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The Second War
Part 2
By Era-chan
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The young man behind the laptop frowned at the report he was reading. If the person who wrote the report had been there in front of him, he would have been punched on the face. He would also be the first to see the angry expression on the man's face, something that had never happened before. The young man never showed any emotions. In fact, some people would say that he doesn't have any emotions. He was aloof and tends to wear a cold expression. He was the Perfect Soldier, Heero Yuy.
But now there were emotions showing on the Perfect Soldier's face. He turned his laptop off. Sitting there, he stared at nothing. Then he smirked.
"Mission…Accepted."
Music rang out from the room. It rose quietly and silently, so beautiful it made anyone who heard it stop in his or her tracks and just listen. Yet the music flew on, no audience nearby. The young man who was making the music played the violin, his eyes closed, a serene expression on his face. Now was the time for peace, which the song depicted. Yet even though the music was beautiful, a hidden undertone kept it from truly being pure. The hidden urge for someone to love, which in turn despises what he represents to the person's ideals. The person that has hurt him, and yet made him falls in love with in return. Yes, the young man has always the look of innocence of him, but he had killed many during the war. Was anyone truly innocent from the destruction that erupts from the devastation humankind had done to each other? What ever happened to the peace that was between each of the people, the peace that had been a long time ago? The young man frowned, the serene look on his face gone. Somehow he sensed uneasiness for a while, like the feeling he had during the war.
The young man, youngest and heir of the Winner Enterprises stopped playing the string instrument. He put down the violin and went to the window. Staring out to the endless desert, he remembered that it was nearly the day that the war ended. Somehow during the last two years, the past few days leading to the end of that horrible war had felt extremely special. He had felt truly at peace and complete. Always during this time he felt whole, and so he always looked forward to it. Sometimes it was a short period, sometimes long. And so, Quatre Raberba Winner swept his dark feelings away and waited for the peaceful feeling to come to him.
The young man looked up at the stars. Endless and dark, the sky up above stayed the same, never changing through the times of turmoil and war. It had been a long time since he had fought, but he will never regret his decision. He had participated in the war and had lived through it. He had survived, and he was thankful for it. His sister was also glad.
Circus noises rang out behind him. The circus had come to Earth, and the young man was glad to see Earth again. After two years in space, he was grateful to be on Earth again under different circumstances. The last time he had been on the planet was during the war. He had taken another man's name for his mission, the mission to obliterate the Oz factor and Romefeller Foundation, who were behind the actions of the United Earth Alliance. Having had no name ever since he was a child, he had been glad to have a name to give, though it was someone else's name, it didn't matter to him. He had met new people, made friends, and acquired a family. Yet somewhere deep in his heart he felt lonely, searching for that someone who he could love. Oh, he loved his sister and his friends, but that was another kind of love. What he wanted was someone to love as a man loves a woman. He knew that his heart wanted that, especially that girl who had betrayed him. The girl who was the same like him, who did it for her family, to survive the war as he did by becoming a spy, a traitor to him and to the others. But he didn't hold it against her; she did what she had to do. He would have done a similar action if he had been in her shoes. He did felt pain that she had betrayed him, but throughout the years he had forgiven her for what she had done. So he secretly yearned for that girl, though it didn't show on his face.
"Trowa!"
Trowa Barton took his eyes off the sky and turned to look at his sister. Without looking back, he went to the circus tent, ready for his act, putting his old memories in the back of his mind.
The young Chinese man got off the jet plane and walked toward the cliff. He stopped as he neared the edge and stared at the rising sun, glowing reddish-gold as it rose. He felt at peace where he was, at the forest evergreen dotting the outskirts of China. Though he wasn't born on the planet but on the colonies in space, he felt proud that he was from this land, where his ancestors had lived a long time ago. Now it was his home, ever since the L5 colony where he had lived for his first 15 years of his life had blown up so that they wouldn't be subordinate to the enemies during the war.
The young Chinese man ignored the pain that came as he thought of his old home. The pain that always came whenever he thought of the girl that was his life and who he loved too late to save her. The memorial stone where he had put her name to commemorate her was blown up with the L5 colony. He had held her when she died after the Mobile suit that she had occupied was blown apart with the enemies. Even though his marriage to the girl was arranged, he had fallen in love with her during the time they shared together. Then he had been a scholar who was against fighting while his wife had been into the war. They were both so proud and stubborn, but they had balanced each other so well. He regretted not telling her about his feelings and he will never have that chance to tell her.
