DISCLAIMER: The Gundam Wing characters are not mine...But Kumi Yuy and Sette Devion are!
We're nearing the half-way point! I can't thank all of you readers enough for your constant support and suggestions! Thank you for everything! I hope you enjoy this part! Love Always, SkyLark
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 24: Return to the Mainland
by SkyLark
helped by: Snodin, Star Soldier, Stormy, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star and GREETER 600
On Colony V10, a shipyard was filled with men and women as they worked on mobile suits to protect themselves, should the time ever come that OZ would threaten them. One young man with his fellow crew members were working on building a Virgo as he asked, "I hear we're going to be getting a new worker to help us out in a few weeks." A young woman helping with the project nodded, "Yea. he's had a lot of experience with suits and scavenging."
An older man with a thick beard questioned as he wiped a lot of sweat from his brow, "Any idea where he's from and why he's coming here?" A third man shook his head, "I have no idea why he'd decided to come here, and personally I don't care. We need all the help we can get. As far as where he was born, all I know is that he's an American." The first man to begin the discussion laughed in his harness over the suit, "That's all me need? What good ever came from America to begin with?"
* * * * * *
Back on a colony weeks away from V10, Deathscythe was slicing through OZ soldiers as he destroyed yet another hidden OZ base. Duo was in the cockpit, singing quietly to himself with his usual mischievous smile, "And the rockets red glare...The bombs bursting in air."
At this, he pressed his controls to send a spray of bullets that took out a large number of suits as they exploded before his. He was wearing his old black cap backwards as he fought off the troops. The OZ soldiers were no match for the Gundam pilot, though they did fight with whatever they had.
Duo shouted, "YOU THING YOU CAN STOP THE GOD OF DEATH!?!" At this, he used his laser scythe to cut through three more suits as they shot at him. One of the OZ soldiers was about to come from behind, but was stopped as Duo spun and sliced him in half, a loud and choked cry leaving his victim.
Looking to his monitors, the American noticed that the OZ soldiers who were not in suits were running into the facility that he came to destroy. Licking his lips and sneering, the braided pilot growled deeply, "You can run but you can't hide."
Quickly, Duo rook off as he flew straight for the plant. Once plowing through the side of the building, Duo began looking to everything inside. There were countless suits all around and the soldiers were running to pilot them as quickly as they could. Destroying the suits that he came across as he flew forward, the American looked to the main monitor of the factory. As the explosions that he caused continued and spread around him, Duo continued to wipe out any and every pilot that crossed him.
Several soldiers were attempting to destroy the main system of the plant themselves, in attempt to keep the information stored there from falling into the hands of their foe. Duo was aware that the data stored there was far too important to lose. His mission was to collect everything that he could. The American killed everyone that tried to destroy the monitor and database with it.
After a good fifteen minutes, the braided pilot managed to kill nearly every soldier. Before much longer, the last soldier left had been killed. Duo hadn't expected there to be so many OZ soldiers at this site, but he still succeeded in his task of destroying them. It was amazing that not one of the soldiers attempted to retreat during the fight...even when it was obvious that Deathscythe was going to defeat them. Duo sneered, chuckling deeply, "Shinigami lives."
The Gundam pilot lowered himself from his suit and walked to the main monitor of the base. Using a disk hidden in his a pocket of his jeans, Duo managed to gather what he came for. When the everything was uploaded, he removed the disk and ran to his suit. Once he was back in his cockpit and ready to fly off again, the braided pilot destroyed the monitor and took out the remainder of the plant with it until there was nothing left but flames and smoke.
Satisfied with the successful mission, Duo looked to the information that he gathered on his disk. There were countless more locations of bases that had been reported. Knowing that the Preventers would be responsible for the wipe out of these facilities, Duo went on to see what else he managed to obtain from the database. With a good look at the saved information, it was not long before his deep blue eyes noticed something.
With a look of curiosity, the Gundam pilot took a closer look to a strange document. Duo's eyes widened as he said quietly to himself, "It's an encrypted message." Looking to the odd writing, he said to himself, "OZ could have been trying to send this to anyone." Scanning the document, the braided pilot noted, "They wouldn't have gone through the trouble of writing in a secret pattern if the information wasn't vital to the war and their strategy."
After a moment to finished scanning the long, coded letter completely, Duo sighed deeply as he lied back in his seat, "I can't even begin to try and decipher this thing. I have no idea where to begin." Just then, his eyes widened as a smile crossed his lips. "But I know someone who might," he said deeply. Patching into his transmitter, he began, "This is Duo. I've managed to destroy the base and intercepted the information that OZ had hidden there."
The lieutenant of the Preventer craft that Duo had flown from nodded in the control room of his ship, "Nice work. We'll send the locations of the OZ bases that you found to the Preventer crafts that we can contact." Duo nodded as his fingers worked quickly over the keys of his controls, "Sounds good. I'm transferring the data to you now."
Looking to the encrypted message again, Duo smiled, "Also, I have a request." The lieutenant asked, "What's that?" The American replied, "I know that it'll talk a long time to send messages without the connection of V10 established, but I need something sent to Pulsar." The man replied, "It'll talk almost a month to reach the ship, but we'll do what we can. Who shall we address the message to?" With a glimmer in his eyes as the light from the monitors reflected off them, the braided pilot answered, "Trowa Barton."
* * * * * *
Trowa was slowly gaining consciousness. The first thing that proved this to him was the pain coursing throughout his body. His eyes began to squeeze tight, on account of the suffering. Kumi noticed it instantly as her cobalt eyes fixated on the fallen pilot's pained face. She felt her right hand being squeezed gently as it continued to hold Trowa's. Without thinking, Kumi squeezed the hand back for reassurance. Without saying anything, the silver-haired pilot watched as her comrade awoke.
The tall pilot gave a small, deep groan before his green-brown eyes slowly opened with a few, quick blinks. The first thing that Trowa noticed was Kumi, sitting beside him and holding his hand as she looked down to him. Next, he noticed the fire burning behind her and star-filled sky over them as he looked up.
They were both below the mountains where the battle against Demetirs had been fought. Since he was so badly wounded, Trowa couldn't be moved until his wounds were looked at and bandaged. So, he was now lying on her back, on top of Kumi's hooded, purple cape and covered from mid-chest and down in a light green sheet. The tall pilot's entire chest, right shoulder and arm were bandaged tightly and exposed without his shirt.
Kumi released his hand and walked back to the fire as he gazed to the heavens, still not certain that he wasn't dreaming...Kumi seemed to have a look of concern on her face when he first woke. It wasn't anything that he had seen before. When he felt the other pilot release his hand, Trowa watched as she walked over to the fire, still silent as ever with her back to him. Kumi placed a few more large sticks in the flames, which she collected from a forest not far past the mountains where they were now.
Without her hooded cape, all that Kumi was wearing was her black, sleeveless top along with her black, loose running pants and sneakers. The thick silver belt was the only item of her attire with color in it. The belt matched perfectly with the shade of the stoic pilot's hair, still in its very long ponytail.
Trowa continued to look to her back with concern as she worked on building the fire again. The 'Perfect Soldier's' right arm was bandaged. There were also many bruises and scratches her face- from what he saw- and the left arm. Since these were the only parts of her skin that weren't covered, there was no telling what other wounds she had on her. While Kumi didn't let off that she was in any pain, the tall pilot was worried that she might have been injured badly.
Without turning to face her partner, Kumi finally broke the silence. "You scared the shit out of me tonight," she said to the fire, just loud enough for Trowa to hear. There was a little hint of emotion behind her words, but for the most part, it was the usual monotone voice that she always used. Trowa blinked a few times, taken back by the words of the woman that captured his heart. He remained silent. The silver-haired pilot turned to him and walked back to sit next to him again. This time, the cobalt wyes of the pilot were narrowed as she glared intensely to her partner.
