical and dangerous situations on multiple traveling routes between colonies and also between outer space and earth. Please, we advise that you avoid high traffic areas until more information about..., whatever is going on, is known. I repeat, avoid high-traffic areas for your own safety. The Preventer organization will try to send out updates and information about this crisis as soon as possible, but for now it is recommended that, if you can, stop traveling and wait for further information. Dragonfire out."
"Disappearances??" Quatre questioned. "What could he be talking about?
"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling." Duo stated, fingers racing over buttons. "I'm gonna see if I can't contact Wufei; he might be able to shed some light on this 'crisis'."
About five minutes later, Duo and Quatre were once more face to face with Wufei via long-range communication.
"So, I take it you guys picked up that spread-spec, huh?" Wufei inquired.
"You just can't say 'hi, what's up' like an ordinary person, can ya?" Duo joked.
"Duo, right now this is no time for joking." Wufei stated. "If I don't miss my guess, you guys want to know whatever I know about this crisis, don't you?"
"Yeah. What's going on? What did you mean by disappearances??" Quatre inquired.
"Is there a miscommunication?" Wufei inquired. "Disappeared, it's as simple as that. One minute they're there, the next they're not. 'Poof, no more them'."
"But- but how? I mean, people just don't disappear into thin air. What happened? Where'd they go?"
"Quatre, if I had those answers, you think I'd be calling this a crisis? All I know is that, in the last two hours, there have been reports coming in about missing persons in both earth and colony governments, pilots of shuttles suddenly vanishing and leaving all the passengers who didn't disappear stranded, airplanes crashing into cities and igniting huge firestorms; in short, the universe got turned upside down two hours ago, and so far nobody has any clue how, who, or why."
"You think there's somebody behind all this?" Duo inquired.
"All I know is that something like this couldn't have happened on it's own. But whoever did it must-"
"Wufei!" Sally exclaimed. Wufei spun around to see her face panic stricken. Her voice was nearly frantic. "I just got a communication from HQ: there's a colony out in L5 that's out of control. HQ says that there's no gravity, power systems are failing, and it's stability has given out."
"Great, just what we needed now: another crisis to add to the list." Chang muttered, then turned back to Duo and Quatre. "You guys think you could lend a hand? A colony out of control is probably gonna require some expertise I don't have."
"Count us in." Duo stated. "Besides, we might be able to find out happened if we work together."
"Right. We'll ronde-vou with agents Wind and Fire at the colony. Preventer Dragonfire, over and out."
Location: The Sanct kingdom
"Disappeared??"
Heero's half-stunned response was matched by the expression on the doctor's face. They, and Relena, were in a hospital room, Heero's burns and Relena's head bandaged because of the injuries they'd sustained in the escape from the burning mansion.
"Yes, disappeared. Hundreds, thousands in fact, all just vanished. There's fires all across the globe from people vanishing while they were cooking something, which probably explains what happened at your mansion. Plus, there's car accidents, airplane crashes, derailed trains, and the like all across the board, numbering in the hundreds."
"But how? How do thousands of people just vanish into nowhere?"
"Look, I don't have any more answers than you do. Even this hospital lost a few workers and patients, and all that's left is their clothes."
"Their clothes?" Relena questioned unsurely.
"Yeah, their clothes. Shirts, undergarments, necklaces, even tooth fillings, stitches, that kind of thing just flopped onto the floor when whoever was wearing them vanished. Basically, whatever they were born with and whatever they ate recently is what vanished. And so far, nobody has any explanations, either, so it's best if you to stay here where it's safe."
"But... somebody must be behind this somehow. We can't just sit here while they-"
But Relena never got the chance to finish her sentence. Outside the window, the nerve-shattering sound of someone screaming was heard. Heero spun just in time to see a blurred form shoot past the window at a slight distance, headed for the ground. He rushed quickly over to the window, followed by Relena and the doctor. Heero looked down, then just as quickly looked away. Relena gasped in sickened horror, as did the doctor.
Laying on the ground was the limp body of a human being. Somehow, somebody had opened a window or gotten to the roof and then jumped off. Blood lay in a frothy puddle around the grotesquely dead form.
"Has the entire world gone mad??!" Relena exclaimed upon glancing at the sight. Down below, a few stray people had gathered around the body in surprise.
"I'm starting to believe it might." Heero stated.
"... Tragically, you almost can't blame him." The doctor said, looking sadly away. "People vanishing; somewhere along the line most of the population has lost somebody close. We've been receiving more than just people in car crashes and victims of blazing fires for the past two hours since this calamity began. We've also been receiving suicide victims that literally went insane with grief from the loss of loved ones and then took matters into their own hands. As it is, Ms. Relena, this area of the Sanct kingdom has been amongst the least hard-hit, perhaps thanks to your teachings of pacifism and peace, but I don't even want to think of what must be happening in large-scale cities or even out on the colonies."
"Assuming whatever this is has also effected the colonies." Heero stated, then paused for a long moment. "You also lost someone, didn't you doctor?"
He nodded slowly and painfully, a tear forming in his eyes.
"My daughter and 14-month old son. They were... amongst the ones who vanished. I found out from my wife an hour or so ago when she managed to get a call in to me. I don't know yet if I've lost anyone else or not. If it wasn't for her, I might be the next one to jump."
"Don't talk like that!" Relena exclaimed. "What good will ending your life do? It can't bring your children back, and it can't change what's already happened."
"Doctor, we appreciate your kindness." Heero stated. "Whoever is behind this, I promise that they'll pay for what they've done, and they won't get the chance to do this again."
Location: A colony in the L5 cluster
People were everywhere, some screaming in panic, some lamenting over lost ones, as well as the random insanity that perforated the panic like dressing on a salad. Duo and Quatre had managed to restore gravity and stability to the colony, but now they, Chang, Sally, Zechs, and Noin were faced with nearly a hundred other problems including rampaging street violence by people attacking senselessly whosoever they could find as a target, people trapped in burning buildings, and even the occasional wacko who'd totally lost it and wanted to cause the colony to self-detonate so he could 'go be with the others'. As anarchy reigned, the Preventers, Duo, and Quatre quickly realized that even with the help of colony-centralized police forces, they weren't making a dent in what was going on in the colony.
Not to mention that the same problems were probably happening in every other colony all across space. Just how many could they 'Prevent'?
"We're getting nowhere fast." Zechs stated wisely to the group as they stood on one of the city's many streets that were filled with chaos. "There's just too much colony and too few of us."
"So you're saying we retreat??" Duo inquired.
"Do you have any better ideas? If so, I'd like to hear them." Zechs replied.
"Zechs is right; we can't do anything to stop an entire colony that's gone mad." Quatre stated. "The police are protecting the command and control sections of the base; that's the important thing. Hopefully the rest of this will wear itself out soon."
"As much as I hate to leave a situation like this to itself, we really can't do anything." Sally stated dejectedly. "Besides, we may be needed elsewhere; we should get back to our ships."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Duo replied. Some guy nearby, all the while screaming something indecipherable at the Preventers (obviously drunk), chucked a glass bottle at Duo, which Duo saw at the last minute and was able to dodge. "Hey! What was that for?!"
