DISCLAIMER: The Gundam Wing characters (not including Kumi Yuy or Sette Devion) are not mine...But they're so much fun to work with! ^_^
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 15: A Breach In Security
by SkyLark
Wufei looked to his monitors towards the Colony with which he was sent to establish a channel of communication. The protective dome protecting the Colony from the Sun's rays was a haze of chemicals that was easy to penetrate. Nataku would not be affected once it flew through. The sight was breathtaking and for a moment, the Chinese pilot was caught up in it. A small gasp escaped the young man as he whispered, "I had no idea C91 was so beautiful."
The serene silence was ended abruptly as Natauk's monitors beeped and flashed red. "What!?!" was all Wufei could shout when the sky was suddenly filled with OZ mobile suits. The pilot's reflexes were as keen as ever as he instantly battled the opponents. "How the hell did they know that I would be here!?!" he cried. Spraying the suits with his dragon-like arm, Wufei wiped out about five Taurus and Aires suits.
"I'm not letting anything stop me from completing this mission," the dark-haired pilot growled to himself. He had something working in his favor...Not a soul from OZ knew why he and his comrades were going to these Colonies. As long as that remained a secret, this war could still work out in favor of the Gundams and the Preventers.
Looking to the Colony below, Wufei thought, "I can't allow them to harm the people there. I'll have to take out as many of these suits here in space before I head off for C91's heart." His eyes narrowed as he turned back to the soldiers who came from nowhere. The battle raged on, and though he fought alone, Wufei was doing more than a good job of handling the fight. Left and right, he took out another suit.
Several minutes into the fight, Nataku's pilot knew that he had to inform someone that there was a threat of security- seeing that somehow OZ knew that he was going to be arriving at this Colony, out of the countless others that he could have been sent to. He punched into his transmitter quickly to reach any nearby Preventer crafts and announced, "This is Chang Wufei. To anyone who receives this message, inform Lady Une and every Preventer in charge that OZ is onto the Colonies that the Gundam pilots are to carry out their tasks..."
Just after saying this, an OZ soldier shot Nataku perfectly with their beam cannon. Wufei clutched his controls tightly as he groaned in pain from the hit. When he got his bearings back, the pilot shot back and with everything that he had. Grunting and shouting as he cut through more space Leos and Taurus suits. When he had a moment, Wufei looked to his monitors to see that there was another large fleet making its way towards him, a much larger number than what he was already fighting.
Allowing himself a brief moment to feel the fear and shock sink in, Wufei swallowed hard and continued the fight. The fear and shock was soon forgotten as his concentration fell only on what he needed to do. An OZ soldier came from below the large Gundam in his space Leo and was a blink away from slicing away at the metal of the suit. The OZ pilot within laughed and shouted madly, "YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM US THAT EASILY, GUNDAM!!!"
The Chinese pilot shouted as he quickly stabbed the attacking soldier with his three-pronged laser spear. Wufei called over the transmitter, "And if anyone is near C91...I could use some help down here." As he continued to struggle, he took several hits, almost as many as he had given. Still, with another OZ fleet approaching, every hit was going to count.
"Where are all of these soldiers coming from?" he growled deeply to himself, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. He couldn't give himself a second to consider any possibilities when he was struck again. "I'LL GET EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU BASTARDS!" he vowed in a loud scream to the OZ soldiers.
Wufei was determined to see that he kept his word. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't allow any of these soldiers the chance to escape. He would fight to the last OZ pilot, whether or not that meant that he would be killed in the process. "The side that wins this fight is the most just in this war," Wufei sneered as he raised Nataku's arm to kill another OZ soldier, who was screaming at the sight of the spear soaring towards him.
* * * * * *
As this battle raged, Quatre and Sette were still on Churchill's ship, awaiting word on when it would be best to fly towards L4. Sette sighed deeply as she lied on a couch in one of the lounges. She was alone and trying to keep her mind occupied somehow. Her normal clothes were back, baseball cap and all.
The ex-princess was reading one of the books that that she liked to keep stashed in Mason. This one was a Sherlock Holmes story. Sette always liked reading when she had the time. There would always be an interesting collection in her Gundam. At times like this, she would read five a week. In her mind, escaping reality for a short time was better than nothing.
The doors to the lounge opened and the tomboy sat up to see who was entering. Sette's face beamed when she saw that it was..."Quatre!" she cheered. She jumped up and threw her arms around the Arabian, who didn't have time to react. With a tight squeeze around the blonde pilot, she smiled, "I missed you..." wrapping her right leg around the shocked pilot's waist like another arm, she finished, "so much." Quatre gave a nervous laugh as he gently worked his way out if the embrace. Sette just continued to smile at him warmly.
"So how did the meeting go?" the tomboy asked. Quatre frowned and sighed, "Other than long?" Seeing the distress in her proclaimed boyfriend's face, Sette frowned as well. The Arabian walked to the couch and sat. Walking over to him, the ex-princess asked quietly with a shrug, "What happened?" Quatre replied quietly as he lowered his head, "We can't leave just yet. OZ has soldiers arriving on H7 right now." Sette's eyes widened, hoping that she heard what the Arabian say was a mistake.
Her fears were well founded as Quatre continued, "OZ is onto everyone of the locations for our missions." The tomboy gasped and shouted, "WHAT!?!" The blonde nodded and looked up to her, "There's going to be retaliation at every spot." The blue-haired pilot's face paled a bit as she whispered gravely, "I don't believe this." She fell onto the couch beside Quatre.
"How the hell did they find out?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "I thought the security of Peace Million was air-tight." Sandrock's pilot shook his head, "There's no way to be certain. But OZ is now invading every Colony that had been assigned as a mission in some way, shape or form." Quatre said quietly, with concern dripping over his words, "I'm worried about the others." Sette seconded that concern as she nodded, "I am, too."
There was a brief pause of silence, then the ex-princess wrapped a supportive arm around her proclaimed boyfriend's shoulder. When their eyes met, she smiled, "They'll be all right. We've all been through more than enough to be prepared for anything." Quatre looked into her eyes and slowly, a gentle smile crossed his lips. He nodded, "You're right. It's just that times like this, not knowing, are hard." Sette nodded back, "Yea. Like I said, if it hadn't been for Kumi-" just at saying her friend's name, she stopped as her face turned ghostly pale. She whispered breathlessly, "Oh. My. God." Quatre's eyes widened at her expression of fear."
Sette jumped to her feet and shouted as quick as the words could leave her, "KUMI! DEMETRIS IS ON HIS WAY TO FIND HER ON COLONY M29!" "WHAT!?!" the Arabian screamed as he shot up to his feet. Sette was shaking as she said quietly, shaking her head, "I blocked out the time he saw me in the dungeon. He knows that Kumi's heading there...He's going to kill her and there's no way we can get in touch with her." Quatre tried to stop her shaking as he wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed her back. He gently got her to sit next to him on the couch again, never breaking the embrace. Not even with his Space Heart was he going to be able to find the words that would be able to help the other pilot feel any better.
Quatre bit his lip and wasn't certain he should ask something that had been bothering him since he found Sette trapped in the cell of her own castle. Finally, he asked quietly, "What else happened while you were on H7, Sette?" The shaking of the young woman stopped instantly. Slowly, Sette looked up to the Arabian's eyes. Her eyes looked away and she broke from his arm. Walking away, she sighed deeply. When the blue-haired pilot stopped a few feet away from Quatre with her back to him, she said so quietly he almost missed, "Please don't ask me that." The smallness of her voice sent small shivers up the blonde's back. He knew that she went through a lot, but that was verification that it was even more traumatic than he first imagined.
Nothing further was said between the two pilots and Sette left the room. Quatre lowered his head and whispered sadly, "I'm sorry I pushed you." He sighed deeply. His thoughts went to Kumi, fearing for her safety now that he knew that Demetris was onto her. He closed his eyes and meditated, trying to see if he could use his Space Heart to find anything.
Quatre now knew that Kumi was the one who had been making a strange connection with him for a long time, especially during the wars. The first time their connection was established, it frightened him. But, the 'Soul of Outer Space' convinced him not long after he reached Earth that there was another Gundam pilot out there. He now understood that she was mentioning Heero as that other pilot.
This news was what caused him to investigate the possibility that there really were other pilots like him and Trowa that he never met yet. As he looked into this, he learned that there really were other Gundam pilots, three others no less. From that point on, he trusted Kumi's voice fully. It wasn't until one defining moment when their connection saved his life...
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(Flashback)
On the ship of an ally fleet, Sette, Kumi and Matt - who the girls had just met - were awaiting news on what their next missions would be. Kumi was sitting alone in a desolate spot of the hanger, eyes closed and straight in poster. Matt and Sette entered the hanger and stopped a good few feet from the silver-haired pilot. Matt whispered into Sette's ear, "What is she doing?" The tomboy shrugged, "It has something to do with a pilot that knows Heero. Somehow, Kumi and that pilot are able to communicate." Matt's eyes widened and they turned their gazes back to their comrade, who was lost in the meditation.
