"It's Gonna Be Me" Part Eight: Attack, Defend, and Meet Old Friends
***
Japa paced restlessly for the next few days. They were there, constantly, hounding him into this deal. He continued to refuse but they never relented. What about them don't I like? he wondered. Why do they put me on edge? On the defensive?
This practice continued for almost a month. Then the news came that Treize Cushranada was in hiding. An uprising began, even on the colonies. Forces began to split from OZ and become the Treize Faction. This faction was deadly; they'd do anything for Commander Treize. The entire civilian colony was wary of them. If they even suspected a factionist, they stayed out of his or her way. Permanently. End of story. Good bye to that person's social life. Japa easily picked out the factionists as if they were circus performers. He steered clear of them and OZ, who had laid off on him to stop the Treize Faction. It happened about two months after Treize disappeared.
***
Japa awoke to sirens blaring and a voice saying over the loud speaker, "The colony is under attack! The colony is under attack!" Japa hurried out of bed and into his mother's room. She was there, frightened, holding a scared and crying Aliana. Japa ran over to them and hugged them both murmuring comforting words as the siren continued to blare. A large mobile suit's shadow fell through the open curtain. Outside his mother's window stood a Taurus suit. "All citizens are to leave their homes immediately and go to the Cross Section Park. If you do not comply, the colony will be destroyed."
***
Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Howard, and Wue-fey Chang all stared at the screen in surprise. "They're gonna blow the colony?" Duo said, his mouth gaping. Wue-fey slapped it shut. Duo rubbed his jaw and glared at Wue-fey. "What did you do that for?" he asked, still rubbing his jaw.
"Because it's a bluff. They won't blow the colony. It's worth too much." he answered.
"Yes, but these soldiers were trained by OZ." Trowa pointed out. "OZ will do anything to get its way. Plus, these men are desperate. I say we head over there immediately."
"But we can't leave the Peacemillion unguarded." said Duo. The Peacemillion was the Gundam pilot's new base of operations. It was a large white space ship that was roughly semicircular. Their Gundams were housed in the maintenance bay nine decks below the lounge they were presently in.
"Hey you guys, the Peacemillion has Leo and Taurus suits. If we get in any serious trouble, we'll just holler atcha to get your butts back here before we blow up. But other than that possibility, we're fine." put in Howard. He was the designer of the Peacemillion and he also repaired the Gundams. He always wore Hawaiian pattern shirts, tan shorts, and thong sandals. He had lost the hair on the top of his head, but he still had some gray rimming his cranium along with his goatee mustache. He always talked like he was a surfer and wore sunglasses, too.
"But--" all the Gundam pilots engaged in a heated argument, trying to decide if they should go or call the bluff.
***
Japa, Aliana, and Carrie dressed and ran to the Cross Sections Park. The entire sector of the colony was huddled in a group in the center of the park. When the other colonists from this sector saw the wealthy Summers, they admitted them into the center of the group. They surrounded the family in order to offer what little protection they could. After so much loss from that one family alone, and all the support they had given the colony, they were valued. They were herded and pushed, and jumbled, and separated. Eventually, Carrie Summers ended up on the outer edge of the mass, with Aliana in the center and Japa between the two.
A large man wearing a captain's uniform sauntered over to Miss Carrie Summers, and grabbed her roughly by the arm. He hauled her up onto a small stage set up in the park for afternoon performances and said, "Listen to me, colonists. This woman dies here and now as an example to any whom are hiding or even thinking of opposing us. If anyone tries anything, then one more dies. After that, we leave and the colony gets blown to smithereens." He pulled out a military issue handgun from the belt around his large waist. "Say goodnight." he said to Carrie. She was crying and she squeezed her eyes shut. She mumbled, "I'm coming to meet you, honey..."