The guy said something about 'you government sellout...', laughed at Duo without apparent reason, then wandered off.
"Lets get going, before these people decide to start anything irrational." Wufei stated, much to Duo's silent agreement.
The six made their way back to the police-guarded docking bay where their ships were and about ten minutes later had launched and were out in open space again. Near instantly, the Preventers began receiving numerous assignments and distress signals from multiple places.
"This is insanity; they don't expect us to protect ever colony in the area, do they??" Wufei exclaimed upon reading some of the multiple transmissions he and Sally were receiving.
"Since we're the only Preventer units close enough to do anything, we'd better hit the biggest trouble spots first and worry about the little fires later." Sally stated.
"Guys," Duo said, his face appearing on the com screen. "I've been thinking about something that I just gotta get off my chest. Assuming somebody is behind all these disappearances, why did some people vanish and not others? I've been trying to figure it out and unless whoever did this just wanted to cause random chaos, I don't see a pattern or purpose."
"I agree." Wufei replied. "Whoever they are, they must have some reason for vaporizing some people but not others, but what the reason eludes me."
"Keep in mind though that we still don't know how they did it." Sally reminded them. "For all we know, this might be some new, unwieldy technology and might even involve some kind of freak accident."
"I'm transmitting you guys a list of the big fires that I think you'd be best for putting out." Wufei stated, hands racing over the keys in front of him. "I'll send another list to Wind and Fire once I finish looking over these distress calls. Deal with as many situations as you can and then we'll ronde-vou outside earth's orbit to regroup and plan our next move. If whoever caused all this strikes again, we might be able to find some information to help us pin down his intent and maybe his location. Over and out."
Location: A circus show, colony L1-AG4302
Trowa could barely believe what he had seen nearly four hours earlier. In the middle of a performance, in the blink of an eye, people had instantly vanished. Many, he remembered vaguely, had been little children, but there had been teenagers and adults as well who, somehow, suddenly ceased to exist, their clothes falling neatly to the ground where they'd been sitting. Later, he'd discovered that some of the circus actors and workers had vanished too, clown suits, flaky puddles of face paint, the skin-tight suits the acrobats wore, even one of the recent stage hands had just disappeared. It had shocked him to the point of total disbelief; this was no magic trick, people had just instantly vanished out of their seats and clothes.
Later, he, Catherine, and some of the other circus workers had discovered fearfully that the disappearances had happened throughout the entire colony. Normal people driving home from work had suddenly ceased to exist, their cars crashing into other people's and causing massive flaming car wrecks. People who operated the colony instantly vanishing so that their stations were left unmanned; it was fortunate that the colony was still in it's orbit. Many of those who had disappeared, they'd discovered, were young children, and walking along the streets it wasn't hard to hear the lamenting sobs and cries of parents who'd lost their babies suddenly and without warning.
The colony was in a state of confusion and terror, people even becoming violent in search of someone, anyone, whom their deluded minds could conceive as capable to cause all of this. One such person, spotting Trowa and his group, had lunged at them with a knife in one hand, but Trowa had managed to safely disarm the attacker and knock him out before he could inflict any injury to anyone. In some desperate hope to escape, the group had made their way to the bay where they'd left their shuttle, only to find that, somehow, some desperate person had broken in and stolen it.
Now, standing in the wide, spacious hangar, Trowa had to wonder out loud.
"How in the world could this have happened??"
To his surprise, Catherine put one hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her and suddenly realized that she was beginning to cry. The others also looked at her strangely, wondering why she'd chosen now to begin to get emotional. She looked at Trowa with an expression half-terror, half- grief.
"Trowa,... I... I think I know why this all happened..." She managed to choke out between tears, before collapsing to her knees and beginning to sob and cry profusely. "... They... they tried to tell me... they told me this would happen..." She cried, practically mourning. "Why didn't I listen to them...?!"
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nation building, earth
Three hours later...
Relena and Heero had promptly arranged for transport to the ESUN in hopes of finding out more about the disappearances. Armed security guards escorted them both into the primary meeting room, where a worker in a suit suddenly stopped them.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Dorlan, but only delegates are supposed to be allowed in the conference room, what with the crisis that's going on and such. Please, understand that my instructions are coming straight from Mr. Poneeras himself."
"Poneeras?" She inquired. "And who might he be?"
"...Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot that you've been out of touch with ESUN proceedings for a while. Mr. Stephan Poneeras is the newly-elected chairman of the ESUN, a great person if I do say so myself who used to be the president of Romania and then was elected to the position of ESUN chairperson three months ago. Surely you've heard of some of the incredible changes he's been implementing?"
"I'm certain I'll get the chance to know more about Mr. Poneeras later, but right now my" She glanced quickly at Heero. "Body guard and I must get into the conference room. I was told that the meeting will be starting shortly."
"Ms. Vice Foreign Minister, I'm sorry but I can't let you-"
"You yourself said the ESUN was taking precautions in light of the disappearances. Well, you can consider my bodyguard my precaution. As you can see, he's unarmed and I can't conceive of any reason why, since he has my special permission, he can't be present during the conference. Besides, I don't think that Mr. Poneeras will mind."
"... Alright, but this is against my better judgement." The doorman said, waving them inside.
The ESUN conference room was just like the pictures Heero had seen of it. In fact, it reminded him of a kind of circular courtroom, both the walls and single, massive, circular table all made of the same dark, lustered, polished wood. A giant screen like one from a movie theater was hung on one wall, and the lights above cast the room in a semi-bright light that was only just illuminative enough to perhaps read by. Different delegates, the name of their country displayed on a small rectangular computer screen in front of them, all looked up as Relena and Heero entered. One man in particular, with intelligent blue eyes and well-cut dark-red hair who sat at the side of the table with it's back to the large screen quickly stood and addressed Relena.
"Ah, Ms. Vice Foreign Minister Dorlan! A pleasure to finally meet you," He then looked briefly at Heero. "But I would appreciate that we only allow delegates in right now, if that's alright with you."
"Heero is here as my body guard. As I'm sure you can understand with all of the insanity that's happened in the last six hours, I wanted to take only nessasary precautions in bringing him here." He stated. "And... you would be?"
"Stephan Poneeras, the new ESUN chairperson. I'm sorry that you were not informed of the change, but it also sort of caught me by surprise."
"What do you mean by that?" She inquired.
"Well, it's rather an interesting story." He mused with a smile. "Suffice to say that I was elected as chairperson not because I sought the position, but that others believed I was the, as the phrase goes, 'man for the job'. Please, Vice Foreign Minister, you and your bodyguard should take a seat; we are about to begin."
Relena took her appropriate position on the circular table while Heero took a seat in the rows of chairs usually occupied by the press and such just behind her. Stephan cleared his throat and, pressing a button on the console at his seat, began.