Kumi was sweating and wincing a bit, feeling a terrible pain that was searing throughout the gentle pilot that she was able to get a hold of. "No," she thought to herself as she winced, collecting the scene in her mind.
x x x x x x
Quatre was flying Wing Zero as he was about to destroy a second Colony, his sanity lost with the recent death of his father. As fate would have it, the doctors who created the original Gundams were forced by OZ to create two more, the V8 and the Mercurius. Trowa, posing as a traitor of the Gundam pilots, had taken the V8 and Heero was forced to pilot the Mercurius in attempt to stop the Arabian and the destruction that he was causing.
Trowa called to his friend, "Quatre, it's Trowa. Can you hear me?" Shaken, the blonde replied quietly, "I can hear you, Trowa. Don't come anywhere near me." Trowa ignored his small plea and flew towards him. Quatre screamed, "Didn't you hear what I said!?! Don't come any closer!" At this, he shot the White Gundam's Buster Riffle at the blue Gundam. There was a direct hit.
X X X X X X
Kumi gasped loudly, but refused to lose her connection. "Quatre, please...Don't do this." Her words were not rewarded with any response. Kumi's head began to hurt and she thought to herself, "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought..." Holding her temples with either hand, the 'Perfect Soldier' worked even more on breaking through the insanity that Quatre was lost in.
X X X X X X
Heero now took on the fight. The Japanese pilot was not leaving the Colony behind him down as he gave the fight everything that he had. "Quatre, I'm going to kill you," he said flatly to the Arabian. Quatre couldn't understand that neither the true Wing pilot nor Trowa understood that the Colonies were the true enemies in this war. It made sense to him...Why were they so protective of the very reason this war existed? Quatre said in a small voice, "Outer space has lost all reason. That's why I'm going to destroy everything...It's natural...Isn't it?" "Quatre," Heero growled as he prepared to continue the struggle.
X X X X X X
"Come on, Heero. Stay with him," Kumi said quietly, aloud. Matt and Sette's ears caught this as they watched even more intensely. "I have to try and break through somehow," the young woman whispered, in pain from the strain this was casing her. A small groan left her but her eyes never opened. "She's in pain," Matt whispered in concern. Sette placed a finger over her mouth and replied quietly, "Shhhh. If we break her now, she might not be able to help with whatever's wrong." Matt agreed, but he was also worried about what this was doing to Kumi.
Unaware that she was in the presence of others, Kumi continued to meditate and focused on her mission to break Quatre's mind and heart free of the darkness around them. "If Heero can distract him long enough, I might be able to get through to Quatre," she thought to herself.
X X x x x x
As the battle continued, the Mercurius lost its protective shield and Heero was shot into the Colony's side. He groaned in pain and removed his helmet. Blood was running in a thin stream down his face. After a long pause, Quatre said quietly as he looked down to the trapped Mercurius, "I'd ask you to get out of your suit...But you won't, will you? In that case I'm just going to have to kill you." He heard something inside his whisper, "Quatre, please. Don't do this. Fight it."
He paused for a second, but the voice was gone, lost in the darkness that he was trapped in. Heero told the Arabian, "Then get it over with. I have no intention of chatting with an enemy." Quatre replied, "That's it then. Good bye, Heero." "NO!" the voice returned to scream just as the blonde pilot shot the suit's Buster Riffle at the red Gundam that Heero was flying. The beam of the riffle shot towards the Colony, and the suit. Suddenly, the V8 came from nowhere and blocked the beam.
X X X X X X
Kumi was sweating badly and was in a great amount of pain as she could see the act being played out before her, through Quatre's eyes. When she saw that third pilot block Quatre's shot, she felt the dark cloud blocking Quatre's thoughts and heart break. Now she had a chance to get through to him as she cried in her mind, "That's it!" With all of her strength, she worked on clearing the darkness. "Quatre," she began, "This isn't like you. Look to your comrade. You wouldn't hurt him like this!"
X X X X X X
Quatre gasped sharply as his eyes were opened now. He looked to Trowa's suit, in the middle of the beam. Trowa groaned in pain from the hit, "Quatre! Why don't you realize you making a big mistake!?!... Quatre!" The Arabian cried, "Trowa!" The suit that the tall pilot was flying was in terrible shape and Trowa was exposed at the metal that encased him was destroyed from the blast.
Heero came from behind and used the V8's gun to shoot at Wing. The true Wing pilot shouted, "Trowa, the V8's about to explode! Get out now!" Quatre watched in terror as he heard his friend reply, "You're right. This is the end of the line for me." The V8 shot up and through the stars, sparks flying from every angle of the suit. "Trowa!" was all Quatre managed to cry before he was tackled by Heero.
The blonde shouted, "No, Heero! Save Trowa!" The two suits crashed into the Colony again. As Quatre got up, the voice in his heart came to say, "Quatre. I'll hold the darkness off, but I can't stop Heero. He doesn't know that you're yourself again." The Arabian replied in his thoughts, "But what about-" He gasped, "Trowa!"
Trowa used his transmitted as he said quietly, "Oh, Quatre. It doesn't matter how it happened, but the Colonies have teamed up with OZ. And we have to keep in mind that it does mark the end of a war. At the same time, it means our missions have come to an end..." The same voice that managed to snap Quatre from his state managed to calm him again. He now listened to his friend's voice, as his suit was about to explode at any minute.
X X X X X X
Kumi was not in the pain that she was in before she broke through the darkness, with the help of that third pilot. She thought to herself, "Trowa? That's his name?" Matt and Sette continued to watch with great interest, relieved to see that Kumi was not straining herself any longer. But they could see that something had captured her undivided attention. Little did they know that it was the words of a Gundam pilot she never met before, one who might not be alive much longer. Kumi found herself listening to Trowa with as much intensity as Quatre was now.
X X X X X X
Trowa continued, "...The only question left is what happens to the remaining soldiers...What happens in our hearts...With us Gundam pilots, we were completely trained before we ever realized it...We have to fight ourselves and we have to do it harshly in order to come to the right conclusions, even if it means our battles today are meaningless. We have to acknowledge the facts, the five of us have become nothing more than redundant soldiers, Quatre."
The Arabian listened closely and watched with a heavy heart, knowing that he had caused so much damage up to now. Trowa was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to help, other than listen. His friend went on, "So now let's accept it..." Trowa smiled and closed his eyes, "Turn back to the nice guy I once knew...I just hope something triggers your mind and calms you down...something." No sooner had this been said than the V8 exploded, causing a bright light in the darkness of space. Kumi and Quatre shouted at the same time, "TROWA!"
X X X X X X
Sette and Matt looked to each other with wide eyes and asked, "Trowa?" Their friend's eyes still never opened, still in deep meditation. Kumi lowered her head, in respect for the lost pilot. She never knew anyone to sacrifice their life for another. It was something that she doubted she's ever understand.
X X X X X X
Heero regained his strength and pinned Wing Zero against a wall of the Colony with the Mercurius. The door leading to space closed before them. Quatre, now completely broken from the spell of depression and insanity, shouted, "Heero, let me go! Trowa is going to die!" Heero replied flatly, "Yea. And you're the guy that killed him." The blonde whispered sadly, "Heero." With a slash of his sword, Heero yelled, "You've gone crazy and I'm going to kill you!" Tired from everything that had been happening, Quatre cried, "Then hurry up and kill me! Then you can go and rescue Trowa." The Japanese pilot stated, "Pretty half-hearted way to die. I guess Trowa's death was just a waste."
Before this statement caused the darkness to return around the Arabian, the voice said to him calmly, "Heero doesn't understand that your mind and heart are clear now." Quatre nodded and told the voice, "I know. I won't hurt any of my friends further." The Mercurius was severely damaged and it fell back and Heero tried to retaliate. The 'Perfect Soldier' was beaten badly and in terribly pain as he struggled to sit up. Quietly, he growled, "Quatre...I am going to kill you." Just as he said this, the young pilot collapsed in his seat from exhaustion.
Terrified, Quatre shouted, "Heero...Heero!" The voice came in reply as it warned, "You won't be alone for long. OZ will know to come and see what took place here. Get yourself and Heero out of here now." "You're right," Quatre told the voice. He got Wing to lift the damaged red Gundam and took off after blasting the door opened again. The two suits were off. The Arabian knew that they wouldn't be able to go far, not with the state that Heero was in. He needed help soon. They would most likely be captured, but if that was the price of keeping his friend alive, Quatre would live with that.
It was at this time that Quatre thought back to Trowa. "It's all my fault," he said to the voice. The female voice replied, in a gentleness he never heard in it before, "No, don't think that way. You weren't yourself when you did the things you did." These words helped Quatre's fears calm a bit, though he felt so alone at this point.
