Gundam Wing: Revolution
Session One
The Renaissance
By Katsumi Tonicha
Normal disclaimers apply.
//...//
"Vice Foreign Minister Yuy, I would like to address the matters of the Scarlet Order. I think they are starting a military," Lady Ashley Barton said.
"Impossible! We are doing no such thing!" Duchess Marie Acht argued.
Lady Barton eyes her. "As I was saying, we at OZ have reason to believe so due to the great secrecy surrounding the Scarlet Order."
Duchess Acht glared at her. She just smiled back.
"Thank you, Lady Barton. Duchess Acht, by the next general meeting, I plan you to reveal the intentions of the Scarlet Order," Mrs. Yuy said.
Acht smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Yuy."
Welcome to a private meeting of the Earth Sphere United Nation.
Lady Barton looked at her husband. "Trowa, we better get the army ready. I have a feeling a war is about to begin."
Duchess Marie Acht climbed into her limo. "She wanted to know what we are doing? Mrs. Relena Yuy will soon know, but I'm afraid she and those idiotic Bartons will know more than they bargained for..."
Quatre Raberba Winner was leaving the meeting after chit-chatting with Ashley and Trowa. Someone ran up behind him, with her blond hair pulled into a French braid. The L3 colonies representative. Quatre smiled at her. "Hi!" he greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Winner. Will you be at your office tomorrow? I have some... important matters to discuss with you."
"Well, yes. What kind of matters?"
"Oh, you'll see. Good-bye, Mr. Winner." She turned around and started to run back to her car. 'Why running?' Quatre asked himself.
"Good-bye Miss... Oh, too late, she's too far away to hear me."
"Hum... Sally, I'm gonna go check something with Zechs. This is awfully peculiar," Wufei Chang told his wife, but got up and left before she got a chance to reply.
"Fine," Sally said, making a face at the closed door.
"Zechs, come here." Wufei popped the disk into the computer and started to type. "See this? The Scarlet Order is shipping in titanium alloy and gundanium alloy."
"This can't be good," Milliardo Peacecraft(aka Zechs) confirmed.
"What can't be good?" Lucretzia Peacecraft(aka-Noin) asked.
"The Scarlet Order. Unless they want some heavy-duty buildings, they are starting a military," Zechs told her.
"Deal. Thanks for your business, Mr. Guat."
"You're a good kid, Maxwell."
"Sold that off easy," Duo Maxwell said with a little laugh as he stepped into the small back quarters of the house he lived in.
"How much?" his girlfriend, Hilde Schebieker asked. She sat her book down.
"Max price, 300 dollars."
"Was it worth that much, Duo?"
"Well, yeah, Hilde. I don't lie. I wouldn't have let it go for any more than that, though." Hilde smiled at him. "My friends may be a bunch of big shots, but this is by far the best lifestyle." He sat next to Hilde on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders.
//....//
Knock knock. Quatre turned in his chair. He had been looking out the window. "Come in." The door opened. "What are you doing here?" Quatre asked, shocked by his visitor.
"I just came to see you, Mr. Winner."
"Oh, you can call me Quatre! No need to be formal."
"Well, Quatre, I came to visit you."
"Don't just stand there; sit down! How rude of me!" He sounded like he had been taken totally by surprise. "I'll get up some tea." He pressed a button on his desk. "Lila, could you send some tea in here for Miss Dorothy and I?"
"Yes, sir," Quatre's secretary replied.
Quatre turned to Dorothy. "So, Dorothy, how have you been?"
"Fine, just wonderful. Honestly." :Oh, how stupid of me! I sound like a moron: "And you?"
"Never been better. Everything seems to be perfect; business is booming. Everything's just perfect." :Great, Quatre. Repeat yourself. You sound smart.:
"That's great."
Silence.
Lila brought the tea in then. :Thank God,: Quatre thought silently to himself.
"Thank you," they replied simultaneously. The looked at each other. Dorothy raised an eyebrow. Quatre smiled.
"I'll just go finish what I was doing, Master Quatre," Lila said with a smile playing on her face.
The two sipped their tea. Quatre watched her, silently, hoping, gathering what parts of his brain weren't already fried...
"Dorothy, must you go?" Quatre asked as she left.
"I have business, Quatre, as do you. You'll never get your work done as long as I'm here."
Quatre sighed. "I suppose you're right." He grinned. "Good-bye then. Please come back soon."
"I will," Dorothy replied, smiling back at him.
Quatre watched her as she climber into her limo to go to the space port. "Yeah, she better come back soon. I wouldn't want to be missing her for long."
"Heero! Heero, where are you?" Relena called down the hallways of her and Heero's huge mansion. She couldn't find him anywhere. She walked into the master bedroom. "Heero, are you in here?"
"BOO!" Heero jumped out from behind the door.
"AAAH!" Relena screamed as she fell back.
"Hahahahahahaha!!" Heero laughed at her.
"You just had to be in a playful mood this morning, didn't you?" She stood up. "You just about gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, Relena. I was just having a little fun with you. I can't go around now chasing down enemies anymore, so I figured why not you. I tried to kill you a few times, right?" He advanced on her.
"Heero, are you okay? Did Duo come over this morning and give you something?" Heero continued to advance on her. "Heero..." Relena backed away, scared of Heero's idea of "fun".
"You better run," he told her, then jumped up and started to run at her.
"AAAH! HEEROOOOOO!!!!" Relena turned and ran as fast as she could. But she wasn't fast enough. Heero tackled her down.
"Gotcha!" he pulled her down to the floor.
Relena was screaming and laughing at the same time. Heero was just tickling away. She kicked at him, but he just wouldn't let her up. "Stop it, Heero!!" He stopped, finally, but held her pinned down. Relena smiled at him. He kissed her. "Heero..." she whispered. He wasn't known to act like this often. The last time he pulled something like this, Duo had come over and got him a little drunk. Heero kissed her again, longer and deeper this time. She pulled her hands up and rested them on his shoulders.
The phone started the ring. Relena pulled part. "The phone," she told him as she tried to get away from his grasp.
"Let it ring." And he continued to kiss her.
Hilde slammed the phone down. "Fine!! Be that way!!!"