"As I'm sure you all know, these last six hours have been filled with turmoil for all of us and our representative countries. These strange, random disappearances have all but sent the world we live in into total anarchy. In fact, reports from groups such as the Preventers verify that the same fearful phenomenon that has vaporized so many has effected the colonies as well as the earth, moon, and terra-forming projects on other planets. It seems, in fact, that wherever humans are in large populations, the effects have been drastic and near catastrophic." He paused for effect. "Now, more than ever, we need peace. Peace that will pull what's left of humanity back together and unite all mankind once and for all under a banner of total and complete brotherhood. A kind of, if you will, 'earth-sphere community'; all the nations finally united, and wars done away with. Now, even... no, especially in the light of these tragic disappearances, I believe that world peace is finally within reach."
"Why do you say 'especially'?" Inquired the delegate from Japan. Stephan paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, then replied.
"Putting aside for the moment the questions of who is responsible for this disaster and what has happened to our loved ones and family, I believe that these varnishings may be, finally, the universal wake-up call for humanity. Regardless of who is responsible, I believe that, now that the lines of race, color, nationality, gender, origin, and position have been penetrated by one single event that has effected all mankind, we may finally be able to see each other as we were meant to: as brothers and sisters of an all-encompassing family without distinctions and without outcasts." He paused once again in preparation to say something big. "I believe, ladies and gentlemen of the ESUN, that now is the long-awaited opportunity a united for disarmament, a chance to shatter hatred, poverty, and violence, and... perhaps... even a shot at a one-world government with fair, equal representation for all. Are you with me?"
The delegates each nodded, each one nearly astounded at Poneeras's insight and wisdom. Heero, however, remained in a totally neutral expression.
He didn't know why, but he didn't like this guy.
Chapter 2- The Paradox
Location: Just outside earth's orbit
Three days later...
Duo, Quatre, Wufei, and Sally had been waiting impatiently for Zechs and Noin to arrive, waiting several hours so far in fact. Things in the chaotic colonies had cooled down significantly and since the threat of colonies being overturned and destroyed by the violence and mayhem of their colonists had now decreased and ceased to be a concern, the Preventers, Duo, and Quatre, now awaited Zechs and Noin to ronde-vou with them outside earth's orbit.
Even though they'd been waiting for hours, things had been anything but uneventful. It seemed almost everybody on earth and in the colonies had lost somebody to the disappearances. Duo had been able to get a communication through to earth, despite the incredible jumble of signal traffic from frantic people all over the Earth Sphere, and had discovered that huge numbers of people had vanished on earth too, and many hundreds of people had either lost it and killed themselves or been utterly erased by freak accidents related to the disappearances. He quickly checked to see if Heero and Relena were alright and was relieved to find out from Heero that they were OK.
"Relena's really upset, though, what with the fact that most of the workers didn't make it out in time." He told Duo via long-range. "Some of the students got out, but there are still a good number unaccounted for. Either they vanished, I'm guessing, or they got trapped inside while the mansion burned down." He then changed topics. "Duo, I want you to do an in-depth search for information on this guy who recently became ESUN chairperson. He goes by the name Stephan Poneeras, and it seems to me that the ESUN is really taken with him."
"Wait, let me guess. You don't trust him, though, right?" Duo inquired with a smirk that said 'I saw that one coming'.
"Exactly. I don't know what it is, but I get the feeling he's got an agenda of his own. He seems to be trying to push for global and colonial disarmaments, 90% of the weapons destroyed and the remaining 10% handed over to the ESUN. And, besides that, he says that these disappearances are what's nessasary to start a one-world government that would also encompass the colonies."
"No wonder you're suspicious." Duo laughed. "A total one-world government, not just this compilation of nations, has been on the ESUN's agenda since it was started, but there's no way it could ever actually happen."
"In light of these disappearances, Duo, I wouldn't call anything impossible anymore." Heero stated. "Get me whatever information you can on him. We'll be in touch. Heero out."
Location: Colony L1-AG4302
Zechs and the Tallgeese III strained together as they fought like as if one being to desperately keep the tower from falling. Below, people ran frantically from the scene as chunks of cement fell away from the building, thudding with massive crashes into the pavement. Fire was everywhere, erupting from within the building and from others nearby. Sweat rolled down Zech's forehead as he struggled to hold the Tallgeese in place, waiting until at last every last person was out from underneath the building's shadow. Then, thrusters sending him backwards in one fluid motion, he dodged out from under the tower and let it collapse. Dust filled his field of vision...
... And when it cleared, a Tauros stood nearby, looking at Zechs and his mobile suit.
"What the-!" Zechs exclaimed.
"You look like you could use a hand." Came Trowa's voice, moments before his face appeared on the com screen in front of Zechs. "I found this suit in storage and figured I might be able to help out."
"Trowa? What are the Gundam pilots doing on this colony?" Zechs inquired, half-stunned.
"No, I'm the only one here. Suffice to say that my traveling plans got interrupted by the vanishings." He stated. "Need a hand with anything?"
"Yeah, in fact Noin could use some assistance getting the stability back on-line. Go give her a hand; I've got things under control here for the moment."
"Right. Oh, and Zechs," Trowa said as his Tauros turned to go. "I think I should tell you that I think I know what caused all the disappearances."
"What?! You're not serious?!" Zechs exclaimed.
"I'll tell you once this colony is under control." Trowa stated. "But, just let me warn you now that it's a little hard to... believe. I know it was for me."
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nations building, earth
"I don't like it." Heero stated, leaning against a wall. "Something about it is too well-timed."
"Heero, Poneeras has been leading the ESUN towards a totally unified world, governed by the people and without mass weapons. What could be so wrong about that?" Relena stated. "He even invited me and a few of the other delegates to a special meeting yesterday on the topic of his plans for a one-world governing system, universal currency, and even new technologies that have the potential to turn barren deserts into farmlands. At first, I must admit I had my doubts about him, but now, after getting to know him, I must recognize that he is, as he said, 'the man for the job'."
"But that's just it; it seems too perfect. Too well thought out. Too calculated."
"Heero," She laughed. "The wars of the past are over. For once, recognize that you don't need to be suspicious of every person who proposes a new form of government. Treize is dead and with him OZ; Heero, at least give him a chance."
"... Maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm letting my soldier training get in the way of my rational thinking." He stated, maybe more for himself than Relena. But it got a smile out of Relena anyway.
"That's the spirit, Heero. He's a man of peace; give him a chance."
"Maybe..." He said out loud. "... But every time I'm around him I get this strange feeling... it's hard to describe. It's almost like as if I knew him somehow, but at the same time it's mixed with a strange distrust and... fear."
"Heero, now you're just being irrational." She chastised. "What do we have to fear from him? He didn't even ask for his positions in government, both in the ESUN and in Romania. He told me so himself. He was elected simply for his virtues, charisma, and leadership. How else do you think that someone from so small a country as Romania became the head of the ESUN?"
Heero was about to say something more, when suddenly a nearby computer screen beeped. Heero walked over and flipped on the screen, Duo's face appearing through a haze of light static.