Wufei Chang continued to stare silently at the rising sun, proud and alone, never noticing the lonely tear falling down his cheek, the only testament of the pain in his heart. That was the only sign that will ever show him as an emotional human being.
The young man wiped the oil from his hands off with a rag. He stared proudly at the mechanism that he had fixed ready to be sold to his customers. "Another done and lots more to fix. Yup, that is my job as a Sweeper." With a nod of his head, he turned around and walked toward the house he lived with his girlfriend. On the way, he threw the rag, missing the trashcan by mere inches.
Life was good for the young man. For the past two years, he had a flowing business, the postwar equipment giving him ample profit for his business. Though he was glad that business was good, he hated that it had to do with the wars two years ago. He had participated in the war to defend the people from the tyrannies of the enemies, but he didn't have to like it.
There were good things that came from it though. He met people who had the same goal as he did, and his girlfriend. Speaking of his girlfriend, she was coming towards him with a worried expression. He knew that something was wrong.
The young woman went up to her boyfriend, her blue eyes worried and somehow had a hint of fear in it. The transmission she had received from the Preventers had made her worry that the peace that had finally come would be shattered. Not once had the Preventers called them. Her boyfriend was a Preventer, but he was only to be called unless immense situations needed his skills. She knew that he didn't want to return back to fighting, something she agreed with. She wanted him to be happy, as he wants her to be happy, too. They both lived comfortably together, running their Sweeper business, and having a normal life. Or as normal as they both wanted it to be.
But now that this transmission came, she knew that their life would change again. She sensed that it was not good news and she feared that it would involve her boyfriend again, making him relieve painful memories from the past. She didn't want that to happen, especially to the person she loved with all her heart.
Her boyfriend went up to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, babe. What's the matter?"
The young woman bit her lip. She stared at her boyfriend's eyes, a deep violet that she could fall into, and countless times she had. She will never tire of looking at her boyfriend, the love of her life. What any sane female wouldn't stop looking at him, not her. She took a deep breath and told her news.
"Duo, the Preventers called." She lowered her eyes so that he wouldn't see the fear in them. "They said it was an emergency."
Duo Maxwell stiffened. This was the first time that the Preventers had called him for duty. He had a sinking feeling that this wasn't good news. Whatever the task was, it was something that needed his expertise. They wouldn't have called except in dire situations. He stared down at the bowed head of his girlfriend. He didn't want to leave her. He had gotten used to waking up next to her, seeing her everyday, since the wars ended. It would be hell when they separated.
Duo lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. His voice muffled, he said to her, "Hilde, babe. Don't worry. I'll come back to you. I promise you that."
Hilde lifted her head and stared at her boyfriend, her emotions showing in her eyes. "Duo, I don't want you to leave. The last time you left me, I thought I would never see you again. The separation nearly killed me. And afterwards, you had to take care of business and left me alone." She burrowed her head on Duo's shirt. Her voice became pained. "I can't take it anymore, Duo. I just can't."
Duo swore under his breath. Man, he didn't want to leave her, especially after the last two years. He remembered when Hilde went to the Libra and stole information about it. She nearly got killed trying to give it to him. He had promised that he wouldn't leave her again but he had. He went to live with the other Gundam pilots for a while afterwards. As one by one they all left until it was only Heero and himself left. When he had been about to leave, the news of Relena Peacecraft's getting kidnapped made him stay. Afterwards, he had left and went back to the L2 colonies, where Hilde had waited for him. She had thrown herself at him, tears of joy falling down her cheeks. He had vowed never to leave her again and he had kept his promise. Now this impending call is trying his vow into shambles. If he went, he would have broken his vow. But if he stayed…
Duo put on a grim expression. Hell. He won't break his promise to himself and Hilde. He lifted his hand under his girlfriend's chin and raised it so that he could stare at the scared blue eyes of his beloved.
"I made a vow that I won't leave you and I won't. Hilde, you're coming with me."
Hilde was surprised. She searched the violet eyes staring down at her. "Are you sure, Duo? I mean, the business and all…" Her voice trailed off as Duo lowered his head so that their foreheads touched each other.
"The business won't be harmed a lot. We can just transfer it to Earth for a while. The other Sweepers won't mind taking care of business here for us. Mayhap we can switch with someone on Earth. And as for being away from each other, the only time that will happen is whenever I go somewhere dangerous. Other than that, we'll be together, just as I promised you we would." He wiped the tears that had appeared a while ago. "Don't cry anymore, Hilde. Please smile for me." There was a pleading note in his voice. He hated to see her cry, especially when it was his fault she was crying.