In the mass of wriggling bodies, someone screamed out, "NO!" Japa pushed forcefully past the other colonists. He ran, jumped, and did a high round house kick to the officer's face. He landed crouched. He stood up and grabbed his mother's hand and towed her into the throng of people. Just as she was captured and tugged into the center by the swarm, a strong arm grabbed Japa from behind. The soldier pulled and brought Japa hard to the ground on his back. He cried out in pain. The officer then proceeded to brutalize Japa's abdomen with forceful kicks. Soon, one of the other soldiers dragged him to his feet. He was bruised and bloodied, but he had the look of a Hell raiser in his eye. He lashed out with his feet and hit the first soldier in the face, sending him sprawling, blood gushing down his face from the nose that was now broken. Japa threw the soldier holding him over his shoulder. He started to run for the crowd, but he was held back once again, this time, the officer had him. The officer dragged him up on stage. Suddenly, Japa yelled out, "I want Wing Zero!"
***
Onboard the Peacemillion, the Gundams continued their argument. Howard had left the room, but returned just as alarms started blaring all over the ship. The argument dropped immediately.
"Guys! You know Heero Yuy's Gundam, Wing Zero? The one the Quatre brought us last time he came up from the Sank Kingdom? Well, it's trying to blow up the space doors in the maintenance bay to get out." explained Howard. The Gundam pilots headed for the maintenance bay nine decks down. When they arrived, they saw Wing Zero throwing a fit inside the bay. There was no pilot, only the Gundam acting irrationally all on its own.
"What is going on?" asked Duo. They other guys all mumbled that this was the strangest thing they had ever seen. They felt an explosion vibrate through the Peacemillion. They looked up to see Wing Zero making its way through space.
All the pilots, along with Howard, ran to the bridge. "Track it! Where's it headed?" they asked the operator at tracking.
"Well sirs, it's headed for the colonies. To be specific, it's headed straight for Colony 001. And it will be there in 90 seconds." Before he finished, the pilots were in their Gundams, headed for Colony 001.
***
Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't wanna lose it again
But I'm not like them
Baby, when you finally
Get to love somebody
Guess what
It's gonna be me
***
"I want Wing Zero!" he yelled again. The captain looked at him in surprise. Then, recovering, he pulled out his handgun, and aimed at Japa. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as a large shadow smothered the captain and his audience. The captain ignored it and fired. Something came between him and his victim, and the bolt ricocheted back to hit him in the head. The captain fell back, his eyes staring at nothing, silent, a hole in his head.
Japa looked up. Standing over him was a large white mobile suit. It had covered him in its hand. The suit laid its hand down flat. As if in his head, he heard, Climb on, Heero Yuy. Japa looked blankly at the mobile suit. Heero Yuy? Who is Heero Yuy? wondered Japa. Suddenly, his mind filled with a blinding light. Tears began to fall. He shivered even though he wasn't cold. Pictures were flooding through his mind. Snatches of conversations, old and familiar voices, a beautiful face. Japa stumbled onto the outstretched hand. His mother came running over. She stepped back, startled, when the mobile suit closed its hand around Japa and stood up, keeping him from everyone. Protecting him. Everyone looked up as three more mobile suits landed. They all looked somewhat alike. They were all Gundams. The crowd started murmuring uncertainly. The cockpits for the Gundams opened and three figures in flight suits jumped down. They stared straight for the Gundam that held Japa Summers. His mother was crying hysterically, afraid that her son had been crushed. The three figures walked over to the Gundam and started climbing it. The suit shook them off. They all fell towards the ground, the crowd screaming, believing that these three people were going to die. But the three suits they came in caught each one of the pilots and held them gingerly in their open hand. They were moving their arms about and apparently shouting at the mobile suit holding Japa. The mobile suit opened its hand and Japa stood up. Even on the ground, the crowd could here them swear in disbelief. "Japa! Japa!" his mother cried. The boy looked down at her. He seemed different.
After a lengthy conversation with the three in the pilot suits, the Gundam lowered Japa to the ground. His mother and sister ran to him and gave him a hug. He felt stiff. "Japa, what's wrong?" they asked, curious about his cold shoulder.
"My name is Heero Yuy." he said looking at them. "I am a Gundam pilot. I am Japa Summers. But I didn't grow up him. Goodbye, Mother, Aliana." Wing Zero picked up Heero Yuy and placed him in the cockpit. The doors shut, and Heero, along with the other three Gundams, shot off into space, headed for Peacemillion.
Heero Yuy, strongest Gundam pilot, ruthless killer, had returned.