"What's wrong with you?" Duo asked, sticking his head around the door.
"She won't answer!! I know she's just avoiding me!!!"
"Who are you talking about?" he asked her, utterly confused.
"Relena!! I try to call her, and she's not there!! Ugh! You and your friends!" Hilde accused Duo.
"What?? I swear it, this time, I had NOTHING to do with it! I promise! It was all them!"
Hilde rolled her eyes and stormed past. "Jeeze," Duo muttered. "Talk about over-reacting."
Mariemeia stood beside Lady Une. "Miss Une?" she asked.
"Hum?" Lady looked down at the young twelve-year-old girl.
"A war is about to begin, isn't it?"
Lady sighed. "Yes, there is, sweetheart."
Mariemeia blinked a few times, thinking. A smiled played on her lips. "He wants you to guide them. Help them, rather."
Lady Une looked down. "He? Them?"
"Them is Wufei and Zechs, and the others, of course. He wants you to stay out of the fight, but still help them."
Lady's eyes closed slightly in realization. "He does, does he?" Mariemeia nodded. "And so I will." Lady Une walked away, trying to keep her tears back.
"Miss Une! Where are you going?"
"I have work to do."
The whole world(and all of space) sat, watched, and listened as Marie Acht declared her statement of war. "The false peace promoted by OZ and the Earth Sphere United Nation is only going to last until people realize what this is. We live in a time of war. That's what all those who died were trying to prove to us! War can't be stopped. It will continue forever. And this forever war is our revolution. Only through war will we know what humans really want. Only then, when people have avenged what wrongs have happened, shall we be satisfied. By promoting this peace, people's hatred is bottled up! Wars will stop, but people themselves will die without something to fight for! We must fight. It is the purpose of human life. We must die in battle, for that is the only way to go. To die in battle means to die knowing that you have tried to change the world. You will die happier knowing that you have avenged those who died for you. This war will fight as a continuation. I will correct a war won by unjust actions on the winning side! And the better, the correct, shall win this war. And by that, I mean that I shall not lose. I, Duchess Marie Acht of the Scarlet Order, declare war against OZ and the Earth Sphere United Nation. May the best win."
//....//
They danced across the floor in a quick waltz to the upbeat Michalage Piqué's Sonata in C (Handle). ***AN: ??? I don't even know if I spelled that right... I listen to too much public radio...*** Ashley smiled broadly. She was having a lovely time at the ball. All top ranking OZ officials were there, as well as any solider that felt like coming. The ball was open to other guests as well, but invitees only in that category. Those people included Relena and Heero Yuy, leaders of the Earth Sphere United Nation, Quatre Raberba Winner, a close friend of Duke Barton and Lady Barton, as well as the representative from the L4 colonies, and Dorothy Catalonia, a friend and representative of the L3 colonies, where she had taken residence.
Ashley looked behind Trowa as they danced. "Oh, dear..."
"What?"
"Do my eyes deceive me, or am I seeing Quatre dance?"
This got Trowa's attention. "Oh, really? With who?" he asked, his curiousity peeking.
"This is worse than I thought..."
"Who is he dancing with?"
"Well, I do believe," Ashley was dragging it out, "that unless she has a twin, he's dancing with Dorothy."
"DOROTHY?!" Trowa exclaimed, trying to be as quiet as possible, none-the-less. He turned his point of view so he could see this. "Oh my God... Well, that's a new one. Looks like opposite's do attract."
Ashley glared at him. "Big mouth!"
"Thanks." Ashley was the only person Trowa would dare argue with. Trowa was the only person daring enough to argue with her. She rolled her eyes. The orchestra swelled into Mozart's Paris Symphony, so the dance changed slightly. Nevertheless, they kept on spying on Dorothy and Quatre, who seemed to be very happy together.
"Honestly, we aren't worried, are we?" Ashley asked Trowa.
"About what? The war?"
"Yes, the war," she replied grinning. :Obviously not,: she thought.
"Well, of course not. We'll win. You doubt me?"
"No!"
"Okay, settled then. Let's just enjoy tonight and watch our entertainment."
Ashley laughed at him. "This is incredibly rude."
"It's still fun though. I now understand Duo a little more."
Ashley shook her head. "You're sad."
The orchestra went into something slow, and Ashley rested her head on Trowa's shoulder. He stroked her hair, then smiled to himself as he saw Dorothy and Quatre dancing closer. POKE! "Ow!"
"I see you. Stop focusing on them, will you?"
"Sorry. I'll watch Relena and Heero instead."
Ashley stuck her head back up and glared at him. He smiled at her and just held her close, still dancing. His eyes were true. She slinked and the harsh look left her face, replaced by a smile. She laid her head back down. "No... I don't doubt you. We'll win this. This will be easy."
"Now, my little Demon! Off to battle!"
Hilde sighed. "Be careful, Duo."
"Just call me the God of Death!!" Duo climbed into his new Gundam, Deathscythe Demon. "It's 'bout time I started to kick butt again!" And off the battle he went.
Quatre sighed and looked up at the Gundam. "Oh, forgive me, father, for fighting. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what, Mr. Winner?"
"I told you, you can call me Quatre." He turned around and took Dorothy's hand. "It's time for another battle. My friends need me again."
"Well, then be careful." She smiled at him. "No, I'm not going to worry about you. You're a strong person, Quatre."
"Yeah, I know." He turned to look at Sandrock II. "And the battle continues..."
Wufei and Zechs got into their Gundams, Nataku II and the Titan. Sally and Noin stood there. "Be careful!" Sally called to Wufei.
"I will," he replied calmly.
Zechs smiled at Noin. She grinned back. "Come back soon."
"Don't worry about it. I will."
And they shot into the sky.
"Your Excellency, the Bulletproof has been finished and is ready for battle," Lady Barton told her husband.
"Thank you. Get the troops prepped for battle."
"Yes, Your Excellency." She turned to leave.
"Ashley?"
"Sir?" she turned back to look at him.
He smiled at her. "That was cool."
Ashley laughed. "Yeah, sure, Your Excellency."
"Oh, and you look very sexy in uniform."
"And how many times have you told me that now?" She grinned at him. "How do I know you're just not saying that?"