The blonde pilot begged the voice quietly, "Please don't leave me...I'm scared and I'm all alone..." There was a pause, then the voice vowed quietly, "I'll stay with you. Just get Heero the help he needs. I won't leave you alone." "Thank you," Quatre returned in a relieved sigh. He lowered his head and whispered, "Trowa was calling for you before he-...You were the something that brought me back." Again, there was a pause, this one ore defined than the first.
X X X X X X
Kumi opened her eyes slowly and with a few blinks. Quatre's words had startled her, though she would never admit it. Finally, she realized that she wasn't alone in the hanger. Matt and Sette walked to her when their gazes met. The silver-haired pilot remained where she was on the floor as her comrades sat with her. Matt asked quietly, "What happened just now?" The 'Perfect Soldier' answered, "The pilot I can communicate with...He was lost for a while. I've been trying to break through for days now." Sette sat up and gasped, "You got through, then?"
The cobalt eyes of the Japanese pilot blinked, then Kumi nodded, "Yea. Heero and another pilot went to stop him from destroying a colony. They distracted him enough to help me break through the darkness around Quatre's heart." Matt inquired, "Trowa...is that other pilot?" He knew his answer when the silver-haired pilot's eyes widened in shock. Sette explained before her friend asked, "You shouted his name while you were meditating." Kumi's shock faded and she simply nodded in response.
"He...Trowa must be a good friend of the one I connect with...I'm sure his name is Quatre," Kumi stated quietly. Sette hesitated, then finally asked, "Are all of the pilots all right?" There was a pause before the young pilot answered, "Heero and Quatre are fine...Heero would have died if Trowa wasn't there to save him." Sette gulped and asked quietly, "What about Trowa? Is he...?" Kumi looked up to her glance. Her silence, again, screamed the answer to their questions. Matt and Sette lowered their heads, sadly. "Damn," was all Matt managed to whisper as he rubbed his head.
The young soldier returned his concern to Kumi and her well-being. He asked kindly, "Are you alright?" She nodded, "I'm fine...Heero's alive. And Quatre is over his insanity." There was a long pause of silence between the trio. Finally, Kumi stated, "I'm going to stay here and see if there's anymore I can gather from Quatre. Heero was injured, but it's nothing that he won't recover from." Her comrades understood that this was their cue to leave her again. They left the hanger quietly.
Alone again, Kumi whispered to herself, "Wherever you are, Trowa- if that's your name- thank you for your sacrifice. Neither Quatre nor Heero would have survived that fight." All that answered her quiet remark was the silence and darkness of the hanger.
Closing her eyes again, Kumi worked on connecting with the young pilot with the Space Heart. As she did this, her thoughts traveled to replay the last words of that young pilot who offered his life to save his friends. She cleared her head again and went back to finding Quatre.
X X X X X X
An hour or so later, Quatre was on the ground of a near-by Colony. He was holding Heero from the waist up, giving his a sim of water that he gathered for the Wing pilot. Though he was still unconscious, Heero drank the water that his body needed badly at this time. Quatre sighed in relief after the water went down. He was at a loss after everything that happened.
Closing his eyes, Quatre asked in his thoughts, "Are you still there?" The voice replied gently, "Yes...I'm still here." Quatre whispered, "Thank you for not leaving me. I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry about everything." "Stop apologizing, Quatre. None of this was your fault...You weren't yourself. Heero understands that as well." "And Trowa?" The blonde asked brokenly. There was a brief pause, then the young woman's voice replied, "His sacrifice wasn't in vain. You're back to the nice guy he always knew...The nice guy that we all knew." Quatre nodded timidly.
A small yawn left the Arabian, his exhaustion catching up with him. The voice suggested, "Go to sleep, Quatre." The young pilot shook his head, "I-I can't sleep, not after everything that's happened...I'll have nightmares...And what if that darkness returns?" The voice vowed as it replied sternly, yet softly, "I'll stay up all night and keep your thoughts clear. I'll keep the darkness away as you sleep." Quatre whispered, "Y-you will?" The voice simply replied, "I'd never steer you wrong...Go to sleep, Quatre. I'm not going anywhere."
Quatre trusted the voice more than anything. After all, it was what broke him from the insanity that clamed him. He carefully lied Heero down along the ground and shifted a few feet from him as he lied down, himself. "Thank you for not giving up on me," the Arabian whispered to the voice. "Don't mention it. Sleep well," came the response. Quatre's eyes closed and he fell asleep instantly.
As promised, there were never any nightmares that came to the blonde pilot. Somewhere, someone was working all night to see that he wasn't threatened by the darkness. Quatre slept soundly for the first time in weeks thanks to them. The source of the voice knew that he and Heero would need all the sleep they could get...The harsh reality of war awaited them when they awoke.
(End Flashback)
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Quatre's eyes widened after recalling that day that had long passed. He finally had a face to put with the voice that had helped save him so many times. The Arabian gasped to himself, "It was Kumi that Trowa had been calling for all along." He walked to the window and looked out to the stars. "All those times Kumi helped me and there's nothing that I can do to warn her about Demetris," Quatre whispered sadly. He cuold do nothing more than hope that Kumi, Trowa and the others were okay. Only time would tell when they would be reunited...If they would ever be reunited.
* * * * * *
Wufei had been fighting for a good hour alone. And he was somehow still going strong. His suit had taken a beating, but none of the damages done to Nakaku were bad enough that they wouldn't be fixed in less than a week. A thin trail of blood ran down his face from the right corner of his mouth and he was sweating more than he ever had before. As he continued to fight, he was panting.
The OZ soldiers were still strong in their numbers. But the Chinese pilot wasn't about to let even one of them think that he was weakening. He gave a deep chuckle to the pilots, "I still have a lot more fight in me." While this was more than true, he also knew that he needed to accomplish his mission as soon as possible.
He cried out and shot flames through four more suits. Just then, a handful of more soldiers were wiped out by laser beams that came from nowhere. Wufei's eyes widened as he gasped, "What the-!?!" Looking up, he watched as a crew of Preventers flew down towards the sight of battle, shooting the OZ soldiers as they came. A voice came through his intercom, "Chang Wufei, we've received your message and came as soon as we could. Are you all right?"
The dark-haired pilot smiled and wiped the blood off his face as he nodded, "I'm fine. Thanks for coming when you did." The Preventer smiled to the young man in his monitor and nodded, "We'll keep these soldiers at bay while you carry out your part of the mission." Wufei nodded again, "Right." Saying no more, he shot Nataku in a B-line for C91. The Preventer went back to the battle with his comrades as he announced over his transmitter, "Pilot 05 is making his way to C91."
* * * * * *
This message did not take long to travel. In fifteen minutes, Lady Une was interrupted in the middle of a meeting with Keiser, Water, Fire, Wind and several other soldiers when Peace Million received the word of Wufei's arrival. The Preventer who came to inform them gasped for breath, "Lady Une...Chang Wufei is about to reach Colony C91's heart." Sally jumped from her seat along with her friends there. Before anyone could say anything, she flew out of the room and ran to the control room.
Milliardo, Noin and Lady Une were right behind her as they got to their respected stations and awaited the completion of this mission. The monitor showing the galaxy was still up on the main monitor, a thick light blue ring showing the orbit that Sette gained. Sally held her breath and closed her eyes. She whispered, "God, please let Wufei get through this safely." Fire and Wind watched her and said silent prayers of their own, along with Lady Une. In another moment, Relena, Dorothy, Derek and Catherine entered the room when they heard the news. They stayed in silence and just watched and listened carefully.
* * * * * *
The protective haze surrounding the Colony had taken longer to fly through than Wufei thought that it would. By the time he cleared the golden clouds, he had to take a moment to know where he was, and how far he needed to go to reach the heart. As he flew towards the Colony's surface, people from the cities looked up and cheered at the sight of Nataku. Cries like, "I knew the Gundam pilots would come!" and "We still have a chance in this war after all!" were shouted all around.
Wufei couldn't help but smile down to the people in his monitor as he shot past all of them quickly. The cheers continued even after Nataku disappeared. Shooting towards a manmade mountain range, The Chinese pilot used his scanners to locate where he needed to go. Finally, the scanner fixed on a hidden opening in the base of a mountain.
"THERE IT IS!" he shouted as he pushed forward on his controls, causing his Gundam to fly head-first at great speed towards the concealed opening. Once he had plowed through the stone, Wufei smiled as he saw the large hole inside leading through the ground to the 'core.' Again, he pressed forward on his controls and flew through the thick, metal pipes.
* * * * * *
A long time had passed and there as no word on what was happening at C91. Sally was trying to remain as calm as possible. Relena had come to stand beside her, squeezing her hand for assurance. The silence in the room was killing everyone in the control room, but they had to live with it until something happened. Noin was standing with Milliardo, close to their friend Water.