***
To be continued...
***
Japa paced restlessly for the next few days. They were there, constantly, hounding him into this deal. He continued to refuse but they never relented. What about them don't I like? he wondered. Why do they put me on edge? On the defensive?
This practice continued for almost a month. Then the news came that Treize Cushranada was in hiding. An uprising began, even on the colonies. Forces began to split from OZ and become the Treize Faction. This faction was deadly; they'd do anything for Commander Treize. The entire civilian colony was wary of them. If they even suspected a factionist, they stayed out of his or her way. Permanently. End of story. Good bye to that person's social life. Japa easily picked out the factionists as if they were circus performers. He steered clear of them and OZ, who had laid off on him to stop the Treize Faction. It happened about two months after Treize disappeared.
***
Japa awoke to sirens blaring and a voice saying over the loud speaker, "The colony is under attack! The colony is under attack!" Japa hurried out of bed and into his mother's room. She was there, frightened, holding a scared and crying Aliana. Japa ran over to them and hugged them both murmuring comforting words as the siren continued to blare. A large mobile suit's shadow fell through the open curtain. Outside his mother's window stood a Taurus suit. "All citizens are to leave their homes immediately and go to the Cross Section Park. If you do not comply, the colony will be destroyed."
***
Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Howard, and Wue-fey Chang all stared at the screen in surprise. "They're gonna blow the colony?" Duo said, his mouth gaping. Wue-fey slapped it shut. Duo rubbed his jaw and glared at Wue-fey. "What did you do that for?" he asked, still rubbing his jaw.
"Because it's a bluff. They won't blow the colony. It's worth too much." he answered.
"Yes, but these soldiers were trained by OZ." Trowa pointed out. "OZ will do anything to get its way. Plus, these men are desperate. I say we head over there immediately."
"But we can't leave the Peacemillion unguarded." said Duo. The Peacemillion was the Gundam pilot's new base of operations. It was a large white space ship that was roughly semicircular. Their Gundams were housed in the maintenance bay nine decks below the lounge they were presently in.
"Hey you guys, the Peacemillion has Leo and Taurus suits. If we get in any serious trouble, we'll just holler atcha to get your butts back here before we blow up. But other than that possibility, we're fine." put in Howard. He was the designer of the Peacemillion and he also repaired the Gundams. He always wore Hawaiian pattern shirts, tan shorts, and thong sandals. He had lost the hair on the top of his head, but he still had some gray rimming his cranium along with his goatee mustache. He always talked like he was a surfer and wore sunglasses, too.
"But--" all the Gundam pilots engaged in a heated argument, trying to decide if they should go or call the bluff.
***
Japa, Aliana, and Carrie dressed and ran to the Cross Sections Park. The entire sector of the colony was huddled in a group in the center of the park. When the other colonists from this sector saw the wealthy Summers, they admitted them into the center of the group. They surrounded the family in order to offer what little protection they could. After so much loss from that one family alone, and all the support they had given the colony, they were valued. They were herded and pushed, and jumbled, and separated. Eventually, Carrie Summers ended up on the outer edge of the mass, with Aliana in the center and Japa between the two.
A large man wearing a captain's uniform sauntered over to Miss Carrie Summers, and grabbed her roughly by the arm. He hauled her up onto a small stage set up in the park for afternoon performances and said, "Listen to me, colonists. This woman dies here and now as an example to any whom are hiding or even thinking of opposing us. If anyone tries anything, then one more dies. After that, we leave and the colony gets blown to smithereens." He pulled out a military issue handgun from the belt around his large waist. "Say goodnight." he said to Carrie. She was crying and she squeezed her eyes shut. She mumbled, "I'm coming to meet you, honey..."