He took her hand and pulled her over to him, and took two fingers on each side of the hem of her skirt. "Trowa..." Ashley warned him. And he pulled the skirt down a little.
"Okay. Now you can go prep the soldiers, Ash-chan."
Ashley burst out laughing. She put her hands on her hips. "Oh, thanks, Ti-Bi."
Relena put her hands on her hips. "Heero! You don't really have to go to this battle, you know."
Heero shook his head. "Sorry, Relena. I have to go. That's the best way I can protect you. I promised you I would, and I am." He smiled at her from the new Gundam's cockpit. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I didn't have name for this thing, you know. But I surely have one now."
She looked up at him. "What? Death?"
Heero grinned. "Nope. Sorry." He held his hand out at her, although she couldn't reach it. "Angel."
And he climber into the cockpit and left for battle. "Please bring my Angel back to me," Relena prayed softly.
//....//
"Send out the new Pegasus and Sagittarius suits. I will lead them into battle with the Bulletproof. Lady Barton, get back in the control room and relay the battle info back to me Baron Young, follow me. You take out the prototype Gemini. Go. Now!"
"Yes, sir!" Lady Barton and Baron Matt Young, OZ's top pilot, responded, then headed off to complete His Excellency's orders.
As she ran to the control room, Ashley smiled to herself. Trowa was very good at giving the orders, despite his quiet nature. Not to mention how pissed he got when someone didn't obey them, whether it be Ashley or not. He cut no one-NO ONE-slack.
Trowa got into his mobile suit. He flipped the screens on as soon as he took off. Ashley appeared on the comlink. "Sir, there are fourty mobile suit carriers, each carrying approximatly thirty suits. They haven't dropped them yet, but they are believed to be a mix of Canine and Ursa suits. They should force no problem for the Sagittarius's and Pegasus's."
"Thanks, Ash-chan," he said with a smile. Okay, so maybe he was just a little nicer to her. Or a lot. Okay, so he didn't care what she did, but who's watching?
Ashley smiled back. "Good luck, Ti-Bi! Over and out." Ashley beeped off.
Trowa set up a line with Baron Young. "Baron, split the units half and half, half in the air, half on the land. The enemies are Canine and Ursa suits. I believe you should be able to handle it from here."
"Yes, sire, Your Excellency," Young replied.
:Hum... There are only about fifty Pegasus suits and fifty Sagittarius suits, but around twelve hundred of them. That would mean each suit would have to take out an impossible number of enemy mobile suits. However,: Trowa thought. He pulled out his double beam gatling and destroyed ten suits easily. He smirked. "However," he repeated out loud. He stood his ground and fired. Up in the sky, a major battle was going on. Lutinient Young had brought all the Pegasus's into the air seeing how Trowa and Bulletproof were handling the situation. It was the enemies air suit, the Canine, that were posing a slight problem. They were seriously outnumbered.
"So far, sir, only sixteen deaths on our side, and seven hundred ninety-three enemy mobile suits have been demolished.
"Good. Remaining Sagittarius forces, go into the air battle. I can finish this battle, then join you." Trowa fired some of his micro missiles, finishing out the remaining Ursas. Then he took for the air. He flipped open the army knife and began to slice and dice the Canine suits like French fries. The chest of Bulletproof opened and the two gatlings there began firing. Trowa also got started with the vulcan gun on the head and the machine cannons on the shoulders.
"Fourty-two of our forces, one thousand thirty-four of theirs," Ashley updated.
"This battle's ours." And Trowa slashed up another suit.
Trowa flipped the lamp off and looked over at Ashley, who had her back turned to him and the covers pulled up to her chin.
"What did I do this time?"
"Mr. I'm-such-a-big-MEANY-BOSSY-PERSON."
He grinned. She ALWAYS did this. It never failed. Every time he gave her an order, she got all pouty with him. Always.
"Sorry, Ash-chan."
She turned over and flashed him a smiled, then buried her face in her pillow, tired from the hard work of reading of screens and relaying the info back to her husband(just another day's oh-so-hard work for Lady Barton...). "Okay," she mumbled into her pillow. "Goodnight, Trowa," she told him. Well, it came out more like "Gooh-ieth Oh-aah."
He smiled and pulled her over to him. "Goodnight, Ashley," he said softly, kissing her forehead.
The pilots had been invited to the private meeting of the Earth Sphere United Nation. After it had adjourned, Relena asked the guys, along with Zechs, to stay. "Well, here we go again," she said.
"Yeah, so much fun," Duo replied sarcastically.
Heero looked at him. "I thought you enjoyed battle. Just a big video game, right?"
"One you don't wanna lose," Zechs muttered.
"Not when battles come in between my dates!! I have a very busy social calendar!!"
"Moving right along... I was going to suggest you all find somewhere more suitable to meet than here," Relena told them.
"We could meet at the OZ headquarters," Ashley offered.
"First of all, not 'we'. Ashley, you stay out of this-"
"Make me!"
Trowa ignored her and continued to talk. "Second, no, not there. Never enough privacy."
"Yeah, agreed," Ashley said remembered and awkward event.
Silence.
"I got it!!! The BATCAVE!!" I think we ALL know who said that.
The crew turned to look at Duo. "What?" Quatre asked.
"We need to be serious," Zechs told him, after rolling his eyes.
"No kiddin'. I'll just be sure to keep him away from the sugar next time. I really outta put a lock on that..." Hilde told everyone, sighing a little.(The guy's gals had stuck around. They felt as though they had a right to know just as much as they did.)
"I am being serious!! Batman had a cave, well, me being the all powerful super-hero Shinigami, I have a boat!! Or, well, a BARGE, but, same thing."
"Sea Breeze?" Hilde asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup!" Duo confirmed.
"But I thought that was for salvaging trips only."
"Weeeelll, now it's the Batcave!"
"That could work," Heero thought out loud.
"We could hide the Gundams there, right?" Wufei asking, thinking of his beloved Nataku.
"It could hold them all and more," he said, proud of it's size.
"I'll just stick around the PIA," Zechs humphed.
"You do that. The rest of us-"
Trowa cut Heero off form his little plan. "Can't. I have to stay with OZ for the time being. This is mainly our war."