Suddenly, Noin gasped and took a deep, sharp breath. Wind helped her stay on her feet as he gently held her. Looking to her in concern, he whispered when his wife regained her composure, "Are you all right, sweetheart?" Sally, Relena and the other Gundam pilots looked over to them and Lady Une stood from her post in the front of the room as she, too looked to Fire in concern. Noin smiled and shook her head, insisting, "I'm fine. We have to worry about Wufei right now."
Fire did appear to be fine and her friends nodded to her as thy returned to their posts. Milliardo wiped the sweat that appeared on his wife's forehead and kissed her temple. Noin smiled to him and nodded, to give him more reassurance that she was okay. Wind accepted that, but kept his arms around her nevertheless.
* * * * * *
In the heart of C91, an exhausted Chinese pilot ran into the enormous center. His eyes widened in amazement at the technology found here. His time to look in awe passed as he remembered the mission at hand. Wufei ran to the controls of the main monitor and typed away as he did away with the old password. Typing in the new password that he needed to enter for the establishment of the signal, he gave a long sigh of relief. Wufei smiled as he pressed the last key.
* * * * * *
Back on Peace Million, the silence was broken when a transmission worked its way through. The static over the signal broke after a short moment and Wufei's familiar voice announced, "You all can breathe now." The huge eruption of cheers and shouts exploded in the control room. As this happened, a deep blue band appeared on the monitor of the galaxy.
It stretched began between Mercury and Venus and stopped just short of the Earth, showing the territory that the successful mission gained. Lady Une laughed and talked into her headset, "Well done, Wufei. You did great." The Chinese pilot smiled, "Thank you, Lady Une." Then he asked, "Sally?"
Water smiled, "Yes, Wufei?" "I'll be home soon," the pilot vowed quietly. Sally couldn't find any words at this time, she was too relieved. Wufei knew what she was thinking. He smiled, "I have to run. See you soon." At this, the transmission stopped.
The Preventers and the Gundam pilots continued to hug and celebrate. Lady Une relaxed in her chair and sighed in relief, "Just five more like these last two." She looked to the monitor showing everything that they accomplished. The wide, un-shaded band between the dark and light blue ones would be filled when Quatre finished his mission. As far as those past the Milky Way, it would be only be a matter of time before they would be covered as well.
* * * * * *
As he typed in the commands to cover up when he had done, Wufei looked to another panel of controls. When the cover-up was successful, he took a closer look to them. His eyes widened when he realized that these controls worked the hidden lasers on the Colony. They could be aimed at a similar target. With a sneer, the Chinese pilot flipped the controls.
He now could contact the Preventers who were still fighting the OZ soldiers in space, just above the golden dome. He announced to them, "Everyone, I'm sending coordinates of where you need to round up the OZ soldiers. In about five minutes, back off and I'll take care of the rest." The Preventer who led the calvary of Preventers understood and took the initiative to carry through the orders.
After five minutes, the Preventers flew off at great speed, leaving behind them a large fleet of stunned and confused OZ soldiers. "What the hell are they doing!?!" one OZ soldier yelled as he watched what looked like a retreat. Before any of them knew it, there was a massive beam shooting for them from C91. All that he and his fellow OZ soldiers could do was scream and attempt to fly off, but they would never be able to escape the laser. They were all destroyed in the blink of an eye.
From his place in C91's heart, Wufei watched and smirked, "I said I'd get all of you." Content with what happened, he concluded his work in the core and ran off to Nataku. When he was back in the suit, he flew off through the tubes and out of the mountain range again.
* * * * * *
The Preventers who came to his aid were waiting for him in space. When they were reunited, the first private in charge of the Preventer fleet smiled, "Wufei, you could come back with us to our ship. I'm sure that you could use some rest after everything that you've been through." Wufei smiled back and shook his head, "I appreciate the offer. But, I made a promise to someone that I'd return back to Peace Million as soon as possible." The Preventer replied, "I understand. Great work, 05." "Thank you for your help," the Gundam pilot said quietly.
With a kind nod and wave, the young man and the remainder of the Preventers flew off. Worn out, Wufei fell back in his seat and placed his suit on auto pilot. He folded his arms and closed his eyes. Instantly, sleep claimed him. This was to be his first peaceful rest since he left Peace Million.
* * * * * *
The celebration in the control room of the large ship had ended and a young Preventer stood as she announced, "Pilot 05 is secure and making his way back here as we speak. The colony has been secured along with those within the signal's reach. There was a round a clapping from some of the people present as they wrapped up their duties.
Lady Une walked to the others in the back of the room as she smiled, "Well, we can finally relax a little more." Noin sighed in relief and smiled, "Good, because my water broke." "WHAT!?!" her husband and friends shouted. Noin remained the most calm as she was taken carefully to the medical room. Sally and Milliardo were helping Fire walk as they stood at either side of her. The others followed as they quickly walked behind them. Derek stayed behind in the control room. He chuckled and shook his head, "Never a dull moment around this place."
* * * * * *
Kumi walked into the ship that would be her last drop-off before moving onto Colony M29. When she left the hanger, the Commander of the ship greeted her with a warm smile. Kumi gave a nod, "Lieutenant Barrett." The Lieutenant nodded back, "Hello, Kumi. We've been expecting you." The pilot stated flatly, "I know I'm late. But, I had a little problem I needed to work out."
Saying this, the silver-haired girl removed the file that she took from the OZ base that she destroyed nights past and handed it to the Preventer. The commander's eyes widened as he looked to the file. With a sharp laugh, he shook his head, "You Gundam pilots amaze me."
Barrett opened the file as Kumi explained, "The locations of other OZ bases in the region are all recorded in there. Oz has thirty bases in total in this general area...I would take care of them myself, but I have to reach M29 as soon as possible." The soldier replied, "Of course. This is all I need to have these bases taken of. There will be fleets sent out to handle them." "There are a lot of other sites of bases mentioned in there that exist not far from where Heero and Duo are," The silver-haired pilot stated. Just as she said this, Barrett turned to the reports that revealed just that. He replied, "I'll see that these records are sent to both of them, as well. That way, they could handle them on the way to their destinations."
Kumi nodded, "Any further word on OZ and what else they might have hidden?" After a brief pause, Barrett gave a concerned look then said, "I have received word that OZ is possibly beginning preparations to build a laser similar to that of the Barge Cannon that they had in the first war." The pilot's cobalt eyes widened as she gasped. She whispered, "What?" While she never actually saw the Barge Cannon, she was fully aware of what it was and what power it held. Barrett understood her shock and concern as he answered quietly, "Now, there isn't any real proof that this is true, but we can't afford to blow this over, either." Kumi immediately shook her head, "No, we can't."
The lieutenant explained, "Before you go to M29, you might want to visit Q67. That's where the rumors were originated. I have heard by several sources that if there are preparations for this weapon, that is where they would be found." The 'Perfect Soldier' replied in monotone with a nod, "Mission accepted."
The Preventer smiled to the young woman, "Thank you. I know that I couldn't ask for anyone better to carry this mission out. You're just like Heero." Kumi frowned at these words, still not believing them. The two cousins were two in the same at one point. That changed when Heero opened up to his emotions. While Kumi was able to do that once, she couldn't ever believe that she would be able to do the same again.
Finally, she nodded, "I'll be returning to Excalibur, then. I have work that I need to do before I can leave for that Colony." "Certainly. If you need any help, just give me a call," the tall Preventer offered. The pilot turned to return to the hanger when Barrett called, "Oh, Kumi." Excalibur's pilot stopped in her tracks and looked back to him.
The lieutenant removed an envelope from his pocket with Kumi's full name written on the front. Handing it to her, Barrett smiled, "Trowa Barton requested that this be delivered to you." Kumi's head shot up as she quickly asked, before her head could think her words through, "Is Trowa all right?" There wasn't much emotion in her voice, but there was more than there had evre been in it for years. She cursed to herself for allowing herself to be even the slightest bit open.
Kumi took the envelope gently and awaited the answer to her question. Barrett's smile grew as he nodded, "Trowa's just fine. He made his last drop-off last night. Since it wasn't too far from here, he asked Commander Evans to have this sent to you." The silver-haired pilot sighed in relief inwardly and nodded to the young man, "Arigato." Barrett turned and walked off to his duties as Kumi stood where she was, looking to the envelope.
"What are you doing to me, Trowa?" Kumi asked quietly to the envelope she held. She moved her right hand to begin opening the letter, but stopped before she actually tore at it. She looked to the beautiful, cursive way that Trowa had written her name. Kumi's eyes narrowed after a pause and she growled to herself. With a deep sigh, she folded the envelops and placed it in her silver band of a belt over her black attire. Satisfied with that, the 'Perfect Soldier' walked to the hanger.
