Chapter 26

Lista stood down in the docking bay, Howard's engineers rushing back and forth past her as they worked on refueling the Gundams and Tauruses for the next battle, although most of their attention was on Alto-Long's extensive repairs. Despite the clamoring going on about her, she felt as though she stood before the line of mobile suits alone, her thoughts carrying off.

She was thinking about her father.

Now that Zechs had officially declared war on the Earth, she couldn't help but wonder whose side he would take, if she would be pitted against him once more. As she clenched her hands into fists at her sides, she could only hope and pray that their confrontation would be their only one.

"Yo! Lissy! I'm talking to you!"

Lista blinked and tilted her head to the side, finding an exasperated Duo standing next to her, his fists propped on his waist. "Oh. Duo, I didn't know you were there."

He scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. "Obviously. You were staring off into oblivion. What's going on with you?"

She sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears as she faced him. "I was thinking about my father. I'm sure you don't know the details as to how I ended up on the lunar base with Quatre and Heero."

He nodded, his eyebrows perking in interest. "Can't say I haven't thought about it, but there's no telling with you."

The corner of her mouth tweaked in a small smile before continuing. "I found out that you and the others were at the lunar base and that Quatre had to be the one piloting Wing Zero. So I decided I would sneak in and get you out. But on the way, I…ran into someone."

His face furrowed. "Well, who?"

Her response came along with a sigh. "My father. He was a double agent for OZ. We had an…altercation, you could say, and I surrendered to him. Then the Treize Faction and Gundam engineers got me out and I met up with Quatre and Heero before the three of us escaped to Earth."

Duo's eyes flared, and he dropped his arms hard to his sides. "What? You mean that bastard father of yours is a traitor?"

Lista sighed in disgust, shaking her head and resting her hands on her hips. "I really don't have any room to talk given that I defected from the Alliance to help all of you, but yes. He changed sides before the deaths of Marshal Noventa and the others at New Edwards."

Duo threw his arms in the air in anger, his cheeks flaring red. "I can't believe the nerve of that guy. First he made you become a soldier when you had no business at all being on a battlefield, and then he turned tail and decided to become your enemy? What is wrong with him?"

She shrugged. "I wish I could say what his reasons were, but I don't know. I don't know if he lost faith in the Alliance's practices as I had and decided OZ was in a better position to achieve peace or something, or if he decided that he wanted to join OZ since they had begun to gain the upper hand. I really don't know. But now I know where my traitorous tendencies come from."

He took a big step towards her, shoving his finger in her face. "Don't you dare talk like that," he snapped. "You decided to help us because it was the right thing to do. You had nothing to gain from it. You weren't gonna get some high military promotion or something. I can't speak for that idiot old man of yours, but your situation is way different than his. What kind of guy gets into a battle with his own kid?"

She lowered her head with another sigh. "I wish I knew. I haven't spoken to him since I was jailed. I haven't spoken to my mother or sisters, either. I imagine my mother must have found out the truth by now. I just hope she's okay. It's too risky contacting her and my sisters until this is all over."

Duo was silent for a moment, studying the twisting pain in her face, the tension as she shifted her weight from one foot to another. He placed his hands on her shoulders, grabbing her attention. "This would be a good time for you to go back home, you know," he suggested lightly. "Maybe you could get the answers you need."

She smiled and pressed a hand over one of his. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Quatre, which is no. I'm not leaving you guys. This is where I'm supposed to be. And I'm sticking with you either until this war ends or I draw my last breath."

Duo chuckled and shrugged as he pulled his hands away from her. "I figured I would take one last shot before everything goes up in flames around here." She smiled and slid her hand affectionately against his cheek. He leaned in toward her with a waggle of his brows, his lip curling into a smirk. "So, I hear that you and Quatre have been spending an awful lot of time together."

A cherry blush climbed up her neck to her cheeks. As she cleared her throat and fidgeted, she could see the look in his eyes. She was transparent to him. But still, she deflected. "I don't know what that's supposed to mean. That's just how it happened."

He clicked his tongue, elbowing her gently in the side. "Anything you wanna tell me, Lissy? About you and Quatre?"