"Okay then. You stay. The rest will stay at Sea Breeze," Heero finished.
"Oh, wonderful. Company," Hilde muttered under her breath.
//....//
"Hey, here's a question. Where's Hilde?" Quatre asked.
Duo looked at him. "I dunnooooooooooo!!!" He wailed.
"Calm down. What do you mean, 'you don't know'? She's always with you," Trowa pointed out.
"I mean what I say!!! I don't honestly know!! I touched her hair-her _hair_- and she jumped all on my case, then left. I don't know where she went, nor how she left... Well, she did!"
"PMS," Heero muttered.
"How long as it been?" Quatre asked him, ignoring Heero's comment.
"A week and a half."
"PMS," Heero repeated, a little louder.
"Hu?" Duo turned to star at him.
"PMS. Post-Menstrul Syndrome. Relena's bad days. Every time something goes wrong, it's my fault. Unless it's PMS, then she doesn't blame me. As often. Otherwise, the only thing she ever tells me is 'HEERO! WHAT DID YOU DO!'" He finished off his awful explanation with a high pitched squeal off _someone_ yelling at him.
"I think Ashley's had that before. There are some days when the soldiers complain of her slapping them just because she can," Trowa thought out loud.
"I wish she'd come back already. I can't cook nearly as good as she can, and I don't know how to run the washer," Duo muttered.
Wufei fought diligently. He and Zechs were really taking in the missions during this war. Space seemed to be a war ground, and they were some of the only space forces, not counting all the OZ suits Ashley and Trowa had sent them as help. However, try as he might, Wufei could not ignore the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, as though something was wrong, or something was... missing. "Oh, no," he whispered softly.
Duo sliced away half-heartedly. He sighed. "Not only war now. Noooooo. Hilde just had to pull this, didn't she, Deathscythe, old-buddy?" He sliced some more Canine suits. "Oh, fart. Now there's just no fun in this. Hilde's usually on the line, bugging me. This just sucks. And then, home sweet home, Hilde's there with a hug and a kiss, okay, hugs and kisses, but who's there now? No one. Just me, myself, and I. And I refuse to hug and kiss myself. That's just weird."
Wufei checked over Nataku again, then sat in front of it. "Meiran?" he asked softly. "Don't be jealous of her. You remain my passion throughout the war, and through my life. You keep the passion in my heart to fight. I have not forgotten you. I do love her, I do, but you were my first and that can't be changed. So Meiran, nay, Nataku," he smiled, "Please continue to fight with me."
"When do you have to go?"
"Tomorrow," Wufei replied to Sally, packing his bags.
"Do you have to go?" she asked, almost whining.
He turned to look at her. "Yes, I do. They all need my help. I think that with the suits Ashley and Trowa gave us and Zechs around, you should be able to handle everything. Also, I think Trowa is going to send you and Noin some new suits for you two to use in battle."
Sally sighed. "Oh, okay."
Wufei smiled. Just a small, tini-tiny smile that actually looked more like a smirk... But anyway, he smiled a little. :Well... I really... Hum,: Wufei thought to himself. :She IS my wife, ne?: He smiled a bit more. Sally looked at him, confused. ***AN: Just so I can say this, Wufei did grow a little, so he's now a little taller than Sally. Thank God.*** :Maybe... Maybe.: He put his hands on her shoulders. "Sally. That is tomorrow. So, let us worry about tomorrow when it comes."
Duo groaned his way out of bed. Nope. Still no lovely smells of breakfast. Poo. He got up and opened his drawers for something to wear. "Oh, God. I knew this would happen." There was nothing there. All his clothes were dirty. He had worn everything he had, down to Bermuda shorts.(Now that was a funny sight.) He sat on the ground in his boxers. "All I have left is underwear and.. Hilde's clothes." He thought for a moment then shook his head. "Uh-hu. I'm not putting her clothes on. Not only will they not fit, but there are HER clothes. I'm not wearing women's clothing." And so he sat on the ground and cried. It was so pitiful, seeing a grown man cry.
Knock, knock.
"Go away!!!" Duo wailed.
The door opened.
"WAAAAAAAAH!" Duo continued to cry.
"You know, Duo, they say people mature with age. You just kinda matured four or five years and then liked it, didn't you?"
"Hilde?" He turned around, and by-George, there was an angel standing there. "Howdja get back to Sea Breeze?" He asked, not bothering to get up.
She sat down on the floor in front of him. "I have my ways. Get up, will ya? You look like a baby!" She stood up.
"Oh, Hilde!" Duo grabbed her legs. "Please don't ever do that again!" He pulled her down on the floor with him.
She giggled. "Okay, I won't."
Duo sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Thank you." He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "Can you go fix me some breakfast? And wash my clothes? Oh, please, Hilde?"
She sighed. She just couldn't say no to those big old cute eyes. :It would have been nice if he lost that with age, too.: "all right. What do you want?"
He grinned. "A pound of bacon, some scrambled eggs, sausage, patties and long-style, biscuits-NO GRAVY-, a hamich, an omelet..."
Marie Acht sat at her desk, watching a battle at the Yangtzee River OZ base she was trying to get. So far, all attempts of hers were foiled by that stupid Barton, Trowa, and his Gundam, Bulletproof. She was losing yet again. She glanced down at her notes from different meetings, trying to figure out their weak point. She had to find the key to defeating that idiot. Revenge. As she read the notes, a pattern formed. "Hu. Trowa never talked. Not much, at least. It was always her..." Marie smiled, a plan forming. "Hum... If I got rid of her, OZ would stop functioning. She's the true leader of OZ, he just backs her up when needed..." She propped her head on her hands. "Well, then. I have two ways to do this. I could kill her, or drive her insane. I think it would be much more fun to drive her insane." She pressed a button on her desk. "Make sure it's ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
Marie smiled. "This will be interesting, eh, Father?" She looked at a picture sitting on her desk. "Yes, it will be very interesting, Father..."
To be continued...
NEXT TIME ON GUNDAM WING: REVOLUTION...
Epyon has been rebuilt, with the sole purpose of driving Lady Barton insane. But Marie's plan backfire's and she must find another way to get back at Trowa...