...If she had looked out the large windows of the hallway, Kumi would have seen a blue shooting star.
TBC
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 15: A Breach In Security
by SkyLark
Wufei looked to his monitors towards the Colony with which he was sent to establish a channel of communication. The protective dome protecting the Colony from the Sun's rays was a haze of chemicals that was easy to penetrate. Nataku would not be affected once it flew through. The sight was breathtaking and for a moment, the Chinese pilot was caught up in it. A small gasp escaped the young man as he whispered, "I had no idea C91 was so beautiful."
The serene silence was ended abruptly as Natauk's monitors beeped and flashed red. "What!?!" was all Wufei could shout when the sky was suddenly filled with OZ mobile suits. The pilot's reflexes were as keen as ever as he instantly battled the opponents. "How the hell did they know that I would be here!?!" he cried. Spraying the suits with his dragon-like arm, Wufei wiped out about five Taurus and Aires suits.
"I'm not letting anything stop me from completing this mission," the dark-haired pilot growled to himself. He had something working in his favor...Not a soul from OZ knew why he and his comrades were going to these Colonies. As long as that remained a secret, this war could still work out in favor of the Gundams and the Preventers.
Looking to the Colony below, Wufei thought, "I can't allow them to harm the people there. I'll have to take out as many of these suits here in space before I head off for C91's heart." His eyes narrowed as he turned back to the soldiers who came from nowhere. The battle raged on, and though he fought alone, Wufei was doing more than a good job of handling the fight. Left and right, he took out another suit.
Several minutes into the fight, Nataku's pilot knew that he had to inform someone that there was a threat of security- seeing that somehow OZ knew that he was going to be arriving at this Colony, out of the countless others that he could have been sent to. He punched into his transmitter quickly to reach any nearby Preventer crafts and announced, "This is Chang Wufei. To anyone who receives this message, inform Lady Une and every Preventer in charge that OZ is onto the Colonies that the Gundam pilots are to carry out their tasks..."
Just after saying this, an OZ soldier shot Nataku perfectly with their beam cannon. Wufei clutched his controls tightly as he groaned in pain from the hit. When he got his bearings back, the pilot shot back and with everything that he had. Grunting and shouting as he cut through more space Leos and Taurus suits. When he had a moment, Wufei looked to his monitors to see that there was another large fleet making its way towards him, a much larger number than what he was already fighting.
Allowing himself a brief moment to feel the fear and shock sink in, Wufei swallowed hard and continued the fight. The fear and shock was soon forgotten as his concentration fell only on what he needed to do. An OZ soldier came from below the large Gundam in his space Leo and was a blink away from slicing away at the metal of the suit. The OZ pilot within laughed and shouted madly, "YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM US THAT EASILY, GUNDAM!!!"
The Chinese pilot shouted as he quickly stabbed the attacking soldier with his three-pronged laser spear. Wufei called over the transmitter, "And if anyone is near C91...I could use some help down here." As he continued to struggle, he took several hits, almost as many as he had given. Still, with another OZ fleet approaching, every hit was going to count.
"Where are all of these soldiers coming from?" he growled deeply to himself, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. He couldn't give himself a second to consider any possibilities when he was struck again. "I'LL GET EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU BASTARDS!" he vowed in a loud scream to the OZ soldiers.
Wufei was determined to see that he kept his word. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't allow any of these soldiers the chance to escape. He would fight to the last OZ pilot, whether or not that meant that he would be killed in the process. "The side that wins this fight is the most just in this war," Wufei sneered as he raised Nataku's arm to kill another OZ soldier, who was screaming at the sight of the spear soaring towards him.
* * * * * *
As this battle raged, Quatre and Sette were still on Churchill's ship, awaiting word on when it would be best to fly towards L4. Sette sighed deeply as she lied on a couch in one of the lounges. She was alone and trying to keep her mind occupied somehow. Her normal clothes were back, baseball cap and all.
The ex-princess was reading one of the books that that she liked to keep stashed in Mason. This one was a Sherlock Holmes story. Sette always liked reading when she had the time. There would always be an interesting collection in her Gundam. At times like this, she would read five a week. In her mind, escaping reality for a short time was better than nothing.
The doors to the lounge opened and the tomboy sat up to see who was entering. Sette's face beamed when she saw that it was..."Quatre!" she cheered. She jumped up and threw her arms around the Arabian, who didn't have time to react. With a tight squeeze around the blonde pilot, she smiled, "I missed you..." wrapping her right leg around the shocked pilot's waist like another arm, she finished, "so much." Quatre gave a nervous laugh as he gently worked his way out if the embrace. Sette just continued to smile at him warmly.
"So how did the meeting go?" the tomboy asked. Quatre frowned and sighed, "Other than long?" Seeing the distress in her proclaimed boyfriend's face, Sette frowned as well. The Arabian walked to the couch and sat. Walking over to him, the ex-princess asked quietly with a shrug, "What happened?" Quatre replied quietly as he lowered his head, "We can't leave just yet. OZ has soldiers arriving on H7 right now." Sette's eyes widened, hoping that she heard what the Arabian say was a mistake.
Her fears were well founded as Quatre continued, "OZ is onto everyone of the locations for our missions." The tomboy gasped and shouted, "WHAT!?!" The blonde nodded and looked up to her, "There's going to be retaliation at every spot." The blue-haired pilot's face paled a bit as she whispered gravely, "I don't believe this." She fell onto the couch beside Quatre.
"How the hell did they find out?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "I thought the security of Peace Million was air-tight." Sandrock's pilot shook his head, "There's no way to be certain. But OZ is now invading every Colony that had been assigned as a mission in some way, shape or form." Quatre said quietly, with concern dripping over his words, "I'm worried about the others." Sette seconded that concern as she nodded, "I am, too."
There was a brief pause of silence, then the ex-princess wrapped a supportive arm around her proclaimed boyfriend's shoulder. When their eyes met, she smiled, "They'll be all right. We've all been through more than enough to be prepared for anything." Quatre looked into her eyes and slowly, a gentle smile crossed his lips. He nodded, "You're right. It's just that times like this, not knowing, are hard." Sette nodded back, "Yea. Like I said, if it hadn't been for Kumi-" just at saying her friend's name, she stopped as her face turned ghostly pale. She whispered breathlessly, "Oh. My. God." Quatre's eyes widened at her expression of fear."
Sette jumped to her feet and shouted as quick as the words could leave her, "KUMI! DEMETRIS IS ON HIS WAY TO FIND HER ON COLONY M29!" "WHAT!?!" the Arabian screamed as he shot up to his feet. Sette was shaking as she said quietly, shaking her head, "I blocked out the time he saw me in the dungeon. He knows that Kumi's heading there...He's going to kill her and there's no way we can get in touch with her." Quatre tried to stop her shaking as he wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed her back. He gently got her to sit next to him on the couch again, never breaking the embrace. Not even with his Space Heart was he going to be able to find the words that would be able to help the other pilot feel any better.
Quatre bit his lip and wasn't certain he should ask something that had been bothering him since he found Sette trapped in the cell of her own castle. Finally, he asked quietly, "What else happened while you were on H7, Sette?" The shaking of the young woman stopped instantly. Slowly, Sette looked up to the Arabian's eyes. Her eyes looked away and she broke from his arm. Walking away, she sighed deeply. When the blue-haired pilot stopped a few feet away from Quatre with her back to him, she said so quietly he almost missed, "Please don't ask me that." The smallness of her voice sent small shivers up the blonde's back. He knew that she went through a lot, but that was verification that it was even more traumatic than he first imagined.
Nothing further was said between the two pilots and Sette left the room. Quatre lowered his head and whispered sadly, "I'm sorry I pushed you." He sighed deeply. His thoughts went to Kumi, fearing for her safety now that he knew that Demetris was onto her. He closed his eyes and meditated, trying to see if he could use his Space Heart to find anything.
Quatre now knew that Kumi was the one who had been making a strange connection with him for a long time, especially during the wars. The first time their connection was established, it frightened him. But, the 'Soul of Outer Space' convinced him not long after he reached Earth that there was another Gundam pilot out there. He now understood that she was mentioning Heero as that other pilot.
This news was what caused him to investigate the possibility that there really were other pilots like him and Trowa that he never met yet. As he looked into this, he learned that there really were other Gundam pilots, three others no less. From that point on, he trusted Kumi's voice fully. It wasn't until one defining moment when their connection saved his life...
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(Flashback)
On the ship of an ally fleet, Sette, Kumi and Matt - who the girls had just met - were awaiting news on what their next missions would be. Kumi was sitting alone in a desolate spot of the hanger, eyes closed and straight in poster. Matt and Sette entered the hanger and stopped a good few feet from the silver-haired pilot. Matt whispered into Sette's ear, "What is she doing?" The tomboy shrugged, "It has something to do with a pilot that knows Heero. Somehow, Kumi and that pilot are able to communicate." Matt's eyes widened and they turned their gazes back to their comrade, who was lost in the meditation.