"Duo, good to see you, buddy. Any info on Poneeras?" Heero inquired.
"Nah; guy's as clean as a whistle. No under-the-table finances, never started or funded any wars as the president of Romania, and what's more is that he's got a record as a humanitarian, pacifist; the guy could've created UNICEF and he wouldn't be a bigger name than he is now. The only strange thing on his records is that I wasn't able to pin down any family of his."
"I told you so." Relena replied smugly but warmly.
"Keep searching, Duo. Nobody has a record that spotless." Heero stated.
"OK, good buddy. I just hope you're not sending me on a wild goose chase. Duo out." The screen flickered, then flashed into blackness.
"Heero, I'm surprised at you." Relena scolded. "Why do you find it so hard to trust him?"
"... If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't have Duo searching his records." Heero replied.
Location: Just outside colony L1-AG4302
"You're not serious." Zechs exclaimed. He and Noin were piloting the ship, and Trowa and Catherine stood behind them looking into space. Zechs spun around to look Trowa in the eye. "Excuse me if I sound rude, but this story of yours is a little hard to swallow."
"It's true, I swear." Catherine stated. "A year ago some friends of mine tried to warn me that this exact thing would happen one day: people vanishing clean off the face of the earth and colonies, disasters everywhere; now I regret that I didn't listen to them, because now they're all gone."
"How do you know that?" Noin inquired.
"I just do. They told me themselves that they'd be amongst the people who would vanish." She said, her voice sorrowful.
"But... how can you be sure that this is what they were talking about?" Zechs inquired.
"How can I be sure??" She looked at him like as if it was the stupidest question she'd ever heard. "How can I be sure??? Hundreds of thousands of people have just vanished and you're asking me how I can be sure???"
"It's the only thing that makes sense." Trowa admitted. "I realize the ramifications, but under the circumstances this is the only thing that makes sense."
"Can you think of anything else they said that might help us find out if they were right or not?" Noin inquired.
Catherine was still for a moment as she thought. Then she nodded slowly.
"All the people who vanished should have one thing in common." She said. She didn't even have to tell Zechs and Noin what that factor was; it just made sense.
Trowa looked out the window into the star-speckled black void and thought 'So this is what it all boils down to.'
Location: Outside earth's orbit
A day later...
"Sure took you guys long enough." Duo half-laughed. On the screen were Zechs and Noin. "You two must have had a lot on your plate out there."
"Luckily, we had some help." Zechs stated. "And Duo, I think you should know we picked up a friend of yours at one of the colonies." He said, moving aside to give Trowa access to the screen.
"Hey Duo. How are things over there?" He inquired.
"Up here, things are fine." Duo said, looking out the window down towards earth. "But I sure wouldn't want to be down there right now. You find out anything about these disappearances yet?"
Duo looked briefly at Zechs and Noin, then looked back at the screen.
"Duo, that's one of the things I was hoping to talk to you about." He stated, then paused for emphasis. "I think I know what caused all these disappearances."
Location: The Wailing Wall, Israel
Crowds of people had gathered around what had quickly become one of the biggest news stories since the vanishings. The crowds were so thick, in fact, that one little boy couldn't even find his way through the mass of onlookers. Finally, after pushing his way past people for what must have been half an hour, he finally got a glimpse of what was going on at the Wailing Wall.
There, simplistic and yet strange, two men clothed in heavy desert cloaks that half-hid their faces, stood. One seemed to be doing a good portion of the talking right then, while the other one rested on a shaded part of the wall. The one speaking seemed to be shouting something, but with all the people nearby the boy only managed to catch small fragments of what the speaking man was saying.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, one man carrying a large gun rushed to the front of the crowd, shouting loudly like a raving-mad lunatic.
He got about as far as leveling his weapon at the speaking man when both of the strange figures locked their gazes on him.
He didn't even get time to pull the trigger before suddenly he was completely on fire, his body engulfed in flames. The crowds gasped and ran in fear as the man, already dead but still burning, fell to his face on the ground. But, something strange made the boy stay.
Then he saw a sight that he thought he might never see again. When the man had fallen, he'd dropped his weapon to the ground.
Not only was the metal gun itself on fire,...
... but it was melting into a puddle as well.
The crowds, fearful and afraid, cleared as far back from the two men as they could, fearing concealed flamethrowers or some other kind of diabolical weapon. In minutes, the man was ashes, and the weapon a puddle the color of liquid mercury. Without hesitation, almost as if the entire event had never happened, the speaking man continued.
This time the boy heard him as clear as day, and what the man spoke of brought tears to the youth's eyes.
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nations building, earth
"In other news," The anchorman continued. Heero watched quietly, hoping to find out more about these strange disappearances. "Eye-witness accounts from the time of the vanishings say that several funeral processions were abruptly interrupted as deceased persons vanished from their caskets, pallbearers disappeared in mid-stride, and mourners suddenly ceased to exist. Peter Pierson has more on the strange after-death disappearances of many people globally."
"Not even those already dead seem to be escaping this thing." Heero thought to himself. Behind him, he suddenly heard the chirping of a computer call awaiting him and flicked off the TV to go pick it up.
As expected, it was Duo.
"Hey Duo. Find anything out on Poneeras yet?" He inquired.
"Nah, the guy's record is clean. But Heero, I just got off the line with Trowa and he thinks he might have a lead on these disappearances. If you ask me, it's crazy, but to tell you the truth nothing else really makes sense."
"What? What has he found out?"
Duo was silent for a long moment, obviously hesitant to share his findings with Heero.
"Come on, Duo. If you know something, tell me." Heero prodded.
"OK, OK. Just don't shoot the messenger, if you catch my drift." Duo said, taking a deep breath. "Look, this is gonna sound strange, but... well..., ah, shoot. Maybe you'd better just talk to him yourself. Hold on a minute."
The line was blank for a minute, then suddenly Trowa's face snapped onto the screen. He looked as if he was deeply worried, but trying hard to hide it, Heero could tell.
"Heero, is everything alright down there?" Trowa inquired.
"For right now, Relena and I are OK. We're at the ESUN, so we're pretty well protected. Duo told me you had a lead on the disappearances. Mind filling me in?"
"I'll try to make this short and to-the-point." Trowa stated. "The disappearances, the disasters; it's all Biblical."
There was an odd silence for a minute.
"Did I hear you right?" Heero inquired. "... What do you mean by Biblical?"
"I mean that all the people who vanished were Christians, Heero, and that all of what's happening is in the Bible. Some friends of Catherine's tried to warn her about this almost two years ago, and now the only logical conclusion is that they were right."
"So, what are you saying? That God vaporized His own followers... why?" Heero inquired, nearly stunned at what Trowa was telling him.
"No clue, but if the answer is Biblical maybe we can still find somebody who has some answers. In the meantime, we should prepare for the worst; who knows what's next??"
"But I thought the Bible was just some book of rules monks had to memorize and that people quoted from at funerals. How could *it* possibly have any information on the disappearances of thousands of people?"