Gundam Wing: Revolution|Session Two|The Face of Evil
Session One
The Renaissance
By Katsumi Tonicha
Normal disclaimers apply.
//...//
"Vice Foreign Minister Yuy, I would like to address the matters of the Scarlet Order. I think they are starting a military," Lady Ashley Barton said.
"Impossible! We are doing no such thing!" Duchess Marie Acht argued.
Lady Barton eyes her. "As I was saying, we at OZ have reason to believe so due to the great secrecy surrounding the Scarlet Order."
Duchess Acht glared at her. She just smiled back.
"Thank you, Lady Barton. Duchess Acht, by the next general meeting, I plan you to reveal the intentions of the Scarlet Order," Mrs. Yuy said.
Acht smiled. "Of course, Mrs. Yuy."
Welcome to a private meeting of the Earth Sphere United Nation.
Lady Barton looked at her husband. "Trowa, we better get the army ready. I have a feeling a war is about to begin."
Duchess Marie Acht climbed into her limo. "She wanted to know what we are doing? Mrs. Relena Yuy will soon know, but I'm afraid she and those idiotic Bartons will know more than they bargained for..."
Quatre Raberba Winner was leaving the meeting after chit-chatting with Ashley and Trowa. Someone ran up behind him, with her blond hair pulled into a French braid. The L3 colonies representative. Quatre smiled at her. "Hi!" he greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Winner. Will you be at your office tomorrow? I have some... important matters to discuss with you."
"Well, yes. What kind of matters?"
"Oh, you'll see. Good-bye, Mr. Winner." She turned around and started to run back to her car. 'Why running?' Quatre asked himself.
"Good-bye Miss... Oh, too late, she's too far away to hear me."
"Hum... Sally, I'm gonna go check something with Zechs. This is awfully peculiar," Wufei Chang told his wife, but got up and left before she got a chance to reply.
"Fine," Sally said, making a face at the closed door.
"Zechs, come here." Wufei popped the disk into the computer and started to type. "See this? The Scarlet Order is shipping in titanium alloy and gundanium alloy."
"This can't be good," Milliardo Peacecraft(aka Zechs) confirmed.
"What can't be good?" Lucretzia Peacecraft(aka-Noin) asked.
"The Scarlet Order. Unless they want some heavy-duty buildings, they are starting a military," Zechs told her.
"Deal. Thanks for your business, Mr. Guat."
"You're a good kid, Maxwell."
"Sold that off easy," Duo Maxwell said with a little laugh as he stepped into the small back quarters of the house he lived in.
"How much?" his girlfriend, Hilde Schebieker asked. She sat her book down.
"Max price, 300 dollars."
"Was it worth that much, Duo?"
"Well, yeah, Hilde. I don't lie. I wouldn't have let it go for any more than that, though." Hilde smiled at him. "My friends may be a bunch of big shots, but this is by far the best lifestyle." He sat next to Hilde on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders.
//....//
Knock knock. Quatre turned in his chair. He had been looking out the window. "Come in." The door opened. "What are you doing here?" Quatre asked, shocked by his visitor.
"I just came to see you, Mr. Winner."
"Oh, you can call me Quatre! No need to be formal."
"Well, Quatre, I came to visit you."
"Don't just stand there; sit down! How rude of me!" He sounded like he had been taken totally by surprise. "I'll get up some tea." He pressed a button on his desk. "Lila, could you send some tea in here for Miss Dorothy and I?"
"Yes, sir," Quatre's secretary replied.
Quatre turned to Dorothy. "So, Dorothy, how have you been?"
"Fine, just wonderful. Honestly." :Oh, how stupid of me! I sound like a moron: "And you?"
"Never been better. Everything seems to be perfect; business is booming. Everything's just perfect." :Great, Quatre. Repeat yourself. You sound smart.:
"That's great."
Silence.
Lila brought the tea in then. :Thank God,: Quatre thought silently to himself.
"Thank you," they replied simultaneously. The looked at each other. Dorothy raised an eyebrow. Quatre smiled.
"I'll just go finish what I was doing, Master Quatre," Lila said with a smile playing on her face.
The two sipped their tea. Quatre watched her, silently, hoping, gathering what parts of his brain weren't already fried...
"Dorothy, must you go?" Quatre asked as she left.
"I have business, Quatre, as do you. You'll never get your work done as long as I'm here."
Quatre sighed. "I suppose you're right." He grinned. "Good-bye then. Please come back soon."
"I will," Dorothy replied, smiling back at him.
Quatre watched her as she climber into her limo to go to the space port. "Yeah, she better come back soon. I wouldn't want to be missing her for long."
"Heero! Heero, where are you?" Relena called down the hallways of her and Heero's huge mansion. She couldn't find him anywhere. She walked into the master bedroom. "Heero, are you in here?"
"BOO!" Heero jumped out from behind the door.
"AAAH!" Relena screamed as she fell back.
"Hahahahahahaha!!" Heero laughed at her.
"You just had to be in a playful mood this morning, didn't you?" She stood up. "You just about gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, Relena. I was just having a little fun with you. I can't go around now chasing down enemies anymore, so I figured why not you. I tried to kill you a few times, right?" He advanced on her.
"Heero, are you okay? Did Duo come over this morning and give you something?" Heero continued to advance on her. "Heero..." Relena backed away, scared of Heero's idea of "fun".
"You better run," he told her, then jumped up and started to run at her.
"AAAH! HEEROOOOOO!!!!" Relena turned and ran as fast as she could. But she wasn't fast enough. Heero tackled her down.
"Gotcha!" he pulled her down to the floor.
Relena was screaming and laughing at the same time. Heero was just tickling away. She kicked at him, but he just wouldn't let her up. "Stop it, Heero!!" He stopped, finally, but held her pinned down. Relena smiled at him. He kissed her. "Heero..." she whispered. He wasn't known to act like this often. The last time he pulled something like this, Duo had come over and got him a little drunk. Heero kissed her again, longer and deeper this time. She pulled her hands up and rested them on his shoulders.
The phone started the ring. Relena pulled part. "The phone," she told him as she tried to get away from his grasp.
"Let it ring." And he continued to kiss her.
Hilde slammed the phone down. "Fine!! Be that way!!!"