Kumi was sweating and wincing a bit, feeling a terrible pain that was searing throughout the gentle pilot that she was able to get a hold of. "No," she thought to herself as she winced, collecting the scene in her mind.
x x x x x x
Quatre was flying Wing Zero as he was about to destroy a second Colony, his sanity lost with the recent death of his father. As fate would have it, the doctors who created the original Gundams were forced by OZ to create two more, the V8 and the Mercurius. Trowa, posing as a traitor of the Gundam pilots, had taken the V8 and Heero was forced to pilot the Mercurius in attempt to stop the Arabian and the destruction that he was causing.
Trowa called to his friend, "Quatre, it's Trowa. Can you hear me?" Shaken, the blonde replied quietly, "I can hear you, Trowa. Don't come anywhere near me." Trowa ignored his small plea and flew towards him. Quatre screamed, "Didn't you hear what I said!?! Don't come any closer!" At this, he shot the White Gundam's Buster Riffle at the blue Gundam. There was a direct hit.
X X X X X X
Kumi gasped loudly, but refused to lose her connection. "Quatre, please...Don't do this." Her words were not rewarded with any response. Kumi's head began to hurt and she thought to herself, "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought..." Holding her temples with either hand, the 'Perfect Soldier' worked even more on breaking through the insanity that Quatre was lost in.
X X X X X X
Heero now took on the fight. The Japanese pilot was not leaving the Colony behind him down as he gave the fight everything that he had. "Quatre, I'm going to kill you," he said flatly to the Arabian. Quatre couldn't understand that neither the true Wing pilot nor Trowa understood that the Colonies were the true enemies in this war. It made sense to him...Why were they so protective of the very reason this war existed? Quatre said in a small voice, "Outer space has lost all reason. That's why I'm going to destroy everything...It's natural...Isn't it?" "Quatre," Heero growled as he prepared to continue the struggle.
X X X X X X
"Come on, Heero. Stay with him," Kumi said quietly, aloud. Matt and Sette's ears caught this as they watched even more intensely. "I have to try and break through somehow," the young woman whispered, in pain from the strain this was casing her. A small groan left her but her eyes never opened. "She's in pain," Matt whispered in concern. Sette placed a finger over her mouth and replied quietly, "Shhhh. If we break her now, she might not be able to help with whatever's wrong." Matt agreed, but he was also worried about what this was doing to Kumi.
Unaware that she was in the presence of others, Kumi continued to meditate and focused on her mission to break Quatre's mind and heart free of the darkness around them. "If Heero can distract him long enough, I might be able to get through to Quatre," she thought to herself.
X X x x x x
As the battle continued, the Mercurius lost its protective shield and Heero was shot into the Colony's side. He groaned in pain and removed his helmet. Blood was running in a thin stream down his face. After a long pause, Quatre said quietly as he looked down to the trapped Mercurius, "I'd ask you to get out of your suit...But you won't, will you? In that case I'm just going to have to kill you." He heard something inside his whisper, "Quatre, please. Don't do this. Fight it."
He paused for a second, but the voice was gone, lost in the darkness that he was trapped in. Heero told the Arabian, "Then get it over with. I have no intention of chatting with an enemy." Quatre replied, "That's it then. Good bye, Heero." "NO!" the voice returned to scream just as the blonde pilot shot the suit's Buster Riffle at the red Gundam that Heero was flying. The beam of the riffle shot towards the Colony, and the suit. Suddenly, the V8 came from nowhere and blocked the beam.
X X X X X X
Kumi was sweating badly and was in a great amount of pain as she could see the act being played out before her, through Quatre's eyes. When she saw that third pilot block Quatre's shot, she felt the dark cloud blocking Quatre's thoughts and heart break. Now she had a chance to get through to him as she cried in her mind, "That's it!" With all of her strength, she worked on clearing the darkness. "Quatre," she began, "This isn't like you. Look to your comrade. You wouldn't hurt him like this!"
X X X X X X
Quatre gasped sharply as his eyes were opened now. He looked to Trowa's suit, in the middle of the beam. Trowa groaned in pain from the hit, "Quatre! Why don't you realize you making a big mistake!?!... Quatre!" The Arabian cried, "Trowa!" The suit that the tall pilot was flying was in terrible shape and Trowa was exposed at the metal that encased him was destroyed from the blast.
Heero came from behind and used the V8's gun to shoot at Wing. The true Wing pilot shouted, "Trowa, the V8's about to explode! Get out now!" Quatre watched in terror as he heard his friend reply, "You're right. This is the end of the line for me." The V8 shot up and through the stars, sparks flying from every angle of the suit. "Trowa!" was all Quatre managed to cry before he was tackled by Heero.
The blonde shouted, "No, Heero! Save Trowa!" The two suits crashed into the Colony again. As Quatre got up, the voice in his heart came to say, "Quatre. I'll hold the darkness off, but I can't stop Heero. He doesn't know that you're yourself again." The Arabian replied in his thoughts, "But what about-" He gasped, "Trowa!"
Trowa used his transmitted as he said quietly, "Oh, Quatre. It doesn't matter how it happened, but the Colonies have teamed up with OZ. And we have to keep in mind that it does mark the end of a war. At the same time, it means our missions have come to an end..." The same voice that managed to snap Quatre from his state managed to calm him again. He now listened to his friend's voice, as his suit was about to explode at any minute.
X X X X X X
Kumi was not in the pain that she was in before she broke through the darkness, with the help of that third pilot. She thought to herself, "Trowa? That's his name?" Matt and Sette continued to watch with great interest, relieved to see that Kumi was not straining herself any longer. But they could see that something had captured her undivided attention. Little did they know that it was the words of a Gundam pilot she never met before, one who might not be alive much longer. Kumi found herself listening to Trowa with as much intensity as Quatre was now.
X X X X X X
Trowa continued, "...The only question left is what happens to the remaining soldiers...What happens in our hearts...With us Gundam pilots, we were completely trained before we ever realized it...We have to fight ourselves and we have to do it harshly in order to come to the right conclusions, even if it means our battles today are meaningless. We have to acknowledge the facts, the five of us have become nothing more than redundant soldiers, Quatre."
The Arabian listened closely and watched with a heavy heart, knowing that he had caused so much damage up to now. Trowa was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to help, other than listen. His friend went on, "So now let's accept it..." Trowa smiled and closed his eyes, "Turn back to the nice guy I once knew...I just hope something triggers your mind and calms you down...something." No sooner had this been said than the V8 exploded, causing a bright light in the darkness of space. Kumi and Quatre shouted at the same time, "TROWA!"
X X X X X X
Sette and Matt looked to each other with wide eyes and asked, "Trowa?" Their friend's eyes still never opened, still in deep meditation. Kumi lowered her head, in respect for the lost pilot. She never knew anyone to sacrifice their life for another. It was something that she doubted she's ever understand.
X X X X X X
Heero regained his strength and pinned Wing Zero against a wall of the Colony with the Mercurius. The door leading to space closed before them. Quatre, now completely broken from the spell of depression and insanity, shouted, "Heero, let me go! Trowa is going to die!" Heero replied flatly, "Yea. And you're the guy that killed him." The blonde whispered sadly, "Heero." With a slash of his sword, Heero yelled, "You've gone crazy and I'm going to kill you!" Tired from everything that had been happening, Quatre cried, "Then hurry up and kill me! Then you can go and rescue Trowa." The Japanese pilot stated, "Pretty half-hearted way to die. I guess Trowa's death was just a waste."
Before this statement caused the darkness to return around the Arabian, the voice said to him calmly, "Heero doesn't understand that your mind and heart are clear now." Quatre nodded and told the voice, "I know. I won't hurt any of my friends further." The Mercurius was severely damaged and it fell back and Heero tried to retaliate. The 'Perfect Soldier' was beaten badly and in terribly pain as he struggled to sit up. Quietly, he growled, "Quatre...I am going to kill you." Just as he said this, the young pilot collapsed in his seat from exhaustion.
Terrified, Quatre shouted, "Heero...Heero!" The voice came in reply as it warned, "You won't be alone for long. OZ will know to come and see what took place here. Get yourself and Heero out of here now." "You're right," Quatre told the voice. He got Wing to lift the damaged red Gundam and took off after blasting the door opened again. The two suits were off. The Arabian knew that they wouldn't be able to go far, not with the state that Heero was in. He needed help soon. They would most likely be captured, but if that was the price of keeping his friend alive, Quatre would live with that.
It was at this time that Quatre thought back to Trowa. "It's all my fault," he said to the voice. The female voice replied, in a gentleness he never heard in it before, "No, don't think that way. You weren't yourself when you did the things you did." These words helped Quatre's fears calm a bit, though he felt so alone at this point.