"Look, I don't have the answers, Heero. Now I'm not saying that what's going on is definitely Biblical in origin, but it seems to make a little more sense than some of the other theories floating around."
"Yeah, I've heard. On the news there was this scientist who thinks those people were removed so mankind could take the next step in it's evolution, a guy who's saying it's the result of some nuclear accident, and a lady who says it's aliens, all in the same thirty minutes." Heero stated, shaking his head. "I don't know, Trowa. Maybe these disappearances are just something unexplainable. You have to admit this Bible theory fits in perfectly next to the evolutioneer and the extraterrestrial lady."
"And that's not all that's floating around. There's conspiracy theories, people saying Treize is back, and I even heard a Catholic bishop guy saying that 'all the bad people got removed' or something like that. It seems everybody has a theory."
"Yeah, well, if all the evil people got removed, how come Poneeras is still around?" Heero half-joked monotonously.
"You mean the new ESUN chairperson?" Trowa inquired.
"Yeah," Heero stated, reflecting for a moment. "Every time I'm around the guy I get this really weird feeling that I can't explain. I'm telling you, Trowa; he may be a pacifist, but I think he's got his own agenda behind this whole world peace initiative."
"Be that as it may, Heero, when you think about it there's one thing that sets the Bible theory apart from the others."
"What would that be?" Heero questioned.
"The fact that Catherine's friends told her this was going to happen two years before the fact."
Stephan Poneeras sat silently in his room as he watched events from Israel unfolding on national television. The screen displayed two men in course brown cloaks standing in front of the Wailing Wall, shouting to the crowds in Hebrew. Or at least the television was broadcasting it as Hebrew. Poneeras scowled. There was always opposition, always someone who wanted to stand in his way. And now, these two... *preachers* whom everyone near the Wailing Wall, regardless of origin, heard and understood in their own language, stood to oppose him. In short, put a Korean man and a Norwegian man within hearing range of these two pests; the Korean would hear them speaking in Korean language, and the Norwegian in the language of his native country. It was sickeningly powerful and effective.
Then Poneeras half-smirked. After all, they opposed him from a Wailing Wall; he would oppose them from the very throne of the earth. What were two little preachers who could call fire out of nowhere to a man like him? With a word he could have nuclear missiles shot at the pair, vaporizing them. 'Lets see that God of theirs protect them from THAT.' He scoffed, turning off the television.
Walking briskly over to his desk, he took a large map out of one drawer, opened it and laid it out in front of him, and took another look at his masterful plan. There was the earth, each continent in it's place and the outlines of each present country visible there as well. But also something more. It seemed each continent was divided by a color-coded boundary into two, distinguishing the land mass if the world into ten separate kingdoms. He glanced once more, then rolled the map up and put it away. 'Soon, very soon.' He thought to himself. But, for now, he had to pull himself from his plans of greatness. After all, his appointment with Vice Foreign Minister Dorlan, or should he say Relena Peacecraft, awaited him.
Donning an outfit suitable to the occasion and yet professional, he made his way out of the building and over to his personal limo. Instructing the driver to take him to his dinner destination, the vehicle drove off into the foggy night.
The high-class restaurant was surprisingly empty, although considering the recent disappearances, not many people were in much of a position for fancy dining. Heero, dressed up in a suave tux, escorted Relena, who was likewise wearing an elegant white dress, into the near-empty restaurant. They were quickly escorted to a table for three, as per their request, and waited patiently until Stephan Poneeras arrived three minutes later. There were handshakes all around and then the trio sat down to their discussion. Before they could get started, a waiter, having nobody else to wait on, walked over to them and asked if they were ready to order. They each ordered their food and drinks, then sat down to begin the conversation.
"So, it appears I have the honor of meeting you once again, Mr. Heero Yuy." Stephan stated, smiling slightly to Heero. Heero nodded slightly but didn't return the smile. "If you'll indulge me, I make a hobby of getting to know the people that I encounter. I must say, I find it truly fascinating that a 'mystery man' such as yourself could so quickly be thrown into a position in history that will easily outlive you. Yours, Heero Yuy, is truly an inspiring tale, if I do say so myself; a nameless champion who arose from out of the L1 colony cluster, somehow turned around an operation meant to bring earth under the control of a tyrannical madman, and then went above and beyond the call of duty to then battle injustice, not in the name of any one nation or group that could sway your actions and manipulate your crystal-clean motives, but in the name of peace itself. You, Heero, could be described as a 'Superman in a Gundam'." He mused with a subdued laugh.
"Well," Relena exclaimed, obviously both impressed and taken with Stephan's insight. "I must say, Mr. Poneeras, I am ... amazed! You know almost as much about Heero as I do myself; how on earth did you find out??"
"Oh, Ms. Dorlan, I have my ways. Like I said, it's a hobby of mine." He said with a warm smile.
"Since we're on the topic of origins, I suppose it's only fair to let you know that I've also done some research on you, Mr. Poneeras." Heero stated.
"Please, call me Stephan." He said with a wave. "But please, do continue. I've heard that you were a man of impressive talents and resources."
"Alright, I will." Heero started. "It seems that we're both, in a sense, mystery men. From what I can gather, from your mysterious origin point somewhere in Romania, you quickly went on to become the president of Romania. You never stepped on anybody's toes, never started any conflicts, in fact you're a man devoted to pacifism. And now, apparently, you've been elected to a position that nearly every person who works in government has sought after at one time or another... but not you. You, as you say, were elected because the people believed you were 'the man for the job'. A political superman, if you will."
Relena looked at Heero momentarily, trying to figure out what he was getting at, but to no result. Stephan, however, simply leaned back slightly in his chair with a smile.
"It seems you and I have a good deal in common, Mr. Yuy. I look forward to getting to know you better."
"But I do have a question or two for you." Heero interjected. "Strangely enough, while I was doing my research, I wasn't able to find out any information about your family. Forgive me if this is a bit intrusive, but it's something that's been on my mind for quite a while now."
"Ah, my family." He said, near-sadly. "Unfortunately, Heero, I, like yourself, never got a chance to know my family. As a young child, the earliest memories I have are of growing up in a orphanage where, day after day, I waited hopefully for someone to adopt me. Heero, did you know that sometimes, when no one adopts a child and there are no foster homes that can take one, like was the situation in my country, children who reach fifteen are simply discarded, often without a name and often with nowhere to go. Fortunately, a generous man by the name of Jonathan Poneeras found me while I was searching for a job one day. Out of the kindness of his heart, he took me in, taught me the trades of an honest banker and later those of politics. That is where my identity as a human being began, just as yours began as a Gundam pilot who, similar to myself, started with someone else's name and then made a name for himself in this wide open world of ours."
"Only, in your case, others made your name for you most of the time, am I correct?"
"True, true. But that, Heero, is what virtue will do. It put you in a position to change history and now, similarly, destiny has thrown me into a position where I hope to change history for mankind's benefit. In fact, Heero, what you were on the battlefield, I hope to be to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation."