Trowa looked to her gaze then to her bandaged arm. He asked quietly in concern, "Are you all right?" The narrowed eyes opened wide for a brief moment as Kumi couldn't believe the question. Still appearing unaffected, the 'Perfect Soldier' placed her right hand on Trowa's forehead to check his temperature.
Seeing that his fever had finally broken, she removed her hand and glared again to the injured pilot. "You almost died on me, you stupid baka. How am I supposed to be all right?" she asked sharply. The European pilot winced inwardly at her response. "I'm sorry," was all he managed to say in a deep sigh, closing his eyes slowly.
Kumi growled deeply and tore her eyes from Trowa. The young man too a quick, sharp breath as another spasm of sharp needles shot through his body. Another deep moan left him as he waited for the pain to pass. When it subsided, the tall pilot saw that Kumi was looking to him again.
He could have sworn this time for sure that there really was concern in her glance.
"Four broken ribs, three broken bones in your right arm, a fractured right shoulder plate, a few hundred stitches and who knows how many bruised bones will do that to you," the stoic pilot informed him. Trowa's eyes widened as he looked to his partner in shock. "You placed all of those bones while I was out?" he said in awe. His comrade shrugged and snorted, "Someone had to do it. Don't act like I did anything special."
A warm smile crossed the tall pilot's lips as he reached for Kumi's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely as he looked into her eyes. Kumi took her hand away and nodded with an emotionless face, "I shouldn't have needed to do that in the first place." Trowa blinked. "What the hell possessed you to go after Demetris like that?" the female pilot asked dryly, returning her gaze to her comrade.
All Trowa could do was answered honestly, "If I didn't go after him like that, you would have been killed...I couldn't let that happen because I care about you...That's why." Kumi sighed deeply to herself and shook her head, "Baka." Again she rose and walked before the fire. Sitting there, she hugged her legs to her chest and refused to look back to Trowa. She began using a long, thin stick to move some of the wood that was burning, causing the flames to grow in size and brightness. Painfully, Trowa sat up a bit and rested on his bandaged elbow as he looked to his friend's back.
"Who's Matt?" the tall pilot asked suddenly. The moment the name left his mouth, Trowa watched and listened as the stick in Kumi's hand was dropped. She had frozen in her spot and there was a long, uncomfortable silence between the two pilots.
Trowa swallowed hard as he awaited anxiously some kind of reaction...no matter what it was. Finally, he saw Kumi lower her head forward to the fire as she said in a small whisper, "You did hear me shout his name, then?" Trowa didn't need to reply.
After another pause, this time much shorter than the last, Kumi rose silently to sit beside the tall pilot again. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Matt was...We were..." Not getting anywhere at this point, the silver-haired pilot shook her head then sighed, "Matt and I were very close. We met during the Eve Wars, not long after I met Sette. He went on to become a Preventer after the Marimaya incident and we would had a lot missions together." Trowa sat up a little more, not able to sit up completely, on account of the agony that would have caused him. He just remained silent as he listened to his partner.
Kumi then admitted, "We became friends...Then we were more than friends and before long, we were more than that." Trowa nodded as he continued to give Excalibur's pilot his undivided attention. He had no idea that there was anyone in her life that was able to break through her training and soldier wall.
The young pilot then lowered her head and said quietly, "We were even beginning to talk about spending the rest of our lives together when Sette and I received word that there three other Gundams that had been hidden before the beginning of the Eve Wars. Finding them became my main concern along with Matt and Sette.
"We set out to find them and on our last search, we ended up on a colony that Demetris just happened to be visiting for a killing spree. Since the three of us had been after him for months by then, Matt went after him without telling anyone." Kumi stopped for a moment and lowered her head. Trowa's hand instantly held onto hers and squeezed it.
"Demetris shot him seven times before I managed to find him...Matt dies in my arms." Kumi finished in a small voice. Trowa sighed deeply and lowered his own head, "I-I'm so sorry, Kumi...I had no idea..." The silver-haired pilot lifted her head again and replied, "You couldn't have known."
When their gazes met, the 'Perfect Soldier' told her partner, "When you were shot by Demetris...It was as if I was reliving that whole night again." The injured pilot ignored the pain that ran through him and went on to wrap his arms around the other pilot in a tight embrace. Kumi stiffened at the gesture. Then, she relaxed a bit and even wrapped her own arms around Trowa, careful not to hurt him.
The pilots held each other quietly like that for a moment. Then, Trowa whispered, "I'm sorry. I hurt you worse than Demetris ever could." The pilot in his arms shook her head, "Don't worry about me." Trowa kissed her cheek gently as he pulled back from the embrace, sensing the tension returning in the other pilot's muscles.
Trowa inquired, "I've never come across anyone as powerful as Demetris. How can he take so much and not even seem to feel any pain?" Kumi shook her head, "I don't know. But he wasn't always like that. He was always a strong opponent, but he felt pain. The night he killed Matt was when Sette and I saw that he could take bullets and stabs without so much as blinking." Turning to the stars, she said, "I know that there's a reason behind it. Once I figure out what that is, I'll kill him."
The European pilot smirked at the thought of that giant dying at the hands of his friend. He then noticed several streaks of silver shooting through the sky. He and Kumi watched they silently for a moment. "Casualty capsules," Kumi said quietly. Trowa asked, "You've seen them before?" The silver-haired pilot nodded as she looked to the streaks, "Fighting wars this far in space, you see them pretty often."
Lowering her head, she said quietly, "My worst fear for Heero is that he'll lose Duo. I still remember how hard and painful it was to move on after Matt died. And we weren't nearly as close as they are...If anything happened to Duo, Heero would die." Trowa gave a small, certain grin as he stated, "Well, you don't have to worry since no one can kill Death."
The silver-haired pilot turned to give a confused glance to her partner. Trowa explained, "Duo calls himself Shinigami." Just as the realization came to her, Kumi replied, "The God of Death?" The tall pilot nodded, "I don't know everything about his past, but Duo's always associated himself with that." The 'Perfect Soldier' allowed a deep chuckle to leave her as she shook her head and closed her eyes. "So Death taught Heero how to live," she smirked. Trowa chuckled, himself. "The irony of it all," he nodded.
Looking to the thin armband tattoo on Kumi's left arm, Trowa smiled, "Now I understand what your tattoo stands for. The two roses intertwined at the stems are you and Matt." The 'Perfect Soldier' nodded, "And the Japanese word for 'Hope' is between the buds is there because Matt said that no matter what, I never gave up."
Trowa smiled warmly and whispered, "It's beautiful." He realized that he was no longer focusing on the tattoo, but Kumi's face when he said this in a whisper. The other pilot noticed this as well and turned her head away, emotionless mask in place again.
Kumi said quietly, "I used to be that way...Never giving up an anything...That changed when he died." Trowa smiled again and shook his head as he said gently, "Don't sell yourself so short. If you lost hope in everything as you say, you would have left me for dead and gone after Demetris...You wouldn't have gone through the trouble of saving me."
The cobalt eyes turned to look into his own. Trowa leaned in, closing his eyes, as he placed another soft kiss on Kumi's right cheek. He went on to whisper just beyond the frozen pilot's ear, "Thank you for saving my life, Kumi." The silver-haired pilot simply nodded and the tall pilot pulled back again.