The blonde pilot begged the voice quietly, "Please don't leave me...I'm scared and I'm all alone..." There was a pause, then the voice vowed quietly, "I'll stay with you. Just get Heero the help he needs. I won't leave you alone." "Thank you," Quatre returned in a relieved sigh. He lowered his head and whispered, "Trowa was calling for you before he-...You were the something that brought me back." Again, there was a pause, this one ore defined than the first.
X X X X X X
Kumi opened her eyes slowly and with a few blinks. Quatre's words had startled her, though she would never admit it. Finally, she realized that she wasn't alone in the hanger. Matt and Sette walked to her when their gazes met. The silver-haired pilot remained where she was on the floor as her comrades sat with her. Matt asked quietly, "What happened just now?" The 'Perfect Soldier' answered, "The pilot I can communicate with...He was lost for a while. I've been trying to break through for days now." Sette sat up and gasped, "You got through, then?"
The cobalt eyes of the Japanese pilot blinked, then Kumi nodded, "Yea. Heero and another pilot went to stop him from destroying a colony. They distracted him enough to help me break through the darkness around Quatre's heart." Matt inquired, "Trowa...is that other pilot?" He knew his answer when the silver-haired pilot's eyes widened in shock. Sette explained before her friend asked, "You shouted his name while you were meditating." Kumi's shock faded and she simply nodded in response.
"He...Trowa must be a good friend of the one I connect with...I'm sure his name is Quatre," Kumi stated quietly. Sette hesitated, then finally asked, "Are all of the pilots all right?" There was a pause before the young pilot answered, "Heero and Quatre are fine...Heero would have died if Trowa wasn't there to save him." Sette gulped and asked quietly, "What about Trowa? Is he...?" Kumi looked up to her glance. Her silence, again, screamed the answer to their questions. Matt and Sette lowered their heads, sadly. "Damn," was all Matt managed to whisper as he rubbed his head.
The young soldier returned his concern to Kumi and her well-being. He asked kindly, "Are you alright?" She nodded, "I'm fine...Heero's alive. And Quatre is over his insanity." There was a long pause of silence between the trio. Finally, Kumi stated, "I'm going to stay here and see if there's anymore I can gather from Quatre. Heero was injured, but it's nothing that he won't recover from." Her comrades understood that this was their cue to leave her again. They left the hanger quietly.
Alone again, Kumi whispered to herself, "Wherever you are, Trowa- if that's your name- thank you for your sacrifice. Neither Quatre nor Heero would have survived that fight." All that answered her quiet remark was the silence and darkness of the hanger.
Closing her eyes again, Kumi worked on connecting with the young pilot with the Space Heart. As she did this, her thoughts traveled to replay the last words of that young pilot who offered his life to save his friends. She cleared her head again and went back to finding Quatre.
X X X X X X
An hour or so later, Quatre was on the ground of a near-by Colony. He was holding Heero from the waist up, giving his a sim of water that he gathered for the Wing pilot. Though he was still unconscious, Heero drank the water that his body needed badly at this time. Quatre sighed in relief after the water went down. He was at a loss after everything that happened.
Closing his eyes, Quatre asked in his thoughts, "Are you still there?" The voice replied gently, "Yes...I'm still here." Quatre whispered, "Thank you for not leaving me. I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry about everything." "Stop apologizing, Quatre. None of this was your fault...You weren't yourself. Heero understands that as well." "And Trowa?" The blonde asked brokenly. There was a brief pause, then the young woman's voice replied, "His sacrifice wasn't in vain. You're back to the nice guy he always knew...The nice guy that we all knew." Quatre nodded timidly.
A small yawn left the Arabian, his exhaustion catching up with him. The voice suggested, "Go to sleep, Quatre." The young pilot shook his head, "I-I can't sleep, not after everything that's happened...I'll have nightmares...And what if that darkness returns?" The voice vowed as it replied sternly, yet softly, "I'll stay up all night and keep your thoughts clear. I'll keep the darkness away as you sleep." Quatre whispered, "Y-you will?" The voice simply replied, "I'd never steer you wrong...Go to sleep, Quatre. I'm not going anywhere."
Quatre trusted the voice more than anything. After all, it was what broke him from the insanity that clamed him. He carefully lied Heero down along the ground and shifted a few feet from him as he lied down, himself. "Thank you for not giving up on me," the Arabian whispered to the voice. "Don't mention it. Sleep well," came the response. Quatre's eyes closed and he fell asleep instantly.
As promised, there were never any nightmares that came to the blonde pilot. Somewhere, someone was working all night to see that he wasn't threatened by the darkness. Quatre slept soundly for the first time in weeks thanks to them. The source of the voice knew that he and Heero would need all the sleep they could get...The harsh reality of war awaited them when they awoke.
(End Flashback)
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Quatre's eyes widened after recalling that day that had long passed. He finally had a face to put with the voice that had helped save him so many times. The Arabian gasped to himself, "It was Kumi that Trowa had been calling for all along." He walked to the window and looked out to the stars. "All those times Kumi helped me and there's nothing that I can do to warn her about Demetris," Quatre whispered sadly. He cuold do nothing more than hope that Kumi, Trowa and the others were okay. Only time would tell when they would be reunited...If they would ever be reunited.
* * * * * *
Wufei had been fighting for a good hour alone. And he was somehow still going strong. His suit had taken a beating, but none of the damages done to Nakaku were bad enough that they wouldn't be fixed in less than a week. A thin trail of blood ran down his face from the right corner of his mouth and he was sweating more than he ever had before. As he continued to fight, he was panting.
The OZ soldiers were still strong in their numbers. But the Chinese pilot wasn't about to let even one of them think that he was weakening. He gave a deep chuckle to the pilots, "I still have a lot more fight in me." While this was more than true, he also knew that he needed to accomplish his mission as soon as possible.
He cried out and shot flames through four more suits. Just then, a handful of more soldiers were wiped out by laser beams that came from nowhere. Wufei's eyes widened as he gasped, "What the-!?!" Looking up, he watched as a crew of Preventers flew down towards the sight of battle, shooting the OZ soldiers as they came. A voice came through his intercom, "Chang Wufei, we've received your message and came as soon as we could. Are you all right?"
The dark-haired pilot smiled and wiped the blood off his face as he nodded, "I'm fine. Thanks for coming when you did." The Preventer smiled to the young man in his monitor and nodded, "We'll keep these soldiers at bay while you carry out your part of the mission." Wufei nodded again, "Right." Saying no more, he shot Nataku in a B-line for C91. The Preventer went back to the battle with his comrades as he announced over his transmitter, "Pilot 05 is making his way to C91."
* * * * * *
This message did not take long to travel. In fifteen minutes, Lady Une was interrupted in the middle of a meeting with Keiser, Water, Fire, Wind and several other soldiers when Peace Million received the word of Wufei's arrival. The Preventer who came to inform them gasped for breath, "Lady Une...Chang Wufei is about to reach Colony C91's heart." Sally jumped from her seat along with her friends there. Before anyone could say anything, she flew out of the room and ran to the control room.
Milliardo, Noin and Lady Une were right behind her as they got to their respected stations and awaited the completion of this mission. The monitor showing the galaxy was still up on the main monitor, a thick light blue ring showing the orbit that Sette gained. Sally held her breath and closed her eyes. She whispered, "God, please let Wufei get through this safely." Fire and Wind watched her and said silent prayers of their own, along with Lady Une. In another moment, Relena, Dorothy, Derek and Catherine entered the room when they heard the news. They stayed in silence and just watched and listened carefully.
* * * * * *
The protective haze surrounding the Colony had taken longer to fly through than Wufei thought that it would. By the time he cleared the golden clouds, he had to take a moment to know where he was, and how far he needed to go to reach the heart. As he flew towards the Colony's surface, people from the cities looked up and cheered at the sight of Nataku. Cries like, "I knew the Gundam pilots would come!" and "We still have a chance in this war after all!" were shouted all around.
Wufei couldn't help but smile down to the people in his monitor as he shot past all of them quickly. The cheers continued even after Nataku disappeared. Shooting towards a manmade mountain range, The Chinese pilot used his scanners to locate where he needed to go. Finally, the scanner fixed on a hidden opening in the base of a mountain.
"THERE IT IS!" he shouted as he pushed forward on his controls, causing his Gundam to fly head-first at great speed towards the concealed opening. Once he had plowed through the stone, Wufei smiled as he saw the large hole inside leading through the ground to the 'core.' Again, he pressed forward on his controls and flew through the thick, metal pipes.
* * * * * *
A long time had passed and there as no word on what was happening at C91. Sally was trying to remain as calm as possible. Relena had come to stand beside her, squeezing her hand for assurance. The silence in the room was killing everyone in the control room, but they had to live with it until something happened. Noin was standing with Milliardo, close to their friend Water.
