Disclaimer: Usually I write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so this time as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am not making any money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 36: A World at War
While Harry struggled to accept the tragic history of the society that had given birth to him and save the dying world that was magic, the rest of the world struggled under the continued weight of war. And even though the destruction of the Lunar Base and the corruption of several databases had hampered OZ's efforts to upgrade and improve their mobile dolls, it didn't stop them from mass producing the things as they were being built on Earth and on other bases scattered throughout space. The completed dolls were being shipped to Earth and sent against the Treize Faction, the Rebel Alliance, the Freedom Fighters, and the various countries that were speaking out against OZ as well as being deployed to fight those still rebelling out in space.
Out in space, those that had faithfully followed Zechs from the Lunar Base continued to fight as did the handful of Une men that had followed Zechs from the moon; both groups forming the space arm of the Freedom Fighters along with those that had split from the resistance once Harry and his brothers left. They worked to destroy the mobile dolls before they reached Earth, neutralized the facilities manufacturing the dolls, and protected the Colonies from the predations of the other three sides. Despite their efforts though, the war (and there was no doubt that it was a war) would last for years if the balance wasn't tipped soon.
Shortly after Dr. Watanabe cloned the last wizard, a fifth faction made their presence known; a group that called themselves White Fang and claimed to represent the Colonies. The group was led by Quinze Quarant and financed by Dekim Barton (two of the individuals that were ultimately behind the original Operation Meteor that would have seen the Earth destroyed and under control of the Barton Group – though this information wouldn't come to light until much later). White Fang was currently just giving lip service to the other four factions involved in the war; threatening, promising, and postulating rather than fighting anyone. No one was quite certain what their agenda was and everyone was keeping one eye on them in order to not be caught off guard when the group finally took action.
About the time Harry and the few fighters he had with him assisted the Sanc Kingdom (at Zechs' request) Lady Une finally woke up from her long coma. It soon became obvious that the woman's two dominant personalities had fused into a new personality that was a mixture of both; the woman's mind having fractured over the course of several years only to shatter completely the night of Harry's escape from Luxembourg leading to her developing a full blown case of dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder).
It mostly showed in her continued desire for peace and an end to the constant violence and her ability to use her military training to get things done. Whereas before, her peaceful persona didn't seem to posses any of her military skills and her military persona had no sense of compassion. Heero, Wufei, and Duo felt that she could potentially be a great ally (due to her connections and her experience); the problem lay in the fact that they didn't think Harry could ever accept her because of what she had done and tried to do.
In the interest of sparing Harry any further stress, knowing he was still struggling to come to terms with the knowledge that he'd been sent to the future and not an alternate world; Heero, Duo, and Wufei decided that they would not pass along the news of Une's awakening unless it became necessary or potentially beneficial. They also kept her under house arrest while she continued to recover in order to make certain that she didn't cause any problems for the Freedom Fighters (such as giving away the location of their base of operation to the enemy). The three pilots well knew that Harry might be upset with them over that decision but they still felt it best given how many more important things Harry had to worry about at the moment.
The Freedom Fighters as a whole had other problems to worry about as well, such as the fact that they were running out of suitable refuges to which they could ship the innocent civilians that they were constantly evacuating from the various hot spots around the world. A good number of them had been moved to the Sanc Kingdom and a dozen other peace-minded nations around the world but with the number of dolls on earth constantly growing it was getting increasingly harder to protect those nations from the various factions that sought to subjugate the entire world. The ploy that the Romefeller Foundation had played to drive a number of Treize's troops into the Sanc Kingdom in order to gain a reason to invade the pacifist nation was a prime example and if not for Zechs' presence in the capital with his sister, they might not have been able to get there in time to prevent a disaster.
After the major loss at the border of the Sanc Nation, Duke Dermail (the leader of the Romefeller Foundation and by extension, the leader of OZ in the wake of Treize's demotion) turned his resources to wiping out the Treize Faction since it was currently the weakest group of opposition. As such he ordered five thousand mobile dolls to be shipped to Earth so they could be used to wipe out Luxembourg where Treize had entrenched himself after being removed as the leader of the Organization of the Zodiac. Once Treize was destroyed, the dolls would then be sent to remove the Sanc Kingdom from the equation as Dermail saw Relena and her impassioned speeches advocating complete disarmament and total pacifism as a large threat to Romefeller's and ultimately OZ's goals.
Doctor J. had stumbled upon the order and passed the information along to Heero. Additional research by Wufei led to the discovery that the requested number of unmanned suits was beyond the current number of dolls in existence and that the completion of the requested unmanned force was projected to be completed by December eighth with the dolls due to be shipped to Earth no later than the fifteenth of December. Knowing that it would be far easier to destroy the dolls out in space where they wouldn't have to worry about collateral damage, Heero, Duo, and Wufei made preparations to head out into space with their Gundams to coordinate a strike with their allies out in space.