She opened her mouth, releasing the breath she'd been holding, and shook her head, forcing on an incredulous smile. "Of course not. There's nothing going on. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not even sure I know what you're trying to say."

She was rambling, and she knew it. He knew it.

Duo shrugged, his smirk widening further. "Well, if you feel like you have something to tell me, you know where to find me." He brushed his knuckle playfully against her chin and moved past her, waving. "I'm gonna get a bite to eat. I'm starving. See ya, Lissy."

Lista watched him go, lowering her head into her palm with an exasperated sigh.

Duo could read her with no effort. She could probably walk into a room and Quatre would know the truth before she spoke a single word. Butterflies danced in her stomach, and she bit back a curse.

It was only a matter of time before Quatre found out the truth. And just what would she do then?

Lista moved onto the bridge, secretly hoping she wouldn't run into Duo on her way. Thankfully, she didn't. She didn't know how much she could deny to him her feelings for Quatre. She sighed, flicked her bangs from her eyes, and moved up behind a seated Noin as alarms began blaring.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Object approaching from the aft. It's a shuttle," Noin replied. She typed a few strokes into the computer, and the large screen lit up with footage of a mobile suit shuttle. She cocked her head to the side as Howard up next to them. "An enemy?"

"No. An enemy would've started attacking us long ago," he said with a shake of his head.

Noin frowned and opened the lines of communication. "This is Peacemillion here. Approaching shuttle, identify yourself!"

On the control panel, the communications video flickered to life, and Noin's eyes lit up as Sally smiled back to her. "I figured you'd be there, Noin. I brought a couple strong allies. How about letting us board?"

Lista took a seat next to Noin and pulled a headset over her ears. Her fingers sped over the keys. "Preparing to open rear docking bay now. I'll call down to Duo, Trowa, and Quatre. I'm sure they're going to want to greet them." As she faced her computer screen, typing in commands, a smile crept upon her face.

The Gundam pilots, for the first time since she met them at New Edwards, would be together once more, this time united as one force.

As the door to the docking bay opened, Quatre, Trowa, and Duo walked through, finding that Wing Zero, Alto-Long, and Heavyarms were now docked all in a row, and Heero and Wufei stood at the end of the floating platform, staring up at them. Quatre catapulted himself through the air happily with the aid of the lower gravity, calling out to them.

"So you made it without getting shot to pieces," Duo said with a smirk.

"Mind if we stay for a while?" Wufei asked as Duo and Trowa came up behind Quatre.

Quatre shook his head, his eyes bright with hope. "No, stay as long as you like. I'm just glad to have you visit."

Standing down below the platform were Lista, Noin, and Sally, watching as the five Gundam pilots gathered together to talk. Sally sighed, her eyes hard. "This'll be one tough battle, you two."

"All battles are tough by nature. You already know that," Noin replied. Her eyes filled with emotion, and she lowered her head. "Sally, Lista, I feel so powerless now. I may need your support this time around."

Sally and Lista exchanged glances with one another behind Noin's back before they both leaned in towards her with comforting smiles. "It won't be me you're depending on. Those kids have left their doubts behind. They've found their missions. If you stay on their side, you won't go astray," Sally replied.

Lista pressed her hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I agree with Sally. I know we can put our trust and hope into the five of them. They're going to be the ones to decide the outcome of this war." She looked up at them as Howard began shouting orders to begin the repairs on Alto-Long and the space modifications to Heavyarms. Her eyes moved from one pilot to the other, falling last on Quatre. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to see they all make it through this alive.

There was a small commotion as a man rushed up to Howard, speaking quickly and breathlessly. Howard turned towards the group of Gundam pilots. "Hey, guys! We're getting reports of OZ infiltrating a nearby colony!"

The five pilots turned to the large overhead screen as footage from the colony's cameras flashed. Colony citizens were being rounded up like cattle, the OZ Tauruses circling them menacingly in the middle of a city square. Noin, Sally, and Lista moved up onto the platform to join the others.

Duo scoffed in disgust, shaking his head. "Those OZ guys in space have really lost it now."

"That's because White Fang has pushed them to the edge. White Fang didn't leave OZ a place to run," Quatre replied. He returned his attention to the unpleasant footage, his brow furrowing. "And this is the result."