"I hope that answers your questions Heero." Relena said, gently nudging him in with her elbow as the waiter rolled over a cart with their food on it. "Now, perhaps we can move onto less invasive conversation."
An hour later...
"Heero, you royally embarrassed the man." Relena chastised as the two walked down the halls of the hotel, headed towards their separate rooms. She was angry, but only barely on the edge of fuming. "I mean, it's one thing for him to show that he wanted to get to know you, it's something totally different for you to try to get information out of him over dinner at a fancy restaurant!"
"If you ask me, he seems to know me well enough already." Heero stated sarcastically. "Besides,-"
"Heero, don't even think about making excuses for what you did tonight. You may know how to save peoples lives with a Gundam, but you're no conversationalist. In case you didn't notice he was trying to treat us like we were his friends; it was incredibly rude of you to go seeking information you really had no right knowing in the first place. Couldn't you see that the memories of his childhood were a painful thing to bring up?" She sighed, irritated. "At least next time perhaps you could try to be a little more subliminal; it's obvious that he really respects you."
"You're right, I'll try not to be more tactful in the future." Heero stated as they reached Relena's room. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."
Walking alone towards his hotel room, Heero couldn't help but go over things in his head. There were some things that Poneeras shouldn't have possibly been able to know just through research, like for instance Heero's origins in the L1 colony cluster or that he originally received his Wing Gundam because the Barton family intended to use it and the other five to conquer earth. Only a few close people knew those things about him, amongst them Relena and Doctor J. It didn't make sense, and the fact that the man knew such things about him only deepened Heero's distrust and suspicion. He tried to shake it off as best he could, but he couldn't help but feel that Stephan Poneeras harbored something strange and hard to explain.
Upon entering his room, Heero prepared for bed and then suddenly decided to check up on recent events. Flipping on the TV, Heero suddenly saw an image of two cloak-wearing men who seemed to be speaking in Hebrew behind a large stone wall.
Suddenly, strangely, almost as if overlaid over the Hebrew but still in the same voice of the speaker, he heard the man say 'times of desolations have been decreed. You will sustain a covenant with the many for seven years'.
The voice startled Heero in a way he couldn't explain. Quickly glancing at the corner of the screen, he saw that this was being filmed live and, half-shocked starred at the TV for several more long minutes to see if the strange overlaid translation would repeat itself. It didn't. The man continued to speak in Hebrew, even as the camera panned out to bring into view a TV reporter who apparently had been dispatched to the scene.
"This has been the scene here at the Wailing Wall in Israel for the past several hours, in fact, some people say that this strange preaching began almost at the same time as the disappearances took place. In truth, this reporter is truly stunned by what he's seen in the last few hours. Israelis as well as travelers and other people from many different corners of the globe who have gathered to see this strange sight all say that they're hearing these two men preach in literally every listener's native language all at once, a feat that not even the most advanced technology known to man can accomplish. However, as I'm sure you can hear, our cameras are only picking it up as Hebrew. So far, no reasons seem evident of how this is happening; all that can be said is that it's become Israel's latest big tourist attraction. But, a word of caution; it's a dangerous place for anyone. Earlier today, an armed man rushed forward to attack the two, but was suddenly stopped by what many think were hidden flamethrowers. Yet, despite the danger, people have still practically surrounded the Wailing Wall, amazed by the two and their... paranormal preaching. This is Tom Thomson reporting live from Israel."
"... No way..." Heero exclaimed in a low, surprised voice. Had he just heard what he thought he'd heard? The reporter had said that everyone at the Wailing Wall was hearing and understanding the preachers despite whatever language they spoke. But . . .
Heero turned the TV off and put his hand over his forehead. What had he thought he'd heard that guy say? 'You will sustain a covenant with many for seven years'? Was that it? Why seven years?
This was getting way too weird.
Chapter 3- The Beast Takes Control
Duo, at what must have been late night if you ignored the fact that there was no night in space, continued searching through boring records and on-line documentation. Poneeras was clean, and Heero had sent Duo searching all over cyberspace in search of... what? Duo was beginning to think that Heero was beginning to lose it thanks to the disappearances.
Suddenly, something on the screen got Duo's half-asleep attention. It was labeled 'classified' and appeared to be heavily encrypted. With renewed fervor, Duo hacked into the file and took a look at it's contents.
The first thing he noticed was that it was ESUN stuff, highly encrypted.
The second thing was that it had to do with Israel.
And the third, which Duo discovered as he skimmed over the text, made Duo's sleepy eyelids shoot wide open as he starred at the screen in total disbelief.
It had absolutely nothing to do with Poneeras, but it was definitely news enough to tell Heero about. And what news it was!!
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nation building, earth
Heero was suddenly awakened as the computer phone by his bed began to ring. Even iron-emotioned Heero groaned loudly in annoyance at the middle-of-the-night phone call. Throwing off the sheets of the plush hotel bed, he walked over and fumbled around until he hit the button to turn on the call.
It was Duo.
"Heero, dude, anybody ever tell you that you make a really scary face when you're answering a middle-of-the-night call?" Duo half joked, but Heero didn't find it funny.
"This better be good, Duo; I was trying to sleep."
"Well, it's not about Poneeras, but I think I should tell you that I broke into an ESUN-encrypted file during my search and what I found out will shock you."
"I'm listening." Heero stated.
"You remember that attack on Israel last year by all those Arabian countries around it, and Russia was in on it too?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Get this: the ESUN report says that Israel never got the chance to launch a single plane, mobile suit, or missile. The Arabs had dropped EMPs on them before they had the chance; Israel didn't have a single functional weapon."
"... But Israel repelled that invasion attack. How is that possible?"
"The report says that, somehow, every single plane and mobile suit in the Arab-Russian forces suddenly began to self-destruct once the invasion force had made significant distance into Israel. I guess that would explain Israel's sudden burst of prosperity; the report says that they're still running off the fuel and stuff recovered from the debris." Duo paused for a minute. "Heero, the ESUN seems like it's been trying to keep this secret, and I bet they don't know why those planes and suits blew up either. Now, I have no idea how this ties in with the disappearances, but armies reasonlessly crashing seems pretty close to the level of thousands of people suddenly vanishing, don'tcha think?"
"Yeah. Whoever's behind the counter-strike over Israel may also be responsible for the vanishings." Heero thought it over for a minute. "Duo, you think this has anything to do with Trowa's theory?"
"You mean the Biblical theory? Yeah, and to be honest I don't know what to make of it. I mean, isn't this a kind of sudden move for a God who's been missing in action for thousands of years??"
"Maybe, but maybe this counter-strike ties into that theory somehow. All I know is that we need to find somebody still here who believes this theory and knows the info we need to back it up or not. That way, if the pieces do start to fit together, we'll know what to expect next."
"Maybe we should go ask the Jerusalem Twosome." Duo joked.
"You mean those two guys at the Wailing Wall?"