Looking to her partner's wounds, the 'Perfect Soldier' told Trowa, "You better get some rest. We'll leave for Commander Hazark's ship in the morning, if you feel up to it." Trowa nodded, "I'll be fine by then." Lowering himself onto his back again, slowly, the pilot of Heavy Arms felt all the pain returning at full force. One last deep groan left him and when he was finally on his back again, he relaxed. Looking to the stars, Trowa stated quietly, "Now I know what it feels like to die." Kumi gave a nod and replied in her stoic voice, "Yea. It hurts like hell."
Trowa's eyes widened at this statement, recalling the same words coming from Heero in the same tone during the Eve Wars. The tall pilot couldn't help the fit of laughter that escaped him. Kumi just turned to look at him. When the laughter passed, Trowa smiled and closed his eyes.
The tall pilot's breathing soon relaxed as sleep claimed him.
The other pilot took notice of this and walked to the fire one last time. Since it would be morning in a few hours, the last bit of wood that she had would be plenty to keep the fire going for that long. Trowa needed all the warmth possible to protect himself from becoming ill. Once all the wood was in the flames, Kumi walked over to her comrade.
Silently, Excalibur's pilot lied on her side right next to Trowa, using her body heat as an extra barrier against the cold and damp air for him. Looking to the pilot's peaceful face, Kumi gently stroked his cheek a few times, allowing just a moment to let her feelings take over. The gesture ended quickly, as she pulled her hand back to fall to her side again. Trowa's face was the last thing Kumi saw before her cobalt eyes were closed.
* * * * * *
Demetris was in the hanger of an OZ ship out in the middle of nowhere. Sitting in a corner, hidden in the shadows there, watching his suit being repaired, his eyes were wide and burning in rage as he looked to the damages. He was panting and sweating from the heat that was coursing though his body. The giant's large hands where clenched into tight fists as he growled deeply.
The OZ pilot looked like a man animal, ready to rip any and everything apart that he came across. His intense glare was shooting daggers into what seemed to be nothing as he looked forward. "I was so close," he growled deeply to himself. His panting increased and his glare even more terrifying.
"You better be careful, Demetris," a voice came from beyond the corner. The giant shouted in rage and jumped to his feet screaming, "I TOLD ALL OF YOU TO LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" He stopped the moment Quinze Khushrenadah walked before his from the darkness. The tall man's blue eyes widened and he straightened as he lowered his head. "I'm sorry, sir," Demetris said in a deep voice.
The OZ leader smiled and shook his head, "I understand your disappointment, but you shouldn't bring so much stress onto yourself. It's can't be good for your heart." The large man growled loudly and replied, "My heart is not going to fail me."
Quinze shrugged with his usual smirk and told his soldier, "No need to worry, my friend. You'll kill Kumi soon enough. Your suit will be repaired in two days and you can have fun tearing another town to shreds. It'll give you a chance to work that tension out of your system." Demetris simply nodded and walked away, growling deeply to himself with that intense glare.
Quinze chuckled deeply and shook his head as he watched the pilot leave the room. "I almost feel bad for that silver-haired mink. She really doesn't realize what she's gotten herself into," he said to himself. The young man looked up to the blue, ram-headed Gundam as the repairs on the suit continued. His smirk grew as he said quietly in amusement, "I'm looking forward to their next encounter as much as that giant is."
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Quatre and Sette were taking turns holding baby Mirando in one of the lounges. The Arabian was holding the sleeping child as Sette leaned over her chair beside him to look to the baby. Looking at Quatre's face, the ex-princess smiled and sighed deeply. The blonde pilot chuckled and asked, "What is it?" Sette replied with a warm smile and shrug, "Our children are going to be beautiful." Quatre laughed. Using his right arm to support Mirando, the Arabian took Sette's hand in his left. "There'll be plenty of time for that after the war, and after we get married," he smiled to the tomboy. Sette's heart skipped a few beats and she beamed, "You mean it!?!" Quatre nodded his word.
The pair looked to Mirando again and the blonde pilot said quietly, "Right now, we have to worry about defeating OZ so the future is brighter for the next generations." His proclaimed fiancee nodded, "I know. That comes first." Quatre couldn't help but place a soft kiss on the back of Sette's hand. The blue-haired pilot blushed at the gesture.
Delapan entered the lounge and approached her comrades. Sette smiled and waved to her, "Hey, Monkey Girl." Ignoring the tomboy as always, the redhead informed the pilots, "You guys might want to come to the hanger." As the pilots rose, Quatre asked in concern, "What's wrong?" Catherine replied, "There's a debate going on as to what should happen with the Earth." Her friends' eyes widened as they heard this. They quickly left the lounge together.
In the hanger, Relena and Brian were before Lady Une, Noin, Milliardo, Sally Poe, Keiser and Marimaya. "I don't understand why we can't send someone to the Earth to learn more of what is happening there. It's been weeks since we managed to have any contact with the people there," Relena stated, obviously concerned. Brian continued, "I understand that the Earth has made it clear that they don't want us anywhere near, but there are ways of sneaking in."
Marimaya shook her head, "Your majesties, you realize that requesting to send someone to stay in the Earth for several weeks to obtain ways of gaining knowledge as to what is happening there is more than dangerous. We could send an army of Preventers to the Earth and still come up short in gaining any information."
Relena stated, "Fine. Then I'm going back." Milliardo protested loudly, "Forget it! You of all people shouldn't be anywhere near the Earth during this war. You know that." His sister shook her head, "I'd rather see for myself what is happening on the planet than send someone else to do the job for me."
As the debate went on, Novem and Wufei had been watching and listening closely behind their friends. The Chinese pilot rose from the raining that he had been sitting on. and stated, "I understand Zes's stand and support her decision." Sally's eyes widened as she turned to him and retorted, "You can't believe Zes will be able to protect herself if she returns to the Earth alone."
"Well then, someone will have to go with her," a familiar voice came from out of the blue. Everyone's eyes widened as their heads turned to the door. Sette, Delapan and Quatre were standing there. Sette shrugged as she continued, "I'll fly to the Earth with Zes if that's what it'll take to get your support." Relena smiled as she looked to the tomboy. Wufei then nodded, "I'd be leaving with them as well." The Arabian then stated, "And they won't be leaving without me." Novem and Delapan then nodded and showed their movement to join the cause.
The Preventers looked to the pilots with mixed expressions. Lady Une frowned and lowered her head. "I need more time to think about this," she said quietly. Looking to her comrades, she informed them, "We'll discuss this further amongst ourselves and come to a decision from there." The Gundam pilots watched them to leave the hanger as they turned to each other.
Quatre was still holding Mirando as he and Sette walked to the others. "Thank you," Zes smiled to the tomboy. Sette shrugged, "Don't mention it. I agree with you that we need to know what is happening on the Earth and I won't let you go without backup." Novem nodded, "We're all in this was together, Miss Relena. You know that you don't feel like you should do this alone." The young king wrapped his arms around his love and smiled lovingly, "They're right, you tend to take too much on by yourself. You don't deserve that."
The queen sighed deeply and embraced her husband. "I just can't stand not knowing what is happening on the Earth any longer." Brian replied, "I feel the same way, love. Whatever Lady Une and the Preventers decide, we'll make this all wok out." Relena nodded. Quatre smiled, "Come on. We might as well wait in one of the lounges." The others agreed and followed the blonde pilot out of the room.
* * * * * *
Duo was in his cockpit, resting his eyes for a moment when his watch beeped. Looking to the time, the American smiled, "Midnight." No sooner had this than the monitor blinked and Heero's image came on the screen. The lovers smiled lovingly to each other. Duo said gently, "I knew that you'd get through somehow." Heero chuckled deeply, "You expected any less?" His partner shook his head and smiled, "No. You never let me down, Heero."