Given the large number of dolls involved, there was no doubt that any where from one third to one half of them would slip through their ambush. In order to further reduce the number of dolls that could be used against the pacifist nations, Zechs, Trowa, and Major Po made plans to intercept the dolls at Luxembourg. That their plans would also protect the Treize Faction would actually be beneficial in the long run as the group's activities had helped prevent OZ and the Romefeller Foundation from focusing their attention solely on either of the other two factions. Quatre and the Maganac Corps would then be the first line of defense between any remaining dolls and the Sanc Nation with Harry's squad providing back up should it appear that too many mobile dolls managed to break through their lines of defense.
Harry was sent the information, in order to prepare him for the possibility that he'd be needed to fight yet again, on the ninth of December, when it was confirmed that the five thousand dolls had been built and that they were currently being loaded into transport shuttles in preparation of them being shipped to Earth. Harry managed to surprise his brothers and the other leaders of their group when he calmly accepted his orders without making a big deal over the fact that he'd been left out of the loop in regards to the planning. Harry dryly reminded them that he was an adult now and that he was mature enough to understand and accept that he couldn't be everywhere at once given that he was right in the middle of rebuilding what would one day be called the Wizarding Nation.
The small bombshell that Une was awake also didn't draw the expected explosion from the child-like wizard though he told them that she was not welcome in Crystal Valley and that he would not be inclined to remain in the same room with her. The biggest reason for Harry's calm acceptance of the situation had to do with his active attempts to put the past to rest and stop allowing his fears to rule him; it helped that he knew without a doubt that Snape was dead.
That had been one thing the twins had gleefully informed him; the greasy man had been killed by Voldemort the same night Harry had vanished and the wizard was confident that there was no way the man could ever harm or humiliate him again. That was a small measure of just how much Harry had matured over the past twenty months with the help and support of his surrogate family (though that didn't mean that his past wouldn't cause him problems in the future as various situations cropped up unexpectedly).
On the tenth of December, once he'd finished settling the various magical creatures that had sought sanctuary with him into the barn or in some cases in the castle dungeons to protect them from the cold, Harry and his squad headed to the Sanc Kingdom for what would be his third visit. Cathy, Dr. Watanabe, and the doctor's assistants stayed behind to watch over the clinic and the various creatures in his absence.
Harry stopped at the border briefly and spoke with Quatre and the Maganacs, who were currently patrolling the boarders of the Sanc Nation with a third of the Freedom Fighter forces, before he headed to the capital where he and his squad would be stationed until the threat of invasion had been eliminated or they were required to defend the country. As the two Gundams, six Star Suits, and Wolfstar landed in front of the palace, Harry noted a small welcoming committee heading towards them.
"Take a moment to make yourselves look pretty, guys and gals," Harry drawled over the comm. system as he removed his flight suit and used his wand to remove any wrinkles in his clothes. "We've got an official welcoming committee heading in our direction and closing fast. Do try not to trip when you exit your suits."
"Does that mean you plan on shaving that rat's nest you call hair before you exit Wolfstar, boss? Lord knows that it would be impossible to tame that mess!" Haddock quipped in return, making Harry chuckle.
"Ah, but the girls love the bad-boy image on one as young looking as I am; while on those who are old and shriveling up like you guys it just looks like you're trying too hard."
"Oh… that was a low blow. I felt that one right in the heart… no wait, that's just shortness of breath because I'm laughing so hard over the idea that a runt like you could consider yourself a 'bad boy'," Brian shot back.
"Don't pick on Taliesin guys… we all know the ladies love him because they think he needs more mothering… I mean really, all he needs is a diaper and a pacifier and they'd all go gaga over him and coo about how adorable he is," Takoda added slyly. "If we take him out in public he'd be the ultimate babe-magnet as the girls would flock to pinch his cheeks and drool over us for being 'responsible' big brothers."
"Remind me to dock your pay and demote you all to stable hands when we return to the castle," Harry dryly called back before asking Wolfstar to open the door.
"Pay? What pay? Last I knew, we were strictly volunteers," Hilde retorted as she joined the conversation.
"I'm paying you room and board aren't I? Why do you think I gave you guys that case of chocolate and mead the other day?"
"Ah… the good ole barter system," Takoda sagely acknowledged.
"Sure that wasn't the good old slave system?" Haddock snidely asked though Harry could tell he was laughing as well.
Harry was still laughing as he dropped down out of the cockpit and lightly landed on the balls of his feet. A quick glance told him that their welcoming committee had stopped a polite distance away to allow them time to get free of their suits, so Harry waited for the other eight to join him on the ground before leading their small group across the distance. As they approached the small group, Harry easily put names to all of the faces and a brief scowl passing over his face when he recognized the long haired blonde standing just a short ways behind Relena and Lucrezia Noin (another person he didn't feel overly fond of but tolerated because she never harmed him or his brothers). By the time they reached the group, Harry had schooled his features into a polite mask as he bowed respectfully to Relena (the fact that she'd mostly outgrown her fan-girl tendencies and matured since he'd first met her allowing him to set aside his former irritation with the younger teen).