"What's wrong with you?" Duo asked, sticking his head around the door.
"She won't answer!! I know she's just avoiding me!!!"
"Who are you talking about?" he asked her, utterly confused.
"Relena!! I try to call her, and she's not there!! Ugh! You and your friends!" Hilde accused Duo.
"What?? I swear it, this time, I had NOTHING to do with it! I promise! It was all them!"
Hilde rolled her eyes and stormed past. "Jeeze," Duo muttered. "Talk about over-reacting."
Mariemeia stood beside Lady Une. "Miss Une?" she asked.
"Hum?" Lady looked down at the young twelve-year-old girl.
"A war is about to begin, isn't it?"
Lady sighed. "Yes, there is, sweetheart."
Mariemeia blinked a few times, thinking. A smiled played on her lips. "He wants you to guide them. Help them, rather."
Lady Une looked down. "He? Them?"
"Them is Wufei and Zechs, and the others, of course. He wants you to stay out of the fight, but still help them."
Lady's eyes closed slightly in realization. "He does, does he?" Mariemeia nodded. "And so I will." Lady Une walked away, trying to keep her tears back.
"Miss Une! Where are you going?"
"I have work to do."
The whole world(and all of space) sat, watched, and listened as Marie Acht declared her statement of war. "The false peace promoted by OZ and the Earth Sphere United Nation is only going to last until people realize what this is. We live in a time of war. That's what all those who died were trying to prove to us! War can't be stopped. It will continue forever. And this forever war is our revolution. Only through war will we know what humans really want. Only then, when people have avenged what wrongs have happened, shall we be satisfied. By promoting this peace, people's hatred is bottled up! Wars will stop, but people themselves will die without something to fight for! We must fight. It is the purpose of human life. We must die in battle, for that is the only way to go. To die in battle means to die knowing that you have tried to change the world. You will die happier knowing that you have avenged those who died for you. This war will fight as a continuation. I will correct a war won by unjust actions on the winning side! And the better, the correct, shall win this war. And by that, I mean that I shall not lose. I, Duchess Marie Acht of the Scarlet Order, declare war against OZ and the Earth Sphere United Nation. May the best win."
//....//
They danced across the floor in a quick waltz to the upbeat Michalage Piqué's Sonata in C (Handle). ***AN: ??? I don't even know if I spelled that right... I listen to too much public radio...*** Ashley smiled broadly. She was having a lovely time at the ball. All top ranking OZ officials were there, as well as any solider that felt like coming. The ball was open to other guests as well, but invitees only in that category. Those people included Relena and Heero Yuy, leaders of the Earth Sphere United Nation, Quatre Raberba Winner, a close friend of Duke Barton and Lady Barton, as well as the representative from the L4 colonies, and Dorothy Catalonia, a friend and representative of the L3 colonies, where she had taken residence.
Ashley looked behind Trowa as they danced. "Oh, dear..."
"What?"
"Do my eyes deceive me, or am I seeing Quatre dance?"
This got Trowa's attention. "Oh, really? With who?" he asked, his curiousity peeking.
"This is worse than I thought..."
"Who is he dancing with?"
"Well, I do believe," Ashley was dragging it out, "that unless she has a twin, he's dancing with Dorothy."
"DOROTHY?!" Trowa exclaimed, trying to be as quiet as possible, none-the-less. He turned his point of view so he could see this. "Oh my God... Well, that's a new one. Looks like opposite's do attract."
Ashley glared at him. "Big mouth!"
"Thanks." Ashley was the only person Trowa would dare argue with. Trowa was the only person daring enough to argue with her. She rolled her eyes. The orchestra swelled into Mozart's Paris Symphony, so the dance changed slightly. Nevertheless, they kept on spying on Dorothy and Quatre, who seemed to be very happy together.
"Honestly, we aren't worried, are we?" Ashley asked Trowa.
"About what? The war?"
"Yes, the war," she replied grinning. :Obviously not,: she thought.
"Well, of course not. We'll win. You doubt me?"
"No!"
"Okay, settled then. Let's just enjoy tonight and watch our entertainment."
Ashley laughed at him. "This is incredibly rude."
"It's still fun though. I now understand Duo a little more."
Ashley shook her head. "You're sad."
The orchestra went into something slow, and Ashley rested her head on Trowa's shoulder. He stroked her hair, then smiled to himself as he saw Dorothy and Quatre dancing closer. POKE! "Ow!"
"I see you. Stop focusing on them, will you?"
"Sorry. I'll watch Relena and Heero instead."
Ashley stuck her head back up and glared at him. He smiled at her and just held her close, still dancing. His eyes were true. She slinked and the harsh look left her face, replaced by a smile. She laid her head back down. "No... I don't doubt you. We'll win this. This will be easy."
"Now, my little Demon! Off to battle!"
Hilde sighed. "Be careful, Duo."
"Just call me the God of Death!!" Duo climbed into his new Gundam, Deathscythe Demon. "It's 'bout time I started to kick butt again!" And off the battle he went.
Quatre sighed and looked up at the Gundam. "Oh, forgive me, father, for fighting. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what, Mr. Winner?"
"I told you, you can call me Quatre." He turned around and took Dorothy's hand. "It's time for another battle. My friends need me again."
"Well, then be careful." She smiled at him. "No, I'm not going to worry about you. You're a strong person, Quatre."
"Yeah, I know." He turned to look at Sandrock II. "And the battle continues..."
Wufei and Zechs got into their Gundams, Nataku II and the Titan. Sally and Noin stood there. "Be careful!" Sally called to Wufei.
"I will," he replied calmly.
Zechs smiled at Noin. She grinned back. "Come back soon."
"Don't worry about it. I will."
And they shot into the sky.
"Your Excellency, the Bulletproof has been finished and is ready for battle," Lady Barton told her husband.
"Thank you. Get the troops prepped for battle."
"Yes, Your Excellency." She turned to leave.
"Ashley?"
"Sir?" she turned back to look at him.
He smiled at her. "That was cool."
Ashley laughed. "Yeah, sure, Your Excellency."
"Oh, and you look very sexy in uniform."
"And how many times have you told me that now?" She grinned at him. "How do I know you're just not saying that?"