After a brief pause, Heero asked in concern, "How are you, koi?" Duo shrugged, "I'm doing all right...I just hate sleeping alone like this." His lover closed his eyes as he nodded and whispered sadly, "I know..." Seeing and hearing that Heero was in pain, Duo asked softly in concern as he leaned to the monitor, "What's wrong, love?" Heero look a deep breath and looked up to his lover's image. Running a finger over the image of his partner's cheek, he sighed deeply.
"I have nightmares now...every night," he finally admitted. Duo's heart broke and he whispered back as he lowered his head, "God, I wish I was there with you." His lover whispered back, "So do I." The American lifted his head and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" Heero thought about it for a moment, debating whether he even could talk about those terrible dreams. He did give a nod and began, brokenly, "I...I have these images of you..." The Wing pilot sighed deeply after taking another deep breath, painfully.
Finding the courage to say what was in his heart, Heero said in a small voice after closing his eyes, "You're dying in all of my nightmares. You die in my arms and there's nothing that I can do to save you, no matter how hard I try."
Taking a brief pause to keep his emotions at bay as best he could, the Wing pilot continued, "I wake up with in a cold sweat or with tears in my eyes because them seem so real, Duo. I hate going to sleep now because I know that you won't be in my arms and I won't be in yours when I wake up. I've had nightmares before, but I've never had any as terrifying as the ones I have now." After quickly getting all of that off his chest, Heero opened his eyes to see his partner with tears building in his own.
"Heero," was all Duo managed to whisper brokenly as he fought the drops from falling. The Wing pilot said quietly, "I've just been thinking of so many things because of those dreams..." His hand went up to squeeze the gold cross around his neck.
Duo listened as Heero continued, "If anything happened to you, who would be there to make everyone laugh even in the middle of a war? Who would drop whatever they were doing to help a friend that was having a bad day? Who will begin a snowball fight that'll get everyone involved?..." Small tears were actually beginning to fill the Japanese pilot's eyes as he whispered brokenly, "Who will be there to make me smile? Who else will be able to protect me from myself?"
Unable to continue, Heero choked a sob as he fought the tears in his eyes. Duo had given up that fight as he dried his soaked cheeks. He whispered, "Ai shiteru, Heero...more than you know." Heero bit his lip then nodded, "Ai shiteru, Duo...Zutto."
Duo continued to dry his tears as he said quietly, "I have the same nightmares...I see you dying and I can't save you." Closing his eyes and dropping his head again, he whispered breathlessly, "You'd think that I'd be used to nightmares involving death. I am Shinigami, after all. But when I can't cope with losing you, Heero. I wouldn't be able to go on." He heard his partner whisper, "Duo."
The lovers looked to each other for a moment, then smiled lovingly again. Drying the single, large tear that fell from his right eye, Heero whispered, "I think we should talk about something else tonight." Duo chuckled as he wiped the last wet trails from his face, "Yea, sure. You say that after making me cry like a bitch."
The pilots laughed and finally got their composure back. Duo took a deep breath as he looked to his lover. It never ceased to amaze him that Heero just seemed to become more handsome every time he saw him. The wing pilot was just breathtaking.
"Five years," Duo sighed with a warm smile. Heero smiled as well and nodded, "Hard to believe." The American asked, "Did Sera give you anything today?" Placing a wrapped gift in his lap, Heero nodded, "Yes. You know that you didn't have to do this." Duo chuckled and shrugged, "I know. It was just something that I figured you would like. Open it."
Heero worked away at the silver wrapping paper. Inside, there was a framed collage of pictures of the two of them. The photos had been taken from different times. There were even some shots of them when they were in the Eve Wars and during the Marimaya incident. The Wing pilot never saw any of them before. Duo shrugged, "It's not much but-" "I love it," Heero whispered in awe as he continued to look to the collage. Duo beamed, "You do?" Heero nodded and smiled, "This is perfect, Duo. Thank you." The American nodded, "Anytime, koi."
The Wing pilot chuckled, "Check behind your seat." The blue eyes of his lover widened when he said this. Duo undid the harness and turned behind him. There was a wrapped gift hidden behind him the whole time. A shocked expression hit his face as he looked to it and removed it from his hiding spot. "That was sneaky, koi," the braided pilot smiled lovingly to his partner. Heero grinned and nodded, "I learned from the best."
Duo unwrapped the deep blue paper and looked to a frame with something handwritten on a stationary paper that had the background of the ocean at sunset. It instantly reminded him of their house in Maryland along the shore. At the top, in big letters were the words: 'Love Is...' The American read the gift carefully as his lover watched silently. Heero never ceased to be amazed by how beautiful Duo was. He just seemed to grow more beautiful every second. He was just breathtaking.
By the time he was finished reading, there were big tears in the American's eyes again. He whispered breathlessly as he smiled to his partner, "This is beautiful, Heero. Thank you." The Wing pilot smiled, "I have Kumi to thank. When she asked me what love is, I took some time to think about it and wrote that for you." Duo smiled and looked to his lover's writing again as he reread his gift. "If you see her before I do, would you show that to Kumi for me?" Heero asked. Duo smiled and nodded, "I was just going to offer that myself." His lover smiled to him.
There was a pause between the pilots as they just smiled to each other. "I love you," Heero finally said quietly. "I love you, too," the American replied the same. Duo placed his hand on the monitor and Heero placed his over it on his screen. "Happy anniversary, Heero," Duo whispered as they held their hands like that. "Happy anniversary, Duo," his partner whispered back.
* * * * * *
Relena and the other Gundam pilots waited silently in one of the small rooms by the control room. The young queen was sitting with a concerned expression. Waiting for the decision of the Preventers and Marimaya was much more difficult than she first imagined. Sette looked to her as she leaned against the wall by the door. She sighed deeply and walked to her friend and sat bedside her. Zes turned to face the other pilot with a look of loss.
The tomboy smiled and told the blonde pilot, "Whatever happens, you know that myself and all of us here are behind you a hundred and ten percent." Relena smiled warmly to her friend and nodded, "Thank you, Sette. I needed that." Quatre watched not far from the two Gundam pilots and smiled to himself.
Seeing his girlfriend speaking to Zes without the nervousness and tenseness that he sensed before since their return to Pulsar, he sighed in relief inwardly. 'Maybe I misread her behavior,' he thought to himself. Content that everything seemed to be normal, the Arabian looked back out the window that he was standing by.
The door to the room slid opened and everyone jumped to their feet. Lady Une walked in first, followed by Noin, Milliardo, Sally, Marimaya and Lieutenant Keiser. The Gundam pilots gathered together before their friends.
Lady Une looked to the young queen who stood the closest to them. "You all can leave as soon a you're ready," she stated simply. Zes's eyes widened as a gasp left her. Instantly, she threw her arms around the head of the Preventers and whispered, "Thank you, Lady Une." The young woman returned the embrace.
Milliardo and Noin looked to each other with concern for their sister and returned their gazes to the pilots. Sally informed them, "You know that you won't be able to take your Gundams, since they'll be shot on site." Noin added, "I've located a safe house in Virginia. You'll be hiding there during your stay." Milliardo warned, "No matter what, you can't stay on Earth longer than three months. Once that time is up, you're to return here." The pilots understood and accepted. They quickly left the room to prepare for their flight to the Earth.
* * * * * *
That night, a transport ship carrying the pilots flew off for the planet. Zes and her comrades all looked to the Earth as it filled their view in the windows ahead of them. Relena thought to herself, "I'm not letting anyone have their way with the Earth any longer."
The pilots flew off in silence as they shot off for the sphere ahead. None of them knew what to expect when they arrived, but they knew that there were doing the right thing. In less than an hour, they would be landing on the same Earth that had declared a stand against all of them...and it was the dead of winter.