"Princess Relena, it is a pleasure to see you again though I wish it could have been under better circumstances," Harry smoothly greeted. "I'm certain you remember my companions; Haddock Cole, Brian Weaver, Takoda Jacobs, Hilde Schbeiker, Patricia Campbell, Jack Martin, Ricardo Ruiz, and Eric Wagner."
"I am pleased to see you and your companions in good health, Taliesin," Relena returned as she nodded to each of the others before stepping forward to hug Harry who stiffened and shifted a bit uncomfortably under the overly familiar gesture (his dislike of physical contact still very strong). "I only wish it was not in response to the threat of another invasion. You do know that you are welcome here any time, right, Taliesin?"
"So you have stated before, Princess Relena; but I find it rather difficult to escape the obligations of rebuilding my family home which I had long thought lost to me. While not exactly a nation it is a small kingdom which was nearly destroyed many years ago and there is much work to be done to reclaim all that was lost through the decades of neglect. I would never turn my back on a friend though; which is why I am here now."
"We will have to make time to sit down and catch up," Relena insisted as she attempted to thread her arm through Harry's only for him to deftly sidestep the move and instead fall into step beside her as she rejoined the rest of the welcoming committee. "I would love to hear more about what you are doing to rebuild your family's former home. I'm certain you remember Pagan and Lucrezia Noin but allow me to introduce you to…"
"Dorothy Catalonia," Harry finished as he tilted his head to one side. "The granddaughter of Duke Dermail, current leader of the Romefeller Foundation and OZ. Funny that you should be here when your grandfather is preparing to invade this kingdom because the Sanc Kingdom stands for everything your grandfather abhors; such as peace and freedom."
"Peace, Taliesin; Dorothy is my friend and she came here to study pacifism," Relena admonished in a lightly stained voice.
"What strange bedfellows you keep, Princess," Harry blandly remarked as he abruptly turned away from Dorothy and met Lucrezia's wary gaze. "Lieutenant Noin; Zechs informed me that you would be the one I would need to speak with to obtain more information about our assignment. If you do not have any pressing matters to attend, I wish to go over the current emergency evacuation procedures in the event that the capital comes under attack during the upcoming confrontation."
"Do the Freedom Fighters really think so little of Princess Relena and the Sanc Kingdom that they sent nothing more than a handful of children led by a little boy to protect her?" Dorothy boldly demanded in a slightly piqued tone that revealed she was upset over the fact that she was just dismissed so casually by someone she thought was nothing more than a child.
"Did she really just call the boss a little boy?" Brian stage whispered to the rest of the squad as they swung their gazes back and forth between the bold (or possibly suicidal) blonde and Harry's stiff back; all of them also more than a little put out that they'd been called children since they were all between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four.
"Lieutenant Noin?" Harry repeated; his tone questioning as he ignored the blonde and her rather childish barb completely though his stiff posture let everyone know he'd heard her loud and clear.
"I have time now, Mr. Bard," Noin replied after glancing to Relena for permission.
"Excellent. Brian; I want you, Patricia, Ricardo, and Eric to form two teams and set up a patrol around the city limit of the capital. Takoda, I'd like you and Hilde to monitor the area in and around the palace. Haddock and Jack the two of you are with me for the time being. We'll work out a rotation schedule later this evening once we've finished going over the evacuation plans and the city's current defenses."
"Yes, sir!" all eight pilots replied in unison as they saluted Harry before splitting off into two groups; six of them returning to their suits while the others moved to catch up to Harry.
"If you and the others will follow me, Mr. Bard?"
"Will you join me for supper this evening, Taliesin?" Relena asked before Harry got more than a few steps away.
"If I am not needed to patrol the castle; then I will gladly join you, Princess Relena."
"I hope to see you this evening then, Taliesin."
Harry nodded sharply as Haddock and Jack fell into step behind him as Noin led them to her office. The four of them would spend the next six hours going over the evacuation plans and current defenses for both the palace and the city in the event that the capital was attacked. He was pleased to learn that there were an additional two dozen royal guards and eight recently purloined Taurus suits that could be used to augment the city patrols (the guards would be switching out of the suits every four hours so they were each well rested).
Knowing that, Harry realized that he wouldn't need to actually stand guard himself since Wolfstar could scan the entire city from the palace grounds while the royal guards took turns patrolling the outskirts of the city. His squad could then take turns guarding the palace grounds and capital while he patrolled inside of the castle and watched over Relena (as requested by Zechs; who worried his sister might try something foolish). Once the meeting was finished, he made arrangements for Noin's men to take over the outer patrols while he sent Haddock and Jack (after they were shown to their rooms) to take over for Takoda and Hilde (who had been patrolling the palace grounds) to give rest of his squad a break so they could be settled into their temporary quarters.
Harry would spend another three hours flying over the city in Wolfstar in order to familiarize himself with the city's layout, pinpoint the city's weaknesses, and lay down a weak perimeter ward twenty miles outside of the city that would warn him if anything larger than a lorry or bus entered the city limits. Once that was finished, he would join Relena for supper so as not to appear rude. Unfortunately, that also meant being subjected to Dorothy Catalonia which Harry was rather loath to do; if only because of her relationship to Duke Dermail and the likely hood that the chit was a spy sent to monitor Relena's movements for the Romefeller Foundation. He'd have to watch himself around her as she would without a doubt pass along any information about himself and his squad as well as their mobile suits.
