Warnings: Dark, angst, language, SPOILERS (Episode 7), possible OOC (see first part for warnings covering the whole story)
Feedback: MUCH appreciated. Comments, constructive criticism, confusion, questions, all welcome!
Notes: There are some discrepancies between this part of the story and the series, and I want to point them out to avoid confusion. First of all, in my story, Duo and Heero do not arrive at New Edwards together. Also, as you may have noticed, Duo has already learned Heero's name. Nothing big, just small tweaks necessary for the purpose of my story. The dialogue in this part is taken directly from the episode (English dubbed version), though not all dialogue is present.
Part 6 – Betrayal
New Edwards. I do not relish revisiting this event, but revisit it I must. My story cannot be complete without it.
I said before that it was the beginning of the end… But it was also the beginning of something new. The end was of my illusions, my delusions, but also my will, conviction, and determination. The beginning was of my enlightenment, my understanding, and of my despair. I did my damndest to deny it, to prevent it, but it was inevitable, and also for the best, when all was said and done. Maybe not for me, but certainly for all else. Everything—and everyone—else.
Before I tell you why, let me tell you how. You should experience it if you really want to understand.
I was scanning the news on my laptop, set up in the makeshift kitchen of our warehouse. Over the previous weeks, there had been numerous reports of attacks on OZ facilities. Of course, some of them were the work of yours truly, but most of them weren't. I knew some of them were attacks by Heero, but there were too many, too geographically dispersed, for him to account for all of them. No, someone else had it in for OZ, and from what little details I had managed to scrounge up, it sounded like this someone (or likely someones) had suits like mine and Heero's. In fact, some websites claimed they were all Gundams, and that there were five of them.
If I hadn't met Heero, I would have scoffed at this notion. Five Gundams? Impossible. But the knowledge that at least one other existed made the concept of an additional three plausible. I was beginning to suspect that it was quite impossible that our simultaneous arrival on Earth and parallel goals could possibly be coincidence. Somebody knew the whole picture, and I could bet that G was one of those somebodies. Exactly why he didn't clue me in was beyond me, but of course it would be useless to ask for details. If he hadn't already told me, then I didn't need to know… apparently. But I didn't like it.
My musings were interrupted by a loud chime emitting from my laptop, followed by an alert for a new message. Opening it, I saw the outline of a new mission.
All top OZ officials, including Treize Kushrenada himself, would be meeting for a conference at one New Edwards Base. I was to leave in a few hours since the base was pretty far away, and upon arrival, I was to blow the place to smithereens, OZ officials included. I grinned. Blowing shit up is a favorite pastime of mine, and this mission would allow me to do just that on top of eliminating all the major players on the other team. Perfect.
Somehow, it didn't cross my mind that, with so many VIPs in the same place at the same time, the security might be more than I could handle alone. Nor did I realize that such a perfect opportunity might attract the others—Heero included—who were causing OZ so much trouble. No, I simply replied to the message, confirming that I had received it and would follow through, then got up to prepare for the task ahead, my previous musings forgotten. Silly me.
Perhaps it was because I had never been given an impossible mission before, and couldn't imagine that I could be given one. Oh the invincibility of youth… I remained blissfully ignorant of the impending possibilities throughout my journey to New Edwards. Instead, I occupied my time memorizing the layout of the base and other mission specs. I grounded my carrier five miles out and checked the clock. I was within timeframe, so there was no use waiting. Strapping into Deathscythe's cockpit, I booted up the systems and headed in.
Needless to say, I was not prepared. Not for the number of units protecting the base, not for the other Gundams, and certainly not for Heero, let alone the ensuing disasters of that battle. I noticed the number of units first, in the same instant that I knew it was too late to turn back. I had been seen. But many Leos were already engaged in combat, so I knew I had an ally, and did what I could to get to him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
When I got close enough to see it was Heero… I didn't actually react. How could I have? Distraction meant death. Immediate death, I should say, since we were going to die anyway. We were that outnumbered. I was determined to do as much damage as possible before that happened, which meant staying alive for as long as I could. So no, I did not react, as I was fully immersed in battle fury. But part of me did. And that part of me was confused as fuck.
I was grateful first. Keep in mind that the part of me reacting was the strictly irrational part, hence its ability to forget (or forgive?) Heero's unforgivable betrayal. I was grateful because I was going to die, and I didn't want to die alone. Did I tell you that being alone was one of my greatest fears? Loss is my greatest phobia, but being alone was a close second. Since loss was guaranteed at this point, the irrational part of me was relieved that at least one of my fears could be assuaged.