"Those weaklings depend too much on their mobile dolls," Wufei spoke up. "What do you expect?"

Sally folded her arms over her chest, moving up to Duo's side. "I wonder how White Fang will react."

"White Fang's a bunch of weaklings, too," Heero said. "But Zechs will never go for OZ's demands. The colony citizens will be sacrificed."

Sally shook her head, turning to Lista and Noin. Lista had a curl in her lip in dissatisfaction. Noin clenched her teeth, her face twisted. "Sacrificed so Zechs can win. Can this really be considered a war?"

"I think this has gone way past being a war," Lista replied. "It looks like it's becoming a contest of who has the most destructive force. And the colony citizens are going to be the ones who pay the price." She scowled, watching as the citizens cowered in a tight group as the manned Tauruses guarded high above them. "This needs to be stopped before more people lose their lives for nothing."

"Let's return to the bridge," Howard suggested. "Let the mechanics do the work on the Gundams, and we'll see if there's more we can find out about what White Fang has planned next."

Sally gave Noin a quiet nudge, and the two of them were the first to move from the dock platform. Wufei, Trowa, Heero, and Howard followed behind them.

As Duo and Quatre moved to leave, they stopped and stared at Lista, who continued to watch the footage on the screen. They exchanged curious glances with one another before Duo walked to her side, prompting her from her reverie with a hand to her shoulder. She snapped her head in his direction, jarred from her thoughts.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Duo asked. He gestured with his thumb towards the door. "Everyone's going up to the bridge. You coming?"

Lista was silent for a moment, stealing another look at the footage, drinking in the terrified expressions on the colonists' faces. She cleared her throat and turned back to Duo, meeting eyes with him and Quatre. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

Duo smirked and pulled his hand away from her shoulder. "Well, that's pretty obvious. About what isn't as obvious."

She pressed a hand to the base of her neck. "OZ is starting to panic. That much is clear with what they're doing right now. It just makes me wonder…" Her voice faded off as she swallowed back her sickness. "My family is on one of these colonies. What if OZ or White Fang target theirs next?"

Duo shook his head. "Don't think like that. We're not gonna let either of them sacrifice more people for their stupid, little game. You don't have to worry about them." He turned to Quatre for backup. "Right?"

Quatre nodded and moved next to her. "The chances of them getting involved are low. Their colony isn't particularly close to the current battle area OZ and White Fang are occupying. I don't believe you have to worry about the safety of your family." He smiled to comfort her, taking another step closer to her. "Try not to make yourself sick over something that hasn't come to pass, Lista. The probability is low for their involvement. They're safe."

Lista nodded once, half-convinced, half-skeptical, but she tried to take his words to heart. Duo watched their exchange with a pleased smirk as Quatre took her hand, sandwiching it softly between both of his. "We won't allow your family to get hurt. I promise."

A small smile painted her lips, and she gave a firmer nod this time. "Thank you, Quatre." She turned to Duo, who waggled his eyebrows at her from behind Quatre. She felt the cherry blush creep onto her cheeks. "Thank you, too, Duo."

He shrugged nonchalantly and slapped his hands on her and Quatre's shoulders. "Hey, it's what I do, Lissy." He gestured once more for the door. "Now that you're feeling a bit better, we should join the others. We need to figure out what Zechs has planned to answer OZ. Whatever it is, it's not gonna be good."

Quatre and Lista nodded in agreement as Quatre slowly released her hand. Duo turned on his heel and moved down the platform. Quatre gestured for her to go before him, and she did, giving him the opportunity to watch her from behind with a mixture of care and concern.

Back on the bridge, Peacemillion's workers moved diligently about as they compiled footage and data from the surrounding colonies. Lista sat at her own computer, fingers typing speedily as she brought up information on Libra's location. She studied it for a moment, brow raised as the coordinates shifted slowly. She spun around in her chair, facing Quatre, Duo, and Heero, who all stood directly behind her.

"Libra's changed direction," she said with a frown. "It looks like they're heading for the colony taken over by OZ."

Heero's frown deepened. "They only changed direction? They're going to fire the main cannon, then."

Duo turned to Heero in disbelief. "And destroy the whole colony? That guy's unreal!"