An hour before the meal was due to begin; Harry took a shower, changed into the black tux Cathy had insisted he get months ago, and centered his emotions before presenting himself at the main entrance to the palace. Pagan then led him through the palace to the dining room where a number of the students attending the school Relena had started were already seated. Harry nearly groaned out loud when as one, all of the girls, turned to look at him with far more interest than he would have expected to generate; given the fact that he looked so young.
He hoped it had more to do with the fact that he was the only male present under the age of twenty-five that was not part of Relena's palace staff or guards (not counting his fellow Freedom Fighters who were currently patrolling or settling in) than any real interest in his person. With as much aplomb as he could muster, Harry walked through the room to take his assigned seat (to the left of Relena but not quite in the chair that was intended for her future consort) which put him directly across from Dorothy Catalonia.
"I am pleased that you could join us this evening, Taliesin."
"It is an honor and a pleasure to be here," Harry boldly stated with a smile and not a single twinge of guilt over the half lie (since he'd much rather be doing something more productive).
"Are you not concerned that you are leaving the city unguarded simply to pursue frivolous pastimes?" Dorothy asked pointedly.
"Dorothy!" Relena chided in a scandalized tone.
"Please don't concern yourself on my behalf, Princess," Harry soothed as he flicked his eyes towards Dorothy for a moment. "I did not take offense to Miss Catalonia's question, uncouth and tasteless as it was, for it is easy to see it is just her fear talking. After all, I'm certain she knows just how determined the Romefeller Foundation is to destroy the Sanc Kingdom as they see your beliefs as a threat to their desire for world domination and she is rather exposed here considering the current situation."
"Taliesin, please," Relena practically begged caught as she was between the two of them.
Harry inclined his head slightly acquiescing to her unspoken request before he changed the subject entirely, "I have been told that you started a small, if rather special school within the palace; tell me, what exactly is it that you teach, Princess?"
"Mostly history so that we might learn from the past mistakes of those who came before us in addition to the standard subjects such as science, math, reading, writing, and music. I personally give lectures on pacifism for those that wish to seek peace without resorting to fighting."
"Zechs has spoken very highly of your lectures the few times we've talked over the past several months; he said that you were very passionate about your beliefs and that you had a natural ability to stir and sway others with your speeches."
"I'm certain he exaggerates," Relena countered with a slight blush at the second hand praise.
"I don't think Zechs is capable of exaggerating. He is very pragmatic and not one to praise someone just to flatter them or their egos."
"I personally have always seen Zechs as cold hearted and single minded; a hardened warrior without equal on the battlefield," Dorothy interjected, her tone still slightly miffed due to Harry's thinly veiled snub.
"I have learned that most humans are rarely one-dimensional," Harry drawled as he leaned back in his chair and sipped at the glass of mulled wine (which had been watered down due to his apparent age) that he'd been served with his soup. "The face that they present to the world is far different than the one they present to friends and family which is different still from the one they wear when they face their enemies."
"And how many faces do you wear, Taliesin Bard? Or should I say, Harry Barton?"
"Despite how closely I resemble my little brother; I am not him and if you were hoping to deliver him to the Romefeller Foundation you are well over a year too late," Harry stated simply as he met Dorothy's semi-triumphant violet eyes with an unyielding mismatched glare. "He succumbed to the injuries he received during his escape from Luxembourg Castle two days after we picked him up outside of the castle walls that night. In other words, my little brother is dead and safe from those who wished him harm. I suppose I can hardly blame you for jumping to the wrong conclusion seeing as how the entirety of OZ had made the same mistake when I was captured sneaking into the Lunar Base."
"My apologies," Dorothy backpedaled with a touch of contrition and more than a little disappointment (since she had hoped to turn him over to his grandfather after assuming he was the same boy that had attended that disastrous dinner the night Treize captured Trowa, Cathy, and Harry – the fact that she was correct in her assumption buried beneath Harry's casual lie about him being his own brother).
Harry held her gaze for a moment longer before he once again turned his attention back to Relena whose face had gone slightly pale over the topic at hand. Heaving a mental sigh, knowing it would be up to him to be the better man in the current situation; Harry schooled his face as he once more addressed Relena, "As I was saying, Zechs spoke very highly of your lectures and if my duties permit it; I would be honored to sit in on one of your lectures."
"You are more then welcome to join us any time, Taliesin," Relena offered immediately, the relief she felt over him not escalating matters further after Dorothy's rather blatant attempts to stir up trouble readily apparent in her tone. "I will have Pagan see to it that you receive a schedule of the lectures for the rest of the week."
"I shall endeavor to arrange my schedule so that I can at least attend one of them then."