TBC
We're nearing the half-way point! I can't thank all of you readers enough for your constant support and suggestions! Thank you for everything! I hope you enjoy this part! Love Always, SkyLark
Gundam Wing: The Second Chapter
Episode 24: Return to the Mainland
by SkyLark
helped by: Snodin, Star Soldier, Stormy, Sam, Beekay, Silver Star and GREETER 600
On Colony V10, a shipyard was filled with men and women as they worked on mobile suits to protect themselves, should the time ever come that OZ would threaten them. One young man with his fellow crew members were working on building a Virgo as he asked, "I hear we're going to be getting a new worker to help us out in a few weeks." A young woman helping with the project nodded, "Yea. he's had a lot of experience with suits and scavenging."
An older man with a thick beard questioned as he wiped a lot of sweat from his brow, "Any idea where he's from and why he's coming here?" A third man shook his head, "I have no idea why he'd decided to come here, and personally I don't care. We need all the help we can get. As far as where he was born, all I know is that he's an American." The first man to begin the discussion laughed in his harness over the suit, "That's all me need? What good ever came from America to begin with?"
* * * * * *
Back on a colony weeks away from V10, Deathscythe was slicing through OZ soldiers as he destroyed yet another hidden OZ base. Duo was in the cockpit, singing quietly to himself with his usual mischievous smile, "And the rockets red glare...The bombs bursting in air."
At this, he pressed his controls to send a spray of bullets that took out a large number of suits as they exploded before his. He was wearing his old black cap backwards as he fought off the troops. The OZ soldiers were no match for the Gundam pilot, though they did fight with whatever they had.
Duo shouted, "YOU THING YOU CAN STOP THE GOD OF DEATH!?!" At this, he used his laser scythe to cut through three more suits as they shot at him. One of the OZ soldiers was about to come from behind, but was stopped as Duo spun and sliced him in half, a loud and choked cry leaving his victim.
Looking to his monitors, the American noticed that the OZ soldiers who were not in suits were running into the facility that he came to destroy. Licking his lips and sneering, the braided pilot growled deeply, "You can run but you can't hide."
Quickly, Duo rook off as he flew straight for the plant. Once plowing through the side of the building, Duo began looking to everything inside. There were countless suits all around and the soldiers were running to pilot them as quickly as they could. Destroying the suits that he came across as he flew forward, the American looked to the main monitor of the factory. As the explosions that he caused continued and spread around him, Duo continued to wipe out any and every pilot that crossed him.
Several soldiers were attempting to destroy the main system of the plant themselves, in attempt to keep the information stored there from falling into the hands of their foe. Duo was aware that the data stored there was far too important to lose. His mission was to collect everything that he could. The American killed everyone that tried to destroy the monitor and database with it.
After a good fifteen minutes, the braided pilot managed to kill nearly every soldier. Before much longer, the last soldier left had been killed. Duo hadn't expected there to be so many OZ soldiers at this site, but he still succeeded in his task of destroying them. It was amazing that not one of the soldiers attempted to retreat during the fight...even when it was obvious that Deathscythe was going to defeat them. Duo sneered, chuckling deeply, "Shinigami lives."
The Gundam pilot lowered himself from his suit and walked to the main monitor of the base. Using a disk hidden in his a pocket of his jeans, Duo managed to gather what he came for. When the everything was uploaded, he removed the disk and ran to his suit. Once he was back in his cockpit and ready to fly off again, the braided pilot destroyed the monitor and took out the remainder of the plant with it until there was nothing left but flames and smoke.
Satisfied with the successful mission, Duo looked to the information that he gathered on his disk. There were countless more locations of bases that had been reported. Knowing that the Preventers would be responsible for the wipe out of these facilities, Duo went on to see what else he managed to obtain from the database. With a good look at the saved information, it was not long before his deep blue eyes noticed something.
With a look of curiosity, the Gundam pilot took a closer look to a strange document. Duo's eyes widened as he said quietly to himself, "It's an encrypted message." Looking to the odd writing, he said to himself, "OZ could have been trying to send this to anyone." Scanning the document, the braided pilot noted, "They wouldn't have gone through the trouble of writing in a secret pattern if the information wasn't vital to the war and their strategy."
After a moment to finished scanning the long, coded letter completely, Duo sighed deeply as he lied back in his seat, "I can't even begin to try and decipher this thing. I have no idea where to begin." Just then, his eyes widened as a smile crossed his lips. "But I know someone who might," he said deeply. Patching into his transmitter, he began, "This is Duo. I've managed to destroy the base and intercepted the information that OZ had hidden there."
The lieutenant of the Preventer craft that Duo had flown from nodded in the control room of his ship, "Nice work. We'll send the locations of the OZ bases that you found to the Preventer crafts that we can contact." Duo nodded as his fingers worked quickly over the keys of his controls, "Sounds good. I'm transferring the data to you now."
Looking to the encrypted message again, Duo smiled, "Also, I have a request." The lieutenant asked, "What's that?" The American replied, "I know that it'll talk a long time to send messages without the connection of V10 established, but I need something sent to Pulsar." The man replied, "It'll talk almost a month to reach the ship, but we'll do what we can. Who shall we address the message to?" With a glimmer in his eyes as the light from the monitors reflected off them, the braided pilot answered, "Trowa Barton."
* * * * * *
Trowa was slowly gaining consciousness. The first thing that proved this to him was the pain coursing throughout his body. His eyes began to squeeze tight, on account of the suffering. Kumi noticed it instantly as her cobalt eyes fixated on the fallen pilot's pained face. She felt her right hand being squeezed gently as it continued to hold Trowa's. Without thinking, Kumi squeezed the hand back for reassurance. Without saying anything, the silver-haired pilot watched as her comrade awoke.
The tall pilot gave a small, deep groan before his green-brown eyes slowly opened with a few, quick blinks. The first thing that Trowa noticed was Kumi, sitting beside him and holding his hand as she looked down to him. Next, he noticed the fire burning behind her and star-filled sky over them as he looked up.
They were both below the mountains where the battle against Demetirs had been fought. Since he was so badly wounded, Trowa couldn't be moved until his wounds were looked at and bandaged. So, he was now lying on her back, on top of Kumi's hooded, purple cape and covered from mid-chest and down in a light green sheet. The tall pilot's entire chest, right shoulder and arm were bandaged tightly and exposed without his shirt.
Kumi released his hand and walked back to the fire as he gazed to the heavens, still not certain that he wasn't dreaming...Kumi seemed to have a look of concern on her face when he first woke. It wasn't anything that he had seen before. When he felt the other pilot release his hand, Trowa watched as she walked over to the fire, still silent as ever with her back to him. Kumi placed a few more large sticks in the flames, which she collected from a forest not far past the mountains where they were now.
Without her hooded cape, all that Kumi was wearing was her black, sleeveless top along with her black, loose running pants and sneakers. The thick silver belt was the only item of her attire with color in it. The belt matched perfectly with the shade of the stoic pilot's hair, still in its very long ponytail.
Trowa continued to look to her back with concern as she worked on building the fire again. The 'Perfect Soldier's' right arm was bandaged. There were also many bruises and scratches her face- from what he saw- and the left arm. Since these were the only parts of her skin that weren't covered, there was no telling what other wounds she had on her. While Kumi didn't let off that she was in any pain, the tall pilot was worried that she might have been injured badly.
Without turning to face her partner, Kumi finally broke the silence. "You scared the shit out of me tonight," she said to the fire, just loud enough for Trowa to hear. There was a little hint of emotion behind her words, but for the most part, it was the usual monotone voice that she always used. Trowa blinked a few times, taken back by the words of the woman that captured his heart. He remained silent. The silver-haired pilot turned to him and walked back to sit next to him again. This time, the cobalt wyes of the pilot were narrowed as she glared intensely to her partner.