"Impossible!" Everyone turned their attention to an outraged Noin, who pushed herself from her own chair. "Zechs would never do such thing!"

Quatre's eyes fell at the impassioned denial in her voice. "I can understand how you'd want to believe that. But he's the White Fang leader, Miss Noin."

Noin's face twisted, and she curled her hands into fists on her control panel. "I know, but..."

Lista turned back towards her computer, typing in commands to bring up the footage from inside the colony. Trowa moved up behind her, next to Heero, with wide eyes. In the mob of people being gathered, he noticed right away the red, billowy hair of Catherine. His eyes narrowed and darkened, and he moved off without saying a word.

"I don't know what OZ plans to gain by taking the colonists hostage," Lista spoke up, spinning around in her chair to face Quatre, Duo, and Heero. "Unless they think it's the best way to get Zechs to surrender White Fang and Libra."

"Which obviously isn't gonna work in their favor," Duo added with a shake of his head. "They're all gonna end up dying right along with the colony citizens when Zechs makes an example out of them."

Noin opened her mouth to speak up, but her control panel beeped. She pressed a button, and Howard's face popped up. "Noin, we got a problem. Trowa just took off in Wing Zero. He's headed for the colony."

Lista pushed herself out of her seat in alarm as Quatre and Duo took an instinctive step forward. "He's really gone overboard!" Duo said.

"Let's follow him! Wing Zero is too dangerous in his state!" Quatre exclaimed.

Duo nodded in agreement, but before they could move forward, Lista clamped her hands over both of their shoulders. "I'm coming with you. I can help," she said.

Quatre was the first to shake his head. "No, you stay here where it's safe, Lista. It's too dangerous out there, especially with White Fang on the way towards the colony, as well. Duo and I will handle this."

Lista bit her lip, looking to Duo, who shook his head in agreement with a stern frown. Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed in defeat. "Okay. Please be careful, both of you."

They both nodded and moved from the cockpit, past Wufei, who leaned against the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

"You look calm," Sally said as she walked up next to him. "Aren't you at least worried about your comrade, Wufei?"

"There's no point in interfering this time. Besides, I'm powerless until Nataku's repaired," he replied nonchalantly.

Lista scoffed loudly, hands on her waist. "Well, I'm worried. There's no telling what waits for the three of them. OZ and White Fang have no particular love for the Gundams. They all have targets on their backs out there."

"Calm down," Heero spoke up. He kept his eyes cemented on the footage of Duo and Quatre's carrier moving off towards the infiltrated colony. "Zero will wipe out the last of OZ and its mobile dolls. That'll be easy."

"But what about Libra's main cannon?" Sally asked.

Heero shook his head. "We aren't the ones who can stop that cannon."

The black Taurses of OZ's space forces were in hot pursuit behind the Wing Zero, zigzagging through them as he sped his way towards the colony, towards Catherine. An enemy Taurus flew into his flight path, between him and the colony, and raised its beam cannon.

Trowa gasped as things seemed to move in slow motion, his cockpit glowing gold, and the beam igniting from the end of the rifle at a crawl. He quickly split his own beam cannon in half, raised them up, and fired at the Taurus before him, as well as the few closing in on him from behind.

The Taurses exploded around him, and he fought to catch his breath and steady his double vision. His radar beeped in alarm, and he spun around, firing again at another coming Taurus. He could hear his heart pounding against his ears, his head throbbing, his eyes shaky, but he continued to mow down each and every Taurus that dared cross his path.

And he turned around, finding a single Taurus aiming its rifle towards the colony. His knuckles burned as he fired at it quickly, engulfing it in the Wing Zero's deadly power, before it could do any damage to the colony.

He felt his stomach turning, and he heard Catherine cry out for him in a deep echo. He blinked, and there she was, surrounded by blinding white, rushing towards him with a black Taurus hot on her heels. And he blinked again, and all he saw was the Taurus closing in fast, its weapon aimed straight at him. He gasped and hurriedly fired.

But as the beam ripped through the Taurus, Catherine's visage flashed before him, and her painful cry shredded his ears as she was engulfed by the fiery wrath of his beam cannon. He lurched forward in a loud cry, hands aching as he clutched the controls and fought to regain his composure as gold streaks circled him in the cockpit.