The conversation continued to revolve around small talk from that point forward, never once touching on anything remotely political or controversial in nature once the awkwardness of the moment had passed. Harry even casually answered some of Dorothy's less intrusive questions though he gave away no personal information and did not mention the impending invasion a second time. He was quite certain that he'd not only annoyed Dorothy by keeping the talk light and almost friendly but that he'd personally offended her by not responding as expected to her verbal taunts and by not acknowledging her apology. On the other hand Relena truly appreciated Harry acting the part of the gentlemen (despite his apparent age or lack thereof).
Still, supper couldn't end fast enough for Harry; though once it did end he wished it could have lasted another five hours when he learned that Relena had organized a small dance for after the meal. As one of the very few males in attendance, Harry was being sized up by nearly every single teen in the room and he nearly whined when the music started. Resigned to his fate, Harry graciously asked Relena for the first dance and silently thanked Cathy for her insistence that he actually learn how to dance; doing his best to fight his growing panic over the prolonged (if innocent) physical contact. To the disappointment of the rest of the ladies present, Harry didn't ask anyone else to dance and barely managed to avoid those that were intent on asking him; the young wizard having no desire to put himself in a position where he'd have to endure physical contact with strangers.
The next night (after a long day of patrolling the city and palace) wasn't quite as difficult as Harry roped the rest of his squad into attending the next formal evening meal with him (since there were enough palace guards to handle the patrols for a few hours) and Harry was soon ignored in favor of the 'real men' present. Harry silently congratulated himself on a well played diversion right up until his relative peace was disturbed by one Dorothy Catalonia. Thankfully, she hadn't accosted him to ask him to dance since Harry didn't think he could stomach initiating any physical contact with her and therefore didn't offer to dance with her either.
And while Harry could admit she was pretty, her abrasive nature reminded him far too much of a female version of Draco Malfoy crossed with Fleur Delacour for him to think her beautiful (seeing her as a combination of undeserved arrogance mixed with haughty superiority). Fleur at least had a reason for her attitude; being swarmed by idiots day in and day out because of her veela allure had to have been annoying after all.
"You dislike me," Dorothy stated bluntly as she stepped up beside Harry with a glass of sweetened punch in her hand and watched the various couples currently waltzing around the dance floor.
"I dislike confrontational people who seek to create friction simply because they do not appreciate harmony," Harry countered with a simple shrug of his shoulder as he automatically took a small step to the side to maintain a safe distance between the two of them.
"You don't think you are being hypocritical considering you came here looking for a fight?"
"No… because I did not come here looking for a fight. I came here because my skills will be useful to save lives and a friend of mine asked me to protect that which he held dear."
"Your reasons for coming don't really matter when, ultimately, you are here to fight. Human beings thrive on conflict whether they wish to admit it or not; even Princess Relena thrives when faced with conflict."
"I pity you if that is what you truly believe," Harry bluntly replied, "for you have no true understanding of human nature and will most likely end up bitter and alone at the end of your life."
"Open your eyes, little boy; the world all around you is being destroyed by the men and women that are out there fighting because they can't help but be drawn towards the conflict!"
Harry drew himself up to his full height as he turned to face Dorothy and scathingly responded, "Choosing to fight to protect your loved ones and the innocent from death or worse doesn't equate to loving a conflict that was thrust upon you by petty old men and women who think themselves above the law. And while I may be physically stunted due to circumstances beyond my control; at least I am not emotionally stunted."
"If not for that conflict those men and women would be nothing," Dorothy insisted obtusely as she ignored the insult he'd thrown at her in return. "You would be no one without your mobile suit and the battles you have fought in it."
"If not for the war that people like your grandfather thrust upon the world in their greed, those people out there risking their lives would be home with their families living their lives as they see fit; building a future for their children with every breath they take. And my suit is not what makes me who I am. Without it, I would still be the same person I am now; a man whose entire family was utterly decimated by those conflicts you enjoy promoting with every word that pours forth from your lips. A man who is trying to rebuild that which both of my parents loved enough to give their lives protecting."
"It is easy to destroy that which other people make but to create something that will benefit others without seeking personal gain or recognition takes true courage and hard work," Harry continued as he turned back to watch Relena as she danced with Haddock and laughed over something the twenty year old had said. "Princess Relena seeks to create peace through her beliefs, not for herself, but for those to whom her words give hope. She faces the trials set before her to protect the beloved kingdom of her forefathers while struggling to live up to their ideals out of love for her people."
"You admire Princess Relena then? You seek to follow her example?"
"Yes, you could say I admire Princess Relena; she has not wavered in her beliefs no matter who has tried to crush her. Will I follow her example? No… I am not a pacifist and will take up arms against those that wish me or mine harm. I do not go out of my way to seek conflict though and will lay down my life to protect the innocent regardless of whom they are or whom their parents were."
"You keep trying to deny it but your words say otherwise; you thrive on the conflict and you live for the thrill of the fight."
"Tell me, Miss Catalonia; have you ever been forced to take another life in order to protect yourself or someone you held dear? Or witnessed another's life being struck down before your very eyes for no other reason than that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and been helpless to prevent it from happening?"
"No."