Trowa looked to her gaze then to her bandaged arm. He asked quietly in concern, "Are you all right?" The narrowed eyes opened wide for a brief moment as Kumi couldn't believe the question. Still appearing unaffected, the 'Perfect Soldier' placed her right hand on Trowa's forehead to check his temperature.
Seeing that his fever had finally broken, she removed her hand and glared again to the injured pilot. "You almost died on me, you stupid baka. How am I supposed to be all right?" she asked sharply. The European pilot winced inwardly at her response. "I'm sorry," was all he managed to say in a deep sigh, closing his eyes slowly.
Kumi growled deeply and tore her eyes from Trowa. The young man too a quick, sharp breath as another spasm of sharp needles shot through his body. Another deep moan left him as he waited for the pain to pass. When it subsided, the tall pilot saw that Kumi was looking to him again.
He could have sworn this time for sure that there really was concern in her glance.
"Four broken ribs, three broken bones in your right arm, a fractured right shoulder plate, a few hundred stitches and who knows how many bruised bones will do that to you," the stoic pilot informed him. Trowa's eyes widened as he looked to his partner in shock. "You placed all of those bones while I was out?" he said in awe. His comrade shrugged and snorted, "Someone had to do it. Don't act like I did anything special."
A warm smile crossed the tall pilot's lips as he reached for Kumi's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely as he looked into her eyes. Kumi took her hand away and nodded with an emotionless face, "I shouldn't have needed to do that in the first place." Trowa blinked. "What the hell possessed you to go after Demetris like that?" the female pilot asked dryly, returning her gaze to her comrade.
All Trowa could do was answered honestly, "If I didn't go after him like that, you would have been killed...I couldn't let that happen because I care about you...That's why." Kumi sighed deeply to herself and shook her head, "Baka." Again she rose and walked before the fire. Sitting there, she hugged her legs to her chest and refused to look back to Trowa. She began using a long, thin stick to move some of the wood that was burning, causing the flames to grow in size and brightness. Painfully, Trowa sat up a bit and rested on his bandaged elbow as he looked to his friend's back.
"Who's Matt?" the tall pilot asked suddenly. The moment the name left his mouth, Trowa watched and listened as the stick in Kumi's hand was dropped. She had frozen in her spot and there was a long, uncomfortable silence between the two pilots.
Trowa swallowed hard as he awaited anxiously some kind of reaction...no matter what it was. Finally, he saw Kumi lower her head forward to the fire as she said in a small whisper, "You did hear me shout his name, then?" Trowa didn't need to reply.
After another pause, this time much shorter than the last, Kumi rose silently to sit beside the tall pilot again. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Matt was...We were..." Not getting anywhere at this point, the silver-haired pilot shook her head then sighed, "Matt and I were very close. We met during the Eve Wars, not long after I met Sette. He went on to become a Preventer after the Marimaya incident and we would had a lot missions together." Trowa sat up a little more, not able to sit up completely, on account of the agony that would have caused him. He just remained silent as he listened to his partner.
Kumi then admitted, "We became friends...Then we were more than friends and before long, we were more than that." Trowa nodded as he continued to give Excalibur's pilot his undivided attention. He had no idea that there was anyone in her life that was able to break through her training and soldier wall.
The young pilot then lowered her head and said quietly, "We were even beginning to talk about spending the rest of our lives together when Sette and I received word that there three other Gundams that had been hidden before the beginning of the Eve Wars. Finding them became my main concern along with Matt and Sette.
"We set out to find them and on our last search, we ended up on a colony that Demetris just happened to be visiting for a killing spree. Since the three of us had been after him for months by then, Matt went after him without telling anyone." Kumi stopped for a moment and lowered her head. Trowa's hand instantly held onto hers and squeezed it.
"Demetris shot him seven times before I managed to find him...Matt dies in my arms." Kumi finished in a small voice. Trowa sighed deeply and lowered his own head, "I-I'm so sorry, Kumi...I had no idea..." The silver-haired pilot lifted her head again and replied, "You couldn't have known."
When their gazes met, the 'Perfect Soldier' told her partner, "When you were shot by Demetris...It was as if I was reliving that whole night again." The injured pilot ignored the pain that ran through him and went on to wrap his arms around the other pilot in a tight embrace. Kumi stiffened at the gesture. Then, she relaxed a bit and even wrapped her own arms around Trowa, careful not to hurt him.
The pilots held each other quietly like that for a moment. Then, Trowa whispered, "I'm sorry. I hurt you worse than Demetris ever could." The pilot in his arms shook her head, "Don't worry about me." Trowa kissed her cheek gently as he pulled back from the embrace, sensing the tension returning in the other pilot's muscles.
Trowa inquired, "I've never come across anyone as powerful as Demetris. How can he take so much and not even seem to feel any pain?" Kumi shook her head, "I don't know. But he wasn't always like that. He was always a strong opponent, but he felt pain. The night he killed Matt was when Sette and I saw that he could take bullets and stabs without so much as blinking." Turning to the stars, she said, "I know that there's a reason behind it. Once I figure out what that is, I'll kill him."
The European pilot smirked at the thought of that giant dying at the hands of his friend. He then noticed several streaks of silver shooting through the sky. He and Kumi watched they silently for a moment. "Casualty capsules," Kumi said quietly. Trowa asked, "You've seen them before?" The silver-haired pilot nodded as she looked to the streaks, "Fighting wars this far in space, you see them pretty often."
Lowering her head, she said quietly, "My worst fear for Heero is that he'll lose Duo. I still remember how hard and painful it was to move on after Matt died. And we weren't nearly as close as they are...If anything happened to Duo, Heero would die." Trowa gave a small, certain grin as he stated, "Well, you don't have to worry since no one can kill Death."
The silver-haired pilot turned to give a confused glance to her partner. Trowa explained, "Duo calls himself Shinigami." Just as the realization came to her, Kumi replied, "The God of Death?" The tall pilot nodded, "I don't know everything about his past, but Duo's always associated himself with that." The 'Perfect Soldier' allowed a deep chuckle to leave her as she shook her head and closed her eyes. "So Death taught Heero how to live," she smirked. Trowa chuckled, himself. "The irony of it all," he nodded.
Looking to the thin armband tattoo on Kumi's left arm, Trowa smiled, "Now I understand what your tattoo stands for. The two roses intertwined at the stems are you and Matt." The 'Perfect Soldier' nodded, "And the Japanese word for 'Hope' is between the buds is there because Matt said that no matter what, I never gave up."
Trowa smiled warmly and whispered, "It's beautiful." He realized that he was no longer focusing on the tattoo, but Kumi's face when he said this in a whisper. The other pilot noticed this as well and turned her head away, emotionless mask in place again.
Kumi said quietly, "I used to be that way...Never giving up an anything...That changed when he died." Trowa smiled again and shook his head as he said gently, "Don't sell yourself so short. If you lost hope in everything as you say, you would have left me for dead and gone after Demetris...You wouldn't have gone through the trouble of saving me."
The cobalt eyes turned to look into his own. Trowa leaned in, closing his eyes, as he placed another soft kiss on Kumi's right cheek. He went on to whisper just beyond the frozen pilot's ear, "Thank you for saving my life, Kumi." The silver-haired pilot simply nodded and the tall pilot pulled back again.