"No, I mean Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny; of course I mean them!" Duo joked, which got a slight smirk out of Heero. "Look, Quatre and I have a little free time on our hands; maybe we can schedule an appointment with them or something. Anyway, I'll get back to ya if I find out anything else."
"But not until at least five-thirty, got it?" Heero instructed.
"Yeah; sorry to wake ya up. See ya later, buddy. The Great Destroyer, over and outta here."
The screen blinked off, and Heero returned to bed. Pulling the covers up, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but quickly discovered he had too much on his mind to allow him to rest. Questions nagged at him, thoughts about his past began once again to haunt him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't clear his head.
Suddenly, scenes of that little girl and her dog came at him again like vicious predators, tearing at his heart. Her laugh; the dog; the detonator in his hand; the base; the explosions; the falling Leo; . . .
. . . the limp body of the dog in his arms; the snow falling gently about him; . .
... and then, suddenly his own words came back to him with such surprising clarity that he could've sworn he'd just heard a voice whisper them in his left ear. It was so real in fact, that out of fear and surprise he quickly sat up and spun around,...
... but only found a dark wall. The room was bathed in silence. Had it been some kind of paranoia-induced illusion? Had he only though he'd heard a voice whisper in his ear?
Yet still those words from so many years ago rang clear as day in his ears and mind...
..."I've been lost ever since I was born..."
Nearby, an invisible specter watched from outside a window as the teen known as Heero Yuy struggled to get those crystal-clear, now suddenly shocking words out of his head. The phantom nodded; the task was completed, and then without apparent body movement it shot skyward, for a split-second it's humanoid form becoming visible against the half moon. Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, it vanished off into the starry night like as if it had never existed to begin with.
Location: The Wailing Wall, Israel
Two days later...
Duo and Quatre made their way amongst the crowds, finding that the scene had changed somewhat from the way it had been when it was on the news three days ago. For starters, there were now guards posted nearby the two mysterious figures, far enough away not to pose an immediate threat but close enough to shoot down the two speakers if either suddenly pulled out the concealed weapons so many people thought were responsible for the near-instant death of anyone who tried to attack the pair. Plus, the crowd was significantly farther back from the two, probably from fear of flamethrowers more than because the guards had told them to. Also, at the moment, the pair of figures were silent. Duo surveyed the situation quickly.
"Are you sure this is going to work, Duo? Those guards don't seem to be letting anyone near those two." Quatre stated.
"Yeah, well..." Duo thought it over for a moment. "Maybe we can-"
But Duo was quickly cut off as the slightly taller of the two spoke.
"And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the word unto them."
Then the other one spoke, the combination of what was obvious quotations put together as if the two shared one mind.
"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, 'Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter'."
A strange hush fell over the crowd, so much so that it almost unnerved Duo and Quatre just by it's silence. After about a minute or so, the two figures gently locked their gazes on Duo and Quatre, much to both boys' surprise.
"... Y-you think they want us to come up there?" Quatre asked in a whispering voice. "And how do they know how to speak Arabian??"
"What?!" Duo exclaimed in as low a voice as he could. "What are you talking about; that was plain-as-day English."
Then, at the same moment, they both remembered the reports of the two figures' strange ability to speak the language of everyone who was listening all at once, then gave each other a short glance of surprise, and turned to look back up at the two standing in front of the Wailing Wall. Both men still had their eyes glued motionlessly on Duo and Quatre. Finally, the taller man spoke once again.
"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it."
Now there was no mistaking the meaning. With what felt like every eye in the place glued on them, Duo and Quatre made their way through the sea of people until they emerged in front of the Wailing Wall. The guards made no move to stop them from approaching, but appeared to be tense at the looks of the situation. Now, only about ten feet away from the mysterious twosome, Quatre and Duo were speechless.
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Stated the taller of the two in a low voice so that only Duo and Quatre could hear.
"You think he means the vanishings?" Quatre inquired, whispering to Duo.
"I dunno..." Was Duo's dumbfounded and awestruck response.
"And there was war in heaven:" Shouted the other of the two. "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea," The other one shouted, the two not missing a beat in their transitions. "And saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
Then, just as suddenly as the two began speaking, they were once again silent. Duo and Quatre looked up at them, almost expecting them to start talking again at any minute, but neither of the twosome did. The silence was almost deathly.
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nation building, earth
Three hours later...
"What did they say??" Heero inquired.
"All this stuff about beasts out of the ground, guys on white horses, Satan,... but what I remember clearest of all is that this beast thing is supposed to, allow me to paraphrase, basically rule the earth." Duo stated. "Now, I know what's going through your head right now, and I have to say that the same thoughts occurred to me, but I think I may finally have my hands on a reliable, any may-I-say easier to understand, resource."
"What kind of resource?" Heero inquired.
"Well, since none of us are Bible scholars," Duo stated, pressing a few buttons off-screen. "I figured that maybe I could find something written by somebody who is, or at least was before the vanishings. I've got my handy-dandy computer skills and search programs on it right now. Problem is that huge chunks of cyberspace are missing, probably because of destroyed servers, but I think I may be getting close. Once I find something, I'll do a search for 'beasts', 'horsemen', 'vanishings', and other stuff within whatever concordances or study guides I come across. If I hit pay dirt, you'll be the first one I tell."
"Out of curiosity, how are the others taking this whole Bible-theory thing?"
"Well, let's suffice to say that Zechs and Wufei are unreadable right now, so I have no clue what's in their heads. Trowa seems to think that this may be the most likely answer, and as for Sally and Noin, they both seem to be waiting around for solid evidence before they make any theological decisions."
"And you?"
Duo hesitated.
"Look, Heero, after seeing what I saw and hearing what I heard today,... the only way I can put it is that I gotta find out. Those two... I don't even know how to describe this, man. I mean, Quatre heard them speaking nothing but Arabian, but to me it was clear English. How is that possible? And the fact that there's no overlap; they couldn't possibly be using some kind of language translator. It's too weird for words. I just gotta find out, and I think I may even be leaning towards Trowa's position on all this." He paused for a minute. "And what about you?"
Now it was Heero's turn to pause and collect his thoughts.
"To be honest, Duo, I don't know. Last night I thought I heard and saw some strange things. Ever heard a voice, and yet at the same time not heard it? Like it's half just something you're thinking in your head, but also half verbal?"
"What are you talking about? What did this... voice thing say?"
"... It was something that I told a little girl with a dog, something that I said years ago. It suddenly just has a very different meaning to me." He looked Duo in the eye. "I was laying down in an open field on colony NL5063, the night before I destroyed an OZ base, when she wandered over and asked me if I was lost. I told her 'I've been lost ever since I was born', and last night I was having flashbacks to that moment only seconds before that voice spoke those exact same words to me. And what's more is that, when I activated the detonators in that base, a Leo fell over and set most of the nearby area on fire. That girl and her dog died because of it."
"Whoa... no wonder you're spooked." Duo stated.
"... Duo, don't Christians term unbelievers to their faith as 'lost'?"
"Um, I guess so. I never really stopped to think about it."