"Then please don't presume to tell me what I do or do not feel when you couldn't possibly understand me or my decisions. Stop trying to paint me with the same brush you've used to paint yourself and those whose beliefs you continuously spout. Then again, it sounds to me like you are trying to desperately cling to something you know is untrue if only to avoid the pain, confusion, and fear the unfiltered truth would force you to face. Running from your fears or trying to pretend they don't exist only makes them larger and harder to face when you suddenly find yourself face to face with your worst nightmare brought to life and find there is no escape."
Harry gave a short, sharp bow before he simply walked away; leaving the young lady alone and without the chance to offer up another retort. He had no desire to continue the circular conversation as he'd been getting a headache from her mulish stance that made absolutely no sense when one actually considered his replies. Not wanting to be cornered a second time, Harry made his excuses to Relena before he headed out to spend a few hours watching over the grounds inside of Wolfstar and see if there were any updates from his brothers.
Over the course of the next three days, Harry constantly felt himself being watched almost every where he went and he often caught Dorothy staring at him or even following him. He was at least thankful that she'd not tried to start another conversation though her fan-girl-like stalker behavior was beginning to get on his nerves (such behavior was one of the reasons it had taken him so long to warm up to Relena after all and that was mostly because the young leader had matured after taking up her crown). It was almost a relief when Wolfstar sent him an urgent nudge through their mental link during supper on the fifteenth. Harry sat up and tilted his head to one side before he rose, made his excuses to his dining companions, and ordered his squad out to their suits. He also gave a pointed look to Noin, to silently let her know something had happened.
Harry had barely entered the cockpit when he was bombarded with the information from the first phase of their counter attack. The first fifteen minutes of the battle had been going exceedingly well right up until the forces of the White Fang interfered. So instead of potentially cutting the number of dolls that entered the atmosphere in half they'd barely destroyed nine hundred of them. Harry grimly watched the video feed of the battle before making certain his squad had gotten the same information. Harry then sent the information to Noin before contacting Zechs to see if the man needed any backup.
"Zechs; Taliesin here, do you require back up?"
"Negative, Taliesin; Treize had already abandoned the castle before we got here and we evacuated the rest of the city upon arrival. We'll play decoy to make it seem like Treize is still here and destroy as many of them as we can before slowly retreating to the border of the Sanc Kingdom in the hopes that they'll follow us instead of searching for Treize and his men or mucking about in the city," Zechs replied. "I'll let you and the others know the moment we start leading the dolls towards you."
"Understood, Zechs," Harry replied before he opened up the lines to his squad. "This is it ladies and gentlemen, let's sound the alarm to start the city's evacuation; I want the civilians out of here before the night is out. I'm going to finish raising the wards to protect the palace and the hospital. Keep an ear to the radio and be prepared to defend the city in the event that half of the dolls break off to attack us simultaneously."
"Yes, sir!"
Harry allowed Wolfstar to take them to the hospital where those that needed medical care, and therefore could not be evacuated, would be brought if they weren't already there. While the suit was navigating, Harry pulled out his wand and slid it into the sleeve of the amplifier and began channeling his magic. Ten minutes later, he was casting protective wards over the outside of the hospital (well away from the walls so the magic wouldn't interfere with their electronic equipment), layering them so that there was no chance of him missing a single inch of the hospital grounds.
An hour and a half later he was repeating the process on the palace as he listened to the initial reports coming in from Luxembourg. When he finished with the wards, he had Wolfstar fly into position several hundred feet above the palace while he slipped into his supply trunk and drank a Pepper-Up Potion and a Rejuvenation Potion so he wouldn't be quite so tired when the dolls arrived.
Eight hours after learning the results of their attempt to limit the number of dolls entering Earth's atmosphere, Harry took complete control of Wolfstar and Zero. Of the original four thousand one hundred suits that had successfully made it into the atmosphere, there were approximately three thousand three hundred and fifty of them descending upon the Sanc Kingdom from six different directions; their numbers having been supplemented by the numerous dolls that had already been on Earth as Zechs and those with him had taken out close to two thousand of the machines.
All of his brothers (even the three that had attempted to stop the suits in space) and the rest of the Freedom Fighters had gathered on the borders in order to cut the numbers even further. They would remain on the border regardless of how many suits made it through their lines in order to destroy any surviving dolls that attempted to escape once the invasion was over. Harry's squad (minus Harry), on the other hand, were stationed in pairs a hundred miles out from the capital city along side the eight commandeered Taurus Suits that belonged to the Sanc Kingdom in order to deal with the ones that made it passed those guarding the borders. That left Harry to take care of anything that made it passed his squad since it was far safer for those fighting on his side if they were no where near where he would be making his stand.
"Taliesin, be careful," Heero ordered as the first wave of mobile dolls attacked.
Harry only gave his brother a slightly feral grin over the video feed in response; his eyes glowing red and gold due to his connection with the sentient suit. A few minutes later, Wolfstar's sensors began to feed information directly into his brain as he hovered (in suit mode) directly over the palace which sat in the very heart of the capital city. Those dolls that had slipped through the front lines and around his scattered squad and the eight palace guards in suits had just begun approaching the edge of the capital when the second wave of dolls attacked the borders.