Hilde sniffed and slowly smiled. She threw her arms around Duo's neck. "Oh, Duo."
Duo smiled and returned the embrace. He smiled as he buried his face on his girlfriend's neck. I'll never let you go.
The plane came down on the private airport of the former Sanc kingdom. It bore the insignia of the richest family in the L4 colonies. The lone occupant of the plane got out as it stopped. He looked down the stairs and found a limousine waiting for him. Pagan waited patiently as the youngest Winner came down.
Quatre greeted the old butler. "Good afternoon, Pagan."
Pagan bowed. "It's nice to meet you again, Master Quatre." He opened the door. "Shall we go?"
Quatre nodded his head. He had only carried with him an overnight bag, unsure of his stay. He had received a call from Lady Une and had come to former Sanc kingdom as soon as he could free himself from his work. He knew that call wasn't for idle chitchat; Lady Une had a serious expression on her face when she called. She had told him to come to the former Sanc kingdom, not to the Preventers, since she was there already. She had found some important facts that needed the Gundam pilots' help. In fact, as Quatre found out, she had called all the Gundam pilots except for Heero, who she couldn't find. Quatre wasn't surprise. Heero went his own way, disappearing from the world, never telling the others of his whereabouts.
The young blond man went inside the limousine and settled inside. The door closed and Pagan went to the driver side, opened his door, and got in. The black limousine spends away from the airport toward the Vice Foreign Minister's mansion.
During the way, Quatre heard that Trowa Barton was driving to the mansion since he was on Earth. Duo will had already arrived, having brought Hilde along with him. Wufei would arrive later after he had finished his mission. And there were guests of Relena that was residing in her home, coming under circumstances that Pagan didn't tell to Quatre, who didn't ask.
The limousine finally came into sight with Relena Peacecraft's mansion and stopped in front of the door. As Quatre stepped out of the limo, the front door opened and Relena came out.
"Quatre, how nice to see you again."
Quatre smiled and shook the hand that the sandy-haired woman held out. "Never been better, Relena."
"Quatre!"
Quatre and Relena turned to the newcomers. Duo walked out the door, Hilde not far behind him. The braided young man went to the blond Arab and the two shook hands.
"Duo, how had you been?"
Duo waved his hand. "Fine, fine." He put his arm on the young woman's shoulders wearing a beret on her head. "You remember Hilde, right?"
"Of course." Quatre shook hands with the German girl. They had met when Hilde got injured getting the disk holding valuable information of Libra to the God of Death. He had realized then that the Gundam pilot who called himself the God of Death was in love with the girl. He was really pleased that Duo and Hilde got together. All of the people needed someone to love after endless warfare and being alone, in a sense. He ignored the black chasm that came to the fore whenever he thought of loneliness. Yes, loneliness. He, who had twenty-nine sisters, was lonely. Yes, he had friends and the Magaunacs, but what he was truly missing was the love that he could see between the Gundam pilot and the German girl. He had felt that emotion once, but that too was taken away from him, leaving him lonely and lost.
Quatre snapped out of his reverie when he saw Duo waving his fingers in front of the blond Arab's face.
"Yo, Quatre, you okay?"
Quatre smiled. "I'm fine." He turned to Relena. "So I guess the others aren't here yet."
Relena nodded. "Why don't we go inside and get you settled. After you are done settling in, I'll introduce you to my guests."
The four friends went inside the building. A maid came and took the young Arab to his room while another helped Pagan with the young man's belongings. Duo and Hilde followed Relena to meet the guests, having been done with putting away their belongings in their room.
Relena stopped in front of a door, opened it, and went inside. The braided pilot and his beret-wearing girlfriend followed. Four women turned to greet the newcomers. Sally and Lady Une gave the couple acknowledging nods. Duo and Hilde returned the greeting. Then they stared curiously at the other two women.
Relena introduced the other two women. "This is Dorothy Catolonia and Meiran…" She gazed at the Chinese women in inquiry.
Meiran didn't hesitate. "Chang. Chang Meiran."
Silence followed. Meiran looked around at the others, puzzled over their reactions, though not showing her emotions at all. It was Duo who broke the silence.
"Say, Meiran. Are you related to someone named Wufei Chang?"
Meiran stiffened. "Wufei?"
