Vengeful Battle
Author: Some random something I wrote, not sure what. All characters, places, etc... belong to Sunrise & Bandai except for Annabelle. R&R. Not Yaoi, for once.
"These guys don't know when to back out." Duo Maxwell kept a cobalt blue eye open to observe the mobile suits on his radar. For the most part he stayed with the Sweepers but roamed often. "Okay, buddy, let's go." he whispered. He ran his thumb over a row of buttons to activate the Hyper Jammers that would serve as his main defense. "Come on!" he snapped, throwing every booster on full. The suit disappeared from radar & bolted towards the group of mobile suits. His eyes flashed with rage towards the mercenaries. "You're gonna pay, every last one of you, for all the people you've hurt." he growled. Memories of his past came flooding back to him. All the people who had died before his eyes, every scream he ever heard, all the blood he had ever smelt, all the pain he had suffered returned ten fold.
One of the mercenary's turned in time to see a dark shape appear next to his mobile suit. "What!?!" he shouted. Deathscythe's beam scythe tore the space Leo to pieces before moving on to the others. Bursts of light flickered on the edges of his sight as each of the suits, mainly space Leo & Taurus' exploded. In a strange way, Duo enjoyed letting them try to escape even though he easily outmaneuvered their suits. He knew in the back of his mind that these mercenaries, the ones responsible for the Maxwell Church massacre, had toyed with the people they had killed too. Suddenly as he hovered there in the midst of the destruction he had caused, he felt weak & his world went totally dark.
"Duo! Wake up!" Quatre shook the mahogany haired pilot as he tried to wake him up. His cobalt eyes fluttered open & he glanced around.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Why don't you tell us." Heero suggested.
"You were having a nightmare. You said something about a massacre." Trowa whispered. Duo rested his chin on his knees & squeezed his eyes shut.
"It was the Maxwell Church massacre, back when we were all kids. I was living there at the time & I'm the only one who survived." he admitted. "
I saw something about that on the television." Quatre said.
"So did I. But according to the report on the news, there were no survivors." Wufei agreed.
"The mercenaries who took over the church said that if I stole them the mobile suit that was hidden away in a warehouse, they'd leave without hurting anyone. But they lied to me. I took the suit & when I got back: the church was in ruins & everyone was dead. The nun who took me in was still alive, but barely. She died in my arms & I took the last name Maxwell." he whispered. "Father Maxwell & Sister Helen were the only ones who cared & there was nothing I could do to stop the massacre!" he sobbed.
Wufei sat by him & said, "I understand what it feels like to lose your family & not be able to prevent it. I revisit that moment when I watched the L5 colony being destroyed in my dreams almost nightly." Heero, Trowa & Quatre pulled the two orphans close to them.
"I... I was in Deathscythe. I killed them... I killed all of the mercenaries who were responsible for the massacre." he stammered.
"Those days are over. There's no need to fight vengeful battles or kill anyone anymore." Heero told him. Duo curled up next to Wufei & cried himself back to sleep. "We all have to adjust to peace." Heero admitted.
"Some of us might never." Trowa said. Quatre & Wufei lay down on either side of Duo, while Trowa & Heero lay down on their sides. Duo whimpered.
"Shh." Quatre whispered as the others patted Duo reassuringly.
Several days later, they walked through the L2 colony.
"If the colonies weren't allowed to have contact with each other until OZ took over, how did you two see anything about the massacre?" Heero asked Quatre & Wufei.
"I was on a resource satellite with my father at the time. It was broadcasted on the news there." Quatre said.
"My clan found a way to scramble the blocks on communications between the colonies years ago." Wufei agreed. Duo stopped.
"Everything looks so different now, I don't know if I would be able to recognize it if I was staring at it." he admitted. Wufei & Quatre glanced around, attempting to place something from their memories of the news report from their childhoods. A mark on a piece of wood caught Wufei's attention.
"Duo." he said, going to it. The braided pilot followed & helped him lift the chunk of wood off the ground. Duo stared at the piece of a wing that was painted on it.
"This is part of the door, there were angels painted on the inside of the front doors." he realized. Trowa, Heero & Quatre all came over to look at it.
"The church has been gone for years boys." They turned to face the source of the raspy voice & found an elderly woman.
"I was living in the church at the time of the massacre." Duo told her.
She chuckled & said, "So the demon of the Maxwell Church survived. I thought so."
"The demon of the Maxwell Church?" Wufei asked.
"It was what everyone called me in the church." he whispered.
"Not out of spite, but affection." the woman agreed.
"Are you Mother Annabelle?" he asked.
She smiled & said, "I was wondering if you'd recognize me Duo. Come, you can bring your friends too."
They went to her apartment on the ground floor of a complex nearby. "I've kept watch out my window for you since you left. I knew you'd be back." she told him.
"Annabelle, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm an old woman. It's almost time for me to leave this world." she whispered, sitting in her chair.
"You can't, I just got back." he told her.
She gave his braid a gentle tug & said, "Hush, you little scamp." Tears filled his cobalt blue eyes. "Don't cry over this old woman Duo. I've lived a long life in the service of our Father." she gentled him. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei & Heero lowered their heads. "Do you believe in Him?" she asked. Duo shook his head. "You still haven't seen any miracles, just death." Annabelle whispered. She shut her eyes & set her hand gently on Duo's head.
"Tell Mary & Father Maxwell I miss them." he begged. She didn't respond. "Annabelle?" he asked.
"Duo. I think she's gone." Quatre whispered. He shut his eyes & nodded.
Author: Oops, I forgot to mention religious references & character deaths.