As the dolls rapidly approached the perimeter ward that Harry had set up the night he arrived, Harry pulled his twin beam rifles out and began charging them; the custom buster rifle far too dangerous to use over the city. Just before Harry and Wolfstar burst into action, Harry allowed the suit to play an audio file of a howling wolf on the external speakers and then the Demon of the Stars flew into battle once more, this time on Earth.
There was no holding back this time (not like he had during his demonstration) and Harry danced through wave after wave of mindless machines that sought to destroy Relena and the hope she represented to the world. Magic pulsed inside and outside of the suit as Zero once again siphoned Harry's magic through their connection in order to counteract the effects of gravity which normally would have slowed the suit's effectiveness. What magic Wolfstar could not hold or use swirled around them in a barely visible maelstrom that protected the suit from the constant barrage of fire that was being rained down on them and destroyed any doll that came within contact with it.
It was the single largest sustained outpouring of magic felt in nearly five hundred years and the entire earth fairly trembled beneath the onslaught of pure power. All around the world, those magical creatures and beings that had found refuges in places other than Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest sat up and took notice as the air literally crackled with magic all around them. At Hogwarts, Obduro watched the stars come alive in response to the steady influx of potent magic and the old centaur smiled as the heavens spoke to him of the birth of a new age of magic and peace.
Inside of the veterinary clinic, five centaur embryos, two phoenix embryos, and four human embryos (the oldest of which was meticulously labeled as Bard Jr.) continued to grow; their tiny cells greedily absorbing the magic that swirled through the fluid in which they floated, strengthening them.
Sixteen hours and thirty-two minutes after engaging his first opponent, Harry and Wolfstar landed hard on the lawn in front of Relena's palace, the sentient suit dropping down onto its hands and knees as it equally shared Harry's exhaustion. In the air above them the last two remaining mobile dolls, Wolfstar's twin beam swords buried vertically through their heads and bodies, exploded spectacularly; lighting the entire grounds for a brief moment as debris rained down on and around Wolfstar.
Panting heavily, Harry closed his eyes and hung limply in his harness as lethargy swept over and through both his body and mind. The only reason he had not passed out immediately upon destroying the last of the dolls was sheer stubbornness as he had no wish to allow those undoubtedly watching from inside of the palace to see him as being weak or vulnerable.
"Taliesin? Can you give us a status report?" Trowa instructed as his concerned voice floated through the numbness that had settled over Harry's overworked brain.
"Ene…my… de…feated… to a… man; Pal…ace… se…cure…" Harry rasped out slowly without bothering to open his eyes.
"Idiot… what is your current condition, Taliesin?" Heero demanded in exasperation.
"St…ill… brea…thing, Wolf…star… slee…ping, wan… go… home…"
"In other words he's a stubborn cuss and on the verge of passing out because he pushed himself beyond his limits again," Zechs declared dryly.
"Twenty dollars says he spends da next three weeks doin' his sleepin' beauty impression," Duo interjected with a laugh.
"I don't take suckers bets," Wufei shot back with a snort.
"Put me… down for… five days… three hours… and four…teen… minutes… exact…ly, Duo," Harry insisted as his inner mind began pulling on his consciousness. "Give you… six to… one odds."
"Sure thing, kiddo," Duo laughed back though Harry didn't respond as expected. "Taliesin…? Taliesin, are ya still there?"
"He's out, guys," Quatre announced with a sigh. "I'm surprised he stayed coherent as long as he did given how long he'd been fighting. Did any one keep track of how many suits managed to reach him and how many escaped destruction?"
"I lost count around seven hundred about nine hours ago," Wufei quietly admitted.
"He faced exactly one thousand, seven hundred and fourteen dolls," Noin stated weakly from her station beneath the palace where she'd been monitoring the battle. "And not a single one escaped."
Duo and a couple of the other pilots let out impressed whistles before silence descended over the radio as the knowledge that Harry had destroyed about one hundred and four suits an hour for sixteen hours straight using just the twin beam rifles, the two beam swords, the short range missiles, and Wolfstar's throwing knives was more than a little daunting. If he'd been willing to use the custom buster rifle as he had during the Battle for the Moon, they had no doubt that the battle would have been much shorter since the blasts fired by the custom rifles could destroy a far larger number of suits at once. Harry had not wanted to risk missing a target and damaging the city or worse injuring or killing someone who'd somehow slipped through the evacuation though, so he'd intentionally not used the suits most powerful weapon.
Once it was certain that there would be no more troops attempting to invade the small pacifist kingdom, the leaders of the Freedom Fighters set about organizing their troops. Those still in a condition to do so were set to monitoring the borders to keep watch for any sign that another invasion would be launched. Those that had been injured or were too exhausted retreated to the various base camps that had been scattered throughout the Sanc Nation where they could get medical treatment, rest, and resupply their suits. Once the men were set, the leaders (who were made up of Harry's five brothers, Zechs, Sally Po, Rashid, and Abdul) converged on the palace with Harry's squad following them in order to patrol the capital city.