I was also angry. I was going to die with Heero, the betrayer. All at once, I forgave him and condemned him for this act. Irrational, remember? In the face of Death, I could admit to myself that I had let myself care. He had spit that caring back in my face. Of all the people on Earth to die with, he was my last choice, but there he was, his suit back to back with mine as we slashed through Leo after Leo, beamsword and scythe dancing intricate patterns through our enemies. I hated him for making me grateful for his presence. Grateful was the last thing I wanted to feel for him.
Thus, my utter confusion as we continued to tear through rank after rank of OZ mobile suites. But again, only part of me was experiencing this. Most of me was fully engaged in the fight, which was really the only thing that kept me from screaming at the top of my lungs.
Scratch that. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Fighting was a good excuse for that.
This is the point when all of me joined in on the confusion. There was a barrage of missiles that could never have come from a Leo, and then Wing was transforming and shooting off into the sky. I realized the Leos around me had cleared and I turned to face two suits that, while unfamiliar, were unmistakably Gundams. Ah, the source of the missiles.
Their attention was no longer one me, though, and I looked to the sky to find Heero and Wing. There. Trailing an OZ shuttle. I grinned. Wing caught up, transformed, and sliced it in half. Grinning some more, I turned back to the other Gundams, laughing maniacally. I wouldn't be dying this day, and what's more, the mission would be a success. Eliminate OZ officials, check. The base still needed destroying, but first I had to see a stranger about an appointment… his appointment, with Death. No one bombards me with missiles and lives to tell about it.
Screaming, I launched myself at the closer of the two Gundams, scythe held high and eyes flashing. But this pilot was no OZ soldier. The orange and red suit moved slightly, raising an arm to deflect my blow and the other to shoot… this guy had a fucking gun for one of the arms on his suit! I twirled the scythe deftly, changing its angle of impact, but not fast enough. The gun-arm lifted up to block just before I crashed into him, almost unbalancing us both. Then the gun-arm crashed to the ground and a blade was flashing toward the head of my Gundam as I reached my arm up to block.
Out of nowhere, a huge column of flame erupted between us. We disengaged, both looking for its source. A fifth Gundam was standing not far away. In the midst of battling, we hadn't even noticed its approach.
"Haven't you guys gotten tired of these meaningless battles yet?" came an indignant voice from the fifth suit.
"What do you mean?" Heero replied, incredulous, as he returned to earth.
A Chinese boy stepped out of the cockpit. "Don't you guys realize? You've all been lured right into OZ's devious little trap. Check out the Alliance's report. You guys just wiped out the Alliance's pacifists."
"Impossible." Heero said it; I thought it. Then it came true.
"This is the colonies' declaration of war against us…" General Septum's voice washed over me like I had been doused with a bucket of ice water. We had failed, utterly and totally. Not only were OZ's top officials alive and well, we had murdered potential allies and most likely alienated any support we might have had.
Most of me was in shock as Septum continued to speak, unable to react, but once again there was a part of me that was reacting, and furiously so. I thought at the time that it was that irrational part again, but know now that it was entirely rational, entirely correct. We had made a fatal error. Only one of us had avoided it, and even Wufei had been unable to prevent it. That rational part of me knew then that there was no hope. If it could happen once, it would happen again. If it could happen to us, it would happen to others. There would be no winning the war I had come to fight. It was not possible. We would fail.
I was not ready to accept this reality, however. I insisted that my astute conclusion had come from the same part of me that had been grateful and angry and hating, all at once, earlier. The utterly irrational part. I was there to win, and with four Gundam pilots at my side, I would succeed.
tbc
Okay, a few more comments. I had more to say, but my intro was already so long I figured I'd wait till after the story. First off, please note that I welcome constructive criticism, as I'm always trying to improve my writing, so if you have any suggestions for improvement, let me know! Also, I would like to apologize in advance as it may be some time before I can update again. The next part is going to be difficult to write, as this one was. I need to find the right balance of introspection, action, and narrative that mirrors the show. I don't want these parts to be simply a reiteration of the episodes they refer to, but I need to include some summary at least so that everything makes sense, and I'm trying to add enough action to keep it interesting. It's a tough balancing act but I think I did okay with this part. We'll see. That being said, thanks again to all my readers and reviewers. Hope you liked the latest part!
NoirAnge