Looking to her partner's wounds, the 'Perfect Soldier' told Trowa, "You better get some rest. We'll leave for Commander Hazark's ship in the morning, if you feel up to it." Trowa nodded, "I'll be fine by then." Lowering himself onto his back again, slowly, the pilot of Heavy Arms felt all the pain returning at full force. One last deep groan left him and when he was finally on his back again, he relaxed. Looking to the stars, Trowa stated quietly, "Now I know what it feels like to die." Kumi gave a nod and replied in her stoic voice, "Yea. It hurts like hell."
Trowa's eyes widened at this statement, recalling the same words coming from Heero in the same tone during the Eve Wars. The tall pilot couldn't help the fit of laughter that escaped him. Kumi just turned to look at him. When the laughter passed, Trowa smiled and closed his eyes.
The tall pilot's breathing soon relaxed as sleep claimed him.
The other pilot took notice of this and walked to the fire one last time. Since it would be morning in a few hours, the last bit of wood that she had would be plenty to keep the fire going for that long. Trowa needed all the warmth possible to protect himself from becoming ill. Once all the wood was in the flames, Kumi walked over to her comrade.
Silently, Excalibur's pilot lied on her side right next to Trowa, using her body heat as an extra barrier against the cold and damp air for him. Looking to the pilot's peaceful face, Kumi gently stroked his cheek a few times, allowing just a moment to let her feelings take over. The gesture ended quickly, as she pulled her hand back to fall to her side again. Trowa's face was the last thing Kumi saw before her cobalt eyes were closed.
* * * * * *
Demetris was in the hanger of an OZ ship out in the middle of nowhere. Sitting in a corner, hidden in the shadows there, watching his suit being repaired, his eyes were wide and burning in rage as he looked to the damages. He was panting and sweating from the heat that was coursing though his body. The giant's large hands where clenched into tight fists as he growled deeply.
The OZ pilot looked like a man animal, ready to rip any and everything apart that he came across. His intense glare was shooting daggers into what seemed to be nothing as he looked forward. "I was so close," he growled deeply to himself. His panting increased and his glare even more terrifying.
"You better be careful, Demetris," a voice came from beyond the corner. The giant shouted in rage and jumped to his feet screaming, "I TOLD ALL OF YOU TO LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" He stopped the moment Quinze Khushrenadah walked before his from the darkness. The tall man's blue eyes widened and he straightened as he lowered his head. "I'm sorry, sir," Demetris said in a deep voice.
The OZ leader smiled and shook his head, "I understand your disappointment, but you shouldn't bring so much stress onto yourself. It's can't be good for your heart." The large man growled loudly and replied, "My heart is not going to fail me."
Quinze shrugged with his usual smirk and told his soldier, "No need to worry, my friend. You'll kill Kumi soon enough. Your suit will be repaired in two days and you can have fun tearing another town to shreds. It'll give you a chance to work that tension out of your system." Demetris simply nodded and walked away, growling deeply to himself with that intense glare.
Quinze chuckled deeply and shook his head as he watched the pilot leave the room. "I almost feel bad for that silver-haired mink. She really doesn't realize what she's gotten herself into," he said to himself. The young man looked up to the blue, ram-headed Gundam as the repairs on the suit continued. His smirk grew as he said quietly in amusement, "I'm looking forward to their next encounter as much as that giant is."
* * * * * *
On Pulsar, Quatre and Sette were taking turns holding baby Mirando in one of the lounges. The Arabian was holding the sleeping child as Sette leaned over her chair beside him to look to the baby. Looking at Quatre's face, the ex-princess smiled and sighed deeply. The blonde pilot chuckled and asked, "What is it?" Sette replied with a warm smile and shrug, "Our children are going to be beautiful." Quatre laughed. Using his right arm to support Mirando, the Arabian took Sette's hand in his left. "There'll be plenty of time for that after the war, and after we get married," he smiled to the tomboy. Sette's heart skipped a few beats and she beamed, "You mean it!?!" Quatre nodded his word.
The pair looked to Mirando again and the blonde pilot said quietly, "Right now, we have to worry about defeating OZ so the future is brighter for the next generations." His proclaimed fiancee nodded, "I know. That comes first." Quatre couldn't help but place a soft kiss on the back of Sette's hand. The blue-haired pilot blushed at the gesture.
Delapan entered the lounge and approached her comrades. Sette smiled and waved to her, "Hey, Monkey Girl." Ignoring the tomboy as always, the redhead informed the pilots, "You guys might want to come to the hanger." As the pilots rose, Quatre asked in concern, "What's wrong?" Catherine replied, "There's a debate going on as to what should happen with the Earth." Her friends' eyes widened as they heard this. They quickly left the lounge together.
In the hanger, Relena and Brian were before Lady Une, Noin, Milliardo, Sally Poe, Keiser and Marimaya. "I don't understand why we can't send someone to the Earth to learn more of what is happening there. It's been weeks since we managed to have any contact with the people there," Relena stated, obviously concerned. Brian continued, "I understand that the Earth has made it clear that they don't want us anywhere near, but there are ways of sneaking in."
Marimaya shook her head, "Your majesties, you realize that requesting to send someone to stay in the Earth for several weeks to obtain ways of gaining knowledge as to what is happening there is more than dangerous. We could send an army of Preventers to the Earth and still come up short in gaining any information."
Relena stated, "Fine. Then I'm going back." Milliardo protested loudly, "Forget it! You of all people shouldn't be anywhere near the Earth during this war. You know that." His sister shook her head, "I'd rather see for myself what is happening on the planet than send someone else to do the job for me."
As the debate went on, Novem and Wufei had been watching and listening closely behind their friends. The Chinese pilot rose from the raining that he had been sitting on. and stated, "I understand Zes's stand and support her decision." Sally's eyes widened as she turned to him and retorted, "You can't believe Zes will be able to protect herself if she returns to the Earth alone."
"Well then, someone will have to go with her," a familiar voice came from out of the blue. Everyone's eyes widened as their heads turned to the door. Sette, Delapan and Quatre were standing there. Sette shrugged as she continued, "I'll fly to the Earth with Zes if that's what it'll take to get your support." Relena smiled as she looked to the tomboy. Wufei then nodded, "I'd be leaving with them as well." The Arabian then stated, "And they won't be leaving without me." Novem and Delapan then nodded and showed their movement to join the cause.
The Preventers looked to the pilots with mixed expressions. Lady Une frowned and lowered her head. "I need more time to think about this," she said quietly. Looking to her comrades, she informed them, "We'll discuss this further amongst ourselves and come to a decision from there." The Gundam pilots watched them to leave the hanger as they turned to each other.
Quatre was still holding Mirando as he and Sette walked to the others. "Thank you," Zes smiled to the tomboy. Sette shrugged, "Don't mention it. I agree with you that we need to know what is happening on the Earth and I won't let you go without backup." Novem nodded, "We're all in this was together, Miss Relena. You know that you don't feel like you should do this alone." The young king wrapped his arms around his love and smiled lovingly, "They're right, you tend to take too much on by yourself. You don't deserve that."
The queen sighed deeply and embraced her husband. "I just can't stand not knowing what is happening on the Earth any longer." Brian replied, "I feel the same way, love. Whatever Lady Une and the Preventers decide, we'll make this all wok out." Relena nodded. Quatre smiled, "Come on. We might as well wait in one of the lounges." The others agreed and followed the blonde pilot out of the room.
* * * * * *
Duo was in his cockpit, resting his eyes for a moment when his watch beeped. Looking to the time, the American smiled, "Midnight." No sooner had this than the monitor blinked and Heero's image came on the screen. The lovers smiled lovingly to each other. Duo said gently, "I knew that you'd get through somehow." Heero chuckled deeply, "You expected any less?" His partner shook his head and smiled, "No. You never let me down, Heero."