His cockpit beeped again, and a Taurus appeared in front of him, dangerously close to the colony's outer wall, taunting him. His eyes narrowed, his breathing stopped, and he aimed tight against it.

"Don't do it! Trowa!"

Sandrock appeared from the side, shooting down the Taurus before Trowa could shoot and, undoubtedly, do damage or, worse, destroy the colony himself. Trowa grit his teeth as Sandrock moved in front of him.

"Open your eyes, Trowa! The person you have to protect lives there!" Quatre pleaded, impassioned. "You were the one that corrected the mistake I made! I can't let you make that same mistake! Don't let the Zero control you! You're too strong to let that happen!"

Trowa's eyes widened, a sudden bout of clarity overtaking him. He clutched his helmet and leaned forward with a loud groan, swallowing back the sickness churning in his throat. "Th-The person...I want to protect…"

Quatre waited in the silence, a single drop of sweat sliding down the side of his face, but Wing Zero made no move. Trowa said nothing. He couldn't take it. "Trowa! Are you all right?! Trowa!"

Memories flashed against Trowa's eyes: Catherine hitting him, watching vigilantly over Heero after his self-detonation, meeting Quatre.

The gold in his cockpit faded against the darkness of space, and, with shaky hands, he clutched the controls. "You're right, Quatre. We both have people to protect."

Quatre's eyes widened, and he fell back against his seat. "Trowa! Your memory! It's come back!"

There was brief silence on the other end, followed by a trembling exhale. "Let's go. Catherine's waiting for us."

Quatre's shoulders fell in a deep sigh of relief, and suddenly, finally, he felt the guilt of his actions begin to melt away.

On the bridge of Libra, Milliardo sat in his commander's chair with Dorothy at his side, a smug smirk firm on her face. "The main cannon's energy is fully charged and is ready to fire," she said, turning to Milliardo with barely controlled glee.

"Hold on!" a man shouted. "Civilian shuttle approaching from 1 o'clock!"

Milliardo made a sound in the bed of his throat as the screen before him lit to life with his younger sister's stern face. "Milliardo, you're making a huge mistake. You need to stop this," Relena demanded.

"Stay away, Relena," he responded simply, betraying nothing.

She shook her head defiantly. "I'll do no such thing."

Milliardo hid his frustration. "When Libra's main cannon is fired, your shuttle will be destroyed. Your life will be wasted."

"I don't care if it is," she replied. "At least let me say this. We both bear the Peacecraft name. As such, aren't you embarrassed brandishing huge military power and controlling people?"

He was silent for a moment, studying the furrow in her brow, the identical one he, no doubt, branded right now. "Is that all you have to say? "

Relena leaned forward in alarm. "Milliardo!"

"Fire the cannon," Milliardo said, cutting her off. "Start the countdown."

Duo's face popped up on the main screen on the bridge of Peacemillion, smiling triumphantly. "We've saved the colony! Tell White Fang to cancel their attack!"

Lista's face twisted as she turned around to look at Heero and Wufei. "There won't be any need. What you guys just did was in vain," Wufei replied nonchalantly.

Duo's smile faded. "What?!"

"The target of Libra's main cannon was never that colony," Heero added.

Duo shook his head, frowning. "What? Then what was?" His eyes lowered, connecting with Lista's, and when he saw the look of terror on her face. His complexion paled at the realization. "No. You don't mean...?"

Alarms beeped on Lista's console, and she spun around, reading the incoming information. "Libra's cannon has reached full power." She released a shaky exhale. "It's time."

The camera angle shifted to Libra as its cannon crackled with concentrated energy and fired, careening past the infiltrated colony and ripping through the darkness of space in the direction of Earth. Lista's hands tightened into fists as the beam slammed into Earth for what seemed like endless minutes. There was silence on the bridge, silence from Duo, Trowa, and Quatre, as they, too, watched the attack against the Earth.

And then the beam cut down to nothing, leaving a blackened hole in the middle of the blue planet.

Lista shook her head slowly in disbelief. "I can't believe he actually did it. All those innocent people…"

Howard pinched the bridge of his nose, under his glasses, and sighed. "You guys should get back here. We have a lot to talk about."