Hilde elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs. "Chang Wufei." She had said that properly, something she had learned from an old Chinese friend of hers during her brief career as an Oz soldier.
Meiran slowly nodded her head, caution beginning to appear in her eyes.
Relena, realizing that the young Chinese woman wasn't going to say anymore, decided to intervene. "Meiran. Dorothy. Let me introduce you to Duo Maxwell and Hilde Scheibecker."
That broke the eerie tension that had fallen. The American pilot held out his hand. "Please to meet you, Meiran." The young Chinese woman returned the greeting. Duo, though it pained him to do so, held his curiosity at bay. He instinctively knew that there would be no more inquiries over her relation to the Chinese pilot. He stared at the young woman, trying to find any resemblance between her and the Gundam pilot. His quick assessment showed no similarities, though he never strayed from his thought of her as a cousin of some sort. Mentally shrugging, he made a mental note to ask the Shenlong pilot over his relation to Meiran Chang.
Duo turned to the other woman and held out his hand. He stared at the blonde woman who had pierced the young Arab's side, as Trowa had told him afterwards. What he saw now was a young lady who had seen a lot and had paid for her actions. A young, kind woman whose eyes held the real person behind the austere face. Impulsively, Duo held onto the woman's hand, startling her. "I just wanted you to know, I don't hold it against you for what you did back then."
Dorothy stared at the brown-haired, violet-eyed man, whose impetuous grin and kind eyes spoke about his sincerity. She felt a tide of relief wash over her. With a watery smile, she smiled her thanks. The young man released her hand after an affectionate squeeze.
Hilde shook the women's hands but stopped when she reached Dorothy. Instead of shaking hands, she hugged the blonde woman, surprising her. When she released the blonde, Hilde smiled.
Dorothy couldn't believe it. People that should have done the opposite had forgiven her. It made her feel overjoyed that these people would forgive her for what she had done to them. She felt that now she won't be alone anymore. Now she'll have friends this time. Dorothy smiled back.
Lady Une decided that now was the time for her to step up. "Why don't we sit down and wait for the others."
The rest were settling down when the door opened and Quatre came in.
As soon as the young Arab walked into the room, his eyes immediately met gray eyes. Time stood still for the two young people. Quatre gazed at eyes that had seen and done many things that should never had made those decisions. He saw myriad emotions go one after the other in the young woman's eyes. Realizing that she was showing her emotions, Dorothy lowered her eyes to her lap. That didn't perturb the blonde Gundam pilot at all. He quickly went up to the young blond and sat down beside her. With one hand he lifted her chin until he could look at her eyes. Quatre smiled.
"Dorothy, I forgive you."
Dorothy gasped. He knew. Somehow that didn't surprise the young woman at all. She knew that he could perceive things instinctively from people, a gift that he used to help others. He had known what was giving her grief and he had eased it with his kind words of forgiveness. Suddenly, Dorothy gave out a sob and began to let it all out. The grief for what she had done, her sorrow over her father's death, and her loneliness finally found an avenue of release.
Quatre embraced the young woman into his arms, murmuring soothing words to the wounded woman. His heart wept for the girl that grew into this beautiful woman, who had done many things that she had regretted yet had done during the war. He wanted to whisk her away from the world and surround her with his love. He tenderly pushed her hair away from her face and let her cry into his shirt. Finally the young woman would find peace at last.
When she had tired herself out and her tears began to dwindle, Quatre pulled back a little and raised her chin so that he could wipe the remaining tears off her face with his handkerchief. Dorothy gave him a watery smile.
"Thank you, Quatre." There was a sincere note in her voice.
"You're welcome, Miss Dorothy."
The others, who had been silent during the event, finally began to move. Relena went up to Dorothy, who hadn't left the warmth of Quatre's arm, to see if she was okay. Duo and Hilde stared at the two, an unreadable expression on their faces. Meiran walked to the window and stared out, feeling isolated from circumstances that she didn't know about. Lady Une and Sally Po discussed their next action together in whispers. It was going to be a while for the somber atmosphere to dissipate.
Much to everyone's relief, Pagan came into the room. "Miss Relena, Mr. Barton has arrived."
"Please send him in, Pagan."