After a brief pause, Heero asked in concern, "How are you, koi?" Duo shrugged, "I'm doing all right...I just hate sleeping alone like this." His lover closed his eyes as he nodded and whispered sadly, "I know..." Seeing and hearing that Heero was in pain, Duo asked softly in concern as he leaned to the monitor, "What's wrong, love?" Heero look a deep breath and looked up to his lover's image. Running a finger over the image of his partner's cheek, he sighed deeply.
"I have nightmares now...every night," he finally admitted. Duo's heart broke and he whispered back as he lowered his head, "God, I wish I was there with you." His lover whispered back, "So do I." The American lifted his head and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" Heero thought about it for a moment, debating whether he even could talk about those terrible dreams. He did give a nod and began, brokenly, "I...I have these images of you..." The Wing pilot sighed deeply after taking another deep breath, painfully.
Finding the courage to say what was in his heart, Heero said in a small voice after closing his eyes, "You're dying in all of my nightmares. You die in my arms and there's nothing that I can do to save you, no matter how hard I try."
Taking a brief pause to keep his emotions at bay as best he could, the Wing pilot continued, "I wake up with in a cold sweat or with tears in my eyes because them seem so real, Duo. I hate going to sleep now because I know that you won't be in my arms and I won't be in yours when I wake up. I've had nightmares before, but I've never had any as terrifying as the ones I have now." After quickly getting all of that off his chest, Heero opened his eyes to see his partner with tears building in his own.
"Heero," was all Duo managed to whisper brokenly as he fought the drops from falling. The Wing pilot said quietly, "I've just been thinking of so many things because of those dreams..." His hand went up to squeeze the gold cross around his neck.
Duo listened as Heero continued, "If anything happened to you, who would be there to make everyone laugh even in the middle of a war? Who would drop whatever they were doing to help a friend that was having a bad day? Who will begin a snowball fight that'll get everyone involved?..." Small tears were actually beginning to fill the Japanese pilot's eyes as he whispered brokenly, "Who will be there to make me smile? Who else will be able to protect me from myself?"
Unable to continue, Heero choked a sob as he fought the tears in his eyes. Duo had given up that fight as he dried his soaked cheeks. He whispered, "Ai shiteru, Heero...more than you know." Heero bit his lip then nodded, "Ai shiteru, Duo...Zutto."
Duo continued to dry his tears as he said quietly, "I have the same nightmares...I see you dying and I can't save you." Closing his eyes and dropping his head again, he whispered breathlessly, "You'd think that I'd be used to nightmares involving death. I am Shinigami, after all. But when I can't cope with losing you, Heero. I wouldn't be able to go on." He heard his partner whisper, "Duo."
The lovers looked to each other for a moment, then smiled lovingly again. Drying the single, large tear that fell from his right eye, Heero whispered, "I think we should talk about something else tonight." Duo chuckled as he wiped the last wet trails from his face, "Yea, sure. You say that after making me cry like a bitch."
The pilots laughed and finally got their composure back. Duo took a deep breath as he looked to his lover. It never ceased to amaze him that Heero just seemed to become more handsome every time he saw him. The wing pilot was just breathtaking.
"Five years," Duo sighed with a warm smile. Heero smiled as well and nodded, "Hard to believe." The American asked, "Did Sera give you anything today?" Placing a wrapped gift in his lap, Heero nodded, "Yes. You know that you didn't have to do this." Duo chuckled and shrugged, "I know. It was just something that I figured you would like. Open it."
Heero worked away at the silver wrapping paper. Inside, there was a framed collage of pictures of the two of them. The photos had been taken from different times. There were even some shots of them when they were in the Eve Wars and during the Marimaya incident. The Wing pilot never saw any of them before. Duo shrugged, "It's not much but-" "I love it," Heero whispered in awe as he continued to look to the collage. Duo beamed, "You do?" Heero nodded and smiled, "This is perfect, Duo. Thank you." The American nodded, "Anytime, koi."
The Wing pilot chuckled, "Check behind your seat." The blue eyes of his lover widened when he said this. Duo undid the harness and turned behind him. There was a wrapped gift hidden behind him the whole time. A shocked expression hit his face as he looked to it and removed it from his hiding spot. "That was sneaky, koi," the braided pilot smiled lovingly to his partner. Heero grinned and nodded, "I learned from the best."
Duo unwrapped the deep blue paper and looked to a frame with something handwritten on a stationary paper that had the background of the ocean at sunset. It instantly reminded him of their house in Maryland along the shore. At the top, in big letters were the words: 'Love Is...' The American read the gift carefully as his lover watched silently. Heero never ceased to be amazed by how beautiful Duo was. He just seemed to grow more beautiful every second. He was just breathtaking.
By the time he was finished reading, there were big tears in the American's eyes again. He whispered breathlessly as he smiled to his partner, "This is beautiful, Heero. Thank you." The Wing pilot smiled, "I have Kumi to thank. When she asked me what love is, I took some time to think about it and wrote that for you." Duo smiled and looked to his lover's writing again as he reread his gift. "If you see her before I do, would you show that to Kumi for me?" Heero asked. Duo smiled and nodded, "I was just going to offer that myself." His lover smiled to him.
There was a pause between the pilots as they just smiled to each other. "I love you," Heero finally said quietly. "I love you, too," the American replied the same. Duo placed his hand on the monitor and Heero placed his over it on his screen. "Happy anniversary, Heero," Duo whispered as they held their hands like that. "Happy anniversary, Duo," his partner whispered back.
* * * * * *
Relena and the other Gundam pilots waited silently in one of the small rooms by the control room. The young queen was sitting with a concerned expression. Waiting for the decision of the Preventers and Marimaya was much more difficult than she first imagined. Sette looked to her as she leaned against the wall by the door. She sighed deeply and walked to her friend and sat bedside her. Zes turned to face the other pilot with a look of loss.
The tomboy smiled and told the blonde pilot, "Whatever happens, you know that myself and all of us here are behind you a hundred and ten percent." Relena smiled warmly to her friend and nodded, "Thank you, Sette. I needed that." Quatre watched not far from the two Gundam pilots and smiled to himself.
Seeing his girlfriend speaking to Zes without the nervousness and tenseness that he sensed before since their return to Pulsar, he sighed in relief inwardly. 'Maybe I misread her behavior,' he thought to himself. Content that everything seemed to be normal, the Arabian looked back out the window that he was standing by.
The door to the room slid opened and everyone jumped to their feet. Lady Une walked in first, followed by Noin, Milliardo, Sally, Marimaya and Lieutenant Keiser. The Gundam pilots gathered together before their friends.
Lady Une looked to the young queen who stood the closest to them. "You all can leave as soon a you're ready," she stated simply. Zes's eyes widened as a gasp left her. Instantly, she threw her arms around the head of the Preventers and whispered, "Thank you, Lady Une." The young woman returned the embrace.
Milliardo and Noin looked to each other with concern for their sister and returned their gazes to the pilots. Sally informed them, "You know that you won't be able to take your Gundams, since they'll be shot on site." Noin added, "I've located a safe house in Virginia. You'll be hiding there during your stay." Milliardo warned, "No matter what, you can't stay on Earth longer than three months. Once that time is up, you're to return here." The pilots understood and accepted. They quickly left the room to prepare for their flight to the Earth.
* * * * * *
That night, a transport ship carrying the pilots flew off for the planet. Zes and her comrades all looked to the Earth as it filled their view in the windows ahead of them. Relena thought to herself, "I'm not letting anyone have their way with the Earth any longer."
The pilots flew off in silence as they shot off for the sphere ahead. None of them knew what to expect when they arrived, but they knew that there were doing the right thing. In less than an hour, they would be landing on the same Earth that had declared a stand against all of them...and it was the dead of winter.
TBC