Less than an hour later, Lista stood down in the docking bay to greet Duo, Trowa, and Quatre on their return from the colony. They each exited their Gundams somberly, floating down to meet with her. Duo landed before her, his hands propped on his waist. "Well, that could have gone a lot better."

Quatre walked up to her. "Do we know anything yet about which part of Earth was hit?"

Lista shook her head. "Not yet, but Howard has a team of people working on that now. They're compiling all of the information coming in from Earth about the impact site and how many casualties." She swallowed the lump in her throat, frowning. "But the number has got to be at least in the millions."

Duo shook his head, scoffing. "What a bastard. How could he do that? Just to challenge Treize?"

"I suspect it's become personal on some level," Trowa spoke up. "We all know there's history between Zechs and Treize. No doubt it's become complicated recently."

Lista stared at Trowa for a moment before turning to Quatre, finding him smiling with a single nod of silent confirmation. Her lips stretched cheek to cheek and placed a hand on Trowa's shoulder. "You have your memories back?"

Trowa nodded, the corner of his mouth tweaking in a half-smile. "It appears so." He turned over his shoulder to look at Quatre, who smiled back at him. "Quatre seemed to know just what words to say."

"Okay, it's great that Trowa's got his memories back," Duo said, waving his hand dismissively. "But we got bigger fish to fry right now, and that's Zechs. The man's off his rocker shooting beams into planets and all. There's no telling what else he has planned."

Lista nodded. "Howard wants everyone to meet him on the bridge in the next hour so we can talk it over. There's a lot to discuss on what move we should be making next. So the three of you have a chance to change and rest for a few moments before we do."

Duo nodded, patting her shoulder. "Sounds good to me. I could use a bite to eat before we jump into this tub of fun." He moved off without saying another word, unzipping and shrugging his flight jacket as he did so.

Quatre moved up next to Trowa and Lista. "Are you sure you're all right, Trowa?"

The pilot of Heavyarms nodded, his small smile unwavering. "I'm fine, Quatre, thanks in no small part to you. And Catherine is safe. We can at least consider that a victory for now." He gave a single nod to Lista and walked off towards the elevator, leaving Lista and Quatre alone on the landing platform.

"He's right, you know," Lista spoke up with a smile. "With the return of Trowa's memory comes also the return of his skills as a Gundam pilot. And that also means you no longer have something to feel guilty over. He's okay now."

Quatre nodded, a small, embarrassed blush coloring his cheeks. "Yes, that is something to be thankful for, given the state of things."

"Every bit of positivity means something," Lista replied. Her smile faded. "Especially after watching what just happened with the Earth. Things are going to get very ugly, Quatre, once Treize answers Zechs' challenge."

Quatre watched her for a moment before closing the distance between them, his hands settling on her arms. "I don't disagree. But it's important for us to stay positive. Otherwise, Zechs wins. He knows we're a threat to him. He'll do whatever he can to shake our resolve to gain the upper hand. We mustn't let him do that."

Lista's eyes met with his, searching through the deep teal. She could tell he was trying to convince himself as much as he was her. "I know you're right. But this war is bigger than anything we've ever seen. If Zechs was able to do that to the Earth without so much as batting an eye, I have a hard time imagining what else he'd do to see that White Fang comes out victorious or what Treize would do in response."

He gave her arms a comforting squeeze. "We won't let either of them get out of control. We'll do everything in our power to make sure this war ends with the least amount of casualties possible. And then we can all live the remainder of our lives in peace with the people we care about most."

Lista swallowed, a rosy pink warming her cheeks, and she forced herself to nod. "There's nothing more that I want than to see this war end and all of us come out alive. I promise I will do everything I can to make sure you all survive this and are seen as the heroes you all are."

Quatre's smile returned, and he shook his head. "None of us want to be treated as heroes. We just want to do the right thing and protect those who deserve it." His hands moved down her arms and gingerly took her hands in his palms. "And I promise to you that I will make sure you come out of this alive so you can return to the family that loves you."

Lista tilted her head with a warm smile, touched at his vow, and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She sighed against him and looked up at the docked line of Gundams, silently praying that this war would come to an end sooner rather than later.