Pagan bowed and left the room. The tall Latin Gundam pilot walked into the room. He immediately assessed the situation. Duo and the German girl that had come to Libra was sitting at a couch beside each other, intimately close in fact. Lady Une and Sally Po were sitting at another couch across from the couple. The other three occupants were sitting at a couch between the other two. He saw that his best friend had his arm around a blonde woman's shoulders, a woman he was familiar with and had met during the war. He didn't question the closeness between the blond Arab and the woman. He had found out that her name was Dorothy Catalonia, cousin to Treize Kushrenada. Somehow he had sensed that there was something going on between the two blondes. It was something he sensed at the hospital where Quatre was being held after Dorothy had stabbed him on the side. He had realized that his best friend had feelings for the blonde girl then, and yet he wouldn't be surprised if Quatre still has them after the years. He noted the tear stains on Dorothy's cheeks and turned his gaze to his best friend. An unspoken conversation went between the two, something that often happened ever since they first met.
Dorothy tried not to let her emotions get the better of her. She didn't know what the tall Latin man would do, since she was the one who had stabbed his best friend, the young man beside her. In a deep part of her heart, she hoped that he would forgive her as the man she had feelings for had done.
Trowa broke his gaze from Quatre and came up to Dorothy. He held her gaze as he stopped in front of her. His mask, the one he had worn nearly throughout his life, didn't give his emotions away. Their gazes never wavered between them. Trowa searched the gray eyes, trying to see what Quatre had seen of the young woman. An emotion flitted quickly from her eyes. Satisfied, Trowa tore his gaze away from the young woman and returned his gaze back to his best friend. He gave the young Arab man a small nod. Inwardly grinning, he let out a comment that he knew would make his best friend uncomfortable.
"You've found a fine woman, Quatre. Don't lose her."
Quatre flushed but stood firm. "I know."
Dorothy turned her gaze to the man beside her, her surprise showing briefly on her face but she quickly returned back to her usual normal expression. The only ones who saw the change of expressions on the young blonde woman's face were Relena and Trowa.
Trowa then turned to the young Vice Foreign Minster. "Relena, how have you been?"
Relena smiled. "I'm fine, Trowa. And how is Catherine?"
"Fine. She didn't want me to go."
Relena gave a sympathetic smile to the tall clown. "I understand. Who would want their sibling to go back to fighting, especially after what she must have went through during the war, worrying about you."
"Not Zech, of course," Duo commented.
Hilde hit her boyfriend behind the head. Duo yelped and gave his girlfriend a wounded look while patting his head.
Relena shook her head. "Definitely not Milliardo." She remembered her older brother, the one that she had found out that she had during the war. The news that she had an older brother was a shock. She had only faint memories of her family when she was a child, but the ones that she can remember were the ones when the Sanc kingdom had been destroyed. Yet she was glad that she had a brother, though he was so stubborn at times. She didn't care that he had fought during the war. Even though the Peacecraft family had been a pacifist family, they had fought in many different ways for their ideals and for the people. Relena had fought during the war by becoming a symbol for the people. Milliardo had fought by becoming a soldier. In truth, Relena thought that her brother could still become the king of the Sanc kingdom, if he ever returned from Mars. Relena knew that her brother needed to find himself, since peace had finally happened. But now, the peace was being disrupted.
This time, Relena was prepared to make sure that all the people wouldn't suffer, especially him. She won't let him fight ever again. This was something that she can do for him, the only thing that she knew he would let her do. Though she wanted to do more for him, like loving him with all her heart. Cherish him and keep him safe in her arms. And give him the peace that he craves with his body and soul. She knew him and she knows that it was scaring him. But she could wait. She had been waiting for years, even though she was lonely and aching inside.
"Miss Relena."
Relena broke out of her reverie and came back to reality. She turned and found the concerned eyes of Dorothy Catalonia. Relena saw the others staring at her with the same concerned expressions on their faces.
"Don't worry, everyone. I was just reminiscing about the past." Her eyes became shadowed for a little bit and then cleared.
Understanding, Dorothy gave the foreign minister's hand a squeeze with her own. "The past should be left alone, Miss Relena. We must move on. That is something that we must strive for." A faraway look came into her eyes. Dorothy thought about what happened between her and Quatre on the Libra, and vowed to make a better start with him now that she found out that he had no hard feelings for what she did to him.
"Yet the past can crept up on you when you least expect it." Relena said this philosophy, surprisingly.
The others sobered up. They had the feeling that somehow what Relena said would happen, though in unsuspecting ways.
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I hope you enjoyed the second part of The Second War. GW does not belong to me; it belongs to its respected owners. I know that this should be at the top but live with it. It's my decision. Feedbacks and such are accepted to aylah001@yahoo.com.