Those who'd headed to the capital couldn't help but note that very little of the debris from the destroyed mobile dolls had actually fallen inside of the capital city limits; Harry having done his best to take care of them before they even reached that far. It would have been a far more difficult if not impossible task for any of the other pilots had they been fighting alone like Harry had but the former Gundam Wing Zero suit had been in a class all by itself and that was before Harry's magic had been used to enhance it and before magic had brought the suit to life.
The accumulation of wreckage completely ringed the city for nearly three miles in every direction; signifying that the mobile dolls been coming from every direction as they attempted to attack the city. Inside of the city they found evidence that maybe two hundred dolls total had gotten by Harry at some point or another and that they'd done so in small groups of twos and threes given the way their remains were scattered. Of those two hundred mobile dolls to reach the inner city, only two had actually made it as far as the place grounds at the very center of the city; the last two that Harry had destroyed before he and Wolfstar had collapsed.
When the group dropped down beside the strangely motionless Wolfstar still propped on his hands and knees they found a small group nervously hovering just a few feet away from the frozen suit. In that group was Relena, Dorothy, Pagan, and two of the royal guards that Noin had assigned to watch over the princess while she was in the command center monitoring the battle and giving out orders to the guards inside and out of the city. Both young ladies were extremely pale and showed evidence that they'd been extremely worried or fearful; Relena had crescent shaped marks on her cheeks from where she'd dug her nails into her cheeks and Dorothy's lower lip was slightly swollen and her chin was smeared with a thin thread of blood from where her teeth had cut into her lip at one point.
"You ladies should not be out here," Heero half growled as he reached them and Wolfstar first.
Relena latched onto him the moment she saw him, resting her head on his shoulder as she half clung to him in her need for comfort as she tightly replied, "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing after what he'd just done for my country. I am well aware of just how dangerous it is to fly those cursed suits and even I know that the level of speed he forced from his suit was dangerous at best and suicidal at worst. He was so reckless out there! And then to see him just collapse on my front lawn!? What was I supposed to do? Leave him?"
"Taliesin is one of the most talented pilots I have ever had the privilege to know," Zechs stated as he dropped his hand on Relena's shoulder. "There is a reason we left him as the last line of defense instead of putting him on the front lines. I can guarantee that he will be just fine after a few days of rest."
"The mobile dolls were designed to move at speeds that would kill a pilot in order to make them a more effective army," Dorothy quietly declared. "He was moving five to ten times faster than the fastest speeds that the Taurus Dolls are reported to reach if pushed to their limits. No one could have survived that. How could you all let him do something so recklessly stupid? He's just a child!"
"Don't let Taliesin hear ya callin' him a child," Duo drawled as he walked by the group and activated the manual release on the door to the cockpit after noting that Heero's hands were a bit occupied with the distraught princess. "He may not look it but he's older than ya think and he won't think ya for pickin' on his height or rather da lack there of."
"Enough yapping; just get your butt up there and pass him down to me," Trowa ordered impatiently as he gave Duo a shove to get him moving.
Harry was handed down out of the cockpit a few minutes later, his eyes only half closed and still glowing red and gold; a clear indication that he was still fully connected to Zero. There was no question that he was unconscious though as he would have protested being cradled in Trowa's arms like an infant otherwise. When Trowa tried suggesting that they load Wolfstar into a cargo plane and fly both the suit and Harry home so that he could rest, Relena put her foot down and insisted that he stay in the palace so that she could watch over him in return for his efforts of protecting her kingdom.
After a short debate between the five brothers, they submitted to Relena's demands knowing it wouldn't make much difference in the long run where Harry rested. Duo and Wufei were then chosen to head to Scotland along with half of Harry's squad to let Cathy know that Harry was fine, if exhausted, and that he'd be gone a while longer. The six of them would then be staying to help her watch over the magical creatures in Harry's stead.
AN: I had fully intended to have this chapter plus at least one or two more posted before the New Year but between one thing and another I completely forgot about posting and then an unexpected bout of unpleasantness cropped up that had to be dealt with first. So, I'll apologize now for the absurdly long wait. I'll be tossing up another chapter tomorrow for certain (it's already been uploaded in fact).
In the mean time, I hope the chapter was at least worth the wait. It was a busy chapter at least; with White Fang finally making an appearance, the attempted invasions against the Sanc Kingdom dealt with, Lady Une is awake again, Relena has matured and lost a good portion of her fan-girlisms (is that even a word?), and Dorothy has now had a proper introduction. And yes, eventually, it will be a Harry/Dorothy pairing; in case any of you didn't pick up on that. She has some growing to do before that happens though.
The battle might have been a bit rushed and glossed over but I didn't want to detract from the main focus of the chapter; which was Harry's interactions with Dorothy. The next chapter will deal with the fall-out from the battle and will reveal the point at which things diverted from canon once more. I think from this point forward, aside from one or two major events, canon is pretty much blown out of the water as all of the little changes that have occurred since Harry met Heero are finally beginning to bear fruit.
Anywho, you can expect the next chapter to be posted tomorrow. ~ Jenn