He took her hand and pulled her over to him, and took two fingers on each side of the hem of her skirt. "Trowa..." Ashley warned him. And he pulled the skirt down a little.
"Okay. Now you can go prep the soldiers, Ash-chan."
Ashley burst out laughing. She put her hands on her hips. "Oh, thanks, Ti-Bi."
Relena put her hands on her hips. "Heero! You don't really have to go to this battle, you know."
Heero shook his head. "Sorry, Relena. I have to go. That's the best way I can protect you. I promised you I would, and I am." He smiled at her from the new Gundam's cockpit. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I didn't have name for this thing, you know. But I surely have one now."
She looked up at him. "What? Death?"
Heero grinned. "Nope. Sorry." He held his hand out at her, although she couldn't reach it. "Angel."
And he climber into the cockpit and left for battle. "Please bring my Angel back to me," Relena prayed softly.
//....//
"Send out the new Pegasus and Sagittarius suits. I will lead them into battle with the Bulletproof. Lady Barton, get back in the control room and relay the battle info back to me Baron Young, follow me. You take out the prototype Gemini. Go. Now!"
"Yes, sir!" Lady Barton and Baron Matt Young, OZ's top pilot, responded, then headed off to complete His Excellency's orders.
As she ran to the control room, Ashley smiled to herself. Trowa was very good at giving the orders, despite his quiet nature. Not to mention how pissed he got when someone didn't obey them, whether it be Ashley or not. He cut no one-NO ONE-slack.
Trowa got into his mobile suit. He flipped the screens on as soon as he took off. Ashley appeared on the comlink. "Sir, there are fourty mobile suit carriers, each carrying approximatly thirty suits. They haven't dropped them yet, but they are believed to be a mix of Canine and Ursa suits. They should force no problem for the Sagittarius's and Pegasus's."
"Thanks, Ash-chan," he said with a smile. Okay, so maybe he was just a little nicer to her. Or a lot. Okay, so he didn't care what she did, but who's watching?
Ashley smiled back. "Good luck, Ti-Bi! Over and out." Ashley beeped off.
Trowa set up a line with Baron Young. "Baron, split the units half and half, half in the air, half on the land. The enemies are Canine and Ursa suits. I believe you should be able to handle it from here."
"Yes, sire, Your Excellency," Young replied.
:Hum... There are only about fifty Pegasus suits and fifty Sagittarius suits, but around twelve hundred of them. That would mean each suit would have to take out an impossible number of enemy mobile suits. However,: Trowa thought. He pulled out his double beam gatling and destroyed ten suits easily. He smirked. "However," he repeated out loud. He stood his ground and fired. Up in the sky, a major battle was going on. Lutinient Young had brought all the Pegasus's into the air seeing how Trowa and Bulletproof were handling the situation. It was the enemies air suit, the Canine, that were posing a slight problem. They were seriously outnumbered.
"So far, sir, only sixteen deaths on our side, and seven hundred ninety-three enemy mobile suits have been demolished.
"Good. Remaining Sagittarius forces, go into the air battle. I can finish this battle, then join you." Trowa fired some of his micro missiles, finishing out the remaining Ursas. Then he took for the air. He flipped open the army knife and began to slice and dice the Canine suits like French fries. The chest of Bulletproof opened and the two gatlings there began firing. Trowa also got started with the vulcan gun on the head and the machine cannons on the shoulders.
"Fourty-two of our forces, one thousand thirty-four of theirs," Ashley updated.
"This battle's ours." And Trowa slashed up another suit.
Trowa flipped the lamp off and looked over at Ashley, who had her back turned to him and the covers pulled up to her chin.
"What did I do this time?"
"Mr. I'm-such-a-big-MEANY-BOSSY-PERSON."
He grinned. She ALWAYS did this. It never failed. Every time he gave her an order, she got all pouty with him. Always.
"Sorry, Ash-chan."
She turned over and flashed him a smiled, then buried her face in her pillow, tired from the hard work of reading of screens and relaying the info back to her husband(just another day's oh-so-hard work for Lady Barton...). "Okay," she mumbled into her pillow. "Goodnight, Trowa," she told him. Well, it came out more like "Gooh-ieth Oh-aah."
He smiled and pulled her over to him. "Goodnight, Ashley," he said softly, kissing her forehead.
The pilots had been invited to the private meeting of the Earth Sphere United Nation. After it had adjourned, Relena asked the guys, along with Zechs, to stay. "Well, here we go again," she said.
"Yeah, so much fun," Duo replied sarcastically.
Heero looked at him. "I thought you enjoyed battle. Just a big video game, right?"
"One you don't wanna lose," Zechs muttered.
"Not when battles come in between my dates!! I have a very busy social calendar!!"
"Moving right along... I was going to suggest you all find somewhere more suitable to meet than here," Relena told them.
"We could meet at the OZ headquarters," Ashley offered.
"First of all, not 'we'. Ashley, you stay out of this-"
"Make me!"
Trowa ignored her and continued to talk. "Second, no, not there. Never enough privacy."
"Yeah, agreed," Ashley said remembered and awkward event.
Silence.
"I got it!!! The BATCAVE!!" I think we ALL know who said that.
The crew turned to look at Duo. "What?" Quatre asked.
"We need to be serious," Zechs told him, after rolling his eyes.
"No kiddin'. I'll just be sure to keep him away from the sugar next time. I really outta put a lock on that..." Hilde told everyone, sighing a little.(The guy's gals had stuck around. They felt as though they had a right to know just as much as they did.)
"I am being serious!! Batman had a cave, well, me being the all powerful super-hero Shinigami, I have a boat!! Or, well, a BARGE, but, same thing."
"Sea Breeze?" Hilde asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup!" Duo confirmed.
"But I thought that was for salvaging trips only."
"Weeeelll, now it's the Batcave!"
"That could work," Heero thought out loud.
"We could hide the Gundams there, right?" Wufei asking, thinking of his beloved Nataku.
"It could hold them all and more," he said, proud of it's size.
"I'll just stick around the PIA," Zechs humphed.
"You do that. The rest of us-"
Trowa cut Heero off form his little plan. "Can't. I have to stay with OZ for the time being. This is mainly our war."