Suddenly, Noin gasped and took a deep, sharp breath. Wind helped her stay on her feet as he gently held her. Looking to her in concern, he whispered when his wife regained her composure, "Are you all right, sweetheart?" Sally, Relena and the other Gundam pilots looked over to them and Lady Une stood from her post in the front of the room as she, too looked to Fire in concern. Noin smiled and shook her head, insisting, "I'm fine. We have to worry about Wufei right now."
Fire did appear to be fine and her friends nodded to her as thy returned to their posts. Milliardo wiped the sweat that appeared on his wife's forehead and kissed her temple. Noin smiled to him and nodded, to give him more reassurance that she was okay. Wind accepted that, but kept his arms around her nevertheless.
* * * * * *
In the heart of C91, an exhausted Chinese pilot ran into the enormous center. His eyes widened in amazement at the technology found here. His time to look in awe passed as he remembered the mission at hand. Wufei ran to the controls of the main monitor and typed away as he did away with the old password. Typing in the new password that he needed to enter for the establishment of the signal, he gave a long sigh of relief. Wufei smiled as he pressed the last key.
* * * * * *
Back on Peace Million, the silence was broken when a transmission worked its way through. The static over the signal broke after a short moment and Wufei's familiar voice announced, "You all can breathe now." The huge eruption of cheers and shouts exploded in the control room. As this happened, a deep blue band appeared on the monitor of the galaxy.
It stretched began between Mercury and Venus and stopped just short of the Earth, showing the territory that the successful mission gained. Lady Une laughed and talked into her headset, "Well done, Wufei. You did great." The Chinese pilot smiled, "Thank you, Lady Une." Then he asked, "Sally?"
Water smiled, "Yes, Wufei?" "I'll be home soon," the pilot vowed quietly. Sally couldn't find any words at this time, she was too relieved. Wufei knew what she was thinking. He smiled, "I have to run. See you soon." At this, the transmission stopped.
The Preventers and the Gundam pilots continued to hug and celebrate. Lady Une relaxed in her chair and sighed in relief, "Just five more like these last two." She looked to the monitor showing everything that they accomplished. The wide, un-shaded band between the dark and light blue ones would be filled when Quatre finished his mission. As far as those past the Milky Way, it would be only be a matter of time before they would be covered as well.
* * * * * *
As he typed in the commands to cover up when he had done, Wufei looked to another panel of controls. When the cover-up was successful, he took a closer look to them. His eyes widened when he realized that these controls worked the hidden lasers on the Colony. They could be aimed at a similar target. With a sneer, the Chinese pilot flipped the controls.
He now could contact the Preventers who were still fighting the OZ soldiers in space, just above the golden dome. He announced to them, "Everyone, I'm sending coordinates of where you need to round up the OZ soldiers. In about five minutes, back off and I'll take care of the rest." The Preventer who led the calvary of Preventers understood and took the initiative to carry through the orders.
After five minutes, the Preventers flew off at great speed, leaving behind them a large fleet of stunned and confused OZ soldiers. "What the hell are they doing!?!" one OZ soldier yelled as he watched what looked like a retreat. Before any of them knew it, there was a massive beam shooting for them from C91. All that he and his fellow OZ soldiers could do was scream and attempt to fly off, but they would never be able to escape the laser. They were all destroyed in the blink of an eye.
From his place in C91's heart, Wufei watched and smirked, "I said I'd get all of you." Content with what happened, he concluded his work in the core and ran off to Nataku. When he was back in the suit, he flew off through the tubes and out of the mountain range again.
* * * * * *
The Preventers who came to his aid were waiting for him in space. When they were reunited, the first private in charge of the Preventer fleet smiled, "Wufei, you could come back with us to our ship. I'm sure that you could use some rest after everything that you've been through." Wufei smiled back and shook his head, "I appreciate the offer. But, I made a promise to someone that I'd return back to Peace Million as soon as possible." The Preventer replied, "I understand. Great work, 05." "Thank you for your help," the Gundam pilot said quietly.
With a kind nod and wave, the young man and the remainder of the Preventers flew off. Worn out, Wufei fell back in his seat and placed his suit on auto pilot. He folded his arms and closed his eyes. Instantly, sleep claimed him. This was to be his first peaceful rest since he left Peace Million.
* * * * * *
The celebration in the control room of the large ship had ended and a young Preventer stood as she announced, "Pilot 05 is secure and making his way back here as we speak. The colony has been secured along with those within the signal's reach. There was a round a clapping from some of the people present as they wrapped up their duties.
Lady Une walked to the others in the back of the room as she smiled, "Well, we can finally relax a little more." Noin sighed in relief and smiled, "Good, because my water broke." "WHAT!?!" her husband and friends shouted. Noin remained the most calm as she was taken carefully to the medical room. Sally and Milliardo were helping Fire walk as they stood at either side of her. The others followed as they quickly walked behind them. Derek stayed behind in the control room. He chuckled and shook his head, "Never a dull moment around this place."
* * * * * *
Kumi walked into the ship that would be her last drop-off before moving onto Colony M29. When she left the hanger, the Commander of the ship greeted her with a warm smile. Kumi gave a nod, "Lieutenant Barrett." The Lieutenant nodded back, "Hello, Kumi. We've been expecting you." The pilot stated flatly, "I know I'm late. But, I had a little problem I needed to work out."
Saying this, the silver-haired girl removed the file that she took from the OZ base that she destroyed nights past and handed it to the Preventer. The commander's eyes widened as he looked to the file. With a sharp laugh, he shook his head, "You Gundam pilots amaze me."
Barrett opened the file as Kumi explained, "The locations of other OZ bases in the region are all recorded in there. Oz has thirty bases in total in this general area...I would take care of them myself, but I have to reach M29 as soon as possible." The soldier replied, "Of course. This is all I need to have these bases taken of. There will be fleets sent out to handle them." "There are a lot of other sites of bases mentioned in there that exist not far from where Heero and Duo are," The silver-haired pilot stated. Just as she said this, Barrett turned to the reports that revealed just that. He replied, "I'll see that these records are sent to both of them, as well. That way, they could handle them on the way to their destinations."
Kumi nodded, "Any further word on OZ and what else they might have hidden?" After a brief pause, Barrett gave a concerned look then said, "I have received word that OZ is possibly beginning preparations to build a laser similar to that of the Barge Cannon that they had in the first war." The pilot's cobalt eyes widened as she gasped. She whispered, "What?" While she never actually saw the Barge Cannon, she was fully aware of what it was and what power it held. Barrett understood her shock and concern as he answered quietly, "Now, there isn't any real proof that this is true, but we can't afford to blow this over, either." Kumi immediately shook her head, "No, we can't."
The lieutenant explained, "Before you go to M29, you might want to visit Q67. That's where the rumors were originated. I have heard by several sources that if there are preparations for this weapon, that is where they would be found." The 'Perfect Soldier' replied in monotone with a nod, "Mission accepted."
The Preventer smiled to the young woman, "Thank you. I know that I couldn't ask for anyone better to carry this mission out. You're just like Heero." Kumi frowned at these words, still not believing them. The two cousins were two in the same at one point. That changed when Heero opened up to his emotions. While Kumi was able to do that once, she couldn't ever believe that she would be able to do the same again.
Finally, she nodded, "I'll be returning to Excalibur, then. I have work that I need to do before I can leave for that Colony." "Certainly. If you need any help, just give me a call," the tall Preventer offered. The pilot turned to return to the hanger when Barrett called, "Oh, Kumi." Excalibur's pilot stopped in her tracks and looked back to him.
The lieutenant removed an envelope from his pocket with Kumi's full name written on the front. Handing it to her, Barrett smiled, "Trowa Barton requested that this be delivered to you." Kumi's head shot up as she quickly asked, before her head could think her words through, "Is Trowa all right?" There wasn't much emotion in her voice, but there was more than there had evre been in it for years. She cursed to herself for allowing herself to be even the slightest bit open.
Kumi took the envelope gently and awaited the answer to her question. Barrett's smile grew as he nodded, "Trowa's just fine. He made his last drop-off last night. Since it wasn't too far from here, he asked Commander Evans to have this sent to you." The silver-haired pilot sighed in relief inwardly and nodded to the young man, "Arigato." Barrett turned and walked off to his duties as Kumi stood where she was, looking to the envelope.
"What are you doing to me, Trowa?" Kumi asked quietly to the envelope she held. She moved her right hand to begin opening the letter, but stopped before she actually tore at it. She looked to the beautiful, cursive way that Trowa had written her name. Kumi's eyes narrowed after a pause and she growled to herself. With a deep sigh, she folded the envelops and placed it in her silver band of a belt over her black attire. Satisfied with that, the 'Perfect Soldier' walked to the hanger.
...If she had looked out the large windows of the hallway, Kumi would have seen a blue shooting star.
TBC