In the mass of wriggling bodies, someone screamed out, "NO!" Japa pushed forcefully past the other colonists. He ran, jumped, and did a high round house kick to the officer's face. He landed crouched. He stood up and grabbed his mother's hand and towed her into the throng of people. Just as she was captured and tugged into the center by the swarm, a strong arm grabbed Japa from behind. The soldier pulled and brought Japa hard to the ground on his back. He cried out in pain. The officer then proceeded to brutalize Japa's abdomen with forceful kicks. Soon, one of the other soldiers dragged him to his feet. He was bruised and bloodied, but he had the look of a Hell raiser in his eye. He lashed out with his feet and hit the first soldier in the face, sending him sprawling, blood gushing down his face from the nose that was now broken. Japa threw the soldier holding him over his shoulder. He started to run for the crowd, but he was held back once again, this time, the officer had him. The officer dragged him up on stage. Suddenly, Japa yelled out, "I want Wing Zero!"
***
Onboard the Peacemillion, the Gundams continued their argument. Howard had left the room, but returned just as alarms started blaring all over the ship. The argument dropped immediately.
"Guys! You know Heero Yuy's Gundam, Wing Zero? The one the Quatre brought us last time he came up from the Sank Kingdom? Well, it's trying to blow up the space doors in the maintenance bay to get out." explained Howard. The Gundam pilots headed for the maintenance bay nine decks down. When they arrived, they saw Wing Zero throwing a fit inside the bay. There was no pilot, only the Gundam acting irrationally all on its own.
"What is going on?" asked Duo. They other guys all mumbled that this was the strangest thing they had ever seen. They felt an explosion vibrate through the Peacemillion. They looked up to see Wing Zero making its way through space.
All the pilots, along with Howard, ran to the bridge. "Track it! Where's it headed?" they asked the operator at tracking.
"Well sirs, it's headed for the colonies. To be specific, it's headed straight for Colony 001. And it will be there in 90 seconds." Before he finished, the pilots were in their Gundams, headed for Colony 001.
***
Every little thing I do
Never seems enough for you
You don't wanna lose it again
But I'm not like them
Baby, when you finally
Get to love somebody
Guess what
It's gonna be me
***
"I want Wing Zero!" he yelled again. The captain looked at him in surprise. Then, recovering, he pulled out his handgun, and aimed at Japa. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as a large shadow smothered the captain and his audience. The captain ignored it and fired. Something came between him and his victim, and the bolt ricocheted back to hit him in the head. The captain fell back, his eyes staring at nothing, silent, a hole in his head.
Japa looked up. Standing over him was a large white mobile suit. It had covered him in its hand. The suit laid its hand down flat. As if in his head, he heard, Climb on, Heero Yuy. Japa looked blankly at the mobile suit. Heero Yuy? Who is Heero Yuy? wondered Japa. Suddenly, his mind filled with a blinding light. Tears began to fall. He shivered even though he wasn't cold. Pictures were flooding through his mind. Snatches of conversations, old and familiar voices, a beautiful face. Japa stumbled onto the outstretched hand. His mother came running over. She stepped back, startled, when the mobile suit closed its hand around Japa and stood up, keeping him from everyone. Protecting him. Everyone looked up as three more mobile suits landed. They all looked somewhat alike. They were all Gundams. The crowd started murmuring uncertainly. The cockpits for the Gundams opened and three figures in flight suits jumped down. They stared straight for the Gundam that held Japa Summers. His mother was crying hysterically, afraid that her son had been crushed. The three figures walked over to the Gundam and started climbing it. The suit shook them off. They all fell towards the ground, the crowd screaming, believing that these three people were going to die. But the three suits they came in caught each one of the pilots and held them gingerly in their open hand. They were moving their arms about and apparently shouting at the mobile suit holding Japa. The mobile suit opened its hand and Japa stood up. Even on the ground, the crowd could here them swear in disbelief. "Japa! Japa!" his mother cried. The boy looked down at her. He seemed different.
After a lengthy conversation with the three in the pilot suits, the Gundam lowered Japa to the ground. His mother and sister ran to him and gave him a hug. He felt stiff. "Japa, what's wrong?" they asked, curious about his cold shoulder.
"My name is Heero Yuy." he said looking at them. "I am a Gundam pilot. I am Japa Summers. But I didn't grow up him. Goodbye, Mother, Aliana." Wing Zero picked up Heero Yuy and placed him in the cockpit. The doors shut, and Heero, along with the other three Gundams, shot off into space, headed for Peacemillion.
Heero Yuy, strongest Gundam pilot, ruthless killer, had returned.
***
To be continued...