"Okay then. You stay. The rest will stay at Sea Breeze," Heero finished.
"Oh, wonderful. Company," Hilde muttered under her breath.
//....//
"Hey, here's a question. Where's Hilde?" Quatre asked.
Duo looked at him. "I dunnooooooooooo!!!" He wailed.
"Calm down. What do you mean, 'you don't know'? She's always with you," Trowa pointed out.
"I mean what I say!!! I don't honestly know!! I touched her hair-her _hair_- and she jumped all on my case, then left. I don't know where she went, nor how she left... Well, she did!"
"PMS," Heero muttered.
"How long as it been?" Quatre asked him, ignoring Heero's comment.
"A week and a half."
"PMS," Heero repeated, a little louder.
"Hu?" Duo turned to star at him.
"PMS. Post-Menstrul Syndrome. Relena's bad days. Every time something goes wrong, it's my fault. Unless it's PMS, then she doesn't blame me. As often. Otherwise, the only thing she ever tells me is 'HEERO! WHAT DID YOU DO!'" He finished off his awful explanation with a high pitched squeal off _someone_ yelling at him.
"I think Ashley's had that before. There are some days when the soldiers complain of her slapping them just because she can," Trowa thought out loud.
"I wish she'd come back already. I can't cook nearly as good as she can, and I don't know how to run the washer," Duo muttered.
Wufei fought diligently. He and Zechs were really taking in the missions during this war. Space seemed to be a war ground, and they were some of the only space forces, not counting all the OZ suits Ashley and Trowa had sent them as help. However, try as he might, Wufei could not ignore the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, as though something was wrong, or something was... missing. "Oh, no," he whispered softly.
Duo sliced away half-heartedly. He sighed. "Not only war now. Noooooo. Hilde just had to pull this, didn't she, Deathscythe, old-buddy?" He sliced some more Canine suits. "Oh, fart. Now there's just no fun in this. Hilde's usually on the line, bugging me. This just sucks. And then, home sweet home, Hilde's there with a hug and a kiss, okay, hugs and kisses, but who's there now? No one. Just me, myself, and I. And I refuse to hug and kiss myself. That's just weird."
Wufei checked over Nataku again, then sat in front of it. "Meiran?" he asked softly. "Don't be jealous of her. You remain my passion throughout the war, and through my life. You keep the passion in my heart to fight. I have not forgotten you. I do love her, I do, but you were my first and that can't be changed. So Meiran, nay, Nataku," he smiled, "Please continue to fight with me."
"When do you have to go?"
"Tomorrow," Wufei replied to Sally, packing his bags.
"Do you have to go?" she asked, almost whining.
He turned to look at her. "Yes, I do. They all need my help. I think that with the suits Ashley and Trowa gave us and Zechs around, you should be able to handle everything. Also, I think Trowa is going to send you and Noin some new suits for you two to use in battle."
Sally sighed. "Oh, okay."
Wufei smiled. Just a small, tini-tiny smile that actually looked more like a smirk... But anyway, he smiled a little. :Well... I really... Hum,: Wufei thought to himself. :She IS my wife, ne?: He smiled a bit more. Sally looked at him, confused. ***AN: Just so I can say this, Wufei did grow a little, so he's now a little taller than Sally. Thank God.*** :Maybe... Maybe.: He put his hands on her shoulders. "Sally. That is tomorrow. So, let us worry about tomorrow when it comes."
Duo groaned his way out of bed. Nope. Still no lovely smells of breakfast. Poo. He got up and opened his drawers for something to wear. "Oh, God. I knew this would happen." There was nothing there. All his clothes were dirty. He had worn everything he had, down to Bermuda shorts.(Now that was a funny sight.) He sat on the ground in his boxers. "All I have left is underwear and.. Hilde's clothes." He thought for a moment then shook his head. "Uh-hu. I'm not putting her clothes on. Not only will they not fit, but there are HER clothes. I'm not wearing women's clothing." And so he sat on the ground and cried. It was so pitiful, seeing a grown man cry.
Knock, knock.
"Go away!!!" Duo wailed.
The door opened.
"WAAAAAAAAH!" Duo continued to cry.
"You know, Duo, they say people mature with age. You just kinda matured four or five years and then liked it, didn't you?"
"Hilde?" He turned around, and by-George, there was an angel standing there. "Howdja get back to Sea Breeze?" He asked, not bothering to get up.
She sat down on the floor in front of him. "I have my ways. Get up, will ya? You look like a baby!" She stood up.
"Oh, Hilde!" Duo grabbed her legs. "Please don't ever do that again!" He pulled her down on the floor with him.
She giggled. "Okay, I won't."
Duo sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Thank you." He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "Can you go fix me some breakfast? And wash my clothes? Oh, please, Hilde?"
She sighed. She just couldn't say no to those big old cute eyes. :It would have been nice if he lost that with age, too.: "all right. What do you want?"
He grinned. "A pound of bacon, some scrambled eggs, sausage, patties and long-style, biscuits-NO GRAVY-, a hamich, an omelet..."
Marie Acht sat at her desk, watching a battle at the Yangtzee River OZ base she was trying to get. So far, all attempts of hers were foiled by that stupid Barton, Trowa, and his Gundam, Bulletproof. She was losing yet again. She glanced down at her notes from different meetings, trying to figure out their weak point. She had to find the key to defeating that idiot. Revenge. As she read the notes, a pattern formed. "Hu. Trowa never talked. Not much, at least. It was always her..." Marie smiled, a plan forming. "Hum... If I got rid of her, OZ would stop functioning. She's the true leader of OZ, he just backs her up when needed..." She propped her head on her hands. "Well, then. I have two ways to do this. I could kill her, or drive her insane. I think it would be much more fun to drive her insane." She pressed a button on her desk. "Make sure it's ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
Marie smiled. "This will be interesting, eh, Father?" She looked at a picture sitting on her desk. "Yes, it will be very interesting, Father..."
To be continued...
NEXT TIME ON GUNDAM WING: REVOLUTION...
Epyon has been rebuilt, with the sole purpose of driving Lady Barton insane. But Marie's plan backfire's and she must find another way to get back at Trowa...
Gundam Wing: Revolution|Session Two|The Face of Evil