" . . . Keep up your research, Duo, and tell me once you find something. Oh, and we'll keep what I just told you confidential, alright."
"Yeah, you can count on me, Heero. Besides, I can understand why it would be kinda painful. Duo out."
Location: The Earth Sphere Unified Nation building, earth
Une had arrived at the ESUN only an hour ago, and now looked at her surroundings with the eye of a keen observer. She then turned and helped the wheelchair-bound Mariemaia out of the vehicle, who looked around in only half-wonderment. Escorted by ESUN uniformed guards, they made their way into the primary building where none other than Stephan Poneeras was waiting to greet them.
"Ah, Lady Une, it's good to see you again." He said, outstretching his hand. She shook it and nodded. Poneeras then turned and looked at Mariemaia. "And you must be Ms. Mariemaia. Lady Une has told me a great deal about you."
"As has she told me of you." The young girl stated in a normal tone. She then looked all around her, like a sightseer. "The ESUN is everything I expected it to be. It really is a nice place."
"Well, we like to think so." Poneeras said with a laugh. He then turned his attention to Une. "Lady Une, the reason I requested for you to come here is that, while attempting to decide on a group of people to specialize in the protection of myself and other ESUN delegates, I simply wasn't able to get the names of you and a few of the more elite members of the Preventers out of my head. I'd like very much if we could discuss it in the conference room, and while we're at it, maybe we can give Ms. Mariemaia a tour of the complex, my treat."
"I'd like that, thank you." Mariemaia said with a gentle smile.
The threesome walked down the elaborate ESUN hallways, vanishing around a corner.
About three hours later...
Heero was suddenly surprised to hear a knock at the door to his ESUN hotel room. Walking over, he checked through the peephole in the door to see who it was, and nearly took a step back in surprise. Then, almost reluctantly, he opened the door to let Lady Une and Mariemaia Khushrenada inside.
"Heero Yuy, I presume?" Une inquired.
"Lady Une, I presume?" Heero returned, and it wasn't a question.
"Well, with the introductions out of the way..." Mariemaia mused with a half-laugh.
"I'll try to be to the point; what do you want?" Heero inquired.
"You Gundam pilots; never dance around the issues." Une mused. "But I suppose it's fair that we give you that answer. I'm certain you're aware of the recent vanishings?"
That was such a formal and dumb question Heero didn't even bother to respond to it. Lady Une, however, seemed undeterred.
"Thanks in part to some friends of ours who have now been confirmed as amongst those who vanished," Une started. "Mariemaia and I think we've discovered the truth behind these disappearances."
"So why did you come here to see me?"
"We wanted to warn you and Relena." Mariemaia stated. "So long as you're around Stephen Poneeras, you're both in great danger. He's anything but what he appears to be."
"Tell me, Heero, whenever you're around Poneeras, you get strange feelings that are trying to warn you, am I right?" Lady Une inquired.
"Yeah, how did you know?" He inquired.
"I didn't start getting those same strange feelings until after I discovered the reason behind the disappearances." Une stated. "He's a deceiver, Heero. In fact, he's THE deceiver."
"Are you trying to tell me Poneeras is some kind of evil incarnate?"
"Exactly." Mariemaia stated. "My father and I were just forerunners, a pair of puppets inadvertently preparing the world situation for Poneeras's rise to total power. He appears to be a man of peace, but he'll give the world a bloodbath like none of us have ever seen before."
"How do you know that?" Heero inquired.
Lady Une and Mariemaia exchanged glances, then turned to look back at Heero.
"Heero," Une started. "All the people who vanished had one thing in common: they were Christians. The ESUN is trying to keep it appearing to the public that the disappearances were completely random, but they weren't."
"As soon as we found out what had happened, we started doing research to try to find out what else was going to happen, and we've come across one or two very important things." Mariemaia added. "To start with, our universe only has seven years left, maybe a little more because the treaty between the ESUN and Israel hasn't been signed yet."
Heero gave her an even more blank expression than usual. Then his eyes nearly went wide as the words of the Jerusalem Twosome suddenly came back into his head.
"Seven years??" He exclaimed. "... The two guys at the Wailing Wall said something about a seven-year covenant; is that what they meant??"
"I'm afraid so." Mariemaia stated with a nod. "The treaty with Israel is already in the works, with Poneeras heading the negotiations. We have seven years left, period."
"And what's worse is where Poneeras fits into this whole thing." Lady Une stated. "From our research, he's a figure that Christians described as Anti-Christ."
"Anti-Christ?" Heero questioned.
"Think of Jesus." Mariemaia illustrated. "Then give Him an evil twin. That's Anti-Christ."
"We don't know much about him yet, or exactly what his plans are, but suffice to say that, in a short time, earth is going to belong to him. The only chances of countering him would be an effort from outer space, but don't expect the colonies to help out. Poneeras is taking over, and I don't think any of us can stop him."
Heero was about to say something, but Mariemaia interrupted him.
"Heero, if the time ever comes that you need to escape earth, I want you to know that there's a hidden base in the asteroid belt. It was a Serpent manufacturing plant, but it's abandoned now. It should have everything you need to start a resistance effort: weapons, mobile suits, spare parts. I can't think of anyone more qualified to operate such a resistance effort than yourself. Hopefully we'll meet up again when you get there. For now, take this." She said, handing him a small, fingernail-sized CD-ROM. "On that disc is all the information you'll need to find the base. Guard it well and whatever you do, don't let Poneeras know you've got it. OK?"
Heero took the disc, then nodded.
"If it gets that bad, I'll take you up on your offer, Ms. Mariemaia. Thanks."
"Unfortunately, it probably will."
"Watch your back, Heero." Une warned. "If our information about Poneeras is right, he's likely to get rid of anybody who's a threat to him, and no one will even know the difference."
Location: The Wailing Wall, Israel
"Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it."
(To be continued...)
Someone once said that life is like an endless waltz, the three drums of peace, war, and revolution flowing one after the other seamlessly and endlessly.
What, though, if life is not an endless waltz? What happens when it looks like the end is near? The results might be described by some as a hellfire paradox, a strange twist where death and destruction may spur mankind to salvation. For seven years the earth will be inhabited by evil the likes of which have never been seen, nor will ever be seen since.
Now, the only chance for mankind is in a set of ancient teachings, a pair of witnesses, and five Gundam soldiers who must fight to hold back the tides of darkness.
The Characters I Own:
Stephan Poneeras
Who Owns Everything Else:
The Two Witnesses/ The Jerusalem Twosome- The Bible
Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Chang Wufei, Zechs Marquise, Relena Peacecraft, Noin, Une, Sally Po, Mariemaia Khushrenada, the Tallgeese III, Serpent-class mobile suits, Tauros-class mobile suits, the Preventers, ect... - Ban Dai
I'd also like to thank Tim LaHayte and Jerry Jenkins, the authors of LEFT BEHIND. Their books and hard work are the structure and guide on which I'm writing HELLFIRE PARADOX. God bless those two.
(Continued in HELLFIRE PARADOX, year 2)